Creative Director
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Weren't all those written AFTER The Stand?I think it also bears keeping in mind is that Randall Flagg is as scary as he is, becasue the world generally doesn't have scary things like demons, dragons, lizardmen, and the whatnot as standard fare. That until the End, everything, including presumably Flagg himself, was just... ordinary. As are the protagonists of the book.So now that bestiary 4 is out, I was wondering if you could see Randall Flagg statted up as a Great Old One?Nope.
1) He's Stephen King's IP.
2) He's more powerful than a demigod if his claims to be who he says he is in "The Stand" are legit, so wouldn't get stats anyway.
not quite...
Flagg shows up in a LOT of King's stories, including some, like "Eyes of the Dragon" or the Dark Tower stories, that actually DO have lots of demons and dragons and the like.
I don't see what that has to do with anything, honestly.
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Creative Director
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So im running wrath of the righteous and my players let the wife of a certain paladin die. They say its all fine we can just resurect her no biggie but what would the paladin say about it? Is there a religions taboo on resurection for Iomade?
The paladin would be broken-hearted and devastated, and should, as a result, not be there to help the PCs. In fact, I would consider not only not having her along to help the PCs, but also would consider having her fall from grace, become an antipaladin, and come back later in the campaign as a villian.
ESPECIALLY if the PCs were all blase and cavalier about "meh, no biggie, just resurrect her!" Because that's NOT appropriate to a grieving widow, first off. And second, spending thousands of GP on a spell that is unlikely to be easily available anyway due to circumstances is not really something that will be able to happen anytime soon. Irabeth can't afford that type of spell, and I doubt the PCs can. Furthermore, the idea of taking resources away from the war effort itself would be kind of torment to Irabeth even.
Now... if the PCs were supportive and empathic and NOT callous or blase about her wife's death, and if they were kind and supportive, then Irabeth WOULD keep helping them, and would maybe get more brooding and introverted but would stay a paladin.
But yeah... this is a great opportunity to teach players a lesson about how to roleplay, I think.
In any event, there's no taboo in Iomedae's faith about resurrection. It's just REALLY expensive... especially in a time where most if not all of those who could cast it are dead or elsewhere.
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I don't see what that has to do with anything, honestly.Weren't all those written AFTER The Stand?I think it also bears keeping in mind is that Randall Flagg is as scary as he is, becasue the world generally doesn't have scary things like demons, dragons, lizardmen, and the whatnot as standard fare. That until the End, everything, including presumably Flagg himself, was just... ordinary. As are the protagonists of the book.So now that bestiary 4 is out, I was wondering if you could see Randall Flagg statted up as a Great Old One?Nope.
1) He's Stephen King's IP.
2) He's more powerful than a demigod if his claims to be who he says he is in "The Stand" are legit, so wouldn't get stats anyway.
not quite...
Flagg shows up in a LOT of King's stories, including some, like "Eyes of the Dragon" or the Dark Tower stories, that actually DO have lots of demons and dragons and the like.
Regardless of all that...
...he died like a chump.
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Creative Director
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since Oracles dont have to worship a god how does the miracle spell work
for them
The oracle has to have SOME sort of religion even if she doesn't worship a deity. And that religion has to have beliefs and guidelines and teachings. Just use those in place of an actual deity's areas of concern and personality in resolving the miracle. Not worshiping a specific deity is NEVER cause for a free ride of do whatever you want with a miracle. That's the whole point of the very similar wish spell, which DOES let you do whatever you want but automatically costs money to cast as a result.
Thank you for advocating icluding catfolk in Bestiary 3- I'm having so much fun with them...
If you would be willing to share: I would like some design advice on designing both my own base classes and my own prestige classes... what key points should I look at in order to determine if they need futher refinement?
My thanks/ apoligies in advance.
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Creative Director
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Thank you for advocating icluding catfolk in Bestiary 3- I'm having so much fun with them...
If you would be willing to share: I would like some design advice on designing both my own base classes and my own prestige classes... what key points should I look at in order to determine if they need futher refinement?
My thanks/ apoligies in advance.
That's not something I can really help you with, alas. The best way to get this advice from Paizo is to be hired by us to do freelance work on a book of that topic, and then pay close attention to the developers' feedback.
So now that bestiary 4 is out, I was wondering if you could see Randall Flagg statted up as a Great Old One?Nope.
1) He's Stephen King's IP.
2) He's more powerful than a demigod if his claims to be who he says he is in "The Stand" are legit, so wouldn't get stats anyway.
Spoilers in the spoiler.
Edit: Totally not ninja'd.
Edit2: James, are there any bad guys that you wish wouldn't have gotten "chumped", i.e. died in a very easy/embarrassing way?
James,
as blood of the moon is getting ready to come out is there anything you could tell us about the different types of Skinwalkers?
Also would I be correct to assume that the Skinwalkers are Golarion's answer to the Shifters in Eberron?
James,
What is your favorite Gestalt combo in Pathfinder?
Okay, as a new slaad mom, I need to read up on their ecology, especially any needs they might have as neonates. Any suggestions for good sources?
Pathfinder audiodrama? Where do I find out more about this?
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Mr. Jacobs,
If you dont mind.... what is your take on this statment?
A human commoner with a 3 Intelligence (this happens frequently enough with the 3d6 die rolling method common to NPCs) and a 10 Wisdom can earn a very good living (such as Profession [Barrister] or Profession [Accountant] or Profession [Farmer] or Profession [Banker], speak two languages, and have an extra skill handy for poops and giggles, maybe meaning he has training in two professions (maybe he was also a Sailor or a chef at some point).
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I saw a thread called 101 Reasons You Are With Your Party and while I'm sure most of it is just joking around, do you think the "Give me a reason to be with you guys" mentality is productive to roleplaying? I find it frustrating as someone who loves comradery and sees value is cooperation.
If someone makes a character who has that mentality, do you think it's unreasonable to have the GM ask him to come up with another?
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A friend showed me this halftime show of the Ohio State Marching Band and I thought you might appreciate it. Especially around 5 minutes in :P
I was just gonna post that, too!
And now I want to have a village of elusive dinosaur worshippers to be discovered somewhere in a very dangerous part of the Mwangi Expanse, leading those who discover them to wonder how they could possibly thrive in such a 'high level' area.
Their secret is that, when the village is threatened, the villagers all throw down their bows and spears and join hands to mass shapeshift into a single giant 'were' tyrannosaurus...
Are there any fusion-dance-type creatures on Golarion?
Basically, two critters consciously blend themselves together, whether temporarily or permanently.
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Creative Director
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James,
as blood of the moon is getting ready to come out is there anything you could tell us about the different types of Skinwalkers?
Also would I be correct to assume that the Skinwalkers are Golarion's answer to the Shifters in Eberron?
Skinwalkers are not Golarion's answer to shifters, really. They're inspired by real-world mythology more than they are Eberron. I'm not ready to say more about them yet though...
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Creative Director
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i meant who does the Oracle make the request to when you use miracleThe oracle has to have SOME sort of religion even if she doesn't worship a deity. And that religion has to have beliefs and guidelines and teachings. Just use those in place of an actual deity's areas of concern and personality in resolving the miracle. Not worshiping a specific deity is NEVER cause for a free ride of do whatever you want with a miracle. That's the whole point of the very similar wish spell, which DOES let you do whatever you want but automatically costs money to cast as a result.since Oracles dont have to worship a god how does the miracle spell work
for them
A miracle is always requested of the spellcaster's faith, be that a faith in a deity, a number of deities, a philosophy, or whatever.
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Creative Director
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Mr. Jacobs,
As a player and a GM, what is Charisma to you.
And how do you see it effecting casual encounters?
Charisma is the mental equivalent of Strength, just as Intelligence is the mental equivalent of Dexterity and Wisdom is of Constitution.
Charisma is your ability to use your personality and your magnetesim as a force; it's how you carry yourself; it's your presence; and as such it has a DEEP influence on your appearance (be that making you more attractive/ferocious looking or more forgettable or plain).
The higher your charisma, the more likely you are to have lots of friends, allies, and supporters. Leaders and movers and shakers have high charismas, generally, while followers and loners generally do not.
It affects casual encounters most often via social interaction—Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate.
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Creative Director
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Okay, as a new slaad mom, I need to read up on their ecology, especially any needs they might have as neonates. Any suggestions for good sources?
Pathfinder audiodrama? Where do I find out more about this?
Slaads are not part of Pathfinder—they're not open content, and as such I'm not really able to publicly help develop or explore their flavor text.
The audio dramas are being done by a company called "Big Finish." We announced them back in the convention season, but there's not much more information about them yet.
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Creative Director
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Mr. Jacobs,
If you dont mind.... what is your take on this statment?
A human commoner with a 3 Intelligence (this happens frequently enough with the 3d6 die rolling method common to NPCs) and a 10 Wisdom can earn a very good living (such as Profession [Barrister] or Profession [Accountant] or Profession [Farmer] or Profession [Banker], speak two languages, and have an extra skill handy for poops and giggles, maybe meaning he has training in two professions (maybe he was also a Sailor or a chef at some point).
That's VERY unusual... but kind of fits in to the area of someone being a savant or other special case. Like Rain Man, to a certain extent. He'd only have 1 skill point per level, though, since the bonus point granted by being a human would be degraded by his Intelligence penalty to the minimum of 1 per HD.
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Creative Director
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I saw a thread called 101 Reasons You Are With Your Party and while I'm sure most of it is just joking around, do you think the "Give me a reason to be with you guys" mentality is productive to roleplaying? I find it frustrating as someone who loves comradery and sees value is cooperation.
If someone makes a character who has that mentality, do you think it's unreasonable to have the GM ask him to come up with another?
If you don't have a reason to be with your party, your character shouldn't be playing a team-based cooperative game like Pathfinder, honestly. The "Give me a reason to be with you guys" is kind of selfish and greedy and disrespectful and fundamentally lazy, I think... but given the right mix of personalities in a group I guess it can work.
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Creative Director
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Big Finish? Is that the same company that does all those Dr. Who audio serials? (They even have a few of the one time appearing Eighth Doctor.)Okay, as a new slaad mom, I need to read up on their ecology, especially any needs they might have as neonates. Any suggestions for good sources?
Pathfinder audiodrama? Where do I find out more about this?
Slaads are not part of Pathfinder—they're not open content, and as such I'm not really able to publicly help develop or explore their flavor text.
The audio dramas are being done by a company called "Big Finish." We announced them back in the convention season, but there's not much more information about them yet.
Yes.
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Huh? Not sure what you're asking for...James,
There is another theater production of your stuff? Where can I find more information about this?
Actually, never mind. I went back to look at the quotes, and it seems as though it was in reference to the radioplay that is coming out and I hadn't read the entire post.
That being said, when is the expected release of the radio play?
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Would it not be a minimum of 2? One for the absolute minimum you get no matter how stupid you are, plus the one you get for being a Human. (Potentially 3 if favored class bonuses are put in to the formula.)That's VERY unusual... but kind of fits in to the area of someone being a savant or other special case. Like Rain Man, to a certain extent. He'd only have 1 skill point per level, though, since the bonus point granted by being a human would be degraded by his Intelligence penalty to the minimum of 1 per HD.Mr. Jacobs,
If you dont mind.... what is your take on this statment?
A human commoner with a 3 Intelligence (this happens frequently enough with the 3d6 die rolling method common to NPCs) and a 10 Wisdom can earn a very good living (such as Profession [Barrister] or Profession [Accountant] or Profession [Farmer] or Profession [Banker], speak two languages, and have an extra skill handy for poops and giggles, maybe meaning he has training in two professions (maybe he was also a Sailor or a chef at some point).
I dont think NPC's get favored class....
Reading through the NPC build steps it doesnt mention favored class bonus.
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Hey James, in my Wrath game I have a Guardian (with the guardian campaign trait) Druid who is a a fey oriented character. I know fey are obviously not featured remotely in the AP, but do you have any advice what I might be able to work in to help connect him more strongly to the story?
IANJJ, but I know a great deal about Sarkoris (sort of a pet location, as it's the closest equivalent to post Roman Britain I think I'll find). Sarkoris, as the hub of the Green Faith and worshipers of many deities that may or may not have existed, the fey were a big part of life for them. Some communities would have worshiped the Eldest as gods, and there were certainly a lot of fey that communed with the druids that ran the country. There's a forest of eternally screaming and burning tortured dryads in the area, too. It's actually pretty easy to draw on fey connections. Have the druid be a scion of the Green Faith's traditions, fighting at the behest of his ancestors' patrons or stuff like that. If race hasn't been decided yet, make him a Kellid.
That help?
That's VERY unusual... but kind of fits in to the area of someone being a savant or other special case. Like Rain Man, to a certain extent. He'd only have 1 skill point per level, though, since the bonus point granted by being a human would be degraded by his Intelligence penalty to the minimum of 1 per HD.Mr. Jacobs,
If you dont mind.... what is your take on this statment?
A human commoner with a 3 Intelligence (this happens frequently enough with the 3d6 die rolling method common to NPCs) and a 10 Wisdom can earn a very good living (such as Profession [Barrister] or Profession [Accountant] or Profession [Farmer] or Profession [Banker], speak two languages, and have an extra skill handy for poops and giggles, maybe meaning he has training in two professions (maybe he was also a Sailor or a chef at some point).
James, that's actually incorrect. FAQ
Human: For a low-Int human character, is the minimum number of skill ranks per level 1 or 2?
It's 1, but you add your human bonus rank at the end, so you end up with 2 ranks total.
For example, a human fighter 1 with Int 6 would start with 2 ranks, add the –2 from the Int penalty (for a total of 0 ranks), apply the "minimum 1" rule (for an adjusted total of 1 rank), then add the 1 human rank (for a total of 2 ranks).In other words, a human should end up with more skill ranks than an otherwise-equivalent character of a different race.
—Pathfinder Design Team, 03/21/13
What do you think the hardest type of story to tell in game is?
What are the str and int stats for an average peasant human?
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Creative Director
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Would it not be a minimum of 2? One for the absolute minimum you get no matter how stupid you are, plus the one you get for being a Human. (Potentially 3 if favored class bonuses are put in to the formula.)That's VERY unusual... but kind of fits in to the area of someone being a savant or other special case. Like Rain Man, to a certain extent. He'd only have 1 skill point per level, though, since the bonus point granted by being a human would be degraded by his Intelligence penalty to the minimum of 1 per HD.Mr. Jacobs,
If you dont mind.... what is your take on this statment?
A human commoner with a 3 Intelligence (this happens frequently enough with the 3d6 die rolling method common to NPCs) and a 10 Wisdom can earn a very good living (such as Profession [Barrister] or Profession [Accountant] or Profession [Farmer] or Profession [Banker], speak two languages, and have an extra skill handy for poops and giggles, maybe meaning he has training in two professions (maybe he was also a Sailor or a chef at some point).
Once something is Intelligence 2, it can no longer speak or understand languages. That's purely animal intelligence, and while a creature like that could TECHNICALLY take ranks in Profession and even excel... that'd make no sense.
And frankly... giving an Int 3 character lots of ranks in Profession (banker) is nonsensical too.
Just because the rules let you give a creature ranks in a skill doesn't mean that you should. For the same reason, just because you can use a paintbrush to paint with vomit doesn't mean you should. Part of building cool and believable NPCs is knowing what not to do.
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Creative Director
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Huh? Not sure what you're asking for...James,
There is another theater production of your stuff? Where can I find more information about this?
Actually, never mind. I went back to look at the quotes, and it seems as though it was in reference to the radioplay that is coming out and I hadn't read the entire post.
That being said, when is the expected release of the radio play?
Dunno if we've announced that yet.
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Creative Director
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If I may ask, why was Dagon, Kostchtchie, and Pazuzu chosen to be the Demon Lords statted up in Bestiary 4?
Is the reason nothing gets done with Orcus because a lot was done with him in DnD?
Because those three demon lords are all based on real-world mythology and as such we can draw upon the real world to support their flavor text and don't have to draw as heavily upon Golarion stuff. I would have LOVED to do more, but getting 3 in there in the first place was actually kind of a tough sell, believe it or not.
Although Orcus is available via the Tome of Horrors, we generally don't do much with him at all because he's had SO MUCH done with him via Necromancer Games and Wizards of the Coast that, frankly, I kinda think his story's more or less been told. He's had so much attention paid to him by other companies that it doesn't really feel like he's a good choice for a demon lord to get a lot of Golarion on him, I guess.
Maybe my opinion on that will change some day in the future if we get to a point where Orcus hasn't been used as a logo or coverboy for other companies for a few years or a decade, though.
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Creative Director
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Hey James, in my Wrath game I have a Guardian (with the guardian campaign trait) Druid who is a a fey oriented character. I know fey are obviously not featured remotely in the AP, but do you have any advice what I might be able to work in to help connect him more strongly to the story?
Fey actually ARE featured remotely. VERY remotely. Check out "The Worldwound" and the Sarkoris chapter in "Lost Kingdoms" for how druids had a big role in the region before the Worldwound opened; that's the best angle to get fey into the scene.
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Creative Director
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Would it not be a minimum of 2? One for the absolute minimum you get no matter how stupid you are, plus the one you get for being a Human. (Potentially 3 if favored class bonuses are put in to the formula.)That's VERY unusual... but kind of fits in to the area of someone being a savant or other special case. Like Rain Man, to a certain extent. He'd only have 1 skill point per level, though, since the bonus point granted by being a human would be degraded by his Intelligence penalty to the minimum of 1 per HD.Mr. Jacobs,
If you dont mind.... what is your take on this statment?
A human commoner with a 3 Intelligence (this happens frequently enough with the 3d6 die rolling method common to NPCs) and a 10 Wisdom can earn a very good living (such as Profession [Barrister] or Profession [Accountant] or Profession [Farmer] or Profession [Banker], speak two languages, and have an extra skill handy for poops and giggles, maybe meaning he has training in two professions (maybe he was also a Sailor or a chef at some point).
I dont think NPC's get favored class....
Reading through the NPC build steps it doesnt mention favored class bonus.
All creatures who take class levels, regardless of the class, get the option to declare a favored class.
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Creative Director
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That's VERY unusual... but kind of fits in to the area of someone being a savant or other special case. Like Rain Man, to a certain extent. He'd only have 1 skill point per level, though, since the bonus point granted by being a human would be degraded by his Intelligence penalty to the minimum of 1 per HD.Mr. Jacobs,
If you dont mind.... what is your take on this statment?
A human commoner with a 3 Intelligence (this happens frequently enough with the 3d6 die rolling method common to NPCs) and a 10 Wisdom can earn a very good living (such as Profession [Barrister] or Profession [Accountant] or Profession [Farmer] or Profession [Banker], speak two languages, and have an extra skill handy for poops and giggles, maybe meaning he has training in two professions (maybe he was also a Sailor or a chef at some point).
James, that's actually incorrect. FAQ
What do you think the hardest type of story to tell in game is?Human: For a low-Int human character, is the minimum number of skill ranks per level 1 or 2?
It's 1, but you add your human bonus rank at the end, so you end up with 2 ranks total.
For example, a human fighter 1 with Int 6 would start with 2 ranks, add the –2 from the Int penalty (for a total of 0 ranks), apply the "minimum 1" rule (for an adjusted total of 1 rank), then add the 1 human rank (for a total of 2 ranks).In other words, a human should end up with more skill ranks than an otherwise-equivalent character of a different race.
—Pathfinder Design Team, 03/21/13
Hmmm. There ya go.
Doesn't change the fact that giving a super-low Intelligence person a skill like Profession (banker) is really silly, though.
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Creative Director
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What are the str and int stats for an average peasant human?
13, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10
Arranged however you want. So taking all six of those numbers, the average between them all is 10.8, or basically 11.
Since you can arrange the scores however, that means that the average Str and Int (and indeed the average of ANY ability score) for a totally average human peasant is 11.
