Creative Director
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With the new Golarion FAQ added under your oversight. I was hoping to get an official clarification on an issue for Society play.
Do the feats Ammo Drop and Juggle Load, from Halflings of Golarion, work with the Halfling Sling Staff, and other sling weapons not specifically listed in the feat's description? They share similar language to the Halfling's Warslinger racial trait which was clarified to not function with anything other than the sling.
Ammo Drop (Combat)
Source Halflings of Golarion pg. 23
Your coordination is so perfect that you can simply drop ammunition from your hand at the exact moment required for it to fall into an open sling as your twirl it around.
Prerequisites: Sleight of Hand 1 rank, proficient with sling.
Benefit: You can load a sling or one end of a double sling with one hand as a swift action or move action. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity.Juggle Load (Combat)
Source Halflings of Golarion pg. 23
Your fingers are so nimble that reloading your sling is almost effortless for you.
Prerequisites: Ammo Drop, Sleight of Hand 1 rank, proficient with sling.
Benefit: You can load a sling or double sling as a free action. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity. This feat allows you to fire your sling as many times in a full-attack action as you could attack if you were using a bow.
Rules questions are usually best served by asking them on the rules forums so they can be FAQed.
Pathfinder Society rulings are ALWAYS best served by asking them there, since more often than not, the way I'd rule things in my games would be far to permissive for PFS.
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Creative Director
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James, I have started a poll over in General:
How many rounds does a typical encounter last for your group?How many encounters per in-game "day"?
How many encounters per gaming session?
And for you devs:
How many of each do you design a AP for?
Finally do you mind if I include your answers in my poll?
I suppose 4 rounds.
Usually 4 to 6 encounters per day.
Usually 4 to 6 encounters per session (I generally run for 3-4 hours at a time).
How many of each what do I design an AP for?
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Creative Director
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Dear Mr. Jacobs,
My Burnt Offerings Campaign is going quite well, especially with all the excellent advice and help you've given in this thread. Every session, I find things to tweak and that I can do better, and my players do nothing but praise, it's awesome.
With the Plot twist cards, I'm having a hard time making them have a real impact during combat, I have to change gears from tactical logic to creative think on my feet. Can you give some examples of how you and your players have used them?
Well... assuming the players don't just use them for the specific game effect option on the card, I generally try to make the use of a plot twist card be VERY impactful on the player character's storyline.
For example... one of my players is playing a tiefling who is being pursued by agents from Hell. He got in a fight and was reduced to 0 hit points. He ran around the corner to get away from the bandits, and things were looking pretty dire, so he played a plot twist card. I can't remember which card it was... but it was the one with the grim reaper on it.
He basically said, "Something from my past that I'd rather not catch up with me does so, and in a way that gets me back to positive hit points."
So, I had a creepy devil pop in next to him. The devil said, "Ah ha... there you are! We've been looking for you! It's not time for you to die yet. I need to speak to the MASTER to see what we need to do to you, so you'll see me soon enough. For now... enjoy a little bit more life!" And the devil gave him fast healing 1 for 4 rounds.
James, I have started a poll over in General:
How many rounds does a typical encounter last for your group?How many encounters per in-game "day"?
How many encounters per gaming session?
And for you devs:
How many of each do you design a AP for?
Finally do you mind if I include your answers in my poll?
I suppose 4 rounds.
Usually 4 to 6 encounters per day.
Usually 4 to 6 encounters per session (I generally run for 3-4 hours at a time).
How many of each what do I design an AP for?
Ah, apparently that last question was poorly worded.
In a AP you design or help design- how many rounds do you plan typical encounter lasting?
How many encounters per "game day" ?
Do you mind if I quote you?
Mr. James Jacobs,
What is your favorite name for a female game character name? Preferable one that you haven't used already.
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Creative Director
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Ah, apparently that last question was poorly worded.In a AP you design or help design- how many rounds do you plan typical encounter lasting?
How many encounters per "game day" ?
Do you mind if I quote you?
Ah. I don't plan for a typical encounter lasting any amount of time at all, frankly. They'll last as long as they need to.
As for "per game day," the game assumes that the PCs will encounter 4-6 encounters of their APL per day but that really can vary. If your group is more into doing 1 big encounter a day... that encounter should be longer with multiple "waves" of foes.
And quote away!
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Creative Director
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Mr. James Jacobs,
What is your favorite name for a female game character name? Preferable one that you haven't used already.
I don't have a favorite name I haven't used yet, because I haven't invented the names I haven't used for my character.
My current favorite is "Shensen" though. Second favorite is probably "Bezlarue."
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Creative Director
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With the new Golarion FAQ added under your oversight. I was hoping to get an official clarification on an issue for Society play.
Do the feats Ammo Drop and Juggle Load, from Halflings of Golarion, work with the Halfling Sling Staff, and other sling weapons not specifically listed in the feat's description? They share similar language to the Halfling's Warslinger racial trait which was clarified to not function with anything other than the sling.
Ammo Drop (Combat)
Source Halflings of Golarion pg. 23
Your coordination is so perfect that you can simply drop ammunition from your hand at the exact moment required for it to fall into an open sling as your twirl it around.
Prerequisites: Sleight of Hand 1 rank, proficient with sling.
Benefit: You can load a sling or one end of a double sling with one hand as a swift action or move action. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity.Juggle Load (Combat)
Source Halflings of Golarion pg. 23
Your fingers are so nimble that reloading your sling is almost effortless for you.
Prerequisites: Ammo Drop, Sleight of Hand 1 rank, proficient with sling.
Benefit: You can load a sling or double sling as a free action. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity. This feat allows you to fire your sling as many times in a full-attack action as you could attack if you were using a bow.
Rules questions are usually best served by asking them on the rules forums so they can be FAQed.
Pathfinder Society rulings are ALWAYS best served by asking them there, since more often than not, the way I'd rule things in my games would be far to permissive for PFS.
I have had a thread going for this in the Rules forum for a while - Sling Feat FAQ Request Thread.
However the Pathfinder Design Team posted this The Rules FAQ, and How to Use It Sticky Thread. The last entry, What is the Golarion FAQ? says - The design team’s area of interest is the Pathfinder RPG product line (Core Rulebook, Bestiary, Advanced Player’s Guide, and so on), but Paizo publishes content (both rules and flavor) specifically for its Golarion setting. The Golarion FAQ is for questions about Paizo-published content from source other than the Pathfinder RPG line: the Pathfinder Companions, Pathfinder Modules, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, and so on. Creative Director James Jacobs posts answers to the Golarion FAQ.
The two feats come from a Player Companion book, and falls under this new FAQ category.
Doesn't make a difference, frankly. If it's a rules question, it needs to be in a rules forum to be FAQed. I'll then get to it later in the proper FAQ answering format.
And further... exact rulings for PFS play should come from Mike Brock and his team.
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Creative Director
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Have you seen this poster for, if I've understood things correctly, a Pathfinder convention in Singapore?
I haven't, nor am I sure what that convention's for...
Can a greater deity like Torag or Gorum kill a Great Old One?
Who's decision was it to make them unkillable via normal means?
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Creative Director
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Can a greater deity like Torag or Gorum kill a Great Old One?
Who's decision was it to make them unkillable via normal means?
There's no such thing as a "greater deity" in Pathfinder. Just deities. And they can do things mortals can't. Whether or not they can permanently destroy a Great Old One though is unrevealed.
It was my decision to make them unkillable via normal means. You shouldn't be able to kill something like Hastur or Cthulhu... just slow them down.
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I was initially wroth with your decision, to be honest. It felt like needless pandering to a fanbase I've grown to increasingly dislike due to their general attitude towards other genres and other works of fiction. Right now, I don't care enough to make a bigger fuss about it (doesn't mean I agree with the decision) since a given DM can always overlook that specific rule if it makes the game more fun for the players. Considering Golarion canon, even Cthulhu is going to be eaten by Rovagug when the end times come, and he's the only "unbeatable" boss I'd accept as DM or as a player.
Now that we've gotten that topic more or less out of the way, time for a question. What's your opinion on Kthanid?
Mr. James Jacobs,
What is your favorite name for a female game character name? Preferable one that you haven't used already.
I don't have a favorite name I haven't used yet, because I haven't invented the names I haven't used for my character.
My current favorite is "Shensen" though. Second favorite is probably "Bezlarue."
O.k. different approach. I am sketching out a campaign and I was going to name one of the characters in respects to you. So what would you name this character? who is plot important and has at least two things to her that are on the list of things you find interesting.
Question: When reading the Great Old One's unspeakable presence, how does the aura activate? Is it like frightful presence, which can be activated as part of any attack or charge attack? Or is it a one-and-done deal the first time a creature enters the aura's area of effect?
Are there anymore Biggest Bads the levels of Tar-Baphon or Nex in the Inner Sea we haven't been introduced to yet, or have the region shaking enemies already all been revealed?
Why did y'all stop doing the cool thing in the AP bestiaries where you were going to keep taking a classic creature and make a new entry for it with new alternate abilities, etc? (there was the animated object, and maybe zombies, then you just kind of stopped) I loved that idea.
Also, you prob get asked this all the time. But will there ever be an epic level rules book?
I love that we get a Worldwound and Osirion AP back to back. You guys are awesome!
Hi James.
I have a question regarding bestiaries, which has been an issue that has come up a few times on the board.
Will monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary (or any future campaign specific Bestiary volume) get reprinted in a hardcover, rule-book line bestiary?
I have been assuming no, as the Inner Sea Bestiary is a dedicated bestiary book, and personally as someone who owns it, would rather not see it become redundant. But some people have mentioned a desire to see stuff from there reprinted, so I thought you would be the person to ask.
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Creative Director
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I was initially wroth with your decision, to be honest. It felt like needless pandering to a fanbase I've grown to increasingly dislike due to their general attitude towards other genres and other works of fiction. Right now, I don't care enough to make a bigger fuss about it (doesn't mean I agree with the decision) since a given DM can always overlook that specific rule if it makes the game more fun for the players. Considering Golarion canon, even Cthulhu is going to be eaten by Rovagug when the end times come, and he's the only "unbeatable" boss I'd accept as DM or as a player.
Now that we've gotten that topic more or less out of the way, time for a question. What's your opinion on Kthanid?
I'm sorry it felt like pandering. It wasn't. It was keepin in line with a lot of the themes of the Mythos; these entities are intended to be powerful, and even in the stories Lovecraft wrote, death doesn't kill them. It just slows them down. That's why getting decapitated by a ship didn't kill Cthulhu in Lovecraft's "Call of Cthulhu." As with EVERYTHING in a pen and paper RPG game, you can change what you want for your home game. That's one of the ways pen and paper RPGs are still miles ahead of video game RPGs, frankly.
But the decision to make the Great Old Ones "unkillable" wasn't pandering at all. It was, if anything, inspired by how the tarrasque is unkillable.
Not a fan of Kthanid at all. In fact, Kthanid might be my LEAST FAVORITE creation by a well-established mythos writer.
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Creative Director
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O.k. different approach. I am sketching out a campaign and I was going to name one of the characters in respects to you. So what would you name this character? who is plot important and has at least two things to her that are on the list of things you find interesting.Mr. James Jacobs,
What is your favorite name for a female game character name? Preferable one that you haven't used already.
I don't have a favorite name I haven't used yet, because I haven't invented the names I haven't used for my character.
My current favorite is "Shensen" though. Second favorite is probably "Bezlarue."
Ha! Okay then...
Ummm... Hm. Naming the character after one of my characters won't work? (Shensen, Rowyn, Tyralandi, Bezlarue, and Sasha would all work there.) Beyond that... I'm still not sure what you're looking for... sorry.
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Creative Director
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Question: When reading the Great Old One's unspeakable presence, how does the aura activate? Is it like frightful presence, which can be activated as part of any attack or charge attack? Or is it a one-and-done deal the first time a creature enters the aura's area of effect?
It doesn't "activate." It's always on. It affects a person when that person sees or hears the Great Old One. The Great Old One doesn't have to take any action to turn on their Unspeakable Presence. It just does its thing automatically.
The ability is a nod to how in the RPG "Call of Cthulhu" that monsters cause Sanity damage.
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Creative Director
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Why did y'all stop doing the cool thing in the AP bestiaries where you were going to keep taking a classic creature and make a new entry for it with new alternate abilities, etc? (there was the animated object, and maybe zombies, then you just kind of stopped) I loved that idea.
Also, you prob get asked this all the time. But will there ever be an epic level rules book?
I love that we get a Worldwound and Osirion AP back to back. You guys are awesome!
We never stopped that. I wasn't aware it was ever a tradition, though. We'll do it again when it makes sense.
And Mythic Adventures is our solution and version of the Epic Level book. We have no plans to ever expand the game's level limit beyond 20th.
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Creative Director
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Hi James.
I have a question regarding bestiaries, which has been an issue that has come up a few times on the board.
Will monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary (or any future campaign specific Bestiary volume) get reprinted in a hardcover, rule-book line bestiary?
I have been assuming no, as the Inner Sea Bestiary is a dedicated bestiary book, and personally as someone who owns it, would rather not see it become redundant. But some people have mentioned a desire to see stuff from there reprinted, so I thought you would be the person to ask.
We have no plans at this point to "graduate" the monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary into one of the world-neutral Bestiary hardcovers. The whole POINT of the Inner Sea Bestiary, after all, was to publish monsters who I felt would be diminished by losing their ties to Golarion. There are a few creatures in there (the psychopomps and the vampire) who would survive that transition okay... but most of them would lose too much interesting flavor if we had to strip out the world-specific content, I think.
But never say never. A lot can change or happen over the passage of years. But at this point... the plan is to not reprint them. Once Inner Sea Bestiary goes out of print... we'll make some decisions then, and as far as I know... we're still quite a ways away from that.
Are there anymore Biggest Bads the levels of Tar-Baphon or Nex in the Inner Sea we haven't been introduced to yet, or have the region shaking enemies already all been revealed?Yes. They're still pretty secret though.
Awesome.
So I know that the Numeria AP came about partly because Rasputin Must Die did so well. Are there any things you're currently "testing" to guage reaction that may affect future APs?
If Wrath of the Righteous goes well, will we be able to expect some more classic story lines in the future? I'm a sucker for being big damn heroes.
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Are there anymore Biggest Bads the levels of Tar-Baphon or Nex in the Inner Sea we haven't been introduced to yet, or have the region shaking enemies already all been revealed?Yes. They're still pretty secret though.Awesome.
So I know that the Numeria AP came about partly because Rasputin Must Die did so well. Are there any things you're currently "testing" to guage reaction that may affect future APs?
If Wrath of the Righteous goes well, will we be able to expect some more classic story lines in the future? I'm a sucker for being big damn heroes.
We're always testing and gauging reactions for future Adventure Paths.
And if "kill the ancient mummy overlord" isn't a classic storyline... I'm not sure what is?
Or if you meant to ask "Storylines for good guys" then yes... to a certain extent ALL of our APs are for the good guys. But another one that's as tailored for good as Wrath? Probably some day, yes.
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Creative Director
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They didn't have aligment restrictions.James, what do you think of the way Clerics were handled in Eberron?I have no memories of that at all, frankly. But judging how pretty much everything else was handled in Eberron, I doubt I was a fan.
Lame.
Question: When reading the Great Old One's unspeakable presence, how does the aura activate? Is it like frightful presence, which can be activated as part of any attack or charge attack? Or is it a one-and-done deal the first time a creature enters the aura's area of effect?It doesn't "activate." It's always on. It affects a person when that person sees or hears the Great Old One. The Great Old One doesn't have to take any action to turn on their Unspeakable Presence. It just does its thing automatically.
The ability is a nod to how in the RPG "Call of Cthulhu" that monsters cause Sanity damage.
Right, but the essence of my question was, "Do you need to save against unspeakable presence each round, or is it one and done?"
For example, every round do I need to save or die against Cthulhu's unspeakable presence, or does that save need to be made the first time I enter the aura's area of effect and never again unless I leave and re-enter the presence?
Are there any plans/desire to release an Inner Sea Bestiary II?
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Question: When reading the Great Old One's unspeakable presence, how does the aura activate? Is it like frightful presence, which can be activated as part of any attack or charge attack? Or is it a one-and-done deal the first time a creature enters the aura's area of effect?It doesn't "activate." It's always on. It affects a person when that person sees or hears the Great Old One. The Great Old One doesn't have to take any action to turn on their Unspeakable Presence. It just does its thing automatically.
The ability is a nod to how in the RPG "Call of Cthulhu" that monsters cause Sanity damage.
Right, but the essence of my question was, "Do you need to save against unspeakable presence each round, or is it one and done?"
For example, every round do I need to save or die against Cthulhu's unspeakable presence, or does that save need to be made the first time I enter the aura's area of effect and never again unless I leave and re-enter the presence?
Yup; every round you're in the area and continue to see or hear the Great Old One you need to save.
For Bokrug, that's not a big deal, since the effects of his Unspeakable Presence don't get worse once you save.
For Cthulhu, that does mean that you need to save each round to avoid dying.
For Hastur, it means that you do indeed have a good chance of remaining confused for some time.
Round three! The character would be a succubus who is sent as an envoy of the Demons, either specifically Lamashtu, Nocticula, or one of the more prominent demon lords, to the Characters. She's there to prvide information, work with them at times, and to tempt them into joining the demon side in the current Qlippoth-Demon war. Will eventually have class levels and mythic tiers. She'll obfuscate her true intentions by being surprisingly frank and "Honest" in other areas of her interactions with the heroes.
O.k. different approach. I am sketching out a campaign and I was going to name one of the characters in respects to you. So what would you name this character? who is plot important and has at least two things to her that are on the list of things you find interesting.Mr. James Jacobs,
What is your favorite name for a female game character name? Preferable one that you haven't used already.
I don't have a favorite name I haven't used yet, because I haven't invented the names I haven't used for my character.
My current favorite is "Shensen" though. Second favorite is probably "Bezlarue."
Ha! Okay then...
Ummm... Hm. Naming the character after one of my characters won't work? (Shensen, Rowyn, Tyralandi, Bezlarue, and Sasha would all work there.) Beyond that... I'm still not sure what you're looking for... sorry.
Hi James.
I have a question regarding bestiaries, which has been an issue that has come up a few times on the board.
Will monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary (or any future campaign specific Bestiary volume) get reprinted in a hardcover, rule-book line bestiary?
I have been assuming no, as the Inner Sea Bestiary is a dedicated bestiary book, and personally as someone who owns it, would rather not see it become redundant. But some people have mentioned a desire to see stuff from there reprinted, so I thought you would be the person to ask.
We have no plans at this point to "graduate" the monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary into one of the world-neutral Bestiary hardcovers. The whole POINT of the Inner Sea Bestiary, after all, was to publish monsters who I felt would be diminished by losing their ties to Golarion. There are a few creatures in there (the psychopomps and the vampire) who would survive that transition okay... but most of them would lose too much interesting flavor if we had to strip out the world-specific content, I think.
But never say never. A lot can change or happen over the passage of years. But at this point... the plan is to not reprint them. Once Inner Sea Bestiary goes out of print... we'll make some decisions then, and as far as I know... we're still quite a ways away from that.
I hope to see some of the animals in the Inner Sea Bestiary ported. Like the scarab.
Earlier you mentioned some of the general themes for the Iron Gods AP being science vs. faith, artificial intelligence, the Technic League, and other things. What are the general themes for the Mummy's Mask AP?
If you had to pick one movie that best represents Golarion and Pathfinder, which would you pick and why?
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Creative Director
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I hope to see some of the animals in the Inner Sea Bestiary ported. Like the scarab.Hi James.
I have a question regarding bestiaries, which has been an issue that has come up a few times on the board.
Will monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary (or any future campaign specific Bestiary volume) get reprinted in a hardcover, rule-book line bestiary?
I have been assuming no, as the Inner Sea Bestiary is a dedicated bestiary book, and personally as someone who owns it, would rather not see it become redundant. But some people have mentioned a desire to see stuff from there reprinted, so I thought you would be the person to ask.
We have no plans at this point to "graduate" the monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary into one of the world-neutral Bestiary hardcovers. The whole POINT of the Inner Sea Bestiary, after all, was to publish monsters who I felt would be diminished by losing their ties to Golarion. There are a few creatures in there (the psychopomps and the vampire) who would survive that transition okay... but most of them would lose too much interesting flavor if we had to strip out the world-specific content, I think.
But never say never. A lot can change or happen over the passage of years. But at this point... the plan is to not reprint them. Once Inner Sea Bestiary goes out of print... we'll make some decisions then, and as far as I know... we're still quite a ways away from that.
Why? I mean... reprinting them doesn't make those stats any more open content than they already are. Do you just want them to be on the official PRD?
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Earlier you mentioned some of the general themes for the Iron Gods AP being science vs. faith, artificial intelligence, the Technic League, and other things. What are the general themes for the Mummy's Mask AP?
That's a better question for Rob. I'm really not all that involved in that AP.
We have no plans at this point to "graduate" the monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary into one of the world-neutral Bestiary hardcovers. The whole POINT of the Inner Sea Bestiary, after all, was to publish monsters who I felt would be diminished by losing their ties to Golarion. There are a few creatures in there (the psychopomps and the vampire) who would survive that transition okay... but most of them would lose too much interesting flavor if we had to strip out the world-specific content, I think.
But never say never. A lot can change or happen over the passage of years. But at this point... the plan is to not reprint them. Once Inner Sea Bestiary goes out of print... we'll make some decisions then, and as far as I know... we're still quite a ways away from that.
If an Advanced Race Guide II were ever published, I could see the Android, Ghoran, and Monkey Goblin surviving into that book okay. Android most of all, as the concept of an android is one that is fairly universal and easy to understand and implement elsewhere. Of course, adding the android to the Core Rules could be another gunslinger in terms of, "Get yer Sci-Fi outta my fantasy!"
Why? I mean... reprinting them doesn't make those stats any more open content than they already are. Do you just want them to be on the official PRD?
Speaking as a 3PP, having things reprinted in the Core Rulebook line is very helpful. We're unable to cite products that aren't included in the Core Rulebook line, after all.
For example, one of our spirits in Pact Magic Unbound, Vol 1 has a Seven Elements theme and when writing the product, I wanted the seventh element to be Void. One of the spirit's granted abilities allows the binder to cast low-level spells from various wizard elementalist schools, but after consulting Vic Wertz I was disappointed to learn that I wasn't able to cite Dragon Empires Primer in my product as the source of the void school; effectively I had to either not refer to the school's source, write my own knock-off of the elemental school and refer to that, or rewrite the ability entirely.
I don't know if that's why Odraude is hoping those critters will graduate, but increasing the pool of referable content for 3PPs is certainly a very valid reason to do so.