Creative Director
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In conversation with a friend of mine about a PDF full of archetyps I wrote recently being published, there was a bit of a disagreement. It was mostly about how one of the archetypes dealt with ranged weapon penalties in aquatic environments.
They ended up saying that I (though it probably could be inferred that could have meant all 3PP writers,) shouldn't write anything for areas of the rules that Paizo hasn't already addressed. Basically they were saying that I shouldn't have written anything related to ranged attacks underwater because Paizo hasn't written anything about them.
This raised a very interesting question.
Should anyone outside of Paizo address areas of the game that haven't been addressed by Paizo?
For example, currently there are no core feats, class abilities, spells, or magic items that address ranged attacks underwater and the penalties associated with them. Should 3PP wait for Paizo to do something with those rules before making feats, class abilities, or spells of their own that do?
We can't publish every possible version of every possible rule. It's just not possible. One of the HUGE ADVANTAGES of the open gaming license is that we don't have to. The whole world can help make the game better, and gamers can pick and choose which solutions work best for their tables.
Third party publishers shouldn't wait for any other publisher, Paizo included, to try to be first to detail a new rule. That said, all publishers (us included) need to be comfortable with the fact that different versions of the rules will exist... and due to Paizo's huge popularity, that means 3PP have to accept the fact that their products are (at least for the time being, fair or not) going to be overshadowed by our products. That won't always be the case, of course. Paizo was the underdog in another company's shadow once... and we're not gonna stay king of the tabletop RPG hill forever!
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Definitely someone who has NOT read Elfquest. :)So you've said earlier in this thread that you've read Elfquest. Was WaRP's depiction of the elves, quite distinct from the traditional tolkien-style elves?
Actually... the fact that Elfquest has lots of female elf characters with important speaking roles that impact the story's plot directly means they are VERY distinct from Tolkien-style elves.
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Thanks for answering my last batch of questions James...
You mention the Dragon Empires Gazeteer was the toughest product you worked on before Wrath of the Righteous. Can you explain in more detail why it was so difficult? Was it just the challenge of inventing an entire continents worth of nations in a short time?
It was difficult because I had to build an entire campaign setting that was based on a lot of material that a lot of gamers are REALLY passionate about and REALLY picky about and REALLY opinionated about, while at the same time one that needed to be more diverse than other incarnations of similar settings—AKA there's more to fantasy Asia than fantasy Japan.
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
A few questions about Golarion's afterlife/the Great Beyond.
1) How much does the average Commoner know about what happens to his soul after death?
2) How much does the average diabolist/demoniac know? Would they be privy to any or all of the information in the Books of the Damned?
It seems like like it'd be a poor choice to ally with the greater planar evils if you knew your ultimate fate in the lower planes. What good is all that power as a mortal if you know that your soul would wind up used for mortar in the walls of Dis or in the lunch pail of a daemon lord?
1) Very, very little, if anything at all. What he does know is probably confusion or lies or misplaced beliefs or unfounded hopes taken from half-heard philosophic discussions.
2) More, but he would not be privy to all the information in the books of the damned. Remember... what the GM knows (aka what's in a book like that) is more than what the gods in the setting know.
It only takes ONE soul being rewarded for being super evil and being immediately ascended to the role of a powerful outsider to set a precedent, and that's all that's needed for all the other minions of hopefuls to follow in the footsteps of that one soul.
It only takes ONE soul being rewarded for being super evil and being immediately ascended to the role of a powerful outsider to set a precedent, and that's all that's needed for all the other minions of hopefuls to follow in the footsteps of that one soul.
Like people willing to make less money at crime than they would at McJobs because of the one successful crime boss with the blinged-out Hummer?
While we're talking about mortal knowledge of the afterlife, how much does the average empyreal mystery cultist know? Those ranks in Knowledge (planes) needed for the celestial obedience ought to help.
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Creative Director
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where do you get your dinosaur fossils? i don't have the money to splurge on things like this at the moment but i would love to have some one day...I collect dinosaur stuff...Everything from books to fossils to replica fossils to art to minis to toys to more.
So far, they've all been gifts. I don't own many of them yet either.
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Creative Director
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It only takes ONE soul being rewarded for being super evil and being immediately ascended to the role of a powerful outsider to set a precedent, and that's all that's needed for all the other minions of hopefuls to follow in the footsteps of that one soul.Like people willing to make less money at crime than they would at McJobs because of the one successful crime boss with the blinged-out Hummer?
While we're talking about mortal knowledge of the afterlife, how much does the average empyreal mystery cultist know? Those ranks in Knowledge (planes) needed for the celestial obedience ought to help.
What allows you to know about how the afterlife works is a combination of personal experience and ranks in both Knowledge (religion) and Knowledge (planes). Who you worship and all that is largely irrelevant. And it's probably a pretty high check to know about the afterlife as well.
The average empyreal mystery cultist, in other words, knows as much as any average religious character, since they'll all on average have the same skill in those Knowledge skills.
I'm a bit confused on the rules for haunts. Hopefully you can clear them up a bit for me.
1. Assuming no one notices the haunt, after it has done its intended effect on Initiative 10, does it stick around? i.e. If they miss the surprise round, is there any way for players to use positive energy to damage the haunt?
2. What are the methods for players to determine how to destroy a haunt? Is it a religion check? Would they maybe have to search for clues as to how to destroy the haunt?
Dear James Jacobs,
I have three questions about Chelish society and military:
1) I got my first level in Hellknight Signifer! I joined the Order of the Rack just because their favored weapon was longsword. All I know about the Order of the Rack is that they think that knowledge can be as harmful as violence and that they seek to eradicate it. I also know that they try to get rid of revolutionary idealisms in Westcrown and it's outskirts, but is there any more about the Order of the Rack that you can tell me?
2) Can you name some Chelish operas? The only one I know is "The Hellknights are Victorious" (or something like that), but are there any others that you know?
3) Can you (Paizo) PLEASE make some Chelish opera sheet music for violin and voice?! It would be SOOO cool to be able to play a Chelish opera on my violin and say that that's the music from the infernal nation of Cheliax!
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Creative Director
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I'm a bit confused on the rules for haunts. Hopefully you can clear them up a bit for me.
1. Assuming no one notices the haunt, after it has done its intended effect on Initiative 10, does it stick around? i.e. If they miss the surprise round, is there any way for players to use positive energy to damage the haunt?
2. What are the methods for players to determine how to destroy a haunt? Is it a religion check? Would they maybe have to search for clues as to how to destroy the haunt?
1) Only if it's a persistent haunt does it stick around. If it's a regular haunt, it does its thing at Initiative rank 10 and then goes away until it recharges. That does mean that if it gets the drop on the party and does its thing, the PCs can't stop it... but then, since it's not persistent, and doesn't stick around to do its thing again, there's no reason for the PCs to stop it, since it stopped itself.
2) A religion check works... but for the most part they should be handled as mini-mysteries that the PCs have to deduce by investigating the haunt and exploring and all of that, combined with numerous skill checks to piece together the clues as needed.
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Creative Director
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Dear James Jacobs,
I have three questions about Chelish society and military:
1) I got my first level in Hellknight Signifer! I joined the Order of the Rack just because their favored weapon was longsword. All I know about the Order of the Rack is that they think that knowledge can be as harmful as violence and that they seek to eradicate it. I also know that they try to get rid of revolutionary idealisms in Westcrown and it's outskirts, but is there any more about the Order of the Rack that you can tell me?
2) Can you name some Chelish operas? The only one I know is "The Hellknights are Victorious" (or something like that), but are there any others that you know?
3) Can you (Paizo) PLEASE make some Chelish opera sheet music for violin and voice?! It would be SOOO cool to be able to play a Chelish opera on my violin and say that that's the music from the infernal nation of Cheliax!
1) Not that I can tell you; I don't really keep all the Hellknight info in my head. We've written about all the orders quite a lot—Inner Sea World Guide is a great place to start though.
2) Not off the top of my head. There's "The Six Trials of Larazod," but that's not an opera—that's a play.
3) That's pretty far out of our range of skills to create or edit, as it works out. A better bet would be to seek out a Pathfinder fan who's also an Opera singer/writer and ask them for help.
Dear James Jacobs,
Can you only get character traits at the beginning of a campaign? How do you get traits after level one without using the additional traits feat?
Dear James Jacobs,
Can you only get character traits at the beginning of a campaign? How do you get traits after level one without using the additional traits feat?
And sorry to bother you again, but what is telepathy? I saw it in the diabolic harbinger ability for the hellknight signifer, and I can't find the rules for it anywhere. Also, can you tell me which book I could find the rules for telepathy in?
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Creative Director
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Dear James Jacobs,
Can you only get character traits at the beginning of a campaign? How do you get traits after level one without using the additional traits feat?
You get 2 character traits at the start of the campaign; they're meant to spur creativity in building your character's background, after all, and as such they don't really make a LOT of sense to gain at a later point.
That said... the feat "Additional Traits" allows you to gain more at later dates.
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Creative Director
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And sorry to bother you again, but what is telepathy? I saw it in the diabolic harbinger ability for the hellknight signifer, and I can't find the rules for it anywhere. Also, can you tell me which book I could find the rules for telepathy in?Dear James Jacobs,
Can you only get character traits at the beginning of a campaign? How do you get traits after level one without using the additional traits feat?
Telepathy is the ability to speak to other creatures via mental communication. It's a universal monster ability. Rules can be found on page 305 of the Bestiary.
My GM decided to use Mythic rules in Legacy of Fire (we currently have 1 Mythic Tier).
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Dear James Jacobs,
I have three questions about Chelish society and military:
1) I got my first level in Hellknight Signifer! I joined the Order of the Rack just because their favored weapon was longsword. All I know about the Order of the Rack is that they think that knowledge can be as harmful as violence and that they seek to eradicate it. I also know that they try to get rid of revolutionary idealisms in Westcrown and it's outskirts, but is there any more about the Order of the Rack that you can tell me?
2) Can you name some Chelish operas? The only one I know is "The Hellknights are Victorious" (or something like that), but are there any others that you know?
3) Can you (Paizo) PLEASE make some Chelish opera sheet music for violin and voice?! It would be SOOO cool to be able to play a Chelish opera on my violin and say that that's the music from the infernal nation of Cheliax!
1) Not that I can tell you; I don't really keep all the Hellknight info in my head. We've written about all the orders quite a lot—Inner Sea World Guide is a great place to start though.
2) Not off the top of my head. There's "The Six Trials of Larazod," but that's not an opera—that's a play.
3) That's pretty far out of our range of skills to create or edit, as it works out. A better bet would be to seek out a Pathfinder fan who's also an Opera singer/writer and ask them for help.
Devil's Trill would be a good starting place, it's an awesome composition. And has a nice story behind it.
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Creative Director
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My GM decided to use Mythic rules in Legacy of Fire (we currently have 1 Mythic Tier).
** spoiler omitted **
Whether or not something like that makes sense depends on where the GM wants to go with the story. ANYTHING can be made to make sense, in other words, if you make the story MAKE it make sense.
It was difficult because I had to build an entire campaign setting that was based on a lot of material that a lot of gamers are REALLY passionate about and REALLY picky about and REALLY opinionated about, while at the same time one that needed to be more diverse than other incarnations of similar settings—AKA there's more to fantasy Asia than fantasy Japan.Thanks for answering my last batch of questions James...
You mention the Dragon Empires Gazeteer was the toughest product you worked on before Wrath of the Righteous. Can you explain in more detail why it was so difficult? Was it just the challenge of inventing an entire continents worth of nations in a short time?
I figured that. By the way, thanks for actually taking the time and actually producing a Faux-Asia setting as diverse as the Dragon Empires. I have been endlessly annoyed by just that problem you mention...The Asian setting which just translates as Imperial China or Feudal Japan. Tian Xia is the first setting inspired by Asia that actually feels real and well thought out.
Whether or not something like that makes sense depends on where the GM wants to go with the story. ANYTHING can be made to make sense, in other words, if you make the story MAKE it make sense.My GM decided to use Mythic rules in Legacy of Fire (we currently have 1 Mythic Tier).
** spoiler omitted **
Can you tell me what his personality was or is like? I haven't talked to my GM about this yet, but I suspect he hasn't even considered it. I'd like to give him a starting point to build off of. I've asked him stuff like this before, but he said the books were pretty vague about it (I'm guessing to let the GM make it up himself).
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I'm aware you didn't write the rules. That's why I asked for your perspective as a player/GM, since I didn't want to sound like I was accusing you of making rules I didn't like or something. Sorry if it came across that way. What about the other rules, like the attribute penalties and stuff? What, in your opinion, are the most important things that are there to keep to differentiate a Young character from an adult? The addition of PC classes doesn't unbalance things mechanically, in your opinion?I think the attribute penalties are pretty spot on. The addition of PC classes doesn't unbalance a thing. I suspect part of the reason that young characters weren't part of the game before was that publishers were timid about the whole "putting children in danger" scene that seems to make RPG publishers nervous.
See your point. Cool.
Would it be possible for a LG and a CG person to fall in love? How would the relationship dynamic work?
What make Areelu Vorlesh tick? While she is a solid antagonist in Wrath of the Righteous, the PCs really don't get to know her the way they get to know, say, Ileosa Arabasti, Adivion Adrissant, or Barnabus Harrigan. She's a more distant, obscure foe. We know that she's the person who opened the Worldwound, that she was imprisoned for her arcane magic in Threshold, and that she's loyal to Deskari, but that's pretty much it. Why did she seek Deskari in the first place? What does she get out of serving him? Power? Revenge? Just religious fanaticism? I just feel like the PCs don't get insights into Wrath of the Righteous' villains the same way they do in other campaigns.
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Creative Director
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Can you tell me what his personality was or is like? I haven't talked to my GM about this yet, but I suspect he hasn't even considered it. I'd like to give him a starting point to build off of. I've asked him stuff like this before, but he said the books were pretty vague about it (I'm guessing to let the GM make it up himself).Whether or not something like that makes sense depends on where the GM wants to go with the story. ANYTHING can be made to make sense, in other words, if you make the story MAKE it make sense.My GM decided to use Mythic rules in Legacy of Fire (we currently have 1 Mythic Tier).
** spoiler omitted **
I'm hesitant to say much for fear of accidentally spoiling something, alas...
I'm hesitant to say much for fear of accidentally spoiling something, alas...Can you tell me what his personality was or is like? I haven't talked to my GM about this yet, but I suspect he hasn't even considered it. I'd like to give him a starting point to build off of. I've asked him stuff like this before, but he said the books were pretty vague about it (I'm guessing to let the GM make it up himself).Whether or not something like that makes sense depends on where the GM wants to go with the story. ANYTHING can be made to make sense, in other words, if you make the story MAKE it make sense.My GM decided to use Mythic rules in Legacy of Fire (we currently have 1 Mythic Tier).
** spoiler omitted **
We're nearing the end of the fourth book if that helps...
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Creative Director
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Would it be possible for a LG and a CG person to fall in love? How would the relationship dynamic work?What make Areelu Vorlesh tick? While she is a solid antagonist in Wrath of the Righteous, the PCs really don't get to know her the way they get to know, say, Ileosa Arabasti, Adivion Adrissant, or Barnabus Harrigan. She's a more distant, obscure foe. We know that she's the person who opened the Worldwound, that she was imprisoned for her arcane magic in Threshold, and that she's loyal to Deskari, but that's pretty much it. Why did she seek Deskari in the first place? What does she get out of serving him? Power? Revenge? Just religious fanaticism? I just feel like the PCs don't get insights into Wrath of the Righteous' villains the same way they do in other campaigns.
Absolutely. Love doesn't care about alignment. Any combination works. The more opposed an alignment pair is, the more likely it'll end up having one person switch to the other I guess over time.
What makes Areelu tick is...
But yeah... the focus for Wrath of the Righteous shifted significantly toward ally NPCs for a lot of it. That was a conscious decision.
Would Shelyn allow a non-worshiper into her divine realm so they could stay with their loved one in the afterlife?
What sort of presence, if any, does Szuriel have on Akiton?
TIA
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Would it be possible for a LG and a CG person to fall in love? How would the relationship dynamic work?What make Areelu Vorlesh tick? While she is a solid antagonist in Wrath of the Righteous, the PCs really don't get to know her the way they get to know, say, Ileosa Arabasti, Adivion Adrissant, or Barnabus Harrigan. She's a more distant, obscure foe. We know that she's the person who opened the Worldwound, that she was imprisoned for her arcane magic in Threshold, and that she's loyal to Deskari, but that's pretty much it. Why did she seek Deskari in the first place? What does she get out of serving him? Power? Revenge? Just religious fanaticism? I just feel like the PCs don't get insights into Wrath of the Righteous' villains the same way they do in other campaigns.
Absolutely. Love doesn't care about alignment. Any combination works. The more opposed an alignment pair is, the more likely it'll end up having one person switch to the other I guess over time.
What makes Areelu tick is... ** spoiler omitted **
But yeah... the focus for Wrath of the Righteous shifted significantly toward ally NPCs for a lot of it. That was a conscious decision.
And what amazing allies they are! Thanks for that AP, once again, as it is awesomesausages!
Hail mighty dire tyrannosaurus!
In book 3 of Wrath of Righteous it's hinted in Vang writing about the "preliminary plans for the creation of a Nahyndrian golem of incredible power". When I first read about it, I suspected that, in book 6, we would get said catastrophic machine. Instead we got a equally disturbing gargantuan angel powered construct called "devastator".
So ...
1) Why such foreshadowing was wasted?
2) If this mythic golem (made of cristallized demon lord's flesh) had been made, how should we imagine it? Would it be more "menasor", "bruticus" o "abominus" than "devastator"?
Regarding Young Characters, are they supposed to be a size smaller? ( I already asked in the rule question board, but...)
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Mr. Jacobs, I've got a question about some illusion spells if you dont mind. Just wanted your opinion as a GM on this.
In several illusions spells the s line that says 'sightless creatures are not effected by this spell'.
Its not under conditions, so I was wondering, what does 'sightless' mean in Pathfinder?
Would you call this is a fair statement? If you don't think its a fair statement, why not?
Pathfinder's version of the Blood War is essentially the Qlipploth/Demon wars over control of the Abyss, except that the latter race has already all but won those wars by driving the qlipploth into the deepest, most primordial layers of their home plane.
From what I understand, a given thread becomes unstable once it hits a massive number of posts, at least in Vbulletin. Does Paizo's software have a similar problem, or is that purely a Vbulletin thing? If so, what's the thread size at which this thread will finally start to be unstable?
Also, is there any chance of Paizo's forum software ever becoming commercially available?
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Creative Director
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Would Shelyn allow a non-worshiper into her divine realm so they could stay with their loved one in the afterlife?Or is that more Pharasma's choice? Or is it pretty much irrelevant since petitioners don't really remember their mortal lives that much, anyway?
It would be Shelyn's choice.
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Creative Director
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Hail mighty dire tyrannosaurus!
In book 3 of Wrath of Righteous it's hinted in Vang writing about the "preliminary plans for the creation of a Nahyndrian golem of incredible power". When I first read about it, I suspected that, in book 6, we would get said catastrophic machine. Instead we got a equally disturbing gargantuan angel powered construct called "devastator".
So ...
1) Why such foreshadowing was wasted?
2) If this mythic golem (made of cristallized demon lord's flesh) had been made, how should we imagine it? Would it be more "menasor", "bruticus" o "abominus" than "devastator"?
1) Not everything foreshadows anything. Vang hasn't managed to build that golem yet is all.
2) Worse than anyone could ever imagine!
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Creative Director
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Mr. Jacobs, I've got a question about some illusion spells if you dont mind. Just wanted your opinion as a GM on this.
In several illusions spells the s line that says 'sightless creatures are not effected by this spell'.
Its not under conditions, so I was wondering, what does 'sightless' mean in Pathfinder?
Sightless means creatures that can't see. Either because they've lost their sight or never had it in the first place. Monsters that are sightless generally have that mentioned in their defenses, but it also works for characters who simply close their eyes (which, if they don't have something like blindsense or blindsight or tremorsense, could be bad). It also won't affect creatures in darkness who can't see.
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Creative Director
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What does Sarenrae feel or think when her worshipers are killed in Taldor? and What does Sarenrae feel or think of her worshipers that support slavery in Qadira and The Empire of Kelesh?
Does Sarenrae have Agathion servants or just angels?
She is very frustrated at both, and hopes that someday soon her church will fix itself.
She has some agathion servants, yes.
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Creative Director
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Would you call this is a fair statement? If you don't think its a fair statement, why not?
Pathfinder's version of the Blood War is essentially the Qlipploth/Demon wars over control of the Abyss, except that the latter race has already all but won those wars by driving the qlipploth into the deepest, most primordial layers of their home plane.
I wouldn't say that's fair. The Blood War is about a lot more than just demons vs. devils, and the qlippoth vs. demon thing is really not all that reciprocated by the demons, nor are the qlippoth actually attacking demons themselves.