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3) Dunno. I wasn't involved in Arshea's creation. May have just been an oversight; does it specifically say no planar realm? If it doesn't say that, then there is one... we just haven't talked about it yet.Actually, Chronicle of the Righteous specifically says why Arshea has no planar realm. Arshea, being the blithe spirit of freedom he/she is, roves the cosmos and just crashes at any Empyreal Lord or god's pad she/he happens to be visiting at the time. Sometimes Arshea hangs out at Desna's place, sometimes crashing Cayden Cailean's party, sometimes in Ragathiel's fortress, sometimes in Sarenrae's realm, etc. Vildeis is another Empyreal Lord who does something similar, though for different reasons (she's on a constant, one angel crusade against the multiverse's evil, and thus doesn't have time to maintain a realm).
Huh. I answered a question by James. Where are the flying pigs?!
Have tomatoes been introduced to Avistan from Arcadia at this point in history?
Then there you go. Arshea doesn't have one.
There are tomatoes on Avistan, but they're not necessarily from Arcadia.
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Then where'd they originate? Tomatoes didn't show up in Europe until after the Colombian Exchange.
I'd honestly never given it a second's thought, since I've been more concerned with things like runelords and robots and dragons and demons and the like.
If I had to say today, right now, where tomatoes are from in Golarion, I'd probably say that, yes, they're from Arcadia. One of the reasons we use real-world analogs so often in this way is, in fact, to aid answering these kind of questions.
But since tomato origins haven't yet really played a key role in an adventure or story element... it's not something I've felt the need to nail down in print. If, at some point in the future, we DO need to know where they're from... we'll nail that down at that point, and it'll be 99% likely that it'll be Arcadia, but 1% likely they'll be from somewhere else so as to enable an intentionally unusual and unique tomato element to the world.
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but 1% likely they'll be from somewhere else so as to enable an intentionally unusual and unique tomato element to the world.
I know this is probably more of a 0.0001% chance, but sentient tomatoes from space, hitchhiking to earth on a crashed spaceship. Iron Gods supplementary dietary fibre? Please?
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Then where'd they originate? Tomatoes didn't show up in Europe until after the Colombian Exchange.I'd honestly never given it a second's thought, since I've been more concerned with things like runelords and robots and dragons and demons and the like.
If I had to say today, right now, where tomatoes are from in Golarion, I'd probably say that, yes, they're from Arcadia. One of the reasons we use real-world analogs so often in this way is, in fact, to aid answering these kind of questions.
But since tomato origins haven't yet really played a key role in an adventure or story element... it's not something I've felt the need to nail down in print. If, at some point in the future, we DO need to know where they're from... we'll nail that down at that point, and it'll be 99% likely that it'll be Arcadia, but 1% likely they'll be from somewhere else so as to enable an intentionally unusual and unique tomato element to the world.
I guess that's fair. You're writing stories, not textbooks.
Has familiarity with RPGs and stuff ever bred contempt for you? Has working to develop Golarion ever turned you off from playing/GMing it?
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1. Are there any resources that talk about theater and drama in Golarion? Theater and drama in Taldor specifically would be even better for my purposes.
2. Does Golarion have a Shakespeare equivalent? Are there any other important historical writers?
3. Are there any resources that go into great detail on General Arnisant, the Shining Crusade, and the Whispering Tyrant's defeat?
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but 1% likely they'll be from somewhere else so as to enable an intentionally unusual and unique tomato element to the world.I know this is probably more of a 0.0001% chance, but sentient tomatoes from space, hitchhiking to earth on a crashed spaceship. Iron Gods supplementary dietary fibre? Please?
I think you're VASTLY overestimating the chances there.
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Has familiarity with RPGs and stuff ever bred contempt for you? Has working to develop Golarion ever turned you off from playing/GMing it?
Nope. I try to keep constantly looking at new stuff and pushing my boundaries and playing the game and all of that to avoid becoming contemptuous. Cause once I do... I'd rather quit the industry than stay on and poison it.
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1. Are there any resources that talk about theater and drama in Golarion? Theater and drama in Taldor specifically would be even better for my purposes.
2. Does Golarion have a Shakespeare equivalent? Are there any other important historical writers?
3. Are there any resources that go into great detail on General Arnisant, the Shining Crusade, and the Whispering Tyrant's defeat?
1) The best bet at this point is Council of Thieves #2, which is all about a play and actually has the PCs taking part in the play. It's set in Cheliax though, so it's not all that Taldan.
2) The most famous playwright in Golarion is probably Merivesta Olinchi of Nex. She got herself assassinated during teh primere of her masterpiece, "The Conception Exception," back in 3923 AR.
3) Not really. There are bits and pieces scattered all over though.
James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?
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2. Does Golarion have a Shakespeare equivalent? Are there any other important historical writers?2) The most famous playwright in Golarion is probably Merivesta Olinchi of Nex. She got herself assassinated during teh primere of her masterpiece, "The Conception Exception," back in 3923 AR.
What was the play about that caused her to get assassinated?
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How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
Easy. By not doing a Star Wars game, and not wanting to make it feel like a Star Wars game.
Don't get me wrong. There IS a magical tech sword in the book. you can see the guy in the Inner Sea World Guide wielding it. But it's not a renamed light sabre.
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What was the play about that caused her to get assassinated?2. Does Golarion have a Shakespeare equivalent? Are there any other important historical writers?2) The most famous playwright in Golarion is probably Merivesta Olinchi of Nex. She got herself assassinated during teh primere of her masterpiece, "The Conception Exception," back in 3923 AR.
It cut a little TOO close to some unfortunate truths about a certain government. Not quite ready to say more about it yet...
Hello Mr. Jacobs! How are you this day?
I recently read some of your old Demonomicon of Iggwilv articles, and I was curious if there is a Pathfinder equivalent to Iggwilv?
Who is your favorite Adventure Path final villain (like Karzoug)?
Who is your favorite adventure villain (like Mokmurian)?
As always thank you for your time and for maintaining such a cool thread.
Hey James, hope you're doing well! Questions:
1) What 3 events (if you can think of that many) in your life do you wish you could observe from a third-person perspective where you could slow-down, pause, filter or otherwise manipulate? (For example, one of mine would be when the guitar in my room seemed to start strumming itself; I'd want to be able to see if there were ambient vibrations that caused it or something of that nature)
2) Have you ever had Lovecraftian dreams/nightmares before? How do they make you feel? Happy? Exhilarated? Scared?
2a) If you have, can you share one of them?
3) Have you ever had a lucid dream?
3a) If so (and if you want to share), what did you do in it?
4) What's the thing you most miss about being a kid?
Something a little less serious:
5) Do you enjoy guessing or predicting who would win in hypothetical fights between fictional characters from different media?
How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
Easy. By not doing a Star Wars game, and not wanting to make it feel like a Star Wars game.
Don't get me wrong. There IS a magical tech sword in the book. you can see the guy in the Inner Sea World Guide wielding it. But it's not a renamed light sabre.
I think you guys are shooting yourselves in the foot with that decision and you're going to receive a lot of flak over it. It's just, energy swords are so very prevalent in science fictions, it's almost a crime not to have them.
On that note, will it be possible for brilliant energy weapons to be able to deflect lasers if the character weilding it has the deflect arrows feat?
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I think you guys are shooting yourselves in the foot with that decision and you're going to receive a lot of flak over it. It's just, energy swords are so very prevalent in science fictions, it's almost a crime not to have them.How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
Easy. By not doing a Star Wars game, and not wanting to make it feel like a Star Wars game.
Don't get me wrong. There IS a magical tech sword in the book. you can see the guy in the Inner Sea World Guide wielding it. But it's not a renamed light sabre.
Not trying to split hairs here, but, a space opera might not necessarily be the type of sci fi they're trying to splice PF with in Iron Gods.
Not trying to split hairs here, but, a space opera might not necessarily be the type of sci fi they're trying to splice PF with in Iron Gods.I think you guys are shooting yourselves in the foot with that decision and you're going to receive a lot of flak over it. It's just, energy swords are so very prevalent in science fictions, it's almost a crime not to have them.How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
Easy. By not doing a Star Wars game, and not wanting to make it feel like a Star Wars game.
Don't get me wrong. There IS a magical tech sword in the book. you can see the guy in the Inner Sea World Guide wielding it. But it's not a renamed light sabre.
I understand your point, but I'm also looking at the technology that's already been published. The robots have force fields, laser canons, scorpion tailed plasma cannons and regenerating missiles. I don't think some sort of energy sword is out of line at all. It just strikes me as very, very odd that such a staple of science fiction is being excluded. Especially since the science fiction is being merged with sword and sorcery fantasy.
Blood transcription is an evil spell. My group and I have actually asked whether or not this is justified. Sure, drinking blood is gross and taboo, but the creature is a) dead already and/or b) evil. Additionally a good or neutral character could justify it as a necessary means to an altruistic goal (gaining a spell needed to save someone with it, for instance). What exactly is the reason behind this being an evil spell?
Are there any good liches or lich-like beings? Is it possible to become a lich or other undead without being evil? (I know of at least one sentient undead that wasn't evil from one of your single-module adventures.)
I think you're VASTLY overestimating the chances there.but 1% likely they'll be from somewhere else so as to enable an intentionally unusual and unique tomato element to the world.I know this is probably more of a 0.0001% chance, but sentient tomatoes from space, hitchhiking to earth on a crashed spaceship. Iron Gods supplementary dietary fibre? Please?
But so many of us have been clamoring for an Attack of the Killer Tomatoes homage in Iron Gods! ;-)
Have you seen this suspected Chupacabra?
The Deity doesn't consciously know, but the subconscious take care of all the divine stuff.
That sounds kind of similar to Hemah from Fall from Heaven. His dreams eventually look on a life of their own and acted as deific middle men.
Hey James! Just curious: excluding the swashbuckler, what class are you the most excited for in the Advanced Class Guide?
I suppose... although there's plenty of folks out there, like me, who don't limit their character builds to "what the boards say are optimal."Ah, I like the addition of INT as a limiting factor as well. Having both makes it unable to be monopolized by either wizards or barbarians. It will be the magi and rogues, more likely to have some of each, who win out.Mr. James Jacobs,
How many cybernetic implants until your creature type changes to construct?
Are you familiar with WoD The God Machine Chronicle or its related book Demon: The Descent?
The number of cybernetic implants you can have max is set by your Constitution (as a physical limit of what your body can handle) and your Intelligence (as a limit for how much robot parts your brain can handle the control of). You won't become a construct. A cyborg is, by definition, not a construct, because it has to be a living creature with robot parts in it, not a construct with living parts in it.
I'm not familiar with those books.
And I'm one of them. But I'm not sure what you're getting at. I don't think low con wizards and low int barbarians are all that connected to optimizing.
Both Star Trek and Dr. Who have managed without for half a century.How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
Then what the hevk is that Technic League captain wielding?
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Hello Mr. Jacobs! How are you this day?
I recently read some of your old Demonomicon of Iggwilv articles, and I was curious if there is a Pathfinder equivalent to Iggwilv?
Who is your favorite Adventure Path final villain (like Karzoug)?
Who is your favorite adventure villain (like Mokmurian)?As always thank you for your time and for maintaining such a cool thread.
I'm okay. Kinda tired and run down, alas.
Areelu Vorlesh is probably the closest analogy to Iggwilv, but in a homebrew... there's no reason the actual Iggwilv can't play a part in your version of Golarion if you want.
I don't really have favorite villains... too many choices, and it's too close to answering "who is your favorite child?" That said... Illeosa is pretty awesome, as is Allevrah.
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Hey James, hope you're doing well! Questions:
1) What 3 events (if you can think of that many) in your life do you wish you could observe from a third-person perspective where you could slow-down, pause, filter or otherwise manipulate? (For example, one of mine would be when the guitar in my room seemed to start strumming itself; I'd want to be able to see if there were ambient vibrations that caused it or something of that nature)
2) Have you ever had Lovecraftian dreams/nightmares before? How do they make you feel? Happy? Exhilarated? Scared?
2a) If you have, can you share one of them?
3) Have you ever had a lucid dream?
3a) If so (and if you want to share), what did you do in it?
4) What's the thing you most miss about being a kid?
Something a little less serious:
5) Do you enjoy guessing or predicting who would win in hypothetical fights between fictional characters from different media?
1) I can think of plenty more than 3. One would be "Don't sell Obox-ob to Wizards of the Coast!" Another would be "Don't let your weight get so out of control!" And the third would be "Don't be so timid about starting that relationship!"
2) Yes, often. Love them. I generally write down the memorable dreams and keep them in a dream journal, in fact.
2a) Check my blog, which I need to restart. Or just click this link.
3) Not really. Although I often remember my dreams pretty vividly, I generally am not aware of them being dreams as they happen.
4) The fact that time passed more slowly.
5) Not really. In my experience, those types of discussions just lead to impossible-to-resolve eternal internet arguments.
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I think you guys are shooting yourselves in the foot with that decision and you're going to receive a lot of flak over it. It's just, energy swords are so very prevalent in science fictions, it's almost a crime not to have them.How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
Easy. By not doing a Star Wars game, and not wanting to make it feel like a Star Wars game.
Don't get me wrong. There IS a magical tech sword in the book. you can see the guy in the Inner Sea World Guide wielding it. But it's not a renamed light sabre.
The real reason? I don't want there to be energy swords in the book, frankly. That's not the right flavor for Numeria. Star Wars is not the correct inspiration for it, and an energy sword is SO ICONICALLY Star Wars that it would make it be Star Wars.
There are no "energy swords" in The Road Warrior, or Alien, or Event Horizon, or District 9, or Robocop, or The Terminator, or Avatar, or Moon, or The Time Machine, or any number of countless other excellent science-fiction stories, and they don't suffer for the lack of it.
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I understand your point, but I'm also looking at the technology that's already been published. The robots have force fields, laser canons, scorpion tailed plasma cannons and regenerating missiles. I don't think some sort of energy sword is out of line at all. It just strikes me as very, very odd that such a staple of science fiction is being excluded. Especially since the science fiction is being merged with sword and sorcery fantasy.
I'm not interested in dragging this conversation out here. I've explained why there's no light sabres (or whatever you want to call them) in Iron Gods/Numeria. Let's get back to questions!
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Blood transcription is an evil spell. My group and I have actually asked whether or not this is justified. Sure, drinking blood is gross and taboo, but the creature is a) dead already and/or b) evil. Additionally a good or neutral character could justify it as a necessary means to an altruistic goal (gaining a spell needed to save someone with it, for instance). What exactly is the reason behind this being an evil spell?
Are there any good liches or lich-like beings? Is it possible to become a lich or other undead without being evil? (I know of at least one sentient undead that wasn't evil from one of your single-module adventures.)
The fact that the spell is Evil is part of its flavor. That's all the justificaiton it needs to be evil, frankly. It's in-world flavor and that's the way it is. It's not there really for game balance... frankly... NONE of the "Evil" or "Good" descriptors are really there to provide any sort of balance. They're flavor, and flavor enhances the game.
There are no good liches. There might be a good lich-like being out there but it would have achieved its undead state via a non-evil method—creating a phylactery is needed to become a lich, and the manipulation of soul and life energy required for all the various methods of creating a phylactery is an evil act.
Non-evil undead are VERY RARE. And of those who exist, most of them are ghosts. This is also a flavor thing... and it's strongly influenced by the fact that in my experience and in my preference, stories about evil undead are almost ALWAYS better than stories about non-evil undead. And in most cases, stories about non-evil undead are silly and annoying. There are some exceptions... and the majority of those exceptions involve non-evil but tragic ghosts... or MAYBE vampires (as seen in "Near Dark" or "Underworld," NOT "Twilight").
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Hey James! Just curious: excluding the swashbuckler, what class are you the most excited for in the Advanced Class Guide?
I'm pretty much equally interested in all the other classes. Partially because I haven't had the time to actually be involved in that book at all beyond the swashbuckler...
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And I'm one of them. But I'm not sure what you're getting at. I don't think low con wizards and low int barbarians are all that connected to optimizing.I suppose... although there's plenty of folks out there, like me, who don't limit their character builds to "what the boards say are optimal."Ah, I like the addition of INT as a limiting factor as well. Having both makes it unable to be monopolized by either wizards or barbarians. It will be the magi and rogues, more likely to have some of each, who win out.Mr. James Jacobs,
How many cybernetic implants until your creature type changes to construct?
Are you familiar with WoD The God Machine Chronicle or its related book Demon: The Descent?
The number of cybernetic implants you can have max is set by your Constitution (as a physical limit of what your body can handle) and your Intelligence (as a limit for how much robot parts your brain can handle the control of). You won't become a construct. A cyborg is, by definition, not a construct, because it has to be a living creature with robot parts in it, not a construct with living parts in it.
I'm not familiar with those books.
What I'm getting at is that cybernetics will be appearing on all sorts of different classes, NOT just classes who optimize into high Con/high Int builds.
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Then what the hevk is that Technic League captain wielding?Both Star Trek and Dr. Who have managed without for half a century.How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
It's called a null blade. It's basically a +1 construct bane bastard sword that can cut through hardness like it was made of adamantine, and that can disrupt magic and technology and scramble their effects... essentially "nullifying" a magical or technological effect for a short time. The blade itself is physical. and is made of a rare and difficult to craft (the secrets of which are held by the Technic League) adamantine-noqual alloy.
I think you guys are shooting yourselves in the foot with that decision and you're going to receive a lot of flak over it. It's just, energy swords are so very prevalent in science fictions, it's almost a crime not to have them.How... how can you guys do sci-fi technology and not include an energy sword!?James,
will the technology guide have some sort of laser sword so I can roll a Paladin Jedi for Iron Gods?Nope.
Fortunately, there are plenty of d20 compatible Star Wars games to choose from for that.
Or you can just make it a brilliant energy weapon.
Easy. By not doing a Star Wars game, and not wanting to make it feel like a Star Wars game.
Don't get me wrong. There IS a magical tech sword in the book. you can see the guy in the Inner Sea World Guide wielding it. But it's not a renamed light sabre.
The real reason? I don't want there to be energy swords in the book, frankly. That's not the right flavor for Numeria. Star Wars is not the correct inspiration for it, and an energy sword is SO ICONICALLY Star Wars that it would make it be Star Wars.
There are no "energy swords" in The Road Warrior, or Alien, or Event Horizon, or District 9, or Robocop, or The Terminator, or Avatar, or Moon, or The Time Machine, or any number of countless other excellent science-fiction stories, and they don't suffer for the lack of it.
JJ, you've stolen my heart by mentioning Moon in the same sentence as Avatar. Yes, I'm a very cheap date, with low standards. :)
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James, what's your personal take on DMPCs? Have you seen them run effectively and benefit the party as well as enhance enjoyment of the game for all, or do you agree with those who say it's invariably a bad idea?
In addition, while I would never ask that you speak for others, I wager you have the pulse of those there at Paizo. Is it a subject upon which there is disagreement even among people whose job it is to create the game, or is there unity in opposition to or favor of the concept?
I think that GM PCs are a bad idea.
If a GM wants to play recurring characters in a game they're running, the GM should make use of recurring NPCs like Ameiko from Jade Regent, or Irabeth from Wrath of the Righteous.
I've run them myself, and the experience was hollow and annoying and frustrating.
I've been in games where other GMs ran them, and those experiences have varied from hollow/annoying/frustrating to outright lame, as in the case where a GM's PC in a Shadowrun game would constantly have things happen to him like winning the lottery. In fact, A GM PC is pretty much the primary reason I have bad memories of playing Shadowrun back in college.
As for the rest of Paizo? I can't say for everyone, but I haven't seen anyone here run a GM PC ever... so my guess is that folks aren't into it here either.
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JJ, you've stolen my heart by mentioning Moon in the same sentence as Avatar. Yes, I'm a very cheap date, with low standards. :)
HA!
As it turns out... science fiction stories can be excellent if they're tiny little independent movies (like "Moon" or "Primer" or "Timecrimes" or "Europa Report" or "Last Days on Mars" or "Monsters" or "eXistenZ") or if they're mega-budget movies that end up being the box-office champion of all time.
3) Dunno. I wasn't involved in Arshea's creation. May have just been an oversight; does it specifically say no planar realm? If it doesn't say that, then there is one... we just haven't talked about it yet.Actually, Chronicle of the Righteous specifically says why Arshea has no planar realm. Arshea, being the blithe spirit of freedom he/she is, roves the cosmos and just crashes at any Empyreal Lord or god's pad she/he happens to be visiting at the time. Sometimes Arshea hangs out at Desna's place, sometimes crashing Cayden Cailean's party, sometimes in Ragathiel's fortress, sometimes in Sarenrae's realm, etc. Vildeis is another Empyreal Lord who does something similar, though for different reasons (she's on a constant, one angel crusade against the multiverse's evil, and thus doesn't have time to maintain a realm).
Huh. I answered a question by James. Where are the flying pigs?!
Have tomatoes been introduced to Avistan from Arcadia at this point in history?
Then there you go. Arshea doesn't have one.
There are tomatoes on Avistan, but they're not necessarily from Arcadia.
Heya James, people. Not made many posts before this one, but I've been a longtime reader of the forums... so here's my 0.02gp (and hopefully I don't make a mess of things).
I think the decision to leave out energy swords from the new source material was a good one. I can't think of many franchises that use them out of Starwars or various games from the Rockman series... but that in itself is a good reason to not go with them.
Golarion is it's own rich setting, and while inspiration has been lifted from various sources to breathe life into it, ultimately it hasn't directly ripped off ideas from those sources. Not as I've noticed anyway.
Including something that is immediately comparable to existing sources, like Starwars... would be a discredit to the setting, and I'd go so far as to say an insult to the creative talents that have worked on it in previous years.
Another point I can think of, is how ridiculously broken a lightsaber, or a weapon very much like one, would be if it was something just anyone could use. In Starwars, lightsabers could cut through reinforced bulkheads because... it's superheated plasma contained in a forcefield. It could flash-boil any liquid because... it's superheated plasma contained in a forcefield. It could be used to set fire to various materials, cut clean though virtually almost any material in existence because... ...well, you get the idea.
I don't think most *artifact* weapons have nearly as much utility or ability to be so completely abused. It's a cool idea, but it's not one that really works within the scope of the rules. As James said, if someone wants something like a lightsaber... brilliant energy is their friend. Worst comes to worst, they can always try to work something out with their DM and homebrew an equivalent.
Anyway, that's about all I've got on the topic so far. Looking forward to the new material James. :)