Creative Director
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Hi James, I hope all is well!
Do you know about the Delgeth from the bestiary of the Tears at Bitter Manor book?
Is there any chance the Delgeth can change in an upcoming bestiary 5/6/7 or later?
Cuz the Delgeth is suppose to be one of the most evil Native American creatures out there and its suppose to be the a rare Pronghorn/Antilope monster not a neutral stag monster that cares about nature...
Stags have the Paiyuk and Sianach, so turning an antilope monster into a neutral stag monster doesn't make sense when you have Paiyuk and Sianach instead for the Elk monster role.
Hope this Delgeth Monster gets fixed in a future bestiary! It would be a shame if the only Pronghorn monster from mythology is turned into a more commonly used beast as the Elk.
Transitioning and translating monsters from mythology into monsters for Pathfinder is tricky, since back in the day when those myths were created, they didn't really bother keeping game stats in mind. As a result, the way mythological creatures are translated into game stats involves a fair amount of art and personal preference and choice. I wasn't involved in that adventure or the monster creation apart from my role as a judge for RPG Superstar, so I can't offer any insight into why the Delgeth was designed the way it was rather than going for "the most evil Native American creature out there." If that's the case, that's unfortunate and perhaps a missed opportunity... but it's not something we'll "fix" by rebuilding the delgeth entirely from the ground up in a future bestiary.
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
I was flipping through the back of Inner Sea Gods and stumbled across a deity that I hadn't heard of and couldn't find much about. So, who is Feronia?
An obscure deity in Golarion who also happens to be drawn from real-world mythology. If I remember correctly, the only time she really got mentioned was in an official Golarion article Wes wrote for Kobold Quarterly.
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Hi James,
I haven't seen anymore mythic stuff on Paizo in a while. Are you guys done with the whole mythic thing for good. Will you ever release a purely mythic monster manual? or is paizo going to stick to non mythic for a while?
Now that Mythic is out, we'll use it now and then in adventures as it makes sense. There's a couple of mythic monsters in Mummy's Mask, for example, and some of the mythic rules play a role in Iron Gods, but we have no plans in the immediate future to expand on the player options significantly or at all.
Mythic is not the core game experience; it was never intended to replace that core experience or even significantly compete against it.
We'll probably do more with mythic stuff some day, but no rush at this point.
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Creative Director
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What's the smallest Deity's Planar Realm?
This is the type of question I don't like answering, because unless I'm DAMN SURE I would rather not speak in hyperbole or limit future creativity until I know for sure that I'm comfortable with the hyperbolic statement.
For example, I was pretty sure that I wanted Mhar Massif to be the tallest mountain in Avistan when I was developing Spires of Xin-Shalast many years ago, but I wasn't sure I wanted it to be the tallest mountain on the world. So I held back the urge to say, "Mhar Massif is the tallest mountain on Golarion," and instead just said it was tall and listed its height. Doing so left the door open for further, bigger mountains... and I'm glad I did so, since the Wall of Heaven in Tian Xia ended up being the right place for Golarion's highest peak.
Today, close to a decade later, I'm comfortable saying Mhar Massif is the highest mountain in Avastan, but that's only because I've spent the last several years thinking about it in some way.
There are far more planar realms out there than tall mountains, and so I doubt I'll be ever saying "this is the smallest Planar Realm" or "This is the largest" or even "This is the most green" or "This is the one with the fewest deserts" or anything like that. I am just not a fan of designing dead ends for us to have to obey in the future.
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Creative Director
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Will the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lost Treasures book have the Gasping Pearl,the Garnet Brand, and the Untouchable Opal in it?
I doubt it. But I'm not involved in any of that stuff, so I'm not the one to say for sure. And even if I did know... it's way too early to say at this point.
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You said being good does not always mean being niece(when you answered a Iomedae related question) so what are some of the other good gods that are not niece or kind?
Being good doesn't mean being nice all the time either. All of the good deities have the capacity of being mean. Of the good deities, the lawful ones are generally the more strict, and that's the easiest way for us mortals to misinterpret as meanness, I suppose.
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Forgot where I read it but it was said that some temples of Calistria have various pieces of art depicting the Goddess in erotic situations with other Deities, which usually have to be covered up whenever a follower of said deity visits the temple.
So I was curious what all Deities would be offended and which ones wouldn't be by said erotic artistic depictions, fanfiction, etc. of them.
I think that might have been in her temple in Magnimar...
As for what deities would be offended and what ones wouldn't... I'm not gonna say. I will give you two who wouldn't be offended (Desna, Cayden Cailean), and two that would be (Abadar, Torag).
I'd be surprised to see one with Cayden Cailean...didn't she rebuff his advances?
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Creative Director
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I'd be surprised to see one with Cayden Cailean...didn't she rebuff his advances?Forgot where I read it but it was said that some temples of Calistria have various pieces of art depicting the Goddess in erotic situations with other Deities, which usually have to be covered up whenever a follower of said deity visits the temple.
So I was curious what all Deities would be offended and which ones wouldn't be by said erotic artistic depictions, fanfiction, etc. of them.
I think that might have been in her temple in Magnimar...
As for what deities would be offended and what ones wouldn't... I'm not gonna say. I will give you two who wouldn't be offended (Desna, Cayden Cailean), and two that would be (Abadar, Torag).
When he was mortal, yes.
That, or even Calistria does charity work.
I'd be surprised to see one with Cayden Cailean...didn't she rebuff his advances?Forgot where I read it but it was said that some temples of Calistria have various pieces of art depicting the Goddess in erotic situations with other Deities, which usually have to be covered up whenever a follower of said deity visits the temple.
So I was curious what all Deities would be offended and which ones wouldn't be by said erotic artistic depictions, fanfiction, etc. of them.
I think that might have been in her temple in Magnimar...
As for what deities would be offended and what ones wouldn't... I'm not gonna say. I will give you two who wouldn't be offended (Desna, Cayden Cailean), and two that would be (Abadar, Torag).
When he was mortal, yes.
That, or even Calistria does charity work.
Is that why Cayden drinks so much? Size issues?
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What's the smallest Deity's Planar Realm?This is the type of question I don't like answering, because unless I'm DAMN SURE I would rather not speak in hyperbole or limit future creativity until I know for sure that I'm comfortable with the hyperbolic statement.
For example, I was pretty sure that I wanted Mhar Massif to be the tallest mountain in Avistan when I was developing Spires of Xin-Shalast many years ago, but I wasn't sure I wanted it to be the tallest mountain on the world. So I held back the urge to say, "Mhar Massif is the tallest mountain on Golarion," and instead just said it was tall and listed its height. Doing so left the door open for further, bigger mountains... and I'm glad I did so, since the Wall of Heaven in Tian Xia ended up being the right place for Golarion's highest peak.
Today, close to a decade later, I'm comfortable saying Mhar Massif is the highest mountain in Avastan, but that's only because I've spent the last several years thinking about it in some way.
There are far more planar realms out there than tall mountains, and so I doubt I'll be ever saying "this is the smallest Planar Realm" or "This is the largest" or even "This is the most green" or "This is the one with the fewest deserts" or anything like that. I am just not a fan of designing dead ends for us to have to obey in the future.
Np :3 I was just curious if there was one that you guys had decided on that was unique in its smallness.
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We know that Emperor Xin had a son and he was placed on the throne after his father's death. It's stated the Runelords that took over after Xin died made him nothing more than a figurehead if not a outright puppet.
Is it safe to assume that's all he was and he's just a footnote in Golarion's history or is there more? Will we ever find out any more information on him?
If "he" means "Xin's son," then yes... he's a footnote. We're quite unlikely to do more with him.
James, have you caught Penny Dreadful yet? If so, what did you think of it?
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That's not how I would have set it up, but it is what it is I suppose. Not sure why she'd do this but if I had to come up with a reason (and now, I guess, I have to), it's because she wants to protect her realm from undesirables AND to protect those she's given shelter as part of her role as a deity of forgiveness and redemption from well-meaning non-evil folks eager to punish evil.Why does Sarenrae keep her realm closed off?Where does it say that?From Inner sea gods
-Sarenrae's domain within Nirvana stands on the far side of the Sea of No Shadows, Sarenrae's personal holdings are largely sealed except to petitioners and her divine servants and To all others, her seat of power is simply an outline of golden watchtowers visible on the horizon, a sight tantalizingly out of reach to ships on the sea regardless of how far they sail.
She's also got High Ninshabur in Nirvana, which is open to all. I pictured her personal holdings not as meanness on her part but more of a "members only" policy. I imagine other gods have similar places where only their faithful get in. I mean, what's the point of going to your deity's side after death if ANYONE can get there without even a third of the devotion you had in life?
Anyway, question for you, James. What color was/is the Starstone? For some reason I imagine it as a sort of a jade or sea-green color. Maybe that's just because it reminds me of Kryptonite...
Transitioning and translating monsters from mythology into monsters for Pathfinder is tricky, since back in the day when those myths were created, they didn't really bother keeping game stats in mind. As a result, the way mythological creatures are translated into game stats involves a fair amount of art and personal preference and choice. I wasn't involved in that adventure or the monster creation apart from my role as a judge for RPG Superstar, so I can't offer any insight into why the Delgeth was designed the way it was rather than going for "the most evil Native American creature out there." If that's the case, that's unfortunate and perhaps a missed opportunity... but it's not something we'll "fix" by rebuilding the delgeth entirely from the ground up in a future bestiary.Hi James, I hope all is well!
Do you know about the Delgeth from the bestiary of the Tears at Bitter Manor book?
Is there any chance the Delgeth can change in an upcoming bestiary 5/6/7 or later?
Cuz the Delgeth is suppose to be one of the most evil Native American creatures out there and its suppose to be the a rare Pronghorn/Antilope monster not a neutral stag monster that cares about nature...
Stags have the Paiyuk and Sianach, so turning an antilope monster into a neutral stag monster doesn't make sense when you have Paiyuk and Sianach instead for the Elk monster role.
Hope this Delgeth Monster gets fixed in a future bestiary! It would be a shame if the only Pronghorn monster from mythology is turned into a more commonly used beast as the Elk.
But it did happen before, it happened to the Soucouyant, which is renamed and changed in the Bestiary 4 as Blood Hag.
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Creative Director
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But it did happen before, it happened to the Soucouyant, which is renamed and changed in the Bestiary 4 as Blood Hag.Transitioning and translating monsters from mythology into monsters for Pathfinder is tricky, since back in the day when those myths were created, they didn't really bother keeping game stats in mind. As a result, the way mythological creatures are translated into game stats involves a fair amount of art and personal preference and choice. I wasn't involved in that adventure or the monster creation apart from my role as a judge for RPG Superstar, so I can't offer any insight into why the Delgeth was designed the way it was rather than going for "the most evil Native American creature out there." If that's the case, that's unfortunate and perhaps a missed opportunity... but it's not something we'll "fix" by rebuilding the delgeth entirely from the ground up in a future bestiary.Hi James, I hope all is well!
Do you know about the Delgeth from the bestiary of the Tears at Bitter Manor book?
Is there any chance the Delgeth can change in an upcoming bestiary 5/6/7 or later?
Cuz the Delgeth is suppose to be one of the most evil Native American creatures out there and its suppose to be the a rare Pronghorn/Antilope monster not a neutral stag monster that cares about nature...
Stags have the Paiyuk and Sianach, so turning an antilope monster into a neutral stag monster doesn't make sense when you have Paiyuk and Sianach instead for the Elk monster role.
Hope this Delgeth Monster gets fixed in a future bestiary! It would be a shame if the only Pronghorn monster from mythology is turned into a more commonly used beast as the Elk.
That's true, but the Blood Hag is still the Soucouyant. They're still the same monster. And the reason we renamed it to Blood Hag is because of a pagination/alphabetization issue, likely because of the fact that there's a 2-page monster on the very next page.
What does Sarenrae feel or think of her worshipers that support slavery in Qadira and The Empire of Kelesh?She is very frustrated... and hopes that someday soon her church will fix itself.
But, as a deity, couldn't she just tell them that what they're doing displeases her? Don't they worship her? Wouldn't they stop?
Then again, I'm sure Sarenrae would prefer they released their slaves because it's the right thing to do, not because they unthinkingly follow her commands. But even then, isn't the more important issue that slaves are being held? Shouldn't they be freed in any case?
Also, isn't it a deity's responsibility to make sure that her message is heard? Expecting the church to "fix itself" seems, well, lazy (or detached).
With spells like divination and commune, it's practically impossible for the Qadiran people not to know the will of their goddess--so, she chosen to remain silent on the issue or they've been actively ignoring her?
The first scenario doesn't paint Sarenrae in a very good light, and seems uncharacteristic of a good deity, while the second one paints the entire Qadiran people as hypocrites for not keeping the tenets of their faith (which they're very vocal about, from what I can tell).
Edit: I apologize for the sheer number of questions in this post, but it is a perplexing situation after all.
Goblins of Golarion mentions that, while goblins can live to be 50 years old, few live to reach 20. Since natural causes aren't a huge figure in their lifespans, what kills them? Is it mostly death in combat, or self inflicted/fratricide accidents?
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What does Sarenrae feel or think of her worshipers that support slavery in Qadira and The Empire of Kelesh?She is very frustrated... and hopes that someday soon her church will fix itself.But, as a deity, couldn't she just tell them that what they're doing displeases her? Don't they worship her? Wouldn't they stop?
Then again, I'm sure Sarenrae would prefer they released their slaves because it's the right thing to do, not because they unthinkingly follow her commands. But even then, isn't the more important issue that slaves are being held? Shouldn't they be freed in any case?
Also, isn't it a deity's responsibility to make sure that her message is heard? Expecting the church to "fix itself" seems, well, lazy (or detached).
With spells like divination and commune, it's practically impossible for the Qadiran people not to know the will of their goddess--so, she chosen to remain silent on the issue or they've been actively ignoring her?
The first scenario doesn't paint Sarenrae in a very good light, and seems uncharacteristic of a good deity, while the second one paints the entire Qadiran people as hypocrites for not keeping the tenets of their faith (which they're very vocal about, from what I can tell).
Edit: I apologize for the sheer number of questions in this post, but it is a perplexing situation after all.
Deities don't work that way. They don't go down and physically adjust their worshipers. That's not how faith and religion work. It's up to the deity's representatives to maintain the faith, not the deity herself. In time, if the faith doesn't correct itself, a deity might well send agents to correct things or smite folks or educate the masses... the deity might even come down personally to do that... but that won't happen immediately. Most deities will give their worshipers time to prove themselves and to fix the problem themselves... in so doing, they help those who help themselves, in other words.
The schism in Sarenrae's church has not yet been going on long enough for her to do so... but it's getting close. Basically, it's waiting for an adventure path opportunity to let us explore it or something along those lines.
The situation is, in any event, much more in line with the second scenario you mention above; many of Sarenrae's worshipers are fundamentally getting it wrong, but that's mostly due to the actions of some misinformed members of the church's leadership in a certain part of the world who, for reasons we haven't yet revealed, are drifting from their deity's teachings.
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Goblins of Golarion mentions that, while goblins can live to be 50 years old, few live to reach 20. Since natural causes aren't a huge figure in their lifespans, what kills them? Is it mostly death in combat, or self inflicted/fratricide accidents?
Mostly death in combat, accidents, killed by monsters/wild animals, drowning, accidental immolation, sickness, adventurers, or murder.
Goblins of Golarion mentions that, while goblins can live to be 50 years old, few live to reach 20. Since natural causes aren't a huge figure in their lifespans, what kills them? Is it mostly death in combat, or self inflicted/fratricide accidents?Mostly death in combat, accidents, killed by monsters/wild animals, drowning, accidental immolation, sickness, adventurers, or murder.
I'm kind of surprised that adventurers is next to last on the list . . . ;)
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I'm kind of surprised that adventurers is next to last on the list . . . ;)Goblins of Golarion mentions that, while goblins can live to be 50 years old, few live to reach 20. Since natural causes aren't a huge figure in their lifespans, what kills them? Is it mostly death in combat, or self inflicted/fratricide accidents?Mostly death in combat, accidents, killed by monsters/wild animals, drowning, accidental immolation, sickness, adventurers, or murder.
Don't be. It's not in "most likely cause of death" order.
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Hi James,
Similar to the situation that led to the schism in Sarenrae's church, we're there any other "accidents" with cannon that have led to a creative space to explore in Golarion that wasn't necessarily intended?
Yes, but I try not to out them as accidents. I'd rather let folks think we have our ... stuff ... together and don't make mistakes! :-P
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Deities don't work that way. They don't go down and physically adjust their worshipers. That's not how faith and religion work. It's up to the deity's representatives to maintain the faith, not the deity herself. In time, if the faith doesn't correct itself, a deity might well send agents to correct things or smite folks or educate the masses... the deity might even come down personally to do that... but that won't happen immediately. Most deities will give their worshipers time to prove themselves and to fix the problem themselves... in so doing, they help those who...What does Sarenrae feel or think of her worshipers that support slavery in Qadira and The Empire of Kelesh?She is very frustrated... and hopes that someday soon her church will fix itself.But, as a deity, couldn't she just tell them that what they're doing displeases her? Don't they worship her? Wouldn't they stop?
Then again, I'm sure Sarenrae would prefer they released their slaves because it's the right thing to do, not because they unthinkingly follow her commands. But even then, isn't the more important issue that slaves are being held? Shouldn't they be freed in any case?
Also, isn't it a deity's responsibility to make sure that her message is heard? Expecting the church to "fix itself" seems, well, lazy (or detached).
With spells like divination and commune, it's practically impossible for the Qadiran people not to know the will of their goddess--so, she chosen to remain silent on the issue or they've been actively ignoring her?
The first scenario doesn't paint Sarenrae in a very good light, and seems uncharacteristic of a good deity, while the second one paints the entire Qadiran people as hypocrites for not keeping the tenets of their faith (which they're very vocal about, from what I can tell).
Edit: I apologize for the sheer number of questions in this post, but it is a perplexing situation after all.
Not to mention that going off the Ihys myth, Sarenrae is the inheritor of Ihys' will, that is that mortals have free will and the Deities keep their meddling to an absolute minimum.
Or could be one of Sarenrae's flaws that she's waiting for them to redeem themselves, similar to the Shelyn and Zon-Kuthon situation.
Mr. James Jacobs,
How legitimate children does Valeros have? How many does he know about? Same questions for Alain?
If "he" means "Xin's son," then yes... he's a footnote. We're quite unlikely to do more with him.
That's too bad. I think an adventure titled "Son of Sin" has a nice ring to it, don't you? :D
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Creative Director
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Mr. James Jacobs,
How legitimate children does Valeros have? How many does he know about? Same questions for Alain?
Alain? Zero legitimate children, and none that he cares to know about.
Valeros? Depends on where in his life you're asking, but according to Ultimate Campaign, he has at least 1 daughter at some point.
Where in Ultimate Campaign is this reference? I'd like to read it.
Where in Ultimate Campaign is this reference? I'd like to read it.
It's a image reference, in the Young character section
Mr. James Jacobs,
How legitimate children does Valeros have? How many does he know about? Same questions for Alain?
Alain? Zero legitimate children, and none that he cares to know about.
Valeros? Depends on where in his life you're asking, but according to Ultimate Campaign, he has at least 1 daughter at some point.
Who's the mother? and will we at some adventure meet her?
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Who's the mother? and will we at some adventure meet her?Mr. James Jacobs,
How legitimate children does Valeros have? How many does he know about? Same questions for Alain?
Alain? Zero legitimate children, and none that he cares to know about.
Valeros? Depends on where in his life you're asking, but according to Ultimate Campaign, he has at least 1 daughter at some point.
Unrevealed. At this point. Maybe some day we'll say more... but for now, nothing..
In COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS...
Who's the mother? and will we at some adventure meet her?Mr. James Jacobs,
How legitimate children does Valeros have? How many does he know about? Same questions for Alain?
Alain? Zero legitimate children, and none that he cares to know about.
Valeros? Depends on where in his life you're asking, but according to Ultimate Campaign, he has at least 1 daughter at some point.
Assuming COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS is not the mother it is probably someone whose name he does not remember.
In COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS... ** spoiler omitted **
I can't believe I never noticed the tattoos in that picture. That is a crazy awesome piece of art!
What is your favorite out of the races introduced in the Advanced Race Guide?
catfolk
dhampir
drow
fetchling
goblin
hobgoblin
ifrit
kobold
orc
oread
ratfolk
sylph
tengu
tiefling
undine
changeling
duergar
gillman
grippli
kitsune
merfolk
nagaji
samsaran
strix
suli
svirfneblin
vanara
vishkanya
wayang
Is there a race you feel could use more attention or development in the form of supplements like what Paizo has done with the Tiefling and Aasimar?
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Assuming COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS is not the mother it is probably someone whose name he does not remember.Who's the mother? and will we at some adventure meet her?Mr. James Jacobs,
How legitimate children does Valeros have? How many does he know about? Same questions for Alain?
Alain? Zero legitimate children, and none that he cares to know about.
Valeros? Depends on where in his life you're asking, but according to Ultimate Campaign, he has at least 1 daughter at some point.
In fact, Valeros isn't that kind of guy. He remembers.
Alain, on the other hand... not so much.
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Creative Director
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In COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS... ** spoiler omitted **I can't believe I never noticed the tattoos in that picture. That is a crazy awesome piece of art!
What is your favorite out of the races introduced in the Advanced Race Guide?
** spoiler omitted **Is there a race you feel could use more attention or development in the form of supplements like what Paizo has done with the Tiefling and Aasimar?
Well... first off, none of those racers were actually introduced in the Advanced Race Guide. Most of them have actually been around for decades.
Of the ones you listed, tiefling is my favorite.
And yes... I think all of those races could support their own supplment, in fact. Or at the very least get part of a supplement.
Assuming COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS is not the mother it is probably someone whose name he does not remember.Who's the mother? and will we at some adventure meet her?Mr. James Jacobs,
How legitimate children does Valeros have? How many does he know about? Same questions for Alain?
Alain? Zero legitimate children, and none that he cares to know about.
Valeros? Depends on where in his life you're asking, but according to Ultimate Campaign, he has at least 1 daughter at some point.
In fact, Valeros isn't that kind of guy. He remembers.
Alain, on the other hand... not so much.
So, one of Alain's kids might show up as an iconic somewhere in the future?
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Who's the mother? and will we at some adventure meet her?Mr. James Jacobs,
How legitimate children does Valeros have? How many does he know about? Same questions for Alain?
Alain? Zero legitimate children, and none that he cares to know about.
Valeros? Depends on where in his life you're asking, but according to Ultimate Campaign, he has at least 1 daughter at some point.
Unrevealed. At this point. Maybe some day we'll say more... but for now, nothing..
In COMPLETELY UNRELATED NEWS... ** spoiler omitted **
HOLY PUGWAMPIS!!!!