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Paizo Employee Creative Director

MeanDM wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
MeanDM wrote:

Hi James,

What plane in Golarion would work best for a story like Orpheus and Eurydice story?

(I'm sure you remember, but in case you don't, it's the Greek Myth where after Eurydice was bitten by a viper, Orpheus journeyed to the Underworld to bring her spirit back from Hades realm.)

Thanks!

Hell, Abaddon, or the Abyss. Your choice.

Thanks James.

Do you think there's one that works better thematically of the three?

The Abyss. It's got a lot more variety and freedom in customizing a particular region to the needs of such a story, and it's also my favorite of the three planes.

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I'm getting the sense that in your heart and soul you are Chaos Unleashed. Does this mean that you're the dreaded practical joker in the office? Pulling Shatner type stunts such as putting Lisa's bicycle behind a pack of Dobermans? Or up a flagpole?


Hey James, i was wondering if you could explain to me how they figured out the PE values in the Occult Bestiary for monsters who use Psychic magic? I have gotten one answer and i will probably use that one if i cant find a better one.

I ask primarily because I'm a stickler for that sort of thing and in case i ever get the chance to make a monster for the RPG superstar tournament that uses those rules.

Any help would be appreciated. Cheers! :)

Dark Archive

Hi James,

As someone who is really just getting into Golarian and diving headfirst into the lore, I would like to say I really have enjoyed everything I have read so far. Prior to this I was playing pathfinder for a few years but not on Utilizing the setting specific stuff.

Any way please tell me that there are no plans to blow the world up like almost every other shared world I have enjoyed through the years. This seems to be a trend and I hope I really don't see this happen with Golarion.

Thanks,

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LazarX wrote:
I'm getting the sense that in your heart and soul you are Chaos Unleashed. Does this mean that you're the dreaded practical joker in the office? Pulling Shatner type stunts such as putting Lisa's bicycle behind a pack of Dobermans? Or up a flagpole?

Nah. My preference for characters in game does not equal my real world persona, Especially since in game I prefer to play religious female characters (often elves or half-elves), and in real life I'm agnostic at best, male, and not an elf or half-elf. Same goes for alignments. In real life, I"m closer to neutral good than anything else, I suspect.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
JadedDemiGod wrote:

Hey James, i was wondering if you could explain to me how they figured out the PE values in the Occult Bestiary for monsters who use Psychic magic? I have gotten one answer and i will probably use that one if i cant find a better one.

I ask primarily because I'm a stickler for that sort of thing and in case i ever get the chance to make a monster for the RPG superstar tournament that uses those rules.

Any help would be appreciated. Cheers! :)

I have no idea. I'm not even sure what a "PE value" is. I had pretty much zero to do with Occult Bestiary other than helping to brainstorm the monster list and signing up to write 4 monsters and then having to hand those monsters of to other writers when other responsibilities made it apparent I didn't have the time to write those monsters.

If you're talking about the point based mechanic for psychic magic abilities, I really don't know, and I am in fact pretty frustrated that the design team opted for that rather than to just present them in the same way that we do spell-like abilities. We already have rules for that, and reinventing them only confuses things and begs questions, as your post is a fine example of.

If I were you, I'd build the exact same monster for RPG superstar but use the established spell-like ability rules. Simpler, people know how they work, and the flavor of the monster in play remains the same.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Flintheart Glomgold wrote:

Hi James,

As someone who is really just getting into Golarian and diving headfirst into the lore, I would like to say I really have enjoyed everything I have read so far. Prior to this I was playing pathfinder for a few years but not on Utilizing the setting specific stuff.

Any way please tell me that there are no plans to blow the world up like almost every other shared world I have enjoyed through the years. This seems to be a trend and I hope I really don't see this happen with Golarion.

Thanks,

Excellent! Glad you're enjoying Golarion!

We've spent over a decade now building up Golarion. It seems ridiculous and self-destructive to "blow up the world" to me AND to the rest of Paizo as a result..

World blow ups like you mention generally happen for 3 reasons.

1: The canon becomes too difficult and complicated to track, making the world a barrier to entry for new writers, new designers, AND new customers. By "blowing up the world" you get to reset the baseline canon and start from scratch, letting everyone, from those who create the setting to those who play in it, jump on board without having to be familiar with years and years of expensive backstock. This is the main reason why we don't "hard code" all of our products into a constantly evolving and expanding canon for the setting.

2: Customer interest has started to lag and sales are falling off. By resetting the world, you shake things up and get people's attention and encourage them to come back, while also saying to new potential customers "Hey; now's a great time to get in on the ground floor!" Golarion is FAR from hitting this stage, so there's no need for us to do this.

3: Change in management and employee base. If we had a huge turnover of staff, such as might happen if Paizo got sold or if everyone quit or whatever, the new owners and employees who take up the mantle of running the world will have different goals and interests in mind, and many of those will be at cross-purposes with established lore. New management/creators often reset the world as a result, so that they can focus on creating the content THEY are passionate about without wasting a lot of time and resources familiarizing themselves with the complexities of a shared world that's been building over many years. I don't see this happening to Paizo anytime soon, but it's certainly a possibility. We don't have a shield against being hit by a meteorite, for example...

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

If you, with all your memories, could be brought into any country on Golarion, which would you pick?

My selections are primarily Tales based but:
(I'd pick either Andoran (for familiarity and ease of adjustment (and possibly even meet Tim Pratt's Alaeron the alchemist) or Cheliax (because I would love to try and convince Varian Jeggare to take me on as an apprentice))

Verdant Wheel

Mr. James Jacobs,

I am not trying to be a smart ass, neither i want to point a mistake. I just want to ask for help trying to understand a point in the elven culture that maybe got misunderstood by all confusion regarding elf lore.

You have been quite vocal to say the elfs are good guys and the Second Darkness #5 got them wrong. But all the "lets hide the truth about drow origins even if we must kill innocents" attitude is not arrogant and boderline questionable ? Why they had all the trouble to hide the drow from other races if almost no one has a perfect score ? (The dwarves have the duegar, the gnomes have the svirneblin and the spriggan, the orcs are the orcs, the humans can´t say anything and only the halfling don´t have any evil counterpart). Don´t you think there should be a better reason why the involved elves are still the good guy ?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Alayern wrote:

If you, with all your memories, could be brought into any country on Golarion, which would you pick?

** spoiler omitted **

Varisia. Sandpoint, to be precise.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Draco Bahamut wrote:

Mr. James Jacobs,

I am not trying to be a smart ass, neither i want to point a mistake. I just want to ask for help trying to understand a point in the elven culture that maybe got misunderstood by all confusion regarding elf lore.

You have been quite vocal to say the elfs are good guys and the Second Darkness #5 got them wrong. But all the "lets hide the truth about drow origins even if we must kill innocents" attitude is not arrogant and boderline questionable ? Why they had all the trouble to hide the drow from other races if almost no one has a perfect score ? (The dwarves have the duegar, the gnomes have the svirneblin and the spriggan, the orcs are the orcs, the humans can´t say anything and only the halfling don´t have any evil counterpart). Don´t you think there should be a better reason why the involved elves are still the good guy ?

The idea was that the Winter Council would be the element of elven government that was doing that, and that they were a small section of the government that had had their power go to their head. The fact that one of their own ended up becoming a great threat to the elven nation was intended to be an example of how dangerous they were.

The meta-reason why they were hiding drow, of course, was because at the time drow were a BIG DEAL in the gaming scene. They still are, somewhat. We were really paranoid about looking like we were trying to cash in on the Driz'zt craze and the Lolth/drow elements going on in Forgotten Realms, and wanted to try to recapture the mystique and mystery and EVIL of the drow. Having them be a sort of boogeyman of sorts was part of our plan, and that required having someone cover them up. Enter the Winter Council.


Hello Mr Jacobs

I wouldn't normally come here for rule clarification but since its involving topics (sort of) we've already discussed and something you were involved in, I thought what the hell!

With the Exalted PRC from Inner Sea Gods it states for Expanded Portfolio:

At 5th level, the exalted further increases her already impressive knowledge of her chosen deity's faith and is rewarded with increased powers in one of the spheres over which her deity holds sway. The exalted chooses a domain of her chosen deity to which she gains access, using her exalted level as her effective cleric level.

The exalted can also can use each of the chosen domain's spells once per day as a spell-like ability, with a caster level equal to her exalted level. The exalted can use each spell-like ability only if she is able to cast divine spells of that level. If the exalted has any domain spell slots, she is also able to cast the chosen domain's spells in those slots as normal.

I understand that the ability to cast domain spells as SLA 1/day scales off the Exalted level but I'm guessing/hoping(!) that does not apply if they are cast from normal domain slots (ie they are cast as per spellcasting level)- hence the phrase as normal? Leading on from this, if that is the case, I assume the same would apply if a cleric was scribing the domain spell to a scroll?

Thanks!

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Draco Bahamut wrote:

Mr. James Jacobs,

I am not trying to be a smart ass, neither i want to point a mistake. I just want to ask for help trying to understand a point in the elven culture that maybe got misunderstood by all confusion regarding elf lore.

You have been quite vocal to say the elfs are good guys and the Second Darkness #5 got them wrong. But all the "lets hide the truth about drow origins even if we must kill innocents" attitude is not arrogant and boderline questionable ? Why they had all the trouble to hide the drow from other races if almost no one has a perfect score ? (The dwarves have the duegar, the gnomes have the svirneblin and the spriggan, the orcs are the orcs, the humans can´t say anything and only the halfling don´t have any evil counterpart). Don´t you think there should be a better reason why the involved elves are still the good guy ?

The idea was that the Winter Council would be the element of elven government that was doing that, and that they were a small section of the government that had had their power go to their head. The fact that one of their own ended up becoming a great threat to the elven nation was intended to be an example of how dangerous they were.

The meta-reason why they were hiding drow, of course, was because at the time drow were a BIG DEAL in the gaming scene. They still are, somewhat. We were really paranoid about looking like we were trying to cash in on the Driz'zt craze and the Lolth/drow elements going on in Forgotten Realms, and wanted to try to recapture the mystique and mystery and EVIL of the drow. Having them be a sort of boogeyman of sorts was part of our plan, and that required having someone cover them up. Enter the Winter Council.

So basically the Winter Council was the Section 31 to the Kyonin's Federation?


James Jacobs wrote:
Alayern wrote:

If you, with all your memories, could be brought into any country on Golarion, which would you pick?

** spoiler omitted **

Varisia. Sandpoint, to be precise.

Hi James!

Every time I see your answer to this question, I wonder if you miss living in Pointe Arena?

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

James, what is the human ethnicity of Nidal? I have been unable to find a single instance of the ethnicity there. I kind of like the idea they may be there own ethnicity, not really recorded due to lack of access or study.

Inner Sea Primer just refers to the inhabitants as the horselords.

The only mention of Nidal in Inner Sea Races, were Varisian caravans and villages in Nidal, specifically saying "outside their homeland". There is mention of Chelaxians living there, but as newcomers. Kellids are listed as once having a presence their, but no longer. The Ulfen are listed as raiding there as well. Shackleborn are listed as being predominantly in Nidal. Fetchlings and dhampirs are also listed as being from there.

Nowhere did I see any info about the primary human ethnicity of Nidal, just the name of the country in the "Favored Region" box. The Pathfinder Chronicles: Gazetteer lists the occupants as the warrior-lords, but none of the ethnic entries or the Nidal section list an ethnicity. The Pathfinder Chronicles: Campaign Setting lists Azlanti, half-orcs, and halflings living in Nidal. ISWG lists Tians, Varisians, halflings, and half-orcs. I know this supersedes the Gazetteer and the Campaign Setting books. Humans of Golarion only lists for Tians, Varisians, and half-orcs.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Silver Surfer wrote:

Hello Mr Jacobs

I wouldn't normally come here for rule clarification but since its involving topics (sort of) we've already discussed and something you were involved in, I thought what the hell!

With the Exalted PRC from Inner Sea Gods it states for Expanded Portfolio:

At 5th level, the exalted further increases her already impressive knowledge of her chosen deity's faith and is rewarded with increased powers in one of the spheres over which her deity holds sway. The exalted chooses a domain of her chosen deity to which she gains access, using her exalted level as her effective cleric level.

The exalted can also can use each of the chosen domain's spells once per day as a spell-like ability, with a caster level equal to her exalted level. The exalted can use each spell-like ability only if she is able to cast divine spells of that level. If the exalted has any domain spell slots, she is also able to cast the chosen domain's spells in those slots as normal.

I understand that the ability to cast domain spells as SLA 1/day scales off the Exalted level but I'm guessing/hoping(!) that does not apply if they are cast from normal domain slots (ie they are cast as per spellcasting level)- hence the phrase as normal? Leading on from this, if that is the case, I assume the same would apply if a cleric was scribing the domain spell to a scroll?

Thanks!

I actually wasn't involved much at all in the development and creation of the new content for Inner Sea Gods, the prestige classes included. Ask your GM for clarification; she/he will know how to best handle this answer in your game. If you're asking for PFS... this is the wrong place to ask permission anyway, and you should ask in the PFS boards.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

MeanDM wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alayern wrote:

If you, with all your memories, could be brought into any country on Golarion, which would you pick?

** spoiler omitted **

Varisia. Sandpoint, to be precise.

Hi James!

Every time I see your answer to this question, I wonder if you miss living in Pointe Arena?

I often do. And it's Point Arena, with no extra "e".

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

James, what is the human ethnicity of Nidal? I have been unable to find a single instance of the ethnicity there. I kind of like the idea they may be there own ethnicity, not really recorded due to lack of access or study.

Inner Sea Primer just refers to the inhabitants as the horselords.

The only mention of Nidal in Inner Sea Races, were Varisian caravans and villages in Nidal, specifically saying "outside their homeland". There is mention of Chelaxians living there, but as newcomers. Kellids are listed as once having a presence their, but no longer. The Ulfen are listed as raiding there as well. Shackleborn are listed as being predominantly in Nidal. Fetchlings and dhampirs are also listed as being from there.

Nowhere did I see any info about the primary human ethnicity of Nidal, just the name of the country in the "Favored Region" box. The Pathfinder Chronicles: Gazetteer lists the occupants as the warrior-lords, but none of the ethnic entries or the Nidal section list an ethnicity. The Pathfinder Chronicles: Campaign Setting lists Azlanti, half-orcs, and halflings living in Nidal. ISWG lists Tians, Varisians, halflings, and half-orcs. I know this supersedes the Gazetteer and the Campaign Setting books. Humans of Golarion only lists for Tians, Varisians, and half-orcs.

Today they're a mix of Varisian and Kellid and Taldan and Chelaxian these days. In time, I suspect they'll end up becoming their own ethnicity.

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

James Jacobs wrote:
Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
James, what is the human ethnicity of Nidal?
Today they're a mix of Varisian and Kellid and Taldan and Chelaxian these days. In time, I suspect they'll end up becoming their own ethnicity.

Thanks, I was hoping that wasn't the case due to their long isolation, but understandable except the inclusion of Taldan. Why is Taldan included? The Armies of Exploration didn't make it that far and I didn't know there were/are cultural ties to Taldor.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
James, what is the human ethnicity of Nidal?
Today they're a mix of Varisian and Kellid and Taldan and Chelaxian these days. In time, I suspect they'll end up becoming their own ethnicity.
Thanks, I was hoping that wasn't the case due to their long isolation, but understandable except the inclusion of Taldan. Why is Taldan included? The Armies of Exploration didn't make it that far and I didn't know there were/are cultural ties to Taldor.

Taldan is included as a sort of trickle-down effect. The armies didn't make it that far, but there's been a LOT of Taldans in Cheliax, and Cheliax certainly mixes a lot with Nidal. AKA: Not al of the ethnicities I mention above mixed in Nidal at the same time. It's been spread out over about 9,000 years.

If I realy had to nail down one overwhelming ethnicity there these days, I suppose it'd be Chelaxian. 9,000 years ago it was more Varisian/Kellid. There was also some Azlanti in there too, but that's pretty much gone today, or if it IS there, it drifted in via Taldan influence.


Good evening James!

How are you?

I have a weird question, if you don't mind.
Can Kasatha (People of the Stars) grow hair?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ral' Yareth wrote:

Can Kasatha (People of the Stars) grow hair?

Nope.

Liberty's Edge

For people who live along the western coast of Garund, would the dominant Avistani ethnicity be Chelish? Or would places like the Shackles, Ilizmagorti, and Bloodcove be pretty cosmopolitan?

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

James Jacobs wrote:
Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
James, what is the human ethnicity of Nidal?
Today they're a mix of Varisian and Kellid and Taldan and Chelaxian these days. In time, I suspect they'll end up becoming their own ethnicity.
Thanks, I was hoping that wasn't the case due to their long isolation, but understandable except the inclusion of Taldan. Why is Taldan included? The Armies of Exploration didn't make it that far and I didn't know there were/are cultural ties to Taldor.

Taldan is included as a sort of trickle-down effect. The armies didn't make it that far, but there's been a LOT of Taldans in Cheliax, and Cheliax certainly mixes a lot with Nidal. AKA: Not al of the ethnicities I mention above mixed in Nidal at the same time. It's been spread out over about 9,000 years.

If I realy had to nail down one overwhelming ethnicity there these days, I suppose it'd be Chelaxian. 9,000 years ago it was more Varisian/Kellid. There was also some Azlanti in there too, but that's pretty much gone today, or if it IS there, it drifted in via Taldan influence.

Thanks once again James! Makes sense now that you explained it.

So would Nirmanthas be close to the same? With Chelish, Taldan, or Varisian being the most numerous ethnicity?

Silver Crusade

James are there any pirates that are preying on Chelish shipping near Kintargo or to its north? I am doing the back story for a swashbuckler that hails from that area. If so what are the names of their ships.
P


How often does Pazuzu leave the abyss?


Hello James

A few question about flanking. A barbarian armed with a great axe wants to flank an enemy with a ranger using only a bow and his bare hands. The barbarian wants to gain flanking from the ranger with the bow (ranger is in melee) saying that using the bow as an improvised melee weapon, the ranger with the bow threatens the square the enemy is in.

1.Because the ranger is in melee with a bow, does using the bow as an improvised melee allow the barbarian a +2 flanking bonus?

2.The ranger is human, so kicking, punching, head bunting etc. is not considered armed. The ranger cannot use am unarmed strike to threaten the square and grant flanking to the barbarian. Is this correct?

3.Can the ranger as a free action hold the bow in one hand, draw an arrow as a free action and use the arrow as a improvised melee weapon instead to threaten the square?

4.Would a spiked gauntlet allow the bow to be held one handed as a free action and threaten the square with the spiked gauntlet for the barbarian to gain flanking as the ranger is now armed with a melee weapon?

The barbarian really wanted to gain flanking and had some great questions.
Thanks for any help you can give in this matter.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Gark the Goblin wrote:
For people who live along the western coast of Garund, would the dominant Avistani ethnicity be Chelish? Or would places like the Shackles, Ilizmagorti, and Bloodcove be pretty cosmopolitan?

They are very cosmopolitan.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

Thanks once again James! Makes sense now that you explained it.

So would Nirmanthas be close to the same? With Chelish, Taldan, or Varisian being the most numerous ethnicity?

Nirmathas is one of the newest nations, and as such it's at the OPPOSITE end of the scale from Nidal, which is one of the region's oldest..

The people of Nirmathas are pretty much all Taldan or Kellid. There are some Chelaxians and some Varisians there, but not enough to really count as a majority.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Lou Diamond wrote:

James are there any pirates that are preying on Chelish shipping near Kintargo or to its north? I am doing the back story for a swashbuckler that hails from that area. If so what are the names of their ships.

P

Not a lot, no. There's not really all that much trade going on in that part of the ocean. There's sporadic trouble with RIddleport pirates and Linnorm King raiders, but most of that stuff happens further south or further north.

As for ship names... they're whatever you want them to be.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ereus wrote:
How often does Pazuzu leave the abyss?

Seeing as how he can cast astral projection at will... whenever he wants.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

J S 825 wrote:

Hello James

A few question about flanking. A barbarian armed with a great axe wants to flank an enemy with a ranger using only a bow and his bare hands. The barbarian wants to gain flanking from the ranger with the bow (ranger is in melee) saying that using the bow as an improvised melee weapon, the ranger with the bow threatens the square the enemy is in.

1.Because the ranger is in melee with a bow, does using the bow as an improvised melee allow the barbarian a +2 flanking bonus?

2.The ranger is human, so kicking, punching, head bunting etc. is not considered armed. The ranger cannot use am unarmed strike to threaten the square and grant flanking to the barbarian. Is this correct?

3.Can the ranger as a free action hold the bow in one hand, draw an arrow as a free action and use the arrow as a improvised melee weapon instead to threaten the square?

4.Would a spiked gauntlet allow the bow to be held one handed as a free action and threaten the square with the spiked gauntlet for the barbarian to gain flanking as the ranger is now armed with a melee weapon?

The barbarian really wanted to gain flanking and had some great questions.
Thanks for any help you can give in this matter.

These types of rules questions should be asked on the rules forums, not here. Sorry!

Liberty's Edge

Aside from the Pathfinder Society and Aspis Consortium, are there any smaller-scale "Adventurer Guilds?"


Are there any superstitions associated with each day of Golarion's week?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

lucky7 wrote:
Aside from the Pathfinder Society and Aspis Consortium, are there any smaller-scale "Adventurer Guilds?"

Yes. Lots. As many as you need. We generally don't do anything with them unless we need to come up with one for an adventure though.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Doomkitten wrote:
Are there any superstitions associated with each day of Golarion's week?

Not really.

Liberty's Edge

When and how did you enter the pro side of the industry? Who were some of the early people who allowed you to get a foot in the door?

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I was just prepping the Wrath of the Righteous for my next campaign, and I came across a paragraph in the description of the Chalice of Ozem that I didn't really notice before:

"This chalice is perhaps the last surviving artifact from Sacred Ozem, now forever lost in a tragic battle that ultimately led to the foundation of the Knights of Ozem. Made of shimmering mithral and studded with dozens of rubies, the Chalice of Ozem was carried from the ruins and handed down through generations until it was finally given to Iomedae, who used it in her fight against Erum-Hel during the Battle of Three Sorrows."

So ... apparently the Knights of Ozem are named after the place where they were founded (which, I'm sure, was a really ... awesome ... place to live). I've skimmed through other sources but I haven't found any other information about "Sacred Ozem". All the other descriptions of the Knights of Ozem more or less begin with their role in the Shining Crusade.

My questions are:

1. Are there other published mentions of Ozem (pre-knightly order) that I'm missing, or is the mention of it in Wrath of the Righteous the first time it was teased?

2. Was Ozem a city? Or was it a country/kingdom?

3. Did the ruination of Ozem happen pre-Earthfall or post-Earthfall?

4. Are there plans to reveal more about the history of Ozem and its better-known knightly order in the reasonably near future, or is this something we'll have to wait on?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Samy wrote:
When and how did you enter the pro side of the industry? Who were some of the early people who allowed you to get a foot in the door?

My first published game design credit was an adventure back in Dungeon Magazine #12; I got a few more adventures in print over the years that followed. Eventually, I joined a D&D game run by Jim Butler and got to know him and a few other WotC folk. That, plus getting in as a temp to help here and there led to me eventually being hired at WotC in the sales department, and from there I was able to get more and more involved in game design for the magazines and eventually hardcover books.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Aberrant Templar wrote:

I was just prepping the Wrath of the Righteous for my next campaign, and I came across a paragraph in the description of the Chalice of Ozem that I didn't really notice before:

"This chalice is perhaps the last surviving artifact from Sacred Ozem, now forever lost in a tragic battle that ultimately led to the foundation of the Knights of Ozem. Made of shimmering mithral and studded with dozens of rubies, the Chalice of Ozem was carried from the ruins and handed down through generations until it was finally given to Iomedae, who used it in her fight against Erum-Hel during the Battle of Three Sorrows."

So ... apparently the Knights of Ozem are named after the place where they were founded (which, I'm sure, was a really ... awesome ... place to live). I've skimmed through other sources but I haven't found any other information about "Sacred Ozem". All the other descriptions of the Knights of Ozem more or less begin with their role in the Shining Crusade.

My questions are:

1. Are there other published mentions of Ozem (pre-knightly order) that I'm missing, or is the mention of it in Wrath of the Righteous the first time it was teased?

2. Was Ozem a city? Or was it a country/kingdom?

3. Did the ruination of Ozem happen pre-Earthfall or post-Earthfall?

4. Are there plans to reveal more about the history of Ozem and its better-known knightly order in the reasonably near future, or is this something we'll have to wait on?

The Knights of Ozem were created by Jason Bulmahn. He felt that the name of the order of knights who stood against the Whispering Tyrant needed a suitably awesome name, as would befit an order that fought against the region's most powerful lich. And so that's where he got the name "Ozem." It sounds like "awesome." Whatever became of the word Ozem after that was thus not part of a complex master plan in other words.

I don't really know much more about the Knights of Ozem, really—they're pretty focused on Lastwall, and as such their role in the Worldwound Crusades is pretty tangental. We've published a fair bit about them here and there—most notably in the entry for Vigil in Cities of Golarion. There's been some stuff about them in other places as well, but I've not really kept track of them... but the wiki page has a lot more info as well as citations of places to go from there for more info.

Liberty's Edge

Is there anyone in the RPG industry history that you would like to meet?

Have you ever met Larry Elmore?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Samy wrote:

Is there anyone in the RPG industry history that you would like to meet?

Have you ever met Larry Elmore?

I've not met Larry Elmore yet.

As for other RPG industry folks, now that I've met Sandy Petersen, I'm not sure there's anyone else out there that's still alive I haven't met that I am particularly eager to meet. I actually don't really feel an urge to seek out and meet a lot of folks like that—I tend to avoid celebrities at conventions and the like because I kinda feel uncomfortable approaching them, based partially on the fact that I tend to get kind of uncomfortable when people I don't know approach me. The major exception I can think of is going to an author reading; in those cases, I'll usually go grab an autograph. Haven't attended many of those though... in fact, the only three I can think of are Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Raymond Feist.

I did go see a couple of Werner Herzog movies hosted by Herzog himself, and he certainly seemed nice and approachable but me (as well as Wes and Jason and Erik) were all WAY too intimidated by him to go talk to him.

Liberty's Edge

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James Jacobs wrote:
I actually don't really feel an urge to seek out and meet a lot of folks like that—I tend to avoid celebrities at conventions and the like because I kinda feel uncomfortable approaching them, based partially on the fact that I tend to get kind of uncomfortable when people I don't know approach me.

How would you, personally, prefer that people show appreciation and/or gratitude to you if their lives had been meaningfully touched by your work?

Grand Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:

The Knights of Ozem were created by Jason Bulmahn. He felt that the name of the order of knights who stood against the Whispering Tyrant needed a suitably awesome name, as would befit an order that fought against the region's most powerful lich. And so that's where he got the name "Ozem." It sounds like "awesome." Whatever became of the word Ozem after that was thus not part of a complex master plan in other words.

I don't really know much more about the Knights of Ozem, really—they're pretty focused on Lastwall, and as such their role...

Huh. So was the reference to "Sacred Ozem" in Wrath of the Righteous simply a fluke that made it through and won't be expanded on? Or is this all just stuff I should be asking Jason?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Samy wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
I actually don't really feel an urge to seek out and meet a lot of folks like that—I tend to avoid celebrities at conventions and the like because I kinda feel uncomfortable approaching them, based partially on the fact that I tend to get kind of uncomfortable when people I don't know approach me.
How would you, personally, prefer that people show appreciation and/or gratitude to you if their lives had been meaningfully touched by your work?

If I'm at a convention, I'm there for work pretty much and I'm happy to chat with anyone about whatever.

When I'm not at a convention, I guess the best way to let folks know would be via these boards or via an email.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Aberrant Templar wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

The Knights of Ozem were created by Jason Bulmahn. He felt that the name of the order of knights who stood against the Whispering Tyrant needed a suitably awesome name, as would befit an order that fought against the region's most powerful lich. And so that's where he got the name "Ozem." It sounds like "awesome." Whatever became of the word Ozem after that was thus not part of a complex master plan in other words.

I don't really know much more about the Knights of Ozem, really—they're pretty focused on Lastwall, and as such their role...

Huh. So was the reference to "Sacred Ozem" in Wrath of the Righteous simply a fluke that made it through and won't be expanded on? Or is this all just stuff I should be asking Jason?

It's not a fluke, it's just not something that needed to be expanded upon for any plot element in the AP. It's a bit of world flavor that we didn't have room to go into detail on, but still wanted to tease a bit. Whether Ozem is a place or a person or a thing, I'm still not sure. Jason might have a notion... but if anyone would know for sure I suspect it'd be Mark Moreland.


Hey James,

1. Which do you prefer more: Role-playing, Problem/Riddle solving, or Hack-and-Slash? Why?

2. Do you have a favorite character you've played? Why?

3. Do you have a favorite memory from a game?

4. What first got you into role-playing?

5. Do you have a favorite time period in the history of Golarion? Favorite Civilization? Favorite event/moment? Favorite important figure?

6. Do you have a favorite Player Class? Least favorite? Why?

Liberty's Edge

Were you ever involved in any way, even tangentially, with any of the D&D computer games of the past?


Hey James,

Is there any particular in-game explanation for magic item slots? After all, you can totally wear pauldrons and a cloak normally but they're incompatible as magic items.

Has anyone researched the way and why of magic items interacting with the body? In particular, head and headband, why are they different? Extra weird since head encompasses the areas above and below headbands.

Thanks.


1) Have you ever tried out the MOBA named SMITE ?

2) Favourite food?

3) Least favourite food?

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