Creative Director
|
Hi James,
Based on your advice I'm going to try to stat up Razmir so that I can feature him as the end boss of a homebrew I'm writing up. I'm hoping you can help.
1) You said he's a 19th Level Wizard. Is he a Universalist?
2) Are there any types of spells you think he would favor over another?
3) Inner Sea Magic says he's Taldan, I assume that means he's human. How old is he? Using age categories, middle-aged, old, or venerable?
4) Do you suppose he'd have any deep plots or is he just living it up hedonism style in Thronestep?Thanks!
1) According to Inner Sea Magic, he's a LE male Taldan wizard 19. Universalist, in other words, since if he was a specialist, I would have called that out like I did for the runelords on those pages.
2) Mind control and illusion.
3) Yup; he's human. He's also venerable, which is why he's super nervous about finding a route to immortality.
4) His main plot is to achieve immortality. All his other plots are support plots for this goal.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hi James
how would rovagug inquisitor/cleric/anti-paladin of Rovagug from each other?even more perculair how does one mantain a CN alignment as cleric or inquistitor of Rovagug? is that that even be possible. I can't think of a more inherently evil act than killing and/or destroying just beccause. You would literally have to be a servant of diety and not do the one thing that diety prizes more than anything else, if you did that, how could it be said that you are a follower, much less a servant of that diety.
One maintains a CN alignment while being a worshiper (regardless of class) of Rovagug by being something of a heretic. By focusing more on the chaotic aspect of his faith, like being a warmonger or storm worshiper or the like. Not deliberately trying to use war and storms to destroy and ruin lives, but more appreciating the raw power of storms and war and disasters and monsters for what they are. It's a narrow line to walk. A CN worshiper of Rovagug would probably be a bit more like a classic worshiper of Gorum, yet without the weapon/armor obsessions.
As for how an inquisitor, cleric, and antipaladin would differ... that'd be personality choices for the most part, combined with the fact that each of those three roles has different niches (investigation/hunting vs. spellcasting support vs. raw combat).
Referring to vampires, have you seen any of the BBC series 'Being Human'? Or the American version (which I haven't seen)? If so. what did you think?
I haven't. Mostly because it set off my "WARNING—NOT YOUR KIND OF VAMPIRES!" alert.
True Blood would have done the same, but since it's HBO, I knew that would have been a false alarm. (AKA: Vampires need to be super violent and/or super sexy. HBO knows how to do that.)
Oh, the BBC vampires, when the blood addiction won out, were definitely super violent. They're trying to fight it, not necessarily succeeding
|
I suspect they'd turn on each other at that point. Or perhaps just vanish or starve to death. They're nihilists, after all. That's kinda what they want—to be the last.Oh okay I see, I had thought you had come up with Wakeless ones :3
As for a more upbeat question what do the Daemon plan to do once they've eradicated all other life? Destroy each other? Start anew? Play poker?
"The Last Days of Abbaddon" would make for a nice introspective story. Probably gonna go bug Sutter about that now :3
Hi James,
I have another question regarding the sunbeam spell.
If a vampire fails the Reflex saving throw, it is destroyed since sunlight harms it. The question is what "destroyed" means. Is it completely destroyed or does it turn into mist and can flee??
Thanks!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Referring to vampires, have you seen any of the BBC series 'Being Human'? Or the American version (which I haven't seen)? If so. what did you think?
I haven't. Mostly because it set off my "WARNING—NOT YOUR KIND OF VAMPIRES!" alert.
True Blood would have done the same, but since it's HBO, I knew that would have been a false alarm. (AKA: Vampires need to be super violent and/or super sexy. HBO knows how to do that.)
Oh, the BBC vampires, when the blood addiction won out, were definitely super violent. They're trying to fight it, not necessarily succeeding
And based on the reactions of some women in my proximity, the actor who plays the vampire part of the leading trio definitely fits the super sexy criteria.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hi James,
I have another question regarding the sunbeam spell.
If a vampire fails the Reflex saving throw, it is destroyed since sunlight harms it. The question is what "destroyed" means. Is it completely destroyed or does it turn into mist and can flee??
Thanks!
Destroyed means destroyed. It's done. Gone. No more. This is one of the ways you can kill off a vampire, as surely as staking it or putting it in the sun.
And based on the reactions of some women in my proximity, the actor who plays the vampire part of the leading trio definitely fits the super sexy criteria.Referring to vampires, have you seen any of the BBC series 'Being Human'? Or the American version (which I haven't seen)? If so. what did you think?
I haven't. Mostly because it set off my "WARNING—NOT YOUR KIND OF VAMPIRES!" alert.
True Blood would have done the same, but since it's HBO, I knew that would have been a false alarm. (AKA: Vampires need to be super violent and/or super sexy. HBO knows how to do that.)
Oh, the BBC vampires, when the blood addiction won out, were definitely super violent. They're trying to fight it, not necessarily succeeding
Yes, Aidan Turner, also the dwarf Kili in the Hobbit
Odd question:
If you had to give Fighters an additional Good Save which would you add to them?
Will.
They're supposed to be all about wearing the heavy armor, and I know that they learn how to move in it more easily as they level up, but to me, a heavily armored character feels more logical, flavor-wise, as being more stubborn and headstrong than more agile and adroit.
Interesting I was debating this for my homebrewed setting. I kept going back to: changing Bravery to Stubborn and have it apply to Fear, Compulsions, etc. Then giving them good Reflex to represent Dodging Fireballs & Boulders, from a Trebuchet or Giant.
|
Creative Director
|
Interesting I was debating this for my homebrewed setting. I kept going back to: changing Bravery to Stubborn and have it apply to Fear, Compulsions, etc. Then giving them good Reflex to represent Dodging Fireballs & Boulders, from a Trebuchet or Giant.Odd question:
If you had to give Fighters an additional Good Save which would you add to them?
Will.
They're supposed to be all about wearing the heavy armor, and I know that they learn how to move in it more easily as they level up, but to me, a heavily armored character feels more logical, flavor-wise, as being more stubborn and headstrong than more agile and adroit.
That starts making them feel an awful lot like rangers though...
Not as much as you would think...
Though maybe make them a Good Will Save alongside a bonus to Init and/or Reflex Saves against AoEs?
Ask again in 3 years.On Golarion, when will the stars be right for my fell masters deep within the Dark Tapestry to descend on the world?
When will that Adventure Path be coming (2012....perhaps)?
Calendar check...
Calendar check...Ask again in 3 years.On Golarion, when will the stars be right for my fell masters deep within the Dark Tapestry to descend on the world?
When will that Adventure Path be coming (2012....perhaps)?
Technically it'll be three years come August 29, 2013 :)
Read earlier in the thread that you went to UC Davis! I'm considering going there for grad school.
1) Did you like the campus/general atmosphere there?
2) Any recommendations on places to eat?
On to gaming questions!
3) Do you know of a race of outsiders (from Pathfinder or any other edition of D&D) that focuses on returning everything to the void? Not out of hatred or malice necessarily, but they just think that life/matter was a mistake?
4) I have a lot of ideas for campaigns, but I have trouble thinking of one-shot adventure ideas. Do you know if this is common at all?
5) What are the elements that make a good one-shot adventure versus a good campaign?
6) Do you know if there are any good guides to becoming proficient at cartography (both world and location maps)? Do you have any tips?
Hypothetical related to CR: if a wizard were to lose their spellcasting as a result of disjoining an artifact, how much would you drop their CR from losing all their spellcasting ability? They would still have all their feats (although some might be useless now), skill ranks, and any magic items they had assembled (even artifacts), and possibly even any spell-like or supernatural abilities they had managed to obtain (e.g. from class levels or the like), but they'd be without their main "schtick".
I'll note in passing that such a wizard would have better Will saves and be proficient with more weapons than a Commoner of equal level.
|
No. It'd be called remove disease or heal or something like that.Would a spell that stops epillepsy be a paralysis effect?
If a disease is of genetic origin it can be permanently cured by remove disease or heal or you need wish or miracle?
Remove disease or heal will temporarily suppress the disease? For how long?
|
|
How long will live a:
1) familiar?
2) animal companion?
3) divine bonded mount or similar creature?
My opinion for 1 and 3 is as long as the master race or maybe as long as their master, sharing life extending benefits that the master get.
For 2 as long as a normal specimen of the race, generally a well cared one as most character with an animal companion can get access to major cure spells, but I haven't seen anything in the rules.
Can I put a Teleportation Circle on a large board or a large cloth to unfurl? If so I got a pretty sadistic combo involving the Maze spell and a one way trip to the sun...
|
|
So, I've worked out what Inquisitors would do for most Gods and Goddesses myself, but one has me stumped. Desna. What kind of inquisitions would this goddess seek out?An inquisitor of Desna would be about rooting out the influence of demons and the Great Old Ones from the world. Her inquisitors are probably the most like fantasy-versions of Call of Cthluhu investigators.
What you think should be the reaction of a devote follower of Desna to an Oracle that has the tongue curse, speak in Aklo and has the Dark Tapestry mystery?
The character is a Magus with a high skill level in religion, so he know what he is seeing.Desna is against the followers of the Dark Tapestry, right?
Currently we have characters with links to the Dark Tapestry in two campaign and we are treating it as generally non good, but not necessarily evil. The Dark Tapestry include good entities?
I would like to ask you some more things on undead:
1. For an undead spellcaster with a familiar (e.g. wizard, witch...), since the two share a life force, should the familiar also become undead as the master does as a result of this (and does the capacity of the share spells familiar ability to bypass creature-type restrictions have any bearing on this e.g. for healing/harming effects)? Further, do you think the familiar of a lich witch (heh) should be able to regenerate from their master's phylactery? (I am picturing Egyptian/Osirian tombs with a big sarcophagus for the master and a small animal-type sarcophagus for the familiar...)
2. To the extent that animation as a mindless undead creature prevents proper judgement and processing of a soul, might some necromancers attempt to work only on the remains of evil dead, claiming to do "good" by these villaineous souls by delaying their eventual punishment? Leaving aside alignment (where I suppose this would still ping as Evil as the Paladin senses it), what would you think of this reasoning?
3. Would the idea of "saving" evil souls from Hell through undeath fit into e.g. Urgathoan theology?
Unrelated:
4. Have you heard the music of Die Antwoord? If so, did you like it?
|
|
Some day, I would love to publish a big giant Inner Sea World Guide sized hardcover about Absalom. At that point, I wouldn't be surprised to see the "hub of the setting" shift away from Varisia and over to Absalom, but until that happens, we've pretty much decided to go with the flow and keep Varisia as that hub. It won't stay that way forever, I don't think, and Absalom's a VERY strong contender for the role of the setting's next "hub," if and when we decide to shift.
A 300 or so page hardcover?
Massive.Even considering that it is a "someday" project, you think to a
redo/add/expand some material on the Pathfinders in that book?
|
Creative Director
|
Calendar check...Ask again in 3 years.On Golarion, when will the stars be right for my fell masters deep within the Dark Tapestry to descend on the world?
When will that Adventure Path be coming (2012....perhaps)?
Well...
There's Dark Tapestry elements in 2 adventures coming out this year (The Dragon's Demand and Doom Comes to Dustpawn).
As for an Adventure Path... ask again in 1 year.
|
Creative Director
|
Technically it'll be three years come August 29, 2013 :)Calendar check...Ask again in 3 years.On Golarion, when will the stars be right for my fell masters deep within the Dark Tapestry to descend on the world?
When will that Adventure Path be coming (2012....perhaps)?
An excellent point. Re-ask on that date! :-)
|
Creative Director
|
Hypothetical related to CR: if a wizard were to lose their spellcasting as a result of disjoining an artifact, how much would you drop their CR from losing all their spellcasting ability? They would still have all their feats (although some might be useless now), skill ranks, and any magic items they had assembled (even artifacts), and possibly even any spell-like or supernatural abilities they had managed to obtain (e.g. from class levels or the like), but they'd be without their main "schtick".
Technically, a wizard with no spellcasting would STILL be tougher than a commoner of equal level... but as far as CR is concerned, a commoner is only 2 points lower than a wizard. A 10th level wizard is CR 9, while a 10th level commoner is CR 8. A 10th level wizard who can't cast spells would be no lower than CR 8, I would say, but I would also say that the CR system doesn't really model things like commoners and spelless wizards.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Read earlier in the thread that you went to UC Davis! I'm considering going there for grad school.
1) Did you like the campus/general atmosphere there?
2) Any recommendations on places to eat?
On to gaming questions!
3) Do you know of a race of outsiders (from Pathfinder or any other edition of D&D) that focuses on returning everything to the void? Not out of hatred or malice necessarily, but they just think that life/matter was a mistake?
4) I have a lot of ideas for campaigns, but I have trouble thinking of one-shot adventure ideas. Do you know if this is common at all?
5) What are the elements that make a good one-shot adventure versus a good campaign?
6) Do you know if there are any good guides to becoming proficient at cartography (both world and location maps)? Do you have any tips?
1) It was great! You should definitely get a bike though; the campus is the largest in the UC system, and the whole place is built for biking. The atmosphere was awesome too; not too pretentious but not too rowdy.
2) Woodstock's Pizza! YUM. Cafe Panini was delicious as well, assuming they're still open. Best baked potatoes ever, anywhere.
3) The proteans are kinda like that.
4) Writer's block? It's absolutely common. When I have it and I want to run a campaign, that's what my giant collection of published adventurers I've collected over the years is there for.
5) Shorter storylines, for one thing. Also, one-shot adventures are great opportunities to tell really weird stories... such as adventures where the players all play commoners, or familiars, or gnomes trapped in a sunken ship, or whatever.
6) Practice! One bit of advice I've given lots of our authors is to buy a notebook filled with graph paper and draw maps. Sketch them while you watch TV. Find maps you like the looks of in published adventures and practice trying to hand copy them into your notebook. Always be mapping!
|
Creative Director
|
No. It'd be called remove disease or heal or something like that.Would a spell that stops epillepsy be a paralysis effect?
If a disease is of genetic origin it can be permanently cured by remove disease or heal or you need wish or miracle?
Remove disease or heal will temporarily suppress the disease? For how long?
Pathfinder makes no difference between genetic diseases or otherwise. I could see setting the DC for such a disease higher, making it harder to cure, but that's it.
|
Creative Director
|
How long will live a:
1) familiar?
2) animal companion?
3) divine bonded mount or similar creature?My opinion for 1 and 3 is as long as the master race or maybe as long as their master, sharing life extending benefits that the master get.
For 2 as long as a normal specimen of the race, generally a well cared one as most character with an animal companion can get access to major cure spells, but I haven't seen anything in the rules.
1) As long as the master, or as long as its normal life span, whichever comes second.
2) As long as a normal animal.
3) As long as a normal animal.
The rules themselves are silent on the matter.
|
Creative Director
|
What you think should be the reaction of a devote follower of Desna to an Oracle that has the tongue curse, speak in Aklo and has the Dark Tapestry mystery?
The character is a Magus with a high skill level in religion, so he know what he is seeing.Desna is against the followers of the Dark Tapestry, right?
Currently we have characters with links to the Dark Tapestry in two campaign and we are treating it as generally non good, but not necessarily evil. The Dark Tapestry include good entities?
The reaction would be suspicion and/or conflict. Whether the devotee would react with violence or pity or concern or hatred depends on the person.
The Dark Tapestry includes very very very few good entities. A tad more lawful ones. But I'd say that 99% of them (likely more) are chaotic and/or evil.
|
Creative Director
|
Some day, I would love to publish a big giant Inner Sea World Guide sized hardcover about Absalom. At that point, I wouldn't be surprised to see the "hub of the setting" shift away from Varisia and over to Absalom, but until that happens, we've pretty much decided to go with the flow and keep Varisia as that hub. It won't stay that way forever, I don't think, and Absalom's a VERY strong contender for the role of the setting's next "hub," if and when we decide to shift.A 300 or so page hardcover?
Massive.Even considering that it is a "someday" project, you think to a
redo/add/expand some material on the Pathfinders in that book?
If we do a big hardcover Absalom book, it will definitely have some info on the Pathfinders in it. Even if we just do another 64 page book it'll have Pathfinder info in it though.
Can I put a Teleportation Circle on a large board or a large cloth to unfurl? If so I got a pretty sadistic combo involving the Maze spell and a one way trip to the sun...Nope; has to be on an immovable object. Or at the very least a large vehicle.
Air Ship + Teleportation Circle =/= Star Trek Style Teleporter?
|
Creative Director
|
I would like to ask you some more things on undead:
1. For an undead spellcaster with a familiar (e.g. wizard, witch...), since the two share a life force, should the familiar also become undead as the master does as a result of this (and does the capacity of the share spells familiar ability to bypass creature-type restrictions have any bearing on this e.g. for healing/harming effects)? Further, do you think the familiar of a lich witch (heh) should be able to regenerate from their master's phylactery? (I am picturing Egyptian/Osirian tombs with a big sarcophagus for the master and a small animal-type sarcophagus for the familiar...)
2. To the extent that animation as a mindless undead creature prevents proper judgement and processing of a soul, might some necromancers attempt to work only on the remains of evil dead, claiming to do "good" by these villaineous souls by delaying their eventual punishment? Leaving aside alignment (where I suppose this would still ping as Evil as the Paladin senses it), what would you think of this reasoning?
3. Would the idea of "saving" evil souls from Hell through undeath fit into e.g. Urgathoan theology?
Unrelated:
4. Have you heard the music of Die Antwoord? If so, did you like it?
1) Nope, the familiar stays alive. A familiar shouldn't be able to regenerate from a lich phylactery at all unless it is a lich with its own phylactery. Being undead does not change how you have to replace/regain a lost/dead familiar.
2) Only if those necromancers aren't good. Working on "evil" dead only is not a good act; it's still an evil act to create undead, regardless of the alignment the body had before it died.
3) Not really. The Urgathoan theology doesn't consider what it does to the dead as "saving souls" at all.
4) Nope, haven't heard it. That I know of.
|
|
Odd question:
If you had to give Fighters an additional Good Save which would you add to them?
Will.
They're supposed to be all about wearing the heavy armor, and I know that they learn how to move in it more easily as they level up, but to me, a heavily armored character feels more logical, flavor-wise, as being more stubborn and headstrong than more agile and adroit.
A few d20 games have an average ST that get up to +9.
What do you think of that?It is a reasonable compromise for a stubborn fighter that shouldn't be as good at struggling against will bending magic as the classes that actually use it?
|
|
Hi James,
Based on your advice I'm going to try to stat up Razmir so that I can feature him as the end boss of a homebrew I'm writing up. I'm hoping you can help.
1) You said he's a 19th Level Wizard. Is he a Universalist?
2) Are there any types of spells you think he would favor over another?
3) Inner Sea Magic says he's Taldan, I assume that means he's human. How old is he? Using age categories, middle-aged, old, or venerable?
4) Do you suppose he'd have any deep plots or is he just living it up hedonism style in Thronestep?Thanks!
1) According to Inner Sea Magic, he's a LE male Taldan wizard 19. Universalist, in other words, since if he was a specialist, I would have called that out like I did for the runelords on those pages.
2) Mind control and illusion.
3) Yup; he's human. He's also venerable, which is why he's super nervous about finding a route to immortality.
4) His main plot is to achieve immortality. All his other plots are support plots for this goal.
Wish magic and extending one life. It is possible?
It has consequences?I recall an hint in a Dragonlance novel about that being possible at the expense of losing what you have learned in your life (essentially losing your levels). Can't recall anything about it in the wishcraft article.
|
Creative Director
|
Odd question:
If you had to give Fighters an additional Good Save which would you add to them?
Will.
They're supposed to be all about wearing the heavy armor, and I know that they learn how to move in it more easily as they level up, but to me, a heavily armored character feels more logical, flavor-wise, as being more stubborn and headstrong than more agile and adroit.
A few d20 games have an average ST that get up to +9.
What do you think of that?
It is a reasonable compromise for a stubborn fighter that shouldn't be as good at struggling against will bending magic as the classes that actually use it?
I'm not sure what you mean by "ST."
And there are options in the game already for fighters who want to be better at Will saves... Iron will feats and archetypes, for example.
|
Creative Director
|
Why does every other Runelord's weapon of rule have something special about except Sorshen's? (unless it being double headed is all that is supposed to be special)
Double headed is special. Furthermore EVERY one of these weapons is an artifact with lots of powers. We've only statted up one so far.
|
Creative Director
|
Wish magic and extending one life. It is possible?
It has consequences?I recall an hint in a Dragonlance novel about that being possible at the expense of losing what you have learned in your life (essentially losing your levels). Can't recall anything about it in the wishcraft article.
Wish can't extend your life beyond your maximum age. If it could, Razmir would have used this solution already, and his country wouldn't exist in the state it currently exists in, after all.
|
Creative Director
|
Mr jacobs
does the brawler (greater ) rage power allow a barbarian to twf with his unarmed strike alone or does he need another weapon to do the extra attack?
** spoiler omitted **
The whole point of that feat is to let the barbarian use two-weapon fighting with unarmed strikes; normally, you have to be a monk to be able to do that.
|
|
Odd question:
If you had to give Fighters an additional Good Save which would you add to them?
Will.
They're supposed to be all about wearing the heavy armor, and I know that they learn how to move in it more easily as they level up, but to me, a heavily armored character feels more logical, flavor-wise, as being more stubborn and headstrong than more agile and adroit.
A few d20 games have an average ST that get up to +9.
What do you think of that?
It is a reasonable compromise for a stubborn fighter that shouldn't be as good at struggling against will bending magic as the classes that actually use it?I'm not sure what you mean by "ST."
And there are options in the game already for fighters who want to be better at Will saves... Iron will feats and archetypes, for example.
Sorry, Sawing Throw. My 1st edition roots show.
|
Creative Director
|
Odd question:
If you had to give Fighters an additional Good Save which would you add to them?
Will.
They're supposed to be all about wearing the heavy armor, and I know that they learn how to move in it more easily as they level up, but to me, a heavily armored character feels more logical, flavor-wise, as being more stubborn and headstrong than more agile and adroit.
A few d20 games have an average ST that get up to +9.
What do you think of that?
It is a reasonable compromise for a stubborn fighter that shouldn't be as good at struggling against will bending magic as the classes that actually use it?I'm not sure what you mean by "ST."
And there are options in the game already for fighters who want to be better at Will saves... Iron will feats and archetypes, for example.
Sorry, Sawing Throw. My 1st edition roots show.
Huh; never heard them called ST in 1st edition either...
Anyway! I think the game works fine as is with the saving throws where they're at. If I didn't... chances are good I would have tried to convince the design team of this as well and it may have been that way to begin with.
|
Creative Director
|
The whole point of that feat is to let the barbarian use two-weapon fighting with unarmed strikes; normally, you have to be a monk to be able to do that.Mr jacobs
does the brawler (greater ) rage power allow a barbarian to twf with his unarmed strike alone or does he need another weapon to do the extra attack?
** spoiler omitted **1) So, other classes besides monks and barbarians can not twf with unarmed strikes?
===============================================================
2) razmir is a lvl 19 wizard, ¿right? it would not be easier for him to gain a new level and obtain the inmortality discovery instead of all his machinations?
3) Today there are a couple of thread about a party consisting entirely of a single class (like 4 clerics or four sorerer). If you have to be in a party like that what class wold you prefer?
1) No... they can. I mis-spoke. I should have said "The whole point of that rage power is to let the barbarian use two-weapon fighting with unarmed strikes without putting a whole feat into two-weapon fighting; normally, only a monk can bypass that feat requirement with flurry of blows."
2) Correct. And one of his goals may well BE to gain 1 level and gain immortality that way. NPCs don't earn XP, though. They level up when the GM (or the writer of whatever adventure or sourcebook it is) decides they do... unless they join a PC adventuring group, I guess. In any event... Razmir has not yet leveled up to 20th level, and that could be one of his plans, but he's worried he'll die of old age before that happens. This is one of the main reasons we set him at 19th level in the first place, in any case.
3) I'd prefer one of my favorite classes, assuming I can pick any class. So, bard or rogue or cleric.