Creative Director
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In Classic Treasures Revisited, there's an "Azlanti Cube" derivative of the Cube of Force (or rather a possible primogenitor that Nex may have adapted his own designs from...) that has defied attempts to translate it except in a partial sense because it seems to be a mix of Azlanti and Thassilonian writing.
Given how cheap a Comprehend Languages spell is, am I right in assuming that the reason this hasn't been used to help decipher it is because the cube is in fact an artifact (major or minor?) of some description? Has anybody tried to use particularly powerful magic to force (pardon the pun) a translation out of the cube? Or perhaps a legend lore spell?
And as a tangential question, will the Mythic handbook provide modified rules for how the Legend Lore spell interacts with characters? Since the spell specifies any character over 10th level, it would theoretically be possible for a low-level character to have several Mythic tiers and be mythic but still not identifiable for the purposes of the spell, which seems a bit odd for a "mythic" individual.
A magic item doesn't have to be an artifact in order to baffle and vex a 1st level spell. And whether or not someone's tried to further decipher the Azlanti Cube... not yet. Maybe some day we'll cover that in an adventure or something.
Once someone has a mythic level, I would think that by definition they're legendary and thus should be things that legend lore should tell you.
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Creative Director
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1) What race would Ragathiel have been at birth? Aasimar, ifrit, tiefling, some sort of unique outsider...?
2) What constitutes "heresy" against Abadar?
--2a) What heresy did Ezren's father commit? I have this horrible image of Ezren working tirelessly for years to try to prove that dear old Dad did NOT heal the sick for free!
--2B) How is the Bound Blade (Artifacts and Legends, p. 36) "heresy made manifest" to Abadarites? It's LE and, if anything, a relic of Zon-Kuthon's church; it's true that a paladin of Abadar helped kill Kazavon and then spent the rest of her life making sure the Claws were entombed... is it simply that using the Blade is an insult to Roianda's efforts?
1) I'm not sure Ragathiel was actually born. He probably started life as an angel. The upcoming book may well have more info—I didn't work on it though so I can't say yet.
2) Plenty. Aggressive charity and donation to the poor would likely count, as would be anything that's overly liberal politically or sought to lessen government power over a city.
2a) We haven't revealed that yet. We might some day.
2b) Dunno. Haven't read that entry. That's a Wes question.
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Creative Director
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Is the 500 gp for "crafted clockwork pieces" in the Construction section for a Clockwork Servant the cost to simply purchase them? If so, this means one could craft the pieces themselves for 1/3 the price, yes?
However you get ahold of the clockwork pieces, they need to be worth 500 gp in the end.
So...see any good horror movies in the last few weeks?
Also have you checked out Hemlock Grove yet on Netflix? If so what did you think (about 1/3 of the way through myself)
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Creative Director
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Any chance of there being preview blogs for Demons revisited (Including some of the artwork?)
Hmm. Generally, as we build up to Gen Con, the blog gets increasingly clogged with previews for that month's hardcover release and then perhaps a bit with the Adventure Path. And all the normal Gen Con stuff. It's very unlikely we'll do any Demons Revisited previews, as much as I am personally delighted by the idea. We'll see!
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Creative Director
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Are we ever going to see more monsters in the Akata family tree?
What are your thoughts on a Candibus? (Candy + Succubus)
Probably not. Akatas are pretty much it. Not every monster benefits from being a family tree.
Candibus? The word itself is kinda silly... but a gummy succubus or a chocolate succubus does sound pretty delicious.
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Creative Director
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So...see any good horror movies in the last few weeks?
Also have you checked out Hemlock Grove yet on Netflix? If so what did you think (about 1/3 of the way through myself)
I've been pretty slammed with Gen Con stuff and freelance for the past several weeks, alas. I've managed to take a few breaks here and there to see a couple of movies at the theater... one of which was Evil Dead (which I LOVED!!!). But I've not been able to watch anything on Netflix since... (checks account)...
hmm. About a month.
Last movie I watched on Netflix streaming was "Hypothermia" back on 3/22. It was an... interesting... movie, as I reviewed on my blog.
My physical disc viewing has lagged even further... last one I got shipped was disc 1 of Season 6 of Dexter, which arrived on 2/26. Haven't watched that yet either.
I'm hoping HOPING that after next week, when the gen con crunch ends, I'll have more time to do things like not work, and actually enjoy my Netflix subscription again. The first thing I'll watch there is probably "The Frankenstein Theory," but Hemlock Grove will be viewed at some point.
What's wrong with Shimye-Magalla?I'm not a fan of the implication that the two deities merged into one new deity to be worshiped by clerics, because that's more of an oracle thing. And because of the deities I grandfathered into Golarion from my homebrew, Desna's probably my favorite, and I've never really seen her as the type of deity to "voltron" with other deities. She's kind of intended to be something of a lone wolf who does a lot of things on her own that the other deities might not approve of.
Being a weird alien outsider who wasn't yet familiar with Humans may be just the reason for this exception to happen, right? I mean, if she/it interacts with alien hive-mind species on other worlds, what is so weird about a hybrid merged deity? If the people were already worshipping the other god, perhaps in wierd heretical ways, and moved closer to her worship, the hybrid janniform seems pretty plausible, and if she was OK with this weird hybrid 'aspect' of her divinity being worshipped and that having a full divine connection, why not?
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I actually really like the combination to make Shimye-Magalla because it shows how religions can evolve in completely different areas and cultures and how two completely different cultures can worship the same god in very different ways.
Out of curiosity, would you consider doubling the regular dervish dancer (from UC) bonuses on battle dance, to bring it in line with the dawnflower dervish battle dance, acceptable?Nope. The UC dervish dancer does different things instead of the doubled bonuses.
Fair enough,
One last question, concerning the dawnflower dervish, if you don't mind.
In order to be able to use the dervish dance feat granted by the archetype, do you still need to have the weapon finesse feat? ...Or are you free to ignore the prerequisites of the feat?
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Creative Director
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Being a weird alien outsider who wasn't yet familiar with Humans may be just the reason for this exception to happen, right? I mean, if she/it interacts with alien hive-mind species on other worlds, what is so weird about a hybrid merged deity? If the people were already worshipping the other god, perhaps in wierd heretical ways, and moved closer to her worship, the hybrid janniform seems pretty plausible, and if she was OK with this weird hybrid 'aspect' of her divinity being worshipped and that having a full divine connection, why not?What's wrong with Shimye-Magalla?I'm not a fan of the implication that the two deities merged into one new deity to be worshiped by clerics, because that's more of an oracle thing. And because of the deities I grandfathered into Golarion from my homebrew, Desna's probably my favorite, and I've never really seen her as the type of deity to "voltron" with other deities. She's kind of intended to be something of a lone wolf who does a lot of things on her own that the other deities might not approve of.
Nope.
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Creative Director
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Out of curiosity, would you consider doubling the regular dervish dancer (from UC) bonuses on battle dance, to bring it in line with the dawnflower dervish battle dance, acceptable?Nope. The UC dervish dancer does different things instead of the doubled bonuses.Fair enough,
One last question, concerning the dawnflower dervish, if you don't mind.
In order to be able to use the dervish dance feat granted by the archetype, do you still need to have the weapon finesse feat? ...Or are you free to ignore the prerequisites of the feat?
You gain Dervish Dance as a bonus feat. No need for Weapon Finesse, or frankly, any of the other prerequisites for Dervish Dance.
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Any chance of there being preview blogs for Demons revisited (Including some of the artwork?)Hmm. Generally, as we build up to Gen Con, the blog gets increasingly clogged with previews for that month's hardcover release and then perhaps a bit with the Adventure Path. And all the normal Gen Con stuff. It's very unlikely we'll do any Demons Revisited previews, as much as I am personally delighted by the idea. We'll see!
Fair enough any chance of mentioning which iconics are in the openers then?
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like rust monster licks.So hw many licks does it take to get to the middle of a Iron Golem?
The world may never know.
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Creative Director
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Fair enough any chance of mentioning which iconics are in the openers then?Any chance of there being preview blogs for Demons revisited (Including some of the artwork?)Hmm. Generally, as we build up to Gen Con, the blog gets increasingly clogged with previews for that month's hardcover release and then perhaps a bit with the Adventure Path. And all the normal Gen Con stuff. It's very unlikely we'll do any Demons Revisited previews, as much as I am personally delighted by the idea. We'll see!
Working by memory...
Babau vs. Magus
Balor vs. Rogue
Glabrezu vs. Druid
Hezrou vs. Wizard
Invidiak and Gunslinger vs. Paladin
Marilith vs. Fighter
Nabasu vs. Witch
Nalfeshnee vs. uh.... can't remember
Succubus vs. Cleric
Vrock vs. Ranger
I'm hoping HOPING that after next week, when the gen con crunch ends, I'll have more time to do things like not work, and actually enjoy my Netflix subscription again. The first thing I'll watch there is probably "The Frankenstein Theory," but Hemlock Grove will be viewed at some point.
Don't bother with Hemlock Grove. Despite a pretty good cast, it's really terrible. I couldn't get through episode 3.
James,
In Champions of Purity there's a magic item, the Devil's Key, which is basically a sword that.. I'll just quote the thing to avoid confusion
The devil’s key is designed
to permanently slay evil outsiders by
bringing the fight to their plane of
origin so they can be killed outright.
Once per day as a swift action after a successful attack against
an evil outsider, the wielder can activate the sword to plane
shift the wielder and the target of the attack to the creature’s
home plane. The targeted outsider can resist this effect with
a successful DC 20 Will save. Once the target of this ability is
slain by the wielder, the sword activates another plane shift
as an immediate action that brings the wielder back to the
exact spot it previously left.
I had thought though in Pathfinder there wasn't any more of that whole "you don't actually kill an evil outsider if you kill it anywhere besides its home plane" stuff? The sword seems to imply otherwise.
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Creative Director
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I'm hoping HOPING that after next week, when the gen con crunch ends, I'll have more time to do things like not work, and actually enjoy my Netflix subscription again. The first thing I'll watch there is probably "The Frankenstein Theory," but Hemlock Grove will be viewed at some point.Don't bother with Hemlock Grove. Despite a pretty good cast, it's really terrible. I couldn't get through episode 3.
Gonna anyway, but thanks for the expectation management heads up.
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Creative Director
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James,
In Champions of Purity there's a magic item, the Devil's Key, which is basically a sword that.. I'll just quote the thing to avoid confusion
I had thought though in Pathfinder there wasn't any more of that whole "you don't actually kill an evil outsider if you kill it anywhere besides its home plane" stuff? The sword seems to imply otherwise.The devil’s key is designed
to permanently slay evil outsiders by
bringing the fight to their plane of
origin so they can be killed outright.
Once per day as a swift action after a successful attack against
an evil outsider, the wielder can activate the sword to plane
shift the wielder and the target of the attack to the creature’s
home plane. The targeted outsider can resist this effect with
a successful DC 20 Will save. Once the target of this ability is
slain by the wielder, the sword activates another plane shift
as an immediate action that brings the wielder back to the
exact spot it previously left.
That's a bit of edition creep, unfortunately, that probably shouldn't have been added to Pathfinder.
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Creative Director
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If you could change the Mwangi Expanse area what would you change because as it is it's not all that interesting for such a large portion of the map
I wouldn't. I happen to think that it's quite an interesting area, to be honest—check out "Heart of the Jungle" or Serpents' Skull for some of the stuff going on there.
In fact, the Mwangi Expanse is a LOT larger than it looks, since it extends quite a bit south off the map.
When you played Mass Effect 1, did you play as a soldier, biotic, or a tech? Did you ever replay it?
(I am playing soldier, and have completed the Intro, initial Citadel, and Noveria missions. I have been doing some side missions but am about ready to go to Ferros)
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That's a bit of edition creep, unfortunately, that probably shouldn't have been added to Pathfinder.James,
In Champions of Purity there's a magic item, the Devil's Key, which is basically a sword that.. I'll just quote the thing to avoid confusion
I had thought though in Pathfinder there wasn't any more of that whole "you don't actually kill an evil outsider if you kill it anywhere besides its home plane" stuff? The sword seems to imply otherwise.The devil’s key is designed
to permanently slay evil outsiders by
bringing the fight to their plane of
origin so they can be killed outright.
Once per day as a swift action after a successful attack against
an evil outsider, the wielder can activate the sword to plane
shift the wielder and the target of the attack to the creature’s
home plane. The targeted outsider can resist this effect with
a successful DC 20 Will save. Once the target of this ability is
slain by the wielder, the sword activates another plane shift
as an immediate action that brings the wielder back to the
exact spot it previously left.
WHY was I not informed of this rule change!?!
Speaking of wasn't a big part of Treerazer's backstory was that he was cut off from the abyss and was trying to go back? With this in effect he's pretty much just on vacation.
James, did you write the Eldest? I'm making a PFS character who thinks that the Eldest have cursed her (and given her power) when her leg was terribly maimed (she's a cavalier-1/oracle-the rest) and believes that Ng wants her to join the Society "in the meantime," while they wait for whatever they may have had in mind for her.
Does it sound reasonable and in keeping with your concept of the Eldest (assuming, in this post, that you wrote them) for that to be, kind of, "how they work?"
I dig this character concept, as it hits a lot of tropes and conceptions I have of the fey knight; I just want a little affirmation (or tell-off-ery, if incorrect) to keep with the Golarion...thing...
That's a bit of edition creep, unfortunately, that probably shouldn't have been added to Pathfinder.
Thank you for the answer.
Is there any chance of a supplement or something sometime more firmly noting the whole "if an evil outsider dies, it dies" thing?
I'm confused on Serpentfolk, specifically the Advanced Serpentfolk in Bestiary 2. It gives examples of its ability score modifiers for Advanced Serpentfolk. Is this added to the base Serpentfolk they show in the Bestiary?
Also, since it says that Advanced Serpentfolk have class levels, what does that make the base serpentfolk? Can they take classes without becoming advanced serpentfolk?
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Creative Director
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When you played Mass Effect 1, did you play as a soldier, biotic, or a tech? Did you ever replay it?
(I am playing soldier, and have completed the Intro, initial Citadel, and Noveria missions. I have been doing some side missions but am about ready to go to Ferros)
Played as a tech who did a fair amount of snipering.
Never replayed it, though.
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Creative Director
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James, did you write the Eldest? I'm making a PFS character who thinks that the Eldest have cursed her (and given her power) when her leg was terribly maimed (she's a cavalier-1/oracle-the rest) and believes that Ng wants her to join the Society "in the meantime," while they wait for whatever they may have had in mind for her.
Does it sound reasonable and in keeping with your concept of the Eldest (assuming, in this post, that you wrote them) for that to be, kind of, "how they work?"
I dig this character concept, as it hits a lot of tropes and conceptions I have of the fey knight; I just want a little affirmation (or tell-off-ery, if incorrect) to keep with the Golarion...thing...
You're partially right in that James wrote about the Eldest. It was James Sutter though, not me.
A lot of what the Eldest are up to is not really all that comprehensible by mortals, so that backstory works fine.
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Creative Director
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That's a bit of edition creep, unfortunately, that probably shouldn't have been added to Pathfinder.
Thank you for the answer.
Is there any chance of a supplement or something sometime more firmly noting the whole "if an evil outsider dies, it dies" thing?
I don't think there needs to be, since the standard assumption should be "If a living thing is killed, it dies."
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Creative Director
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I'm confused on Serpentfolk, specifically the Advanced Serpentfolk in Bestiary 2. It gives examples of its ability score modifiers for Advanced Serpentfolk. Is this added to the base Serpentfolk they show in the Bestiary?
Also, since it says that Advanced Serpentfolk have class levels, what does that make the base serpentfolk? Can they take classes without becoming advanced serpentfolk?
Anytime a serpent folk gains class levels, its abilities and powers and stats change as noted.
The racial ability score modifiers are listed so you can build a serpentfolk using the standard stat point buy—when you apply those to a baseline set of stats equal to 11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10, you get the normal serpent folk stats, you'll note.
I'm confused on Serpentfolk, specifically the Advanced Serpentfolk in Bestiary 2. It gives examples of its ability score modifiers for Advanced Serpentfolk. Is this added to the base Serpentfolk they show in the Bestiary?
Also, since it says that Advanced Serpentfolk have class levels, what does that make the base serpentfolk? Can they take classes without becoming advanced serpentfolk?
Anytime a serpent folk gains class levels, its abilities and powers and stats change as noted.
The racial ability score modifiers are listed so you can build a serpentfolk using the standard stat point buy—when you apply those to a baseline set of stats equal to 11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10, you get the normal serpent folk stats, you'll note.
Oooh, okay! That makes a great deal more sense. Thanks!
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Well, I got a few more questions to ask ya Mr. Jacobs. Hopefully you aren't so stupid that you're getting annoyed by them.
-If you were going to create a weirder PC Alien race, IE. something more akin to the Brethedans, insectoids of Nchak, Flumphs, or even the Skirr from Fantasy Flight Games' Twisted Lore, how would you do it?
-How would you justify a good Syrinx character, since I'm assuming that that's what they were given PC stats for and its' a lot harder to see how one of them would turn good compared to, say, a Syrinx?
-What of the Monstrous races (Not Tieflings, because I don't quite count them as monstrous races) would be best suited for a "Love redeems"-type plot as an NPC or PC.
-How, other than Backwards Compatibility, would you justify keeping the Vermin subtype? Because, I dislike that subtype and its accompanying mindlessness because of how it implies that arthropods and their kin are "lesser" than other animals, which most people who know about arthropods think is total bunk.
-If you had to, given that they're open content, how would you integrate the Eleti from Mythic Races into Golarion without making them Always Evil like other Undead? Because the idea of a race of skeleton people who reproduce by animating other skeletons and just want to be loved appeals waaaay too much to me.
-Any chance of Prestige Races from Dragon returning as a concept in Pathfinder, given that the idea is open content?
-How would you design a sci-fi/horror-ish "Mutant" class? I'm thinking of designing one with ever-evolving Natural weapons as a class feature, a point-buy system of mutations similar to a Summoner's Eilodion, and a system of Sorceror Bloodline-ish mutation origins (Such as Repressed Emotions, Alien Parasites, Touched By Strange Powers, The Next Stage in Evolution, Strange Radiations, Alchemical Alteration, Magical Warping and so-on), but I was wondering what you'd think would work best.
-What existing Pathfinder creature would be good for occupying an analogous role to the Neogi in a Pathfinder space campaign?
-Is there ever going to be an equivalent to D&D's Kaorti in Pathfinder, IE, humanoids warped into horrible monsters by hideous aberrant things? I mean, you invented the Kaorti, so you'd be the one to make their Golarion equivalent.
-How would you put Dragonborn in Golarion if you were able to and had your arm twisted to, given that you don't seem like the type who'd like Dragonborn?
-Have you ever worked with Mike Mearls? If so, what was he like, and what does your work experience make you think about his work on D&DNext?
Well, I got a few more questions to ask ya Mr. Jacobs. Hopefully you aren't so stupid that you're getting annoyed by them.
While the rest of your post seems pretty standard, this part kind of sounds like your calling James stupid (in the way that saying "Well, you're not *that* ugly" is still calling someone ugly). This is, I'd say, demonstrably false and also pretty rude to someone your asking questions of! :o Was this just an unfortunate phrasing?
Ah, that's probably it Rysky.
Ok, question for James since I've revealed my lurking!
Is there room for an Aeon that is a manifestation of the opposing forces of law and chaos? Or is that too close to other Aeons (logic vs. emotion, creation vs. destruction, etc.)?