Why? I mean... reprinting them doesn't make those stats any more open content than they already are. Do you just want them to be on the official PRD?Speaking as a 3PP, having things reprinted in the Core Rulebook line is very helpful. We're unable to cite products that aren't included in the Core Rulebook line, after all.
For example, one of our spirits in Pact Magic Unbound, Vol 1 has a Seven Elements theme and when writing the product, I wanted the seventh element to be Void. One of the spirit's granted abilities allows the binder to cast low-level spells from various wizard elementalist schools, but after consulting Vic Wertz I was disappointed to learn that I wasn't able to cite Dragon Empires Primer in my product as the source of the void school; effectively I had to either not refer to the school's source, write my own knock-off of the elemental school and refer to that, or rewrite the ability entirely.
I don't know if that's why Odraude is hoping those critters will graduate, but increasing the pool of referable content for 3PPs is certainly a very valid reason to do so.
I am pretty sure they have now reprinted the Void domain in the Great Old Ones section in Bestiary 4, so you might be in luck
Creative Director
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How awesome would a module be about characters reawakening ancient guardian kaiju to take on one bigass evil kaiju, with the playets controlling the guardian kaiju in the final battle, be?
I'm not sure any adventure that builds up to a final encounter where you don't get to use your characters in the last battle at all is awesome, frankly...
What creature is that white winged fox thing that Chammady Drovenge drapes herself with? Or is it just a case of very imaginative taxidermist?It's either an imaginative taxidermist or a as of yet un-invented monster. Probably the latter.
The Foxotter.
I would go with something that's Large sized and a quadruped. Some sort of ceratopsian makes the most sense, since they're all about charging and have built in lances!I need your unmatched Dino knowledge!
My GM is allowing my samurai to take a dinosaur as a mount because we befriended a clan of dinosaur riding elves. I'm a kitsune. What dinosaurs would make for good mounts. Our campaign is mostly in a jungle.
Going with triceratops because its classic. Thanks!
P.24 of Blood of the Moon, the picture of the wolf-kin - What are those markings on her face? If that's supposed to be a representation of a butterfly, then, as someone who has a couple of friends who suffer from lupus, it's neither funny nor cool.
I suppose I would say "The Feast of Ravenmoor," since it has the right combination of roleplaying, site exploration, mature themes, dark humor, horror, and Varisia.True. What about ones that aren't part of an AP?At this point in time I'd probably say "Rise of the Runelords."Mr. James Jacobs,
What of the modules is the most quintessential of Golarion and Pathfinder?
If you had your pick which iconics would you choose to be the heroes? Besides Merisiel.
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P.24 of Blood of the Moon, the picture of the wolf-kin - What are those markings on her face? If that's supposed to be a representation of a butterfly, then, as someone who has a couple of friends who suffer from lupus, it's neither funny nor cool.
The markings on her face are patches of fur, like what you're seeing on her forearms.
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If you had your pick which iconics would you choose to be the heroes? Besides Merisiel.I suppose I would say "The Feast of Ravenmoor," since it has the right combination of roleplaying, site exploration, mature themes, dark humor, horror, and Varisia.True. What about ones that aren't part of an AP?At this point in time I'd probably say "Rise of the Runelords."Mr. James Jacobs,
What of the modules is the most quintessential of Golarion and Pathfinder?
I'd pick the first four we did—Valeros, Seoni, Merisiel, and Kyra, despite your ridiculous "besides Merisiel" requirement. :-P
P.24 of Blood of the Moon, the picture of the wolf-kin - What are those markings on her face? If that's supposed to be a representation of a butterfly, then, as someone who has a couple of friends who suffer from lupus, it's neither funny nor cool.The markings on her face are patches of fur, like what you're seeing on her forearms.
Say what!? *Trots off to find the LED flashlight, so I can look at the picture in better light*...
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Huh. So they are. Okay, my apologies. *Headbonk* I owe you the nicest parts of the next bharal I kill.
Oh, before I forget, I looked down this morning and realized that the object which was protruding from my belly just below my navel was, in fact, one half of the pair of horns of a very large, peeved ethical dilemma. I could really use some input on this one, so which would be the correct thread to post it on?
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Hey James,
Why is there no faith/religion trait for the Eldest of the First World in Faiths of Balance, but there is for every other group in the other two books?
Archdevils, Demon Lords, Elemental Lords, The Four Horsemen, Elder/Outer gods, Elven, Dwarven, Halfling, Gnome racial gods, and the Empyreal Lords all have a trait, yet the Eldest do not. Why do you forsake them?
I'd pick the first four we did—Valeros, Seoni, Merisiel, and Kyra, despite your ridiculous "besides Merisiel" requirement. :-PIf you had your pick which iconics would you choose to be the heroes? Besides Merisiel.I suppose I would say "The Feast of Ravenmoor," since it has the right combination of roleplaying, site exploration, mature themes, dark humor, horror, and Varisia.True. What about ones that aren't part of an AP?At this point in time I'd probably say "Rise of the Runelords."Mr. James Jacobs,
What of the modules is the most quintessential of Golarion and Pathfinder?
I only say that because I know you'd say her first.
Before I worked at WotC, I worked at a life insurance company in a call center answering phones and talking to life insurance agents who had problems and gripes and complaints about how we were handling their commissions money. (This was, by the way, my least favorite job ever...)
I can imagine. *shudders*
Are you, by chance, aware of the site customerssuck.com?
Here's something that has been bugging me lately and which I don't think has an official answer yet:
Monsters with Class Levels gives general guidelines regarding which core classes add directly to a monster's abilities based on its role. Classes that are marked “key” generally add 1 to a creature's CR for each level added. Classes marked with a “—” increase a creature's CR by 1 for every 2 class levels added until the number of levels added are equal to (or exceed) the creature's original CR, at which point they are treated as “key” levels (adding 1 to the creature's CR for each level added). Creatures that fall into multiple roles treat a class as key if either of its roles treat the class as key. Note that levels in NPC classes are never considered key.
How do the bolded sentences interact? Can an NPC class be "treated" as a key class if a monster has enough levels in that class, or will NPC classes never increase the CR by more than 1 per 2 levels?
The wording seems to lean towards the latter, but this interpretation can create odd discrepancies, as two humanoids with the same amount of NPC class levels will have wildy different CRs if one of them has even a single racial HD (say a bugbear and a goblin).
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Creative Director
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Oh, before I forget, I looked down this morning and realized that the object which was protruding from my belly just below my navel was, in fact, one half of the pair of horns of a very large, peeved ethical dilemma. I could really use some input on this one, so which would be the correct thread to post it on?
I am unsure as to what you're actually asking about, but my guess would be in the off-topics board.
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Creative Director
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Hey James,
Why is there no faith/religion trait for the Eldest of the First World in Faiths of Balance, but there is for every other group in the other two books?
Archdevils, Demon Lords, Elemental Lords, The Four Horsemen, Elder/Outer gods, Elven, Dwarven, Halfling, Gnome racial gods, and the Empyreal Lords all have a trait, yet the Eldest do not. Why do you forsake them?
Because we haven't invented any for them yet. If we some day do more with the Eldest in a player-friendly format, we'll consider adding traits for them. So far, there's not been room or the chance to do so.
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Here's something that has been bugging me lately and which I don't think has an official answer yet:
Monsters with Class Levels gives general guidelines regarding which core classes add directly to a monster's abilities based on its role. Classes that are marked “key” generally add 1 to a creature's CR for each level added. Classes marked with a “—” increase a creature's CR by 1 for every 2 class levels added until the number of levels added are equal to (or exceed) the creature's original CR, at which point they are treated as “key” levels (adding 1 to the creature's CR for each level added). Creatures that fall into multiple roles treat a class as key if either of its roles treat the class as key. Note that levels in NPC classes are never considered key.How do the bolded sentences interact? Can an NPC class be "treated" as a key class if a monster has enough levels in that class, or will NPC classes never increase the CR by more than 1 per 2 levels?
The wording seems to lean towards the latter, but this interpretation can create odd discrepancies, as two humanoids with the same amount of NPC class levels will have wildy different CRs if one of them has even a single racial HD (say a bugbear and a goblin).
The bolded parts are suggestions intended to get you in the ballpark of where the final CR is gonna most likely be. But regardless of how you add levels to a creature, when you're done, you should double check against Table 1–1 to see if the final result's hp, AC, attacks, damage, saves, and ability DCs are more or less in line. If they're not, change the CR manually as needed to make the best fit, regardless of what the math would suggest.
For the most part, NPC classes are so much less powerful than the PC classes that, indeed, they're never considered key.
But remember, once total class level from ANY class equals the monster's original CR, they always become key.
And as for goblins and bugbears... note that goblins have zero racial HD and bugbears actually have 3 racial HD, so the difference there is a bit more than you might think.
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Creative Director
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how do the Empyreal Lords interact with good deities( like Sarenrae/Iomedae/Desna/Shelyn/Erastil)
Depends on the Empyreal Lord and the deity, but for the most part, the Empyreal Lords treat the good deities with respect, and the good deities reciprocate. There are likely6 some arguments and disagreements here and there, of course, particularly between chaotic and lawful deities and demigods.
When you get your One Chance will you be this awesome?
(Link to a Work-Safe YouTube video that will probably make you smile)
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Creative Director
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When you get your One Chance will you be this awesome?
(Link to a Work-Safe YouTube video that will probably make you smile)
I do not think that link leads to where you think it leads...
I do not think that link leads to where you think it leads...When you get your One Chance will you be this awesome?
(Link to a Work-Safe YouTube video that will probably make you smile)
Fixed it!
The bolded parts are suggestions intended to get you in the ballpark of where the final CR is gonna most likely be. But regardless of how you add levels to a creature, when you're done, you should double check against Table 1–1 to see if the final result's hp, AC, attacks, damage, saves, and ability DCs are more or less in line. If they're not, change the CR manually as needed to make the best fit, regardless of what the math would suggest.
For the most part, NPC classes are so much less powerful than the PC classes that, indeed, they're never considered key.
But remember, once total class level from ANY class equals the monster's original CR, they always become key.
And as for goblins and bugbears... note that goblins have zero racial HD and bugbears actually have 3 racial HD, so the difference there is a bit more than you might think.
Good, that's what I was suspecting, since this makes the CR gauging closer to how humanoid NPCs do it, with more of a "delay" for non-keyed classes and leaving the NPC/non-keyed-classed creature a few steps behind a PC/keyed-classes.
And I chose the example because things might get wonky between high-level warriors, with the goblin out-CR-ing the bugbear after level 10ish if warrior never becomes keyed for the bugbear.
Then again, high-level NPC classes are a bit wonky anyways, so I should check out table 1-1 more ^_^
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Can Andriods become vampires or other forms of undead like other humanoids?Androids are humanoid for this exact reason. So that any effects that can affect humanoids can affect them as well. You can have vampire androids!
Excellent. But now my mind is more on an andriod zombie lord that looks like the defleshed terminator.
Now next question, What are the travel and exploration times in the exploration system for a desert hex?
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Creative Director
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Fixed it!I do not think that link leads to where you think it leads...When you get your One Chance will you be this awesome?
(Link to a Work-Safe YouTube video that will probably make you smile)
Probably not, since chances of me ever being in a sports-ball arena are slim to nil.
Have you decided on the iconics for the Iron Gods yet? Even though you won't be announcing them for a while.
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Creative Director
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James,
We all know that there are half-dragons in the world, but what about half-drakes? If so, would they just have a variant version of the half-dragon template?
There is no half-drake template.
You can half a half-dragon drake. Or a half-fiend or half-celestial drake, for that matter. But no, there's no half-drake template, nor do we have plans to ever do one.
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With the new Golarion FAQ added under your oversight. I was hoping to get an official clarification on an issue for Society play.
Do the feats Ammo Drop and Juggle Load, from Halflings of Golarion, work with the Halfling Sling Staff, and other sling weapons not specifically listed in the feat's description? They share similar language to the Halfling's Warslinger racial trait which was clarified to not function with anything other than the sling.
Ammo Drop (Combat)
Source Halflings of Golarion pg. 23
Your coordination is so perfect that you can simply drop ammunition from your hand at the exact moment required for it to fall into an open sling as your twirl it around.
Prerequisites: Sleight of Hand 1 rank, proficient with sling.
Benefit: You can load a sling or one end of a double sling with one hand as a swift action or move action. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity.Juggle Load (Combat)
Source Halflings of Golarion pg. 23
Your fingers are so nimble that reloading your sling is almost effortless for you.
Prerequisites: Ammo Drop, Sleight of Hand 1 rank, proficient with sling.
Benefit: You can load a sling or double sling as a free action. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity. This feat allows you to fire your sling as many times in a full-attack action as you could attack if you were using a bow.
Ok! I've added a response to the Golarion FAQ for this (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1gj#v5748eaic9rdo). Alas... the answer is no. These feats ONLY work for the specific weapons they mention in the text. Not for all "sling-like" weapons.
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James,
We all know that there are half-dragons in the world, but what about half-drakes? If so, would they just have a variant version of the half-dragon template?
There is no half-drake template.
You can half a half-dragon drake. Or a half-fiend or half-celestial drake, for that matter. But no, there's no half-drake template, nor do we have plans to ever do one.
That's not really what I was asking. I know there isn't a half-drake template. What I asked was if they exist, would they just be a variant version of the half-dragon?
1. An argument in favor of optimization, not in the sense of minmaxing stats but of picking a character class because they fulfill a tactical combat niche instead of a story role: PCs need every advantage they can get, particularly against smart enemies or when on a timer. What is your counterargument?
2. Are the Harbingers of Fate going to show up in any material anytime soon? I know how Paizo likes to mirror AR and CE (e.g., Reign of Winter takes place in 4713 AR and was published in 2013 CE), and it's getting to be about that time when the last prophecy is supposed to (fail to) occur.
3. Wrath of the Righteous strongly hints that there should be a paladin in the party (e.g., two powerful magic items that work best for paladins). Besides sell them or give them to Iribeth, what do I do with paladin gear?
4. If the power gap between gods and demigods is so large, then why are god-demigod conflicts (Pharasma vs. Charon, Pazuzu vs. Lamastu, etc) stalemates?
5. Check out this developing charity event (warning: naughty pics). What do you think?
6. Is Desna willing to share Arueshalae with other divinities? Would Arueshalae be willing to participate in the rituals of other divinities (particularly Arshea)?
7. Speaking of Arshea, why is e one of your favorite empyreal lords?
8. What do you think of the corrections I made to the Bestiary empyreals? Or are you not legally allowed to look at them?
9. Speaking of empyreals, are they really CR 21+ as Bestiary 4 says (p.293), or are they actually CR 26+? Also, how come they don't get polymorph any object in their realms (p.87)?
10. If I see errors, oversights, or inconsistencies, who or where should I report them to?
Can mythic monsters such as Apocalypse Locust, Graeae and Argus appear only in Mythic AP's or can they appear also in normal AP's?
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Creative Director
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That's not really what I was asking. I know there isn't a half-drake template. What I asked was if they exist, would they just be a variant version of the half-dragon?James,
We all know that there are half-dragons in the world, but what about half-drakes? If so, would they just have a variant version of the half-dragon template?
There is no half-drake template.
You can half a half-dragon drake. Or a half-fiend or half-celestial drake, for that matter. But no, there's no half-drake template, nor do we have plans to ever do one.
If they existed, I'd like to see them be something different than the half-dragon, because if they weren't, then why invent them in the first place? And one of the reasons it doesn't exist is because I can't really envision them being something different.
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Creative Director
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Can mythic monsters such as Apocalypse Locust, Graeae and Argus appear only in Mythic AP's or can they appear also in normal AP's?
They can appear wherever they want. That's the whole reason we built the mythic rules the way we did in the first place—so they're 100% compatible with the rest of the game. Just as mythic characters can fight non-mythic foes... non-mythic characters can fight mythic foes. The CR for all of them is all correct, regardless.
Mr. James Jacobs,
Do you or your staff have means, trick, or aid you use to come up with names for the APs?
I'm trying to think of one for a campaign involving the qlippoth and their bid to retake the abyss while dragging the mortal races into the problem, but i'm having trouble.
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Creative Director
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1. An argument in favor of optimization, not in the sense of minmaxing stats but of picking a character class because they fulfill a tactical combat niche instead of a story role: PCs need every advantage they can get, particularly against smart enemies or when on a timer. What is your counterargument?
2. Are the Harbingers of Fate going to show up in any material anytime soon? I know how Paizo likes to mirror AR and CE (e.g., Reign of Winter takes place in 4713 AR and was published in 2013 CE), and it's getting to be about that time when the last prophecy is supposed to (fail to) occur.
3. Wrath of the Righteous strongly hints that there should be a paladin in the party (e.g., two powerful magic items that work best for paladins). Besides sell them or give them to Iribeth, what do I do with paladin gear?
4. If the power gap between gods and demigods is so large, then why are god-demigod conflicts (Pharasma vs. Charon, Pazuzu vs. Lamastu, etc) stalemates?
5. Check out this developing charity event (warning: naughty pics). What do you think?
6. Is Desna willing to share Arueshalae with other divinities? Would Arueshalae be willing to participate in the rituals of other divinities (particularly Arshea)?
7. Speaking of Arshea, why is e one of your favorite empyreal lords?
8. What do you think of the corrections I made to the Bestiary empyreals? Or are you not legally allowed to look at them?
9. Speaking of empyreals, are they really CR 21+ as Bestiary 4 says (p.293), or are they actually CR 26+? Also, how come they don't get polymorph any object in their realms (p.87)?
10. If I see errors, oversights, or inconsistencies, who or where should I report them to?
1) The idea that PCs need every advantage they can get presupposes the existence of a GM who is taking every advantage to TPK them. That's not the type of game I like to play or run. The best way to run is a game where the players are free to build what they want because they trust the GM that he/she will throw challenging and entertaining encounters their way but isn't all about trying to "win."
2) Probably not. Certainly not until after their last prophecy is supposed to fail. Not to date myself a little... but think of them like the Y2K conspiracy folks back in 1999. Once the calendar flipped over to 2000 and nothing bad happened, the whole movement kinda fell apart. In this case, though, I doubt that the Harbingers will "fall apart" once their calendar runs out with a whimper. That could well be the trigger that causes them to up their game into something worthy of an adventure or adventure path. We'll see.
3) I assume this means you don't have a paladin in your group. If you're the GM... it might be best to just leave those items out of the game or replace them. If you're a player, give them to Irabeth!
4) It's not that the power gap is large, it's that there's no rules for it. Pazuzu can still threaten Lamashtu... but mostly because Pazuzu has more time to dedicate to that than Lamashtu does. Look at how terrorists work—the difference in resources and power between a lone group or even a single terrorist is pretty significant against a MUCH more powerful nation if they take the precisely right actions.
5) I'll have to wait till after work to investigate that link further, but from a first glance... ha!
6) Arueshalae has free will now that she's risen from being a demon. As a result, whether or not she's "shared" isn't up to Desna. Whether or not Arueshalae would be interested in participating in other rituals depends on her.
7) Because she challenges society and the readers in a way I think people need to be challenged.
8) That'd fall under the category of "not looking at and providing feedback on anything not being paid for/purchased by Paizo." Sorry!
9) They should be CR 26+. They don't get the exact same abilities in their realms as demon lords because they're not demon lords. That means they have to have SOME differences. (Another reason: Because the Empyreal Lords were designed by a different designer than me, who did all the other high CR creatures in the book, and then for whatever reason during development they weren't normalized... perhaps for the reason I list above.)
10) In the product's thread or on the rules forum where folks can hit the FAQ button.
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Creative Director
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Mr. James Jacobs,
Do you or your staff have means, trick, or aid you use to come up with names for the APs?
I'm trying to think of one for a campaign involving the qlippoth and their bid to retake the abyss while dragging the mortal races into the problem, but i'm having trouble.
For the most part, Rob and I come up with the names for the APs. We often call upon others like Wes or Erik or Sutter to help. And for Wrath of the Righteous, the name suggestion came from the boards here, from Kajehase.
I often look to names for old pulp stories or 1st edition D&D names as inspiration.
One sure-fire way to name an adventure or AP is to figure out the single most important location and simply name the thing after that site. Be it "The Tomb of Horrors" or "Undermountain" or "Fortress of the Stone Giants" or "Carrion Hill" or whatever.
How do you pronounce Karzoug's name? Car-ZOOG orThe first one.Car-ZOWG?
That's weird. I've been pronouncing it "Kar-Zog".
Mr. James Jacobs,
Do you or your staff have means, trick, or aid you use to come up with names for the APs?
I'm trying to think of one for a campaign involving the qlippoth and their bid to retake the abyss while dragging the mortal races into the problem, but i'm having trouble.
For the most part, Rob and I come up with the names for the APs. We often call upon others like Wes or Erik or Sutter to help. And for Wrath of the Righteous, the name suggestion came from the boards here, from Kajehase.
I often look to names for old pulp stories or 1st edition D&D names as inspiration.
One sure-fire way to name an adventure or AP is to figure out the single most important location and simply name the thing after that site. Be it "The Tomb of Horrors" or "Undermountain" or "Fortress of the Stone Giants" or "Carrion Hill" or whatever.
Things to ponder. Thank you.
How do you pronounce Karzoug's name? Car-ZOOG orThe first one.Car-ZOWG?
Huh. I've been pronouncing it "kar-zoug" (where the "ou" has the same sound as in "loud"), which the spelling would imply.
I often look to names for old pulp stories or 1st edition D&D names as inspiration.
One sure-fire way to name an adventure or AP is to figure out the single most important location and simply name the thing after that site. Be it "The Tomb of Horrors" or "Undermountain" or "Fortress of the Stone Giants" or "Carrion Hill" or whatever.
The Right Hand of Doom, hah.