Creative Director
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Any thoughts on Words of Power?
Going bit deeper:
- How are they spoken? (Considering that single word can take as much as nine pages to write)
- What language is similar to wordspells?
Not a fan of Words of Power. I've put zero thought into them, how they're spoken, and what language they're in.
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Creative Director
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Do you not recognize this as a song from, like, the 50s or 60s or so? I can't remember when and I'm too lazy to google it, specifically, but...yeah...It's been a while since I've seen what looks like a total nonsense question on this thread, so I suppose it's time to repost my "If you post a question that makes no sense to me, don't be surprised if I don't answer it," mantra...Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?
Who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong?
Who put the bop in the bop shoo bop shoo bop?
Who put the dip in the dip da dip da dip?Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand.
I don't recognize it at all.
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Creative Director
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It's been a while since I've seen what looks like a total nonsense question on this thread, so I suppose it's time to repost my "If you post a question that makes no sense to me, don't be surprised if I don't answer it," mantra...Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?
Who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong?
Who put the bop in the bop shoo bop shoo bop?
Who put the dip in the dip da dip da dip?Who was that man? I'd like to shake his hand.
This is a reference to the 1961 novelty song, "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" by Barry Mann. The song made fun of the then-popular doo-wop style of pop music that included lots of nonsense lyrics... by being a doo-wop song with lots of nonsense lyrics.
Do you ever listen to oldies?
Only when I'm playing a Fallout Game, generally.
Not a fan of Words of Power. I've put zero thought into them, how they're spoken, and what language they're in.Any thoughts on Words of Power?
Going bit deeper:
- How are they spoken? (Considering that single word can take as much as nine pages to write)
- What language is similar to wordspells?
What is your favourite system of magic then? In all D&D games, not just PF.
Also, on Words of Power, do you maybe know who (among devs who have Question threads) is interested in them? Its great thing and I want to know what people there think ^^
So I am working on a new adventure location. A place I call the inverted sea. A spot in the ocean where for over 100 leagues the water gets unnaturally clear and glows a pale blue green. Reefs appear in the sky along with all manner of wildlife swimming freely in the air. The sky is a permanent night with visible stars and moon, and at the seas centre a great sea elf city of unimaginable beauty. Boats who enter this area can sail into the sky without difficulty. Where is the best place to put this location on Golarion in your opinion James? I wish to use it as a big part of a custom campaign.
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Creative Director
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Not a fan of Words of Power. I've put zero thought into them, how they're spoken, and what language they're in.Any thoughts on Words of Power?
Going bit deeper:
- How are they spoken? (Considering that single word can take as much as nine pages to write)
- What language is similar to wordspells?What is your favourite system of magic then? In all D&D games, not just PF.
Also, on Words of Power, do you maybe know who (among devs who have Question threads) is interested in them? Its great thing and I want to know what people there think ^^
I'm pretty fond of spontaneous casting, like you see with bards and sorcerers.
There's not really many folks here that are all that into words of power, frankly. They were designed by Jason Bulmahn, but he's a designer, not a developer (not sure if that makes a difference though).
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Creative Director
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What's your favourite armor set in Dark Souls 3 so far?
Are you still using the Uchigatana or have you found a weapon you like even more?
I was using the brigand armor for a long time, but now I'm using a mix of fire witch and a few other suits of armor. I try to keep at 60 to 65% encumbrance.
My uchigatana is now a +7 sharp uchigatana, and remains the primary weapon I use. I also make a LOT of use of the dragonrider bow (or whatever it's called) and the dragonslayer bow. Also have some specialized weapons; the twin scimitars are blessed and for use against undead and skeletons who respawn. The notched whip is a fire whip and for use against slimes and other things that hate fire. I use one of the gross poison curved swords with a deep gem to get the dark magic against creatures that are susceptible to dark (such as the old demon lord). I just enhanced a washing pole katana with lightning but haven't used it much yet.
I still like the uchigatana the best overall though.
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Creative Director
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So I am working on a new adventure location. A place I call the inverted sea. A spot in the ocean where for over 100 leagues the water gets unnaturally clear and glows a pale blue green. Reefs appear in the sky along with all manner of wildlife swimming freely in the air. The sky is a permanent night with visible stars and moon, and at the seas centre a great sea elf city of unimaginable beauty. Boats who enter this area can sail into the sky without difficulty. Where is the best place to put this location on Golarion in your opinion James? I wish to use it as a big part of a custom campaign.
Somewhere near Sarusan, since that region's unexplored an mysterious.
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What's your favourite armor set in Dark Souls 3 so far?
Are you still using the Uchigatana or have you found a weapon you like even more?
I was using the brigand armor for a long time, but now I'm using a mix of fire witch and a few other suits of armor. I try to keep at 60 to 65% encumbrance.
My uchigatana is now a +7 sharp uchigatana, and remains the primary weapon I use. I also make a LOT of use of the dragonrider bow (or whatever it's called) and the dragonslayer bow. Also have some specialized weapons; the twin scimitars are blessed and for use against undead and skeletons who respawn. The notched whip is a fire whip and for use against slimes and other things that hate fire. I use one of the gross poison curved swords with a deep gem to get the dark magic against creatures that are susceptible to dark (such as the old demon lord). I just enhanced a washing pole katana with lightning but haven't used it much yet.
I still like the uchigatana the best overall though.
Ooo I haven't found the washing pole yet (still in front of Pontiff Sulyvahn's door helping other people kill him :3) ...
I can't give up the Farron Greatsword, I like the moveset too much ;p
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Creative Director
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Hey James. Have you played the Mass Effect series? I just finished it myself (yes, I am quite late to the party) and noticed something. If you or anyone else haven't played it yet and still want to, don't click on the spoiler...
** spoiler omitted **
I have indeed played Mass Effect, but no, the Dominion of the Black was not directly inspired by the collectors. It's more accurate to say that both the Dominion and the collectors were inspired by similar third sources; movies like Alien, the writings of Lovecraft, and the general notion of what a cold, remorseless entity inimical to humanity might be like.
James - do you have any favorite adventure writers whom you admire their work?
Also; what is your writing process like?
Thanks!
1. What character classes would be most common among the Kalistocrats (with the caveat that most would probably be Experts or Aristocrats and not have a PC class at all)?
2. Do they have clerics, or would their healing be done via bards, witches, oracles, etc.?
3. Do they have a false priesthood like Razmiran to try to convince people their religion is as valid as worshipping Desna or Abadar or someone?
4. What is the Kalistocracy's attitude toward Abadar? Do his followers receive "extra toleration" as his portfolio is so favorable to wealth and business, or is he just lumped in with the rest of the gods regardless?
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Does it make sense for casters with familiars who take Improved Familiar to say the familiar is the same being they partnered with at the start of their career, but it's just now come into its full power (like, say, a regular cat turning out to have been a silvanshee agathion in disguise the whole time)? It just kinda feels like a jerk move to abandon the adorable critter you've basically shared a piece of your soul with the minute extraplanar or magical ones become available...
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James - do you have any favorite adventure writers whom you admire their work?
Also; what is your writing process like?
Thanks!
I do have favorite adventure writers, but I'm not gonna name them here in public because being the Creative Director, I can't name them without hurting feelings of those I don't name.
My writing process tends to be to procrastinate and then write fast and furious if I don't follow a schedule. I prefer the schedule method—to plan out how many words I need to generate daily and to hit those counts as often as possible. I prefer to finish before the deadline so that I can then take a week or two NOT working on the project and then come back in the last week and re-read and edit and develop it with fresh eyes.
I've been TRYING to get into the habit of writing for an hour or two in the morning when I'm fresh and not worn out by writing all day long for Paizo, but that's a tough habit to form.
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Creative Director
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1. What character classes would be most common among the Kalistocrats (with the caveat that most would probably be Experts or Aristocrats and not have a PC class at all)?
2. Do they have clerics, or would their healing be done via bards, witches, oracles, etc.?
3. Do they have a false priesthood like Razmiran to try to convince people their religion is as valid as worshipping Desna or Abadar or someone?
4. What is the Kalistocracy's attitude toward Abadar? Do his followers receive "extra toleration" as his portfolio is so favorable to wealth and business, or is he just lumped in with the rest of the gods regardless?
1) Not counting the vast majority who are experts or aristocrats or expert/aristocrats, I suspect the most common class they'll be taking would probably be rogue.
2) There are clerics of Abadar among them (hence the "Associated Religions" listing of Abadar in the entry on page 237 of the Inner Sea World Guide). There are no "clerics of the Prophecies of Kalistrade" since that is a philosophy, not a deity, and as such it can't grant domains. There's certainly plenty of bards in the group though. There's also certainly some oracles, but not in big enough numbers to be notable apart from most other classes.
3) No.
4) Allied. Again, "associated religions."
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Creative Director
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Does it make sense for casters with familiars who take Improved Familiar to say the familiar is the same being they partnered with at the start of their career, but it's just now come into its full power (like, say, a regular cat turning out to have been a silvanshee agathion in disguise the whole time)? It just kinda feels like a jerk move to abandon the adorable critter you've basically shared a piece of your soul with the minute extraplanar or magical ones become available...
It does indeed make sense.
So does having the gaining of the Improved Familiar be a ritual that transforms the previous one into the new one.
So does having the gaining of the Improved Familiar be a ritual that requires you to sacrifice the previous familiar.
So does just letting the previous familiar go in order to gain a new one.
So does gaining the feat after a previous familiar died.
AKA: What makes sense is what makes sense for the character.
How is it that Razmir exists without the actual deities getting all bent out of shape over this non-divine upstart? I'd imagine that there'd be at least one deity who's offended over his audacity...
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Creative Director
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How is it that Razmir exists without the actual deities getting all bent out of shape over this non-divine upstart? I'd imagine that there'd be at least one deity who's offended over his audacity...
Razmir may think he's a big deal, but in truth he's a small fish. His little nation is nowhere NEAR large enough to threaten an actual deity, much less attract their attention. He's a tiny little problem that can be fixed by the faithful, and he'll die in a few years or decades anyway, since he's mortal.
AKA: The gods allow him to exist because in the grand scheme of things he's inconsequential to them. But also because the gods themselves don't generally directly interact with the mortal world.
Follow-up questions:
1. Would the Kalistocrats tend toward wizards, because dedicated study is rewarded, or toward sorcerers, because natural talent is rewarded? Or would they not have a preference between prepared and spontaneous casting classes?
2. What is Abadar's attitude toward the Kalistocracy?
3. I'm recasting an encounter out of a published adventure to fit my ongoing campaign, and I want the BB(N)G to be an up-and-coming Kalistocrat. The bad guys in the published encounter are a cleric and a druid, which are all wrong flavor-wise, so I'm looking to replace them with more Drumish NPCs. The main point of the druid seems to be the animal companion for melee power in the encounter, so would you say an Unchained summoner with an eidolon would be a reasonable analogue that would fit the flavor of Druma?
4. And maybe a bard instead of a cleric for the main antagonist? The printed tactics are buffing up and going into melee with some enchantment tricks on the side.
Do the Eldest have Heralds? And if they do, are they outsiders or fey?
What happens to the souls of those that follow them in life? Again, do they become Outsiders or Fey? Do the eldest claim the souls of their followers or do they move on to actual afterlives?
Oh and to add to this if its alright; is the fact there are no good aligned Eldest a design choice? Or did it just sort of turn out that way? Since there are sacks of good-aligned fey.
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Creative Director
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Follow-up questions:
1. Would the Kalistocrats tend toward wizards, because dedicated study is rewarded, or toward sorcerers, because natural talent is rewarded? Or would they not have a preference between prepared and spontaneous casting classes?
2. What is Abadar's attitude toward the Kalistocracy?
3. I'm recasting an encounter out of a published adventure to fit my ongoing campaign, and I want the BB(N)G to be an up-and-coming Kalistocrat. The bad guys in the published encounter are a cleric and a druid, which are all wrong flavor-wise, so I'm looking to replace them with more Drumish NPCs. The main point of the druid seems to be the animal companion for melee power in the encounter, so would you say an Unchained summoner with an eidolon would be a reasonable analogue that would fit the flavor of Druma?
4. And maybe a bard instead of a cleric for the main antagonist? The printed tactics are buffing up and going into melee with some enchantment tricks on the side.
1) Not necessarily.
2) Friendly.
3) Cleric of Abadar for the cleric, and instead of a druid, go with a cavalier.
4) Up to you. It's your change, after all.
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Creative Director
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Oh and to add to this if its alright; is the fact there are no good aligned Eldest a design choice? Or did it just sort of turn out that way? Since there are sacks of good-aligned fey.Do the Eldest have Heralds? And if they do, are they outsiders or fey?
What happens to the souls of those that follow them in life? Again, do they become Outsiders or Fey? Do the eldest claim the souls of their followers or do they move on to actual afterlives?
The eldest were intended to be VERY close to neutral as regards good and evil. The fact that there's two who are evil and none who are good is just how it worked out, and that asymmetry makes them more interesting AND more usable as antagonists for GMs. Since the First World has always been intended to be a mysterious and strange place that PCs are not from, but a place instead they go to for adventures, having the rulers of that world skew more toward antagonism and less toward friendliness is more useful..
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Creative Director
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So I messed up in Dark Souls 3, big time, and I'm heavily considering starting a new character.
Have you had moments like this in any other of the Souls games?
Yes. I missed the whole Eileen the Crow plot in Bloodborne the first time through. That type of thing makes for a GREAT reason to play the New Game + though, rather than just abandoning the current character.
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James, could we get some new artwork for Pit fiends. All the current artwork that I have seen pictures Pit Fiends as fat tubs of Lard. Could we get a some art work showing a ripped Pit fiend. I could see Asmodeus
looking at his generals and seeing them looking fat and out of shape and commanding them to go to Hells equivlant of a Golds gym run by Arnold to get into shape.
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Creative Director
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James, could we get some new artwork for Pit fiends. All the current artwork that I have seen pictures Pit Fiends as fat tubs of Lard. Could we get a some art work showing a ripped Pit fiend. I could see Asmodeus
looking at his generals and seeing them looking fat and out of shape and commanding them to go to Hells equivlant of a Golds gym run by Arnold to get into shape.
I would hardly call the pit fiend illustrated on page 81 of the Bestiary fat at all.
Or the one from the cover of Pathfinder 28?
Or the one from the cover of Pathfinder 102?
In fact, the ONLY "fat pit fiend" illustration I can think of having published is the one from the first Campaign Setting Hardcover, which also had an erinyes behaving like a succubus, so that art was all sorts of off model, which is why we haven't reprinted that art ever and got rid of it in the new version of the hardcover.
What art of fat pit fiends are you even talking about, in other words, cause I'm not seeing much.
One last question about the Kalistocrats (unless I think of more):
Where does Pharasma send a good (in the sense of pious and faithful to the tenets of the religion, not "of Good alignment") Kalistocrat who appears before her in the Boneyard?
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Creative Director
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One last question about the Kalistocrats (unless I think of more):
Where does Pharasma send a good (in the sense of pious and faithful to the tenets of the religion, not "of Good alignment") Kalistocrat who appears before her in the Boneyard?
Depends on the god that Kalistocrat worshiped. If the Kalistocrat didn't worship a god, and was very good in life, the Kalistocrat would most likely go on to heaven to serve in some heavenly city or court or the like, I suppose. It would really vary according to the individual of course.
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Yes. I missed the whole Eileen the Crow plot in Bloodborne the first time through. That type of thing makes for a GREAT reason to play the New Game + though, rather than just abandoning the current character.So I messed up in Dark Souls 3, big time, and I'm heavily considering starting a new character.
Have you had moments like this in any other of the Souls games?
K, I'll tough it out then.
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What Devil would be best for selling one's soul to in exchange for power a la the Warlock? The Phistophilus (Contract Devil) can give you Wishes which is great but temporary. Can you use the Infernal Slave contract to gain magical power (not necessarily for a warlock)?
My take is that there is ABSOLUTELY life out there. No question. To think otherwise is the height of arrogance.
Was that hyperbole, or do you really think there's no possible alternate explanation for having doubt other than arrogance?
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I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't say, but if my opinions hold from previous movies, I'll probably be on Iron Man's side because Captain America always bored me.Asking James Jacobs:
From the Civil War Movie. Are you on Iron Man's Side or Captain America's Side?
Does this have anything to do with the actors playing these two? (personally: there's really no contest in an actor FIGHT! between Downey Jr. and ....Evans)
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What Devil would be best for selling one's soul to in exchange for power a la the Warlock? The Phistophilus (Contract Devil) can give you Wishes which is great but temporary. Can you use the Infernal Slave contract to gain magical power (not necessarily for a warlock)?
Also interested in this answer; follow up question in spoiler box below; thanks!
Memory Siphon (Sp) A creature struck by a mnemor devil’s proboscis suffers the effect of the memory lapseAPG spell with no saving throw. Additionally, the mnemor devil can choose to attempt to affect the creature as with the repress memoryOA spell (DC 16 Will save negates)—the spell targets the creature struck, rather than the mnemor devil itself, and spell resistance applies. If the target is a willing creature, the mnemor devil may alter memories of any length, as if through multiple applications of repress memoryOA.
Some memories are too traumatic to bear; some secrets are too dangerous to keep. When mortals need their memories stripped away, their desperation sometimes drives them to seek out the aid of mnemor devils, creatures that steal and bestow memories in the service of their infernal lords. While memory devils always keep their bargains, those who anger them may find that their altered memories cause more trouble than the originals. Mnemor devils are particularly skilled in the subtle manipulation of memory to drive mortals’ actions in destructive directions or even trick them into making the same bargain again and again as the mortal unearths the unbearable secret on her own, paying the devil each time. The most skilled among them subtly alter the false memories they grant to those who would bargain with them in ways that cast the subjects’ true memories in a different light, making memories of affectionate smiles seem to take on smirking undertones, or adding sly malice to memories of innocent comments. The bargainer finds himself driven into maddening doubt about the intentions of everyone he thought he knew, suspicion tainting all his interactions.
Mnemor devils themselves possess eidetic memories, and can recall with perfect clarity any memory they have bought or stolen from a mortal, making them valuable repositories of eclectic knowledge. Those seeking such knowledge might be tempted to seek a deal of their own, and mnemor devils are more than happy to trade one memory for another—though those who strike such bargains find that the mnemor devil nearly always comes out ahead.
In regards to the Riftwardens (the organization, not the PrC), are non-spellcasters allowed to join?
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Creative Director
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JADE REGENT SPOILERS
Spoiler:Assuming there are Frozen Shadow ninja that survive the wrath of the PCs and Ameiko, what do they do after their masters in the Five Storms are beaten and they're left without orders?
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Creative Director
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James, have you had the pleasure of looking over the first episode of Stange Aeons yet?
Also, did you know there is a new CoC module for Free RPG Day? Do you participate in Free RPG Day every year?
We just sent "In Search of Sanity" to the printer a few weeks ago, so yeah, I've looked over the whole thing. It looks incredible and I'm SUPER JEALOUS of the authors who got to write adventures for it and SUPER JEALOUS of Adam for getting to develop it.
That's cool that Chaosium is getting in on the free RPG day event. Aside from helping Paizo produce the product we do for free RPG day, I don't take part in the event at all. I actually don't enjoy going to game stores these days for the same reason I don't enjoy conventions. I don't like crowds, and I'm not super comfortable being the center of attention, and I'm wary about edition war type stuff.
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Creative Director
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What Devil would be best for selling one's soul to in exchange for power a la the Warlock? The Phistophilus (Contract Devil) can give you Wishes which is great but temporary. Can you use the Infernal Slave contract to gain magical power (not necessarily for a warlock)?
See book 5 of Hell's Rebels for a big article about all sorts of infernal contracts.
ANY devil can be the right devil if the contract's what you want, in other words.
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Creative Director
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My take is that there is ABSOLUTELY life out there. No question. To think otherwise is the height of arrogance.Was that hyperbole, or do you really think there's no possible alternate explanation for having doubt other than arrogance?
It's 100% not hyperbole. I think that if someone thinks that us on Earth are the only intelligent things in the universe, that's 100% arrogant in the same way folks once thought the Earth was the center of it all and every celestial body rotated around us.
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Creative Director
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Does this have anything to do with the actors playing these two? (personally: there's really no contest in an actor FIGHT! between Downey Jr. and ....Evans)I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't say, but if my opinions hold from previous movies, I'll probably be on Iron Man's side because Captain America always bored me.Asking James Jacobs:
From the Civil War Movie. Are you on Iron Man's Side or Captain America's Side?
Has nothing to do with it. The actors do a great job. I've always been kinda bored by Captain America.
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Creative Director
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What Devil would be best for selling one's soul to in exchange for power a la the Warlock? The Phistophilus (Contract Devil) can give you Wishes which is great but temporary. Can you use the Infernal Slave contract to gain magical power (not necessarily for a warlock)?Also interested in this answer; follow up question in spoiler box below; thanks!
** spoiler omitted **...
Infernal contracts can pretty much be written to do anything, so yes, it can.