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2) Speaking of spells and Rarity, what was the design intention with the spell selection? Actually, for most things that aren't tied to a specific race (Dwarven/Elven weapons, etc), but especially the spells.
I'm mainly asking this and the previous question because I feel like the spells targeted for marking as Uncommon are the ones that most casters would make a beeline for.
Mostly, they chose spells that tend to undermine storylines and plots, I believe. I wasn't a part of that decision-making process of which spells got what rarities, so you'd have to ask folks on the Design team for actual reasons... but looking at them, the spells that tend to trivialize adventure plots tended to become uncommon, so that if a GM wants to run something like a "Lord of the Rings" style plot where the whole point of a long term campaign is a trek across the world, they don't have to fight upstream against a perception from players that teleport is common and thus easy for anyone to access. With teleport being uncommon, we give GMs the tool they need if they want to run that style of game without players being able to use the rules to argue against it.
Likewise, if a GM wants to run a game where death is more final and coming back from the dead something that's a major plot point that rarely happens (say, if you were running a Game of Thrones inspired game), then having raise dead be Uncommon and not Common helps to keep the baseline from the assumption that the only thing keeping anyone from being brought back to life is availability of a caster.
And to be honest, the fact that you suspect players are going to make beelines for these spells only further makes them the right ones to set to Uncommon—this creates a BUILT IN QUEST for anyone playing the game from the very start—the quest to track down a specific spell. And the fact that this "quest" can be stitched into any adventure with ease makes it a really compelling option.
And as always, if the GM DOES want to run a game where these things are available to PCs... they can just make those options common, regardless of what the rules list them as.
If you're a player who wants to play a character who's all about teleporting, talk to your GM. If your GM doesn't want to run a game where teleportation is all over the place, you shouldn't be playing a character that specifically uses options that aren't ones your GM wants to include anyway.
And as always, if the GM DOES want to run a game where these things are available to PCs... they can just make those options common, regardless of what the rules list them as.
But, even then, wouldn't the GM making short side quest to obtain the spell or using it as a cool treasure item, be a better use for the spell then making it "common"?
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And as always, if the GM DOES want to run a game where these things are available to PCs... they can just make those options common, regardless of what the rules list them as.But, even then, wouldn't the GM making short side quest to obtain the spell or using it as a cool treasure item, be a better use for the spell then making it "common"?
Depends entirely on the GM and the group. The game isn't "right only one way."
(Actually, I'm sometimes a GM, sometimes a player, but my philosophy is that if I can't challenge my table, even when they have access to it, that I need to step up my game. Outside a couple weird builds, we're all optimizers, and even then some).
And I meant, not just PC casters. Even the NPCs because of how useful some would be for society. But, as you said, not on the team that decided rarities, so I guess that's it for that topic.
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What are some of Nocticula's most defining opinions regarding other deities, especially any in the core 20? (EDIT: My group has plans for a 1e game with her ascended, namely the latest Runelords AP. I might make one of her faithful, is why I'm asking.)
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What are some of Nocticula's most defining opinions regarding other deities, especially any in the core 20? (EDIT: My group has plans for a 1e game with her ascended, namely the latest Runelords AP. I might make one of her faithful, is why I'm asking.)
She admires Desna and Calistria and Cayden, is intrigued by Sarenrae and Shelyn and Norgorber, is annoyed by Erastil and Irori and Torag, and actively hates Abadar, Asmodeus, Zon-Kuthon, Rovagug, and Lamashtu.
As a quick guideline, she's most comfortable with Chaotic Good and Chaotic Neutral faiths, and least comfortable with Chaotic Evil, Lawful Evil, and Lawful Neutral faiths.
A while back I asked what Sarenrae thinks of Nocticula... but what about Ragathiel and Nocticula? What are their opinions on each other, especially regarding Ragathiel's views on redemption?
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A while back I asked what Sarenrae thinks of Nocticula... but what about Ragathiel and Nocticula? What are their opinions on each other, especially regarding Ragathiel's views on redemption?
They're like those two friends of yours who you both enjoy the company of and who you'd think would get along well but end up really hating each other and make it awkward for you to do anything with one since you'd be afraid the other would stop by for an unannounced visit and suddenly you'd have arguments and bickering and maybe some fighting.
Have the Red Mantis ever had trouble with their fortress on Mediogalti sitting right on top of one of the last entrances to Reguare? Are there any plans to explore Ghol-Ghan civilisation further?
Also, where do acolytes of the Outer Gods go upon death? Does Pharasma send a cultist of Azathoth to join blind idiot god at the center of the universe?
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Have the Red Mantis ever had trouble with their fortress on Mediogalti sitting right on top of one of the last entrances to Reguare? Are there any plans to explore Ghol-Ghan civilisation further?
Also, where do acolytes of the Outer Gods go upon death? Does Pharasma send a cultist of Azathoth to join blind idiot god at the center of the universe?
No trouble at all. In fact, that's one of the reasons they're there. We'll do more with both the Red Mantis and Ghol-Ghan some day.
Worshipers of the Outer Gods generally have their souls either consumed by one of the Outer Gods (if they're the type who feeds on life force like that) or become undead or otherwise meet unfavorable dooms for the most part. There aren't petitioners of the Elder Mythos, in other words. The lucky ones get reincarnated or simply get sent on to an outer plane to become terrain or an unaffiliated outsider because they weren't THAT devout. Worshiping the Outer Gods or the Great Old Ones isn't good for your beyond-judgment health.
Would "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" be a good primer for how Pharasma might handle an adherent of Yog-Sothoth?
What is your favorite '80s TV show?Hmmmmmm.
At the time, growing up in the 80s, I was a big fan of the D&D cartoon
Are you aware of the (currently ongoing) comic series Die, which is sort of a dark sequel to that cartoon with functionally identical characters being drawn back into the D&D world as adults?
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How do Nocticula and Iomedae see each other?
They don't trust each other. Iomedae isn't yet convinced Nocticula's trying to pull a long con, and Nocticula's not convinced Iomedae can hold back attacking her because she used to be a demon. They certainly don't see eye to eye on the value of belonging to an established nation.
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Are you aware of the (currently ongoing) comic series Die, which is sort of a dark sequel to that cartoon with functionally identical characters being drawn back into the D&D world as adults?What is your favorite '80s TV show?Hmmmmmm.
At the time, growing up in the 80s, I was a big fan of the D&D cartoon
I'm not.
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When you were originally designing some of the deities did you start with a story you wanted to explore with them and then fit in their areas of concern, or decide that a deity needed to represent X concepts and built up from their?
Both. Can't do one without the other. In some cases, it was "This is a neat idea for a deity's myths" and in others it was "I could really do to have a deity of birth and death," but the process is so organic that it's not really possible for me to say one definitively came before the other.
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Out of the big three outsiders of evil, demons, devils, deamons, it seems daemons are the only race with out a full fledge deity above them. Their are rumors of the 5th original horseman who was killed. Was this a design plan or something that just arose? Also, any plans to further explore the 5th dead horseman?
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Out of the big three outsiders of evil, demons, devils, deamons, it seems daemons are the only race with out a full fledge deity above them. Their are rumors of the 5th original horseman who was killed. Was this a design plan or something that just arose? Also, any plans to further explore the 5th dead horseman?
It's a sort of easter egg to D&D, which had an overlord daemon called the Oinodaemon. Something we get to use thanks to this character (who's name was Anthraxus, which is kind of simultaneously a fun name and a goofy name) being part of the Tome of Horrors.
No plans yet to explore this character further, although I did drop a few hints in Return of the Runelords part 6. If we DO explore further, it won't be Anthraxus, but someone/something new.
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Will we eventually see Level 5 versions for the rest of the 2e pregens?
I suppose, but that's not really something I'm involved in doing.
The Org Play team has more than enough to keep them busy ... would you rather see level 5 pregens or keep the current rate of PFS scenarios? We prefer to keep the scenarios on schedule, as best we can.
We can get those other pregens done eventually, but not quickly, since the focus will be remaining on convention season stuff (which is still going on for a bit) and keeping the scenarios going on schedule.
In any case, building up pregens isn't on my personal to-do list, and it's not something that you'll see in a printed product anytime soon.
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Do the souls of unwilling sacrifices get judged by Pharasma, or does the sacrifice bypass this?
If they get judged then is there some other benefit a diety gets from the sacrifice? In addition to any supernatural benefit, I can see Asmodeus benefits by legal sacrifice being a display of the power of his followers, potentially leading to more followers. Is there more than this?
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1) Have you ever watched
1a) Thundar the Barbarian cartoon?
1b) If you did, what rules system would you use to run the game set in that world?
1c) How would you stat Thundarr's sword using PF 1e? Or is there already something like that?
2) On pg. 66 of AP #65 there's an illustration of a Denizen of Leng, holding a crystaline weapon. If that weapon was magic item, what would it be?
If designing a demon lord to represent the black goat of folklore (for example, Black Phillip in The Witch) what would you assign as its areas of concern?
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Do the souls of unwilling sacrifices get judged by Pharasma, or does the sacrifice bypass this?
If they get judged then is there some other benefit a diety gets from the sacrifice? In addition to any supernatural benefit, I can see Asmodeus benefits by legal sacrifice being a display of the power of his followers, potentially leading to more followers. Is there more than this?
Depends on the nature of the sacrifice. If you're sacrificed by a cult and they don't back that sacrifice up with magic or rituals or the like, then your soul goes on to its normal afterlife.
If the cult sacrificed you using certain magic items or rituals or in specific locations, or if the thing that sacrificed you has special abilities, then your soul can be sent on to the cult's deity's domain to be tormented or eaten or whatever. Likewise, if you're sacrificed and you're under an infernal contract, your soul can be diverted. Cases like this can set up interesting metaphysical plots where devils are working to secure stolen souls, for example.
A cult who sacrifices someone and uses magic or whatever to ensure that sacrificed soul goes on to their deity's domain can receive benefits from it. These benefits are generally left to the GM or story writer to come up with though, since this is an evil act and isn't something we want to imply any PC can or should do.
Book of the Damned covers this stuff a bit more if you're interested in story hooks and the like as a GM... but Book of the Damned isn't meant to be a player resource book without GM permission, since the contents of that book are mostly for evil characters and many tables aren't comfortable/interested in having evil PCs. But there IS a spell called sacrifice in that book (page 185) that discusses one way in which a sacrifice can give one power.
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1) Have you ever watched
1a) Thundar the Barbarian cartoon?
1b) If you did, what rules system would you use to run the game set in that world?
1c) How would you stat Thundarr's sword using PF 1e? Or is there already something like that?2) On pg. 66 of AP #65 there's an illustration of a Denizen of Leng, holding a crystaline weapon. If that weapon was magic item, what would it be?
Please limit questions to one per post so it's easier for me to answer and easier for folks to read. I'll reply to this one quickly though...
1) No. Thundar aired on ABC, which we didn't have reception to and thus couldn't watch when I was a kid.
2) Could be anything. A keen weapon, an earth elemental bane weapon, a thundering weapon, whatever you wish. Personally, I'd look to Lovecraft and the stories about Leng he wrote and come up with a unique weapon for the critter if it were me... but I won't be doing that here since I try to avoid design work in this thread.
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If designing a demon lord to represent the black goat of folklore (for example, Black Phillip in The Witch) what would you assign as its areas of concern?
Setting aside the conversation of should Black Phillip be a demon lord or something from Hell... and if he's from Hell in Pathfinder, he should in fact be a SHE and be a Queen of the Night, perhaps...
...I'd give that version the areas of concern of rural decay, individuality, temptation, and the taste of butter.
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Do the Silver Ravens/Firebrands have a monopoly on ravens as an emblem or could I get away with playing an Ustalavic knight with one on their heraldry saying "it's a symbol of fate and psychopomps, which represents me as a slayer of undead?" or would I be better off picking a different bird?
The Firebrand symbol is a pair of crossed rapiers above the symbol of the specific group involved—for the Silver Ravens, who are one of the most public of the Firebrands, the exact symbol is as shown on page 435 of the Core Rulebook.
Anyone else is free to use rapiers OR ravens for their symbols, but if they make that symbol look like the Firebrands/Silver Ravens, it'll cause confusion.
Your specific question is one only your GM can answer, since you're making a character for that GM's game, not for publication in a Pathfinder product.
If I were your GM, I'd probably suggest using a whippoorwill instead of a raven as the brid—not becasue of potential confusion with Silver Ravens, but because whippoorwills are, to me, a better psychopomp symbol.
If designing a demon lord to represent the black goat of folklore (for example, Black Phillip in The Witch) what would you assign as its areas of concern?Setting aside the conversation of should Black Phillip be a demon lord or something from Hell... and if he's from Hell in Pathfinder, he should in fact be a SHE and be a Queen of the Night, perhaps...
...I'd give that version the areas of concern of rural decay, individuality, temptation, and the taste of butter.
I guffawed. Why the taste of butter? (I'm not familiar with Black Phillip so feel free to tell me the go look at wikipedia or something if it's obvious).
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I guffawed. Why the taste of butter? (I'm not familiar with Black Phillip so feel free to tell me the go look at wikipedia or something if it's obvious).If designing a demon lord to represent the black goat of folklore (for example, Black Phillip in The Witch) what would you assign as its areas of concern?Setting aside the conversation of should Black Phillip be a demon lord or something from Hell... and if he's from Hell in Pathfinder, he should in fact be a SHE and be a Queen of the Night, perhaps...
...I'd give that version the areas of concern of rural decay, individuality, temptation, and the taste of butter.
That' s a nod to the movie. Essentially 'the taste of butter' equates to 'extravagant and decadent physical delights.'
What is the general state of hygine on Golarion?
(Because, going back even to the 1600s would offend our modern noses.)
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What is the general state of hygine on Golarion?
(Because, going back even to the 1600s would offend our modern noses.)
The general state is the same as this world. Good in some areas, bad in others, and what offends person A won't offend person B.
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James,
About Iomedae not allowing LN clerics - is this a retcon or a new development? IYRC, there's a LN Inquisitor in the first WotR adventure?
It's a retcon. The fact that she specifically doesn't allow the alignment of Aroden, her one-time superior, is a deliberate move on her part toward achieving her own place, but it's also meant to show she doesn't want her followers to lose sight of doing good when also obeying laws... something that plagues a fair amount of so-called paladins.
There are no inquisitors in 2nd edition yet, so I'm not ready to talk about how a LN inquisitor of Iomedae might or might not work.
Are there any plans for future conversions of some deities to allow followers more than one alignment step away? (Mainly asking re: one of the two alignments on Law/Chaos or Good/Evil being more incidental than not, and thus, say, a CG god allowing LG followers or the like OR a true Neutral allowing a corner alignment)
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Are there any plans for future conversions of some deities to allow followers more than one alignment step away? (Mainly asking re: one of the two alignments on Law/Chaos or Good/Evil being more incidental than not, and thus, say, a CG god allowing LG followers or the like OR a true Neutral allowing a corner alignment)
As it makes sense for the specific deity, maybe... but it'd have to be a particularly unusual deity.
My preference is to have so many deities out there for folks to choose from that we don't need to have them spread out their alignments. If you want, say, a "fire deity," there could and should be choices for all 9 alignments rather than go what I feel is a lazier route and say "This chaotic fire deity is okay with lawful worshipers."
I am about to start GMing an Age of Ashes game, and one of my players is playing a bard with the Maestro muse. They've asked if there is a fey creature that lives near Breachill that might serve as a muse for their PC.
What would you suggest for the area?
Are there any plans for future conversions of some deities to allow followers more than one alignment step away? (Mainly asking re: one of the two alignments on Law/Chaos or Good/Evil being more incidental than not, and thus, say, a CG god allowing LG followers or the like OR a true Neutral allowing a corner alignment)As it makes sense for the specific deity, maybe... but it'd have to be a particularly unusual deity.
My preference is to have so many deities out there for folks to choose from that we don't need to have them spread out their alignments. If you want, say, a "fire deity," there could and should be choices for all 9 alignments rather than go what I feel is a lazier route and say "This chaotic fire deity is okay with lawful worshipers."
I was thinking more to the tune of, and I haven't read enough of the 1e deities to know if this works, someone who's personally chaotic but has a philosophy of "Good above all, but if you want to rework the law instead of ignoring it, that's fine by me" or the like.
So, why not Gozreh now that Druids are any alignment, or Nethys?
Busy IRL with students arriving next week, so I'm a little late with my follow-up question.
Evil former followers of Nocticula have multiple options to choose from. Don't forget Lamashtu or Socothbenoth either—those are the two who'll probably pick up the majority of her remaining-evil worshipers. Shamira is a close third.
I notice you didn't mention Areelu Vorlesh. I was under the impression that she was a nascent demon lord and in the running to replace Nocticula as queen of the succubi and ruler of the Midnight Isles (though these two positions may not necessarily be linked). Was I mistaken about this, or is this something about which more will be revealed down the road?
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I am about to start GMing an Age of Ashes game, and one of my players is playing a bard with the Maestro muse. They've asked if there is a fey creature that lives near Breachill that might serve as a muse for their PC.
What would you suggest for the area?
Any fey creature works fine. Go with dryad perhaps, since there's woods nearby.
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Are there any plans for future conversions of some deities to allow followers more than one alignment step away? (Mainly asking re: one of the two alignments on Law/Chaos or Good/Evil being more incidental than not, and thus, say, a CG god allowing LG followers or the like OR a true Neutral allowing a corner alignment)As it makes sense for the specific deity, maybe... but it'd have to be a particularly unusual deity.
My preference is to have so many deities out there for folks to choose from that we don't need to have them spread out their alignments. If you want, say, a "fire deity," there could and should be choices for all 9 alignments rather than go what I feel is a lazier route and say "This chaotic fire deity is okay with lawful worshipers."
I was thinking more to the tune of, and I haven't read enough of the 1e deities to know if this works, someone who's personally chaotic but has a philosophy of "Good above all, but if you want to rework the law instead of ignoring it, that's fine by me" or the like.
So, why not Gozreh now that Druids are any alignment, or Nethys?
Because I didn't want to. I think that deities with narrow alignment bands are more interesting and create more interesting clerics. The whole point of what makes a cleric compelling to me is that you do have to follow edicts and cleave to a specific alignment, and making it so that you can be too many alignments erodes that whole theme.
Play a sorcerer with a divine bloodline if you wanna do the divine caster without alignment restrictions.
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Busy IRL with students arriving next week, so I'm a little late with my follow-up question.
Evil former followers of Nocticula have multiple options to choose from. Don't forget Lamashtu or Socothbenoth either—those are the two who'll probably pick up the majority of her remaining-evil worshipers. Shamira is a close third.I notice you didn't mention Areelu Vorlesh. I was under the impression that she was a nascent demon lord and in the running to replace Nocticula as queen of the succubi and ruler of the Midnight Isles (though these two positions may not necessarily be linked). Was I mistaken about this, or is this something about which more will be revealed down the road?
Areelu is a potential newcomer to the scene and I've not yet done much thought on how she might continue or if her story is done. Not every suggestion in an AP's "Continuing the Campaign" ends up canon. We'll see down the road. In the meantime though, Socothbenoth and Shamira and Lamashtu are already established options that don't require storylines to go forward to get them going.
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Is there any Information on what Narcelia Thrune is up to today?
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Areelu is a potential newcomer to the scene and I've not yet done much thought on how she might continue or if her story is done. Not every suggestion in an AP's "Continuing the Campaign" ends up canon. We'll see down the road. In the meantime though, Socothbenoth and Shamira and Lamashtu are already established options that don't require storylines to go forward to get them going.Busy IRL with students arriving next week, so I'm a little late with my follow-up question.
Evil former followers of Nocticula have multiple options to choose from. Don't forget Lamashtu or Socothbenoth either—those are the two who'll probably pick up the majority of her remaining-evil worshipers. Shamira is a close third.I notice you didn't mention Areelu Vorlesh. I was under the impression that she was a nascent demon lord and in the running to replace Nocticula as queen of the succubi and ruler of the Midnight Isles (though these two positions may not necessarily be linked). Was I mistaken about this, or is this something about which more will be revealed down the road?
Going off that, would a social/espionage focused Midnight Isles adventure dealing with the fallout of Nocticula's ascension be something that would interest you?