What's your opinion of the Dungeons & Dragons animated series?It was my favorite Saturday Morning cartoon back when there were Saturday Morning cartoons in the early 80s.
Ooo, I am doing the right thing watching the old episodes again.
Did you know the children have been statted out for 3.5? What do you think of their stats?
How do you think they'd handle the Inner Sea? Given the social mores from the time they were from (~1983), and what a lot of monsters in Pathfinder are like, I suspect a lot would freak them out at first.
What do you enjoy most about answering these questions? Something that makes you look forward to them.
Creative Director
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What's your opinion of the Dungeons & Dragons animated series?It was my favorite Saturday Morning cartoon back when there were Saturday Morning cartoons in the early 80s.Ooo, I am doing the right thing watching the old episodes again.
Did you know the children have been statted out for 3.5? What do you think of their stats?
How do you think they'd handle the Inner Sea? Given the social mores from the time they were from (~1983), and what a lot of monsters in Pathfinder are like, I suspect a lot would freak them out at first.
I did know that, in that my friend Matt Sernett was the one hired to create the "Animated Series Handbook" that came in the deluxe DVD set back in the day. And hey! Logan Bonner proofread it! Whadaya know!
Although checking your link now... not sure that we're talking about the same thing.
I suspect that they would not fit in well into the Inner Sea and would not last long...
If you had the opportunity to create a group of musician NPCs for the setting to appear in an adventure, and were outright encouraged to basically create a Pathfinder version of one of your favorite musical groups, who would you pick and how would you adapt them conceptually?
I suspect that they would not fit in well into the Inner Sea and would not last long...How do you think they'd handle the Inner Sea? Given the social mores from the time they were from (~1983), and what a lot of monsters in Pathfinder are like, I suspect a lot would freak them out at first.What's your opinion of the Dungeons & Dragons animated series?It was my favorite Saturday Morning cartoon back when there were Saturday Morning cartoons in the early 80s.
Did you read any of the Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg, which was based on a similar conceit though much less sanitized to be Suitable for Children?
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After playing both expansions did what you learn from them make you change your mind on what ending you would pick for Dark Souls 3?
What did you think of the lore reveals in the Ringed City?
Favourite boss in the game overall?
Favourite NPC?
Favourite moment?
Nothing. The endings for Dark Souls games are intriguing but more enigmantic or metaphorical or confusing than they have ever been outright satisfying as the end of a story arc. I love the world building and art design and game play of these games, but the stories they tell are not strong on character-driven plot arcs, and as such, the endings don't resonate as much for me.
Delightful.
The Dancer.
Patches.
Dunno.
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Creative Director
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If you had the opportunity to create a group of musician NPCs for the setting to appear in an adventure, and were outright encouraged to basically create a Pathfinder version of one of your favorite musical groups, who would you pick and how would you adapt them conceptually?
Dead Can Dance; they'd both be bards.
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Did you read any of the Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg, which was based on a similar conceit though much less sanitized to be Suitable for Children?I suspect that they would not fit in well into the Inner Sea and would not last long...How do you think they'd handle the Inner Sea? Given the social mores from the time they were from (~1983), and what a lot of monsters in Pathfinder are like, I suspect a lot would freak them out at first.What's your opinion of the Dungeons & Dragons animated series?It was my favorite Saturday Morning cartoon back when there were Saturday Morning cartoons in the early 80s.
Never did. In fact, the genre of "gamers being transported into the fantasy realm in which they game" has, over time, become one of my least favorite genres of fantasy. Maybe even my least favorite. As a kid, I enjoyed the genre (be it by watching the D&D cartoon or writing stories with this plot), but as an adult, this plot annoys me and disappoints me.
I'm 100% okay with something like the plot of the Narnia books or the Dark Tower or Imagica or the like, where a mundane human(s) stumbles into a magic world, but once gaming enters the equation... no thanks.
What is the color of the socks you're wearing right now?
Did you have to look down to figure that out?
What's your opinion of the Dungeons & Dragons animated series?It was my favorite Saturday Morning cartoon back when there were Saturday Morning cartoons in the early 80s.Ooo, I am doing the right thing watching the old episodes again.
Did you know the children have been statted out for 3.5? What do you think of their stats?
How do you think they'd handle the Inner Sea? Given the social mores from the time they were from (~1983), and what a lot of monsters in Pathfinder are like, I suspect a lot would freak them out at first.
I did know that, in that my friend Matt Sernett was the one hired to create the "Animated Series Handbook" that came in the deluxe DVD set back in the day. And hey! Logan Bonner proofread it! Whadaya know!
Although checking your link now... not sure that we're talking about the same thing.
I suspect that they would not fit in well into the Inner Sea and would not last long...
It's not the actual handbook, but a text dump from it.
As to their survival, what makes you think they wouldn't last long? I'm guessing it has more to do with culture shock than physical capabilities.
Hi James. I caught your Know Direction interview the other day and it was really useful. You seemed really happy in it, which makes us happy.
Obviously it is early, but have you been pleased with the feedback from subscribers about Bestiary 6? Is there anything you are surprised that people are/aren't talking about?
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Which Pathfinder non-human race would fit in the best if it suddenly existed in our world, modern day? Which would clash the most?
Doppelgangers would fit in best since we wouldn't notice them. Titans would probably clash the most since they're the highest CR "race" in the game I can think of off the top of my head unless you count kaiju as a race...
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Obviously it is early, but have you been pleased with the feedback from subscribers about Bestiary 6? Is there anything you are surprised that people are/aren't talking about?
I am indeed pleased so far with the feedback. Kinda amused that some folks think the yaddithians don't look "mythosy" in that the're pretty spot on how Lovecraft himself describes them. Despite what many gamers seem to think, not everything Lovecraft invented was (or was intended to be) "scary."
Apologies if this has been asked before (if so, my search-fu is failing me). Is ancestor worship a practice in Golarion? And if so, who would do it?
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Apologies if this has been asked before (if so, my search-fu is failing me). Is ancestor worship a practice in Golarion? And if so, who would do it?
It is indeed! Dwarves do it for sure, but so do others. It's relatively widespread. No clerics (clerics need gods) but certainly other classes, particularly oracles.
Apologies if this has been asked before (if so, my search-fu is failing me). Is ancestor worship a practice in Golarion? And if so, who would do it?It is indeed! Dwarves do it for sure, but so do others.
How does Torag and/or his church view ancestor worship? Is it compatible with faith in the dwarven pantheon; i.e., would dwarves have a shrine to their ancestors in their home and also go to a temple and pray to members of Torag's extended family? Or is it more either/or?
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How does Torag and/or his church view ancestor worship? Is it compatible with faith in the dwarven pantheon; i.e., would dwarves have a shrine to their ancestors in their home and also go to a temple and pray to member's of Torag's extended family? Or is it more either/or?Apologies if this has been asked before (if so, my search-fu is failing me). Is ancestor worship a practice in Golarion? And if so, who would do it?It is indeed! Dwarves do it for sure, but so do others.
It's compatible, to a certain extent, but for the most part his church teaches you to respect and honor the memories and traditions of ancestors but to worship Torag.
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Does Acavna have a shattered flower in The Garden on the positive energy plane?
If so do the flower stalks of Iomedae, Norgorber, and Cayden Cailean grow from its shattered remains? Or perhaps did their flowers grow from seeds from her stalk?
Did her death and that of Amaznen give the starstone its power? Or did it have its power before their sacrifice?
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Hi James,
Have you seenThe Void? Any thoughts if you have or interest if you haven't?
Just watched it Friday night. It was enjoyable, but a bit too underlit and the camerawork/directing was a bit choppy. It was tough figuring out what was going on now and then. And it felt too much like it was trying to pay hommage to other movies; The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, Hellraiser, Event Horizon, The Brood, and a few others and didn't spend nearly enough time doing its own thing and exploring its own new content—I would have liked to see more about the cult and the characters' backstories and the Void itself.
It had potential, but didn't live up to it since it was too distracted by being a love letter to all these other movies, alas.
My thoughts (almost) exactly! My expectations and anticipation were sky high so the movie couldn't quite live up to them. I liked it overall though.
What's the best horror movie you've seen recently?
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Does Acavna have a shattered flower in The Garden on the positive energy plane?
If so do the flower stalks of Iomedae, Norgorber, and Cayden Cailean grow from its shattered remains? Or perhaps did their flowers grow from seeds from her stalk?Did her death and that of Amaznen give the starstone its power? Or did it have its power before their sacrifice?
Unrevealed.
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
Have you seenThe Void? Any thoughts if you have or interest if you haven't?
Just watched it Friday night. It was enjoyable, but a bit too underlit and the camerawork/directing was a bit choppy. It was tough figuring out what was going on now and then. And it felt too much like it was trying to pay hommage to other movies; The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, Hellraiser, Event Horizon, The Brood, and a few others and didn't spend nearly enough time doing its own thing and exploring its own new content—I would have liked to see more about the cult and the characters' backstories and the Void itself.
It had potential, but didn't live up to it since it was too distracted by being a love letter to all these other movies, alas.
My thoughts (almost) exactly! My expectations and anticipation were sky high so the movie couldn't quite live up to them. I liked it overall though.
What's the best horror movie you've seen recently?
The Void's heart was certainly in the right place and it had a core element that was VERY unnerving and unsettling, but it alas seemed more interested in being a love letter/fanfiction to other movies from the 80s like The Brood, The Thing, Hellraiser, Assault on Prescient 13, and a few others. Had I never seen those movies, I think I would have liked "The Void" a LOT better.
The best horror movie I've seen lately is without a doubt "Savageland." Rented it on Amazon. Incredibly spooky and chilling! Second best horror movie I've seen lately is "Get Out." Third best is "Life."
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How involved were you in Bestiary 6? Cuz it's awesome! After reading Through the Gates of the Silver Key I was like, "Man, now I wanna play an insectoid wizard with an annoying mental roommate!" And now with the Yaddathian, I can! Who do I thank?!
I was more involved with Bestiary 6 than I had been with any of the others. I outlined it. I picked every monster to go into the book. I wrote several of the monsters. I developed all of the monsters. I wrote the art order. I copyfit the book. It was very much a James Jacobs production, since the rest of the company was focusing at that time on Starfinder and stuff! :-P
You can thank Lovecraft for the Yaddithian.
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I find it weird that Animal Companions don't get survival as a class skill. Shouldn't procuring food and tracking prey be second nature to them?
What are your thoughts on this?
Survival is a skill that you use when you're trying to survive in an environment you weren't intended to survive in or an environment you aren't optimized to survive in. For humans, who have evolved into urban creatures, the wild is not a place they were intended to survive. Thus, humans and their ilk need the skill Survival to survive in the wild.
Animals and other creatures that live in the wild do not need Survival since they are built to live in those regions. And as for tracking, creatures with scent (like most animals) can track very well by scent as detailed in the scent universal monster ability.
Unrevealed.Does Acavna have a shattered flower in The Garden on the positive energy plane?
If so do the flower stalks of Iomedae, Norgorber, and Cayden Cailean grow from its shattered remains? Or perhaps did their flowers grow from seeds from her stalk?Did her death and that of Amaznen give the starstone its power? Or did it have its power before their sacrifice?
I get most of the stuff being unrevealed. But part of this could be verified by a sufficiently powerful caster. If a wizard wished to be at the remains of Acavna's stalk, would they go somewhere, and if so what would they see? (Provided they worded the wish to make it actually work)
If you can't answer that's fine, but are there any plans to give further hints on the backgrounds of Acavna, Amaznen and the results of their deaths?
Are you fine with me asking you for writing advice?
If so:
In order to keep up with my schedule (which I made myself), I have to write, edit, beta, and publish two 1500-3000 word chapters a week. Although I have a lot of energy for writing, it's getting a bit exhausting. How would you best avoid burnout in this situation?
I'm struggling to find a good balance between my protagonist's primary strengths being his force of will and his ability to push his body past the breaking point, and the natural consequences of said going past the breaking point severely injuring him. On the one hand, it would trivialize his injuries and his flaw of disregarding his own well-being if he was able to immediately push past the injuries that he inflicted upon himself. On the other, I still want to emphasize those positive traits even while he's out for the count. Any advice for this?
Any advice on writing family dynamics? I'm an only child who, raised by a single parent, so I'm struggling on writing my protagonist's nuclear family realistically.
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Unrevealed.Does Acavna have a shattered flower in The Garden on the positive energy plane?
If so do the flower stalks of Iomedae, Norgorber, and Cayden Cailean grow from its shattered remains? Or perhaps did their flowers grow from seeds from her stalk?Did her death and that of Amaznen give the starstone its power? Or did it have its power before their sacrifice?
I get most of the stuff being unrevealed. But part of this could be verified by a sufficiently powerful caster. If a wizard wished to be at the remains of Acavna's stalk, would they go somewhere, and if so what would they see? (Provided they worded the wish to make it actually work)
If you can't answer that's fine, but are there any plans to give further hints on the backgrounds of Acavna, Amaznen and the results of their deaths?
If in your game a player character uses powers to delve into secrets and mysteries that we haven't yet revealed in print, it's up to you as the GM to decide if that's something the GM wants to make up an answer to or to say "Your spell doesn't work" or something like that.
It's not that I can't answer, but that I don't want to answer. Some subjects are things we're deliberately holding back for later, while others are things that we haven't really put any thought into at all. This is more a case of the latter, and I'm not comfortable making up something on the spot without thinking things through. I don't know that we'll EVER say more about this subject either, so you do your game no favors by putting off these elements waiting for us if you want to include them in your game.
Part of the fun of being a GM, after all, is making the game and the world your own! Have fun!
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Are you fine with me asking you for writing advice?
If so:
In order to keep up with my schedule (which I made myself), I have to write, edit, beta, and publish two 1500-3000 word chapters a week. Although I have a lot of energy for writing, it's getting a bit exhausting. How would you best avoid burnout in this situation?
I'm struggling to find a good balance between my protagonist's primary strengths being his force of will and his ability to push his body past the breaking point, and the natural consequences of said going past the breaking point severely injuring him. On the one hand, it would trivialize his injuries and his flaw of disregarding his own well-being if he was able to immediately push past the injuries that he inflicted upon himself. On the other, I still want to emphasize those positive traits even while he's out for the count. Any advice for this?
Any advice on writing family dynamics? I'm an only child who, raised by a single parent, so I'm struggling on writing my protagonist's nuclear family realistically.
First of all, writing is work. Don't forget that. It's FUN work, until it stops being fun, and at that point it's just work. If you're writing for yourself, then it doesn't make sense to write when it's not fun to write.
It's important to not overdo things, in other words. A huge part of writing is NOT writing—writers spend a lot of time reading, watching, and listening. That's where inspiration and ideas come from; novels, stories, games, movies, music, etc. that you experience. So if you find that you're getting tired of writing, taking a break to enjoy the writing of others is my advice.
As for advice on a protagonist's fate... I don't really have advice other than to write what seems right for the story. Sometimes that'll mean that the protagonist fails.
Advice for writing family dynamics when you're an only child with a single parent? Seek out stories about families and read lots of them. Research, in other words.
Finally, when it comes to writing fiction, my number one favorite book about the subject is Stephen King's "On Writing." Easily the BEST book on the subject I've ever read, and all writers should check it out.
Unrevealed.Does Acavna have a shattered flower in The Garden on the positive energy plane?
If so do the flower stalks of Iomedae, Norgorber, and Cayden Cailean grow from its shattered remains? Or perhaps did their flowers grow from seeds from her stalk?Did her death and that of Amaznen give the starstone its power? Or did it have its power before their sacrifice?
I get most of the stuff being unrevealed. But part of this could be verified by a sufficiently powerful caster. If a wizard wished to be at the remains of Acavna's stalk, would they go somewhere, and if so what would they see? (Provided they worded the wish to make it actually work)
If you can't answer that's fine, but are there any plans to give further hints on the backgrounds of Acavna, Amaznen and the results of their deaths?
If in your game a player character uses powers to delve into secrets and mysteries that we haven't yet revealed in print, it's up to you as the GM to decide if that's something the GM wants to make up an answer to or to say "Your spell doesn't work" or something like that.
It's not that I can't answer, but that I don't want to answer. Some subjects are things we're deliberately holding back for later, while others are things that we haven't really put any thought into at all. This is more a case of the latter, and I'm not comfortable making up something on the spot without thinking things through. I don't know that we'll EVER say more about this subject either, so you do your game no favors by putting off these elements waiting for us if you want to include them in your game.
Part of the fun of being a GM, after all, is making the game and the world your own! Have fun!
I understand, I'm just naturally curious.
Hi James,
Still SLOWLY going through Bestiary 6...I tend to have trouble reading big volumes like this on the computer. So far I like it though, and I think I commented elsewhere, its definitely the most James Jacobs-ian bestiary volume we have yet received. The Blights, Cipactli, and the Conqueror Worm are some of my favorites, and the Archdevils are great as well (sorry...barely reached D so far!, so can't comment on anything else).
Now that it's been released, can you tell us what monsters you wrote?
Cipactli
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More Mesoamerican beasties?!
...
Think I need a question that's not more of a shriek of joy...
All right, as someone who found "Life" an acceptable but ultimately underwhelming film... should I perform expectation management before dipping my toes into Savageland, or should I just go in cold?
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Hi James,
Still SLOWLY going through Bestiary 6...I tend to have trouble reading big volumes like this on the computer. So far I like it though, and I think I commented elsewhere, its definitely the most James Jacobs-ian bestiary volume we have yet received. The Blights, Cipactli, and the Conqueror Worm are some of my favorites, and the Archdevils are great as well (sorry...barely reached D so far!, so can't comment on anything else).
Now that it's been released, can you tell us what monsters you wrote?
To a certain extent, all of them. I decided the CR and types and certain key abilities for almost all of them in the book and had the authors design to those specs—there were no "do what you want" monsters in there really at all, save for the daitengu which exists to fill an alphabetization error and Wes was able to basically come in and write up something to fill the spot (but even then, it wasn't REALLY a do what you want—in this case it was "write me a monster whose name fits between "Daemon" and "Danthienne" which was kinda tricky...).
But the ones that I actually wrote from start to finish (not counting reprints like the brimorak) are the great old ones, the kaiju, the qlippoth lords, and the horla. There were a fair amount in there that I did partial or extensive or total re-writes to, but I'm not gonna call those out.
Glad you're enjoying the book!
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All right, as someone who found "Life" an acceptable but ultimately underwhelming film... should I perform expectation management before dipping my toes into Savageland, or should I just go in cold?
Depends how interested you are in mockumentary style movies, like "Lake Mungo" (also a brilliant and incredible movie) or "Spinal Tap."
I have no idea what your preference in horror movies are, nor do I have any idea of your patience for low-budget indie movies. The trailer for Savageland doesn't really give much away, since the horror in the movie is less about plot points and much more about a slow build of dread.
Depends how interested you are in mockumentary style movies, like "Lake Mungo"
You had me at Lake Mungo. One of my hands-down favorites.
As a non-subscriber, are there any other Mesoamerican critters in Bestiary 6?
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As a non-subscriber, are there any other Mesoamerican critters in Bestiary 6?
The Sahkils are "Mesoamerican adjacent" in that their realm on the Etheral plane is Xibalba, but that's not getting any info until Book of the Damned.
Llorona is from Mexican folklore.
Mapinguari is a South American cryptid.
I believe that's it.
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How involved were you in Bestiary 6? Cuz it's awesome! After reading Through the Gates of the Silver Key I was like, "Man, now I wanna play an insectoid wizard with an annoying mental roommate!" And now with the Yaddathian, I can! Who do I thank?!I was more involved with Bestiary 6 than I had been with any of the others. I outlined it. I picked every monster to go into the book. I wrote several of the monsters. I developed all of the monsters. I wrote the art order. I copyfit the book. It was very much a James Jacobs production, since the rest of the company was focusing at that time on Starfinder and stuff! :-P
You can thank Lovecraft for the Yaddithian.
Lovecraft's dead, so I'll just have to thank you! Thank you, James Jacobs! :)
