James, if you had to choose today, and no holding you to this, for The Iblydos gods, would you:
A. Just use the Greek gods from myth
B. make all new gods
C. Use some of the inner sea gods and add some new one or ones from myth to fill it out.
D. Something else I haven't thought of. ;)
Hey Jacob. I asked this question in the Rules Forum, and realized asking you might actually get me an answer.
Basically my question is, why can Furious Focus only be used with a two handed attack? It seems so randomly arbitrary, and Im not really seeing why its needed from a balance perspective. Heck, the feats description doesnt even mention weapon choice at all?
Help me understand the thought process behind this seemingly completely pointless restriction.
How much do the Obryith and Qlippoth reflect each other?
Hey James! Random question for you. If a character in your game was a up and coming god with the domains and all that. Had a church and had the worshipers going on when the character dies of old age or violence. What becomes of them? Do they stay a quasi deity or just become a petitioner? Thanks James! Something that has sort of bugged me for awhile for some reason.
James, this came up the other night. A player cast chill touch, which states he can touch one target per level, but the spell has an instantaneous duration. Does his hand remain charged until he touches as many targets as he has levels or can he just sweep around and touch everyone nearby? I'm assuming his hand stays charged and he can make one touch attack a round. So how long would his hand retain the charge? (I ruled 1 round per level, but other similar spells continue for 1 minute per level.)
Chill touch is worded awkwardly. I'm not sure what the intent there is, honestly... worth FAQing.
I suspect the intent is, actually, to let you make multiple attacks over the course of the next several rounds, up to a maximum number of times equal to your level.
Any hope of getting that FAQ?
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James, if you had to choose today, and no holding you to this, for The Iblydos gods, would you:
A. Just use the Greek gods from myth
B. make all new gods
C. Use some of the inner sea gods and add some new one or ones from myth to fill it out.
D. Something else I haven't thought of. ;)
C. Which is the same thing we did with Tian Xia.
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How much do the Obryith and Qlippoth reflect each other?
I don't understand the question. Obviously they're the same concept, only the Obyrith (which I invented for WotC) are not open content, whereas the Qlippoth (invented by Erik Mona and based VERY loosely on real-world mythology and philosophy) are open content.
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Hey Jacob. I asked this question in the Rules Forum, and realized asking you might actually get me an answer.Basically my question is, why can Furious Focus only be used with a two handed attack? It seems so randomly arbitrary, and Im not really seeing why its needed from a balance perspective. Heck, the feats description doesnt even mention weapon choice at all?
Help me understand the thought process behind this seemingly completely pointless restriction.
The rules forum is the right place to ask this kind of question.
Also, Jacobs is my last name. And it has an "s" at the end of it. James is my first name.
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Any hope of getting that FAQ?James, this came up the other night. A player cast chill touch, which states he can touch one target per level, but the spell has an instantaneous duration. Does his hand remain charged until he touches as many targets as he has levels or can he just sweep around and touch everyone nearby? I'm assuming his hand stays charged and he can make one touch attack a round. So how long would his hand retain the charge? (I ruled 1 round per level, but other similar spells continue for 1 minute per level.)
Chill touch is worded awkwardly. I'm not sure what the intent there is, honestly... worth FAQing.
I suspect the intent is, actually, to let you make multiple attacks over the course of the next several rounds, up to a maximum number of times equal to your level.
I'm not involved in the FAQ process. But part of the hiring of an additional employee for the Design Team is "Get the FAQ process running smoothly." So yes... there's hope.
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Hey James! Random question for you. If a character in your game was a up and coming god with the domains and all that. Had a church and had the worshipers going on when the character dies of old age or violence. What becomes of them? Do they stay a quasi deity or just become a petitioner? Thanks James! Something that has sort of bugged me for awhile for some reason.
I'm not sure I understand the question... is it:
"If a PC in your game was able to grant spells to her worshipers and then she died of old age or violence, would they become a petitioner?"
If so... the answer is "Mortals don't know." Gods CAN die, and when they do, their clerics no longer gain spells. They do not become petitioners. Something else happens to them, and what that is varies from deity to deity and is generally not known to mortals.
Howdy James,
Why is the terminology "Silver Mount" and not "the Silver Mount"? Or can both be used?
Do you think Sarenrae's holy symbol would make a good pommel for a scimitar?
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Howdy James,
Why is the terminology "Silver Mount" and not "the Silver Mount"? Or can both be used?
Because we chose to say "Silver Mount" rather than "the Silver Mount." It's one of the choices we made for our writing style.
You can use both, I guess, but we don't and won't in print unless we make an error.
Howdy James,
Why is the terminology "Silver Mount" and not "the Silver Mount"? Or can both be used?
Because we chose to say "Silver Mount" rather than "the Silver Mount." It's one of the choices we made for our writing style.
You can use both, I guess, but we don't and won't in print unless we make an error.
Fair enough. I'd figure it would have something to do with it it being a "mountain", ie you don't say "the Mt. Everest".
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Fair enough. I'd figure it would have something to do with it it being a "mountain", ie you don't say "the Mt. Everest".Howdy James,
Why is the terminology "Silver Mount" and not "the Silver Mount"? Or can both be used?
Because we chose to say "Silver Mount" rather than "the Silver Mount." It's one of the choices we made for our writing style.
You can use both, I guess, but we don't and won't in print unless we make an error.
That also came into play, although neither do you say "Everest Mount."
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James do you have any advice on how to plan a mega-dugneon campaign?
Stay one level ahead of the PCs' progress if you can.
Make sure to put lots of variety in the encounters—don't forget roleplaying opportunities!
Make sure your megadungeon is varied enough so that the levels can be vaired so they don't start feeling repetitive.
The megadungeon should be located close to a significant city or other place for the PCs to retreat and recover and shop. And there should be lots of stuff to do there too, including quests and sub-plots and hooks to the dungeon itself.
Check out how Erik and Jason and I built the Return to the Ruins of Greyhawk adventure for 3rd edition D&D... that adventure goes back and forth in and out of the dungeon, and has lots of interlinked areas and varied themes.
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If Achaekek were destroyed, would the Red Mantis Assassin prestige class lose its powers, the way his clerics would?
What about witches, if their patron (whatever that is) is destroyed? Are witch patrons things that CAN be destroyed, or just vague concepts like a druid's nature worship? Do witch patrons have any means of withdrawing support for a witch, if she comes to work against them?
While Achaekek's clerics would lose their powers, the Red Mantis assassins would not. The organization would reel and would stagger, but it would likely survive and switch to a new deity OR become a non-religious group OR a leader would rise within and become able to grant spells or something like that.
Witch patrons are not things that can be destroyed—they're more like the concept of a muse, or an inspiration. A witch patron is an ideal, often one that can be personified by all sorts of things, but the witch's powers herself are her own. Just as you don't lose your ability to do math if your math teacher dies.
Which of these is the Crimson Citadel most like: a castle, a walled city, or impenetrable fortress?
1. If I use telekinesis to disarm, can I grab what the victim was holding?
2. If not, does the item fly off or drop to the ground (as with a disarm)?
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1. If I use telekinesis to disarm, can I grab what the victim was holding?
2. If not, does the item fly off or drop to the ground (as with a disarm)?
1) Nope, but you can telekineticly pick it up later!
2) The item flies out of the user's hands and lands on the ground just like a normal successful disarm attempt.
1. If I use telekinesis to disarm, can I grab what the victim was holding?
2. If not, does the item fly off or drop to the ground (as with a disarm)?
1) Nope, but you can telekineticly pick it up later!
2) The item flies out of the user's hands and lands on the ground just like a normal successful disarm attempt.
1. But how far from the user? Right next to her? 10 feet/level?
Today I ask about dwarves and Ulfen!
Obviously, dwarven culture and that of the Ulfen humans is very similar, from their choice of weaponry, their style of dress and grooming, huscarls and skalds, and even their reverence of Torag. I have a theory that the Ulfen adopted the culture of the dwarves at some point, and is why they are now like archetypical Scandinavian vikings, but I have no proof to go off this theory outside of one entry in the 3.5 race book Dwarves of Golarion.
"Dwarven family names sometimes seem to contain Common words, such as 'hammer' or 'gold,' but these
originated in Dwarven and are borrowed by the Common tongue."
I was wondering if you might weigh in on this theory somewhat? It would be much appreciated!
I was also wondering about what prevents Ulfen Viking raiders from provoking war with other nations when they go on their coastal raids? Why do other nations not declare war? Are the coastal raiders seen more like unaffiliated bandits by the world? Or is there something else that keeps other nations from taking great offense?
On a somewhat unrelated, but still related note, have you played / heard of the game The Banner Saga by Stoic?
If so, what did you think?
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James, what do you think of the Sacred geometry feat?
While the idea behind it seem interesting the implementation is extremely powerful and time consuming at the table. Not a good combination.
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Tyrannosaurs hunting in packs.
Awesome or terrifying? Or both!
It's about time you people realized the truth is all I'm saying.
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1. If I use telekinesis to disarm, can I grab what the victim was holding?
2. If not, does the item fly off or drop to the ground (as with a disarm)?
1) Nope, but you can telekineticly pick it up later!
2) The item flies out of the user's hands and lands on the ground just like a normal successful disarm attempt.
1. But how far from the user? Right next to her? 10 feet/level?
Spoiler:In WotR, Minagho fobs off guarding the Wardstone to a glabrezu, who fobs it off to one of his minions and so on down to Jeslyn (p.50). What sort of demons would most likely have been between the glabrezu and Jeslyn?
1) Same as Disarm. Telekinesis is already a super versatile and powerful spell. It does enough already without acting like super-disarm. According to the disarm combat maneuver, the target drops one item it is carrying of your choice, which means it drops the item in its own square or, perhaps, an adjacent square. I'd let the telekinesis user decide which of those squares it lands in.
2)
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Out of all the people in Golarion that come from a 0 HD creature type that advances by gaining character levels that have gone to become CR 21+ in power are there any that are non-human or didn't come from being human? I'm struggling to recall one of the top of my head.
Why is there such a discrepancy in the number of powerful epic human individuals compared to other races, and is it intentional?
Yes, there are some who were not human. Golarion is humanocentric, so it's mostly humans, though; that's part of Golarion's theme.
Mr. James Jacobs,
Assuming you cannot have a person agree with you, do you prefer apathy or opposition?
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Today I ask about dwarves and Ulfen!
Obviously, dwarven culture and that of the Ulfen humans is very similar, from their choice of weaponry, their style of dress and grooming, huscarls and skalds, and even their reverence of Torag. I have a theory that the Ulfen adopted the culture of the dwarves at some point, and is why they are now like archetypical Scandinavian vikings, but I have no proof to go off this theory outside of one entry in the 3.5 race book Dwarves of Golarion.
"Dwarven family names sometimes seem to contain Common words, such as 'hammer' or 'gold,' but these
originated in Dwarven and are borrowed by the Common tongue."I was wondering if you might weigh in on this theory somewhat? It would be much appreciated!
I was also wondering about what prevents Ulfen Viking raiders from provoking war with other nations when they go on their coastal raids? Why do other nations not declare war? Are the coastal raiders seen more like unaffiliated bandits by the world? Or is there something else that keeps other nations from taking great offense?
On a somewhat unrelated, but still related note, have you played / heard of the game The Banner Saga by Stoic?
If so, what did you think?
I"m not sure that I would say dwarven culture and Ulfen culture is very similar at all. Dwarves are about mining and tradition, and Ulfens are about sailing and raiding. Dwarves are typically lawful, while the people of the Land of the Linnorm Kings are usually chaotic. Both are cultures steeped in tradition, but then so is every culture.
The Ulfens are actually one of the oldest cultures in Avistan. I'm pretty sure they predate dwarves on the surface.
What prevents other countries from waging war on the Land of the Linnorm Kings is the fact that raids from there are pretty scattershot and small-fry—they're less of a problem than piracy (or at the very least an equal problem). Part of the hazard of living on the coast. If the Land of the Linnorm Kings organized a full-on mass raid, that'd be a different story.
Haven't played The Banner Saga.
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Mr. James Jacobs,
Assuming you cannot have a person agree with you, do you prefer apathy or opposition?
Depends entirely on the nature of what we're disagreeing about, but as a general rule, I'm in favor of opposition but tempered with the ability to accept another's argument and admit when I'm actually wrong.
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James, what do you think of the Sacred geometry feat?
While the idea behind it seem interesting the implementation is extremely powerful and time consuming at the table. Not a good combination.
Not every rule is good for every table. I'm not interested in saying which ones any one table should or shouldn't use; that's something groups need to decide for themselves.
Personally, I think the feat's super complicated but has a lot of cool flavor, and that, to me, means it's better used by a big bad guy or exotic NPC rather than by a PC.
For math fans it's probably more interesting. I'm a word fan, not a math fan. I prefer roleplaying and character building feats.
How much do the Obryith and Qlippoth reflect each other?I don't understand the question. Obviously they're the same concept, only the Obyrith (which I invented for WotC) are not open content, whereas the Qlippoth (invented by Erik Mona and based VERY loosely on real-world mythology and philosophy) are open content.
I guess I was asking how much the creation one the former inspired/informed the creation of the latter.
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I guess I was asking how much the creation one the former inspired/informed the creation of the latter.How much do the Obryith and Qlippoth reflect each other?I don't understand the question. Obviously they're the same concept, only the Obyrith (which I invented for WotC) are not open content, whereas the Qlippoth (invented by Erik Mona and based VERY loosely on real-world mythology and philosophy) are open content.
The qlippoth from Book of Fiends was the primary inspiration for the obyriths. Lovecraft was the secondary inspiration for the obyriths. There were lots of other lesser inspirations.
I"m not sure that I would say dwarven culture and Ulfen culture is very similar at all. Dwarves are about mining and tradition, and Ulfens are about sailing and raiding. Dwarves are typically lawful, while the people of the Land of the Linnorm Kings are usually chaotic. Both are cultures steeped in tradition, but then so is every culture.
The Ulfens are actually one of the oldest cultures in Avistan. I'm pretty sure they predate dwarves on the surface.
Thank you for weighing in! On the surface they appeared at the very least superficially similar in an aesthetic way but I can absolutely see what you're saying concerning their differences in terms of culture and moral standing.
I've heard from... somewhere that you're not actually a great fan of dwarves, though I couldn't quote a source to you (count it as a rumor). Is there any truth to this? If so, why?
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James, what do you think of the Sacred geometry feat?
While the idea behind it seem interesting the implementation is extremely powerful and time consuming at the table. Not a good combination.
Not every rule is good for every table. I'm not interested in saying which ones any one table should or shouldn't use; that's something groups need to decide for themselves.
Personally, I think the feat's super complicated but has a lot of cool flavor, and that, to me, means it's better used by a big bad guy or exotic NPC rather than by a PC.
For math fans it's probably more interesting. I'm a word fan, not a math fan. I prefer roleplaying and character building feats.
More or less my opinion too. The flavor is awesome, the in game effect can be very problematic.
Which non-Inner-Sea nation would you most like to see get a Campaign Setting book?
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I've heard from... somewhere that you're not actually a great fan of dwarves, though I couldn't quote a source to you (count it as a rumor). Is there any truth to this? If so, why?
I'm not a big fan of dwarves, no. Of course, that means the internet thinks I hate dwarves. Not true. I just don't really like them. They feel a bit too cliched and boring to me, but in a weird way, doing things non-dwarf with them seems wrong. I just can't really get that interested in them. Maybe it's the fact that I prefer chaotic aligned things, or I prefer things without all that hair, or I prefer thigns that are more graceful and less squat... but it's also a lot to do with how they're portrayed. Loud boisterous drinkers kind of annoy me in real life, and dwarves do the same, I guess.
Shrug.
The Dragon Age dwarves are awesome though. That's more my kind of dwarf.
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I've heard from... somewhere that you're not actually a great fan of dwarves, though I couldn't quote a source to you (count it as a rumor). Is there any truth to this? If so, why?I'm not a big fan of dwarves, no. Of course, that means the internet thinks I hate dwarves. Not true. I just don't really like them. They feel a bit too cliched and boring to me, but in a weird way, doing things non-dwarf with them seems wrong. I just can't really get that interested in them. Maybe it's the fact that I prefer chaotic aligned things, or I prefer things without all that hair, or I prefer thigns that are more graceful and less squat... but it's also a lot to do with how they're portrayed. Loud boisterous drinkers kind of annoy me in real life, and dwarves do the same, I guess.
Shrug.
The Dragon Age dwarves are awesome though. That's more my kind of dwarf.
Because of the Game of Thrones-ish culture?
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I have a query or several on the Emerald Spire, specifically the fate of the vault seeds for the dungeon level you wrote.
Specifically, it mentions that the Vault Keeper escaped with two vault seeds, intending to construct new vaults and use them to wage war. However, then it states that after the first seed was activated and went out of control, he was trapped in the green crystal that resulted. Since then he's tried to grow new vault seeds, but has thus far failed. On the other hand, by the wording there is still another vault seed somewhere on either that level or with him.
1) What happened to the second seed? Or am I misreading the text?
2) Given the crystal motif, is this a side-effect of the misfiring vault seed, or was that particular seed designed for that result?
3) If one were to summon a Vault Builder (mythic xiomorn) via gate, planar binding or similar, what offering would you have it ask for in exchange for the service of constructing a vault?
4) Can a Vault Builder create a vault anywhere? Even on another plane/demiplane?
5) How did the xiomorns interact with the elohim (B4) when they encountered one another? Both have a creation-of-worlds motif, but the elohim are a few CR points higher and seem more concerned with planes/demiplanes than the xiomorns (who are vault-based).
1) I think you might be misreading it... I wrote it last year and don't recall why I would have given it two vault seeds off the top of my head, unless I wanted it to have a spare to try to cause problems in the future.
2) It's a side effect.
3) That's the type of thing that the vault builders don't do lightly. You'd have to do a mythic quest at the very least to satisfy the vault builder's desires... it'd likely require an artifact or something major, and it would be something that would probably cause its own problems since the vault builders aren't too interested in being friends with you.
4) They have to be in an Earthlike planet to build vaults. (There's other methods for them to build chambers on the plane of Earth.)
5) I'm not sure they HAVE encountered one another yet. Both are incredibly rare and the Great Beyond is a big place...
Something for dwarves. One thing I've actually done is have them more nature themed. Imagine them being like an "old man of the forest" type of character. Maybe a less cantankerous version of Erastil. Like, imagine the lighthearted yet serious personality of Gandalf, and make him a bit more about the serene harmony of nature. How would that sound as a dwarf idea?
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Which non-Inner-Sea nation would you most like to see get a Campaign Setting book?
Turns out... when I want that to happen, it more or less happens. So me telling you what one I most want to see get a book is the same as me spoiling an announcement we're not yet ready to make.
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Because of the Game of Thrones-ish culture?I've heard from... somewhere that you're not actually a great fan of dwarves, though I couldn't quote a source to you (count it as a rumor). Is there any truth to this? If so, why?I'm not a big fan of dwarves, no. Of course, that means the internet thinks I hate dwarves. Not true. I just don't really like them. They feel a bit too cliched and boring to me, but in a weird way, doing things non-dwarf with them seems wrong. I just can't really get that interested in them. Maybe it's the fact that I prefer chaotic aligned things, or I prefer things without all that hair, or I prefer thigns that are more graceful and less squat... but it's also a lot to do with how they're portrayed. Loud boisterous drinkers kind of annoy me in real life, and dwarves do the same, I guess.
Shrug.
The Dragon Age dwarves are awesome though. That's more my kind of dwarf.
More because Bioware was able to make them super profane and adult-oriented. It was refreshing to see dwarves curse. It looks natural on them, and it's a direction we wouldn't really be able to take without risking the loss of a lot of customers, I fear. There's a strange double-standard or something when it comes to pen-and-paper games embracing profanity and some other adult tropes that video games, movies, television, comic books... pretty much ANY other entertainment medium... doesn't have to worry about.