Creative Director
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Okay, perhaps an odd question, but... given the availability of a vast array of foods, animals, etc. that weren't available in Europe/Asia/Africa until after the Columbian Exchange, is it likely that the Azlanti were responsible for a similar Arcadian Exchange on Golarion? Or did those foods and animals all just happen to develop in Avistan, Casmaron, Garund and Tian Xia?
They didn't have teleport before the Columbian Exchange, so comparisons between Azlant and the real world are not all that appropriate in that way.
As a general rule, you can assume that regional foods are common in the regions built to resemble them or are inspired by them, but now and then you'll see unexpected foods pop up. This is a necessary short cut for us, since managing continuity for a shared world in which hundreds of writers work is... complex.
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Creative Director
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Ok, here's a question mark; "?", now what do you thinkI'm just here, what do you think of me just being over here. In the corner. Glaring menacingly. Waiting. Watching. Contemplating the meaning of life.Can't answer that since you forgot to include a question mark, and as a result, it's not technically a question.
I think that a standalone question mark does not a question make, especially when asking about that question mark doesn't have a question mark (or any punctuation at all) at the end of it. ;-)
But I get what you're getting at, and in the interests of ending this line of discussion before more weird punctuation shows up...
I think that you glaring and waiting and watching in the corner is the right thing for you to do. Enjoy!
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feel locked out of the loop because I don't have time in my schedule to join a regular PFS group and experience these things. It'd be different if PFS was done independently, but since its materials ARE published by Paizo, it's canon by default, isn't it? I thought that's how canon worked: Everything released as official stuff from the creators is part of it, like the EU books for Star Wars, or the Silmarillion and the Book of Lost Tales for Tolkien.Is the correct assumption as follows?
There is the base canon... that which is presented by the setting books and supplemental material, i.e. Inner Sea World Guide, Dragon Empires, Guide to Numeria etc. These present a base universal canon for GMs to draw upon, change, or ignore, as they will.
And each singular Advenure Path, as well as the PFS Network Campaign, each represent a totally separate piece of work that branches off into it's own self-contained canon which is not reflected back for the most part, on base canon? Each being essentially it's own separate parallel world as if it were?
Correct. Although adventures all have additional base canon stuff in there, of course. In Burnt Offerings, we don't assume that the goblins have already attacked Sandpoint or that a group of heroes have headed out to Thistletop... but Thistleop and Sandpoint already exist, and the notes about those places introduce in Burnt Offerings are canon for the world.
A better example are the Gray Maidens. They don't exist in Golarion until the 2nd adventure of "Curse of the Crimson Throne" begins, 'cause that's when Queen Illeosa creates the order.
It certainly is complicated, I'll grant you that. And publishing a couple hundred pages on average every month does make keeping up with the canon a difficult, if not impossible task... especially if you have things other than Golarion in your life.
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James, if you had the opportunity, would you wear a Merisiel Onesie for pajamas?
Would you ever wear a onesie as an adult?
More serious, what is your favorite secret revealed about Golarion at this point?
What about your favorite easter egg hidden in Paizo products?
What is your favorite easter egg/reference that you've ever found in game/book/movie etc?
Maybe.
Maybe.
I guess the Nocticula thing.
Sandpoint's rivers.
The Yellow Sign/King in Yellow stuff in "True Detective,' although that might be too much a core element of the show to qualify as an easter egg...
Wait, what?!?! I need to go watch that show now...
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If you can accept the fact that PFS is its own microcosm of self-contained canon for itself that isn't necessarily part of the world's canon (in the same way that none of the APs are part of the world's canon until they occur), that should hopefully help.
If a random person off the street wanted to know what's canon in Golarion TODAY, he could pick up the Inner Sea World Guide, read it, and go from there. We do not immediately add the adventures (be they Adventure Paths or PFS or anything in between) to the world, since there is NO WAY AT ALL to determine which one group who plays through the events gets to be the one who sets the adventure's result in stone. That ONLY COUNTS for the game it's played in itself.
Sure... there is other information in adventures that expands on existing canon and the like but the plots as they play out in play with characters changing the face of the world (like killing Krune) do not occur until you, the GM, want them to.
So if you want to know all the information... though... your only real choice is to read every single thing we publish. That's not something I think one person can easily do. I know I can't do it. I've not even gotten CLOSE to reading everything we publish.
What if I'm NOT the GM? I just want to write character backgrounds that don't conflict with the established canon so they have stronger narrative connections to the setting, and are thus better PCs.
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Creative Director
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I thought the stories behind some of the harrow cards in The Harrow Handbook were interesting. I think I read somewhere that stories for all of them have been written. Have these other stories been published or posted anywhere?
You might wanna check out the adventure "The Harrowing."
I don't believe we've actually revealed all of the backstories for the cards yet though.
Speaking of looks, ZUN’s art style isn’t putting you off, is it?It kinda is, alas. I don't hate it, but it's not my preferred style of anime art.
Damnit, ZUN, stop making women look like Play-Doh!
Don't mind the stuff on the wiki, the characters are much better drawn outside of the actual shooters. There're the beat-em-up games, the official manga, the doujinshi, the fan games, the fan art, the porn...
Trust me, do a search for Touhou works and you won't find any dough-girls.
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Creative Director
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Wait, what?!?! I need to go watch that show now...James, if you had the opportunity, would you wear a Merisiel Onesie for pajamas?
Would you ever wear a onesie as an adult?
More serious, what is your favorite secret revealed about Golarion at this point?
What about your favorite easter egg hidden in Paizo products?
What is your favorite easter egg/reference that you've ever found in game/book/movie etc?
Maybe.
Maybe.
I guess the Nocticula thing.
Sandpoint's rivers.
The Yellow Sign/King in Yellow stuff in "True Detective,' although that might be too much a core element of the show to qualify as an easter egg...
Oh my yes.
The elements from Robert Chambers' stories are, to a certain extent, the primary underlying theme of True Detective. The influence is not over the top, but it's certainly there, and it's certainly awesome.
Come join us in Carcosa, where the black stars shine! Come watch True Detective, and let the Yellow King in!
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Creative Director
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What if I'm NOT the GM? I just want to write character backgrounds that don't conflict with the established canon so they have stronger narrative connections to the setting, and are thus better PCs.If you can accept the fact that PFS is its own microcosm of self-contained canon for itself that isn't necessarily part of the world's canon (in the same way that none of the APs are part of the world's canon until they occur), that should hopefully help.
If a random person off the street wanted to know what's canon in Golarion TODAY, he could pick up the Inner Sea World Guide, read it, and go from there. We do not immediately add the adventures (be they Adventure Paths or PFS or anything in between) to the world, since there is NO WAY AT ALL to determine which one group who plays through the events gets to be the one who sets the adventure's result in stone. That ONLY COUNTS for the game it's played in itself.
Sure... there is other information in adventures that expands on existing canon and the like but the plots as they play out in play with characters changing the face of the world (like killing Krune) do not occur until you, the GM, want them to.
So if you want to know all the information... though... your only real choice is to read every single thing we publish. That's not something I think one person can easily do. I know I can't do it. I've not even gotten CLOSE to reading everything we publish.
Then you need to do the best you can, and then submit your PC background to your GM to ensure that the background doesn't conflict with your GM's established canon, which is NOT going to be 100% the same as what we present in our products.
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Then you need to do the best you can, and then submit your PC background to your GM to ensure that the background doesn't conflict with your GM's established canon, which is NOT going to be 100% the same as what we present in our products.What if I'm NOT the GM? I just want to write character backgrounds that don't conflict with the established canon so they have stronger narrative connections to the setting, and are thus better PCs.If you can accept the fact that PFS is its own microcosm of self-contained canon for itself that isn't necessarily part of the world's canon (in the same way that none of the APs are part of the world's canon until they occur), that should hopefully help.
If a random person off the street wanted to know what's canon in Golarion TODAY, he could pick up the Inner Sea World Guide, read it, and go from there. We do not immediately add the adventures (be they Adventure Paths or PFS or anything in between) to the world, since there is NO WAY AT ALL to determine which one group who plays through the events gets to be the one who sets the adventure's result in stone. That ONLY COUNTS for the game it's played in itself.
Sure... there is other information in adventures that expands on existing canon and the like but the plots as they play out in play with characters changing the face of the world (like killing Krune) do not occur until you, the GM, want them to.
So if you want to know all the information... though... your only real choice is to read every single thing we publish. That's not something I think one person can easily do. I know I can't do it. I've not even gotten CLOSE to reading everything we publish.
But how do I know if a concept just doesn't work with the canon and the AP in question at all? A lot of the questions I ask you basically stem from one basic character concept: A paladin who blends the beliefs that come inherent with paladinhood with those of a shamanistic or druidic culture that's generally more associated with barbarians. The general vibe I get from your responses is that Erastil's really the only way to do this, and Erastil's ethos isn't really compatible with someone who wants to be a warrior or a king, and his favored weapon pigeonholes such characters into archery anyway. And while the Empyreal Lords are an option, I always feel like they're too "hipstery," and that they don't connect to the plots of APs like Curse of the Crimson Throne or Wrath of the Righteous very well, when Iomedae fits those APs infinitely better.
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Creative Director
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But how do I know if a concept just doesn't work with the canon and the AP in question at all? A lot of the questions I ask you basically stem from one basic character concept: A paladin who blends the beliefs that come inherent with paladinhood with those of a shamanistic or druidic culture that's generally more associated with barbarians. The general vibe I get from responses is that Erastil's really the only way to do this, and Erastil's ethos isn't really compatible with someone who wants to be a warrior or a king, and his favored weapon pigeonholes such characters into archery anyway.
You can't know if a concept doesn't fit canon you don't know about. You either need to be comfortable knowing that there are things you don't know, or comfortable with the fact that you'll never be able to make a character you like because you don't know everything there is.
Remember... we continue publishing content. It's completely plausible that something you build for a character's background today could clash against flavor we publish tomorrow... or something we publish years from now.
If you worry too much about clashing with continuity and canon, you'll never make a character. That's obviously not an option if you want to play a game, so you'll need to find a way to square that circle.
And again... that means working with your GM to make the right choices for that particular game. Unless I'm your GM, I can't answer those questions for you, because if I did, I'd be disrespecting your GM. I don't want to do that.
As a quick aside... a deity's favored weapon is NOT the deity's REQUIRED weapon. We always have worshipers of deities use weapons that aren't the deity's favored one. Hell... we did this in the very first Pathifnder adventure, where a worshiper of Lamashtu fought with a bastard sword and a claw, not a falchion. Just because Erastil favors the longbow does not mean that all of his worshipers only favor longbows.
Zousha, paladins are not required to have a deity at all.
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But how do I know if a concept just doesn't work with the canon and the AP in question at all? A lot of the questions I ask you basically stem from one basic character concept: A paladin who blends the beliefs that come inherent with paladinhood with those of a shamanistic or druidic culture that's generally more associated with barbarians. The general vibe I get from responses is that Erastil's really the only way to do this, and Erastil's ethos isn't really compatible with someone who wants to be a warrior or a king, and his favored weapon pigeonholes such characters into archery anyway.
You can't know if a concept doesn't fit canon you don't know about. You either need to be comfortable knowing that there are things you don't know, or comfortable with the fact that you'll never be able to make a character you like because you don't know everything there is.
Remember... we continue publishing content. It's completely plausible that something you build for a character's background today could clash against flavor we publish tomorrow... or something we publish years from now.
If you worry too much about clashing with continuity and canon, you'll never make a character. That's obviously not an option if you want to play a game, so you'll need to find a way to square that circle.
And again... that means working with your GM to make the right choices for that particular game. Unless I'm your GM, I can't answer those questions for you, because if I did, I'd be disrespecting your GM. I don't want to do that.
As a quick aside... a deity's favored weapon is NOT the deity's REQUIRED weapon. We always have worshipers of deities use weapons that aren't the deity's favored one. Hell... we did this in the very first Pathifnder adventure, where a worshiper of Lamashtu fought with a bastard sword and a claw, not a falchion. Just because Erastil favors the longbow does not mean that all of his worshipers only favor longbows.
Yeah, but in Wrath of the Righteous,
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I originally wanted to post this question in the campaign setting general discussion, when I realize it might be better to ask the definitive master on all matters Golarion! :)
Question:
Taldan Nobles or other Nobility that are also Druids, do/could they exist?
I'm reading up on Taldor and one of the things that really interested me is the Treaty of the Wildwood, in which Taldor maintains a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship with the druids of the Wildwood Lodge to protect the Verduran Forest.
Given that Taldor and many of the countries of the Inner Sea have noble houses and are often ruled by nobility, what are the possibility of nobles that are actively druids as well?
I don't mean nobles that "became" druids, I mean nobles that are actively druids, while retaining their nobility, tittles, land ownership, etc.
Is there the possibility of such noblity-druids existing?
This question is partly for a PFS character ideal I'm working on, a Druid that also happens to be part of the Sovereign Court pathfinder faction.
It would be nice to know if such a character ideal is feasible for Golarion.
Hello James,
I'm not certain if you had a hand in this, but figured I might ask anyway. Why is the class of Antipaladin named in such a way? With most classes, you can say them in game without sounding too weird. "That Wizard is casting a spell!", "I am a holy cleric of Sarenrae..." etc. But to refer to something as an anti-paladin in game is very... Odd.
All of this isn't to say they can't be referred to in game as something else, but even just looking at their name feels very... disconnected somehow. Maybe it's just the tag of 'anti', I don't know.
Why wasn't the class named something else, like perhaps Dark Knight, Desecrator, Fiendish Champion, or something along those lines?
The Antipaladin was called the Blackguard in D&D, Nargemn.
Fun fact: Blackguard is apparently pronounced Blaggard. Never knew until I was watching Darby O'Gill and the Little People and one of the bad guys was called that. True story.
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Creative Director
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Q: James, what is the "Sandpoint's rivers" easter egg?What about your favorite easter egg hidden in Paizo products?Sandpoint's rivers.
There are 2 waterways in Sandpoint. One's named Boggy Creek, a nod to one of my favorite Bigfoot movies/legends. The other one is the Turandarrok River, which is a portmanteau of the two main characters from one of my favorite comic book series (Turok and Andar from Turok: Son of Stone).
There's several other easter eggs in Sandpoint, in fact, most of which are Point Arena (my hometow) easter eggs. Including:
The name "Schooner Gulch."
The presence of a theater in a small town.
Junk Beach.
The sign with the mirror welcoming folks to Sandpoint but asking visitors to see themself as Sandpoint sees them.
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Creative Director
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| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I originally wanted to post this question in the campaign setting general discussion, when I realize it might be better to ask the definitive master on all matters Golarion! :)
Question:
Taldan Nobles or other Nobility that are also Druids, do/could they exist?I'm reading up on Taldor and one of the things that really interested me is the Treaty of the Wildwood, in which Taldor maintains a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship with the druids of the Wildwood Lodge to protect the Verduran Forest.
Given that Taldor and many of the countries of the Inner Sea have noble houses and are often ruled by nobility, what are the possibility of nobles that are actively druids as well?
I don't mean nobles that "became" druids, I mean nobles that are actively druids, while retaining their nobility, tittles, land ownership, etc.
Is there the possibility of such noblity-druids existing?
This question is partly for a PFS character ideal I'm working on, a Druid that also happens to be part of the Sovereign Court pathfinder faction.
It would be nice to know if such a character ideal is feasible for Golarion.
It'd be possible for a Taldan noble to be a druid, but it would be uncommon at best, and I suspect that such nobles would be black sheep to the rest of their family. Druids, for their own part, are generally less interested in society and more interested in nature anyway, so a druid noble would be rare and unusual anywhere.
Still... it sounds like a lot more feasible for PFS than many of the character builds I hear about! ;-)
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Creative Director
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Hello James,
I'm not certain if you had a hand in this, but figured I might ask anyway. Why is the class of Antipaladin named in such a way? With most classes, you can say them in game without sounding too weird. "That Wizard is casting a spell!", "I am a holy cleric of Sarenrae..." etc. But to refer to something as an anti-paladin in game is very... Odd.
All of this isn't to say they can't be referred to in game as something else, but even just looking at their name feels very... disconnected somehow. Maybe it's just the tag of 'anti', I don't know.
Why wasn't the class named something else, like perhaps Dark Knight, Desecrator, Fiendish Champion, or something along those lines?
It's called an antipaladin becasue of game tradition. Because of nostalgia. The concept of an antipaladin first came around in the early days of D&D, and we wanted to include it as a nod to the game's 40 year long history and tradition.
Feel free to call them what you want in your game. 3rd edition D&D called them blackguards, for what it's worth.
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Creative Director
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[Yeah, but in Wrath of the Righteous, the Radiance sword morphs into the favored weapon of whatever deity the paladin worships, and the backgrounds, to me, hint that the PCs are supposed to have patron deities, at least with the Hierophant background one. That's a general assumption that's been with the game since Forgotten Realms at least, and any paladins seen the APs have had patron deities, so that seems to be Golarion's norm..If you don't have one, then it remains a longsword. Similar thing too, with a piece of armor you may or may not find later.
Which is a STRONG argument in this case to play a paladin who doesn't worship a single god but worships a pantheon or a cause or a philosophy.
Technically speaking, an antipaladin is a full 20 level CE class, and the Blackguard has always been a 10 level PrC, and not restricted to CE, but ANY evil alignment. Paladins did get the right to convert paladin levels to blackguard levels, however...
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/blackguard.htm
James, is there anyone in the office whose job IS to read all the pages you produce and stay consistent on continuity? 200 pages a month doesn't sound like much from final products, although reading, re-reading and re-re-reading 200 pages would quickly get very tiresome...
==Aelryinth
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....This question is partly for a PFS character ideal I'm working on, a Druid that also happens to be part of the Sovereign Court pathfinder faction.
It would be nice to know if such a character ideal is feasible for Golarion....
Still... it sounds like a lot more feasible for PFS than many of the character builds I hear about! ;-)
So.. What are some PFS legal, but unfeasible for PFS, character builds that you HAD heard about?
...Just curious... :P
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Creative Director
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James, is there anyone in the office whose job IS to read all the pages you produce and stay consistent on continuity? 200 pages a month doesn't sound like much from final products, although reading, re-reading and re-re-reading 200 pages would quickly get very tiresome...
At this point, no. Eventually, we hope to have someone who does this job, but currently, or production schedule is outpacing our ability to have one person read everything we produce, since that theoretical person is being used to develop a lot of material as well.
In the meantime, it's my job as Creative Director to ensure that the vision and philosophy as to what is and isn't appropriate for Golarion is communicated to the developers and editors, so that everyone's on the same page.
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Creative Director
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....This question is partly for a PFS character ideal I'm working on, a Druid that also happens to be part of the Sovereign Court pathfinder faction.
It would be nice to know if such a character ideal is feasible for Golarion....
Still... it sounds like a lot more feasible for PFS than many of the character builds I hear about! ;-)So.. What are some PFS legal, but unfeasible for PFS, character builds that you HAD heard about?
...Just curious... :P
AKA: What are some characters that people have built that I think are silly or goofy or disrespectful or inappropriate?
Not gonna say. It's one thing for me to say that not everyone's character building is my cup of tea, but I'm not gonna go out and single out specific builds or choices like that.
The game's big enough for everyone to play, but that means that some of the people playing are gonna play the game in ways you don't like.
Which is fine. Because there's folks out there who, as hard as it is for me to accept, don't like bards/rogues who have religious beliefs but low wisdom scores.
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Creative Director
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What does wisdom have to do with religious beliefs? just asking
Wisdom is the statistic that clerics use, first of all, and that's in and of itself enough to justify it as having something to do with religion.
But it's also the stat that affects your awareness and intuition; things like philosophy and faith are matters of the heart, and those are things that Wisdom governs.
Intelligence is more about scientific thought, and Charisma is more about your OWN personality and soul and ability to express yourself. Wisdom is your ability to perceive the world, to empathize and understand things that have no obvious meaning, and to measure your enlightenment and spiritual health (in part from how it affects your Will saves).
But it's also the stat that affects your awareness and intuition; things like philosophy and faith are matters of the heart, and those are things that Wisdom governs.
This is the best explanation of how cleric spellcasting relates to Wisdom (awareness and intuition) that I have ever seen. +1 for James Jacobs!
Now, how does the Heal skill fit into that equation? I've always felt that knowing how to Heal someone required Intelligence, not intuition or awareness, and assumed that it was only Wisdom because Clerics were all about healing and clerics used Wisdom. Thoughts, oh great and scaly one?
Hey James,
Generally speaking, how are firearms regarded in Taldor? No different from anywhere else (ie curious oddities) or do they abhor them? I ask because one of my characters for PFS is a gunslinger from Taldor who is in the Taldor faction, something I've been told by a few people is "very very strange".
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Creative Director
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1)Are there same-sex arranged marriages on Golarion(Taldor,Cheliax)
2)What does Erastil think of same-sex marriage
3)do you think the cleric needs some class Abilities
1) Yes.
2) He approves. since anything that strengthens the bonds of family is Erastil-friendly.
3) I think it's a shame that the cleric missed out on a capstone ability, but between her domian abilities, channeled energy, and full spellcasting combined with a 3/4 BAB progression, she's doing pretty good as is.
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So I just watched True Detective, and was wondering if you had a preference between the more subtle 'questions remain unanswered' nature of that show versus something more in-your-face supernatural like From Beyond or various other Mythos-y shows.
There's a part of me that would love to see a version of At the Mountains of Madness with full-bore del Toro creatures in all their glory (kind of like 1982 version of The Thing, perhaps, which is about as Lovecraftian a non-Lovecraft movie I can think of), and another creepier atmospheric version in which it's not clear even to the viewer (perhaps until the last moment, if ever) how much of what is happening is dark human evil, or something mind-shattering and alien.
Do you have a preference, or do both have their place, if done well?
Q: James, what is the "Sandpoint's rivers" easter egg?What about your favorite easter egg hidden in Paizo products?Sandpoint's rivers.There are 2 waterways in Sandpoint. One's named Boggy Creek, a nod to one of my favorite Bigfoot movies/legends. The other one is the Turandarrok River, which is a portmanteau of the two main characters from one of my favorite comic book series (Turok and Andar from Turok: Son of Stone).
There's several other easter eggs in Sandpoint, in fact, most of which are Point Arena (my hometow) easter eggs. Including:
The name "Schooner Gulch."
The presence of a theater in a small town.
Junk Beach.
The sign with the mirror welcoming folks to Sandpoint but asking visitors to see themself as Sandpoint sees them.
Makes me smile to see another fan of Turok. My late brother and I really loved the series.
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Creative Director
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But it's also the stat that affects your awareness and intuition; things like philosophy and faith are matters of the heart, and those are things that Wisdom governs.This is the best explanation of how cleric spellcasting relates to Wisdom (awareness and intuition) that I have ever seen. +1 for James Jacobs!
Now, how does the Heal skill fit into that equation? I've always felt that knowing how to Heal someone required Intelligence, not intuition or awareness, and assumed that it was only Wisdom because Clerics were all about healing and clerics used Wisdom. Thoughts, oh great and scaly one?
Honeslty, Heal should have probably been an Intelligence skill. It's a Wisdom skill because they wanted clerics to be good at it.
That said, if you look at Sense Motive as the closest analogy to Psychology in the game, it's nice that the health-related skills both use Wisdom.
You could say that Heal is Wisdom for the same reason Perception and Survival are—it's all about being able to sense what's wrong with a situation.
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Creative Director
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Hey James,
Generally speaking, how are firearms regarded in Taldor? No different from anywhere else (ie curious oddities) or do they abhor them? I ask because one of my characters for PFS is a gunslinger from Taldor who is in the Taldor faction, something I've been told by a few people is "very very strange".
Generally, as exotic toys for eccentrics, the rich, and adventurers to fool around with.
It's unusual for firearms to be anywhere outside of the Mana Wastes (and Numeria but on the techy side). No more or no less so in Taldor than anywhere else.
James, as I sit outside in Alaska with a fire burning designing some encounters, I have to wonder: What is your favorite 'outdoorsy' activity? I mean, what does the King Lizard like you do when he decides to go outside and have an adventure?I'd like to get back into fishing, but it's SO COMPLICATED with the rules and regulations and all that, so in the meantime, I guess I'll say hiking. Which is fishing without the fish, I suppose.
Washington has a bunch of rules and regulations on their fishing? That's sad.
Why don't you come up to Alaska to go fishing? My hometown has some of the best fishing in the world.
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Creative Director
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So I just watched True Detective, and was wondering if you had a preference between the more subtle 'questions remain unanswered' nature of that show versus something more in-your-face supernatural like From Beyond or various other Mythos-y shows.
There's a part of me that would love to see a version of At the Mountains of Madness with full-bore del Toro creatures in all their glory (kind of like 1982 version of The Thing, perhaps, which is about as Lovecraftian a non-Lovecraft movie I can think of), and another creepier atmospheric version in which it's not clear even to the viewer (perhaps until the last moment, if ever) how much of what is happening is dark human evil, or something mind-shattering and alien.
Do you have a preference, or do both have their place, if done well?
I like them both, frankly. They're both really compelling and interesting ways to explore the unknown. And for what it's worth...
Thing with "At the Mountains of Madness" is that it is very much NOT a subtle story. It's DEEPLY rooted in the physical. It's my favorite Lovecraft story to cite when people make the unfounded claim that Lovecraft was a bad writer who couldn't describe things and thus said things were "indescribable." There's a LOT of detail in all his stories, but particularly in AtMoM.
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Creative Director
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James, as I sit outside in Alaska with a fire burning designing some encounters, I have to wonder: What is your favorite 'outdoorsy' activity? I mean, what does the King Lizard like you do when he decides to go outside and have an adventure?I'd like to get back into fishing, but it's SO COMPLICATED with the rules and regulations and all that, so in the meantime, I guess I'll say hiking. Which is fishing without the fish, I suppose.Washington has a bunch of rules and regulations on their fishing? That's sad.
Why don't you come up to Alaska to go fishing? My hometown has some of the best fishing in the world.
The sport fishing rules for Washington are in a 142 page booklet, so yeah... there's a bunch. But I suppose I'd rather live in a world where there's a 142 page book about fishing rules than a world where we've fished out our rivers.
Going up to Alaska to go fishing is tempting... but my dad's been fishing his whole life and has a boat and if I'm gonna travel several hundred miles to go fishing, dad's boat has a pretty strong pull. ;-)
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Creative Director
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Hi, me again. I am a big carrion crown fan (even though I never played it yet, only bought the AP), do you think you might make another AP in Ustalav or make a AP that is full lovecraft (not just a bit of lovecraft like Carrion crown)???????????(
Yes.
I've wanted to a big full-on Lovecraft AP ever since the first one.
And one day it will happen.
Ustalav is a natural location to set some, if not all, of such an AP. I suspect if I do a Lovecraft AP it'll not stay in Ustalav—Lovecraft's stories had lots of travel to exotic locations in them after all.