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Paizo Employee Creative Director

John Kretzer wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Cheapy wrote:
Favorite TWF weapon combination?
Rapier and whip.
Wow that is my favorite too...well we see some kinda of support for that fighting style in the future? Because it is kinda hard to do it effectively now.

I'd like to think so, but I don't do much of the planning for those types of things these days.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

MMCJawa wrote:

So with Bestiary 4 coming out, will you continue to adopt Tome of Horrors monsters into Bestiaries? Or is there no need now that Tome of Horrors Complete for Pathfinder exists?

What are the odds that other 3pp monsters might show up in Bestiaries?

There are a very few Tome of Horrors Complete monsters (and even a few SRD monsters) that got into Bestiary 4... but not a lot. Maybe less than a dozen. Maybe just a little more. Going forward, we've mostly "adopted" the Tome of Horrors monsters we want to, which corresponds mostly to the monsters THEY adopted from D&D in the first place. I'd rather not include the new monsters in Tome of Horrors, since they're already there and I'd rather do new monsters.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Spaceship wrote:

James, have you ever had too many good distractions to write? How do you get past this issue? I should be working on the setting I haven't touched in two months, and I have a ton of ideas, but I end up going to the library, going out walking or cycling, watching dads, or playing video games, despite what my intentions are when I start the day.

As an aside, did you play Red Dead Redemption Unread Nightmare? It's what I'm currently playing when I'm gaming.

Very often. I'm really good at procrastination, and video games and movies and books and the internet are all excellent ways to get distracted from writing. Deadlines help me get past this—as a deadline looms, I focus better. I'm trying to shift to a habit of waking up a little earlier each day to get some writing in early though, before work, when distractions are less and my brain is not as cluttered from the events of the day.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Karse wrote:

Why the Alchemist got so many bombs with different status conditions?

Force Bomb can make someone prone so easy and the followed by a Frost Bomb in the same round to stagger creates a "lockdown", because stagger only allows either a move or a standard action and the target affected would have to use a move action to get up from prone. Was this considered when the class was created?

To keep the bombs interesting, basically. The combination of force and frost bomb is pretty good, and that was indeed considered when the class was created—we WANT alchemists mixing up their bomb patterns. But the impact of it and ALL of the Advanced Player's Guide classes does change the way the game's played. That's part of what makes them Advanced after all. A GM who allows these classes needs to be ready to change the way he plans encounters to a certain extent...

Some suggestions:

Monsters who are resistant to or immune to cold are immune to frost bombs (and their side effects)

Monsters with lots of legs are hard to trip.

Monsters with spells an spell-like or supernatural abilities don't need to stand up to menace foes.

Monsters that are swimming or climbing or flying can't be tripped—you can only trip a person who's standing on the ground.

Use monsters with better Reflex saves.

Use alchemists against your PCs.

Use more monsters so the alchemist can't focus fire.

Cut back on the short adventuring day—make the alchemist conserve and ration his bombs.

ALL THAT SAID: Make sure you still let the alchemist use his bombs the way he wants. Because it's fun for the player.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Sincubus wrote:
MMCJawa wrote:

So with Bestiary 4 coming out, will you continue to adopt Tome of Horrors monsters into Bestiaries? Or is there no need now that Tome of Horrors Complete for Pathfinder exists?

What are the odds that other 3pp monsters might show up in Bestiaries?

I really hope the answer to this is yes, as the Jack-in-Irons, Barbegazi, Afanc (altho not the fish but the beaver/croc), Bacchae, Bloody Bones, Cherufe, Fetch, Jack o Lantern, Phooka, Wizards's Shackle, and Asrai still need to be paizonized as they are from mythology, folklore and fantasy tales i'm sure they can end up in bestairy 4 or later.

But the answer must be YES, cuz the Al-mi'raj is in bestiary 4, and that is also in the Tome of Horrors!

We do have a few of those, but in some cases the Bestiary 4 version is COMPLETELY different than the Tome of Horrors version. Especially in the case of a monster both books independantly picked up from mythology rather than from D&D.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Timothy Ferdinand wrote:
James, I know Iomedae is the national faith of Mendev, but do other faiths (such as Sarenrae) have temples/chapels in Mendev - I would imagine that some of the crusaders who arrive from the south are worshippers of Sarenrae, etc and that they would want to have places of worship - but perhaps the government in Mendev (particularly the Inquisitors) prevent this?

Absolutely. You can find all of the faiths practicing in Mendev if you look hard enough. Iomedae's the most widespread, but there are others that are pretty common. During the course of Wrath of the Righteous, you'll find worshipers of Torag, Droskar, Sarenrae, Shelyn, Desna, and more.

The government of Mendev and its inquisitors are focused on demon hunting and stopping demon worship. They have a relatively open arms policy, over all, about what sorts of people they welcome to help them. In fact, they'd MUCH rather have a worshiper of Sarenrae or Desna helping than most of the low templars who volunteer.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Cojonuda wrote:

Hi James,

Poltergeists are undead with Natural Invisibility and are Site Bound.

Does Detect Magic work on them? Can DM detect NI? Can DM detect to what item they are bound?

Thanks.

Detect magic won't detect undead; that's what detect undead is for.

Detect magic DOES detect supernatural effects like natural invisibility, but those effects generally don't have a magical school associated with them. It can't discern what a poltergeist's bound to.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

James,

As creator of Norgorber, I thought I'd let you know that a Norgorber-centric prestige class called "Secretkeeper" came out in Wayfinder #9! It's a bit of shameless plugging, but I thought you might be interested :)


Can you planeshift into the pathfinders Haojin Tapestry? (assuming you've been there)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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David_Bross wrote:
Can you planeshift into the pathfinders Haojin Tapestry? (assuming you've been there)

Yes. You don't even have to be there. All you need is the exact right tuning fork as the material component to do so.

Finding the correct type of tuning fork for a bigger plane, like the Abyss or the Plane of Fire or the First World is relatively easy—you can buy those at any well-stocked magic shop.

But finding the correct tuning fork for a smaller, more obscure demiplane, like the one inside the Haojin Tapestry, should be a LOT harder. In fact, I'd say it should be hard enough that finding the information should be the climax of a long and dangerous adventure.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Tastes great, or less filling?


James Jacobs wrote:
Cojonuda wrote:

Hi James,

Poltergeists are undead with Natural Invisibility and are Site Bound.

Does Detect Magic work on them? Can DM detect NI? Can DM detect to what item they are bound?

Thanks.

Detect magic won't detect undead; that's what detect undead is for.

Detect magic DOES detect supernatural effects like natural invisibility, but those effects generally don't have a magical school associated with them. It can't discern what a poltergeist's bound to.

James, this confuses me. I thought Detect Magic and things like it only worked on spells, spell-like effects, and magical items. Natural Invisibility is listed as Extraordinary or Supernatural. If it's a supernatural effect, can Detect Magic still ping it? If so, how do we determine power and lingering duration of the effects aura?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Cerberus Seven wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Cojonuda wrote:

Hi James,

Poltergeists are undead with Natural Invisibility and are Site Bound.

Does Detect Magic work on them? Can DM detect NI? Can DM detect to what item they are bound?

Thanks.

Detect magic won't detect undead; that's what detect undead is for.

Detect magic DOES detect supernatural effects like natural invisibility, but those effects generally don't have a magical school associated with them. It can't discern what a poltergeist's bound to.

James, this confuses me. I thought Detect Magic and things like it only worked on spells, spell-like effects, and magical items. Natural Invisibility is listed as Extraordinary or Supernatural. If it's a supernatural effect, can Detect Magic still ping it? If so, how do we determine power and lingering duration of the effects aura?

Obviously if something is extraordinary it won't radiate magic, so there's that.

Whether or not the official RAW lets you detect the aura of supernatural effects is, I guess, a better question for the rules forums and a FAQ. Logically speaking, though, it SHOULD work. The best way to determine power is to look at the CR of the creature the effect is associated with—low CR = low powered aura, and high CR = high powered aura.

In the end, when your players cast detect magic, that's a chance for you as the GM to give them information that helps them prepare for an encounter or interpret it. You shouldn't be afraid to wing it and provide answers to the spell (ANY detect spell) that helps push the story forward in the way you want it to go.


James Jacobs wrote:
Cerberus Seven wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Cojonuda wrote:

Hi James,

Poltergeists are undead with Natural Invisibility and are Site Bound.

Does Detect Magic work on them? Can DM detect NI? Can DM detect to what item they are bound?

Thanks.

Detect magic won't detect undead; that's what detect undead is for.

Detect magic DOES detect supernatural effects like natural invisibility, but those effects generally don't have a magical school associated with them. It can't discern what a poltergeist's bound to.

James, this confuses me. I thought Detect Magic and things like it only worked on spells, spell-like effects, and magical items. Natural Invisibility is listed as Extraordinary or Supernatural. If it's a supernatural effect, can Detect Magic still ping it? If so, how do we determine power and lingering duration of the effects aura?

Obviously if something is extraordinary it won't radiate magic, so there's that.

Whether or not the official RAW lets you detect the aura of supernatural effects is, I guess, a better question for the rules forums and a FAQ. Logically speaking, though, it SHOULD work. The best way to determine power is to look at the CR of the creature the effect is associated with—low CR = low powered aura, and high CR = high powered aura.

In the end, when your players cast detect magic, that's a chance for you as the GM to give them information that helps them prepare for an encounter or interpret it. You shouldn't be afraid to wing it and provide answers to the spell (ANY detect spell) that helps push the story forward in the way you want it to go.

Fair enough, though I might substitute creature hit dice in place of CR. There seem to be a lot of examples in the game where 'your caster level with this ability equals your hit dice' for supernatural or spell-like abilities.

Question regarding Nethys: does he scare, or at least unsettle, any of the other gods? I imagine some crazy wizard who learned ALL the magic and ended up with the power of a god and even MORE of a psychosis would cause some beings to go, "Nope, not messing with that".


James Jacobs wrote:
Like, say, wanting to run a gritty post-apocalyptic Dark Sun game and one of the players plays a thri-kreen ranger named Davey Cricket.

Hey!

The Ballad of Davey Cricket wrote:


Born on a mountain top in Forest Ridge,
Greenest place in the land of Thri-Kreen.
Raised in the woods so's he knew every tree,
Killed him a cannibal when he was only three.

Davey, Davey Kricket, King of the Dark Sun-tier

Fought single handed through the arena,
Till Karnak was whipped and the revolution.
And while he was handling this risky chore,
Made himself a legend, forevermore.

Davey, Davey Kricket the bug who don't know fear

He went of to Tyr and served a spell
Fixin' up the government and laws as well.
Took over Athas, I heard tell,
And patched up the crack in the Zigurrat.

Davey, Davey Kricket, seein' his duty clear.

When he come home, his politickin' was done,
While the western march had just begun.
So he packed his gear, in the blazin sun
And let out a chitterin' to the hinterlands.

Davey, Davey Kriket, off to the frontier.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Cerberus Seven wrote:

FFair enough, though I might substitute creature hit dice in place of CR. There seem to be a lot of examples in the game where 'your caster level with this ability equals your hit dice' for supernatural or spell-like abilities.

Question regarding Nethys: does he scare, or at least unsettle, any of the other gods? I imagine some crazy wizard who learned ALL the magic and ended up with the power of a god and even MORE of a psychosis would cause some beings to go, "Nope, not messing with that".

Using HD in this manner can cause problems, though. Using CR is generally a lot safer, since unlike HD, a monster's CR is relatively equivalent to the same scale of power as a player character's HD.

Nethys unsettles some of the deities, I suspect, but certainly not all of them.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
David_Bross wrote:
Can you planeshift into the pathfinders Haojin Tapestry? (assuming you've been there)

Yes. You don't even have to be there. All you need is the exact right tuning fork as the material component to do so.

Finding the correct type of tuning fork for a bigger plane, like the Abyss or the Plane of Fire or the First World is relatively easy—you can buy those at any well-stocked magic shop.

But finding the correct tuning fork for a smaller, more obscure demiplane, like the one inside the Haojin Tapestry, should be a LOT harder. In fact, I'd say it should be hard enough that finding the information should be the climax of a long and dangerous adventure.

If finding the plane shift key was easy, the Aspis Consortium wouldn't have gone to the lengths they did to create a "back door", I'd warrant that Hao Jin being rather posessive of her stuff may have gone all the way to seal her demi-plane from such casual trespass.


James Jacobs wrote:

Yes. You don't even have to be there. All you need is the exact right tuning fork as the material component to do so.

Finding the correct type of tuning fork for a bigger plane, like the Abyss or the Plane of Fire or the First World is relatively easy—you can buy those at any well-stocked magic shop.

But finding the correct tuning fork for a smaller, more obscure demiplane, like the one inside the Haojin Tapestry, should be a LOT harder. In fact, I'd say it should be hard enough that finding the information should be the climax of a long and dangerous adventure.

Alright, you guys are clever. I was going to ask if finding the right tuning fork would technically make it extremely difficult to Plane Shift into a demiplane that you've created via the Create Demiplane spell.... but then I checked that spell's material components and saw that it requires a forked metal rod. Nice! And apparently those demiplanes are more secure than I originally thought.


James Jacobs wrote:
Sincubus wrote:
MMCJawa wrote:

So with Bestiary 4 coming out, will you continue to adopt Tome of Horrors monsters into Bestiaries? Or is there no need now that Tome of Horrors Complete for Pathfinder exists?

What are the odds that other 3pp monsters might show up in Bestiaries?

I really hope the answer to this is yes, as the Jack-in-Irons, Barbegazi, Afanc (altho not the fish but the beaver/croc), Bacchae, Bloody Bones, Cherufe, Fetch, Jack o Lantern, Phooka, Wizards's Shackle, and Asrai still need to be paizonized as they are from mythology, folklore and fantasy tales i'm sure they can end up in bestairy 4 or later.

But the answer must be YES, cuz the Al-mi'raj is in bestiary 4, and that is also in the Tome of Horrors!

We do have a few of those, but in some cases the Bestiary 4 version is COMPLETELY different than the Tome of Horrors version. Especially in the case of a monster both books independantly picked up from mythology rather than from D&D.

That is really good news, especially if its about Afanc and Bloody Bones, I really don't like the D&D and TOH versions of those monsters! Glad they got another version if its about those, the others are fine in TOH, but a version more truthfull to the myth is a big + as well.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Sincubus wrote:
That is really good news, especially if its about Afanc and Bloody Bones, I really don't like the D&D and TOH versions of those monsters! Glad they got another version if its about those, the others are fine in TOH, but a version more truthfull to the myth is a big + as well.

It's not either of those.

Contributor

Dear James Jacobs,

Why did Game Freak make a cotton candy Pokemon?

I mean, I thought nothing could make me die inside more than the ice cream Pokemon, but cotton candy?

Someone needs to loan a Paizo designer to Nintendo so they can learn how to properly design some monsters. Pocket Monsters. >_>


James,

Were you involved in the primalist wizard archetype from inner sea magic?

Could you offer some insight regarding the abilities below?

Primal Magic (Su)::
At 1st level, a primalist may attempt to channel primal magic as a swift action to cast a prepared spell without losing that spell from its spell slot. Essentially, a primalist is forcing primal magic into the world and attempting to shape it into a specific spell effect. To use this ability, she casts the spell as she would normally, but as the spell’s effects take place, she makes a concentration check (DC 20 + double the spell’s level). If she fails this check, she expends the spell normally as if she had cast it, but its actual effects are replaced by a primal magic event with a CR equal to her caster level and she is staggered for 1 round per level of the spell she was attempting to cast. If she makes this check, she casts the spell normally and it is not expended from her prepared spell slot, allowing her to cast that spell again at a later point.

You may use primal magic in this manner once per day. This ability replaces arcane bond. At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, you can use it an additional time per day.

Enhance Primal Magic Event (Su)::
At 5th level, when a primalist triggers a primal magic event, as a swift action she can increase or decrease its CR by 1. If she makes a concentration check (DC = 15 + the primal magic event’s CR), she can instead increase or decrease the CR by 2. If she reduces a primal magic event’s CR to less than 1, the event is negated. She can choose to use this ability after she determines what primal magic event she triggers, but before she resolves the effects of that event. This ability replaces the wizard bonus feat acquired at 5th level.

I've noticed that those two abilities don't work together because they both cost a swift action. That really limits the archetype potential to regions where said kind of magic is strong.

1)Was that the intention?

2)I have a player that loves the concept of a 'wild mage", but I don't believe I will be using areas of primal magic anytime soon. Rather asking him to do something different, I am considering changing allowing him to use primal magic as a free action (rather than a swift action). What do you think of it?

This modification would, essentially, allow the character to use the second class feature to modify primal surges from the first class feature (instead of relying on natural areas of primal magic).


Sorry for the typos in the previous post.

Can't edit it now
here's what I meant in question number 2:

2)I have a player that loves the concept of a 'wild mage", but I don't believe I will be using areas of primal magic anytime soon in my campaign. Rather than asking him to do something different, I am considering allowing him to use primal magic as a free action (instead of a swift action). What do you think of it?

Dark Archive

James, what happened to Meet the Iconics: Balazar? When will the iconic summoner get some love?


1)Have you seen Pacific Rim yet? If so what did you think?

2)So we are getting some creatures from Tome of Horrors in the Bestiary 4, any chance they are ones that have been used before in past APs?

3)Other then half-orcs and half elves, what races will be in the Bastards of Golarion book?

4)I keep hearing stuff about the Dominion of the Black will be getting some love in the Dragon's Demand module, is this true?

5)For GenCon you guys will be announcing what the second AP and second Hardcover book of next year will be, correct?

6)Will any of the 0HD races in Bestiary 4 be new(not reprints from past books)?

7)Will the Inner Sea Gods book have the stats for the Heralds of core 20 Deities?

8)Will the Inner Sea Gods book have stats for any monsters at all?

9)Is there any chance that creatures from the Inner Sea Bestiary will be reprinted into a Hardcover Bestiary?

Dark Archive

I don't know if you keep track of third party classes, but if you do, which of them do you like? Which of them do you think work well in Golarion? Where are Golarion?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Dear James Jacobs,

Why did Game Freak make a cotton candy Pokemon?

I mean, I thought nothing could make me die inside more than the ice cream Pokemon, but cotton candy?

Someone needs to loan a Paizo designer to Nintendo so they can learn how to properly design some monsters. Pocket Monsters. >_>

Because when you put "Pokemon" on something, it's like printing money.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ral' Yareth wrote:

James,

Were you involved in the primalist wizard archetype from inner sea magic?

Could you offer some insight regarding the abilities below?

Spoiler:
At 1st level, a primalist may attempt to channel primal magic as a swift action to cast a prepared spell without losing that spell from its spell slot. Essentially, a primalist is forcing primal magic into the world and attempting to shape it into a specific spell effect. To use this ability, she casts the spell as she would normally, but as the spell’s effects take place, she makes a concentration check (DC 20 + double the spell’s level). If she fails this check, she expends the spell normally as if she had cast it, but its actual effects are replaced by a primal magic event with a CR equal to her caster level and she is staggered for 1 round per level of the spell she was attempting to cast. If she makes this check, she casts the spell normally and it is not expended from her prepared spell slot, allowing her to cast that spell again at a later point.

You may use primal magic in this manner once per day. This ability replaces arcane bond. At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, you can use it an additional time per day.

Spoiler:
At 5th level, when a primalist triggers a primal magic event, as a swift action she can increase or decrease its CR by 1. If she makes a concentration check (DC = 15 + the primal magic event’s CR), she can instead increase or decrease the CR by 2. If she reduces a primal magic event’s CR to less than 1, the event is negated. She can choose to use this ability after she determines what primal magic event she triggers, but before she resolves the effects of that event. This ability replaces the wizard bonus feat acquired at 5th level.

I've noticed that those two abilities don't work together because they both cost a swift action. That really limits the archetype potential to regions where said kind of magic is strong.

1)Was that the intention?

2)I have a player that loves the concept of a 'wild mage", but I don't believe I will be using areas of primal magic anytime soon. Rather asking him to do something different, I am considering changing allowing him to use primal magic as a free action (rather than a swift action). What do you think of it?

This modification would, essentially, allow the character to use the second class feature to modify primal surges from the first class feature (instead of relying on natural areas of primal magic).

I was indeed; I assigned the class and developed it.

1) This was indeed the intention. The primalist wizard is more than a wizard who can unleash primal magic effects—he can manipulate existing primal magic. The 1st level power is your baseline primal wizard power—you can cast extra spells, but it's risky since you're creating primal magic on the spot. The 5th level power is intended to be one that you use for the most part when you're in an area like the Mana Wastes where you don't need to use your 1st level power to trigger these things—they just happen. That all said, there's ABSOLUTELY room in the game to add in new feats and spells and items that allow you to use your 1st and 5th level powers together.

2) If you're not using areas of primal magic in your game, a primalist is not a great option. Same as using a gunslinger in a setting with no guns, or a fighter in a game that is all diplomacy and very little combat, or a cleric in a game with no undead and where every PC has fast healing. Not every character choice is great for every campaign, and players need to realize this. Paladins aren't a good choice for Skull & Shackles, for example. That said, GMs should also realize that some of the assumptions they make about what their players want in the game may be off as well. If you want to let your player's character use primal magic as a free action... go for it! But keep in mind that means you'll be seeing LOTS of primal magic events in your game, and if you're not interested in putting areas of primal magic in your game, this will backfire on you.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Atrocious wrote:
James, what happened to Meet the Iconics: Balazar? When will the iconic summoner get some love?

Nothing happened. Balazar is from Nex, and that's Erik's pet country, and so we all want Erik to write Balazar's entry, but Erik's one of the busiest people at Paizo, so it's taking a long, long time.

Eventually, I might just have someone else write it, but not without Erik being okay with that. And that would rob us all of some cool new Nex tidbits.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Justin Sluder wrote:
I don't know if you keep track of third party classes, but if you do, which of them do you like? Which of them do you think work well in Golarion? Where are Golarion?

I don't have a lot of time to keep up with all the 3rd party books, and haven't really kept track of any third party classes at all.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Dragon78 wrote:

1)Have you seen Pacific Rim yet? If so what did you think?

2)So we are getting some creatures from Tome of Horrors in the Bestiary 4, any chance they are ones that have been used before in past APs?

3)Other then half-orcs and half elves, what races will be in the Bastards of Golarion book?

4)I keep hearing stuff about the Dominion of the Black will be getting some love in the Dragon's Demand module, is this true?

5)For GenCon you guys will be announcing what the second AP and second Hardcover book of next year will be, correct?

6)Will any of the 0HD races in Bestiary 4 be new(not reprints from past books)?

7)Will the Inner Sea Gods book have the stats for the Heralds of core 20 Deities?

8)Will the Inner Sea Gods book have stats for any monsters at all?

9)Is there any chance that creatures from the Inner Sea Bestiary will be reprinted into a Hardcover Bestiary?

1) Haven't seen it yet. That will be changing in about 3 and a half hours though.

2) I'm pretty sure the answer there is no.

3) I'm not outlining or developing that book, but the last I heard, that book's primary focus is on half-elves and half-orcs. If there's other races in there, they'll be a very small part, I believe.

4) Yes. There are several Dark Tapestry elements in "The Dragon's Demand."

5) Yes.

6) I don't believe there are any new zero HD races in Bestiary 4; it's pretty much the 5 new races from Advanced Race Guide and the new zero HD races from Dragon Empires Gazetter, if I remember correctly.

7) Yes.

8) Yes.

9) Not really. The reason we did those monsters in the Inner Sea Bestiary and not a hardcover is because they're very much a part of Golarion. We'd have to strip out their Golarion flavor to put them in a hardcover. We've done that many times before, and the result is always, in my opinion, a less interesting monster (such as the shining child, the sinspawn, the seugathi, etc.).


James how much money a creative director like yourself can earn in a year?


Hey James,

Firstly, I am so in love with the fact that Inner Sea Gods is going to be a reality. I believe we have a similar trait in common, in that I always try to give my PCs a deity to follow, which I think you said you do as well. So the fact that there's all this new info and awesomeness coming for PCs of any class is outstandingly amazing.

Question:

Under Leadership, on the chart for the leader's reputation, it lists Special Power, which grants a +1.

What in all nine hells is "special power" exactly? I always thought it was some sort of racial ability, spellcasting, or something similar, but I really have no idea.

Also, is it possible to have more than one special power, thus gaining several +1 bonuses to your leadership score?


James Jacobs wrote:

I was indeed; I assigned the class and developed it.

1) This was indeed the intention. The primalist wizard is more than a wizard who can unleash primal magic effects—he can manipulate existing primal magic. The 1st level power is your baseline primal wizard power—you can cast extra spells, but it's risky since you're creating primal magic on the spot. The 5th level power is intended to be one that you use for the most part when you're in an area like the Mana Wastes where you don't need to use your 1st level power to trigger these things—they just happen. That all said, there's ABSOLUTELY room in the game to add in new feats and spells and items that allow you to use your 1st and 5th level powers together.

2) If you're not using areas of primal magic in your game, a primalist is not a great option. Same as using a gunslinger in a setting with no guns, or a fighter in a game that is all diplomacy and very little combat, or a cleric in a game with no undead and where every PC has fast healing. Not every character choice is great for every campaign, and players need to realize this. Paladins aren't a good choice for Skull & Shackles, for example. That said, GMs should also realize that some of the assumptions they make about what their players want in the game may be off as well. If you want to let your player's character use primal magic as a free action... go for it! But keep in mind that means you'll be seeing LOTS of primal magic events in your game, and if you're not interested in putting areas of primal magic in your game, this will backfire on you.

This is very good advice, thank you.

Right now I am thinking about a line of feats; perhaps one that grants some of the abilities of the 3.5 wild mage prestige class.

Rather than modifying the archetype, I'll introduce a side quest within a demiplane that serves as a prison for a powerful protean. Such self-contained location should be full of primal magic and I wouldn't have to worry about primal magic running amok the campaign.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

So, you're seeing Pacific Rim today!

I know others will be curious, so what did you think?

You can keep it spoiler free if you like and provide general impressions, or please use the spoiler tags if you like.

(I have not seen it yet, but will soon)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Jose Suarez 916 wrote:
James how much money a creative director like yourself can earn in a year?

Congratulations! One of the first questions asked on the thread I'm not going to answer!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Monkeygod wrote:

Hey James,

Firstly, I am so in love with the fact that Inner Sea Gods is going to be a reality. I believe we have a similar trait in common, in that I always try to give my PCs a deity to follow, which I think you said you do as well. So the fact that there's all this new info and awesomeness coming for PCs of any class is outstandingly amazing.

Question:

Under Leadership, on the chart for the leader's reputation, it lists Special Power, which grants a +1.

What in all nine hells is "special power" exactly? I always thought it was some sort of racial ability, spellcasting, or something similar, but I really have no idea.

Also, is it possible to have more than one special power, thus gaining several +1 bonuses to your leadership score?

Special power is pretty much anything that's unusual that would attract the attention of followers or cohorts. It's left vague intentionally so the GM can decide what counts and what does not.

It's possible to have multiple special powers, but the bonus it grants doesn't stack; you only ever get +1.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Jim Groves wrote:

So, you're seeing Pacific Rim today!

I know others will be curious, so what did you think?

You can keep it spoiler free if you like and provide general impressions, or please use the spoiler tags if you like.

(I have not seen it yet, but will soon)

My strong reccomendation is that you do NOT see it in 3D. As with pretty much every single 3D movie I've seen, with the exception of Avatar, the 3D detracts from the movie. It makes it more difficult to watch. It makes the movie look all muddy and dark. And when you have a movie like Pacific Rim, where a lot of the scenes take place at night or in other dark areas, putting a pair of glasses on that make things even darker is laaaaame.

Also, there's too much of ILM's overcomplication of special effects going on. It's not nearly as bad as in the Transformers movies, where it's almost impossible to figure out what's going on in the special effects sequences, but it's pretty hard to know what you're looking at in a lot of the fight scenes. And the 3D makes that even worse.

3D sucks.

The movie itself? It's screenplay is pretty cliche-ridden and underwhelming, which was an unpleasant surprise in a Guillarmo del Toro movie. And it felt more like a summer blockbuster built by committee than by a single visionary director.

That said, I DID enjoy it. I'm really tempted to go see it again in 2D though, so I can actually enjoy the movie without being frustrated at the gimmick.

It's probably my least favorite Guillarmo del Toro movie though, which is not how I expected to feel coming out of the theater. I do hope it gives him a lot of box office clout so he can make Mountains of Madness though!

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

James Jacobs wrote:
I do hope it gives him a lot of box office clout so he can make Mountains of Madness though!

Hear hear!

Thanks for the comments. I will still see it, but it's good know about the 3D. Like you, except for Avatar, I seldom feel like it adds value to the experience.

Oh jeez, and I thought I was the only who felt that way about Transformers. I don't suffer vertigo or any visual issues. I can read in a car or on a roller coaster. But I watch those later Transformer movies and my brain tells my eyes, "WTF?!?" I don't get dizzy, but my brain can't interpret what my eyes are seeing half the time.


James Jacobs wrote:
Jose Suarez 916 wrote:
James how much money a creative director like yourself can earn in a year?
Congratulations! One of the first questions asked on the thread I'm not going to answer!

Awwwwww :( :(, ima gona ask it in the rules question forums and ''FAQ IT''!!!!!!!


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
It's probably my least favorite Guillarmo del Toro movie though, which is not how I expected to feel coming out of the theater.

Does that include Blade 2?


James,

Powerful Blow (Ex)

Benefit: The barbarian gains a +1 bonus on a single damage roll. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 levels the barbarian has attained. This power is used as a swift action before the roll to hit is made.

Powerful Blow says that this bonus increases for every 4 levels ''the barbarian has attained'' which refers to the barbarian class itself, this seems clear to me. But now, Reckless abandon in other hand says:

Reckless Abandon (Ex)

Benefit: While raging, the barbarian can take a –1 penalty to AC to gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls. The AC penalty increases by –1 and the attack roll bonus increases by +1 at 4th level and every four levels thereafter.

''Every four levels thereafter'' (does not mention barbarian levels) is this intended to be used by none pure barbarian classes to get the full benefit of the attack bonus?


JJ, there's an interesting thread over in General discussions:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2py7t&page=last?Why-is-there-death-in-pathf inder

It brings up a side question however- what sort of levels are normal people in Golarion? I mean, I guess the NPC codex has examples like a 6th level commoner shopkeeper, but is he an extreme or normal example?

What % are adventuring classes?

How about spellcasters, including the Adept?


Hi! I have a question about a spell in the Advanced Race Guide.

"Ancestral Regression," which allows drow to magically disguise themselves and other drow as elves, is one of the drow racial spells. It's available to many spell-casting classes but not to bards. I was wondering whether this was an oversight or deliberate? It seems like an oversight to me: it seems like a theme-appropriate spell for bards, bards get similar spells like "Disguise Self", "Alter Self", and "Unknowable Alignment", and it seems a natural spell for drow spying on the surface world, and bards a natural class for drow spying on the surface world. Or am I missing something?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Zaister wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
It's probably my least favorite Guillarmo del Toro movie though, which is not how I expected to feel coming out of the theater.
Does that include Blade 2?

It absolutely does. Blade 2 was the best of the Blade movies. The design of the vampires in there was so cool! They were pretty much my original inspiration for the look of the sinspawns.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Jose Suarez 916 wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Jose Suarez 916 wrote:
James how much money a creative director like yourself can earn in a year?
Congratulations! One of the first questions asked on the thread I'm not going to answer!
Awwwwww :( :(, ima gona ask it in the rules question forums and ''FAQ IT''!!!!!!!

I'd really rather you didn't.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Jose Suarez 916 wrote:

James,

Powerful Blow (Ex)

Benefit: The barbarian gains a +1 bonus on a single damage roll. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 levels the barbarian has attained. This power is used as a swift action before the roll to hit is made.

Powerful Blow says that this bonus increases for every 4 levels ''the barbarian has attained'' which refers to the barbarian class itself, this seems clear to me. But now, Reckless abandon in other hand says:

Reckless Abandon (Ex)

Benefit: While raging, the barbarian can take a –1 penalty to AC to gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls. The AC penalty increases by –1 and the attack roll bonus increases by +1 at 4th level and every four levels thereafter.

''Every four levels thereafter'' (does not mention barbarian levels) is this intended to be used by none pure barbarian classes to get the full benefit of the attack bonus?

Nope. All barbarian rage powers require barbarian class levels in order to improve, in the same way that wizard levels are required to improve spellcasting.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
DrDeth wrote:

JJ, there's an interesting thread over in General discussions:

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2py7t&page=last?Why-is-there-death-in-pathf inder

It brings up a side question however- what sort of levels are normal people in Golarion? I mean, I guess the NPC codex has examples like a 6th level commoner shopkeeper, but is he an extreme or normal example?

What % are adventuring classes?

How about spellcasters, including the Adept?

This is covered on page 253 of the Inner Sea World Guide. The vast majority are levels 1-5. Most of a nation's movers and shakers and notables are levels 6–10 (very few NPC classes here, and most of those multiclass into PC classes). Levels 11–15 are quite rare; only a handful of these folks are in most nations and they're specially trained or famous NPCs. Characters of 16th-20th level should be exceptionally rare, appearing pretty much only as part of a specific campaign.

Of course, these numbers skew strangely for adventures, since we need higher level foes for higher level PCs. But adventures are an exception to the general guidelines.

As for percentages... I'm not gonna nail that down, since I prefer for the purposes of designing adventures and regions to have more freedom to change those percentages as needed. There's more non-spellcasters than spellcasters though... and there's FAR more non-adventurers than adventurers. Adepts are pretty uncommon, and are the least populous of the spellcasting classes with the exception of the summoner.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Thorri Grimbeard wrote:

Hi! I have a question about a spell in the Advanced Race Guide.

"Ancestral Regression," which allows drow to magically disguise themselves and other drow as elves, is one of the drow racial spells. It's available to many spell-casting classes but not to bards. I was wondering whether this was an oversight or deliberate? It seems like an oversight to me: it seems like a theme-appropriate spell for bards, bards get similar spells like "Disguise Self", "Alter Self", and "Unknowable Alignment", and it seems a natural spell for drow spying on the surface world, and bards a natural class for drow spying on the surface world. Or am I missing something?

I wasn't involved in the design or development of that spell, but it absolutely soudns to me like not giving it to the bard was a blunder. I'd let bards in my game learn the spell.

Grand Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
Nothing happened. Balazar is from Nex, and that's Erik's pet country, and so we all want Erik to write Balazar's entry, but Erik's one of the busiest people at Paizo, so it's taking a long, long time.

You all seem to have your collections of pet countries. Is there a breakdown somewhere of which designer specializes in which areas?

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