Creative Director
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Hi James,
I am taking a break from playing for a bit while I run some sessions for my group's Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign. My character has been taken out of the action as remains behind on Nar Kashel (a side-trek adventure that was run by another player) to study some old Thassilonian ruins.
Anyway, we're introducing the Words of Power system through my character and I am stuck on how to bring it into the game as some kind of old, may be more primal, form of magic. I was thinking glyphs, but apparently that is more Azlanti than Thassilonian.
So, my question is, any tips on how to link Words of Power back into the history of Golarion and would a glyph-based idea work?
Personally, I'm not a big fan of the words of power system. I think it's TOO fiddly and complex—the middle of combat is the last place you want players or GMs designing spells, in my opinion. And if you go the route of designing all your spells beforehand... then you're just playing with normal magic.
Glyphs is not really Azlanti as much as it is Aboleth magic. And Thassilon is VERY definitely deep into runes and rune magic. So thematically, linking word casting to Thassilon makes a certain amount of sense... but then again, since we pretty much set up Thassilon to be a realm ruled by wizards who are SPECIFICALLY specialist wizards... it's also NOT a very good on-theme thing to add.
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Thanks. Even though I knew you weren't involved, I still asked because of your supreme demonic intellect = ). Here's another 4E Demonomicon art question for ya: on page 4 there's a big picture of Dagon, Pazuzu, and Obox-ob with (I'm assuming) 2 other demon lords, one on the far left and the other on the far right. The one on the left looks kinda like the tail of a myrmyxicus. The one on the right is a strange demonic lady wrapped in these tendril things. Any ideas on who or what they might be?Hey James, is the picture on the cover of the 4E Demonomicon a vrock or some other type of birdlike demon?That'd be logical, I suppose, but I don't know. I wasn't involved at all with that book's creation.
Nope, no idea.
And 4th edition demons is not a topic I care to continue to talk about.
Next question, please! :-P
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Creative Director
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Is it likely that every type of demon from armanite to zovvut (even though they apparently were created by a long-dead lord) has a demon lord patron, like Rhyxali for shadow demons and Ilsidahur for bar-lguaras?
The Abyss is a big place, and I'm sure that every demon race type from quasit to balor has a "most powerful member of the race." In some cases, that most powerful member is a demon lord or demon prince. In others, though, they're not; they're just more powerful versions of their individual race. I would think that most demon races do NOT have a demon lord/prince at the top of their totem pole at any one time. We would have heard about them if they did.
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I would still like to see a Dragon themed AP in the future, but I can understand it's loss at the moment. If inspiration strikes though bring it back :)
Now for question time!
What would be your top tips for running a high level game in a shorter time-slot (say about 4 hours)?
As my Kingmaker game approaches higher levels this is becoming a concern.
Actually, that would be an interesting 'villain', the Demon Lord of Quasits. Power enough to rule an entire layer, setting into motion plots to spawn tens of thousands of her lesser kin, but intelligent enough to not serve as an outright ruler, but rather a spy-mistress to the more militant Demon Lords. Medium sized Quasit with the old Demon Lord template from the Magazines?
Thank you for the responses thus far. :)
Suppose you were assigning theme songs and/or ambient music to the deities. What would you choose for Desna?
I'm personally fond of the Great Fairy's Fountain theme from the Zelda games. Thoughts?
Iblydos is a current country. Ninshaburis an ancient one that's no longer active.Is Iblydos a current or fallen country? How about Ninshabur?
Thanks James, much appreciated!
Template taken from Dragon issue #339, page 45.
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Lord of Quasits CR 20
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CE Advanced Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Demon, Evil, Extraplanar)
Init:+10, Senses: Darkvision 120 feet.; Perception +. Telepathy.
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Defense
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AC:42 (+12 Dex, +10 Natural Armor, +5 Amulet of Natural Armor, +5 Ring of Protection) , Touch 22, Flat-Footed 30.
Hp 234 (18d10+144)
Fort: +17 Reflex: +17 Will: +18
DR: 20/Cold Iron, Legendary, Good.
Spell Resistance: 33
Immune: Electricity, Poison
Resist: Acid 20, Fire 20, Cold 20.
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Offense
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Speed: 30 feet, Fly 60 feet (perfect)
Melee: Tongue-Stiller +33/+28/+23/+19 (1d8x3 +14 plus poison) and Claw +24 (1d6+6 plus poison) and Bite (1d8+9 plus Soul Carving) +22 or 2 Claw +24 (1d6+9 plus poison) and Bite (1d8+5 plus Soul Carving). Sneak Attack 9d6.
Ranged: +5 Composite Shortbow (+6) +22/+18/+14/+10 (1d6x3 +11 plus poison)
Space: 5 feet Reach: 5 feet
Spell-Like Abilities: CL 20:
At Will - Astral Projection, Blasphemy (DC 23), Darkness, See Invisibility, Desecrate, Detect Good, Detect Law, Detect Magic, Greater Dispel Magic (DC 22), Greater Teleport, Invisibility (Self only), Plane Shift, Shapechange, Telekinesis (DC 21), Unhallow (DC 21), Unholy Aura (DC 24), Unholy Blight (DC 20).
3/day - Symbol of Stunning (DC 23), Mirror Image, Insect Plague.
1/day - Greater Command (DC 21), Wail of the Banshee (DC 25).
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Statistics
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Stats: Strength 28, Dexterity 24, Constitution 28, Intelligence 18, Wisdom 20, Charisma 23.
BAB: +18, CMB +24, CMD +28.
Feats: Improved Inniative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Flyby Attack, Multiattack, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Persuasive.
Skills: *Acrobatics 28, Appraise 16, Bluff 30, *Diplomacy 30, Disable Device 21, *Disguise 23, Fly 33, *Intimidate 30, Linguistics 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 14, Knowledge (Nobility) 14, Knowledge (Planes) 17, Perception 18, Sense Motive 24, Sleight of Hand 18, Stealth 18.
Languages: Abyssal, Aklo, Common (Taldane), Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Gnoll, Ignan, Infernal, Orc, Osiriani, Varisian. Telepathy 100 feet.
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Special Abilities
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Poison: (EX) Injury - Save; Fortitude DC 19; Frequency 1 round for 6 rounds; Effects 1d6 Dexterity; Cure 2 consecutive saves. The Lord of Quasits often coats his weaponry with this poison, and enjoys taunting paralysed victims as he uses his Soul Carving ability on them.
Sneak Attack: (EX) The Lord of Quasits can sneak-attack as an 18th level Rogue.
Trap Finding: (EX) The Lord of Quasits can detect traps as the Rogue Class Ability.
Soul Carving: (SU) If the Lord of Quasits bites a Humanoid, the target must make a DC 16 Will Save or take 1 negative level. The round after, the Lord of Quasits must spend a Standard Action to do nothing but cough up 1d4 Quasits, cleaved directly from the victim's soul. Killing the Quasits enables the victim to immediately recover the lost negative level, otherwise they must recover as normal. Normally the Lord of Quasits uses this ability only on bound or weak prey to bolster the number of spies.
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Treasure
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Platinum Ring of Protection (+5) set with polished spheres of Adamantine, Amulet of Natural Armor (+5) made from the scale of a Wyrm Silver Dragon and engraved with Abyssal runes of protection, a Belt of Physical Perfection (+6) made from Mithril links and bearing a belt-buckle of the same in the form of an Infernal Titan, a +5 Composite Shortbow (+6) made from Elven bones and Tongue-Stiller, a +5 Mithril Rapier with a Chaotic Neutral alignment and the Special Purpose to slay Clerics of Lawful Gods. The Rapier has the ability to use Silence 3 times per day and has Mental Scores of 12 to Int, Wis and Char and has an Ego of +9. The remainder of his treasure is assorted wealth gathered by the Quasit minions from their former masters, as well as spoils from raids on weaker Demons and the occasional slave.
So sorry James, meant to pop that in as a take on the idea of a 'Uniquely Powerful' Demon. Also, Gods Damn It, Tongue-Stiller is a Trident, not a Rapier. *bashes head on keyboard* Arararararararaaaaaaaaargh, sorry.
Hey James- here's a poster of a web comic that you will either love or be horrified by. Enjoy either way.
Is creating permanent ghost sounds in the maelstrom a really bad idea because the words would likely change into something harmful?
We might go pick up the rumor about the blue dragon again in some future product or a completely different AP, but the one we abandoned is pretty much gone forever. Because it was, frankly, pretty boring.
Boring stretched into a 6 part AP, but perhaps perfect for a module?
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Creative Director
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I would still like to see a Dragon themed AP in the future, but I can understand it's loss at the moment. If inspiration strikes though bring it back :)
Now for question time!
What would be your top tips for running a high level game in a shorter time-slot (say about 4 hours)?
As my Kingmaker game approaches higher levels this is becoming a concern.
Number one: Be patient. If you only do a 4 hour game session, you need to come to terms with the fact that you're not going to be racing through your campaign.
Number two: Limit multiple characters. This means don't allow cohorts, followers, and the like. If you have druids or rangers or paladins, encourage players to choose the non animal companion options for their characters. If you have characters who summon lots of monsters, ask them to focus their spells on other types of magic, or alternatively, ask them to only use one or two kinds of monsters so they and you and the rest of the PCs can get used to those monsters and their rules. I'd strongly recommend NOT having a summoner in the group at all. By limiting every player to one character's worth of actions, your game will go a lot faster since all players will basically be taking about the same amount of time.
Number Three: Don't be afraid to ad hoc rules or make GM calls rather than get mired in the exact details of how complex spell interactions work. If you have players at the table who are experienced, rely on them for advice, but make sure they're also cool with shutting up and rolling with your rulings when you make them.
Number Four: Limit your table to 4 players if possible.
Number Five: Be active. Stand up and move around the table as you GM, especially during combat. A moving, active GM is a lot more compelling to listen to than one who's sitting, and if you stand, you're taller than the seated players and your authority will subliminally be greater.
Number Six: Be even more patient, and don't worry if it takes you progressively longer to finish adventures.
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Creative Director
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Actually, that would be an interesting 'villain', the Demon Lord of Quasits. Power enough to rule an entire layer, setting into motion plots to spawn tens of thousands of her lesser kin, but intelligent enough to not serve as an outright ruler, but rather a spy-mistress to the more militant Demon Lords. Medium sized Quasit with the old Demon Lord template from the Magazines?
Hmm... I'd actually say that a demon lord of quasits would probably NOT be a particularly good idea for a demon lord, for a couple of key reasons:
1) Quasits are formed differently than most other demons—they're created when a chaotic evil spellcaster decides to summon one as a familiar. This ritual actually creates a new quasit by siphoning off a fragment of the spellcaster's sinful soul and infuses that fragment with Abyssal energies and material and births a brand new, custom-built quasit for that spellcaster. Once the spellcaster dies or whatever, that quasit becomes a free-willed creature that can do its own thing, and will never again be a familiar—quasits hope to grab up their master's soul if they can and race back to the Abyss if they can so as to use that soul to "complete" their transformation into a bigger, better demon, but for the majority of quasits this is just never an option since they generally lack the skill and gear to harvest souls OR to travel to the Abyss. This type of genesis, in my opinion, doesn't lend itself well to there being a quasit powerful enough to become a demon lord, nor does it lend itself well to an established demon lord wanting to associate itself with quasits, since quasits are kind of the lowest of the low in demon rank. Same goes for dretches.
2) Quasits are wimps. Making tougher quasits kind of devalues them as wimpy monsters.
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Thank you for the responses thus far. :)
Suppose you were assigning theme songs and/or ambient music to the deities. What would you choose for Desna?
I'm personally fond of the Great Fairy's Fountain theme from the Zelda games. Thoughts?
Huh... a bit too whimsical. Desna's got whimsy in her, for sure, but she's also got a lot of mystery and even a fair amount of creepy. I would assign to her the theme song from The Day the Earth Stood Still.
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Very helpful. Ixinix, lord of blackwater, one of the demon lords who was part of the alliance to destroy The Malgoth, seems to me like it possibly once was a lord of the demonic ixitxachitl before it died. Any truth to this suspicion?Is it likely that every type of demon from armanite to zovvut (even though they apparently were created by a long-dead lord) has a demon lord patron, like Rhyxali for shadow demons and Ilsidahur for bar-lguaras?The Abyss is a big place, and I'm sure that every demon race type from quasit to balor has a "most powerful member of the race." In some cases, that most powerful member is a demon lord or demon prince. In others, though, they're not; they're just more powerful versions of their individual race. I would think that most demon races do NOT have a demon lord/prince at the top of their totem pole at any one time. We would have heard about them if they did.
That's an interesting theory... Demogorgon's always been the main ixitxachitl deity, of course, so I'd be hesitant about usurping his role there is all.
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Is there anyway you guys could produce an AP with a Great Wyrm Red Dragon foe in it? I have the mini and have always wanted to use it, but never had the opportunity. Could you please oblige :P ?
That's a tricky thing to oblige, because "kill the big red dragon" has been the over-plot for a LOT of campaigns and modules—it was even the plot of the first proto-Adventure Path that WotC did at the outset of 3rd edition (starting with "The Sunless Citadel").
Furthermore, with only six parts, and with our XP track working the way it does, and having a hard limit of 50 page adventures (since it's pretty much physically impossible to do longer adventures on a monthly schedule that would meet our quality standards), even using the fast XP track, the highest level a group would likely reach at the end of that AP is 17th level or so. A great wyrm red dragon is CR 22, which is more powerful than ANY end-boss we've published for a Pathfinder Adventure Path.
It can be done, but it wouldn't be easy.
How do you come up with XP for a monster upwards of CR 25?
Is there a formula or curve?
It may be too early for you to even know this, but how many APs do you intend to announce at Gen Con?
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Creative Director
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Hey James- here's a poster of a web comic that you will either love or be horrified by. Enjoy either way.
HA! Yeah; I've seen that art before (or variants on it); very entertaining.
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Creative Director
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what is the best adventure path for a new dm to start with, cheap is preferable, not carrion crown or kingmaker unless you really think those are best, friend wants to do one or the other or even both.
All our Adventure Paths cost the same, so there's not really a choice to run the cheaper one.
As for the "best," I actually can't say. I love all my children equally.
If you're looking for the best choice for a new GM, though, I'd probably say that the easiest one for a new GM would be either Carrion Crown or Council of Thieves. Kingmaker, and Serpent's Skull all have a lot of sandbox elements to them that could make them tough for a new GM to handle.
Jade Regent could be a good choice, but not if the GM's not into Asian stuff.
Anything before Council of Thieves is 3.5, not Pathifnder, so a new Pathfinder GM would be confused at points by some of the differences.
And since you don't seem to want to play Carrion Crown, and since Jade Regent's not out until Gen Con... I guess that means I'd say Council of Thieves is your best bet.
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Creative Director
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How do you come up with XP for a monster upwards of CR 25?
Is there a formula or curve?
There is a formula, but it's weird and I don't know what it is. Jason could say. I don't know if you really NEED monsters of above CR 25, though... that's more or less our glass ceiling for monsters anyway. Beyond that is territory best covered by the (as yet unwritten) Mythic level rules.
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It may be too early for you to even know this, but how many APs do you intend to announce at Gen Con?
We'll talk more about "Skull and Shackles" at Gen Con for sure, and if we can nail down the one that comes next, we'll be announcing that one (the 2012 Adventure Path) at Gen Con as well.
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Creative Director
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Is it any accident that the most 'senior' Golarion canon demon currently known (I mean Lamashtu here - if there's one who comes higher up the tree, I haven't seen any mention of it) is female? (As opposed to being say, male, hermaphrodite, or something else altogether weird?)
Does the Abyss itself (it's a large quantity of flesh, an animate, sentient plane, figuratively and/or literally speaking) have sentience and/or gender?
Does the Abyss have awareness?
Does it have plans?
Is Lamashtu representative (or an expression) of the Abyss itself in any kind of way, a conscious or unconscious figurehead/champion/chief pawn, and her urges and schemes something more than her own plottings?
Are any of these things currently unknown/undecided upon/not yet to be discussed by Paizo?
Not at all... although we always wanted to have our boss demon be a demon from mythology, and Lamashtu is a great choice since she was a lot more obscure at the time compared to similar great choices like Pazuzu or Dagon.
In a lot of ways, we've characterized Hell as masculine and the Abyss as feminine. Whether or not the Abyss itself is aware or alive... it probably is. It certainly ACTS like it is.
In any event, the Abyss is a LOT bigger than Lamashtu. She doesn't represent it or serve as a figurehead at all. There are VAST reaches of the Abyss where she's not welcome, and probably parts that would be downright deadly for her to visit.
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Is there anyway you guys could produce an AP with a Great Wyrm Red Dragon foe in it? I have the mini and have always wanted to use it, but never had the opportunity. Could you please oblige :P ?That's a tricky thing to oblige, because "kill the big red dragon" has been the over-plot for a LOT of campaigns and modules—it was even the plot of the first proto-Adventure Path that WotC did at the outset of 3rd edition (starting with "The Sunless Citadel").
Furthermore, with only six parts, and with our XP track working the way it does, and having a hard limit of 50 page adventures (since it's pretty much physically impossible to do longer adventures on a monthly schedule that would meet our quality standards), even using the fast XP track, the highest level a group would likely reach at the end of that AP is 17th level or so. A great wyrm red dragon is CR 22, which is more powerful than ANY end-boss we've published for a Pathfinder Adventure Path.
It can be done, but it wouldn't be easy.
To be fair, not by much since Karzoug was CR 21. And part of the adventure path could be getting items to boost the effective party level by one.
Also Prison of the Firebringer back in Dungeon sent level 14s against a CR 21 ;)
James, clearly as the creative director, flavorful, engaging writing is your strong point. Was there ever a point where you might have leaned more towards the rules side of the game, or did you always favor creative works??
Normally, I would try not to ask you a rules question, since that's other peoples expertise, but I really want your opinion on this:
For the Dawnflower Dervish Archetype's 15th level ability, Lightning Strikes, it says they can make an additional attack at their highest BAB, but all attacks that round including the extra one, take a -2 penalty to hit.
My question is: Does this stack with Haste/Speed? normally, the answer is no, but in almost every other case where such an extra attack is granted it explicitly states the extra attack does not stack. This is similar to a feat from the PHBII for 3.5 and everybody I gamed with ruled that the feat did indeed stack with Haste/Speed, but I have no clue what the official answer is.
Given your dislike for the Eberron setting's take on the planes and 'standard' races, could you ever tolerate a Shifter-like race in the Golarion world? I quite enjoyed the race as much for it's flavour (partially human, partially 'beast', savage in heart but noble in nature) and the racial abilities, especially Shifting, was a breath of fresh air into a sometimes-stagnating race selection.
Also, if you make Dwarfs like the Dragon Age breed, I will love you forever (in a platonic way, restraining orders and all). Having Dwarven society divided into inflexible social castes, with the majority of Dwarf PCs coming from the Commoner/Labourer or Merchant social caste, exiled either by choice or necessity their Clanholds and now must make their way in the surface world. Whole nations of Dwarves could be locked in bitter struggles over whether or not the founder of one of their nations was actually an Exile or not.
Also, Orcs into Not-Orcs? I get where you're coming from, but at the same point I know a lot of people enjoyed the 'everybody starts off as neutral' take on the races. Was it that you see Orcs in the Lord of the Rings fashion or is it that Orcs have always been fodder that influences you? I quite enjoyed Orcs in Warcraft, Eberron and later-stages Forgotten Realms because they were a former-villain race that was clawing their way out of generations of savagery, slavery and demonic corruption (or in the case of Eberron, the original 'hero' race that looked down their short pugged noses at these arrogant new-age Druids) one handhold at a time.
Because that's the way the gods made us.
Because that's the way the gods made us.
Lem, would you ever participate in a "Ask Lem the Halfling" thread?
Also, has there ever been an enemy that you wished wasn't an enemy?
James I know previously you said, If you like dragons then you`ll like the AP after Jade Regent`. And you also insinuated this had to do with the mention of a rather large blue dragon destroying villages and flying northward, mentioned in The inner sea world guide history section. Is this still applicable to Skull and Bones AP or not?It's not at all. It's a great example of why we don't reveal an AP or any other product until we're 100% sure of it, though. Originally, the AP after Jade Regent was going to be heavily dragon themed, but after a few weeks of me, Wes, and Rob knocking our heads together to plot it out, we came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to work. So we abandoned that AP and went instead for a pirate themed one, and that one fell together in a few days it felt like.
We might go pick up the rumor about the blue dragon again in some future product or a completely different AP, but the one we abandoned is pretty much gone forever. Because it was, frankly, pretty boring.
Would you consider releasing it as a Web Enhancement? I'm sure there are many of us curious. If anything something we could incorporate in our campaigns.
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Would you consider releasing it as a Web Enhancement? I'm sure there are many of us curious. If anything something we could incorporate in our campaigns.James I know previously you said, If you like dragons then you`ll like the AP after Jade Regent`. And you also insinuated this had to do with the mention of a rather large blue dragon destroying villages and flying northward, mentioned in The inner sea world guide history section. Is this still applicable to Skull and Bones AP or not?It's not at all. It's a great example of why we don't reveal an AP or any other product until we're 100% sure of it, though. Originally, the AP after Jade Regent was going to be heavily dragon themed, but after a few weeks of me, Wes, and Rob knocking our heads together to plot it out, we came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to work. So we abandoned that AP and went instead for a pirate themed one, and that one fell together in a few days it felt like.
We might go pick up the rumor about the blue dragon again in some future product or a completely different AP, but the one we abandoned is pretty much gone forever. Because it was, frankly, pretty boring.
I'm pretty sure no. They generally don't do web enhancements for stuff that got significantly develop but cut for space, so stuff that was probably still just some vague ideas is unlikely to be considered.
Because that's the way the gods made us.Lem, would you ever participate in a "Ask Lem the Halfling" thread?
Also, has there ever been an enemy that you wished wasn't an enemy?
Alas no. I'm a wanderer at heart, always yearning to feel the open road under my feet, and I feel such a thread would work as a fetter on my ablity to come and go as I please. I much prefer the current state of being able to jump in and out and answer questions meant for others when I feel like it.
At 5th level, a shielded fighter gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls when making a shield bash. These bonuses increase by +1 every four levels beyond 5th. With a full-attack action, a shielded fighter may alternate between using his weapon or his shield for each attack. This action does not grant additional attacks or incur penalties as two-weapon fighting does. This ability replaces Weapon Training 1.
You can strike out at every foe within reach.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Int 13, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, base attack bonus +4.
Benefit: When you use the full-attack action, you can give up your regular attacks and instead make one melee attack at your highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. You must make a separate attack roll against each opponent.
When you use the Whirlwind Attack feat, you also forfeit any bonus or extra attacks granted by other feats, spells, or abilities.
1) Can you alternate your weapon and shield with Whirlwind with this combo?
2) Do you loose your shield bonus if you don't have Improved Shield Bash if you can?
Thanks much.
What Trick is used to potty train a T-rex?
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I've recently become aware of an alarming play balance problem in the Carrion Crown Adventure Path. It seems that player characters have somehow been surviving the adventures. I can see the occasional low-level group slipping by, since everyone enjoys fanning the sparks of false hope in their little provincial hearts. Letting more powerful groups survive... that just reeks of negligence.
Please advise me about what you're doing to address this revolting state of affairs.
I've recently become aware of an alarming play balance problem in the Carrion Crown Adventure Path. It seems that player characters have somehow been surviving the adventures. I can see the occasional low-level group slipping by, since everyone enjoys fanning the sparks of false hope in their little provincial hearts. Letting more powerful groups survive... that just reeks of negligence.
Please advise me about what you're doing to address this revolting state of affairs.
Dear Mr. Baphon,
Although I can't speak for James on this issue, I wonder if you've examined the contents of the AP closely enough? I'm not sure if or how product could be delivered to you by mundane courier, as the US postal worker's union has been all up in arms about Gallowspire (and really, all of Ustalav) being an unsafe and hostile work environment. Bunch of whiners.
However, I assume that a mage of your extensive experience and resourcefulness can manage to whip up a divination that will let you view the books even while imprisoned (although this may be a violation of Paizo's copyright, and piracy is bad - even if you ARE an immortal lich-tyrant), and so I highly recommend that you check out "Wake of the Watcher". The dark young of Shub-Niggurath should handily dispose of even capable PCs who present clear threats to your machinations - or at least leave them gibberingly mad enough that you can exploit their insanity should they ever reach your inner sanctum.
Best Regards & Love to the Wife and Kids,
PWU
I know this isn't a rule forum, but ....
Pounce In the bestiary. Pounce does not stipulate what weapons you need to use. If a monster has natural attacks and can use manufactured weapons could it use pounce with manufactured weapons?
I always thought pounce was meant for natural attacks, but the rules doesn't stipulate that.
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To be fair, not by much since Karzoug was CR 21. And part of the adventure path could be getting items to boost the effective party level by one.
Also Prison of the Firebringer back in Dungeon sent level 14s against a CR 21 ;)
Well... dragons are generally really tough for their CR scores, while NPC classed creatures are generally kinda pushovers for their CR scores, so that's almost a worst case scenario to pit a CR 21 wizard and a CR 22 dragon against each other, power-wise. And don't try the "Part of a wizard's CR includes his items and resources and intellect!" Because all three of those apply equally well to a dragon.
And Prison of the Firebringer is hardly an Adventure Path, nor is it something that was developed under Paizo's current staff, so it was developed under an entirely different philosophy of game design. Still a fun adventure, though.
ANYway... having tried to do a "kill the dragon" adventure path and being unable to come up with something that compelled any of us at Paizo to want to work on it is perhaps coloring my opinion on the possibility of a dragon themed AP. I'm sure it can be done... but I'm not sure at this point anyone at Paizo wants to try.
Maybe after a year or two... we'll see.
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Creative Director
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James, clearly as the creative director, flavorful, engaging writing is your strong point. Was there ever a point where you might have leaned more towards the rules side of the game, or did you always favor creative works??
Often. Every single time I write or develop an adventure. Adventures are the perfect mix of rules and flavor content, after all, and in order to work well, they need to influence each other. Often a specific type of rule or the way two or more rules work influence decisions I make about how adventures work. In fact, I quite enjoy looking to the rules for inspiration for flavor, or vice-versa. The game is at its best when the two work together and don't dominate one or the other.
For the Dawnflower Dervish Archetype's 15th level ability, Lightning Strikes, it says they can make an additional attack at their highest BAB, but all attacks that round including the extra one, take a -2 penalty to hit.
My question is: Does this stack with Haste/Speed? normally, the answer is no, but in almost every other case where such an extra attack is granted it explicitly states the extra attack does not stack. This is similar to a feat from the PHBII for 3.5 and everybody I gamed with ruled that the feat did indeed stack with Haste/Speed, but I have no clue what the official answer is.
Since it doesn't explicitly state that it doesn't stack... it does. The Dawnflower's extra attack is a lot more like Rapid Shot or flurry of blows than it is like the extra attack granted by haste, in any event—at least, mechanically speaking. And rapid shot and flurry of blows both stack with haste.