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Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alleran wrote:

In the Inner Sea Combat discussion, you mentioned that you sent advice on which characters should be mythic, and that it must have been lost in the shuffle.

Are you able to say anything about the advice you sent, or give indications on which characters you thought should be mythic in the ISC listings?

Nope. What's in print is the way it is.

And this is an excellent example of why idle comments by me on these boards or in chat rooms should not be taken as official canon, since they might change by the time we cover the topic in print. ESPECIALLY if they go to print in a product I'm not all that involved in as far as development and writing goes... which is an increasing number, as it turns out, since we keep expanding the number of products we do in a year.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

CalebTGordan wrote:

When writing rules in English there isn't a gender neutral pronoun, making it difficult to be inclusive to both genders all of the time.

What does Paizo do to be gender inclusive, and do you feel you have been successful?

I noticed that classes and archetypes follow the gender of the iconic, but many other rules use 2nd person. Why is this and is there a reason behind why some class specific rules, like oracle mysteries, use 2nd person instead of 3rd?

We make sure to have an even gender spread for classes, and when we refer to those classes in text we generally use that class's associated gender. The use of when we use 2nd person and 3rd person is part of our in-house style and isn't really associated with being gender-neutral; it's more of something we inherited from the SRD.


1) Does the church of Asmodeus try to appeal to the common people and convince them that they are "Good"?

2) If so, what methods do they use?

3) How does the church of Asmodeus portray/villify celestials in it's sermons and teachings in a way that would make it's followers not want to venerate them?

4) Does the average citizen of Cheliax hate House Thrune, or do they support it?

Grand Lodge Contributor

Hi James

I'm assuming that the game effects of pesh as found in Dark Markets: A Guide to Katapesh have been overruled by the game effects found in the Gamemastery Guide.

I notice in the recently released Alchemy Guide that two new forms of Pesh are listed: black pesh and golden pesh.

[1] The Inner Sea World Guide describes refined pesh as sticky black blocks. Is that what the stat block for black pesh represents?
[2] What form does golden pesh take?
[3] And what form does the pesh found in the Gamemastery Guide take? Is this raw pesh?

Silver Crusade

Don't know if it's really your thing but there's a Dungeon Crawl game on the App Store, Warhammer Quest, and it's free atm. A good way to kill time and it's pretty fun.

Silver Crusade

Would you consider the Souls games from From Software to be Post-Apocalyptic?

Lantern Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
Secane wrote:

In Golarion, how would their respective societies view an Elf-Dwarf couple?

Specifically, an Elf from Kyonin and a Dwarf from the Five Kings Mountains.

Would such a couple be considered unusual? Deviants? Hated? Shunted? Made outcasts? Or would they be accepted as an unusual, but acceptable relationship? Or is such a relation ship considered perfectly normal? Or even preferred due to their relative long lives?

And what if both are of noble or royal birth?

I'm trying to make sense of a character backstory in the Golarion setting.

Such a couple would be considered VERY unusual. They would absolutely face hatred, confusion, derision, and difficulty from their nations. The elven side would warm to the relationship faster and more universally, once the shock of the unusual pairing wore off, but the dwarf side might not ever fully accept it.

Thanks for answering!

I fear as much...

From what I have read on the elves of Kyonin, they are extreme isolationist.

1) So would Kyonin accept an adopted Dwarf child of such a union? As in if the Dwarf takes up the family name of the Elf and they choose to live in Kyonin, would the elves even accept it?

2) Especially if both parents, Elf and Dwarf are nobles or even members of the royal family in their respective nations?

3) And how would such a Elvish speaking Dwarf child, growing up in Kyonin,see him or herself and the world?. Would he or she sees herself as a... Dwelf?

I'm assuming adopted elven or half-elven children would have a much easier time then the dwarf child in Kyonin.

Grand Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
Xeriar wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:


Figure out a way to build robust rules that don't shunt your character sheet to the side. I want a mass combat game in Pathfinder to be one where you NEED your character sheet to play, because that's the game Pathfinder is. Subsystems that don't really involve your PC are less satisfying to me.

The mass combat system should be easy to learn but difficult to master, and should have a wealth of expansion and customization without being overwhelming and impossible to learn.

I'm not sure it's something that can exist, in other words.

Legend of the Five Rings did this a decade and a half ago.

So did D&D. So did a lot of games. Pathfinder is a more complex game than most of those though, and it doesn't really help me if a system exists for a different rules set.

The way L5R did this was to have a skill (called Battle) which was used for possibly determining ambushes and battle conditions and also for thier mass combat system.

You would choose how deeply involved you wanted your character to be in the fight and then roll percentile on a chart to see what sort of encounter you would get (that roll being influenced by said Battle skill). You then had the character(s) take part in that little vignette until the battle was over (usually a number of rolls on said chart).

I suppose something like this could work for Pathfinder, but it's not really Mass Battle as many people are thinking. It's just participating in a mass battle. I think what James is speaking of when discussing the topic is controlling the army as a whole.

Am I right in that James?

Still, I think fun things could be done with such a system in a heavily war-based Adventure Path.

Is this kind of thing something we could see if such an AP was designed?


James Jacobs wrote:
Justin Franklin wrote:
Since you have said that the current mass combat rules aren't as detailed as you would like. What would you want to do there?

Figure out a way to build robust rules that don't shunt your character sheet to the side. I want a mass combat game in Pathfinder to be one where you NEED your character sheet to play, because that's the game Pathfinder is. Subsystems that don't really involve your PC are less satisfying to me.

The mass combat system should be easy to learn but difficult to master, and should have a wealth of expansion and customization without being overwhelming and impossible to learn.

I'm not sure it's something that can exist, in other words.

Have you ever played the Kingdom Under Fire games? They are Real-Time Strategy games where you control the commander and it drops into 3rd person combat whenever your commanded formation goes into melee.

I really enjoyed how your character was clearly more capable and could more easily topple formations without commanders.

Does that mesh with what you would like to see from Mass Combat?


James Jacobs wrote:
So did D&D. So did a lot of games. Pathfinder is a more complex game than most of those though, and it doesn't really help me if a system exists for a different rules set.

What do you think of the troop creature type from Rasputin Must Die? A follow up question would be how do you feel about a mass combat system built around it.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Axial wrote:


1) Does the church of Asmodeus try to appeal to the common people and convince them that they are "Good"?

2) If so, what methods do they use?

3) How does the church of Asmodeus portray/villify celestials in it's sermons and teachings in a way that would make it's followers not want to venerate them?

4) Does the average citizen of Cheliax hate House Thrune, or do they support it?

1) No.

2) Friendly threats, extortion, protection rackets, and outright threats. Depending on the situation. They don't try to pretend to be anything other than they are (that is HARDLY lawful, after all), and more rely upon appealing to the inner evil they believe exists in every person and capitalize on free will's ability to let a person justify to themselves that doing bad things is the best option. They're a little like the classic movie version of organized crime in that regard, I suppose.

3) This question kinda doesn't make sense; please rephrase.

4) It's not that simple. Most of the average folks of Cheliax fear Thrune, but whether that fear begets hate or respect or what depends on the citizen, and that citizens' proximity to the nation's government.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Shaun Hocking wrote:

Hi James

I'm assuming that the game effects of pesh as found in Dark Markets: A Guide to Katapesh have been overruled by the game effects found in the Gamemastery Guide.

I notice in the recently released Alchemy Guide that two new forms of Pesh are listed: black pesh and golden pesh.

[1] The Inner Sea World Guide describes refined pesh as sticky black blocks. Is that what the stat block for black pesh represents?
[2] What form does golden pesh take?
[3] And what form does the pesh found in the Gamemastery Guide take? Is this raw pesh?

I wasn't involved in Alchemy Guide, so I have no insight into why they split pesh into multiple categories and apparently didn't support the new versions with their own rules. So I can only really answer #3: the pesh in Gamemaster Guide is "baseline" pesh, as described in the Inner Sea World Guide.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Rysky wrote:
Don't know if it's really your thing but there's a Dungeon Crawl game on the App Store, Warhammer Quest, and it's free atm. A good way to kill time and it's pretty fun.

I grabbed it but it isn't really appealing to me.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Rysky wrote:
Would you consider the Souls games from From Software to be Post-Apocalyptic?

Yes.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Secane wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Secane wrote:

In Golarion, how would their respective societies view an Elf-Dwarf couple?

Specifically, an Elf from Kyonin and a Dwarf from the Five Kings Mountains.

Would such a couple be considered unusual? Deviants? Hated? Shunted? Made outcasts? Or would they be accepted as an unusual, but acceptable relationship? Or is such a relation ship considered perfectly normal? Or even preferred due to their relative long lives?

And what if both are of noble or royal birth?

I'm trying to make sense of a character backstory in the Golarion setting.

Such a couple would be considered VERY unusual. They would absolutely face hatred, confusion, derision, and difficulty from their nations. The elven side would warm to the relationship faster and more universally, once the shock of the unusual pairing wore off, but the dwarf side might not ever fully accept it.

Thanks for answering!

I fear as much...

From what I have read on the elves of Kyonin, they are extreme isolationist.

1) So would Kyonin accept an adopted Dwarf child of such a union? As in if the Dwarf takes up the family name of the Elf and they choose to live in Kyonin, would the elves even accept it?

2) Especially if both parents, Elf and Dwarf are nobles or even members of the royal family in their respective nations?

3) And how would such a Elvish speaking Dwarf child, growing up in Kyonin,see him or herself and the world?. Would he or she sees herself as a... Dwelf?

I'm assuming adopted elven or half-elven children would have a much easier time then the dwarf child in Kyonin.

Keep in mind that for storytelling purposes, the fact that such a relationship would be looked-down upon and cause problems is an enormous boon. There's a reason, in other words, that after hundreds of years, Romeo and Juliet remains so popular!

I've been trying to steer our employees and authors away from making Kyonin a Tolkien clone and super isolationist, but it's hard to fight that fight and I'm more or less about to give up and just throw my hands in the air, frankly.

1) Kyonin would not immediately accept an adopted dwarf child as a government, but there's plenty of individuals in the nation who would. That dwarf would be beset with lots of bigotry and frustration as he grew up, and depending on the story you wanted to tell, he'd either become a bad guy or he'd start to change Kyonin for the better.

2) That would make the plotline of the story you wanted to tell accelerate. It could still go in any direction.

3) Depends on the character. And the story you want to tell. This is a VERY unusual circumstance, after all, and as such it's pretty impossible to speak about it in averages. It really REALLY depends on the storyline you want to present.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

cblome59 wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Xeriar wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:


Figure out a way to build robust rules that don't shunt your character sheet to the side. I want a mass combat game in Pathfinder to be one where you NEED your character sheet to play, because that's the game Pathfinder is. Subsystems that don't really involve your PC are less satisfying to me.

The mass combat system should be easy to learn but difficult to master, and should have a wealth of expansion and customization without being overwhelming and impossible to learn.

I'm not sure it's something that can exist, in other words.

Legend of the Five Rings did this a decade and a half ago.

So did D&D. So did a lot of games. Pathfinder is a more complex game than most of those though, and it doesn't really help me if a system exists for a different rules set.

The way L5R did this was to have a skill (called Battle) which was used for possibly determining ambushes and battle conditions and also for thier mass combat system.

You would choose how deeply involved you wanted your character to be in the fight and then roll percentile on a chart to see what sort of encounter you would get (that roll being influenced by said Battle skill). You then had the character(s) take part in that little vignette until the battle was over (usually a number of rolls on said chart).

I suppose something like this could work for Pathfinder, but it's not really Mass Battle as many people are thinking. It's just participating in a mass battle. I think what James is speaking of when discussing the topic is controlling the army as a whole.

Am I right in that James?

Still, I think fun things could be done with such a system in a heavily war-based Adventure Path.

Is this kind of thing something we could see if such an AP was designed?

Something like that COULD work for Pathfinder, but adding a new skill to the existing skillset is kinda shabby and sloppy and to be avoided. That type of solution works best at the onset of a game's design, not deep in its continued publication.

What I'm talking about is that when your PC is involved in a mass combat, your PC should feel important to the outcome, but at the same time you should still be able to rely upon your skills and powers and defenses to avoid getting wiped out, while not making the actual tide of battle dramatically shift and change just because you happen to be a PC.

Check out Kingmaker and the 2nd Wrath of the Righteous for my current attempts at mass combat, or the 5th Skull & Shackles for Rob's attempt. We're getting there, but I just don't think we're there yet.

And personally, after two EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT Adventure Paths in a row for me, I'm eager to do something more classic and less "INVENT A NEW RULES SET LIKE MYTHIC OR TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS AP" type of campaign... ;-)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kairos Dawnfury wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Justin Franklin wrote:
Since you have said that the current mass combat rules aren't as detailed as you would like. What would you want to do there?

Figure out a way to build robust rules that don't shunt your character sheet to the side. I want a mass combat game in Pathfinder to be one where you NEED your character sheet to play, because that's the game Pathfinder is. Subsystems that don't really involve your PC are less satisfying to me.

The mass combat system should be easy to learn but difficult to master, and should have a wealth of expansion and customization without being overwhelming and impossible to learn.

I'm not sure it's something that can exist, in other words.

Have you ever played the Kingdom Under Fire games? They are Real-Time Strategy games where you control the commander and it drops into 3rd person combat whenever your commanded formation goes into melee.

I really enjoyed how your character was clearly more capable and could more easily topple formations without commanders.

Does that mesh with what you would like to see from Mass Combat?

I have not. Starcraft pretty much cured me of having any interest in Real-Time Strategy games. They're no fun to me as a result.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alex Smith 908 wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
So did D&D. So did a lot of games. Pathfinder is a more complex game than most of those though, and it doesn't really help me if a system exists for a different rules set.
What do you think of the troop creature type from Rasputin Must Die? A follow up question would be how do you feel about a mass combat system built around it.

Having seen it in play against my characters, I think it's under CRed for what it does. That said, I think it's a really cool solution (Based vaguely on simliar rules I came up with a decade ago for mobs back in Shackled City, in fact, so I'm kind of partial toward this solution). That said, troops don't work well for mass combats where there's thousands or tens of thousands of foes on the field, any more than using the current core rules to run a battle against two groups of 50 combatants works well.

Pathfinder is, at its core, a game about small numbers clashing against small numbers. Individual-scale battles. Shifting that to cover mass combat is a HUGE alteration to the fundamental nature and structure of the rules, and since there's not really much built into the rules from the ground up in the Core Rulebook to support going in that direction... it's really tricky and complicated to make happen.

I do not expect to find the solution to it anytime soon, having been thinking about it for a decade or so.

(It's worth pointing out too that mass combat shifts the game away from the game that many people want to play... so that's a huge hurdle as well.)


1 person marked this as a favorite.
James Jacobs wrote:
And personally, after two EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT Adventure Paths in a row for me, I'm eager to do something more classic and less "INVENT A NEW RULES SET LIKE MYTHIC OR TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS AP" type of campaign... ;-)

So you're saying that the Psychic Magic AP is unlikely to be next?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Tels wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
And personally, after two EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT Adventure Paths in a row for me, I'm eager to do something more classic and less "INVENT A NEW RULES SET LIKE MYTHIC OR TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS AP" type of campaign... ;-)
So you're saying that the Psychic Magic AP is unlikely to be next?

Your words, not mine.


James Jacobs wrote:
Axial wrote:


1) Does the church of Asmodeus try to appeal to the common people and convince them that they are "Good"?

2) If so, what methods do they use?

3) How does the church of Asmodeus portray/villify celestials in it's sermons and teachings in a way that would make it's followers not want to venerate them?

4) Does the average citizen of Cheliax hate House Thrune, or do they support it?

1) No.

2) Friendly threats, extortion, protection rackets, and outright threats. Depending on the situation. They don't try to pretend to be anything other than they are (that is HARDLY lawful, after all), and more rely upon appealing to the inner evil they believe exists in every person and capitalize on free will's ability to let a person justify to themselves that doing bad things is the best option. They're a little like the classic movie version of organized crime in that regard, I suppose.

3) This question kinda doesn't make sense; please rephrase.

4) It's not that simple. Most of the average folks of Cheliax fear Thrune, but whether that fear begets hate or respect or what depends on the citizen, and that citizens' proximity to the nation's government.

1 and 2 kind of answer question 3. I was trying to ask how the religion of Asmodeus turns people away from celestials and archons.

I guess I find it strange that the church of Asmodeus doesn't bother with PR and just acts as evil as possible. But then again, I always thought that bad guys who refer to themselves as bad guys in fiction are kind of dumb.

Which leads me to my other question...are people in Golarion aware of their own alignment? Do followers of Asmodeus, Lamashtu, and Zon-Kuthon actually call themselves "evil"?


Good evening James! I hope your day has been wonderful so far, and continues to be so.

1. Any creatures from bestiaries 1-3 you feel should have waited for mythic rules?
2. Ever read 'The Ruins' by Scott Smith? Not to spoil anything, but the baddie in the book would be an interesting pathfinder foe.
3. I was looking into the Xtabay the other day, and I was curious how you guys came up with the monster that's in the Bestiary 2. With the legend it's based on (according to wikipedia anyway) a plant creature isn't what immediately came to mind, for me at least.
4. What culture's creatures do you think have the most untapped RPG potential?
5. Which dragons would adapt best to modern day earth?
6. Assuming Queen Vorgozen is still an ooze by the time she sees a canon stat block, how does Jubilex feel towards her? She's probably the only other ooze in existence with a similar power level (CR 26+ in this case), so would he feel threatened by her? Or, like most things, does Jubilex simply not notice or care?
7. On the subject of The Faceless Lord, why the name change from d&d? Is the name Juiblex copyrighted?
8. Lastly, what's your favorite movie sound effect?

Thanks for your time!


James Jacobs wrote:
I've been trying to steer our employees and authors away from making Kyonin a Tolkien clone and super isolationist, but it's hard to fight that fight and I'm more or less about to give up and just throw my hands in the air, frankly.

Wow, that's sad. Is there anything we can do to help you? I'm not too keen on Tolkien clones either.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
And personally, after two EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT Adventure Paths in a row for me, I'm eager to do something more classic and less "INVENT A NEW RULES SET LIKE MYTHIC OR TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS AP" type of campaign... ;-)

So Casmaron seems like a good plan then. ;)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Axial wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Axial wrote:


1) Does the church of Asmodeus try to appeal to the common people and convince them that they are "Good"?

2) If so, what methods do they use?

3) How does the church of Asmodeus portray/villify celestials in it's sermons and teachings in a way that would make it's followers not want to venerate them?

4) Does the average citizen of Cheliax hate House Thrune, or do they support it?

1) No.

2) Friendly threats, extortion, protection rackets, and outright threats. Depending on the situation. They don't try to pretend to be anything other than they are (that is HARDLY lawful, after all), and more rely upon appealing to the inner evil they believe exists in every person and capitalize on free will's ability to let a person justify to themselves that doing bad things is the best option. They're a little like the classic movie version of organized crime in that regard, I suppose.

3) This question kinda doesn't make sense; please rephrase.

4) It's not that simple. Most of the average folks of Cheliax fear Thrune, but whether that fear begets hate or respect or what depends on the citizen, and that citizens' proximity to the nation's government.

1 and 2 kind of answer question 3. I was trying to ask how the religion of Asmodeus turns people away from celestials and archons.

I guess I find it strange that the church of Asmodeus doesn't bother with PR and just acts as evil as possible. But then again, I always thought that bad guys who refer to themselves as bad guys in fiction are kind of dumb.

Which leads me to my other question...are people in Golarion aware of their own alignment? Do followers of Asmodeus, Lamashtu, and Zon-Kuthon actually call themselves "evil"?

They can if you want, but if you'd rather not, they don't have to.

Certainly, with spells like detect good or detect evil in the game, you can quantify if anyone, including yourself, is of a particular alignment.

We don't push that level of self awareness in our NPCs as a general rule though.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

KetchupKing wrote:

1. Any creatures from bestiaries 1-3 you feel should have waited for mythic rules?

2. Ever read 'The Ruins' by Scott Smith? Not to spoil anything, but the baddie in the book would be an interesting pathfinder foe.
3. I was looking into the Xtabay the other day, and I was curious how you guys came up with the monster that's in the Bestiary 2. With the legend it's based on (according to wikipedia anyway) a plant creature isn't what immediately came to mind, for me at least.
4. What culture's creatures do you think have the most untapped RPG potential?
5. Which dragons would adapt best to modern day earth?
6. Assuming Queen Vorgozen is still an ooze by the time she sees a canon stat block, how does Jubilex feel towards her? She's probably the only other ooze in existence with a similar power level (CR 26+ in this case), so would he feel threatened by her? Or, like most things, does Jubilex simply not notice or care?
7. On the subject of The Faceless Lord, why the name change from d&d? Is the name Juiblex copyrighted?
8. Lastly, what's your favorite movie sound effect?

Thanks for your time!

1) Not really.

2) Yes, great book!

3) I wasn't involved in that creature's development or design; that's a good question for Wes.

4) At this point, I'd say aboriginal Australia.

5) None of them. AKA: All of them would adapt equally well.

6) Unrevealed at this time.

7) My best guess: Because when Necromancer Games put that guy into the Tome of Horrors, they mispelled his name on accident. I suspect that's the same reason the word "Nabasu" is different from original D&D (where it had 2 s's.... "Nabassu.") And since it's the open content version, that typo became the correct spelling for all of us non-WotC folks.

8) Godzilla's roar.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
I've been trying to steer our employees and authors away from making Kyonin a Tolkien clone and super isolationist, but it's hard to fight that fight and I'm more or less about to give up and just throw my hands in the air, frankly.
Wow, that's sad. Is there anything we can do to help you? I'm not too keen on Tolkien clones either.

Nothing comes to mind.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Justin Franklin wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
And personally, after two EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT Adventure Paths in a row for me, I'm eager to do something more classic and less "INVENT A NEW RULES SET LIKE MYTHIC OR TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS AP" type of campaign... ;-)
So Casmaron seems like a good plan then. ;)

No.

Silver Crusade

James Jacobs wrote:
Justin Franklin wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
And personally, after two EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT Adventure Paths in a row for me, I'm eager to do something more classic and less "INVENT A NEW RULES SET LIKE MYTHIC OR TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS AP" type of campaign... ;-)
So Casmaron seems like a good plan then. ;)
No.

Abaddon?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Rysky wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Justin Franklin wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
And personally, after two EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT Adventure Paths in a row for me, I'm eager to do something more classic and less "INVENT A NEW RULES SET LIKE MYTHIC OR TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS AP" type of campaign... ;-)
So Casmaron seems like a good plan then. ;)
No.
Abaddon?

One word does not a question make.


James Jacobs wrote:
Xeriar wrote:


Legend of the Five Rings did this a decade and a half ago.

So did D&D. So did a lot of games.

No, D&D never did it the way L5R did. It was considered pretty innovative for its time. I think a lot of game designers could learn from it and that's why I mention it. It's mass combat where the rules governing PC actions are 99% the same. I'm not exaggerating with that number, even in the case of adapting it to Pathfinder. The only real difference is some environmental damage based on armor and bodyguards, and the list of ideas for heroic opportunities (which GMs and potentially even players are free to add to) - which are all straight up encounter scenarios, to a one.

Quote:
Pathfinder is a more complex game than most of those though, and it doesn't really help me if a system exists for a different rules set.

I'd bet that before you came up with troops you'd say the same thing about 7th Sea's squad system.

No, it won't port over perfectly - troops are not an exact copy of squads, and you wouldn't want to default to each player deciding how engaged they are individually in a Pathfinder equivalent to L5R's battle system. Combat resolution is fast and deadly in L5R. So, instead, just default to leaving the group together, and adjust heroic opportunities/duels accordingly.

The ultimate idea, though, is that a GM who lays things out is going to have a good understanding of which side entered with the better strategy, which side is having more of an impact, etc. so it comes down to heroics on the part of the PCs to change what will logically occur - for better or for worse.

If not, you can have some loose guidelines to resort to die-rolling to decide how strategically advantaged a position is, and then dive into heroics from there.

As for your complaint about adding another skill... *ahem* Profession: Soldier. At least it's not as silly as Craft: War in 1e Exalted... I don't think adding Tactics is too much of a burden. You could roll Appraise into Profession: Merchant and see who bellyaches.


James Jacobs wrote:
Rysky wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Justin Franklin wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
And personally, after two EXCEPTIONALLY DIFFICULT Adventure Paths in a row for me, I'm eager to do something more classic and less "INVENT A NEW RULES SET LIKE MYTHIC OR TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS AP" type of campaign... ;-)
So Casmaron seems like a good plan then. ;)
No.
Abaddon?
One word does not a question make.

Positive?


-1: How homogenous is the modern aboleth civilization? Especially compared to how homogenous it was pre-Earthfall. Is it like a world-spanning empire? Multiple kingdoms with differing goals? Entirely isolated pockets of aboleth society working largely independently?

-2: You've mentioned in this thread that there are no rogue veiled masters. There has been, however, at least one semi-rogue normal aboleth featured in the final chapter of Second Darkness. Ndtiktia is mentioned as being "...feared and loathed even by its brethren within the Caltherium for its unpredictable moods." So the question: how common are semi-rogue aboleth outliers? The rebels who, while still lawful evil, just don't jive with their kin? (This is sort of a continuation of the last question about homogeneity).

-3: When an aboleth allies with a non-aboleth, is it always as a manipulator or would-be puppet master? In other words, would an aboleth ever willfully submit to a superior being without attempting to subvert his/her/its desires? As a lieutenant, advisor, etc.?

(As an aside, I know we'll be learning more about aboleths with the release of Occult Mysteries, so some or all of these questions may already be answered to some extend in a month.)

-4: If you were going to stat up a sorcerer descended somehow from aboleths, which bloodline would you go with - aberrant or aquatic?

-5: What would your average aboleth think about such a sorcerer? Especially if s/he was particularly powerful, maybe even mythic?


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
I've been trying to steer our employees and authors away from making Kyonin a Tolkien clone and super isolationist, but it's hard to fight that fight and I'm more or less about to give up and just throw my hands in the air, frankly.
Wow, that's sad. Is there anything we can do to help you? I'm not too keen on Tolkien clones either.
Nothing comes to mind.

Not even giving support on the forums? You did say that our feedback guides Paizo's decisions.

By the way, why do employees and authors want to make Kyonin a super-isolationist Tolkien rip-off?

Do you think they dislike elves? If so, why?

Silver Crusade

In Golarion can N gods such as Nethys and Pharasma have divine class followers of the extreme alignments (CE, CG, LE, LG)?

Dark Archive

James when do you think we'll see another AP or module based in Cheliax?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Generic Villain wrote:

-1: How homogenous is the modern aboleth civilization? Especially compared to how homogenous it was pre-Earthfall. Is it like a world-spanning empire? Multiple kingdoms with differing goals? Entirely isolated pockets of aboleth society working largely independently?

-2: You've mentioned in this thread that there are no rogue veiled masters. There has been, however, at least one semi-rogue normal aboleth featured in the final chapter of Second Darkness. Ndtiktia is mentioned as being "...feared and loathed even by its brethren within the Caltherium for its unpredictable moods." So the question: how common are semi-rogue aboleth outliers? The rebels who, while still lawful evil, just don't jive with their kin? (This is sort of a continuation of the last question about homogeneity).

-3: When an aboleth allies with a non-aboleth, is it always as a manipulator or would-be puppet master? In other words, would an aboleth ever willfully submit to a superior being without attempting to subvert his/her/its desires? As a lieutenant, advisor, etc.?

(As an aside, I know we'll be learning more about aboleths with the release of Occult Mysteries, so some or all of these questions may already be answered to some extend in a month.)

-4: If you were going to stat up a sorcerer descended somehow from aboleths, which bloodline would you go with - aberrant or aquatic?

-5: What would your average aboleth think about such a sorcerer? Especially if s/he was particularly powerful, maybe even mythic?

1) Unrevealed. We've been pretty deliberately quiet about those details.

2) Those plot threads are perhaps building toward something... something I'm not ready to explore in public yet.

3) Never say never... but an aboleth willingly serving another without having an ulterior motive or hidden agenda would be INCREDIBLY rare.

4) Either works. As would destined or deep earth or starsoul or stormborn or accursed or arcane.

5) An interesting specimen pre-indoctrinated to a certain extent for service to the race.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
I've been trying to steer our employees and authors away from making Kyonin a Tolkien clone and super isolationist, but it's hard to fight that fight and I'm more or less about to give up and just throw my hands in the air, frankly.
Wow, that's sad. Is there anything we can do to help you? I'm not too keen on Tolkien clones either.
Nothing comes to mind.

Not even giving support on the forums? You did say that our feedback guides Paizo's decisions.

By the way, why do employees and authors want to make Kyonin a super-isolationist Tolkien rip-off?

Do you think they dislike elves? If so, why?

It's likely becasue too many authors are too comfortable with the status quo and/or don't realize that we're trying to change them. I don't think they dislike elves. I think that my opinions on the matter have either been forgotten or ignored or (more likely) I just haven't been loud enough about them.

Whatever.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Rysky wrote:
In Golarion can N gods such as Nethys and Pharasma have divine class followers of the extreme alignments (CE, CG, LE, LG)?

No.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

ulgulanoth wrote:
James when do you think we'll see another AP or module based in Cheliax?

Maybe some day, but the outside world won't know about it until we announce it 6 to 12 months in advance.


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
I've been trying to steer our employees and authors away from making Kyonin a Tolkien clone and super isolationist, but it's hard to fight that fight and I'm more or less about to give up and just throw my hands in the air, frankly.
Wow, that's sad. Is there anything we can do to help you? I'm not too keen on Tolkien clones either.
Nothing comes to mind.

Not even giving support on the forums? You did say that our feedback guides Paizo's decisions.

By the way, why do employees and authors want to make Kyonin a super-isolationist Tolkien rip-off?

Do you think they dislike elves? If so, why?

It's likely becasue too many authors are too comfortable with the status quo and/or don't realize that we're trying to change them. I don't think they dislike elves. I think that my opinions on the matter have either been forgotten or ignored or (more likely) I just haven't been loud enough about them.

Whatever.

Have you tried sending out a mass email to all of your writers saying, "KYONIN IS NOT ISONLATIONIST!" and nothing else?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Tels wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
I've been trying to steer our employees and authors away from making Kyonin a Tolkien clone and super isolationist, but it's hard to fight that fight and I'm more or less about to give up and just throw my hands in the air, frankly.
Wow, that's sad. Is there anything we can do to help you? I'm not too keen on Tolkien clones either.
Nothing comes to mind.

Not even giving support on the forums? You did say that our feedback guides Paizo's decisions.

By the way, why do employees and authors want to make Kyonin a super-isolationist Tolkien rip-off?

Do you think they dislike elves? If so, why?

It's likely becasue too many authors are too comfortable with the status quo and/or don't realize that we're trying to change them. I don't think they dislike elves. I think that my opinions on the matter have either been forgotten or ignored or (more likely) I just haven't been loud enough about them.

Whatever.

Have you tried sending out a mass email to all of your writers saying, "KYONIN IS NOT ISONLATIONIST!" and nothing else?

I'm not the one who assigns all the projects or develops all the books, so they're not all my writers.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Which of the deities that sponsor paladins (Abadar, Erastil, Iomedae, Sarenrae, Shelyn and Torag, specifically) would you feel this quote resembles best?

"Reach down into your heart and you'll find many reasons to fight. Survival. Honor. Glory. But what about those who feel it's their duty to protect the innocent? There you'll find a warrior savage enough to match any dragon, and in the end, they'll retain what the others won't. Their humanity."

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

Which of the deities that sponsor paladins (Abadar, Erastil, Iomedae, Sarenrae, Shelyn and Torag, specifically) would you feel this quote resembles best?

"Reach down into your heart and you'll find many reasons to fight. Survival. Honor. Glory. But what about those who feel it's their duty to protect the innocent? There you'll find a warrior savage enough to match any dragon, and in the end, they'll retain what the others won't. Their humanity."

Probably Iomedae.

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
Cr500cricket wrote:
Will Iron Gods have easier rules for using advanced technology?
Easier than what?

well, not exactly easier, but more explanations, unless I missed something, all we have are the 3 robots in the inner sea bestiary, and the (no offence intended) pretty pathetic blurb on pg.257 of the inner sea guide


Cr500cricket wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Cr500cricket wrote:
Will Iron Gods have easier rules for using advanced technology?
Easier than what?
well, not exactly easier, but more explanations, unless I missed something, all we have are the 3 robots in the inner sea bestiary, and the (no offence intended) pretty pathetic blurb on pg.257 of the inner sea guide

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide... to be released around the same time as Iron Gods.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide

Dark Archive

Guy St-Amant wrote:

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide

thank you

Dark Archive

1.What do you think of people publishing other worlds for pathfinder? This is just something I heard a couple of my friends talking about it.
2.Why is item creation so worthless in APs, I mean once you get to a high enough level that item creation is very useful, the APs just don't give you time

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Cr500cricket wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Cr500cricket wrote:
Will Iron Gods have easier rules for using advanced technology?
Easier than what?
well, not exactly easier, but more explanations, unless I missed something, all we have are the 3 robots in the inner sea bestiary, and the (no offence intended) pretty pathetic blurb on pg.257 of the inner sea guide

The Technology Guide will spend 64 pages covering how advanced technology works. And each Iron Gods installment will build off of that book's foundation.

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