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Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Cole Deschain wrote:

Is there any real-world language you particularly enjoy on an aesthetic level?

Elves rule nation-states in Jinin and Kyonin, Dwarves rule the Five Kings Mountains. As you see them, would having Halflings or Gnomes interested in finding a national homeland of sorts be in character for those cultures, or are gnomes and halfings generally not that concerned with controlling territory on that scale?

Rewatching Mimic has kindled a fresh interest in Xenopterids... the church of Ghlaunder seems likely to value them- where would you see the cult having the infrastructure to make use of them?

I particularly enjoy English on an aesthetic level.

Pretty much.

Norgorber's more interested in them than Ghlaunder.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Threeshades wrote:

With adventurers dungeon delving all over Golarion and being common enough to not be surprised, when meeting another group of adventurers, and even the Pathfinder Society internationally organizing such activities, how long do you think it will take until there are no abandoned dungeons, ancient ruins and tombs left to loot?

Or does the world's ecology, of monsters accumulating treasure, necromancers moving into abandoned crypts, ruins becoming ancient and civilizations going out of business replenish the supply of viable dungeons fast enough to not have to worry about them ever running out?

Adventures aren't that common actually. Don't confuse the fact that there are many many many thousands of gamers playing campaigns and adventures set in Golarion for a direct corollary to an equal number of adventurers being in Golarion. Adventurers aren't so much not surprised to meet other adventurers not because they're common, but because they generally congregate in the same regions.

The day the dungeons run out is the day we stop publishing content for Golarion, more or less, so I personally would rather not see that happen for many decades.

Contributor

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James Jacobs wrote:
Threeshades wrote:

With adventurers dungeon delving all over Golarion and being common enough to not be surprised, when meeting another group of adventurers, and even the Pathfinder Society internationally organizing such activities, how long do you think it will take until there are no abandoned dungeons, ancient ruins and tombs left to loot?

Or does the world's ecology, of monsters accumulating treasure, necromancers moving into abandoned crypts, ruins becoming ancient and civilizations going out of business replenish the supply of viable dungeons fast enough to not have to worry about them ever running out?

Adventures aren't that common actually. Don't confuse the fact that there are many many many thousands of gamers playing campaigns and adventures set in Golarion for a direct corollary to an equal number of adventurers being in Golarion. Adventurers aren't so much not surprised to meet other adventurers not because they're common, but because they generally congregate in the same regions.

The day the dungeons run out is the day we stop publishing content for Golarion, more or less, so I personally would rather not see that happen for many decades.

And hey! If you ever ran out of dungeons on Golarion, then you've got a whole solar system of worlds that need dungeons! Am I right? ;-)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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AlgaeNymph wrote:
What if someone in the Inner Sea region wished (from a djinn) for 1) rulership (or control) of Avastan, 2) wisdom and and skill in battle, and 3) the love of the most beautiful woman in the world?

That someone would get hit first hand by genie creativity in wish granting. How? Read any number of wish-granting parables for examples, or check out the article we did on wishcraft in the Legacy of Fire adventure path.

If an NPC made these wishes, I would skew the results to transform the NPC into a powerful but warped/cursed/messed-up big-bad-end-guy for a group of adventurers to face off against.

If a PC made these wishes, I'd probably have the PC put into a microccosm, and if the other PCs wanted to rescue him it'd be up to them.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Alexander Augunas wrote:
And hey! If you ever ran out of dungeons on Golarion, then you've got a whole solar system of worlds that need dungeons! Am I right? ;-)

You're technically right, but aesthetically wrong.

I'm not nearly as interested in relocating the focus of the campaign to another world. The most interesting thing to me about a fantasy or sci-fi setting is the humanity, and how humans interact with the fantastic. The further you move the baseline away from a humanocentric assumption, the less interesting things get to me.


Which is more dangerous: the villain who truly believes that all of their actions are good, or the villain who knows and acknowledges that their actions are evil, but believe that they must be done to pave the way for a "better future"?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Also, if someone posts a question here, please let me answer them, even if the answer is obvious. If you can't resist, please limit your correction to the facts. See Jessica's very concise reply upthread to the confusion over Sheila being a woman for a great example of how to reply like that.

Do not tack on snark or bile or toxicity. That includes political comments. I have no patience for those types of posts lately, and thank you VERY MUCH to Chris for removing the latest example of why I felt the need to shut this thread down a few weeks back.

We're heading into a long holiday weekend, folks, and I would LOVE to be able to pop in here now and then over that holiday weekend to answer questions and chat with folks, but I'm not gonna stand for folks being toxic and hateful and rude and obnoxious. That's how you get the creative director lobbying for having your account banned from the boards so he doesn't have to just shut down the entire Ask thread. I don't want to do that. I don't want the trolls to win.

Be nice, in other words.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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The Doomkitten wrote:
Which is more dangerous: the villain who truly believes that all of their actions are good, or the villain who knows and acknowledges that their actions are evil, but believe that they must be done to pave the way for a "better future"?

The first one, because that one's self-delusional in a way that's infectious and can spread to others without them realizing.


How would you rate American Horror Story Roanoke.

The different actors for the interview portion versus dramatic reenactment was a little confusing at first.

Admittedly I've only seen the first episode. :-)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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captain yesterday wrote:

How would you rate American Horror Story Roanoke.

The different actors for the interview portion versus dramatic reenactment was a little confusing at first.

Admittedly I've only seen the first episode. :-)

Loved it! Probably my 2nd favorite season of them all, behind Asylum.


Thank you again for your answers, but my other questions are missed still, which are the 6th question of this page and the whole questions of this page. Can you please answer them for me? At least now I know why asking 31 questions at once is not a good idea. It tends to make some of them be buried between other questions easily.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Loved it! Probably my 2nd favorite season of them all, behind Asylum.

Favorite plot thread in Asylum? (Which is also my hands-down favorite, despite the fact that the first time I watched it, I wondered how they were going to pay off all of the divergent storylines in a way that did them justice.)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Aenigma wrote:
Thank you again for your answers, but my other questions are missed still, which are the 6th question of this page and the whole questions of this page. Can you please answer them for me? At least now I know why asking 31 questions at once is not a good idea. It tends to make some of them be buried between other questions easily.

About your posting style...

Spoiler:
While I'm absolutely willing to answer large numbers of questions, as this thread proves, but...

Posting giant walls of questions like you do dramatically increases the risk of me missing questions, so you might want to consider shortening your question blocks to one group of 3 to 5 questions at a time, then waiting for me to answer them before posting the next block.

If and when I miss questions, it's easiest for me if you simply re-post those questions, because when I answer questions, I quote the questions to both keep context with my answer (since I rarely answer EXACTLY after a question is posted), but also so that I can easily reference the questions in the body text of the answer I'm composing (since often, if I'm answering questions after a day has passed, your original question post is off screen when I compose the answer).

Simply linking the questions like you did makes it complicated and frustrating for me to reference while I'm answering, and makes it more difficult to build the reply so that it makes sense to the reader who is reading only the reply and didn't scroll back through the thread to read your original post.

TL;DR: Please re-post the missed questions in a fresh post.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Cole Deschain wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Loved it! Probably my 2nd favorite season of them all, behind Asylum.
Favorite plot thread in Asylum? (Which is also my hands-down favorite, despite the fact that the first time I watched it, I wondered how they were going to pay off all of the divergent storylines in a way that did them justice.)

Hmmmmm... probably the James Cromwell plot thread.


I understood.

1. Did Azlanti know the existence of the Darklands? Did they explore the Darklands and make settlements there?

2. In this page you said that Sorshen have trickster tiers, not archmage tiers. And before the publication of mythic rules, according to the statement above that post, you said that she has rogue levels. I'm curious. Why do you think she has rogue levels or trickster tiers? I thought she is a pure caster.

3. You said in that page that Sorshen might have the advanced template. Can a core race like humans gain advanced simple template too? I tought only monsters with racial hit dice can gain it.

4. Anyway, how can a creature(for example, a dragon) gain advanced simple template? By eating well, sleeping well, and exercising well, perhaps?

5. Krune, the Runelord of Sloth, died in a Pathfinder Society Scenario called The Waking Rune. Is it canon? I'm not sure if Pathfinder Society Scenarios are considered canon or not. In other words, will there be an adventure path or module that deal with Krune, or there will be none because he already died in The Waking Rune?

6. Krune's body is covered with magical runes which empower him. And he can be weakened by disabling one or more of the giant runes that harness the rune magic's energy. I'm not sure. Do you think this rune magic is from the school of sloth? Or from the church of Lissala? I ask this because I'm not sure if other runelord who worships Lissala but is not a conjurer can use this kind of rune magic(magical runes covering one's body) or not.

7. Have the Runelords of Sloth been the high priest of Lissala for generations? In other words, were all Runelords of Sloth the high priest of Lissala, and those who worship other gods couldn't be the Runelord of Sloth?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Aenigma wrote:

I understood.

1. Did Azlanti know the existence of the Darklands? Did they explore the Darklands and make settlements there?

2. In this page you said that Sorshen have trickster tiers, not archmage tiers. And before the publication of mythic rules, according to the statement above that post, you said that she has rogue levels. I'm curious. Why do you think she has rogue levels or trickster tiers? I thought she is a pure caster.

3. You said in that page that Sorshen might have the advanced template. Can a core race like humans gain advanced simple template too? I tought only monsters with racial hit dice can gain it.

4. Anyway, how can a creature(for example, a dragon) gain advanced simple template? By eating well, sleeping well, and exercising well, perhaps?

5. Krune, the Runelord of Sloth, died in a Pathfinder Society Scenario called The Waking Rune. Is it canon? I'm not sure if Pathfinder Society Scenarios are considered canon or not. In other words, will there be an adventure path or module that deal with Krune, or there will be none because he already died in The Waking Rune?

6. Krune's body is covered with magical runes which empower him. And he can be weakened by disabling one or more of the giant runes that harness the rune magic's energy. I'm not sure. Do you think this rune magic is from the school of sloth? Or from the church of Lissala? I ask this because I'm not sure if other runelord who worships Lissala but is not a conjurer can use this kind of rune magic(magical runes covering one's body) or not.

7. Have the Runelords of Sloth been the high priest of Lissala for generations? In other words, were all Runelords of Sloth the high priest of Lissala, and those who worship other gods couldn't be the Runelord of Sloth?

1) Yes. They idly explored them but made no established significant settlements there, in large part because the serpentfolk presence was strong enough that they couldn't.

2) Because that makes her more interesting. When I mentioned she might have rogue levels, that was a different game and a different world. Now that we've established a game where 20th level is the max and we have options like the Trickster mythic character, I changed my mind.

3) Yes, a zero HD race can have the advanced template, provided the writer of the story explains why and how that came about with creativity and interesting story elements.

4) Not merely by eating, sleeping, and exercising. Gaining the advanced template requires something more supernatural or outlandish. Anything that triggers a normal person into becoming a superhero, for example, would work. Being graced by the gods. Using a strange ritual. Having a powerful wish like effect. Being enhanced by an artifact. And so on. Whatever the imagination of the storyteller can come up with. It's not an option a player can get for their PC though. Unless the GM says otherwise, of course.

5) It's canon for the Pathfinder Society organized play campaign, but that's it at this point. We're unlikely to do much with Krune that would contradict that plot though, so in a way, it IS canon if you think of it that way. Whether or not it's canon in your home game is up to your GM.

6) Dunno. I wasn't really involved with the Pathfinder Society adventures and haven't read them, but his runes are from various Thassilonian traditions, not from the church of Lissala. No other runelord really worships Lissala to the extent Krune did, in any event.

7) Unrevealed.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Does Andoran have privateers? While I can see the fledgling democracy trying to distance themselves from the barbarism of the Shackles pirates, I'd be surprised if they didn't have a few captains that target Chelaxian ships in order to disrupt trade for one of their political rivals in the Inner Sea. What, then, is the difference in Andoran's eyes between a "pirate" and a "privateer?" Is it the letter of marque that places them on the side of freedom and liberty?


Riddle me this: What weighs 6 ounces sits in a tree and is very dangerous?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Misroi wrote:
Does Andoran have privateers? While I can see the fledgling democracy trying to distance themselves from the barbarism of the Shackles pirates, I'd be surprised if they didn't have a few captains that target Chelaxian ships in order to disrupt trade for one of their political rivals in the Inner Sea. What, then, is the difference in Andoran's eyes between a "pirate" and a "privateer?" Is it the letter of marque that places them on the side of freedom and liberty?

It absolutely does; the Gray Corsairs. They're a subset of the Eagle Knights. The difference is indeed the letter of marque that legalizes the privateer's actions. And a privateer that breaks the law or goes against Andoran's interests also breaks that letter and presto, they're now pirates.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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wabbitking wrote:
Riddle me this: What weighs 6 ounces sits in a tree and is very dangerous?

A porcelain cat that has a hollow interior that's filled with enough nitroglycerine to bring it's weight up to a total of 6 ounces.


James Jacobs wrote:
wabbitking wrote:
Riddle me this: What weighs 6 ounces sits in a tree and is very dangerous?
An immense acorn that has a flimsy stalk that's about to break and a hollow interior that's filled with nitroglycerine.

wrong

Correct answer: A sparrow with a machine gun

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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wabbitking wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
wabbitking wrote:
Riddle me this: What weighs 6 ounces sits in a tree and is very dangerous?
An immense acorn that has a flimsy stalk that's about to break and a hollow interior that's filled with nitroglycerine.

wrong

Correct answer: A sparrow with a machine gun

New rule.

If you ask riddles on this thread, I get to answer them, and that answer is always right, so you don't need to post the "correct' (now INcorrect) answer as a response.

This should help keep this thread focused on those of you all who are Not Me post questions only.

Carry on!

Liberty's Edge

James, is any of the main golarion gods curious of what its like to experience life/existence as a mortal? Do any of the gods who were once mortal miss any part of it?


If you could assign modern music genres to fantasy races, what music genre would dwarves get?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Paladinosaur wrote:

James, is any of the main golarion gods curious of what its like to experience life/existence as a mortal? Do any of the gods who were once mortal miss any part of it?

Probably. If so, it's absolutely in their power to manifest a mortal avatar in the world to experience life as a mortal incognito though.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Crusinos wrote:
If you could assign modern music genres to fantasy races, what music genre would dwarves get?

Country, with only men singing it, so that my least favorite modern music genre syncs up well with my least favorite core race. :-P


James Jacobs wrote:
wabbitking wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
wabbitking wrote:
Riddle me this: What weighs 6 ounces sits in a tree and is very dangerous?
An immense acorn that has a flimsy stalk that's about to break and a hollow interior that's filled with nitroglycerine.

wrong

Correct answer: A sparrow with a machine gun

New rule.

If you ask riddles on this thread, I get to answer them, and that answer is always right, so you don't need to post the "correct' (now INcorrect) answer as a response.

This should help keep this thread focused on those of you all who are Not Me post questions only.

Carry on!

yay! I got to spawn a rule!


When are we getting more Kineticist stuff?

Grand Lodge

You been able to play Dishonored 2 yet? How is it?


Do you have a favorite video game of those that came out recently?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

ASharkInAPanzerNamedShark wrote:
When are we getting more Kineticist stuff?

Now and then, yeah. It's not very high on my personal to-do list, though.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

IDTheftVictim wrote:
You been able to play Dishonored 2 yet? How is it?

Very fun!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Crusinos wrote:
Do you have a favorite video game of those that came out recently?

By "recently" I'll assume you mean "this year," in which case my answer would be yes: Dark Souls III.


What Dead Can Dance albums would you recommend I track down for my wife for Christmas. :-)

Sovereign Court

James Jacobs wrote:
Crusinos wrote:
If you could assign modern music genres to fantasy races, what music genre would dwarves get?
Country, with only men singing it, so that my least favorite modern music genre syncs up well with my least favorite core race. :-P

Would you consider playing a dwarf gunslinger with a cowboy hat? :P

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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captain yesterday wrote:
What Dead Can Dance albums would you recommend I track down for my wife for Christmas. :-)

The Serpent's Egg

OR barring that, anything with "The Host of Seraphim" on it.

The Exchange

James, glad to see you're back posting here mate

spoiler:
I hadn't popped in for ages but a friend told me you'd stopped for a bit for some mental rest. Hope things are travelling well for you. Keep being awesome.


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
What if someone in the Inner Sea region wished (from a djinn) for 1) rulership (or control) of Avistan, 2) wisdom and and skill in battle, and 3) the love of the most beautiful woman in the world?
That someone would get hit first hand by genie creativity in wish granting. How? Read any number of wish-granting parables for examples, or check out the article we did on wishcraft in the Legacy of Fire adventure path.

Who is the most beautiful woman on Golarion? The most beautiful man? The most beautiful other?

What class do you feel best represents wisdom and skill in battle?

What would you do if you ruled or otherwise controlled Avistan? Also, how would one do such a thing?

Oh, I forgot! Welcome back! And have a happy Thanksgiving!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
What if someone in the Inner Sea region wished (from a djinn) for 1) rulership (or control) of Avistan, 2) wisdom and and skill in battle, and 3) the love of the most beautiful woman in the world?
That someone would get hit first hand by genie creativity in wish granting. How? Read any number of wish-granting parables for examples, or check out the article we did on wishcraft in the Legacy of Fire adventure path.

Who is the most beautiful woman on Golarion? The most beautiful man? The most beautiful other?

What class do you feel best represents wisdom and skill in battle?

What would you do if you ruled or otherwise controlled Avistan? Also, how would one do such a thing?

Oh, I forgot! Welcome back! And have a happy Thanksgiving!

We genereally don't set hyperbolies down in print, since we might decide a month or a year or ten years from now that someone is more beautiful or handsome or... nah. Shensen is the best of them all. No contest.

Monk.

I'd rule from behind the scenes and make sure the haters get what's coming to them.

And happy Thanksgiving to all of you!


1. Are the 10 races described in Darklands Revisited the most numerous races in the Darklands?

2. If you can include two more races into Darklands Revisited, which races would you choose? Maybe aboleths, because they live in Orv? Or maybe mongrelmen, because they took an important role in The Worldwound Incursion? Or maybe serpentfolks, because they once ruled the whole Sekamina? Or maybe the dark folks, because they are the descendants of Azlant? Or maybe svirfneblin, because they are cousins of gnomes? Definitely not purple worms, ropers, and derros, because they already made appearances in other revisited books.

3. Nar-Voth is from the surface to a depth of about 2,000 feet. Does that mean, technically a basement of a random house is included in Nar-Voth too?

4. In the Orv section of Into the Darklands book, I found an illustration that depicts a Tyrannosaur Rex fighting a froghemoth. Why there are dinosaurs and froghemoths in Orv? Did a Noah-like person guided them there to escape the devastation of the Earthfall?

5. Do you think Orv would be a good place for dinosaurs to live? They have low-light vision, but there's no light source in Orv. How can they use their low-light vision if there's no light at all? Even big plants cannot grow there because there's no sunlight and thus the plants cannot photosynthesize.

6. It seems that all centaurs were originated in Iobaria. Then how can there be a sizable population of centaurs in the Isle of Kortos? I cannot believe they got there on a ship, because centaurs don't seem like technologically advanced.

7. I'm not sure which monsters are prevalent in Varisia. Definitely not orcs, because they live in Belkzen, not Varisia. Goblins and giants seem common there, but what about other monsters? For example, are hobgoblins, lizardfolks, trolls common in Varisia?


8. How can the mighty Cheliax fall to ruin so quickly? What was its great and powerful army doing when the nation got torn apart? I thought that after Aroden died, the commoners got furious and blamed the king, saying that Aroden didn't come back because the king is evil and unworthy. So the people started rising in revolt and a great civil war ensued. Am I right?

9. Inner Sea World Guide didn't clearly mention how King Gaspodar died. Was he assassinated by the Red Mantis? Or by House Thrune? Or maybe you don't want to reveal the truth about his death yet, because you plan to reveal it in a future adventure path someday?

10. In page 14 of Seekers of Secrets, it is mentioned that Sheraya Solistar, a princess of Cheliax went missing in the caverns below the Tusk Mountains. I'm not sure. What is her surname? At first I thought Solistar is her surname, but the book clearly said that she is the last heir of the Imperial House of Asgavan, which means that Asgavan is her surname.

11. Is Sheraya Solistar the daughter of Gaspodar, the last king of old Cheliax?

12. King Gaspodar died in 4622 AR, but Sheraya went missing in 4638 AR. So why didn't she ascend the throne when Gaspodar died? Maybe she thought Cheliax is hopeless and ran away from her burden?

13. Do you have a plan to say more about Sheraya?

14. I didn't read Hell Comes to Westcrown yet, so I don't know what would happen if the PCs lose, but it would be reasonable to assume that Alexeara Cansellarion would become the new majestrix of Cheliax or maybe founding a theocratic nation. Then, if some adventurers found out, for example, petrified Sheraya in the Tusk Mountains and cast stone to flesh to her and she came back to Cheliax, what would be the appropriate response of Alexeara and the Glorious Reclamation? Would she and the Iomedaeans gladly welcome Sheraya and give the throne back to her? Or would they just pay lip service to Sheraya and have no intention to give back the throne?


15. There's a cool illustration that depicts a knight holding a shining sword in page 2 of Hellfire Compact. Is he a member of the Glorious Reclamation and are the soldiers in front him Thrune soldiers? Or he is an evil knight that is fighting good soldiers?

16. You said that the same illustration(which depicts Iomedae killing a veiled master with a longbow) was put into the volume 2 and 3 of Hell's Vengeance by mistake. What was the original illustration Paizo intended to put into The Inferno Gate? Will you plan to include it in other book someday?

17. Page 65 of Wrath of Thrune said that, "Iomedae perceived a strong emanation of evil from several of Kantaria's governing council members. How did she know it anyway? Maybe she has a hobby of casting detect evil to every stranger she meet?

18. After Iomedae killed the faceless stalkers, Kantaria became leaderless and thus Iomedae assumed the readership of the town. What was the Taldan government doing when she ruled Kantaria for a year? Shouldn't they send an inspector and let him investigate the hwole events, and appoint a new governor? Maybe the king of Taldor regarded Kantaria as a backwater town and didn't bother to intervene, thus he simply appointed Iomedae as the governor of Kantaria?

19. Iomedae protected Kantaria against veiled masters and an army of faceless stalkers. What were the Taldan army doing while Iomedae and the town of Kantaria were fighting an overwhelming number of aberrations? Were they trembling in fear and did nothing? The only outside help was a host of adventurers, mercernaries, and soldiers led by Arakhan Narikopolus.

20. What did veiled masters intended to do if they successfully conquered Kantaria? Would they start an all-out war against Taldor to conquer the whole Cheliax? This kind of not-so-subtle attack doesn't seem like normal for them.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Aenigma wrote:

1. Are the 10 races described in Darklands Revisited the most numerous races in the Darklands?

2. If you can include two more races into Darklands Revisited, which races would you choose? Maybe aboleths, because they live in Orv? Or maybe mongrelmen, because they took an important role in The Worldwound Incursion? Or maybe serpentfolks, because they once ruled the whole Sekamina? Or maybe the dark folks, because they are the descendants of Azlant? Or maybe svirfneblin, because they are cousins of gnomes? Definitely not purple worms, ropers, and derros, because they already made appearances in other revisited books.

3. Nar-Voth is from the surface to a depth of about 2,000 feet. Does that mean, technically a basement of a random house is included in Nar-Voth too?

4. In the Orv section of Into the Darklands book, I found an illustration that depicts a Tyrannosaur Rex fighting a froghemoth. Why there are dinosaurs and froghemoths in Orv? Did a Noah-like person guided them there to escape the devastation of the Earthfall?

5. Do you think Orv would be a good place for dinosaurs to live? They have low-light vision, but there's no light source in Orv. How can they use their low-light vision if there's no light at all? Even big plants cannot grow there because there's no sunlight and thus the plants cannot photosynthesize.

6. It seems that all centaurs were originated in Iobaria. Then how can there be a sizable population of centaurs in the Isle of Kortos? I cannot believe they got there on a ship, because centaurs don't seem like technologically advanced.

7. I'm not sure which monsters are prevalent in Varisia. Definitely not orcs, because they live in Belkzen, not Varisia. Goblins and giants seem common there, but what about other monsters? For example, are hobgoblins, lizardfolks, trolls common in Varisia?

1) No

2) Not sure.

3) Only if that basement is connected to the rest of the Darklands.

4) Because the trope of dinosaurs and other big weird monsters living at the "center of the earth" is one of my favorite tropes, and has been a beloved part of sci-fi and fantasy for well over a century.

5) Yes, I obviously do, since when I wrote Into the Darklands I put dinosaurs in Orv. The vault they live in, Deep Tolguth, is a "Hollow Earth" style realm with its own day-night cycle and lots of plants.

6) We haven't officially said where centaurs were from as far as I know, but anything with an intellect and the ability to move and reproduce has the ability to travel to new areas and settle there.

7) Read Rise of the Runelords, Shattered Star, Curse of the Crimson Throne, Jade Regent, the Varisia player companion, Murder's Mark, Feast of Ravenmoor, Acadamae of Secrets, the Magnimar book, the Korvosa book, the Kaer Maga book, Second Darkness, the free Goblin adventures, Dawn of the Scarlet Sun, portions from most of the Revisited books, etc... we've revealed more about Varisia than most regions in the world. The best and easiest way to find out the types of monsters that live in Varisia is to read the wandering monster tables in Rise of the Runelords, though, I suppose. To come specifically back to your question, hobgoblins are almost unknown, lizardfolk are rare but known (mostly in the Mushfens), and trolls are uncommon but known about (mostly dwelling in giant-themed regions).

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Aenigma wrote:

8. How can the mighty Cheliax fall to ruin so quickly? What was its great and powerful army doing when the nation got torn apart? I thought that after Aroden died, the commoners got furious and blamed the king, saying that Aroden didn't come back because the king is evil and unworthy. So the people started rising in revolt and a great civil war ensued. Am I right?

9. Inner Sea World Guide didn't clearly mention how King Gaspodar died. Was he assassinated by the Red Mantis? Or by House Thrune? Or maybe you don't want to reveal the truth about his death yet, because you plan to reveal it in a future adventure path someday?

10. In page 14 of Seekers of Secrets, it is mentioned that Sheraya Solistar, a princess of Cheliax went missing in the caverns below the Tusk Mountains. I'm not sure. What is her surname? At first I thought Solistar is her surname, but the book clearly said that she is the last heir of the Imperial House of Asgavan, which means that Asgavan is her surname.

11. Is Sheraya Solistar the daughter of Gaspodar, the last king of old Cheliax?

12. King Gaspodar died in 4622 AR, but Sheraya went missing in 4638 AR. So why didn't she ascend the throne when Gaspodar died? Maybe she thought Cheliax is hopeless and ran away from her burden?

13. Do you have a plan to say more about Sheraya?

14. I didn't read Hell Comes to Westcrown yet, so I don't know what would happen if the PCs lose, but it would be reasonable to assume that Alexeara Cansellarion would become the new majestrix of Cheliax or maybe founding a theocratic nation. Then, if some adventurers found out, for example, petrified Sheraya in the Tusk Mountains and cast stone to flesh to her and she came back to Cheliax, what would be the appropriate response of Alexeara and the Glorious Reclamation? Would she and the Iomedaeans gladly welcome Sheraya and give the throne back to her? Or would they just pay lip service to Sheraya and have no intention to give back the throne?

8) In the way we present in Hell's Vengeance and Hell's Rebels, that's how. AKA The nation isn't as unstoppable and powerful as they think, perhaps. Part of why Asmodeus and Mephistopheles and the like are okay with the civil war in those APs is precisely because it's a wake-up call to Thrune and the church to do better.

9) We just haven't decided or said in print, I guess. The Red Mantis didn't do it, though, I can guarantee that, since the Red Mantis doesn't assassinate rightful ruling royalty.

10) I have no idea.

11) I have no idea.

12) I have no idea.

13) No.

14) Dunno. I haven't read Hell Comes to Westcrown either.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Aenigma wrote:

15. There's a cool illustration that depicts a knight holding a shining sword in page 2 of Hellfire Compact. Is he a member of the Glorious Reclamation and are the soldiers in front him Thrune soldiers? Or he is an evil knight that is fighting good soldiers?

16. You said that the same illustration(which depicts Iomedae killing a veiled master with a longbow) was put into the volume 2 and 3 of Hell's Vengeance by mistake. What was the original illustration Paizo intended to put into The Inferno Gate? Will you plan to include it in other book someday?

17. Page 65 of Wrath of Thrune said that, "Iomedae perceived a strong emanation of evil from several of Kantaria's governing council members. How did she know it anyway? Maybe she has a hobby of casting detect evil to every stranger she meet?

18. After Iomedae killed the faceless stalkers, Kantaria became leaderless and thus Iomedae assumed the readership of the town. What was the Taldan government doing when she ruled Kantaria for a year? Shouldn't they send an inspector and let him investigate the hwole events, and appoint a new governor? Maybe the king of Taldor regarded Kantaria as a backwater town and didn't bother to intervene, thus he simply appointed Iomedae as the governor of Kantaria?

19. Iomedae protected Kantaria against veiled masters and an army of faceless stalkers. What were the Taldan army doing while Iomedae and the town of Kantaria were fighting an overwhelming number of aberrations? Were they trembling in fear and did nothing? The only outside help was a host of adventurers, mercernaries, and soldiers led by Arakhan Narikopolus.

20. What did veiled masters intended to do if they successfully conquered Kantaria? Would they start an all-out war against Taldor to conquer the whole Cheliax? This kind of not-so-subtle attack doesn't seem like normal for them.

15) I have no idea. I didn't work on that product. That's a question you should ask Rob McCreary.

16) I have no idea. I suspect the original illustration will just never see the light of day, or if we DO use it, will be used for something entirely different.

17) I have no idea. Rob might.

18) I'm not reading these any more, because they're spoilers. :P (I didn't work on Hell's Vengeance other than to help Rob with questions and give advice now and then; I know the basic outline of the Adventure Path's plot, but that's about it, so I can't answer nitty-gritty questions about the contents of this campaign).

19) Didn't read

20) Didn't read


James Jacobs wrote:
Misroi wrote:
Does Andoran have privateers? While I can see the fledgling democracy trying to distance themselves from the barbarism of the Shackles pirates, I'd be surprised if they didn't have a few captains that target Chelaxian ships in order to disrupt trade for one of their political rivals in the Inner Sea. What, then, is the difference in Andoran's eyes between a "pirate" and a "privateer?" Is it the letter of marque that places them on the side of freedom and liberty?
It absolutely does; the Gray Corsairs. They're a subset of the Eagle Knights. The difference is indeed the letter of marque that legalizes the privateer's actions. And a privateer that breaks the law or goes against Andoran's interests also breaks that letter and presto, they're now pirates.

I hope James won't mind me expanding his answer a bit, but I thought I should add that Pirate's Prophecy and Pirate's Promise by Chris A Jackson are good Pathfinder novels dealing with pirates and Andoran's privateers (and some other stuff it'd be spoilery to mention).

Radiant Oath

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

Have you ever seen the film The Fountain? If so, what did you think of it?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Have you ever seen the film The Fountain? If so, what did you think of it?

I did. Great film.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Have you ever seen the film The Fountain? If so, what did you think of it?
I did. Great film.

You think its attitude towards death would be a helpful tool for understanding the mindset of Pharasma's church?


James Jacobs wrote:
Thomas Seitz wrote:

Question Mister James Jacobs:

If you had to pick 5 album to listen to while going to Mars which would they be?

The Wall

Dark Side of the Moon
A Passage in Time
Seven and the Ragged Tiger
And a Liszt album that included the Hungarian Rhapsodies and Mazzepa... which I would spend all my Mars free time trying to learn to play.

I'm just catching up on your thread after real life interfered with my browsing, and wanted first to say how sorry I was to hear you'd needed to step away from it for a while, and thank you coming back to it. I appreciate it a lot.

Now my question - have you seen the film 'The Wall' and if so what did you think of it?

(My daughter finds Goodbye Blue Sky terrifying).

I know you don't like musicals, does that extend to biopics about musicians, like Ray, or La Bamba or Amadeus, where the music's an intrinsic part of their lives?

Does Shimmy do what my cat Hercules does sometimes, which is when you're on the computer at home, demand your attention by lying down across your wrists and the keyboard so that it's almost impossible to type? (I love him but he has his moments)

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