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Salim has been an exile for a couple human lifetimes now. The Rahadoum he remembers might not be the same as the one that exists now.
Curious, while Rahadoum has outlawed Clerics and Oracles gain their powers from entities beyond their understanding could their exist a patriotic Rahadoumi Paladin or Inquisitor since they gain their powers from codes of conduct and allegiance to organizations and causes, not necessarily from a god?People both inside and outside the offices have different perspectives on this, which is fine with me because I think that people *in world* would have differing perspectives. I imagine some Rahadoumi would be fine with it. Others would be flat-out suspicious of anyone who can use divine magic in any way (after all, how do you *prove* you're not secretly worshiping a god, or being influenced by one without your knowing)? In my mind, Rahadoum's internal war on religion is kind of like the United States' war on terror--everyone has a different take on what's going too far.
But as you all know by now, the messier a situation is, the more I like it. :D
Inter-House conflict! Muahahahaha :3
Mainly I think of this due to the Pure Legionnaire Salim interacted with in his childhood. Dood evoked a very much "Paladin" image to me.
Yeah, I think it's really important to humanize the Pure Legion and show how they think of themselves, since we so often see the outsiders' view.
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Salim has been an exile for a couple human lifetimes now. The Rahadoum he remembers might not be the same as the one that exists now.*le gasp*
The brain could be right... I hate when the brain is right, why can't the heart ever be right?
True! Certainly most of the folks he interacted with during life are dead and gone. But that's a subject I'm very much interested in exploring in a third book. ;)
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True! Certainly most of the folks he interacted with during life are dead and gone. But that's a subject I'm very much interested in exploring in a third book. ;)Salim has been an exile for a couple human lifetimes now. The Rahadoum he remembers might not be the same as the one that exists now.*le gasp*
The brain could be right... I hate when the brain is right, why can't the heart ever be right?
Damn you... Does your teasing know no bounds?!?!
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Of course not. He's an author. Part and parcel of the job is doing everything we can to torment both our characters and our readers.
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Okay, so the Kellids are the Celts and the Ulfen are the Germanics, according to what I can see. Who are the sort of nomadic tribes, like the ancient Roxolani or Scythians on Golarion? Who are like the Celtiberians, like the Arevaci or Lusitani?
We haven't really tried to match historical analogues directly with our barbarian tribes... To be perfectly honest, it was more "Okay, so the Ulfen are Vikings, and Kellids are Conans..."
Hmm, curious. Were the Stakes in Kaer Maga inspired by the homes if the crime bosses in Lucky Number Slevin?
I actually didn't invent the Stakes--where does it show up?
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Disagreement--sometimes passionate disagreement--is how we push each other to get better. :)
Please, tell me that passion includes nerf gun wars.
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Hmm, curious. Were the Stakes in Kaer Maga inspired by the homes if the crime bosses in Lucky Number Slevin?I actually didn't invent the Stakes--where does it show up?
Basically the the two crime bosses are so afraid of retaliation from the other one that they've spent the last couple of decades holed up in their penthouse fortresses, never leaving.
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Okay, so the Kellids are the Celts and the Ulfen are the Germanics, according to what I can see. Who are the sort of nomadic tribes, like the ancient Roxolani or Scythians on Golarion? Who are like the Celtiberians, like the Arevaci or Lusitani?We haven't really tried to match historical analogues directly with our barbarian tribes... To be perfectly honest, it was more "Okay, so the Ulfen are Vikings, and Kellids are Conans..."
And so my quest to figure out how to best finagle a Golarion rendition of Welsh and Irish mythical characters continues...
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Disagreement--sometimes passionate disagreement--is how we push each other to get better. :)Please, tell me that passion includes nerf gun wars.
It used to, actually! But it's been a while since we had one of those. :)
And so my quest to figure out how to best finagle a Golarion rendition of Welsh and Irish mythical characters continues...Okay, so the Kellids are the Celts and the Ulfen are the Germanics, according to what I can see. Who are the sort of nomadic tribes, like the ancient Roxolani or Scythians on Golarion? Who are like the Celtiberians, like the Arevaci or Lusitani?We haven't really tried to match historical analogues directly with our barbarian tribes... To be perfectly honest, it was more "Okay, so the Ulfen are Vikings, and Kellids are Conans..."
To Mr. Zousha: If it's a home game, work with your GM to break canon and add the place you want. Unless it's the focus of your game, you'll only need to paint it in broad strokes.
To Mr. Sutter: How often do you monkey with an RPG's campaign setting in your own home games?
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I realize that this thread basically is an AMA, but if anyone here is a redditor, I'm doing an AMA tonight over at r/fantasy! Come ask me questions and make me feel even specialer*!
*As Managing Editor, I am allowed to declare things words as I see fit.
1)What are your favorite places/regions in the Inner Sea?
2)What continent are you most interesting in seeing something done for? Which one would you like to write for?
3)Do you have any favorite giant monster movie?
Bors' people certainly seem suggestive of the Huns (or their predecessors, the Mongols, or their cultural successors, the Cossacks.)
Caused from reading the latest Boar and Rabbit, what is the closest earth ethnicity to Casmaron? Slavic/Asian?
The particular area they're in right now has been very much inspired by historical Kazakhstan and Mongolia. :)
So is Mengkare really a veiled master bringing back Azlanti?
Edit: I asked this right before I got to the veiled masters part of ** spoiler omitted **
Ha! One of the more interesting theories I've heard. :D
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1)What are your favorite places/regions in the Inner Sea?
2)What continent are you most interesting in seeing something done for? Which one would you like to write for?
3)Do you have any favorite giant monster movie?
1) Probably Rahadoum (no surprise there), but I'm also deeply attached to a lot of the sections I did a bunch of work developing, such as Kyonin, Belkzen, Varisia, and Hermea/the Ironbound Archipelago.
2) I'm interested in all of them, of course, but at the moment I'm really taken by Casmaron. I'm actually in the middle of presenting a new city there, Ular Kel, in the web fiction that's running right now!
3) Jurassic Park. ;)
So is the planet Aucturn inspired more by H. P. Lovecraft, or H. R. Giger, or about the same for both?
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What's the best way to add variety when you're playing a class you're unfamiliar with and as a result resort to stereotypes.
For instance, I wanna play a rogue at some point, but my problem is that my conception of rogues is basically a taciturn yet sarcastic guy in black leather with a hood obscuring their face with a crossbow and rapier or short sword and a lot of daggers who spends their spare time picking everyone's pockets, including those of his teammates. You know, like Garret in the Thief games or the Grey Mouser? How can I play a rogue that isn't THAT?
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So is the planet Aucturn inspired more by H. P. Lovecraft, or H. R. Giger, or about the same for both?
Yes. :D
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What's the best way to add variety when you're playing a class you're unfamiliar with and as a result resort to stereotypes.
For instance, I wanna play a rogue at some point, but my problem is that my conception of rogues is basically a taciturn yet sarcastic guy in black leather with a hood obscuring their face with a crossbow and rapier or short sword and a lot of daggers who spends their spare time picking everyone's pockets, including those of his teammates. You know, like Garret in the Thief games or the Grey Mouser? How can I play a rogue that isn't THAT?
Hmm... I'd say just figure out a character concept or motive that you're interested in that has nothing to do with the class, then figure out how to accomplish that via the class. Are you the former head of the royal guard? Are you a searching for a way to avenge your brother? Are you trying to feed your family, or uncover the secrets of the universe, or advancing the cause of your god? All of those can be fine rogues (or wizards, or clerics, or...).
If you're really stuck, try taking the stereotype of one class, and playing it as a totally different class. ("He'll be the sneaky guy... but he's a wizard!")
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Non-rogues can definitely be lowlifes.
Try an alchemist (Walter White.)
Make a fighter or barbarian who likes to get in barfights (Marv from Sin City.)
Make an oracle who really does consider himself cursed (there was one of these in a webfiction.)
Make a draconic or elemental sorcerer with anger management problems.
Or try a rogue who is a conman instead of a sneak/burglar (Chr instead of Dex, with Bluff, Disguise, Diplomacy, and Linguistics instead of Stealth and Disable Device).
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I asked the other James this question, and I thought I'd gain your input.
Which chariot from Ultimate Combat would best represent the ancient British war chariot as described by Julius Caesar?
James Jacob's opinion is that, given it has two horses, it best resembles the Heavy Chariot statistics, as the medium and light chariot only have one horse. That confused me, given the heavy chariot stats also mention a ballista can be mounted on it, and I doubt a ballista could be mounted on the kind of chariot depicted in that picture.
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I asked the other James this question, and I thought I'd gain your input.
Which chariot from Ultimate Combat would best represent the ancient British war chariot as described by Julius Caesar?
James Jacob's opinion is that, given it has two horses, it best resembles the Heavy Chariot statistics, as the medium and light chariot only have one horse. That confused me, given the heavy chariot stats also mention a ballista can be mounted on it, and I doubt a ballista could be mounted on the kind of chariot depicted in that picture.
I'd probably lean toward Jacobs's answer, but then, I'm an acknowledged hand-waver myself. :)
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Thanks for your candor. Here's another question I asked him, and I'm sort of asking this on all your developer question threads for multiple opinions...
Curse of the Crimson Throne is kicked off by each PC receiving a Harrow card that corresponds to both their highest ability score and their alignment. A CN ranger with a high Dexterity gets The Rabbit Prince, for example, while the NG wizard with high Intelligence gets The Wanderer card.
What happens if the PC is Multi-Ability-Dependent, and they have no single attribute that's dominant? For example, if a paladin's highest scores are an equal Strength and Charisma that are both 16, which card does he/she get? The Paladin (LG STR) or The Empty Throne (LG CHA)? How do you, either in your capacity as a developer or a GM, decide how the Harrowing affects PCs with two or more equal high scores, and thus no dominant Harrow suit?
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Thanks for your candor. Here's another question I asked him, and I'm sort of asking this on all your developer question threads for multiple opinions...
Curse of the Crimson Throne is kicked off by each PC receiving a Harrow card that corresponds to both their highest ability score and their alignment. A CN ranger with a high Dexterity gets The Rabbit Prince, for example, while the NG wizard with high Intelligence gets The Wanderer card.
What happens if the PC is Multi-Ability-Dependent, and they have no single attribute that's dominant? For example, if a paladin's highest scores are an equal Strength and Charisma that are both 16, which card does he/she get? The Paladin (LG STR) or The Empty Throne (LG CHA)? How do you, either in your capacity as a developer or a GM, decide how the Harrowing affects PCs with two or more equal high scores, and thus no dominant Harrow suit?
Honestly? I'd pick whichever one interested me most, or choose at random. As I said, I view rules as guidelines and inspiration in my home games, so I don't really spend much time worrying about whether I've made the "right" choices as long as folks are having fun!
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Curious about Classes you might have assigned to Bors and Roshad currently or at least fit them atm.
Bors comes across as too disciplined to be a Barbarian, (Strictly RaW since Barbarians can't be lawful) and Fighter is very obvious but could he have levels of Paladin?
Roshad is pretty explicitly a Sorceror, but does he also have levels in Rogue and/or Arcane Trickster? Or actually for him given his personality what about Bloodrager?
Also what are the chances of getting some Iridian Fold themed Prestige Classes or Archetypes? I really liked the duo Organization-based Prestige Class's from 3.5.
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1)Have the Brethedans ever visited/explored Golarion, Castrovel, Akiton, Verces, or the Diaspora?
2)Given the Lashunta's culture and terrain what weapons(from the core book) do they favor? Is there a difference between genders in weapon choice and if so what are they?
3)Have the Aballonians ever visited Golarion or any other planet?
4)Would the Vercites be interested in the crashed ship in Numeria?
5)Would races from Akiton on Golarion use the rules for high gravity since they are from a low gravity world?
First-off, The Redemption Engine kicks all kinds of ass. The combination of Kaer Maga and the Outer Planes (especially as a reflection/explanation of each-other) was just so smart, and I've never read better explanations as to alignments. All of this coupled with a fun story and some exceedingly memorable characters!
Anyways, I did have a question: I'm curious as to your opinion on the life-cycle of petitioners, especially in regards to the "have no memories of their previous life" aspect. For more info see JJ's post or the Bestiary 2 entry.
To me it seems odd that a petitioner has no memory of their previous life. Their entire existence in the Outer Planes is affected by this: which court in the Boneyard claims them, what Plane they end up on, and - in most circumstances - what their physical form will look like.
Doesn't this lack of memories undermine the specialness of the rewards or punishments that await the soul? All those horrible tortures in Hell based on the specific nature of the mortal's crimes seem far less horrible when the soul in question doesn't actually remember committing those acts. There's no way for the soul to feel guilt, remorse, or any of those other lovely feelings that require memories.
Also, if this information were to leak somehow into the mortal world, wouldn't it cheapen the rewards/lessen the fear of the afterlife? Depending on what you consider a person (how much of it is their memory), I'm sure Evil-aligned people could easily justify their actions with saying: "Well, I won't remember this when I'm dead, so it won't really be me suffering for it in Hell/Abaddon/The Abyss."
First-off, The Redemption Engine kicks all kinds of ass. The combination of Kaer Maga and the Outer Planes (especially as a reflection/explanation of each-other) was just so smart, and I've never read better explanations as to alignments. All of this coupled with a fun story and some exceedingly memorable characters!
Anyways, I did have a question: I'm curious as to your opinion on the life-cycle of petitioners, especially in regards to the "have no memories of their previous life" aspect. For more info see JJ's post or the Bestiary 2 entry.
To me it seems odd that a petitioner has no memory of their previous life. Their entire existence in the Outer Planes is affected by this: which court in the Boneyard claims them, what Plane they end up on, and - in most circumstances - what their physical form will look like.
Doesn't this lack of memories undermine the specialness of the rewards or punishments that await the soul? All those horrible tortures in Hell based on the specific nature of the mortal's crimes seem far less horrible when the soul in question doesn't actually remember committing those acts. There's no way for the soul to feel guilt, remorse, or any of those other lovely feelings that require memories.
Also, if this information were to leak somehow into the mortal world, wouldn't it cheapen the rewards/lessen the fear of the afterlife? Depending on what you consider a person (how much of it is their memory), I'm sure Evil-aligned people could easily justify their actions with saying: "Well, I won't remember this when I'm dead, so it won't really be me suffering for it in Hell/Abaddon/The Abyss."
Thanks for asking this. I've wanted to ask similar questions for a while, but I haven't gotten around to typing them up yet.
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I was reading the artifacts and legends book wanted to ask
1)Is Saint Cuthbert a god on Golarion as Saint Cuthbert's Mace is in the game?
2)would a dragon willing serve a human without having to use a Orb of dragonkind?
3)Is there a way to release the good Elemental Lords from within the Moaning Diamond(Sairazul, the Crystalline Queen)and the Gasping
Pearl,the Garnet Brand, and the Untouchable Opal?4)are there other Decks of Many Things besides the normal Deck of Many Things and the Harrow Deck of Many Things?
1) Not on Golarion, but there are more worlds than just Golarion on the Material Plane. ;)
2) Depends on the dragon!
3) [redacted]
4) Sure!
Curious about Classes you might have assigned to Bors and Roshad currently or at least fit them atm.
Bors comes across as too disciplined to be a Barbarian, (Strictly RaW since Barbarians can't be lawful) and Fighter is very obvious but could he have levels of Paladin?
Roshad is pretty explicitly a Sorceror, but does he also have levels in Rogue and/or Arcane Trickster? Or actually for him given his personality what about Bloodrager?
Also what are the chances of getting some Iridian Fold themed Prestige Classes or Archetypes? I really liked the duo Organization-based Prestige Class's from 3.5.
In my mind, Bors is a fighter with a touch of ranger due to his origins (see the "Boar and Rabbit" web fiction story), and Roshad is a sorcerer with a touch of rogue. But while I always stay within the lines, I like to leave a touch of ambiguity. ;)
I had my marker on the Iridian Fold until the novel released, but now that I've been able to properly unveil it, I think we may well see some more about them in the future!
1)Have the Brethedans ever visited/explored Golarion, Castrovel, Akiton, Verces, or the Diaspora?
2)Given the Lashunta's culture and terrain what weapons(from the core book) do they favor? Is there a difference between genders in weapon choice and if so what are they?
3)Have the Aballonians ever visited Golarion or any other planet?
4)Would the Vercites be interested in the crashed ship in Numeria?
5)Would races from Akiton on Golarion use the rules for high gravity since they are from a low gravity world?
5) Yes!
(Sorry for skipping the other questions, but I'm super crunched for time, and I want to be sure to get to everyone.)
Thanks for asking this. I've wanted to ask similar questions for a while, but I haven't gotten around to typing them up yet.First-off, The Redemption Engine kicks all kinds of ass. The combination of Kaer Maga and the Outer Planes (especially as a reflection/explanation of each-other) was just so smart, and I've never read better explanations as to alignments. All of this coupled with a fun story and some exceedingly memorable characters!
Anyways, I did have a question: I'm curious as to your opinion on the life-cycle of petitioners, especially in regards to the "have no memories of their previous life" aspect. For more info see JJ's post or the Bestiary 2 entry.
To me it seems odd that a petitioner has no memory of their previous life. Their entire existence in the Outer Planes is affected by this: which court in the Boneyard claims them, what Plane they end up on, and - in most circumstances - what their physical form will look like.
Doesn't this lack of memories undermine the specialness of the rewards or punishments that await the soul? All those horrible tortures in Hell based on the specific nature of the mortal's crimes seem far less horrible when the soul in question doesn't actually remember committing those acts. There's no way for the soul to feel guilt, remorse, or any of those other lovely feelings that require memories.
Also, if this information were to leak somehow into the mortal world, wouldn't it cheapen the rewards/lessen the fear of the afterlife? Depending on what you consider a person (how much of it is their memory), I'm sure Evil-aligned people could easily justify their actions with saying: "Well, I won't remember this when I'm dead, so it won't really be me suffering for it in Hell/Abaddon/The Abyss."
Fortunately, Wes wrote up a big ol' article about precisely this sort of thing for a new volume of Mummy's Mask! I won't steal his thunder, but it's jam-packed with new details on/explanations of how the afterlife all fits together. :)
And thank you so much for the kind words about THE REDEMPTION ENGINE! :D
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Curious about Classes you might have assigned to Bors and Roshad currently or at least fit them atm.
Bors comes across as too disciplined to be a Barbarian, (Strictly RaW since Barbarians can't be lawful) and Fighter is very obvious but could he have levels of Paladin?
Roshad is pretty explicitly a Sorceror, but does he also have levels in Rogue and/or Arcane Trickster? Or actually for him given his personality what about Bloodrager?
Also what are the chances of getting some Iridian Fold themed Prestige Classes or Archetypes? I really liked the duo Organization-based Prestige Class's from 3.5.
In my mind, Bors is a fighter with a touch of ranger due to his origins (see the "Boar and Rabbit" web fiction story), and Roshad is a sorcerer with a touch of rogue. But while I always stay within the lines, I like to leave a touch of ambiguity. ;)
I had my marker on the Iridian Fold until the novel released, but now that I've been able to properly unveil it, I think we may well see some more about them in the future!
Yay! Awesome :3
Fortunately, Wes wrote up a big ol' article about precisely this sort of thing for a new volume of Mummy's Mask! I won't steal his thunder, but it's jam-packed with new details on/explanations of how the afterlife all fits together. :)
Excellent! Looks like it's in Mummy's Mask 6: "A detailed look into the questions of the afterlife, judgment, and the nature of souls, by F. Wesley Schneider."
And thank you so much for the kind words about THE REDEMPTION ENGINE! :D
It's easy to say kind words about a good thing.
Speaking of the Kaer Maga-Outer Planes parallelism, was that a lucky happenstance of wanting to include both those locations in the novel, or did you plan it from the start?
When I realised the relationship you had crafted there, it struck me as just being so logical I immediately thought: "Of course he planned that, he's an editor." Do you think coming from such a strong editorial background affects your writing?
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Speaking of the Kaer Maga-Outer Planes parallelism, was that a lucky happenstance of wanting to include both those locations in the novel, or did you plan it from the start?
When I realised the relationship you had crafted there, it struck me as just being so logical I immediately thought: "Of course he planned that, he's an editor." Do you think coming from such a strong editorial background affects your writing?
Honestly, I was stuck on where to go for the second book, when Erik mentioned in passing, "Sutter, why don't you write a novel about Kaer Maga? It's probably the place in Golarion you're best known for." And as soon as the words left his mouth, a light went off in my brain, and suddenly we were off to the races. :)
Being an editor makes me a waaaaay better writer, in that I get to spend all day learning from the successes and mistakes of the folks I'm editing. :) Every time I correct a stylistic convention in someone's manuscript, I'm reinforcing that lesson in myself.
I think that every writer should try editing and vice versa, both for the education and to get a taste of what it's like on the other side of the table. Certainly I think that being a writer makes me a nicer editor--I know firsthand how hard it can be to be a writer, and always try to treat authors well, even if I have to reject them!
