Lead Designer
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How far out do you plan the line? Presumably you have 2014 releases at least pencilled in - beyond that though!?If you could do anything you wanted to do next in the rule book line what would it be?I always get to do the book I want to do, with only few exceptions. I am quite lucky that way.
Depending on the time of year, we generally have between 18 and 24 months planned out.
Roughly...
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Lead Designer
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1. What PF rule or ruleset are you most proud of?
2. What is your favorite type of beer?
3. What are some of your favororite obscure words?
1. I am gonna go with the revisions to the core classes to make single classing a character a viable and popular option. That was something that I thought was sorely lacking from 3.5
2. Right now, it is Black IPAs. If I see one on the menu, I am going to order it.
3. All of my favorite obscure words are not really all that obscure to this crowd I am afraid...
What movies that came out last year have you seen and what did you think of them?
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Lead Designer
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Do you use 3PP content in your games and if so, how much? (I won't ask you to be specific regarding which actual products though! ;)
I do use some 3PP in my games, here and there as the need dictates. If its a good idea, I will gladly use it! And of course, I use everything by that wonderful 3rd Party Publisher, Minotaur Games. :)
Have you seen Wreck it Ralph, ParaNorman, Hugo, Kick Ass, Sucker Punch, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Prometheus, or Monsters vs Aliens? What did you think of the ones you did see?
You seem to have a similar taste to me in movies... I watch all of the movies you listed at least once a year.
What are your favorite D&D modules
Basic:
Expert:
Companion:
Greyhawk:
Dragonlance:
Forgotten Realms:
Planescape:
Anything else I left out:
How much beer would I have to send you to get you to preview the Young Character rules in Ultimate Campaign? :D
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Lead Designer
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Have you seen Wreck it Ralph, ParaNorman, Hugo, Kick Ass, Sucker Punch, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Prometheus, or Monsters vs Aliens? What did you think of the ones you did see?
Wreck it Ralph - Nope
ParaNorman - NopeHugo - Nope
Kick Ass - Yup, enjoyed and looking forward to the sequel
Sucker Punch - Yup, pretty but also kinda vapid
Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Yup, enjoyed it and the comics
Prometheus - Yup, I tentatively liked it.. but it was not the movie I wanted.
Monsters vs Aliens - Yup, enjoyed it.
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Lead Designer
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You seem to have a similar taste to me in movies... I watch all of the movies you listed at least once a year.
What are your favorite D&D modules
Basic:
Expert:
Companion:Greyhawk:
Dragonlance:
Forgotten Realms:
Planescape:Anything else I left out:
Basic: Keep on the Borderlands
Expert: Isle of DreadCompanion: Not sure I ever played any of these
Greyhawk: Tomb of Horrors.. but I am evil that way.
Dragonlance: Never played any of the modules, but I own them all.
Forgotten Realms: Haunted Halls of Eveningstar, used it to introduce more than one group to the setting.
Planescape: I never ran planescape... so I am going to cheat and say Die Vecna Die! (The Vecna The.. no one who speaks german could be a bad man)
And I'll add and honorable mention to Temple of the Frog..
What is the design theoery behind feats whose only real exitence for being is to take another feat, while themseleve giving very little benefit to player?
Master Craftsman for example is a terribe feat, you can easily get that plus 2 to your craft skill, in a lot of other ways, that don't cost the very expensive sum of a feat, but it's the only way a martial can get a craft wonderous item magic skill? casters overall have greater abilities and in most cases have the same number of feats, but dont have to burn another feat to take craft magic item feat.
second question why do you need feats for things that would seem logically you ought to be able to do naturally, like weapon finesse or agile manuvers, wouldnt a character instinctually develop these on there own. I know it's just as natural to rely on dexterity as does strengh, i don't think david robinson had to train any harder to rely on his quickness as shaq did to rely on his strengh.
and lastly why don't most combat feats scale with BAB like power attack, as opposed to these never ending feat chains. shouldn't logically vital strike and most feats of this ilk work like power attack, that as you leveled up, your ability to use the feat increases as well. why the need for ever increasing feats, why wasn't the same required for power attack?
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Lead Designer
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What is the design theoery behind feats whose only real exitence for being is to take another feat, while themseleve giving very little benefit to player?
Master Craftsman for example is a terribe feat, you can easily get that plus 2 to your craft skill, in a lot of other ways, that don't cost the very expensive sum of a feat, but it's the only way a martial can get a craft wonderous item magic skill? casters overall have greater abilities and in most cases have the same number of feats, but dont have to burn another feat to take craft magic item feat.
second question why do you need feats for things that would seem logically you ought to be able to do naturally, like weapon finesse or agile manuvers, wouldnt a character instinctually develop these on there own. I know it's just as natural to rely on dexterity as does strengh, i don't think david robinson had to train any harder to rely on his quickness as shaq did to rely on his strengh.
and lastly why don't most combat feats scale with BAB like power attack, as opposed to these never ending feat chains. shouldn't logically vital strike and most feats of this ilk work like power attack, that as you leveled up, your ability to use the feat increases as well. why the need for ever increasing feats, why wasn't the same required for power attack?
To keep it simple, feats, generally speaking, are a way for your character to break some of the core assumptions of the game. To balance them out, some have gateways, such as other feats, to allow us to give out better bonuses and restrict them to higher levels of play. Some feats are put in play to specifically allow a certain story mechanism (Master Craftsman for example), while others allow you to focus your core competency (Weapon Finesse). Some are designed to scale, while others are more static, depending on their focus and use in the game, as we do not generally want them to become obsolete, but we also do not want some of them to be no-brainer obvious choices.
Its a difficult balancing act...
I thought you guys didn't really go to great lengths to balance feats compared to each other and just stuck to what felt right. I'm sure there's a minimum bar you guys have in mind to be "feat worthy" as well as a maximum but what's within that range is free game, or so I thought.
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Lead Designer
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I thought you guys didn't really go to great lengths to balance feats compared to each other and just stuck to what felt right. I'm sure there's a minimum bar you guys have in mind to be "feat worthy" as well as a maximum but what's within that range is free game, or so I thought.
Well, there is some of that.. especially when it comes to something with no good comparison, but we look at all of them for balance.
How are enjoying having your own >>Ask!<< thread?
I'm enjoying it a lot :)
This should be an interesting thread, to say the most.
Jason, can we ask you questions about various Paizo modules and accessories or offer our opinions and recommendations too?
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Lead Designer
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This should be an interesting thread, to say the most.
Jason, can we ask you questions about various Paizo modules and accessories or offer our opinions and recommendations too?
Sure, but bear in mind that most of my work for the past four years at Paizo have revolved around the Core Rulebook line. I used to be much more involved in Golarion (I did write half the Gazetteer), much of the current work being done around the office is outside my scope, so I might not have much to say.
So, if you got a question about Core Rulebooks, Minotaur Games, Beer Brewing, or general Nerd Interestes, fire away!
I'm not so sure you intended in that post to open this thread up to rule questions. Is that the RAI? ;)
This should be an interesting thread, to say the most.
Jason, can we ask you questions about various Paizo modules and accessories or offer our opinions and recommendations too?
Sure, but bear in mind that most of my work for the past four years at Paizo have revolved around the Core Rulebook line. I used to be much more involved in Golarion (I did write half the Gazetteer), much of the current work being done around the office is outside my scope, so I might not have much to say.
So, if you got a question about Core Rulebooks, Minotaur Games, Beer Brewing, or general Nerd Interestes, fire away!
Awesome.
Ok, if you have the improved called shot feat, allowing you to make a called shot as a standard action, could you use vital strike with the called shot?
Yes. But I'm not Jason...
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Lead Designer
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Extract, Partial, or Full-Grain brewing?
What other RPG systems do you enjoy playing/reading?
Right now, my brewing is partial. I use an extract, but I also use a number of specialty grains.
As for other games, I am big fan of a number of classics (Vampire, Shadowrun, Mechwarrior, Merp, Torg, Gurps... I played a lot of different games when I was younger). Currently, I am enamored with Dread.. and I will be running a game of it as Paizocon.
Can I get a hat?
You should see Paranorman and Wreck it Ralph if/when you get a chance.
Have you seen the Labrynth, Dark Crystal, Secret of N.I.M.H., Heavy Metal, Rock and Rule, Fire and Ice, Real Genius, Flight of Dragons, The Last Unicorn, The Fifth Element, Time Bandits, The Never Ending Story, or Ice Pirates? If so what did you think of the ones you saw?
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Lead Designer
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You should see Paranorman and Wreck it Ralph if/when you get a chance.
Have you seen the Labrynth, Dark Crystal, Secret of N.I.M.H., Heavy Metal, Rock and Rule, Fire and Ice, Real Genius, Flight of Dragons, The Last Unicorn, The Fifth Element, Time Bandits, The Never Ending Story, or Ice Pirates? If so what did you think of the ones you saw?
I think I have seen, and in fact own, nearly all of those. My favorites on the list are Labyrinth, Heavy Metal, Real Genius, Fifth Element, and Never Ending Story. Many of those were seen by me about a million times when I was growing up.
Do you ever take into consideration how people play the game, when coming up with classes, rules and such? for instance the more resource managment is enforced and emphasized into the game the more martials become balanced, and spefically fighters/rogues.
is there in your head an ideal playstyle, that serves as a reference point, or do you build to take into account various play styles.
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I think I have seen, and in fact own, nearly all of those. My favorites on the list are Labyrinth, Heavy Metal, Real Genius, Fifth Element, and Never Ending Story. Many of those were seen by me about a million times when I was growing up.You should see Paranorman and Wreck it Ralph if/when you get a chance.
Have you seen the Labrynth, Dark Crystal, Secret of N.I.M.H., Heavy Metal, Rock and Rule, Fire and Ice, Real Genius, Flight of Dragons, The Last Unicorn, The Fifth Element, Time Bandits, The Never Ending Story, or Ice Pirates? If so what did you think of the ones you saw?
Awesome stuff on that list! And now I have to go watch Rock and Rule again!
Extract, Partial, or Full-Grain brewing?
What other RPG systems do you enjoy playing/reading?Right now, my brewing is partial. I use an extract, but I also use a number of specialty grains.
As for other games, I am big fan of a number of classics (Vampire, Shadowrun, Mechwarrior, Merp, Torg, Gurps... I played a lot of different games when I was younger). Currently, I am enamored with Dread.. and I will be running a game of it as Paizocon.
You play GURPS?
Gets on knees and pays homage
Have you read and/or played fourth edition yet?
1)Have you seen Hotel Transylvania? if so what did you think?
2)What were you expecting out of Prometheus?
3)What is your favorite monster from each Bestiary?
4)When you DM do you allow any playable races outside of the core? and if so what are they?
5)Have you ever seen the show Kids in the Hall?
What was the reasoning for the starting ages for the seven core races?
I've suddenly found myself in the financial position to afford some really fancy scotch. I've had my eye on a 30 year Talisker for some time now and am currently leaning towards that.
I hear tell that you are a connoisseur of said spirit. What would you recommend?
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Lead Designer
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Do you ever take into consideration how people play the game, when coming up with classes, rules and such? for instance the more resource managment is enforced and emphasized into the game the more martials become balanced, and spefically fighters/rogues.
is there in your head an ideal playstyle, that serves as a reference point, or do you build to take into account various play styles.
I try to ensure that all of our work speaks to multiple play styles. It often means that any given segment of the audience finds some portion of the work less useful, but I think it makes our books better for the game overall.
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Lead Designer
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Hey Jason, thanks for answering all of our inane questions! Of all the villains you've run, who was your favorite and what was their crowning moment of villainy?
I had a necromancer in an old campaign named Zenith who killed off the entire party at the end of one session. At the start of the next one, I had all the players play undead versions of themselves, under his control! Good times...
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Lead Designer
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1)Have you seen Hotel Transylvania? if so what did you think?
2)What were you expecting out of Prometheus?
3)What is your favorite monster from each Bestiary?
4)When you DM do you allow any playable races outside of the core? and if so what are they?
5)Have you ever seen the show Kids in the Hall?
1. Nope
2. I think I was just hoping for a complete picture to fill in the blanks before Alien. Instead I got a prequel to that prequel which was a little disappointing.3. Bestiary 1 - Vrock (Lich is a close second), Bestiary 2 - Ravener, Bestiary 3 - Rot Grub Swarm
4. Not in my current campaigns, but I've allows some crazy stuff in the past.. Kenku (sorry James), Grippli, Drow, Assimar, and Tieflings.
5. Oh yeah.. I'm Crushing Your Head!!!!
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Lead Designer
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I've suddenly found myself in the financial position to afford some really fancy scotch. I've had my eye on a 30 year Talisker for some time now and am currently leaning towards that.
I hear tell that you are a connoisseur of said spirit. What would you recommend?
Talisker is a fine scotch. If you like their less expensive bottle (the 12 year, then you should really enjoy the 30).
Scotch, like all fine booze, depends heavily upon your personal taste. More peat, more smoke, fruit notes, caramel notes.. its pretty wide ranging. This is why I currently have about 15 different bottles in the house.
Speaking of booze, do you go in for Irish whiskeys at all? If so, what do you drink?
Mr. Jason Bulmahn,
As a busy man as well, I have to say THANK YOU for spending time talking to us. I can only imagine what your schedule must look like.
Can I get a hat?I give you plenty of jaunty hats in the art I order.. stop complaining.
Yes sirree, bossman!