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This may be more a question for James Jacobs but here it goes. Considering that Aeons are like the white blood cells of the multiverse; keeping it all running and in balance, how do you think they feel about qlipppoth? Considering that many believe them to be older than or even from beyond the multiverse wouldn't they have a relationship akin to an invading virus or infection vs. the aeon immune system? Also what about the elder gods or other Cthulhuian entities considering that many are at least older then this material plane and survive it's apocalypses and recreations?
About the qlippoth? Aeons would not get on well with them, but so long as they keep to their crevices—so long as their benign viruses—they're not worth the expenditure of time and energy to wipe out. That said, qlippoth are not about keeping quiet. While one or two creeping out to do evil isn't worth their notice, mass uprisings are a problem. Fortunately, when it comes to qlippoth, demons do most of the aeons jobs for them, as the demons are even more interested in keeping the qlippoth down—and certainly from overrunning the Abyss—than the aeons are.
As for Great Old Ones, they're also not a huge problem. The drift around in the Material Plane and are relatively small in number. So long as none get too disruptive of the greater planar structure, they don't have a reason to strike en masse.
Overall, the aeons are interested in the foundations of the multiverse and the structure of that vast body. A termite in your home, you don't notice; 10, you've got bigger problems; even 100, there are probably bigger issues. A thousand? Termites dropping into your soup? Things that you can't ignore they can't ignore either.
This makes it great for big plots though, because that way you and your PCs know that when an aeon shows up the whole multiverse is paying attention—and that's a big deal.
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I wonder what sort of situation would prompt Seltyiel to give his life? Perhaps something involving taking a hated enemy with him, in a 'I spit my last breath at thee' sort of way?Oooh, if I had to pick an iconic who would probably find a way to live forever it would probably be Selt. That one's not about to go down without a fight. If he ever sacrifices himself, it's surely a con he's got a way out of. ;)
Very cool. Seltyiel already looks a bit goth-y, so he's probably just a clove cigarette away from being a vampire wannabe. :)
Actually, Seltyiel does a little bit remind me of that old Rogue's Gallery character, 'Erac's Cousin' (who refused tell anyone his real name, and had made a deal by which he'd skip the worst parts of hell and become a Horned Devil immediately upon arrival...).
Also Elric of Melnibone, because of the pallor, leathery outfit and mixture of blade and spellcraft. Pretty much the iconic Black Blade Magus, right there. (Just add a PF version of Blackrazor, from White Plume Mountain!)
Ustalavic chique or not?
Ustalavic chique or not?
Oh totally. ;)
]I'll just keep praying to Desna that Twilight vampires continue to never scream, "Awesome!" to the good folk at Paizo.A little faith. Your prayers are better spent on more likely threats. Like all the world's air molecules spontaneously turning into VHS recordings of season 2 of Disney's Gummibears.I feel like there is an inside joke here that I'm simply not understanding.
Also, I didn't know that Disney made a Gummibears TV Show. I now understand what Daigle and Sutter meant when they said that the true horror of the Schnedierian psyche have not yet manifested upon this plane.
Whoa! Where did they say that? (And why aren't they keeping their mouths shut?!)
Schneiderian...
I quite like that. :D
Have you been bitten by the Steam Sale bug yet?
Oh, I mostly avoided it... except for those Civ 5 expansions.
My husband and I have been playing through an ongoing Earth map with max civilizations and city states. We're in the end game, but it's really testing our computer's strength.
I chose Rome (as always, 'cause duh) and Russ took Germany... and then unwittingly chose the autocracy ideology... and then started making panzers... and then attacked Poland. They were all the right choices at the time, but things got to be a bit on the nose. >_>
Does the Azruverda (beetle thing) appears in the Bestiary 3 box set and if it does, does it have new artwork?
Yes and yes.
I made sure of that. ;)
what tropes do you think fantasy settings (in general and specifically Golarion) are missing out on?
Ooof. Hummm.
Non-sci-fi vehicles. Like, there's not a game where I really have to care about my car or my airship or my riverboat.
Speaking of riverboats, I'm going to play Carolina Death Crawl next week. I really like that it's a game that takes you from point A to B then back again. The game that's all about traveling places, or even just games that do travel really well—I'd like to see more of those. From what I've read of the One Ring RPG, they have some very neat ideas on running journeys, but I'd like to see more.
Courtly Intrigue. A lot of folks say they like it and do it well—but I don't really believe them. It's easy to say your NPCs were planning X, Y, and Z all along when you're the GM, but it's easy to cheat and just say that. So some system that plays in the arena of courts and assassins.
Playing Gods. Not seeing a lot of that these days. Even a game where you get to design a world as players.
I've also never really seen the perfect melding of minis tactical battle and roleplaying. This could tie in with the courtly game. (I really want my Crusader Kings RPG, but want the group to be allies, not enemies).
That's a few things that come to mind, but overall, I feel like I'm pretty well served by whats out there in both the mainstream and the indy community. It's the crazy ideas I love the most though!
Look up Abnormal, for example. You can play a virus. :D
Speaking of riverboats, I'm going to play Carolina Death Crawl next week.
Who with? Isn't that the game you showed me at GenCon? Looked interesting.
Speaking of riverboats, I'm going to play Carolina Death Crawl next week.Who with? Isn't that the game you showed me at GenCon? Looked interesting.
Me, Rob, maybe Daigle, and Macklin. The three southerners and the guy who's been to southern California.
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Have you been bitten by the Steam Sale bug yet?Oh, I mostly avoided it... except for those Civ 5 expansions.
My husband and I have been playing through an ongoing Earth map with max civilizations and city states. We're in the end game, but it's really testing our computer's strength.
I chose Rome (as always, 'cause duh) and Russ took Germany... and then unwittingly chose the autocracy ideology... and then started making panzers... and then attacked Poland. They were all the right choices at the time, but things got to be a bit on the nose. >_>
Daww I didn't know you were married, how long have you been together?
Whoa! Where did they say that? (And why aren't they keeping their mouths shut?!)
Schneiderian...
I quite like that. :D
Never spoken, merely implied for fear of the endless cascades of editing assignments that your rage may bring upon them and their families. ;-)
Contributor
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Re intrigue, I liked the mechanic in Lace & Steel where you could attack someone's sangfroid (can't recall exact term) with a witty or cutting remark. Characters had physical health but also emotional health/sanity that was subject to attack. That the system also used cards also added to the feel.
I personally rather feel a card based mechanic gives a murkier, more intellectual feel than a dice and bonuses based system for that sort of game. This may be why that sort of game has always eluded the d20 paradigm.
It also hard, I think, to sustain an interesting party-based dynamic - intrigues tend to divide rather than bring about close-knit groups. That was my experience in Vampire...
But perhaps you have your own opinions... Do you think mechanics feed into tactics in terms of the sort of games played in PF?
When you play Pathfinder, do you optimize your characters, focus their builds on roleplaying, a little bit of both, or do you pull crazy Wes-ness and do things at the table that I can't even imagine?
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Mr. Schneider: What do you think about the thread being overrun by smurfs?
Do smurfs have trample?
Ooofda.
and I should think not, though that surely have distraction... and probably nauseate.
So with the release of the worldwound and the liltu demon I've been pondering on the whore queens again.
What does Ardad Lili's realm look like and the theme therein?
Will we ever get a Lilith style devil for Ardad Lili or other female devils for the Whore queens? I feel like the liltu is the mic drop for cool powerful female outsiders and I've been waiting for another female devil to sit beside the ernyies and help inform us a little more on the whore queens and female devils in the pit.
Huh... I haven't really put a ton of thought into her realm. But were I going to start detailing it, I think I'd revisit a the scenes involving Lilith from Wayne Barlow's God's Demon. It's a story of a fallen archdevil (in our parlance) with his eyes on something like redemption. Lilith is a major player in it, a being more branded evil than one who's actually evil, a figure who's had to suffer eons of indignities. It's not a good life for her, but at the same time, she's kind of a Madonna of Hell, influential and nearly worshiped, but still hamstrung by her position and politics.
If you're looking for awesome ideas from what was a major inspiration for my vision of Hell, take a look there.
Mr. Schneider: What do you think about the thread being overrun by XXX?
Do XXX have trample?
Ooofda.
and I should think not, though that surely have distraction... and probably nauseate.
I hate that you got me to do that. -_-
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Re intrigue, I liked the mechanic in Lace & Steel where you could attack someone's sangfroid (can't recall exact term) with a witty or cutting remark. Characters had physical health but also emotional health/sanity that was subject to attack. That the system also used cards also added to the feel.
I personally rather feel a card based mechanic gives a murkier, more intellectual feel than a dice and bonuses based system for that sort of game. This may be why that sort of game has always eluded the d20 paradigm.
It also hard, I think, to sustain an interesting party-based dynamic - intrigues tend to divide rather than bring about close-knit groups. That was my experience in Vampire...
But perhaps you have your own opinions... Do you think mechanics feed into tactics in terms of the sort of games played in PF?
Repartee combat was the mental/emotional equivalent of duelling in Lace & Steel.
High line attacks were intellectual barbs, while low line attacks were quite crude.
Some absolutely brilliant ideas in that system. I wish I could've played it more.
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Mr. Schneider I plan on GMing an adventure with Sahuagin as the main antagonists, but while designing it I realized I didn't know who they worshiped in Golarion.
I at first assumed Kelizandri but the Guide to the Great Beyond says they're actually at war with him and none of the other products I own gave me any answers, besides the fact that some extremely barbarous tribes worship Dagon, which is obviously not the norm.
Since you're the expert on all things lower planes,I figured I'd ask who is the center of religion for the common lawful evil Sahuagin?
1.) Wes, you mentioned liking Suikoden, have you ever wanted to make a Pathfinder / d20 version of it/them?
2.) I was thinking about "how to make a lycanthropes module", and it hit me, how would one make it challenging without every NPC and their mothers having either Magic, Silver Weapons, or both? Is that one of the reasons why paizo doesn't make one?
hi Wes - I'm looking forward to listening to your Lovecraft discussion on Know Direction. In the meantime: Necropants!
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hi Wes - I'm looking forward to listening to your Lovecraft discussion on Know Direction. In the meantime: Necropants!
Awesome man! For folks who haven't seen, you can check out my discussion with the 3.5 Private Sanctuary podcast on Lovecraftian horror in two distinct flavors:
Private Sanctuary: Lovecraftian Horror (Audio)
Private Sanctuary: 2013 Lovecraftian Horror (Video)
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If you want more talk about horror in Pathfinder and RPGs in general, check out these too:
Paizocon 2013: Horror in RPGs (Know Direction, Audio)
Paizocon 2013: Horror in RPGs (YouTube, Video with Notes)
Private Sanctuary: 2012 Horror Podcast
(You can also check out my notes and links that go along with the discussion on my personal site here)
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As for the pants: That's horriblawesome! I am now subscribed to this blog.
I see your Necropants and raise you a Cthulhu Tiki Mug (as seen the Lovecraft discussion above).
Congratulations: Your holiday shopping is now done. :D
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hi Wes - I'm looking forward to listening to your Lovecraft discussion on Know Direction. In the meantime: Necropants!Awesome man! For folks who haven't seen, you can check out my discussion with the 3.5 Private Sanctuary podcast on Lovecraftian horror in two distinct flavors:
Private Sanctuary: Lovecraftian Horror (Audio)
Private Sanctuary: 2013 Lovecraftian Horror (Video)
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If you want more talk about horror in Pathfinder and RPGs in general, check out these too:
Paizocon 2013: Horror in RPGs (Know Direction, Audio)
Paizocon 2013: Horror in RPGs (YouTube, Video with Notes)
Private Sanctuary: 2012 Horror Podcast
(You can also check out my notes and links that go along with the discussion on my personal site here)
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As for the pants: That's horriblawesome! I am now subscribed to this blog.
I see your Necropants and raise you a Cthulhu Tiki Mug (as seen the Lovecraft discussion above).
Congratulations: Your holiday shopping is now done. :D
Does JJ know about those mugs?
If you could pic 10 monsters from movies/TV shows that you could use for pathfinder, what would they be?
You can pic anything even copyrighted stuff.
Does JJ know about those mugs?
He should, he bought it for me last Christmas.
Other question are their any gods or demigod level entities associated with cicadas and their mythology? I'm looking into them for my home game and I'm wondering if their is anything built around them. If not what kind of entity would it be i.e. empyreal lord, infernal duke, etc.
There's not anything in Pathfinder that I can think of that's tightly tied to cicadas, and it sounds like Jeff has you covered on the real-world front...
Not Wes, but Cicadas were associated with Apollo and Dionysus, because of their link to ecstatic song. Tithonus, the lover of Eos, was transformed into a cicada. Their name in Chinese (Le) suggests wisdom. Also, they're tasty.
I'd think something good... But perhaps Wes has a different notion.
I like the idea of the cicada being essentially the resurrection or transformation bug, but you already kind of get that with butterflies and moths. But cicadas are a bit creepier, and definitely more destructive/disruptive. So while I can see the good guy angle, I'll always remember being in Maryland after a like a 13- or 17-year cicada swarm, seeing their crispy skins on everything, hearing my footsteps crunch. It was pretty alien.
I don't know that I would spin them full on evil, but I like the idea of a deity of things you can't fathom, nature throwing you for a loop, revelation of ignorance, and maybe transcendence that had cicada symbolism. Kind of the "You know nothing, John Snow" deity.
There could be something fun there. :)
I've been told by Sutter to post this in your thread.
La llorona (weeping woman) and alebrijes are my top suggestions from the list.What do YOU think we're still missing [in Pathfinder], and what would you like to see?Latin American and Spanish folklore and mythology! Alebrijes, more coatls, moai, Huay Chivo, the cucuy, Marimonda, encantado, the Sayona, the Tunda, the Patasola, nagual, and the weeping woman. So much to draw from!
On it! La llorona was actually on the short list for B4, but got nudged out by the sayona. But that just means she moves higher on the "next time" list!
Alebrijes, though... SOLD! On the list! :D
I've been told by Sutter to post this in your thread.
La llorona (weeping woman) and alebrijes are my top suggestions from the list.What do YOU think we're still missing [in Pathfinder], and what would you like to see?Latin American and Spanish folklore and mythology! Alebrijes, more coatls, moai, Huay Chivo, the cucuy, Marimonda, encantado, the Sayona, the Tunda, the Patasola, nagual, and the weeping woman. So much to draw from!On it! La llorona was actually on the short list for B4, but got nudged out by the sayona. But that just means she moves higher on the "next time" list!
Alebrijes, though... SOLD! On the list! :D
Yes, good. The Spanish takeover begins...
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Ohh he has returned and so I will repost a question I had from a while back
1.Are their any male homosexual archdukes, archdevils, or other named demigod+ devils in hell? To be more precise I'm also referring to those that are exclusively attracted to males and not those who are just also attracted to them along with other options like say belial.
2. What does the cult of Crocell look like? I'm in the middle of trying to use him for one of my home games and he seems a truly interesting character but what his cult might look like and it's focus I haven't the faintest clue.
Hey just wanted to pull these back up and see if I could get some info on either of these topics.
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Wes, I'm curious (in fact, I'm asking this in a couple of threads!)
When you play a session of your home campaign (or are playing in someone else's home campaign) are you able to 'turn off the professional game designer' in you and just have fun or is a part of you always observing and evaluating rules and such?
Hey! Since it's topical for today, I wanted to make sure everyone who might be interested got to see this while it's rolling.
Just like last year, every hour for all of Halloween I'm posting one link to something horrifying on my Twitter account: @FWesSchneider.
Some might be RPG related, some might be games, others are movies, some are websites, books, and stranger things. It's a total terror grab bag.
In fact, as of posting this, the twelfth link just went up.
So if you're looking for something new and creepy to obsess over today, click away!
Enjoy and Happy Halloween!!! :D
Hey Wes,
Some questions on infernal big guys.
(1)we know that nascent demon lords range from 21 to 25 in CR, what about the infernal dukes or whore queens, are they in the same range? or they can be over 25 in CR seeing that there are only 8 seats for archdevil bosses?
(2)have you guys at Paizo thought about stating up some of the archdevils in the near future? I am a huge fan of devils, and the fact that we haven't a single archdevil stated up (and only one duke as I know) while there are already so many demigods hanging around really makes me feel pissed off...
You seem to have missed my questions (that could explain why you haven't answered them yet) so I'm going to repost them and add some more. :)
1. In addition to not being confined to gender, would it be safe to say that Arshea isn't confined to humanoid morphology either?
2. Under what condition would an Arshea-worshipper find it reasonable to build a palace?
3. What adventure paths would be best-suited for an Arshea-worshipper? Which ones would be least-suited?
4. Since Arshea doesn't have a realm, where do his worshippers go when they die? What about mystery cultists using their Sacred Haven power? And where does Arshea use his planar realm-only powers?
5. Would Arshea be out-of-place in Kingmaker (say, as the main religion of a kingdom)? I ask because I Arshea feels Central Asian to me while Kingmaker seems Germanic, what with all the hirsute country bumpkins asking the ruler to kill animals for them.
6. Which deities and demigods would be most opposed to Arshea? Which ones would Arshea oppose?
7. What would an inquisitor of Arshea go after?
8. What does Arshea think about Calistria? What do their followers think about each other?
9. On the topic of other empyreal lords, why'd the freelancer make the mental stats so low in Bestiary 4?
10. Since you want to see if anyone can stump you with monsters, are you familiar with the following monsters (blatantly pulled from Touhou, which you should totally check out)?
• Daidarabotchi
• Hakutaku/Bai Ze
• J izou Statue (ignore the space, the swear filter's overprotective)
• Kasa-oboke
• Menreiki
• Satori
• Shikeisen
• Tsuchinoko
• Tsukumogami
• Yama
• Yamabiko
• Yatagaratsu/Jinwu/Samjok-o
• Yatagaratsu/Jinwu/Samjok-o
Don't know anything about the monster, but Yatagaratsu is and forever will be one of the most broken Yu-Gi-Oh! cards ever printed.
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For whatever reason, I ended up daydreaming and wrote this:
A new super-dungeon from Wes Schneider! Centuries ago in Ustalav, Castle Arudora fell under a mysterious curse and was renamed Bastardhall. Since then, a black coach has been abducting villagers and taking them to the cursed keep every century. Now, the black coach rides again to take its latest victims: a set of heroes who may lift the curse once and for all!
The Curse of a Bastardhall is a super-dungeon adventure for 8th-level characters with enough content to reach 16th level. The twisted and haunted walls of Bastardhall hold a dark secret, unknown to all. Will the PCs be able to uncover the secrets of the castle and lift the curse or will they be lost to eternity in the terrifying keep? This volume also features a gazetteer of the village of Maiserene and over a dozen new monsters and templates, including the tortured ghost of Eragayl Aurodora, the rancorous balekin, and the unfathomable angel, Cevairiel.
Okay, I've gotta hear the real story. How far did he actually chase that archaeopteryx? And what did he do when he realized it was just a pigeon?
Thanks for posting the Paizocon Horror in RPGs seminar on youtube for those of us who couldn't attend! :)
Absolutely my pleasure! For those of you who didn't know you missed it, check it out (and my other YouTube stuff) here!
Paizocon: Horror in RPGs Video
The little kid-Hellboy animation I did is my favorite part. :D
Ok my two folkloric creatures.
Batibat & Karkadann (or the fat evil dryad and the brown evil desert unicorn)
1# Are they pathfinder/paizo material or are they on the never-to-do list?
2# If you must create those creatures how would you create them? What would be their special abilities.
3# Did you know about these creatures or is this the first time you heard from them?
4# Would the Karkadann become a Rhinoceros in pathfinder or a cool feral unicorn creature?
1. Seem cool to me. :)
2. Oh I'd totally...3. Karkadann has made it onto Bestiary lists in the past. The batibat is new though! Good find!
4. Oh, I'd totally go feral unicorn.
Thanks for the answers! But with the Osirion/desert AP coming up, maybe its a good chance for using Karkadann from the past list into one of the Osirion AP bestiaries? ;-)
Hi Wes.
I’m going to play a Human Paladin of Arshea and I have some questions related to Arshea.
1. What books can I buy that give me more information in Arshea? (I have “The Inner sea world guide”, “Inner Sea Primer” and “Chronicle Of The Righteous”. I’ve read the Wiki but I can’t find the information from the Wiki in any book)
2. What is Arshea’s relationships to other Religions/Deities?
3. What is Arshea’s relationships Cayden Cailean?
4. What is Arshea's relationship to alcohol and drugs?
5. What is Arshea's view on prostitution and brothels?
6. What races/human races in Golarion worship Arshea? (I plan let my character be a Varisian, with some Vudrani or Chelaxians descendants)
7. Arshea’s portfolio says: Freedom, Physical beauty and Sexuality. Does Physical beauty mean (s)he dislikes those that lack Physical beauty or could (s)he still like for example a fighter that is physically fit, but has a low charisma score?
8. Would it be unheard of if a Paladin try to convert someone to the faith of Arshea by seduction/sex?
9. What is Arshea view on Nature vs. Civilization? (I’ve decided that my character will have some Fey blood so I want to play on my character’s ties to nature.)
10. What is Arshea view on consensual sex between two persons from different races? Say, Human with a Gnome, Faun or Half-Ork?
11. What is Arshea view on Paladins?
Finally, I’ve read your other posts on Arshea. They have been very helpful. Many thanks.
I asked Diagle this and he said that Bestiary 4's development predated his time at Paizo, so I thought that maybe the Master of Monsters would know better.
Why was the decision made to make the adlets a 15-HD humanoid instead of a 0-HD race? I get that giants deserve multiple Hit Dice because they're big and strong and scary, but personally I find it a bit weird that this human-sized race has so many Hit Dice.
I ask because I'm thinking about turning them into a 0-HD race so I can actually get some use out of the hordes of Wolfren Confrontation minis that I bought from the Great Golem Sale instead of making an all-new race.
Wes, I have started a poll over in general:
How many rounds does a typical encounter last for your group?
How many encounters per in-game "day"?
How many encounters per gaming session?
And for you devs:
How many of each do you design a AP for?
Finally do you mind if I include your answers in my poll?
Developer
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I asked Daigle this and he said that Bestiary 4's development predated his time at Paizo, so I thought that maybe the Master of Monsters would know better.
....
I'm gonna correct something here. The adlet first appeared in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings, which came out before I was on staff. I was here for the entirety of Bestiary 4.
I'm gonna correct something here. The adlet first appeared in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings, which came out before I was on staff. I was here for the entirety of Bestiary 4.I asked Daigle this and he said that Bestiary 4's development predated his time at Paizo, so I thought that maybe the Master of Monsters would know better.
....
And here I thought you were going to correct me because I claimed that the adlet was from Bestiary 4, when in reality it was (apparently) reprinted in Bestiary 3!
MY MISTAKES KEEP ON MULTIPLYING.
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I'm gonna correct something here. The adlet first appeared in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings, which came out before I was on staff. I was here for the entirety of Bestiary 4.I asked Daigle this and he said that Bestiary 4's development predated his time at Paizo, so I thought that maybe the Master of Monsters would know better.
....And here I thought you were going to correct me because I claimed that the adlet was from Bestiary 4, when in reality it was (apparently) reprinted in Bestiary 3!
MY MISTAKES KEEP ON MULTIPLYING.
There there, we all know it's Cosmo's fault.
There there, we all know it's Cosmo's fault.I'm gonna correct something here. The adlet first appeared in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings, which came out before I was on staff. I was here for the entirety of Bestiary 4.I asked Daigle this and he said that Bestiary 4's development predated his time at Paizo, so I thought that maybe the Master of Monsters would know better.
....And here I thought you were going to correct me because I claimed that the adlet was from Bestiary 4, when in reality it was (apparently) reprinted in Bestiary 3!
MY MISTAKES KEEP ON MULTIPLYING.
Yeah, you're probably right.
Yeah, you're probably right.There there, we all know it's Cosmo's fault.I'm gonna correct something here. The adlet first appeared in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lands of the Linnorm Kings, which came out before I was on staff. I was here for the entirety of Bestiary 4.I asked Daigle this and he said that Bestiary 4's development predated his time at Paizo, so I thought that maybe the Master of Monsters would know better.
....And here I thought you were going to correct me because I claimed that the adlet was from Bestiary 4, when in reality it was (apparently) reprinted in Bestiary 3!
MY MISTAKES KEEP ON MULTIPLYING.
See that? That's heresy talking!