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For years at Gen Con I walked all the way to Chick-fil-a for every food break to get something that that wasn't thick with red meat, but then they had to mouth off and now we don't give them money.
My son worked at Chick-fil-a during his senior year of high school and got to encounter much of that first hand. He was so disgusted and ticked off at the company over it he declined an offer to work there again this summer while he's home from college. Good kid - I was a proud papa :)
About that time a friend's older brother left for college and left a whole bunch of his RPG books behind. Among them were several Vampire accessories and a copy of [i]The Book of Nod[/url]. When we got our hands on it, we had no idea what it was and treated it like the Necronomicon (which I wasn't even aware of at that point).
That is hilarious yet fairly appropriate for the setting! I've been reading a bunch of Vampire accessories lately and The Book of Nod is one of my favorites.
Questions:
In what ways has Vampire influenced your work on Pathfinder? What were your favorite and least favorite elements of the former?
I'm planning on running a campaign where Death quits his job and souls can't pass on until PCs set things right. What inspirational reading/viewing material would you recommend? Undead apocalypse and Grim Reaper-centric stuff is all right up the alley of what I'm looking for. Stories where Death says "screw it!" and someone else takes up his mantle go without saying.
What did ya think of 1491?
SUPER COOL!
(Cliff's Notes for other readers: Coridan bought me an awesome book called 1491)
I only got about 1/3 of the way through before I had to put it aside, but it got me through the more harrowing parts of my holiday travels. I'm looking forward to enjoying this as my 2013 travel book and will be sure to post a detailed review when I finish. Thanks again man!
You know, Wes, every time I get writing or editing work I think back to how you (and Paizo) opened the door to me getting back in to freelancing.
Sorta like that handsome fella on the bridge back at Bastardhall. Creaky hinges and all.
Muchas gracias.
Of course man! Labor is the price of being awesome. :)
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Back in my day, they drove a steak into youMmmmmm, free steak.....
I'd offer you some, but last I heard your dentures of Dahlver-Nar prevented you from enjoying it. What, with the very likely chance that you'd A) damage the dentures chewing the steak and B) drive yourself insane and flay your soul into bite-sized bits across the cosmos by the mere thought of doing anything with your mouth.
So yeah, enjoy your chuckles at my typo, for it is I who will have the final laugh!
Back in my day, they drove a steak into youMmmmmm, free steak.....I'd offer you some, but last I heard your dentures of Dahlver-Nar prevented you from enjoying it. What, with the very likely chance that you'd A) damage the dentures chewing the steak and B) drive yourself insane and flay your soul into bite-sized bits across the cosmos by the mere thought of doing anything with your mouth.
So yeah, enjoy your chuckles at my typo, for it is I who will have the final laugh!
Curses! That's the last time I call that spirit right before eating right before bed....
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Is there a "good" time to try and throw my hat back into the ring as far as production cycles go?
What's the best way to get back in on the ground floor with Paizo?
Just coming down from it, April is the worst month of the year for us, as we're jamming through our biggest releases of the year for their August releases. So not April. Beyond that, pretty much any time.
When you do throw that hat, though, make sure it's memorable.
You know what doesn't get my attention: "Hi! I love Pathfinder and really want to write for you guys. I haven't done anything before and don't have anything to show you, but I promise I'll do awesome with whatever you give me!"
Yeah. You know who I'm certain will do awesome with something I assign them? The dozens of freelancers I regularly use who consistently do awesome work for me. The crew that has done amazing things for me before and who I know will again. The people who know our styles inside and out, and who, in some cases, I've been working with for the better part of a decade.
I've got assignments I want to be as amazing as possible. Why should I risk any of these precious projects on a stranger?
So when you throw that hat in the ring, there's a few things I would suggest.
The Big One: Prove you are awesome.
The easiest way to do this is to show off the awesome things you've already done. It might be your online writing resume of published books, it might be a PDF project you've worked on with another company, it might be your expansive gaming blog, it might be your website all about chupacabras (thus proving your expertise in something insane). Whatever it is, prove to me that you're actually a writer--and even better, a professional writer--and we'll be past the first hurtle.
"But I've never written anything before ever! How do I get in."
The Truth: Maybe you don't. That's not a sad truth or an unfortunate truth or a harsh truth, it's simply a fact. Writers write. If you love Pathfinder and have incredible ideas for this plot, or that character, or developing those nations, that's all awesome. But if you're not a writer--if you're not someone who writes both well and relentlessly--then your best outlets for those ideas might be in your personal game or here, on these boards, where they can take root and inspire others.
To make things even more difficult, we write books for a very particular rules set. If you're not a master of those rules, then it's harder for us to use you. If I can't trust you to write a balanced feat or monster or whatever, then you're already limiting the assignments I can give you.
But maybe you are a writer-type and a gamer and you just need your big break, how do you get in?
The Secret: There are WAY more types of breaks then "big" ones. You say you're a writer, so get writing. Start a gaming blog, start writing your own material, contribute to fan projects (especially Wayfinder!), do work for free, get experience and credits and things to show off. You might not make a cent doing any of it, but you're building a resume and when you do go up for the project that pays or the job you're really keen on, you're ready when a jerk editor like me says "impress me." Even better, you've got not just a bullet chambered, but three or four to fall back on.
But, if you try your hand at this and it doesn't work, or you get distracted, or you find you don't enjoy writing thousands of words everyday, then maybe that's a sign this isn't the way. That's not a quality judgement, you might be an awesome storyteller, but now you've just got to find the medium that's right for you.
Give Me Your Card: This isn't about having a thing--in all honesty, there's about a 70% chance I'm going to lose anything someone gives me at a convention--it's about being professional and ambitious. If you've given me a business card, you've already jumped through several hoops.
First, you've shown up at a convention or event related to the industry you're interested in working in. Sure it might be fun, but it means you're serious about your fun and plugged into the scene in a more than casual way.
Second, you've sought me out and talked to me about doing work on a professional level. Whether you've tracked me down at the Paizo booth or approached me after a seminar, you're serious enough to know who to go to and steal a few moment of face time. There's an impression element here too, so if you do this, be the one who came across as knowledgeable, eager, and professional--not as the one who was dressed as Naruto and told me about how busted fireball is.
Third, you were serious enough about this to get a business card printed. Sure, you can game this--pretty easily even--but if you've gone through the boring trial of putting together a business card you're thinking about this venture as a professional, not as a gamer. That's a huge deal. We might make games, but for me and everyone at Paizo, this is our livelihood. We're gamers and we're passionate about our games, but at the end of the day, our jobs are what keep us in food, clothes, and shelter. If the freelancers we use don't respect that, if they treat their work flippantly, it's our business and our lives that are impacted.
So if we talk face to face, I'll probably tell you right upfront that there's a good chance I'll lose your card or forget parts of our discussion, but to e-mail me and we'll chat. It's a foot in the door, and I tend to use more freelancers who I met at conventions than those who approach me out of the blue. (Not to say that the latter doesn't happen.)
Those are just a few things to think about if you're considering any hat throwing.
Want to know what's trickier then getting your first job, though?
Getting your second.
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Is there a "good" time to try and throw my hat back into the ring as far as production cycles go?
What's the best way to get back in on the ground floor with Paizo?
Just coming down from it, April is the worst month of the year for us, as we're jamming through our biggest releases of the year for their August releases. So not April. Beyond that, pretty much any time.
When you do throw that hat, though, make sure it's memorable.
You know what doesn't get my attention: "Hi! I love Pathfinder and really want to write for you guys. I haven't done anything before and don't have anything to show you, but I promise I'll do awesome with whatever you give me!"
Yeah. You know who I'm certain will do awesome with something I assign them? The dozens of freelancers I regularly use who consistently do awesome work for me. The crew that has done amazing things for me before and who I know will again. The people who know our styles inside and out, and who, in some cases, I've been working with for the better part of a decade.
I've got assignments I want to be as amazing as possible. Why should I risk any of these precious projects on a stranger?
So when you throw that hat in the ring, there's a few things I would suggest.
The Big One: Prove you are awesome.
The easiest way to do this is to show off the awesome things you've already done. It might be your online writing resume of published books, it might be a PDF project you've worked on with another company, it might be your expansive gaming blog, it might be your website all about chupacabras (thus proving your expertise in something insane). Whatever it is, prove to me that you're actually a writer--and even better, a professional writer--and we'll be past the first hurtle.
"But I've never written anything before ever! How do I get in."
The Truth: Maybe you don't. That's not a sad truth or an unfortunate truth or a harsh truth, it's simply a fact. Writers write. If you love Pathfinder and...
Wow ... what FANTASTIC advice!
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Have you ever read Gormanghast, Wes?
Opinions?What about CS Lewis' fantasies? just wondering what your opinions of Narnia and such is, (though they may have been childhood reading)?
(wrongly posted originally, but, actually, Wes has a lot more in common with Peake's work, anyway)
Not really a question, but I'll add a second recommendation for Gormenghast. I have no opinion of the BBC series, but I don't see how one could possibly do the books justice without using hand-drawn animation.
They read like a combination of Edgar Allen Poe's mood and Charles Dickens' grotesque characters and sense of humor, but far more surreal.
I agree that your work on Ustalav makes me think that you would appreciate them.
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Hey asked these earlier I don't know if you missed it or are just sick of talking about devils but here it goes.
What can you tell us about the Whore Queens, will they ever get more of a write up and time in the sun?
Why does Doloras have the Repose domain?
Do you have any plans to write more articles on the lords of the rings of hell now that Kobold quarterly has stopped production, maybe as web enhancements or blog updates? I was blown away by the Barbatos entry as before that I really hadn't felt like he was fleshed out enough to get what his schtick was in tempting souls but with that article it put him in a whole new light. Also I'm really waiting to see what you would do with characters like Belial who my group apparently now NEEDS info on and I would desperately want to see you punch out another write up on par with the last 2.
As a duke of what is basically nature used to cause fear and madness why is it that Barbatos doesn't have the Animal domain as part of his repertoire? From his write up in Kobold he really feels like it was a domain he was meant to have.
Why does Geryon have the strength domain and not something more related to knowledge, secrets, or Heresy?
Will we ever get more on the Infernal Duke Lorcan (aka the 3rd vampire and duke of undeath)?
Hey asked these earlier I don't know if you missed it or are just sick of talking about devils but here it goes.
Nope, didn't miss it. justmebd has the one right above yours on the previous page, so yours is next in the queue.
Stay tuned!
Thanks, Wes!!
I thought my D&D Open was pretty awesome!! (And so did the players)
Ok, I'm done patting myself on the back. :)
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I will have to say that write up for devils was amazing and I must applaud your work with the group. You've really helped promote them up to the magnificent bastard planners they should be rather then bickering side liners they felt like in earlier editions when compared to the demons.
Why thank you! That's been the point all along. :)
What can you tell us about the Whore Queens, will they ever get more of a write up and time in the sun?
Tons! And maybe. I'd love to write more about them and might someday, but I could say that about lots and lots and lots of things.
Something I definitely want to know is what they and their worshipers call themselves, 'cause you can bet it's not THAT. I'm thinking along the lines of "Queens of Light," "True Daughters of Heaven," "The Unsullied," "Mothers of Fire" or something like that.
Until there's an opportunity in canon to talk about them more, though, I'd refer you to their mythological and literary inspirations--aka, let me tell you what inspired all four of them (in one way or another).
The Whore Queens, as a group, find their roots with the Angels of Prostitution, angels that--depending on the mythology you read--are the angels who preside over sacred prostitution, condemned angels, the brides of Samael (Death), etc. There's definitely some drift in the myths here (evolving and purposefully recast myths fascinate me, by the by, and that you'll find a lot of in Book of the Damned: Princes of Darkness and a lot of other things I've worked on). The farther back you go, the more it seems that the Angels of Prostitution were actual angels who guard sex workers and religious prostitutes. As you get into more modern times, it seems that more sexually repressed sensibilities creep in and these characters get increasingly demonized and associated with ominous characters (like Lilith and Samael). They're awesome, though, and have a fantastic name, which is why I wanted to make them big deals in Hell.
Individually, though, I made quite a few tinkers, and our Whore Queens are not direct transplants from the mythological Angels of Prostitution.
Doloras is largely inspired by Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs (and other characters who were born from that same source). In our world, I also suspect she has ties to the kytons, who used to live in Hell, but I'm not ready to get into all of that yet.
Eiseth is a reenvisioning of Eisheth-Zenunim. Of all the original Angels of Prostitution, I would say she's taken the relocation to Hell the worst. Gone is her concern for gentle hearts and healing, replaced with the rage of the Erinyes Queen.
Mahathallah is inspired by Agrat Bat Mahlat, whose name, in Hebrew means something to the effect of "Daughter of Illusions" or "Bringer of deception." You can see the influence of "Mahlat" in the beginning of her name. There might also be a bit of Mata Hari influencing that name--I forget where the rest came from. Aside from the name and general schtick, Mahathallah's pretty different from the other Whore Queens as she didn't fall from Heaven. Rather, she used to be a handmaiden of Pharasma. We didn't have either term when I wrote about Mahathallah originally, but now I'd call her a Psychopomp Usher. So she's pretty awesome.
Ardad Lili is Lilith. You see the name in the vardat lilitu, or "maiden spirits" associated with her, and by extension "Lili"-th. She's also mightily inspired by Lilth NSFW LINK) from Wayne Barlow's awesomely grotesque art and novel God's Demon. If there's a true queen in Hell, it's Ardad Lili. But she's not really interested in ruling there. She has other plans.
Why does Doloras have the Repose domain?
She's a nihilist. Just look at her, she's abandoned her literally perfect angelic body for a body of metal and blades. She is emotionless and blank. Where her kyton associates endless search for perfection, she's found it in a place past passion, past emotion, past hope. Those who embrace her will find their end, and they will not return.
The Repose domain might be spun in a gentle and pleasant direction for PCs, but that's not the only way you can cast those powers.
Do you have any plans to write more articles on the lords of the rings of hell now that Kobold quarterly has stopped production, maybe as web enhancements or blog updates? I was blown away by the Barbatos entry as before that I really hadn't felt like he was fleshed out enough to get what his schtick was in tempting souls but with that article it put him in a whole new light. Also I'm really waiting to see what you would do with characters like Belial who my group apparently now NEEDS info on and I would desperately want to see you punch out another write up on par with the last 2.
Thanks again! I seriously enjoyed doing them. The fact that I JUST last week sent in my contracts for those should be evidence that I didn't write them for a paycheck, I wrote them because I seriously enjoy these characters, have a lot of ideas about them, and want to see them treated right.
Currently, though, I don't know where--outside of Paizo's operation-- I'd be willing to see similar articles published. We've got a great relationship with Wolfgang, and I knew he'd not only let me write the articles I wanted, but would get awesome art, have great layout, and present the whole thing in a snazzy package. And for those two issues, KQ totally delivered and I was beyond impressed!
But without that, I don't know of another publication that would not only let me do what I want but would put it together in as impressive a package. Not to mention that I'd be willing to do an official Pathfinder RPG article for.
So for now, no plans... but you never know.
As a duke of what is basically nature used to cause fear and madness why is it that Barbatos doesn't have the Animal domain as part of his repertoire? From his write up in Kobold he really feels like it was a domain he was meant to have.
Why, because he's so nice to them, treats them so respectfully, and wants to see them flourish? No way! Meat is meat to a creature like Barbatos, and all the better if that meat has claws or can be made to do something it shouldn't as a result of his power.
He might delight in acting through the base and primal, but he is certainly not their advocate.
Why does Geryon have the strength domain and not something more related to knowledge, secrets, or Heresy?
Choosing domains for a pantheon of associated deities is always a puzzle.
I think the Trickery domain argument could be made for nearly every devil, so after Dispater--who made the most sense--got it, that one was off the list. Then, as aligned demigods, archdevils have two of their domains already decided for them (Evil and Law). I also wanted to get each of the four elements into the options for the entire group, so Water made sense for Geryon.
So we're down to one domain left.
As maybe the largest of the archdevils (if you can apply terms of size to such beings) Geryon is the most like a kaiju of the group. He's even described as a being of "terrifying contradictions," his form being like a force of nature and his secrets and lies casting and recasting reality in countless point of views. Geryon is a creature that will get what he wants, whether he has to destroy a whole nation with his body or seed the multiverse with so many lies and false memories that truth reshapes into what he desires. He is the brute force in words and blasphemy behind even the palest lie. So Strength seemed like a good fit. For those who worship him, I would definitely suggest checking out the Ferocity and Resolve subdomains, as both highlight aspects of his relentlessness.
Will we ever get more on the Infernal Duke Lorcan (aka the 3rd vampire and duke of undeath)?
Only time will tell. ;)
Have you got a favourite ABBA song?
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Have you got a favourite ABBA song?
I don't know. Did they ever cover anything by David Bowie? ;P
If/when a 3pp does an indepth book on hell, would you be interested in helping out?
Ehhh...robblerobblerobble... maybe. I'm not really hurting for opportunities to get my stink on things, and if I'm going to do anything on Hell or devils, I'm probably going to want to do it all myself. So the project would have to be pretty tempting to get me do do anything terribly significant. But I could probably be convinced to write an introduction or something light like that.
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Is it possible that there are any remaining Strigoi in Golarion? I'm really curious to see if they'd be stated out as a new monster or a template like other true vampires.
Absolutely. There would only be a handful, but I'm sure there's a couple of survivors in super creepy places out there.
Any chance Ramoska will pop up again soon? I finally got to introduce him to my Carrion Crown group and it's been a blast playing an him! My group's Necromancer tried to exert control over him to interrogate him... it failed and Ramoska taught him a lesson in manners with his telekinesis ability. He really feels kind of like the Lector to the party's Starling in Ashes at Dawn.
Ha! Yay for pet characters! Lets see, after "Seven Days to the Grave"* he was in "Ashes at Dawn." Since then he just wrote the into for Play Companion: Blood of the Night. As for what's next, Mr. Arkminos is a busy guy. I'm sure we'll see him again.
He's about to get a whole bunch of new nosferatu buds in Bestiary 4 after all.
(*WHOA! Just read some reviews on "Seven Days." Head swell! :P)
I've recently taken on work as a freelance writer for a module. Having only dabbled in minor encounter and map creation for homebrew, I'm almost at a loss as to how to properly approach this. What advice or guidelines do you offer someone who is first writing not just an adventure, but any product in general?
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I've heard it said that you're the resident "name inventor" among the Paizo crew. What sources, methodologies, and inspirations do you draw upon to invent new names out of whole cloth? And, what are some of your favorite names you've invented for people and places in Golarion?
We pull a lot of names out of the blue and I can't say that I do more than anyone else at Paizo, but I do have a few favorite tricks when it comes to creating new proper nouns. Let me throw a few names I came up with out there and talk a bit about the methods (/dumb luck) that lead to it.
Varisia: Nearly everyone has heard this one now. "Avarice" is an awesome sounding word. Muck with the letters for a bit, move the "A" at the front to the back, make the "C" sound and "S" sound, throw the fantasy trope of ending names with "-ia" in there, and you've got "Varisia." Stealing the sounds of cool words and repurposing them into something new is always a great way to get a foundation for a new name.
This can have the added bonus of making a link between your new name and the word. "Darth Vader" sounds like "Dark Father." "Venger" sounds like "Avenger" or "Revenge." "Sturm" sounds like "Stern." This can be dangerous and hokey, you can wind up with something too on the nose (like "Darth Sidious") where the connection is way too obvious and makes it sounds like a super hero/villain name. And if you go too far with this, like using actual words for names, it can give away details about your character that you want to keep subtle--it'd be like naming your villain Syn or something. But if you keep the connection subtle, sometimes you can make a connection that works entirely on a suggested level.
"Caliphas," for example, has the word "Caliph" in it, an sounds more regal for it, even though the city has nothing to do with Middle Eastern royalty. The name "Doloras" has the word "dolor" in it, and suggests pain. "Siervage" suggests both the words "savage" and "seer." Don't try and force this. If it works, great. If people get it, great. If they don't and it's just a cool sounding name, that's fine. Better to have a cool name then something that tries to be clever and comes across contrived.
Rahadoum: You know who's an awesome Batman villain with an awesome name? Ras Al'Ghul. You know who's name got tinkered with to be the name of one of our initially more sinister desert nations? In my initial notes this was originally spelled "Ra Ah'Doom." Evidence that saying something out loud and letting someone else spell it can lead to something way better, and way less obvious. This name would suck if the spelling was as obvious as I had it initially, but as it is now, it's a cool name with a neat little factoid.
Kindler: There's another angle on that last trick. You can take the idea instead of the word. You know who's a great horror author? Bram Stoker. There I am sitting at my computer trying to attribute the quote in the Bestiary of Pathfinder #8 to Golarion's new foremost horror author. Stoker. Stoke. Thesuarus.com. Kindle. Kindler. Perfect.
Gozreh: This is one that's so lame it's awesome--and another most folks probably know. This is just director Werner Herzog's surname spelled backwards. This largely because Herzog's outlook on the natural world matched what we wanted from our nature deity, a character we wanted to embody the brutality of nature in equal measure with its beauty. If you're not familiar with Herzog (fix that!) here's a quote from his narration ob his film Grizzly Man: "I believe the common denominator of the Universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder."
Sturnidae: Words translated from other languages are a great source of cool names. I remember first seeing the word Cazador in Fallout and thinking it was the coolest name! And it's just "hunter" in Spanish. There's a town in the Ustalavic county of Barstoi named Sturnidae. Every county is Ustalav has a literary or mythological thread that defines it, and often its current count. Barstoi's is pretty much: What if Hannibal Lecter was in charge. The name of the town Sturnidae reflects this.
House Vonnarc: But there doesn't always have to be some half-clever trick. Sometimes just playing with letters and sounds leads to great things. My moleskine's notes for 4/28/08 include a list that reads:
Oldrac
Lagni
Vonis
Kyrazir
Teembre
Ryax
Veta
Ros
Anar
Liartembre, Lire, Liearteembre
Anartembre
Sonisvon
Groanisnor, Tronisvon
Anitsirdos, Argannon, Argamon
Aniksirdos, Irgammon, Argammon
Vonorakas
Vonorokos
As far as I know, not a single one of those names has any meaning in Golarion. You can see there's some sounds I liked in there and played around with, or old standbys I hooked up to neat sounds. But ultimately, nothing. But those last two, with the "Von" and "R" "A" and "K" sounds floating around, at some later point they lined up into "Vonark."
But that's ugly. It's something I don't think a lot of people think about when they're coming up with names. The best names look cool, or look like they flow, are use shapes and letters associated with the character or thing they're meant to represent. Think about some of the coolest character names, most of them aren't terribly clunky and have some interesting twist in their spelling: Loki, Dracula, Excalibur, Saruman, even the topography of those names is cool.
So I smoothed out the shape with another "N" and by changing the "K" to a "C." Vonnarc.
I'm pretty pleased with that one. And word "NARC" at the end has the connotation of something clandestine and treacherous.
Other Notes: If your word processor has a speak out loud function, use it. Write three dozen names and just have it read them. It will pronounce some combinations of letters differently then you were in your head. If you like it, write it down. If you don't, try tinkering with the word's spelling until you get the sound you want--some cool new letter combination might come from that.
Additionally, if you have a sound that you like, but it's not a full name yet, write it down and just start going through the alphabet in order, appending new letters to the end. Say you like the sound "Brona."
Bronaa, Bronab, Bronac, Bronad, Bronae, Bronaf, Bronag, Bronah, Bronai, Bronaj, Bronak, Bronal, Bronam, Bronan, Bronao, Bronap, Bronaq, Bronar, Bronas, Bronat, Bronau, Bronav, Bronaw, Bronax, Bronay, Bronaz.
Lots of those sound dumb. A few though... you might be on to something there.
Personal Favs: A few people, places, and things I named that I've always been quite pleased with (new words only, as there's quite a few portmanteaus): Seltyiel, Tiriac, Nethys, Zirnakayn, Alacavnis, Caliphvaso, Arkminos, Adivian Adrissant, Drovenge, Galdyce, Siervage, Venacdahlia, Karcau, Di'Viri, Ordellia. Those are just a few that come to mind.
I've noticed over the years that I really like "A" names for villains. So that's another thing, be aware when you fall into ruts or patterns. Also, if you have a name that sounds awesome, save it for something fitting, not just the next goblin that the party randomly encounters.
Hope this helps!
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What kind of products would you like to see more of from 3rd party publishers?
Bestiaries. I'm always shocked there's not more.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
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Gozreh: This is one that's so lame it's awesome--and another most folks probably know. This is just director Werner Herzog's surname spelled backwards. This largely because Herzog's outlook on the natural world matched what we wanted from our nature deity, a character we wanted to embody the brutality of nature in equal measure with its beauty. If you're not familiar with Herzog (fix that!) here's a quote from his narration ob his film Grizzly Man: "I believe the common denominator of the Universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder."
Ha! That is awesome. I can't believe I never noticed that before.
Contributor
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Ras al' Ghul also actually means something - it's the name of a star, better known as Algol, in Arabic. It's translated the "demon" in Batman works, but Ghul means "ghoul, horse-leech, vampire, evil jinn," in a more specific cultural sense.
I like names that mean or suggest things too. I also have a book of names I've liked/want to use.
Of course, in my current 3pp project I decided to populate an entire small county with vaguely medieval French names (kinda like GRR Martin did with English names). Not quite real names... I ended up pouring through dozens of medieval romances, for possibilities.
Did you have a homebrew world of your own before Paizo? James Jacobs' seems to cast a long shadow in Golarion, and it occurs to me - does Ustalav predate it? I can't remember, though I might have asked before. I know you had particular likes in the old D&D universes - Sigil, for one (and Ravenloft). These no doubt interacted with whatever was pre-PF.
Did you know Sturnidae is also the family of birds which includes mynas and starlings?
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Sturnidae: Words translated from other languages are a great source of cool names. I remember first seeing the word Cazador in Fallout and thinking it was the coolest name! And it's just "hunter" in Spanish. There's a town in the Ustalavic county of Barstoi named Sturnidae. Every county is Ustalav has a literary or mythological thread that defines it, and often its current count. Barstoi's is pretty much: What if Hannibal Lecter was in charge. The name of the town Sturnidae reflects this.
Interesting! I'd never drawn the connection between Count Neska and Dr. Lecter before.
Speaking of which, have you seen the new NBC show Hannibal yet? It's amazingly good, and a very interesting take on his character -- especially in the most recent couple of episodes. It's also all on Hulu, in case the Gen Con Crunch has made you miss it.
Did you know Sturnidae is also the family of birds which includes mynas and starlings?
That's the point. ;)
oh oh did you pledge for it? What figurine are most excited to see?
Oh, I am in DEEP on the Kingdom Death: Monster Kickstarter, and love damn near everything about it. I think the models I'm most excited for are the Dragon King, the Watcher, and probably the white haired survivor dude--because he's going to be my character. :)
This is easily the game I'm most excited for this year, and the anticipation is just making it even more tantalizing. I'm already eager to check out the rules, because as interesting as the game looks, I think there might be some room in those phases for a bit of a RPG element. So I might be running a Kingdom Death: Monster + Pathfinder RPG mash-up by year's end. We'll see.
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Soooooo... basically Bite Me in Golarion? =)It's an entertaining concept, especially if you juxtapose it against a setting not traditionally rife with undead. Vampire revival in Galt following a beheading. Political intrigue, guillotines, duels to the death, Chevaliers, the undead!
Vive la révolution de la morts!
HA! I have a total professional crush on Dylan Meconis and just got my swag from her Kickstarter. The Bite Me compilation is coming soon, and I haven't read it yet, so no spoilers!
But I already love the chicken. :)
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...and that magnificent @$&%@ Stephen Gammell's artwork in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
I have a complete collection of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark visible from where I'm sitting right now. Gammell's stuff: @#$%ed-up, and would NEVER be allowed in a book for kids these days--so I'm glad we got in while the getting was good. I remember the jokey story, "The Viper" being a great intro. You'd get someone reading with that one, and then they'd be hooked and have to read the rest. I used to love/hate getting to the end of those stories, though, as there was always another one of those awesomely twisted pictures at the end, and it'd be staring at you as you read the last page. That's how you get messed-up right. ;)
A few years ago on the boards here, you mentioned a broken gravestone that was split down the middle with a metal rod in Baltimore.
For some reason, I've been smitten by the image and have been trying to find a picture of it online, but I can't find anything on it. Is there anything else you can remember about it?
Whooo. Do you remember the context I mentioned it in or can you find the link?
Whooo. Do you remember the context I mentioned it in or can you find the link?A few years ago on the boards here, you mentioned a broken gravestone that was split down the middle with a metal rod in Baltimore.
For some reason, I've been smitten by the image and have been trying to find a picture of it online, but I can't find anything on it. Is there anything else you can remember about it?
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Link!Whooo. Do you remember the context I mentioned it in or can you find the link?A few years ago on the boards here, you mentioned a broken gravestone that was split down the middle with a metal rod in Baltimore.
For some reason, I've been smitten by the image and have been trying to find a picture of it online, but I can't find anything on it. Is there anything else you can remember about it?
I rode the bus to school from first to twelfth grade. Living at the far-flung edge of the school district, in a wooded area abutting the Patapsco State Park, I and the two other kids on my street had the fortune of growing up amid an awesome forest... but the misfortune of being the first to be picked up by the bus and the last dropped off. At least it gave me a lot of time to get some reading done. The other side benefit was that none of my fellow bus riders knew where we lived, as we were on the bus before them and weren't dropped off until after.
One day in middle school the bus was especially late. When finally it showed up, every other kid on the route was already aboard. There was a substitute driver that day and she'd taken pretty much the opposite route from the usual one. Aside from cutting into my reading time and limiting my choice of seats, this meant that a clique of punks who lived along the route was already on board, whooping about the Great Outdoors and planning to ride up here and... be jerks or whatever.
On the same twisting, hilly road that I lived on is the Oblate Sisters of Providence, a quiet convent--as if there's any other kind. It's secluded back off the road, but you can make out a few buildings, some religious decorations, and occasionally a few nuns walking amid the thin trees. The sisters always seem to have construction going on, and at the time there were several rows staked out by short wooden posts, creating a field of markers.
Having to sit near the toughs in the back since I had boarded so late, and not appreciating the idea of seeing them in my neighborhood, I pointed out the nunnery as we drove by. I explained what it was, how there were often nuns walking up and down the street, and how there was an old cemetery on the grounds. Although they were totally unrelated, the arrangement of the markers seemed to corroborate this. I made sure the other kids knew that there wasn't really anything to do on the street, but if they did ride up, they should go around to the other side of the convent, because in the cemetery were lots of cool graves, including one that was broken and had a pipe sticking out of it. I didn't know why there was a pipe in the grave, but the grave looked like it had been struck by lightning and if you went and listed, you could hear weird things.
What? I don't know exactly. I'd never done it, but my older brother (who isn't real) told me all about it. He said that it was the grave that Bloody Mary (yeah, THAT Bloody Mary) was buried in, but I didn't believe him. But if they were coming up, they should definitely check it out.
The typical dares and chest beating and promises of boldness followed, and I and my Terry Brooks novel were left largely undisturbed--which had been the entire point.
I don't know if those kids ever did ride their bikes up to the Oblate Sisters to check out the creepy grave. If they did, I never heard about it, which makes sense, because those nuns were some sharp-eyed so-and-sos. Even the times me and my younger brother (who is real) rode our bikes up there, they shouted us off. If real hooligans rode up their driveway en mass intent on trespassing, oh you can bet there would be Hell to pay--and few things are more intimidating to a kid then the teacher-priest-mom combo that is a nun. They'd also be pretty disappointed, as there is no cemetery on the convent's grounds (I'm about 80% sure of that... maybe less after seeing this).
That's not to say the whole pipe grave story isn't in part true. There is not a lightning struck grave on Gun Road in Arbutus Maryland. However, not far away is Arbutus Memorial Park Cemetery, which friends and I dared into more than once. One time, while in there, we did find a grave that had cracked and fallen apart into two big pieces. A friend, who was carrying a length of pipe he'd found in the woods, stuck it into the crack and left it there, standing straight up. Aside from being a sketchy thing to do, it resulted in a legitimately creepy image, which I remembered on the bus that day and all the way to today.
I know I told that story about the grave with the pipe several times, whether we were telling creepy stories in school, with friends, wherever, and I know it got mentioned by my friends a few times. So I was pretty pleased that I'd created a very small urban legend--really, more of a neighborhood legend.
But that's where that came from, so I don't expect you'll find any picture of it. Hope that's not a disappointment. :)
Oh, I got one!
Can you give us a Top 10 list of Wes's favorite Pathfinder PC-Appropriate races?
Edit: All races up to and including the Inner Sea Bestiary are fair game.
Mega-rad storytellingLink!Whooo. Do you remember the context I mentioned it in or can you find the link?A few years ago on the boards here, you mentioned a broken gravestone that was split down the middle with a metal rod in Baltimore.
For some reason, I've been smitten by the image and have been trying to find a picture of it online, but I can't find anything on it. Is there anything else you can remember about it?
That was even better than it being a real thing :)
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That was even better than it being a real thing :)
Mega-rad storytelling
Yay! Live to serve. :D
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I will have to say that write up for devils was amazing and I must applaud your work with the group. You've really helped promote them up to the magnificent bastard planners they should be rather then bickering side liners they felt like in earlier editions when compared to the demons.Why thank you! That's been the point all along. :)
ensuing wall of awesome
Wow! So much stuff to take in, I kind of figured the whole Doloras being this feminine nihilism incarnate character but the repose thing still eludes me in its association. That being said from your write up here she sounds more like an ally of the daemons then kytons (nothing really matters, ascension to nothingness, total obliteration of the soul in order to never be hurt again. Sounds right up the alley of the horsemen. Especially sounds like an interesting ally of Suzeriel)which honestly just makes her more impressive. Okay wait I can kind of see the soul connection but it's more about the destruction of soul and self rather then it's preservation. Dammit now I need to build something around this.
Second holy hell, I'll be the first to raise my hand on the want for more articles on the rest of the lords of the pit. Also would love to see a module, ap, or more books in general covering the whore queens, that write up just makes them to intriguing to not get more love especially considering their semi-antagonistic relationship with the rest of hell and the nature of their position within the hierarchy.
Now more questions. What can you tell us about belial? I have a player who's decided blind calling another powerful demigod because it shares some of it's portfolio with a demon lord and it's cult who he just managed to not get killed by is a good idea and I kind of want more about him so I can better portray what he is all about.
What kinds of characters end up consigned to the 8th ring of hell?
Is their any chance we might see a mythic variant of the contract devil in mythic adventures/bestiary 4, something to really play up that iconic "great tempter" of devilkind?
Also what does Dispater think of his son Ragathiel, does he despise him and seek his destruction, or something closer to actually loving him but finding his choices horribly "misguided"?
What was the most memorable death of a PC you have seen?
Two come to mind. The first is one of mine who I mentioned upstream a bit:
Abelard from Erik's Age of Worms game bit it not far into the Whispering Cairn. This is Abelard, a young and enthusiastic, but naive paladin of Heironeous. He learned the hard way--along with the rest of the group--to always prepare for low-level swarms, being eaten by ravenous beetles. His death had two amusing results. First, our adventuring group took the name Abelard's Band--a nice memorial. Second, as a running gag, almost every time we illustrated Abelard, Dungeon's Iconic Paladin, in the magazine from there on out we showed him meeting some brutal end.The other happened more recently, in one of my Erratic Episodes games. I was running an Engel game using the Dread RPG for Judy Bauer, Cosmo, Liz Courts, and James Sutter. (You can read all about in on my Erratic Episodes page). Most of the details are on there, including the death of Judy's character, which Cosmo filmed. It was the PERFECT end to the evening and the game. You can see me in the background turning up the tense background music as Judy decides whether to use the voice of God to fight a giant mosquito dreamseed and just how much force she wants to put into channeling that power (at the risk of her own life).
What was, lets say, the most funny death of a PC you have seen?
As for funny. Hum. Nothing jumps out as being too hilarious. I'll keep thinking on this. Recently Erik's character Ostog the Unslain cleaved my bard Styrian in half while under the effects of domination in James Jacobs's Sands of the Scorpion God campaign. Styrian kind of had an extra life, but it was still pretty brutal how effortlessly a 14th-level bard goes down in the face of a 14th-level barbarian. :)
I've been browsing through your Erratic Episodes blog recently. What an amazing idea! I love playing different types of games and systems. Life is so hectic and my player's attentions (mine also) tend to drift, making it very difficult to keep a single campaign going for any significant amount of time. (I think over the years, we've started like 4 APs... Finished none). Anyway, I'm rambling.
What advice would you have to offer someone trying to do something similar (playing short 1-3 session games using different systems, settings, stories, etc)?
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Yay! I'm getting caught up! I'm on the same page as the last questions. Okay, lets see here..
In what ways has Vampire influenced your work on Pathfinder? What were your favorite and least favorite elements of the former?
Very little honestly. We played like three or four sessions of Vampire back when I was in my low teens and I've only played a handful of Vampire games since. I liked the way you could level up specific abilities, but I don't remember much in the way of rules beyond that. After Pathfinder and various editions of D&D the RPGs I've probably played the most are Call of Cthulhu and Mutants and Masterminds.
I'm planning on running a campaign where Death quits his job and souls can't pass on until PCs set things right. What inspirational reading/viewing material would you recommend? Undead apocalypse and Grim Reaper-centric stuff is all right up the alley of what I'm looking for. Stories where Death says "screw it!" and someone else takes up his mantle go without saying.
"The Soldier and Death" from Jim Henson's series The Storyteller. It's based off a Russian folktale and is both creepy as Hell and a joy to watch. It's nearly the exactly plot of what you're going for. I'm betting it's on Netflix and you can probably find it online as well.
Beyond that might want to check out the movie Triangle. It's a total B-horror movie, but it's a good one and plays with the idea of who can influence death very nicely. Watch the whole thing, the end--if I remember correctly--is very worth it.
In the Mouth of Madness and Prince of Darkness play in similar fields as this idea--what if X gained influence over the world, whether X be the devil, a madman, something else. Those are two absolute favorites.
I don't really remember Death Becomes Her, but that comes to mind--as the characters can't die and it's horrible.
I Sell the Dead plays a lot with the supernatural and the death trade. You could probably find some solid stuff in there too.
Those are just a few off the top of my head.
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I'll chime in with Terry Prachett's Reaper Man, wherein the Auditors of the universe fire Death and begin coming up with a replacement for him. In addition to people suddenly not staying dead, the world begins building up excess life energy, with... interesting... results.
Back on topic with questions for the good editor-in-chief:
1) Have you read Terry Prachett's works?
2) How about Jim Butcher?
3) Alan Dean Foster?
4) The late David & Leigh Eddings?
5) The late Roger Zelazny?
6) Would a servant of Hell be able to negotiate being transformed into a specific type of devil upon death? Would such a clause reasonably require achieving certain goals while still mortal?
7) Is there an estimate for how long, on average, it takes a soul to make the transition to lemure? I'd assume some realms grind souls down faster than others, but is it normally a very long process? I'm currently under the impression that it normally takes centuries, if not longer.
8) Am I correct in thinking that Hell has a number of "dead end" situations where a damned soul never even makes it to lemure status? Getting used as building materials in Dis, joining Belial's harem, getting used as parchment by Geryon's scribes, etc.?
... throw the fantasy trope of ending names with "-ia" in there...
Fantasy trope? You mean like all these fantastic countries:
Australia, India, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Albania, Austria, Armenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Ethiopia, Gambia, Indonesia, Russia, Mauritania, Liberia, Namibia, Mongolia, Micronesia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria; or maybe closer to home like, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, or California?:)
Silly Zaister. Australia is a continent, not a country ;)
Hmmm.
Thanks for coming here to answer questions. :)
Since James says you're the one to ask about devils then I'm going to do exactly that.
1. Given Hell's misogyny, why did the Whore Queens willingly serve Hell? Were angels prudes or something?
2. Come to think of it, why would any woman willingly and knowingly serve hell?
3. What reason does Asmodeus give for his misogyny?
4. How does Belial's misogyny manifest? I ask because I'm guessing he torments male sex slaves as well.
5. For damned souls, is it worse for women than it is for men or are they tortured equally? Also, how does Hell's much-vaunted meritocracy work for damned women?
6. Given the certainty of damnation, why would anyone sell his soul to a devil?
7. Hell's supposed to be about psychological torture but the torments written about seem physical. What am I missing?
8. Why does Pharasma let children sacrificed to Moloch linger in Hell? Or allow souls who don't belong there to be made into chortovs and zebubs?
9. Would you explain more about the transformation part of Zepar's portfolio?
10. What's your opinion on Way of the Wicked's emphasis on Asmodeus? I know if I were evil I'd want to serve myself, not D&D's version of Darksied.
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My little three-man gaming group has just discovered Ustalav, and fallen madly in love. Since my husband and I are a little too close for comfort to most people's mental image of a table-top gamer, we've decided to use Pathfinder to motivate ourselves to get in shape. When we reach our fitness goals, we'll kick off a Carrion Crown campaign with ourselves as 15 pt buy PCs. To celebrate and treat ourselves for our hard work, we'll be making appropriate costumes.
I've flipped through the illustrations in Rule of Fear to try and get a good handle on the fashion of the country, but because that only shows key characters, I'm having trouble solidifying what typical adventurers in Ustalav look like. In particular, I'm having trouble finding an image of a woman not dressed for a ball. Could you maybe share a little about how you picture the people of Ustalav dressing, or maybe some ideas of films or regions/eras to draw inspiration from? It'd be greatly appreciated!
What is favorite monster or monsters in the...
Bestiary I?
Bestiary II?
Bestiary III?