Do you have any favorite Golarion fan-theories?
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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.
I know the names of my next Reincarnated Druid! ^_~
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New Conspiracy Theory:
In Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Race Guide, the samsaran racial entry indicates that samsarans often take on the their previous incarnation's name as a surname in order to honor themselves or remind themselves of past shames. Shifting over to the modern era, F. Wesley Schneider refuses to tell us what the F. in his name stands for.
I propose that Wes is, in fact, a samsaran. Instead of honoring his former life by taking his past self's name as his surname, Wes choose to recycle his given name. Why? Because Wes is ashamed of whomever he was, however, and so he hides his past self's name from the world.
So tell me, Wes, how outlandish is my theory?
And more importantly, is it awesome being able to choose arcane spells from another class's spell list when choosing your spells known via your Mystic Past Life racial trait?
Ow so the list of vampires if finalized now? So we have Vrykolakas, Vetala, Nosferatu, Normal Vampire and one I forgot the name from.
Are we ever gonna see the strigoi? I think that would be an interresting enemy! I hope it holds some blood-based powers, as none of the other vampires has power over blood yet.
So what are your favorite creature designs from the Shin Megami Tensei series?
Do you have an favorite games from the Shin Megami Tensei series?
I think it would be interesting to see a list of monsters from the hardcover bestiaries that have not been used in a AP or module yet.
Sexy Souls: This says that Belial has more than a wandering eye. He is attracted to pretty things and looks for more to entertain himself with. He knows no gender or sexuality being of infinitely malleable form. He knows no taboo, being beyond morality. He's also ageless, and that means bored, so he's already tried everything once and is always looking for something new. So when you're wondering what might serve him, what might catch his attention, and what he might covet and savor, keep all of that in mind.
I'm imagining that a relatively boring Saturday night for Belial might involve lazing around and ordering kytons to do kyton stuff to each other.
Wes, since you did Rule of Fear, I had a minor question about one of the sights in Ustalav: Langitheath. It's an abandoned rural estate in Ardeal that seems to be
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there will be a book like Varisia; birthplace of legends about Ustalav?
Something like Ustalav: Fog-shoruded land of horrors?
Depends on when and if it makes sense. The regional Player Companions tend to tie into the upcoming Adventure Path. So we did Varisia when Shattered Star was starting up, People of the North with Reign of Winter, kind of broke the regional series for Wrath of the Righteous in favor of the Demon Hunter's Handbook, etc. So if it makes sense with the rest of our product offerings we may well, but we don't currently have any plans for it.
Why rule of fear is so weak in all therms against any other campaign setting book (player´s and GM useable things)?
Like anything, book lines are always evolving, as are the series in them. You never hit on the perfect way to do a thing the first time, and if you're not experimenting with new ways to do things you're either killing yourself our you're already dead. Rule of Fear is a 2011 attempt at how to create setting books. Prior to it was Heart of the Jungle, which is all over the board in terms of focus and organization, and Guide to the River Kingdoms, which has many of the issues you get with a variety show like that. So Rule of Fear tried several new things:
Consistent Organization and Layout: Every two page spread within the major chapters designed to provide the same content in the same places. For example, throughout the counties section you'll get a page of location detail and a run of notable locations on the first page, then then details on the ruler and noteworthy NPCs on the second. In Cities and Settlements you'll get hit with overview, city statblock, locations, map, and rumors, of the same size in the same places every time. Even the Legends and Hauntings section keeps its concepts to deliberate sections and doesn't start entirely new discussions mid-page (only the pieces of the larger haunting section are allowed to flow). This worked very well, both in this project and in products we were releasing around the time. In the years since then our product designs have become even more strictly organized, to the benefit of their appearances and useability.
Greater Reliance on Maps: I did a TON of maps for this book. There are city maps, town maps, region maps, a haunted house map, a side-view map, all different ways to present map content. We'd been inconsistent with that in the past, so I wanted to see what people took to. The feedback we revived on the number, presentation, and certain types of maps was overall quite positive. In region books like this, you've seen the number of maps increase.
Adventure Sites: Before Rule of Fear we were inconsistent in the way we presented dungeon and adventure location overviews. The haunting section in this book tried a new way to present this content, with not just general description but mini-statblocks giving an at a glance overview of what you could expect in the site. We were very pleased with this and you've seen it adopted in setting books since then.
So all of those bit proved very useful experiments and have continued to influence the layout and content of our setting books to the present. That's not to say it's not without issues.
Rules Content: If I had it to do over, I'd do something completely different with the introduction and timeline, probably chop the bloodlines and conspiricies sections, and maybe a settlement or two to win back space for a Bestiary and NPCs section. There is very little in terms of crunch in this book and in retrospect I think that's a pretty significant weakness. It was deliberate at the time as the book was meant to be a tie-in to the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, which was presenting tons of monsters and rules for the region, and I didn't want to maroon any content that would be great for the AP in a secondary book. (Can't do a bunch with new hauntings in here, we've got that in Pathfinder #43. New monsters? Well, there's 6 AP bestiaries worth of new Ustalav monsters. Other items and characters and what not? Well the AP was still being designed, so we couldn't risk stepping on its toes. So things got slim.)
Omissions: There are two editorial gaffs that I know of in this book. One is that on page 10 it says there's a write-up on Kavapesta in Chapter 3. There is not. It got cut for space but the reference remained. To account for this, I wrote up a brief description for Kavapesta here. There is also a reference on page 30 that says Carrion Hill appears in Chapter 4 later. While it is mentioned in the Conspiracies section in the discussion of the Old Cults, it does not receive a full hauntings style write-up. I chose not to spend the space on it because the location is so thoroughly detailed in Pathfinder Module: Carrion Hill. So the reference on page 30 should really just be a citation to that book, but the original note crept through development.
Those are the two biggest things that stand out as mistakes for that book, but ever those are lessons learned and have had positive influences on our lines and how we've produced similar books in the years since.
So I remain quite pleased with the book and it, along with much of the Carrion Crown AP, are our go-to sources for all things Ustalav. It's a rung on a ladder we've continued to climb, and I know I'd create a very different book for the subject matter if I was writing it today. But it's like looking back at your old Nintendo games and comparing them to the graphics and options of modern consoles. Technology advances, preferences evolve, tastes change, and you can't judge important milestones too harshly for not being the current apex--which will in turn appear dated in another 3 years.
Thanks for the question, for checking out the book, and for the review! Hope this clears up your concern about Carrion Hill and, no, you didn't get a wonky copy.
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Wes, re Rule of Fear, aside from the editing issues you state, my impression of it has always been that it seems fully-fleshed out in a way some of the CS books don't approach as well. It has a coherence to itself that makes it believable as a country, more or less. River Kingdoms always seemed incoherent to me - too jigsawy a realm with high fantasy brushing up against the low (too many cooks?).
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Depends on when and if it makes sense...Well, Wes, Thanks a lot for all the time ypu spend answering this one. as you mention, i understand that the space issues and so... i will wait more arts, and things for this country at avistan!!
Oh, there's plenty more in store for Ustalav. Right off the bat, if you want more, check out any volume of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, Pathfinder Module: Carrion Hill for (duh) Carrion Hill, Guilty Blood for more on Ardis, Dragons Unleashed has a corner of Sinaria, Castles of the Inner Sea explores Catle Kronquist, Artifacts & Legends touches on the Whispering Tyrant and the Invidian Eye, Inner Sea Bestiary reveals what's beneath Kalexcourt, the Pathfinder Society Scenarios "The Darkest Vengeance" and "The Midnight Mauler," as well as probably quite a few things I'm missing. Be sure to keep an eye out, as there's also lots more in the works. :)
I can't wait for more on Ustalav - its my very favorite playground in all of Golarion :)
Secondly: What are your thoughts on the concept of an axiomite Godmind collective from eons past that was in some ways "corrupted" (like bad data on a hard drive) by an outside source/influence and had to be excised by the Axiomites. The excision leaving behind fragmentary "corrupted" axiomites that, if they ever reunited, would reform the corrupted Godmind?I. Think. That. Is. AWESOME!
And I might file it away for future theft. Because that's an awesome idea. Very similar to the plot of the Great Modron March too.
Neat!
You get a point.
It does sound similar to the plot regarding the Geth in Mass Effect 3, though.
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It does sound similar to the plot regarding the Geth in Mass Effect 3, though.
Secondly: What are your thoughts on the concept of an axiomite Godmind collective from eons past that was in some ways "corrupted" (like bad data on a hard drive) by an outside source/influence and had to be excised by the Axiomites. The excision leaving behind fragmentary "corrupted" axiomites that, if they ever reunited, would reform the corrupted Godmind?I. Think. That. Is. AWESOME!
And I might file it away for future theft. Because that's an awesome idea. Very similar to the plot of the Great Modron March too.
Neat!
You get a point.
I think the major difference there is the Geth development of identity/souls and exploration of emotions, something that the axiomites as a species have no need to explore as they already feel and are incarnate souls of law. I think it has more in common with that hideous gestalt undead library from Inner Sea Bestiary.
I think the major difference there is the Geth development of identity/souls and exploration of emotions, something that the axiomites as a species have no need to explore as they already feel and are incarnate souls of law. I think it has more in common with that hideous gestalt undead library from Inner Sea Bestiary.
It's true, I just felt reminded of the geth story when I first read that.
hi Wes - Thanks for taking the time to answer questions here. Can you say anything about how The Guide to the River Kingdoms ended up with an entry by China Mieville? It was a very pleasant surprise to see his name on that book and Outsea certainly did not disappoint.
I'm going to try and take these at a relatively fast clip:
Lamashtu: Probably the most complicated of these, as she's a legitimate deity with evil interests that overlap with Asmodeus. I suspect they don't get along well at all, their methods are too different while their desire for corrupting mortals is so similar. Two cooks in a kitchen that could never be big enough. Add to that Lamashtu's rise through the ranks of demonkind and you've probably got some good reasons for Asmodeus to look down on her. Overall, you don't need a Blood War for demons and devils to just not like each other.
Charon: I see Charon is pretty aloof in planar politics (I touched on this a bit in the Dispater article I think). And Asmodeus certainly would consider himself greater than Charon--he'll go out of his way to do that in almost any interaction, even if he doesn't flaunt it. But neither has any direct reason to oppose the other and Charon's influence over travel on the River Styx makes him particularly useful. He's just hard to bargain with though, because he's a death deity and it's hard to inflame such creatures' barely existent passions.
Dahak: He certainly would have draconic worshipers. There two reasons we don't hear more about the deity's interactions in monster races:
(Out of game) Generally, all Pathfinder products are to an extent humanocentric (or, at least, core-race-centric), so given the opportunity to define a deity's interaction with elves or derro, we're going to pick elves every time. We'll save the derro details for the book/article about derro, and the dragon details for articles more focused on dragons.
(In game) Dragons do not have a social culture, so religion doesn't spread swiftly between them. Dragons have a relatively small population, so while they make impressive agents in the mortal world, after their death there's only one soul being harvested. Dragons also have racial deities, which although they don't perfectly sync with the alignments of many dragons, many lawful evil dragons will probably seek out the virtue in Dahak's worship before worshiping a non-dragon deity. All of that said, there are going to pragmatic (and usually lawful evil) dragons who seek power through Asmodeus's worship. It only makes sense for them to attempt to exploit the same sources of power other mortals would.
Dark Tapestry The dark tapestry? Faceless, formless, parasites of faith without the clout to even put down stakes in the realms of the gods? No, I don't think he pays them much mind. If they can be put to use, then by all means, even if that means touting their threat as something greater than it is to turn others toward his worship.
Also, I know I've been cagey about Barbatos's origins, but consider this: There are beings that fell from Heaven with Asmodeus who he doesn't consider worthy of archdevil status.
Treerazer: Treerazer is another demigod, and a demigod that fled the Abyss and has not managed to return. As planar politics go, Asmodeus probably has less interest in Treerazer than most demigods--who are already little more than pretenders to the titles of deities.
When you're thinking about Asmodeus and his schemes and allies, remember to think big, long term, and arrogant. If he can conceive of a reason to look down on a being, he probably will--and that means most beings. So if respect isn't being handed out based on status and title alone, it has to be gained by power and ingenuity, particularly when that could significantly aid or oppose him and the cadre of organized demigods who obey his word as law.
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Some place you'd probably like, Wes.
As a set-piece it's pretty awesome. The ending of the story seems appropriate, somehow.
Would it be better left as is, as a place to see, with a story, and yet, perhaps, nothing beyond a haunt, or as the home of a undead of some kind?
Maybe I'll put a similar place is in the River Kingdoms.
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Some place you'd probably like, Wes.
As a set-piece it's pretty awesome. The ending of the story seems appropriate, somehow.
Would it be better left as is, as a place to see, with a story, and yet, perhaps, nothing beyond a haunt, or as the home of a undead of some kind?
Maybe I'll put a similar place is in the River Kingdoms.
I've read about that place :X
It also reminds me of Aokigahara, Japan's so called "suicide forest".
If you want some nightmares, go ahead and image search that forest.
I've read about that place :X
It also reminds me of Aokigahara, Japan's so called "suicide forest".
If you want some nightmares, go ahead and image search that forest.
Oh my yes. I only discovered this earlier this year. And yes. AWESOME! Totally on my list of vacation destinations. ;)
Some place you'd probably like, Wes.
As a set-piece it's pretty awesome. The ending of the story seems appropriate, somehow.
Would it be better left as is, as a place to see, with a story, and yet, perhaps, nothing beyond a haunt, or as the home of a undead of some kind?
Maybe I'll put a similar place is in the River Kingdoms.
Ha! Yeah! Also totally awesome. But NOT on my list of places I'd ever want to visit. That's none of my business. Dolls are already creepy as #$%&!
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Oh my yes. I only discovered this earlier this year. And yes. AWESOME! Totally on my list of vacation destinations. ;)I've read about that place :X
It also reminds me of Aokigahara, Japan's so called "suicide forest".
If you want some nightmares, go ahead and image search that forest.
I used to live in San Francisco, and have dreams about walking on the GG bridge at night. It whispered to me. It beats Aokigahara in lives taken. There's a great documentary called called The Bridge that is very raw and good, in the way the RW is horrifying and real.
When I was a kid, I was riding in a VW bus that almost slid and bounced off the side of the Tappan Zee bridge, and hence bridges and I have a strange relationship. There is a collapsing bridge in a scenario I'm writing for a 3pp currently that I never realized - until I wrote this post -is a symbol of that.
But as authors, phobias are just more grist for the mill. Grind, grind.
I've read about that place :X
It also reminds me of Aokigahara, Japan's so called "suicide forest".
If you want some nightmares, go ahead and image search that forest.
I've actually birded there with some Japanese researchers. Said researchers have multiple times stumbled upon dead bodies while doing bird surveys. Strangely enough if you didn't know the backstory to the place it's actually quite beautiful
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Odd spiritual question:
What happens when a person on Golarion practices or embraces some behavior or ideal associated with a deity, but personally dislikes the way it is practiced or promoted by that deity, especially if the behavior is favored by an evil god and the person itself is non-evil and practices the behavior in a benign way?
To use an example, a person greatly enjoys gluttony, spending most of his/her money on good food. He/she is more than happy to invite other people to join them in these feasts, and tempers their eating in the face of things like famine. This person, however, does not worship Urgathoa and finds the practices of her worshipers like cannibalism, undeath and whatnot as disgusting.
Another example could be a person who promotes freedom and equality, but finds Milani's doctrine of revolution disruptive and problematic, and thinks Cayden Cailean's followers are idiotic drunks whose view of freedom is too irresponsible and anarchic. They feel the best way to achieve freedom is through rule of law and representative democracy, increasing the freedoms of the people through slow and small changes.
Where exactly do these persons sit spiritually, then? Which deities do these persons turn to when the deity in charge of the aspect of life they enjoy and practice the most is repugnant to them?
Wes, what is best in life?
All the Questions!
Ack! Lots!
Okay, this might take some time to digest...
1) In Blood of the Night, it talks about creating dhampirs (as well as vampires, particularly Nosferatu) via various necromantic rituals. What groups in Golarion do you think are the most likely to be messing around with things like that, and why? And would such a ritual require the target to still be a fetus, or could it be done on a baby, child, or even an adult?
The Whispering Way immediately comes to mind, largely because they idealize death. Other vampires too, as the process of creating a dhampir is many opportunities for accidental death. Groups in Geb that idealized death as well would be good choices. And none of that even touches of cults of deities of death, like Urgathoa or Zura.
2) Can dhampir come from any humanoid race, hypothetically? For example, lizardfolk dhampir with pale, white scales? Or is it pretty much just humans only?
Humans only. For the same reason we don't want half-elf/dwarves and half orc/elves we don't want half-vampire/lizardfolk. Humans and a few other races have proven compatible in noteworthy ways, but many other races just don't match up. Consider it a secret racial trait of humanity that reenforces their adaptability.
3) Of the four kinds of vampires that currently exist, jiang-shi, moroi, nosferatu, and vetala vampires, which are your favorites, and what do you like about each?
The classic Western vampires, definitely, the moroi closely followed by the nosferatu. I love the idea of the suave, controlled, powerful mastermind and the moroi embodies that. But then I also love the ageless, bored, detached ancient that you get with the nosferatu.
Beyond them, I like the jiang-shi a lot, just for their place in Eastern folklore, his distinctive powers, and because David Lo Pan and Hsien-Ko are both awesome.
Vetala are the newest to our game and still have some traction to gain. They've got to establish a niche for themselves and I don't think we've nailed their look quite yet. That said, the more psychic-vampire-like monster is really cool and I hope we can find a good vehicle for them.
4) Do strigoi still exist on the Plane of Shadow? And are they greater than their degenerate descendants, or have those descendants evolved in new and interesting ways to survive on the Material Plane that leave them on par with (if not greater than) the unaltered strigoi?
Strigoi are largely a mystery right now, but one I look forward to exploring down the road here. For now, we'll just have to wait and see.
5) The Books of the Damned and Chronicle of the Righteous were great, but do you think you'll ever do some books on some of the other evil outsiders out there? I like asuras, kytons, and rakshasa in particular, and I'm definitely curious about the names listed for them in the bestiaries, but as far as I know we don't have more than those names for the big enchiladas...
It's hard to say.
There's something really satisfying to having done all three big D evil outsider races and effectively closed the book on them (though, I suppose Demons Revisited reopens that to an extent). So if we dove right into a big book on kytons, then we get "When's the book on divs. On qlippoth. On raksasha. On aeons. On psychopomps." and so on. And while being completists from an in-world view makes a lot of sense, I'm not convinced its makes great sense from a sales perspectives. I know there are hundreds of GMs out there who know what demons are and know what they are in our game. I can't say that about asuras, kytons, divs, etc. So we've got to weigh what we and our biggest fans might want against what has broad appeal.
All that said... you might notice that Chronicle of the Righteous established a different, more inclusive format allowing us to explore a wider number of planar races then the previous Books of the Damned...
6) And relatedly, which are your favorite evil outsiders that aren't one of the big three (daemons, demons, and devils, that is), and why?
Kytons. I've written or concepted every new kyton since the first Bestiary. Besides being a big Barker fan, I love the playground of amoral pursuit of various forms of perfection, what beauty means to ageless and utterly alien eyes, and what happens to mortals when they presume to deal with the immortal as equals.
7) And in contrast, what are some of your favorite non-evil outsiders out there, and why?
Psychopomps, majorly. We took a stab at creating a compelling new neutral outsider race with aeons... and that... didn't work so well. They are what they are, specialized multiplanar white blood cells, but... eh. So I tried again in Carrion Crown, and I think we hit on something there. Theme has a lot to do with it, and cuing them off dispassionate death helped, and made them creepy without being evil. Compelling art also is a huge factor, and we got some solid stuff right out the door with Pathfinder #47 and #48. The guys in Inner Sea Bestiary helped, and then there have been a few more (already out and coming soon) that help flesh them out even more. So I'm really pleased with them and look forward to playing with their leaders, the Ushers, especially.
8) Back to dhampirs briefly, it says that they have a life-long hunger for blood, even though they can certainly survive without it. Can they get sick from drinking too much blood the way a human can, or does their vampiric nature allow them to handle a lot more? And just how good is it for a dhampir to finally get to taste some blood? Does it matter to them how they get it (beyond their own personal sadistic tendencies or lack thereof), or does it only matter that it's blood (and probably fresh)?
Their vampiric nature should help them handle blood far better.
I'd think of this as a life-long addiction that they can never quite kick. The longer they go, the rougher it gets for them. Imagine being born with a cocaine addiction you know you can never kick. That's probably how it goes for them.
As for fresh vs old, I suspect it's like food for us. We could eat the steak that we left in our sock drawer for a week. It's gross and moldy and might even make us sick, but we could eat it. But wouldn't a fresh, choice cut prepared in expert fashion be better?
9) What are some of your favorite undead that aren't vampires, and what do you like about 'em?
I love liches, because they're masterminds and that's awesome.
I really like mummies, though I much prefer those with classes and plots and elaborate stories, not just the basic versions we see in the Bestiary. Maybe it's the old Van Richten's guides echoing in my head, but I still think of mummies as being to clerics what liches are to wizards. So I think there's still some room for development there.
Ecorches are cool, because I learned a fun word when I put them in B3 and they have messed up abilities. And they're strong.
Wraiths are probably my favorite spectral undead because they're so creepy, but ghosts have the most potential for stories.
And then there's graveknights, because I love Lord Soth and wanted to get some variety in their abilities when I wrote them up for Pathfinder, which I think came across well.
Raveners are also cool, though I do think we need to do some work defining their role in Golarion if we're going to make them as cool as dracoliches.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but those are the first big ones that come to mind.
10) I found your statement that mortal souls allow the Outer Planes to continue to sustain themselves to be really fascinating. Does that mean that the influx of mortal souls from the Positive Energy Plane, which then gain an affinity for a given alignment while living on the Material Plane (and possibly the Plane of Shadow?), and then flow out to the Outer Planes, is what allows this entire bubble of reality to continue to exist in the Maelstrom (or as Lords of Chaos suggested, the Abyss that truly lurks behind/beneath the Maelstrom), preventing it from devouring the Outer Planes, Inner Planes, and finally the Material Plane? Or could the deities manage to halt it even without the influx of souls? Or am I reading way too much into your statement?
Stay tuned.
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I like the idea of there being different materials on the planes (anyone remember Baatorian Green Steel?), but I honestly haven't put a lot of thought into this.
YES. I've had a campaign plot seed about green steel planted in my homebrew for years now, just waiting for it to flower at the right moment...
What, in your mind, makes a good kyton story for an adventure scenario? What elements should absolutely be in place to utilize such a being to its fullest extent (from a dramatic standpoint, not a mechanical one)?
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In Princes of Darkness, Geryon is touted as father of heresies, which sounds really interesting.
Is he (or are his faithful) in any way tied to the various 'heresies' that are floating around Golarion, such as the 'Burners' in Mendev (who are hurting the reputation of Iomedae) or slavery apologists in Qadira (who might be hurting the reputation of Sarenrae) or factions of Erastilian or Findeladlaran faithful that might be leaning towards a more sexist or racist / supremacist interpretation of their faiths?
Could Geryon perhaps even be tinkering with the godless 'faith' of Rahadoum (or Hermea or Touvette), twisting it to more sinister ends?
'Cause that would be kind of awesome, if so.
Oh, and in regards to Asmodeus' misogyny, after Princes of Darkness, I always thought it stemmed from the fact that the only individual he viewed as an equal, Ihys, was swayed by Saranrae into not reconciling with him, thus forcing him (in Asmodeus' mind) to kill his brother to prevent things from getting worse. I totally got the impression that Asmodeus loved Ihys in perhaps not an entirely brotherly manner and loathed Saranrae for what he feels she brought about by meddling in the affairs of those above her. Of course, that tale could certainly be suspect...
Sure are some cool ideas there, and those characters certainly existed before all that nasty mortal gender stuff anyway, so there might be something to that... ;)
Your thoughts on Vampire Hunter D, the books and the movies?
LOVE, Love, love the movies. The translations of the novels, though... didn't dig them so much. I've been working through the first one forever and it still hasn't quite grabbed me. I'm not sure if I can lay that at the translator's feet or the original author's. In either case, though, the movies have had much more of an inspirational impact than the books.
So Wes,
What exactly was Asmodeus's reaction to the creation of the Dustbringer by Charon and company? Fury, grudging respect for the rules exploit, slaughter of every daemon currently within Hell? What was the political fallout -if any- that resulted from its creation and its use.
Hi Wes,
Since I'm currently stuck in a country where I don't speak the language, and the weather has kept me trapped in my hotel room when I'm not working, I've decided to start posting questions for the devs in a bid to maintain my sanity. Otherwise I'm likely to lose my mind from lack of conversation. I apologise in advance for any questions you may have already answered. Some of these are Pathfinder related, others are just general.
1. Are we likely to ever see more of Bastardhall? I'm sure you hear this a lot, but I'd love to see a module, or even a campaign based around this location. If not a full module or AP, is it possible we could just get further details on the location to facilitate home games run there?
2. Do you have a personal favourite class/race combo in Pathfinder?
3. Do you make use of any 3PP products regularly in your games? If so, which ones tend to get the most use?
4. Given how much you seem to have to do with Ustalav, I gather you're a bit of a horror fan. What is your preferred medium for horror? Movies, novels, comics, television?
5. Could you name some of your favourite horror stories, of any medium?
6. What are your feelings on the way vampires are being shown in popular culture at the moment? For example, Twilight (both the books and films), True Blood (and the series it was based on, The Southern Vampire Mysteries) and other similar movies/television series/literature?
I'm sure I could come up with more and more questions, and given that I'm going to be here for at least another week and a half, I may come back with more later... but that's it for now. I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer the questions we all come up with for you though. Certainly the interaction between the community and the Paizo team is a major part of why I enjoy these messageboards so much.
Cheers.
Mr. Schneider don't you like the Baykok?
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More questions related to devils (although applicable to any sorts of outsiders who barter in souls, really);
If a mortal is bodily transported to another plane, such as the old 'Paladin in Hell' scenario, or just through old-fashioned immigration, or less-fun kidnapping, and then dies, do their souls leave that plane to be judged by Pharasma, or are they stuck there?
Does the nature of outsider-y planes, like the Hells, affect the souls (or bodies / psyches) of non-outsiders who dwell or even are born there? (Perhaps even gaining templates like fiendish or celestial, after many generations of being born and living and dying in the upper/lower/innie/outie planes.)
The scenario I'm imagining is a devil, demon, daemon deciding that it's too much bother for too little guaranteed reward to encourage wickedness in mortals on Golarion, for a fractional chance of Pharasma doling the souls back to them (and them beating out all the other members of their race to fetch them), and instead bodily abducting a bunch of mortals to Hell, and setting up his own 'soul farm' in one of the world-sized bolgias or whatever. Over generations, thousands of mortals could have entire kingdoms in some backwater corner of the Hells, many of them blissfully unaware that they *live in Hell* and that they are being encouraged to live and love and expand across this sealed in area, their societies being strictly maintained as lawful and evil through the intervention of devils and half-fiends living in disguise among them, so that they end up being a rich supply of souls for whichever devil is maintaining these fake worlds.
Sort of 'For the World is Hollow, and I Have Touched the Sky,' only set in Malebolge.
Camps of mortals living in the upper planes would also be possible. Perhaps the family of some saint or residents of some faithful community being overwhelmed by evil (such as a small village of LG sorts with the bad luck of living near the entrance of the newly forming Worldwound) having been bodily 'saved' by an angel or empyreal, snatched away and spirited to Heaven. Generations later, an entire human mortal population could exist in Heaven, their descendants.
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The scenario I'm imagining is a devil, demon, daemon deciding that it's too much bother for too little guaranteed reward to encourage wickedness in mortals on Golarion, for a fractional chance of Pharasma doling the souls back to them (and them beating out all the other members of their race to fetch them), and instead bodily abducting a bunch of mortals to Hell, and setting up his own 'soul farm' in one of the world-sized bolgias or whatever. Over generations, thousands of mortals could have entire kingdoms in some backwater corner of the Hells, many of them blissfully unaware that they *live in Hell* and that they are being encouraged to live and love and expand across this sealed in area, their societies being strictly maintained as lawful and evil through the intervention of devils and half-fiends living in disguise among them, so that they end up being a rich supply of souls for whichever devil is maintaining these fake worlds.
That's Golarion's greatest secret! Shhhhhhhhhh!
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If one were to be playing in your Bastardhall game this year, what kind of characters would allow for the most enjoyment?
If you feel like you'd be right at home fighting Dracula, you're set for Bastardhall.
Or
If you could make a strong argument that your character would make a compelling main character for the next installment of the Castlevania series, you're on the right track.
I used to live in San Francisco, and have dreams about walking on the GG bridge at night. It whispered to me. It beats Aokigahara in lives taken. There's a great documentary called called The Bridge that is very raw and good, in the way the RW is horrifying and real.
When I was a kid, I was riding in a VW bus that almost slid and bounced off the side of the Tappan Zee bridge, and hence bridges and I have a strange relationship. There is a collapsing bridge in a scenario I'm writing for a 3pp currently that I never realized - until I wrote this post -is a symbol of that.
But as authors, phobias are just more grist for the mill. Grind, grind.
THIS IS FASCINATING. Good find Jeff!
When I first read this I saw "frogs."James Sutter, secret nemesis of Ustalav.
Naaah! Sutter's been good to Ustalav.
For some reason, during the outlining for Carrion Crown (at that point, still before our bungled announcement when the AP was still called Charnel Crown), Sutter and I were at the grocery store for something and I was complaining that I was wrestling with coming up with a good name for the big bad boss vampire for the fifth adventure. I'd gone through the usual host of portmanteaus and anagrams and wasn't hitting on anything that both sounded Eastern Euorpean and had a Dracula-esque quality.
I was half settled on Siervage age that point, since that evoked to sound and look of "savage," but with a more aristocratic quality.
And he's just like, off the bat, "How about Luvick."
*blink, blink*
Yeah, alright, that sounds good!
So we hustled back before I forgot it and it went right in the outline. And Grandfather Luvick has been among the oldest, deadliest, and to me one of the most interesting vampires in Ustalav ever since. :)
So we hustled back before I forgot it and it went right in the outline. And Grandfather Luvick has been among the oldest, deadliest, and to me one of the most interesting vampires in Ustalav ever since. :)
Would Luvick's age and power make him a good choice for the Mythic Vampire template from the Mythic Adventures playtest (and, presumably, the forthcoming hardcover)?
If not, what vampires in the Inner Sea would you give the template to?
I visited the Menil Museum in Houston this weekend and saw a sculpture from central Africa that could be a fine start of a Kyton lord.
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I visited the Menil Museum in Houston this weekend and saw a sculpture from central Africa that could be a fine start of a Kyton lord.
I absolutely LOVE the Menil!
I visited the Menil Museum in Houston this weekend and saw a sculpture from central Africa that could be a fine start of a Kyton lord.
Marrow (using her bones as weapons) from x-men would be a very cool kyton species as well.
I visited the Menil Museum in Houston this weekend and saw a sculpture from central Africa that could be a fine start of a Kyton lord.I absolutely LOVE the Menil!
It's the best! I think the Witnesses room (items owned and collected by the surrealists, dominated by the amazing German wildman) is my favorite museum thing ever.
When we walked in the Rothko Chapel there was a dude doing some awesome martial arts katas until a stuffy docent shut him down.