Wes, have you listened to Welcome to Night Vale?
It's a free surreal/horror podcast done in the form of essentially an NPR local events program set in a small desert town. Lots of creepiness alternating with deadpan humor. Kind of NPR from the Twilight Zone.
Some sample dialog, all read in the best NPR monotone:
Dogs are not allowed in the dog park. People are not allowed in the dog park. You may see hooded figures in the dog park. Do not approach them. Do not approach the dog park. The fence is electrified and highly dangerous. Try not to look at the dog park and especially do not look for any period of time at the hooded figures.Angels only tell lies and they do not exist. Report all Angel sightings to the City Council for treatment.
Going feet first and whole into a slimy maw would give your life perfect symmetry.
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I have a question about Ragathiel:
In order to practice Ragathiel's obedience and gain his boons, you are required to slay a wrongdoer every single day. I find this obedience...problematic. How would a devout follower of Ragathiel meet this commitment in, say, an urban-based campaign like Curse of the Crimson Throne or Council of Thieves, without being treated like a serial killer? Every day, someone in the city is killed to appease a wrathful celestial being. I imagine in places like these (especially since they're strongly aligned with devil-worshiping Cheliax), the law would come down pretty hard. Not to mention that for a Lawful Good faith, this sounds a lot like human sacrifice, something that most paladin-types object to. While its true that the Adventure Paths have no shortage of unrepentant villains to slay, this obedience requires you kill an evil person every. Single. Day. How does this account for stretches of downtime where a PC might not be out for villain slaying? What if you're in a place where villainous people are hard to find (especially if you're cleaning up the town anyway)? Are you required to run an extra encounter where you track down and kill an evildoer every day? Most of the other Empyreal Lords aren't nearly as demanding in terms of their obediences, even if some DO seem equally strange or excessive (Arshea demands you have sex every day, for example, but that's nowhere near as demanding as Ragathiel, who asks you to kill people).
You are absolutely right, in some circumstances you might not be in a position to do this everyday, or it might not be in your best interest to perform this obedience. And that's fine. But it will mean that the empyreal lord of vengeance will not grant you his boons that day.
It doesn't kick you out of the class, it doesn't mean you've failed, it just means you don't receive those benefits.
Empyreal lords are demigods. Part of that means that their focuses are more precise than greater deities. It also means that their followings are more regional, more specialized, and in some cases, more prone to fanatics.
A worshiper of Ragathiel would have a difficult time exacting vengeance upon evil doers in, say, Westcrown. His faith and the strictures of his deity might even mean his devotion puts him afoul of mortal laws. That might mean that Westcrown (or similar cities) might not be the best place for him and his faith to flourish--unless he comes to a special arrangement with the local law or goes vigilante (both viable options).
These, however, are not problems he would face as much in the wilds of Belkzen, the shadows of Nidal, or the battle zones of the Worldwound. Not coincidentally, these are the places where Ragathiel wants his servants. He doesn't want them cleaning up procedure in the courts of Magnimar or making sure criminals in Galt get a fair shake, he wants them to be avenging angels--like himself--in conflicts that matter, that need heroes, that aren't safe, that require sacrifice, that call for spilled blood. There is plenty of evil in the multiverse, plenty of evil in Golarion and Avistan alone. Ragathiel doesn't want his people doing small goods behind the lines of civilization, he wants them on the brink, fighting the tides that threaten to overwhelm and that don't shy from assaulting their foes.
Does this make Ragathiel the right deity for every paladin? Certainly not. Does this make him right for every campaign or Adventure Path. Also, certainly not. And fortunately, there are dozens of other deities with less zealous demands, and by extent larger and more accessible faiths.
If you want to play a worshiper of Ragathiel, I would suggest a few things. First, play in a campaign that supports your character and works with your deity's demands on his worshipers--something bold and high in danger like the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path. Second, acknowledge that although your deity makes the same demands of you that he does of himself--to enter the fray against evil daily--you are mortal and not a deity. Therefore, there might be some days where life and reality force you to be less than an avenging blade against evil, and accept that that's fine. Third, if you want to bring Ragathiel's vengeance to lands far from enemy lines, exercise creativity when you need to, get in good with the local executioner or justice system and aid them with the dirty but just work of executions, work with them to root out crime and monsters in dark places, become a vigilante and take matters into your own hands, work out a deal with a local magic-user to call (not summon) evil foes or outsiders to you and challenge them to just combat. This will be challenging, but living up to the demands of an unfathomably powerful paragon of ultimate righteousness should be.
That's part of what it comes down to. Ragathiel is a giant creature of living goodness and law. He has five burning wings and would have six if one of the greatest evils in imagination hadn't ripped it from its socket. He forgoes paradise--Literal Paradise--to soar into battle against beings capable of shattering mortal minds and their impossibly depraved lords to protect beings that will never even be able to fathom what he is. Across millions of worlds things that life brief and imperfect lives raise their voices to him, and to some he offers a measure of his power. All he asks in return is that everyday, they cut down an evil doers that is as equally insignificant as they.
"Ant at my feet, who I favor with my attention. Every day, I want you to go out and put an end to another ant that does wrong. In return, I will grant you a measure of my might and elevate you to a place higher than nearly any other ant around you. Fail, and I will not punish you."
Easy? Maybe not. Worth struggling for to be called a champion of the general of vengeance?
That's between you and your god.
Link:Obeying Ragathiel - How to not be a serial murderer? Thread
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What is the reasoning behind Baalzebaal's favored weapon being a spear? I know it could just be something you selected but considering your previous answers I was wondering if there is some deeper thought process behind the weapon selection considering mechanically it's a weapon clerics already have access to and paizo has had a pretty strong policy of rewarding clerics with weapon proficiencies for worshiping the various gods.
Artifacts & Legends was a great read; thank you for writing that.
The string of incidents involving the Cudgel of St. Cuthbert - are any of those shout-outs to prior campaigns?
Sadly no. They're meant to illustrate the range on the mace's travels and the unlikely heroes that often claim it.
Though, had I access to every IP in the world, I would probably replace the word "choker" with 'gibberling." ;)
I've noticed that in art, Tar-Baphon usually seems to be accompanied by crows. Is this a thematic thing, or magic, or..?
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Of the Empyreals my favorite is Arshea, I'm loving the concept of a sex-positive transgender demigod. :3
Lust aside, where did the idea for Arshea come about? Here's hoping for another one of your meaty answers.
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Wes,
The scepter of ages from Artifacts and Legends is probably my favorite artifact in the whole book, mostly because it opens the door to fantastic adventures in time. I'm actually already using it in a home campaign, having it currently serving as the eldritch power source for an entire castle that shifts through history.
My question, thusly, is what was the inspiration for the scepter?
Would it be too obvious to say The Time Machine?
I can't say that the Scepter of Ages is at all my own.
First off, Erik was the one who first mentioned it, I belive in Pathfinder #1's Pathfinder Journal, along with such hopefully now familiar relics as the Lens of Galundari, the Apollyon Ring, and the Thorncrown of Iomedae.
From there, it got maybe a few more passing mentions with that lot, but no more real definition.
When I picked it up, my big ideas for it were that it should be a time travel device--because you can only get away with something that rules breaky with an artifact--and that it should have a spin similar more like Tasslehoff Burfoot's time traveling device. And it be cool if it kind of looked like a key blade.
Beyond that, I also thought it be fun to drop in the Ages of Golarion chart just what you could get up to if you use it.
I also think the staff hasn't been created yet in Golarion's timeline. I'd love to see a time travel adventure someday that uses it, but having it come back and get broken (or something) and then the PCs actualyl have to create it for the first time...
Because time travel is crazy.
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Wes,
The Bestiaries provide eclectic content, which is awesome for the homebrewing GM.
Do you ever wish to see under-utilized creatures used in adventures more? Do creatures ever inspire the story? Or does the story almost always determine the creatures used?
The best monsters are the ones where you look at them and immediately think, I want to design a whole adventure using these guys. Monsters that are so cool that they give you the itch to play or write, those are the ones that are doing it right. They're the point.
There's also plenty of monsters out there in Bestiaries that either just give a hint of a greater story or that we have plans for in Golarion that are just waiting to unfold. Having just wrapped up Bestiary 4 I've got a whole passel of new beasties that now I'm totally itching to use in my games (even worked one into my Emerald Spire level already.
I also have some big plans for dark folk (some of which I sneaked into B4) that I'll get to those eventually.
As for creatures I'd like to see get more use, the top ten that come to mind are probably:
Devils
Inevitables
Proteans
Angels
Vishkanya
Strix
Vargouilles
Xills
Wyverns
Rakshasa
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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Wes,
The scepter of ages from Artifacts and Legends is probably my favorite artifact in the whole book, mostly because it opens the door to fantastic adventures in time. I'm actually already using it in a home campaign, having it currently serving as the eldritch power source for an entire castle that shifts through history.
My question, thusly, is what was the inspiration for the scepter?
Would it be too obvious to say The Time Machine?
I can't say that the Scepter of Ages is at all my own.
First off, Erik was the one who first mentioned it, I belive in Pathfinder #1's Pathfinder Journal, along with such hopefully now familiar relics as the Lens of Galundari, the Apollyon Ring, and the Thorncrown of Iomedae.
From there, it got maybe a few more passing mentions with that lot, but no more real definition.
When I picked it up, my big ideas for it were that it should be a time travel device--because you can only get away with something that rules breaky with an artifact--and that it should have a spin similar more like Tasslehoff Burfoot's time traveling device. And it be cool if it kind of looked like a key blade.
Beyond that, I also thought it be fun to drop in the Ages of Golarion chart just what you could get up to if you use it.
I also think the staff hasn't been created yet in Golarion's timeline. I'd love to see a time travel adventure someday that uses it, but having it come back and get broken (or something) and then the PCs actualyl have to create it for the first time...
Because time travel is crazy.
Yes, those were all the things (keyblade included) that I thought it resembled! We're definitely on the same wavelengths there, down to the dragonlance reference.
I'm actually running a campaign right now where it features heavily, and I love the idea that it hasn't yet been made. In the Aspects of Inevitables project there's a high-CR inevitable that is given governance over history, and the lore behind it is that the Axiomites haven't even built these things yet, but they show up throughout history of "mend" errors in continuity. In fact, I purposely made their primary melee attacks resemble the scepter of ages aesthetically.
I'd love to work on a time travel adventure some day. I imagine there'd be some clever way to work equal parts moments of predestined "it always happened this way" (sort of like what Lost did towards the end with the episode What Happened, Happened) to represent moments in time that are "anchored" or "fixed" in place to prevent catastrophic paradoxes (likely maintained by aeons/inevitables/etc) and more "flexible" moments that can be changed and have shockwave effects (ala Chrono Trigger, etc.) The door is locked? Let's go sabotage it when it's being built!
I'd see it something like the PCs being inadvertently lost in time, only to realize that they're playing a larger role as a living antibody system against some entropic force (maybe the Proteans or something from the heart of the Negative Energy plane, literally The Nothing ala Neverending story) that is trying to unravel history.
Start the PCs in an already altered world. Aroden lived, the Runelords arose, something jarringly different. Then they realize "wait, history isn't supposed to be like this?" and are forced to set about righting wrongs and setting history on its proper course.
Heck, it could even be used to explain away some changes that happened between 3.5 and PF. "What white axiom? Countdown Clock?"
I've done time-travel numerous times in campaigns, and I feel like I never really run out of ways to do it differently or engagingly for the PCs.
Thanks for developing the scepter, it's done a lot to reignite my love of time-travel elements in RPGs :D
Contributor
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Yes please:
Rakshasa & Vishkanya. Can you imagine? Because I can...
I don't think the classic Rakshasa adventure (even with that awesome Escape from Old Korvosa) has been written. Some guy wrote a Dragon adventure about one a while back. But the whole Rakshasa as cunning, careful planners, chess-masters, as it were, hasn't been addressed. Plus they love loot, which has got to make things more interesting...
Intro: Vishkanya assassin wrecks havoc... at whose behest (kind of like the intro of GotT; a simple murder that leads back to an epic conspiracy)? A world-spanning adventure from Korvosa (or somewhere) to distant Vudra via the perilous Obari Ocean, that involves the loose ends from the Crimson Throne and links it to the Impossible Kingdoms...
(well, I can dream)
Wes,
The Bestiaries provide eclectic content, which is awesome for the homebrewing GM.
Do you ever wish to see under-utilized creatures used in adventures more? Do creatures ever inspire the story? Or does the story almost always determine the creatures used?
The best monsters are the ones where you look at them and immediately think, I want to design a whole adventure using these guys. Monsters that are so cool that they give you the itch to play or write, those are the ones that are doing it right. They're the point.
There's also plenty of monsters out there in Bestiaries that either just give a hint of a greater story or that we have plans for in Golarion that are just waiting to unfold. Having just wrapped up Bestiary 4 I've got a whole passel of new beasties that now I'm totally itching to use in my games (even worked one into my Emerald Spire level already.
I also have some big plans for dark folk (some of which I sneaked into B4) that I'll get to those eventually.
As for creatures I'd like to see get more use, the top ten that come to mind are probably:
Devils
Inevitables
Proteans
Angels
Vishkanya
Strix
Vargouilles
Xills
Wyverns
Rakshasa
I wholeheartedly agree with you! May I suggest linnorms as well? They are important creatures to the campaign setting, but they remain in the background. I can't say that is a waste, because I'm sure we'll get them someday. Nevertheless creatures are background until they're put into play.
My question was very generic because I didn't want to come across as sending some kind of passive-aggressive complaint about monster usage. Too often I feel like we see a creature like an Inevitable sort of stuck in an adventure as almost an anomaly rather than being showcased for what it is, and what its role is.
Outsiders are glorious, but they often tend to get the short end of the stick because adventures seldom happen in their native environment and implementing them on the material plane can be tricky.
Anyway, thanks for the reply!
If this is the case, an Orb of Dragonkind will immediately shatter if it is caught in the breath weapon of a dragon who is a blood relative to the dragon spirit within it. Since Mengkare is passing around bits of a shattered Orb, does this imply that it might have been broken by one such relative in the distant past?Hi Wes!
I penned a series of questions to James Jacobs over in his thread about the Orbs of Dragonkind from Artifacts and Legends (I've been puzzling over them for the last few days), and he said you'd probably be the best person to put the questions to, seeing as you wrote the book. So copying them over, with a minor explanatory note:
Mengkare is handing out shards that would seem to be the Gold Orb to diplomats, based on "research suggests the truth of the dragon's claim" - it would seem that the Gold Orb is shattered in pieces and was scattered through the vaults of several Inner Sea nations (as well as Mengkare possessing the other shards). Interesting choice, since the Gold Orb is basically the most powerful/varied of the orbs (possessing several powers that the others do not).
It certainly could. Or might imply that Mengkare is actually is a member of that ancient line of dragons direct descended from the dragon captured within that orb.
Or it's an elaborate trick.
2) Possibly Mengkare himself, in order to prevent the Orb from being used against dragonkind? (Dragons are stated to at the very least think no non-dragon should have possession of an Orb.)
That sure could be a part of it. The idea, though, I think has more to do with good will. Being a dragon ruling a nation off the coast of a human dominated continent, there's a lot of potential for fear and misunderstanding. Some might even think the dragon enslaved his followers. Menkare is trying to be implicit about his good intentions toward the rest of Avistan, and to underline that, he has even sent some rulers a piece of a weapon known to be effective against his kind. It might not work, but it's a potent symbol and a valuable piece of an item that could prove his downfall.
It would be like moving it with a stranger and being like "I am not a lunatic and I want to be friends. If you find me to be untrue in this, here is an unloaded handgun with the firing pin missing. If you feel you have to, if things get bad enough with me that you have to act, you're already on your way."
He's putting a lot of trust into his neighbors hands, but not so much that they could act on a snap decision or without each others' aid.
3) If all the pieces were gathered, would it likely involve a reassembly (i.e. spellcasters channeling magic into it) along the same lines as the Sihedron in the final adventure of Shattered Star?
I'd say so, definitely.
4) Did the Gold Orb, when it was in one piece, have any power over or link to the Imperial or Primal variants, which allow control over that sort of dragon? Or was it limited to the "True Dragon" category (i.e. standard chromatics and metallics)?
I don't think so. The schtick here largely relates to Mengkare and gold dragons. I don't think you need to pull in others rarer dragons to play with this plot line.
Unless, of course, it's not a gold dragon orb at all, but perhaps a sovereign dragon orb (or an orb of one of the new, particularly shiny B4 dragons)
5) When the Orbs can communicate to other bearers, does that include bearers of lesser orbs as well as greater?
No, I think it's just the major ones. It makes them more special.
6) Besides Mengkare, do any other dragons (that you can reveal, if there are any) in particular have one of the Orbs?
I don't really want to say anything, but we've got some ideas for the copper dragon orb being in the hands of NOT a copper dragon.
Oh, I guess I alluded to that already with the Song of the Dawning Star.
7) Do the dragons come after people who possess the lesser orbs with the same fervor that they do the greater? I would imagine that an Orb of Dragonshape is much less concern for the "slavery potential" than an Orb of Dragon Mastery or a true Orb of Dragonkind.
8) Stormsheart (the big blue dragon super-orb) is locked away in Erebus, and over a thousand blue dragons were sacrificed to create it. Was it Asmodeus who created it? Or another archdevil, perhaps Mammon?
No, I think it's something that came to Hell, not something Hell created. Might be from another mortal world, might have been some mad idea born in the Maelstrom, might have been a scheme by Dahak. It's something that i suspect was once a really big problem for someone/someworld, but now it's been locked away... in one of the best/worst places to lock a superweapon away.
9) If you can say who created Stormsheart, can you say why? Or at least why blue dragons, specifically?
Nah, I don't want to pin any of that down yet. There's a neat story here and I'm eager to see what directions people who want to pick it up and play with it run in. They don't need me throwing half-baked hurtles in the way. ;)
10) At the last convocation of dragons, one of the topics raised was what to do about Daralathyxl, the CR 26 red in the NW of Andoran. Did they come to any specific conclusion? Was it a "wait and see" posture, or one of encouraging up-and-coming heroes? (Golds are apparently fond of living among the mortal races, according to Dragons Revisited, as well as careful manipulation from behind the scenes.)
I suspect a lot of convocations end in inaction or subtleties, especially since a dragon as old and powerful as Daralathyxl is likely going to find out what went on and is going to want to fry those who most passionately speak out against him.
Think of the Council of Elrond. Bicker, bicker, bicker, and then, how about we do this small thing, or trust this huge job to an unlikely sort. In this case, I'd call the unlikely sort the PCs.
As for what the plan or job is, that's the plot hook for the adventure in your court. :)
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If you were to give the azruverda a visual makeover, what would it be?
(personally I love having entirely benign dark bug monsters) :)
Eh, probably not much, I'd probably go with the same description and just try to make it a bit creepier. No fur, more of a cracked porcelain/carapace mask, a broader body, horns that look more insect-like. The thing looks little, and it's kind of a mash-up of a lot of things. I'd like the humanoid and insect elements to be better highlighted.
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Are blue dragons, on the whole, aware that at any time at all, almost any of them in the entire universe could be enslaved to the whims of Hell?
If so, what do they (and other dragons, for that matter) plan to do about it?
Short answer: No.
Longer answer: Hell benefits more from not using this then from using this. Blue dragons are already lawful evil, they already further the desires of Hell, why would any of Hell's rulers feel that they had to act so immediately and so heavy handedly as to dominate a dragon. And not even the most powerful of the race, as even an average ancient blue dragon with no equipment overcomes Stormheart's domination with a roll of 16. Hell has countless high-level servants that can move about the planes with impunity, some of which can even appear as blue dragons, why go to the effort of using a dangerous artifact and inciting the ire of one's allies?
Think beyond this too. If Hell used Stormheart regularly, soon every blue dragon's evil deeds would be attributed to infernal manipulation, putting Hell's machinations and objectives under undue scrutiny and inviting widespread retaliation. That's not even considering the reaction of non-lawful dragons, who might actively target devils fearing they might control them as well. And all of this does even account for the reactions of Apsu and Dahak, neither of which would tolerate wanton manipulation of dragonkind.
No, it's better for Hell to lock this tool away, safeguarding a weapon that could be used against their allies. This sort of reliability probably does more to court the good favor of the few blue dragons even aware of Stormheart's existence than it deters them.
And should the need arise to make use of it--as it might someday, which it one reason why the fiends keep it--the rulers of devilkind are wise enough to make sure that their role goes unnoticed and the manipulation is blamed on someone/thing else.
Hell's rulers are smart enough to know that you don't need to brandish your weapons to be feared, you just need to make sure that your enemies know you possess and could use an arsenal of deadly weapons. Fear and insecurity will do the rest.
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Contributor
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Somehow I think you might enjoy this (about spiders).
After all, besides bats and armadillos*, what's more sinister and gothic than spiders?
*1937 Dracula
Somehow I think you might enjoy this (about spiders).
After all, besides bats and armadillos*, what's more sinister and gothic than spiders?
*1937 Dracula
Ahhh a Magnetical Spider monster coming up! ;-)
My Questions:
Will we see a Magnetic-based monster soon? A monster that like the Metalmaster and Lodestone Marauder of D&D will ONLY use magnetic powers and not like the Plasma Ooze uses almost every power possible including magnetic powers...
Will we see a Gravity-using monster soon? Much like the Gravorg of D&D that only uses gravity as a weapon, so not a Jean Grey/Exodus/Professor X monster that uses everything possible and mixes abilities, just gravity, much like the Black Biship/Harry Leland from x-men villians.
Of the Empyreals, Arshea is by far my favorite given our shared interests. I've some questions about him that I put in a list format so you'd notice it better.
1. Where did the idea for him come up?
2. Given that he's both transgender and sexualized, has anyone complained about him perpetuating stereotypes or somesuch?
3. Since Ragathiel's celestial obedience means he wants people at the forefront of cosmic battles, what does Arshea's mean?
4. Given Arshea's obedience, would you allow any of his worshippers to take the hedonistic (Ultimate Campaign, p.65) drawback?
5. What exactly do Arshea mystery cults do? I'm guessing sex is a large part of it but Arshea seems activist from his description.
6. Oh, and how is "Arshea" pronounced?
I'm eager to see what folks think about Dragons Unleashed. We've never done one a product like it before and I'd like to do more.
Oh ho ho, it looks good. More like it ought to be unleashed.
*insert lame kraken-related joke here*
Did Seryzilian get hit by a gender-changing curse between the two incarnations (Dragons Unleashed vs. Dragons Revisited)?[...]But black dragons remain right up there with blues as my two favorite dragons [...] I kind of got to cross the streams by getting my Ustalavic black dragon Seryzilian on to the cover of Dragons Unleashed.[...]
I'm eager to see what folks think about Dragons Unleashed. We've never done one a product like it before and I'd like to do more.
Who says it'd be a curse? ;)
Apologies if this has been asked already but I haven't found anything official on this. Anyways, what are the tenets of Vildeis? Specifically relating to romantic relationships as well as the whole leaving ones family as mentioned in Chronicles. Thanks much appreciated! :)
What are some of your top video games?
Oh wow, ummm...
Final Fantasy VIFinal Fantasy Tactics
Chrono Trigger
Megaman 1-3
Legend of Zelda
Castlevania (nearly all)
Metroid
Super Mario Brothers (et. al.)
Mario Party
Pokemon
Demon's Crest
Actraiser
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Blaster Master
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadows over Mystara
Disgaea
Mass Effect
Assassin's Creed 2: Brotherhood
Fatal Frame
Legacy of Kain
Heroes of Might and Magic 2 & 3
Fallout (all)
Civilization
Galactic Empires
Alone in the Dark
Phantasmagoria
Eternal Darkness
Smash Brothers
Little Big Planet
Dark Cloud
Culdcept
Pikmin
Suikoden
Dragon Quest (all)
Ni No Kuni
Parasite Eve
Kingdom Hearts
Wild Arms
Space Channel 5
Frequency
Amplitude
Catherine
Shin Megami Tensei
Battle Block Theater
Monaco
Analog: A Hate Story
Kingdom Rush
Puzzle Quest
Warcraft 1-3
Starcraft
House of the Dead Overkill
Ikaruga
Borderlands
Portal
Half-Life
Journey
Lone Survivor
Binding of Isaac
Soul Calibur
Marvel vs Capcom
Darkstalkers
...50+ is probably enough.
Also, do you ever use music in your games for mood or even for combat?
Fanatically. You've probably seen playlists I've put together if you picked up any of the Carrion Crown AP (in the forewords) or the "iDragon" article in Dragon #355. In fact, I just put together a bit on my website linking a lot of the music from Carrion Crown's playlists into the Grooveshark music site, so you can actually hear a lot of the recommendations before deciding whether or not to pick the albums up. You can check out the complete rundown right over here.
Beyond that, yeah. I don't play without music. It's my opinion that there needs to be something to fill those down moments between actions and words. If left to the players, they'll fill it with jokes and distractions, which are the death of a moody game. But if you fill it with music that reinforces the ambiance you're trying to build, well, that's just a billion times better.
I think I've show this off before, but here's a clip I posted on YouTube of the end of our Dread: Engel game from a few months back. You can see me in the back there gaslighting Judy during her climatic pull by cranking up the super tense background music. Little tricks like that are fantastically easy to pull off with just a little preparation, and with smart phones and bluetooth devices, being a GM and a conductor has never been easier.
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What suggestions do you have for someone who has to outwit a contract devil? ** spoiler omitted **
Ooooh. Tricky. Ummm... don't?
If that's not an option, perhaps find a way to get him to buy into performing a service that is actually trickier that it appears or is actually impossible. It should have to be specific. Think of the "I am no man" wordplay from the end of Return of the King. Playing with its assumptions and then revealing them to be false might be the way.
Here's a massive list of Deals with the Devils from various forms of media. Hopefully something here might help.
Outside of the game, you should talk to your GM about what you want to do and what your plan to do it is. If you try to dupe your enemy by duping your GM, he's going to use everything to work against you. But, if you bring him in on the scheme and have a strong idea to go along with it, you might get him on your side.
Good luck! (And may the gods have mercy...)
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Eh, probably not much, I'd probably go with the same description and just try to make it a bit creepier. No fur, more of a cracked porcelain/carapace mask, a broader body, horns that look more insect-like. The thing looks little, and it's kind of a mash-up of a lot of things. I'd like the humanoid and insect elements to be better highlighted.If you were to give the azruverda a visual makeover, what would it be?
(personally I love having entirely benign dark bug monsters) :)
Oooooo.... Gonna have some fun with this element in particular. :)
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Eh, probably not much, I'd probably go with the same description and just try to make it a bit creepier. No fur, more of a cracked porcelain/carapace mask, a broader body, horns that look more insect-like. The thing looks little, and it's kind of a mash-up of a lot of things. I'd like the humanoid and insect elements to be better highlighted.If you were to give the azruverda a visual makeover, what would it be?
(personally I love having entirely benign dark bug monsters) :)
Oooooo.... Gonna have some fun with this element in particular. :)
Does sound like it would have more of a Burton-esque shambling broken toy look to it. Creepy and unnatural, and yet eliciting feelings of protectiveness in some viewers.
If Paizo had a Male Swimsuit Calender, what would your month be and what would you be doing in your picture? (You have to be in the calender because Editor-in-Chief ;-P)
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Does sound like it would have more of a Burton-esque shambling broken toy look to it. Creepy and unnatural, and yet eliciting feelings of protectiveness in some viewers.
Also imagining svirfneblin communities turning the "masks" of azruverda guardians that have passed away(or discarded old chitin) into huge shrines. :) [/oopstangent]
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On the topic of elves, or for that matter, races with equally similar lifespans, like dhampir, tieflings and aasimars, how do you feel they gel with the plotlines Adventure Paths? I tend to avoid playing elf PCs because they have such a long length of time and experienced so much already before the events of the AP actually start that it almost seems like a footnote, having already lived through so much history. For instance, a tiefling PC in Council of Thieves has theoretically lived long enough to know firsthand what life during the Thrune Ascendancy was like, which doesn't work very well since the indication is tieflings didn't start becoming common in Cheliax until AFTER the diabolists seized control (going off what's said in the Advanced Race Guide, which states the age a tiefling/aasimar reaches maturity is 80). Most elf PCs in the upcoming Wrath of the Righteous adventure path are theoretically older than the Worldwound itself (using 4710 as the mark here).
Hi Wes,
What's vampire society like in Ustalav from the average moroi vampire's perspective? Is it more Interview with a Vampire with its secret cabals, soirees, hierarchy and generally unaware populace or is it more like Dracula with isolated vampires that are generally hunted and feared? What sort of reaction would be had were one to walk "openly" in a populated market, for example?
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Wes, as we know now that the Tyrant is finally getting stats in Mythic Realms, I'm working really hard to add him in as the true end boss of the Carrion Crown game I will be running. As such I have a few questions for you:
1) Adding Tar-Baphon will make Mythic rules for the PCs necessary as well I'd guess. What within the AP would you use as a mythic trigger?
2) I'm definitely adding in other encounters as well, like the two AP add-ins that Legendary Games did and Carrion Hill. However I'm a little bit writer blocked when it comes to addressing the lesser seals. a) Could you tell me where they are? b) How would you address their getting broken?
3) Lastly I just wanted to say thanks for the Gallowspire article in Dungeons of Golarion, as I've spent downtime at work the past few weeks drawing the levels and such. I finished drawing out the Silent Shrine today, and have the main chamber in the shape of the Tyrant's head.
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Could a hypothetical Shoanti character become a Paladin? Seems like, from what I've read, they'd view that as heretical, as most of the paladin gods were brought in by foreigners. Abadar, Sarenrae and Iomedae seem to have largely been introduced by Korvosans. Most of the more local gods that the Shoanti and Varisians share don't allow paladins, whether due to being Chaotic like Desna, or they're solidly Neutral like Pharasma. So...would a Shoanti paladin be viewed as some kind of culture traitor despite their honor and deeds?
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Do you have any favorite Golarion fan-theories?
Yes. The ones that are super awesome, we see, and then months later in print are like "Yeah! Yeah. That was totally the idea the whole time. We absolutely planned it that way from the beginning. ;)
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?
Very and yes.
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.
Oh, we're still very much alive here, so I certainly wouldn't say anything is absolutely finalized. If some awesome idea screams out for inclusion down the road here, then we'll definitely find ways to explore it.
As for ever stating up the strigoi, I sure wouldn't put it past us. Though I can't say when.
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.
Persona 3 might be my fav, but it's hard to choose, I'm a pretty big Atlus games fan in general (SMT, Catherine, Disgaea).
I just posted quite a few of my favorite Shin Megami Tensei designs to my Other Gaming Pintrest board (Maybe NSFW?; and be sure to check out some of my other boards while your over there!). It's by no means a comprehensive list, but there's definitely some cool stuff in there. I love this series, not just because of their reliance on characters and creatures from folk and occult lore, but because of their artists varied and often audacious designs.
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.
Oh, we're still very much alive here, so I certainly wouldn't say anything is absolutely finalized. If some awesome idea screams out for inclusion down the road here, then we'll definitely find ways to explore it.
As for ever stating up the strigoi, I sure wouldn't put it past us. Though I can't say when.
I'll just keep praying to Desna that Twilight vampires continue to never scream, "Awesome!" to the good folk at Paizo.
Mr schneider
If one of the iconics have to meet a swift death to save the others... which one would you prefer to be?
Hummm... Maybe Seelah, as sacrificing yourself to save your friends is kind of part of the paladin job description.
The story arc that would take Merisiel from flighty, emotionally damaged thrill-seeker to a person who would forsake centuries of life to sacrifice herself for Kyra and the other people she loves in this moment has the potential to be a particularly strong story.
Lini laying down her life for her beliefs and her woodland friends could be cool.
Ezren's last spell sounds like a cool story.
Sajan finding and then again being separated from his sister sounds strong too.
There's a lot of potentially powerful deaths among the iconics, but none I have any interest in seeing any time soon.
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]I'll just keep praying to Desna that Twilight vampires continue to never scream, "Awesome!" to the good folk at Paizo.
A little faith. Your prayers are better spent on more likely threats. Like all the world's air molecules spontaneously turning into VHS recordings of season 2 of Disney's Gummibears.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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Well, Wes, they are bouncing here and there and everywhere.
In fact you could probably make a strong case that the Gummy Bears, as a narrative, was an exploration of the life of molecules and sub-atomic particles in an energized state.
There's just a little connective math missing to make your spontaneous VHS dreams/nightmares a reality.
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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.
Hot.
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]I'll just keep praying to Desna that Twilight vampires continue to never scream, "Awesome!" to the good folk at Paizo.A little faith. Your prayers are better spent on more likely threats. Like all the world's air molecules spontaneously turning into VHS recordings of season 2 of Disney's Gummibears.
To be honest, if you change "air molecules" to, let's say "high-enriched uranium molecules," that sentence stops being a threat and turns into something "awesome!"
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The story arc that would take Merisiel from flighty, emotionally damaged thrill-seeker to a person who would forsake centuries of life to sacrifice herself for Kyra and the other people she loves in this moment has the potential to be a particularly strong story.
I could see Merisiel not putting quite much thought into it, but doing it anyway, on impulse. :)
Same with Alain, really. I don't think he'd ever intentionally give his life to save others, but could see him charging into a situation he's totally misread and getting in way over his head, only to realize at the last moment that he's got no way out, and decide to make his last moment worthy of an *epic* ballad. (and maybe cross his fingers that onlookers are so impressed / grateful as to maybe be willing to pony up for a resurrection later...)
I wonder what sort of situation would prompt Seltyiel to give his life? Perhaps something involving taking a hated enemy with him, in a 'I spit my last breath at thee' sort of way?
Ezren's Last Spell does indeed sound awesome. Especially if it's something he researched for that very moment, and keeps in an item of spell storing or something, with a 'Material Component' of 'the caster's life' and a casting time of 'Immediate Action.'
"Good news? You killed me. Bad news? Boom."
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This may be more a question for James Jacobs but here it goes. Considering that Aeons are like the white blood cells of the multiverse; keeping it all running and in balance, how do you think they feel about qlipppoth? Considering that many believe them to be older than or even from beyond the multiverse wouldn't they have a relationship akin to an invading virus or infection vs. the aeon immune system? Also what about the elder gods or other Cthulhuian entities considering that many are at least older then this material plane and survive it's apocalypses and recreations?
]I'll just keep praying to Desna that Twilight vampires continue to never scream, "Awesome!" to the good folk at Paizo.A little faith. Your prayers are better spent on more likely threats. Like all the world's air molecules spontaneously turning into VHS recordings of season 2 of Disney's Gummibears.
I feel like there is an inside joke here that I'm simply not understanding.
Also, I didn't know that Disney made a Gummibears TV Show. I now understand what Daigle and Sutter meant when they said that the true horror of the Schnedierian psyche have not yet manifested upon this plane.
Have you been bitten by the Steam Sale bug yet?
Does the Azruverda (beetle thing) appears in the Bestiary 3 box set and if it does, does it have new artwork?
]I'll just keep praying to Desna that Twilight vampires continue to never scream, "Awesome!" to the good folk at Paizo.A little faith. Your prayers are better spent on more likely threats. Like all the world's air molecules spontaneously turning into VHS recordings of season 2 of Disney's Gummibears.I feel like there is an inside joke here that I'm simply not understanding.
Also, I didn't know that Disney made a Gummibears TV Show. I now understand what Daigle and Sutter meant when they said that the true horror of the Schnedierian psyche have not yet manifested upon this plane.
(Gotta say the Swedish version is the exception that proves the rule that everything is at least slightly less good if dubbed.)
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 ** spoiler omitted **. The two things it seems to mention are crop circles and strange blue-eyed children. Did you have anything in mind for this area beyond what's printed there?
Oh there's a lot of options there. I was mostly thinking in a Children of the Corn direction, but there's also a kind of plant monsters / fey taint angle there too. If I were writing an adventure set there, I'd probably do some combination of the three. Wait for Bestiary 4, there's a few pages in there that will certainly help you out with that story. ;)
]I'll just keep praying to Desna that Twilight vampires continue to never scream, "Awesome!" to the good folk at Paizo.A little faith. Your prayers are better spent on more likely threats. Like all the world's air molecules spontaneously turning into VHS recordings of season 2 of Disney's Gummibears.I feel like there is an inside joke here that I'm simply not understanding.
Also, I didn't know that Disney made a Gummibears TV Show. I now understand what Daigle and Sutter meant when they said that the true horror of the Schnedierian psyche have not yet manifested upon this plane.
(Gotta say the Swedish version is the exception that proves the rule that everything is at least slightly less good if dubbed.)
... why? WHY DID YOU SHOW THIS TO ME?!
Its like someone took Secret of NIMH, replaced the rats with bears, set the show in the world of the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, and then ripped of the Smurfs for its theme song!
So ... much ... pain ....
With my dying breath, I scorn thee ...