1. Jazradan is called as the Grand Arcanist. At first I thought it is just a title. But turns out he really is an arcanist. Then, if he was a wizard, a sorcerer, or a cleric, would he be called as the Grand Wizard, the Grand Sorcerer, or the Grand Cleric?
2. Actually, I thought he is a wizard because page 5 of The Lost Outpost clearly said that Jazradan is a cunning and powerful wizard. I'm not sure. Is it a mistake made by Paizo?
3. In Tower of the Drowned Dead, when the PCs met Auberon in area A6, he demand them to leave his tower or risk their destruction. If the PCs are recently awakened Azlanti who have met Auberon before the Earthfall, what would be his reaction? Would he invite them to the Omen Dominion and converse with them friendly? Or would he still demand them leave the place because of his paranoia?
4. Page 29 of Beyond the Veiled Past said that Jazradan has no respect for the PCs, nor for any modern nations. He believes there are no true inheritors of Azlant, and would gladly see the world crumble to dust if it means exacting his revenge on the veiled masters. What if the PCs are recently awakened Azlanti who have met Jazradan before the Earthfall? Would he gladly cancel his plan to activate the device because there are still some remaining Azlanti in the world?
5. Was Auberon married? How about Jazradan? Did they have a wife before the Earthfall?
6. Was Lurisian a monk? I think so because she became a manasaputra, and manasaputras are full of monk flavors.
7. How old were Auberon, Lurisian, Rashimos, and Jazradan at the time of the Earthfall? Mid-twenties? Early thirties? Late thirties? Early fourties, perhaps?
8. In Ruins of Azlant, Auberon is neutral evil, Rashimos is chaotic evil, and Jazradan is lawful evil. Did they have same alignments even before the Earthfall? Maybe they were not evil when they were alive?
9. Can I use Wish or Mythic Wish to remove the undead or half-fiend template? Or maybe can it be used to change an outsider or a mezlan into a human again? I ask this beause I want to change the lich Auberon, the manasaputra Lurisian, the mezlan Harighal, the half-fiend Rashimos, and the ghost Jazradan into humans again, whether they want it or not.
10. Page 20 of Beyond the Veiled Past said that the mesh repeaters are made from fleshwarped aboleths. And Plots of the Veiled Masters said that the veiled masters Olordaera and Uruluura have mesh reapeaters too. Are these mesh repeaters made from fleshwarped aboleths as well? I thought only Ochymua are willing to do such a horrible thing to his brethren.
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1. Jazradan is called as the Grand Arcanist. At first I thought it is just a title. But turns out he really is an arcanist. Then, if he was a wizard, a sorcerer, or a cleric, would he be called as the Grand Wizard, the Grand Sorcerer, or the Grand Cleric?
2. Actually, I thought he is a wizard because page 5 of The Lost Outpost clearly said that Jazradan is a cunning and powerful wizard. I'm not sure. Is it a mistake made by Paizo?
3. In Tower of the Drowned Dead, when the PCs met Auberon in area A6, he demand them to leave his tower or risk their destruction. If the PCs are recently awakened Azlanti who have met Auberon before the Earthfall, what would be his reaction? Would he invite them to the Omen Dominion and converse with them friendly? Or would he still demand them leave the place because of his paranoia?
4. Page 29 of Beyond the Veiled Past said that Jazradan has no respect for the PCs, nor for any modern nations. He believes there are no true inheritors of Azlant, and would gladly see the world crumble to dust if it means exacting his revenge on the veiled masters. What if the PCs are recently awakened Azlanti who have met Jazradan before the Earthfall? Would he gladly cancel his plan to activate the device because there are still some remaining Azlanti in the world?
5. Was Auberon married? How about Jazradan? Did they have a wife before the Earthfall?
1. Not necessarily. Grand Arcanist is a title.
2. I wouldn't pin all of that on the entire company. If it was indeed a mistake, it was mine. I probably just changed my mind or didn't pay close enough attention to what the author on the final volume was doing while I was developing the first volume. Either way, it's not a big deal or shift in tone or concept.
3. How would he know that? How would he trust that? Just because someone is the same race as you or from the same place as you doesn't mean that you're automatically inclined to be best buds. Plus, dude's a weirdo lich who's been isolated for millennia. He's not exactly stable.
4. Today, he's even more evil than he was (or might have been) before Earthfall. I think that after working this long on his goal, he probably doesn't care what a few people he met over 10,000 years ago feel and is probably still dead-set on his plans. You don't just give that kind of thing away after holding it so closely for so long.
5. Unknown. They might have had husbands or not cared at all about forming romantic relationships. Their marital status didn't really factor into their characterization, which is why it didn't show up in the text.
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6. Was Lurisian a monk? I think so because she became a manasaputra, and manasaputras are full of monk flavors.
7. How old were Auberon, Lurisian, Rashimos, and Jazradan at the time of the Earthfall? Mid-twenties? Early thirties? Late thirties? Early fourties, perhaps?
8. In Ruins of Azlant, Auberon is neutral evil, Rashimos is chaotic evil, and Jazradan is lawful evil. Did they have same alignments even before the Earthfall? Maybe they were not evil when they were alive?
9. Can I use Wish or Mythic Wish to remove the undead or half-fiend template? Or maybe can it be used to change an outsider or a mezlan into a human again? I ask this beause I want to change the lich Auberon, the manasaputra Lurisian, the mezlan Harighal, the half-fiend Rashimos, and the ghost Jazradan into humans again, whether they want it or not.
10. Page 20 of Beyond the Veiled Past said that the mesh repeaters are made from fleshwarped aboleths. And Plots of the Veiled Masters said that the veiled masters Olordaera and Uruluura have mesh reapeaters too. Are these mesh repeaters made from fleshwarped aboleths as well? I thought only Ochymua are willing to do such a horrible thing to his brethren.
6. Maybe? But, there's no reason she would have needed to be. That's a character that Thursty came up with, so he'd know more than me.
7. Hmm, not sure exactly, but I'd say that all of them would be roughly in their thirties, with a little wiggle room one way or the other. I can't recall if any of them were statted up with a different age category.
8. Not necessarily the same alignment today as back then, or even shortly after Earthfall. Alignment is fluid and can change pretty easily. I'm pretty sure that all of them were at least evil before Earthfall, and if not, a couple of them clearly had one foot across that line.
9. That'd be up to your GM or you if you're the GM. Also, that said, changing someone fundamentally against their will (even if it's removing an evil taint) seems kinda dickish. Maybe start by trying to convince them to reject that aspect and claim you have a plan that could work.
10. Who says that's a horrible thing to do? Alghollthus have alien mindsets, so maybe it's satisfying?
1. According to the art in page 57 of Beyond the Veiled Past, the Synchrony Device looks like a black sphere. But according to the art in page 66 of the book, the devie is a spherical mass of intertwining, spinning yellow rings. Which depiction is correct? Why there were no such rings in the art in page 57?
2. In page 64 of the book, the art depicts the two iconic characters who look like they fell into despair, and there is a blue sphere which shines brightly in the sky. What does this art tell us? I'm really not sure.
3. I'm not sure about the exact effect of the Synchrony Device. So I have to ask you. The area of effect would be a 500-mile-radius burst, right? In other words, if I set its target as the city of Absalom, the area within 500 miles of Absalom would be devastated, right?
4. Activating the device would destroy it. Would this self-destruction also have a 500-mile-radius burst? Thus once Ochymua activates the device, the alghollthu would die instantly?
5. The ramifications in the immediate vicinity of the device are swift and devastating. Vibrant violet tears in reality begin to open in the area over the course of the following round. One rond later, a hekatonkheires titan breaks onto the Material Plane. I'm not sure. If this happens, does that mean the device has been activated and it is already too late to stop it?
6. The device cannot be used multiple times because it is incomplete. If the Azlanti completed it, how long would its cooling time be? How often can it be used? Maybe once a day? Or once a month?
7. Jazradan is very eager to use the Synchrony Device to deal a mortal blow to alghollthus. Then what about Auberon? If he survives the adventure path, do you think he would try to come to the Compass and use the device to attack alghollthus?
8. The Doomsday Stores have eight doors, one of which lead to the Synchrony Device. Thus there should be seven other doomsday weapons. Even the page 67 of the book said there are other weapons. Will Paizo talk about these weapons in detail someday? I really want to use these weapons myself!
9. The wyrwood Gardener can open any doors in the Compass thanks to the ioun stone embedded in its heart. If I bring it to the Doomsday Stores, would the other seven doors open as well?
10. I'm not sure why Jazradan's plan is bad. Sure, it would kill many munavris. But alghollthus are the enemies of humans. The only good alghollthu is a dead alghollthu. Thus using the Synchrony Device to destroy the entire alghollthus would be a good idea. Do you think so?
11. Jazradan want to destroy the Braid. But contrary to his belief, the destruction will not seal the alghollthus in the Darklands for millennnia. They can always get out of there via other routes. Then, would this attack not be able to deal a mortal blow to the alghollthus at all and thus entirely meaningless?
12. Are the Compass and the Doomsday Stores under the effect of Dimensional Lock or something like that? I ask this because I'm not sure if I can come back there via Teleport. Also, can I use Etherealness to go into the other seven chambers that contain other seven weapons? Or can I use Scrying to see the inside of the Compass from the outside?
13. The book said that each of the seven other chambers is sealed into its own hidden demiplane as the lockdown continues. Does that mean the chamber which contains the Synchrony Device is in its own demiplane as well and not in the Material Plane?
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1. According to the art in page 57 of Beyond the Veiled Past, the Synchrony Device looks like a black sphere. But according to the art in page 66 of the book, the devie is a spherical mass of intertwining, spinning yellow rings. Which depiction is correct? Why there were no such rings in the art in page 57?
2. In page 64 of the book, the art depicts the two iconic characters who look like they fell into despair, and there is a blue sphere which shines brightly in the sky. What does this art tell us? I'm really not sure.
3. I'm not sure about the exact effect of the Synchrony Device. So I have to ask you. The area of effect would be a 500-mile-radius burst, right? In other words, if I set its target as the city of Absalom, the area within 500 miles of Absalom would be devastated, right?
4. Activating the device would destroy it. Would this self-destruction also have a 500-mile-radius burst? Thus once Ochymua activates the device, the alghollthu would die instantly?
5. The ramifications in the immediate vicinity of the device are swift and devastating. Vibrant violet tears in reality begin to open in the area over the course of the following round. One rond later, a hekatonkheires titan breaks onto the Material Plane. I'm not sure. If this happens, does that mean the device has been activated and it is already too late to stop it?
6. The device cannot be used multiple times because it is incomplete. If the Azlanti completed it, how long would its cooling time be? How often can it be used? Maybe once a day? Or once a month?
1. Artist interpretation. Illustration isn't photography, so some elements will differ between depictions.
2. Art is subjective. What does it tell you? I was going for despair in regard to an upcoming catastrophe.
3. A 500-mile burst would affect an area the same way a 30-foot burst would.
4. I don't know why people make and use such destructive things.
5. Activation of a made-up plot device is weird sometimes, and mishaps are real.
6. I have no idea. It wasn't important to the story so I didn't include that information. If it comes up in your campaign, go for what makes sense at the time.
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7. Jazradan is very eager to use the Synchrony Device to deal a mortal blow to alghollthus. Then what about Auberon? If he survives the adventure path, do you think he would try to come to the Compass and use the device to attack alghollthus?
8. The Doomsday Stores have eight doors, one of which lead to the Synchrony Device. Thus there should be seven other doomsday weapons. Even the page 67 of the book said there are other weapons. Will Paizo talk about these weapons in detail someday? I really want to use these weapons myself!
9. The wyrwood Gardener can open any doors in the Compass thanks to the ioun stone embedded in its heart. If I bring it to the Doomsday Stores, would the other seven doors open as well?
10. I'm not sure why Jazradan's plan is bad. Sure, it would kill many munavris. But alghollthus are the enemies of humans. The only good alghollthu is a dead alghollthu. Thus using the Synchrony Device to destroy the entire alghollthus would be a good idea. Do you think so?
11. Jazradan want to destroy the Braid. But contrary to his belief, the destruction will not seal the alghollthus in the Darklands for millennnia. They can always get out of there via other routes. Then, would this attack not be able to deal a mortal blow to the alghollthus at all and thus entirely meaningless?
12. Are the Compass and the Doomsday Stores under the effect of Dimensional Lock or something like that? I ask this because I'm not sure if I can come back there via Teleport. Also, can I use Etherealness to go into the other seven chambers that contain other seven weapons? Or can I use Scrying to see the inside of the Compass from the outside?
13. The book said that each of the seven other chambers is sealed into its own hidden demiplane as the lockdown continues. Does that mean the chamber which contains the Synchrony Device is in its own demiplane as well and not in the Material Plane?
7. Auberon's had 9,999 + years to do that if he wanted to. He's doing what he wants to do, however illogical that might seem.
8. Maybe someday, but I doubt it. It seems like a really deep dive to go back to this content in any significant fashion. Having that there was a way to nudge GMs to expand on that material if they wish.
9. Probably.
10. Genocide is weird.
11. Even geniuses have dumb plans.
12. This is discussed on page 27 under the in-line header "Protection."
13. Huh. That's weird. I'm not sure I intended them to be in demiplanes. That's the only time that word appears in the entire adventure.
1. I think using Wish or Mythic Wish to change Auberon, Lurisian, Harighal, Rashimos, and Jazradan into humans again would be a good idea. But I have to ask this. Do you think they would want to become humans again? Or they would not, because they love their current state so much and would hold grudges to me if I forcibly change them into humans again?
2. In page 36 of Beyond the Veiled Past, there are two mezlans. Are they Azlanti or Thassilonian? At first I thought they are Azlanti because they take the appearance of Azlanti scientists. But the boook also said that they scream out insults in Thassilonian and claiming that Xanderghul will mete out vengeance against the veiled masters. So I'm really not sure.
3. Harighal is not an ally of Ochumua. The PCs have no reason to fight him. But the book said that he would attack the PCs for no reason. I'm not sure. If the PCs treat him with respect, and do not stop him from escaping the Compass and returning to Thassilon, would he still attack the PCs? I thought he can be a great ally against Ochymua and Jazradan.
4. According to Bestiary 6, mezlans are neutral. Harighal is neutral too. But I thought he should be evil because he was from Thassilon. Maybe he was not that evil even when he was a human? Or Maybe the transformation into the mezlan changed his alignment as well?
5. There is a mezlan called Vallik in City in the Deep. What was its gender? Was it a male or a female before its transformation into a mezlan?
6. Which god do Auberon, Lurisian, Harighal, Rashimos, and Jazradan worship?
7. A new material called throneglass is introduced in the book. Around the Emerald Spire in the Echo Wood, there is a ruin of a large Azlanti tower that appears to be made of green glass harder than stone. The throne of the meperor of Azlant was callled the Throne of Glass. are the tower and the throne made of the throneglass as well?
8. Page 68 of Into the Shattered Continent emntioned that, to know more information about the Compass, we should see Out of Time's Abyss. What is this book? I have never heard of it.
9. There were several evil gods in the Azlanti pantheon. Was the worship of Achaekek, Nurgal, Scal, Sicva, Ulon, and Zura illegal in Azlant?
10. Did Azlant invent the firearms? Did Azlant invent the steam engine?
11. I thought Talasantri was built on the ruins of an ancient Azlanti city. But City in the Deep said nothing about that. So I'm curious. Was the underwater city built on ther uins of an Azlanti city? Or it has nothing to do with any Azlanti city?
12. There is a large number of monkey goblins in the region around Ancorato. Have these goblins been here since before the Earthfall? Or did they migrate from Avistan to this area long after the Earthfall?
13. The ancient Azlanti Uraien in page 76 of Beyond the Veiled Past describes himself as a convict and a prisoner. I'm not sure. Why is he a convict? Maybe the modern government imporisoned him because they were afraid of his power?
14. Breaking the Bones of Hell allowed the PCs to ascend to mythic status via the contact with the soul anchor. Do you think there are some objects or places in Ruins of Azlant that can make the PCs mythic? I thought the founts of mythic power were prevalent in ancient Azlant.
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1. I think using Wish or Mythic Wish to change Auberon, Lurisian, Harighal, Rashimos, and Jazradan into humans again would be a good idea. But I have to ask this. Do you think they would want to become humans again? Or they would not, because they love their current state so much and would hold grudges to me if I forcibly change them into humans again?
2. In page 36 of Beyond the Veiled Past, there are two mezlans. Are they Azlanti or Thassilonian? At first I thought they are Azlanti because they take the appearance of Azlanti scientists. But the boook also said that they scream out insults in Thassilonian and claiming that Xanderghul will mete out vengeance against the veiled masters. So I'm really not sure.
3. Harighal is not an ally of Ochumua. The PCs have no reason to fight him. But the book said that he would attack the PCs for no reason. I'm not sure. If the PCs treat him with respect, and do not stop him from escaping the Compass and returning to Thassilon, would he still attack the PCs? I thought he can be a great ally against Ochymua and Jazradan.
4. According to Bestiary 6, mezlans are neutral. Harighal is neutral too. But I thought he should be evil because he was from Thassilon. Maybe he was not that evil even when he was a human? Or Maybe the transformation into the mezlan changed his alignment as well?
5. There is a mezlan called Vallik in City in the Deep. What was its gender? Was it a male or a female before its transformation into a mezlan?
6. Which god do Auberon, Lurisian, Harighal, Rashimos, and Jazradan worship?
7. A new material called throneglass is introduced in the book. Around the Emerald Spire in the Echo Wood, there is a ruin of a large Azlanti tower that appears to be made of green glass harder than stone. The throne of the meperor of Azlant was callled the Throne of Glass. are the tower and the throne made of the throneglass as well?
1. They would react depending on their individual personality. Forcibly doing anything to someone against their will is not good.
2. They were Azlanti.
3. Then go ahead and do that in your campaign.
4. I probably should have made him evil. It might have just been an oversight on my part.
5. I'm not sure.
6. I don't know. I never thought too much on their religious beliefs.
7. I'm not sure if it's the same material or just a coincidence. I haven't read Emerald Spire in a long time.
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8. Page 68 of Into the Shattered Continent emntioned that, to know more information about the Compass, we should see Out of Time's Abyss. What is this book? I have never heard of it.
9. There were several evil gods in the Azlanti pantheon. Was the worship of Achaekek, Nurgal, Scal, Sicva, Ulon, and Zura illegal in Azlant?
10. Did Azlant invent the firearms? Did Azlant invent the steam engine?
11. I thought Talasantri was built on the ruins of an ancient Azlanti city. But City in the Deep said nothing about that. So I'm curious. Was the underwater city built on ther uins of an Azlanti city? Or it has nothing to do with any Azlanti city?
12. There is a large number of monkey goblins in the region around Ancorato. Have these goblins been here since before the Earthfall? Or did they migrate from Avistan to this area long after the Earthfall?
13. The ancient Azlanti Uraien in page 76 of Beyond the Veiled Past describes himself as a convict and a prisoner. I'm not sure. Why is he a convict? Maybe the modern government imporisoned him because they were afraid of his power?
14. Breaking the Bones of Hell allowed the PCs to ascend to mythic status via the contact with the soul anchor. Do you think there are some objects or places in Ruins of Azlant that can make the PCs mythic? I thought the founts of mythic power were prevalent in ancient Azlant.
8. That's an error on my part. It should be referring to Beyond the Veiled Past, which is where the Compass is detailed. Out of Time's Abyss was another working title for that adventure.
9. Likely in some places. In other places not so much. It would vary by deity too.
10. Not that I'm aware of.
11. No.
12. Unsure.
13. Why are you not sure? We flat out say it in the text. I'm not sure what he was arrested for.
14. Probably.
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The Ruins of Azlant gazeteer in “Into The Shattered Continent” mentions a sagging sentinel guarded by mongrelfolk on Zanahz-Tahn, but it makes no appearance in The Flooded Cathedral.
Was this not brought up at all because of space constraints? I would think the wyrwoods would mention it, The island is only so big. My issue is that I can’t find any mention of mongrelfolk in pathfinder. Is there a reference somewhere I missed?
I put that point of interest into the gazetteer in case GMs wanted to expand on adventure locations during the time that the PCs were investigating the island, but the location doesn't have any bearing on the plot of the adventure, so it wasn't included in the adventure as a fleshed out encounter. Heck, that's what 90% of the gazetteer locations are. :)
Mongrelmen are in Bestiary 2. I just used mongrelfolk as a gender neutral term instead of mongrelmen.
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Wow, six years of playing Pathfinder and I'm just now discovering this glorious thread... THANK YOU, Mr. Daigle!
Apologies in advance if I ask anything that has already been asked.
I'm about to start a homebrew campaign set in what would later become Kerse, Druma in the distant past of Golarion, around 200AR (my GM is trying to keep things as canon as possible while still leaving room for himself to flex his creative muscles). Dwarves rule the region, but Taldor has recently established an embassy in Kerse (in between their first and second grand armies of exploration). Norgerber, Cayden, and Iomedae haven't even been born yet, let alone become gods. The Elves have not yet returned en masse from Sovyrian (although players are allowed to be elves or half-elves because hey why not). There are a lot of ideas floating around between my fellow players and me, but one topic in particular is proving tough for me to flesh out...
One of my two character ideas is a halfling refugee from Nidal, but I'm having trouble piecing together any historical events from that rough timeline (since neither the ISWG nor Nidal, Land Of Shadows campaign setting books list anything noteworthy having happened in that region between 187 and 4100AR).
TL;DR
Any insights or advice regarding things to include (or of which to steer clear) when creating characters or plot hooks from the earliest days of the Age Of Enthronement? Trying to stay as canon as possible.
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Wow, six years of playing Pathfinder and I'm just now discovering this glorious thread... THANK YOU, Mr. Daigle!
Apologies in advance if I ask anything that has already been asked.
I'm about to start a homebrew campaign set in what would later become Kerse, Druma in the distant past of Golarion, around 200AR (my GM is trying to keep things as canon as possible while still leaving room for himself to flex his creative muscles). Dwarves rule the region, but Taldor has recently established an embassy in Kerse (in between their first and second grand armies of exploration). Norgerber, Cayden, and Iomedae haven't even been born yet, let alone become gods. The Elves have not yet returned en masse from Sovyrian (although players are allowed to be elves or half-elves because hey why not). There are a lot of ideas floating around between my fellow players and me, but one topic in particular is proving tough for me to flesh out...
One of my two character ideas is a halfling refugee from Nidal, but I'm having trouble piecing together any historical events from that rough timeline (since neither the ISWG nor Nidal, Land Of Shadows campaign setting books list anything noteworthy having happened in that region between 187 and 4100AR).TL;DR
Any insights or advice regarding things to include (or of which to steer clear) when creating characters or plot hooks from the earliest days of the Age Of Enthronement? Trying to stay as canon as possible.
Them's some deep cuts, so I'm going to address an element from your post first before getting into the details.
First, canon is only canon once it's in print, so if we haven't said anything about a particular element of our setting, then it isn't canon until one of us makes it real and public. This allows for a few things. For one, it keeps us from falling into canon traps and making an off-the-cuff statement somewhere that might be hard for folks to remember or that might invalidate future setting creations. This is something that we call landmines. Secondly, getting too deep into the details of ancient history can be a shackle to GMs. We want y'all to play in our world too and make up things for you tables that we don't have the time or focus to get into in print. I'd much rather see GMs having the freedom to mold experiences and create material at their tables than to have us nail down every aspect of a world with a 10,000-year-plus history. Which leads me to my last statement on this: We just don't have the time, space, and production schedule to full detail every nation we've tocuhed on (heck, we have a whole planet—and other planets—to talk about and in over ten years we've barely scratched the surface). That open space is for you and all of the other people running games set in Golarion.
Now, with that said, I dig your idea of a homebrew setting that takes place in the distant past. As the creator and developer of the Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path, I have a lot of interest in making the past ancient empires, nations, and organizations feel vibrant and exciting, but I use that interest to help tell stories in the present times of our setting.
To speak to your specific creation and your question about Nidal, feel free to make up whatever you want. I've alwasy found Nidal to be an interesting place, because it's one of Avistan's longest-running nations after the Age of Darkness. It's also extremely lawful and evil and is an isolated religious and rigid theocracy. This tendency can certainly explain why there hasn't been any significant upheavals in the nation's past. The sway of the Midnight Lord and his clergy on the closed-off nation is strong and most attempts to usurp this control have failed over the course of thousands of years, which is why it might seem that nothing of note has occured there in the vast span of time in which our setting takes place.
For your more general question, take what I've said above to heart and don't feel an obligation to stick to canon that we may or may not have stated in our products to bring fun and a rich story to your table.
So, Adam, I gotta axe you a question.
See, I heard this crazy rumor... a rumor that said you are not, in fact, either a bug or - even more insane - a flumph.
What-the-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
Also, out of curiosity, how involved were you in the development of King of Biting Ants?
(I mean, bugs, extra-planetary gates, and Lovecraftian-esque horror-monsters? Sounds right up your ally...)
((You are not listed under any of the sources, but I wasn't sure if that was just who was in charge or primary collector-of-stuff from various sources, or if, say, Erik Mona had fabricated it wholly as a present to you. I could also see the latter as possibly happening, but certainly no other possibility exists, even in the slightest. In the slightest, I say!))
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So, Adam, I gotta axe you a question.
See, I heard this crazy rumor... a rumor that said you are not, in fact, either a bug or - even more insane - a flumph.
What-the-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
I've had a number of guises attributed to me, but the fact remains that I am fully human.
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Also, out of curiosity, how involved were you in the development of King of Biting Ants?
(I mean, bugs, extra-planetary gates, and Lovecraftian-esque horror-monsters? Sounds right up your ally...)
((You are not listed under any of the sources, but I wasn't sure if that was just who was in charge or primary collector-of-stuff from various sources, or if, say, Erik Mona had fabricated it wholly as a present to you. I could also see the latter as possibly happening, but certainly no other possibility exists, even in the slightest. In the slightest, I say!))
I didn't have anything to do with the King of Biting Ants. I'm not sure who was the creator and/or author of that character.
I've had a number of guises attributed to me, but the fact remains that I am fully human.So, Adam, I gotta axe you a question.
See, I heard this crazy rumor... a rumor that said you are not, in fact, either a bug or - even more insane - a flumph.
What-the-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
Madness!
I didn't have anything to do with the King of Biting Ants. I'm not sure who was the creator and/or author of that character.Also, out of curiosity, how involved were you in the development of King of Biting Ants?
(I mean, bugs, extra-planetary gates, and Lovecraftian-esque horror-monsters? Sounds right up your ally...)
((You are not listed under any of the sources, but I wasn't sure if that was just who was in charge or primary collector-of-stuff from various sources, or if, say, Erik Mona had fabricated it wholly as a present to you. I could also see the latter as possibly happening, but certainly no other possibility exists, even in the slightest. In the slightest, I say!))
Ah! I am mildly surprised because of all the elements I often associate with you!
(Ants: bugs
(Space: Flumphs
(Worms that walk: Lovecraft horror
Do you have any plans for such things, soon, that you can talk about - either officially (I find that unlikely, which is fine, but you never know) or in personal games or creation?
Also: what is your favorite bug?
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I didn't have anything to do with the King of Biting Ants. I'm not sure who was the creator and/or author of that character.Also, out of curiosity, how involved were you in the development of King of Biting Ants?
(I mean, bugs, extra-planetary gates, and Lovecraftian-esque horror-monsters? Sounds right up your ally...)
((You are not listed under any of the sources, but I wasn't sure if that was just who was in charge or primary collector-of-stuff from various sources, or if, say, Erik Mona had fabricated it wholly as a present to you. I could also see the latter as possibly happening, but certainly no other possibility exists, even in the slightest. In the slightest, I say!))
Ah! I am mildly surprised because of all the elements I often associate with you!
(Ants: bugs
(Space: Flumphs
(Worms that walk: Lovecraft horrorDo you have any plans for such things, soon, that you can talk about - either officially (I find that unlikely, which is fine, but you never know) or in personal games or creation?
Also: what is your favorite bug?
Yeah, that does tick a few boxes associated with some of my interests.
I don't have any plans for such things anytime soon, but who knows?
I'm bad at picking favorites (especially in such a large set of options), but I'd have to say that mantises are my favorite bugs.
That’s very fair. I also know that not only do people have more interests than they are known for, it’s easy to pidgenhole them - sorry if I seem to be doing such, I’m mostly just joking around based off the limited info I’ve got! Do you have any other major themes you like exploring and doing with games? Are there any of your major interests that you haven’t gotten to do as much with as you would like?
Mantises: Nice! I always thought they were pretty cool. Do you have any affinity for the Red Mantis Assassins as a result or notsomuch, or are they just another organization?
Potentially relevant to your interests (at least in a minor way, by way of Mantises), have you seen the game, “Don’t Make Love” (PC)? It’s a minor dialogue-based game about two mantises in love.
Thanks for taking the time to answer silly questions. Hope thing s are going well with you, these days!
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No worries. I don't feel like you're pigeonholing me at all. There's no way for you to know all of my interests. As far as major themes, I'm not sure if I have a single category really. I do like the weird, and that proclivity extends into pretty much everything. I like weird art, weird stories, weird movies, and so on.
I like the Red Mantis Assassins pretty well, but not necessarily because of their iconography. It is a nice touch, though.
I have not heard of that game. I'll look into it.
I'm happy to answer questions, even if some of my answers are underwhelming. :) Things are going pretty well for me these days. Gen Con was a huge energy sink for me both physically and mentally. I'm part of the set up crew, so I end up being in Indianapolis for 10 days. We spend three days building the booth and merchandizing all the books and stuff that we brought to sell, and then four days of the actual convention talking to hundreds of people, doing seminars, and keeping the booth running. It's high energy, but draining. I came home exhausted (but avoided getting the crud), and I'm only feeling mostly myself today (just in time for the weekend!)
:D
Cool!
I'm really glad you avoided the crud! That stuff can be awful!
And no, your answers aren't underwhelming at all - I'm just a big ham, sometimes, and want to make sure I'm not being off-putting or an accidental jerk. (Easy to do on the internets.)
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Them's some deep cuts, so I'm going to address an element from your post first before getting into the details.
First, canon is only canon once it's in print, so if we haven't said anything about a particular element of our setting, then it isn't canon until one of us makes it real and public. This allows for a few things. For one, it keeps us from falling into canon traps and making an off-the-cuff statement somewhere that might be hard for folks to remember or that might invalidate future setting creations. This is something that... (etc)
Thanks so much for the responses! Your input definitely helps a lot. We've made some changes in the past few days, and it's looking really exciting. You and the rest of the dev team have created such an incredible playground for our imaginations, I'm extremely grateful, and very much looking forward to having our characters explore the world my group has built with your tools!
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Hey Adam,
I've been reading through Reign of Winter in anticipation of running this for my group in the future. I doubt combat will happen against her, but for the stats on Baba Yaga, I had a question.
She has a special attack listed as Forceful Will. I can't find any information on this ability anywhere. What is this? What's it do? Or was it a typo on Force of Will, since she's got mythic levels?
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Hey Adam,
I've been reading through Reign of Winter in anticipation of running this for my group in the future. I doubt combat will happen against her, but for the stats on Baba Yaga, I had a question.
She has a special attack listed as Forceful Will. I can't find any information on this ability anywhere. What is this? What's it do? Or was it a typo on Force of Will, since she's got mythic levels?
Yep, that looks like it's a typo and should definitely be force of will. Good catch!
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What does a managing developer do?
Roughly, I mean, I'm not trying to be intrusive.
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What do you usually look for when visiting a farmers market, or do you just mostly go to look around.
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What does a managing developer do?
Roughly, I mean, I'm not trying to be intrusive.
The simplest answer is that I am the developers' manager, specifically the developers working on Pathfinder. Amanda is the manager for the Starfinder developers. We help decide the product schedule, make sure that the developers have what they need to do their jobs, decide who is working on what, and still do development work on our books. There's a ton of other stuff too, but that's the bulk of it.
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What do you usually look for when visiting a farmers market, or do you just mostly go to look around.
When I go to farmer's markets I get produce. I usually poke around and find the best stuff and devise a plan of what to use it for. I sometimes hit up the food vendors if I'm hungry or if something stands out. I don't usually hit up the craft booths. No offense to those hard-working creators, but I hate when markets have more craft stalls than produce.
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The simplest answer is that I am the developers' manager, specifically the developers working on Pathfinder. Amanda is the manager for the Starfinder developers. We help decide the product schedule, make sure that the developers have what they need to do their jobs, decide who is working on what, and still do development work on our books. There's a ton of other stuff too, but that's the bulk of it.What does a managing developer do?
Roughly, I mean, I'm not trying to be intrusive.
Galt?
Just a suggestion, do with it as you will. :-)
Now with an actual question, inspired by a different thread.
What was your weirdest job.
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Now with an actual question, inspired by a different thread.What was your weirdest job.
Since I've previously worked kitchens and construction, I'd have to say that this is my weirdest job. I mean, I make stuff up about wizards and elves for a living.
So daggum cool
If you could make a four-person all-flumph team of adventurers, which classes would you give them, and why?
- operative
- soldier
- technomancer
oh, right, Pathfinder ;D
- arcanist or summoner (either way, really)
- paladin (aaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwww yeah~!)
- shaman (nature + magic!)
- mesmerist, ninja, investigator, or vigilante (so hard to choose! I keep going to the next one on the list...)
Though the arcanist and summoner are extremely different, both would ultimately serve the purpose of "crafter" for the group; basically, I'd end up choosing whichever the rest of the group thought would be a better fit. The paladin is (obviously) the tank-warrior, while the shaman works as secondary control and support caster. The last one is tricky, because it depends on what I want from the "skill" guy. A bard might go well there, but... so many cool character concepts.
Hm. Hm-hm. The idea of a mesmerizing flumph floating gently (the rhythmic sway and motion)... a flumph ninja (silent, yet deadly), a flumph investigator (just imagine the monocle and hat!), or a flumph vigilante ("I am the terror that flumphs in the night!") just all makes me so stinkin' happy...
And yes, I'm aware that I just made a lot of fart jokes about flumphs in that last sentence, even though I totally love them and actually generally take them seriously, at least as seriously as any other group I'm playing with allows. But the skill-based flumph is just... it makes me grin, almost no matter which way I go.
#blamethedadjokethingorwhatever
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If you could make a four-person all-flumph team of adventurers, which classes would you give them, and why?
** spoiler omitted **...
I don't know that I would, but I'll play along. I'd go paladin, sorcerer (or arcanist), cleric, and rogue (or bard). No reasons other than they were the first choices that came to mind that made sense.
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In Black Stars Beckon it says someone (you know who) came to somewhere (you know where) from Golarion through unknown means.
So, my question is, were those unknown means ever established and possibly cut, or were they always unknown.
Just curious!
If you could adapt one super-cool bug to be a Pathfinder race, which one would it be?
EDIT:
I don't know that I would, but I'll play along. I'd go paladin, sorcerer (or arcanist), cleric, and rogue (or bard). No reasons other than they were the first choices that came to mind that made sense.If you could make a four-person all-flumph team of adventurers, which classes would you give them, and why?
** spoiler omitted **...
That's super fair!
Do you generally dislike the idea of monstrous creatures as classed, or is it just something that you have no personal interest in? Or just flumphs in particular? Or just me asking these kinds of questions?
(Sorry if it's that last thing, by the way!)
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In Black Stars Beckon it says someone (you know who) came to somewhere (you know where) from Golarion through unknown means.
So, my question is, were those unknown means ever established and possibly cut, or were they always unknown.
Just curious!
Unknown!
;)
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If you could adapt one super-cool bug to be a Pathfinder race, which one would it be?
Probably a mantis or spider.
EDIT:I don't know that I would, but I'll play along. I'd go paladin, sorcerer (or arcanist), cleric, and rogue (or bard). No reasons other than they were the first choices that came to mind that made sense.If you could make a four-person all-flumph team of adventurers, which classes would you give them, and why?
** spoiler omitted **...
That's super fair!
Do you generally dislike the idea of monstrous creatures as classed, or is it just something that you have no personal interest in? Or just flumphs in particular? Or just me asking these kinds of questions?
(Sorry if it's that last thing, by the way!)
I don't mind you asking those kinds of questions at all, and I'm not opposed to adding classes to critters. That's kinda fun! It's just that flumphs are kinda silly and I can't think of an instance where I'd put together a group of them as adventurers. My flumph association have been a long story that I kinda adopted from a friend. That I use it as an avatar has only increased the association, so I get it.
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In Black Stars Beckon it says someone (you know who) came to somewhere (you know where) from Golarion through unknown means.
So, my question is, were those unknown means ever established and possibly cut, or were they always unknown.
Just curious!
Unknown!
;)
Excellent! I'll blame it on the mice, Thanks! :-)
Is there anything you have cut from an adventure that in hindsight you wish you hadn't.
Or alternatively, has someone wrote something so awesome you simply had to find room for it.
Feel free to use spoiler tags if you want.
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Is there anything you have cut from an adventure that in hindsight you wish you hadn't.
Or alternatively, has someone wrote something so awesome you simply had to find room for it.
Feel free to use spoiler tags if you want.
No specific examples immediately come to mind, but I'm sure that I've cut something that I wish I hadn't. Something like cutting something that was more important than it seemed at the time. I've also had writers put some great material in that I worked hard in development to retain, especially when wordcounts are tight.
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Is there a central authority at Paizo for feats and traits that make sure they're balanced and not redundant? For example, is there a central role or committee that looks over every new trait or feat that gets designed and then decides to approve, adjust, or veto? Or do designers add new traits and feats, and review only goes as high as that project team?
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Is there a central authority at Paizo for feats and traits that make sure they're balanced and not redundant? For example, is there a central role or committee that looks over every new trait or feat that gets designed and then decides to approve, adjust, or veto? Or do designers add new traits and feats, and review only goes as high as that project team?
There's no sole arbiter of every piece of rules mechanics that we publish. There are design guidelines that the designers and developers work from, and even our editors have a keen eye for when some things are off the mark. Of course, we mess up every now and then.
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Okay, thanks. Just curious how it worked after having a discussion about traits elsewhere. Both traits and feats seem like a huge volume of abilities to keep track of, and I'm sure it's in Paizo's interest to keep creating new ones. (PF2 notwithstanding)
Thanks again!