>>Ask *Thurston Hillman* ALL Your Questions Here!<<


Off-Topic Discussions

1 to 50 of 386 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | next > last >>

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Hi Thursty!

I'm curious as to why you thought this thread would be a bad idea?

>:)

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Feros wrote:

Hi Thursty!

I'm curious as to why you thought this thread would be a bad idea?

>:)

:P

Seriously, it will end in fire. HORRIBLE GOD FIRE FROM WHICH THERE WILL BE NO RETURN!

Much like the chat conversation that spawned said statement...


Thurston Hillman wrote:
Feros wrote:

Hi Thursty!

I'm curious as to why you thought this thread would be a bad idea?

>:)

:P

Seriously, it will end in fire. HORRIBLE GOD FIRE FROM WHICH THERE WILL BE NO RETURN!

HUZZAH!!

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

1 person marked this as a favorite.

See what you've done Feros?! This is on you. -_-

Paizo Employee Sales Imp

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I just have one question for you...

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Cosmo wrote:
I just have one question for you...

There's a magical convention in May, that is taking place in Seattle.

So yeah, I'll see you at the brony convention. :)

PS: Now I want to watch Wreck It Ralph again.

Paizo Employee Sales Imp

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Thurston Hillman wrote:
So yeah, I'll see you at the brony convention. :)

This is not a question.

Neither is this.

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

2 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm glad we're not taking this seriously.

Liberty's Edge RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16

Do you think John might actually let you try and tackle a 12+ scenario with enough arm twisting?

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Thrawn007 wrote:
Do you think John might actually let you try and tackle a 12+ scenario with enough arm twisting?

Stars would need to align for such a thing to work out.

First, I would have to be project and obligation free, which is becoming more and more of a rarity.

I wouldn't want to do a 'quest' style thing for 12+, mainly because I see that as a stopgap and not something cool enough for that level of play.

That would basically mean such a beast would need to be a scenario, which would probably mean a second retirement arc. We all know (ok, we HOPE) that there will EVENTUALLY be a new arc like that.

But yeah, that would be a pretty cool thing to be involved in :)

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

1 person marked this as a favorite.

So.......................

These llamas with hats...........

How exactly are they a metaphor for [REDACTED]?

And who is a Karl?

Paizo Employee Developer

1 person marked this as a favorite.

How quickly do you expect this thread's post count to surpass my question thread? :)

(I give it about a week, you magnificent bastard.)

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Jim Groves wrote:

So.......................

These llamas with hats...........

How exactly are they a metaphor for [REDACTED]?

And who is a Karl?

It's pronounced 'Carl'. Clearly, they're related to [This?

Also, I'm glad that my ARCH NEMESIS has arrived :)

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Adam Daigle wrote:

How quickly do you expect this thread's post count to surpass my question thread? :)

(I give it about a week, you magnificent bastard.)

I couldn't possibly comment on such a thing. I mean, I think someone like me has way more time to reply to these kind of things. You know, instead of spending my days developing AMAZING products and being a generally awesome human being? Also, there's probably not a lot of interesting questions people would want to ask me. I expect the joke to die out in a few days.

Saw on the Twitterspaces that you're going to N'awlins, I hope it's for a vacation :)

Dark Archive Software Developer

1 person marked this as a favorite.

What is the cuddle quotient of an unladen Canadian?

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Christopher Anthony wrote:
What is the cuddle quotient of an unladen Canadian?

Obviously another question that could be more directly answered at PaizoCon. Though, I would require more information to adequately explain my answer. If said Canadian were French-Canadian or not, would factor into the equation, as an example.

Also, if people do have other questions, I guess I'll do my best to answer them? I need to beat Daigle, after all!


What is the airspeed velocity of a coconut laden African swallow?

If a dozen brain eating zombies were locked in a room with several hundred politicians, how long would it take the zombies to starve to death?

Is it possible to have peace in the Middle East without nuking the entire area into a giant sheet of radioactive glass?

Sherbert, frozen yogurt, or ice cream? And which flavour(s)?

Dronf!

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Ceaser Slaad wrote:
What is the airspeed velocity of a coconut laden African swallow?

Do I look like a king to you!?

Quote:
If a dozen brain eating zombies were locked in a room with several hundred politicians, how long would it take the zombies to starve to death?

Whatever the average life-span of a brain eating zombie is. As the politicians would require some form of brain to function as passable human beings! Think of it like some form of crazy camouflage.

Quote:
Is it possible to have peace in the Middle East without nuking the entire area into a giant sheet of radioactive glass?

Having spent quite a bit of time in the Middle East (seriously, I've been to the UAE, Afghanistan, and Iraq), I think it is possible, but there's a lot of work and proverbial bridges that need to be built. Might be hard to get rid of the glass part, though. There's a LOT of glass buildings in Dubai.

Quote:
Sherbert, frozen yogurt, or ice cream? And which flavour(s)?

Mmmmm lime sherbert. Mmmmmm....


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Thurston Hillman wrote:
Ceaser Slaad wrote:
What is the airspeed velocity of a coconut laden African swallow?
Do I look like a king to you!?

Well your avatar does have a crown thing

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Quote:
Well your avatar does have a crown thing

The worst part... is that I KNEW someone would comment on that. :D


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

OK then, what is the air speed velocity of an unladen beaver catapulted in the air by an irate and ornery moose?


Orthos wrote:
Well your avatar does have a crown thing

We all wear those in Shax's House of Pain...

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Feros wrote:
OK then, what is the air speed velocity of an unladen beaver catapulted in the air by an irate and ornery moose?

Irrelevant. The beaver defies physics and the moose bounces right off. Don't mess with a moose.

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

GM Lamplighter wrote:
We all wear those in Shax's House of Pain...

Now I'm imagining that whole line from Stephen King's IT: "We all float down here."

Actually, that's quite appropriate, given what Shax's House of Pain is.


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Hey Thursty, why has the turnover on Shax's House of Pain not been done yet? John Compton makes it clear in the close that you have not done this.

Reference.

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Thursty, why are ham slices called Canadian bacon?

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Feros wrote:

Hey Thursty, why has the turnover on Shax's House of Pain not been done yet? John Compton makes it clear in the close that you have not done this.

Reference.

There's about 1,500 words sitting on my computer that fleshes out the background of this deadly scenario. In truth, I DO want to write it, but I think it will be a variation on the outline John presented me. I want it to be something that is both funny and deadly. While fantastic and hilarious, the current outline essentially makes it unplayable.

I think the key to actually writing this scenario, is striking a balance between 'meta' humour that takes some jabs at how PFS handles things, as well as making some really challenging encounters that would tax even the murderiest of hobos. Were I ever to run it, I would want the players sitting at the table to know what they were getting into, as the scenario would still need to be PFS official, just so there's a risk of perma-death or losing resources—and, of course, having chronicle sheets torn up before your eyes.

So, long story short, I do intend to one day write this sucker. It's on a bucket list of special projects (a special folder filled with subfolders). Right now, it has somewhat taken a backseat to paying freelance jobs as well as some personal passion projects that have jumped the line.

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
Thursty, why are ham slices called Canadian bacon?

From my quick research (God bless the Wikipedia) the term Canadian Bacon may have come from a unique form of back bacon that emerged in Southern Ontario called "Peameal Bacon".

Now, I prefer to think that our bacon is superior, in that it comes from a superior breed of pigs. These pigs fight in one-on-on personal combat atop the breaking tops of flight icebergs. The loser is consumed in a flurry of teeth, while the winner is airlifted out, to a special compound in northern Canada. In this compound, the pig is rendered into delicious bacon...

Mmmm.... bacon.

Damnit, now I want breakfast.


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Thursty, do you prefer traditional bacon or the rather new maple-infused bacon?

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Feros wrote:
Thursty, do you prefer traditional bacon or the rather new maple-infused bacon?

Crispy thin bacon is my ultimate preference.

Mmmmm... bacon...


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

So which one of the monsters in The Hill Giant's Pledge Bestiary did you design?

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Feros wrote:
So which one of the monsters in The Hill Giant's Pledge Bestiary did you design?

Hahaha, I missed this! Sorry!

I actually worked on the Ourdivar protean. I pitched a few ideas to Daigle about critters for this AP, and the protean was one that really stuck. Then when I started writing in the CR range and researching the other proteans, I noticed the naunet is the lowest of the 'true' proteans. So that led to a whole discussion on what is an untrue protean. Magic happened afterwards, and the concept of lesser warp waves and lesser proteans made a lot of sense. Special thanks to Todd Stewart—who is a master of the planes, as well as many other cool things—because he really helped me make the ourdivar awesome.

Adam, of course developed it into amazingness!

*TEAMWORK MAGIC*

Silver Crusade

What/who inspired Valais from The Traitor's Lodge, if anything?

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Hrothdane wrote:
What/who inspired Valais from The Traitor's Lodge, if anything?

*Pulls up the outline from Traitor's Lodge as a refresher*

Ah yes, now I remember! Originally, Valais was not part of the submitted outline. She was a construct of my mad mind, as I thought more and more about it.

Valais was inspired to serve a few different masters. First, I'd read about a group of Numerian Pathfinders sent to review Thurl's discoveries, and figured this was a perfect scenario to detail exactly what happened to those poor folks. The second reason was of a more mechanical nature, in that I wanted to include an NPC that would muddle the whole 'kill it and move on'. The fact that she messes with Paladins was a key factor, because we knew there would be a lot of 'kill it with holy smiting' for Season 5.

I'm a big fan of posing PCs with quandaries that require more than a kill mentality to overcome, and I'm also a fan of unique social encounters. So, I'm glad that Valais has made an impact among PFS players. Maybe the demonically stitched lady can make an appearance in the future... :)

Silver Crusade

She's awesome! She's my favorite NPC in PFS.

I don't know if you have ever seen the web series, but I play her main personality like a more lucid Salad Fingers.

She really gets into people's heads, especially veterans who are conditioned from other adventures to assume tag-along NPCs will betray them.

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Hrothdane wrote:

She's awesome! She's my favorite NPC in PFS.

I don't know if you have ever seen the web series, but I play her main personality like a more lucid Salad Fingers.

She really gets into people's heads, especially veterans who are conditioned from other adventures to assume tag-along NPCs will betray them.

I have it on good authority, we've not seen the last of Valais in PFS. I'm also working on advancing another lingering 'chronicle thread' from that scenario. But, if PFS has taught me anything, some of these plot threads mature over years.


If you could force every single person in the world to eat one dish of food, what would it be? This would be a one-time event, and everyone would eat it at the same time.

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Cheapy wrote:
If you could force every single person in the world to eat one dish of food, what would it be? This would be a one-time event, and everyone would eat it at the same time.

THE PRESSURE!

Ummmm, I'd really need to think about this. Since I'd want to be respectful of the world's bathrooms.


Thurston Hillman wrote:
Cheapy wrote:
If you could force every single person in the world to eat one dish of food, what would it be? This would be a one-time event, and everyone would eat it at the same time.

THE PRESSURE!

Ummmm, I'd really need to think about this. Since I'd want to be respectful of the world's bathrooms.

Pretty sure you just failed to live up to your tag.

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

Cheapy wrote:
Pretty sure you just failed to live up to your tag.

*SEPPUKU*

Contributor

Thursty,

If the Aspis Consortium decided to create an Aspis Roleplaying Game in a desperate bid to unseat their Pathfinder Rivals, what would said roleplaying game look like?

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

What areas of Golarion lore would you be considered best equipped to answer questions about, similar to how James Jacobs is the guy to talk to about Varisia and demons, while Wes Schneider is better to ask about Ustalav, Devils and lost Sarkoris?

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Alexander Augunas wrote:

Thursty,

If the Aspis Consortium decided to create an Aspis Roleplaying Game in a desperate bid to unseat their Pathfinder Rivals, what would said roleplaying game look like?

Well, very different, for starters.

Having spent a good amount of time in the 'evil salt mines' [Read:my adventure in the Hell's Vengeance AP], I've come to appreciate how tricky evil organizations would be. That being said, I think John Compton's latest PFS scenario, Serpent's Rise, is an excellent idea of what it could look like from a player's perspective.

Odd tidbit—When I was in scenic Seattle in December and visiting the golem, John and I discussed a rough outline for what would become Serpent's Rise, then known as 'The Aspis Scenario'. One thing that I stressed, was that the Aspis Consortium is an organization that is capable of providing necessary material and resources for agents. I think I even suggested increasing PC wealth by 1-2 levels as a form of representing the Consortium's ability to backup agents.

So, back to the question, I think you'd see a much higher wealth curve for starters. I could probably drone on as far as organized play, but re-reading the question, I think you're actually wondering about mechanics!

If we're talking PURELY mechanics... I'd hazard to guess that the system would be far more mechanically deadly. Think like Hackmaster, where players would be rolling up new characters every session. Simply because of the higher risk/reward I imagine Aspis agents contending with.

Also, the RPG code-name would not have been Mon Mothma. It would be Thrawn.

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
What areas of Golarion lore would you be considered best equipped to answer questions about, similar to how James Jacobs is the guy to talk to about Varisia and demons, while Wes Schneider is better to ask about Ustalav, Devils and lost Sarkoris?

<<DISCLAIMER: Thurston Hillman is not an employee of Paizo. He's just a big lovable Canadian who sometimes writes for them. One day, Paizo could figure out that he's Canadian and everything he assumes to be an expert on, could be proven false.

Good question!

At the last GenCon/PaizoCon season, this was something that got requested of freelancers in attendance: "What are your interested/passions in Golarion".

That question got me thinking and over the next year, I tried to build up a stable of 'things I wanted to champion'. At PaizoCon this year, I got to seed some of those ideas with the cool folks in blurple (yes, that's a word) T-shirts. So, I'm safe to answer SOME of the areas I consider myself knowledgeable on and passionate about.

Druma: The nation nobody loves, with the religious organization no one understands. I've made it a crusade to make this oft-forgotten, central nation of the Inner Sea, somewhere people would be interested in running campaigns. If I have one place in Golarion that I consider myself a champion of, it's Druma. Along with Jessica Price, because she's awesome and already assembled her own notes before I'd opened my secret vault of 'Druma thoughts' to Paizo. Also... DRUMA LODGE!

Lung Wa Era Tian Xia [[FANON]]: I've been building a lot of proposed lore and head canon for what Tian Xia was like just before the fall of Aroden. Nothing official, but I've done a fair bit of research on it and am always up for mad conspiracy theories!

PFS Metaplots: I won't say I'm involved in ALL THE THINGS for PFS, but I've had a lot to do with season-wide storylines and big events in the Pathfinder Society Organized Play world since the end of Season 3. Particularly, I've become territorial over the ongoing Blakros family story arc, and more recently, the Aspis arc for Season 7.

Some other PFS items of note that I don't mind discussing:

-Traitor's Lodge stuff (particularly Aslynn and Valais)
-Any of my other scenarios
-The Onyx Alliance (I've come to grapple them away from Owen)
-The Grand Convocation of 2012
-Mass combat rules in PFS... as long as they don't involve me getting attacked by a mob.

Shadow Absalom: Another object of my affection, is trying to expand on what exactly is going on in Shadow Absalom (the Plane of Shadow version of Absalom). I defer to Todd Stewart a lot on this city, since he was the original creator, but I've recently come to do a lot with it. As James Jacobs has pointed out, it's not a location he's too pleased with, so I'd sorely like to make it something usable and cool.

Paizo Employee Contributor—Canadian Maplecakes

But seriously, this thread is more just my random musings and thoughts on things. Despite the cool Shax avatar, I'm no Paizo employee. So, all you'll get from me, is the raw undiluted TRUTH.

And the truth is: I know nothing. But man, do I have opinions and thoughts on things! :D

Project Manager

5 people marked this as a favorite.

DRUMA LODGE!

Contributor

Thurston Hillman wrote:
Shadow Absalom: Another object of my affection, is trying to expand on what exactly is going on in Shadow Absalom (the Plane of Shadow version of Absalom). I defer to Todd Stewart a lot on this city, since he was the original creator, but I've recently come to do a lot with it. As James Jacobs has pointed out, it's not a location he's too pleased with, so I'd sorely like to make it something usable and cool.

It's a lovely little city IMO. I too would love to see more done to flesh it out, present it as a location rich in its own history, politics, and flush with intrigue for PCs to meddle in.

:)

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

What IS Shadow Absalom?


Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
What IS Shadow Absalom?

The version of Absalom as it exists on the plane of Shadow.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Ceaser Slaad wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
What IS Shadow Absalom?
The version of Absalom as it exists on the plane of Shadow.

Darnit is this more Organized Play stuff?! I always feel out of the loop because of all the stuff that goes on in those that people talk about and I'm like "Wait, what? When did this happen?!"

1 to 50 of 386 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Gamer Life / Off-Topic Discussions / >>Ask *Thurston Hillman* ALL Your Questions Here!<< All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.