AnnoyingOrange's page

It seems he should know the DC before rolling, and make the rolls himself if he actually gets to control the witch directly. If cohorts are controlled less directly by the player/character, I do think the witch should have pointed out that it was hard to craft such an item with considerable chances of failure.

It seems in this case you are showing off your system mastery skills, or his lack thereof, and he has a right to be a bit disgruntled about that, I'd give the player the option to try make a less powerful belt and let him roll himself.

I've been kicked in the jewels. I also umpire baseball and have taken a couple of shots to the cup. It sucks. It's not fun. But it's not sexual assault. Permanent damage is pretty rare and not likely to happen from a single kick. I don't doubt that the human body could produce enough power to cause permanent damage but unless you've got your little buddies against something solid the body is capable of absorbing shock impact.

Personally I find it embarrassing and demeaning, if someone is targeting my groin purposefully to mock me and make me buckle over in agony it is at least as much sexual assault as walking over to a woman and punch her in the boob for lols. If you feel threatened and outmatched by someone stronger than you in a (potentially) physical threat it is a different situation entirely.

I am not advocating that an accidental hit in the groin or touching of the boob is sexual assault but I feel that people think much too lightly on the subject, I also think such biased thinking is at least partially counterproductive.

I wouldn't really feel compelled to play an arcane caster, it is not a role in itself, neither does a role as controller or blaster necessarily be filled or might already be filled by a non-arcane character.

That said a bard seems to be a fairly good choice for your party, unless the cleric is an evangelist..

My second choice would be a magus since more melee combatants tend to be a good deal for the rogue and is otherwise a good blend of arcane magic and melee.

That seems unrealistic, at best the scale at which we are governed could be dialed back some, but most governing is simply born out of a necessity for efficiency, you get to cast a vote and that's it. You do not get a vote every time you disagree with any one singular decision.

The alternative you suggest is anarchy, I do not see that turn out well.

EDIT: simply living in a country gives you access to most of the benefits, while some benefits could be withdrawn it would be fair to expect you to do your part still to maintain the country. Other than that, elections happen.. every 4 years or so.

What does that even mean in practice ?

Irontruth wrote:

AnnoyingOrange wrote:

I am not so sure it has much to do with sexual harassment, anyone is likely to be the victim of aggressive behavior and if anything a guy is more likely to be beaten up than a girl for looking at someone funny.

Men are hardly immune to intimidation and violence, while I do sympathize with women it really isn't just women that suffer I'd not be surprised if for every physical sexual harassment towards women a man is stabbed or otherwise a victim of severe physical abuse.

All the same if more people would have the decency and conviction to stand up to such behavior society might be a better place, but truth be told I can hardly blame people for being afraid to act, it is not uncommon for good people trying to do the right thing to become the victim. So yea, kudos to you Hama and glad you did not get knifed.

Lets step back for a second.

The women are asking for a little more empathy and consideration. For people to stand up when they see something wrong going on and assist the person who is being victimized.

If all those things increased in our society, do you think that would have a positive or negative impact on male-male incidents like you're describing?

Are you making the claim that if men were more empathetic, the rate of violence directed at men would increase?

I didn't read him that way at all. I really don't see where you got any of that.

As far as I can tell, he's saying 1) It's about aggression not sexual harassment and guys are as likely to be victims as women - which I disagree with.
2) The world would be better if more people stood up, but he can't blame them for being scared to.

I'm not sure how you get from any of that to "more empathy would be bad and increase violence towards men"?

I think that :

1) is up for debate, I find that direct aggression in general is much more often directed at other men than at women though granted none of that is likely to appear on the media because man on man aggression does not quite raise the same amount of moral outrage unless people die and even then people are more shocked by a case of sexual harassment as described. Nonetheless I think the guy that is likely to stab you in the face is likely to be a guy that doesn't have a big problem with sexually harassing a woman. People lacking morals and a general lack of empathy towards other people are in my opinion the problem.

2) yep

Don't judge the cheaters too harshly but talk to them and make a joke about it, keep it light just knowing people are catching on is often enough already to make people think about it twice.

You might consider to move to the middle of the table for GM'ing so you are not that far away and keep the table relatively unobstructed, make clear dice are rolled in the open and might rule out clear or otherwise hard to read dice. Hero points might also give back some control to players without cheating.
Finally, be fair as a GM, give decent rewards accept your bad rolls and have their actions matter, players often respond to real or perceived unfairness by pushing or trying to bend rules a bit.

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I am not so sure it has much to do with sexual harassment, anyone is likely to be the victim of aggressive behavior and if anything a guy is more likely to be beaten up than a girl for looking at someone funny.

Men are hardly immune to intimidation and violence, while I do sympathize with women it really isn't just women that suffer I'd not be surprised if for every physical sexual harassment towards women a man is stabbed or otherwise a victim of severe physical abuse.

All the same if more people would have the decency and conviction to stand up to such behavior society might be a better place, but truth be told I can hardly blame people for being afraid to act, it is not uncommon for good people trying to do the right thing to become the victim. So yea, kudos to you Hama and glad you did not get knifed.

Healing Domain is a pretty powerful one, especially if the GM plays the monster as he should (with intelligence, focusing in one player at a time).

Empowered healing spells focus the healing where you need it more.

Also, when you see a cleric healing around 16 hps per cure light wounds spell...

Healing domain is great early on, once you have the Heal spell it feels mostly redundant since your most powerful healing can not be empowered, still nice but not that great anymore.

I think you shouldn't play a pure healer though, if you only have healing spells you will be mostly healing to compensate for your inefficiency to support the party. A boost to AC, bonus to hit or extra attack will usually end up being a better deal than a heal spell of similar level.

Paladin's lay on hands can do it too if selected as a mercy.

I like the idea of multiple constructs it can transfer its consciousness into. They defeat the lich occupying the first one and it brings another out of storage. Rinse and repeat until the party is defeated, they discover the secret construct holding area, or they destroy all the constructs one at a time. I did a variant of this once with a red dragon using Magic Jar to occupy a succession of Cloned human fighter bodies. It was back in 2nd Ed and the party was going crazy trying to figure out what was going on and how humans could cast spells just by pointing with minimal casting time. Of course, once they finished off the Clones they got to face Big Red, who was fresh and topped off on hp while they were battered and nearly out of spells.

That exact scenario wouldn't work for you, but perhaps your lich could save the biggest and best construct for last, realizing that if it ever gets to the point it would need to use it it would also be low on spells and brute force would be the order of the day.

I did consider using magic jar to control creatures held in stasis to challenge the party but I thought it lacked something to make it come alive for me, a succession of constructs that the lich animates with it's life force is probably a better idea.

I can't come up with anything to make it into a Great Encounter though, I do not want it to be anti-climatic after their last battle or make it simply an encounter with tough creatures to crush. I would love some suggestions to make this into a 'clever' challenge with a fair deal of combat and evocative environment.

I would like more info On the Lich...

But I see the Mansion itself as a Maze... Runes marking Doors going to different areas of the Mansion if you are not carrying a certain magical Compass that bypasses the enchantments.

I am taken back to PS Game of CastleVania where you are alacard running around the mansion running into different created Monsters and imprisoned Demons and Devils that the Lich has been making Deals with or just Draining power from using different rituals...

The mansion is a maze of sorts, Archmage Jobe (demilich) is their appointed guide though his memory is unreliable at best and sometimes simply forgets to communicate facts that are obvious to him, many things have changed in his absence. He respects the party and their skills, which in this case, means he is less likely to help them out and actually quite enjoys seeing things play out as a grand play for his entertainment, he does however give assistance if asked for respectfully.

The lich is Archmage Jobe's bastard son and quite frankly always has been a bit of a disappointment, though he reluctantly has come to respect his son for his magical prowess and for managing to betray and 'kill' him to gain power. The Ice Devil has been guiding his actions and allowed the lich to become quite powerful over time and through pacts made with infernal powers, the lich idolizes the Ice Devil and is quite obsessed with her. While quite powerful he still stands in the shadow of his father and still hasn't managed to steal complete control of the plane or managed to unlock all it's secrets which frustrates him to no end.

statistically it is a LE, 'human' (lich), conjurer 5/diabolist 10 with illusion and enchantment as opposition schools and an interest in necromancy.

str 10 dex 12 con - int 26 wis 18 cha 23, currently access only to minor items since he lost his main possessions in the last battle, but it doesn't matter if the party hurries to get to the phylactery. He used to be quite devout and good person before he fell in with the Ice Devil which used his anger and bitterness towards his father to gradually corrupt him and draw her into her fold to use as a tool to oust Archmage Jobe.

Back to the OP:

Have the guardian of the phylactery be a greatly advanced ice (or flesh) golem. It keeps the phylactery, a deceptively fragile-seeming jeweled egg, in its mouth, which it never opens without a command from its master. (Clever PCs might think it odd the thing breathes out its frigid breath weapon through its nostrils).

Liches are immune to cold (and lightning). Populate the plane with monsters that use magical cold (or lightning) area attacks, which will heal the golem as they damage the party. The golem does not stand and fight; instead, it darts from area to area when threatened, making use of the crazy gravity and bent space of the plane, pulling the party into conflict with more and more monsters. Have a bunch of

I suggest an ice golem because your lich is a diabolist, and certain devils are perfect for such an encounter. Most notably, ice devils get cone of cold at will. A few of these teleporting around the plane, cutting the players off from the golem with wall of ice, using telepathy to coordinate attacks and retreating to regenerate when wounded, will make the whole experience a memorable nightmare.

Eryines aren’t cold-immune, but they’re the mooks I’d recommend. A flock of them will be a serious threat to lightly armored targets with their bows, ignoring a lot of common caster defenses like mirror image and invisibility thanks to true seeing.

Have the plane’s theme include icy surfaces covered in mystic runes. Have many of these be Maximized Explosive Runes. Have the detonation of said runes start avalanches that behave unpredictably in the bizarre gravity.

Have the lich prepped with a serious helping of greater dispels and similar spells to break down the party's defenses.

Have fun. Let us know what you went with.

The lich had an Ice Devil cohort which was instrumental in betraying his father (the demilich, aka Archmage Jobe). The party defeated the lich, the Ice Devil, a summoned horde of Erinyes, Two Bone Devils, a Horned Devil called with greater Planar Binding and an Imp companion with a fondness for Rhino shape in a very intense battle. In the end the Horned Devil barely escaped after the lich was defeated and the Ice Devil got to be 'accidentally' Soul Trapped by Archmage Jobe before she could flee, though the Ice Devil is likely to play a major role in the next chapter of the adventure since they need her to cough up some crucial information, she is far from done with the party even though they managed to defeat her. As such I prefer to have the Ice Devil be 'special', and the characters have a healthy respect for the creature.

I am looking for an encounter to throw at them to destroy the phylactery without encountering the lich in that form as such, the lich even if encountered now has used up most of it's spells but if they take their time wasting resources and making their way to the phylactery they will make things very hard by allowing the lich to regain his form and spells and be better prepared to battle them next time.

I don't much like the ideas with innocents as the phylactery and such, if I was to do something like that I'd have to put in more background into the story, just tossing that in seems a bit cheesy. Also it is something I want to wrap up next session not a difficult situation to drag on for a bit which it will likely do. In other circumstances it can be a great twist, not so much now.

The idea of the demilich as phylactery does not fit with the lich desperately trying to destroy it last encounter, neither does it fit with the future plot in which the players will need the demilich.

1) How helpful is the demilich? -- I ask because, for effect, it could be fun to have him be helpful... and then suddenly take him off the board halfway through, because the lich has installed a trap or something especially for him. (Doesn't have to be a deadly trap; demiliches are damn near impossible to kill. Something incredibly shiny and distracting, say.)

2) Does the party have some way to detect and verify the phylactery? Because if not, then there are a lot of fun possibilities.

Here's one: have an early encounter with a strong but not /too/ powerful monster that just happens to have a cool treasure item. Let's say... oh, a 15th level barbarian who seems to be completely and incurably insane, and who just attacks the party relentlessly until killed. Shouldn't be a big deal for a party of 6x 13th level PCs, right? So the barb is swinging a b+$!~in' +4 greataxe that's encrusted with jewels. One of these jewels is the lich's phylactery, but the PCs have no way of telling this. Additional wrinkle: whoever holds the axe gets targeted by something like a Magic Jar or Trap the Soul once the lich comes back... and on a failed save, they start *turning into the lich*. (To make this more fun, require three saves. On the first fail, take the PC aside and explain that their alignment has now changed to NE. Let them play that way for, say, an hour of game time. On the second, the PC gains undead qualities and is effectively Dominated by the lich. On the third, the PC is gone and replaced by the lich.)

3) Do some huge-ass red herrings. For instance, let's say the party fights the barbarian. They're promptly attacked by some undead. Dispatching them, they find that (apparently) the undead and the barbarian were all members of a previous group of adventurers who got trapped on the demiplane. And in their notes, they find what seem to be clues to finding the phylactery! Of course, these clues were really planted by the lich...

Say the demiplane has three parts, each one a small dungeon in...

1) The demilich is as helpful as I want him to be, he is unreliable prone to sudden flashes of insight or outright incompetence casting a different spell than what he was supposed to or trying to cast a spell with somatic component and no limbs to do so. He has less of an impact than other characters, though the lich is both hateful towards and afraid of him. Entrapping the lich will not do much to hinder the party at this point though they will need his help after this resolves.

2) No they don't, though the demilich has True Seeing constantly. Mostly I want the encounter to be not so much a standard combat, so clever use of environment , traps or trickery are all viable and I am open for ideas or similar encounters people really liked.

3) I already used something similar once, though it was another campaign and not a lich specifically I rather not repeat it (same players though). The first time turned out great though, so it's not that I don't like the idea in itself.

I just want to create a satisfying encounter for my players, for other reasons than a pile of loot.

The party enter the cellar to find a child whose heart has been replaced with the phylactery.

Possibly the child links back to an NPC the party met earlier (or even better if one of the PCs has a family).

Removing the phylactery will kill the child (and in the absence of an actual heart resurrection is not an option).

Not all encounters or climaxes need to be combat-based.....

It doesn't have to be about intense combat but it has to be challenging and climatic in some way, also I want them to defeat the lich in this encounter one way or another that is why it is a Final Encounter.

Discard 'Weak' saves, progress saves as 1/2 level and have them stack for multi-class characters, this will prevent some obvious weak save abuse casters are fond of.

Change your initial scores to : 16, 16, 15, 14, 13, 11 or a 25 point buy, specialized characters will have to suffer a significant setback in all round effectiveness, you can also not allow them to take scores of 7 when using point buy, allowing them scores of 18, 14, 14, 10, 8, 8 typically.

I gave any class weapon finesse, made TWF chain cost a single feat, allowed rogues to pick any general feat instead of a rogue talent to heighten appeal to other characters as well.

Oracle of Life is convenient with a steady spell list it is easier to play which is a good thing.

Mystic Theurge is quite a bit harder in that respect but it has some nice utility spells and buffs for the party without being overpowering, an excellent support character.

If you want it to be fairly weak in comparison and easy to play consider Sorcerer/Oracle/Mystic Theurge.

The party is trapped in a demi-plane mansion, think a giant Mage's Magnificent Mansion, and need to permanently destroy the resident lich in coming session, but I have trouble with inspired encounter design.

Party :

Dwarf, Barbarian 12 (invulnerable), fighter 1
Elf, Wizard 5, fighter 1, Eldritch Knight 4, Arcane Archer 3
Halfling, Magus 4, Rogue 3, Arcane Trickster 6
Dwarf, Druid 13 (storm druid)
Human, cleric 3, wizard 3, Mystic Theurge 7
Half-Elf, Summoner 13
Dwarf, Paladin 4, sorcerer 1, Dragon Disciple 8

Guest NPC :

Demilich, wizard 13 (lich's father and former tutor),
a forgetful once legendary wizard, not quite sane but mostly harmless and willing to help the party out his son. Can at most cast spells of 6th lvl stilled and can not reliably use any other powers. Floats around cracking jokes and offer more or less useful advice, as often as not after the fact.

They are not supremely optimized but got some perks that makes them slightly more powerful so that evens out.

They already destroyed the lich and it's most powerful minions once before, it is a diabolist 10 wizard 5 human. Now they seek to end him once and for all making their way through 'the cellar' to find the lich's phylactery at the end.

I was thinking to create a construct which acts as the lich's phylactery, or possibly a part of it's construction, but I am having trouble visualizing the setting and any potential mooks, traps, or whatever to prevent them from focusing on the construct. I am hoping for some creative ideas from the Paizo/Pathfinder community here to give my encounter shape.

Like said it is in a demi-plane with mostly undefined rules so you can get pretty crazy if that is what it takes.

I do not see a need to make feats taken at 1st level more powerful, like in Forgotten Realms regional feats since pathfinder has traits already.

I'd just go for a feat at any level that gives you 1 sp/lvl (similar to toughness), combined with a trait t give you a single skill as a class skill you achieve the same thing but less restrictive.

Rolled up a new toon. 8th lvl summoner synthesist. He has the Brutal sorcerer bloodine via Heritage feat. While fused with his eidolon he has 4 claw attacks at +17 2d6+16. plus for 9 rnds a day he gets an extra 2 claw attacks via bloodline.. that's a LOT of dps! They are also /magic claws. He has AC 32. his buff spells are bulls strength, and mage armor, both which last 8 hrs..all day basically.

As the actualy character is inside the 88 hp eidolon and can heal it as needed, plus has access to stoneskin and ablative armor .. Seems pretty damn awesome!
A wizard that is actually a front line Tank! lol

1) dps is not actually a term in this game, unless you take dpr and divide it by 6 I suppose.. but it might be easier to use dpr, even though that always comes down to asuming a more or less ideal situation for damage dealing.

2) They are brutal, little need to deny it, though calling it a wizard is a bit farfetched, it is a poorman's sorcerer even though it has some good spells in it's selection it is still altogether inferior to the sorcerer, wizard or any full casting class (9 spell level casting), as far as casting goes at least.

3) Claws are nice, even though I'd not allow them to grow extra arms as well rather change normal primary limbs into claws, so extra claw attacks not so much unless you already have the limbs.

4) Bull's strength does not last 8 hours, not since 3.0 at least, it got changed in 3.5 and pathfinder continues to count the duration in minutes/lvl.

5) 88 hp for an eidolon at 8th lvl seems too much, it has 6HD and average hitpoints and being large has con 17, comes down to 51 hp, you can increase it by various means but I don't see 88hp coming from that.

6) AC can be very good certainly but 32 is probably a bit off I come down at 10 +6 from level, +3 from large, +4 evolution (x2), +4 mage armor, +1 dex, - 1 size = 27, possibly adding barkskin and shield though for another +3 and +4 respectively though with less duration.

7) DPR might be a bit off as well, a large eidolon has a strength of 27 at lvl 8 +1 lvl bonus = 28, possible adjustment bull's strength +4 but it only lasts minutes/level and ability bonus evolution (x2) but it costs double for a large eidolon, and GMW for a +2 bonus = +15 I am not seeing the +16 modifier even with these somewhat farfetched adjustments.

EDIT: I suspect you added the +2 damage from the brutal bloodline to GMF and BS, that seems just wrong to me, a bonus to strength or enhancement =/= spell damage, either way you do not get the bloodline arcana ability, neither can you technically choose that bloodline since it is actually an archetype.

8) What is the advice you need ?

Large and bigger creatures have trouble getting around inside of buildings and dungeons, and if those claws can't bypass DR the potential damage drops by a lot.

Large creatures do not usually have much trouble getting around in dungeons, though sometimes it might have to squeeze a little to fit or might not be optimal in combat with the rest of the party. Usually being large is a benefit though, dungeons are usually made to fit at least Large sized creatures after the first 3 levels or so anyway, I find HUGE creatures do suffer more.

A miss is whatever the situation needs it to be, if you miss with a weapon that disintegrates all it touches then a miss is not blocked by a shield, if it is a normal sword swing then it might have been blocked, if it is an attack by a HUGE GIANT you likely did not block it with your shield or at most barely deflected it.

I've actually given up rolling attributes and point buy in favor of an array. But, sometimes I GM for groups the love rolling, and I know it would ruin part of their enjoyment to give it up. For those groups, I've come up with a system that might work well for your bunch. I call it "Party Rolls".

• I give everyone a note card or a scrap of paper.
  
• Everyone rolls 4d6, drop the lowest, six times, writing the results on a note card. (Sometimes I generate a set too.)
  
• Everyone gives me the note cards and, should I feel that everyone rolled total crap, I make them roll again. (I've only had to do this once.)
  
• I record all of the arrays generated by the players into a master list. This becomes a permanent record for the campaign.
  
• All characters made for the campaign can use any set of ability scores from the master list.

This way, players get to have fun rolling dice, but nobody gets screwed by having lower attributes than their friends. Also, any new characters that join (new player, or just new PC) still get the same abilities, so things remain balanced.

On the downside you likely increased the relative power of the party immensely by allowing them to roll as many times as there are players (effectively).

Do the feats gained as an animal companion supersede the normal feats gained by an animal?

Yes they do, you can pick all the feats the imp qualifies for. I only built imps for NPCs, but I gave them weapon finesse and ability focus (poison) by default which I think are pretty solid choices. Unlike the normal imp this imp's poison does not have a racial +2 bonus to the DC but will get stronger as it advances in HD.

I'd not advise rolling without at least a 25 point-buy backup, let them roll and afterwards they can pick point-buy instead if the rolling doesn't give them what they want.

I have done this in the last campaign played, though racially adjusted scores over 18 were not allowed to start with, slightly reducing the potential gain of rolling exceptionally high scores down by a few points (2PB for an 18 and 1PB for a 17) and tending to make characters a bit more diverse rather than specialized, additionally rolled scores will be usually less 'efficient' with less ideal stat dumping or having scores not quite at the sweet spot so characters with much higher potential will be quite a bit more rare though there is still considerable diversity.

This in itself will not (usually) raise the CR of the party much really and usually you can toughen the encounters up a bit by adding an extra mook or two, a small bonus due to environment or wicked tactics or giving the enemies a little extra treasure value, like a potion, masterwork gear or possibly a spell effect coupled with permanency or some such to not quite lift encounters to the next higher CR.

The flavor OP talks about is not actually the flavor, it is just a possible interpretation of the barbarian.
That said it seems more like they are houseruling it rather than claiming RAW, you can discuss it or ask to make a different character if it is not enjoyable to play a barbarian like that, the perception might be that the barbarian outclasses the fighter too easily (which I agree with to some extent) and they feel tempted to nerve the class.

I think flaming sphere is a good way to start fires, snap dragon not so much. Any magical fire with instantaneous effect should not cause fires in most cases but those with duration could, a lingering fireball I'd rule does set things on fire but a normal fireball doesn't (except oil and other fire starter materials), specific exceptions should be mentioned in the spell.

Only thing I recommend is to skip on the male humor and such, otherwise don't try to cater too much to a single player, play the game as it is.
Best thing I can recommend is to create some different options for them to follow up to, different ways to solve an encounter ; RP, combat, creativity or a combination of those, focusing more on 'light' encounters without complicated system mastery required and tending more to creativeness and RP is a good idea for any introduction for new players though (I'd say for veteran players as well, but this might vary from table to table).

As I got it magical fire is usually an instantaneous effect appearing and disappearing swiftly and does not by default start fires. Basically I'd rule it as less effective than a torch for setting ablaze stuff but anything that is especially flammable might still catch fire, normal wood and most clothing probably not, exceptionally dry wood, oil, dry paper or exposed gunpowder, yes.

Starting Statistics: Size Tiny; Speed 20 ft., fly 50 ft. (perfect); AC +1(+5) natural armor, total AC 22 (10, +5 natural, +5 dex, +2 size); BAB +4, Attack +11 sting (1d4+1 plus poison) Ability Scores Str 12, Dex 20, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 14; Special Attacks poison (Frequency 1/round for 5 minutes, Effect 1d2 Dex, Cure 1 save; DC 13 Con-based DC); Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal; HD 6, hp 33,
saves F +2 R +9 W +6.

Special Qualities spell-like abilities (CL 6th), constant-- detect good, detect magic, 1/day -- suggestion, invisibility (self only), spell-like ability (CL 12th), 1/week-- commune. one alternate form (beast shape I, boar, rat, or raven, or beast shape III, young giant spider)

It also has :

- feats : 3 (I assumed weapon finesse in the stats above)

- skills : 18 (6*3)

- 3 'bonus tricks' from the list

- evasion

- link

- share spells

- devotion

* I already added the ability bonus to dexterity, if you get another you might pick intelligence to gain extra skill points.

AnnoyingOrange wrote:

Make multi-ability item boosters a bit cheaper compared to single ability boosting items.

I have considered that, but I'm not ready to break the item creation rules for this one issue.

I would rather make the magic items that boost abilities give a scaled bonus that you get more when you boost a lower ability score. For example, a headband of +2 INT would give +4 INT to anyone with an INT less than 12. Still not sure if I would see fighters running around with that just for the free skill and the better INT mod on their knowledge checks...

AnnoyingOrange wrote:

Give increases in pointbuy instead of plain ability increases at level up, or make ability increases inherent into the classes.

This is also a great idea. Any suggestions on how to implement that? Just dumping this list on characters every 4 levels is way too much bonus for low ability scores and way too hard to increase high ones. You're talking about a whole new idea so I'm guessing you've thought about it more than I have?

No, I didn't think on it much before I am just trying to come up with alternate ideas as I go along.

Lets see for increasing ability scores -

level 4 - 2 points

level 8 - 3 points

level 12 - 4 points

level 16 - 5 points

level 20 - 6 points

This works just like pointbuy, so increasing an ability from 13 to 14 will cost 2 points, from 15 to 16 will cost 3 and so on.

Races have an affinity for ability scores according to the bonus they start with increasing these scores will cost 1 point less for every 2 points of ability bonus they start with :

For example : Elves have an affinity for intelligence and dexterity, increasing these scores will cost 1 point less, dwarves have an affinity for wisdom and constitution.

Increasing an ability score always costs at least 1 point and you can never increase an ability by more than 1 points in a single level increase though you can spend leftover points at any level after, not just levels in which you gain new points.

Additionally the classes can reduce cost to increase ability scores further by decreasing cost by another point, for example :

A monk has affinity for dexterity, constitution and wisdom.

A fighter for strength, dexterity and constitution.

A cleric has affinity for wisdom and charisma.

A wizard for intelligence.

Sample character :

Dwarf fighter 1 (15 PB)

str 15
dex 13
con 16
int 10
wis 12
cha 8

strength increase will cost 3 points -1 from being a fighter = 2
dexterity increase will cost 2 points -1 from being a fighter = 1
constitution increase will cost 3 -1 (fighter) -1 dwarf = 1
intelligence will cost 1 = 1
wisdom will cost 1 -1 (dwarf), would be 0 but minimum is 1 = 1
charisma will cost 1

so at level 4 he could choose to increase 1 point strength or two other attributes of any kind, in this case strength he picks strength +1.

at level 8, costs are still the same but he has 3 points to spend so he chooses strength +1 and dexterity +1 to benefit from armor training.

At level 12 he has 4 points to spend, strength +1 and constitution +1.

Level 16, 5 points and uses 2 to increase constitution to 18, and dexterity by +1 to 15 for 1 point.

Level 17 he still has 2 unused points to use, dexterity +1.

strength 18 (+3)
dexterity 16 (+3)
constitution 18 (+2)
intelligence 10
wisdom 12
charisma 8

I focused entirely on strength this fighter would have :

strength 20 (+5)
dexterity 13
constitution 16
intelligence 10
wisdom 12
charisma 8

Check the numbers and you will find that high ability scores are pretty damn rare in real life, how much weight can a typical 'farmboy' push overhead ? strength 13 is not nearly as terrible as you think.

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first thought is : how does that mesh with multi-classing ?

alternate solutions :

Make multi-ability item boosters a bit cheaper compared to single ability boosting items.

Give increases in pointbuy instead of plain ability increases at level up, or make ability increases inherent into the classes.

Reasons to optimize usually run closer to competing with your fellow players than the GM. I don't usually care, even if I make a weak character my GM will enable me so I just focus on having a character that I find enjoyable and fun to (role)play and contributes fairly to the groups efforts in some way. I find I have a lot of fun with characters that enable others, especially if they would not otherwise be able to contribute much and characters that enhance the GM's story/campaign rather than challenge it.

You can easily rule that a winged creature can not move along a 5 ft corridor while flying since his wingspan prevents that. (though he might be able to fly up by turning to the walls), you might also want to reread the fly skill to make sure they make the proper fly checks.

I'd not allow a creature that is magically held to fly, though perhaps more mundane means of paralysis might allow flight though fly checks would suffer as effective dexterity would be 0. Personally I'd simply rule it's not possible since it is frankly a bit dumb.

Constantly hovering some distance of the ground would require a significant effort, just set a reasonable limit.

5 feet steps upwards are not possible and changes of direction cost additional movement.

you will simply have to write adventures taking into account their abilities, as frustrating as it might seem a dragon disciple is not nearly as versatile as a 14th lvl wizard in their capability to bypass challenges and a druid would have been able to fly much of the time by level 4.

AnnoyingOrange wrote:

Mudfoot wrote:

Tinalles wrote:

Combat Expertise

Prereq: INT 13
Benefit: You gain a +1 insight bonus to your CMB and CMD. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every +4 thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, up to a maximum bonus equal to your intelligence bonus.

+1, best so far.

Scaling bonus seems a terrible idea, good as a class feature terrible as a feat. A +5% or +10% chance to complete a maneuver does not need to go up per level.

Two identical fighters except for this feat, fighter A has a 40% to disarm his 'twin' before taking the feat.

45% with a +1, at 4th it will be 50%, then 55% at 8th, then 60% at 12th, the other fighter has picked iron will and sees his chance to disarm his twin decrease dramatically 35% at 1st, 30% at 4th, 25% at 8th, 20% at 12th.

So by 12th lvl the chance to disarm has increased by 50% and the chance to be disarmed decreased by 50% fighter A is three times as likely to disarm, trip or grapple his twin than the other way around, it seems too much to me.

One thing I could see is providing a scaling bonus to CMB, but not to CMD. Based on the way CMDs scale vs CMB, the bonus to CMB up to the Int mod can give the fighter a decent chance to keep up with the CMD of opponents.

I can see that, somewhat, but the real issue with the bad scaling is the exotic nature of many of your opponents that are hard to trip or disarm, tend to be bigger and have high ability scores, the CMD of the PCs do not necessarily get that high.

Even so I think it is better to have the more specialized feats like improved or greater disarm scale rather than combat expertise.

Yes that is RAW, it is a caster level check modified by your casting ability score.

Not RAW :

Depending if u r GM or not u might be interested in having class levels that increase caster level from multiple classes stack to determine caster level, it makes mystic theurges a bit more viable and removes trait taxes to increase their caster level.

I also allow non-caster levels to count as 1/2 caster levels, rounded down, so multi-class characters might enjoy having a few magic tricks with a decent chance to penetrate SR, resist dispels, or otherwise being fairly effective.

Neither of these houserules increase access to spells.

Tinalles wrote:

Combat Expertise

Prereq: INT 13
Benefit: You gain a +1 insight bonus to your CMB and CMD. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every +4 thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, up to a maximum bonus equal to your intelligence bonus.

+1, best so far.

Scaling bonus seems a terrible idea, good as a class feature terrible as a feat. A +5% or +10% chance to complete a maneuver does not need to go up per level.

Two identical fighters except for this feat, fighter A has a 40% to disarm his 'twin' before taking the feat.

45% with a +1, at 4th it will be 50%, then 55% at 8th, then 60% at 12th, the other fighter has picked iron will and sees his chance to disarm his twin decrease dramatically 35% at 1st, 30% at 4th, 25% at 8th, 20% at 12th.

So by 12th lvl the chance to disarm has increased by 50% and the chance to be disarmed decreased by 50% fighter A is three times as likely to disarm, trip or grapple his twin than the other way around, it seems too much to me.

SR would work against fireball just fine.

Silence affects the area rather than the creature itself, the creature itself is not affected so much as that sound in the area is nullified, there for unless it is cast on the creature or object carried by the creature specifically SR does not apply. It is the same with a darkness spell for instance.

AnnoyingOrange wrote:

thejeff wrote:

AnnoyingOrange wrote:

I suppose it is fair enough to say that I have no use for homosexuality in my games, it is out there in the world but not something that is common and will usually not play a major part in any adventures, I don't feel especially bad about not including homo sexuality in my games, I just don't feel the need.

Common enough that several of my friends are gay. And more casual acquaintances. Common enough that I've hit on a girl only to find out she was a lesbian. (And not just lying to turn me down either)

I wouldn't expect it to play a major part in adventures very often. Unless one of the PCs was gay. Assuming the fantasy society wasn't prejudiced against homosexuals, I'd expect to see the occasional gay couple. In pretty much the same places and with the same emphasis you'd have straight couples. Maybe running the bar. Or a store. Or the town.

Obviously it is far more common in modern / real life society, I was referring to fantasy settings I tend to play in, it is out there but not so common as to be the norm or close to it.

Because you, or the GM, or the authors, make it so.

Exactly

chances are said dead person is now an outsider.. or portion of an outsider, as such I'd not allow the spell to work unless circumstances take this specific case into account. I'd allow linked resurrection spells or the like adding together caster level of the priests if there is a likely reason to assume it didn't pass on to live another life of sorts. Even then perhaps an outsider can be bargained with to return the soul formerly known as XXXXX to life, possibly giving up part of itself to seal the deal. Better have either a very good reason or an offer it can't refuse.

Two questions expanding on what it means to be a "willing target" for spells restricted to willing targets.

Magic Rules wrote:

Some spells restrict you to willing targets only. Declaring yourself as a willing target is something that can be done at any time (even if you're flat-footed or it isn't your turn). Unconscious creatures are automatically considered willing, but a character who is conscious but immobile or helpless (such as one who is bound, cowering, grappling, paralyzed, pinned, or stunned) is not automatically willing.

1) Is a target still considered willing if it is deceived as to the nature of the spell?

1a) If you tell a creature you're teleporting it to city A, can you teleport it to city B because it's willing to be teleported?

1b) If a creature thinks it's being teleported, can you Sequester it?

This FAQ which says that you still get a save against a harmful potion even if you think it's harmless seems to suggest that the same issue would prevent using deception to make a target willing, but it's not quite the same scenario and I'd like opinions.

2) Do these rules about what counts as willing extend to Supernatural abilities that require willing targets?

I generally assume the targets know the general nature of the spell after it is cast but before saves or declaring themselves a willing target, since that is how the system works best in my opinion.

1) I'd say no, if someone drinks a potion that turns out to be poison you still get a save and I'd extrapolate that to the willingness to be a target as well.

1a and b)I'd allow this if the target was willing to be teleported, but i'd not consider it a willing target to be sequestered. A spell which only allows willing targets will not allow a save, that should not make the spell more powerful offensively, even by trickery. Personally I treat a spell with 'willing target only' as spell on which you always make your save unless you want to fail.

I think the designers point of view is made clear in regards to such things judging from the harmful potion scenario even if not RAW clarified I don't see their ruling to be any different.

2) I'd say yes, in case it specifically mentions willing targets.

awaken undead, 3.5 spell

I think it is pretty good, certainly better than most feats and it stacks with spell focus, the gems for components bit can be nice, it turns your expensive components into liquid assets and when the world runs out off diamond dust you can at least substitute other gems.

I don't think most mentioned ways to make the ability more useful dont work though, it doesn't mention the caster's spell list but rather 'the wizard list' as in the list shared by all wizards and 'druid list'.

The CR for a grizzly seems too high, compared to the CR 3 lion it has +10 hp and +1 AC, but the lion has more offensive and all round ability.

The lion can pounce, grab, rake and has a decent acrobatics skill.

The bear has grab and can even make two attacks with grab but no ability to make grab truly dangerous unlike the lion which has rake.

The two are about even really, both have 5HD and get the same abilities from the fiendish template, the lion could potentially benefit more with rake offensively and the bear benefits more from the defensive abilities DR and resistances (and SR since it is higher CR). CR 3 is probably too low for the lion and CR 5 too high for the bear, I'd make them an even CR 4 before the template and CR 5 with the template.

EDIT : after checking the list there seem to be several creatures that are either close to or better than the bear despite the bear's higher CR, bison in particular seems deadly.

yea not a big deal really, I played in some parties where players just hate the summoning spells and refuse to use them and they do fine.

Personally I'd half it's CR and work from there, the DR should be similar to golems half the CR and so on, special abilities should be downtuned to be in line with that CR etc.

Even if you can combine archetypes you still have :

'Skirmishers do not gain any spells or spellcasting ability, do not have a caster level, and cannot use spell trigger and spell completion magic items.'

making it kinda useless, altogether it seems to alter the same thing though so i wouldnt allow it, only hardcore raw lawyers would even argue the point, maybe.

I was thinking to implement some slightly different fighter fixes.

1) skills 4+int, add sense motive and perception.

* They seem to be skills a trained warrior should at least be decent at and with a wisdom that is presumably not too high it can't hurt to make them class skills at least.

2) Defense training, replaces armor training.

At 3rd level and every 4 levels after the fighter gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC and reflex saves, armor check penalties of any armor worn are reduced by 1. In addition, a fighter can also move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor. At 7th level, a fighter can move at his normal speed while wearing heavy armor.

* The armor training ability forces a fighter to invest in dexterity to get the most out off the ability taking away from investment in other ability scores. With Defeit makes them less prone to touch attacks and it increases their CMD. Between this ability and Ready for Battle they gain most of the non-skill benefits of a high dexterity making them less MAD and more competitive with other martials.

3) Ready for battle, replaces bravery.

At 2nd level the fighter gains a +1 bonus on initiative checks and fear saves, this bonus increases by 1 every 4 levels.
At 6th level a fighter is no longer ruled by fear, it treats any fear effects it is suffering from as 1 step lower : a panicked fighter is affected as if frightened, a frightened fighter like shaken and the shaken condition has no effect.
At 10th level a fighter can always act in a surprise round even if he does not notice his enemies, though he remains flat-footed until he acts.

* Making the ability worthwhile though not overpowered by any stretch in my opinion.

Would it be so terrible to just take it all the way and make the alchemist actually able to cast some spells instead of hurling 'with unerring accuracy' or with 'lightning speed' ? I could see an alchemist as just another wizard's focus really, might even like that better then forcing the fluff to fit.