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The Bargemen's Union
Alignment: LE
Headquarters: First Chapter House, Kerse, Druma
Leader: First Regent Harlan Mulne, and the Board of Trustees
Structure: Business syndicate
Scope: Regional
Resources: Chapter houses in most port cities, hired muscle, vessels operated by members, informants in most large businesses
Originally founded by merchants plying the waterways of Avistan to protect their interests after the House of Thrune gained control of Cheliax, the Bargemen’s Union has grown to be much more than that. It quickly developed into a fraternal brotherhood dedicated to improving its members’ fortunes in all areas of life, with little regard to the fortunes of others. Today, it has not yet taken control of all river and lake traffic around the Inner Sea, but through guile and intimidation it sees that goal as possible.
Structure and Leadership
The most basic level of the Bargemen’s Union is a ferryman and his vessel. He plies his trade, pays his dues, and accepts protection and other services (such as information) from the Union. Occasionally he will do a favor for another Bargeman or for the Union itself; frequently this favor will be illegal in one nation or another. The next level is the chapter house, which is presided over by a regent and serves as a meeting place and a clearing house of information. The highest level is the First Regent and the Board of Trustees, which meets yearly in Druma to set policy and address issues that affect the Union and healthy trade on the waters.
Goals
The Bargemen’s Union is motivated by profit and the betterment of its members, and only its members. As a multinational organization, it considers its own code of conduct more important than the laws of any one nation, but will obey those laws to avoid trouble, although much effort is geared toward circumventing laws not agreed to by the Union. Some members place their own needs above the needs of the membership; this, however, is contrary to Union policy, and is grounds for dismissal from the organization, generally delivered at the end of a dagger.
Public Perception
Do to the pains the Union takes to appear as a legitimate business concern, it is, depending on who is asked, a heroic group that rescues endangered citizens, a cabal organized to circumvent just laws, a necessary evil that provides reliable water traffic, or a dangerous and highly unscrupulous menace.

Cloak of the Swashbuckler
Aura moderate abjuration and transmutation; CL 6th
Slot cloak; Price 12,000 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description
This heavy cloak, when worn, grants a +4 bonus on Stealth checks. Alternatively, its wearer may doff it as move action to use it to parry in combat, where it is as effective as a +2 light wooden shield. When it is being used in such a manner, its bearer can give up its bonus to AC for the round to use the disarm, drag, trip, or dirty trick (blind or entangle) combat maneuver, gaining the +2 enhancement bonus on the CMB check. The wearer regains the AC bonus on his next turn, unless the cloak is being used for a dirty trick whose effects are lasting more than one round.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Items, cat’s grace, shield; Cost 6,000 gp

Any chance the magus could get additional daily uses of such arcana as empower magic or silent magic as he goes up in level?

On pg 52 of the Pathfinder book the "Prestige Skills" sidebar states that to qualify for a prestige class requires the number of ranks required in 3.5, minus three, or twice that amount for a cross-class skill. The Prestige Class enhancement doesn't state anything about more ranks in cross-class skills being required. To qualify for a prestige class listed in the enhancement, does it still require twice the listed ranks if a skill is not a class skill?

In 3.5, Diligent gave bonuses to Appraise and Decipher Script checks. Pathfinder has no feat to give bonuses to Appraise and Linguistics (the replacement for Decipher Script). Please bring back Diligent.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: the Celestial Bloodline 1st-level power should NOT do fire damage. Devils are immune and demons have resistance that sorcerers are unlikely to significantly overcome. So please, please, PLEASE change the damage type to "holy" or something that can smack some osyluth butt.

As bardic music is THE cornerstone bard ability, why can a 1st-level bard use it only once per day? Spellcasters can cast unlimited 0-level spells, fighters can swing swords as many times as they want, and there's no cap to the number of pockets a rogue can pick in a 24-hour period. Please, give the bard some love.

The domain powers are listed per caster level, instead of cleric level. This seems to mean that a character who takes a prestige class which increases caster level gets the higher level powers, instead of preserving these powers for single level clerics who dedicated themselves to the class for 20 levels. Is this correct?

Here's a question: if a druid takes the Plant domain as his nature's bond, does the bonus from Fist of Thorns add to his attacks in wildshape?

Here's a thought: to keep gnomes and halflings from being clones of each other, halflings, as cunning, perceptive sorts, should have a +2 bonus to Wisdom, rather than Charisma. And to keep with the pattern of ability bonus/favored class match up, favored class: monk. This would mean none of the five major races (not including humans and half-elves) would have duplicate favored classes, and 10 of the 11 core classes would be the favored class of at least one major race (the exception being paladin).

Okay, I've trying a bunch of free trials, and I'm still looking for a good DM assisting program that works with Pathfinder. Either a program that has a Pathfinder patch available, or something that's easy to modify. Any suggestions?

In 3.5, the Diligent feat gave a bonus to Appraise and Decipher Script. Now that Appraise is no longer part of Alertness, why isn't Diligent back in, especially because Appraise and Linguistics (the skill formerly known as Decipher Script) are the only skills (besides "variant" skills like Craft, Knowledge, Perform, and Profession) that don't have bonus-granting feats?

I'm starting a short campaign using Pathfinder rules, and none of my players are using standard classes (artificer, spirit shaman, and warlock). Specifically, I'd like feedback on my 3.P version of the artificer:

Replace artificer knowledge with detect magic and read magic as at-will spell-like abilities.

Replace craft reserve with magical artisan (crafting costs are 75% normal).

20th-level captstone ability: Master Crafter: crafting costs are only 50%, and the artificer can take 20 on checks to make items in half the normal time.

What to people think?

It seems to me that a feat that adds a +2 bonus to one skill that many people will use, and +2 to one skill that only a few people will use (people who won't be using much of the other skill) is a raw deal. I understand that with skill consolidation, many feats had to get shuffled around, but I think it could have been done better. Case in point: a feat called "Acrobatics" which gives a bonus to the Acrobatics skill is kind of silly. How about this:
Athletics: +2 to Climb and Swim
Deceitful: +2 to Bluff and Sense Motive
Nimble: +2 to Acrobatics and Escape Artist
Stealthy: +2 to Disguise and Stealth

Actually that last one has much the same problem as the Acrobatic feat. But I hope you get my point anyway. No "Fly and Swim" feat. Please.

Should the monks ki pool as presented in the Alpha stack with the ninja ki pool from Complete Adventurer?

Why does the celestial sorcerer have an attack ability that cannot affect tanar'ri until 10th level and cannot affect baatezu at all. Heavenly fire deals fire damage, to which baatezu are immune, and against which tanar'ri have resistance 10 (a 10th-level sorcerer would deal 1 point of damage at 10th level only if she rolls maximum damage). It would make more sense if it dealt holy damage instead.

So undead and constructs are vulnerable to sneak attacks: this we all know. What about critical hits? Were they mentioned in either Alpha1 or Alpha2 and I just missed them?

Why did halflings lose their bonus to taste-based checks? Is it because no one wanted racial abilities that rhymed? And when will half-orcs get a Perception bonus to call their own?