Iggwilv

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Scarab Sages

Your friend may consider using Extend Spell on mage armor instead of folding plate. The armor bonus wouldn't be the same, of course, but he also wouldn't waste a standard action activating the folding plate (if he only uses it during combat). Quicken Spell is also handy for those defensive spells.
There's not that many combat spells without a somatic component so he can take Still Spell as well. He's sitting on an 85% spell failure chance if he wants to cast a spell with somatic components as you've described it and he's lowered his speed as well. If he wants to stay out of the fight, he needs some mobility. Multiple quickrunner's shirts that he changes out of between fights is good too.
I hope he has a lot of good (ie useful) wands if he wants to take Staff-Like Wand. When, not if, he runs into a creature that is either immune to or resistant to his wands, he's in for a would of hurt.
Of course, he could just talk it over with the other players and work out some better battle strategy. If they are playing as mid-level characters, the PCs themselves would know how to fight better as a unit. One couldn't get to that level if one was allowing his/her spellcasters to get squished on a regular basis. Perhaps the GM could give tactical advice during the fights.

Scarab Sages

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The rulership variant channeling would only be a help if the one you're helping is using charm effects. If the ruler PC is a non-spellcaster, it's pointless.
If, however, they are a fighter-type (and lawful), how about the Justice/Law variant channeling?
Is the campaign political (role-playing political maneuvering, diplomatic missions, court intrigue?) or adventuring (reclaiming the ruler PC's birthright)? If it's the former, maybe the Honor subdomain from the APG. For the latter, consider the Tactics subdomain or Weapons variant channeling.

Scarab Sages

Agreed, Redelia. I can see someone putting a point in a skill to "round-out" their character (their interests, form of worship, etc)or qualify for a prestige class or feat. That part I do not have a problem with and encourage it in my home game.

By obscure skill check I mean a skill that most characters would not normally take unless it was a role-playing choice.

My original point was REQUIRING obscure skill checks to influence NPCs when there are three more common skills whose purpose is exactly that: to influence NPCs. Maybe instead there could be a standard Diplomacy check with a synergy bonus from ranks in Perform (dance) that apply to a particular NPC. This would reward the player whose character has such ranks without penalizing the character who didn't take a rare skill rank and, therefore, perhaps lose out on important information to the quest.

For example, a retired general NPC has information for the PCs but must be convinced that the Pathfinder Society is worthy of his help (a different example of the same situation in the OP). The GM asks if anyone has the Profession (soldier) skill to get the general to help. Since none of the PCs have ranks in the Profession (soldier) skill, the party fails and the mission fails.
Instead, the GM should allow the usual Diplomacy check but grant an additional bonus based on the results of a another roll of Profession (soldier) if a PC has it. A low roll grants a +1 bonus since it is obvious that a character has some military experience in common with the general (even if it was only a season of chasing goblins away from Sandpoint in the local militia) while a high roll grants a +5 bonus since the character has a more in-depth knowledge of the profession of soldier (perhaps a longer stint as a Non-Commissioned Officer {corporal or sergeant] or Officer).

Scarab Sages

Gregory Rebelo,
Both of those examples happened on the same day with the same character at a local con. I don't remember the specifics of the gunslinger incident, but I do remember getting hit in the back a few times for some reason. Perhaps the GM was confusing the firing into melee and firing into a grapple rules?

--Your seat at the table is in perfect eye-line of the guy cosplaying Zapp Brannigan from Futurama (in his dress uniform). *Shudder*

--The cleric of the group is a Merciful Healer and his turn consists of "Is anyone injured? No? Ok, I delay." Then goes back to reading his tablet.

--The twitchy guy who takes a seat next to you at the con showed up without a character, without dice, and without a PFS membership.

Scarab Sages

I'm certain to take TOZ's advice and seek out earlier season scenarios for my PFS fixes.

On the subject of diversified skill checks though, there are 26 skills with 4 of those skills with subskills (Craft, Knowledge, Perform, and Profession). That makes a grand total of 70 total skills that a character can put points in. It is mathematically impossible for most characters (except maybe rogues) to have a point in each of these skills before 10th-level. And those additional 44 skills from Craft, Profession, Knowledge, and Perform are ones used as examples. A GM could create hundreds more. I weep for the day a PFS scenario requires a Profession (mustache waxer or nosehair trimmer) check to find out where the relic is.
If a character were to actually do this, they would be essentially worthless since they could roll any skill check and succeed at none of them.

I'm not going to waste a skill point in Perform (dance) on the exceedingly slim chance that it will come up in a PFS scenario. As I see it, the Craft, Perform, and Profession skills are only truly useful for non-bard characters for the extra money on Day Job checks, which, unless you want to spend several levels pouring points into them, are pointless since you get a small amount of money most of the time. A drop in the bucket compared to the gp award of a single scenario. I'd rather burn through PP getting 750 gp items for free.

Scarab Sages

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--The Halfling cleric of Desna's Str score so low that when he attacks he can only do 1 point of damage with his starknife. Oh, and that damage is nonlethal. (This is my brother's PFS character)

-- Your 3rd-level (and 1 scenario away from leveling) TWF ranger becomes the front-line melee character in a party with a 5th-level fighter armed with a flail. While you're being flanked by sneak attack types, the fighter is using multiple rounds (!) to use Intimidate to demoralize them and the bard is using Sense Motive to see if the creatures attacking you understand the fighter. Yes, this really happened to me, but I got my revenge by getting mind-controlled by the BBEG right after being enlarged by the same bard. Fighter also died in that scenario.

-- You're the front-melee character and there's a gunslinger behind you. I have been hit by so many misfires and other nonsense that if there's a gunslinger or swashbuckler in the group, I stay WAAY in the back.

Scarab Sages

Check out any legends about the Chinese Monkey King. Not so much a monkey, but a lovable practical joker who protects the weak and enjoys giving more serious individuals their comeuppance or at least embarrass them with their own seriousness.
The Monkey King is one of the true bon vivants in mythology. He loves life and finds joy in the simplest things. He uses his actions and lifestyle to show others how to truly live without getting bogged down in the minutiae.

Scarab Sages

Fromper, Tallow, and Ferious Thune figured out which scenario it was (didn't want to say as it might spoil it for others). I've seen the same thing in Blakros Matrimony on the barge to the party as well.

I certainly agree that the GM should have given us more information about the NPCs instead of naming them and telling us a little about them (name, physical description and occupation, basically). Apart from that, we were just asked, "who do you want to approach?" I assumed that the NPCs were just mingling with the other guests and not performing any particular activity that provides a clue as to a good approach tactic. If we had heard that the NPC was spending a lot of time dancing, then we certainly would have sussed out a way to do this. Perhaps the high Charisma characters could work together (one to dance with the NPC, another to sing along with the musicians during the dance, another to accompany the musicians on a simple percussion instrument, etc.) As it was, we had a magus in the party with Perform (dance) who saved the situation. We as players could have done better.

But my original point still stands and, as a lot of you have also posted, there are quite a few scenarios out there that require either unusual skill checks or an overly abundant number of NPCs with which to interact.
It's OK to make a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl for PFS sometimes. The Society as written in the background is a group for the exploration of Golarion and the discovery of lost knowledge and relics of bygone eras. There's just too many "diplomatic missions" for my taste, is all. One of my favorite scenarios during the con was Wrath of the Fleshwarped Queen, although that one suffered from a lack of space in the dungeon so that only the front half of the party could take part in most of the battles.

Scarab Sages

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I've recently returned from GenCon and had a wonderful time playing PFS every day. However, I've noticed a trend in the scenarios being produced: the tendency to require the PCs to interact with multiple NPCs (at least 5 at a time) to get the information we need. Also, the skill checks needed to influence these NPCs don't make sense to me.
For example, in one session, we needed information from a NPC archaeologist (one of 8! NPCs at party we could talk to). My character approached him hoping to draw him into a conversation using Knowledge (History). Instead, the GM asked for a Perform (dance) check so I can dance with the archaeologist. My character is a sorcerer with a good Charisma score, but I would have had to roll really well to impress him (a need my dice seem to ignore in clutch situations). Besides, when one hears "archaeologist", one does not assume one needs a Perform check to influence them.
And no, I couldn't engage him later with my Knowledge check because he was constantly on the dance floor.
Perhaps the GM should have described where the NPCs were and what they were doing to give us a clue. I didn't ask if their actions during the party was given in the scenario text. I would have been OK with a Sense Motive check to see what the NPCs seemed to enjoy at the party and engaged them that way.

So my semi-serious request is that if the characters need information to complete a scenario then PLEASE limit it to 2-3 NPCs with some Diplomacy, Knowledge, or perhaps Bluff skill checks to influence and gain the information needed. The number of NPCs that have this information seems excessive to me also. If that many know, then it's likely common knowledge or at least accessible at a single sage or library.
We didn't need to talk to all the NPCs but, if you know the players of PF, then they will talk to everybody just in case they miss something.
I realize that there is a bigger push to role-playing in the PFS scenarios (the party's survivability chances shoots WAY up in these adventures which I am all for), but please remember that most of us put points in Diplomacy, Bluff, and Intimidate to interact with NPCs, not Perform (dance) or, God forbid, Profession (shepherd).

Scarab Sages

I mostly GM a home game of PF and rarely get to play PFS except at conventions. Because of this I like to play only certain types of scenarios (mostly dungeon crawl-type adventures) when I go to them.

Has anyone made a list of the scenarios from season to season and broken them down by what type of scenario it is? The scenario could be investigation, diplomatic missions, espionage, dungeon, etc. I think this would also help a lot of players who prefer certain types of games.

Scarab Sages

Thanks, everyone. I'll contact my Venture-Officer, get the chronicle deleted, and lose the chronicle sheet. I really like this character and just made 4th-level with it (losing the chronicle won't change that). It'd be a shame to start over with a new character.

Scarab Sages

Over this past weekend at a local con, I played my Standard character in a Core scenario accidentally. I didn't hear the GM ask to make sure that we were all playing Core characters. According to the PFS Guide, Core and Standard characters can't be mixed in the same scenario. But it doesn't explain what happens to characters that do. I accept my mistake but was wondering if my character can still by played in the Standard game.
I noticed the discrepancy when I was reviewing my sessions online. Does that scenario not count towards my character (XP, gp, prestige, etc)? Can I just remove that chronicle sheet from my character as if it didn't happen and keep playing it? Is my character now unplayable?

Scarab Sages

I remember in the movie "The Goonies" there was a pipe organ that opened a secret door if you played the right notes on it. If you didn't, part of the floor around the organ collapsed revealing a pit. Too many mistakes and you fell in. Maybe something like that.

I played with the idea of a dungeon built by evil bards using a lyre of building. They used their great knowledge of acoustics to make rooms that enhanced sound-based spells cast within them, like adding a metamagic feat to the spell. There would be a room that empowered spells, heightened spells, maximized spells, etc.

Scarab Sages

That's an interesting idea you've got. I may just steal it. Here's some I came up with from skimming the Bestiary.

Behir hide could grant either energy resistance or a bonus to saves against electricity damage.

A cave fisher's filament could have enough adhesive left on it to be used as a poor man's rope of entanglement (with a suitable attack penalty for an improvised weapon) 2-3 times.

Cloaker hide can grant a bonus to Stealth checks to hide in dim or darker light.

Doppelganger, mimic, or green hag blood can be used in conjunction with Craft (alchemy) to make an elixir that allows the drinker to change their voice or face to sound or appear as someone else for a very short period (perhaps only a minute).

Giant blood (with Craft [alchemy]) can be used to make short-duration and weaker versions of potions of bull's strength. Maybe only a +1 or +2 enhancement bonus for a few rounds.

A harpy's tongue (when consumed)can grant a bonus to a bard's fascinate ability.

Hydra or troll blood, when drunk, acts like a either a weak cure potion (maybe 1d4 points) or grants fast healing 1 for 4 rounds.

Medusa blood can be used to grant a bonus against petrification or poison.

Minotaur blood allows the drinker to gain a bonus to Survival checks to avoid getting lost.

Morlock blood grants a bonus to Climb checks.

Dust from a mummy sprinkled over a character either gains a bonus to saves against curses or a bonus to remove curse spells cast on a cursed character.

Phase spider ichor grants the drinker a blink effect for 2 rounds.

A rust monster's antenna can be used on small metal objects (like locks) to give them the broken condition once. Two antennae used on the same object destroys it.

Sphinx blood can grant the drinker a small bonus to Knowledge checks or a hint to solve a riddle.

Winter wolf or yeti hide grants a bonus to Fortitude saves to avoid taking nonlethal damage from severe cold.

Scarab Sages

Selective channel and improved channel are musts. You may consider Channel Smite as well. Good for some extra damage when you need to bash an undead or two.

As far as headbands go, you may not have much choice in PFS. You're more likely to come across a headband of charisma before a phylactery of positive channeling. You probably won't see either one for a good long time. I'm running a pair of 6th-level clerics in PFS and have still to come across either. You're better off preparing eagle's splendor, having a high Dex, and plenty of holy water.

Scarab Sages

No. You cannot use Spellcasting Contract to receive constant SLAs from a creature with them because imbue with spell ability works only for prepared spells, not SLAs.
Even if it were possible, the creature with the SLAs would need to cast the Spellcasting Contract on you, not the other way around. You would be the receiver of the contract.

Scarab Sages

Yes to both. Although the rules usually only mention squares (and thus only the 2D construct), it isn't a stretch to apply the same logic to 3D cubes.

So a creature with 5 feet of reach also threatens the 5-foot cubes above each square he can reach at ground level. Just imagine rotating his reach 90 degrees from the horizontal to the vertical and you've got it.

Our group has had the same questions about AOE spells that have a radius, like fireball. How high does a fireball spell reach? My ruling was that since it is a radius, it has the same radius going up as it does going horizontally. Just rotate the radius 90 degrees to vertical.

Illustrated if a character is C, his reach would be X

Horizontal Vertical

XXX XXX
XCX XCX
XXX --- Ground

Scarab Sages

As far as feats go: Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus, and Deadly Aim are musts. Don't get Far Shot, I've never seen it used.
For healing, Extra Channel. You'll burn through your channel positives quickly so it helps to have some extra.

Magic items: A seeking distance bow negates miss chances for concealment and doubles the range increment. Bracers of archery and a belt of incredible Dexterity raise your attack bonuses. Special arrows don't hurt either (slaying, sizzle, sleep, etc).

Warning: Don't hyperspecialize with the bow. There's nothing sadder than a player who puts all his efforts into a single attack type and is foiled by a simple spell (wind wall, in this instance).

Scarab Sages

Magus is very good, but have some protective spells handy (shield, protection from evil, etc). I had two players with maguses (magi?) that were slaughtered in a fight because they had such low ACs (the boss monster walked through them without hardly slowing down). A high Dexterity and Constitution are critical. Get your character's AC and hp as high as you can get them. Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, and Toughness are good feats.

Scarab Sages

1st question: No. A druid cannot prepare a domain spell in a non-domain spell slot unless that spell is also on the druid's regular spell list.

2nd question: Yes. The rule applies to both.

Scarab Sages

Add their levels together then divide by the number of player characters (if they're all the same level, just use that).

An average fight would be a monster that had a CR equal to that number. There's only three player characters (I never count NPCs since they're usually under-equipped compared to the rest of the party) and CRs are designed for four players so you have to come down a bit.
Without a healer character, fights are even tougher, but I think this is a good measuring tool.

For example, let's say the Average Party Level (APL) is 3. About half the encounters should have a CR 1 lower than that (CR 2) while a boss monster encounter should be 1 or 2 higher (maybe CR 4 or 5). Anything higher than that and you're looking at possible character death(s). Also keep in mind the characters' weaknesses. A CR 3 shadow is tough against 1st-level characters but it's a party-killer if no one has magic weapons, force spells, or the ability to channel positive energy.

Scarab Sages

As the GM, it is your repsonsibility to maintain the focus of the group on the game. Perhaps your group can gather earlier so you can socialize before the "official" start time of the game.
Also, take a quick survey of the group to see how they feel about the game. Would they prefer more combat encounters? Roleplaying encounters? Problem-solving? Knowing what the players want is a great help for a GM and could help you design a more interesting adventure.
Designing an interesting adventure is always difficult, but you should always put a little something special into every encounter. It should never be a plain dungeon room: pillars, different floor levels, or an unusual feature always help. Try to avoid adventure tropes though, like wizards' tombs, necromancers raising undead armies, having to close gates to the Abyss, etc.
Looking through the Bestiaries can also help. Find an interesting monster and build an adventure around them. Sometimes their information can lead you to an adventure idea. The Gamemastery Guide has some tables for adventure ideas and settings. Try some random rolls on these tables and see if that doesn't spark your imagination. Who would have thought to make a dungeon inside a gigantic candle?
Lastly, mercilessly rip off your favorite books or movies. For example, I wrote an adventure that had the characters journeying to a settlement that hadn't been heard from for a long time. The journey was mostly uneventful (a few encounters with the local wildlife) before they reached the settlement to find it abandoned. While exploring, they are attacked by waves of xills and eventually find a hidden entrance to a system of caves that the xills are using to store their food/incubators (ie the villagers). With the help of a small girl that's been able to avoid the xills, the players freed the survivors and destroyed the xills. The players loved that adventure, not realizing it was just a fantasy version of the movie "Aliens."

Scarab Sages

If you use the "theme" of the monster as their role (Bestiary Appendix 13, page 323), you can use it to determine appropriate additional class skills for them.

For example, the bearded devil is listed as having a combat role according to Appendix 13. Turning to page 297 (Table 2-4:Monsters with Class Levels) can give you an idea of what skills would make good additional class skills for that outsider.

Continuing with the bearded devil example, monsters with the combat monster role have barbarian, fighter, and ranger as their key classes. So any skills granted by those classes can be taken as class skills for the outsider to complete their "theme."

This system works (at least for me) for the more powerful outsiders, as well. Planetars combine the combat role with the spell role so they could get class skills from the combat classes as well as the spellcasting classes (cleric, sorcerer, and wizard).

Just choose what fits the monster's theme you choose for it, if it allows for more than one role. If the rakshasa villain you want to use will be more of a combat villain than a spellcasting villain, give it the additional class skills of a fighter.

Scarab Sages

The denizens of the Shadow Plane are their own creatures. They aren't warped copies of Prime Material creatures. A character wouldn't run into a Shadow Plane version of themselves since the character is a unique being. The Shadow Plane mimics the Material in geography only, the inhabitants aren't the same.
Otherwise, the Shadow Plane is almost exactly like the Material Plane, just darker. Think of it as a constant moonlit night, with no moon. There's a sourceless ambient light that only illuminates the Plane to a twilight level.
The inhabitants of the Shadow Plane run businesses, travel, and adventure, yes. There can be shadowy versions of Material cities (perhaps with different names), but essentially it's the same as the Material, just with more undead running around.
I know the description in the Core Rulebook uses the words "duplicate" and "reflection", but the words are in quotes. Grammatically, this means they are meant ironically (unless, of course, the authors are quoting another book).

Scarab Sages

The second sentence: ammunition taken from the container the round before vanishes.

Whether you shoot the arrow or dump it on the ground, all of the arrows that leave the quiver vanish one round after you perform the action. There won't be any to pick up later on.

Scarab Sages

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A pin is maintained the same way as a grapple; a successful CMB check maintains it.
There's two stages to a grapple: grapple and pin. The first CMB check initiates the grapple and another CMB check (in a later round or with an additional attack option due to high BAB) initiates the pin. Pin is a more severe form of grapple. Pinning is an option for the creature "in charge" of the grapple only. As long as they make a successful CMB check each round they can maintain the grapple or pin. That check counts as part of their standard action for the round.
For instance, creature A grapples creature B. On A's turn, it makes a CMB check to maintain the grapple. If successful, the grapple is still in force AND it can choose to deal damage, move B, or pin B. On B's turn, it can attempt to break the pin or grapple or cast a spell/attack (as long as it isn't pinned).
If B breaks the pin, it's still grappled. Whether B is grappled or pinned, A is still only grappled.

It's like fatigued and exhausted. They're similar but one is worse.

Scarab Sages

A character can shoot two heavy crossbows as TWF, but cannot do multiple attacks for a high BAB since it takes two hands to reload a heavy crossbow and that's impossible with their hands full.

The way I read this is that the character is carrying the two heavy crossbows already loaded and in each hand before combat. He can fire the crossbows as TWF, but after that, he either needs to drop one and reload the other or drop both and draw another weapon. Otherwise, he needs the abilities that Zhayne and Ziere espouse.

Scarab Sages

If your animal companion's initiative is 10, then it can act on initiative 10. In this instance, I would say you could use your move action to mount your companion (or free action to fast mount) than use your standard action to delay to the mount's initiative. At initiative 10, the mount can move as you guide it with your knees as a no action and use your delayed standard action to make an attack.

Initiative rolls are based on the creature at the time of the initiative roll. If you're already mounted, use your own initiative. The mount can react as fast (or as slow) as you can. If not, the animal companion uses its own. A predator/carnivore/omnivore may attack on its own while a prey/herbivore/omnivore may wait for directions from you or use the total defense action if not directed otherwise.

Handle Animal is used when you're not mounted and Ride is for when you are mounted. If you are mounted, it is mounted combat.

Scarab Sages

Slab Beefbone
Thunk Slithroat
Bucket O. Blood
Lusiphur ("no relation"; he says that after introducing himself)
Toki Wartooth (from Metalacolypse)

Scarab Sages

As far as the moldspeaker goes, you could rule that the moldspeaker "spores" go dormant while the character is dead and are "revived" when that character is raised. Or, possibly, when the character was close to death, the moldpseaker migrated to a close character making that character the new moldspeaker.

With the 3 week delay, you could let the chips fall where they may. Just follow the sidebar, the party is SOL. He opens the scroll eventually, after a few days (he takes some time to figure out how to open it). Or, Zayifid uses those weeks to consolidate his hold over the clan and the story doesn't advance until the party returns. I've used this second option during "Howl of the Carrion King" when the characters needed a side quest to gain a level or two before tackling the Battle Market and weren't ready for the Refuge of Nethys. There were only 3 days into the campaign to reclaim Kelmarane and a few character deaths kept the party at 1st-level. I just paused the advancement of the storyline until they returned.

Scarab Sages

Unless the monster is in its lair, one shouldn't expect to find a lot of treasure. Not every monster carries every cp it owns with it at all times.
The treasure value per encounter are guidelines but GMs tend to stick pretty close to it. What treasure you didn't gain in that encounter may show up in later encounters. It all averages out.

Scarab Sages

There used to be 2 schools of thought about summoned creatures.
The first was that summoned creature is a general member of their type without any special equipment beyond what their description allows (magic weapons for angels, for example).
The second school of thought said that a spellcaster could summon a specific creature. If that summoner gives an item to that creature and the creature returns to its home plane still in possession of the item, then the next time that creature is summoned, it appears with that item equipped.
So it really depends on how your GM wants to rule it. I give my players the choice between the two. If they give a suit of armor to a creature that can use it, they appear at each summoning wearing that armor.
However, I also agree in part with Crazy Alchemist. If the summoned creature picks up an item on its own (without any interaction with the summoner), that item does not return with the summoned creature.

Scarab Sages

Yeah, you're right that 1 or 2 PCs are about half their CR.
Try your builds out at about 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels. This provides a good gauge for your ideas without overwhelming yourself with the few changes a character undergoes between, say, 5th and 7th.
The different encounters should be straight-up toe-to-toe melee with a combat brute (ogres, hill giants), underwater with a swimming creature (gator, shark, octopus), against a flying creature (bird of prey, dragon), and a creature that cannot be reached easily (behind a barrier, across a chasm or lava flow). Variations could be ranged attackers (manticore), spellcasters (wizard atop a pillar, merfolk sorcerer), and special attacks (a harpy for the flying creature).
Don't bother rolling dice. Assume all the die rolls are average (10 on d20, etc.) so your tests aren't tainted with large numbers of bad or good rolls. Attack rolls, damage, and saves would show the character's survivability in each scenario.
This should give a good idea of how a given build will perform in various situations. Just remember, no character is going to be good in every situation.

Scarab Sages

We just finished this campaign. What I did was write a short primer for the players (5 pages) about Sandpoint: recent history (The Late Unpleasantness, the fire that burned down the old temple [glossing over Nualia, of course, just a brief mention], and the Swallowtail Festival), the major NPCs (Kendra, the Scarnettis, Ameiko, and Brodert), some of the major businesses (Pillbug's, Savah's Armory, The Rusty Dragon, Vinder's General Store; I included the Hagfish as a area of interest for local color), major industries (the founding families' buinesses as they play into the story later; the Glassworks, the Lumber Mill), and lastly areas of interest outside Sandpoint (Foxglove Manor, Habe's Sanitarium, Devil's Platter, Thistletop, and Tickwood).
Think of what an adventurer would certainly want to know about a town: places to buy gear, gather information, and helpful NPCs and throw in a few places they're going to visit as they adventure.
They may not remember it all, but at least they'll be familiar with the town and its inhabitants.

Scarab Sages

If you're playing near a bathroom or kitchen, leave the tap on just a bit so it drips. I know this one sounds weird, but it gets a little unsettling for some. It can play on their nerves.

Play in a room where the players have their backs to a darkened room. Every once in a while peer into that room over their shoulders like you saw something but couldn't make it out. Squint, then shrug.

Since it's getting near Halloween, there's plenty of CDs for eerie sound effects as well (creaking doors, chains, etc.)

To surprise the players: when they're hunched together discussing something, slam your hand on the table to startle them and describe a loud noise nearby. When the characters investigate the noise, they only find a stray cat that's knocked something over.

Check out some of the old tricks psychic mediums used to use at about that time period. Adapt them for your own game. If you can find some kind of telescoping device (like an old antenna for a portable radio), use it to poke (or lightly stroke) players in the leg under the table. Quickly move it to the underside of the table before you're caught.

Scarab Sages

Actually it's CASTER level of the wand. A fine distinction. Yes, your wand only grants 1d4+1 images, but if it was crafted at caster level 6, it would grant 1d4+2 images instead. Of course, it would cost more to craft.

Scarab Sages

Serpentfolk use disguise self (an illusion spell) to appear as humanoids while keeping their monstrous humanoid qualities. They only appear to be humanoids, they don't actually change their type, because illusion spells don't produce actual physical changes. It's a disguise not a full change. A human character can use the Disguise skill to appear as a half-orc (with a -2 penalty), but that doesn't grant them orc ferocity or orc blood qualities. If it did, it would be a transmutation (polymorph) spell.
Alter self is a transmutation (polymorph) spell that actually changes the caster's type.
I think the disguise self spell just reads funny. I understand that the change is not actually physical but illusory. They don't actually change type, just APPEAR to do so. Bane weapons or favored enemy (monstrous humanoid) would still work against them. Someone with a successful Perception check might see through it or even a good Knowledge (nature) check may be able to see the reactions or mannerisms of a disguised monstrous humanoid compared to a natural humanoid.

Scarab Sages

Page 302 of the Bestiary lists the different attack types and what type of damage is dealt. Bites are listed as Bludgeoning/Slashing/Piercing. Most swarms deal bite type swarm damage so the damage shoudl be considered ALL of those types. In your case, their damage would bypass your DR.
Wasp or bee swarms would do only piercing damage due to their stings are their primary form of attack. They would still bypass your DR/piercing but not someone with DR/slashing or DR/bludgeoning.

Scarab Sages

There's not really much you can do to control it except boosting your Con score to resist the changes. Curses are meant to be detrimental, not give characters new superpowers.

Scarab Sages

How about using your charm spells or geas to gather intelligence? Charm a minion of the enemy and just ask some questions about what the party might face going against the BBEG. Charm makes them friendly and a good Diplomacy check makes them helpful. The lesser troops may still know some important information (like the red dragon outside the throne room, that they've been warned not to touch the altar in the chapel) or have them draw just a rough map of the dungeon or keep you want to enter. The party can adjust their strategies for the challenges (prepare cold spells for the dragon, etc.) ahead. Forewarned is forearmed. Keep comprehend languages handy in case there's no shared language.
How about casting dancing lights in a dungeon behind an enemy and calling out to your "allies behind the enemy" to flank them? Possible diversion material there.
Reduce person on ogres. Bring them down to your size (losing reach), lower their damage potential, and it doesn't really boost their AC too much (+2; size and Dex). That one is personal judgment; my players like to get in close and try to avoid reach attacks if they can. Losing reach and lowering damage may not be your party's cup of tea if it makes the ogre harder to hit.
One of my players loved to cast cloudkill in a room then stone shape or wall of stone the door closed. Let that clear a room out instead of wasting hp and healing in a battle. He also used stone shape to make impromptu cover for fighting creatures with reach (like ropers.
One of mine: Use rope trick to bypass sealed/locked/trapped doors. Cast it just on your side of the door near the ceiling, climb up, look through the 3x5 foot window to scout the adjacent room, lower the rope into the next room, and climb back down.
The player who loved cloudkill also came up with the ring of spell storing with antimagic field in it and given to the barbarian. The barbarian casts antimagic field on themselves, rages, and engages the enemy spellcaster.

Scarab Sages

Maybe flip the Str and Dex scores.

Magic items/weapons that would be good are belt of physical might (Str and Dex), bracers of archery, oathbow, and efficient quiver.

Cool arrows from Ultimate Equipment are hushing arrows (silence on those it strikes; good for enemy spellcasters), searing arrows (1d6 fire damage each round for 3 rounds), sizzling arrows (same as searing arrows but acid instead). A couple of greater slaying arrows wouldn't hurt either. In Ultimate Equipment, there's the adaptive weapon special ability for composite bows. No matter what your Strength score, it grants the character's full Strength modifier to damage. Excellent if you get various types of Strength buffs.

With a dire bat animal companion, you should consider putting points in the Ride skill and taking Mounted Archery. Stay above the fight, stay mobile, and keep the arrows pouring in.

Scarab Sages

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I'm not sure why one can't lie around a paladin. Lying isn't necessarily an evil act. A lie that condemns a person to death is evil, but bragging about your "abilities" is more exaggeration than a true lie.
But, of course, your brother said not to lie TO HIM. I would assume that means you can lie to anyone else you'd like. Of course, you can increase your Bluff skill as much as you can and just beat his Sense Motive check. As long as you keep beating him on these checks, he technically doesn't know you lied. I've yet to meet a paladin who put ranks in Sense Motive; they tend to rely on their detect evil ability instead.

Scarab Sages

Good choices. She might consider daredevil softpaws (or boots) or boots of elvenkind instead of the boots of the cat, though. Realistically, how much falling does she do?
Many of the alchemical weapons would be good too. Not just tanglefoot bags, alchemist's fires, or thunderstones, but bottled lightning, ghast retch flasks (sickened even if the target makes the save against the nausea), itching powder, and tangleburn bags. Since she's a catfolk and an alchemist, she's probably pretty good at throwing things and with the Craft (alchemy) skill she can rearm herself fairly easily. She can be the character that takes enemy spellcasters out of the fight. Always appreciated by those characters with low saves.
Other magic items that would make her feel more involved in the combats may be a necklace of fireballs, origami swarms, or a wasp nest of swarming.
How about a cloak of the hedge wizard? The abjuration cloak grants resistance at will (just keep activating it), plus endure elements and shield 1/day. It's only caster level 1 though.
Finding items that play to the character's strengths is most important. She can throw and tumble pretty well, so things that use these strengths would help her feel better about her combat ability. Most of them are pretty mischievous as well.

Scarab Sages

Last week, we lost half the party in Howl of the Carrion King.

Derilix, male elven magus: Gored by the dire boar in Kelmarane. Successful critical hit.

Devor, male aasimar cleric of Sarenrae: Killed and swallowed by the constrictor snake.

Scarab Sages

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Our group is the Cretans from Sparta.

You could also go with A.C.R.O.N.Y.M: A Criminal Regiment Of Nasty Young Men

Scarab Sages

Re: Wings of Heaven

The wings are a supernatural ability. Core Rulebook page 183 (Table 8-2: Actions in Combat) states that using a supernatural ability is a standard action (unless otherwise noted, of course).

Scarab Sages

As a GM, I would say that it would cause fatigue as a forced march. The characters are still physically traveling through a border of the Shadow Plane, though much faster. The Shadow Plane shares the same physical laws as the Prime and the act of traveling through it would still require walking, the steps the character is taking just cover more distance.

The caster could just end the spell after 8 hours since it is dismissible and avoid the fatigue. The party has still traveled 400 miles.

But in my opinion, you really should share this concern with your GM before you try it. Nothing irks me more than players assuming how rules work. That's the GM's job.

Scarab Sages

I agree with Grick. The number of charges is a property of the wand. Otherwise, how would a character know what it was worth? If they can't determine the number of charges, how can a merchant who wants to buy it? How is it calculated into the treasure split among the characters without knowing its worth?

Scarab Sages

No, once it's active, it remains active until the character deactivates it or the duration ends. Since it's a supernatural ability, it can't be disrupted by combat, so it makes me think it does not require the character to concentrate to maintain it. The character could deactivate the gale aura as a free action.
Even though the text uses the term "gale-like winds", which normally would mean close to gale force winds like a hurricane, I think this is more along the lines of a severe strength wind (31-50 mph; Core Rulebook pg. 449) on par with a gust of wind spell. It's not strong enough to force a Strength check from a Medium creature to advance, but it can slow their advance.
As an additional property of the ability, it could likely extinguish unprotected flames like torches and impose a -2 circumstance penalty to ranged attacks, but that's up to the individual GM. Most don't like giving additional powers to abilities that aren't enumerated in the ability description.