Frerezar's page

An AP focused on playing unusual races

http://paizo.com/products/btpy8saa/discuss?The-Genius-Guide-to-Relics-of-th e-Godlings#tabs

I this is exactly what you were looking for

Plan on using this during the weekend, but I have a quick question regarding creating relics. Do the prices on page 16 account for the price increase of multiple abilities added to an item without occupying extra slots or are relics an exception to that?

I can honestly say that even thou the knacks and spells were predictably satisfying, the archetypes (specially the herbalist) left me just ecstatic.

Now I am curious, does being a synthetist/wizard allow you to take the Ajuoga feat?

Quick question, my friend is about to start running Jade Regent AP and I´ve red there is a fair amount of space for random encounters on some of it´s parts. So I wanted to know if this PDF had options for snow or tundra related encounters, or at least strong guidelines on how to adapt the existing material to those. Thanks in advance.

The problem comes when the line is crossed from ¨This is how I like playing¨ to ¨I like playing the game hard, but it is ok for you to want to play it easier¨. Because it is obvious that someone who likes yo play (and thrives at) playing a game in a harder mode is automatically better at said game that those who dont. I think that is where the line is crossed.

PS: Also i just wrote this not as an attack, but as an example of how your position can seem problematic from the other side of the fence (being constructive XD)

Lets say I decided to start a game in which players will not be allowed to have a background connected to or that modifies the story (lets say because it was a premade module). However, if a player took the time and effort to look through books and sources to make a heavily optimized mechanically efficient character, he will be rewarded with having not only his background woven into the plot in a minor way but given more RP opportunities than the rest.

I am pretty sure that if I came over here and started claiming that there is nothing wrong with that, and there is nothing wrong with people who like easier games (aka not the way i play) not using this method, I would get a lot of negative feedback for it (and rightfully)

Just popped in to say that all I want for thanksgiving, christmas and new years is a sequel to this XD

Personally I would say that the means the summoner used to get his attack buddies does not change the fact that the extra attackers would increase the CR of this encounter. The same goes for an enchanter who uses dominate monster on a nearby creature and then teleports to attack the party, it'd still be counted towards the CR of the encounter.

Summoning them during said fight would be a whole different thing. But if he brings them before hand regardless of the means used it should add up.

I would personally love an Ultimate Options book for Bardic Masterpieces. Maybe even going as far as having a spelless bard variant that focuses on them XD.

Just wanted to say thank you guys for adding some godling themed options for non Godling characters in this PDF. you guys do listen XD.

Frerezar wrote:

Hey, whats so creepy about south american mythology?

I can't speak for Bluestar, but to me, South America (well, South of the U.S. at least, Aztecs / Mayans specifically) mythology is creepier because I still see South America as less over run by civilization than say Europe or even Egypt.

Look at a pair of pyramids for example:

The Egyptian pyramid is probably picked clean by looters and may very well be a tourist trap. At worst, you've found a pyramid that's been covered with sand for a long time and have to deal with a mummy and a curse, all pretty typical stuff. Boring even.

A pyramid in Mexico could be the tourist trap same as in Egypt. Or it could be one in a lost part of a jungle (much scarier than the desert) some where in the Yucatan Peninsula where people were sacrificed to gods that most people know very little about (as opposed to the more well known Egyptian gods) or have to deal with the spirits of slaughtered sacrifices, or even the Natives who perished when their temple was looted. Or even the conquistadors who died looting the pyramid.

Interesting, I was just curious if this was a common conception when it came to south american mythology and fantasy as I have been working on the subject for a while now. Sorry for derailing the tread a bit thou.

Then get familiar with the mythology of other places and throw it at your players. Japanese, Egyptian, Indian, Native American, not South American though, unless you want to creep everyone out, all of these can be pretty fun....even if they are really weird sometimes.

Add stuff like when a fight moves and power attacks or vital strikes make up a super move for him.

Hey, whats so creepy about south american mythology?

The seeker can be found in the Pathfinder Society Field Guide, and the Crypt Breaker shows up in Magic of Golarion.

Crypt Breaker Alchemyst

Thanks very much sir

I preordered it through the Dreamscarred site, is it available there yet? Can't seem to find it.

Thanks for the info, and bought

Sorry for not explaining, I was talking about the Song of Ice and Fire RPG (Green Ronin). My main curiosity would be if basically this functions as "social combat" mechanics (specially since is something I've been wanting to find/make for a while).

Can these rules be used to resolve regular social encounters? (I'm thinking similar to the way SOIAF RPG does it)

You should just remember that the Ninja itself is a variant class, not a base class. So if a GM is actually using the ninja, it can be assumed that rogue archetypes are also available. You can't just compare an "only core" assumption with an alternate class, that is just inconsistent.

In the end there is nothing wrong with disagreeing on a non conclusive topic (and as I said before, if ninja archetypes appear I will swallow my words). Regardless, the best of luck with your local games.

One more thing, if you decide to change wisdom for charisma when measuring the ninjas ki pool, remember that usually wisdom is an slightly more useful stat than charisma (perception and will saves come to mind). Not allowing the combat oriented ninja to dump cha always seemed like a balancing factor to me.

You are still considering the fact that the rogue only should consider trapfinding + evasion + trap sense as it's greatest asset, when that is not the case. That combination of abilities is only the "base archetype" of the rogue. One that is extremely good when dealing with trap ridde scenarios. One that, in the right circumstance, would be muc more usefull than the ninja. However, since that scenario is unlikely, the rogue is given other ability packages to choose from. Now, when those packages are compared to the abilities the ninja gets; ki pool (the extra attack being the best by far), poison use (negligible in most games and worse than the poisoner rogue), and no trace (another one of those things that is unlikely to come up in most games), then the comparison is less one sided.

The main principle of comparison I'm using of course depends on 2 ideas; first, the fact that the basic rogue should be considered just one more "basic" archetype useful in some scenarios. Second, he fact that the ninja will not be getting archetypes and will stay the way it is. Of course is that is not the case and Paizo comes up with ninja archetypes then I'll swallow my words.

Guy Humual wrote:

overdark wrote:

Guy Humual wrote:

I don't see what's so upsetting about the lack of craft rules.

The fact that for some reason guns are so special you dont need skill or checks to make them, unlike EVERYTHING else in the game.

Are there a lot of other craft skills that require a feat?

Uhm...you mean besides magic items.

You don't need the feat to make guns, it just makes it totally effortless and something that you dont need skill ranks for.

To be fair, this is most likely because the class that focuses on it doesn't have the skill points to spare. It would have been cruel to give gunslingers gunsmithing with their 2+int skill points per level. On top of that, those who burn a feat to be able to fabricate the mundane items that are guns, is already investing roughly the same as someone who maxes out let's say Craft(Bowmaking).

Regarding the ninja, at first glance it would certainly seem that it is superior to the rogue, however the more you think about the way both rogues and ninjas are played it becomes less important. First of all, as someone mentioned before, the access to archetypes blows the ninja out of the water (specially loving the Knife Master) in terms of combat for example. The Poisoner is better than the ninja when dealing with poisons. The Scout is a better mobile warrior than the ninja as well. Even better is the fact that a lot of these archetypes can be combined.

Now, when it comes to the "vanilla" rogue. Now, if there is a scenario on which a player has to choose between playing a ninja and a rogue, it means that UC is being used (and all the archetypes that come with it. If the player decides to play vanilla rogue, it means that he either just wants to or feels that, in the specific campaign, traps will play a strong roll. In that case, choosing the vanilla rogue would be the better choice.
If, however, there are no traps in the game and it just focuses on combat (and the players knows it),and UC is available, then it is still most likely that the player would choose an archetypes rogue before a ninja.

In general the ninja is better than the vanilla rogue in combat, because the vanilla rogue should be considered to be a "base archetype" that focuses on traps and avoiding area damage and not combat.

PS: I apologize for any spelling mystakes as english is not my first language.

Frerezar wrote:

Yes, hence the confusion. My only curiosity is if the racial trait

Elf Blood: Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.

Would make them count as elves for the purpose of taking the Spire Defender archetype?

Yes.

Muchas gracias sir XD

Yes, hence the confusion. My only curiosity is if the racial trait

Elf Blood: Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.

Would make them count as elves for the purpose of taking the Spire Defender archetype in PFS.

(again, thanks for taking the time to answer)

I put it here because Inner Sea Magic doesn't actually restrict access to the archetype to elves only, however as far as I can see (on the additional resources section) only elves may take it in PFS. Thank you very much for the response thou, and I hope I get an official one before our first PFS game down here in Lima Peru.

I just wanted to know if the Elf Blood racial trait allowed half elves to take the Spire Defender archetype from Inner Sea Magic in a PFS game.

First product I've ever bought from Raging Swan Press, and I couldn't be happier :)

Any news on a sequel for this little thing? XD

Dungeon Grrrl wrote:

Twin Dragons wrote:

I must say that I am a bit disappointed in this. Based on the title I was half expecting replacement powers for bloodlines.

Why? "Beyond Bloodlines" pretty clearly tells me it's options that aren't bloodlines. And the description at the beginning of this thread is even clearer-er.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I meant powers that completely replaced the Sorcerer bloodline mechanic.

If I'm not mistaken, the regular SGG archetype system can replace a sorcerers bloodline "package" in general.

I would kill for a printed compilation of your Genius Guide to ______ Archetypes (and technically the Enforcer could show up as well XD)

Some new Bard masterpieces or arcane discoveries would be great ;)

If it helps, they decided to give the APG classes some love instead of making more fire related wizard and sorcerer stuff. Witches, Oracles and even the Inquisitor get some fiery love in this one.

And of course there are the spells (for all classes), feats and template.

Frerezar wrote:

I am loving the orders here, however I am a bit concerned about the last ability of the order of the secret flame. It feels and reads extremly powerful. Maybe some insight into the playtest process might put my doubts to rest.

Honestly, even a 20th level cavalier of the order of the secret flame casts as a 5th level sorcerer. That's a few 1st and 2nd level spells per day. Compared to what he can get from an average of 880,000 gp of gear he has by then, many won't even notice the 1st and 2nd level spells. A few are nice, but none are unbalancing in terms of raw power.

I playtested a number of what I saw as optimal spell choices (true strike for attacks after a surprise round, pro vs evil, shield, ray of enfeeblement, resist energy, see invisibility, see invisibility, mirror image) and while the spells were useful, they weren't overpowering. in many cases, the cavalier is better off taking a full round of attacks, rather than a standard action to cast up a spell.

I am an idiot, I missed the -14 part of the ability. Fully ignore everything I said. That is officially my favorite order of the book now.

I am loving the orders here, however I am a bit concerned about the last ability of the order of the secret flame. It feels and reads extremly powerful. Maybe some insight into the playtest process might put my doubts to rest.

Woot, finally!!

Frerezar wrote:

Thanks very much for the breakdown, it really sold me on the product.

Glad you picked it up. Hope the product lived up to the summary. Let me know what you think.

CHRIS

The base forms seem balanced and flavorful enough, however some of the additional abilities (specially the major ones)seem somehow too strong. Specifically talking about the pounce and Dr/adamantine ones, among others.

However, the disadvantages in general (combined with the minor advantages) are a very neat subsystem that I can see myself using with other races and characters in general.

Erik, I'm glad you liked it. For a fox anthro, I'd pick Canis Minor myself, but a reskinned Felis Minor or even Rodentia might work.

I saw a few of you guys asking about balance. Character generation is pretty open, so while I've tried to keep things balanced, I'm sure a true power gamer could come up with some thing pretty impressive. Honestly, I don't really have much problem with that- I've always preferred niche protection and giving everyone at the table an area they can excel in rather than perfect, zero-sum balance.

Char-gen works like this. First you pick an order, which determines your ability score bonuses, some skill bonuses and whether or not you have low light vision. Most Orders allow you to choose your size, but a few require you to be at least Medium- these are the Dinosaur, Elephant, Bear, Bull, ect orders- big animals.

Then you've got 4 build points with which to buy racial traits. Racial traits are grouped into major and minor traits, with minor traits having more roleplaying application than tactical use. Of course, clever players can figure out all sorts of cool uses for minor traits, of course. Traits cost between 1 and 4 points, based on utility. Your choice of order gives you a discount on Major traits. If it fits your anthro's basic theme, you get it cheaper. It's easier for a bird anthro to buy up flight abilities, or a dragon anthro to buy up breath weapons, for instance. Players can also play against type and buy abilities as they see fit- even without a discount from your order, you've got enough points to buy one cool ability.

Finally, you can pick a disadvantage and get some extra build points.

I'd consider the various anthro builds mostly equivalent to the Pathfinder core races, but again, depending on what you buy, you may get a bit more powerful.

It's a pretty wide open system, so let me know what you manage to create with it.

CHRIS

Thanks very much for the breakdown, it really sold me on the product.

Do the options seem balanced with one another Wothbora? I am really tempted to get this but I don't want to end up with another savage species.

I was kind of expecting to see at least something related to the dragonrider class. No biggie thou.

Just showed this to my player who wanted to be some kind of McGyver style tinkerer on out PF Modern game, he was ecstatic.

The Silfide do not have wings, they just manipulate wind in very very cool ways.

I was wondering if someone had any idea of what would the CR value of the ability be. In other words what would be the CR adjustment to apply a kind of golem template to a random creature.

I reviewed it as well. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed, though there's good potential in it.

Feel free to make full use of the suggestions I made in my review - I waive any legal or financial right, yada yada. (I.e. if you use my ideas, which I would love to see you make a revision based on it, you can take credit)

I see your points and respectfully disagree. The beauty of their archetype system is that while there might be, in some cases, a mechanical sacrifices in taking an archetype, the change is not significant enough to unbalance a game. On top of that, as Joela said, the flavor that it adds to a class by changing some mechanics is enormous and more than makes up for any minor imbalances that might come up.

And just for the record, I say all this after having been using (as a DM and a player) their archetype system since the first one (Archer Archetypes) came out.

On top of all that, the archetype system allows for great rules tinkering. For example, right now we are experimenting with a PF modern game, in which magic is something any class can do if they take the proper archetype (6th level bard progression like the Witness from this one) and choose one school of magic to focus on.

Yessssss, all I'm missing now is a runecaster hehe.

First time I've been glad to have a FB account.

Wow that was really unexpected. WOOT

How unbalancing do you think it would be to give a lvl 20 Godling the Eternal template as part of it's Demigod ability?