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"The animal chosen as a mount must be large enough to carry the beast rider (Medium or Large for a Small character; Large or Huge for a Medium character)."

"Medium beast riders can choose a camel or horse mount at 1st level. At 4th level, a Medium beast rider can also choose an allosaurus, ankylosaurus, arsinoitherium, aurochs, bison, brachiosaurus, elephant, glyptodon, hippopotamus, lion, mastodon, megaloceros, snapping turtle (giant), tiger, triceratops, or tyrannosaurus as his mount. Additional mounts might be available with GM approval."

I looked at nearly every single mount in that list and none of them becomes Large before the 7th level... and the Beast Rider receives another mount at that level. Basically, the way I read it, the 4th level upgrade is meaningless because it gives the cavalier access to mounts it cannot ride until level 7, where it gets another mount selection upgrade anyway.

So what's that level 4 upgrade for?

I recently developed a fascination for Rice Burroughs' Mars saga and would like to eventually run a game based on this type of science-fantasy universe, like Conan the Barbarian in space. Anyone has any game systems to recommend?

I keep seeing this term everywhere in many posts, yet cannot find anyone who actually explains what it is. Everyone talks about it like it's some game-breaking barbarian tweak. How does it work and what is it?

Here's the situation.

My player says her ultimate goal for my campaign is to become a lich so she can become the campaign's new villain and fight the other players. Her character is a necromancer, but she would also like to use her impressive strenght stat (17!) with more efficiency, and so I told her about the Eldritch Knight prestige class, which she seems to like a lot.

However, there's one thing. To craft a phylactery to become a lich, she needs to "be able to cast spells and have a caster level of 11th or higher." That means a level 11 wizard could fill these requirements.

But then, the Eldritch Knight gets a "+1 spell level" bonus at almost every level. What the rule says is this : "Spells per Day: At the indicated levels, an eldritch knight gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if he is a spontaneous spellcaster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming an eldritch knight, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day."

The "increased effective level of spellcasting" just confuses me outright. Is that supposed to increase the wizard's caster level since it adds up to its class?

The term "caster level" is defined like this :
"Caster Level: Generally equal to the number of class levels (see below) in a spellcasting class. Some prestige classes add caster levels to an existing class."

Some prestige classes add caster levels to existing class. Which ones? Is an "effective level of spellcasting" like a caster level? Could my player become a lich when she is Wizard 5 / Fighter 1 / Eldritch Knight 7?

Why does every build, every guide I see puts a lot of importance on scimitars? What's so special about them that the magus needs? I'm guessing it's related to the high critical rate, but why would the magus pick this rather than, say, a longsword?

Is it possible to deliver a touch spell with a hand equipped with a gauntlet or a spiked gauntlet? Is it possible to do so by attacking with the said gauntlet? For example, can a magus cast a touch spell and, on the next round, punch someone with his spiked gauntlet, dealing damage from the attack and delivering the spell on the target at the same time?

Spiked gauntlets are considered a light weapon. Does that mean your hand needs to be free, or can you hold a weapon in the gloved hand? Can you cast a spell with a gloved hand?

A tiefling begins with an Electricity resistance of 5. When he becomes a level 3 Infernal bloodline Sorcerer, he gains an electricity resistance of 5. Does that stack up to 10 or does it just stay at 5?

When you cast a touch spell, do you receive a free touch attack? What if you're too far from the target to do that free attack? Can you cast the spell, move next to your target and then hit it with a free attack? Or do you need to wait until your next round to approach the target and attack?

I'm collecting ideas for my new campaign and ask a simple thing from everyone, player or GM. My players will eventually stumble upon a travelling circus troupe that actually hides sinister intentions. Basically, I want you people to create and expand that circus. I invite anyone who reads this thread to post a character concept for a character that could be part of the circus, so that I end up with a whole bunch of performers for the troupe!

Also, feel free to add any other idea you may have, such as a name for the troupe or anything else.

Things I would like you to post :
- A character concept
- Race and class (Not necessary)
- Physical description (Not necessary)
- Background (Not necessary)
- Anything else you have in mind.

Thanks a lot for your help!

For those who wish to know, the circus was created a few years ago by a tiefling named Zovan Blackloud, born from a human mother and rejected by most since his early years. Born in a country where religious zeal is common, he was quickly identified as a devil because of his appearance and innate powers (as a sorcerer) and was tracked down by inquisitors. After years of hiding and running away, Zovan grew mad with anger, wishing death and suffering on the humans who had rejected and hurt him. He met a few like-minded outcasts and decided to create the circus, where he could easily keep his identity secret (no one questions someone for wearing a mask in a circus troupe) and infiltrate human society, amusing them for a moment before committing terrible acts upon them. It seems the villages on the circus' path often report cases of kidnappings, arson or sinister rituals. Zovan enjoys the company of outcasts, those rejected by human society because of their race, appearance or opinions, and likes to think that everyone, in his circus, is given a new chance to make his mark in life... even if that mark must be done in the flesh of others.

What happens when someone does 1 point of damage with a -2 strenght modifier? I read somewhere that it becomes 1 point of nonlethal damage, but I can't find it again. And then, what happens when someone does 1 nonlethal damage with a -2 strenght modifier? Does it become nonnonlethal damage?

I'm currently building a campaign setting and I'm trying to develop it as much as I can. So far, it's looking pretty good, but I'm having troubles figuring out how nations and people can interact with each other.

One thing I'm having trouble with is politics. I chose a pretty complex political system for the country my players start the campaign in : it's a republic called Orsay. In Orsay, one councilor is elected for every thousand citizen, so twelve councilors are elected in a city of 12 000 inhabitants. These councilors then report every two months to the provincial council, in which the affairs concerning the province are debated.

Among the members of the provincial council, ten councilors per province (there are four provinces in Orsay) will be elected to the Grand Council of the city of Vicci, making these people "Viccians". These people are the most influential people of the republic, as they have power over their city, province and republic. However, since power is split between many people (the Grand Council has 40 members, after all!), a councilor who desires power needs to find allies and to knock his enemies out of the way.

I know this political structure feels complicated, but I wanted to try something different from the usual monarchy / feudalism. Still, I've never been really good at creating political intrigue, so I wanted to know if anyone had advice for me.

What I've started doing right now is writing down a few important political figures' names with their location. I gave each of those people an objective (getting richer, eliminating a rival, helping the poor, rooting out bandits in a given region, etc.) and a way that they were using to try and meet this objective. I tried to see how these objectives could interact.

Example : Ordo Montalban (from Vicci), Grand Councilor of Justice of the Sarta province - Wants to throw his rival, Alonzo Cabrian, out of the council - Will try placing incriminating evidence (hiring experts in stealth and subtlety) that will get Cabrian arrested, leaving him a chance to seize Cabrian's assets in the process.

Any other tips to create believable political intrigue?

Does an inquisitor need a divine focus? If he does, what is it?

There's this guy I've been playing with for about eight years. He's a nice guy, but he hates losing, whatever the game is. To be honest, his roleplaying isn't very impressive either, but he's a fun person to have around and he can often contribute well to a gaming table. Still, he hates losing.

He hates losing so much, it affects his actions in the game. All the time. I just realised once more how much it could kill everyone's fun and I'm asking you for advice on how to take care of this problem, because he can sometimes ruin everyone's fun, especially his own.

So there it is : this guy plays just about anything, but every single character he plays suddenly becomes agressive. And remember, he hates losing. Here are a few examples :

1. My players are trapped somewhere, surrounded by an army of mages, soldiers and knights. The problem player will do ANYTHING to try and escape and he will actually get angry OOC because he failed to escape, defeat or outwit an entire army by himself while his halfling rogue is level 5. Everytime his character gets defeated, caught, slain or even when his plans fail, as dire as the situation could be, he'll be pissed in and out of the game. He'll actually start being mean to the other players and me (GM) because his character or the dice failed, even if what he tried to do was completely desperate and stupid. I remember him being angry after charging alone towards four enemies at once at beginner-level and being defeated in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, after being warned several times that in this game, two enemies could easily take you down.

2. When he's pissed, he becomes mean and his only desire is now to take revenge in game. That's right : he'll do anything to kill the NPC (or PC!) who defeated him or made him fail. Of course, he'll always be playing agressive characters (or characters of good alignments that become suddenly agressive) that care little for the lives of those who offend him. Basically, this means any NPC or PC who gets in his way gets killed sooner or later, or kills him, which will make him even more pissed OOC.

I can't force him to play a character he doesn't want to play. I can't tell him "you can't do that" just because I don't want him to. Still, he's always the one going out of the party's way, slowing the whole game down, just to get his silly revenge because the game is pissing him off, sometimes killing other PCs who get in his way.

The worst of all : when we tell him to calm down, he says "Well I hate losing! What can I do about it?" And when we tell him "You're only doing this because you're pissed at the game", he says "No, it's my roleplay, my character would totally do it!"

Sadly, there's nothing I can say against these two points. Or is there? I hope you guys can help me, because this guy's anger at the game sometimes ruins it for other people.

The description for this spell feels incomplete to me and I'm about to change it for "Any creature targeted with this spell starts singing "You're the one that I want" for 1d4 rounds." Anyway, I have two questions regarding this part of the description.

"A creature can walk within or through the area of grease at half normal speed with a DC 10 Acrobatics check. Failure means it can't move that round (and must then make a Reflex save or fall), while failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Acrobatics skill for details). Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed."

1. "A creature can walk within or through the area of grease at half normal speed with a DC 10 Acrobatics check." Does it have to make that check if it uses a five-foot step?

2. "Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed." Are not considered flat-footed? Then when is a creature considered flat-footed because of this spell? There's nothing on being flat-footed anywhere else in the spell's description!

An alchemist can use a mutagen at any time to gain +4 strenght and +2 natural armor, with a -2 intelligence as an only drawback for ten minutes per level. He can do it at will as long as he takes the time to create a new mutagen between each use. It can also affect other abilities the same way. Am I missing something, or is this exceptionally better than the berserk rage on any aspect?

I find it kinda dumb that there are mentions of fumbles in the GameMastery Guide, but that there's no official rule for fumbles. Is there a rule for fumbles that I didn't see?

Is there any reason why an alchemist shouldn't pick the feats to wear heavier armor and protect himself? He has no spell failure chance and unless I missed something, none of his abilities is affected by armor. So basically, an alchemist could just wear a medium or heavy armor with no other penalties than armor penalty to skills and a reduced move speed?

Natural attacks have always been a source of countless mysteries for me (even in 3.5), so I'm going to ask a bunch of random questions on them that the official entries failed to answer.

1. Some attacks are listed as "2 claws". Is this considered as one single attack? Can you, for example, charge and attack with both your claws?

2. "You do not receive additional natural attacks for a high base attack bonus. Instead, you receive additional attack rolls for multiple limb and body parts capable of making the attack (as noted by the race or ability that grants the attacks)." I guess a full-attack action is necessary to use several attacks in one round?

Apparently, NPCs with PC class levels have the max possible amount of HP on their first level, like any PC. However, every single book I've read seems to be for or against this rule, some books even having different entries on this topic. For example, in the Bestiary, an aasimar cleric has the maximum possible HP on level 1 at all times, and same goes for the tiefling. They have PC class levels. However, why doesn't this rule apply to the Hobgoblin? He's a fighter, he has no racial hit dice, and still he has to randomly determine his HP. He has a PC class level, yet he needs to roll randomly as if he had NPC class levels? What the hell? I looked in the Errata, and they don't correct this.

And in the GameMastery Guide, all the NPCs, even those with PC class levels, need to roll their HP randomly, even those who are level 1. The acolyte, for example, is a level 1 cleric, and his HP are rolled randomly : the average number isn't the maximum possible value. Yet he has a level in a PC class?

What is the official rule for this? Why the hell is the hobgobelin treated differently from the aasimar even though they both fit the criteria and they're both in the same book? Is an errata supposed to correct all this, or am I missing something?

When a creature increases or decreases size, is its movement speed affected? For example, is it normal that a tiny sized scorpion (derived from the large giant scorpion template) has a movement speed of 50 feet? It sounds a bit too much to me.

I need to create a tiny greensting scorpion for a witch's familiar, but I don't know how to change the stats of the creature. The only relevant template I saw was the Young template, but it only lowers the size of the creature by one degree, while I need to lower it from three degrees (from Large to Tiny, the default giant scorpion being Large). How do I obtain the stats of a Tiny sized giant scorpion? Which template should I use and where can I find it?

Mage armor seems way more powerful than Shield. It lasts one hour per level, while shield lasts only one minute per level. And the AC bonus is exactly the same, the only difference being that Shield absorbs Magic Missiles. That doesn't sound like it compensates for Mage Armor lasting sixty times it duration. And you can cast Mage Armor on a target of your choice, while Shield can only affect the caster.

Who would choose Shield instead of Mage Armor? Did I miss something? How come a low level conjurer is much better at protecting people than an abjurator, whose specialty should be to protect people?

Harsk is seriously badass. Starting your adventuring career with a giant genocide sounds a bit exaggerated to me, but still, he did it. With a crossbow. Oh lord.

I don't understand how reach is supposed to work in squares. Let's say an eidolon has the reach ability and can reach five feet further with its attacks. How does it deal with the squares in diagonals? Basically, a normal fighter threatens all the squares around him, but when he gains a five foot reach increase, he can threaten one square further. That means he can hit an enemy that is two squares further, but what about the diagonals?

If the diagonals are threatened, you just can't approach such creatures without triggering attacks of opportunity. It sounds a bit powerful.

If the diagonals are not threatened, then you can just run at the creature without triggering an attack of opportunity by approaching it from a diagonal. However, this makes absolutely no sense : the creature should reach for you before you reach for it because its arms are five feet long, even if you come at it from a diagonal. No?

Any page in the Core Rulebook that explains how reach works? I only found something on reach weapons and it's a bit irritating.

And another question about the witch : is there a limit to Cackle that I just missed? If a witch casts Misfortune on a target and then starts cackling, the duration is extended for one round. One round later, the witch cackles twice and the duration is extended for two rounds. Basically, the witch can make it go on forever as long as she cackles? Can she really cackle twice per round, or is there a rule I missed?

Some acts are simply immediatly recognized as evil : murdering an innocent, for example. However, if someone has a very strange way of seeing the world, would it be evil? It's hard to explain, so I'll write a few examples here.

1. The Child
Anyone remembers Buu from Dragonball Z? For those who don't, Buu is a demon summoned by an evil sorcerer to help him dominate the world. However, Buu ended up having the mental capacity of a child and was powerful beyond imagination. Basically, after killing the master that controlled him to free himself, he just went on a killing spree, but he did it because it amused him. He simply did not understand that he was killing people and causing suffering. Is that evil? If you're unaware of the consequences of your actions, are you evil for committing them?

2. The Ignorant
What if a man comes from a tribe in which you can kill someone just because he has red hair (because of an ancient legend), but in which people always act honorably? So this man comes into a town and starts helping the peasants with their daily work, fending off local monsters and teaching the militia how to fight properly. But then, he meets someone with red hair and ends up killing him for no apparent reason. Is he good because he helps people for free, giving his time for them? Is he evil for killing people with red hair because he was taught to kill people with red hair since he was born? Is he evil for doing something he was taught to do?

3. The Zealous Fool
What if a high priest loses his mind, blinded by a terrible curse, and thinks that the only way to save his people is to destroy the artifact that protects it? He thinks he is doing the right thing and remains as honorable as before, but in his quest to save the realm, he might actually have to kill some good aligned characters to accomplish his objective. Is he evil for trying to help people by causing their doom? I could use the example of Arthas from Warcraft here, except that Arthas actually becomes evil when he is possessed.

Is there any advantage to picking those, except added reach and barely greater damage? Anyone will prefer making 1d8 damage twice than make 1d10 damage once. The reload time is horrible, and using rapid reload with a light crossbow makes it about three times more efficient than a heavy crossbow.

Ferocity enables a creature to remain conscious even when it's going under 0 HP. What about going unconscious due to nonlethal damage? Both explanations my players and I found don't make any sense to me.

Explanation #1 : Creature with ferocity are immune to nonlethal damage, but that sounds a bit strong, doesn't it?

Explanation #2 : Creatures with ferocity are affected by nonlethal damage like any normal creature, but then ferocity becomes pretty useless. As soon as a creature with ferocity falls under 0 HP, anyone can deal 1 nonlethal damage to it to make it fall unconscious.

Answer any of these questions, of all three if you really feel like helping. Some of these might have no answers, though.

1. A swarm is composed of hundreds of small creatures and the damage it deals is based on the fact that all those creatures attack a target at the same time. However, damage reductions are used for a swarm just like it's used for a goblin. How can that even make sense? Let's say a swarm and a sword deal five points of damage to someone with a DR of 3. The sword is a single, hard blow, that damages the man's skin even though it's resistant. However, five points of damage divided among two-hundred spiders that bite the man's flesh affects him just like the sword...

2. The rules concerning grapple don't seem clear to me. First : "A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple." Does that include maintaining a grapple? And does that include the actions you can trigger while grappling someone, like tying a pinned target?

Second : "If you do not release the grapple, you must continue to make a check each round, as a standard action, to maintain the hold. If your target does not break the grapple, you get a +5 circumstance bonus on grapple checks made against the same target in subsequent rounds." When does that bonus apply? When the target fails to escape the grapple? One round after it is grappled?

Third : So the grappler needs to make a check each round to maintain the grapple AND the grappled target has the possibility to free itself during its own turn? Maintaining a grapple sounds pretty hard, isn't it? It's like the grappled target can defend itself even outside of its turn, since the grapple can be broken during the grappler's turn!

3. Flanking seems a bit dumb on one point : someone can be flanked by two opponents, but not by a third one. Example : an human fighter fights three orcs. One of the orcs is in front of him and another one is behind him. The third orc stands on his right. The orc in front and behind have a flanking bonus... but not the third one? How come? If the first and second orcs have bonuses because the fighter can't block them both at the same time, shouldn't the third orc have the same advantage too? Heck, he should even have a bigger advantage, since the fighter is even more overwhelmed because of him, but I agree that would become a little complicated. Still, if you're flanked by two opponents, isn't it also easier for a third or fourth opponent to hit you just like it is for the two others?

A mummified elf hand is required to create this item. Wouldn't buying one be illegal? I mean, how can a shopkeeper legally acquire and sell a mummified hand?

The bard's main role in combat is usually to buff his party with Inspire Courage, which is part of the Bardic Performance ability. However, a bard can Inspire Courage by using a Perform skill, which varies a lot from one bard to another. Some bards seem to have a huge advantage over other bards.

A bard that sings can be heard by his entire party and still fight while doing so, since his hands are free. However, a bard playing a flute can't have his hands free. Does that mean he has to keep playing for the entire fight? And what about dancers? They can't even be seen by the entire party while they fight, so it sounds like a very poor choice.

Some friend of mine had an idea that made sense. Let's say a bard playing the lute wants to Inspire Courage. He activates it with a simple action by playing a few notes with his lute and then, magically, the music keeps playing by itself like a live background music (if the bard can keep it going with a free action every round) until his Bardic Performance rounds are depleted. This makes sense and fits with the "bardic music being magic" pattern.

Still, a dancer bard sucks when it comes to Inspiring Courage, right?

The rules about monsters as playable characters were so complex in D&D that they had to make an entire book just to fully explain them. Now in Pathfinder, those rules are extremely easy to understand, ( rules here!) but they seem so simple that I can't believe they cover everything.

Question #1 : It is written that some monsters may possess special abilities that make them stronger than their Hit Dice shows. However, the book doesn't even explain how to recognize these monsters! How are we supposed to make adjustments for those monsters if we don't even know when we're supposed to?

Question #2 : The rules say that, for example, a monster like a minotaur could become a PC. However, I can't find a way to calculate that PC's stats. If you want to create a minotaur PC, for example, how can you find his racial bonuses, racial feats and everything that makes his race different from others? The basic monster races (goblin, hobgobling, orc and others) all have their stats written at the end of their description, but how can you find them when they're not written? Try using the example of the minotaur to explain, it's pretty simple.

I'm running a game and my player wants to play a vampire. She's level 5 and a vampire has a CR of +2, so basically she's a CR 7 (level 7) equivalent character. Still, with all the special powers, resistances and everything she gets, I'd need to know the answer to question #1 before I know if an equivalent level of 7 is enough. It seems pretty low : a level 7 character could hardly be equal to a level 5 vampire rogue, since the vampire is resistant to almost everything, regenerates, dominates, transforms and even if her HP drops to 0, she gets to transform in a gaseous form automatically and goes back to heal in her coffin. I know she has to deal with all the weaknesses to light, water, garlic and such, but it seems pretty unbalanced to me, which is why I'd like you guys to answer question #1. Thanks a lot!

''Second, apply any ability score increases due to gaining a level.''

That rule is extremely unclear! All they say is that you get an ability score increase at level 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20, but the core rulebook doesn't even explain how it works. Do you just add one point to one ability like it was in D&D?

It might be very stupid, but I don't remember any D&D/Pathfinder rulebook answering this question : when a spellcaster casts an area of effect spell, can she be affected by it when and after the spell is cast?

Example : a druid casts Entangle in a area of which she is the center. Is she affected like anyone else in the area? And if she casts it a bit further and decides to walk through it on her next round, does it affect her?

I don't remember reading any clear rule on this and I once had a long argument with a player about the Black Tentacles that ''attacked anything that entered their area'', not knowing if the caster could be attacked by his own summoned tentacles. Any answers?

Remember those random ''10% chance to meet random mobs per hour'' encounters that made travelling in D&D just like what it should be in real life (slow and painful)? Is there still a rule for this in Pathfinder? I didn't find any page about this. Did I just not search long enough or did they really removed it / kept it for the upcoming Dungeon Master's Guide? And if there IS a page about that, which one is it?

No Search skill? Which skill is supposed to replace it? I've seen that Perception allows to find secret doors or passages, but what about looting bodies or searching a specific item in a treasure chest full of objects, for example?

The level 1 goblin warriors (the goblin example in the Bestiary) have a strenght of 11, so their Str bonus is 0. They also have a BAB of +1 and a size bonus of +1, but they only have +1 to hit. How come? I've been reading it all and I don't see anything in the monster's description that explains it. I'm in love with goblins since I'm ten years old, and I won't let such an error go uncorrected!

Also, I've noticed something that applies to every example of humanoid in the Bestiary (such as the level 1 orc warrior or level 1 goblin warrior) : they don't have an extra HP point or skill point for choosing their favored class. I calculated everything and these guys just don't earn any extra hp or skill point for being level 1, which brings me to this question :

Is it just not possible to choose an NPC class as a favored class (the paragraph on favored classes only says it's forbidden to choose a prestige class, but they don't say anything about NPC classes) or is that just an error? Maybe the +1 hp / skill point per level is reserved for PCs, but that would remove an advantage to half-elven NPCs, who would lose one of their racial features.