HawaiianWarrior's page

I recently tried True20, and while there were things about it I didn't much care for, I kind of liked the way it did wounds. It got me thinking about a way to borrow the idea a tiny bit for Pathfinder.

This would be an easy addition to the current hit points system and would not replace it. Basically, any time a character/monster/NPC etc. takes a critical hit, aside from the hit point damage they receive as normal, they also take 1 wound. Each wound imposes a cumulative -1 penalty on any roll that involves a d20: attacks, saves, and skills. There is no upper limit to how many wounds one can have (though I'm also considering a cap equal to one's CON score). Wound levels can be healed magically at a rate of 1 point for each die rolled for the spell (so 1 for Cure Light wounds, etc.) or healed naturally at 1 per day of rest.

With this I'd also let characters heal all their hit points with a 10 minute rest, so the gradual accumulation of wound levels would be their main source of rising tension.

The similarity between this and the Wounds/Vitality system is no accident. I've always liked it, but felt there should be some effect to taking wounds other than ticking off a separate set of points.

Anyway, I'm open to any feedback or impressions. Sometimes it isn't easy to see the flaws in one's own designs.

Okay, my ranger just turned 6th level and I finally got my first iterative attack.

If I understand the way Furious Focus works with Power Attack, I apply the Power Attack to ALL attacks I make that round if I declare I'm using it. Then, Furious Focus allows me to ignore the penalty for ONE of those attacks. Right?

Since my attack bonus (with BAB +6, Strength +3, magic weapon +1, Weapon Focus +1, etc.) is +11, I can apply the Furious Focus to one of those attacks to get either of the following:

+11/+4

or

+9/+6

Right? If so, which one seems better to you? Which is the smarter approach -- the accurate hit followed by the not-so accurate one, or two medium-accuracy attacks?

I just finished watching an episode of Boondocks that features an homage to the titular weapon from the classic Kung-Fu movie Master of the Flying Guillotine. http://youtu.be/jejQ1wJ_oeI

It got me wondering how one could build such a weapon for PF. I was thinking:

Flying Guillotine
Exotic Light Melee Weapon
Cost: ???
Dmg (S/M): 1d6/1d8
Critical: 19-20/x2
Range: 30 ft.
Weight: 8 lbs
Type: S
Special: Vorpal

In order to have the vorpal ability, this would obviously be a magical weapon. It would be nice to build it without resorting to magic, though...

I'm a 5th level ranger (jungle theme, jungle as my first favored terrain) and I'm thinking about moving into Horizon Walker as a Prestige Class. But it sounds a little too good, and I want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding anything.

• Upon taking my first Horizon Walker level, I'll gain a new favored terrain. This works as per the Ranger rules, so this means one of the two favored terrains moves to +4 and the other is +2, could be either the new or previous terrain. (This means I'd get a new favored terrain a couple levels early.)

• Upon taking my second Horizon Walker level, I'll gain a third favored terrain, meaning I'll have three total, at +2/+4/+6, whichever. That bonus goes to initiative, along with the skills mentioned in Ranger.

At that time I also gain a Terrain Mastery bonus that depends on one of the above chosen terrains. This bonus is always active. This means if I were to choose forest, for example, I'd gain a permanent +4 to my Stealth.

• Upon taking my third Horizon Walker level, I'll gain a Terrain Dominance bonus, which allows me to use my favored terrain bonus against all creatures from that terrain, as if they were all favored enemies. Thus, for example, if I chose forest, every single time I met a creature who was native to the forest in which we were adventuring, I'd gain +6 to attack and +6 to damage against that creature?

(rinse, repeat -- as the levels accrue, I gain mastery & dominance over more terrains)

Is this true? If so, I'm seriously thinking of nerfing my animal companion for this, as this PrC will come in REALLY HANDY in our Serpent's Skull AP, because I think we'll be in jungle/underground/water and maybe swamp during the rest of the whole thing (if the back copy on the adventures is any indication anyway)...

I'm going to level soon and am torn about my choices. I've never been very good at the optimization game and so consistently come out with a weak character, which makes me terrified of making a fatally bad choice each time I level. :(

I have a 5th level Ranger (jungle theme), two-handed weapon speciality (regular spear), and use a darkwood buckler. With Power Attack and Furious Focus, plus my 17 DEX and 16 STR I can attack pretty well and dish out 1d8 + 6 (Power attack w/ 2-handed spear) + 6 (STR + 2-handed damage). Not bad. Current hit points = 49 and I'm human.

For the next level I can't decide if I should take:
• Another Ranger level, though honestly I don't much care about the rest of the 2-handed weapon feats, and I've gotten everything out of Ranger I want at this point.
• Barbarian, which fits the character concept. Maybe even Savage Barbarian?
• Fighter, which is vanilla as hell but gives me a feat (I'm thinking of taking Shield Focus to bring up my low AC from only leather armor). Since I use a regular spear, I don't think I'd take the polearm master or any other archetype.

Any advice?

I'm curious about how Paizo determines the length of an adventure path, for th whole thing and for each chapter. Is there an official "goal" in terms of game hours for each chapter/the whole series? How long does it take the typical group to get through one, if the DM plays "by the book" with no changes of any kind?

Our group is almost done with chapter 2 of Serpent's Skull. We started it in early January and have only missed a couple of meetings. We game for an average of 3.5 hours at a time. By my rough estimate, it has taken us an average of 3 months per chapter, or 45 hours. Is this about right? It seems awfully slow to me. I feel like the chapters are too long and the dungeons WAY too long.

So I'm playing a 5th-level ranger and I'm having a hard time with my armor class. The character concept is "Queen of the Jungle", so she wields a spear and most of her skills are focused on climbing, acrobatics, etc. I don't want to violate this character concept but need to bring my AC up from 18 somehow.

Here's what I have:

• 17 DEX (I'll raise it at 8th level)
• Masterwork Darkwood buckler
• Dodge Feat
• Amulet of Natural Armor +1
• Leather Armor (ideally I'd wear less than this, but I made a concession)

How can I increase my AC beyond 18? I'm the party's front-line fighter by default, since our other characters are a cleric, rogue, and druid, though I actually have lower AC then those characters!

Another issue: My character has a philosophical loathing of money and wealth and gold, so I forfeit my loot and have always done so. Thus, I made an arrangement with the DM to have my amulet and spear gradually increase in power on their own. At 6th level, my amulet of natural armor will increase to a +2, bringing my total to 19. And of course at 8th level I'll bring DEX to 18 for a total of 20 AC -- not that great for a front-liner!

I know the obvious answers: wear heavier armor, stop giving up my loot and buy some magic items, get DM permission to rearrange my attributes so I have a higher DEX. None of those are feasible for one reason or another, so are there any options left?

This has always been something that has bothered me about D&D. Attack constantly goes up, but defense requires magic items. *dislike*

Is there a way to gain an animal companion without taking levels in ranger, druid, etc?

Can someone just purchase an animal an train it?

You guys (and gals) are wizards around here with your build advice. Seriously. Whereas I tend to miss a lot of obvious combinations/side-effects. Anyone have any advice for me?

So I'm building a 3rd level human Gunslinger. Stats are as follows (these can be changed, though I'll need high DEX and WIS no matter what).

STR 14
DEX 18
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 17
CHA 7

I would like to be able to use two pistols at once, ideally. I thought of the pistolero archetype, but would also like to have muskets, etc., so I think I'll stick with straight gunslinger.

I don't mind a dip into another class. Right now rogue or fighter seem like decent options.

I'm having a deuce of a time deciding between these feats: Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Far Shot, Extra Grit, Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Dead Aim, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Rapid Shot. Since I only get three feats (or four if I go Gun 2/Ftr 1), I know I have to choose wisely. Yet I've got a serious case of choice paralysis going on!

I deeply appreciate any help any of my fellow Pathfinders can offer...

If a gunslinger wanted to fire two pistols at once (the character would be 3rd level), would he want the Two-Weapon Fighting or Rapid Shot feat?

I'm in a group at the moment and they're great people, but the commute is starting to get to me and I just want some fresh faces. Also, they don't like Savage Worlds.

I usually GM, and would be quite happy to do that again.

Like most gamers, "I like what I like" so here's what I'm looking for:

• Compatible play styles. I prefer adventurous, cinematic games where the GM isn't afraid to let people do some real swashbuckling stuff. When I run d20, I cut out things like attacks of opportunity in order to speed things up and encourage more creative actions instead of feeling trapped and afraid to move/cast a spell/swing on a rope. I fall between "simulationist" and "narrativist" on the GNS scale. I like roleplaying, but not LARPing -- I don't mind talking in character every so often, but am not looking for live theatre. I don't mind using minis, but prefer if some combats can be done with description alone.

• Compatible players. I am a college English teacher and have a family, and prefer gamers who are also professionals.

Also, I'd prefer no smokers, no heavy drinking, no political browbeating (I'm liberal, but don't care if you're not as long as I don't have to endure political discussions), gaming at a table (instead of on couches or something), and a group of about 4 - 6 folks including GM.

• Games! I have my gripes with d20 (the steep power curve, the locked-down and predetermined classes, the Vancian magic system) but still play it. I like Pathfinder and still like d20 Modern. I have certain house rules, so if I ran it, I'd want to use at least some of them. I also really like Savage Worlds, d6, and other more "lite" rules sets. I'm also interested in Green Ronin's Dragon Age, and in Mutants & Masterminds 3e.

I like fantasy (high or low), cyberpunk, cross-genre, pirates, and horror. Mixing is fine. I'd prefer to use a publishd game system instead of someone's homebrew.

• Location. I live in outer SE and would prefer a game in SE Portland or outer areas (Wilsonville, Happy Valley, Oregon City, etc.). I'd also --for now-- need to meet somewhere other than my house (toddler, and all that).

• Times. I can only meet Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday nights from about 6 pm onward.

If anyone has any ongoing games that you feel meet the criteria, and have space for another, please give me a holler.

<eom>

I posted this in another thread where the OP was asking about how to handle a party with no healer, and liked it so much I wanted to run it by the sages over here on the homebrew forum to see what they think. I might use on of these in a future game to see how it goes...

• During combat, a character can take a "breather" for one round to recover a number of hit points equal to their character level. During this breather, they can't move at all, nor take any other actions, including free or immediate actions, and they are flat-footed.

or

• After combat, make a FORT save vs. DC 10. Characters instantly recover a number of hit points equal to the amount by which they exceeded the DC (min. 1).

or

• Characters recover hit points at a rate equal to their CON modifier per hour if they are active, or completely in one day if they rest.

Just some (untested) ideas.

I need to vent. Reply if you want, or just let this thread vanish into the ether.

So our group (I'm not the DM btw) sometimes sends out copies of our characters to the listserve in case one of us misses a session, etc. I just got a look at a fellow member's character. He's playing a druid, and through smart and tactical character choices, he has "out-rangered" my ranger.

He attacks better, he has a higher combat stat (what kind of Druid has a 19 STR, but only a 14 WIS?), he has higher saves all around, he has as many hit points, he has a better weapon, his CMB/CMD are the same as mine, he is better at survival, better at knowledge nature, has the same AC, and still manages to cast spells all over the place. The only thing I can do that he can't is stealth. That's it.

This guy's play style is totally opposite of mine. He chose his animal companion for its maximum power, rather than what makes sense. He has no idea where his character comes from -- and, in fact, when I asked what his character even looked like he said he had no idea. There's no character concept here at all, outside of best possible numbers on the page.

Before 3rd edition D&D, I never encountered munchkinism (I played a lot of Call of Cthulhu in the 80s, then Torg in the 90s). Maybe I was just lucky, but now it seems like every group is rife with players who approach the game as an accounting challenge, poring over feat lists and class abilities and magic item properties for the perfect combinations, and digging through the rules for little loopholes or exceptions or contradictions or numerical advantages. For someone like me, who is more interested in character concepts, story arcs, dramatic and descriptive adventures, action set-pieces that break the rules (we don't use attacks of opportunity, to keep things more fluid and lively, for example), how do I deal with min/maxing and move on? Do I ignore it? Work with it? Embrace it? How do I accept the fact that my character will always be made irrelevant by a power gamer sitting next to me? If the point of D&D's rigid and pre-determined class system is the preservation of party roles, what does one do when one's role is being outdone by someone playing a different class?

How do I let this go?!?

Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading my rant.

p.s. He has a pretty high spell failure chance. It's right there on his character sheet, though I've never seen him roll for it. Is it in bad form to take the DM aside and mention this?

I wrote up this class last year as an attempt to try and wriggle out from under the predetermined classes while not having to deal with multiclassing. The goal was a universal or generic class that is a "jack of all trades" and borrows from other classes (without investing in them as careers).

Thoughts?

The Adventurer

Unlike other character classes, which specialize in a certain “niche,” the Adventurer is a Jack-of-all-trades. During his travels he has picked up a smattering of clever tricks, useful knowledge, and necessary skills. Unlike his core class brethren, the Adventurer has not devoted himself to the rigorous study of a single discipline but has let life, experience, and a little bit of observation teach him everything he needs to know.

Role: Adventurers are ideal for character concepts for which no obvious alternative exists. Since they are not specialists in a field, and they have access to a variety of abilities, they can take nearly any form a player wishes, from a dashing swashbuckler to a burly dungeon delver, from a wandering trickster to a hedge magician.

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d8

Starting Wealth: 3d6 x 10 gp (average 105 gp)

Skills: 6 + Int modifer. Through their travels, Adventurers are exposed to all skills. Every skill is considered a class skill for them.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Adventurers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with light and medium armor, and and with shields (except for tower shields).

BAB progression: As Rogue

Saving Throws: All saving throws advance at the same rate, gaining +1 in each every even level.

Class Abilities: Talents. At first level, the Adventurer gains three Talents (see below). Then, at each successive level, the Adventurer gains 1 Talent.

Talents
During their extensive travels, Adventurers pick up many abilities, called Talents. Perhaps they are taught by generous benefactors or observe by observation. Whatever the case, some of the Adventurer's abilities can mimic those of other classes, while some are unique and developed out of necessity. At first level the Adventurer gains three talents, chosen from the list below, then one more at every level. Unless otherwise noted, each talent can only be taken once.

Assimilated Ability (varies): An Adventurer with this talent may select one class ability from another class, but it must be from a level equal to or less than your own. Abilities that are graduated (such as the rogue's Sneak Attack) must begin with the lowest level, though each time you take this talent you may chose to increase that class ability one step instead of take a new one. Spellcasting abilities (including the orisons and cantrips abilities) cannot be selected, as they have their own unique talent. Once selected, an assimilated ability cannot be changed. This talent may be taken more than once.

Cast-Iron Stomach (Ex): A life eating rotten rations and dubious meats gives the Adventurer with this talent a +3 to Fortitude saves against poisons.

Dabbler (Su): Adventures with this talent have picked up a smattering of spells they know how to cast. You begin with the ability to cast three orisons or cantrips per day, and may chose three 0-level spells to be your "known" spells. Each subsequent time you select this talent, you gain two slots and two new spells of a level equal to one third your Adventurer levels, rounded down. Thus, a 6th-level Adventurer who already has Dabbler one time will be able to gain two 1st- or 2nd-level spells of his choice and two slots of the appropriate level to accompany them. You may learn to cast both divine and arcane spells, but each has its own track, meaning you will need to advance in each separately.

Expert Appraiser (Ex): Exposure to treasure hoards and magic items has given the Adventurer with this talent a better sense of the true value and nature of items. He may also make a single Appraise check per magic item; if he beats a DC 30 he may assess a magic item as though he had cast detect magic. This does not permit the Adventurer to learn the properties or command words of items, nor of artifacts.

Extra Feat (Ex): You may select any one feat for which you qualify. This talent may be taken more than once.

Fast Learner (Ex): You gain 6 more skill points. You do not gain any additional skill points based on your Intelligence modifier, and you may not have more ranks in a skill than your level allows as normal. This talent may be taken more than once.

Light Sleeper (Ex): Many nights in encampments with danger lurking around the corner has taught the Adventurer with this talent how to remain alert to trouble, even while asleep. You do not need to roll to wake up while sleeping under normal conditions. You are still unable to act in a surprise round, but you are not considered flat-footed. This talent does not work if you are affected by a magical sleep effect.

Monster Lore (Ex): An Adventurer with this talent may use his extensive travels and adventures to gain a +3 bonus to Knowledge checks to identify a monster and it's abilities and weaknesses.

Perceptive (Ex): The Adventurer with this talent has spent so much time exploring dungeons and ruins that he has gained an uncanny ability to detect hidden devices. He gains a +2 to Perception rolls to find concealed doors, traps, alarms, etc. This talent stacks with the dwarf's innate Stonecunning and the Rogue's trapfinding ability.

Uncanny Defense (Ex): The Adventurer with this talent gains a +1 bonus to his Armor Class. This stacks with the Dodge feat, but any condition that makes you lose your Dex bonus to AC also makes you lose the benefits of this ability.

Unique Ability (Sp): Perhaps the Adventurer's most versatile talent, Unique Ability allows you to create your own class ability based on an existing spell. Select one spell of a level equal no more than half your current Adventurer levels (round down). That spell becomes a spell-like ability for you. Duration, range, targets, and saving throws do not change, though it no longer requires components and the casting time changes to 1 standard action. The amount of times you may use it per day is based on the level of the spell: 0-level spells can be used at will, 1st-level spells may be used 3x per day, 2nd-level spells may be used 2x per day, and 3rd-level and higher spells may be used 1x per day. The new class ability works exactly like the spell. The caster level for the spell-like ability is equal to your levels in Adventurer. The save for these abilities is equal to 10 + the spell level + your Intelligence modifier (for arcane spell-like abilities) or Wisdom modifier (for divine spell-like abilities). This talent may be taken more than once, creating a new spell-like ability each time or increasing the amount of times per day an existing ability can be used.

Just wondering if there's some RAW advantage to dropping on top of someone to attack them, (for example, dropping out of a tree with a spear aimed at their head)? Would it be a specialized charge? A bull rush? Something else?

I'm playing a ranger from the Mwangi Expanse, and in keeping with the "jungle girl" theme I'd like to be able to avoid wearing armor. Are there are feats or archetypes that give me the ability to naturally increase my AC? I don't mind taking rogue or fighter levels, though I don't find monk appropriate for this character.

Epic Meepo's thread got me wondering...

Would it be feasible to "de-couple" archetype abilities from classes altogether?

There would be a list of abilities, the kinds of things that are typically assigned to classes, but they wouldn't be tied to any one particular class. Each would be assigned a number which would represent the minimum level of the ability. If you want to take that ability, you would have to swap out a class ability you are normally in line to receive, something of the same level (or higher).

For example, let's take the ranger archetype, "Deep Walker." At 3rd level, it gets the Deep Knowledge ability, which replaces a ranger's favored terrain. Since favored terrain is a 3rd-level class ability, Deep Knowledge would be rated 3+, so that any character from any class could take it as long as they swap out a 3rd-level or higher class ability.

Obviously some things might not make much sense as currently written, but paired with feats this could go a long way toward making characters that aren't boxed in to predetermined class concepts (one of the things I like about archetypes in the first place, giving them some breathing room from the rigid classes).

Anyway, just a thought.

I'm looking for something and I'd love to know if such a thing exists. It's an online site where Pathfinder character data can be entered. It needs to be:

• Free
• Saved and updatable
• Accessible by other players in my group and the DM, though they wouldn't have edit privileges
• Full character sheet with all the fields and forms

I don't care if millions of other people can see it, just as long as only I can edit it. Ideally I could also upload a picture. Anyone know of any resources that fit this mold?

Ever since the days of 3.0, I've continually found myself coming up with characters that I can't successfully make, at least by sticking to RAW. And I'm not very good at the "optimization" game. Can anyone help me here?

1. The first is a character who is good at fighting, but her main weapons are two long scarves that are either bladed or conceal swords. She can beguile her opponents with an intricate dance, essentially hypnotizing them as she grows closer for the attack. When fighting, it's hard to tell where her next strike might come from because of all the flowing cloth, which also conceals her form enough to make it harder to hit her.

(I was thinking of a bard/rogue, but I don't see this character using magic at all.)

2. A huge brute (human) with a low intelligence and high strength, who also never quite understands the seriousness of the situation and thinks everyone is his friend. However, he has a penchant for hugging people to death. His main attack would be a grapple that inflicts crushing damage. "Tell me about the rabbits, George..."

(A fighter, obviously, but are there any feats or character abilities that would ramp up grapple damage to competitive levels?)

And for the piéce de resistance...

3. Inspired by Reepacheep, from the Narnia books, a one-foot-tall intelligent mouse who is an honored and respected battlefield commander. He wears specially-tailored plate mail and wields a "longsword" (kitchen knife?) and commands enough respect that people actually rally around him.

(Here, class and race aren't as much of an issue -- I'd reskin a tiny fey or something -- but actually getting him to do any appreciable damage in combat is next to impossible. I suppose I could make a regular character and just "say" he's only a foot tall, but then it would be cheap (haha) if I had him crawl down small passages, etc.)

There's actually a fourth -- a lantern archon cleric -- but that one I know how to do. It just isn't "legal."

Help?

We recently started the Serpent's Skull adventure path -- we are now level two. I'm playing a ranger from the Mwangi jungles and I've decided I want her to be uninterested in material wealth. She has seen men come to Mwangi in search of gold and end up dead, diseased, mad, etc. and she has grown to believe money is evil. (Not "I must eliminate it from the world" evil, just something she avoids.

This didn't really come up until last session when the party found some gold and I told them I don't want any. They looked at me like I had just spoken in tongues. One of the other players said, "you'll regret this later."

If he's right, it's only because wealth and acquisition are baked into the system, because it is assumed that all players (and, thus, characters) are motivated by it. I'm a little bored with this endless groping for the next big item and sack of gold. I want to try a character with different values. Yet buying equipment is so integral to the system, I know I'm setting my character up to be left behind. (Though I don't mind finding and using magic during my adventures.)

How can I play this character without totally gimping myself? I'm also the only combat character in the party, so I know this could get bad quick...

There's a handy little pronunciation guide in the back of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting book. It's nice and I wish more games did that!

But there's a word missing:

Golarion.

Is it pronounced "go-LAR-ee-un?"

or "GO-luh-RY-un?"

or some other way?

I'm not really good at this whole optimization thing and could use some advice.

I have a 1st level ranger. She's from Mwangi, and the concept is "queen of the jungle."

Her primary weapon is a spear (normal, not shortspear or longspear or any of those things). She will also use a dagger, bow and arrow, blowgun and possibly scorpion whip.

I'd like to make her into a pretty decent fighter using a spear (I'm married to that concept). What are some suggestions for good build choices? She doesn't have to become "the tank" necessarily but I would like her to be pretty bad-ass.

• Feats?
• Classes (including archetypes within the class)?
• Prestige Classes?

I appreciate any advice. Thanks. :)

I could use some "optimization" help and this seems the best place to turn.

Last night our group started the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path. I created a female ranger from Mwangi. I went with the Warden alternative ranger package, so I gave up favored enemies to get a favored environment at 1st level -- naturally, I went with jungle. I want to go full "jungle girl" with this, just play up the trope to it's full glory, so she is wearing "leather armor" (basically skins) and for weapons she'll have a spear, blowgun with poison darts, piranha-teeth dagger (no mechanical difference from a regular dagger), and maybe even a scorpion whip.

I had some trouble figuring out how best to "optimize" this character. Pathfinder pretty much demands careful thought and planning, and I ALWAYS screw it up somehow because I'm not that kind of character builder. I like concepts, images, personalities, and so I always run afoul of the dang rules.

Anyway, what seem like good choices for
• Str vs. Dex? I picture her more of a Dex character, though without a weapon that uses Weapon Finesse that is less valuable.
• Feats? I don't know what makes a good Spear Fighter. What feats are crucial? (She can also throw it.)
• Fighting Style? Right now I'm going ranged, but that could change and I saw one of the books has more options.
• Future class choices? I'm currently thinking ranger until about 5th, then maybe rogue or fighter...

I appreciate any insight you all might have for me.

And here's hoping 5E can "unite the clans"...

HB

Please? This subsystem is BEGGING for cards.

Make them in different colors:
Blue for Target Words
Red for Effect Words
Green for Meta Words

That way players could slap down the two (or more) words they wish to use.

As a bonus, it would also be kinda cool if there was an actual word and symbol printed on them ("Klaatu Verata Nicto!") but that isn't really necessary.

I mentioned this in the Beginner Box Preview thread, but I think these things deserve their own thread.

Pawns:

I LOVE THEM

Paizo, I think you should seriously consider a line of these things. Think about the plus side:
• You already have the artwork
• They must be relatively cheap to make (compared to minis)
• They could be sold by the sheet or in campaign packs
• You could also sell the bases separately

From our end:
• They are easy to store
• They are easy to assemble
• They are light-weight
• They are durable
• They are simple to use
• They match the art from the books
• They don't need to be assembled

A win/win all the way around!

For a long time I've fantasized about a magic system for Pathfinder/D&D that doesn't have like 50 gazillion spells, most of which are just different versions of each other, so I really like the Words of Power system in Ultimate Magic. However, I also bristle at the "Vancian" slot system. Anyone out there have any ideas on how one could use Words of Power with spell points?

And it doesn't have to be the spell points method from the 3.5 Unearthed Arcana, either. Any balance of spell level cost vs. character spell point pool would work. For example, the Midnight setting had a rather elegant method where a spell costs a number of points equal to its level, flat.

This summer my group is doing something called the "Summer of One-Shots" where we play 1 - 3 weeks of all kinds of different things, but when that's over I'm almost 100% sure they'll want to go back to Pathfinder and start another Adventure Path. And I'll probably be the DM.

Since 3rd edition came out in 2001 I've been seeking an alternative to Vancian spellcasting. It has been a turbulent search. I've tried all kinds of things, including the spell points method in the 3.5 Unearthed Arcana. It was all right, but the amount of spell points and the crazy J curve was a little off-putting at high levels. I recently discovered Midnight and LOVE the way they do spell points in there. The best part is, not a lot has to be changed to make it work! (In my dreams we use a spell method that has far fewer than the hundreds of spells from D&D, most of which are just versions of other spells. Although also in my dreams my players agree to play Savage Worlds Fantasy instead, but that's probably not going to happen with this group.)

So my question is: For those of you who have played -- or better yet run -- Midnight, what would you recommend if I use the magic system from that setting in otherwise standard Pathfinder?

• Since Pathfinder is most definitely not a low-magic setting, should I increase the amount of spells casters gain per level?
• Should I increase the amount of spells they learn per level?
• How should I handle clerics, which don't really exist in Midnight except the evil ones? Should I just have clerics be a type of channeler?
• Do you think casters will be too underpowered to handle the various challenges they are usually called on to overcome (such as magical wards, enemy spellcasters, pits and walls, etc.)?

A couple of things I'm already thinking I will do, just FYI:
- Add a feat that allows people to pick up more spell points (probably 3).
- Tone down some monster abilities, especially SR and DR.
- I haven't decided to what extent I will reduce PC reliance upon and availability of magic items. I would love to just use covenant items and alchemicals.

I appreciate all suggestions and feedback. Thanks in advance!