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I have a couple quick questions regarding the bladebound magus since I just got my black blade. This is for pfs, so that might influence the answers.

1. can you enchant it as normal for a magic weapon or does it work some other way?
2. can you use your arcan pool as normal to add bonuses to it?

I think that's it for now. thanks in advance for the help.

I'm working on making a Cheliaxian summoner for PFS whose eidolon takes the shape of a devil. My original idea was for it to look like a chain devil, but then I found out those are more of Zon-Kuthon's thing than Asmodeus's. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make this idea work effectively?

Unless this is a low level game and you don't expect to be getting to level 6, switch your str and wis if you can. A 13 for the casting stat of a caster isn't good and str isn't important once you can turn into a dinosaur.

I'm starting a RotRL campaign with my brother and a few of his friends who don't have much experience. Current party is a rogue, druid and cleric of nethys with me playing the front line guy.

I'm a little torn on what to play for the front line guy though. I don't want to steal the spot light from the new players. Right now I'm debating between a THW using a weapon with reach and tripping everything or a TWF (something I've never done before) with a level of ranger or two of barbarian.

Stats were rolled and I got 12, 17, 14, 12, 11, 17 which can be placed however. Books are limited to Core and APG.

Any thoughts? And please avoid spoilers. So far all I know is lots of goblins in the first book, giants later on in a different book.

Human Beast rider Samurai 12/Dragoon 1

Combat expertise
EWP (temple sword)
Improved Trip
Heavy Armor Prof (from the dragoon level)
Mounted Combat (also from dragoon level)
Cosmopolitan
Greater improved trip
Leadership
WF (Katana)
Improved Critical (Katana)
EWP Meteor Hammer (weird bonus feat)

I realize it's not the best build, but it's worked fine so far

Subject may sound slightly confusing, but my questions aren't. And as to campaign, we're in the second to last (I think) book of Jade Regent, so try to avoid spoilers in answering either question.

First. Planning on taking critical focus and another crit feat on my next level. I'm leaning between bleeding critical and staggering critical. Which would be better over all?

Second. My rhino (well, arsiniotherium but that's just a pain to say) mount (beast rider samurai [DM allowed it since I started as a cavalier and later had the option of switching to samurai]order of the seal) just died and I'll probably be getting a tiger as my next mount. What feats would you suggest for said tiger? Right now all I can think of are weapon focus, improved natural attack and armor prof light and medium so I can give him some rhino hide for that lovely 2d6 on a charge and pounce. Is that worth the feat investment? Are there better feats out there that I'm missing?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

My group tends to go with the "who can get the most use out of the item" approach mentioned above and it doesn't count towards dividing loot up. It kinda evens out in the long run. Oddly, if something is claimed from any loot it doesn't count. As for party expenses, we either add an extra share for party stuff or all help pay for it.

I've also played in groups where we made loot distribution way too complicated and it just became a headache (though, being the one who did all the calculations, I figured out a way to exploit things a bit). I much prefer the other method.

If you're being forced to tank you can still be a barbarian. Just take the invulnerable rager archtype and laugh off damage. Also, make sure you take raging vitality or you're going to die at later levels if you fall unconscious while raging.

Are there any summonable monsters with combat reflexes?

Depending on who you worship (paladins can worsip Pharasma), you're pretty much obligated to nuke the vampiric abomination that was your friend. Your GM was pretty much asking for some pvp when he allowed this to happen.

If it had been me, I wouldn't have hesitated. But, like someone else said, I already know I'm a jerk.

Avoiding the ethics of Selg's post as it would seriously derail the topic.

I remember those episodes. She was scary. And with that, I really like this idea. It's evil without being blatant. Like Ajaxis said, make her a halfling with the childlike and pass for human feats. A highly intelligent and charismatic bard would probably work best. Max out bluff and diplomacy and make sure she has lots of charm spells ready for if people don't believe her. Beyond that, I'm not sure what else to do.

My DM allows it to one PC per game and it has to be an NPC we've made friends with through the course of the campaign. In our kingmaker game it started off as Boken the crazy hermit and then became some bard we found that I don't remember the name of. He picked feats and such when necessary and controlled them out of combat, but during combat the PC could generally do whatever with them. If the DM didn't think the cohort would do something, he'd say so.

The followers have mostly been in the back ground. Going back to the kingmaker game, our spy master took leadership and his followers were whores, thieves, bums and various other people in his spy network.

Try introducing new rules elements piecemeal rather than all right away.

For example, allow a couple of the more confident players to try some different classes, and use the CRB versions of the classes you already have (i.e., without some options preselected). Grab a bestiary and use some new monsters from it, doing a lot of preparation to make sure you know about any rules elements you don't know. After you're fine with these 2 things, move on to something else, like combat maneuvers or attacks of opportunity. Maybe every couple of sessions, decide that you'll introduce another element (with discussion with the players).

The game isn't going to break if you leave out things you don't understand or don't like, nor will you get ninjas sent to your house by Paizo if you forget a rule or make something up. Just have fun with it!

I had thought of this too after my first post and was just about to say it. Slowly add new rules in. Like for flat footed (since you mentioned it earlier), it'd be easy to say during a box game "Alright, the goblin attacks you fighter. Since it's the first round of combat and you haven't gone yet, he catches you off guard. What's your AC without your dex modifier?"

Combat maneuvers can be pretty damn tricky, so I would save those for later. Or you could work them into teaching about attacks of opportunity.

Most importantly, like Alice also said, have fun. The ninjas only show up when people stop having fun.

I've been playing for years and there's still some stuff I don't understand perfectly or as well as some other stuff. If you have the time and patience for it, teach each member of your group individually. That way they can ask questions freely without the risk of looking dumb and it will give you a better understanding of the rules as you explain them to everyone. And like Wraith said, post here and ask questions.

Take the beast totems. As a twf, pounce is necessary to get as many full attacks as possible. You should also pick up raging vitality (it's a feat, not a rage power) as quickly as possible so you don't die when you get knocked out and stop raging.

Trex would be fun.

Sang, spell damage is only doubled no matter what the multiplier on your weapon is.

Like everyone else has said, this is much more of a philosophy than an organization. An organization is just that, it's organized. There's some sort of hierarchy to it. With that said, I could easily see this being turned into an antagonistic organization. Something on par with a thieves guild since I can't think of a real world comparison.

As much as I would have liked to vote for the guy from my hometown (well, very close to it at least), I can't.

If you really want to get into character, just write stuff down when you feel the need to communicate. You could also go with the "I'm just translating what my character is saying in sign" route if you and your group don't actually know a sign language.

Also, for the wearing of a mask IRL, be careful with that. Private places (technically, any store is a private business that allows the public access) can make rules against it and some cities have ordinances against wearing masks that cover the whole face. Something about it looking suspicious and such.

Human Fighter
Take mounter combat, ride by attack and spirited charge.

With your 175 average starting gold, you can easily buy a combat trained light horse and a lance.

Yeah, mounted combat isn't the best option, but hitting something for 3d8+str at level 1 is amusing and will kill most things.

This situation just all around sucks, but here's what I would do. Give her the sword on the caveat that she actually uses it. Yeah, it sucks that you're losing an awesome weapon (I've always wanted to play a character that used two of 'em, but that's besides the point), but it'll get her to shut up. If she dies (and I would let her), it'll be a learning experience. If she's not using it when it really needs to be used, drop back to wherever she is, politely say "I need to borrow this" while drawing it from it's sheath and go back to combat. Return it after the battle, possibly telling her that her god told you to use it.

Generally, TW Defense is seen as sub par, so I'd drop that and take dodge instead if you're wanting that +1 AC. Though, as a fighter, you get a ton of feats so it may not be as much of an issue. I'd also stick with one weapon type so that you don't have to take weapon focus/specialization/improved crit more than once.

Also, this.

There's nothing wrong or anything with your character. It's definitely not optimized (not a bad thing) to be a two handed fighter. Like everyone else has said, the other players shouldn't worry about "keeping up with" you in combat. It's just not going to happen. Especially in melee. What they should be worrying about is "how can I use my character effectively in combat?" It's all about working as a team. Have the monk trip or grapple things, the cleric should be trying to debuff monsters (Terrible Remorse from UM is really powerful for being a 4th level spell), if the ranger is an archer, he can get full attacks when you can't, and maguses (magi?) can be pretty strong on their own. An easier way to deal with them feeling like they aren't contributing or whatever is to have the DM change the encounters a bit rather than the monsters. Like have it in difficult terrain where it's hard for you to get to things, or flying monsters.

I just started playing an Order of the Seal beast rider archetype cavalier in Jade Regent and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what animal I should go after as my mount. I know which would probably be the most powerful or useful, I'm more after what would be more flavorful for the Order of the Seal with the free trips and bull rushes on full attacks. If that makes any sense.

Like everyone else has said, talk to the DM about it and if things don't change, drop him. Based on the "Friday Night MTG" bit, I'm pretty sure I know what local gaming store this is and I'm pretty sure they do Pathfinder Society games that might be useful while looking for another group. If not, the event coordinator is a friend of mine (though this is based on my assumption on which gaming store this is) and I'm sure he could coordinate some society events.

TPK

Adventure: Sound of a Thousand Screams
Location: Nyrissa
Catalyst: Damn she is nasty.
The Gory Details

** spoiler omitted **

I really want to read this... But since my group isn't there yet, I'm pretty sure my DM would kill me.

The Crusader archtype from UC sounds like it'd work pretty well for this character. I'd also look into taking create reliquary arms and shields from UM so you can make your greatsword your holy focus.

I was looking at the low templar PrC the other day and its 10th level ability caught my eye. Mostly the part of getting an extra planar cohort who's alignment matches your own with a level equivalent of the templar's class level -1 (assuming you have leadership and replaced your previous cohort). What would be the better extra planar cohorts you could gain from this?

The DR issue is pretty easy to get past since the character is a ranger. Make it an adamentine falchion and use versatile weapon. By passes most DR (with the exception of alignment based ones) and you still get your fun burst effects.

I really don't get all the hate and "it needs fixed" for vital strike. Its useful when you can't get a full attack, and unless you're a barbarian with greater beast totem, you aren't getting a full attack if you have to move more than 5 feet. UC added a couple helpful feats that scale with vs, I don't have the book handy and don't remember their names. Its not for every melee character, but very few feats are.

Why does it have to be a BBEG? Why couldn't it be a helpful sage offering his advice and wisdom to the PCs?

Very articulate of you AM BARBARIAN.

I've played an invulnerable barbarian in my group's kingmaker game since the beginning. He pretty much cleared one of the book's first dungeons himself at level two because the small creatures couldn't bypass his DR of 1. They hit him all the time, just couldn't hurt him. It was awesome. And it's fun telling the DM you're going to take less damage than he said you took.

As for feats and rage powers and what not to take, raging vitality is A MUST. It's saved my hide so many times. You quickly reach a level where if you fall unconscious while raging YOU WILL DIE from the sudden lose of temporary HP. It also gives you an extra hit point per level while raging, which is handy. You already grabbed PA, which is a no brainer. The beast totem rage powers are pretty nice, natural claw attacks, natural armor and pounce at level 10. Not sure if that's the way you want to go, but it's not a bad idea. Reckless abandon is nice to off set the penalty to hit for PA (you'll essentially take the penalty to your AC rather than your to hit). Not sure how far this game is planning on going, but if you survive to 12th (well, 13th), take Raging Brutality. There's my two coppers on feats and rage powers that haven't been covered too much.

Also, take the dwarf favored class bonsus for barbarian. An extra round of rage per level adds up.

I say drop the shield, get a bigger weapon. You're an invulnerable barbarian, you're going to get hit and your DR is going to help mitigate that. I'm having so much fun with mine right now. I'll post up his build a little later. And with that 16 wis, I'd say your biggest weakness is covered already.

You should check out the 3.5 Pathfinder adventure "Escape from Old Korvosa" which has rules for a brutal sport called Blood Pig. To get a feel for the idea, here's the blog preview for it...

Who's up for a game of Blood Pig?!

Blood Pig was so much fun. I don't know how I forgot about it. It's probably because my character in that game was too busy trying to figure out rules for the Goblin game "Rat Squish" (at least that's what he called it) despite my DM telling me repeatedly that there are no rules for it.

Terrible Remorse is one of the most broken spells in the game. Fail your save and you start hurting yourself, make your save and you're stuck standing there for a round AND are easier to hit. My DM recently house ruled this that if they make their save they just take the -2 to their AC.

Quidditch.

On a more serious note, Squirrel Ball. I have no idea why it's called that, that's just what my teacher called it in high school. It's a weird mix of football and rugby. Three teams, two balls, two goals. One team by each goal with the third in the center. The two teams by the goals try to score on the other goal while the center team can score on any goal. Ref throws both balls into the air, all three teams go for them and try to gain control of the ball and score. The only real rule, listen to the ref when they say to start and stop.

However, whatever sport you go with, it should have some rules. Part of being a die hard fan/hooligan is getting irritated over "bad calls". Just ask a Seahawks fan about the Super Bowl they were in a few years ago (I forget which number) against the Steelers.

You could also try to take the Warhammer side game of Blood Bowl and get that into your game. It's pretty much a fantasy version of football where cheating is allowed. As long as you don't get caught. It was the basis of the Mutant League games.

The way the archetype is worded now the only serious choices seem to be the bastard sword and the dwarven waraxe.

Why's that?

I was looking over the Titan Mauler and was wondering what weapon would work best for their third level ability of reducing the penalty for using weapons larger than they are. Starting with just a large weapon, it looks like a bastard sword (or anything with a d10) has an average damage increase of 3.5. Based on this, it looks like the nodachi would be the best weapon to run around with since it has an 18-20 crit. Is there anything that'd be better?

Faiths of Purity (I think that's what its called. The book on the good dieties) has a section on the paladin codes for the LG dieties that helps alleviate the lawful stupid paladin. If you aren't playing in Golarian, just find whichever diety fits mostly closely to one in your world.

Completely possible. I posted a build of one using falcatas not too long ago, shouldn't be hard to find. Whatever weapon you use, make sure you take the beast totem rage powers so you can pounce at 10.

The titan mauler lets you use a two handed weapon in one hand with a -2 penalty (replaces uncanny dodge) and at 3rd you can use weapons larger than your size and reduce the penalty by 1 per 3 levels (replaces trap sense).

I like the first build a bit more than the second as I was looking to get full attacks as often as possible. As for the first, typical DPR question, wouldn't I get more out of having more crits than having a few high multiplier crits?

Anyway, your math seems accurate. Pouncing TWF Barbarians are awesome. I would probably go with wakizashi instead of katana, though. Katanas are really just +1 average damage for -2 attack, which I wouldn't think would be worth it with the giant piles of strength and power attack damage you are already bringing to the table. Better to get an extra hit or confirm an extra critical on occasion.

I forgot about the wakizashi. Though if you're going to go that route, you could save yourself a feat and just use a scimitar.

I don't think I'd get as many attacks with the natural weapons and my threat range wouldn't be nearly as high.

I was bored at work tonight and after reading a post on how TWF rogues are hard to pull off I decided to see if a TWF barbarian is viable. Why? First, because I could and secondly, greater beast totem gives pounce, so full attacks pretty much all the time. It's probably not anything I would play with from level 1 since it takes a LONG time to come together though.

Using 20 point buy
Half-Orc Barbarian 11/Fighter (weapon master) 3
16, 17(+2 stat boost at 1 went here), 16, 7, 11, 7
Stats at lvl 14- 23(+1 at 4, 8, 12, +4 belt), 17, 16, 7, 11, 7
1- Exotic Weapon Prof (either falcata or katana)
2- Lesser Beast Totem
3- Weapon Focus (whatever you have EWP in)
4- Superstitious
5- TWF
6- Beast Totem
7- ITWF
8- Reckless Abandon
9- Double Slice
10- Greater Beast Totem
11- Raging Vitality
12- Ftr1 Power Attack
13- Ftr2 Improved Crit(ftr bonus), Raging Brutality
14- Weapon training

Assuming 2 +2 furious whatever weapon you went with, a +4 str belt and gloves of dueling, always using power attack and reckless abandon (and that my math is correct), that should give you a main hand attack of +23/+18/+13 at 1d8+21/17-20x3 (or 15-20x2 with the katana) and +23/+18 1d8+18/17-20x3(15-20x2 katana). The damage goes up by 7 when you use Raging Brutality.

Thoughts? Is my math horribly screwed up?

I'm going to attempt to answer this as best as I can. And what I think you're asking. If you go with inquisitor you could have him be a fire and brim stone type preacher. The paladin could be a religious judge or something similar for the church. As for the magus, he can almost take the same out of combat role as a wizard, though maybe with a bit more of temper. Those might be a little stereotypical but they'd work.

I'm not sure how often brace is going to come into play (I've NEVER seen it used), but go with the nodachi. Getting crits three times (or one and a half times) as often as a great axe (even if the g.a does have a higher multiplier) means more damage over all. The frequency of your crits is just going to go up when you get a keen nodachi or take improved crit. With improved crit/keen, you'll be critting roughly 1/3 of your attacks with the nodachi, 1/5 with the great sword and about 1/10 of the time with a great axe.

I love Snake Fang. My one question about Snake Style: do you *have* to take the Sense Motive check as your AC? Or can you choose after you've rolled? I read it as you can choose, but I'm not 100% sure.

It says *CAN*, so you get to choose to take the sense motive check as your AC. However, I would think you'd have to choose THEN roll rather than roll, see if your SM check is higher than your AC then choose.

Make good use of both the PFSRD and the Archives of Nethys. Those two should together have all the OGL Pathfinder material. Ultimate Combat also comes out in two days, and there are quite a few things in there that might interest you.

The Archives of Nethys is in the process of getting a nice overhaul, not sure when it'll be done but I'm pretty sure it'll be soon.

Anyway, I've wanted to make this character for awhile. Never did a full build though. If you've taken Dance of Blades, there's NO reason not to take Vital Strike and later Improved Vital Strike. You already have to move to get the bonus from DoB, might as well add a bunch of damage onto the movement while you're at it. I'd also recommend taking Iron Weapon as one of your next revelations. Being able to make any weapon you need is just plane nice.

Jadeite wrote:

Ragechemist. Lose some good abilities for a small bonus with a huge disadvantage that gets even worse as you gain levels.

Some archetypes are just useless, but the ragechemist is crippling if you take it.

Not a bad 2-level dip for a melee class, +6 Str that stacks with rage and enhancement bonuses?

This. If you don't go full ragechemist and just use it for a couple level dip, it gets pretty nice. Grab Iron Will and Improved Iron Will (if you have the feat for it) and you should be fine.