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13 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

I've been reviewing the PFS rules on upgrading arcane bonded items for a character of mine, and I've run into some things that don't quite sound right, such that I'm wondering whether these are really the intent for PFS.

For reference, here's the FAQ on how bonded items work in PFS: LINK

Here's the first issue:
No skill check needed - The FAQ never speaks as though the PC is actually crafting the item; rather, it sounds like you just get a discount. Given that gunslinger ammo works the same way, this very well may be the intent, but I wanted to check. After all, the only reason my Arcane Duelist bard has ranks in Spellcraft is because he gets the arcane bond class feature eventually, so if he's not actually crafting, I just wasted some skill ranks. :/

Second issue:
No bypassing requirements - The normal item crafting rules in the CRB let you bypass most crafting requirements by adding +5 to the Spellcraft DC (and the DC starts so low that skipping 1 requirement is trivial). But if PFS characters aren't actually crafting, then (and this is how the FAQ is phrased as well) they MUST meet ALL the prereqs.

On some items one would hardly notice the difference, but if this is the intent then I accidentally made an illegal bonded item upgrade a few levels back with my Eldritch Knight when I skipped the requirement of having the mnemonic enhancer spell by adding 5 to the Spellcraft DC. Similarly, my Arcane Duelist (whose bond must be a weapon) won't be able to make his rapier agile until 10th level (for weapons, the CL is a requirement), and can NEVER make it keen (due to not being able to learn keen edge).

For weapons in particular, there are LOTS of abilities which are within the budget of a PFS character, but could never be discounted via arcane bond within a PFS career, due to requiring a CL of 12+ and not being able to bypass that requirement.

Is that the intent for PFS (i.e. not requiring Spellcraft but disallowing the bypassing of other prereqs)? Or is this supposed to work like ordinary crafting (i.e. requiring Spellcraft but allowing the bypassing of a limited number of prereqs)?

Please note: I'm fine with either, as each has its own benefits and drawbacks. I just need to make sure I know, so I can make the correct decisions on my Arcane Duelist (and possibly make corrections on my Eldritch Knight).

I've been pondering the idea of starting up a new home campaign, but if I do so, I'd really like Combat Expertise to be different. I feel like a feat named "Combat Expertise" that has an INT prereq should be something that enables intelligent martials to have an edge in combat that dumb brutes don't have. Almost as though they were experts... in combat... like they possess some sort of "combat expertise"...

A more efficient form of Fighting Defensively just doesn't give me that vibe.

Here are two different ideas, and I'd like feedback on their appeal, power level, balance, etc.

Combat Expertise
Prereq: INT 13
Benefit: You gain a +1 insight bonus to attack rolls and weapon damage rolls. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every +4 thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, up to a maximum bonus equal to your intelligence bonus. The bonus damage granted by this feat is precision damage.

Combat Expertise
Prereq: INT 13
Benefit: For purposes of feats with a base attack bonus and/or fighter level prerequisite, you may reduce those prerequisites by an amount equal to your intelligence bonus, down to a minimum of zero. (This means that if your intelligence bonus is equal to or greater than a fighter level prerequisite, you do not need to possess any fighter levels to take that feat.)

Thoughts?

Suggestions?

91 people marked this as FAQ candidate. Answered in the FAQ. 2 people marked this as a favorite.

The darkness spell says that nonmagical light sources (and magical light sources that aren't higher level than darkness) "do not increase the light level in [the] area".

Does "in an area of darkness" qualify where the light level is not increased, or does it qualify where a light source has to be in order to be affected?

That is, if there's a torch adjacent to an area of darkness, does its light fail to increase the light level in the area? Or does the torch itself have to be in the area for it to be affected by the "does not increase the light level" clause?

Please click the FAQ flag on the upper-right portion of this post. I've recently learned that things have a better chance of getting the FAQ treatment if it's a single, concise question rather than a whole topic, so I'm going to make a thread per question and maybe we can get some answers. Click that FAQ button! :D

See also:
What counts as ambient natural light?

96 people marked this as FAQ candidate. Answered in the FAQ. 6 people marked this as a favorite.

The darkness spell does two things: it lowers the light level in its area by one step, and it also prevents most light sources (all nonmagical and most magical light sources) from increasing the light level in the area.

The current Official FAQ on the subject confirms that applying darkness is a two-step process, in which you first default to what it calls the "ambient natural light level", and THEN reduce the resulting light level by one step.

This question is about the first step in the process: when we "automatically default to the ambient natural light level", what exactly are we defaulting to?

What light sources contribute to the 'ambient natural light level' that gets lowered by one step within the area of darkness?

Sunlight? Moonlight? Anything else?

Please click the FAQ flag on the upper-right portion of this post. I've recently learned that things have a better chance of getting the FAQ treatment if it's a single, concise question rather than a whole topic, so I'm going to make a thread per question and maybe we can get some answers. Click that FAQ button! :D

See also:
Failing to increase the light level in the area

14 people marked this as FAQ candidate. Answered in the FAQ. 2 people marked this as a favorite.

There are some spells which can counter or dispel certain diametically-opposed spells, specified in the spell description. For instance, bless counters and dispels bane.

Now, if you use bless to counter bane, the counterspelling rules say that you cast a modified version of it which produces no effect other than to counter bane. So if only the front half of the party was being targeted by bane but they were all in range of your bless, you couldn't use bless to counterspell and also give folks in a back a +1 to attacks/saves.

So what about dispelling?

Does a spell like bless, when used to dispel its opposite, produce any other effects besides the dispel?

That is, if only one party member is currently affected by bane, and I cast bless, do other party members in range get the normal effects of bless or is the dispel on that one party member the only thing that happens?

Please click the "FAQ" flag on the upper-right part of this post, unless you have a clear answer from the rules. Thanks!

So an idea just popped into my head, and I thought I'd share it, just in case it's worth anything.

I know there are at least a couple of scenarios in Season 4 where you have the option of committing a specific and severely evil act in order to gain power.

Well, with Season 5 involving fighting back the demonic hordes of the Worldwound, what if some of the scenarios did kind of the opposite? Like maybe there could be a scenario where, early on, there's a chance to rescue some orphans (but it's out of your way and will cost you in some fashion), but during the BBEG fight any good-aligned PC who went that extra mile to roleplay a truly good alignment gets to bypass the BBEG's DR or SR, or gets a +4 on their save against the round 1 unholy blight, or whatever. Just a little something to show the strength of the righteous against the forces of evil.

Now, I don't think any such bonus should be as big as the evil ones, as being good should be a more difficult path than evil or neutrality. Part of what it means to be good is that you're willing to make sacrifices for others. But a little token bit of redemption for those PCs would probably find no better home than in Season 5.

Of course, most of Season 5 is probably done by now, but the wishful thinking is fun. :)

Okay, that was all. Now I can focus on my work. ;)

I'm making a kitsune arcane duelist bard in PFS (have the race boon), to be played alongside my wife's new kitsune magus. We're starting at 2nd level (due to a combination of first-level retrain rules and some GM credit).

Since I'm looking at a racial +2 DEX and -2 STR, obviously I'm going the Weapon Finesse route, which is a first for me. Encumbrance is becoming an issue, and I'm wondering if anyone might have some advice.

Here are my stats:
STR 11 (13-2)
DEX 18 (16+2)
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 10
CHA 16 (14+2)

Here's what I'm carrying:
Entertainer's Outfit (4lbs)
Mwk rapier (2lbs)
Cold iron dagger (1lb)
Silver cestus (1lb)
Mwk chain shirt (25lbs)
Alchemist's fire x3 (@1lb, total 3lbs)
Spell component pouch (2lbs)
Bandolier x2 (0lbs)
Oil of grease (0lbs)
Wand of cure light wounds (0lbs)
TOTAL: 38lbs

You might notice a couple of things:
First, I'm at exactly my weight limit for a light load for 11 STR. (Among other things, this means I can't even buy a cloak of resistance until I get my weight down.)
Second, I don't have the five-pound buckler that I really should have.

Now, I have the Armor Expert trait, which means that (once I save up enough cash) I can wear a mithral breastplate at no penalty. That'll knock about 10lbs off my load compared to my current gear. That'll give me room for cloaks and belts and such. Unfortunately, it'll be a little while before I can afford that.

So what should I do? After one adventure, I could afford to swap out my chain shirt for a mithral version and wear that until the upgrade, but that just feels like such a waste of cash to spend 1,000gp on armor that I'm going to sell back later. I guess the total loss is more in the neighborhood of 500gp, but still...

Also, I could save 5lbs by ditching the alchemist's fires and the backup weapons, but is that really a good idea? The alchemist's fires are my only solution to swarms, and the other weapons handle various sorts of DR. Is that worth the cost of a point of AC (or two points, by the time I get my mithral breastplate) that I'm losing by not having that buckler? Are there other, lighter-weight solutions to those situations?

Any sort of advice on this issue would be much appreciated. Thanks!

1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. 9 people marked this as a favorite.

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Perception and Searching: A Rules Emporium
I'm going to try putting this in a sort of Q&A format, so hopefully you can find a question you have, and get the answer. Here we go:

Question 1: What action is it to search?
Answer: It's a move action.
Core Rulebook, Perception skill description: "Intentionally searching for stimulus is a move action."

Question 2: How big of an area can you search at once? That is, do you need to search each 5ft square individually? Or each 10ft square? Does a search cover all squares adjacent to the PC? Everything within earshot/line of sight/etc at the time you make the check?
Answer: Not explicitly defined - we don't have any specific rule stating something like "The Perception check result is applied against all observable stimuli within X area" or whatever. Here's what we *do* have:
Core Rulebook, Perception skill, Perception Modifiers table: "Distance to the source, object, or creature: +1/10 feet"
Thus, we know that Perception is intended to be usable at a distance.
Other data: D&D 3.5 had explicit text in the Search skill stating that you had to be within a certain distance and could only search a certain area at a time. Pathfinder removed all such language.

Question 3: What if a PC fails the check? Can they try again?
Answer: Yes.
Core Rulebook, Perception skill: "Try Again: Yes. You can try to sense something you missed the first time, so long as the stimulus is still present."

Question 4: Can a PC 'take 20' to search? If so, how long does it take?
Answer: Yes. It will take 1 minute.
Core Rulebook, Skills chapter, 'Take 20': "When you have plenty of time, you are faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, you can take 20. In other words, if you a d20 roll enough times, eventually you will get a 20. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, just calculate your result as if you had rolled a 20.

Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and it assumes that you fail many times before succeeding. Taking 20 takes 20 times as long as making a single check would take (usually 2 minutes for a skill that takes 1 round or less to perform)."

Question 5: Okay, so a PC steps into a room and announces from the doorway that they spend 1 minute taking 20 to search. If a hidden thing is outside their line of sight, but their check result is high enough to beat the DC (including modifiers for distance and such), would they still find it?
Answer: Probably not. We don't technically have a rule explicitly stating that the check will auto-fail if your target is not perceptible from your location. However, we have the following:
Core Rulebook, Perception skill: "Perception covers all five senses, including sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell."
Core Rulebook, Glossary, 'Blinded' condition: "All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail."
Core Rulebook, Glossary, 'Deafened' condition: "He takes a –4 penalty on initiative checks, automatically fails Perception checks based on sound..."
We know that Perception typically covers all five senses, but that there will be some checks where only one sense applies, and that these can sometimes auto-fail. You must make your own judgments from there.

Question 6: Does searching involve touching things?
Answer: Maybe.
Core Rulebook, Perception skill: "Perception covers all five senses, including sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell."
Core Rulebook, Environment chapter, Traps: "Creatures that succeed on a Perception check detect a trap before it is triggered."
Core Rulebook, Using Skills, Take 20: "Common 'take 20' skills include ... Perception (when attempting to find traps)."
So we know that Perception at least can include touch (and taste, for that matter), but also that you don't trigger traps when searching for them despite the multiple failures involved in the recommended use of Take 20. Thus, the GM must decide (within the constraints of these facts) whether a given instance of searching involves touching/licking or merely looking/listening/smelling.

Question 7: Do PCs automatically get a Perception check to notice a hidden target (like a trap), or do they need to search?
Answer: Not explicitly defined, but we have the following:
James Jacobs (Creative Director): "The trap spotter talent lets a rogue make a perception check to notice ALL traps he comes wihtin range of. Normally, you have to tell the GM that you're looking for traps."
Core Rulebook, Trap Spotter rogue talent: "Whenever a rogue with this talent comes within 10 feet of a trap, she receives an immediate Perception skill check to notice the trap."

Skeleton Summoner

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Here's how the feat reads:

Prerequisites: Spell Focus (necromancy), ability to cast summon monster.
Benefit: Add "human skeleton" to the list of creatures you can summon with summon monster I and "human skeletal champion" to the list of creatures you can summon with summon monster III.

Once per day, when you cast summon monster, you may summon a skeletal version of one of the creatures on that spell's summoning list (apply the skeleton template to that creature to create this monster).

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So, is it worthwhile for a summoning-focused wizard?

Specifically in the context of PFS, you get Spell Focus instead of Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat at 1st level. Thus, a human PFS wizard could start with Spell Focus (conjuration), Augment Summoning, and Spell Focus (necromancy). Thus, at 3rd level I could take Skeleton Summoner and at 5th I could take Superior Summoning.

One concern I have is that undead use CHA instead of CON for their bonus HP. This means that my skeletal champions gain no HP from Augment Summoning. Relatedly, the skeleton template (for that 1/day ability) sets the creature's CHA to 10, thereby removing any bonus HP the creature would have if summoned normally.

On the other hand, my Augmented skeletal champions would still have the bonus to STR, which would be nice.

So, is the 1/day ability worth using? That is, any creatures that would gain more than they lose by being skeletal?

And depending on the answer to that question, the next question is this: Is the feat worth taking in the first place?

I've started to notice an interesting trend in my spell preparation choices. I'm a LG cleric of Iomedae in PFS (click my name for more info), currently 7th level. Strangely, I find myself often unsure of what to prepare in my last couple of 2nd-level slots each day.

As a melee cleric, I devote some of my spell slots to buffs each day. I also like to prep some "answer" spells. (Darkness got you down? Daylight coming up. Invisible baddies? Invisibility purge. Troublesome cleric or wizard? Pilfering hand on the spell component pouch/holy symbol. And so forth.)

But now I'm noticing I'm in kind of a weird spot. See, at levels 3-4, I often prepped a bull's strength or two, giving me a +2 to attacks and damage (longsword, one-handed) that my other buff spells just couldn't match.

But then when I hit 6th level, my divine favor spells started giving me the same +2/+2, except costing only a 1st-level slot, and stacking with the STR belt I'll be buying pretty soon. So suddenly bull's strength isn't looking so impressive.

I've established sort of a "standard" array of spell preparations, but there's a gap in my 2nd-level spells, and I'm not sure what to fill it with.

Here's a sample of a fairly typical set of prepared spells for me right now:
1st
Liberating Command
Protection from Evil (probably soon replaced with a wand)
Divine Favor x3
Shield of Faith (Domain)

2nd
Pilfering Hand
Shatter
Bless Weapon (Domain)
[EMPTY] x2

3rd
Invisibility Purge
Daylight
Resist Energy, Communal
Heroism (Domain)

4th
Dismissal
Holy Smite (Domain)

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I currently have 17 WIS (hence the lack of a bonus 4th-level spell), to be bumped to 18 at 8th level. Again, I like to mainly focus on buffs and "answers".

So what are good spells to have on hand in the 2nd-level spell slots?

Thanks!

I recently encountered a wizard PC in PFS who could cast summon monster as a standard action. I can't remember how he said he could do that, but I'm thinking of starting a wizard soon and would be interested in that, whatever it is.

Anyone know?

I'm in a pretty cool position in PFS right now: I got a boon at a local con that will let me start a kitsune PC, and someone else gifted an identical boon to my wife so that we can play kitsune PCs together.

She's decided to make her kitsune a rapier-wielding magus and is doing fine in deciding what/how she wants to play.

I, on the other hand, am a complete mess. It's pretty normal for me to have multiple character ideas in my head and have trouble being decisive, but with this one shot at a kitsune and also designating it as something to play exclusively with my wife, I feel like I *really* need to make sure I pick something I can be happy with and keep moving forward. I have a couple of PCs I've abandoned, but it would totally suck to have my one and only kitsune be one of them!

So far, I've considered:
Sorcerer
Bard (casting-focused)
Bard (archaeologist archetype, melee- and skill-oriented)
Magus
Monk
Summoner
Arcane Trickster
Ninja
Musket Master
Oracle

What do I dooooo?

On the one hand, I want a PC who in some way includes a nod to kitsune's mystical nature, so I feel like I want to play either a spellcaster or at least a class that has some (Sp) or (Su) abilities.

On the other hand, when I imagine a kitsune, I want to picture him being nimble and moving around; there needs to be some physicality to the concept, which is kind of a strike against things like Sorcerer or Summoner.

On the other other hand, a martial-caster hybrid is kind of a staple for me already; I have an Eldritch Knight at 10th level and a melee cleric at 7th. Am I going to get bored doing the same thing again?

On the other other other hand, it's clear I enjoy well-rounded martial-caster hybrids; should I stick to what I know I like?

Furthermore, I want to play a character for whom it's cool to be a kitsune; I don't want to take a PC who "should" be a different race and shoehorn it into a kitsune. But I also don't like playing super-obvious builds, like a crossblooded Fey/Infernal enchanter with impossibly high save DCs.

And then of course there's the fact (having been playing for just under 2 years) that there are entire classes I've never played (witch, sorcerer, bard, monk, paladin, oracle, ninja, druid, magus, gunslinger... more?) and basic concepts I haven't experienced (primary caster, melee DPR, ranged DPR, skill monkey...) and I'm always curious to see what the baseline standards are like.

Help me! Whether that help is in the form of "How have you not thought of this perfect concept/class yet?" or "How have you not eliminated this obviously unsatisfactory option yet?" or even "Here's what you need to ask yourself".

I need outside input so I can process things! Keeping it all spinning in my head is paralyzing me with indecision! Help!

I had been pondering the possibility of playing a monk in PFS. I've never played a monk before, so I took a look at one of the guides that someone wrote. But it assumes you're playing a STR-based monk and rates everything based on that premise. What if you're building a DEX-based monk (for instance, perhaps because you're playing a race with a STR penalty and a DEX boost)? I felt pretty lost with that in mind.

So what are some general guidelines for a DEX-based/Weapon Finesse monk? Do you take an agile amulet of mighty fists to keep your damage up, or does the loss of the amulet of natural armor hurt your AC too much? Do you focus on maneuvers instead of damage? What are good options, and what are traps?

54 people marked this as FAQ candidate. Answered in the FAQ. 1 person marked this as a favorite.

We appear to have something of a "ghost" mechanic in the Core rules, folks. There seems to be an ability to dispel an active spell using something other than dispel magic, but it's not spelled out how it works. The rules for counterspelling hint at it, and some individual spells mention being able to dispel each other, but I can't seem to find a section in the Core Rulebook where it actually says "Here's how to dispel something".

Let's start with what we know:
First, there's the similar mechanic of counterspelling. This mechanic *is* laid out for us in the book, and it goes something like this:
1) First, ready an action to counterspell. You can only counter a spell as it's being cast, not after.
2) If you successfully identify the spell your enemy is trying to cast, you can try to counter it.
2a) You can auto-counter it by casting the same spell (i.e., fireball can counter fireball).
2b) You can counter it by casting dispel magic (this doesn't require knowing what spell was cast, and it works against most any spell instead of needing just the right counter; but in exchange, you have to make a CL check to succeed, or else your action and your spell are wasted).
2c) In some cases, you can auto-counter the spell by casting a specific, diametrically-opposed spell. (For instance, haste can counter slow.) These specific pairings are noted in their spell descriptions.

To sum up, you can counter a spell by casting the same spell at the same time, by casting a specifically-named opposite spell at the same time, or by succeeding on a CL check for a dispel magic cast at the same time.

With me so far?

Okay, so let's look at some of these "specific exceptions", the spells which can counter more than just themselves:

Bless counters and dispels bane.

Slow counters and dispels haste.

Cause fear counters and dispels remove fear.

Well, that certainly seems to fit what we learned about counterspells, right? So if someone is casting bane, then we could use our readied action to counter it by casting bless, and neither spell would then perform its normal effect.

Peachy. But what about that "and dispels" clause in all of those spell descriptions? It doesn't just say "Bless counters bane", it says "Bless counters and dispels bane."

How does bless dispel bane? What does that mean? One idea might be that it's really just further referring to the act of counterspelling. But that doesn't make sense, as "dispel" is a specific game term that refers to the ending of an already-ongoing spell effect, whereas countering only happens at the time that the target spell is being cast. Spell-like abilities can be dispelled but cannot be counterspelled. Furthermore, the Magic chapter of the CRB notes that "Some spells negate or counter each other", again seeming to reference two different actions. Clearly "dispel" and "counter" are two separate things.

More to the point, "dispel" and "counter" are two separate things, and bless can do either one of them to bane.

So how do we go about dispelling something without dispel magic? This is what we're never actually told in the rules. It's clear we can do it, but we're given no rules about how.

Here are some extrapolations and educated guesses, as best I can figure:
1) First, the spell you want to dispel (for example, bane) needs to already be active. I think that's fairly well established.
2) To perform the dispel, you need to cast something (for example, bless). Having it already active when the spells "meet" would not perform a dispel. Otherwise, things get complicated fast: one party under the effects of bless and another under the effects of bane pass each other in the hallway and spells start dispelling each other as you walk by? That sounds pretty absurd, so I think dispelling requires a fresh cast.
3) You're still subject to the normal range and targeting rules of the spell you're casting. For instance, bless affects a 50ft radius area centered on the caster. Thus, you could only dispel bane on targets within 50ft of yourself. Similarly, cause fear targets one creature within close range, so you couldn't use it to dispel remove fear on a whole group of baddies or from the other end of a football field. Counterspelling uses your spell's range (as opposed to a range of its own), so there's precedent as well.
4) There's no check to make to determine success. In the case of counterspelling (which seems to be considered similar, given all the "counters and dispels" lines in spell descriptions), you only have to make a check if you're using dispel magic, essentially trading reliability for versatility. One would assume that dispelling works the same way.
5) If you use a spell to dispel something, your spell produces no other effect. Again, we speculate this as a parallel to counterspelling - if fireball counters fireball, there's no explosion. Presumably if bless dispels bane, you don't also get a +1 to attacks. (Though if only half the targets within your bless area were under a bane effect, do the other half get the normal bless effect? Nobody knows...)
6) Can a spell be used to dispel itself? That's the baseline standard for counterspelling, with the "opposites" being special exceptions (and even those always do both; there's no spells which can counter an opposite but can't dispel it). It would follow precedent if I could dispel a bless by casting my own bless, though that feels a bit weird, so I'm not so sure.

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Phew! So that, as far as I know, is where dispelling stands. Its rules are nonexistent, yet it's referenced as though it were there. We can guess and speculate as to how it works, and for the most part these guesses seem like they fit in with the rest of the magic system.

But it's not actually written anywhere! Well, it needs to be. Please, everyone, click the FAQ button on the top-right corner of this post so we can get this properly addressed. And if you have any helpful references to relevant commentary or whatever, please share!

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I keep meaning to mention this, and I'm finally remembering:

The Official FAQ pages for the various PFRPG hardcover books have gotten a pretty significant influx of new FAQ entries in the last month or so. These were added with no recent fanfare, so anyone not already checking the FAQ would easily miss them.

And since there are a lot of them, and some of them are fairly significant, I thought I'd point it out to help foster awareness in the PFS community. :)

FAQ Main Page

What if I made a Scrollmaster wizard 1/Magus X? I was looking at the Scrollmaster, and noticed that the signature ability - Scroll Blade - comes in at 1st level. I was noticing that I'd be destroying lots of scrolls just by successfully attacking, so I thought "Gee, I'd better make sure that each hit counts; how could I pile lots of damage onto a single hit?"

Oh, hello Mr. Magus.

On the other hand, if I look at it from the opposite direction, I'm taking a Magus and saying, "Hm, I think I'd like to lose a point of BAB, slow down my spell/class feature progression, and lose a couple of HP just so that I can buy my weapons on a per-hit basis."

On the other other hand, whipping out a scroll and crushing it against somebody's forehead like a beer can, and thereby delivering my shocking grasp... well, that sounds like loads of fun. ;)

Oh, one other wrinkle: this would be a PFS character, so there's no crafting - I'd be paying retail for these scrolls.

Is the idea hopeless, or could it be somehow made viable?

Or maybe it's not even a feat. I just thought I remembered hearing about some way for any old arcane caster to get an arcane bond like a wizard. Thought it was a feat, but I could be wrong. Anyone know what I'm talking about, and where to find it?

I've acquired a PFS boon that will let me build one kitsune PC. At first I was going to be a sorcerer, but having enchantment DCs in the stratosphere without breaking a sweat seemed too easy. Plus, I just feel like I want my kitsune to be more physical, with tools and weapons strapped over his clothes. None of this bathrobe-wearing straight-caster nonsense. I could always use a human or aasimar or something for that.

So I was thinking, perhaps a dashing Archaeologist (bard archetype) could be fun, and still reasonably effective?

Stats probably something like this:

STR 10 (12-2)
DEX 18 (16+2)
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 10
CHA 15 (13+2, bump at 4th)

My first feat would of course be Weapon Finesse, probably using a rapier as my main weapon (upgraded to a +1 agile rapier at the earliest opportunity - probably somewhere around 6th level). Second feat would be Lingering Performance, so I would essentially always be getting my Luck bonuses during combat - which actually gives me the same to-hit as a full-BAB class up until 9th level, albeit with a later entry into iterative attacks.

I get a rogue talent at 4th level, which I'm not totally sure on yet, but could be Combat Trick to grab Arcane Strike to help my damage output - less miserable pre-agile, and more awesome thereafter.

Since I'm not Dervish Dancing, I can actually use a buckler, which means I have enough slots to keep a very respectable AC while I'm busy stabbing people (especially once I nab a mithral breastplate, penalty-free if I take the Armor Expert trait).

I feel like this could be pretty solid for PFS play, although I would have to suffer through some low-damage early levels. But I'd be well-rounded enough that I wouldn't just be twiddling my thumbs, and after about 6th level I'm dealing 1d6+10 damage with an 18-20 crit range.

Whaddya think, solid? Or am I way off base?

(This is a PFS cleric, currently 6th level. Click my name to see more details.)

Being a LG tiefling cleric of Iomedae, I kind of have a thing against evil outsiders. I'm taking an alternate FCB at every level, each time giving me a +1 on CL checks to overcome SR of outsiders. I figured it wouldn't come up all the time, but if/when it does it'll be totally awesome to be blasting through their SR with double the normal odds of success.

Then I find out that Season 5 of PFS is called "Year of the Demon" and will spend a lot of time dealing with the Worldwound.

So I imagine I'll be fighting more evil outsiders than I originally thought. :D

So that's got me thinking: are there any other ways for a cleric to pile on the demon-hate? Any signature spells or feats or gear that would let me say "screw you" to evil outsiders?

Thanks!

I'm a 10th-level PFS character: Fighter1/Wizard(divination[foresight])6/Eldritch Knight3. Click my name for more details.

I feel like I should broaden my spellbook a bit to increase versatility (especially via my bonded item). But... what should I get?

I've never played a caster this far before (no experience with 3.5, either) so I don't really know what's good to have on hand.

I'm one level shy of gaining 5th-level spells, and have 21 INT. What spells do you like to make sure you have?

For the first time ever, I have a race boon for PFS! It's for a kitsune, and I was already planning to make a sorcerer, so there you go.

I've settled on the Starsoul bloodline, as I love it thematically and it would be super fun to play alongside my wife's Dark Tapestry oracle. ;) So the bloodline's pretty set.

Where do I go from there? Every caster I've ever played before has been melee-capable (Eldritch Knight, melee cleric, etc). I've never played just a straight-up caster before.

What are the basics? How much HP should I aim to have? Should I make any investment in AC? How much should I invest in INT for skills, given this will be a PFS character?

You can click my name for details on my current build.

To sum up, I'm a tiefling cleric of Iomedae in the PFS Organized Play campaign. I'm sort of a melee/caster hybrid style (being able to shift between roles is valuable in PFS, due to random parties). Currently at 6th level, I plan to prep a handful of offensive or utility spells (blindness/deafness, pilfering hand, liberating command, daylight) and use a lot of my lower-level slots for self-buffs (divine favor, shield of faith, and also my 3rd-level domain slot is heroism).

I'm trying to decide on my 5th-level feat. (I know, I said I'm 6th level; there's been some GM credit involved - haven't actually played this character since 4th level, so 5th and 6th level options are theory until I sit down to play this Sunday.)

I pretty much have it narrowed down to Toughness or Power Attack. Toughness is nice, particularly since I'm not spending my FCBs on HP and I'm often in the front lines. But I'm having trouble judging Power Attack.

Here's the relevant info for that:
• I'm a sword-and-buckler guy, so I'm not planning to make my sword attacks one-handed.
• With no buffs up (and assuming I enchant my sword, which I'm pretty sure I will before Sunday), I'm at +8 to hit for 1d8+4. However, since heroism lasts so long and PFS scenarios tend to be kind of packed into a short in-game time frame, in most cases I'm probably at +10 to hit (basically like a full-BAB class at this level, only without an iterative attack).
• If I know a fight's coming, I can toss up a divine favor and be attacking for 1d8+6. (If I have heroism running, I'll be at +12 to hit, otherwise +10.)

Power Attack right now would be at -2/+4. So for a 6th-level PC with one attack and no bonus feats, is it worth the feat slot to use PA? If I do take it, do I only *use* it if I have both of my primary buffs (heroism, divine favor) running? Do I use it if I have just one of them running?

I've never really examined Power Attack for cases other than two-handed full-BAB styles, so I'm feeling a little lost. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!

2 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

From the Chaos Beast (LINK)

Its claw attacks can afflict you with a curse called Corporeal Instability. It's extremely wordy and complicated, but I have one question: how often do you make Fort saves? Every round? Does controlling your shape (via spells or the standard action Will save mentioned in the text) delay further Fort saves until later? Any ideas?

So, I'm a cleric. (Click my name for more details.)

I have (and will) invest nothing into summoning (won't be taking feats for it, etc). Even so, I have the spells on my list, so... Should I be prepping it? At what levels? What summons are the most handy to call in?

Thanks!

EDIT: Sorry, forgot to mention this is a PFS character. So that's the campaign context.

3 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

Couldn't seem to find an existing thread, but could be my search-fu's a bit weak this morning.

In the Advanced Race Guide, tengu have an alternate racial trait (replacing Swordtrained) that lets them pick a few eastern weapons to gain proficiency in. I don't have it in front of me, but it's come to my attention that it specifies a single page in Ultimate Combat.

This page, as I understand it, contains a table of martial weapons (but not exotic), but also contains the descriptive text of some weapons whose tables appear on different pages.

So, which weapons are legal choices? Is the tengu ability supposed to specify a page range instead of a single page and the guy I heard from just had an older printing? Does it refer only to the weapons in that page's table? Does it refer to weapons whose descriptions are on that page but which don't appear on the table?

Anyone know the intent here? Any developer commentary, or anything?

I'm a LG cleric of Iomedae in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. I'm currently 4th level, and I always have trouble deciding what spells to prep, particularly in my 2nd-level slots.

Given the "never know what you'll face" nature of PFS, what are the "old standby" spells that experienced players default to? Is it worth leaving a slot or two open in PFS, or will I likely not get the chance to fill them in?

Advice appreciated!

If it changes your answers, I currently have 15 WIS, planning to get a +2 WIS headband when I hit 5th level.

Thanks!

I find myself with an unusual dilemma. Yesterday, I played Feast of Sigils (I *think* that was the name), and my now 10th-level Eldritch Knight committed a blatantly evil act, in the interest of increasing his own power (which is in-character for him). However, this shifted his alignment to LE. He can get an atonement to remain LN and continue in the campaign, but...

Well, it just doesn't seem like something he would do. There's no practical benefit for paying gold to shift his alignment, and he's a very practical sort of guy.

As a result, I'm considering the possibility of ending his career, as a LE ex-Pathfinder.

Obviously this isn't a decision to take lightly, so I'm curious - has anyone else ever thought about retiring a PC early for in-character reasons? If so, what choice did you make, and were you satisfied with it?

Just curious for the thoughts/anecdotes of anyone who might be/have been in the same boat. :)

Been having trouble with the site today. It was working fine about 6 hours ago, then it started taking forever to load pages (about five minutes each; not exaggerating). When a page would "finish", it would only have some of the stuff from the top or side of the page, followed by some exposed code and a whole lotta white space.

Eventually, this result was replaced by an "Internet Explorer cannot display the web page" error (still after taking several minutes trying to load).

Being somewhat used to the site crashing from time to time, I didn't think too much of it until I still couldn't get it to work a few hours later. Eventually it started loading more of the page (i.e., then entire top section and left sidebar) before deciding it was done. I kept after it for the last two hours, eventually seeing progress as a couple of pages actually did load completely within the last 45 minutes. So I'm taking the opportunity to report the issue.

For reference, loading this "New Thread" page took about 9 minutes.

I'm using IE7, so it's entirely possible the problem is on my end (perhaps a hamster got out of its wheel?) but I thought I should try to report the issue anyway.

Thanks! Now hopefully this post will stick...

Just how high can you get your diplomacy?

I ask because I played PFS alongside a summoner not too long ago who had, if memory serves, a +26 to diplomacy at 5th level. He had no spells active at the time, and his eidolon was not the one making the check.

Things I know:
5th level
Gnome
Pure summoner (no multiclassing)
20 CHA
No active spells

So, can you reproduce it? I'm really curious how to get such a high diplomacy modifier. First person to post a PFS-legal method of getting +26 diplomacy within the above constraints wins an internet cookie!

Blog: Monkeying Around

In addition to the recent FAQs, today's blog features a couple of new changes.

One is a new ki ability.

The other is a change in price for the Amulet of Mighty Fists.

So... have we seen enough changes to the monk that players might need to rebuild? Having never built a monk myself, I don't know. But I thought the question should be brought up.

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Jason Bulmahn (lead designer): "As for the Monk issue. We have decided to reverse our previous ruling on using Flurry with one weapon. You can now do so."

There you go. There were other things in his post too (hence providing the link), but that's the part people have been holding their breath about for so long, so I thought I'd share it with the community.

Happy monking!

There's a classic adventure trope of the lightly-armored guy with a sword, no shield, and a tendency to nimbly dodge and deflect his opponents' attacks, retaliating with a mix of elbows/knees/kicks/punches/sword strikes/etc. Think of, for example, the movie version of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.

For the longest time, I've thought this trope unable to be reproduced within the Pathfinder system - the closest I could think of was the duelist, but the flavor was a little off.

Now maybe this is old news and I'm just late to the party, but it dawned on me that I could actually build this for my next PFS character, primarily thanks to Ultimate Combat. Here's what I'm looking at:

Human (Dual Talent)

STR 17 (15+2, bump at 4th)
DEX 16 (14+2)
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 13 (bump at 8th)
CHA 10 (can't dump this; these guys are always at least marginally cool)

Fighter1(Unarmed):Improved Unarmed Strike, Crane Style sans prereqs, light armor proficiency, spend normal feat on EWP:Falcata
Monk1(MoMS):Unarmed damage 1d6, Crane Wing sans prereqs
Monk2:Evasion, Crane Riposte sans prereqs, spend normal feat on maybe Combat Reflexes

After 3rd level, I'm not sure what to do. I could take Fighter2 and get another bonus feat (Power Attack?). I could start taking Ranger just so I can stay full-BAB while simultaneously getting more skill points. I'm not sure.

Anyway, whaddy think folks? Or did I just catch up with what everyone else saw months ago?

Below are some ideas for my next PFS character. I want to do something at least a little out of the ordinary, but still contribute with some damage dealing (as well as some noncombat competencies). These are all a bit "out there" but could still be fun. Which is the least terrible?

So those are my ideas. Thoughts?

I've been playing Pathfinder via PFS for over a year now, and I've tried several types of characters. I've played a maneuver-focused fighter with high AC, I've played an Eldritch Knight, I've played a cleric... But one thing these PCs all have in common is that simply attacking for lots of damage is not in their repertoire. They're all generalists of different sorts, rather than focusing on killing things fast.

I like that, but in the interest of acquiring broader experience, I'd like to also try a PC whose main schtick is DPR.

Now, some caveats:
1. This is PFS, so suggestions need to be PFS-legal.
2. I want DPR to be a primary competency, but not my ONLY competency - I want to always have something to contribute, both in and out of combat. Skills are a plus. I also don't need to break the game with my damage, just need to be good at it.
3. No starting stats higher than 18. That's just how I roll.
4. Nothing that's been absolutely done to death. I'm not interested in playing the millionth greatsword barbarian or dervish magus. Doesn't have to necessarily be fancy or complicated, it just needs to not be one of those builds that's been cloned en masse and sent to every PFS table in the country, you know?
5. I have access to CRB, APG, UM, UC, UE, ARG, ISWG, ISM, BoF, BoA, PFSFG, and SoS. (Cripes, when did I get so many books?)
6. No pets. Personal reasons.

Suggestions? A couple that have come to mind are Inquisitor archer and Musket Master, but I'm curious what other damage builds are out there.

Oh, and I don't need a full build breakdown, just ideas and general guidelines and such. Thanks, all!

How good must your DPR be in order to make it a better idea to attack the enemy than to use Aid Another to give your ally +2 to hit?

That's the short version of the question. Here's the long version:

Let us assume that your party includes a full-BAB PC with 18 STR and Power Attack who uses a greatsword. For simplicity's sake, let's further assume that Mr. Greatsword only goes for the following basic increases to DPR:
5th level - gains a +2 STR belt
6th level - enchants greatsword to +1
8th level - puts his second stat bump into STR (22 total w/ belt)
10th level - enchants greatsword to +2

I doubt this post's question remains relevant later than that, but if you feel the need to extend the math up to 20th, feel free. :)

Now, let's assume that Bob the Hypothetical Party Member is in Mr. Greatsword's party. Bob is not a primary melee guy. However, he occasionally finds himself in the front lines with a weapon in his hand, enough AC/miss chance for that not to be suicide, and an inclination to make attack rolls (maybe he's out of spells or there's no room to flank for sneak attack or whatever).

In any case, Bob has two realistic options: attack the monster, or use Aid Another to give Mr. Greatsword a +2 to hit on his next attack (not his entire full-attack sequence).

Which should he do? I'm working under the assumption that there's a "line", where if Bob has at least X expected DPR, he should attack, while if he has less than X expected DPR, he should Aid Mr. Greatsword. The question of this exercise, then, is this:
Where is that line? What minimum DPR must Bob have in order for it to be more helpful to attack the enemy than to Aid Mr. Greatsword?

To make answers useful, please give an approximate to-hit/damage breakdown instead of just "13.37 DPR" or whatever. Something like "If he's at least +X to hit for 1dY+Z damage, he should attack instead of Aiding".

But let's not look at every single level. Let's just get some benchmarks for 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th level. (Further if you like.) Also, assume Bob and Mr. Greatsword are always equal in level.

Math nerds, GO!

7 people marked this as FAQ candidate. Staff response: no reply required. 49 people marked this as a favorite.

Hello folks! With the new rule in Guide 4.2 about messageboard clarifications being binding, and with some folks feeling burdened with the need for awareness (despite board-delving not being a requirement), I thought I'd perform a public service for curious GMs and players.

Below you will find my current link library, or at least the section dealing with PFS rulings on the boards. I invite others to add links to the list, but I also ask that people please take discussion to other threads! This thread is meant to be a resource, a repository of information. Something that will enable less digging, rather than just diverting searches from the boards in general to wading through discussions in this thread.

Thanks!

Scrolls with multiple spells on them (now in FAQ)

Upgrading items (now in FAQ)

Weapon blanches carry to the next scenario

Scenarios to be GM'd as written

GM credit babies don't need stats until they're played

It's okay to let creativity bypass a skill check, but don't arbitrarily change DCs

Use in-character challenges as presented, rather than adding OOC challenges

For first level retrains, you can sell back gear at full price

Weapon cords do not inhibit reloading

If a magic item creates something, you can keep it

You can first level retrain into a race boon

All tiefling/aasimar PCs are "half human"

Stuff about Power Attack and Rend

Snapleaf is a single-use item

No training new tricks

Animal companions know how to use their feats

Follow Paizo FAQ blog posts

Changing factions as part of a first level retrain does not cost PP

Casting evil spells (such as Infernal Healing) is NOT an alignment infraction unless used for evil purposes

Shirt rerolls are allowed on Day Jobs

Spell storing devices are empty at the start of an adventure

Things like staves do carry charges to the next scenario

Ring of counterspells carries over

What does and does not carry over (spellstoring, etc)

It's okay for a GM's Bestiary to be a PDF

Deathwatch only analyzes creatures you're aware of

If you need to repair gear, A Wizard Did It. Just pay for it.

Now remember folks: please take discussion elsewhere, and reserve this thread for the adding and/or subtracting/challenging of links.

Thanks!

EDIT: Disclaimer - I am not official; I'm just posting links to that which is. Things could change or be overturned or whatever after the one-hour window during which I can edit this post, so keep an eye on the whole thread.

4 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

Just came across a potential issue over in a Rules thread.

Have a look at this post from Mark Moreland regarding armor spikes:

Armor spikes are treated as light weapons for the purpose of threatening adjacent squares. Light weapons require the use of limbs, so you would only be able to make attacks with them if you have a free hand. Thus, wielding a two-handed reach weapon would negate your ability to "wield" (and thus threaten with) armor spikes. This isn't necessarily clear in the rules, but I just discussed it with Jason, and we're both on the same page about the intent.

As of Guide 4.2, we GMs must treat clarifications like this as binding once we're aware of them. Okay, so armor spikes require a free hand. Got it.

But what about this specific line from that post?

Light weapons require the use of limbs, so you would only be able to make attacks with them if you have a free hand.

This reads like a blanket statement that all light weapons require a free hand - meaning that you can't attack with a blade boot, barbazu beard, or unarmed strike unless you have a free hand. Which doesn't make much sense.

Mark, were you meaning to restrict all light weapons like that, or was "them" in that sentence supposed to refer only to the previous sentence's "armor spikes"?

31 people marked this as a favorite.

It's no surprise to anyone that the most dangerous part of a Pathfinder's career is first level. You have minimal HP, bargain-bin gear, and a stark lack of situational consumables. So how do you make it through your first three scenarios and into second level where you can start breathing again? Here are some tips, based on my own experience as well as what I've heard from others.

Part 1: Your Teammates
Wait, what? My teammates? Shouldn't I be doing things with MY character to increase survivability instead of thinking about my teammates? Well, here's the thing: no matter how well you build and prepare your PC, you will always be squishy at 1st level. Your resources are limited, and you can't change that. But you know whose resources are less limited? That pair of 2nd-level PCs who are on your team with you.

Communicate. If you tell the 2nd-level cleric that you're "a sword and board fighter", they're going to hide behind you until you drop. If you tell them instead that you're "a fighter headed toward sword and board, but this is my first adventure so I'm still pretty fragile", they'll treat you a bit differently, perhaps making sure they're always right next to you when you're at the front lines, or maybe taking extra measures to keep you from getting ganged up on. You might suddenly find yourself higher on the priority list for people's healing or buff spells, or even get loaned a helpful item.

We all know that brand-new PCs are squishy, and most folks with a 2nd-level PC are more than happy to help protect their less-established comrades. But we can't help if we don't know you need it, so tell us! Talk to your tablemates, and your odds of survival skyrocket.

Part 2: Between You and My Sword
Sooner or later, someone's going to decide you need to die, and they're going to try to stab you. Or cut you. Or beat you. Or shoot you. Or bite/claw/claw you. The point is, most things that try to end your life at level 1 are doing so with physical attacks. Some people say that armor class can't keep up with attack bonuses, and therefore at high levels all that matters is hit points and saves. But even if that theory is right, they're still only talking about later levels. At 1st level, you're not trying to make your save against slay living. You're trying to not get hit by a club.

So with that in mind, armor class should be something of a priority at first level. After your first scenario, your very first purchase should be good armor. Now, decent armor is a bit cost-prohibitive for your very first scenario, but that's why I wrote "Part 1: Your Teammates". But when you sit down for your second adventure, you should be wearing either a masterwork chain shirt or a masterwork breastplate, as well as a shield if applicable.

No, you shouldn't have a masterwork weapon yet. That comes later, after you've gotten your armor sorted. Yeah, yeah, "if I kill them they can't hurt me", "the best defense is a good offense", blah blah blah. But do the math: for pretty much all of your first adventure's gold, you get a +1 to hit. For about half the price (masterwork costs are different between weapons and armor!) you can get about +2 or +3 to your AC. While "offense first" might (let's not debate it here) be a decent strategy for the long haul, at first level you're choosing between ~350gp for +1 to hit or ~175-350 for +3 to AC. Guess which one is more likely to get you to scenario #3?

"But wait!" you say, "I'm a caster who can't wear armor!" Fair point. You're going to have to make sure that you can stay away from direct combat whenever possible. But even so, some AC options early on can save your life. How's your DEX looking? "But I need all my stat points for my casting stat!" No, you don't. I've played multiple casters past first level with as little as 14 in their casting stats. Meanwhile, as GM I've killed casters who put everything into getting a 20 in their casting stat but neglected their defenses. (Side note: I advise against 20s at first level. Too expensive for a measly +1. If you absolutely must have a "primary" stat, buy a 16 and racially boost it to 18. Your modifier is a mere 1 point lower, but you have 7 more build points to use. "Diminishing returns" and all that.)

Remember that first-level scrolls are Always Available, and they're cheap. You've got 150gp at character creation and you're not paying for swords and armor. Grab a scroll or two of mage armor and/or shield for when the enemies have bows or you're fighting at closer range than you'd like. Consider knowing one of those spells at first level as well, just in case. (As an aside, I think wizards in PFS do better to have a bonded item versus a familiar, because getting one free spontaneous spell per day can save your life.) And if your intent is to stay at range where it's safe, then make sure you can contribute from there: prepare acid splash or bring a crossbow so you can stay safely in the back.

Now, what if you don't wear armor but you need to be in front (i.e., you're a monk)? Do what it takes to have a decent AC at first level. Maybe you were planning on having kind of middling DEX/WIS (maybe 14 each) so you could have good STR for damage? That might be fine later when you can pile on the magic items to keep your AC up, but at first level that leaves you with ~14 AC at a tier where every threat is an attack roll. Here are some options: first, take Dodge, possibly as your monk bonus feat. Every little bit helps. Second, remember those scrolls of mage armor? Consider buying a couple and asking someone to cast them on you if possible. Third, you could suck it up and pretend you're a ranged guy for a couple of scenarios, waiting to go into melee until you're better equipped. And finally, consider being a DEX-based monk (using Weapon Finesse instead of a high STR) to keep your AC up naturally. Depending on what race resources you have available, you could potentially have 18 AC on your first adventure as a monk.

Part 3: Taking It On the Chin
No matter what you do with your armor class, sooner or later, you're going to get hit and you're going to need to be able to take it. Now, sometimes the GM will roll back-to-back 20s, critting you for 3d10+18 and killing you regardless of your stats. It happens, and there's not much you can do about it. But much more often you're simply taking an ordinary hit and need to be able to take it and keep fighting.

Fortunately, in Pathfinder (including Pathfinder Society), your first Hit Die is always maxed. That means that every PFS PC is always getting at least 6HP (plus mods) at first level. Now, HP isn't too big of a deal if you're playing a martial class with a d10 (or d12) hit die; 10+ HP at first level is solid. Common attacks are dealing around 1d6 to 1d6+2 damage, or about 1-8 points. That means that martial classes can almost always take more than one hit even if the first one rolls max damage. Now let's see if we can get our squishier classes into the same range.

First and foremost, how's your CON score looking? Since I'm assuming that if you're reading this, you're not a super-hardcore uber-expert whiz of a veteran, I'm going to just go ahead and phrase this as an absolute: Do NOT dump CON, ever! Remember when I mentioned killing a couple of casters earlier? Yeah, one of them was a wizard with 20 INT and 8 CON. That meant she had 5 HP at first level (or 6 if her favored class bonus was in HP). Guess how long she lasted when the boss was shooting a composite longbow at her?

Single-digit CON is for people who like flirting with Pharasma. 10 CON is only for experts who know what they're getting into and have made their peace with the possibility of dying horribly. 12 CON is for folks with other reasons to think they'll be staying alive (like if you're a far-from-harm archer with d10 hit dice). But for most PCs, you should be looking at a 14 CON. (Higher than that starts to cost too much, though, making you less effective and therefore giving you more chances to get hit in the first place. "Diminishing returns" and all that.)

If a cleric, rogue, bard, or other d8 PC has 14 CON, they have 10 HP right out of the box. Not bad! That's almost always going to survive the first hit. The 8 HP that a 14 CON will get your sorcerer or wizard is weaker, but it's still likely to survive a hit in most circumstances.

Now, there are other ways to keep your HP up besides CON, so let's take a look at them. First, the Favored Class Bonus, or "FCB". Each time you level up (unless you're multiclassing, but them's the breaks) you get an extra hit point or an extra skill rank (or some other option if you have certain Additional Resources). An important thing to remember is that you don't have to make the same choice at each level. Were you planning to shore up your lack of skills using your FCB? Consider using your first one to boost your HP, and then choosing the skill rank at subsequent levels. That hit point might help save your life right now, while the lack of 1 skill point isn't going to be felt much later.

Finally, there's the Toughness feat. (For you old fogies out there, note that Pathfinder's Toughness is different than in Certain Other Games.) First level is the best time to take Toughness, due to its front-loaded nature. A wizard with 14 CON and Toughness (and FCB to HP) is rocking 12 HP at first level! A wizard who can take a couple of hits now is a wizard who lives to cast game-changing spells later. If your HP is looking low, consider Toughness to shore it up a bit.

Part 4: It's Only a Flesh Wound
Let's talk healing. First of all, for your first adventure you can't afford squat. Once again, let me reiterate the importance of "Part 1: Your Teammates". Most people will happily spend resources to heal a brand-new PC who can't take care of it themselves. After your first scenario, however, it's your responsibility and no one else's.

You probably don't know who you're going to sit down with at any given game. Sometimes there will be a "healer", whose primary schtick is to keep everyone else up and running. But usually, there won't be. So what do you do? After your first session, you hopefully have acquired 2 Prestige Points. (If not, you will have by the time you finish your second adventure - and in the meantime, again, communicate!) You can spend these 2PP to acquire any one item worth 750gp or less, regardless of item access via your Fame score. Spend 2PP to acquire a free wand of cure light wounds ASAP!

"But wait!" you say, "I can't activate it! Why would I spend Prestige on an item I can't use?" Because half the classes in the game can activate it, so there will almost always be at least one other PC at the table who can do so. Just hand the wand to them and ask politely for them to use it to patch you up after a fight.

"But wait!" you say, "If they can use it but I can't, doesn't that make them the healer? Doesn't that make it their responsibility to keep me alive? Why should I have to provide the tools for them to do their job?" Healing you is never someone else's responsibility. If someone volunteers for the role of party healer, great. But you are your own responsibility. It wouldn't be the tin-can fighter's responsibility to wedge himself between you and the enemy because you foolishly ran in front of him when you shouldn't have. It wouldn't be the blaster wizard's responsibility to take Selective Spell because you like to throw yourself into the middle of a cluster of mooks who were otherwise in perfect "fireball formation". And it isn't anyone's responsibility to blow spell slots or other resources restoring your HP just because you couldn't be bothered to foot the bill yourself.

One more note on healing wands: if you have access to certain Additional Resources, there's a nifty little first-level spell called infernal healing. This also makes a great healing wand instead of CLW, as it always heals 10 HP per charge instead of 2-9 HP, and can be activated by wizards and sorcerers. However, if you can't activate either wand, I suggest sticking with CLW just because there are more classes that can activate it, decreasing your odds of sitting at a table where no one can heal you.

Part 5: "Using Your Head" Does Not Mean Headbutts
Sometimes, Pathfinders solve their problems by walking up to them and beating them to death with the biggest object they can get their hands on. And sometimes, it works. But sometimes, you're going to have to play smart if you want to succeed, or even survive. People love exploring what their particular class is capable of doing, but have you looked into what everyone is capable of doing?

Heavily-armored enemy got you down? Maybe you can't hit AC 21 very easily, but can you hit AC 10? If so, then stand next to your party's biggest damage dealer (or if it's you, point this out to the party) and use the Aid Another action to give him a +2 to hit. Or move around and provide a flank for another +2 while someone else uses Aid Another. Or trip him (his armor won't help his CMD!) to give him a -4 to his AC.

Caster giving you problems? Sure, attacking him now seems nice, but if you instead ready an action to attack him if he casts, then a hit that doesn't drop him will instead force a concentration check. That's how fighters do counterspells!

Under fire from an archer? Don't just stand there trading attacks, hoping to win the damage race - find cover! He can't shoot you if he can't see you, and even a moderate obstruction will at least give you a +4 to your AC. Work your way towards him, moving from cover to cover if possible. No cover available? Dropping prone is a free action and gives you +4 to your AC against ranged attacks. Next turn, stand up as a move action, then advance as another move action, then drop again as a free action. Repeat until you're fighting on your terms instead of his.

Think there might be a trap on that door, but you only have +2 Perception? Well, did you know you can Take 20 to search for traps? (The Core Rulebook even uses it as an example!) Even with a +2 Perception, taking 20 will find most traps appropriate for a first-level PC and only takes 1 minute of in-game time. If you think even that 22 won't do it, ask for people to assist you with Aid Another to stack on some +2's to your result.

The list goes on. I highly recommend familiarizing (or even re-familiarizing!) yourself with some of the oft-overlooked possibilities in the Combat and Skills chapters of the Core Rulebook. A thorough grasp of basic PC capabilities can completely change the outcome of a battle or other challenge.

Similarly, make sure you know how spells and magic items work - especially if you're familiar with That Certain Other Game already. Lots of things have changed. Do you know what that spell's casting time is in Pathfinder? Do you know what space you're in when you get grappled? Do you know who can and cannot activate a wand of cure light wounds? (Hint on that last one: first-level rangers and paladins are in the CAN category!) Do you know what Inspire Courage stacks with? (Hint: one example would be bless - yes, really!) Do you know that every PC is capable of turning 180 degrees and running the opposite direction? (I've seen too many people treat combat like it was happening in a bubble area - it's okay to run away, even if it's just to a different room where you have better tactical options.)

Know how things work, be creative, and you'll find yourself much more likely to survive.

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Those are the basics. There are myriad other, more specific tips depending on your particular race/class/situation, and some people even make complicated enough PCs that one or more of these ideas applies differently or even oppositely. But for the vast majority of players, taking heed of these principles can dramatically increase the survival rate of nearly any first-level PC.

Good luck, and I'll see you at second level!

What should a PC (who has neither a climb speed nor the ability to cast spider climb) do to be ready for create pit, or a similar circumstance?

What's the cheapest solution? What's the preferred solution?

My PFS PCs all carry rope anyway, but usually if you need to climb, there's time to get things set up and whatnot. Except now (finally) NPCs are starting to cast non-CRB spells, such as create pit. So when time is of the essence, what do you do at the bottom of the pit?

Grappling hook?
Is there a spell that can get a non-wizard/sorcerer out?
Should clerics/bards just stand at the bottom and cast buff spells every round so that when the duration expires they can exact vengeance on the enemy?

Beware: "Stream of consciousness"-style ramblings ahead! There might not be a point!

My very first RPG ever was EarthBound, for the SNES. How does that influence my tabletop roleplaying habits now?

Things about EarthBound:
• No character customization exists.
• No permanent consequences of defeat - your main PC comes back at your last save point, you lose some of your cash on hand (but none of what's in your account) and maybe you have to pay a hospital to revive the rest of the party. That's it.
• Even level-grinding is rarely feasible, as XP thresholds are tailored to where you're supposed to be in the game, instead of a fixed or algorithmic progression.
• You are literally incapable of interacting with NPCs in unintended ways - you cannot "go off the rails". Ever.
• The game leans heavily on the fourth wall (eventually shattering it, when a couple of different NPCs ask for your real-life name).
• There are bathroom jokes. More than once.
• You are forced to experience plot-relevant cutscenes that may not match what could potentially happen. For instance, you are at one point ambushed/knocked out/taken prisoner by a group of zombies you could have destroyed in a couple of rounds. Or there's another time where someone escapes in a helicopter just as you're stepping onto the pad (you could have touched the chopper, you're so close) at a point in time when you're capable of destroying robots with your mind and have a party member packing firepower that one-shots certain bosses. Yet when the plot demands it, you're helpless to intervene.

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EarthBound is, in my opinion, one of the greatest games of all time. It's been around ~20 years and I still play it. Yet those things I listed about it would make players and GMs alike cry if they described a Pathfinder game. People in You-Know-Which-Camp would gnash their teeth at the thought of PC actions never disrupting the pre-written plot or of not having the freedom to determine their own fate - they'd say it was a game for those dirty members of You-Know-Which-Other-Camp. Yet those people would balk at the fact that the GM was assigning them characters - letting them choose only their name - and forcibly keeping levels within a predetermined range via arbitrary XP adjustments.

And yet, the game is a blast to play. Combat is fun, despite always playing the same characters/"builds". The story is great, and still brings me to the verge of tears at the end, even if I exploit the "rock candy glitch" to obtain unearthly power.

Are there any APs or homebrew campaigns that you would gladly play multiple times, with the same characters?

Nothing seems to "break" EarthBound - not predetermined stats, not linear plot, not breaking the 4th wall, not forced cutscenes, not even cheesey infinite-stats combos.

So why are we all so afraid that these things will completely ruin our Pathfinder games? Is it a sign of how fragile our games (and perhaps by extension, we ourselves?) tend to be, or is it a sign of how fantastic EarthBound is?

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Alright, my head feels less jumbled now. So, er, anyone like EarthBound? Has it influenced your other gaming experiences?

Complicated build here, going for versatility. The idea is to be very versatile, able to fight in melee, at range, and also be a little bit of a skill guy. The plan is this:

STR 14
DEX 16 (buying DEX belt ASAP)
CON 13 (bump at 4th)
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 14

1:Paladin(Divine Hunter) - Gets me Precise Shot sans prereqs.
2:Ranger(Urban)
3:Ranger - Gets me Rapid Shot sans prereqs
4:Paladin - Gets me CHA to all saves
5:Ranger - Now I can disable magical traps

For feats, I take Weapon Finesse at 1st and Power Attack at 3rd. My weapon will be either Elven Curve Blade or Spiked Chain, so that I can 2H-PA with Weapon Finesse, giving me solid damage in melee. Since I've gotten bonus archery feats, I can do well as an archer as well. As an urban ranger, I can be a "trap guy". And with a couple of pally levels, I'll have great saves (I might even dip monk later for more saving goodness, or even evasion).

So what's the question?
Well, I need proficiency for that melee weapon. Half-orcs can get the spiked chain as a martial weapon via an alternate racial trait, plus I can then sport darkvision and another alternate racial trait for +1 to all saves. Half-elves can use an ART to get any weapon proficiency, getting me the mostly-superior ECB instead of spiked chain. But then my vision is only low-light (that drow vision thing in the ARG isn't PFS-legal due to canon issues with drow).

So, which way should I go? Half-orc with a chain, or half-elf with a blade?

As I understand it, one of the "big six" is the amulet of natural armor. In the Advanced Race Guide, there's an item called the darksire amulet for 9k gold that increases a tiefling wearer's resistances to fire, acid and electricity from 5 to 10.

So let's assume you're playing a tiefling who wants to be reasonably durable. Let's further assume that the level range of your campaign is such that you would never get around to buying an amulet of natural armor +3. Thus, you have a choice between 8,000gp for a +2 AoNA or 9,000gp for the darksire, with no thought of needing to upgrade later on.

Which would you pick? Let's also assume that the campaign is fairly eclectic - it is neither "Let's Kill 1,000 Fire Elementals", nor "The Tale of the Nonmagical Stabbing Contest".

Which amulet wins the slot?

1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

There's an item in Ultimate Equipment that's gotten some attention due to an unspecified usage limit. It's supposed to be a one-use item, but that got left out of the description, giving the user at-will invisibility and feather fall for 750gp.

Here's SKR confirming it's supposed to be a consumable.

Since the book just came out and eratta doesn't happen until the next printing, I highly recommend that Mike or Mark "officialize" this ruling for PFS before too many players wet themselves. :/

I don't know of anyone who frequently uses poisons in PFS, because the cost/effectiveness ratio is rather prohibitive.

Or, it has been. But now UE is out, and PFS has allowed some additional poisons from it! I haven't had a chance to look at those individual poisons, but maybe there's one or two worth using in there.

So let's figure this out, eh? Now, since cost is a major factor, we should probably be an alchemist and take the Sticky Poison discovery, drastically reducing the portion of our wealth that we need to spend on poisons.

But that's all I've got, for now. So I come to you, the community:

Build it! :D

I just hit 3rd level, and (as is often the case for me) I'm suffering from severe indecision regarding what feat to take.

To see my current build (complete up to 3rd level, sans the feat in question), click my name. Additionally, I plan to bump CON at 4th, and around that time get a +2 WIS headband, and then bump WIS at 8th. I also have spent (and will continue to spend) all my FCBs on the alternate for tiefling clerics in the ARG (+1 per FCB versus SR of outsiders).

Current contenders for a feat are as follows:
• Toughness
• Combat Casting
• Improved Initiative
• Weapon Focus (longsword)
• Fiend Sight (but only if I take it twice)
• Extra Channel

So, what's good right now? What can wait? What's a trap option? Did I miss anything?

Please note that this is a PFS character, so keep PFS's level range and source legality in mind when making suggestions. Thanks!

24 people marked this as a favorite.

Now that folks have had a little time to peruse Ultimate Equipment, is there any new must-have gear for PCs? What items do you imagine most of your characters picking up from now on? Anything you think is a trap? What do you think you'll be seeing as a staple around PFS tables now?

Discuss!

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Since the other thread has gone all kinds of places, I wanted to start fresh with practical ideas. Let's start with a statement from the big man himself:

Mike Brock, Campaign Coordinator: "I am already starting to think on the best way to institute a GM feedback system that can be useful and actually work without embarrassing players or GMs, and where I and 5 star GMs have the ability to reach out to GMs and serve as a mentor of sorts to help them improve their GMing."

Okay, so we're looking for a feedback system for GMs. Requirements:
• Useful/actually works
• Doesn't embarass players
• Doesn't embarass GMs
• Grants the means for Mike and the 5-Stars (oughtta be a band!) to mentor other GMs

Let's make this thread helpful. To do so, let's do the following:
• Let's try to stay on topic (as fun as OT stuff can be)
• Don't bother with "we shouldn't have feedback" comments
• Don't bother with "we should have feedback" comments
• Stick to the "how". Either propose a general system, or even just one feature that might help with one of the aforementioned requirements.

Ready? GO!