King.Ozymandius's page

baalbamoth wrote:

Controlling Powergamers in Pathfinder

Rule #1: Only one Archetype in your build. You can also only multiclass into at most two base classes (not counting prestige classes).

Rule #2: No Leadership, no Style feats, and no races from the ARG with more than 13 race points.

Rule #3: Look over the Paizo forums. If what you're trying to do is hotly debated as something that might or might not be rules-legal, DON'T DO IT.

Rule #4: For the sake of streamlining combat, no necromancer-based characters, and only one combat pet (AKA only one companion that fights with you) in any given fight. You may also want a limit to the number of summoned creatures at once.

Rule #5: No stat lower than 8 (AFTER applying racial bonuses). This is one of the best ways to curb min-maxing. With a 20-point buy, it'll even out very well.

Finally, Rule #6: If the DM thinks you're going nuts, he/she has the right to help you redesign your character (keeping the same concept, but curbing the crazy abilities a bit.)

THIS. Plus also Rule #7: No Ability Score Boosting magical items at all (though temporary spells for boosting Ability Scores are probably OK). No purchasing magical belts that grant +6 to Strength while worn, for example.

For a perfect example of why Corporations should never be treated as people, look at Shadowrun. That is all.

Desna, Cayden Cailean, Iomedae, and Sarenrae.

Barbarian / Bard / Eldritch Knight worked very well when I was playing in the Serpent's Skull AP :) I started my character as Barbarian for 2 levels, then Bard for 8 levels, and took Eldritch Knight after that... that character remains one of my favourites :)

Check out the Dungeonscape alternative class features for Ranger. One of these is exactly what you are talking about here. :) Admittedly, it replaces the tracking feature, but.

Ozymandius
King of Kings

Educated is a similar feat, which grants +2 for 2 Knowledge skills, and makes all Knowledge skills class skills. Gift of Tongues is another, which makes Decipher Script and Speak Language into class skills. I would prefer not to see these kinds of Feat removed from Pathfinder.

I've actually beefed the +2/+2 feats up in my games: the skills in question also become class skills. So, a Fighter who takes Magical Aptitude gains +2 for Knowledge:Arcana and Use Magic Device, and those two skills are considered class skills. Otherwise, I also find that these feats are ignored, which is a pity as they do add flavour and difference to characters.

One player of mine, who almost always plays Human Fighters, took Magical Aptitude at 1st level as a result for his PC in Heirs of Uskevres, which came in real handy for the players at several times during the game: he saved their collective butts at one point by wielding a Wand of Lightning Bolts, which an ordinary Fighter could not accomplish.

King.Ozymandius wrote:

The Players Guide and Adventure Path of Rise of the Runelords say that the domains Desna can grant are Chaos, Good, Liberation, Luck, and Travel.

These are the correct domains, and will be correct in the hardcover campaign setting. (I'm gonna go double check that RIGHT NOW in fact.)

Excellent! :) Desna is my personal favourite Goddess in the setting, even though I'm currently the GM, so, thanks!

Ozymandius!!!!

You officially have the greatest avatar name on the Boards.
Don't know if your new here, but welcome.
You gotta show Kruelaid.

** spoiler omitted **

-W. E. Ray

Thankyou :)

I have been lurking awhile, started posting earlier in the week, am so far profoundly impressed with Paizo and the quality of their products.

Cool, thanks!

The Players Guide and Adventure Path of Rise of the Runelords say that the domains Desna can grant are Chaos, Good, Liberation, Luck, and Travel.

The newly released Pathfinder Gazetteer contradicts this, saying on page 60 that her domains are Chaos, Good, Liberation, Luck, and Protection.

I am tempted to tell the PC in my test campaign that both are true, that her domains are Chaos, Good, Liberation, Luck, Protection, and Travel. But to keep my testing valid, I am wondering, which is correct? Which will be included in the final form of the campaign setting? Does anyone know? :)

King.Ozymandius wrote:

I agree with this completely. Also, from memory, the Concentration skill was the skill that Rogues could take advantage of when working on opening locks or disabling traps while battle raged around them. It wasn't just for spellcasters.

Concentration was used when a rogue was hit when using one of those skills in a battle.

I never saw it used for non-spellcasting (or psionic) area actually with the exception for a warblade who had a couple powers that used it.

I play Rogues from time to time and I clearly remember that I got hit while trying to disable a trap once and the GM got me to roll Concentration to avoid having to start again. The 3.5 rules clearly state that this is a valid use of the skill, which surprised me, and I then put skill points into it. :)

So, yes, Concentration is not just for spellcasters.

The 2 things I would change currently:

1. The Arcane bloodline for the Sorcerer should, in my opinion, have all Knowledge skills as class skills, and more Wizardly bonus feats. As the description of the bloodline indicates Arcane Sorcerers come from Wizardly families.

2. Give the Paladin and the Ranger 0 level spells and remove the different spell lists. They are essentially minor clerics and druids of their deities in my opinion, with essentially the same training in spellcasting, just not as skilled or as powerful as actual clerics and druids. [As a side note, Rangers should be able to learn Druidic as a bonus language in my opinion, for the same reason.]

Honestly, at the moment the main thing I would change about Pathfinder is:

Concentration and Spellcraft. Bring back Concentration as a skill, keyed to Constitution. It's integral to Psionics and Tome of Battle, and making it a skill keyed to CON makes it a skill that no one caster type has an advantage in. As a result, get rid of Spellcraft. Roll the abilities of Spellcraft (and Psicraft) into the associated knowledges: Identifying an arcane spell requires Knowledge (Arcana). Divine spell? Knowledge (Religion). Psionic power? Knowledge (Psionics). Maneuver? Knowledge (Tactics) or (Local) or something. It's still keyed off of the same attribute (INT) and it means that priest classes are more likely to identify the magic of the gods, arcanists are more likely to identify wizard magic, and psions are more likely to identify psionics. It makes a whole lot more sense.

I know that's how I'll be houseruling it, even if the Beta doesn't fix it.

(Bear in mind, I haven't had a lot of playtesting to speak of, so there may be something else that I hate more, but this is the main thing that bugs me as of right now.)

I agree with this completely. Also, from memory, the Concentration skill was the skill that Rogues could take advantage of when working on opening locks or disabling traps while battle raged around them. It wasn't just for spellcasters.

I have recently been playing an actual Silver Dragon, using rules published in a 2004 issue of Dragon magazine, where the dragon is very young and roughly equivalent to other player characters in terms of power. Silver Dragon is the class and my GM tells me multi-classing will not be possible until about 12th level, which seems fine.

I have been surprised by how much fun this has actually been, and am wondering if there are plans to have something similar in Pathfinder?

I've read Mike McArtor's Pathfinder article about Dragons now, and it's good: the part about interbreeding of the draconic lines could be adapted to result in what I have in mind. Dragons with gold, red, and black camouflage stripes could be the result of interbreeding between dragons of the appropriate heritage. :) Good stuff!

One of the things I would like to see in Pathfinder RPG: removal of the convenient 'colour coding by alignment' for Dragons. Make them striped for camouflage like tigers, like the Dragons in the novel Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly, which was the best novelisation of Dragons I have read, ever.

The Sorcerer class is good, but as the Cleric and Wizard classes can cast an unlimited number of orisons/cantrips each day, I would also allow that for the Sorcerer. With the limitation that, unlike the Cleric and Wizard, the Sorcerer couldn't change their prepared cantrips.

Having now played in an actual session with the new skill rules from Paizo, I don't mind them and I retract my former post about retaining skill points. The new rules work fine and it is simpler to create a character.

I like the new list of skills (especially Search, Listen, and Spot all being rolled into Perception plus Move Silently and Hide being rolled into Stealth), but as a player, my slight gripe is that the loss of skill points has reduced fine motor control of skills.

For example, in D&D 3.5, I often spent skill points on Knowledge skills so that I had 1 rank in things like Knowledge: Dungeoneering, regardless of my actual class. Just the 1 rank, but it meant I had a d20 check, a chance to recognise things like oozes. Saved a PCs life more than once, and in one case, saved the whole party of PCs.

Under the new system, I can't do that. It's all or nothing. SO, I'd prefer to keep the new list of skills, but have skill points to spend on them in the old way...

Conan d20 had a good idea, too, in that it allowed you to spend bonus points from high Intelligence or being human on any skill you liked, regardless of class.