Maxximilius's page

Thanks for the review, Endzeitgeist. I came several times a day on endzeitgeist.com since the pdf has been made available to see your review ! I'm sad you didn't like the execution, but rest assured I will issue an errata worthy of a Seal of Approval as soon as I have some time for me (getting a full-time job in-between an active social and sportive life has some petty disadvantages).

Just to clarify some things :

- since that was my first experience writing professionally a full base class, I sometimes didn't know which informations I had to put in myself ; I should have asked LpJr how the content would be treated before handing the final corrected version. Believe it or not, the public playtest document actually included both Hit Dice and progression tables, but I removed them since they were based on D20pfsrd.com format and I thought it would have been deleted to give place to a better-looking table made with professional editing software. Again, I should stop assuming and start communicating more as to know what I should exactly hand to my bosses.
- Level 18 is not so much of a dead level since you actually receive +1 BAB, +1 to all saving throws, 3 daily prototypes, and 1 more evolution point. The gap actually is a leftover bone from a time when the benefits granted by the symbiont were closer to an eidolon's abilities (think the Draker archetype), which improve considerably at 18th level. I understand how it rightly feels underwhelming though as it is now, and I will provide some cool candies to complement the class.
- The Host is based on an alchemist archetype I made two years ago for a friend, revised as to make a perfect fit for the Fleshwraith base class, using the experience I gained writing my previous supplements. The design intent was to provide a balanced synthesist-like character, and from your review I guess I was a bit heavy-handed with the nerfbat (reduced natural attacks/round, shared hit points and MAD were all intentional decisions based on the synthesist's major issues). Believe it or not, the Host is actually most probably the option in the pdf that in the end received the most feedback, playtest, and time going for it, and also why it feels so cutted down. I do get that the linear progression feels shoehorned and reduces options; and if there is something I don't like, it's shoehorning concepts.

Thanks again for the complete review.
I hope the upcoming errata will impress you enough to reconsider your judgment over this work, and I'm glad you loved my ideas yet again. :)

Well I don't agree with the logic behind ruling, but I was wrong. Not that it will imbalance anything considering it will only benefit suboptimal archetypes... and guys using a lance. Those are really, really nasty when well-done.

Thanks for the answer, Paizo !

Also, the fact that targeting touch AC isn't broken was beaten back and forth across the forum several times. If you think gunslingers are crazy, wait for a well built Archer Fighter or Paladin.

Who can do the same amount of damage. At any range. Without relying on an expendable resource (grit). And cheaper, too.

So much this. The whole "hitting Touch AC is OMG BROKEN CHEESE" really needs to die already.

It has been proven in more fashions than should be necessary, including before UC was finished, that guns are NOT broken and still remain weaker than already available options (archer, paladin, inquisitor someone ?).

Could you link that? I don't recall seeing it and I can't find it in the FAQ, where would it be?

Also, what then happens when someone wields the lance in TWO hands during a charge?

Jason Nelson on the RAI behind wielding 2Hded weapons in one hand (which you will recognize as the designer and writer of both the Titan Mauler and the Phalanx Soldier, the only ones able break the Core handleness limitations).

James Jacobs on wielding a lance in one hand.

Lastly, you seem to be confusing the rules in regards to inappropriate sized weapons vs hands on the weapon. To whit: a large sized longsword *is* a two-handed weapon for a medium sized wielder, whereas a medium sized longsword wielded in two hands is STILL a one handed weapon.

I'm not confusing the rules. It is clearly said you may wield a smaller two-handed weapon as a one-handed weapon, albeit at a -2 penalty, like the archetypes allow you to do by treating a 2H weapon as a one-handed weapon instead.

=> Core already shows us that a 2H weapon in one hand is not a 2H weapon anymore, and thus you don't get to deal damage as if using a weapon wielded in two-hands. Unless obviously you decide to wield this small, two-handed weapon which you treat as a one-handed weapon by gripping it as a two-handed, one handed weapon ; exactly like if using a Phalanx's or Titan Mauler's grip.

So, the damage from the horse charge...

F = 10M x A

So in our freindly example, a man weilding a lance one handed from horseback does 10 times more damage when he hits, than a man weilding it two-handed from foot.

As for logic, have you ever seen a lance charge?

Sure, D20 is a system known to provide F.A.T.A.L amounts of reality simulation.

FYI, a lance used by a 18 Str, 1st-level PA fighter would deal 1d8+6+3 = 1d8+9 damage, average 13,5. The same lance used while mounted and one-handed would deal 2x(1d8+4+2) = 2d8+12, average 21 damage.
Wielding it two-handed would deal 2x(1d8+6+3) = 2d8+18, average 27 damage.
Ho, now you spend a single feat and you deal 3x damage.
While mounted and one-handed, you would deal 3x(1d8+4+2) = 3d8+18, average 31,5 damage. Wielding it two-handed would deal 3x(1d8+6+3) = 3d8+27, average 40,5 damage.

With a single feat, you already deal more than 2,5 times your normal 2Hded damage despite using it in a single hand, and you most likely have a shield to gain durability, unlike the same fighter on foot, + 1 to attack rolls for being on higher grounds. THIS is how the lance is mechanically and thematically balanced over the guy using it like a giant rapier; not with some ridiculous mc^2 calculation.

Wielding a 2-handed weapon in one hand follows the exact same logic : you promote your 1d8 longsword to 2d6 and still retain your ability to wield a shield, meaning you deal 3d6 when enlarged and still have awesome AC... which is supposed to be the whole spirit behind the Titan Mauler if editing didn't neuter it to sheer, sad brokenness.

The reason to hit the FAQ button is "not knowing how a specific mechanics is supposed to be ruled because of too much contradiction or not enough information". And we already have:

- a RAW, core example ("wielding a 2H weapon undersized by one category is treated as wielding a one-handed weapon -2 for all purposes despite being a two-handed weapon"),
- a RAI, official ruling on a similar subject from a Paizo developer ("a lance wielded in one hand is a one-handed weapon for all purposes despite being a two-handed weapon")

... so there is more than enough matter to see that the RAI is clear enough about the fact that in PFRPG, a heavy weapon you can somewhat wield in one hand is always treated as one-handed, which should also strike you as the most logic interpretation. You already get a damage boost by wielding a two-handed weapon over a one-handed.

I don't see the need to waste the time of Paizo officials again on this matter.

It could only be my opinion, but I believe the whole reason a two-handed weapon is called a two-handed weapon is because everyone actually wields it in two hands.

If you wield a weapon in one hand, you treat it either as a light weapon if it is a light weapon or a one-handed weapon if it is one-handed or heavier and you somewhat have a way to wield it this way (Core example: oversized weapons, the only mention of such occurence in Core and pretty clear on the whole topic being a no-issue).

Also, it has been clarified (by Jason, I believe) that a lance wielded in one hand during a charge does NOT deal 1,5x damage as a two-handed weapon.

For players who'd like to play a Swashbuckler fighter, I have Talented Fighters, a variant using a mechanic similar to grit in exchange for the 1st level bonus feat and Bravery - they may improve their swashbuckling style by selecting for example one-handed-weapon and unarmed exploits in order to increase their combat efficiency. Stack it onto one of the duelist-like fighter options and go to town !

I also wrote the Bravo fighter archetype some years ago using similar Deeds mechanics, but right now it is obviously less polished and should be seen as a simpler, less versatile proof-of-concept.

If you wish for something more thoroughly tested and approved, Dreadfox games has the Swordmaster, dex-based fighter with pretty cool combat mechanics, highly rated by the infamous reviewer Endzeitgeist.

If you read the DB pistol's description, you'll see that they can only be double tap'd once per "action"; while a DB musket can be double tap'd once per "attack".
Considering the answer given by SKR when the book came out, I'm pretty sure this is intended so a single DB pistol can only be double tap'd once per full-round action, even if you can reload both barrels as a free action. Even then, it remains incredibly potent.

Pretty much, the only word the local GMs/VC will accept is a Paizo employ. Like Mike, Mark, Sean, Logan, etc....the Paizo dev team.

I am pretty sure the Pathfinder RPG Core Book is already the penultimate Word of God on the subject, and it is made very clear in said Holy Book that the only prerequisites of a sneak attack are the target being "flat-footed" or "flanked", with the rogue able to see or hit the target.

Rage saying you cannot take actions that require concentration does not change RAW, as sneak attack does not mention requiring concentration at all to put off, only an opponent who cannot defend itself properly.

If a rogue can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage.

...

The rogue must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. A rogue cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment.

I may be yet another irrelevant addition to the crowd, but if we are arguing that RAGE MEAN AM NOT HITIN WHERE HURT HAPPEN, I suggest the GM actually sees if raging mechanically reduces your chances to hit. Hey, maybe a raging barbarian shouldn't be able to aim a target and strike at all when raging, because after all logic dictates that fighting requires concentration... or maybe this reduced concentration is reflected by the reduced AC. You know, in the sense that a barbarian hits where it is painful, like the warrior he's supposed to be, at the expense of suffering blows, meaning rage only gets him to hit and be hit more often, meaning he will have no trouble hitting where it is painful, for example with a sneak attack.

You should also ask if a rogue can sneak a larger creature at all ("must be able to reach such a spot") because obviously rogues are OP, especially when multiclassed, so let's screw the minimaxing player who pulled it off.

I did look at the Gun Mage before. One of the problems I had with it is that it doesn't even a single simple weapon proficiency, "A gunmage only gains proficiency with one-handed firearms." Even wizards and sorcerers know how to use a couple melee weapons for emergency use. A gun mage couldn't use the dagger portion of a dagger pistol without a penalty as written.

That's a typo on my side and does not reflect the original intent; consider all archetypes as proficient with simple weapons in addition to what could be written in their weapons proficiency.

Heck, even vanilla wizards can wield them, I don't see why a magus would fail to do so.

The spell-storing bullets I found there makes for a more versatile Myrmidarch than the Myrmidarch itself. The Magus spell list just doesn't have that many useful ranged touch spells so giving him a way to use those melee touch spells at a range is nice.

You should check my Gunmage magus archetype in Part 2 of my Archetypes Document.

I also have a very interesting character dynamic for a tiefling paladin using your gun archetypes. He's going to be a schizophrenic Div-spawn (devil dad/cleric mother) who thinks he hears the voices of the Angels of Mercy and Death in his head. His alignment and powers change depending on which Angel is in control: Mercy makes him a Holy Gun and Death makes him a Hell Gunner. His weapon is going to change in appearance with his powers but functionally remain the same regardless of which form he's using. Which would you suggest: double-barreled pistol or double-barreled musket?

I wrote the beginning of this exact concept as a paladin variant (using both good and evil pistols because of a mixed heritage, Dante style) but I never got around finishing it, and I will surely not in the close future.

The double barreled pistol has the advantage of easiness to use and can be double-tap'd once per round even when fighting with two weapons; the double barreled musket has the advantage of sheer damage input (a deadshot critical hit with this weapon tears a new hole in the planet). Considering how hard it is to reload a two-handed firearm without being a musket master, and since you will aim for smite damage firsthand, I suggest the pistol.

I am accurate. You are quoting a passage which clearly says that if an archetype alters a class feature, then this archetype cannot stack with another doing the same. FYI, all archetype class features have a mention saying "This ability replaces X" or "This ability modifies X". If they don't, then this ability does not alter any of the base class's abilities.

Now please quote me the part where it says the qinggong powers replaces or modifies the appropriate class feature. Because the only relevant part in this argument saying something about this is the following quote:

A qinggong monk can select a ki power (see below) for which she qualifies in place of the following monk class abilities: slow fall (4th), high jump (5th), wholeness of body (7th), diamond body (11th), abundant step (12th), diamond soul (13th), quivering palm (15th), timeless body (17th), tongue of the sun and moon (17th), empty body (19th), and perfect self (20th). This replaces the monk class ability the qinggong monk gives up for this ki power.

The only thing being altered is "the monk class ability the qinggong monk gives up for this ki power".

If the monk does not give up this class ability ? Then this class ability is not altered in any way, and by RAW, another archetype may replace this class feature as normal.

I'm always ready to answer concerns about my work. ;)
I would advise against using some of these abilities as they are written, since they were not made for Paizo's rules. The "rifled" barrel for example is fine with Adamant Entertainment's firearms, but horribly broken for Paizo's (150 gp for a nonmagical Distance property ? I'm sold !).
A rifled barrel as I would use it would increase the price of a firearm by 50% and impart a -2 penalty to attack rolls.
"Everloaded" is fine, but shouldn't be necessary to a gun-fu master since they can reload without a free hand. At best it avoids suffering AoO for reloading in melee if you do not have the Deft Shootist deed. It may be a bit too weak for its price but it has potent advantages when needed.
"Guided" is broken IMHO. But since you will need both Wisdom and Dexterity in equal parts and you already add your Wisdom modifier to attack rolls with pistol whips, there is no reason to choose one over the other.

Since the damage of a pistol whip is equal to the unarmed damage of a monk of (your level)/2, a monk's robe does affect your damage: it allows you to deal unarmed damage as a monk of (your level+5)/2, in addition to the AC bonus.
A level 5 gun-fu master would deal 1d6 damage (as a level 2 monk); the same monk with a Monk's Robe (level 10 gun-fu master for unarmed strikes and AC only) would deal 1d8 damage (as a level 5 monk).

No, qingong alters only the class features you wish to replace, IF you wish to replace them. If you change only the class feature that no other archetype replaces, then it is legal.
We've been there a thousand times before, and it's the universal interpretation, including among rules lawyers. Paizo has never made a move to counter it, pretty much making the qinggong a patch for the monk intended to grant it more flexibility in sucky class features even with another archetype.

First thing, I love the archetypes in the guide. There's finally enough gun-related material between this and the other 3rd party stuff on d20pfsrd that I can run a game that is one part magic and one part Police Academy 4.

Thanks for the kind words Darkstar, I'm glad you find these rules useful. :)

I have not played a character with firearms in a campaign yet but I found the lack of support for iconic firearm concepts to be an inspiration for awesome new rules. (You may want to check the Handcannoneer I wrote for more black powder love !)

My question is regarding the Gun-Fu Master's Gritty Ki, specifically this line:

"...gritty ki counts as the gunslinger's Grit class feature for the purposes of qualifying for feats and deeds."

I get that you could get more deeds via feats and that part makes sense to the GFM. However, does this also give you access to the deeds a vanilla Gunslinger gets access to via level progression?

EDIT: Upon further examination of the current version and assuming an answer of "No" to my question, it looks like that the GFM can only gain a non-feat-only deed via Amateur Gunslinger, but only if it's taken at either 1st or 3rd level. Once they hit level 4, they no longer qualify for Amateur Gunslinger as they have a Grit pool. Was there any other intention for the Grit pool other than getting access to the Grit recovery for extra ki points?

This ability does not grant the "deeds" class feature, as such it does not grant deeds, just a pool of Grit. Gritty Ki has been written this way for three reasons:

- Thematic/Mechanic: Integrate the Grit mechanic without making it as powerful as a gunslinger's, and receiving it later (hence the limitation to Amateur Gunslinger). A gun-fu master may seemingly have a high amount of potential Ki points to fuel deeds or gun-based Ki abilities (those written in gritty ki's description and the qingong alternate list, way more flavorful and adapted to a gun user), but they must recover this Grit the hard way, and thus receive way less Ki points per day on average than a standard monk if they do not have the opportunity to recover grit !
- Multiclassing: Allow interesting multiclassing options between a gunslinger and a gun-fu master who wants to acquire BAB, deeds and grit as a gunslinger at the expense of his Ki powers and flurry.
- Expended compatibility: Allow a gun-fu master to use any other grit-related rules, meaning items, feats, class abilities that already exist. Since they do not have a class ability to repair their guns, they also fully benefit from gun magic items that are useless to a mid level gunslinger because they help avoiding misfires.

(As an aside, this archetype is a favorite of mine, just because it allows you to play a freakin' supernatural, tactical Grammaton Cleric in your Pathfinder !)

Thanks for this awesome feedback chaoseffect ! :)
The dwimmerleiks act as tide-turning powers requesting quick actions, as such the performance-ending effect is intended to balance their utility over their easiness to activate.
The peltast is awesome at opening an enemy to your group's heavy strikers - himself included if necessary, because hey, full level fighter, ignores some amount of DR, full BAB, combat maneuvers at range and thrown weapons providing bonus to next attack rolls ! You don't even need a magic weapon to be efficient... and considering the rules for thrown weapons, said magic weapon will not do much to improve your capability since it will only grant a benefit to a single attack per round. Throw your +4 returning javelin to open the guy to attacks, then spam your masterwork javelins in dat face and get your javelin back at the end of the round like a boss.
About the vicious Opportunist, it's simple: this variant definitely replaced the rogue AND the sneak attack ability in our group. Our guy playing a dirty tricks-based rogue is having a blast with his character.

Once again I ask YOU @Maxximilius - Do you have any build advice or characters that can be played with this obscenely low ability score or are you going to continue to derail and proclaim that it can't be done with this group and to continue to advocate running away from the group the OP loves?

The OP asked for character-building advice, and she already received this advice. Being a parrot is of no use, especially since she already built her character. By digging a bit, others found out her real issue with the upcoming game being the DM and granted more relevant advice in order to fight her problem at the source.

The OP didn't want a miracle, otherwise I would have granted this character-building advice too; or even better, I would have suggested they talk about this like mature people in order to have a blast despite the odd circumstances and prerequisites of her character.

Please tell me you don't actually believe this game has any chances to have a nice going for everyone in the party.

But again, since you seem to insist on my supposedly useless contributions: my advice is as valuable as that of any other people on this thread. The OP is free to follow or ignore it, which I would in my own consciousness consider a mistake. If you don't like it, you are free to ignore, flag, hide and/or move on instead of answering yet again to my useless contributions.

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We actually don't have any background by the OP on the rest of the group and how awesome they are. You are making assumptions and not helping at all with the lack of advice other than to "run the other direction and leave this group." That's not helpful to someone who wants to play in this group with the vast majority being close friends. So your argument is supposition and conjecture at this point when talking about the group as a whole.

Sure, I'm suggesting to leave the group as a whole, group described by the OP as fun and nice to be with. Which is probably why I wrote the following sentence just some posts ago.

=> Explain your reasons, which should be pretty obvious to anyone you play with, and get the f!~& out of this game. Invite the other players who appreciate your presence and take upon the GM role; even play a GMPC if you still want a character.

Also, I still like to believe my advice is as valuable as any other on this thread, especially considering I'm already on the majority of people suggesting the OP her problem lies not in her character. If you don't like it, you are free to ignore, flag, hide and/or move on.

Ah, yes. Self-mutilation and suicide are indeed the same sort of activity as a possibly awkward game session with an ex. How can we in good conscience possibly allow this fine person to play in a game that they want to play in when the DM is being douchey. I wouldn't let someone kill themselves, after all.

I would gladly point to you some definition about figures of speech using exageration in order to better make a point, but it's not in my customs to insult others's intelligence. Please keep this feeling mutual and civil.

So no, the reasonable answer here is to answer the ONLY question at hand - which the OP asked - and come up with some constructive means of playing a character with a 2 in its stat-block.

This kind of character requires an awesome group and constructive GM in order to be viable, the lattest lacking from what we've been told. All this theorycrafting and minimaxing which has already been done by other people and don't need confirmation by myself means nothing when the guy supposed to tell and direct the story is already hating your guts with a passion and arbitrarily putting sticks in your wheels.

You are not helping someone who wants a viable character if she does not even have a viable group to begin with. Playing a synthesist will mean she gets to play a character that can stand on its own on specific situations; that means the DM now has a character that he didn't want to be viable yet is standing on her own, and he will just have to wait one or two sessions for these specific situations to rise instead of screwing with her right in the first combat. That looks so much hyper fun and candy cool awesome.

So yet again I affirm it: the only way to play this character is to play it in another game. Whether the OP does not want to -actually- hear it is her problem, and I'm sure otherwise it will become obvious in due time.

If being able to hit touch AC is so important to you, it sounds like you realize how huge an advantage that is over everyone and everything else is the game. Be glad your GM allows for the gunslinger class and firearms at all, since those are completely optional. As for having something to look forward to, what about being able to add your dex mod to damage rolls? Then later, you can cause bleed damage equal to your dex mod. Even later you can cause an enemy to make a saving throw or die. For 1 grit point. That caster whos harassing the party, you can look at him and say, "Hey, make a fort save or die." If you dont' think the gunslinger is awesome and want to play it without the touch AC bit, I don't know what to say.

Duh, obviously that's important to a class designed around this mechanic. That's like saying to the wizard "oh hey that's cool and all but actually you'll have to put a stick in your enemy's face now instead of shattering reality" then asking him why he finds it is unfair.

- An archer already adds his Strength modifier to damage rolls, and receives one more damage roll per round at no penalty. His bow is silent, cheap and does not break when he rolls a 3 or less.
- Who cares about bleed damage when a single cleric in the opposite team can heal everyone and cast a spell in the same round ? Even then, that's one of the only great options of the gunslinger.
- You may want to specify that the death effect requires a CRITICAL HIT. You know, something that has 10% chances to happen and will most probably explode a puny wizard when cast from a +5 musket with Deadly Aim and 30 Dex at 19th level, for a measly 4d12 + 20(Mag) + 16(DA) + 40(Dex); 102 damage on a character with average (18x3.5 + 18x3)+6+18= 141 HP, assuming 16 Constitution and not even accounting for itterative attacks and Constitution-bleeding damage.

That's assuming the wizard can be hit at all too, considering wind wall or illusions are stupidly easy to land even before spheres of forces or cloaks of wind enter the game.

To the player that feels they are effectively being nerf'd, Dovanik, I understand your feelings. However, the touch AC has been a hotly disputed topic, and many feel it overpowered.

And much more people proved it isn't, this before the final class was even finally introduced. If we were to judge balance only on how it "feels", we'd have a hard time designing anything.

I've actually seen two mid-to-high level gunslingers highly optimized played, and they still got their asses handed over to them by the group's archer. Their only feature was a great regularity in their average damage, with the occasional awesome spike in damage when critting or misfiring.

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The thread has been derailed numerous times with people's personal opinions on the douchey way that the DM has treated the OP with whom he had a relationship with in the past. This has been covered and now we need to move past it as posters and try to answer the question on how build a viable character with a 2 in one of its stats.

The OP has also said that they WANT to play in this game that they really like the way the DM runs games and loves playing with the others in the group. The OP has stated that if their PC dies they do not get to roll up a new character and they cannot re-roll any of the stats. This is not OUR group and no matter our feelings on it, let the OP play in the game that they want to play in. Period.

So my whole point is even though I don't care for the OP's DM, please read the thread and keep to the topic at hand. Leave your personal feelings for the jerk of a DM out of it and try to actually offer constructive advice on this particular PC.

So if someone comes and explains he likes stabbing himself in the leg or in the forearm, but asks us what kind of tool he should use, answering "keen fork" or "rusty screwdriver" is more reasonable than saying "dude, wtf, just stop stabbing yourself" ?

As the OP has the "right" to make her own choices, I have the "right" (and as a fellow roleplayer in a community whose image suffers from this kind of dumb behavior - "duty") to point her to the most reasonable outcome for her problem.

I already read all the posts and I don't need someone to remind each again that we are "derailing" the thread.
The only damn reasonable answer here is to get the hell out of this mess.

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... like, seriously ?

The GM:
- imposes broken ability stats on you (still don't undertand how you got a 2, by the way...);
- tells you to suck it up and refuses a reroll if you die;
- excuse me: he refuses to let you KEEP PLAYING if you die;
- cannot speak about it like a mature being and seems to hold something against you in a more-than-passive-agressive way.

It's obvious he'll use the first opportunity in game to kill you just so you finally are out of the game. I guess he invited you only out of obligation in the eyes of the other players you're talking about ?

You are greatly delusioned if you even dare to believe you'll have the opportunity to have fun or game the system - HE is rolling the dice and creating the encounters behind the screen, not you. You may have a 20 or a 5 in each ability score, that will only decide how much the world hates your guts and how you will bleed hit points.
You don't "win" against a GM; he either makes a mistake, oversees something, or in the best of cases, lets you win after interesting stories and much suffering. Your sorry excuse of a GM doesn't seem like he has any interest in granting interesting stories nor letting you win.

=> Explain your reasons, which should be pretty obvious to anyone you play with, and get the f%@+ out of this game. Invite the other players who appreciate your presence and take upon the GM role; even play a GMPC if you still want a character.
You have NO chances to shine in the current game. I hope you like spending afternoons in a confrontational environment where anything you may attempt will fail miserably as if you are some sort or cursed black sheep, because that's what you will get.

Life is too short to deal with petty a~@~$&*s.

Note that a swift action is only usable once per turn. And, this will not allow you to do iterative attacks (only a free action would allow that).

A swift action can be used anytime you could use a free action - the only difference is that you can only use one per round.

Except if you are a Time Thief, I believe the right answer is "right now". ;)

Oh.

But we built pact magic archetypes for all of the core classes, and our next product adds archetypes for all of the base classes.

The idea will be to provide options for the Occultist base class... or more likely, in order to blend in with your apparent design intent and promote all your existing supplements, options that will be open to ANY character using pact magic. The "Renegade" line from Rite Publishing is dedicated to put 3PP classes under the spotlight in a spirit of collaboration.

I do believe The Secrets of Renegade Archetypes met quite a success and provided recognition, new fans and customers to the 3PP classes it promoted.
Obviously, I'll only include options for your work if you are ok with it. :)

Thanks Liz !
If you meet any difficulty with creating a character, do not forget the following informations:

- the Fleshwraith is an alternate class for the Machinesmith base class. As such, it has the same Hit Dice, BAB and Skill Ranks progression as a Machinesmith;
- You don't need to own the Machinesmith's PDF, as everything you need to know (character progression, what class abilities the fleshwraith replaces...) is available right there for free on d20pfsrd.com;
- For class abilities dealing with the "Race Builder" rules introduced in Paizo's Advanced Races Guide, or the Construct Creation rules, or 3PP spells... you'll find again everything you need with a quick search on d20pfsrd.com.

I hope you'll like it ! ;)

Glad I was able to help you !
If you have feedback or need more information to understand some part of the class, feel free to ask and I'll try my best to quickly answer your concern. :)

Hello Archcanni, I don't have a copy of the finished product yet to compare and check whether a full table of character progression has been added since the playtest or if there are clearer indications about how the Fleshwraith is introduced for character creation, but considering what you said, here are answers that may be of use to you:

- the Fleshwraith is an alternate class for the Machinesmith base class. As such, it has the same Hit Dice, BAB and Skill Ranks progression as a Machinesmith;
- You don't need to own the Machinesmith's PDF, as everything you need to know (character progression, what class abilities the fleshwraith replaces...) is available right there for free on d20pfsrd.com;
- For class abilities dealing with the "Race Builder" rules introduced in Paizo's Advanced Races Guide, or the Construct Creation rules, or 3PP spells... you'll find again everything you need with a quick search on d20pfsrd.com.

I hope it answers to your concerns and helps you creating an awesome character. :)

You say that now, but then you'll start to see people complaining about them on the pages' comments!

I've got +1 keen neurons to defend my spawn, nothing to fear !

Going through Endzeitgeist's Seal of Approval list on Endzeitgeist.com (I know there's actually quite a few missing), I've come up with the following classes:

Swordmaster by Dreadfox Games
Spellwarden from Headless Hydra's Mor Alderann Setting Guide
Vanguard (Revised) by Super Genius Games
Time Warden by Super Genius Games
Luckbringer from Rite Publishing's Secrets of the Luckbringer
Divine Channeler from Rite Publishing's Secrets of Divine Channeling

I'll have to see, but there are already some points for other Dreadfox Games classes. The Spellwarden and Vanguard, as good as they may be, seem like they may now already be done with other class options already available. I've done the Time Thief in the previous supplement and am already doing 2 classes from SGG, so the Time Warden is on my list but does not receive priority for the time being.

The Luckbringer and Divine Channeler have already been covered in The Secrets of Renegade Archetypes so they don't receive priority either.

FYI, right now, this is my current list of potential candidates:
- Elven Archer, White Nechromancer from 'Open Game Design' Kobold Press
- Shadow Assassin, Witch Hunter, Hellion, Time Warden from Super Genius Games
- Wolf Shifter from Wayfinder
- Swordmaster, Gypsy, Ritualist from Dreadfox Games
- Guttermage from 0one Games
- Occultist from Radiance House
- Gearhead from ICOSA Entertainment's Pure Steam campaign setting
- Fleshwraith from Louis Porter Jr. Design

I've got enough names. Since I already wrote some of them, I'll have to select the most requested and best reviewed ones for the final part of the list. Thanks for the suggestions everyone, keep looking for news in some weeks !

I hope you'll like it ! :)

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Oh hai again everyone !

Big, big update !

The time has finally come: thanks to Jreyst and the whole d20pfsrd.com community, all rules from The Secrets of Tactical Archetypes II are now available on d20pfsrd.com ! This supplement was the fruit of a collaboration between the awesome Will 'Cheapy' McCardell and myself, and was reviewed no less than "5 stars and the Endzeitgeist Seal of Approval" by the infamous Endzeitgeist !
You can find each archetype and its options in the list at the bottom of d20pfsrd.com's pages, under the class of your choice and in the Rite Publishing category (and under the tables detalling what archetype replaces which class feature).

As a reminder, here are the archetypes and their associated class you can find in TSoTA II:

Alchemist: Spellchymist a gifted resercher whose extracts take effect at range, emulating the spells of others.

Barbarian: Savage Tactician, pedagogue barbarians versed in the art of guerrilla warfare.

Bard: Umbral Weaver, a master at manipulating and listening to the forgotten secrets of shadows.

Cleric: Pious Sentinel, able to change the tide of battle by praying for their allies, and inspiring them with bursts of divine strategical insight.

Druid: Elementalurgist, focuses on the very building blocks that allow for nature's grandeur to aid his allies

Fighter: Peltast, specialized skirmishers and masters in the art of hurling weapons swiftly and quickly.

Inquisitor: Grand Inquisitor who focuses on his spellcasting and overwhelming presence to impart judgment and strike divine fear upon the unworthy.

Monk: War Scholar, Born-strategist, a war scholar's wisdom allows him to manage his troops with an efficiency that can reverse the most uneven odds.

Oracle: Aetherurgist, renowned for her ability to bind spirits to do her bidding.

Paladin: Purifier, militant healers who providing warmth, comfort, and health to the innocent.

Rogue: Vicious Opportunist who always seems to strike at his enemies at the best moment for maximum effect.

Sorcerer: Magilith, whose bloodline power is altered due to being born at a convergent point, or node of eldritch might.

Witch: Circle Warden, unities fellow creatures inside a ring of abjuration.

Wizard: Force Commander, who ees, and shapes, the world as a giant battlemap or chess board whose sole limits are the range onto which they can control a foe.

These are free and really cool. Be a cool guy too, read them today !

Hope you'll like them ! :)

Thanks for the hard work, Jreyst, that's awesome ! :D
Now I feel funny seeing my name among those of so much great designers who help me, my friends and thousands of people around the globe have crazy fun and imaginative escapades each week...

Any advancement on the Gearhead right now ? The class looks to me like the love child of Paizo's Words of Power, Louis Porter Jr. Design's Machinesmith and Adamant's Artificer... but without any of the Artificer's and WoP balance flaws. So, pretty cool !
If I may suggest some things:

- I would write "Accelerate" so it cannot be used in the same round as a full-round action, because as of now it is equivalent to a pounce ability, and I could see potential abuse with enough optimization and time. The other problem with balancing this ability with the haste spell is that haste is already an underrated spell. Sure, it balances the Gearhead with core spellcasters, but by doing so you accept that the Gearhead has the potential to -drastically- change the tides of a battle in ways that warriors will not achieve alone (especially since the effect can only be dispelled by another contraption, not an issue in a full steampunk campaign, but worth an exception in a sidebar for other campaigns).
- As it is really complex at first glance, the class would benefit from just a bit less fluff or at least, a summary of its abilities in sidebard or advertising blurb. Something simple and straightforward, explaining in few sentences the concept of contraptions, their possibilities, and how they are prepared piece by piece to fill the daily slots. It would complete the current avalanche of required crunch specifications and fluff that are a bit hard to integrate in a single reading.
- I am not offended by the 1/2 BAB. A lot of touch attacks and AoE devices make it a non-issue. Wizards are proficient with crossbows too but are obviously not the best at using them; I could see a class variant with weapon-attack-and-damage boosters contraptions, sentry turrets...

... and by the way, if you don't mind, when it is finally ready to go I'd like to see what could be done for the Gearhead in a possible future follow-up to The Secrets of Renegade Archetypes (a supplement promoting Open Game Content base classes from PFRPG 3rd Party Publishers by providing them with shiny archetypes). If the rules are awesome enough (and I damn try to always make sure they are !), I believe it could bring some more eyes to your final product. You'd be cool with it ? :)

Ah, indeed ! I missed it since I was only looking at the archetypes tables and not to the final listings. :)

As an aside, it'd be awesome to see The Secrets of Tactical Archetypes II on d20pfsrd.com !
I have been checking each week to see if it made it in d20pfsrd.com since a long time, and I've been teasing people following me long enough about it. Since Cheapy already asked me if I was ok with it at least one year ago, I believe my awesome co-designer is still ok with it too... so feel free to share the love ! ;)

@Jreyst/D20pfsrd.com: any idea about when the yet-openly unavailable classes named in this thread (the Death Knight from SGG; the Gypsy and Ritualist from Dreadfox Games; the White Nechromancer from Open Kobold Press...) could be expected to land on d20pfsrd.com ? Are they in the to-do list ?

I do miss the uttercold necromancer of 3.5 though. . .(hint. . . hint. . .)

Also, I'm not a fan of you doing archetypes for the paizo classes, I mean seriously, they get enough love as is. This is about the less supported classes. But that's my 2 cents, and if you do the paizo classes it certainly won't stop me from buying it.

Ah, indeed, I misread the first time. :) I'd have to see beforehand, since as Mr. Savage said it hasn't made it to d20pfsrd.com yet.

The undead commander IS a good concept...
I feel Paizo deserves an option since they were once a 3PP and today keep the OGL tradition, but I can only agree that Paizo already receives a lot of love. I'm keeping the paladin option on the bottom of the list - people interested by the alignment-free paladin just have to search "Divine Champion" on my profile for a link to the current version, it's there for free.

@Maxximilius -- Regarding more suggestions for archetypes:

1) Yep, I know this movie and enjoyed it enough to write this. ;) Enjoy, it's free !

2) If writting for the Elven Archer, a 20-level, full BAB arcane archer was my first design idea.
3) I've got really bad experience with this book, so sadly they are not to be expected.
4) I'm already keeping the Hellion and Shadow Assassin handy if there is space left in the final list. If you awesome guys at SGG have a preference for one of your classes... ;)
5/6/7/8) I feel like you may already play a bounty hunter without class options to be honest. The base class itself is pretty badass at its job. The Witch Hunter with appropriate traits and feats seem perfect for this. If it's a pure 3PP book, I'll avoid paizo base classes. Check this link for the divine champion, though it doesn't have orisons (you may replace the daily domain powers with orisons in the morning). Maybe in homebrew someday !
9) I'm stealing this idea for this bard option I've yet to find time to write. :)

My suggestions would be the White Necromancer from Open Design/Kobold Quarterly 19, a LN and CG Paladin, the Wolf Shifter from Wayfinder 5, the Guttermage from Urban Adventures: The Great City Player's Guide (0one Games), and a racial archetype for gnome barbarians (Rawr).

+@ ShadowcatX: Both the Death Mage and White Nechromancer are eligible as they are under Open Design...

... but I'd like to avoid thematic redundance if possible. I'll wait for the Expanded White Necromancer rules. ;) If Rite happens to publish a new base class soon, it shall receive love too.
I just happen to already have a variant handy for players who want paladins of any alignments (CG paladin of Cayden or Desna ? NE paladin of Zon-Kuthon or Asmodeus ? N paladin of Gozreh ? you name it !), begging to be refined and rewritten. I'm adding the Wolf Shifter to the list, and I'd like to see the Guttermage itself beforehand...
I'll avoid racial and psionic archetypes - racial options would tighten too much the audience, and while Dreamscarred Press support would be awesome, I sadly am not knowledgeable enough about psionics to provide good original content.

Right now we potentially have Dreadfox Games, Open Game Kobold Press, Wayfinder, 0one Games, Paizo and Super Genius Games as covered PFRPG publishers, to which I may add Louis Porter Jr. Design's through the upcoming Fleshwraith alternate class. Keep the suggestions coming !

@Piccolo: Peace dude, personally I didn't see any hostility in mplindustries's posts.

If the author of TSoRA is willing and able I am willing and able to publish it :)

I do believe said author is actually willing and able. ;)

Well guys and 3PP, if you want archetypes for specific classes, I think it's time to throw your requests and suggestions in my general direction.

=> @GM Elton: Challenge accepted (again) !

@ShadowcatX: Glad you loved it ! I wrote the news on my official thread when the finished supplement was put on Paizo, but it can be easy to miss among the monthly updates I usually post.

@Oliver Volland: Great suggestions there, especially for the two 3PP we haven't done yet... I'm putting these three on the list. You may keep suggesting things if you have others in mind. No promises, we'll see how the final list turns out. ;)

FYI, we'll start using and playtesting the rules this week-end for a guy of our group playing a lore warden fighter.
I'll post results once we have enough matter.

As an aside, for sheer dps I think an archer fighter becomes better at early 10's levels (snap shot tree, weapon specialization/training and ranged combat maneuvers are nothing to sleeze at); but low level rangers indeed remains better for a long time.

@gherrik: Thanks for pointing these out, I'll correct them later. Sincre english is not my main language I still tend to do these kinds of mistakes. :)

Rite Publishing wrote:

We have done 101 Renegade Class Feats and The Secrets of Renegade Archetypes.

My experience as a buyer: I love SGGs Witch Hunter. When I saw Rite offering support for it in the 101 'Renegade Class Feats' I bought it. I liked what I saw for my Witch Hunter, but my curiosity was also peeked with the other classes in the book. So I did buy the Armiger of SGG and 'The Secrets of Renegade Archetypes' by Rite, even if there is no Witch Hunter Archtype in it (which should be corrected soon!). Some other classes featured in both books are interesting me also now, so I think I'll try to get the Guttermage by 0one once I have some money again - and so on I guess.

So more crossovers would be greatly appreciated, even if its bad for my money pouch!

I hope you like The Secrets of Renegade Archetypes ! I put a lot of research, work, love and time into it.

For Witch Hunter archetypes, keep suggesting to the big boss at Rite how awesome having a TSoRA II would be, and who knows ?... ;)

No worries, I myself didn't have a better answer to your question since I had a lot of things to write on my own and admittedly, I don't know the 3.5 class your were referring to or psionics enough to be of good advice. My suggestion for a replacement to Inspire Competence + the pathfinderdb archetype could still fit the mechanics and flavor you want to get out of your character though.

Concerning Dazing Assault, if you've got any weapon with reach, trip and lots of attacks of opportunity (say, a two-handed lance or a whip), at this level you'll be raining attacks upon enemies closing range to get you or trying to get up... and we're talking about a lot of free attack rolls at your full BAB (even at -5) when it's not even your turn to act.
We had a trip-and-teamwork-feats focused TWF ranger + animal companion duo using this feat, and it wasn't pretty for enemies. The average DC is not an issue when you know at least one guy in a fight is statistically going to fail it. The conditions do not stack though, it's always "dazed for 1 round max", not that it's really an issue.

This is where I should back up and apologize. I understand that this is the homebrew section. And when I asked for help or suggestions brewing for one class recently, someone suggested I play another class. I suppose I was being petty.

If you are refering to your mind-reading bard archetype thread where I answered you would spare yourself the headache by playing an inquisitor, I apologize if you took it badly. When I design characters or rules I tend to see beforehand if what I write can already be done efficiently within the system, and it probably reflected in my answer.

By the way, about this specific point, I guess you could replace Inspire Competence with a performance made and maintained as a standard action reproducing the effect of Detect Thoughts centered on a single creature within 30 feet each round, targeting up to 1 more creature every 3 levels later.

And I think Dazing Assaut is a crap feat. Maybe you get one round in which they don't act. Give me a real debuff. Is it even clear if it's full round non action?

You may activate it on an attack of opportunity, meaning that if you have reach or even are able to land AoO regularly (Greater Trip, Broken Wing Gambit, Paired Opportunist, barbarian's Come and Get Me), you may lock for 1 round any character failing a saving throw, which they'll have to roll so often they will eventually fail. This feat is awesome.

Because I've had someone tell me something similar recently, if you want grit or ki, why don't you just play a class that gets it?

Because melee fighters need a little more candy to counterbalance their inherent weakness and some poor feats, and I personally love having an array of balanced and unique choices begging to be chosen.

Ki and Grit work well for their own classes, but do not allow for shield, swords, mauls exploits, nor do they do anything to help the fighter class itself. It does not mean the fighter deserves to receive powerful abilities to counterbalance; only nifty, relevant, limited tricks.
Glad you like them though :)

As for a few individual exploits, the Strong Impression exploit... why not the Intimidating Prowess feat so you can do that all the time, or did you mean that to help fighters who dump charisma?

Because this feat sucks and does something that I think shouldn't even be a feat, hence the exploit mechanic.

Same thing for Reach Breaker: readying an attack to touch the enemy's hand should not be a feat (or even the feat allowing you to bull rush a rider out of his mount with a braced weapon).
Note that these exploits are "circumstancial", meaning any fighter knows and may perform these abilities. They are only suggestions and are opened to imagination. In game, it would reflect as:

"DM: - The weasely thug refuses to let you pass, and keeps asking for some money while touching his dagger. He seems to be unimpressed by your looks.
Player: - Oh well. I have two exploits remaining for the day. I try to spend one to bulge my muscles so they appear much more menacing, and I use this opportunity to tell him "Move, shrimp." Come on, I have 22 Str and he looks like I can kill him in one round ! *Rolls 14 on d20, +6*
DM: - The thug reacts: "Woah woah easy there, I was just joking ! See ? I'm out of your way, no need to draw your sword." As you move, still looking him in the eyes, he whispers "Coward.""

An Improved Break Reach would be too powerful for an ability usable several times a day. You may already daze the guy with the Dazing Assault feat with a high BAB, or by using a sunder/trip/disarm combat maneuver instead of a normal readied attack.

Why the archery hate? Granted I probably will be shot for 'not doing the research' but you lose ammo, so it costs more, so DR penetration costs more... so they made a feat to fix that. Bows typically do 1d8 or 1d6 while melee weapons I see in use do 2d6 or 1d10 and benefit from strength and a half as well without...

I'm not here to belittle other people's opinions, nor is there "hate" toward archery - merely frustration from all people of our group and a lot of people online, including from players who played archers (mplindustries' testimony, one among a thousand). The nerf does not neuter archery, it actually makes archers potent instead of game-breaking. Archers still have the advantage of range, many others included in the document's analysis.

Here are some answers to your concerns:
- the price of arrows is not an issue if the price of bullets is not problematic to a gunslinger (and it isn't after 2nd level);
- dealing "only" 1d8 damage is not an issue when you actually roll a handful of them per round and there is a +XX behind each arrow, not even accounting for Gravity Bow spells or effects;
- TH combat may deal 1.5 times Strength bonus to damage, but dealing this damage regularly is totally another thing that is not an issue with an archer who will deal damage way more often for the difference between composite and TH melee to actually matter. With Point Blank Shot and Manyshot, you are actually dealing a base 2d8+4+(Str bonusx2) against enemies within 10 feet, so damage equal or higher to a same level TH fighter;
- the comparison to TWFing is there to show than Rapid Shot is basically TWFing on steroids, on a style that -does not need- so much love;
- the rock/paper style of D&D is kept with these alternate rules, especially since I'm a great fan of the Fire Emblem series and this probably reflects in how I visualize each role or style: archery deals damage often with precise strikes from afar and gets in trouble when engaged in melee, big weapons deal big damage at the cost of AC and vulnerability to ranged attacks, shields improve your AC and group utility at the cost of damage and feats, one-handed weapons can be wielded in more situations and are easier to wield and protect, etc.

EDIT: Not even including the fact that if we want to go the "weapons replaced others because they were more efficient" way, then all D&D characters should use firearms, bows should be exotic weapons wielded by guys who are already dead if you ever get within 10 feet of them, and crossbows would pierce anyone with a full-plate.

This variant to archery even gives some more incentive to use crossbows at close range - which cannot be a bad thing for these poor weapons.

That's the current amount of exploits unused in your pool. Thanks for pointing it, I made it clearer in the document.
So at 4th level, if you spend two days training and perform no exploit, you would have 2 exploits remaining in your pool. With Efficient Healing, any healing effect (potion, cure spell, Heal check, night of sleep, etc.) would cure you an additional 2x your exploits remaining in hp, so a cure light wounds potion would for example heal 1d8+1+4 per use.

This exploit is especially thought for gritty campaigns where you have few but difficult battles and healing abilities are scarce (or if you possess no real healer in the party).

Note that some exploits may replace similar but really poor rage powers if you wish to play a barbarian, in which case I suggest a "once per rage at the cost of 3 rounds of rage" instead of "once per rage"; for example the Endure exploit and the Renewed Vigor rage power !