Mike J's page

<sarcasm>
Wow! All you guys are playing it all wrong. It is GM vs. players - bring your best monsters and watch them crying like babies. This game isn't about having fun, story telling, role playing or companionship with good friends. It is all about the vicious beat down!
</sarcasm>

To be serious, there is an important issue being raised. Where is the balance and how do you deal with character death? Reading some posts, I wonder why track hit points if you are going to make death meaningless and let players just make clones (or improved characters). On the other end is a complete disruption of the CR system and game balance having level 1 and 20 in the same party. As a GM, I struggle greatly with this issue and have yet to find a "good" answer. Really, this issue only exists until level 8 when Raise Dead makes the issue moot. But until then there is a serious problem.

The OP's specific situation is a metagaming issue that should be handled with a talk. If the player can't get behind a character, maybe they need to find a like-minded group.

Pathfinder Monk: A class that struggles mechanically to live up to its ideal.

RPG Monk: Jet Li & friends - no armor, no weapons, small stature, but totally dominates in hand-to-hand combat using skill, not magic.

I agree that the Monk's issues are entirely mechanical.

I house rule something very similar in my games: Paladin align can be any Good and they pick a domain of their deity to be their chosen "cause" (no benefits, just the concept of the domain). Basically, they become the champion of that cause and their code of conduct and associates are loosened to allow anything that doesn't directly oppose their cause. So, the Paladin can participate in a wider range of party activities without be sent on a "shopping mission" any time the party decides to bend the laws. Of course the chosen domain must make sense. An example would be a CG Paladin who is the champion of Community. I think it makes for some more interesting holy champions and sidesteps the more literal interpretations of the RAW restrictions.

Of course, if your group is already flexible on how they view the Paladin, no change is necessary.

If the persistent enemy is predictable (is known to show up at a given place and time), have the party hire a squad/platoon/battalion of min-maxed Archers or even Gunslingers. One volley should do the trick no matter what the BBEG's CR is.

A less conventional approach is abuse of the Leadership feat to create an army of 1st level Wizards who each create a scroll of Magic Missile. Then at some later time, they all use their scrolls against the enemy. While I wish this was my original idea, it is not. I saw it in another thread here. However, it is some seriously stinky cheese.

As a GM whose first words at the start of every new campaign is "Leadership is banned", I did my best to read the original post with an open mind. And I think that the OP's methods would prevent many of the potential problems associated with Leadership. But where does it end? Might as well hand out pregen characters if you are going to start making decisions on what choices players should make regarding their characters, or how to play aspects of their characters. Animal companion, eidolon, familiar, cohort, summoned monster: why take control of one and not others?

I'll agree that it can be made to work. Probably with lots of work, arguing, hurt feelings, mistakes, blown game sessions, and who knows what else. For what? So a player can struggle role playing two characters when I'm betting they have trouble with one? Is all the potentially lost game time worth it to everyone involved? Seriously, what do the other 4 or 5 PCs at the table who don't take Leadership gain from all this while they watch the endless arguments over the cohort's details?

Sorry, this is why I ban it and will continue to. Three words, a few disappoints looks and we can all get down to actually gaming. It just isn't worth the cost of trying to make it work.

I ran a game from 8th up through 15th and the party had no full casters, just mostly melee types. At the end it was quite doable, but became problematic.

First issue was the level of skill required by the players and the overhead of managing a character with so many options. In many cases, a lot of viable options were never used by the players because they had too many special abilities to choose from.

The second biggest problem was the speed and pacing of combat which ground to a halt. It took most players several minutes with a calculator to resolve their turns (the Monk was the worst with all those attacks) and there was lots of recalculation due to forgetting a bonus or three. Also, the number of interrupts grew exponentially. We had a tripping fighter who made a mess of combat because of the attacks of opportunities and the complexities of resolving them all all during his "turn". It got to a point where everyone should have been using macro-enabled excel spreadsheets to assist them in resolving their attacks.

As GM, I was no better trying to effectively play several monsters that were loaded with nearly countless options. It often took me several minutes to plan out the monster's turn.

Last was the difficulty of balancing things. One wrong or right move by either side would end the encounter. This was made worse by the first problem. Far too many encounters were speed bumps or TPKs.

I didn't like it much, but it is certainly playable. It just presents a new set of challenges for the GM and players. I expect it isn't for everyone, but it can certainly be done.

I generally hand-wave the encumbrance changes due to coins as the party gains and spends their gold. However, in extremes (the giant pile of copper), I'll force the party to address the issue - no calculating or anything like that, but they can't just walk out with it.

I'm pretty strict on encumbrance at character creation and when dealing with those characters where encumbrance is a real issue (Rogues, I'm looking at you). Some of my players tend to run their characters right at the limit - one more feather and they start taking AC penalties and losing the use of abilities. For them, encumbrance is a constant issue, but it is their own fault. If they left just a little cushion (say 5 lbs), I'd hand-wave most situations.

I don't bother with the space aspect unless the players try something ridiculous. "You want to put the carcass of that Gargantuan creature in your belt pouch?"

Several other people have suggested this - keep play to low levels and very slow on the XP progression. E6 is just a variation on the concept, but the idea is the same - play at lower levels. The advantage to going with this approach is that you can continue to use the CR system and everything will remain as balanced as it is in the full game. All you end up doing is loping off the craziness of the higher levels.

However, if you start messing with the numbers and how they progress, you will not be able to rely on the CR system as a guideline for game balance. That is a ton of work (I've tried it) and gets very tedious. Also, each time you make a mistake, it can have a profound effect on the game experience. There are only so many "Oops, sorry" TPKs a party will endure before they decide to find another form of entertainment.

Do yourself a favor and stick to low level play (E6 or otherwise). Don't rewrite the game. I'm guessing your players probably want to play Pathfinder (a game they know) rather than Ninjariffic's Custom RPG Game System(TM) (a game they know nothing about).

I'm with AaronOfBarbaria on this one. My players would claim that I include plenty of random encounters. In some games, I even go through the motions of rolling dice and "checking" charts to see if they encounter something. But ultimately, every encounter is carefully planned out in advance. Nothing kills a game session like too many pointless random encounters when the GM's dice make it so.

I think the Pathfinder Society and its members would be entirely unlikable if encountered in the real world. They are a bunch of elitist jerks who turn a blind eye toward anything that doesn't fit with their greedy, selfish agenda.

Off Topic: The more troubling aspect is the unbelievability of the Society missions. If it were limited to spelunking in dangerous desolate places that no one wants to explore, it would be somewhat believable - they fill a niche. However, despite having standing armies, powerful spell casters, and vast resources, not a single nation can get through a day without the involvement of 4 - 6 low level Society members who could care less about the mission and just want their fame and loot.

Someone stole that old lady's purse. Oh no! Forget the City Guard and the local High Wizard, only those selfish, greedy bastards at the Society can recover it.

Anything with a CR that is 5+ greater than APL.

A Goblin with 7 levels of Warrior will scare the crap out of any 1st level party right before it TPKs them.

A more serious answer is: It depends on the party facing the monster. A CR 8 Nabasu Demon will have a field day against a group of fighters by using Mass Hold Person. That same ability is mostly a joke against a group of paladins, clerics, and monks.

Likewise, a Red Dragon can be nasty against almost any party. Except the one that has Resist Energy (fire) and Protection From Energy (fire) up on every party member...

Personally, I think PFS and home games are like chess and checkers - they both use the same board, but are entirely different games.

In a home game, depending on how you play, you may need no social skills at all. Your group can choose to ignore many of the rules regarding social skills and let role playing take over.

All of my PFS experiences have been 100% roll play. A well roll played interaction gets reduced to "make your Diplomacy check". Saying "I say some stuff" also results in "make your Diplomacy check". A party without a "face" in PFS is like a party without a damage dealer - you've got nobody who can reliably make the necessary dice rolls to resolve the situation. But even in PFS, more than one character with "face" skills is generally a waste. The catch is that you don't get to pick who sits down at the table.

In my custom games, having a solo encounter at the end of a string of encounters works really well. I don't do it every time or even most times. However, it works because the string of lead-up encounters are designed to eat up the party's resources, making the solo monster a viable threat. I also don't allow my players to rest before they really need it by having "wandering" monsters interrupt their rest or by repopulating the "dungeon" when they return perhaps even with reinforcements. My players know it is not worth resting until the party is completely spent or all the bad guys have been defeated. Also, I'm tailoring the encounters specifically to the party.

Published adventures are an entirely different story and I agree that largely solo encounters simply don't work. Sure, a savvy GM can make it work, but "low-tier" GMs seem to go hand-in-hand with published adventures, especially PFS adventures. Too many times the PFS GM is the guy who drew the short straw or lost at rock-paper-scissors and is stuck being the GM (not necessarily the most qualified person).

No matter who the GM is, I think the problem with published solo encounters is the author/encounter creator has no idea what the party makeup will be. And it is nearly impossible to pick a single monster that will present a proper challenge to any combination of 4-6 characters played by people who range from die-hard role-players to min-maxing munchkins.

The GM's "house rule" does more than just nerf spell casters and ranged combatants, it basically eliminates the benefits of a 5-foot step, especially if the monster/NPC in question takes Following Step and Step Up and Strike. That is going to kill martial characters above 6th level, when they gain iterative attacks and are doing the "5-foot step shuffle" for positioning while making full attacks.

My answer to this for a wizard/sorcerer would be nothing different than "normal" - good positioning to avoid melee and Vanish cast defensively when the excrement hits the rotary oscillator. DC 17 isn't that bad, especially at level 3+. A bonus is that most things will have a difficult time following as you walk away (+20 on Stealth checks), so you buy at least another round before the offending monsters is in your face again. If the GM also metagames, then this (and just about everything else) won't work. However, it is a cheap solution (1 x 1st level spell) that is useful in many different situations.

If it were me, I'd be looking for a different GM to game with. I generally support house rules and rule adjustments to make a better play experience for everyone - those that favor the players or pinpoint specific problem areas. This kind of sweeping change, unless extensively play tested, is just asking for trouble.

I don't think DPR as I've seen it used on these boards is very meaningful anywhere but on these boards. If you are going to have a contest of who can build a X Level character with the highest damage output, DPR is a critical measurement.

In an actual game, the DPR number isn't that important. At least until the DPR for the group is terribly low - then it is a critical factor. At the end of the day, a group's DPR is what kills the monsters and ends the encounters. You can mess the monsters up with spells and effects, but eventually they end and you still have to actually kill the monsters. If the party can deliver more DPR than the monsters (relative to each others hit points), the party survives. If not, the GM gets a "win" and everyone goes home sad. So, it is a good consideration when building a party or when building a damage dealing character. Otherwise, not so much.

Wyrd_Wik wrote:

As others have posted rpgs are about not only the individual characers but the group. Some people have the time, inclination to pour through the rules and squeeze every last drop out of it others don't as simply they are more casual in their approach. I'd say as long as each of these players can work together in a group it should be fun. The problem starts when either the 'powergamer' feels the rest of the group isn't up to their 'standard' or the others feel the powergamer gets all the glory. Overall good DMing is a lot of being able to read the group and tailor the game so everyone enjoys the time they have. That and also being upfront about what type of game they are running (e.g. horror themed, over the top wuxia etc.).

And this is why I hate PFS. Or really most organized play.

The GM has next to no narrative control. They can't tailor a game to the tastes of the group they can't even tailor it to their tastes. It's tailored, prepackaged, and worse the group can change from one week, or month, or whatever to another.

It's no wonder people over optimize at times and get accused of munchkining when their character overshadows another. They're trying to play to see how the story turns out (which they have little to no control over)while the other guy is trying to immerse into it.

Off Topic: Organized play can be even worse than that. If the scenario happens to include elements that make the game agonizingly boring for the particular group, the GM really can't make any adjustments. You are stuck with the scenario and if the individual PCs at the table form a group that doesn't fit with the scenario, it will be 4 hours of fun, fun, fun for everybody.

Back On Topic: I personally hate the term "Power Game". It is a negative label that is attached to anyone who builds a character that is good at what they do. Frankly, if you don't "Power Game" (by that definition), I think you are playing the game "wrong" by building ineffective characters which is as bad for the group and play experience as the munchkins who try to marginalize everyone else.

Most of the combats I've run and played in had about 3 meaningful rounds. They lasted about 6 rounds total, but one or two at the beginning and the end didn't have much going on.

The exceptions usually included some kind of special situation, like a flying dragon that strafes the party round after round until they figure out what to do with it. Or situations where several of the party members are ineffective (wizard vs golem, melee vs flying, etc.) Or where the monsters had some kind of healing.

Just my own take on this: I usually put monsters in one of three categories. Mindless (usually undead), Highly Motivated, and everything else.

The Mindless don't know to stop (mindless, duh). The Highly Motivated will act based on other motivations "Those pesky PCs foiled my last plan..." or "must...eat...now!!!". The rest will generally use survival instincts. Even the dumbest of animals knows to stop fooling with the dead/unconscious thing while there are still threats. There is also the question of can the monster even tell the difference between dead and unconscious in 6 seconds or less while in a battle for its life? In most cases, I think not.

There is also the meta aspect to the question. Regardless of how one may choose to play the monsters, there is the larger question of killing in general. If the party has fairly easy access to Raise Dead, etc. then kill away as death is merely an inconvenience. But there are some serious concerns if the party is say 5th level (too high to have a 1st level replacement PC, too low for Raise Dead). If you allow replacements of equal level (more or less), there isn't much penalty to death - the PCs just roll up a clone or something new. If you don't, you basically kill the game since now there is someone running around who is 4+ levels away from the rest of the party. I struggle with this question more than the one on how to play the monsters.

This topic is exactly why certain spells and abilities are really unsuitable to be used against PCs, especially PCs in organized play games. The "Pit" spells just get nastier and nastier as they go up in level as does their depth, duration and Climb DCs. Much like Stinking Cloud, the spell is an "encounter killer". If applied to players often enough, it can cause "Lonely GM Syndrome" where nobody wants to play in your games because watching paint dry would be more fun.

My snarky answer to the OP is "Get up, hit the bathroom, go get a snack and see if you can catch a quick Magic The Gathering game or something. By the time you get back, you'll be out of the pit."

More seriously, anything that involves climbing is going to end up pretty much taking you out of the fight. No matter how well you can boost your climb check, you are still climbing at 1/4 speed (1/2 speed at best). In which case, might as well stay wait for the duration to expire unless the pit is doing damage.

Thanks. That sounds like what they were saying I should do. I didn't think to look on the product page.

It is about the scenarios themselves and to who ever decides their balance, what elements are included, how they are balanced, etc.

I've already provided feedback to the appropriate Venture-Officers/GMS. They encouraged me to give my feedback directly to paizo.

Is there a way to provide direct feedback (aka not a post on the message boards) regarding Pathfinder Society? I looked around the site, but couldn't find anything. Thanks in advance.

If you can ignore the prerequisites (like Ranger and Zen Archer can), Improved Precise Shot is probably one of the best. Ignoring cover and concealment except for total on each is sweet. Basically, if you can see it, you don't suffer a penalty or miss chance. However, most of the awesomeness is in getting the feat 5 levels before everyone else.

If you have a party that will work with you and the PCs are 6th to 10th level, you can destroy Gunslingers with a Ranger or Zen Archer (or with any class that can get Improved Precise Shot and ignore the +11 BAB prerequisite). I'm assuming you'll of course max your Touch AC with the usual stuff and new goodies like the Amulet of Bullet Protection and the Bullet Shield spell. I'm also assuming (and this is a big one) that the cover rules are being applied correctly - something most people get wrong.

The tactic is simple: stand behind your party and start to pin cushion the gunslingers. Both sides have soft cover because of your party (and your party should position themselves to create this). The trick is that you ignore all cover except Total Cover and all concealment except Total Concealment. So, you're making full-attacks with no penalty while they have to position (no full-attack) and/or give you +4 AC due to soft cover. The key will be good execution (aka positioning) by your party to create the disparity.

My first thoughts when I read this was either the PCs are extremely high level (Boots of Flying) or are expending lots of resources (spells and potions).

The very high level solution is rather easy - use level appropriate monsters and level appropriate tactics - what high CR monsters doesn't have a hiding place or safe haven nearby? High CR monsters tend to have very nasty abilities that work if you are flying, falling, on the ground, underground, dead, undead...you get the picture. Also, against ranged attacks, DR is your friend (especially DR/-). DR 20/- is my personal favorite.

The easy low level solution is more encounters per day and make the first 3 or 4 weaker and a turkey-shoot for a flying group. Let them waste their resources wiping out the poor Orcs from above. Then in encounter #4 when they've used up their resources, make up for it with a high CR encounter. Heh, even better if it includes flying creatures like a dragon.

No matter what, as already suggested, play the whole thing out with every boring detail and dice roll. It may make for some really horrible game sessions, but the players are choosing to make it that way. Also, start enforcing all of the flying rules including altitude, rates of ascent and descent, turning. Make the entire experience an exercise in minutia and record keeping. Players really love that (NOT!). You may find their love of flying will fade if it becomes a chore.

I could be wrong on this, but I think for an "on command" item that produces Darkness, the cost of the item is 24k (spell level (2) x caster level (3) x 2,000 gp x 2 for 1/min per level duration spell). If the item works only once per day, the cost drops to 4,800 gp (24k/5)and I expect the duration would be 3 minutes. Each additional daily use will increase the price by 4,800 gp. Keep in mind that the formulas are a general guideline and other factors can influence price.

Darkness can be very powerful (total concealment) against the right foes. Having to pay 24k to have that on demand doesn't seem all that crazy to me. Granted, it is irrelevant to most of the monster types out there...

I think the current incarnation of Antagonize isn't necessarily broken, but it will still be banned at my games. Here's why:

It has nothing to do with the wording of the current feat or any future wordings. My printed copy of Ultimate Magic and my players' printed copies of Ultimate Magic all present Antagonize with the "old" broken wording. Also, most (if not all) of the pdf copies of Ultimate Magic in my group also have the broken wording. So, I keep the feat banned to prevent the in-game, rules-lawyering, yelling, screaming, and crying argument that will come from allowing the feat and then trying to enforce the current wording when nearly every "official" source supports the broken wording.

In a nut-shell, I don't want to spend hours of game time arguing over it when that time could be spent actually playing the game. It would not surprise me if other GMs are doing the same thing.

In general if you want a balanced encounter, regardless of whether you want it to be hard, easy, or somewhere inbetween, you should NEVER have a single opponent. That goes one of two ways, either it is overwhelmed by the action economy (4+ vs 1) or it is so powerful that it is far too much of a threat to any single party member.

If you want a higher CR threat add MORE monsters, not one bigger badder one.

This.

While many parties can regularly handle encounters where CR = APL +2 or +3 (adjusted for party size), there is a very narrow CR window for each individual monster in the encounter. If the individual monster's CR is 2 below APL, it will be a joke (literally can't hit the PCs, excpet on nat 20). If the CR is APL is 3 above, prepare for a TPK (to hit chance is 75%+ and damage is 50% of a PC's max hit points or more).

If you stick to building your encounters from a pool of monsters with CRs from APL-1 to APL+2, you should fine most of the time.

This is from the Game Mastery Guide - the Minor/Medium/Major Items are the number of items that are above the Base Value. Also, the Core Rulebook says to re-roll any items that are below the Base Value (granted, at the very end of the paragraph). So, a wand worth 750 could not be one of the rolled items in a settlement with a Base Value of 8k - it would be "readily available" (75% chance).

How I handled this for a campaign that involved lots of unpredictable travel and was to convert the number of items into a percentage chance. If a player wanted to buy something over the Base Value, I rolled to see if it was available that week. It saved me from having to generate lots and lots of item lists, since the list for each settlement is recreated each week. And often several in-game weeks would pass in the span of a single session.

I used this progression and it seemed to work well:

4d4 items = 60%
3d4 items = 45%
2d4 items = 30%
1d6 items = 20%
1d4 items = 15%

However, all of this assumed a franchised MagicMart (TM) outlet in every thorp, village, and hamlet. I really don't like the MagicMart idea or the imagery of a giant WallMart-ish big-box outlet store with 3 huts of villagers around it.

Wow. I think you can read RAW either way. Clearly a FAQ is necessary.

However, in any game I GM, I'll allow a player to move after making one attack with ManyShot. But then their character will be immediately struck by lava-filled, sonic lightning bolts that bypass all DR and automatically critical with a x4 multiplier until they are dead.

Hopefully, some humor will lighten the intense arguing.

Overly high AC is not an effective way to defeat encounters. A good defense does not make a good offense because defense comes at the expense of offense. The idea of concentrated attacks is absolutely the most effective way to defeat encounters. However, it requires that you actually hit and deal damage. That is hard to do when the bulk of your wealth goes into AC instead of weapons, you are using whatever class features/spells/abilities to buff your AC, and you are trading a penalty on attacks for more AC (fighting defensively, Combat Expertise, etc.)

Take you typical monk. Sure, the AC can be through the roof with all the right items, using ki for AC, etc. But can the monk reliably hit challenging monsters? Here's the killer - Can the monk overcome the DR of those monsters to do any damage? Even if it isn't Flurry of Misses, at later levels it becomes Flurry of 2d8+4 vs. DR 15/-.

To the OP - don't try to compete with the monk's AC. Monks have overly high AC so they can get past the hard targets safely to get to the softer ones where Flurry of Blows is going to be devastating. Also, don't compare your base AC with another player's situational AC. Compare apples to apples. The monk's AC isn't that much above yours.

I have gone entirely paperless. I use TiddlyWiki for my GM notes. In it, I have tiddlers (pages) for NPCs, monsters, locations, maps, etc. which are all linked as necessary - In dungeon room X there are links for each monster in that room. Especially for ongoing campaigns, having the ability to link different things together (people-places-things) while still keeping them separate (all people grouped, etc.) is really valuable. For mapping, I tend to use MapTool due to my familiarity with it, but the output ends up being an image file (.png) to be put into my GM notes wiki.

As for templates, I'm not quite sure what you mean. I use several self-designed tiddler "templates" for my monster, NPC, settlement, and other entries in my wikis. They are essentially blank entries. My monster "template" is just a variation of what appears in the Bestiary entries. I also have a "blank" GM notes wiki that is already formatted that I copy and fill in for each new campaign.

Hope that helps.

All combat maneuvers are not created equal. Bull rush, overrun, trip, drag, and reposition have a size limitation - they cannot be performed if the target is more than one size category larger than you. At higher levels, when the monsters get bigger and bigger, the maneuvers with size limitations are less and less viable. You cannot even attempt to trip a huge dragon if you are medium.

In exchange for the limitation, you get a lot of benefits - being knocked prone is much nastier than being grappled, especially if you take AoOs from everyone on the way down (Greater Trip) and will get the same when you stand up (everyone has Combat Reflexes). However, you only get that if the rest of the party is willing to engage in the right tactics and take the right feats to support tripping.

With the correct support, trip is absolutely devastating, when you can do it. Grapple is less effective, always available and requires nothing from your group.

WBL is per character regardless of group size. A 6th level character should have roughly 16,000 gp as a party of 1 or in a party of 100.

However, the treasure value per encounter table assumes a party of 4. If there are 6 players, 150% of the values on that table is what should be handed out. So, each encounter at 6th level for a party of 6 using Medium progression should yield 3,000 gp if you want to end up matching up with the WBL table.

Based on some very rough and quick equipment calculations, and including 2,000 gold cash each, they all seem light by roughly 6,000 gp using the wealth by level table. That assumes that they just made 6th level. If they are about to make 7th, they are about 13,500 gp shy.

The treasure values per encounter table assumes every encounter will give loot. If some encounters don't, you have to make that up somewhere else - an encounter will have to give "extra" treasure. This is assuming you want to stick to the wealth by level guidelines (I would highly recommend it).

From a game mechanics perspective: As long as the PCs get something resembling the typical bonuses they would normally get from magic items, you should be OK. Also if you stick to lower levels, any imbalance from lack of magic will be small. The impact of magic goes up exponentially as the levels increase.

Excluding classes should be fine, as long as the issue of healing is addressed in some way. Either through classes with access to the "cure" spells (Alchemist, etc.) or using the Wounds and Vigor system from Ultimate Combat.

The only thing you want to be careful with is upsetting the balance between classes. Take the fighter's magic items away and the self-buffing cleric or inquisitor becomes a martial god by comparison. It doesn't take much to shift the balance, especially at levels 6+.

<Humor>
Having viewed several parties from the "other side of the screen", I've seen only three distinct roles:

Idiot/Fool: The first PC to make a monumentally stupid mistake. "I charge the dragon by myself" or "I try to jump the river of lava" or "The ooze split in two? I keep attacking it". They are always surprised by the consequences of their actions.

Runners: The PCs that either run after the Idiot/Fool...and die. Or decide the Idiot/Fool was stupid enough to warrant running away...and die. This is usually the bulk of the group.

Coward: The PC that either has the capabilities to successfully run away from an encounter (very hard to do) or the PC that is so overly concerned with death as to hang the rest of the party out to dry. Sadly, this is the PC that forms the base of the "next" group.
</Humor>

I think it all comes down to what is important to the person. If the person's priorities are what makes them happy, what is the problem? I wouldn't put gaming before spending time with my wife. But I also wouldn't go golfing instead of watching a Steelers game on TV. I have friends who would rather golf than watch football.

So, this GM values gaming over many other things (not what I would choose). The only faults I can see are not respecting the priorities of others and maybe not living up to his responsibilities (put time/effort into marriages). It isn't clear that gaming led to the divorces, but probably did. If he is happy, good for him. If not, he should change his priorities...

I think it is workable, but may not have the results you want/intend.

Craft is a class skill for all classes. One side-effect of what you are suggesting is that characters will have to put ranks in all kinds of Crafting skills - armor, weapons, leather working, wood working, blacksmithing, etc. to build the base items. Which is fine if you think players have excess skill points to burn.

There are only 8 crafting feats in the Core book (12 total in the SRD). All have a caster level requirement of some sort, mostly at odd numbered levels. Rather than one free crafting feat a level, you might as well give characters all crafting feats for free when they meet the requirements. It will be more or less the same thing.

I don't think this will impact the "Big Six" issue. Players will still want/need their "Big Six" bonuses. In most games, players are perfectly happy to sell all loot items at half price to buy Big Six items at full price. Profitability isn't a consideration. An item that provides a +10 bonus to a skill/ability you don't care about is always worth less than an item that provides a +1 to something you do care about. That is the core of the "Big Six" issue.

As a player, I'm not sure I'd even care about item crafting if the item costs full price and it requires time to make. So, I can either go out and buy an item now or wait some amount of time (to craft it) and pay the same price? Thanks, I'll buy the item right now and save myself the dice roll and time.

I don't think what you are suggesting will break the game or anything. Just that it may not have the desired effects. If anything, it may discourage crafting.

MapTool (from RPTools) is a very nice program, depending on what you want to do with it. I'm just not sure exactly what you are looking for.

If you want a virtual battlemat to use in-game, MapTool can be clunky unless the players have a computer to use and are familiar with the program. One of the coolest aspects of MapTool is the LOS and visibility features. This requires running multiple instances of the program - one in "GM mode" where everything is visible and one or more in "player mode" where only items/creatures within LOS are visible. I tried several times to make it work with a single computer (running multiple instances, using multiple monitors, laser pointers, etc.) But, it was very cumbersome. If the players have a computer and learn the basics of MapTool, it is absolutely fantastic. It will even track stats, initiative, etc.

If you are looking for something to simulate combat for mock battles, MapTool may not be your best bet. It can do it, but I think it requires writing some macros.

I spent several months looking for a good virtual battlemat solution that wasn't game-specific and didn't require a network of computers. I didn't find anything that really worked. So, I ended up building a plexi-glass topped table and buying some dry erase markers. Sadly, everything I found really wasn't designed for having everyone in the same room - it was more designed for play over the internet.

I generally go with 3 defensive spells (each different) to be cast in combat - one for each expected encounter for the adventuring day. My plan is to never have to use them - they are "Oh S#!^" spells. Spending more than one round of defensive self-buffing is just throwing the rest of the party under the bus (or in front of the monsters). I'm not counting the hr/level spells or ones you cast before an encounter starts.

I've got one more - Armor Expert trait (Advanced Character Guide pg 327).

I can't believe nobody's suggested this:

High touch AC.

Um, I suggested a spell that provides the biggest deflection bonus to AC (deflection bonus is one of the few that applies to touch AC). Granted it only applies to firearm and ranged attacks, but this thread is about countering a Gunslinger. The spell also applies to attacks by firearms with the scatter quality. Others have made suggestions the end up either raising touch AC or effectively raising it, just not directly or explicitly stated - invisibility (miss chance = effectively raising AC), blur, cover, etc.

You question is actually the opposite of what is a much tougher question - "How do I build a Rogue that can be effective/compete in combat." If the player, the GM and the rest of the group are cool with essentially a non-combatant, the person can play anything that still has Trapfinding and doesn't have a penalty to Dex. Actually, not trying to be effective in combat allows for all kinds of character concepts that often clash with the "typical" Two-Weapon Fighting, flanking, sneak attacker because it demands so many feats and talents. Just browse through the various Rogue archetypes and see if one sounds interesting.

It is not an item, but Bullet Shield should do the trick. If you combine that with any one or two of the other methods, it should prevent the gunslinger from taking out your BBEG and still allow the gunslinger to be somewhat effective. You want to be careful not to completely counter-build the gunslinger by having your BBEG have an AC that is like 20/75/15.

Or have a high Will save.

As far as spells that are hard to deal with, Confusion isn't that bad. Any of the Pit spells are much nastier because of what it takes to escape the pit (Climb, fly, etc.) Things like Stinking Cloud are even worse because they last for some time after you leave the area of effect and reduce you to a move action. In either case, the PC is effectively out of the encounter for X rounds, which is very difficult to deal with and frankly, not much fun. At least Confusion can be humorous.

I'm also going to cast my vote for Ranger. Personally, I like the Guide archetype. IMO Ranger > Fighter (Archer) any day because of Improved Precise Shot at 6th level (ignore prereqs) and you're not a lump (nothing to do out of combat).

Inquisitor is a close second. The Inquisitor's damage output is almost as broken* as the Ranger and Fighter. *Yes, I said it. Like the Ranger, Inquisitor provides some nice out-of-combat capabilities.

Personally, I think a +8 AC disparity at level 5 is a huge issue. It is even worse if AC 32 is the base and with a ki point you can get to AC 36 (a 12 point disparity vs. fighter with heavy armor). But, ultimately it will be up to your GM and how he/she handles a party imbalance of this magnitude. I suggest you initiate the discussion with your GM.

I question how much fun you can have playing a character that can only be hit by level-appropriate monsters on a natural 20. High attack bonus on a CR 7 monster is +13. Unless your GM sends a CR 9+ monster at the party, your character will not really be threatened (hit chance > 25%).

The problem with not sticking to WBL and Big Six bonuses (however the party manages to get them) is that you have to throw out the CR system, which unlike 3.5 is actually very balanced and useful - One of the things I like most about Pathfinder is how they did CR. Also, you start to mess with the balance between classes. Example: Fighter 6 with masterwork sword and masterwork armor vs. Cleric 6 with Divine Favor, Bull's Strength, Magic Vestment, Greater Magic Weapon, Shield of Faith, etc. Sadly, I think the interconnections are far too complicated to be fixed with a simple -1 here and there.

Personally, I don't like what Big Six magic items do to the flavor of the game when it comes to magic treasure. Basically, everything is either a Big Six you want, or junk to be converted into a Big Six you want. As a player, I'm as guilty as the next guy of participating in this behavior.

In my next game, I'm going to try something different and hand out 75% of the WBL as points that can be used to "purchase" Big Six bonuses at level up. The characters will still conform to the WBL/Big Six/CR system, but the magic treasure will hopefully be more meaningful. Oh, and the chain of Adventurer's Magic Marts(TM) in every hamlet, thorp, and strip mall will suddenly face severe economic headwinds and be forced to go out of business.