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The fighter is wearing them down with his persistent offensive, until they slow enough for him to make a decisive strike. Like Aldra said, this solves death by 1,000 cuts and the addiction to CLW wands. Less out of combat healing is necessary.
Well, rays also cause strain I believe. I think it makes sense, not every sword slash opens a huge gash. I usually envision combat to be about wearing others down anyway, with the first real hit happening when they go below half (bloodied, as 4e called it).
Strain is just as big a deal, people usually full-heal after combat anyway with CLW wands. Strain will still make you topple in the battle.
I believe that if you fail the save, you take full injury damage. If you make the save (and lack evasion) you take half strain damage.
You're probably better off springing for a deck of cards, unless that spell is a free or move action (since it's a standard to attack, and a swift to activate Arcane Strike). And even so, you're probably quite set with both the spear and arcane bolt powers. (Actually, why not flavor your arcane bolt as summoning a card made of energy, then throwing it?)
Not to mention that Paladins get access to some fantastic swift action spells. Hopefully Bloodragers get some new Litany-like spells.
I'd be fine with those traits, but I only saw one other and it was for humans. Gimme a name/link? Here's a reflavor, based on the Warden of Nature alternate racial trait. Dedicated Warden:
Paladins seem pretty popular, but with a stat gen system like this, I'm not surprised. Question: Could I take this trait reflavored? Gnomes have a rich history of hating filthy aberrations, and I wouldn't want to have to be Adopted by feathered angelfolk to get access. Or just a general +1 K: Dungeoneering and class skill trait?
Warlock is kind of strangely written, assuming I'm looking at the right version (Adamant Entertainment?). It says they must pick three types of damage to pierce their DR, and among it list energy types such cold, fire, and electricity. DR doesn't apply against energy damage anyway. This sorta thing is why I generally dislike 3rd party, I feel the quality often isn't up to snuff. But I won't speak more of it here.
Alright, my concept is a Gnome Bloodrager (Aberrant) who has been recently been infected (for lack of a better word) by an aberration, and it's twisting him into something terrifying that he desperately wants to understand. Sheet largely incomplete at this point. Some background:
Teflin is a warden of nature. A cunning hunter who seeks to cleanse that which is alien from the land. His travels brought him to Ustalav, famed for its horrors.
In overconfident haste he bit off more than could chew, taking the first lead he found. He might have bled out from his clash with the aberration, had Professor Lorrimor not chanced upon him, not far from the road. Teflin repaid the professor's aid by allowing him to study the strange wounds he sustained, and gave the best account he could of the constantly-shifting monster he battled. Then the professor moved on, and Teflin buried himself in a library while his wounds continued to healed, a process that took longer than usual. He finally felt as good as new when he received the summons, and so Teflin goes to pay his respects. Sample:
"Now how'd the skinniest dwarf in the world come by a pretty piece of steel like that?"
"Might be he stole it from an 'onest knight. These roads ain't safe for thieves traveling alone." The two men that blocked Teflin's path wore tattered clothes and had sickles hanging from their belts. They might be dirt farmers that smelled an opportunity, or perhaps they're what pass for highwaymen in these parts. "Listen friends, you've already made two mistakes and you're about to make another if you don't let me pass in peace." Teflin had abnormally large ears and eyes, as well as an abnormally large sword that he loosened in its sheath to give the men warning. "I'm not a dwarf, I'm not a thief, and I am running late already. So if you would please." One of the men snickered, but they moved slightly apart, enough space for Teflin to squeeze through. No sooner than he took a step past the robber-farmers did the sickle cut into his chest. But there was no pain, only a numb tingling sensation. The sickle was drawn back, and the tip was covered in something black. How curious, a poison? thought Teflin, as he drew his blade with both hands and spun, cutting clean through an ankle. The man screamed as he hobbled back and forth, trying to balance on one leg. Then the other man screamed. Then Teflin screamed, in a shrill voice that did not sound like his own. Then he remembered nothing. The smell of death was beginning to hang in the air. Teflin was used to it. He opened his eyes and saw the sickle, but it was coated only in drying dark red blood, and his cut was the same. Not poison. These men couldn't afford something like that. But then what did I see? Teflin cleaned his blade and continued onwards to the Professor's estate, troubled by more than the death of his only friend in Ustalav.
From the first parts that I'm reading on theme, I'm thinking of an Aberrant-tainted Bloodrager. Possibly a halfling, given the ridiculous starting stats.
Sounds interesting, I'll scrounge up the player companion (assuming there is one, I don't have much experience with the APs or Golarion fluff in general). I'll roll some ability scores for now though, not sure what I'd play but perhaps something from Playtest.
Pup is talking about the sunk cost of the Defending property costing +1 for the option of trading what remains, which is not very appealing. I'd like it much more if it always gave +1 AC and gave the option to convert remaining enh to AC or not as per current version.
You could read up a bit of their BotM fluff on the SRD, including how they got their name. And yeah I had slightly different expectations about Scalehearts. I thought a career in torture among them would be equivalent to a lawyer.
Ooh, ooh, let me guess, color spray and awesome display? Of course. I'm also looking at other fitting mysteries, like Dark Tapestry. Gift of Madness would be a fitting power for him. His energies directed offensively would be a sort of "See what I see" effect, only what he finds beautiful others might find horrifying.
You're fine to apply until decision are made, I think. I did manage to come up (well, update) a divine caster character concept: Krasnak, Scaleheart Heavens Oracle (Clouded Vision). I'd put him down as a wild card in the dove/hawk categorization. In a race of bogeymen, Krasnak is a bedtime story for disobedient little Scalehearts. As a shaman's apprentice tasked with interrogation, he took professional pride in thoroughness and sadistic glee in torture.
"I have seen glimpses of the future, and it is beautiful. Whatever the vote decides will set art, true art, into motion. I must see it with these eyes."
I was missed in that list of applicants! Here's a rough outline of the sheet on mythweavers: Harsuk, Son of Verash. Combat role would be buffing allies, and playing second fiddle archer or sword and board. Does look like a lack of divine applicants, but I don't have anything in mind for that right now. Maybe I'll get some inspiration in that direction and re-submit this evening.
Haven't played in a PbP in a while. So here's my pitch. Harshuk, Coldborn Bard, Perform (Comedy). It seems the Coldborn are generally independent and isolated, my character would be a messenger between these smaller family units, bringing letters, news, and whatever else he can carry. He loves the sound of his own deep, melodic voice almost as much as he loves making others laugh, though he always laughs the loudest. Harshuk would be glad that Temmeruk has called this council, as it seems most of the other bears would rather try to sleep through the incursion.
"The tide of men has no end, and would only be slowed by dams. We must redirect their flow or drown. I might use default skinchanger stats, but with 25 PB I could just bite the Cha penalty. I could also build him as a Bloodrager if that would better suit the party.
Antipaladins embrace Evil. Sure, they can kill Evil too, but it doesn't quite sound right for your character (It's up to you of course, but you're asking for opinions). I'd say Inquisitor or Ranger would fit better. Those are good stalkers in the shadows classes. There's this PrC (aimed at darker inquisitors) as well.
Fearmonger: Consider Kitsune, there are some penalties for sure (-2 Str, lack of bonus feat), but you can also pick up Vulpine Pounce.
I'd say in-character action is direct contribution, while player/character thoughts are more of an indirect one. But you're quite right Jaelithe, it can simulate character brilliance, and keep everything flowing. PCs rarely think what you might expect them to think anyway. Great story, Gilarius. Wish I provide create entire demi-planes on the fly.
Hello GMs, I'm curious about occasions in which you've done "penguin plotting" (as in this post). The short of it is: When the players try to figure something out and come up with an explanation that's more interesting than whatever you had planned (or maybe there wasn't even anything planned on your part and they're putting too much importance on something tangential), and you just take it and run with it. As an inexperienced GM myself I'm somewhat inflexible in my plans, but it sounds pretty fun. Share your experiences!
Allow me to offer some perspective on why I don't like the healing role in PF. Healing is boring. There's no tactics, no adaptation. The fact that in-combat healing is generally weak (Life Oracles notwithstanding) barely comes into it, as it's not interesting to specialize in.
Addendum: The Heal skill is extremely weak in Pathfinder, made redundant with any form of magic (this is why most parties run on CLW wands). You try to make it useable with Expert Healer, but I don't think anyone would bother. It's a system flaw though, because anything mundane is much worse at doing its job than magic.
Shutting down casters only really works if their front line is otherwise preoccupied. If you try to rush their casters and their melee turns on you, you're gonna die. A paladin is probably the best tank you can have in PF though, with swift LOHs.
A silenced anything is a great mage killer. A grappler is pretty great against mages even lacking silence. There's a grapple flowchart on the SRD to help you understand what exactly goes down in a grapple. But another thing: You can go for grapples without the Improved feat. If you're a dedicated grappler, sure, you want it. If you're only grappling casters, then they might lack a weapon (or miss you with it) for their attack of opportunity.
Initially I latched onto the idea of making a Kitsune Bloodrager, because you can get Pounce, so I started building at lvl 11. But Kitsune as a race just lend themselves so well to social intrigue. So I ended up building a bloodrager that can easily fit into such a campaign. Here's Kyoki (and here's some character art). He can as a swift action turn into any human he has seen (with a disguise check of +24), or a fox with +20. He's an adept liar to navigate situations where he's pretending to be someone else (and of course his armor is glamered. He might need some smaller back up weapons until he can afford Gloves of Storing for his greatsword, but he can always turn into his kitsune form and bite). He has a good collection of spells for recon as well. In combat, he's rather defensively focused (perhaps too much so). You could remove some AC from the build for stat items, as is he counts on infiltration to get the jump on enemies. There's a bunch of buff spells he can use to get up to snuff, and his offensive numbers look much better than first glance reveals, since that's without his bloodrage -> courageous furious weapon (standard fare for any barbarian). If someone is interested in the original idea (bloodrager with pounce), you can scrap Realistic Likeness and Fox Shape for Skill Focus, Eldritch Heritage, and thus be open to Improved Eldritch Heritage (Just switch Dex and Cha to get the prereq done). Likewise spend less on defense and more on physical stat boosters, since Displacement can probably carry you far by itself.
You know, I was thinking of the people saying that Bloodragers should have less barbarian stuff like uncanny dodge, and I didn't really agree. But I'd give it up for a strong will save progression.
So where should we put up Bloodrager builds? I'm daydreaming up a Kitsune Bloodrager (strength penalty stings, but rage helps mitigate). Pick up Vulpine Pounce and you don't even miss Beast Totem! The problem I saw as I sat down to build this is that Abyssal, Arcane, and Aberrant are just so much better than other bloodlines. A few of them like Fey and Undead have abilities that specifically trigger only on charges (so they'd be perfect for a pouncer), but they don't pack nearly the same pow that the big three bloodlines do.
Most popular weapon choices will be: Scimitar, Rapier Most badass weapon choices will be: Unarmed Strike (Snake Style), Picks (light if you want weapon finesse, heavy if you go Str).
I think some bloodlines (Aberrant, Abyssal, Infernal) were written by a different person than the rest. I want to like Destined...but it seems mediocre. It's all about not failing, instead of succeeding better (if that makes sense). It would be a good choice in a campaign where enemies pack ridiculous ACs. To be honest I think the Bloodrager, with all it gets, is balanced against the base Barbarian. The best Barbarian rage powers are pretty awesome (pounce, superstitious/spellsunder), while the bloodrager powers are great (free buffs in rage) but not as good. Especially since a normal barb can use his powers plus collect buffs. The Bloodrager is more independent from friendly spellcasters.
You are supremely focused at killing your enemies, and at the same time, not being killed by your enemies. You are watching every motion they make and you are aware of every muscle you exert. You don't have time for any danged calculus.
I like the removal of the alignment restriction, and would advocate the removal of it from the Barbarian as well. Because who you are in combat doesn't reflect who you are completely. Just because your character might go berserk in combat doesn't mean he can't otherwise be law-abiding/follow a code of honor/be disciplined. Some barbarians live for the rush of rage, but I don't see why you couldn't just be a warrior who slips into a battle rhythm, or in this case, his blood powers. You can justify it any way you like, though it's easier for bloodragers since you can "blame" their ancestry. Infernal blood? That's pure Law and Evil coursing through your blood. You might resist the evil, but the law isn't so bad.
Destined bloodline? You want to be the king someday. Maybe you're a conqueror, but you plan to make laws so you have a healthy respect for them.
That insta-feat feature is what the fighter wishes it could do (and honestly, what the fighter should do IMO).
That's a comfort zone thing on using a headband to go from 12 to 14. You could start at 10 and do the same thing actually, or even 8. I'm not comfortable with the prospect of relying on a magic item for class abilities, personally.
Shaman strikes me as a solid, balanced option. My reaction on reading about the Life spirit:
Paizo confirms that life is suffering. Edit: Lore ability fluffs Arcane Enlightenment with intelligence, but then uses Cha mod. Kinda weird. Edit2: I was wondering when I'd get to the "add casting stat to AC" refluff, and it turns out it's at Nature. So now with a dip in either Nature Shaman or Monk, we can ditch Dex entirely and get sweet sweet double Wis to AC.
Incorporeal Bloodrager (Su): At 16th level, once per day
How long does this last? Is it for the entire rage?
Well, mind that the Bloodrager needs at least 14 Cha now, adding some additional MAD to a melee class (which already wants good Str/Con/Dex). And there are some excellent, comparable rage powers like CaGM, Superstitious, Spell Sunder, and Pounce that you miss out on. As I went past Aberrant and Abyssal, there was a decline in the bloodlines (in some more than others. Comparing Arcane and Fey, I can't justify Fey). I love the flavor of Destined (if I were to make Rider/Iskandar inspired character, he'd be a Destined Bloodrager). The mechanics aren't too exciting though. As a full BAB class, I don't think I need that much help hitting more. I guess I could stack on penalties for offense in otherwise, oversized weapon an' all.
So this is the Bloodrager hype train? I want to get on. This class looks amazing. The level 4 abilites are great in almost every bloodline, and the goodies just keep coming. I liked Rage Powers, but I mean dang.
It's kind of different from picking up an object I would say. My DM went with CMD 10+1/lb of object, success = kick it 10ft away. Kind of weird, but good as anything else.
I was considering Reposition, but Dirty Trick actually makes more sense. It is undone with a move action...in that they have to move to get back to the weapon. And it's less homebrewing since Dirty Trick allows some creativity per the wording. I'll share it with my DM and get his thoughts. Thanks.
You don't need TWF/Double Slice early, because at those levels you can just do a Flurry of Manuevers. So you could put those off. You can also hold off on Power Attack, since DR won't be a problem early and you might have to-hit troubles with PA and TWFing early on. The extra attack at full BAB from Stomp is worth the most early on (though it stays good, as long as your opponents don't get too big to trip).
I'd get Stomp sooner, and if you want more control, I'd go down the Turtle Style line instead of Dragon.
Well, if the Slayer has SA dice, then a cool combo would be disarming them with your weapon, then using Catch Off-Guard to sneak attack with the torch. Too bad most enemies PCs face have natural attacks, but in the right campaign it could work.
AFAIK there's no hard rule for this, but perhaps I've missed it? Situation where it might come up: Stunning fist an opponent (which causes them to drop whatever they're holding), then kicking it away from them. Without a rule for that, the DM can either homebrew it, or say that it's not an option (thus you must use an action to first pick up, then another to throw the weapon).
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