When using the Boost meta word to summon creatures using the servitor effect words, does the effect words' level increase? Instead of summoning 1 creature off of the spell's equivalent summon monster/summon nature's ally list of monsters, a boosted servitor word spell summmons 1d4+1 creatures.
It was said somewhere on the forums that boosting the servitor effect word increased the spell level by 3, but I cannot find this information anywhere in the meta word section or the servitor effect word description.
RAW (as far as I can tell) a 17th level word caster wizard can, as a standard action, throw down a boosted Servitor IX word spell to summon 1d4+1 monsters off of the Summon Monster IX list. Granted, not the most effective use of a wizard (since spell words generally don't have the same range of options as standard spells), but still... pretty potent stuff, even if they can only use meta words 10 times a day and are limited by spells per day as normal.
Side question: does the servitor words of power (RAW or RAI) interact with racial traits, feats, or class features as the summon monster or summon nature's ally spells? For instance, Augmented Summoning: does it interact the same with Servitor I as it does with Summon Monster I? What about a Herald Caller Cleric using words of power? Would all of their class features interact with the servitor spells as if they were summon monster spells?
Thanks in advance for any help and insight you can share.
As I was looking over the new Interrogator alchemist archetype, I couldn't help but notice the archetype took away the two primary ways an alchemist deals damage with very limited stuff in return. Regardless of who you talk to, bombs and mutagens are considered the bread and butter of the alchemist's ability to deal damage. Not only does the interrogator remove these options but they go even further to completely remove the option to gain mutagens or cognatogens later on, through discoveries. In exchange you gain injections and serums. Injections use melee touch attacks to impose a -2 penalty on Will saves for a short period of time, while serums can impose a spell-like effect through the injection (requiring a Will save, which is made with the imposed penalty). The serums themselves aren't bad. However, they really pale in comparison with the damage an alchemist could dish out with bombs and mutagens.
To that end, I have cooked up some homebrew discoveries to help boost the interrogator's options, hopefully giving it a unique feel and making it a more interesting option for play. Please let me know what you think and if these are too weak or too powerful. Also, what else could be added to help make the interrogator archetype more useful to a standard game while retaining its unique flavor?
POISON INJECTION Prerequisites: Injections.
Benefit: The alchemist can use a dose of injury poison like a serum, applying it to any injection as a swift action before he makes the attack roll for the injection. Instead of the normal effects of the injection, the target suffers the effects of the poison and takes a -2 penalty to its Fort saves against the poison for its duration. If the melee touch attack fails, the poison injection isn't delivered but can still be used again—once activated, it remains potent for 1 day. A poison injection that hasn't been administered becomes inert if it leaves the alchemist's possession, reactivating as soon as it returns to his possession. The penalties for multiple doses of poison stack but the -2 penalty to Fort saves against poisons does not.
SERUM OF AUTOLYSIS Prerequisites: Injections, Alchemist 6.
Benefit: The alchemist gains access to the autolysis serum. This serum is specially designed to break down dead organic matter cleanly and efficiently through advanced alchemical processes. When injected into a corporeal undead—even a corporeal undead that normally lacks blood or flesh—the undead creature takes 1d8 points of damage for every two alchemist levels the alchemist possesses (maximum 10d8). If the undead creature succeeds on a Fort save, it takes only half damage. Any Large or smaller undead creature reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by this serum is disintegrated, leaving behind only a trace of fine dust. If this serum is injected into the corpse of a Large or smaller once living creature, the corpse is automatically disintegrated. The serum has no effect on objects that are not corpses; thus, a dead creature's equipment is unaffected.
SERUM OF MEMORY REVISION Prerequisites: Injections, Memory Modification, Alchemist 16.
Benefit: Once per day, the alchemist can prepare a serum of memory revision. This special serum costs 10,000 gp to create and takes 1 hour of work. The alchemist can only maintain one such serum at any given time. A serum of memory revision can only be injected by the alchemist who created it. On a failed Will save, the target's most private and personal thoughts are intruded upon by the alchemist who bends those thoughts and memories to his will over the course of up to 8 hours. During this time the target losses the ability to form new memories of their own. The alchemist can erase or add memories as he sees fit and alter emotions and opinions, but not alignment. When he is done, he can leave the target insane (as described in the insanity spell) or seemingly unaffected, without any memory of the hour prior to the intrusion. Erasing memories of a magical compulsion doesn't remove the compulsion, nor can a serum of memory revision remove procedural memories that might affect skills or class abilities. Severe changes to personality can be corrected by a break enchantment spell (although an atonement spell might be needed as well, depending on circumstances). Alterations to memories and subtler thoughts can be restored only through use of wish or miracle.
i think Reincarnate shouldn't have even been a spell, we should have instead given druids Raise Dead and cleric level healing and condition removal progression, because clerics have enough niche protection as healers.
Or let characters reincarnate into a new random young adult body of their original race. You still keep the "I have to prove it is really me." aspect of the spell without the stat juggling, character concept "gimping", and non-standard race sitting-outing.
Dhampir reincarnated druid... that would be a little tricky to pull off, especially if the druid gets reincarnated into a non-dhampir and loses the Resist Level Drain extraordinary ability.
Say I am playing a 5th level reincarnated druid and want a way of removing negative levels, what are my options? I've found a few that work but I wanted to know ALL of my options for removing negative levels, preferably without the help of outside spell casters.
1) Samsaran and Mystic Past Life to add restoration, restoration, greater, and miracle to my character's list of spells known to remove negative levels and restore the appearance of my character's reincarnated body.
2) Multiclass into a class that can cast restoration and restoration, greater.
3) Aasimar with Enlightened Warrior racial trait and multiclass from druid into qinggong monk (Neutral Good alignment) to replace diamond body with the ability to use restoration as a spell-like ability (no gold cost).
4) Buy ranks in Use Magic Device and buy scrolls of restoration and restoration, greater.
5) Bathe in the blood of a dragon using Dragoncraft items (3 vials of dragon's blood costs 180 gp and removes 1 negative level each week).
I have a question about any number of abilities that allow you to reincarnate (as the spell) in a safe location somewhere within X miles of where you died.
The spell leaves you naked, nameless, and alone... right? That is to say, the spell creates for you a new young adult body of [insert random race here] and brings you back to life, but it does very little else. You have no gear (not even clothes), you have no past (at least no one will recognize you), and you are alone (not even a familiar or companion will be with you).
How do you come back from that? Do you wander naked into a civilized area and maybe beg for clothing? Do you Minecraft yourself some new starting gear by punching down trees? Do you try to find your body like in WoW?
When a player wants to play a particular character concept, be they tiefling redeemer, scorned scion of a noble house, or a transgender adventurer there is typically a reason behind it. They might be trying to play a unique or different character concept that will standout in the party, they might enjoy the roleplaying elements of playing such a character, or they might be trying to gain insight or a sense of control using elements within their own lives.
For whatever the concept and for whatever the reasoning, I agree with boring7 that you should find a way to win.
Caution should be exercised, however, to be knowledgeable about the transgender community and what it means to be trans before deciding to play a transgender character. For example, it is important to differentiate a transgender male from a cisgender female who simply "disguises" themselves as a male to join a mercenary force or avoid undo attention as a female adventurer. Likewise, if a player decides to play a transgender character but does so in a manner that would be offensive to other players or make them uncomfortable, you are completely within your rights as GM to let the player know what behaviors the group doesn't find acceptable.
How about you take all the "cure" spells and make them "stitch" spells with transmutation as the school? Instead of curing damage, they grant temporary hit points for 24 hours. Yeah, not as useful for practical healing, but throw in a healing bonus and you might have something. Below is just an example of how it might work but once you had the formula down, you could apply it to all cure spells to make them stitch spells. Perhaps the spells are a lesser known cousin of the traditional cure spells and only available to locals or those they deem worthy. Perhaps an important scholar moved to the area for the sole purpose of testing these spells in the field. Lots of options.
Stitch Light Wounds:
Stitch Light Wounds School transmutation; Level alchemist 1, bard 1, cleric/oracle 1, druid 1, inquisitor 1, paladin 1, ranger 1, witch 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration see text
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
When laying your hand upon a living creature, you use magic stitches to bind flesh to flesh, granting the target 1d8 temporary hit points +1 temporary hit point per caster level (maximum +5). These temporary hit points last for 24 hours or until the target rests for 8 hours and, unlike normal temporary hit points, stack with other temporary hit points from "stitch" spells. If a creature with temporary hit points from this spell rests for 8 hours, it regains a number of additional hit points equal to half the temporary hit points (rounded down). This healing is considered natural healing gained in addition to the normal natural healing of the creature. Full bed rest and long-term care do not affect this additional natural healing.
If you check out the veranallia azata it has a nifty power called Rebirth and the reincarnated druid as a nifty power called Many Lives:
Rebirth:
Rebirth (Su): Once per day, a veranallia can reincarnate a creature she deems worthy of the honor. The creature's original body decays and sinks into the ground, affecting the surrounding area in a 1/2-mile radius as though with plant growth (enrichment). Over the course of 1d4 days, a white, flowery cocoon emerges from the affected ground and splits open, revealing the newly reincarnated creature inside. Creatures reincarnated by a veranallia always return to life as aasimars. This ability otherwise functions as the reincarnate spell.
Many Lives:
Many Lives (Ex): At 5th level, if a reincarnated druid is killed, she may automatically reincarnate (as the spell) 1 day later. The reincarnated druid appears in a safe location within 1 mile of her previous body. At will for the next 7 days, she can sense the presence of her remains as if using locate object as a spell-like ability. If she is killed during these 7 days, she remains dead and does not reincarnate. The many lives ability does not function if the reincarnated druid is slain by a death effect. A reincarnated druid cannot be raised from the dead or resurrected, though she can be reincarnated.
I wanted to know if the following ability seemed to fit and was mechanically balanced for a muse-touched aasimar who was a reincarnated druid. Instead of "choosing" to be a reincarnated druid, they were simply a druid whose unique fusion of ancestry and talent granted them the following ability. The replacement ability swaps an at-will 2nd or 3rd level spell (locate object) for a one-time 2nd or 3rd level spell (plant growth) and the ability to reincarnate into the same race (aasimar). This ability would replace Many Lives but all other aspects of the reincarnated druid archetype would remain the same:
Many Rebirths (Ex): At 5th level, if a reincarnated druid is killed, she may automatically reincarnate (as the spell) 1 day later. The creature's original body decays and sinks into the ground, affecting the surrounding area in a 1/2-mile radius as though with plant growth (enrichment). Over the next 24 hours, a white, flowery cocoon emerges in a safe location somewhere in the area of the affected ground and splits open, revealing the newly reincarnated druid inside. If she is killed during the next 7 days, she remains dead and does not reincarnate. The many rebirths ability does not function if the reincarnated druid is slain by a death effect. A reincarnated druid cannot be raised from the dead or resurrected, though she can be reincarnated. A reincarnated druid always returns to life as an aasimar.
As someone pointed out, nothing really has energy resistance to force effects. Why not give your bloodline ER to Force and maybe immunity to 20th? You could even give them the ability to negate force effects (like wall of Force) with a touch or by walking through them.
In one of my first D&D 3.0/3.5 campaigns, the DM allowed me to play an "Arcane Engineer". Basically, I was a wizard that could graft magical items into my body. It was all fun and games until I grafted a Rod of Wonder into my arm with a command word activation of "Go". Normally, I'd activate it as "Rod of Wonder, Go!" but my DM decided to use "go" as the literal command word. So, whenever I said the word "go" in normal conversation, I would hear dice ominously rolling and giggling from behind the screen. I swear he had the Rod of Wonder page bookmarked.
Later on, I would be turned permanently blue (the rod's fault), die horribly (not the rod's fault), and be reincarnated as a troglodyte (still blue, still the rod's fault).
I miss that game...
I would say, so long as the item is in your possession and you say the command word, it should activate. However, that doesn't always mean you have control over it. Trying to stack that much magical energy to activate all at once is bound to have unforeseen consequences.
Guy 1: "Nice bundle of wands... hey, what happened to your other hand?"
Extra [Insert Class Feature Here]. Every. Single. Bonus. Feat.
I would make a Paladin who couldn't die (Extra Lay on Hands - self healing tank), a REALLY spiritual monk (Ki like it is nobodies business), and more hexes than I would know what to do with (everything's at will, suckers!).
For traits, I want to go with three traits and a drawback. The traits I am going for are: Carefully Hidden (+1 Will saves, +2 on saves verse divination), Fate's Favored (increase luck bonuses by 1), and Two-World Magic (add a cantrip from another spell list to bard list).
I'm not married to the third trait, but the first two are right on for the character concept.
For the drawback, I have it narrowed down to four, each one providing its own hook: Hedonistic (since he is a self-serving character, it would make sense), Mark of Slavery (perhaps his lost years were spent enslaved and his self-serving nature/hedonistic tendencies are a coping mechanism), Shadow-Scarred (could use Halo instead of darkvision and turn his light/daylight abilities into coping mechanisms against his fear of darkness), and Superstitious (not only is he ignorant of magic, he downright doesn't trust it, except for his... his is cool).
Interesting part about the eyes for darkvision. I suppose the character could have the Halo alternative racial trait, but that might make things a little more obvious.
I've been flushing out the character concept and decided to go with archaeologist (bard archetype) instead of rogue. In this way, the spell-like ability tends to be subsumed into the normal spellcasting abilities. This also makes the character more versatile, less focused on sneak attack, and a more welcomed (eventually) member of the party.
That being said, I've decided to play the character as "ignorant to magic" (no ranks in Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft, or Use Magic Device). Obviously, he understands HE is the source of the spells he casts but, much like everything else in his vagabond life, he doesn't worry about the details and just goes with the flow. Also, he has Profession (gambler) and would be working towards Deadly Dealer. This is more thematic than mechanical since his damage output will not be very high. However, by picking up Card Sharp (for Deadly Dealer) and Papercraft Tools (so as not needing to be obvious about the character's skill set) as rogue talents, I hope to make the character fun to play and useful in the party.
Since he is a charming scoundrel who, for the most part, skates through life on smiles (Bluff, Diplomacy) and guile (Profession (gambler), Sleight of Hand), he wouldn't "put down roots" in any one place for too long for fear of "rolling the die too many times" or "pushing his luck". This means those formative and lengthy adolescent years don't have to be meticulously tracked.
I see him as true Neutral (focused on himself or things he cares about) with the occasional good tenancy (random acts of kindness he plays off as "whims" or "for show").
Just, wow... I really appreciate all of this feedback.
The two biggest things I've heard involve the aasimar age being more in line with human age (although I really like Kazaan's breakdown of aging, and personally feel the longest part of aging would be around adolescence for long-lived races) and spell-like abilities.
The group I usually play with go mostly with "If you are from a long-lived race, the majority of your childhood is spent in adolescence as opposed to an incredibly long infant, toddler, early childhood, or middle childhood stage of development." That being the case, I was going to try to find a background that would make the passage of time sort of difficult to remember, such as being raised by fey or other long-lived races in a secluded area (sort of like what Shin Biliruben suggested).
Otherwise, I could try to talk to my DM and see about using a human lifespan instead (although I sort of like having a character who is of a long-lived people :P).
With darkvision/spell-like abilities, I suppose if the character was raised by non-humans or creatures with similar abilities it wouldn't seem so strange.
I was thinking about building a character (probably rogue) that was an aasimar, but I got to thinking "what if he didn't know he was an aasimar?" I am a huge fan of Scion of Humanity. I just wanted to know if anyone had ideas for how that would work?
For me, at least, the obvious issues would be the starting age (60+ years but looks like a young adult 16+) and the racial traits like darkvision and spell-like abilities. Everything else could be explained away, such as energy resistance as an attack "not being so bad" or skill bonuses as "always had a knack for..." and such.
I just wanted to get your guys' ideas and opinions on how to work this character development opportunity.
I put this together a little while ago. I don't have skinwalkers or newer stuff in there, but this might give you an idea. The chart also includes height and weight for playing young characters using the Paizo mechanics from Ultimate Campaign, although I had to dig through sociological research to get the numbers and extrapolate for other races.
If you had a kind GM, however, you could play an Ifrit and adopt the Scion of Humanity alternative racial trait from the Aasimar (allowing you to be treated as a Human) and then take the Racial Heritage feat available to Humans so you could be treated as an Elf as well. That way you could give yourself Elf-like cosmetic traits while still having access to Ifrit stuff.
Couple quick questions, just because it is late and I am bored...
Firstly, if an Aasimar with the Scion of Humanity alternate racial trait takes the Racial Heritage (Human) feat at 1st level to be treated as a Halfling, can they begin play as a Small sized character? I ask because Aasimars descended from Halflings are Small sized but otherwise mechanically the same.
Secondly, if they can begin play as Small sized characters, do they appear as a human child or would they have to take Childlike (Halfling) and Pass for Human (Halfling) to appear as a human child?
Just wondering.
PS - I don't want to get into the mechanical/social issues with a human/halfling relationship; I just thought the thread title was attention-grabbing.
As far as Pathfinder Society goes, your guess is as good as mine. I'm sure there are mechanical restrictions as mentioned above to keep players from abusing the system or finding loopholes.
That being said, if you are playing a character who has taken the vow of poverty, it would be wise to travel with companions that will respect you and your ascetic lifestyle. Perhaps they are the ones who donate your share to charity on your behalf, or they chip in when you are gravely injured or in need of magical restoration. After all, they may recall a time when their chips were down, their number almost up, and you helped to save them from certain death.
Likewise, a GM who understands your motivations for playing such a character may award you Influence instead of treasure. Your donations to charity transform into the ability to receive NPC aid at a later time, move leaders to settle disputes peacefully, and otherwise help your character maintain a mechanical edge items and gold usually affords.
So, if I go by Blackbloodtroll's logic, while the character may be treated as a kitsune for the purposes of traits, feats, how magic items affect them, and so on, they do not actually gain the kitsune or shapechanger subtypes.
I can understand and agree with that. The wording of Racial Heritage only says they are treated as such, not that they actually gain the subtypes.
For the Fox Shape feat, however, that is a little dicey. We can all agree a character qualifies for it. However, the shape changing nature of the ability is clearly supposed to be linked to the Kitsune's change shape racial ability. Unfortunately for GMs everywhere, the feat makes no mention of requiring that ability and only touches on reducing the bite attack of the kitsune to 1d3 (because the kitsune has a natural bite attack).
I believe I would go with David Knott 242 in you can use the feat to change shape into a fox.
Can a human take the Racial Heritage feat to gain the kitsune subtype? If so, do they also add the shapechanger subtype? Finally, would they be able to qualify and use the Fox Shape feat (prerequisites: Cha 13, base attack bonus +3, kitsune)?
If you want survivability and don't mind giving up your inspiration abilities, check out the Archaeologist archetype. Also, with a high Cha you should be focusing on spells you can use in combat (I'm looking at you sonic spells) as well as some versatility in spellcasting.
Once you get to a higher level in the Archaeologist archetype you are going to want to use feats to take Extra Talent to pick up some mad rogue/ninja abilities to keep you out of range while in combat. Archaeologist's Luck will transform your bardic music into daring-dos that will enhance everything you do (including combat).
I ran Into the Haunted Forest and Hallows last hope as a single arc. Once I had established Falcon's Hallow, the PCs decided to set up shop and made friends with some of the townsfolk they saved (including the kids). I stated up the children that would go missing and had the PCs run a mini session where they took control of the children. At the end of the session, the children were ambushed by kobolds and the PCs immediately began Crown of the Kobold King, in control of their original characters.
After Crown of the Kobold King, I put together a few quests for them to "clean up the town" and otherwise fulfill their heroic wants/needs. Soon after, I planned to begin Revenge of the Kobold King but our group ended up losing two of its members due to college relocating.
It was fun to have a break where the players took control of the children they would end up saving, mostly because they got to know the kids via the background I included with the character sheets. While the children didn't "earn" any XP or gold, by completing small goals within the children's campaign the children earned items or "karma" that would pass on to the actual player's characters.
It was a pretty awesome experience overall and definitely helped make Falcon's Hallow a memorable campaign.
I sort of see blue mage as being a sorcerer archetype. If I was going to run it I would probably do something like this:
BLUE MAGE (SORCERER ARCHETYPE) The art of blue magic requires dedication and sacrifice few arcanists can fathom. While a blue mage's list of spells is more flexible than most spontaneous casters, the intimacy by which they understand and embrace these spells is unmatched in the magical world. Many an arcane caster has fallen victim to the power of the blue mage, a monstrous eater of magic and absorber of power.
Spells Known
You begin play knowing two 1st-level spells of your choice, but these spells must be harmful arcane spells that affects one or more targets. You do not gain any 0 level spells known as a blue mage. In addition, whenever you gain a new level of blue mage, you do not automatically add new spells to your list of spells known. However, your level determines the maximum number of spells known you can have for each spell level. The only way for you to learn new spells is by using blue magic (see below).
This modifies spells known.
Blue Magic (Su)
At 1st level, you can absorb the magical energies of a harmful arcane spell or spell-like ability targeting you. You must declare that you are using this ability before you save against the effect (thus, a failed check ruins the attempt). You must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level). A failed check means you automatically fail your saving throw against the effect and the effect is maximized. If you succeed on your check, you harmlessly absorb the arcane energies of the effect. If the spell or spell-like ability is of a level you can cast, you may choose to add the spell to your list of spells known, replacing one of your existing spells known if you are at your limit of spells known for a particular spell level. If the spell is not of a level you can cast or you do not wish to replace a known spell, the arcane energy lingers for 1 round per blue mage level. During this period of time, you treat the spell as if it were on your list of spells known for the purpose of casting spells and using abilities that affect you based on your list of spells known. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.
At 3rd level, you gain energy resistance 10 against spells on your list of spells known. At 9th level, this resistance increases to 20. At 20th level, you gain immunity to energy damage from spells on your list of spells known.
At 9th level, you may automatically counter a spell targeting you or an ally within 30 feet of you as an immediate action so long as the spell appears on your list of spells known. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum 1).
At 15th level, you can absorb the magical energy of magic items. Once per day, you may spend 8 hours studying the magical energies of a magic item. At the end of this period of study, you must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + caster level of the item). A successful check means you add one or more of the arcane spells used in the construction of the item to your list of spells known, replacing one or more of your existing spells known if you are at your limit of spells known for a particular spell level. Regardless of the success or failure of the check, the magic item is destroyed in the process.
At 20th level, you gain the ability to take 20 on all Spellcraft checks. Your understanding of the fundamentals of magic has also become so advanced that once per day, you can cast wish. This ability does not require a material component, but the wish can only be used to duplicate any arcane spell of 8th level or lower or any non-arcane spell of 6th level or lower. This ability cannot duplicate a spell with a material component that costs more than 10,000 gp.
This ability replaces the bloodline magic class feature and bloodline powers.
Blue Basics (Sp)
At 1st level, you can use arcane mark, detect magic, prestidigitation, and read magic at will as spell-like abilities. In addition, you automatically succeed on Spellcraft checks made to identify a spell being cast or a magical effect so long as the spell appears on your list of spells known.
This ability replaces cantrips.
Sapphire Shield (Su)
At 3rd level, you gain a +2 bonus to saving throws against spells on your list of spells known. At 5th level and every 2 levels thereafter, the bonus to saving throws increase by an additional +1 (to a maximum of +10 at 19th level).
This ability replaces bloodline spells.
Mettle (Ex)
At 7th level, you are able to resist effects with great willpower or fortitude. If you succeed on a Fortitude or Will save against an effect with a partial effect on a successful save, you instead suffer no effects from the attack.
This ability replaces the 7th level bloodline feat.
Improved Mettle (Ex)
At 13th level, you are incredibly resistant to effects that assault the body or mind. If you succeed on a Fortitude or Will save against an effect with a partial effect on a successful save, you instead suffer no effects from the attack. If you fail the save, you instead suffer the partial effect.
This ability replaces the 13th level bloodline feat.
Blue Fortune (Ex)
At 19th level, once per day you may treat a single Spellcraft check or saving throw as if you had rolled a natural 20. You may choose to use this ability even after you roll your check or save but before the result is determined.
This ability replaces the 19th level bloodline feat.
Step 1: Make your Sleight of Hand check against the target's Perception check (as well as the Perception check of anyone who could notice you). If the check succeeds against the target, the target is flat-footed against your touch attack. If the check fails, the target notices your attempt to touch them and may act aggressively (roll initiative). Likewise, if someone other than the target notices your touch attack, they may or may not say something (all of which should occur after step 2).
Step 2: Make your touch attack against the target. This will either use the flat-footed touch AC of the target if you were successful in step 1 or the normal touch AC of the target if you were unsuccessful in step 1. If you touch the target, you activate the hex and move on to step 3. If you fail to touch the target, you fail to activate the hex and hope no one saw your gaffe.
Step 3: Target makes its Will save against the hex. If it fails the Will save, your hex activates and it is none-the-wiser. If it succeeds on its Will save, it feels a hostile force or tingle but may not immediately know the effect originated from you. If you are but a face in the crowd, you may make a Bluff or Stealth check to appear innocent.
I just had a question about the Shaman hybrid class and the Heavens spirit. Given the rules, it would be possible to take both Flight (a witch hex) as well as Lure of the Heavens (from the Heavens spirit hexes). If so, would all of the abilities stack?
Flight (SU): At 1st level, the witch can use feather fall at will and gains a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks. At 3rd level, she can cast levitate once per day. At 5th level, she can fly, as per the spell, for a number of minutes per day equal to her level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-minute increments. This hex only affects the witch.
Lure of the Heavens (Su): The shaman's connection to the skies above is so strong that her feet barely touch the ground. At 1st level, she no longer leaves tracks. At 5th level, she can hover up to 6 inches above the ground or liquid surfaces. At 10th level, the shaman gains the ability to fly (as the spell) for a number of minutes per day equal to her shaman level--the duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be used in 1-minute increments.
If combined would it be:
Flight of the Heavens (Su): The shaman's connection to the skies above is so strong that her feet barely touch the ground. At 1st level, she can use feather fall at will, no longer leaves tracks, and gains a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks. At 3rd level, she can cast levitate once per day. At 5th level, she can hover up to 6 inches above the ground or liquid surfaces and can fly, as per the spell, for a number of minutes per day equal to her level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-minute increments. At 10th level, the shaman can use this ability to fly for a number of minutes per day equal to twice her shaman level. This hex only affects the shaman.
I sort of like the poetic justice of an extraplanar being summoning a level 1 wizard to "disarm" a trap by activating it. It would be very interesting if, because they are "summoned", they simply return to wherever they just were with the jarring experience of having just set off and been killed by an alien device with no understanding of how or why they were transported to and from.
I agree with NeFreet. The rules do not make mention of light, one-handed, or two-handed weapons. It states ALL gargantuan weapons. Proficiency is another story, but as a GM I would rule a cloud giant could wield gargantuan weapons as if they were sized for the giant.
An age chart listing of all core, featured, and uncommon races. This also includes age categories and starting ages for playing young characters of all core, featured, and uncommon races. This chart uses official Paizo material combined with equivalent races uses the same age progression and races without an equivalent using similar patterns in age progression. Feel free to use or not use this chart, open gaming license, have fun, legal blah blah blah...
I am playing around with the samsaran race and trying to develop more racial options for it. I wanted to know if this optional racial trait looked balanced.
Martial Past Life (Ex): You choose one weapon when you select this racial trait. You gain proficiency with your chosen weapon. If you are already proficient with your chosen weapon or later become proficient from another source, you gain a +1 insight bonus on attack rolls with the weapon. You can use your character level to qualify for feats with a fighter level prerequisite when those feats are applied to your chosen weapon. This racial trait replaces shards of the past.
I was also thinking this could replace Samsaran Magic, but I think it fits better with Shards of the Past and Mystic Past Life (which is one of the most potentially broken racial traits I have ever seen).
Also for your consideration:
Roots of Humanity (Ex): You are among the rare samsaran whose human ancestry manifests itself as a dominate trait in your current incarnation; possessed of fair skin, pupiled eyes with pale blue irises, and dark hair. You possess the human subtype as well as the samsaran subtype and count as a human for any effect related to race, including feat prerequisites. You can pass for human without using the Disguise skill. This racial trait replaces samsaran magic and alters your humanoid subtype.
First of all, good luck to you. Teenagers can be a handful sometimes but are generally more helpful and manageable than people give them credit for. I wish I had something to offer you for your original question about society scenarios but I have never played society before (really want to) so I have no insight there.
I have experience running sessions with teens at my youth group (13-19 year olds) so I can at least give some advice on that. I would definitely suggest the second GM/Adult Player to help set the tone for how the game is going to be played. Some games are very serious, others are more humorous, and setting the tone early on is important when dealing with teenagers. Typically those that want to play d20 systems appreciate the serious experience but will more than likely get more out of a humorous tone. I understand your want to limit class selection to the traditional four/five core concepts (warrior, expert, arcane adept, divine adept, natural adept) but make sure the players are able to make characters they want and will enjoy.
Be quick, be witty, and if all else fails remember to have fun.
A Samsaran monk who sacrifices himself this way has found one of the few ways to escape the wheel of reincarnation. He is truly dead and gone.
I now have an idea for a character. A Samsaran who had been reincarnated countless times, with the details of past lives vague as usual, but he has the remembrance of all of his deaths available to him with perfect clarity.
He wants nothing more than to be ripped free from the wheel, and becomes a monk of the healing hand to try to do so.
I suppose a samsaran who becomes a monk of the healing hand to find release from the cycle of death and rebirth is little different from a character who becomes an alchemist to attain eternal youth. Both enter into specialized training to unlock a hidden secret that will fulfill their wishes. Only real difference is one gets to enjoy their final ability a lot longer than the other... usually.
Also, side question... if a samsaran uses true sacrifice and is utterly destroyed, does that only affect the samsaran's current incarnation or does it erase all of the samsaran's past incarnations from the universe as well?
This section introduces monk vows, which any user of ki can take to increase his ki pool.
A monk can discipline his body to hold more ki by upholding the strict tenets of a vow. By adhering to his vow’s tenets, the monk’s ki pool increases by the amount listed in the vow’s description. Every vow comes with a penalty or limitation to offset this increase in ki. A monk can take a vow at any level, but it does not add to his ki pool until he gains a ki pool as a class feature. The ability to take these vows replaces the still mind class feature, even if the monk abandons all his vows.
Can an enlightened paladin (archetype) use monk vows?
The archetype grants a ki pool and it would fit thematically, but I am not sure if the vows are monk only or only stated as being monk because monk was (until ninja and a few other exceptions) the only class that got a ki pool. It says it replaces the still mind class feature, but that section specifically relates to monks. I just wanted to see what other people think about it, either through official rulings or how you would address it as a GM.
The railroad could be involved in a land scheme in conjunction with a local philanthropist. The money-bags wannabe can be using intimidation or force to quietly collect parcels of land from settlers that the railroad will pay top dollar to place their tracks on. If the marshal in the course of performing his duties learns about this or seeks to uncover the truth (even if the philanthropist or railroad only suspect he knows something) he could find himself being set up to be discredited, killed, or both.
Nothing is worse than a botched murder, especially if the murder was organized and implemented by a bunch of entitled, rich people with a lot to lose. You could even give your BBEG a monologue (when he has or thinks he has the upper hand) where he explains his grand design for the frontier and how his vision is superior and will bring stability and prosperity to the land. Remember, the best villains are never villains in their own eyes because, to them, their worldview is justifiable. That is the scariest part of all.
Also, remember escalating the threat gradually is better than an overwhelming antagonist at the beginning. Initially, it could be the philanthropist or one of the minor antagonists involved slips up and some evidence of their wrongdoings (either physical or a person) slips through the cracks and in their attempt to cover it up the marshal gets involved. Their response might be to buy off the marshal (very common practice) or to silence the marshal. Other marshals might even try to get him to drop the investigation, which alienates him from those he might seek out for help. This makes it so that he has to ally himself with unlikely forces (the PC outlaws) to make sure justice is served and the law upheld. When buying him off fails, the philanthropist might try to discredit the marshal by framing him for a crime he didn't do and placing a bounty on their head. When this tactic fails to bear fruit or if the railroad finds out, a professional hired gun (or group of hired gun specialists) might be brought in to provide a new fighting experience. Perhaps each bounty hunter has a signature method of bringing down their target (explosives specialist? but you will destroy the town!). As the bounty builds, the philanthropist feels the pressure, and the railroad grows inpatient the final card might be played. This could include destroying the troublesome town who has begun to show support for the outlaw marshal and his band of "heroes", framing the heroes in the process.
Either way, consider introducing the philanthropist as the BBEG only to reveal he is actually the mini-boss/busey.
Yeah, it's a pretty terrible ability, all in all. Your capstone ability, the thing you've waited 20 levels for, the culmination of your ENTIRE CLASS...is the ability to blow yourself up so hard even the gods don't know how to put Humpty back together.
Hey, with enough of them, you can eli8minate the English language.
You blows up, no one can say "you".
The blows up, no one can say "the".
And so on.
Pretty potent stuff.
You have to at least consider the possibility an adventurer shares a name with at least someone else in the world (unless you are a gnome, and then it is a total crap shoot). Statistically, the more common a name the more likely someone with that name is to reach level 20 in this archetype. If someone had the most popular name and went true sacrifice...
Or, maybe it is just whenever something references THEM that the name is removed, people cannot say it (because it is forgotten), and everyone else is fine.
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I was curious about the Samsaran Monk of the Healing Hand. This is either not truly a sacrifice or one of the truest sacrifices around.
Paizo wrote:
A samsaran's life is not a linear progression from birth to death, but rather a circle of birth to death to rebirth. Whenever a samsaran dies, it reincarnates anew as a young samsaran to live a new life. Her past memories remain vague and indistinct—and each new incarnation is as different a creature and personality as a child is to a parent.
Paizo wrote:
True Sacrifice (Su): At 20th level, in a final selfless act, a monk of the healing hand can draw in his entire ki, which then explodes outward in a 50-foot-radius emanation. All dead allies within the emanation are brought back to life, as if they were the subject of a true resurrection spell with a caster level equal to the monk’s level. When the monk does this, he is truly and utterly destroyed. A monk destroyed in this way can never come back to life, not even by way of a wish or miracle spell or by the power of a deity. Furthermore, the monk’s name can never be spoken or written down again. All written mentions of his name become nothing more than a blank space.
The outcome of this odd pairing really can only take one of three forms; either the samsaran is truly utterly destroyed, not truly utterly destroyed, or something in-between. This much I am absolutely sure of.
Truly Utterly Destroyed: The old adage is "mechanics trumps flavor" so it would make complete sense for the samsaran to not reincarnate anew as a young samsaran. In this outcome the samsaran made a truly great sacrifice, not only giving up its current life and the past lives it had accrued but also any lives it might have lived in the future. Truly a loss for the samsaran community and the world.
Not Truly Utterly Destroyed: Because the mechanics of true sacrifice are talking about that particular player character and the flavor of the samsaran race states "each new incarnation is as different a creature and personality as a child is to a parent" it may stand to reason that the samsaran would still be reincarnated.
Something In-Between: What if both happened at the same time? Yes, the samsaran was reincarnated as their race is want to do, but true sacrifice also took place, robbing the new samsaran from the inheritance of their memories of their past lives or even bleeding through into their current incarnation. This could manifest as not having a name or even having no memories at all; merely popping into existence as a child with little to no knowledge of the world around them.
Now that I think about it, this could be a really cool back story (pending GM approval) for a samsaran character. You could even swap out the Shards of the Past racial feature for the Forgotten Past (Story Feat). In order to fulfill the completion requirements of the feat, the samsaran character might have to solve the mystery of the nameless hero who scarified their life to save his adventuring companions. After all, a samsaran pulls off true sacrifice and you happen to manifest around the same time with memory issues? Not the needle in the haystack it first appears, but there is still plenty of room for mystery. Maybe the evil they defeated still lurks in some form, ready for a CR appropriate encounter to finish the job...
Which on is better, less cliched, and/or more empowering for female players?
Why can there not be more than one version of the myth? Perhaps one version is true. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere inbetween.
Maybe in truth they were sisters and the myths were wrong.
I definitely like the idea of the world only knowing part of the story and perhaps a dedicated PC or NPC patron seeks the full story. This can lead to conflict because of how people freak out when someone comes along and tries to change even a small accepted societal norm. I mean, they killed the guy who suggested doctors wash their hands between handling diseased corpses and delivering babies, and that was the "educated" people.
Try and change a blindly accepted aspect of a culture that is integrated into the lives of "uneducated" common folk... yeah, people are going to die.
I am kicking around the idea of making young character (childish) archetypes for the NPC classes of adept, aristocrat, expert, and warrior. Basically creating proto-core classes with a childish bent that would give players and GMs more customization options when putting together young character campaigns. Same power level as the NPC classes but flavored and scaled for young characters to have a little something special going for them.
If you must have a number just average Con and dex and/or str to get how fit the character is mixed with charisma for how they carry themselves. Now you have a number without messing up the stat array/point buy system.
Could always run it like Leadership, where your Attractiveness grows more powerful as your character does. After all, a powerful adventurer is going to be attractive in their own right. Don't forget to add your mythic tier!
Book of Erotic Fantasy had appearance as a mechanic and it was alright, especially for a book whose entire contents was focused on sex and sexuality in d20 systems. While you aren't going to have a whole lot of that in a typical game (maybe you do, I don't know, I don't judge) it provided a decent option for GMs and players to consider.
I am more of a fan of treating attractiveness or beauty as a cosmetic stat, much like height and weight in that a creative player can sometimes take those stats and make them meaningful. We already have traits, spells, and feats that affect targets that "could be attracted to your character" so that isn't something new.
As a GM, if you are going to focus your campaign on social interaction and attractiveness then you better give your players the tools they need to be successful. If you have players that want to have options for social interactions based on being attractive, give them the tools and the opportunity to play their characters the way they want to. If you are a player and want to have an attractive character who can use that to your advantage, talk to your GM.
I ran Into the Haunted Forest and Hollow's Last Hope as a precurser to Crown of the Kobold King with a group not long ago. Using Pathfinders recently introduced young character mechanics, I actually stated up the children that go missing in Crown of the Kobold King and had each of my players play as one of the children, running a few short sessions between sessions with their characters. This let them get to know the kids, as well as get to know Falcon's Hallow and the NPCs in a new and unique way. Not for every group but it was fun watching them struggle to fend off the kobolds that kidnapped them, only to switch back to their actual characters and start investigating themselves.
Requires a group that can divorce player knowledge from character knowledge. Anyway, if you wanted The Children of Falcon's Hallow are free to use for whoever wants them.
I agree that the exploration time will be negligibly impacted by adding an additional 35 square miles to the hex. However, the most important thing is for you and your players to have fun. If adjusting the table to bring exploration times in line with the new size of the area is fun for you and gives you a sense of accomplishment as your players explore your completely unique mechanics, I say go for it. If you would rather spend your time developing interesting and unique encounters within the hex as opposed to redesigning exploration speeds, do that instead. So long as both you and your players are having fun and it isn't hurting anyone, do what ye will.
Because I am a mad man, devoid of reason. Actually, as I mentioned before I was simply bored and this was the inevitable result of my boredom. Perhaps this is one of those "You were so busy trying to figure out whether or not you could, you never stopped and asked yourself whether or not you should." sort of things.
I totally agree height and weight (age for that matter) is pretty much a non-issue for a majority of players and DMs, save for fluff generation. However, looking at the study and the underweight and below height females represented in Pathfinder, I felt presenting mechanics for rolling a "healthier" weight and height for female characters would help to reinforce a more realistic image of what it means to be a female adventurer. I am not looking to change the world, although I might be trying to bring the height and weight mechanics closer to mirroring reality. As I said, I am not a professional game designer and anyone is free to use or not use my suggestions. If people would like, I can always generate another Height and Weight chart based on the formula I developed (half weight, -12% base height) for all races without the adjustments I made to the human and human-like races.
I looked over the build and it seems pretty solid. Given that the other auras are transformed into something that benefits you and your weapon, Shadow of Justice (Aura of Justice) doesn't really seem to fit anymore. You might consider reworking it so that it doesn't affect your allies but does something interesting with your weapon.
As for the final ability, it is basically the paladin cap, plus a holy avenger, plus more cool stuff. Overkill. I could see the paladin cap and the built in holy avenger, but not the other stuff you added on. That is just my opinion though.
Otherwise, very interesting take on the paladin as a redeemer of a long lost soul.
I believe this is pretty common knowledge (but I figure I'll throw it out there just in case it isn't), but usually the first thing I do after I give the players information about what sort of game I will be running and they make their characters, is I pour over their sheets to see where they have invested skill ranks, feats, and what class features or spells they have access to. Once I have that information and I see what sort of activities will be rewarding for them to tackle, I usually build or at least seed my adventure with ways for them to use their abilities to shine. If a player decides he wants to put ranks into the Heal skill, I will give him opportunities to use it creatively (determine cause/time of death of a body they find in the woods). Little things like that, especially if used judiciously, can make for very rewarding sessions even if combat encounters aren't the focus.
Alchemist will be a good character for identifying potions or even helping to identify alchemical effects. You might even consider designing unique herbs or flowers the alchemist can use to craft useful potions or elixirs to overcome certain challenges.
The wizard should also have his spell list at the ready and you might have to adjust your encounter on the fly to reward creative spell use. Same with oracle, but be sure to play up their curse (not always in the negative) and give them opportunities to use their unique revelations.
Otherwise, I am sure there are modules out there that don't focus on combat encounters.
