Raltz Nighvanus's page

I have been going through some of the races in an unpublished campaign setting, in an attempt to make them less... ARG-extruded. One of them, one that I was actually quite happy with, was the domestic gnoll, a smaller relative of the 'feral' gnoll (they are visually styled after African wild dogs) that, to escape persecution by their larger kin, fled en masse to the cities of the world. They 'domesticated' themselves, and take pride in their position as the best service available in urban areas.

In my latest run, I've been thinking of replacing two of their features, Lucky (same as the halfling ability, but if I keep it I was going to rename it Guarded) and Domesticated (renamed version of gnomes' Obsessive), and giving them a new form of Domesticated: the domestic gnoll chooses one of the following skills: Appraise, Craft, Heal, Handle Animal, Linguistics, Perform, or Profession. It becomes a class skill if it isn't already, and the domestic gnoll is treated as having skill ranks equal to their class level (so it's like Skilled for humans, but it's locked into one tertiary skill). Additionally, once they reach level 5 (and thus 5 ranks), they gain the skill's Skill Unlock.

The skill list was chosen for skills that would be the most... domestic. There is a similar race in the setting, the arctien, that was previously similar to the domestic gnoll (Dex/Wis, small), but much better. Automatically got Weapon Finesse, stealthy, initiative bonus. Since we started trying to differentiate these two more, I decided making the domestic gnoll to be a better at skills would be the best thing I could do.

Is it a bad idea for a racial feature to grant a skill unlock, even if it for a relatively harmless skill? Additionally, I had a feat in mind that was domestic gnoll-exclusive to expand on this, Domestic Dilettante. Basically, it allows a domestic gnoll that takes it to select another skill to have the same mechanics as Domesticsted (free ranks plus unlocks), plus the ability to retrain your skill ranks in the chosen skill for free. The big thing was that I was going to let it be taken for any skill, as the domestic gnoll's better version of Signature Skill. Any thoughts?

I joined a group playing RotRL Anniversary Edition, and they sprung a couple rules I can't really find basis for anywhere. The biggest of which is that moving through allies in combat is considered difficult terrain. I've been playing Pathfinder for at least five years (PFS, mostly) and have NEVER seen this done before. The only basis I can think of is them misinterpreting rules for crowds...

The second one is that a diagonal counts as moving through all four squares (the one you are moving to, and the ones next to it). Never seen this rule, either, but the situation comes up less.

Is there any support for these? Or, even better, is there support that these interpretations of the rules are wrong? I would very much like to never have to worry about this again, it's a very frustrating thing to deal with in combat.

In one of my gaming groups (more Pathfinder-focused, the three of us developing a setting together), I seem to be alone in that I don't hate the implementation of androids. One constantly yearns for a more mechanical robot race and isn't a fan of their soul-having status, while the other despises that they have souls. He says it betrays decades of science fiction (to which I say Pathfinder isn't science fiction, but I digress), and has expressly forbid them from any of his games. Note that none of us are sticks-in-the-mud about technology and Pathfinder, we LOVE it, but they just plum hate androids.

I LIKE their almost-organic, soul-possessing implementation. Souls and how they work are admittedly something I am a fan of in Pathfinder, so it's not really a surprise (I also like the Shabti, a race I consider an almost magical equivalent). Is there anything people would suggest to sway their opinions?

So, I'm a fan of the fantasy archetype of the armored mage, complete with sword and shield. Naturally I'm a fan of the magus, but I find the Skirnir archetype... lacking. I was mulling over options from the Armor Master's Handbook, and was looking at Shielded Mage; not incredibly useful for magus, not as much as Unhindering Shield, but a lot more fun in my opinion. If I want to play a shielded magus, I want an actual shield, not a metal dinner plate strapped to my forearm. I know the benefits are virtually the same, but still...

I was thinking, though, when looking at shields. A quickdraw shield, combined with the Quick Draw feat, can be donned or put away as a free action. Now, could a magus (or any other mage), when casting a spell, simply put the shield away before casting and put it on after casting? Well, that's not the question, of course it's possible to do that, but would they get the shield bonus back? If we follow the buckler's example, no... But bucklers remain on your arm as you're doing something else; from a more meta perspective, they use language specific to bucklers, and I don't see rules consituting what using a hand for limits you to in combat. Now I could go either way on this, but whichever way seems to have sway, it could still be useful to use this tactic, since you could pick up Shielded Mage to be be able to cast spells with a shield anyway, provided you don't need a free hand for something like Spell Combat or one of the Dex-to-damage feats.

Came up during a PFS game. Painful Stare does not specify it is mind-affecting, only that it affects the target the hypnotic stare. 'Target' being the operative word I'm hanging on; if not, vexing daredevils are utterly useless against creatures immune to mind-affecting. A mesmerist can make something the target of its stare even if it's immune, which is what I am saying.

Don't have much time to do a fluff writeup, but basically, I had an idea for a campaign setting I'm working on with others, that of a quadruped (an idea someone had suggested) tiny (same guy a few weeks later suggested a tiny race) race. A visual description is a bit difficult at this point, but describing them as having both traits of canine, feline, and especially mustelids.

Jolethi Characters

Ability Score Racial Traits: Jolethi are not strong in frame, but are nimble in both mind and body. They gain +4 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, and -4 Strength.
Size: Jolethi are Tiny creatures, though they can change their size to Small at will (see Wild Change below). They gain a +2 size bonus to AC, -2 size penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +8 size bonus on stealth checks.
Type: Jolethi are fey.
Base Speed: Jolethi have a base speed of 20 feet.
Low Light Vision: Jolethi can see twice as humans in conditions of dim light.
Wild Change: As a standard action, a jolethi can transform into a large version of themselves , and back again. Their size becomes Small, their speed changes to 40 feet, and any gear they are carrying also changes size, though if dropped it reverts to its normal size. In Small form, they gain a +2 size bonus to their Strength, and a -2 size penalty to their Dexterity. This is a supernatural ability.
Bite: Jolethi possess a bite attack that deals 1d3 points of damage in their Tiny form, 1d4 in their Small form.
Forest Runners:[/b] Jolethi always count Acrobatics and Survival as class skills.
Shifting Magic: Jolethi have an innate connection to transmutation magic. When Tiny, when casting spells of the transmutation school on creatures other than themselves, their caster level recieves a +2 bonus. When Small, this bonus instead applies to spells cast on themselves.
Quadruped: Jolethi are quadrupedal creatures. They must use unusual armor, and cannot use magic items intended for humanoids in many cases, at the GM’s discretion. Their forepaws are prehensile, however, allowing wielding of objects. A jolethi carrying something one-handed treats normal terrain as difficult terrain, and difficult terrain as impassible. A jolethi using both its hands treats all terrain as impassible.
Languages: Jolethi begin play knowing Common and Sylvan. Joltehi with high Intelligence can choose from the following: Centaur, Draconic, Elven, Gnoll, Gnome, Halfling, and Harpy.

Any feedback/suggestions? Considering changing the creature type to magical beast, but fey has precedent in being a PF race type, plus its less powerful (don't want this race to get darkvision).

In PFS my samurai just reached level 10, taking his first level of Mammoth Rider. I've been preparing for this for a while so I'm familiar with some options, but I haven't been as up to date as I could be. I'm looking for a way to make the mount relatively relevant in as many situations as possible; I know the spell Carry Companion could handle it easily, but I don't currently have the book, and was looking to see if there was other options available. I could buy and enchant a large-sized tower shield, which I guess is slightly more portable than a huge-sized giant cat, but not very. Another option is Pup Shape, but I think that's more trouble than it's worth.

Any other options besides buying a want of Carry Companion? If that's the only option I'm fine with it, but I'd like to know of any other options out there.

I was reading over Reborn Samsaran today, and I noticed their bit about their Reborn Magic... doesn't follow the rules for Psychic Magic universal monster ability. Theirs is keyed off of charisma, which while annoying in that the race doesn't get a bonus to it, isn't too bad. BUT, in the Psychic Magic monster rule, it says it uses Int OR Cha, whichever is higher. But hey, specific rule trumps general rule... even if it specifically says 'as per Psychic Magic', with no exceptions qualified. Another thing: Using Psychic Magic qualifies the user to use occult skill unlocks. The Reborn Samsaran says that if they are not capable of using the skill unlocks, they recieve psychic sensitivity as a bonus feat instead of psychic virtuoso. But they're always capable of using the unlocks. Because they have Psychic Magic by default, unless you are trading it out somehow via alternate racial traits, which do not exist. Granted, it does cover a base for future alternate racial traits, so I can see why that would be included.

All in all, I think this race is an example of poor editing; if anyone were to play the race in one of my games, I would allow their psychic magic to use Int or Cha, whichever is higher.

For a homebrew setting I've been working on with a few friends, I wanted some feedback that didn't come from our little echo chamber.

Solarborn

The solarborn are a diurnal species not native to Coria. Despite their monstrous appearance, they get along well with others, and have an eye for spotting talent, utilizing it to cover their weaknesses.

Physical Description: Solarborn are a tall draconic race, on average reaching heights of seven feet. They have pointed snouts, tails, digitigrade legs, wing fins on their forearms, and their hide is hewed from red to orange. They have small spines that run the length of their back, with the longest at their heads. They tend to wear only as much clothing is strictly necessary, both for utility and to show off their bodies. They age similarly to half-elves, reaching ages of 150 years on average. However, solarborn remain fertile until venerable age.

Society and Relations: The Solarborn currently on Coria are the descendants of half of the crew of a vast Terra-ship, a spacecraft designed with technology and magic to resemble a small planet; the Solarborn populated the surface, while their Noctite partners inhabited the inside of the ship. When the Barrier went up, the ship crashed on Coria. They number relatively few and having somewhat forgotten their ancestors, they wander the surface looking for something to sate their desires. They are tolerated by most races, but have friendly relations with Noctites when the races meet, having been partners. Since the habitation of the two races is in itself incompatible, they have never disagreed on territory, and thus work well together. Their aging and fertility leads young solarborn to not worry about settling down until they start to feel age clawing at them; still, solarborn family groups are a rare thing, not often exceeding four to five members. For names, they have an unusual tradition of having a given name, and then earning their ‘title’ themselves. For example, Kaoros, One Who Rides Griffons.

Alignment: Because they see themselves as descendants of Solar Dragons, they tend to veer towards Chaotic, taking what they want, or else pursuing other passions. Solarborn are almost always passionate, and tend to eschew Neutral alignments. Some hardliners hold themselves more orderly than others, imitating their Solar Dragon forbears, and are Lawful Neutral. Those few solarborn that hold themselves to a higher code, taking the custody and sanctity of all life into account, tend to be greatly respected by other solarborn, even if they do not agree with them.

Adventuring: Most Solarborn have been an adventurer at some point in their past, and tend to gravitate towards classes that benefit them. This means there are few scholarly Solarborn, but quite many bloodragers, fighters, bards, skalds, and sorcerers. They in particular have an affinity towards a variation of the Draconic bloodline. Many solarborn seek out adventuring to earn a better name-title.

Male Names: Kriishnavos, Kaoros, Norriban, Sorroon
Female Names: Haphizara, Malii, Kaori, Zepheema

Solarborn Characters

Ability Score Racial Traits: Solarborn are physically gifted and quite charismatic, but rely heavily on the advancements of others. Solarborn characters have +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, and -2 Intelligence.

Type: Solarborn are Monstrous Humanoids, and thus have darvision out to 60 feet.

Size: Solarborn are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Base Speed: Solarborn have a base speed of 30ft.

Fire Resistance: Solarborn possess fire resistance 5 as a result of their ties to the sun.

Breath Weapon: Solarborn are capable of a powerful breath weapon. Once per day as a standard action Solarborn can make a supernatural breath attack that deals 2d6 fire damage in a 20-foot line. The DC for this ability is 10 + ½ the Solarborn’s level + the Solarborn’s Constitution modifier. A successful reflex save negates the damage.

Vestigial Wings: Solarborn possess fins similar to wings on their arms, granting them a +4 racial bonus to flight as these aid the character.

Prehensile Tail: Solarborn’s tails are flexible enough to carry objects, and can retrieve small, stowed objects carried on their person as a swift action.

Solar Healing: As a swift action, a solarborn can call upon its solar dragon heritage, gaining fast healing 1 for 1 minute. This fast healing only works in bright light, such as sunlight. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to ½ the solarborn’s character level (minumum 1).

Light Dependant: Solarborn take 1d4 points of Constitution damage each day they go without exposure to sunlight.

Dragonic Scion: Solarborn retain a modicum of their creators’ essence. For effects related to race they count as both monstrous humanoids and dragons for effects related to race (with the exception of the draconic disciple prestige class). They also gain a +1 bonus on charisma checks when communicating in Draconic. This bonus does not apply against other Solarborn.

Languages: Solarborn start with Common and Draconic, and Solarborn with high Intelligence may learn any languages they want (with the exception of secret languages).

Alternate Racial Traits

Eye for Talent: Solarborn have great intuition for hidden potential, and some are very adept at judging other's potential. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks. In addition, when they acquire an animal companion, bonded mount, cohort, or familiar, that creature gains a +2 bonus to one ability score of the character’s choice. This trait replaces Prehensile Tail and Vestigial Wings.

Solar Blood: These Solarborn are more in touch with their raconic heritage. Solarborn Sorcerers and Bloodragers with the Draconic Bloodline count their Charisma as 2 points higher for all Sorcerer and Bloodrager class abilities. They may also use Solar Dragons as options for their Draconic Bloodline (Type: Solar, Energy type Fire, Breath Shape 60ft Line) and in the Form of the Dragon spell (60ft line of fire, Resist Fire 20, No Breath). This trait replaces Fire Resistance and Breath Weapon.

Lunarborn: Not getting enough warm light of the sun in their eggs has done strange things to these solarborn, beginning with hatching during nocturnal hours. Lunarborn crawl out of their egg with silvery-white scales, as opposed to solarborn’s standard golden-orange. They lack their kin’s dependence on sunlight, their ability to rapidly heal wounds, and several of their draconic abilities, but they gain strange new abilities, and their minds are much colder, more calculating than normal Solarborn. Their ability score modifiers are +2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Cha. Their fire resistance changes to cold resistance. In addition, they gain Psychic Magic: 5 PE- detect psychic significance (0 PE), mind thrust I (1 PE), mindlink (1 PE), mental barrier I (2 PE). This modifies the solarborn’s ability score modifiers and Fire Resistance, and replaces Solar Healing, Breath Weapon, and Light Dependant.

Edit: cleaned up the formatting

Several aspects of the Skinwalker race were revised for Inner Sea Races. Some big ones were that they no longer have a limited number of charges per day, their languages were qualified, the Scaleheart's fluff and ability modifiers were changes, the Ragebred's ability score modifiers were changed, and the Nightskulk's distraction ability was nerfed.

Now the only change I have issue with is the Scaleheart changes (in BotM they were said to be coldhearted schemers with a hierarchy enforced by fear, in ISR they are just another brutish race and they are said to hail from the Sodden Lands and the Shackles rather than Mwangi rivers and Thuvia). In my campaign I have several of skinwalkers as PCs; should I treat this as an errata as a whole, or take it as an update with the exception of the racial modifiers, and do what PFS did and make it treat them as alternate racial qualities?

So I'm gearing up for an urban campaign. The setting is a flying metropolis, New Laqueta, cobbled together from various flying debris and structures: a flying city a la Laputa, a Cloud Castle, many derelict airships, several helicarriers... Pretty much a 40K space hulk, but in the sky. And colonized.

I've figured the city has a population of around 30,000, and is fairly densely packed. So much so that I have been considering inflating the cost of living values and/or the capital system from the Downtime system. Simply put, I want players to struggle early game to get a foothold in the city; as they start making a name for themselves and accomplishing greater and greater things, it will get easier.

Anyone have any advice or guidance?

The Necromantic Servant focus power seems to be a nifty little ability, but I have several questions on how it works. The text at the beginning does not state a range; combining it with what it does, I would have to assume it actually animates a corpse already interred. However, nearly everything else suggests you are creating/summoning the servant, from the duplication ability to limited features (only human skellies/zombies).

I've seen a lot of arguments both for and against this; on one hand, Unchained makes no mention of alignments in the Barbarian VMC. On the other hand, some have said that it is taking from the barbarian class, and lawful barbarians cannot rage. Which view is right?

I like the Ecorche. Really nasty undead. That rips your skin off and wears it. But, I have a question about its signature ability:

Seize Skin (Su) Whenever an ecorche damages a target with its rend ability, the target must succeed at a DC 25 Fortitude save to resist being skinned alive. Those who fail the save become staggered and take 1 point of Constitution drain per round. Both of these effects are permanent but can be removed with a regenerate or heal spell (or 1 round of regeneration). The ecorche can use its wear skin ability to don a skin stolen in this way as a full-round action. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

My question is that, after that ability is used, is the victim still wearing their gear (like that tablecloth trick where you pull it out from under the stuff on top without moving it), or are they truly stripped naked of anything above their muscles?

RAW, I believe only the skin is taken. It is a supernatural ability, after all. RAI, and by my ruling if a I was running, the victim would drops their gear. Or more accurately, the Ecorche would shake out the skin like a blanket.

I've always liked the idea of a character that focused on Called Shots. I figured that attacks such as the gunslinger's Dead Shot, that allow the user to make a full-attack action that counts as just one attack, is the best way to do that.

In comes Pummeling Style. You resolve all your attacks, and they all count as one attack. And on top of that, if you have one crit, your entire attack crits! Combining that with the Greater Called Shot feat, which allows you to substitute any attack for a called shot. So, combining Pummeling Style with Greater Called Shot, as I see it, allows you to have your big attack be one big called shot, with all the damage and several chances to possibly crit as a full attack.

So, this build for a brawler (the best class I can see to accomplish this, with more feats to play around with than a monk) has several issues that would need to be addressed. If they were to Called Shot every turn, they are taking penalties on their attacks, from -2 to -10, and hoping for a crit. I can see them taking another critical feat, since Critical Focus (and the Anatomist trait) is something that would benefit the build, and Improved Critical shouldn't even be mentioned its so necessary.

Does anyone have any other recommendations for this? Helping the critical problem, or a consistent way of heavily improving the character's attack bonus?

I am on another forum that doesn't quite seem to get that the Trench Fighter archetype in Rasputin Must Die! is clearly intended for 20th century soldiers. I made a joke to a friend that if someone asked me for that, I would say "Okay, you can be a Trench Fighter. But you have to be a Russian soldier. You speak Russian. Nothing else."

Then I was thinking... a conscripted Russian WWII-era soldier, teleported to a fantasy world? That would be awesome! So I ran with the concept. The immediate concern is that the rules, as written, don't allow for this, not completely. So I came up with this trait, roughly analogues to a campaign trait:

Soviet Soldier: You are not of Golarion, but from far beyond; 20th century Earth. You treat all firearms as simple weapons, and start with Russian as your language. However, you may only begin play understanding Earth languages, though if you have an Intelligence score higher than 11, you may elect to not start with bonus languages, and you instead may instead learn a language without taking a rank in Linguistics every time he gains a level, up to his intelligence bonus. You can communicate in a rough fashion using Sense Motive and body language. You never needed to craft your own firearms or ammunition, until now: you may not start play with Gunsmithing as a feat, but may take it at a later level. Even with Gunsmithing, you may not reproduce your equipment without also having the Craft Technological Arms and Armor feat. You may use the feat to craft other firearms and ammunition as per the feat, at the GM's discretion.

In addition, you have been outfitted with special equipment: a Mosin-Nagant M1891 rifle, a socket bayonet, Russian infantry uniform (counts as quilted cloth), a greatcoat and ushanka (counts as cold weather gear), a gasmask with 5 cartridges, 2 M1914 concussion grenades, Nagant M1895 revolver, a backpack, a canteen, a weeks worth of trail rations, and 34 metal cartridges, including two stripper clips. You may begin with up to 30 GP worth of gear, at the GM's discretion.

It's a bit generous on the gear, being 1680 gold pieces and 5 silver pieces; however, if you apply the Guns Everywhere rule, the ammunition and gun prices go down (I think they have not been applied already, since guns in Golarion are artificially inflated and handcrafted, and Russian weapons would be mass-produced in a factory. The adjusted 20th century gear is a slightly more reasonable 411.5 gp. Still expensive, but well within bounds for a trait (Rich Parents).

Any other suggestions? Comments? Accusations of insanity?

I was looking over the Technomancer in the PRD, and I noticed a hiccup in the Technic Spell Mastery ability. It states that the Technomancer can add spells to his spell list if they are not already, at the level a wizard can cast them. But what about spells such as Remove Radiation, which cannot be cast by wizards, who would likely be going into the PrC? I presume it would be added at 4th level, since all the other casters that get it cast it at that level, but, by RAW, a Wizard/Technomancer could not cast that spell.

So, question. The Savage Technologist archetype gets a variant of Rage, where they gain a +4 morale bonus to Strength and Dexterity, and lose the AC penalty. However, it says that any time a barbarian ability would increase her Strength, it increases her Dexterity. This would lead to uneven bonuses while raging at higher levels; was it meant to say that the Constitution bonuses get changed? Otherwise, an 11th level Savage Technologist would be gaining a +4 to Str, a +6 to Dex, and a +2 to Con.

Hello! I'm toying around with playing a Savage Technologist for my friend's campaign (for those interested in the world, the WIP guide is here). Short version: the world features a modified version of the Commonplace Guns rule. The houseruled version is that early guns are martial weapons, but advanced firearms are still exotic weapons. In addition, with the advent of the Technology Guide, he has stated that tech firearms are not included in the advanced proficiency, but it can be retrained to include it, provided you have an actual tech weapon to train with. He has also stated that having the Technologist feat would earn a discount on that. We would also be starting at 5th level, with 10000 starting gold to spend on gear.

Keeping these rules in mind, I came up with the concept of a Savage Technologist wielding an adamantine longsword and revolver. THEN the build problems came up.

1) The Savage Technologist does not gain the Gunsmithing feature. I like this choice for the archetype, fits in with the idea of picking up the enemies' advanced weaponry and using it against them. However, that leaves this character in the awkward position of having to rely on others for half his weaponry, and all of his ammunition, in addition to not being able to repair his very expensive revolver. I don't mind being reliant upon a party member with Gunsmithing to help him out. However, the game is still a little while off, so there may not be a party member with gunsmithing. I see three (well, two and a half, really) solutions to this. He could dip Pistolero, which would get him the boons of deeds such as quick clear, a small grit pool, gunsmithing, and a starting firearm. The downside being delayed Barbarian progression, including putting off Crack Shot, the really attractive Savage Technologist ability. The other options are to take either Amateur Gunslinger with the quick clear deed, the only one the character really needs to keep fighting. Either that, or actually take Gunsmithing. This would remove the option of fixing it in the fight, but would make firearms in general easier to keep and maintain, as the GM ruled starting with it means I can start with a firearm he had crafted, at half price. The downsides to this is that it doesn't really fit with the idea of the character, and its a feat used for non-combat purposes which... yeah, see the next one.

2) Limited feats. A level 5 human character has 4 feats. One of those is definitely going towards Technologist, to be able to deal with tech stuff for the party. The idea of the brilliant spellcaster being speechless at seeing a robot then the barbarian going "Actually, its a robot." appeals to me, and there will be advanced tech in this campaign. However, this means that he has THREE feats to play around with. Feat options: Power Attack and Deadly Aim are both getting grabbed, at some point. As mentioned above, Amateur Gunslinger or Gunsmithing are good if the Pistolero dip isn't taken. In addition, Point-Blank Shot (I'm fairly sure 99% of his firearm attacks will be from within melee range) and Precise Shot are good, if only to cancel out the penalties for firing into melee. Even though HE is in the melee.

3) Lastly, I have to say I'm a bit new to barbarians; they never really appealed to me, but this archetype looks amazing and it fits into the campaign world very nicely (the GM is going for a post-apocalyptic magitech sorta feel, with pre-apocalypse tech being a common occurance). I get rage stuff, and what the archetype loses. The thing I am new at, however, is Rage Powers. I have very little experience with them in general. Any recommendations based on what I have?

Thats the extent of my help needed. If you need more information, I can give it to the best of my knowledge.

I am working on my friend's setting, specifically on a magic item that gives you several electricity-based spell like abilities, such as Shocking Grasp and Lightning Bolt. Then I had a thought: can a magus use spell combat/spellstrike with spells he is not casting as a magus, due to an acquired SLA (or from another class), granted that the spell used is on the Magus list? I know about Broad Study and Spell Blending, they ADD spells. What if they are already there?

I had an idea for one of the ultimate villains in my campaign, since I have decided to take it Mythic. He is part of the Council, a shadowy group that enforces the order of the world, along with a Drakainia, and an Arcane Nightmare Lord Taniniver. So, to contrast these monstrous foes, I came up with the third member: a human bard. Level 20 Mythic tier 10, but a human bard.

So, here's what I have for him: mostly focuses on minions and making others fight for him. Relies on illusions to maintain multiple identities, each of which has a lot of people behind it. Also the item crafter for the group (somehow getting the Crafting Mastery ability), and relies on my favorite method of crafting multiple abilities into a single item. He's Neutral Evil, his Perform of choice would be Oratory (relying on Lingering Performance, barking quick orders), and in single combat has Arcane Strike (mythic version), the Deadly Dodge mythic ability, and exploitation of minions. Asides from that, he needs to be immortal.

So can you guys give me some clearer ideas for this Bard? I have some foggy ideas for mythic stuff (Marshall/Trickster dual path), but none for his archetype.

I've been working on an NPC ally for an upcoming campaign. He is a LG Trox slave; the Trox were an example of the more advanced builds with the Advanced Race Guide, but were included as an official race with Bestiary 4.

Some racial stuff for those who don't have access to either of those: Trox are Monstrous Humanoids, are Large (with 10 feet of natural reach), and have the Frenzy and Grabbing Appendages racial traits, in addition to a burrow speed. Their racial modifiers are +6 strength, and -2 to all mental stats. Frenzy is a 1/day lesser form of barbarian rage, and Grabbing Appendages give them Improved Grapple as a bonus feat, and allows them to maintain a grapple while using their other limbs.

As for his actual monk levels, that is what I was having trouble with. I know he has vows of Silence, Truth, and possibly Chains. Since he already has a pretty good advantage grappling, I was not looking at the Tetori archetype. I also want him to utilize Dragon Style; the extra damage is very attractive, as are the stunning fist options. I want something that lets him actually be effective at dealing damage during grappling.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

The (basic) tiefling has a penalty to charisma. Bloodrager specifically states the character takes on elements of their bloodline. Need I say that a tiefling would be awesome as an Infernal Bloodrager?

Fiendish Sorcery: Tiefling sorcerers with the Abyssal or Infernal bloodlines treat their Charisma score as 2 points higher for all sorcerer class abilities.

Fiendish Sorcery applies to the two bloodlines, but it is stated that it only works for sorcerers, which were the only class with bloodlines. Now we have two bloodlines, if slightly different. I don't think it is overpowered to rule that Fiendish Sorcery also works for bloodragers.

I am looking to create a married couple PCs for me and my friend to play. A tiefling and aasimar (need to look up aasimar marriage rituals, know the tiefling scarification one), both working for the same faction and always played together. I also want sanctified rings, but am not sure how to go about it. 5 GP on each PC, assume they have been activated? Do I have to ask a cleric to activate them in-session? Is there some arbitrary cost for a ceremony?

Furthermore, are there any traits that would work? I've been looking into teamwork feats, and have found them to be something too costly to invest in immediately.

I ask because I am planning a pair of Society characters that are married, and both would wear a sanctified ring. I ask because channel foci are not necessarily magic items: they are stated to be nonmagical until charged. However, the rings HAVE to be charged to even work, and are always on until destroyed. So: do sanctified rings use a ring slot?

I was looking over the formaldehyde-scented section of UM, and pondering the use of the Alchemical Simulacrum discovery, the first one. It acts as Lesser Simulcrum, which has several differences from the main spell: Less powerful (max hit dice is your level), time limit (hour/level), and, biggest in my mind, is the fact that while they recognize you as their creator, they are not under your command.

Now, Alchemical Simulacrum makes some changes of its own, namely that it takes 24 hours to brew one up, that the simulacrum is made of flesh, and is considered a creature, not an effect, which is the big one for me. If the simulacrum is a creature, not an effect...

Its established that your vat-baby has free will, kinda. Since he is a creature, he can't be dispelled like EITHER of the spell versions (insert Clone Master questions here). So... Is he permanent if he is a creature? It isn't summoned, so its not like there is a precedent. Logic states that since it apes the spell, the poor thing melts when its time is up, or since its a creature, and not an effect, it stays.

My thinking was the latter ruling, and thus my thoughts went off that (though they apply to the other one... temporarily). Since its a creature, can it be healed using normal magical healing, or does the spell take precedence? I read the post clarifying the spell, but most of the facts cited there, while perfectly accurate for the spell (insert MORE Clone Master questions here), with the Alchemical version being a creature, don't really apply.

And then, if they are permanent (which I like to think, given how a Clone Master has almost no reason to take the Alchemical Simulacrum discovery except as a prerequisite to take the much more awesome Doppelganger Simulacrum and Greater Alchemical Simulacrum), how do we handle the icky matter of their free-ish will? This applies even if they are not permanent, since unless its of you or a volunteer, this creature might not want to be your meat-slave for its limited life, depending on its (and therefore the original target) views. If its permanent, I can see it as 'If you try to go live on your own, you won't survive, since you can only be healed by (insert whatever form of healing here), so besides, I can take care of you." Really, I can see this going either way.

... Its mostly because a player of mine want to play an Android Alchemist/Master Chymist, and I want to encourage him to make android baby simulacra.

I was reading up on magic item creation, because I am playing a magus who is taking the Archmage Crafting Mastery feat, when I stumbled onto the bit on adding new abilities to a slotted item for +50% cost of making it, so 75% market value. (Forgive me if I can't post text, the PRD functions weird with my ipad. The text is at the very end of here)

This... This changes things.

As long as someone is crafting, you don't have to worry about only having 2 ring slots. You can have Muleback Cords built into your Cloak of Resistance, with no extra cost beyond the enchanting. You can combine a Ring of Sustenance and Regeneration to be the most awesome survival item ever, and still have a ring slot open. You could make add a Phylactery of Channeling to your mental headband. You could add they tiny rings onto each other (Feather Falling, Counter-Spelling, Protection, skill enchancements, etc), and make an awesome ring of power

Am I reading the rule right? If I am, why have I never seen this used before on the boards? Seems like an awesome rule to me.

I am planning a Mythic build, and I was trying to figure out how I can squeeze in another Path Ability. It appears the mythic feat Extra Path Ability can only be taken once, as it lacks the 'this ability can be taken up to X times' special text. However, I noticed that right above it, the Extra Mythic Power feat, very similar to other stackable feats such as Extra Hex, Extra Rage, Extra Ki, and Extra Arcane Pool also lacks this.

Extra Mythic Power (Mythic)

You can store more mythic power than your tier would normally allow.
Benefit: You gain two extra uses of mythic power each day.

Extra Path Ability (Mythic)

You can call upon mythic powers beyond those already invested in you.
Prerequisite: 3rd mythic tier.
Benefit: Choose one mythic ability from your path or from the universal path abilities that you meet the prerequisites for. You gain that path ability.

Was this intentional, or was this an oversight?

I have several characters who are multiclassing or taking levels in a PrC in Pathfinder Society. It has never been made clear to me how it stacks with other classes, exactly.

Case 1: I have a samurai who will eventually take levels in Mammoth Rider; both classes have straight BAB. As per the description of BAB, he still gets bonus attacks, just as if he had never multiclassed.

Case 2: I have a magus who recently started multiclassing into cleric. Both have 3/4 BAB progression. The character is a Magus 7/Cleric 1, getting a +5 from the magus and +0 from the cleric currently, I believe. Does it actually mean that I have the normal BAB of an 8th level 3/4 BAB class, or does it stack normally, with the character not getting another attack until the cleric's BAB reaches +1, giving him a +6,+1 total?

Case 2.5: ... Then what happens when he multiclasses to Mystic Theurge, a 1/2 BAB PrC?

I had the thought of my PFS character, a Magus 7/Cleric1 (for now, leveling up cleric), and I got into my head the idea after reading Goblins: Life Through Their Eyes what his IME would be. I thought of the cool idea to have it have been slowly shifting to look like Sarenrae. More specifically, black wings and fiery hair (he is a tiefling). Really, I just like the idea of shifting his look to become more like his god under spell effects. And while I can SAY when I cast Fly I get spectral black wings, that's not going to fly under every, if any, GMs. I remembered the awesome-looking spell Divine Vessel. It's 8th-level and Oracle-only, but I wanted to know if there was a similar spell (or even armor property) that could make a battle aura type of thing... WITHOUT casting illusions?

There has been a rash of thieving in our party (and it is definitely not the Drow Arcane Trickster), and I want to not only protect my gold, but also set some sort of example. I was inspired by Alaeron in City Of The Fallen Sky.

I just bought myself a Handy Haversack, and I was planning on stowing the wealth (condensed via platinum, gems and other stuff) in one of the side pockets. To protect this, I want to have some sort of magic device trap hooked up to a wand of Corrosive Touch. I can't find the rules for the cost of building or buying such a trap, but my GM tells me that it will cost a bit more due to the difficulty of building a trap inside a bag, like building a ship in a bottle, in addition to taking up space.

Okay, I have a samurai who is Order of the Lion, whose master is Amara Li. Now, depending on how Way of the Kirin ends for her (no spoilers!), I am going to have to change that. If it goes badly, poor Logheir will have to go Ronin. If not, I will have to leave her for the sake of actually working for the society without having to justify being half a world away and working for a different faction.

Now, if it goes as I hope, Logheir will ask for permission from Amara Li to join another faction (perhaps Grand Lodge), and accept a different Venture-Captain as his master. That way, I don't have to go through a level without abilities as a switch orders. Can I do this?

Related to that question, what Venture-Captains would be suitable?

I am looking to join a campaign soon, and have already partially worked out my character. The only divine character I have played (ever) is a level 2 inquisitor in PFS. For this campaign, the character I have made is a halfling oracle, with the Spellscarred mystery from Inner Sea Magic and the Clouded Vision curse.

While I don't have his stats on hand, it was a 20-point buy, and I ended up with a 19 charisma, with no stat penalties save an 8 strength. Having never played a full divine caster, I am not sure of what feats or spells to take. I want him to be the party face, while in combat he focuses on suppressing and controlling magic, which his Mystery gives him quite a good list of spells. Eventually he will be taking Still/Silent Spell and Leadership, but what to start out with is a mystery to me. The only limits on the campaign rules are that most summoning effects don't work, but that might change at a higher level.

I have several questions about holy symbols. In Pathfinder Society, I am considering multi-classing with my magus to cleric of Sarenrae, somewhat for fluff, and I want to differentiate him from my other magus.

Could I get a weapon cord for a holy symbol, so I can drop it easily to cast arcane spells? Its not unrealistic, and would be within RAW if holy symbols can count as weapons.

Second, for flavor purposes, it it possible to get a gold holy symbol? The magus in question is a tiefling, descended from a devil, and even though silver does not hurt him, I like to have him avoid it. And wood is just so boring.

The two idiots just not be from Varisia; you just don't tease someone with that many tattoos there.

Last year, I ran Black Fang's Keep for some friends.. This year, I am doing a follow-up, with a lot of different players. So far, my lineup is:
Human Barbarian, returning from last year
Eleven Wizard, new, huge LOTR fan.
(Possibly) Elven Rogue, also returning. Probably not.
2 more, yet to create characters. Coincidentally, all my friends who are playing are girls. I have a weird social circle.

If the rogue returns, my brother will not play, which is a Good Thing. I am also advancing everyone to third level, so everyone gets fun feats to play with, and new spells. I am running an original plot, roughly as follows:
PCs have been around Sandpoint for around a year. Various members of the party have left, but others have appeared. They have dedicated themselves to hunting down Black Fang, and keeping the Dragonbane sword they found. Recently, it has been stolen.
They are approached by the Elven wizard Faerinill Sunigail, who tells them that the sword might have been stolen by orcs under the thrall of a Serpentfolk, Sasheeriz, and taken to an ancient Serpentfolk temple of Ydersius. However, he believes that the Serpentfolk has shapeshifter into the form of a half-elf, Alviriss Kaelborn, who is watching them from the corner of the tavern. Sunigail tells them quietly that the half-elf has stolen his wand, which he needs back.

That night, both the elf and the half-elf are gone. There are drunken men everywhere, the most prominent a huge tiefling fighter. While he appears very drunk, he is the partner of Kaelborn,and was told to watch the rooms upstairs. However, he decided to enjoy himself, but is still watching out. The PCs need to distract him, and break into the room and stealthy wand.

The next morning, Sunigail meets them and they head off to the Serpentfolk temple. They are ambushed by the former thralls of Sasheeriz, the orcs. At this point, I start dropping hints that the elf Sunigail is actually Sasheeriz in disguise, and that he is using them to subjugate the temple defenses and use for sacrifice. The half-elf and tiefling are actually investigators looking into the murder if the real Sunigail.

When they reach the temple, there are two encounters: a big trap which isolates party members and drops snakes, and the boss. While the party is separated, Sasheeriz gets away to the main chamber, where he uses to sword stowed there by the orcs to initiate a ceremony, something to do with Ydersius. He is joined by more snakes and an animated statue or two. Before the party storms in, the investigators show up, and try to explain what they know. If the PCs do not kill them or something else happens, the two join in the final battle, as a rogue-2 and fighter-2. After that they return to civilization and hear a rumor of Black Fang, or something to that line of effect.

You all have any advice before I dive into this?

(I'll try to keep this less spoiler-y by not mentioning the scenario)
Raltz has no magic items, with the exception of his black elven scimitar, and is now sporting a good-sized bite scar around his neck.
Fellow members of the Shadow Lodge, I must thank you for the recent retrieval of my body, and subsequent Resurrection. I write this missive to thank the members of the retrieval team which rescued what was left of my body from that horrid tomb. It deeply saddens me that the two companions who were also left in the tomb were left behind, even though there was not much left of them.
My faith in my martial skills has been quite shaken by my recent death, and I have decided, at least temporarily, to focus my magical skills on assisting my team. I would also like to apologize in advance to any future Pathfinders I should work with for my mediocre selection of spells that are helpful.

-Raltz Nighvanus

At the game this afternoon, I was told by an attendee of Gencon that the Bladebound archetype nearly went the way of the Synthesist. May I ask why it was considered for banning, and why it was ultimately decided that it would be kept? Also, if there was anyone defending the archetype, I should like to thank them!

I could not find another topic like this on the forums, so I decided to make one myself! I feel so special.

Whether or not you drew it yourself, got it as a gift, or bribed it out of someone else (call it 'commissioned' if you want) with promises of doughnuts and car rides, link to the relevant pictures here, if you want to! If you feel a little wordy, you can type a bit about the characters and the art too.

Anyway, I commissioned three pieces from a friend of all nine of my characters, spread across the three. The first done was Devil Children, my two tiefling characters, who were Infernal before it was cool. Asta is a Winter Witch, and Taraclus is a Dervish Magus.
The second one was recently finished, the Horde of Newcomers, with all of my lower-level characters. From left to right, there is a Shoanti Paladin of Erastil, an Ice Elemental Sorceror (I was surprised how well he came out), a Varisian Inquisitor of Sivanah, the gunslinger Marshall Jawson, and the erudite Crypt Breaker/Chirugeon Tanis Halfmain, holding a mug of kahve.

Looking forward to seeing your characters immortalized in ink!... Well, pixels, but you get my point.

I didn't see a topic congratulating them that I could chime in on, so I made my own! Congratulations! I look forward to seeing how you make the Society in San Antonio even better!

In the entry for the Crypt Breaker archetype in Inner Sea Magic, it says that Alkahest bombs, when attacking non-undead or constructs, do 1d4 damage plus more for every two levels, and that this is FORCE damage. Is this correct, or a misprint?

Also, how do types of bombs that reduce damage dice work? Do they just use d6s vs undead/constructs and d3s vs anything else?

I am thinking up a campaign set in the Darklands, with Darklands races such as Drow, Duergar, pretty much any race with darkvision. I know Half-Drow don't exist in Golarion, but I would allow them too. Anyway, I wanted to know if there was anything that people would recommend for me about the Darklands that Paizo has made besides:

Into The Darklands
Second Darkness AP

The idea is that the PCs would start out entering a Drow city that has grown decadent(I was thinking Far Parathra from what I saw on PFWiki), and the Queen (title pending) wants them to help her clean it up, by eliminating heretical houses, protecting the city from outside threats, etc. The PCs would eventually get the chance to take over the city themselves, if they wish.
Anyway, I have some questions about the Darklands and Golarion. 1st, I read somewhere (PFWiki, I think) that the Drow are almost unknown to anyone but elves on Golarion. Is this true?
Second, How much information on the Darklands and Far Parathra, specifically, is there on books besides those listed above?

It has come up in several games I have been in now, and I have to ask the other players and GMs. Humans are not infallible. GMs are, most of the time, human, and make an oversight with the rules, and a player doesn't. I feel is important for a player to point something out if this happens, even if it means something bad will happen as a consequence. For example:

We know that the Bladebound archetype for Magus is legal. I, however, have a question regarding any 'conflict' that might come up. For example, my character's Black Blade is NG. If the wielder was dominated by a Demon, I think it would go "Nope, stop the crazy train, I'm in charge now." and try to exert dominance.

Could this be used to undo harmful mind-affecting affects, such as fear or domination?

I am planning to havea Darklands campaign, and the Drow section of the ARG was very helpful. I do however have one question about the gecko and bat: if taken as a mount, what shouldI do? Apply the Giant template at first level, then limit the changes at 7th level?and for the gecko, I can't find AC stats for it, just monster stats. Are there any out there, or would I have to homebrew some up?

What things have you (or your GM) done with intelligent weapons? In PFS, I like doing things with my Magus's Black Blade. For example, he refuses to use magic oils on it, saying: "I can hear its thoughts. No, I am not rubbing it down; you do it."

I came up with an idea for a Darklands campaign after watching the Spoony One's recounting of his Thieve's World campaign.
It would involve the player characters, all Darklands races, venturing into a Drow city that has fallen into corruption, and being enlisted by the Matriarch to bring it back to prominence.

One problem I can foresee is is balancing the party between the darklands races they could play as, and balancing CR.

The CR problem could easily be fixed given experience, but I am not sure what to do with the race problem. I would not allow any creatures with racial HD.

All I can think would be strictly necessary for a race in the Darklands would be Darkvision, even 60ft would be useful. These are the races that I can think of that are suitable, based in rough order of their power level:
Svirfneblin
Drow (Roll for noble)
Duergar
Dhampir
Tiefling/Aasimar
Elemental Races
Strix
Half-orc
Dwarf
Ratfolk
Kobold

I am only operating on Bestiary I what I remember from the PRD, so I don't know if there are any other races in the later books that would work. For balancing, I am don't like the 'one level behind' way, so I was thinking of limiting the number of traits when they are created. For example, Half-orc and below would get three, while Duergar and above would get one. Either that or a feat for the less powerful races.

Any ideas/opinions?
(My apologies if this should go in the homebrew section)

I attained a tiefling boon for PFS at a con, and want to make a Winter Witch. At level 5, the Winter Witch gains Cold Resistance 5. The tiefling already has this. Is this ability at level 5 just ignored?