Sentack's page

This might be a moot point, but I wanted to see if this made sense to anyone else. The talent itself talks about allowing an Investigator to "Take 20" on a knowledge check even if in immediate danger or distracted, if they spend an inspiration.

The question is, what about the time issue with "Take 20"? When you take 20, you take 20 times the normal to make the check. Thus the average standard action takes 2 minutes.

I get the impression that the talent is intended to allow a take 20 in combat, as a standard action but it doesn't say so explicitly. Any thoughts?

FYI, the talent is on page 20 of the Advanced Class pdf, and you can read up about Take-20 here

http://paizo.com/prd/usingSkills.html

This isn't about the art of casting a spell. We know some spells have verbal components to them. The question is, when a spell is unleashed, does it make a sound. Does a Fireball make an explosion sound? Does summoning a monster make a sound? Does casting invisibility make a sound? Heck, do they make any light as well?

This came up because there was a question about trying to cast a spell while being quiet. The players were far away that they couldn't be heard, but the spell was being centered further away and the question of sight and sound at the target came up.

What do people think?

Okay, this is a strange question and I'm pretty sure I know the answer but I have to ask because it came up in a session and not everyone was convinced how to rule this question.

Does the weapon summoned by Spiritual Weapon gain the benefits of Bless and/or Haste? Does it matter when Bless or Haste was cast? (Before SW or after SW is summoned?)

What do people think?

Quick question. If you're playing a spell-caster, and an enemy hits you with a Magic Missile spell while casting a spell, how many concentration checks does the defending spell-caster need to make?

Case in point. A wizard starts casting casting Summon Monster III on his turn. Next up is the enemy NPC sorcerer. The sorcerer casts Magic Missile and targets the wizard. The sorcerer is level 6, so that means 3 missiles. Imagine the sorcerer rolls 2, 3, and 4 damage (total) for the three missiles. How many concentration checks does the wizard have to make, and what is the DC for that/those check(s)?

There are 3 scenarios I can see for this situation.

Scenario A: Wizard is hit for 9 damage total for all the missiles that targeted him. He has to make a DC 22 Concentration check. (10 Base, 3rd Level spell, 9 Damage. 10 + 3 + 9 )

Scenario B: The Wizard must make 3 concentration checks. DC 15, DC 16 and then DC 17. Each one for each Missile that hit.

Scenario C: (Very unlikely) Wizard makes one concentration check. DC is for the damage of the first missile only. DC 15.

So which is it?

Okay, so I've noticed that there's still a bit of debate on how Phantom Steed works. Here are my issues in a nutshell.

How much distance can one travel with a Phantom Steed in one hour? The steed has a speed and duration based on the level of the caster, but exactly how far can the steed travel? Factors like, is it alive, can it run continuously, does it breath/eat/rest? What can the steed see? (Low-light? Darkvision?) Does the steed benefit from Haste (I think this was answered but I'm not sure), enlarge person or any other spell? Can the steed be used in combat but not attack on it's own? (i.e. Mounted combat) (Again, i think this got answered but I'm not 100% sure)

This also effects the performance of Phantom Chariot.

Any thoughts?

Okay, quick question. When is the "Start of a Round" start officially? The issue is partly related to AoO. When do you regain the ability to make a new AoO after making one for the past round. Is it at the start of initiative order, or is it at the start of your next turn?

Sentack

In D&D 3.5, there was a buried rule that stated that if your character was lower level than the party average, you got a bonus to your experience gain compared to the rest of the party when experience was awarded. In other words, if a party gained 500xp for an encounter, your character might gain 550xp instead. The idea was that over time, you would 'catch up' to the rest of the party over time, with this bonus xp.

Does such a rule exist in Pathfinder? I can't find it but I don't currently own the gamemaster book, where it might be contained. Over all though, i got the impression that such a rule doesn't exist.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about and/or have any clue if this rule does exist or was clearly omitted in Pathfinder?

Okay so I have a couple questions that are vaguely related to each other.

Question 1: If a player attacks with his off hand, but only his off hand. Say, he's got two short swords, and decides to only attack with his 'left' hand instead of his 'right'. How would it work? Does he get to treat it like a full regular attack (Full-Round action attack, multiple attacks if BAB allows, full strength bonus)?

Question 2: Reloading a hand crossbow. Do you need a free hand to reload it? Can you wield a dagger in your off hand, fire with the hand crossbow in the main, and reload normally.

Bonus Question: Player with a Hand Crossbow & Dagger get an attack of opportunity from a vanilla monster X. Can the player attack with the dagger? Does the handyness matter? What happens if they want to attack with the hand crossbow the next turn? Does he get a penalty to attack if the hand crossbow is in the 'off hand'?

This is one of those "The rules aren't clear to me and I couldn't find anything specific that ruled one way or another" question for me.

Anyone able to help?

Here's something I couldn't find anything specific on the forums so I figure I would ask to see if someone knew one way or another about this little question.

In, Advanced Races Guide, an Elven Archtype for Wizards is the Spellbinder. That class can replace one spell it has memorized with one it has bonded. Specialist wizards have the limitation that if they attempt to memorize a spell that is in one of their forbidden schools, then the caster must spend two spell slots instead of the normal one.

So you can see where I'm getting at. Could my Elf Spellbinder Wizard bind a forbidden school spell, then swap it out (as a full-round action) with a spell he has memorized but is not from his forbidden school. Say an Enchanter Specialist with Necromancy forbidden, wanted to cast Ray of Enfeeblement without penalty. So they pick it as a bound spell, memorize Magic Missile, and then swapped it.

So in other words, it allows the bound spell (And only the bound spell) to get around the forbidden school slot cost.

A quick clarification question here. According to the Eidolon "Link" feature, magic equipment 'slots' are shared between an Eidolon and a Summoner. This does also apply to magic items, correct? The question is, if you craft an Eidolon with Limbs (Arms), give them Weapon Proficiency (Say, Bastard Sword) and then put a +1 Magic Bastard Sword into the Eidolon's primary weapon hand, the summoner can no longer use a Magic weapon in his primary weapon hand although in theory it could wield one in his off hand.

The Summoner could wield a non-magical weapon in his primary weapon hand though? And what if someone then enchanted the weapon for the summoner with say the "Magic Weapon" spell?

If the Eidolon has Limbs (Legs) and then adds the Claw evolution, does it's natural attacks count as weapons? What if they are enchanted with Magic Fang?

I think I'm over complicating the situation but it seems like to me it's just an odd situation. Over all, RAW, it goes that as long as it's not a magic item in the Eidolon's hand, then the Summoner can wield any magic weapon it wants and vice versa.

The rules for upgrading magic weapons and armor aren't that bad, you go with the cost of the difference between the two current item state to the state you want to upgrade it to. The only question is, is this the cost for a 3rd party to upgrade the item? Can a player upgrade an item if they have the specific magic item feat for cheaper?

Quick example:

Bob the Fighter has a +1 Frost Longsword. Bob wants to upgrade the weapon to a +2 Frost Longsword. The cost of a +1 Frost Longsword is 8k gold. The +2 Frost Longsword is 18k gold. Cost difference equals 10k gold.

But along with Bob is Steve the Wizard. Steve knows the "Create Magic Weapons and Armor" feat. If Steve was making the item from scratch, he would get 50% off that value. So if Steve were to upgrade the magic item himself, would cost be 5k gold instead of the full 10k?

It seems logical but I don't see any clear examples where this plays out and I wanted to check in here first.

Okay, so 3 quick questions. 2 of which, I might already have the answer, I just need to confirm.

1) Reach Weapons & Flanking.
If your character has a Reach weapon, and you're trying to flank with another target, are you required to be right next to the target (i.e. within 5 feet) or can you flank from 10 feet away, as long as the 'line you draw' between the two squares somewhat conforms to the normal flanking rules? The example shows a Large creature with reach but Reach weapons are treated 'differently'. So I'm not so sure.

2) Charging, Readying a Brace weapon and AoO.
Okay so this one sounds like it's lightly debated but here we go. You're braced with a reach weapon, with a readied action to attack the first creature that charges you. Your Long Spear has reach. They charge. You get your Readied action. But then they complete the charge and thus move out of a threatened square. Do you also get an AoO? I would figure not but the rules aren't 100% clear about this.

3) Casting a Cone Spell, but trying to hold it.
A wizard wants to cast Color Spray. But he wants to hit with an optimal number of targets. The most optimal location is within a move action but is a threatened square. Can they 1) Cast the spell, 2) Hold the spell, 3) Move into optimal position, 3) Release the spell, effecting a cone area.

Is this possible? Or does the spell have to be released on completion of the standard action casting time. I read with "Touch" Spells, you gain a free swift action on the same around the spell is cast to 'touch' a target with a armed attack, and thus my actions above would work with that kind of spell, but what about a Cone or any other spell like that?

So I just wanted to reach out and get the consensus on this although I suspect I know the answer.

When a spell caster completes a spell that can be delivered with a 'touch'. They can move after casting the spell and deliver the spell as a free action. If the player is delivering the spell to an ally, does this provoke an AoO?

I understand that if it's against an enemy, you do provoke unless your unarmed attacks don't normally provoke. (i.e. Monk or Improved Unarmed Strike Feat)

But does delivering a touch spell to an ally, provoke?

One problem I have with the current batch of monsters available is that I tend to find the CL ranking very subjective at best. Orcs somehow getting listed as 1/3 CR alongside the Fire Beetle, is head scratching. Yet when you compare them, they seem to be built on a completely different scale. One that doesn't even make sense.

Has anyone taken the current rules on monster building and compared them to the older monsters found in the bestiary? My issue comes from the fact that a large number of the monsters are just broken in one way or another. From monsters with insane CMB's that are impossible to escape from, to others with broken damage for the level and other bizarre build concepts.

I think my concern is that while I enjoy fun and interesting monsters, I prefer things to be a little more consistent in the rating. While designing monsters this way might make for a more 'boring' stat block design, with less quirks and more predictability, I might prefer it over some of the problems I've seen with DM's having to do more or less pray or do some guess work in encounter design.

So has anyone started such a thing?

My Forum-fu is weak here, so I haven't managed to find a concrete answer on this question. Has there been an Paizo Editor who's answered this basic question.

Can a summoner cast "Enlarge Person" on his Eidelon?

The answer appears to be "Yes", because the "Share Spells" feature alters any and all spells the Summoner have so that "Outsider" is a valid option for any spell with a creature type limitation. Enlarge Person only works on Humanoids, but in the hands of a Summoner, it's also valid for Outsiders, specific to the Eidelon.

In theory. I really would like a link to a Paizo editor who's answered this question.

When it comes to guides on wizards, the only one I've seen so far is this one.

http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinderR PG/advice/treantmonksGuideToWizardsOptimization

And while I figure for the most part, it's still fairly accurate, I get the impression that it's a tad out of date. If not only because of all the additional content that's been put out lately.

I've searched the forums and tried to find some additional information about the class. Namely I'm trying to decide if specialization is worth it. While the extra spell slot and additional zappy power are pretty cool. I want to specialize in Conjuration or maybe Illusion. The problem is trying to find two schools of magic I want to oppose. I can find one, Necromancy. While it has a few gems, for the most part it's mostly situational. The second, I've had more trouble with.

So, I was going to just try and list out all the schools of magic, and why opposing them is fairly difficult, I find. Often because there's at least one or two spells that you would find yourself using regularly. Which is problematic. Here we go.

Why not Oppose this School:

- Abjuration: Dispel Magic is going to have to come up, and while you could get a wand of this, it's expensive. There are a few other nice spells but most of those you might make the sacrifice for on a case by case basis. But you will use Dispel Magic, a lot.

- Conjuration: All the Summon spells are felt to be the workhorse spells of the Wizard. You want to cast these, why make it harder on yourself?

- Divination: Really, Read Magic is the only spell you'll use with great regularity. Many others are very useful but are perhaps situational enough that when you need them, it won't be too much of a bother to sacrifice an extra slot for them.

- Enchantment: Hideous Laughter and Confusion seem to be strong spells that help hold this line. Still, they aren't so critical that you'll miss using them should you chose not to spend the extra slot to memorize them. The rest of the spells are situational at best.

- Evocation: Fireball and Magic Missile aren't the best spells int he world but they seem so iconic that it's hard to ignore them. Not to mention that there are a number of very useful spells here.

- Illusion: These spells seems tricky to me. It seems to me that how they are resolved are best defined as 'DM interpretation'. Which means the player and the DM could sit arguing for hours over the concept of "interacted with". It seems like they are very potent spells, but if the DM has monsters 'seeing through the effect' too easily, then it's almost not worth using them.

- Necromancy: Already been through this. Seems to me that there are some great gems in here, but just deciding to not use them or to learn them only when it's a situation that seems necessary, sounds like a good reason to make this an opposed school.

- Transmutation: Your buff spells, also another reason to play a Wizard. Too many good spells to count. I can't see opposing this at all.

So that's it. I guess after writing down my thoughts, it becomes a little easier to see what one I might oppose, but I figure other people here have comments about such things to add. What do you guys think about the various schools. What one is worth specializing in, an what ones are acceptable sacrifices to oppose?