Hooded Man

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**** Pathfinder Society GM. 3,891 posts (3,929 including aliases). 15 reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 25 Organized Play characters.



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First and foremost, I want to say that I'm going to continue giving the system a shot, but DAAAAAAAAANG was I unimpressed with my first session running.

Two major problems:

  • Encounters felt long. Up to 18 actions per round for the GM to handle in 2 different encounters. Given how cramped the rooms were for some areas, this means up to 18 Strikes per round. Even so, these become extremely tedious encounters.
  • Long combats means probability shakes out more often. 18 Strikes means you're really likely to crit with the monsters every round or pretty close to it.

What I really want to focus on, though, is how absolutely tedious these encounters felt. Sure, challenging-ish. Whatever.

I didn't enjoy running the game because the mechanics felt bogged down and, frankly, bad in larger encounters.

If the game feels bad running trivial encounters at level 1, I don't even want to imagine combats where I actually have to think at higher levels. It sounds like masochism. As an example, I'm thinking fights like Karzoug from Rise of the Runelords. That already sounds exhausting. Looking forward in Doomsday Dawn, part 5 looks horrifying. Encounters with 10+ enemies? Just...no.


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Background: I'm sorta plugged in on PFP and very familiar with PF1 and SF, but my wife found PF1 to be completely overwhelming and is generally more old school (read: most of her RPG experience comes in the form of being at Dave Arneson's table as a sub for some sessions). She's literally looking only at the things that catch her eye and hasn't read the whole book, but said she'd be willing to play a level 1 playtest adventure at an upcoming con. She said Ranger to start, so we started building a Ranger. Here's a short list of things that sent her down the spiral a bit:

  • Lore skills don't make any sense, especially since you could have something like Lore (Pickles). This also means that authors could reasonably put things like Lore (Pickles) into an adventure.
  • Backgrounds feel too complicated. Tying a skill feat into the Background, while thematic, caused every single one to be a page flip. Tying a Lore to each one made her question the value of any Lore skills because, again, Lore (Pickles).
  • Speaking of Backgrounds, Animal Whisperer was super confusing to her, particularly whether Train Animal (the skill feat that comes with the Background) wasn't particularly clear as to whether it did anything for her Animal Companion or if it was required for her Animal Companion to do anything worthwhile. WAAAAAAAY too many page flip rabbit holes came from this.
  • Still on Backgrounds, there's no label for it on the chapter section (that thing on every odd numbered page). Adding it to the Ancestry header would help with that.
  • Ancestry: "Hey, Gnomes can get an animal. Can I have 2 animals? Wait, it's a Familiar and they suck. F*** it, just go Dwarf." -Actual quote when reviewing this section. This was then followed by a thorough review of Rock Runner vs Weapon Familiarity. There's a feeling of TOO MANY THINGS.
  • Traits: intuitive to hardcore gamer husband, not so much to RPG luddite wife.
  • There's just a lot of page flipping and it feels like too much.

That's as far as I got with her in about an hour. No ability boosts, no skill selections, the only feat selection was the Ancestry Feat. We're using Hero Lab Online to build this level 1 character, so I'm not sure how much that adds or detracts from the process, but she has been primarily looking at the book itself for the process.


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Perhaps not for the playtest itself, but for 2nd edition, can we get reference sidebars like they appeared in Numenera? These were thin slivers on each page that just gave page references for rules that get referred to elsewhere. They were never comprehensive, but told you where to look up key terms or new concepts that were explained elsewhere, such as directing people to a specific weapon entry when an ability specifies a weapon quality and provides an example. Sometimes, they provided an elevator pitch of a concept, such as an explanation that equipment is an important part of character creation and where to find the equipment chapter.

As a player and GM, this sort of information is incredibly helpful and sped up play substantially by ending the mystery of "where is that reference to unconscious targets always being willing?" or similar.

4/5

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No love for Skål Con 2017?


Relevant quotes to start:

Quote:
To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target's square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).
Quote:
Big Creatures and Cover: Any creature with a space larger than 5 feet (1 square) determines cover against melee attacks slightly differently than smaller creatures do. Such a creature can choose any square that it occupies to determine if an opponent has cover against its melee attacks. Similarly, when making a melee attack against such a creature, you can pick any of the squares it occupies to determine if it has cover against you.

Suppose a situation with a large creature A fighting two medium creatures B and C, arranged as follows (with B adjacent and flanked by A and C):

A1 A2
A3 A4 B C

Conveniently, the vertical layout is identical - the large creature inhabits 8 total cubes.

For determining cover, it's clear that A does not have cover from C, as C can determine the cover against A2 using the most advantageous corner. The question, though, is whether C has cover from A, which becomes a big question because it depends on how you define corners. There are, of course, more options than outlined in the CRB:

A corner is...

  • the point at which 3 vertices of the cube meet and there are 8 of them.
  • the point at which 3 vertices of the cube meet but only on a single face, meaning there are 4 of them.
  • The corner-edge of any 2 faces of the cube and there are 12 of them (4 top, 4 bottom, 4 vertical).

In option 1, C has cover as A does not have a clear line to 2 of the bottom corners, but can clearly hit the top corners from either of its upper cubes and 2 of the bottom corners on the north side of the initial diagram.

In option 2, if A is able to select the face, C does not have cover as it will clearly select the upper 4 corners or the north face corners

In option 3, C has cover from A as 6 of the 12 edges do not have clear lines (clear lines to the top 4 + 2 verticals on the north side).

So how does one determine corners?


Ranged Feint has some weird interpretations of the CRB. Specifically:

Quote:
Normal: You can feint only with a melee weapon, and only against a creature you threaten with that weapon.
Combat chapter of CRB wrote:

Feint

Feinting is a standard action. To feint, make a Bluff skill check. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + your opponent's base attack bonus + your opponent's Wisdom modifier. If your opponent is trained in Sense Motive, the DC is instead equal to 10 + your opponent's Sense Motive bonus, if higher. If successful, the next melee attack you make against the target does not allow him to use his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). This attack must be made on or before your next turn.

When feinting against a nonhumanoid you take a –4 penalty. Against a creature of animal Intelligence (1 or 2), you take a –8 penalty. Against a creature lacking an Intelligence score, it's impossible. Feinting in combat does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Feinting as a Move Action: With the Improved Feint feat, you can attempt a feint as a move action.

Skill chapter of CRB wrote:
Feint: You can use Bluff to feint in combat, causing your opponent to be denied his Dexterity bonus to his AC against your next attack. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + your opponent's base attack bonus + your opponent's Wisdom modifier. If your opponent is trained in Sense Motive, the DC is instead equal to 10 + your opponent's Sense Motive bonus, if higher. For more information on feinting in combat, see Combat.

The Feint entry never mentions a weapon requirement OR a threatening requirement. Is the "normal" line of Ranged Feint an erratum of the Feint rules or is it a case of "the contributor didn't read the Feint rules before submitting the feat"?

4/5

Your grim pleasure, indeed, John. I love it and am terrified by it.

There appear to be some minor calculation issues in the 12-13 subtier version of Suliji - 32 AC when the mods listed show 31 (though that could include the deflection bonus from Shield Other), +16 Will Save instead of what I'm seeing should be +17 (10 base + 4 resistance + 2 Heroism + 1 WIS mod).

Re: +5 Mithral Breastplate of Speed - I'm not seeing a mod for "of Speed" for armor in any of my sources. Are we intended to use the weapon quality on the armor?

For GMs using Hero Lab, I've uploaded the portfolios for both tiers of Suliji to the PFS Prep site. This NPC is remarkably complex, so I thought this would be a good priority, but it will still require a lot of prep to understand the whole encounter. I won't be able to run this soon due to poor timing, but I intend to get notes up to PFS Prep to help out the Gen Con GMs.

4/5

So, I posted an errata request last week about the Hallucinogenic Aura ability. Yes, it's level 13 and not likely to impact many games. I'm currently playing Eyes of the Ten and am trying to play All for Immortality. The AfI GM is reasonably concerned with the ability and asked if it was possible for me to retrain it.

My unfortunate response: I can't because there are no rules in Ultimate Campaign to facilitate retraining any occult class features.

Besides "shelf that character," what appropriate responses are out there for this situation? Were this a home game instead of PFS, it would be totally reasonable to avoid towns. Unfortunately, PFS briefings assume you're at certain places at certain times, frequently running around cities.

4/5

I see some of the encounter feedback from part 1 appears to have made it into this one. These encounters are brutal by comparison. I greatly appreciate the higher CRs this time around.

For the research portion, does it require a 2nd delay to access the Council of Shadows? I'm leaning towards yes since you have to complete the research in the notes first, but I don't want to be overly punishing to the players.

Scarab Sages

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Hey man,

Mystic Mickey with the Sick Sticky Icky here. I uh...I hit level 13 and suddenly riots break out whenever I walk into crowds. I can't even go pick up basic supplies without causing some problems...and I can't stop it. It's a good thing I picked up that Ring of Sustenance to deal with the munchies, because I'd hate to see what happens if I go to market. They all just get seriously unchill and start hitting each other...or themselves...or talking like they got their hands on some of my better herbs.

Please help!

So, the psychedelia discipline has this ability:

Quote:
Hallucinogenic Aura (Su): At 13th level, a mental field emanates from you, touching the minds of those nearby. Any creature within 30 feet of you must succeed at a Will save or be confused for 1d4 rounds. A creature that succeeds at its saving throw is immune to your hallucinogenic aura for 24 hours. A creature that fails its save doesn't need to continue making saves while it's confused by this aura, and becomes immune for 24 hours once its confusion ends. This is a mind-affecting effect. You're immune to your own hallucinogenic aura, as well as that of any other psychic. You can brew an antidote that protects the imbiber from your aura. Brewing 1 dose requires 1 hour and a successful DC 15 Craft (alchemy) check. One dose's effects last for 1 month.

Items of note:

  • It's always on.
  • You can't shut it off or suppress it.
  • There's a 50% chance of violence for anyone affected.

This is a hilarious defense in combat. Truly wonderful. It was less good when I used a teleportation gate and arrived in a large crowd of civilians. It would be very nice if this were to be addressed in some fashion as this character is in PFS.

4/5

First off, I'm writing this during a preliminary read-through. Wow. This is absolutely amazing. Great work, Thurston.

PFS Prep users: I have uploaded Hero Lab portfolio files to the site for both Kaarim and Imlathre in subtier 12-13. Modifying them for 14-15 shouldn't be that difficult, but they are a slight bit messy looking for validation errors. The numbers should all be right or very close to it and assume the written Before Combat tactics occur.

Some questions:

Pg 12: Does the Enhanced Magic trait replace the normal effects (+2 CL on select spells) with the Quickened effect, or is it supplemented?

Pg 12: For the subjective directional gravity, are players assumed to default to down = land upon unwilling entry?

subjective directional gravity:
Subjective Directional Gravity: The strength of gravity on a plane with this trait is the same as on the Material Plane, but each individual chooses the direction of gravity's pull. Such a plane has no gravity for unattended objects and nonsentient creatures. This sort of environment can be very disorienting to the newcomer, but it is common on "weightless" planes.

Characters on a plane with subjective directional gravity can move normally along a solid surface by imagining "down" near their feet. If suspended in midair, a character "flies" by merely choosing a "down" direction and "falling" that way. Under such a procedure, an individual "falls" 150 feet in the first round and 300 feet in each succeeding round. Movement is straight-line only. In order to stop, one has to slow one's movement by changing the designated "down" direction (again, moving 150 feet in the new direction in the first round and 300 feet per round thereafter).

It takes a DC 16 Wisdom check to set a new direction of gravity as a free action; this check can be made once per round. Any character who fails this Wisdom check in successive rounds receives a +6 bonus on subsequent checks until he or she succeeds.

Pg 19: Magic Vestment is not prepared or listed as a scroll/oil. Is Kaarim's armor just magical, as suggested by the Other Gear?

4/5

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This is a silly frustration, but a frustration nonetheless.

Roleplaying Guild Guide, pgs 37-38 wrote:

Step 9: Have the player finish the calculations on the righthand

side of the Chronicle sheet (sections I, M–O and S–T).
Step 10: Review the completed Chronicle sheet and check
the player’s math. Ensure that the character has access to any
items bought and that the correct costs were paid. Verifying
this information now helps prevent errors from going
unnoticed on future Chronicle sheets. Once you’re satisfied
with the information on the Chronicle sheet, fill in the gray
box at the bottom of the sheet and sign (W).

Of note, sections S and T refer to the Gold Spent and Total boxes. Thus, according to the RGG, a GM should not sign a chronicle until the player has made all their purchases associated with the chronicle. There are two ways to address this as written:

  • Scenario 1: The player knows in advance what they're purchasing, deducts the appropriate gold and notes it on their ITS, and the GM signs off. I know literally zero GMs or players who do this.
  • Scenario 2: The player fills in S and T including only purchases and sales made during the scenario, then determines purchases after the session and records it on their ITS to the next chronicle. Again, I know literally zero players who do this.

So, if Step 9 and Step 10 are written as intended, which they seem to have very rational explanations included for requiring (i.e. session to session auditing), it would seem that the only logical thing to do would be to provide a more streamlined expectation set so that players know what they will buy in advance.

And so, the suggestion:
Have a set, non-varied gold value for each subtier.

This doesn't resolve every problem, mind you. Out-of-subtier play, for example, is still slightly messy, but if I know that my level 1 character will get either exactly 500gp or exactly 1000gp, I can confidently plan purchases in advance. I also don't have to worry about "trap chronicles" with gold values significantly lower than average. The net result of this is a greater likelihood of Scenario 1 above actually happening meaning that, even at conventions, I could actually follow the rules in the RGG for filling out chronicles.

Example of a trap chronicle:
0-16 To Scale the Dragon, which has less gold at the 8-9 subtier (lolol 3531gp) than the out of subtier total for more recent 5-9 scenarios (as mentioned in the next spoiler, one example has 3971gp for out of subtier in a 5-9).

What do I mean by non-varied gold? (Spoiler for 7-13 Captive in Crystal):
Looking at 7-13 Captive in Crystal, the gold tiers are 2534, 3971, and 5408. Why not instead say that a 5-6 subtier scenario is worth 2500gp, an 8-9 is worth 5500gp, and out-of-subtier characters receive 4000gp? This could then be templated across all scenarios in that level bracket.

Ultimately, this isn't a request for OMG MOAR GOLD, but instead more predictable gold that allows players and GMs to follow the expectations of the Roleplaying Guild Guide.

4/5

Many of the special materials, particularly metals, have charts that indicate cost based on item type. Darkwood, however, uses the following pricing, which doesn't delineate whether it can be used for non-weapon/armor gear:

UE wrote:
To determine the price of a darkwood item, use the original weight but add 10 gp per pound to the price of a masterwork version of that item.

Would it be PFS legal to get a darkwood portable altar, for example? There is no masterwork version of this item, in part because I think it's assumed to just be masterwork for all intents and purposes.

UE wrote:


PORTABLE ALTAR
Price 250 gp; Weight 40 lbs.
Portable altars are typically made of wood and are ornately carved and decorated with the religious iconography of a specific religion. The top of the altar lifts up, and items such as candles, incense, and oil can be stored within. These altars are modest, but give traveling priests a center from which to say their daily prayers, perform minor rituals, or preach to an assembled crowd.

4/5

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The Minnesota lodge has a proud tradition of giving Riddywhipple the undeserved responsibility of a Rod of Wonder. Today, I GM'd a table with the most counterproductive faerie dragon I've ever encountered. Emerald Spire 14 spoilers are tagged below for context, but much of this is sufficient without.

Riddy acted prior to most of the party against the

Spoiler:
clockwork leviathan variant
and shot a stream of butterflies out, blinding much of the party. Despite this, the party killed it before it acted. As is typical for this magus, hilarity ensued in the aftermath.

Shortly thereafter, Riddy becomes Fine-sized. Hey Riddy, you're so fine! You're so fine you blow my mind, hey Riddy! *clap clap clap* Hey Riddy! *clap clap clap*. This is followed by a monster succeeding on a save vs Slow.

The single most useful action then happens during the

Spoiler:
Nhur Atheman
fight, in which he drops a spray of gems on some guys in a pit. Following this, he causes grass to sprout in the room and nearly blinds several members of the party with the colorful spray effect. Thankfully, he stops doing this shortly thereafter to try to help his unconscious master.

The party progresses to the

Spoiler:
conjurer room, though aided by the magus himself wearing the skulls of the apprentices
and Riddy lands a lightning bolt on several party members, then summons an elephant into the enclosed room. It is panicked by a stinking cloud effect and tramples the party until the cavalier successfully uses Handle Animal to calm it. The elephant cannot escape this room on its own and the rod does not emulate a spell - the elephant is there permanently unless removed. Flutter will be happy to know that the arcanist later teleported the elephant out of the spire...into an opera house in Oppara. After all of the dangers they've encountered thus far (including multiple recovered deaths), the party is now considering destroying the Rod of Wonder to prevent any further mishaps as there were concerns that the elephant would kill the 12th level party.

Thankfully, there are no further incidents before the party is able to escape this deathtrap.

So, what's your Riddywhipple story?


Is this trait a legal choice for atheist characters?

Ultimate Campaign wrote:
Disdainful Defender: You are resistant to the magic of other faiths. You gain a +2 trait bonus on all Will saves you attempt against divine spells. This bonus does not apply against divine spells cast by a caster who worships the same deity you do.

I'm looking at making a Pure Legion kind of character and while it seems very Rahadoum-y, it also reeks of cheese given that the exception applies primarily to atheist druids, rangers, shaman, and oracles.


24 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

Intuitive Spell - Removes thought components from spells
Thought components - +10 concentration unless you spend a move action to center yourself.

Every psychic caster is spontaneous.

CRB wrote:

Sorcerers and Bards: Sorcerers and bards choose spells as they cast them. They can choose when they cast their spells whether to apply their metamagic feats to improve them. As with other spellcasters, the improved spell uses up a higher-level spell slot. Because the sorcerer or bard has not prepared the spell in a metamagic form in advance, he must apply the metamagic feat on the spot. Therefore, such a character must also take more time to cast a metamagic spell (one enhanced by a metamagic feat) than he does to cast a regular spell. If the spell's normal casting time is a standard action, casting a metamagic version is a full-round action for a sorcerer or bard. (This isn't the same as a 1-round casting time.) The only exception is for spells modified by the Quicken Spell metamagic feat, which can be cast as normal using the feat.

For a spell with a longer casting time, it takes an extra full-round action to cast the spell.

Spontaneous Casting and Metamagic Feats: A cleric spontaneously casting a cure or inflict spell, or a druid spontaneously casting a summon nature's ally spell, can cast a metamagic version of it instead. Extra time is also required in this case. Casting a standard action metamagic spell spontaneously is a full-round action, and a spell with a longer casting time takes an extra full-round action to cast. The only exception is for spells modified by the Quicken Spell feat, which can be cast as a swift action.

Excellent! I spend a full round action AND increase the spell level by 1 to get the exact same thing I could do by spending a move action and I spent a feat to do it! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! A bargain at twice the price!

Seriously, though, errata please?


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This is probably the silliest corner case of RAW vs RAI out there. You've probably never questioned this in the past.

Is a dagger considered a ranged weapon when used in melee combat and is it considered a melee weapon when thrown?

I'm sure you're asking yourself, "How is this an actual question?" The answer is, of course, Card Caster Magus. But let's walk through the steps here.

CRB, Equipment chapter wrote:
Melee and Ranged Weapons: Melee weapons are used for making melee attacks, though some of them can be thrown as well. Ranged weapons are thrown weapons or projectile weapons that are not effective in melee.
CRB, Equipment chapter wrote:
Thrown Weapons: Daggers, clubs, shortspears, spears, darts, javelins, throwing axes, light hammers, tridents, shuriken, and nets are thrown weapons.

These entries appear to create a venn diagram: there are melee weapons, ranged weapons, and a selection of melee weapons that are also ranged weapons. These hybrid freaks are thrown weapons...sometimes. Notice the net? That's always a ranged weapon in the CRB and Ultimate Equipment. There's also the Chakram, which is a ranged weapon that has a sub-optimal use as a melee weapon.

Ultimate Magic, Magus class wrote:
Spell Combat (Ex): At 1st level, a magus learns to cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time. This functions much like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast. To use this ability, the magus must have one hand free (even if the spell being cast does not have somatic components), while wielding a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other hand. As a full-round action, he can make all of his attacks with his melee weapon at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If he casts this spell defensively, he can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls, up to his Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on his concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty. A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks.

Here's where we start to run into problems: this specifies "attacks with [a] melee weapon" and not "melee attacks."

Magus wrote:
Spellstrike (Su): At 2nd level, whenever a magus casts a spell with a range of “touch” from the magus spell list, he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack. Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell. If successful, this melee attack deals its normal damage as well as the effects of the spell. If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks. This attack uses the weapon's critical range (20, 19–20, or 18–20 and modified by the keen weapon property or similar effects), but the spell effect only deals ×2 damage on a successful critical hit, while the weapon damage uses its own critical modifier.

So, here we see the requirement for a melee attack, which is replaced by...

Harrow Handbook, Card Caster Magus wrote:

Harrowed Spellstrike (Su)

Beginning at 2nd level, a card caster can invest a single thrown weapon with a single touch or ranged spell as part of the spell's normal casting time. The spell must target a single creature, and the spell's range changes to match the thrown weapon's range increment. This ability otherwise functions identically to spellstrike, except it can only be applied to thrown ranged weapons instead of melee attacks.

This ability replaces and modifies spellstrike.

...and here, we see "thrown ranged weapons" (which may or may not include melee weapons that can be thrown) instead of "melee attacks."

Heretofore, the assumption is that this archetype doesn't work by RAW because you couldn't Spell Combat with a thrown weapon. We then have odd precedent thrown at us (HA!) via this handy-dandy FAQ:

Quote:

Alternate Ability Score-Based Checks: If I change the key ability score of a skill (or other check), for example, if I change Knowledge from Intelligence to Charisma, is it no-longer an Intelligence-based check? Is it now a Charisma-based check?

Generally yes—at the time of rolling a check, if you substitute the ability score, the check is now based on the new ability score. In the example, at the time of rolling, Knowledge would now be a Charisma-based skill and not an Intelligence-based skill for you, which would affect things like feats, spells, or items that grant bonuses on checks based on their key ability score (like circlet of persuasion). However, if you are adding a second ability modifier to a check, this is not the case. For instance, when adding both Wisdom and Dexterity on initiative checks, initiative is still a Dexterity check, not a Wisdom check. Also, this changes the check only at the time of rolling, so this does not change static class features or options made during character building such as your class’s class skills. Classes that receive “all Intelligence-based skills” as class skills, for instance, are the victim of sloppy writing, and furthermore sometimes effects might muddy the water by only changing the ability dependency sometimes and not others, which is why you check the new dependency only for a specific given roll.

If this ruling is transferrable, it would indicate that a dagger is a melee weapon, except when you're throwing it, at which point it becomes a ranged thrown weapon. If that's the case, great! It prevents other silly questions in the rules, like applying melee feats to ranged attacks with thrown weapons. It completely answers the outstanding questions about the Card Caster archetype (in fact, it would be just as non-functional as people have said). It poses some odd questions about Fighter Weapon Training for Thrown Weapons, of course (i.e. does it apply to melee dagger attacks), but that's not terribly surprising.

So, thoughts? Opinions?


Looks like the same issue as here. I had selected shipping options when I set up my subscription 2 weeks ago, but Unchained was just chillin' in the sidecart.


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Martials now have access to a save or die at level 5.

Environment, CRB wrote:

Suffocation

A character who has no air to breathe can hold her breath for 2 rounds per point of Constitution. If a character takes a standard or full-round action, the remaining duration that the character can hold her breath is reduced by 1 round. After this period of time, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check in order to continue holding her breath. The check must be repeated each round, with the DC increasing by +1 for each previous success.

When the character fails one of these Constitution checks, she begins to suffocate. In the first round, she falls unconscious (0 hit points). In the following round, she drops to –1 hit points and is dying. In the third round, she suffocates.

Failed to break the grapple on your first action? You're unconscious at 0 HP as the grappler goes for the choke. You also take 2+WIS damage and start bleeding out. Congratulations! You're dying!

Sure, a 2 round Save or Die doesn't scale well, but let's put that in context of starting around the same time as Haste and not requiring a spell slot.


Any GM who runs any of the published material will inevitably find some line that just strikes them as hilarious. Let's share some favorites. Please share only the author's name, not the module/scenario/AP. Much easier to look for similar work this way.

Jason Buhlman wrote:
"The snakes fill the entire corridor and cannot be bypassed."


Would it be possible/feasible to allow site logins using PFS player numbers? My wife is an extremely occasional player and it took me 30+ minutes to figure out which email was associated with her Society account. Finding her player number was easy, but there's no easily-located reverse look-up function.

4/5

Just curious what people think here. Are we talkin' in-depth, multi-person interviews + scrying? Paper application? Donations? "Donations"? Favors? Targeted recruitment?

This comes on the heels of attempting to determine an appropriate faction for a character of the following proclivities:

-CN cleric of Lamashtu
-Loves children, volunteers at orphanages regularly (day job will be Prof: Childcare)
-Mindbogglingly pleasant and unquestionably insane
-Not motivated by personal power (Dark Archive), knowledge (Scarab Sages), or money (The Exchange)
-Indifferent towards the Society generally, but sees them as a useful means of bringing him to places where he can help more children (Grand Lodge)
-Dislikes conflict for how frequently it harms children (Liberty's Edge)
-HATES aristocracy for its pureblood obsession (Sovereign Court)

Thus, the motivations of the character lead him towards the Silver Crusade (the only faction who cares about the safety of children as much as this character) and, therefore, this uncomfortable conversation:

Me: "Yes, Lady Ollysta, I'd like to join the Silver Crusade for the sake of the children."
Ollysta Zadrian: *Detect Evil* "NOPE!"

4/5

This is mostly a question due to the piecemeal nature of Godhome's chronicle, but what happens if the PCs successfully bypass the dungeon level and progress down to 4? Do they get full credit? Do you push them back up to 3 and tell them to do it the murderhobo way?

Splinterden:
Players can make an opposed Bluff check, a DC 20 Diplomacy check, or bribe the guards (50g minimum) to get them to open the gate and let them pass to the level 4 (Godhome) stairs. These 3 options would all allow players to bypass the level.

Godhome:
This level has a breakout of XP/Prestige awards for several different objectives in the level. One of the options involves following the NPC's instructions, "sacrificing" 2 lbs of iron per character, and walking to level 5 (The Drowned Level). If the players complete only this objective, they get 1 XP and 1 PP, but are completely able to move to level 5.

My impression here is that the players shouldn't get full credit for doing a bypass because they don't actually explore the level, but there's no way to handle that on the chronicle short of giving them a zero for the level.


Drusk the Bear is now level 4. For some reason, I allowed myself to be dragged through a subtier 6-7 with a Fighter 7, Cleric 5/Ranger 1, Rogue 6, and Magus 5.

Yes, we all survived. Barely. And creatively. I'm happy to report that Drusk is now eligible to join the Blakros family whenever he obtains the requisite 20 PP. That'll probably happen.

As always, I'm not spoilering. Read at your own peril, Pathfinders!

Drandle Dreng (that rascal!) wakes us up in the middle of the night to do paperwork, as he is wont to do, then hurriedly sends us to the Blakros Museum. We opt to skip the exposition here. I'm tired, so I take a backseat on the RP train while the foppish Elf Magus does much of the talking/doing.

First encounter: Robots! With DR 15/Adamantine! As I could not bypass this with my pitiful claws and bite, I pulled out the greataxe and went to town. Fighter had an adamantine weapon, Magus did his thing with Shocking Grasp. I opted to conserve my Trances in case I need them later and we quickly disable these menaces.

The rogue successfully diplomances the Technic lady (Diplomancy being the least appreciated school of magic), so she gives us a gun and a flashbang. We successfully locate all of the secrets in all of the land, including all of the emergency kits and the secret stairwell. The Magus steals Nigel's nameplate and breaks it in half out of spite, as he has previously been here for Mists of Mwangi.

Encounter the second: PLANT! The GM allowed me to Survival to discern if it was dangerous, which went well. The Cleric/Ranger got a little gung-ho and started the encounter. The plant blinds the Rogue and me, who get max rounds and proceed to hide in a hallway. Fighter gets swallowed. Magus and Cleric/Ranger pretend to be useful for a few rounds until we're all back up, save for the poor Fighter. I cast Enlarge on myself just in time for the Magus to obliterate the plant. The fighter is healed from -14 (15 CON baby!) back to full.

Encounter 3: LOL, there's a robot we skipped because we came up the secret stairwell and didn't go into the other area. Good on us because we still ran over.

Encounter 4: OOZE! I decided that natural weapons seemed ill-advised for things with tumors, so I re-Enlarge myself. I attack one with my greataxe, see it heal, and decide to improvise a blunt weapon by using some of the taxidermy in the hall. That worked remarkably well. I left said taxidermy on top of the Tyrant Lizard after the oozes were slain. No growths, thankfully.

Encounter 5: Magus starts this encounter by wandering up the stairs out of boredom, sees the robot and Pendleton, and starts out with Glitterdust. Both fail and are blind. I trance into Big Sky for the DR/Hardness ignoring. Magus had used the token for the dancing whip, which trips the robot. I move into a flank, then unload with naturals, not quite realizing how robust the DR happens to be. We still smoosh it. Cleric and Fighter decide to fight the machine on the wall, much like Durkon from OotS and the trees. Magus and I move to Pendleton. I initiate a grapple, succeeding with a natural 20. Swarm-thing dives out, attacks me, hits, and I fail my Fort save. GM plays some games with me, trying to get to the robot to revive it, but the swarm is forced out by the Remove Disease wand. Then comes the part we were afraid of: in the course of fighting the plant, we utilized a number of our splash weapons already. Magus brilliantly suggests using flasks of oil, which he and the Rogue have a few of, to keep the thing lit on fire. I uselessly limp to the corner, having been brutalized by AoOs, and contribute my last Acid Flask to the war effort. The GM accepts this, in part due to time constraints, and we walk out like a boss.

Thoughts:
Big Sky is good. Like, really good. If I could have Spirit Specialization as a PFS character, I'd have it if only to better leverage Big Sky. It's going to be my permanent secondary spirit. While I had problems with the DR, that was largely a function of the subtier we played. Note: this marks my first use of Trance.

I continued to contribute as one might expect an under-tiered melee character to do. While I was playing the Dwarven Door Game in Emerald Spire 2, I was quite conservative in this scenario for fear of instadeath. That could have been forthcoming quite easily, given the circumstance. I'm pleased with my survival and the advent of out-of-subtier gold.

Even though it was just Enlarge Person, I was happy to finally have spells to use. It was a nice change of pace.


The Medium

As always, I have a complete and utter disregard for spoilers. If you don't want this module spoiled, skeedaddle.

Party composition:
Fighter 1 (reach weapon focused)
Occultist 1 or 2 (can't remember, but she had at least 1 other session this week, Evocation and Conjuration implements)
Summoner 2 with melee-ish Eidolon
Dirge Bard 2
Witch 3
Medium 3

Nobody noticed the first secret door. We proceeded down the partially open door and the Bard fell down the hole. Eidolon breaks the trap open after the Moon Spider sealed it. Dirge Bard eats some delicious, delicious poison for STR damage and we move from "let's roll for perception" to "let's take 20 the whole dungeon."

Skeleton in the adjacent room is noticed before the cage falls, so we trigger the cage using one of the corpses. Fighter bashes the skeleton and it reassembles outside. I smash it, the Eidolon takes the head and throws it down the pit. Convenient, that. We take the secret passage to the crypt. There are 6 skeletons, but they all use full-round actions to leave their coffins, which means that we have more than enough time to obliterate them without taking damage.

The adjacent hallway has another pit, which is triggered without stepping on it via the Fighter. Spider climbs up, gets smooshed. Adjacent room with webs (which we had seen from the hallway with the first pit) is initiated using Spark on the webs. Smoosh. We backtrack to the other door. Zombie gets similarly smooshed. We take the secret door to the falling ceiling room, chuckle at the note after the Occultist disarms the trap. Proceed through adjacent hallway, ignore the pit trap.

Oh, there's a giant portcullis here? Take 20 on a Strength check to break it, using my Anytool as a crowbar for the +2 and enjoying The Bear's seance bonus. 27 bends the bars and we proceed to the room with the pit to level 3, ignoring the entrance to the final encounter. We find a pit trap, but fail to notice the secret door. Walk around, open the path back to the entrance, then proceed to the swarm room.

Bard is paranoid, so he runs from the swarm as he claims he has nothing he can do against it, fails to recall that we marked the trap, so he falls in and eats more delicious, delicious poison. Occultist and I both throw Acid Flasks at the swarm, which takes care of it. The Witch was readied to Burning Hands if it approached, but she was able to save the spell because of our alchemical cruelty. Eidolon, Fighter, and Summoner take care of the Moon Spider in the pit, rescuing the poor Bard, who is now at heavy encumbrance. I didn't realize that STR damage affected encumbrance, but the Bard insisted it did, so I just rolled with it.

As they're doing the rescue mission for the Bard, Occultist and I play the Dwarven Door Game, see the final encounter on the other side of the secret door, and I quickly close the door again. There's a lot of humorous delaying on both sides, a few buffs, etc. Eidolon opens the door, readied attacks from skeletons both miss, Eidolon and I wreck them. I 5' in and get hit with Hold Person, failing the save with a pitiful roll. Party moves in (generally) and Witch spams Magic Missile. I'm not sure where that was coming from, but the player was extremely competent, so I'm assuming that was legal. I break free of the Hold Person after 2 rounds, just in time to charge in and kill steal from the Fighter.

Thoughts:
Generally, my rolls were decent. One of the biggest bonuses of The Bear is simply the number of dice I roll on each attack, which accelerates most combats quite effectively. I got Power Attack before this session, but I only used it once or twice. The monsters simply didn't have much HP, so it wasn't necessary here. Dice rolls had a larger impact on everything than modifiers, which is pretty much expected at this level. Honestly, the character performed at the same general level of effectiveness as the last two sessions (Emerald Spire 1 and God's Market Gamble), which is to say quite well.

This is the first scenario where The Bear's bonus to break checks mattered. I had honestly written that off until tonight, when I found it suddenly mattered several times - the pit traps, the portcullis, etc. Seriously, at least 3 times tonight. I still haven't used Trance, though, and now I'll have Enlarge Person as a spell anyway and The Beating isn't worth using a Trance on right now. At least my level 3 bonus was...oh yeah, another use of Trance each day. Honestly, this felt like a dead level to the Strength build. Since I'm in PFS with this character, I don't have access to Beseech at this time, else I'd be channeling damage occasionally.

Occultist spent a fair amount of time summoning an eagle, which was sort of hit or miss. It was a good flank buddy for the final encounter, but other times it came out just in time for the fight to be over. There were also some timely energy rays from the Evoc implement.

For the most part, this entire module was a lesson in patience, aka TAKE 20 EVERYWHERE. We finished in something like 4.5 hours, maybe 5. The Bard was the only one who was ever in any real danger and only once did I think "Man, he deserved that." Of course, at the same time that I was thinking that, I was playing the Dwarven Door Game, which I won, thank you very much.


If you and your mount/animal companion both have Escape Route and you are mounted, is it impossible to provoke attacks of opportunity for movement?

Ultimate Combat wrote:

Escape Route (Teamwork)

You have trained to watch your allies' backs, covering them as they make tactical withdraws.

Benefit: An ally who also has this feat provokes no attacks of opportunity for moving through squares adjacent to you or within your space.

4/5

I'm looking at creating a Hunter that does not want the Animal Companion and I'm not selecting the archetype that drops it. Do I have to stat out the pet and have it die, or can I walk into my first scenario saying that it died and start without it?


The character

There will be spoilers. You've been warned.

Party setup tonight was 3 fresh level 1s (Slayer, Cleric, Rogue) and my level 2 Medium. The Cleric and Rogue were both first-time Pathfinder players, but the Cleric was experienced with 3.5 sufficiently to be solid. We had more than enough skills at the table to handle the social pieces, including myself. Nobody particularly excelled at anything (i.e. no mods greater than +8), but we got by. I had Bear seanced.

Combat 1: I handily dispatched the dog with a greataxe charge, then drop the axe to full attack the next round and whiff horribly on all 3 attacks. Rogue drops one humanoid, then convinces the other one to surrender. We delay to see what the last one does, stabilize the downed humanoid, interrogate the standing one and let them on their way. Minor damage, which the Cleric heals using my wand and a channel. Nothing special.

Chase scene: Caught up to the target and grappled him. He kept trying to flee, so we brutalized him with nonlethal, tied him up, and interrogated him with the guard present. Found the sniper nest, took the stuff. Upon seeing the poisoned arrows in the nest, I purchased a tower shield as I assumed I would otherwise be mowed down.

Warehouse: The GM misread the tier adjustment and forgot to remove some traps, so this was misplayed and corrected afterwards, when another table's GM mentioned the adjustment. We successfully disarmed the trap and harvested some Alchemist Fire. Nothing else of note here due to the misplay.

Combat 2: We found them sufficiently early, Rogue failed to hit on the surprise round against them. The enemies proceed to do a whole lot of nothing and we accidentally killed them both due to crits, so we couldn't interrogate.

Boss: Everyone counted as human for this fight. Ow. We opted for a fairly direct approach, with the rogue approaching from the side and the others with the keg. Due to the tower shield, I avoid getting ganked in the surprise round, then proceed to approach with total defense, using cover along the way. Cleric runs under the platform and gets killed due to a crit. Rogue and Slayer throw Alchemist Fire, setting the sniper nest on fire and forcing the boss from it. I approach as the Rogue continues to fire on the boss with her light crossbow. Slayer is knocked out, I finally close to melee, dropping the shield along the way, and whiff a trip attempt. Boss takes a 5', Rapid Shots me and I'm staggered. I manage to knock her out and collapse as a result. Boss bleeds out, Slayer and I stabilize ourselves.

Thoughts
Generally, my rolls were at extremes: either I was 6 and down or 15 and up for everything. At the existing skills/lvl, I had a diverse portfolio of skills and was more than able to assist meaningfully in most situations.

I walked into this scenario with a lot of gold. I hadn't purchased anything since before the prior session. I could have had more gear, but I didn't. Given the scope of the adventure, I don't think this significantly hindered my ability to contribute or adversely affected our survival.

Damage still wasn't much of an issue. I hit reasonably hard and it's going to continue to go up as I get both Power Attack and, in a few levels, Dual Vessel for The Beating's seance boon. If I'm particularly concerned, I pull out the greataxe.

I fulfilled my primary combat role well. I still felt as though I lacked options in combat, but that is a known issue.


The character

Party composition: Investigator 2, Ninja iconic, Rogue 1, Bard 1, Medium 1 (me)

There will be spoilers and there won't be spoiler tags. That said, this is a replayable for PFS, so take that for what you will.

Goblins, it turns out, are great targets for a level 1 that focuses on having natural attacks. Unless the die came up as a 1, I was one-shotting virtually everything that walked in this scenario. We came up the back way, which negated the "Tucker's Kobolds" aspect of the area and allowed us to deal with the goblins as unalert packs. The bard and I were the only ones with darkvision, but that made it thoroughly possible for us to see what we were doing. On the average full attack, I was hitting on approximately 2/3 of my swings with average to slightly-above-average rolls. Nobody buffed at all in the course of the dungeon.

Problem encounters
Obviously, the bugbear was painful. We were unable to kill him due to the obnoxious terrain rules for this level and he opened the melee portion with a crit that outright killed the ninja. I spent virtually this entire combat at 1 hp and was blessedly missed repeatedly. I hit on approximately 1/3 of my attacks, typically with a reasonable spread of dice each time.

Construct + cleric was painful. Both the ninja and rogue went unconscious, I ate 3 channels and the construct's explosion during the fight, leaving me at 1 HP as we finished. As is no surprise, the construct's DR was a problem, but not insurmountable.

General play impressions
1. There's simply not a lot to do at level 1. Yes, I was constrained by a lack of spirits by choosing to go 12 CHA, but I can't honestly say that I would have Tranced at any point during the session if I had any other spirits available. As I remarked to the GM, who was leery but accommodating of the playtest material, I could have built virtually the same character via Tengu Barbarian and done more damage, had more HP, and a better chance to hit.

2. The flavor of the Medium is hard to convey in a PFS setting, particularly when players and GM haven't seen the playtest doc, or, in the case of some, even heard that there is a playtest doc. It's even harder when you're playing a dungeon-crawl scenario. I played towards the compulsion, but I was honestly the only person who knew that I had such a compulsion for using the spirit.

3. Attack/damage seemed fine. I consistently contributed to the combats in a meaningful way (read: I killed over 1/2 the enemies because I had multiple attacks). That said, we're talking goblins here. Yes, they have decent AC, but they're not exactly sturdy. Since I was dominating, I took a step back during some combats, particularly if I could justify it due to distance.

Parting thoughts
I'll be playing at level 2 for a scenario, which will get me to level 3 as this was a converted level 1 character that started with 2 xp. Level 3 will likely be the next floor of Emerald Spire.

This class needs to figure out what it's doing. It's a little schizophrenic right now, which ends up meaning that it lacks clarity and direction. As has been repeatedly pointed out, it's the only 4-level caster that isn't also d10 HD and full BAB. It's also tremendously backloaded, so the first 4 levels are very slow and they slightly pick up as you get towards 7, where you finally look like a class that can maybe do things. This leads to a rather boring intro to play that can easily be duplicated by other classes.

Strength is obviously a good choice for spirit if you intend to be combat-focused. Other spirit choices can be helpful, as well, but the first few levels are simply boring. Not qualifying for Power Attack is very painful at level 1 when you intend to melee, but the not-PFS-legal feat in the Medium thread somewhat addresses that pain. Meaningful combat choices typically come from items rather than class features, which is troubling.

I would like to see something additional at level 1 that allows the Medium to contribute more to the party. Maybe that means giving it 6-level casting. Maybe it means an additional general ability or something special for each spirit at level 1. Maybe that something could be that Dual Vessel gets moved to an earlier level. There's just not much going on at level 1 and you feel outdone by anyone who does anything that resembles specialization. At this point, I think a move to 6-level casting is probably the best choice because it will better support non-Strength spirits, give added utility for levels 1-3, and make the play more engaging.


Are we reasonably sure that this archetype is legal? It replaces several bonus feats twice. Seems to violate the usual archetype restrictions regarding ability replacement.

Quote:
Wild Tricks (Ex): The wild child has learned a number of tricks to aid his allies and his animal companion, as well as to hinder his opponents. At 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter, the wild child learns one hunter's trick. He cannot choose any tricks that rely on ranged attacks. The wild child can use these tricks a number of times per day equal to 1/2 his brawler level + his Constitution modifier. This ability otherwise follows the rules of the hunter's tricks ability, including all action costs. This ability replaces the bonus combat feats gained at 5th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 20th levels.
Quote:
Animal Companion (Ex): At 1st level, a wild child forms a bond with a loyal companion that accompanies the wild child on his adventures. A wild child can begin play with any of the animals available to a druid. The wild child uses his brawler level as his effective druid level for determining the abilities of his animal companion. This ability replaces the bonus combat feats gained at 2nd, 5th, 11th, and 14th levels.

Trolololol


Can an Arcanist with the School Savant archetype select an Elemental School? If so, does this character select 1 or 2 opposition schools?

School Savant:
School Savant (Archetype)
Some arcanists specialize in a school of magic and trade flexibility for focus. School savants are able to prepare more spells per day than typical arcanists, but their selection is more limited.

School Focus (Su): At 1st level, a school savant chooses a school of magic. The arcanist gains the abilities granted by that school, as the arcane school class feature of the wizard, treating her arcanist level as her wizard level for these abilities. She can also further specialize by selecting one of the subschools. In addition, the arcanist can prepare one additional spell per day of each level she can cast, but this spell must be chosen from the selected school.

Finally, the arcanist must select two additional schools of magic as her opposition schools. Whenever she prepares spells from one of her opposition schools, the spell takes up two of her prepared spell slots. In addition, a school savant takes a –4 penalty on any skill checks when crafting a magic item that has a spell from one of her opposition schools as a prerequisite. A school savant cannot select the school understanding arcanist exploit. This ability replaces the arcanist exploits gained at 1st, 3rd, and 7th levels.

Elemental Arcane Schools:
Elemental Arcane Schools
Instead of specializing in one of the standard eight schools of magic, a wizard can choose to specialize in one of the four elemental schools of magic. Like a normal arcane school, an elemental school grants a number of school powers and one bonus spell slot of each level the wizard can cast, from 1st on up. This bonus spell slot must be used to prepare a spell from the elemental school's spell list (see Chapter 5). Unlike a normal arcane school, each elemental school requires the wizard to select his opposed element as his opposition school (air opposes earth, fire opposes water). He does not need to select a second opposition school. He must expend two spell slots to prepare a spell from his opposed elemental school as normal.

4/5

So, first and foremost, I want to say that this is not a slam or rant against the GM I played under last night.

Last night, I played Blakros Matrimony. It was my first season 4 scenario since coming back from an extended hiatus (virtually all of S4 and all of S5, basically). The party was ill-equipped to handle the objectives as my character had the only positive CHA mod out of 6 characters. As we finish the briefing, the GM hands out the faction slips and I ask the table whether these matter, as I can't remember if it was S4 or S5 that moved to the secondary objective system. Another player, who claims to GM for Society on occasion, says that S4 faction missions still matter.

Whether this was not heard by the GM or whatever, this isn't corrected, so I'm completely unaware that the S4 scenarios have been moved to having a group secondary objective. I base my RP decisions on trying to complete the faction mission, which means that the only person with decent Diplomacy spent extra actions specifically on a single faction mission. More than a few other characters at the table go after faction missions, as well, and the GM references faction mission completions for factions that aren't even represented at the table during play.

At the end of the night (6 RL hours later), I find out that we all only get 1 PP. I'm obviously a little upset because every indication I had up until that point is that I completed the faction mission and that would be my second PP. The GM and some of the other GMs at the store explain that all of the scenarios have moved to this secondary objective system.

Long story short: if all scenarios are on the secondary objective system (which I think is great in general), why should GMs hand out something that can confuse players as to the actual objectives of the mission? My feeling as I walked away from the table was that I had been duped into wasting fairly precious RP time trying to achieve something that had absolutely no bearing.

Again, this isn't a slam against the GM. She was great and tried to make the scenario even remotely possible for a group with only 1 positive Diplomacy mod among 6 players. It just seems that providing these old faction missions is a way to leave a very sour taste in a player's mouth when they find out that it's completely meaningless.


Does the aura empowering affect any aura or just Good auras? It would seem to affect any aura as written, which could be really humorous.

Guide to PFS Organized Play wrote:

Force for Good: Your good-aligned spells are especially

powerful, and they function at +1 caster level. This trait
makes your aura more powerful (one step higher), as
outlined in the detect evil spell.


I'm playing a Skald in PFS and looking at Rage Powers that I'd like my party to have. I'm torn on a few, though I fully expect to use every feat from level 3 on to take Extra Rage Power to fill out the song. Thoughts so far:

Level 3: Superstition, Witch Hunter
Level 5: Battle Cry (it's a feat, but allows for rerolls)
Level 6: Spell Sunder
Level 7: Celestial Blood, Lesser (melee attacks are Good-aligned, add 1d6 against evil outsiders)
Level 9: Celestial Blood (acid and cold resist)
Level 11: Celestial Blood, Greater (free rerolls!)
Level 12: Eater of Magic (more rerolls!)

Any thoughts on this? Any obvious omissions, replacements, or position swaps?


I ran a fresh, level 1 Skald for a PFS session last night. It ended up being the most fun I've ever had at a PFS event. Even though half the table didn't want the Inspired Rage buff, I continuously felt I had options and I only had to roll to attack once in the entire session because we were able to bypass combat on a number of occasions.

I never had buy-in on the Bard before. I knew it was good, but I just wasn't interested. The Skald is an incredibly interesting flavor, though. On top of that, the rest of the players where pretty stoked when I handed out a hand-written condition card for the rage buff and told them how it worked.

Anyone else playing Skald or other ACG classes yet? If so, what has your experience been?


Are all bloodline abilities supposed to be restricted to when you are bloodraging, unless otherwise specified? There is inconsistent usage of phrasing in abilities and conflicts between fluff and crunch text.

Ex.

Page 19, ACG - Celestial fluff text wrote:
By way of a celestial ancestor or divine intervention, the blood of angels fills your body with a holy potency, granting you a majestic visage and angelic powers when you enter your bloodrage.
Page 19, ACG - Wings of Heaven (Su) wrote:
At 12th level, you can choose to sprout feathery wings...
Page 20, ACG - Dragon Wings (Su) wrote:
At 12th level, when entering a bloodrage, you can choose to have leathery wings grow...

The fluff text clearly states that it's while bloodraging, but fluff text is not actual rule text. The Wings of Heaven ability doesn't specify, but the Dragon Wings ability clearly states bloodrage as a requirement. For example, the Draconic bloodline does not have fluff text about "while bloodraging," nor does the level 1 Claws power, but Dragon Wings does.

This is, of course, not the only pair of bloodlines with the inconsistency, nor do the Bloodline and Bloodrage class features specify.


Specifically looking at this ability:

APG wrote:
Spirit Totem, Lesser (Su): While raging, the barbarian is surrounded by spirit wisps that harass her foes. These spirits make one slam attack each round against a living foe that is adjacent to the barbarian. This slam attack is made using the barbarian's full base attack bonus, plus the barbarian's Charisma modifier. The slam deals 1d4 points of negative energy damage, plus the barbarian's Charisma modifier.

Can the barbarian count themselves as an adjacent foe? First, is a combatant considered adjacent to themselves? Second, can they consider themselves a foe for a specific ability? Lastly, can the combatant choose to be hit by this ability in some way (flat out get hit, deny DEX bonus to AC, or treat themselves as helpless for the purposes of the attack)?

Related question to adjacency:

Are two creatures in the same square adjacent for purposes of feats/abilities? (let's assume they're both Tiny or Diminuitive for that one)


Saw the trailer this morning and signed up for closed beta. Looks like hotness.

Anyone else looking forward to this title?


Particularly for the playtest fora, it would be extremely helpful to have a link at the top of the thread and near each Paizo employee post that goes to the next Paizo employee post in the thread. This will help playtesters quickly locate clarifications or spot errata in larger threads without reading or skimming every post.


Note: If you're in the MN area and I've spoken to you about "killing you with a dragon," please don't read any further.

I'm in the process of designing a level 7 / MT 3 playtest session and I want to make sure I cover the right bases in my encounter selection. The playtest doc says to add the CL and MT, so APL = 10 by that rationale. I've upped the starting gold from the normal level 7 amount to 45k (closer to level 9)

Encounters:
First encounter: 4 Trollhounds and 1 Mythic Troll (estimated CR 10)
Second encounter: 5 Shadow Mastiff (CR 10)
Third encounter: 3 Terracota Warriors, Indestructible template added (CR 10)
Final encounter: 1 Adult Underworld Dragon (CR 11)

The final encounter has some feat swap-outs that might shift it upward in CR (removed 3 melee feats and replaced with Toughness, Flyby Attack, and Quicken SLA for Stone Shape).

I'm concerned about the impact of lowered BAB, CL, and such in these encounters, but I wanted to focus on CR appropriate fights based on the APL adjustment for MT 3. Are there any recommended adjustments or additional encounters?


So, I had a silly idea last night and I wanted some interpretation. I don't think RAW necessarily gives the full answer here.

To start, here's the rules for Summon Monster, which Mount is based off of:

Spoiler:
School conjuration (summoning) [see text]; Level bard 1, cleric 1, sorcerer/wizard 1

Casting Time 1 round

Components V, S, F/DF (a tiny bag and a small candle)

Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Effect one summoned creature

Duration 1 round/level (D)

Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

This spell summons an extraplanar creature (typically an outsider, elemental, or magical beast native to another plane). It appears where you designate and acts immediately, on your turn. It attacks your opponents to the best of its ability. If you can communicate with the creature, you can direct it not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions. The spell conjures one of the creatures from the 1st Level list on Table 10–1. You choose which kind of creature to summon, and you can choose a different one each time you cast the spell.

A summoned monster cannot summon or otherwise conjure another creature, nor can it use any teleportation or planar travel abilities. Creatures cannot be summoned into an environment that cannot support them. Creatures summoned using this spell cannot use spells or spell-like abilities that duplicate spells with expensive material components (such as wish).

When you use a summoning spell to summon a creature with an alignment or elemental subtype, it is a spell of that type. Creatures on Table 10–1 marked with an “*” are summoned with the celestial template, if you are good, and the fiendish template, if you are evil. If you are neutral, you may choose which template to apply to the creature. Creatures marked with an “*” always have an alignment that matches yours, regardless of their usual alignment. Summoning these creatures makes the summoning spell's type match your alignment.

The big question: Does "30 feet in the air" constitute "an environment that cannot support them" for horses?

If it does not, each horse is worth 4d6 damage (Reflex DC 15 for half) with up to 7 horses by level 5 (assumes Varisian Tattoo and Superior Summoning, which is possible on a PFS Wizard) and each horse covering a 10x10 section of grid. If you had a Reach, Lesser rod, you could stack all of the horses in a vertical line above the intended target. If the horses are instead dropped from 150+ ft, each horse is worth 8d6. If less than 30 ft, 2d6.

So, what do people think?


1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

Relevant texts:

Rage wrote:
While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
Scarred Witch Doctor wrote:

Constitution Dependent: A scarred witch doctor uses

Constitution instead of Intelligence when determining
the highest level of spells she can cast, her spell save DCs,
number of spells known at 1st level, and any effects of her
hexes normally determined by her Intelligence.

I'll definitely grant that spells are right out. What about Hexes, though? They are {Su} abilities, so they don't really require concentration (at least, not concentration checks). You could argue certainly that defensive Hexes require some degree of patience, but what about Misfortune or Evil Eye?

Alternatively, I guess you could just grab Urban Barbarian, but the "patience or concentration" line is not removed from Controlled Rage.


Simple question, really. Everyone is familiar with this bit from the CRB:

PRD wrote:

Code of Conduct: A paladin must be of lawful good alignment and loses all class features except proficiencies if she ever willingly commits an evil act.

Additionally, a paladin's code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.

Do the Paladin Codes from Faiths of Purity/Balance supplement or replace the CRB Code of Conduct?

Sample:

Faiths of Purity, Paladin Code section:
Shelyn The paladins of Shelyn are peaceable promoters of
art and beauty. They see the ugliness in evil, even
when cloaked in the form of beauty, and their job is
to prevent the weak and foolish from being seduced by
false promises. Their tenets include:
• I am peaceful. I come first with a rose. I act to prevent
conflict before it blossoms.
• I never strike first, unless it is the only way to protect
the innocent.
• I accept surrender if my opponent can be redeemed—and
I never assume that they cannot be. All things that live
love beauty, and I will show beauty’s answer to them.
• I will never destroy a work of art, nor allow one to come
to harm unless greater art arises from its loss. I will
only sacrifice art if doing so allows me to save a life, for
untold beauty can arise from an awakened soul.
• I see beauty in others. As a rough stone hides a diamond,
a drab face may hide the heart of a saint.
• I lead by example, not with my blade. Where my blade
passes, a life is cut short, and the world's potential for
beauty is lessened.
• I live my life as art. I will choose an art and perfect it.
When I have mastered it, I will choose another. The works
I leave behind make life richer for those who follow.


PRD wrote:
Bo staff 1 gp 1d4 1d6 ×2 — 3 lbs. B blocking, double, monk

Well then...a double weapon that only has 1 head to enchant? I think I figured out why it's Exotic.

PRD wrote:

Meteor hammer 10 gp 1d6 1d8 ×2 — 10 lbs. B reach, trip

Meteor Hammer: This weapon consists of one or two spherical weights attached by a 10-foot chain. You whirl the weights and wrap them around an opponent's body. If you succeed at a trip attempt with a meteor hammer, you can drag your opponent 5 feet closer to you rather than knocking her prone. You may use this weapon in two different ways: in meteor mode you use it as a double weapon, while in fortress mode you cannot use it as a double weapon but gain reach and a +1 shield bonus to AC. Switching between these two modes is a free action decided at the start of your turn.

Wait up...this is a 1-headed double weapon, too...and it can change to a reach weapon at the start of your turn.

Are these getting errata?


PRD wrote:

Great Cleave (Combat)

You can strike many adjacent foes with a single blow.

Prerequisites: Str 13, Cleave, Power Attack, base attack bonus +4.

Benefit: As a standard action, you can make a single attack at your full base attack bonus against a foe within reach. If you hit, you deal damage normally and can make an additional attack (using your full base attack bonus) against a foe that is adjacent to the previous foe and also within reach. If you hit, you can continue to make attacks against foes adjacent to the previous foe, so long as they are within your reach. You cannot attack an individual foe more than once during this attack action. When you use this feat, you take a –2 penalty to your Armor Class until your next turn.

Situation: A character is using a 2h reach weapon and has Improved Unarmed Strike. The character declares a Great Cleave and attacks a target at 10 ft using the 2h reach weapon and hits. Would an adjacent target at 5 ft be an eligible target for the Great Cleave utilizing an Unarmed Strike attack?

PFS legal answers requested if possible.


PRD wrote:

Focused Trance (Ex): You can enter a deep meditation, blocking out visual and auditory stimuli and allowing you to concentrate on a single problem, philosophical issue, or memory. This trance lasts 1d6 rounds, during which time you can only take move actions. During this period, you gain a bonus equal to your level on all saves against sonic effects and gaze attacks. When you come out of your trance, you may make a single Intelligence-based skill check with a +20 circumstance bonus. You may enter your focused trance a number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier.

Lore Keeper (Ex): Instead of encyclopedic knowledge, you learn most of your information through tales, songs, and poems. You may use your Charisma modifier instead of your Intelligence modifier on all Knowledge checks.

Do these two Revelations work together, or does Lore Keeper change Knowledge checks to no longer be considered Int-Based?


4 people marked this as FAQ candidate.
Quote:
Bolas: A bolas is a pair of weights, connected by a thin rope or cord. You can use this weapon to make a ranged trip attack against an opponent. You can't be tripped during your own trip attempt when using a bolas.

1. Attack roll required prior to trip attempt?

2. If so, Standard or ranged touch?
3. Standard CMB to trip, or modified to Dex-based for being a ranged weapon?

Quote:

Lasso: This thrown weapon is a length of rope with a simple open knot on one end that allows you entangle a foe like you would using a net. The DC to cast a spell while entangled with a lasso is 10 + the spell level being cast. An entangled creature can slip free with a DC 15 Escape Artist check as a full-round action. The lasso has 2 hit points and AC 10. It requires a DC 23 Strength check to break it. On a successful hit, the lasso tightens; to use it again you must spend a standard action sliding the knot to enlarge the loop.

Lasso 1 sp — — — — 5 lbs. — see text

4. What is the range increment?

5. What is the max length of rope?

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