I finally got around to playing a 2e adventure path after playing 1e for so one. Playing as a Jekyl / Hyde type. Scientist with alchemical crafting, animal instinct barbarian (ape) at level 1. Going to take medic dedication and battle medicine at level 2.
I get that battle med during a rage isn’t an issue as far as concentration is concerned, but something else is tripping me up: the manipulate trait.
I have a free hand. In fact, I have two. But thanks to the morph trait that comes with animal instinct rage, I have two very large, gorilla hands.
Manipulate says: Creatures without a suitable appendage can’t perform actions with this trait.
So that is my question. Are gorilla hands considered “suitable” for healer’s tools? Do I need to buy a specialized set for when I’m raging so I don’t smash them?
My PCs are about to do the final assault on Valor's Fastness. They are aware of Exemplar and are worried about him. Frankly, I am too. How did your squads get thru this absolute monster's defenses?
I assume most parties that have dealt with him have had an antipaladin smiting with a two-handed power attack weapon to at least deal half dmg and bypass dmg reduction. My party doesn't have one of those. It just seems like their attacks with magic weapons (even ghost salted) will do very little damage.
Anyone have any advice that I can give them thru Razelago and / or Zara?
I originally posted this in the Hell's Vengeance forum, but there isn't a lot of traffic there. This is more of a rules question than a "running the adventure" question anyhow.
I am DMing HV, and we are nearing the end of book 1, and I am getting tripped up by the hound archon’s “change shape” ability. I know several of them appear later on in the AP as well, so I’d really like to get a handle on them, and a quick search hasn’t yielded much help.
A hound archon’s change shape allows them to assume any canine from small to large, per Beast Shape II. The change shape universal monster ability says it functions as the appropriate polymorph spell, but the creature does not adjust its ability scores.
The polymorph subschool lists a number of effects that impact your stats.
So what exactly happens if a hound archon changes into say, a large dire wolf?
Here is what is obvious to me that happens during the usage of change shape
1) Archon does NOT get +4 size bonus to strength (expressly mentioned in change shape)
2) Archon changes to large size, gaining associated bonuses / penalties to AC, Attacks, CMB/CMD, Stealth skill
3) He retains low-light vision and scent (dire wolf also has these, and BS II allows them)
4) He gains trip ability of a dire wolf, and +4 to CMD vs trip for having 4 legs
5) Replaces his bite / slam with bite attack of a dire wolf (1d8 dmg), at the hound archon’s BA bonus (+6), including proficiency (per polymorph subschool rules)
6) Gear (sword) melds into body, per rules for changing into an animal type (per polymorph subschool rules)
7) Gains +10 to disguise skill to appear as a dire wolf (per polymorph subschool rules)
8) Loses darkvision, which is specifically called out as something lost in the polymorph subschool rules
Here is what is not obvious to me when he uses change shape
1) What is his natural armor in dire wolf form? BS II says you get a “+4 natural armor bonus”. Does this mean a bonus of +4 to his original +9 natural amount? Does it mean you replace his +9 with +4 instead? Or does it mean you take the +3 normal nat AC of a dire wolf and then add a +4 bonus to this? This to me, is VERY unclear (mainly due to the word “bonus”) and I could see a case for it being either +4 or +7 or +13.
2) Per polymorph rules, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that DEPEND ON YOUR ORIGINAL FORM. I don’t know what this means. Which of the following abilities does and does not a hound archon retain when using change shape?
*Constant spell-like abilities: detect evil, magic circle against evil.
*At will spell-like abilities: aid, continual flame, greater teleport, message.
*Aura of menace
*Damage Reduction
*Immunities
*Spell Resistance
*True Speech
For my part, I'm tempted to let him keep all of the above, as they seem to come from divine gifts, rather than his "form". At the very least i would assume the SLAs stay, because they aren't ex or su. But I am interested in knowing what the rules actually say should happen.
Thanks in advance for any answers. This is, imo, a very confusing topic.
I am DMing HV, and we are nearing the end of book 1, and I am getting tripped up by the hound archon’s “change shape” ability. I know several of them appear later on in the AP as well, so I’d really like to get a handle on them, and a quick search hasn’t yielded much help.
A hound archon’s change shape allows them to assume any canine from small to large, per Beast Shape II. The change shape universal monster ability says it functions as the appropriate polymorph spell, but the creature does not adjust its ability scores.
The polymorph subschool lists a number of effects that impact your stats.
So what exactly happens if a hound archon changes into say, a large dire wolf?
Here is what is obvious to me that happens during the usage of change shape
1) Archon does NOT get +4 size bonus to strength (expressly mentioned in change shape)
2) Archon changes to large size, gaining associated bonuses / penalties to AC, Attacks, CMB/CMD, Stealth skill
3) He retains low-light vision and scent (dire wolf also has these, and BS II allows them)
4) He gains trip ability of a dire wolf, and +4 to CMD vs trip for having 4 legs
5) Replaces his bite / slam with bite attack of a dire wolf (1d8 dmg), at the hound archon’s BA bonus (+6), including proficiency (per polymorph subschool rules)
6) Gear (sword) melds into body, per rules for changing into an animal type (per polymorph subschool rules)
7) Gains +10 to disguise skill to appear as a dire wolf (per polymorph subschool rules)
8) Loses darkvision, which is specifically called out as something lost in the polymorph subschool rules
Here is what is not obvious to me when he uses change shape
1) What is his natural armor in dire wolf form? BS II says you get a “+4 natural armor bonus”. Does this mean a bonus of +4 to his original +9 natural amount? Does it mean you replace his +9 with +4 instead? Or does it mean you take the +3 normal nat AC of a dire wolf and then add a +4 bonus to this? This to me, is VERY unclear (mainly due to the word “bonus”) and I could see a case for it being either +4 or +7 or +13.
2) Per polymorph rules, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that DEPEND ON YOUR ORIGINAL FORM. I don’t know what this means. Which of the following abilities does and does not a hound archon retain when using change shape?
*Constant spell-like abilities: detect evil, magic circle against evil.
*At will spell-like abilities: aid, continual flame, greater teleport, message.
*Aura of menace
*Damage Reduction
*Immunities
*Spell Resistance
*True Speech
For my part, I'm tempted to let him keep all of the above, as they seem to come from divine gifts, rather than his "form". But I am interested in knowing what the rules actually say should happen.
Thanks in advance for any answers. This is a very confusing topic.
So my character (wizard necromancer) in Hells Vengeance just animated a fast zombie dire tiger. A normal dire tiger has quite a few abilities, but I'm not sure which of these it retains upon joining the ranks of the undead. I've searched around a bit and haven't seen anything that really seems to definitively answer my question.
The relevant text from the pfsrd is:
Defensive Abilities: Zombies lose their defensive abilities and gain all of the qualities and immunities granted by the undead type.
Special Attacks: A zombie retains none of the base creature's special attacks.
Special Qualities: A zombie loses most special qualities of the base creature. It retains any extraordinary special qualities that improve its melee or ranged attacks.
That said, which of the following abilities does the zombie dire tiger retain: Low-light vision, Scent, Grab, Pounce, Rake?
My gut is telling me it loses low-light vision (but gains darkvision as an undead creature), it loses scent (as a special quality that doesn't improve its attacks), and it retains grab (as a special quality that improves its melee attacks).
Pounce and Rake are the real stumpers. Are they "special attacks"? Are they "Special qualities that improve melee attacks"?
So is Diviner (Wizard Role Feature) one of those things that used to be in the game and currently isn't? A la seneschal?
Or is it just a very recent bug that came along with the last patch? A la training being wrongly capped at 9 in some instances (though I think this has since been corrected)?
I could have sworn I had trained all 8 Wizard Features, but Diviner isn't showing up in my trained stuff, and also isn't showing up in available or unavailable feats at the Wiz person.
It shows a nice Perception bonus on The Goblinary Site, so it might be situationally pretty helpful.
In the Skull and Shackles Campaign I am playing in, I have a character with levels of Fighter (Viking). I'm looking at Raging Vitality for him. The problem is, he only has 12 Con. I know, I know, a front-liner should have more, but it was 15 pt buy and he isn't only a front-liner. Guy wears a lot of hats.
Raging Vitality:
Raging Vitality
While raging, you are full of vigor and health.
Prerequisites: Con 15, rage class feature.
Benefit: Whenever you are raging, the morale bonus to your Constitution increases by +2. Your rage does not end if you become unconscious. While unconscious you must still expend rounds of rage per day each round.
At any rate, since Raging Vitality has a prereq of 15 Con, would I be able to take the feat? I do have 16 Con when Raging, which is the only time Raging Vit applies anyhow. Id rather throw a Cord of Stubborn Resolve on him than a +4 Con belt, so I can get some rage-cycling going if I need to, but that only puts him at 14, and I'd much rather put my ability increases into Str than Con.
Follow up question: Assuming it is as I suspect, and the answer to the previous question is a no, what about if I instead get a +4 con belt before I grab the feat? I know that as long as you are wearing it for more than 24 hrs, it counts as a "permanent" increase, and it would make him eligible to take it. But what if I wore it for 24+ hours, then took Raging Vitality when I leveled, then switched out the +4 belt for the Cord of Stubborn Resolve? I guess what the follow up question is really asking is: If I take it when I DO meet the prereqs (due to wearing +4 belt), and then lose the prereqs cause I got rid of the belt, does the now-dormant feat "kick back in" once I rage and go back to 16 Con? Whew, that was a long-winded one, and hopefully clear.
Thanks in advance for any responses. Much appreciated.
So my PCs are heading thru the Asmodean Knot, and acquired Anvengen's Edge after making a deal with Szasmir. The party includes a cleric of Shelyn. Obviously, as a glaive is her deity's favored weapon, she is interested in wielding it.
Prior to the party getting the AE, the summoner identified the runecurse (while handling it and being subject to the curse himself), and the cleric willingly took the curse upon herself to relieve him of the burden. I rewarded her by saying that her soul's connection to the Bone Devil thru the rune curse, made her appear as an Evil Asmodean to the Glaive, so it listens to her and she doesn't have a negative level from wielding it (she is Good-aligned).
I expect the party to try to rid her of the runecurse as soon as they leave the knot. Considering that Shelyn herself wields a very powerfully evil weapon taken from Zon-Kuthun, I kind of like the idea of the cleric of Shelyn using this evil glaive and "purifying" it the longer she wields it.
That said, a negative level is a pretty steep price to pay. Particularly for a spellcaster. Would it be too unbalanced to let the cleric prepare a custom spell for Shelyn worshipers, called "Shelyn's Grace" or something, that is personal range and allows one to ignore the negative effects of wielding an evil weapon? What would an acceptable spell level/spell duration be? 2/3/4? Higher?
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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Apologies if this has already been asked, but I didn't see it mentioned anywhere.
Unarmed fighter gets any single style feat as a bonus feat at level 1.
Does this mean it has to be a feat with the word style in it (Dragon Style, Kirin Style, etc)?
Or does this mean a style feat like the catagory of feat, "style feats"? I am reading it as the latter, because a normal fighter gets "combat" bonus feats, which is a category as well. Am I wrong about this?
Edit: to clarify, since prereqs arent an issue, I'm wondering if I can take Snapping Turtle Clutch at level 1 with this bonus feat, and then using my regular feat to pick up Snapping Turtle Style.
My party is converting from 3.5 to PF, and my level 7 character's Headband of Intellect +2 will presumably be "morphing" into a Headband of Vast Intelligence +2. On the pathfinder srd i saw the following thing about when an item granting an ability score increase becomes "permanent" (after the character wears it for 24 hours):
Permanent Bonuses: Ability bonuses with a duration greater than 1 day actually increase the relevant ability score after 24 hours. Modify all skills and statistics as appropriate. This might cause you to gain skill points, hit points, and other bonuses. These bonuses should be noted separately in case they are removed.
It also contained this clarification by James:
Clarification by James Jacobs: All bonuses are retroactive when an ability score increases, be they bonuses to damage, to skill ranks, to hit points, to saves, to skill checks... all of them. Skill ranks not being retroactive are a 3.5 convention we specifically removed from the game because it was a weird exception to the rule, and since now there are no exceptions to this rule, there's no need to specifically state that skill ranks are retroactively granted if your intelligence goes up.
The headband of vast intelligence says that it has one skill associated with it that should grant a skill rank per hit die, which in my case would amount to 7 ranks in one skill. The above paragraphs seem to suggest that the +2 int should make my character retroactively gain skill points pertaining to my new intelligence score (meaning 7 skill ranks). My question is: does my character get 7 retroactively added skill ranks AND the 7 ranks to one skill that are specifically mentioned in the item description? or are the 7 ranks in one skill supposed to be those 7 skill ranks that are granted due to the extra intelligence?
