Thorkull's page

So, I'm running this for the first time this weekend, and as I'm prepping it I'm wondering:

How does a Rogue 1/Sorcerer 8 have access to 4th-level spells?

She also has too many skill points, an extra feat, and way too many HP for average (although Toughness helps explain that). Was she statted up as a straight Sorcerer at one point?

I just uploaded a spreadsheet with printable "Knowledge Check" handouts for the players for 4-EX for the background knowledge at the beginning of the scenario.

A-Kon is coming up in two weeks! We still have a number of openings, so head over to the Warhorn site to see what's open and sign up for games.

Just a reminder to everyone that A-Kon is less than a month away! Get your registrations in on the Warhorn site ahead of time.

Registration for PFS games at A-Kon is now open at the Warhorn site.

Please note that you will require a con badge to play any games at A-Kon, including PFS. Tomorrow is the last day for pre-registration for the convention, after that you'll have to buy your badges at the door for an increased price.

We have the following games on the schedule:

• Intro 1 First Steps, Part I: In Service to Lore 1
  
• Intro 2 First Steps, Part II: To Delve the Dungeon Deep 1
  
• Intro 3 First Steps, Part III: A Vision of Betrayal 1
  
• 3-26 Portal of the Sacred Rune 7-11
  
• 4-01 Rise of the Goblin Guild 1-5
  
• 4-04 King of the Storval Stairs 7-11
  
• 4-05 The Sanos Abduction 3-7
  
• 4-06 The Green Market 5-9
  
• 4-07 The Sanos Abduction 1-5
  
• 4-08 The Cultist's Kiss 7-11
  
• 4-09 The Blakros Matrimony 3-7
  
• 4-10 Feast of Sigils 7-11
  
• 4-11 The Disappeared 1-5
  
• 4-12 The Refuge of Time 7-11
  
• 4-13 Fortress of the Nail 5-9
  
• 4-14 My Enemy's Enemy 3-7
  
• 4-16 The Fabric of Reality 5-9
  
• 4-17 Tower of the Ironwood Watch 5-9
  
• 4-18 The Veteran's Vault 1-5
  
• 4-19 The Night March of Kalkamedes 1-5
  
• 4-20 Words of the Ancients 7-11
  
• 4-EX Day of the Demon 3-7
  
• Kid's Track Ages 6+
  
• Pathfinder Module: Broken Chains 5-7
  
• Pathfinder Society Special: Blood Under Absalom 1-11
  

Race for the Runecarved Key won't be available in time for A-Kon, so I've swapped in Blood Under Absalom

The Dwarven Forge kickstarter is relatively cheap for their product and has the advantage coming almost finished as opposed to the time and learning curve involved in using Hirst's molds. Hirst's stuff is great if you have the time and are willing to learn how to cast your own.. It's kind of like pewter minis vs. pre-painted plastics.

The intent has been stated for PC to earn about 3/4 of the possible max PP. it's therefore perfectly ok if you don't have the max.

Does a life oracle with the channel mystery need a deity because she is channeling?

No.

An alchemist can learn formulae from a wizard's spellbook, but a wizard cannot learn spells from an alchemist's formula book:

An alchemist can also add formulae to his book just like a wizard adds spells to his spellbook, using the same costs, pages, and time requirements. An alchemist can study a wizard's spellbook to learn any formula that is equivalent to a spell the spellbook contains. A wizard, however, cannot learn spells from a formula book. An alchemist does not need to decipher arcane writings before copying them.

A witch can learn spells from a scroll, but not from a spellbook. Nor can a wizard learn spells from a witch (there are no arcane writings to decipher and the wizard cannot commune with the witch's familiar).

Witches can add new spells to their familiars through several methods. A witch can only add spells to her familiar if those spells belong to the witch's spell list.

Spells Gained at a New Level: A witch's familiar learns a certain amount of lore and magic as the witch adventures. Whenever a witch gains a level, she may add two spells from the witch spell list to her familiar. The two free spells must be of spell levels she can cast.
Familiar Teaching Familiar: A witch's familiar can learn spells from another witch's familiar. To accomplish this, the familiars must spend one hour per level of the spell being taught in communion with one another. At the end of this time, the witch whose familiar is learning a spell must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level). If the check succeeds, the familiar has learned the spell and the witch may utilize it the next time she prepares spells. If the check fails, the familiar has failed to learn the spell and cannot try to learn that spell again until the witch has gained another rank in Spellcraft. Most witches require a spell of equal or greater level in return for this service. If a familiar belongs to a witch that has died, it only retains its knowledge of spells for 24 hours, during which time it is possible to coerce or bribe the familiar into teaching its spells to another, subject to GM discretion.
Learn from a Scroll: A witch can use a scroll to teach her familiar a new spell. This process takes 1 hour per level of the spell to be learned, during which time the scroll is burned and its ashes used to create a special brew or powder that is consumed by the familiar. This process destroys the scroll. At the end of this time, the witch must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level). If the check fails, the process went awry in some way and the spell is not learned, although the scroll is still consumed.

Neither witches nor alchemists can learn spells or formulae from each other. If they could, it would state such in their class descriptions.

I think the GM's role is to streamline the game to keep the action moving, and not bog down the players in administrative rolls that ultimately mean very little.

When the players fail to identify that scroll of flaming sphere in one room, and fight a creature with vulnerability to fire in the next, having exhausted all their own fire spells, then that administrative roll can wind up meaning quite a lot. This example is from a recently-run scenario, so I'm not just making things up.

I would go with the PRD version, actually. That's a light (wooden or steel) shield with armor spikes.

The traditional form of this tribal weapon is a short metal blade bound to the skull of a large horned lizard, but a skilled smith can craft one entirely out of metal. A traditional klar counts as a light wooden shield with armor spikes; a metal klar counts as a light steel shield with armor spikes.

As for attacks, you treat a light shield as a light martial weapon.

Shield Bash Attacks: You can bash an opponent with a light shield. See "light shield" in the Martial Weapons table for the damage dealt by a shield bash with a light shield. Used this way, a light shield is a martial bludgeoning weapon. For the purpose of penalties on attack rolls, treat a light shield as a light weapon. If you use your shield as a weapon, you lose its AC bonus until your next turn. An enhancement bonus on a shield does not improve the effectiveness of a shield bash made with it, but the shield can be made into a magic weapon in its own right.

As far as spiked or bash, the rules are essentially the same except spikes make it hit harder.

Deadly spikes and bladed projections extend from some shields, transforming such pieces of armor into weapon in their own right. Shield spikes turn a shield into a martial piercing weapon and increase the damage dealt by a shield bash as if the shield were designed for a creature one size category larger (see "spiked light shield" and "spiked heavy shield" in the Martial Weapons table). You can't put spikes on a buckler or a tower shield. Otherwise, attacking with a spiked shield is like making a shield bash attack.

Hoo-Ahh!

You might check out the Pathfinder Society Online Collective.

Home games are generally for home-brew campaigns and AP games here in the 'States, although some people do run PFS at home sessions -- there's no rules against it.

That's true enough that when we use the term "home game" we usually mean non-Organized Play games.

We're not really into critiquing other player's builds unless they come looking for advice.

I will say that gunslingers can be very effective combatants, and ninjas are at least as good as rogues in that regard.

Correct, Leathert.

That's true, I tend to discount wands on chronicle sheets since they're so easy to acquire with PA if you really want them.

The only issue with selling partially-used consumables (or used consumables!) back is making sure people aren't getting something for nothing during the rebuild.

The other issue is making sure that the calculations are being done correctly so the player isn't getting either too much or too little gold on those items. I don't know this for a fact, but I strongly suspect that's part of why we don't have MIC in the campaign.

The only gray area would be any wands bought with gold, which not many level 1 characters will do. My guess is you either can't sell them if you already used a charge, or you sell them back at the discounted price. (e.g. a 49 charge level 1 wands sells back for 735gp and not 750)

Wands are not on the Always Available list, and until you get 9 Fame (minimum 5 normal Chronicles or 1 Module and 3 Scenario Chronicles), you won't be able to purchase a level 1 wand with gold... and by that time, you pretty much have to have played the character at 2nd level.

I suppose if you GMed a lot you could wind up with a 2nd level character with 9 Fame that you'd never played (it's happened to me), but at that point you probably haven't spent many, if any, consumable resources anyway.

Or just email the coordinator (Mike Brock) with the details (scenario, time slot, date). He'll find the sheet and fix it.

Keep in mind: having it reported online is not important to anything except the Paizo staff's ability to track numbers. If you have a chronicle for the game, you have everything you need.

However, having it reported accurately also serves as a backup play history for your character(s) if you should lose the paper copies, as has happened to players in the past.

Well done!

The ARG restrictions take precedence over the racial heritage feat. This ensures that the ARG content for non-core races (plus tengu, tiefling, and aasimar) remains special, usable only by those with boons for that content. See this thread for more info.

My bad, I was unaware of that clarification.

P33J, you're correct. While Racial Heritage lets him qualify as a Dwarf for anything that lists "Dwarf" as a pre-requisite, it doesn't give him all the Dwarven racial traits (like Hardy).

Dylos, I don't think the intent of the line in the Additional Resources is to neuter the Racial Heritage feat. The purpose of the feat is to allow you to qualify for just those kinds of feats (assuming they don't have any other pre-requisites), nor do I think it's reasonable that the Additional Resources should have to spell out an exception for Racial Heritage. In this case, specific (Racial Heritage) trumps general (only characters of a given race can take the associated racial feats).

Wilkommen!

and if you prove yourself to have a cleric or something who keeps yo-yoing you up on your feet and I can't drop the cleric, I will strike your unconscious body

I've had this happen a couple of times, and the cleric always looks at me like I'm killing their baby. If the bad guy puts you down, he means for you to stay down. If your cleric friend heals you up to 2 hp while you're lying on the ground next to the bad guy, the bad guy is going to make sure you stay down.

There's nothing wrong with trying to put together a balanced party if that's important to you. However, weigh your desires carefully against the ability of everyone to have fun. If you refuse to play in an party that doesn't have all the roles covered, does that mean that the table doesn't make and your fellow players don't get to play?

Is it discouraged to try to play up? I was planning on playing a zen archer which wouldn't be taking a lot of hits.

With greater risks come greater rewards. The converse is also true.

Even if he played up he doesn't have enough fame to buy the more expensive items yet.

None of the items listed require Fame for access as none of them are magical.

Edit: Ninja'd by AC!

There's no rules in the Core Rulebook for selling back enhancements. Therefore, it is not possible under the core rules and there is no option to do so in PFS play.

Welcome aboard, Matt. I'm glad to see the officer core in Houston growing!

Wish I could have made it down, guys, glad you all enjoyed the con!

We do not. See previous threads on this topic:

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pd8o?Just-a-thought-Online-Venture-Captain#1

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2njub?Venture-Captain-for-Online-games#1

I would rule that the -4 non-proficiency penalty still applies. In all ways other than it's not a normal thrown weapon you're treating it like a thrown weapon attack. Proficiency is part of that calculation.

It is a major mistake to try to front load an attribute to 20 at first level, because the only way you can do that is by crippling yourself in other areas.

You can live without the 20 at first level, you really don't need it.And you're more likely to survive to those other levels when it would be useful.

There's very few ways to increase the DCs of your spells. For a caster, the higher stat is a significant factor to their effectiveness.

At the end of the day, however, it's a matter of personal taste.

Yeah, it looks like they should stack *but* they won't reduce the level of the spell below its starting level, as Morgen pointed out.

The Pregens use the standard stat block, so if you're familiar with those from running scenarios it shouldn't be a big deal to find the stats on the pregen sheet.

There's a set of free traits you can use at paizo.com/traits.

The rules for them are in the APG, which you have. Additional traits can be found in many of the other Additional Resources.

The D20 PFSRD site also has a pretty comprehensive list of traits, and their source (so you can pick up a copy and keep your character legal).

The information on the website for your character isn't the definitive character sheet -- you hold onto that. As long as the name, faction, and number are correct that's what's important.

You can enter as much or as little detail you want in the Description field. You don't even have to enter the attributes if you don't want to. This is mostly for reporting and tracking purposes. Reporting events and sessions is important for two reasons:

1. It shows Paizo how many people are playing Pathfinder Society and how often, which makes a difference to how many resources they can dedicate to the campaign.

2. It provides a backup of your play history if anything ever happens to your primary record (the Chronicles that you are given at the end of every Scenario or Module).

Expect Table Variance.

Normally that applies to GM rulings, but in this case it applies to all the players at the table. Some people don't mind swearing like a sailor, other people take offense at even mild swearing. Know your audience and play nice with everyone else.

When in doubt, censor.

I think Mike had a typo. I don't know of any effects that are 1 per day per level.

1/day = once per day = temporary bonus and not available for Day job rolls.

1 day/level = one day per level = effectively permanent bonus and available for Day Job rolls.

Off in the Shower wrote:

Will McGrath wrote:

What about the Mask of Stony Demeanor and using Bluff in conjunction with the Caravan vanity?

I cannot see why ithis would not work, but I thought I would ask just in case.

No. Its not a permanent bonus.

But it is a permanent bonus.

The benefit only applies when telling lies.

But it doesn't apply to all rolls. The Day Job Roll is not a skill check, it's its own special roll. You are not telling a lie, you're abstracting how your character spends their time between going on missions for the Society.

The key there is that it's an abstraction. Anything that's conditional (like 1/day, or only when telling lies) doesn't apply.

If you go under "My Account" (link up at the top of this page), you'll see a Pathfinder Society box where you can click a link to join and get a player number issued. Once that's done, you can register a character (or characters) and get numbers issued for each character.

It's also a great way to meet other Pathfinder players in your area.

It seems to me (and I don't have any numbers or inside information) that the faction shirts really didn't have the sell-through rate that would justify re-releasing them. I think Paizo's more likely to continue issuing yearly Season shirts (like the Ruby Tournament and Risen Rune shirts) for Pathfinder Society at Gen Con, along with their Pathfinder t-shirts (like the d20 Goblin and the Red Gem Goblin).

If the deity in question is listed as legal in the Additional Resources, then they're legal choices for characters to worship them.

Keep in mind that if you choose a god whose core tenets are diametrically opposed to the Pathfinder Society's goals, or even to the continuance of life on Golarion, you may have a hard time working with your fellow Pathfinders.

This should be covered in the Additional Resources, but I don't have all my books with me to see which one(s) the Empyreal Lords are listed in.

Yeah, the word trait.... kind of like the new Level (spell level? character level? what level do you need to be to throw what level spell?).

There was actually a bit in the original AD&D Player's Handbook (or maybe it was a Dragon Magazine article?) where Gygax went into this. They originally had different names for all the levels, something like:

Dungeon - Level
Character - Rank
Spell - Circle
Monster - Rating

I'm sure I'm making mistakes on the details, but in the end they decided to trash it as having a 5th level character casting a 3rd level spell at a 4th level monster in the 2nd dungeon level was no more confusing than having a 5th rank character casting a 3rd circle spell at a 4th rating monster in the 2nd dungeon level when you got done with it all.

At the end of the day, it turns out that one term is kinda less confusing and definitely more elegant.

And we should realize that even Styrofoam has more hardness than say jello. Or Icecream. If you want to dig into a vat of Ice cream, would you use a knife or a hammer?

I'd use a scoop.

The pregens at Gen Con are the same ones you can download from the Paizo site.

However, I think you'll find that the experience is better if you create your own character.

Also, Jonathan's position could be misread to suggest that any time any GM alters a scenario, even accidentally, that session wouldn't be legal. (I know Jonathan wouldn't suggest that; I'm just saying that his words could be misconstrued.)

Yeah, mistakes happen. I've made more than a few where a bad guy wound up lasting an extra round because I misremembered the total hit points, or didn't flee or surrender when they should have. That's different from going in and intentionally altering the scenario ahead of time.

So, if I run through the entire thing I get 6 chronicle sheets to be applied at their various levels? That is unfortunate...

Well if you're playing through the whole AP it becomes a moot point as far as PFS credit goes. The characters won't be able to play any PFS without altering their progression through the AP, or they'll never have time (in character) to go outside the AP. Add to that the fact that a lot of APs (not Shattered Star) aren't really set up for members of the Pathfinder Society and you begin to see why the APs are sanctioned the way they are.

This is set up so that:

1. People who are playing through the APs get an additional benefit (credit for their PFS characters on the side).
2. PFS players have additional content with little or no development cost from Paizo's side.
3. PFS players get to experience a portion of the AP, perhaps interesting them in participating in the whole thing at a later date.