Sesserak is the throwaway ranger kobold the PCs encounter at the end of the first dungeon, the collapsed witch tower. Though given a fair amount of information, it seems like there's a blatant opportunity here for the PCs to accept her surrender and parlay- gathering information about the kobold hideout (but not spoiling too much of the plot because she's arbitrarily tight-lipped about Aeteperax.)
One of my players seems keenly interested in negotiating and trying to work with the kobolds.
My question is, what is Sesserak's overall outlook on cooperation, both with her tribe and with Big A? Is she a fervent supporter of him like the Chief, still loyal to their old demon lord, or a mix/neither? If my players try to get her to broker a peace/understanding between the kobolds and the humans, how hard will she work on that? Will she refuse to return outright, believing it's an insta-death? Would she at least play along? Or would she genuniely be open to figuring something out peacefully?
I don't see them avoiding fighting the kobolds entirely, I already expect some of those loyal to Big A and the Chief to be irredeemably so. Should I change that? If my players really want to try and seek to negotiate, and go the extra mile, is there any scenario where the Chief steps down peacefully with Sesserak's help/influence?
The best way I can think of is them helping the Chief realize he's getting played, but I'm not sure how to introduce that so soon. My players know there's a dragon in the game (spoilers, right?) so it's not like revealing that much to them will ruin the story.
Huh. I guess my impression of how the whole Pureblood Azlanti thing worked was wrong.
I thought only the top-of-the-food-chain caste were purebloods and everyone else (slaves) were just the standard humans, ala Sparta.
Now I'm realizing the whole "Azlanti but not pureblood" thing is a catch-all for people who were around after the original pureblood lines died out.
The reason I was skimming over that in his stats is I thought there were Azlanti humans, then there was just Azlanti period. Like an entirely separate Race category. Looking back that's not how the other Azlanti like Azaven and Athroxis are listed either. Hi-yo selective reading.
Leaving out a +2 To All Scores does, in fact, mess over one's attempts at getting someone there with a 25 point buy.
How was Karzoug built? I'm trying to break him down for study, and can't get his ability scores to add up.
His stats as presented are:
Str 24, Dex 24, Con 28, Int 36, Wis 15, Cha 22
Take away his Immortal (Ex) +3 to Int/Wis/Cha to make it
Str 24, Dex 24, Con 28, Int 33, Wis 12, Cha 19
Take away his Wish(es) of +5 Int and +4 to Everything Else:
Str 20, Dex 20, Con 24, Int 28, Wis 8, Cha 15
Take away his Crimson Sphere (+6 Int) and Onxy Rhomboid (+6 Con) Ioun Stones, and his Belt of Physical Might +6 (Str, Dex):
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 22, Wis 8, Cha 15
All this (should) leave is the 5 points assigned as he reached Level 20, and the +2 assigned from being Human. However, no matter how I spin it, I can not get the Point Buy to level out to 25 and still get Karzoug the stats he has. The best I can do is start with Str 14, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 14 and apply Human +2 to Int, as well as 4 from Leveling, then +1 from Leveling to Con to get the aforementioned Str 14, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 22, Wis 8, Cha 15. This still leaves one with a 38 Point Buy, and the oddity of a Wizard starting with a 17 in Con and 16 in Int.
If I take away 5 from Con, this makes it level out. I decided to try this after noticing on his statblock that there is a SQ called "physical enhancement +5 Con". I presume this refers to the Trasmuter Wizard ability, "Physical Enhancement." This would indeed grant him a +5 Enhancement Bonus to Con, but that would be redundant with his three Onxy Rhomboid stones... which already grant a +6 enhancement bonus to Con. (Geez that paragraph felt redundant.)
Is this an oversight in Karzoug's statblock, or am I missing something else?
In the Errata thread, people came close, but made a big mistake: Karzoug isn't pureblood Azlanti, so he doesn't get the +2 to all ability scores. That kinda shoots their proposed build out of the sky; it also means that the statblock doesn't factor in Karzoug actively wielding his Talons of Leng (as they theorize)- that would require his Base Wisdom to be a 6, lower than it can possibly go!
Sorry, I'm back. Holidays got really crazy, and I totally forgot I had this going. My sincerest apologies, and it shouldn't happen again barring something even zanier. (My family has issues.)
Good points made; the DC would go up (as it is a higher-level spell) so it's fair to say that one who identified it would know what is going into the newly upgraded spell.
When a spellcaster identifies an enemy's spell as it is being cast (whether out of interest or with the motive to counterspell) can he tell if there are any metamagic effects attached to it? Does Empowered Intensified Widened Fireball look/sound the same as regular Fireball while being cast?
The redesign on counterspell was intended to limit is utility a bit. The previous version encouraged arcanists to burn through their spell slots and reservoir at an alarming rate, and the end result is that opposing spellcasters had a very hard time getting any spells off at all. I am not convinced that the change went too far, but the previous rule was not working as intended (which for the record, is meant to make counterspell an occasionally useful option, not a prime strategy). There might be room for an exploit chain to enhance this option if the build is one that is truly desired, but even then, it is going to have to nerf Spell Parry in its language. That combo is ridiculously good.
I think a build that can counterspell effectively (even if it's limited to only one class) is a great idea, even though I agree it should take more investment than "Hey, here's one exploit every single arcanist is going to take."
With 3.5 material you could get similar abilities with a Cleric taking Divine Defiance, Spontaneous Domain Casting (Magic Domain), and the Inquisition domain (whether natively or from a level in Church Inquisitor). That's 3 class features and a feat, and you can get it online by level 5. I'd expect an arcanist to need a similar level of investment.
What about an archetype that gets better at it as it levels?
That would be an excellent option, I'd say. Archetype exist to both add a version of the flavor the class is missing as well as expand/modify existing class abilities. A spellkiller archetype feels like it'd very much be on the Arcanist's level; one who exists not just to mix around with magic, but to specifically screw with enemy's spells.
I thought so (with the Spell Prepared effectively acting as Spell Known for Sorcerers) but spells where they call out one class or the other also make me a tad nervous.
If you successfully counterspell a 3rd-level or lower level spell (through either dispel magic or normal means) while spell absorption is in effect, you absorb the countered spell and use it to regain spells you have already cast. If you’re a wizard, you regain the use of any single spell that you have cast since the last time you prepared spells. If you’re a sorcerer, you regain a single spell slot. The spell recovered or spell slot regained must be of an equal level or lower than the spell you counterspelled.
This has specific rules for Wizards and Sorcerers. Does this the Arcanist does not get to play at all? Or will they act as one or the other for the purposes of the spell?
Exploits: First and foremost, the elemental ray attacks need some love. Low damage, draws from valuable pool, requires ranged touch attack, AND a save based on a secondary stat is just cruel.
I would like to see a return to the Bloodline/School expansion options; only ever having the 1st-lvl options is not fair to many of the schools and bloodlines and makes the class more 2-D.
If Arcanists could mix and match different levels of different Bloodlines and Schools, that would allow for much more dynamic characters. If there's a question of OP, make it so you have to "purchase" each level with an exploit, working up the chain.
That is my #1 wish for Exploits.
Why Consume Magic Items is still ok:
OK in general, great in non-PFS; why? The feat Scribe Scroll.
Grab Scribe Scroll and boom, you can crank out some very cheap 2nd-lvl scrolls that you can eat on the fly. Example: with Scribe, 2nd-lvl scrolls are 150gp a piece. So you could have 20 of those for 3000gp. Just at level 8, that's not even 10% of your WBL.
Not to mention how ridiculously cheap this becomes at later levels. So I don't see see how one could complain about it being useless. With a little investment, you can have a very steady stream of Reservoir coming from this Exploit. And that's just what you make on your own; the scrolls you find in the wild would be an added bonus. It isn't game-breaking, but it's definitely useful.
Other Exploits I'd enjoy seeing:
Spell Resistance: By expending one point from her arcane resevoir, an arcanist can give herself Spell Resistance equal to 6 + her arcanist level for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier.
Greater Spell Resistance: By expending 2 points from her arcane resevoir, an arcanist can grant herself Spell Resistance equal to 11 + her arcanist level for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier. The arcanist must have the spell resistance exploit before selecting this exploit.
Spell Resistance Synergy: When an arcanist's spell resistance (granted by her Spell Resistance or Greater Spell Resistance exploit) successfully stops an spell whose target including the arcanist, she can instead choose to let the spell affect her normally and automatically forgo her saving throw (if any). She gains a number of points to her reservoir equal to the amount of damage done to her divided by 10 (rounded down). For example, if she was targeted by a scorching ray and dealt 14 points of damage, she would regain one point of arcane reservoir. She can absorb a number of points in this way equal to her Charisma modifier. The arcainst must have the spell resistance exploit before selecting this exploit.
Also, Poison Lore is a GREAT addition to the class in all respects. I love it. (sorry, just trying to balance the negative constructive criticism with some praise. :P )
I am leaning toward these three options right now.
1) Make it a move action to start, and keep it so you can only use it on the same target once every 24 hours. Increase the duration to Int modifier.
2) Keep it a standard, and remove the 24 hour prohibition. Increase the duration to Int modifier.
3) Go back to sneak attack with a 1/3 level increase (to a maximum of 6d6 at 18th).
First off: WE LIKE THIS ABILITY! It is very cool! It just needs a little love. Going back to Sneak Attack would certainly be a step backwards in every aspect. Let's keep working on this!
#2 is my vote out of your listed choices. Having to buy-in to access the better attack/damage options is a fine way to keep the character second to other combat-classes but still relevant. But it NEEDS to be able to do this more than once or twice per enemy. This feels much closer to the 3.5 Paladin's "better hope you don't screw up a single roll!" balance mechanic for Smite Evil.
With almost all of his build points going into Intelligence, the current Investigator is going to be incapable of hitting anything relevant once he reaches mid-game. This and Inspiration are going to be his only hope to be able to make multiple effective attacks in combat and do a relevant amount of damage. Making him only able to do that once or twice per enemy is an incredibly brutal restriction, and I feel dooms it to being a by-stander in combat versus any sort of participant.
I appreciate that trying to balance damage is tricky, as finding a pace that contributes to combat but still doesn't overshadow the blatant DPS characters is difficult. Thus I'd echo others here and say focus more on Dirty Trick-like abilities. Sherlock Holmes wasn't a soldier or monk, he was a tactician first and foremost. Make his abilities about hampering, neutralizing, and out-maneuvering opponents, not tickling them then uppercutting them through a roof.
I'd completely dump the damage progression in favor of Dirty Trick-type abilities, or heck, even take a page from Brawler and give him bonuses to all sorts of Combat Maneuvers. Downgrade the Damage progression to a Talent as an alternate choice.
Thanks for all your work thus far; currently putting together a group that's going to rigorously test some of the new classes tonight. Investigator is DEFINITELY going to be in there to work some of this out.
Observation: Some have wondered how the Monk's Robe and the Brawler's AC/Unarmed Damage interact.
I note that the Brawler's progression is slightly slower, so I don't see that item being able to directly affect those progressions as they are not truly identical features.
However, given that the abilities are still extremely similar and have the same mechanics, I would see it as reasonable to allow.
You're missing your spells, also the fluff could use more details. You don't even name the little girl who was apparently a huge part of his childhood. Other than that, it looks okay.
*facepalm* I know I'd done spells, probably got lost in the translation/building process somewhere.
Spells are up.
Fluff updated a bit including the specific suggestions. As far as further fluffing the fluff, what would you most like see developed? The background, his personality/description, or the Writing Sample?
Building up a Warpriest for submission. I'd love to do Arcanist, but am waiting for them to crank out the big revision; I don't feel like making a character then re-making them two days later. If this thread is still active when that happens I may throw one up.
This has been touched on here and there in the General thread, but I wanted to make a dedicated thread because I believe it's a topic worth specific attention.
Many of the warpriest's class abilities are specifically focused on his deity's favored weapon. There are two main issues I see here.
A. What if your deity's favored weapon isn't very good? As much as I love the dagger in some cases, Warpriest is just not a class that will build off it very well. You could go TWF, or dagger/shield if you really wanted to, but it's simply odd to see a character referred to as a WARPRIEST who's just running around with his little dagger, and has no other choice without giving up a couple of his key abilities. Magus limits you to a weapon that fits in one hand, and having nothing in the other, but that's primarily so you can dual-wield spells. This class gets all those limitations and none of the benefits.
B. Throwing Weapons. What if you're focused on throwing weapons? This is a minor point compared to A, but it should be noted that it still nullifies EVEN MORE weapon variety and usefulness when an important class ability is lost the moment you use the weapon as a projectile.
A large issue, I think, is that one thinks of the Magus example too simply.
Lemme explain: Fighter/Wizard. Two classes that are different in every possible way, play completely different from one another 95% of the time, and fill incredibly different niches.
So a Magus class has a LOT of room to work and mix and match and find its place in the middle.
Meanwhile, Cleric/Fighter is a much smaller gap at their base. There's only one step of BAB between them, they both already have good Fort saves, and the Cleric's abilities/skills often require/involve being right in the midst of melee.
So building something that bridges that gap is MUCH tougher, especially when Skill focus is already used up by Inquisitor.
So what niche is it trying to fill? I don't have an answer, but I can explain why it's not fair to compare it to the Magus- because the Magus had WAY more room to wiggle between its parent classes.
If one were just looking to slap class abilities on the same list and call it a new class, then a hybrid Cleric/Fighter would be extremely easy, whereas a Fighter/Wizard would be much harder.
But when you're actually trying to create a legitimately "new" class that stands on its own, the opposite is true.
I actively dislike the name Arcanist because it ALSO means Bard, Wizard, Sorcerer, Witch, Summoner, and Magus. I accept that they're running low on words that mean the same thing here, but this class doesn't feel any more of an Arcanist than a Wizard or Sorcerer. I'd like something stranger and more flavorful. like... Thaumaturge. Can I vote we rename it Thaumaturge?
There's going to be overlap. A Witch can just as easily be a wizard, A Summoner is assumed to be a mage/wizard, and Magus is just a slight variation of Mage which is what they ALL are. I think Arcanist being a slightly general term is the point- he's part spontaneous part prepared, and thus is (in very broad terms) a broader user of magic. Mage would have been too generic, but Arcanist isn't bad. Before now very few if any people described their wizard/magus/sorcerer/bard as "oh I'm an Arcanist!" and I don't see it being confusing later.
Making a gestalt Sorcerer/Wizard into a single class is not hard, and can easily be homebrewed together at your own table. Creating something that fits into the Pathfinder world, and /adds/ both mechanical and flavor value to the system, is the point of official Paizo products like the ACG.
Even if the end-result doesn't have an incredibly unique niche or whatever, that's ok; what's important is that they come out approaching a pre-filled niche in a new way. Take the Magus, even: it doesn't really create a new niche. Spellcaster/Warrior is one of the oldest builds in Tabletop RPGs and easily doable with or without Eldritch Knight in PF. Magus didn't invent the niche, it invented its own way to approach it. When done correctly, the "new" class synergies its new mechanical/flavor aspects into something greater than the sum of its parts.
A hybrid class that just copy/pastes all of two classes' abilities and calls it a day simply cannot add that same amount of value.
If you want to make 'simple' hybrid classes, you dont' need Paizo for that.
Never use CM to abuse or "punish" players, but they're excellent tools for keeping PCs on their toes.
Ulmaxes wrote:
I specifically did this to our local DPS; she was doing nothing but attack rolls. No RP, no effort in researching magic items or alternate feats; just going straight down the "I shoot things." summary for her character. So when they faced a dragon, it bit her precious bow in twain. She did have a backup, but learned a very potent lesson.
Seems like there's a bit of a contradiction here. "Never use sundering players, but one time I totally did that to punish someone for not playing the game right."
That is indeed a bit contratdictory. I did not fully flesh out my thoughts and re-read my post to make sure it was one clear concise thought, something I tend to do a lot when rushing.
The Full Details On My Trouble DPS Player Situation:
To clarify the situation: the player being dedicated to doing nothing in the game but roll attack rolls was not the problem, it was the fact that she was so good at it, that it started making encounters unbalanced, and I was planning completely around her in every fight.
I had spoken to her about this more than once, asking her to at least flesh out the character or make her more dynamic. She refused.
She was a new player, so I had been especially careful not to seek her out or do something as drastic as break her weapon, feeling that'd be a bit harsh. This is also why I'd let the situation go on for 13 levels and a year of playing. However, we're now five books into RotR and she still refuses to take any protection measures for herself in any way. She generally doesn't even bother to upgrade her items, waiting for others to give her things. She knows how to at this point, she just doesn't care.
It was at that point, after 13 levels of unwillingness to change and self-assurance that I'd never actually do anything to her, that I used Sunder to show her A. that she needs to learn the rest of the game instead of us spoon-feeding it to her and B. that if I take the gloves off and actually respond to her character's level of power to the full degree, she will not last more than a session.
My scenario is a more specific example of GM specifically choosing to employ CMs because he knows the player(s) are openly ignoring them as dangers and refuse to change even after blatant warnings.
In general, a GM should use Combat Maneuvers normally like any other part of the game, and players should be expected to deal with the consequences of not preparing for trip/sunder dangers, as if no enemy will ever have the audacity to attack their sword instead of trying to chop off their head.
Preparing submission of an Investigator and Warpriest (separate characters, of course, hehe.)
Neither classes are currently considered hot-button topics, so I feel confident submitting them, and will be active on the Playtest forums and informing you of relevant changes.
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Sigerson Basil, Elven Investigator
Background:
Born and raised in the chaotic center of civilization that is Kaer Maga, Sigerson (or Sig for short) has always been the odd one out. His mother, a dedicated artisan for the Church of Pharasma, had him out of wedlock; the hospice of St. Illiska sheltered and aided the near-homeless mother, earning her undying love and worship of Pharasma.
Sig was raised to be absolutely dedicated and true to the both the church and Pharasma's teachings; this strong sense of duty and law puts him at odds with much of his anarchy-ridden home city.
Sig eventually discovered that he had an increidble level of intelligence, learning and memorizing many of the roles of the church by a young age. Despite this, Sig always felt an internal struggle with his role at the Godsmouth Cathedral; indeed he was raised and trained by the Church, but his blood was tainted with the vagabond blood of his unknown father. As such, he refuses official employment within the Church, instead applying his brilliant mind to solving issues surrounding the church.
He is already gaining a strong reputation as a keen observer and master deducer, both on the streets and in combat. He has brought low multiple skilled swordsmen purely through critical analysis and timing during combat.
Tragedy struck his life near his 170th birthday.
By complete accident, he uncovered evidence of his mentor having secret meetings with a cabal of vampires. The mentor pleaded with Sig to not turn him in, as he was addicted to a unique concoction brewed by the vampires. His mentor had been told (after the addiction set in, of course) that the consequences of going cold-turkey would potentially be lethal.
Sig agreed to keep it quiet, then turned around and promptly revealed his mentor's secret to the Church. Sig believed that the only way to 'save' his mentor was to out him to the church and let the healing begin. Instead, his mentor fled the church, and has not been heard from since. Although applauded for his dedication to the Church, Sig is conflicted between his ingrained sense of duty and crushing guilt.
He clings to his dedication to the Church now more than ever; if that were ever compromised, Sig as a person would break on the most fundamental of levels.
Extracts:
1st- Cure Light Wounds
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TATICS
Fires from a distance with bow if possible, engages with rapier if absolutely necessary. Use Inspiration in desperate scenarios.
UTILITY
Primarily meant as a skill monkey/trapchecker. Can shift Skill ranks/Ability Scores if Cha-based skills are more desperately needed.
---------------------------------------
STATISTICS
STR 11 DEX 14 CON 10 INT 18 WIS 14 CHA 10
Abilities:
--Alchemy: Basically gets to make extracts like the Alchemist. Has a Formulae Book and all. Does NOT have Brew Potion.
--Inspiration: Can add a d6 to any trained Knowledge, Linguistics, Spellcraft at will; can add d6 to any other skill or ability check by drawing from his inspiration pool of 5. Can add the d6 to an attack roll or saving throw at cost of two uses from his pool.
--Trapfinding: as the Rogue; 1/2 lvl to Perception and Disable Device for Traps. CAN disarm magical traps.
Mixing Spells/Day and Spells Prepared is very nifty. I love this mechanic! I found myself loading up with one or two basic buff spells per level that I knew I'd only cast once (Extended Mage Armor) and know I'd be guaranteeing extra uses of the more in-demand stuff like Scorching Ray. I see Extended getting even more attention here, as it's great for making buffs last much longer, freeing up spells/day for more pressing spells. A lot has already been said on how balanced this mechanic is, so I will leave my opinions out for now.
Blood Focus:
I'm not very impressed with the options of this ability. You have very few Blood Focus uses per day, and I'm not too impressed with your options.
Chosen School: A +1 to caster level/DC is nice and never becomes useless or too OP, but feels very bland and out of place. None of the Wizard Schools are this generic. The ability can be useful, it just has no impact or real connection with the rest of the class; I found myself very scared to use it as well, considering the penalties of running out.
This is my greatest concern at the moment; aside from this option, there is very little unique to the Wizard left in the class aside from the spell list and Bonus Feats. Which, I know, is still a big deal, but nonetheless, it feels like a mix from the D&D 3.5 wizard instead of the Pathfinder Wizard. The School powers are what make one Wizard really stand out from the other; cutting these out cuts out a huge part of the Pathfinder Wizard's soul, in my analysis.
Bloodline: The idea of fusing a bloodline and school of magic is very cool in theory. The current options are very, very limited however; only being able to access a few of the sorcerer powers makes it feel mostly irrelevant to the character thematically or mechanically.
I'm reminded of the Crossblooded and Wildblooded archetypes for sorcerers, how they fuse the options and styles of multiple bloodlines very well.
Suggestions For Improvement: I suggest having Blood Focus retooled to instead be a tree of options between the School and Bloodline. Upon reaching X level and ever Y levels afterwards, I suggest have the arcanist get to choose between a sorcerer bloodline power or wizard school power and actually get those powers.
Along similar lines, I suggest having the Bloodline Arcana be given freely or be acquirable as part of the aforementioned options.
The Blood Focus pool can step in and take over for abilities that are not permanent, or dropped completely.
I suggest having the Bloodline feats mixed into the options for Arcanist Bonus Feats.
I would also like to see the bloodline's spells come into play somehow; perhaps the arcanist adds these to his spellbook for free, or can prepare them without the book entirely. That would show a very practical result of having innate arcane power and arcane training. That one's fairly minor though.
Overall: Arcanist has amazing potential, and some great spell options (both lists and otherwise). I would just like to see the School and Bloodlines have a greater impact upon the nature and character of the class. As of now, this feels like a gestalt sorcerer/wizard versus a new identity, ala Magus.
I know we're early in the playtest and that you guys have more in store. Keep up the good work and don't let the unsupported hate get you down.
We're currently playing through Part 5 of Rise of the Runelords, of which the grand majority is a single [mega?]dungeon, Runeforge.
So far they've been enjoying it; so long as it's got a lot of variety and some chances to RP here and there, it's been all good.
Balance in all things. "Never" disarming/sundering weapons makes a small portion of class features and feats useless (Fighter's bonuses to CMD, etc.)
If your players are reasonable, you should be able to occasionally throw this at them and be fine. In an adventure, you can't expect your armor and weapons to be invincible no more than you can assume you'll never get hit or attacked. It's part of combat, and life.
Talk it out with a group first, and reasonable people should be able to accept that it's a danger they need to prepare for. If the Dragon was statted out in the Bestiary with Improved/Greater Sunder, yes he's going to power attack Sunder the Archer who is obliterating him from 200ft away.
[I specifically did this to our local DPS; she was doing nothing but attack rolls. No RP, no effort in researching magic items or alternate feats; just going straight down the "I shoot things." summary for her character. So when they faced a dragon, it bit her precious bow in twain. She did have a backup, but learned a very potent lesson.
Never use CM to abuse or "punish" players, but they're excellent tools for keeping PCs on their toes.
So let me get something straight: a character, once warded by the Protection From Evil spell, is completely immune to any spell/effect with the compulsion/mind affecting subtype?
So a 20th-level/Archmage 10 Enchanter couldn't touch a commoner on the street, if a first-level wizard slaps Protection From Evil on him beforehand? At all?
Untyped DR is very powerful, yes, but I would not say it's immediately superior. "Just" having an epic weapon is easier said than done. And untyped DR can still be overcome by elemental damage, so a first-level wizard throwing around acid splash and magic missile can beat it. You could stop a rampaging earth elemental with enough alchemist's fire and the few elemental weapons one can find around town; a person with just DR 5/Epic could literally walk into a village, slaughter everyone, and come out almost unscathed.
In strict adventure/high level play terms, yeah, /- steals a bit of Epic's thunder, but the practical implications are still very dire.
I also observe that it takes some of the power held by casters (who are better on average at dealing with /- because elemental/untyped damage) and gives it to the characters running around with +5 Keen Dancing Scimitars (+6 beats epic regardless of source).
A Mythic Master Summoner (who would have to be at least 17th level) who uses his Summon Monster SLA + Extra Summonings (via Greater Eldritch Heritage feat) + Mighty Summons + Superior Summons would theoretically be able to summon 4 Augmented Glabrezu or Nalfashee (SMIX) or 5-7 Augmented Hezrou (SMVIII) or 6-9 Augmented Vrock (SMVII) with a single standard action.
Basically. It is powerful indeed; but for the feat/ability/level investment, that's appropriate.
Your effective bonus to Stealth would go from +40 to +20. So that's a -20 difference actually.
And no for two reasons:
1. Invisibility lists two scenarios: moving and not moving. You would be moving in your scenario, so you get the +20. The spell specifically mentions two scenarios (in different sentences) as independent effects.
Invisibility wrote:
If a check is required, a stationary invisible creature has a +40 bonus on its Stealth checks. This bonus is reduced to +20 if the creature is moving.
2. I believe that talent was meant to offset the penalty mentioned in the Stealth Skill, nothing more.
If it lets you get into Eldritch Knight at 2nd level, I think getting Arcane Strike is a solid step down in terms of power abuse. Seriously, at the end of the day it's a +1 on damage until it (slowly) builds up. It's not that big a deal. Honestly it feels like it makes more sense than getting into a blasted prestige class.
"I use my innate magical abilities, that let me access Daylight/whatever, to instead channel a small amount of power into my swing."
Makes a whole lot more sense than EK getting it: "Well, all those other guys had to be able to cast Fireball and have a powerful array of experience and skills to fuse these completely opposite classes together, but because I can detect whether people are zombies, I get to do it for free!"
As for a Magus not having it on his spell list: Not a very strong argument, as a Magus can take Spell Blending and pick up Make Whole at any time.
Blackblade Magi are just as responsible for protecting (and possibly replacing) their weapons as any other martial character would be.
UMD to use a scroll/wand of Make Whole also works.
At the end of the day, most of the Magus class features still work without the blackblade itself. He can pick up a generic longsword and still have 90% of his class features still fully operational.
If you've built your character around a single weapon and take no extra precautions to protect it, then you get to suffer the consequences.
Completely Anecdotal Example:
I have an Archer in my game who is fantastic at murdering everything in her sight and is an eternal frustration when I build encounters. If protected by her 4+ party members and other allies, she can dish out absurd amounts of damage from relative safety, capable of murdering anything remotely close to their CR within a few rounds.
So I've lately started having enemies acknowledge this, and immediately gun for her weapon. Oh, you can kill the dragon in a few rounds? It promptly goes invisible, walks/flies up, and snaps her weapon in half with one bite. And her backup one on the next round. Suddenly she goes from the most devastating character in the party, to the most useless low-Con one of the bunch. She gave me a brutally vicious glare, but had nothing to say because she'd worked herself into that corner. She can be sure that future enemies will be smart enough to do the same as soon as they observe her terrifying attack power.
And I've tried discussing this with her more than once, pointing out how borderline-munchkin'd her character is and how unfun she makes encounters. The response is that she doesn't really care to learn how to change up or enhance her character. So she's going to suffer the consequences.
Update: Did the Yeti idea, worked fantastically. ended up giving them two levels of Fighter and Barbarian. With four of them it came up to roughly the equiv of a +1 CR.
Also, at the last minute I came upon a devilish idea: Freezemaw has Invis quite a few times per day...so he cast it on ALL of them, and dropped all four right on top of the PCs while invisible. They hear/feel THUMPs all around them, then suddenly there's Yetis appearing out of nowhere and a dragon hitting them with ice breath. Was good times; Shout out again to Tangent for the awesome idea!
Thanks for the other ideas everybody; they're just now getting into Runeforge, and will have quite a few more surprises waiting for them than they would otherwise. :)
Is there any reason (beyond the very recent events) behind the relative power of each wing? Would the PCs be able to discern this?
I know that the party is supposed to wander around and just hit the wings in a random order, but I am curious as to whether the PCs could actually deduce each wing's relative state after the mini-war and decide which they should hit first.
Some wings are (from a GM's standpoint) obviously doing ok (Wrath) whereas others are utterly decimated (Envy). Envy is a natural first choice because of its proximity, but other than that the PCs are wandering blind into each wing.
I am looking to somewhat let the PCs in on the recent war that is responsible for gutting Runeforge. Which of the existing NPCs would be most likely to fill them in? It seems Jordimandus is supposed to be captain back-story if the PCs let him surrender, but he hasn't had a clue what's been going on outside his wing for centuries.
It feels, from the lore, like each country was keenly aware of how powerful the other was at any given time, and that this mindset translated over to Runeforge post-collapse.
Would it make sense to find an unconscious/weakened Warrior of Wrath trapped in the Abjurant Halls? If so, how much should they know? I'm looking for something along the lines of, just enough to get an idea of which wings are stronger/weaker as of current knowledge. My group still hasn't reached 14th, so despite my sadism with challenging encounters, I don't want to see them waltz straight into the Halls of Wrath and get slaughtered. Now if they knew that something was extremely dangerous and went ahead anyway, that's one thing; it's another to utterly decimate them just because they hit things in the "wrong" order.
The statue of Karzzoug in the Runeforge has far too few HP to be a serious threat. 209 HP against 15th-level adventurers, at least one of whom has a weapon that bypasses DR? He *would* have been a serious threat to the players, if he'd lasted more than two rounds.
Even without buffs, the barbarian had an adamantine earthbreaker (doesn't every fighting class have an adamantine weapon at this level?) and the paladin had her runeforged weapon, so he was rubble after he got in a grand total of three swings. Did massive damage to the paladin, but not too scary when you're rubble that fast.
I'd boost him to 400 HP, or at least max if you want to actually play by the rules (but who does that?). The four-round limit keeps it from being a TPK, and he should be much scarier than he was.
If my party's Archer is around when they fight this, this is definitely happening. She has Clustered Shots and will be able to crank out somewhere around 200 points of damage per round while Hasted. Assuming good Initiative rolls, she can kill it before it acts.
Now if she doesn't show, 205 will be sufficient.
Another thought I had was giving it hardness instead of DR. Most of my melee PCs have weapons (or access to weapons) with a high enough enhancement bonus to overcome DR/Adam, but not Adamantine weapons themselves. That'd be cruel.
Side tangent, I really hate that feat {Clustered Shots}. I feel it utterly breaks most of the DR mechanics when dealing with full BAB characters.
My group of six players, even running the AE, had a tricky time with her (well ok, five; the infiltrating wizard had been charmed into flying away...) so she shouldn't be a cakewalk.
Combat Thoughts:
How many players do you have?
Did you use Point Buy or roll for ability scores? If Roll, how well did they do?
What's the party makeup (roles)
?
If you don't have six or more PCs, I'd be tempted to do her vanilla.
I don't recall exactly how the original 3.5 version of her tower worked, but use the bell tower trap and minions (with some bumped DCs) to soften them up first. Maybe she had a few more minions somewhere else she calls back in prep for an assault.
Giving her max hp should be enough, unless your PCs are hopelessly unbalanced. Have her focus on using the tower and her climb speed against the PCs, moving and striking so they can't flank and/or full attack her very well. Then have her start grappling and bull rushing off the tower.
And as others have said, her true danger is her manipulation- remember that this is a very old, very crafty person who until recently had an entire cabal of cultists and a Justice under her thumb. She will absolutely use her previous influence and position with the late Justice to turn the City Guard against the PCs, if the Guard/she can figure out who the PCs are. Maybe roll percentage and see how well they were able to slip in and out of town.
I know you're getting peppered with Aroden stat questions as of late, but I couldn't help myself.
You've mentioned he's a sword-n-board type wizard; how about armor? Would he stomp around in full-plate, or did he rely on magic/magic items for armor?
I am mainly trying to paint a picture of the guy in my head, and that's the last thing that keeps me from really visualizing him.
Oh my goodness I LOVE the Yeti idea. Definitely using that one!
Zuv/Conjurer: Yeah. Those just take so long, and with my group, no one gets a free round to just sit around casting a spell. With creatures who
rely on summoning I just automatically give them the surprise round just to be fair to the creature(s).
As mentioned, this is a learning opportunity. These spells and powers are critical to survival for many creatures once you reach mid-level and beyond, so you're going to find yourself replacing more and more abilities and creatures as time goes on. Especially considering that the last two books contain a LOT of spellcasters.
If the group is indeed new, do your best to take a minute, step away from the GM screen, and explain to them exactly how to counter these abilities; any spellcaster in the party could easily have this knowledge.
And do feel free to mix/match spells if necessary in the short-term.
Hello! Looking for a little advice/input. I have a group of 6 PCs who I absolutely must present multiple targets for. They slaughter any single opponent, hands down, no discussion. So I find myself needing to present them with multiple enemies ( at LEAST 2) per encounter.
They've already completed Part One, and are taking some downtime before setting off for Runeforge.
I'm looking to make a running list of creatures/npcs I can add to existing encounters in the name of action economics.
Freezemaw I plan to throw in some younger white dragons, no big issue there.
Some of the named NPCs in Runeforge however, I need input for:
Jordinmandus (Conjurer in Festering Maze) - ??
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Not looking for someone to build followers from the ground up, just wanting input on how to improve these encounters without just slapping HP and templates everywhere.
The only two continual flame kukris I see are the ones from the statue on the next to last level, the ones in the hands of the statue (D12, Chapel to Lamashtu, p. 57).
I can see where they would come to the conclusion; I'll explain that first.
A continuous spell effect magic item costs Spell Level x Caster Level x 2000gp. Continual Flame is a level 2 sor/wiz spell; that's a minimum caster level of 3. So 2 x 3 x 2000 is 12,000gp per item.
However, the breaker here is that Continual Flame already has a duration of permanent, so no sane person would pay more than 50gp (the component cost of the spell) for something with this spell cast on it.
They are meant to be decorative and mildly functional, nothing more.
Yep, Two-Weapon FIghter can use any weapon(s). The ability descriptions and names implies two melee weapons, but it in fact works with anything.
I built a sword/pistol type using it once; came out surprisingly well.
Hi! I can weigh in here.
I had 6 20pt buy character run through Rannick; they had all 3 Black Arrows and Shale as well.
Almost all of the players were either extremely skilled or had very solid character builds.
With just a little smart thinking and party coordination, they utterly massacred the Ogres. It was /bad/. I don't think they took more than 40 damage collectively before the final boss(es).
It will just depend on your characters; my group had an extremely potent archer (she's the DPS of doom of the group), a high-AC Magus, and a Barbarian; combined with the Black Arrows and Shale, they were always able to funnel their enemies so that the ranged characters could shoot and fireball at their whim.
I'll break it down:
PLAYERS STAY OUT!:
They sent out an illusion to lure some of the Ogres out of the Fort and sent them running into the hills.
They then swept in, and lit the barracks on fire, burning those ogres to death. They then easily cleaned up the few ogres remaining in the courtyard.
They then managed to close the battered gates, so that when the ogres came back, they were able to gleefully slaughter them from the walls with minimal threat.
They then moved into the cramped fort, and again managed to sneak up and coordiante attacks on the ogres in the tiny hallways. Tanks in front, everyone else in back pelting them with pain.
Boss fights actually went as planned and were actually fights.
All of that to say: take a moment to decide what kind of feel you want this chapter to have. It can be "Heroes carefully and strategically sneak their way through complex, take out leadership, and scatter the main force", it can be "PCs take Ogre compelx head-on in one massive open battle, slaguthering them all but taking heavy losses in the process" or it can be "Heroes and vengeful Black Arrows unleash their targeted wrath upon stupid ogres, systematically slaughtering them like the Big Damn Heroes they are".
Think carefully about what your group would respond best to, and what they may be expecting. Ran exactly-as-written, my group annihilated the fort. And if a stomp-fest is exactly what your group needs, then go for it; however, if you want it to be a challenge, don't let them easily corner and massacre large numbers of them, and always manage to give the Ogres a heads-up on any remotely heads-on assaults. As-written many won't be encountered til the PCs stumble into the room, but if you feel they're stomping too much and need/want a challenge, feel free to have one get an alarm off and send a LOT of them pouring into the open areas to do battle. Or even give them a few intelligent commanders who keep them from bottlenecking, and instead retreat/regroup/surround the PCs.
