I'm making a terrakineticist and noticing that the non-melee level 2 infusion choices are pretty uninspiring for most elements.
The non-melee universal level 2 infusions seem pretty bad. Spindle hits only two squares - Ref negates, and half damage for the physical blast. Focused Blast is really expensive for what it does.
Penetrating infusion (for the energy blast) also seems terribly expensive. 2 burn to ignore 5 points of cold resist?
Air and fire don't have any level 2 infusions aside from Penetrating.
Water gets access to two talents that are each OK, but that they can't actually use until level 7. Entangling infusion doesn't work with cold or water blasts, just ice, so they can take it at 5 but can't use it until level 7. And the slick infusion only works with area effect blasts, which the hydrokineticist doesn't get access to at levels 1 or 3. So if they take Slick infusion at level 5, they can't use it until at least level 7, when they qualify for Impale or Torrent.
Aether and wood each get exactly one level 2 infusion they can actually use: Bowling (trip) and Entangling, respectively. Earth is the winner at this level with access to either.
You could pick another first-level infusion but you've presumably already taken the best two for your element, so the third pick is likely uninspiring.
What are people doing with 5th level aero-, pyro-, and hydro-kineticists if you're not interested in melee?
A while ago I came across some homebrew rules about characters donating/destroying wealth to gain magic bonuses that didn't take the form of items. Bookmarked this page:
Whenever a terrakineticist gains a wild talent that isn’t a universal talent, she chooses one wild talent of the appropriate level from each of the six elements (aether, air, fire, earth, water, and wood). She can use wild talents of the same element that she chose in this way to meet prerequisites for these wild talents. Instead of gaining one kineticist blast, a terrakineticist chooses one simple blast from each element that has more than one simple blast.
Reading 1: If at any level I choose to gain a universal wild talent, I then don't pick different talents for each element. So at level 1, I can pick a universal infusion such as kinetic blade, OR I can pick one non-universal talent for each element (for example, pushing for aether/air/earth/water/wood and burning for fire), but I can't take kinetic blade for earth, burning for fire, and extended range for all other elements.
Reading 2: Any time I gain a talent that isn't specifically required to be a universal talent, I can pick a different talent for each element. In this case, could take both burning (for fire) and kinetic blade (other elements) at level 1, but since for example the 7th level talent is specifically universal for a terrakineticist I pick only the one talent at that level.
I'm running a published scenario that has a section which feels a bit like a combat slog. I'd like to add some noncombat content but am not sure how to do so within the constraints of the scenario. The PCs are in the Worldwound, trying to prevent demons from dusrupting a ritual taking place under a ruined church of Desna. I'm thinking I could add some ghosts or other supernatural entities for them to talk to but am looking for ideas for skill based challenges, puzzles, or exploration elements to add. Not sure of player builds yet, though one is a paladin.
(This is in the pathfinder playtest, but I thought folks in the general forums could provide some good ideas, and I'm not worried about messing with the playtest now that the surveys are closed.)
One of my players told me he found spellcasting too confusing because you weren't allowed to use the same spellcasting action (eg somatic, verbal) twice in a turn and had to keep track. I don't remember this rule and can't find it - neither can he.
Pretty sure he misinterpreted something, but if it does exist I'd like to know.
The write-up for Mabar suggests the PCs can give him a weapon. Should I assume he is Trained in all simple and martial weapons, or only the scimitar and shortbow (the weapons included in the bestiary entry)?
Had a ranger really want to make snares but gave up on the concept after realizing:
- Snares are fairly expensive for their effects, given that they already require a skill feat to make and 1 minute to set up before use (at 10gp, a 4th level snare is 1/3 the liquid assets of a 4th level character, and even a 1st level snare is as expensive as a minor healing potion)
- Snares incentivize investing in Crafting skill increases, but if you want a discount from crafting you have to spend days of downtime making them.
- A Snare Kit is required to set up snares, and is 8 bulk, possibly more than the rest of a character's gear combined.
Is this all correct? Has anyone found snares to actually be worth it?
I had different players rotate through this one session to session.
Overall comments:
The barbarian and monk felt like they wanted more interesting actions to take, though the more accessible combat maneuver rules helped somewhat once we gave those a second look between sessions.
Third actions seemed to matter more for characters that had more options, such as spellcasters or Drakus. Mooks with just attacks tended to end up spending these on mostly pointless third attacks.
Identifying magic items is hard.
Monk seemed a little weak in general compared to the barbarian.
Alchemist also seems a little underwhelming. He did fairly well in most of the encounters but never really shone mechanically compared to other classes. In particular:
Thievery is really difficult, at least at level one! The alchemist had 16 Dex and was trained in Thievery for a +4. The easiest lock required three successes at DC 15 (which the alchemist eventually made) and the other two required three successes at DC 20 and 22. Add high "break DCs" and the biggest frustration in this dungeon crawl was possibly opening the locks.
Healing without a cleric is difficult, thanks largely to resonance limits and the fact that non-alchemists have to spend resonance to use an alchemist's stuff.
A1 (Sewer Ooze): Opened with the special attack to no effect, did a little damage, and died entertainingly.
A2 (goblins): 3 goblins for 3 players. I had these guys alerted to the players by the noise from the ooze, so there was a brief taunting match through the hall followed by the goblins charging through the passage into A1. The barbarian was heavily injured due to crits and the alchemist somewhat injured, but the barbarian tore through them pretty quickly with some help from alchemist.
A5 (Mind Fungus): barbarian tripped this one and crit failed vs the spores. The party retreated.
A3 (centipedes): I used 4 half-elite centipedes for 3 players instead of 6. Barbarian charged in and got almost killed in the first two rounds for her trouble. Had to re-check rules for multiple doses of poison, which got a little confusing. Retreated and we got into a mostly ineffective swinging match between the centipedes and the tanky support cleric who was blocking the passage. Out of healing and alchemical supplies, the group then decided to rest.
A6 (fountain): I slightly beefed up the quasits for 5 players. The cleric picked up the idol, releasing the quasits. They did a bit of damage, mostly to the cleric. The paladin did quite well here and enjoyed retributive strike. The party spent a large amount of time trying to open the locked door, and the alchemist broke his tools before giving up.
A7 (goblin headquarters): Added two extra goblin warriors for 5 players. This one was pretty entertaining and felt well-balanced between PCs. The party surprised the goblins so they didn't have weapons drawn and only caught two PCs in the rock trap. We had our first KO when the barbarian rushed in, got surrounded, retreated into the hallway, and got stabbed by a fleeing goblin. This was probably the alchemist's best encounter with a good use of bombs and a crit bite attack on the pyro. Party captured the commando, found the secret door, and went home to rest.
A12 (Drakus' lair): party failed to open the locked chest, but triggered the trap and failed save vs poison.
A10 (befouled shrine): I used the rat for the 5-party adjustment. Found the stealth rules particularly confusing here. Since the party made a lot of noise literally throwing the chest around I assumed Drakus wouldn't be surprised, but he botched his Stealth check (10 total) so I ruled he would be Seen by all the players at the beginning of combat, despite rolling stealth for initiative. This time the monk closed first and got beat on pretty bad. He did take out the rat, but was completely unable to affect Drakus with his bludgeoning weakness, and Drakus knocked him out - the subsequent action to blood drain was mechanically unimportant but a really fun moment. Druid ate the night's only AoO trying to heal the monk. Wizard was the MVP here between a summoned dog and a high roll with a three-action cast Magic Missile that finished the fight with both barbarian and druid down to single-digit HP. Alchemist unfortunately felt a bit lost, unable to realistically hit Drakus with weapons but feeling inhibited from using splash weapons in close quarters with multiple melee party members swarming Drakus.
A11 (sanctum): party pretty quickly figured out how to purify the shrine here and had a nice moment with the bowl.
Party opted not to try and take out the skeletons since they were low on HP and out of all but one non-cantrip spell. Since I wanted to move on but didn't want them to feel they hadn't completed the dungeon, I ruled that they could assume their characters went back later, killed the skeletons, and found the body of the pathfinder.
I expect you're planning on using the forums for this, but
1) Not all playtesters necessarily have Paizo accounts or will post on forums, but may want to make additional comments about their playtest experience.
2) Some survey responses might be misrepresentative without context. For example, I answered "seven characters" for The Lost Star, but we completed the adventure in three sessions with a slightly different set of 3/5/5 characters each session. The survey also doesn't ask about adjustments made to the encounters for multiple opponents, so you might get the impression that I ran 7 characters at a time without adjusting encounters and found them all fairly challenging, when in fact we had no more than 5 characters at a time with 25% more monsters. Even if I do post these details on the forums it might make it harder to analyze the survey data if you can't easily check for context for any outlier survey responses.
One of my players would like a flaming sword for their ranger for "In Pale Mountain's Shadow." Magic weapons aren't available to 4th level characters, but is there a way to get a similar effect, possibly with a consumable item?
Had some centipedes inflict the sluggish condition on a PC, and realized I have no idea how long it takes that to go away naturally - sluggish doesn't specify (unlike, for example, sick) and if there are general rules for removing conditions I haven't found them. All I know is that it doesn't automatically end when the PC makes a save against poison.
Any help?
EDIT: Oh, I found a note in the affliction saying sluggish (1 round) - that means that the condition lasts 1 round from when it was acquired?
Just letting you know that I had multiple players choose the "Mind Quake Survivor" background because there were only two options that didn't suggest the character was a scholar, aristocrat, or goblin.
Not a huge problem with the Playtest but a bit disappointing and I hope that future campaign backgrounds will keep that in mind.
Quick Alchemy requires you to have alchemy tools (which require 2 hands to use) and a free hand.
Do you have to take the alchemy tools out (using an action) and manipulate them (with the 2 hands normally required), or does the quick alchemy ability include those things in its 1 action and free hand, requiring only that you own the tools?
Despite a lot of general feats being labelled "level 1," characters do not by default get a general feat until level 3? You would have to, for example, be a human and take the ancestry feat that gives you a general feat to actually get a general feat at level 1?
I have a newly-levelled Monk 2 / Bloodrager (Destined Primalist) 11 and I need to pick a 3rd level Bloodrager spell known.
Character theme is "elemental martial arts." Combat style involves using a Naginata, reach/enlarge magic, and Snake Fang to get in lots of AoO. Also good at taking hits, and I'm the more mobile of the party's two melee strikers (we also have a paladin, a ranged investigator, and an oracle).
Current spells:
1 - Shield, Frostbite, Long Arm, Cheetah Sprint, Blade Lash, Feather Fall
2 - Blur, Ironskin, Stone Discus, Vine Strike, Tremor Blast
3 - Fly, Wind Wall
I expect I will usually use the spell from Greater Rage to apply Blur or Ironskin.
Considering Earth Tremor or Burst of Speed. I haven't found that much use for their lesser cousins Tremor Blast and Cheetah Sprint - but maybe I could retrain one of them if I take the higher level version (eg take Burst of Speed and trade Cheetah Sprint for Line in the Sand or Protection from Evil?)
Elemental monks are really cool, but implementation has been spotty, with the Elemental Ascetic serving as a notable disappointment.
Looking at it from the other direction - how does the Water Dancer pan out?
Right off the bat the Water Dancer is more MAD since it needs some Cha.
Offensively, the Water Dancer loses flurry and stunning fist and takes a hit to UAS damage, which means it is going to have a hard time as a primarily unarmed combatant. Fortunately, it gets a blast... but without elemental overflow, infusions, composite blasts, or any way to reduce the burn cost of the one metakinesis it has access to (empower) the Water Dancer is significantly behind the hydrokineticist as a blaster. It's also going to have more difficulty with DR or cold resistance since it never gets a second type of blast. The unarmed strike is potentially useful as a backup strategy, but takes a lot of investment to keep relevant at higher levels compared to just switching blast types. Maneuver training is nice, but not a big benefit in absence of other features supporting maneuvers.
Defensively, the kineticist has a better low-level AC. At 1st level it can wear studded leather and use shroud of water for 5 points of AC bonus before using burn to enhance the shield. The Water Dancer gets to add Wis and 1 point of Cha as a Dodge bonus; since Wis isn't used for any other class features this is probably 2 points of AC. This may even out at high levels. At level 20, a hydrokineticist could get +6 Con +4 Dex from elemental overflow size bonuses, investing 4 points of burn into shroud of water for a +12 armour bonus, or +14 AC with the Dex bonus. This is assuming that the Kineticist's Dex is now high enough that armour is limiting; if the kinecicist gets better AC using shroud of water as a shield they can do so. The monk gets Wis+Cha+5, so assuming Wis is still 12 it needs a +6 Cha bonus (score of 22) to match the hydrokineticist's AC. Likely at this level, but again, MAD.
The kineticist is carrying more burn in order to activate Elemental Overflow, but that does also boost Fort/Ref saves. On the other hand, the monk has better-rounded defenses with a good Will save and still mind, immunity to disease and poison, wholeness of body, and SR.
The kineticist gets 10 utility talents. The monk only gets 5 with a 2-level delay, but water dance, water stride, and empty body are roughly comparable with kineticist talents available at similar levels so we could almost call it 8 talents with 3 locked-in choices. The monk also gets fast movement, a ki point for an extra +20 speed, high jump, timeless body, and tongue of the sun and moon (with the option to trade the last three or empty body out for better abilities using Quinggong).
Skill ranks/level are the same, but monk gets a slightly broader skill list: Kineticist gets Heal, UMD, and Knowledge (Nature) while Monk gets Climb, Escape Artist, Knowledge (History and Religion), Perform, Ride, Sense Motive.
Summary: The water dancer looks like it's at a significant disadvantage offensively. It has a lower low-level AC, but a better Will save, and its special defenses and lower incentive to take burn may give it a defensive advantage in the long run. It has more mobility, but generally less flexible utility.
Is it worth it? Could we make it worth it? Trading high jump for barkskin would probably put the water dancer on top defensively. Are there any Quinggong abilities that would significantly increase offense? What about a 2-level dip in Paladin, giving access to Smite for +Cha to hit/+2 Damage, and Divine Grace for +Cha to saves?
I've been working on this thing on and off roughly since the ACG came out. I wanted to wait to share it until I'd finished a few more classes, but with P2E coming out soon I thought that an unfinished guide is better than a complete but obsolete one - might as well let people get some use out of what I have so far.
A normal barbarian can't cast spells during rage because they can't concentrate during a rage. Since a Dreadnought can concentrate during rage, does that mean that they can cast spells or use spell-like abilities?
Relevant rules:
Rage, normal rules wrote:
A barbarian can call upon inner reserves of strength and ferocity, granting her additional combat prowess. Starting at 1st level, a barbarian can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, she can rage for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from rage and spells like bear’s endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds that a barbarian can rage per day. A barbarian can enter rage as a free action. The total number of rounds of rage per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive.
While in rage, a barbarian gains a +4 morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. In addition, she takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase to Constitution grants the barbarian 2 hit points per Hit Dice, but these disappear when the rage ends and are not lost first like temporary hit points. 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.
A barbarian can end her rage as a free action and is fatigued after rage for a number of rounds equal to 2 times the number of rounds spent in the rage. A barbarian cannot enter a new rage while fatigued or exhausted but can otherwise enter rage multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.
Dreadnought wrote:
A dreadnought can enter a dispassionate killing spree as a free action, granting her additional combat prowess. The dreadnought gains only half the usual bonuses from her rage but takes no penalty to her AC, can use all her normal skills and effects that require concentration, and is not fatigued when her rage ends. The dreadnought cannot enter a rage for 1 minute after she ends her rage, and she cannot charge or run while under the effects of her rage.
Does it work - are their paws are able to manipulate objects with sufficient dexterity? Or does this clause kick in?
Familiar Skills wrote:
For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master’s skill ranks, whichever is better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers. Regardless of a familiar’s total skill modifiers, some skills may remain beyond the familiar’s ability to use. Familiars treat Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Perception, Stealth, and Swim as class skills.
When a silksworn chooses an implement school, he does not choose a specific object. Instead, a silksworn must be wearing an ostentatious garment or magic item worth 10 gp or more of the appropriate type and in the appropriate slot: abjuration (wrists), conjuration (shoulders), divination (eyes), enchantment (neck), evocation (hands), illusion (head), necromancy (chest), and transmutation (feet). A silksworn who does not meet this requirement is treated as lacking the appropriate implement for the purpose of his class features, including spellcasting.
1) Does any appropriately-slotted item over 10gp qualify? For example, hollow-heeled boots? Or is the silksworn supposed to buy the item specifically named Ostentatious Garment:
Ostentatious Garment wrote:
This term covers items not listed elsewhere, such as elaborate wigs, silk-lined cloaks, and ruffled blouses. While such garments usually offers no benefit beyond fashion, a silksworn occultist must wear several such garments of suitable quality to access her magic.
2) Is it possible to just spend gold to make a non-qualifying garment into an implement? For example, if it's total value that qualifies, can I spend an extra 2gp for an extra-fancy 10gp pocketed scarf that counts as an implement? If you're supposed to be throwing extra money on the implement (on top of practical value), can I spend an extra 10gp to bling out my scarf?
In essence I think this is a question of whether this restriction is intended to simply limit your item purchases, require you to spend extra gold without practical benefit, or prevent you from using practical non-magical gear.
ALL "ostentatious" means is 'designed to impress or attract notice'. That means all it has to do is one of those. Paint that neck guard hot pink, and NOW it's "ostentatious". As such, I don't see why any item with a 10+ gp cost that's painted/dyed to 'to attract notice' isn't an implement for the silksworn.
Weirdo wrote:
The description also says: "While such garments usually offers no benefit beyond fashion, a silksworn occultist must wear several such garments of suitable quality to access her magic." Which implies that this specific item is required, and not other items worth 10gp or more.
graystone wrote:
That's not what the class says though. The requirement is "an ostentatious garment or magic item worth 10 gp or more of the appropriate type and in the appropriate slot". All the Quote you posted means is that the generic 'ostentatious garment' listed has no benefit. That means that if you take the example "elaborate wigs, silk-lined cloaks, and ruffled blouses", they don't give a bonus on disguise/diplomacy, help with bad weather, ect. It's to explain the listed 'ostentatious garment' is useless other than fashion: the fact that it "covers items not listed elsewhere" means it can't make an implication on those items. So I can't see the argument as a particularly valid one.
If a silksworn occultist is using Sleeves of Many Garments, do they count as having the appropriate implement if:
a) They are wearing an ostentatious garment in the appropriate slot, whether or not they appear to be wearing such a garment.
b) They appear to be wearing an ostentatious garment in the appropriate slot, whether or not they actually are.
c) Only if they both are actually wearing an ostentatious garment in the appropriate slot AND said garment is visible.
d) Other?
Silksworn:
When a silksworn chooses an implement school, he does not choose a specific object. Instead, a silksworn must be wearing an ostentatious garment or magic item worth 10 gp or more of the appropriate type and in the appropriate slot: abjuration (wrists), conjuration (shoulders), divination (eyes), enchantment (neck), evocation (hands), illusion (head), necromancy (chest), and transmutation (feet). A silksworn who does not meet this requirement is treated as lacking the appropriate implement for the purpose of his class features, including spellcasting.
Sleeves of Many Garments:
The wearer of these sleeves can, when she slips them on, choose to transform the appearance of her current garments into any other non-magical set of clothing. These new clothes fit her perfectly and are always clean and mended unless she specifically designates otherwise. When she removes the sleeves, her clothes revert to their original form.
And just in case:
Sleeves of Many Garments FAQ:
The effects are illusion (glamer) like the glamered weapon and armor properties. This means they can’t be disbelieved like a figment could, but they do not actually physically change the clothes. The transformation changes only the appearance, including the feel, smell, and other sensory aspects.
I'm making some pregens for a gestalt one-shot and could use some help implementing a concept: a goblin using the biggest weapon he can get his hands on.
Other constraints:
Level 4, 25 point buy, 6,000gp.
No swords (several of the other pregens have them)
No casting (this is one of two spell-free options)
Shouldn't be too complicated to play
The Titan Fighter will let gobbo use a medium-size two-handed weapon with a -1 penalty.
Alternatively, the small Orc Butchering Axe is essentially a medium-size greataxe. I can squeeze in the required 17 Strength with an 18 minus 2 racial, plus 1 for 4th level - or buy a 17 -2 racial +1 advancement +2 belt = 18. After that all it costs is Exotic Weapon Proficiency.
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We've got an FAQ covering the effective spell level of SLAs not based on spells:
FAQ wrote:
Cleric domains, sorcerer bloodlines, wizard schools, and certain other class features give spell-like abilities that aren't based on spells. What's the effective spell level for these abilities?
The effective spell level for these spell-like abilities is equal to the highest-level spell that a character of that class could normally cast at the level the ability is gained.
For example, a 1st-level elemental bloodline sorcerer has elemental ray as a spell-like ability. Because a sorcerer 1's highest-level spell available is 1st, that spell-like ability counts as a 1st-level spell. A 9th-level elemental bloodline sorcerer has elemental blast as a spell-like ability. Because a sorcerer 9's highest-level spell available is 4th, that spell-like ability counts as a 4th-level spell.
...and similar text made it into the CRB:
CRB wrote:
If a character class grants a spell-like ability that is not based on an actual spell, the ability's effective spell level is equal to the highest-level class spell the character can cast, and is cast at the class level the ability is granted.
However, based on debate in at least two threads (here and here), there appear to be two different readings of the CRB text.
(1) "is cast at the class level at which the ability is granted"
(2) "is cast at the class level from which the ability is granted"
The first case indicates that the caster level does not increase as the character gains levels in the class that granted the ability, while the second indicates that it does always equal the character's class level in the relevant class. So:
1) For SLAs not based on spells, should the caster level remain fixed, or increase as the character advances in the class granting the SLA?
Also, a second related question due to the proliferation of selectable class powers:
2) If a SLA can be selected at different levels, should we base the effective spell level (and possibly caster level) on the level the ability was gained, or the level the ability was first available? For example, if an occultist takes the Evocation implement school at level 6, gaining access to Energy Ray (Sp), is the effective spell level 1 (because the Energy Ray power can be gained as early as level 1) or 2 (because a 6th level occultist can cast 2nd level spells)?
While many occultists focus on the inherent psychic properties of certain types of objects, some specialists take their studies a step further, exploring the ways specific types of implements interact with one another. While not all implements psychically resonate with all other kinds of implements, such panoplies unlock even greater magical potential when used to complement one another.
An occultist can select a panoply anytime he selects a new implement school. To do so, he must already have learned to use the implement school of each implement within the panoply at least once. As with any other implement school, when an occultist learns to use a panoply, he gains access to the resonant power and base focus power, and he becomes able to learn the panoply’s other focus powers. He also adds one spell of each spell level to his spell list, and these spells can be taken from any of the implement schools associated with the panoply. To use a panoply’s resonant power or any of its focus powers, the occultist must select and invest mental focus into the associated implements that day. A single bearer must hold all the panoply’s associated implements to gain the panoply’s resonant power, and the occultist counts the total number of points of mental focus invested among all of the associated implements to determine the resonant power’s effect. The occultist can expend points of mental focus from any of the associated implements to use the panoply’s focus powers. Unlike for other implement schools, an occultist cannot select a panoply more than once.
Haunt Collector's Possessed Possessions Ability:
At 2nd level, and every 4 occultist levels thereafter, when the haunt collector chooses an implement school he doesn’t already know, instead of using implements as normal for that school, he can gain access to a haunted implement—a powerful, spirit-possessed item collected during his travels. When he selects a haunted implement, he forsakes the resonant power from the item’s implement group and instead selects a spirit from the medium’s list of spirits, gaining that spirit’s seance boon in place of the resonant power. He can also call upon the implement’s haunting entity as a swift action to temporarily gain bonuses on all checks associated with the selected legendary spirit’s spirit bonus for 1 round. This spirit bonus is equal to 1/2 the amount of mental focus invested in the implement, to a maximum bonus of 1 + 1 for every 4 occultist levels the haunt collector has. He can call upon this spirit bonus a number of times per day equal to the amount of mental focus invested in the implement, though invoking it doesn’t expend any mental focus. Once the spirit type is selected for an implement, it cannot be changed.
Relic Hunter Relic Ability:
At 1st level, a relic hunter gains the occultist’s implements class feature (see page 47) and learns to use two occultist implement schools as relic schools. At 4th level and every 3 levels thereafter, the relic hunter learns to use one additional relic school drawn from the same source, gaining access to that school’s resonant power and base focus power and opening up that school’s focus powers for her to select. Like an occultist, a relic hunter can select the same school twice, but it is far less useful for her to do so.
1) Can an implement that has been haunted become part of a panoply? For example, if a shield is haunted by a Champion spirit, could that shield become part of the Trappings of the Warrior?
2) Can a panoply itself be haunted? For example, could a set of performer's accouterments be collectively haunted by a Trickster spirit?
General rule: If a class ability modifies your spellcasting, it applies to your spells from all classes, not just spells from the class that grants the ability. (The exception is if the class ability specifically says it only applies to spells from that class.)
Occult Adventures wrote:
Phrenic Amplifications
A psychic develops particular techniques to empower her spellcasting, called phrenic amplifications. The psychic can activate a phrenic amplification only while casting a spell using psychic magic, and the amplification modifies either the spell’s effects or the process of casting it. The spell being cast is called the linked spell. The psychic can activate only one amplification each time she casts a spell, and doing so is part of the action used to cast the spell. She can use any amplification she knows with any psychic spell, unless the amplification’s description states that it can be linked only to certain types of spells
When Phrenic Amplifications refers to "psychic magic" and "psychic spell," is it restricting the use of the ability to (1) spells from the psychic class or (2) psychic magic generally, as opposed to arcane or divine magic.
Got a dwarven occultist that just reached level 2, and having some difficulty picking a 3rd implement school.
The character is built for melee with secondary support and utility roles. Already have Transmutation and Conjuration. Considering Abjuration, Divination, and Illusion. The party includes a psychic and an alchemist (with whom I am splitting the healing - hence taking Conjuration).
Starting Int is 15 - planning on bumping it to 16 at level 4 and getting a Headband as soon as feasible but still feeling short on Focus and my DCs aren't great. Planning on taking Craft Wondrous Items at lvl 3.
Abjuration
Upsides: Resonant power is very useful. Spells are solid. Qualifies me to take the Panoply of the Warrior in the long run.
Downsides: Not a big fan of the focus powers until Globe of Negation - which is unfortunate since the resonant power encourages a moderate amount of investment in the school.
Divination
Upsides: Resonant power is potentially quite nice, and the base power is useful. Mind Eye is probably my favourite level 5 focus power.
Downsides: As a dwarf, I don't really need low light or darkvision, so I wouldn't get much out of the resonant power until I can invest 9 focus in it for see invisibility - which is hard since it's competing with Transmutation.
Illusion
Upsides: Base power and several focus powers are moderately useful. Resonant power can be useful but doesn't demand investment. Mirror Image is a very handy spell. Sort of fits the character's personality.
Downsides: Not sure my DCs are going to be good enough - the party psychic might pick up illusions and would do them better.
Players are headed to the estate of a family of wizards. Looking for some magical defenses they might notice or even trigger if they wander into secure areas. I am aware of:
Alarm
Invisibility Alarm
Arcane Lock
Fire Trap
Phantom Trap
Sepia Snake Sigil
Symbol of Revelation
Symbol of Scrying
Symbol of Sleep
Symbol of Fear
Teleport Trap
Anything else of interest? Spells should be no higher than 7th level, ideally permanent (at least until triggered), bonus if they allow authorized persons to avoid activating the effect.
My party needs a healer and I was thinking of rolling up a reach shaman (using a longspear to fill a secondary melee role and taking advantage of AoO action economy). However I noticed that despite Shamans being primarily Wis-based they have quite a few abilities that are Charisma-based, including uses per day of their base spirit ability and uses, duration, or potency of many of their spirit specific hexes (most notably the one that lets you grab a number of spells from the sorc/wiz list equal to your Cha modifier).
Since I'm not keen on the idea of dumping Int, this means I can (1) dump Cha and miss out on some of the spirit benefits (2) dump Str and give up on the longspear (3) choose a different and less MAD class, probably oracle.
The Shaman Guide advises against dumping Cha, but I'd like to hear some other opinions. In particular, I'm not sure if it's reasonable to expect even a secondary melee role, as the shaman seems to lack most of the cleric's personal buffs.
I am strongly leaning towards Ancestors as my main spirit.
At 1st level, a kinetic knight gains the kinetic blade form infusion, and it costs 0 points of burn instead of 1 point. She can’t use her kinetic blast without the kinetic blade form infusion or an infusion that lists kinetic blade as a prerequisite.
At 3rd level....
This ability alters kinetic blast and infusions, and replaces metakinesis and metakinetic master.
Does the kinetic knight get kinetic blade in addition to their normal 1st level infusion, or instead of the normal 1st level infusion?
I've designed an item for a PC who collects a variety of light blades for melee and throwing:
Blademaster's Belt: This item has a number of daily charges. When drawing a weapon from the belt, the wearer may expend one or more charges to imbue the weapon with an enhancement bonus equal to the number of charges expended. This enhancement lasts for 1 minute. In addition, the item functions as a Blinkback Belt.
I'd appreciate help valuing this item at 1, 3, 5, and 10 charges.
I'm also wondering if I should have the bonus granted by the item stack with any enhancement on the blade, making the item more valuable but encouraging the PC to value for example a +1 dagger over a silver dagger. EDIT: On second thought, I'm pretty sure I do want it to work this way.
I'm starting an intrigue-heavy plotline and noticed that one of my party members has a good Knowledge (nobility) check but no Knowledge (local), and another has a good Knowledge (local) but no Knowledge (nobility). Normally I don't sweat the overlap between these two skills, but I'm trying to put in an extra effort to provide clues relevant to individual PCs' skills & background for this adventure.
The description of the Knowledge skills says that Knowledge (local) covers legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, and humanoids. Examples of knowledge (local) checks are:
Know local laws, rulers, and popular locations (DC 10)
Know a common rumor or local tradition (DC 15)
Know hidden organizations, rulers, and locations (DC 20)
Nobility covers lineages, heraldry, personalities, and royalty. Examples include:
Know current rulers and their symbols (DC 10)
Know proper etiquette (DC 15)
Know line of succession (DC 20)
So since Local can be used to identify rulers and personalities, it looks like the only things that are uniquely covered by Nobility are lineages, heraldry, and etiquette. And Nobility notably doesn't appear to give you knowledge of the "power behind the throne" or laws and traditions regarding the rights and responsibilities of rulers.
Granted, heraldry and etiquette will be a bit more useful in a courtly intrigue situation than a typical dungeon, but this still seems unimpressive, and I'd really like to make the player with Knowledge (nobility) feel good about his skill investment.
A magical child starts play with a magical spirit guide in the form of a familiar, using her vigilante level as her effective wizard level. The familiar also has a social identity as a seemingly normal animal, though vigilantes with outlandish familiars might still need to hide the familiar.
At 3rd level, the magical child's familiar reveals another aspect of its form, and its vigilante identity changes into a creature on the Improved Familiar list that would be available to a 3rd-level spellcaster (the animal guide's social identity always remains as the original normal animal).
The familiar can change its vigilante identity again when the magical child reaches 5th and 7th level, each time to familiars available at those levels. The Improved Familiar feat's alignment restrictions apply to this ability, but only the magical child's vigilante identity needs to have an alignment that fulfills the alignment requirements of the improved familiar. The familiar's new vigilante form choices are permanent, and it cannot transform back into its former vigilante identities until 9th level, when the familiar gains the change shape universal monster ability if it doesn't already have it. It can use this ability at will when in its vigilante identity to transform into any of its four vigilante identities.
In vigilante form, a magical child's familiar gains an amount of DR/magic equal to her vigilante level. This doesn't stack with any DR/magic that her vigilante form might already possess.
Should each form have its own stats to match that of the appropriate Improved Familiar, complete with different feats, mental ability scores, languages, and non-master-derived skill ranks?
If the stats don't change entirely when the familiar changes shape, how do we decide what does change?
The Blackthorn Rancher trait description refers to domestic animals, but since the trait doesn't actually specify what type of animal companion can receive the bonus HP (eg dogs, horses), does this mean I can apply the bonus to types of animal companion that aren't normally domesticated?
Rules say you can upgrade an animal with the "Riding" general purpose to one with the "Combat Riding," but is it possible to similarly upgrade one with "Fighting" to "Combat Riding" if for example an animal companion that was previously too small to ride becomes larger?
Wanted a flavourful material for my city of elf wizards, other than mithral. Would appreciate feedback on balance/pricing.
Elf Glass wrote:
Elf-Glass can be used to make any item normally made from metal. Items made from Elf-glass are immune to rust and magnetism effects. The cost for adding the spell-storing enchantment is 75% of normal. Elf-glass items cannot grant spell resistance, though they can grant spell turning effects.
Elf-glass items are capable of making use of additional armour crystals or weapon crystals. A weapon, shield, or piece of light armour can use one additional crystal; a medium or heavy suit of armour can use two additional crystals.
Weapons made from elf-glass are exceptionally sharp. They grant a +1 enhancement bonus to damage and a +1 bonus to confirm critical hits.
Ammo: +10 gp
Light: +500gp
One-handed: +750gp
Two-handed: +1000gp
Armour or shields made from Elf-glass have an Arcane Spell Failure 10% lower than usual. Armour is also considered one category lighter than normal for purposes of whether the wearer can cast arcane spells in the armour.
Shield: +2000gp
Light: +2000gp
Medium: +4000gp
Heavy: +8000gp
HP/inch 15 (half that of steel); Hardness 8; Weight 3/4 normal
The armour benefit is intentionally less useful than that provided by mithral for most classes, but would be useful with arcane armour training (which gives you 0% ASF wearing an elf glass chain shirt - and with a houserule doesn't take your swift action).
I stole/adapted Armour & Weapon Crystals from 3.5; they are items that can be attached to a weapon or armour in order to grant cheap circumstantial bonuses like +d6 damage to a creature type for 1,000gp, or Endure Elements for 300gp. Since the most significant limitation is only being able to use one crystal at a time, the ability to get an additional cheap bonus is supposed to be the main mechanical draw for elf-glass items.
Seems to me that while there are now a decent number of ranged teamwork feats, the best teamwork feats are still based on flanking and/or attacks of opportunity.
I'm noticing for example Adowyn as a 7th level Hunter has Coordinated Shot and Wounded Paw Gambit, giving her +1 to hit with correct positioning, and possibly an extra ranged attack. However as a melee character she could have gotten +2 with Outflank (and her wolf would also have gotten the bonus), and gotten the bonus attack just with Broken Wing Gambit, giving her an extra teamwork feat to play with.
For those who have played ranged Hunters (or Inquisitors), have you gotten good use out of your teamwork feats? Or do you think it makes more sense to trade them out with an archetype like Divine Hunter or Preacher?
Is it worth it to take Snap Shot to take advantage of the AoO-based feats (and provide a flanking bonus to your pet)?
Looking at monk builds recently and wanting to make sure I've got an accurate idea of the advantages and disadvantages of the two.
The Unchained monk is definitely more mobile between fast movement, flying kick, abundant step, ki whirlwind, etc. It also has a wider range of minor abilities from stunning fist to style strikes to ki powers - if they pick the same powers as the sohei as much as possible (which they don't have to do) they end up with 3 extra, plus a few automatic powers the sohei doesn't have like purity of body. It has a bigger HD, thus probably more HP.
The Sohei however functions better with a modest Wis between being able to wear light armour instead of using the monk AC bonus, having a good base Will save, and not having all those ki powers. The initiative bonus is very nice, and Weapon Training gives you access to Advanced Weapon Training and Weapon Mastery feats from WMH, in addition to letting you flurry with unusual weapons and generally improving your attack routine. In fact, the Sohei can actually get a better attack routine than the Unchained monk if it invests in Gloves of Dueling, and possibly Brawling armour, adding +5 or +7 to attack and damage at level 20:
Unchained +20 or +20/+20/+20/+15/+10/+5
Sohei Brawling +22 or +25/+25/+20/+20/+15/+15/+10
Sohei No Brawl. +20 or +23/+23/+18/+18/+13/+13/+8
Even without Brawling, only the 3rd attack has a higher bonus for the Unchained monk, and the Sohei gets one more attack. Note that despite the truncated progression of UAS damage, Weapon Training + Brawling can give the Sohei about equal unarmed damage to the Unchained monk. Average damage on 2d10 is 11, compared to average damage on d6+7 = 10.5.
So the Unchained Monk is a good choice if you want mobility and thematic powers. The Sohei is a good choice if you want a stronger flurry routine, an unusual flurry weapon, weapon training goodies, or if your Wis is going to be closer to 10 than 18.
Does that sound about right? Do you have any other reasons to prefer one or the other? Is there anything from WMH that you think works particularly well for the Sohei?
Playing with some of the new stuff in Weapon Master's Handbook and wondering what people thought of the current options for playing a mobile warrior.
It seems to me that a lot of it is specific either to a class or a subset of weapons.
For example, mounted lance charges seem to work pretty well, especially for cavaliers.
Unchained monks get Flying Kick and Ki Hurricane. Barbarians have had pounce for a while. There are bard and fighter archetypes like the Dervish or Mobile Fighter that seem pretty decent.
Pummeling Style and Panther Style work for unarmed strikes (or maybe other weapons for Panther style if combined with Feral Combat Training or Aescetic Style). Outslug Style, Weave, and Sprint work for close weapons - and are also easier for Brawlers to qualify for and use.
The Dimensional Assault line requires high-level spellcasting.
Rogues and Swashbucklers seem like they should be good at this, but with the exception of the Whirling Dervish swash archetype, their class features don't support seem to support mobility and I haven't seen any mobility feats geared towards them.
Vital Strike and Spring Attack should in theory be pretty generally useful, but since they can't be combined Spring Attack leaves you sacrificing a lot of damage, and Vital Strike only seems worth it for users of massive weapons - otherwise the weapon die doesn't make up a significant enough portion of your damage to make up for the loss of a full attack.
What are your favourite ways to build mobile warriors? Is there anything really cool I'm underestimating or that I've overlooked?
I have a mini that looks like Misty from Pokemon, with guns. I would like to stat up a Misty of about 6th level, and am not sure whether to go with gunslinger, bard, or something else.
There is a companion Blastoise mini. I would prefer to avoid Summoner since there are custom abilities I'd like on Blastoise that don't really fit an Eidolon, and since this isn't intended for a PC I figure it's OK to make a separate custom monster.
A friend of mine is trying to make a "The Last Unicorn" themed version of the Love Letter game as a gift. She is not very familiar with the movie and needs help determining which characters are closest to the unicorn. Her working order is:
(8) The Unicorn
(7) Schmendrick
(6) King Haggard
(5) Prince Lir
(4) Molly Grue
(3) Mommy Fortuna
(2) The Butterfly
(1) Captain Cully
Another consideration is that the effect of the (4) rank is to protect you from hostile plays, which is more appropriate for Molly even if she might otherwise be closer to the unicorn.
I'm attending a teaching workshop in July and we're supposed to present three 5-10 minute lessons on topics of our choice (academic or otherwise). One of my lessons will be Tabletop RPGs, with a focus on D&D and Pathfinder.
Looking for suggestions on stuff to include.
Current outline is:
What is an RPG?
- Pretend plus rules
- Dice to Randomize Outcomes
- Game Master as Director/Referee
History of RPGs
- Wargaming
- Controversy / Moral Panic
Why RPGs are great (and can be used as a teaching tool)!
- Reading/Mathematics
- Imagination/Storytelling
- Problem Solving and resource management
- Empathy
- Teamwork (changemakers)
Got a Monk (Master of Many Styles) / Bloodrager (Primalist) 7 that will be reaching level 10 soon and I'm trying to figure out whether to trade out my level 8 bloodline power for rage powers, and if so which two.
The plan was to take Beast Totem and another power (Improved DR?) at 8, then Greater Beast Totem and Come and Get Me at 12. However I'm not entirely sold on CAGM and so I could also keep Certain Strike at 8 and complete Beast Totem at 12.
So is CAGM really that good, and are there any really good level 8 powers I've missed?
Certain Strike: At 8th level, you may reroll an attack roll once during a bloodrage. You must decide to use this ability after the die is rolled, but before the GM reveals the results. You must take the second result, even if it's worse.
Current Feats: Power Attack, IUAS, Dragon Style, Snake Style, Snake Fang, Raging Vitality, Craft Magic Arms & Armour, Combat Style Master. Planning on taking Combat Reflexes or Dragon Ferocity at 11.
Rage Powers: Lesser Beast Totem, Quick Reflexes
AC is pretty low at 19, though that's usually buffed to 25 in significant fights with Shield and Barkskin, and Snake Style means I can substitute Sense Motive at +25 as an immediate action. I'm also planning on throwing Blur on top for a miss chance once I get it as a bloodline spell in 3 levels.
Combat Style combines use of reach weapon and UAS.
I just came on to respond to a thread I started last night on getting emotionally invested in a game and found it locked. Liz had deleted some posts but she didn't say she was locking the thread, and someone else posted 2.5 hours after Liz's comment. I didn't feel the mood within the thread was overall hostile (and while I can understand why the posts in question were deleted I personally didn't feel attacked by them).
Just feeling confused.
And if anyone from the other thread reads this, thanks for the advice and support.
I've known for a while I get very invested in my RPGs. I identify strongly with my characters and am personally affected by their successes and failures. It's caused me an increased amount of stress recently as the mood of the games I'm playing in has become, on average, increasingly dramatic, emotional, and high stakes. Some nights I have trouble sleeping after a game - even when the game wraps up several hours before I go to bed.
I still very much enjoy playing but I'd rather not spend the day after a game recovering.
So there was a thread about Master Craftsman that just got locked but it got me thinking about the crafting system and how it could be improved.
Problem 1: Master Craftsman requires noncasting characters to pay more than twice the price (two feats and a less useful skill) to get less than half the crafting benefit that casters do (can only make items keyed to chosen craft skill).
Problem 2: For casters, not all craft feats are equally useful. Craft Wondrous Items and Craft Arms & Armour allow you to make wider range of items, and more important items, than Brew Potion or Forge Ring.
Solution: Magical Artisan (Item Crafting)
Your superior crafting skills and basic understanding of magic allow you to create a variety of magical items.
Benefit: You may create magic items using an appropriate Craft or Profession skill. You must make the check to create the item using the appropriate skill (not Spellcraft) and must meet prerequisites normally, though you may treat your ranks in the appropriate skill as your caster level, if they are higher than your actual caster level. You still may not create spell trigger or spell completion items without a source of the relevant spells, though you need not be able to personally cast them. You must have a minimum number of ranks in the appropriate Craft or Profession skill to create certain types of items:
Special: If you have this feat, 7 ranks in Craft (sculpture), and 7 ranks in Craft (weapons) you are considered to qualify for Craft Construct. If you have this feat and 5 ranks in Craft (alchemy) you are considered to qualify for Craft Ooze. If you have this feat and 10 ranks in Craft (alchemy) you qualify for Brew Fleshcrafting Potion.
Anticipated Result: Casters will still probably find it preferable to take Craft Wondrous Items and/or Craft Weapons and Armour in order to consolidate these important items under the Spellcraft skill. However Magical Artisan allows them to shift the investment for the lesser magical items to more of a skill investment. Notably, wands, rods, and staves can all be made with one feat and heavy investment in Craft (sculptures). Non-casters meanwhile are spending only one feat compared to Master Craftsman and have the option to invest in two or three skills to make a wider variety of items. For example, an archer could take Craft (bows) and Craft (leather) and make magic bows, arrows, bracers, boots, and belts. A jeweler also gets the ability to make rings (at a higher level) along with wondrous items like amulets and crowns. They can also help make spell trigger or completion items with allied casters who lack those feats.
Chatting about slings and it came up that historically slings had at least as much range and stopping power as bows, but required more training. There were somerequests for feat or ability options to help slings either catch up in DPR or else do other cool things in trained hands that bows can't.
Here are some ideas.
Plunging Fire:
You can hurl sling bullets with a plunging arc that adds momentum to their fall. Benefit: When firing a sling from high ground you deal an extra d6 points of damage for every 10ft of vertical distance between you and your target. This extra damage is not multiplied on a critical hit.
Sling Sniper:
Pre-requisite: Weapon Focus (Sling)
Benefit: You may treat a sling as having a range increment of 100ft. If you have the sneak attack ability, you may perform a sneak attack with a sling upon a target up to 60ft away.
Penetrating Sling:
You can add enough force to your sling bullets to partially pierce through armour Pre-requisite: Weapon Focus (Sling), Str 13
Benefit: When firing a sling within its first range increment, you may halve your target's armour and natural armour bonuses to AC.
Improved Penetrating Sling:
Pre-requisite: Weapon Focus (Sling), Penetrating Sling, BAB +6
Benefit: When firing a sling within its first range increment, you may ignore a number of points of your target's DR or hardness equal to 1/2 your BAB.
This one doesn't ignore as much DR as clustered shots against enemies with higher DR values or when you're making a ton of attacks, but it has the advantage of not requiring a full attack against a single enemy.
Impact Sling:
Pre-requisite: Weapon Focus (Sling), BAB +6
Benefit: Increase the critical multiplier for any sling you wield to x3. In addition, when you confirm a critical with a sling you may push a target back 5ft.
Slinger Ranger Style:
Ammo Drop, Plunging Fire, Sling Sniper, Precise Shot, Penetrating Sling
6th level: Juggle Load, Shield Focus, Improved Penetrating Sling
10th level: Greater Shield Focus, Shot on the Run
Slinger Fighter Archetype:
Took some stuff from the Archer archetype but instead of trick shooting added a defensive focus based on light armour & using a shield with the sling.
Armour Proficiencies: The Slinger is proficient with light armour and shields (including tower shields) but not medium or heavy armour.
Practiced Sling: The slinger receives Weapon Focus (sling) and Ammo Drop as bonus feats. This replaces the fighter's normal 1st level bonus feat.
Hawkeye (Ex): At 2nd level, a slinger gains a +1 bonus onPerception checks, and the range increment for any sling he uses increases by 5 feet. These bonuses increase by +1 and 5 additional feet for every 4 levels beyond 2nd.
This ability replaces Bravery.
Nimble (Ex): At 3rd level, when wearing light or no armour, the slinger receives a +1 dodge bonus to AC and a +1 bonus to Reflex saves. This bonus increases by +1 every 4 levels thereafter (7th, 11th, 15th, 19th). This ability replaces Armour Training.
Expert Slinger (Ex): At 5th level, a slinger gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with slings. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 5th. This ability replaces Weapon Training 1.
Shielded Slinger (Ex): At 9th level, a slinger gains Shield Focus as a bonus feat, and as long as he is wearing a shield no longer provokes attacks of opportunity when making ranged attacks with a sling. If he already has Shield Focus, he gains Greater Shield Focus instead. This ability replaces Weapon Training 2.
Ricochet Shot (Ex): At 13th level, whenever a slinger makes a single attack on his turn he may attempt to ricochet the bullet such that it strikes a second target. If the initial attack hits, the slinger may make an additional attack against a secondary target at a -5 penalty. Precision damage and damage increases from Vital Strike do not apply on this secondary attack. This ability replaces Weapon Training 3.
Volley (Ex): At 17th level, as a full-round action, a slinger can make a single sling attack at his highest base attack bonus against any number of creatures in a 15-foot radius burst, making separate attack and damage rolls for each creature.
This ability replaces Weapon Training 4.
Improved Shielded Slinger (Ex): At 19th level, when using a shield a slinger gains DR 3/- and has a 25% chance to negate any critical confirmed upon him. This ability stacks with similar abilities, to a maximum 75% chance to negate a critical.
This ability replaces Armor Mastery.
Weapon Mastery (Ex): A slinger must choose a type of sling for his Weapon Mastery class feature.
In this thread it was pointed out that you can effectively buy DR/- for 5K per point, the cost of adamantine armour. However, this doesn't stack with the DR gained by a barbarian or bloodrager.
There are lots of ways to buy improvements to your AC. Is it possible to buy improvements to DR, or is it only possible to improve DR through feats and rage powers?
