aaron Ellis's page

Yes, the Slumber hex changes things. My group is (mostly) yawning its way through the Screaming Jungle in the Serpent's Skull AP.

Random encounters with animal level intelligence foes become a trip to the pet store.

Hexcrafter: "Slumber. Hey, guys do we need a hippo?"

Group: "Nah, we've got an extinction menagerie theme going with the Pteranodons and Saber Tooth."

Beastmorph Vivisectionist: "Ok. CDG it is."

My players are actually hoping I roll high on the random encounter table.

Hexcrafter: "Come on double-Os, daddy needs a pet T-Rex."

If you believe that versatility=power in Pathfinder, then yes, Expanded Arcana can be worth it. I took the feat three (yes 3) times for my human Barbarian1/Lore Oracle 15. Even while taking extra spells each level for favored class bonuses. I haven't regretted it.

May I also suggest getting a Mnemonic vestment and a handful of utility scrolls, oh and maybe some rune stones (spontaneous pearls of power).

As for the eidolon, have you considered making it an impartial, extra-planar employee advocate/non-human resources director? It could have ranks in all the major planar languages, all of the creature identifying knowledges, maxed diplomacy and sense motive skills.

The eidolon might interview potential extra planar summons applicants and suggest promising candidates with the aptitude or experience needed for specific tasks. This could be played straight or for laughs.

"I hate to bring this up, but a few if the lantern archons have been growing uncomfortable providing backup to an Erinyes. Now I have a Bralani Azata on file who could do very well in her position. And his schedule has freed up recently - quite suddenly. I've tracked down some of his previous employers and all of them have given him glowing references, even the ones who've settled on the lower planes. I think he might be a good fit. I took the liberty of mentioning him to the archons and they say they are willing to work with him if you are. I can arrange an interview if you would like."

I'm a big fan of Boots of the Cat. Fun footwear that is more flavorful than a Ring of Feather Falling. The flavor is worth the little bit of falling damage the wearer might incur.

Some folks are assuming that the spells referenced in Polymorph Any Object limit PAO to *only* what those example spells can do. However, this *assumption* contradicts the flavor text and the chart.

The referenced spells (and their dependencies) are the following:

baleful polymorph, 
greater polymorph, 
flesh to stone, 
stone to flesh, 
transmute mud to rock, 
transmute metal to wood, 
transmute rock to mud
beast shape#
Form of the dragon#
Alter self
Plant shape#
Elemental body#

None of these above spells grants the ability to transform anything into a wool coat or a marionette. However Polymorph Any Object explicitly permits those unusual transformations *in addition to* the transmutations referenced, while the body text says . . . "You can use this spell to transform *all manner* of objects and creatures into new forms"

From my reading, it seems that PAO can transform a pebble or anything else into a wool coat, a marionette, a giant, a zombie, or almost anything else.

Should the spell be this permissive? That's for someone else to decide. But I think it's safe to say that PAO is not limited to just the things the referenced spells can do.

Inspired by the classic Cooper-Fowler party game "Counterfactuals", my point was that in a world where dead people really do rise up and kill the living from time to time, is it possible that society might have developed different funerary and corpse disposal practices? Where dislocating jaws and severing the extremities of the recent dead is not only commonplace, but expected.

Also, if their rate of inclusion in adventure modules is any indicator, I would say that undead uprisings are pretty frequent in all parts of Golarion. Most people would probably know someone who knew someone who claimed to have encountered a skeleton or zombie.

To the original topic . . .

Multi-classing players are too often accused of cherry picking and power gaming the class system. I hear those comments, either from my GM or other players, almost every session. 

Fortunately, Pathfinder, just like real life, allows mid-career profession changes, sometimes with similar motivations and cost/benefit relationships. We humans tend to pursue both our interests and our needs to varying degrees. We meander on our journeys to becoming who we are. 

If it's ok for us real people to make our own way through life, why must our player characters hop on just one train and ride it to a pre-determined capstone?

If my own real life work history was statted out in Pathfinder's class format (with years in notation), I would be a . . .

Factory Worker 1/ Data Entry Clerk 1/Computer Tutor 1/Programmer 2/Teacher 10/ Administrator 3/Artist 1

. . . which is might be equivalent to . . . 

Commoner 3/ Wizard 2/ Expert 10/ Aristocrat 3/ Bard 1

Looking at this "resume shorthand", it might appear that I just woke up one morning and decided to cast code or craft art. 

In reality, every career adjustment in my life had a story element attached to it - some hard work, a  bit of serendipity, a bad case of nepotism, youthful naïveté, unmanaged burnout, desperation, bliss. 

So here's my challenge to the posters on this thread . . . 

Stat up and share your real life professional resume in Pathfinder class notation, similar to the example above. Count years of paid employment only. 

Then tell us again what you think of multiclassing in Pathfinder. 
 

Why not consider the Fauchard (Classic Horrors Revisited)? It's an exotic reach/trip weapon that does 1d10 damage with 18-20/x2 crit capability. I'm using it with one of my characters (in Carrion Crown) and it's pretty great. Yes it requires an EWP feat for anyone except a Half-Elf, but with decent strength, high Dex and combat reflexes, it rocks.