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Unoriginal as it is, I am thinking about making my next PC a copy of the character Kaladin from Brandon Sanderson's stormlight archive.

Mechanically, He is a human spear fighter with a ton of abilities to magically enhance himself and has an air spirit follow him around.

So I was thinking maybe Cavalier (Order of the dragon, Standard Bearer Archtype) 1 / Bard (Arcane Duelist) X using a long spear. Straight arcane duelist might be another option. Trying to work in an air elemental familiar would be a plus but probably isn't feasible.

I would want him to be a solid gish type that would hopefully be able to go toe-to-toe with other melee classes if his buffs are up.

I am putting a build together right now and will post later, but would appreciate your thoughts.


I have no idea how to interpret this situation.

Say a foe is hit by a dazing metamagic spell and is dazed for a few rounds after failing the initial save. On the next round, say the caster opens up a pit under it. Since the foe is dazed, does it get a save? If it makes it, does it get placed on a square outside of the pit?

Basically, daze prevents a creature from acting. Does it prevent or hinder a creature from reacting?


I'm going to be GMing for an all dwarf campaign soon and I'd like some brainstorming if you would be so kind. Skip to the last line for the question.

What I have so far for a plot:
A dwarf clan is enslaved (by giants?).
Most of the clan escapes and is given protection as refugees by a local human kingdom for a price.
Time passes and the relationship sours. The dwarves move on towards the hills to re establish a kingdom.
At the last camp in a meadow before the hills, Queue a group of level 1 dwarven characters to travel into the hills and find a home and a kingdom.

I was thinking of trying to keep it sandboxey and maybe use a bit of the kingmaker rules, but may just keep that stuff in the background. I think the level 1 adventure is going to be to find an old cave complex and clear out the goblins. Level 2 would be to investigate a nearby mine (reskinned from the dungeon of crown of the kobold king), clear it of evil, and find something to mine. Level 3 will be an escort adventure to move the clan into the location while fighting off orcs. Then I'm low on ideas. I want some giants and drow as antagonists later, but that's about it.

So what are some good adventure hooks that will grab the interest of a band of dwarves trying to set up a home?


I am unsure whether to post here or in home brew.

After playing around with caravans and reading the threads here, I was thinking to adopt some slightly revised rules based on suggestions I read here for this campaign.

Below are the rules. Please let me know if there are any glaring problems with the mechanics. If I don't mention a change, assume it is the same as the players guide.

Caravan Adjustments:

Caravan Jobs: (streamline into catagories)
Anybody can be a passenger or worker*. Only PCs can be heroes.
Common jobs (Cook/Driver/Trader/Wainwright)
Expert Jobs (Guide/Healer/Entertainer)
Warrior Jobs (Guard/Scout)
Magical Jobs (Fortune-Teller/Spellcaster)

NPC Caravan Hirelings: (lower upkeep costs)
1st level commoner, 5 gp/mo: Commoners begin with 1 common job to be qualified for.
1st level expert, 10 gp/mo: Experts begin with 3 three expert or common jobs to be qualified for.
1st level warrior, 15 gp/mo: Warriors begin with 2 warrior or common jobs to be qualified for.
1st level adept, 50 gp/mo: Adepts are qualified to be Fortune-Tellers and Spellcasters. They typically are not available to be hired for caravan jobs. They cannot be hired in the Jade Regent Campaign.
PC and NPC allies can perform any job they qualify for and do not require wages.

Trade goods: (allow some variety. make salt lucrative again)
Common (Trade Resolve DC 10): 10gp
Uncommon (Trade Resolve DC 15): 50gp
Rare (Trade Resolve DC 20): 100gp
Exotic (Trade Resolve DC 25): 500gp
Service (Trade Resolve DC 10): Varies

New Job: (give broke caravans a way to raise money)
Worker
Workers provide special services that can be traded like another good at a settlement. Each worker committed to this job counts as 2gp towards a special Service Trade Good. This good can only be traded once per day per settlement.

Trade Rule: (change trading rule to scale with new goods. Make trading expensive goods risky)
Trade resolve check. every point over the DC gives +10% base trade good value as profit. Every point under the DC gives -10% base value (you got burned). 5 trades per day, up to settlement purchase limit.

Combat and leveling: (keep non-offense caravans from getting steamrolled)
Caravan gets +1 Primary Statistic per level beyond first.
Caravan gets +1 Damage per level beyond first.

Let me know your thoughts.


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I am unsure whether to post here or in home brew.

After playing around with caravans and reading the threads here, I was thinking to adopt some slightly revised rules based on suggestions I read here for this campaign.

Below are the rules. Please let me know if there are any glaring problems with the mechanics. If I don't mention a change, assume it is the same as the players guide.

Caravan Adjustments:

Caravan Jobs: (streamline into catagories)
Anybody can be a passenger or worker*. Only PCs can be heroes.
Common jobs (Cook/Driver/Trader/Wainwright)
Expert Jobs (Guide/Healer/Entertainer)
Warrior Jobs (Guard/Scout)
Magical Jobs (Fortune-Teller/Spellcaster)

NPC Caravan Hirelings: (lower upkeep costs)
1st level commoner, 5 gp/mo: Commoners begin with 1 common job to be qualified for.
1st level expert, 10 gp/mo: Experts begin with 3 three expert or common jobs to be qualified for.
1st level warrior, 15 gp/mo: Warriors begin with 2 warrior or common jobs to be qualified for.
1st level adept, 50 gp/mo: Adepts are qualified to be Fortune-Tellers and Spellcasters. They typically are not available to be hired for caravan jobs. They cannot be hired in the Jade Regent Campaign.
PC and NPC allies can perform any job they qualify for and do not require wages.

Trade goods: (allow some variety. make salt lucrative again)
Common (Trade Resolve DC 10): 10gp
Uncommon (Trade Resolve DC 15): 50gp
Rare (Trade Resolve DC 20): 100gp
Exotic (Trade Resolve DC 25): 500gp
Service (Trade Resolve DC 10): Varies

New Job: (give broke caravans a way to raise money)
Worker
Workers provide special services that can be traded like another good at a settlement. Each worker committed to this job counts as 2gp towards a special Service Trade Good. This good can only be traded once per day per settlement.

Trade Rule: (change trading rule to scale with new goods. Make trading expensive goods risky)
Trade resolve check. every point over the DC gives +10% base trade good value as profit. Every point under the DC gives -10% base value (you got burned). 5 trades per day, up to settlement purchase limit.

Combat and leveling: (keep non-offense caravans from getting steamrolled)
Caravan gets +1 Primary Statistic per level beyond first.
Caravan gets +1 Damage per level beyond first.

Let me know your thoughts.


What do you think of a human fighter with this feat progression? Viable? The idea would be to charge in and cleave, then whirlwind, then use improved cleaving finish to get as many attacks as possible off of bad guys dropping to whirlwind. Dazing assault, Dreadful Carnage, and staggering/blinding criticals should debuff anybody that doesn't drop.
He would be proportionally weaker against single opponents. Would he go straight fighter to be able to move well in armor, or weapon master for the extra critical hit goodness? Would he take a higher threat range falchion or a pole arm for a larger reach?

1: power attack
1: cleave
1: cleaving finish
2: combat expertise
3: dodge
4: mobility
5: spring attack
6: whirlwind
7: great cleave
8: improved cleaving finish
9: lunge
10: weapon focus: falchion (high crit) or bardiche (reach)
11: dazing assault
12: dreadful carnage
13: staggering critical
14: greater weapon focus
15: blinding critical
16: critical mastery
17: stunning critical
18: weapon specialization
19: greater weapon specialization
20: furious focus

Necessary gear would be dueling gloves, a keen weapon, a good magic bow, and maybe boots of flying with mithril full plate of speed.

Edit: "When you use the Whirlwind Attack feat, you also forfeit any bonus or extra attacks granted by other feats, spells, or abilities."
I think this could still work by closing in with great cleave, then whirlwinding for a debuff, then going back to great cleave. maybe


I was playing around with a Drow Noble Arcane Trickster Build, and want to use their Deeper Darkness to set up more sneak attacks. What is the best way to see in your own magical darkness? Echolocation gives blindsight as a level 5 spell and true seeing gives see in darkness as a level 6 spell. Is there anything more efficient, like a feat, magic item, or lower level spell that I am missing?


I have a "great idea" for my campaign which involves the party getting into a properly large battle. I have the PC's working out of a fortified hamlet in rebellion from their ruling city, and I want an army to show up to put down the rebellion. It's small scale on battle terms, but far larger than an intended pathfinder encounter.

What tips and tricks do you recommend for running a party through events that occur during a large and evolving battle to keep things real but not bog down the game?

Specifics:
The party is largish, with 6 regular players that will be 4th level for this. The town is a hamlet with about 60 people in it that can fight with pitchforks. There is a cleric order with 3 NPCs with class levels levels and some acolytes. The town is fortified with wooden stakes and low dirt walls.
The invading army will be hellknights. I was thinking about 30-40 warrior level 1 foot soldiers, 10-20 or more 3rd level fighter cavalry, and one or two 6th level knights and a 6th level signifier or two.
I figure that the knights are going to roll over the town, which I would prefer for plot reasons, but they could get repelled too.
I was thinking of having one of the NPCs part way through the battle grab the PCs and beg them to escort the children out the back.
I want to motivate them to stay together and not get slaughtered by cavalry, but don't want to overtly railroad them.

Also, what tactics would you have the two sides use to seem realistic in pathfinder? What spells should the signifier have, etc?

Any advice is appreciated.


My 5th level caster chooses to cast summon monster 3 on round 1.
When is the casting complete? (full round action, ends at end of round 1)
When does the monster appear? (on my initiative on round 2)
When does the monster disappear? (on my initiative on round 6)
When can the monster act? (on my initiative on round 2)
When can I act (on my initiative on round 2, before or after monster at my choosing?)
When can the monster be attacked? (after it appears)
How about sacred summons? (appears on round 1 at my initiative and can act immediately, but after me)
What about suprise rounds? (casting ends at end of suprise round, monster appears on my initiative in the next round.)
How much atonomy does the monster have? (No, the demon cannot choose to maul the party paladin instead of fighting the enemy demon, even though I can't speak abyssal. Yes the lantern archon must murder the small inncoent child because I want him to.)

Here are my questions, and here are my answers. Which answers are wrong?


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After reading and being inspired by another thread, I figure that I would beef up the rogue a bit, or at least add some flavor. Do these changes make the rogue more appealing, but not overpowered? Basically, I'm going for making it equivalent to the ninja, or at least just as stylish, but definitely not better. Many thanks to malignor, whose ideas I based this off of.

Rogue Panache: Add Weapon Finesse to your feat list at level 1 and and Agile Maneuvers at level 3.

Combat Style: At level 4, select a combat style, and one feat from the list for that style. At levels 10 and 16, get another feat from the same list. For those feats marked with an asterisk, treat Rogue levels as Fighter levels for calculating CMB. If you have taken all the feats on the list already, you get a +1 insight bonus to your attack and CMB instead. Before taking any feat with "Improved" or "Greater" in its name, you must have the lesser version of that feat if it is a pre-requisite. Some feats can only be taken at 10th level or higher with this ability. You do not have to qualify for the regular pre-requisites of these feats otherwise.

Combat Styles:
Cheat [Catch Off-Guard, Improved Dirty Trick*, Greater Dirty Trick* (10th), Improved Trip*, Greater Trip* (10th)]
Thief [Improved Disarm*, Greater Disarm* (10th), Improved Steal*, Greater Steal* (10th), Skill Focus - Sleight of Hand]
Thug [Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple*, Greater Grapple* (10th), Intimidating Prowess, Skill Focus - Intimidate]
Coward [Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack (10th), Skill Focus - Acrobatics, Fleet]
Showoff [Antagonize, Dazzling Display, Skill Focus - Intimidate, Shatter Defenses (10th), Weapon Focus]
Conman [Skill Focus - Bluff, Improved Feint, Greater Feint (10th), Improved Reposition*, Greater Reposition (10th)*]
Killer [Improved Initiative, Quickdraw, Skill Focus - Stealth, Critical Focus (10th), Improved Critical (10th)]
Sniper [Skill Focus - Perception, Point Blank Shot, Far Shot, Precise Shot, Improved Precise Shot (10th)]
Hidden Blade [Skill Focus - Sleight of Hand, Quickdraw, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Greater Weapon Focus (Dagger) (10th)]


I was reading the dragon disciple guide and got hooked with an idea for a dragon disciple.

I want to make a half elf paladin / sorcerer (crossblooded: dragon/boreal) / silver dragon.

For the build, I want to give him/her a reach weapon (lucerne hammer for flavor unless it really sucks in action).

For feats and traits, eldritch heritage at 3rd level and improved eldritch heritage 13th level for the boreal powers of cold steel and snow shroud are a must. I would take the magical knack trait for sorcerer. Half elf skill focus goes to survival for boreal bloodline. I think this build wouldn't do will with dazzling display because of the crossbloodedness.

I think the starting scores on a 20 pt buy would be
Str 16
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 12
Wis 7
Cha 16 (Racial here)

My biggest question is do I go paladin 2 / sorcerer 3 for paly saves and better caster level and bloodlines (5th level spells at level 15), or do I go paladin 4 / sorc 1 for paly aura, disease immunity, 1 higher BAB, etc but lower caster level and bloodlines (only 4th level spells at level 15)?

Also recommendations on feats, skills, and spells are appreciated. I was thinking power attack and arcane strike for sure. Maybe still spell and keeping armor on, and probably looking to never cast a spell with a save. I didn't dump int because I wanted to have at least a few skills. (Perception, UMD, and Fly minimum, and would like to have a face skill or two)

For combat, I'm picturing a silver winged gish dropping an obscuring mist (or solid fog if I have a ring of free action) and flying around the monsters and beating them with a big long hammer, then clawing and biting if they close range.

What do you think? How can this build stay relevant through about 15th level?