I have a PF1 haunt channeller occultist who is looking for a pathfinder (or possibly even Aspis) agent for a spirit-possessed implement.
He is particularly interested in partnering with unquiet spirits who might seek redemption, have unfinished business before departing for the Boneyard, or are looking for more excitement before heading beyond for their next Great Adventure.
At this time he is seeking either someone who, in life, commanded and inspired others such as bards, cavaliers, paladins, etc. or tricksters such as rogues, illusionists, gnomes, kitsune, tengu, and other pranksters. In the future, he will be looking for other types of recruits.
If you have a canonically dead NPC to recommend, please list their name and what scenario or resource I might read to find more information about them.
If you have a PC who died in a scenario who you think would be interested, please post their name and a few sentences of description.
I decided to volunteer for a few slots this year, for the first time. I filled out the Google form and got an automated response, but never heard anything else about it until May. On May 2 I got an email titled 'PaizoCon Schedule Acceptance Reminder' from PaizoConLeads, saying that I'd never accepted the PaizoCon schedule they sent me on April 15, and the schedule wasn't binding until they got a reply. The email said I could reply if I needed them to resend the schedule.
I searched through my Junk, Trash, any and all filters I could think of, but couldn't find the schedule. So I emailed back, asking them to resend the schedule. I emailed them again a few days later, offering an alternative email in case somehow they were being blocked by yahoo mail. Then I emailed again a week later.
Still no schedule.
However, when the lottery finished, I had a table I'd never signed up for show up on my event schedule that I couldn't remove. Am I meant to be GM'ing that table? I suppose I can just show up to the con prepped to GM that one table, and assume that I'm not assigned to volunteer for any other activities or time slots, but I'm perplexed. Have I missed something obvious about how this is meant to work?
I'm working on my cavalier's build, and I've run into some confusion with the Mounted Combat Feat.
Mounted Combat Feat wrote:
Once per round when your mount is hit in combat, you may attempt a Ride check (as an immediate action) to negate the hit. The hit is negated if your Ride check result is greater than the opponent’s attack roll.
1) If an enemy succeeds on a CMB check against my mount, does that count as a 'hit' that I can counter with a Ride check?
2) If my mount is grappling an enemy, can I use a Ride check to counter if the enemy hits my mount on its turn?
3) If my mount is grappling an enemy, can I use a Ride check to counter their standard action attempt to take over the grapple with a CMB check?
If Mounted Combat doesn't work in any or all of those 3 circumstances, what about the Bodyguard Feat?
Bodyguard Feat wrote:
When an adjacent ally is attacked, you may use an attack of opportunity to attempt the aid another action to improve your ally’s AC. You may not use the aid another action to improve your ally’s attack roll with this attack.
My latest GM blob is a nagaji Mother's Fang Cavalier/Sacred Huntsmaster Inquisitor, and a devotee of the naga goddess Nalinivati. He is very proud and protective of his sacred serpent (constrictor) companion, and it would make sense for him to take the Scalykind domain. The problem is the 4th level domain power.
Serpent Companion (Ex): At 4th level, you gain the service of an animal companion. Your effective druid level for this animal companion is equal to your cleric level –2. You may choose either a viper or a constrictor snake (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 54) as your companion.
Now, I already have a full character-level animal companion, from the cavalier class and Sacred Huntsmaster archetype. What will happen when I become a level 4 inquisitor?
There was a fair bit of discussion around this on Paizo forums with the Animal domain, which has a similar power. The Divine Hunter archetype even has a special clause for hunters who choose the Animal domain. But there was no clear conclusion for PFS play. There are a few PFS rules and FAQs that seem to apply.
1) Only one combat pet is allowed. Even archetypes that would typically give more than one animal companion are specifically altered in PFS play to only allow one. So I definitely don't get two snakes!
2) According to this FAQ 'effective druid levels' stack. That makes sense, and it would certainly delight my character to make his companion more powerful. However, in PFS animal companions are limited to character level +1 HD, as stated in this John Compton commentary. So by level 7 I could have a level 9 companion, with 8HD, but nothing higher.
3) Perhaps I should follow the example of what happens to Divine Hunters with the Animal domain, and apply a permanent stat-boost to my companion at the level where the Serpent Companion domain power would be applied.
4) Or possibly the Serpent Companion is a dead class feature that does nothing at all. Disappointing.
I'm very excited to have earned this boon on my Dark Archive faction card.
MASTER LIBRARIAN (7+ goals): Before the start of an adventure, you can requisition up to three alchemical or magic items
(except wands or scrolls with multiple spells) whose total gold piece value does not exceed 100 × your character level. You and
your allies can use these items freely, but Zarta expects you to return any unused items at the end of the adventure
At level 7, that's 3 items costing up to 700 gp. Help me come up with some excellent possibilities for my shopping list! I'm an oracle/sorcerer, so arcane and divine spells are both on the menu. Feel free to recommend consumables I might want to hand off to other players, or items that would only be needed in specific situation.
25 gp
* level 1 scrolls: Endure Elements, Mount, Monkey Fish, Ant Haul
50 gp
* antiplague, antitoxin
* level 1 potions: Air Bubble, Touch of the Sea
75 gp
* blood-boiling pill
150 gp
* level 2 scrolls: Lesser Restoration, Glitterdust, See Invis, Align Weapon, Invisibility
I have an oracle with the Lich Curse, and I've realized there's a problem with it. Many oracle curses grant bonus spells - in this case,
Horror Realms wrote:
At 5th level, add control undead to your list of 2nd-level oracle spells known.
Great! My oracle would love to control undead - wait. Control Undead is a level 7 wizard spell. It is essentially a multi-target Dominate Undead. And for me, it would be a level 2 spell. Now, there is a level 2 wizard spell with a very similar name, Command Undead. This is more like Charm Undead. Powerful and long-lasting, but with significant limitations. I suspect the author and editor used the wrong spell.
The Lich curse is PFS legal; I've looked for an errata or clarification, and haven't found one. I know, in PFS, we are meant to stick to RAW, but this seems ridiculous. Would it be reasonable to use the level 2 version, rather than the level 7?
I'm looking for some advice for my tengu natural-attack stalker vigilante. I want a way to get sneak attack in situations where flank is impractical, but I'm able to full-attack.
I was considering a Dirty Trick build, using one vigilante talent for the rogue talent:
Underhanded Trick:
A rogue who selects this talent gains Improved Dirty Trick as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. At 6th level, she is treated as if she meets all the prerequisites for Greater Dirty Trick (although she must take the feat as normal). If she succeeds in giving her target the blinded condition, the target cannot remove the condition during the first round of blindness.
Followed by a Greater Dirty Trick feat and another vigilante talent:
Deceitful Trick:
The vigilante can perform a dirty
trick combat maneuver in place of his first attack
during a full attack. He can take a –4 penalty on his check
in order to inf lict two different conditions on his foe if
he succeeds at his check. If the vigilante is successful, the
target can remove both conditions as a standard action. A
vigilante must have Greater Dirty Trick and Improved
Dirty Trick in order to select this vigilante talent.
That seems like a fantastic combo, blinding for multiple rounds with one attack, and possibly inflicting additional conditions on softer targets. I could even take Expose Weakness to decrease enemy DR.
My concern is that, as a 3/4 BAB class and a character that is not super-optimized for combat, I will have trouble beating enemy CMDs at level 8+.
The alternative is to invest a single vigilante talent into:
Cunning Feint:
The vigilante can feint as a move action or in place of his first attack during a full attack. At 8th level, when the vigilante successfully feints, the opponent is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC against all attacks until the vigilante’s next turn.
Flat-footed is a far less debilitating condition than blind, but even with the -4 penalty for humanoids and -8 for animal intelligence, I think this DC would be much easier to beat.
A rogue who selects this talent gains Improved Dirty Trick as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. At 6th level, she is treated as if she meets all the prerequisites for Greater Dirty Trick (although she must take the feat as normal). If she succeeds in giving her target the blinded condition, the target cannot remove the condition during the first round of blindness.
Is it possible to keep reapplying this each round (assuming you succeed on the CMB check) so that the target cannot remove the blind condition?
Also, when combined with the vigilante talent
Deceitful Trick wrote:
The vigilante can perform a dirty trick combat maneuver in place of his first attack during a full attack. He can take a –4 penalty on his check in order to inflict two different conditions on his foe if he succeeds at his check. If the vigilante is successful, the target can remove both conditions as a standard action. A vigilante must have Greater Dirty Trick and Improved Dirty Trick in order to select this vigilante talent.
If the vigilante were to inflict TWO conditions, would the target be able to remove the other condition but not blind with an action in the 1st round? Or would they be stuck with both?
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I've got a few questions here.
If you had a vigilante/cleric, how would their dual social/vigilante alignments interact with the cleric's powerful aura? I understand that they could only cast spells with both identities if both are within one step of their deity. But is the aura 'an effect that would change his alignment', altering both to the deity's alignment? Or would it affect only the vigilante's alignment aura? Would both be powerful auras?
Dual Identity (Ex):
Despite being a single person, a vigilante’s dual nature allows him to have two alignments, one for each of his identities. When in an identity, he is treated as having that identity’s alignment for all spells, magic items, and abilities that rely on alignment. For the purpose of meeting a qualification for a feat, class, or any ability, he is only eligible if both of his alignments meet the requirements.
A vigilante’s two alignments cannot be more than one step from each other on a single alignment axis. For example, a vigilante with a lawful neutral social identity could have a vigilante identity that is lawful good, lawful neutral, lawful evil, neutral, neutral good, or neutral evil. If a vigilante is the target of an effect that would change his alignment, it changes both of his alignments to the new alignment.
To really boggle the mind, what about a infiltration inquisitor multi-classed into cleric or vigilante?
Misdirection (Sp):
At 1st level, each day when the infiltrator prepares spells, she may choose an alignment. She detects as that alignment as if she had used misdirection on a creature with that alignment (this does not change any divination results about her other than her alignment).
Would the cleric end up with a powerful aura of whatever flavor the inquisitor chose, or would their deity no longer offer them the option of misleading others as to their deity?
If multiclassed into vigilante, would Misdirection affect both identity alignments? Just the social? Just the vigilante? Could you pick?
I've got a level 1 natural attack tengu inquisitor that I want to build into a sneak-attacker with good (and deceptive) social skills. Out of combat utility is important to me, and as a PFS player I can't necessarily count on other players being willing and able to flank with me.
I've looked at the unchained rogue, ninja, and slayer, but I think that I'd rather play either:
1) Warpriest of the Cult Leader archetype, using blinding spells and then eventually Quickened and Greater dirty tricks from level 7 to get my sneak attacks. At level 11 can use Travel domain to teleport into flank, or swift action Trickery domain Greater Invis. Seems a little weak on the skill side, but very combat-effective, and a prepared caster with access to the full cleric spell list is always useful.
2) Vigilante Stalker using Cunning Feint from level 5, Fantastic Stride version of spring attack to qualify for Circling Mongoose for hidden strike from level 9. (The Teisatsu would be perfect, but its not PFS-legal.) The dual identity seems a bit complicated to maintain in PFS play, but I could probably ignore it most of the time.
Does anyone have any advice, based on your own experience of the two classes, about what would work better, or any particular feats, talents, etc that I should look into or avoid?
I've started playing a warpriest in PFS, and would like to dip 1-2 levels of inquisitor to improve my out of combat usefulness. I'm still at level 1, so I can rebuild if need be.
Warpriest multiclass blessings wrote:
If a warpriest also has levels in a class that grants cleric domains, the blessings chosen must match the domains selected by that class. Subject to GM discretion, the warpriest can change his former blessings or domains to make them conform.
I'm a bit confused about the way domains and blessings stack.
1) Am I allowed to take a subdomain during the inquisitor level?
2) If I were to take Travel, would I still get access to the 10' speed boost when I took the level of inquisitor?
3)The 1st level granted power is
Agile Feet (Su): wrote:
As a free action, you can gain increased mobility for 1 round. For the next round, you ignore all difficult terrain and do not take any penalties for moving through it. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
And the Minor Blessing is
Agile Feet (minor): wrote:
At 1st level, as a swift action you gain increased mobility. For 1 round, you ignore all difficult terrain (including magical terrain) and take no penalties for moving through it.
Would I have have two separate pools of this ability, with 3+Wis and 3+1/2 warpriest level uses in each? Or one pool? Determined by what? What if the power relied on 'cleric levels'?
4) If the higher level power/Major Blessing is different, do I get the warpriest Major Blessing version if that's the class I get 8 levels in? Does the order in which I take the classes matter?
I've just started a psychic in PFS play. I'm not sure about if I can use scrolls and wands if I am unable to provide the normal thought and emotion components.
For example, if I am shaken, can I pull out a scroll of remove fear and use it? Can I use a wand of ill omen?
Worst case scenario, I can just stock up on potions of remove fear, but I'd like to be sure, since most of the local GMs don't seem as familiar with psychic casting.
I'm looking into creating my first Core character. I thought archery might be fun, since I've never tried an archery-based character before.
However, a lot of the gear, tricks, classes, archetypes, and enchants useful to archers don't exist in Core. (Gravity Bow, Clustered Shots, adaptive and seeking enchants, weapon blanche, etc.)
I'm going back and forth between either playing a bard or a ranger, possibly going into Arcane Archer eventually.
I've got a PFS character that was intended to be a dex-based swashtigator, with a single level of Inspired Blade swashbucker before going Investigator up to 12. I haven't played him at level 2 yet, so I can still rebuild, and I'm thinking I might modify to fit my character concept.
This character is a tiefling (born back in 2014 when that was allowed without a special boon). He was brought up a slave, and forced to fight other slaves. Once he escaped, he put his very clever brain to work, but still has the skills he used to survive those pit fights.
The swashbuckler seems a bit too fancy for this, and a martial class with martial flexibility would be more in keeping with the character concept. I was thinking either brawler, eventually going for Snake Style, or Free-Style fighter with a reach weapon, probably a Lucerne Hammer.
Now, this character is meant to be tough but kind of scrawny, and focused on skills rather than strength, so I wouldn't want to go above 14 strength to start. I'm aware that's sub-optimal, but he's a 'fight smarter not harder' kind of guy.
Would you recommend brawler or free-style fighter for the level 1 dip? Any other tips? Thanks!
My Eldritch Knight has some questions about these two mythic path abilities.
Shapeshifting Mastery (Ex)
Your ability to magically adopt other forms is unparalleled, and you can expertly translate your arcane might into brawn. You add half your tier to the caster level of spells or extracts from the polymorph subschool. While under the effects of a spell or extract of the polymorph subschool, you can use your caster level instead of your base attack bonus when making natural attacks that rely on your new form.
My first question is if the 'caster level' is my base caster level, or the caster level for that particular spell (that was just boosted by the same ability).
My 2nd question is about how it interacts with this 3rd tier ability:
Many Forms (Su)
You can alter your appearance at will as if using alter self. You can expend one use of mythic power to change shape as if using polymorph, with a duration of 1 minute per tier. Your caster level for this ability is a number equal to 10 + your tier. At 6th tier, the duration of the polymorph ability increases to 10 minutes per tier.
Apparently this is a Su ability that acts 'as if' using alter self or polymorph. So would I be able to boost my BAB with natural attacks to my caster level while using it, or not? If so, would my caster level be the 10+tier specified in the text?
I was looking over the 'Martial Flexibility' ability that brawlers and a few other lucky people have. It seems like an amazing ability, but one that requires high systems-mastery to use to its fullest.
I thought it would be helpful to list some Combat Feats that have easy prerequisites and are situationally useful.
Here are a few of my ideas:
Blind-Fight
When blinded or in deeper darkness:
You are skilled at attacking opponents that you cannot clearly perceive.
Benefit: In melee, every time you miss because of concealment (see Combat), you can reroll your miss chance percentile roll one time to see if you actually hit.
An invisible attacker gets no advantages related to hitting you in melee. That is, you don't lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, and the attacker doesn't get the usual +2 bonus for being invisible. The invisible attacker's bonuses do still apply for ranged attacks, however.
You do not need to make Acrobatics skill checks to move at full speed while blinded.
Normal: Regular attack roll modifiers for invisible attackers trying to hit you apply, and you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC. The speed reduction for darkness and poor visibility also applies.
Special: The Blind-Fight feat is of no use against a character who is the subject of a blink spell.
Focused Discipline
When going up against mummies or other fear affects:
Familiarity with the military traditions of your homeland inspires uncommon valor in you.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on all saving throws against fear effects. Whenever a fear effect targets you and fails to affect you (either because of a successful saving throw or because of immunity to fear), you gain a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, and CMB checks against the creature that attempted to use the fear affect on you for 1 round.
Catch Off-Guard
When the bouncers or prison guards collected your weapons at the door:
Foes are surprised by your skilled use of unorthodox and improvised weapons.
Benefit: You do not suffer any penalties for using an improvised melee weapon. Unarmed opponents are flat-footed against any attacks you make with an improvised melee weapon.
Normal: You take a –4 penalty on attack rolls made with an improvised weapon.
Cleave
Against adjacent foes, with no iterative attacks:
You can strike two adjacent foes with a single swing.
Prerequisites: Str 13, Power Attack, base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: As a standard action, you can make a single attack at your full base attack bonus against a foe within reach. If you hit, you deal damage normally and can make an additional attack (using your full base attack bonus) against a foe that is adjacent to the first and also within reach. You can only make one additional attack per round with this feat. When you use this feat, you take a –2 penalty to your Armor Class until your next turn.
Point-Blank Shot
When you need to use your flask of acid on a swarm:
You are especially accurate when making ranged attacks against close targets.
Benefit: You get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet.
Desperate Battler
When you are the only melee in your party:
Benefit: When no ally is within 10 feet of you and you are not receiving benefits from the aid another action, you gain a +1 morale bonus on melee attack and damage rolls.
Exotic Weapon Proficiency
When you suddenly realize why the GM put a +4 harpoon of bane sea serpent in the treasure chest:
Choose one type of exotic weapon, such as the spiked chain or whip. You understand how to use that type of exotic weapon in combat, and can utilize any special tricks or qualities that exotic weapon might allow.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: You make attack rolls with the weapon normally.
Normal: A character who uses a weapon with which he is not proficient takes a –4 penalty on attack rolls.
Special: You can gain Exotic Weapon Proficiency multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new type of exotic weapon.
Enforcer
For when you need to take someone alive:
You are skilled at causing fear in those you brutalize.
Prerequisite: Intimidate 1 rank.
Benefit: Whenever you deal nonlethal damage with a melee weapon, you can make an Intimidate check to demoralize your target as a free action. If you are successful, the target is shaken for a number of rounds equal to the damage dealt. If your attack was a critical hit, your target is frightened for 1 round with a successful Intimidate check, as well as being shaken for a number of rounds equal to the damage dealt.
Sorcerous Strike
For Eldritch Scrappers!:
The power flowing through your veins also flows through your unarmed strike.
Prerequisite: Sorcerer bloodline class feature, Improved Unarmed Strike.
Benefit: When you gain this feat, you choose one bloodline power that you can use to affect a single opponent. If you make a successful unarmed strike against an opponent, in addition to dealing your unarmed strike damage, you can spend a swift action to deliver the effects of the chosen bloodline power to that opponent. Doing so provokes no attacks of opportunity.
Step Up
To harass enemy casters:
You can close the distance when a foe tries to move away.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: Whenever an adjacent foe attempts to take a 5-foot step away from you, you may also make a 5-foot step as an immediate action so long as you end up adjacent to the foe that triggered this ability. If you take this step, you cannot take a 5-foot step during your next turn. If you take an action to move during your next turn, subtract 5 feet from your total movement.
Throw Anything
When you've thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the enemy, and he's still up:
You are used to throwing things you have on hand.
Benefit: You do not suffer any penalties for using an improvised ranged weapon. You receive a +1 circumstance bonus on attack rolls made with thrown splash weapons.
Normal: You take a –4 penalty on attack rolls made with an improvised weapon.
Then there's all the Teamwork Feats, for when you are grouped with a cavalier, inquisitor, or hunter.
Outflank or Precise Strike
Flanking with TW feat holders:
You look for every edge when flanking an enemy.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +4.
Benefit: Whenever you and an ally who also has this feat are flanking the same creature, your flanking bonus on attack rolls increases to +4. In addition, whenever you score a critical hit against the flanked creature, it provokes an attack of opportunity from your ally.
Precise Strike (Combat, Teamwork)
You are skilled at striking where it counts, as long as an ally distracts your foe.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: Whenever you and an ally who also has this feat are flanking the same the creature, you deal an additional 1d6 points of precision damage with each successful melee attack. This bonus damage stacks with other sources of precision damage, such as sneak attack. This bonus damage is not multiplied on a critical hit.
Paired Opportunists
With TW feat holders who have reach or maneuver specialties:
You know how to make an enemy pay for lax defenses.
Benefit: Whenever you are adjacent to an ally who also has this feat, you receive a +4 circumstance bonus on attacks of opportunity against creatures that you both threaten. Enemies that provoke attacks of opportunity from your ally also provoke attacks of opportunity from you so long as you threaten them (even if the situation or an ability would normally deny you the attack of opportunity). This does not allow you to take more than one attack of opportunity against a creature for a given action.
I haven't even touched on the style feats yet! Any other suggesations?
Last week I had warpriest at my table using his fervor ability to cast silence on himself as a swift action during a harpy attack. I allowed it at the time, but I'm really not sure if this would work.
Silence:
SILENCE
School illusion (glamer); Level bard 2, cleric 2
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area 20-ft.-radius emanation centered on a creature, object, or point in space
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text or none (object); Spell Resistance: yes; see text or no (object)
Upon the casting of this spell, complete silence prevails in the affected area. All sound is stopped: Conversation is impossible, spells with verbal components cannot be cast, and no noise whatsoever issues from, enters, or passes through the area. The spell can be cast on a point in space, but the effect is stationary unless cast on a mobile object. The spell can be centered on a creature, and the effect then radiates from the creature and moves as it moves. An unwilling creature can attempt a Will save to negate the spell and can use spell resistance, if any. Items in a creature's possession or magic items that emit sound receive the benefits of saves and spell resistance, but unattended objects and points in space do not. Creatures in an area of a silence spell are immune to sonic or language-based attacks, spells, and effects.
The relevant part of the Fervor ability reads: As a swift action, a warpriest can expend one use of this ability to cast any one warpriest spell he has prepared. When cast in this way, the spell can target only the warpriest, even if it could normally affect other or multiple targets. Spells cast in this way ignore somatic components and do not provoke attacks of opportunity.
It seems like the warpriest SHOULD be able to use fervor to cast silence as a swift action, targetting himself, but I'm not sure if it would retain a 20' radius effect, or turn it into a 'deafen self' spell.
I'm GMing Merchant's Wake on August 14th, and I just realized that is the first day of season 6. I've read the new Season 6 Organized Play Guide, so I know people can all switch once for free, keeping all traits but losing faction-specific vanities, but I'm confused about how to run it as a GM.
Do I need to offer people the option for their free faction change, and then sign off on it? Can they (especially if this is the first they've heard of it) wait, and tell the GM next time they play?
What about the people in factions that are changing/disappearing? I suppose that's everyone who's not playing Grand Lodge or Silver Crusade. Are they REQUIRED to make a choice on the 14th?
And what about the Qadiran boon on the Chronicle sheet. Does it apply to old Qadirans, new Exchange members, both, or neither?
Truespeech apparently works like a permanent tongues spell.
Tongues:
This spell grants the creature touched the ability to speak and understand the language of any intelligent creature, whether it is a racial tongue or a regional dialect. The subject can speak only one language at a time, although it may be able to understand several languages. Tongues does not enable the subject to speak with creatures who don't speak. The subject can make itself understood as far as its voice carries. This spell does not predispose any creature addressed toward the subject in any way.
Would this allow someone with tongues or the Truespeech ability to understand intelligent animals and beasts such as familiars and wild-shaped druids? Or would that require 'Speak with animals', instead?
I was contemplating creating a halfling swashbuckler, a devout worshiper of Chaldira Zuzistan, who would take the Sentinel PrC. Now, the problem is that Chaldira (like Milani, Kurgess, and the other minor deities) has no Deific Obedience listed in Inner Sea Gods. In a home game, I'd just work out something reasonable with my GM. Is the prestige class off-limits to her in PFS?
What if I decide to make my character a war priest instead? Can I take blessings associated with Chaldira's published domains, even though Chaldira's not listed in the Blessings section of the ACG playtest document?
I'm interested in creating a magus who is a devotee of Sarenrae and focuses on debuffs rather than nova damage. She'll be taking the Evangelist prestige class at level 6.
I've read Frodo's Kensai guide, and am very interested in his 'Frostbite' build.
I'd like to use the 'Blade of Mercy' trait to do non-lethal damage, and then take the Enforcer feat to allow for free Intimidate checks to make enemies shaken. At higher level I'd be using a cruel scimitar to make them sickened as well, and Rimed Frostbites to make them fatigued and entangled.
Here are a few points I'd like advice on:
1) I've heard that Magical Lineage is spectacular for magi, and I can see why, but it seems like I'll be making a lot of concentration checks for defensive casting. Would Focused Mind be a good choice, instead?
2) I'm leaning towards kensai. The benefits are tasty, but I'm wondering, for people who have played both, whether it or a 'vanilla' magus would be a better choice for this build.
3) I'm considering dipping a level of Dawnflower Dervish, at first level. That would give me a free Dervish Dancer feat at level one, without the Weapon Finesse prerequisite. I'd also gain a bit of spell-casting ability and some more class abilities. The battle dance would be a nice bonus for a few rounds a day.
The disadvantage is that this will frop me two levels behind the BAB and spell progression curves of a full kensai.
Traits
Blade of Mercy (Faith)
Focused Mind (Magic) or Magical Lineage (Magic)
Anatomist(Combat)
Bruising Intellect (Social) or Maestro of the Society (Social)
I'm about to start a home-brew game. The GM is including Mythic content, apparently from quite early in the campaign. I've been reading up on the Mythic rule-set, but I don't have the rules mastery of it that I do for the regular PF rules, so I was hoping for some advice. I've read CTP's Guide to Mythic Adventures, which was very helpful, but I'd love to hear people's suggestions.
First, a little background. My character concept is a young human who is the descendant of a great but disgraced noble house of generals. I'll be playing a dual-cursed Oracle of Time, with the curses Haunted (progressing) and Legalistic (fixed). I am the only divine caster in a group that consists of an archer ranger, scout rogue, invulnerable rager guardian, marshal bard, and a highly optimized blaster wizard.
I'd like to focus on control and buffing, with some crafting capability. I plan on taking the Hierophant path: Inspired Spell, Divine Reach, Mythic Domain, Enduring Blessing, possibly Relentless Healing, Eldritch Breach, Enhance Magic Items, or Mighty Summons.
Any suggestions are welcome!
A few specific questions:
1) Does Inspired Spell make the human favored class bonus of additional spells known useless?
2) Would Ultimate Versatility allow me to take a whole other MYSTERY for a few minutes a day, with all the revelations and mystery bonus spells that go with it?
3) Would it be worth taking Dual Path at tier 1 to mix in some Marshal abilities? Advance and some of the abilities that grant rerolls seem very powerful, but maybe less necessary when I already have Misfortune and Fortune to play with.
4) I was considering Eldritch Heritage (arcane or imperious), especially since the Mythic Eldritch Heritage is early access and more powerful than Improved EH. But I wonder if the Mythic content would over-shadow the bloodline abilities (familiar and bonuses) so they aren't terribly useful.
I've just picked up this spell for my wizard. It's got some interesting and complicated effects, and I'm trying to puzzle through the implications.
AQUEOUS ORB:
School conjuration (creation) [water]; Level druid 3, sorcerer/wizard 3, summoner 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a drop of water and a glass bead)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect 10-ft.-diameter sphere
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Reflex negates; Spell Resistance no
You create a rolling sphere of churning water that can engulf those it strikes. The aqueous orb can move up to 30 feet per round, rolling over barriers less than 10 feet tall. It automatically quenches any nonmagical fires and functions as dispel magic against magical fires as long as those fires are size Large or less.
Any creature in the path of the aqueous orb takes 2d6 points of nonlethal damage. A successful Reflex save negates this damage, but a large or smaller creature that fails its save must make a second save or be engulfed by the aqueous orb and carried along with it. Engulfed creatures are immersed in water and must hold their breath unless capable of breathing water. They gain cover against attacks from outside the aqueous orb but are considered entangled by its churning currents, takes 2d6 points of nonlethal damage at the beginning of their turn each round they remain trapped. Creatures within the orb may attempt a new Reflex save each round to escape into a random square adjacent to the aqueous orb. The orb may hold one Large creature, 4 Medium, or 16 Small or smaller creatures within it.
The sphere moves as long as you actively direct it (a move action for you); otherwise, it merely stays at rest and churns in place. An aqueous orb stops if it moves outside the spell's range.
Here are my questions:
1) Can the Aqueous Orb do damage to a swarm, assuming the swarm isn't a type immune to non-lethal? Would it be considered AoE damage? Can it engulf a swarm? (Since Fire is my opposition school, I really need a swarm-killer.)
2) Creatures engulfed in the orb have cover against creatures outside. I am wondering if the orb itself, as a 10 foot diameter object, provides cover on the battlefield, as an obstacle between creatures outside the orb. So if, for example, if the orb is in between me and an archer, would I have a +4 bonus to my AC?
3) Does the orb block line of effect for spells, either for creatures inside or as an obstacle between creatures outside itself? So if, for example, I was in a 10 foot wide corridor, and dropped an Aqueous Orb in front of me, would I be unable to cast any spells at enemies down the corridor, since the orb is between us?
4) With 30' move, can I run an orb over someone, and then (assuming they don't get engulfed by it), turn the orb around and run it back over them again, in the same movement?
5) If the orb ends its move on top of a creature's square, and the creature makes it's first (or second) Reflex save, does it end up in an adjacent square? Do the creature pick or is it random?
6) If a caster is engulfed, they would have some nasty penalties to their concentration, assuming they have a non-verbal spell or SLA to attempt. The orb would apply entangle, violent motion, continuous damage, and possible also a non-damaging spell effect. Do those stack? Would the caster need to make each concentration check, one at a time, or just the one with the highest DC?
7)If someone goes unconscious from the non-lethal damage while inside the orb, I assume the drowning rules come into play. That's 2 rounds to death, if they fail the con check. Nasty! It's not an issue at level 5, but in higher level play, since the orb is not dismissable, if we wanted to keep a helpless enemy from drowning, would it be possible to pull them out, maybe with a Reposition combat maneuver?
I have a wizard who'll be playing 'The Library of the Lion' this weekend, and it occurred to me that this might be important for that scenario.
I have a bird familiar who has an int of 6, 1 rank in Linguistics, and can speak common. I don't think he can turn the pages for a book, but can he fly around and read the spines, either to find a particular resource with Perception checks or Aid Another in some way?
I'm leveling up a utility wizard for PFS play. I've seen people, in guides or threads, claim that the feats below are wonderful, while others say they are useless. I'd love to hear some reasons why people think what they think!
Fast Study - I can imagine walking into a Society briefing completely spell-less and taking 15 minutes after the introductions and briefing to learn all but one spell per level could be handy, and then I can refill that one per level any time I want, out of combat in just a minute. Need Air Bubble for that underwater salvage mission? No problem! Then again, my party might happily let me sit there for 1 hour to learn all my spells, and 15 minutes to fill in the one or two. How much of a difference does it make, in your opinion?
What about False Focus? It seems like an Eschew Materials feat with a tasty added bonus. No spell component pouch? Spend a few minutes and a Craft check to carve or draw myself a holy symbol, and I'm set. Or *coughs* I could get a holy symbol tattoo. Would I even need it somewhere public? It's not like you need to present your dragon scales and ground mica to the enemy. There aren't that many material components under 100g in the spell list, but free alchemical power material components could be a nice bonus. My wizard is a devout Pharasman, so it would even be in character.
I'll be GMing a PFS game in 9 hours or so, and it looks like we will only have 3 players, playing the 3-4 tier in a 3-7 game. So I'll need to play a pre-gen to bring them up to a regulation table.
Now I KNOW I've seen level 4 pre-gens before being used in play, but when I looked them up here on the Paizo site, I can only find level 1, 7, and 12 iconics. Am I missing something obvious? It seems ridiculous to bring a level 7 pre-gen into that game.
My Archaeologist Bard has hit 12 and can now take an advanced rogue talent, woo-hoo! I've built her to be a skills and knowledge monkey, with solid face skills and decent in-combat utility. I'll be going through the Eyes of the Ten with this character, and I want to make sure she really has all her bases covered.
Now, I can already take 10 on Knowledges and Disable Device. GMs always seem to allow me to take 10 on Perception, and with Heroism, my base is 31, so I'm not going to worry about that.
The Advanced Rogue Talent Skills Mastery, with an Int of 16, will let me take 10 on 6 other skills, even if stress and distractions would normally prevent it.
This is the list of skills I am currently thinking of for taking 10.
1) UMD
2) Spellcraft
3) Linguistics
4) Acrobatics
5) Escape Artist
6) Diplomacy? Swim? Stealth? (I hardly ever stealth)
Any suggestions for which skills would be most useful?
One of my characters is looking into getting an Improved Familiar that has some nice SLAs. They have set CL in the stat block for the familiar.
The rules for familiars say 'Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.'
As you level up, would your improved familiar's changing HD affect the caster level of their SLAs? Or do they stay the same over time?
It looks like my animal companion and I will be going into a performance combat situation. Nos morituri te salutamus!
So, I was wondering if it would be possible for my 3 int companion to make performance combat checks, perhaps by roaring after impressive moves, when I ordered him to do so? If so, what would that require?
A specific trained trick, like I use for combat maneuvers?
1 or more ranks in Perform?
Something else, in place of or in addition to the above?
I'm having a great time with my archaeologist bard in PFS. She's just hit level 4, and can take her first Rogue Trick.
Now, this character views herself as a rogue who happens to know a lot of stuff, and doesn't sneak attack. She is a skill monkey who took Weapon Finesse and the Dervish Dance feat to do some decent damage in combat, and likes to use skills, smart tactics and positioning, and the occasional immediate spell to help out her party survive.
I'm wondering what to take for her first rogue trick. Here are the options I've been considering:
1) I could go for Weapon Training (scimitar) or a Combat Trick like Combat Reflexes or Dodge, which would be solid choices but not terribly exciting.
2) Trap-spotting is definitely in her wheel-house, but since my partner and I generally move through dungeons at half-speed, using detect magic, detect evil, and taking 10 with my Perception for traps, it might not make much of a difference.
3) Resiliency is a once a day boost of level # of temp hp in case I go negative. There seems to be a lot of variation in whether people think that is amazing or useless. It's certainly a unique ability, though!
4) Or for something completely different, there's the Ninja Trick 'Wall Climber.' Now, as a friend of a paladin in full armor, a grappling hook and knotted rope is her best friend. But I'm wondering what clever uses she could make of a 20' climb speed, in or out of combat.
Thoughts? Opinions? Am I missing any tricks that would be fantastic for her?
I'm working on a human Deaf Wood Oracle for PFS play. My goal is for him to be competent in melee with a quarterstaff, in addition to being able to buff himself and the rest of the party. He would get a scaling bonus to hit from Wood Bond, and by using shillelagh he would get damage boosts to both ends of the quarter staff. I'd like him to use both ends when he can get in a full attack, so I'll need some TWF feats.
I'm aware this isn't optimal for a battle oracle or for a melee character in general, but I want to try to make it work.
Now, from his back story, he would have started off at level 1 in a forest village or tribe, as a simple fighter-type character. Fighter, ranger, or barbarian would work. I would love your advice on which of these would be most useful for that single, level 1 dip before he becomes an oracle at level 2. Are there any archetypes that would be particularly good?
I've looked over the TWF feat tree. Aside from TWF and ImpTWF, the rest seems unnecessary or inapplicable for a 3/4 BAB PFS character, but please let me know if there is anything vital that I'm missing.
An odd situation has come up around Animal Companions, and I was wondering if you all could tell me if my reading of the rules is correct for PFS play.
I'm playing a sylvan sorcerer with a Handle Animal of +9, +13 for my AC. (Currently. I will keep pumping it higher until I can reliably make in-combat Pushes. My badger is remarkably stubborn in combat, especially while raging.) I always play with my partner, Saro the ranger. When she hits level 4, and gets an AC of her own, she will be worse at handling it than I will. (Yes, she dumped Charisma.) I realize that in PFS the AC will automatically appear with max tricks and bonus tricks learned, but that's just the basics. My questions are:
1) Can I use my Handle Animal roll to train her AC in new tricks for her, between scenarios? That way, when Spot gets that extra point of Int, and can learn more tricks, I can train him in one trick after each scenario. Otherwise, it could take forever for Spot to learn to Track or Flank. Also, if Spot ever falls in battle and needs to be replaced by Spot II, (with ONLY bonus tricks pre-trained) it would be a huge time-saver.
2) If so, can I train Spot to Serve her own ranger buddy, so that Saro the ranger can use MY Handle Animal bonuses to command her own AC?
Serve (DC 15): An animal with this trick willingly takes orders from a creature you designate. If the creature you tell the animal to serve knows what tricks the animal has, it can instruct the animal to perform these tricks using your Handle Animal bonus on the check instead of its own. The animal treats the designated ally as friendly.
I'm sure this would only work while I was at the same table, but we always play together,and it would be both practical and hilarious for RP reasons. ("Attack, Spot!" cries the ranger. *Spot checks with the sorcerer, who gives him a thumbs-up*)
I've read and loved Bodhi's Guide to the Inquisitor, but I have a few questions about Feats and Traits.
My priorities are:
1) Have a character concept that will be fun to play and role-play.
2) Survive in PFS play.
3) Be flexible enough to help random, odd-ball groups complete their missions and faction missions. (This includes 'Face' skills.)
4) Do decent damage.
I've decided on a tiefling inquisitor, and want to try out both a ranged and melee build at level 1 to decide which one I enjoy more. I'll be using Conversion Inquisition, so I can dump Charisma (very appropriate for a tiefling) and still be strong in Diplomacy, Bluff, and Intimidate. I was tempted by the Travel and Liberation domains, but I think this fits my character better.
For the ranged build, an asura-spawn preacher inquisitor of Calistria. (Str12, Dex18, Con14, Int10, Wis16, Cha7) Point Blank shot is the obvious level 1 feat choice. I'm wondering about the traits, though. As a racial alternative, I'm grabbing 'Maw and Claw' so I have a natural melee attack and can automatically threaten squares next to me. I could take Scaled Skin and trade in 5 DR for cold and electricity for +1 natural armor. Is this a bad idea?
I could use a trait to gain a class skill. Both PFS games I've tried lacked a rogue, and one of the faction missions was impossible without Disable Device. The 'Vagabond Child' trait would let me open locks and disable simple traps, and use my 18 dex as a bonus. I do realize I wouldn't be able to disable magic traps, though, so it may not be worthwhile at high-level.
Since this char will be Andoran, I could take Hunter's Eye. Inquisitors already have proficiency with the longbow, but it would remove the penalty for the 2nd range increment. Useless in dungeons, but very handy outdoors, I imagine. How much does that tend to come into play in PFS?
Improving saves for will, reflex, and fort saves would all be solid choices, I think. Armor Expert for the -1 ACP also looks good. Reactionary seems a bit over-rated, since I'll already be boosting my init roll with dex+wis = +7. Advice?
My melee build is a glaive-wielding hell-spawn inquisitor of Shelyn. (Str16, Dex12, Con14, Int10, Wis17, Cha7) The reach weapon is intriguing, although I wonder if I need Combat Reflexes and a >12 dex to truly make use of its potential. This char is also taking Maw for the natural close-in attack. I'm considering Heretic, which fits with the character concept, but I'm thinking I'd miss Monster Lore quite a bit. I mean, how can you tell what Bane to use at level 5 if you can't ID the monster? Plus, there is no telling if there will be anyone else at the table with decent Knowledge skills in PFS play.
This character might grab a trait to give Knowledge(local) as a class skill. Inexplicably it's been left off the Inquisitor class list. Does anyone know if I can use Monster Lore to boost my Knowledge (local) for humanoid knowledge checks?
I'm stumped on Feats, though. Power Attack and the other juicy combat feats all seem to require BAB +1; they are out of reach until level 3. So I'd like to use my first feat for a defensive bonus. I can choose between Armor of the Pit for a +2 natural armor bonus, Dodge for +1 dodge (which could open up good feats later), or Toughness for more hp. Which one has the best pay-off, both at low-levels and over all 12 levels? Or is there another fantastic BAB +0 feat I'm missing?
Also, I'm wondering if medium armor is worth wearing at low level. The speed decrease to 20' is serious, you can't sleep in it, and the ACP would affect my already low-bonus acrobatics skill to move through threatened squares to flank.
I appreciate any advice or suggestions you might have!
Brand-new to PFS, and my searches keep turning up contradictory answers to this, so my apologies if it is obvious.
My animal companion is listed as having one bite and two claw attacks for a full attack. The claws are not listed as secondary attacks, but can't be used in a standard attack. (The horse seems to be the only companion with listed secondary attacks, for its hooves.)
Are the claws -5 to hit during a full-attack? This would be ameliorated by the level 9 animal companion bonus feat, Multiattack. Or do they have a normal chance to hit?
Thank you for the help!
Race
Male CN Human Wizard 1 | HP -13/7(NL:7) | AC:12 (Touch:12, Flat:10) | CMB 0, CMD 12 | F+1, R+2, W+3 | Init+2 | Perc+6 | Speed: 30 | Active Conditions: dead
Classes/Levels
Ammo & Spells:
Spells: level 1 Burning Hands, Mage Armor | Bolts: 19 | Hand of the Apprentice: 7/7 | Acid Flask: 2 | Holy Water: 1
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OFFENSE
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Feats: Point-Blank Shot (Combat), Precise Shot (Combat)
Melee: Quarterstaff (1d6/×2) or
. . Dagger (1d4/19-20x2)
Ranged: Light Crossbow (80ft) (+2atk | 1d8/19-20x2) or
. . Ray (+2atk)
Space: 5 ft., Reach: 5 ft.
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STATISTICS
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Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 12
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TRAITS
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Observant: It helps to pay attention to your surroundings and the people you meet. Choose either Perception or Sense Motive. You gain a +1 trait bonus on all checks with the chosen skill, and the chosen skill is a class skill for you.
Greater Adept of the Society - Months of meditation and practice with the greatest spellcasters of the Society have given you an increased capacity for arcane knowledge. You gain one additional 0-level spell slot.
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FEATS
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Spell Focus(Evocation): Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against spells from the school of magic you select.
Point-Blank Shot (Combat): You get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet.
Precise Shot (Combat): You can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on your attack roll.
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SPELLS
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0 – DC 14 (Unlimited)
Mage Hand
Disrupt Undead
Acid Splash
Detect Magic
Divination
Comprehend Languages
Identify
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Enchantment
Sleep
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Evocation
Burning Hands
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Transmutation
Erase
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LANGUAGES
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Common, Draconic, Elven, Varisian, Tien
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Hand of the Apprentice(Su): You cause your melee weapon to fly from your grasp and strike a foe before instantly returning to you. As a standard action, you can make a single attack using a melee weapon at a range of 30 feet. This attack is treated as a ranged attack with a thrown weapon, except that you add your Intelligence modifier on the attack roll instead of your Dexterity modifier (damage still relies on Strength). This ability cannot be used to perform a combat maneuver. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
Wayfinder: A small magical device patterned off ancient relics of a long lost civilization, a wayfinder is typically made from silver and bears gold accents. With a command word, you can use a wayfinder to shine (as the light spell). The wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders include a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. An ioun stone slotted in this manner grants you its normal benefits (as if it were orbiting your head), but frequently reveals entirely new powers due to the magic of the wayfinder itself.
Local boy who has been working for a local bookseller. Learned calligraphy, bookbinding, and book repair. The store owner was a Pathfinder wizard and learned some spell casting from him. Most of the cantrips were to help clean up the shop while I scribed books. Eventually got bored with writing down other's adventures and wanted to try it out for myself.
Appearance:
Medium build, wool traveler's outfit, long dark brown hair with some slivers of gray showing, top of hair is pulled back while the back is loose.
