the_savage_king's page

Excellent. Nice to get a response right from the source. One of the reasons I love your guys products at Dreamscarred so much.

And I have to agree, healing as an action does suck. I'm loving the Vitalist for just that reason, and even better with the awesome archtypes that are available. With the plethora of actions available to the Vitalist and the varying abilities of the archtypes, it is the ONLY "healing" class that I have every really enjoyed playing. Just nice to know that I can pull out all the stops and heal the players well too if it comes down to it.

Thanks for the responce Jeremy.

Cheers

So after playing this character for a few sessions now, i have a few questions for some of you others that may have ran a Vitalist before.

I seem to be a VERY effective healer and want to make sure that I am not doing something wrong. This is without using the Mender Method and just seemed very high for the level.

Combat goes like this. Cast Hustle, gaining an extra move action. Unwilling Participant as a move action by spending my focus, then using my second move action to regain focus. Standard action casting Mend Body, spending my focus to roll 6d6 healing. This is empowered due to damaging one of my party for my level in damage, typically the unwilling participant. As I am now level 7, the average healing is 21 empowered to 31 given to 3 players, making for a total of 93 healing over the whole collective. This will only get higher as we progress in levels and seems a little high. All this for 12 points out of my pool of 67 power points.

Am I doing something wrong, or are Vitalist really that effective a healer?

So far really enjoying the class. The archetypes add a whole new twist on the vitalist and my not be optimal, but gives great flavor and rp potential. Still haven't really figured out how to maximize my healing with the archetypes I'm using and being a soul thief vitalist and all, but I'm sure there are ways.

And I second a book of archetypes only. Delicious, delicious archetypes.........

My group has been playing Way of the Wicked (awesome AP btw) for a few weeks now and our player who was in charge of healing dropped from game. I have been chomping at the bit at the opportunity to play a psionic class and was given the go ahead to play a Vitalist. Given the nature of the AP, I have decided to go with the soultheif method with both the lifeleach and sadist archtypes.

I have read the guides that are out there and looked around at other posts, but am not really finding the info that I was looking for. More to the point, I'm not really sure what Feats and Powers really complement this play style. Ive never been big on only healing, so this type of character really appealed to me.

Here is what I have so far.

Level 5
Human (25pt buy)

Str:8
Dex:13
Con:16
Int:11
Wis:21 (+2racial and +1 lvl4)
Cha:7

Feats:
Psicrystal Affinity (1st)
Psionic Body (human)
Unwilling Participant (bonus)
Improved Psicrystal (3rd)
Psionic Meditation (5th)

Any ideas of a combat rotation would be helpful too.

While I love all the artwork for this module, there is one piece I really wish had been included. That would be an illustration of what the Striding Fortress looks like from the outside. There is a brief description of it on page 26, and of course the maps themselves, but it’s such a quirky structure that it would be immensely helpful to have a picture of what it looks like as a whole.

So I’m wondering if there might be sketch laying around the Paizo offices that could be posted, or if anyone in the community has attempted to illustrate the fortress?

Knowing my players, they are going to want to thoroughly scout around the outside of the structure before going in. I’m sure they’ll want to look through the windows to see what’s inside – I’ve already decided the glass will be virtually unbreakable (good old glassteel, how I miss that spell). Having a picture to show them would help so much with their immersion.

I was a little annoyed that there was no picture of the striding fortress as well. A very powerful image that would have added a lot for my players. The best illustration that I found was actually in the Harrowing Cards that support the module. While by no means at the same level of artwork that the rest of the module shows, it was something none the less and satisfied my players as to what they were actually looking at.

Hope that helps.

I have not had the chance to run it myself, but Maure Castle looks brutal. Made for 3.5 tho and for 12th lvl characters. But some of the stuff in there....nasty.

Thanks all for the input. Never been big on combat manuvers, but I'll look into it, most pointedly, the improved grapple line. Just seems a bit feat intensive in a already intensive build.

Any more ideas or suggestions, Im all ears. Buff and spell selection idea are more than welcome.

I suppose that my title was a bit misleading in stating that I think high level druids suck. Far from it. I should have been more specific and said that I belive that the forms they can choose from at higher levels dont compare to what melee classes offer. Never have I thought that the class itself sucked. My appoligies. And even the idea that all their forms suck has been cleared up for me.

That being said, thanks all for the insight. We play a higher point buy because that just what seems to work for our group and have the most fun with. In all fairness, our DM will beef up encounters too. Keeps it interesting.

As far as teamwork feats go, our group has used a few in the past, so Im open to ideas. What good ones are out there for the melee minded?

So what kinda feat progression should I be looking at? I was thinking something along these lines.

1st-Toughness
3rd-Power Attack
5th-Natural Spell
7th-Planar Wildshape
9th-Cleave
9th-Vital Strike*
11th-Improved Unarmed Strike
13th-Improved Grapple
13th-Improved Overrun*
15th-Improved Vital Strike
17th-Greater Grapple
17th-Nimble Moves*
19th-Greater Overrun

*Bonus Feats via Archtype

Any suggestions?

My group is going to be starting Jade Regent soon and I was looking at playing a Saurian Shaman for the up coming game. But the more that I look at it, it seems that as soon as about 10th lvl hits, my damage will vastly reduce. That is going to be a problem, as of right now, I am playing the front line fighter type.

In all fairness, we are going to be using a 25pt buy and was looking at stats somthing like this :

Half-Orc 25pt buy
Str 19 (13)+2 racial
Dex 12 (2)
Con 14 (5)
Int 10 (0)
Wis 14 (5)
Cha 10 (0)

Being a Saurian Shaman, I'll be wildshaping mostly into Dino's. Their damage seems good, but the 1 attack most have seems rather disapointing. Does anyone have a positive experience with the higher levels of play with a wildshaped focused druid? If so I would love to hear it, cause it seems rather lack luster the more I look it over...

Title really says it all. I'm looking to start a saurian shaman and was fairly disappointed that the T-Rex seemed outta reach to wild shape into. Am i missing something, or is there some rule that I may be missing?

@ Mike

Good advise all around. Definitly looking at adjusting the stats around a bit and going with a more ranged aspect. Not what i was thinking originaly, but the more i think on it, the more i like the idea. Still thinking of keeping the scythe as the back-up and not completly sold on the barbarian levels, but food for thought none the less.

Also a question on the Knight of Scepulcher. Being a dhampir, it seems like a good part of the class features are already being covered by my racials. Any thoughts as to if the remaining features out do the exsisting ones with the base anti-paladin class? Seems like loosing out on the weapon boon is pretty rough to me..

In the upcoming months, my group is starting an evil campaign. I decided to play and dhampir anti-paladin of Urgathoa and was looking for some build advise. We are using 25pt buy and are starting at lvl 3. We are also not really using alignments or detect type magic for more of a role-playing aspect. Here are my stats.

Str 15 Dex 10 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 8 Cha 18 (racials bonus's are figured in)

Now, I realize that this is not an optimal stat distribution, but I really didn't want to dump my Int into the sea. As this is more a less an evil vs evil type campaign, smite good has been re-worked to be more like the guide rangers archetypes focus favored enemy.

I plan on using a scythe, mostly for flavor as I think that it fits the character idea perfectly. Also, taking any of the sickness related cruelties as I advance. The majority of the campaign will be taking place in Kaer Maga, so that might play a bit on what skill and feats I take.

As I am the brawn of the party, any ideas on possible feats and skills that I shouldn't pass up? Also, at 5th lvl, should i take the weapon boon or the fiendish servant?

The rest of the party is a wizard (conjuror), cleric of Asmodeus, and rogue / assassin.

I belive that it will be an evil vs evil campaing, and its somthing that I have not considered. Not sure if its going to be a deal breaker for me or not, but if my smite good will go to waste, i might have a talk with the Dm and see if he will work with me as far as changing some of the effects to work against those who possible oppose my gods goals or somthing to that effect. Any ideas as to possible fixes with evil vs evil, or just look to change classes?

What are the true dump stats for anti-paladns anyway? Seems like int and wis are both low on the totem pole, or is there somthing Im missing?

My friends and I are going to start an evil game here in the near future, and the first thing that came to me was to play a dhampir anti-paladin. Sounds amazing, right? Anyway, we will probably be using a 25pt buy for stats and I was hoping to get some incite from others who might have played or at least ran a anti-paladin villian in their games to see what others have done.

Any thoughts?