Solutions for a one armed man!


Advice

Sovereign Court

So in our most recent game my character had his arm cut off (our game has rules for limb loss) by the Lopper from the Carrion Crown AP. My character is a gnome prankster bard so luckily he isn't actually that limited by having lost the arm I can still do magic, bardic music (oratory), and fight with a one handed weapon. The thing is I'm trying to think of various Pathfinder solutions to either regrow or replace the arm.

There's the obvious of sidequest to find a high level druid to cast regeneration, but I'm curious to think of all possible solutions my character might try.

Like what about clockwork or magitech limbs? are those things that could be found and where, (Like would I be able to seek solutions in Numeria or the mana wastes?)

Are there any already existing options from any paizo material?

What about researching a phantom limb spell and making it permanent?

Just putting this up for discussion and seeing what comes up.

I do want to eventually regrow or replace the arm because my character was using a human sized earthbreaker that he is really attached to. (for now he is just using a magic mace that they got in the dungeon and taking the size penalty for it).

What would be the easiest and most plausible? Isn't there a place where I can get a golem arm? etc.


in ultimate magic there are variant traits that golems can take. One option for example is that you can give the adamantine snake the trait where it "shapeshifts" into an arm and attaches itselfs to it's masters severed arm giving him a +1 shield bonus, full use of the arm as if it were his natural arm, and the natural bite attack from the snake that is now your hand allowing your hand to bite your foes and transfer any poisons that may be in the fangs. Also for a little extra cash the wizard that made it for you can also put other little goodies in there. For example your hand could pop open and you shoot a lightning bolt out of it once a day etc...

the possibilities are endless but all the rules to make this happen are in Ultimate Magic


lastknightleft wrote:
(Like would I be able to seek solutions in Numeria or the mana wastes?)

It's been a while since I read it, but the entry on Nex had a couple of things that might work for you. There is some kind of golemworks or mutation factory there.


If no druid is available, find a necromancer or a diabolist. How much is the playing willing to debase himself?


The Scizore (sp?) is a one-handed weapon designed for a stump. It has good damage, 1d8 for a small creature I think, and a good threat range (or multipier).

Grand Lodge

Nab yourself an awesome Demon arm.


blackbloodtroll wrote:
Nab yourself an awesome Demon arm.

That is awesome.

But 20000 gp's not gonna be on the menu for a while since he's like level 3 or 4 at most.

There's these Third Party prosthetics as well.

There's a Clockwork Arm for 500 gp in there that works as a normal arm and grants a +2 Str bonus.

Any GM in his right mind would probably drop the Str bonus or raise the price, but asking him if you could have something similar couldn't hurt.

Grand Lodge

The Skull and Shackles AP has rules for prosthetic arms.


Off the top of my head, Weapon Finesse is for characters who don't use a shield in their off-hand, so your character is not that inconvenienced compared to some others; Dervish Dance requires a free hand; the Duelist prestige class operates with a free hand.

Barring that, yes, Skull & Shackles probably has the cheapest replacement (prosthetics), and on the higher end of the scale is a casting of regeneration. The question is, what are you looking for? Are you trying to find a decent crutch, a just-as-good replacement, or a fix for your condition?


Casual racism alert!

You're a gnome.

Take Craft: clockwork device.

Build clockwork arm. :)

Sovereign Court

To respond, yes I am currently a third level gnome,and as far as what I'm looking for, to answer that I'd have to know myself. I think the snake arm thing sounds awesome, and a clockwork arm is also awesome.

What I'm really looking for is to know what would be the most obvious/easiest answers.

For example which would be the easiest to acquire in Ustalav, what would be cheapest. While I can probably pick any option to settle on what I want. I would like to be able to presesnt my DM with options and let him decide what is available/possible for my character.

Thus getting my heart set on one option isn't really my intent here, more trying to put together a buffet of ideas.

Sovereign Court

Dwarfakin wrote:

in ultimate magic there are variant traits that golems can take. One option for example is that you can give the adamantine snake the trait where it "shapeshifts" into an arm and attaches itselfs to it's masters severed arm giving him a +1 shield bonus, full use of the arm as if it were his natural arm, and the natural bite attack from the snake that is now your hand allowing your hand to bite your foes and transfer any poisons that may be in the fangs. Also for a little extra cash the wizard that made it for you can also put other little goodies in there. For example your hand could pop open and you shoot a lightning bolt out of it once a day etc...

the possibilities are endless but all the rules to make this happen are in Ultimate Magic

Where in that book?

Sovereign Court

blackbloodtroll wrote:
The Skull and Shackles AP has rules for prosthetic arms.

Which issue of the AP?

Sovereign Court

Just make sure the GM doesn't send Harrison Ford after him.

Sczarni

How much of your arm is missing? There's the hook hand, which straps to your hand, but if the whole arm is gone then the snake is probably your best bet.

You can also load potions into the snake's "venom tank" and inject them into people, IIRC. Then you can cast Cure Light Wounds on our allies, by biting them with your snake-arm!


Two levels of Alchemist will get you a bonus limb as a discovery.

Sovereign Court

lost the right arm at the shoulder, so simple things like hook hands and non magic prosthesis are out, it would have to be something that can be attached to the shoulder and function partially/fully with some kind of mind control. Honestly if rules for clockwork limbs are out there that would be awesome.

And from what I'm reading the snake limb wouldn't work, it's designed to be worn over an arm, like armor plating, not to replace a missing limb.


Alex Cunningham wrote:
Two levels of Alchemist will get you a bonus limb as a discovery.

I think that would be more like "replacement limb", but the point still applies.

The easiest answer would probably be go with Alchemist and grow an arm back. If your GM allows third party content, the prosthetic magic items from 4 Winds is a great alternative. Lots of fun stuff there.


They have a encounter for a THIRD level group where you can get a arm cut off?!?

Or was your DM using some weird Crit tables or something?


DrDeth wrote:

They have a encounter for a THIRD level group where you can get a arm cut off?!?

Or was your DM using some weird Crit tables or something?

sounds like to me they're playing with a flavoring of homebrew for added realism. i dont know of any third level encounters that can result in loss of limb.

Liberty's Edge

The Lopper was a dangerous encounter, when I ran it he took the head off the party Bard with one blow. Think he went for lopping off heads as a preference.

Crit with an axe using power attack, triple damage hurts at 2-3rd level.

You are in Ustalav … I would suggest Zombie arm.

A skeletal replacement would not be unusual either; possibly made of brass with grafted on muscles whirling gears and sprockets for flavor. Make it into a novelty instrument so it makes music as it moves. Would cause issues for stealthy characters but would fit the Gnome Bard idea. (Depends on your Gnome Bard I guess)

Would require craft clockwork device as previously stated. Eventually you could get to the standards of Kroenen from Hellboy as you replace different parts of your body with clockwork replacements.

Quite fitting with the spirit of the Carrion Crown AP I feel 

Sic


Again, how in normal Pathfinder (at this level) does anyone lose a head or an arm? Sure, a X3 crit will kill a PC.

The problem is, now his PC is seriously nerfed at a level where there is no reasonable solution.

I’d say retire the PC.


DrDeth wrote:

Again, how in normal Pathfinder (at this level) does anyone lose a head or an arm? Sure, a X3 crit will kill a PC.

The problem is, now his PC is seriously nerfed at a level where there is no reasonable solution.

I’d say retire the PC.

recall what he said earlier

"My character is a gnome prankster bard so luckily he isn't actually that limited by having lost the arm I can still do magic, bardic music (oratory), and fight with a one handed weapon."

so hes really not been nerfed that heavily, and it sounds like hes willing to wait long enough into the campaign to have the money for a reasonable replacement, even going so far as to do a sidequest for a high level druid or research and have a spell made permanant. i think retireing the PC is unnecessary.


Except that losing arms is not part of Pathfinder. Nor would I want to spend a large % of my WBL to “fix’ something that shouldn’t have been there anyway.


Alter Self is a 2nd level spell a Bard can get at level 4. You can use that to take the shape of a humanoid with two arms until you can find something more permanent.


If you get any form of regeneration you'd be good to go. A cracked pearly white spindle ioun stone would have helped if you had one when it happened, but it's a little late for that. Aside from a cleric/druid casting regenerate, or a wizard/sorc casting giant form on you I can't think of any ways to get regeneration that will work on your arm.

Sovereign Court

DrDeth wrote:

They have a encounter for a THIRD level group where you can get a arm cut off?!?

Or was your DM using some weird Crit tables or something?

Our group has a houserule, a nat 20 followed by a nat 20, followed by a confirmation is limb cut off. Three nat 20s in a row is an instant kill.

Sovereign Court

DrDeth wrote:
Except that losing arms is not part of Pathfinder. Nor would I want to spend a large % of my WBL to “fix’ something that shouldn’t have been there anyway.

Well luckily for you you're not playing in my group. We love the rule and feel it adds to the game and the fun and provides for character development and awesome "one time I cut off this guys foot in combat" stories, so we will keep it, and I'm more than willing to adjust to the change.

Sovereign Court

Soul wrote:
DrDeth wrote:

Again, how in normal Pathfinder (at this level) does anyone lose a head or an arm? Sure, a X3 crit will kill a PC.

The problem is, now his PC is seriously nerfed at a level where there is no reasonable solution.

I’d say retire the PC.

recall what he said earlier

"My character is a gnome prankster bard so luckily he isn't actually that limited by having lost the arm I can still do magic, bardic music (oratory), and fight with a one handed weapon."

so hes really not been nerfed that heavily, and it sounds like hes willing to wait long enough into the campaign to have the money for a reasonable replacement, even going so far as to do a sidequest for a high level druid or research and have a spell made permanant. i think retireing the PC is unnecessary.

+1

Neither I nor my DM really want this character to retire as he's been a lot of fun. It is an option, but it's sorta an I'm out of ideas and nothing else has worked last resort, not something either of us is particularly keen on.

Sovereign Court

so that's it, I thought there'd be a lot more stuff/ideas.


Multiclass into alchemist and just grow a new one.

also alter self does the job.

Cheapest solution is a scroll of regenerate.

Grand Lodge

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Greater Hat of Disguise.


DrDeth wrote:
Except that losing arms is not part of Pathfinder. Nor would I want to spend a large % of my WBL to “fix’ something that shouldn’t have been there anyway.

Depends on what you're playing. The Skull and Shackles Player's Guide has a "Massive Damage" option that can result in the loss of various body bits up to and including the loss of a limb, and S&S is certainly Pathfinder.

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