7charlottee5823yr6's page

Through another thread, we have discussed much on what is power in pf2e, what is relevant, and which class is best at what.

Through that, I've devised a system of weighted ranking that I believe could be helpful to new players that are looking for an answer for the eternal ''which class to play'' question.

This guide has two goals

1 - To accurately represent the ability of each class to affect meaningful change to multiple areas of the narrative at broad, through only their core class kit, discounting archetypes, skill feats, general feats, items and ancestries as non-pertinent to the matter.

2 - In a broader sense, to accurately determine how these classes intermesh with each other in a party, so as to determine where a party, based on only their classes, might be weak or strong, and thus tailor further build options around that, if so desired.

To reach those objectives, I've devised a ranking system that will give a brief ranking to each class on scales described bellow. I will then aggregate those points for each class, but this is in no means a reflection of their power, merely of how varied and versatile a class can be. Every class performs differently based on campaign and classes that are weak in downtime could perform very well in a short timeline campaign, but less well in a multi-years campaign (such as AoA or SoT)

The rating system takes the class as a whole from level 1 to level 20.

The rating system is based on:

15 points for the combat rating:
Damage: 6 points
Survivability: 3 points
Healing: 3 points
Control 3 points

10 Points for the out-of-combat rating system
Exploration: 5 points
Downtime: 5 points

These premises stipulate a ratio of roughly 60% combat to 40% exploration in most campaigns.

These premises stipulate that damage is double the value of any other aspect of combat.

Overall I believe this to be a fairly reasonable rating system, not perfect, but not irrelevant as well.

I will post the rankings on this google doc, so I can keep it up to date as new classes come out

This calculator will enable people to come in and automatically get the stats for their party, to see where their party might be weak

With the new class coming out, I find myself looking back over my currently running games and thinking to myself "wouldn't this character be better as a psychic instead of an occult with?"

The three characters I have in mind are:

Occult patron tengu who's a paranormal detective in a legend of the 5 rings style game.

Haughty elf witch who's known as a darkmaster to her elf peers, currently a curse elf witch.

Upcoming night curse fetching shadow caster witch, but the player is considering not playing witch cause psychic is so interesting.

So in all of these cases the answer is that I do want to play the psychic for that character role more than the witch. I did not necessarily want a familiar with all of these and it's not like familiars are unique to the witch class anyways (fetchling shadow caster build wanted a shadow familiar but shadow caster provides it...)

And outside of the familiar the witch class provides.... Very little.

Aside from that it was very synergistic with its INT key ability and occultism synergy but now... Well two of the subconscious minds have int as key ability, and psychic casts occultism and has better skill synergy with occultism through class abilities.

So I'd say that the occult witch has very much been made irrelevant by the psychic, who delivers a weird, dark take on occult casting and reliable, repeatable powers and focus point usage that the witch just fails at delivering.

Which leaves the witch with 3 more familiar powers. Don't get me wrong, I like familiars...but they don't make a class by themselves.

Also 1 spell slot more per level, which isn't that bad since you can use class feats as a psychic to even out, and the class feats are overall better too, giving you near spell abilities.

Share your thoughts.

Greetings,

I have a bit of an interrogation about the forbidden thought cantrip:

You place a psychic lock in a foe's mind that prevents it from a specific action. Choose “Strike,” “Stride,” “Cast a Spell,” or a specific action you know the creature to have (such as “Breath Weapon” against a dragon). If the creature attempts that action on its next turn, it must surmount your lock to do so, causing it to take 1d6 mental damage plus your spellcasting ability modifier (with a basic Will save). The target is then temporarily immune for 1 minute.

Why use the "lock" terminology? Is the action forbidden until the save is successful? It doesn't sound like that from the cantrip, it sounds more like if they do the locked action they just take molding damage.

Then on an amp, if they fail they're stunned 1. Does that mean they lose all remaining actions in the round?

How do other people read this one ?

Introduction:

Before I go on another 2 pager rant on another thread about how people complaining that wizards aren't as powerful is redundant and non-factual, I thought I would revive the Tier list system that had gotten such lively debate in the pf1e days.

This is an exercise that is meant to compare those rankings using the same metrics that were used in previous editions, but it is also meant to show how much the gap has narrowed in the edition shift.

I expect a lot of comments, some perhaps unkind, in the post, so I would remind you to stay civil, and to pay attention to the metrics used. Combat is not the only mode of pf2e, and while skill feats make characters VERY versatile, they are locked into your character build. A character that can adequately address any challenge through a daily shift in their abilities is more versatile than one who needs 3 weeks to reshuffle their skill feat. To quote the original list:

A common mistake when people discuss class balance, particularly in games like Pathfinder and DnD, is to focus solely on the character’s ability to kill things. This is an easy mistake because combat takes up the lion’s share of time in most campaigns, and social encounters typically won’t get you killed without first changing into a combat encounter. Instead, I propose that class balance should be determined based on the class’s ability to fill one or more roles in a party. Classes which are more powerful can fill more roles, and tend to eclipse other characters during play.

I will omit the part about classes eclipsing parties in here, because I do not believe that to be the case for any class in pf2e.

For future modifications, You can access the google doc of the list by clicking this sentence

With that preamble out of the way, here are the Tier:

Tier 1
Capable of doing absolutely everything, often better or on par with classes that specialize in that thing. Often capable of solving encounters with a single mechanical ability and little thought from the player. Has world changing powers at high levels.

-Cleric: With divine font, prepared casting, a huge complement of spells, no restriction on spells known, and the possibility of poaching spells from other lists easily, the Cleric is a solid Tier 1. The Divine spell list has been criticized in the past but recent additions have made it very comparable on almost all variables to other lists. To top it all off, Wisdom as a casting ability makes you overall more resilient and gives you the ability to easily max useful skills such as medicine, religion and nature. (An argument could be made for warpriest being Tier 2)

-Druid: Medium armor, shield block, good hp, keyed on Wisdom, prepared caster with access to all common spells immediately, great class feats such as animal companion, great focus spells. I don't expect anyone to object to the Druid being Tier 1

-Bard (Polymath muse): Bards simply have better proficiencies than other spellcasters, while leaving nothing on the table. With the best buffing spell in the game accessible at level 1, the occult spell list as a full caster, legendary will, master perception, and a slew of very potent abilities easily accessible, the bard is a powerhouse. It would normally be tier 2 because of sponatenous casting, but the polymath muse bard essentially has the versatility of a prepared caster, eventually, making this version Tier 1.

-Wizard (Substitution thesis): I expect this one to have pushback, but in a Tier list where being able to solve any problem on the go is the metric, the substitution wizard is definitely Tier 1. The ability to change any spell for any spell in your spell book over 10 minutes of studying is incredibly versatile, allowing you to solve almost any challenge instantly once you get a few levels under your belt. The Arcane spell list has a bunch of utility spells, and Wizards, like other prepared casters, have access to a lot of rituals to supplement that. The only downside is the lack of access to healing magic, which is why the rest of the class is Tier 2.

Tier 2
Has as much raw power as the Tier 1 classes, but can’t pull off nearly as many tricks, and while the class itself is capable of anything, no single character can do everything at the same time.

-Bard (Others): Being a spontaneous spellcaster limits other muse bards to Tier 2.

-Wizard (Others): Standard Wizards are Tier 2 because while they are the best prepared spellcasters for the Arcane list in the game, they do not have easy access to healing magic, which is much more potent in pf2e than previous editions.

-Magus: The Magus is a prepared caster who blends casting and fighting flawlessly. It's a bit MAD and has some issues with action economy, but overall it's Strength, Versatility, and sheer raw power makes it a solid Tier 2 pick.

-Oracle: The Oracle has great ability to go fish spells from other class and fun, engaging mechanics with focus spells. They suffer from the same general weak proficiencies of other casters but they are still very potent spellcasters. Spontaenous casting being less versatile than prepared is what prevents them from Tier 1.

-Psychic (Tentative): This class still needs to be debated more, but is overall a potent spontaneous caster with full scaling casting and the Amp mechanic makes them very potent in a lot of scenarios. I think Tier 2 is a good spot for this class.

-Rogue: Perhaps a surprise pick, I feel the pf2e Rogue is a versatility power house. With skills being much broader and versatile in Pf2e, the Rogue, as the master of skills, is also much broader and versatile, while still being a martial in its own right, and having a lot of options to fill any niche.

-Sorcerer: The iconic spontaneous caster, sorcerers have a lot of staying power, good focus points through bloodline, and the ability to access any spell list. Spontaneous casting is great and the preferred casting of many players, but ultimately less versatile than prepared, which is the only reason this class is Tier 2.

-Summoner: Summoners can access any spell list, although with limited options, and have access to a variety of ways to affect skills through their eidolon. They also have access to two exploration activities through the eidolon and are incredibly flexible in how they can be built. They perform on par with fighters and slightly underperform on level casters, but lack staying power in the spellcasting department.

-Thaumaturge (tentative): Thaumaturges are INCREDIBLY versatile, picking up to 3 out of a list of 9 implements which give them a lot of flexibility, they are the best at recall knowledge, have great damage mechanics that put them on par to other martials, have flexibility through the implement system and scroll crafting. I initially wanted to put them at Tier 3, but upon writing this I am moving them to Tier 2.

-Witch: The prepared caster version of Sorcerers, able to access any spell list and cross-access spells through their lessons and focus spells, the witch is very versatile. Generally poor class feat support and focus spells keep this class from Tier 1. It's a great versatile class but lacks the power to make it to Tier 1 as cleanly as the others.

Tier 3
Specialists are capable of doing one important thing very well while still being useful when that one thing is inappropriate, and generalists capable of doing many things, but not as well as classes that specialize in that area. Classes occasionally have a mechanical ability that can immediately resolve an encounter, but this is a rare exception.

-Alchemist: Alchemists being incredibly versatile and having access to problem solving items at the drop of a hat if they've invested in their crafting recipes, Alchemists were in a very strong position for this list. They can heal, blast, solve problems, and have all the answers. What makes them Tier 3 is that in almost all of the solution solving processes that they have, they underperform the equivalent option (either a spell or skill feat) that Tier 1 and 2 classes have. Their poor scaling proficiencies also hold them back, so a solid tier 3 for their ability to be jacks of all trades, masters of none.

-Barbarian: The kings/queens of smash, the Barbarian is fun and versatile through its instincts, and it does the one thing well: killing shit. It's a solid specialist with some useful exploration activities.

-Champion: Great versatile controllers and defenders, the champion has spellcasting proficiency that scales, the best AC in the game, and access to spamable alignment damage, which is oftentimes very potent. Solid specialist.

-Fighter: The fighters are the best damage dealers in PF2E, making them the one thing every new class is being compared to. It's incredibly effective at killing things and every different fighting style will perform it's options with ruthless efficiency. The very definition of a specialist class, but can still perform well in exploration and downtine thanks to PF2E's broadened skill system.

-Investigator: The investigator has the same versatility as the Rogue, but performs generally more poorly when compared to it, therefore it is ranked lower. (Argument could be made for Tier 4)

-Inventor: Solid martials that can modify their weapon/armor/pet to fit the needs of the day with only 1 day of downtime, the Inventor performs as well if not better than other martials in almost all scenarios, but also has access to great downtime activities through it's auto scaling of Crafting and free inventor feat, as well as great versatility through gadget mastery. Honestly if someone makes an argument for it I'm inclined to bump them to 2.

-Monk: Monks are second only to Champion in AC, have the best saves, are incredibly good at mobility, have a lot of problem solving tools. They underperform in the damage department vs Fighter/Barb/etc. but are overall a solid class. Good generalists with a solid specialisation in combat.

-Ranger: Legendary perception, great versatility through class feats (animal companions and traps) good saves, great HP, medium armor access and the hunter's edge power makes Rangers great characters. They function best as main damage dealers with an offset of support, and overall you will never feel bad for playing a ranger.

Tier 4:
Specialists are capable of doing one thing quite well, but often useless when encounters require other areas of expertise, and generalists are capable of doing many things to a reasonable degree of competence without truly shining. Classes rarely have any abilities that can completely resolve an encounter unless that encounter plays directly to the class’s focus.

-Gunslinger: Gunslingers, especially the sniper, can perform damage very well, but overall the class is built around the optics of being the masters of ranged combat, and fail at that overall. They are solid debuffers and supporters when built like that, but the general underperformance of firearms makes the Gunslinger slightly lackluster.

-Swashbuckler: I Love the swashbuckler, but it suffers from a lot of mechanical problems that make it unfortunately a Tier 4. It's locked into boosting Acrobatics+key skill making it locked in until level 11 for skill diversity, its damage is sub-par to rogue's and fighters, and precision damage doesn't apply to a lot of monster types. They're very flavorful, and worth playing, but Tier 4 nonetheless.

Tier 5
Capable of doing only one thing, and not necessarily all that well, or so unfocused that they have trouble mastering anything, and in many types of encounters the character cannot contribute. In some cases, can do one thing very well, but that one thing is very often not needed. Has trouble shining in any encounter unless the encounter matches their strengths.

No classes fit Tier 5, a great testament to how PF2e narrowed the gap.

Tier 6
Not even good at what they are intended to do. These are generally reserved for NPCs because they are not intended to be used as player classes.

N/A through changes to gamemastery guide.

Stay civil in comments, consult the google doc for the updated lists as updates, changes in view and new classes come out.

Greetings fellow rules pedants.

This thread is in the forum for rules discussion but ultimately I don't think it's a topic that is game breaking or hotly debated, so the whole thing is light hearted.

So the creation spell is an interesting one, while being overall fairly balanced. There are maybe some niche cases of being able to make common type poisonous vegetable matter with it or not, but that's it's main use aside from the occasional clutch item use, much like prescient planner.

However, I have questions...

My druid halcyon speaker sprite in strength of thousands is named Juniper and is about to get the halcyon feat persistent creation

Scenario 1a: The pineapple conundrum. Juniper loves pineapples. They're tasty, juicy, make great housing, what's not to love! Juniper creates a nice juicy pineapple with persistent creation, then cuts it up and serves it to his party members. Then, Juniper creates some napkins, to wipe off that pineapple juice. What happens?

Does the pineapple disappear from inside the party's belly? Does the juice disappear from their lips ? Are they fed or not ?

Scenario 1b: Same as 1a, but then the group goes out and walks a couple kilometers , fights, kills, and doesn't eat. Then a day later on breakfast, Juniper summons a new pineapple! Does the old, partially digested, nutrient extracted pineapple then disappear? Would eating the new pineapple cancel the fatigued penalty from being underfed? Since its basically... just putting what was there back?

Scenario 2: A leaf affectionado, on an evening, Juniper summons 5 cubic feet of flayleaf, and loads up his pipe with it, getting a niiiiice buzz going. During the night, he hears howling and hooting and immediately creates a small wooden palissade next to him to shield himself while looking around.

Does the effect from the flayleaf consumption disappear? Is this is the safest way to smoke tobacco? Or is the effect considered a by product of the vegetable matter, much like a stab wound from a pike?

Small questions, just kind of... wondering about this.

Let me know your thoughts!

This came up in play, but basically how do you calculate the distance between two tokens.

Assuming Y and Z are tokens and X are empty squares.

YXXXXXXZ

Would the distance between those two tokens be 35ft or 30ft ? If you assume you calculate from the middle of the squares then the distance is 40ft, but that also means that 30ft effect must be cast from 4 square away no 6?

I tend to think calculation of distance starts from the square in front of you for ranged effects so in this scenario, Z being exactly 30ft from edge to edge of square, I tend to assume that it is within 30ft?

I've looked through Nethys but can't seem to find an answer.

Hey all,

So there's been allegations of the pathfinder community being toxic recently, mostly starting with a tweet from GinnyD, but then rolling down to other content creators.

I just thought I'd post a thread here and discuss it, the more we know the less toxic we can endeavor to be.

I'll break this down into 3 points

1: 1e VS 2e

Most of the time, the ''just play pathfinder'' messages that are left on content creator platforms are very vague, and having read a lot of the threads, I feel like they often refer to pathfinder 1e?

Despite Pathfinder 2e being, in my opinion, a much better system, 1e is still very popular and I think more players play it overall ? It certainly has more content produced for it, with more classes, spells, rules and AP's even to this day.

That being said, I have noticed that I sometimes try to push PF2E too hard, which leads me to...

2: Why we do it?

In remembering my past experiences with pf2e I think it kinda breaks down into several stages... and this is going to become relevant after I explain them. Keep in mind that this is from an experienced player's point of view. Having GMed multiple new players to TTRPF into pf2e as their first system, they seem to pick it up fairly well and don't have any of the bad traits, even if they tend to struggle with some of the features sometimes (like lots of feats).

Ignorance
At first, you begin to play pf2e and it seems like a new iteration on something else, although you can't quite understand what's that something else...

New classes, new features but very comfortable, you kinda know where you're going, the added customisation is fun... then you start adventuring leading to...

Anger
As you play, you realise that despite your massive system mastery experience, your choices have in fact NOT made you trivialise encounters yet... weird!

You then start paying a bit more attention and try harder, to no avail, encounters are still grinding you up.

I remember the first time I got really angry that I was underperforming, my gnome bard with 18 cons got taken from full to 0 after taking 2 well rolled aoe bursts from 2 level+2 creatures, all before I could act in my initiative. I was so mad... this hadn't really happened to me in years... I started to dive down into the edition, trying to understand it more, it lead me to...

The click
Suddenly, in one go, it clicks. Everything falls into place as you understand what the edition is about, as you understand how tight the math is, and thus what you have been doing wrong. Falling into a routine in pf2e is similar to underperforming. Pf2e is an edition that makes you pay attention because if you do the same thing round after round you will eventually hit a wall. Understanding the value of the +1/-1 is kind of a click that happens to most players I think... and this leads us to

The passion
At this point, when I got it, when I really got it, I knew I was hooked. We did a couple games in pf1e and dnd 5e after that but I just couldn't anymore... All I saw were the flaws, the bursted seams, where the rules fell down because pf2e just had such a nicely done frame.

I started GMing it and loved it even more, things were explained well, I had cool subsystems, I could tell a million stories, NPC creation didn't require a multi tabed cross calculating excel sheet.

I was in heaven, still am!

So this long buildup is to explain kind of the pattern that it was for me and that I sometimes see in other posters or people.

Why this might lead to toxic posting though, is because we subconsciously think that people who play some pf2e and don't like it, or people that play dnd5e and don't want to play something else despite their game being kind of ''Meh'' are stuck at stage 1 or 2.

And we want them to click! We want them to understand and love it like we have!

But it's probably not going to happen for everyone, and that's ok. The more games the merrier.

3: The community shitpost.

Now I understand why GinnyD might be annoyed at people posting ''Just play pathfinder'' constantly in her stream, its valid and people should stop that.

Nonat1's also made a whole video about other problem behaviors, that are all very valid.

I want to talk about the flipside of this.

We've had so far at least 3 videos from Taking20 just shitposting pathfinder2e in about as ignorant and dumb a manner as there can possibly be? I've watched some of them and legit had to stop because I got angry. Here was a man saying one of his players felt he was stuck in a routine as a druid. He would just ''wild shape every fight and engage''. And I was just... so mind boggled by how weird that was ''Oh i play one of the most versatile classes in the game, but I only do the one thing and complain that I only do the one thing''

Anyways, I could rant on that one video for hours, and rules lawyer did a whole video debunking it, so I won't get into that.

There were also other content creators like Puffin forest doing shitposts on pf2e.

I feel this has created a sort of false edition war. This was random people that I feel we subconsciously think are stuck at the ignorance stage or the anger stage that are just being obtuse. And you want them to get it, and you don't want people to think the TTRPG system that you love is bad, just because some people don't get it.

So what do you do?

Well you overcorrect. You post about it positively all the time, you try to engage other people into it, you point out the flaws and you try to gain traction.

and eventually.... those can be toxic behaviors...

Conclusion:

I think at this point i'm very satisfied with 2e and as a GM who is lucky enough to have waiting lists for his games, I refuse to GM something else than 2e.

But its ok if other people don't want to play it. I remember feeling very sad that Deriven Ferilien (sorry if I mispelled) had to go back to 1e because his players just didn't get how Pf2e was cooler. Ultimately, it sucks cause I know Deriven would prefer to GM 2e but its up to them to figure that out. We're not missing out.

I remember being annoyed that Solasta: Crown of the Magister wasn't in 2e cause I just freaking hate 5e. But after some time I got back into it with the multiplayer DLC and we make some jokes about 5e sometimes but its overall good fun nonetheless (hey, at least Solasta has a freaking magic item economy amirite!)

So I guess my final thought here is that maybe as a community we should chill about the conversion efforts.

And if you're lucky enough to be picky about your games, well, do what you love, if someone else insists on playing 1e or 5e or something else, ask them to GM and if you don't feel like playing that edition, well don't play.

Feel free to comment, this is an open discussion!

Alastar out!

Hello fine folks.

I'm workshopping a game in which my players will play a group of Japanese school kids on a field trip who all get killed by a mysterious figure....only to be reborn in another world. A world that's suspiciously like a game some of them have played....

So far on top of customised stereotypical backgrounds I've got a divine boon system going where each player can pick a minor boon and a major boon

Minor boons list:
Uncommon ancestry
Uncommon item (like guns or a rare non magic weapon)
Add 2 uncommon level 1 spells to spell book
Add 2 uncommon level 1 rituals to spell book
Take -2 to one ability score instead of 2 for the drawback option.

Major Boon list:
Rare ancestry
Rare non magic item
A relic to be discussed with gm
A unique power (focus spell to be discussed with gm)
No drawbacks for the ability score option (so essentially a free ability boost)

I've also allowed free archetype from a set list that will be flavored as "class change" in game.

The world is homebrew but the deities aren't.

WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR:

I'd want to hear your takes on cool ways you can take typical Isekai tropes and implement them in game, either through subsystems or actual systems or anything like that.

I also want to have a quest board and I'm currently trying to find a couple of fun low level quests that have that Isekai or MMORPG "feel" to make it authentic.

Anything you post will be welcomed, thanks for anyone who participates !

This is a port from another thread, but I think this needs to be adressed.

To sum it up:

Finishers: The finisher trait does not specify melee, however...

The Flying Blade feat has to main components:

First one:

You've learned to apply your flashy techniques to thrown weapons as easily as melee attacks. When you have panache, you apply your precise strike damage on ranged Strikes you make with a thrown weapon within that weapon's first range increment. The thrown weapon must be an agile or finesse weapon.

Second one:

This also allows you to make a thrown weapon ranged Strike for Confident Finisher and any other finisher that includes a Strike that can benefit from your precise strike.

This would seem to indicate that you can use any finisher with any ranged strike qualifying as thrown and [finesse and/or agile].

Where there is clarification needed is when there are finishers with precise melee language, such as Stunning Finisher that specifically call out for melee.

Thankfully there are only a handful of these:
Dual Finisher
Stunning Finisher
Unbalancing Finisher

There are two interpretations that seem to be rivaled:

1: Flying blade's last section means that you can use any finisher with a finesse or agile thrown weapon, because the first section makes all ranged strikes with aforementioned weapons eligible with precise strike.

2: Finishers with specific melee reference are not eligible with flying blade.

Discuss.

So I was listening to this video by Nonat1's: D&D vs Pathfinder - Monk

(Nonat if you read this, love your stuff, keep doing it)

And there was a statement at the end that got my hackles up, and it was kind of the last drop in a goblet of rant, so let me ask the question:

Why do people love the monk so much?

And I don't mean the theme, the theme is fine, I mean mechanically.

So people break it down into these major points I think:

Stances are cool: yeah they are... but they also cost you an action to give you a means of attack that's not really better than picking up a weapon.
Best saves in the game!: Not really... more flexible sure but rogues, rangers, barbarians even bards get legendary/master/expert as a saves spread. Monks just are more flexible into where it goes but if you assume all saves happen 1/3 of the time, this changes nothing (depends on campaign I guess?)
Best AC after champion!: Except not really... unless you go 18dex at start, which is valid, you're going to be struggling behind the rest of the martials for the early levels as they just rock full plate ASAP. Then if you got 18 dex at start you lose incentive to boost it when it gets to 20 because it doesn't give AC, but at this point you've committed to finesse stances and AC so you kinda have to keep building it despite it not giving you AC anymore...
Best unarmed fighter Barbarian does it WAY better, fighter does it better, Magus does it better. Several classes out there outshine the monk at unarmed fighting, by a lot!
Flurry of blows is so good: It's an action economy thing, provides no added accuracy, and its on par with several other similar feats like hunted shot or twin takedown (except the ranger is actually good at using these to attack 4 times!)

So there's probably other points but basically if you take that into account, and then take into account the fact that starting at 18 dex (only valid choice if you want to use that high AC without using mountain stance) means you can start with 16 STr AT BEST and then are stuck using finesse stances that have lower damage, your damage is kinda shit.

This makes me perceive the monk as being a kind of jack of all trade master of none 5th person kinda class and that's just so... lackluster to me...

I don't understand why people want to play monks overall, I even find myself coming up with super cool concepts once in a while that I know would be awesome as monks! Then I start to build them and I'm like.... urgh... no... imma do a rogue or something instead....(Thief racket rogue with martial artist archetype mostly outperforms the monk)

Anyways, comment or try to prove me wrong!

Greetings all,

So this information is already available on discord, and there's a github that people use to compile all the info properly, but I'm terrible in github and since I did my conversion straight on foundry transfering the info would mean I have to basically retype everything.

In the meanwhile, or if someone feels like taking my stuff and retyping it, here is all the data and the entire world avaiable to you for foundry vtt. Feel free to download it and tell me of modifications you make, cause I'm curious.

Currently have Book 1 and 2 finished, working on the choking tower for now.

Here is the link: PF2E Iron Gods conversion on Foundry.

Greetings all,

small question me and my GM in EC are wondering about the Stonecunning feat:

Stonecunning
You have a knack for noticing even small inconsistencies and craftsmanship techniques in the stonework around you. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to notice unusual stonework. This bonus applies to checks to discover mechanical traps made of stone or hidden within stone.

They read it as this applying specifically to checks to discover mechanical traps made of stone or hidden within stone. I am taking this feat because it is very dwarven, but also because I am wary of that damn famous double grikkitog fight in EC.

So as an example of an atypical stone related seek check, the grikkitog implant core ability:

Implant Core
Implant Core [three-actions] (manipulate) The grikkitog implants its core into an adjacent section of earth or stone, melding seamlessly and changing its visual appearance to match the surrounding rock. It’s immobilized but automatically succeeds at its Deception check to Impersonate the stone around it; creatures actively searching for it can still attempt Perception checks against its Deception DC as normal. A grikkitog can release its implantation as a free action, which has the manipulate trait. A grikkitog’s infestation aura and manifold vision are only active while implanted.

So would the circumstance bonus apply to seek checks to find a grikkitog or is it only for mechanical traps made of stone or hidden within stone.

P.S: GM is legit curious too so this isn't a ''ask your GM'' thing.

Greetings,

I'm going to compile all stated settlements here: Pathfinder 2nd edition stated settlement compilation

If you come across a stated settlement in an AP (I think Kintargo and Katapesh are in age of ashes, I'll have to go find them again) just link them here, please.

If you have yourself stated out a settlement, please dear lord link it in the thread bellow and I'll add it. This could solve a lot of uncertainty and work for GM's

Thanks to anyone who participates or comments!

This is aimed more at Paizo developpers than anything else, but if I'm missing something, please tell me !

Settlement attributes are vital to play, settlement levels determine the level of items and formula you can purchase, access to spells, access to selling and what level of downtime activity you can do during downtime.

Almost the entirety of the downtime system, roughly a third of the game, is based on the settlement stats!

And we have so little of them!! I can find maybe 4 ?!?! Why does an adventure path not contain the full stat block for every city where players are going?

I am a player in strenght of thousands right now and my girlfriend is the GM and I asked her what the level of the settlement and she could not find it, I double checked and its just not there. We're gonna be on a 6 chapter adventure spanning multiple years in this city, could we have some damn stats?

I'm gonna start a thread in houserules to compile those I did make and add those of others but please! Give us some damn settlement stats!

Edit: here is the thread where I compile them

Greetings esteemed boards.

I'm looking to make my Juniper Muzzlemash druid build into a corgi riding machine.

I'm kinda wondering how the corgi mount power interacts with specific familiars though...

So in the case of the Corgi mount familiar, could I have a corgi mount familiar that then becomes a calligraphy wyrm? Or a faerie dragon? I mean that would be trippy as hell but if you have the number of abilities to spare there shouldn't be an issue ?

How about a Corgi elemental wisp?

I'm thinking the main issue would come from this passage: Furthermore, it can never gain a familiar ability that grants it any Speeds other than a land Speed.

But if it becomes a specific familiar, then its not gaining a familiar ability, because you're just ''Locking'' a number of familiar abilities into that ''frame'' which in turn gives you a pre generated set of skills.

Let me know your thoughts!

Greetings all,

I'm going to be a player in the SOT ap soon, with my gf GMing.

I'm thinking of playing a pixie with the corgi familiar feat and sparkling targe magus build.

My main dilemma is should I go dex or should I go strength ?

Dex provides MUCH better reflex saves, especially with the +2 bonus from shield. On top of that you can block the spells, so having a build with high saves and shield block on spells would make me very resilient and annoying vs ability/spells ennemy.

On the other hand, a strength build would lower my reflex save a lot but increase my will a bit (could go str cons int Wis with ability boosts instead of Str dex cons int) and allow me better damage (Wishblade instead of wish knife, strength to damage).

So my question is:

For those who have played? Is it better to be able to tank spell reflex spells or drop foes faster.

My question is whether or not a rogue could use steal spell

https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=1808

To steal an allied character's spell slot.

Let's imagine an Eldritch archer Eldritch scoundrel rogue that chills with a wizard and Oracle in the back.

Could he use one action to steal a spell from an adjacent ally of up to level 8 (at random) and then cast it for two actions or do something else for two actions and then Eldritch shot it the next round (if he got lucky and nabbed polar ray or something).

Language says foe, but that feels a bit too subjective.

Greetings all,

I'm playing with a build in my head to be the frontliner in an upcoming strenght of thousand campaign run by my girlfriend.

I don't know what the party is going to be yet, I'm just being preemptive cause of the hype.

So I'd want to be Juniper Muzzlemash, the Luminescent knight. Juniper is in love with the idea of being a knight. When his life was saved by a mwangi champion of Findeladlara, he decided he wanted to become the first Sprite hero and knight! He took his Corgi friend Daisy and went to the only place he could find the knowledge to achieve his goals: the Magaambya.

Ancestry: Sprite
Heritage: Luminous Sprite or Melixie. Luminous is more thematical, melixie feels more practical yet still adorable.
Background: Unsponsored if my GF allows two free boosts for backgrounds, sponsored by village if not (need Int and Str/Dex as boosts)
Class: magus
Hybrid Studies: Sparkling Targe.
Ancestry feat: Corgi Familiar.
Free archetype is on, so I'll be going familiar master to enhance my familiar corgi familiar. At level 8 I'd go into bastion for quick shield block and mirror shield.

MAIN DILEMNA SO FAR:

I could go either
STR:12
DEX: 18
CON: 12
INT: 16
WIS: 10
CHA: 10
every 5 levels I'd boost str/dex/con/Int, final stat array would be: 18/24/18/20/12/12

or
STR:18
DEX: 12
CON: 12
INT: 16
WIS: 10
CHA: 8
Every 5 levels I,d boost str/con/int/wis, final stat array would be: 24/14/18/20/18/8

I'm not sure which is the best way to go... medium armor gives bonuses for expertise... dex array gives me much better defenses early and late game though, specially on reflex saves, which I feel will be very tight when added to the shield block ability of targe magus.

Otherwise feats would probly be:
2: force fang - Familiar master
4: expansive Spellstrike - Familiar Mascot
6: Attack of Opportunity - Improved Familiar (plead with GM to let me use fairy dragon stats on my corgi, if not TBD)
8: Spell Swipe - Bastion Dedication
10: Dazzling Block - Quick Shield Block
12: Capture magic ??? - Incredible familiar.

I'll see when I get there for the rest.

Anyone ever ran a dex focused magus that wasn't laughing shadows? Or a shield tank build with only 12 str? I feel like maybe the lower damage output isn't SO bad because of the spellstrike ability?

Let me know what you think!

Hello community,

Just like the title says, for the needle of vengeance witch focus spell, is the ennemy affected and then saves every attack they make, possibly up to 5 times a round, or do they save once and then use that result across all actions?

I'm leaning towards a basic save per action but I can't seem to find a definite answer to that.

Hello,

Moot point as I believe the free hand requirement as already been accepted as working with a spiket gauntlet for feats such as dueling parry, but still:

In the Laughing Shadow Magus entry you can read:
While in Arcane Cascade stance, you gain a +5-foot status bonus to your Speeds, or a +10-foot bonus if you're unarmored. If you have a free hand while in the stance and are attacking a flat-footed creature, you increase the extra damage to 3, to 5 if you have weapon specialization, or to 7 if you have greater weapon specialization. You must have your other hand completely free; the extra damage doesn't apply if you have a free-hand weapon or other item in that hand, even if you would normally be able to use the hand for other things.

It stands to logic then that, unless errataed, any text that does not contain this clarification can be assumed to work with free hand weapons.

Hello all,

So I can't find a definite answer to this anywhere. I can find multiple traits about what feats work and don't work, but not the basic.

Do I use my dex or my strength when I'm throwing a hatchet club or light hammer ?

I'm unsure if this has been addressed before.

Would someone who gains an innate spell but isn't a spellcaster (like an elf) be able to get a wand of that specific spell and use it?

Say an elf ranger getting true strike and wanting to cast it more often.

Greetings,

I'm trying to set up a large table of random scenic but otherwise unimportant small descriptions for when my party explores an empty hex in the stolen lands.

I'd love to have short 1 to 2 sentence entries that would be thematical to the land.

I already have a couple about lovely brooks, animals mating, meeting a local fisherman who sells his catch, and so on.

Thanks!

I could compile them in a list

So we're considering a new game and my concept is worked out well, but my GF has got into her mind to play a poisonous mushroom flavored monk.

So she's going with a fungus heritage leshy ancestry.

Class is going to be Monk.

Free archetype is in effect.

Stats are likely going to be:
STR: 14
DEX: 18
CON: 14
INT: 8
WIS: 14
CHA: 10

Tangling vines stance is going to be in play at 8, maybe cobra stance?

I don't know what else to suggest to her that would fit...

The poisoner archetype helps, but is there a way to make it work with unarmed strikes ? (I told her about using weapons, she'd prefer fists)

Any suggestions on what would turn this into a fun thematical build are appreciated.

Greetings all,

I am running an evil kingmaker campaign and one of the players just finalised his motivations as being a mad necromancer who is obsessed with rebuilding his dead family.

His wife is his ghost companion (undead lord homebrew archetype, she's a ghost) and he wants to have a wizard who is obsessed with creating the perfect body to reincarnate his wife.

What kind of skill feats, ancestry feats, archetypes or class feats strike you as being thematical for this?

Thanks in advance !

Greetings all,

I've been looking forward to the reissuing of Kingmaker in PF2E for a while now but it doesn't look like its happening anytime soon. In the meantime, my players really wanted to run Kingmaker with the twist I offered them (they play a group of evil Dhampirs who have to steal the kingdom from its current paladin lord who freed it from the Stag lord)

So I decided that I would create my own kingdom rules, and I've been working on that ever since:

Here's the links:

Kingdom Management Rules.

City Improvement Rules.

Kingdom Stats Rules.

Kingdom Events.

Mass Combat Rules

I am very aware that these might not be perfect or balanced, I haven't obsessed or even double checked them.

You are very welcome to give any feedback, ideally I'd want this to be a community project, so if you want something written in a more proper way, just type it the proper way and I'll probly just copy paste it in. Some of this is honestly a bit spotty, I just know myself and am able to work from what's there.

Thanks a lot and let me know if it helps.

As my group gets ready for a semi homebrewed kingmaker campaign, where they play a group of dhampirs on a mission to steal the kingdom from good aligned adventurers, i decided to create a few new things for them. One of them is going to be the undead lord archetype

Undead lord Archetype

The class basically rips off beastmaster to have an undead companion follow you around, as well as adds 4 basic companion types:

Ghoul
Zombie
Skeleton
Phantom.

I'd like some feedback if people feel like it ?

Let me know!

Greetings fellow players and DM's

I have questions concerning the mislead spell.

Source for reference.

So in this spell, you simultaneously create a double and become invisible. It has the somatic and verbal components, meaning it can be recognized as a reaction for people with recognize spell skill feat.

Assuming they don't recognize it, can the illusion appear in the same square as the caster and then move away from him using your remaining 1 action to stride?

While it is very clear that you can roll deception to make it seem spells are coming out of the double, what happens when the double gets attacked in melee? Does it have an AC equal to the DC of the spell like illusory creature? Doest it have HP? If not, can you make a deception check in order to make the attacker believe that he has hit you ? (Simulate blood, groan, hunch over, etc)

Assuming they do recognize the spell, does it mean they've automatically disbelieved the illusion despite not rolling a perception check ?

Now posit the following scenario:
My penultimate BBEG Francis du Sablon is a level 20 Wizard. He casts contingency as a level 9 spell every morning to pair with mislead. The activation trigger is: I am the target of a melee or ranged attack.

A badger riding paladin charges Francis with a lance. His Contingency goes off but it's not his turn so he can't move.

Does he:
A: Have a double of himself appear on top of his invisible self, which means it affords no protection to him whatsoever and he takes the attack, but will have the option to confuse his attackers by sending his double one way as he goes another next turn (then if he takes an AoO, maybe he can deception pain as stated above?)

B: Have a double of himself appear on top of his invisible self, which means he is currently undetected and hidden, thus having a flat DC 11 check to be hit, and if the paladin misses, he can then (maybe, TBD) roll a deception check to make her believe she has hit something?

C: The double has to appear next to him, and his square gets attacked, potentially revealing the whole thing immediately, but if she misses she then attacks the double (and then we're back to the AC and deception questions from above)

I know which way i'm leaning but I'd like to get advice from you and how you rule at your table.

Thanks, and let's keep it constructive!

greetings all,

my leshy rogue trickster with druid archetype in my game is considering, at level 16, to get the dragon form spell.

Considering he has an unarmed attack bonus of +30 that would make him take his own attack bonus but the claw damage.

Then I have other questions:

Does Greater Weapon specialisation add to the damage ? Rogues get that on unarmed attacks.

Can he Sneak attack ?

Could he use Instant Opening to make someone flat footed?

Could he use debilitating strike which states that he just needs to hit a flat footed creature?

I feel like RAW there isn't anything agaisn't it and i'm overall ok with it because rule of cool, but I wonder if there's anyone that went through the legal debate over this ?

Greetings.

So this is a thread I am starting, hoping I didn't miss another, to discuss the glaring problems in the energy mutagen item from "the fall of plaguestone."

https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=474

Now before anyone says "well just don't allow it because it's uncommon!" This is the answer some dm's might have, I prefer to never wield the banhammer, I want to find a way to adjucate this mutagen properly.

1st problem:
In addition, you can end the benefits of this mutagen to unleash a 30-foot cone of energy that deals 2d6 damage of the attuned type for every full 10 minutes of duration remaining (DC 25 basic Reflex save).

This text does not give an action cost for ending the mutagen, meaning an alchemist could feasibly quick brew two, drink 1, free action breath, drink another, free action breath.

I am considering making the release of the mutagen a single interact action for game balance. What would you guys think?

2nd problem:
https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=122

Persistent mutagen makes the duration 24 hours, meaning this elixir would deal 288d6.

I am considering simply saying that this mutagen is not eligible for persistent mutagen, or that the damage of the elixir is equivalent to its original timeframe, regardless of extensions.

I am VERY open to suggestions on this though as it's not very satisfactory as is ...

How would you guys adjucate this? And paizo staff, could we get clarifications on this ?

You have calculated all the angles to maximize a bomb’s splash. When you throw an alchemical bomb with the splash trait, you can cause the bomb to deal splash damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 0) instead of the normal amount.

You have calculated all the angles to maximize a bomb’s splash. When you throw an alchemical bomb with the splash trait, you can cause the bomb to deal splash damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 0) instead of the normal amount.

So the question is fairly simple:

Scenario 1: Calc splash replaces he usual splash damage with int modifier and thus you get double intelligence modifier to bomb damage if you have both.

Scenario 2: the reading of ''usual'' splash damage is the bomb's splash damage and it's only bomb's splash +int.

I don't know exactly which way to rule it, it doesn't seem game breaking (at best it's a +3 damage increase per bomb) and alchemists are already on the lower end of the damage bracket, what do you guys think?

Opportune Backstab:
Reaction

Trigger A creature within your melee reach is hit by a melee attack from one of your allies.
When your enemy is hit by your ally, you capitalize upon the distraction. Make a Strike against the triggering creature.

I am wondering if there is anything that prevents you from doing an opportune backstab with a ranged weapon? As long as the creature is within your melee reach.

Greetings,

I have a question concerning the touch attack abilities of monsters, such as the lich or lamia.

Now imagine, for a moment if you will,

1: a lich with improved unarmed strike combat reflexs and snake riposte.

OR

2: a lamia with levels in swashbuckler and opportune parry and riposte.

In scenario one:

If a player attacks the lich and misses, it is due an attack of opportunity. What prevens it from using it's paralysing touch for that attack of opportunity? And wouldn't that make a daunting prospect for anyone attempting to face her in melee?

in scenario two:
Any player attacking would face 1: a parry from the lamia, and 2: a riposte from her wisdom drain touch, making all attacks agaisn't her a potentially damning prospect as they lower your will save vs her spells?

Is there anything in the rules to prevent this?

I read the touch attack abilitis as being standard action attacks, since they never qualify for itterative actions, but I cannot find the rules justification for such things.

Can anyone refer me to the right ruling, or tell me tha tthis is legit?

For that matter, where is the rule stating a lich with 11 BAB cannot make 3 touch attacks per round to paralyse (with spells it is easy: standard action is the action required to cast, but what about monster aiblities...)

So, in our rise of the runelords campaign, my girlfriend plays Ser Levy tate, a potent psychic with the chain of perdition spell:

here is the language for chain of perdition:

The chain can perform the dirty trick (blind or entangle), drag, reposition, and trip combat maneuvers, using your caster level in place of your Combat Maneuver Bonus, and your Charisma modifier (sorcerer), Intelligence modifier (wizard), or Wisdom modifier (cleric) in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier. The chain does not provoke attacks of opportunity for making combat maneuvers. It suffers no penalty or miss chance due to darkness, invisibility, or other forms of concealment.

She also has the Kinetic enhancement biotech mod:

Kinetic Enhancement: You can generate kinetic energy to aid yourself in close-quarters scrapes. You can add your Intelligence modifier as a bonus on combat maneuver checks and to your CMD. You can also add your Intelligence modifier as a bonus on Strength checks to break or lift objects.

And finally, thanks to I, Trixie Starbright, awesome gnome bard, she is often under the effects of Heroism:

This spell imbues a single creature with great bravery and morale in battle. The target gains a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks.

And Inspire Courage:

A 1st level bard can use his performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard’s performance. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 5th level, and every six bard levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +4 at 17th level. Inspire courage is a mind-affecting ability. inspire courage can use audible or visual components. The bard must choose which component to use when starting his performance.

So my question is this:

What would the CMB of the chain of perdition be?

Would it be:
1: CL+Int(instead of STR)+Int (Bonus on CMB)+Heroism+Inspire courage
2: CL+Int(instead of STR)+Int (Bonus on CMB)+Heroism
3: CL+Int(Instead of STR)+Heroism+Inspire Courage
4: CL+Int.

I think it should be 1 but that does seem a bit strong....

Let me know where you fall on the issue (And no subjective interpretation please, yes the fluff says ''closer quarter combat'' but the fluff could easily be interpreted for the field to enhance his mental constructs)

Thank you!

Greetings,

I've looked everywhere, and I can't seem to find how the taking of a city in the mass combat rules works?

I'm running kingmaker and i have a guest DM running big V and he'd like to conduct secret attacks vs player cities without armies, but I don't know what the rules are for the razing of cities, or if he wants to take a city and have the players take it back.

Thanks for your help

(Link to mass combat rules: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/mass-combat/)

Greetings all,

I just started the kingdom building portion of my kingmaker adventure, and already my players are adding demographics to their kingdom like crazy.

since mixed races is a strong theme for their kingdom, i would like to develop a subsystem that allows them to develop more the involvement and special features of each race they add.

Here is what I have in mind, but this is a thread for advice, please feel free to tell me how you'd do it or how you've done it.

New demographic:

Stability check to incorporate into kingdom:
Success by 5: -2 unrest (for monster races, core races generate no unrest on sucess by 5)
Success: -1d4+2 unrest
Failure: 2d4+2 unrest

Initial bonus (upon race incorporation)

1 year bonus (requires 10 BP investment)

3 year bonus (requires 50 BP investment)

Random events (3) to be put in the random events roll (I just put it as 50-95): these are small events relating to the race in particular and that affect the kingdom either positively or negatively, try to have a good one, a neutral one and a bad one.

So with these rules I would have the following demographics:

Kobolds:

Initial bonus: +1 to economy

1 year bonus:
EITHER
Mining mastery: Economy bonus goes to +2, mines cost 1 less BP, can build roads on mountain hexes
OR
Kobold harriers: can field colossal kobold armies, kobold armies add either burn, poison bleed or trap sense to their list of powers.

3 year bonus:
EITHER
Kobold forge: Unique building, acts as a foundry but also allows you to create weapons and armor assets for armies at half cost, and allows 2 mines to be enhanced by foundry.
OR
Kobold mining village: Each mine on your map is also considered a small village with 4 hexes available to build and that does not count as a district towards your control DC. This small settlement does not require a viceroy and does not have leadership positions, it only serves to give slightly more space for buildings.

The bonus not taken can be bought after the required time span has passed again (so in this case, you could buy the two 1 year bonuses before you buy the 3 year bonus).

Events:
Good: A kobold discovers a new vain of minerals in the closest mountain range
Neutral: several kobolds are complaining about the housing in mines, stability check for 0/-1/-1d4 unrest
Bad: A kobold is found murdered in the street under some hate filled language scribbled with his blood. Make a loyalty check to find the culprit, -2/-1d4+2/-2d4+2 and kobolds leave the kingdom demographics on failed check.

Fairies:

Initial bonus: -1 BP to the build cost of any magical building or city enhancement (such as eternal lanterns or unending fountain) or any building that has magic item slots.
Unlocks faery buildings (specific to my game, some faeries such as tyressa give them special buildings such as a dryad grove that allows them to build lumbermills without chopping down trees)

1 year bonus:
EITHER
Faery Whimsy: -2 to loyalty (permanent) but on each turn, add 1d6 to either economy or stability (flip a coin to determine which).
OR
Faery agents: a lot of faeries live in your kingdom and bring you items, when you roll for a magic item, roll twice and take the highest value result.

3 year bonus:
EITHER
Faery armies: You've attracted a lot of faeries, enough to field your own host, see with your Dm what kind of faeries are in your kingdom and what kind of army you can field with them.
OR
Faery court: Special menagerie building, costs 20 BP, gives +2 stability, +special loyalty, +2 economy, -1 unrest, +2 city defense.

Adds +1/2 the CR of the highest CR creature in the menagerie. Automatically starts with a CR 6 magical beast inside.
add the following random event to your random event table:
ESCAPED CREATURE! a creature has escaped the fey menagerie and destroyed 1d4+2 city block, on successful stability -5 check, only 1 city block is destroyed.

Good event: The feys of your kingdom have blessed your farms and sawmills , add 1 to their consumption reduction for this turn.
Neutral event: PRANK FESTIVAL!! -1d4+#level of holiday eddict unrest to the kindom, reshuffle all magic items in the kingdom.
Bad events: Cold iron hunters: A group of fey hunters razes one of your fey buildings unless you pass a stability check to prevent them.

tell me what you think, also I'd love some ideas for lizardfolk and centaur demographics.

So I found the following feat:

Your devotion to a fiendish patron (be it a deity, demigod, or quasi deity) is so great that daily prayer and minor sacrifices grant you special boons.

Prerequisites: Knowledge (religion) 3 ranks; must worship a fiendish deity, demigod, or quasi deity (such as any of the entities presented in Chapter 1 of this book).

Benefit: Each fiend requires a different daily obedience, but all obediences take no more than 1 hour per day to perform. You can combine the ritual of obedience with the time needed to prepare your spellcasting for the day. Once you’ve performed an obedience, you gain the benefit of a special ability or defense as indicated in the “Obedience” entry for the fiend to whom you performed the obedience.

If you have at least 12 Hit Dice, upon undertaking your obedience, you also gain the first boon granted by your fiend.

If you have at least 16 Hit Dice, you also gain the deity’s second boon. If you have 20 Hit Dice or more, you also gain the deity’s third boon. Unless a specific duration or number of uses per day is listed, a boon’s effects are constant.

When you gain boons from Fiendish Obedience, you typically gain that fiend’s exalted boons. If you take the Damned Disciple or Damned Soldier feat, you can choose instead to take a sentinel or evangelist boon as appropriate.

Certain prestige classes also alter which category of boon you gain. Regardless, once you select a boon, you can’t normally change the type of boon you’ve selected at a later date (unless taking levels in a specific prestige class retroactively changes your boons).

The demoniac, diabolist, and souldrinker prestige classes grant access to these boons at lower Hit Dice as a benefit of their prestige class. For each of these classes, you must select whether you want to take the evangelist, exalted, or sentinel boons; once you make that choice, you are locked in to that category of boon (and previous boon choices retroactively change as appropriate).

If you ever fail to perform a daily obedience, you lose all access to the benefits and boons granted by this feat until you next perform the obedience.

I'm just wondering in what book I can find fiendish obediences. The four horsemen don't seem to have any, neither do any of the fiendish harbingers.

Is there like a generic fiendish obedience and boons?

Thanks for the help

Greetings all,

I'm about to start a game and the players our group has selected for our ''Date Night D&D'' campaign are some friends of ours, we approached them with the concept and they seem game, but there are some problems.

The guy has done some LARPS with me in the past and is generally very at ease in awkward situations, being a car salesman, so I'm not that worried about him roleplaying or deciding actions as he's very impulsive, which is fun. I am however worried about him understanding the rules, as numbers and rules systems arent his thing.

The girl has no experience in games, no experience in video games, no experience in LARPing, and hasn't watched any of the fantasy staples (the hobbit, LOTR, Game of thrones). She does like Improv and she's very game for the campaign, but she's afraid she won't understand what is going on, and explaining to her even the basis of how the game works (You have to describe your actions to a narrator who will then determine how the world reacts to them) has proved challenging.

I'd hate for crunch to get in the way of what could be a memorable game, so I'm looking for advice from experienced DM's who have gone through the same thing.

I offered them to create a personality concept and a character concept only and that I would handle the crunch of leveling up and such, they would only have to look at their character sheets and tiny action cards in order to tell me what they do. I'd even make a cheat sheet for them with illustrations as to where the info is on the character sheet.

Since asking someone to create a concept out of infinite possibilities is a daunting prospect, I offered them some suggestions of concepts I had thought up that would fit my story and they seemed to like them.

The guys is going to be a tiefling swashbuckler with a nasty reputation for leaving no opponent unmaimed, I imagine him as a mix of Fernand de Mondego, count of Morcef, from the count of Monte Cristo and Darkstar from a song of ice and fire.

The girl is going to be a red dragon that was killed by narissia (kingmaker BBEG) as a way to gain an alliance with a powerful Blue dragon that was her ennemy. She then woke up having been reincarnated in a feeble human body and is pissed, not knowing who did the did. (concept would be a sorcerer with draconic bloodline and dragon disciple levels, keeping it in line with what she would generally associate a dragon with: Spewing fire and clawing the shit out of anything in her way)

I'd ask them general personality questions, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to make these characters truly theirs, so that they dont feel left out or stupid playing this game. Or worse, feeling like they are only puppets or placeholders in my campaign.

I'm having a hard time transfering my somwhat analitical and cartesian knowledge of RPG's and pathfinder into a more graspable whole.

I know this is a very vague request, I'd really love some outsider input, whatever it is.

Thanks to all who post.

Greetings all,

I'm updating some monsters for a campaign and I fear I'm going towards intimimancy too much, since I know those builds well.

If you assume everyone has power attack, weapon finesse and improved unarmed strike, what cool feat chains would be fun for creatures?

We're talking no class features and no weapons here, and sometimes maybe only 1 or 2 feats free.

Thanks for all the help :)

Greetings fellow DM's

I've been hard at work going over my upcoming Kingmaker campaign, and I decided to basically overhaul all of the encounters, in order to make them more challenging to the PC's. Halfway through his process, I realized that this could probably benefit some other DM's like me who lament the easy mode printed AP's seem to be on.

So in this thread I'll be posting links to my DM notes, where I update encounters, preroll random encounters in order to make them interesting and thematical, rework some BBEG in order to oooobe a bit updated with more modern classes and feats, or in order to give them more coherent battle strategies.

I don't expect anyone to benefit from it, and if Paizo wants me to remove this from the forums I'll understand. Feedback is appreciated.

First of all, the houserules this takes into account:

Feat Tax Fix: Feat Tax Fix

Weapon Finesse Fix: All finessable weapons (as defined in the feat tax fix) are eligible for the weapon finesse feat. Weapon finesse gives dex to damage with finessable weapons, Dex replaces str, but is always at x1.0, even for two handed or off hand weapons.

Rogues get finesse training at level 1, which works like weapon finesse but gives dex x 1.5 on two handed finesse weapons.

My group has something we call ''the gentleman's agreement'' in which we agree not to pursue some avenues of optimisation because they make the game boring, here is this list as of 2018-01-11:

For this campaign I will be using my own spin on automatic bonus progression, that you can find in the updated automatic bonus progression table document in the drive. All loot in the game has been stripped of it's +x bonus to account for this and prices have been adjusted accordingly. Named Monsters and NPC's use the normal ABP for their stat bonuses, unless they have PC wealth, in which case they use the updated ABP. The game assumes bottle economics, so only stuff that gets out in the PC's kingdom is available to trade, and the PC's can comission crafters they meet, or craft themselves during downtime if they so wish.

I use a variant on traps called the control box fix. Basically in ever encounter or dungeon where there is a trap that isn't incredibly simplistic (bear traps are simplistic) there will be a ''control box or rune'' that the players need to access in order to disable the trap. This adds a layer as sometimes the trap disarmer or the dispeler needs to use another skill to either see the trap or access it as it might well be behind the actual trap. I will also make liberal use of the enhance trap spell. Just like.. ALL THE TIME, and I will make traps more deadly, often by repetition (this trap shoots 1d4 darts at you? why not make it 3d4!!!) of the effect.

I will also be using the following template:

Here is the link to my google drive where I keep my stuff:

Here is the link, if it doesn't work just copy paste the URL bellow it should work

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UGwSEpYSEf3KdrWK11Z8dAbQptn7G65o?us p=sharing

Each area is gonna be labeled as such, except the various 1 encounter areas which are gonna be grouped in one document. I will also post updates on expected strategies. This is a Hard mode campaign, but Paizo assumes standard xp in their AP, so I suggest you DON'T give additional xp for the solo monster template or the liberal use of other templates over regular encounters, in order to keep the xp progression at normal and not have overpowered PC's. Do give them full xp if they manage to thwart a particularly difficult random encounter (such as my vital striking, intimimancy will o wisp solo monster)

Feel free to comment. Right now this is an ongoing process, i'm not even done with stolen lands. Once I'm done with it I'll post a synopsis of it and explain why some things are there.

I've also taken the liberty of making monster cards with pictures i got on google, if you have problems with my use of the picture, just tell me and I'll take it down. If you're a DM and love the idea, print it, use it, tell me about it.

Greetings esteemed developers of this beloved game.

I am asking for a FAQ request but unfortunately will not be able to provide links since I'm on my cellphone. It's easy enough to Google though and the devs do have all the books on call.

I would like people to consider the following interactions:

Orc bloodline: +1 per damage dice to damage of all spells.

Elemental/draconic bloodline: +1 per damage dice to damage of all spells of chosen element

Blood havoc: replaces level 1 power: +1 per damage dice to damage of all spells.

RAW they all stack, using crossblooded archetype you could have +3 per damage dice to spells. At level 1 you're dishing out 4d4+12 burning hands with the right build. At level 4 it's 2 scorchinc rays for 8d6+24 (more if you have a bard or arcane strike). At level 6 it's a 9d6 +27 damage fireball, and at level 8 the fun really starts with empowered fireball or scorhing ray on top. (At this point the scorching Ray's will average 117 damage without crits or Nat 1's or other buffs)

So all of this to ask:

Is it the Dev's intent that these sources of additional damage stack? Or are they considered as "from same source" and thus don't stack?

Other people feel free to comment

Greetings all,

I'd like to apologise if this has been treated before or if there's already a thread that brainstorms ideas for this, simply point me towards it and I'll delete this.

I need help to set up a coherent additional plot within my kingmaker campaign.

The current modules run until level 17 more or less, and I'd like to add my own home crafted module after that, one that deals with an even bigger threat that jeopardises the mission. I have a couple of concepts that I will lay out here and that can be considered puzzle pieces, I don't know where I'll fit them or how to make them work, so I'd like other GM's to give me a hand here, if its not too much to ask.

First of all my party is going to be evil, I'm running this as a suicide squad kinda thing, where a collection of sociopaths is put together by a bigger sociopath to achieve ... something? Without further ado, the party:

CE Female Dwarf Barbarian, assassin, murderer, manslaughterer, a generaly crazy killing machine (think killer croc)
CN Female gnome bard, fey like fatale seductress and con artist,
NE Female cleric or witch of Charron, the ''true'' evil of the party, the others just want to kill people, he wants to suck their soul.
??? ??? ??? roguish: still TBD
??? ??? ??? simple caster (sorcerer or oracle): still TBD

Now in addition to everything else, I was thinking of gearing the antagonists in this towards a more goodly agenda. Maybe instead of charmed monsters pitax has bound Azata as its enforcers, and the king is legit concerned about the monstrous leaders next door, which is why he messes with them. Maybe drelev is a ''strike first agaisnt eveil'' kind of paladin and that,s why he's so gung ho about attacking the party? I'd keep Naryssia's motivation the same though, but perhaps tweak them a bit.

So here are some of the ideas I have.

THE TRUE BBEGI would like someone that benefits or is incredibly irked by the death of naryssia at the end of thousand screams. I am thinking that count ranalc himself could either have manipulated the party into killing her or could be incredibly pissed that they killed his one love, and thus the 18-20 part of this adventure is spent defeating the hordes of the banished traitor suddenly returned to avenge his love or preventing his masterminded plan from completion.

THE SHADOW PATRON
I love this idea of this guy from restov that spurs them forward and encourages them to establish their land, helps them and even becomes an advisor in the kingdom they build (after he is ousted from his position). And then he is found out to be a traitor. Evil parties generally are less paranoid about secret traitors than good parties (they tend to kill everyone) and good advisors are hard to come by in the module so they'd probably form a strong bond with him. I'm thinking this shadowy patron could be a powerful fey that is either keen on opposing naryssia or freeing her. I'm even thinking he could be the bastard son of the union between the nymph queen and her eldest lover, come back to bite them with the power of daddy/mommy issues. (I'm thinking a vilderavn cause they sound freaking awesome). This shadowy patron could also be an agent of a rival fey lord, such as Ng

IS THE LOVE REAL?
First of all, I need to figure out if the love between naryssa and her lover was real. If it was, then I have a pissed off elder (who is potentially even mad at his own offspring who manipulated the party into killing his mother) who will visit war and destruction upon them, if it wasn't, then why did he manipulate her, and what was his grand plan? Maybe he needed her dead but had to go into exile before his plans come to fruition? Maybe the prophecy is in fact a two parter, the death of naryssa being the trigger for his invasion from the shadow plane?

IS THE PROPHECY REAL? I love the idea of having naryssa commit all of this time and energy and ressources in order to thwart a prophecy that wasn't even real. Maybe she was duped? Maybe she didn't have the whole picture? Maybe it was a all a game played by another eldest.

THE DAUGHTER WILL KILL THE MOTHERSince I have a character (the gnome bard) who really wants to play a fey (she wanted to play a fey and i showed her the gnome) I'm thinking i could get this deeper. I'd create a 15 RP race (like the aasimar) that's a sort of fey and allow her to play it. I'd make her past murky (her memory has been whiped several times) She would have positive intereactions with a lot of feys in the setting, and would follow the adventure, not knowing all along that Naryssa is her mother. When they finally take her down, either the count or the shadowy patron reveals to her that she just killed her mother, and that this was the part of the prophecy that the nymph queen didn't know, creating a ''whuuuuuuuuuut?'' moment.

These are the ideas I've had so far. I know it's very random and left and right, I'd love some input from other DM's into how to craft this into something memorable.

Thanks a lot for any help.

Hey all,

I'm toying with the idea of using automatic bonus progression in my next campaign. I'm gonna be running kingmaker which is a good case of a campaign where I can keep the economy local, and there's a lot of cool items in there that I'd like to see the players use instead of desperately selling in order to scrounge out some superior numerical bonuses. (For an exemple,if we had the auomatic bonus progression with my current level 16 party, our WBL each would be around 40k for some trinkets and knicknacks)

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/unchained-rules/automatic -bonus-progression/

The big problem I have is that the table is SO SLOW compared to regular play. Also, the weapons and armor enhancement feel stupid to me, and overly complicated (I'll have 2 brand new players, 2 newish, and 1 veteran) for the party.

I'm thinking of using this progression instead:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SeTBq1Pzq1ucCydYBq9H2tWsWR-jJDRHGztpC_O V5C0/edit

Although I would probably start giving out legendary gifts at level 14-15 or so, I'll have to think on it.

I plan on just removing +x enhancement bonuses to armor and weapons, your innate field becoming the x bonus, and the weapon just adding its special abilities, I would then price weapons only from +1 to +5. It encourages golf bagging of weapons but I'm actually ok with that :)

My main questions would be this:

1: is the weapon interpretation broken? It reduces the cost and thus the resell value of weapons and I don't think early vorpal weapons are a problem, most special abilities on swords are either lackluster or not that good so having flashy weapons doesn't seem that bad, btu I could be wrong.

2: What about the spells? GMW Magic vestments, barkskin, circle of protection and other like that all provide bonuses that can, at levels, be superior to those of the normal progression, do I allow the better bonus to supercede? I was thinking of tweaking GMW so that it's now a buff to the inherent weapon enhancement of the person, same with magic vestment.

3: What about the monsters? Do i give them those bonuses? Or use the regular table for their bonuses and the faster table for the PC? Or are they ok like they are?

Advice is appreciated, thanks.

Hello all.

I'm putting this out here so we can get some sort of brainstorming on useful shapes that can be obtained from the fey form line of spells.

Anyone has any idea? I see a lot of useful abilities out there but none that I can pinpoint on a specific fey creature (and I've read kingmaker so I know a couple of them). So it's hard for me to, say, figure out what's the best tiny fey form.

Thanks all

Greetings,

I'd like peer advice on a template we are considering for our current campaigns.

This template borrows a bit from 4th ed and 5th ed, and kinda doesn't make sense. It's meant to be a solution to the action economy problem of solo bosses.

I know that the current reasoning is that solo bosses don't work and you should simply add minions, but I feel that sometimes that takes away from the feel of the boss. A dragon can have his kobold followers but then you dont feel like you're fighting the dragon...

So i've written up the lone wolf template, please tell me what you think:

+ 0 CR template.
automatically applies to any monster that fights alone vs a party of 3 or more.
**ALTERNATIVELY** In an event where a player fights alone vs 3 monsters or more he could benefit from it.

Roll 2 tracks of initiative, the highest is the full round in which the monster can perform, the lowest is a standard action and a swift action (no move, no full round).

At CR 13+, the monster gains a third standard action that automatically starts at the beginning of the round, with the following caveat: The monster can use any 1 action that can target only the monster, 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. The monster does not need to have a free hand to cast a spell in this way. The Monster is still considered flat footed for the purposes of the first round.

At CR 20+, the monster has 2 initiatives, and 2 full round actions.

Hello all.

So I'm making a restoration spirit shaman with the witch doctor archetype (yes I know channeling is subpart but I wanted to try it and our elven war party is very glass cannonesque so bolstering hp seems like the way to go).

I took the shell of succor hex and I really like the forcefieldy feel it has. I'd like to slap on some more effects on there when I perform it but I can't seem to find spells items or feats that boost giving temp hp.

I'm already planning on taking split hex at 10 in order to double forcefields , I just wish I could put on a small buff somewhere in there or something. Does anyone know something that helps with a temp hp build?

Greetings,

I'D like to get some feedback on my life spirit channeler build if at all possible?

We are playing unofficial PFS which means PFS rules but not registered PFS (its impossible to get a venture license!!) so id like to know if something is illegal

I like the build so far but i'm not entirely at ease with shamans or channeling.

I'd love to get my hands on channel force (the aasimar feat line) but I don't know if there would be enough undead in the campaign to make it worthwhile.

In the forge of combat metaphor, I aim to be the arms with a little splash of anvil and hammer depending on my whimsy for the day (spirit talker and wandering hex will help for that)

For my improved familiar I was thinking of getting an arbiter with the protector archetype, with shield other and in harm's way he would greatly extend my life, and with regen (chaotic) he's almost unkillable.

Plus the bodyguard feat means that combined with my variant channeling he would have a channeling bonus to aid another, and then that translates to AC for me.

Plus the variant channeling is very useful for skill checks. Boost party's aid another checks, everyone aid's the dude with the highest skill check in that skill, and then we give him a shitton of bonuses.

Anyone care to add something, or tell me i'm wrong on something?

Thanks for feedback.

Greetings prestigious board members.

I have a conundrum for you. A riddle if you will.

First, the basis:

Assume Level 5 and 18 Charisma.

I have 2 pools

Life spirit pool (or pool A) has 5 uses
Witch doctor pool (or pool B) has 8 uses, albeit at -3 ECL (Effective Cleric Level)

QUESTION 1:

I use quick channel to channel as a move action.
I use 1 use from pool A, and one use from pool B, in order to mitigate costs to my main pool.

Is this legal?

QUESTION 2:
Would it be possible for me to take variant channeling for the witch doctor pool and not the life spirit pool? In order to have variety in my pools, and since it's not as useful due to reduced effectiveness.

BONUS QUESTION:
What freaking god aside torag can give the strategy variant channeling??

That is all.

Thanks a lot for the answers.