Adjathazar's page

Hey all

Am working on an arcane spellcaster, who I plan to equip with a pistol to supplement his spellcasting, mostly for flavor reasons. This is my first real encounter with the rules governing the use and pricing of firearms, and there's just a few things I have to get off my chest.

1) Why is the pricing of firearm ammunition so ridiculously high? I mean, a bullet is something like ½-1 cm in diameter and typically made of lead or iron, arguably cheap materials, and yet it costs one gold piece? I mean, I can buy a light steel shield for 9gp, presumably made entirely or mostly out of steel, with a weight of 6 lbs. so there's a lot of metal there, but a single bullet costs me 1 gp??
Changing material makes no more sense. A single silver bullet costs 25gp (25!!!), but an entire silver (alchemical) dagger costs just 22?
Claiming difficult crafting procedues doesn't help, since bullets (not cartriges) are some of the easiest things to manufacture by a smith... you just need a small cast.

I presume the goal is to limit the access to firearms, and I do get that the pricing of firearms themselves should be high, at least compared to "older" weapon groups, since they might be more difficult to manufacture, but the bullets themselves? Makes no sense!

2) Why arent firearms included in the simple weapons? Bows take skill i.e. training to use, but a pistol? I'm not a historian, but it was my understanding that two of the main reasons firearms replaced almost all previous weapon was 1) their effectiveness and 2) their ease of use.
I mean, a crossbow is listed as a simple weapon, and it still has to be cocked correctly, presumably oiled and maintained, perhaps the string needs replacing etc. Are the use of firearms really that difficult, that they need to be restricted to specific classes (i.e. a specific subset of skills) or as a martial weapon.

I'm not arguing the rules, and I get that the first priority of a fantasy roleplaying game isn't nessesarily to reflect reality, but these examples just seem overly disproportionate.

(Also, if there exists some rule I havent noticed explaining that the price of one bullet really covers like 50 bullets, please excuse the first half of the post.)

:-)

Sorry, I should add... other ways except taking a dip in a arcane caster class.

Hi all

My question goes to whether or not arcane strike can become available to other builds than the traditional arcane caster. The feat description says "the ability to cast arcane spells", but how is that defined?

Specifically, would any of the following builds qualify:

1) A rogue using rogue trick to gain spell casting ability?
2) A divine caster with two-world magic selecting an arcane cantrip?
3) A quingong monk with spell-like abilities?
4) Eldritch heritage combinations?

Any other ways of accomplishing this?
What of the per-caster level progression of arcane strike if the caster has both arcane and divine caster levels?

Thanks in advance

1) A FAQ clarified that you can use natural weapons that are associated with one hand, so, slams and claws work, but not a tail slap. And remember, you can only attack with the one, since you need a free hand as well.

2) No, pounce lets you take a full attack when charging, not any full round action. Spell combat is likewise a full round action that allows a full attack, not just any full round action (like charging).

3) Yes, flurry of maneuvers has none of the language found in flurry of blows that prevents natural weapon use.

4) No. You can flurry of maneuvers with spell combat, or flurry of maneuvers with pounce, but you can't pounce and spell combat.

Thanks

Hi all, was hoping someone could enlighten me on these questions. They all concern what can be accomplished within a single round, combining various abilities:

1) Can a Druid/magus wildshaped use full attack with natural weapons only, also cast a spell via spell combat?

2) If yes, can a druid/magus wildshaped into a big cat use pounce as well as casting a spell?

3) Can a druid/monk (master of maneuvers) wildshaped use full attack/pounce as well as flurry of maneuvers?

4) If yes, can a druid/monk/magus use pounce/spell/flurry within a single round?

Thanks in advance

Hi all

Despite the rather ambitious title, the questions I pose are rather simple:

1) Does the nature of elementals (being composed entirely of one of the 4 elements) protect them from the attacks of a black pudding, which specifically states that it only affects organic materials and metal?

2) Would a druid character wild shaped into an elemental be similar immune?

3) Does/should the nature of elementals not protect them from other conditions, i.e. poison is specifically mentioned, but disease is not, though it clearly requires a normal physiology...

4) How exactly does melee weapons damage/effect an elemental?... disperse it? What would this translate to for a polymorphed character... wounds, blood loss?

5) Does the nature fx air elementals grant feather falling in case of stun or similar? (since your weight is that of ambient air, and you can't really "fall" in a mass thats equal to your own).

Very much looking forward to your response.

Hey all

A few quick questions:
If a creature/character with the feats 'lunge' and 'hover' chooses to attack an opponent from above while flying himself, can he use hover to stay in place above the target at 10 feet distance, and then use lunge to attack his target below, while the target, who has normal size and 5-foor reach, would not be able to retaliate?

Would the situation be any different if the attacker was not a character, but a creature with natural attacks?

If the attacker also had combat reflexes and high dex, would he be granted an AoO for any targets passing under him while hovering?

Could lunge be used with fly-by attack to hinder an enemy AoO when disengaging?

Also, can a flying creature such as a roc, which presumably stand on it's legs when on the ground, only attack using it's bite when 'grounded', or is it assumed that the roc makes a small leap or something, in order to bring its claws into action?

Thanks in advance :-)

Thanks again, however the my intent my intent was to use it on my character's animal companion (roc), in which case a standard action has a very limited number of uses, other than the melee attack, which spring attack also grants.

Ok thanks.

A few quick follow-up questions:
1) Can't you do spring attack in the air? Is there an erata or something that states it being limited to land based movement?

2) Fly-by attack provokes AoO, yes? So is there really any point to taking it as a flying combatant, other than after your attack (and the enemy's AoO), you're likely to be gone, i.e. disengaged from combat.

(...3) not really a rules question, but is there another efficient way to utilise a flying combatant vs. ground based opponents?, i.e. particular feats etc?)

My first post, please bear with me :-)

I have a druid with a roc mount, which I was planning to give dodge, mobility and spring attack, so that the roc has the option over flying over the battlefield and attacking from higher ground with no risk of AoO.

Now, I've read several posts which state that since both charge and spring attack are full-round actions, you cannot do both simultaneously in a round.

But, charge comes with an exception:
If you are able to take only a standard action on your turn, you can still charge, but you are only allowed to move up to your speed (instead of up to double your speed) and you cannot draw a weapon unless you possess the Quick Draw feat. You can't use this option unless you are restricted to taking only a standard action on your turn.

Now consider the description of spring attack:
As a full-round action, you can move up to your speed and make a single melee attack without provoking any attacks of opportunity from the target of your attack. You can move both before and after the attack, but you must move at least 10 feet before the attack and the total distance that you move cannot be greater than your speed.

If a player (or his animal companion) starts his turn with spring attack, then isn't he limited to one attack (equivalent to one standard action), and couldn't he then charge as part of his spring attack?