Goladryth

Andreas Forster's page

******** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg 580 posts. No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 106 Organized Play characters.


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I originally was leaning more to the side of "you have to cast a spell or make a spellstrike to keep it going", also because you would need to fuel a cascade somehow. And I still think there is some merit to that explanation (and casting spells is really not the most limiting thing for spellcasters).

But then I stumbled over an interesting part in the flavor text of Arcane Cascade:
"You divert a portion of the spell's magical power and keep it cycling through your body and weapon"
So that seems to suggest the magus actually cascades the energy of a single spell.
To represent that, the requirement of Arcane Cascade could be reworded to "You used your most recent action before entering this stance to Cast a Spell or make a Spellstrike."


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Owen K. C. Stephens wrote:

The holy fusion does not bypass total immunity, by design.

An evil fire elemental is still actually made of fire.

I can get behind the idea for creatures with the elemental subtype. As you mentioned, it really makes no sense to harm a creature with fire when that creature is made out of fire. Although I believe the average elemental is neutral anyway.

But what about fiends? Wouldn't you think it should be possible to harm a devil with a holy laser?
Or dragons? As far as I've seen, standard dragons have no natural resistances, just immunities. So why would they even be listed then?

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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It has been clarified by Alex Speidel 3 days after Macaroune's post.

Alex Speidel wrote:

Clarification on the Khizar boon:

- You do not have to slot it to check the boxes.
- Only the character who has earned this chronicle may donate the credits to check the boxes.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Quote:
Also, can I use inspiration on a day job roll?

Last time I checked, the general consensus was that you can use it as long as you're allowed to roll the extra dice without spending inspiration points. That's also how I would rule it at my tables.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Quote:
particularly because the Chronicle itself has no way to tell me that you did.

That's easy to solve. When receiving the chronicle, just write "played a pregen; apply at level 7" (or something similar) on the top of the chronicle, and everybody can see it's a held chronicle.

I always write "apply at level X" on my held chronicles and also on chronicles a player at my tables plans to hold.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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1) I'd definitely say no. It says you can use it, not that you actually gain the feat.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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As others have mentioned, there's nothing stopping you from describing your character background any way you like. For mechanical benefits, you'd need some of the vanities from "Pathfinder Society Field Guide".

For a crime lord, for example, here are some suggestions that come to mind:

- choose "The Exchange" as your faction. That faction is all about making money, no matter whether you do so legally or illegally.
- At Fame 20, purchase the faction-specific vanity "Master of Trade". For your character, that could represent him gaining better deals through illegal networks.
- Purchase the "Caravan" vanity, which lets you make your Day Job checks with either Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Bluff. Good thing to have for smuggling.
- Think about purchasing some of the follower vanities. One that comes to mind is the "Herald". It does nothing but let you look cool. But a crime lord needs a personal henchman who makes the annoying introductions, right? (Even if it's ridiculous that the NPCs haven't already heard of your character ;P )

Quote:
but there's nothing stopping you from subduing them and turning them into the local authorities

This is the method of choice for a crime lord, although I believe you meant "turning them in to the local authorities". :P

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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trollbill wrote:
Or if you must reward Chaotic/borderline evil behavior, at least allow for a choice that gives different rewards based on going with the Light side instead of the Dark. Good and Lawful characters get harassed enough by GMs it is nice to occasionally be rewarded for doing the right thing.

Getting a small boon depending on the way the character handled a situation sounds really cool. So +1 for that. :)

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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For 64-page modules played in campaign mode, you indeed issue the chronicle sheets once the entire module is finished. This is mainly because there is a bonus chronicle sheet that gets applied based on which character the regular ones were applied to.


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Traits are minor abilities that are meant to give a little spotlight on the character's personal beackground. Generally, a character gets to choose 2 traits, which must come from different lists.
These lists are: basic combat, basic faith, basic magic, basic social, regional, race, relgion, and campaign traits. In PFS, you can't take any campaign traits, but there are faction traits instead.

Where to find them:

- This free document, which are also the traits found in the Advanced Players Guide
- Ultimate Campaign
- Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide It's free (and you'll need it anyway for information on PFS play), and you'll find the faction traits in there.
- Several traits are spread out between lots of sourcebooks, but for a start, you're fine with the above (you don't even necessarily need Ultimate Campaign to have a good selection).

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Finlanderboy wrote:
Does the owlbear/axebeak/fairy dragon boon effect the character or companion?

It affects the character by adding an option to either their class's companion list or the list they can choose an improved familiar from.

Finlanderboy wrote:
The comma is essential. Too bad you did not use it at first

I see no grammatical sense for "no it is not" other than "no, it is not" with the comma being forgotten. There's a big difference to "it is not no" (or whatever you're reading out of it). Just saying.

On the subject matter, I do see why it shouldn't make sense that you keep bad stuff for your companions/eidolons/etc., but have to give away the good ones, especially when the good boon would only be an actual advantage when on the companion.
On the other hand, I see why bad effects shouldn't be just handwaived away. That would generate an attitude of using companions as lab rats.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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What I'd also like to see is something granting permanent mythic tiers to characters above 11th level (so at a point where they can't participate in regular PFS scenarios anyway). But I suppose that's unlikely.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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While "Masters of the Fallen Fortress" gives a nice in-game reason for the characters to join the Society, it has a lot of combats, which can get quite boring (and you'll need lots of healing), giving you only 1 PP in the process, which means players don't have the option of buying a Wand of CLW if it is their first scenario.

"First Steps Part 1" has the downside of featuring outdated metaplot. The First Steps series was used to introduce players to the 10 factions that were available at the time. Basically, First Steps was a bunch of faction missions with a big fight at the end. It was a nice series that showed the different kinds of scenario one could expect in PFS (city, dungeon, overland travel/wilderness), but since part 2 & 3 are retired, part 1 is just a bunch of out-of-context errands.

"The Confirmation" is a fine choice as it shows the players some basic concepts of the Pathfinder Society, like working together and keeping notes. Also, for players who play it the first time, the chronicle gives them something for free, and players like free stuff.

"The Wounded Wisp" is equally nice as it gives the players some basic knowledge about Absalom. Also, it has some great roleplaying opportunities.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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In modules, most GMs add in a little "the Venture-Captain sent you" part to start off the adventure.

In the case of Crypt of the Everflame, for example, you could have the PCs be the town's honoured guests from the Pathfinder Society (maybe being sent to be the Society's representatives at the local festivities) and apart from that, run the module as it is.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Sertaki wrote:
A taldan swashbuckler (prior Taldor, now forced to join Grand Lodge), that would like to join the Sovereign Court.

This seems to be a database error, btw. Characters that used to be in the Taldor faction were changed to Sovereign Court by default, as that's the new name of what was the Taldor faction before.

The ex-Sczarni changed to The Exchange by default, so that one would have to use the free faction change to join Dark Archive.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Kigvan wrote:
Up to a maximum number of tricks known as normal (2 x Int Score + bonus tricks).

It's 3 x Int score + bonus tricks.

So for an average animal companion, if you have 6 ranks in Handle Animal, you're back to full with one chronicle.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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I suppose the biggest argument concerning wealth by level is the crafter doubles their own WBL only.
In a home campaign, every character in the party can ask the crafter to make something for them, so it doubles the entire party's WBL, which a GM can work with.
If only one character has double WBL, that makes the party very unbalanced, expecially at higher levels.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Then I'd say just give them the full chronicle. It was nobody's fault that you couldn't finish.
You can still offer the rest of the players to finish the module at another time so they get to experience the whole story, then talk to the ones who are moving in private and tell them, in short, how the story ends so they at least know what would have happened if you had been able to finish. It's always nice to know how the story ends, especially when you played through the start for a couple of hours.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Correct. In PFS, Racial Heritage can only open up options found in books other than the Advanced Race Guide.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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It's quite easy. For anything that draws it's powers from a divine source or that specifies you have to worship a deity (like Deific Obediance), you have to choose one deity to worship from among the PFS legal Golarion deities. The exception are druids/rangers/hunters, who can venerate nature, and oracles who don't have to worship the deity that grants them powers.
In addition, anything Razmir-related has to actually venerate Razmir.

Apart from that, your character is free to "worship" anything he likes. Other characters will most likely know that this worship is abyolutely bogus, and at some points you will want to inform new players about that detail before the game (otherwise they might believe you're using some strange deity from some sourcebook).

Also, I also wouldn't like a player to have that "invented deity" be a deity from Greyhawk. D&D and Pathfinders both use the same genre, so mixing in stuff from one world into the other seems a bit strange. Of course, not every GM thinks this way and you might be able to play a character who venerates a Greyhawk deity, but you should be prepared to run into GMs who ask you not to play such a character.
But I suppose with a deity that's clearly invented by the character, you're ok most of the time.

As for the specific questions:

- Witch: Sure, a witch can venerate whatever he/she wishes. The actual name of the patron doesn't have to be defined (so you don't have to define whether or not it's the same entity the witch venerates), you just have to define the patron's theme.

- Oracle: An oracle can venerate whatever he/she likes, as an oracle doesn't know the source of their powers. You should maybe define a deity that has actually found interest in the character and granted them powers. The character doesn't need to know, it's just an out-of-character info in case a GM asks.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Rather than looking for a way to change subtier determination, players and GMs at tables where corner cases such as those given as examples above happen should find a peaceful solution among the group.

If there is a group with a wide range of character levels, odds are there will be at least one player who is not happy with the subtier (either less gold than what the character could get or more danger of dying).
The best way to get around such situations is for the player who would "force" the subtier to change to either choose a different character or to play a pregen.

Lastly, there is still the "Don't be a jerk" rule. If one player would force the subtier to change, and other players are not happy about that, that player should be reminded that the purpose of the game is for everybody to have fun.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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pauljathome wrote:
Don't constantly rules lawyer, ESPECIALLY when it really isn't important.

On a related point, don't question NPC tactics too much. Sometimes an NPC is supposed to not care about the well-being of his/her allies. It's all part of the encounter's difficulty, so don't tell the GM he's using bad tactics as if he's doing things wrong. Sometimes bad tactics are just intended.

Also, don't use player knowledge when the character doesn't have such knowledge, especially in evergreens, where players can know what happens without ever having run the scenario.
(I had a player who had his character kick a certain chest multiple times in First Steps 1 because he (as a player) knew it was an illusion.)

Not talking over the GM reading box text is also important. It doesn't even have to be box text. When the GM announces something, players shouldn't talk among each other. Same goes for when a player asks the GM something or wants to declare what their character is doing. The GM would like to understand what the players tell them, and that gets very difficult if someone else talks loudly.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Mystic Lemur wrote:
Frankly, I think the hardest part of playing this character will be getting a GM to actually say you fall.

That part is quite easy. Before each game, just tell your GM that any of your actions that might seem like a violation of paladin code are actually meant to be a path to falling, and that you're totally ok if he thinks it's time for your paladin to fall.

I suppose there are a lot of GMs who will not have a paladin fall because they either don't want to hurt the character for things the player didn't mean to be violations or because they simply don't look too close at the paladin's actions because PFS is a bunch of murder hobos anyway (or both). Making these GMs aware of the fact that you actually aim at having your paladin fall can help a lot.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Quote:
You may not apply a Chronicle sheet earned with a pregenerated character to a character that was already at the level of the pregenerated character or higher, as you should have used this character for the scenario instead.

This simply means, if you played a level 4 pregen, you can only apply the chronicle to a character level 3 or lower, and if you play a level 7 pregen, you can only apply the chronicle to a character level 6 or lower. In any of those cases, the character you apply the chronicle to will have to wait until he/she reaches the level of the pregen you played before the chronicle takes effect. So you can't apply pregen credit to a character that will benefit immediately, because if you want the character to gain XP, prestige, and gold immediately, you should have actually played that character.

Quote:
For modules and Adventure Path content below 9th level, if you do not have a character in the correct level range, you may use a Pathfinder Society pregenerated character

The important part is not "if you do not have a character in the correct level range", but "content below 9th level". A 9th level module is tier 8-10, and for that tier and above, there are no PFS legal pregens.

This part simply means that there are no special pregens higher than level 7 for use in modules. Everything that requires a character of level 8 or above has to be played with non-pregen characters.

So, there is no rule against playing a pregen when you have characters in the scenario's level range.
You could even have a huge binder full of level 4 PFS characters lying right next to you and you would still be allowed to play a level 4 pregen. (You just wouldn't be allowed to apply the chronicle to any of those level 4 characters.)


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If you want a luck-based archetype, try Sleuth (Investigator archetype), which replaces alchemy with sleuth's luck, an ability that works a bit like grit/panache.

The inspiration and large amount of class skills & skill ranks/level also go in favor of James Bond's diverse skillset.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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I also have a character who owns a carriage (simply because it's much less work than walking when covering large distances). I bought a squire to act as the driver, because the squire's rules text is he takes care of your animals.

Because a carriage is a large vehicle, you won't always be able to take it along, so in most cases during a scenario, you use the carriage to get to wherever you need to be, park the carriage, and play through the scenario as intended.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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You're only scratching the Society's most recent history.
It was founded in 4307, so they had a lot of time building up numbers.
Also, take a look at "Seekers of Secrets". They list 15 notable Pathfinders, mostly Venture-Captains, but those don't include people like Sheila Heidmarch or Varian Jeggare, which are mentioned in several scenarios and/or novels. Also, there are about 8 pages titled 'Pathfinders around the Inner Sea' detailing the Society's standing in each country.

Heidmarch Manor has 4 guest houses, each being able to house an average adventuring party (judging from the description). So the Heidmarchs are able to house up to 24 guest at a time.
Assuming all lodges in big cities have about the same capacity, that's a few hundred Pathfinders that can be stationed at lodges at any given time. The Grand Lodge in Absalom is certainly able to house a few more Pathfinders (also, the new recruits are trained there), and there are always quite a few teams that are not stationed at a lodge.
I'd estimate the Society has about 1500-1700 members.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Sebastian Hirsch wrote:

Doesn't this vow impose an unfair burden on the other players?

After all, a monk with this vow is unable to own a wand of CLW, a potion of remove disease and .... well plenty of other things.

Considering Painlords suggestions, you pretty much have nothing in that list.
And this leaves the other players at the table 2 options, use their resources on the monk, or don't do so and risk a character death or worse a TPK.

Wands of Cure light Wounds are no party healers, they're backup items.

If there's a healer in the party, that character has renewable resources with which to heal injured characters. If there isn't, then healing will consume non-renewable resources.
Also, owning a Wand of Cure light Wounds is not mandatory. Everybody who buys such a wand, however, should know that his wand may have to be used as backup healing.
Also, that monk will fulfill a role as well. Many will have a few Qigong Monk abilities to make use of all their Ki points. Also, monks can be good damage dealers and/or good tanks.

If that monk just does nothing productive which might lead to increased cost in resources or even a TPK, then yes, there's an unfair burden. But it's not the vow that causes the unfair burden, it's the way the monk is played.
Such a player should just be talked to. Maybe he/she simply doesn't know they're making bad tactical choices. But always remember to be polite in such a matter, in most cases there's some kind of concept idea behind that character and what appears to be bad tactics to one person in fact fits the character idea perfectly.

In short, I'm tired of the general assumption that everybody has to bring a Wand of CLW to create a "fair" game.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Swiftbrook wrote:
I also think that any class or archetype that starts out illiterate should be required to take at least one skill rank in linguistics at first level to be literate for the Pathfinder Society.

I actually find the idea of mission reports "written" in a series of pictures funny. The Decemvirate send their agents out to "read" a lot of cave paintings, so why shouldn't they do some interpretation work themselves :P


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Bigguyinblack wrote:
Since a power named Misfortune is clearly not intended to help.

It's at least unfortunate for the enemy if you can reroll a failed save or attack roll...

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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First Steps 1 does have a lot of problem solving involved. Sure, there are some combats, but a lot of it is actually problem solving and required the players to come up with creative ideas.

First Steps 1 encounters in detail:
The Warehouse - a little bit of combat with the rats, but then the players have to be very creative in getting the crate without destroying its contents.

The Orphanage - This one is pure roleplaying. The players have to talk to people (mainly Auntie Baldwin and the children) and manage to secretly look around the house.

The Osirian Riddle - Well, it's a riddle. Not a hard one, but still requires some thinking.

The Imp and the box - This one can be solved via combat, but it's so much more awesome when solved as a social encounter. I've seen a lot on this one, from talking nicely and convincing the imp to deception or simply bullying the imp into handing over the box.

The final encounter - This one is defninitely combat, you simply can't do anything about it. But you can still employ a lot of tactics in this, especially since it's located in a narrow ally.

Also, I might add that First Steps 1 is always a good scenario to start a character with, you could maybe follow up with The Confirmation, which also has some roleplaying involved, but a few more fights.


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I'd say it works just like the 3.5 FAQ you posted, especially since spiked shields are indeed listed seperately on the weapons table in the CRB.
In my games, I'd always play it that way.
But an FAQ would actually be nice, so there's really no doubt about how it works.


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ok, here's how I use the monster creation rules from Bestiary 1:

- Determine the CR you want the monster to have.

- Note suggested HP, attack bonus, average damage, save bonuses, ability DCs for the target CR.

- Look up the HD type of the monster type you want the monster to be and the suggested number of hit dice for a member of that creature type and CR.

- Determine the average HP the monster would gain from hit dice alone and determine the Con bonus needed to achieve the suggested HP. Write down the corresponding Con score.

- Look up the BAB for a creature of the appropriate creature type and HD. Calculate the Str bonus needed to achieve the suggested attack bonus, or if you want the monster to be Dex based, the bonus you calculate is the Dex bonus. Write down the corresponding Str (or Dex) score.

- Determine the number and base damage of attacks the creature needs to achieve the suggested average damage. If you haven't determined the monster's Str yet, now is a good time to choose a Str score that results in the target damage values.

- Determine base saves and check if the monster achieves the suggested save bonuses. Find the Wis bonus needed to achieve the suggested Will save. If you haven't determined the monster's Dex yet, also find the Dex bonus needed to achieve the suggested Ref save.
Also check the Fort save. If it's too high, you might want to lower the monster's Con by 2 and give him Toughness to still have the correct number of HP.
If a save is too low, just add Great Fortitude/Lightning Reflexes/Iron Will.

- Determine the monster's AC by just using its Dex bonus and size modifier. Achieve the suggested AC by adding natural armor and maybe Dodge.

- Set Int and Cha anyway you like. If you want the monster to have spell-like abilities, instead determine its Cha score so you achieve the suggested special ability DC.

- Choose a number of feats appropriate to the monster's HD. Instead of a feat, you can just make up an ability that's about as powerful as a feat. Remember you might have already chosen feats like Toughness, Weapon Focus, Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Great Fortitude, Lightning Refelxes, or Iron Will. But if you have taken a lot of feats just to meet the suggested values, you might want to add special abilities without using a "feat slot".

- Take a final look at the monster. Do the ability scores represent what you want the monster to be? If not, adjust them. Don't be afraid to be a little higher or lower than the suggested stats in some cases. Saves will almost never all hit the suggested values.

- Don't forget to give your players a cool description of your monster, and maybe a picture or even a mini. ;)
And most important: Make the monster a challenging but fun encounter. ;)

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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You are allowed to have one of each of the following:

- A mundane mount that doesn't participate in combat.
- A familiar or mundane pet that doesn't participate in combat.
- A combat pet. This may be an animal companion, eidolon, or mundane animal purchased with gold. If it's also your mount, you can't have the mundane mount.

In short, only one of your permanent animals (also counting eidolons) may particpate in combat at a time.
This means you could also have both an eidolon and an animal companion, but you are only allowed to send one of them into combat.

Lastly, summoned creatures never count against this limit, because they only stay for a small amount of time and use up spells (or limited uses of a spell-like ability) to be summoned.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Belafon wrote:
What I would disagree with is then continuing to gain levels in a class that derives its power from Razmir.

Remember that Razmir is not a god. While clerics have to continuously receive power from their deity, Razmir is not able to have such an influence.

The archetype does receive certain power from Razmir, but that's more like arcane initiation rituals that warp the sorcerer class to gain a few cleric-like abilities. After that point, the Razmiran Priest would basically be free to do whatever he wants, although a heretic would surely be in danger as the clergy of Razmir will try and hunt him down. Of course that won't happen in PFS, but on the other hand, most Razmirans don't know what the heretic looks like without his mask...

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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Avatar-1 wrote:
Doesn't Crypt of the Everflame come before Masters of the Flying Fortress?

It's "Masters of the Fallen Fortress. And no, they are completely unrelated.

Crypt of the Everflame is the prequel to Masks of the Living God.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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You can alter the beginning of MotFF so the PCs get a mission to check out the newly opened tower (it's just a roleplaying aspect, after all).
I like to play it in this order: MotFF -> First Steps 1 -> Confirmation.
That creates some nice storyline on how the characters become Pathfinders.

And to get back at one of the original questions: Yes, First Steps 1 is still a nice scenario to play without the other 2 parts. There are lots of nice roleplaying opportunities in it.


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To be a little bit more precise:

Apart from replacing spell recall, changing weapon proficiencies, etc. the important parts for this discussions are these:

- The Hexcrafter gains an ability called "Hex Arcana"
- The Kapenia Dancer gains an ability called "Kapenia Dancer Arcana"

Both abilities do similar things: they add options to choose from when selecting a magus arcana. But those still are two seperate abilities the magus gains by choosing an archetype, not alterations of the same class feature, so they won't cause any conflict when choosing both archetypes.


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Have any of you even read the archetypes in question?
They both add options to the magus' choice of arcana. They don't replace anything with those arcana (though the magus must still "purchase" them when he gains access to a new arcana). So of course they can be combined.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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You can also take the "Magical Knack" trait.

Advanced Player's Guide wrote:
Magical Knack: You were raised, either wholly or in part, by a magical creature, either after it found you abandoned in the woods or because your parents often left you in the care of a magical minion. This constant exposure to magic has made its mysteries easy for you to understand, even when you turn your mind to other devotions and tasks. Pick a class when you gain this trait—your caster level in that class gains a +2 trait bonus as long as this bonus doesn't raise your caster level above your current Hit Dice.

Of course, this trait is rather useless if you don't want to take any levels in spellcasting classes. You could, however, dip into a level of Sorcerer with the Fey bloodline, as The Fox already suggested.

The trait is also useless if you don't plan to multiclass, so just a dip into Sorcerer is a good idea (or level up your Sorcerer class as normal and dip into 2 levels of other classes).

If you really want, you can combine all three options, taking both the "Magical Knack" trait and the "Fey Foundling" feat, then dipping into one level of Fey Sorcerer (you can dip into that level of Sorcerer either at first level or any time later).

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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If you really have the time for it, you can still run First Steps 2 & 3, but be sure to inform your players those are retired and they'll play them for flavor only.

As others already posted, The Confirmation is a very good addition.
At an upcoming convention, for example, I'll run Masters of the Fallen Fortress -> First Steps part 1 -> The Confirmation. That still makes for a nice introductory story arc.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

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There are a few chronicles that have an intelligent item on them, which is quite a nice piece of loot if your players like that kind of special item.

Also, many chronicles for sanctioned Adventure Paths have unique items on them.

You should also look into scenarios from the Lissala storyline from season 4. Some of them have nice unique items as well.

I won't name any specific scenarios, both because I don't want to encourage cherry-picking and because I'm too lazy to look them all up now :P


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Quote:
1d3 is the worst. So bad that there isn't even a dice for it.

Of course there are d3. And I'm not talking about d6 that are numbered 1, 2, 3 twice. There are actual d3. I own such a thing (I also own a d7, a d16, a d24, a d30, and a d100).

Full Name

Abroshqualmie

Race

Gnome Blackened Oracle of Life

Classes/Levels

Stats:
AC 19(-) T 14 FF 16 | F +6 R +5 W +6 | Init +2 | Perc +11

Gender

Status:
HP: 59/59 | spells remaining: 1st (3/8) 2nd (0/6) 3rd (1/4)| channel DC 17 3d6 (1/8)

Strength 8
Dexterity 14
Constitution 16
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 14
Charisma 21

About Abroshqualmie

Gnome Oracle of Life 6 (Blackened)

Defense:

CMD: 14
Saves: Fort +5 Ref +4 Will +6
HP 51
AC 19 Touch 14 Flatfooted 16

Offense:

BAB +5
Melee Spiked Gauntlet -0 1d3-1 or Longspear -2
Ranged +8

Feats:

1: Selective Channel
3: Alignment Channel (Evil)
5: Metamagic Reach

Traits:

Magical Lineage: CMW
Zealot (Gnome)

Skills:

3 per level (2 class +1 Favored Class)-Total 15
UMD +11 (6 Ranks+5 CHA)
Heal +12 (7 Ranks+3 CS+2 Wis)
Religion+10 (4 Ranks+3 CS+1 Trait+2 Academian)
Perception +11 (4 Ranks+3 CS+2 Wis+2 Gnome)

Gnome Traits/Abilities:

Defense Racial Traits
• Defensive Training: Gnomes gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC against monsters of the giant subtype.
• Illusion Resistance: Gnomes gain a +2 racial saving throw bonus against illusion spells and effects.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
• Keen Senses: Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Academician Some gnomes are more academically inclined than their kin. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +2 bonus on any single Knowledge skill. This racial trait replaces the obsessive racial trait.
• Magical Racial Traits
• Gnome Magic: Gnomes add +1 to the DC of any saving throws against illusion spells that they cast. Gnomes with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation, and speak with animals. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome's level. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell's level + the gnome's Charisma modifier.
Offense Racial Traits
• Hatred: Gnomes receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the reptilian and goblinoid subtypes because of their special training against these hated foes.
• Weapon Familiarity: Gnomes treat any weapon with the word “gnome” in its name as a martial weapon.
Senses Racial Traits
Low-Light Vision: Gnomes can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.

Revelation:

Channel (Su): You can channel positive energy like a cleric, using your oracle level as your effective cleric level when determining the amount of damage healed (or caused to undead) and the DC. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier.
Safe Curing (Su): Whenever you cast a spell that cures the target of hit point damage, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity for spellcasting.

Spells:

0: DC 15: Light, Stabalize, Purify Food and Drink, Detect Poison, Bleed, Create Water, Guidance, Resistance (Cloak), Prestidigitate
1: DC 16 8 per day: Cure Light Wounds 1d8+5, Bless, Burning Disarm 5d4, Shield of Faith, Murderous Command, Burning Hands 5d4(Curse), Detect Undead(Mystery) Endure Elements (Cloak 1/day CL 1) Shield (Cloak 1/day CL 1)
2: DC 17 5 per day: Cure Moderate Wounds, Spear of Purity, Lesser Restoration (Mystery) Scorching Ray (Curse), Flaming Sphere (Curse)
3: DC 18 (4 per day): Neutralize Poison (Mystery), CSW,

Gear:

Headband of CHA+2 (4000), Mithril Chain Shirt+1, (2100), Ring of Deflection +1 (2000) Cloak of the Hedge Wizard: Abjuration (Bonus), Wand of Magic Missile CL 1: 50 (750), Wand of CLW: 50 (750) Oracles Kit [This kit includes a backpack, a bedroll, a belt pouch, candles (10), a flint and steel, an iron pot, mess kit, rope, soap, torches (10), trail rations (15 days), and a waterskin] (9), Spiked Gauntlet, 2 Healers Kits 20 (100), 4 Holy Water (100), 2 Alchemist Fire (40), 2 Acid Flask (20), 2 Scrolls of Augury (300), 4 Scrolls of Protection from Evil (100), 1 Scroll of Consecrate (150), Pathfinder Chronicle: Religion (50), potion of cmw (gameplay), 2 scroll cases (2), 1 Longspear (5)

Gold: 12

Backstory:

Abroshqalmie grew up in human lands, and like all gnomes often managed to get himself into trouble with his innate desire for jokes and fun, coupled with his curiosity. Early in his life he was fascinated with religions, particularly the “human” religions despite never really believing in the gods himself. Not that he was an atheist, not being stupid, but he just never really cared for them, other than the stories behind them. During a visit to one of the temples of Saraenrae where he was studying the “mythos” he saw an opportunity for the ultimate prank.

He crept behind one of the large burning torches (think the Olympic flame) he began to speak to an young acolyte, as if he was the avatar of his goddess. He put the boy through an embarrassing series of tasks and eventually had him with his back turned to the flames. Abroshqualmie climbed up onto the pedestal ready to grab the young man and he slipped, falling into the flame he screamed and threw his arms out to stop his fall. His arms burned almost instantly but in that moment he heard the Goddess speaking to him. She offered to save him from the flame if he would become her servant. He agreed. He was saved from death but to this day his arms are blackened and charred up to the elbows. He accepts the pain readily and travels the world in Saraenrae’s name, doing her will and dealing with the strange looks he receives as one of the few Gnomes of her faith.