Apocryphile's page

Hello Apocryphile,

Thank you for letting us know about this! I'm sorry for the confusion, but it looks like our system had a little hiccup which caused your subscription to be skipped. However, this should be a pretty simple fix.

I've generated Blood of the Beast into your sidecart, and we'll be starting December order generation today. The system should lump those two together and send you an email when it's all ready. If you don't get an email sometime today or tomorrow, just let us know and I can be sure to take a peek for you.

Otherwise, you should be all set! Please don't hesitate to ask if there are any further questions or concerns that I may assist you with, and I'll be glad to do so.

Thanks!
Katina

Hello Katina,

I still have not received a delivery on my subscription since July, which now seems to be suspended.

Assuming I go back and manually purchase the missed releases, how will I receive the pdfs?

Regards,
Steve

Hi,

I seem to have been missed off the November order for my Pathfinder Companion subscription.

I've checked my emails to see if something went wrong (no emails), and my subscription seems to be active. But there's no order in my account, no book in my mailbox, and no pdf in my downloads; which is annoying as Blood of Beasts is a book I've been waiting for for some time!

Can anyone let me know what's happened please?

Apocryphile: It says "This increase in damage" in the ability, not replace. If it was replace, you'd have to lower the damage if the weapon die was higher than sacred weapon damage.

You need to read the whole paragraph for it to fully make sense.

Sacred Weapon (Su): At 1st level, weapons wielded by a warpriest are charged with the power of his faith. In addition to the favored weapon of his deity, the warpriest can designate a weapon as a sacred weapon by selecting that weapon with the Weapon Focus feat; if he has multiple Weapon Focus feats, this ability applies to all of them. Whenever the warpriest hits with his sacred weapon, the weapon damage is based on his level and not the weapon type. The damage for Medium warpriests is given on the table above; see the table below for Small and Large warpriests. The warpriest can decide to use the weapon's base damage instead of the sacred weapon damage—this decision must be declared before the attack roll is made. (If the weapon's base damage exceeds the sacred weapon damage, its damage is unchanged.) This increase in damage does not affect any other aspect of the weapon, and doesn't apply to alchemical items, bombs, or other weapons that deal only energy damage.

Sacred weapon never decreases damage, but the ability clearly replaces the weapon damage (unless this would lower the damage). That's why the phrase "increase in damage" is used.

It deals no damage and sacred weapon increases damage.

It's the equivalent of increasing the acid damage of a snowball.

Sacred weapon doesn't increase damage, it replaces it.

Saying that, I doubt I'd let this work in a home game.

They can be "loaded with unpoisoned sand".

They can indeed, but that sand does no damage. It does act as an irritant, but Sacred Weapon doesn't affect DCs.

However, the Sacred Weapon class ability does say that the weapon's damage becomes a factor of the class ability, and not the weapon itself "The weapon damage is based on his level, and not the weapon type", which would suggest that this would actually work.

Even if it did work though, you'd have a ranged weapon affecting a 15ft. cone, and you'd provoke AoO from anyone close enough.

A couple of Brawler levels would give you martial flexibility, and the ability to use unarmed strikes with 1d6 damage. martial flexibility is extremely useful, and gets better every time a new combat feat gets released.

I play a Slayer in a Skulls & Shackles game with a couple of Brawler levels. They have certainly saved my character more than once when he's been without his weapons for whatever reason.

I also play a PFS ninja with levels in Magus and Paladin.. A sneaky spell-striking-smite can really hurt!

Souphin has some nice ideas above, I especially like the idea of the chalk circle.

That said, arcane casters are very powerful in Pathfinder..

A feat to add a spell or two (one of your highest level, or two others) to your spell list could be awesome, but could also create opportunities for huge abuse.

Some kinda Stamina or Burn system for casters could be fun, as could the "Sudden X" line of metamagic feats which allow you to apply X feat to a spell once a day without preparing it ahead of time.

I played Tears of Bitter Manor with an Arcanist who owned a copy of the Book of Harms. Being able to sudden maximise a spell once a day (even if I did take damage when doing it) was awesomely useful. I'll be interested in the spell books which are going to be included.

A Burn or Stamina system could allow you to raise Caster Level in return for fatigue (and Nonlethal damage). That'd be great.

Loads more low level magic items will be great too. I don't see why half or more of the items in Player Companions are hugely expensive items which will hardly ever see the light of play.

Magic item restrictions would be great, and could be used to bring the price down. It's a +2 Shortsword, but only when you're in dim light. If someone casts daylight it turns to a -1 Shortsword!!

Seconding the love for Eldritch Archer, it's an awesome archetype.

I have a Hexcrafter Magus, who worships Gyronna, and has ranks in Profession Dominatrix and the rough and ready trait. Spellstriking with her "special club" always gets a laugh, and I'm really looking forward to her getting her hands on an Immovable Rod.

Not sure exactly how the rules will handle inserting said rod in enemy and then activating it...

She's one of my PFS characters too.

Sorry if it's already come up, but does anyone know when the pdfs are supposed to be updated with the errata?

I just re-downloaded the ACG and it hasn't been updated yet.

I know it's a big job, I'm just asking. All the changes have already made my hardcopy unreliable, it'd be nice to be able to trust the pdf.

I'm glad someone else likes this archetype too, I think it's awesome.

Just a thought, but would it work with a duelist sort of build? I can see a Sensate wielding an Aldori duelling sword in my head.. Or maybe a scimitar..

Pushed back again?! The hells!!!??

I noticed that too.

Sadface

I just got my email confirming shipment on the 24th.

Thanks very much Sara, and all your warehouse fellows. I was going to say minions, but that brought a whole Scarlett Overkill and yellow minions mental image on...

(shakes head to clear)

Thanks!

And don't worry Jack, it will arrive!!

Hi Sara-Marie,

Is everything going well with the shipping today? I feel I must be the last in the queue!!

Chris Mortika wrote:

Yep. These days, I stick to Pathfinder Society play, so it looks like I'll be dropping most of my subscriptions for a while this winter / spring.

Certainly I don't expect this book to be useless for PFS players...

The Description wrote:

Inside this book you'll find discussions of what it means to carry out evil plans (especially for characters not themselves evil)

That sounds encouraging, but then there was plenty of stuff in Champions of Corruption that could have made it into PFS and nothing made it in.

Has the shipping desk closed for the weekend yet?

I really want to update my Occultist, and start making lots of other PCs using Occult Adventures!!

It's as if Christmas could happen at any time over a 10 day period. Isn't wearing my nerves raw at all.

Yeah, its not like I'm refreshing my browser every time I walk past my computer or anything....

Apocryphile wrote:

Are you collecting your stuff from Gen Con?

No, did I fail a linguistics check?

Not at all.

The Gen Con authorisations are being done first (and have been done). Everyone else, that's me, you,and plenty of others; are being done now. At the outside, your order could be another week before you get your ship notice (and pdf linky). I'm refreshing my orders page every so often on the off chance it's come through. No such luck yet.

As far as I know, you get the pdfs if you subscribe. Otherwise you need to buy them separately.

Are you collecting your stuff from Gen Con?

I don't have my pdf yet. (Sad face)

I know I'll get no use out of this book in PFS, but I'll enjoy reading it anyhow!

Keep silent dispatch. Just give us a slightly weaker version of it that non-vigilantes can take as a feat.

Silent Dispatch, and a whole of other Stalker Vigilante talents should also be rogue talents too.

If anyone is looking for a home game in the New Orleans area, feel free to PM me. I would love to start recruiting for a home game I am GMing that will start in mid-August.

This makes me want to move to New Orleans.

This, and the food.

Sounds like your random encounter rolls on the tables for real life and the Internet have come up with a few Troll encounters.

Ignore them. Play the class which matches your character concept. If you're having fun playing a character, you're doing it right.

Oracles and clerics are not pointless. And there's a big difference between being combat oriented (great if that floats your boat) and being able to contribute in combat (which is useful for everyone in the party).

No, it's mentioned in the book too:

Unchained, Page 8, Introduction wrote:

Finally, with the exception of the monk, these classes should work with any of the archetypes from previous books as long as the classes still have the appropriate class features to replace.

If the archetype only alters/replaces class features the Unchained Monk still has, then they can take that archetype. At least that's what I thought.

It comes down to a grand total of about 2 existing Monk archetypes are valid for the unchained Monk, but there you are.

This one sounds interesting, and the talk of style feats brings on some Complete Fighter's Handbook nostalgia! This is a good thing.

Are there any plans to extend the Weapon Specialisation Feat?

Or feats which add/augment the weapon you use, such as adding a (plausible) weapon quality (trip for a pole arm), or using it in a different way such as using a longspear as a double weapon?

There's lots of ways this book could go, I look forward to seeing where you go with it.

Hi all,

The payment method on my subscription will work now, please could you give it another try?

Thanks.

It's been touched on upthread, but I find weapon blanches to be very handy for the DR issue.

Apply your weapon blanch to cold iron arrows (which only cost double) and both materials apply for piercing DR. So you can have cold iron silver arrows ready to go.

I don't really bother with the adamantine weapon blanch as it does nothing for hardness on animated objects.

The real, massive bonus for me has been ghost salt arrows. This makes your arrows ghost touch which can make you one of the only people in the party effective in a fight vs an incorporeal foe.

Admittedly this was PFS, but my ninja with ghost salt arrows saved the group I was with several times, and this wasn't too high level either. If you're playing a specialised archer I'd recommend some ghost salt arrows as soon as you can afford it. 5 treated arrows is 200gp plus the arrows I think. Quite cheap for killing that shadow your party meets at level 2.

I also have a barbarian alchemist who uses a bow. You can bet adaptive is a great ability on that character!

Are the normal shipping orders starting today, or do all the specials need to be finished first?

Your bard can already get Animal Companions using the feats in Faiths and Philosophies.

I always played Dark Sun as low magic. There were very few spell casters of any kind, and magic items of any sort were very few and far between.

I kinda assumed that's the way everyone played it. But my groups started with the original 2nd Ed AD&D stuff, right from the start, so we didn't have all the other add ons right away.

The Will and the Way was an awesome book...

I think your options are Broad Study, or just write that ability off. use your spells for command & control. There's plenty of Bard spells which can be useful in combat, just not with spell strike. The level 2 spell Bladed Dash, is both Magus & Bard. That's a pretty good spell.

The above idea for Flamboyant Arcana and Arcane Deed for Precise Strike is Awesome. You'll be doing a ton of damage with that.

I just found it (I edited my post above).

Sorry, failure to find, select and retrieve information on my part. And me being a teacher and all... (hangs head in shame).

Apocryphile wrote:

You can't take the Thug archetype on an unchained Rogue, as they no longer have Trap Sense.

Unless there's been a ruling which says Unchained Rogues can swap out Danger Sense for archetypes which previously swapped Trap Sense? That'd be great if there was..

It's specifically stated in the book.

Hi Mark,

I had a good look through my book (which arrived yesterday), and the bit I read about previous archetypes in the classes introduction said on p.8:

"these classes should work with any of the archetypes from previous books as long as the classes still have the appropriate class features to replace."

I read that passage to mean that the unchained rogue would not be eligible for any rogue archetype which replaces Trap Sense, as they no longer have that class ability (they have something better, called Danger Sense). Am I reading that passage correctly?

Thanks,
Steve

If I was running a home game, I'd just say you lose Danger Sense instead, but I play nearly all my Pathfinder in PFS, so I don't have that freedom.

EDIT EDIT EDIT!!!
Argh!!!

I found the section you're talking about Mark, under Danger Sense on page 22!!

Sorry!!

Debuff rogue. Enforcer feat + Cruel enchant + Debilitating Injury for -4 to attack, saves, skills, ability checks, and -2 to weapon damage on top of the penalties from Debilitating. Don't feel like getting hit? How's a -10 total penalty to attacks against you sound? Want to stack it all in one round? Trade Cruel for the Thug archetype's Brutal Beating ability.

All that on top of your sick sneak attack beats, made more awesome with stuff like Sap Adept and Knockout Artist. Feels like it's got potential...

You can't take the Thug archetype on an unchained Rogue, as they no longer have Trap Sense.

Unless there's been a ruling which says Unchained Rogues can swap out Danger Sense for archetypes which previously swapped Trap Sense? That'd be great if there was..

That looks like a nice combination there. Well done Greylurker.

It happens when you roll initiative, so it's before actions happen. There are no turns at that point, you get the shot off before anyone has a chance to blink.

Now for surprise rounds, if you act in the surprise round, see above. If you don't (because you're surprised) then your quick shot goes off when you roll your initiative after the surprise round is resolved.

IMHO of course.

They don't get +Wis to AC. They get a +3 dodge bonus to AC at level 15.

They do get other stuff as well.

The more I look at this, the more I can see it has it's uses. Maybe an Invulnerable raging Barbarian with a great axe and a loincloth, and a monk's unarmed strike-2, and evasion. That could be a laugh..

And there's the Kensai & Druid too.. hmm

Item Cohorts sound very interesting..

I second LazarX's expectation, is there anything at all in this that has a chance of making PFS, or is this another Champions of Corruption?

Several of the other VMCs state something like level equal to x-2 for qualifying, but level equal to character level for effects.

As this one doesn't, you'd assume it's just level -6 on both qualifying and effect, which is really harsh as none of the other ones have nearly so strong a penalty.

But hey! As it's Unchained, you can do what you like!

What you're forgetting is that the Ac bonus comes in at level 15, but the armor prohibition is there from level 1.

So yeah, you get +3 dodge bonus to AC, which is ok. But there's very few characters who are going to meaningfully benefit from it because it's 1, paltry, and 2, at level 15.

I realize not all the VMC options are going to be awesome, but this one does suck quite badly.

EDIT: Paltry is unfair. I'd not turn down a +3 dodge bonus to AC if I was in a position to benefit from it when I think about it..

The rage powers provided in Unchained replace the ones found in the core rulebook, and selected powers from the APG & Ultimate Combat. There is also a list of rage powers from these two sources which can also be selected.

Can an Unchained Barbarian take other Rage Powers which appear in other Paizo products, such as Player Companions or the Advanced Class Guide?

The text in Unchained make no specific reference to rage powers from any other product.

-2 is still -2. You never had an attack hit your PC by their AC being rolled exactly? I know I have, and this -2 would prevent that hit.

Ever had a crit confirmed by AC rolled exactly?

Me too, sure it's happened.

I'll take an effective +2 to my AC because my flank buddy hit the bad guy, thanks very much. Keep it coming!!

I have to say, I don't see anyone that's not an arcane, non-armor wearing caster using the Monk VMC...

I saw that too. Not the most attractive VMC option ever. Especially as the bonus to AC you get comes in at 15th level! Yeah, I'll lose the ability to wear armour for my first 14 levels to get a poxy bonus at level 15!

Some of the other VMCs are awesome though. Shame we can't use them in PFS.

I am confused, how is Wild Caller Summoner legal?

That confused me too. The AR states archetypes on p.24-25 are legal, and the Wild Caller is the only thing on page 25!

Not sure if you could take it on a new summoner though. Unless your ability to change your eidolon's form by terrain type is what you're getting instead of the by level advancements..

But also, that quote would seem to imply that you can multiclass unchained Rogue with Ninja.

Because if there's no interaction between the two then there's no restriction on multiclassing them.

I'd probably stack some Mythic tiers on top of those 19 levels of Wizard if I had to.

The problem is that as soon as you stat him, your players will kill him. Why does he need stats?

Sure, figuring out the differences isn't difficult. But because it's not written in the "you get X instead of Y" style, and just says "you get X", by RAW you can't apply the ninja "archetype" against any base case; you just get what the ninja alternate class says, barring any archetypes that can modify it. Doing anything else is making up rules where there aren't any.

If you're dealing with a home campaign, I don't see anything wrong with working with your GM to make an "unchained ninja", but in PFS play (which is where this question came from originally) this is not legal.

I just made an unchained ninja in the house rule section, and you're right, it was simple.

I think chbgraphicarts has hit the nail on the head, in that the ninja was introduced to bring the rogue up a bit without re doing the whole class. Now we have the unchained rogue, it's more on the same level with ninja.

As for whether they'll 'unhitch' ninja from the unchained rogue, who knows!