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I’ve been playing Pathfinder for probably 7 years, it being the first table top RPG I was convinced to play in college (magic the gathering is a gateway drug). I’ve played just about every PFS scenario, I’ve run enough scenarios to be a 3 star GM. I’ve played through RotR and about half of Shattered Star. I’ve run Rappan Athuk (levels 1-20), Way of the Wicked (levels 1-20), Curse of the Crimson Throne (levels 1-18), and most of Mummy’s Mask (levels 1-12, ongoing) at this point. I’ve played up to level 7 in Age of Ashes and played/run up to level 5 in 2nd Edition PFS, and have played or ran all but 2 SFS scenarios. I enjoy the martial/caster disparity, and enjoy seeing the parts of adventure paths where different characters shine. I like the game having AC, touch AC, and CMD. I feel that having the different armor classes and saving throws lets you make encounters feel different. It’s good to have weaknesses in your encounters. I play with a ban list and several unchained variants (ABP, background skills). Dazing spell was a mistake. There are plenty of things in 1E that should be banned in every game. Even with all the flaws we can see though, I enjoy 1E much more than 2E. Good high level combat in 1E is basically a drug. Things I would consider for 1.5x -Removal of Weapon Finesse for a weapon quality that lets you use DEX or STR to hit. Ex: Dagger is a finesse weapon, claws are a finesse weapon, etc -Remove Favored class bonus -Remove traits, replace with a single background -Re-balancing of feats, including removing most feat taxes. Feats like double slice, precise shot, combat expertise, favored prestige class, etc -Making combat maneuvers easier to do without specialization. Removing the need for improved versions. Removing feat taxes to take improved/greater versions (not needing combat expertise or improved unarmed strike, etc) -Buff the Medicine Skill to have similar uses to 2E for PCs to remove the need for a dedicated healer -Class dedication feats for players who want to multiclass without actually taking a second class. Part of implementing this would be an overall reduction in available bonus feats to classes to make the decision to take these feats become more meaningful. Basically just the unchained variant multiclassing premise but fixed. -Uniform armor bonuses for categories so that there is no best armor in each category -Include strength requirements for armor which lower the speed reduction and remove ACP -Remove Arcane spell failure tied to armor. -Less archetypes. A lot of archetypes in 1E seem like they should really be class specific feats or options. Archetypes should be more involved, more rare. -Scaling cantrips similar to 2E. -Unchained automatic bonus progression, or at least something similar. I personally use ABP in the games I run, and I can't imagine not using it now. I also use the blog rules for unleashing unchained so people can buy magic weapons without being punished. -I like the idea of weapon property runes, but not potency runes. Potency runes I feel should be built into the system, some form of ABP. -Make damage reduction more meaningful at higher levels by removing easy ways to bypass it. (Ex: enhancement bonuses and smite evil no longer bypassing DR, making weapon special materials more expensive or rare) -Rebalancing of spells. Pushing back some of the more powerful spells by 1-2 levels, in an effort to keep more skills relevant longer. Some spells should have their duration reduced. Save-or-dies like phantasmal killer and color spray, and save-or-sucks like blindness/deafness should be pushed back 1-2 levels, or removed/redesigned in some cases. Scale some bonuses back, such as resist energy (from maybe 10/20/30 to 5/10/15). This is probably a larger discussion to have. I think the power level of most 6th and higher level spells are fine. -Change the action economy to be cleaner. Maybe Standard, Move, Swift, Reaction, or maybe move towards the Unchained Alternate Action Economy (3 Action system). -Small Changes for quality of life. I’m sure there are several others I’m missing
-Unchained background skills, or perhaps just a condensing of skills. Combining skills like swim and climb into athletics, Handle animal rolled into survival, etc. Small changes to include skills which players normally don’t have a lot of incentive to put points into. Maybe something like the below:
What sort of difficulty are you looking for? Frog God Games has some awesome sandbox material, but can be fairly deadly. Bard's Gate, Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms, Borderland Provinces would give you plenty of material and hooks from level 1-10 from what I can tell. Sword of Air would let you go from 10-20. All of this material is set in the Lost Lands by frog god games. Rappan Athuk, Slumbering Tsar are both basically massive dungeon crawls. Cyclopean deeps is hex crawl would could be an interesting sandbox. Way of the Wicked is an awesome adventure, which I'm currently running, but it is not a sandbox. At all.
How about 2 feats. First feat let's them fly with the wings per Alchemist discovery (Wings) but with the aasimar speed and poor maneuverability. So they have the wings, and can fly for minutes per level in 1 minute increments. They have wings, visible to all at that point, but they only have the strength to fly for a certain amount of time each day, and maybe their flying isn't so great. Still learning and what not. Second feat is just angel wings, removes the time limit for flying, and maybe moves the maneuverability to good. They've had the wings for some time, they've built up some endurance for flying, and have learned how to fly a bit more gracefully.
Paladins, ey? I'm completely unfamiliar with the Wrath of the Righteous Campaign and Mythic, but Warding armor will let you end smites against you as an immediate action. I'm sure the fights will last longer if the paladins don't have their smite going. I think Angelskin used as a material for armor gives you a 20% chance to be treated as neutral instead of evil, which could also negate some smites. How is their touch AC? What is the enemies wealth? If your enemies have the abilities to cast spells, dimensional blade might be an option. Evil clerics could certainly use this. Brillant Energy Weapons probably lower the paladins AC by 14-19, which is like using true strike.
Sounds like a Scythe Falcon. Is this from Slumbering Tsar? CR 2 Animal. It has Scythe wings which have an ability called dismemberment. Upon a critical hit, instead of multiplying the damage you roll a d6, and cut off the corrosponding limb (1 head, 2 right arm, 3 left arm, 4 right leg, 5 left leg, 6 torso savagely cut).
Spoiler: Level 1 of Thornkeep
Sealed Gate Darkest Abduction Thralls of the Shattered God (Welcome to Rappan Athuk!) Rats of Round Mountain Part 1 Words of the Ancients Severing Ties Waking Rune King of the Storval Stairs Elven Entanglement (It can certainly kill unprepared players with little effort) God's Market Gamble Special Shout out to Among the Dead
It's 5 points per casting of the spell. The spell has 2 modes, move and thrust. If you use the thrust option, which your player is using to throw the greatswords, the spell has a duration of instantaneous. So it's 5 points every time he throws the 8 swords. What level is he? I would assume he is level 9 as he loses a caster level for leveling in thrallherd.
Telekinetic Force is a power that costs 5 power points per use. So it is limited by the amount of points he has. What is his base class that he is advancing? Thrall Herd is a prestige class. He can throw one object per caster level, and they only do weapon damage if they hit. So if he is throwing greatswords they deal 2d6 damage each. Each requires a separate ranged attack roll, though they use his casting stat instead of DEX.
I believe there is a one handed spear in the "Distant Shores" campaign settings which recently came out. The Doru. It's a spear, it can be used as a spear(two handed) with simple weapon proficiency, but it can be used one handed as a martial weapon with only a x2 critical, or as an exotic weapon, one handed spear with x3 critical.
Played a dwarf zen archer in society forever. I started to lose interest in the game around level 8 or 9 because there was no longer any fear in the game. Enemies needed a 20 to hit me(40+ AC without trying, breaking 50 when I felt like it), and this was using old crane style (So I could deflect 1 per round). My saves were unbeatable, and my damage was damn fine without even trying. That character retired at 13, but was only ever hit twice. I have since then made sure to build characters who have some sort of weakness, who need to actively pay attention in combat to survive, and who take damage frequently.
So assuming that the required spells would be on your class spell list (so bull strength, cat's grace, etc) then so long as you expend an equal level spell slot when crafting the item, the DC would raise by +2 per spell substituted. In the rules for Word Casting it is suggested that crafting magic items on a word caster is more difficult, but possible. In this case Bull's Strength, Cat's grace, Bear's endurance are all on your spell list (sorcerer) so you can expend 2nd level spell slots while crafting to "substitute" words for the spells required. +2 instead of +5 managable. So assuming you are a level 8 sorcerer with craft wondrous items, you can craft a belt of giant strength with a DC of 7. 5 base +2 for substituting a spell for bull strength.
I have found that dead PCs seems to lose their evasion. On a more serious note, when faced with evasion I usually use enemies which have effective ways of de-buffing saves. Witches, Things that cast enervation, Vorpal Weapons, etc. Kelazan's suggestion of spells which don't use reflex is also a solid suggestion (Horrid Wilting, Boneshatter, unholy blight, chaos hammer, etc)
I normally scout ahead while playing my druid. I spend my days wildshaped into an earth elemental and I generally scout ahead in any area in which I can earth glide(frequently it turns out). I try not to take it too far, giving the numbers and positions of enemies(generally speaking to my allies through telepathic bond), before returning to my allies and deciding on a course of action. The biggest problem I've seen with players scouting ahead is when those players decide to try to tackle encounters alone and take the fun away from other players, who just sit around bored. I have built my character to cast buffs on allies and impact, not destroy, encounters(though there is always the backup plan of turning into a celestial allosaurus and bringing the pain). Spring attack fighting with earthglide keeps me amused enough. Large Earth elemental wielding a large earthbreaker at the moment.
It only expends the first level spell, it does not prevent you from preparing new spells in the first level slot the next day.You may not prepare a new spell in the fourth level spell slot until the spell-like ability has been used. I don't believe the spell works for oracles though because it says that only cleric spells can be transferred, and it only allows the transfer of prepared spells(which oracles do not have). Were it to work for oracles it would only take one of their fourth level spells slots until the spell like ability has been used and the oracle has rested 8 hours/regained his expended spell slots.
I actually believe supports in DotA earn more money than in LoL due to the nature of supports in each respective game. Now, I have limited experience playing LoL, but when I play with friends who frequently play the game, the supports just sit in the lane with the carry for the entire laning phase, and don't really have a way of getting gold short of passive money and kills in lane. In DotA the supports can be a lot more mobile, and most of the early game is determined by movements and plays made by the supports. Supports spend their time ganking/pressuring other lanes, and can always farm the jungle for extra gold when wards/vision is needed. I believe because DotA supports are not attached to the lane they start in they can earn a lot more money. I would agree that DotA is the less casual game. While there are stronger abilities in DotA, it does not make them unbalanced. There are counters to just about everything a hero can do, and items can be bought to counter most abilities or plans. The cool-downs on these abilities are also much higher in Dota, so correctly using your abilities becomes more important. In a competitive game you have to coordinate each ability to make sure you get the most out of it to win. The game is basically impossible without a high level of communication. It's coordination and positioning, not luck. If the enigma gets a 5 man blackhole and your team dies, it's probably because your support lich was out of position to chain frost and interupt the channeling.
I am a DotA player myself, though I have experience playing with LoL. I personally prefer DotA because I know the game well and when I play LoL it feels like it's the same game every match. This is probably because I don't have enough experience with the game though. I think both games are pretty awesome though. I find DotA to be more competitive and LoL a bit more casual, as opposed to Caineach's view. I am curious why you consider DotA unbalanced to be honest. What abilities do you consider imbalanced? Lord Snow, do you consider supports to be poorer in DotA only because of the fact that you lose when you die?
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Pathfinder Society GM. Starfinder Society GM. 53 posts (278 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 2 Organized Play characters. 1 alias. 