Our group, seasoned veterans, often get rules wrong. Usually we are quick to have the rule in hand in between our turns. We do out bet to not let it interrupt our game time if possible. If the rule takes longer than a minute or two to look up/deal with, the GM's ruling goes for that session, no argument at the table. After the session is over, when we have time between sessions, we then look up the rule and discuss it over Facebook.
Let's say the GM ruled incorrectly and it's proven so; going forward we go with the correct rule. *Shrug*
If the opposite happens and the player can't live with it after being proven wrong, they are probably playing the wrong game.
There is a problem with how the Robe of the Archmagi is priced to begin with. Because the robes only work for characters of a specific alignment and class, it skews the price of the item down a lot. So I will try to calculate it all out as if it were an item that could be used by anyone.
Keep in mind that according to the magic item creation rules, any additional property adds 50% to that additional properties base cost.
Multiple Different Abilities::
Abilities such as an attack roll bonus or saving throw bonus and a spell-like function are not similar, and their values are simply added together to determine the cost. For items that take up a space on a character's body, each additional power not only has no discount but instead has a 50% increase in price.
+4 Resistance bonus to all saves: ((4^2)*(1,000))*(1.5) = 24,000gp
+2 enhancement bonus on Caster Level checks to overcome Spell Resistance: This isn't listed so I will wing it using Save Bonus other.
((2^2)*(2,000))*(1.5) = 12,000gp
Total: 151,000gp
Now, because only a limited selection of classes and alignments can use one of these, lets cut the price in half: 151,000/2 = 75,500gp.
This is pretty close to the actual purchase price listed at 75,000gp. I would say this gives us a good metric on creating your custom version, so lets do some substitution!
+5 AC replaced with +1 to all saves ability and skill checks: 20,000gp (as per stone of good luck)
Replacing 18-SR with +6 INT: ((6^2)*(1,000))*(1.5) = 54,000gp
+4 Resistance bonus to all saves: ((4^2)*(1,000))*(1.5) = 24,000gp
+2 enhancement bonus on Caster Level checks to overcome Spell Resistance: This isn't listed so I will wing it using Save Bonus other.
((2^2)*(2,000))*(1.5) = 12,000gp
Total: 110,000gp/2 = 55,000gp to buy this modified version of the robes.
Also, this should answer your question about the pricing for different SR values. In case you missed it, it is 10,000 gp per point over SR 12; SR 13 minimum
When it comes to arcane spell casters, I tend to buy something like an Armored Kilt, 20gp. +1 AC, no spell failure chance. Why buy this? Because later on you can buy an enchanted version with extra AC or special abilities. Armor takes up an armor slot, not a body or chest slot for magic items. Properties like spell storing, or stanching are handy.
I do buy a crossbow, just because it can be handy to take a pot shot every now and again. Using light on a bolt and shooting it down a dark hall way is one way of see what's in the darkness. Later on it can also help to have a magical version with spell storing as well. Saving a spell of 3rd level or lower in your weapon or armor is always handy and increases your flexibility as a caster. Have a couple spells left at the end of the day? Put them in your weapon and armor!
Buy a Quarterstaff, or some simple close range melee weapon. For those situation you are in melee, it is always good to be able to provide a flank for an ally, even if you are going to get out of there after they attack.
Otherwise, I would spend what is left on various scrolls that might help during more difficult combats. 25gp per 1st level scroll means you can have a couple extra spells at the ready. Or save the money for a minor bag of holding or handy haversack later on.
A character in a game I'm playing had a similar situation. Being that he was a lazy wizard he crafted:
Self Cleaning Diapers!
Cloth diapers with a permanent prestidigitation that cleans any mess and improves smells. The GM was amused and allowed it for RP purposes.
This reminds me of the final boss of Chrono Trigger. You basically fight every game boss over again. They aren't buffed, so you fight them as they originally appeared, back to back without possibility of resting. The trick is that you have to remember how each boss worked as they had strengths and weaknesses that you could exploit. I think it's a fun idea.
In this case, I would say keep the bosses stats as they originally were, but max out HP, and give them slightly better gear to add a bit more difficulty without changing the base enemy. With the weaker bosses, group a couple of them together to increase the CR of that particular fight. This way, they get the feeling of fighting everyone over again, but the teaming up the monsters mean they won't be as quickly killed because of action economy. It could also lead to interesting synergies between enemies that you couldn't previously use.
Alternatively, this amulet can grant melee weapon special abilities, so long as they can be applied to unarmed attacks. See Table: Melee Weapon Special Abilities for a list of abilities. Special abilities count as additional bonuses for determining the market value of the item, but do not modify attack or damage bonuses. An amulet of mighty fists cannot have a modified bonus (enhancement bonus plus special ability bonus equivalents) higher than +5. An amulet of mighty fists does not need to have a +1 enhancement bonus to grant a melee weapon special ability.
Given that the amulet allows for weapon abilities to be applied to fists, so long as said ability doesn't state otherwise, I would say yes.
"Unless a mythic spell's description says it improves, replaces, or upgrades an effect of the non-mythic spell, or says that it creates an effect instead of the non-mythic spell's effect, it retains all the effects of the non-mythic spell in addition to the effects of the mythic version."
I would say that you can only move along a level plane since the Mythic description doesn't address or otherwise replace these portions of the Floating Disk Spell:
"The disk floats approximately 3 feet above the ground at all times and remains level."
"The disk also winks out if you move beyond its range or try to take the disk more than 3 feet away from the surface beneath it."
So while you could order it upward, it would wink out after 3ft. At least, this is how I interpret it.
Remember that a random encounter doesn't have to be combat. It could be an RP situation, like a merchant wagon broken down on the road. This could give them a contact for later, or possible discounts for helping out. You could have weather become a problem. Getting lost in the fog, or a severe storm can make things interesting; having the group find cover while taking non-lethal damage from the storm, or some such thing.
There could be a bridge out and they have to figure out how to cross it, or make the appropriate checks to do so/repair the bridge. Award xp as having defeated an encounter that you feel represents the danger level of what they overcame. Another option is a bit of mystery; there could be a bloody trail leading off the path where at the end they find a dead person clutching a note, or a minor treasure, etc. This can be something for fun or some how connected to a main plot or future NPC.
These sorts of things offer a refreshing break from the monotonous grind of combat and will certainly make travel more interesting. No need to do d% rolls to see what they encounter, just add what you feel will accomplish what you want.
I like the idea of some form of timer on the maze. Since we're dealing with fey, I'd probably have something like an event that occurs at midnight releasing something nasty. Any suggestions? With the theme of fey, there's a lot of cool stuff to choose from. I could just release a Bogeyman to chase them and call it day, though perhaps something more creative might be better.
This is taken from an old 3.5 D&D book where they used a hedge maze. In this case the hedges had an iron fence in the middle, so they couldn't just cut through the maze, and there were monsters. The accompanying monster was a Displacer Beast, or a pair of them. A similar creature in Pathfinder terms would be the Kamadan, I think. They are CR4 like the Displacer Beast was in 3.5. They could easily take that spot and/or you can modify them to run in a similar way.
The beauty of the Displacer Beast was that they knew the maze and they could use their tentacles to attack from the other side of the hedges. PC's attempting to retaliate would need a reach or ranged weapon; not only would the enemy get cover, but the 50% miss chance on top of that made them hard to kill. They would harass the party and whittle them down before going in for the kill. Just a thought.
More information would be handy on your specific game and what you have in mind. However, I will immediately point you to this document. It is a guide to creating and running challenging and memorable encounters. It also does a great job of explaining CR in depth and how you can use it to your advantage to create better encounters. Even as a well practiced GM, I found a lot of useful information in here that has helped me with encounter building.
As combat is where most of your slowdown is going to be, you can take certain steps to increase efficiency. These tips are especially true for larger groups 6+ people.
1) No electronics at the table, unless being used to look up something related to the game if a book is not available.
2) Let everyone know that they need to be thinking of their actions ahead of time to prevent slowdown. If it gets really bad, and players aren't paying attention; tell them that if they take more than 45 seconds to figure out what they are doing, their turn will be skipped. (I equate this to the line at a fast food place. If you have been standing in line for over 5 minutes before you get order, when your turn comes up, you should damn well know what you want to eat by then.)
3) If people are unfamiliar with spell casters, and don't know their spells off hand, get them to print spell cards. That way they have a quick reference to the spells, effects, duration, saves etc. No need to wait for a person to flip through a book.
4) Don't get hung up on a rule if it's causing some slowdown. You are the GM, so you can veto something to keep things moving. Just make sure if you rule on the fly, that you go back and revisit the rule with the players afterward to make sure that it is understood for next time. Nothing sucks more than being stuck on arguing over a rule for 30 minutes during game play.
5) I know you said not to tell you to keep things fun, but to elaborate on that... If you find that your players are stuck on a particular bit for a while and are obviously getting frustrated, toss them a hint to get things on track again. Have them make a couple rolls (where DC doesn't matter), re-describe the room/encounter/thing with emphasis on the thing they overlooked, etc. This is why things like puzzles can be extremely bad, obvious solutions to the GM aren't always as obvious to the player. That being said, have flexible/multiple solutions to a problem.
6) If you are out of combat, still have everyone taking turns for what they want to do. Go clockwise, around the table, or some such thing. It gives people time to think on what they might want to do and you avoid having everyone talking to you at once. Try to give players each the same amount of attention if possible.
That's all I can currently think of, but once I have more details or more specific question, I can provide more thoughts and opinions for you.
*EDIT*
7) Keep detailed notes and a journal of each session.
I also forgot to mention this: When people write their own stories/campaigns, there is a tendency to have an idealized view of it and how the players will move through it. Avoid railroading your party and don't get overly attached to what you have written. Plan for broad scope and over arching ideas, and spend less time on the minutia. Always be ready to have a backup, just in case. The players will always do something you didn't expect and mess up your plans.
That being said, remember, being a GM is not about you vs. them. You are trying to give them a good experience in your world. Part of that is letting those things happen and reworking your ideas as new situations come up. If the group kills a BBEG early, or when you didn't expect it, take a short break to figure out what to do. If you make him impossible to kill, they will feel like they have no power in your world and it makes play less interesting.
I once had a group that decided to go in a completely different direction than I had prepared material for. This was within the first 30 minutes of the game. I took a short break to gather my thoughts and spent a good part the session running off the cuff, taking notes as I went. I had some general ideas of what was in the direction they went, so I expanded on it with a quest that would lead them back to where they initially were. I eventually led them back onto the path I had prepared for, but they had a great deal of fun being able to go on their little excursion. It gave them a feeling of an open and organic world. They didn't even realize that what I had run them through was completely off the top of my head.
Adventure: Interlude during the Skinsaw Murders, running Dawn of the Scarlet Sun.
Names of PCs: Pullo Scarnetti - Human Warpriest 6
Penlope Pixen - Gnome Druid 6
Dagna Redlocks - Dwarf Fighter 6
Izzy Viskanta - Human Rogue 1 Ranger 5
The party encountered a Succubus running a cult that was killing worshipers of Sarenrae. Within three rounds of combat the Succubus managed to summon a Babau ally, cast Flameblade, and dominated the Fighter. The fighter failed both her saves for the Domination and the order to help the Succubus.
The party failed to realize they should run until it was far too late. Succubus crit the Warpriest and dropped him, then moved on to the Ranger the next round and dropped her. The Druid attempted to run, but failed to make it out of the dungeon before being pinned by the Babau and killed
All the party members, now in the negatives, were placed on an altar and had their hearts removed. They were all sacrificed to Lamashtu.
Last words from the Warpriest before being killed:
"I know it looks bad, but we always prevail!"
8. You knew that your friends had been fools for taking the tavern owner up on that “quest”. Off they went, gallivanting about the countryside in search of treasure, abandoning their responsibilities for heroics. You chose the wiser and obviously safer course; staying at the farm and tend to your duties. As you stack hay in the barn after a long day out in the fields you find the meningeal task causes your mind to wander. You think to yourself, ‘It would have been nice to earn some good gold; maybe one quest wouldn’t have been so bad…’ In your reverie, you scarcely notice that you knocked over a low hanging oil lamp. Moments later the dust and hay ignite in a flash…
I would suggest looking at the spell Call of the Void for some inspiration. It had great flavor text and it's effects are pretty close to what you might want if a haunted character is being 'hung' by the neck. In this case, the spell effect would target a square on the bridge and everyone adjacent to that square would suffer the effects. Describe as hanging from a rope.
This would really all depend on what sort of effect you want for the haunt. Typically haunts emulate spell effects.D epending on the haunts difficulty to spot, hit points, reset time, and effect; their CRs can vary greatly.
All haunts start combat on initiative 10, and have a number of hit points. Typically they only take damage from have positive energy applied to them in the form of Channeling. If the haunt's hit points are brought to zero before it's turn, it doesn't go off.
Destroying a haunt usually requires that you do something in the area to honor our appease the restless soul that is creating the haunt. For example, buying bones, destroying/cleaning an item etc.
The way you describe how the spell effect manifests is up to you. For example. I had a haunt where a girl was drowned in a tub. When the player triggered the haunt, they were hit with an equivalent of phantasmal killer. They had to make the saves accordingly, Will then Fortitude and were affected as per the spell.
I describe it as the player suddenly being thrown into an empty tub, hand prints pressing into the flesh around their neck and they started coughing up water. The player had failed both saves, so he was killed, effectively from drowning.
You could do something similar, like any man who attempts to cross the bridge and makes their perception check sees the seven men hanging. They then find themselves with a noose suddenly wrapped around their neck. Depending on how harsh you want it, you could go the Phantasmal Killer route, or just with straight damage. There are rules on adjusting/calculating CR which can be found here:
I should note that the CR of the haunt should be appropriate for the party level, since I don't know what level you party is, I can't speak much to that. Also, a good way for the haunt to be taken care of once and for all would be to absolve the men of their crimes; since they didn't commit them. It could be a fun bit to RP and investigate.
Keep in mind for some like this, when looking at spells like resurrection, you need to consider material component costs. This sort of thing is easier to do when all you have is Verbal and Somatic components. If a spell has costly material components and was an unlimited use item, even with charges per day or week or month, it would require that you pay the material component costs for an item of 100 charges. So that 10,000gp diamond dust x100 would give a more reasonable cost of 1,000,000gp just for materials.
I have to agree that the 1/2 price for weekly and 1/3 price for monthly might be a better way to go. It would also be heavily up to GM discretion.
Since there is no metric for doing an item with a 1/week or 1/month cost, I will start with a 1/day item and go from there. If we go with an item that can cast Heal once per day, it will cost as follows.
Command Activated:
Spell Level x Caster Level X 1,800gp
(6)x(11)x(1,800) = 118,800gp
Item has 1 charge/day (modifies the base price):
Base Price/(5/charges per day)
118,800gp/(5/1) = 23,760gp
Now, I would likely take this and further divide the price by 7 to see how much it would be for 1 charge/week.
23,760/7 = 3394gp 2sp 9cp (for 1 charge per week.)
If we go by month, lets say 30 days. Taking the price for 1/day down to 1/month... so divide by 30.
23,760/30 = 792gp.
If we compare this to just a regular casting of the spell from a temple, it costs 660gp to pay for a casting. Theoretically, this should be fine, but it would really depend on the GM and if they approve such an item. They might have a different idea for a pricing scheme or how to go about charging someone for this.
I am currently running Rise of the Runelords and am playing in several other games. Our average run time, 1 session per week, is 4 hours. It works out fine for us, and we have been doing this format for the past few years. Some APs move faster than other depending on what sort of game your are looking for. Some of our GMs run straight from the books, while others add extra content and focus more on RP.
If time is a limiting factor for some players, just have them set a timer or alarm on their phone to give a 15 minute warning. I usually do this at my table so that I don't go over time and the 15 minutes usually gives me enough time to get the group to a decent spot to end for the week.
It's starting to look pretty good with the modifications that you have in mind. Once you can, post another write up for the spell if you are willing. :) I, personally, would like to see the spell as it gets tweaked and adjusted. I think there is a lot learning of value in seeing something get created and then balanced. Looking forward to seeing more!
I like Pipedreamsam's suggestion. Cultists aren't going to be stupid. If they were attacked and won, they may or may not finish what they were doing, but they would certainly relocate and try to cover their tracks as best they can. This could be turned into a bit of a pursuit, again depending on the amount of time that passes. They could also leave a couple nasty surprises for the PCs, like traps or summoned monsters.
This spell reads a lot like a smaller version of Blade Barrier, with components from Wall of Force and channeling negative energy.
As for the critique, here is what I have issues with when looking at this spell:
There is only one spell in the wizard spell list that I am aware of that deals d10 damage, and it's Nightmare; there is also no progression to that damage. There are no other spells that deal d10 damage on a progression like what you are suggesting.
Keep in mind that this is an abjuration spell and not an evocation spell. Damage should be a secondary consideration, if at all. In the "Designing Spells" section of the rules, d8's are considered on par with 2d6 to measure damage progression between cleric and wizard spell. Wizard spells almost always use d6, while cleric spells almost always use d8s. By that rule d10s may have to be equivalent to 3d6. Even if that isn't the case, by max level you are looking at 20d6 to 30d6 in equivalent damage progression for when the barrier shatters. Even the most powerful evocation caps at 20d6, and there is no way an abjuration spell should ever be able to out perform an evocation spell on damage. Damage needs to be toned down, a lot.
The other issue I have with this spell is that when it shatters, it deals damage in a 30ft radius with the ability to specifically target and assign damage as the caster pleases. It can also be shattered by the caster as a free action. This is horrendously broken. The caster should not be able to assign damage how he wishes with something like an effective explosion. Not without some serious Metamagic feat involved. It also doesn't make sense that shattering it as a free action causes more damage than if the barrier is broken due to damage taken. Again, this gives the player a significant advantage in controlling how the spell damages opponents, which is not something an abjuration spell should be doing. It should have a downside, which is that it should affect everyone in it's radius when it shatters (even the caster and allies), and deal a consistent amount of damage regardless of how it is shattered.
I feel like this spell is trying to be too many things at once. Even if it is an immobile barrier that only protects one side, it's AoE damage output it far too high to count that as being a disadvantage.
Oy. That sounds terrible. Talk to you GM and ask his rationale for allowing characters to have such large XP gaps. It's not fair to punish someone for death by continually making them weaker and easier to kill. As a general rule, I like to my groups at the same level and XP regardless of situation or absence.
The aim of a GM is to make sure people are having fun. He is obviously failing at this task.
If you are set on doing it however, context would likely be a good thing for the encounter. This is a document that I found a while back and it is helpful in a lot of cases. Perhaps you might get some use out of it. The other option it to just run a level 9 module. This is easy, requires little prep and doesn't put pressure on you to create something beforehand.
To create the magic item you need to be able to have the requisite spell cast during the creation of the item. A scroll works, so does hiring the spell casting services of another wizard. So long as you have the requisite feat to create the item, you can acquire the spell casting through other means.
"Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item's creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed)."
Edit: Keep in mind that this might count as you not meeting a pre-requisite. Thus:
"The DC to create a magic item increases by 5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet."
Outside of combat, they can move about how ever they wish and do any actions they wish. There is little regard for time, unless there it actually matters, like MichaelCullen was saying. Normally outside a dungeon, I would let them do what they need to prep without danger.
There doesn't need to be a particular order in which players take actions like in combat, but it is usually best to ask each player, one by one, what they plan on doing; this keeps things orderly. One by one, deal with each players' action. I have them make appropriate rolls (like perception checks or knowledge rolls) based on what they wanted to do and describe what they find. After going through all of the players, rinse and repeat until they want to go into the dungeon. Keep in mind, if they fail certain checks, they aren't allowed to retry. Knowledge checks are one such check.
1. Unless you are setting a time constraint on the party, or are tracking multiple events, time is largely something you can ignore. You can always just say walking to the cave entrance takes a couple hours, or it's a day's journey away. Unless you really want to build some tension, there is little value in describing the surroundings or a day long walk through the woods.
If you do have a day long walk and want to spice it up, you could include a random encounter along the way. This could be a combat, or it could be coming across something strange in the road. Maybe the party is ambushed by one of the Dragon's minions. The group could track it's foot prints back to the lair. Or perhaps they find a signs that the dragon had passed that way, and you could impress upon them coming across a grove of trees that have been scarred by acid, or broken by something very large; a dragon foot print here or there. It can certainly build the anticipation and give them hints as to what the might face.
2. When I GM, I usually assume the party rests for long enough to regain their spells and abilities. It's not a detail I worry about too much, because it really becomes tedious and involves a lot of book keeping. If they rest at night, they wake up in the morning, spells refreshed. If they chose to stay up later, then their rest might extend into the mid morning or afternoon. That is about as detailed as I get.
If you want to be extra annoying to spell casters, you could load you sling with the occasional thunderstone. You take a penalty for shooting it, but nothing says slightly crazed like hurling stones that explode and make people deaf.
Depending on stats, if your dex is higher than your strength, I would take weapon finesse instead of two-weapon defense. Also, are you using the Core Rogue or Unchained Rogue?
The only time I have my players RP acquisition and learning new things is languages taken with ranks into linguistics. If they haven't come across a language in game, or have never heard it spoken or seen it written, they cannot feasibly take the language. Things that are uncommon like Ancient Thassilonian, Undercommon (for the average surface dwellers), etc.
In a Rise of the Runelords game I am running, I am allowing players to learn Thassilonian. Currently, the players have come across the written language and have a couple books/notes with some translations, (Also works with comprehend language spell on if no translation is available). They have to state that they spend time trying to learn the language. Because they have never heard the language spoken and have no known phonetic equivalent, they cannot speak the language, they can only decipher/read it. I also rule that putting one point into linguistics to gain a language doesn't mean they are immediate masters of that language. Once the characters hear the language spoken a few times, then I would rule that they can speak it, though it would be a very broken version of it.
I find doing this gives the game a sense of verisimilitude. It also encourages certain bits of RP which have helped the party a lot.
Fireball is Spell level 3
Caster level for 5d6 is 5.
3(spell level)x5(CL)x750gp = 11250gp
However, crafting an item yourself cuts the cost in half, so it would cost you 5625gp to make.
The DC to create a magic item is 5 + the caster level for the item.
Since the feat Craft Wand requires a minimum Caster level of 5, and the spell is Caster level 5, the item CL is 5. Therefore the spellcraft DC is 10. Note: You have to know and have the spell prepared for each day that you are crafting and it is used up for each day of crafting.
You need 8 hours of work each day per 1000gp of value. So it would take roughly 6 days to make the wand.
EDIT: You also need 50x the number of spell components. So since the material component to fireball is bat guano and sulfur, you need that. I am not sure if eschew materials applies when crafting items though. In either case, the reagents cost nothing for fireball, so if you can find a steady supply of bat poop and sulfur, you are good to go :P (Assuming your GM wants to go that in depth for materials collection)
As for stats, I can't find any, but here is a link to custom NPCs. You could probably find the stats for a 9th level aristocrat and just use those as a quick template.
I believe there is some in the Rise of the Runelords books and the book on Magnimar.
Here is what I was able to pull up from the books I have, no mention of family really so that one's up to you:
"Haldmeer Grobaras, lord-mayor of Magnimar, is a bombastic and self-serving nobleman who sees his stewardship over the city as a reward for his hard work as an aristocrat and not as a service to his people. Normally, the plight of the poor isn't his concern-he has people who have people to take care of those problems.
---
Since the establishment of a formal city government in 4608 AR, Magnimar has been led by two political bodies: the Council ofUshers and the Office of the LordMayor. When the city was established, this egalitarian arrangement was meant to ensure that no one person would have too powerful a voice in the city- state's governing. After more than a hundred years, however, this noble effort has become embroiled in officialism, paper shuffling, and the ambitions of its members. Undisputedly the most politically powerful person in Magnimar, Lord-Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras is a paunchy, self-serving politico more concerned with his own comforts than the needs of the underprivileged he hears so much about. Having managed Magnimar for many years, Grobaras half-heartedly handles the immediate needs of the city, indifferently settling matters relating to the distribution of city funds, use oft he city watch, and the concerns of countless citizens groups , all while welcoming bribery and lavish gifts. Although his dedication to the finest Chelish fashions and his numerous chins make the lordmayor's self-indulgent foppishness blatantly apparent, they hide a silver tongue and the private wealth to fulfill nearly any promise. While his station would have him uphold the mandates ofthe Council of Ushers, he often ignores such duties, proving more attentive to whether or not his personal declarations are enforced.
---
As a city founded by those who refused to live under the reign of tyrant s , Magnimar has relatively few laws. From its barracks within the Arvensoar, the towering fortre s s of Magnimar's small military, the city watch patrols the length and breadth of the city-although Lord-Mayor Grobaras's decrees see that the richest quarters of the Summit receive the most attention. When the law falls into dis pute or cannot be meted out by the watch, quarrels are taken before the esteemed Justice Court."
If the minions are summoned from a spell, then their CR does not count as it is an ability of the monster. If they aren't summons, then you count their CR.
If you want to add some additional challenge to the fight, consider terrain and who it is advantageous to. If the party can dog-pile the big bad in a corner, that makes the whole thing easier for them. However, if there is a chasm they can be pushed off of, difficult terrain that the big bad ignores, or some sort of hazard within the fight area, (poison gas pockets that erupt randomly?) that could make it more challenging as well as interesting from a combat perspective.
Consider that a regular skeleton can be pasted by a single channel from a cleric. Reduce the number of skeletons, but increase their CR. Give them class levels, makes one a sorc or a bard to buff the rest of them and the dragon. That adds AoE damage via spells like burning hands, or color spray. Rogue skeletons can be a pain the party's backside... literally. The extra d6 of sneak attack can go a long way to making that fight more dangerous. Use max hit points for the monsters if they characters are min/maxed.
These sorts of things will add a lot of intrigue and a sense of 'epicness' to the fight. A fight on a chasm that belches poisonous vapors from a volcanic cavern below as the group is being assaulted by arrows and spells from the other side whilst fighting the wyvern on a narrow bridge is far more interesting than: A circular cave with a 30' ceiling.
Firstly, I would like to ask how you are taking precise shot without the point blank shot per-requisite.
Secondly, keep in mind that a gunslinger is expensive in upkeep, especially if the gun breaks or you need more bullets. They are hard to come across normally and crafting rules in pathfinder are silly to say the least.
I played a gunslinger, musket master as well, however I never intended his primary weapon to be the musket for some time. When starting off at low levels, the gun is a fancy ornament that occasionally goes boom. I would stick with crossbows for the early levels until you fix your starter gun and only bring out the musket when you really need to. Boss fights or in a pinch. The expense of firing that thing every round adds up quickly. Mind you, I was playing Reign of Winter and bullets and places to make them were rather scarce. This is why I say use a crossbow. It's cheaper for repeated use at early levels.
Often times it was the case that I would fire a shot and then stow the gun for the rest of the combat, or pull it out at the end of the combat and take one, maybe two shots to kill an escaping boss. Hitting touch AC is a nice feature that way, but it also makes you the center of attention very, very quickly.
I have done a one on one game before and like TrollingJoker said, it can get stale very quickly if you don't keep it fresh. Part of the fun of playing something like Pathfinder or any table-top rpg is the social aspect and the, often times, unpredictable nature of other people. More than one person also gives the players at the table RP time among the party; this can be useful for you to prepare stats for a fight, or think on what to do next.
I agree with your choice in wanting to stick to core. There will be a lot less looking through various books this way. It keeps things mostly contained to one book. It's fair to explain that, as a new GM, you want to keep things easy for the both of you. However, as a one on one, this is basically for his and your entertainment, as was stated. You could always make sure that if he wants to play that race, he has to have the printouts or the books required to play the class so that it cuts down on usage of technology at the table.
On the flip side, him being a dhampir can add a lot to the story. There are some questions to ask yourself about the setting of this game. How would he have become one in the area you have the game set. Would a dhampir have an easy or hard time socially with the local folk, how would they perceive him? Does he have to keep himself hidden, or use disguises? Does anyone suspect him? Does he have a rival or possible vampire family issues?
These could really introduce a lot of intrigue and lead to character development as well as some nail-biting situations later on if he is caught. No one kills a 'monster' faster than a lynch-mob with pitchforks and torches. Use everything that you can to your advantage to tell a story. Also, be ready to be flexible with the story you have in mind. Some GM's fall into the trap that the story they plan has to play out as they plan it, and end up railroading the characters. Stay fluid.
Also, as a side note, it can get really awkward when you have several NPCs in conversation with only 1 PC. A lot of talking to yourself... :P
A good option might be one of the carnival modules. Traveling carnivals can be placed anywhere that there is a road, and it can be a refreshing change of scene. If you don't want to use the modules and have sinister things behind them, you could just have a regular, non-crazy evil carnival. It could give the players the opportunity to play various games and participate in challenges (brawl, archery, strength etc). It can also be a good place to resupply or purchase rare items, hear rumors and do a bit of RP. One other use that could be fun is to have some monsters in cages, whereby the party can learn about their weaknesses. This can be especially handy if you have an upcoming fight that you know they might be ill prepared for or don't have the knowledge skills to identify a creature.
These two are for level 1 or level 5 parties, respectively, but I am sure you could adjust accordingly with a bit of effort.
While I don't have any particular suggestions on what might make good spells for your character, I would suggest having a read over this; if you haven't already.
Dipping one level into a rogue (poisoner archetype), this way you get a bunch of class skills, skill points, and most importantly poison use. Also, it makes sense for a drow, they are sneaky devils after all. Next, use craft alchemy to create minor poisons, or just buy them until you can buy a Poisoner's Jacket?
Three times per day, the wearer of this dark jacket can create a vial containing one dose of any poison from the Core Rulebook that costs 300 gp or less. The jacket’s poison always looks like a murky amber fluid. This poison becomes inert after 1 hour.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Craft Wondrous Item, minor creation, poison; Cost 6,000 gp.
This jacket has the abilities of a lesser poisoner’s jacket, and once per day the wearer can create a vial that reproduces the effect of any poison in the Core Rulebook that costs 4,000 gp or less. The jacket’s poison always looks like a murky lime fluid. This poison becomes inert after 1 hour.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Craft Wondrous Item, major creation, poison; Cost 29,000 gp.
I had once created a Human Paladin that focused on tripping with a reach weapon. Mind you a Human Fighter would do this better because of the number of feats you get. (We needed a Paladin at the time) Here are the benefits:
I used the Guisarme and went with the Heirloom Weapon Trait for the +2 bonus to CMB for trip attacks. I then picked up combat expertise, improved trip (another +2), combat reflexes, Fury's Fall (add dex to CMB too). You can keep going with the fighter into weapon focus/specialization, cleave etc.
Basically you can trip anyone because your CMB for trip is stupidly high, they have reduced AC against your next attacks when prone, if they stand they provoke in which you can choose to make another trip attack to keep them on the ground. Since you have reach you don't provoke even if you don't have improved trip and if you fail, you can easily drop the weapon without them getting a chance to trip you back.
spoiler:
I used this guy in King Maker and the Stag Lord was a pathetically easy fight. I was able to keep the Owlbear on the ground while my party nuked it, once I got to the Stag Lord himself, he couldn't manage to get off the ground either.
I am not overly familiar with counterspelling, and I didn't see that bit about the exploit being an immediate. This may seem redundant but I am just musing a bit.
When doing a normal counterspell, you have to ready an action, identify the spell being cast, and have that same spell prepared for the day. If those conditions are met, you negate the opponents spell by spending your casting of that same spell.
The Improved Counterspell feat allows you to spend a spell of the same school, one level higher, when doing a regular counterspell. This way you have a bit more versatility.
Ordered Mind is similar to Improved Counterspell in that it increases the DC by 5, but decreases the level of spell require for the dispel by 1.
All of these methods require a readied action and so long as you meet the requirements after identifying the spell being cast, it is automatically dispelled. No dispel roll required.
The exploit allows you you to, as an immediate action, counter a spell by identifying it as normal, but you can spend any spell so long as it is one level higher than the one being dispelled. Or, if you have the spell being cast prepared, you can spend it and gain a +5 to the check. For this benefit you have to make the dispel check. This basically acts as a spontaneously cast dispel magic.
As a GM I would say that you can use the exploit and the feats together, but you would still have to make a dispel check as you are getting to do this as an immediate action. There has to be a trade off for balance.
In this way, Improved Counterspell would be useless in conjunction with the exploit, as the exploit basically does what improved counterspell does but without the restriction of spell school.
I would rule that Ordered Mind allows you to increase the identify DC to decrease the spell level required to dispel. You still need to make the dispel check when using this with the exploit. This is rather crappy because now you need to make two checks, one at a higher than normal DC, to dispel. There is a lot of room for failure.
Parry spell would work in either case as it is worded "Whenever you counter a spell".
Ultimately if you use the exploit, you are going to have to make a dispel check and there is little that the feats really do when stacked on top of it.
EDIT: Also, when you get the Greater Dispel exploit, you are doing the same that Ordered Mind would do without increasing the DC to identify the spell. I would say that you just get the exploits and not bother with counterspelling feats. Aim to get other feats that would be of greater benefit.
The best thing to do to counter someone from casting a spell is to hold an action for when they start casting and cast a damage spell on them like Magic Missile. That way they have to make a concentration check. Sometimes that is better than a straight up dispel. Additionally if you add the Toppling Spell meta magic, Magic Missile acts as a trip attack. So this way if you hit a caster that is trying to cast, not only does he have to make the concentration check, but if he is tripped, he then has a higher DC to cast from prone...
What I might suggest is that you give him a spell progression similar to the Paladin and lower his will saves by half in exchange for the full BAB. That being said, if he is high enough level to use spells, let him use spells, but don't describe them as spells during play. Just limit the spells to those that a crazy buff leader could duplicate without magic.
Things like Cause Fear, Compel Hostility, Blurred Movement, Invigorate, Moment of Greatness etc. All of these spells could be described as the leader shouting something to inspire his men or demoralize his enemies. Just give your players the opportunity to identify what he is trying to do so they can still interrupt but use sense motive instead of spellcraft as the skill they use.
If they see he is trying to inspire everyone, maybe an arrow or attack to interrupt his words of inspiration, or his display to intimidate.
If you see where I am going with this. It's all in how you describe and play it.
I don't know that I would recommend spellcasters for this, as they only get those spells at higher levels. For the first while if you make a transmuter you will largely be buffing others. Even when you do get Transformation, the bonuses you gain aren't nearly as good one might hope for that level.
From what I see, Ordered Mind would be better as it only requires you spend a spell of equal level or higher, whereas Improved Counterspell requires spells one level higher than that being cast.
The trade-off appears to be in the DC to identify the spell. Using improved counterspell requires a spellcraft check DC:(15+spell level) where as Ordered Mind requires DC:(20+spell level)
As for the exploit, if you take Improved Counterspell with it, you will require a lower DC than if you take Ordered Mind. It appears that taking the exploit and Ordered Mind would be a waste. Conversely, if you don't mind waiting until level 7 and having a DC that is 5 higher than normal, you can just take Ordered Mind and save yourself the exploit for something different.
