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Hmm. That is an interesting idea, but my first thought when I read the part about being able to 'sustain' the demoralize was "Wow, I would want to find a way to fit that in all my intimidation builds" and that makes me think it is too powerful. I do like the idea of adding the linguistic trait. Frankly I would have already done so, but forgot it existed.
So I am working on a bigger project that I will post here later and I found myself in want of a skill feat that combined Intimidation and Performance. Here is what I came up with: ****
There is a stark difference between simply threatening someone and instilling in them a feeling of true dread by properly setting the scene. In a situation in which you have had the time and opportunity to truly prepare an atmosphere of horror you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your Intimidation check to Coerce or Demoralize. Because this method relies on using choice words to paint a picture of just how doomed the victim is, you cannot use this feat in conjunction with a method of intimidation that removes the need for sharing a language. If you are a Master in Performance, this bonus increases to +2.
Okay, so mechanically it works just like Intimidating Prowess, but is only level 1 instead of 2. I think this fills a niche for characters who want to be intimidating without high Str. As for the lower level, I have three reasons. One, purely mechanical, I want it to be a feat granted by something at level 1. Two and three are the justifications: it requires investment in two different skills instead of just one (and one of those skills is rarely taken unless Bard), and the requirement is meant to be much more difficult/time-consuming than just 'physically menacing'. Sure, both are essentially GM fiat, "would this creature feel physically menaced by you" vs "would this creature be impressed by your theatricality", but I know when running a game I would probably say yes to the former more often than to the latter. Oh yeah, a reason number four, the fact that it explicitly does not work with something like Intimidating Glare. Honestly this is meant to be used like 80% of the time for Coerce rather than Demoralize. Think the charismatic cult leader who goes all out on all the pillars of fire, fountains of blood, and in-depth descriptions of the excruciating damnation that awaits you, as opposed to the burly orc who just cracks a walnut with his eyelid while staring at you. Anyway, what do you think? Too good, not good enough, needs more cowbell?
Just ran into this recently, actually. I am running a PF2e version of Way of the Wicked that I have been converting as we go, and the main party has an artifact that converts them all to void healing. So I see Harm used to heal the party all the time, and the only time, but they have never once bothered to use the two action version to harm the living, because why would they? They have much better damaging spells already (though occasionally a 3 action Harm to heal the party and hurt the their foes simultaneously is nice, especially since the enemy tends to do the same if/when they notice that the party is using void healing). So last session we started MinionQuest, a little side adventure in which the players take control of the 2nd level minions of their 8th level party and we all laugh at how goofy and ineffective they are. But one of these minions is a cleric of Asmodeus, and that is when I was made aware of something I had never noticed before, namely that the 2-action version of both spells does not get the +8 rider when used to harm, and thus we came to exactly the same conclusion OP made: a harm font cleric sucks in comparison to a heal font cleric because their extra spells are so much better at their primary purpose! Obviously the primary purpose shifts when the party has void healing, so in all the sessions prior to this I simply did not notice. Anyway, I'm rambling. Tl;dr is that I am seriously thinking of presenting this idea as an option to my players. 9-16 damage per spell rank would probably be too much, but 2-16 per spell rank seems perfectly reasonable...
Hmm. That is a good point: I use Free Archetype in every game, so I sometimes forget some people do not! :D I could bump the level down to 1, though I would feel bad for the poor level 1 Barb who takes a feat that does nothing until they reach 2. In any game I run they will likely take this as their class feat the same level they take the archetype feat that gives them the companion. The only reason I don't have this grant a companion is that I hate when the class AC and the archetype AC conflict. For instance I have a character in one of my games that is a Champion who wants to take the Cavalier archetype but also really wants to eventually take the Auspicious Mount Champion feat. I house-ruled that the equivalent feats between the two (aka the ones that grant Mature, the ones that grant Savage/Nimble, etc) can be interchanged for the purposes of prerequisites.
@Claxon: Looks like you and Neizy are very much in agreement. Yeah, I know that both Moment of Clarity and the free action given at Mature are ways it can be done (extremely poorly) with vanilla rules, but I was hoping for something that actually makes it a viable build. @TheFinish: Sounds interesting! If I get the chance to actually play this character (as opposed to what I am currently doing, theory-crafting how to rebuild some of my old 1e characters in 2e) I might have to check that out. Right now I am too poor to spend money on a supplement I am not actually using in play. @Maya Coleman: Whoops, thanks. I had not noticed/remembered that Homebrew has its own subforum. Have not been very active on the forums for a few years. Glad you like it though, and hope Paizo eventually publishes something official to fill this niche. Howl of the Wild 2, anyone? @Castilliano: I was looking for basic mechanical support more than flavor, but yes, others have convinced me that just giving the mount even basic rage benefits right off the bat might throw off the careful math too much. Here is what I have landed on and am pretty happy with until and unless something official gets published: ****
You have learned to share your primal fury with your animal companion. While you are raging the Command an Animal gains the Rage trait, allowing you to use it normally while raging. If you have the Furious Footfalls class ability your mount receives the same increase to speed that you do. If you have the Share Rage feat you can use it as a free action as soon as you enter a rage, but only on your animal companion.
I figure a small speed boost at early levels is not too powerful, but fulfils my itch to give the AC a small boost at early levels, the initial benefit is what makes the concept work pretty much at all, and the Share Rage benefit saves a single action if you take a specific level 8 feat. Not super powerful, but fills the niche I need. Now I can build my giant instinct lizardman barbarian wielding a large naganata from the back of his huge (Mammoth Lord archetype) raging triceratops mount. :D Not practical AT ALL and impossible to use in dungeons, but FUN!
Thank you for your input! Hmm. Yes, you are probably right. I was looking at it more from a 1e perspective where sharing rage with your companion was standard for barbarian archetypes. That said, I feel like just making Command an Animal useable during rage is too weak on its own. In comparison Raging Intimidation at level 1 gives the ability and two skill feats, one almost certainly right away and one much later. I do like the idea of allowing one to use Share Rage more easily with your companion, but that would not come online until level 8 at the earliest. I would like some small bonus to tack on to this feat when it is taken. I will have to think on it.
I was gutted to discover that, after six years, there is still no 2e option for a barbarian with an animal companion, since Command an Animal has the Concentration trait and using Moment of Clarity every round would be absolutely untenable. (IF I AM WRONG AND THERE IS SUCH A FEAT/OPTION PLEASE LET ME KNOW!) So time to look at home rules. How does this look? Note that I am assuming said barbarian is getting the companion from an archetype, or indeed is another class using the barbarian archetype for rage. ****
You have learned to share your primal fury with your animal companion. While you are raging the Command an Animal gains the Rage trait, allowing you to use it normally while raging. Your companion automatically enters a rage whenever you do, gaining the basic effects of Rage, but not any additional benefits from your Instinct.
What do you think? Does this look fairly balanced?
I have been running a converted 3pp 1e adventure path for the last few years and now that the PCs are in the mid levels a lot of the enemies in the written adventure have escape clauses like 'teleport' written into their tactics, but 2e seriously nerfed most such options. Are there any spells/options left in this edition that make a good 'escape to fight another day' abilities for what are supposed to be recurring enemies? So far my best idea is to use Translocate to escape the immediate fight then spend ten minutes hoping the party does not find them and casting the Teleport ritual. Anything else?
Greetings fellow gamers. Inching back into PFS after being gone for most of the pandemic, and I noticed a handful of tables I GMd going back to 2nd ed launch day (1 Aug 2019) do not list GM credits. I have had zero luck getting mistakes fixed in the past (How exactly am I supposed to prove I wasn't at a specific convention? Or that the organizer reported the wrong scenario number?), but I thought this one is really obvious as it says right on the play record that I was the GM, and it lists Achievement Points, but not GM credits. What I am not seeing is an email address to which I might report these errors. Any help is appreciated. Thank you for your time, and Happy Gaming! PS. The main reason I am even bothering with this is that it is the difference between whether I have a Glyph or not...
So I am in the initial stages of converting the 3pp AP Way of the Wicked and one of the first major hurdles is how to handle Grumblejack, the surprisingly loyal ogre the PCs can befriend in the first few minutes of the campaign. The PCs play villains and have very few resources or allies to call upon, so some extra muscle is welcome, and as I understand it the ogre can turn into a sort of mascot if the players like him. Question is, how should I stat him out? Like a monster, just updating him to fit the parameters of his new creature level as the campaign progresses and the party gains in power? Try to homebrew an ogre ancestry and just build him like a PC from there? Maybe a special minion that anyone in the party can command? In the original AP he gains both fighter levels and can gain some fiendish powers. Any suggestions?
Hello! I recently finished running Fall of Plaguestone, but when I report it I run into what I assume is a hard-coded website issue: I enter the correct prestige earned for both myself and the players, 12 each, but when I save it the amount is automatically lowered to 8. So that makes me think that 8 is the maximum the Paizo site allows. Has anyone else run into this problem and is there any official means I should be using to report it? Thank you and Happy Gaming!
So at my table today half my players tried to argue that executing their wounded, bound, surrendered prisoner after it told them everything it knew about its boss was not an evil act. Their rationale was that because it had tricked and attacked them earlier they now had carte blanche to kill it after accepting its surrender. -_- One even tried to compromise saying that he could untie it and toss it a weapon then kill it even if it didn't fight back because then it wouldn't be helpless. Not caring to debate about it I told them that, GM fiat, it was an evil act whether they agreed or not, but in the interest of moving things along it was not quite evil enough to change the CN inquisitor of Lamashtu's alignment. In a home campaign it would be easy enough to monitor the character over time and, if such acts continued, declare the character's alignment changed. In PFS obviously that is not an option. So now I finally get to the point of this post: what is a PFS GM to do in situations where a character callously commits an evil act? With a paladin or good cleric it is obvious, but how about the neutral character who, if they turn evil, are no longer a playable character? Please note that I am not interested in debating whether or not the act was evil; as far as I am concerned there is no doubt, cut and dry. I would very much like to hear what you would do if a character committed an act at your table that you similarly felt was outright evil. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and Happy Gaming!
Okay, well, apparently the consensus is that I made my character incorrectly. Which is... annoying? I thought PF2 was supposed to allow more freedom in character build, but it seems like it is the same-ol story of "better build 'em a certain way or you're hosed". Anyway, I was able to get away with a minor stat change: when I retrained my racket from Ruffian to Thief I changed my prime stat from Str to Dex and the GM allowed that to change my stats as if I had picked that from the beginning. So now I'm 12 16 14 12 14 10. We just hit level 4, so now I look something like this: LN F Human (Half-Elf) Bounty Hunter
+1 Striking Crossbow +10 (2d8 or 2d10+2 w/Crossbow Ace)
Thief Racket, Sneak Attack 1d6, Surprise Attack, Deny Advantage Nimble Dodge, Ranger Dedication, Basic Hunter's Trick (Crossbow Ace) Elf Atavism (Darkvision), Canny Acumen (Fortitude)(Will retrain this at level 9) Acrobatics +9(T), Athletics +7(T), Crafting +7(T), Deception +6(T), Lore (Legal) +7(T), Medicine +8(T), Nature +10(E), Religion +8(T), Society +7(T), Stealth +9(T), Survival +10(E), Thievery +11(E) Still interested in the Cat Animal Companion suggested because the support ability makes them flat-footed until the END of my next turn. So sure, I'll only be getting off one attack a round, but so long as I can keep hitting they will all be against flat-footed opponents, plus the cat will be one extra body to set up flanks and the like for the front-liners. Worried it will be pretty squishy though. I don't know for sure how the other characters in the party are built, but my guess is that they are not really much more optimized than mine, because we do tend to have similar success rates (and we do tend to just barely make it through tough fights). But hey, we, a group of 4 level 3 characters, managed to beat a Severe 4 encounter last session, so I guess we're not that bad. :P
@Blave: Interesting take. Is this one of those "if it's not optimized it's not worth playing" things? She is a ruffian, running around in scale mail, and when she does get into melee uses a spear or bladed gauntlet. True, if I hadn't needed to be a back-up front liner when I made her I might have dumped Str for Dex (or maybe Cha for deception so I could make distractions) and taken a different racket, but so far I haven't found my stats to be a huge detriment; I am hitting about as often as the rest of the group, and my hp, AC, and saves are all decent. I think that the main problem is, as you pointed out, that once again Paizo has given very little love to crossbows and only rangers really have the feats to improve them. To be honest, my concept is pretty much a ranger, but I need to fit that onto a rogue chassis because the group needed all the skills I could muster. I definitely had Crossbow Ace and Running Reload high on my list of wanted feats. @Taja: Ooh, I had not even considered an animal companion. I will definitely keep that in mind as a possibility, thank you.
Ancestry: Half-Elf
Currently level 3. I have Nimble Dodge, Elf Atavism (darkvision), Ranger Dedication When I started there was only one front-liner so I had to make her a switch-hitter by necessity, so her stats are not optimized for archery: 14 14 14 12 14 10. We have since recruited another melee character so I am now free to specialize in my crossbow like I planned, but it has been a bit lack-luster. The only times I tend to get sneak attack off is on the first round of combat or if I step into a flank and make a melee attack. Flavor-wise she is a no-nonsense Nidalese bounty hunter. Thinking snares would be cool, but not sure if they're worth it for a non-ranger. So, can't change anything that can't be retrained. With that in mind, any advice for how I should build this character? Oh, and again, pretty much need to stay a rogue because we need the skills (and the skill feats are nice too). Thank you in advance for any helpful feedback!
Well, I hope Mr. Seifter and co. feel differently about the situation than all of you. :/ In regard to the idea that there may be another, more prestigious archetype for the more advanced Aldori, well, that just further makes the current one feel overlapped, redundant, mostly useless. In regard to the idea that the archetype is meant for classes that don't already have access to similar powers, well... you are correct that it is not about number stacking, and I never implied it should be. But this idea goes against lore. Just look at 1st ed Aldori: NPCs were invariably fighters and swashbucklers. Fighters and swashbucklers are the ones that got Aldori specific archetypes. I want to see an Aldori archetype for 2nd Ed that works well with fighters and swashbucklers, not be redundant with those classes and only useful for oddball builds that would, according to lore, be the exception and not the rule. I know that more likely than not the more elegant way to achieve this would be via errata to the archetype itself than to the core classes (little things like adding a line to the Aldori Dedication feat stating that an Aldori dueling sword counts as having the parry trait when wielded by a swashbuckler). And if that is what it takes, I am willing to wait. I just want to make sure that the design team wants to know that at least a few of us (and I hope the fact that no one has actually taken my side here doesn't mean that I really am the only one) love the Aldori and want to play them in a lore-appropriate form at some point down the road. I think that is pretty much all I have to say on the subject. Hopefully I am not upsetting anyone or stepping on anyone's toes by having these opinions. Take care, my fellow Pathfinders, and happy gaming!
@Arachnofiend: Ah, yes, of course the onus was on the archetype to make sure it was distinct from the class that hadn't even been written yet rather than the writers of said class to not simply copy/paste the majority of the archetype's already existing abilities and provide no synergy. Silly me. -_- @KitsuneWarlock: True, and I suppose that could be viable if one never wanted another dedication. I still really hope they bake in a bit of synergy since we are still in the design phase for it. If just one writer adds just a few words to a few swashbuckler abilities it could make all the difference between the Aldori being the premiere duelists they are supposed to be and a bunch of mostly wasted space. :-/ @Wumiao Xue: I am sorry, I don't quite understand what you are saying here. @All: Whether I agree with you or not, I appreciate you taking the time to read and reply. Thank you for your time.
Are you still maintaining this? For a lark I thought I would apply it to the first book of Way of the Wicked, and hoo boy, it's a doozy. Maybe because it is 3rd party or maybe because of the non-traditional start, the loot in just the very first act is not what I was expecting. Knot of Thorns Act 1 Treasure:
5. The Garden: belladonna 15. Sergeant's Quarters: 12 x rotgut whiskey (5gp each=60gp), 1235gp 22. Richter's Library: "Astra Mysterii" (75gp), "The Travels of Titus the Mendicant" (120gp), "The Floralegium" (250gp) 24. Warden's Office: "Richter's Tome of Arcane Armament" (350gp), 5 x noble outfits (75gp each = 375gp), alchemist's lab (200gp) Sergeant Tomas Blackerly: potion of cure light wounds, chainmail, masterwork longsword, 30gp
Lashtongue's Lair: medallion (125gp), 45gp First off they start with nothing except the Veil of Useful Items to provide them with a couple basic pieces of equipment. Through stealth or force they can easily get hold of some chainshirts, longswords, bows, arrows, and metal shields, none of which I included here. Assuming they are thorough in their looting they could easily end up with over 2000gp, 2 1st level scrolls (lvl 1 consumables), three doses of belladonna (lvl 2 consumables), two 2nd level scrolls (lvl 3 consumables), and whatever I would convert an ioun torch to (a dull grey Aeon stone and an everburning torch are both lvl 1 permanent items). I was wondering what others might advise. Scrap it all and allocate treasure from scratch? Keep the general allotment assuming that the AP writers knew what they were doing and that villains need lots of extra cash at 1st level? Something in between?
The Aldori Duelist has been one of my favorite character types since it was originally released, but, just like in 1e, I find myself wishing it fit better with the Swashbuckler, which, thematically, seems like it would be a perfect fit! The problem is that the abilities are both redundant and don't synergize. For example, Dizzying Parry is exactly the same as Aldori Parry except the latter requires the use of an Aldori Dueling Sword (and nothing else) instead of any weapon with the Parry trait (of which there are surprisingly few) and it does not work with the Storm of Parries feat. Suggestion? Add a line at the end of Dizzying Parry/Storm of Parries that for a character using Aldori Parry the Aldori Dueling Sword counts as having the Parry trait for the purpose of interacting with Swashbuckler abilities. And maybe some sort of bonus if someone has both Aldori Parry and Dizzying Parry at once? Similarly Duelist's Edge and Aldori Riposte work mechanically exactly the same as Swaggering Initiative and Opportune Riposte (with a few obvious caveats, like the former two only working with the Dueling Sword, and not interacting with Panache or counting as a Retort). I know that most people will probably say: they're not meant to combine. They're two different roads to get the same flavor. But... the Aldori are supposed to be the best duelists in the world. I don't want most of their signature moves to be the same as those of a base class, unless they can combine their toolset with said class to be even better. Anyway, I thought that maybe by putting this plea in at this early stage I might get my wish to see some built-in synergy instead of having to wait four years for a compatible archetype... Thank you for your time.
I have almost everything Paizo for HLC and use it for everything PF1 related that I do (which is a lot). It is a clunky interface and for some reason it CTDs me all the damn time (something which many other people tell me does not happen to them, so I assume it has something to do with my PC or install or something). And yet I have invested hundreds of dollars and use it all the time despite these flaws; that is how useful I find it. HLO... no thank you. I spoke with some of the employees at Gen Con and I understand where they are coming from with the new model, but, just, no. When I first heard about it I thought it would be a subscription service that allowed automatic access to all the content. Not my first choice, but workable, and after a few years the costs would start to match that which I paid for HLC. But wait! Then I find out one has to pay for content packs like before AND a subscription so that one can access one's characters from the cloud. Of course, since I always bring my laptop and use HL from it exclusively, that feature is worthless to me. And the need for constant online connectivity means I cannot access it if I am at a game store that has spotty/no free wifi. Oh, and what I experienced of the interface was somehow EVEN MORE clunky than that of HLC! And yes, I had the major lag from the servers being overloaded as well, to the point that I was reading several paragraphs of my brand new PF2 bestiary between choices; and woe unto me should I accidentally click the wrong button and have to wait ten extra minutes to get to the correct menu! So yeah. If you have good experience with HLO, if it works for you, then great, I am truly happy for you. I will avoid it however, for much the same reason I avoid MMOs and never tried Diablo 3. Maybe they will change things later on, improve their model, and then I will reevaluate. Until then I will use HLC for PF1 and look into an alternate program for PF2.
Okay, I am now home from Gen Con, the event for which I placed this order, over two weeks ago. An order for which I have now received four emails about the payment being declined (even though there was more than enough money in the account). An order from which every single item I have since purchased in person. An order which I have requested be cancelled twice now, and an order for which I have so far received NO customer service. I know everyone was busy for Gen Con. I was too. Ignoring your customers around a big event is far from good business however. Pathfinder is my favorite game. Paizo is my favorite company. And the Organized Play community is like family to me. But if I get charged for this order I am going to be livid.I am just thankful that whatever error caused it to be held up in the first place has continued while all of my attempts to cancel it have been ignored. Please cancel it. My bank is still withholding the funds and will continue to do so so long as Paizo keeps trying to charge it. I seriously suggest you overhaul your website. Cancelling orders, subscriptions,etc, should not require contacting customer service (especially when the response time is two weeks plus). Thank you,
MY STUFF WAS FOUND! It seems to all be here! It wasn't there last night when the room was swept, but this afternoon someone found in in the Sagamore Ballroom not twenty feet from where it was taken! I don't know if the thief felt remorseful or simply decided there was too many people on the lookout for it now, but somehow it is back and I cannot thank you all enough. To everyone who expressed sympathy, spread the word, generously offered me new gaming gear, or offered advice: Thank you. From the bottom of my heart and brimming with love for you all, I wish to express my enduring gratitude. Paizo, Know Direction, the Organized Play Foundation, and the entire community of fellow Pathfinders has humbled me and convinced me that there is more good in the world than I had previously believed. I hope to be able to return to Gen Con some year so that I can play with you all again. Good evening, and Happy Gaming!
My first time at Gen Con and I wish I had never come. My belongings were stolen this morning right under the noses of my fellow volunteers and PFS staff. All my gaming gear including over $200 of brand new 2E stuff. Six years of PFS chronicle sheets and all of the Con boons I had been collecting over the years. And most importantly my laptop, my most important possession. All taken in under three minutes when I walked away to ask a question. I was told this is the first such incident in all the years that PFS has been ran at Gen Con. I am devastated. Why do I bring this up on a public forum, to perfect strangers? Because I want to commend the PFS organizers and staff for the compassion they have shown me today. Everyone was incredibly kind and understanding, and they did everything they could to help me. While my laptop is likely gone for good, with tons of irreplaceable photographs of loved ones and all of my characters (I kept them on Hero Lab), these kind souls replaced all of my Paizo products for free, allowing me to at least distract myself from my sorrows with some fantastic gaming. I am unfortunately horrible with names and so I am afraid I cannot really call out anyone specifically, but I just want to give thanks from the bottom of my heart to all of the organizers, volunteers, and other staff members of Gen Con PFS who treated me so kindly and helped me to make the best of a truly devastating situation. And to the thief, if you happen to be a fellow player and so might see this: I hope you get what you deserve. I hope everyone finds out what kind of person you are, the kind of person who would steal from a poor, chronically ill (both physically and mentally) man who thought it was the luckiest thing in the world that events happened to conspire to allow him to attend Gen Con. To everyone else, assuming anyone bothered to read this far: thank you for taking the time to read my rant. I needed to vent my frustration, and express my thanks, or I would have burst. May your gaming be happier than mine.
Er, this is a time-sensitive matter. If it can be shipped out Friday the 26th with expedited shipping, please do that. If not, and there is no way to pick it up either at Gen Con or at Paizo headquarters (I live in Lynnwood, very close by), then please cancel it and I'll just hope that the maps I need are being sold at the Paizo booth. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
I received an email saying my payment was declined. This is very odd, as my bank list the transaction as authorized and are withholding the funds. I went ahead and deposited more money in the account just in case; please try to run it again ASAP. I need these items by the 30th, as my plane leaves on the 31st for Gen Con. Thank you for your help.
Ah, sorry to hear that. I was looking for the Forest Starter set, Bigger Sewers, and Wicked Dungeon, but if I bought them at the booth I am sure I would not be able to use my store credit. Too bad I can't just pick it up from Paizo HQ, since I live about 16 miles away. :P Thanks anyway, guess I will just deal with the shipping cost.
If I place an order for some maps I need for the scenarios I am running at GenCon, can I pick them up at Paizo's booth? It would be nice to not only save on shipping but also have a bit less to pack for the very long flight. I will place the order once I know one way or the other. Thank you for your help!
I just got a confirmation for this order and was quite alarmed to see it totals nearly $100! I absolutely cannot afford that, and have no desire to own the flip tiles. I would, however, like to continue to receive flip mats and map packs. If the two flip tiles items cannot simply be removed from this order then please cancel it. If flip tiles products will continue to be part of the map subscription with no option to opt out, then please cancel the subscription as well. It is bad enough that I already have had to pay for and receive maps designed for a game I do not even play (Starfinder). I strongly urge Paizo to rethink their subscription service, allowing customers to opt in/out of specific products or lines that do not fit their needs. Either way I will continue to be a customer, as I love Pathfinder, but the current model will force me out of being a subscriber, and I doubt I am the only one. Thank you for your time.
Hello! I just made this order for the second Strange Aeons Syrinscape set, and the My Downloads page lists a link to "Click here to fetch serial number". When I click it all that happens is the Downloads page reloads, still with a link, but no serial number. A little searching has shown that problems similar to this are unfortunately common, so I assume I will have to wait for someone at Paizo to contact Syrinscape, get a serial number from them, then email it to me? I had absolutely no problems with the first set, so was a bit surprised when this came up. Anyhow, thank you in advance for any help provided!
Insomnia leaves me with a great deal of extra time on my hands and this time could be spent productively, but who wants that? For the bored, check out the oddly familiar characters I statted up on a whim. I'm sure it's been done before, probably better, but this was my take, and hopefully at least one person gets a kick out of it.
Hello! I noticed that the product scheduled for February for my Pathfinder Maps subscription is, in fact, a Starfinder product. While I am sure it is an equally fun game, I currently do not play it, certainly do not run it, and have absolutely NO use for a map pack designed for it. For now I prefer to stick to fantasy and have no wish to pay for a product that I will not use. PLEASE separate maps from the two lines into different subscriptions; it is called PATHFINDER Maps subscription, after all, not Paizo Maps subscription. Alternatively adding an option to opt out on a given month or to sub the subscription item for another of equal value would be appreciated. If none of these options can be made available I, and I cannot imagine I am the only one, will be forced to cancel and renew my subscription on a month-to-month basis, not only defeating part of the point of having a subscription, and also likely leading to eventual permanent cancellation when it just becomes too annoying to jump through the hoops every month. I love your company, love your game, and am sure I would love your other game too, but I have neither the time nor the money to get into it right now. Please help out one of your loyal subscribers!
One of the players in my Strange Aeons campaign wants to play a greatsword-wielding human slayer who specializes in anti-magic tactics. Took Power Attack and Improved Sunder at 1st level, just hit level 2 and has no idea where to go from there. Mostly looking for feat/slayer talent advice, maybe some key equipment. Any suggestions?
EDIT: Wrote a big thing about Glower seemed to have an extra feat and stat point only to realize I misread the stat block and she has 3 levels of Gray Gardener, not 1. So nevermind all that stuff. But the last paragraph is still valid: Then there is the fact that she has two levels of rogue that do almost nothing for her. A few extra skill points, trapfinding, 1d6 sneak attack, and evasion? And a rogue talent spent on... Weapon Finesse. With a dexterity score of 8. I'm used to seeing poorly made enemies in adventures (and WAY too many rogues, the universally accepted poster child for under-powered class), but this one just seems like someone was trying to fail.
Daridela's morale says that if she is reduced to fewer than 10 hit points, she casts obscuring mist and flees. Only... she doesn't have obscuring mist as one of her memorized spells... Guess she's losing that cure light wounds. (Also, if I were her I'd be casting barkskin and call lightning rather than cat's grace and produce flame. If you have access to 3rd level spells, probably want to use those before 1st levels!) (Also also, I think I'm gonna give her the Fungal Pilgrim archetype from Heroes of the Darklands, since her tactics don't have her use wild shape anyway...)
@Adam Daigle: Yes, I have indeed read it! I believe the majority of these class/archetypes appeared in the suggested list. I am now checking to see if these specific combinations seem like they would work well together. :P @Mergy: Well, the player of the striker already plays a barbarian in PFS. She wanted to try something different while still sticking with a melee striker. Similarly, one of the few things the second player mentioned when I asked for a bare-bones idea of what sort of character he wanted was a "Sherlock-type". My mind immediately went to the Empiricist. I have never played an investigator, so am not terribly conversant with their power-level or how the archetypes interact. Yeah, I had thought of that and looked for a racial trait or feat that reversed the negative energy affinity (no such luck). I figured that the majority of healing will be out of combat via wands, that the spiritualist would also pick up cure spells and be a secondary healer, and that, yes, the oracle would grab inflict spells. This was the last player to give me her character gist and she, too, wanted to be a beat-stick. I warned her that without a full caster in the party they would likely have a very difficult time against some kinds of encounters and so she agreed to being one as long as it was spontaneous, but I had to dangle the carrot of getting to be an unusual race (though she doesn't know what). My last group had a summoner, and this looks fairly similar in how much time it will take up. That is partly why I was thinking to build the phantom as simply as possible so the go-to every round will be "it rushes up and hits things". A ranger might be simpler, but I really thought the flavor of the spiritualist fit better, and thought that my idea for the phantom would really mess with the player's head in delicious ways. Also very true about the arcane casting part, and I had noticed that. None of my players were interested in playing one, however, so there is little that could be done. Maybe if one of their characters dies off early they will bring in a mage next. SO, overall, looks like you're saying the party seems complicated and unbalanced. Crap. I'll see what I can do to change things up within the guidelines of what the players indicated they want to play. Thanks for the input!
Since my Kingmaker game fell apart, I have a (mostly) new group and they want Lovecraft. I told them that they will start with amnesia, and so they voted to have me create their characters so they can discover them as they go. I could use some advice on builds, and specifically on party balance. 4-man, 20-point buy. Based on the player's preferences, here are the four characters I have in mind: Human Slayer - Kellid Gorum-worshipping, greatsword-wielding dpr striker. Pretty much a barbarian without being a barbarian. Maybe even barbarian VMC? It's not like 2h style fighting requires many feats to be effective... Thinking of Pureblade, Spiritslayer, and/or Witch Hunter archetype (if the latter, maybe allow it to count against psychic magic instead of arcane). Half-Orc Investigator - Empiricist archetype, knowledge and trap-guy. Might I just take this opportunity to complain about the fact that neither Fencing Grace nor Slashing Grace applies to a sword cane? Good thing this is a home game, but it seems silly that there aren't feats like Slashing grace for bludgeoning, and, especially, piercing weapons. Dhampir Oracle - The dedicated caster of the group. Dark Tapestry mystery, Shattered Psyche curse. Also likely the main face. At first she will think she is human, but slowly the truth will be revealed... Half-Elf Spiritualist - Usher of Lost Souls with an Anger spirit. Specifically the spirit of her dead child who is really mad at anyone and everyone who would threaten his mommy. Player wants to be a front-liner, so thinking she can be another two-hander, probably pick up armor proficiency, and wade into combat next to her spirit. So, any suggestions? Builds, comments on balance (or lack thereof), or anything really. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Just ran this one and it was awful. TPK in the first encounter. Three level 7s, an 8, and a 9. The pirates were nothing more but speedbumps, but the galvos were brutal, and the alchemist's bombs finished off a couple characters. It was all over in about an hour and a half. Played everything precisely by the tactics outlined in the adventure. Not fun.
Okay, since I've seen exactly zero people talk up vigilante for this build, I think slayer it is. :P Scott Wilhelm: Wow, those seem like some crazy and effective builds! Totally not what I am going for flavor-wise, and not really a fan of kitchen sink multi-classing, but thanks for the ideas; like I said above about the fighter and ranger ideas, maybe I'll make some NPCs for my home game. :) @Havoq: He was referring to the invisibility ability gained by the Stygian Slayer archetype in place of their 4th level talent. @Quentin Coldwater: Ooh, I hadn't really looked at Kitsune Style. Kitsune Tricks seems really useful! @Inlaa: Yeah, I agree that the feat tax for dex fighting is a bit too high for this build. Still Very Rough Build
Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 10
Traits: looking at Clever Wordplay (Diplomacy) and Upstanding (Diplomacy) because I want to be a face in addition to being a merchant and stealthy warrior; if I take the Velvet Blade archetype to gain Diplomacy as a class skill then replace Upstanding with Cunning Liar Skills to max: Acrobatics, Appraise, Bluff, Diplomacy, Perception, Profession (Merchant), Sense Motive, Stealth. Remaining points scattered among various knowledges. 1st: Dirty Fighting and Power Attack
Use a keen scimitar 2-handed. Can use first attack for DT to apply two conditions for multiple rounds; free DT on crit; hope most GMs will allow using weapon for most DT (nick the eyebrow to cause bleeding directly into eyes = blind, etc.) Maybe carry a backup shield for when higher AC is more important than damage output. Regarding archetypes, I'm pretty much decided that Bounty Hunter is out. Stygian Slayer is really cool! Not just the invisibility, but being able to bust out a scroll of mirror image or displacement for a tough fight would be incredibly useful. The flavor neither enhances nor clashes with the base concept. Only problem is that it screws up taking GDT and QDT together at level 6. Could take QDT with feat at 7th, but would probably make more sense to keep the much needed boost to Will saves and just take it with a talent at 8th. So the question presented is whether or not all the cool spell abilities are worth getting QDT two levels later. Probably? Not 100% convinced. Still really considering Velvet Blade as well. It stacks with Stygian, so they're not competing. Gain Diplomacy (bonus) and Knowledge (nobility) (meh, but fits the concept if I go from merchant to full-on Merchant Prince), and lose Knowledge (dungeoneering) (meh). Lose medium armor (I wasn't really planning to use that anyway) and shields (oh well, it was just a backup anyway). Lose Track and Swift Tracker (double meh, wasn't planning to invest in Survival anyway), gain the Betrayal feat, the Silent Dispatch vigilante talent, and a very situational way to gain automatic sneak attack with extra dice (up from 3d6 to 6d6 at 11th!). The main thing is that Studied Target gains its bonus to Diplomacy, Disguise, Intimidate, and Stealth, but loses it to attack and damage. Great for being a face, quite a blow to combat ability. But I really love the flavor! What do you guys think; is the trade at all worth it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cool, more ideas! Thanks avr! I had looked at the teisatsu, and while it has some cool abilities, the flavor is just too far from what I am going for. For instance, loses scimitar proficiency. My build doesn't have to be completely mechanically optimal, thankfully, allowing room for flavor choices; after all, PFS scenarios don't tend to be super difficult unless you're always playing up. I would contend that a major part of a character build is optimal allocation of resources over the whole. In this case, as far as I can tell, feats are tighter for this build than talents. Since both the slayer and the vigilante can take a talent which gives them Improved Dirty Fighting plus an additional bonus AND there aren't really all that many other things that stand out as being super useful to take instead, why use a feat at 1st when I can wait only one level and use a talent instead? Of course, with PFS allowing unlimited rebuild until level 2, in this case I CAN have my cake and eat it too, taking IDT at level 1 and then switching it out for another feat and replacing it with a talent at level 2. :)
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