Athose Immortius Aeternia's page

.... caster limit for my permanency is 12 atm, (soon to be 13) and I've got a few permanency spells in, or planned, already.

As far as stinking cloud... roleplay reasons kind of make me NOT want to surround my home with that =p Iomedae values cleanliness

Alarm for my bedchambers/other key areas.
Dancing lights x2, rotating around the exterior of the castle
Mage's private sanctum (next level) (around interior keep)
Symbol of healing on a statue of Iomedae, with triggered magic mouth for anyone approaching that says "Accept the healing of Iomedae and continue your fight against the devils that plague our realm"
Wall of forces wrapped around the castle to prevent siege engine damage/pass wall/etc.

I have a castle in a campaign that I'm building using the ultimate campaign rules, and it has expanded to quite a little citadel.

It has barracks, a throne room, kitchens, guard posts, a protected gauntlet, a wet moat around it, even an orphanage (complete with school room!) amongst many other things. I have over 200 armed soldiers at my command (some from leadership, others from teams from the Ult Camp ruleset).

I also have a skilled wizard cohort with a stocked wizard's tower on the premises. (scrying room, library, etc) He is lvl 10 with permanency, and a wide spellbook.

Now, I need Ideas/suggestion for RULES SUPPORTABLE protections to place to keep it secure. Assume any 6th and lower spell is available, and 50,000 to spend. Don't think only of magical means, sometimes mundane ones are just as effective (like 3 alternating guard rotations, blindfolds for entering strangers, etc)

Current ideas (not extensive, just providing spring-board concepts for further suggestions)
Permanent Symbol of healing in the infirmary.
Permanent Dancing lights patrolling around the outside of the wall (akin to guard lights)
Decanter of endless water keeping a moat full
Wizard's expensive materials are in a completely sealed 20x20x20 room under the castle, encased entirely in stone, with no 'secret' passages (teleport/earth elemental/etc only accessible means)
A gauntlet with several "explosive runes" wallpapering it, requiring anyone passing through to have an escort and be blindfolded.

Let's see what ideas we can come up with! Thanks for the help!

If I have an Evil outsider bane, and am attacking a half-fiend minotaur (for example--Which is an outsider (native) but is of evil alignment.) Does the "BANE" weapon property affect it (Evil outsider). Or does it have to actually be an outsider (evil) (meaning, having the evil subtype).

Please give a rules citation with your answer, thank you for letting me pick your brain =D

This is what I have come up with, thoughts?

Evalach must interpose itself between an incoming attack from a good creature to protect an evil creature that has exerted it's control over it's ego score.

Evalach must be wielded by a fallen paladin of Iomedae whom has exerted control over it for at least 1 uninterrupted week before using it to block an adamantium arrow shot by a lawful good creature of a mythic tier at least that of the wielder.

... for a popculture reference as to the durability of the shield (ignoring the fact it's an artifact) Imagine captain America's shield, and think of what would have to be done to destroy it.
(someone already made the joke of it requiring being struck by a major artifact hammer....)

I'm currently playing in the wrath of the righteous campaign and have a legendary shield that has been pivotal in the creation of the character.

It is adamantium and used regularly with the 'sacrificial shield' mythic ability to absorb large hits from enemies, most of the time negating 50+ damage at a time without concern.

Furthermore, it can cast blur/displacement to further aid in damage avoidance.

It is also spiked and used as the character's primary weapon.

The character using it is an Aasimar Paladin of Iomedae, one proving very resilient in combat.

It -HAS- actually been destroyed before becoming an artifact (The owner was mind-controlled via Magic Jar and the party all attacked her, the shield being destroyed by the only person that could hit her, the party archer)

Now, she will soon gain a new mythic tier, and the shield will become a lesser artifact, which requires a specific action to destroy.

I need ideas for what that would entail. As I will eventually make it a greater artifact, keep in mind the destroy requirement should get harder when that happens, but rather similar to the original requirement.

So--Fire away with ideas!

What other options? and I'm finding that in the mythic campaign, EVERYTHNG has SR.

NNNOOOO!!!! It apparently checks vs spell resistance!
My plan has been fouled!

Wind Wall:
An invisible vertical curtain of wind appears. It is 2 feet thick and of considerable strength. It is a roaring blast sufficient to blow away any bird smaller than an eagle, or tear papers and similar materials from unsuspecting hands. (A Reflex save allows a creature to maintain its grasp on an object.) ***Tiny and Small flying creatures cannot pass through the barrier.***

While the wall must be vertical, you can shape it in any continuous path along the ground that you like. It is possible to **create cylindrical or square wind walls to enclose specific points.**

Worm that walks:
Size: Although the worms that make up the worm that walks’s body are Fine creatures, the worm that walks is treated as a creature the same size as the base creature.
---Worms that walk are susceptible to high winds—treat a worm that walks as a Fine creature for the purposes of determining wind effects.---

Curious if one could make a cylindrical wind wall around a worm that walks and basically keep them from moving out of it?

In ultimate combat part of the rules for being a commander for an army states that a commander's ranks/5 of profession soldier give bonus to morale checks.
Also, commanders can have 1 additional 'boon' per 5 ranks of profession soldier.

Now, technically, a 'rank' is just how many skill points you've put into it. So a lvl 8 paladin that put 5 skill points into Prof(soldier) and has skill focus Prof(soldier) with a wisdom score of 12 would have a +12 profession soldier (5 ranks, 3 class skill, 1 wisdom, 3 skill focus) But still only have 5 RANKS, technically speaking.

What's everyone's opinion on this wording? Personally I'm of the opinion this was just a poor/misused choice of words, and they really mean whatever the total modifier is, rather than just the actual skill points put into it. So, from my interpretation, the above paladin could have 3 boons (1 base, and 12/5 = 2 additional) and +2 morale for the army.
TECHNICALLY the RAW does say 'ranks' but as NOTHING else in the game (except for the +3 acrobatics for fighting defensive giving more dodge AC) actually relies on the 'ranks' rather than the overall 'modifier' I'm not sure if that was intended.... or even if it was intended, if it should be used that way.

If someone wants to skill focus to be a better commander, I'd say let them!

What are your thoughts? and the reasons behind them

My DM has told our group that the rules say that a reach weapon (whip, spears, etc) when used to attack something in melee (say you attack an orc and your ally is on the other side) you suffer the -4 to attack for using a 'ranged' weapon on a target in melee.

I cannot find rules backing for an explanation as to where the 'reach' becomes 'ranged' in respect to this rule, as it doesn't make sense from a 'real life' perspective. (having some not-insignificant experience with armed combat with various martial weapons myself)

What's the accepted rule for this? If possible PLEASE INCLUDE A RULES SUMMARY, whether in support or contradiction, so I can refer to it later.

Thank you again.

Can a swift action happen while a character is doing a full-round action?

EG: A paladin charges and takes damage from moving from a readied action/AoO, can the paladin use LoH before he finishes the charge? or must he wait until the full-round action of the charge is completely finished (movement and attack) before being able to swift action?

Thank you nate, very helpful perspective and answers.

I'm aware both parts must be masterwork, and are enchanted separately... but, regardless of rules, (and as much as I like it to be different) I can't really understand how the 'armor' aspect of the shield to be broken, but it still remain fully functional as a weapon.

I think you'd be right with the 50hardness shield as well... With that phrasing your ruling does make sense, thank you for the catch. *snaps fingers*

And the leadership/bullrush is going to be combined into having a wizard to stay in the back ground for group buffs/debuffs/battle field control... whilst being largely invisible if possible. Also Item creation Primary spell of choice will be the various 'Pit" spells of which I can shield-slam non-flying opponents into. I was intrigued by the bullrush chain, but unfortunately the bullrushing character doesn't enjoy the AoO on a success like you implied, just other characters... I was actually going back into my template to adjust for these when I read that. =(

Sunblade is a very nice item, but I'm not sure how upgrading it will work out, and I -really- want the double-defening weapon for serious AC stacking. I want to be the tank of the group.

Great great suggestions though, and I'm going to fiddle to see if I can make space for the bullrush feats to help in battlefield control a little more.

And Stuart I'm aware of the touch AC (and possibly CMD) issues with this build. The plan is for one of the early-ish mythic feats to be shield focus, which adds my shield AC (7) to my touch AC. That, incorporated with paladin's smite-evil providing a deflection modifier, should help with that.

I'm also considering using the empty slot 13 feat for combat expertise, and taking the mythic version (which adds +2 dodge, and can allow for ignoring all penalties) to result in a mythic power usage for 1 minute of +8 dodge AC.

I think those 2 additions will make her much more durable to non-traditional attacks.

Xmorsx twice you have posted in this thread, and neither time have you been on topic with the conversation (that is, the specifics on this build with a specific interest in rules issues). Please stop posting irrelevant information, it only serves to detract from the original thread.

At no time was the sacred shield archetype mentioned, in fact in section "A" I specifically clarified my understanding of the rule with a shield being a melee weapon, and thereby bondable for *weapon* enhancements, sacred shield only applies to the *shield* enhancements.

TWF is required for shield master.
Fey foundling has nothing to do with the build, separate from the obvious benefit to a LoH paladin.

Please keep contributions to something at least marginally relative to the original post.

Thank you for the ideas though, as completely off target as they were.

And the double power-attack was a brain-fart, thanks for that catch.

I thought I made it clear in the OP when I said "characters adventuring" apparently that wasn't the case, I will attempt to make my questions less ambiguous in the future to avoid confusion.

With that said, Thank you JB200 for being the only one offering the information I sought, in a clear and concise manner.

But let me get this straight, we go from level 1 'newbs' to lvl 20 with mythic abilities, in less than 6 months?

I'm getting rather annoyed at (almost) all mass-produced adventures ending with high level characters in less than a year, game-time...

If level up were so quick, shouldn't all towns be filled with lvl 10+ NPCs?

But, I digress and begin a rant, so with that said:

Thank you for your input, especially the last poster for the actual answer I was seeking.

I'm curious if anyone has read through the entire AP (all the books) and has a GENERAL idea of how long the characters are adventuring? I'm just curious as to the over-all time-frame. Are we talking weeks, months, more than half a year.... several years?

If I take the mythic path making my shield a legendary item, and choosing as one of the options "upgradable", do I have to choose which aspect of my shield to increase (defensive or offensive?) or does it apply to both the shield enhancements and the weapon enhancements I want to put on it?

EG:
I have done the above, My shield is currently a +1 spiked, bashing heavy shield with a +1 weapon bonus.
I pay 5000g (9000-4000) to upgrade it to a +2 spiked, bashing heavy shield.
Can I then, in a separate ceremony, upgrade it to having a +1 Flaming Weapon bonus (paying the 6000g of course)?

@ Dwayne, with no enhancement bonuses and -2 from TWF I'd never confirm a crit with the offhand.

I'm mostly looking for rule's lawyers to point out what of my proposed steps isn't accurate.

I have a character build for a paladin fighting primarily with a heavy spiked shield, and a light off-hand weapon (probably a kukri).

Feats:
1-Improved shield bash (bash, keep shield AC)
3-Two-weapon Fighting (reduce 2wf penalties)
5-Power attack (trade attack penalty for damage bonus)
7-Leadership (allows cohorts)
9-Shield Slam (Free bullrush when hitting with shield)
11-Shield mastery (No 2wf penalties with a shield, shield enhancement used for shield bashes)
13-power attack
15-Shield focus
17-missile shield
19-Improved Critical (shield)

A)Paladin Divine Bond--shield (as a weapon--I assume I can select my shield as the bonded item, without any archetype use, but enhancements only apply to the 'weapon' aspect of a shield)

B)Shield gets +5 enhancement bonus, bashing, shield spikes. Shield(weapon) gets +1, possibly enhanced with paladin divine bond into a +5 defending weapon, assigning all +5 of the shield(weapon) into AC.
Shield Mastery then allows use of the +5 Shield(armor) to be used when attacking with shield(weapon).

C)Offhand weapon: +x Defending Kukri---with all the enhancement assigned to AC

Assuming lvl 11 (since that's when shield mastery kicks in) a full-round attack would look like this:(no strength bonuses included)
*Paladin Divine bond giving shield(weapon) +3 enhancement value
+5 spiked, Bashing heavy steel shield :spikes +1(base) +2(divine bond) Defending (divine bond) 3 enhancement of shield(weapon) assigned to AC
Shield bash (main) +16/11/6 2d6+5 (+5 from Shield Mastery transference) (11 bab, +5 enhance, -0 from TWF/shield mastery)
Offhand (+1 defending kukri, enhancement assigned as AC bonus) +9 1d4 (11 BAB, -2 TWF, +0 enhance:assigned to AC)

Total AC increase from defending 4=3(shield(weapon)) +1 (kukri)

So far as I understand, all of these work with each other/stack (defending says "stacks with all other bonuses", meaning even itself) The kukri would have to be attacked with to have it's AC assigned (as it must be 'used')

Next question (Q1):
This is a mythic campaign, using the new mythic rules. I want to take Sacrificial shield (immediate action: reduce damage taken by shield's hardness/hitpoints, breaking shield)
If the shield is used like this, it would still receive the broken penalty when used as a weapon, correct?

Next question (Q2):
To maximize that feat, I want my shield to be adamantium (20 hardness) I would only have to pay for the SHIELD to be adamantium, not the spikes, correct?

Next question(Q3):
Legendary weapon (mythic path choice) "Unyielding" Doubles hardness/hitpoints of a typical shield of it's type. This is after the additions from material type /enhancements, correct?
EG: Adamantium (hardness 20) +5 enhancement (+2 per enhancement) has hardness 30, doubled into hardness 60.

Next question(Q4):
Legendary weapon (mythic path choice) "Upgradable" Assigned to the shield as a 'whole' (since, in pathfinder, shield spikes are not a separate "item" from the shield itself, like they were in 3.5e) I would be able to use the enhancement increasing ritual on either the armor aspect or the weapon aspect of the shield (requiring separate rituals for each, with proper calculations in respect to price)

So far as I can tell, all my rules findings are solid, albeit culminating into a rather broken build allowing a 60 damage absorbtion every turn, with a possibility for an incredibly high AC bonus from 2 defending weapons, whilst still maintaining a +5 enhancement attack bonus.

So, I offer this to the forum---What am I doing wrong?

and also... anything else I could do better? =D

Bashing and spiked do stack