Azernak0's page

Where Azernak0's statements conflict ('If you can think of it, you can probably build it in Spheres of Power.' & 'Also pretty much impossible in Spheres of Power is giving another person Flight; it just really isn't feasible with the set of rules and systems there.') assume SoP can do it.

Sounds really weird when placed together like that ^_^

"Weirdly, some things are easily handled while others become difficult. Flight isn't just a 3rd level spell that you can cast on the fighter but you can make a Healer capable of treating nearly every ailment all at once. My Healer was so effective at curing for low resources and for a single action a player at the table said, and I quote: 'So who brought God?'."

Edit:
Let's stick with the Mt:G themes here.
If you play with a bunch of Timmys, they will LOVE feeling how 'strong' they are. "Wow! I have Claws at level 1! I can make TWO WHOLE attacks for 1d4+3 damage! That's so strong!" but they won't break the game and it will be fun.

Johnny will love the "I wonder if I can make Han Solo" and will make something very cool. You will say "wow, I am surprised you were able to make that." Johnny is happy, your table is happy.

Spike, the "I will do it at all costs to win!", is going to be a problem but he will always be a problem. If he wasn't playing Spheres of Power, he would just Google "Pathfinder Tier List" and then "Cleric Handbook."

Ive heard about this sytem, how does it work?

Is it ok to replace all magic with it?
Im trying to adopt it for my table

Where can I find it?

It is easily my favorite alternate set of rules I have ever seen for a DnD-type game.

So the way it works is you pick a class and each class gets a certain amount of Talent points to purchase abilities from different Schools. Once you unlock a School, you can than spend more Talent Points on enhancing those abilities. The cool part is that there is ZERO restriction on what classes can grab what Schools. Want to be an Armorist (basically the Fighter version of Spheres of Magic) and take Teleport? Sure, no problem. Want to have a permanent companion like a summoner? Sure, no problem. Want to be able to heal? Sure, no problem. Abilities from schools can be augmented with Power Points which are basically the same thing as Psionic Power Points. You get a finite number of them, you add them to Talents to make them better. Most schools have Talents that do not require PP but can be augmented. IE, Destruction lets you do 1/2 Caster Level in d6 damage as an attack (like a Warlock.) But if you spend Power Points, the damage becomes equal to Caster Level (like a Fireball).

Now, most abilities do scale on a kind of Caster Level. So the Armorist could have Teleport... but they would cast it far, far weaker than an Incanter (that's the Wizard of Spheres of Magic). Here is a nice 85 second explanation from the people that made it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAQlm3vjpSY

Want to go deeper down the rabbit hole? http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?415365-The-Creator-of-Spheres -of-Power-Here-Ask-Me-Anything
Anything posted by Azernak0 was posted by Azernak0. Which is a slower way of saying me.

The big winner is for the 'Johnny' type of person, to borrow Mt:G phrases. If you can think of it, you can probably build it in Spheres of Power. By like level 3, even if it isn't powerful. Armorist + Mental Powers that work on weak willed people + Telekinesis that can move something that weighs a few pounds = a damn Jedi.

In our campaign, we completely removed all classes that were not Spheres of Power. My Incanter had a Companion as his melee damage and focused entirely on healing. I could put out some serious damage with my 'Eidolon' and my healing was quite impressive, even able to keep up with damage down from the Big Baddy (I was healing like 4d8+20 damage at level 7).

There's some obvious holes in the system (at will Teleport of like 15 feet, War: No Totem drawback) but it isn't the worst thing in the world. Treat Spheres of Magic the same way you would treat Tome of Battle; if someone is playing a Druid, a Cleric, and a Wizard you will probably want to tell the Fighter "have you looked at Armorist?" But in a party of a Bard, a Rogue, and a Monk you probably don't want someone that can instantly say "no, that wasn't a crit. No, re-roll that failed save. No, I teleport forward 15 feet. And then I give myself Fast Healing 2 for 10 rounds. And by the way, I am level 5."

As for playing it as a player, the difficulty of somethings is removed while other things that were simple are pretty much impossible. My level 8 Incanter, with a single action and 1 Power Point could cure:
All Temporary Level Loss
All Ability Drain
All Ability Damage
Stun, Daze, Staggered, and a bunch of other ailments.

But I would be completely incapable of doing even a single point of Permanent level drain like a Cleric would normally be able to do until I was level 10. Also pretty much impossible in Spheres of Power is giving another person Flight; it just really isn't feasible with the set of rules and systems there.

I adore the system. If you have played Mutants and Masterminds, the free flowing "I am whatever the Hell I want to be!" is similar. The only complaint that I heard from the system from the DM, my dad, was that it took a lot more effort to make encounters using Sphere Magic. Rater than just going "the demon casts Darkness as a 4th level spell", it was "okay, so I take the Light Sphere. I then use the Enhance Talent twice to increase the intensity. Wait, how does that interact with this?"

Luck of Heroes from PFSRD:
"Prerequisite: Hero’s Fortune.

Benefit: Whenever you spend a hero point to reroll a die roll or to grant yourself a bonus before a die roll is made, there is a chance that the hero point is not spent. Whenever you spend a hero point, roll a d20. If the result is greater than 15, the hero point is not spent. You cannot use this Feat when you use the cheat death Hero Point option."

The first sentence implies that it only works with re-rolling and adding a bonus before the die is rolled. However, the second sentence and last sentence implies that it works with everything other than Cheat Death.

Is there any Paizo ruling on this thing? Starting a campaign soon and want to take the version that is obviously less restrictive and won't take it if it is the restrictive version.

Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

Starting as a Master Summoner in a Wrath of the Worldwound campaign using Hero Point rather than Mythic as the last set of character we used Mythic went a little too well. I am playing, as "Wilfred Fizzlebang, Master Summoner!", who after a very bad encounter with a demon is looking for a little payback. I know the usual shtick with Master Summoner is "Eldritch Heritage for elemental damage, Superior Summoning, and Extra Summons" but most demons are not going to care about the d6 from Improved Eldritch Heritage and I don't want to overly flood the world with Summons. I was thinking of taking the Hero Point feats. Something like:
Starting at 11
1. Hero's Fortune (+1 Hero Point and 5 max cap)
3. Superior Summoning
5. Blood of Heroes (+2 Hero Point per level)
7. Luck of Heroes (see bellow)
9. Improved Initiative
11-19: ? Extra Summons? Toughness?

Something like
Str: 8
Dex: 14
Con: 14/16
Wis: 10
Int: 10
Cha: 16/18

Just looking for some advice to see if that will work or if the HP feats are utterly pointless or just bad. Any advice on equipment would also be helpful; still very new to PF and don't knows the ins and outs as well as "the world's most popular pen and paper roleplaying game."

But I also have a question:
Luck of Heroes:
Prerequisite: Hero’s Fortune.

Benefit: Whenever you spend a hero point to reroll a die roll or to grant yourself a bonus before a die roll is made, there is a chance that the hero point is not spent. Whenever you spend a hero point, roll a d20. If the result is greater than 15, the hero point is not spent. You cannot use this Feat when you use the cheat death Hero Point option.

The first sentence is contradicted by the next and the last. Does it only work with re-rolls and bonus when it is before a roll? If so, the next sentence is weird. If not, the first sentence is weird.

Sorry if this is terrible formatting; typing on mobile.

Cheers.
-Azernak0

So it seems it is not as horrific as it was in 3.5 but a lot of the Golden Oldies remain.

Simulacrum is basically the same thing as the Candle of Invocation; Wishing for Wishes.

Of course everything that a player does is based on what the GM allows. Polymorph and Friends are easy bans in 3.5 because of how silly they are. I have played games that have made Sneak Attack not work if the enemy is looking at you even if they are flanked. Everything is up to the DM. However, it is when you have something that is routinely banned everywhere not because of it's power but because it quite literally breaks the campaign in two, that is where the Campaign Smasher is. That is where the thought experiment comes into play.

I have read Paragon Surge and, honestly, I don't know how I feel about it. It does break the Sorcerer's and Oracle's spells known into two neat pieces but they do have to burn resources to cast it. I think my only concern is the "I have every spell, ever, prepared for no matter how obscure of an encounter we face." For out of combat stuff, I actually have no gripes about it.

Good to see Power Attack is still a complete and total monster when taken to absurdity. I do enjoy the fact that it is known as RAGELANCEPOUNCE. Jeez, Google even suggests RAGELANCEPOUNCE.

Cheers.
-Azernak0

Please note I am speaking entirely in the idea of wondering and being curious. Those who play Campaign Smashers are utter jerks and need a kick in the pants.

I am new to PF and I actually really like it. I am not a fan of some of the changes (an Invisible Rogue who jumps up and down is still really stealthy despite being loud, I really wish they would have kept Clerics closer to what they were in Beta) but I think the advantages to the streamlining makes up for the stuff that falls in the cracks; IE, being Blind makes you worse at hearing and being Deaf makes you worse at seeing things.

Anyhoo, I was curious if there were any kind of Campaign Smashers. You know, your Hulking Hurlers that deal exponential dice in damage, your Infinite Wishes from a Candle, The Kobold That Must Not be Named. Paizo seems to be made up by mostly savvy gamers so if the idea of a Campaign Smasher doesn't exist, what are the closest you can get? Obviously, Batman still exists.

Again, morbid curiosity and not desire.

Cheers.
-Azernak0

You will probably be the strongest person on your table. Remeber that "with great power, comes great responsibility" ;)

Actually, will Master Summoner be so great with the massive amount of DR that abounds? Summon dudes usually deal flurry type damage, which DR 5 will have mostly bounce.

Cheers.
-Azernak0

Thanks for all the information XMorsX and everyone else. Trying to wrap my head around Mythic is getting the better of me. It always took me a while to fully grasp a new to me system like Tome of Battle or the entirety of PF at this point.

I went with Drow Blooded and Drow Magic rather than Arcane Training. Dark Vision is something that I always go for (too many campaigns I didn't have it and just hated the fact that I didn't) and Faerie Fire is great (it was already the reason why a baddie didn't escape).

I don't want to take Eldritch heritage. It is "Worldwound" setting so thar be Demons abound. 1d6 Electrical damage isn't even going to do damage and end up burning several feats. Superior Summons is a no brainer because daaaayy-um. The DM allowed Boon Companion to work for Eidolon so he will be relevant for a couple more levels.

How useful is Extra Summons? Being able to do it 9 times per day so far seems to be 'enough.' Or should every Encounter have some Eagles flapping about? Considering Boon Companion will keep my Eidolon on part until level 9 (as per DM ruling), is Extra Evolution suddenly more sexy? Does it just become person choice?

Cheers.
-Azernak0

Thanks for all the advice. It is a party of 5 people (Cleric, Magus, Paladin, Samurai, myself). Since no one had Disable Device or the Rogue skills, I went with Half-Elf Master Summoner with the Eidolon being a Skill Monkey.

The DM had us roll percentile dice to determine pick order for Mythic Paths. I, with my mighty 7, got last pick. It was a toss between Guardian and Marshal. I ended up going with Marshal because it was a "pick now" sort of thing and I didn't want to have to slow down play while I dig through the book. I think it will work well with Rally and having an army of doods anyway.

How the heck does Dual Path work? It is clear that I am going to take it because after reading Archmage I had to wipe my slobber off of the pages from my excessive salivation. We are not Mythic yet but it is some module (heavily modified of course) where the players end up becoming Mythic assuming the survive the Mythic Encounter.

Cheers.
-Azernak0

Thanks for that. I have done Summon Classes before as a 3.5 Druid. Of course, it was more Summon, AC, and Wildshape which still took quite a while (AC Trip, Summons attack, Wildshape attack-grapple). I guess keeping it with just one big dude might make it simpler. It does bug me being a Summoner and just having one big dude. Reminds me of a Druid that has weaker spells, no Wildshape, and just Animal Companion. Of course, it is an entirely different system so I am probably just talking nonsense.

Maybe it is just me missing something fairly large but how is Master Summoner so much better than Base/Wild Caller Summoner? I understand Action Economy but do the Summon Monsters get to be powerful enough to warrant a weenie of a Eidolon?

Should my stats me different based on what I go with? It is 25 point buy as a Half-Elf (that I know for sure: having the half-elf actually be a good pick for a class tickles me from all my years as a 3.5 player). Still torn between Wild Caller or Master Summoner. Wild Caller looks cool just being able to build a big dude rather than select from a list.

Cheers.
-Azernak0

I have been playing 3.5 for probably years but have never played a PF game. That is apparently going to happen sometime soon. To quickly explain: I am not an idiot but I haven't done this system before. I have always been interested in the dude that makes other dudes to fight the bad dudes for him, so Summoner is an easy pick. Starting at level 1.

I have been hum and hawing over Wild Caller or Master Summoner. They are polar opposites when it comes to what they focus on (lotsa dudes or THE big dude). Not really sure which to take.

The DM has also mentioned that he wants to do Mythic. I know less about Mythic than I do the Mermaid language so any advice there would be great. What should I do for Mythic stuff for a Summoner?

Is there anything I need to know about the Summoner or in general as a new player?

Cheers.
-Azernak0

I like what Pathfinder did with Polymorph. Making it gives static bonuses is very niceand stops massive rules abuse. Doing a Google search shows that most DM's flat out ban Polymorph/Wildshape because they are too low level for the benefits they give or with the inclusion of certain books it gets to be completely stupid. If you have played 3.5 and you have encountered a Wizard who Polymorphs into a War Troll, you know what I mean.

But I am really confused about why Druid's Wildshape was hit so hard in this nerf to Polymorph. It seems like the firefighters decided to demolish the house that was right next to the inferno in fear that it would catch fire as well. Here area few reasons why I feel that the Wildshape/Beastshape change is silly:

1. Polymorph has a much larger selection of creatures.Polymorph has more choices and has more powerful choices.

2. Wizards can speak and cast spells without dropping feats. Wildshape and Polymorph are not the same.

3. Druids can not speak in Wildshape. There is no item to my knowledge that allowes this in other supplements.

4. Wizards can wear gear while Polymorphed. In fact, it specifically says that all gear reforms to fit you if the form can wear it. Druids need to drop their amulets and belts and have somene else put them on in order to gain the benefits. When they change forms, it drops to the ground. Or the DM can simply say "No gear in Wildshape."

5. Polymorph is not a core component of Wizards.One of the most popular
guide for Wizards, "Logic Ninja's Guide to Wizards: Being Batman", states that: "Polymorph: far better than any other spell of its level, and many higher-level spells. The things you can do with this are ridiculous. It's completely broken, so much so WotC has given up on trying to fix it. Just don't use it". Remove Polymorph, and 'Batman' still spams Save-or-Lose, Buffs, and No-Save Battlefield Control Spells. The Druid class was built around having Wildshape and Paizo didn't change them enough to warrent losing such an important part of the class.

How does everyone else feel about this? Best of luck.