BENSLAYER's page

Although some are duplicates of what I already have, there are enough items that I do not own for this to still be worthwhile - I will definitely be buying a bundle. Now to decide how far to go ...

I would check out the Delayed Bomb, Remote Bomb and Syringe Stirge Discoveries; depending on interpretation you might be able to use the Fire Brand Discovery.

Games that use the Hero Point system allow Characters to gain an extra Action, whilst a friendly 9th Level [PrC] Pathfinder Chronicler can give you an extra Standard Action.

Huzzah (and all that)!

Tempting, very tempting ...*Checks bank account*

EDIT: So ... my account might be lighter now ... :D

If you carry on with the rest of the written Ability you will find that it is expressly stated that an Alchemist can benefit from another Alchemist's Mutagen:

At 1st level, an alchemist discovers how to create a mutagen that he can imbibe in order to heighten his physical prowess at the cost of his personality. It takes 1 hour to brew a dose of mutagen, and once brewed, it remains potent until used. An alchemist can only maintain one dose of mutagen at a time—if he brews a second dose, any existing mutagen becomes inert. As with an extract or bomb, a mutagen that is not in an alchemist’s possession becomes inert until an alchemist picks it up again.

When an alchemist brews a mutagen, he selects one physical ability score—either Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. It’s a standard action to drink a mutagen. Upon being imbibed, the mutagen causes the alchemist to grow bulkier and more bestial, granting him a +2 natural armor bonus and a +4 alchemical bonus to the selected ability score for 10 minutes per alchemist level. In addition, while the mutagen is in effect, the alchemist takes a –2 penalty to one of his mental ability scores. If the mutagen enhances his Strength, it applies a penalty to his Intelligence. If it enhances his Dexterity, it applies a penalty to his Wisdom. If it enhances his Constitution, it applies a penalty to his Charisma.

A non-alchemist who drinks a mutagen must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the alchemist’s level + the alchemist’s Intelligence modifier) or become nauseated for 1 hour—a non-alchemist can never gain the benefit of a mutagen, but an alchemist can gain the effects of another alchemist’s mutagen if he drinks it. (Although if the other alchemist creates a different mutagen, the effects of the “stolen” mutagen immediately cease.) The effects of a mutagen do not stack. Whenever an alchemist drinks a mutagen, the effects of any previous mutagen immediately end.

The Mutagen is inert in a non-Alchemist's possession, however it becomes active in the hands of any Alchemist.

* They are Evil, Immortal beings and as such many have developed a sense of arrogance - how could finite, mortal Creatures withstand their might? Also recklessness derived from a sense of being eternal.
* They are made out of the Souls of damned beings, making them inherently geared towards tunnel-vision on inflicting pain, believing that everyone succumbs to temptation/domination with enough force; etc. Their judgement may also be skewed by hatred of the righteous, jealous of the freedom of choice that mortals have (since they are not mentally/physically defined by Racial Alignments).
* Fear of what will happen if they fail yet survive, (perhaps going "all out" is a success if they live or die, as long as they do not have to endure punishment from even higher echelons/Archdevils/Demon Lords/their Profane Deity). Especially if they are already down on their Evil Act and Soul Collection quotas for the quarter ...
* They are secretly dominated by someone higher on the hierarchy, being forced to act as potential fodder to gauge your Party's value - are you worth corrupting? Can you be manipulated? What pretty colour are your insides?
* Alternatively, they were Called via Spell or Occult Ritual, whereby they want to prove themselves useful so as to be repeatedly Called - giving them a chance to corrupt/turn on their conjurers, (you are merely a distraction to be quelled before getting onto their real task).
* Unknown initially to both them and you, they were formed from Souls of your vanquished enemies, set forth with an innate drive to hunt you down. The more enemies you kill - especially if your Party have a policy of "violence before questions" - leads onto you facing more dangerous foes, in a cycle left to the Party to break. (In this case, maybe your G.M. is trying to tell you something.)
* Your N.P.C. enemies have taken a leaf out of the P.C. handbook, possessing a Creature to use as an expendable meat-suit. Doubly so if they have a means to use the "host's" (Ex)/(Sp)/(Su) - you would never know.
* Through experience they anticipate someone Dispelling it, choosing not to "waste" their Standard Action, (fear of poor Action economy).
* The Bard's sexual magnetism is simply too strong ...

Also, some linked references :

Although not exactly the same, I have a couple of suggestions to approximate what you want :

* [3] Fearsome Duplicate {Halfling} - it creates a monstrous version of you that does not require Line of Effect or Line of Sight; you can use its senses, speak verbally, and has no real substance to interact with. You even remain aware of your real body's surroundings, (at Penalty). The downsides are that it is Range:Medium (100ft. + 10ft./C.L.) and that if Attacked the Spell ends. (If you want a "flicker out" Effect to show the P.C.s that the Enemy is not there, you can just re-Cast the Spell and carry on taunting them.)
* [2/3] Audiovisual Hallucination+ coupled with [1/2] Dark Whispers - set up the Dark Whispers so that you can hear each other, then Cast a (Silent?) Audiovisual Hallucination+; both Spells are Range:Long (400ft. + 40ft./C.L.). You can move the mouth of the image to match your speech as only the image is Concentration, so they do not interfere with each other. Unlike Fearsome Duplicate, it does not end if the image is Attacked. The downsides are that you have to maintain Line of Effect/Sight and you would get a distorted echo from the Dark Whisper Spell if you chose to generate more convincing speech via the image.

In both cases some sort of Divination (Scrying) Spell would be helpful to find the Targets first.

Does it have to be that they are suddenly changed, or could it simply appear that way to them and have difficulties in accordance with such a perception? For example, their actual Alignment changes were a little more gradual due to the influence of someone looking to "save" them or a grand fall from power that forced them into relying on others. To protect their "saviour", they chose to block their memories of this period with multiple castings of Repress Memory. Having been setting up a new base of operations outside of their homelands, your group does not initially realize that more time has passed, nor that their memories have been altered, yet they slowly find clues as they progress in your scenario/short campaign.

Alternatively they could be forcibly affected by the aforementioned Helm of Opposite Alignment, then their assailant uses Repress Memory to protect their secret mission to convert powerful mortals to the side of Good ... If you want to arrange for them to inflict this alteration on themselves, the Helm is a Cursed byproduct of other Magic Items. Since you need to Succeed at a check to identify a Cursed Item, it is possible that the Helm appears to be an Hat of Disguise, Helm of Comprehend Language and Read Magic, or a Helm of Telepathy. Were they tricked? Were they powerful but awful at Crafting themselves? Was there a mass sale of sub-standard, minion supplied goods at the annual B.B.E.G. market?

The rules can be found here, with copying Preparation Rituals into another Spellbook being covered under 'Transcribing Spellbook Preparation Rituals'. To benefit from a Preparation Ritual you need to have a Spellbook with it in and Prepare three non-Cantrip Spells from that Spellbook - this is a one-use boon that you can re-apply the next time that you Prepare Spells following the same process.

For copying a Preparation Ritual you are going to need :
* Scribe Scroll.
* Spellcraft with Skill Ranks equal to 2x the highest Spell in the Spellbook you are copying from.
* Your Caster Level equal to 2x the highest Spell in the Spellbook you are copying from.
* Scribe at least three Spells from the Spellbook being copied into your chosen Spellbook, with at least one being of the highest Spell Level in the Spellbook with the original Preparation Ritual.
* Prepare said three Spells and spend 8 hours on an unspecified ritual.
* Spend half the difference in Price between the original Spellbook with a Preparation Ritual compared to its standard counterpart.
* Attempt a Spellcraft check : D.C. = 10 + (2x highest Spell Level in the original Spellbook); if Successful, you add the Preparation Ritual to your chosen Spellbook.

Once a Preparation Ritual is in your Spellbook you ought to be able to select any three non-Cantrip Spells to Prepare from it, (as long as one is the highest Spell Level). Additionally, you can add other Preparation Rituals to the same Spellbook - if you have the space. Just note that you can only benefit from one Preparation Ritual at a time, no matter how many are in the book or what Spells you Prepare, (see 'Using Preparation Rituals').

There is no method that I have come across to transfer pages across Spellbooks, in fact ripping them out sound like effectively destroying them, (I have heard of people house-ruling using them as Scrolls). An easier (but costly) alternative is using a Blessed Book - instead of 100 pages it contains 1 000 pages. You will still have to Scribe the requisite Spells into it, however the Scribing costs are waived and you should be able to keep everything to one Spellbook.

Agodeshalf wrote:

For a humanoid creature, the new incarnation is determined using the table below. For non-humanoid creatures, a similar table of creatures of the same type should be created.

As an aasamar is a humanoid creature, you should be using the table listed in the spell. The entry here from pfsrd lists an alternate table that my GM used. Archives of Nethys lists only a core races table, and the table in the Inner Sea Races, basically has you roll on a smaller core race table and only if you roll high enough do you use a more complete table.

Humanoid is a specific creature type.

Aasimar are Outsider (Native) creature type.

Humanoid in this context does not mean a being possessing 2 arms, 2 legs, a head and bilaterally symmetry.

Look at humans, dwarfs, and elves. They're all humanoid with a specific subtype. Aasimar are Outsiders.

All that said, apparently there is a new table which supercedes the old table and removes the humanoid restriction.

Just to clarify, the newer Reincarnation method does not supercede the original one in the [4/5] Reincarnate Spell but rather offers an alternate option that the G.M. may want to use/allow :

The table of random races presented here expands on the one presented with the reincarnate spell in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. At the GM’s discretion, you may use the following optional table when rolling to determine what new body is generated when a reincarnate spell is cast. This Golarion-specific table excludes all races that possess racial Hit Dice, but also adds in new races that are relatively widespread and common in the region. Not all of the races presented in this book appear on the following table—androids, for example, are beyond the scope of a reincarnate spell to create (although dead androids and wyrwoods can themselves be reincarnated, they have no chance of coming back in the same type of body). Others, such as kasathas and other alien races, are not true natives of Golarion and thus lack the “spiritual weight” needed to be included in a table of reincarnation possibilities. Of course, a result of “GM’s choice” gives each GM the opportunity to break these assumptions about allowed incarnations as she sees fit.

When using these expanded tables, roll first on the Core Incarnations table. This table presents an array of familiar races. Move on to the Other Incarnations table only if directed to do so.

This variant can also be "broken" by the 'G.M. choice' result, (enabling them to choose any Creature as a valid reincarnation option), as well as altering the process of rolling - there are now two tables.

I cannot find anything stating that Melee Thrown Weapons are also Ranged when Thrown, in fact I find the opposite:

Melee and Ranged Weapons: Melee weapons are used for making melee attacks, though some of them can be thrown as well. Ranged weapons are thrown weapons or projectile weapons that are not effective in melee.

Range 10 ft.; Type P or S; Special —

Category Light; Proficiency Simple
Weapon Groups Blades, Light; Thrown; Tribal

Range 30 ft.; Type P; Special —

Category Ranged; Proficiency Simple
Weapon Groups Spears; Thrown
Description
A javelin is a thin throwing spear. Since it is not designed for melee, you are treated as nonproficient with it and take a –4 penalty on attack rolls if you use a javelin as a melee weapon.

A Dagger is a Light Melee Weapon that is also a Thrown Weapon. By definition a Ranged Weapon is not effective as a Melee Weapon, so a Dagger is not also a Ranged Weapon. Ranged Weapons are always Thrown or Projectile Weapons, however this does not always mean that all Thrown or Projectile Weapons are automatically Ranged. The Javelin entry (on the same page) evens provides an example of a Ranged/Thrown Weapon that can technically act as a Melee Weapon - it is used as an Improvised Weapon and as such is not effective in Melee.

That is not to say that I am not missing something, yet going by what I have seen so far in the Core Rulebook (and cross-referencing with Ultimate Equipment), Melee/Thrown cannot be Ranged Weapons, (despite having a Range increment). This is how I have been playing it, so if there are rules out there that I have missed I too would not mind being linked so as to update my notes.

FAQ wrote: “Items as Spells: Does using a potion, scroll, staff, or wand count as "casting a spell" for purposes of feats and special abilities like Augment Summoning, Spell Focus, an evoker's ability to do extra damage with evocation spells, bloodline abilities, and so on?

No. Unless they specifically state otherwise, feats and abilities that modify spells you cast only affect actual spellcasting, not using magic items that emulate spellcasting or work like spellcasting.

posted September 2010”

[Link].

As you make your way through this book, you will see a number of abilities, feats, spells, magic items, and monsters refer to “mythic” versus “non-mythic” creatures and sources. For the purposes of the rules that follow, a creature is mythic if it has a mythic tier or mythic rank. Any mythic creature is considered a mythic source. The term “mythic source” can also apply to an attack, feat, spell, magic item, or other effect that originates from a mythic source.

Creatures are non-mythic if they don’t have any mythic ranks or tiers. Any non-mythic creature is a non-mythic source, as is any attack or effect originating from a non-mythic source.

So as others have mentioned, a "standard" (non-Mythic) Spell Cast by a Mythic Character does count as coming from a Mythic source.

Yqatuba wrote:

A thought about rot grubs: does it say anywhere what they mature into? That might be even scarier. On the other hand, it could just be fire beetles or something else relatively harmless.

I believe there's something somewhere to the effect that they mature into harmless orange beetles (and iirc don't do so if they have become giant rot grubs) but I'm not finding it now; it isn't in their Bestiary 3 entry anyway.

The Pathfinder Wiki references The Bastards of Erebus in stating that they mature into arachnids that die soon after maturing :

An adult rot grub is a skittering, yellow arachnid that lives for only a few hours, which is long enough to lay dozens of eggs on a host corpse. The rot grub young can spend weeks growing when they only have a dead corpse to devour, but can grow to adulthood when there is living tissue to feast upon.

They can become worse though - see Rot Grub Swarms and Giant Rot Grubs. Lovely. Please excuse me whilst I bleach my brain ...

Does it have to be two True Dragons?

Decimus Drake wrote:

Non-divine healing options off the top of my head: witches, bards, wizard (arcane physician archetype), alchemists, kineticists, occultists, and using the heal skill with feats and the like. So I think they could cope just fine. Witches get a pass as their magic is arcane and they don't worship their patrons.

Also add Investigator, Magaambyan Initiate Arcanist(*), Magaambyan Arcanist (prestige class), Pathfinder Savant (prestige class), and Spell Sage Wizard(**).

(*)Technically also Unlettered Arcanist, but it's a rather poor archetype.

(**)After 1st level, synergy of Focused Spells and Spell Study actually makes this better than Arcane Physician (better at removing high DC bad conditions), as long as you don't need to be super-fast at healing, cast a lot of healing spells in 1 day, or cast Breath of Life.

Skalds draw from the Bard's Spell List too.

I would like to add a reminder that non-Divine, Healing Magic does not have to come from Spells. Witches are great for this with Hexes: [Common] Ameliorating (Su), [Common] Healing Hex (Su), Cook People (Su) {Evil}, [Major] Major Ameliorating (Su), [Major] Major Healing Hex (Su), [Major] Regenerative Sinew (Su), [Major] Witch's Bounty (Su), [Grand] Death Interrupted (Su), [Grand] Forced Reincarnation; [Grand] Life Giver. Additionally you have the [Common] Cauldron (Ex) plus [Major] Witch's Brew (Ex) combination, and the versatility of [Grand] Summon Spirit (Sp).

However, also note that other non-Divine Classes can get these : Magus(Hexcrafter) {Common/Major/Grand}, the non-Spellcasting Rogue(Sylvan Trickster {Common/Major/Grand}, along with the restricted Bard(Hoaxer) {Common - Healing Hex}.

Convention Name

Location Start Date
PFS/SFS @Cancon2019 Canberra, ACT, Australia. 1/26/2018
Winterfest 2018 Pullman, WA 12/2/2018
...
2019 Paizo Staff Travel
Convention Name Location Start Date Paizo Staffers Scheduled to Attend*
OrcaCon Everett, WA 1/11/2018 Linda, Amanda Hamon Kunz
SCARAB Columbia, SC 1/11/2018 Tonya

Congratulations on discovering time-travel! I look forward to you installing a better time-line where our feline friends are in their rightful place as benevolent but firm overlords.

I can practically smell the Adventure Path. xD

Ice Girl by Emilie Simon for her darker/snarkier side; Children of the Frost by Indica for her soft spot for children, lamenting their bad situations and hoping for better, ("the season of dark had gone"/"our season had come").

10. Kill enemies but "raise" the strongest as possessed by a Demon/Devil. Convince the possessors that they can rise up to take control of the B.B.E.G.'s group and harvest many souls with your help - just as long as they direct attention away from your Party. Watch as the B.B.E.G. sends forces against random groups that have been falsely identified as threats whilst your group leads an almost entirely different adventure, occasionally "raising" an enemy body brought to them, (higher up the chain each time). Laugh as a week or so later you receive a thank you fruit basket from the possessing fiends following their sacrificial ritual of the major enemy's organization, now soon to return to the Abyss. Waltz in, having only put tangential effort into the endeavour, to fill the power vacuum. Round up the confused, formerly possessed stragglers, using Divination if necessary. Rule the area, cultivating honest (and compliant) people that will one day provide many "Good" souls to outweigh the "Evil" ones taken by the Abyss. Smile blankly at the G.M. as they realize that you have used accountancy based on a soul currency to derail the campaign. Smile more.

No, I would not do this ... but it does sound fun. That may say something about me. xD

I second loyalty to the Party, even if it is via begrudging familiarity and subconscious liking.

As @DecimusDrake has stated, Oozes do not deal Damage to Creatures (or Objects) by default :

...

Traits: An ooze possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).
...
Some oozes have the ability to deal acid damage to objects.

It really depends on the Race of Ooze, (even the Evil Animate Hair can be hilariously worn as an hairpiece without incurring Damage). So the Ooze can be carried by hand, on your shoulders, (on your head!), or in a bag - as long as there is air.

Your best bet for a Speed improvement is probably the Racer Animal Companion Archetype, (+10ft.).

EDIT : It seems you have already found what you are looking for; however, since I did some digging of my own ...

For me :
* [1] Mending Spell -> [1] Lending Spell : for when you want to make money on interest whilst adventuring.
For all of you :
* Rogue Class -> Vogue Class : you know that you thought of it too. *Strikes a pose*

I like my Liches unsettling but with the possibility of character development, (e.g., loneliness/comedy). How about a Witch [Patron:Enchantment or Trickery] (Seducer/Hex Channeler) w/Impundulu Improved Familiar?

EDIT : If you want to add in Undead you can always take the Command Undead Feat to control those you come across, or put that Craft Wondrous Item Feat to good use for a Death's Head Talisman. Being a minimum of C.L. 11 (to be a Lich) also means they can take the Craft Staff Feat to make a custom Necromancy Staff over its aeons of Unlife.

Perhaps she laughing makes him useful again?

* Transforms him into a piece of clothing - "Well he wanted to be close to me".
* Has him undergo excruciating procedures, such as mechanical arms to carry more of her things, (especially in a belittling "manservant" way) - "Come, come, ... whatever your name was".
* Transforms him into a piece of wood and has him Crafted into a Wand/Staff - "He'll only be useful as long as the transformation Spell lasts but that is more than can be said of him normally, ha, ha"; "You think that I am alone? No, someone is always with me. Can you guess?".
* Transforms him into a goldfish, (or axolotl!), then places him into an aquarium ball for her amusement - only for the P.C.s to later find the ball filled with aquatic/amphibious specimens ...
* Tricks him into making an ideal fawning/proposal position, then transforms him to stone - "This way he gets to do what he enjoys - forever -, and I get a pick me up".
* Frames him for a crime she commits or deliberately leaves him behind to take the fall - extra points if he does not believe that he has been betrayed, giving the P.C.s a chance to convince him.
* Inflicts some sort of insanity upon him, so that he cannot easily recall/communicate any of her secrets - "The poor boy, he really did lose his mind over me".
* "Where's xxxxxx? Oh, somewhere about. If we really are going to have a confrontation, at least don't be gauche about it. Let me finish my meal first, yes? I would not want to waste this delicious joint of meat." OvvO

Just pointing out a copy/paste error for the next update:

EXPERT BARD SPELLCASTING FEAT 12

Prerequisites Basic Bard Spellcasting, master in Occultism
You gain a level 4 occult spell in your repertoire and a spell slot to cast it in the same way as your basic bard spellcasting. You become an expert in spell rolls and spell DCs for casting divine spells and in attacks you make with divine spells.
At 14th level, you gain a level 5 occult spell in your repertoire and a spell slot to cast it in the same way, and at 16th level, you gain a level 6 spell in your repertoire and a spell slot to cast it in the same way.

MASTER BARD SPELLCASTING FEAT 18

Prerequisites Expert Bard Spellcasting, legendary in Occultism
You gain a level 7 occult spell in your repertoire and a spell slot to cast it in the same way as your basic bard spellcasting. You become a master in spell rolls and spell DCs for casting divine spells and in attacks you make with divine spells.
At 20th level, you gain a level 8 occult spell in your repertoire and a spell slot to cast it in the same way.

I believe that the highlighted ought to say 'occult spells'.

The description for darkvision states that the creature sees in black and white even in any light.

So does this mean that the creature is colour blind?

I think that you may have misread this somewhere, it specifically repeats that seeing in black and white relates to Darkness :

Darkvision

A creature with darkvision can see perfectly well in areas of darkness and dim light, though such vision is in black and white only. Some forms of magical darkness, such as a 4th-level darkness spell, block darkvision. However, a creature with greater darkvision can see through even these forms of magical darkness.

Basically they see in black and white in Darkness, yet in colour for Bright Light (as it is never mentioned for Darkvision). The inconsistency is actually in Dim Light, where Ancestries place it in colour vision, whilst the Senses entry for Darkvision places it is black and white.

I am so pleased by this! (Especially chuffed for those who prefer the option of white text on a black background.)

Huzzah!

Congratulations on finally aligning the stars. :)

I never even doubted once that you are allowed to create background outside the ones provided. As long as it is 2 score increase, 1 skill feats and 1 lore.

They talk about how to not create "wrong lore skill" somewhere in the rules, something that would be useless if you were limitated by the written background.

I don't understand Why you are all so upset. I did customs background on the fly the first time a player went with a concept that wasn't here and it was easy. I didn't even though about it before seeing this topic.

Backgrounds are limited to the ones stated in the Playtest, (Paizo's set Playtest adventures reiterate to select these, or use the extra 6 stated as options in Doomsday Dawn). There is no mention that you can create custom Backgrounds in the Playtest, (there is a general pattern mentioned though), and you are instructed that the Backgrounds available to Players are on pp.38-39 :

3 | CHOOSE A BACKGROUND

Your character’s background might represent a special aptitude she’s been honing since her youth, detail her upbringing, or illuminate some other aspect of her life before she became an adventurer. The available character backgrounds are described beginning on page 38. Backgrounds typically provide benefits to your character in the form of two ability boosts (one that can be applied to either of two specific ability scores, and one that is free), training in a Lore skill, and a specific skill feat.

Again, there is no mention of custom Backgrounds on those pages; we are simply raising this so it stays as a Playtest limited situation, not one that carries over into the Core Rulebook. It is also worth mentioning something that is marring Player's enjoyment of the Playtest, limiting their motivation to play and therefore reducing their feedback.

The guidelines on creating Lore subcategories relates to gaining additional ones via the General/Skill Feat Additional Lore :

ADDITIONAL LORE | FEAT 1

Prerequisites trained in Lore
The breadth of your knowledge has increased to encompass a new field. Choose an additional Lore skill subcategory. You become trained in it and it counts as a signature skill. At 3rd, 5th, and 13th levels, you gain an additional skill increase you can apply only to Lore. When you select this feat, you gain the skill increases immediately for all listed levels at or below your current level.
Special You can select this feat more than once, choosing a new subcategory of Lore each time and gaining the listed skill increases to that Lore.

There are probably other methods that I am missing too.

Tentatively posting only because I have not seen any other opportunities to bring it up without a tirade of rancour : I despise Backgrounds, they are the no. 1 reason why I gave up on playtesting. Giving options to display/enhance my character concept is one thing, Ancestries/Classes still do this in PF2e (although in a seemingly diluted fashion). Excluding non-distruptive characters or forcing them to be changed to fit a narrow set of concepts is another. Paizo will certainly expand the choices but these will always be limited to what staff come up with, then culled down by space, time, relevance to current products, interest of the majority; etc. Please do not force character concepts to be limited in such a way. I would be much more on board with guidelines/rules for creating custom Backgrounds, with the ones Paizo creates acting as suggestions for newer Players who are trying to get through the process painlessly, then for others simply stifled by choice as the options expand. Staff still get to create "core" options and suggest their own flavour, without preventing Players from making characters that they actually want to play. Honestly, I would not play any of the current ones, even the ones somewhat similar to topics I would pick are far removed from choices I would enjoy.

Just to be clear, this is not about looking for the most awesome combination for mechanical benefit, nor it is about creating false justifications in-character for disruptive Player behaviour. Any characters I currently have would either not hit the suggested Backgrounds or if have the same topic, are vastly different (to the point of being the antithesis of the concept even under the same topic).

T.L.D.R. : Please keep mechanics out of my character concept.

P.S.: Apologies for any mistakes that got through, health issues are prevalent at the moment. *sigh*

There are quite a few we didn't include for space. I'm compiling the list of classic ones that seems like they ought to go back in, so I'll be checking in to see what folks have a soft spot for!

Ooo, if you are asking ... Here are a few that I would like to see return:

* (Seconding) Pathfinder Pouch -> useful for awkward, possibly dangerous manoeuvring with authorities. [Roleplay]
* Cloak of Treeform -> whilst not necessarily the most efficient item, it is thematic and is marked down as an indulgence that I want my current P.C. to obtain at some point. [Roleplay; Fun]
* Polymorphic Pouch -> a near necessity for those who utilize/enjoy form-changing, (e.g., Wild Shape, Dragon Form), especially if it is a key Class Feature. [Playstyle viability]
* Magic Tattoos -> these have always felt awkward to me, yet there are a few that I enjoy thematically and have/will try to make work in my current game. Perhaps an overhaul? (I adore my Witch's Intimidating attitude slowly building up to expanding options, being able to surprise enemies/Intimidate obstinate N.P.C.s with Strength increases via a Transmutation Spell, using a Weapon Tattoo to coalesce a gigantic Weapon from a shadowy design ...) [Roleplay; Fun; Playstyle]
* Ring of Curing -> it would need to be altered in-line with the new healing Spells to have progressive benefits, (i.e., increase with Heightening), but currently this helps my Party's non-Cleric Primary healer feel more dedicated and useful, instead of an unwanted substitute. [Playstyle viability; Effectiveness]
* Ring of Eloquence -> great as an early-mid. quest treasure find for when the G.M. wants to introduce Creatures that do not speak the Languages P.C.s understand, as a way for co-ordinating Combat whilst Polymorphed, or for enabling that sassy Familiar to communicate with the Party - perhaps even acting as a(n hilariously bad) translator for the Party! [Roleplay; Playstyle; Fun; G.M. utility]
* Corpse-Ferrying Bag -> purely thematic and a biased inclusion, [2] Gentle Repose and a Bag of Holding is much more effective. However, I do not see a few "fun" options as "trap" options, especially if it was made over the top ... ^.^ [Fun]
* Figurine of ... -> I admittedly find these a little awakward and have not dealt with more than one, but with rebalancing to the new game and a(n) Uncommon/Rare tag one of these could be an appealing reward to Party. [Fun; G.M. utility]

There are plenty more that I use/would like to use, yet they become more situational to my individual playstyle, or might be redundant with Rituals coming more to the fore, (despite being more fitting, such as a Cauldron of ...). Plus, the list would be really long. >.>

P.S.: Sorry if this is a little outside of what you are looking for/is too much of a tangent, not enough straight info.

Ectar wrote:

This is really, really frustrating.

It's irksome that Amazon messed up orders via Paizo, but not orders via Amazon. Different departments, different issues.

Thanks for being a generally great company, Paizo.

>_<

It's not just Paizo pre-orders. I ordered from Amazon directly and just looked at my delivery. Mine won't be here until the 7th.

I live in England but pre-ordered through Amazon U.S. since it was going to be distributing them anyway, (and was slightly cheaper overall). The Playtest Rulebook and Flip-Mat only started the shipping process today, with an estimate of 14th August; the Doomsday Dawn Adventure Path has not been shipped yet and is estimated for 15th-22nd August. It really does look to be an issue with Amazon's own scheduling overall, not necessarily a prioritization of its customers over Paizo's - after all, why disregard a whole slew of orders from a company, endangering a further chunk of guaranteed sales by losing them as a seller/'customer'? I have been watching my orders like a hawk, the estimates that appeared for me a week ago were fairly telling that my items were going to be weeks late. Hence I will join in with saying that it is a shame for Paizo to be receiving the brunt of the negativity, (when I have an admittedly shaky feeling that someone at Amazon knew that there was an issue or simply did not do the necessary follow-up work). Has anyone had problems with other orders? Maybe it is wider than just Playtest orders.

EDIT :

I think it's affecting all paizo products on amazon my 1e core rulebook was supposed to come in today and I haven't even gotten an email that its been shipped.

Ask and you shall receive! xD

You are (actively forced) to be dead, too. This reeks of rationalization.

All that I was trying to do was explain my reasoning, I do not see the need to be so dismissive/rude. You disagree, okay, that happens. Secondly, anyone can just throw around that line - I could say that you still seeing them as Creatures "reeks of rationalization" for your viewpoint too. That is not how I want to participate in discussions, nor do I want to get into an argument - however, I will stand up for myself. Twice I have said that it is unlikely that everyone will agree, at no point did I say my interpretation was the only one. I even went as far as identifying contradictory examples in one of my responses, showing that both sides had a basis for their reasoning. You, on the other hand, chose to make judgements on my genuine viewpoint ...

yeah because otherwise sleeping bodies don't get to be creatures either because their participation is passive.

* You (actively) choose to sleep or are (actively forced) under an Effect, (hence participating).

It is not as if as soon as anyone stopped moving they are no longer Creatures - not at all what I said, nor what the PRD states. It is not about taking active Actions, it is about actively being part of the story/decisions. Additionally, unless I have missed something, sleeping Creatures or living "bodies", have souls and have sentience.

EDIT : I probably did not make myself clear by talking about a horse previously. xD I would say you can have an active participant Ally (living/sentient/Creature) and a non-participant dead Ally (an Object). Again, it does not look like people are going to agree on this.

For showy whilst holding back on the bigger Spells to deal with the P.C. Party, I would fall back on the old staple of Disintegrate. A favourite would be Suffocation, counting down the Rounds until their little friend dies in front of them - unless the Party can get past the enemy smirking before them. If we go high-level then Suffocation, Mass is a terrifying Spell that can traumatize a Party as they scrabble to save themselves, let alone anyone else. Hold Monster, Mass is more for those B.B.E.G.s that like to gloat/monologue as they kill the Party's friends one by one.

My all time favourite displays of power are the insultingly low power - there is nothing better than the B.B.E.G. arranging it so that the P.C.s rush over to save a dying comrade, only for the amused antagonist to have readied Dispel Magic (for a Wand/Spellcasting), or worse neutralizing their Potion with a Cantrip, (Putrefy Food and Drink)!

For a Summoning-heavy Party strategy I prefer the use of Bite the Hand (Greater); with a flick of the wrist the antagonist turns their own allies against them, ruining their plans. Flee petty adventurers, flee ... if you can.

Rather than immediate death or explosions, you may note a running theme of overwhelming dominance over lives, plans and Magic in my preferred tactics. OvvO

For high-level, sheer power I would go with Wail of the Banshee and Implosion. To Attack a village/town under the P.C.s' protection, undermining the people's faith in them and pressuring the Party to take action before they are ready, Storm of Vengeance seems fun. (However, with my own particular tastes, instead of killing the favoured N.P.C., I might keep around a good book.)

1. RAW? Yes.

2. No. Poisoned is not a condition, though it may cause one or more conditions. There already exists a 3rd-level spell to do this, accept affliction.

GinoA wrote:

If you prefer a more strict-RAW answer to #1: once dead, the PC becomes an object (not an ally) and is no longer a valid target for the ability.

Source?

I am not the poster you were asking, but whilst you are waiting for their response :

This is not simply a mistaken text carry over/copy-and-paste of 3.5 Spells in the early set-up of Pathfinder :
Decompose Corpse - Ultimate Magic (2011).
Restoration Dust - Advanced Class Guide (2014).
Erase Impression - Occult Adventures (2015).
Preserve - Inner Sea Temples (2016).

Perhaps the creator had a fascination with locating the mythical cities of the Cloud Giants and you are now beholden to take on that search for fame, fortune, and beanstalks?

Legends abound of magical cloud giant cities nestled in the very clouds themselves that float with the winds and circumnavigate the world. While most cloud giants recognize this as a fantasy, there are some who not only claim to have seen them but have dedicated the entirety of their long lives to finding them again.

Does the kidnapper have to be Human? A Rougarou is repeatedly referenced as being like a Human but with a wolf head and body fur, perhaps they could be a variant? They tend to be protective of those they hold dear, live in seclusion and have a lawful mindset, which would explain the convoluted but meaningful steps taken in your description. The Bestiary 6 entry is a Ranger. For your concept : Favoured Enemy relating to the Race(s) of the ladies, Favoured Terrain to include Urban, Combat Style choices related to duelling (for "love"); Track/Swift Tracker/Quarry/Camouflage to stalk and kidnap. If you are open to expanding the reasoning to include the ladies themselves, perhaps they are secretly low-level Witches and the kidnapper is a Witchguard searching for a charge/ward. If their lovers prove themselves then the Rougarou recognizes them as a worthy protector, otherwise the kidnapper will take the role. Witches are generally more accepting of the unusual and would respect someone capable of breaking Curses, (all part of the romantic side to the kidnappings). Bonus points if his "house" is a cottage in a wood ...

Feats
* Healer's Hands - this allows you to save your Spells and Wands out for out of combat healing. This has the possibility of performing treat Deadly Wounds during Combat if the injured Creature can move out of direct harm's way or you use a Hex/Major Hex/Grand Hex to create a reprieve.
* Toughness - Witches are flimsy Arcane types with d6 Hit Dice, so this boost can be a goodness send.
* Reach (Metamagic) Spell - if you are Combat avoidant then this will enable you to extend the Range of your Cure Spells from Touch, making the most of your low-mid. Spell Slots.
* Skill Focus(Heal) - the old go-to for non-magical healing and enables Healer's Hands to come into play earlier.
* Eldritch Heritage (Celestial) - if you do take Skill Focus(Heal), then this is an option, although not one that is really Feat worthy unless it fits with your background/theme. As well as boosting your Healer's Hands success rate, it also opens up the Celestial Bloodline, gaining Heavenly Fire (Sp) for 1d4 H.P. healing, (with limitations). I only mention it because your primary Ability Score is now Charisma as a Witch(Leyline Guardian), granting you more uses.

Hexes
* Slumber (Su) - if you have a singular Target that is susceptible to Sleep Effects you can effectively stop a Combat mid-battle. This can either be by coup-de-grace, (preventing further damage to the Party), or by allowing you to heal others without worrying about attacks.
* Cauldron (Ex) - this enables you to make Potions from Witch 1, (bypassing the Caster Level 3 Prerequisite), plus early on the +4 Insight Bonus to Craft(Alchemy) helps.
* Scar (su) - if your Party members are okay with it, this scarring will allow you to use your Healing Hex from a greater Range.

Major Hexes
* Regenerative Sinew - I adore this one : by Witch 20 you gain Fast Healing 5 for 10 Rounds, (50 H.P.), or you can heal 4 Points of Ability Score Damage to two Ability Scores, or it can act as the Regenerate Spell ... It is very versatile, especially if you take Damage to your Spellcasting Ability Score.
* Restless Slumber (Su) - see Slumber, only it causes H.P. damage to the Target and they wake up with the Confused Condition, further aiding you.
* Witch's Bounty (Su) - this is more thematic as it really does not do a lot. However, if you have a lenient G.M. and do not want to use a Cantrip Slot for Stabilize, then you can always pop a Goodberry in someone's mouth.
* Witch's Brew (Ex) - enables you to pump out healing Potions faster.
* Witch's Charge (Su) - I would not recommend this unless you have a younger or vulnerable ward as part of your schtick.
* Major Ameliorating - it is thematic but personally I would not recommend this either, unless you are in a game where you often get opportunities to scope out your antagonists' abilities in advance.

Grand Hexes
* Death Interrupted (Su) - I know that you replace your Familiar with Ley Lines but taking the Familair Bond Feat makes this usually better than Life Giver (Su). You can save multiple Targets per day, (1/day each), and the process of restoring them to life does not reference Raise Dead/Resurrection/True Resurrection. They appear to be returned to life with limited H.P. but no Negative Levels!
* Curse of Nonviolence (Su) - not a healing Effect as such, again it is forcing the opponent not to harm you or your Party (until you can heal/all get ready). Situational to Combat style.
* Forced Reincarnation (Su) - technically it is a healing effect, yet this is much more for offence as it both kills and restores to life the Target, bestowing two Negative Levels and most likely changing their Race in the process ... *Evil grin* As a side-note, if you or your Party want a route to effective immortality, reincarnating as a Young Adult every few decades is a viable route.

Something to think about is how many Hexes/Major Hexes/Grand Hexes you want, as increasing the number of Hit Dice for your Channel Energy (Su) ability requires sacrificing (non-Extra Hex Feat) Hex "slots". If you use the Extra Hex Feat to gain them back you are then sacrificing Feats ... If you utilize Healer's Hands for multiple uses of Full-Round Treat Deadly Wounds per day, then the Heal Skill becomes much more important to you, as it provides mundane healing that reduces the burden of needing to advance your Channel Energy (Su).

Wait ... does this mean that I can finally scream into the void directly like I have always dreamed of? *Starry eyes*

Some may still be around but most have been quietly assassinated, leaving no trace and false verdicts of natural causes. This is now a world of their own making, a place where Legendary Heroes have created too much noise among those that seek silence ...

As such, confidantes turn to others that can help their idols - Goblins. Small and unpredictable, these "imaginative" thinkers are able to look at the world from a less complacent perspective. To ensure the safety of the remaining Heroes, a secret society has formed to focus on producing the perfect Goblin Adventurer. For only they are destined to save the world from the forces of Evil - Healing Wand crafters. These vile denizens of otherwise unimposing settlements proliferate Cursed Items, which Adventurers foolishly believe to be enabling them to have autonomy and Party variety. No, these fiendish Wands grant a little bit of Positive Energy in exchange for pieces of both the wielder and the Target's souls, shortening their lifespans to right after an A.P. finishes. Fortunately their new Goblin allies have been honing skills effective in combatting this subversive plague - torching local crafting guilds and Ye Grand Ol' Magic Shoppes, stocking up with supplies from apothecaries without rudely waking up the staff, and utilizing their mighty Alchemist Resonance to deal with this menace hands on. These "practice runs" and unusual tactics have often been misconstrued, yet the increasing threat now forces these brave warriors into the limelight. In this new world where Legends are unraveled, valiant Goblins strive to save kingmakers and nation-breakers alike.

So the next question is this : while they protect our world, who will step up to save them?

Just a bit of silly fun, no need to read much into it. ^.^

BENSLAYER wrote:

For all of the commentary that has been provided by others about previously revealed aspects of the game, for me nothing stands close to Character creation. A singly defined, enforced successful/skillful Character that has little reason to adventure, (unless that is the specific Background picked/they have a tragic, upending backstory TM), that can really only be useful following your own Character concept if the Ancestry/Background aligns with the Class is ... greatly off-putting.

Would you care to expand on this? I'm not sure I understand your position, but I am sure that you're speaking for more than yourself.

Are you saying that backgrounds, as they stand, miss the mark in actually explaining why you chose to adventure? Like I said, I don't think I understand you fully.

It is that they are too defining, too baked in with mechanics. My previous reply to @Cyouni hopefully clarifies things a bit. If not, in summary : I view these "pregen" Backgrounds as too limiting for Character concepts right from the get-go. I enjoy creating multi-faceted Characters, willingly taking "fluff" Traits that may or may not be particularly helpful. With the current setup I see my Character as having to pick only part of my concept, with a possibility of it even misrepresenting what part of the "fluff" I want. My take is this system is more geared towards picking a Primary (and possibly Secondary) Ability Score, with concepts sometimes losing out - it all depends on your concept.

BENSLAYER wrote:

Honestly I would be much happier with this suggestion; if Backgrounds stay as is, I will definitely not be playing Pathfinder v2.0. For all of the commentary that has been provided by others about previously revealed aspects of the game, for me nothing stands close to Character creation. A singly defined, enforced successful/skillful Character that has little reason to adventure, (unless that is the specific Background picked/they have a tragic, upending backstory TM), that can really only be useful following your own Character concept if the Ancestry/Background aligns with the Class is ... greatly off-putting. I will take a look at the Playtest because I would like to contribute to the game, however since this modular design is all-encompassing, (leaving it unlikely to change), that is where my participation will end.* *Sigh*

So that this post is not wholly negative, I will say that I do appreciate...

You know that every single piece that's been shown has a floating stat component, right? So if you invest everything in your chosen stat (Wisdom, for example), then at worst it looks like you're looking at a 16 - Ancestry: Goblin for -2 Wis, negated by the floating +2, Background for a floating +2, Cleric for the standard +2, and the last +2 from 1st level.

So even a Goblin can be a decently respectable Cleric. They're never going to be the best, but they can be decent at it.

It is not about being the best at all, nor is it about being singularly focused - in fact, that is was I was worried about being tied down to. For example, I want my Character to have a blacksmithing family who have pushed me to have a "stable career" in the trade - it is a defined part of my Character, which I hope to reference throughout my adventuring. However, this is in relation to the Character hating blacksmithing, not really listening, "escaping" by going missing during the day and being awful at it when dragged over. They are a "dreamer" who wanted to be a performer or Monk - whilst they had some aptitude, (which is developed on-off adventuring), there are few opportunities to learn where they are. What gives them an opportunity to move away from the family trade, the reason for adventuring is the call of Arcane Magic, something that is a means to an end (but ditched relatively early).

Under this modular approach, if I want to have blacksmithing as a strong Background "fluff" that shows, (inherent to my Character concept), I *have* to be above average in the blacksmithing Ability Score and related Lore Skill. Otherwise, to get a useful Ability boost/Lore Skill to my actual Character concept, (say Dexterity/Theatrics), or to simply avoid these "beneficial" boosts to aspects actively countering my concept, I have to pick something else for my Background. My example is not great as there is likely to be a performance-type option for Background, yet what about concepts that are not covered by those in the Core Rulebook? Having to wait for add-ons to simply design the basic parts of my Character ... Also, now by choosing the acrobatic part of my character for the Background, I cannot show anything about my reluctant blacksmithing background - unless I switch to the "right" Heritage/give up my "floating" increase and just point to that Ability Score boost, (which is unwanted). With Traits I could mix and match to have my background fit my concepts; here I have to focus on one aspect and develop things later, or only use Ability Scores to reflect another. Perhaps I have a Trait that says I take longer to be affected by hot weather conditions, (time spent near the forge); this could be coupled with having Low-Light Vision not traditionally representative of my Heritage, (Dragon eyesight, later discovered to be part of my Arcane leanings), or a +1 Bonus to drawing attention, (my childhood spent entertaining peers with escapades). My blacksmithing concept is shown without it being too mechanically impactful, whilst my Arcane/acrobatics side can be subtle yet come to into its own in an adventuring setting. I can have nods to multiple aspects of my Background without having to pick one to be fairly defining at the start, nor have an aspect suddenly become relevant when I hit X Level and can take a Feat to start representing something that was already meant to be established from childhood.

Hopefully that makes some sense, (at least for a 2:30am+ post), ha, ha.

P.S.: Sorry for the long post to explain such a short point! Being concise is not always my thing ...

zza ni wrote:

do note that one can also decide to craft cursed magical items beside normal ones. they look like non cursed items until... so yea. if you think you should be on your guard make a note to check for this as well.

As far as I know, there are no rules for deliberately crafting cursed magic items. I suppose you could deliberately try to craft something with a DC 5 or more over your take 10 score, but you have no way to know what the result will actually be.

I believe that it was properly implemented in Black Markets :

Cursed Counterfeits

Source PPC:BM

Ancient bric-a-brac that appears to be a genuine artifact could be valueless junk held together by magic. More sinister, however, are deliberately cursed objects intended to visit vengeance upon their buyers or return some great wealth to their creators. Some items are crafted to function for a limited time, convincing a buyer of their authenticity. These twisted treasures are often sold for far less than their apparent worth by merchants claiming to need money quickly or who feign ignorance of their value.

By the time the curse manifests and the buyers realize they have been cheated, the seller is long gone.

Many cursed relics differentiate the item’s creator from its owner. Owner refers to the creature wearing or using the magic item, while creator refers to the original creature who crafted the magic item, or else the last creature to wear it and speak its command word (which is often kept secret from perspective buyers).

Intentionally Crafting Cursed Items

Intentionally crafting cursed items requires the same item creation feats and skill checks as does crafting a normal item of that type, but in addition to such requirements, intentionally cursed items require bestow curse or major curse as a spell prerequisites. Crafting cursed items is generally cheaper than creating fully functional items, depending on the type of curse involved, as detailed below. The table above indicates the price and spell prerequisites of some of the most common deliberately created cursed items.

Delusion: Cost is reduced by 90%.

Drawbacks and Requirements: Cost isn’t reduced for cosmetic drawbacks or requirements with no direct game effects. Cost may be reduced by 10% for minor drawbacks or requirements such as minimum skill ranks or worship of a specific deity; by 30% for harmful or costly drawbacks or requirements such as alignment change, ability damage, sacrificing wealth, or performing a quest to activate the item; or by 50% for severe drawbacks or requirements such as negative levels or sacrificing sentient creatures.

Intermittent Functioning: The cost of uncontrolled or unreliable items is reduced by 10%. The cost of dependent items, which function only in certain situations, is reduced by 30%.

Opposite Effect or Target: Cost is reduced by 50%.

Honestly, from the O.P.'s post it may be that the player intends to say that they are providing part of the money but are in fact producing Cursed Items at cheaper rates than their original counterparts ...

Joe M. wrote:

John John wrote:

It is known that 3 magic items will be necessary for high level play.

What's the source for this? "It is known" doesn't help me get up to speed here!

I think one of the developers said it but I can't seem to find it now. From what I remember the question was about eliminating the big six and the answer was that they basically reduced it to a "big three" instead.

I don't think I am crazy since the OP seems to have the same memory.

It was on the Know Direction Podcast that Bonner mentions necessary Magic items being reduced to three. At the time @CalebTGordan made a round-up thread here.

From a quick look the Witch seems to be the most favourable ...

Common Hexes
* Beast of Ill-Omen (Su) : 'The witch imbues her familiar with strange magic, putting a minor curse upon the next enemy to see it.'
* Blight (Su) : 'The witch can curse an animal, plant creature, or plot of land, causing it to wither and die' + mechanic references to being a Curse.
* City Sight (Su) : 'The witch curses a target with the simple vision of urban mortals.'
* Cursed Wound (Su) : 'The witch can curse a living creature, preventing it from healing completely' + name + mechanically referred to as a Curse.
* Enemy Ground (Su) : 'The witch curses a target with clumsiness when in dangerous terrain.'
* Gift of Consumption (Su) : 'The witch curses a creature to share any effects that target her vitality' + mechanical reference to being a Curse.
* Greater Gift of Consumption (Su) : is simply an upgrade of Gift of Consumption (Su).
* Pollute Water (Su) : refers to functioning as Blight (Su), again referring to that as a Curse.
* Scar (Su) : 'This hex curses a single target touched with horrible scars of the witch’s choosing ...' + requires Remove Curse to remove.

Major Hexes
* Harrowing Curse (Su) : name + mechanically referred to as a Curse.
* Hoarfrost (Su) : ??? Remove Curse is one of three options, so this is not clear-cut.

Grand Hexes
* Curse of Nonviolence (Su) : 'The witch can curse a creature to prevent it from attacking innocents' + mechanical reference too cursing the Target.
* Death Curse (Su) : name.
* Dire Prophecy (Su) : mechanically references being a Curse.

Spells
This Spell search does not include all sources but it assigns the Witch Class 23 Spells with the Curse descriptor :
* Witch = 23.
* Sorcerer/Wizard = 17.
* Oracle = 16. [Normally you would expect this to be the same listr as the Cleric, yet Oracles get the exclusive Spell Oracle's Burden.]
* Cleric = 15.
* Inquisitor = 9.
* Druid = 6.
* Shaman = 5.
* Bard = 4.
* Antipaladin = 3.
* Bloodrager + Paladin = 2.
* Adept [NPC] = 1.
* Alchemist (Extracts) + Magus + Ranger + Summoner = 0.

As a point of note, none of this takes into account Archetypes or Domains. Additionally, I would say anyone who can take an Improved Familiar can get one with Curse Effects, (e.g., the Cat Sith's False Curse (Su)), along with anyone who can Summon/Call a suitable Creature with Curse Spells/(Sp)/(Su).

I have read through every page so far, (my poor brain), and have made a deliberate choice not to respond to comments, (wisely, I believe). Suffice to say, I welcome this decision as I see roleplay opportunities in it rather than problems; please put me down in the pro-Goblin camp when trying to filter out the vitriol.

Just as a note : Angels are not Lawful, they are Neutral-Good.

Does it have to be an actual Artifact or can it simply be an ancient device/relic? In the case of the latter I have a wobbly idea that you could rip apart for useful bits ...

A Soulbound Doll was made eons ago to aid a "Vermin Master", or a Worm That Walks was made into one for an unknown purpose; either way they had enough Shaman Levels to Cast [6] Awaken. (Note that Soulbound Dolls have precedent for gaining Class Levels.) Either by the choice or defeat of the Soulbound Doll's Master, they were Permanently transmuted by [8] Polymorph Any Object into an immovable Construct, sealed off from the world, along with plenty of magical supplies too grotesque to spend long periods destroying.

Same kingdom (animal, vegetable, mineral) +5
Same class (mammals, fungi, metals, etc.) +2
Same or lower Intelligence +2
Total = 9
9+ = Permanent

Perhaps the Spell was not specific enough, maybe the Caster wanted it close enough to "stick", but the pillar/obelisk/what-have-you was essentially still a Construct, (now with sinister, low-level eminating symbols), and so was able to manifest its abilities as it did as a Soulbound Doll - with a serious setback. Its senses were gone, so it could not interact with anything beyond what touched it. Then one something did - a Vermin, a Creature it recognized as kin and part of its purpose. With various magical supplies strewn about it, the Soulbound Doll-come-Soulbound Obelisk had just enough viable Material Components to make the Vermin its Spirit(ual) Animal, acting as a Familiar (but being treated as an Outsider (Native) for normal Spells). Over time the bonded Vermin brought other Vermin to the Obelisk (on its instruction), along with going out into the surrounding area outside to attack passing people or simply accumulate materials; once collected, the Obelisk used the Share Spells Ability to Cast [6] Awaken on its Familiar, losing it but creating an Awakened Vermin that is relatively loyal to it, (as per the Spell description). Another Vermin is made into a Familiar and the process repeats, with the intelligent Vermin directing the unintelligent ones to achieve successful raids on settlements. These Intelligent Vermin could in turn become Wizards, Sorcerers or Witches, taking Animals in the surrounding area as Familiars; upon reaching Level 5 they can make their Familiar bipedal for 5 hours per day, (via [3] Anthropomorphic Animal), and if even one reaches Wizard 11 they could slowly make this Permanent for all of the "community's" Familiars utilizing the [5] Permanency Spell.

What your P.C.s originally perceive to be a society of Bipedal, relatively intelligent Animals with Vermin "pets" is slowly revealed to be a pseudo-"hive" community based on the hierarchy of Animals serving Vermin, who in turn worship their deity "The Awakening One", (the Soulbound Obelisk). By the time of your module the structure that sealed the Obelisk has succumbed to time, weathering and the concerted efforts of the Vermin drones, leaving it exposed/free in the forest. This provides ample time for the Vermin to have extensive underground tunnels around and leading to the "artifact", allowing them to Surprise Attack any P.C.s that figure out the nature of the Obelisk, rushing up towards the Construct intent on destroying it - only to have the tables turn.

This can also work with a Druid or Hunter Soulbound Doll>Obelisk, since they obtain Awaken as a [5] Spell, although the Vermin Companions would only benefit from Intelligence 2 at (effective) Druid 9, (minimum to Cast Awaken), to a maximum of Intelligence 4 at Druid 20.

I may have reservations about some of this but it is good to have a breakdown to think over, thank you.