BackHandOfFate's page

I know Selective spell would negate the need for saves against the fascination effect, but there's more to it. I need to assess the tactical value of this combo.

Question 1: Do all creatures I select with Selective Spell HAVE to be within the spells effect at time of creation? I'm assuming yes, but just making sure.

Question 2: Do selected creatures get to ignore the visual impairment (Miss chance, blocked vision) caused by the spell? Say, could an archer target creatures inside or on the other side normally without having to worry about the normal rules for areas of fog? "These targets are excluded from the effects of your spell." seems to indicate that any impairment can be ignored as if the spell didn't exist.

So I saw this Phrenic Amplification from Occult Origins:

Dragon's Breath Focus (Su): The psychic can spend 2 points from her phrenic pool to change a linked spell that has a line or burst area of effect into a 30-foot cone that emanates from the psychic's mouth as a breath weapon. Source PPC:OO

Looks like a fun way to alter spells to be more adaptable. But as I'm looking through the Psychic's spell list... I don't see many spells that would really benefit. Am I missing something? I'd love to find a viable way to work this into my upcoming Psychic character..

I'd like to compile a list of spells that can work with this Phrenic Amplification. Of course I'll spend more time investigating this.. But has anyone else out there researched this, yet?

First off.. Loving the Mesmerist class.

Now, I had started my Mesmerist out at 3rd level and had just leveled him up to 7th level. I had my eye on Butterfly Sting (A feat that lets you pass a crit to the next lucky S.O.B. that hits a guy.) because one of his friends happens to be a beefed up Scythe Wielding Half-Orc Fighter. Lo and behold, a prerequisite for this feat is COMBAT EXPERTISE. I found myself having to take this feat so I could get Butterfly Sting at 9th level. Seemed like a bit of a drag at the time. But it'd be well worth getting to see my team-mate suddenly critting like a boss. Then, the finished product hits the shelves almost immediately afterwards.

It has a lot of what I was hoping to find and I have used the playtest version (with the updated revisions) to great effect.

The spells are great.
Hypnotic/Painful stare is an awesome debuff/damage combo.
The Mesmerist tricks are a lot of fun.
Touch Treatment is friggin sweet. Oh, did you fail that will save vs fear/confusion/dazing? *Boop!* All better.
They even added a debilitating stare option that lowers DC's of Spells and SLA's AS WELL AS SR of opponents you stare down. Say HWAT?

I don't even care that the "Glib Lie" Class feature was pushed back from 9th level to 11th. The class is just so awesome.

Then I come to read the new version of Consummate Liar... This revised version of the class feature now allows you to ignore COMBAT EXPERTISE AND INT 13 as prerequisites... (oh boy we're really cooking with gas, now) ... BUT only for the feats Improved/Greater Feint and other feats in that chain.

Okay... okay it's a step in the right direction. (A small step) The designers seem to be slowly recognizing what a waste of space Combat Expertise is as a feat. Feinting isn't a horrible option for that class, especially when there are now feats that let you feint against mindless opponents! That's pretty awesome.

Still... If that wasn't the path I wanted to take my Mesmerist down, I am forced to take Combat Expertise despite having a class feature that says you can ignore it for certain things. That's like getting a surprise birthday party in your honor and then having someone walk up to you and stick their finger in your birthday cake. It's the ONE thing that kept the Mesmerist from being the perfect class for me. And it was an UPGRADE from the playtested version!

I have decided. From now on, any game I take part in, I will push for feat taxes like this to be wiped from existence and just made into vanilla combat options. It's not that Combat Expertise is the WORST feat I've seen in the game. But it's EVERYWHERE. Taking a look at the PFSRD Feat Tree, I count FOURTY feats that have Combat Expertise as a prerequisite. To me, that is inexcusable. Getting rid of this ONE feat would allow players to have far greater diversity in the characters they make.

The real insult of Combat Expertise is that you either have to take it early on (at 1st level) so that you can access better stuff as you level, at which point it provides a pitiful tradeoff which makes even DODGE look better by comparison. Or you wait until higher level and have to suck it up and take it (for what I would still compare a pitiful tradeoff) while ignoring much better options for that level. There's just no winning with this feat. It pigeonholes every character that wants to be good at maneuvers and forces them to be smarter than the average beatstick. Seems to me that more intelligent characters should be able to get a better trade than -1/+1 when fighting defensively.

There's my two cents on the matter.. okay eighty three cents. I am curious to hear what others think of this situation as well as the class as a whole.