Baelin's page

Seems more like the Earthenflail is one of those cinematic villain weapon properties where the user can sweep away the terrain like air.

Based on the "suppressed" effect of the enchantment, a safe bet would be that it subjects stone or crystal objects struck by the weapon as though affected by the Shatter spell (Caster Level 13).

Okay, I think I see the source of the confusion.

The interpretation you have is that the extended area of Torch #1 increases the dark area one step to Dim Illumination and that Torch #2 increases that area to Normal Illumination.

What actually happens is that the area covered by the light sources doesn't stack. As such, the overlapping area between the two torches will always increase only by one step, not two.

No. You're reading it wrong.

The light source between the two torches is dim light, not normal light.

Under the game system, light never increases due to overlapping sources. As such, two areas of light won't increase the illumination any further than the stated amount. The same applies if you were to hold two candles close together (You'd still have dim light).

I'd say that this is actually a feat for BBEGs rather than for PCs.

Magic Rings are one of those peculiar little quirks with a lot of baggage carried over from dear ol' Mr. Tolkien whose "Rings of Power" define much of our current understanding of how magic rings work. (The other classic example being the Genie's Magic Ring of course).

1) Regarding whether you can wear a ring on a finger or a bone, there's nothing that says you can't. You can support this fact by stating that skeletons, liches and other bony beings can still benefit from magic rings after all. There's also plenty of literary examples of how you can wear magic rings in unusual ways (on toes inside boots, as earrings, as piercings *shudder*, and any place else you could conceivably wear a piece of jewelry.

2) Using Magic Aura to conceal the telltale aura's of magic items is a legitimate use of the spell. However, any searcher actively using Detect Magic or some other form of divination to search your corpse would automatically get a Saving Throw to disbelieve the spell (Active searches counts as 'interacting' with the illusion).

3) I'm assuming you're referring to an Area Dispel from Greater Dispel Magic since a targeted dispel would have to be aimed specifically at the ring itself).

As a general rule, however, mere flesh does not block line of effect for the purpose of magical fields and such. The definition of the issue is blur here but it's generally accepted that you, and everything on you, count as 'one target' for non-targeted effects. For example, a Beholder's Anti Magic Eye/Aura would shut down everything on you, whether it's inside your body or not.

Attacks that occur simultaneously in a single burst (eg Manyshot, Scorching Ray), as opposed to iterative attacks, should apply the sneak attack once. This prevents abuse from the afore Telekinesis missile barrage which can easily unload beyond stupid amounts of damage.

This seems to be the way the game devs might intend for it to be based on the following FAQ.

How does the Surprise Spells class feature of the Arcane Trickster prestige class (Core Rulebook, page 378) work with spells like magic missile and fireball?

The Surprise Spells class feature allows the Arcane Trickster to add his sneak attack dice to spells that deal damage that target flat-footed foes. This damage is only applied once per spell. In the case of fireball this means it affects all targets in the area, with each getting a save to halve the damage (including the sneak attack damage). In the case of magic missile, the extra damage is only added once to one missile, chosen by the caster when the spell is cast.

—Jason Bulmahn, 05/31/11

The rules have never been too clear on that I think but under the way multipliers work in this game, wearing two Rings of Wizardry would triple (not quadruple) your base daily spell slots of that level. (This ignores any bonus spells you have for a high Int/Cha score or whatever)

This falls entirely under GM's jurisdiction but my 2 cents is that it should be allowed depending on the culture of the setting.

The default potions and oils is of course a bi-product of D&D's roots in European medieval/renaissance culture. In Asian-inspired settings, where such things might seem a bit out of place, I've encountered potions in the form of large pills (mostly due to Naruto-influence probably), medicines, incense or poultices applied directly (and of course the ever-lingering threat of the implied potion suppository). Regardless of form, the end result is the same.

The only real requirement is that 1)it needs to be something that you can concoct with exotic herbs and spices. 2) it requires a standard action to administer or use.

Some GMs also allow potions to be used in more unusual ways rather than straight from the flask. Snow White's Wicked Witch/Stepmother steeping an apple poison potion is one of the classic examples of this. As is the implication of special blessing wafers containing divine spells.

I would like to add to the thread these little bits in bold. Make of it what you will.

An unseen servant is an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command. It can run and fetch things, open unstuck doors, and hold chairs, as well as clean and mend. The servant can perform only one activity at a time, but it repeats the same activity over and over again if told to do so as long as you remain within range.

If you have to make an attack roll, even if the attack inflicts no damage, it ends invisibility.

For the purpose of ending invisibility, a direct attack is defined as any effect that requires an attack roll or targets an enemy with the intention to harm or hinder them in any way. (This latter also includes spells such as Prayer or Web which affects enemies in some way or another.)

For purposes of this spell, an attack includes any spell targeting a foe or whose area or effect includes a foe . Exactly who is a foe depends on the invisible character's perceptions. Actions directed at unattended objects do not break the spell. Causing harm indirectly is not an attack. Thus, an invisible being can open doors, talk, eat, climb stairs, summon monsters and have them attack, cut the ropes holding a rope bridge while enemies are on the bridge, remotely trigger traps, open a portcullis to release attack dogs, and so forth. If the subject attacks directly, however, it immediately becomes visible along with all its gear. Spells such as bless that specifically affect allies but not foes are not attacks for this purpose, even when they include foes in their area.

Thanks man. You're a lifesaver (sort of) :D

Hi Diego. Would you be able to point me to the developer's example you cited?

My group is debating over who can and cannot make Spell Completion and Spell Trigger items (eg. Wands, and Scrolls), and whether it's actually necessary for the item maker to be able to cast the spells in question.

The key point in contention is the bolded text below.

Magic Item Creation

Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item's creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed). The DC to create a magic item increases by +5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory. In addition, you cannot create potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items without meeting their spell prerequisites.

Based on this, our contention is that either

Can anyone point me to a definitive answer for which answer is correct?

It's under the Equipment page, at the top of the list under the Simple Weapons > Unarmed Attacks heading.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/equipment.html

Catti-Brie's arrows came from the Quiver of Anariel. They didn't return but replenished automatically.

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Quiver_of_Anariel

It's a ranged thrown weapon. There's nothing in the rules that says you can't slap the property onto ammo (otherwise you wouldn't even be able to make magic ammo in the first place)

Excellent points from both Diego Rossi and The Doc CC.

It's fine to give a set amount of XP to the whole party as it ensures that everyone progresses and levels up at the same time. Its a time-proven system that works out well enough. And from a long-term perspective, everyone (usually) contributes their fair share of effort across the entire encounter.

Tanks stand at the front lines sucking up damage, Healers buff and heal, Arcanists blow things up, and Skill Monkeys stab things and disable traps. From this perspective, it's not fair that a rogue who risks his neck disabling a trap should be rewarded, when a fighter who's holding off the monstrous horde off everyone else's back doesn't.

However, I find that players will push themselves harder and enjoy taking on challenges a bit more if they know they get some recognition for the risks they take.

As such, I personally recommend awarding a modicum of individual XP, which can be as little 10-100xp, as a sprinkle on the cake for PCs that push the bar or survive through difficult situations under their own merit.

Sounds like you've got it right. Spell Immunity effectively means that every casting of Slow targeting the affected creatures fails completely.

The only way to break through that would be to dispel Spell Immunity.

Note, however, that this trick will only work against the Slow spell itself. It will have no effect on other abilities (Slow Aura, Cloud, Gaze Attacks, Breath Weapon, etc) that impose a similar Slowing condition.

The rules are actually fairly clear cut when it comes to this:

Magic Ammunition and Breakage: When a magic arrow, crossbow bolt, or sling bullet misses its target, there is a 50% chance it breaks or is otherwise rendered useless. A magic arrow, bolt, or bullet that successfully hits a target is automatically destroyed after it delivers its damage.

As such, if you miss a target with the Returning Ammo, roll the 50% chance. If the ammo survives, it returns to your hand at the start of your next turn. If not, it's destroyed and all its magic is lost.

Magical ammunition is made to be destroyed, which is factored in by the fact that you make 50 of them for the same cost of enchanting a single normal weapon.

As you'd have to pay a minimum of 8.3k gp (inclusive of Masterwork) for Returning Ammo, most people who go down this path usually load other more useful abilities (eg. +1 Merciful or Wounding Shurikens) instead.

Shuriken: A shuriken is a small piece of metal with sharpened edges, designed for throwing. A shuriken can't be used as a melee weapon. Although they are thrown weapons, shuriken are treated as ammunition for the purposes of drawing them, crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them, and what happens to them after they are thrown.

In my experience, everyone else who's not the unlucky rogue usually just stands there 'supervising' the effort from 10 or more feet away :P

By default, it's an either/or situation.

If you use your Monk unarmed strike to attack, it doesn't derive any benefits of the +5 Gauntlet of Flaming Pain.

It you punch with the +5 Gauntlet of Flaming Pain, it's treated as a Normal Attack using the Gauntlet's 1d3 base damage. You can't use it to make a Flurry of Blows or otherwise gain any benefits from your monk class features.

A question that will probably come up later is whether it's appropriate to award ALL the xp to the PC who took the risk to disable the trap or to the group as a whole.

What are the forum's thoughts on this?

If the unarmed/natural weapon attack is a Crit, do you apply the Crit multiplier to the Touch Spell damage as well or treat it as extra damage (eg. Flaming Weapon)?

No. Incorporeality will ignore all forms of physical armor but it does not automatically bypass DR of any kind, not even DR/magic.

No you don't need to rest again to fill up spell slots you deliberately left open.

When preparing spells for the day, a wizard can leave some of these spell slots open. Later during that day, he can repeat the preparation process as often as he likes, time and circumstances permitting. During these extra sessions of preparation, the wizard can fill these unused spell slots. He cannot, however, abandon a previously prepared spell to replace it with another one or fill a slot that is empty because he has cast a spell in the meantime. That sort of preparation requires a mind fresh from rest. Like the first session of the day, this preparation takes at least 15 minutes, and it takes longer if the wizard prepares more than one-quarter of his spells.

Official answer is 'no'. Otherwise they'd be described as having the 'Hide in Water / Hide in Plain Sight' quality in their description.

As with Air Eles, it's assumed that there's enough turbulence or discoloration about them that makes em' stand out from their surroundings.

I'm a bit unclear as to whether two or more characters can collaborate to create Scrolls and other Spell Trigger / Spell Completion items or must the knowledge .

As an example, a Cleric wants to collaborate with a Wizard to scribe some curative scrolls. Is it legal for the Wizard to do so, or is it mandatory for the item's creator to know the spell as well?

[quote=]
Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item's creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed).

The DC to create a magic item increases by +5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory. In addition, you cannot create potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items without meeting their spell prerequisites.

Actually, an elemental has a strictly limited body that is contained and separate from the surrounding environment (Gotta stay pure otherwise it's not an elemental anymore). Otherwise you could summon a Small Water Elemental into an ocean and have it take over the world. (Likewise, an Air Elemental would automatically take over the sky.)

I'd go with the interpretation that breathing an air elemental is the equivalent of taking a bite out of it. :P

Wraithstrike's first statement is correct. You gain the magical benefits of only up to two magical rings-no matter where you wear them on your body. (Jokes about magical earrings and genital piercings abound are normal in the community. Characters wishing to keep their rings hidden can wear them on their toes as well if so desired.)

You can wear two rings of any kind on the same hand and gain the benefits of both, but no more than that.

"A character can only effectively wear two magic rings. A third magic ring doesn't work if the wearer is already wearing two magic rings."

Assuming you have two Rings of Counterspell loaded respectively with a spell of Fireball and Magic Missile, the rings would automatically trigger to counter either one.

Ah. That makes a lot more sense. Thanks Erian_7.

Has anyone played the Hungry Are The Dead module? One of the rewards of the Safe Room (Part 2, Upper Vaults, Area 7a) lists a Staff of Healing with 12 charges as a treasure. Got a few questions about this and haven't been able to find anything about it.

1) Considering that Staves in Pathfinder are supposed to be rechargeable
and capped at 10 charges, is this correct?

2) If the item is indeed the Staff of Healing, its treasure value is far greater than any other item in the module. Is this intentional or an error?

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I've decided to go with the following ruling.

_______________________________________________________________
COMBINING DIFFERENT MODES OF MOVEMENT
• During your Move, you can use any combination of available Movement types (Walk, Climb, Fly, Swim, Burrow, Jump) up to the limit of your Movement Pool.
• Your Movement Pool is equal to the speed of the fastest Movement type you have available. [Eg. If you have Speed 30 ft and Fly 60 ft, your Movement Pool is 60 ft]
• Every move you make is deducted from your Movement Pool. However, you must calculate each type of Movement separately.
• Movements made as part of the Acrobatics, Climb, and Swim skills are deducted from your Base Speed. (If a creature is indicated as having only one type of movement in its description, eg aquatic creatures, that is its Base Speed.)
• If you run out of a certain type of Movement, you cannot travel any further that way until your Movement Pool refreshes the next time you take a Move action.

o Example 1: [Speed 50 ft, Fly 30 ft] As a Move action, you can Fly up to 30 ft. If you are flying just off the ground, you can choose to land and walk another 20 ft.

o Example 2: [Speed 30 ft, Climb 10 ft, Swim 20 ft] As a Move action, you can Swim 10 ft towards a ladder and Climb 10 ft up onto the deck of a ship. You will still have enough movement left to walk another 10 ft.

o Example 3: [Speed 30 ft, Fly 60 ft, Swim 30 ft] As a Move action, you Fly 10 ft into a pool of water and swim up to 30 feet down a long underwater tunnel. At the end of the Move, you will have travelled 40 feet (10 by air, 30 underwater). Technically, you have another 20 ft of movement remaining in the Pool but you cannot proceed any further because you've run out of your Swim speed.

o Example 4:[Base 30 ft] You are trying to scale 10 ft up a wall onto a ledge and jump towards an open window 5 ft away. Spending a Double Move (which gives you 60 ft of movement in the pool), you make a Climb 10 ft to the top of the ledge at the cost of 40 ft of movement (5 ft x 4) and easily clear the 5 ft Jump to the window which leaves you 15 ft of movement to slip in through the open window.

o Example 5: [Base 30 ft, Fly 10 ft] You are moving through a corridor with pit hole occupying every other square. As a Move action, you can <Walk 5 ft, Fly 5 over a pit and land on the other side, Walk 5 ft, Fly 5 ft over the next hole and walk another 5 ft. You’ve run out of flight though, so you will have to make a Long Jump check over the next few holes. By this point, you will have moved 25 ft so you’re considered to have a running start. Assuming the Acrobatics check comes up as 20, you will be able to Jump another 20 ft across. Unfortunately, your limit is 30 ft so your Move ends as you enter the 6th square. You will remain there suspended mid-air in Jump Limbo. You will continue the rest of your Jump on your turn/action.

____________________________________________________________________

Start W F W F W J Jx Jx Jx 
[W = Walk; F = Fly; J = Jump; Jx = Jump Limbo]
____________________________________________________________________
• Note: Every type is movement is distinct to a specific type of environment. Except in very specific circumstances, you cannot Fly through water or Climb through solid stone.
• Dropping is a Free Action. Happy landings.

There are two interpretations at work here.

1) In classic 3.5, you aren't allowed to take a 5-foot step while flying unless your flight maneuverability was Good or Perfect
____________________________________________________________
Excerpt from http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040706a

Take 5-Foot Step

A flying creature cannot use the 5-foot step rule unless it has perfect or good maneuverability (and thus no minimum forward speed).
____________________________________________________________

2) Flying works differently in Pathfinder though, and your maneuverability rating now only grants a -8 to +8 bonus to Fly skill checks (see the Fly skill for more details).

It's generally accepted that Flying in Pathfinder is treated like any other form of movement. So if you have a Fly, Swim or Burrow speed it generally means that you can move easily enough with this mode of movement and can take a 5-foot step as normal.

Note, however, that you are required to move at least half your Fly speed each turn unless you can hover (a DC20 Fly check or if you have the Hover feat). If you don't move this distance every round, you must make a DC10 Fly check or you will crash.

Your GM will have to decide which interpretation he's going for.

Nondetection isn't a Globe of Invulnerability against Divination spells. All it does is block a creature from being detected via Divinations.

I recommend the clarified interpretation that Nondetection only blocks Divinations that attempt to LOCATE a creature directly by the spell (eg Scrying, Detect, Locate Creature/Object, Legend Lore) via ESP.

With this interpretation, Nondetection will not interfere against Divination spells that enhance physical senses (like See Invisibility or True Seeing) to see through magical effects (eg Invisbility), thereby allowing you to see them normally as opposed to locating them via magic.

(The difference is similar to the fine edge of exactly what constitutes an attack for the purpose of Invisibility.)

Foresight is an interesting case but I would still let it through because it doesn't actually locate the target. It simply lets you know when things are about to happen.

Blackbloodtroll is correct on that. The Acrobatics, Climb and Fly skills are all used reflexively as part of your current movement and/or in response to a situation.

So you could walk, climb, tumble past opponents, and jump in any combination as part of the same movement up to the limits of your movement speed.

The problem I'm trying to find answers to is what happens when you have other movement types with faster or slower speeds thrown into the mix.

I would like to find out whether creatures are allowed to combine different movement types in the same Move Action? Or are they restricted to only one type of movement with each Move Action?

I'm aware that you cannot exceed the maximum speed, but what happens if there are multiple movement types with different speeds?

*********EXAMPLES*******************************************************
(The following assumes an example of a creature that has a base land speed of 30 feet and a base fly speed of 50 feet.)

1) Can this creature walk 30 feet and fly another 20 feet (or vice versa) as part of the same Move Action?

2) Can this creature alternate between the different forms of movement it has during the course of the action? (Example: Fly 15 feet, Land and Turn 90 degrees (so no extra move cost or Fly check required), then fly some more.)

*********************************************************************
I can't seem to find any definite answers to this. Would like to know some suggestions on how other GMs handle this.

Here's the situation:
I've taken the form of an Eagle using Beast Shape 2 which grants a Fly speed of up to 60 feet with Good maneuverability. An Eagle, however, has a Fly speed of 80 feet with Average maneuverability.

By the wording of the Polymorph effect, I must use the lesser of the two effects (so my Fly speed is restricted to 60 feet) but does this also apply to the maneuverability rating?

Thanks in advance for any help the Board can give.

________________________________________________________________________
[REFERENCES]
Referencing the following line from the entry in the Core Rules about Magic > Transmutation > Polymorph.

***********************************************
In addition, each polymorph spell can grant you a number of other benefits, including movement types, resistances, and senses. If the form you choose grants these benefits, or a greater ability of the same type, you gain the listed benefit. If the form grants a lesser ability of the same type, you gain the lesser ability instead. ***********************************************

***********************************************
Eagle CR 1/2
XP 200
N Small animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +10
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
hp 5 (1d8+1)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +2
OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft., fly 80 ft. (average)
Melee 2 talons +3 (1d4), bite +3 (1d4)
***********************************************

Thanks for the feedback. We've settled on the ruling that the -2 penalty to attack still applies.

With reference to the game maker's post on the following thread:
(http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinder RPG/rules/damageTypesASeriousQuestionDesignersPleaseChimeIn&page=1#6)

I'd like to find out whether Nonlethal Damage from a magical source is also subject to DR?

On a side note, does anyone know where exactly I can find the rules on the Bludgeoning/Piercing/Slashing spells bypassing DR thing? I know i've seen it somewhere before from Complete Arcane or something back in the days of 3.5 but where is it featured in Pathfinder?

Thanks.

In general, you can do anything while concentrating but it may require a Concentration check depending on what you do.

Walking should not trigger a Concentration check but running (or other vigorous movements) would. Riding a moving mount counts as Vigorous Motion for this purpose.

The list of stuff that requires Concentration checks are covered in TABLE: CONCENTRATION CHECK DCS
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/magic.html

Not really Mergy, ranged touch attacks are not weapon attacks. As such, the eye rays of the Jabberwock (or Beholder) are not valid for this purpose.

If you're speaking from experience, I'm afraid the GM got the rules wrong on that one.

Vital Strike only applies to weapons covered in the Simple, Martial, Exotic or Natural Weapons list only (eg: unarmed strike, bite, claw, gore, slam, tentacle, wing, etc). It can't be used in conjunction with other abilities aside from those that specify that you wield it like a stipulated weapon (eg: flame blade which specifies that you wield it like a scimitar).

Even effects that resemble weapons (eg: Spiritual Weapon, Mage's Sword) won't work because you wield them as spells, not weapons.

Not DR so much as creatures who are immune to nonlethal damage (eg Constructs) or creatures with some ability to reduce damage to 0.

This issue has come up on occasion and we're trying to get a definite ruling before the next session.

Word of God has it that Vital Strike was only intended to be used with weapons, never with spells.

References are here:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/pathfinder-faq#TOC-Vital-Strike-8-20-10-

and specifically here:
Q: How does Vital Strike effect weapon-like spells (ie Chill Touch, Inflict Light Wounds)?

A: (James Jacobs 11/6/09) Vital Strike wasn't ever intended to give spellcasters a way to double their damage dice, and you can expect it to be reworded in an upcoming FAQ sooner or later to enforce this role. [Source]

A: (James Jacobs 11/5/09) Vital Strike does not allow you to sneak out extra damage with spells unless that spell works like a weapon. You could vital strike with a flame blade. Not with a scorching ray. [Source]

Hi everyone,

I would like to clarify whether a creature that is immune or otherwise completely resistant (all damage reduced to zero) to a source of damage still suffers from the secondary effects of an ability?

For example, the Storm Burst ability of the Weather Domain has a secondary effect that causes the target to suffer a -2 penalty on attacks for 1 round. If the target is not subject/immune to nonlethal damage, does it still take the -2 penalty?

I can't really find anything in the Magic or Combat sections of the Core Rules about it but the main support (and source of confusion) comes from the following text about damage reduction:

________________________________________________________________________
DAMAGE REDUCTION
Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury poison, a monk's stunning, and injury-based disease. Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact.

Excerpt from
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/glossary.html
________________________________________________________________________

Would appreciate it if anyone can confirm the definite rules on this issue. Thanks.