I'm playing a dwarf inquisitor of Asmodeus in Rise of the Runelords, and aim to fill a tanky mage-slayer demon-hunter kind of role. Inquisitors are very good for this, and it's worked out quite well so far. We're currently level 13, and I'm looking for some advice in where to go from here. Deciding which feat to take at level 15, for example, is hard.
I generally aim for versatility in my builds, and am loath to min/max. Since I'm now filling the role of a tank, versatility means survivability especially. I enjoy being able to defend against almost any conceivable situation. This is my build so far:
AC 31, touch 15, flat-footed 28 (+10 armor, +2 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural, +5 shield)
Fort +17, Ref +8, Will +15; +2 vs poisons, +4 vs spells and spell-like, +1 vs mind-affecting
Base Atk +10, CMB +15; CMD 30
Melee +1 defending dispelling cold iron dwarven waraxe +16/+11 (1d10+6/x3)
Ranged +1 repeating heavy crossbow +13/+8 (1d10+1/19-20)
Inquisitor Spells Known (CL 13; concentration +17)
1st (6/day)--burst bonds, divine favour, lend judgment, litany of sloth, litany of weakness, remove fear (page of spell knowledge), shield of faith
2nd (5/day)--blistering invective, flames of the faithful, invisibility, see invisibility, silence
3rd (5/day)--burst of speed, dispel magic, greater magic weapon, protection from energy
4th (3/day)--greater invisibility, judgment light, stoneskin
Domain/Inquisition Persistance Inquisition
Str 20 [16], Dex 14, Con 19 [17], Int 10, Wis 18 [16], Cha 10 [8]
Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Coordinated Charge (free tw), Craft Magic Arms & Armor, Diehard (free), Dodge, Endurance (free), Following Step, Mobility, Outflank (free tw), Shake It Off (free tw), Steel Soul, Step Up (free), Step Up and Strike
Traits Indomitable Faith, Magical Knack, Unintentional Linguist, Power-Hungry (drawback)
Combat Gear +4 buckler, +1 glamered fortification (moderate) mithral full-plate, +1 defending dispelling cold iron dwarven waraxe, +1 repeating heavy crossbow
Gear Baldric Bane, Cloak of Flash & Shadow (+2 Cha), Infernal Cord (+2 Con), Gauntlets of Takkok (+4 Str), Headband of Inspired Wisdom +2, Ring of Protection +2, Ring of the Ram, Lesser Extend Metamagic Rod, Straps of the Serpent (+1 Natural Armor, +3 res bonus to saves), Winged Boots
For my level 15 feat, I've considered Expanded Arcana, Forge Ring, Instant Judgment, Iron Will -> Devilish Pride, Spring Attack, Spell Focus (illusion) -> Veiled Illusionist, Destructive Dispel, Quicken Spell, Improved Critical, Divine Interference. In other words, I'm still looking for the one that screams "pick me!" Advice?
I'm also looking for some input on spells known. At our last level up I swapped out Wrath for Litany of Weakness, after realising Wrath is much weaker than it looks. What are some good utility spells that I may not have thought of? Many of the spells chosen so far are chosen largely due to fitting the character concept. In the future I'm looking at Righteous Might, Quest, Dimensional Anchor, Death Knell Aura, Bestow Insight, Divine Pursuit, Coordinated Effort, Magic Vestment, Spell Immunity, Cure Critical Wounds.
When it comes to magical items, the most important investment is probably fortification on my full-plate, which recently saved me from two simultaneous crits from scythe and katana due to battlemind link. Dispelling is useful enough that I'm considering increasing it to dispelling burst, but keen is also tempting.
Most body slots are occupied except for wrists and neck, and the rings I wear are not too important. Knowledge Pendant looks neat.
Obviously I've got enough ideas already to make it work out, but any suggestions and input will be deeply appreciated anyway. I'm kind of looking for the "must have" choices on several fronts.
The rest of the party consists of a damage-dealing flank-hungry intimidation fighter/rogue, dimensional dervish monk, illusion-focused transmuter wizard, and a druid who may reroll to cleric.
I can't find anything telling me that it is possible to voluntarily open up for an attack of opportunity, but neither can I find anything to the contrary. It seems like it should be possible to move about recklessly.
For example, if I have Canny Tumble and Spring Attack, could I choose to ignore Spring Attack's "does not provoke AoO" bit to combine it with Canny Tumble?
Spring Attack:
As a full-round action, you can move up to your speed and make a single melee attack without provoking any attacks of opportunity from the target of your attack. You can move both before and after the attack, but you must move at least 10 feet before the attack and the total distance that you move cannot be greater than your speed. You cannot use this ability to attack a foe that is adjacent to you at the start of your turn.
Canny Tumble:
When you use Acrobatics to move through an opponent's threatened area or space without provoking an attack of opportunity from that opponent, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on your next melee attack roll against that opponent and that opponent is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC, as long as you make that attack before the start of your next turn.
Many probably remember the awesomeness that was the Vocalize spell in 2nd D&D. Seeing as Silence in Pathfinder is pretty powerful for its level, I decided it might make sense for a version of Vocalize to be available as well, although not quite as powerful as it once was, of course.
One of my main arguments behind allowing Vocalize is also that Silence is an illusion spell. I feel it makes sense that there exists a method to work around it. My suggestion is as follows...
Vocalize:
School abjuration; Level bard 2, cleric/oracle 3, inquisitor 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
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Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, F/DF (small tuning fork)
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Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
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This spell allows your voice to circumvent the nature of magical silence, ignoring the illusion. As long as the spell is active, you may cast spells with verbal components within an area of magical silence.
Note that this not remove the verbal component of any spell you cast. Your voice only travels unimpeded through magical silence, and you may call out to anyone outside the silenced area. Anyone outside of the area may also hear you casting, but anyone inside the silenced area still hears nothing (including yourself, but you do not count as deafened).
Vocalize has no effect on any non-magical silence, such as an area underwater or otherwise without air.
What do you think? I've considered making it level 2 or 3, but I think I've landed on level 3. Perhaps range should be increased to "creature touched"?
Looking over the Skinsaw Cultists at the Seven's Sawmill, I felt they needed a boost for our party. At the same time, I've started to consider emphasising teamwork in their case, and swapping out their cleric level with an inquisitor archetype.
Let me know what you think.
Skinsaw Cultist (CR 3):
Human inquisitor (sanctified slayer) of Norgorber 1/rogue (unchained) 3
NE medium humanoid (human)
Init +4, Senses Perception +10
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DEFENSE AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dex, +2 armor, +1 dodge)
hp 36 (4d8+4)
Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +5; +1 vs traps
Defensive Abilities danger sense +1, evasion
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OFFENSE Speed 30 ft
Base Atk +2, CMB +1; CMD 16
Melee mwk shortsword +7 (1d6+4/19-20), or war razor +2 (1d4-1/19-20)
Ranged hand crossbow +6 (1d4/19-20)
Special Attacks precise strike (+1d6 when flanking), sneak attack +2d6, studied target (+1 attack/damage)
—
TACTICS Before Combat If the cultists are aware that combat is imminent, they will cast shield of faith, divine favor and resistance (if there is time). Otherwise they use shield of faith and copycat on the first round of combat.
During Combat Their goal is to flank a foe, which grants them both precise strike and sneak attack, which in turn grants the studied target bonus to attack and damage immediately. If flanking is not possible (or too dangerous), two cultist work together to feint and hit.
Morale If one of the cultists is slain, the remaining cultists will prefer to attempt to flee upstairs, joining larger numbers. The cultists drink a potion of cure light wounds if brought below 10 hp.
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STATISTICS Str 8, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 13
Feats Dodge, Feint Partner, Precise Strike, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +11, Bluff +8, Climb +5, Disguise +8, Escape Artist +11, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +9, Sleight of Hand +11, Stealth +11; Conditional Modifiers +1 Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, Survival (studied target)
Languages Common
SQ finesse training (shortsword), monster lore, orisons, rogue talents (bleeding attack +2), stern gaze +1, trapfinding +1
Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds; Other Gear disguise kit (1d8 uses), leather armor, hand crossbow with 10 bolts, masterwork shortsword, skinsaw mask, war razor, 1d20 gp
But I've not yet tried running as big an encounter as this is likely to become. I may be overlooking something and giving them too much power in the way of teamwork feats, or too little.
Our group is about to enter Foxglove Manor, and I realise it would be neat to have portraits to show of the entire family. Aldern and Iesha are both represented in the books, of course; but Vorel, Kasanda, Traver, Cyralie, and the kids are not.
I get that artwork of non-vital characters would be unnecessary for the books, but I'm sure other GMs have wanted to include them as well. For players that encounter these faces through haunts, it could be effective to show them actual pictures.
I've had a go searching the web and these forums for some fitting portraits, but so far without any luck. Does anyone know where I might find what I'm looking for?
I'm looking to expand a bit on the Farmlands happenings in the Skinsaw Murders chapter, and want to share my ideas. Also looking for input, obviously.
My group just investigated the Sandpoint Lumber Mill, and I'm pretty sure they will be going to Habe's Sanatorium next session. While they do that, farmers in the south of the hinterlands will be planning to set out for the Hambley Farm by evening.
Caizarlu's notes at the sanatorium should give the party reason to travel to the farmlands, but I strongly suspect they will decide to rest up before going there. In this case, the setting changes, and I introduce them to a rainy evening near the Hambley Farm, where a mob of restless farmers are amassing to set upon the crazed Hambleys. At this point I hand each of my players one or two farmer NPCs (commoners and experts) to control.
Of course, the ghouls will surround and utterly destroy the mob. To make an interesting challenge out of the slaughter, I'm considering awarding hero points to the player that managed to do stuff such as slaying a ghoul or surviving to the tenth round or some such. I'm rarely giving out hero points as it is. It should be very difficult for any of them to escape, but it's possible. If none of them do, Maester Grump (under my control) ends up as the default survivor that arrives in Sandpoint the next morning.
The main point of this encounter is to impress upon the players the terrible danger that the farmlands are in, but I think it might be useful in other ways as well. For example, it might show them that their hanging back can have consequences. After all, should they choose to go to the farmlands immediately upon discovering Caizarlu's notes (or even before visiting the sanatorium at all), they might be able to stop the mob from going to their certain death.
Also, as an afterthough, how about a ghoul cow/aurochs?
Quick Question: If a faceless stalker dies while in a humanoid shape, can it keep the assumed appearance?
The description for its Change Shape ability tells me that it can maintain the new form indefinitely after changing. It also states that it is a swift action to return to its true form, which might sound like there is a small measure of effort involved in changing back, but probably not.
First time GM, running Rise of the Runelords. I have a group that consists of the following:
* Fighter
* Barbarian
* Summoner/Paladin
* Ranger
* Wizard
* Cleric
Obviously, I have more players than recommended for this campaign, which might be part of the issue, but that's not going to change, and I don't want it to. Most of the time, I feel I'm able to up the difficulty to compensate.
The group's three frontliners often find themselves near 0 hp, yet as long as the baddies don't find their way to the wizard in the back, he feels like every encounter is super easy.
My question is, how can I better create encounters that challenge ALL of the players? In the example of the wizard, I could have someone throw Shatter on his bonded object, but I feel like that is a big no-no. Am I being too nice?
Spells, tricks, effects, or other things that are good against large groups?
I'm considering letting Tsuto become a recurring villain throughout RotR, as it looks like he is the only one of Nualia and her lackeys that will survive the PCs. Just looking for ideas and input from anyone who has experience with anything similar, of which I know there are many, since I've stolen a bit of material from these very forums. First time GM myself.
My group seemed to quite enjoy Tsuto as the supercilious ignoble. During their interrogation with him, they definitely left their mark, at least twice.
Recap:
First, they decided they would go for the intimidation approach. With that in mind, the barbarian wasted no time and immediately slammed his earth breaker onto helpless Tsuto's foot, figuring that torture was of course a natural part of intimidation. Based on the damage that was rolled, I ruled that Tsuto's foot was crunched to bits, and simply dead, not healable without a Regeneration spell. Unfortunately, this did not help the party's cause, as intimidation or torture was not going to make Tsuto talk.
Second, they decided to for the approach commonly known as Charm Person. With a clever combination of Charm Person and Disguise Self, the party's cleric of Calistria quite easily convinced Tsuto that he was an undercover associate of Nualia's, and that he was going to help Tsuto escape. After amputating the broken foot and alleviating a lot of the obvious pain, Tsuto was more than helpful, answering almost any questions.
Obviously, the following escape attempt failed miserably, as planned by the party. But Tsuto managed to try to kill himself by plunging a caltrop into his throat. The party saved his life before he bled out though.
Development:
Now, Tsuto is on his way to Magnimar for trial, while the party is at Thistletop. He is marked with an amputed foot, and a terrible wound to his throat (which I may simply heal up). In addition, thanks to how the party acted out the escape attempt, he may still believe there is an undercover associate of Nualia's out there.
Preferably, I want to have the party be told that he commits suicide in the Hells in Magnimar before his trial, while he actually escapes with the help of a certain Justice. From there he should become an important Skinsaw Cultist (even though at heart, he still cares little for the gods and the like), and probably show up at the Seven's Sawmill. If possible, I want to have him escape the party at the sawmill as well, to return again even later. For others who have done something similar with Tsuto, has this played out well?
Obviously, he's badly damaged. Missing a foot gives him penalties to a bunch of skills, as well as move speed, but I've decided that giving him a sculpted foot should at least allow him the benefits of his monk speed, although he limps quite a bit. I'm also giving him the Zen Archer archetype, but keeping the shortbow (instead of longbow). Does this seem fair enough?
If he somehow manages to escape the party again and again, I will have him find his way through the different chapters. In the end, he may up as a flesh golem with the fiend-infused template, to humour Mokmurian/Karzoug once they learn of Nualia's own failed agenda. Am I being to hopeful here? Tacky? Railroading?
I'm currently working on a Pathfinder-based setting where I'm leaving very little up to conventional truths. Obviously this complicates everything somewhat, but I like that.
Firstly, this world's calendar has only nine months and three seasons - Summer, High Summer and Fall. High Summer consists of only one month, but throughout this month there are two suns in the sky, whereas the extra "sun" is a smaller gas planet orbiting another solar system. As far as I can understand, this should cause the sea levels to rise, but to what extent should they do that? Should I include frequent natural disasters as well? I'm definitely open to the argument "this world is magic; I ain't gonna need to explain s+%~," but I'd love to expand on the idea of two suns.
If sea levels rise and fall dramatically, I think countries and settlements would have to be built especially for the High Summer-state of the world. But concerning the natural landscapes, should mountains and other heightened areas be generally taller or shorter than what you could normally expect?
Anything else in particular that I have to keep in mind in a world like this?
