Berdache's page

We play Fast Heal only cures damage that was caused while it was active. Is this an official rule? It would makes sence for this item given its price.

cheers guys .. did not even realise they existed :)

Just completed an all day game that counted as the parties mythic ascension. The character I played is a Psion (Ultimate Psions) and looking through the Mythic book both spell caster paths specifically mention either Arcane or Divine spells for the majority of the useful abilities.

Anyone else had this problem .. what did you do? Any other advice?

As others have said Expanded knowledge x lots as feats and just fill in what spells your group needs. I went for Astral construct, Energy Missile and Metamorphosis as my first three.

In combat I generally force the monster most likely to die first into the collective, drained their life to top people up if needed and save big powers on big encounters (hopefully with free power)

That said we tend to play a very attrition based game where casters cannot just use their big spells all the time.

In the end the DM chose to give it a save that scales in a similar way to stunning fist ...

We have just started a psionic themed campaign and the Marksman in our game has come across a spell called Wind Strike

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/psionic-powers/w/wind-strike

"As part of manifesting this power, you also activate your wind reader class ability. This count as a daily usage of your wind reader class ability. Your successful ranged attacks for this round daze the target creature for one round. If you do not have the wind reader class feature, this power does nothing."

None of us could really believe this was only second level power ... a one round daze with roll to hit and no save.

He doesnt have much power but he has enough to use it 4-5 times a day. That is 4-5 rounds of locking down the big bad so he might be tempted to not use his power on anything else and in a wilderness section with only one fight a day thats probably a dead monster practically whatever CR it is.

He might have to roll to hit but he is very good at that and he still does damage and can potentially get 2 or 3 or even 4 (at higher level) creatures Dazed and out of the fight.

Do people play this RAW or how do you house rule it?

(We dont play a RAW game)

Cheers

Okay, here's an interesting question:

Let's say you don't qualify for a feat that requires X strength because you took ability DAMAGE that put you at X-1. I think everyone agrees that you now lose access to the feat.

Before Kazaan quoting the actual rules it was 50:50 afterwards I think most people agreed you dont lose access to the feat.

Suthainn has the right of it. Ability damage does not actually reduce a stat it only applies penalties to skill based on it. So the answer is no you dont lose access to the feat.

This is a change from 3.5 which people might have missed.

Two-Handed Power Strike [Fighter] Prerequisites: Power Attack, Str 15

Benefit: When wielding a weapon two handed, you apply x2 your Strength modifier to melee damage.

Normal: A character wielding a weapon two handed applies x1.5 Strength modifier to melee damage.

(nothing about having to full attack ...)

Overhand Chop (Ex)

At 3rd level, when a two-handed fighter makes a single attack (with the attack action or a charge) with a two-handed weapon, he adds double his Strength bonus on damage rolls.

This ability replaces Armor Training 1.

Given that one is a 3.5 feat and the other is a pathfinder alternate class ability it is hard to say if they stack in any official way.

IMO they both do the same thing(with the pathfinder ability just being more restrictive) and I would rule they did not stack. In the same way if any ability got translated from 3.5 to pathfinder (and renamed / weakened) you could not learn it twice.

If anyone disagrees with me ... just play it differently at your table

The main thing I dislike about it is that there is no dice roll involved. No CMB vs CMD check, no save vs target number or to hit vs AC. A low level mobile monk however weak cannot be successfully melee'd attacked by a single high level opponent however strong with a weapon. It feels like tumbling did in 3.5.

Crane style is powerful but can be got round by a DM in many ways I just dislike the feel of it (and similarly with other things like that)

One evening I forgot my notes on the scenario and to give me some time to rewrite the details the party arrived at a tavern where an annual fancy dress was going on. Queue them bumping to a mindflayer drinking a beer with his mate a large beholder. Luckly they did not just go into combat froth mode. They then spent the evening judging it, working out who was killing some of the contestants etc (It was a real chaos warrior who was unhappy that he only came 3rd because he was not chaotic enough). We all had a fun time and the actualy scenario was forgotten about

"Shield Other

School abjuration; Level cleric 2, paladin 2

Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S, F (a pair of platinum rings worth 50 gp worn by both you and the target)

Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Target one creature

Duration 1 hour/level (D)

Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

This spell wards the subject and creates a mystic connection between you and the subject so that some of its wounds are transferred to you. The subject gains a +1 deflection bonus to AC and a +1 resistance bonus on saves. Additionally, the subject takes only half damage from all wounds and attacks (including those dealt by special abilities) that deal hit point damage. The amount of damage not taken by the warded creature is taken by you. Forms of harm that do not involve hit points, such as charm effects, temporary ability damage, level draining, and death effects, are not affected. If the subject suffers a reduction of hit points from a lowered Constitution score, the reduction is not split with you because it is not hit point damage. When the spell ends, subsequent damage is no longer divided between the subject and you, but damage already split is not reassigned to the subject.

If you and the subject of the spell move out of range of each other, the spell ends."

the last paragragh seems very clear.

Movement in combat always seems to not make sence. Not sure if there are actually rules for it but players should be able to use delay / ready to move together.

ub3r_n3rd wrote:

Berdache wrote:

We play the 1 = fail on skill checks but I have never really liked it. Image a skill check so trivial that anyone (even unskilled) would normally succeed doing it on a 1. So in combat a party of 4 adventurers will on average fail this check every 5 rounds? This leads to some silly situations.

A bit off topic, but I have to fix your math here.

Actually if it was 1 in every 5 rounds that's a 20% chance of failure.

A mess up of 5% or a 1/20 is 1 time in every 20 rounds. Much more realistic.

Think of even professional athletes who are super specialized in what they do. No one is perfect EVERY time, there is always a chance they screw up, hence the 5% chance they mess up on that "1."

The same can be said for that little kid throwing the basketball at mid-court. He would miss that shot almost every time, but that one time he does it's awesome hence that 20 succeeds and that 5% comes to fruition.

These are the reasons that I house-rule those skills in my game, but I understand that others don't think the same way as I do.

Yeah, but those are more 1% (or lower) chances, not 5%. 5% is too high for that sort of event.

To clear up on the maths I said 4 adventurers (average party) => every 5 rounds one of them will fail

We play the 1 = fail on skill checks but I have never really liked it. Image a skill check so trivial that anyone (even unskilled) would normally succeed doing it on a 1. So in combat a party of 4 adventurers will on average fail this check every 5 rounds? This leads to some silly situations.

"A tent has many doors to a man with a sharp knife"

If you want to house rule nerf rogues that is up to you and your game. Sounds a bit like saying Barbarians cannot apply their strength to half the monsters in the system just because someone is playing a powerful one.

It seems obvious that a well placed blow to an corporeal undead would be effective (ie critable and sneakable)

ah if only you could use a feat to buy that many more spells on associated spell lists .. everyone would have it

I do like Samsaran (I play a Magus of that race) but a bit late to change now as the campaign has started.

Cheers for all the good advice .. to many good spells to get all of them.

Talk to your GM before trying to go overboard with the cackling twice a round to keep fortune up on the whole party route.

Some aren't fond of it.

IMO If you are prelonging it to the next room / fight round the corner it should be ok. Keeping it going through the wilderness for an hour breaks rule #7.

Arbane the Terrible wrote:

Berdache wrote:

My third level feat (Extra Hex) is going to be either Fortune or Misfortune not quite decided which yet.

I'd recommend Misfortune - you;ll have a lot more enemies than allies, most days.

But with cackle and fortune, a strong fighter with a big backpack and a small witch, the witch can useful all day as long there is an unlimited supply of cough sweets.

and remember you can cackle twice a round if you dont do anything else.

cheers, give me a few more options

Glitterdust definately sounds like a good idea and Web sound versatile. I had thought about Burning Gaze, which might be a bit weak just so the party has some damaging magic. My third level feat (Extra Hex) is going to be either Fortune or Misfortune not quite decided which yet.

We have just started a new campaign .. this time pure pathfinder. I am playing a witch and the only other arcane caster is a knowledge based bard. On top of it looks like the campaign might be undead (vampire?) based.

I am looking for a couple of second level spells any advice to remain useful?

I have seen one played at low to mid level and it seemed over powered. High damage, AC and HP, decent saves and the ability to heal themselves (well their demon skin). But I suspect the reason they are banned in PFS is the stat point side. You sell you physical stats as low as you dare and max out the mental ones. No other class can do this as effectively.

There are several good melee combinations with Dragon Disciple.
Go for 1 level of Sorc (or Bard) and then 4 of paladin, ranger, warrior or barbarian.

Have a look for Oterisk’s Guide to the Dragon Disciple for more info.

For someone who purports to like symmetry, your viewpoint is entirely asymmetrical.

Actually I am going for the non symetry view I was saying you main arguement is only based on symetry not on what the ability for APs ability actually says.

One of the main points where these two difer ...

"a paladin can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch."

vs

"an antipaladin surrounds his hand with a fiendish flame, causing terrible wounds to open on those he touches."

So one heals wounds and the other uses fiendish (ie not negative) flames to cause (ie not inflict) wounds. I think if you were arguing that it is fire damage then I would have a harder time disagreeing with you.

Yes Negative energy does normally heal undead .. Touch of corruption is not negative energy (and had not yet been FAQ'd like LoH). In fact if it was negative energy most of the second paragraph is redundant.

Do people think Touch of corruption can / should hurt golems or other things immune to negative energy?

RAW is clear (it is untyped damage) but can see why we are having this arguement for the spirit of the rules (people like symetry). Personally I like the idea of Anti paladins being able to hurt undead with this.

"Touch of Corruption (Su)

Beginning at 2nd level, an antipaladin surrounds his hand with a fiendish flame, causing terrible wounds to open on those he touches. Each day he can use this ability a number of times equal to 1/2 his antipaladin level + his Charisma modifier. As a touch attack, an antipaladin can cause 1d6 points of damage for every two antipaladin levels he possesses. Using this ability is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Alternatively, an antipaladin can use this power to heal undead creatures, restoring 1d6 hit points for every two levels the antipaladin possesses. This ability is modified by any feat, spell, or effect that specifically works with the lay on hands paladin class feature. For example, the Extra Lay On Hands feat grants an antipaladin 2 additional uses of the touch of corruption class feature."

The ability has has two options to deal damage or to heal undead. My reading of the rules is that the first is not negative energy and thus would damage undead. A sword can causes a wound and can hurt undead.

That said I could understand a DM house ruling it to be negative energy.

In our games there are a few (pre-pathfinder) NPCs knocking arround that the rules purge hasnt caught up with, producing higher level potions so that they are sometimes found in treasure hauls or available to be bought :)

It should be noted that there are also several non-corps who have 50% miss chance rather than 50% damage reduction. Etc

Have you considered a synthisist? With that you will create a real melee monster. (and consider a 1 level dip in Oracle of lore)

Cyrad,

you are right about Extra Arcana had not remembered the pre-req.

I actually meant Arcane Mark the only 0 level Magus touch spell, so providing free spell combat. But if you DM does not allow it you are talking about 3rd level for Close Range Arcana.

My Magus (Black Bladed archetype) first four feats were
Bastard Sword ... because it looked cool and I knew I had a Magic Bastard Sword coming.
Arcane Strike ... our DM runs a lot of attrition type scenarios. If you are doing a single hard fight a day where you can use your arcane pool each round this wont be useful.
Weapon focus (bastard sword) ... 3/4 BAB and -2 spell combat => you need every plus to hit you can get.
Extra Arcane Pool ... Your arcane pool powers everything you do more is better.

I played a Samsaran so had Touch of Fatigue as a zero level spell but if your DM doesnt allow Wizard Mark to initiate spell combat then consider Extra Arcana (Close Range).

IMO

If you have never DM'd before write something simple to start with and not world shattering. Aim to run 1-5th or so just to see if you enjoy DMing and find out about your players.

and +1 for getting character backgrounds from your players it can make everything more personal and even if you dont use everything I find many of them provoke ideas that i would never have come up with.

Once you have run an initial campaign start going for something a bit bigger.

I also like providing props (maps, scrolls, etc) and rumours.

Berdache wrote:

Base (10) + 4 (Mage Armour) + 4 (Shield) + 1 (Dodge) + 5 (CHR from Oracle of Law) + 4 Natural (Eidolon) + 2 Def (Shield of Faith) = AC 30

and that without Expertise and partial defence and other evolutions

Ah, so you took the very meh Lore Mystery (for a Fighty-type character at least) and wasted a feat on Dodge. Fair enough.

SEEN not played please ... the campaign we are in has been massively skewed by this character. I suspect he could have stopped arround AC25 and it would have made a far better game for all of us.

Berdache wrote:

The most powerful low level character I have seen recently was a Oracle of law (double cursed) / Synthethist. AC 30+ at second level (with spells running), rerolls on enermies attacks, magical damage, lots of attacks, cures, etc. A monster character that overshadowed the rest of the party.

30+ AC at level 2 ain't doable. Shield doesn't stack with Shielded Meld, and the Synthesist (built optimally) will have 10 + 4 (Mage Armor) + 2 (Shielded Meld) + 1-3 (Dexterity from base form) + 2 (if someone's casting Barkskin on you or you have wands/scrolls of it) + 2-4 (Eidolon natural armor) +2 (Natural armor evolution) = 23-27 AC. A point more if you get the Dexterity ability increase, but then you've spent all of your Evolution pool...

Base (10) + 4 (Mage Armour) + 4 (Shield) + 1 (Dodge) + 5 (CHR from Oracle of Law) + 4 Natural (Eidolon) + 2 Def (Shield of Faith) = AC 30

and that without Expertise and partial defence and other evolutions

The most powerful low level character I have seen recently was a Oracle of law (double cursed) / Synthethist. AC 30+ at second level (with spells running), rerolls on enermies attacks, magical damage, lots of attacks, cures, etc. A monster character that overshadowed the rest of the party.

My main advice would be to not allow advanced firearms.

The early weapons are not too bad, they misfire alot and the 20 feet limit on touch ACs cuts down on the full attacks.

He might not be very polite but I think Kurukami has the right of it. It does not threaten => does not give you a flank. You have to roll to hit to do relatively low damage and only when you attack a single target. It does do force damage but anything thats good against is probably immune to the sneak.

Where would I use this rather than just simply casting a haste? Which is a shame as I was looking forward to summoning a evil looking dagger that flys arround stabbing people in the back.

Smells like a second level spell to me :)

So the racial ability of Samsaran called Mystic Past Life.

"You can add spells from another spellcasting class to the spell list of
your current spellcasting class ... The spells must be the same type (arcane or divine) as the spellcasting class you’re adding them to."

So as a magus I can learn other arcane casters spells ie Wizard / Witch / Bard / etc spells.

Does that mean I could learn Cure Light Wounds (Bard)?