Blackfell's page

Please keep in mind, this is a NPC opponent for a party of 5 characters, none of which are terribly optimized. 2 'unchained' human monks, gnome Alchemist (saboteur), Gnome Magus, and a Halfling Witch. Of the five players, two are highly experienced (and one VERY much a tabletop tactician), one slightly experienced, and two pretty much 'first time tabletop RPG' new guys.

I'm trying to tread a fine line between 'Memorable' encounter and a walking TPK. :)

The choice of deity fits the campaign. He is encountered with a swarm of lower level flunkies, hence Evangelist to make the overall encounter more difficult.

Flag Bearer?

Amusing idea. Not sure I'll run with it, but amusing. Thanks!

As I understand it, variant channel relies on a Deity's portfolio rather than domains. Asmodeus' portfolio includes Tyranny, Slavery, Pride & Contracts.

The Contracts negative variant channel could synergize well with spontaneous casting of Compulsion spells from the Evangelist.

Ah okay... I believe I see how it works now. And yes, yes it would.

Ultimate Magic, according to d20pfsrd.

That's the source of Variant Channeling yes. I meant specifically where does 'Rulership' come from? I'm assuming it's subdomain but I've never heard of it until today

The "Standard" build for a Reach Cleric is Combat Reflexes, Power Attack and then usually Improved Initiative & Summon feats. If you're planning on using undead then swapping the summoning feats for something different makes sense. As you'll be channelling negative energy, consider variant channeling if you want to up his power.

I've seen mentions to a "Rulership' variant channeling which seemed damn near OP... but I cannot figure out what book/source it's from?

Starting to flesh out my initial 'big bads' for my ongoing campaign.

Initial concept: Long spear wielding cleric (Evangelist) of Asmodeus lvl 5. Buffs his troops (some brigands, low level rogues/fighters etc). He's also well known for using undead (skeletons/zombies)

What are some good ideas for feat selection?

Knowing the GM, I could probably get away with using my opponents to renovate the landscape.

I'm debating first level feats (going human). Improved Grapple (bonus monk), Dodge (every little bit of AC helps and with my speed and dragon style, I'll be drawing AoO as I zip around the battlefield, so sets up for mobility) and....?

I've always been tempted to take EWP to use a reach/trip/disarm monk weapon and do a little control.

Dimensional assault/agility/dervish seems awesome.... but I dont get D. door until 12th... very late game.

I made that exact same misread at first, don't let it get you down Mystical.

If you're considering Dwarf, there's a racial style (applyable only to Dwarves, Gnomes, and all Master of Many Styles monks) that adds a lot to AC

are you referring to Earth Child style? That only works against actual 'type: Giant' I thought?

30 point buy. Starting level one. Supposedly we won't be going mythic for several sessions/end of book one of the path.

I'll be starting as a monk in a new adventure path this evening, and I'm having some issues trying to pick good feats that don't get totally overlapped by mythic abilities.

One person should be playing a paladin, and one of the other two players has said he wants to play something 'control centric'. Thats all I know of party comp at this time.

Supposedly the path is demon heavy enemy wise.

My initial thoughts are human (though dwarf is tempting), working into power attack and/or Dragon Ferocity as soon as possible. We're getting a really generous point buy so I can afford to be just a bit MAD.

Champion looks like the best Mythic Path, especially for the 'fleet charge' ability, which will let me move and flurry.

My group has a copy, we use it quite extensively. I recommend it.

Entangle, Grease, glitterdust.... anything to slow/break up/debuff the mad rush. If only a 1/3 of the PC and their 'friends' get their at once, it's a lot easier to deal with.

barbarian works well, as level 5 of martial artist grants immunity to fatigue as well as making your alignment into something other then lawful :)

another option to switch into is the Unarmed Fighter archetype.

the spread looks solid so far. You have at least a +1 in the three stats that help your saves (which helps offset the loss of your CHA to saves class feature). I'd personally go STR down and DEX up a bit if possible, which plays into an AoO build and makes you more survivable at low levels (better ac and reflex saves )

I wouldn't dump INT either. YOu have few skill points as is, and it's always good to have a point or two in several class skills.

sadly, the dwarven favored class bonus for paladin won't help, as it involves those spells you no longer have...

The way I look at it... your a tank. Your going to be increasingly hard to hurt, tough and at 4th level, you get a 'bunker' mode :)

Yeah, defensive stance means your not moving, but hopefully a party can understand tha it's a big part of your character and use spells, affects etc to funnel enemies in your direction.

if your deadset on Attacks of Oppurtunity, you NEED reach. Either a reach weapon, enlarge spells/affects, or both. The more area you can threaten, the more chances you have of getting to use those feats.

An interesting thing I see is that several features that want high CHA (divine grace, spellcasting) are repaced in this build. I'd almost say you can play a much lower CHA then normal for a paladin (don't dump it completely, you still have lay on hands)

at higher levels, I almost think this would be better with the Mobile archetype as a base. It allows you to attack as your doing that run into position, and then to reposition yourself while still putting up damage as well.

Reach would be the most important way, either through a reach weapon or Enlarge of similar magic. The more reach you have/room you take up on the battlefield, the harder it is for enemies to get around you.

If you have party members you know will be spellcasters, advise them that they need to look into spells like grease, stone call, web, etc that can funnel enemies down into a narrow area.... ideally, one your standing in calmly waiting for the rush hour traffic to pass through :)

Spell Combat does call specifically for one handed weapons... other then a whip/scorpion whip, I'm not aware of any of those in Pathfinder that have reach, however....

edit: Ninja'd by Darkorin about whips :)

Once a rage only, but yeah, flesh wound would make a cool insurance policy against a serious hit. Half the damage and turn it into nonlethal, which you soak up like crazy.....

grease on an area is only a 10 foot sqaure. It should be fairly easy to place it somewhere to hamper the enemy and leave your party unharmed. and since it's a small area, it's also easy for your party to move around the edges to get adjacant to enemies and attack, trip or otherwise torment them.

At worse, make sure anyone likely to be caught in the area understands the need to have a few ranks in acrobatics :)

we had something VERY similar happen in a recent game. We fought a Vrock (demon) that successfully made it's percentile roll to summon... another Vrock. Technically, by the rules, we should only get experience for fighting a single demon, as supposedly the challenge rating (I'm sorry, I don't remember what it's called in pathfinder, just started playing it a few months ago over 3.5) takes into account the ability to summon a buddy.

I believe this would be similar. Technically, the cohort is just part of the challenge.... which a LOT of people think is a bit.... BS.

silly question: how much does a madu do, for damage? It says under the description 'if your not proficient, treat it as a light spiked shield'. Does this mean the damage is based off that, and you only get the cool 'special' ability to fight defensively if your proficient?

knowledge of the system combined with an idea that you want to expand upon. At least, thats how I usually start with a concept.

I find the average damage figures interesting. Sure, the fighter comes out ahead, but the bard has other options like high ranks in skills and his spells to help pick up the slack a bit.

Seems pretty solid to me, though I admit I'm pretty new to pathfinder and am not the best judge of such things :)

I love that the idea of the 3.5 "Dervish" prestige wasn't left behind by pathfinder. Full move + Full attack (in a very flexible way then pounce) is just awesome.

I have to make another pitch for Bard. I'd kill to play a bard with anything even close to those stats

bard+cavalier into the Battle Herald prestige?

you make very good points on Blazing invective. I'll probably go to Blur instead for more defense.

"It may also permit you to use better weapons if you have racial proficiencies."

Can anyone elborate on Atarlost's comment here? Are there some specific races I should be looking at for a better overall weapon (especially if I end up going two-handed)? Half-elf with the one trait/race feature that lets you pick up a wierd weapon?

If not a race switch, is their a fighter archtype that subs out bravery (I'd only dip two levels for feats) for something that would fit this overall concept? Dropping to bard 4/fighter 2 would still leave me with 2nd level spell access and giveme a couple extra feats to mess with, plus more hit points.

Breiti: I had no idea that Flagbearer feat existed... wow. That's pretty cool and very flavorful too. Nice visuals and I can see this character being an ex military or other type who was the designated flagbearer/protector.

Not sure about the banner though, as it states I have to hold it in both hands to make it work. Sure, I can attach it to a longspear... but that really takes me away from my weapon finesse/high DEX focus I think.

Saving finale: Being a serious 3.5 bard-o-phile but not yet having played one in pathfinder, I am sort of unsure on how good certain new ideas like 'finale' spells are in PF. Yes, it's an immediate action.. but to drop whatever performance I have going to cast it... I'm not sure. Of course, we haven't been exposed to 'save or die' yet.... but plenty of save or suck :)

DeathQauker: What sort of buffs? There aren't a great many in the bard list that I'm seeing for 1st/2nd level. As it is I can make hazardous terrain (grease), potentially mass blind (glitterdust) and Blistering invective allows me to attempt an intimidate against all enemies within 30 feet, plus deal damage/possibly light on fire. I have mirror image for defense and heroism for better attack rolls. I suppose I could sub out Blistering inv. for something like Blur.

The Psion/whatever he is has been doing a decent job keeping us healed but he tends to run through power points FAST when the fights get tough. I suppose I could swap something for a cure spell and/or make sure to grab a CLW wand.

don't worry about the dice pool. Even though it's listed in the core book, Mine is the only group I've ever encountered who seems to USE the thing. I'm going to roll the actual stats in front of my DM so there's no question of me fudging rolls, but test rolling here I've been getting an average CHA of 17-19 range, counting the catfolk +2 bonus. So DC's on 1st will be 14-15 and on 2nd's should be 15-16

After a very scary encounter where my Monk was beaten down in both HP and CHA and barely survived the fight (three level 6 characters (two more ran away at start of fight from a fear affect) versus a EL 9 ghost!) I've decided I want to have a backup character ready to go in case the worst happens and I lose the monk.

I've decided that my next project (the monk was my first ever PF character after years and years of 3.5) will be a 'arcane duelist' archtype bard.

The party is currently six players strong. The characters (other then the monk) are a Gunslinger, Ninja, Wizard (necro), Fighter (archer), and a Psionic 3rd party character who is, as far as I can tell, basically a Psion. This party focuses a lot on ranged combat, obviously, except the ninja who (I believe he dipped fighter) already has spring attack and occasionally gets into melee.

My plan here is a Catfolk Arcane Duelist, and trying to make the character as DEX score focused as possible. I want to try and keep a control/debuff idea going for spells and such as well, trying to buy time for my missile heavy party to perforate whatever we've encountered

we're level 6 (almost 7) and are using a 26d6 "dice pool" for our stats.
For my pool, I was thinking something like this:

STR 4d6
DEX 6d6
CON 5d6
INT 3d6
WIS 3d6
CHA 5d6

feat selection: I get Arcane Strike (1), Combat Casting (2) and Disruptive (6) as bonus feats for AD. This leaves me with three feats for levels, and I was thinking Weapon Finesse, Combat Reflexes, Two weapon fighting, and using a rapier and whip.

spells: for my four 1st and four 2nd level spells known, I was considering:

1st: Grease, dazzling blade, Ear-piercing scream, vanish

2nd: Blistering invective, Glitterdust, heroism, mirror image

Thoughts folks?

Kensai + monk seems like a very short trip to the land of super MAD to me... INT is one of the two Attributes (along with CHA) that really don't mean much to monk....

I second Dabbler's opinion on flanking. My groups rogue loves the fact that my monk (level 6) can almost *always* set up a flank for him no matter how crowded the battlefield.

I'm actually debating taking a teamwork feat with him to try to make this situation even more fun.

This is incredibly common with any party I've played with/DM'd for. Like evryone else has said, if they want to burn that many charges on wands, let them. Why not?

At 1st level it's 1-2 charges (usually) to heal someone back to full. With classes that have d10 or d12 Hit dice and good CON bonus, this swiftly becomes 3,4 or more charges to recover. They'll burn through wands very quickly.

I don't see the point of trying to punish players for taking steps to comabt 'encounter attrition'

On the 'savage' barbarian sugestion...if he only takes 2 levels of barbarian, there's no point to it. Neither of the special abilities for not wearing armor kick in until barb 3.

I tried this build for a concept character, but the loss of Flurry of Blows kept me from actually sitting down with it. You are trading a good deal of to-hit and extra attacks for extra styles. It is best for a splash as Thefurmonger suggests. I would also recommend choosing a different build and just taking Crane Style the regular way. I realize that this pushes Crane Wing back from level two to five. However, fighting defensively is going to hurt you early level if you don't have the Flurry bonuses.

If you are set on this build, make a Strength based monk. You will already have a good defense from always fighting defensively, and you save the feat that would go to Weapon Finesse. This will allow you to get maximum benefit from Dragon Style and Dragon Ferocity. Dragon Style will pour some extra damage into your strikes and make you eligible for Elemental Fist to get even more damage from the few attacks you get. I wouldn't bother with Dragon's Roar.

Combat Style Master is limited and will be almost worthless by level eight. This gives it only three levels of usefulness. It sounds nice to start in a stance, but since you cannot also start out fighting defensively, Crane Style is of no use. Dragon Style and the other combat styles are no good until your turn comes around to attack. It is good for Snapping Turtle Style and little else. If you are multi-classing MMS, it may be worth taking. But this is all just my two copper.

Yeah, flurry is the BIG hurdle to overcome with this build. I'd almost have to say you need to ask your DM if he's going to be good and have guys provoke from you, or if you should just play a standard monk.

My current monk is 18 STR and dragon style/ferocity.... with Flurry and a lot of targets, he's pretty beastly. I haven't worked up to Elemental Fist yet, but that's probably in one or two levels (currently level 6 in the "Second Darkness" path or whatever you call it).

I personally think that your selling Combat Style Master a little short. YOu can switch as a *free* action, which means most likely several times per round, instead of Master of Many Style's swift action which switches. You could conceivable charge with Dragon and Mantis active to try to get in a big stunning fist, then switch to a defensive package to weather the return fire, and do it every turn back and forth

'Deflect Melee" as I jokingly refer to it, is pretty powerful, especially against any melee builds that concentrate on applying one big hit a round.

I keep wanting to pair it with Snapping Turtle, which isn't all that powerful at first but starts getting pretty cool when you have a +2 'shield' bonus to not only regular AC, but touch AC and CMD as well.

Just out of curiousity, has any played with this archetype? Did any particular combination of styles seem excessively awesome?

How important do you feel the 'combat style master' feat from Ultimate Combat would be?

Also, are there any Combat Style feats that aren't in UC?

some additional comments, now that I looked at your stats and did some reading on your archtypes

You really need a better Con then 10. Even with all your defensive AC buffs, redirect, etc your stil going to get hit sometimes. With d8 HP's a level and no CON bonus, your health isn't going to go far when the attacks start piling on and eventually, hitting you through sheer luck if nothing else.

I'm not sure where I'd pull points from though, to make the change.

personally, as a man currently playing a STR heavy, dragon style monk, I applaud your decision sir. Flowing monk and martial artist seem an interesting combination that makes the Monk much more adept at physical attacks and dodging, at the expense of many of the more 'mystical' abilities that 3rd edition/PF monks have.

Neither of those archtypes replace flurry of blows, correct? Because as a monk designed to plunge into the middle of everyone, you really, really DO NOT want to give up flurry.

If you invest some effort into making your trips work decently, look into the 'Vicious Stomp' feat to let you do AoO's against people that are knocked prone adjacent to you. Or just advise your party that spells and affects that knock people prone are a good idea.

Vicious stomp also pairs up well with Punishing kick, which lets you do an unarmed strike and still attempt to knock your opponent prone while doing so, limited times per day. Considering some of the kicks I've seen from capoeira fighters.... it'd be rather fitting.

Okay then... sounds like I'll run it past my DM as more like a 'rend' for basic Boar Style then. Good to know. Thanks for the heads up Ascalaphus!

well crud: After several different google searches, I can't seem to get a good thread on how damage reduction and Rend interact....

anyone have a good link?

That's where my confusion arises. In my copy of Ultimate Combat, it actually says 2d6 bleed damage for boar style, and then Boar Shred also says 1d6 bleed. Doesn't Bleed as listed in the appendix specifically mean an ongoing source of damage?

Looking into the other feats like Tiger Style, 2d6 bleed does seem rather powerful for a single feat. Tiger Style only gives 1d4 bleed for a few rounds, plus a bonus on CMD versus certain moves and the ability to inflict slashing damage. Boar Style's 2d6 being a rend rather then a bleed seems to fit more in balance with the other feat.

Anyone else have an input on this situation? I'd love to have some other opinions represented before chatting with my DM about it next tuesday

I am currently playing a monk in an ongoing campaign and I'm debating getting the Boar Style Feat to help me squeeze out more damage. Reading it and one of the follow up feats Boar Shred, I'm a bit confused.

The original lets me set up a 2d6 Bleed condition if I hit multiple times in one round on an opponent. Thats cool, I love the idea. The problem is when you read Boar Shred.

"While using Boar Style, whenever you tear an opponent’s flesh, once per round at the start of that opponent’s turn he takes 1d6 bleed damage."

Okay, so I tear my opponent, setting up my 2d6 bleed and then... what? Bleed him again? Under 'Bleed' in the condition summary, different sources of bleed damage just use the best value...

I think I'm missing something.

the way we were doing our dice pool, it was assign dice to stat, roll stat and thats what you were stuck with. Wisdom 17 is the best I can manage since I rolled a 15 on the dice from the pool, sadly.

So, stunning fist actually is WORTH it in pathfinder? *blink blink, reads sections of core rulebook* Okay.... I see your point.

So it's better to just ride the stunning fist? I saw Medusa's Wrath in the handbook and yes, between that and randomly using Ki points to add extra attacks, monk does seem like quite the little damage machine.

Touch of serenity seems pretty potent, especially since I'll have the barbarian to finish off things I'm locking down I'd hope. Punishing kick... lol, just lol. I know how bad it is to put most 'normal' foes prone in the midst of your violence happy friends.

grrr, tried to reply and forum burped

missed the adjacent part of stand still, good catch. Also EWP requires +1 BAB so thats out at first level.

Ki focus weapons let me channel some monk abilities through them... would a reach-capable ki focus weapon allow me to use the Marid Style's extra 5 ft of reach on cold strikes to reach out to 15 feet?

Hello there.... I'm new to Pathfinder (I have the books, just haven't played until now) and I've decided to go to monk for my groups first pathfinder campaign/session. The rest of the group so far is a Barbarian, an elf Fighter focused on archery, A cleric or wizard wanting to go into lorecaster (he keep swaffling back and forth on which) and a Gunslinger.

We used a dice pool for stats, and my rolls were ridiculous when I needed them to be (my DM was watching and was frankly quite impressed with how stereotypically monk my scores were)

Str 18
Dex 17
Con 15
Int 9 (had to use some small rolls somewhere lol)
Wis 17 (rolled 15, bumped to 17 by human '+2 any stat')
cha 5 (I am soooooo not the party face)

My general thoughts after reading Treantmonk's monk guide:

I'm strongly considering going with "Monk of the four winds" archtype, as I like the various elemental themed style feats. This does however, mean I loose stunning fist. Would I have to wait until I fulfill all the normal prerequisites if I wished to pick stunning fist later on as a feat?

I'm assuming that just because some of the cool weapons in APG/ultimate combat say 'monk' does NOT mean I am proficient with them, lol. So I'd have to take 'EWP: whichever' weapon to use them, correct? (I'm really loving the idea of a reach monk weapon for some reason, like the double-chained kama or even Kyoketsu shoge). The general idea that giving me options and reach allows me more of a chance to mess with the battlefield given my feat choices.

feats (1 base, 1 monk, 1 human)
combat reflexes (monk bonus)
stand still (human)
EWP: Kyoketsu shoge

The general idea is to use my extra AoO's, reach, and Stand Still to slow down the enemy movement. This keeps them away from our ranged attack heavy party, and lets the barbarian get to them more easily with 5 ft steps so she can keep power attacking/smashing face as much as possible.

Thoughts, answers to questions?