Blisterfringe's page

I'm curious as to what options people are aware of for scaling effects based on the user's hit dice. The bard has a fairly unique ability at level 9 in Pathfinder: Inspire Greatness, a performance that adds two temporary d10 HD to each party member.

Furthermore, the recent Sorrowsoul bard has a fairly high level ability (12) to add +1 HD to Inspire Greatness, at the cost of targeting only himself and double the performance rounds.

An example of an ability that is empowered by bonus hit dice is the Vishkanya's Toxic ability, with DC based on HD. I'm unclear as to whether temporary HD increases affect abilities imparted by Eldritch Heritage and similar effects.

Mark Seifter (Archmage)
Mark Seifter's legendary spirit offers the power of Mark Seifter. Unlike normal archmage spirits, Mark's legendary spirit grants insight into the arcane workings of the Pathfinder ruleset. Mediums channeling Mark's legendary spirit eventually gain the knowledge needed to create a Spirit Dancer.

I am doggedly attempting to create the Spirit Dancer Medium of my dreams, but I am having difficulty parsing some of the mechanics. I have asked several knowledgeable friends, who have made it clear to me they have no idea how to answer my questions and that the only person they know that has spent more time obsessing over the Medium than I is Mark Seifter.

So I put to you forum-goers in general (and Mr. Seifter in particular) two very important questions regarding this archetype's abilities:

1) When exactly do you gain influence for channeling a spirit with this archetype? The base Medium states that channeling a spirit incurs one point of influence; and channeling said spirit is normally done as part of the morning seance. However the Spirit Dancer 'makes choices as if channeling a spirit of each legend' in their morning seance, and actually channels the various spirits when entering Spirit Dance. The archetype also states that all influence incurred 'while Spirit Dancing' is pooled.

Do I gain 1 point of influence in the morning seance, when I contact all 6 of my spirits? Or do I gain 1 point of influence each time I Spirit Dance and channel a spirit? I very much doubt the intent is to gain an additional influence each time you Spirit Dance, considering how painfully restrictive influence gain is.

2) In light of the drastically different seance and channeling rules, how exactly does the new Medium "flex" feat work with the Spirit Dancer? Essentially the feat states that when channeling a spirit at the beginning of the day, you can incur an extra 1 point of influence to gain access to a special feat for that spirit. Would I have to spend 6 points of influence (which is impossible) to gain access to the feats for my various spirits?

Thank you for any insight.

I am attempting to make sense of the False Medium archetype from Occult Adventures, but a number of questions have arisen that hopefully you fine folk can help answer.

Dim the Lights and False Sensitivity are pretty clear, but Haunting Presences is an odd one. Is it a standard action to create a Haunting Presence effect? How about to maintain one? Do opponents receive saves against the effect, or does the Perception/Sense Motive check take the place of a save? If they do receive saves, how would those saves be calculated?

Furthermore, it says that the "range" of these effects is 10 feet (or more at higher levels) from the rogue. For Silent Image, does that mean that any image that fits into a space within 10 feet (etc) from the rogue is valid? Do the effects move with the rogue as long as they are maintained?

Insight into any or all of these uncertainties would be appreciated.

Hello, forum-goers! I'm looking, as the title suggests, for tips from the community on introducing some friends to Pathfinder.

Background: my roommate plays video games (including RPGs), but has never played a pen and paper roleplaying game. The other two potential players (his sister and her boyfriend) have similarly never played D&D, but expressed vague interest. His sister doesn't play many games, but her boyfriend is more of a gamer.

I'd like to introduce them to the game as simply as possible while still having some fun with the Golarion setting and the wide range of Pathfinder classes. My roommate's family is only going to be in town for a week, so I need to put this together pretty quickly.

My current thoughts are to provide some number of pregenerated characters to pick from, probably at level 3. My thought process behind not starting at 1st level is I'd like to give them a bit of a greater variety of powers and abilities, without completely overwhelming them.

As to the adventure to run, I'm not sure. I could put something together myself (I have a short adventure I wrote some time back for 3.5 for a pickup game that could work), but perhaps a published adventure would be better?

Thanks for any thoughts/comments/suggestions!

Hello forum-goers,

I noticed recently that Shadow Dodge was reprinted in Inner Sea Gods, and is apparently written very differently from its original form. I did a bit of research to try to figure out how exactly this feat works now, but came up short, so I figured I'd present it here for feedback.

The question is at what point the +3 AC "triggers." Dodge bonuses do stack by default; if I move 30 feet, and then move another 30 feet by trading my standard action, do I get +6 AC? Alternatively, if I charge and move 60 feet in one action do I get +3 or +6 AC?

Thanks for any feedback!

Hello Paizo people,

I retired my PFS Storm Lord druid awhile ago. I've been looking to create a thematically-linked successor for awhile, and just discovered the Leshy Warden archetype from Familiar Folio. It's like the Treesinger, only good! I'd like some advice on building a Leshy Warden (or similar character build suggestions) up to retirement at level 12.

Right now I am considering a CN aasimar druid of the Liberty's Edge faction. My storm druid was an Aasimar, and I have an Aasimar reserve character that I could make into a Leshy Warden. This opens up a cool feat option I'll mention in the build stuff I have so far. Statistics etc. listed below:

I'm torn between the Mauler archetype for the scaling STR bonuses, circumstantial to-hit/damage boost and HP boost; or the Valet archetype in order to take advantage of Improved Share Spells immediately.

I'm also unsure as to whether or not wild shape (with the ability to transform into a creature with constrict) qualifies for Final Embrace, or if I need to spend 18K on the Anaconda's Coils.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Hello Pathfinder Society people,

I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere, but in my preliminary research I haven't found anything conclusive either way. I'm aware that some time back this FAQ was posted, which reads:

Half-Elf or Half-Orc: Can a character of either of these races select human racial favored class options?

Yes. Half-elves and half-orcs may select racial favored class options, archetypes, traits, and so on, as if they were a full member of both races (a half-elf can select elf and human rules elements, a half-orc can select human and orc rules elements).

Edit 9/26/13: This is a reversal of an earlier ruling. This resolves a discrepancy between this FAQ, another APG FAQ, and a Core Rulebook FAQ.

Now, I'm already happily using the primary option listed here (selecting the human FCB) on my Half-Orc Fighter in PFS. Previously I had thought I'd retire him at 12th, as he wouldn't be able to keep up in Seeker-level scenarios, but I'm seeing some options to increase his martial prowess and his durability at 12+ that might let me keep playing him (which is good, since he's currently my favorite character despite my love of primary spellcasters, but I digress).

My question is, does the "so on" include feats? For example, could a Half-Orc take Defiant Luck in PFS? I am playing a Diehard-themed character, complete with an Aegis of Recovery, a Ring of Ferocious action to ignore the staggered condition, etc. He just picked up Shield Other and has never come closer to actually getting to use his Diehard feat. Except for that one time he was grappled by a lava monster.

Anyway! I'd like to be able to add in some of the options that increase his resiliency in terms of saves (beyond his half-orc luck bonuses to saves), but a lot of these good options are Human feats. He has some CHA (very dumb, but a decent WIS and CHA) but as a Kuthite cannot go Paladin or anything like that to increase his saves.

Is this an option that I can take, or is it the campaign leadership's view that "so on" shouldn't include feats or anything else? If so, what does "so on" actually entail?

Thanks in advance!

Hello Paizo people! As my dreams of Theurgehood have been soundly dashed by the recent SLA ruling, I would like to look into how I could transfer a concept I was working on for Pathfinder Society Core Campaign over to another class chassis. Originally I was planning to make a Necromancer Mystic Theurge that threw their wealth by level into animating a shambling horde of servants, and then turning them into bombs with casts of Explosive Runes.

I think this is still doable on a straight Wizard but I'd like to get some advice from the community. I'm undecided between building it as a "normal" Wizard (maximized INT, dumped CHA) and ignoring the Necromancy school's ability to Command Undead, and simply casting the Command Undead spell instead; alternatively I could build it more like an Arcanist and just give myself minimum INT to cast my spells, and be able to leverage the Necromancy school's power more ably.

Are there any incentives to have a high CHA as a Core Wizard, like for example the ability to take Eldritch Heritage in non-Core? Other than having a higher-than-average ability to UMD, Diplomacy, Bluff, etc. in Core due to the lack of traits to base those skill checks on INT.

Are there any Cleric spells that are so helpful to the concept that it would be worth being able to UMD them? I'm utterly unconcerned with throwing all of my wealth by level at consumables, as there's no Staff of the Master to save up for and few items I can see myself wanting beyond basic CON boosters and Pearls of Power.

As far as thematic choices, I see this character as being a Dark Archivist basically no matter what route I choose in life. This is potentially convenient since I believe there is a faction trait for Dark Archives that gives UMD as a class skill.

Thanks in advance for any advice! Can you all think of other interesting things to "dress up" my zombies with beyond Explosive Runes?

Hello Pathfinder people! After developing my first character build for the Core Campaign, a brawling divinely-empowered Shadowdancer, I've decided to make a miniature "Character Compendium" designed to showcase creative builds for my personal favorite character option, the prestige class.

Thus far I have roughed out this Shadowdancer, whom I am seeking feedback on below, as well as a mounted Dragon Disciple and a necromancer Mystic Theurge. Next up is probably an Eldritch Knight and/or Arcane Archer to complete the core group of powerful prestigious characters. If anyone has any suggestions for a build they would like to see included, please let me know in the comments below.

Please note that the formatting for this character is rough, as I've just been tinkering with it in an Evernote document. Comments, suggestions, and critiques are welcome-- especially anything that seems like it might address build weaknesses, which I will note below the character stat block. This character is built to level 11, the nominal limit of Society play, but has been built with low-level play considerations in mind.

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The Pharasman Shadowcaster is haunted by the shade of a loved one, barred from Pharasma's Boneyard until they can accomplish some great task. The Shadowcaster typically enhances himself and his shadow companion with divine magic, then wades into the fray with fists flying. Despite his personal tragedy, the Shadowcaster is not without compassion, and will attempt to render foes unconscious when possible with nonlethal attacks or his divine abilities. He will not, however, shed a tear if those that interfere with his goals are sent to the Boneyard earlier than their appointed time.

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Let me know what you guys think! The CRB is surprisingly deep with its offered options, and I think this character offers a fun twist on the generic Shadowdancer concept. PLEASE NOTE to me if I accidentally took any option that is not legal in the Core Campaign; similarly, feel free to suggest (in spoiler tags) boons that might be useful to increase the effectiveness of this character if said boons are easily obtainable.

Happy New Year Paizo people. With a new year comes a new attempt at putting together a character build that has interested me for some time: the Arcane Trickster. There's been a lot of content released since the Arcane Trickster reprised its role in Pathfinder's CRB, and I'm interested to see if it is now possible to build a Trickster that is both fun and powerful.

Basically, I'm going to list in this post the basic building blocks for creating an Arcane Trickster; in the next post I'll look at the options available in more detail; and then I am soliciting advice as to the best way in peoples' opinion to leverage these options, and/or suggestions of additional possibilities. I am completely open to discussing options that require boons (as long as that boon is not a unique boon that is not feasible to acquire).

First off, since Arcane Trickster is a prestige class, we need to look at the requirements for entry:

Alignment: Any nonlawful.

Alignment is trivial; the only thing to understand about this requirement is that paladin is not an option, and that any monk levels must be taken before entry into the prestige class.

Skills: Disable Device 4 ranks, Escape Artist 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks.

Skill requirements are likewise easy to meet, with Paizo's restructuring of skill distribution compared to 3.5. Even the least-skilled classes can muster enough ranks to fulfill these requirements. Notably, it means that the earliest this class can be entered is level 5, unusual for a prestige class.

Spells: Ability to cast mage hand and at least one arcane spell of 2nd level or higher.

Now we get into the tricky part. The easiest way to fulfill these requirements is three levels in wizard, or four levels in sorcerer or arcanist. However, alternate routes exist; an SLA of Mage Hand and/or a second level arcane spell will fulfill these requirements. There are a couple of traits and feats that can provide Mage Hand as an SLA, and certain races (such as Tieflings and Aasimar) have access to 2nd-level arcane SLAs.

Special: Sneak attack +2d6.

Ouch. Okay, this is a tough one. Previously, this required taking either three levels of rogue or ninja (Vivisectionist Alchemist being illegal in PFS), or a single level and then at some later level taking a level of a prestige class such as Assassin (not PFS legal) to gain that second sneak attack die. Now, with the introduction of the ACG and the Snakebite Striker Brawler it is possible to gain that second sneak attack die very early in a character's career with only two (or less) total non-spellcasting levels.

So, to recap, we can gain entry to Arcane Trickster at level 5. PFS only goes to level 11, so to get maximum usage out of Arcane Trickster we want to get in ASAP. That being said, Arcane Trickster's level breaks for new class features are at 1, 3, 5, and 9. So we're looking at 1, 3, 5, 6, or 7 levels (7 being the maximum possible to achieve in normal play).

Hello Pathfinder people,

Regarding "Sniping" under the stealth skill, I see the following:

If you've already successfully used Stealth at least 10 feet from your target, you can make one ranged attack and then immediately use Stealth again. You take a –20 penalty on your Stealth check to maintain your obscured location.

Does this have to be a "ranged attack action", i.e. make a single ranged attack with a thrown weapon or a bow, or can a spell or feature that involves a ranged attack apply? For example, a spell like Ennervation which requires a ranged attack roll.

If you can make a ranged attack in this way, what about the situation of a spell or ability that causes multiple ranged attacks rolls for one action? I.e., Scorching Ray.

Thanks!

Hello all,

In Mr. Seifter's advice thread, he mentioned that if an item was to use an obscure rules source or something else that a reader might not be immediately familiar with, it would be advisable to cite that source.

Is there a preferred format for citing? For example (not related to my submission in any way), assume that I am creating the following item:

Chainsaw of Awesomeness
This radical +1 ripsaw glaive doubles the wielder's charisma modifier on their Leadership Score. Once per day, the wielder may deliver a catch phrase as a swift action to double all morale bonuses they are currently benefiting from, as moment of greatness but for any roll made in the current round.

In the above item, there are a few things I could cite. First, the ripsaw glaive is an exotic weapon from Gnomes of Golarion. Leadership Score refers to something from the CRB (Leadership) but is still referencing a subsystem. Moment of Greatness is a spell that is found in Ultimate Combat which some readers might be unfamiliar with.

So, what if any of these examples are worth citing? And if I was to cite them, what would be the preferred format? For example, would "[t]his radical +1 ripsaw glaive (Gnomes of Golarion p. 22)" be sufficient?

Additionally, if I cite an external source, can I hyperlink the citation for ease of reading? And if so, is it acceptable to use a source such as Archives of Nethys as long as I confirm the item information is accurate, or would I need to use the PRD? If the latter, what do I do in the case that an item isn't on the PRD, such as in the case of the Ripsaw Glaive (as far as I could tell)?

Hello Pathfinder people! I have been working on a guide to the most important part of most campaigns for quite some time now: defeating the humble door. It's been nearing release for awhile, but Paizo has made a habit of releasing excellent content on a near-continual basis, forcing endless revisions. I've thrown my hands in the air and decided "Enough!", so here it is, mostly complete.

This guide was inspired by an offhand comment made to a friend, and many Pathfinder sessions stymied by the adventurer’s true greatest foe: the humble door. Adventurers may or may not face a decent amount of kobolds, ogres, demons, and monsters of all descriptions over the course of their adventuring career, but one obstacle is certain: doors.

The goal of this guide is to examine various techniques in which adventurers can overcome doors, gates, walls, and portals of all descriptors. The guide will cover not only ways to unlock or batter down these obstacles, but also methodologies for hunting down elusive “secret” doors and dispelling magical wards and entryways. As a bonus option, at the end of the guide we’ll go over some ways to lock, bar, and create barriers for your foes.

Check it out!

Comments are enabled and welcome. Obviously, please do not post anything dirty or otherwise undesirable.

If any more experienced guidesters have any formatting suggestions (it is quite long at present juncture), I'd be happy to hear them.

Happy doorbreaking!

Good evening Pathfinders! This playtest session was conducted with a GM credited level 3 Spiritualist with the Hatred Phantom playing down in low tier.

Succinctly, the class performed rather poorly, although I admit this character was built a little oddly. The enemies were largely immune to the only offensive magic the Spiritualist possesses, and the large numbers of enemies present in the combats rendered it difficult for the Hatred Phantom to make use of its Hated Target ability. The Spiritualist was able to contribute only due to some astonishingly lucky rolls on my part with a crossbow, as well as buffing the AC of the Phantom.

Every ability other than psychic magic and the Phantom was completely useless. I can't envision a time I would ever want to retain the Phantom in my psyche, as even a somewhat weak Eidolon is leagues ahead of two Skill Focus feats. Spending a standard action to reproduce a (weaker) version of a spell I can already cast (Shield), only usable when the Phantom isn't summoned, will likewise never see use; finally, the ability to share my senses with the Phantom could potentially be useful if encountering magical darkness, but the Phantom itself (as noted in my build below) is capable of combating magical darkness using UMD.

Even at level 3, with a staggering 25 AC, the Phantom came very close to death due to the relative ineffectualness of DR 5 / Slashing vs. most natural attack choices and the sheer damage output of the first enemies when they struck. I did underestimate said first encounter and had boosted its AC only to 21, which was perfectly hittable by these combatants-- admittedly a terrifying encounter for a tier 1-2 adventure.

Unfortunately the Phantom's to-hit bonus and damage output were not really sufficient even at level 3 to defeat the threats in any reasonable timeframe. I used Amateur Swashbuckler to increase the number of potential attacks in a round using Parry and Riposte-- I do like the fact that the increased CHA on a Phantom opens up some interesting potential feat choices, albeit limited by the 3/4 HD progression.

I wish the Phantoms got access to an ability at level 4-- there's a very, very long gap between their 1st level ability and their next upgrade at level 7. I know they're not intended to compete with Eidolons, but the sheer number of options the Eidolon has opened up over the course of 6 levels is staggering compared to the relative stagnation of the Phantom.

Other than the fun factor of being able to walk through doors, Phase Lurch wasn't very good in this adventure as we were not being crammed into five foot hallways. I did not bother to use the incorporeal form to scout as we had an Eidolon in the party with effective Hide in Plain Sight with a Take 10 Stealth of 36 at level 2.

Obviously the class will become far stronger at level 4 if only from the introduction of early-access Haste, but the two sessions in between seem daunting at the moment. I also have a feat and a trait that cannot be made use of until reaching level 2 spells.

From a flavor standpoint, I put this character together rather hastily so was not able to have a fully cohesive background compared to my last Spiritualist, but I maintain that the backstory potential for Spiritualists remains excellent. It's difficult to be bland with the role-play hooks the Emotional focuses offer. The idea with this pair was to contrast the serious Spiritualist with the Phantom; a good-natured but overprotective adventuress in life that has been tainted by the strain of clinging to the material plane to protect her brother.

The Belkzen War Drummer from Advanced Class Origins is currently legal for play, with no adjustments noted on the additional resources page. However, the 7th-level power "Weapon Master" trades Lore Master for the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat.

As crafting feats are not legal in PFS, to my understanding the War Drummer currently trades Lore Master away for nothing in return.

I would appreciate a clarification as to whether the Lore Master class feature could be retained, or if a more appropriate (read: legal) bonus feat could be provided by the class feature in PFS instead.

Thanks!

A few questions have arisen regarding enhancements to a "non-standard" damage type on attack for a concept I've been mulling over. I've gotten different answers from different knowledgeable and well-respected GMs, so I'd like to get some feedback from the Pathfinder community.

The specific situation I am interested in regards the Shadow (and Greater Shadow) creatures (seen here), although presumably other creatures exist that also directly deal ability damage or other non-standard damage with their natural attacks.

In the case of a spell such as Desecrate, would the Shadow benefit from the bonus to damage, thereby doing an additional point of STR damage?

As far as I've been apprised something like the Bard's Inspire Courage would not work because that specifies "weapon damage." What about, say, a +1 Ghost-Touch Amulet of Mighty Fists? Would the Shadow benefit from a +1 to hit only, or a +1 to their STR damage?

The Shadow can benefit from a Critical Hit, doubling their STR damage dealt. If they were receiving other bonuses as noted above, would those bonuses therefore be doubled as well?

Thanks!