If you're a cleric (or some other class that channels energy) The channel foci item Authoritative Vestments lets you spend a channel to make a diplomacy check as a swift action. No save and it affects everyone within 60 feet of you.
this is a good one, though you have to spend the channel normally (a standard action) to "charge" the 'Vestments' for the day, and it's only good for one Diplomacy check that day (I guess you could maybe carry more than one change of Vestments?). It does have the additional advantage of counting as a Holy Symbol for your faith...
Try the spell "Peacemaker's Parley" from the "Dwarves of Golarian" splat book.
2nd level Cleric spell, Swift Action casting time, then make a Diplomacy check as a free action. (with a +2 bonus).
Spell description: "You can attempt to influence unfriendly or hostile creatures, altering their attitudes toward you. After casting, make a Diplomacy check against the creatures as a free action; you gain a +2 sacred bonus on this check against creatures that failed their saves against the spell. Even if you favorably manipulate the attitude of the affected targets, they quickly revert to their previous attitude if threatened or treated poorly."
My heavy armor cleric can't hit the broad side of a barn. It's the -2 from the tower shield, the fact that his strength is 10... and that he doesn't spend his money on magic weapons. Anyway, I usually don't even try.
During character introductions, I explain that he has the Love domain, and profession matchmaker, so as he introduces himself to each PC, NPC and monster that he meets he says in a faux French accent, "so, are you currently involved in a long term relationship?"... the first time they hear it, this often leaves players speechless (esp. female players- maybe thinking I'm hitting on them, you know "Ol Creepy Guy"...), but moving on, he forges ahead with the introduction. Later in the game it sort of rolls right by...
"I am a Matchmaker by profession, it is my 'day job' (finger quotes), perhaps we might discuss some of my other clients?" At this point during PC introductions I will switch to my OOC voice and say ... "Role Play often suffers due to time constraints, and we only have a limited time for this tonight so..." switching back to In Character voice "Sigh... It appears that we have got to save the world again now, perhaps after that we'll find your one true love, yes?"
Now flash forward to the middle of the dungeon crawl and the PCs are searching a room. My cleric is against one wall in the center of the room, when a LARGE secret door opens to reveal a LARGE demon right next to my cleric - 5 feet away. The judge after putting out the demon figure on the table (did I mention it was right beside my figure?) turns to me and says - "what do you do?" and with out missing a beat I reply "I look up at the Demon and say 'so, are you currently involved in a long term relationship?'" The Demons reaction was less and more than expected.
Some weeks later, in prepping to run that same scenario I discovered that the Demon actually WAS "currently involved in a long term relationship" ... with another demon that we had defeated earlier in the scenario, which had been trying to free the BBE. Which may explain why it seemed to be so upset with me about the question...
mine is Cleric - though if I did him again, I think I would take the vigilante suggestion above. The image of a Batman/Iron Chef character is just cool...
My PC has Profession Cook... It's his day job (only one rank - but heck, it's fun role play!).
Often he hands out recipes when I play him at the table... when I do, I like to bring what's on "todays special" as a treat for the table... but the last time I played him it was sort of spur of the moment and while I handed out the recipe for "Baker-Baker" (cinnamon baked apples), I had to apologize that I actually didn't have the dessert with me - though my PC did! "They keep really well in a Handy Haversack!"...
Now flash forward to meeting a "very large"/currently neutral Monster... who we find out likes "fancy foods" Several of the PCs turn to Buba and say "Got any more of those apples?"
"Oh, yeah! The recipe makes a dozen, and I've got Coconut Drop Cookies too! Fresh shredded Mwangi coconut, melted cows butter, vanilla extract, and a dash of light Mwangi rum!"
Needless to say I got the +2 bonus to the Diplomacy roll... though there was some concern about the fact that it was a BIG monster.
The best part about it was that I remembered at the end of the scenario that Buba has a Rod of Splendor - so I got to use the "...palatial tent—a huge pavilion of silk 60 feet across, with temporary furnishings and food suitable to the splendor of the pavilion and sufficient to entertain as many as 100 people." Wish I had remembered it at the START of the encounter.
Oh! and I made 20 gp on the Day Job check too, so I guess "Baker-Baker" was a hit.
magically created clothing of the finest fabrics, with furs and jewels. Value: 7,000 to 10,000 gp - check
Bonus? A palatial tent—a huge pavilion of silk 60 feet across, with temporary furnishings and food suitable to the splendor of the pavilion and sufficient to entertain as many as 100 people. Yeah - can you say Royal Picnic, once a week?
Using Animate Dead does not "...risk trapping someone's soul for eternity without their involved consent." (at least not under current spell descriptions - perhaps they should change this in 2e?).
After a creature dies and it's soul is no longer tied to the body (which is now defined as an "object" for spell purposes - which is why it can be targeted by such spells as shrink object)... there (currently) is no link between the soul and the body. The soul has moved on to Pharasmas judgement. The body is what remains on the material plane.
a number of magic items are crafted from body parts of intelligent creatures (even humans). These items, and the crafting of them, are not called out as "an intrinsically EVIL act". Why not?
Heck, a number of ITEMS are crafted from body parts of semi-intelligent creatures - why isn't the crafting of leather items "an intrinsically EVIL act"? Perhaps we should label anyone dealing with dead thing as have severe social stigmas of kegare (穢れ or "defilement") attached to them?
Making a spellbook covered in human skin (or virtually any other use of humanoid body parts) should also be considered an evil act. You got me there....
...snipping to save space
I regularly play with people who feel that making a book covered in animal skin (or virtually any other use of animal body parts) should also be considered an evil act. And the fact that we use "Calfskin"! wow! Ripping the skin off BABY animals, because it is softer!
Yeah... I'm careful not to order lunch around them. Don't want to offend them...
I've read somewhere that "human skin" actually makes very poor leather, so it would be a very poor choice for book bindings. It is a stable of some Horror Stories thou... for the shock factor and all that.
Make the creation of Undeaed Guardians a ritual that takes time, and explicitly involves someone sacrificing themselves, and their right to the afterlife for a long time, part of it.
Keep Create Undead a quicker spell developed by the power-hungry, who don't care that that's your dead husband or wife; "it's just flesh" to them. Aka, "your family is my tool, don't be so /selfish/!"
I could easily believe a culture where having your loved one "animated" would be a desired end.
"Torg always wanted to fight against the monsters of the jungle that threaten our village. He would be very happy to see that he can continue this sacred duty even after death!"
"You culture sticks your dead in cold dark boxes and puts them in a hole in the ground away from their loved ones? What did they do to deserve this lonely fate?"
"I hope that after I die, I can continue to build a home for my dependents... yeah, as a zombie assigned to the public works department, I'll be helping to build the new aqueduct, and thus insuring fresh water for our city and my dependents for generations to come."
...Unless there is an in game reason WHY the use of the spell is an EVIL act. I mean, it could be as simple as: "because I said so"... Or - "Because when the Gods created the Universe they said it was..."
But I also think that flesh golems should be intrinsically EVIL as well. I mean, instead of animating a corpse with magic, you are dismembering a half dozen or more corpses, sewing them together and then animating them with magic. That's gotta be at least as evil as animating undead!
And negative energy should be intrinsically evil, not neutral. Or at least NE - only neutral on the law-chaos axis.
I must add that the twists and knots of all the arguments in favor of animating undead not being an intrinsically EVIL act are pretty funny. <g>
while I find the twists and knots of all the arguments about why animating undead - or even dealing with dead things - being an intrinsically EVIL act are pretty funny.
a number of magic items are crafted from body parts of intelligent creatures (even humans). These items, and the crafting of them, are not called out as "an intrinsically EVIL act". Why not?
Heck, a number of ITEMS are crafted from body parts of semi-intelligent creatures - why isn't the crafting of leather items "an intrinsically EVIL act"? Perhaps we should label anyone dealing with dead thing as having a severe social stigmas of kegare (穢れ or "defilement") attached to them?
Is there a reason - other than just the "ick!" factor of dealing with dead things - that animating a body (an object) is evil, when animating a table (also an object) is not? Is it that the body was formerly an intelligent creature? So animating a table made from the "body" of an awakened tree (or trient) would be an evil act?
Is animating a body with the spell Animate Object an evil act?
No? Why not?
Yes? Why?
Please realize that the answer to these questions could easily be: "because rules" or "because I said so"...
Or we could just wave our hands and say - "Because when the Gods created the Universe they said it was..."
I don't know about the rest of you, but to keep my Neutral Alignment active with my Diety (Nivi Rhombodazzle), after a week of:
Casting spells with a Good discriptor, saving people from death, slaying demons/devils/etc and actually saving the world;
I have to go kick a few puppies, and take candy from the kids at Auntie Baltwins Home for Recovery (she gives me a special rate for the service).
I am looking forward to some more Demon Fighting around the Worldwound this year, and maybe freeing some slaves... so I guess I may have to look into volunteering down at the Hellfire club on my days off... just to offset the "good" stains on my "alignment chart"...
How are the rest of you maintaining your Neutral alignment?
This would be another one of those posts that I suspect is meant at least in part sarcastically but that is an exact literal representation of how I would adjudicate the issue in question. (With a side note saying "Possible Neutral Smartass; serious-minded Neutral outsiders likely to get irked therewith.")
I kept reading your post to make sure you were serious, or if it was a joke. I can't help but think you are serious, which baffles me. How can that possibly be Neutral?
All you need is a god somewhere totting up the Good and Evil acts and seeing which ones come out ahead; my understanding of how the Boneyard works is that even the difficult cases are figuring out where to send a soul, so that appears to be canon sfaict. (If souls could be divided up and the good bits rewarded and the bad punished, that would be an interestingly different way to do it.)
It seems also relevant that the balisse angel in Bestiary 5 is specifically identified as "formed from the souls of individuals who committed evil acts but were later redeemed and died while living an exemplary moral life", which sounds a lot like doing enough Good
...
rant warning - be advised the following might be taken as a personal rant, so feel free to skip it if you have already formed your opinions and you don't want to be influenced by mine.
wait, would this mean we need a some sort of mechanic to give a (good/evil) rating of our PCs? and as each of them progresses over time - either at each individual ACTION, or perhaps at the end of some period of time (Game Day/Adventure/Weekly/Downtime Period) that mechanic is adjusted... say it is a sliding numeric scale that runs from negative infinity to positive infinity, with "neutral" being those numbers close to zero. As your PC does things - say "save the orphanage" or "kick a puppy" the rating is adjusted. So a cleric of a neutral god would need to maintain a rating somewhere close to "zero" and a good/evil cleric would need to stay in the outlying areas (either "very" positive or "very " negative). Is this what is being suggested?
Who judges whether an action (or group of actions) are "Good" or "Evil"? And by what magnitude? If my cleric of Nivi Rhombodazzle (neutral diety) takes a few moments during a fight to stabilize several downed Mooks... was that a "Positive" (saved lives) or a "Negative" (saved Evil Doers)? And if it was a "Positive" (or "Negative") what does he need to do to push his "Alignment Meter" back in the other direction (back to "neutral")?
My biggest problem with "alignment" and how it is "enforced" at a RPG table is the fact that it mostly is OPINION.
I have a PC who is 12th level now, and she has only ever done HP damage twice - both times to herself (Confusion effects have a "hit self, inflict 1d8 HP" result).
She regular prevented combats, often succeeding at missions by talking thru encounters (even combat encounters). "No creature was harmed overcoming this challenge"...
Judge as Captive Uthdan Warrior: "Go ahead and kill me! I do not fear death, I will have died a warrior!"
PC: "Honey, I never kill people. No, I think I'll take you home with me, to my little country house just outside of Westgate. I could use another Page Boy..., Perhaps, if you're really 'good', in time you can work up to being a footman... and we'll have such fun! My servants have these cute little uniforms! With a couple spells cast I'm sure you'll simply ADORE working for me!" Big wide eyed smile!
And she's neutral (C/N actually - you know that borderline "evil" alignment so many people complain about on the boards).
AND I've had a judge tell me that if it were in his power to do so, he would mark her as "evil" - killing her out of the campaign. Because of her day job. You see, she's a courtesan, a "lady of the evening", a harlot, and thus clearly (in at least one judges opinion) an "evil" person that should not be allowed in the game.
PFS reflects the peoples attitude at each table, at the time they are playing the game. Different people, different attitudes, different times - and you get different opinions on what is "evil" and what is "good".
That's sort of why we have earned the title "murder hobos"...
I don't know about the rest of you, but to keep my Neutral Alignment active with my Diety (Nivi Rhombodazzle), after a week of:
Casting spells with a Good discriptor, saving people from death, slaying demons/devils/etc and actually saving the world;
I have to go kick a few puppies, and take candy from the kids at Auntie Baltwins Home for Recovery (she gives me a special rate for the service).
I am looking forward to some more Demon Fighting around the Worldwound this year, and maybe freeing some slaves... so I guess I may have to look into volunteering down at the Hellfire club on my days off... just to offset the "good" stains on my "alignment chart"...
How are the rest of you maintaining your Neutral alignment?
ok. I have read the OP, and before I read the rest of the thread and get my opinion shifted by other peoples responses, I want to get my knee-jerk response out there...
short response:
I have no problem with, and often enjoy playing with, "deceptive characters".
I do have a problem with, and often avoid playing with, "deceptive players".
I see a difference in these two things... it often appears that some other people do not.
longer response: I have one or two "deceptive" characters. So I'll post as one of those, and talk a bit about play style. I do this to give an example of different play styles of "deceptive" play, to show how I personally play a character who is trying to deceive his fellow PC and NPCs - and in fact trying to deceive a deity.
When I sit down at the PFS table with players who have never met me before, I will introduce my self as Buba Casanunda, "Gnomish" cleric of Nivi Rhombadazzle (yeah, I use "finger quotes"). But I'm not your typical cleric - I have a bit of militia training and so wear full plate armor and use a tower shield. I carry an oversized ax (medium sized Dwarven War Ax) but I'm really not very good with it, so don't expect me to be a Damage Dealing Machine. But I will be up in the combat - right up there on the bleeding edge, as I'm a combat medic. My Domains are Travel and Trickery.
During our adventure, it may come up that I have darkvision - I'll point out that Nivi is the goddess of Deep Gnomes, the first Gnome of the Underdark in fact. Clearly I am not your typical Gnome - I'm a Deep Gnome and have darkvision. (big Grin!)
I move fast - 40' during most of the adventure (longstrider lasts an hour per level) - and that movement is not effected by how much I carry.... That must be my Travel Domain Ability right?
Out of Character, I will explain to the other PLAYERs that I am a Dwarven Separatist Cleric/Fighter who is sure that Nivi will not give him spells unless she thinks he is a Gnome - so he goes around disguised as a Gnome. Green Dyed hair, even his beard, silly hat, and funny turned up shoes. Not being real bright (he has an INT of 7), he slips up sometimes, so if you hang around with him much you should be able to figure several problems with his disguise.
He's Medium sized.
He moves to fast for his armor.
He uses Dwarven weapons, not Gnomeish weapons.
He doesn't even speak Gnome...
I think the most fun I have had playing him was when I was sitting at a table with someone playing a Wayang who was also claiming to be a Gnome. "Lot of differences in appearance! Clearly it's that First World influence in the gene pool! Yeap, and Darkvision must be more common in Gnomes - and a good thing we both have Fleet of Foot!" All the while trying not to give my disguise away to "the other Gnome" in the party.
Basicly - I let the other players in on the joke and they can enjoy playing along too... or not if it bugs them. Buba gets introduced to the NPCs by other players a lot. "and this is Buba, our Gnomish cleric [wink,wink - finger twirl by ear]". And sometimes a Player will give me a pointer on helping my disguise...and sometimes the Characters never figure out "my secret"... But you know the best part? when I meet a player again that I've only played with once months ago, they remember "that crazy gnome cleric of the god with the funny name - yep, biggest gnome I've ever met."
The other players at the table normally buy into my disguse and try to trip me up during play,
Player 1 "Yeah, the gnome can fix that"
Me "who?"
Player 2 "you know, the gnome, you!"
me "sheesh..."
now I'll go back and read the rest of the thread...and see if the rest of the posters change my opinions...
DIRECTIONS:
In the large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and beat until thoroughly mixed. Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until browned on the bottom and around the edges. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container & transports well in a Handy Haversack.
I keep asking for a circumstance bonus on my Day Job checks for it... but so far it hasn't helped...
If I was Dark Archives, I'd be able to say something like "come to the Dark Side, we have cookies....". But I would bet you could get away with it with a Paladin too...
After a long absence, one of my older PCs got dusted off and played last night. Grabbed him as a last minute decision (we needed a Healer who could Frontline too). When filling out the sign in sheet, I was surprised to see he was actually Osirion Faction... as the last time I played him was 09-21-13... so... that means he's Scarab Sages right? And it looks like I just dusted him off in time to change his faction? Or should I have changed his faction before the game last night? He was Osirion before because of WHERE he was from, being created back when factions were still regional things. Loyalty to the Ruby Prince and all that... Not really interested in this Jeweled Sage stuff... So I guess I should go looking at the other factions and see what fits... Anyone have one of those cards that reduces the cost of changing factions? I could be recruited easily...
I may need to dig thru the rest of my older PCs and see if any of the others have the same ... issue... with loyalties.
Animate dead can get a slain comrade to walk themselves out of enemy territory. They will only fight or walk, so if you want them to carry anything, put a backpack on them.
animate dead creates Zombies or Skeletons ... the first line in the spell reads -
This spell turns corpses into undead skeletons or zombies (see the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary) that obey your spoken commands. - so I would think if you commanded them to carry something - they would.
After all, it's it the classic Voodoo Zombie that "works in the field" - sort of an Undead Slave.
Another possible problem of using Raise Dead on comrades is the note in the spell that reads (last paragraph):
"A creature who has been turned into an undead creature or killed by a death effect can't be raised by this spell. Constructs, elementals, outsiders, and undead creatures can't be raised. The spell cannot bring back a creature that has died of old age."
So if you "Animate" your friends, it's going to take a Resurrection to bring them back (a 7th level spell, so a 13th level Cleric... and a lot more money)
The next line in animate dead tells you you can only get them to follow or stand and fight. It really looks like an afterthought.
You are correct that it takes more to raise them after you put them down again.
About raise dead. Make whole possibly readies a dead body for raise dead. A corpse is an object, and raise dead requires the body to be intact. If you have raise dead and craft miscellaneous magic, you can make raise dead salve. I think this will bring the dead person right back in one round.
if the second line/paragraph were exclusive, then it would be impossible to command undead to "attack those adventurers my undead minions!" - as the only commands the creator would be able to give would be:
a) "follow me",
or
b) "remain in (an area) and attack any creature (or just a specific kind of creature) entering the (area)".
so...
a) "follow me my Minions!"
b) "stay here and attack any humans who enter!... WHAT ARE YOU DOING! NOT ME YOU MINDLESS ARRRRRGH!"
Yet created undead in much of cannon are often commanded by their creator to do things other than just "follow" or "attack anyone entering"... so, IMHO, the second line/paragraph is NOT an exclusive list and other commands can be given... but I guess YMMV.
Text of Animate Dead:
This spell turns corpses into undead skeletons or zombies that obey your spoken commands.
The undead can be made to follow you, or they can be made to remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific kind of creature) entering the place. They remain animated until they are destroyed. A destroyed skeleton or zombie can't be animated again.
Regardless of the type of undead you create with this spell, you can't create more HD of undead than twice your caster level with a single casting of animate dead. The desecrate spell doubles this limit.
The undead you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter how many times you use this spell, however, you can control only 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level. If you exceed this number, all the newly created creatures fall under your control, and any excess undead from previous castings become uncontrolled. You choose which creatures are released. Undead you control through the Command Undead feat do not count toward this limit.
Skeletons: A skeleton can be created only from a mostly intact corpse or skeleton. The corpse must have bones. If a skeleton is made from a corpse, the flesh falls off the bones.
Zombies: A zombie can be created only from a mostly intact corpse. The corpse must be that of a creature with a physical anatomy.
Animate dead can get a slain comrade to walk themselves out of enemy territory. They will only fight or walk, so if you want them to carry anything, put a backpack on them.
animate dead creates Zombies or Skeletons ... the first line in the spell reads -
This spell turns corpses into undead skeletons or zombies (see the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary) that obey your spoken commands. - so I would think if you commanded them to carry something - they would.
After all, it's it the classic Voodoo Zombie that "works in the field" - sort of an Undead Slave.
Another possible problem of using Raise Dead on comrades is the note in the spell that reads (last paragraph):
"A creature who has been turned into an undead creature or killed by a death effect can't be raised by this spell. Constructs, elementals, outsiders, and undead creatures can't be raised. The spell cannot bring back a creature that has died of old age."
So if you "Animate" your friends, it's going to take a Resurrection to bring them back (a 7th level spell, so a 13th level Cleric... and a lot more money)
"You guys can turn them over to the guards, and they'll get what they deserve. This is a well-run country, they won't escape punishment."
And with that the party gets rid of a load of prisoners they didn't want to drag along and keep eyes on all the time.
depends.
My Cayden cleric might/would have problems with this - hate seeing Mooks getting turned in, often to be put into bondage (slavery).
And sometimes it means we get an exchange something like the following:
PC: "So Mook, we meet again!"
Mook #417: "Yeah, if'n I'd knowed it was yous, I might not've takkan dis job".
PC: "and how's the wife? and the little mooks? three isn't it?"
Mook #417: "same oh-same oh, off visitin' her mum again in Durma, and the lil ones is growin' like weeds..."
PC: glancing at the other mooks - stablized and waiting their turn at interrogation "So, does the local Thugs Union have ok Medical benefits? Looks like you guys will need it. Wait, you're Rent-A-Thug aren't you?"
Mook #417: "Not w'at it used ta be, w'at wit da cut backs and all. Had to switch over to Thugs-are-Us."
PC: "Tell ya what Mook, I'll pop for a couple charges off my happy stick when we're done here..."
Mook #417: "Hay, you're all ri't! T'anks!"
PC: "No problem! Least I can do. Now, about the guy who hired you..."
I can remember a game where two members of the party were hit with a confusion effect...
The low wisdom Max Damage PC (some mix of barbarian/fighter/etc.) rolled a 19 or 20 -
and the Dwarven Cleric (playing down in Tier, so he was higher level than he should have been) rolled a "1".
just throwing this out as an example of ... I'm not sure what.
Having a 9 in any stat is a waste. It gives you the same mechanical "benefit" as an 8. I'm not sure if that allows you to restat to a more favorable array, but it's the first thing that jumped out at me.
It let me bump Cha to 15, but everything else costs too much. >.< And with weapon finesse, I didn't need to bump Str. Thanks!
the extra point in STR (the only stat you could put one point in) would let you carry slightly more... and the loss of one point of INT has no effect that I know of (from 9 to 8). But for that matter, the difference between a 9 and a 7 INT for a cleric is... very little. You might look at that too.
ok, only because it looks like we are going down the rabbit hole again...
Will my N/N character shift to N/G if I do Good Deeds by assigned missions? If I keep casting Protection from Evil, do I drift into N/G and loose my spells (two alignment steps from Abadar? L/N) Can I off-set the Good I do to finish the mission by doing some random evil acts?
wow... this will get weird fast. I drift into Good and have to go kick some puppies after the mission to get back to neutral?
Really? do we want to have to start tracking this?
Primary: The PCs recover at least three pastries and return them to Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch.
Secondary: The PCs use the cipher found in area B3 to learn the next five digits in the sequence: 2–[blueberry]–5–[rhubarb]–5, thus giving the society advance warning of a major attack on the Grand Lodge.
from Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play: Double-Take...
John Compton and/or Mike Brock wrote:
...Perhaps you thought Pathfinder Society Scenario #3–14159: Death by Pie was amazing when you played it the first time, but you are sad to have missed the opportunity to play it with your pastry totem barbarian who took the mathematical prodigy trait. You replay it for credit using one of your replay credits, and now you have one replay left.
Is there anyone else out there *really* interested in checking out this scenario? I mean, I understand *now* that it was a fake scenario, especially using Pi for the number in the sanctioned content list, but i'm a little sad that it jumps from "PFS Scenario #3-14: Wonders in the Weave—Part II: Snakes in the Fold" to "PFS Scenario #3-15: The Haunting of Hinojai". Anyone else notice this lack-of-pie-based-scenarios? Lol, tbh, I was looking for it so I could see what tiers it was so I could run my PFS group through it. I was hoping for a magical pie boon.
It was clearly a typo....
It should have read "3–141 (Tier 5-9) Death by Pie"
After all, the "pastry totem barbarian" doesn't get his "Raging Pie" special ability until 6th level (replaces Trap Sense +2)...
(in character)
I, Buba Casanunda, am a cook by profession (day job), so I hand out recipes at the VC briefing when I go on missions and often I bring what's on "todays special" to the table with me.
DIRECTIONS:
In the large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and beat until thoroughly mixed. Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until browned on the bottom and around the edges. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container & transports well in a Handy Haversack.
When I sit down at the PFS table with players who have never met me before, I introduce my self as Buba Casanunda, "Gnomish" cleric of Nivi Rhombadazzle (yeah, with quote marks). But I'm not your typical cleric - I have a bit of militia training and so wear full plate armor and use a tower shield. I carry an oversized ax (medium sized Dwarven War Ax) and am really not very good with it, so don't expect me to be very effective in combat. But I will be in combat - right up there on the bleeding edge, as I'm a combat medic. My Domains are Travel and Trickery.
During the adventure, it may come up that I have darkvision - Buba will point out that Nivi is the goddess of Deep Gnomes, the first Gnome of the Underdark in fact. Clearly I am not your typical Gnome - I'm a Deep Gnome and have darkvision.
He moves fast - 40' during most of the adventure (longstrider lasts an hour per level) - and that movement is not effected by how much he carry....
Out of Character, I will explain to the other PLAYERs that he is a Dwarven Sepratist Cleric/Fighter who is sure that Nivi will not give him spells unless she thinks he is a Gnome - so he goes around disguised as a Gnome. Green Dyed hair, even his beard, silly hat, and funny turned up shoes. Not being real bright (he has an INT of 7), he slips up sometimes, so if you hang around with him much you should be able to figure several problems with his disguise.
He's Medium sized.
He moves to fast for his armor.
He uses Dwarven weapons, not Gnomeish weapons.
He doesn't even speak Gnome...
Side story:
(I think the most fun I have had playing him was when I was sitting at a table with someone playing a Wayang who was also claiming to be a Gnome. "Lot of differences in appearance! Clearly it's that First World influence in the gene pool! Yeap, and Darkvision must be more common in Gnomes - and a good thing we both have Fleet of Foot!" All the while trying not to give my disguise away to "the other Gnome" in the party.
Basicly - I let the other players in on the joke and they can enjoy playing along too... or not if it bugs them. Buba gets introduced to the NPCs by other players a lot. "and this is Buba, our Gnomish cleric [wink,wink - finger twirl by ear]". And sometimes a Player will give me a pointer on helping my disguise...and sometimes the Characters never figure out "my secret"... But you know the best part? when I meet a player again that I've only played with once months ago, they remember "that crazy gnome cleric of the god with the funny name - yep, biggest gnome I've ever met."
ruling that an immediate action cannot be used after the target of an attack is declared is going totally modify the way this Domain power works... after all "As an immediate action, you can attempt to thwart a melee or ranged attack that targets you..." seems to indicate that the cleric can use the power AFTER the target is chosen...
Effects that require attack rolls function differently than things that don't.
Effects that require attack rolls (such as attacks) have a target, then a roll to decide if the effect applies. This allows for an immediate action to alter circumstances.
Effects that have "target(s)" but not attack rolls happen immediately upon targeting. This does not allow an immediate action to interrupt.
interesting concept. does that appear in any rule?
ok, now we are venturing into areas that will result in really odd effects.
I have more than one Cleric with the sub-domain of Love.
Love Subdomain:
Associated Domain: Charm.
Replacement Power: The following granted power replaces the dazing touch power of the Charm domain.
Adoration (Su): As an immediate action, you can attempt to thwart a melee or ranged attack that targets you. This ability functions as sanctuary, but only against one individual attack. You must use the ability after the attack is declared but before the roll is made. The creature attacking you receives a Will save to negate this effect. If a creature has more than one attack, this ability only affects one of the attacks. You can use the ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. This is a mind-affecting effect.
ruling that an immediate action cannot be used after the target of an attack is declared is going totally modify the way this Domain power works... after all "As an immediate action, you can attempt to thwart a melee or ranged attack that targets you..." seems to indicate that the cleric can use the power AFTER the target is chosen...
Going off of the same logic as above I don't see how the answer could be anything but no.
The Additional resources doesn't say anything about whether deity specific spells are restricted, like the explicit line for the ARG. At least the ones I'm thinking about from Dwarves of Golarion. I assume those would just be limited by the rules in the book (can only be prepared by someone worshipping Torag and doing the extra prayers.) I'm not actually clear what this means for buying a scroll or w/e.
A wand of Watchful Eye would be nice, though.
I'm a little unclear now on the interactions between Chronicle Sheets and Additional Resources. If I find a spellbook on a Chronicle sheet with Windy Escape, can't I cast it? I thought that was one of the cool things about Core, was that Chronicle sheets added items otherwise banned by Additional Resources?
(IMHO) we might have some problem casting the spell from a wand/scroll. If the PC hasn't prayed to the right god/goddess today, is it even on their spell list? if not... it would be like a cleric using Glibness from a scroll. Can't do it.
Pathfinder play isn't a classic MMORG. You can't rely on a character to "hold aggro" to anywhere near the same degree. You can try to position yourself, and there are a few limited aggro directing effects, but thinking in terms of playing Pathfinder like WOW is a good way to a new character.
Well, yeah. My limited experience of trying to do the 'tank' type thing is that the GM deliberately moves everything away from the 'tank' unless the party is in 'fireball formation' and can't do that.
*Every* *single* *time*
Almost like there's an unspoken rule to target all the 'weak' characters at the table...
It really depends. In a lot of cases, creatures are mindless and will hit the first target they see, but there are also many cases where there's no tactics printed or they're smart enough to see that trying to hit 25 AC with a +8 doesn't work, and they'll move on to different targets.
I think he's talking about the times the monster never even swings on the PC with a good AC. Even the ones that LOOK like they don't have one...
First encounter:
Judge: "What's you AC again?"
Player with a grin: (something ridiculous)
Following encounters the monsters ignore the "hard to hit guy"....
And as mentioned, sometimes the tactics outlined for the group in the scenario specifically calls out their preferred targets. Which may or may not be "person with the heaviest armor".
Or Clerics/Divine casters, preferably Human...
Actually, I played that with one of my Clerics....
the shooter's preferred target:
I spent several rounds (maybe as many as 6? Or 8? It was a long time...) in the street taunting the shooter. I did happen to be the guy with the heaviest armor (Full Plate and a Tower Shield). If I recall correctly, my 12 DEX saved me from the one close call - and my Cleric never actually got hit.
I do remember pointing at the arrows stuck in his Tower Shield (they matched the one we found earlier).
Overall a very fun game.
OH! And that PC has a CON of 12 - but he's a Dwarf, so he only bought a 10. (And he put two points in DEX, as I like the extra point of AC more than the extra HP). His Favored Class bonus points always go to Skill Points - that way he get's 2 skill point per level.
When I ran the same game sometime later... I did shoot a 4th level Kyra dead in the street... The 12 CON didn't save her - though a 12 DEX might have...
Have run, will travel. I have used run in PFS to get my monk cosy with the spellcaster from a very long way away in a big room. Even had nimble moves for that last step up to the dais.
Heh. One level of Cleric of Desna, or other deity offering Travel & Liberation Domains.
+10' base movement, ability to ignore difficult terrain, and the ability to negate magical forms of movement stoppers. Oh, and the ability to use a bunch of common wands without needing UMD.
Wands of CLW, Bless, Endure Elements, etc.
Or a level of Ranger, still for wands, no BAB hit, some interesting spells on wands, including Longstrider...
And longstrider as a domain spell (1st level, duration 1hr per level)
I'm pretty sure that chaotic neutral is the default alignment at my local group...
It is the default alignment for a lot of people as it is the alignment that receives the least amount of grief from GMs and adventure authors.
More pro-law, anti-chaos situations in scenarios. Got it!
Yes. YES. And 100% YES. More scenarios that that reward doing the right thing ** spoiler omitted ** and less that reward doing the wrong one ** spoiler omitted **. Or if you must reward Chaotic/borderline evil behavior, at least allow for a choice that gives different rewards based on going with the Light side instead of the Dark. Good and Lawful characters get harassed enough by GMs it is nice to occasionally be rewarded for doing the right thing.
why are you defining the "pro-law, anti-chaos situations in scenarios" as " ...doing the right thing... "?
Please realize that returning escaped slaves in Cheliax is doing something "pro-law, anti-chaos"...
I don't know about the rest of you, but to keep my Neutral Alignment active with my Deity (Nivi Rhombodazzle), after a week of:
Casting spells with a Good discriptor, saving people from death, slaying Demons and Devils and putting an end to marauding undead, oh, and saving the world (you know, GOOD deeds);
I have to go kick a few puppies, and take candy from the kids at Auntie Baltwins Home for Recovery (she gives me a special rate for the service). I'm looking forward to fighting the Aspis Con. coming up this year, but there's talk like there are "no good Aspis agents" so I may have to look into volunteering down at the Hellfire club on my days off...(you know "off camera")
How are the rest of you maintaining your Neutral alignment?
Im mire supprised gnomes havent already invented them. With tastefull illusions if you open it.
Bah! Gnomes invented "Mechanical-time-keeping-devices" centuries ago, but with the addition of all the OSA safety devices, the requirement for a 4 gnome crew (counting the coal stoker), and arguments over Standard Base Time settings kind of restricts their use...
During the adventure, it may come up that Buba has darkvision - I'll point out that Nivi is the goddess of Deep Gnomes, the first Gnome of the Underdark in fact. Clearly he is not your typical Gnome - he claims to be a Deep Gnome and have darkvision. (I explain OOC to anyone new or looking puzzled that we can't have Deep Gnome PCs...there is no Boon for that race.)
Any gnome can have darkvision. It is a legal alternate racial trait.
Otherwise though, good job.
I did say he had an INT of 7...
Tiefling PC:"How can you see in the dark?"
Buba:"'cause I'm special! I'm a Deep Gnome! Smer-nev-len! Hay! Who do you thinks gonna win the pendent this year? I hear the Greycloaks haven't got a prayer!"
I realized last night that I have one or two fun "refluffed" characters. So I'll post as one of those, and talk a bit about play style. I do this as an example of different play styles, to show how I play a character who is sort of "re-fluffed" in a way, he's trying to decieve his fellows - and in fact in the game he's trying to decieve a diety. (and trying this with a "7" INT). So he actually spends some in game resources to have a little in game effect - but mostly it's for RP fun (with the other players)
When I sit down at the PFS table with players who have never met me before, I will introduce myself as:
Buba Casanunda, "Gnomish" cleric of Nivi Rhombadazzle (yeah, with quote marks - "air quotes"). But I'm not your typical cleric - I have a bit of militia training and so wear full plate armor and use a tower shield. I carry this oversized ax (medium sized Dwarven War Ax) and am really not very good with it, so don't expect me to be very effective in combat. But I will be in combat - right up there on the bleeding edge, as I'm a combat medic. My Domains are Travel and Trickery.
During the adventure, it may come up that Buba has darkvision - I'll point out that Nivi is the goddess of Deep Gnomes, the first Gnome of the Underdark in fact. Clearly he is not your typical Gnome - he claims to be a Deep Gnome and have darkvision. (I explain OOC to anyone new or looking puzzled that we can't have Deep Gnome PCs...there is no Boon for that race.)
He moves fast - 40' during most of the adventure (longstrider lasts an hour per level) - and his movement is not effected by how much he carries....kind of like a dwarf you know?
Out of Character, I will explain to the other PLAYERs that I am a Dwarven Sepratist Cleric/Fighter who is sure that Nivi will not give him spells unless she thinks he is a Gnome - so he goes around disguised as a Gnome. Green Dyed hair, even his beard, silly hat, and funny turned up shoes. Not being real bright (he has an INT of 7), he slips up sometimes, so if you hang around with him much you should be able to figure several problems with his disguise.
He's Medium sized.
He moves to fast for his armor.
He uses Dwarven weapons, not Gnomeish weapons.
He doesn't even speak Gnome...
I think the most fun I have had playing him was when I was sitting at a table with someone playing a Wayang who was also claiming to be a Gnome. "Lot of differences in appearance! Clearly it's that First World influence in the gene pool! Yeap, and Darkvision must be more common in Gnomes - and a good thing we both have Fleet of Foot!" All the while trying not to give my disguise away to "the other Gnome" in the party.
Basicly - I let the other players in on the joke and they can enjoy playing along too... or not if it bugs them. Buba gets introduced to the NPCs by other players a lot. "and this is Buba, our Gnomish cleric [wink,wink - finger twirl by ear]". And sometimes a Player will give me a pointer on helping my disguise...and sometimes the Characters never figure out "my secret"... But you know the best part? when I meet a player again that I've only played with once months ago, they remember "that crazy gnome cleric of the god with the funny name - yep, biggest gnome I've ever met."
Mod gives 4 Fame in one level, scenarios give a possible 6...
So you would need to do the first 11 levels with scenarios... Unless I am missing something?
DIRECTIONS:
In the large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and beat until thoroughly mixed. Cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until browned on the bottom and around the edges. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container & transports well in a Handy Haversack.
In a "sort of" french/italian accent, "I am Giamo Casanunda, Cleric of the god of Love. My card" (hand out business cards). Looks around table to find any shy players, "Tell me, are you currently in a long term relationship? No? Would you like to be?"
I would rather see something on how to be a better overall PFS player rather than focusing on only 1 element. While I don't think there is anything essentially wrong with Min-Maxing, it is only one element of PFS and not one everyone is that interested in. Nor is it the only one that should be encouraged. As Giamo pointed out, it's really better to Min-Max your character for fun than it is to Min-Max it for statistical advantage. Maybe a series of podcasts the each focused on one element, such as:
1) Character concepts and role-playing
2) Optimizing
3) Advanced tactics
4) Advanced Rules Elements
5) Table Cooperation
great post! well... except for #2.
the term "Optimizing"... what are we Optimizing for. What aspect of play are we wanting to highlight.
That's why I was pointing out that my PCs are "Optimized" to increase the fun at the table.
(edit) maybe the list should be:
Podcast focused on Optimizing
1) Character concepts and role-playing
2) Combat abilities
3) Advanced tactics
4) Advanced Rules Elements
5) Table Cooperation
I hope not, because that is not a rule in the Guide to Organized Play under Alignment Infractions. Noting evil acts is, though. Becoming evil gets you kicked out of the campaign.
Good to know there's no chance to balance out evil actions with good deeds on a neutral character.
The rule actually says the GM must warn you if you are deviating from your alignment. This doesn't just mean evil as hard as it is to understand that someone might be shifting toward good, lawful, chaotic etc which is relevant for many classes feats spells etc.
How do I maintain my Neutral status? This came up for me before, and here's my answer from then...
I don't know about the rest of you, but to keep my Neutral Alignment active with my Diety (Nivi Rhombodazzle), after a week of:
Casting spells with a Good discriptor, saving people from death, slaying demons/devils/etc and just generally saving the world;
I have to go kick a few puppies, and take candy from the kids at Auntie Baltwins Home for Recovery (she gives me a special rate for the service). Looking forward to the Demon Fighting around the Worldwound coming up, I may have to look into volunteering down at the Hellfire club on my days off...
But how are the rest of you maintaining your Neutral alignments?
