Buba HoTep's page

You draw/pick up/whatever your meteor hammer. Pick a mode. If you pick "meteor", it's a double weapon with normal reach (5' by default). If you pick "fortress", it's a reach weapon (10' by default, meaning you can't attack at 5', just like a longspear or any other reach weapon) that grants a +1 shield bonus to AC. In either case, it remains in that mode until the beginning of your next turn.

*wham* *bash*

It's now the beginning of your turn. You can leave it in the same mode, or you can switch to the other mode, losing the original benefits to gain the new ones.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

At no point is the meteor hammer both in meteor and fortress mode at the same time. Either it's a double weapon threatening at 5' or it's a reach weapon threatening at 10'.

Perf, cheers man!

You draw/pick up/whatever your meteor hammer. Pick a mode. If you pick "meteor", it's a double weapon with normal reach (5' by default). If you pick "fortress", it's a reach weapon (10' by default, meaning you can't attack at 5', just like a longspear or any other reach weapon) that grants a +1 shield bonus to AC. In either case, it remains in that mode until the beginning of your next turn.

*wham* *bash*

It's now the beginning of your turn. You can leave it in the same mode, or you can switch to the other mode, losing the original benefits to gain the new ones.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

At no point is the meteor hammer both in meteor and fortress mode at the same time. Either it's a double weapon threatening at 5' or it's a reach weapon threatening at 10'.

Oh jeez! Thanks! I'll delete the others...

I guess I'm asking as it doesn't specifically state it IS a 5' weapon as my DM i concerned it's ONLY a reach weapon by RAW.

It's been difficult trying to find the answer on this forum but it's simple; Can someone proficient in the meteor hammer use it against targets both within 5' (meteor mode) and 10' (fortress mode).

Looks like Sean K. Reynolds chimed in on this one back so it would appear so, but that was 9 years ago... https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ksl4?Adventurers-Armory-Meteor-Hammer#1

Thanks!

No comment but would be excited to see what you come up with as I'm currently running a Way of the Wicked campaign and our anti-paladin has started a "Hand of Asmodeus" military organization.

Nothing in the game is immune to the dazed condition, and dazed is not any form of stun. It is its own condition. That is one reason why dazing spell(metamagic feat) is so strong.

Yes, as pointed out by one of my players, there seems to be nothing that is immune to the dazed condition which is one of the reasons why it is so powerful.

Of course, what I'm afraid of is that it will soon be, what I like to call, "over-exploited", so taken advantage of that it seems the designers may have let it slip through the cracks to become a very easily induced condition that will tip combat into stupidity.

I have a tendency as a DM to simply dismiss rules that don't seem to follow the sort of "Fantasy-Physics" (if that makes sense)of the setting and this one I find is... questionable.

Yes, I know dazed is not a lesser form of stun but balance would actually benefit if it was categorized as such IMO.

Simple question, powerful condition. Doesn't make sense to me but I can't see anything preventing it.

No. You can cast, then Spellstrike with a 2-handed grip, but Spell Combat requires a free hand.

So by what you're saying it's basically the same result;

1st rnd: Cast spell (chill touch, shocking grasp etc.), take sword with just-cast-a-spell-hand two-handed and use spell strike.

Can a magus take advantage of the above combo?

"Benefit: Your levels of druid stack with your ranger levels for determining when you select your next favored enemy. Also, your ranger levels stack with your druid levels in determining the number of times per day you can use your wild shape class feature, up to a maximum of eight times per day."

So, does this mean that if I have a 1st level Ranger / 19th level druid he'd have all the favored enemy bonuses of a 20th level Ranger?
I'm unclear on the exact benefits of "...for determining when you select your next favored enemy".

The blessings need to be more powerful because cleric, druid, and oracle are also 3/4 BAB and get 7-9th level spells.

We all know those spells are the game changers.

Blessings are ALL underwhelming and need to AT LEAST be on par with domains.
Scratch that. Better

*EDIT: I agree... "Let them eat.. ahem, have.. Domains!"

Hi Gary!

Sorry this was the only way I knew how to ask you this question that I have not found the answer to;

What season (summer, fall, winter or spring) does the party start in in book 1 of WotW?

Thanks for the great game!

Does the spell searing light affect Dhampir any differently than other humanoids?

Yeah I was speaking in the first person so the ally was the person lending the armour in this case.
Interesting, but I'd like to see a version that could be incremental. Perhaps with another spell added and a cost increase.

In champions of purity the magic item Mantle of the Protector has a duration of ten min. Can the user spread this duration out incrementally? It doesn't say once a day or anything to indicate otherwise but I does state the ally loses the benefit of his armour and shield for one minute.

So by JJ's perspective we can do;

Spell Combat + Spell Strike + Haste = 3 attacks at -2?

Why?

If my Magus casts a touch spell but misses/doesn't use it the round it's cast, he is considered "holding the charge", correct?

If the following round on his turn he uses Deadly Stroke, can he, as a free action, deliver the held spell through his weapon, therefore doing double the normal damage from the spell as well?

Having a Teifling FiendFlayer/Kensai Magus, I'm interested in clearing up this bit of rule;

Fiendblade (Su): As a swift action, as long as the fiend flayer used infernal mortification that day to increase his arcane pool, he can conjure forth a weapon using this arcana. Doing so costs 2 points from his arcane pool. The weapon can take the form of any single one-handed melee weapon the fiend flayer is proficient with. This weapon starts as a weapon with a +1 enhancement bonus, but for every four levels beyond 3rd the fiend flayer possesses, the weapon gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +5 at 19th level. This summoned weapon lasts for 1 minute. At 5th level, these bonuses can be used to add any of the following weapon properties to the fiendblade:

anarchic, axiomatic, dancing, flaming, flaming burst, frost, icy burst, keen, shock, shocking burst, speed, or unholy.

These bonuses and properties are decided when the arcane pool points are spent and cannot be changed until the next time the fiend flayer uses this arcana.

- This last paragraph above is what I'm confused about. After 5th level, do the bonuses that can be added (ie anarchic, axiomatic, etc)how are the cost of these bonuses paid for?

Yeah but reverse gravity is an 8th level spell while fickle winds is 5th maximum? It's too powerful and should be removed as it makes ranged attackers useless no matter what they do. Maybe if it only affected one target I'd say ok.

1) Yes, you are. Crossbows (in general) suck compared to bows.
There is no point.
Yes. Annoying, eh?

2) Yes. I actually like the idea of throwing a harpoon instead (and attached the rope to the shield to free up your main hand once you've thrown...)

My DM completely overhauled crossbows for me so I could play a dwarf ranged inquisitor who didn't use a bow.
In PF, bows and the much smaller amount of feats that are required to use them are simply superior to almost everything, even melee, but that's another issue!

Great report! I teach ESL in Taiwan (10 years now) and am also a long time gamer. I'm planning to start my own private 4 student class using the beginner's box and have been mulling over how to explain the concepts and benefits to the parents.
Your observations are priceless and I will be including the "gist" of many of them in my DM/flyer! Cheers!

Keep in mind that it functions like the spell though. The ring is CL 7, so with a standard action, you can start blinking for 7 rounds. You can dismiss the effect with another standard action before the 7 rounds are up (to accommodate a healing spell, for example).

To have the ring work continuously, you'd need to spend a standard action every 7 rounds to reactivate it.

I Don't think this is right.

What are the exact spells/conditions that seeking ignores?
So far I think it's...

Cover, concealment, blur, lesser displacement, displacement.
What about if u are blind but have seeking on your bow?

Thanks for any help.

As the thread title, cheers.

You might want to change the title of this thread so it says [RotRL SPOILER!] or something like that. It's kind of a big thing you're giving away.

Jeez! Thanks, first time I've posted about AP content, won't amke that mistake again, thanks.

In Rise of the Rune lords AP #2, the party fights Aldern Foxglove, a Male dread ghast human aristocrat 4/rogue 3, who's attacks are listed as such'

(using PF conversion found on d20pfsrd)
Melee +1 war razor +10 (1d4+3/18-20), bite +4 (1d8+1 plus paralysis), claw +4 (1d6+1 plus paralysis and ghoul fever)

Question - Are these the total # of attacks he gets in a round with a full round attack action or does he also get another attack with the War Razor at +5 and possibly another claw attack?

And does this carry over to other monsters as well, say if the BAB of a monster is over +6 does it get another claw/bite/weapon attack the same way a PC would if their BAB is +6 (and every other time it's divisible as such).

Thanks

Does the enhancement bonus from Magic Weapon and Magic Vestment stack with existing bonuses on the gear in question?

So if I had a magic +1 greatsword and +1 full plate, could I also have Magic weapon and vestment cast on them to raise their bonuses temporarily?

Thanks

I dont recall Drow being in eastern lore. I also dont recall too many elvish anything with eastern lore.

/yawn. Yet another metagamer.

Ninjas have no place in a D&D type setting that is built after Tolkiens Lord of the Rings. Was a waste of print and metagaming for Pathfinder to even put them in the books.

What, Im sure you are only taking the +1 CR hit along with it for Drow Noble right?

Yawn. Yet another nerd too nerd-stuck up to just have fun.

And to actually be helpful (looking at u Mr. the black) no, there's no armor penalty and it's Charisma.

They only get ONE claw. Only one attack from the grapple check unless they get a special rule otherwise.

And remember that the grappled creature has -4 dex, making them an easier target for any allies their victim might have.

Cheers, ok that's what the DM did. And the two that were grappled ended up dropping after two rounds of her attacking.... ugh.

The constrict is on top of what anyone would normally do in a grapple. Since damaging is normal in a grapple, they can do that AND get constrict (or move and constrict, etc). This is what makes constrict creatures dangerous (and why you shouldn't throw them at really low-level parties).

@Buba, the word additional should clue you in that there is more than one damage source here. Constrict is one damage source, adding to the attack you get from maintaining the grapple (if you chose that option)

Hmmm... ok, it seems really overpowered to me, and I'm not sure how it physically works since it's melee attacks IMO would cause their damage from the claws themselves and the STR of the swing, but if dems' the rules, dems' the rules.

The problem then is the balance of the encounter. We're a 4th level party and she's a 76 HP grabbing and constricting monster, which means that besides me (the Paladin and tank) everyone basically drops after she gets one round of damage off. Oh, and if they happen to survive, her CMD is 26 so it's damn near impossible to break free.

No wonder we were all flabbergasted after that encounter. Sheesh.

Thanks for the help guys.

Anytime you make a grapple check and succeed you deal constrict you can attempt a grapple to do any number of things such as attack with a light or natural weapon move the grappled opponent or pin them any of these gives you constrict plus what the check was for.

The Revenant makes a check to deal damage with a claw and succeeds you take claw damage and take constrict.

Next round Revenant decides to move you and succeeds you get moved and take constrict.

Wow, that makes absolutely no sense (though I'm not arguing with you, just the idiocy of the rule).

How can the creature get it's strength bonus to damage 3x in the same round?...
So if all it wanted to do was damage in a round while maintaining it's grapple I would be right in saying after one single check to maintain the grapple it would do 1d8+10 (constrict) then 2d8+20 (in this case, two claws). Correct?

Also this line

(in addition to any other effects caused by a successful check, including additional damage).

Leads me to believe that the additional damage they're talking about must to be listed under constrict, and excludes the normal attack damage the creature does with it's regular melee attacks.

A creature with this special attack can crush an opponent, dealing bludgeoning damage, when it makes a successful grapple check (in addition to any other effects caused by a successful check, including additional damage). The amount of damage is given in the creature's entry and is typically equal to the amount of damage caused by the creature's melee attack

Thats what the PRD says on constrict the bolding is mine. So when ever you make a grapple check if you are successful and have constrict you do the constrict damage.

Looking at your first paragraph, bold type in this case are you saying that round by round, if this Revenant maintains the grapple she causes constrict damage (1d8+10), plus both claw attack damages (1d8+10 x2) for a total of 3d8+30 in one round simply by maintaining one grapple check?

But looking at your last sentence, it seems that you're saying once the first round of grapple is done (ie, claw attacks, + their damage, + constrict damage) in the following rounds a successful continuation of a grapple JUST causes constrict damage. (which is the way I've always played it)

Totally confused here... Also, do u know of any links to some official explanations as well?

Constrict happens on a successful grapple check that check could be to do damage to move you whatever.

So its like this

Grapple check to attack with claw.
Success means i do claw and then i constrict since i made a successful grapple check.

Yes, I understand that it needs to do an initial claw attack in order to then attempt a grapple, but once she has the grapple, how can she do full claw damage each round while doing constrict damage with the same claw?

Our party is in the middle of Rise of the Runelord's Skinsaw Murders, and had to fight the Revenant Iesha Foxglove (which almost ended in a TPK) as we got in her way.

I understand that now Grab can be used against equal sized creatures, and I think I know how constrict works, but our DM said that after it successfully grapples a PC, it gets to do constrict AND a claw damage each round. (while both it's hands maintain the grapple)

I was under the impression that once sth grapples you, unless they have other attacks that are not maintaining the grapple (ie. a bite or other appendages) then they only cause the constrict damage after successfully maintaining the grapple.

Please help! Thanks

Kazejin,

Though I think you've found sth interesting and there is merit in your idea, if you keep provoking the other posters, you'll get it right back.
Tone down your argument (I can practically see you getting frustrated) and keep it friendly. I think then you'll get better responses and more people interested in discussing what you're talking about, rather than beat it down like you're getting.

Regardless of the DEX build discussion, if one were to have a STR magus and cast Monstrous Physique looking for extra attacks, besides the Harpy and Gargoyle, are there any other monstrous humanoids you could recommend and for what reasons? (also for each level I, II and III)

Cheers

Arcane Mark is a range of Touch spell. If applied in combat to an opponent it requires a melee touch attack, which is considered armed. Yes it can be applied through Spellstrike.

Is this cheesy? As an infernal contract. However let us consider what is required to pull this off. First the Magus must...

Good points.

I have to say that with this evidence, it's clear that Arcane Mark is legal for use with SC+SS.

I still think it smells like Chou doufu, and in general a bad design decision. The designers had to know the useless amount of time people would spend debating about this, and yet left out any "clear" touch attack spell out of the Magus spell list.

I guess what they wanted was to give the magus the ability to make these two attacks without the added effects of an actually effective combat spell, without having to pay for the access of a 0-level combat spell using an arcana.

Meh, it's still cheesy to me and even though it's a hit I'll take spell blending to get Touch of Fatigue and Mage Armor on my spell list, but that's because my character is a Kensai.

Buba HoTep wrote:

Does Arcane Mark give you a free melee touch attack? It doesn't say anything about it yet both Chill Touch and Shocking Grasp both specifically mention "melee touch attack" in their descriptions.

Even Touch of Fatigue at least uses the phrase touch attack.

So how do you handle cleric cast Inflict X Wounds. No phase touch attack there. Do they just auto-touch?

I don't have to think about it, since it's not a Magus spell and will never be part of the issue.

@Cheapy - Yes, Two World magic trait is definitely viable, it's just that my character is not from there so it's not an option for me. As I said I took spell blending with Touch of Fatigue and Mage Armor which work well since I'm a Kensai Magus.

Andy Ferguson wrote:

It seems odd that there is no language in Spellstrike to preclude it from being used with Spell Combat.

Yes because it was intentional that they work together, during the last playtest a magus could not use spellstrike and spell combat but that was changed with the final version of the class.

Which was most likely done for spells that actually give a free touch attack such as chill touch or shocking grasp.

Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell.

Does Arcane Mark give you a free melee touch attack? It doesn't say anything about it yet both Chill Touch and Shocking Grasp both specifically mention "melee touch attack" in their descriptions.

Even Touch of Fatigue at least uses the phrase touch attack.

I'd say that trying to justify using Arcane Mark to get an extra attack with spellstrike + spell combat is a lame attempt and it's clear to me that the spell needs to provide a melee touch attack.

The best way is to either take that Two Worlds trait (cheap) and choose Touch of Fatigue, take spell blending and the same (what my character did, plus mage armor [Kensai]) , or take close range and use Disrupt Undead or Ray of Frost (expensive).

With these options you are still getting a FANTASTIC ability (extra attack at -2 with full damage bonus every full attack round) and paying the right price for it.

I have to say it's really about nurturing the new player and letting him take control.
I know that sounds funny, but I've made characters for many new players of differing levels and made many mistakes and learned from them.

The most important thing is that the player feels effective and engaged from the beginning, while being guided through the more challenging rules but not spoon fed.

Simple is good. Definitely fighter, two handed is good or whatever they're inspired by.
Fighters are great because they're exciting, they stand up for a long time and more importantly getting that big hit is very exhilarating for a new player (and old as well of course).

Then they're feeling effective and their interest will become more proactive towards finding out more about what their options are as they play, level up, and their options start to deepen.

The biggest mistake you can do is to indulge their every whim. You need to take it step by step (level by level in this case) and let them make the decisions for the character.
If they "make a mistake" and want to change sth later when they understand the rules better, I say let them. It's just about building interest and not losing them in a black hole of confusing rules.

Find out where their event horizon is and surf it without bailing over.

Can't see any text here... ???

I'm just going to post as I read...

Races - Tiefling is a great racial choice, +2 DEX and INT, -2 CHR (better than -2 CON), Darkvision, fire/cold/electricity resistances and spell like ability (or use the random traits from Pathfinder 14 I think).

Close Range - As pointed out to me, Close Range is in fact the BEST and FIRST Arcana that should be taken.
Why? Zero level spell Ray of Frost + Arcane Strike = Extra attack every chance I get.

TarkXT wrote:

Why would you need UMD if you already have that spell (say Shocking Grasp) on your spell list?

Because calcific touch, among others, are not.

Ahhh... Anyone care to list some other great spells worthy of wand wielder?

TarkXT wrote:

I personally prefer to use wand wielder with the ridiculous UMD skill.

That's a good point TarkXT, if you go wand wielder, you also need to allocate skill points to UMD, it becomes part and parcel of utilizing the Wand wielder arcana.

Why would you need UMD if you already have that spell (say Shocking Grasp) on your spell list?

So I'm still not sure whether I'll stay vanilla Magus or Bladebound, but in the meantime, I'm looking at the Magus Arcana and trying to figure out what I want and when I want it.

Which Arcana can't you live without? Which seem utterly useless? Which do you consider an efficient way of spending APs and which are uniquely powerful but costly?

I'm just looking to start a discussion on what we have (official) access to now, and later what are some suggestions for future releases.

I'd also like to thank Froze_man and ProfPotts for an engaging debate regarding the Magus. It's exactly what I needed to make a decision on my own Magus.

A few months ago my buddies and I started the Second Darkness campaign and I was looking to bring back the love I had for one of my favorite 2ndE characters, an elven fighter/mage.

So with much deliberation, I settled with creating an elf Arcane Duelist Bard with an elven curve blade.

Then all-a-sudden the Magus playtest comes out and I'm all, Right! Perfect!, so I change his race to Tiefling (looks like Nightcrawler R.I.P) switch him over to Magus (all with DM's approval, worked into the storyline as a disguise to see if he could trust the other party members with his racial background and all that) and I'm all happy again. Oh and I refuse to use a scimitar as we ahve another scimitar wielder (don't want to steal thunder) and I also simply don't like the blade. I'm going with Bastard sword or Falcata. But probably Bastard sword. Damn I wish I could use an elven curve blade here!!! :(

Ok, but now we've got all these archetypes and I'm lost. ish.

I can decide what I don't want to be. First off, Q: You may only pick ONE archetype, correct? Good.

1. Staff Magus - IMHO, honestly the best choice of archetype as far as straight up advantages go, with few drawbacks IMO. Quarterstaff Defense is a great ability for all the reasons as stated by ProfPotts, and I can see a Magus carrying around a sling of different staves by the time he gets Staff Weapon and actually kicking major ass while switching them up.
BUT, I want a Magus with a BLADE! Too bad I can't use a two-bladed sword here...

2. Hexcrafter - I see the advantages, but after going through the hexes... I'm just not that interested. The flavor is cool, but I like spell recall too much as having that perfect spell back in a pinch is appealing to me.

3. SpellBlade - No. The Magus already has a limited # of Spells per day as it is, and I want to be able to have enough space in my spells memorized for both damage and enhancement spells that I'll actually use. It's a great idea, but personally I really dislike this archetype's flavor and execution. IMHO of course.

4. Bladebound - Ok so when I first took a look at this, I thought, Wow! This is fantastic. But, after reading all the in-depth analysis about it, it really does take for everything it gives.

Advantages right off are black blade strike obviously, a unique and efficient way (the only way really) to spend APs on the blade, and the innate X+ that the black blade gets as you go up in level (and on average, it either trumps or is = to the average + of our party's weapons).
To me the last advantages are the flavor of this archetype being seriously awesome and the opportunity to role play the bastard. (pun intended)
On the downside, 1 less arcana and less APs (big downside IMO), and without repeating anything already said here for the same reasons, the other abilities are either too costly for what they give in APs (Energy Attunement should be 1min like BBS and Transfer Arcana should just work automatically without a check on a 1 for 1 basis) or IMHO they're relatively useless and not anything I'd consider as "making me want to take the class. Now I don't consider not being able to take a familiar a disadvantage as I don't really like them very much, even though I see the advantages of them.

Now a VERY IMPORTANT question: Can I enchant my Black Blade?! Is there anywhere (can't find it myself) that states I cannot enchant it? How about just +1 and Keen? That's all I actually want to put on it...

So I'm stuck between choosing Bladebound and Vanilla Magus, and I can't decide unless I can get my questions answered and even then I'm not really sure.

Is anyone out here using vanilla magus?

Thanks

I'd also like an answer on this one! Thanks

As above, what we really need is an answer from Paizo staff.

Quick question:

Can an elven Magus wield a Curveblade (two-handed) and still benefit from Spell Combat and Spell Strike?
If not, is there a feat or something else that will allow him to do so?

I really wanted this to work as well. Damn.

I agree with the whole "why take any weapon but scimitar" for RAW (still don't know what that acronym is, but i get the concept) and to tighten up where your good ability stats go, but since I HATE the flavor of having to take a scimitar, I created a house rule feat to compensate;

Improved Dervish Dance
PREREQS: Dervish Dance, Dex 16, Weapon Focus (one-handed slashing weapon), Perform 6 ranks.
BENEFITS: Basically everything Dervish Dance does but can be applied to any one-handed slashing weapon.

As it requires Dervish Dance first and has it's own requirements besides this as well as a feat slot, I believe it balances itself pretty well.

I started my magus with bastard sword, then switched to scimitar, then falcata, but now I'm thinking Aldori Dueling sword. Damn these options!