I think we might need to look at the highest average AC a character can have per 5 or so levels. Like, compare levels 1-5 first, then 6-10 and so on.
Just looking at level 20 probably won’t cut it since, you know, you’re getting hit 60% of the time and much less likely to make it there alive. Less useful to know.
Thanks for the answers everyone, they were very helpful!
Funnily enough, I had just looked through the Style feat chains as I decided to check on the thread so I understand how attractive they are.
I also see now that my AC would be almost unforgivably low for a tank; it gets worse since at least a third of mages I met while playing PFS never took Mage's Armor (I could buy a wand for them though I guess).
Anyway, I think I'll be switching the Monk to a Master of Many Styles. I needed to be unarmored so that Flurry of Maneuvers would function and that's an amazing ability for a controller but the defense trade-off seems too high. Moreover, Brawler and Master of Many Styles seem to be a natural fit for each other.
I'm still keeping the doulbe-chained kama though. It's definitely a go-to weapon early on, but would it be a good idea to switch over to a weapon like Cestus to up my damage when I get higher in level? Cestus has 19-20 crit range, benefits from Keen when used as a piercing weapon, benefits from Close Weapon Mastery and would also make sense on the character. And if I do, should I keep the doulbe-chained kama around for maneuvers and enchant it for situational things, or will I never have enough money (even with Fame/Prestige purchasing)? And should I get a pair of Cestuses (Cesti? It's Greek, not Latin though) or would a single one be enough?
I did look into the Bounty Hunter Slayer already but Sneak Attack isn't reliable enough for me to justify a minimum of three levels that barely bring anything else. So many things are immune to precision damage, smart enough to not get flanked and Shatter Defenses is too specific just like the three levels. Overspecialization isn't something I like too. I think a simple Quick Dirty Trick and spreading my resourses over the rest of the maneuvers is the way to go here.
Hey everyone. I plan on starting a new character for Pathfinder Society because I want to introduce a friend of mine to it (we played 3.5 together a while back). He likes Oriental culture quite a bit and we settled upon him being a Kitsune Ninja.
As for me my character is going be a thug travelling with him, a sidekick if you will. I did play a couple of melee characters but never a monk and this is quite a specific kind of a control fighter. Digging so deep is more or less new to me and there are one or two things in the build that seem counter-synergetic so I would like some advice. Especially considering that I should always be ready to have my friend's back.
Tajima:
Human
starting scores:
Str 18
Dex 16
Con 13
Int 7
Wis 14
Cha 7
First off, you might have noticed I'm picking up Kusarigama/Double-Chained Kama proficiency at level 2. This is a reach, monk, trip weapon which allows me to combine Brawler's Flurry and Flurry of Maneuvers to cover a decent area and attack very often. Despite being a bit weaboo, that's also... quite a cool sight. Then as I gain levels I switch over to Dirty Trick since Trip becomes less and less reliable. As a Maneuver Master I can use a Dirty Trick in place of any attack in the Full Attack so this helps.
Brace yourselves, here are the questions I have:
Q One:
The Double-Chained Kama's entry says "The wielder can attack as if armed with a single kama in each hand or extend the chain to make a single reach attack." I assume it allows me to use the weapon in an adjacent square despite having the "Reach" property. It's not the case with Kusarigama RAW, is it?
Q Two:
I like the idea of using a weapon such as this but it is really warranted? I don't get Close Weapon Mastery OR Dirty Tricks with it. I assume I could leave it for the Trip with Reach, situational enchantments and switch over to a Spiked Gauntlet or something similar as a main weapon. But would it work or would it be too expensive to be effective? Especially considering the next question.
Q Three:
Isn't my AC too low? As I said, I never played a monk before. I planned to not wear any armour after level 3 to be able to use Flurry of Maneuvers but I'm hesitant. I am the frontline warrior after all. How do I work around that?
Q Four:
Should I take the Steel-Breaker Archetype for the Brawler? I can easily work any fluff into the character but would I be able to use Exploit Weakness effectively, seeing how my Wisdom isn't that high? And would I miss not having the Trip / Dirty Trick bonuses from Maneuver Training?
Q Five:
Should I take the Weapon Adept Archetype for the Monk? I doubt I'll get good mileage out of Stunning Fist and I could be using Perfect Strike to ensure some of those Trip attempts since I'm using a Kama already. But then there's the matter of exchanging Evasion for Weapon Focus. I will likely miss it BUT I could also eventually purchase the Ring or take the Winding Path Renegade Archetype for the Brawler.
Q Six:
Should I perhaps take the Winding Path Renegade Archetype? The fluff is pretty interesting, it combines well with the Weapon Adept, it can combine with Steel-Breaker and all of it's abilities seem cool, not just "Evasion/day". But I lose the AC bonus, and AC is a problem for me (right?). I also lose the 2nd lvl bonus feat which means either the Weapon Proficiency (and I'd like either of the weapons for the sake of character's identity), Combat Reflexes (which is likely pivotal for a character like mine, isn't it) or something from the Kitsune Style line.
Q Seven:
Should I really be spending so many feats on Dirty Trick? Is the Kitsune Style line worth it? I like to think that being able to blind or AND entangle monsters for over 1d4 rounds as AoO would allow me to remain a decent controller as levels progress. Am I missing out on something?
Well, that was everything I could think of. Thank you very much if you took the time to read and I'm looking forward to any input!
P.S. I wouldn't rule out that we find a party to play outside PFS so if any of your suggestions involve non-PFS material it would at least be educational to me. Yet still, please do point out if what you're suggesting is unusable in PFS.
What about the explanation of magic, Vancian magic specifically? I forgot, is "the Web" (or however it was called, in Complete Mage I think) still around in Golarion? Having a fictional "another layer of order of matter" would allow for high-tech science to be similar to magic by accessing it on a quantum scale but with different means. Not to mention it would connect "vanilla Pathfinder" into the larger universe. Some simplifications (Arcanist mechanic) and clean-ups might be in order sure but this still leaves some room for thought.
It's not an aura. It has a 30 ft. radius. So if there were two of you when the fight started and the rest of the party ran up later (or the archer was simply too far away) then they don't get the feat just because "you're supposed to always be giving the benefits out". The paladin is supposed to spend an action for it.
Sorry for bumping an old thread but I was wondering the same question so I'm throwing in my two cents as well and wondering if anyone else has anything to say about this... Like, why is it so much better than the Cavalier's Tactician ability? This archetype doesn't even lose stuff like: spells, lay on hands, mercy, divine grace. Even the Weal's Champion which I heard people say was bad (not sure why) becomes an amazing ability at level 11.
> Duration: until the next time you make your daily preparations
Can we kill the caster to make "light" permanent? :)
"If you are dead or otherwise incapacitated at the 24-hour mark after the time you Cast the Spell or the last time you extended its duration, the spell ends" - Page 305 under Long Durations.
I was actually a bit surprised this was covered by the rules but I did some searching and here it is.
Severe 3 means that it is a Severe encounter for level 3 characters. The chart on page 489 shows this information. (Severe 2 would be a Severe encounter for level 2 characters)
For level 3 characters a level 3 enemy is worth 40 xp and a level 5 enemy is worth 80 xp. Since that combines to be 120 xp that is a severe encounter.
Also xp is not divided among the party. If you have a 120 xp encounter then each PC gets 120 xp. The only time this is not true is if you have more or less than 4 characters. (If the severe encounter example, for 5 characters you would add an additional level 2 enemy to the encounter but each of the players would still only get 120 xp) This is spelled out clearly on pg 507 where it says that any xp awarded goes to all members of the group.
People keep talking about moving when a location closes to be purely bad but I don't see it that way. As a player who commonly plays support characters that uses cards which can only be played targeting characters as my location (or local characters now) being able to move when a location closes and keep supporting people is a huge boon.
The is especially true if I would happen to close that location, get a new hand, and actually get to use that hand supporting characters. Sure this change might be a bit more risky but it is also lets players interact more.
Sure 15 days might seem like a lot to restock 4 lesser healing potions but how often are they actually purchased? Is there likely going to be another group of adventurers through the same place within two weeks? For small towns that seems unlikely.
I read in the rule book that each hero is able to use no more than one card type per check...
We ran into this last night (on our first mission).
Lini had a spell and weapon in hand that she had picked up earlier in the scenario. Is she able to roll dex + weapon die and divine + spell die by using both the weapon and spell card? Or is she only allowed to use one for the combat check?
You can only use one card that says "For your combat check".
KennedyHawk wrote:
How does revealing work. Lini again is able to reveal a animal traited card in order to add a 1d4 to any check. Can the same animal be revealed twice in a turn (say you continue exploring). Can the animal that was revealed be discarded to continue exploring if that's a card effect. We weren't sure if it was a once per turn thing. In another light if you have two animals in hand can you reveal both for a 2d4 bonus?
Yes to everything except the last one.
You can use each card or power once per step or check. This prevents you from using that power to reveal an animal and then do it again.
KennedyHawk wrote:
What happens to undefeated monsters are they shuffled back in the deck or returned to the box like boons after an unsuccessful check?
Shuffled back in. This applies to Barriers as well.
Why would you think you could only recharge one such armor at the end of your turn?
The rules in "Encountering a Card" say that "Each player may play no more than 1 card of each type during each step". Since this generally applies during other steps of the game as well (because if it didn't then you could play any number of blessing to close a location, for example) it could also be inferred that could could only play one armor while resetting your hand. So if recharging the armor is playing the armor when you could only play one of them.
At least that is where I am getting that restriction from (Since I brought it up in this thread so I thought I would mention why).
