Technomancer

Carlos Luis Garcia's page

391 posts. Alias of Hubaris.




GM 20 - HP 287/287 - AC 46 - TAC 28 - FF 28 - Init +27 (+20 with Prescience) - Fort +21 - Ref +32 - Will +25 (Stalwart, Evasion) - SR 35 - Perception +46 (+8 Smells) - DR 10/-

Post setting up our discussion and out of character talk about the adventure.


GM 20 - HP 287/287 - AC 46 - TAC 28 - FF 28 - Init +27 (+20 with Prescience) - Fort +21 - Ref +32 - Will +25 (Stalwart, Evasion) - SR 35 - Perception +46 (+8 Smells) - DR 10/-

Stand-in post slot to create the gameplay thread.


Hello all!
Just been enamored with the Sword-Devil Ranger from Worldscape (the one based on Red Sonja), but I am in a bit of a bind for ideas.

The Sword-Devil trades away all instances of Favored Terrain, but for some reason still has Camouflage and Hide In Plain Sight (as a regular Ranger). Unfortunately both of these require Favored Terrains to function in Pathfinder.

What would be a reasonable replacement for these two class features?

This is for a non-PFS game, but I'm wondering more if people have experience with the Archetype and what it could have at those levels (12 and 17) to retain its flavour. I was thinking just something simple like Skill Focus: Stealth, or even a bonus Ranger feat (as it gets 2 styles at 11). These are honestly a little dull though.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!


Howdy!

Just a simple question, does the Shape Veil feat grant you any form of Akashic Essence at all or are you pretty much limited to taking Extra Essence (once) and then single instances of 1 from things like Veil-Bound Metamagic, Essence Expertise, etc?

I'm looking for ways to gain a small pool of Akasha on an Oracle, and while one can take Psychic Searcher for Investigator Talents and then using those Talents to qualify for the Akashic abilities is an option (as per the replacements for Rogue, Slayer and Investigator Talents), it seems a little questionable in terms of legality (as they only get a small Investigator Talent pool).

Any way to help me boost my pool at all?
Is there anything in development or a rule I may be unaware of?
Is taking the Akashic Talents in place of a Psychic Searcher's Talents legit?

Race is Human in case it matters.

Thanks in advance.


Hello Rules!

Do psychic casters suffer from having to make concentration checks underwater when trying to cast spells?

Quote:


Casting spells while submerged can be difficult for those who cannot breathe underwater. A creature that cannot breathe water must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell underwater (this is in addition to the caster level check to successfully cast a fire spell underwater). Creatures that can breathe water are unaffected and can cast spells normally. Some spells might function differently underwater, subject to GM discretion.

They don't have to wave their arms around, nor do they need to open their mouths to cast, so is this still an issue? What about above the water but not submerged?


From a friend of mine:

Quote:


Hello, I recently purchased the Highlord II book pdf in anticipation for an upcoming Kingmaker campaign. I have settled on the Virtuoso archetype, but as I was designing the character I noticed that the archetype does not grant the Highlord Perform as a class skill, or at least I could not locate the feature that does so. Is this intended or simply an oversight? Have I missed something?

Thank you very much for your content and development, now and in the future. A-1 content.

Thank you in advance!


[MASSIVE SPOILERS]

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Hello!

I was looking to do a little bit of reworking to Ariadnah in the final battle by making her a Witch (Invoker?)/Evangelist of Shub-Niggurath; but unfortunately there are no boons or obediences for the Black Goat of the Woods!

Other than granting her an extra level to keep her at CL 16 (Evangelist loses a level); what can I do for Boon abilities for Shub-Niggurath? Does anyone have anything created (or anything 3P) for this Deity?

Some sort of nasty Aberrant Beast Shape? Corrupting plant aura? All around vision from the massive amount of eyes/spectral goat heads that can manifest? 1/Day summons of Dark Young (ouch)? Free tentacle attacks with Blood Drain? The ability to cast a single spell on the target of a successful natural attack?

Give me some ideas! I would like giving her some unholy strength that doesn't really match her weak-looking form, but y'know, spells are generally better than attacking and its a shame because she has that Lich touch to work with.

Also I noticed she doesn't have Quicken Spell, does anyone have experience with adding this to her list? She would be 17th level in this version and would have an extra feat, would it be too much? I don't feel like a 17th level caster without Quicken is wise or ancient or scary.


Hello!

I understand that Radiant Dawn is in testing, but I don't really use the GitP forums (I hate their search function). What type of healing is healing from the Radiant Dawn Discipline?

Can it heal or damage undead? Constructs? Other non-organic creatures? Is it just taken as positive?

Thanks in advance!


3 people marked this as a favorite.

Hello forum goers and curious ooze users (oozers?)

This is my first Guide for the PFRPG and I hope at least one person finds it as useful as I did when I first made it as just a personal list.

Hubaris' Becoming Oozymandias - A Guide to the Bottled Ooze Discovery

This is a living guide that I will be updating as more Bestiaries get released; adding more options to the list and adding more commentary on their relative value. Any insight, advice, and other comments will be appreciated and credited. If you have an image that you want taken down, or cited, just PM me and I will oblige. Not really sure what else to say here, knowing that it won't be editable in an hour, so leave a post!

Enjoy and may the wild world of extractable oozes seep into your playstyle.

Note: This guide assumes you use a liberal reading of the Discovery, making the sample required a portion of the Extract creation and not actually requiring one.


SPOILERS for Whisper Out of Time.

I've been vocal with cutting Okeno and the Biting Lash storyline from the 4th book, but I need to make up the gold/rewards somehow. What can the Nethyians offer the adventurers for cleaning up the Mysterium, rescuing their high loremaster, burying the dead and such?

I'm looking for some ideas for semi-unique items or boons to go with some of the money and research time they'll get.

During this time the adventurers have a series of research adventures (as requested by my players for a change of pace) to reach the milestone goal at the end of the book; so even things that make them juggle time would be cool.

Some ideas:
- For each Nethyian taken out of the Mysterium and buried, they gain a scroll level (ie: if they rescue 6 Nethyians, they can gain up to 6 spell levels worth of scrolls each without expensive material components but can have whatever metamagic they need built onto it).

- Casters can undergo a ritual to assist their caster level, patching up any multiclass issues or boosting a straight caster

- A ritual to gain sorcerer/wizard SLAs based on school, and a bonus to saves from that school

- Some time to research occult rituals from the Soul or to research various creatures, Eldritch beings granting various insight bonuses against them

I'm aware Nethys worshipers don't like people who can't use Magic but we can kind of waive that a little due to the situation.

I'd like to stay away from cohorts and DMPCs though.

What cool things can you come up with that makes the game feel more 'old school' thats not just +3 Ring of Protection, +3 Cloak, etc?


No this isn't a 5e thread, but I've been playing a lot of Shadowrun as of late and I was looking at the way they calculated Limits and was wondering if this could apply to Pathfinder in terms of saving throws.

Instead of a Single Stat being the key to a saving throw, saving throws would be calculated as a combination of two.

Feats and abilities that would swap a stat (such as Steadfast Personality or Sidestep Secret) would just make it a straight 1:1 swap.

Fortitude: (Str+Con)/2
Reflex: (Dex+Int)/2
Will: (Wis+Cha)/2

Effectively each point is +0.5

Alternatively I was looking at something else like...

Fortitude: (Str+Con+Con)/3
Reflex: (Dex+Dex+Int)/3
Will: (Wis+Wis+Cha)/3

Effectively each point is +0.66 of a throw or +0.33

Has anyone had experience with something like this? I have always wondered why quick thinkers and strong people didn't get to show that in their stats.

More importantly, what big problems can you all foresee with either of the approaches? One I can see is that huge monsters would have great Fortitude saves and probably lower Reflex saves because of it. Then again maybe an overall difference of +-3 ish. How would you handle Constructs and Undead?


Hello!

I'm looking for a way to get Inspire Courage to affect Constructs (and possibly other mind-affecting immune creatures). Are there any ways through 1st or 3rd party that may allow this? If its any help I'm trying to get it onto an Intelligent Homunculus Companion, though the MA Immunity is still there. Open to Feats, Items, and mostly everything else (including Construct Modification).

Kind of a narrow request but any help will be appreciated.

I'm not the DM this game so I can't handwave it

Thanks in advance!


Hello!

I'm in a situation right now where an Enlarged Brawler (blessed with a Fly Spell) is Grappling a (Large, Winged) Dragon midair.

A few questions:

1) What happens if the Dragon fails a Fly Check to Hover while still in a Grapple? By 5 or more? By less than 5?

2) What happens if the Brawler fails a Fly check to Hover? Do they both fall?

3) If the Grapple gets reversed (so that the Winged Dragon is the Grappler), would they both suddenly fall now that the Grappler/Grapplee has switched?

Part of it is the lack of movement by someone in a Grapple and the fact they are always adjacent to each other combined with the plummet rules for Wings.

I've been looking at a bunch of sources, but I can't find a right-proper answer. A bunch talk about using encumbrance rules, lifting rules and a lot more, but there is no real consolidated answer.

Any help would be appreciated.


Hello Advice Forum!

A short one this time. I could have sworn I read a feat that acted as Boon Companion but for Eidolons, though I've never been able to track it down (if it exists). I know there is Magical Enigma (Story), but that wasn't it at all.

Was I just imagining this Feat or does it actually exist?

Thanks!

Maybe it was 3PP?


Hello! I recently grabbed Akashic Mysteries after I decided that I wanted to make a Golden Age Alchemist, and much to my chagrin there weren't any options for the Alchemist! A couple of questions:

Are there any Alchemy options in development or that I may have missed?

If not...

In the 'Other Classes' section, there are a series of options for Rogues, Slayers and Investigators (and any other classes with Talents); would it be too unbalancing to allow these options in place of Alchemist Discoveries? Are Discoveries 'Talents' or do they need the Talent description?

I don't want the baggage of the Investigator, and there are some interesting Alchemist Archetypes I would like to use, so I'm kind of stuck.

Ultimately, how can I get Veils on an Alchemist?

I know this goes into Ask Your GM Territory, though I know he would appreciate a second opinion.


Spoilers for Book 4 (and 6) of Strange Aeons.
You have been warned.

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So I'm finally having a chance to run this whole AP but when I read the whole slaver and gnoll subplot I kind of scratched my head and decided that I just wanted to cut the whole thing and build something new instead. Its a fine section, but not for this AP and I think it loses me a little. Instead at the end of the Mysterium, they will meet the Yithian Kaklatath (still in the old woman's body) who fled into an extradimensional book (or something fantastical) and he will inform them of their next move (to the Parchlands). Though before that they have a task they must complete...

Throughout the journey I will be putting in hints that they are losing reality, that they're slowly vanishing, that people may not have noticed them (explaining away why random encounters here and there never happened) or how an NPC may not have acknowledged an action they did. In short they are both alive and dead at the same time, a sort of Schrodinger's Party and they must go back to the beginning to resolve what happened. Did they die in that dream? Did they survive?

Effectively I'm changing the opening so that the party doesn't just get woken up, instead in their desperation they unknowingly project themselves into future versions of themselves so that they can find a way out of that Dream alive (which they now mastered due to Book 3's Dreamwalking). Now they know how to manipulate dreams enough to escape the Tatterman at the start, they just need a way to send their consciousness back to the start and finally resolve it. Thus opening the Box. Failing to do so in the Mysterium means they do ultimately die because the answer is only found here.

Basically I'm thinking of taking the Book 6 Twist and moving it to Book 4 so that there is a climax and a need (though unknown at the time) to go to the Mysterium and examine its depths and find the MacGuffin that lets them back to their previous bodies. Otherwise it feels too much of a breadcrumb hunt.

Effectively:
1) Resolving the events in the Mysterium.
2) A series of hardcore research segments to find the artifact buried undearneath or what-have-you.
3) Followed by a trip through time and space through to places that could have been (alternate Thrushmoor, alternate Briarstone, etc)
4) Landing with the Tatterman (redoing the opening) back in their original places.
5) Waking themselves up with their future knowledge of Dream Travel.
6) A battle with a Degenerated Bythos (for abusing time travel) right before awakening back in the present, their state confirmed.

So a few questions.
Would a Degenerated Bythos be too powerful for an average party at that portion (EL 11 ish)? How can I spruce it up if required? Its CR16 (15 with Degenerate) but it is also 1 creature and most likely the party will be in decent shape after resting. I could always have it retreat if its nearly dead, or have the encounter end if they open too many rifts or something; not sure.

How can I justify them projecting forward? A previously done ritual that was forgotten until their desperation in the Dream? A blessing from the Crawling Chaos? I plan on using him in the epilogue to offer his service to remove Xamen Dhor from their memories (at an unknown cost of course).

What interesting encounters (combat or non-combat) can I use in these alternate realities that they jump through?

Any other issues I need to prep for?

I'd love to hear some of your responses and possibly fix up some paradox related plotholes!
Thanks in advance.


Howdy!

So I'm set to play a Dhampir Medium for a Skulls and Shackles game, and considering what type of campaign it is (it seems low money, low magic), I am wondering what would be the best way to manage my Negative Energy Affinity and heal myself? Currently planning on taking a level of Swashbuckler for Parry and probably Medium straight after.

When I channel the Hierophant I can gain Inflict Light Wounds, but I would rather not have to sit each and every day in the same Spirit. I can also take Craft Wand, but that won't do much good until 5th level (which is a decent way into this campaign).

Any ideas to help? I am currently considering a level into Oracle just to get ~6 ILW a day for the early game; or is there another way to add Inflict or manage this issue? Pretty much any Paizo legal stuff works, but no variant heritages for Dhampirs, no Leadership and no Additional Traits.

Going for a dread pirate theme with a lot of Blackbeard/Barbossa influence, including the stories of his occult magic and such.


Hello all!
I'm in a long running Reign of Winter game where I play a Witch who:

Book 1 Spoiler

Spoiler:

Wishes to be a rider of Baba Yaga.

I've just been able to Craft myself an Ivory Goat Wondrous Power Figurine and have just taken the Companion Figurine feat to turn the White Terror Goat (now reflavoured as a pale horse) as an Animal Companion. We're nearing the end of Book 3 now and in future I wish to ride into battle heralding my Patron, and have the feats set up for the Witch already (who's going into the Fey Sworn from Realms of the Fey, with a custom Obedience created by the GM).

The question is though, what cool supernatural feats can I take on my Animal Companion? I really want to avoid stuff like Power Attack (mostly) and play up the supernatural aspect of the mount.

Currently have:
HD1: Iron Will
HD3: Narrow Frame or Improved Natural Attack (For the Horns, as one is treated as a Longsword, the other a Lance, upgrading to 3d6 which isn't bad)
Ability Point Increase Into Intelligence (which allows me to take any feat)
HD5: Ability Focus (Terror Aura)

Does anyone have any fun ideas though? I was looking at the Psychic casting feats and Blood Hexes but they require far too much Int, and Eldritch Heritage requires far too much Charisma (and technically the AnC has no character levels).

Minor Miracle and Believer's Boon could work (as the Horse has 15 Wisdom), even the Pantheistic Blessing (Fae Lords) for a once per day Silent Image.

So what ideas do you have for my Magical Horse? Any help would be appreciated!

Also I totally have Nightmare Horseshoes on the ready and I know its only twice every two weeks but I'm not too worried truth be told.


Hello Rules!

If I were to take the Pact Wizard Archetype (Horror Heroes) for the Wizard (which grants an Oracle curse at 1/2 progression starting from 5th level) and a level of Oracle, what happens?

Do I get two Curses? Do they stack together? Are they separate? Can I take the same one twice?


Hello!

I'm making a character that utilizes the Bloat/Bloodmage PrC (non-PFS) after being slapped with the Accursed Corruption in my current AP (was a straight Witch) and I'm looking for abilities that allow me to change life, or Con, or anything really into some sort of utility or strength for my casting.

I know of the standard stuff like Blood Money and I saw the new Mutilating Ritualist feat from Horror Adventures; are there any Items (like Vicious) or Feats that I can use that help me turn my blood (or life force in general) into something else?


Hello!

Simple question that I can't really find the answer to anywhere. In Path of War (under the Broken Blade section), it says that 'use of Discipline specific weapons and unarmed strikes inflict an additional 2 damage'; is that only when Striking with Broken Blade Maneuvers or does it count being in a Broken Blade Stance as well? Additionally, does it multiply on a Critical?

Thanks in advance!


So I'm looking at making a Brawler and I'm wondering, are they proficient with Temple Swords?

Quote:


At 1st level, a brawler counts her total brawler levels as both fighter levels and monk levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats. She also counts as both a fighter and a monk for feats and magic items that have different effects based on whether the character has levels in those classes (such as Stunning Fist and a monk's robe). This ability does not automatically grant feats normally granted to fighters and monks based on class level, namely Stunning Fist.

The Temple Sword itself gives Proficiency to Monks, effectively granting them Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Temple Sword).

So if you have a Magic +1 Temple Sword, is the Brawler proficient in it, as it is now a Magical Item that functions different for a class (Monk)?

Thanks in advance!


Hello all!

I've been taking to looking at Prestige Classes (suboptimal in most cases but always fun) and many of the casting ones really interest me (something something caster level loss). However there is always one FAQ line that makes me very wary to play a Spellcasting Prestige Class in an Adventure Path and thats the one where it says that Wizards (and other classes with spellbooks) don't gain free spells when they level in a Prestige Class (also a pain for Witches, Magi and Arcanists).

Now, I know traditionally this isn't a real issue as they can always Scribe more spells into their books (whether by another Spellbook or Scrolls), but in AP's thats not always an option.

Since my group normally plays APs, I'm wondering, which ones (spoiler free please) actually have enough downtime and Scroll availability to ensure at least a decent supply of spells. Gold is almost never an issue in these paths, but not having access to a large enough City (or a city at all), not encountering casters with books, and never having enough time seems to be popular hurdles that make me worry.

Should I forget about Prestige Classes for prepared spellbook casters in APs? Should I try to get that rule house-ruled out? Am I worrying too much about scroll availability? Is it even an issue? Should I just switch to Spontaneous casters and suck up the lack of FCB Spells Known?

Anyway thanks in advance!


I have an Unchained Rogue who has taken the Major Magic Rogue Talent and the Bookish Rogue Feat; and has a sufficient enough effective CL for Quicken Spell-Like Ability.

If I have Major Magic Selected for Shield, and take Quicken Spell-Like Ability for Shield, what happens when I use Bookish Rogue to change Shield?

Does the new Spell-Like Ability (Vanish) gain the Quicken Ability instead, swapping out the separate QSLA Shields for these? Do I have my copies of the Quicken Shield SLA still despite the Bookish Rogue feat swapping out my Shield SLA for Vanish? Do I lose QSLA altogether?

Any help would be great.
Thanks in advance!

In before Monster Feat stuff, I don't care for that, only what would happen.


Howdy!
So I've been playing far too much 'Ys' recently and have decided to build myself a PF version of 'Dogi the Wall Crusher' for a Council of Thieves or Second Darkness run (we aren't sure which one yet)! If you couldn't tell by the name, he's a little famous for crushing walls (and boulders, and walls, and bars, and weapons, and walls) with his bare hands; and I'm looking for some help.

I have some basics down, but I'm looking for ways to make blowing stuff up in and out of combat viable.

Dogi the Wall Crusher
CG Human Steel-Breaker Brawler

Stats (15 Points)
Str 17
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 13
Cha 8

FCB into HP

Traits: <Something>, <Must be a Campaign Trait, TBD>

1. Power Attack (HD 1), Improved Sunder (Racial)
2. Two-Weapon Fighting (Brawler 2), Shrapnel Strike (Brawler 2)
3. <Something> (HD 3)
4.
5. <Something> (HD 5), Stunning Irruption (Brawler 5)
6.
7. Greater Sunder (HD 7)

The 15 Point Buy is tight, so I was highly considering dipping into something for Medium Armor (Barbarian for Rage and Fast Movement? Favored Enemy: Wall on Ranger?) and taking the Mutagenic Mauler for the Strength (as sometimes things call for Strength checks) and Natural Armor (as it loses the Light Armor AC Bonus anyway); due to my Dex being suboptimal.

The Steel-Breaker lets me pretty much ignore all hardness and DR as the game progresses (at 5), so a lot of the feats that bypass hardness are a little redundant. Should I take Pummeling Style to get a huge big hit against the Hardness/DR or is it redundant? Vital Strike or a Full-Round attack? Disruptive and Sunder Blessing?

I'm not sure how to fill out some of the blank spots.

Additionally I was looking at the Sunder Maneuvers and the tree (obviously) but I noticed something really lame in Greater Sunder which kind of got me down.

Greater Sunder wrote:


No damage is transferred if you decide to leave the item with 1 hit point.

Regardless it seems I would have to take it at some point to keep the CMB competitive.

I don't want to completely blow up our WBL, but I don't want to waste the explosive power of a good hit. So how would you help Dogi blow up walls, and items with his bare hands and get some really swell benefits out of it at the same time? I wouldn't mind Destroying Items for the damage benefits of Greater Sunder if there is a reasonable way to fix them afterwards. In the end, why just Sunder and Smash when you can Sunder and Smash and get some great effects out of it too?

I'm looking for other really cool options and ones you don't normally see in games, because its already a little suboptimal anyway, so I might as well get a little exotic with the abilities (heck I was even looking at the Untwisting Iron Style at some point before I saw the Steel-Breaker)!

Any feats, items and dips would be appreciated, even ones that help with damage against items!
99% of the PF stuff is legal (barring a few things like Leadership and such).

No Rovagug and Human is required, other than that, lay it on me!


Hey all.
For the life of me I can't seem to find anything that helps increase steps of Diplomacy outside of the Silver Tongued Human Alternate Racial Trait (replacing Skilled).

Do you know of any magic items to help perform a similar function, to change the Diplomacy Step Results (ie: increase by 3 instead of 2)? If not, would you allow one and if so how much would you price it as?

Thanks in advance!


Occult Origins has the feat Ritual Hex which provides you with the Ritual called Beseeching the Patron.

When you perform the Ritual you gain a single Hex of your choice (for 24 Hours) that you qualify for. Eventually, you may choose to perform it and increase the DC to gain Major and Grand Hexes.

My question is, what does "Qualify For" entail?

Hexes by themselves traditionally don't have prerequisites (outside of a few such as Poison Steep, Major and Grand variants, Witch's Brew, etc).

If a Shaman takes Ritual Hex, can they choose a Spirit Hex in their Spirit? Outside their Spirit? Can they choose a Witch Hex (such as Cauldron) even if they've already taken the Witch Hex Hex? Can a Witch take Secret from the Shaman list? A Spirit Hex? What if they have Spirit Talker as well to gain a temporary Shaman Hex, would they be able to get another Hex from that list?

I don't think I'll get much from a developer standpoint, but where do you draw the line in terms of qualifications and prerequisites for Hexes? Is it just the distinction between Major/Grand or class or some combination of both. I need help adjudicating this (not for PFS, as it isn't legal) so any opinions and readings would be most appreciated, thanks!


I'm not sure if it has been asked before, but here goes.
Outside of the mechanical reasons (balance and such), how come a Witch doesn't receive all spells known from her Patron much like a Cleric with their Deity?

Both in this case are providing the magical source and the knowledge, so what separates the two? Are the Witch Patrons just more fickle? Are they less powerful? Do they not want to grant all spells known to their followers? Could a Deity be a Patron? An Empyreal Lord? Demon Lord?

What makes the Patron a Patron and not a Deity?

Thoughts? Ideas?
Trying to come up with a good reason that leaves the in game verisimilitude intact thats not just pure mechanical.


I'm building a character for an upcoming campaign (Witch (Cartomancer) 7 / Harrower 10) and I was wondering if it was worth going Witch (Cartomancer) 6 / Shaman (Unsworn) 1 / Harrower 10 instead. My Hexes are all non-save or non factor (Evil Eye, Fortune, Cackle, etc), so the DCs don't matter. I'm mainly utilizing it for the early [Curse] spell access, the weird list, and Vampiric Touch/Bestow Curse at range, among other things.

[Stuff about not losing Caster Levels here]

However the Unsworn Shaman dip will net me a Flexible Hex every morning... this can lead to:
- Craft Wondrous Item (Shaman Hex, Fetish. Comes with the +4 Spellcraft)
- Brew Potion (Witch Hex, Cauldron. Comes with +4 Spellcraft)
- Changeable Metamagic Feat (Shaman Hex, Secret. Can be changed each morning to a new one for the day)
- Chant (Shaman Hex, Chant. Cackle until I get a Cackling Hag's Blouse)

In addition I gain a Familiar's bonus (Alertness, Valet for quickened crafting, +2 Fort/+4 Initiative, etc), some extra health (D8 at level 1), a couple Shaman spells per day, a couple skill points and access to Divine feats later (Divine Interference as the game goes on). Note, we are using Partial BAB/Partial Saves, so I won't lose any BAB, however I won't gain the +2 Will from the Shaman Dip (though my progression on Will will not fall).

I was planning on taking Craft Wondrous and 3 Metamagics for Spell Perfection anyway, so the dip provides me 2 effective feats to play with. But the question is, is it worth it? Is dropping to Sorcerer progression that crippling?

Thoughts? Ideas?

I also stumbled across the Ritual Hex feat, though I doubt it would allow me to snag Secret and Fetish with only Witch Levels. Doubtful, but does anyone have insight on that? I'd be able to get my cake and eat it too... Witch seems too good to be true.


An Arcanist is walking around with their Lesser Reach Metamagic Rod at the start of the day and decides its time to prepare spells.

Arcanist, ACG wrote:


An arcanist must prepare her spells ahead of time, but unlike a wizard, her spells are not expended when they're cast.

They decide to use their shiny new Rod that has 3 uses per day, and prepares a Reach Blindness/Deafness (3rd level).

Now, I understand that an Arcanist can use the Rod during the casting, much like a Sorcerer as a full-round action, losing one of the Rod's charges. This is easy enough to understand. But what happens when they prepare a spell with the Rod for the day?

Arcanist, ACG wrote:


However, she may also prepare a spell with any metamagic feats she knows and cast it without increasing casting time like a wizard.

It says Feat but...

Metamagic Rods, Core wrote:


Possession of a metamagic rod does not confer the associated feat on the owner, only the ability to use the given feat a specified number of times per day.

So if she prepares a Reach Blindness/Deafness (using 1 of the 3 Rod charges), it is not expended when cast (according to the top). So when they use one of their 3rd level spells, can they always choose the Reach Blindness/Deafness? Only 2 more times? 3 times? Does that effectively mean a single Metamagic Rod charge permanently changes the way their spell functions (until it is prepared again at least)? After all, it is not expended when its cast.

And further to this, if they decide they really like Blindness/Deafness, could they also prepare a non Reach version in one of their 2nd levels? I don't see anything stopping them from preparing the same spell multiple times (in multiple versions) if they wanted.

I'm about to dive into an Arcanist and I'm trying to figure out all the potential kinks, as I'm coming in with some WBL and want to know how things work with Rods.

Thanks in advance.


Now I'm actually not sure if this thread is looking for self-affirmation or something else entirely. So a little backstory I suppose.

My friend is running Curse of the Crimson Throne as the DM. Its his second game running (first being Rise of the Runelords) and we have gotten to the 5th book. Now, I have DMed a few times in my day and have read my share of content from the old days to now, so maybe I think I know too much but I feel like the DM is effectively adding stuff just to spite me. I am running a Wishcrafting Ifrit Sorcerer with a focus on Enchantments, Illusions, Transmutations and Evocations (mainly Fire, some Sonic, some Electricity, but no Cold).

Continued in spoilers below.

(Curse of the Crimson Throne Book 5)

Spoiler:

We have recently got to Scarwall and upon happening the bridge where Lashton comes out to meet you the Sorcerer (myself) tries to parlay with him and get a way into Scarwall without needless destruction (he's LE, with the party not knowing due to a converted Plague Mask from Book 2). Unfortunately the parlay (from the +40~ diplomancer) fails and Lashton decides to start combat. Alright. Well time to scrap, no free pass for us here, place seems unwelcoming even to those who try to talk.

I crush initiative and proceed to go first, performing a quick knowledge check on them to find they are Dread Skeletons. Pretty straightforward so I throw up a Wall of Fire (Double damage to undead) and wait for them to approach us on the bottlenecked bridge or die slowly to fire radiance. At this point the DM claims they take no damage from the fire and just march on through. Fine. Thats ok, maybe the template is different or they have Resist cast on them (as the Red Mantis Assassins did in the previous book). We win the fight and force Lashton to flee with him telling us to have fun in Scarwall while he prepares reinforcements for us.

Upon getting to the gate of Scarwall, we do some scouting and I send my Imp familiar to do some work above and see what the upper floors look like, peer through the windows and so on. I see he gets frustrated at this, as he usually is when I use my familiar to scout, check for traps, read runes, draw my items for me, assist me in checks, do an Intimidate on a mook here or there and such. Having the knowledge of the upper floors and the layout is well worth the extra minute or two of buffs expiring a little.

Eventually a group of 12~ Gargoyles jump my Familiar and all manage to charge attack and full round my poor partner before it can be withdrawn via spell. Though this gets me thinking, in my years of tabletops, I have never seen Gargoyles with Pounce. So my familiar dies and we head into Scarwall. Fine, maybe they're new monsters. The amount of information I gained from this was minimal at best, but we now know that flying is a bad bad idea and that when we do encounter these, they come in droves, have low attack rolls, pounce, gang up and have multiple arms. Also to keep an eye out for ambushes from stuff like this. I'm sort of happy with the results but still a little peeved as now we have no forward scout.

Once we're in Scarwall we keep encountering Skeletons (of the Dread variety, some being minotaurs) and some other creatures, all which happen to be immune to Fire, can't be hit with Mind-Affecting effects, and can't be hit with Fortitude saves so my Transmutations are worthless (Undead traits YUCK!). Since 4 of my 4 schools are of minimal use and at this point I'm resorting to casting Haste, Tactical Acumen and then describing combats (for dramatic purpose) and readying actions to break potential casts that may come out with Dispels and such.

At this point I'm still here, still playing along and enjoying the sights and sounds of the place and figuring out the traps and layouts and the whole mystery, using the song as a guide.

We manage to kill the Good Armored Paladin Skeleton Spirit thing (Mandravus I believe?) and the Cinder Ghouls and we stopped for the night (out of game).

I know Rule 0 is a thing and if those Skeletons are Fire Immune, they're Fire Immune, but every time we do checks on the Skeletons he says they're standard Dread Skeletons, have DR/Bludgeoning, Undead Traits, Aura of Unnaturalness, Cold Immunity... but always forgets to say Fire Immunity.

Now I don't want to know too much because the dungeon seems very Castlevania-esque (which I love), but am I being targeted out? Is some of this even by the book (which he says it is)? I don't mind a challenge, but I hate when my player agency is being stomped on. I chose Wall of Fire because it was on my bloodline list (and I wanted my Wishcrafting to still have similar spell choices) and I can see through it without penalty. I chose an Imp instead of my Bloodline powers so I can scout effectively and not have an ally die. It feels like when I get more ranks of Diplomacy, enemies just become unconvincable, even to become neutral or unfriendly. Every time I get more ranks of Bluff, enemies seem to have insane Sense Motive skills out of nowhere. This happened before with my Rogue in Rise who has a near 85~ Stealth score, HIPS, Hellcat Stealth, Dampen Presence, and things still saw him. For every point I did something, something else hit back. So what's the point of putting any points into any skills ever? Why bother specializing when the monsters have more HP to make up for the Empower Metamagic you just took?

Normally he asks me for a rundown after each session to help him figure out what works and what doesn't work, so I know he's trying, but how do I put it in a way where it doesn't completely demoralize him or cause a rift? We've (sortof) lost 1 friend due to tabletops (not his fault, just a really nasty player/friend with anger issues), so I want to be delicate but at the same time explain player agency. He also knows that I know most of the bestiaries, and while I don't want to search things up and finger point like a jerk (and, well, cheat effectively), how do I bring up the issue? I know Rule 0 and use it often for dramatic effect or to progress things, maybe even to make a special spell or Ex ability, but I've never used it to single out someone's playstyle and lock them into Haste-Bot mode for entire sessions (and include it in the Knowledge checks or the descriptions of the attacks, monsters, etc).

My gut says to just tell him, but I know I'm a little hasty.

Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.

PS: I know this may be better in the CotCT subforum, but I know its general enough to maybe be in Advice. Wasn't sure where to put it.


I have a (now Unchained) Rogue (fancies himself a master of the occult, spywork, a Sindbadian sailor and a professional Demon hunter from an old, now dead family) that is coming back out of retirement a couple years later after finishing Rise of the Runelords (we are starting a post-Runelords side game on off days).

He is currently 18th level, though after some events in the final fight he has lost his hand (again)! He was using a Mithral Prosthesis for the longest time until then, but now I'm sitting in money and frankly might as well use it for the cool end-game stupidity that we all hear about in tabletops.

Now he can't Regenerate his arm (for backstory reasons) and he utilizes shadows as he main schtick, having something from the Plane of Shadow in his veins fueling his Shadow themed abilities and bloodline powers. So I'm looking for a way to simulate that as by the book as possible. Currently doing that by using Major Magic Chill Touch (and handwaving the off-hand... sorry).

Is there a more permanent solution that anyone can come up with? Chill Touch isn't on the Permanency list (and is susceptible to Dispels). Also having an actual hand to grab and maneuver tools would be great (which Chill Touch can't do). Not to mention the startup time to 'cast' it.

I know I can just ask my DM to house rule something but if I can get something closer to the book as a baseline that we could use that would be great. I have a large budget to work with (almost 130k just off leftover money). I don't mind reflavoring Construct Arms or Clockwork Prosthesis, but I'm looking for a Touch Attack that deals Cold or Negative energy damage. Was looking at Quickened Spell-Like Ability (Chill Touch) but I still can't grab and hold stuff with that hand which kind of sucks.

Alignment is CG/CN, dipping out of Rogue is NOT an option.
Templates might be worth looking at.

Thanks for the help in advance. I'm totally asking for a lot, but lets hear your best ideas :)

tl;dr: I want a phantom arm made of shadows that can grab and manipulate items. Being able to deal touch attacks with cold or negative energy.


So I just started using Path of War to expand my character options and I have a quick questions about how maneuvers are learned and the order of operations.

Say I have a Fighter 8 and I decide to take a level of Warlord at 9, when I hit my first level of Warlord I have an initiator level of 5 (which is enough for 3rd level maneuvers and stances).

The Warlord at 1st level gains 6 Maneuvers known and 1 Stance.

The stumbling block comes from Maneuvers with prerequisites. 3rd level maneuvers have a clause where you need to know at least 1 maneuver of the same Discipline to learn them.

Example wrote:


Prerequisite(s): 1 Golden Lion maneuver

So the question is:

Can I actually learn these 3rd level maneuvers?
Can I spend 1 of my 1st level Warlord dip maneuvers known on a 1st or 2nd level Golden Lion maneuver to meet the prerequisite of the 3rd level Golden Lion maneuver right away when I dip in?
Are they concurrent or sequential? (Much like being able to take both Point-Blank Shot and Precise Shot at the same level, despite one requiring the other)

The game says "your knowledge of the Path of War increases" even when taking non Disciple levels and that your initiator level "determines the highest- level maneuvers you can choose".

On the other hand it says "you must always meet the prerequisites of the maneuver before selecting it." and that "you must meet a certain set of requirements to be able to choose that maneuver."

As a follow-up, are Stances learned at the same time?
Are they learned after?

The order of operations here isn't clear.
Thanks in advance.


Planar Focus is a feat for Hunters (or those with the Animal Focus class feature) that expands out your Animal Focus to include Planar Options (such as Air, Fire, Lawful, Evil, etc).

The text is as follows:

Quote:


By studying other planes, you've learned to take on aspects of outsiders as well as animals.

Prerequisite(s): Knowledge (planes) 5 ranks, animal focus class feature.

Benefit(s): When you use your animal focus class feature, you can choose any of the following new aspects unless they conflict with your alignment.

Pretty straightforward, you can choose any of the following as long as it doesn't conflict. A good person cannot choose evil and a lawful person cannot choose chaotic.

However the Lawful, Chaotic, Evil and Good Planar Focus abilities all have this clause:

Evil wrote:


Only evil characters can use this Planar Focus.
Good wrote:


Only good characters can use this Planar Focus.
Lawful wrote:


Only lawful characters can use this Planar Focus.
Chaotic wrote:


Only chaotic characters can use this Planar Focus.

This is straightforward as well... Though it doesn't match up with the first part of the Feat which states that you can use them as long as you do not conflict.

Seeing as the Hunter must be Neutral (it can never be LG, LE, CG, or CE) you can only ever get 1 of the 4 Planar abilities, and 0 if you are True Neutral in the latter reading. This got me thinking...

Is the first part of the text correct (as long as you don't conflict) or is the latter part of the text correct (in which case you must be of the alignment exactly)?


So I just started a new game and I'm sitting on a Wolf Animal Companion with my Hunter. She has 2 Int as most Wolves do at first level.

According to the Animal Companion Entry animals can have skills in:

Quote:


Acrobatics* (Dex), Climb* (Str), Escape Artist (Dex), Fly* (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Perception* (Wis), Stealth* (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim* (Str).

This is pretty cut and dry, but what of untrained skills such as Sense Motive?

Can the Animal Companion still attempt a Sense Motive check despite having only 2 Intelligence? Does it recognize what is going on? Can it catch a Hunch (DC20) or detect an Enchantment (DC25 or DC15)? As the Wolf has a positive modifier (+1) this could happen more often than with most animals so I'd like to find an answer where appropriate.

And I suppose if the answer is no, what would be the breaking point for Intelligence for this to happen? My first guess would be Int 3 as that opens up more feats and makes them Sapient but I'm not sure.

Thanks in advance.


Hello rules forum!

Now I recently started building new characters with the Unchained Variant Multiclass (VMC) rules. Naturally, I had an idea for a knowledge centric Sensei Monk; using the Bard VMC to gain Bardic Knowledge.

Then I sort of noticed the Sensei's Advice ability...

Sensei - Ultimate Campaign wrote:


Advice (Ex)

A sensei’s advice is identical to bardic performance (using oratory), allowing him to inspire courage at 1st level, inspire competence at 3rd level, and inspire greatness at 9th level, as a bard of the sensei’s level, usable a total number of rounds per day equal to his level + his Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).

This ability replaces flurry of blows, fast movement, and improved evasion.

The Bard VMC at level 7 nets you the following...

Pathfinder (Yippeee!) Unchained wrote:


Bardic Performance: At 7th level, he gains the ability to inspire courage and inspire competence as a bard of his character level – 4 for a number of rounds per day equal to his Charisma modifier + his character level.

So what happens?

Do the levels stack? Are they wasted? Do I have two separate performance pools? Do they upgrade each other? It doesn't have the usual clause about stacking levels this way ("Levels in this class stack with levels in any other class that grants a similar ability to determine her effective bard level.").

I'm puzzled and don't even know what to search to find an answer. "Bardic Performance Stacking" usually gets me some answers; but they are more about Songtwisting, the Battle Herald, and the Chronicler than anything else.

Any help or even a link would be fantastic.


Hello Forum,

This isn't the usual 'Can I sneak attack with Shocking Grasp?' Thread. A friend of mine has designed a build (naturally a Halfling!) that utilizes touch attacks and Sneak Attack on a Rogue.

He claims that one can perform a Touch Attack at any point as per this excerpt on Touch Attacks below:

CRB wrote:


Touch Attacks

Some attacks completely disregard armor, including shields and natural armor—the aggressor need only touch a foe for such an attack to take full effect. In these cases, the attacker makes a touch attack roll (either ranged or melee). When you are the target of a touch attack, your AC doesn't include any armor bonus, shield bonus, or natural armor bonus. All other modifiers, such as your size modifier, Dexterity modifier, and deflection bonus (if any) apply normally. Some creatures have the ability to make incorporeal touch attacks. These attacks bypass solid objects, such as armor and shields, by passing through them. Incorporeal touch attacks work similarly to normal touch attacks except that they also ignore cover bonuses. Incorporeal touch attacks do not ignore armor bonuses granted by force effects, such as mage armor and bracers of armor.

Effectively he would fight without weapons and just touch targets to deal his damage. Because he rolls an attack roll (and assume he is Flanking and/or the target is Flat-Footed or otherwise Denied Dexterity), he believes he is entitled to a Sneak Attack by simply touching the target even when dealing no damage on the initial Touch.

I suppose this query breaks down to 2 parts.

1) Can you just choose to Touch a target in place of a 'regular' attack?
2) If you deal no damage with the initial hit (but do hit), do you still deal Sneak Attack damage?

I understand how this functions with Touch Spells (such as Chill Touch or Shocking Grasp which arms you and qualifies you for a Touch Attack), but is this a large misunderstanding of when Touch Attacks can be dealt?