Chidgey's page

Precise shot can be used every round as it is in the alpha book.

Yes, but in Alpha 1.0 you couldn't use it with any other archery feat as they were all combat feats and you could only use one a round. This problem is now fixed.

About caught off guard(combat):
You said it can be used any # of times in a row. Clearly you did not read this feat. It reads "An unarmed opponent." So the person being attacked by a chair would have to not have any weapon in hand for all of these # of rounds you use as an example. Any object would count as an improvised weapon too, so the person being chaired to death could grab his own chair and he wouldn't be flat footed any more. So caught off guard isn't broken, your example doesn't make any sense. The person would have to stand there, unarmed all of those rounds. That isn't broken.

True I didn't notice the unarmed bit but not every foe can wield weapons. What's a lion going to do to protect itself from its greatest foe the chair? What's a Dragon going to do?

I believe you can only try appraise on an item once, then once again after you get a new modifier(from identify the spell). which means you don't get a 20 every 12 seconds, you'd actually only get two rolls a day. If your DM allowed you to re-roll the next day. Otherwise you'd get two rolls period, until you leveled up, or got a int modifier bonus.

In the Alpha document it states...

"Try Again: When using detect magic or identify to Appraise magic items, you may cast the spell again to attempt to ascertain the powers of the item."

As the detect magic spell is a cantrip you can cast it at will in Pathfinder Alpha as written.

So combining something from what everyone has said so far...

1. Players can check a single Profession skill to generate a synergy bonus on skill checks related to their profession if the DM agrees the profession is relevant.

I.e. Someone with Profession (sailor) might feel that they could use their professional knowledge to get a bonus on checks Climb checks to climb a robe, Survival checks to find their way by using stars, Swim checks while in the sea, Knowledge(local) checks about a disreptable tavern, etc.

2. To avoid the need to roll you can always take 10 on Profession checks used in this way. This allows ranks to be used to give a bonus in general but gives the option to roll when it really matters.

3. To fit the 3.5 normal and epic skill synergy bonuses the DC and their corresponding bonuses would be...

DC 15 = +2 (+5 for automatic success)
DC 25 = +3 (+15 for automatic success)
DC 35 = +4 (+25 for automatic success)
DC 45 = +5 (+35 for automatic success)
DC 55 = +6 (+45 for automatic success)

4. Profession can still be used as an income skill.

Is that enough to make Profession a worthwhile skill?

But Mage Armor is also better than the Conjurer Specialist Bonus till level 9

And there is a Greater Mage Armor Spell to cover things from then.

The problem with mage armor is that it can't be enchanted like normal armor. If this class feature filled in that gap it would be useful.

A possibility of maintaining the armor bonus would be a bonus on mage armor, i.e. mage armor giving a +5 armor bonus on first level +6 on 5th and an additional +1 for every 5 levels thereafter.

Or rather a +1 enhancement bonus to your armor bonus to AC. With an additional +1 for every 5 levels thereafter.

I don't like the idea of a scaling +stats augmentation as one of the things that really slows down the game is looking up a monster, adding a template with variable abilties based on hit dice, then modifying stats and trying to work out the changes to its +hit (is it using weapon finesse, does it still need to use weapon finesse) and +damage (is that attack 0.5xStr 1xStr or 1.5xStr).

A augmentation based on +to hit, +damage, or +hitpoints is much similar.

Reducing casting time of summon spells from full-round to a full-round action would be a nice feature.

Existing Problems

3.5 has two seperate mechanic for crafting. Non-magical items (including alchemy) use a skill system, where as magical items use a feat only system.

Some craft skills are also much more useful than others, characters with Craft(Stone) are probably trying to qualify for a prestege class or doing it for background reasons and will roll that skill a lot less than someone with craft (alchemy).

Some craft feats are better than others. For example, Wondrous Item gives much more use than Brew Potion despite the fact that they can be taken at the same level.

It may be nice to take this oppotunity to combine these two systems into a single unified craft system and try to fix these problems.

Idea 1: Crafting with Skills.

There is already a concept that some craft skills require a caster level (i.e. alchemy in 3.5), this could be extended to cover some extra skills, maybe it would also be worthwhile removing this restriction from alchemy to make the magical/non-magical split better.

Each magical item would have a DC based on its affects caster level for simple conversion.

To represent the fact that some things cost much more than others each subskill would detail a base amount produced per craft check point. For many existing skills this is 1sp, but the magical skills could have 1gp, 1pp, 10pp, or higher as needed to bring them in line with current creation times.

Non-Magical

Craft (Weapons and Armour) - Making non-magical weapons, armour, bows, and amunition.
Craft (Alchemy) - As is, nomagical one use items.
Craft (Apothecary) - Similiar to alchemy but covering Posions, herbs and some new added medicines.
Craft (Mechanisms) - Mechanical Traps, Locks, and gadgets such as the mechanical footpad.

Magical

Craft (Trinkets) - Magical Scrolls, Potions, and other one use magical trinkets.
Craft (Enchantments) - Applying magical properties to weapons, armour, bows, and ammunition.
Craft (Wands) - spell completion items, either 50 charges or X uses per day. Wands, Staffs, and Rods.
Craft (Magical Item) - Continuous or use activated items, Wonderous items, Rings.

For backwards compatibility someone with one of the old craft feats could simply gain an effective score of the level +3 in the relevent craft skill for the purposes of making the named type of object (in many cases this would be a subset of the skill, i.e. potions ).

Idea 2: Crafting with Feats

Remove the Craft skill and instead have a feat for each type of producable. Change the amount produced to a flat amount per day. Add creation level requirements to items based on their previous craft DC's.

No real way of making this backwardly compatible springs to mind.

Comments or maybe some better ideas?

Epic Meepo's system is much easier, the only problem with the system is that most monsters don't have class levels so there is no notion of cross class skill and class skills for them.

Should all monster skills be treated as cross class? If yes then they get lower skills scores than 3.5.

Or should all monster skills be treated as class skills? Then it breaks if you add a class level and try to work out the skill scores.

I guess you need a change to fix this. Maybe mark skills as class/cross class for each creature type. Or allow them to choose X class skills based on the number of points their base type gives them.

I always found Knowledge (local) quite problamatic as it doesn't define what local means. If I move countries I suddenly seem to know as much about the new places as I did about the old. It should really be a skill relating to named region when you take it, in such cases a lot can be folded into it.

Knowledge (Arcane) = Old Arcana, identifying arcane spells and effects (spellcraft).
Knowledge (Divine) = Religion, undead, identifying divine spells and effects (spellcraft).
Knowledge (Named Region) = Knowledge (local), current information relating to knowledge geography, nobility, or achitecture. Information relating to the local population type (so would include the old knowledge dungeoneering uses if the region were the underdark for example), elves, dwarves, or what ever else is appropriate for the chosen region.
Knowledge (History) = Old knowledge history, historical information relating to old knowledge nobility, geography, or achitechture skills.
Knowledge (Planes) - Cosmology.
Knowledge (Nature) - Natural Creatures, plants, places.

"A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus or have an XP cost. The user activates it mentally." - SRD.

It's not just an 8 HD Efreeti can grant three wishes a day, with no cost at all. An 18th level non-specialist wizard in Pathfinder Alpha can make any magical item he wants (or upgrade his existing items as that just costs extra) regardless of the normal cost absolutly free once every single day with the spell-like wish granted to him by his class.

A simple fix would be to change the wording that section of the spell to... "The caster creates any magical item he wishes automatically meeting any prerequites that the item may have including item creation feats and spell requirements. Regardless of the normal time to craft this item the caster makes the item instantly. In all other ways the caster follows the normal item creation rules including having to pay any experience or monetary costs." Posibly throwing in monetary costs up to a certain limit, say the 12.5K to bring it in line with the 25k per spell limit on non-magical goods.

Then again maybe an income of 25,000gp non-magical goods per day with no cost and a standard action may also be broken, so that might need fixing as well.

To totally eliminate front loaded class choice you also need to fix the change previous made for starting hit points.

Instead of having a character's first class HD maximised instead, give all characters a racial Hit Dice (between d4 and d10) that they get at first level (or if they have no levels).

Starting PC's can have their racial HD maximised and roll their class HD (including first level). NPC's can roll or average everything.

Using your values from the alpha; Frail 4, Normal 6, Sturdy 8.
A first level elven wizard would have 4+1d4+con mod, where as a dwarven wizard would have 8+1d4+con mod. I would be inclinded to make that frail 6, normal 8, sturdy 10 to give everyone more survivability than standard 3.5.

With this in place and the skill changes from above you can totally eliminate the importance of class order when building characters and npcs, making the process alot simpler.

Also using this hitpoint system you can make npc such as a peasent without any class levels and easily work out their hitpoints (roll or max racial HD) and skills (a number less than 4+int, say just int) while remaining inside the rules.

The Alpha Skill system is far too front loaded. The class you take at 1st level is far too important. If you get rid of ranks so that the number of skill points you get at each level is irrelevant to your class then the number you get at first level also has to be irrelevant.

The following system removes this problem but as with all these no-rank skill systems, it isn't compatible with 3.5 but rather possible to convert 3.5 to it. This probably rewards massive multi-classing too much as well and may well need someone to come up with some restraints to add to it, maybe just making the bonus skill reward be based on class level instead of character level.

Untrained* (rank 0): 1d20 + Ability mod.
Trained (rank 1) 1d20 + Ability mod + 0.5x(character level +3).
Expert (rank 2) 1d20 + Ability mod + 1x(character level +3).
Master** (rank 3): 1d20 + Ability mod + 1.5x(character level +3).

*Some skill uses can't be attempted untrained.
**Mastery requires a feat to raise a single skill from expert to master. Feat can be taken multiple times.

A character starts untrained in all skills apart from their class skills in which they gain a non-stacking +1 rank bonus (so all class-skills start out trained before you spend any points, that's +0.5x(CL+3) ). When you multi-class new class skills also get this 1 rank step bonus, but if you get the same class skill multiple times you only get the bonus once.

All characters regardless of their class then get 4 + int mod skill choices at first level and gain an additional skill choice at 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter. These can be spent on any skills (including cross-class skills) to raise them one rank step. You can add a choice to Rogue Talent class feature allowing them one additional skill choice.

Reduce the class skills lists to just core abilities, others can still be bought as needed.

Rogue class skills: Appraise, Climb, Deception, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Knowledge (engineering, local), Perception, Stealth, Theft, Use Magical Device.

Fighter class skills: Craft (weaponsmithing, armoursmithing), Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (dungeoneering), Perception, Ride, Swim.

Wizard class skills: Appraise, Craft (alchemy), Fly, Knowledge (arcana, planes), Linguistics, Spellcraft.

Cleric class skills: Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (planes, planes), Linguistics, Spellcraft.

Ranger class skills: Climb, Craft (bowmaking), Handle Animal, Knowledge (geography, nature), Perception, Ride, Stealth, Survival, Swim.

Paladin class skills: Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (nobility, religion), Ride.

Some skills were merged because of the skill rank system and their not being enough points to go around so people always bought the best skills, with this system you should consider not merging some of the non-rogue skills. Use Rope, and Jump in particular might work in this system.

My two cents...

Most of the players I played with chose their skills at first level and increased them every level.

The way I see it, the "new" skill system is doing more or less the same.

And that's where the problem arises. It looks the same but it isn't anywhere near. The big problem is its too front loaded:

The class you take at first level is too important, a Rogue 1/Warrior 10 has the same skills as a Rogue 11. Which certainly is incompatible with 3.5.

Assuming 10 int a Rogue 1/Warrior 10 has 13 maxed-out skills (equivalent of 182 ranks) where as a Warrior 10/Rogue 1 has only 7 skills (98 ranks). In the current system this would be (52 ranks verses 32 ranks). So not only is order important but in the alpha two things stand out some characters get more skills and taking your first level as rogue in will set you up in skills for life, its just too much of an advantage.

In an ideal system your class order should be irrelevant.

Legerdemain: Sleight of Hand, Escape Artist.
Tinker: Disable Device, Pick Lock.
Deception: Bluff, Forgery

Keep Intimidation and Diplomacy separate but make intimidation Strength based so its an extra skill for tough types.

How about...

Untrained* (rank 0): 1d20 + Ability mod.
Trained (rank 1) 1d20 + Ability mod + 0.5x(character level +3).
Expert (rank 2) 1d20 + Ability mod + 1x(character level +3).
Master** (rank 3): 1d20 + Ability mod + 1.5x(character level +3).

*Some skill uses can't be attempted untrained.
**Mastery requires a feat to raise a single skill from expert to master. Feat can be taken multiple times.

A character starts untrained in all skills apart from their class skills in which they gain a non-stacking +1 rank bonus (so all class-skills start out trained before you spend any points, that's +0.5x(CL+3) ). When you multi-class new class skills also get this 1 rank step bonus, but if you get the same class skill multiple times you only get the bonus once.

All characters regardless of their class then get 4 + int mod skill choices at first level and gain an additional skill choice at 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter. These can be spent on any skills (including cross-class skills) to raise them one rank step. You can add a choice to Rogue Talent class feature allowing them one additional skill choice.

Reduce the class skills lists to just core abilities, others can still be bought as needed.

Rogue class skills: Appraise, Climb, Deception, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Knowledge (engineering, local), Perception, Stealth, Theft, Use Magical Device.

Fighter class skills: Craft (weaponsmithing, armoursmithing), Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (dungeoneering), Perception, Ride, Swim.

Wizard class skills: Appraise, Craft (alchemy), Fly, Knowledge (arcana, planes), Linguistics, Spellcraft.

Cleric class skills: Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (planes, planes), Linguistics, Spellcraft.

Ranger class skills: Climb, Craft (bowmaking), Handle Animal, Knowledge (geography, nature), Perception, Ride, Stealth, Survival, Swim.

Paladin class skills: Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (nobility, religion), Ride.

Some skills were merged because of the skill rank system and their not being enough points to go around so people always bought the best skills, with this system you should consider not merging some of the non-rogue skills. Use Rope, and Jump in particular might work in this system.

Identify

Identifying magical items can be done at will so effectively you will be taking twenty on the rolls. This means that you will automatically (take 20 or roll every 12 seconds until you get a 20) identify items that have a caster level of up to (five + int mod) greater than your own caster level.

So a first level wizard with a 16 int and the appraise skill can id 8th level objects guaranteed in a matter of minutes. You may want to consider not allowing a reroll on appraise checks when using detect magic (identify is fine because its not at will) or having a mechanic like only one reroll per day for each item.

Spell-like abilities

Domains and Wizards have some spell-like abilities of spells you really shouldn't allow. Limited Wish, Wish, Resurrection as written shouldn't be usable daily with absolutely no components or xp costs. If you have them make them cast as spells.

Feats

Although the combat feat mechanic works as a way of implementing 9 sword style content some of the feats you have moved over to this don't work at all.

Some of the feats you converted aren't suitable as combat feats for example Precise Shot needs to be used every round (and folded into the game for free or at least have no prerequisites but that's an aside).

By all means have combat feats have prerequisites of other combat feats but you may want to consider losing the last round you must have done X mechanic.

Rapid Shot and Multishot are different and used in different situations. They would work as combat feats providing they didn't have to follow each other. A lot of the feats you converted aren't something you do to build up to something else.

All combat feats should be some sort of action you can do. As a standard action you can X. None of them should just have flat bonuses (Such as Dodge), such things should be normal feats.

When changing feats don't make them weaker (power attack, combat expertise) and if you are going to radically change them (cleave, greater cleave) just make new feats with a different name instead.

Broken Feats

The Caught Off-Guard feat allows a rogue to carry around a Chair and hit people with it to always get their sneak attack. I can see that someone picking up an item and hitting me may be unexpected but this feat means I'm still surprised on round 15 when the rogue hits me with his chair for the 60th time. Make the feat something like as a Standard action a character can pick up a improvised weapon and make a single attack against an opponent without penalty. The target is flat-footed against this attack. An individual item can only be used this way once per encounter.

Specialist

A Conjurer has the Mage Armour spell therefore his specialist bonus is pointless and never going to be used. Change it to a +1 enhancement bonus to armour class. This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 caster levels you possess, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.

Racial Abilities

Unnatural Beauty - Seems strange that a race without a charisma bonus would have this effect on people.

Spells

The alignment based cleric spells are received much later than normal. This would effect item creation.