ClockworkWraith's page

Hey folks, I'm one of the Shadow run cover artists (google Shadow run Hard Targets to see my work) and I dm'ing a 5th level game tonight and have a player joining who wants to play a magic missile focused sorceror. Unfortunately, they are completely new to pathfinder, and have no idea how to build a 5th level character, and I am completey crushed for time. So I present this: if anyone can be our hero tonight and whip together an easy to pick up, super magic missile spamming 5th level sorceror by 5:30/6 central time, I will sketch their pathfinder character for them. I'll pick the winner in a kind of "first in, best dressed" sort of manner Sound good? Ready, go!

I have a player showing up to join our game tonight (I'm the GM) who asked me if I could build a lvl 5 Drow Dragonrider (Red Dragon) for her so that she can jump in right away. I agreed, but the class has me a bit frazzled: I have no idea how to properly build this. The class can seemingly do everything, though I know that's not inherently true.

I feel like I should focus on dex primarily, with int second? Would they need mounted combat and the various mounted combat feats if their focus makes attacking from the mount a secondary thought? IS attacking from the mount a secondary thought? What are the basic tactics for a Dragonrider in combat? >_<

As you can see, I'm in a bit of a tizzy, and the time pressure isn't helping. Any help here wold be much appreciated!

Thank you!

-Clockwork

*DISCLAIMER: I really like the Dragonrider class, and have researched it on many forums to get a feel for their power level, I just haven't built one before.

Hail and well met adventurers! XD

I'm looking for advice on what class would mechanically benefit the party I'm joining. It's going to be a three man group, with the other two players playing a tiefling melee unchained rogue, and a human shield specialist fighter (who uses antagonize to great effect). They are third level.

I'm thinking bard, magus, or 3rd party "Machinesmith" class from NeoExodus (our GM allows 3rd party as long as it is well reviewed).

I would prefer to stay in melee (not a fan of natural and unarmed attacks though for style reasons), hence I'd rather not go straight wizard (I have the most fun describing my attacks in combat). I know they're missing magical versatility but too much book-keeping and powers checking makes my head spin, and I'll tend to start missing points or forgetting how many add-ons I have equipped or modifiers to count (hence I'm not automatically playing as a wizard or summoner. Even the alchemist might be too much).

Any suggestions would be great! Thank you in advance!

So my friend wants to play a pure pyromancer ranged blaster, (think chandra from mtg) and is have a bit of analysis paralysis in regards to what would be a more optimized choice in terms of ranged damage dealing. I informed him of the problems pure fire typed damage will have at later levels, but he really loves the concept.

Does anyone have any suggested builds or advice as far as one class over the other?

He's planning on being human, if it helps.

I'm looking for advice on the viability of a Grenadier Alchemist tank. My DM came up with a fantastic half-dwarf race build, and has house-ruled the martial weapon proficiency to also include shield proficiency if I select the heavy shield with the grenadier's free martial proficiency.

I not only love the flavor of a half-dwarf with a heavy shield bashing away with an alchemically charged shield, but I looked into a shield attachment called a shield boss, and one of the varieties of shield boss, the breakaway boss, lets you attach an alchemical vial to the shield, so that when you bash with it, the vial also detonates, dealing direct hit damage.

This seems like an open invitation to alchemy damage stacking.

Thoughts?

Hello Adventurers,

My DM invited me to his customized Serpent's Skull campaign, and due to my late entry, all the other players already have their classes picked.

I'm looking for advice as to what class woyld help out this group the most in a pulp jungle adventure like Serpent's Skull, while also not stepping on anyone's toes.

Here is the party list:
Halfing Ninja
Slyph Sky druid
Ratling Conjurer
Tiefling Archer

I'm thinking they could use a divine tank, like a Warpriest, or maybe backup skills and trap finding in the form of an investigator? Thoughts?

Hello all,
I'm about to hand over Thornkeep to a friend of mine to run at his store, and when he asked me for a player's guide to help his group of newbies build their characters, It occurred to me that for a module of this size, I have found very little in the means of player support.

I want to be able to hand over a decent handful of player aid, and would very much appreciate any suggestions the community might have!

Now then, to begin.
It seems that this module was built with a particular focus on rogues, outlaws, and mercenaries as player characters, and that rogues, rangers (with goblinoid favored enemy), and at later dungeon levels, wizards, all seem to be in focus. A cleric would get some good use early on and later in the arc, but not as essential as in other modules? (I could be missing something about that one, though). There's also a lot of npc interaction and lot of knowledge local rolls.

Any other suggestions?

Like the title says, just trying to work with him on how to do this. He's pretty set on it, so like a good GM, I'd like to find a way to make it work for him. Any advice?

Just a quick question; I'm digging through the SRD looking for a (preferably 3rd level or below) spell that functions similarly to Diablo III's Spectral Blades spell (never mind the audio or runes/skill abilities).
Really what I'm looking for is a close range blade spell, preferably that hits multiple opponents in close burst or "shotgun blast'. I've considered refluffing burning hands to be flaming sword slashes and the like, but if I can find a force (or specifically swords-ish) spell that functions similarly, that would be ideal.

Thoughts?

3rd party is okay, though I'd prefer to stick to Paizo.

Just a quick question; I'm digging through the SRD looking for a (preferably 3rd level or below) spell that functions similarly to Diablo III's Spectral Blades spell (never mind the audio or runes/skill abilities).
Really what I'm looking for is a close range blade spell, preferably that hits multiple opponents in close burst or "shotgun blast'. I've considered refluffing burning hands to be flaming sword slashes and the like, but if I can find a force (or specifically swords-ish) spell that functions similarly, that would be ideal.

Thoughts?

3rd party is okay, though I'd prefer to stick to Paizo.

We're playing Rise of the Runelords and lost some characters in the misgivings. The survivors are headed into Magnimar now, and it's a pretty good time to introduce new party members. As such, I'm looking for some advice on what kind of character to bring into the new mix. We now have a changeling stygian slayer, a tiefling mysterious stranger gunslinger, and a human rogue. I'm curious as to what would, in your opinion, be a good fourth man in terms of party balance?

Hi guys, I'm trying to build a 5th level de-buffing, cavorting, creepy assassin type Jester, and looking for a potential build. At the moment, I'm considering a multi-class swashbuckler (from the ACG)/Bard with the Court bard Archetype. I really like the Swashbuckler's "Opportune Parry and Riposte" ability, as it seem like a very Jester thing indeed to bonk an enemy when they try to stab you, and I'd like to dual-wield, though that's not necessary if it ruins a potential build.

Any advice as to which class to take first, or ability spread? I'd like to rock high DEX, and I'm leaning more towards The Jester from Devil May Cry/the Harlequin from Assassin's Creed/Shako from League of Legends than a typical silly fool.

I got enough gold tonight to buy one, but not the other. we're in a low-income game, and i'm playing a STR-based human Warpriest.
Which one would better serve me?

I'm making a character for our group's foray into Skinsaw Murders, and was wondering if anyone could recommend a class based on what our party might need to balance out or better handle the path's dangers.

Right now we have a tiefling witch, a human rogue, and a human cavalier.

At the moment, I'm thinking of trying out the warpriest from the ACG playtest, or possibly a magus. I'd rather not play a straight cleric or paladin.
Thoughts?

The rest of the party consists of a tiefling witch, a human rogue, and a human cavalier. I'm not particularly feeling cleric, and am torn between fetchling soulknife or fetchling magus. Which one would better fill out the party, without stepping on other players toes? (For instance, the rogue already two weapon fights, and I would be playing a two weapon soulknife. I'm not sure how magus and witch balance out.)

Any advice here would be much appreciated, and thanks in advance!

I'm considering rolling up a Soulknife/Magus for our upcoming Rise of the Runelords campaign tonight, but is that a viable, or even practical, build? Can one theoretically use the soulknife's mindblade for spellstriking and spell combat? Would the enhancement bonus from both the Magi's arcane pool points AND the Soulknives's power points apply to the weapon?
I would be rolling a Dex based Soulknife for level 1, and going into a dex based magus if possible.

Thoughts?

I was hoping to find some advice on making a proper fetchling magus. I've played the Dervish Dancer Magus, which was AMAZING, but as a fetchling I can't take dervish dancer, correct? And I don't necessarily want to be a high strength/armored up magus, as that doesn't quite fit the fluff. I considered Bladebound with a katana or falcata (using heirloom weapon and just waiting till third to use it), but starting at level 1, so I think I can take the archetype later if I choose to do so?

Also, is there a way to add more of a "Plane of Shadow" feel to the magi's spell list?

I've got a game tonight, and when rolling the random encounter we got "Wyvern". I'm the DM, so I was looking for suggestions as to how to level the playing field for them so it's not a tpk.

Right now, the party consist of (all third level) a Dwarven Cleric, a Human Wolf Shifter (like a barbarian), an Elven Magus, and a Dhampir Synthesist Summoner. I had described the area they are entering into as "open, stony plains", and they would be just exiting the forest.

I'm hoping to add something environmental or cool roleplay-wise (like a magic weapon sticking out of it's back or something) that would help even out the encounter, but I would rather not just remove some of the Wyvern's abilities or ability scores.

Thoughts?

I thought I'd share some of the artwork I've sketched and/or had the time to paint of the various characters I've played in Pathfinder.

First up is the sketch I did of my very first serious tabletop character:
Sabata, the Aerenal Elven Dread Necromancer from our old Eberron game.

After finding out that I'll be "resurrecting" the character to participate in a Pathfinder: Zeitgeist game, I threw some quick colors on him.

Sabata The Dread Necromancer

I had a great time with the Dread Necromancer class, and playing a heretical elven lich-in-the-making wanderer was a TON of fun. So much so that I even started sketching up concepts to give him a couple of illustrated adventures! If I ever get the rest of that work done, they may even see the light of day. ^_^

Alright, so the subject line is a bit misleading; it's not strictly a one handed weapon with reach, but rather, it is a one handed weapon that can be wielded in 2 hands to gain the reach property.

It is essentially a sword blade on very long haft. Fighting with it one handed involves short, quick jabs with the weapon primarily braced against the forearm. Reach fighting involves holding the weapon in two hands for balance and accuracy, before thrusting forward with the lower hand for distance. (contrary to popular belief, this is actually the manner in which most "reach" weapons were historically fought with)

Stat wise, the weapon is as follows:

Exotic One-Handed Melee Weapon:
1d8 damage
x2 crit
Piercing
Reach*

*You may use this weapon in two different ways:

One handed: May be used to attack adjacent opponents as per a standard one-handed weapon.

Two handed: In two-handed form you cannot attack adjacent opponents, but gain reach.

Switching between these two modes is a free action decided at the start of your turn.

I am debating adding Slashing to the damage types, but that may unbalance the weapon.

So, what do you guys think?

I stumbled upon this Cleric archetype awhile back, (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/core-races/dwarf/forgemaster-cleric-dwarf)
and wanted to know what you guys thought of it? It seems flavorful and thematically fun, but the Artifice domain seems pretty restrictive. Thoughts?

Are there any guides or good builds for this?

Hello All,

My players are running through Kingmaker right now and next week we'll be picking up a fourth player. He would like some solid suggestions on what class to play balance out the party. We've got a lot of third-party content in our game, and so far the party consists of:

Elven (Strength Build) Magus.

Vampire (a homebrew race from the thread below) Synthesist Summoner
(http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pc6o?Homebrew-Vampire-Race-for-Homebrew-Setti ng#1).

Human Wolf Shifter (from Wayfinder #5).

The Magus does DPS quite well, and the Synthesist Summoner seems to be similar to a Tank. The Wolf Shifter plays like a mix between ranger and barbarian.

I'm thinking of suggesting a cleric, rogue, or alchemist. Thoughts?

I took a shot at designing a playable vampire race for my players to try out and I would very much appreciate any advice or review you guys could give! I encourage you to help me playtest it, and see what you think! Of particular note are the vampiric power/blood point synergies in relation to the low con, and the balance of risk/reward in terms of using the Vampire Bite attack to heal. Also, would you prefer the Swarm of Darkness vampiric power feat as a starting vampiric power? And obviously, if I missed anything blatant, please feel free to let me know!
(RACE SHEET ON FOLLOWING POST)

I'll be running a homebrew campaign in the next few weeks or so wherein part of the setting's lore involves a large scale war between my world's version of Vampires and their sister race, the half-undead, half construct Vyrlock. As such, I needed a new, balanced Vampire race for player characters. We've all taken a look at the dhampir and their fun new tricks from Blood of the Night, as well as the options from the Liber Vampyr, and while they were all great option, none of them really hit the mark that I was aiming for.
So, instead of lamenting, I took some of my favorite inspirations and decided to design my own!

(Some of the fluff isn't finished, and there are some terms relating to the campaign setting you might not know, but nothing that would affect the crunch.)

(please try to avoid posts of "just use the dhampir" or "just use the vampire")
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help out with this project! I'll do my best to update the race as I review your comments, and will credit and log the edits on the following post.

Because Detect Magic only works on magical items or activated spells, is there a way to sense spellcasters? Like a metal detector, but for wizards? >_>

I'd like to try playing a shielded spear fighter/magus who can deliver spells through his spear, and it seems like Phalanx Soldier's "Phalanx Fighting" plus the Skirnir's "Shielded Spell Combat" would allow me to do that (albeit at somewhere around 11th level.)

Is this a viable build, and if so, is there a way to do this before 8th level?
Would it be better to start off as a Phalanx Soldier, or a Skirnir Magus at level 1? I'm assuming that the best race for this would be human due to the extra feat and versatility (which is fine as that is what I have in mind anyway).

Thank you in advance for any advice or helpful builds!

Just need a quick rules clarification for our game tonight.

If a player has, for example, a dwarven throwing axe equipped, does he threaten an Attack of Opportunity against enemies moving through it's ranged attack squares (10 ft)?

Thank you in Advance!

Trying to recommend a class for a friend for the Runelords game we're picking up. He was playing an elven wizard, but I don't think it was "action-y" enough for him.

Originally we had a party of; Elven Wizard, Half-Orc Druid, Half-Elf Ranger/Rogue, and Drow Magus. The Half-Elf Ranger/Rogue dropped out of the game, and now (a few months later) we're starting up again in the middle of the Skinsaw Murders.

So what class would you recommend for a 3 man party including a Drow Magus and a Half-Orc Druid for the remainder of runelords?

I know it's harder to play without a full party, but unfortunately he's not really interested in playing a cleric or non-human. -_-
Any other suggestions?

Looking for a way to make a mechanically balanced, yet powerful & nasty chainsword (ala Warhammer 40,000) for a magic/steampunk setting I'm working on.

I'm thinking about giving it a fuel source reliance, but I don't want it to be over cumbersome like a backpack or some such. I'm thinking more in line with magical/alchemical fuel cell.

Also, I want to work in some variation of this new mechanic, depending on how you manage to stat out the weapon:
"For every consecutive successful hit against the same target by the Chainsword's wielder, the opponent takes a cumulative -1 to their AC, to a max of -3. Missing an attack reverts this negative to 0. This represents keeping the Chainsword pressed against the enemy in one sustained attack, tearing through them and their armor, instead of separate consecutive strikes."
A bonus to sunder also makes sense.

How about attaching negatives like on a Natural 1 the weapon jams, and a full round disable device check must be made to unjam it? Or the weapon does it's unmodified weapon damage to the wielder?

I want to stay away from the standard "just take greatsword/shortsword/battle axe and refluff it" cop-out, since I'm going for a weapon that actually -feels- different as well as -being- different. It's kind of a theme in my campaign setting that there are advanced exotic weapons out there that meaner than the standard sword (firearms, for example, are commonplace, but cost a feat (one of the most precious resources in the game) and often have caveats to their use.

We're reinventing the wheel here, and giving it kick ass steel teeth.

Thanks in advance for any comments or thoughts!

Just wanted a rules clarification. In the text on page 216 concerning Special Subtypes: Half-construct and Half-Undead it says that
"these subtypes can be added to any of the race types except for
construct and undead."
Is this to say that I cannot make a half-construct, Half-undead race, (Think a race of undead that prolongs their lives via magical apparatus or augmentation.) or that I cannot double up on these subtypes (i.e a creature that is Construct AND half-construct, thereby granting both qualities)?
I'm leaning towards the latter, since that makes the most sense as far as rule redundancy and clarification.
Thoughts?

Trying to find some assistance in fine tuning a dice mechanic for a home-brew game system.

The dice mechanic is called "Lining up a Shot". It is to be the primary way of shooting a gun at a target.

In a nutshell, the concept is this: The player rolls two dice (lets call one an Accuracy die, and one a Stability die), and attempts to have the resulting two numbers both fall within a pre-determined parameter. Here's an example, using 2 d12s for die:

A sniper (the player) is trying to line up a shot on an enemy soldier (the gm). The battlefield is hectic. The result of the Sniper's Accuracy die roll must be above 5, and his Stability roll below 7, for his shot to hit the enemy soldier. Both dice are rolled simultaneously.

Does the probability of success seem sound here, or will every shot be statistically unsound? What do you think the average, unmodified set of target numbers should be?

I'm very appreciative for any answers or time you take to help me out here,
Thank you.

PLEASE do not reply with posts about using an existing mechanic, or a completely new one. The purpose of this post is to troubleshoot the existing idea. Thank You.

Trying to find some assistance in fine tuning a dice mechanic for a home-brew game system.

The dice mechanic is called "Lining up a Shot". It is to be the primary way of shooting a gun at a target.

In a nutshell, the concept is this: The player rolls two dice (lets call one an Accuracy die, and one a Stability die), and attempts to have the resulting two numbers both fall within a pre-determined parameter. Here's an example, using 2 d12s for die:

A sniper (the player) is trying to line up a shot on an enemy soldier (the gm). The battlefield is hectic. The result of the Sniper's Accuracy die roll must be above 5, and his Stability roll below 7, for his shot to hit the enemy soldier. Both dice are rolled simultaneously.

Does the probability of success seem sound here, or will every shot be statistically unsound? What do you think the average, unmodified set of target numbers should be?

I'm very appreciative for any answers or time you take to help me out here,
Thank you.

PLEASE do not reply with posts about using an existing mechanic, or a completely new one. The purpose of this post is to troubleshoot the existing idea. Thank You.

So I have a player who wants to dual wield two of these in our sci-fi/magic heavy game, and I challenge you to come up with some fun and viable stat builds for these exotic weapons!

Brief detail: They function like some mixture of piercing and slashing, and are wielding in a spinning dervish fashion. Other than that, have fun, and I look forward to your participation!

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc48/psopics/CrossScar.jpg

http://www.pso-world.com/images/items/BB-CROSS_SCAR-ACTION-1.jpg

In a three man party so far consisting of a Human Inquisitor and Dhampir Hungry Ghost Monk, what would you recommend for the third man; A Human Hospitaler Paladin, or a Human Crypt Breaker Alchemist?

We'll be starting Carrion Crown in a couple of weeks, and wanted to try to cover bases while still remaining true to the feel of the campaign.

Thoughts?

So I'm going to start running Carrion Crown soon, and a player approached me with an updated Dhampir race he created from the ARG:

Racial Qualities

Type:
Humanoid (0rp)
Size:
Medium (0rp)
Base Speed:
Normal Speed (0rp)
Ability Score Modifier:
Standard (0rp)
+2 Strength, +2 Cha, -2 Con
Language:
Standard (0rp)
Racial Traits:
Defense
Fast Healing 1 (6rp)
Moon-Touched Damage Reduction (3rp)
Resist Level Drain (1rp)
Feat and Skill:
Quick Reactions (2rp)
Magical:
Constant Spell-Like Divination -Detect Undead- (3rp)
Senses:
Darkvision 60ft. (2rp)
Weakness:
Light Blindness (-2rp)
Negative Energy Affinity (-1rp)

None of this really concerns me except for the Constant Spell-like Divination: Detect Undead. I have a feeling this ability could be easily abused in an undead-heavy campaign like Carrion Crown. What do you guys think? Do you think this would possibly derail the campaign or ruin the spooky "dead guy sneaks up behind and grabs you" feel?

What things would you make sure your perfect Adventure Path had?

I'm writing up my own Adventure Path for our group, and would like to know how many encounters you think is fair (and fun!) per module book, as both players and DM's.

What's your ideal breakdown of encounter types? 3 battles and 2 exploration encounters? 1 Investigation, 4 battles? Lets hear your favorite set ups!

Need help trying to design a vampire offshoot race that survives off of magic in the same way that other vampires survive off of blood. Any ideas as to how reflect that in crunch? I looked at races like the nightshade and vampire for inspiration, as well as classes like the spell thief, but I'd like the race to be a playable one should characters choose to do so. (similar to the drow/drow noble in terms of playable and non-player character options.) Any thoughts?

Need help trying to design a vampire offshoot race that survives off of magic in the same way that other vampires survive off of blood. Any ideas as to how reflect that in crunch? I looked at races like the nightshade and vampire for inspiration, as well as classes like the spell thief, but I'd like the race to be a playable one should characters choose to do so. (similar to the drow/drow noble in terms of playable and non-player character options.) Any thoughts?

I'm going to be playing Rise of the Runelords soon, and got the okay from my DM to use the RAW "Greatweapon Spell Combat" feat from Advanced Feats: Might of the Magus in order to play a Magus who uses either the Kusarigami or the Double Chained Kama (most likely the latter). The character has to be a Drow in order to adhere to my dm's request.

"Greatweapon Spell Combat (Combat)
You can use spell combat with a two-handed weapon.
Prerequisite: Str 15, Spell Combat
Benefit: You may use Spell Combat while wielding a
two-handed weapon but suffer an additional -1 penalty on
all attack rolls for a total of -3.
Special: A bladebound magus with this feat may select
a two-handed slashing weapon for their black blade."

I need some advice on making this a fun yet effective build, and your thoughts on how spell combat would work given the nature of the weapon and the feat. Do you think it would even work? Any ideas on Builds?