Alastir Wade

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Any help would be very much appreciated on this.
First, I'd like to verify how the Wings Discovery actually works.
Second, I'm curious to explore and come to a verdict on the synergy between Wings and the Beastmorph archetype (specifically at lvl 6).

So, Wings and flying:

Quote:

Wings Discovery:

Wings (Ex)
    Prerequisite: Alchemist 6

    Benefit: The alchemist gains bat-like, bird-like, or insect-like functional wings, allowing him to fly as the fly spell for a number of minutes per day equal to his caster level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-minute increments.

    Special: An alchemist can select this discovery multiple times; each time he does so, he adds his caster level to the number of minutes per day that he can fly with the wings. This flight is an extraordinary ability.


Quote:

Fly Spell:

Fly
    The subject can fly at a speed of 60 feet (or 40 feet if it wears medium or heavy armor, or if it carries a medium or heavy load). It can ascend at half speed and descend at double speed, and its maneuverability is good.

    Using a fly spell requires only as much concentration as walking, so the subject can attack or cast spells normally. The subject of a fly spell can charge but not run, and it cannot carry aloft more weight than its maximum load, plus any armor it wears. The subject gains a bonus on Fly skill checks equal to 1/2 your caster level.

    Should the spell duration expire while the subject is still aloft, the magic fails slowly. The subject floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 rounds. If it reaches the ground in that amount of time, it lands safely. If not, it falls the rest of the distance, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of fall. Since dispelling a spell effectively ends it, the subject also descends safely in this way if the fly spell is dispelled, but not if it is negated by an antimagic field.

    See Falling Damage if something bad happens!


Quote:

Fly Skill (all mentions of wings):

Fly Skill

Attacked While Flying

    You are not considered flat-footed while flying. If you are flying using wings and you take damage while flying, you must make a DC 10 Fly check to avoid losing 10 feet of altitude. This descent does not provoke an attack of opportunity and does not count against a creature’s movement.

Collision While Flying

    If you are using wings to fly and you collide with an object equal to your size or larger, you must immediately make a DC 25 Fly check to avoid plummeting to the ground, taking the appropriate falling damage.

Try Again

    Varies. You can attempt a Fly check to perform the same maneuver on subsequent rounds. If you are using wings and you fail a Fly check by 5 or more, you plummet to the ground, taking the appropriate falling damage.

So, Wings are an Extraordinary ability; neither a spell nor spell-like. Do the following even apply?

  • "Should the spell duration expire while the subject is still aloft, the magic fails slowly. The subject floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 rounds."
  • "The subject of a fly spell can charge but not run"

I would interpret that neither do, because the Discovery states that you gain functional wings, meaning both pros and cons apply: can't be dispelled, collision can cause the flier to plummet, rather than float down, and the flier should be able to take the run maneuver. So, this begs the question, what does "fly as the fly spell" mean then? Well, the character would gain a fly speed, a maneuverability of Good, and a bonus to fly checks. If that's true, why not just write that? Too many things in the Fly spell are specifically magical and don't seem to make any sense when applied to the gaining of functional wings.

Thoughts?

Next question. This is specifically related to how the Wings Discovery plays with the Beastmorph Archetype at level 6. Here are the references:

Quote:

Beastmorph:

Improved Beastform Mutagen

    At 6th level, a beastmorph’s mutagen grants him additional abilities and options. The alchemist gains his choice of two of the abilities listed in the beast shape I spell, which persist as long as the mutagen. He may select two different abilities each time he creates a mutagen.
    This ability replaces swift poisoning.

Quote:

Beast Shape I:

Beast Shape I
    When you cast this spell, you can assume the form of any Small or Medium creature of the animal type. If the form you assume has any of the following abilities, you gain the listed ability:
    climb 30 feet, fly 30 feet (average maneuverability), swim 30 feet, darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, and scent.

    Small animal: If the form you take is that of a Small animal, you gain a +2 size bonus to your Dexterity and a +1 natural armor bonus.

    Medium animal: If the form you take is that of a Medium animal, you gain a +2 size bonus to your Strength and a +2 natural armor bonus.


As far as I understand, nothing in Beast Shape I is relevant other than the list of features I've bolded. An alchemist with this archetype simply chooses two of them when the imbibing a mutagen. Size and the rest of the text is irrelevent. That right so far?

Ok, what happens if an alchemist with the Wings Discovery chooses that fly speed feature: fly 30 feet (average maneuverability)? This is clearly inferior to both the maneuverability and speed of Wings, but its one, very significant advantage is that it lasts the entirety of the mutagen! Does the Beastmorph archetype or Beast Shape 1 assume that the character does not already have a fly speed? Does it set the players fly speed to the worse one regardless? Would it make sense/does it follow the rules for the character who does this to keep the better flying ability, but bolster its duration to that provided by the feature?

Thanks, and I hope that wasn't too convoluted.