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Next question, I have seen the suggested updates for parties of 4, 5, 6 thread but looking for what additional enemies I could include in the Arkryst encounter for a party of 8.
I have already thought of including some smaller 'children' drakes, but I feel that these would take away from the epicness of facing an ancient beast.
I could up the Ancient to be a Advanced Wyrm, but the sheer action power of action economy leads me to fear that even this fearsome beast would be no match for the party after the surprise round, even with the tactics as written.
So, I am looking for suggestions on appropriate addition to this encounter?

Looking for a PF1 campaign to be played online on FG, R20, foundry or an equivalent.
I don't mind which AP too much, even homebrew, and I have sooo many char ideas that I can fit with just about any group.

I was just surprised no one else had noticed. Huge props to the creators of the AE Errata doc who have done such a good job.

I was looking at a potential rebuild of Athroxis and noticed she has the Improved Critical Feat and her combat tactics instruct her to cast Keen Edge. Am I missing something or is one an issue?

After a long hiatus, my group of eight will be delving into Book 5 in the new year.

Yes, you can grapple multiple opponent's with multiple limbs. But the hair isn't multiple, its a single weapon.
It can't grapple and make subsequent attacks either.

If it's only a single weapon, how can it be simultaneously grappling more than one person? That's also not how the rules work.

Jurassicka wrote:

Hi.

I like to min max.

We are using all rule books, as in any material on D20PFSRD.

I've never tried to incorporate this into a build, but since your GM is allowing everything on d20pfsrd, you should take a look at Psychic Warrior.

Psychic Warriors have a version of Enlarge Person, and theirs is special. Expansion is augmentable: you can spend extra Psionic Strength Points to grow 2 sizes instead of 1, and that is rare in Pathfinder.

Also, Psychic Warriors have a Power called Grip of Iron, which will give you a +4 on your Grapple Checks.

Actually the hair is only a single weapon (you can only have one natural weapon per limb) so cannot grapple multiple enemies.

Name: Kran Half-Giant
Vital Statistics: Fighter 8
Adventure: Hook Mountain Massacre
Catalyst: Confusion + bad luck on dice rolls plus Crit
The Gory Details:
Group has walked into the trap set by the remaining Ogres on the top floor of Fort Rannick. Party Fighter is duking it out with an Ogre Fighter while confused, but just couldn't hit for toffee. then an ogre crit.

I agree with you. I was recently looking at making a buffing based character and looked for the best buffs that i wanted to give out (to others).

Nearly all of them were on the wizard list rather than the cleric list: haste, displacement, heroism, fly, stoneskin, invisiblity/greater, and magic weapon greater (at 1 lvl lower). And if you include alchemist extracts you can start giving out shield and mirror image extracts as well.

Its kind of a bummer that one of the cleric's main niche's have been minimized so much. I'm kind of surprised that people haven't rallied to change the type bonuses for a lot of cleric buffs to something that stacks with the big six similar to some of the newer designed spells which usually type the bonus as a sacred bonus.

I actually think this is a good thing. Clerics already need to keep slots open for status removal, they don't want to be wasting further slots on buffing others. This means they can be casting more active spells.

Similarly, I think its fair that the Cleric is not as good a blaster as a Wizard, because they have status renewal.

There are also a number of absolute gems on the Cleric list, and top of my list is Barbed Chains. A level 1 spell that scales throughout your career thanks to being based on BAB. Four attempts at level 10 (more than a Fighter could do at that level) to do a Trip or damage that can cause Shaken with no SR.

As was pointed out, like all characters, Clerics need to focus on what they are going to do. Build for melee, being comparatively good at early levels but restricted to buffs and status removal, or accept the early level limitations of being a caster and go with maxxing your casting stat for later game.

I like KR Multicase - they have a range of sizes and shapes, so you can take a small box to a con or friends house and leave larger boxes in storage. And most of the trays are interchangeable.

Why not just dip a single level of Fighter for your Heavy Armour Prof, and/or go Fighter from level 6 once you have Dex to damage? Seems to net you the main wins from Gun Tank. If you want the Crit immunity, take a level of Dual-Cursed Oracle and the Misfortune Revelation, now you're giving the Crit immunity to everyone in the group.

In terms of the original request around suggestions, I think if you want to optimise the combat side and your group has other access to the Cleric/Oracle Spell list, then I'd probably go 5 levels of Gunslinger. That still lets you start the campaign with Fervor.

In terms of multiple pistols, I think it's fine for round 1, but after that you drop or sheathe the second one, and just shoot and reload a single pistol.
I can certainly see the cool factor, and if other players are running similarly optimised combat builds (or the party is constructed for you to carry a large portion of the combat weight), then great. But because reloading requires two hands, players with system mastery may be annoyed with an attack sequence that looks something like: Free Action = FA
FA Draw Pistol, FA Draw pistol
Begin Full attack firing both guns
FA transfer gun 2 to tail, FA reload gun 1
Fire gun 1 (Rapid Shot), FA reload gun 1
Fire Gun 1 (Iterative), FA reload gun 1 (in preparation for the next round).
If you are planning to fire the second pistol in subsequent rounds, then you also have the following:
FA Transfer gun 2 to off-hand, FA transfer gun 1 to tail, FA reload gun 2, FA transfer gun 1 to main hand.
The class is clearly designed around gunslingers of a certain level being able to rapidly reload and fire a pistol for multiple shots a round, but the second weapon certainly adds a lot to that sequence that many players may find unpalatable.

Paladin 2 and take Noble Scion of War at level 1.
Oracle of Lore 1 (Taking the Cha to Know and Cha instead of Dex for AC, Reflex etc)
Sorc 2 (could also go bard or Skald)
DD 7
This is more melee focused, but gives you amazing saves and allows you to dump Dex entirely for some really big Str and Cha scores.
For more caster version I would probably go:
Unchained Scaled Fist 1
Sorc 4
DD 7

The good thing about a Shaman as a Healer is that you can spend fairly minimal resources on it and have a ready made alternative action for early in most encounters with the Evil Eye and/or Misfortune Hexes.
You get Channeling innately with the Life Spirit and then you can fill up your spell slots with Remove spells because your spell list is terrible. The down-side is that spamming evil Eye or Misfortune every encounter can get old.
Also worth noting from the earlier post in this thread that the Shaman Life Link has been faqed to work the same as the Orcale version.

How re you firing more than one pistol per round? Reloading requires 2 hands and even with Quick Draw you are going to be wracking up Free Actions.
One of the big Draw backs to Mysterious Stranger is that without the focus on Wis, your Will Save is going to be vulnerable. if you can get 2 levels of Paladin in there, it may be viable.
If you structured the build in the right way you could take a Paladin level first (suggest Dviine Hunter archetype) and the Amateur Gunslinger Feat, taking Quick Clear as your Deed. And when you then take your Gunslinger levels you can choose to keep the Deed you have.

As mentioned, Paladin Smite is probably the single biggest bonus, but a Sanctified Slayer (Inquisitor) gets Studied Target, Bane, spells, and potentially Domain powers.
But a Warpriest depending on the archetype and circumstances wins this for me. A Cult Leader gains:
Scaling weapon damage dice, access to Weapon Specialisation, spells, Sacred Weapon, Blessings and scaling sneak attack.

While some builds require heavy specialisation, I think one of the Druid's strengths is its utility. There are plenty of No Save spells as well as Summoning on the list as well as buffs, that mean an all-round build can work very well.
I would however suggest finding out what others are bringing in terms of classes and roles, as that might give you a better handle on which way to focus.
In terms of Toughness v Heavy Armour, I would definitely say Toughness.
If it turns out you are going all-out melee, I would suggest a single level of Unchained Monk can be brilliant for a Druid too.

Sounds like your group is meta-gaming tbh. Why are they casting those spells constantly? And are people not being offended that they are constantly being probed like that? I assume it would also be taking them a long, long time for your group to get anywhere if they are casting both constantly on everyone they meet.

The Dual-Cursed Oracle is the way to go if you really want to press the luck and rerolls buttons. It also grants access to the Ill Omen spell, which can extend the same theme even further.
Another option but it involves multi-classing is a Witch or Shaman for the Fortune/Misfortune Hexes.

2 levels of Eldritch Guardian Fighter for a Mauler Familiar (choose one with 3 or more attacks) that gains your Feats.
X levels of Warpriest of Desna.
Combat Expertise-> Butterfly Sting-> Improved Critical
Your Familiar is now passing on its Crit which are auto-confirmed to you for 4x goodness.
Extra points if you are small and ride the Familiar and it can Fly.

I think Oracle will definitely be stepping on the Clerics toes. Your shared spell list is the key attribute of both classes.
If you are looking for an option to HP heal in-combat at a pinch, I think the Alchemist does it very well.
With Longarm active, a few Cure Potions brewed (or found) and a few level 2 slots set aside for Curative Distillation, you are laughing. This method uses a few Extract slots, but otherwise minimal resources.

/Agree with Gummy Bear on consumables and action economy.

2000 gold for the Buffering Cap for Crit protection (1/day turns crit damage into non-lethal).
What Belt have you got? As mentioned, you should be able to tank via volume of HP+loH. Assuming a starting Con of 14 and a +4 belt of Str and Con you should be at over 11 HP per level.
Having said that, even a 25% chance for an enemy to miss with 1 of 4 attacks when its averaging 25 per hit is worth upping your AC for.
If you're tempted by the Oracle level, swap the BRager level for it instead of taking it instead of a Paly level - you want the LoH and Smite progression of 10 levels of Paly. As mentioned by a number of people Smite gives you a deflection bonus, upping your AC, and in PFS 4 Smites should be enough for 1 per fight.

Are you really sold on the Deepwater Rager? Because a Dex build on an Urban Unchained Barbarian seems like it would synergise really well with 4 levels of Scout Unchained Rogue (Dex to damage at level 3 and free Weapon Finesse).
With the Scout, whenever you charge, your target counts as flat-footed. And with Debilitating Injury, that would offset the charging penalty (plus Urban Barbarian Rage doesn't suffer AC penalties in Rage).
And where normally the loss of movement speed on the Urban Barbarian hurts, you will be charging most of the time anyway.

It can, yes, it's the exception. I'm not as familiar with gestalt, but depending on what you want to mix it with, you basically just need decent Dex and you're laughing.
A nice option would be an Empyreal (Wild Blooded Celestial) Sorcerer to make Wisdom your casting stat. Alternatively the Eldritch Archer Magus can spell-combat and spell strike with the musket. At 11 adding Dex to damage with the musket attacks on 3 Scorching Rays gets pretty messy, pretty quickly.

The crucial thing to bear in mind is your reloading options. Unless you are playing the Musket Master archetype 2-handed guns can't be reloaded faster than a move action.
Pistols can get down to a Free-action, but you need to have a discussion with your GM about how that will work.

If you want the song mechanic, what about an Evangelist Cleric or one of the other class archetypes that receives it?
With only a 10 or 12 Charisma and Lingering Performance you'll still have a decent number of rounds per day of song, and with only 2 skills per level, there's no expectation you'll be the party face.
You lose Medium armour, but with PFS wealth distribution and only going to 11, Mithral Chain is very viable for a non-tank melee. Even more so with a single dip of UnMok.
If you get your Strength up you can still play the beat-stick too, especially with Divine Favour and a couple of Cleric buffs/Domains in your back pocket.

Quick Draw is an excellent option for a Slayer as it opens his options mid-fight.
I would also look at taking Trapfinding and making more use of the Rogue Skills he gets access to. PFS does tend to make decent use of such.

I would definitely go Fey Foundling at first level - nothing says tank like Swift Action Self-Healing (plus status removal) and +2 HP healed per dice is brilliant.
Reach Weapons with Trip are also a nice option.
One level of Scaled Fist Unchained Monk (uses Cha instead of Wis for all Feats and abilities) maintains your full BAB progression while freeing you from the bonds of Plate armour. It also means you can Flurry with a Kusarigama, a Reach, Grapple and Trip weapon.
From level 3 you have great saves, self-heals, threaten at 5 and 10 Ft, can Grapple and Trip with your weapon with your AoOp (Combat Reflexes for free with your Monk level) and should be no slouch damage wise assuming Power Attack and a decent Str because the Kusarigama can be wielded 2-handed.

Animal Companions get assignable stat increases at levels 4 and 9, so that's how you get access to Int 3.
The issue with Mounted Fury levels stacking is whether a GM believes that a Gigantosaurus is a 'suitable animal to be a mount'. personally I would have thought only quadrupeds naturally come under that description. So I would expect table variation.

What would be an example of an effect (as opposed to a spell)?

If you are staying with the Octopus and maxing attack volumes, Monk with Feral Combat Training adding Jabbing Style to your Octopus tentacles grants an extra D6 damage on each tentacle attack.

It would because you can't pre-prepare it into a higher slot for Sacred Geomatry.

I'd second Warpriest, but might suggest the Cult Leader given he was going to lead his family and the sneak attack works nicely for extra static damage.

I have to disagree on WotR - it's not an AP I would recommend for a new group as it utilises some quite unique rules around massed combat and armies, as well as Mythic.

I did mean about getting sent to a random assortment of places. For our campaign we have been playing in a rural setting, so need scenarios not based in a city (surprisingly few are). But we are also based near Magnimar, so need to reflavour Tien based scenarios for example. But if you are making a Society based campaign, then regular changes of scenery are no problem and the season as a whole won't have any particular chronology.

When I first looked at the idea I did find a few threads where people had suggestions, but they were across multiple seasons where they had themes like undead or whatever.
My group actually do something similar, if you don't mind the group being members of the society then it's relatively easy to shoe-horn.
If you want to run it as more of a series of adventures then it really depends on how much you mind tweaking the setting/locale/background and briefing.

Eldritch Heritage Feat going Arcane bloodline.

I always advise to stay clear of melee Shaman because of the poor Fort save, especially problematic on a MAD class. WaPriest does the job a lot better, but how about Druid? Similar but better caster list than the Shaman, better saves and does great as a front-liner.

Which Blind trait?

The previous discussion around a similar instance may have been the Eldritch Scion Magus, as they have:
"Additionally, any magus class feature or spell from the magus spell list that normally uses a calculation based on Intelligence is instead based on Charisma for an eldritch scion."
If its ruled that ESM gain Cha+2 instead of Int then it fixes one of the holes in this archetype.
Personally, as things stand I think RAW it does become Cha+2, but I am doubtful that this is intended. I don't think I see any reason why I wouldn't allow 2+Cha in my campaigns, as I don't see why someone should be penalised for a different flavour of a class.

In terms of one-shots, my group use PFS scenarios as a good way to rotate the GMing. It gives even newer GMs a chance to pick up a fully-fleshed story including dialogue, and you can usually scale the encounters to some other levels with a little ingenuity.

Even FAQs are more clarifications on how discrepancies should interact, only rules addendums actually alter the rules as written. And it has to be this way, because trying to track all the places and things devs have opined upon makes an already rules heavy game impossible beyond the ultra-well read. Also, there are timing considerations - if a dev makes a comment 5 years ago, and there have been opportunities to alter or FAQ how something works, why didn't they?

Having said that, there is of course merit in understanding what an appropriate approach might be from the devs discourse.

As far as I can tell the thing about temporary bonuses not applying to DR is not an actual rule but an extrapolation from the Greater Magic Fang spell and some general comments by devs.

Your Hippogriff becomes huge.

I think perhaps the wider point is that unless you are looking at a particularly beardy combo, neither Monks or Brawlers are so amazing that a super strict wording is helpful.

If you found full caster overwhelming I would steer clear of Magus - Spell Combat and Spell Strike confuse even experienced players regularly.
WarPriest takes you back to the issues of a prepared caster - I would strongly suggest spontaneous caster such as Oracle or Bloodrager.

If buying masterwork I would buy as a special material. There's no reason a Cold Iron Weapon can't be your primary until you get the funds for Adamantine. I would also look at a back-up Alchemical Silver Weapon.
As has been suggested, Masterwork Full Plate is a solid choice, but again, you may want to hold-off for a special material of full-plate and get by with master work banded mail. But that choice will depend on your Dex bonus, likely future Dex bonus etc.

If you don't like Martial Flexibility, Snakebite Striker swaps it for (slow scaling) sneak attack.

The Scaled Fist WarPriest is also a strong contender: scaled unarmed damage, scaling damage from Divine Favour/Divine Power, plus 6 levels of spell casting.

I would suggest sticking it out with what you have. Don't forget at 4 you pick up your spells and mount at 5. You also have the option for ranged manoeuvres, you'll just lose some outright damage potential, which isn't the end of the world.