Search Posts
Over the years, I've seen a few different 3PPs and independent game designers bring up their own version of scalable cantrips for PF1e. In every case I've seen a well-designed version of this, there's been a gateway feat needed to balance the character resource investment to the power up-tick of such a system.
Regarding the Accursed Gaze, it's hard to say what the original intent of the ability is. I would proxy the spell effect from Accursed Glare (necromantic spell from Blood of the Moon), as the gaze effect. It's not blood-themed, but it is about the right power level for a substitute and it does have curse-thematics to it. I think Pizza Lord's responses on spawn and paralysis are reasonable takes on how you should adjudicate the rest of the template's issues.
I highly recommend you check out a 3.5 divination spell that works fundamentally similar to what your original guidelines were in Post #1. It's called Enduring Scrutiny. It's on page 103 of the Complete Mage hardback. Although I'm sure you can find the specs for this 3rd level spell online somewhere.
Wow! This looks amazing! Formatting-wise, I love the look. Eye candy likes this helps keep reader eyeballs on the topic and makes you wanna revisit the book again and again. As far as content, game mechanics look balanced, creatively new and cleverly titled. Can't wait for the final product! P.S. I know this is a shot in the dark, but I personally would love to see a Roper bloodline. I tried to integrate their flair for skilled debate and conversational philosophy into their tentacular schtick, and never was able to pull off a balanced bloodline properly.
Thank you, Amber! Your terrific insights on Night Hags have given me some concept seeds to build off of for my hag-centric Golarion campaign. Cheers!
Hey Todd / Amber (which name should I use?), The more I read about Pathfinder 1e Night Hags, the more I sense that there are political factions (for lack of a better term) within their kind at large. Does that hold any truth? For example, I see that Night Hags are aligned with a number of different deities (Alazhra, Zon-Kuthon, Lamashtu, etc). Add in the complexities of coven social dynamics and the related Dreamthief Hags ... it just seems that there are possibly a lot more social and political stratifications in Night Hag culture. Thank you for any insights you might have on this!
My apologies for the necro .... but I was wondering if Maxximilius' errata file was ever added to the revised Fleshwraith final product. See the conversation up above. ^^^ I'm inquiring because I'd like to buy this Fleshwraith files - assuming the revised material was instituted. Thank you!
Ah yes! Thank you, Val'bryn2!
Howdy folks. The Thrush has a +12 Fly Check. I don't know how it gets that. Here's what I see ... +6 = Diminutive Size bonus
Does anyone know what I'm missing or doing wrong in calculating this? Thanks for any help!
It's Friday, so that means it's time for monster blogging. Today, you get the inknull and voxvoid! These 2 creatures are absolute GENIUS. They will get table time at my Pathfinder game in the upcoming week. Thank you so much!
The OP here. With Ventriloquism active, one scenario I could see where game-mechanic issues would be interesting ... is when the caster is throwing her voice to attempt to get, say, a band of orcs to turn their heads (and attention) to a spot far away from the actual party. With the lack of facing rules in PF, this in and of itself doesn't accomplish much. But maybe a DM would interpret this as having a mechanical effect on Initiative numbers (like in a surprise round) or compelling a few of the orcs to split-off to go investigate the elvish-accented voice coming from the bend in the tunnel where the thrown voice is emanating.
The Ventriloquism spell has been knocking around D&D gameplay since 1979 (Supplement 1: Greyhawk). Throughout all the editions since then, I've really only seen it cast a few times over the years. Primarily because the spell level slot it uses (1st, in Pathfinder) tends to always have more optimal spells as a better choice. Upon close observation of the spell's text, it doesn't offer very detailed game mechanics for how its distraction usage manifests in game play. Ideally, a caster would hope to distract/mislead opponents and gain some sort of action-economy benefit. But again, there's no help on how that actually plays out. I'll assume such a ploy gets adjudicated differently from GM to GM, table to table. And it's clearly a spell for players & GMs who love a good creative & deception-game challenge, as are many illusion spells are wont to do. So my question to all of you is .... how does you & your group apply game mechanics to Ventriloquism's potential ability to "distract" opponents? Testimonials are definitely welcome.
I will say that I once had my high level diviner prep read magic because I knew we'd be facing symbol traps in the upcoming adventuring days (it was based on info I received from a successful contact other planes spell). It was useful in that regard because of the sheer amount of symbols we ran into through that adventure. Was it worth it for that set of niche circumstances? Hell yeah. But the key word I'm using here is NICHE. My diviner would never ever use read magic again after that. Still, he liked knowing that the spell sat ready to be used in his spellbook in the event such a circumstance ever arose again.
Thanks, Robert!
Same here. I cannot list a thread. Tried logging in and out. Tried using from different devices/computers. Still cannot list.
Anybody? ....
Yeah, after poking around a bit, I've not found any other spells that actually discuss or "reinforce" talk of the Casting Time within their respective Description text. Just thought I'd throw that out there. :-)
When Enthrall (2nd level Psychic spell) is emulated via the Shadow Enchantment spell, the Casting Time is reduced from 1 Round to 1 Standard Action. Although look at the first 2 sentences of Enthrall's description text. "If you have the attention of a group of creatures, you can use this spell to hold them enthralled. To cast the spell, you must speak or sing without interruption for 1 full round." It's rare to see a spell's text mention anything about its Casting Time (because the Casting Time entry of the spell above the description does that for it). So it makes me wonder if there's a conflict here when Enthrall is emulated by Shadow Enchantment. Since I don't think Shadow Enchantment can nullify any description text entries of the spells it emulates. Any thoughts on what is the actual Casting Time of this spell combo?
Thanks, guys. These are terrific ideas for my build. Slowly but surely, I'm building up the Escape Artist skill up into the 30s, hopefully 40s. Plus, 3.5 has some nice spells to backport: * Kuo-Toa Skin (Wiz 2 - Stormwrack) ... +8 Nameless Bonus & long duration
*** Also, Paizo's ARG has the Corset of the Vishkanya for 3,000 GP. +5 Nameless Bonus to Escape Artist and a Squeeze spell usage. That's a good price!
Props to Andrew C. who recommended to me (via sitemail) to start with a Harikmaki +1 with the Slick Greater Armor property ... and 12 ranks of Escape Artist embedded into my Headband of V.I. And then build off of that with Dex Mod. As a wizard, I'm also still researching spells I can cast that boost my Escape Artist skill score. So far, I found: * Extreme Flexibility (Wiz 2) ... +4 Circ to Esc. Artist
I'm still looking for more. All suggestions are still welcome!
I could use some advice from folks who are savvy about Grappling tactics vs. Escape Artist (the skill) experts. I'm building a 12th level Wizard who will be entering a campaign that has a very wide array of enemy types (both humanoids & monsters). Especially foes that have notable grappling tactics and/or build components. It's a long story as to how I know this, but my GM was kind enough to let this insightful tidbit slip out before our character creation process. For fun, and as an exotic experiment, I'd like to build my wizard with some serious chops in the Escape Artist skill. What starting score in my Escape Artist skill would you all recommend I start my 12th level wizard? I have a fairly decent idea how to buildcraft a decent Escape Artists score for him ... but I'm open to smart/creative ways to do so that won't cost me a lot in terms of build resources. I'm open to 3PP material as well as Paizo's stuff. *** P.S. Yes, I'll also get some teleportation spells scribed to my spellbook in the event this Escape Artist gambit develops issues. :-)
Thanks for your valuable input, Cyrad. I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board on this spell concept.
The See Invisibility spell is a well-balance and popular spell. While it can also view ethereal creatures/objects due to the Ethereal plane being coterminous with the Material Plane, it cannot view creatures/objects on the other coterminous plane ... the Plane of Shadow. I'd like to make a higher level version of See Invisibility that can view creatures/objects on both the Ethereral and Plane of Shadow. I'm thinking it would be as simple as boosting it up a level to Bard 4 & Sorc/Wiz 3. Perhaps calling it Greater See Invisibility If I was to boost the spell up to Bard 4 & Sorc/Wiz 3, would it be unreasonable to also give the revised spell the benefit of allowing for no "random shunting" effects from a caster who is currently running this Greater See Invisibility spell who then casts Shadow Walk? I'd like to piggyback that bonus effect onto the Greater See Invisibility spell. But boosting it +2 levels from the base See Invisibility spells seems to be too much. Please advise if you think I need any precise rules additions/modifications to ensure the revised spell (with the Shadow Walk rider) will be stay balanced. Thank you!
Just curious, BZ .... has there been any talk of possibly doing a follow-up spellbook product to this one? Maybe even a different theme for the next batch of 101 Spells? Thanks again!
While I'd like to write-up a full-bodied review of 101 Spells for the Common Man ... this short one will have to do for now. This is a 5-Star PDF, folks. As a huge fan of Pathfinder & 3.5 (Paizo, WotC & all reputable 3PPs) spellbook tomes, this is one of the most creative & mechanically-sound 3PP spellbooks I've seen over the years. Ranking right up there with Dave Paul's recent terrain-centric spellbook series over at Rite Publishing. My players have been diving into this PDF with glee. We currently have a little over 20 of these spells that have already been cast (or written to character spellbooks) at our gaming tables over the last 2 weeks. As a DM, I love how info-packed yet streamlined/concise design of many of the spells. Clever, thoughtful titles, too. Props to Jeff Gomez for bringing all of these talented game designers together into a PDF that's easy to navigate and a lot of fun to read. For you demiurgic types, many of these spells can be subtly optimized for innovative application, too. Gosh, I wish I had time to list my Top 10 Favorites. But I will definitely say that Pleasing Facade brought me a whiplash smile and totally stroked my inner gothic sensibilities. I've never seen anyone capture The Picture of Dorian Gray in an RPG game mechnanic as elegantly this spell. Bravo!
I'd really like to see either a re-tooling/re-balancing of the Hag Coven mechanics. Or different options to allow for a reasonable party cooperative involvement in a Coven. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/monstrous-humanoids/hag/
This Hag-themed thread *here* ... is an incredibly comprehensive list of all the hag, hag-offspring and hag-related creatures in D&D 3.5, D20/OGL 3PP, Paizo PF and some 3PP PF. It hasn't been updated in a while. But still, the list entries are numerous and impressively comprehensive. I'm sure some of you hag-fans could update the list with some more up-to-date Paizo and 3PP hags if they so desire. That all said, I'm excited about Blood of the Coven! I hope we get at least a dozen more hags or thematically-related beasties included in this upcoming book.
So it's been a year since DDS discussed a possible publishing of "Rogue Glory 2" (for lack of a better title) to include modifications for the Unchained Rogue. Since this product was so successful the first time around .... I'd love to hear if this 2nd edition is gaining any traction. Or if it will be part of a future-published Adventurer's of Skybourne book.
Thanks, KarlBob.
I pretty much acquired most-to-all of The Blight products in the Kickstarter. Just to make sure I'm up-to-date, I've received 5 module PDFs and 1 Tome of Blighted Horrors so far from Frog Gods. Is that about right with their current releases so far? Loving everything so far!
What's interesting about Illusory Maestro is that I belive it implies that the orginal caster can now go and cast *another* spell. Because Illusory Maestro's "transfer control" indicates that the wizards is now free of controlling the concentration-durationed spell. In 3.5 D&D, there was a Skill Trick and a Feat that changed the control mechanism of the concentration-durationed spell to a different action type than Standard Action ... but still tethered the caster to the restriction of "You can’t cast a spell while concentrating on another one."
On Echoing Spell, it says this -
W.L.'s Spontaneous Divination requires a 'prepared spell that is not a cantrip'. In summation, I don't see Spontaneous Divination working on an echoed spell. Although I find Echoing Spell's verbiage to be a little loose, RAW-wise. It could've been tightened-up and more objectively emphatic.
A rules question for y'all regarding the interaction of these 2 feats: The Orator feat clause, "You can use a Linguistics check in place of a Bluff check to tell a falsehood or conceal information" .... would this allow you to use a Linguistics check in place of a Bluff check for your Cunning Caster roll? Since "concealing information" seems to be the intent of Cunning Caster's primary focus.
Yeah, RAW doesn't help too much with specifics in this situation. I see you chose an option that mirrors "Unfavorable Conditions" on the Perception DC Modifier Table. I kinda wonder if the "Terrible Conditions" modifier of +5 might be more appropriate though.
Let's say I have a wizard with the Cunning Caster feat (with a bunch of supporting boosters) and is currently residing inside of the operating area of a Silent Table spell. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/silent-table/ If said wizard wanted to cast a spell with verbal components (and he doesn't have the Silent Spell feat), what would you rule that the Silent Table spell would benefit him in regards to his Bluff roll against a foe's Perception skill roll? ********** Note: Sorry for the garbled/run-on sentence. :-)
Like Doc Roc, I'm interested in any significant revisions or alluring additions to the Spells provided in this book.
The '101 Spells' series is phenomenal. Every ... single ... book. That said, I hope Dave Paul's run on this thematic series is still going on. My 2 groups use a significant chunk of spells from each of those books.
Hi Todd, Long-time fan of all your planar work. I was curious if you have ever done design work on planar-themed spells for PF (or 3.5). If so, I'd love to see them ... and perhaps you could list your published work on said spells? On a related note, if you were to create any new Pathfinder spells, what type would interest you? I'm guessing that spells with a Golarion-specific focus on summoning/binding/planar thematics would be in that mix? Thanks and best wishes! I look forward to seeing more of your awesome work published soon!
If you needed the Dimensional Anchor effect use quickened shackle as a 6th and then activate as a standard. You can also cast Shackle via Shadow Conjuration at higher levels and get the optional Dimensional Anchor effect for free (the 1,000 GP emerald material component gets waived). Of course, now you are casting Shackle with SR: Yes and a potential Disbelief obstacle.
We all know how amazing & necessary the Blessed Book is for mid-to-high level wizards. For those of you that want the benefits of the Blessed Book but don't want to deal with the 12,000 gp cost ... check out the Tome of Dissolution from the Book of Shadows. It's only 2,000 gp and has nearly all of the same characteristics of the Blessed Book. With a catch. You have to view it in darkness. Which for a mid-to-high level wizard ... is not a problem at all. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/r-z/tome- of-dissolution/
I'll second the advocation of Horrific Doubles. I've used it quite a bit and it's quite a versatile spell. Curse Terrain sounds ....... intriguing. Any BBEG worth his salt will be going nuts with that spell (so will PC's with stronghold).
True. That's why a request of this nature (a SLA upgrade for a familiar) and power-level is something I wouldn't charge her a ton for. Definitely not the cost a Wish spell. Since familiars die quite easily, that should factor into the cost too. On a related note - if you recall, there is quasi-precedence for her request. Take a look at WotC's 3.5 hardback book, Fiendish Codex II (the Devil one). There's a page in the book that talks about the GM mechanically swapping out a devil's spell-like ability spell selection for another spell. It's extremely limited (like only 1 option for a given spell) and intended to be a very linearly balanced swap. While this option is not a direct match for her request, it does give one some more clues as to how a process like this can be mechanically accomplished.
She wants to exchange the imp's Suggestion for a different spell - by spending her wizard's resources. She's looking for potential/possible costs and methods to collaboratively discuss with her GM. Not an equal exchange of spells for no cost whatsoever or a cheat to the game's mechanics. Besides, this is a once a day 3rd level spell-like ability we're talking here. That's chump change at 13th level of game play. I think it's a fair question regarding house rules to ask. Especially since many of us always look to exchange or upgrade our character's lower grade assets for higher-grade assets as we level up and gain gold.
Oh nice! I *did* get in for the last review copy! And I just downloaded it and took a quick read. This 'Letters' edition also looks terrific. I'm stoked to go over it all in detail! Flaming Crab, I will post a review in approx. 10 days or less (as I said up above). That's a guarantee. P.S. And thanks to Liz for sending it to my ID!
Ah well. I guess I missed out. I look forward to reading the reviews! Cheers!
Lump Hag for Pathfinder from Fat Goblin Games. On a related note to the Lump Hag, it might be a good idea to start adding all the Pathfinder 3PP hag options to this thread. There's a ton of them from what I recall. From monster compendiums to witch sourcebooks. I'll work on that next week - hopefully some of you have some references along this line as well.
Thanks, FPG! That was cool that you still had my OBS account info on file. :-) I'll get crackin' on reading Einjhall's tonight ... and I'll try to work it in to either or both of my PF campaigns that I GM in the coming days (for playtest purposes).
Having reviewed a Flying Pincushion Games product before, I'd love to do it again! Einjhall's looks quite intriguing! I would have it posted within 2 weeks ... and also posted over at OBS and d20pfsrd's web store.
Good to know, Anguish. We have the integration of Mythic Rules on our upcoming "to do" list. Thank you!
While I don't have access to my books and PDFs at the moment ... quite a few Pathfinder 3PP and 3.5 3PP publications that showcased the Orc race had special Orc racial weapons. In fact, if you added all those in, you'd probably have well over a dozen.
|
