Adivion Adrissant

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Organized Play Member. 1,882 posts (1,885 including aliases). 1 review. No lists. No wishlists. 7 Organized Play characters. 2 aliases.



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It is not clear what components scorching ray requires for its one to three actions. Heal has this spelled out, Scorching Ray does not. Since Verbal and Somatic have very different restrictions, I feel this is necessary information.


With Snake Feint:

Snake Feint wrote:
At 3rd level, a snakebite striker who uses a standard action to move can combine that move with a feint. If she is able to feint as a move action (such as from having the Improved Feint feat), she can combine a move action to move with her feint. At 11th level, once per round she can declare her square and one adjacent square as the origin of her attacks until her next turn (allowing her to use one or both squares to determine whether she or her allies are flanking an opponent). At 15th level, she counts an additional adjacent square for this purpose.

What if the Brawler is large (or bigger). Obviously, that means that 'her square' is still 10 ft wide. What about her other virtual squares? Are they also 10 ft wide, or are they 5 ft?


So, I've got a player desiring to play a lightning-themed cleric for Extinction Curse. I thought the natural fit would be Gozreh and he could have left the hermitage of blessed lightning as they started to go down bad paths. Then I realized that Lightning is listed as an 'alternate domain' for Gozreh in Gods & Magic, meaning it is not an option until 4th level and then only after taking the Expanded Domain Initiate feat. Does it make sense to allow members of that particular hermitage to have access to this domain from 1st level? I wonder if I should come up with a specific background for him that might grant that feat instead? I get that it's a 4th level feat, and I understand it is that way because it ADDS a domain to the character - I'm just trying to give access to lightning as his main domain.


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Snare Setter has a prerequisite of 'trained in Crafting'. Also grants trained proficiency in Crafting. Is this a chicken, or is this an egg?


Questioner archetype for the investigator swaps out alchemy for Bard'ish casting (Bard spell list, Bard progress, Int instead of Cha). No mention is made of ASF. I'm building one of these guys, ultimately trying to be the knowledge king, but don't know if I should be buying armor or mage armor, as it seems unclear whether ASF is a factor here.


So, the Android boon that was given out this year provides access to "android character options appearing in ... Pathfinder Player Companion: People of the River (page 19)...." On this page there IS a singular trait for androids, but the bulk of this page is the Nanite Bloodline. The bloodline is not limited to androids, but thematically, it's got to be considered an "android character option", right? Some of the powers do mention androids. Just want to get this clarified before leaning my new android character towards it.


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Improvise Tool. Take a feat to replace the need for a 1sp Level 0 item.

APG wrote:

Improvise Tool

You can jury-rig solutions when you don't have the proper tools on hand. You can attempt to Repair damaged items without a repair kit.

If you have the raw materials available, you can Craft a basic caltrop set, candle, compass, crowbar, fishing tackle, flint and steel, hammer, ladder, piton, rope, 10-foot pole, replacement thieves' picks, long or short tool, or torch without consulting a basic crafter's book.


I can find no official source stating what group this magnificent weapon resides in. Mechanically, it seems to be closest to a rapier - A one-handed weapon that is finessable and doesn't get 1.5 str when wielded two-handed. I also found a comment from the author stating that she'd put it in the light blades group - but as far as I can tell, since it came out after the 'Weapon Training—And So Many Weapons' blog - that IS in additional resources - there doesn't seem to be anything that clarifies that interpretation and makes it an actual pfs rule.


So, I have a Magus (Kapenia Dancer) 6/Inquisitor (Living Grimoire) 1, and an looking at spending some gold. I immediately went to the babe Baldric, them had a question on the rules for it. As it's written, it affects Inquisitor differently than noon-inquisitors. My character IS an inquisitor, so it should treat me as 5 levels higher for proposed of babe and greater bane - however, my archetype years away babe and greater bane.

As actually written, this item would do nothing, as if I was 5 levels higher, I still wouldn't have to bane ability. Should my character be considered a non-inquisitor, and just get a non advancing 5th level bane ability, or should I just skip the item for great if table variation?


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The Lamia has no athletics score listed in its statblock, which implies it is Untrained in Athletics. This, however, makes its Grab ability have a very easy DC15 escape DC - quite low for a Creature 6.

Is this an oversight, and should they actually be Trained in Athletics (+13, so DC-23)? What makes me say this is that the Lamia Matriarch appears to be Expert in Athletics, with its +18 Athletics modifier.


My magus is getting up in levels finally, and I'm envisioning a lot more use of Bladed Dash in her future - my question is, is this still a point of contention at pfs tables? I've in the past read many a report of people ruling completely differently than how I interpret it, and I'm not sure there's been any sort of official clarification of it. I remember all sorts of strange complications made in regards to it back when it was released - can't cast it if you've taken a 5-ft step, can't move through difficult terrain with it, can't move through creatures with it, etc - all of which seemed quite odd for me, as to me, it seem the spell is sort of an instantaneous flash of light type thing, not just running across the field of battle.

My only real pfs experience with it directly was when a GM was very reluctant to let me escape from black tentacles with it - which seemed very well within the realm of what it should be able to do.

What brought this back up to the top of my head, was that my Sylph Magus now has Airy Step, meaning she's got a permanent 30 ft feather fall effect - this means the 'bladed dash straight-up' is a crazy fun viable tactic vs flying targets. Has this been blocked in anyone's experience?


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SO, at the end of our pfs2 session this last weekend, I decided to take the time after everyone else got their chronicles to sit with the GM and work out the crafting mechanic, and how it is supposed to work - and if it is ever even worth doing. I had a 1st level alchemist with a +7 in Crafting, and Crafting was also my highest 'Earn Income' viable skill (well, it was equal to my two Lore skills at the time, so any of the three would be the same for earning).

I had decided that since my background had granted me Quick Repair, I should acquire a Repair Kit to make use of it. We decided I'd go forward with the crafting, and then compare it to the same dice results earning income and see what is actually better.

So, the Crafting process:
I declare that I'm crafting a Repair Kit. This is a level 0 common item that has a Price of 2gp. Referring to TABLE 10-5: DCS BY LEVEL, we find that a Level 0 task has a DC of 14. If it was not a COMMON item, we would check TABLE 10-6:DC ADJUSTMENTS and adjust the DC as necessary - but it is COMMON, so we'll move forward with the DC-14 task. I also (and this is a bit ambiguous for common items in the pfs rules) need a formula for the item I'm trying to make. A Basic Crafter's Book costs 1sp, so I purchase that and now have a formula for every Level 0 Common item in existence.. neat!

I spend 4 days of downtime and half the price (1gp) to start the crafting job. I then roll the check. 12 on the die gives a result of 19, so it's a SUCCESS. That means the job can continue, and "Each additional day spent Crafting reduces the materials needed to complete the item buy an amount based on your level and your proficiency rank." Consulting TABLE 4-2: INCOME EARNED shows that I would reduce the price at a rate of 2sp/day (Trained and MY LEVEL of 1), meaning 5 more days of downtime and it would be done. PFS downtime is spent in blocks of 4 days, however, so I'm spending 8 more to finish it up. As a Field Commissioned Agent of the pathfinder society, I have 12 days to work with after a scenario, so that's my entire downtime for this session. So, after downtime is done, I've got my shiny new Repair Kit, a book full of potentially useful crafting formulae, and am 1.1gp poorer.

So now, what about the alternative?
Had I instead simply earned income for that 12 day period, and made the same dice roll, I would have been attempting a Level 0 Task, Trained. The DC is still 14, so the 19 is still a SUCCESS. Level 0 Trained earns is 5cp/day, times 12 days of downtime is 6sp earned. I then purchase my Repair Kit for 2gp. So, if I spent my downtime earning to buy it, I would still have my shiny new Repair Kit, and be 1.4gp poorer, and don't have a crafting book.

In this particular case, crafting was obviously better (though it did take a bit more jumping around the rules and requires some more annotation on the chronicle sheet).

After getting home, I was realized that I had leveled up after that session, so I decided to see if it would still be better to craft at my new higher level. The complication here, is that this alchemist is a gnome with the Gnome Obsession feat, so my Lore skills are now at Expert, +10, while Crafting is now at Trained +8.. will this alone tip the balance? Lets see:

Still assuming a 12 on the die, Crafting would mean:
4 days setting up and spending 1gp. Crafting check of 20 vs DC-14 is still a SUCCESS - but now completion is done at the rate of Trained Level 2, which is 3sp/day, meaning the Repair Kit is completed in the next 4 days. I then have 4 days to 'Earn Income', at a Trained level 0 rate of 5cp/day, so I earn another 2sp. So, altogether, I've got the Repair Kit, Basic Crafter's Book, and spent 0.9gp.
Still assuming a 12 on the die, Earning Income would mean:
Lore check of 22 vs DC-14 is still a SUCCESS, so earn income at Expert Level 0 is still just 5cp/day, so still earning a total if 0.6gp for the 12 days. So, with this option, I've still got the buy the Repair Kit, so as before net expenditure of 1.4gp, so crafting is even better. The Lore modifier is higher, however, so there's a greater chance of a critical success - and if that was the case, it would earn at the Expert level 1 rate of 2sp/day times 12 days earning 2.4gp over the downtime, so purchasing the Repair Kit means actually coming out with the Repair Kit and earning 4sp.

What's the conclusion? No idea. Crits are big in the earn income game, which means they are also big in the Crafting game since they use the same table. I do know I'll probably stick to Crafting, if I can reasonably do it, just because it FEELS nicer to make the tools I use myself, instead of buying them from the market - but the differences are not so much that you HAVE to go that route, and the simpler Earn Income role is so much smoother to navigate if the group is trying to just get Chronicles thrown out and head home.

So there you have it. A bunch of rambling and sputtering about to come out with no real conclusive evidence that it was the right way to go... That sure sounds like Pathfinder Crafting at its core, right?


So, I know the pf2 familiars are supposed to be pretty wide open, creativity wise - just pick any tiny animal and choose the abilities you want. But there are some things that I think, in organized play, need some clarifications.

- The CRB states that if the base animal of the familiar already has a certain ability (the example states an Owl has flight), then that ability HAS to be selected. There is nothing, however, that says what abilities a particular animal has since there are almost no tiny animals in the bestiary. Some of these 'might' be common sense, but some might not - yes, an owl or other common bird obviously has flight - but does it also have darkvision? What abilities does a snake have? Does a cat have climber? Does a rat have scent? Do any animals have speeds that would require them to have the Fast movement ability?
To me, this is something that is easy enough to solve with either a simple table listing some animals, and the abilities they have, or a pfs specific ruling that says that they do not need to take the abilities of their base form. Otherwise we're open to table variation here.

- The CRB also states that a familiar uses your level when making an attack roll but with no bestiary entries, there is no information anywhere on what their attacks might consist of. Do they have an attack? What is it if they do?


Is there some rule complication or OP thing I'm missing with the handwraps in Martial Arts Handbook that put them on the ban-hammer's anvil for pfs? Just trying to understand the reasoning for this one.


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Why does it take an entire class to build a character who is good at solving mysteries or tracking someone down? And why does it need to be done in exactly this way, instead of being a dedication feat line that any character can take? why can't someone who casts spells be a good investigator, or a cleric of Abadar be excellent at tracking down the con-man plying his trade in the markets? This would provide far more player options as a dedication than as it's own class.


Did the design team ask these questions when writing this up? I don't see anything in these 4 classes presented that wouldn't work better and offer more player choice as dedication feats. It hasn't even been a year with pf2 and already we're getting things further locked into class boundaries - diminishing any strides the 'class feat' based class structure could provide.


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Why is this not a dedication feat that any character can take? Gains a focus pool (or adds to it) that can be used to cast focus spells (that are the panache abilities). Gains the finisher mechanic - why would a barbarian NOT want to finish in this way?


Would it not be better game design to make this a dedication feat line that could bolt a mysterious force onto existing classes? This would greatly multiply the potential character options out there, with less actual rules needed. The With's patron should actually be this exact same thing. Just combine these into the same dedication, with a wide variety of patron/mystery options, and let the player's build the theme they want.


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Would it not be better game design to make this a dedication feat line that could bolt a mysterious patron onto existing classes? This would greatly multiply the potential character options out there, with less actual rules needed. The Oracle's mystery should actually be this exact same thing. In fact, the oracle's curse works very well for a witch's patron as well - I can't think of any witches in common mythologies and lore who weren't wracked in some way by their use of the magic. Just combine these into the same dedication, with a wide variety of patron/mystery options, and let the player's build the theme they want.


So - how is this supposed to work? How is proficiency handled with improvised weapons in second edition?

Quote:
If you attack with something that wasn’t built to be a weapon, such as a chair or a vase, you’re making an attack with an improvised weapon. You take a –2 item penalty to attack rolls with an improvised weapon. The GM determines the amount and type of damage the attack deals, if any, as well as any weapon traits the improvised weapon should have.

Is it considered a 'simple' weapon, 'martial' weapon, or none of the above? With the way proficiency works in this edition, if it is none of the above, then the -2 penalty on top of the +0 proficiency mod makes them not even worth attempting.


Barbarian, Animal Instinct, Deer has an antler attack, which is 1d8 P, with the CHARGE and the UNARMED traits - I can find nothing that says what the CHARGE trait does.

Any clues?


So, I am becoming a bit disappointed with the Efreeti bloodline, as I'm approaching a the 9th level Efreeti Form ability. It seems a bit of a disappointment, that it won't really grant all that much, as a gnome sorcerer with high dex. As far as I can tell, it will:

drop dex (which is used for targeted spells)
boost str (would only be used if using the genie's slam)
base speed would be 'changed' to 20 ft
boosted con and natural armor
fire resist 20

The efreeti is a flying outsider. With the ability based on Giant Form I, however, i would not get the great Fly 40 ft. (perfect), because Giant Form, rightly so, doesn't grant flight (as there aren't generally any flying giants). So, this essentially lets the sorcerer, with little to no armor - go from little accurate blaster, to big front-line puncher, and worse at blasting (due to lower attack modifiers from size AND dex changes).

Am I missing something in this assessment? I was really looking forward to popping into genie form and buzzing about blasting - but that just doesn't seem near as capable as swapping it out for Blood Piercing, and just leaning more and more into burning fools.


So I have a character (my -1, actually) that I made back in mid 2016. Kapenia Dancer. Sometime after she was made, the campaign clarifications were altered and the armor proficiency/arcane spell failure issues were dealt with. Does this type of change allow a free rebuild? specifically, she's been wearing Silken Celestial Armor for years, because of the lack of proficiency and spellcasting ability - had I known about the clarified rule at the time, she probably would have spent a feat early on to pick up light armor proficiency. Is this something she can rebuild for free (swapping out a feat for her armor proficiency, and selling her current armor at full price and buying new), or would she have to spend the prestige to swap the feat and sell her armor for half?

I've read through the blurbs on rebuilding at the end of Ch 2 in the PFS guide, and this situation doesn't really fit any of the listed situations. Is this something I just need to take up with the regional guys, or is it expected that this type of thing falls under the intent of the guide's rebuilding rules?


I often wonder what process the devs went through when determining what optional rules from pf1e to make core in the playtest. The action economy from unchained is great and I do very much enjoy it - but I really wish they had built the new system with a version of Armor as DR from Ultimate Combat. A system that differentiates 'hitting' the target, and 'damaging' the target. By keeping Touch AC in the new system, this differentiation is still happening, just not in an intuitive way. I'd love to see something where the modified Attack roll is compared to the target's Defense score. Defense would be Dex + Deflection (shield if raised and/or parry if active) + Stance (defensive and/or dodging) + Circumstance (Cover, Screening, etc). If it hits, then the damage roll is compared to the target's Protection score. This could be Con + Armor + Shield (if taking the block).

I know I've read criticisms of the armor as dr rules before, in that sometimes it ends up with the complete inability to damage the opponent - I think that could certainly be avoided - especially if an 'absorbed' hit still did a minimum of 1 hp per damage dice rolled. A thousand cuts could still take down the armored brute in this case, and it's an easy minimum to determine.


Creature has a long duration (24 hour) polymorph spell on them. An hour into that spell, they have a short duration (2 minutes) spell cast on them.

What happens when the short duration spell ends? Do they change back to their original, natural, form, or to the long duration polymorph form? The Polymorph rules do not state that it dismisses or ends the previous polymorph effect, just that the creature can choose which effect to take effect.


Does anyone else find it incredibly cumbersome that Ignoble Form (spell from Blood of Shadows that makes a drow appear as a half-elf) cannot be dismissed? I understand the spell is designed for Drow living among surface folk, so it's likely a 'cast every day' type spell, especially with it's 24 hour duration, and the granting of a bonus to a craft or profession skill - but it seems to be seriously missing the ability for that dramatic reveal of the drow's true form if it cannot be turned off short of a dispel magic.


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I am playing a Ekujae fighter in PFS. Thematically, I purchased some Thistle Arrows. Hostorically, they are an older item from Golarion, 3.5 - found in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting:

Pathfinder Chronicles: Campaign Setting, pg 211 wrote:
Thistle Arrow: These arrows are a specialty of the Ekujae shamans, who craft the arrowheads out of the thistles of a toxic plant that most creatures find highly caustic. They deal normal damage but then become embedded in the wound and deal an additional 1 point of damage each round for 1d6 rounds from their irritating sap. Creatures immune to poison are immune to this extra damage. A creature can remove an embedded thistle arrow as a move action without provoking attacks of opportunity, but doing so deals an additional 1d3 points of damage as the thorny barbs are pulled free. A DC 12 Heal check (made as a standard action) can pull free a thistle arrow’s head without dealing any additional damage. A single thistle arrow costs 1 gp.

Obviously, the old Campaign Setting book is not pfs legal - however, in Adventurer's Armory, there is a section that brings some old 3.5 items forward (that weren't done so in the Inner Sea World Guide).

Adventurer's Armory, pg. 18 wrote:

Converting Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting Items

This book updates several items from the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting to the Pathfinder RPG rules. Items not listed may be used without conversion.

<SNIP>

Thistle Arrow: Crafted from the thistles of a poisonous plant, these barbed arrows deal damage as a bleed effect for 1d6 rounds after a hit.

PFS Additional resources states that it is legal (or doesn't exclude it from it's otherwise blanket legality):

PFS Additional Resources wrote:

Pathfinder Player Companion: Adventurer's Armory:

Only the 2nd printing of this book or the 1st printing augmented by the current errata (released 7/21/11) are legal for play in Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

Everything in this book is legal for play with the following exceptions: a pseudodragon is not legal for purchase unless you're a wizard with the Improved Familiar feat, elephants are never legal for play, and armored kilts are not legal. As of June 10, 2016, slaves are no longer available for purchase. A PC can only purchase an animal, mount, or similar creature if its Challenge Rating is lower than that character's level; creatures with a Challenge Rating of 1 or lower are exempt from this restriction, as are horses.

So, the actual pfs legal source is AA, and it doesn't actually contain the rules for the thistle arrow, just a summary of their effects. Is it expected that the excerpt from the campaign setting book is valid rule text for these items in pfs? Alternatively, is the text in AA all that we have to go on? In which case, there is no price, and no description of WHAT the bleed effect is. What materials do I need to have to use these arrows, and am I going to run into a lot of table variation and problems if I keep these arrows on my character? Many of the other items in this 'conversion' section

The bow is secondary for this guy, who is otherwise a dual wielding build, I just liked to dive head first into the Ekujae theme, and these arrows seemed perfect.


So, I just finished Beyond the Pool of Stars, and it does an amazing job of introducing readers to Lizardfolk, a race I have never had any reasonable interest in - I can tell you that will change in my gaming going forward. It brought to the surface of my mind, however, that I have not read (listened to) a story that did the same for Kobolds - a race I have long loved. I would love to get a great literary representation of the little dragons - if anyone has any recommendations, I'm starving for them.


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I just finished reading up on the archetype mechanic, and all I kept thinking the whole time was that its a perfect example of how mixed heritages (half-elf, half-orc, sylph, undine, etc) should be handled mechanically. Instead of discrete races, 'elf-blooded' should be the ancestry version of an archetype - a heritage feat that adds to the choices you can make for ancestry feats (just as an archetype's dedication feat adds to the choices you can make for class feats).


Reposting this here, because I feel this would only be a problem needing clarification in PFS. So I'm looking at the Agathiel Vigilante archetype, and am curious about the bolded bit here:

Bestial Identity (Su) wrote:

At 1st level, an agathiel’s vigilante identity must invoke the appearance and behavior of a single Small or Medium creature of the animal type. The vigilante can attempt to appear to be a normal member of this animal type, but doing so imposes a –10 penalty on his Disguise check. The bonus provided by seamless guise still applies to the vigilante’s attempts to appear to be an ordinary animal. Once the vigilante’s animal form is selected, it cannot be changed.

Beginning at 4th level, when an agathiel assumes his vigilante identity, he physically transforms into an animal, though he always retains unusual traits that set him apart from ordinary animals, as if using beast shape I, except the vigilante gains no ability adjustments and can select only a single animal ability from those listed in the spell’s description. His social identity remains his true form, and unlike with beast shape I, an agathiel can remain in his animal form indefinitely. The agathiel’s vigilante identity is considered a polymorph effect, and while in his vigilante identity, the agathiel is immune to other polymorph effects.

Unlike with normal polymorph effects, the agathiel’s equipment does not meld into his form, and instead changes shape to fit his animal form and provides the same function, though any equipment requiring hands cannot be used until he returns to his social identity.

At 8th level, when assuming his vigilante identity, the vigilante can select two abilities provided by beast shape I, or select a single ability provided by beast shape II. At 12th level, he can instead select two abilities provided by beast shape II, or a single ability provided by beast shape III. At 16th level, he can instead select three abilities provided by beast shape III, or a single ability provided by beast shape IV.

This ability alters dual identity and replaces the vigilante talents gained at 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th levels.

This states that while your equipment remains intact, you can't use equipment that requires hands. I'm assuming this statement is in there because most animals don't have hands, so they didn't want the fact that equipment remains and 'provides the same function' to say the tiger can still wield a greataxe - but what about animals that DO have hands? The Ekujae elves have Agathiel's among them, and I'd think primates are rather common in the Mwangi Expanse. Can an Agathiel that transforms into a primate still wield weapons or manipulate objects with their hands?


So I'm looking (first time ever) at the Agathiel Vigilante archetype, and am curious about the bolded bit here:

Bestial Identity (Su) wrote:


At 1st level, an agathiel’s vigilante identity must invoke the appearance and behavior of a single Small or Medium creature of the animal type. The vigilante can attempt to appear to be a normal member of this animal type, but doing so imposes a –10 penalty on his Disguise check. The bonus provided by seamless guise still applies to the vigilante’s attempts to appear to be an ordinary animal. Once the vigilante’s animal form is selected, it cannot be changed.

Beginning at 4th level, when an agathiel assumes his vigilante identity, he physically transforms into an animal, though he always retains unusual traits that set him apart from ordinary animals, as if using beast shape I, except the vigilante gains no ability adjustments and can select only a single animal ability from those listed in the spell’s description. His social identity remains his true form, and unlike with beast shape I, an agathiel can remain in his animal form indefinitely. The agathiel’s vigilante identity is considered a polymorph effect, and while in his vigilante identity, the agathiel is immune to other polymorph effects.

Unlike with normal polymorph effects, the agathiel’s equipment does not meld into his form, and instead changes shape to fit his animal form and provides the same function, though any equipment requiring hands cannot be used until he returns to his social identity.

At 8th level, when assuming his vigilante identity, the vigilante can select two abilities provided by beast shape I, or select a single ability provided by beast shape II. At 12th level, he can instead select two abilities provided by beast shape II, or a single ability provided by beast shape III. At 16th level, he can instead select three abilities provided by beast shape III, or a single ability provided by beast shape IV.

This ability alters dual identity and replaces the vigilante talents gained at 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th levels.

This states that wile your equipment remains in tact, you can't use equipment that requires hands. I'm assuming this statement is in there because most animals don't have hands, so they didn't want the fact that equipment remains and 'provides the same function' to say the tiger can still wield a greataxe - but what about animals that DO have hands? The Ekujae elves have Agathiel's among them, and I'd think primates are rather common in the Mwangi Expanse. Can an Agathiel that transforms into a primate still wield weapons or manipulate objects with their hands?


So, I'm sure we won't get to a blog revealing environmental rules (especially lighting) for quite some time, but I'm wondering if we could get some insight if things will be 'cleaned up' in regards to this long afflicted legacy mess.

My personal wish is for light levels to properly be a property of a given square, regardless of observer (I greatly despise the way low-light vision works, for instance).


So, going along with my 'request' for the 8 core ancestries to be 'full' races, and using the removal of defined 'half-races' to add in some other 'monster' ancestries to balance out the oddity of goblin inclusion, I'd like to propose a bit of reasoning for this, using individual racial societies' alignment tendencies to show the balance this could produce in the game worlds.

Now, obviously no individual is required to be these alignment, but these do sort of make sense as the various races have been described previously.

Elf (CG) | Gnome (NG) | Dwarf (LG)
----------------------------------------------------
Human (CN) | - - - - - - | Halfling (LN)
----------------------------------------------------
Goblin (CE) | Orc (NE) | Kobold (LE)

See - now I got to make a thread focusing on races AND alignment - so I'm sure this discussion will be completely civil - Prove me right.

EDIT1: swapped halfing and gnome...


Does this make sense to anyone?

Magic Tactics Toolbox wrote:
Sagas are a form of lore-keeping and tale-telling common in Irrisen and the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Specialized applications of a skald’s raging song ability, sagas function much like bardic masterpieces (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 21) but are available only to skalds. Sagas are never purely artistic constructs; they are designed to preserve lore or commemorate historical figures, and are usually based in fact. Sagas therefore require ranks in Knowledge (history) as a prerequisite, as well. Bards can learn sagas, using their bardic performance ability instead of raging song.


So I'm prepping to start Ironfang, and at least one of my players will be playing with an animal companion (mount actually, with the Players Guide recommended Beast Rider Cavalier). The question becomes, everywhere in town where horses would reside, they are depicted as already being killed by the horde (seemingly a first action tactic). With this in mind, how is it expected that this character's AC somehow survived when no other horses have?


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So, for context, I'm creating an Herb Witch. It gains the Herb Lore ability, which, aside from providing some neat remedies to status conditions and poison/disease, also allows you to use Profession (herbalist) for Craft (alchemy) checks, and giving a 1/2 level bonus to Profession (herbalist).

My question for this is, what about items and abilities that provide bonuses to Craft (alchemy)? Things like masterwork tools, crafter's fortune, etc. Even the cauldron hex that the archetype forces you in to choosing at 2nd level provides an insight bonus to Craft (alchemy) checks.


I've noticed a few 'Animals' that obviously live in water, but do not have the Aquatic subtype listed. I'm assuming these are obvious oversights, but it's even more relevant with the relatively new Pelagic Hunter archetype, which is limited to aquatic animal companions. Some are listed with Amphibious, but not Aquatic (even though Amphibious essentially includes Aquatic). Examples I've found are the Electric Eel, and the Giant Salamander

I'm guessing most would rule this as just being silly, and allow those creatures to be selected by the Pelagic Hunter, right?


So, Flame Blade is wielded 'as if it were a scimitar'. It also states that attacks with it are 'melee touch attacks'. Are statements contradictory, or additive?

- 'as if it were a scimitar' make me seem as though Weapon Focus (scimitar) would work with it.

- 'melee touch attacks' can generally benefit from weapon finesse, so would that work with flame blade?

- flame blade is specifically called out in the FAQ on weapon-like spells, but just that it is treated as a weapon for 'effects that affect weapons'.

Something of note: Inner Sea Gods does grant Flame Blade to divine spellcasters of Sarenrae - coincidentally a goddess of fire who ALSO has the scimitar as her favored weapon. Not sure if that backs up the ability to use Weapon Focus (scimitar) or not.

Rise of the Runelords Spoiler:
For context, I'm in a Rise of the Runelords game, and one of our characters died on Thistletop, and through some diplomatic shenanigans, we ended up 'sort of' befriending Gogmurt, so the player of the fallen character is rebuilding Gogmurt into his replacement PC.


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Paths of the Righteous, pg. 15 wrote:

Bladed Brush (Combat)

You know how to balance a polearm perfectly, striking with artful, yet deadly precision.

Prerequisites: Weapon Focus (glaive), must be a worshiper of Shelyn.

Benefit: You can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier to attack rolls with a glaive sized for you, even though it isn’t a light weapon. When wielding a glaive, you can treat it as a one-handed piercing or slashing melee weapon and as if you were not making attacks with your off-hand for all feats and class abilities that require such a weapon (such as a duelist’s or swashbuckler’s precise strike).

As a move action, you can shorten your grip on the glaive, treating it as though it lacked the reach weapon property. You can adjust your grip to grant the weapon the reach property as a move action.

This wonderfully flavorful combat option is not currently legal for society play, and I feel that is in error. I believe it has been omitted because of a large amount of confusion on what it actually provides, with many thinking that it allows a lot more than it actually does. From my reading, I see its effects to be limited to:

- Allows the use of Weapon Finesse for substituting Dex for attack rolls with a glaive.
  • Elven Branch Spear is a two-handed reach weapon that can do this without an additional feat, and the Glaive does not have the branch spear’s bonus on AoO attack rolls.
  • The ability to use weapon finesse with the glaive is a function of this feat, becoming an ability of the character, not a property of the weapon. As such, the glaive is still not a valid target for the Agile weapon enchantment.

- Allows the glaive to be used with feats and class abilities that require a one-handed piercing or slashing weapon, and require not attacking with the off-hand.
  • This is limited to swashbuckler/duelist style abilities. This does NOT state that the off-hand is empty, therefore it is still being used to wield the weapon. This prohibits its use for many other abilities that require the off-hand to be empty, such as Spell Combat or Slashing Grace. The character also cannot wield a shield in the off-hand. This means the only remaining method of gaining Dex to damage with the glaive is this feat with an Unchained Rogue’s Finesse Training ability.
  • Some potentially silly (though far from optimal) uses or special concerns of this ability:
  • Veiled Blade Swashbuckler could potentially hide a glaive on their person.
  • Bladebound Magus or Blade Adept Arcanist could potentially use a Glaive as their Black Blade.
  • Piercing Grapple could allow the glaive to be drawn in a grapple, but this does not restrict the grapple’s general restriction on doing actions with two hands.
  • One-Handed Weapon tricks still require the off-hand to be empty, so they could not be used with the glaive.
  • Pommel Strike Deed would work fine with the glaive, and is completely believable as a haft strike.

- Allows a move action to remove or re-apply the reach weapon property.
  • This is in line with many other abilities that require an in-turn action to choose reach or not. This keeps threat range to adjacent OR reach, not both.

None of the above abilities provide any significant power to the character, yet they do allow a very flavorful use of a specific deities favored weapon, in a way that much more accurately reflects the deity. The very pacifist nature of Shelyn should also be considered in the decision making process. The imagery of a Tien Devoted Muse gracefully making her way through a scene, her glaive sweeping like a calligrapher’s large brush, harmlessly keeping enemies out of the fight, is one that should certainly be allowed in society play.

I do wish the feat was worded a bit clearer (avoiding the seemingly ambiguous ‘treat it as’ terminology), thus avoiding this confusion from the start. Had the feat been worded as follows, it’s effects would be the same, but I think the confusion would be gone.

Bladed Brush (revised):
Bladed Brush (Combat)
You know how to balance a polearm perfectly, striking with artful, yet deadly precision.
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus (glaive), must be a worshiper of Shelyn.
Benefit: You can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier to attack rolls with a glaive sized for you, even though it isn’t a light weapon. You can use a glaive with feats and class abilities normally restricted to one-handed piercing or slashing weapons, or require the off-hand to not be making attacks (such as a duelist’s or swashbuckler’s precise strike). The glaive is still wielded in both hands for these abilities.
As a move action, you can shorten your grip on the glaive, treating it as though it lacked the reach weapon property. You can adjust your grip to grant the weapon the reach property as a move action.


So, I'm relatively new to PFS, and was working no building my -2 character - wanting to be a devout shelynite paladin - only to discover that the most appropriate archetype - virtuous bravo - for that purpose is for some reason disallowed for society play.

What is the reason for this? I have seen crafting focused archetypes banned, and that made sense - this one, however, I simply do not understand. It does nothing but blend two otherwise available classes, much like any other archetype does. It also seems to be the most devout way to progress towards the shelynite prestige class (devoted muse) - which, frustratingly, IS allowed in pfs.


So I am perusing through the Elemental Master's Handbook, and came upon this oracle curse. I immediately fell in love with the idea of building a 'burn it all down' gnome oracle.

Lava Gnome Oracle, with the Flame Mystery (of course)
Gnome Oracle FCB: +1/2 to curse level

This means she gets some of the Elemental Imbalace sourced bonus spells known at levels she cannot even cast the spell.

1st level (curse level 1.5) - Get's Burning Hands (all good, 3 base slots for it)
4th level (curse level 6.0) - Gets Scorching Ray (all good, 3 base slots for it)
7th level (curse level 10.5) - Gets Wall of Fire (oops, no 4th level spell slots until level 8)
10th level (curse level 15.0) - Gets Contagious Flame (no 6th level slots until level 12)

Probably an oversight, and not really intended. Not the end of the world, as it just means she could pick up a couple +1 hp or +1 skill FCB's at a couple levels, since she won't gain from the gnome oracle FCB.

But then I thought: If I really want to burn everything - I should mix in sorcerer levels, and go to theurge... this makes things REALLY weird, since each of the sorc levels would add some curse advancement (1/2 level), So I'm thinking that once she gets into the theurge levels, she'll be fine, as she's only going to be advancing the curse at 1/2 per level...

perfect... [fiery grin]...


2 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

So, Adamantine states:

Adamantine wrote:
Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20.

So sundering weapons or attacking objects. This excludes sundering armor. So does an armor's hardness still apply? I believe the intention would have been that it WOULD apply, and I'm thinking this is an artifact from 3.5, when you couldn't sunder armor. Any chance for clarification or errata regarding this? Proposed fix would probably just be removing the word weapons at all, so it would read:

Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20.


So, in Inner Sea Magic, Paizo 'rulified' Varian Jegarre's Riffle Scrolls from Prince of Wolves. I am wondering if anywhere they did a write-up of the 'flying scrolls' from Master of Devils. Anyone seen this done, or have any ideas if not?


So the Promethean Alchemist seems a bit poorly written. It grants the humunculus companion. It is worded and statted as an animal companion, but never actually points to the druid animal companion rules on how to interpret those stats (like the '4th level advancement' section). It just sort of assumes that you KNOW it works just like an animal companion, with the specifics listed as exceptions to that.

Are we to assume that it IS an animal companion, with the things listed as exceptions to that (like the ability to reanimate it and such)?

If that IS the case, could a Promethean Alchemist take Evolved Companion or Boon Companion? If it is NOT the case, is that just because the ability is not CALLED animal companion, so it doesn't meet the prereqs, or do you genuinely feel it shouldn't be considered one?


So I'm quite new to PFS, but own many of the Pathfinder Tales books (mostly on audible). I have only just come across the chronicle sheets for owning the books, but honestly don't have any idea how this is supposed to work.

So I imagine I need to print out the chronicle sheet, and show proof of ownership of the book (in this case, my audible library I'd imagine). Does the GM then initial the sheet so I can add it to a specific character's folio (complete with a chronicle # and carrying forward gp, prestige, and other goodies)? Once there, it means I can use the boons it provides, and/or purchase the items it describes? Do people simply take the sheets to a session, and have the GM go ahead and initial all they own the book for, and then try to remember that they might have a boon for something when a situation comes up?

Just trying to get an idea how it works, because I have not seen it happen at any of the (admittedly very few) sessions I've been involved in.

Thank You for your Guidance orison...


So I'm playing a half-orc forgepriest of shelyn. I am looking at feats to take at 3rd and 5th, and really don't know which way to go. Her bonus weapon focus feat is assigned to Bite (since she has the Tusked trait, and this allows the sacred weapon dice to apply to bite attacks). The bite is great when she is wielding her glaive, as it provides close threat to offset the reach weapon. 1st level she took Diehard (Endurance from ART). Her 3rd level bonus feat is devoted to Craft Magic Arms & Armor, and 6th level is devoted to Fire Resistance (both from the forgepriest archetype). She is low cha, 10 dex, and decently high strength. (Very atypical shelyn worshiper, but Shelyn is all about INNER beauty, right?)

This atypical build is what makes if so confusing on where to go. Typically a Shelynite warrior would probably be more dex based, dancing around the battlefield with combat reflexes, and her glaive.

So, some thoughts:
Option A> 3rd: Weapon Focus (glaive); 5th: Power Attack.

Option B> 3rd: Power Attack; 5th: Cleave

Option C> Retrain Weapon Focus to glaive; 3rd: Power Attack; 5th: Cleave.

I'd love to be able to take Weapon Specialization (glaive), but that won't be an option until 9th level, because the warpriest's ability to count as fighter levels is only for her bonus feats, and the archetype trades away the 3rd and 6th level feats.

Alternatively, I've given thought to Deific Obedience (shelyn), as the +4 to craft would be 'nice', but not really necessary (forgepriest already gets some pretty good craft bonuses). But if I did go that route, it might be interesting to dip into the one of the prestige classes at some point.

She is just advancing to 3rd level at this time, and going through Rise of the Runelords, for context.


Any change a product is in the works to round out the choices for Divine Fighting Technique? Asking for a friend (my warpriest of Shelyn).

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