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Another house rule that I use is that aesthetics don't need to match what is in the rulebook. Your character's armor and weapons do not need to look like the actual items described in the book.

With weapons, I generally say it needs to look like something from the same weapons class. With armor, I ignore it entirely. It's too difficult to pull off good builds without the best armor you can get, even if that armor doesn't fit with your image of the character. As long as the players know that monsters and NPCs will act as if their fashionable wardrobe provided the same defense as a suit of full-plate, I don't have any problem with it.

I'm sure many DMs fudge the rules when it comes to small things, like calling a scimitar a katana because your player really wants to use a katana but doesn't want to spend a feat to get it, but I doubt many are as lenient with armor or other items.

57 (I think)) If you can't hit the table, your character can't hit his target either. All dice that do not land on the table count as 0's.

I'm not sure if it's all that common but all of the groups I've played with used it.

Java Man took all of my answers except 1. As basic as it is, I find the greatsword is just unbeatable if you want to deal the most (on average) damage in 1 hit. Get a Large or Impact greatsword and vital strike for more D6s than players at the table.

I don't know if it's PFS legal, but have you looked into the Impact weapon enhancement? It raises the damage dice of the weapon by 1 size category. This would give you 2 options:

1: Use a Medium weapon that is effectively a Large. You can say that the enhancement makes it appear Large, but it is as easy to use as a Medium. This means you won't be tied to the Titan Fighter or Titan Mauler classes.

2: Make your Large weapon effectively Huge. With a scythe, I believe this would make it a 3d6/x4. If you go this route, I'd suggest using the Vital Strike chain. More dice times more dice is a whole lot of damage.

My group had several experiences that meet the requirements for 1) and 2) while playing the Jade Regent Adventure path. I wouldn't call anything we ever did planning, it was more like stupid ingenuity. I'm going to start with 2) first because it happened shortly before my example for 1).

2) We came across a small castle we needed to raid. The front gate was shut and the walls were lightly defended. We debated several strategies: waiting until nightfall, using a grappling hook, attempting to break the gate open. We decided that we didn't have the time or equipment to perform any of these and if we waited too long outside the guards would notice us and begin shooting at us.

So our plan was to vault onto the wall using the cleric's tower shield as a platform. We had two characters run toward the wall as fast as possible and set up the shield as a platform. The following characters jumped up onto the shield and then were able to climb onto the wall easily. We pulled the characters left on the ground up with rope after the fight.

We found out later that we had the key to the front gate the whole time and could have just walked in from there.

1) While inside the castle, we came across a sarcophagus containing a Hellwasp Swarm. We rolled a high knowledge check and could tell that the creature was very hard to damage with weapons or fire (our two primary damage sources). So we decided "if you can't beat 'em, drop a building on 'em and let gravity do the work." We set makeshift explosives up in a circle on the floor above the sarcophagus and set them off. The ceiling crushed everything flat. The poor thing didn't stand a chance.

I was thinking the plot of Halo: Combat Evolved could make a good set of modules.

While at sea, the players' ship is being pursued by an orc fleet (including goblins, hobgoblins, gnolls, ogres, and trolls). In an attempt to escape, the captain sails into a storm and the ship crashes on an uncharted island. The orcs land on the island and begin exploring while the survivors of the shipwreck regroup. After investigating the ancient structures on the island, the players learn there is an Azlanti doomsday weapon hidden deep below the island. The players have to secure the weapon before the orcs get to it. As the adventure goes on, the players learn the doomsday weapon is actually a fail-safe for something even worse. A form of undead created to slaughter the Azlanti lie dormant under the island and the orcs' actions are about to release them on Golorian.

Like Scar from the Lion King. Bonus points if you include musical numbers.

Thanks for getting back to me with such great advice, guys!

Quick note: Signature deed doesn't work with Opportune Parry and Riposte.

I was not aware of that. It looks like precise strike has the same caveat. I'm not sure I want to take this now.

I assume your custom race includes the bonus human feat. Otherwise you will need the inspired blade archetype to have both weapon focus and fencing grace at first. Since you are specializing in rapier, it might be worth it to look at the archetype anyway.

Yep, I needed fencing grace as soon as possible so I made sure I had a bonus feat. I hadn't looked at inspired blade until now. It doesn't seem to have many downsides.

If you are planning on taking Greater weapon focus, I'd take it at 8th instead of 9th, since the 9th can be any feat as opposed to just a combat feat.

I think I planned to take it at 9th because of the Rogue level. My BAB would be LVL-1.

Extra Panache might not be worth it, depending on how often you are spending per day. Check to see how often you are running low by that point.

I was planning on using Parry and Riposte a lot. If I end up taking Inspired Blade I think I'll be in more dire need of this feat.

Outflank is a teamwork feat. Make sure that you have a teammate willing to take it or it is a wasted feat for you.

I've already coordinated this with another player, although I don't know for sure when he plans to take it. I figure the sooner the better.

From your point spread, it looks like you are doing 15 point buy. Is that correct? Be careful about your strength, unless your group place fast and loose with encumbrance.

Yes, 15 points. I know strength is a concern early on. I planned on picking up either a mithral chain shirt or muleback cords ASAP.

The rogue dip is almost certainly not worth it, unless you really want trapfinding or the skill points for some reason.

I will most likely be the party's skill monkey, so extra skill points and disable device as a class skill sounded nice. Now that I think about it, acrobat doesn't make sense because my armor check penalty will be really low anyways. I figured with a level of rogue and high acrobatics I could get behind enemies to get a little extra damage. Even more with accomplished sneak attack, outflank, and parry/riposte.

Or get a buckler. Always on, no wasted actions, no BAB/hp/level loss, can be upgraded up to +6 shield AC.

That's my plan. Surprisingly, I can't get shield focus or any of the related feats. Buckler proficiency and shield proficiency are separate apparently.

Hello everyone! My group is a few weeks away from starting the Giantslayer adventure path and I'm finishing up my character creation. I have a few questions about my build before I start playing.

The custom race I'm using is simply Human with Darkvision, Celestial Resistance, and +2 Dex and Cha instead of +2 to any one ability.

My questions are as follows:
1. Are there any must-have feats that I've forgotten or need to look out for after level 11? I plan on taking Critical Focus and at least 1 critical feat.

2. Would it be worth it to dip 1 level of Rogue at 5th level? I've looked at the acrobat archetype and accomplished sneak attack feat, but I'm not sure it's worth the 1 level delay on all of my Swashbuckler abilities and dip in BAB.

I believe that in the Golarian setting, Pharasma decides where you will spend eternity based on her visions. Even Neutral souls end up somewhere depending on their deity or acts in life. One important note is that atheists are sent to the Outer Gods (or Elder Gods, whichever Pathfinder uses).