Khavith

DM Soanso's page

15 posts. Alias of B.A. Ironskull.


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Number of times I've tracked free actions: 0

Number of times a free action has derailed a game: 0

A wise man once said, "Sometimes it's best to let those hard-to-reach chips go."


I'll bite.

First, it's too familiar to run "as is" so you need some twists to pique interest.

To make it memorable your protagonists need motivation.

Maybe they are Jack's siblings, and Jack's done "Pulled a Jack" again, selling the cow for magic beans and -Lo! a bean stalk to the clouds! Well, common sense says that giant bean stalks produce giant beans, so you have a hazard or a boon right there.

And when said beanstalk pierces the cloudy homestead of the Giant, it's a matter of perception checks and stealth to maneuver about the grounds. The Giant is an easy target so he'll need a foil. The Harp, or the Goose maybe. A reason to fear these tiny intruders. Perhaps this Giant owes a debt to another, more dangerous creature and the loss of the Goose/etc motivates the Giant to protect his valuables. (Plot Hook!)

Back to motivation. What would entice a group of ne'er-do-wells up a magic beanstalk into heights unknown? The Goose is a good motivation, or the Harp. Or the Legend of the Cloud Giant.

And maybe killing the giant isn't the end game, there is something else at play; The Tale itself is self-indulgent so how could it be altered to offer players a better puzzle? In the Tale, Jack chops down the beanstalk to escape the giant; what if he didn't?


Been through this kind of disparity before, and it likely won't end well for someone involved.

I think we all want to bring decency to the situation, be polite and caring, etc.

Maybe just call him out on his bullsh&t behavior next time he pulls it. Sounds like you've been playing as a group for some time, so this could come as a friendly but pointed jab - "OK, we'll get started just as soon as Guy is done listening to that killer Nickleback tune on his lap top" or "Hey Guy, you're up, what's on the ol' lap top? If it's school work, +2 to this roll! Meme, minus 2. Try to keep one ear on the game, man."

Humor is great at diffusing tension and circles back to the It's A Game point of view. Maybe a few other players pick up on it and join the fun.

Maybe Guy gets it and you can break immersion and have the Don't Be A Jerk conversation.

This might be better than doling out an etiquette lesson.

... Or his gf doesn't want his scruffy-looking nerfherder friends leaving empty 2-liters of Mountain Dew on the floor and Cheetos stains on the upholstery.
Humor!

Good luck, the best adventures require compromise from all. Even the rogue.


For a new player I'd echo many strategies already laid out but I'd especially limit options so that the new player can learn the basic functions of "what the character can do" before tossing a bunch of options his way.

What keeps me playing Pathfinder is those options, but I've played a long time. Best to ease a new player in.

I think a fighter is a good way to start, or a ranger for combat style feats. Barbarian is a good choice but has a little more to keep track of (rage rounds, fatigue etc).

A ranger could be a decent two-weapon fighter, battle axe/throwing axe (or hand axe). It isn't optimized but fits the flavor the player is looking for.

Rangers have a lot to offer to the party in skills as well. That might also help the new player get the hang of out-of-combat actions.


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ArthionAtWar wrote:

I have a player with an unchained rogue who took minor and major magic as his rogue talents.

He also took "bookish rogue" feat to be able to change his minor and major magic feats by studying them from a spellbook for 10 minutes.

He now wants to be able to copy spells into a spellbook.

I told him that he can't but that he could have a wizard or someone copy them in for him or use scrolls to study from. He still wants the spellbook.

I've heard rumors that this was ruled on prior to the bookish rogue feat appearing but so far have only found dead links or ones that say "this is what I've heard but no official ruling"

Can anyone help with this?

Spellcraft skill description states copying/learning a spell from a spell book is a DC 15 + Spell Level Spellcraft check. If it were me, this rogue could do so, as it's stated pretty clearly in the skill description.

And I echo some advice upthread, as long as everyone's enjoying the game and this isn't going to bring play to a screeching halt, go for it.

Not sure about the witch example, as the familiar is the "spell book" and can learn spells from other familiars- maybe they have the "intelligence" of Disney's Snow White's forest friends and can read? Or maybe the witch can read the spell book to the familiar? A good way to get creative for sure!

(for quick reference)http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/coreRulebook/skills/spellcraft.html#spel lcraft


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The duration is "on the next attack roll" iirc.

Most players want a forever +20 to their next attack roll.

Most DMs don't want a player with a forever +20 to their next attack roll.

Every character doesn't want an angry ogre with a forever +20 on it's next attack roll.

Remember that magic exists for all, not just the players.

So about that wand...[edit] Personal effect, I think, so potion/scroll only?


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Ran a Serpent's Skull AP 25-pt buy. All 6 adventures, ended at 17-ish, iirc.

The Fire Elemental Wizard and fighter/rogue/barbarian/idk with a 3.5 meteor hammer, supported by an archer ranger, core summoner/bipedal greatsword eidolon and an oracle of life wiped the floor of the campaign.

The wizard and Tank were unstoppable. I let it get to that. It came to a point where they really couldn't die, as they had enough to grind figurative diamonds into life.

Damn, we had us some fun!

It was totally unbalanced, and no one cared because it was fun. Fun is an option, right?


Copied from the Paizo PRD, it's from Ultimate Campaign Table 1-57, pg 49

Relationship with Fellow Adventurers

This table is best used by the adventuring party as a whole to determine starting relationships between the characters. One player begins the process by choosing someone in the group and rolling to learn the relationship between her and the second character. Then the next player chooses a different character and rolls to determine their relationship, and so on, until finally the last player rolls to determine his relationship with the first character. It is easiest to do this sitting around a table, with each player passing the dice clockwise until the dice have completed a full turn around the table.

You can also use this table free-form if you wish, rolling for your relationship for as many or as few of the other characters as you care to define; however, the first method guarantees that every character has connections to two other characters to improve group cohesion.

If you end up with a result that makes no sense or isn't possible, reroll or just chose another option.

table:
Relationship with Fellow Adventurers d% Result
01—05 Family or close as family—close friends, close/distant relatives, relatives by marriage/adoption
06—10 Friend of a friend
11—15 Tavern buddies
16—20 Hunting companions
21—25 Business associates, current or former
26—30 Contractor and employer
31—35 Former allies
36—40 Former enemies
41—45 Friendly competitors
46—50 Romantic competitors, current or former
51—55 Know each other by reputation only
56—60 Former inmates (prison, asylum, or captivity) or former inmate and captor
61—65 Criminal connections
66—70 Servants or apprentices to the same master
71—75 Met on a pilgrimage, caravan, or journey
76—80 Veterans of a skirmish or war
81—85 Follow (or followed) the same faith or cult
86—90 Best friends
91—95 Gaming or gambling associates
96—100 From the same hometown or region


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Flanking is flanking, it is a rule that benefits the attacker(s) and not the defender. Beyond house-rules, it is what it is.

The invisible cleric grants flanking to the rogue in the OP's diagram. The fighter doesn't get a trophy mulligan to not be flanked, RAW/RAI/etc.

This might be a case of over-thinking things. Flanking is flanking, and rogues have precision damage via Sneak Attack. It's their Thing, let them have their Shiny.

And kudos to the player combo that has an invisible cleric and a rogue teaming up to flank a fighter in the first place, only to net the precision damage - those are some big brass ones, my friends.


Whenever I realize the party is all humans. ;)


TL, DR, (OK I read some of it) but I'd like to encourage you to try GMing-

Keep alignment, or else your players might run amok. You can grant XP for 'solving' an encounter beyond combat. Some scenarios in APs specifically say this. It's my own rule- an encounter has many solutions, not just combat. Also, if you are a new GM, you want to change as little as possible in the game; you are better off learning the ropes before tying the knots.

That said- there's gonna be combat. Unless you happen upon a group of players that are totally OK with never lifting a weapon to solve an issue, there will be blood. And it isn't fair to tie players to a totally non-combat game without caveats. That is your job as GM, though.

GMing is more about harmonizing your vision of the campaign with your player's expectations. If they are bloodthirsty curs, and you present them with a game where non-combat skills and outside-the-box problem-solving are paramount, they'll get pissed off and so will you.

You cannot, and should not, push players into roles for your game. If someone wants to play a smashy barbarian, give him stuff to smash. Intimidate is a useful skill, too. If you've got players who want to explore skills and roleplay, toss them a rope. Acrobatics and select feats make them viable combatants. Make your encounters solvable by either brute strength or wits and charm, or a mix of both.

The Serpent's Skull AP allows for what you might be looking for- a mix of brains and brawn. Much of the AP can be handled through non-combat skills and tactics, but a certain amount of it (and any adventure) will rely on combat.

Good luck!


Haha, you know, I'm not surprised it's a popular choice. Not only is it free,but it has a good range of challenges for all classes to meet, be it skills, class specials, combat, or roleplaying. It's a great level to playtest, 5th is a cusp level where you've topped out your lower-tier abilities and are not quite into more powerful mechanics.


Bloodrager

OK, I'm not going to lie, I really enjoyed how the Bloodrager played out.

Str 15; Dex 14; Con 15; Int 10; Wis 13; Cha 13

Not an optimal build. Using WBL and dumping most of it into one weapon (greatsword +1) and one armor (mithral breastplate +1) I think I could have found a better AC (19/17 raging- at level five, yikes!)Took a ton of damage.

Took the Celestial bloodline. So, while bloodraging, a +1d6 vs evil outsiders and a DR 5/acid and cold.

Spells were true strike, shocking grasp, shield.

Critique I did not use any spells in the playtest; the bloodrage was enough power. (+13 to hit/+8 dmg) If I were playing a Bloodrager in a campaign or AP, I would assume the opportunity would arise to cast spells while bloodranging; but I don't really see (outside of spell selection) an opportunity where a bloodrager would ever use spells outside combat. Though maybe that isn't the point...

The bloodline bonuses kick ass, though. As a melee fighter, they are freakin' awesome, and if properly thought-out, yeah, casting Glitterdust in a bloodrage and then walloping the pants off a certain quasit would be freakin' spectacular. What comes in to mind there, though, is the matter of Combat Casting/Casting Defensively. Would that be something a Bloodrager needs to "earn" through feats or is there an instance at a higher level (9th+) where that becomes an innate part of the class?

There is a lot of Barbarian in the class, and though the Sorcerer parts are unique and well-met, I wonder if a few additions to the class that promote the arcane side of it might make it tighter thematically. I wanted to cast spells, but the bloodrage bonuses made them moot- I'd rather be tempted to cast here and there in exchange for what is pretty consistently big-damage attacks.


Abciximab wrote:

I like the Warpriest concept, but it doesn't live up to its name.

I agree with that. The Brawler seemed to do fine- adding Spring Attack mid-combat was awesomeness. The Warpriest, though, was relegated to "clerical" work, which I assume isn't the intent of the class.

I would advocate a full BAB for the Warpriest. A full BAB gives the Warpriest the ability to wade into combat, class skillset in tow, and not worry about the attack roll. Adding that to the current class would give it more War, which it needed.


Our group playtested 6 of the Advanced Classes- Arcanist (Revised), Bloodrager, Brawler, Warpriest, Slayer, and Swashbuckler. All 5th Level, 20-point buy, 2 traits, Core, APG, UM, UltCamp and UltEquip as sources. All human but the Slayer (dwarf).

If I have misinterpreted the rules anywhere, I'd appreciate any corrections, thanks in advance! I will provide some base stats, if anyone has a question or wants more, happy to provide the info.

I ran the game and played the Arcanist and Bloodrager; I'll give my thoughts on each class as individual posts to keep the Wall of Text at a manageable level.

Arcanist (revised) I liked the Arcanist overall. I think the spellcasting mechanic is nice but feels limited. I like the prepared casting fused with the spontaneous casting. I chose not to focus on metamagic, but I can see how that would give this class an additional boost to make it more in-line with the other arcane casters. I think that the Arcanist will suffer a power drag later on because the spells/day are outpaced by both parent classes. This can be addressed by giving the Arcane Exploit and Reservoir more attention.

Stats- 9 Str; 14 Dex; 12 Con; 18 Int; 12 Wis; 14 Cha.

I really liked the Arcane Exploits and Reservoir, a nice nod to the sorcerer parent class w/o totally ripping off that parent class special. Felt like a dip into the Magus special, but still a unique riff on a nice addition to the game (point-based class abilities). I chose Dimensional Slide, Force Strike, and Potent Magic.

I felt the Arcanist participated in the game. She used Dimensional Slide twice, Force Strike twice, but not Potent Magic.

Critique I like the Magic Hacker concept, but I don't like the execution as it is. It is too costly to fill the Arcane Reservoir, which is an ability that really powers this class because the spells/day are very limited.

I'd like to see an effect that allows the Arcanist some type of spell absorption to also add to their Arcane Reservoir- perhaps something like choosing to fail a save against a targeted attack on the Arcanist to both gain the spell's level in Points and the spell's effects, and/or to choose to save against a cure effect to absorb that magic (spell level again) into the Reservoir.

I liked the Exploits, more please! Used Dimensional Slide twice to make up for bad positioning, and Force Strike is Magic Missile but unique. Recharging the Arcane Reservoir is the Arcanist's biggest flaw. As written, great flavor, but I'm not going to drain wands and potions on the reg to fuel what is my go-to move, the sorcerer-inspired Exploit.