Daw's page

Um, if that vial is effectively immaterial to the creature, how is it do you think it somehow prevents its contents from contacting the creature? All it really does is keep the contents in a fixed shape, when contacting the incorporeal creature. Realistically, an unbroken vial can be used as a club as long as it doesn't hit anything solid and breaks, whether the contents degrade with doing damage is a GM call I guess.

I think you may be seriously underestimating the bagman.

Thank you for so clearly illustrating my point. Was it deliberate?

No, i don't think it is a troll. Exactly. The game, to a rather vocal portion of the playerbase, is rather more of a conceptual test bed. The focus of the game narrows to the creation of the perfect character, capable of a potential of doing hundreds of points of damage per round in rather specific circumstances. It is the build that is important, the game is just a proof of concept exercise. How much anger is generated when someone develops a strategy/character (strategy and character being inextricable) that trivializes a cherished character/strategy. I remember the actual outrage when I made an offhand suggestion that the rules actually are capable of supporting a non-combat oriented playstyle, as this was anathema to their strategy character concepts. If the concept is what you live for, the game isn't so much the focus anymore.

Charge is rather an all-in Mainchance option, and it is telegraphed besides. If you make rulings to mitigate those risks it becomes your only option if it is available at all. This is true, both fo the GM (NPCs) or the players (PCs). Since the PCs will more reasonably know your demons are teleporters, they rather deserve what happens if they over-rely on charge. Now feinting that charge to hopefully cause missed actions, and not making this trick so obviously a fight-winner. This gives the edge when one side can reasonably expect teleportation as a tactic. I both disagree with your ruling and you spoiler's reason for ruling that way. Also, Meirrils pique as a GM, being predictable as a GM deserves tactics being developed, it isn't cheating, and the teleportation trick causes lost lost actions as often as often as successes if you aren't predictable. This isn't rocket science.

Altaica,
They aren't lying to you, and they aren't wrong. You have come here to ask for advice from experienced if sometimes somewhat unsocialized players, they unanimously agree on what they give you (unanimity being rather rare on the forums) and you still question their advice. Odd.

I think it just means that your ability to prepare the spells you have learned cannot be taken away from you by denying you your books or familiar.

Hmmm, wouldn't actually be worse if they worked together, but not working with you. How biddable is your GM? I fear tragedy in your future if he agrees to allow you to take this feat twice.

Adding this to dirty GM tricks folder, mwa ha ha ha.

Weight class was effectivly and more simply subsumed as a part of strength and size. A serious improvement, if not completely perfect. I realize that it seems unfair to some, but the alternative just leads to silliness like pixies holding the bridge against the charging giants.

Try boxing or wrestling over your weight class if you want to understand why strength can reasonably be adjudged more influential to combat manuevers. For the more stat ant of us, Sugar Ray Leanard was much more skilled and dexterous than Mike Tyson, this doesn't make it at all likely that he will win. The simple and brutal ability to overwhelm an enemies defenses is a very powerful thing. This is quite annoying if you are not the one with the greater strength.

So, does this mean Arodens death somehow gave adventurers the power to disrupt the set and fated paths? Are adventurers his true heirs? This is better than Illuminati.

^_^

Elminster is still dead, reports to the contrary are propaganda.

Aroden died to free us all from the bondage of Prophecy. Asmodeas is taking out his pique by corrupting Cheliax. You know, I like conspiracies more than I like going on about what I don't like.

As with everything, a PC can be as ridiculously powerful as his GM can be bullied into allowing. After all you can argue that regeneration = immortality, and if you can bully your GM you can be that or anything else.

So, in a meta way, the most powerful just means you are run by the most obstinate person at the table.

Does this advance the OP objective of exploring what it means for a monster to be the most powerful? Probably not, even if it does touch on "plot armor", which is probably the most relevant thing. Having the writers on your side is always the character's greatest asset, and has been before anyone ever thought to draw numbers on an odd shaped polyhedron.

At a convention demo game, during a particularly tense communication failure.

"I've got this, I speak Stupid as a second language."

A Sufi, a Zoroastrian and a Fruedian Scholar walked into the Salon, and were unable to communicate at all.

Well trolled, bagman.

To make this bald face clear, the OP specifically is asking for a cheap trick to allow a character who is all about gaining extra power by limiting what it can effect, and to keep all that extra power while ignoring those limitations that were taken to gain that extra power. We are not talking about meaningful contribution, what he is askiing for is domination of combat in all cases. Pfffft, this is entirely homebrew territory, so just have the GM make up an item that translates your non-lethal damage to disruptive penalties versus your normally immune targets or some similar cheese, but at least recognize that it is a home baked cheesy bean feast casserole, and unlikely to be allowed outside of your table, pretty much ever. It's only a game, do what's fun for your table, just recognize that what you are doing flies in the face of the spirit of clever careful optimization which is what a lot of forum denizens live for. You can have it all for free if you are all ok with it, but there is no good way to do it within the rules based gamestyle, which is where the dissonance is coming from.

Oddly, you are all ignoring the ring's most gamechanging power, assuming you aren't an arcane caster or a 15 minute workday group. Your wearer only needs 2 hours to be fully rested. Think of what this means for the mission oriented types. Ending the need to eat and excrete is a huge thing for infiltrators as well. But if all you are going to ignore everything but minor savings in provisioning, best of luck to you.

I like the more restrictive allignments with regard to the divine. While at my table I might make special exceptions for a player with an interesting idea, but it will be certain that this is a special one off kind of thing, not a springboard for greater silliness or sleaze. I have run campaigns where any allignment mismatch was not allowed at all. They were well received, but, to be fair, I do not tend to draw players who are more concerned with power-sets than they are with mindsets.

So said player thinks his witch is going to ghost both a paladin and barbarian? Just let them kill him. The only way he succeeds if the GM is complicit. If he calls metagaming, let him.

Better yet, just bounce him and tell the other players you just aren't interested in running sleaze.

Bob, a little ridiculously, points this out.

Nowhere in the description did it limit mind effecting effects to magical effects, thus inevitables are immune to diplomacy. Actually, as I write this, why wouldn't they be immune to diplomacy, changing their mind would be a chaotic act. Thanks, Quibble, another thing rattling around the back of my head.

A possible plan wrecker. Would conversions like these be "mind affecting effects" which inevitables are immune to? How would you change an allignment without affecting the mind? Could you alter the soul directly? But then, wouldn't that alteration be an effect that affects the mind? I guess something like this shouldn't be easy.

Perverting the law on an existential basis?

How very topical of you Qibble.

I haven't seen Anything like that in rules, though some fiction and (I'm told) 3pp products, and published adventures skirt the issue. Perhaps a more encyclopedic mind than mine can be of help, but I rather doubt it will be Canon.

Keep in mind that what awaits most Good creatures isn't very good either, since most souls lose their memories after death.

Wouldn't a good character see it as losing themselves in a sea of bliss, rather than becoming food for fiends? Your take on it is rather dark and nihilistic. "There is no difference in the end" does rather devalue goodness and heroism except for the doomed hero fighting to maintain honor in the face of futility trope. Less so with myself, as I have bouts of feelings of futility dealing with people at all, but some people find such attitudes disrespectful of their personal real beliefs. What, after all, is Nirvana but, fundamentally no different than having your soul destroyed by demons in the hells, pointless. I understand some people do not resonate with the thought of being a part of something larger than oneself. (^_^ could there possibly be something larger than myself, after all?)

As with anything, individualism can be taken too far, unless nihilism is actually your cup of tea. This setting, as written, does not support that philosophy well, and many seriously disagree with the philosophy.

Whatever your potential plans for the NPC you need to at least think about balancing the possibility of the party gaining the item. GM fiat protecting GMPCs tends to cause hard feelings.

I believe it is more that only a remorselessly evil spellcaster could even be capable of becoming said Worm that Walks. Not circular at all, it is an entrance requirement.

Daw wrote:

The Horla would mess you up in a world that no one really believes in magic. Its effectiveness is somewhat less when it's abilities are not unique.

Well keep in mind your average person who's not an adventurer likely doesn't have access to see invisible or the like. Also unless they or their friends happened to put ranks in Knowledge: Dungeoneering (and I don't see why they would if they aren't an adventurer) they probably would have no idea what a horla is.

It is not so much that it can be countered, it's that it isn't as stretch of logic that victims and bystanders believe it exists and needs to be countered, and are able to get real help. You know, Mage-SWAT. Even if help is not available, you at least have the solace that everyone doesn't automatically assume you are lying or that it is all in your head.

In my real world experience, the thing that has been scariest has been a crazy man with a shotgun pointed at me. This wouldn't be so scary in game.

Shroudedinlight,

Unfortunately your take on the unseen servant would allow it to hold of a collapsing mountain, useful but a bit OP for a low level spell. If the situation comes up again consider having the servant hold an object as a ladder steady for your dwarf, as the ladder will support most of your weight, with the servant's portion of the load is within its capacity. Think like a Dwarf, tools are more than just your friends, they are your life.

Not from Pathfider, but the Arduin Grimoire Druid spell, "The Stone that Weeps in Silence" that turns you to stone but leaves you conscious, effectively forever, to think about what you did to anger a powerful Druid. The game had some of the best ideas and the worst organization.

Magda Luckbender wrote:

Morality is relative.

Not in a setting with alignment it isn't.

Actually yes and no, depending on what is meant with a rather trite three word provocation statement. Yes, there are various degrees of evil. Being a liar is evil, really whatever the reason. Being a torturing murderer is a greater evil. Lying to get away from said torturer is both pragmatic and a small "g" good thing, but it is still an evil thing, just a much lesser evil thing, and hopefully will prevent a greater evil. In a perfect world, convincing the murderer of the error of his ways and to never, ever to do such a thing would be a large "g" Good thing. It is also pie in the sky unlikely and a rather poor strategy. While the lie will further erode trust in one's fellows, and will make the bad guy just a little more evil, a little less likely to allow the next victim any mercy, it is still the lesser of the two evils. Those who deny lying is evil because there are are greater evils are being facile, as are the people who deny there is any qualitative/quantitative difference between different instances of evil. Either view tends to obscure and condone evil acts.

Other than a horrible misuse of the game theory term min-max (which is the strategy of going for the maximum gain possible while taking the minimum risks: apposed to main chance which would be going for the win whatever the risk/cost) I rather dislike the sole focus whatever the cost, you know nearly all fighters should be unpleasant drooling idiots.

I think you may need to go further. His original concept is a game disrupter. Is his next character going to be a more underhanded version of the same? Have you any idea why? Is there a history here?

Spell that destroys the entire multiverse with no save. DM only.

^_^

Screw you guys, I'm going home

First, fear is impossible if they feel death is unavoidable.
Punishing players/characters when the players feel that character survival is solely on the GMs whim will not go well.
Some players will never fear the loss of a silly piece of paper. Punishment will at best drive them away. They could stick around to make the GM and perceived favorites pay.

Getting them to buy in is a better option. If they feel they have no agency, no reasonable chance of survival/victory, then their best option is to enjoy their own carnage.

Listen, we all know that the Minotaur was adapted from a singular mythological being, male. When reimagined as a mostly natural race, it implied the existance of females of the species. I suppose if this doesn't suit you you could reimagine them in the old Harpy mold or the Gloranthan Broo mold, but then you have to deal with the serious Ick factors involved, and Paizo is going for a more family friendly mode.

Ask the small races, almost everywhere, but especially in slave states, especially the Chel states. Why? Because it is easier to consider them less than human.

The land of the lost as a devolution trap.
Makes sense, we can explain the bad acting as critical failed resist rolls.
There is no justification for Ferrel so let us retcon the whole movie from existance.

Klorox, the Blood of Fiends Player Companion book I suspect is the current definitive work on Tieflings. It provides variants based on different sources of their fiendish blood. It does support the less than 50% bloodline Meirril wrote. As with Blood of Angels it does specifically preclude direct parental connections, it does specify that the outsider influence is weaker than the various half-[whatever]. It also allows for the generic Tieflings as well.

Specific to this thread,

Children born of these unions carry the blood of fiends in their veins, and are irredeemably marked. This first generation consists of true half-fiends—half mortal, half outsider—while their own children may be fiendish-looking tieflings or appear totally normal. Regardless, these latter generations carry an invisible power within their veins.

So, per the Pathfinder rules, no, Tieflings and Aasimar do not qualify as true halfbreeds.

Homebrew only, I had adamantine not being a single material but a product of planar super-impositions of different materials resulting in different colors and powers. Due to its multi planar makeup it was hard to damage, and tended to defeat resistances. It also had the advantage (as a GM) of being impossible to rework into something I hadn't planned on.

Any pit is bottomless until you get to the bottom.

Additionally, this part of the community tends to be very averse to GM agency. All possibilities must be written down and preapproved, which is a recipe for failure. Dave Hargrave used various graphic Tarot decks and used the visual symbolism, classic symbolism, and game history to fake up interesting events/effects. It was great, and tended to advance the storylines. I rather expect that many readers here would consider such playstyle anathema or even blasphemy. I hope the events take your game forward, Heather.

Humans.

Not all are evil, but certainly enough are, and they are so darned good at hiding it, and they can self-justify anything as long as they can pretend an enemy exists, or an opportunity, or an excuse no matter how implausible.

You can watch a few interview tv shows for some good ideas to base on. Sadly, watch the news for more obvious examples. Politicians in general often give excellent examples of charisma without intelligence. Many con men fit the trope as well.

Actually, it would be just as reasonable to posit that the stress induced by regenerative healing would actually accelerate the aging process. Is the healing perfect, or just good enough to keep you going? Is this a tanstaafl situation?

In my world nearly all temples support education, if skewed. The Milani give a more honest message, education without indoctrination is the very essence of revolution.

Faking surrender and getting found out makes you the new favored enemy for all professional and semi-professional soldiery. If the institutions of surrender go away, soldiers lives get worse. Also, no one can trust you to be left living, so your lives get worse. Since most toe-sucking D&Ders don't understand things like ransoms and related pay-offs, this is moot for many gamers. It isn't so much about honor, but about survival.

^_^
Motorcycles of course, the average crude dwarf is going to find a mount that sounds like a continuous obnoxious fart to be quite charming. Orcs too. Think of the rumbles, pity the elves and hobbits in the area though.