Dumb Paladin's page

You don't need to apologize for setting up an extremely difficult scenario, but just know that after this, SK will have to strenuously argue against the party putting ourselves in this kind of danger again, where one person can be cut off from assistance from the rest of their allies and left to languish.

I guess I'd like a longer conversation about what the PCs can do to maneuver down the tree together, going forward, to negate this kind of advantage for the enemies.

While still engaging in his devotion to Arazni, The Scarlet Knight says to the rogue,
"'Twas no fun at all, Faen, no grand affair.
These bugs bite with venom, so you beware.
This den is dank and hostile, I declare --
The low, close ceilings do our strikes impair.
We'll march 'til Svetalana's ring we ensnare;
Weapons out, young Faen. Heed, hark, and prepare."

Can't we just politely ask the goblins to sit down for tea?

Diplomacy!: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

Velas agrees with Quintessa's remarks about the ring. "Speaking of Svetlana's ring, I just remembered what that bandit Elly said. Alvis is right - the ring was stolen from them. Apparently by some 'grelins' that live under a big sycamore tree. Elly said it was east of their camp. Seems like our next best lead. Following the river, like Quintessa and Teela said, is a safe bet."

Velas nods at the suggestions to use today as a recovery and planning day. "Plus, our new friend needs to get back on his feet. Let me see that shield, sir. Does it need repair?"

The Scarlet Knight takes the steel shield he's been using off his back and examines it closely.

"Thank you, Velas. It could use minor care.
No true breaks or flaws, of which I'm aware.
Despite many months of quite fine shielding?
Unbroken. As my goddess: Unyielding."

He hands Velas the shield and, while unskilled in smithing, obviously intends to join Velas and be of whatever aid he can.

Defensive advance is a great ability for shield users. Its often the turns where you need to move that makes you choose between striking and raising that shield so getting both with a stride is exactly the kind of situation where you will need it.

that could be moving to foes in the first turns but also moving to draw reactions or moving to get allies in range of your aura. Positioning is an important part of playing a champion so having the ability to action compress raising your shield with movement and striking is valuable.

Yeah, I was re-reading the feat and noticing it doesn't require you to be in a position at the end where you can Strike an enemy, it merely gives you that ability (which is obviously something you'll want to do a lot).

The flexibility of that makes the feat worth it, to me.

Thanks for everyone who answered both questions.

Clarius hands Khajuna a couple silver.

"You need some coin to get a drink or a bite to eat?" He's eating some kind of pastry and a coffee. "Stole this money off some nasty little barmaid thief, ex-girlfriend of Arc's."

He grins slightly.

Well, let me just say ... I'd certainly welcome a chance to play a PFS game in Christchurch, New Zealand :)

It has been many years since my experience; I would be much more vocal about putting a stop to the behavior now, and to getting someone "official" involved ASAP nowadays.

Oooof that sounds rough, I'm sorry you had that experience.

More than anything, to me the PFS2 campaign strives to be positive, fun, inclusive, and welcoming.

...And if there's someone who is causing issues and working against those goals, from my perspective we want to know. ("We" in this case being the volunteer corps who care about such things deeply, and also the campaign leadership would probably want to know as well).

So yeah, definitely, come play, either locally in your area or online. And if someone is causing issues... We want to know, so we can address it.

Certainly.

Dumb Paladin wrote:

I ... am still reading through things, but I haven't run across this.

-- Is there a list somewhere of things you absolutely CANNOT do at the table of a PFS game?

-- Is there a list somewhere of things you absolutely CANNOT do IN CHARACTER during a PFS game?

-- Is there any restriction on alignment?

Or ... is a PFS game just a free-for-all where anything goes, and you have to hope that the GM can keep the game from going completely off the rails?

No, this isn't a troll question or even facetious: my only PFS experience was during 1st edition at an organized game that was COMPLETELY derailed by 1 player, and the incompetent GM in charge who did nothing at all to stop it (and even aided it at times).

So I'm asking before I am willing to try PFS 2nd Edition. Thanks for all genuine answers in advance.

Hi,

I'm the Regional Venture-Coordinator for the Southwest Region and I'd like to hear about your experience. Please email me at OPFSouthwestRVCJon@gmail.com.

Thanks,

~Jon

Your experience is highly atypical

I gathered as much, during and immediately after in the year since.

there's a difference between a player who is willing to work with others to have their (wildly acting) character participate in the adventure (in which case it's a character problem and can be solved ingame) and between a player who is not willing to work with others to have their character participate (and who uses "it's what my character would do" as an excuse), in which case it's a player problem and needs to be dealt with outside of the game.

Yep. It was definitely the latter. I requested the GM at the table put a stop to it, and he declined. I didn't know enough to know I should have left the table to go complain to the Venture-Lieutenant or Venture-Captain; I did so after the game, which was far too late to fix anything.

This is a helpful response and post with links!
Thanks very much.

Dumb Paladin wrote:

I ... am still reading through things, but I haven't run across this.

-- Is there a list somewhere of things you absolutely CANNOT do at the table of a PFS game?

-- Is there a list somewhere of things you absolutely CANNOT do IN CHARACTER during a PFS game?

-- Is there any restriction on alignment?

Or ... is a PFS game just a free-for-all where anything goes, and you have to hope that the GM can keep the game from going completely off the rails?

No, this isn't a troll question or even facetious: my only PFS experience was during 1st edition at an organized game that was COMPLETELY derailed by 1 player, and the incompetent GM in charge who did nothing at all to stop it (and even aided it at times).

So I'm asking before I am willing to try PFS 2nd Edition. Thanks for all genuine answers in advance.

Hi, Dumb Paladin,

I'm really sorry to hear this.

The Organized Play's code of conduct is publicy available at this page.
These are rules of play that are expected of players and must be enforced by Game Masters.

The rules for character cration in Organized Play are listed in the Lorespire site. For example evil characters are forbidden.

Moreover in-game evil action or other prohibited actions earn infamy points to characters.
Infamy points have in-game effects.

Finally, the lorespire guide contains many suggestions that Game Masters should refer to solve in and out of game problems and players are invited to read it, too. First of all, for any problem contact...

I ... am still reading through things, but I haven't run across this.

-- Is there a list somewhere of things you absolutely CANNOT do at the table of a PFS game?

-- Is there a list somewhere of things you absolutely CANNOT do IN CHARACTER during a PFS game?

-- Is there any restriction on alignment?

Or ... is a PFS game just a free-for-all where anything goes, and you have to hope that the GM can keep the game from going completely off the rails?

No, this isn't a troll question or even facetious: my only PFS experience was during 1st edition at an organized game that was COMPLETELY derailed by 1 player, and the incompetent GM in charge who did nothing at all to stop it (and even aided it at times).

So I'm asking before I am willing to try PFS 2nd Edition. Thanks for all genuine answers in advance.

EDIT: Also corrected my AC. I forgot that 'unarmored' scales with level.

This is a really easy thing to forget, I am finding. I had the same issue; I used a website to help build my character and it took me a long time to figure out how it arrived at the numbers it did.

Jace has had enough.

"Unless the laws work very differently here, which we've had no indication of, it is *your* job to prove that the people in the caravan are guilty of a crime. NOT the job of innocent and law-abiding citizens to prove that they are NOT involved with Hallod and his psycho hussy girlfriend."

He huffs. "You've accused us, without grounds and without proof, of being involved in Bort's death. Now we have brought you the real killer. Are you now making unfounded accusations of murder against the other caravan members?

Because your track record with accusations has been abysmal."

[dice=Gauntlet]1d20+6 for [dice=Bludgeoning]1d4+1 Agile, Free-Hand

[dice=Gauntlet]1d20+6-5 for [dice=Bludgeoning]1d4+1 Agile, Free-Hand

Adrius looks back up at Hamster as he comes to.

"I had a dream. But it wasn't a dream, it was a place. And you ... and you and you were there ..."

He looks around. "Oh, hells. We're still in this place."

minor healing: 1d8 ⇒ 7

"Mangy mutts, get outta here! Go home to momma!"

Jace pauses fiddling to yell at the wolves. He points his fiddler's bow at Kuntaxl and intones a poem strongly, almost singing the words, in a voice that commands the powers that be to listen:

Kuntaxl ... you've got a friend in me /
Yes, you've got a friend in me /
If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too /
There are few things I wouldn't do for you /
Let's stick together, see this wolf mess through /
'Cause you've got a friend in me

Jace casts spirit link on Kuntaxl. (2 actions)
Kuntaxl immediately heals 2 hit points of damage, and Jace takes 2 damage. At the start of each of Jace's turns, this will happen again if Kuntaxl is damaged.

Jace begins to play his fiddle after that, and gives the entire group inspire courage once more. (1 action)

For 1 round, "You and all allies in the area gain a +1 status bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saves against fear effects."

Okay, here's an idea. If this doesn't sell you on a Bard, I don't know what will.

Be a human, with Versatile Heritage so that you can get a general feat at level 1.

As a bard, take the enigma muse so that you can get trained in Bardic Lore.

Then, use the general feat you got from your ancestry to get the Dubious Knowledge feat.

You now have the right answer to any question that might ever come up. It's just that, you know, sometimes it's hard to remember if werewolves are vulnerable to silver or strawberry pudding. Could happen to anyone.

I am playing just this bard now. It's hella fun, and also useful.

"How did Cayden connect you with your adopted parental units? How did He cause them to create an orphanage?" presses the hobgoblin.

"My assessment is you stumbled upon two caring individuals and they took it upon themselves to raise you. They weren't forced by a higher power. They were just decent...humans?...creatures that filled a need in your life."

"The gods do their fair share of meddling, but I suspect they don't concern themselves with one orphan child."

Pausing a moment, he shrugs "I'm not saying you're wrong to believe or care. I'm just saying, creatures in this plane are decent, good, evil, or a mixture of all the above on their own. They don't need any higher power for anything other than an excuse to act as they already desired."

"I can challenge you to prove your side the same way, sir. What is it that makes a person be good, or care about someone else? They don't have to. You can get along just fine in this world without trying to help other people. It's a lonely existence, sort of a pathetic one ... but many people choose that path every day. It's not in your blood, or in your guts. Something else is responsible. Why do people have a conscience? Is it just because they choose to? Why then, do other people simply choose to be evil incarnate?"

Jace shakes his head. "You'd never be able to convince me that these things don't have a touch of divinity in them."

Kuntaxl listens to the information impassively, nodding in thanks when Jace is finished. "Kuntaxl expected more... poetry."

Jacinto looks at Tolgy. "Poetry? Like ... I thought he wanted a story, bro. I'm not usually good at limericks."

"Let me see ... oh, I remember one that was popular at the pub!

A gorgeous young bard from Qadira /
Could make men's gold fast disappear-a /
Sleight of hand was her trade /
And your purse she'd invade /
With the gold soon stored safe up her --"

The barkeep frowned. "I forgot the end."

Backstory filled in. Didn't go overboard. Can't wait to get started.

The bard and halfling's reactions to travelling with two hobgoblins and a lizardfolk should be amusing.

*whispers to the halfling* "Bro ... those guys could invest in moisturizer. Kinda scaly. Not judgin', tho."

If you had multiple caster levels, I assume you would be free to choose whichever of the two you had ... but there's little point in choosing a lower one.

You would cast magic missile at your cleric level. Pathfinder Savant adds (at certain levels) an "increased level of spellcasting", and if you only have one class -- cleric -- then it's added to that.

In other words, if you're a Cleric 6 / Pathfinder Savant 3, your cleric caster level is now 8, because you don't gain a caster level at Pathfinder Savant 1. You'd cast magic missile off the scroll as an 8th level caster, and get 4 missiles at 1d4+1 damage each.

Count Duck has a good idea too.

One important thing to remember, Xavier: just because one person in the party has a really important spell doesn't mean that person will always be able to cast it. The wizard may lose his ability to cast spells (silenced, unconscious, what have you), and you will suddenly be QUITE glad you took it. Same goes for Dispel Magic, so I'm glad it's on your list.

I'm okay with the new name, but I say it more like:

"D&D? ... Next!"

Goodness, no.

There are quite a lot of people who have moved on past WotC-related products and have no intention of ever going back. They couldn't care less what 5E looks like, and I am one of them. For this reason, 5E has absolutely no bearing on my interest in Pathfinder; what Paizo does will determine my continuing interest in Pathfinder.

I have a couple of players in my current PF group who are 4E players & friendly to the edition, enjoying it when they play it; they also enjoy Pathfinder. There are a good number of these people as well, and they tend to support every edition that they like, not play a "one or the other" game. These people will decide if they like 5E based on how it is, and if they do like it, they'll play it AND Pathfinder. What 5E looks like will have no bearing on their interest in Pathfinder, either; they either will play 5E along with every other edition they like ... or they won't play 5E, and still will play every other edition they like.

kyrt-ryder wrote:

Concentrating is a Standard Action every round unless otherwise noted.

hooray for Spellsong I suppose :)

Exactly right. That's what that feat's there for.

If I ever get irritating, just tell me. I can never figure out when I'm being annoying, even when dealing with people face to face, and it causes me no end of problems.

I'm gonna assume you only care whether you are irritating James Jacobs, but I will go out on a limb here and say your recent behavior has been annoying to me. If you don't care, that's 100% okay with me -- but I'm still glad I've said it.

If you want specifics, I'd start with: why would you presume to speak for the person who is here to answer questions, when that's the whole purpose of this thread?

James hates good aligned monsters.

I, on the other hand, love them.

I guess I don't see how it could be considered a 'joke'.

Nobody wants to buy them, that's fine. Remind the GM that they really can't be considered treasure if the items are unusable AND can't be turned into gold. They might as well just be left on the side of the road somewhere as junk.

Sometimes GMs get strange ideas & need to be reminded that the character wealth chart is there for a reason, and refusing to allow characters to sell items they find for money is really just the GM deciding for you what magic items YOUR character will own ...

High-damage builds aren't really my forte, but this I can do.

I actually worked on an idea similar to Davor's a couple months ago when considering a replacement character for our PF campaign. My original idea doesn't include the Steel Falcon, but I thought it'd add nicely.

Right-hand Manny
Human Paladin 4 / Cavalier 4 / Steel Falcon 2
Oathbound Paladin: Loyalty
Musketeer AND Honor Guard Cavalier (just 'cause guns are fun)
Order of the Star, Paladin of Torag

-- He selects an ally as his ward (for Honor Guard) and to give his Oath of Loyalty to; this grants a +6 sacred bonus to AC, +1 dodge bonus to AC, and +6 sacred bonus to saving throws for that ally.

-- When adjacent to any ally (including his ward), three times per round (due to Combat Reflexes) Manny can use attacks of opportunity to bolster his ally's AC by +5, combining Superior Aid with the Intercept ability.

-- When channeling positive energy using the variant, Manny grants all targets he chooses (deducting up to 6 targets who are not allies) a +2 channel bonus to AC until the end of Manny's next turn. He can only do this 4x/day, using all his lay on hands abilities.

+14 AC bonus: +6 sacred, +1 dodge, +5 aid another, +2 channel. Without channel, +12 AC bonus and those will last for up to 1 minute. Don't forget the +6 to saves.

In addition, Manny can provide a way for allies to get away from harm via the Escape Route teamwork feat, can bolster his own attacks via Calling or reroll any one d20 roll each day, and pretend to be a bard w/ inspire courage for up to 8 rounds per day.

He's got good HP, DR 2/--, great saves, Perception +12 and Diplomacy +17, can speak quite a few languages, and he'll even take a hit for the ward via In Harm's Way if he has to.

Come and Get Me -- the barbarian rage power -- states:

"Enemies gain a +4 bonus on attack and damage rolls against the barbarian until the beginning of her next turn, but every attack against the barbarian provokes an attack of opportunity from her, which is resolved prior to resolving each enemy attack."

Spring Attack states:

"As a full-round action, you can move up to your speed and make a single melee attack without provoking any attacks of opportunity from the target of your attack."

So, I attack with spring attack, versus a barbarian that has activated Come and Get Me on her last turn.

I'm immune to provoking AoOs from the barbarian ...

... except if I hit the barbarian, she gets a free AoO ...

.. except that I'm immune to AoOs from the barbarian ...

And on and on and on.

What's the answer? Which one wins out, the feat or the rage power?

Vic Wertz wrote:

I don't think Borders' closing will have a noteworthy impact on Paizo, immediate or long-term. Also, we've actually *hired* several new employees in the past few months.

So Hyrum left of his own accord?

It would be extremely gauche for anyone at Paizo to discuss private personnel matters -- if not legally problematic. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want us discussing your personal work employment history on a public forum, either.

The only person who has any right to discuss it is Hyrum. Why don't you ask him ... privately?

It seems to be getting easier here in Los Angeles, yes.