El_Jefe's page

The issue here is not the metamagic - which requires +3 spell level adjustment, but the metamagic rod that allows anyone to apply it

The metamagic is also a problem, or more accurately the metamagic cost reduction traits are a problem.

The Dazing build is a one-trick pony, just like the others. Any one-trick pony is annoying. But they have their weaknesses that should not be discounted. Usually it's doing anything that doesn't involve blasting. Try taking them through a dinner party or a wedding, or just trying to capture somebody alive. Their metamagic rod won't be able to help them much there.

You can build a highly effective dazing build with very little investment. It doesn't preclude you from being a skill monkey, not to mention a full caster with a lot of other tricks.

Faerie Dragon is great, but you need a boon to take it in PFS. Ditto Lyrakien Azata.

Spirit Guide Oracle wrote:

A spirit guide gains one hex of her choice from the list of hexes available from that spirit. She uses her oracle level as her shaman level and her Charisma score instead of Wisdom for the purpose of determining its effects.

In this, it appears to me that Oracle=Shaman for the Spirit Guide Archetype.

The problem is the language about "prepared spells". Substitute Oracle=Shaman and it still reads "list of oracle spells she can prepare".

Kydeem de'Morcaine wrote:

El_Jefe wrote:

No, it's only worth if if your familiar can UMD and Pseudodragons can't in PFS iirc. ...

Where is that from? I thought dragon types could activate wands (though I don't remember where I read it). I know of at least 2 people that are doing exactly that.

I'm pretty sure only the human shaped improved familiars (imp, quasit, lyrakin) can use the wands in PFS

http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/faq#v5748eaic9p51

Dunno why Pseudodragon can't use wands, but those are the rules. You might be able to use Alter Self/Greater Hat of Disguise, but it's better to just get another familiar.

I don't really see the big deal. That's a very inefficient way to kill undead.

It's an efficient out of combat healing combo, but it's not on spark/glorious heat level. Heck, Boots of the Earth = Unlimited Out of Combat healing for the whole party for 5000 gold.

No, it's only worth if if your familiar can UMD and Pseudodragons can't in PFS iirc. Get a Mephit or Imp.

Check out Pupsocket's Guide to the Very Best Traits. Most of the best traits are there with a few exceptions. Some cool traits that haven't been mentioned:

Clever Wordplay: Int replaces Cha for one skill.
Student of Philosophy: Int replaces Cha for some applications of Bluff and Diplomacy.
Shoanti Tattoo: Earth Breaker (2d6 x3) proficiency.
Affable: Diplomacy and Knowledge (Local) as class skills
Mother's Rage: +1 level to all summoning spells
Opportune Slayer: +2 Damage on AoO.

Is it worth going Human instead of Dwarf for the FCB?

Shaman: Add one spell from the cleric spell list that isn’t

on the shaman spell list to the list of spells the shaman
knows. This spell must be at least 1 level below the highest
spell level the shaman can cast.

8/14/12/12/20/7

You have 30' move and +4 AC with Lamellar (Leather) Armor and <38 lb load. 20' move with <76 lb load.

I am just wondering how many melee builds we are going to start seeing with Believer's Boon + Growth Sub-Domain. Now you don't have to take a level dip into cleric to become Giant Man/Indian Chief.

Doesn't seem useful at all. 1 Feat to swift enlarge yourself for 1 round a day?

Clear Ear(Adventurer's Armory): 15 gp for +2 Alchemical Bonus to Perception/Knowledge Checks and -2 to Charisma Checks for 6 hours

The Arcane Enlightenment hex is listed under the Lore Spirit for Shaman. It is the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. If I was doing it, I would be tempted to go to IQ 14 so that I could grab those 4th level spells.

It is great for Shamans, but RAW it doesn't work for Oracles because of the prepared spells language:

The shaman can add a number of spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1) to the list of shaman spells she can prepare

The first is Wisdom in the Flesh.

This one is in the guide already.

Sounds like it's too late, but taking Occultist and invest feats in summoning and focusing on buffing/summoning/no save spells will take you a long way.

If he buys a masterwork backpack and grab Muscle of the Society trait and encumbrance won't be a problem. He can carry up to 115 pounds with effective strength=11.

I'd be interested to see your full build/plan. I think your idea sounds pretty darn solid for low level PFS (and later you're a full caster, so you win anyway), but I'm not totally familiar with Shamans yet.

Whoa, that's ridiculously good. I've been in scenarios where halving the gather info time alone would be worth a trait.

Yeah. Most of the classes have one or the other as class skills, but for classes like Sorcerers that don't it's great.

Mother's Rage: You receive a +1 trait bonus on Survival checks, and you treat your caster level as +1 higher when summoning creatures.

This trait loses steam over time, but it makes low level summoning viable, especially in combination with Acadamae Graduate.

FAQ: http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1gh

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but does this apply to Diehard Summons from the Summon Good Monster feat?

travel exporation trade

which is the best?
a lot is similar but there are variations:
Agile Feet Vs Door Sight Vs Silver-Tongued Haggler:
about equel. i like door sight
the spells are a bit better for travel.
exept one HUGEEEEE thing.
overland flight.
this spell.... is like winning a lottery for a caster that also melee.

Travel is the best. Gloves of Recon give you a lot of the utility from doorsight for 1-2k gp.

Blood of Dragons (Ultimate Campaign): Benefit: gain low-light vision

Affable (Champions of Purity): You gain a +2 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks to gather information, and can do so in half the normal time. In addition, Diplomacy and Knowledge (local) are always class skills for you.

Two great class skills for the price of one.

Casting charm person, sleep, create pit, fear, stinking cloud, confusion, dominate person, are very often vastly better options than fireball or shocking grasp. Guess who can't cast any of those? A magus can be invisible but can't see invisibility, nor can he teleport, dimension door, or stone shape; summoning even a minor ally is similarly outside his abilities.

Magus has a bunch of battlefield control spells like glitterdust, web and stinking cloud on his spell list, not to mention dimension door and teleport. EK doesn't pull away in spell quality until higher levels.

^Both Spirit Guide (assuming this is the one you are talking about) and Dual-Cursed Oracle remove the Class Skills gained from your Mystery, so you can't take both Archetypes at once.

Aw crud, thanks for pointing this out. No more Dual-Cursed Oracles for me :(. Hero Lab doesn't handle conflicting archetypes well.

I've definitely wondered why anyone plays a straight fighter over an early entry Eldritch Knight. Even if you stick to full plate+still spell/verbal spells, you have actual options besides whacking people in the face.

I'll put it in my list of options for her. Another option is to dump the dual-cursed (though I've kind of grown attached to it) and go with Spirit Guide Instead.

Why do you need to dump dual cursed for spirit guide?

Spirit Guide Changes Class skills:

Class Skills: A spirit guide gains all Knowledge skills as class skills. This replaces the bonus class skills gained from the oracle's mystery.

A dual-cursed oracle gains no additional class skills from her mystery.

and Bonded Spirit:

This ability replaces the revelations gained at 3rd, 7th, and 15th levels.

A dual-cursed oracle gains a new revelation at 5th level and 13th level. These are in addition to the normal revelations she receives at 3rd level, 7th level, and so on.

They don't modify the same class features, so they should be compatible. Spirit Guide is one of the best archetypes ever printed. I don't think I'll ever make an Oracle without it. Dual Cursed is just gravy.

I'm not a tripping expert, so I really can't comment much on the rest of your build. I'd probably just get a wolf with combat reflexes through Lunar Oracle to do it for me at low levels. I hate Deaf curse though... -4 initiative is painful. I would only consider it in conjunction with Wolfscarred face, but even then I'm not a fan.

IMO, exploiter wizard isn't OP for PFS compared to any number of other wizard builds. You have to spend multiple exploits just to replicate class features that specialist wizards get for free and you don't get the specialist bonus spells.

You need some crowd control, right now you only have Glitterdust. I'd take Confusion and Haste and then retrain Hold Person to Summon Monster III.

It's hardly a surprise that a challenge like a burning house didn't pose a problem for a mid level full caster. Sounds like a problem with the adventure design. Create Water makes 2 gallons of water/level and that's a cantrip.

If the Cleric and Bard aren't contributing, it's because they don't know tactics or they built their characters wrong. Point them to some optimization guides and help them rebuild their characters. Then, you have everyone on roughly the same footing and can scale up your encounters.

Inner Sea Gods has trait Opportune Slayer. It gives +2 trait bonus on damage rolls against those you hit with attacks of opportunity, but you must worship Lamashtu. Insane trait for Reach Clerics.

Kitsune just adds +1 to enchantment spells. Go Controller Wizard with a +2 int race and you get +1 to all spells instead. Dip Crossblooded Fey/Serpentine Sorcerer for 1 level.

Consider Silver-Tongued Alt. Racial Trait. Student of Philosophy+Ease of Faith Traits for maxing diplomacy/bluff. Spell Focus: Enchantment for feats.

Beyond that, don't overspecialize in enchantment--start investing in your generalist abilities for situations where enchantments are the wrong approach. Enchantment is very underrated on these boards imo.

I would never play a straight rogue. The only idea I have is to take 1 level of wizard (scryer) and prc into Arcane Trickster asap. If there is some way to get cleric and/or domain advancement on a rogue, the Darkness domain would be great.

Dual-Cursed Life Oracle (Legalistic/Whatever or Deaf/Wolfscarred). It's a great healbot/support/debuff choice and your cohort won't steal the spotlight.

Forget Erastil, Cleric of the Empyreal Lord Ylimacha with Feather domain, not only get a nice boost to your perception but be able to ride your Roc into battle and rain arrows from above.

Erastil also has Feather, not to mention Growth and some other solid domains.

The most obnoxious thing, though not PFS specific, is when players tell others how to play their character, and/or tell them, mid-turn, not to take certain actions because it will interfere with what they have planned for their next (and subsequent) turns.

"Don't move there, you're blocking my charge lane."
"You might not want to move there. I'm going to cast fireball next turn."
"No, don't use that weapon, the other one is statistically more effective."
"You should delay, because I'm going to do X on my turn"

LET PEOPLE PLAY THEIR OWN CHARACTER FOR PETE'S SAKE!

I don't see the problem... you don't want players working as a team or teaching others how to use sound tactics and positioning?

BigNorseWolf wrote:

Dazing channel and slumber hex are up there.

Agreed.

To many single target BBEG's where a slumber hex just ends it.

Dazing Spell. Sorcerer with dazing spell shows up at table, expect meaningless fights.

The combat in PFS is too easy for players using the best tactics because a wide variety of skill levels must be accommodated. I'm not sure there's any way to fix this because the average player hates character death.

your special friend bellyrubs it is part of your class feature and a gift from nature itself. It is not bought, so the listed prohibitions don't apply.

You can buy an animal companion and attune to it. This has the advantage of skipping the 6 tricks training for combat riding.

In some cases, replacing an animal companion or familiar can be as easy as purchasing an animal of the desired type and declaring it your new companion. Attuning a familiar to its new master requires a ritual. Choosing an animal companion requires 24 hours of prayer. The ceremony can also be used to attract and bond with an animal appropriate to the local environment.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-compa nions

Should she die at level 2, it's going to take quite a while to get them all back, because I can't buy a combat trained version.

There are actually rules in the Animal Archive (p. 14-15) for buying combat trained animals at 150% of their normal cost. Also, I believe you can buy a combat trained light horse and it becomes a horse animal companion after the 24 hour ritual, so there are definitely some options if your AC dies.

There needs to be some penalty. This penalty is already pretty much a non-penalty. I have never seen an animal companion die in low tier. Ever. The NPCs can't hit their armor classes consistently enough.

Fair enough, and after more research it isn't so bad because you can buy a combat trained dog or horse and change them into an animal companion. Horse is one of the best ACs as long as movement/space isn't a problem.

Ah I see. Does no one else see this ruling as ridiculous for low level characters with animal companions? If your animal companion dies in a tier 1 session, it will take multiple scenarios just to get an animal with basic combat training.

That said, there is a possible loophole to get around this ruling (p.10 pathfinder society field guide)

"Before you level up a character for the first time, you
may change any aspect of it except its Pathfinder Society
Number. Changes may only be made between adventures
and before playing as a character above 1st level."

Could one retrain animal companion to domain and then retrain domain back to animal companion between adventures to get an animal with 7 tricks? This is extreme cheese, but it is justified in response to a draconian (imo) ruling.

Should animal companion classes just be avoided in low level PFS play?

http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/faq#v5748eaic9osb

If the character replaces the animal companion for any reason, the new animal starts with no tricks known, save for bonus tricks granted based on the PC's effective druid level. Once per scenario, you may attempt to train the animal companion a number of times equal to the number of ranks you have in the Handle Animal skill. Each success allows you to teach the animal a single trick; a failed attempt counts against the total number of training attempts allowed per scenario, and you may not attempt to teach the same trick until the next scenario. Alternatively, you may train one animal for a single purpose as long as you have enough ranks in Handle Animal to train the animal in each trick learned as part of that purpose. You may take 10 on Handle Animal checks to teach an animal companion tricks.

So if an animal companion dies, a character with 1 rank in Handle Animal can train a new animal for combat riding? Is this finished during the scenario or after?

I'm not an expert on Necromancers, but doesn't PFS nerf them by preventing them from having permanent undead followers?

Can you worship Norgober in PFS? You can worship him with Neutral alignment. Then you have death and trickery without any shenagigans so you can use ecclesitheurge. Dump str to 7.

Magician Archetype Bard would fit the party well.

You can search google for

site:paizo.com non-somatic spells

This list is also useful for Eldritch Knights because those spells can be cast in full plate without still spell.

I really like Fey and Sylvan. Other favorites include Serpentine and Umbral. I like the flavor of all of these, but it's also important to pick something that adds something in gameplay and has spells that you will enjoy using.

Your idea is viable, but it seems like a lot of time and effort to end up 3 levels behind a wizard in spell progression. At least the fighter 1/wizard 1/ek gets to enjoy the fruits of his labor earlier while melee is relevant, not to mention having a higher BAB and faster casting progression.

Also, Foresight Diviner>Teleportation Conjurer.

You can't take Extra Exploit until you have the Arcanist Exploit class feature (level 5).

Also, you can't have two arcane bonds at the same time.

Magda Luckbender wrote:

A melee bard. Personally weaker than option 1. above, but once one figures in Inspire Courage on the rest of the party, probably stronger. I can't find it, but I'm pretty sure there's some way to affect undead with Inspire Courage (they are usually immune). If the Bard is somehow able to affect undead this option certainly becomes stronger than 1. above.

This may sound odd, multiclass your bard with one level of Undead Sorcerer. That way you get the Arcana for the class that lets you treat undead as if they are people.

Go Crossblooded Serpentine/Undead or Fey/Undead for a double-duty dip.