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In my home game, I'm working with one of my players to allow him to apply the Lycanthrope template to his PC for RP reasons. The party is still only 2nd level and we're looking to retcon this as deep background for the character. Being conscious of power levels, and we have agreed on a few restrictions. One of them is the obvious one: to apply the template at the 1 CR equivalent, meaning he will always lag one level behind the party. However, I'm still concerned about the DR for a natural lycanthrope: 10/silver. 1) How can monsters overcome the silver limitation? It's not clear if there's any means based on HD, or anything similar to how alignment subtypes serve to align natural weapons. 2) Has anyone else introduced a low level PC natural lycanthrope to their campaign? Did it overwhelm power levels of other PCs? Thanks for all comments.
One quick option: Use Magic Device and a wand of Spectral Hand.
Spiritualist Rings are a very expensive way to get Spectral Hand 3 times a day.
There is no off hand attacks with unarmed It's been clarified a few times that you can use unarmed strikes with two weapon fighting. It's a weapon that exists when you happen to be wielding no weapon in your hand :D If you wield a second weapon in your off hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon. When fighting in this way you suffer a –6 penalty with your regular attack or attacks with your primary hand and a –10 penalty to the attack with your off hand. If your off-hand weapon is light, the penalties are reduced by 2 each. An unarmed strike is always considered light.
if you are a monk there is no off hand. In this case, the scenario is for an unarmed fighter archetype. (That may end up with levels of a Monk archetype that does not get Flurry of Blows.) Now, add Double Slice for more confusion. I am assuming that Dragon Style overrides Double Slice for the first attack (but only the first attack). Double Slice would kick in to boost iteratives, or if you are using MH/OH unarmed/unarmed.
While using this style, you gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against sleep effects, paralysis effects, and stunning effects. You ignore difficult terrain when you charge, run, or withdraw. You can also charge through squares that contain allies. Further, you can add 1-1/2 times your Strength bonus on the damage roll for your first unarmed strike on a given round. Take a character that is TWF and uses his off-hand for an unarmed strike, eg: Full Attack Action consists of a longsword(MH)/unarmed strike(OH). Does she get the full 1.5x strength bonus on her first unarmed strike, even though it is in her off hand?
I can understand the arguments made in this thread from both sides. In my view, as a GM in a homebrew campaign, your goal is to make sure everyone has a fun and engaging experience first, and be an impartial adjudicator second. In PFS, it's the opposite. You can imagine why reversing the priority can throw off a GM's typical instincts.
A bad GM can make a a perfectly "impartial" game according to the PFS rules miserable and un-fun. There is a lot of grey area in the rules. Table variance exists for good reason... PFS is not a perfect shield against bad behaviour. And as a player who had my first PFS game under Mergy, I would have to say that he embodies the spirit of what PFS can and should be. Just because you might have had some bad experiences around hidden dice doesn't mean it should get personal.
An Axe Beak Paladin mount with the Bodyguard archetype and the above-mentioned feats sounds really, really good... I want one. I'm still not clear on whether Paladin Mounts qualify to use those animal archetypes. Hero Lab won't let you do this right now, but I don't know if it's a feature or a bug :) Paladin Mounts are supposed to qualify as Animal Companions for all intents and purposes according to RAW, I would think? Including taking Animal Archetypes from Animal Archive?
Thanks for all the excellent feedback! Any more PFS Pallies want to talk about how awesome the bonded weapon is? Have been spending time with the build. On the Axe Beak, were I to take Narrow Frame (AA) , and the Tandem Trip teamwork feat (UC) I can roll twice (taking the higher roll) for Sudden Charge's free trip attempts. A lot is hinging on Narrow Frame for me, where I would still get the benefit of the mount even underground/caves/anywhere but noble's manse :) It's not clear whether this would still let me ride, but if I can't, the bird is Large sized and can just focus on flanking and tripping out of reach. All in all, mounted combat with Sudden Charge and Tandem Trip seem like a pretty good combo! Also looking at the Bodyguard archetype from Animal Archive... get the Alertness feat while adjacent (+2 to Perception/Sense Motive) in trade for Share Spells; stay functional at -0 hp; etc. Seems quite awesome.
For reference (assuming Hero Lab is doing the math right!) at 5th level my (no barding, no feats) axe beak mount would have: 20 Str, 16 Dex, 16 Con, 6 Int, 11 Wisdom, 10 Cha
I don't know, he seems pretty damn tough to me at 5th! Assuming Narrow frame gives him "reach" into dungeons, even if I can't mount him I think he would have the survivability. PS. Can you swift LoH your mount, given the use of Share Spells? I'm guessing not.
One of the newer feats I'd highly recommend you take for your Animal Copmpanion is Narrow Frame from the Animal Archive. It eliminates the penalties for Squeezing and is essential for making large animal companions work well in situations like the one you're describing. That seems fantastic! So, basically the remaining penalty is that his movement rate is cut down to 25ft in one tile corridors. Still trying to decipher the rules around mounted combat in dungeons; would Narrow Frame make mounted combat for a medium PC/large mount in dungeons viable? Seems as well that I should get my hands on Animal Archive ...
(Cool that both first replies are in favor of the mount!) @wasum: Sadly, My Oath'd pally means I can't take planar servant. The standard action seems annoying for the weapon, I agree. If I assume I'm using it for a crucial fight, it's no worse than what you have to take other set of buffs. Doesn't seem like a complete deal breaker. @Ssalarn: Yup, the Axe Beak grows large and gets sudden charge at 4th level. My assumption though is that mounted charge opportunities are rare and far between in PFS.... If I were underground, would a Large sized animal companion I *don't* ride be viable into the higher levels? (eg, treat him like the animal companion of a druid.)
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It's a hard call given that I haven't played enough Pathfinder to know how it scales. What might work at 5th could become progressively useless (or even cannon fodder) at 11th in the middle of a boss battle. The ability to target a blade upgrade against the BBEG could make the difference between success and failure. But, I like the idea of having access to that action economy and a large-sized tripper. It's hard to see how it will work out! For those PFS Pallies out there, what have your experiences be in practice? Have you seen the Mount work in practice? Did your holy axiomatic blade save the party from a TPK? All enlightenment welcome :)
Newbie PFS player here. Have a THF Human Paladin, 1st level, having completed two scenarios. My first purchase was to sell my Greatsword to for a Masterwork one, fill out my inventory with some cold iron/silver, ranged weapons, and spend my first two pp on the obligatory wand of CLW. After my second scenario, I now have the princely sum of 535 gold and 2pp, and I think my next purchases should be armor related. Now, I'm assuming I should be going for full plate, and systematically advancing that and upgrading that? But, unsurprisingly I feel a bit squishy in my AC +5 Scale Mail. Should I save up for two more scenarios and drop the 1500gp for full plate? Use my prestige points for half plate? Or is there some way I can combine the "buy any item 750gp or less" option from pp to make my purchase cheaper? Cheers for any advice. Was also wondering if I should buy a Wand of Protection from Evil or Bless too with those pp. |
