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I have a question regarding a mythic Guardian ability called Absorb Blow.

Absorb Blow (Su)

As an immediate action, whenever you take hit point damage from a single source (such as a dragon’s breath, a spell, or a weapon), you can expend one use of mythic power to reduce the damage you take from that source by 5 per tier (to a minimum of 0 points of damage taken). If you have another ability or effect that reduces damage (such as protection from energy), reduce the damage with the absorb blow ability before applying any other damage-reducing effects. For every 10 points of damage that this ability prevents, for 1 minute you gain DR 1/epic and 5 points of resistance against acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic damage. The DR and resistances stack with any other DR and resistances that you have.

Most of the ability is clear to me and i am the GM. The one and only question i have is "stacks the DR and resistance with itself" ?

"..any other DR and resistance.." indicates that it stacks with adamant armor, spells, barbarian abilities etc. but not with itself. Secondly i think it can bw overpowered very early in a mythic game. Tier 2 with Paragon Feat let you absorb 20 damage in exchange for 2 DR and 10 resistance against everything for only 1 mythic point. Repeat that 2 or 3 times and you are invulnerable against elemental damage. I am fine with the DR but the resistance bonus is too high in my opinion.

Can someone help me ? Forum has different answers. Maybe some experiences help if you dont have a solution at all :)

If a GM is gonna make up this kind of problems for one class i think he need to warn folks before the game.

So it is ok when a player breaks a campaign with an 'uber' build. It is not ok when a GM modifies a campaign to make it interesting and challenging for players with 'uber' builds (and himself)?

On my table i change campaigns every day because sometimes may players use 'uber' builds and sometimes they use funny ,stylish weak builds.

On my table i would ignore this part of the rules

The eidolon must be at least the same size as the synthesist.

The only ability that causes trouble is the natural reach of the large summoner. All other rules like STR, DEX, CON, HP, natural attack, attack limits etc. can be used. There is no problem.

So basically a large summoner looses his natural reach until the eidolon grows large or it has the reach evolution.

Mythic Craft (Ex): When you use the Craft skill to create an item, you double the progress each check provides. In addition, you can make an item masterwork simply by paying for the cost, and don't need to increase the time to create the item or attempt additional checks. Add your tier to any skill checks associated with making magic items.

This path ability enhances skill bonus and increases your crafting progress for mundane items. When you create magic items it only increases your skill bonus. You still need feats like 'Craft Woundrous Item', 'Craft Wands' , ...

You can craft mythic magic items.

Prerequisite: Any item creation feat.
Benefit: You can create any mythic magic item for which you have the appropriate item creation feat. In addition, you gain a +5 bonus on skill checks when creating non-mythic magic items.

Item creation feats are listed in the CRB and are Brew Potion, Craft Wand, Craft scrolls ,..

The Path Ability and the Feat are to different things and they enhance to different abilities.

You can instead target a specific grid intersection. Treat this as a ranged attack against AC 5.

Maybe this helps a little. Spells like 'fireball' dont have range increments so in most cases you can use AC5. Cover can increasae the AC to 9 or 13 but to be honest .. on my table we dont use this rule.

Whenever a character gains a level in his favored class, he receives either + 1 hit point or + 1 skill rank.

..just as characters could alternate between taking skill ranks and hit points when they gain levels in their favored class, these benefits provide a third option, ..

The answer is NO.

(2) but you cannot combine it with 'Total Defense'

Benefit: When an adjacent ally is attacked, you may use an attack of opportunity to attempt the aid another action to improve your ally's AC.

Under the effect of 'Total Defense' you dont have AoO attempts.

You can't make attacks of opportunity while using total defense.

'Bodyguard' is very nice if you use a reach weapon. A caster can use it from the second line to assist the tanks that protect him.

Take a look at the 'Construct' subdomain found in the Advance Players guide. With 8th level you can cast animate object as a domain power once per day. By a scroll of 'permanency' or ask you a friendly wizard with 9th level or higher and you have your permanent animated object.

.. where their current characters (party of 5 characters of 9th level) sack a small town or other settlement.

As soon as a heavy attack at the town starts a mage, cleric or someone with UMD casts a 'sending', 'wishering wind' or something similiar to inform the next city. One minute later a SWAT team teleports to the town and kills the attacker.

As long as a raid on a town is not part of the plot the players should not do it. There is always someone stronger out there ..

Dont forget the DC modifiers for Spellcraft checks which can be found under Perception.
+5 for distraction or +2/+5 for bad conditions can be applied in most fights and +1/10ft distance can be important as well.

All rules for the scizore are found under 'Weapons' so a scizore is a weapon that gives you a shield bonus. Is it a shield ? No. Why not ? There are no rules for it.

PF follows rules that say what you can do and what is allowed.
Back to shields .. There are rules for 'Inappropriately Sized Weapons' but no rules for inappropriately sized armor. You can carry inappropriately sized armor around and wield it as an improvised weapon but thats it.

Sure you can split up the shield into a 'shield' part and a 'weapon' part but that is not legal by RAW because a shield is an armor that can be used as a weapon. If you cannot use a shield you cannot shield bash.

Btw. a large heavy shield has the same size and weight as a medium tower shield. With a tower shield you cannot shield bash by RAW.

Feel free to make your own rules but RAW is RAW. You can do a lot of things with shields and i dont like some of them but shields are armor that can be used as a weapon.

Can you attack with a shield ? Yes
Can you enchant a shield as a weapon ? Yes
Can you use weapon related feats with a shield ? Yes
Can you use it with TWF or THF ? Yes
Is a shield a weapon? No
Can i use inappropriately sized shields? No

Can you attack with a shield ? Yes
Can you enchant a shield as a weapon ? Yes
Can you use weapon related feats with a shield ? Yes
Can you use it with TWF or THF ? Yes
Is a shield a weapon? No

You want to fight with a shield because it is a martial weapon and on the weapon table. In addtion you want the shield bonus to armor because it is a shield and on the armor table. Whats up ? Is it now a weapon or an armor or both ? Ahhhh correct it is both.

A shield is an armor that can be used as a weapon.

Glass, Hardness 1, HP 1/in. of thickness

A normal vial has hardness 1 and 1 hitpoint. 'Falling damage' is 1d6 / 10ft. fallen. As long as you are taller than 10ft. the vial wont break if you let it fall to the ground.

A shield is a weapon.

By RAW shields are armor! All related rules for shields are found unter the topic 'Armor' in the CRB oder UE! Even the 'Shield bash attack' and 'Armore Spike' rules are found under the topic 'Armor'. This rules refer to the weapon tables but thats it!

Shields are armor that can be used as weapons by PF RAW!

There are no rules for 'Inappropriately Sized Armor' so you cannot use such armors / shields.

A shield is armor by PF RAW.

Reach weapons doubles your natural reach and you cannot attack inside your normal natural reach.

Reach Weapons: A reach weapon is a melee weapon that allows its wielder to strike at targets that aren't adjacent to him. Most reach weapons double the wielder's natural reach, meaning that a typical Small or Medium wielder of such a weapon can attack a creature 10 feet away, but not a creature in an adjacent square. A typical Large character wielding a reach weapon of the appropriate size can attack a creature 15 or 20 feet away, but not adjacent creatures or creatures up to 10 feet away.

A whip is an exception because it triples your natural reach.

NaturalReach / Safe distance /Attack distance
0ft / 0ft / 5ft (10ft with whip) <- Houserule , not supported by RAW
5ft / 5ft / 10ft (15ft with whip)
10ft / 10ft / 20ft (30ft with whip)
15ft / 15ft / 30ft (45ft with whip)
20ft / 20ft / 40ft (60ft with whip)

Situations with creatures with 0 natural reach and reach weapons need a GM decision because there is no RAW.

With manufactured weapons you have a number of attacks per round depending on your BAB. The TWF path gives you extra attacks, THF gives you more damage on your attacks.

The whole 'offhand' rules are confusing and resulting in alot of questions on the boards.

Keep it short and simple:

Attacks per round : depends on BAB
TWF attacks per round : depends on BAB + 1 (Prerequisite: two readied light or one-handed weapons)

Moving out of more than one square threatened by the same opponent in the same round doesn’t count as more than one opportunity for that opponent. All these attacks are at your full normal attack bonus.

Please keep in mind that every 'Move' action provokes an AoO. So if you use two move actions to circles around and enemy you provoke two AoO, one for each move action.

How do you define a 'gladiator' class?

No. Barroom Brawler dont give you the 'Martial Flexibility' class feature. It gives something similar .. not more. So you dont qualify for 'Extra Martial Flexibility'.

Prerequisite(s): Martial flexibility class feature.

You have learned how to mimic the combat tricks and forms of others.

Prerequisite(s): Base attack bonus +4.

Benefit: Once per day as a move action, you can gain the benefit of a combat feat that you do not possess for 1 minute. You must otherwise meet the feat's requirements.

Special: If you have the martial flexibility class feature, this feat instead grants you one additional use per day of that ability.

To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match.

Improvised weapons size and damage potential are linked to the size and damage potential of manufactured weapons. A chair legs damage potential and size matches with a club (1d6). A greatsword is bigger than a chair leg and it is doing more damage. So it never can be disguised as a chair leg. It must be something like a square timber or a ladder. A dagger is heavier and larger than an inkpen. A lantern or pitcher seems a valid choice.

Relative size, the weight and common sense (and GM fiat) are the limits of this spell.

Prerequisites are called Prerequisites because they are Prerequisites. The definition of the word 'Prerequisites' is very clear and non-negotiable.

Some class features let you bypass Prerequisites but in any other case Prerequisites are Prerequisites.

In my group a paladin took Shadowmist as his mount. It has a nice background for a mount and all players like the new party member and how it joined the party.

By RAW you only can choose a 'common' horse as an AC. Is Shadowmist a common horse (based on his stats)?
The final answer to your question can only be answered by your GM. I hope he will allow it :)

I dont have my books at hand but i dont see there big problems. If shadowmist is really better than a common horse (more HD etc.) than i would rule that you can take it as an AC but it dont advance until it has the same HD as an AC should have.

In 'Ultimate Campaign' you will find the 'Retraining' rules but i dont know if they are allowed for PFS.

With this rules you basically need time and money to retrain everything even class levels.

The cube is hiting the ground with an edge so that there is a save place for the target.

This is an uncommon tactic / attack so the result is only partly covered by RAW and most of it is GM fiat. If it is a 'legendary' situation than the GM can deny the save of the target. If you use this tactic every day i would allow it with all RAWs ...

'Ultimate Equipment' has some rules for special materials like dragon hide. This rules can be used as a guideline.

One dragon produces enough hide to make a single suit of masterwork hide armor for a creature one size category smaller than the dragon.

Winter wolfs are large so you can create one medium armor from one pelt. A cloak is something like 50% of an armor so (on my table) you can create one medium armor or two medium cloaks from one pelt.

If the dragonhide comes from a dragon that had immunity to an energy type, the armor is also immune to that energy type, although this does not confer any protection to the wearer. If the armor or shield is later given the ability to protect the wearer against that energy type, the cost to add such protection is reduced by 25%.

A winter wolf is immune to cold so i would allow this rules too. The cloaks are immune to cold and you can use it for the creation of a cloak of resistance (the value of the cloak is substracted from the base price).

Did you know that you have a vampire as an enemy ? If yes then you are not well prepared because holy water is a must. Use the spell 'Bless Water' and create holy water if you have open spell slots or time to rest.

Another idea can be a stake to the vampires heart followed by cuting of the the head. Then hide the staked body of the vampire and take the head with you. Use holy water on the head as soon as possible.

The poison of a venomous snake is very similar to Black Adder Venom. BA Venom costs 120gp per dose on the market and you can craft it for 60 gp.

By milking a snake you basically get some of the material (= gp) you need for crafting a poison.

To be RAW as possible i would create a Profession (Snake Milker). With this profession you can 'earn' money per week (= raw materials for poisons). With Craft (Alchemy) you can create a poison using the raw materials (or the gp earned via Snake Milker).

In the 'Technology Guide' (see PRD) you can find rules for cyberware and you can find there are also cybernetic body parts. I would use this rules.

With the 'peg legs' and 'eyepatch' stuff from Shackles you replace your originial body parts with penalizing replacements. A peg leg is not the same as a real leg or a mechanical leg. Is is weaker and limits you physical possibilities. Cybernetics make you more powerful or at least are equal to your original body part.

Antitoxin lasts for an hour and gives an extra +2, right?

Wrong :)

Antitoxin Price 50 gp; Weight -- This substance counteracts a specific toxin. If you drink a vial of antitoxin, you gain a +5 alchemical bonus on Fortitude saving throws against poison for 1 hour.

The grapple rules are badly written especially if something grapples more than one target (an octupus with 8 arms and grab as a worst case scenario). There are rules for multiple creatures that grapple one target but there are no rules for one creature that grapples multiple creatures.

The main question is 'how many grappled targets can i hold with a standard action' ?

If you do not release the grapple, you must continue to make a check each round, as a standard action, to maintain the hold.If your target does not break the grapple, you get a +5 circumstance bonus on grapple checks made against the same target in subsequent rounds. Once you are grappling an opponent, a successful check allows you to continue grappling the foe, ...

In the related rules only the singular is used .. target, an opponent, the foe. So by the badly written rules we are limited to one target per hold and grapple check.

To grapple and hold more than one target you need the possibility to make a grapple check as a move action or faster.

The answer to your example is this:
B. Use a standard action to maintain one grapple, then my move action to maintain the other...

3. after one of this grapple checks ( a standard action can always be a move action) you make another grapple check via rapid grappler.

So one of your targets is damaged twice.

There is no RAW solution to get a dire hyena as a mount but here are some ideas that you can discuss with your GM.

1) Buy a dire hyena as a mount. The prize is up to the GM (should be ~300gp like a heavy combat horse because dire hyenas are common as mounts for gnolls) but with the 'Rich parents' trait you have 900gp available at 1rst level and that should be enough.

2) Take a class with an animal companion and use the 'wolf' animal companion stats for a hyena. Simply rename it. With the 7th level advancement it grows large and you can ride it.

3) Take the chevalier archtype 'Beast Rider'. At 4th level you can have very uncommon mounts like a snapping turtle (giant) or a tyrannosaurus. A dire hyena is not on the list but it should be ok with GM approval.

Additional mounts might be available with GM approval.

4) Play a summoner and design your eidolon like a hyena. At 8th level you can ride it.

Grit (Ex)

A mysterious stranger is a force to be reckoned with. Instead of using her Wisdom to determine the number of grit points she gains at the start of each day, she uses Charisma. This ability works in all other ways like the Gunslinger’s grit class feature.

The maximum grit depends still on WIS while your daily recovery depends on CHA ? I pretty sure that the intent is that you change WIS to CHA for everything regarding grit but that is not written in the rules.

The chakram is already a martial ranged weapon that can be used as a melee weapon with some special rules.

There are no rules that allow weapon modifications but in a homegame your GM can allow it.

Spell or summon focused Druid with an animal companion.

You can cast divine spells including healing spells, you have good buffs and debuffs, you can shapechange for fighting or scouting and you have an AC as an additional party member.

Forget my previous answer.

LB is a short time protection and it can be used anytime you expect dangers. The onset saving throw for a disease is done immediately after you get in contact with a disease source. So yes LB can protect against diseases if you cast it before you are infected.

Onset: Some afflictions have a variable amount of time before they set in. Creatures that come in contact with an affliction with an onset time must make a saving throw immediately. Success means that the affliction is avoided and no further saving throws must be made. Failure means that the creature has contracted the affliction and must begin making additional saves after the onset period has elapsed. The affliction's effect does not occur until after the onset period has elapsed and then only if further saving throws are failed.

When you fail the onset save you have a problem and LB cannot help. It has only a 1 minute duration and you have to do a save every X hours or days.

so you can use LB to avoid being infected but as soon as you are infected it is usesles.

It is a short time buff for a critical situation and not a long time protection against the dangers of the whole wide world.

Compare 'Implant' to other abilities like mummy root or ghoul fever:

Mummy Rot (Su) Curse and disease—slam; save Fort DC 16; onset 1 minute; frequency 1/day; effect 1d6 Con and 1d6 Cha; cure —. Mummy rot is both a curse and disease and can only be cured if the curse is first removed, at which point the disease ...

Disease (Su) Ghoul Fever: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d3 Con and 1d3 Dex damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Charisma-based....

In both descriptions the abilities are marked as 'diseases'.

In my opinion 'Divine Health' dont help against the 'Implant' ability.

...a haunt never gains a Will save to lessen the damage done by such effects, and attacks that require a successful attack roll to work must strike AC 10 in order to affect the haunt and not merely the physical structure it inhabits).

You can see haunts with detect undead or as soon as they manifest in the surprise round. So you can attack them with positive energy. Everything with an attack roll (melee and ranged) can hit a haunt with AC 10.

The fluff text from 'Disrupt Undead' says 'undead creature' but the spell itself is a ray and not limited on targeting creatures. Basically a haunt is a undead phenomenon that can be fought like a creature.

Ray: Some effects are rays. You aim a ray as if using a ranged weapon, though typically you make a ranged touch attack rather than a normal ranged attack. As with a ranged weapon, you can fire into the dark or at an invisible creature and hope you hit something. You don't have to see the creature you're trying to hit, as you do with a targeted spell. Intervening creatures and obstacles, however, can block your line of sight or provide cover for the creature at which you're aiming.

So the answer should be : Yes you can use DU against a haunt.

Regarding dhampirs and DU:

Negative Energy Affinity: Though a living creature, a dhampir reacts to positive and negative energy as if it were undead—positive energy harms it, while negative energy heals it.

With the 'Leadership' feat you can get a cohort with class levels. This can be a special animal (maybe an awakened animal, an ex-AC etc.) with class levels if your GM allows it. That is the only RAWish chance i see but it depends on your GM.

ACs and cohorts via leadership follow different rules. An AC never ever can be your AC and your cohort.

'Reach rules' combined with 'Inappropriately Sized Weapons rules' create a lot of problems/questions that are not answered within RAW.

We need an errata for reach.

A reach weapon looses its reach quality if it is used as an inappropriately sized weapon.

No abuse of small reach weapons and not confusion with large reach weapons.

Or better .. delete the 'Inappropriately Sized Weapons' rules. A large longsword is a medium two-handed sword. A small two-handed sword is a medium longsword. If there is no compareable weapon then you cannot use it.

Magic item activation is in most cases a standard action.

So you need the same actions as in my previous examples with an additional standard action for the ion stone activation (AC).

This whole topic is not fully covered by the rules. GM fiat can allow / disallow other things.

You have to draw the item from a bag, bagpack, belt pouch or whereever you have stored the item. That is in most cases a move action. Than you have to give it to your AC and the AC has to take it. On my table it requires a 'readied action'.

Giver: Draw item (move, AoO), ready action to give the item to someone (standard)
Taker: Take item (move, AoO)

Another possibility is this:
Giver: Draw item (move, AoO), drop item to the ground (free) or throw it at a square (standard)
Taker: Take item (move, AoO)

Yes you can heal a negative energy affine creature with the Anatomy Doll by RAW. The 'healed' creature is sickened as long as it is linked to the doll but that is the only disadvantage.

On my table (and RAI in my opinion) the doll should hurt a creature regardles of its type as long as it has blood. I would change the negative energy damage of the doll to 'damage'. Abuse stopped :)

My groups use 'Bag of Holdings' or 'Portable Holes' to transport their treasures. What is the problem ?

It looks legal by RAW so let him do it. Think over other solutions like a good market economy. Who buys 20 orcish full plates ? Maybe one platemail is good for reselling but 20? Who needs a giant hide armor or a giant longsword? What about an old rusty chest with blood on it from its previous owner? Would a shopkeeper of a small town buy 'useless' items for x.000 gp ?

Even in video games shopkeeper have a limited budget and they dont buy everything.

With that in mind the player will stop collecting everything .. be sure.

Natural Attacks Most creatures possess one or more natural attacks (attacks made without a weapon). These attacks fall into one of two categories, primary and secondary attacks. Primary attacks are made using the creature's full base attack bonus and add the creature's full Strength bonus on damage rolls. Secondary attacks are made using the creature's base attack bonus –5 and add only 1/2 the creature's Strength bonus on damage rolls. If a creature has only one natural attack, it is always made using the creature's full base attack bonus and adds 1-1/2 times the creature's Strength bonus on damage rolls. This increase does not apply if the creature has multiple attacks but only takes one. If a creature has only one type of attack, but has multiple attacks per round, that attack is treated as a primary attack, regardless of its type.

Claws and bites are primary attacks. So all combinations of natural attacks are done with full or -5 attack bonus depending on the natural weapon you use. There are no penalties for offhand attacks, iterative attacks (you dont get them with nat. weapons) etc.

In your example the troll will always attack with his full attack bonus. It doesnt matter what attack he uses because all his attacks are primary attacks. For a single attack the bite is a little better due to the higher damage dice.

GM opinion / Houserule

A brilliant energy weapon is partly transformed into light. On my table you can transform is back (=turn of brilliant) with a special enchantment. Lets call it 'Retransformative'. It uses the rules of the 'Transformative' enchantment but its transformation is limited to turn of the brilliant enchantment. Through this limitation it is a little cheaper .. lets say 6k.

The real question is 'Why Driver 325 yards needs an answer to his question that fits his personal opinion'.

May answer is that he is a player who wants to level up his characters animals ..

c) can a tube arrow shooter be hidden somewhere else on the body, or perhaps in the hollow pommel of a hafted weapon?

There was a movie were an assasin has a tube shooter mounted on his back. He has an audience by the emperor and must kneel down in front of him. Then he shows with the tube shooter. I think it was 'Hero'.

First there is no 'reach' ability. Every creature has a natural reach and this reach increases with the creature size.

Second there is a general rule:

Creatures that take up more than 1 square typically have a natural reach of 10 feet or more, meaning that they can reach targets even if they aren't in adjacent squares.

So first take a look at the animal in the 'Bestiary'. Is there a large version of that animal ? Yes then use the reach from the books. No than use the general rule.

The differentiation between 'long' and 'tall' looks like an relict from D&D 3.5 were you can have large creatures with a size of 1x2 sqares (5ft x 10ft) or 2x2 squares (10ft x 10ft). In PF every large creature has a size of 10ft x 10ft .

That some large creatures dont have a natural reach of 10ft. It looks like a relict too but creatures from the books sometimes follow their own rules. So rebuilding a rule from creatures is not a good idea.

Small or smaller creatures gain a size bonus to attack rolls that (in most cases) compensate their low STR. They still need 'Weapon Finesse' for DEX to hit on melee attacks. (exceptions are familiars)

Your attack bonus with a melee weapon is the following:

Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + size modifier

Their is a size modifier table that gives you following bonuses:

A lot of questions and misunderstandings but i will try to help.

1. You only gain iterative attacks with manufactured weapons. There are no additional natural attacks for a high BAB (there are some exceptions but i dont see one for your gnasher).

You do not receive additional natural attacks for a high base attack bonus. Instead, you receive additional attack rolls for multiple limb and body parts capable of making the attack (as noted by the race or ability that grants the attacks).

2. As soon as you use a manufactured weapon all natural attacks are 'secondary attacks' with a -5 penalty to attack and a lower STR bonus to damage.

For example, you cannot make a claw attack and also use that hand to make attacks with a longsword. When you make additional attacks in this way, all of your natural attacks are treated as secondary natural attacks, using your base attack bonus minus 5 and adding only 1/2 of your Strength modifier on damage rolls.

So possible attack routes are:

With grab you have another problem. Basically you can perform a complete attack route even with a succesfull 'grab'. In the second round you need a standard action to maintain the grapple or you release the grappled foe and perform a full attack route.

You dont gain the grappled condition through 'impr. lockjaw'. That means you still have to maintain the grapple but you dont get the DEX penalty etc. (see grapple condition).