Ether_Drake's page

Hi,

I've some questions about how PDF downloads work that I couldn't find on the forums or FAQ:

1. If I purchase a PDF download I will always be able to download it an infinite number of times. However, if I say, purchase the 3rd Printing of the Core Rulebook and a 4th Printing + PDF is later issued, will I be able to download the 4th Printing PDF at no additional charge? I.e. Does my PDF purchase of any given book entitle me to PDFs of all future revised editions so I can always have the most up-to-date version?

2. Does the above, if true, only apply to Paizo products?

3. Is the APG PDF also a hyperlinked document? And will all core Paizo PDFs be hyperlinked documents?

Thanks.

I'm planning the following set piece in an upcoming game, but am still mulling over the most elegant rules solution for DMing it. So, I'm open to opinions:

Half-giant gladiator picks up his halfling barbarian ally and throws her at a PC. The halfling tries to grab on to a PC and then bites him/her.

I'm doing this largely to throw an element of surprise/humour into my PCs gladiatorial training. Also its thematically appropriate since Dark Sun halflings like eating sentients. Welcome to Athas.

1. Rules for throwing combatants
- these don't appear outlined in the core rules, ki throw in APG is centred around a trip, which doesn't sit well with a 'grab n throw' dynamic, plus its feat-based.

I'm thinking I could run this strictly as Combat Maneuvres, or a mixed of a ranged attack with the halfling as an improvised weapon.

My sense is that the grab (grapple) of the halfling shouldn't need a check as its voluntary (it would be a grapple check if on a hostile foe).

Throwing the halfling would be a bull rush check vs. the CMD of the target (no AoO unless threatened).

2. Halfling projectile grabbing onto target

Now this is the tricky bit. The throw happens on the half-giant's combat turn. How would I best resolve the halfling grabbing onto the PC and starting to snack?

The most rules consistent action would seem to be to wait for the halfling's combat turn then resolve a bite attack, or a grapple plus bite (over two turns).

However, this seems to slow down the 'cinematic' drama of the set piece.

So, I'm wondering if there's a quicker way to resolve this that produces a 'wow' factor from players without it having to take too long and making sure its fair within the rules.

Would there be a fair way to resolve the throw and halfling's grab onto the target within the same turn?

How about the halfling delaying initiative until just after the half-giant's turn? Then all this can be resolved in quick succession.

Open to ideas.

- If a Large creature uses a Medium-sized heavy shield, do they get a regular +2 Shield Bonus to AC?
- What about if the same Large creature uses a Large-sized heavy shield, do they still get a +2 Shield Bonus to AC?

While there are different damage rules for weapons optimised for different size categories, there only seem to be cost and weight rules for armor optimised for different sized wearers (Core Rules, p. 153).

My sense is that for balance purposes the same AC bonus should apply to all size categories, but I can see someone arguing that a Medium-optimised heavy shielf might be equivalent to a buckler in the hand of an ogre. But then, there's the relative size of the attacker to consider...

Is there some rule that I'm overlooking? Or do the rules imply the simple method that a Storm Giant's heavy shield offers as much AC bonus as a halfling's heavy shield?

What do you think, should the APG feat 'Touch of Serenity' be considered to operate as a touch attack or a regular attack (counting armor bonuses)?

On the pure mechanics side, it seems to imply a normal attack. On the fluff/descriptive it implies a touch, and you don't deal any damage in any case so armor might not matter.

So, straight RAW - normal attack, or RAI - touch attack?

Dear Paizo,

On the strength of community reviews I recently bought a copy of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook (3rd printing). I haven't played the game since 2nd Edition, but own the 3.0 PHB. I'm interested in gaming again and have also looked at 4e.

So, right now as someone coming back to the game after a long, multi-edition hiatus I'm keen to absorb the rules and find which ruleset (Pathfinder v 4e) is clearest, since I expect I will have to train some first-time gamers. So, I'm reading the rulebooks with a first-timers perspective in mind and I find much that would confuse, or potentially put off players with unexplained ideas.

On reading through the Core Rulebook I have observations as a relative newcomer that I hope Paizo will take into account for future printings or revisions in order to smooth the learning curve. The online RPG community has hailed Paizo for listening responsively to messageboard issues, so I'm hoping that I can contribute.

Basically, strong presentation and layout aside, the Core Rulebook seems to presume a reader that is a) already quite familiar with 3.5 rules, or b) is willing to make rules assumptions without clear corroboration.

A number of core rules concepts aren't sufficiently clearly spelled out or would benefit from some brief redundant statements just to make things clearer. Some of these rules don't seem to have been further clarified since their 3.0 iteration. This is disappointing because I was under the impression that Pathfinder was the definitive 3.x ruleset and was supposed to have vastly tidied up the system.

For example, base attack bonus rules, multiclassing and prestige classes, two-weapon fighting, the use of miniatures (or not) in combat.

1. Base attack bonus - the rules say

"Each creature has a base attack bonus and it represents its skill in combat. As a character gains levels or Hit Dice, his base attack bonus improves. When a creature's base attack bonus reaches +6, +11, or +16, he receives an additional attack in combat when he takes a full-attack action."

Based on intuition I gather that additional attacks are calculated by subtracting 5 from the full BAB. An additional attack is gained if the result is positive. It would be good to spell this logic out.

E.g. 'No matter what class(es) a character has, they will receive an additional attack in combat when their cumulative principal base attack bonus reaches +6, +11, or +16. In all cases, the BAB for subsequent attacks is derived by subtracting 5 from the BAB of the preceding attack. No additional attack is gained if the result of this is 0 or below.'

Does BAB refer to the highest number in a series such as +20/+15/+10/+5 - or are they all BABs for first, second, third and fourth attacks?

2. BAB and Two-weapon fighting - the rules for two-weapon fighting contain absolutely no indication about whether a BAB applies to an off-hand attack, nor what level of BAB. Is it taken at the full BAB or at (BAB-5) just like a second attack (before two weapon penalties are applied)? Maybe I can just read the rule strictly ("get an extra attack") and conclude with some section hopping that unless otherwise stated an attack works as described on p. 178-9?

A single sentence example would work wonders here.

3. BAB and multi-classing - It is not terribly clear whether additional BAB-derived attacks are gained from advancing significantly in a single class or whether advance in two or more classes combine and BAB plus additional attacks are derived from increases to the fundamental BAB. For example, does Ajax the Fighter 6/Cleric 8 (the separate levels of fighter and cleric would have BABs of +6/+1) have a BAB of +12/+2 or one of +12/+7/+2?

If its the latter then shouldn't there be a clear statement under the BAB rule and the multiclassing rule sections?

With prestige classes, none of them seem to offer a second attack in their class tables even though ones BAB may rise above +6 or +10. With no clearer rules explication how am I to figure out whether a Bard 8/Arcane Archer 9 has a BAB of +15/+1 or a BAB of +15/+10/+5?

4. Saves and multi-classing - Do save bonuses from different classes simply add together? I would think so, but the sample multiclass NPC on p. 455 seems to have saves +1 higher than the simple sum of his 4 ranger levels and 2 rogue levels.

A step-by-step character creation example would be a great thing, if you can't print it then at least make one available as a PDF on the site, it would really help new players learn faster by example.

5. Prestige classes and multiclassing - for the benefit of newbies it would be good to state that prestige classes follow the rules for multiclassing. Clarifying how prestige class BABs combine with core class BABs would also be good in terms of deriving additional attacks.

6. Adjudicating combat with (or without) miniatures - all the core rules say in this regard are the following:

"Miniatures are on the 30mm scale—a miniature of a 6-foot-tall man is approximately 30mm tall. A square on the battle grid is 1 inch across, representing a 5-foot-by-5-foot area."

That's it. It doesn't tell me about how useful they are in making the tactical aspects of combat easier to run, whether they are required or even highly recommended, is using a battlemap recommended? What about how to run combat without using miniatures?

All we are given is a definition of what a miniature is and not how it should be used, if at all. Maybe we could infer that from the diagrams in the Combat chapter, but maybe they are illustrative rather than prescriptive.

i know That Other Company pushes miniatures use quite heavily, but even they just pitch it as a recommendation, even suggesting the use of coins or markers. Once again, a little player or GM-ing advice wouldn't go amiss here in making combat rules friendlier to newbies.

In conclusion, having clearer examples on these various items would probably have shaved off about 2 days on my attempt to absorb the Pathfinder rules. I notice that space in the Core Rulebook is tight, but it seems worth losing one or two illustrations to make these clarifying points that end up improving the learnability and fun of the game. If these can't be revised for the print version, and really, I think they should, I hope that Paizo will at least make reforms to the online SRD.

Having scoured the messageboards for answers to this I have found numerous similar questions over the years from confused players. To me, this suggests that some clarifications need to be incorporated into the official ruleset.

Thanks for listening to a new customer.