Death’s Kiss (Su): You can cause a creature to take on some of the traits of the undead with a melee touch attack. Touched creatures are treated as undead for the purposes of effects that heal or cause damage based on positive and negative energy. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level (minimum 1). It does not apply to the Turn Undead or Command Undead feats. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Here is my interpretation of the ability:
Since the duration is 1/2 your character level and I assume that as a melee touch attack it requires a standard action to use (regardless if used against friend or foe), that means that for levels 1-3 the duration of the ability is 1 round. Which means that the effect of Death's Kiss are gone before the cleric who used the ability could cast a spell or channel energy. He is not able to use his own spells/channeling to take advantage of the effect until level 4.
So as I understand it, at low levels this ability is mostly worthless. The only times it would be useful is if the party was built around it, or if you were trying to use it proactively against enemies.
I did think of one way this problem may be alleviated. What if you cast an inflict spell, held the charge, and then used Death's Kiss on a living creature? The inflict spell was being held and will discharge automatically upon touching a creature, which the Death's Kiss ability requires. How would the sequence of events unfold? Would this successfully heal the target?
Steam and soot darken the skies above the docks as the clamor of voices and machines clash with each other for dominance. Winds sweeping across the harbor to blow the choking products of industrial forges into the snow capped mountains that loom around the city. Across the inner ring of the enclosed Yundalite Mountains, the march of progress and the demands of national defense produces similar results.
The great human colonies no longer fear the natural threats of Yundal, and tensions from home nations have spilled over into the colonies to end previous alliances. What was once a united front against the monstrous natives, savage barbarians, and formless abominations has become a cesspool of distrust and corruption and betrayal. The ever-present march of progress clashes with the prophetic warnings of the Church, and everybody from barbarians to soldiers of fortune want a piece of the profits and glory.
Times are turning. The last seven years of uneasy peace is overshadowed by the previous thirty years of war. The clash of the Church and technologists raises tensions by the day. Pirates and mercenaries make their fortune at the expense of others. The natives and barbarians seem to grow bolder with every skirmish. Even some of the skyseers begin preaching the warnings of the Church as the starry wheels of heaven tell of a new age. But what they cannot see, hidden beyond the steam and soot of the night sky, is if the new age is one of progress, or of catastrophe.
Congratulations for being chosen! Please dot with your character alias and we will start working on any finishing touches to backgrounds, as well as potential connections between the characters. I will be around all day and will be very active :D
As for stats, if we have Saxikath with us then we can go ahead and get started on those. She said she would be unavailable from today until Tuesday, but I'm not sure when that starts. So for the time being at least, let's hold off on rolling stats*
*:
Also because I'm still somewhat nervous about creating wildly unbalanced stats, I reserve the right to ask you for a reroll if you get truly abysmal or incredible rolls. Unfortunately that means no 40 point buys, but it should also save you from 5 point buys.
Steam and soot darken the skies above the docks as the clamor of voices and machines clash with each other for dominance. Winds sweeping across the harbor to blow the choking products of industrial forges into the snow capped mountains that loom around the city. Across the inner ring of the enclosed Yundalite Mountains, the march of progress and the demands of national defense produces similar results.
The great human colonies no longer fear the natural threats of Yundal, and tensions from home nations have spilled over into the colonies to end previous alliances. What was once a united front against the monstrous natives, savage barbarians, and formless abominations has become a cesspool of distrust and corruption and betrayal. The ever-present march of progress clashes with the prophetic warnings of the Church, and everybody from barbarians to soldiers of fortune want a piece of the profits and glory.
Times are turning. The last seven years of uneasy peace is overshadowed by the previous thirty years of war. The clash of the Church and technologists raises tensions by the day. Pirates and mercenaries make their fortune at the expense of others. The natives and barbarians seem to grow bolder with every skirmish. Even some of the skyseers begin preaching the warnings of the Church as the starry wheels of heaven tell of a new age. But what they cannot see, hidden beyond the steam and soot of the night sky, is if the new age is one of progress, or of catastrophe.
Introduction
Hello everybody, and welcome to my homebrew Zeitgeist flavored campaign!
First, stuff about me. My main alias is CampinCarl9127, and I've been around the boards since 2012. I've run a number of games IRL, and one game on the boards that spanned a few years and went from levels 1-11. I'm currently active as a player in 7 games, and in the past I've been active in up to 20 at once. To make a long story short, I'm here for the long haul. And if you're going to apply for this game, I expect you to be as well.
More about me as a DM:
I'm a story driven DM and will always ensure that the fluff of a character is what drives me to recruit them.
There is a well written site that has a thing called “GM Merits”, found here. My merits are as follows:
My game will tell an interesting story.
My game will be scary (at times).
My game focuses on exploration and mystery.
Characters in my game are destined for greatness, not random death.
My game includes disturbing content (at times).
My games focus on interesting Characters and Drama
I frequently tinker with the rules of the game (rules are not a strict code to be adhered to, they are a tool to structure and enjoy the game)
Tactics are an important part of my game.
Players in my game should be prepared to run when the odds are against them.
There will be player vs player combat allowed in my game (but you better have a good reason).
I will Mirror back player ideas I think are interesting in the game
The GM is in charge in my game and “rule-zero” is in effect (but I am always open to discussion and questioning my rules/judgments. I will listen to you and carefully consider what you say)
Players characters death are not extremely likely in my game, but it can happen with bad luck or recklessness.
Second, what I mean by "Zeitgeist Flavored". This campaign was heavily inspired by the Zeitgeist adventure path by Ryan Nock. I read the extended player’s guide and fell in love with the setting and for years have wanted to run a campaign in it. As such much of Ikeroth was built with this influence, and although the plot and world history and current events and etc. are of my own design, too much was stolen from Mr. Nock to call this an original work. Ikeroth was designed solely for my personal use and will not be used in any commercial way.
What does that mean for you as a player? Not a whole lot. If you're familiar with the Zeitgeist setting you will definitely feel some similarities. But all of the names have been changed, and nothing about the plot will be even vaguely similar. So there are no spoilers if you are experienced with the Zeitgeist adventure path.
Expectations
First, posting expectations. As detailed above, I expect my players to be dedicated for the long haul. In addition I expect to hear a post form players at least once a day (if currently involved in something) or at least once every other day (if not involved in something, such as waiting for another character to finish something before they can proceed). Weekends are an exception to this, and I will sporadically post on weekends if I suddenly find the time to do so.
Second, the google drive folder with the campaign details. There are four files: A player's guide, a shortened player's guide, a map of the area, and a map of the inner isles. I expect every applicant to be familiar with everything in the drive, with the exception of the longer player's guide (although you are more than welcome and encouraged to familiarize yourself with that as well, it's just rather long and not everybody wants to read 90 pages if they don't have to).
Third, character creation. Let me make this perfectly clear. I don't give a damn about your crunch. In fact you won't even get to generate stats until after you have been chosen for the game. Instead I want you guys to go through the google drive to familiarize yourself with the setting, then create the fluff of a character who is invested in the world. These are some of the answers I want addressed when creating your character, taken from this video. Although you don't have to watch this video I think it's a great resource for helping create a backstory.
1) Where were they born?
2) Who are their parents?
2a) Are they still alive? Are there any other guardians/close family members?
3) What were they doing before now?
3a) Why leave it all?
3b) What did they leave behind?
4) What does your character want?
Keep in mind this is just something to get you thinking. I don't expect you guys to answer these questions then be done, and you don't even have to answer these questions in some sort of formal format. I want to read a short synopsis about your character and be enticed as to how they will influence the world of Ikeroth if given the chance.
*Rolls eyes* "Yes we all know to do fluff" Ah except this campaign setting, while it exists and has a plot planned out, a massive amount of the story will be dependent upon the characters. Note that plot and story have different meanings. Plot is some background influences in the world, story is what's created by the characters and what they decide to do. It is impossible for this game to be run the same way twice, because so much of what happens depends on the characters selected. Do you have parents in the church of Azgaar who are influential? Perhaps you're researching a way to eradicate the Formless, and have petitioned governments to give resources for the endeavor? Maybe you think the Skives can be made into allies, and you constantly run peacekeeping missions? Your character backstory will create changes in Ikeroth before the campaign even starts. And throughout the course of the campaign you will be influencing where the world is going. This is not a written adventure path. Your decisions as a player will shape the future in ways that even I can't predict.
Once you've thought about this, I am interested to hear about your character theme chosen (see player's guide), as well as your class (and possibly archetype). And everybody is human, although there are some variant humans and a lot of variant racial abilities you should consider. And to keep in mind as far as crunch goes, here's something to consider: I am not a fan of the power creep that Pathfinder is currently suffering from. So as a general rule, if a source is more recent than around the 2013-2014 area, ask before you use it.
Now you won't get to see your stats yet, but I will tell you how the stats will be generated. Once chosen for the campaign, every character gets to roll 1d6+2d4+4, rerolling two 1's of their choice. They then place all of their numbers into a large pool, and all of the players decide democratically how to divvy up the numbers for their characters.
I will be picking 4 players. The recruitment will close once I have four players I am happy with. This campaign starts at level 4 and will go to around level 15.
Onto you
That is all for now. Please feel free to bombard me with questions/comments/concerns. As it is the weekend I will be available sporadically, but will certainly be doing my best to check as often as I can.
Hello, I have been having an issue with getting a certain game to show up in my campaign tab. A while ago we took a break and I marked the game as inactive in order to keep my campaign tab tidy, but recently it has made a comeback. I made sure to unhide the campaign and posted in both the gameplay and discussion threads, but it still won't show up in my campaign tab. Any assistance with this would be greatly appreciated.
I'm not sure if anybody else is experiencing this issue, but all of the discussion threads in my active campaigns are blank. I can follow the links, and it shows how many posts there have been, but no posts show up.
Does the ghostbane dirge spell allow creatures with the incorporeal subtype to be subject to sneak attack by magic weapons (that do not have the ghost touch special weapon quality)?
Incorporeal Subtype wrote:
An incorporeal creature has no physical body. An incorporeal creature is immune to critical hits and precision-based damage (such as sneak attack damage) unless the attacks are made using a weapon with the ghost touch special weapon quality.
Ghostbane Dirge wrote:
The target coalesces into a semi-physical form for a short period of time. While subject to the spell, the incorporeal creature takes half damage (50%) from nonmagical attack forms, and full damage from magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects.
First things first, I need to give credit where credit is due. Thank you johnnythexxxiv for writing your support from a mile away guide, and also thanks to RumpinRufus for writing your Stay-At-Home Wizard idea.
But onto the idea!
First know that there are some pretty questionable rules interpretations, particularly with each of the spellcasters. Also the "party" is definitely not optimized. Also you are required to be a fairly significant level (probably at least 10) with a good amount of wealth to blow on magic gear. But nobody really cares because the idea is actually viable which is hilarious.
Between these two threads and some brainstorming with my roommates, I have developed quite possibly the most entertaining party idea I have ever had. What is this idea you might ask? The one-man paladin party.
Well, as far as the paladin knows anyways.
There are four members who make up this hilarious party.
Albert Pointyhat:
First and foremost, the one who coordinates everybody, Albert Pointyhat. Albert wants to make all the money that an adventurer does, but who wants the danger that comes with that? Instead he coordinates a team from his own home. Albert is a beast bonded witch with some fun items that include: cat's eye crown, glove of familiar's touch, and a permanent telepathic bond. With these items he can, as RumpinRufus put it, "Perform all manner of murderation and murder-facilitation from the comforts of his own kitchen, in his pajamas, while his* tea is steeping." All of this is performed through his familiar, preferably one which can be rebuilt or regenerates, such as: arbiter inevitable, augur kyton, or a nycar. This familiar gains reach to better deliver touch spells, and since the familiar gains feats, it will also acquire its own animal companion. Somebody to accompany Richard, who we will get to later.
Next up in this lineup is Lazybones Mcgee. I could attempt to do this one justice, but I believe johnnythexxxiv has got it all covered, so you can either follow the link there or you can read my quote from his below! Lazybones Mcgee is simply too damned lazy to get up and go anywhere to earn his money or stop cooking, so he does it all from the comfort of Albert's home.
johnnythexxxiv wrote:
The idea behind this build is simple, never ever get into the thick of things alongside your allies, instead, you support them from the comfort of your home. By utilizing massive range buffs, scrying, distance healing and tactical maneuvering, you can safely have a significant effect on the battlefield or social encounters from a literal mile away.
Lazybones McGee
Human Geisha Bard 1/Oracle (Life) 1/Hedge Scarred Witch Doctor (Deception) 10/Oracle +3/Verminous Hunter (Worm) 1/Witch +4
Progression:
1 Extra Performance, Extra Performance, Tea Ceremony
2 Life Link
3 Racial Heritage (Orc)
4 Healing Hex
5 Extra Hex (Scar Hex)
6 Spontaneous Healing
7 Toughness
8 Fortune Hex
9 Extra Hex (Ward Hex)
10 Empathic Healing
11 Endurance
12 Waxen Image
13 Spell Hex (Hex Vulnerability)
14 Healing Hands
15 Diehard
16 Fast Healing 1
17 Fast Healer
18 Major Healing Hex
19 Healer's Touch
20 Witch's Charge Hex
So, what does Lazybones McGee get up to? Well, he uses some heavy rules exploits and questionable readings to allow him to inspire greatness in his allies at level 1 from literally anywhere in the multiverse by hosting a tea party that no one else actually attends since Tea Ceremony doesn't actually say that the allies have to drink the tea or witness the setup to receive its benefits. 2 d10 hit dice should be enough of a boost to carry his allies through to second level where he can begin to heal them while staying at medium range, which keeps him well out of most combats. 5th level lets him heal allies from up to a mile away and 11th level lets him teleport over to his allies while invisible so that he can steal their poisons and diseases to have them effect him instead without most enemies realizing what happened. 12th level lets him move his allies around the field on his turn to set them up into better tactical positioning, 13th level lets him spam healing hex while 17th level makes sure he doesn't die from his life link with the other party members.
Basically Lazybones stays as far away from his allies as he can and uses scrying effects to keep tabs on them to see how they're doing (now covered by Albert the witch). If their about to go exploring he'll throw them a tea party and then keep them healthy with hexes. If things start to go sour, he'll go invisible, teleport nearby and then give them buffs and emergency healing and might tag along for a while to heal them up with life links before teleporting back to safety. If done correctly, the party may never know what Lazybones actually is, since he should be invisible always from 6th level onwards and there is technically no reason for Lazybones to ever reveal the fact that he even exists.
Gunner 'Couch Potato' Compensatingforsomething:
Gunner was once an adventurer (a gunslinger in particular (supplement with ranger if you don't like firearms)), until he took a arrow to the knee (sue me). Anyways, since his injury all he does is sit around with his good friend Lazybones and try out his new recipes and monumental amount of tea. Because of this he has become immensely obese and spends his time sitting on the couch. But in front of this couch is one ring in a pair, in particular a pair of ring gates. He sits there all day eating and waiting for something to pop up on his wall-mounted ring, where he promptly shoots any evil creature that dares to show itself through the portal! Then he chuckles and reloads, waiting for the next stupid monster to get into his field of view. But how does this ring get around do you ask?..
Richard 'Lawful Stupid' the Blessed:
Richard here is a pretty staple sword-and-board hard-to-kill paladin. Richard is the absolute worst best kind of paladin. The kind of guy who simply is too stupid to see reason too honorable and noble to give into the temptation of evil. Even when it's not actually evil it's in its smallest forms. But for some reason all of his adventuring parties kept realizing what a moron he was leaving him, so he had a dilemma. He had to continue the crusade against evil, but nobody would work with him!But all of his troubles were solved when he found a new shield one day...
This shield isn't any ordinary shield. This shield was accompanied by a [insert Albert's familiar] and a [insert Albert's familiar's animal companion]! And the strangest thing was that the shield has this absolutely immense ring placed on the front of it! Now looking into the ring showed nothing but swirling energy, but the portal in his shield gave him whatever he needed! Money, food, and when he pointed it at enemies, bullets flew out! Not to mention that [Albert's familar] and [Albert's familar's animal companion] seemed deathly loyal to him now, like they must sense how honorable he is and how noble his crusade against evil was! With the aid of this clearly divine shield gifted to him from his god, he now has the power to set out on his own and vanquish evil, no party needed!
And that is how you run the "One man paladin party and his unknown lazy entourage". The roleplaying of such a group would be fantastic, and although it's not optimized by any means it would actually function! I welcome all questions/ideas/critiques/etc., and I hope to get this idea further developed in the future!
I ran into a situation last night where the party was going to fight a group of undead, so the cleric prepared undeath ward. The problem is, the cleric is a lich. How would this work? I threw out a quick houserule that seemed to satisfy the players and seemed appropriately challenging (I had him make a save against it otherwise the spell would fail), but I want to hear some other opinions on this. Thanks Paizo boards!
52 people marked this as FAQ candidate. Answered in the FAQ.
4 people marked this as a favorite.
How do the two abilities work together? Does the paladin get full smite damage on every single missile? Does that mean a paladin who buys a high caster level wand of magic missile and trains UMD is a machine gun of evil-killing nonsense?
I feel like this question may have been brought up before, but at best I can only find 4 year old threads that have reached no consensus. If I missed a relevant thread or FAQ, please feel free to hit me with the dunce hammer and point me in the right direction.
Below is the ability (relevant parts) and the spell quoted for reference.
Smite Evil wrote:
As a swift action, the paladin chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target is evil, the paladin adds her Cha bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her paladin level to all damage rolls made against the target of her smite. If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the paladin possesses. Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.
Magic Missile wrote:
A missile of magical energy darts forth from your fingertip and strikes its target, dealing 1d4+1 points of force damage.
The missile strikes unerringly, even if the target is in melee combat, so long as it has less than total cover or total concealment. Specific parts of a creature can't be singled out. Objects are not damaged by the spell.
For every two caster levels beyond 1st, you gain an additional missile - two at 3rd level, three at 5th, four at 7th, and the maximum of five missiles at 9th level or higher. If you shoot multiple missiles, you can have them strike a single creature or several creatures. A single missile can strike only one creature. You must designate targets before you check for spell resistance or roll damage.
While in rage, a barbarian gains a +4 morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution...
Courageous wrote:
...any morale bonus the wielder gains from any other source is increased by half the weapon's enhancement bonus (minimum 1).
Furious wrote:
When the wielder is raging or under the effect of a rage spell, the weapon's enhancement bonus is +2 better than normal.
So. Let's say our barbarian has an 18 strength when he's not raging, and his weapon of choice is a +2 Courageous Furious greatsword. What does his strength score becomes when he rages?
As far as I interpret the way these abilities work together, it's pretty scary. While raging the barbarian's weapon would count as +4 from the furious enchantment. Then the courageous enchantment augments the barbarian's rage, increasing his morale bonus to strength and con by a further +2 (to a total of +6). Am I interpreting this correctly?
When using this judgment, the kinslayer gains the ability to brand undead creatures with positive energy. To do so, she must make a successful melee touch attack against the undead creature. This attack deals an amount of positive energy damage equal to 1d6 + the kinslayer's Charisma score, and burns her personal symbol into the undead creature's flesh, bone, or even its incorporeal form. From that point onward, the kinslayer can sense the existence of the branded creature as if it were the target of a locate creature spell (caster level equal to 1/2 the kinslayer's inquisitor level). A slayer's brand lasts until the undead creature is destroyed or until the kinslayer uses this ability on another creature.
Devastating Brand:
Devastating Brand wrote:
When the kinslayer attacks a creature that she has branded with her slayer's brand, she threatens a critical hit on a roll of 19–20.
So, I have a question regarding this ability and combining it with effects that increase crit range: namely, do they stack? I know the age-old ruling for Pathfinder is "Nothing about crit range stacks with anything else ever!", and with good reason, because we all remember how out of hand 3.5 crits got. However, I think this is a special case that requires attention, because instead of altering the existing crit range of a weapon it will just automatically set it to 19-20 regardless of original crit range. For certain weapons this is actually a debuff, and for a lot of others it does nothing; clearly the ability is designed in mind to be used with a weapon that only crits on a 20. However, that's where my question comes in. Does it stack with other abilities, like keen or improved critical? Let's look at the wording of keen.
Keen:
Keen wrote:
This ability doubles the threat range of a weapon. Only piercing or slashing melee weapons can be keen. If you roll this special ability randomly for an inappropriate weapon, reroll. This benefit doesn't stack with any other effects that expand the threat range of a weapon (such as the keen edge spell or the Improved Critical feat).
This leads me to reason that it would not stack with any weapon that normally only crits on a 20 since its threat range has effectively been "expanded" by the brand. However, I believe it would stack with all the other weapons that have at least a crit range down to 19, since their crit range has not been expanded by the ability.
I'm interested in this for two reasons: 1) Can a scythe-wielding kinslayer be the utter terror of undead everywhere with a 17-20/x4 crit range? 2) Would a keen longsword-wielding inquisitor be screwed out of his improved crit range by this ability?
I appreciate anybody that takes the time to answer this question!
The title says it all. I'm playing a character who would benefit a lot from being able to cast darkness or deeper darkness, but beyond buying wands or potions I can't find a way to do it. Does anybody out there know of an item that can cast one of these spells? Thanks!
Welcome to CampinCarl’s Character Creation Guide for Pathfinder PbP gaming!
If you’re here, you’re either a new player who wants to get his feet wet on the boards, an experienced player who wants to get better at formatting and resource tracking, a GM who wants to benevolently dictate his players make a more readable profile, or a critic to tear me apart. Any and all are welcome!
First, a little about myself. I have played Pathfinder for about five years now, and I’ve been around the boards for a little over two years. In my time on the boards I’ve played in dozens of games and am currently involved in nearly twenty, including running my own homebrew game. Throughout this entire process I noticed something. Almost nobody makes their character profiles the same, they are often hard to read and understand, and some are just downright illegible. After I ran a game or two on the boards, and when I got a little more used to the boards and started checking other people’s builds, what began bothering me was that almost every profile style has a learning curve to it. Most of the time all of the information was there, it was just hard to read and you had to do a fair bit of detective work to really understand where all the numbers were coming from.
So after some experience and experimentation, I designed my own standard for creating and formatting my PbP characters. It has inspiration from how stats look in bestiaries, but other things are more fleshed out and broken down, like special abilities and skills and equipment. The endgame of this formatting is so that when anybody looks at a character, they should be able to find what they’re looking for and understand it completely in seconds, no detective work required and no questions necessary. I’ve had numerous people praise my profile style and eventually I decided that for the good of gamerkind I would write this guide.
Now while this guide is a catch all for all races and builds (in Pathfinder), different builds will look differently. For instance, a Human Fighter will look vastly different from an Elven Wizard, mostly due to the increased complexity of the wizard class compared to the fighter. Similarly, a low level character will be different than a high level character due to the massive increase in complexity as the levels raise. While you can easily document everything on a low level character inside their profile, a 20th level character has too many options and abilities to be compressed down to a readable length, which is why hyperlinking some of your abilities/feats/etc. can be beneficial.
So, without further ado, let’s get to breaking down how to go about this PbP Character Creation guide!
Character Sheet Template:
First things first. Follow this link to a blank character sheet. Now copy and paste the entire thing into your profile and save it. This is your template and takes care of 90% of the formatting for you. You’re welcome!
Ability Scores:
So let’s really get started. You’re creating a level 1 character? Great! You’re creating a level 30 character? Great! Both of them start the same way. By building a level 1 character. First things first, determine your ability scores. These is usually done with die rolls or with a point buy system. If you’re using the point-buy system method, consider using this character generator. There are many other features available there, but I use it primarily to determine point-buy based ability scores because it will do the math for you. Once you have your ability scores, distribute the effects of them throughout your character sheet. Here is a quick breakdown of what each score effects. There are more things that each one effects, but this will get you started until you get further into your character.
Strength CMB, CMD, Carrying Capacity
Dexterity AC, Touch AC, Reflex Save, CMD, Init
Constitution HP bonus (we’ll add class HP in a minute), Fortitude Save
Intelligence Bonus Skill Points
Wisdom AC (if you’re a monk), Will Save, Perception
Charisma Nothing right now
I’m going to start with the stats Str 14 Dex 12 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 16. Now I need to sneak ahead a little and pick a race before I go in any further, because racial modifiers will be changing my ability scores. Let’s say you go with Halfling, so now my stats are Str 12 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 18. Remember that I’m not at racial abilities yet, so I’m only worried about the ability score modifiers. So now I distribute the effects of my ability scores throughout my sheet, and it will look like this and my formatting will look like this.
Race & Traits/Drawbacks:
Now you’re ready for the next step, picking things that are inherent to your character. This will be their race and traits/drawbacks. You’ve already picked a race when you determined ability scores, so now you just have to document the abilities of your race under the Special Abilities spoiler. Take a moment to stop and distribute the effects of these abilities throughout your character sheet. For instance, Halflings get +2 on saving throws against fear, +1 on all saving throws, and +2 on Acrobatics, Climb, and Perception checks. I document the bonus on saving throws by simply adding 1 to each save, and I document the circumstantial bonus by adding the bonus in parenthesis on the side of my saves. Then I put the skill bonuses under Non-Standard Skill Bonuses, and mark that they are racial bonuses. Also don’t forget any bonus languages you get for your race, as well as what gender your character is.
Now as a small race I have a few extra things to make note of. I’m going to have to change my speed to 20 ft., add a +1 size bonus to AC, subtract -1 from CMB and CMD, add a +4 size bonus to Stealth checks under the Non-Standard Skill Bonuses area, and lower my Carrying Capacity (round to the nearest whole number). Also take note of any special types of vision you have. A Halfling doesn’t typically have darkvision, but for the sake of this guide I’m going to add the ability to show how to document your Senses. Since my special Halfling has darkvision, not only do I note it in the special abilities section, but I also add it to the Senses section at the very top of my sheet. This helps GMs to quickly check what your senses are.
Next you add traits/drawbacks which you will add the exact same way as racial abilities, except you also mark them in the Traits section in the Statistics spoiler. If your campaign is not using traits/drawbacks, you can skip this section. Let’s say my Halfling takes the Reactionary trait and the Oblivious drawback. I document the existence of them at Traits and Drawbacks, then I put their written effects just after racial abilities, and finally distribute the effects the same way as before. My init bonus will increase by 2, and under Non-Standard Skill Bonuses I mark my drawback penalties. With racial abilities and traits/drawbacks added, your sheet should now look something like this with a formatting like this.
Class & Feats:
Now you choose your character’s class. My Halfling is going to be a bard. I’m also going to go with the Arbiter archetype. This part will be broken down into several sub-parts as detailed below.
Add your BaB. Some classes have a BaB of +0 at level 1, but others have a BaB of +1, which will affect their BaB (base attack bonus), CMB (combat maneuver bonus), CMD (combat maneuver defense), and later their attack bonuses under OFFENSE.
Next we add your base saves. Bards have the base saves Fort +0 Ref +2 Will +2, so I will increase my character’s reflex and will saves by 2.
Now onto class abilities. For some classes, like fighters, this is a very short step that only takes a few seconds. For bards and other more complicated classes it’s quite a bit of work. However you will tackle these nearly the exact same way as racial abilities. You add each ability under Special Abilities, then distribute them throughout your sheet where necessary. For a bard, the only thing I have to make special note of is their bonus to knowledge checks, which will go under the Non-Standard Skill Bonuses section. Other than that, the rest of it is about copying over all of their performance details into the Special Abilities section.
Next we move onto Skills and HP. Look at the hit die of your character and how many skill points they receive from their class. Typically, most games start you out at max HP so you can probably add your full hit die to HP. Then go to the Skills section and add how many skill points you get from your class. I get 6 for being a bard. Also this is the time to remember your favored class bonus, which is either +1 HP, +1 skill point, or a special one taken from your race/class combination. If you choose the unique favored class bonus, document it and distribute it just like a class ability. If you choose +1 HP, simply add 1 HP. If you choose +1 Skill Point, put it in the Skills section. I’m going to go with the +1 skill point, so I would mark it under my Skills section to add to my overall skill point pool. At this point you should have your total number of skill points, do distribute them amongst your skills as you see fit. Don’t forget about all of your miscellaneous bonuses you took note of in the Non-Standard Skill Bonuses section, as well as the +3 bonus for putting a rank into a class skill. Also put a * next to each skill that has your armor check penalty applied to it.
Let’s look at Feats next. This section will be pretty quick. Most level 1 characters have one feat. Humans get a bonus feat and certain classes (like fighter and monk) grant bonus feats, so once you determine how many feats you have you pick which ones you want and record them under your Feats section. As always, once you select your feat and record it, distribute the effects of it throughout your sheet where applicable. I’m going to pick Spell Focus (enchantment). At this point your character sheet should look something like this with formatting like this.
Spells:
Now let’s move onto Spells. If you’re playing a character without spells or one that doesn’t get them until later levels (like a paladin or ranger), you can delete the entire Spells spoiler and skip this section. For everybody else, spells is actually pretty quick. You document what spells you know and what level they are, then add how many spells of each level you have. Cantrips and orisons are always at will, while 1st level spell will vary from class to class. Also, if you’re a caster that has to prepare spells ahead of time, simply put (prepared) next to each spell that you have prepared. Lastly, if you have any non-standard spell DCs, make note of them next to the specific spells. For instance, since I took Spell Focus (enchantment), my Sleep spell will have a 1 higher DC than normal. With spells added your character sheet should look like this with formatting like this.
Gear/Possessions:
Onto equipment, or Gear/Possessions. You’re going shopping! See what your character is outfitted with (typically just a certain amount of gold to spend as you see fit) and outfit your character. For this you’re basically opening up the weapons, armor, and equipment sections and just buying whatever you think you need. Let’s say I have average wealth for my class, in this case 105gp. Also document anything your class gives you for free, like how a wizard gets a spellbook. A big trick that my guide does is track not only the cost of each item, but also how much they weigh. This keeps things more realistic, and that sticky-fingered rogue from trying to carry thirty sets of chain shirts out of the dungeon. However it also tracks the cost of every item so that if you ever sell anything or want to see how you’re stacking up against the typical wealth by level, the numbers are easily accessible.
Once you purchase gear, you (guess what) distribute the effects of it throughout your sheet! My character bought a longsword, dagger, and shortbow, so under the OFFENSE section I need to add the attack bonuses and damage for each weapon. If you have different ways to attack (such as power attack or rapid shot), feel free to add an extra line to show the different ways you can attack if you don’t want to do the math every time. Then add your armor bonus in the DEFENSE section if you bought armor, including the ACP (armor check penalty) by your Skills. Don’t distribute the penalty to the applicable skills, just keep it in mind when you’re making your skill checks. Your sheet should now look something like this with formatting like this.
Congratulations, you’re now done with the crunch for your character! You still need to do fill out your stat lines, but that should be a cakewalk now that the rest of your profile is done. Also you need to write a background and describe your character’s personality and appearance, as well as choose an avatar, but that’s fluff stuff and I’ll leave you to figure that out for yourself ;)
Let me know what you think either on the thread here or with a PM. I believe I’ve checked it over enough times so there’s no silly mistakes like spelling or grammar or bad links, but let me know if I’ve forgotten something important or should add something else to the guide. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming!
Ok, here's the scenario. You're playing a half-orc barbarian whose only weapon is a greatsword (I know, a crime to not have a backup or a ranged weapon). You are fighting a strix fighter who uses his natural flight to stay 10' above you and poke you with a polearm. Question is: Are you completely boned? The only thing I can think of to deal with him is to try and take the polearm away, but I'm not sure if you are allowed to make a disarm against somebody that is 10' away when you don't have a reach weapon even if you are trying to disarm a reach weapon. Love to have some rules clarification with this.
Hello Paizo boards, it's good to see you all! I am here because I am considering running a zombie style game with pathfinder rules, except things are going to be as non-fantasy as I can make them. No spellcasters, no magic items, no magical creatures, just a scientifically born disease that is causing the end of the world.
This idea is very, very, VERY raw. So I wanted to ask you guys: How would you go about doing this? I want generalizations as well as specific ideas so I can start writing down what I want to get doing.
So for example, I wanted to implement a "field of vision" system. Possibly something like you can be in one of two modes of awareness: Broad but shallow, or distant and detailed. Focusing on a zombie to attack/kill it would automatically put you into narrow focus, potentially allowing a zombie to sneak up on you (as we see in so many zombie movies).
Hello fellow board members! I am currently working on a character who covers rogue things and arcane casting for the party, and I ended up dipping into assassin before going arcane trickster.
Generally what I'm asking for is tweaks. What are some of the smaller things I can change? Between managing spells, poisons, and equipment things got fairly complicated. I had to go back and redo the crunch several times due to little mistakes.
Could I spend my money better elsewhere? Should I take different feats? Perhaps a different arcane school? I don't want somebody coming on and saying "Actually you should do rogue 2/sorcerer 4/bard x!" or whatever. I'm open to suggestions on tweaks within the class, such as archetype or arcane bond and such, but generally no huge changes. That goes for race as well, I'm staying with elf but you can suggest other racial traits. All of the details are under this alias, although the fluff isn't necessary to read (it is pretty cool though).
Hello all, I've recently created a character with the intention of turning her into an arcane archer. Her character sheet is here, I started her off as a fighter (lore warden). While I realize that isn't a fantastic archetype, I figured the loss of shield and heavier armor didn't matter since I'd be casting arcane spells most of the time. So why not take a few extra skill points?
Anyways, there are two major routes I'm thinking about taking. The first is Fighter (Lore Warden) 1/Magus (Myrmidarch) 7)/Arcane Archer 2. The other is Fighter (Lore Warden) 1/Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 3/Arcane Archer 1. There are a lot of pros and cons to each one, so I'll lay them out.
What this build has that the other doesn't:
Fort Save is 2 higher, Will Save is 1 higher
13 average higher HP
2 more skill points
Magus Arcane Pool (Works nicely with enhance arrows ability from Arcane Archer)
Ranged Spellstrike (Deliver touch spells via arrows)
Weapon Training (+1 to hit and damage)
1 Magus Arcana (undecided)
Ability to cast in light armor
Ability to cast in medium armor beginning at lv 8
Is ahead in Arcane Archer by 1 level
Spells
I decided this needed its own section because it's kinda a big game changer. If you look at just the above, then of course the second build is far superior. But the first build has much better spellcasting progression.
First Build
0th-4/day
1st-5/day
2nd-4/day
3rd-3/day
4th-2/day
Also note that wizards have a larger selection of spells to choose from.
Second Build
0th-4/day
1st-3/day
2nd-3/day
3rd-1/day
Also note this build can start casting through her bow at level 5, in addition to being able to use touch spells through her bow.
Any and all feedback is appreciated. Feel free to criticize any of my choices as well. I'm also not saying no to an entirely different build (some people say ranger is the better route to go than fighter), so feel free to suggest anything and everything. Thanks!
I'm in a game right now and just used summon monster 3 to summon 4 creatures from the summon monster 2 list. However, we have two enemies and I want to divide up my forces to deal with both of them. My question is, how do multiple monsters being summoned with one spell work with respect to their starting locations? Do I open up one portal and they all come flooding out (meaning they have to appear adjacently or otherwise as close as possible)? Or can I make them each show up individually within the range of the spell?
The sun is setting, bringing a cold nip to the air. As the orange glow of the sunset cast across the hills, the Andril army surges like a never ending anthill. People rush about their business, delivering messages, finding comrades in arms, milling about aimlessly. All the movement is accompanied by the many noises of such a large body of people. The baying of horses, the sharp pang as the blacksmiths made or repaired armor, the laughter and singing of men wanting to ease the tension, and when you got close enough to the red tents, the groans and cries of the dead or dying. Cast over everything is the ominous wall you are to siege tomorrow. Despite the war being such a one sided onslaught, tensions are high. The spellcasters, the tacticians, even the famous Colonel Geoffrey himself all failed to find an easy way into the city. No weak point in the wall, no underground entrances, no noble willing to sell out his country (or at least none that survived to see it through). On top of that the queen is demanding they finish the war quickly, which got rid of the backup plan of starving them out. In less than 12 hours, they were to storm a well fortified seemingly impenetrable wall that was defended by fresh troops. Nobody doubts their ability to win the battle...but nobody wants to think of the losses in such a direct approach. Some men are brooding, some men sleep early, some men laugh and jeer a little too loudly, and despite the officers best efforts some men drink, all of them wanting to escape the stress of the situation.
Bjorkus & Psotheos:
Bjorkus
While other men were relieving their stress in other ways, some of the men in charge of the prisoners took theirs out on you. Rocks and sticks are being thrown at you, as well as an endless stream of obscenities and racial slurs from some men, most notably one Fredeward Huets, a low ranking officer. "Oh come now you beast, do you really think we kept you for anything but manual labor? It's all you will ever be good for in this world!" Some soldiers pass and won't make eye contact with the abusive soldiers, and one or two even stepped up to say something, but a glance from Warrant Officer Huets and they walk off silently. You're chained together with a few other prisoners, all men, but one of them sticks out to you. He has that obnoxious air of nobility about him, even in his current state. The man on your other side takes another rock to the head, then glares at you "Oi, you could crush their heads with one hand, why not git up and do it?"
Psotheos
You've been mostly isolated from other prisoners, but they needed more room in anticipation of the wounded and you were brought here. You could almost feel your spine tingle as a soldier dragged you next to the huge half minotaur and manacled you next to him. Many of the other prisoners have poked fun at you, sensing your birthright, but generally they're tolerable. However this is a new experience, as you feel a rock whistle right by your ear, thrown by Huets once more.
Lindale:
Things are rough right now. News have reached your eye of your twin discovering a new type of gel explosive created by the dwarves. Even worse, he claims he managed to get a copy of how to make it! You know your twin often boasts and exaggerates, but he normally doesn't flat out lie to you. Your parents have expressed their pride for him...and their expectancy of you. As you are brooding, a man runs up to you with a stout dwarf at his side. You find out...
Toramin:
You have been presented with a hard situation. The explosive experts are stumped how to open the gate without causing too much destruction. However, you are aware of a new type of explosive, a gel that directs where the force goes. While you don't fully understand how it's made, you've seen it in action and know it's exactly what they need. However as the matter was brought up, one of your elders across the table looked at you with hard eyes and gave you the slightest shake of his head, clearly telling you to keep quiet. As you are brooding, a messenger runs up to you and says you've been drawn for guard duty, and he's here to introduce you to the soldier you will be scouting with.
Lindale & Toramin:
You have been drawn for outer guard duty tonight, one of the patrols that circles outside the ring of torches and who is chosen for their darkvision. When the soldier who was sent to tell you gathered you both, he snickered as he told you the news and walked away, mumbling something about 'if they dont kill each other first'.
Make nice kiddies. You got a few hours till you're on the job. Muahahaha
Dalton & Gabriel:
Dalton
You've had a long day. You were asked to be brought as a consultant for a tunnel, a small one that stretches across underneath the battleground and will allow a small force to get close to the wall. From what you could tell it was magically tunneled and seems completely stable. However the officer wouldn't stop asking questions about this and that until you had walked up and down the tunnel a dozen times, an arduous process at best. As you make your way back to camp you run across an scout patrol, and your eye can't help but be drawn to the tiefling paladin with them. Then you hear a call, and you see a messenger running up...
Gabriel
You've been running among the hills all day with a scouting party, trying to find enemy scouts, traps, tunnels, or anything else the army wasn't aware of. It's been a long, fruitless day, the only discovery a local farm hidden behind a hill with an elderly couple who nearly fell over at your approach. As you make your way back to camp you see another group of Andril soldiers, and accompanying them is a fluffy, well dressed half elf who's cheeks are red and looks rather short tempered. Then you hear a call, and you see a messenger running up...
Dalton & Gabriel
The young human, looking no more than 16, pants and tries to catch his breath while giving a salute. One of the officers quickly salutes so the boy can catch his breath properly, telling him to sit down. After a moment he manages to speak "Or...orders from Captain Baccus. He wants to speak with Dalton Barrowwheel and Gabriel Leoni at once" Captain Baccus is half-orc normally in charge of the vanguard. He's known for being reckless and never backing down from a fight, but he often leads the charge himself and inspires great moral in the men.
Dot here, giving a description of your character and what a stranger would know about them with a passing glance. It's a large army and you may or may not know each other, but at one point or another you've probably at least seen each other.
This is not going to be a light read or a light game. This game will have deep backgrounds, complex character relationships, and world changing events. Only continue on if you are wanting to get into a complex, fast paced, long term game.
A little about me:
I'm a story driven GM and will always ensure that the fluff of a character is what drives me to recruit them. However that doesn’t mean fights won’t be serious, in fact I like to keep things deadly realistic. If somebody crits you for 20 damage to your left arm, it’s either off or broken. More on that later.
There is a well written site that has a thing called “GM Merits”, found here. My merits are as follows:
My game will tell an interesting story.
My game will be scary.
My game focuses on exploration and mystery.
Characters in my game are destined for greatness, not random death.
My game includes (very rarely) disturbing content.
My game focuses on player skill rather than character abilities.
I frequently tinker with the rules of the game (only if there is a problem or something just seams more realistic)
Tactics are an important part of my game.
Players in my game should be prepared to run when the odds are against them.
There will be player vs player combat allowed in my game (but you better have a good reason).
The GM is in charge in my game and “rule-zero” is in effect (but I am always open to discussion and questioning my rules/judgments. I will listen to you and carefully consider what you say)
Players characters death are not extremely likely in my game, but it can happen with bad luck or recklessness.
For those of you still interested:
This thread is to gauge interest and recruit for a homebrew pathfinder campaign. The world and how it works will be similar to pathfinder based games, but the geography, people, and history will be completely of my own design.
So can you tell us anything about the setting?:
The north is encompassed by the coast. In the north center are a vast span of freezing mountains where mostly creatures and outlaws live. South of that is Xilres, the nation with the largest amount of land and natural resources, although the noble houses often bicker and squabble, causing more than just local problems. To their east is Andril who lead the area in military power and science, their capitol Taryin is the largest city in the world. Surrounding Andril from east to south are Yenrick (A dry, flat area with patches of desert. Has many caves with gems and natural resources), Gesthil (A nation of outsiders, only small villages are present and they are very in tune with nature. They will accept anybody in their borders), and Brumik (Center of trade due to their position in the middle of every nation. Often has to deal with barbarians in the southern forest).
And now a little about what’s going on.
Andril is a busy nation, constantly developing and trying to remain on top. As the first millennium comes to a close, so does a five year war with their former trade partner and ally, the neighboring nation Xilres. A power hungry brother, Nuro, somehow stole the crown when the king to be mysteriously died, throwing Xilres into chaos as they tried to eradicate the barbarian tribes on the fringes of both countries by burning down the forests. Pame, queen of Andril, couldn't reason with Nuro and war broke out. Always the superior military force, Andril quickly gained ground and now stands at Xilres's capitol, about to siege and find Nuro, removing him from power and setting the nation back into balance. But there's more going on than a war and a greedy brother...how did the prince die? Why was Andril unable to reason with Xilres? Trust is thin, small groups are forming, and alliances are going to be tested...
Crunchy Stuff/Character Creation Rules:
This is a military/subterfuge/special forces campaign. As the description implies, we are starting the campaign by sieging a capitol city. For some reason you are with the army, whether you are a foot soldier, a healer, hired by the army to perform a service, or simply traveling with them. However, you all have one thing in common; You all know Colonel Geoffrey, a paladin of Abadar who is the siege master for Andril's main force. Geoffrey is a kind man who always tries to find the best way to do things, often leading by example. Some of his history you could tie yourself into is him being raised in Taryin by a noble family before his parents were killed by bandits while touring the southern nations. He turned to the military and the church to take care of him, being taken in as his parents were well liked. He often makes his voice heard in the castle where he tries to be the middle man. He was eventually recognized for his brilliant tactical mind and sound decision making, and quickly advanced through the army. He lead the way in the war with Xilres.
It is the night before the first day of the siege, and everybody is tense.
Character Creation Rules
20 point buy
2 traits
Flaws (drawbacks, problems, whatever other name) are allowed if I approve it
Standard wealth, standard amount of feats...when in question you're a pretty common level 1 character
All races allowed, although more powerful races such as drow or aasimar are likely to be nerfed to be on par with the other races. Do not pick a powerful race for the power, pick them for an RP reason.
Classes NOT allowed are as follows: Cavalier, inquisitor, magus, summoner, antipaladin, ninja, samurai. Notice I did leave alchemist and gunslinger open for play, read the next paragraph for more info.
Technology is starting to come into play. Primitive guns and light sources mostly, a few slightly more advanced siege weapons, some engineering designs. If somebody decides to take knowledge (engineering) and had some money they could make quite a few things
More on character creation:
I put a huge amount of effort into my games and I expect my players to put some amount of effort into their characters. I do not want a reject from another game, I do not want somebody who was created with their class and abilities in mind. I want you to read the information on my world, ask as many questions as you need to, and create a character who fits in the world. You will be a catalyst, an element of change in my world. You will invoke your own will upon the pre-established order through your words and actions.
When I see a submitted character, I will not even look at their crunch until I am satisfied their background is sufficient. As I read through it, I want to feel like I have talked to your character. I want to feel their strife, know what they’ve experienced, understand their drive in the world.
Also, take the liberty of some creativity with my world. I do not have every detail of every corner of the world planned out, so feel free to create a few things to help flesh out your character.
Finally, the wall of text has ended!:
If you’re still here you’re probably thinking about submitting a character. Despite my note on rule-zero, I encourage my players to question and challenge me, so feel free to assault me with questions
Expectations for posting frequency:
At least 1/day, more if you can manage it. I like to keep things moving, and I have the option to check the boards several times per day. I understand that RL>games and people get busy, so if you are unavailable to post for one or several days it is fine as long as we're notified.
Please note, I have edited the original version of this.
