I have a player with a Large awakened bulette character, so I need to know whether Large characters are able to use smaller sized weapons, shields, and gear that they acquire during their adventures.
We know that Medium and Small characters can use Large-sized weapons but are clumsy 1 for doing so, but what of the reverse?
Armor obviously needs to be sized appropriately, but I don't see a reason why a Large character couldn't use a Medium-sized longsword, despite the following text:
Player Core pg.271 wrote:
Items of Different Sizes
Creatures of sizes other than Small or Medium need items appropriate to their size. These items have different Bulk and possible a different Price.
The operative word "need" makes me think that it's mandatory and that larger characters can't use smaller sized gear of any sort, meaning they need to transfer runes to appropriately-sized weapons.
Simply put, the instructions say to find the auth token from my Paizo account under My Account -> My Partner Authorizations, but I'm totally unable to find the latter when I look at My Account.
Simple premise: The GM is running a game in which the characters are on a deserted island. None of the players has an axe for chopping firewood, so one of the players wants to make a makeshift axe.
Now, I'm familiar with the general rules of crafting in a downtime scenario in which the party is in town and has access to workshops and the like, but:
What would the procedure be for being on a deserted island and wanting to craft something like a makeshift tool?
What would the process be for gathering raw materials needed to make an item when you cannot buy the raw materials?
What of the timescale? Crafting with downtime takes days of work, but characters also need to Subsist, explore the island, etc.
To quote the Quick Alchemy action: "Any effect created by an item made with Quick Alchemy that would have a duration longer than 10 minutes lasts for 10 minutes instead."
This presents a possible problem when it comes to making many alchemical foodstuffs with the Wandering Chef Dedication, particularly the initial formulae you get from Alchemical Crafting.
In the case of Journeybread, does Quick Alchemy mean it only provides you with the food and water you need for 10 minutes?
With Cooperative Waffles and Mender's Soup, do the benefits still only last 10 minutes after you spend 10 minutes chowing down?
Seems pretty useless if this is a correct interpretation.
Would it be a reasonable ruling that those with a listed duration of 24 hours or next daily preparations still function as such?
A character who (appearance-wise) is a juxtaposition between the Mandolorian and Blaidd from Elden Ring:
A ex-knight who enters self-exile after being subject to a curse that causes him to always look like a hybrid-form werewolf, though he retains his mind more or less.
He opts to live in the wilderness away from people (as a hermit) and wear a self-made helmet forged to look like a wolf in the presence of others, to hide his true face (in his view, most people would assume that someone wearing a helmet don't actually look like the helmet.
Occasionally, to support his lifestyle, he'll serve others as a mercenary, guiding and protecting travelers through the wilderness.
I already have a few possible ideas for class (full martial, obviously), but having trouble pinning down anything. So far:
- Cavalier (would probably need to be an archetype without a mount)
- Barbarian (Armored Hulk and Pack Rager archetypes)
- Ranger (having Endurance as a bonus feat to wear medium armor even while at rest)
- Vigilante (Faceless Enforcer)
- Maybe an Oracle dip for the wolf-scarred face oracle's curse, or some other class archetype that gives the curse?
- Maybe a full BAB prestige class that grants some divine spell progression? Don't really know what my options are there.
Finishing up with the Iron Gods Adventure Path as a GM, it's been a long ride. I figured I should share the maps that I've used in running the game so that others can use them; all Books 1-6 are covered.
The overwhelming majority of the maps in this pack are of my own design, made using Other World Mapper.
The only maps I didn't make were the maps for Scrapwall, but I included them in this zip file for your convenience. Here's the link for those maps that I used instead of made. https://imgur.com/gallery/g1zznAl
Also included in this pack are some maps that aren't in the books, but I felt were necessary (i.e. Silverdisk Hall, an optional Crew Deck under Black Hill, the optional buried ship Dusklight that the PCs could refurbish and use as a low-hovering base of operations, a handout of the wolverine hide map for Book 3, and the Lotus Eater village in Book 6)
If you are running the Iron Gods AP, I wish you good gaming, and enjoy the maps.
So, a druid/mammoth rider player of mine wants his Huge giant toad with the Hefty Brute feat to gain barding with the Titanic armor property, strictly because he wants to give the giant toad the ability to swallow whole a Colossal-sized creature when they are enlarged with the animal growth spell.
Titanic Armor Property: A creature wearing titanic armor is considered one size category larger for the purpose of using or being affected by special attacks that depend on size, such as swallow whole and trample.
Hefty Brute (Animal Companion): You treat your size as one category larger for the purposes of calculating CMB, CMD, carrying capacity, and any size-based special attacks you use or that are used against you (such as grab, swallow whole, and trample).
Would the effects of the feat and armor ability stack? I want to say no because of the same reason that effective size increases for weapon damage don't stack, but I told my player I'd at least post a thread here to get the question answered.
Situation: The PCs defeat an NPC wizard with a ring that is the wizard's arcane bond. The ring has not been enchanted. How much would this ring be worth?
If it were a weapon, determining the price would be a no-brainer. But how much is a non-magical "masterwork" amulet/ring/staff/wand? Would be treated like a generic masterwork tool (50 gp)? Would it just be a flat 300 gp like a masterwork club?
Idea behind this build is a sort of Sun Wukong character who fights with a staff and uses magic to augment it. Optimized fighting defensively also provides an AC boost that Combat Expertise could never compete with, and tripping feats for control.
I'd like to hear all sorts of feedback, especially how I can make it better. Going to be using this character within a couple weeks for a Rise of the Runelords game.
Rolled Ability Scores (after race modifiers) (Heroic method; 2d6+6; races allowed up to 20 RP, if published race is 12 or less, gain two free +2 ability score increases)
Str 18, Dex 20, Con 15, Int 18, Wis 15, Cha 9
Race: Vanara
Class: Staff Magus 5/Monk 1 (Master of Many Styles); then remaining levels all put into Magus
Starting Spellbook: Blade lash, color spray, grease, magic weapon (for when the party fights DR/magic before they have +1's), shield, shocking grasp, true strike
Magus Arcana
3rd: Wand Wielder (prehensile tail racial trait means he can use his staff two-handed and use a wand for spell combat, yes?)
6th: Familiar (was thinking either a compy for initiative, a weasel for Reflex, or an ioun wyrd)
9th: Arcane Accuracy
12th: Maneuver Mastery (trip)
15th: Bane Blade
15th feat: Hasted Assault
17th feat: Accurate Strike
18th: Quickened Magic
Traits
Aldori Caution: Gain an additional +1 dodge bonus to AC when fighting defensively or using total defense.
Pragmatic Activator: Int to UMD.
Keleshite Trader, and Pride drawback (for flavor)
Other Build Notes
Investing in Acrobatics ranks (3 ranks increases AC bonus from fighting defensively by 1, and total defense by 2)
Blocking weapon quality: When using this weapon to fight defensively, gain +1 shield bonus to AC.
Crane Style: reduces attack penalty for fighting defensively by 2 and increases AC bonus for fighting defensively and total defense by 1.
All in all, defensive fighting is -2 attack, +6 AC. Once Quarterstaff Defense is gained at CL 9th, the quarterstaff then grants additional shield bonus to AC.
Armor-wise, will probably rely more on bracers of armor or mage armor, and Wis bonus to AC from the singular monk level, paired with a belt of incredible dex.
Not sure if this is the best forum for this topic, but here's the situation:
I'm a player in a Final Fantasy d20 game over Discord, helping the GM where needed because they're relatively new to GMing.
During the last session, there was a situation where player A wanted his character to stop player B's character from doing something. So the GM did the usual, "Alright, both of you roll initiative to see whose action goes through first." Aaaand that's when the issue started.
B (who is relatively new to tabletop games) started complaining that it's not fair that other players are potentially able to interrupt his character's action, regardless of whether they or their characters think what they're about to do is a bad idea. Everyone else at the table tried to explain to B why this rule was generally considered the norm for adjudicating PvP actions outside of combat (3.5e DMG pg 25 under Combat Actions outside Combat is the citation I usually use), but B wasn't having any of it.
The GM ultimately overruled B, and A won initiative. The GM ruled that B had to make an overrun CMB against A in order to proceed with entering the room and B succeeded. Even though B ultimately accomplished what they set out to do, they were still complaining that they had to make any rolls at all and that players should "just be able to do things without restriction even when other characters try to stop them. Otherwise what's the point of playing?"
This isn't the player's first offense with this sort of thing. The conflict is further amplified in that B is in a relationship with the GM and has major FOMO, and this isn't the first campaign B has derailed with these kinds of complaints.
My GM would like some advice in how to go about resolving this kind of issue.
Having been inspired by my playthrough of Dragon's Dogma with a Mystic Knight character, I want to translate said character into a Pathfinder character, and the closest analogue to Mystic Knight I can think of would be the Skirnir. However, the Skirnir archetype has some major changes that clearly create the need for a different approach than playing a normal magus.
In particular:
-Diminished spellcasting
-Spell combat delayed to level 8 and using the shield hand to cast a spell makes you lose your shield bonus to AC.
-Losing spell recall
This makes me think that the approach to playing a Skirnir might rely on some of the following strategies:
- Prioritizing use of arcane pool and buff spells before drawing a weapon alongside the shield, then two-weapon fighting with scimitar and shield bash.
- Relying more on pearls of power, wands, and staves to conserve/regain spell slots.
- Throwing Magus arcana to regain some magus arcana used for enhancing.
- Using a ring of arcane mastery
- Having a shield spell active. It doesn't stack with the held shield, but would apply when you would lose AC from spell combat or other reasons (like fighting creatures with incorporeal touch attacks.
- Using the weaponwand spell to merge a wand into your shield or a weapon, allowing you to cast spells from a wand while also having a weapon and shield out (wand of frigid touch with wand mastery arcana comes to mind).
However, I seem to have hit a brick wall beyond this regarding where a skirnir should focus their advancement.
Advice I could use includes:
- Feats and magus arcana choices
- Magic items
- General gameplay strategies (how to work around the limitations of shielded spell combat)
- Possible alternative classes that would closely mimic a Dragon's Dogma-esque mystic knight.
Note: The character is not human, so no bonus feat at 1st-level.
Ability Scores rolled (after racial adjustments)
Str 19, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 10
So in my Iron Gods game, one of my players acquired an animal companion and opted to give it the Auspice archetype, choosing Glory for the domain to gain Touch of Glory so the animal companion can boost their master's Cha-based skills once per day. The question is, what would the animal companion's effective cleric level be for this? Would it be 0? Would it be equal to the animal companion's HD? The Auspice archetype does not specify.
Here's the situation with this character. I want to make a full casting oracle that does not get involved in melee combat if at all possible, and their dismal Str score reflects that. However, they have a racial penalty to Cha and a racial bonus to Wis (homebrew race where everyone agreed they would probably have a racial penalty to Cha). Sure I could go for a race with better stats, but I really like the mental visuals of the concept as is, so race is set in stone. Fortunately, I rolled REALLY well with other ability scores, making the idea more than salvagable.
Ability Scores (after racial modifiers)
Str 7
Dex 18
Con 18 (+2 bonus)
Int 12
Wis 14 (+2 bonus)
Cha 16 (-2 penalty)
Originally, I thought about having Con 20 and Dex 16, but with Str so low, they're probably going to stick with light armor, so they need all the AC they can get.
I know for a fact I want this Oracle to have the Time mystery, and I'm giving them the Dual-Cursed Oracle archetype, with Haunted for their advancing curse, and Tongues for their second curse. Their alignment is going to be NG.
Feat-wise, I'm not sure what to go for here, other than taking Extra Revelation twice so I can get all the revelations I want. I did a bit of searching but I'm still not certain what feats to get to make this concept shine. I figure this character would probably benefit a lot from the Reach Spell metamagic feat, given spells like Bestow Curse require a melee touch. Since he has high Dex, maybe Weapon Finesse would be another means to make melee touch not suffer from the low Str.
I did some more thorough brainstorming for possible spells, but getting things narrowed down is proving troublesome, and I could be missing some really good debuff spells that don't allow saves (can't find a spell filter for that anywhere). For favored class bonus, I was thinking bonus spells known, like what human has available to them.
If there are any missing spells that would be suggested for an full caster oracle with a debuffing/support role, I would be glad to hear them.
1st-level (5)
Bonus spells: Cure light wounds, ill omen
Considered spells (7): Remove fear, bless, protection from evil, command, entropic shield, shield of faith, sure casting
Spells to be retrained?: Protection from evil, shield of faith
2nd-level (5)
Bonus spells: Cure moderate wounds, oracle's burden, levitate, minor image
Considered spells (10): Delay poison, eagle’s splendor, resist energy, protection from evil (communal), restoration (lesser), silence, spear of purity, make whole, hold person, augury
Spells to be retrained?: Make whole, resist energy, delay poison
3rd-level (4)
Bonus spells: Cure serious wounds, bestow curse
Considered spells (9): Dispel magic, prayer, resist energy (communal), magic circle against evil, chain of perdition, borrow fortune, delay poison (communal), find fault, remove curse
4th-level (4)
Bonus spells: Cure critical wounds, threefold aspect
Considered spells (10): Blessing of fervor, debilitating portent, restoration, purify body, death ward, dismissal, freedom of movement, holy smite, make whole (greater), spell immunity
So I've made other threads on the rules for spending limits on capital during downtime activities (i.e. whether it's per party or per PC, how the limit interacts with construction times for purposes of queuing up rooms). But now I have another question. xD
Ultimate Campaign on pg. 80 states:
Ultimate Campaign pg. 80 wrote:
"The following numbers represent the limit of how much Goods, Influence, and Labor you can utilize in the settlement each day. Even if you have a lot of Goods and Labor at your disposal from favors and such, a tiny settlement might have only a few hands to spare to turn that capital into finished projects."
However, this raises an important question, is the limit for each individual capital type, or for all types of capital combined? So in a small town, can you utilize 15 Goods, 15 Influence, and 15 Labor each day? Or just a combination of the three totaling 15?
Now, odds are, the intent of the writer was for the latter, but it doesn't make much sense logically speaking. Simply put, the hands that would utilize Goods would most likely NOT be the same hands that provide Labor, and certainly not the same hands that you would use Influence for.
One could interpret utilizing Goods as getting people to gather the raw materials (lumberjacks, miners, etc.), utilizing Labor as getting carpenters and stonemasons to construct a building, and utilizing Influence as getting the permits and paperwork processed needed to get things done. Very clearly, this would represent three vastly different groups of people, so why would it stand to reason that the capital spending limit would apply to all three types collectively instead of separately? How would spending Influence on downtime tasks like Gather Information or Research Facts and Lore preclude you from spending Goods or Labor on a construction project when the labor forces involved would be totally different?
Is this an interpretation that holds water given the language of the text? Are there any reasons you can think of that would disprove my reasoning? Would this be a sound house-rule? What are your thoughts?
So, I've noticed that there is kind of a BS mechanic with how diseases work, which doesn't make any sense what-so-ever.
Example: Filth fever in the Core Rulebook is listed as DC 12. An Otyugh can inflict filth fever with its attacks, but the DC is 14 because it's based on the Otyugh's HD and Con modifier. Why?
Where is the logic that a disease is harder to overcome just because some powerful creature infected with it attacked you? Does the disease magically become more virulent and dangerous when held by a powerful carrier? What if it was an Otyugh with 20 HD and Con of 30? Why would the DC for a disease jump from DC 12 to DC 30 just because it was transmitted by an attack from a big monster instead of a paper-cut in the sewer?
Does the randomly inflated DC of the disease only apply toward contraction, and not toward healing it with remove disease, lay on hands with a disease mercy, or the Heal skill?
(Background, I'm a bit salty because diseases are nigh impossible to remove in Wrath of the Righteous [PC game] because of a DC 30 disease infecting a level 10 party, requiring a nat 20 to successfully save against a "cure 3 consecutive saves" disease, and requiring a nat 20 to remove with remove disease, and this is on a very easy difficulty, on normal, it would be more like DC 36 or even higher)
Playing the Serpent's Skull AP with some friends over Fantasy Grounds, and I'm playing a devout NG Catfolk swashbuckler with the Whirling Dervish archetype (worships Sarenrae, naturally), who acts as a mercenary in the Dawnflower's name, and donates extra payment that he negotiates from clients directly to good causes.
It's my first time using the swashbuckler class (despite playing 3.5e/PF for over a decade xD), so any sort of advice would be appreciated.
Ability Scores (racial modifiers already included)
Str 13, Dex 19, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 18
Favored class bonus: Probably going with extra hit points most levels.
Current 1st-level skills: Acrobatics, Climb (took the alternate racial trait that grants a climb speed), Diplomacy, Escape Artist (to escape grapples more easily than my CMB would allow), Intimidate, and Perception.
Traits: Focused Disciple (to help with most Will saves), Mercenary, Blade of Mercy (no penalty to nonlethal damage with slashing weapons and +1 damage when doing so), Headstrong drawback
Feat Roadmap
1st: Combat Reflexes (to make the most use of Opportune Parry and Riposte)
3rd: Nimble Striker (Catfolk racial feat)
Swashbuckler 4: Weapon Focus (scimitar)
5th: Enforcer (free Intimidate with nonlethal damage)
7th: Lunge (affected by Nimble Striker, so no AC penalty)
Swashbuckler 8: Dazzling Display
9th: Shatter Defenses
11th: Signature Deed (Dance of Dawn)
Swashbuckler 12: Blind-Fight/Power Attack/Extra Panache (not sure with this slot. I read somewhere that Power Attack was bad for swashbucklers, but I don't see how)
13th: Critical Focus
15th: Staggering Critical
Swashbuckler 16: Tiring Critical
17th: Critical Mastery
19th: Exhausting Critical
General advice on how to operate in combat, feat selection, etc. are all welcome.
If I wield a scimitar with both hands, do I get to add 1-1/2 times my Dexterity modifier to damage from the Dervish Dance class feature, and will I still benefit from Dervish Finesse?
A whirling dervish can treat a scimitar as a one-handed piercing melee weapon for the purposes of the swashbuckler’s finesse and all feats and class abilities that refer to such a weapon. She must not be carrying a weapon or shield in her off hand to gain this benefit.
This ability alters swashbuckler finesse.
Dervish Dance (Ex)
At 4th level, a whirling dervish can use her Dexterity modifier instead of her Strength modifier on melee damage rolls when using her swashbuckler finesse. She counts as having the Dervish Dance feat for purposes of meeting feat prerequisites.
The question comes into play whether wielding a one-handed weapon in two hands counts as "carrying" the weapon in their off-hand.
The rules for downtime are a bit unclear as to whether the Spending Limit per Day for Goods, Influence, and Labor is a limit per character, or a limit per party.
I'm inclined to believe it's per PC, but that could lead to instances of a party pooling their limits together for utilizing capital (particularly when it comes to constructing a building). So in my game, there's a party of 5 and they're in Torch, a Large town with a limit of 25. If they pooled their limits, it would be 125, almost twice the limit of a metropolis!
However, if it's on a per party basis and PCs want to do different things with their capital, it would grind downtime construction to a halt.
Alternatively, it could be a mix of the two, per PC when the goals are unrelated, and per party when the goals are the same.
I don't know if anyone has ever thought of this system, but I thought of an optional rule that makes certain never-used feats more attractive and a means of making a character more unique without sacrificing their viability, nor making them significantly more powerful (if at all).
Optional Rule: Personal Feats
There are many character classes and archetypes, characters of which who tend to end up taking the same feats, resulting in rather homogenous and cookie-cutter characters. For instance, most melee combatants will probably end up taking Power Attack, but how many characters are willing to have a feat like Self-Sufficient occupy one of their precious few feat slots?
With this system, characters receive a number of “personal” feat slots, which can only be used to acquire feats that are either extremely situational and thematic, or do not contribute to a character’s usefulness or power in combat. At 2nd-level and every four levels thereafter (6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th), characters receive one of these personal feats. In addition, characters can opt to take a personal feat in place of the ability score advancement they receive at each level divisible by four, and a character’s normal feat slots at every odd-numbered level can still be used to acquire personal feats.
By using this system, players will be able to make characters pertaining to a particular theme more easily, without having to give up the essentials of their particular role.
Goals of this system:
-Reduce feat taxes for niche and gimmicky character concepts.
-Make never-used feats more appealing for use in regular play.
Below is a list of personal feats, organized by their source (subject to revisions):
Feats from Other Sources
When determining what feats beyond those listed above can be taken as personal feats, consider the following guidelines:
Personal feats should usually involve at least one of the following:
• New skill applications.
• Substituting one skill or ability modifier for another.
• Skill bonuses
• Crafting
• Racial feats
• Feats whose benefits are extremely situational.
• Feats that grant minor spell-like abilities.
• Using the benefits of the feat have a significant drawback to them.
• Feats that make use of game mechanics not typical of most campaigns (hero points, siege weaponry, verbal duals, performance combat, etc.)
• Non-metamagic feats that improve the use of a specific utility spell or related utility spells.
Feats that should NOT be available as personal feats (unless they meet at least one of the above criteria) include:
• Combat feats (anything that a fighter could take as a bonus feat).
• Feats that improve a character’s spellcasting ability (but not those that improve the use of a specific utility spell).
• Feats that improve existing class features or grant additional class features (like rogue talents), but feats that grant limited use of class features from classes you don’t possess such as Amateur Investigator or Lay of the Land can be taken unless they meet any of the other criteria for feats that cannot be taken (such as being a Combat feat).
• Style or teamwork feats.
• Bonuses to hit points, AC, and saving throws, unless the use is extremely limited.
a. Do PCs need to be present during a building's construction after spending the capital needed to construct it, or can they leave the construction unsupervised while they undertake an adventure? Will the construction continue without them present, or do they have to be in town and devote time as in Step 2 of the Activity Phase?
b. Should I be calculating whether downtime events occur while the PCs are away to determine if they need to resolve anything when they get back?
c. Are buildings being constructed built one at a time, or simultaneously? I currently have construction set up with a queue (i.e. you have to finish one before moving onto the next)
Situation specifics: So I'm running the Iron Gods campaign for my players, and before they left Torch, they earned and spent sufficient capital to have construction workers begin building up a couple rooms for their home while they were away (I told them construction would go on without them, but I don't know whether this ruling is correct). They didn't hire any managers, so capital attrition occurs at the rate of 1 per 7 days.
They left on Sarenith 18th, and the first room on the construction queue (a Dojo) is scheduled to be finished on Erastus 14th. In the game, it's currently Erastus 5th, and I expect the PCs to be back in Torch by the time the Dojo would be finished being constructed or shortly after that. After the Dojo is finished, a Common Room is queued up for construction.
My plan was to calculate if any downtime events occurred during game prep time before the session the PCs get back home, but since they didn't hire a manager, treat any needed checks as auto-failures or have a friendly NPC in town (like Khonnir Baine) attempt the check on their behalf as a favor. If they hired a manager, I would've had the manager attempt the check. Is this the proper procedure?
So here's the situation. I'm running the Iron Gods AP for my players, and one player is a Techslinger 1/Spellslinger 5 (going to be taking the Technomancer prestige class next level).
I'm operating under the idea that firearms are Emerging in Golarion, aside from the technological firearms that are found in Numeria, obviously.
The Gunsmithing feat states "At your GM’s discretion, you can craft advanced firearms for a cost in raw materials equal to half the price of the firearm."
Thus, I told this player that if she succeeded a Knowledge (engineering) check of a really high DC, which can only be made once each time she levels and takes a rank in Knowledge (engineering), then she would thereafter know how to use the Gunsmithing feat to craft advanced firearms.
My question is: What DC would you assign this Knowledge (engineering) check? My first thought would be somewhere around DC 35.
So a friend is GMing a game where players can make their own races and gives all the players 40 RP to make their character. However, I expressed a desire to not play such a race and possibly have an alternative boon(s) if I were to play a race with RP more in line with the standard races (10 RP).
What would you suggest to this GM for such alternate ideas?
"Creatures in the area who can see the denounced creature must make a Will Saving Throw or have their starting attitude toward the denounced creature worsened by two levels (see page 94 of the Core Rulebook). For example, creatures previously indifferent to the subject turn unfriendly."
However, two levels would mean indifferent becomes hostile, not unfriendly.
Either the amount of attitude adjustment is wrong, or the example is wrong. Which is it?
At 5th level, an armor master gains DR 1/— when wearing light armor, DR 2/— when wearing medium armor, and DR 3/— when wearing heavy armor. At 19th level, this damage reduction increases to DR 4/— when wearing light armor, DR 8/— when wearing medium armor, and DR 12/— when wearing heavy armor. This damage reduction stacks with that provided by adamantine armor, but not with other forms of damage reduction. This damage reduction does not apply if the armor master is stunned, unconscious, or helpless.
This ability replaces weapon training 1 and 3, and armor mastery.
Stalwart
Benefit: While using the total defense action, fighting defensively action, or Combat Expertise, you can forgo the dodge bonus to AC you would normally gain to instead gain an equivalent amount of DR, to a maximum of DR 5/—, until the start of your next turn. This damage reduction stacks with DR you gain from class features, such as the barbarian’s, but not with DR from any other source. If you are denied your Dexterity bonus to AC, you are also denied this DR.
So Armored Defense says it stacks with adamantine armor, but would not with Stalwart, while Stalwart says it would stack with Armored Defense, but not with adamantine armor.
I figured the increased DR progression of Invulnerable Rager, combined with no AC penalty (and possible Dex increase) from an Urban Barbarian's controlled rage would make a good combination, so the character would be more like a local brute in a city or town.
I have the Thug level dig at 15th-level, for the Frightening class feature that lets me upgrade the shaken condition to frightened basically anytime I deal non-lethal, as well as gain sneak attack.
Given I wouldn't gain much of anything, I'm also wondering if there are other dips that would be great for this build. And if I should go more Invulnerable Unchained Barbarian and drop the Urban archetype) because some of the rage powers are just better defensively (especially Increased Damage Reduction)
Feat-wise, I'm looking at:
1st: Bludgeoner (to deal nonlethal damage with his Earth Breaker, as well as bite attack when raging)
3rd: Power Attack
5th: Enforcer (free demoralize when dealing nonlethal damage)
7th: Cornugon Smash (free demoralize when hitting with Power Attack; so two free demoralize checks when combining Power Attack and non-lethal damage)
9th: Hurtful (free attack as swift action after demoralizing an opponent)
11th: Dreadful Carnage (intimidate everyone in 30 feet when downing an opponent, which could work in conjunction with Hurtful)
13th: Furious Focus (eliminate that Power Attack penalty with the first attack)
15th: Intimidating Prowess (add Str to Intimidate checks)
17th: Combat Reflexes (get AoO against anyone that runs away from him; great combined with Enforcer, Thug's Frightening class feature, and Hurtful feat)
19th: Accomplished Sneak Attacker
There are obviously more feats that I'd like (some to take earlier than currently listed), but sadly barbs are very feat-starved as is.
Rage Powers are more up in the air and need filling out; but I do have the following in mind thus far:
2nd: Animal Fury
4th: Penetrating Bite
6th: Greater Animal Fury
So, looking at the Unchained Monk and the Far Strike Monk archetype, they aren't totally compatible as is, so I came up with some ever-so-slight modifications needed to make them work together.
1. Replace the Ki Pool modifications of the archetype, changing it to:
"At 4th-level, in addition to the usual ki powers gained, a far strike monk gains ki range as a bonus ki power."
2. Trick Throw is gained at 8th-level, and replaces the ki power gained at 8th-level (the same level that diamond body can first be gained as a ki power).
So one of my players is going to be playing as a ratfolk gunslinger (techslinger archetype).
However, one thing that became apparent today is that the only decent tech firearm in the whole first book is Medium-sized.
What options (if any) are there so the PC doesn't have to suffer the -2 size difference penalty?
I thought about a few options, but aren't totally sold on any of them, so I'm curious on other opinions/options.
1. Allow the PC to ignore the prerequisites for the Goblin Gunslinger feat, because why would only goblins be able to learn how to do that? It's not based on their physiology in any way. However, this would mean that the character would have to spend one of their few precious feat slots and not get Precise Shot until 5th. (They took Technologist for 1st, planning on Point Blank Shot for 3rd, then Precise Shot as their 4th-level bonus feat.
2. Throw in a couple of timeworn guns to replace other existing treasure.
3. Make it so the gun in question can resize to fit the wielder, since it's magical.
4. Just ignore the size-difference penalty for energy-based firearms; since the weapon is only a 1d6 for a Medium character.
"The warehouse itself is boarded up and appears to be abandoned, but succeeding at a DC 15 Perception check while investigating either of the doors indicated on the map reveals that the boarded-up appearance of the door is only a disguise—both doors are locked (Disable Device DC 30), but the boards nailed over each door don’t actually impede the doors’ use."
However, nowhere on the map are any specific doors "indicated." Which doors are the ones that are disguised? A relevant and important question considering it could adjust the tactics of those guarding the place should intruders show up.
Moreover, which crate is supposed to have the power relay? This isn't indicated on the map either.
Since I was planning on running the aforementioned Adventure Path, I decided to come up with my own gambling game for the PCs to play.
Ideally, it's best used in Numeria and adjacent regions due to the equipment described, but it can also be used for any Pathfinder setting (or even Starfinder).
I even did all the odds math on an Excel spreadsheet to come up with appropriate payouts (no small feat given there are over 60,000 possible combinations on the board). ^_^;
The odds ended up working out so well that I figured I should share it here, so let me know what you think!
Prismo
A roulette-shaped slot game (inspired by Dabo from DS9 and Star Trek Online), named as such due to the scaling color symbols on the board.
The equipment: The game consisting of three spinning circles on a technological device (pulled from a recreational hall of the Divinity) , where symbols and colors must match to win a payout.
The two-outer most circles have 50 symbols each (one for each color and shape combination, plus two special symbols), while the inner-most wheel has 25 (4 of each shape, plus the wildcard symbol). The symbols of the inner-most wheel are all prismatic and count as any color for purposes of a match. The other 8 colors on the other two wheels (in ascending order of payout value) are brown, black, white, gray, green, red, blue, and orange (same as the tiers of technology colors from the Technology Guide).
The 6 shapes of the standard symbols (which all have the same value) are all somewhat stylized and futuristic-looking, but have a basic shape to them: triangle, circle, square, a hexagon, an X, and a crescent moon.
The two special symbols consist of a prismatic 7-pointed star (a wildcard symbol that counts as any shape and color) and a purple slitted eye (which matches with nothing except itself and the 7-pointed star).
When all three shapes on the board and the two outer colors match, it is customary for the gamblers at the table to yell out the name of the game, "Prismo!"
The mechanic: Players can bet as much as they like on any number of the 25 given landing positions of the wheel, though the minimum bet is 1 gp per position, and 1 silverdisk must be traded in per spin (thus, each spin means players allocate at least 10 gp across the board). The payouts are given on the table below:
Grand Prismo!: All three rings are 7-point stars. (0.0016%)
Prismo!: All three shapes match, outer ring colors match. (1.1952%)
Three of a Kind: All three shapes are the same, but outer ring colors differ. (2.688%)
Two of a Kind: Two shapes are the same and outer ring colors are the same. (8.064%)
Mixed House: Two shapes are the same, but outer ring colors differ. (34.944%)
No Match: No two shapes are the same. (49.152%)
Purple Eye Loss: When a purple eye appears with anything other than another purple eye and/or 7-pointed star. (3.9552%)
To determine the positions of the symbols on the board when the spinning stops, roll a d% for each circle, referring to the following tables. In addition, the positions of the symbols on the circles shuffle with each spin of the board, so don't worry about trying to keep track of the position on each symbol of the board and just roll the dice, ignoring any duplicate results on the same wheel for a given spin (excluding the inner-most ring, which has four of each standard symbol and only one 7-pointed star).
Prismo Wheel (Outer Rings) d% / Result
1-2 / 7-pointed star
3-4 / Purple eye
5-100 / Colored symbol (roll on Outer Color and Outer Symbol tables)
(Outer Color) 1d8 / Color
1 / Brown
2 / Black
3 / White
4 / Gray
5 / Green
6 / Red
7 / Blue
8 / Orange
(Outer Symbol) 1d6 / Symbol
1 / Triangle
2 / Circle
3 / Square
4 / Hexagon
5 / X
6 / Crescent moon
(Inner Ring) d% / Symbol
1-4 / 7-pointed star
5-20 / Triangle
21-36 / Circle
37-52 / Square
53-68 / Hexagon
69-84 / X
85-100 / Crescent moon
The odds: The player has a 46.8928% chance of winning, though the odds of a Grand Prismo are only 0.0016%, so players shouldn't expect any real chance of winning the bingpot.
The payout: See the table below. Note that for most wins, the actual payout is determined by the colors that are rolled on the outer-most wheels, but the payout multiplier averages out to x2, so the base payouts are reduced to about half what they usually would be given the actual odds of winning, and includes the house's cut.
Type / Payout
Grand Prismo! / 1:30,000
Prismo! / Color multiplier x 1:40
Three of a kind / Average color multiplier x 1:15
Two of a kind / Color multiplier x 1:5
Mixed house / Average color multiplier x 1:2
No match / Lose
Purple eye loss / Lose
Color / Payout Multiplier
Brown / x0.5
Black / x0.75
White / x1
Gray / x1.25
Green / x1.5
Red / x2
Blue / x3
Orange / x6
So I'm playing a kitsune bard who sings and plays a hurdy gurdy, and the GM decided to introduce a homebrew multiclassing rule (via plot device) that basically functions like a subclass.
The rules for the multiclass are as follows:
You have your main class (and other multiclassing) which you take levels in normally.
Then you have your subclass:
You gain the class features, class skills, spellcasting ability, and weapon and armor proficiencies of your subclass, but you don't gain the BAB, saves, HD, or skill points of the subclass. Your effective class level for gaining class features and spellcasting is otherwise equal to half your actual HD (including caster level).
As of right now, my bard is only 2nd-level, so he isn't quite filled out in terms of his combat niche, but I had intended to make him as bard-y as possible, prioritizing performance and support over other combat skills, his first level feat being Lingering Performance. He also acts as the party's rogue of sorts, since he has Disable Device as a class skill from the Vagabond Child trait.
His ability scores are currently: Str 10, Dex 21, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 13, Cha 19 (The ability scores are higher than usual because the GM called for 30 Race Point characters).
The problem: I'm having trouble coming up with possible classes that would work well with a bard (archetypes are allowed for subclasses).
Having a fair bit of trouble pinning down the alignment of a character, due to how their personality pans out. Chaotic good was put down as a placeholder, but there are elements of his core personality that seem polar opposite that, but at the same time, he doesn't seem true neutral. The alignment test on easydamus suggests neutral good, but I have a hard time believing even that, so I'm interested in some outside opinions.
Here's what I have:
First off, he's a witch with the seducer archetype.
He's power-hungry, seeing himself as someone to be idolized, and wants those he sees as beneath him (not his adventuring allies, obviously) to be devoted to him in a cult-like manner (and he has the Charisma to back it up). Almost like the leader of Razmiran. And he's not above using his charming abilities to get the ball rolling on an individual.
However, on the other side of the coin, the character is not cruel or tyrannical the way one would expect a lawful evil character to be. He doesn't care to interfere in the day-to-day affairs of others, and believes himself to be above the law, scoffing tradition and iron-fisted control in favor of hedonistic pleasure and stroking an ego which is so large it needs its own ZIP code. Beyond that, he is legitimately kind and courteous towards anyone who shows him any measure of respect and helps others when the opportunity presents (what better way to gain followers?).
In addition, he is loyal to friends and his only known blood relative (his mother), for whom he would drop everything on his to-do list to help.
So, back when I tried 5e D&D to see how it played (I did not like it in the slightest compared to 3.5e/PF), I made a rogue with Str greater than or equal to his Dex, who specialized in grappling foes, following up by tripping, and sneak attacking with a longsword. In play, it worked out rather well.
However, I loved the character concept I had come up with and would like to recreate it for Pathfinder; a strong-rogue that engaged in overwhelming grappling techniques and hitting them where it hurts, while also being a bit of a cat-burglar (the upper body strength helping with the climbing).
So, I could use some input in:
Whether sneak attacking with a weapon while grappling is possible (not with standard grapple damage; with an actual weapon);
What class/archetype/feats, if any, would allow such maneuvers (rogue or slayer seems the right class, but other classes might also be applicable).
Race-wise, it was homebrew for 5e, but I based it off the PF rougarou (Bestiary 6), so race is already figured out.
So, I'm planning on playing an Inquisitor for an upcoming game, but I'm having a fair bit of trouble finding a suitable deity for the concept.
Now, the Sin Eater archetype states: "There is a sect of inquisitors in some religions that believes it is not enough to hunt the enemies of the church—one must also devour those enemies’ sins." But there is unfortunately no mention as to what religions in the Pathfinder setting would have such a sect.
I definitely want this character to be more of the "cleanse and purify taint to deprive evil forces" kind of sin eater, so definitely not an evil-aligned deity.
On a side note, I am also able to choose between two possible archetypes that can be taken in conjunction with Sin Eater, since the replaced features don't overlap: either Sanctified Slayer or Living Grimoire, but I'm having trouble deciding between the two, because I really like the concepts of both.
Using the Race Builder, I made a Tanuki variant for the Kitsune, who will be a portly NG Alchemist that plans on operating his own business.
His Intelligence ended up being 20 (after a +2 racial bonus), and his Charisma is only a 9. However, I picture this character's personality as very friendly. He's also a bit of a prankster (a common trait for the Tanuki race).
The question arises: How would a character's low Charisma manifest itself when they are an obviously kind and friendly person, gregarious and not shy? Obviously, I'm avoiding the use of appearance to justify Charisma because I don't believe in doing that (e.g. A sorcerer could be ugly as sin but still have a great deal of persuasiveness and influence, while a man with a face chiseled by the gods could still be an obnoxious boor).
So I came up with a couple of ideas, but I'd love to hear some more!
- He unintentionally come across as pushy when he speaks to people, like someone who clearly wants to be your friend but is socially unaware that he's making himself too close.
- He tries to be friendly through a "good-natured ribbing," poking fun at people with a friendly smile like some people do with friends, but he does it with anyone.
- He could be prone to correcting people a lot because he "wants to make people smarter."
- He could be a bit crass when trying to be friendly, e.g. Al Czervik from Caddyshack.
So, I'm going to be playing an Alchemist in an upcoming game who plans to eventually get his own shop, so I was looking at the Downtime rules and such, and I noticed this rule that I'm having trouble wrapping my head around:
"If you have multiple buildings or organizations in a settlement and they can generate the same kind of capital, you don't have to roll for them separately--you may add all their capital modifiers together and attempt one check for that kind of capital. If you spend a downtime day earning capital on your own, you may add your building and organization bonuses to your roll instead of rolling separately for yourself and each of your businesses or organizations."
Why would anyone make just one check instead of rolling for them separately, when you'd end up earning more with separate checks? If you were to take 10, you'd lose 10 points of check result for each building's/organization's bonuses merged into just one check.
Example: Suppose my alchemist has a +16 bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks at level 4, so by taking 10, he can earn 2.6 gp/day practicing his trade without a building.
If I have the Alchemist building listed on pg 107, which has the following rooms (and Earnings entry):
Alchemy Lab (gp, Goods, or Magic +10)
Bedroom (gp or Influence +3)
Garden (gp or Goods +8)
Kitchen (gp or Goods +4)
Lavatory (none)
Sitting Room (Influence +4)
Storage (gp +2)
Storefront (capital +5, of a type the building already generates)
And I decide to have my shop generate GP with skilled work, then the building itself would have a +32 bonus from all the rooms. If I were to add that bonus to my own, my check result would be 58, earning 5.8 gp/day.
If I then had a team of Craftspeople working in the shop, which grants gp, Goods, or Labor +4, the total bonus by combining the bonuses would be +52, earning 6.2 gp/day.
However, if I made separate checks, I'd have results of 26, 42, and 14, earning 8.2 gp/day instead. And if I further divided the building's bonus to generate other types of capital with additional checks, I could earn even more.
So I'm looking over the Brinebrood Queen in the Skull & Shackles AP, and I noticed that she's a grindylow aquatic druid 4, yet she has 5 Hit Dice. I'm confused, because grindylows only have 1 Hit Die. Don't non-classed creatures with only 1 Hit Die in the Bestiary have that Hit Die replaced if they take a class level? I know that's how it worked in 3.5e for all creature types, as per the sidebar in Savage Species:
"A creature with a single Hit Die, like all standard-race characters, gives up that Hit Die when it gains its first class level."
I'm trying to figure out how exactly the giant frog's Tongue, Grab, Pull, and Swallow Whole abilities work in conjunction with each other and the RAW for grappling. And looking at other threads, I've been getting mixed answers.
So I'm going to break this down step-by-step, then lay out my conclusions, which I'm not entirely sure are accurate. Please correct my individual conclusions if they are wrong, because otherwise this is how I intend to rule it when my players encounter Giant Frogs in the Mire (Skull & Shackles AP)
From the Grab universal monster rule: If a creature with this special attack hits with the indicated attack (in this case, tongue), it attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. The creature has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use the part of its body it used in the grab to hold the opponent. If it chooses to do the latter, it takes a –20 penalty on its CMB check to make and maintain the grapple, but does not gain the grappled condition itself.
From the frog's Tongue ability: A giant frog’s tongue deals no damage on a hit, but can be used to grab. A giant frog does not gain the grappled condition while using its tongue in this manner.
Conclusion A: The frog does not suffer a -20 penalty on its CMB checks when using its tongue to grapple by means of the Grab ability, because conducting the grapple normally for the frog means the frog doesn't gain the grappled condition, so the penalty is bypassed.
From the Pull universal monster rule: A creature with this ability can choose to make a free combat maneuver check with a successful attack (the tongue). If successful, this check pulls a creature closer. The distance pulled is set by this ability. The type of attack that causes the pull and the distance pulled are included in the creature’s description.
However, from the Grapple rules: If you successfully grapple a creature that is not adjacent to you, move that creature to an adjacent open space (if no space is available, your grapple fails).
Conclusion B: As written, this means that when a giant frog uses its tongue to grab an opponent and it successfully grapples the creature, it gets pulled adjacent to the frog (eliminating the need for the Pull maneuver). If the grapple attempt fails, it can still make a combat maneuver check to pull the opponent 5 feet.
From the Swallow Whole universal monster rule: If a creature with this special attack begins its turn with an opponent grappled in its mouth (see Grab), it can attempt a new combat maneuver check (as though attempting to pin the opponent). If it succeeds, it swallows its prey, and the opponent takes bite damage.
Conclusion C: If a frog begins its turn with an opponent grappled by its tongue (the method by which Grab was triggered; and thus adjacent to the frog from conclusion B), it can attempt to swallow whole with a grapple check.
I need suggestions for this since no one in my party has any sort of AoE attack, and throwing CR 3 swarms with a more deadly disease at a party of level 2-3 characters makes it seem like the writer of this AP is a Killer GM, to say nothing of the rum rations that I just revised to 3e's alcohol rules from Arms and Equipment Guide.
My first idea would be stirges and giant flies, but I'm interested in hearing other suggestions as well.
Also, why in the hell would the swarms have ghoul fever? I'm pretty sure that mosquitoes would not feed off of ghouls, since I'm under the impression that most undead creatures lack any sort of blood that mosquitoes could live off of without immediately dying of "food poisoning"
So, right now, our game is at the point where the PCs are about to do the encounter Trouble in the Sun.
Our party consists of:
A kitsune bard (Negotiator archetype)
A human cleric of Pharasma
A ratfolk slayer focusing on the crossbow combat style.
A homebrewed komodo dragon lizardfolk bloodrager
I made it clear from the onset that attempting to mutiny quickly would get them nowhere but keelhauled; the PCs properly hate Scourge and Plugg, and at the end of last session, I had the Captain solo ROFL-stomp a sea serpent to drive home the point "You will not be able to beat this guy."
During the game, they've done quite well so far. They've befriended several of the crewmates up to Helpful (including Grok and Fishguts), got all their gear back, befriended Owlbear, saved Rattsberger from falling overboard during the storm, none of the PCs got any punishment worse than a few lashes for a failed check and initial insubordination, etc. (I changed the rum rations to follow 3e Arms and Equipment Guide's rules on alcohol to avoid death by rum and allow the PCs to play some heave, which they really enjoyed).
However, upon doing a vibe check with the players, one mentioned feeling as though they lack the freedom to actually do anything.
To quote that player: "The feelings of control, player choice and expression just kinda don't feel present atm. Like, I almost feel like if someone else was playing my character; minus his personality, they would have taken a great deal of the same actions.
Actually, that's kind of how its already going. Everybody's just kind of afraid to take personal steps towards anything other than influencing the NPCs. Which was why I've just kinda attributed this whole first act or chapter as kind of an interactive cutscene. Its nice to look at, and some of the NPCs are fun to chat with, but it doesn't really feel like I'm playing anything, if you know what I mean.
I did have some ideas about how to basically create something of a trap that would throw the captain overboard, and that was fun to think about. But uh, well, the conversation with barefoot alongside the sea dragon happened so... Just kinda waiting and figuring this is one of those "It gets better later on" kinda deals."
How could I make the last in-game week or so before the Man's Promise more fun for them, because I know that Plugg is only going to make things more restrictive down the line as the crew gets more polarized.
One thing I already did was plan an encounter (to add some excitement to the days) against some sahuagin that board the ship, having the PCs go to the middle deck to prevent some sahuagin from sneaking in through the hatches (with the help of Owlbear), so they only have to handle a couple waves of 2 sahuagin each, while the rest of the crew takes on the others off in the background.
Another concern I have going forward is Act Three, where the PCs will have to contend with the mosquito and botfly swarms when they don't have ANY means of damaging them. Any suggestions on modifying Bonewrack Isle so I can avoid a TPK?
