FaxCelestis's page

Anyone want to (privately, of course) trade keep lists?

I've seen two now, and I'm not sure if I should be reporting them for DQ. I mean, they are weapons/armor/ring/rod/etc.

Some of you might recognize me from the various RPG Superstar competitions over the years, in particular from 2012 when I placed in the top 16. Hi!

I am pleased to announce (as I have quite heavily hinted in this thread on the GitP forums) that I have been working on a new subsystem for Pathfinder under Dreamscarred Press' oversight loosely based upon the concept of Truename Magic from D&D 3.5's Tome of Magic. I say loosely because while the project began as a skill-based magic system, we quickly came to the conclusion that wouldn't be very controllable and would end up with the same issues that the poor, poor Truenamer had. So it's undergone some revision. Think of the Advocate, presented in the playtest document, as sort of a Warlock/Swordsage hybrid with Psychic Warrior elements. That's probably the best 3.5 approximation of how the class works, though there's no real analogue.

The playtest document is available here. You can leave comments on the document itself or on this thread: I will see both and make any changes as necessary to the final document.

The playtest includes (for now, this may be expanded later):
A new base class: The Advocate, who changes the universe through the power of his words.
A new archetype: The Paladin of the Holy Word, a holy knight who exchanges his spellcasting ability for a limited ability to speak edicts.
A new prestige class: The Rhetorical Blade, a warrior who fights with his razor-sharp wordplay.
25 new feats: Ranging from suffixes that alter edicts as they are spoken, to benefits for speaking the true name of your weapon.
49 edicts: Words of esoteric power spoken by an advocate that invoke his will upon the world around him.
28 litanies: Mantras spoken by an advocate that provide long-term personal effects.

This is not the entirety of the final product. There is more completed or still being worked on: this is merely "phase one".

I hope you'll still be able to taste ice cream after playtesting this material. I know I'm still able to, but maybe I have some sort of weird racial immunity.

I appreciate your support and your feedback, and wish you the best with the playtest!

SO HERE YOU ARE

Sadly, my three favorite items didn't make the top 32. I'll put their names here, and if their owners want to come forward with full text (tomorrow at the soonest, please) for my specific reviews, please do so.

AND THE HAT-EATERS ARE

*drumroll*

Hostess' Earrings!

Sewing Form of the Steel Seamstress!

And Phylactery of a Thousand Races!

Was just reviewing the rounds this year, wondering why it seemed shorter than normal, then I noticed there was no Top 8 round. Out of curiosity, was there a particular reason there isn't one this year, or is it just for SCIENCE! purposes?

Can we put a little 150-character box on each item where you can put down notes saying why you voted for or against the item? Ideally it would display this info if you ran into the item again, but that's really unnecessary. The big item is that the item's owner would then see these notes after the fact.

The big thing I'm seeing is that it would make the post-announcement "critique my item" threads capable of being a little more in-depth, instead of "template use; template use; bad prereqs".

Sort of low priority, but an app--or even just a mobile-friendly page--would help a lot. The voting page looks terrible on my iPhone, but it'd be much easier if it was parsed to fit one item per 'page', and then flip back and forth between the two with horizontal swipes.

A ring of eyes surrounds this creature's gaping, triangular maw, and three translucent, bat-like wings jut out at regular intervals around its reptilian torso. A long, barbed tail trails behind it, whipping back and forth capriciously.

Thunderthief CR 7
XP 3,200
Usually CN Small Aberration
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16
Aura shocking (10 ft., DC 17)

----- Defense -----
AC 22, touch 17, flat-footed 16 (+6 Dex, +5 natural, +1 size)
hp 65 (10d8+20)
Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +10
DR 5/silver; Immune dimensional anchor, electricity, stunning; SR 19
Weaknesses poison, slow

----- Offense -----
Speed 10 ft., fly 30 ft. (perfect)
Melee bite +14 (1d3-1 plus 2d6 electricity)
Special Attacks thunderdash

----- Statistics -----
Str 8, Dex 22, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 15
Base Atk +7; CMB +12 (+4 steal); CMD 21 (25 vs. steal)
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Combat Expertise, Greater Steal, Improved Steal, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +19, Escape Artist +19, Fly +29, Perception +16, Stealth +23
Languages Auran
SQ hoard gullet, windrider

----- Ecology -----
Environment Eye of Abendego
Organization solitary, pair, clutch (3-6), or swarm (6-10)
Treasure self and stomach contents; see text

----- Special Abilities -----
Flight (Su) A thunderthief flies via manipulating electrical impulses with arcane energy. In an antimagic field or similar, a thunderthief cannot fly.
Hoard Gullet (Su) A thunderthief's stomach is larger on the inside than the outside. As such, a thunderthief treats its stomach as a bag of holding type I. Whenever a thunderthief steals an item, it immediately swallows it as a free action.
Shocking Aura (Su) A thunderthief is constantly surrounded by a statically charged field. Creatures that start their turns within 10 feet of a thunderthief must make a Reflex save (DC 17; the save DC is Charisma-based) or take 3d6 points of electrical damage. Creatures damaged in this way must make an additional Fortitude save against the same DC or be stunned for one round.
Thunderdash (Su) As a standard action, a thunderthief may teleport to any location it can see within 60 feet. If it does so, draw a line between its starting and ending locations: if the line passes through the space of an unattended object or creature, that object or creature takes 3d6 electrical damage and 3d6 sonic damage (Reflex DC 17 for half; the save DC is Charisma-based). A thunderthief that damages a creature in this way may initiate a steal attempt as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Windrider (Ex) A thunderthief is immune to being checked or blown away and does not suffer a penalty to its Fly check from high winds, including magically created winds.

Thunderthieves appeared in the Eye of Abendego almost at its inception: scholars theorize that thunderthieves are actually created by the storm itself. Others wonder if they are related to ethereal marauders, given their similar mouths and tactics. In either case, no one has ever seen a young thunderthief: they seem to spring into existence fully formed.

Driven by a voracious hunger, a thunderthief eats nearly anything it can swallow, preferring small items made of metal. A thunderthief digests these items over a matter of weeks (or even months, in the case of magical items), so an item eaten by a thunderthief may be retrieved shortly after being eaten with little to no lasting damage.

A thunderthief is about two feet long and weights about twenty pounds.

A slain thunderthief can be used as a typical, albeit grisly, bag of holding type I after being cleaned and dried.

I can't get the forum to accept my votes. I've checked I'm only submitting 8 selections. I've logged out and in again. I've tried another browser. No dice.

Besmara’s Chosen
Alignment: CN
Headquarters: Starfall, under the Inner Sea
Leader: Malcolm the Quick
Structure: Loose naval hierarchy
Scope: Regional
Resources: The paikea (pie-keyah) named Starfall, a dozen paikea/whale half-breeds, and plunder worth millions of gold.

More than a pirate fleet of moderate size, Besmara’s Chosen has something different: their home is an airtight fortress built on the back of a dominated paikea named Starfall, a giant whale over a half mile in length native to the Plane of Water. A dozen similarly-dominated paikea/whale half-breeds sport extradimensional spaces built into harnesses in which small crews and raiding parties travel silently underwater. Besmara’s Chosen terrorizes the coastal cities and merchant ships of the Inner Sea, safe from retribution thanks to their unique fleet.
Structure and Leadership
Starfall is ship, home, and war-machine: nearly all of the pirates of Besmara’s Chosen have quarters on Starfall, and when assaulting a land-based target Starfall surfaces to use ballistae and spell turrets to support raiding parties. Combat prowess is prized over any other skill, with animal handling skills playing a close second. As such, the crew has a diverse racial breakdown: all major races are represented as well as several exotic ones. Spellcasters, while uncommon, tend towards leadership roles.
Goals
In grand pirate tradition, Besmara’s Chosen's primary motivations are power and wealth. They have plans to bring more paikea to the Prime Material and to find a type of half-paikea that breeds true. So far, they have been unsuccessful in both tasks despite all efforts: due to the paikea’s immense size, a gate spell will not suffice, and finding suitable mates for the paikea is nigh impossible. Being successful in either of these goals would allow Besmara’s Chosen to vastly expand their territorial control and begin raiding areas outside the Inner Sea. Malcolm is personally driven by the goddess of pirates, Besmara, who has given him the paikea and chosen him as her emissary, giving him orders to find the starstone buried at the bottom of the Inner Sea.
Public Perception
Besmara’s Chosen are instantly recognizable by most sailors of the Inner Sea: whale-borne pirates are memorable and their swift smash-and-grab tactics inspire dread and terror. Malcolm himself is a well-known name in the region: merchants and pirates alike know him as “Besmara's Proxy” and have seen him use powers that are beyond the ken of most pirates.

Spellbreaker Gauntlets
Aura moderate abjuration; CL 7th
Slot Hands; Price 22,500 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description
Spellbreaker gauntlets allow the wearer to break magical barriers and defend their allies.

Three times per day as a standard action, a wielder of spellbreaker gauntlets may attempt to dispel non-instantaneous magical barriers (such as a wall of force, a forcecage, or a resilient sphere, but not a wall of stone) by substituting a Strength check for a caster level check. If the wielder has a bonus to sunder attempts, they may also apply this bonus to their Strength check. If such a barrier has an effect for coming in contact with it or moving through it, he must make a saving throw as if he had interacted with or moved through the barrier.

In addition, when a line, burst, emanation, or cone effect includes a wielder of spellbreaker gauntlets within it, the wielder may spend an immediate action and outstretch an empty hand to alter the effect's shape to protect his allies. He willingly forgoes his normal saving throw (if any) and his spell resistance (if any), taking the effect's full affects, but is treated as a wall or other obstructive object for the purposes of determining the effect's area. Further, he creates a 15' cone originating in his square and directed immediately away from the origin of the triggering effect. Creatures in this area are not affected by the triggering effect.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, bull's strength, dispel magic, lesser globe of invulnerability; Cost 11,250 gp

...I really do, but it just seems haphazard.

Why is this a prepared caster? Is it because its INT-based? It feels like it should be an INT-based spontaneous caster with a spells known mechanic.

For Spellstrike (since it may be relevant), does the spell happen before or after the weapon damage? For instance, if I go Cleric/Magus, and channel a Harm spell, does that basically spell death, or does it make my weapon damage irrelevant? Does it include ranged touch spells, or just melee touch spells? Why does it take two standards to use (one to cast the spell, one to attack with it)? Why not just have a standard action, cast a melee-touch-range spell and make an attack with a melee weapon you wield; if you hit, the spell also affects the target; if you miss the spell is wasted. Much simpler, more in line with what the magus appears to be supposed to do.

Spell Combat is an awkward mechanic. Automatically dodging an attack of opportunity is a powerful ability for as early as second level, and the concentration DC to not lose the spell is laughably low. It states "like two-weapon fighting": if that is the case, does the two-weapon fighting feat do anything?

Some magus arcana have a level requirement: this is unclear whether or not it is "magus level" or "character level".

Broad Study is immensely powerful. Wizard 7/Magus 3/Eldritch Knight 10: I have 8th level wizard spells, the ability to deliver touch attack spells with weapons, and all the EK abilities to top it off. Cleric 3/Magus 3/Cleric +14: I get domains, channeling, and can spellstrike Harm, Temporal Stasis, and other goodies.

Concentrate is kind of lame at 1/day. I'd much rather see it INT mod/day.

It is unclear if Critical Strike stacks with Spellstrike.

Dispelling Strike is too limited for a 9th+ ability.

Can Spell Shield be used reflexively after the attack roll has been made, or does it have to be made prior? This should be made clear.

Why does the Magus never acquire the ability to ignore spell failure from shields, or cast with a shield? For that matter, why can I not play a magus that fights with two weapons?

I feel that Fighter Training plus the bonus feats every six levels is encroaching too far into the fighter's territory: if the magus gets Fighter Training, it shouldn't be able to take combat feats as bonus feats, or vice versa.

Weapon Bond comes too late to be relevant. It should probably be made into a magus arcana, subtracting the Greater Teleport ability.

The spell list is equally haphazard. Many of these spells are neither buff spells or touch spells. The spells that the magus gets should interact with its class features rather than sit alongside them. I would prefer to see the spell list as such:

I'm relatively disappointed with the villains, for a couple reasons. I felt like the majority of the villains that were presented didn't go far enough into villainy and just ended up feeling mundane. Some of the villains I didn't even feel were antagonists: rather, they were set pieces. Perhaps this could have changed without a 500-word limit: with a little more space to expand (say, 750), it would have been easier to portray why this character presented here is a villain.

I also found that too many of the villains were humanoids. This is a matter of personal preference, I understand, but I was still expecting to see at least one awakened animal, and certainly more than one--arguably two--monsters. If your concern is thumbs, remember raccoons, otters, rats, and squirrels all have opposable thumbs and as such are perfectly capable of wielding weapons and using tools. Even without, there's the Hand of the Mage, telekinesis, and other options.

I was surprised that there wasn't much templature either. I would much preferred to have seen a Fiendish Half-Dragon Awakened Frost Worm instead of a Human Druid. This could have been an effort to keep down the final CR of the villain, but it still left several instances in which I felt a villain would have been better with a template than without.

And frankly, I don't understand the concern with maintaining a low-CR. Sure, many campaigns take place under the ECL 10 line. But many also take place above it (some even start there!), so a high-CR villain not only has more power behind their villainy but also a greater sphere of influence--and therefore, a greater threat for the party to manage.

I was further surprised to notice that no one created a new race or creature (or even class!) for their villain. Sure, you don't get to explain what that new being is in your villain description fully, but surely you could spare a line ("Stricta are the Aasimar of lawful outsiders.") to explain in short, and then expand in the next section. I mean, the qualifying round was all about creating something. Sure, it was a magic item, but races, classes, and templates feature as much into a character as their gear does, if not more so. So why remain constrained within material that already exists, when you can create a memorable, unique villain with but a few words?

The last thing I want to mention is that the majority of the villains seemed to have petty motives: control the underworld of this city; kill a tribe of goblins; gain renown; bring global peace (?!). These are things that can be done by anyone, villain or otherwise. A memorable, epic villain needs to have far-reaching, ground-shaking motives: destroy all life; recover an artifact of immeasurable power; learn a new form of magic against which others are powerless; rule the planes. Where was the mass-murdering sorcerer who had developed a spell to let him permanently switch bodies, and as such was impossible to catch? Where was the Half-Fiend Pseudonatural Frost Worm Wizard 9 bent on ascending to godhood by throwing the entire planet into an interminable winter? Where was the Awakened Rat Lich Sorcerer 14? Where was the blinded medusa with oracular powers, masterminding a planar takeover?

Some of the villains--the ones I hope make it to the next round--are salvageable. Some don't need salvaging. But all in all, the villains were underwhelming.

I'd like to add my item to the "Losing Items" thread, but I confess I was under the impression I'd be able to regain access to at least the text of the item after the contest was over and therefore did not save it locally. Would it be possible for me to acquire the text of my item so that I may submit it to the aforementioned thread and see what the populous believes was wrong with the item?