Fiddich's page

There is a lot to cover here so plz be patient...

1) domains on the whole: most people look down on damage dealing domain powers to some degree that's true. And to some extent they have reason to do so as it is t always a good choice or the best choice available. That's said they do have a place and sometimes are the best choice. The trick is to find what combination of about half a dozen variables will come together to synergize with you best. These variables can include level, campaign length, weapon choice, race, and etc. to put the best package together ill touch on what matter most....

2) damage domains: the top contenders are evil/demon, glory/heroism, plant/growth, destruction/domain. Each has their own pluses and minuses to both you and your party and must be examined closely (but I'll be brief). Heroism is very rewarding to a party as then everyone gets a boost as long as there isn't an evangelist or bard nearby BUT its bonuses are small for boosting you personally takes a while to work proper. Demon is the single best personal accuracy and damage dealing booster there is among the domains. An important thing to remember is that this level 1 power grants the same bonuses to any weapon you are attacking with; meaning that even though it's pretty good on its own with one weapon you can use TWF and natural attacks to great effect as your bonuses are applying to more attacks. Destruction is a mixed bag because its level 1 is only slightly above average. The main issue with its level 8 is that its a double edged sword. You and the party can deal massive damage with the proper high crit weapons and such but so can your enemies. This domain I feel is the most dependent on a groups makeup than anything else and that's why it isn't higher rated. Growth is like a rock or strong foundation for a battle cleric as you can't go wrong with it... The ability to grow is huge as it's near guaranteed damage increase and extra battlefield control.

3) desired goal: believe it or not a battle...

wow.....thanks. High damage is not necessarily my aim, I just want to stand front line and more than just heal. I like the heroism synergy. Thanks for the response.

RainyDayNinja wrote:

Heroism subdomain is awesome. You get Heroism as a domain spell, and an aura that duplicates its effects for allies within 30 feet for a few rounds per day.

Not only that, the aura is only a swift action to activate.

I built a very successful battle cleric with the Heroism and Sun domains, and played him from 2nd to just shy of 12th.

By the way, why Aasimar?

from a completely meta-game perspective ....meaning a nice +2 bump to wis and cha. Also from an rp standpoint, my friend in the party is playing a negative energy "zombie" cleric, and I want to screw with him and his misguided ideology.....ergo the whole celestial rp thing.

Thanks for the tips.

I should have mentioned that the dungeon is all very close-in, so reach might be a bit of a hard one.

Looks like I have more research to do.

i do love the aura on Destruction, we are a melee centric group with a Magus, Monk, Warpriest, and Bloodrager already.

Cheers!

Fid

Okay, some background information. We're doing a 3rd party module "the worlds largest superdungeon" ...i am pretty sure thats the name, if not its the flavor of it.

The dungeon is closed once we enter, no summoning, no teleporting out, no planar travel. We are starting at level 1, and planning on reaching about 18.

I have chosen to be a battle cleric. Obviously, couldnt pass up Aasimar as a very synergistic choice on race. The GM is allowing me to choose any domain/subdomain combo without having a deity restriction (bit of a homebrew world).

I've reviewed the class guides here, and found very negative things said about domains that are flavored to damage. My main question is thus: is the destruction domain that bad? Or is there another domain that would be acceptable at damage dealing. My intent is not to be a blaster, but am planning on being front line. My other domain was planned to be defense subdomain.

Recommendations?

Thanks for the analysis!

I agree on the fighter, but he is excited to play it so we're gonna find out. Thanks for the tip on the cleric.

Can't wait to start.

Peace.

We're a group of 6 starting the RotRL, and we're trying to organize our party and I thought a little direction would be helpful.

Info:

Group Dynamics: We're not a power-gaming/min-maxing group, we're out for fun and light RP with some good story and blood-letting. We have 6 in group, because invariably someone cant make it.

So far our group is comprised of:
1) sorceror of some sort
2) trip type fighter who uses a net
3) halfling barbarian titan mauler or halfling bloodrager
4) ogre or orc brawler (ogre if the gm will allow it)
5) likely summoner

--> halfling barbarian/bloodrager will have some "anger control issues" and the ogre/orc brawler will be a pacifist-in-training who thinks the halfling is his brother....for the funs!

Anyway, what I am looking for is a recommendation on an archetype that might be handy to have given the adventures. No spoilers please, but is there something in the AP we will have total problems with if we dont have access to a particular skill/spell set. Obviously, we have no healing. However,, UMD for the win and its for the funs!

Thanks for the consideration.

Fid.

Our gestalt group is going to tackle a BBEG tonight. I am a gestalt paladin/cleric, with access to 5 level cleric spells.

I am most definitely going to be buffed up with Death Ward before the battle. However, in the description of the spell it states that

"The subject gains a +4 morale bonus on saves against all death spells and magical death effects."

Does that then mean that you get a +4 bonus to any spell/SLA from the Necromancy school?

Also, any tips/tricks you want to share? I am quivering in my boots of haste I am so excited to take this guy.

- Fid.

Are there any Adventure Path, Modules, anything that deal with the Worldwound?

Other than the Inner Sea Guide, is there any supplemental information about it? I am very interested in running something concerning it.

Thanks for the help.

Fid.

Especially when a level 11 gestalt group faces a level 20 mythic....

Sucks everyone else died. Was that the final boss?

Nope, apparently an avatar of the chaos deity that is in direct opposition to my deity.

We found out that our benefactor cast a "contingency spell" on us, so when we went below 0 hp, we were teleported away and placed in stasis. So, no net loss of characters or anything. I think the battle was mainly for flavor and story enhancement. Also, our DM can be quite mean. However, it was fun!

- Fid

How did it go? I'm curious to hear how it went. Thanks!

I wasnt planning on soloing him, just being the focus of the anger. Aaaannnn boy howdy was I. I think the only thing that really saved me was the death ward and being immune to negative energy.

The GM pumped the guy to a level 20 anti-paladin, with a dip into mythic type level (home brew campaign --> meaning he had a primal shield up for 600hp buffer and DR10). I waded into battle after calling on my deity and promptly took 167 hp in one fell unholy smite swoop (ironically, left me standing at 0hp, capable of LoH). Next round I Dimensional Hop out to heal up for a few rounds (gestalt paladin/cleric with travel subdomain). The AP promplty lays waste to the other 5 in group, with our archer hovering 60 feet up tinking him for minimal damage, allowing me to heal and get back into the battle.

Long story short, I proceed to stand to-to-toe with him, with the occasional dimension hop out to heal and flame strike him and let the rest of the group try and get him. After about 15-20 rounds I was out of LoH and was on my last smite, with 45 hp. I did the last thing I could think of and RP a prayer to my deity (seeing as how I was last man standing), and was rewarded with a heal and a divine enchantment on my sword of brilliant energy. That was all she wrote for him after that.

All in all, it was an awesome battle and everyone was very happy. Antipaladins are buggers, especially when they can convert extra channel uses to make a channel negative energy a move action, and the full attack....fun times!

Cleric spells to run: protection from evil, death ward

Paladin spells to roll with: bless weapon and linity of righteousness.

There are a few strats you could do.

You could do some battlefield control yourself with a well placed blade barrier.

You could do a planer ally or summon for some help from beyond.

Or you could rightous might up and smite him into the dirt for a eternal sleep.

I like option #3, I am not very subtle in my devotion to my deity. A judicious use of my longsword will be applied.

Again, thanks for the info.

Do you have a caster capable of casting Anti-Magic field? Almost all of an Antipaladin's abilities are Su, meaning that in the field it's just a fighter with less feats.

- sadly, no. Awesome idea though.

You should be more worried about Aura of Vengeance than Touch of Corruption. The fact that an AP can give Smite Good to his buddies is terrifying.

Beyond what you've said so far, what else do you know about this guy? Are you sure he's actually an Anti-Paladin? Is this BBEG also gestalt? If so, what's been observed? Is he coming to you or are you going to him?

--->story wise its been public knowledge he's an anti-paladin.

Make sure to prep at least one casting of Litany of Righteousness (Ultimate Combat). It's a level 2 Paladin spell and it will shoot your damage through the roof when combined with Smite. It only lasts a round at a time, mind you, but if you can reasonably full attack, you will wreck his day. There is no analog for the AP to do this to you, so you're not going to eat the 1-shot of death for that, at least.

Defensively, I'd say having a Cleanse (APG) or 2 handy would be helpful, as well. This will let you remove the vast majority of the AP's Cruelties if he does go on a Touch of Corruption spree and doesn't commit you to using a Heal right off the bat to address these conditions.

Re: Hallow, the cast time is 24 hours, so I'm really confused on that unless he plans on coming to you. You could reasonably lead with a Scroll of Holy Aura, should your GM allow its purchase. You can reasonably cast it yourself, it'll last 15 rounds, and it will STRONGLY protect your party for that duration. Downside, of course, is that it's going to run you 3k gold by book value. You need to roll a 5 or greater when attempting to use the scroll.

---> yeah, should have read the spell a little closer. Oh well, thanks for all the ideas. I appreciate it.

So in our home brew campain of gestalt characters, we are having the BBEG fight tonight. We've been leading up to a battle against an Anti-Paladin boss type.

Conveniently, i am the gestalt paladin/cleric (lvl 11) of the LG deity. I am most likely going to be the focus of the attacks of the main guy while the party is distracted with henchman. I am trying to plan out some "strategery".

Was thinking about leading off with a hallow spell (after buffs obv). I am mainly concerned about the LoH touch attack from said AP. Am I missing anything, or is there any general tips anyone can share?

Thanks for the help in advance, I just don't want to look like a fool.

- Fid

So I may be in completely the wrong forum, but this is the best place I could think of.

the subject pretty much explains it: Are there modules/adventure paths that have dedicated maps for them? i.e. The map pack for the Emerald Spire Superdungeon.

My group and I are nearing the end of the Spire and have really enjoyed having a dedicated map for what we are exploring. I understand there are general maps of scenarios (like maps of Sandpoint, etc), however are there packs of maps that involve dungeons/buildings/etc?

Just throwing it out there, because it made my prep as a GM waaaay easier to do these maps than draw everything up. Players appreciated the level of detail and ease of character placement.

I dont want to go the virtual table top, but may have to if there are none available.

Thanks for your consideration,

Fid

PRD wrote:

Natural Attacks: Attacks made with natural weapons, such as claws and bites, are melee attacks that can be made against any creature within your reach (usually 5 feet). These attacks are made using your full attack bonus and deal an amount of damage that depends on their type (plus your Strength modifier, as normal). You do not receive additional natural attacks for a high base attack bonus. Instead, you receive additional attack rolls for multiple limb and body parts capable of making the attack (as noted by the race or ability that grants the attacks). If you possess only one natural attack (such as a bite—two claw attacks do not qualify), you add 1–1/2 times your Strength bonus on damage rolls made with that attack.

At level 9, while raging, your barbarian would have 2 claw attacks, both made at +9 as a full attack. If he uses a standard action to attack, he makes 1 claw attack at +9.

** spoiler omitted **...

Thanks for the help, I thought it sounded a little to good to be true.

so I am building a new bloodrager (for a friend who died dramatically and needs to rejoin the group), and needing some clarification.

The 1st level draconic bloodline power reads as thus:

Claws (Su): At 1st level, you grow claws. These claws are treated as natural weapons, allowing you to make two claw attacks as a full attack, using your full base attack bonus. These attacks deal 1d6 points of damage each (1d4 if you are Small) plus your Strength modifier. At 4th level, these claws are considered magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. At 8th level, the damage increases to 1d8 points (1d6 if you are Small). At 12th level, these claws deal an additional 1d6 points of damage of your energy type on a hit.

Am I correct in reading this then at level 9 when BAB is +9/+4 , he is getting two attacks at +9 and two attacks at +4 with a d8 base? (on a full attack, otherwise just the +9/+4).

Thanks for the help,

Fid

In the Core Rulebook in the beginning of the Classes section under Character Advancment. Here is a link on the PRD just scroll down a bit.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/classes.html

Thanks OldSkool, I knew I saw it somewhere. My searchfu is weak, I bow before your powers.

Again, many thanks. Am trying to keep it as straight as possible for now.

Peace,

Fid.

Okay, ao apologies on the newb question here.

I've played many house-rules and variants of Pathfinder, with different methodologies for finding how many xp you need to get to next level.

I started GM'ing my own game (first time GM), and want to stay as close to canon as possible. I am having a difficult time finding the rule in my CRB and GM guide as to the specific XP amounts when character should level up.

Any help/linkies would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Fid.

Okay, totally makes sense. I guess I knew that without putting a name to it.

I was originally thinking along the lines of "Mutually Assured Destruction" --> but couldnt make it fit in the Pathfinder world view. That, and SAD I was inferring as "solo assured destruction".

Anyway, thanks for clearing that up.

Fid

Okay, NoOb question I know. However, I've seen it referenced alot when talking about min/maxed characters and such.

Help a dwarf out and explain the acronym.

Peace,

Fid.

Important point to emphasize here, there is a difference between ability DRAIN attacks and ability DAMAGING attacks.

Damaging attacks simply apply a -1 penalty for every 2 points an ability takes. This means it only affects certain defined parts of each stat (ie 2 points of strength damage will lower your attack rolls and damage done but will NOT change your carry capacity)

Drain attacks are a more severe attack. Drains actually lower your ability score and changes the number on your character sheet. ie a 20 str character drained of 1 point becomes a 19 str character and EVERYTHING based on that score drops.
Also Drain unlike damage doesn't heal. You either get it healed or you stay at this reduced ability score forever.

Thanks for the clarification, I wasnt differentiating between the two.

So, for every 2 points of damage to a stat, you reduce any bonuses relying on that stat by 1.

Regarding question one, damaging DEX by 2 means a -1 on ranged attacks, initiative, DEX based skills, and AC up to the amount the armor allows. So if the guy have an 18 DEX but is wearing full plate, then 2 points of DEX damage won't actually lower the AC.

For question two, it is -1 HP per level per 2 points of CON damage (rather than the -2hp you listed). It also means -1 to the FORT save.

Here's a guide to how each ability score handles damage/drain.

Thanks Murphys, appreciate the link to the guide.

Needing some clarification/confirmation on my understanding of stat drains. I wll try to clearly explain what I'm questioning (sorry if it isn't explained well).

Now by stat drains I mean str/dex/con draining attacks/spells, for instance:

Crippling Strike* (Ex): A rogue with this ability can sneak attack opponents with such precision that her blows weaken and hamper them. An opponent damaged by one of her sneak attacks also takes 2 points of Strength damage.

It is my assumption that by reducing the targets STR by 2 on a damaged opponent would cause the following:
- reduction of melee attack bonus
- reduction in climb/swim checks

Questions:

1)DEX drains would work the same for ranged attack bonus, however a reduction in DEX would affect AC how?

2)CON reduction would obviously affect fort saving throws, but how would con reductions affect HP? lets say a -2 CON drain happens....I am missing how much that would affect/decrease someones HP (is it like a reverse barbarian rage? --2hp per HD??)

Hopefully this makes sense. Thanks for any help.

- Fid

Are there going to be any map packs that correlate to the superdungeon?

- Fid

Excellent!

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate the guidance.

- Fid

Thanks for the responses. I am trying to keep out alot of 3rd party things, as I am not well-versed in alot of them.

Thanks for the tip about witch and Arcane Blast. I will have to see which he will enjoy the most.

- Fid

So, I am trying my hand at the whole GM thing for the first time. The players in the group are all old school RPG'ers (think 2.0), we've decided to get back into gaming. One of my players wants to resurrect a warlock, but as it stands we dont have a specific option in Pathfinder. Would my recommendation to try warlock or potentially a witch be the most common-sense alternative?

Am I missing a potential archetype here?

Many thanks from a returning player.

- Fid.