Finwe's page

If no one is making an effort to be hidden then the encounter just starts when they come within sight of eachother. I cant imagine a hall long enough to where you cant see someone at the other end, but you can use the perception distance penalty as a guideline (DC goes up by 1 per 10 feet). So if they are less then say a thousand feet away from eachother, and there is nothing blocking sight, then just start the encounter with all participants involved.

Can different creatures see different distances? Is there a set limit to sight? What about hearing? I just gave the hallway as an example...could be anywhere. I was hoping there was some sort of general practice, that encompassed all the senses of average PCs and creatures, that would prevent me from having to calculate the distance penalties for each encounter.

I am gearing up to DM a Pathfinder game after not sitting the DM seat since 2nd edition. I like to plan everything out pretty thoroughly (OCD? maybe a little)...including lots of PC choices. As I have started mapping out my encounters, I had some questions about how encounters start. I apologize if this is specifically stated somewhere in the books.

Is there some kind of range for Perception? If the PCs are walking down a hall and the orcs are walking toward them in the other direction, when do I begin the Perception checks? How do you determine who sees who first (I understand that things like dark vision and how loud they all are might influence this). If no one is stealthing, do you just roll opposing Perception checks? Are there set limits to how far PCs and creatures can become aware things in the area?

So, are there set rules for determining who perceives who first in various circumstances? If not, how do other DMs work this?

If you are even considering going the Dex / Weapon finesse route, you can take Dervish Dance and apply your Dex bonus to melee damage. You may have to burn a feat to gain proficiency with scimitar, and you need a couple ranks in perform as well. You should be able to massage your fluff to give you a reason to be a dervish dancer...or just take the feat for the damage and forget the fluff. The ability to dump Str can really boost your other ability scores, and a huge dex has tons of other benefits for such a character.

Scratch that first question about the scimitar, I see that it is allowed by the feat.

Thanks for all the advice. The scout archetype and dervish dance look like great options. But how can I use weapon finesse and a scimitar since it is not a light weapon?

It looks like if I could integrate a scout build based on dodge/mobility/spring attack and manage to get dervish dance, I could have a very flexible melee rogue. Is such an approach viable, and how would the feat selection look?

I am building a human rogue from 1st level and the campaign will run through around 15th level. I am trying to decide between Two-Weapon Fighting feat tree and the Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack feat tree. Some info on the character:

Stats (at 1st): 15 point buy
Str - 12
Dex - 18 (+1 at 8th and 12 lvl)
Con - 13 (+1 at 4th lvl)
Int - 10
Wis - 10
Cha - 10

I do not feel I can dump Int (b/c of skills/magic rogue talents), Wis (b/c of perception and will saves) or Cha (because of skills, esp. UMD). So I am pretty firm in on this stat array.

Feats (at 1st):
-Weapon Finesse
-Improved Initiative

I am also set on a melee rogue.

I like the flexibility and flavor of the Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack feat tree. With the TWF style, I would essentially be standing beside the enemy pouring on full attacks...which seems dangerous and less interesting tactically. But, I am concerned about my melee damage potential if I go with a the Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack feat tree, since I would often be limited to a single skirmish attack. Another big question with the skirmish approach is the relative difficulty of setting up and maintaining flank.

I do not require a completely maxed out DPR, but I want to at least be able to take some chunks out of the bad guys.

I have also thought of going with TWF early (lvls 2-7 or 9), until I can pick up Spring Attack. It would mean "burning" a feat on TWF early and I do not know if that is worth it.

Suggestions? Opinions? Revelations?

...and as a follow up, if the same paladin was to use the UMD feat to activate a shield wand, how would the duration be calculated since it is a 1 min/level spell.

When paladin spell ranges read 25 + 5ft/2 levels. Does that mean spell levels, or paladin levels. For instance, would a 14th level paladin (casting a 4th level paladin spell) have a range of 35 ft or 60 ft?

Wow, you guys really know your stuff. Thanks again for all the advice.

I am planning on buying Boots of Striding/Springing for the movement rate and Acro boost. Wands look like a good choice, especially Shield...assuming I have time to buff before epic battles...since I will already have to burn a standard action to activate Divine Bond.

For AC, I have a +3 to Dex, so I should be able to get to 30 with +4 full plate, +3 amulet of natural armor, and dodge

I can also carry a shield and longsword for the times when I face high CR enemies with lots of primary attacks. But this may not be worth it, since CR 17 foes range from +19 - +32 attack bonus, with most being in the mid 20s. Seems like they will be hitting at least half the time anyway unless I devote a prohibitively large amount of resources to AC? Might be better to hope that spells (i.e. Shield) can boost AC. And I should have right at 200 hp with 20 con, 28 from favored class/toughness, and 7.5 points/level (DM decided), with the ability to heal an average of 21 pts per round with lay hands. It will be a full party after all with a fighter and rogue soaking up some damage (hopefully).

Will be taking Step Up for some versatility as well.

Thanks for all the replies. I have seen the 2 paladin guides out there. I will definitely be taking Improved Critical. Furious Focus and Channel Smite look interesting too. Does Channel Smite only work on Undead? I will consult my DM on Divine Bond and GMW. Use Magic Device seems like a great way to get some additional enhancements. If I used UMD for to activate a Longstrider wand, do I get the full 14 hour duration?

One more question...I have never played character at 14th level, so what should my target AC be if I want to be able to stand toe-to-toe with the BBEGs at this level?

I am building a paladin for an upcoming campaign and we are starting at 14th level. He is the standard human two-handed weapon fighter. While creating him, I came across some questions.

1. Does Greater Magic Weapon stack with Divine Bond?

2. If I have a 20 charisma with +4 coming from a headband, do I get the full +5 on saves through Divine Grace?

3. Similarly, if I have a 20 Con with +4 coming from a belt, what do I do with hit-points? It does not seem right that I would gain the +5 hit points for all 14 levels...how do you normally handle this?

I would happily hear any generic or specific build advice as well...especially on feats. Right now I plan to take Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Great Sword or Earth Breaker), Dodge, Toughness and Extra Lay Hands. That leaves me 2 more feats. Ideas?

Can an oracle take Arcane Strike? Different revelations and mysteries allow an oracle to cast many arcane spells. I do not see how the feat language disqualifies an oracle.

If an oracle can take arcane strike, how would one determine caster level (oracle's level? highest arcane spell level?)

When I look at the Summmon Monster IV list, the Hound Archon seems significantly more powerful than the other options. He has 2 fairly powerful constant auras, SR15, constant detect evil, some decent spells and the change shape ability. Plus, if you compare base stats to something like a rhino,he has more attacks, similar DPR and only 3 less hp. All of this makes the Hound Archon seem a bit out of place. Opinions?

I am confused about how best to use a summoned leopard in combat since the leopard has grab, pounce and rake. Naturally things don't always work out to fit your strategy, but as best I can understand, the most effective way to use the leopard would be:

1st round: Charge/Pounce would give 5 attacks (bite, 2 claws, 2 claws from rake). And you could attempt to grab with the bite attack.

2nd round: Assuming you succeeded on the grab, you would get 5 attacks again and the 2 rake claws would hit automatically? If the grab missed you could take your normal 3 attacks or try to pounce on another enemy.

Is all of that right? Is there a more effective way to structure your actions so that grab/pounce/rake are used more effectively? And if my strategy is completely off base (which may be the case), what would be better?

Yes, you can do all that and take a 5' step. Note that Arcane Strike is a "swift" action (only 1 swift action per turn).

Thanks!

I have been working on a 5th lvl bard archer build (thanks almighty Treantmonk) and have a question. I plan to take the arcane strike feat and rapid shot feat. So, if I begin the Inspire Courage bardic performance at the beginning of combat, and then start shooting arrows in successive rounds, can I 1) maintain bardic performance (free action), apply arcane strike (another free action) and shoot two arrows with rapid shot (a full round action/full attack) in each successive round. If so, would I still get a 5 foot step?

Is it inappropriate to include some background in the description of the item, like who was involved in the creation, why it was created, etc. This can add a lot of flavor, especially if it is a unique item with a unique history.

Hope this is the right message board for this...

I am planning on running a halfling rogue in an upcoming campaign. I typically build melee rogues (since flanking is the only way to get sneak attack easily and consistently) and I usually go the two-weapon fighting route since more attacks means more chances of hitting with sneak attack damage. I have thought about dipping into other classes like monk, fighter or barbarian, especially to gain some extra feats and mitigate some of the shortcomings of halfings (like weapon damage, speed). I would likely take 3 levels of rogue and then a single level of another class, before returning to rogue. I am pretty clear on the benefits of a level of fighter and barbarian, but I have some questions, and would like to get some opinions about the rogue/monk.

The monk seems like a really good fit at first glance. +2 to all saves is great, unarmed strike gets me a d4 damage die, which is as good as fighting with two rapiers, and stunning fist seems like a great fit since it sets up sneak attack perfectly (although I see it may be situational).

My two big questions now are:
1. will I get two feats with my monk level (that is what it looks like to me)

2. I am confused about how flurry of blows will affect my attack bonus. If I wanted to make two unarmed attacks in lieu of attacking with two different weapons, would the -1/-1 “attack bonus” from flurry of blows stack with the normal penalties for TWF. Or, could I make two unarmed attacks per round with only the –1/-1 penalty?

I would also be interested in general comments about the rogue/monk concept, especially if one chooses to play a halfling.

Thanks.

Okay so here is the ability as written in the Alien Archive for the pc race:

Force Bolt: Witchwyrds can cast magic missile as a
spell-like ability once per day. For every two magic
missiles caught using its absorb force ability, a
witchwyrd can use its force bolt ability an additional
time each day.

So, for every two magic missiles absorbed, do I gain another use of Force Bolt for just that day or does my number of uses per day permanently increase?