Bombers from the Remastered Alchemist get the ability to treat their versatile vials as being made from special materials at 11th level. Does the splash damage inherit this benefit too, or does it only affect the target of the attack?
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Question about Book 2 of Stolen Fate: At the beginning of the book demons invade the Harrow Court. This event is managed through "Battle Rounds." Are "Battle Rounds" counted for each round of a combat encounter? For example, if the players rush off to defend one of the three points of entry... do they lose one Defense Point at the end of each of those combat rounds? If that battle takes 4 combat rounds, does that count as 4 "Battle Rounds"? I thought so, but it gets a little confusing when I see it says they can take a battle round off to get one hour of rest. Which makes it sound that each Battle Round is 1 hour.
Hi everyone -- I wanted to see what peoples' thoughts were about afflictions and issues of time. It seems like there are two different camps, and I'm unsure what the "correct" answer is. For example, an assassin stabs a player with a dagger that's coated with a poison that has the following stats: Saving Throw DC 18 Fortitude; Onset 1 round; Maximum Duration 3 rounds; Stage 1 1d8 poison damage (1 round); Stage 2 1d10 poison damage (1 round); Stage 3 2d6 poison damage (1 round) SCENARIO 1 * Assassin's Turn. Stabs PC. PC suffers weapon damage and must roll a Fort Save. PC fails the save. * PC's Turn. Nothing related to the poison happens because the 1-round onset period has not passed. * Assassin's Turn. The 1-round onset period is over. PC suffers Stage 1. There is a 1-round delay until the next save. Poison's duration is set to 3 rounds. * PC's Turn. Nothing related to the poison happens because 1 round hasn't passed since the last save. * Assassin's Turn. Poison's duration is set to 2 rounds. The 1-round delay following the previous save is over. PC rolls another Fort Save. Fails and moves to Stage 2. There is a 1-round delay until the next save. * Repeat SCENARIO 2 * Assassin's Turn. Stabs PC. PC suffers weapon damage and must roll a Fort Save. PC fails the save. * PC's Turn. Nothing related to the poison happens because the 1-round onset period has not passed. * Assassin's Turn. The 1-round onset period is over. PC suffers Stage 1. There is a 1-round delay until the next save. Poison's duration is set to 3 rounds. * PC's Turn. At the end of their turn they must roll a Fort Save. They fail and move to Stage 2. Even though one full round did not pass since their previous save, they make their saving throw here at the end of their turn per page 469 of the Core Rules where it says, "You then attempt any saving throws for
* Assassin's Turn. Poison's duration is set to 2 rounds. Nothing else related to the poison happens here. * PC's Turn. They must roll a save at the end of their turn. * Repeat. The main differences being that in Scenario 1, everything related to the poison takes place on the Assassin's turn because they're the one who created the effect. And in Scenario 2, the timing of the affliction is also tracked on the Assassin's turn (per the rules for effect durations), but the saves and results are applied at the end of the PC's turn (per the End of Turn rules). In either case, should the Assassin die before the Affliction expires or is removed, the duration of the affliction will continue to be tracked at the same point in initiative (as well as saves and results in Scenario 1). Which Scenario is right? Or if neither of them are, what is the correct method? Thanks!
The Roiling Incant (Bestiary 3, page 216) is Immune to Evocation (it doesn't specify spells... just says "Evocation"). Weapon Potency Runes have the Evocation trait. Therefore, Roiling Incants are immune to damage from basic magic weapons using Runes, but completely vulnerable to specific magic weapons (like a Retribution Axe) that are +1 magic weapons, but do not have the Evocation trait. That correct? I swear sometimes these rules make my brain hurt. LOL
As the title says, I just downloaded the new 3rd printing PDF of the Core Rulebook, but the official page for the book doesn't show a new list of errata. Hopefully we'll get some errata soon! 
Hi everyone, Just want to make sure I have this correct. I haven't been able to find a strict definition for "Instance of Damage". Would it be fair and correct to say that each Type of damage applied by an attack is its own instance? For example, a Red Dragon Instinct Barbarian is raging and strikes an enemy (which has Weakness 5 to fire) with a +1 Flaming Battle Axe. So this does 1d8 Slashing+2 Fire (Rage)+1d6 Fire (Flaming Rune). By my understanding, there are two "instances" of damage here... Instance 1 is 1d8 slashing damage and Instance 2 is 1d6+2 fire damage. The fire damage would be added together into its own instance even though it comes from two different sources. And therefore, the weakness to fire would only be triggered once for +5 damage instead of twice for +10. Do I have that correct? Thank you all for your help!
Hi everyone, Just want to make sure I understand this before I embarrass myself. Please see the examples below, all of which deal with attacking a Shadow Demon (Invidiak). Below are its weaknesses and resistances: Weaknesses: Cold Iron 5, Good 5
EXAMPLE 1: Cold Iron Longsword: rolls 9 points of slashing damage. +5 due to Cold Iron weakness = 14. -10 for non-magical. Final damage = 4. EXAMPLE 2: +1 Cold Iron Longsword: rolls 9 points of slashing damage. +5 due to Cold Iron weakness = 14. -5 for resist all. Final damage = 9. EXAMPLE 3: +1 Shock Cold Iron Longsword: rolls 9 points of slashing damage. +5 due to Cold Iron Weakness (applies to the physical/slashing damage). -5 for resistance to slashing. Total Physical Damage = 9. Rolls 6 points of electricity damage. -5 for resistance to electricity. Final Electricity Damage = 1. 9 Physical Damage + 1 Electricity Damage = 10 final damage. EXAMPLE 4: +2 Striking Ghost Touch Shock Longsword: rolls 13 points of slashing damage. No slashing resistance thanks to Ghost Touch. Rolls 4 points of electricity damage. No electricity resistance thanks to Ghost Touch. Final damage = 17. Examples 3 and 4 are the ones that I'm a bit unsure about. Especially with not applying resistance to the electricity damage in example 4. Not sure if Ghost Touch applies to both instances of damage or just the physical. Thanks!
Troop Movement for a City Guard Squadron says: "Whenever the city guards Stride, they first Form Up as a free action to condense into a 20-foot-by-20-foot area (minus any missing squares), then move up to their Speed. This works just like a Gargantuan creature moving; for instance, if any square of the guards enters difficult terrain, the extra movement cost applies to all the guards." When the squad is reduced to 25 HP it only takes up 8 squares. At that point, since it is smaller than a 3x3 area, does it now move as if it was a Huge-sized creature? Or does the squadron still move like it was Gargantuan? Thanks.
Need help pricing uncommon rarity formulas. The Grand Bazaar includes stores that sell Snare Formulas (Bellwether Lodge, for example). The book has the statblocks for the snares, including the price used when crafting the snare, but not a price for the snare's formula. And all of them are uncommon rarity, which (I think) means the table on page 293 of the core rules does not apply. So how do you determine the cost for these formulas?
The core rulebook says, "Your reactions let you respond immediately to what’s happening around you. The GM determines whether you can use reactions before your first turn begins, depending on the situation in which the encounter happens." Let's say the GM allows you to use a Reaction before your first turn in combat. Do you then get another reaction provided to you at the start of your turn... or did you just get access to that Reaction sooner than normal when acting before your first turn in combat, and spent it... so you would have to wait until the start of your turn in the second round before you get another Reaction?
1) When a Wizard is first rolled and selects spells for their spellbook it says, "You choose these from the common spells on the arcane spell list from this book (page 307) or from other arcane spells you gain access to." Specifically, "from this book". I assume they can choose any level 1 common-rarity spell regardless of its source... provided it is listed as being the Arcane tradition. 2) It later says, "Each time you gain a level, you add two arcane spells to your spellbook, of any level for which you have spell slots." No mention of rarity. So, when a wizard levels up and adds 2 more spells to their spell book, can they be of any rarity and from any source? I assume this is not the case and it follows the same rules as when first creating the spellbook, but would like to confirm. Thank you.
Hello Customer Service Friends, I have two credit cards associated with this account -- one of which is used for all of my Paizo subscriptions. I would like to move all of those subscriptions to the other card. I could not figure out how to do this on my own... can you please assist? Thank you!
Hello, I am interested in purchasing the Mengkare Premium Miniature, but want to confirm the shipping costs are accurate. It appears that if I order the miniature by itself, the cheapest shipping option is $33.72 and if I combine it with my next existing order (#36291770) it's $72.93? I live in Virginia... that shipping cost for one miniature (although a large one) seems excessive. Can you please confirm it is accurate? Thank you for your assistance.
Why do cantrips have levels listed in their descriptions? For example, Guidance is listed as "Cantrip 1". I get that you heighten them automatically, but this listing in the description seems to indicate a minimum level, which I've never seen for a cantrip. Are there any cantrips that aren't 1st level?
Is there anything in RAW that says a spell effect must be within range to sustain it? For example, if I cast False Vision... do I need to stay within touch range of the original effect to Sustain it? Or a Light spell... say I cast it on an ally's shield and the party splits. Can I extend the duration as part of my next daily preparations if that ally is no longer in range?
I feel like there must be something about this in the adventure that I'm just overlooking... but once the players take ownership of the citadel, what is to become of its current inhabitants?
Spoiler: I expect they'll give a portion of the stronghold to the goblins. They befriended the "Mitey Dragons" Pib and Zarf... and I expect they will not take well to being told to leave their lair. And the bugbear on the ground floor... my players came to a peaceful truce with her. I doubt it'll stay peaceful when they move in. What thoughts do you all have regarding the goblins, kobolds and the bugbear? I expect the players will want to keep good relations with the three groups, but taking ownership of the Citadel may get in the way of it. I can even see a scenario where they say they don't want the fortress and hand the deed over to the goblins.
As the title says... how does mail work in the campaign setting? Are there "Ravens" carrying mail like GoT? Or some other fantastical method of getting a letter from point A to point B? Or is it all couriers on horseback?
How does initiative change when an animal companion is reduced to zero hit points? Typically, when a PC, companion or significant NPC is reduced to zero HP, their place in initiative is moved to immediately before the turn in which they were hit. I assume this means when an animal companion is reduced to zero HP, the player controlling them moves their initiative as a result of their companion being knocked out. Is that correct? Is there text I'm missing that would suggest Animal Companions do not have their initiative changed... because doing so would impact the player too? Thanks.
Suppose I have a flaming longsword that deals 1d8 slashing damage and 1d6 fire damage. If the bard in my party casts Inspire Courage, which grants a +1 status bonus to damage rolls, do I add that to both the 1d8 slashing and 1d6 fire... for a total of plus 2? Or is the weapon damage of 1d8 slashing the only "Damage Roll" here? Thanks!
Suppose I have a flaming longsword that deals 1d8 slashing damage and 1d6 fire damage. If the bard in my party casts Inspire Courage, which grants a +1 status bonus to damage rolls, do I add that to both the 1d8 slashing and 1d6 fire... for a total of plus 2? Or is the weapon damage of 1d8 slashing the only "Damage Roll" here? Thanks!
So, my last session ended with every player unconscious (but stable) in Altaerein's Vaults (Chapter 3 of Hellknight Hill... they aggroed more than intended and were ultimately defeated by the boggards and charau-kas from areas B6 and B7). The decision was made to roll an all-new team that would be contacted by Helba, Warbal and Greta to go investigate the missing first party. The idea was that eventually the second party would rescue the first and then each player would pick between the surviving pool of PCs to make a new party. But the question is... what happened to the first party after they were defeated? I don't want them just killed off, nor do I want them to be found bound and gagged right where they were defeated. That's too easy. Where would you all recommend the second party find the first? Thanks.
The listing for Crafting Scrolls says, "You have to either Cast that Spell during the crafting process, or someone else must do so in your presence... The caster has to provide any cost of the spell." And the listing for Crafting Wands says, "You have to either cast that spell during the process, or someone else must do so in your presence... The caster doesn’t need to pay any cost of the spell." Okay... so if you're making a scroll you need to pay any associated costs with the spell being cast. And if you're making a wand, you cast the spell without needing to pay the cost of the associated spell. Seems odd, but at least that's clear to understand. But what if the item you are crafting calls for a spell to be cast, but isn't a scroll or wand? Does the caster need to provide the cost of the spell or not? Thanks
If an animal is not combat-trained, it becomes panicked at the start of combat (Frightened 4 and Fleeing). The core rulebook says, "If you successfully Command your Animal using Nature (page 249), you can keep it from fleeing, though this doesn’t remove its frightened condition." Does this mean if the player uses Command an Animal for any reason with the animal, it stops fleeing? For example, a player has a frightened dog and wants to command it to stride to a certain location. Do they spend one action and use Command an Animal once and the dog stops fleeing and strides as commanded... or does the player need to use one action to Command the dog to not flee, and then a second action to Command the dog to stride to the desired location? And how long does the animal not flee? It says, "keep it from fleeing", not "removes the fleeing condition", so would the animal then try and flee on the next round if not Commanded again?
Players are traveling down the road and goblins are hiding ready to ambush them. They PCs have made it clear that they are suspicious, alert and keeping a watchful eye for danger. When they enter the general area where the goblins are hiding, the GM rolls Perception Checks in secret challenged by the goblins' Stealth DC +2 for cover. Let's say one of the PCs succeeds and spots the Goblins. Combat begins and the GM calls for Initiative. Do the PCs roll Perception for their Initiative, or does the GM use the Perception Checks rolled to spot the goblins as their initiative scores? Do the goblins still roll their Stealth for Initiative? Or do they lose that option when they are spotted? Does it make any difference that only 1 of the players spotted the goblins? In other systems the rest of the party would still be surprised, but here I'm not 100% sure how things should unfold. Thanks.
The description for Disable Device under the Thievery Skill says "This action allows you to disarm a trap or another complex device." In the section on Hazards, none of them (that I've seen) specifically mention Disable a Device and instead simply say "Thievery". Is it correct that the player would still need to use Disable Device? This is important because that requires 2 actions instead of 1. Also, the text for Disable a Device and Pick a Lock both put a great amount of emphasis on needing multiple successes to disarm a trap or pick a lock. But so far I haven't seen any Hazards that mention multiple successes and the only locks I've seen that mention it are those in the equipment section of the core rules (and not those in the adventures so far). So, when using the Hazards from the core rules, do these all really only need one success? Or are GMs supposed to somehow know how many successes are needed? It just seems really odd to me that so much emphasis would be placed on multiple success in the Thievery Skill section, but never mentioned in all of the stat blocks.
The text for Conceal an Object says "You hide a small object on your person (such as a weapon of light Bulk)." It doesn't specifically say the concealed object must be light bulk, so I assume it's up to each GM to decide what can and cannot be concealed. If a player wished to hide a 1-bulk sword Highlander-style, how would you rule? Too big to attempt? Or if you allowed it, would you apply a penalty to the check? I think I'm used to other systems that have a clearly defined modifier for each size category to apply to checks like these, but don't see that with Bulk. Thanks.
Hi Everyone, I've been making YouTube videos about Starfinder for the past 8 months, and now with the release of Second Edition I've started doing the same for Pathfinder as well. My first video is a review of the rules for Flanking: Pathfinder: Basics of Flanking And my Starfinder videos can be found here:
Enjoy!
Hi Everyone, Which encounters from the various adventure paths stand out as being the best designed or having the most interesting or original mechanics? Not necessarily which encounters were the most fun or memorable, because that's very subjective and varies from table to table. But which stood out has having memorable mechanics because of map design, use of traps, unusual enemies, etc.?
"All sensors have a skill modifier that applies to any skill used in conjunction with them." Does this bonus apply to a Science Officer using the Balance action? At first I thought Shields and Sensors were different systems, but the Critical Damage Effect rules state that damaged sensors impose a penalty to *all* Science Officer checks. So, is it reasonable that if damaged sensors impose a penalty to checks made to balance shields, then undamaged sensors would grant a bonus to those checks? Provided the sensors were of a level of quality that grants bonuses, of course.
The "Hold it Together" action for Engineers in Starship Combat says that it is used to treat a critically damaged system as if its damage was two steps less severe for the rest of the round. So say we have Engines that are Malfunctioning. If the Engineer succeeds at their check for Hold it Together, we treat the Engines as if they had not suffered Critical Damage. This would mean Pilot Checks are not imposed with a -4 penalty that round. That all seems clear to me, but my question is what happens if these engines are subjected to a Critical Damage Effect during that Gunnery Phase? Would they become Wrecked? I believe that is the Rule as Intended, but by RAW the Engines were being treated as if they were Undamaged when the critical damage occurred. And it certainly wouldn't make sense to move their condition to Glitching here. So what does the community say? The Engines become Wrecked, or do they stay Malfunctioning since the damage was delivered when they were considered Undamaged and Malfunctioning is more severe than Glitching?
Hello Gamers! I wanted to share with the community a project I've been working on the past couple of months -- a series of rules instructional videos for Starfinder that tries to take a "Show, Don't Tell" approach. In addition to explaining the rules we illustrate them with animations as well. We publish a new Starfinder video every two weeks, so please check them out and let me know here or in the video comments if you have any suggestions for future topics. The channel can be found here: Basics4Gamers And here are links to our existing videos:
Hi everyone, I'm trying to wrap my head around the Hacking Rules and would appreciate some feedback. Below is a realistic scenario of something that would likely happen in one of my games. I would appreciate some feedback on if the steps in the scenario are valid, as well as a few questions following it. Thanks! ----------------------------------- Our heroes have infiltrated the hanger of a starship and spot a computer terminal. On their way to the hanger they defeated an officer and freed her of her security card key. Unfortunately, the officer didn’t stay conscious long enough to tell them her password too. Unknown to Quig’s player, this is a Tier-3 Computer with a Security I Upgrade, two Firewalls and an Alarm Countermeasure. The DC to Hack this system is 26. The specifics of the computer are not disclosed to Quig, but he is informed that hacking the system will take three rounds so he can determine if he wants to attempt to breach the system faster. From that information the player can deduce this is a Tier-3 computer and expect the DC to be 25. Quig is lacking the password to access the system, so he attempts to hack it. Quig’s bonus to Computers is +11, and is increased by another +5 for having the officer’s security key card to a total +16 bonus. This will take three full rounds. If he wished to hack it faster, he could declare so before rolling the dice and increase the DC to 31. He decides not to risk it and takes the full three rounds. After three rounds pass, Quig’s player rolls the Computers Check, 1d20+16. If his total is 26 or higher he gains Access to the system. If his total is 22-25, he fails to Access the system, but there are no negative consequences. Basically, he ran into a few roadblocks and wasn’t able to complete the attempt within three rounds. That time is wasted and he may try again. If his total is 21 or lower, he fails the attempt and is detected. The computer detects the breach attempt, triggers the Alarm countermeasure, and invalidates the security key card. Quig may try again, but will no longer receive the card’s +5 bonus. And although it’s mathematically impossible, if Quig was a higher level and had a better bonus, if his total was 46 or higher he would have breached into the system and gained Root Access to the computer, but would still not be able to see or Access anything behind the two firewalls. We’ll say Quig’s player rolls a 12 on the die for a total of 28, enough to gain Access to the computer. The GM informs him that he now has access to the computer’s basic functions which include opening/closing the interior doors, cycling an airlock, controlling the lighting system, accessing the hanger’s PA system, and transmitting messages through the ship’s internal comm system. The GM also tells him that he can see two Firewalls, but not what’s hidden behind them. The GM does not inform the player that there is an Alarm countermeasure. Because this is a player, Quig immediately declares that he is going to use the terminal to shut off life support systems to the bridge. The GM politely informs him that that is not a Basic Function of this terminal. The player argues that all computers on a starship are networked and if the bridge can monitor activities in the hanger, then the hanger’s computer should be able to access what’s on the bridge. The GM sighs and says, “Okay, if you want to mess with the ship’s life support you’ll need to hack into the ship’s Computer Core. You can do that from here, but the attempt will take you 10 full rounds.” Quig’s player deduces the check will be at minimum DC 53 and decides to find a different strategy. (Can you tell I’ve had this argument before?) Now Quig’s player wants to know what’s behind the two firewalls. He decides to breach Firewall #1. Unknown to Quig, the DC for this check is 28 (the computer’s Hacking DC plus 2). He gets lucky and rolls a total of 29! He now has Access, but not Root Access, to whatever is hiding behind Door #1 – in this case it’s a Secure Data Module. He examines the data and discovers it is a log of all ships entering and leaving the hanger, their cargo manifests and destinations. He copies the data and moves to Firewall #2. Again, we’ll say he got a lucky roll and breached the second Firewall. Behind it he finds three Control Modules. One controls the large, exterior hanger door to space, the second controls a Cargo Loading Robot, and the third controls cameras in the hanger. He now has access to these three functions… he can open/close the exterior hanger door, can view what’s on the cameras and issue commands to the Cargo Loading Robot from this terminal – he does not have direct control over the robot, but can issue commands. ----------------------------------- Is all of that accurate? Follow-up Questions:
2) If I have both the security key and password, why do I need to make a Computers Check to hack the system? If I have both those items, wouldn’t the computer treat me as authorized and just let me in? 3) How long does it take to breach a Firewall? Is it one standard action? Or is it a completely new Hacking check at 1 full action per tier of the computer? Does he get the +5 bonus for having the security key here? Does failure trigger the Alarm countermeasure? 4) Once Quig is through Firewall #1 and has Access to the Secure Data Module we know he can view and copy the data. But can he edit it? 5) Regarding Secure Data Modules, the book says, “This… is almost never available without root access or an action by someone with root access to grant another user the ability to access the secure data module… it is frequently also kept behind a firewall.” So, does this mean the Secure Data Module can be not kept behind a Firewall, but instead on the main computer partition but set so that only people with Root Access can see it? That doesn’t make much sense because the check to access it then would be a DC +18 higher than keeping it behind a Firewall.
Does the Range Upgrade for a computer need to be purchased per device to be connected, or do you upgrade the Range once and it covers all control modules?
1) Can you use Harrying Fire as a Gunner aboard a starship? 2) Can the Captain of a starship use Encourage to grant a +2 to a Gunner's next attack roll? The text for Encourage specifically says "... using the same Skill". And Gunnery isn't a skill... but may use the Gunner's Piloting ranks, so I'm not sure where this one falls. 3) Can Sentient Robotic Organisms (SROs) communicate with a Lashunta via their limited telepathy? As a technological construct they are immune to Mind-Affecting abilities, but "mind-affecting" does not appear on the Lashunta page for Limited Telepathy.... but the Telepathy spell is mind-affecting.
Hi All, My girlfriend and I are new to the game (starting with Skull and Shackles -- with the character Add-on expansion), and are a little disheartened by our 0-3 record on the first scenario. Two losses were due to the blessings deck running out and in the third one of us died due to an attached barrier card ("Man Overboard") slowly killing her because there was no mathematical way to beat the challenge required every turn that forced her to bury a card until she could no longer draw up to her hand size. We're playing Seltyiel and Merisiel. I'm sure inexperience and bad luck both contribute some to our losses, but I also wonder if we just didn't select characters suited for a party size of 2. Can anyone offer a better Duo for tackling this game? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.
Hi All, I'm new to Pathfinder (and d20 games in general) and am trying to make sense of the monster stat blocks. Specifically, melee attacks... For example, let's take the Barghest. It says "Melee bite +10 (1d6+4), 2 claws +10 (1d4+4)". So, if I'm understanding this right, a Barghest can make a Bite attack at +10 as a standard action. Or, it can make the Bite at +10, and two more Claw attacks at +10 as a full-round action. Is that correct? Or does it make all three attacks every round as a standard action? And can the Barghest attack 3 different targets if they're all adjacent to it, or does it have to pounce and attack one target with all three? Clarification is appreciated. Thanks! |