Serpentfolk Seeker

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This started in the Akashic Mysteries thread, but I have realized its more of a psionic and general monster ability issue, so I open it up to a (slightly) wider audience:

How does the Powerful Build astral suit customization interact with the "undersized weapons" Universal Monster Rule? The centaur, drider, and lamia are exampls of creature with the undersized weapons trait (also,

While it makes sense that they cancel each other out- meaning a creature with both uses weapons of its own size without penalty- I am leaning heavily toward the armor customization replacing the universal weapon quality. This is part from the way things look in my head, and in the way the wording is in powerful build.

Side note: Ssalarn and Andreas Rönnqvist are- I think- are writers for Dreamscarred Press, and take the stacking stance; a aegis drider would wield large sized weapons without penalty. Please take this into account.

Thanks to all would help me settle this issue for my table!


I am a big fan of Dreamscarred Press and the two products I currently own: Ultimate Psionics and Path of War. At first glance, the races, classes, and abilities look and feel balanced against the core races, classes, and abilities. My question is for those who have played with these classes in Adventure Paths and adventure modules; is there a noticeable difference with Dreamscarred Press's material compared to Paizo only material?

While I am interested in the power level difference/lack of difference, I am also interested in the feel of the game, and how the characters interacted with the setting. Was the game as fun, less fun, or more fun trying out the new classes and races? Did you make changes to the adventure because of the included classes, or play it straight? There is always a power creep when you add new books (from Paizo, Dreamscarred Press, or anyone else); was there a difference in the power boost from Piazo books and the Dreamscarred Press books?

Thank you to all who help out!


I am looking for advice; I am posting here because it's almost entirely 3rd party products.

I got a combination that appears to work, but I have doubts, so I bring it to the experts and/or peanut gallery. It relies on the Augment Weaponry customization, which, as stated, does not stack with expansion or other powers/magic that increase the user's size.

Say my psychic warrior/aegis carried a weapon around that was too big (say, a huge greatsword carried by a medium-sized psychic warrior) to used. Before combat he drops it to the ground, and uses Expansion or giant form to get big enough to use it. And then, he picks it up, where his Augment Weapon customization kicks in, wrapping the weapon in power and making it strike as if it was one size larger.

Does that work?

If it does, we have the following from Aegis...

  • Powerful Build Customization (able to use weapon 1 size higher; one step)
  • Augment Weapon Customization (1 step)

    ...added to the Psychic Warrior:

  • Expansion (7pp) to huge size (two steps)

    This increases weapon damage 4 steps, or colossal . It would require carrying around a colossal weapon (a colossal greatsword weighs, I assume, x16 weight) 128 pounds, and trying not to look anime when normal sized.


  • I am gearing up to run From the Deep adventure path, and have begun reading the Third Dawn Campaign setting. The book itself was made for 3.5 rules, and the Ultimate Psionics had not be produced yet, so there are a few things that need to be adjusted. While there is a Pathfinder verision coming out, its not hear yet and my Google-fu fails to find any hint.

    I figured I would post my thoughts here, and see if anyone has any more input.

    Races:

    The Ultimate Psionics book gives us Dromites, Duergars, Elans, Forgeborn, Half-giants, Maenads, Norals, Ophiduans, and Xephs.
    Adonai are re-skinned elves, with a wisdom bonus instead of intelligence. Its worth thinking about keeping them that way, as they would make better Marksmen, Psychic Warrior and Vialists, and less psion or mage like.
    I've always hated 'mutant' races, and that's what the Chimairan feels like. However, I'm gonna re-build the race with the Advanced Races Guide, and see what I get. Having a null-psionic race might be fun
    Jetturs are re-skinned half-giants.
    Orcans will need to be rebuilt (a little), and they kinda look like a replacement for half-orcs. They are also not a psionic race, which stuck me odd, at first. But, I can see having some fun with them, so I'll just 'Pathfinder-ized them for my game and be done with it.

    UP Races:

    Blues, being a goblin race, isn't in Third Dawn. But without goblins, giants, and orcs, what is a low to mid-level party suppose to face? Yeah, I know, there are more critters in the Bestiary(ies) than just kinds of goblins and orcs. So, no Blues.
    Forgeborn I like, so I have to work them in somewhere. With Jutturs, Elans, and Maenad all being 'made' races, I'm not sure I want to add another. Some changes in the history might be in order.
    Norals are neat, and I really like the symbiotic relationship between the base race and the dreamscar. I just gotta figure out how to work them in.

    Jutturs:
    The flavor text about the Sorcerer-Kings made me envision ancient jutters, the original criminals subjected to the foul, transforming magics. Me, if I was an all powerful (and possibly immortal) Sorcerer-King and some ticked me off enough to transform into a monstrous slave, I would make that guy very long lived, so I can enjoy his suffering for a long time. So imagine a giant of a man, twisted, warped, and stretched, with thick scar tissue forming almost a carapace on his back, who has rings to lash chains to worked directly into his bones.

    Third Dawn Classes:

    Marksman, Psion, Psychic Warrior, and Wilder and all base class from Ultimate Psionics)
    Enlightened Monk (archetype in Ultimate Psionics, page 292)
    The Ranger from Third Dawn trades nature spellcasting for psionic powers and power points. I am unhappy with this and will either be using the Pack Leader archetype (archetype in Ultimate Psionics, page 293) or simply pointing the player toward the Marksman and its archetypes.
    The Society Mind looks like the precursor to the Tactian and Vitalist, so I'm going to remove it and insert those two.
    The Thoughtsinger is a Bard archetype in the Ultimate Psionics)
    The World Thought Medic is in another book I haven't purchased, but with the Vitalist, I don't see a need for it.

    Kinda-New UP Classes:

    Aegis would be great for a dual purpose craftsmen/militia members. Plus astral repair would help out a great deal with maintaining ships, buildings, and the like. Plus, once one got to the point is can be enlarged, it opens up a huge amount of labor options reserved for machines and giants.
    Cryptic tie in with the 'Flow' so well, I'm pretty sure one inspired the other.
    The Dread seems like a 'evil' class at the start, but thinking more on it makes me like the idea of Dread City Watch, elite bodyguards, and interrogators.
    The Tactian and Vialist was already discussed as replacements for the Society Mind and World Thought Medic.

    That's it for now. Any ideas and input is appreciated. I'm really trying hard not to rebuild the wheel here, just squeeze what works into what's there until the Pathfinder Version comes out...or until Dreamscarred Press hires me


    I searched the forums & the FAQ. No solid answer appears:

    The Dragon Disciple has attribute increases, and natural armor increases. If a Synthesist Summoner went the route of Dragon Disciple, do these stack with the eidolon?

    References:
  • This Faq says that you can make natural attacks from within the eidolon, so the claws and bite gained from the Dragon Disciple 'effectively' stack.

  • The Fused Eidolon says you replace the summoners physical attributes with eidolon, but gains the natural armor bonuses.

  • The Fused Eidolon also says "the synthesist can use all of his own abilities and gear, except for his armor".
  • This sounds like the bonuses from Dragon Disciple should stack with the fused eidolon, but I am also considering that the summoner may gain the bonuses, and not the eidolon. It would be annoying if it did not stack.

    More ammo against my hope: the claws gained from the Draconic bloodline increase after a few levels. The increase only affect the claws from the bloodline, not any others you happen to have.

    Related question: If the Dragon Disciple grants me wings 'naturally', can a Synthesist take wing buffet?

    Can Improved Damage be applied to his Dragon Disciple claws and/or bite? It appears he can (it requires a natural attack, but nothing about having the evolution to grant it).

    That's it for now. Thanks for yawl's time.


    The Aegis archetype Warhulk trades some abilities for a slam attack that deals 1d8 damage. I am trying to make that single slam attack hurt something fierce.

    Question: At 6th the Warhulk gains the ability Devastating Smash, which increases the damage to 2d8. Is this a flat increase of base damage, allowing the extra d8 to be factored into vital strike & critical hits, or is it a additional damage to be added after?

    For right now, I will pretend the extra d8 is extra damage added after the appropriate feats.

    The attack is a single natural weapon. Would it gain strength-and-half damage? A heavy punch doesn't make me think 1.5 x strength damage.

    Improved Natural Weapon increases the natural attack as if the creature was one size bigger; from d8 to 2d6

    Strong Jaw increases the natural attack as if the creature was two sizes bigger; from 2d6 to 2d8 to 4d6. There is a question of Strong Jaw stacking with Improved Natural Attack

    The boon "Strong Arm" (gained by the Celestial Obedience of Falayna)allows you to "...increase the damage die of your weapon by one step for a number of rounds...". Not sure if this would apply to natural weapons like a slam. If it does apply, the damage would be doubled, judging by what is said in the Strong Jaw description. That would make the unarmed slam deal 8d6 damage.

    Vital strike chain would make this damage even more ugly: Vital strike (16d6), Improved Vital Strike (24d6), and Greater Vital Strike (32d6).

    More damage is possible, if gaining size increases stack with Improved Natural Attack and Strong Jaw. I am pretty sure Improved Natural Attack does stack, but I'm not sure about Strong Jaw.

    Okay, that is a lot of damage for a single hit per round, not taking into account strength and such. I am pretty sure Vampiric Blade doesn't apply to this, because is states words to the effect of "as long as the weapon stays in you grip", which a slam attack isn't held.

    Am I getting anything wrong here?


    An offer to join a game has been made to me, and there is mention of filling the skill monkey (knowledge skills) and damage dealing. The first thing that comes to mind is a rogue, but I am lack the skill necessary to keep one of those alive for long.

    I am entering at seventh level, and only "official" Pathfinder material is accepted.

    Does anyone else have an suggestions? My primary goal is to have a good amount of skills and be useful in combat (not necessarily damage).


    These are likely to be an easy enough question that most people wouldn't ask, but since it hasn't been explicitly said (where I can easily find it) I'm gonna ask:

    Question 1: Most strikes are standard or full-round actions. Most boosts are swift or free actions. This implies that I can use a boost maneuver during the same action I use a strike. For example, if I have Martial Charge*, I can use the Blade Fury (swift action) to boost my Frenzied Strike (standard action).

    Is this correct?

    * Martial charge is used to allow Frenzied Strike with a charge.

    Question 2: If the maneuver states the action states "makes a charge attack against a target" or other words to this effect, does this count as a charge attack; i.e. +2 to hit, -2 to damage, may move up to double you speed in straight line? And may you use boost maneuvers to enhance these 'charging strikes', provided you have enough free, swift, move, standard, and full round actions to do so?

    One example: using Blade Fury in conjunction with Charge of the Battle Panthera.


    Discipline Focus (discipline of choice) grants an increase to DC's of your chosen discipline, and a bonus to damage with wielding that a weapon from a weapon group associated with that discipline. Both bonuses are untyped (in my copy). Several disciplines share weapon groups. In particular, Golden Lion, Iron Tortoise, and Primal Fury, have heavy blades in their list of weapon groups.

    If I took "Discipline Focus [Golden Lion]" and "Discipline Focus [Iron Tortoise]", would both feats apply to the swinging of a heavy blade?


    I am looking hard at the NeoExodus campaign setting for my next game. Intrigue, especially political intrigue, is a noticeable factor in the setting. However, the folks I like to game with do not enjoy immense subtly, complex motivations, and huge interconnected webs that make up a political landscape.

    And I ain't got the time or inclination to read Game of Thrones, much less try my hand at it.

    So, does anyone have an advise for including politics and intrigue into a game? I am especially interested in ways that don't treat the party as hapless pawns for the powers that be. My players like direct action, personal danger, and becoming important members of society. Oh, and more direct action.


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    Minor Metamorphosis (or any other level of the power) allows me to "gain a natural slam/claw/bite (pick one) attack that deals 1d8 damage if Medium (1d10 if Large)."

    Would that allow me to grow a tail to slap people with? And, if so, what would a combination of the tail attack combine with Claws of the Beast and Bite of the Wolf? Assuming I have, say, +5 BAB and a +6 strength.


    First: Who is "Karak"?

    Second, with Karak's Bite of the Wolf how much damage is added by a non-medium creature add per augment level?

    The power states that at a medium creature deals 1d8 base damage. Augmenting increases damage by +1d8 per increment of power points spent.

    A large creature manifesting this power deals 2d6 base damage. That can be taken as each increment increases by another +2d6. This adds up quickly, especially when you factor in the expansion power (an 11th level, gargantuan psychic warrior would be dishing out 6d8 damage per bite), though at such a high level, it wouldn't matter as much.

    The alternate is a large creature deal 2d6 bite damage, plus +1d8 per increment. Such an odd collection of dice offends my gaming OCD.

    In the wording of Karak's Claws of the Beast (rather feral fella, this Karak), it is rather specific in that increases in size advances along a stated track. No such mention was made in Karak's Bite of the Wolf description.

    Third, do creatures with the powerful build racial trait, and a natural weapon- such as the above talents pioneered by the infamous Karak- deal damage as a medium creature or a large one?

    They can use weapons made by a creature one size larger than they are. This leads to the ability to use large sized gauntlets to punch people. This leads to their unarmed strikes dealing damage as large sized creatures. Which leads to natural weapons dealing the larger damage.

    Than you to all who have advice, suggestions, and comments of any kind


    I have a player who is...insisting may be too strong of a word, but it works- on playing an anti-paladin. I have a series of problems with this (listed in the spoiler), and I'm very much inclined to say no. This is not making me happy, because I'm not one who says 'no' a lot in the game.

    So, I want to see if yawl have any advise on how not to hate anti-paladins. Or, closer to what I want, how to have a fun game with an anti-paladin.

    Why I dislike anti-paladins:
    * I like heroes as my heroes. Personal biases. Its easy to get heroes to rescue the princess from the dragon. Get villains to do the same thing...they would end up rescuing the dragon from the princess, her from her virginity, and the king's shoulders from his head.

    * Speaking of evil games: I like my evil PG-13. I don't need to have rape, torture, or mutilation of the body (living, dead, or undead) played out in my games. Its not fun for me. But in almost every evil game I have seen, some one always takes it way too far.

    * The name is stupid. This is the only class that defines itself (or named by others) by what is it not. Why "Dark Templar" or "Foul Champion", "Blood Knight" or even "Dark Paladin" was used is beyond me.

    * Anti-paladins, and paladins, are the only class that place restrictions on what the rest of the party can be. In this case, over 5 players have to adapt their characters around this one chaotic evil avatar.

    * Paladins, by their nature, have to enforce order and thwart evil. Anti-paladins have to thwart good and sow chaos. Anything organized, anything benefiting some one else, or any other examples of things that lead to a prospering society are things an anti-paladin want to destroy. While you can use the "for the greater evil" and all that as a good excuse, it falls flat for me.

    * Anti-paladins are the iconic representation of "me first and only". This is not a team player. Pathfinder is a team game.

    How I play alignment:
    Create a character, and know his personality. Pick the alignment that closest matches that alignment. As long as you don't change the character's personality, his alignment shouldn't change. If it does, congratulations, your character has experienced "character growth".

    I don't play paladins where they have to crush evil the instant they see it. I don't set up "auto-falls" for paladins. So the same will go for the anti-paladin ("auto-rise"? for evil paladins?).

    I think part of the issue is that I have no concept of an anti-paladin not being a raging psychopath slaughtering everyone he sees and destroying everything he touches.

    So, how can I have him in the game that isn't an evil game?


    I could not find a message board specifically for Necropunk, so I'm posting this here.

    Questions
    First, Resource Points equal gold piece in value, though not form. Is it expected for Necropunk characters to have the same wealth-by-level as Pathfinder characters of equal levels?

    Eventually, my players will want upgrades for their equipment. Strength boosting armor, targeting systems for their weapons, and so on. Should I use the magic item creation costs as guidelines for this upgrades, or is something else in mind?

    Psychic Efficiency (Weapons) states that the character gains +2 to damage rolls per PPI invested, instead of the normal +1. On page 22 of the campaign book, it has the following line: "The bonus to damage, AC, or DR may never exceed half the HD of the character (minimum 1) (Maximum +10 damage and DR 10/-)." This would render the feat pointless if page 22 was absolute, which seems unlikely. Could it be that it was intended to mean "you cannot invest more extra PPI into an object greater than your half your hit die"?

    Social combat: Bob and Frank are about to get into a fight. Bob intimidates Frank, telling him to give up. Bob succeeds on his roll, but Frank ignores this command and takes Bob's charisma (+3) modifier in confidence damage. If Frank only has 2 confidence (after taking the damage, leaving him at -1), does this mean Frank has to do as Bob commanded? What if Frank had 3 confidence (meaning he was left at 0)?

    Is it meant for Diplomats to be able to 'social combat' people into the dirt? I realize they are suppose to be good at their job, but at 3rd level, a diplomat is stomping all over the warrior types like...like...well, a fighter would stomp all over a wizard in a sword fight.

    Sentinel boneskin armor provides a lot of bonuses, and requires 3 PPI to make it work. Is it 3 PPI to get all of the benifits listed under "charge effects", or simply the first and you have to invest an additional PPI per additional effect?

    General Thoughts
    Campaign specific melee weapons are expensive. Campaign specific ranged weapons are cheap. Not complaining, mind you, but its the first thing that comes to mind.

    Cool armor is hideously expensive. The sentinel armor is fantastically expensive...if your not a sentinel.

    Also on that note: boneskin is awesome.

    Sacred Space tends to cause depression, a numbness, for frequent travelers. I think the use of euphoric drugs to counter it may be common. It would not be something that actually worked, at least not well enough for real game effect, but it would be a go to method for keeping the crews happy, along with higher paying passengers.

    Scared space travel also can take up to a week. For the smaller ships hosting a number of low paying passengers, it seems likely anyone not absolutely necessary would be put into a coma like state, and allowed to sleep the length of the journey. As the passengers wouldn't be moving around much, you would cut back on a lot of extra space, entertainment, food requirements, and facilities.

    Sentinel characters are this settings fighters. The Fighter and Gunslinger classes are still available, as is the Warrior NPC class. This makes me picture the PC's and important NPC's are Sentinels, impressive mooks (non-BBEG) are fighters, and the nameless NPC's are Warriors. This is including those NPC's that are part of the Sentinel organization. Basically, most of the "sentinels" the PC's run into are warriors with enough tech-increasing feats to use the armor and weapons. The reason I like this idea is because it makes the heroes (even more) special, right from the get go.

    The above will also apply to engineers & experts, and the other classes.

    That all for now. Thanks for reading, and any advise.


    In the Dragon Magazine #073, these is an article on the NPC class, Duelist. A quick read showed me it was not a swashbuckler style duelist; at lest, not necessarily. In that article, they were more of hired 'seconds', stand-in swordsmen who fought, killed, and died instead of their noble employers and masters.

    A long time ago, I read the introduction to the Pistoleer prestige class in the Iron Kingdoms d20 class, and it was awesome, which is my inspiration for this work.

    Now, a buddy asked me to convert this idea to Pathfinder, so he can play it in my game. I choose to make it a archetype of the fighter, and try as I might, I couldn't help but add a bit of 'swash' to it.

    It does not look over the top, but I worry about it being too much weaker than than the base fighter. Anyhow, let me know- any and all advice is appreciated.

    Militant Duelist:

    Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Militant Duelist is not proficient with medium armor, heavy armor, or any shield except bucklers. Militant Duelist is proficient in all simple weapons, and all light and one-handed martial weapons (a Militant Duelist is not proficient in two-handed martial weapons). A Militant Duelist is also proficient in a single exotic light or one-handed weapon.

    Duelist: At 1st level, a Militant Duelist adds Acrobatics and Diplomacy to his list of class skills and removes Handle Animal and Knowledge (dungeoneering) from his list of class skills.

    Grace (Ex) Starting a 2nd level, a Militant Duelist gains a +1 bonus on Reflex Saves and on acrobatics skill checks. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 2nd.

    This ability replaces Bravery.

    Canny Defense (Ex) As Duelist, except the bonus is +1 dodge bonus to his armor class per two levels, round down, to the maximum of the character's intelligence modifier.

    This ability replaces the second level fighter feat.

    Evade (Ex: At 3rd level, when wearing no or light armor, the swashbuckler adds his Evade bonus to his armor class. This is considered a dodge bonus and whenever the swashbuckler is denied his Dexterity bonus to armor class he also loses his Evade bonus. Every four levels thereafter (7th, 11th, and 15th), theses bonus increase by +1 each time, for a maximum of +4 at 15th level.

    This ability is gains alongside of, but does not replace, Armor Training.

    Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 4th level, a Militant Duelist gains Uncanny Dodge, as a Barbarian.

    This ability replaces the bonus feat gained at 4th level.

    Parry (Ex): At 6th level, a Militant Duelist gains Parry, Duelist.

    This ability replaces the bonus feat normally gained at 6th level.

    Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 8th level and higher, a Militant Duelist gains Improved Uncanny Dodge, as a Barbarian.

    This ability replaces the bonus feat normally gained at 8th level.


    I usually DM, so when a buddy offered to run a (D&D) game a few years back, I jumped on the chance. He is an excellent DM, and tends to adapt whatever adventure he runs to the characters. The first adventure he ran was Three Days to Kill by John Tynes, published by Penumbra.

    I had a absolute blast playing the adventure, and now that I am trying to get back into gaming, decided to update the adventure to the much better Pathfinder system. While the adventure is doable as it stands, I have realized my buddies personal touches to the adventure was really made it great.

    I did run into a few issues, most notably the Orb of Sight, which is way too powerful for a 1st to 3rd level party. But, I went ahead and updated the statistic information in the adventure, and decided to show my work here. Each entry includes a notes section to show what I was thinking when I did the updates. If you have any suggestions, corrections, or any other thoughts on the work, let me know.

    So, without anything further: Three Days to Kill.

    Also, I am hazy on what's legal to post here. I looked at all the Open Content stuff, and the message board FAQ's. but I failed to see anything about "Pathfinder-izing" a 3.0 book, if I didn't copy/paste the book. If I did wrong, let me know so I can remove this as soon as possible.


    Bearded devils (page 73 in the Bestiary I) have a special attack called "beard" that does not require an attack roll (more precisely, it requires both claw attacks to hit). How does this interact with an amulet of natural fists with a special quality like bane?

    The beard does damage, along with a disease, but since it doesn't require an attack roll, I am inclined not to apply the extra damage. Plus, doing 3d6+5 damage from each claw (1d6+4 from the claw plus 2d6+1 from bane), and plus 1d8+2d6+3 damage from the beard (1d8+2 from the beard, plus bane)seems like a lot of punishment for my heroes.

    What are yawl's thoughts?