GuJiaXian's page

This is for a home game, not PFS. The DM had us use a dice pool system for rolling stats, and I ended up rolling quite well: 18, 18, 16, 12, 11, 7. Then of course there's any racial bonuses. The DM is playing character creation pretty fast and loose: if it's on the SRD, it's fair game. We're starting at 5th level, and I'd imagine that we'll play to 20, but I'm not sure.

If it makes any difference, the rest of the party consists of a kitsune sorcerer, a halfling bard, a gnome summoner, and a human gunslinger. So, other than the eidolon, I'm the party's only melee combatant.

Here's my current build (with a lot of gaps):

Human Monk of the Four Winds
1: Dodge
1 (MotFW): Elemental Fist
1 (monk): Improved Unarmed Strike
1 (human):
2 (monk):
3: Boar Style
5: Marid Style
6 (monk):
7: Combat Style Master
9: Marid Spirit
10 (monk):
11: Marid Coldsnap

I'm open to suggestions on the various blanks. I'm also looking at the following specific Qinggong swaps:
Slow Fall (4) (swap for barkskin)
Wholeness of Body (7) (swap for gaseous form)

Now, I'd love to take Cloud Step at 15th level, but it requires having a slow fall speed. Should I keep slow fall and instead drop High Jump for barkskin?

Excellent, thanks.

That makes sense. I can attack as often as I want in a round and use Elemental Fist or Stunning Fist, but I can only apply those abilities to one attack each round.

That's some good advice. I asked this question in the Rules forum, but I'll copy it here. Elemental Fist says:

When you use Elemental Strike pick one of the following energy types: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. On a successful hit, the attack deals damage normally plus 1d6 points of damage of the chosen type. You must declare that you are using this feat before you make your attack roll (thus a failed attack roll ruins the attempt).

Now, is Elemental First its own special attack (as in, as a standard action, make a single attack...), or is this something that I can activate and it applies to all of my unarmed attacks for that turn (so a monk could use it to great effect with flurry of blows)?

I have a question about exactly how Elemental Fist works. It says:

When you use Elemental Strike pick one of the following energy types: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. On a successful hit, the attack deals damage normally plus 1d6 points of damage of the chosen type. You must declare that you are using this feat before you make your attack roll (thus a failed attack roll ruins the attempt).

Now, is Elemental First its own special attack (as in, as a standard action, make a single attack...), or is this something that I can activate and it applies to all of my unarmed attacks for that turn (so a monk could use it to great effect with flurry of blows)?

Okay, I can't make up my mind.

A MotFW/MotSM monk, focusing on Marid Style and its feat progression, along with just Boar Style (not the other Boar feats). I like that I keep flurry of blows.

A MoMS/MotSM monk, beginning with Marid Style at level 2 (Elemental Fist at level 1), Boar Style at level 3, and then dipping into the other elemental feats as I get my monk feats (4, 10, etc.) or as I qualify for them normally. This build has more versatility, but as was pointed out above, I'm relying on the monk's weak BAB as the party's primary melee combatant. I'm also not set on MotSM with this build; I could take another archetype or even just stay with only MoMS.

Thoughts? Once I decide on one build or the other, I'll post a feat progression for review.

Do you keep the bleed damage from Boar Style if you change to another style? I ask because Boar Shred specifically says "The bleed damage dealt while using Boar Style persists even if you later switch to a different style."

I'm looking to build a monk that uses Elemental Fist. I've been reading over the various archetypes, and of course Monk of the Four Winds (MotFW) and Master of Many Styles (MoMS) have caught my eye. I can't take both, because they both replace Perfect Self. I prefer the MoMS, but losing flurry of blows just seems...harsh. That's sort of a monk's bread and butter.

So, assuming I want to go straight monk for 20 levels (no multiclassing), which archetype(s) will best help me fulfill the role of elemental-damage-wielding melee combatant? I've considered Monk of the Sacred Mountain, or even Hungry Ghost Monk. Also, which of the Qinggong abilities are best to grab?

Also, randomly, is there a monk ability (or an ability via a magic item that I monk could use) that pulls enemies closer?

I've been mulling over these builds all day, and I realized something: it takes a summoner a full minute to summon his eidolon. That means there's no time for "Oh, no, goblins...it's morphin' time!" Like I said earlier in the thread, flavor is as important as power for this build. I'm wondering if some sort of alchemist build emphasizing mutagens really might be the best option for this specific character concept.

[edit]
And for some reason my icon has become a smurf. Great.

Okay, so you're thinking that I should take a level or two of a monk archetype (MoMS or MotFW)) and then go synthesist summoner?

I'm not clear on the slams (1-point evolution). With a biped form, can you straight-up replace the biped form's claws with slam attacks, or do you have to spend evolution points to do so?

Also, how does a 1st-level maneuver monk get Elemental First? It requires a BAB +8.

Okay, some of the other synthesist threads have good advice, but they point out that by taking the archetype, you lose access to all summoner feats (such as Extra Evolutions), since the "Fused Eidolon" synthesist class feature replaces the normal summoner "Eidolon" class feature (which is requires for those feats). Still worth it?

Oh, now there's an idea. Any specific build ideas, or should I just search the forums?

Okay, so I want to make a melee alchemist, very likely one that fights bare-handed. Here's the thing: I'm playing in a comedy campaign, and I want my mutated form to be a Power Ranger.

Yes, you read that correctly.

So, through judicious use of discoveries, feats, the Master Chymist PrC, Beatmorph archetype, etc., make me the best dude that can transform into a Power Ranger. Or, if you can somehow build a better Ranger via another class (still preferably a melee unarmed combatant), that's cool, too (we can just fudge the "morphin' time" bit with flavor). While a want a good, solid build, I'm less concerned about a perfect/ideal build than building something memorable that will still hold its own.

Hopefully the revolvers won't be an issue. This will be a comedy campaign--I'm playing a gnome alchemist that's obsessed with capitalism (down with the socialists!), and my wife typically doesn't power-game at all.

Yes, our DM did approve revolvers.

When you say we're covered, does that include getting Precise Shot and/or Weapon Focus, or can my wife drop one or both of those from her build?

I'm building a human revolver-wielding gunslinger (mysterious stranger archetype) for my wife. She cares more about roleplaying than combat and game mechanics, but still enjoys dealing out damage. We've got everything but the feats sorted out. The campaign will be starting at 5th level. Here's her current feat layout:

1: Deadly Aim, Point Blank Shot
3: Precise Shot
4: No Name (grit) (this is a must-have for my wife)
5: Rapid Reload (revolver)
7: Two-Weapon Fighting
8: Improved Critical (revolver)

After that, she was looking Blind Fight and Ricochet Shot Deed, Secret Stash Deed, and perhaps Weapon Focus (revolver) (is this needed, when she's targeting touch ACs?). Is Precise Shot needed (same reason--she's targeting lower ACs)?

Thoughts? Remember that this doesn't need to be an uber-maximized built--just an effective one. Regardless, she really wants to dual-wield the revolvers and to get No Name at 4th level.

Excellent, thanks.

A few final questions:

Can alchemical cartridges and other special bullet types be used with advanced firearms (which use brass cartridges)?

For the pistolero archetype, Pistol Training doesn’t say it replaces the gunslinger’s usual Gun Training. Do they stack (with regard to bonus Dex damage, etc.)?

My wife will be playing a pistol-wielding gunslinger with a high Cha. Which archetype is better: pistolero or mysterious stranger? I suppose this depends on the answer to my second question above.

Depending on your GM, they might allow the retroactive favored class bonus.

What's the retroactive favored class bonus?

The APG added favored class options for all of the base classes to that point. Are there favored class options for the gunslinger? My wife is rolling a human gunslinger, and I wanted to see if she had other options for her favored class "point."

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/e-g/elixi r-of-shadewalking

What product is that from? It's not on http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/.

Grab an Elixir of Shadewalking, and with alchemical allocation, you become the party's taxi as well.

I'm not seeing the Elixir of Shadewalking in the PFSRD. What book is it in?

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll have to consider how much I really want a little crafting helper. Basically, I'm trying to build an alchemist that focuses on party buffing and healing, with a heavy dose of item creation (specifically alchemy items and poisons).

Any thoughts on the feat itself? Am I misreading just how good this feat is?

Okay, it looks like the homonculus idea won't work (for the purposes of getting an improved familiar with the cooperative crafting feat). As a construct, you can add one additional HD to a homonculus (50% more HD than base). This gives it 3 HD, which gives an extra feat and some skill points. While skill points can be invested in Craft (alchemy) to meet the feat's requirements, the feat also requires that you have another item creation feat...which the homonculus doesn't. Basically, you're still a feat short.

Oh, well. It would've been cool to have a little homonculus alchemy helper.

[edit]

Here's the feat in question:

Cooperative Crafting
Your assistance makes item crafting far more efficient.
Prerequisites: 1 rank in any Craft skill, any item creation feat.
Benefit: You can assist another character in crafting mundane and magical items. You must both possess the relevant Craft skill or item creation feat, but either one of you can fulfill any other prerequisites for crafting the item. You provide a +2 circumstance bonus on any Craft or Spellcraft checks related to making an item, and your assistance doubles the gp value of items that can be crafted each day.

Is this feat even as good as I'm thinking it is? Obviously a +2 to the craft check is nice, but it's that last part: "your assistance doubles the gp value of items that can be crafted each day." Does that basically mean that items take half as long to make (since time to craft is measured by the gp value)?

Thanks for the responses. I'll be playing as an alchemist, and while I can use the concentrate poison discovery to boost the DC by 2, I won't have any other debuffs to sue against opponents.

It seems like the craftable poisons listed in the main PF book all have DCs that are rather low for mid- to high-level play. For a class like the assassin or alchemist that will use poison a lot, how can poison be kept as a viable tool against creatures with higher Fort saves?

Cheapy, do you have thoughts on this product?

Okay, I have to ask: given that, for alchemists, the familiar is a tumor (ie, a mass of flesh grown inside their bodies), do you really need to "craft" a homonculus-shaped tumor? Yes, yes, RAW...

Can you vouch for the pdf? I'm always wary of buying stuff (anything) without looking at the contents first.

Homonculus is THE familiar for the alchemist since it is an alchemically created familiar. As for the feats every time a creature gains 2 hit die it earns an additional feat (and a bunch of other stuff, look in the bestiary for it all). Homonculi are unique in that for every additional 2K gold you spend when brewing one up it gets an additional hit die. There is no actual limit to how much you can spend increasing their HD.

Leadership is a WHOLE different bag and that's entirely up to your GM.

How is the homonculus easily craftable by an alchemist? It requires Craft Construct, arcane eye, mirror image, mending, and either Skill Craft (leather) or Craft (sculptures). That's an extra feat, and mirror image and mending aren't even on the class "spell" list, not to mention sinking skill ranks into leather or sculptures.

How do the additional hit dice translate into feats for a homonculus? The homonculus doesn't seem very realistic for an alchemist, since the feat/skill requirements to create it don't fit the alchemist archetype.

That said, what about taking Leadership (the DM will allow this) and having a brownie as a monster cohort? How would the brownie rate in terms of "level?"

Ah, well. I'm playing an alchemist, and I wanted the brownie (tumor familiar) to help with craft (alchemy) checks.

Is there any way to have a familiar (improved or otherwise) take a feat? I'd like to get a brownie improved familiar and have it take the Cooperative Crafting feat. Is this possible in any way?

Very true with the infusion discovery. That said, is there a particular archetype that everyone says is just awesome? I like the flavor of many of them, but summoning creatures and making clones/undead really doesn't fit the character concept (a gnome healer/snake oil salesman).

I was looking at the Vivisectionist archetype for the alchemist and noticed the spell anthropomorphic animal. What is the point of this spell? I just cannot imagine any genuinely useful purpose for it, beyond "oh, look, I'm Dr. Moreau."

Also, I'm torn between the Vivisectionist and Chirurgeon archetypes. I want to play the party healer. Chirurgeon makes more obvious sense, but the Vivisectionist archetype could be played up as a mad surgeon sort of character.

Okay, straight zen archer it is. Can you speak to my other question? Can the zen archer apply the magic/adamantine/etc. status of his fists to his arrows? The monk's Ki Pool ability only says that this can be applied to his unarmed attacks.

I just want to make sure I fully understand any "disadvantages" of how the zen archer abilities mesh with the core monk abilities.

Okay, I scanned through most of those other threads you guys linked to (thanks for that info). I agree that a straight fighter archer will be boring outside of combat, and I'm expecting this campaign to not just be a dungeon crawl/grindfest, so noncombat utility is good.

That said, I want to make sure I understand the finer points of the zen archer. Can the zen archer apply the magic/adamantine/etc. status of his fists to his arrows? The monk's Ki Pool ability only says that this can be applied to his unarmed attacks.

Zen archers also get weapon specialization for free, so that's one less reason to take four levels in fighter. Also, doesn't the fighter's weapon training ability only progress if you level up as a fighter? If so, taking multiple levels of fighter to qualify for that ability seems dubious at best.

Really what I want is a simple-to-run character that isn't heavily relying on buffs and magical items (though of course those help). I want a character with a lot of "passive" abilities and few abilities that need to be actively used, if that makes sense. I just finished a campaign playing a wizard, so I'd like to do something other than the spellcasting route, just for a change of pace (even if it means playing a slightly less "powerful" archer).

So, zen archer? A few levels of fighter and then zen archer how do BABs interact for the purposes of FOB)? The sohei class (don't know if mounted combat will be useful in our campaign or not)?

I guess I still don't understand. Zen archers get weapon focus for free at 2nd level, and the fighter damage bonus (the weapon training ability) doesn't kick in until 5th level.

Ftr 4/ zen archer X

So that I understand, why should I do this? What advantage does it give over pure fighter or pure zen archer?

I'd like to make an archer for an upcoming campaign. Anything in the PF SRD is open game. I've been looking over the fighter (taking bow-related feats), the ranger, and the zen archer monk variant. The zen archer looks pretty cool, but from a pure BAB/damage perspective, does it "win" against the fighter's higher number of feats?

To be honest, while I want a powerful character combat-wise, I'm even more interested in quirkiness and versatility. Any advice is welcome--thanks!

Yeah, I'd avoid the "it was a dream" trope if at all possible, especially since it means that the entire session never really happened, which means that the players wasted their time playing.

If, for some reason, I'm remembering details incorrectly, I apologize in advance!

It's been years since I ran the Shackled City and I had to go back and look at my wiki/notes (my SC hardcover is packed away at home). The huecuva is the undead gnoll at the end of Chapter 3, right? If so, as I recall, he was a sentient spellcaster. If that's the case, have the whole party "die" or "fall unconscious" and then wake up, imprisoned by the huecuva. They could even be bound in the room where the last two wands of control water are stored. Have the PCs who died be at 1 hp, or even at 0, but stable. Then the next session has everyone try to escape, kill the huecuva, get the wands, and rescue the city from the floods.

If a second battle with the huecuva is going poorly, hint to the players that huecuvas are susceptible to silvered weapons (hopefully they have one).

That way the players who did show up still had a meaningful session that progressed the plot, but no one is punished for having a less-than-complete party.

Our gaming group is scattered across three time zones. We use Skype's free conference-calling feature. I personally prefer in-person gaming (of course), but considering what a great gaming group this is, I'll take Skype over nothing. Take a gander at Skype; it even ran fine on my wife's 8-year-old PC.

All right, further question. Suppose I was a necropolitan with the Swarm-Shifter template. Once I took four levels of a class with a good BAB (such as fighter, even), I'd qualify for the Warshaper PrC (since I'd have the shapechanger subtype).

That said, how exactly would the Warshaper abilities interact with a swarm form? For example, perhaps Morphic Weapons would allow the swarm form to deal damage as if in the next HD bracket (basically +1d6 more damage). How would the Morphic Reach ability work? As per the Swarm-Shifter template, you turn into a 10' (large-sized) swarm. Would Morphic Reach effectively allow you to attack is if you were a 20' swarm (5-foot additional reach in all directions)?

Or is the Warshaper just a waste of time for an undead character (Morphic Immunities is useless for an undead, as is the Con bonus from Morphic Body) who turns into a swarm?

I want to build a character who can easily (and, preferably, at will) turn into a swarm (bats are most iconic, but any type works). So, to that end, I'm looking for methods on who to do this without using any house rules and such. 3.x legacy products/solutions are open game.

A few of the options I've noticed include the Swarm-Shifter template in Libris Mortis (only a +1 ECL, though you have to be undead and I'm not sure how the ECL adjustment translates to PF) and the warlock's Dark Discorporation (though you need to be 16th level to take it).

The party is currently 9th level. Any ideas?

Now does anybody know where I can sell a kidney in the Puget Sound area?

Try Madigan Army Hospital in Tacoma. The last time I was there (it's been about a decade, admittedly) they could do everything under the sun, and I'd imagine that the Army is always looking for spare kidneys.

Why not just use the Energy Substitution-style feats? A rock-bomb (earth-element fireball) works for me thematically. Heck, I can see water, ice, air, whatever working with the fireball spell.

You mention water slashing (like industrial water blades). Perhaps a water-based lightning bolt...fluff-wise it'd be a sharp blast of water that cuts through stuff.

Just because the "elemental" spells aren't there by default doesn't mean they don't exist. Heck, even ignoring tweaking with spells by using feats, ask your DM if your character can research new spells and built them yourself.

We can't have a v1.0 until the Diabolist's imp is implemented (or perhaps that falls under the umbrella of fully functional animal companion/familiar/eidolon options).