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Hello

Fast question.

I was the last person to enter into a campaigne that just started. Homebrew 25 point buy in. No class restrictions no race restiction.
There a lot of dragons and we are near the coast.

5 member party
1 zen archer monk
1 gunslinger
1 cleric
1 unsure

I'm leaning towards a melee monster to balance out the party like a bbn or pal. Another line of thought would be synergy with the shooters and set up a switch hitting urban ranger.
I could also go arcane caster to complete classic circle.

Hello,

This is a DM question.

How far should you let an Inquisitor go when dealing with NPC's ?
Interrogations. Gather Information. Dealing with enemies who surrender. etc.

Here is my example.

Currently Running a Council of Thieves Campaign and I did not allow evil characters but allowed the rest of the alignment spectrum.

The Party consists of.
A gnome Cavalier Order of the Cockatrice. N
A halfling Rogue. N
An Elven Bard. NG
A Human inquisitor of Zon Kuthon. LN

Now myself and the player of the Inquisitor sat down to figure out some guidelines on how far the line is for what his character can do when it comes to dealing with "heretics" as he likes to call them. We're in Cheliax there are strict rules in place but not as ardent as I thought. There is a lot of Grey areas on how you can deal with other races if you are not Cheliaxian and human. There are also the tenants of his religion and that of the nation eg. Asmodeus. There is also the corruption in the Dotori or the "the lazy lawmen" as some would put it.

Now without getting into spoilers. Interrogating captured enemies has lead to some lets just say colorful narrative. Also certain interactions with key individuals can be a tight rope walk for the most part.

All my players are veterans and we all have a great deal of fun with this discussion. I would like some outside thoughts to see where this will go in future games.

I'll take a poke at it. Take the dust off the old character folder.
These 2 builds is what worked for me through 11 levels and it held together almost every encounter.

Stats. I won't throw numbers down because that would be presumptuous

#1
Str Medium to high for low level dmg.
Dex High should be your highest stat
Con Medium just plain keeps you alive
Int low to base 10
Wis base 10
Cha dump or base 10 if party face (let your skills cover your low cha)

Race Human for extra skill point and extra feat.

Feat allocation
1st Weapon Finesse + Dodge
2nd Rogue Talent / Quick Draw
3rd Sly Draw
4th Rogue Talent / Mobility
5th Step Up
6th Rogue Talent / Spring Attack
7th Following Step
8th Rogue Talent / Vital Strike
9th Step Up and Strike
10th Rogue Talent / Bleeding Attack (talent)
11th Improved Critical
12th Rogue Talent / Fast Getaway (talent)
This is fun to play but you have to keep moving in combat.
Best weapon rapier. Best ranged weapon any thrown weapon.

#2
Str base 10
Dex Highest stat
Con at least 12
Int Second Highest Stat
Wis base 10
Cha base 10

Race Elf for access to elf feats and Int bump.

Feat Allocation
1st Point Blank Shot
2nd Rogue Talent / Sniper Shot (talent)
3rd Precise Shot
4th Rogue Talent / Focused Shot
5th Deadly Aim
6th Rogue Talent / Surprise Attack (talent)
7th Elven Accuracy
8th Rogue Talent / Vital Strike
9th Shadow Strike
10th Rogue Talent / Snap Shot (talent)
11th Improved Initiative
12th Rogue Talent / Weapon training
This build is one dimensional but effective support shooter.
Best Weapon Long Bow. Best Melee weapon. Don't get into melee.

Best of luck there are few rogue purists left in PFS.

For me the AP the first 3 books are like crack to my group they loved Riddleport and all the Plots that going on in that little city. Being to easily flesh out the place with what they give you in the book is gold but left you the GM something to tweak and build on.

Children of the void was a great horror module. What the hell are those? What do you mean we can't get off the Island. Tower scene....

Armageddon Echo. If you flesh out the city add some creepy perils to taste and voila Myth Drannor with less epic craziness.

The last 3 really let the first 3 down.
Descent into Midnight you should tweak as a DM to avoid the follow your nose syndrome. Free them up as PC's and let them explore as this place is cool.

Number 5 Not going to even give it back its name. Holy plot dump and just unfun to run and play. If you get the chance grab one of Paizo's modules and insert here it would make just as much sense.

Number 6 is epic in scope and may redeem the series if done right. Make sure the crew eat a good breakfast and bring some extra weapons because this can get really action oriented.

"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women."

+1

Maddigan wrote:

What level is the villain?

I ran a few level 20 druids against a party. Wizard/Sorcerer and Cleric/Oracle spell selection outclasses druid spell selection at high level including summoning ability. Might be effective if lower level, but summoner monster beats summon nature's ally at high level. Lack of energy drain, defensive spells like invisibility and mirror image and travel spells really hurt the druids.

If you can pull it off, that's cool. But you may want to try a Mystic Theurge druid/wizard, sorcerer, or witch to make the villain more potent.

She'll probably be around 17-18 when the final throwdown happens, I may have her go witch. I want to avoid Oracle as I already have a villain with that class and I don't want to have two villains with that class.

Now to iron out how Emmara will be connected to the attempted coup the heroes will have to stop. This is gonna be fun...

Druid animal companion or extra spells?

If you value action economy over battlefield control, go bard.

If you value battlefield control over action economy, go evangelist cleric.

No one can get close to touching the buff-ability of bards. Have everyone pitch in for a rod of lesser quicken spell. It's about 7k a person in a 5 person party. It'll do more to help everyone else out than any other item worth 7k will. Then cast Good Hope, Inspire Courage, and Haste in one round.

People will say the Evangelist cleric will come close (ok, the sane people only say that Iomedaen ones do). While they are the next best thing, the bard is still so far ahead of him, it's ridiculous. The cleric does not have the bard spell list, which is the other half of the bard's awesome ability to support. The main things clerics have over bards in the buffing department is Greater Magic Weapon.

Personally, I haven't seen many great battlefield control spells of the Cleric, other than say...Stone Shape and Blade Barrier. And the summons, which with a feat they can cast as standard actions. But other than those spells, I don't see anything that really sticks out to me as "wow, they're good at battlefield control!"

+1
I'll add UMD skill monkey as well. Loot and shoot. Its what makes up for the slower spell progression.
Battlefield control, confusion, song of discord and cacophonous call both can really mess up the field of battle.
Being one of the best party faces around is gold as well.

I played a bard as a lark once. You'll fast become the most popular chap at the table.

Pocket dimensions that are leaking and bleeding into other planes all inter connected to your city as an anchor point. Crux of the adventure is to close some of the bad ones that are spilling through to others. Buried hidden treasures in others etc. It writes itself.

Ring of Telekinesis is expensive, but don't forget it has no use limit. You can use telekinesis each and every single round (six times per minute) for 24 hours straight with one! A staff will be cheaper, but it will only have 10 charges. Of course, you are limited to the caster level of 9 with the ring (225 lbs) and you aren't with the staff. Still, you only gain another 150 lbs by 15th level when the spell caps.

I'd go with the RoT if you can afford it. That way, your gnome Dragon Shaman can do a really good impression of Darth Vader! Good times indeed.

Master Arminas

+1 if you are going to use it a lot

You can also cheaply recharge the staff and it doesn't soak up a ring slot

Azata's hands down cool and more forgiving than most.
For raw destruction daemons but they get pissy easily.

Modron for fun

Nice!

(this thread has me wanting to run some dragons :)

+1

Poke, Bump, Doted.

+1

Mummified halflings preserved, dressed up in nobles outfits and costume jewelry arranged in a nearby alcove like a diorama of a gala in a country estate.

Tiny to small Silver dipped fey creatures that may or may not be alive under the coating arranged in a pastoral seen dipped or treated with gold.

A worm that walks in a mansion with the haunted template.

The worm swarms through the different cracks and small holes sniping at the party then fleeing to other rooms where the chasing pc's get all beat up by the hauntings in the other rooms.

A debuffer bard or cleric to cook enemy saves.
Paired up with save dependent caster list.

add teamwork feats to adjust for sr and saves.

If no one is watching your rolls start flubbing your saves.

Echo on the cleric being preferred at tables.
Even a new cleric.
Reason: Cheap healing.

Extra Bane if you are in more than 3 encounters per day.

Furious Focus if you are not connecting with your power attacks.

Mobility if you are the primary flanker.

Shield of Swings if you are tanking.