Gwaedh's page

Hello,
I'm planning to run a magus character with the eldritch archer archetype. I'm wondering if anyone can think of a way to gain access to the gravity bow spell. I mean aside from use magic device and a wand.

I also need to look into the arcane bond option. I'd love to get a familiar (using an arcana) but the archetype sets my bow as my arcane bond. Can I still use the arcana to gain a bond to a familiar? or at they exclusive?

thanks

Gwaedh wrote:

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

Since the only thing the max DEX limit affects is AC switching to a silken ceremonial armor will not really gain you anything. Darkleaf studded leather gives a +3 armor bonus where silken ceremonial armor only provides +1. The Darkleaf studded leather gives you a better AC even with a DEX bonus of +8.

I add my dex bonus to hit and damage. I also want the additional initiative.

Max dex from armor only limits dex bonus to AC, not for any other purpose, you are set for your attack and init bonuses, if you had a 50 dex and wore platemail ( max dex 1) you would still get your 20 bonus to iniative and whatever else, and 1 to ac.

I CAN'T believe that I never noticed that. Thank You!!!

Since the only thing the max DEX limit affects is AC switching to a silken ceremonial armor will not really gain you anything. Darkleaf studded leather gives a +3 armor bonus where silken ceremonial armor only provides +1. The Darkleaf studded leather gives you a better AC even with a DEX bonus of +8.

I add my dex bonus to hit and damage. I also want the additional initiative.

Nimble was an armor enhancement in 3.5 that increased your max DEX by 1 and reduced the armor check penalty by 1.

You could look into fighter VAC as it gives armor training up to 2.

What is fighter vac?

Are there any properties or magic items that will increase the max dex limit for a set of armor?

I'm using darkleaf studded leather armor which has a max dex bonus of +7. Is there something that would let me squeeze out another point of dex bonus? Or do I need to switch to something like silken ceremonial?

Thanks

I'm wondering if there are any options, aside from being ethereal, to remain undetected when within range of a creatures lifesense.

Thanks

Not a bad idea at all thank you.

Anyone else have thoughts?

Thanks

*****This is for pathfinder society play ****

I have a level 1 bard (dawnflower dervish)/level 6 magus (hex crafter). I’m feeling a bit lost on what to do with his new feat and magus arcana. He is heading into bonekeep 1 shortly and I’m a little focused on that at the moment as well.

Stats: Str 8 dex 21 (w/ +2 belt) con 14 int 16 wis 8 cha 12
Feats: Arcane Strike, Extra Performance (for battle dance), intensified spell, weapon focus scimitar, dervish dance
Hexarcana: flight hex, wand wielder
Traits: magical knack (magus), wayang spell hunter (shocking grasp)
Kit: +1 scimitar, +1 dark leaf studded leather, belt of dex +2, cloak resist +2, cracked dusty rose prism ioun stone, spellguard bracers, wands of infernal healing, longstrider, shield, reduce person, true strike

Where do I go from here?

Equipment
I’ll have about 10k gold to spend before bonekeep.

I’m considering selling my sword and replacing it with an adamantine +1 scimitar as I’m worried about DR and I’m completely scimitar dependant. I keep scrolls of versatile weapon to deal with other non alignment based DR, but I’m vulnerable to adamantine.

My AC is 24 with shield and 26 with reduce person thrown in. I definitely will throw cash at a ring of protection of amulet of natural armor if there is any to spare. Any other great equipment ideas?

Feats/Arcana
I don’t see any feats that are really going to be combat game changers for me given that I don’t have the strength for many of the combat feats. Piranha strike is out as well since the scimitar is not finessable.

I’ve considered taking the familiar arcana along with improved familiar to get a faerie dragon (yes..I know I need the boon). And while the idea is colorful and I like it, I think I’d really only use him to use a wand to reduce me or maybe cat’s grace me. Not needing to take the time to do that myself seems huge, but maybe there is something more valuable I’m overlooking that could be done with my feat and arcana?

I apologize for the tomb. And appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Yep. Moving the credit to a new char is easy. But it's not clear to me the best way to fix this char. The bad credit made a difference in the characters level and gold received for his last played session.

Option 1: I could swap in a new gm credit for the next game I run, though that breaks the rule about applying credit as you earn it.

Option 2: contact the gm for the last session and have him rewrite the chronicle to reflect the lower level. Though that gets messy because I think it would mean we played up that session when we shouldn't have.

What an embarrassing mess.

Well, there you have it. Thanks for pointing that out. Not sure how I missed it. I'll need to figure out how to untangle this. Thanks!

Hello,
I noticed something unexpected today when reviewing one of my characters list of sessions. This character has credit for playing Library of the lion. the following week I ran Library of the Lion and applied the credit to this same character. today when I look at my sessions I see a message "this character has already played scenario....."

I've reread the guide to play and I don't see anything that would suggest that we aren't supposed to do this. Did I miss something?

Thanks in advance

I actually struggle with haste increasing the rate of magic flight at all. Is my fly spell really more powerful/effective because I have been hasted? Seems a stretch.

It makes sense to me that my natural fly speed (from wings or what have you) would increase because of haste.

I realize that isn't RAW. But it seems right to me.

agreed...seems pretty straight forward

Full Attack
"Deciding between an Attack or a Full Attack

After your first attack, you can decide to take a move action instead of making your remaining attacks, depending on how the first attack turns out and assuming you have not already taken a move action this round. If you've already taken a 5-foot step, you can't use your move action to move any distance, but you could still use a different kind of move action."

Now...lets say that our character is a magus (only one short sword)...

who is is using a spell combat...
"At 2nd level, whenever a magus casts a spell with a range of “touch” from the magus spell list, he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack. Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell"

and spell strike....
"At 1st level, a magus learns to cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time. This functions much like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast."

Said magus casts a touch spell and swings his sword to deliver it (say he casts defensively and makes his concentration check). He takes a -2 to hit as he would for spell combat, b/c he might need to swing again to take the big bad down. But the fellow falls from one blow.

Does he have the option to take a move action? he could have just cast the touch spell an delivered via spell strike with his sword (standard action).

Did the fact that he took a -2 to hit in preparation for the need to follow up with second attack commit him to a full attack? Or is this simply a standard to cast a spell..spell strike (no action) to delivery the touch spell..with a (what turned out to be unnecessary) -2 in preparation for a full attack?

. he starts by casting a spell and delivering it through is s

A character wields a short sword in each hand. At the beginning of their turn they attack an adjacent enemy. They take the penalty for 2-weapon fighting..say -2 if they are wielding 2 light weapons and have the feat.

The enemy goes down on the first swing.

Have they used a full attack? Or does that count as a standard and they still have a move action if they would like to take advantage of it?

I know that they could 5 foot step and continue a full attack if they like.

i'm interested in knowing if swinging once and taking a penalty to hit because you are preparing to swing with you off hand if needed commits you to a full attack even if you don't use your attacks.

thanks.

I'm really partial to the idea of an arcane sneaky type character. I currently have an arcane trickster (rogue/wizard) who is great fun, but not generally very combat effective.

I also have a dervish dancer magus who is great fun and very effective in combat.

I guess I'm trying to revisit the trickster idea but this time make it more effective. I've also determined that a touch of magic is enough for the feeling I want so there isn't a need to work at getting into the AT class. Even with the SLA ability ruling to qualify, you are still walking into a .5 BAB class, which just isn't feasible if you want to have some martial impact. I've regretted going rogue rather than Ninja w/ my AT. One big reason is the vanishing trick for impromptu sneak attacks. I also like "pain points" combined with two sneak attack a round while flanked.

I'd rather not go the two weapon route either by dipping ranger or taking the feat because of the cost of maintaining two magical weapons.

I'm struggling to come up with something effective that has flair. I don't need to hit as hard as everyone's favorite 2-handed fighter waving around an earth breaker, but I want to have a punch.

I wanted to avoid going dervish dancer. But being able to drop strength to 8 or so makes this seem much more feasible. I could go str 8, Dex 18, Con 14, Wis 10, Int 12, Char 14 to start.

Brand is a curse. Hexcrafters add all curses to their spell list.

Question on the Hexcrafter. The Hexcrafter guide mentions "Brand" as a suitable replacement for the Arcane Mark trick.

My question is, where does a Hexcrafter pick up, Brand? The only thing I see is the Inquisitor spell, Brand.

Hi All,

I'm hoping for some advice. I'm trying to put together a combat effective ninja for pathfinder society. I've been toying with a two level dip in magus to open up the spell list, pick up an extra attack/round (hopefully with Sneak Attack) from spell strike, a nice damage burst (4d8) from shocking grasp a few times a day, and the swift action +1/+1 which helps make up for the multiclass BAB hurt. But I keep wandering in circles.

I have been trying not to make his damage dex based for a few reasons.
1. dervish dance is feat intensive and leaves you without access to either pirhana strike or power attack
2. Waiting till I have enough gold for a +1/agile weapon would mean a long slog of games where I wouldn't be effective. And by the time I could afford it would my additional dex bonus be high enough to make agile worth more than the average 3.5 dam a hit from adding shocking or flaming anyway.

So I've arrived at..Aasimar for +2str/+2chr

Str 16, dex 16, con 14, wis 7, int 12, chr 14

I've pondering Magus 2/Ninja x wielding a katana.

I'm worried about AC, low to hit with spell combat, and lots of failed concentration checks even with cantrips => no additional attack from spell strike.

I've considered going Kensai to pick up weapon focus for free and the extra AC from int. Which of course leads me to think I should try to squeeze out 14 int to take full advantage of the 2 magus levels getting 2 AC from int. Losing the spell a day hurts, but pears of power are cheap.

I like the idea of this build a lot, but its just not gelling in my mind.

I've also thought..if I'm just trying to get the extra attack, which I'm not..I like the spells and access to wands, maybe I should just pick up a level of monk for flurry. But what weapon would I go with..and is their any flair there?

Is the ninja/magus idea just a dead end? if not, any thoughts on how to make it work? If it is a dead end, how about pulling off a heaving hitting sneak attacking ninja monk?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts. I've dumped a lot here.

I apologize in advance if this question has already been answered somewhere, I expect it has. But I haven't been able to find it if so.

I'm hoping that someone can confirm my understand of how flurry of blows combines with non monk levels. As an example, lets take a monk 3/fighter 3.

If I do a standard attack (no FOB) i would expect to get 1 attack with a BAB of +5.

If I flurry, my BAB would be +6. Meaning that I would get three attacks at 4/4/-1.

A monk 1/Fighter 5 would resolve in the same manner.

Sound right?

Thanks!

Thank you for the very thoughtful advice.

I hadn't considered that not having a constant fly speed would be a disqualifier for the flyby feat. If it was a home game I would just check in with my GM. But this is for PFS so I want to be sure everything is completely on the up-and-up.

I don't have three feats set aside in my build to get sping attack. Does anyone know if there is an official interpretation of the "fly speed" requirement for the feat? For 5 minutes a day at level 5 I have a fly speed of 60. But does the feat require that you have an inherent and perpetual fly speed to qualify?

I guess I'm looking for specific tactics and advantages from flight.

I believe that I can claim higher ground pretty much all of the time for a +1 to hit.

I've been pondering the fly by attack feat. It doesn't work with spell combat, but I could cast a touch spell, fly by to deliver it with my sword and then continue on to end my turn in a safe square. It still provokes but might still be useful in some cases....maybe to avoid closing with a mob with a crazy full attack.

Hello All,
I have a hexcrafter magus with the flight hex. Is is about to make level 5 which will give him flight for 5 minutes a day.

Flight is obviously great for all sorts of reasons. But I'm trying to figure out how to leverage it in combat...and I'm not coming up with alot. Does anyone have ideas on how a dervish based melee fighter type can effectively use flight to his advantage in combat?

yes..in home games I understand all of that is true. I'm specifically asking about society play. Are you saying that its generally handwaved in organized play?

Hello,
I've read a number of threads on this so far and I'm still not clear on what is allowed for society play.

I have some confidence that:
1. you have to have to meet the CL requirement for the item you are creating.
2. You have to have sufficient fame to have been able to purchase the item at full price, though you only pay creation cost.
3. You can't make custom items.

Here is my big area of fuzziness though. It seems that I'd read that for PFS you must be able to cast the spell required to create the item. Which means....no amulet of natural armor, since wizards don't have barkskin..no rings of protection b/c wizards are missing shield of faith and so on.

Is anyone clear on how this is supposed to work?

Thanks

Diplomacy
If you succeed, the character's attitude toward you is improved by one step. For every 5 by which your check result exceeds the DC, the character's attitude toward you increases by one additional step. A creature's attitude cannot be shifted more than two steps up in this way, although the GM can override this rule in some situations.

Are characters allowed to make multiple diplomacy checks to gradually improve an NPCs attitude in stages? By the rules you can increase the attitude by multiple steps if you exceed the initial DC by 5. But are their any limitations on repeated attempts?

Hello,
I'm have trouble deciding on a level 3 feat for my society magus.

He is Bard (dawnflower dervish) 1, magus 2 (hex crafter)
str 10, dex 18, con 14, int 15, wis 9, cha 12.

His first level feat is extra performance..to get maximum use out of battle dance from the bard level.

I want him to be consistently effective at dealing out melee damage. Since he isn't strong enough for power attack and pirhana strike won't work with a scimitar I'm not seeing alot of options to add damage until weapon specialization.

At the moment i'm considering arcane strike or weapon focus (since there is no damage if you don't hit).

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Does the bardic performance inspire courage affect combat spells? If so, which ones?

I feel like it should apply to spells with attack rolls, but that isn't based on anything but my sense of what is appropriate.

Thanks

Is it generally accepted that reduce person and enlarge person do not alter your movement rate?

Logically it doesn't make sense, but both spells call out a number of effects of the size change an neither mentions a change to movement rate.

Thanks

Two questions

1. Are players eligible for 2 PP in the season 0 scenarios? If so, how does one determine if the second PP has been earned since the faction missions no longer apply

2. Are the season 0 scenarios easy enough that i should consider limiting them to four players? I'm running the silent tide on Monday and my current roster consists level wise of 1 4th, 1 3rd, and 4 2nd level characters..which means tier 1-2. After looking over the scenario I can't imagine that it will be remotely challenging. My plan was to run through the whole season doing one scenario a week and I'm considering limiting the number of seats moving forward.

Any thoughts/advice?

Thanks

Hey...I just realized I'm the only one on this forum without stars after my name :-) This monday will be my third time running a session.

Ouch...that smarts more than a bit. I didn't realize my interest in the game was driving the developers into hiding.

That said..I did overlook the specific reference to "attack", that does muddy the waters and make the statement of the spells intent much less clear.

Secondly, I don't think its that far fetched that this spell might allow multiple sneak attacks. Up until 6 months or so ago there were a number of spells that allowed this. And given the dearth of arcane sneak attackers over the years I wouldn't have called the general concept overpowered. Generally the first sign of something broken is when it becomes the norm.

This is a very fringe spell. Anyone actually ever seen it used? Not many wizards are going to use a bow hoping to hit, let alone drop something so that they can cast this spell and hope they manage to hit again with a second attack roll. On the other hand, how many melee characters are investing in 3 levels of wizard and then looking to use spells for other than buffs or utility? I think this spell on very rare occassions would allow a combat weak character concept have a moment in the spot light. Sorry to be a munchkin. The developers can come out now, I won't mention it again.

I thought the "rule" was, always default to the most specific source?

The FAQ is a general reference to all spells and sneak attack. This is a specific spell with a specific reference to how it works.

This is interesting...how about the spell "arrow eruption"?

School conjuration (creation); Level ranger 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (arrow or crossbow bolt)
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area 30-ft.-radius burst
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
You create exact duplicates of the arrow or crossbow bolt you used to kill a creature in the previous round and launch one at enemy creatures within a 30-foot radius of the corpse. You can target one creature per caster level (maximum 15) within range of the burst and must make a single attack roll and apply it to each arrow. These duplicate arrows possess all the intrinsic magical properties of the arrow that killed the original creature as well as those passed on to it by your bow. They also enjoy the full benefit of any bonuses or modifiers you applied to the attack from other magical items, feats, and class or racial features. However, this spell cannot reproduce any spells or other limited-use magical effects that you used to enhance that particular attack. This includes such effects as the true strike spell, as well as any area spell you might have placed on the arrow by means of the arcane archer's imbue arrow class feature.

If you make a kill with an arrow with sneak attack applied. the next round you cast this spell and can hit as many creatures as you have caster levels..and, so it seems..apply sneak attack to each of those attacks. I'm basing that off the statement, "they enjoy the full benefit of any bonuses or modifiers you applied to the attack from magical items, feats, and class or racial features".

The circumstances were this would be helpful seem very slim..but if it did come up would you all thinks it legal? Since it is more specific than the general spontaneous spell effect rule?

Yep..its just that trickster is the only way I'd be interested in playing a roguish character. Natural weapon or dual wielding rogue just isn't up my alley. I should have done more research before I went down this path. Oh well...on to the next character :-) Thanks all.

hmm..I missed that in sniping "immediatly use stealth again" required a move action.

So..round 1 - fiery shuriken. round 2 - swift to release, move to hide, standard to cast a new spell or release a second shuriken.

That strategy is starting to sound far fetched :-)

Thanks guys..actually just found that ruling. Though it seems arbitrary since multiple attacks from high BAB would result in multiple sneaks. so the issue isn't that you lose stealth after you roll the first attack die. Its just that they don't like you getting multiple sneak attacks from spells.

Still I wonder if the original ruling wasn't based on the idea that you lose steal after the first roll? It feels like the sniping rule should apply. Oh well. Whish I'd found this before I put time into building up an Arcane Trickers for PFS. I could still see a place for them in a home campaign. But given the limitations of PFS scenario play I'm not sure what the point of them is after this ruling.

Best I can come up with would be...cast fiery shuriken round one. Round two release one shuriken as a swift action taking sneak attack damage then as a move action release another..since they aren't simulateous you would get sneak on both. Or you could swift to release one then us a standard to cast another spell with an attack roll to get off a second sneak attack that round. This would seem fair given that multiple attacks from BAB can get sneak..though by a strict reading of the rules I would think you'd need to make a snipe check between attacks.

Rules in question

Breaking Stealth: When you start your turn using Stealth, you can leave cover or concealment and remain unobserved as long as you succeed at a Stealth check and end your turn in cover or concealment. Your Stealth immediately ends after you make and attack roll, whether or not the attack is successful (except when sniping as noted below).

Sniping: If you've already successfully used Stealth at least 10 feet from your target, you can make one ranged attack and then immediately use Stealth again. You take a –20 penalty on your Stealth check to maintain your obscured location.

If I start with stealth and cast a spell with multiple attack rolls (scorching ray or fiery shuriken)would I get sneak attack on each ray since I'm releasing them all at once? or only on the first one that I roll?

If I only get it automatically on my first roll am I able to make an additional stealth check (at -20)between each attack roll? What if I left cover to make my attack? I would have technically successfully used stealth 10 feet away, but would no longer typically qualify for a stealth check because I left cover to do it? I'm guessing the sniping rule is most specific and so would trump the standard stealth rule?

Thanks.

Forgot to add the warhorn link...

https://warhorn.net/events/blue-pdx-pfs/schedule/2014/03/03#session-18528

Sorry..not sure how to post that as an actual link.

Almost all Pathfinders undergo extensive training for three or more years to learn the tricks of the trade, and their last test before graduating from the ranks of the initiates to the status of a full Pathfinder agent is the Confirmation, a special research project that involves considerable fieldwork and is designed to simulate the initiates' future work as a Pathfinder. Even the noteworthy field commissioned agents sometimes participate in such trials as a way to familiarize themselves with the Pathfinder Society’s rules and expectations. Although Confirmation is typically an individual affair, the society recently discovered a site on the Isle of Kortos that would be perfect for initiates but perhaps too dangerous to handle alone. Successfully uncovering this site’s secrets will not only contribute to the society’s body of knowledge but shape the exciting careers ahead for each of the prospective agents.

Written by Kyle Baird

Thanks for the clarification Ravingdork. I've recently been playing a net figher in PFS (just hit level 2) and the question has come up. The DMs keep just wanting to shred the net. Which, while maybe logical seems counter to the game mechanics. I've just upgraded to a masterwork net and the idea that any random NPC could just pull out a pocket knife and destroy my investment has been a little disturbing.

The other piece that has come up is the idea of the net taking damage as you attack a creature entangled in it.... My guy generally follows up a net entangle with a gladius attack. Again, logically you would expect my slashing weapon to damage the net, but I don't think that is true to the mechanics of the game.

Your Name: Blue
Character Name : Davish
Class/ Level / Faction : Rogue/ Level 2/ Grand Lodge
Pathfinder Society Number : 118393-1

I overlooked Aram Zey's focus! I'll just need to get that spell in my spell book as early as possible.

I feel very comfortable going with sniper now.

Thank you Leo!

Hello,

I've recently started playing pathfinder society on line. My first character is a rogue and I'm planning to move him towards arcane trickster. I'm just about ready to level up to level 2, which means I have one last chance to make any character modifications before he is set for the rest of his career.

I'm very tempted to take the sniper rogue archetype so the I can gain the benefit of an extra 10 ft on my ranged sneak attack from my third level of rogue. I feel that this could come in very handy for an arcane trickster.

However, I'm having a hard time deciding how much losing the trapfinding ability is going to hurt. How much is it going to stink when I run into a magical trap and can't disarm it.

Which way you would go? Anyone have thoughts or opinions?

Thanks

Blue Blake -rogue 1.

Im having trouble with warhorn on my phone. I'll register there shortly.

I would be up for it. Warning ...I've never played PFS or online before so I might need a little hand holding getting started. However I've played tabletop pathfinder for a few years and feel confident in my understanding of the system.

I just put together a level 1 teifling rogue as my first PFS character.

blue

Say your character has a 13 str and you take power attack as a feat. Now, say your character takes a point of str damage from poison or disease or magic....your pick. Can that character make use of the power attack feat now that their str is 12?

That i can find, RAW doesnt speak to this. You need the pre req to select the feat. But there is no mention of needing the pre req to use the feat once its trained.

Anyone have an opinion, or better yet an official ruling?

Thanks

Nothing?

I have never used slight of hand. I have a new character that just happens to have a really decent slight of hand skill and I'm looking for fun ways to use it.

Anyone have favorite uses for this skill? I'd appreciate some inspiration.

Thanks in advance...

Id call it a trait, maybe reduce it to 1 square

If it was just one square it really would be insignificant ;-)

Dont bother with using a feat for light armor prof. Just splurge for masterwork studded leather barding. No armor check penalty means no penalty for not having proficiency.

Gwaedh wrote:

Just a note. You can gain extra rounds for battle dance: inspire courage (+2 to hit/dam) with the harmonic spell feat.

Benefit: Whenever you cast a 1st or higher level spell while you are maintaining a bardic performance, you can maintain the bardic performance for that round without expending one of your rounds of performance for the day. In addition, you can switch from one bardic performance to another as a swift action when you cast a spell while maintaining a bardic performance.

At lower levels you would probably get more milage out of extra performance, but in the long run I think this feat might pull ahead. I'm still trying to make up my mind which to go with.

The ability to switch performances doesn't come up much but it can be an absolute life saver when it does.

Lingering performance can also be VERY useful. Far more useful than extra performance

Lingering performance isnt compatible with battle dance.

Just a note. You can gain extra rounds for battle dance: inspire courage (+2 to hit/dam) with the harmonic spell feat.

Benefit: Whenever you cast a 1st or higher level spell while you are maintaining a bardic performance, you can maintain the bardic performance for that round without expending one of your rounds of performance for the day. In addition, you can switch from one bardic performance to another as a swift action when you cast a spell while maintaining a bardic performance.

At lower levels you would probably get more milage out of extra performance, but in the long run I think this feat might pull ahead. I'm still trying to make up my mind which to go with.