HazMatt696's page

With the wording of shield specialization, "you may add" I wonder if they intended this to be a round by round decision. Meaning if you choose to add the shields ac bonus to cmd, would you lose the AC bonus to your actual ac for the round.

It would be nice if Paizo would clarify this.

P.S. my GM does not think they should stack ☹️

The Shield Specialization feat adds the shields AC bonus (not including enhancement) to CMD and the Mobile Bulwark feat adds the full shield AC bonus to CMD versus Bullrush and Overrun maneuvers. Do these boosts stack with each other?

Let's assume our standard fighter is using a +2 tower shield and has the feats Shield Focus and Greater Shield Focus. Shield Specialization adds +6 to the fighters CMD to all maneuvers.

If these Feats do not stack, the fighter would add only the tower shield's additional +2 enhancement bonus, for a total of +8, versus Bullrush and Overrun maneuvers. If these boosts stack, it would be an incredible +14 versus Bullrush and Overrun maneuvers.

In the home game I'm playing, my PC has a Belt of Heavy Load. Can it be upgraded to also include a +1 strength modifier? If so, how much would it cost and how long would it take?

If it's possible, I'd eventually like it to be a Belt of Heavy Load and Physical Perfection. I'd like to upgrade the belt a little at a time, as I can afford it. Maybe I would be better off having a separate Vest of Physical Perfection made.

HazMatt696 wrote:

Tweedle-Dum wrote:

The Ranger dip would give access to Longbow... you might want ot check out Snipping depending on if you can get it to work (depends very much on interaction between the judge and the player). YMMV

If you go that route, early on pick up a spiked gauntlet, locking gauntlet and a buckler.

You didn't list what Race you were going with... If you decide to go with the shooter rogue, you might check Halfling (to get Small which has advantages to Stealth, AC, etc.) or Elf (for elven weapons which might remove the need for Ranger) or Half Orc (for darkvision)...

And Welcome to the Company of Rogues!

I'm using half-elf for the extra feat, skill focus - perception. My first PC is a archer ranger so, I'm looking to do melee with this rogue. A rapier will be his most used weapon.

I plan to keep a couple javelins on him. One in hand for surprise rounds and another just in case there is still a flat footed enemy in round 1 or, if there are any low flying enemies.

With the dip in ranger, he'll eventually have an AC of 27 or higher, not bad for a rogue.

With Martial weapon prof., you might want to check out Chakrams - 1d8 damage (slashing) and the same range as the Javelin.

Also, maybe check out Human - The human Alt. Racial Trait (Focused Study) replaces the Human bonus feat, and gives Skill Focus at 1st, 8th and 16th level - so in the long term it is actually 2 or 3 Skill Focus Feats. Plus Human gives an extra skill point each level (so you can take your Favored Class Bonus as HP and still be getting a lot of skill points).

We are restricted to core rulebook only because a couple players are brand new. Unfortunately, that means no Chakram and no alternative racial traits. However, I will keep Focused study in mind for a future PC. If I create a rogue that is open to all PFS rules, I'll definitely do an unchained rogue. Is there a way for humans to gain low-light or dark vision?

The Ranger dip would give access to Longbow... you might want ot check out Snipping depending on if you can get it to work (depends very much on interaction between the judge and the player). YMMV

If you go that route, early on pick up a spiked gauntlet, locking gauntlet and a buckler.

You didn't list what Race you were going with... If you decide to go with the shooter rogue, you might check Halfling (to get Small which has advantages to Stealth, AC, etc.) or Elf (for elven weapons which might remove the need for Ranger) or Half Orc (for darkvision)...

And Welcome to the Company of Rogues!

I'm using half-elf for the extra feat, skill focus - perception. My first PC is a archer ranger so, I'm looking to do melee with this rogue. A rapier will be his most used weapon.

I plan to keep a couple javelins on him. One in hand for surprise rounds and another just in case there is still a flat footed enemy in round 1 or, if there are any low flying enemies.

With the dip in ranger, he'll eventually have an AC of 27 or higher, not bad for a rogue.

Since this is an AP, do we keep found items throughout the AP or, do we turn everything in like doing normal PFS scenarios?

My instincts are telling me to suggest you go Bard instead. A combination of spells, performances, Bardic Knowledge, and Vesatile Performance means you have more overall utility than the Rogue.

Also, you can play as a member of the Exchange faction, which allows you to take the Gold Finger trait out of the (Core legal) season 9 guide. This makes Disable Device a class skill. As for disabling magic traps, you can use Dispel Magic to shut them down or a wand of Summon Monster 1 to set them off prematurely. Plus you have access to Detect Magic, which does a great job of revealing them anyway.

Never feel obligated to take a weak class if you don't want to "take one for the team" for an entire AP.

Ranger with a Rogue dip is also perfectly fine and it gets you a more satisfying package overall.

Also, Indomitable Faith is a common and really useful trait, since will saves are so gosh darn vital.

Out of curiosity, what AP are you playing?

We are playing Iron Gods. Our GM wants us to start chapter 1 at lvl 3 so, we are supposed to play a couple modules to get us up to lvl 3 asap.

After working up the Feats and talents a few times now, I actually want to play the rogue. Since Ranger does not give access to engineering, I'm taking the trait Mathematically Adept to get it as a class skill.
Being new to tabletop RPGs, casters are still a bit overwhelming to me.

I would personally recommend ranger instead of fighter as a level dip.

I just tried that and I agree. I'll loose 1 feat but, gain 4 skill points, a couple more class skills/knowledges, the ability to use wand of cure light wounds without rolling dice, and a favored enemy. I'll probably take human or something more relevant to the AP.

Role play wise, to help show how they could be so racially diverse, they could be the bastard child of a forth or fifth generation prostitute.

I'm tinkering with what is mechanically a half-elf brawler. However, he's not as handsome as typical half-elves. And, while he doesn't have tusks like a half-orc, they are definitely longer and thicker than most. And, he has a more muscular build than any half-elf. However, his ears could be nothing but elven heritage.

A local group is going to start playing a PFS AP but, they want to limit PCs to CRB only due to a couple players being completely new to Pathfinder. I'm OK with this considering I'm still kinda new to Pathfinder and PFS, My -1 PC is lvl 5.1 and I just started my -2 PC. It sounds like this is going to be a stable group of players which allows us to really focus on our particular roll in the group.

I've volunteered to play the rogue. I'm aware that core rogues are kind of underpowered but, every balanced group needs a rogue. To help counter a couple of the rogue's weaknesses, I'm thinking about dipping 1 level of fighter then run rogue for the rest. This will give higher AC (mithral breastplate and darkwood heavy shield), 2 extra hp, additional Weapon options, and knowledge (engineering) as a class skill. Knowledge (Engineering) sounds like it will be important in this AP (iron gods). This AP is also supposed to take us up to lvl 17 or 18

For my traits, I'm thinking Reactionary (obviously) and Sacred touch (because none of the other limited choices really catch my eye)

I think I'm taking these Feats...
Skill focus - perception (half elf)
Awareness (lvl 1)
Improved initiative (fighter lvl 1)
Toughness (lvl 3)
Deft hands (lvl 5)
Stealthy (lvl 7)
Deceitful (lvl 9)
shield focus (lvl 11)
Mobility (lvl 13)
Improved feint (lvl 15)
Combat reflexes (lvl 17)

The rogue talents I'm thinking of taking are...
Finesse rogue (lvl 3)
Resiliency (lvl 5)
Weapon training - rapier (lvl 7)
Fast stealth (Lvl 9)
combat trick - Dodge (lvl 11)
Feat - combat expertise (lvl 13)
Defensive roll (lvl 15)
Opportunist (lvl 17)

I definitely want to be more focused on skills than combat. Though, I'm looking at bumping up my survivability as much as possible so, I can be a flanking buddy. I'll probably keep a couple javelins on hand for potential flat footed enemies. Any helpful input and advice would be appreciated. Is this a decent build or am I way off base about something?

Awesome! Thank you very much.

I'm trying to find the official Paizo character sheets on PDF but, all the links I can find in the forums are now broken.

Are there any working links?

I'm also looking for a good animal companion sheet on PDF.

Oh well, if they don't stack, I'll just use one of the trees then. Probably shield focus and greater shield focus. I'm not taking Two-weapon fighting so, I will not be using my shield to attack.

Some time in lvl 2 I'll have, 10 + 9 (full plate) + 1 (Dex) + 2 (heavy shield) + 1 (natural armor from an Oread alternative racial trait).

Then, as I level up I'll add +1s for each of these feats, Dodge, shield focus, armor focus and greater shield focus. Plus, there will be some situational Dodge bonuses from Feats like Mobility. Not to mention magical enhancements for the armor and shield. This should make for a decent tank.

Thanks folks.

With it being PFS, I'm thinking that it would be beyond my GMs ruling. But, I agree that it should not be OP, I'll be using unarmed strikes without "furry of blows". So, I'm limited to the number of attacks my normal BAB gives me. I think of it as kind of a sword a board build but, using the Oread's rock hard hands and feet instead of a heald weapon.

If they do not stack, I'll just grab the Feats in the snapping turtle tree.

I've searched the forums and have not found anything about these Feats stacking or not. Shield focuse and Greater Shield Focus stack and improve the AC of your held shield. Snapping Turtle Style, and it's two additional Feats add to your shield AC if you have an empty hand. It would be nice if they stacked but, not a deal killer for me.

I'm wanting to build a PFS PC with a crazy high AC, an Oread Warpriest that uses unarmed strikes and a heavy shield is what I'm thinking of building.

How about the weapon focus, ranged touch attack. The acid spit is listed as a ranged touch attack

Spit Acid is an extraordinary ability, not a natural attack. Barring other abilities, Improved Natural Attack (tongue) is the only option for that feat for a giant slug animal companion.

Thank you for the quick response.

If I gave a giant slug the feat Improved Natural Attack, would it increase its Acid Spit damage? Or, would it only improve its tongue attack?

Attacking while flanking allows sneak attack damage. Are there any teamwork feats that allow an archer to get that flanking bonus?

I have an archer Inquisitor with the Sanctified Slayer Archetype. It looks like the Feint Partner Teamwork Feat would allow me to make an attack and add sneak attack damage, as long as someone else did a successful feint and I was within 30 of that opponent. Is this correct?

Are there any other Teamwork Feats that would allow me to add sneak attack damage as an archer?

How do you use stealth to gain more sneak attacks?
I assume that means my Inquisitor would need to be in cover or have concealment. Then, roll a successful opposed stealth check against my intended target as I move into a good firing position. If successful, my attack would add sneak attack damage. Is this correct? Is total cover or total concealment needed or, is partial Ok?

HazMatt696 wrote:

That's pretty good. The greenwood +2 strength would be exactly 750g. I might just spend my 2 pp on it. I spent my first 2 pp on a wand of clw.

I was just going to recommend exactly this. Darkwood if you can use the +3, Greenwood if not.

My inquisitor will have a 14 strength so, the greenwood would be about as perfect a fit as I know of...which isn't much considering I'm a newbie.

Thanks again for reminding me about the special materials. I'd looked at them a few times before but, I was mostly focused on my eventual purchase of a mithral agile breastplate. I had forgotten about the special woods available.

Edited: I'm figuring out how to use multiple quotes in a single post.

For an archer, I usually buy a MW Composite Longbow made of darkwood, with a STR rating of +3. This would be 730 gp price, but it is definitely worth spending 2 prestige points to get. Vary as you need for your character's STR.

Some people go with a greenwood bow, but I believe that only allows a +2 STR rating.

edit: Note that purchases made with prestige points do no get limited by fame, either.

That's pretty good. The greenwood +2 strength would be exactly 750g. I might just spend my 2 pp on it. I spent my first 2 pp on a wand of clw.

Guide for newbies goes over that a bit , as you can see its one of the more frequent questions.

Thanks for the link.

Thanks folks

I already know some of what's available, I'm a fan of the glass cannon podcast, I've scanned the magical enhancements and I've already ran the Feats on 3 different characters up to lvl 11. One day, this inquisitor will be pretty darn good.

Always available items are exempt from the fame restriction. For weapons and armor, this includes anything up to an enhancement of +1 magic (though certain special materials are not always available, like dragon hide). So go ahead and get your bow! :)

Thanks! Since I'm revamping my character, I have a bit over 900 gold available. That will leave me plenty of gold for armor, additional weapons and equipment.

So, I'm a lvl 1 newbie with 2xp, 4 fame... I want to remake my character and I'm thinking about buying a masterwork composite longbow with +2 strength. That is supposed to be an "always available" item but, it would cost $600 gold.

An item of $600 gold would be outside of what my fame would allow... Unless "always available" items are excluded from the fame cost limits. Would this purchase be allowed for me or, would I need to buy a lesser item...maybe a non mw comp longbow with +2 strength for $300.

Did I just see smoke... Yep, it's coming from my ears.

Improved critical for composite longbow might be just the ticket.

Well, this leaves me looking for one more feat at that theoretical 11th level.

Lol, I can see it now, that 10 strength character can only draw a +10 bow back about 2 inches. But, he can still use it effectively.

Ah, so, Exceptional Pull would let me use a +0 or +1 composite longbow and still get my +2 damage or, I could use, lets get crazy and say, a +10 composite longbow without penalty and still get my +2 damage. Well poo. I was hoping that this was another feat to let me add 2 more points of damage per hit.

I believe this build is legal for PFS. Can someone confirm or deny please.

Human inquisitor of Cayden Cailean. Sanctified Slayer (studied target instead of judgements) and Preacher (determination instead of teamwork Feats) Archetypes. Conversion Inquisition.

At lvl 8 I will chose a rogue talent, combat trick for the combat feat Manyshot.

Background traits, Reactionary and Friend in every town - knowledge local

Feats, lvl 1, precise shot and Point-blank shot
Lvl 3, rapid shot
Lvl 5, improved initiative
Lvl 7, deadly aim
Lvl 8, manyshot
Lvl 9, Clustered shots
Lvl 11, exceptional pull

Additional clarification...
My inquisitor will have a +2 strength bonus. If I interpret exceptional pull correctly, I can have a +2 strength composite longbow and actually gain a +4 strength bonus on damage. It also reads like it would allow composite bows with even higher strength bonuses to be used without penalty. Is this correct or, is it limited to adding +2 over your actual strength bonus?

Hmm, slayer for studied target (instead of judgements) and preacher for determination (instead of teamwork Feats) sounds good to me...if that's allowed in PFS. I'll be sure to boost my stealth a bit so that I can get that sweet sneak attack bonus...and archery just feels better to me. As a newbie, limiting the amount of options is not exactly a bad thing.

With -2 in Cha, I am planning on taking Conversion Inquisition to swap Wis for Cha on diplomacy and intimidate checks.

Thanks Saldiven, I'll keep that in mind.

If I remember correctly, at lvl 11, my ability scores will be 18,14, 12, 12, 16 and 7. (Swap Str and Dex if I decide to go archer.) And, I end up with diplomacy, intimidate, sense motive, spell craft and perception at +15. All the knowledges for monsters will be at +12. Then, tack on monster lore to make them +16. And my physical skills will be at +9 each. I think I can have all my physical skills, stealth and profession at +12 if, I eliminate all ranks in bluff and heal.

I'm definitely looking more towards the defensive spells. Not enough wisdom for offense...except for boosting your weapon's abilities.

I'm a newbie and I've been looking at several different classes for my 2nd ever PFS session. I've narrowed it down inquisitor. That way I can be a face and monster knowledge character with some healing. (It sounded like they only have one healer that occasionally plays with the low level folks.)

I've worked out the archery Feats all the way to lvl 11 and it looks pretty good. Now, I'm wondering what Feats would be best for a Two-handed weapon build. I'm thinking of using a reach weapon so I'm not exactly on the front line. I currently own the CRB and APG but, I have the ARG, ACG, UE, UC, and UM PDFs in my Shopping cart. Any build ideas would be appreciated.

Thank folks. I'm looking at building a Warpriest. I am also interested in knowing if there are situations where being able to carry heavy loads comes in handy. No specific scenario spoilers please.

I'm currently torn between using an Oread or Half-Elf.

Dwarves have the Slow and Steady racial trait. Does this ability come in handy in PFS scenarios? Is it worth spending a feat to access this ability as an Oread?

I have one open feat at lvl 7. I could either take Dodge or an additional Weapon Focus.

yes dodge bonuses stack, they are one of the only bonus types that do stack.

the war priest can because their lv 6 bonus feat counts their level as bab for the prereqs of the chosen feat.

Recommendation would be to make sure you're taking weapon focus in whichever weapon you plan on using as your main weapon, the accuracy boost will be helpful.

Awesome, thanks

I'm looking at the light flail for this. I'll take outslug style Feats so that I can eventually lunge without penalty and take 5ft or 10ft steps. That will let me trip or disarm from 10ft or dish out those hard hitting sacred weapon hits with the lunge reach.

A melee outslug style build needs lvl 6+. Eventually can lunge for an extra 5 ft of reach without the lunge penalty and your 5 foot steps increase to 10 foot steps.

Feats needdd:
*Weapon focus on a close range melee weapon, nothing with reach
*Combat expertise or Brawler's Cunning class feature
*Outslug style (take a 5ft step and gain +1 Dodge and +1 to damage rolls)
*Lunge at BAB +6 (reach an additional 5ft at a -2 penalty to hit)
*Outslug Weave (no longer take lunge penalty and outslug style bonuses increase to +2)
*Outslug Sprint (a 5ft step can now add another 5ft)

After some more searching through the Feats, I have a couple more questions.

Do Dodge bonuses stack? As in using the Feats combat reflexes + dodge + mobility?

Lunge says that it requires BAB +6. A Fighter would have that at lvl 6. Can a Warpriest take lunge at level 6 with his Bonus feat, even though she does not actually have BAB +6 yet?

I think I'm about to have my Feats figured out through lvl 13. I believe I'm going to take the light flail as my focus weapon instead of a Bill.

The Tetsubo is a pretty nice weapon itself...x4 crit multiplier can be super scary with the right build

And the bill adds reach, brace, disarm and a +1 shield bonus to AC when fighting defensively.

I'm really liking the combination of an Oread Warpriest of Yamatsumi with the blessings of Strength and Protection. I think I'll eliminate the whip and select a polearm instead.
Yamatsumi = Tetsubo, focus weapon = bill

Str (*2) 17, +1 at lvl 4
Dex 13
Con 14
Int 13
Wis (+2) 14, +1 at lvl 8, 12, etc
Cha (-2) 8

The 13s in Dex and Int give access to different Feats that add bonuses to my AC. I'll need to continue to figure out what Feats I will actually take but, for now I'm thinking Toughness and Focus Weapon - Bill at lvl 1. Unfortunately this craps out my charisma skills.

additional resources Bestiary 1 wrote:

Feats: none of the feats are legal for play for PCs, animal companions, or familiars unless specifically granted by another legal source;

Feats from bestiaries are only allowed where specifically mentioned in the class/ability description (such as for druid animal companions).

Exotic weapons require proficiency before you can take weapon focus. This is why people queried your choice of deity. You would need to be human to have the two feats or have a deity with favoured weapon: whip.

Thanks. I just spotted the fact that bestiary Feats were not allowed :(

I also see that outer gods are not allowed. That eliminates Abhoth :(

Another question:

Are any Feats listed in beastiaries allowed, particularly Improved Natural Armor?

I did not see any beastiaries listed on the additional resources page :(

Yamatsumi has favored weapon tetsubo, though, right? I'm not sure why that entered the conversation for a whip build?

My choice of Vanara is not allowed until the correct boon is earned so I'm switching things around. I'll choose whip as my Focus weapon. Here's what I'm thinking now

Oread Warpriest of Yamatsumi (favorite weapon = tetsubo)
Focus weapon = whip. The wording says that a Warpriest may choose any weapon. Is that correct or, are exotic weapons not allowed without proficiency?

Also be aware that all material outside of CORE is not permitted for play unless legalized in the additional resources page. So whatever Yamatsumi is, you'd need to double check that it's been legalized.

Thanks for the link to the additional resources page.

I'm not sure what happened to my previous post but, I appreciate the answer. I'm downloading the free PDF. If Yamatsumi is not in there, I will buy and download the Dragon kind Gazetteer book PDF.

Thanks for the info. Do you have a link to that guide?