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Pretending to be the Red Mantis is the sort of thing that earns a visit from the Red Mantis... Literally the plot of the Red Mantis one-shot adventure :P
This better be a thick book for a $70 price tag. The Monster Core is cheaper. The Monster Core was released before Paizo's new "going forward all books will increase in price" announcement. Additionally this lists "over 250" whereas Monster Core has 445 stat blocks in it, so I wouldnt bank on a bigger book.
"and the remastered automaton ancestry" How remastered we talking?
I've noticed an interesting disparity between a certain type of lvl 20 class feat in the sf2e playtest, and feats of the same type in pf2e. Feats that make you permanently quickened, vs feats that allow you to do an action as a free action. In pf2e, classes like Inventor have an option for a lvl 20 class feat that makes them permanently quickened, and with that quickened action they can "Command a Construct" for example. The problem is, because this is "quickened" it doesnt stack action amount with anything like Haste, it simply adds new options for what to do with that quickened action. Meanwhile, in the sf2e playtest classes like Operative and Envoy are getting feat options that say "Aim as a free action" or something similar. A Free Action, particularly one with no trigger, is vastly more valuable than a quickened action, especially by level 20. Now, personally Id love to see those feats STAY in Starfinder, and get BUFFED in Pathfinder, but seeing as the remaster did no such thing, I feel as though the feats in Starfinder should be nerfed for consistency. I don't like it, but its what feels fair.
Scout's Pounce is an example, you can use Verduran Shadow with any activity that asks you to be hidden or undetected. Now, I don't know the list of such activities so I can't tell you if some are available at level 6. The problem is, in order for this to be useful, any ability that meets those requirements would need to be level 4 or lower, assuming you took the Dedication at 2, then this feat at 6. The closest thing I have found is Startling Appearance from the Vigilante archetype. Unfortunately, that would require taking an entire second archetype, and Startling Appearance is already only 1 action, allowing for it to be readied by default. It feels like Death from Above should have been the level 6 feat, with Verduran Ambush set at level 8, thus allowing a natural progression of getting Death from Above, then at higher level being able to Ready that action (something normally unavailable).
The new archetype available from the Wardens of Wildwood, "Verduran Shadow" has a feat that is literally useless for a minimum of 2 levels Verduran Ambush is a level 6 feat, 3 action ability that says "You Ready an activity that takes 2 actions, though that activity must either be Death from Above or an activity with the requirement that you be hidden or undetected by all your opponents (such as Scout’s Pounce)." both Death from Above and Scout's Pounce are feats that come LATER in the archetype (Lvls 8 and 10 respectively). So best case scenario, you were lucky enough to have a game that uses Free Archetype, and you pick this feat up at level 6 without wasting your level 6 class feat, and then in 2 more levels you can use it. The feat itself seems super useful... but the level you gain it at makes absolutely no sense.
Why is this showing as "print edition unavailable"?
Irori really said “I put Everything on a bagel…”
The "Your First Adventure" section of the players guide makes me cry GM tears of joy! A mini, speed-run choose your own adventure story for the group to automatically create a series of past events everyone was involved in? Omg yes! Please do this for every single adventure going forward (AP, standalone, one-shot, whatever) that starts past 1st level.
Players dont want homework, they want gameplay... and gameplay that creates a party dynamic before the real adventure even starts is amazing and wonderful Heartfelt thank you to whoever came up with this idea!
The "Your First Adventure" section of the players guide makes me cry GM tears of joy! A mini, speed-run choose your own adventure story for the group to automatically create a series of past events everyone was involved in? Omg yes! Please do this for every single adventure going forward (AP, standalone, one-shot, whatever) that starts past 1st level.
Players dont want homework, they want gameplay... and gameplay that creates a party dynamic before the real adventure even starts is amazing and wonderful Heartfelt thank you to whoever came up with this idea!
How long is a "day"? All the downtime activities, particularly crafting, measure things in days, and yet it's never clarified how long a day is. Is it 24 hours of work? Is it 8 hours? If its 8, can I do two 8 hour "days' of work in a single 24 hour day?It says you spend 2 days of work setting up, or 1 day if you have the formula. hours doesn't matter because you spend x days, not x hours. The problem is that other rules make it seem like 1 day is 8 hours. The Efficient Rituals feat from the Ritualist archetype says "If the ritual normally requires 1 day to cast, you can cast it in 4 hours. If it takes longer than 1 day, you cast it in half the number of days, rounded up." Implying that the feat cuts the time it takes to do things in half... and thus 4 hours is half of 1 day. I understand this may be comparing apples and oranges, but I haven't found anything elsewhere that clarifies one way or the other.EDIT: In addition, the Quick Setup feat from Treasure Vault says "If you rush the setup of a permanent item at least 6 levels lower than you and reduce the setup time to less than 1 day, you can perform the setup in 4 hours." This seems to imply that crafting works on the same "half-time = 4 hours" format.
How long is a "day"? All the downtime activities, particularly crafting, measure things in days, and yet it's never clarified how long a day is. Is it 24 hours of work? Is it 8 hours? If its 8, can I do two 8 hour "days' of work in a single 24 hour day?
Any ETA on errata? RAW Drifters have been stuck with Expert on melee attacks past level 5 for 2 years now lol Also, I'd love a clarification on if the follow-up attacks in Chain Reaction from the Unexpected Sharpshooter archetype are affected by Multiple Attack Penalty? It feels like they should be, but also it's only "one" shot followed by a sequence of wild events, so maybe flavor beats mechanics?
I need that Tarbaphon as a plushie immediately :D
Have all of the new class features been revealed (for previous classes, like the new Elemental Barbarian)? Because Im really hoping for an Elemental Eidolon option for Summoners (though I know there are now 6 different primary elemental types, so that may be a lot to ask for)
Unless I'm missing some critical ruling somewhere, it seems to me that Gunslingers are kind of terrible with Combination weapons (even with their newest "way" specifically designed for their usage), due to the fact that the melee aspect of them are considered Martial melee weapons and Gunslingers never get higher than Expert. Having the functionality to switch to another attack type, but having that attack be automatically 4 less due to proficiency differences (plus whatever disparity between STR and DEX you have) seems like the biggest trap Ive ever seen. Is there some rule that makes the melee aspect of Combination count as firearm for weapon proficiency purposes? Or are they really just that bad?
I want to preface this by stating that I don't personally have a copy of Dark Archive yet, so I am relying on Archive of Nethys to inform me of how things are presented. That said, it seems to me like the "capstone" for the Chronoskimmer archetype is insanely good for a 14th lvl feat. "FREE ACTION. You manipulate time to recharge one of your temporal techniques—by revising your past so you never used it in the first place. Select one of your chronoskimmer feats that has a frequency of once per day (or more frequent) that you've already used. You can use the feat again, as if you hadn't used it already." My question is... is this supposed to have a limited number of uses? (AKA: are you only supposed to be able to reuse an ability say, one extra time per day?). Obviously from a flavor standpoint it makes sense to not have a limit (as you are undoing uses you've previously done) but functionally it makes every single Chronoskimmer feat infinite use (as all of the abilities are 1/day or more frequent). Can someone confirm if this is indeed correct as written? Because "if something seems too good to be true, it probably is" definitely seems to apply in this instance.
We are releasing July products on Wednesday, July 29 and not holding them for Gen Con, the first weekend of August. I assume you will have plenty of these for sale AT GenCon though? Nothing better than being able to purchase a book and read it immediately :D
It'll take a little bit to come online, but between Bedside Manner improvisation, Miracle Worker expertise talent, the Medic Archetype, and the Medical Expert feat, I'll be able to heal 5d8+18+INT+(2*CHA) as a Full Round Action "Treat Deadly Wounds" by lvl 9. Throw in First Aid Expert theorem from Biohacker for double INT, and by Level 20 my Treat Deadly Wounds will be 20d8+40+(2*INT)+(2*CHA). Thanks to the Medic Archetype, any over-healing will go to Stamina points. past level 3. Throw in Field Dressing theorem, and being able to fire Serums of Healing (both of which also benefit from the Medic over-healing feature) and I think the build is pretty effective, considering most of the time I'll be attacking the enemy with Biohacks anyways. Additionally, from the Envoy side of things I'll also be taking Inspiring Boost and Inspiring Oration improvisations, giving me Stamina heals to throw out in addition to the options for HP heals.
I am currently building a character whose purpose is to be a healer. I understand that there are a variety of debates about which class is good at what sort of healing and so on; but I have decided to play as a Biohacker multiclassing into Envoy. With the introduction of the Signature Item alternate class feature from Tech Revolution, this seems like an incredible way to get the best of both worlds. However, if I have learned anything from Paizo games over the past decade or so, it's that "if something seems too good to be true, it usually is (but we wont errata it)". So to that end, I have several questions about abilities, how they interact, what they count as, and how they scale. For reference, the Signature Item ability (at least the part that matters to my character) says the following: "Your signature item is a handheld device with a specific non-combat purpose, such as a hacking kit or datapad. Your first skill expertise must be selected from the following list: Computers, Engineering, or Medicine... If you choose Medicine, your signature tool also functions as a 1st-level biohacker’s custom microlab (Character Operations Manual 41), though if you have a custom microlab from another class, add your envoy levels and the other class’s levels together for determining its abilities. You can select biohacker theorems as though they were expertise talents, qualifying for theorems using the sum of your envoy and biohacker levels as your biohacker level. However, this doesn’t grant you any other biohacker abilities, and you can’t select theorems that require another biohacker ability unless you’ve gained that required ability from another source." Ok cool, I get a 1st level Biohackers custom microlab. And if I already have one, my levels stack for determining its abilities. So heres the first question, just to clarify:
Now, as a 1st level Biohacker, I have Biohacks. The very first words of the Biohacks description are " As part of your custom microlab..." So here's my second question:
Now, for the final bit.
In particular, one theorem that I was looking at was Field Dressing.
Heres the question though:
Thank you all in advance for your assistance with this. TLDR: If I play a Biohacker 1/Envoy 3 with Signature Item (Medicine), does my custom microlab scale to level 4? Does it become an Advanced Medkit at character level 5? Do my Biohacks scale based on total levels between the two classes, as they are "part of the custom microlab"? Do the theorems I can take as Envoy expertise talents scale based on total levels between the two classes?
I see that this starts at lvl 8, what level does it end at?
After further research, thare are apparently dozens of changes that are NOT listed in the Errata... Why?Are you looking for 1st edition errata? or PF2 errata? Pathfinder 2e errata. Seems that things like Animal Skin changing from a status bonus to an item bonus... or Quick Alchemy no longer needing a free hand... aren't listed in the official errata page, but are absolutely a change that has happened since the first printing through until now.
After further research, thare are apparently dozens of changes that are NOT listed in the Errata... Why?
I have a 1st copy of the CRB, and as such rely on the Errata's to inform me of rule updates and changes. I distinctly remember there being a massive change to the way certain item bonuses and status bonuses interact (specifically the Barbarian class feat Animal Skin got completely changed so that it not longer interacted with some new alchemist items). However, I just went to look for that exact rule change, and I can't find it in the Errata on the site anywhere? Where did the rules changes go? Is there some other location to find them besides https://paizo.com/pathfinder/faq ?
Crimson Throne was the first Pathfinder AP I ever played through... Can't wait to see what they've done to my precious city :D
Judging by soldier secondary fighting styles - you use knacks as if the array was of a lower level. If you're swarm striking, you'd want sheathe to be your primary. I had the same thought, but... basing the assumption off the soldier fighting styles is still a problem because Soldiers cant randomly decide to switch which fighting style is primary and which is secondary.
How does Manifold Array interact with Nanocyte Knacks? Do the Knacks associated with certain arrays get reduced in effectiveness based on those arrays active array levels? For example: If I am a level 7 Nanocyte and I create a Cloud Array as my primary array, and a Sheath Array as my secondary array, does that reduce the damage and effects of my Swarm Strike knack, since it is used off of a sheath array? Or does Manifold Array ONLY AFFECT the base effects of the Arrays (# of clouds for Cloud, amount of insight bonus for Sheath, and amount of items I can create with Gear? Option #2 seems too good to be true, but I'm really hoping maybe Swarm Strike doesn't lock you in to Sheath as your only primary array option.
I absolutely adore this new class. Everything about it seems incredibly fun, and the flavor of many of its abilities flows right into what I would expect. But I feel like it could have something more. One of the developers (I think Mark Seifter) wrote the following about the Thaumaturge: "A thaumaturge is based on the idea that it's not just that you might know things. You are connected to things and you can manipulate those connections and create them. Part of it is like convincing the universe that this is a thing, akin to the idea of magic maybe plowing the field for future casting from SoM treatises on the nature of magic. Is this broken chain from a freed slave a good connection to damage this tyrannical king? Well he doesn't have any weaknesses normally, but you're pushing the universe to create a new bespoke weakness just for you.
I also am a huge fan of the Kingkiller Chronicles, and everything about making connections between two seemingly unrelated things reminds me of the magic found within those books. Some of my favorite parts are when Kvothe uses the properties of one object to apply new properties to something else. So my question is this... why limit those connections to simply damage? What about our fabulous list of Conditions? I would love to see a Thaumaturge who carries around weights with him and makes connections to enemies in order to Slow them.
Now, I understand that this starts stepping on the toes of several other classes, namely Rogues and their fabulous Debilitating Strikes feature.
Add Conditions as an additional alternative option to damage as part of Esoteric Antithesis. Then, the Thaumaturge can choose to either do extra damage, or provide crowd control and status effects. Then, Rogues still get their time in the sun (getting both bonus damage AND status effects on sneak attacks), and the Thaumaturge has options to choose from while in combat. You could even allow the Thaumaturge to make multiple connections to a single target, and do both damage and a condition at the cost of multiple actions. Imagine being able to wrap a chain around your bow and Immobilize someone because you've convinced the universe that they are now bound to the chain... and not because you critically hit them, but because you put in the work (aka spent actions) to form connections and now can ruin their day.
Kreighton's Cognitive Crossover would also be a pretty big deal to this, for characters that have Access to it.A thaumaturge unfortunately cannot use Kreighton's Cognitive Crossover. That feat can only be used when you gain no information from a Recall Knowledge check, which only happens when you non-critically fail. A thaumaturge gets Dubious Knowledge at level 1, and Dubious Knowledge is not an optional thing. If you have it, you gain information when you non-critically fail, so you never qualify for the trigger of Kreighton's Cognitive Crossover. THAT... is a very weird fringe case lol. By being better at knowledge rolls, he can't take an ability that makes him better at knowledge rolls. I wonder if Paizo has discovered and/or addressed this issue, as Dubious Knowledge is an easy enough common skill feat to acquire from Backgrounds, and with the addition of adding it to your character automatically now precludes you from picking and using certain things. I 100% agree with the call to add Dubious Knowledge to the Thaumaturge class, it's the interaction with Kreighton's (which is a much newer feat and thus things from the CRB can't possibly account for every future possibility) that is the real problem. Perhaps Kreighton's could be erratta'd to say that it triggers on a failed knowledge check, and not just on a check that results in no information.
Loremaster's Etude absolutely would assist this build, as would a few other ancestry specific option's I've seen people mention (Nanite Surge and Consistent Surge from Android ancestry, and Halfling Luck and Incredible Luck from Halfling ancestry). As for Forensic Acumen, I don't believe it would work in conjunction with Find Flaws and so I left it out of the build.
Kreighton's Cognitive Crossover would also be a pretty big deal to this, for characters that have Access to it. That's very true! Though you would absolutely want to make sure that one of the Knowledges you choose for that feat matches with whatever Knowledge you choose for Bestiary Scholar. (Not a big deal, just something to make sure you dont just randomly choose while picking feats).
Several users over on the PF2E reddit pointed out that the Lantern implement from the base class would add another +1 status bonus to the Recall Knowledge roll, further boosting your chances of a crit.
One of the biggest features of the Thaumaturge that stands out to me immediately is how focused this class is on identifying creatures, their weaknesses, and applying those weaknesses. This got me thinking about how to optimize on this, and holy cow did I find some fun stuff... So come with me on a magical journey through a combination of class and archetype feats that will leave you saying goodbye to Ranger Rick, and hello to Geralt of Rivia. First, I will preface this concept by saying that obviously this build and idea works better with using Free Archetype (especially if your DM allows your Free Archetype to chain into a second archetype), freeing up your class feats for Thaumaturge options... but as you'll see in my feat list at the end, it's not that bad even just using CRB rules. First lets start with the lvl 1 class ability "Find Flaws". This says that you RECALL KNOWLEDGE, using Charisma instead of whatever usual ability score; AND that you gain the additional effects of the ability AS WELL AS the "usual effects of Recall Knowledge". This tells me a few different things about the ability; but it all really boils down to one thought... This thing stacks better than a Lego master builder.
If you succeed, or get a crit success, on "Find Flaws" you can then proceed to use Esoteric Antithesis as a free action. Esoteric Antithesis allows you to either cause your weapon attacks to deal a type of damage that matches the creatures weakness (if the creature has a weakness, and that weakness is equal or higher than 2 + 1/2 your level) OR it allows you to cause your weapon attacks to deal damage that the creature BECOMES weak to, with a weakness equal to 2 + 1/2 your level (this weakness only applies to attacks from you). If you DONT get a success, or crit success, this ability costs an action to use
Allow me to introduce, the Pathfinder Agent archetype, and it's older brother, the Scrollmaster Archetype. They are your new best friends. The first thing you need to know is this: The Scrollmaster archetype falls under a category of very select archetypes that are allowed to be taken in conjunction with other archetypes, without having met a specific number of archetype feats first. In this case specifically, you can take Scrollmaster at the same time as Pathfinder Agent. What this means in layman's terms is that you could technically take the Pathfinder Agent Dedication, and then next class feat / free archetype feat IMMEDIATELY take Scrollmaster Dedication (assuming you met its other requirements). Let's start with Pathfinder Agent.
Thorough Reports allows you to "keep track of each type of creature you successfully identify with Recall Knowledge". When you attempt to Recall Knowledge against a creature you have previously identified, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the roll, and learn an additional fact about such creatures on a success.
But it gets better... Discerning Strike is a Single Action attack that you can make against a target you have successfully identified with Recall Knowledge during this combat. Remember, "Find Flaws" counts as Recall Knowledge.
And folks, the fun doesn't BEGIN to stop there. Moving along to the Scrollmaster Dedication.
But wait, there's more! Within the Scrollmaster archetype lies another feat, just begging to be thrown on the pile... Bestiary Scholar.
That's right... all those Recall Knowledge's you've been doing (using your CHA score no less!) now can be done using a SINGLE KNOWLEDGE SKILL.
Now here's what particularly interesting about all of these feats (especially that last one)... Every single one of them gives a CIRCUMSTANCE BONUS on things they boost. This is important looking back at the goal of this post: Stacking Bonuses.
Now, let's take a look at a lvl 2 feat for the Thaumaturge himself (thats right, we haven't even taken anything from the core class yet, and we are already making the Outwit Monster Hunter Rangers and Lore Bards look like elementary school children). Esoteric Warden
Hmmm... that's interesting. At first glance this appears to be a very similar feat as Bestiary Scholar, until you look at the bonus type. That's right, the Esoteric Warden feat gives a STATUS bonus, whereas Bestiary Scholar gives a CIRCUMSTANCE bonus... stacks on stacks on stacks. So, let's recap. By taking the following feats:
You gain the following chain reaction:
And after all that... you still have a whole other action left in your turn. Obviously, this build concept (if you can call it that) relies heavily on taking archetype feats. BUT, if your character goal is to be the Murder Pokedex for monsters, it's actually not too bad all things considered, leaving the latter half of your character build completely open for high level class feats and other shenanigans. Lvl 1: whatever feat you want
Lemme know what you guys think :D
I think your point about "you should be at range" is exactly the point behind this design choice. The emotion based effect can hit you anywhere, and given that fear effects are quite common, will effect you a lot more. So the CHA based downside is lessened as a result of the increased frequency. Assuming you are staying at range, away from anything that has Attack of Opportunity, it is entirely possible to avoid the INT downside entirely for any fight regardless of type of creature. Of note, it also feels like the flavor matches the mechanics... Int based Psychics SHOULD be away from combat, because they are thinking tactically. CHA based Psychics might not be thinking tactically because they are ruled by their emotions.
The five implements are Amulet, Chalice, Lantern, Wand, and Weapon
Pathfinder Society book... now a Lastwall book... this has interesting connotations for future faction books... Hellknights? Firebrands? Red Mantis Assassins? BRING IT ON!
I want to preface this post by saying that I have been running 2e since the day it released, and have had the same group of players since then, so we all have a very good understanding of the system and how the difficulty of things can play out. This is also going to be a sort of one-off side story adventure to the main campaign, and they will not be playing their main characters, so if every goes absolutely off the rails horribly and ends in a TPK, it's not the end of the world. We also have been a gaming group for a long time, so the trust in me as a DM to not absolute screw them over for no reason is pretty high, so I want to make sure I get this right. Now with all that said... I have a party of 6 players and I want to throw them up against a creature that is mechanically 5 levels higher than their current level. I am unsure on the math on this, and want to try and get down to Extreme difficulty, and not beyond. The party will be level 16, the creature is level 21 (ancient dragon with the lich template, since draco-liches don't have their own stat blocks yet).
The best I can figure out, there is a sort of pattern to the XP system... the lowest XP creature is Party-4 which gives 10 XP, then party-3 is 5 higher, party -2 is 5 higher, and party-1 is 10 higher... every 2 levels higher than that the xp amount doubles (exponentially? Im not great at remembering math terminology) So the difference between party +1 and party +2 is 20, but the difference between party +2 and party +3 is 40... ultimately going 5,5,10,10,20,20,40,40 So if that pattern holds, Party+5 XP budget SHOULD be Party+4 XP, plus an additional 80, which comes out to 240 XP, which is exactly the amount I need it to be. Does my math make sense? Should I STILL not run the fight even if it checks out?
The Mechanic trick "Exploration Routine" from Galaxy Exploration Manual says "Add the following to the list of feats your drone can select: Ambush Awareness, Climbing Master, Echolocation Attack, Environmental Adaptation, Memory Access, and Swimming Master." However, the Environmental Adaptation feat has a requirement of Con 13 AND the amount of environmental conditions you get to choose is based on your Consitution modifier. Drones dont have a Con score, and "Any DCs or other statistics that rely on a Constitution score treat a drone as having a Constitution score of 10 (no bonus or penalty)." So does this feat do nothing?
Has there been any confirmation on how many clans there are in the Mwangi Expanse? Or is it sort of a "theres as many as your table needs, and they can be names whatever animal you want" thing?
I heard Grippli's ability modifier has Errata in hype thread. What is the errata'd change? (An ability score change is a big deal, and I only have the physical book, so I wanna make sure I have the correct info)
Question for the hivemind: How well known is the city of Promise? Everything I read about Mengkare says that he's been working on the city for almost 200 years now. During that time, he sent out the Scarlet Triad (when they still were doing their original purpose) to recruit people to his utopia of concerningly specific perfection. I'm getting ready to run Book 4 of the AP, and one of the PCs has the background Dragon Scholar from the players guide. Even moreso, the character is a completely obsessed "dragon nerd" who has gone down the path of Dragon Disciple. Would a character like this, with a Master proficiency in Arcana, as well as Expert in Society, know about Promise, given that it is essentially a small country run by an Ancient Gold Dragon? It seems like it is a unique situation, in that nowhere else is there any sort of draconic leadership so openly displayed on Golarion, and a dragon nerd would probably be extremely fascinated by its existence (even hope to go there someday given that they only take "the best"). And doubling down on it, would they know that Mengkare was responsible for The Rending of Droskar's Crag? Or is this second piece of information a more well kept secret (seeing as its entirely possible that very few people, Mengkare included, survived the explosion and consecutive eruption)? I want to start sprinkling hints about Promise, and Mengkare, NOW in Book 4, so that by the time we get to Book 6, he's not some random character that has never once been mentioned ever, and is suddenly supposed to be the most important thing to the story (which is how the AP is canonically written). I'm thinking maybe the PC's find a flyer when they return to Breachill from Kintargo, advertising a "better tommorow". It doesn't lead to anything currently, but I want to know if I should have them make knowledge rolls, or if Promise is just something everybody has heard of... "you know, the big fancy city run by the Dragon?"
Erik Mona mentioned this morning (for anyone who missed it) on Cannon Fodder (Glass Cannon's "behind the scenes" podcast) that this was "on-track and on schedule to be released this November"
I want to preface this by saying two things.
Spoiler:
So, I'm currently running Age of Ashes, and we just finished Book 3 and nobody seems to understand WHY they need to continue. More specifically, they believe that as long as they hold several of the portal Keys (currently they have the arrowhead, Eclipse, and now the Eye of the Wise) that the Scarlet Triad can't do whatever it is they have planned for the portal. The problem is, obviously I as the GM know that there is ALOT going on behind the scenes. The dwarf 2nd in command in Book 4 is causing problems in Five Kings Mountains, Uri Zandivar is being a baddy over in Katapesh, and ultimately their schemes will bring them close to their ultimate goal of completing the Orb of Gold Dragonkind and controlling Mengkare, and then Mengkare has his own plans... And absolutely NONE OF THIS INFORMATION comes to light for the players until really late Book 5, or even Book 6. Am I missing something? The characters all receive individual character drives from their AP specific backgrounds... and those gave almost NO reason to even go into book 2, let alone an interest in stopping the Scarlet Triad beyond "we're the heroes". Or are the PCs really expected to be interested in being proactive with stopping the activities of the Scarlet Triad, despite having absolutely no idea what they are actually up to? Its like a world spanning game of whack-a-mole... Ive read over the first 3 books several times now, and it honestly seems like the only info the players know is: Book 1: Voz is being funded by some organization called the Scarlet Triad to look into Alseta's Ring. Cultists show up through the portal, and a spider-lady gets cut off from her home. (If it wasn't for the spider-lady, my PCs wouldnt have even had a reason to investigate the portal into Book 2, they would have sealed off the basement and went about their lives) Book 2: The PCs go through the portal "for reasons" and are immediately conscripted into a war between the Ekujae elves and the Cinderclaw cultists. They find out that the cultists are mining gold for the Scarlet Triad. When they ask about why they are mining the gold, THE AP LITERALLY TELLS YOU that the cultist leader responds with "Do you not like gold? Everybody likes gold!" and says that they genuinely have no idea, and dont care, why they are mining the gold beyond doing it in exchange for services from the Scarlet Triad. Book 3: Laslunn sends several agents to check in on Voz, those agents take it upon themselves to capture a villager (I had them capture Pid and Zarf instead of the woodworker guy, because my PCs couldnt care less about some random NPC who's only purpose is to repair the citadel... again, having to change the narrative to engage the characters). As PCs they took this attack personally, so thankfully that drove them through Dreamgate and into Book 3. When they get there... oh no pirates/slavers, and the longest chain of combats Ive ever seen in a book... They rescue the town and head to Kintargo to look into the warehouse they learned about, setting off the rest of the book... again another game of whack-a-mole. The tower on campus has no purpose to the story, the Triad could just take people offsight like theyve done all the other prisoners in the quarrey... The Bellflower Network does essentially nothing... the Rahkshasa's summoning fake ghosts only makes sense to any players that have played through previous 1e APs... Finally, they track down Laslunn in the quarrey, defeat all the enemies there (including the Lich who has no bearing on the story and literally just happens to be there with the Scarlet Triad, in a "you stay away from me Ill stay away from you" stalemate)... and they find the letter saying that the newly found key, Eye of the Wise, leads to a place in the Five Kings Mountains where they Scarlet Triad once again already is, and again, No reason why available to the players. So... going into Book 4, obviously I know that the Dwarf lady is trying to broker a deal with the Magma Dragon in the area, mostly the get access to the Shard of the Orb of Gold Dragonkind it has in its possession, but also to bolster her own position and power. But before you even get to Chapter 1 of the Book, there is a sidebar that says "Veshumirix has already agreed to part with the shard in exchange for Kovlar, and Illssrah has sent the shard on to Katapesh—but the PCs shouldn’t learn about this until the next adventure." So even if they find a reason to combat the Scarlet Triad AGAIN without reason beyond "we're the heroes", they still wont find out WHY anything is happening. Is this normal? Are PCs honestly expected to go through FIVE BOOKS before finding out the main plot of an AP? I haven't even covered the Mengkare plot line... Starting the Scarlet Triad himself, planning to sacrifice an entire city... aren't these things my players should know?
Please hive-mind... I need your help...
Any word on if this has shipped yet? Link says the PDF should be available less than a week from now, so I figured it would have gone out already but I havent seen any tracking emails
So by default, the Conduct Energy action from a Resonant weapon says it gives "1 additional damage per weapon damage die" Conducting rune says "the weapon deals an additional 1d8 damage of the selected type instead of 1 additional damage per die; if the weapon already had the resonant weapon trait, it deals 1d8 damage plus 1 damage per die instead." My question is, on a Conducting Rune weapon, does the 1d8 replace "1 damage per damage die", or does it replace "1" damage per damage die? i.e. does a Striking Conducting weapon deal 2d8 elemental damage?
Yeah, its an item I wish they would errata since I don't really know whats intended. I typically just buy it for my crafters for the item bonus... and just ignore the repair bonus for now. Yeah, I usually do the same. But unfortunately, the Inventor class now exists with it's construct companion that has to be Repaired rather than healed... so having a bonus to Repair amounts is suddenly a far more pressing need in my life.
Alright hivemind... I need your help with something. This magic item makes no sense, and best I can find, Paizo hasn't responded on how it works. So I come to you as a desperate Crafter looking for an answer. CRAFTER'S EYEPIECE:
Now this is confusing because this is the wording for the Repair action: CRIT SUCCESS: You restore 10 Hit Points to the item, plus an additional 10 Hit Points per proficiency rank you have in Crafting (a total of 20 HP if you’re trained, 30 HP if you’re an expert, 40 HP if you’re a master, or 50 HP if you’re legendary). SUCCESS: You restore 5 Hit Points to the item, plus an additional 5 per proficiency rank you have in Crafting (for a total of 10 HP if you are trained, 15 HP if you’re an expert, 20 HP if you’re a master, or 25 HP if you’re legendary). It appears that the "10 HP per rank" restored mentioned in Crafter's Eyepiece only applys to a Crit Success (and regular success only gives an extra 5 HP per rank) So does this item not do anything for a basic Success? Or does it increase ALL successes by 5 per rank? Making Crit Success 10 + 15 per rank, and Success 5 + 10 per rank?
He also confirmed that Kitsune are +Cha +Free, no flaws ability score bonuses; At-Will Shape Change being part of their base ancestry (no feats or heritages required), and one of the heritages allows for Shape Change to also turn you into an actual fox.
Maybe a feat that increases the amount repaired? The Crafter's Eyepiece item would increase amount repaired by an additional amount (still unsure exactly how much since the item reads weird when referenced against the repair skill), and Torag's Silver Anvil would add an extra 10 on top of that. I assume given the new book is heavily crafting/tech based that there will be a plethora of new items specifically intended for repairing items, and probably even some specifically for fixing constructs (given the Automaton ancestry). Odds are, there will be an insane amount of new Crafting focused skill feats as well. Obviously, the viability of a class should never have to hinge on its equipment, but there are at least a few options already in the game to give us a starting point.
Will this fly speed be all the time and available at a decent level? Or will it be like Aasimar/Tiefling and only be available at lvl 17?
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