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The Tech Support background says its gives Trained in Computers, and the Quick Install skill feat. However, Quick Install requires Trained in Crafting. Unlike the rare occurrences where you can acquire a feat without meeting the prerequisites, this has no such caveat.

I am completely new to Society games, doubly so at conventions. I am going to be attending GenCon this year, and have already purchased tickets for the various SF2e Society games happening there. Is there anything special/different I should be aware of in regards to creating a character ahead of time? Since 2e doesnt come out until the convention, there aren't any 2e specific Society rules I have been able to find (at least not in regards to Starfinder).

After the book releases that first morning, will I be free to create my own character for Society play at the convention? Or since it will have JUST released, will everyone just be using premades?

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.

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.

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.

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:
If I start with Biohacker at 1st level, and then multiclass into Envoy at 2nd level, my custom microlab counts as a 2nd level microlab (no changes yet obviously)... Is this correct? So at character level 5 (Biohacker 1/Envoy 4) I would have a 5th level custom microlab, which upgrades it to an Advanced Medkit?

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:
Assuming I only ever take that first level in Biohacker, do my Biohacks scale with my Envoy levels, as they are "part of the custom microlab", and Signature Item says the levels stack "for determining its abilities"? Specifically the Basic Inhibtor says it increases in effectiveness at level 9 and level 17. So at Biohacker 1/Envoy 8, and Biohacker 1/Envoy16 would these increase?
I understand that Signature Item says "you dont gain any other biohacker abilities" so obviously I dont get things like Field of Study, Spark of Ingenuity, Injection Expert, etc... but the Biohacks specifically say they are part of the microlab, AND I gained the microlab prior to the Envoy levels, therefore qualifying me for the level stacking portion of Signature Item, so herein lies the confusion on that PARTICULAR feature.

Now, for the final bit.
As part of the Signature Item ability it says that I can take theorems as thought they were expertise talents, using my combined levels as my biohacker level. This is particularly cool, as it allows me to get some of the things I wanted from Biohacker while still keeping my Envoy levels high for things that scale off my Envoy level (like improvisations).

In particular, one theorem that I was looking at was Field Dressing.
Field Dressing only requires 2nd lvl Biohacker, therefore by the time I get to level 3 Envoy and take my first expertise talent, I definitely qualify for it.

Heres the question though:
Field Dressing says it scales at levels 4 and 8. If I am a Biohacker 1/Envoy 3 when I first choose Field Dressing, does it scale up to the level 4 version of the ability? I count as a level 4 Biohacker when I take the ability, so I would think so, but as with everything else in this post, Im double and triple checking.

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 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 ?

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.
You can use Cha for a special in battle Recall Knowledge to suss out existing weaknesses or make a new one. Even if you fail, you can spend another Interact action to just pull out tons of different possibilities and try them until something works. So a success is not necessary to do your thing."

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.
Give me a Thaumaturge who uses rabbit's feet to Haste his allies.
Needles and a jar of eyeballs to Blind your enemies.
A bit of chain/manacles to Immobilize
Etc....

Now, I understand that this starts stepping on the toes of several other classes, namely Rogues and their fabulous Debilitating Strikes feature.
So here is what I propose:

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.

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.
Anything that applies to your rolls for "Recall Knowledge" as well as anything that applies to the effects on a successful "Recall Knowledge" ALL APPLY to the "Find Flaws" action.

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
So obviously, using the "Find Flaws" ability, the goal (like all things in this game) is to get a Critical Success. So how do we do that? By adding as many additional bonuses to our possible knowledge scores as we can. Stacking bonuses in this system are few and far between, by design, but there are a few fabulous options hidden among some odd places.

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.
Now, the Dedication itself is nothing to write home about, what we are really here for is two feats. One is a skill feat called Thorough Reports. The other is an archetype feat called Discerning Strike.

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.
So why is this helpful? Well, by default, "Find Flaws" only applies to the creature you used it on, and you can only have it applied to one creature at a time... so even if there are 12 of the exact same creature fighting your party, you are going to have to re-apply Find Flaws against each creature as you go. Since you are spending an action on each creature applying Find Flaws, you obviously want to get that success/crit to allow for the free action bonus damage, so what better way to attempt to get that than getting a bonus on Recall Knowledge rolls to creatures you've already "Recall Knowledge"ed?

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.
If you hit with Discerning Strike, you deal an extra 1d6 precision damage. In addition, if you have succeeded on a Recall Knowledge check against the target during this combat and their creature type was previously recorded using Thorough Reports, you also deal 1 point of persistent bleed damage. The creature is then temporarily immune to Discerning Strike for 1 day.
Now, because you've succeeded at identifying the creature (you DID succeed, didn't you?) you now are able to identify its weaknesses, apply bonus damage for a free action, and then with your follow-up action make a Strike that deals additional damage on top, as well as a Bleed effect.

And folks, the fun doesn't BEGIN to stop there.

Moving along to the Scrollmaster Dedication.
You gain some fun thematic abilities, allowing you to remember various facts for extended periods of time and so on... and then one little sentence is thrown in at the end.
"If you have the Thorough Reports feat and have expert proficiency in the skill you’re using to Recall Knowledge, your circumstance bonus to Recall Knowledge about creatures from that feat increases to +4."
AMAZING. So now, our bonus to identifying creatures we've already identified goes up to +4. Crits are looking easier by the minute.

But wait, there's more! Within the Scrollmaster archetype lies another feat, just begging to be thrown on the pile... Bestiary Scholar.
Requiring only Level 10, and a Master proficiency in ONE Knowledge skill (Arcana, Crafting, Nature, Occultism, or Religion) you can get this feat that adds the following:
"When you gain this feat, choose one of the following skills in which you have attained master proficiency: Arcana, Crafting, Nature, Occultism, or Religion. You can use the chosen skill to Recall Knowledge to identify any creature normally identifiable by any of the above skills. In addition, when you critically succeed at identifying a creature, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your next attack roll or saving throw against that creature."

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.
And then, just for fun, when you critically succeed, you get an extra bonus against that creature (either on an attack roll, or a saving throw).

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.
Bonuses of the same type don't stack, you simply use the highest bonus. However, bonuses of different types DO stack.

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
Level 2 class feat, Thaumaturge
When you Find Flaws and succeed at your Recall Knowledge check, in addition to the normal effects, you gain a +1 status bonus to your AC against the creature’s next attack and a +1 status bonus to your next saving throw against the creature. These bonuses increase to +2 on a critical success. You can gain these bonuses only once per day against a particular creature.

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:
Pathfinder Agent Dedication (archetype feat)
Thorough Reports (archetype skill feat)
Discerning Strike (archetype feat)
Scrollmaster Dedication (archetype feat)
Bestiary Scholar (archetype feat)
Esoteric Warden (class feat)

You gain the following chain reaction:
* Use the "Find Flaws" ability on an enemy you have identified previously, this counts as the Recall Knowledge action.
* You gain a +4 circumstance bonus to the Recall Knowledge roll.
* This Recall Knowledge roll can be made with your CHA stat, using whatever Knowledge skill you have at Master (whichever you chose for Bestiary Scholar)
* On a success you gain a +1 status bonus to AC against that creatures next attack, a +1 status bonus to your next saving throw against that creature, and a free action application of your Esoteric Antithesis.
* On a crit success, boost the success bonuses by +1 (to +2 total), AND you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your next attack or saving throw against that creature (the save bonuses stack for a total +3).
*Lastly, on your next action, use Discerning Strike (works with either melee or ranged) to deal an extra 1d6 precision damage, and 1 persistent bleed, ON TOP of the extra weakness damage you will be dealing from Esoteric Antithesis

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
Lvl 2: Esoteric Warden
Lvl 4: Pathfinder Agent Dedication
Lvl 4 skill feat: Thorough Reports
Lvl 6: Scrollmaster Dedication
Lvl 8: Discerning Strike
Lvl 10: Bestiary Scholar

Lemme know what you guys think :D

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).
Now, I know that an Extreme difficulty encounter is 160 XP, +40 for each PC above 4; so my total budget is 240 XP. What I don't know is how that works out mathmatically, vs the XP of a creature that high of level.

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?

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?"

I want to preface this by saying two things.
1: This is my first time running a pre-written AP (I've always just run homebrew setting/campaigns)
2: My PLAYERS want to continue the story, they are simply having trouble finding reasons for their CHARACTERS to be interested. Our group has a blast playing together, it honestly might just be the writing of this AP.... This all may come off as a lot of complaining, but as a GM I am genuinely frustrated and stymied for a way to continue the story as written without significant changes.

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?

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:
" This rugged metal eyepiece etched with square patterns is designed to be worn over a single eye. Twisting the lens reveals a faint three-dimensional outline of an item you plan to build or repair, with helpful labels on the component parts. While worn, this eyepiece gives you a +1 item bonus to Crafting checks. When you Repair an item, increase the Hit Points restored by 15 per proficiency rank instead of 10. "

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?

Something that has always been a staple of Pathfinder (both editions) is feats. Feats allow you to do things you wouldn't/couldn't/shouldn't be able to do otherwise. As such, I've always been under the impression that if there is a feat for something, and you don't have that feat, you can't do that thing. Otherwise, go nuts and do whatever the hell your DM lets you get away with.

So with that said, why is there a feat for shooting things to make them explode? Doesn't that now, by its very existence, preclude (for example) an archer with a flaming arrow from making a "barrel of expensive rum" explode?

I understand that perhaps the main point of it is that it gives specific mechanics for what happens when the PC does that (As opposed to the DM having to make it up on the fly). But there's just something about this feat that seems counter to the freedom of character action choice that ttrpgs are known for.

Maybe its just me * shrug *

It says that in order for a Gunslinger (or anyone really) to craft ammo for guns, its requires the Alchemical Crafting skill feat. Now naturally, given that the Alchemist (and now the Inventor), has the skill feat required to craft the necessary items for their class, I assumed that Gunslingers would receive Alchemical Crafting for free at level 1. And yet, there is nothing to be found. To make matters worse, there is even a FEAT for combining Alchemical Bombs and ammunition (Alchemical Shot, lvl 4), but the class does not support this.

Is this an oversight, or are Gunslingers really intended to use up one of their precious skill feats on something required for their class? Considering the gun ammunition is an Uncommon item as well, it's not like they could just NOT take the feat and expect to be able to restock on ammo in any town they come to (like every other character can with arrows).

Is there any clarification that can be provided on what level the Fey Influence feat allows the spells to be cast at (given that half of them can be heightened)? My initial assumption was only 1st level, but given that it is an ancestry feat that seems incredibly underpowered.

Zen Archer monks "can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action, but only when using a bow (even though it is a ranged weapon). He may not make a flurry of blows with his unarmed attacks or any other weapons."

The Empty Quiver Flexibility feat states "While using Empty Quiver Style, you can apply any feats and class abilities you possess that modify your ranged attack rolls and damage rolls with the chosen weapon to melee attack rolls and damage rolls made with that weapon."

Would this feat allow a Zen Archer to flurry of blows in melee using the bow as a melee weapon?
My logic behind this question is as follows:
1: The Zen Archer ability states that you can only flurry of blows with a Bow, which is what we are TECHNICALLY doing
2: The Zen Archer flurry of blows does not state that the flurry with the bow has to be ranged attacks
3: Flurry of Blows is a class ability, thus qualifying for the portion of Empty Quiver Flexibility that mentions feats and class abilities
4: In a follow up to #3, Empty Quiver Flexibility requires Stabbing Shot, which requires Rapid Shot. Rapid shot is a feat that adds additional attacks (same exact mechanic as flurry of blows, prior to ki points), and Stabbing Shot specifically mentions that the melee attack replaces the extra attack from Rapid Shot, so the precedent for flurry of blows to count as a "class ability that modifies your attack rolls and damage rolls" as stated in Empty Quiver Flexibility is already there.

So, what do you all think? Would this work? Can a Zen Archer be made into a flurrying switch hitter via these feats?

EDIT: It has come to my attention that the first feat in the chain (Empty Quiver Style) states that the melee attacks are "as if you are attacking with a Heavy Mace", which monks are not proficient in. Will this be a problem (- to attack/dmg?) or is that description only for purposes of knowing how much damage it deals, allowing the melee attacks to count as proficient based on bow use (seeing as requiring proficiency in multiple weapon types seems odd considering the point of the Style)

A while ago I came up with a character concept and finally have a chance to play it, so I would love some assistance in fleshing it out so that it fits within the canon lore of Golarion. I'm very familiar with the Pathfinder system, but most of my gaming experience with it hasnt been within the canon world so Im pretty shaky on alot of the lore.

The character concept is as follows: A dwarf from a clan that has odd burial practices. Instead of burying their dead, they cremate them in their great forges, and then use the power from those forges to create weapons and armor that are in turn imbued with the spirits/souls of their ancestors. They then use those weapons/armor to fight undead threats, ensuring both the removal of a vile threat, and the furthering of both their own glory and the glory of their ancestors.

So far I know I want the character to be a dwarf, a weapon/armor crafter, and have the ability to imbue/activate powers within their own gear with the flavor text of calling upon the ancestors within their equipment.

Best I have been able to figure out would be a Pahmet Dwarf, Warpriest of Magrim (possibly Forgepriest archetype). My thinking is that Pahmet Dwarves seem the most likely to be ok with this sort of "rebirth" for the purposes of fighting undead (maybe the clan could even be tomb guardians, forging their own afterlives for the purpose of guarding the greater dwarven families?), and Magrim has bits of lore about using his forge to rebuild souls into a new form for a different purpose, as well as the Repose domain. Warpriest fits with a sort of self buffing weapons/armor, although Magus works too (warpriest just works WAY better with themes and stats).

Would there be anything in the lore that would prevent me from playing a character like this? It seems a little hypocritical to (in a way) reanimate your own dead for the purposes of battling undead, so I wasn't sure where the gray area in Dwarven religions (or any other religions) might allow for something like this to exist.

If there is some other deity that would work better, a better class/archetype option, or any other suggestions, lemme know.

My largest concern is ensuring that Im not choosing a patron deity and then making a character whose story/abilities are antithetical to their domains/beliefs.

Summon Plant/Fungus allows you to summon an Arboreal Regent (CR 8). The Regent has a 2 action ability called Awaken Tree

Awaken Tree (concentrate, primal) The arboreal regent causes a tree within 180 feet to uproot itself and fight as a minion using the statistics for an awakened tree. The arboreal regent can control up to two awakened trees at a time, and it can issue commands to both trees as a single action, which has the concentrate and auditory traits.

Now, according to the Summoned creature trait: " A summoned creature can’t summon other creatures" but does this ability fall into that category? Or does that rule only prevent summoned creatures from doing things like casting Summon _______ ?

I know that in general if something seems too good to be true, it is... but the idea of having an Arboreal Regent and 2 Awakened Trees as minions of a Leaf Druid seems awesome