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This is the place to discuss levels, character options, or anything else related to metagame or real-life issues (a common use is telling the other players when you won't be "as available").

If you look at the top of this thread, you'll see some tabs. The "Gameplay" tab (when I open it) is where the actual gameplay will happen.

Since many of you are new to PbP, I would suggest reading This Post. It has lots of information about how to format and proper PbP etiquette.

I will try to judge the pacing here by the players. From what I see, it could be 1/day post or more... probably not less. Minimum of 1/day posting is typical common etiquette, or at the very least checking the thread once/day. Of course, we can be more relaxed about that if people are out or on weekends. Let me know (in this discussion thread) if you think my pacing is off. I won't be offended (especially since this is my first PbP game I've GMed) :)

You will (most likely) being using the actual PFS character alias to post. It's a good idea to have a "stat line." You can place this is many of the fields on your character profile (class, gender, etc.) I don't care where, as long as it appears underneath your character name when your character posts. This is important so that I know whether I have hit your character or not when I do attacks. You can even change it up as your AC changes (like mage armor, etc.) Here's an example of one of my stat lines for a character:

Half-Orc Spiritualist (Onmyoji) 1 | HP 10/10 | AC 12 | T 10 | FF 12 | CMD 10 | Fort +6 | Ref +2 | Will +9 | Init +2 | Perception +5 | Sense Motive +5 | Level 1 Spells: 3/3

It's also a good idea to have a copy of your character's stats etc. either in the profile of the character or a link to the sheet in the character's profile. Scanned works for me if you don't have it digitally and don't want to type it up. :)

If you have a companion, feel free to make an alternate alias for them with all their stats too! :)

The last thing to talk about is initiative. Initiative in PbP is... relative. Basically, I will be rolling all initiative at once when combat breaks out and ordering it myself, and then will bold the names that are allowed to post their actions in combat. You don't necessarily have to post in order if your name is bolded. Descriptive actions and flourishing are heavily encouraged, but if you don't have the time to make that type of post, that's OK as well.

Other than that, have fun! The best thing about PbP is the fact that you have time to think about your actions, have in-character dialog, and have character introductions that people can remember. (And the fact that you can always look back at the mission briefing should you forget it)

For people who are stumbling upon this thread...sorry, but players are already determined for this game.

How does the Conjurer's Focus ability work at level 3 and beyond?

Do you always have to summon at the max level or can you choose not to spend the extra points and summon a lower level?

So i was thinking about making a biped eidolon that focused on a single slam attack and reach. I would pick up the improved damage, push, pull, slam, and a lot of reaches for its evolutions. I would give it power attack, furious focus, and combat reflexes for feats.

How useful would this be? I was looking to get his reach into the 20ish feet range and either push enemies away from him or pull them into flank.

Has anyone tried something similar before?

With the recent FAQ about spell like abilities counting as casting, does this also apply to supernatural abilities?

I am trying to figure out if shadow dancers or teleportation wizards (via shift) can take dimensional agility.

Does a sound striker bard's wordstrike ability bypass the hardness of objects?
sound striker

In pfs, can a cavalier huntmaster take a roc as an animal companion or is it limited to just THE bird animal companion?

Also, does the animal companion taken with huntmaster stack a rangers companion?

I was thinking about taking huntmaster and then possibly switching to ranger after the companion gains the Takedown ability.

Do you have to have levels in hell knight to wear their armor?

I was looking at using pa to buy Armiger status from the pfs field guide. Would this be good enough, or would I also need to buy hell knight status too?

keep watch

Two questions:

Does this spell let me rest in heavy armor without issue?

If I cast it and then begin my eight hours rest, do I regain the spell slot when finished resting?

From my understanding, you do not regain slots used during the eight hours resting. However, it would be cast right before the eight hours start. To me it implies I would regain the slot.

If I understand the spell correctly, my character can be in heavy armor 24/7 and never have to sleep. That doesn't count times when there is an attack of course. All for using one of my limited spells known or wand.

My next pfs character is going to be a switch hitting ranger. When not using a bow, he will be using either a great sword or a Guisarme. With his dex mod and breastplate, his current ac is 19. Is this considered good for a first level melee character who generally uses a reach weapon?

I am temped to get a quick draw shield, but I am not sure if the extra ac is worth giving up damage or reach.

I'm thinking about playing a ranger for my next pfs character. How does the below look for starting off? Any suggestions?

He will be a switch hitter, so his ranger feats will be for archery and normal feats for melee. I plan on using the bow until enemies begin moving in, then switching to my reach weapon. If anything gets right up next to me, I would then switch to my greatsword. I figure this would give me flexibility on where I stand during combat.

I was thinking about taking the infiltrator archetype. While adaptation for human favorite enemy does not offer natural armor bonus or vision improvement, it would let me temporary improve my will or fort save. At level 8 I would look at getting an adaptation with the armor bonus.

Human
traits: heart of the wilderness, indomitable faith, armor expert

attributes
-----------
str: 17 (15+2 from human)
dex: 16
con: 12
int: 10
wis: 13
chr: 8

saves
------
fort: +3
reflex: +5
will: +2

ac: 19 (10+6 armor+3 dex)

weapons:
greatsword
guisarme (for reach and trip)
longbow

armor:
breastplate

favorite enemy: human

starting feats:
power attack
quick draw

later feats:
deadly aim
combat reflexes
rapid shot (ranger)
many shot (ranger)

Two quick questions about the Defender of the Society trait.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/combat-traits/defender-of-the-society-fighte r-pathfinder-society

1. Can anyone take this trait or is it fighters only? I was looking to take it for my ranger.

2. Does the +1 trait bonus to ac go to both touch and flat-footed?

this is for a new pfs ranger character.

I am having trouble deciding which meta magiced spell to use with magical lineage. My caster is a magus, and i will probably get the meta magic feat at level 5. magical lineage would make it very cheap to recall these spells.

right now I am looking at one of the following three:

1. shocking grasp with intensified spell. this would let me dish out a lot of damage. most enemies also tend to have metal armor or weapons, which gives me a +3 to hit. i can see why this is a common choice. however, is the more i can do to help the party out besides damage?

2. magic missile with toppling spell (also might be used with opening volley). This would allow free trips against multiple targets. if i also took opening volley, it would give me a +4 to my next melee attack against one of them. i like the idea of this combo, but i worry that the tripping numbers will not hold up at higher level.

3. frostbite with rime spell. this one would do little damage. however, if the attack lands, the enemy will be entangled for one round and fatigued. The attack also appears to allow multiple attacks per spell. i am a little confused as to when the entangled status goes away. I assume it is at the beginning of my next turn, before I get a chance to attack again. the two debufs could help me survive counter attacks and help my party though.

has anyone tried any of these combos with a magus, or other class for that matter?

well after my paladin's career was cut short due to a sinking boat, i decided to make a magus for my next pfs character.

Im going for the dervish build. At level three im going to swap the rapier for a scimitar. Im not sure if i should get arcane shield or accuracy first. Im a little concerned about ac with low hp, but also afraid im going to miss a lot taking the -2 from spell combat.

One of my first purchases is going to mithral chain shirt to free up weight, loose armor penalties, and allow more dex at higher levels. Until then i hope to use the bow more than my sword.

Any thoughts or glaring weakness?

is sundering a useful tactic during combat? i am trying to figure out if a breaker barbarian would be worth playing for my next pfs character. i envision him breaking the enemy's weapons and armor...or an evil cleric's holy symbol. is sundering action worth not doing damage?

below is the basic build i am sketching out.

half-orc
barbarian (breaker)

str 18
dex 14
con 13
int 12
wis 10
cha 10

gatecrasher alternate racial trait
power attack for first level.
weapon: earth breaker

i would get improved sunder at 3rd level and start picking up strength surge and smasher as my first two rage powers.

i figure at third level i could do the below:
to sunder
1 (breaker)
2 (gatecrasher)
2 (improved sunder)
3 (strength surge) or smasher to avoid the hardness
3 (bab)
6 (rage str)
=
17 to sunder cmb

strength surge and breaker bonuses would keep scaling up as i leveled.

is this a good start or should i go back to the drawing board?

I am a little confused to the rules regarding summon monster and templates. After reading a few posts in the forum, it looks like I have been playing them wrong.

When summoning a celestial eagle, for example, as a neutral summoner, does it gain the ability to by pass Dr/good?

Does its smite evil work like a paladin's smite evil? I thought it let you by pass Dr...

Also, do the templates grant languages to the creature for basic instructions?

I didn't see any definitive ruling on these. The smiting ability is the main thing I'm worried about.

I am toying with idea to make a Druid for my next pfs character. I was thinking of making it melee oriented. What is a good animal companion to have? Right now I am leaning towards either the constrictor snake or the crocodile, both for their grappling abilities.

Has anyone had luck with either of these animals or have tips for them?

What is the best way for a summoner to gain bluff and diplomacy as class skills without multiclassing? The character will be for pfs play and is human.

I was looking at the cosmopolitan feat, but i would prefer to use traits instead of burning a feat to gain them. Does anyone know of a simpler way to do this?

I am looking at making a master summoner and was looking for advice with the build.

I was looking at making him human for the extra skill points and feat. is it worthwhile to max out the charisma score?

the goal is to make a character that sits at the back of the battle spamming summons to support the front line fighters.

since his eidolon is weaker, its main focus is guarding the summoner. from what I can tell, the serpent form looks good with a reach bite attack. what would be some good evolutions build off of that? I was thinking either trip or push. that way the attacker would be delayed from getting too close. if I went that route, would weapon finesse or agile maneuvers be a better feat for it?

also, the reason I chose the master summoner over normal summoner was so I could have both the eidolon and a summon monster from the spell like ability in play at the same time.

I would like to gain an improved familiar with my pfs wizard. however, I am a little confused about how to do so. do I have to pay 200 gold per level to gain it? if so, can I just choose not to have a familiar until I have enough levels to select the improved familiar?

also a few quick questions:

1 - can the small earth elemental carry items (like sack or backpack) while burrowing/earth gliding?

2 - if my elemental is humanoid, can it use wands with umd?

3 - can the faerie dragon use wands and scrolls? it has levels in sorcerer and umd ranks. although, I no longer see it on the list...is it still pfs legal?

was hoping for some general advice on the build below. it is my first pfs character. my main focus will be on battlefield control, summoning, and general support. i plan on getting improved initiative and improved familiar later on. i will also pick up augmented summoning if i end up using summons a lot.

i am still unsure about equipment. do i need to have two spell books? do i have a place to leave unneeded equipment when adventuring?

I wanted to get clarification about the shift ability that a wizard gains in the teleportation sub school.

Is it correct that after shifting, you cannot do anything else?

Say a bad guy has you cornered against a wall. You could not use this ability to port behind them and run to your allies?

Seems a little odd that you can caste a spell or move before hand and then shift, but cannot shift and then do something. Is this to limit cheesy attack combos?

I am making my first society character which will be a wizard. What type of equipment should I buy? Is it smart to carry tools for fishing or general survival? Would a simple compass be helpful?

I am assuming that society play uses the normal rules for carrying capacity, and since I'm a wizard my light load is very limited.

What is useful items to have on hand while adventuring? How much should I rely on others?