Illeist's page

But I can say: be reasonable and don't read the text as a computer program.

If the RAW and the presumed RAI diverge, then you don't need to be a computer program to be confused. Even on this thread with three people posting, there are three different ideas of how these mechanics work.

"You possess the target fully, and it can only watch as you manipulate it like a puppet. The target is controlled by you" means that it's even stronger then Failure result, but 'You no longer have a separate turn' is still in force. Then, 'The possessor must use its own actions to make the possessed creature act' from the trait comes in play.

That is not the case. The success line will often say "as critical success, except...", and that line of text is conspicuously absent here. Unless otherwise stated, each degree of success is its own, self-contained line of rules text.

Illeist wrote:

Which restriction of possession is it that ghosts are unaffected by? And, specifically, if it's the restriction that they're unconscious during the spell's duration, then how does that alter the spell? If a creature critically fails against a ghost's Malevolent Possession, is the ghost able to continue taking actions, potentially also possessing other characters?

This one: "While you're possessing a target, your own body is unconscious and can't wake up normally. <...> If the possessed body dies, the spell ends and you must succeed at a Fortitude save against your spell DC or be paralyzed for 1 hour, or 24 hours on a critical failure. "

Ghost's body isn't unconscious, they don't have one, paralyzed (or stunned from the trait itself) is ignored for the same reason.
No, ghost only has actions of possessed character, as normal.

Losing your own actions is specific to the Failure line in Possession. Normally, it's not that big of a deal, since the caster would lose their actions simply due to being unconscious. But, if the ghost doesn't become unconscious, and the target crit fails, then we wind up in an awkward place where there's nothing preventing the ghost from continuing to take actions.

The ghost's Malevolent Possession ability reads:
"The ghost attempts to possess an adjacent corporeal creature. This has the same effect as the possession spell, except since the ghost doesn't have a physical body, it is unaffected by that restriction of the spell."

Which restriction of possession is it that ghosts are unaffected by? And, specifically, if it's the restriction that they're unconscious during the spell's duration, then how does that alter the spell? If a creature critically fails against a ghost's Malevolent Possession, is the ghost able to continue taking actions, potentially also possessing other characters? That seems against the flavor of the ability, but I'm not sure how else it would work.

This June is an incredibly bad time to release a mini set with five cops in it...

Bump.

100% honesty: that Valeros sculpt isn't wonderful. He has exactly the wrong amount of depth, and his face is... Off? Maybe it looks better in person, but I don't think this is the product for me.

I agree. I spoke with Tonya at GenCon, and she informed me that we'd be getting one Playtest Point per session. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how we can get those if it can't be reported.

It's honestly exhausting. I'm running all three systems as well, and I have definitely noticed that I'm slower to give rules feedback and that my feedback isn't as reliable when I do. I don't have a great solution besides dropping a system, but I have a lot more freedom to do that than a VO, since you're required to be in the campaign leadership of all three systems.

Illeist wrote:

BigNorseWolf wrote:

if the skill check fails you weren t hit by a trick attack you just got hit

What leads you to believe that? If you declare an action to trick attack and hit, how have you not hit with a trick attack?

You succeeded at an attack, but you failed at the trick part.

I've heard people express this view before, but I don't see where the system supports it. At no point in the Trick Attack class feature or the Operative class do the rules talk a failed skill check rendering the entire trick attack action invalid. I've seen plenty of players talk about the skill check as the "trick" and the attack roll as the "attack," but I haven't seen any rules supporting that belief.

Let me be clear: I really hate Operatives. They are a blight on the Starfinder power curve. But, until Paizo gives us errata or FAQ on the class, we have to run them as written.

if the skill check fails you weren t hit by a trick attack you just got hit

What leads you to believe that? If you declare an action to trick attack and hit, how have you not hit with a trick attack?

All right, I'll necro this because we still need an answer or consensus on this. Here's my two cents:

You can trick or startle a foe and then attack when she drops her guard. As a full action, you can move up to your speed. Whether or not you moved, you can then make an attack with a melee weapon with the operative special property or with any small arm. Just before making your attack, attempt a Bluff, Intimidate, or Stealth check (or a check associated with your specialization; see page 94) with a DC equal to 20 + your target’s CR. If you succeed at the check, you deal 1d4 additional damage and the target is flat-footed.[...]

When you hit an enemy with a trick attack, you can make the creature flat-footed or off-target until the beginning of your next turn.[...]

The only requirement for Debilitating Trick is that you hit an enemy with a trick attack, not that you also succeed at the preceding skill check. And Trick Attack doesn't have any language indicating that failing the skill check invalidates the remainder of the action; if you hit, you will deal your weapon damage and trigger any hit-dependent effects, regardless of the results of the skill check.

As a standard action, a rhu-chalik can harness the fears of any creature on which it has successfully used detect thoughts within the last minute. This effect creates terrible, nightmarish visions in the target’s mind; the target must succeed at a DC 16 Will save or be frightened and take 1d4 points of Wisdom damage. The save DC is Charisma-based.

How long does the Frightened condition granted by a Rhu-Chalik's Project Terror last? Is it permanent?

I'm in the same boat about the Slack channel. Is it the same as the Starfinder channel from last year?

In the Megzoloth encounter, the CRs don't match the number of creatures. The low tier is listed as a CR 6 encounter when it should be a CR 8, and the high tier is listed as a CR 8 when it should be a CR 9. If each encounter instead had one fewer enemy, the CRs would be correct. Which of these sets of numbers is accurate?

Because everything the termination of Michael Eshleman is covered by NDA, all the community can do is speculate. All we know is that a beloved pillar of the community was ousted by an unpopular RVC and that Paizo's been silent on the matter. Now we're being told that we can't even discuss Michael's termination on a public forum. For years, I've respected the Society's leadership and direction, but this matter has made that stance challenging to maintain.

As written, the Interfering Shot Operative exploit does nothing. It prevents the target from taking reactions, but Operatives can already use Debilitating Injury to apply flat-footed, which has the same effect.

What should this talent do instead?

I appreciate the harsh truths. At least now we know. Time to go drink away my sorrows.

Is the production schedule between now and PF2e basically set in stone? If not, we absolutely need to campaign to get this book in there. If Pathfinder 1e concludes with no Harrowed Medium, I'll be a very sad person.

This felt a lot shorter than Salvation of Sages. I am not sure if there was an optional encounter which we skipped.

There are adventure paths shorter than Salvation of the Sages.

We keep getting mechanics revolving around "effects," but that word has never been defined. Either we need a codified definition of effect, or we'll have to keep having this discussion every time a new mechanic references it.

Dragonborn3 wrote:

Illeist wrote:

I have two mediums and a spiritualist in PFS. I can't speak too much about spiritualists as a whole, but Ectoplasmatists are great. Right now, he has 15 foot reach, hits like a truck, and can heal and buff the party while attacking.

Now if only the armor class feature wasn't worse than actual armor, you know? Would be awesome!

It isn't great, but it's ectoplasmic enough to be free ghost touch armor at 12, so that's something. IMO, it should be ghost touch as soon as you get it since it's made of ectoplasm.

I really hate comparing ectoplasmatists to phantom blades. Phantom blades use a physical weapon that's vaguely ghost-flavored and get ghost touch for free at level 1. Ectoplasmatists literally hit people with a ghost, and it's only ghost touch at level 8. And yes, their armor is awful. I picked up Armor Expert so I can wear a mithral breastplate I'm not proficient in with no penalty.

I have two mediums and a spiritualist in PFS. I can't speak too much about spiritualists as a whole, but Ectoplasmatists are great. Right now, he has 15 foot reach, hits like a truck, and can heal and buff the party while attacking.

Mediums are a little strange. I don't think I could ever see myself playing an Archmage, Guardian, or Hierophant. But Champion, Marshal, and Trickster are fantastic. Champions get one of the most versatile pounce effects in the game, plus an extra attack that stacks with haste and an amazing spirit bonus. Marshals are fantastic at ensuring that your party doesn't fail. Ever. By taking a taboo and channeling a weaker version of the spirit once you hit 6, you can surge 8 times a day. 1d6 + spirit bonus goes a long way towards making that crucial save or skill check work. Tricksters struggle to find something to do in combat, but that spirit bonus makes everything worth it. My level 7 trickster has 24 skills at +11 or higher. A rogue or snakebite striker dip plus Accomplished Sneak Attacker is generally worth it to get the most mileage out of the intermediate power.

The problem with mediums, as other people have pointed out, is that you aren't guaranteed your primary spirit. In a home game, I would definitely request a house rule that every medium picks one spirit they can channel every day. Otherwise, Champions are stuck with weapons they can't use, Guardians can't wear their armor, and Archmages and Hierophants can't even use their highest stat in combat. One chronicle sheet in PFS opens this up, but chronicle fishing is generally discouraged.

701 - Idaran Force Baton and breath weapon
702 - Azimuth Laser Rifle
703 - Azimuth Artillery Laser

The Known Quality boon is out of the Guide so that is why it can't be found in CRB.

I was referring specifically to the rules about stacking multipliers, like we have in Pathfinder.

When you are asked to apply more than one multiplier to a roll, the multipliers are not multiplied by one another. Instead, you combine them into a single multiplier, with each extra multiple adding 1 less than its value to the first multiple. For example, if you are asked to apply a x2 multiplier twice, the result would be x3, not x4.

So far as I can tell, Starfinder has no similar rule.

I'll toss my hat in for clarifications on Known Quality. Does it replace the existing multiplier for Profession checks, or does it stack with it? If it does stack, how? More discussion in this thread.

Benefit: When you have this boon slotted and you attempt a Day Job check at the end of a session, multiply your total

earnings by your Acquisitives Reputation Tier. For example, if you are Tier 3 in the Acquisitives, you multiply the result of your Day Job check by 3.

You gain a number of credits equal to twice your Profession skill check result, as per the “Earn a Living” entry in the Profession skill.

How many times do you multiply the result of a downtime check for a PC with Known Quality? The text of the boon doesn't mention dropping the standard multiplier, but the example does. And, if you keep the multiplier, does the stacking multiplier rule apply? I can't even find that rule reprinted in the Core book. How does this boon work?

The tankiest character I ever played was a cleric. Death Domain plus Envoy of Balance. He healed for twice his channel value while harming enemies around him and healing allies who needed it.

Also, this scenario's art is unbelievable. If I had to list my favorite PFS art, three pictures from this scenario would be on the list.

This scenario is great, but it has a lot of errors. Here's a few:

All that said, I love the scenario. The callback to

If you mostly just care about Transmutation spells, Transmuter of Korada could help.
EDIT: Just kidding. It and Magical Knack are both Magic traits.

I can't think of a way to make this work for a low level character. Rings of Spell Storing are 50,000 gp, and they only let you cast spells at minimum CL. This holds twice as many spell levels, presumably casts them at your own CL, and is slotless. Altogether, that looks like it'll cost you 150,000 gp.

I played it a bit in the last week. Not too much, but some.

I have the same problem with this game as I have in other CCG's: I can't figure out what's a strong card, and what's a weak card, and how to build a 'good' deck out of the cards I have.

Can someone give me any tips or hints or links?

Someone on the reddit has been posting some pretty useful guides.

- Description of keywords. The game doesn't do a good job of explaining what certain keywords will do and how they interact with other creatures. I've played for probably 18-20 hours, I still don't know how the Adapt keyword works. A glossary would be a welcome addition to help new players learn how game mechanics work.

Adapt creatures are all five colors. The keywords are pretty glitchy right now. According to the documentation, Fury is supposed to trigger every time that creature attacks, not just when you cast it. Revenge is super buggy right now and can trigger off any creature taking damage. And Colossal has problems when the creature is sent back to your hand.

This won't help for everything, but ...

USE MAGIC DEVICE wrote:

You get a +2 bonus on your Use Magic Device check if you’ve activated the item in question at least once before.

This means you can get a +2 on any multi-use item simply by using it (successfully) once.

That is specifically on checks to activate blindly. It does nothing for other UMD checks.

Heritage is more than biological. Wyrwoods are constructed, but magically, not mechanically. A Wyrwood created by (or whose ancestors were created by) a dragon could definitely lay claim to a Draconic bloodline, and Wyrwoods from Jalmeray could absolutely have Impossible heritage. You don't need blood to have a bloodline.

The caster couldn't show anything in the mirror that they couldn't see. This is illusion, not conjuration; you could create an illusory mirror that shows what you tell it to, but not an actual mirror that reflects images unknown.

It isn't specifically noted as a constant effect, but it has no listed duration, meaning it will remain active once activated. The general rule for supernatural abilities is that they require a standard action to put up.

Illeist wrote:

Actually, there is one exception of note: ammunition found on chronicle sheets can be purchased for any weapon. So +1 flaming shuriken could be bullets, bolts, or arrows.

Bullets could refer to sling bullets or firearm bullets, so IMO it is best to specify which you mean.

In this case both are applicable.

I've never seen a Paizo product describe firearm bullets as anything but "bullets." It would be nice if there were a further distinction, but it's probably best to couch things in the terms the system uses.

Actually, there is one exception of note: ammunition found on chronicle sheets can be purchased for any weapon. So +1 flaming shuriken could be bullets, bolts, or arrows.

Unique weapons are always exactly the type of weapon mentioned in their entry. Same for armor. Some chronicles make specific exceptions, though.

It sounds like this should be in the PFS forums. But yes, you'll need to play the module (I think it's Curse of the Riven Sky?) to get access to it.

Dragons are always tough, but Nightmare Dragons seem unnecessarily so. Compare to young red dragons or adult black dragons, both at CR 10, and you'll find that Nightmare Dragons are better in pretty much every category. I know that CR's generally a poor indicator of difficulty, but developers continue to use it, so it needs to be accurate.

I want to earn more rewards than anyone else, it says no.

Pathfinder Society isn't your problem here. If you can't have fun without everyone else having less fun, you'll never be happy in any campaign, Organized or otherwise.

Also, ironwood can't be made permanent.

Especially if you're already wearing robes, I recommend wearing Silken Ceremonial Armor. Unless you have ~monk levels, it'll bump your AC a tad. But more importantly, you can enchant it to be +1, then add things like deathless and fortification. The +1 won't stack with magic vestment, but it's definitely worth it in my estimation.

If I have Weapon Focus in Waraxe, Dwarven this feat apply in Waraxe, dwarven double?

Nope. Similarity isn't a mechanical effect.

At the very least, celestial armor is concealing clothing. But in all fairness, I'd totally approve a masterwork tool for Perform Dance that gave a bonus to checks "while wearing celestial armor." Something like silvered scarves that link directly into the chainmail. And you'd save 50 gp.

D&D and Pathfinder have always been pretty bad at writing clear and understandable parallel structure. That said, even if you could cast it on a stationary creature, it would immediately end, so I don't think there's much more to discuss about it.

Just the 3rd level infusion.

It only replaces your 3rd level infusion.