ItoSaithWebb's page

Can you with the Two-handed fighter archetype use the overhand chop with an attack of opportunity?

Overhand Chop (Ex): At 3rd level, when a two-handed fighter makes a single attack (with the attack action or a charge) with a two-handed weapon, he adds double his Strength bonus on damage rolls. This ability replaces armor training 1.

The emboldened text above is what creeping doubt in my mind. Does an attack of opportunity still count as an attack action or is it just a single attack?

I really wish they would simply be consistent in the way they word things.

Let say your character was trying to remember details about a character he saw but didn't at the time make a perception check. Now in reality we take in information all the time with out needing to be conscious about because our minds filter that stuff out which at the time doesn't seem important at the time, but with enough concentration one could recall that filtered information by visualizing the event again.

Are there any existing rules for this?

If there is not then the only thing I can think of is perhaps a retroactive perception check but at a penalty. Or perhaps a concentration check but that doesn't work very well with non-casters.

I ask this because it could be useful in identifying someone or remembering the layout of complex or dungeon.

How often do you need to check for a traps in any given area? Is it per square of movement or can it be done with in a larger area?

In my group my character is our trap-finder and disabler but it gets rather annoying when we have to make checks every single square and our GM is known for placing traps.

Is it possible to take 20 for looking for traps? The in game time would take longer but it would be fast in real time.

I was reading under the description for command word activation of a magical item and it seems to suggest that merely saying the command word would activate the item.

A command word can be a real word, but when this is the case, the holder of the item runs the risk of activating the item accidentally by speaking the word in normal conversation. More often, the command word is some seemingly nonsensical word, or a word or phrase from an ancient language no longer in common use. Activating a command word magic item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of pportunity.

I could find anywhere in the command word description that the item needed to be held.

If the command word needs only be uttered in the presence of the item then this could open up possibilities.

Imagine having an item that has a once a day charge with the command phrase "It's a Bomb!" and the item is made to look like a bomb, but when the command word is uttered it unleashes a high level fireball or cloudkill spell.

OK, one of the other players at my table (I am not the GM) has item creation feats and has been having a field day creating powerful items. Our GM allows the restriction discounts to be applied which curbs the costs big time and the player also has the hedge mage trait. However, the discounts is not the only thing because it is being compounded by this he found the below in the item creation rules.

Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created.

Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item’s creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed. The DC to create a magic item increases by +5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory. In addition, you cannot create spelltrigger and spell-completion magic items without meeting their spell prerequisites.

Now he has the required feats and has not been making spell trigger or spell completion magic items, but he has been making command word and continuous items which allow any one to use the blasted things as long as the restrictions are meet, but then again they are being tailored. He has convinced our GM that, according to the emboldened text in the quote above, that he can virtually ignore most prerequisites like knowing the spell and being able to cast the spell (not high enough caster level).

Now I know other paragraphs, state that you must know the spells you want your item to have, but that text above says you don't as long as you accept the increased DC.

Frankly I am getting confused on this but it feels wrong if not down right beyond cheesy because that means he could create command word items that cast spells higher then he would normal cast.

Like the title says do you get any bonuses to the saving throw DC to the spells you cast when you cast from your specialized school as a wizard? I think I remember something like that from 3.x but couldn't find that in Pathfinder.

I am curious, does a sorcerer need to have a related alignment to coincide with his/her bloodline?

For instance does a celestial blood line require you to be good or a demonic bloodline to be evil or could you have the contrary?

I couldn't find anything that said you had to but I just checking to be sure.

So going through the new PF Bestiary 3 book for a campaign I am writing I came across the Grodair which I felt would fit in nicely to my campaign, however upon reading up on it's ranged attack it seems that you could use it's water sac to create a bag of holding. There is nothing in the text that says you couldn't, so I willing to allow my players, if they are creative enough to be able to make bags of holding from them.

A grodair is a bloated aquatic creature from the primal world of the fey. The bulbous sac on its spine is an extradimensional space that can contain thousands of gallons of water. The creature drains water (including small bits of debris and even very small creatures) from one place and releases it in another, typically creating boggy areas as it moves so it can travel more quickly than its tentacles can carry it.

I am thinking of ways of how players could create bags of holding with the sac of the Grodair fish. First off I don't think allowing the same space to remain but then I thought well it would depend on the extra steps they take.

One of the methods that I thought of was that spell that preserves flesh, I think it was called gentle repose but I could be wrong. Does anyone off hand know the spell I am talking about? If the spell I have in mind has a duration then this is but a temporary solution.

I am open to any more ideas of how it would be acceptable if my players pursue this course of action because I just don't want to give that away.

I am also thinking that if the sac is cured with such a spell in the works and then a permanency spell is applied then they would have a permanent bag of holding without the major cost.

OK, even though I currently have another build going I have been eying the Knife Master archetype with great interest but I never make straight builds any more. Of course my main interest is in this ability:

Sneak Stab (Ex): A knife master focuses her ability to deal sneak attack damage with daggers and similar weapons to such a degree that she can deal more sneak attack damage with those weapons at the expense of sneak attacks with other weapons. When she makes a sneak attack with a dagger, kerambit (page 130), kukri, punching daggers, starknife, or swordbreaker dagger (Advanced Player’s Guide 178), she uses d8s to roll sneak attack damage instead of d6s. For sneak attacks with all other weapons, she uses d4s instead of d6s. This ability is identical in all other ways to sneak attack, and supplements that ability.

Now I know that there are a couple of prestige classes and archetypes that have the sneak attack ability such as assassin, shadowdancer, and vivisectionist. How does their sneak attack damage stack with a rogue who has the Knifemaster archtype when using knife like weapons? Does the d8 (knife) and d4 (all other weapons) damage apply to all sneak attack damage from all sneak attack sources or would I have to be rolling a combination of dice based on those sources?

Also I am wondering if anyone can tell me of other sneak attack classes, archetypes or prestige classes other than ninja.

Cleaving Finish (Combat)

When you strike down an opponent, you can continue your
swing into another target.
Prerequisites: Str 13, Cleave, Power Attack.
Benefit: If you make a melee attack, and your target drops to 0 or fewer hit points as a result of your attack, you can make another melee attack using your highest base attack bonus against another opponent within reach. You can make only one extra attack per round with this feat.

Improved Cleaving Finish (Combat)

You can cut down many opponents in a single strike.
Prerequisites: Str 13, Cleave, Cleaving Finish, Great
Cleave, Power Attack, base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: You can use Cleaving Finish any number of times per round.

Now of course these feats make cleave builds even more viable than before, but I wondering if you can use these extra attacks after you make all your other attacks. They are not AOO so I am thinking that you can hold off using the extra attacks until after your finished with your other attacks. The feat also doesn't really specify when you make those extra attacks but it is obvious they are made in that same turn.

The reason why I ask is mainly because of the feat Great Cleave which require you to make an attack right after the last successful attack against an adjacent target. If you were required to make your extra attack just after you took down an opponent then that would interrupt your great cleave.

I would like to think that you could make your extra attacks gained from downing an opponent(s) after making a great cleave because that makes sense since great cleave is suppose to be like one continual movement. So the scenario would look something like this: Fighter is surrounded by 6 foes and he performs a great cleave hitting all 6 and takes down three of them he then gets to make three additional attacks since he took down those three, so on and so on.

I think that this may need to be errata because of this situation. What do you all think?

Coordinated Charge (Combat, Teamwork)

You are an expert at leading your allies into the fray.
Prerequisites: You have at least two other teamwork feats,base attack bonus +10.
Benefit: When an ally with this feat charges a creature that is no further away from you than your speed, you can, as an immediate action, charge that creature. You must be able to follow all of the normal charge rules.

OK, so am I reading this right? It seems to make no mention whether or not this uses up your normal turn if you take advantage of a coordinated charge but only says you use an immediate action.

Now if that is the case I would house rule it so fast that it uses up a normal charge because even if it does use up a normal charge this is a devastating teamwork feat.

Imagine being the GM, create a squad of Dragoons (total of 6) who all have this feat, mounted and also the spirited charge feat against a group of PCs of equal level and numbers. The highest initiative Dragoon charges one of the PCs hits and then one after another they charge that PC until that PC goes down all in one turn.

Now if all those others still get their normal actions then that just spells doom, I hope though that I am wrong. However, even if I am wrong this could be a very nasty tactic especially if each of those Dragoons were wearing Rhino Hide Armor.

At first glance the Whip mastery line of feats looks really neat but even if you can make a normal whip a lethal weapon with those feats it is still extremely low damage. There are other types of whips out there in Pathfinder that are actually lethal and they are still technically whips. The first prerequisite though for Whip Mastery is Weapon focus (whips) which are just wimpy no matter how cool they look and sound. In addition, as far as I know weapon focus is usually about a specific weapon.

Different Whips I know:
Whip
Whip, scorpion
Nine Section Whip

What I want to know is whether you can apply the Whip Mastery Line to all whips or if using the weapon focus for those specific whips still qualifies you to take Whip Mastery for that whip.

We all know this happens, someone is either going to be late or can't make it to the game. Sometimes this further complicates things because where the party left off was probably in the middle of a dungeon, out in the wilderness, or perhaps they were tangled up in the plot hook personally. The group doesn't want to cancel or have the game delayed. How do you like to handle your MIA players?

Personally I have experienced or used the old spontaneous teleportation to they are their but they are mere shadows and do not interact with the game.

For the Ranger archetype Shapeshifter I am wondering if the power of Shifter's Blessing. Is consecutive or non-consecutive in turn of number of rounds?

As a gamer I know that the time honored tradition of using the D6 in generating attributes and I have nothing but respect for it’s origins. Truth be known, the system of using 3d6 or 4d6 (dropping the lowest) really seems to be inadequate for today’s gaming standards. Back in 1st edition and 2nd edition (before Skills and powers) creating a character was fast and didn’t require much building so character death was not a big deal. Now in days however creating characters who are heros and champions seem to be the goal whether or not you optimize or not. A good majority of us even invest a lot of time into a good background history. However, often it is very common when a player had spent a great deal of time creating a character including both character build and background history only for it to be dashed away by getting killed early on due to bad attributes or poor luck. This often can be devastating because a player could be easily feel cheated in proportion to the amount of time that was invested. Now it has been argued that attributes don’t matter that much in the end but it does matter in the beginning. So as RPG er’s we all tend to want above average to exceptional attributes for our characters, which leads me to the six sided die. The six sided die has always been in my opinion, as well as the opinion of others, to be a very un-reliable die and so I contend not use it anymore for attribute generation.

Using point buy seems more reliable but often the numbers you can produce are often not very appealing but at the very least they are consistent. You do however loose the random flare of being blessed with good attributes because then you enviably produce stats that look min-maxed and lets be honest they are.

The alternate methods I propose may not be new and odds that they are not, but I don’t seem to see it mentioned very often or at all. I would like to invite everyone to give their feedback on using such a system and to help me test the results. What I am hoping for are stats that are above average in all areas but with some stats that are near or at maximum potential for a level one character.

1st Method:

For each attribute roll 2d4 +10

My results:
Generation 1: 16/15/15/16/15/16

Generation 2: 18/16/13/16/13/15

Generation 3: 15/14/14/17/14/16

Generation 4: 18/18/13/16/18/12

Generation 5: 15/13/17/14/15/13

Generation 6: 15/15/16/14/13/14

Generation 7: 13/14/14/17/15/16

Generation 8: 15/13/16/16/15/16

Generation 9: 13/15/16/13/16/16

Generation 10: 13/17/16/16/14/14

2nd Method:

For each attribute roll 1d8 +10

My results:
Generation 1: 11/14/13/14/18/13

Generation 2: 16/15/17/12/17/15

Generation 3: 14/17/12/15/17/13

Generation 4: 13/14/15/16/15/16

Generation 5: 18/18/15/12/11/11

Generation 6: 14/12/18/17/17/13

Generation 7: 18/17/13/13/17/12

Generation 8: 12/17/13/15/15/12

Generation 9: 14/18/13/12/15/14

Generation 10: 12/12/14/11/12/14

So far the results are encouraging, but I would love some help to see if this methods is viable for good stats but still allow for that random feeling. Plus any feedback is more than welcomed.

OK, so my group is currently playing an evil campaign and my character is doing pretty well but will be picking up a dip or two of Alchemist Vivisectionist to come in line with the concept that my character is into anything that deals with pain. With this I also plan on him becoming a torturer in case we ever need to bleed information out of someone.

So what I am asking for is a complied list of different torture ideas. I want a lot of creative ideas that could be used against various races. I not only want to torture them physically but mentally as well.

For instance, I was thinking a good warmer up against a dwarf would to shave his beard off, slowly and unevenly. If that does start loosing his tongue then I start to bring the physical pain.

I have always liked the idea of low magic or no magic but fantastic worlds, but the biggest problem of course as we know is the healing problem. The heal skill is great especially in Pathfinder, but it can only go so far.

So after playing some Bioshock, I thought why not have healing food in such worlds. I know that this has probably have been thought of before and it borders heavily on meta-gaming, but I think that some of the verisimilitude may be kept if the healing effects of the food was delayed with some rest.

For instance, the heal effect of the food would only take effect after you have either rested an hour, the healing only kicks in when you get your 8 hours of rest on top of normal healing, or each food has a different delay heal time. Also I am thinking that this would give the Profession skill Cook and Baker more usefulness as depending on your rolls you could even improve the healing power of certain foods.

Anyways, I would like to hear some feedback on this as well as suggestions.

OK, so in a previous thread I am creating a single shot adventure based on combining the concepts of Bioshock and the Cthulhu Mythos. I want to use the Qlippoth creatures but there is a huge gap in the CR range. I thought of using the Cythonigots as a base so they could infect other creatures. I thought perhaps it could also be a range of Qlippoth templates for various degrees of power. I do know that I want to the horrific appearance to be in the templates.

Was watching LoTR I remember how that Orc leader used those freakishly large arrows with a normal sized bow toward the end of Fellowship of the Ring. So I am wondering if it is possible within the RAW to use oversized arrows with a Composite Bow. If it is possible I do understand that their would be a -2 penalty.

Body Shield (Combat)

With a sly maneuver, you force a grappled opponent into the path of an incoming attack.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +6.

Benefit: As an immediate action while you are grappling an adjacent creature, you can make a grapple combat maneuver check against that creature to gain cover against a single attack. If you are successful and
the attack misses you, that attack targets the creature you used as cover, using the same attack roll. You cannot use this feat against a creature grappling you, and the cover you gain ends after the attack you gained cover against is resolved.

OK, I know I am just asking for it but as far as I know there is nothing in RAW that says you cannot grapple a dead body. So what if you carried around a dead gnome which would be really easy to grapple with one hand. Then when ever anyone tried to attack you make a combat maneuver to deflect the blow with the gnome as an immediate action and thus avoid damage if it succeeds.

The imagery just really gets me laughing really hard.

Flying Blade: A flying blade is a large, crescent-shaped blade anchored to a 10-foot chain. You fight with a flying

blade by spinning it about your head or by snapping it toward an opponent. The flying blade is a clumsy weapon and receives a –2 penalty on attack rolls, but when you make attacks of opportunity provoked by movement, you receive a +2 bonus on attack rolls instead of the penalty.

I am wondering what the reach of this weapon actually is. The chain is 10 feet long but it also says the blade is large as well so I am wondering it the reach is 10 feet or 15 feet.

Also I am wondering what stops a character from shortening the chain length for closer attacks.

Moment of Greatness

School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 1,
cleric 1, sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (rabbit fur)
Range 50 ft.
Target The caster and allies within a 50-ft. burst centered on
the caster
Duration 1 minute/level or until discharged Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes (harmless) Each creature affected by this spell is given the potential for greater success and glory. If the affected creature is benefiting from a morale bonus of any type, it can double that morale
bonus on one roll or check, before making the roll. Once an affected creature uses this spell’s effect, the spell is discharged for that subject.

I felt that it was OK to post things from the UC book now since the book is officially out now.

So after reading this text I wondering if this spell could work on the strength rage bonus from barbarians since that is a morale bonus. If it does apply it would be great for a surge in power when it is needed most. Even more terrifying would be a caster who would use it on a group of barbarian who then charge.

Not straight up of course, but for a while I have been playing around with the idea a Call of Cthulhu like adventure inside a Rapture like super structure.

The basic plot hook will be that they will be sent from Sigil to New Atlantis (Rapture) to find certain NPCs. However, they loose their memories as soon as they arrive and have to piece together their mission.

The denizens of New Atlantis (Rapture) would not be corrupted from plasmids but instead from magic and the horrors of the Cthulhu mythos. Some are still sane, barely, and be willing to help the PCs.

The location of New Atlantis is a secret which is why their memories have been expunged. The super structure and society would be based off of magictech like innovation. This will allow the PCs to create magical gear as they progress.

Eventually they must find their way to the NPCs they must seek and or escape in case everything hits the fan.

I am thinking they will start at or around level 5. I am looking for suggestions on how I can achieve what I want to do as well as a list of monsters from the bestiary.

I have been working on a cohort build that is totally focused on healing. The cohort has really high charisma (22 total) and uses a phylactery of positive channeling, so at level 5 channels 5d6 11 times a day, with the extra channeling feat. The cohort also has selective channeling of course.

I was looking at the oracle with the Life mystery and you can gain channeling from there as well. I know that the strength of the channeling would not stack with the cleric, but since the character uses a phylactery of positive healing I figured I would only need 1 dip to get an extra 21 dice worth of healing a day. I am aware though this would drop the channeling healing from cleric down to 4d6 but I think the dip would more than make up for it with a total of 65 dice worth of healing a day to everyone with in the area of effect.

I am just wondering if there is any rules against this.

I have been working on a build that possible would use this combination and I have read both feats over and over just to make sure that it works like I think it does.

Greater Trip (Combat)

You can make free attacks on foes that you knock down.

Prerequisites: Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, base attack bonus +6, Int 13.

Benefit: You receive a +2 bonus on checks made to trip a foe. This bonus stacks with the bonus granted by Improved Trip. Whenever you successfully trip an opponent, that opponent provokes attacks of opportunity.

Normal: Creatures do not provoke attacks of opportunity from being tripped.

Tripping Strike (Combat)

The force intrinsic to your critical hits can knock your foes down.

Prerequisites: Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, base attack bonus +9.

Benefit: Whenever you score a critical hit with a melee attack, you can trip your opponent, in addition to the normal damage dealt by the attack. If your confirmation roll exceeds your opponent’s CMD, you may knock your opponent prone as if from the trip combat maneuver. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop your weapon to avoid being tripped.

Normal: You must perform a trip combat maneuver to trip an opponent.

Special: You can only apply the effects of one of the following feats to a given critical hit: Bull Rush Strike, Disarming Strike, Repositioning Strike, Sundering Strike, or Tripping Strike. You may choose to use this feat after you make your confirmation roll.

So if I am reading this right and I have both of these feats then when I get a confirmed critical and that confirmation beats their CMD they get tripped but if I have Greater Trip this also means that I get an OoA. It seems pretty clear to me but I just want to make sure that I am not reading into it or anything like that.

My character this weekend was getting slapped around by 3 owlbears. There seemed to be some confusion whether or not Grab was automatic successful upon a hit or if it required a separate combat maneuver roll.

When I read the description, grab states that it starts attempts a grapple as a free action when their attack hits. Does that mean that their grab automatically happens with a successful hit or is it they get a free combat maneuver roll?

So, my group is playing musical GM chairs and once again we had to roll up new characters. We are playing fast progress so we should be hitting level 7 rather fast so we are all planning to get the Leadership feat.

I am currently playing a rather effective cleric so I decided to get a melee type cohort.

This is my cohort build
Stat emphasis on Str, Con, Dex, Wis in that order of importance.

Classes: 2 Ex-Monk(of the Four Winds)/1 Ranger(Trapper)/ 1 Fighter(two-handed)/1 Barbarian

Bonus Feats: Dodge(monk), Combat Reflexes(monk), Power Attack (Fighter)

Regular Feats: Cleave, Greater Cleave, Toughness

Gear: Custom Job Items: Belt of Constant Mage Armor, Bracers of Constant Shield Spell, Ring of Giant Strength, Boots of Might Constitution.

Weapons: Adamantine Great Sword, Sling, Brass Knuckles

So, does this look like it would be an effective build?

I was fleshing out a hasty Cleric character I made last night and started playing around with professions because Cleric's get it as a class skill, it is effected by Wisdom and it is a minor way to earn money. So I was thinking Character classes get to use this skill once a week to earn some money. So it is a off and on basis in between adventuring sort of like a part time job. However, I then thought well what about the NPC experts? They are generally not going out to adventure but they do get levels which is probably do to enough time spent in what they do. Which to me makes sense because how else are they going to earn XP, killing Cats? So if PC's can earn some money a week based on their skills rolls where half of the result is what they earn that week but they are doing this part time so this leaves other professions open to do during the week as well.

Now of course I thought it would also have to be related because running all over town doing stuff is a big pain in the butt. Which brings us to the master Chef. Cooking, baking, and brewing are closely related enough to work with one career and that would be the Master Chef.

This master chef would need 3 Masterwork tools for each profession. Would need one Class level for heroic stats so the Chef can max out Wisdom. Take the feat catch-off-guard so he can use anything from the kitchen as a weapon. Cast iron frying pans make great heavy maces.

Master Chef, 1 Cleric/ 1 Expert ( After 2 years of experience)
Race: Human
Age: 23
Wisdom: 17
Major Career Skills:
Profession "Cook" :Class Skill +3, Rank 2, Wis Mod +3, MW tool +2= 9
Profession "Baker" :Class Skill +3, Rank 2, Wis Mod +3, MW tool +2= 9
Profession "Brewer" :Class Skill +3, Rank 2, Wis Mod +3, MW tool +2= 9

Total Average Earnings a week = 27gp
Total Average Earnings a Month= 108gp
Total Average Earnings a Year = 1296gp

Master Chef, 1 Cleric/ 5 Expert ( After 6 years of experience)
Race: Cleric
Age: 27
Wisdom: 18
Major Career Skills:
Profession "Cook" :Class Skill +3, Rank 6, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 15
Profession "Baker" :Class Skill +3, Rank 6, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 15
Profession "Brewer" :Class Skill +3, Rank 6, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 15

Total Average Earnings a week = 36gp
Total Average Earnings a Month= 144gp
Total Average Earnings a Year = 1728gp

Master Chef, 1 Cleric/ 10 Expert ( After 11 years of experience)
Race: Cleric
Age: 32
Wisdom: 18
Major Career Skills:
Profession "Cook" :Class Skill +3, Rank 11, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 20
Profession "Baker" :Class Skill +3, Rank 11, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 20
Profession "Brewer" :Class Skill +3, Rank 11, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 20

Total Average Earnings a week = 45gp
Total Average Earnings a Month= 180gp
Total Average Earnings a Year = 2160gp

Master Chef, 1 Cleric/ 15 Expert ( After 16 years of experience)
Race: Cleric
Age: 37
Wisdom: 19
Major Career Skills:
Profession "Cook" :Class Skill +3, Rank 16, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 25
Profession "Baker" :Class Skill +3, Rank 16, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 25
Profession "Brewer" :Class Skill +3, Rank 16, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 25

Total Average Earnings a week = 51gp
Total Average Earnings a Month= 204gp
Total Average Earnings a Year = 2448gp

Master Chef, 1 Cleric/ 20 Expert ( After 21 years of experience)
Race: Cleric
Age: 42
Wisdom: 19
Major Career Skills:
Profession "Cook" :Class Skill +3, Rank 21, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 30
Profession "Baker" :Class Skill +3, Rank 21, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 30
Profession "Brewer" :Class Skill +3, Rank 21, Wis Mod +4, MW tool +2= 30

Total Average Earnings a week = 75gp
Total Average Earnings a Month= 300gp
Total Average Earnings a Year = 3600gp

Approximate Total Earning Over 21 years of being a Chef= Around 40500 gp

I knocked off about 25% unexpected things.

Now this is just from his cooking for other people. If he opened his own restaurant he would make even more because all the upper class twits would want to go there because of his epic cooking skills.

While it is true that Adventures make more than this when they reach this level and before they grow old this is more of a sure thing and you are less likely to die. Well at least if you didn’t poison some royalty from a bad roll. =)

My next Rogue is going to rob the houses of Master Chefs.

OK, some of you know that I have been playing a Holy Assassin.
Inquisitor 1 (heretic)/ Ninja 5* and he has been working at very well especially with all the skill bonuses he gets. However, in order to make up for not being able to disarm magic traps I am taking Ranger with the Trapper archetype which grants me the Trapfinding ability plus other benefits. I am so far only planning on taking 1 level of this, at least for the moment, so I want to make sure I pick a good favored enemy, one I will run into the most.

I am thinking that Monstrous Humanoid would be a smart move as that can be varied but I would like some suggestion for other picks and arguments for those picks.

OK, so everyone in my group is taking Leadership and making cohorts. I am bringing in extra healing with a cleric. In addition if our party is TPK any time soon then I am up next for the role of healer. I have a pretty good build for an efficient healer but except item creation and extra channels my option are limited.

I have stumbled across the feat quicken Channel and I like the idea of getting in a channel quicker even if it is at double cost. However, since this allows a cleric to channel as a move action for the cost of two uses of the daily allotment then I am wondering can the cleric then channel right afterward as a normal channel is a standard action? I don't see why not but I am just double checking to see if there is some rule against this.

I generally understand how when using Inappropriately Sized Weapons for using weapons larger than for your size incurs the -2 to attack which seems to be the intent of the RAW. However as I study it further I am wondering if this works both ways.

For example, lets say my Ninja is a Aasimar who of course is medium size. Does the character still incur the -2 penalty if the weapon is smaller?

If the same weapon is smaller is it conceivable that the weapon in the hands of that medium size character is now or could be considered a light exotic weapon? I ask this because the wording seems to suggest it.

Also although I know currently that Pazio in the Playtests are saying that katanas are the equivalent of bastard swords I also know in real life that they can vary drastically in weight any where from 1 pound to 6 pounds but the way they were constructed also made feel as they were light. Is the katana's considered light exotic weapons or just exotic?

OK, at first I always thought that energy resistance only ignored the value it is listed at, so that if a target who has energy resist (lets say acid) of 5 would just ignore the first 5 points of damage.

However, at my table it seemed that the consensus that it is different when the character makes a saving throw. Is this correct or was there some misunderstanding at my group's table.

This was in regard to the resistances of the Aasimar race.

OK, first off I am putting this in the Advice forum because I believe that is where it would do the most good. My goal with this thread is for everyone to help in a collaborative effort to create a guide for helping players come up with a character concept or background history for their characters. I have had players in the past, as well as players I play with currently, that seem to have trouble starting a character concept or background history. Hopefully we can all offer advice for players who have trouble coming up with ideas in this area.

I feel that I do rather well in coming up with concepts fast, as well as create strong character background histories, and thus in a position to dispense some advice. I am also a strong advocate of players coming up with strong concept and character histories for the following reasons: it makes for a more interesting character, adds to the enjoyment for all as it gives your fellow players something to imagine, allows the GM to possibly integrate a character into future adventures, it adds to verisimilitude and makes the character more memorable than just a bunch of statistics and abilities.

Some of my concept advice:

Start Small:
Start with something simple, something small, good concepts are not born complex but start small, and like a seed, grow into something more complex and interesting. Allow your idea to start small and grow naturally by letting one idea lead to another in away that they are connected. Not only will it make your concept interesting but will make it consistent. Something small can be as simple as the character class you want to play or perhaps it is about a man who has a deformity or scar and then from there you can write how he acquired it.

Steal Your Ideas:
Don’t be afraid to steal, everything in nature steals, artists steal, writers steal, scientists and even musicians steal. Nothing is truly original but that has nothing to do with being creative. Imagination is not a total internal power but rather it is a reflection and multi-faceted projection of our experiences and knowledge. We take in information from the world around us and intuitively re-order it into something new. For this reason, it can be a good starting base to take concepts from movies, books, and histories to make something new, but on the same note, do not simply copy a character from these sources because then that is not being creative and you will not have a sense of ownership.

Traits and Archetypes:
If you already have a primary class in mind then traits and archetypes can also help you form good character concepts and histories. These options are often filled with a good starting place to help you with concepts because they help you with a starting place or details to help describe why your character is the way he or she is. The detail these options add are rather broad and have a lot of play in them. They also might help inspire you to take conceptual paths you might not have considered.

Background History Length:
A background history does not have to be a seven page essay about the life of your character. In fact you should discourage yourself from doing so because your GM will not want to read all that material. In addition, TPK does happen and can happen quite often and unless you have a lot of time it is useless to write a ton of info about a character that will just die in a few sessions. A good length can be anywhere from a single paragraph to a page, with the proviso that it explain’s your character’s concept.

Character Motivation:
What motivates your character? One of the most important things to write about is what drove your character to a life of adventure. One solution is to say that something dramatic, either wonderful or traumatic, happened in the character’s past. This dramatic event is the driving force that got your character moving in the direction of adventure. However, another solution instead of a singular event, can be something that happened over the course of your character’s early life until it was to much to bear and thus the character took action. For example, the character lived in poverty and lack of justice which can lead to two paths of either being one of justice to defend the weak, one of crime for survival and revenge against the unjust or perhaps a combination of the two. A character motivation can also come from within as well as from without. For instance, your character has, since childhood, strived to be the best at something. This ambition could be just part of the character’s nature, a goal to past a rival or mentor, or perhaps to live up to and succeed a family legacy ( or the reverse they rebel).

Character Name:
Coming up with a name, for some reason this seems to be a stumper for a lot of people. Inspiration from works of fiction can help a lot. There are also a lot of name generators out there which can help. One of my favorite things to do is fast and easy. First, once you have what your character’s concept, try and sum up your character’s concept in two to three words. Once you have your concept summed up, go to Wordsmith.org and enter it in the field provided, select the language to proper names only and limit it too two or three names only. You will get a long list of all the possible combination of names that are anagrams of your concept. For instance, my current character is a Holy Assassin for the church of Abadar. Now Holy Assassin kept coming up with girl names and I didn’t want that so I changed the input words to Holy Reaper which netted me the name Harper Eloy. This process took under 10 minutes and produces unique names quick and easy.

I have no means all the answers to this subject, and since no man is an island, I want to hear more advice or tips from everyone else. Any constructive advice, tips or feedback is more than welcome.

Something that is somewhat pertaining to my assassin who needs to stay in hiding has been in the back of my mind. I want him to be able to slip into roles so I have been thinking of taking Perform Act.

However, I wonder if perform act can be used in place of bluff. This of course would require roleplaying, probably before a fight starts, but I was thinking I might be able to scare enemies by making them think I am more powerful than I really am. Of course I am thinking the roll the roll would depend on how good the act is. I remember the DC of 30 being able to attract the attention of the Gods.

Would I have to use bluff, perform, or perhaps both?

I have been wondering if it is possible for a cavalier who has a dip in summoner to use an eidolon as a mount as long as it has the correct evolutions.

I do understand that the initial pick of a cavalier mount is limited to a horse, camel, pony or wolf depending on size but from what I have read it seems that is only at the start because if a cavalier's mount is killed then he must find another. It doesn't specify that the new mount must be anything in particular except of course that it is that it is a combat trained mount, so it feels like it is all about choice for the cavalier.

I also understand, that if there isn't anything in the rules against this that because of level limitations the cavalier would need to be a small size race.

OK, after a TPK due to very bad rolls and some dumb choices my summoner is no more which was sad because I had a real fun background history. So we have re-rolled new characters and I made a Holy Assassin ( Inquisitor 1/ Ninja 5) with the Heretic Archetype and Imprisonment Inquisition for the Inquisitor. BG history Holy Assassin that was branded a heretic because of political backstabbing so he is on the run but his God knows the truth so he still has his powers and abilities. Ultimate goal find out who is the backstabber, clear name, and exact justice.

I basically want this character to just be very good at killing but very good at getting away when needed. He is of the church of Abadar. So far I think I have a pretty good build but I am only at level 6 with him and I want to see what I can do in the future. I would like to stay within the thematics of my character but I am open up to other classes I may take later on.

Current Build:[/B]]

Classes: Inquisitor 1 (heretic)/ Ninja 5

Race: Aasimar

Stats: Str 11, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 17, Cha 20

Skills: At least 1 rank in all class skills (to long to type out)

Skills of note (bonus + Ranks): Bluff 12, Craft Alchemy 9, Diplomacy 11, Disable Device 14, Perception 14, Stealth 15

Traits: Reactionary and Mathematical Prodigy

Feats: Weapon Finesse(Bonus), Combat Reflexes, Extra Ki, Two Weapon Fighting

Judgment: (heretic)Escape

Ninja tricks: Vanishing Trick and Rogue Talent: Finesse Rogue

Spells Known: Cure Light Wounds and True Strike

Gear: Custom Job Items (ninja only): Kama +1(Alchemicaly Silvered, Wakizashi +1, Sai +1, Shuriken and Alchemicaly Silvered Shurikens.

(ninja only) Mage Armor Shirt, bracers of the shield Cloak of Resistance +2

Various Poisons, Cure Light Wounds Wand

Like I said before I need help deciding possible builds after what I have here while keeping within my character concept. I am open to feats, magic items I should be trying to get, and even other classes (but this should work somewhat with my theme. I am considering taking a dip of Ranger with the Trapper archetype to get trap finding.

Here are the Feats I am already considering but what I should take ASAP I am not so sure on.

Feats Considered :[/B]]

combat-expertise
improved-feint-combat
improved-trip-combat
improved-two-weapon-fighting
vital-strike-combat
dodge-combat
improved-critical
improved-initiative-combat
ki-stand
master-alchemist

Quote:

OK, after a TPK due to very bad rolls and some dumb choices my summoner is no more which was sad because I had a real fun background history. So we have re-rolled new characters and I made a Holy Assassin ( Inquisitor 1/ Ninja 5).

While building this character I took the ninja trick: Rogue Talent to gain weapon finesse talent. I am also under the impression, that because Ninjas are an alternate rogue class and can gain rogue talents through ninja tricks that it might be possible for a ninja to take the extra rogue talent feat.

Now, personally I would like a extra ninja trick feat and there will probably be one when the UC book comes out, but one should never assume.

OK, so my summoner is about to reach level 7 in about 6k worth of xp. Suddenly I am having trouble deciding what to take next for a feat, something that has really never happened with me before. I would like some help weighing the choices I am considering plus stuff I may not have considered.

Current Feats: Additional Traits, WP: Repeating Crossbow (Ancestral Arms, Spell Focus ( Conjuration ), Augment Summoning +4 to STR & CON for duration

Feats I am considering:

Craft Wondrous Item: At first I thought of taking this because I could create custom stat items but then I thought because of the small spell list this might be wasteful at this point in time due to funds.

Resilient Eidolon: I thought this would be good since it might help my party better in case my summoner get's knocked unconscious or worse.

Scribe Scroll: I am finding the casting power of my character to be somewhat lacking so I thought this would be good to augment my spell casting ability. I could create affordable summoner scrolls for my buff spells leaving my slots open for combat.

extra evolution: I know the obvious advantage of this but I feel that it could wait until I can start getting 3 point evolutions.

Since the Summon monster ability of summoner's last a minute per level instead of a round per level this creates a lot of hang time my summoned creatures.

So instead of the obvious advantage of having work horses to do damage I want to know some strategies I haven't thought up or been suggested to yet using this extended summon time.

Strategies so far I know:
1. Bait to drag enemies into strategic positions.
2. Scouts to get layout of a given area.
3. Gorilla warfare scouts to soften up the enemy, but not kill.

OK, as I understand it a summoned monster via the Summoner's ability actually lasts for minutes per level instead of just rounds per level which is cool. I also know that summoned monsters can be instructed to do tasks other than just fight for the summoner.

What I don't know is how far can a summoned creature travel away from a summoner? Is there a distance or do they just remain in service for the duration of the summons?

I never considered this before since summoned creatures didn't last that long before. I want to know so I can have the option of using summoned creatures as pullers.

OK, my group is currently in a jam because we are up against Shadows and possibly other incorporeal. My group is comprised of a Paladin/oracle (duel Cursed), Cleric(, and my summoner. We are all 6th level but the cleric and my summoner are less than 6k away from level 7. The cleric of course has some ability against these guys but my summoner currently does not and nor does his eidolon.

Does magic fang have the ability to let my eidolon's natural attack count as a magical weapon in order to damage incorporeals or would it have to only be greater magic fang?

Does the magic attacks evolution allow my eidolon to strike and damage incorporeals?

Starting at 2nd level, a summoner can, as a standard action, share the senses of his eidolon, hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and touching everything the eidolon does. He can use this ability a number of rounds per day equal to his summoner level. There is no range to this effect, but the eidolon and the summoner must be on the same plane. The summoner can end this effect as a free action.

OK, So I tried looking up in past threads but I could not find an answer to my question. Bound senses say that the summoner shares for a number of rounds the senses of his eidolon. However, the way that perception is written it feels like it is how you use your senses and knowing what to sense. For instance knowing what to look for or hear for makes a big part of the perception skill. Although I am sure the physical ability does have some part in the role as well because you also train your senses an thus they are sharper.

So when using this ability, who's perception skill do you use for noticing what the summoner is looking for? Do you use the Eidolon's perception, the summoner's or can you use the highest skill and gain the benefit of aid other from the other?

I am open to any answer but I would like to go with the most unanimous answer.

I am exploring backup characters for my game although I am sure my current character will hang around for a while.

Basic Concept: The character was a special holy assassin for the church but is now on the run due to political backstabbing and is out for revenge. Because it is from political backstabbing the character would still retain inquisitor abilities since he committed no sin.

Classes Used:

Inquisitor: with the Heretic Archetype (UM).
When I saw the abilities that this gave it just screamed I wanted to go with ninja.

Ninja: I am not sure if there will be an archetypes that will follow but I think the standard Ninja will be just fine.

Things I haven't decided on but would love suggestions.

1. Stat Spread: It will probably be point buy 25 for the stats but other than that I am not sure how I will handle it.

2. Level Division: I do know that I want mostly Ninja but I am thinking it might be nice to have an extra judgement as well as the other abilities. So I am thinking Inquisitor 1/ Ninja 19 or Inquisitor 5/ Ninja 15, but I would like some feedback on this.

3. Inquisition: I can't decide between Anger, Conversion, Heresy, or Zeal Inquisitions. Inquisitions are Inquisitor only Domains from UM.

4. Race: I have not even yet gotten this far so any suggestions extremely welcomed.

5. Feats: Same as 4.

6. Skills: Same as 4.

7. Gear Focus: Same as 4.

So far I am very pleased so far with this class because it has thus far been more true to what a ninja is than any other version I have ever seen from 2nd to 3.5. However, I was just re-watching an episode of Deadliest Warrior and I was reminded of the Ninja's black egg. I am sure this is something you could house rule but still it would be neat for something official.

Black Eggs where hollowed out eggs, filled with finely ground glass and other substances such as liquid chilli juice; this would then be throw at the enemies faces blinding them with glass under their eyelids or stinging their eyes with the first pepper spray.

In game terms I could see this blinding the foe with a ranged touch attack for a number of rounds thus leaving them open to sneak attacks.

Are any other additional ways to increase the DC of my Summoner's spells other than the Spell Focus line and Raising my Charisma? Is there for instance any spells or magical items that also increase the DC for my spells?

P.S. Sorry about the double post. I tried changing the title at the last second while it was loading.

OK, I finally get to play a Summoner and I am having a blast with it although there is often a lot to remember when in combat. So far one of my favorite spells is create pit although it is a pain when they make their reflex saves and avoid the pit.

The way my GM and I interpreted the description of the spell is: those that make their reflex saves jump to an adjacent square that was next to where they where and not in the pit, so they technically jump aside.

So I figure, if I managed to get my hands on a Meta-magic rod of widening I would be able to enhance my pit spells to be 20 foot wide instead of 10 feet wide. To me this seems it would be harder to avoid, at least to those in or near the center of the pit.

I feel that if any subjects of such an effected spell would either get no saving throw to avoid falling into the pit if they have no realistic avenue of escape, like being in the center, or the DC of the reflex save would at least be higher for them to get to a safe square to land in.

I guess this would also be brought up into question if two sides of the pit are blocked off by obstructions, such as walls, and they are in the corner. If you applied the same situation to a widen create pit it would probably be even wider, correct?

My friends and I are going to be playing a self generating dungeon via the tools found in the board game dungeon quest. Part of the rules is that if your character dies and is not rezed after an hour the dungeon eats you then you become the next GM while the old GM becomes a player. This of course means characters are going to die a lot.

One of the characters I want to make is an Alchemist and I have always been a little upset that the throwing range is only 20 feet. However, I am wondering is that throwing range a flat throwing distance or is it a range increment like with most weapons you throw or fire?

I am sure that people have house ruled this before but I am wondering how it affects the game.

I am thinking however that this would apply only to melee and sub-melee types but caster types shouldn't get it.

OK for a while now my group has been using a spell point system that I created and while it works and doesn't seem to cause any real problem it is extra work to keep track of spell points.

My spell point system I use hangs on to the Vancian spell slots for preparing spells but you only had to prepare spells once and then spend the points in order to cast the spell. This would not cause the prepared spell to vanish from memory. What this did was create a lot of flexibility for non-spontaneous casters but let spontaneous casters still be well spontaneous. Spell points were also based off the number of slots you had so spontaneous casters while they had a smaller selection had a lot more power.

The biggest problem however with my system I see coming up is when new classes or prestige classes that appear that have abilities that lets you do stuff for sacrificing spell slots or similar mechanics that deal with prepared slots. Now I am not saying that my old spell point system is incompatible with such mechanics but it does call for the need of more math.

Now the real reason my group uses my current system is because it is flexible and allows casters to be more prepared for unexpected results but at the cost of being more complicated however the Vancian system is simpler but less flexible.

But I have learned from the experience and I think I have come up with something new or better.

Flexible Vancian spell system

This system works similar to the old Vancian spell system but shares some elements from my Vancian spell point system.

Preparing Spells
Spells are prepared like normal and is limited by the number of spell slots a character has however a spell needs only to prepare a spell once and casting the spell doesn't erase the spell from memory.

Casting Spells
The number of spell slots a caster has not only dictates how many spells he can prep for that level but how many spells he can cast for that level.

Example: William the Wonderful Wizard has three 6th level spell slots and only needs to prepare spells once so he preps: Chain Lighting, Eyebite, and forceful hand. Since he has three spell slots this also says that he can cast three 6th level spells that he has prepared that day in any combination as long as it doesn't exceed his allotment. For instance, he could cast chain lighting three times, twice plus eyebite, or cast each spell once for that day. So spell slots not only determine how many spells you can prep of a certain level but also determine how many spells you are allotted to cast for that day.

Sacrificing Lower Spell Allotments
In addition I am playing with the idea that you could sacrifice a number of lower level spell allotments to cast a higher level spell as long as the total spell levels add up to the spell being cast. However, this is a big advantage so perhaps in this case that higher level spell would be wiped from memory or would be uncastable for that day because of the strain.

Example: William has cast all of his 6th level spell allotments for the day but he really needs an extra chain lighting to save the day. So he sacrifices one 1st level, two 2nd level, and one 3rd level spell allotment to fuel that extra fourth 6th level spell, but he can no longer cast that spell after that for that day.

Sorcerers and Oracles
Of course spontaneous casters do not need to prep spells so to make them desirable to play they need to be more flexible than before so they can us the Sacrificing Lower Spell Allotments option but with out penalty so they can sacrifice as much as they want as long as they have the power to do so.

My goal is to have system that stays closer to the core rules, kept simple but at the same time be flexible. I would really like some feedback on this, so please feel free to mention any potential problems or if you like it or not.