JDLPF's page

Don't forget to also split the party XP with the assisting NPC.

"Velstrac."

How about the healiest healer that ever healed?

Kitsune Double Life Spirit Guide Oracle

This support build's focus is being a hit point dynamo, constantly tossing out channel energy bursts which also give allies rerolls on their attacks, saves or skills. It utilises a few great synergies in the archetype to gain more than it loses, adding bonus racial feats without losing anything compared to the base class.

The build is strongest from 5th level onward, with 7th level doubling the effective channels per day for the build. It plays well as a summoner outside of the role of healer, since the channel bursts can also benefit summoned monster allies and grant them rerolls without any extra resources spent.

I do an 'every character kit' system that I use for Pathfinder Society games, where I have a standard list of items I feel are appropriate for every single 1st level character I create.

Whilst it might not be exactly what you're thinking, perhaps you might find it useful for your purposes.

I also highly recommend a 750gp wand of cure light wounds when you can afford it. Give it to your healer to cover yourself for heals.

Adventuring Equipment
----------------------------

Sack of Powder - 1 cp (1/2 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Invisible enemies at low levels suck. This is a ranged AC 5 attack that outlines them for a mere copper piece.

Chalk - 1 cp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
A cheap way to keep track of your movement in a dungeon, leave messages to others, or draw pretty pictures on walls.

Torch - 1 cp (1 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
You'd be surprised how often an open flame is handy. This also gives you a last-ditch effort weapon for swarms, even if it's only 1 point of damage per hit.

Earplugs - 3 cp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
You get a +2 circumstance bonus to language-dependant spells or abilities whilst wearing these. Useful against enemies that you know will use enchantments, and incredibly cheap for their bonus.

4 Candles - 4 cp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Again, having an open flame handy is more useful than you'd expect.

Inkpen - 1 sp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Don't be an illiterate barbarian. Seriously, even barbarians should carry one of these and be ready to write down important information in character.

3 Oil Flasks - 3 sp (3 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Grease a flight of stairs. Add a fuse and throw it at a swarm. Rub it on yourself to slip out of a tight spot. In a pinch you could also light a lantern with it, I suppose.

Waterproof Bag - 5 sp (1/2 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Five times the cost of a regular sack, but temporarily protects your gear from water damage. Remember to keep your sack of powder, torch and other water sensitive items in this.

Wooden Holy Symbol - 1 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
A great litmus test to determine if the NPC is a vampire. Present this strongly at them and see if they recoil.

Grappling Hook - 1 gp (4 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Weighty, but handy to get your rope where it needs to be.

Potion Sponge - 2 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Race Guide]
Keep one of these loaded with your go-to underwater combat potion and you'll never need to worry about putting ranks into Swim.

Spring-Loaded Wrist Sheath - 5 gp (1 lb) [Adventurer's Armory]
At lower levels keep a dagger handy. At higher levels keep a wand inside. Plus it's just plain cool.

Ink, 1 oz. vial - 8 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
For your inkpen, obviously.

Journal - 10 gp (1 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Always keep notes. Write down names of important NPCs, goals for the quest, riddles encountered, copies of maps, everything. Then you get to freely ask the GM to repeat themselves by simply saying "I wrote that down in character, so I check my journal."

50 ft. Silk Rope - 10 gp (5 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Lighter but more expensive than hemp. Worth the cost to keep your weight down. Also great if your character is into kinky stuff. Never leave home without rope!

Smoked Goggles - 10 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Makes you all but immune to gaze weapons, plus you can wear your sunglasses at night.

Pathfinder's Kit - 12 gp (22 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
I prefer this kit over many others. You've got your obligatory hobo items like a backpack, bedroll, waterskin, flint and steel and rations, but doesn't load you up on torches and an iron pot like many class kits. You get a signal whistle for when you're in trouble because you split the party since it seemed like a good idea at the time. You get a whetstone for an extra +1 damage on your first hit with a bladed weapon. You get a dagger to put in your spring-loaded wrist sheath.

Total: 60 gp (38 lbs) - Leave your rations and bedroll at camp or on a mount to take 12 lbs off this total

Weapons
--------------

Alchemical Silver Cestus - 25 gp (1 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Your always-on melee threat item. Superior to a spiked gauntlet in pretty much every way. Make sure you do bludgeoning damage, as the piercing would suffer -1 damage penalty due to the material. A cheap means to bypass DR/silver too, if you're in a pinch.

Cold Iron Kunai - 4 gp (2 lbs) [Ranged Tactics Toolbox]
This one serves triple duty as a backup thrown weapon, a DR breaker for fey, demons and the like, plus the item text specifically calls out it can be used as a crowbar or piton without risk of damaging the weapon.

Total: 29 gp (3 lbs)

Pets
-------

Guard Dog - 25 gp [PRPG Core Rulebook]
It's a move action and DC 10 Handle Animal check to command your guard dog to defend you. You don't even need to be trained in the skill for this usage. Simply take 10 on this skill out of combat, or take 20 if you're exceptionally uncharismatic. Having an extra pool of hit points for this cost is great value for money.

Total: 25 gp

Alchemical Items
-----------------------

Tindertwig - 1 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
For when you need a fire RFN.

2 Sunrods - 4 gp (2 lb) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Light and vision is king. Unless your whole party has darkvision, carry a few of these and don't be stingy about using them.

Vermin Repellent - 5 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Swarms suck at low levels. Vermin repellent isn't perfect, but it might just be enough to convince a swarm to go chew on someone else instead. Worth the cost.

Smokestick - 20 gp (1/2 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Blocks line of sight, but the rules are sketchy about whether you need to light it on fire first or if it self-activates as part of the use. If your GM is finicky about the activation, glue a tindertwig on it and call it a day. It's a handy item that can buy you total concealment against ranged attacks.

Smelling Salts - 25 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Okay, you beat the bad guys, but where do you go next? Easy, just grab one that hasn't bled out, stabilize him and then use smelling salts. Intimidate him for information about the bad guy's plans. Does your check fail? Kill him and try the next one. Also a really handy item to have in case the party healer is knocked out.

Holy Water - 25 gp (1 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Okay, it's not really an alchemical item, but it's close enough. It's also a decent way to contribute damage against both undead or evil outsiders, especially if they've got some kind of exotic damage reduction you don't have anything to bypass.

Smog Specialty Smoke Pellet - 40 gp (0 lbs) [Dungeoneer's Handbook]
Remember how much invisibility sucks? This is the sack of flour's big brother. Negate a creature's invisibility for 1d4 rounds if you throw it into their square.

Tanglefoot Bag - 50 gp (4 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Entangled, no save, 2d4 rounds. All you gotta do is hit them with it. Can be a lifesaver at low levels against bosses.

Air Crystals - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Pathfinder Society Field Guide]
Underwater combat sucks, but a bag of these can save your character if they're able to get them out in time. Just make sure you have them in your mouth before you get grappled by the kraken.

Total: 220 gp (7.5 lbs)

Potions
--------------

Potion of Touch of the Sea - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Player's Guide]
Never worry about water again. Get a 30 ft. swim speed for 1 minute. Keep this in your potion sponge.

Potion of Feather Step - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Player's Guide]
Difficult terrain can ruin your day. This lets you ignore that for 10 minutes.

Potion of Remove Sickness - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Magic]
The bonus to saves isn't nearly as good as the ability to negate the sickened condition for 10 minutes. There's many creatures that can inflict this status, so a counter is always handy to have as a backup.

Potion of Protection from Evil - 50 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Typically the most common enemy type you'll face, and this one has a bunch of benefits. Deflection and resistance bonuses, prevention of mental domination, and that sweet protection from summoned creatures can shut a summoner down cold.

Total: 200 gp (0 lbs)

Rumors have it the head is actually a long lost artifact, the Head of Vecna!

Oh wait, wrong universe.

Pick a small race, like halfling or gnome.

Select the medium class.

Pick up a wand of enlarge person.

Congratulations! You're a Small Medium Enlarged!

Oh I meant to ask, what route did you take for this?

This is one of those builds I always wanted to do but could never quite make to satisfaction.

I did one for Pathfinder Society, and it rocked out quite hard in damn near every scenario I played.

The basics of the build are below the spoiler, due to length.

Similarly to the above, I believe defensive barbarians are an underrated build. Specifically, the invulnerable rager archetype with the stalwart feat, stacking up the DR/- to negate the need for AC.

Having played one to great effect, I find they're a refreshing type of character that employs a variety of tactical choices to dominate the battlefield. Pairing the reckless abandon rage power with the combat expertise feat feeding through stalwart to trade AC for DR, they can bring a hefty amount of damage dice whilst still soaking up generous levels of punishment without significantly denting their hit point pool, extending their staying power long after many other classes would be looking for a fast exit.

Pairing this with spell sunder at later levels is almost cheating.

1. A novelty scroll case bearing the inscription "World's Best Wizard"
2. A stuffed weasel with a brass plaque that reads "Trouser, Familiar #4"
3. Guidebook entitled "Top 20 Haunted Mansions of Ustalav"
4. Architectural plans for a wizard's tower labeled "Wizard Willy's Extendable Erection"
5. A "Wizard's Weekly" magazine, with a succubi centerfold.

So, to begin with, have you written up a formal code of conduct for your paladin? Two paladins might have very different approaches to the same problem, so it's useful to have a written code before you start.

For example, here's two different codes based on two core deities:

Paladins Of Abadar

Paladins of Abadar defend the weak, protect the innocent and act as lawful authority figures wherever they travel.

• I am a protector of the roadways and keep travelers from harm. No matter their destinations or goals, if they are peaceable and legitimate travelers who harm no others on the road, I will ensure that they pass safely.
• Bandits are a plague. Under my will they come to justice. If they will not come willingly before the law, where they can protest for justice in the courts, they will come under the power of my sword.
• Corruption in the courts is the greatest corruption of civilization. Without confidence in justice, citizens cannot believe in their countries, and civilization begins to disappear. I will root out corruption wherever I find it, and if a system is fundamentally flawed, I will work to aid citizens by reforming or replacing it.
• I am an aid to the markets. I ensure equitable trade between merchants and citizens. Theft on either side is intolerable.
• I make opportunities, and teach others to recognize them. When I aid others, I open the way for them, but will not carry them—they must take responsibility.

Compare to the following:

Paladins Of Shelyn

The paladins of Shelyn are peaceable promoters of art and beauty. They see the ugliness in evil, even when cloaked in the form of beauty, and their job is to prevent the weak and foolish from being seduced by false promises. Their tenets include:

• I am peaceful. I come first with a rose. I act to prevent conflict before it blossoms.
• I never strike first, unless it is the only way to protect the innocent.
• I accept surrender if my opponent can be redeemed—and I never assume that they cannot be. All things that live love beauty, and I will show beauty’s answer to them.
• I will never destroy a work of art, nor allow one to come to harm unless greater art arises from its loss. I will only sacrifice art if doing so allows me to save a life, for untold beauty can arise from an awakened soul.
• I see beauty in others. As a rough stone hides a diamond, a drab face may hide the heart of a saint.
• I lead by example, not with my blade. Where my blade passes, a life is cut short, and the world's potential for beauty is lessened.
• I live my life as art. I will choose an art and perfect it. When I have mastered it, I will choose another. The works I leave behind make life richer for those who follow.

A formal means of justifying your actions with the GM can go a long way towards avoiding alignment infractions in the first place, plus it makes a great roleplay tool!

In this scenario you're using the second function of the Gate spell, per the following:

Calling Creatures: The second effect of the gate spell is to call an extraplanar creature to your aid (a calling effect).

So to know if you can use it this way, let's check the rules for a calling effect.

Calling: a calling spell transports a creature from another plane to the plane you are on. The spell grants the creature the one-time ability to return to its plane of origin, although the spell may limit the circumstances under which this is possible. Creatures who are called actually die when they are killed; they do not disappear and reform, as do those brought by a summoning spell (see below). The duration of a calling spell is instantaneous, which means that the called creature can’t be dispelled.

So from this wording, we can see the following:

1. The Gate spell calls extraplanar creatures.
2. A calling effect transports a creature from another plane.

Thus, unless the Gate spell is cast on a different plane than the one where the 20th level monk currently resides, you can't use it to call them.

Also note that in no way is Gate limited to calling creatures of the outsider type. You can use a Gate spell to call a 1st level human commoner from the elemental plane of fire if you wish, so long as they're considered an extraplanar creature.

From a design perspective, its really handy to have a Chart I can use for my NPCs with class levels to build them without needing to bother with a good portion of bean-counting. I often apply ABP to my NPCs in order to keep them current with the PCs without flooding the PCs with hundreds of cloaks of resistance and rings of protection.

This is an awesome tip and I wanted to thank you for this idea. I'd never considered this route of applying ABP in generating NPCs, and I definitely agree that having unique, cool loot is far more interesting than, "you find each of the bandits has a cloak, ring and armor that detect as magical."

Definitely stealing this one. Any suggestions for a good chart for on-the-fly NPC generation? (Sorry for the derail to the OP)

The NPC wealth should represent the gear which, under normal circumstances, the PCs might have access to using or selling.

A lich's phylactery is only going to be valuable to the lich, barring its inherent value as a quest McGuffin.

Likewise, I don't typically apply the cost of Permanency to spells on the NPC as a penalty to the loot.

The NPC wealth by level should simply be whatever the group loots once the lich's dusty bones hit the floor, provided he didn't have time to use it during the battle.

No problem! It took me awhile to muddle through this hot mess of rules when I included it in one of my games, so I'm glad I could help.

Also note that my math above was slightly off, in that it's a little over 100 days, not 1,000 days, before the business turns a profit. Still, the amount of return on investment is chump change for a PC that earns more loot in a single CR 2 encounter than the business makes in a month.

So, the assumption is that Ultimate Campaign is tracking time in units of downtime days, and resources in capital such as Goods, Influence, and Labor.

Remember that you can substitute 1 point of Goods or Labor for 20 gp, 1 point of Influence for 30 gp, and 1 point of Magic for 100 gp where appropriate.

To construct your Luxury Store, your player must invest 1,030 gp (or 28 Goods, 1 Influence, and 22 Labor). The added sewing room will cost an additional 300 gp (or 8 Goods and 7 Labor). Add all the time costs for the individual rooms to get your total for how long it takes to build this business before it can start to earn a profit.

Next add your team of Craftspeople. These cost 200 gp to recruit for your business (or 3 Goods, 2 Influence, and 4 Labor).

Now build your organization. To do this, add all the Earnings entries for your rooms and teams into one total.

Luxury Store
Furnishings (Storefront): Earnings +5 on the room’s check to generate capital
Office: N/A
Storage: Earnings gp +2
Storefront: Earnings capital +5 (of a type the building already generates)
Vault: N/A
Sewing Room: Earnings gp, Goods, or Influence +10
Craftspeople: Earnings gp, Goods, or Labor +4

Total: gp +26, Goods +26, Influence +22, or Labor +20

Also, a manager will cost a daily wage to watch the business. A good example here would be a Master Smith at 4 gp/day, but we'll call him a Master Tailor instead.

Now let's assume the business simply uses Take 10 for its daily check to generate capital. And remember, the rules for Earning Capital requires you spend half the cost of the capital generated in raw materials to create the finished product.

Thus, the organization generates 36 gold pieces per day, but costs 18 gold pieces per day in raw materials (or land taxes, wages, maintenance fees and what have you), plus an extra 4 gp per day for your manager.

So after spending 1,530 gp on building a business, your player earns...

14 gp per day profit!

In other words, the business will take more than 1,000 days of downtime to pay for itself, let alone earn your player a profit off their investment. So long as you don't give your character more than three years of downtime, you don't need to worry about this project throwing off their WBL.

I do a similar 'every character kit' system that I use for Pathfinder Society games, where I have a standard list of items I feel are appropriate for every single 1st level character I create.

Whilst it might not be exactly what you're thinking, perhaps you might find it useful for your purposes.

Adventuring Equipment
----------------------------

Sack of Powder - 1 cp (1/2 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Invisible enemies at low levels suck. This is a ranged AC 5 attack that outlines them for a mere copper piece.

Chalk - 1 cp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
A cheap way to keep track of your movement in a dungeon, leave messages to others, or draw pretty pictures on walls.

Torch - 1 cp (1 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
You'd be surprised how often an open flame is handy. This also gives you a last-ditch effort weapon for swarms, even if it's only 1 point of damage per hit.

Earplugs - 3 cp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
You get a +2 circumstance bonus to language-dependant spells or abilities whilst wearing these. Useful against enemies that you know will use enchantments, and incredibly cheap for their bonus.

4 Candles - 4 cp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Again, having an open flame handy is more useful than you'd expect.

Inkpen - 1 sp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Don't be an illiterate barbarian. Seriously, even barbarians should carry one of these and be ready to write down important information in character.

3 Oil Flasks - 3 sp (3 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Grease a flight of stairs. Add a fuse and throw it at a swarm. Rub it on yourself to slip out of a tight spot. In a pinch you could also light a lantern with it, I suppose.

Waterproof Bag - 5 sp (1/2 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Five times the cost of a regular sack, but temporarily protects your gear from water damage. Remember to keep your sack of powder, torch and other water sensitive items in this.

Wooden Holy Symbol - 1 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
A great litmus test to determine if the NPC is a vampire. Present this strongly at them and see if they recoil.

Grappling Hook - 1 gp (4 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Weighty, but handy to get your rope where it needs to be.

Potion Sponge - 2 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Race Guide]
Keep one of these loaded with your go-to underwater combat potion and you'll never need to worry about putting ranks into Swim.

Spring-Loaded Wrist Sheath - 5 gp (1 lb) [Adventurer's Armory]
At lower levels keep a dagger handy. At higher levels keep a wand inside. Plus it's just plain cool.

Ink, 1 oz. vial - 8 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
For your inkpen, obviously.

Journal - 10 gp (1 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Always keep notes. Write down names of important NPCs, goals for the quest, riddles encountered, copies of maps, everything. Then you get to freely ask the GM to repeat themselves by simply saying "I wrote that down in character, so I check my journal."

50 ft. Silk Rope - 10 gp (5 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Lighter but more expensive than hemp. Worth the cost to keep your weight down. Also great if your character is into kinky stuff. Never leave home without rope!

Smoked Goggles - 10 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Makes you all but immune to gaze weapons, plus you can wear your sunglasses at night.

Pathfinder's Kit - 12 gp (22 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
I prefer this kit over many others. You've got your obligatory hobo items like a backpack, bedroll, waterskin, flint and steel and rations, but doesn't load you up on torches and an iron pot like many class kits. You get a signal whistle for when you're in trouble because you split the party since it seemed like a good idea at the time. You get a whetstone for an extra +1 damage on your first hit with a bladed weapon. You get a dagger to put in your spring-loaded wrist sheath.

Total: 60 gp (38 lbs) - Leave your rations and bedroll at camp or on a mount to take 12 lbs off this total

Weapons
--------------

Alchemical Silver Cestus - 25 gp (1 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Your always-on melee threat item. Superior to a spiked gauntlet in pretty much every way. Make sure you do bludgeoning damage, as the piercing would suffer -1 damage penalty due to the material. A cheap means to bypass DR/silver too, if you're in a pinch.

Cold Iron Kunai - 4 gp (2 lbs) [Ranged Tactics Toolbox]
This one serves triple duty as a backup thrown weapon, a DR breaker for fey, demons and the like, plus the item text specifically calls out it can be used as a crowbar or piton without risk of damaging the weapon.

Total: 29 gp (3 lbs)

Pets
-------

Guard Dog - 25 gp [PRPG Core Rulebook]
It's a move action and DC 10 Handle Animal check to command your guard dog to defend you. You don't even need to be trained in the skill for this usage. Simply take 10 on this skill out of combat, or take 20 if you're exceptionally uncharismatic. Having an extra pool of hit points for this cost is great value for money.

Total: 25 gp

Alchemical Items
-----------------------

Tindertwig - 1 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
For when you need a fire RFN.

2 Sunrods - 4 gp (2 lb) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Light and vision is king. Unless your whole party has darkvision, carry a few of these and don't be stingy about using them.

Vermin Repellent - 5 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Swarms suck at low levels. Vermin repellent isn't perfect, but it might just be enough to convince a swarm to go chew on someone else instead. Worth the cost.

Smokestick - 20 gp (1/2 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Blocks line of sight, but the rules are sketchy about whether you need to light it on fire first or if it self-activates as part of the use. If your GM is finicky about the activation, glue a tindertwig on it and call it a day. It's a handy item that can buy you total concealment against ranged attacks.

Smelling Salts - 25 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Okay, you beat the bad guys, but where do you go next? Easy, just grab one that hasn't bled out, stabilize him and then use smelling salts. Intimidate him for information about the bad guy's plans. Does your check fail? Kill him and try the next one. Also a really handy item to have in case the party healer is knocked out.

Holy Water - 25 gp (1 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Okay, it's not really an alchemical item, but it's close enough. It's also a decent way to contribute damage against both undead or evil outsiders, especially if they've got some kind of exotic damage reduction you don't have anything to bypass.

Smog Specialty Smoke Pellet - 40 gp (0 lbs) [Dungeoneer's Handbook]
Remember how much invisibility sucks? This is the sack of flour's big brother. Negate a creature's invisibility for 1d4 rounds if you throw it into their square.

Tanglefoot Bag - 50 gp (4 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Entangled, no save, 2d4 rounds. All you gotta do is hit them with it. Can be a lifesaver at low levels against bosses.

Air Crystals - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Pathfinder Society Field Guide]
Underwater combat sucks, but a bag of these can save your character if they're able to get them out in time. Just make sure you have them in your mouth before you get grappled by the kraken.

Total: 220 gp (7.5 lbs)

Potions
--------------

Potion of Touch of the Sea - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Player's Guide]
Never worry about water again. Get a 30 ft. swim speed for 1 minute. Keep this in your potion sponge.

Potion of Feather Step - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Player's Guide]
Difficult terrain can ruin your day. This lets you ignore that for 10 minutes.

Potion of Remove Sickness - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Magic]
The bonus to saves isn't nearly as good as the ability to negate the sickened condition for 10 minutes. There's many creatures that can inflict this status, so a counter is always handy to have as a backup.

Potion of Protection from Evil - 50 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Typically the most common enemy type you'll face, and this one has a bunch of benefits. Deflection and resistance bonuses, prevention of mental domination, and that sweet protection from summoned creatures can shut a summoner down cold.

Total: 200 gp (0 lbs)

Also, if you accept 'official' modules as canonical lore, then there is a 2nd edition Planescape adventure which explains the fluff behind the abilities of demons and devils to teleport at will.

Note that if you're going for realism, a greatsword was usually carried on the shoulder unsheathed.

Here's a video with historical depictions of mercenaries carrying greatswords from the time periods where they were considered relevant weapons.

The video makes a good point in noting that carrying a greatsword is very similar to carrying a polearm weapon, where you'll typically have to have it occupying one hand at all times.

Or you can accept that the game mechanics sometimes don't perfectly align with reality and keep your greatsword in a sheath.

Also, as for the Minor Image, here's an alternative to your planned big monster, either with two CR 1 fiendish wolves added, or just part of the illusion spell.

Before encounter (if Erinyes spots group before they see her and has time to prepare an ambush):

"You hear the shrill sound of a horse whinnying in pain echoing ahead."

At start of encounter:

"You round a bend in the road. A steep rocky cliff plunges down twenty feet, where you see the scene of an accident. A one horse cart appears to have fallen off the side of the road and overturned."

"From your vantage point you can clearly see two large wolves have been attracted by the injured horse, stalking towards it through the undergrowth at the bottom of the rocky cliff."

Perception checks to spot Erinyes have +5 DC due to party being distracted by illusion, +1/10 ft. distance as well.

Characters jumping down the cliff to rescue the (illusionary) injured travelers will require DC 15 Acrobatics to ignore first 10 ft. fallen. If they take any damage from the 20 ft. fall, they land prone.

Interacting with the illusion requires a DC 17 Will save to disbelieve, otherwise describe their actions as if it was real (you try to lift the cart but it's just too heavy to move, you comfort the woman as best as possible as she moans in pain, you think the man is bleeding out and needs first aid or magical healing to save his life, etc)

Characters that try to climb back up the cliff require a DC 15 Climb check and climb at a quarter their base speed as a move action, or half their base speed as a full round action, to ascend the 20 ft. cliff.

The ideal situation is if the group's main melee fighters jump down to use their big muscles to lift the cart, leaving the squishier members at the top. The Erinyes tries to summon 2 bearded devils to engage this group, raining down arrows afterwards on the biggest threat.

Kitsune Spirit Guide Oracle of Pharasma.

Take the Wrecking Mysticism curse, trade all your bonus mystery spells for extra kitsune tails.

Take the Life mystery, picking up Channel Energy here along with anything else you want.

Take the Life Spirit wandering spirit, picking up the Life Link hex and gaining a second pool of Channel Energy at 7th level, plus gaining all your bonus mystery spells back at 4th level as spirit magic spells (the lists are identical).

Take Fateful Channel at 7th level, granting everyone you heal the ability to reroll a single attack roll, skill check, or saving throw of their choice within a number of rounds equal to your Charisma bonus.

The build's got solid charisma with it being their primary casting stat, gobs of hit points, 12+ channel energy per day from 7th level along with free rerolls, and can also overcharge hit points if you pick up Spirit Boost. You also get full access to the Cleric spell list, which has all kinds of awesome on there. A great method is to combine this build with liberal use of Summon Monster spells to create temporary allies and use them to grant flanking, absorb hits, and generally ruin your GM's day.

"You gasp as the blade plunges into your heart, the grimy bandit grinning with malicious delight as he watches the light fade from your eyes. Everything turns black, and your soul leaves your body to face Pharasma's judgement."

"An untold time passes as you drift through a sea of souls travelling the rivers of the afterlife, when with a pain that sears itself across your very essence, you find yourself yanked back through the void, plunging into your still-cold corpse. You retch and convulse, your half-rotten body twitching with exquisite agony unmatched by any experience you've ever had the misfortune to encounter."

"As the pain finally fades, you perceive your surroundings, noting your your companions are laying next to you, all of you naked and barely alive. A soft cackling laugh draws your attention behind you, where a shriveled crone stands watching you with milky white eyes, her toothless mouth curled in a cruel smile at your suffering."

"'Not yet my pretties,' she croons at you, waggling a black-nailed finger in your direction. 'You're not finished yet, not when others have claim on you. Such silly children you are, thinking you could escape your duties so easily. Oh no, you've far more work ahead of you yet before you get to rest, hehehe!'"

Lifts rug, gently slides Ultimate Wilderness underneath, walks away whistling

0th Level: Prestidigitation

Also known as "Wish, Lesser" this cantrip has a myriad of uses. Create a crude spider and slip it inside the paladin's bedroll before they go to sleep. Change their armour fluorescent pink for an hour. Make their rations taste like dog poop. Soil their undergarments. The delight of gnomish pranksters everywhere!

1st Level: Silent Image

Planning to siege a castle? Create a 3D image of the structure, complete with miniature figurines of your party members that you can rotate, zoom in, and colour code different sections. A thief just stole your coin purse? Create a full image of his appearance to show the city guards. Spreading your group's fame in the local tavern? Give the crowd a big-screen TV show of your latest adventure that would rival any action blockbuster. Or create a porn video starring the paladin in every role.

2nd Level: Tears to Wine

A great excuse to piss in the Paladin's waterskin.

3rd Level: Explosive Runes

Interesting fact: hiring a messenger to deliver someone a note only costs 2 copper pieces if they're within a mile.

Here's my 1st level Pathfinder Society shopping list. Much of the latter part of this list is wishlist items to pick up after you get a bit of gold to spend, but most of it should be obtainable before level 2.

This list doesn't include the cost of your primary weapons and armor since it differs by character. This list contains no items that require a minimum amount of Fame to purchase, and everything is PFS legal, provided you own the required resources.

Adventuring Equipment
----------------------------

Sack of Powder - 1 cp (1/2 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Invisible enemies at low levels suck. This is a ranged AC 5 attack that outlines them for a mere copper piece.

Chalk - 1 cp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
A cheap way to keep track of your movement in a dungeon, leave messages to others, or draw pretty pictures on walls.

Torch - 1 cp (1 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
You'd be surprised how often an open flame is handy. This also gives you a last-ditch effort weapon for swarms, even if it's only 1 point of damage per hit.

Earplugs - 3 cp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
You get a +2 circumstance bonus to language-dependant spells or abilities whilst wearing these. Useful against enemies that you know will use enchantments, and incredibly cheap for their bonus.

4 Candles - 4 cp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Again, having an open flame handy is more useful than you'd expect.

Inkpen - 1 sp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Don't be an illiterate barbarian. Seriously, even barbarians should carry one of these and be ready to write down important information in character.

3 Oil Flasks - 3 sp (3 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Grease a flight of stairs. Add a fuse and throw it at a swarm. Rub it on yourself to slip out of a tight spot. In a pinch you could also light a lantern with it, I suppose.

Waterproof Bag - 5 sp (1/2 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Five times the cost of a regular sack, but temporarily protects your gear from water damage. Remember to keep your sack of powder, torch and other water sensitive items in this.

Wooden Holy Symbol - 1 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
A great litmus test to determine if the NPC is a vampire. Present this strongly at them and see if they recoil.

Grappling Hook - 1 gp (4 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Weighty, but handy to get your rope where it needs to be.

Potion Sponge - 2 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Race Guide]
Keep one of these loaded with your go-to underwater combat potion and you'll never need to worry about putting ranks into Swim.

Spring-Loaded Wrist Sheath - 5 gp (1 lb) [Adventurer's Armory]
At lower levels keep a dagger handy. At higher levels keep a wand inside. Plus it's just plain cool.

Ink, 1 oz. vial - 8 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
For your inkpen, obviously.

Journal - 10 gp (1 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Always keep notes. Write down names of important NPCs, goals for the quest, riddles encountered, copies of maps, everything. Then you get to freely ask the GM to repeat themselves by simply saying "I wrote that down in character, so I check my journal."

50 ft. Silk Rope - 10 gp (5 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Lighter but more expensive than hemp. Worth the cost to keep your weight down. Also great if your character is into kinky stuff. Never leave home without rope!

Smoked Goggles - 10 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Makes you all but immune to gaze weapons, plus you can wear your sunglasses at night.

Pathfinder's Kit - 12 gp (22 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
I prefer this kit over many others. You've got your obligatory hobo items like a backpack, bedroll, waterskin, flint and steel and rations, but doesn't load you up on torches and an iron pot like many class kits. You get a signal whistle for when you're in trouble because you split the party since it seemed like a good idea at the time. You get a whetstone for an extra +1 damage on your first hit with a bladed weapon. You get a dagger to put in your spring-loaded wrist sheath.

Total: 60 gp (38 lbs) - Leave your rations and bedroll at camp or on a mount to take 12 lbs off this total

Weapons
--------------

Alchemical Silver Cestus - 25 gp (1 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Your always-on melee threat item. Superior to a spiked gauntlet in pretty much every way. Make sure you do bludgeoning damage, as the piercing would suffer -1 damage penalty due to the material. A cheap means to bypass DR/silver too, if you're in a pinch.

Cold Iron Kunai - 4 gp (2 lbs) [Ranged Tactics Toolbox]
This one serves triple duty as a backup thrown weapon, a DR breaker for fey, demons and the like, plus the item text specifically calls out it can be used as a crowbar or piton without risk of damaging the weapon.

Total: 29 gp (3 lbs)

Pets
-------

Guard Dog - 25 gp [PRPG Core Rulebook]
It's a move action and DC 10 Handle Animal check to command your guard dog to defend you. You don't even need to be trained in the skill for this usage. Simply take 10 on this skill out of combat, or take 20 if you're exceptionally uncharismatic. Having an extra pool of hit points for this cost is great value for money.

Total: 25 gp

Alchemical Items
-----------------------

Tindertwig - 1 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
For when you need a fire RFN.

2 Sunrods - 4 gp (2 lb) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Light and vision is king. Unless your whole party has darkvision, carry a few of these and don't be stingy about using them.

Vermin Repellent - 5 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Swarms suck at low levels. Vermin repellent isn't perfect, but it might just be enough to convince a swarm to go chew on someone else instead. Worth the cost.

Smokestick - 20 gp (1/2 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Blocks line of sight, but the rules are sketchy about whether you need to light it on fire first or if it self-activates as part of the use. If your GM is finicky about the activation, glue a tindertwig on it and call it a day. It's a handy item that can buy you total concealment against ranged attacks.

Smelling Salts - 25 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Equipment]
Okay, you beat the bad guys, but where do you go next? Easy, just grab one that hasn't bled out, stabilize him and then use smelling salts. Intimidate him for information about the bad guy's plans. Does your check fail? Kill him and try the next one. Also a really handy item to have in case the party healer is knocked out.

Holy Water - 25 gp (1 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Okay, it's not really an alchemical item, but it's close enough. It's also a decent way to contribute damage against both undead or evil outsiders, especially if they've got some kind of exotic damage reduction you don't have anything to bypass.

Smog Specialty Smoke Pellet - 40 gp (0 lbs) [Dungeoneer's Handbook]
Remember how much invisibility sucks? This is the sack of flour's big brother. Negate a creature's invisibility for 1d4 rounds if you throw it into their square.

Tanglefoot Bag - 50 gp (4 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Entangled, no save, 2d4 rounds. All you gotta do is hit them with it. Can be a lifesaver at low levels against bosses.

Air Crystals - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Pathfinder Society Field Guide]
Underwater combat sucks, but a bag of these can save your character if they're able to get them out in time. Just make sure you have them in your mouth before you get grappled by the kraken.

Total: 220 gp (7.5 lbs)

Potions
--------------

Potion of Touch of the Sea - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Player's Guide]
Never worry about water again. Get a 30 ft. swim speed for 1 minute. Keep this in your potion sponge.

Potion of Feather Step - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Advanced Player's Guide]
Difficult terrain can ruin your day. This lets you ignore that for 10 minutes.

Potion of Remove Sickness - 50 gp (0 lbs) [Ultimate Magic]
The bonus to saves isn't nearly as good as the ability to negate the sickened condition for 10 minutes. There's many creatures that can inflict this status, so a counter is always handy to have as a backup.

Potion of Protection from Evil - 50 gp (0 lbs) [PRPG Core Rulebook]
Typically the most common enemy type you'll face, and this one has a bunch of benefits. Deflection and resistance bonuses, prevention of mental domination, and that sweet protection from summoned creatures can shut a summoner down cold.

Total: 200 gp (0 lbs)

What we wanted

What we got

Just finished the first half of a session of Doomsday Dawn at 1st level with myself as an Elf Wizard, along with a Dwarf Fighter, a Gnome Ranger, a Goblin Barbarian and a Human Bard.

Overall, I can see myself spending my 2nd level skill feat on Trick Magic Item and picking up a wand of 1st level heal, and I'll be highly recommending it for all my allies too. The game does not balance well for a group without a Cleric, and it's only thanks to my own preparation in buying multiple scrolls of Soothe that we didn't end up with a party wipe.

I forsee myself still passing out heals from the wand, attempting to overspend resonance to get a few more activations out of it, then passing it around to everyone else with the Trick Magic Item feat when I fail my check, grabbing their wand and trying until I crit fail my check.

I don't see it changing the issue of using wands to top up after battle, because there's still no alternative system to allow characters to heal between fights that don't rely on a specific class. All it does is add an extra layer of potential failure.

Natural Ambition doesn't say it grants you a class feat because it doesn't need to. Per p. 279, you can swap any class feat for an archetype feat. You still haven't shown a rule that conflicts with this, merely provided opinions, which while welcome, don't change the actual rules for multiclassing.

It's amusing, because I thought pre-playtest that Paizo would be giving the Alchemist class special treatment as their golden-boy poster child for the game.

Instead, I was surprised at how little love Alchemists ended up getting. Between being starved for Resonance due to all class abilities triggering off the same pool and the issues they have with mandatory bulk, they're probably competing for last place with Sorcerers for least viable class.

I agree, it's good feedback! As a player, I'm the kind of person that always has some obscure item from a rulebook somewhere that happens to be the perfect tool for the job (what, you mean you didn't know a cold iron kunai can be used as a crowbar?) and I value the ability to carry a range of tools with me to suit the occasion. The bulk system has its merits, but there's also some failings as well.

I think that lowering the bulk of a few kits would go a long way towards solving this problem. Alchemist's tools in particular have a strong argument from a gameplay balance perspective to be reduced to at least 1 bulk if not lower.

sherlock1701 wrote:

The issue mainly shows up in multi character fights. An alchemist can hit several people with acid bombs in a round or two, rogue hits for bleed damage, wizard tacks on some persistent fire, and now we have 3 or 4 enemies with 2 or 3 persistent effects to track.

Not to mention that concentration can be broken far easier than persistent damage can.

Only if the enemy's using Readied Actions or access to Attack of Opportunity. Concentration breaks only if the damage is dealt as a reaction the action to maintain concentration. Even if the enemy strikes you three times on their turn, you don't lose the spell.

Don't forget the part before the section you quoted:

In general when retraining, you can’t make choices that you couldn’t when first making your character

If it's legal when first making the choice for your character, it's legal for retraining at a later level. And selecting any archetype feat for any class feat is legal.

Hopefully, archetype feats will get down shifted in the final version so dedications are 1st level, 4th level archetype feats become 2nd level feats, and so on.

But in the meantime, no.

Each feat has a level associated with it. That level is bound to the feat and part of its prerequisites. Since as it stands there are no 1st level archetype feats of any kind, you cannot use Ambition to get an archetype feat.

What it does allow you to do is pick up another actual class feat you wanted, so you can save your actual class feat slot for the archetype instead of spending it on the extra 1st level feat you wanted.

You're committing a logic fallacy in your interpretation.

Observation: Class Feats have level prerequisites.
Observation: Archetype Feats have level prerequisites.
Conclusion: Archetype Feat level must match the Class Feat level.

This is wrong. The level prerequisites are the minimum character level you must be to take that Feat.

You can select a 1st level Class Feat at 5th level because you meet the prerequisites of being at least 1st level.

You can select a 4th level Archetype Feat at 5th level because you meet the prerequisites of being at least 4th level.

You can select any Archetype Feat in place of a Class Feat if you meet the prerequisites.

Thus you can select a 4th level Archetype Feat in place of a 1st level Class Feat at 5th level.

The reason Dex to damage isn't available is due to how many things already key off Dex in comparison to Str.

Str gives carrying capacity, melee and thrown damage, and one skill (Athletics).

Dex gives AC, TAC, Ref saves, ranged attack, and three skills (Acrobatics, Stealth, Thievery).

Taking damage from Str and giving it to Dex unfairly weights the choice between the two.

Personally, I feel happy that the designers haven't given a means of Dex to damage.

I am not a personal fan of Signature Skills capping skill progression. I believe a character with strong motivation to excel within a nonstandard field shouldn't be arbitrarily prevented from doing so.

Nevertheless, the argument is sound that a class should define, to an extent, what training you'd receive.

Thus, my proposed alternative is as follows:

Signature skills define the training a class provides. At 1st level, you begin play Trained in the class's signature skills. Characters also begin play Trained in an additional amount of skills equal to their Intelligence modifier. You may advance any skill to Master/Legendary at the appropriate level as normal.

This solves two issues:

First, this assigns more value to Intelligence. Currently it's a clear dump stat, but giving it the option of allowing flexibility in adding an extra Trained skill might tempt more classes into putting a free boost or two into it.

Second, this gives incentive to classes to invest into Signature skills as they level up, but allows them to go a different direction if they prefer.

Third, this solves many of the "Cleric doesn't know about Religion, Druid doesn't know about Nature, Rogue doesn't know how to Pick Locks" issues.

Currently, (with the exception of Druids, after Jason's post) every class gains a number of bonus Trained skills equal to their number of Signature skills. It's obviously intended that they invest these into the skills for that class. Let's cut out the middle man.

Some would rightly feel this limits creativity at character creation, but I feel this preserves the core concept that your class defines your initial training, but doesn't necessarily limit or prevent you from still working outside the box. At most, you're 1 skill level down in a skill outside your Signature Skills, and you have the choice to negate that entirely if you invest into Intelligence rather than treating it as a dump stat.

At present, besides the issues outlined above, the only other conflict I can see to this alternative interacting with the current rules is meeting 2nd level prerequisites for multiclassing. A character with less than 12 Int wouldn't be able to qualify for the Trained prerequisite of their multiclass archetype feat's Signature Skill. This can be likely solved by simply removing the 12 Int prerequisite on the Skill Training skill feat. Thus, a character without at least 12 Int can still multiclass at 2nd level at the cost of their 2nd level Skill Feat on Skill Training and 2nd level class feat on Dedication.

There are no level 1 archetype feats. The lowest level at which you can get an archetype is 2.

So, no, you can’t use Natural Ambitiin to get any archetype feats, multiclass feats included.

Why not? I appreciate your comment, but could I ask you to include details as to which rule you're using in the Playtest Rulebook to back up this statement?

My own reading is that it is legal, precisely because p. 279 allows any class feat to be used for any archetype feat, without any wording restricting them by level. The only restriction is prerequisites, which are all met at 5th level in the example.

Question #1

Can the bonus class feat from Natural Ambition be used to purchase a multiclass feat in place of a class feat provided the player meets the prerequisites?

NATURAL AMBITION

You were raised to be ambitious and always reach for the stars, causing you to progress quickly in your chosen field. You gain a 1st-level class feat for your class.

Applying an archetype requires you to spend your class feats on archetype feats instead of class feats. Start by finding the archetype that best fits your character concept, and select the archetype’s dedication feat using one of your class feat choices. Once you have the dedication feat, you can select any feat from that archetype in place of a class feat as long as you meet its prerequisites.

Example: Gish the Human Wizard decides to multiclass into Fighter. They take Fighter Dedication as their 2nd level class feat, Basic Maneuver as their 4th level class feat, and select Natural Ambition as their 5th level Ancestry Feat, gaining a 1st level class feat. Can Gish use this class feat to purchase the archetype feat Fighter Resiliency?

Question #2

Table 5-1 on p. 160 lists Non-Skill Feats.

Several of these feats carry the Skill trait in their individual description.

Can the following Feats be selected using a Skill feat?

Diehard
Feather Step
Fleet

Question #3

You cast spells like a cleric. ...Choose a deity as you would if you were a cleric. You’re bound by that deity’s anathema.

Your deity also adds spells to your spell list. When preparing spells, you can select from these in addition to the spells on the divine list once you can cast that level of spell.

Does a character with the Cleric Dedication and Basic Cleric Spellcasting archetype feats add their deity's 1st level Domain spell to their spell list?

I am not a personal fan of Signature Skills capping skill progression. I believe a character with strong motivation to excel within a nonstandard field shouldn't be arbitrarily prevented from doing so.

Nevertheless, the argument is sound that a class should define, to an extent, what training you'd receive.

Thus, my proposed alternative is as follows:

Signature skills define the training a class provides. At 1st level, you begin play Trained in the class's signature skills. Characters also begin play Trained in an additional amount of skills equal to their Intelligence modifier. You may advance any skill to Master/Legendary at the appropriate level as normal.

This solves two issues:

First, this assigns more value to Intelligence. Currently it's a clear dump stat, but giving it the option of allowing flexibility in adding an extra Trained skill might tempt more classes into putting a free boost or two into it.

Second, this gives incentive to classes to invest into Signature skills as they level up, but allows them to go a different direction if they prefer.

Third, this solves many of the "Cleric doesn't know about Religion, Druid doesn't know about Nature, Rogue doesn't know how to Pick Locks" issues.

Currently, (with the exception of Alchemists, for reasons unknown) every class gains a number of bonus Trained skills equal to their number of Signature skills. It's obviously intended that they invest these into the skills for that class. Let's cut out the middle man.

Good catch, though given the title, it's obviously not gonna work. Also, even if you prepare it, there's no wording that says the spell becomes an arcane spell, and therefore the Wizard Arcane Spellcasting class feature that gives you "the power to cast arcane spells using the Cast a Spell activity" on p. 135 won't let you cast a prepared Occult spell, even if it's in one of your slots.

Natural Ambition wrote:

You were raised to be ambitious and always reach for the stars, causing you to progress quickly in your chosen field. You gain a 1st-level class feat for your class.

The bolded part seems to be rather specific.

It would not matter if Gish is a Wizard (fighter archetype) or a Fighter (wizard archetype) or a Fighter without an archetype. If he takes Natural Ambition on 5th level, he gains a 1st-level class feat.

The only thing the dedication feat from the archetype changes is, that he has the option to take 1st-level fighter feats and 1st-level wizard feats.

I think you're a bit unclear on the way multiclassing works based on your comment here.

A multiclassed character doesn't get to select class feats from their secondary class. They select from the list of multiclass archetype feats from p. 279 onwards. Some of these let you pick a 1st or 2nd level class feat, some add different features.

The rules on p. 279 state "once you have the dedication feat, you can select any feat from that archetype in place of a class feat as long as you meet its prerequisites."

Natural Ambition grants a 1st level class feat. You can select any feat from your archetype in place of a class feat. Ergo, you can select an archetype feat in place of a 1st level class feat unless you know of a rule that says this is an exception to the rules for archetypes?

I don't think this will let you take a feat for a class your multiclassing to according to the wording of the rules. Multiclassing doesn't make you a fighter in the game it just gets you proficiency in armor and weapons.

If it worked like that at 3rd level you could take Ancestral Paragon and get a level 1 feat allowing you to have 2 level 1 feats from 2 different classes and at level 4 still take your normal feat or grab a 2nd level feat from fighter with Basic Maneuver.

For example... If you could use Natural Ambition to do this you could have a level 4 Wizard multiclassing to Fighter with: a school specialization or a level 1 Wizard feat, Proficiency in weapons and armor, a level 1 Fighter feat (Point Blank Shot feels like the best choice for a Wizard to me), a level 4 feat in Wizard/level 1 or 2 feat from Fighter.

Can you clarify where you think there's rules stating this doesn't work? Because the rules for multiclassing let you take a multiclass archetype feat in replacement of a class feat, and Natural Ambition grants you a level 1 class feat. Seems pretty clear it does work according to the rules. And thus Ancestral Paragon becomes a great 3rd level general feat to get early progress into your multiclass.

You really, really don't want this.

Currently one the biggest issues facing the Alchemist is their reliance on a single class of point resources: Resonance.

Number-crunching has revealed that Alchemists, after using their class abilities that key off this single pool, often end up with a single encounter's worth of abilities to use, and their lack of cantrips means they usually rely on a crossbow for further actions.

Having separate pools of points to track for channel energy might be a slight increase in bookwork, but gives you the default best (and in many cases, only) source of reliable healing in the game.

From my other post regarding Wizard Signature skills, here's my list of number of Signature skill by class as well as trained skills by class:

Alchemist: 3 (2+Int trained)
Barbarian: 3 (3+Int trained)
Bard: 7 (7+Int trained)
Cleric: 5 (5+Int trained)
Druid: 4 (4+Int trained)
Fighter: 3 (3+Int trained)
Monk: 3 (3+Int trained)
Paladin: 4 (4+Int trained)
Ranger: 6 (6+Int trained)
Rogue: 10 (10+Int trained)
Sorcerer: 5 (5+Int trained)
Wizard: 2 (2+Int trained)

Not that due to the mechanics of flat level based skill increases, you can theoretically only train a maximum of 7 skills total to Master level, or 3 Legendary and 1 Master skill.

It's interesting to note that both Int based classes get the least amount of bonus trained skills, meaning an 18 Int Wizard is trained in only one more skill than a 10 Int Sorcerer, and has far fewer class Signature skill options to increase above Expert.

Overall, I highly dislike Signature skills as a mechanic and believe they should be removed entirely, allowing any class to spend their levels in any skill they wish. I don't see anything inherently unbalancing in a Fighter that's trained his whole life in moving stealthily, or a Monk that's spent years becoming one with Nature.

I'm still disappointed they not only moved Teleport from 5th to 6th level, but also made it Uncommon.

Because, y'know, not many people would want to know how to travel a hundred miles in an instant.

Planar Binding is now a ritual rather than a spell, and crit failure summons a face-eating-thing-that-should-not-be rather than your original target.

Blink makes you appear 10 ft. in a random direction determined by the DM at the end of each of your turns for 1 minute. No longer lets you move through walls or objects, can't use it to bypass locked doors unless you get lucky with your random direction (and the DM can simply choose not to let you go that way anyhow).

A bunch of Conjuration stuff got moved around:
•Acid Arrow, Acid Splash, and Glitterdust went to Evocation
•Cloudkill went to Necromancy
•Mage Armor went to Abjuration
•No sign of the 1st level Mount spell, only Phantom Steed at 2nd
•Obscuring Mist got bumped from 1st to 2nd
•Black Tentacles got bumped from 4th to 5th
•Teleport got bumped from 5th to 6th and made Uncommon (requires GM approval)
•No sign of Sleet Storm, Secure Shelter, Trap the Soul, or Wall of Iron

This, plus the explicit ban on using multiple summoned creatures due to action economy, means it's a bad day for Conjurers.

In other news, Rope Trick got bumped from 2nd to 4th, as well as made Uncommon (A.K.A not for players, enemies only). Also, no more window outside, and can be dispelled by enemies with a successful Athletics check on the rope. So basically, they took the spell out the back and layed into it with nerf bats.

Here's my 1st level Pathfinder Society shopping list. Much of the latter part of this list is wishlist items to pick up after you get a bit of gold to spend, but most of it should be obtainable before level 2.

This list doesn't include the cost of your primary weapons and armor since it differs by character.

This list contains no items that require a minimum amount of Fame to purchase, and everything is PFS legal, provided you own the required resources.

I also heartily recommend your first 2PP be spent on a Wand of Cure Light Wounds or a Wand of Infernal Healing. BYO heals!

Adventuring Equipment
----------------------------

Sack of Powder - 1 cp (1/2 lbs)
Invisible enemies at low levels suck. This is a ranged AC 5 attack that outlines them for a mere copper piece.

Chalk - 1 cp (0 lbs)
A cheap way to keep track of your movement in a dungeon, leave messages to others, or draw pretty pictures on walls.

Torch - 1 cp (1 lbs)
You'd be surprised how often an open flame is handy. This also gives you a last-ditch effort weapon for swarms, even if it's only 1 point of damage per hit.

Earplugs - 3 cp (0 lbs)
You get a +2 circumstance bonus to language-dependant spells or abilities whilst wearing these. Useful against enemies that you know will use enchantments, and incredibly cheap for their bonus.

4 Candles - 4 cp (0 lbs)
Again, having an open flame handy is more useful than you'd expect.

Inkpen - 1 sp (0 lbs)
Don't be an illiterate barbarian. Seriously, even barbarians should carry one of these and be ready to write down important information in character.

3 Oil Flasks - 3 sp (3 lbs)
Grease a flight of stairs. Add a fuse and throw it at a swarm. Rub it on yourself to slip out of a tight spot. In a pinch you could also light a lantern with it, I suppose.

Waterproof Bag - 5 sp (1/2 lbs)
Five times the cost of a regular sack, but temporarily protects your gear from water damage. Remember to keep your sack of powder, torch and other water sensitive items in this.

Wooden Holy Symbol - 1 gp (0 lbs)
A great litmus test to determine if the NPC is a vampire. Present this strongly at them and see if they recoil.

Grappling Hook - 1 gp (4 lbs)
Weighty, but handy to get your rope where it needs to be.

Potion Sponge - 2 gp (0 lbs)
Keep one of these loaded with your go-to underwater combat potion and you'll never need to worry about putting ranks into Swim.

Spring-Loaded Wrist Sheath - 5 gp (1 lb)
At lower levels keep a dagger handy. At higher levels keep a wand inside. Plus it's just plain cool.

Ink, 1 oz. vial - 8 gp (0 lbs)
For your inkpen, obviously.

Journal - 10 gp (1 lbs)
Always keep notes. Write down names of important NPCs, goals for the quest, riddles encountered, copies of maps, everything. Then you get to freely ask the GM to repeat themselves by simply saying "I wrote that down in character, so I check my journal."

50 ft. Silk Rope - 10 gp (5 lbs)
Lighter but more expensive than hemp. Worth the cost to keep your weight down. Also great if your character is into kinky stuff. Never leave home without rope!

Smoked Goggles - 10 gp (0 lbs)
Makes you all but immune to gaze weapons, plus you can wear your sunglasses at night.

Pathfinder's Kit - 12 gp (22 lbs)
I prefer this kit over many others. You've got your obligatory hobo items like a backpack, bedroll, waterskin, flint and steel and rations, but doesn't load you up on torches and an iron pot like many class kits. You get a signal whistle for when you're in trouble because you split the party since it seemed like a good idea at the time. You get a whetstone for an extra +1 damage on your first hit with a bladed weapon. You get a dagger to put in your spring-loaded wrist sheath.

Total: 60 gp (38 lbs) - Leave your rations and bedroll at camp or on a mount to take 12 lbs off this total

Weapons
--------------

Alchemical Silver Cestus - 25 gp (1 lbs)
Your always-on melee threat item. Superior to a spiked gauntlet in pretty much every way. Make sure you do bludgeoning damage, as the piercing would suffer -1 damage penalty due to the material. A cheap means to bypass DR/silver too, if you're in a pinch.

Cold Iron Kunai - 4 gp (2 lbs)
Aside from being a backup DR/cold iron weapon, this item does double duty functioning as a piton or crowbar, per the weapon text. Ninja headband and orange jumpsuit not included.

Total: 29 gp (3 lbs)

Pets
-------

Guard Dog - 25 gp
It's a move action and DC 10 Handle Animal check to command your guard dog to defend you. You don't even need to be trained in the skill for this usage. Simply take 10 on this skill out of combat, or take 20 if you're exceptionally uncharismatic. Having an extra pool of hit points for this cost is great value for money.

Total: 25 gp

Alchemical Items
-----------------------

Tindertwig - 1 gp (0 lbs)
For when you need a fire RFN.

2 Sunrods - 4 gp (2 lb)
Light and vision is king. Unless your whole party has darkvision, carry a few of these and don't be stingy about using them.

Vermin Repellent - 5 gp (0 lbs)
Swarms suck at low levels. Vermin repellent isn't perfect, but it might just be enough to convince a swarm to go chew on someone else instead. Worth the cost.

Smokestick - 20 gp (1/2 lbs)
Blocks line of sight, but the rules are sketchy about whether you need to light it on fire first or if it self-activates as part of the use. If your GM is finicky about the activation, glue a tindertwig on it and call it a day. It's a handy item that can buy you total concealment against ranged attacks.

Smelling Salts - 25 gp (0 lbs)
Okay, you beat the bad guys, but where do you go next? Easy, just grab one that hasn't bled out, stabilize him and then use smelling salts. Intimidate him for information about the bad guy's plans. Does your check fail? Kill him and try the next one. Also a really handy item to have in case the party healer is knocked out.

Holy Water - 25 gp (1 lbs)
Okay, it's not really an alchemical item, but it's close enough. It's also a decent way to contribute damage against both undead or evil outsiders, especially if they've got some kind of exotic damage reduction you don't have anything to bypass.

Smog Smoke Pellet - 40 gp (0 lbs)
Remember how much invisibility sucks? This is the sack of flour's big brother. Negate a creature's invisibility for 1d4 rounds if you throw it into their square.

Tanglefoot Bag - 50 gp (4 lbs)
Entangled, no save, 2d4 rounds. All you gotta do is hit them with it. Can be a lifesaver at low levels against bosses.

Air Crystals - 50 gp (0 lbs)
Underwater combat sucks, but a bag of these can save your character if they're able to get them out in time. Just make sure you have them in your mouth before you get grappled by the kraken.

Total: 220 gp (7.5 lbs)

Potions
--------------

Potion of Touch of the Sea - 50 gp (0 lbs)
Never worry about water again. Get a 30 ft. swim speed for 1 minute. Keep this in your potion sponge.

Potion of Feather Step - 50 gp (0 lbs)
Difficult terrain can ruin your day. This lets you ignore that for 10 minutes.

Potion of Remove Sickness - 50 gp (0 lbs)
The bonus to saves isn't nearly as good as the ability to negate the sickened condition for 10 minutes. There's many creatures that can inflict this status, so a counter is always handy to have as a backup.

Potion of Protection from Evil - 50 gp (0 lbs)
Typically the most common enemy type you'll face, and this one has a bunch of benefits. Deflection and resistance bonuses, prevention of mental domination, and that sweet protection from summoned creatures can shut a summoner down cold.

Total: 200 gp (0 lbs)

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

Avoron wrote:

Darksol the Painbringer wrote:

The above post is the reason why threads like these are a bad idea to make.

The above post is the reason why threads like these are absolutely fascinating.

People will argue about anything.

No they won't.

I disagree, and therefore I'm going to separate every paragraph you wrote into individual quotes and reply to each one separately.

Here's my 1st level Pathfinder Society shopping list. Much of the latter part of this list is wishlist items to pick up after you get a bit of gold to spend, but most of it should be obtainable before level 2. This list doesn't include the cost of your primary weapons and armor since it differs by character. This list contains no items that require a minimum amount of Fame to purchase, and everything is PFS legal, provided you own the required resources.

Adventuring Equipment
----------------------------

Sack of Powder - 1 cp (1/2 lbs)
Invisible enemies at low levels suck. This is a ranged AC 5 attack that outlines them for a mere copper piece.

Chalk - 1 cp (0 lbs)
A cheap way to keep track of your movement in a dungeon, leave messages to others, or draw pretty pictures on walls.

Torch - 1 cp (1 lbs)
You'd be surprised how often an open flame is handy. This also gives you a last-ditch effort weapon for swarms, even if it's only 1 point of damage per hit.

Earplugs - 3 cp (0 lbs)
You get a +2 circumstance bonus to language-dependant spells or abilities whilst wearing these. Useful against enemies that you know will use enchantments, and incredibly cheap for their bonus.

4 Candles - 4 cp (0 lbs)
Again, having an open flame handy is more useful than you'd expect.

Inkpen - 1 sp (0 lbs)
Don't be an illiterate barbarian. Seriously, even barbarians should carry one of these and be ready to write down important information in character.

3 Oil Flasks - 3 sp (3 lbs)
Grease a flight of stairs. Add a fuse and throw it at a swarm. Rub it on yourself to slip out of a tight spot. In a pinch you could also light a lantern with it, I suppose.

Waterproof Bag - 5 sp (1/2 lbs)
Five times the cost of a regular sack, but temporarily protects your gear from water damage. Remember to keep your sack of powder, torch and other water sensitive items in this.

Wooden Holy Symbol - 1 gp (0 lbs)
A great litmus test to determine if the NPC is a vampire. Present this strongly at them and see if they recoil.

Grappling Hook - 1 gp (4 lbs)
Weighty, but handy to get your rope where it needs to be.

Potion Sponge - 2 gp (0 lbs)
Keep one of these loaded with your go-to underwater combat potion and you'll never need to worry about putting ranks into Swim.

Spring-Loaded Wrist Sheath - 5 gp (1 lb)
At lower levels keep a dagger handy. At higher levels keep a wand inside. Plus it's just plain cool.

Ink, 1 oz. vial - 8 gp (0 lbs)
For your inkpen, obviously.

Journal - 10 gp (1 lbs)
Always keep notes. Write down names of important NPCs, goals for the quest, riddles encountered, copies of maps, everything. Then you get to freely ask the GM to repeat themselves by simply saying "I wrote that down in character, so I check my journal."

50 ft. Silk Rope - 10 gp (5 lbs)
Lighter but more expensive than hemp. Worth the cost to keep your weight down. Also great if your character is into kinky stuff. Never leave home without rope!

Smoked Goggles - 10 gp (0 lbs)
Makes you all but immune to gaze weapons, plus you can wear your sunglasses at night.

Pathfinder's Kit - 12 gp (22 lbs)
I prefer this kit over many others. You've got your obligatory hobo items like a backpack, bedroll, waterskin, flint and steel and rations, but doesn't load you up on torches and an iron pot like many class kits. You get a signal whistle for when you're in trouble because you split the party since it seemed like a good idea at the time. You get a whetstone for an extra +1 damage on your first hit with a bladed weapon. You get a dagger to put in your spring-loaded wrist sheath.

Total: 60 gp (38 lbs) - Leave your rations and bedroll at camp or on a mount to take 12 lbs off this total

Weapons
--------------

Alchemical Silver Cestus - 25 gp (1 lbs)
Your always-on melee threat item. Superior to a spiked gauntlet in pretty much every way. Make sure you do bludgeoning damage, as the piercing would suffer -1 damage penalty due to the material. A cheap means to bypass DR/silver too, if you're in a pinch.

Total: 25 gp (1 lbs)

Pets
-------

Guard Dog - 25 gp
It's a move action and DC 10 Handle Animal check to command your guard dog to defend you. You don't even need to be trained in the skill for this usage. Simply take 10 on this skill out of combat, or take 20 if you're exceptionally uncharismatic. Having an extra pool of hit points for this cost is great value for money.

Total: 25 gp

Alchemical Items
-----------------------

Tindertwig - 1 gp (0 lbs)
For when you need a fire RFN.

2 Sunrods - 4 gp (2 lb)
Light and vision is king. Unless your whole party has darkvision, carry a few of these and don't be stingy about using them.

Vermin Repellent - 5 gp (0 lbs)
Swarms suck at low levels. Vermin repellent isn't perfect, but it might just be enough to convince a swarm to go chew on someone else instead. Worth the cost.

Smokestick - 20 gp (1/2 lbs)
Blocks line of sight, but the rules are sketchy about whether you need to light it on fire first or if it self-activates as part of the use. If your GM is finicky about the activation, glue a tindertwig on it and call it a day. It's a handy item that can buy you total concealment against ranged attacks.

Smelling Salts - 25 gp (0 lbs)
Okay, you beat the bad guys, but where do you go next? Easy, just grab one that hasn't bled out, stabilize him and then use smelling salts. Intimidate him for information about the bad guy's plans. Does your check fail? Kill him and try the next one. Also a really handy item to have in case the party healer is knocked out.

Holy Water - 25 gp (1 lbs)
Okay, it's not really an alchemical item, but it's close enough. It's also a decent way to contribute damage against both undead or evil outsiders, especially if they've got some kind of exotic damage reduction you don't have anything to bypass.

Smog Smoke Pellet - 40 gp (0 lbs)
Remember how much invisibility sucks? This is the sack of flour's big brother. Negate a creature's invisibility for 1d4 rounds if you throw it into their square.

Tanglefoot Bag - 50 gp (4 lbs)
Entangled, no save, 2d4 rounds. All you gotta do is hit them with it. Can be a lifesaver at low levels against bosses.

Air Crystals - 50 gp (0 lbs)
Underwater combat sucks, but a bag of these can save your character if they're able to get them out in time. Just make sure you have them in your mouth before you get grappled by the kraken.

Total: 220 gp (7.5 lbs)

Potions
--------------

Potion of Touch of the Sea - 50 gp (0 lbs)
Never worry about water again. Get a 30 ft. swim speed for 1 minute. Keep this in your potion sponge.

Potion of Feather Step - 50 gp (0 lbs)
Difficult terrain can ruin your day. This lets you ignore that for 10 minutes.

Potion of Remove Sickness - 50 gp (0 lbs)
The bonus to saves isn't nearly as good as the ability to negate the sickened condition for 10 minutes. There's many creatures that can inflict this status, so a counter is always handy to have as a backup.

Potion of Protection from Evil - 50 gp (0 lbs)
Typically the most common enemy type you'll face, and this one has a bunch of benefits. Deflection and resistance bonuses, prevention of mental domination, and that sweet protection from summoned creatures can shut a summoner down cold.

Total: 200 gp (0 lbs)

I'm completely open to the idea of the Leadership feat in my own home game, and we've had some wonderful characters evolve from this.

One character's cohort was a knight rescued from a gnoll slave pit. He'd suffered tortures at their hands, his eyes put out and missing various other body parts, yet he threatened to fight the party if they moved to hurt the other slaves with him, establishing him as an important NPC in the process. Of course they rescued him, the cleric got the opportunity to fix him up with the Regenerate spell they'd just accessed by the end of the story arc, and he swore his life to her and her god in return.

The whole party ended up having an interplanar transport accident soon afterwards, smashing their way into an umbral dragon's castle by accident. But instead of attacking them immediately, the dragon insisted on treating them as his unexpected guests and demanded they accept his hospitality and stay an evening with him. He even showered the with gifts, but of course he had other goals, using enchantment magic to convince the party cleric to express her desire to stay with the dragon a bit longer. Not wanting to pick a fight right then and there, the rest of the party allowed it in order to escape and prepare for a rescue mission later.

Of course, the knight had ended up falling in love with the cleric at this stage. He ended up selling the right to the soul of his first-born child with the cleric to Nocticula in exchange for a +1 holy longsword of dragon bane and various other guarantees that he could defeat the dragon, whereupon there was a climactic battle, resulting in only the cleric and her knight still standing as the final blow was struck, slaying the dragon and winning his love's freedom. The cleric is now pregnant in this current game, and I'm looking forward to the future confrontation over the child's fate with great glee.

A well developed NPC can add a lot of fun to a game, provided they're used effectively as a plot device.

Blind-Fight is an underappreciated but incredibly useful feat, giving you two shots at any enemy with Blur, Displacement, Invisibility, or other source of concealment, plus protection from melee sneak attacks from invisible opponents.

It's great to focus on your DPR, but don't forget defenses too.

Here's your mistake. You want Flesh to Stone or Trap the Soul. Death is the easiest condition to fix so you need a better one. I mean, nothing stops divinations in the end (some way to permanent mindblank? Probably not worth it cost-wise) but you can make it more difficult than just resurrecting the dead guy and asking them what happened.

Keep in mind that outsiders already can't be raised from the dead by anything short of a limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection. After a few divinations to determine how the wish giver was trapped, "I wish the efreeti was flesh again" or "I wish the gem holding the efreeti's soul was broken" are both options on the table under the "undo the harmful effects of many spells" clause of Wish or Limited Wish.