JOButz's page

another might be so skilled at combat that they get a riposte whenever an opponent misses them by 10 or more!

You've just sold me. That's what I needed to hear.

Really appreciate you all taking the time to come out and provide answers to our shouted speculation.

Jason, I have only one complaint. Before I get into that, know that 2.0 sounds amazing and I am on board. But, if you're opening the patient to perform surgery as you say, I feel you missed an opportunity to change the issue of static combat. Based on what I'm seeing of the 3 action system, in an optimal combat, there is no reason not to attack 3 times. We've all been conditioned as players to buy into the Gambler's Fallacy of trying for that natural 20. There is a 5% chance that any attack will cause damage, where there is a 0% chance on any other actions.

I noticed it in the Glass Cannon Playtest after Troy used his fighter's Sudden Charge, he wanted to grapple the orc to avoid the -5 of a second attack. You told him that would still apply and what went from, what I felt like, was a more exciting decision back to just attacking being the arguably 'best' option.

I am hopeful that you've all already noticed this and I'm only seeing a narrow scope of what the new rules are about. Maybe there is a reaction with a shield that blocks a Nat 20 that doesn't confirm, making that hail marry third attack a lot less desirable. Or maybe there are actions that you can take that will deal guaranteed but weaker damage. Or maybe there are more mobile actions that set you or allies up a buff or debuff enemies.

I just hope there is something there that will reward the new player for not just fishing for that 20 on the weaker two attacks. And something that will make the seasoned munchkin feel like three swings aren't the only way to play optimally.

I was super excited to get this, but noticed it dropped off my January subscriptions. I assumed it got bumped a month, but I didn't see it at all. What happened that it is now waiting til November of this year? That is a REALLY big push.

Mostly just glad it wasn't canceled.

Edit: Read back far enough for the explanation. Date is TBD, not actually November.

is this pfs legal

I am really looking forward to presenting a comic book as a source for my next PFS character.

Erik Mona just put the cart before the horse...

So, if I understand correctly, you're having some sort of underground exploration type encounter, where you want actual monsters and intelligently designed traps to be completely absent?

There are two ways I would approach this.

Either you have it presented like a skill challange, where you have players roll checks (eg. climb, kn(dungeoneering),survival) and have negitive effects for failed rolls (hp dmg, negitive conditions like fatigue, stat dmg). They would successfully navigate the area after a number of successful checks.

Or, build it like any other dungeon. Put the battle map out on the table, that square will trigger a collapse. This area is filled with bad air. The entire way forward is blocked by a dangerous fungus. Maybe put in a few natural monsters that flee rather than fight to the death. "Oh no! You've startled this bat swarm and you are between it and the exit. 2d6 dmg as they claw and flap past you all. A stark silence settles back into the chamber as the bats are gone again, as quickly as they came."

The real danger of hazards as presented in the book come when they are between you and what you want. Make the party have to deal with it. Reward them for creative thinking.

Realizing that there is a bunch of monsters up ahead and avoiding them should still garner exp. Why not a hazard? I feel pretty slick taking the back way home when there is a traffic jam on the highway.

Based on the price and that most all other feather tokens are single use, I'm gonna go with: yes, single use.

I'm playing a similar Helpful build. I dumped STR down to 5, so my damage is at most 1d4-3, but that hasn't mattered.

My normal combat round is:
Can I HELP a melee character? Aid to hit, then move to flank (+6 to hit!).
Can't do that? Throw a tanglefoot bag vs ranged touch (1/2 speed, -4DEX, -2 to hit, concentration checks to cast, and then DC15 Reflex or they can't move)
I also try to suck up attacks of opportunity and put myself in a position to use mine to use bodyguard or trip an opponent.

I absolutely love playing the character. I was really worried that he wouldn't be fun/effective. But everyone loves having Jeffy the Helpful Halfling around.

If the ranger does run to the fallen guard, he would probably provoke an attack of opportunity. That and a surprise round sneak attack and if your rogue wins initiative means three sneak attacks vs a flat footed opponent. If they are anywhere equivalent level that should put the ranger at a real disadvantage. If the rogue doesn't have a sap, just straight up sucker punch and don't worry if Rogue doesn't have improved unarmed strike, unless the ranger has combat reflexes, a flat-footed person can't take attacks of opportunity.

Have you considered playing a summoner and reskinning the eidolon as a construct?

Alternatively, make sure you find the animated object rules from Carrion Crown.

In our current game, the quarrel accelerator is an item that, when attached to a crossbow and activated with a standard action, will cast gravity bow on the bolts. It makes an awful whirring noise that the players have come to fear.

There is always Ashiel's Guide: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2o0m5?Ashiels-Guide-to-Adventure-Preparation

Found in the Guide to Guides thread: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2m612?Guide-to-the-Class-Guides

My apologies.

Best Wizard Ever

Vomit swarm? Generally vomiting. For example http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/249/7/a/we_are_not_taking_the_wizard __by_mattrhodes-d48zyu8.jpg

I would imagine that an alignment shift would void the carefully worded master/familiar agreement that was signed before the imp preformed any familiar services. The player has just lost all claim to the imp as a familiar and loosed it to preform evil on the world. Now, there is most likely a stipulation pertaining to forced alignment shifts that would allow the PC to exert control over the imp again if they made steps to recover their old alignment. Or they could always get a new familiar.

Talk to the player. Make it clear your concerns. Suggest some options. And if it is clear that they are not willing to make concessions and will not cooperate, the imp can drag the character's soul to hell for breach of contract and the player can be encouraged to find a game that facilitates their 'unique' playstyle.

Yes. My mental image of what was occurring, is that wolves 2 through 6 are harrying and nipping at the PC, making it difficult for him to make an attack without leaving himself open to retaliation. The PC has to constantly watch his back, and worry about which wolf is actually committing to make the strike. Wolf 1 makes a cautious strike, hoping to trip the PC and basically end the fight.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Hypothetical situation: I have six wolves, surrounding a PC. Five wolves ready an action to aid another if the PC attacks. The sixth wolf attacks the PC (with a +2 flanking bonus). The PC attempts to retaliate, and attacks a wolf, causing all the readied actions to trigger. They pretty reliably hit the AC10 (do they get the +2 flanking bonus on this?) granting the wolf attacked a +10 to AC. The five wolves initiative resets to immediately before the PC's turn. Now the PC rolls to hit the wolf, suddenly AC24, and pretty reliably misses. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I am having a discussion with another player at our table. Succinctly put, we both have represented our characters, metaphorically, as paintings. The rub lies in when we each believe the painting to be completed. I was hoping for your input on the topic.

If your character is a painting, when is the painting done?

A: Before game one. I am bringing the finished work and the games are where we showcase our works, like a joint showing. Sessions are figuring out how to best arrange our pieces in a communal gallery.

B: Not until the game is over. I bring a blank canvas and an idea to game and we work together to create all our character paintings. Some of my paint will end up on your canvas and vice versa. Sessions are where we get together to paint.

C: Other.

The way I always thought about it is, magic items WANT to be activated. Whether it is some variation on potential energy of all the stored magic or, at some base level, the magic item enjoys being 'activated'. That is why UMD is based off CHA, you're convincing the item to activate, despite the fact that you can't present the specific circumstances that were hardwired to cause the activation. You basically short circuit the item into activating by shear force of personality. In order to cause this, you may need to talk to the item or wave it around or whatever to convince it that it is 'close enough' to whatever activation was required.

Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser each named their blades.

From Wikipedia:
"Fafhrd commonly uses a longsword which he names Graywand. He also carries a poignard named Heartseeker and a short hand-axe which has never been named. The Mouser also fights with a pair of weapons: a rapier called Scalpel and a dirk called Cat's Claw. The latter is balanced for throwing. As the pair are often divested of their property, these are names they apply to any of their appropriate weapons and not names of specific ones."

If the game is more about the players and less about the throwaway magic items, just upgrading to the new sword and keeping the old name seems like an easy fix.

Did anyone else notice this tacked onto the end of the Secret Stash Deed?

I love it! It feels a little like something that was suggested at the end of a Friday evening 'Secret Stash Deed Meeting' and they forgot to remove it.

Why doesn't every feat have something like this on the end of it?

Just off the top of my head:
Weapon Focus: +4 to appraise weapons of the appropriate type.
Mobility: +4 to acrobatics to traverse uneven terrain

What're your thoughts for others?

Thanks for all the support! They're all excited for the next game on Saturday, so I guess I'm doing alright.

So now to the can of worms I've opened:

so don't be surprised if they pull it out later to use themselves.

I fully expect the players to start looking for opportunities to use this to their advantage. And I will need to have more of the same to throw back at them.

This last incident was a happy accident, any suggestions for building encounters that include more buckles to be swashed?

I was DMing for my group last weekend, and during the session I had a monster do something I'm not quite happy with.

To set the scene: A group of goblins led by a bugbear spot the party over some rolling hills. The party, on their horse-drawn cart, move to engage. During the altercation, the bugbear disappears and the goblins are summarily defeated. Two PC's head off in the direction they last saw the bugbear, and the other three begin looting. Suddenly, the bugbear jumps out from behind the party's cart, and brains one of the (non-combat trained, standard bestiary) horses. With a successful acrobatics check, one of the PC's leap onto the cart, gaining the +1 higher ground bonus. The bugbear responds by making an intimidation check against the remaining horse, accompanied by a swift swat on the rump. The cart lurches forward, and the PC on it keeps her feet with another successful acrobatics check. As the cart moves forward, the PC 'moves' through two of the bugbear's threatened squares...

Now the question: Does the bugbear get an attack of opportunity against the PC on the cart?

I gave him one. The party loved the combat, and when the bugbear was dead, there were handshakes and congratulations all around.

I may have made the combat more fun and memorable... but did I do the right thing?

Have you considered Urban Ranger from the APG? Favored Community, Favored Enemy (Human), Trapfinding, Some crowd mechanics. If magic is a breaking point, you could also tack on the Skirmisher alternate feature, it trades spellcasting for neat combat control abilities.