This is an excellent system I think I'll adopt this in my next game, as I've always been bothered by the "equipment making the man" issue.
I hate Vancian spellcasting and we always use 3pp or optional rules to dump it. We also convert casters to spontaneous as well. I believe it seems unique and iconic to AD&D because every other game wanted to get away from it. Aside from the obvious AD&D based video games and books, you rarely see this concept of spell casting system in literature or games. Because IMO it sucks = ) In terms of modifying the power dynamic, it honestly has never been a problem for my group. I recognize how it could be, but we do not play PFS and we have a veteran group of players who have been together for years. No one gets worked up about stuff like this. Personally it would make my day to see the Vancian system finally die off and get a more modern and flexible magic system. Mage the Ascension had the most amazing magic I've ever played, but it was overly powerful and would be hard to adapt in any real manner to PF. These are my opinions of course, and your mileage may vary
I had to log in just to say this: @MTCityHunter-
Rock on man.
... The glassworks becomes a wave of glass shurikens, hitting everything.... That had me cackling for a few minutes. Awesome mental picture.
I often think the class is one of the least understood in the game for many folks. Pretty much every week someone comes to the boards and posts how overpowered the magus class is, and each time the same group of people come in, post the numbers, and show that it is not. A few days later, and another post appears..
It might be nice to see a "Core Rules II" book that contains new rules and fixes for current issues. That way it would be compatible but also optional for folks.
Blackblade / Kensai works well. Shadow is correct, the first couple levels are rough but they tend to go fast in my experience. My dexterity Magus has the highest AC in our group and rarely gets hit because of int and dex to AC.
Pathfinder for me provides more than any other game system save WoD. I agree with many posters above as well -GM's do it because they love it and that reaps its own reward. It does raise the questions about what new things can be created to increase the GM resources..
This trap is so flagrantly illegal you wouldn't believe.....Tell your GM that if he want to cheat that blatantly you can find another GM. The GM defines the world and the rules. By definition he or she cannot cheat unless it be via inconsistent rulings. It is the GM's world and they can design anything they want into it, and there is nothing unreasonable about this trap. Frankly if I had a player behaving this way I would be happy to toss them out of the group. It is the GM's job to challenge the party. This trap is obviously beatable with multiple methods so it is clearly not unfair. My point is- the “trigger” can’t be far away and still have the party trigger it. Sure it can. This is not a physical trigger like a tripwire, it is triggered by vision and the distance is the maximum distance of vision in the eye spell. In modern terms it could be like a laser beam or motion detector: not requiring the party to touch it but simply be within range of the beam or sensor.
Godsdog, consider this: At every level of the game, there will always be some class/archetype that has benefits above others. With the way feats and whatnot are given the different classes tend to shine more or less at different periods. Will you nerf every class when it hits a golden period? As shown above, the damage is limited to a few times per day and is only a couple points higher than a fighter who can do it at will. This is not out of bounds as much as you think.
Do try to respond to what I've said, not to a more extreme argument that wasn't made. In this case, you've ignored my very clear caveat that this particular exploit will in no way break the game. My point is that you call out other posters as being heavy handed when you put out a ridiculous statement about GM's not allowing something means they are somehow against the player. I actually follow a similar rule that you stated, but sometimes you just have to tell a player no. As for the stupid comment, I agree I probably went to far with it. Apologies.
I also recommend Donjon's RPG website (sorry for the lack of link, I'm at work). He has a great many nice tools and generators.
I agree with you in principal Lute, but I find that Abe is correct in practice. I have played with several GM's over my gaming career and far too many are loose with the whole "disbelieve illusion" issue. Personally in my games, I do not generally allow disbelieve checks unless there's a legitimate reason the character might think they are being tricked or some other special circumstance, but I had played with far too many folks (GM's) who simply roll on any and every illusion being present - breaking the secret by meta-gaming - and with a decent party someone will make the roll and then it is all for naught. Essentially every illusion spell that can be disbelieved will will be disbelieved rendering them useless.
Dude is dying of cancer. Play his game. |
