Juniper Clark's page

I'm really scratching my head on how this survey is set up. For example, the survey asks what you think the best feat from 1-6 is for a class. But this fails to capture:

- Which class feats seemed underpowered or overpowered or difficult to understand, and why.
- What levels seemed to have obvious or unsatisfying options.
- That the level 6 feats are going to mostly be better than the level 1 feats.

It feels frustrating that I went through the entirety of the alchemist portion of the survey and I left no meaningful feedback. Nothing about how, for example:
- Being limited by resonance was more stressful than being limited by spells, because resonance was tied to my emergency survivability.
- I felt pigeonholed into bombs, because my combat contribution was otherwise negligible.
- Mutagens come in too late and have awkward and clumsy mechanics until high levels.
- Etc etc.

Not to mention questions like: "Which feat from 1-6 is the most powerful?" never shows the full picture. For example, for Alchemist, is Precise Bombs the most powerful 1-6 feat? Every bombing alchemist needs it to avoid incurring the wrath of their party. But every bombing alchemist that picks Precise Bombs also needs Quick Bomber in order to have a chance of dealing reasonable damage, and Debilitating Bombs to supplement their damage with debuffs. Which of these is the most powerful? No idea.

Take the open survey instead of the first link. I tried to take the first survey and dropped it as I felt it wouldn't let me give adequate feedback.

I'm inclined to vote for option 2 or option 3. GMs that have invested significant time into Pathfinder 1.0 have likely done a few things:
1. They've likely provided significant revenue for Paizo as they've encouraged people to purchase source material to play the game.
2. They've likely refined their capabilities as a GM through frequently running content. Being a 4 or 5-star GM isn't just about knowing the rules, it's about providing a positive experience to the players. Having more experienced GMs likely improves player retention.
3. They've likely helped new players convert into repeat players. PFS GMs provide an opportunity for new players to get a taste of TTRPGs. In many areas, home game players/GMs (non-public game play) are reluctant to allow new players into their games for fear of the player being disruptive. Organized play helps to mold better table-top players.

Final thoughts:
As a Venture Lieutenant in a region with a fledgling PFS/SFS program that has recently moved from fielding 2 tables a week to 4 tables a week (at a single gaming store), it's difficult to have enough GMs for all of the interested players. While there will always be people who selflessly volunteer their time, my recruitment of regular GMs will always be a function of what type of benefits GM'ing provides. The Regional Support Package has made a significant difference in recruitment. Providing some sort of pat on the back for 1.0E GMs (even if they start GM'ing tomorrow) would go a long way towards my efforts to ensure there are enough GMs for the number of interested players I have show up each week (since there would be.

I have a question about the claw damage for a medium sized abyssal rageshaper bloodrager.

The abyssal bloodline gives claws that deal 1d6 points of damage at level 1. At 4th level, the abyssal bloodline allows you to grow one size category when you enter rage. At 4th level, the rageshaper archetype grants an ability that allows you to increase the damage dealt by natural attacks gained via polymorph spell or bloodline power by one die.

I'm a bit unsure how these would interact because the rageshaper ability says the damage is increased by one die rather than increase by one step. I looked at the FAQ for damage dice progression, but it only talks about the progression for size changes or effective size changes. I could see this working in one of three ways.

1. The ragershaper ability really means increase by one step, so 1d6 becomes 1d8 from the ragershaper ability and becomes 2d6 from the two steps gained by becoming large.

2. The rageshaper ability means add one damage die which increases the 1d6 to 2d6 which then increases to 3d6 due to the two steps gained by becoming large.

3. The rageshaper ability means add one damage die, but the size increase comes into play first so the 1d6 increases 2 steps to 1d10. The rageshaper ability increases the 1d10 by one damage die to 2d10.

Could anyone clarify which of these is intended for the interaction of the 3 abilities? I've included the relevant text from each ability below and links to the Paizo pages for the bloodline, the archetype, and the FAQ on damage dice progression for size changes.

"Claws (Su): At 1st level, you grow claws while bloodraging. These claws are treated as natural weapons, allowing you to make two claw attacks as a full attack, using your full base attack bonus. These attacks deal 1d6 points of damage each (1d4 if you are Small) plus your Strength modifier. At 4th level, these claws are considered magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage resistance. At 8th level, the damage increases to 1d8 points (1d6 if you are Small). At 12th level, these claws become flaming weapons, which deal an additional 1d6 points of fire damage on a hit"

"Demonic Bulk (Su): At 4th level, when entering a bloodrage, you can choose to grow one size category larger than your base size (as enlarge person) even if you aren't humanoid."

"Bestial Aspect (Su): At 4th level, whenever a rageshaper gains a natural attack through the use of a polymorph spell, he can increase the damage done by that attack by one die. If the spell grants multiple natural attacks, the rageshaper must choose one kind of natural attack for the ability to enhance. At 9th level, if the rageshaper's altered form grants him a new mode of movement, that movement's base speed increases by 10 feet. This is an enhancement bonus. If the rageshaper's bloodrage powers already grant natural attacks or alternate modes of movement, then the bonuses granted by bestial aspect also apply to these bloodrage powers. This ability replaces blood sanctuary."

Bloodrager Archetypes

Bloodrager page with bloodline ability information

Damage Dice Progression FAQ (Due to size change)