Karuth's page

Made for possible use in private campaign and it's my first time using one of the new classes.
I was going for a Warpriest focused on ranged attacks and shields and using as many Halfling only options for feats as was feasible. That means I had to make some sacrifices for the ranged combat.

The warpriest mitigates the small damage die of the sling and gives many options to boost its damage further: Spells, Blessings, enhancing the weapon, Weapon Specialization feats, etc.

And while the sling is not the optimal ranged weapon it does have the advantage that it can be used together with a shield, thanks to Ammo Drop.

So I basically have 3 options to fight:
A) At distance with shield equipped, going for few but strong attacks using Vital Strike & Deadly Aim, while having high AC against other ranged attackers.
B) In melee, shield bashing and/or firing sling bullets (with no AoO from the ranged attacks thanks to Point Blank Master or at early levels thanks to Air Blessing).
C) At distance without shield, full attacking using both hands (when I am in a safe spot) using the Warslinger Halfling racial trait.

Class: Standard Warpriest
1 Houserule in effect: You get 1 extra feat at first level for 1 Flaw.
Feats (B = Bonus feat from Warpriest, L = normal feats from level, F = Feat from Flaw)
Does not have any stats posted as those are rolled when the game starts.

B1 - Weapon Focus (Sling)
L1 - Ammo Drop (reload one-handed without an AoO)
F1 - Point Blank Shot
B3 - Deadly Aim
L3 - Arc Slinger
L5 - Improved Shield Bash
B6 - Weapon Specialization (Sling)
L7 - Point Blank Master
B9 - Greater Weapon Focus (Sling)
L9 - Vital Strike
L11 - Cautious Fighter
B12 - Improved Vital Strike
L13 - Uncanny Defense
B15 - Greater Weapon Specialization (Sling)
L15 - Desperate Swing
L17 - Rapid Shot
B18 - Greater Vital Strike
L19 -

Blessings: Air and Protection

Some feats that didn't make it, but would be cool if they could be fitted in somehow:
If I drop Point Blank Master I could pick up Rapid Shot earlier, but then I would have to rely on the Air Blessing whenever I am in melee and that is a standard action to activate.

I could not fit in Precise Strike, but from past experiences I find that firing into melee does not pop up that often if you are a bit careful and you can just eat the penalty when it happens. And Improved Precise Strike I can replace with the seeker ability on the sling.

Crane Wing would be a really cool addition to the Cautious Fighter feat-series, however meeting the prerequisites is hard and costs a lot of feats (unless I multiclass which I don't want to cause I would lose damage die progression which is the main reason going for Warpriest in the first place).

Two-Weapon Fighting. Would also be nice for a combination of Sling and Shield attacks.

Questions that arose during building:
1) When enhancing the scared weapon there is of course the limit on the flat +x bonus of 5, but there seems to be no limit on the extra abilities you can give it. It is only interesting of course in high level play, but I am curious.
Could I (at lvl 20) theoretically have a +5 vorpal, brilliant energy, vicious weapon for 2 minutes?
2) The list for special abilities you can give a weapon, is written like this:
The warpriest can enhance a weapon with any of the following weapon special abilities
However some abilities listed normally can't be applied to all types of weapons (keen for blunt weapons for example).
Usually in a class' description it is mentioned if you can ignore restrictions (Ranger bonus feats) or if you still need to fulfill them (Brawler martial flexibility feats). Not so here. It would be cool if you could break some rules here (vicious ranged weapon?), but I doubt it is intended.
3) How does Arc Slinger interact with the distance weapon ability? Arc Slinger allows the +1 bonus from Point Blank Shot to be used in the first normal range increment of the weapon. It also lists said distances for Slings (50) and Slingstaffs (80).
The distance weapon special ability doubles the range increment of a weapon. But is that still the (new) normal range increment for the purpose of the feat?
4) Are there any alternative favored class bonuses for the warpriest?

Comments on the warpriest class:
Might become one of my favorite classes. I was already a big cleric fan and this one has a lot of options.
I love that it is possible to take the Greater Vital Strike with a class that has a maximum BAB of 15.

If you have ideas to optimize this further I am all ears.

I live in Austria and like most (I guess) started playing games with friends. But as time went on and the interest in playing increased, but the possibilities to play stayed limited I joined a registered association for pen & paper roleplaying games. (I hope this is the correct term in English)

I pay a membership fee and in turn get to use the location for games and borrow books for free from an extensive library. The whole thing is non-profit, with the fees going into new books and to pay for the location.

My question is: "Are there any of you who (outside Austria) play in such an association as well?"

I was just curious if this kind of thing is common or more of an oddity.

I wanted to try both a Mystic Theurge and a caster using force spells.
So why not both?
Sorcerer gives low level force spells (Magic Missile) while Oracle offers the handy Spiritual Weapon/Ally spells.

So far I have gotten this basic idea:

Level 1: Crossblooded Sorcerer with Orc/Martyer Bloodline.
Both bloodlines give a nice arcana and fit thematically together.
Orc Bloodline gives +1 dmg per die.
Martyr Bloodline gives +1 caster level after hit (which we can trigger using Sacrifical Boon, giving another +1 dmg at the cost of 1 HP).

Level 2-5: Oracle (Not sure which Curse or Archetype yet).

Level 6-15: Mystic Theurge

Level 16-20: If I get there I will think about that.

Trait is probably gonna be the one that gives -1 metamagic.
Feats I only got 2 so far:
Toppling Spell
Spiritual Guardian (however I am a bit confused about it. Would this apply to my character? I could qualify but it only gives a bonus to Shamans?)

Things I have not figured out:
What feats to take: Improved Trip is probably useful for the Toppling Spells.
But other than that there are not many things that apply to force spells.

I still need a SLA to qualify for Mystic Theurge too.

I'll keep brewing this in my head, but if you got any ideas for useful feats and class features then please shoot me some ideas.
This is not for PFS so pretty much anything goes.
Stats are going to get rolled (if I get to play) and will be rather high due to a very generous rolling system (probably somewhere in the range of a 35-40 point buy unless I roll really unlucky).

This idea has popped into my head several times and I finally have time to write it down.
This is by no means a completely worked out system. I just wanted to throw it out there and see what people think.

Instead of having slots on your body that you fill up with items, in this system each magic item has something called a "personality". That does not mean every magic item is intelligent. The personalities are just what adventurers call the various magic items, that behave in a certain way.

Personalities are basically rules you have to meet in order for the magic item to function. If an item's rule is not met, it will cease to function until the rules are met. It is still a magic item even if it does not provide any bonus and thus can effect other magic items. Weapons and Shields count for these rules as long as they are used or worn battle ready (sword in sheath, shield strapped to the back).

PRIMARY PERSONALITIES and their rules:
Each item must have at least one primary personality. It is possible for an item to have multiple personalities as long as their rules do not contradict or overlap.
Altruist No restrictions
Almost equal to slotless items. Almost...
Egoist No other magic items of similar kind or with similar effects may be used/worn
If you only wear Egoist magic items the end result would be on almost par with your standard slot system. For each body part and each function you get one item.
Hermit No other magic items are allowed at all
Highly restrictive. These items are usually very powerful (artifacts) to compensate for the fact you can only have 1 item (sort of).
Monarch No other items of higher or equal caster level are allowed
Almost as good as Altruist if it is a high level item... not as good for a low level item.
Seer No restrictions, but reveals all "hidden" items
Not good if you have Spy or Stowaway items.
Shadow Must wear a similar magic item that is not a shadow
A shadow can't exist without something that casts it, thus it cannot be worn or used alone. Kind of bothersome for melee weapons since you have to go dual wielding.
Spy No restrictions and does not effect any other items
The most sought after personality type as it can be worn with any other item. Unless you are also wearing a seer.
Stowaway No other magic items of the same kind, but does not effect any other items
Hiding places are limited.
Underling Must wear a magic item with a higher caster level than his own
The weak cover in fear when there is nobody to protect them. Good for weak items. Troublesome for powerful items.

SECONDARY PERSONALITIES:
An item can only have a secondary personality when it also has at least one other primary personality.
Siblings Siblings ignore the rules of any other personalities for a specific other item, or a set of items.
When a Ruler personality has one sibling item which is also a ruler, they are often nicknamed "King and Queen".
Changeling The rules of one other personality are inverted.
Altruist Changeling = Hermit
Egoist Changeling = Only similar magic items or items with similar magic effect may be used or worn
Hermit Changeling = Altruist
Monarch Changeling = Underling
Seer Changeling = Hides all other items from each other and itself (very, very rare and expensive)
Shadow Changeling = Stowaway
Spy Changeling = Hermit that does not effect other items
Stowaway Changeling = Shadow
Underling Changeling = Monarch
Only magic item experts can differentiate between cases where an inverted personality behaves exactly like another personality. The differences are subtle but sometimes important. For example when trying to change an item's personality.
Destroyer Instead of deactivating itself, this item tries to destroy each item that violates its rules.
Many adventurers dread this sub personality. Luckily it is rare.
Theoretically it can be also inverted, but then it would destroy itself as soon as it is put on and a rule is not met. Items like this do not last long enough to be found as loot (normally).

This could make for an interesting meta game when you drop random loot where the players figure out how to best combine the items they find (provided your players like these kind of puzzles).

I'll add some examples later when I have time.

I am currently GMing an evil group in Geb (Land of the Undead).
One of the characters is a female bard worshiping Nocticula (Demon Lord, Succubus).
Recently she has begun to see visions of Nocticula in her dreams telling her something. She can't remember exactly in the morning though.

The situation I need help with:
My plan is, that it is not Nocticula that contacts her, but Rovagug (she unknowingly has acquired an artifact of his) and he wants her to do his evil bidding under the guise of Nocticula.

Of course I want my player(s) to notice something is up. So when Rovagug (as Nocticula) finally talks to her more clearly I'd like him to make some mistakes the player can recognize.
However, I am not that familiar with either Nocticula or Rovagug.
Can you give me some ideas for mistakes Rovagug could obviously make when portraying a Demon Lord? Since his usual forte is destruction, I'd say he might slip up a few times.

I was toying around with the idea of an Harpy Oracle whose curse was that she could never lift off the ground, despite having healthy wings.
Thus she would be trapped in the mountain temple, forced to rely on the other harpies to bring food and other goods in exchange for prophecies and magical aid.

Earthbound
Earthbound Oracles are cursed to never experience the freedom of flight like their brethren. An otherworldly power tethers their bodies to the ground below.
They can never leave the ground and even the simple act of jumping is a difficult task for them

Prerequisite: Wings, racial fly speed
You can't fly under your own power (even with the help of magic) and you take a -4 penalty on Acrobatics checks to jump.
All magic that attempts to lift you into the air more than a few inches instantly dissipates.
However it is possible for other creatures or objects to lift you off the ground (carried by a flying creature, flying carpet and such). In such a case your body counts as weighing four times your normal amount.

You gain half your oracle level (minimum one) as bonus to your CMD against all maneuvers and effects that move you against your will (such as Bull Rush, Trip, etc..)

At 5th level your wings have become strong enough to create a powerful blast of air. Treat this ability like a Gust of Wind spell except that it does not allow spell resistance. You can use this ability once per day for every 5 levels of oracle you have.
In addition you can use your wings to protect yourself while casting spells. Add a +2 bonus to concentration checks to cast defensively.

At 10th level you can move over any solid surface as if it was flat ground. This ability works similar to the spider climb spell.
Once per day as immediate action you can take root in the ground and gain your full oracle level to CMD for 1 round.

By 15th level you have learned to use your wings to propel you forward. Add half your fly speed to your land speed as long as your wings are free.
Also the bonus to cast defensively increases to +4.

Sadly I have no cool name for it yet. Ravager of Rovagug does not have the right oompf I am looking for.

In any case, since Orcs like to worship the ol' Gaping Maw and like to be Barbarians why not combine the two?
I expected there would be an archetype or prestige class or something similar for this, but I couldn't find anything online. However my record of locating existing lore is not too good ^^;

As a Ravager of Rovagug you gain the following abilities and restrictions:

Your alignment must be one step within chaotic evil to gain the powers of this class (similar to a cleric). If your alignment changes you lose the additional powers, but not the basic Barbarian abilities.

Herald of Destruction
At 2nd level a RoR gets the ability Destructive Smite, which works like to the domain power with the same name (destruction domain). However the daily uses are based on Con not Wis.

At 8th level you get the Destructive Aura ability from the destruction domain.

These abilities replace Uncanny Dodge and Improved Uncanny Dodge.

Unholy Rage
At 5th level when entering rage, the Barbarian can destroy a valuable object as move action to gain additional power during the rage. Should he end his rage or use the Moment or Clarity rage power he must destroy another object if he wants to gain the effect again. At every 5 levels after the 5th he can sacrifice ever more expensive objects for even greater power.

The abilities are cumulative unless otherwise noted:
5th level - object worth 100gp - Gain a +2 profane bonus to Str and Con. Your features become twisted and horrible to look at, giving you a +2 bonus to intimidate.
10th level - object worth 250gp - Critical hits reduce an enemy's DR by an amount equal to your Barbarian level. The intimidate bonus increases to +4.
15th level - object worth 500gp - The critical damage multiplier of your natural weapons and all weapons you wield is increased by one. The intimidate bonus increases to +6.
20th level - object worth 1000gp - The bonus to Str and Con increases to +4. You transform into a horrible abomination while in rage, giving you a +8 bonus to intimidate.
And you can choose one of the following mutations (two if you spend 2 rounds of rage each round):
- Grow an extra arm (like the vestigal arm discovery)
- Grow a pair of wings (fly speed 40 with clumsy maneuverability)
- Gain Frightful Presence in 60ft radius
- Gain Regeneration 5 (can't be suppressed as long as you are raging)

This ability replaces Damage Reduction.

The entry on Aging Touch (Oracle Revelation) says to treat the ability like a Sunder Combat Maneuver.
The Greater Sunder feat allows you to transfer leftover damage from a Sunder maneuver to the wielder.

However Aging touch, effects living things and objects differently. Living things take Strength damage, objects just take damage.

What do you think would happen?

Just imagine the cool effect of touching someone's weapon, turning it to dust and then seconds later the wielder as well.

One of the PAO examples given is: "Transform Pebble into Human."
It might only last 20 minutes, but that is enough for a vampire to feed on it.

So if I was a high level caster vampire could I use this to feed my hunger for blood without needing to hunt for people?
Or would, after 20 minutes, the blood I consumed turn back into stone... inside me?

There are other spells that create temporary matter that can be consumed. Create Water for example, which states that water not consumed vanishes after 24 hours. However that spell has an explanation.

If matter does indeed return back to its normal form even when it is consumed, I have one funny idea to mess with a vampire.

Make a humanoid statue from garlic and silver wire. Transform it into a human (lasts 1 hour since it's the same size). Have vampire drink from human.
1 hour later the vampire's veins fill with silver shrapnel and garlic juice. I imagine the result would be... unpleasant.

By using the already fearsome Trollhound and subjecting it to even fouler experimentation the first Unkillable Trollhound was born.
The name comes from the fact that fire and acid no longer effected the creatures' regenerating abilities. As such there is no easy way to kill these beasts for good.
Not even Trolls like these abominations as there is no way to train them. They will bite the hand that feeds them, literally.
Nothing grosses them out. Witnesses tell of packs attacking zombies just for their completely rotten flesh or digging up buried corpses.
.

Basis for this creature is the Trollhound with the following changes.
- Gain fire and acid resistance 10.
- Regeneration no longer suppressed by fire or acid.
- Swap the feats Improved Initiative and Skill Focus for Endurance and Die Hard.

- Gains the following special abilities:
Undying: Unkillable Trollhounds never fall unconscious due to negative damage even if it exceeds their Con score. As long as a hound is below 0 hitpoints, it's regeneration speed doubles to 6.
Self-destructive Regeneration: Every 2 points of health regenerated counts as 1 hour without food.
Once an Unkillable Trollhound has gone 40 hours without food either from not eating for so long or through wounds regenerated in combat, it takes 1d6 non-lethal damage and begins to starve (no save). It continues to suffer 1d6 damage for each hour it is starving without a save.
Hunger driven: An Unkillable Trollhound does not get fatigued when taking non-lethal damage from starvation. As long as they are starving they get a +2 morale bonus on attack, CMB and damage rolls as the hunger drives them to the extreme.
Dismember: Instead of making a trip attack after a successful bite attack, they can instead attempt to rip off one of the victim's limbs. To do so they must succeed on a CMB with a -4 penalty that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Unkillable Trollhounds use this attack only when they are starving. So desperate are they for nourishment that they do not want to wait till their prey is dead.
After a successful dismemberment an Unkillable Trollhound will spend its entire next round devouring the torn off limb.

Notes: Too often players fall back on the simple hack and slay tactic to defeat enemies (even when offered more elegant methods). That's why I created this thing. While hacking to death also works here, due to the self-destructing part of the regeneration, other options yield results much quicker.
Clever players will find you can just bind the creature, drown it, capture it, starve it to death, petrify it, distract it with food (laced with poison?), etc...
There are still plenty of options, but it requires some thinking.

Before you comment on strength/usefulness/danger/unbalance etc... of this creature, please read the disclaimer in my profile. I covered many of the usual first responses there and I hate to have to repeat myself.

I have been pondering a low magic setting for a while and thought it would be great if players had more options with unusual/special materials as well as giving materials more options to compensate for the lack of magic. However these changes could also be applied for normal high magic settings of course.

Disclaimer: The setting is still in the works so please no comments on how no magic items favors caster and that the heroes can't compete with the monsters and the other usual stuff of low magic settings. Keep it on topic please.
Also I know that some of the effects would be rather powerful or not very powerful. This isn't about balance. For now it's about collecting interesting ideas. Balancing comes later.

Basic Idea:
Each material should have at least an effect as weapon and as armor. But it would also be cool to have a general effects for objects and lastly an activated effect in a pseudo magical fashion.
Another thing I'd like to associate with each material are an element and an alignment.
This is what I got so far. Near the end I ran out of creative juice. Input is appreciated. Some of the stuff is based on real world mythology other stuff is made up.

The classic materials from D&D/Pathfinder

Gold weapons for example could be turned into holy weapons for a short amount of time by using channel positive energy.
Bronze weapons could interact with Rage of a Barbarian (like a furious weapon?)
Adamantine could grant Fortification... but what would activate it?
Mithral could be activated with arcane spells, but I got no good idea for the effect it would grant.
Lead could be used for Molybdomancy for seeing into the future.
Mercury could increase the effect of repair spells.

It is mostly silly number crunching and not a character to actually play. I was pondering how to get the most damage with a "single" blast of magic (single in the sense of 1 round of combat).

I realize there are other ways to get ridiculous damage amounts (especially with Shrink Item and dropped objects). However I would ask you to please stay with the basic idea.

My basic idea was the following:
1) Choose 1 good level 5 (or better level 6) Spell you want to specialize in that is both an arcane and a domain/divine spell.
2) Get 10 levels of Mystic Theurge for Spell Synthesis (cast two spells at the same time).
3) Be Theologian Cleric and get free Intensify on this spell (since it is a Domain Spell). You can take the 5th level of cleric after your Mystic Theurge levels to apply it to a high level domain spell.
4) Get Quicken Spell or Major Spell Expertise & Quicken Spell like ability for this spell.
5) Take all feats that increase caster level (Bloat Mage Initiate, Spell Specialization, Mage's Tattoo and then Spell Perfection to double that at level 15.)
6) Choose race that increases caster level for this spell.
7) Get items which increase caster level.
7) Cast the same spell 3 times in one round (with various meta magics)

The problem I have is finding the perfect combination of race/class/spells.

Initially I tried a Pyromaniac Gnome with Fire Domain Theologian, Fire Elemental Sorcerer.
But the Fire Domain has no good damage spell at level 5.
Air domain would have chain lightning at level 6. If we could quicken that it would be perfect.

In the ideal combo the (level 6) spell would have 20d6 as max damage. Get auto intensified to 25d6 from the Theologian.
To reach that limit we get +8 spell level from feats, +1 from race, +1 from Orange Ioun Stone (its probably possible to get a few more through other feats and items).

And then you get 3x times a lot of dice (75d6 if we can max out everything... which I doubt). Granted, only once per day but it will be glorious ^^.

What would help me a lot is:
A way to get a level 6 Spell like ability (that is an attack spell). This way I can Quicken a level 6 spell (you'd need to be caster level 20, but due to the large boost to caster level you'd get, that would be easy.)
Or a way to Quicken a spell that only needs +3 levels of adjustments (I think most abilities that reduce meta magic costs don't allow you to go over the maximum what you can cast).
A good level 5 or level 6 domain spell that deals much damage and a race that would push that spell.

The discussion about the rogue's weakness flares up often in these forums. Often mentioned are the numerous rogue talents that are simply too weak or too situational for anyone to take them.
Thus I tried to add some sauce to some of the weaker ones. This list does not contain rogue talents I consider good or ok in power as well as those that are just flavor or that fall under the category "Why the heck would I have to spend a RT for that? Any sane GM would allow me to do that anyway."

Rogue talents:
Assault Leader (Ex) - When you miss, allow a flanking ally to make a single melee attack. Your ally gains your sneak attack dice on this attack. Usable once per day and one additional time per day for every 5 levels of rogue.

Befuddling Strike* (Ex) - Opponents damaged by your sneak attack have a -2 penalty to attack rolls for 1d4 rounds. This penalty increases by 1 for every 4 rogue levels you have.

Bleeding Attack* (Ex) - Works as original. However the heal DC to stop the bleeding increases by 1 for each sneak attack die and any magical healing has to succeed on a caster level check (11 + half rogue level) or fail to stop the bleeding (however damage taken is still healed).

Camouflage (Ex) - Gain a +4 bonus to Stealth checks in certain terrains. When not moving the bonus is +10.

Canny Observer (Ex) - Gain a +4 bonus to Perception to listen to people and to find secret things. And a rogue with at least 1 rank in linguistics learns how to read lips.

Distracting Attack* (Ex) - Cause an enemy hit by your sneak attack to become flat-footed against 1 ally (you have to forgo your sneak attack damage). The ally gets half your sneak attack dice on attacks.

Esoteric Scholar (Ex) - Make a Knowledge check even when untrained. Usuble once per day and one additional time per day for every 5 levels of rogue.

Fast Getaway (Ex) - Use a withdraw as move action after making a successful sneak attack or Sleight of Hand check. Even if already moved this turn you may still take a 5 ft step as free action.

Hold Breath (Ex) - Hold your breath 2 rounds longer. Also gain +4 bonus on saves against inhaled poisons and cloud type spells (each time you take this RT the bonus on saves increases by 2).

Lasting Poison (Ex) - Poison applied to a weapon lasts for two successful attacks. Change: No penalty to attack.

Expert Leaper (Ex) - Make longer jumps and fall more gracefully. This ability counts as having 13 Dex, Dodge and Mobility for the purposes of meeting feat prerequisites.
Ledge Walker (Ex) - Move along narrow surfaces at full speed using Acrobatics. This ability counts as having 13 Dex, Dodge and Mobility for the purpose of meeting feat prerequisites.
Should you take both RTs you get Side Step as bonus feat.

Nimble Climber (Ex) - Stop a fall while climbing by making a Climb check. Damage dice from falling are only d4.

Positioning Attack (Ex) - When you hit, reposition yourself around the target. Usable once per day and one additional time per day for every 5 levels of rogue

Powerful Sneak* (Ex) - Treat all 1s on sneak attack damage dice as 2s. Change: No penalty to attack.

Resiliency (Ex) - Gain temporary hit points to avoid dying. Once the temporary hit points vanish you stabilize automatically. In case you took damage to bring you below your Con score when the ability activated, stabilize with just one hit point short of death.

Rogue Crawl (Ex) - Move at half speed while prone. You do not count as flat footed while prone. However you loose the benefit of uncanny dodge while prone.

Rope Master (Ex) - Move at normal speed when using a rope while climbing. +4 bonus to all skill checks involving a rope. Gain weapon proficiency with net, lasso & bola.

Stand Up (Ex) - Stand up from a prone position as a free action. You can make Acrobatics checks to avoid attacks of opportunity just as you would moving through an opponent's threatened area.

Swift Poison (Ex) - Apply poison to a weapon as a swift action.

Advanced rogue talents:
Confounding Blades* (Ex) Prerequisite: Slow Reactions - Target can't make AoO (just like Slow Reactions would do) and the target is slowed for 1 round.

Crippling Strike* (Ex) - Sneak attacks also deal 2 points of Strength or Dexterity damage (your choice).

Defensive Roll (Ex) Make a Reflex save to take half damage from a blow. changed to work on any attack dealing hit point damage.

Entanglement of Blades* (Ex) - Targets damaged by sneak attack may not make 5-foot-steps and treat all terrain as difficult.

Frugal Trapsmith (Ex) - Changed to Frugal Craftsman: Pay 75% of the cost when building a trap or crafting poisons.

Hide in Plain Sight (Ex) - Hide while being observed in any of your favored terrains (even those you did not get from this talent).

Knock-Out Blow (Ex) - Knock an opponent out instead of dealing sneak attack damage. Either 1 minute unconscious or 1d4 rounds staggered.

Opportunist (Ex) - Make an attack of opportunity when a target is damaged in melee. Gain half sneak attack dice on the attack.

Redirect Attack (Ex) - Redirect an attack that hits you to another target. Usable once per day and one additional time per day for every 5 levels of rogue.

Thoughtful Reexamining (Ex) - Re-roll any Knowledge, Sense Motive, or Perception check. Usable once per day and one additional time per day for every 5 levels of rogue.

New rogue talents:
Greater Magic (Sp) - Prerequisite: Int 12, Major magic - Cast a 2nd-level sorcerer/wizard spell once per day as a spell-like ability.

New advanced rogue talents:
Combat Excellence (Ex) - Prerequisite: Weapon focus - Gain weapon specialization with a weapon you have Weapon Focus for.

Cursed Wounds (Su) - Prerequisites: Bleeding Attack - Any damage you deal while sneak attacking can't be healed unless the healer succeeds on a caster level check equal to 11 + half your rogue level or a heal check with a DC of 25 + your sneak attack dice.

Whirlwind Stand Up (Ex): - Prerequisites: Stand Up - When you use Stand Up you may make a trip attempt against each creature within reach. Unless you have Improved Trip, you provoke attacks of opportunity however.

Using the Sandman bard archetype you can pull of a neat trick to make casters (especially arcane casters) in your party better. It begins at level 7. Then you get access to the bard only spells Arcane Concordance and Coordinated Effort.

Until then you have 4 feats (you technically only need 1 though). Allied Spellcaster, Stealth Synergy, Spell Focus (Div), Spell Specialization (Coordinated Effort).

With Coordinated Effort you can lend your Teamwork feats to others.
Allied Spellcaster gives you bonuses to spellcasting. If you and the other caster have the same spell you even get +1 on the caster level.
Arcane Concordance can give free metamagic to arcane spells to people around you (and +1 DC).

Now you can do this pre-fight buffing routine:
1) Cast Coordinated Effort (you can include 2 casters thanks to the Clvl increase from Spell Specialization)
2) Steal the spell you wish to boost from a friendly spellcaster.
3) Cast Arcane Concordance to extend spells (works only on arcane spells though)
4) Your caster buddies buff themselves extending their spells for free thanks to Arcane Concordance and with a +1 bonus on caster level. If they are level 7 as well and use a 1h/level buff it will last 16 hours thanks to your help (at no cost to them).
5) Steal a new spell and repeat (you have 7 rounds to do it if you want to profit from free extend. Otherwise it's +1 C lvl that only costs you 1 round of bardic performance).

As a bonus you can get access to powerful, personal only, buff spells from different classes for yourself. The build is of course most effective in a group with many casters.

During battle/adventuring you can share your other Teamwork feats as needed. You can adjust the feats you take to the group you are in.
As your level increases you can include more people with Coordinated Effort and you can take more Teamwork feats. Also Arcane Concordance will last longer and you can thus buff more spells with one casting.

Here are some nice Teamwork feats everyone profits from:
Stealth Synergy: Prevents one bad roll from exposing the party.
Shake it off: Gives a buff to all saves (up to 4)
Shielded Caster: Can help when fighting in cramped spaces where the casters can't stay at distance.

Another combo is to use Arcane Concordance for automatic Still Spell and Coordinated Effort for Stealth Synergy. Sneak up on the enemy and deliver one or more silenced area spells to the enemy (with +1 to the DC). An arcane trickster would be prefect partner for the silent killer stuff since he can sneak attack with it too.

Any thoughts how this could be made even better?
There is a version of this for non-casters too, but since the standard bard already is very good in buffing fighty people I thought the spell casting buffing version would be more interesting.

Wordcasting and wordspells is a complicated theme I am still not very familiar with. So maybe you can help me with this one (forum search didn't turn anything up):

As a 16th level alchemist you could drink a 3rd level potion and make it permanent. For 3rd level wordspells the following combinations of words are allowed:
3 or 2/0 or 1/1 or 0/0/0

Are there any good combination that would be more powerful/useful than one level 3 spell? I found the following options but none are very interesting (especially since you can't use meta words for potions).

0/0/0
The only 0 level effect word I found that is allowed for a potion is Force Block. So the triple zero option is out.
I thought Decipher, Sense Magic, Beacon would make a nice utility combination but neither have the selected target word.

1/1
Fade / Alignment Shield (Invisible until you attack and Alignment Protection)

2/0
Accelerate / Force Block (+1 AC and 1 extra move action each turn. This is the best option I found so far.)

Any better ideas?

Requirements:
Able to spontaneously cast 2nd level arcane spells
Able to cast prepared, arcane spells of 2nd level.
Knowledge Arcana (3 ranks)

Skills:
Knowledge(Arcana), Spellcraft

Other basics:
Skillpoints, BAB and Saves are identical to the Mystic Theurge.

Spells:
Each level increases spell casting in one spontaneous casting class and one prepared casting class.

Specials:
Combined spells: Works analogous to the Mystic Theurge ability with the same name.

Redundancy: If you have (or had if you cast it already) a spell prepared which is also among your spells known, you can modify one or more aspects of this spell.
You have to use a swift action to apply the modification(s). Spells you have transferred to the other class via the "Combined Spells" ability do not count for Redundancy.

At 2nd level you can apply 1 modification to a spell. Every two levels after you can add an additional modification (up to a maximum of 4 at level 8) to the spell. You cannot select the same modification more than once. Note that some choices count as several modifications!

These modifications count as one mod.
- Increase the caster level of the spell by 1.
- Increase the DC of the spell by 1.
- Increase the duration of the spell, as if your caster level was 2 higher.
- Increase the spell's maximum damage dice by 2.
- Increase the range of the spell as if your caster level was 3 higher.
- Gain a +2 bonus on caster level checks to overcome spell resistance.

These modifications count as two mod.
- If the spell effects more than 1 target, it can effect 1 additional target.
- If the spell creates more than 1 missile, ray or projectile it can create an additional missile, ray or projectile.

This modification counts as three mod.
- If a spell can only effect a certain creature type (such as Hold Person) you can attempt to make it apply to a different creature type. First you make an appropriate Knowledge check (move action, DC = 10 + CR) to identify the creature. Then you cast the spell spending a swift action to modify it as normal. Once you have spent the move action to identify you have to begin casting the spell in the next round at the latest. Should your knowledge check fail the spell is still cast and has no effect (you don't know if the spell has an effect or not until you have cast it).

This modification counts as four mod.
- If you cast a spell with a range of personal you can have it effect another creature than yourself with it. A minimal amount of concentration is necessary each round (free action) to keep the spell active on your target which means you must stay within close range of the target or the spell dissipates.
You cannot have more than 1 personal spell active on another creature at the same time.

If you boost your caster level to 24 and then cast Intensified Greater Magic Weapon does this create a +6 weapon? Or rather a +5 weapon with a special bonus?

If it goes to +6 does it penetrate DR/epic? The spell description states it cannot penetrate any DR other than magic, but it would be a +6 weapon, so... yeah. Special trumps general?

As I was fooling around with classes and such, I made something interesting I would like to use against my players as cool encounter at some point. However I have a hard time estimating how dangerous/frustrating the encounter would be. Here is where you come in. What would you, as a player, think of this encounter?

You have walked through the narrow chasm for a while now as suddenly smoke begins to pour down from the walls obscuring all sight. You are sure this must be some kind of attack and grab your weapons. Suddenly someone screams... everyone screams. A figure appeared out of nowhere and attacks each group member once and then vanishes again in the blink of an eye.

While only a small cut the wound does not close and you bleed out.
The healer begins his work immediately but as soon as he treats a wound the stranger appears again just to cut new ones.

The enemy here is a Dimensional Dervish specialist with full BAB (Ranger, Horizon Walker, Fighter. He gets Dimension Door as spell-like ability at level 9 from Terrain Dominance "Astral Plane")

His tactic:
He wears an unstoppered ever smoking bottle which produces tons of smoke and conceals the battle field (none of my players have ever used wind spells so dispersing it will be unlikely).
He will have some method of localizing the players (either through class, race or item... don't know yet).
Then he uses his dimensional dervish feat to strike all PCs in melee as full attack (targeting those with the least AC first) using a wounding, heartseeker weapon (negates miss chance and causes bleed) and with the last jump teleports back to safety.
His actual damage per attack will be rather small, but since he can add a stacking bleed effect with every attack it will accumulate. And he can just sit back and wait till the PCs bleed out.

Assuming you have a good mix of classes (Arcane Caster, Divine Caster, Tank and Damage Dealer) but no one has any Wind Spells prepared.
What would try or how would you react to this attack?
You are in unfamiliar terrain and can only go back, forth and up (since you are at the bottom of a small chasm)

The goal of this thread is to list all options players have to make more from their ability scores, reduce MAD or simply for optimization.
I made this list because some of those are hidden well within class archetypes and other places.
Also it's nice to have everything in one place and I plan to use this myself as reference whenever needed :)

If I have overlooked anything please tell me and I will update this list.

Key to the entries:
F = Feat
C = Class Special Ability
E = Equipment

Symbol – Name – Effect – Prerequisites – Limits & Restrictions

Options to replace one Ability Score with another:
F – Weapon Finesse – Dex for melee attack – none – light weapons only
F – Guided Hand – Wis for attack and damage – Channel Smite, Proficiency with deity’s favored weapon – Only works with deity’s favored weapon
F – Agile Maneuvers – Dex for CMB checks – none – none
F – Dervish Dance – Dex for melee damage – Weapon Finesse, Perform(Dance) 2, Weapon Proficiency Scimitar – Scimitar only, 1 hand must be free
C – Wizard(Universalist, Hand of the Apprentice) – Int to melee/thrown attack – none – limited uses
C – Witch(Hex, Prehensile Hair) – Int used instead of Str – none – hair only, can’t wield weapons, secondary attack
C – Witch(Scarred Witch Doctor) – Con instead of Int as casting stat – Orc race – scars are obvious
C – Sorcerer(Sage Bloodline) – Int instead of Cha as casting stat – none – lose DC bonus for metamagic
C – Sorcerer(Empyrial Bloodline) – Wis instead of Cha as casting stat – none – lose DR bonus to
E – Guided Weapon – Wis for attack and damage – none – costs money
E – Agile Weapon – Dex to damage – none – costs money

Options to add one Ability Score to something usually not applied to:
F – Kirin Strike – 2x Int to damage – Int 13, Kirin Style, Improved Unarmed Strike, Knowledge(Arcana) 9, Knowledge(one other) 3, – only 1 per round, Knowledge check dependent
F – Focused Shot – Int to damage with ranged attacks – Int 13, Precise Shot – 30ft range, bows/crossbows only, precision damage
F – Intimidating Prowess – Con to Intimidate checks – none – none
F – Monkey Style – Wis to Acrobatics checks – Wis 13, Improved Unarmed Strike, Acrobatics 5, Climb 5 – none (has additional bonuses above that)
F – Monkey Moves – Wis to Climb checks – Wis 13, Improved Unarmed Strike, Acrobatics 8, Climb 8 – none (has additional bonuses above that)
F – Fury’s Fall – Dex to CMB checks – Improved Trip – trip maneuver only
C – Gunslinger(Guntraining 1) – Dex to damage – none – only for selected firearms
C – Gunslinger(Mysterious Stranger, Focused Aim) – Cha to damage – none – costs grit
C – Barbarian(Rage Power, Raging Brutality) – Con to damage – Rage, Power Attack – costs rounds of rage
C – Barbarian(Rage Power, Raging Throw) – Con to CMB checks – Rage, Improved Bull Rush – Bull Rush only, costs rounds of rage

Options to use a skill instead of something else:
F – Mounted Combat – Ride check instead of AC – Ride 1 – your mount only, 1 attack per round
F – Indomitable Mount – Ride check instead of Saves – Mounted Combat, Ride 5, Handle Animal 5 – your mount only, 1 save per round
F – Snake Style – Sense Motive check instead of AC – Acrobatics 1, Sense Motive 3, Improved Unarmed Strike – uses immediate action
X – Escape Artist – Escape Artist check instead of CMB – always allowed

Would be cool to add which options are PFS legal and which aren’t. But I don't know PFS gameplay well enough for that.

For the big boss of my current arc I have built up a wordcaster to shake them up a bit.
In order to instill fear into them at the start of battle and to make it clear he thinks they are beneath him, he will be opening with this wordspell to humiliate them.

Simple Order (Kneel)
Torture 3
Lesser Wound 1

However the party's cleric likes to always keep Protection from Evil up. Having my guy dispel the effect beforehand kinda ruins the effect I was hoping to get (the feeling of a very powerful enemy caster that just toys with them).

So since the spell contains one effect word that is blocked (Simple Order) how does this effect the other parts? Does the whole spell get blocked or only the Simple Order one?

My plan for now is to describe that due to the intense pain the player's knees give in (if they fail their save), so I doubt that any of them will think of bringing up Protection from Evil. But I want to be prepared just in case.

PS: His name is not Zodd ^^

I have neither much experience with style feats nor guns so maybe you could check if what I am trying to sounds right.
The idea is obviously to gain my Int twice on damage for my attacks (magical or otherwise) by identifying my enemy with Kirin Style.
Flavorwise it would be an unusually acrobatic spellcaster, that uses his mental prowess to attack and defend.

1) It starts with 2 levels of Master of Many Styles. This gives me both Kirin Style and Kirin Strike by level 2 (using the trait Magical Knack to count those two levels for spellcasting power). I also take Skill Focus (Sense Motive) on first level.
Nice extra is Evasion, 1d6 unarmed attack and +3 to all saves from Monk.

2) Then it is Wizard (Evoker) all the way. I am leaning towards the spellslinger archetype since I can then upgrade my gun (single gun) and add another bonus to atk and damage with my spells (and get a x3 crit modifier).
I maximize (most of) my Knowledge skills, Sense Motive, Acrobatics and Perception. With my high int I should get a lot of skill points.

As Master of Many Styles I can use two styles at once, so I take Snake Style at level 3 and Snake Sidewinder at level 7. Since I will have as much Int and Wis as possible I can then substitute a Sense Motive Check for my AC which should be a nice boost.
This way I can save money on AC boosting items and spells and instead focus on improving Int and Wis.
I know I only get it on one attack per round, but as spellcaster I should be able to use my spells to keep people from getting too many attacks at me at once. And I can use spells like Blur and Mirror Image to defend myself regardless of my AC.
________________________

Assuming a 20 point buy I can get 17 in both Int and Wis, 12 Con, 10 Dex and 7 in Cha and Str. I start as Half-Elf for the Skill Focus and 2 favored classes and increase Int to 19.

So at level 3 I can add +8 damage to my attacks (+9 if it is an Evocation Spell). Since I have enough money now I can now make my gun a +1 weapon (using the wealth per level table) adding that to the damage.
At level 4 (+1 int) the damage increases to (+11 / +12).
At level 5 I can buff my Int (+4) and upgrade to a +2 weapon thus the damage increases to (+16 / +17).
At level 6 I get another +1 on evocation spells (+16 / +18)
At level 7 I can now use my Sense Motive as AC and get myself a +2 Wis item. That puts the skill at 16 (so around 26 AC on average).
At level 8 I get Wis (+1).
I continue upgrading my weapon and my Wis/Int item till level 10.

At level 10 I have a +3 weapon and +4 to Int and Wis (still in the wealth per level not considering I could take craft feats to reduce the costs). This puts my damage with my gun and non-evocation spells at +17 and my evocation spell damage at +21.
My Sense Motive is 24 (minimum AC 25, average 34)

And that's the gist of it. With this build there are still 8 feats left (+ the wizard's bonus feats) that can be spent on things like Reach Spell and other things you like (Breadth of knowledge?). As this caster climbs higher on the level ladder his AC, and damage will steadily rise. If he survives into high levels and advances in age categories that will give an additional boost.

Here are some additional options I have considered.
You could not upgrade the weapon at all and just use spells to give it +x bonuses.
You could replace 1 level of monk with cross-blooded sorcerer for even more damage with spells and Cantrips (that you loose as Spellslinger). Personally however I like having higher saves and Evasion.
Another option would be using Zen Archer instead of Master of Many Styles, but you'd need 3 levels to get Wis to attacks... oh wait. He can only use bows with that. Strike that.
One thing the Spellslinger misses out on is Ray of Frost with +x damage as attack that does not use up any resources. So a normal Evoker would be cool too. Sadly the Evoker's Force Missile is autohit so it's not usable for Kirin Strike. Conjuration though gives you an acid dart you could use.

This character was point-buy for demonstration purposes. In our gaming group we usually roll stats and it's not unheard of rolling several high stats which of course will boost this character immensely.

The feat Spellsong allows you to combine Bardic Performance with Spellcasting.
The Frozen Note spell paralyzes everyone around you unless they save.
The Quickening Pulse Masterpiece lets anyone sweat blood as long as they hear you.

Now if you combine this, you should get the effect of completely captivating your audience and slowly making them bleed to death while they listen to you. For flavor reasons you could also say they cry blood because the music is so beautiful.

If you need even more damage... end the song with Deadly Finale for extra sonic damage and even more bleed.
_________________

There is however a flaw in this. Frozen Note says you can't do any other action than sing. Question is... can your singing count for both a performance and a spell?

Even if the combo is not allowed, with the spell Exquisite Accompaniment it should be possible. The summoned instrument plays Quickening Pulse and you cast Frozen Note.

Any thoughts on this? Just imagine an evil, famous Bard doing it on stage to his audience. To quote a certain Russian: "So much blood!"

Since Polymorph Any Object is an often debated spell, I tried to find and list all creatures types with their appropriate transformation spells and the duration according to the duration factor. If a creature type was not covered by a spell I tried to find something as close as possible.
If you notice any errors or if I overlooked a spell or a creature type, please tell me.

Basis for calculation is a medium humanoid with average (10) intelligence.
Since Polymorph Any Object is a level 8 spell, I excluded all spells of level 8 and 9 (such as Form of the Dragon III and Undead Anatomy IV) because it would make those spells obsolete.
Also I assumed you want to change into the maximum size allowed by the spell. Smaller sizes could increase the duration factor (DF) by 2.
I also added some notes how relations could be added to increase the DF by 2.

Type: Animal, Spell: Beast Shape IV
Duration:
For a mammal -> Permanent (DF=9: Same Kingdom, Same Class, Lower Intelligence)
For all others -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Relation: Animal Domain, Wild Shape ability, Aspect of the Beast feat, Beast totem Rage power and similar abilities/feats

Type: Magical Beast, Spell: Beast Shape IV
Duration:
Stupid Beast -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Intelligent B. -> 12 hours (DF=5: Same Kingdom)
Relation: Aspect of the Beast feat, Beast totem Rage power and similar abilities/feats.
If you can argue that a creature like a unicorn is a mammal then the DF increases by 2.

Type: Dragon, Spell: Form of the Dragon II
Duration:
Stupid Dragon -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Intelligent D. -> 12 hours (DF=5: Same Kingdom)
Relation: Dragon Bloodline, Dragon Disciple Class and similar abilities/feats

Type: Humanoid, Spell: Alter Self or Giant Form I
Duration:
Humanoid -> permanent (DF=9: Same Kingdom, Same Class, Related)
Often they will have the same size and intelligence as well giving it a DF of 13.
Relation: Already related.

Type: Elemental, Spell: Elemental Body IV
Duration:
Elemental -> 1 hour (DF=2: Lower Intelligence)
I classified an elemental as a mineral since they are made of Stone, Air, Water etc.
Relation: Elemental Bloodline, Player race with ties to elemental planes, Horizon Walker class features and similar abilities/feats.

Type: Plant, Spell: Plant Shape III
Duration:
Plant -> 1 hour (DF=2: Lower Intelligence)
Relation: Plant Domain and similar abilities/feats.

Type: Monstrous Humanoid, Spell: Monstrous Physique IV
Duration:
Stupid Monster -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Intelligent M. -> 12 hours (DF=5: Same Kingdom)
Relation: Drawing a blank here, but since it is a monstrous humanoid, they could count related due to the humanoid shape.

Type: Undead, Spell: Undead Anatomy IV
Duration:
Stupid Undead -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Intelligent U. -> 12 hours (DF=5: Same Kingdom)
Relation: Death Domain, Undead Bloodline and similar abilities/feats.
I am not sure how to classify Undead. An animated human is still a mammal right? Or does it count as mineral now?

Type: Vermin, Spell: Vermin Shape II
Duration:
Vermin -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Relation: Desert Druid or Blight Druid Archetypes and similar abilities/feats.
.
.
.
The following creature types have no special polymorph spell.

Type: Construct, Spell: Iron Body?
Duration:
Construct -> 1 hour (DF=2: Lower Intelligence)
Relation: Artificer Domain and similar abilities/feats.
Iron Body is not too bad a replacement for this, but is also a level 8 spell. So allowing it’s effect to be covered by PAO would make it obsolete.

Type: Ooze, Spell: Fluid Form?
Duration:
Ooze -> 1 hour (DF=2: Lower Intelligence)
Relation: Another blank. There is not much love for oozes.
Fluid Form is actually more of a water elemental spell than anything else. Still it is the closest I found to an actual ooze.

Type: Fey, Spell: No reference spell
Duration:
Stupid Fey -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Intelligent Fey -> 12 hours (DF=5: Same Kingdom)
Relation: Fey Bloodline, Gnome Magic and similar abilities/feats.
Small characters can have the advantage here since Fey creatures are often small. However a Fey’s main assets are their spell-like abilities, which you can’t get via polymorph.

Type: Aberration, Spell: No reference spell
Duration:
Stupid Aberration -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Intelligent Aberration -> 12 hours (DF=5: Same Kingdom)
Relation: Aberration Bloodline and similar abilities/feats.
Since Aberrations usually represent twisted versions of other creature types just use the appropriate spell and work from there.

Type: Outsider, Spell: No reference spell
Duration:
Stupid Outsider -> 1 week (DF=7: Same Kingdom, Lower Intelligence)
Intelligent Outsider -> 12 hours (DF=5: Same Kingdom)
Relation: Horizon Walker class features and similar abilities/feats.
An outsider can be almost anything. Often the differences are mostly spell-like abilities and such. Just like with Aberrations, use the creature type closest and work from there.

Usually I know pretty well what stuff I wanna get, but the latest adventure made the plans for my next magic item redundant.

You see since I play a rather acrobatic fighter I was gonna get a Cloak of arachnida to be able to walk on walls and shoot webs (surprise drop on enemies from above etc...)
But in my last adventure my character got burned to a crisp by a phoenix and sorta became a half-phoenix in the process. With the phoenix thing came the ability of flight. So... that makes the cloak less attractive.

I could just upgrade my gear for more +x to AC, saves or attributes. But that's boring. So maybe you got a better idea? I know you guys like to spend other people's money ^.^

Character Concept:
Soulknife, specializing on 2-handed weapons with Trip and Sunder. Got high Dex, Str and Cha, mediocre values in the other stats (rolled attributes).
Other specialties are languages and document forgery (linguistics skill) and since he does not need to carry a weapon he usually disguises as bureaucrat/pencil pusher till battle.

And here is what I have in magic items:
- Boots of Speed and Water Walking
- A special wondrous item that temporarily makes the soulweapon stronger
- No potions (all destroyed in the fire)

I have saved up roughly 12000 Gold and our PC crafter gives 25% off on the stuff he makes.

Every couple of months I get the urge to play a Ray (or ranged touch attack) Specialist. And every time I sit down and crunch numbers I find the number of good (damage dealing) Ray Spells lacking. Thus I created some of my own.

I used the guidelines of the "Designing Spells" chapter and also looked at monster abilities to see where to place the powerlevel.

Ray of blinding acid:
Level: 5
Reach: Close
Effect: Fires a glob of sticky acid that deals 4d6 initial acid damage and 2d6 damage each following round.
Duration: 1rd per 3 levels
The effected creature is also blinded and can't use the scent ability for the duration of the spell, unless it succeeds on a Fortitude Save.
The creature can spend a full round action each round to get a new save against the blindness/ no scent effect (cleaning eyes/nose). Having at least 1 gallon of water at hand gives a +2 bonus on the save.
Spell Resistance: No?

Reference: Acid Arrow.
This ray is a stronger version of Acid arrow. It does not really deal much damage for a 5th level spell (even if you sum up all dice for a level 18 caster its only 16d6... 1 dice above the recommended value). That's why it got the blinding mechanic.

Sonic Lance:
Level: 6
Reach: Medium
Effect: You fire a concentrated beam of sound from your mouth that deals 8d6 damage on a hit.
Creatures hit must make a fortitude save or be knocked prone.
You can also aim at rock and other non magical material to create a small explosion that deals 2d6 piercing damage (Reflex halves) in a 10ft radius.
Spell Resistance: Yes (unless you shoot the ground)

Reference: Shout, Greater Shout, Yrthak (monster)
This spell pretty much replicates the ability of the magical beast Yrthak. The Yrthak has 12 HD (CR9), which would mean a 12 HD full caster would have 6th level spells, thus 6th level spell.
Damage is between shout and greater shout, but only single target thus I added the knock over effect on a direct hit to balance it out a bit.

Deflagrate
Level: 9
Reach: Long
Effect: A thin, hardly visible line of energy strikes from your hand, piercing a creature's skin to incinerate its insides thus dealing 1d6 fire dmg per level (25 max).
If hit, the creature must make a fortitude save or suffer half this damage again as the heat inside the body tries to work its way outside.
A creature reduced to below 0 through the second burn, explodes violently dealing half the initial fire damage as well as 1d6 piercing damage to all within 20 ft (Reflex halves).
The spell's power is also potent enough to melt solid rock or iron. You can instantly melt such materials in a 10ft radius (from the impact point), turning a floor into a lava pit and burn holes in walls and ceilings.
Creatures that fall into such a pit (Reflex negates) or get hit by lava falling from the ceiling or a wall (Reflex halves) take 10d6 fire damage. Since lava clings to you, you take damage even after you get out of the area (see environmental dangers: Lava)
Spell Resistance: initial ray Yes, follow-up damage, (possible) explosion and fire damage from created lava No

Reference: I don't recall any level 9 ray spell at all (although Meteor Swarm does allow touch attacks). So yeah... just wanted to see if I could create a ray spell that comes even close to what other level 9 spells do.
Since just damage is rather moot at this level I added the rock melting part for extra fun and versatility. This allows to switch from Fort Saves to Reflex Saves and negates spell resistance. Also its cool to melt rock :)

Phase Ray
Level: 4
Reach: Medium
Effect: You can fire a glowing projectile of pure arcane energy at a creature, dealing 4d4 force damage. You can fire an additional projectile at 11th and 15th level, all of which must be fired at targets within a 30 ft radius.
Due to the special nature of the projectile you can have it phase through one obstacle in its path, such as a wall, creature or object. This allows you to negate cover (even total cover if you have a way of locating the creature). Each projectile can pass through 5 ft of material (or 1 ft of lead) or one huge creature at most.
However, it can't penetrate force effects (Wall of Force, Ring of Force Shield, Mage Armor etc.) or dimensionally anchored objects/creatures.

Reference: Magic Missile.
The reason it is called a ray is because it flies so fast it looks like a line rather than a projectile.
Force damage is so rare. I tried to stay at the lower end of damage and instead give it a unique and cool ability.

I never used staves before, so I wanted to make a wizard using and crafting staves. Naturally I checked out the rules to make customs staves and then tried to calculate some of the existing staves to see if my math was correct. But what I found was very confusing. Depending where the staff was from (Core or Advanced) the prices changed. One time I got the crafting costs and the other time I got the base price.

Can you check if I made a mistake?

Formula: Base Cost x Spell level x Caster level (minimum 8) / No. Charges
Costs are 400 for highest, 300 for 2nd highest, 200 for all other spells.
--------------------------------
From Core:
Staff of Charming, Base Price: 17600, Craft: 8800
Charm Monster - 400 x 4 x 8 / 2 = 6400
Charm Person - 300 x 1 x 8 = 2400
Sum: 8800 (equal to craft cost)

Staff of Defense, Base Price: 62000, Craft: 31000
Shield of Law - 400 x 8 x 15 / 3 = 16000
Shield other - 300 x 1 x 15 = 9000
Shield - 200 x 1 x 15 = 3000
Shield of Faith - 200 x 1 x 15 = 3000
Sum: 31000 (equal to craft cost)
---------------------------------
From Advanced:

Staff of Stealth, Base Price: 18400, Craft: 9200
Gr. Invisibility - 400 x 4 x 8 / 2 = 6400
Nondetection - 300 x 3 x 8 = 7200
Invisibility - 200 x 2 x 8 = 3200
Disuise Self - 200 x 1 x 8 = 1600
Sum: 18400 (equal to base price)

Staff of Toxins, Base Price: 12600, Craft: 6300
Cloudkill - 400 x 4 x 8 / 2 = 6400
Stinking Cloud - 300 x 3 x 8 = 7200
Sum: 13600 (equal to base price +100)

So using the same formula I get two very different outcomes. Where's the bug in this? I don't think Paizo would have missed such an obvious error.

For those of you that like to play a more combat oriented shape shifter without the nature baggage of the druid, I have something you may like.
The class is rather focused, in that it does not give you multiple forms. But rather allows you to transform into a single powerful shape that gets gradually stronger. In addition you get spell-like abilities in both your normal and in transformed shape, that complement the creature.

Explanations for your powers are easy to adapt to your needs. Demonic Heritage, Druid who got infected with otherworldly power, Wizard that had an accident that burned his magic out, magical gift of an outsider, ill-worded wish spell,...

Personal Note: Initially I based this class on the nightmare (cause it’s a cool creature) but it can be adapted to pretty much any monster by selecting the right monster and spell-like abilities. I will attempt to add some suggestions for other monsters at the end. If interest is high I may do complete monsters too.

Monstrous Shifter:
Alignment: Any
Hitdie: d10 Skillpoints: 4+Int
Class Skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Disguise, Fly, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge(nature), Knowledge(planes), Perception, Profession, Survival, Swim
Base Attack Bonus: Good Saves: Fort – Good, Ref – Bad, Will – Good
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Simple weapons and all natural attacks gained in the transformed state. Also proficient with light armor and shields (except tower shields).

Monstrous Shape: As a standard action the Monstrous Shifter (MS) can assume the form of a single alternative form. This form is always a distinct individual. Armor and equipment carried is melded into the new form. This ability counts as wild shape for the purpose of feats.
This ability can be used once per day at first level and an additional time every 2 levels after (it lasts 1hr/level). At 17th level you can change form at will.
The creature chosen can be any magical beast, aberration, plant or outsider that does not have a humanoid shape. You gain abilities and powers based on the form chosen. Outlined below are the powers for the NIGHTMARE.

At first level you get a +4 Bonus to Strength and Natural Armor. Your speed becomes 40 ft and you gain the scent ability. darkvision 60ft, 1 Bite (1d3) and 2 Hoof attacks (1d4). This shape is medium sized.

At 4th level you gain fire resistance 5 and your hoof attacks deal 1d4 fire damage (in addition your natural attacks in your normal shape deal 1 point extra fire damage). Also you gain the trample special.

At 6th level your fire resistance increases to 10 and you gain the burn special (your hoof attacks may set enemies on fire. The save is 10 + 1/2 HD + Con). Also you can emit a 15-ft cone of smoke that conceals like obscuring mist and lasts for 1 round. Emitting the smoke is a swift action.

At 8th level your fire resistance increases to 20 and you become vulnerable to cold. Your size increases to large which modifies your stats as follows: Str +6, Dex -2, Con +2, +6 natural armor, Speed 50 ft.
Also you are engulfed in flames which don’t hurt you and increase the damage dealt with hooves to 1d6. Creatures attacking you in melee take this damage as well. You must actively suppress the fire if you wish to touch someone/something without burning it.
In addition when you move you don’t actually touch the ground, but hover inches above it (as if wearing horse shoes of the zephyr). Finally you gain the powerful charge special.

At 10th level your fire resistance increases to 30 and your speed to 60 ft. You gain a fly speed equal to your land speed (maneuverability good). You leave a trail of fire whenever you run (even in midair) which deals 1d6 fire damage per round (can be suppressed, but cancels all fire damage). If there is no combustible material present the flames die 1 round later. You can use planeshift once per day as spell-like ability and the smoke you emit makes people choke (Fort save or be sickened for 1d6 minutes. DC equal to 10 + 1/2 HD + Con).

At 12th level your fire resistance increases to 40 and your fly speed to 80 ft. You can use Ethereal Jaunt once per day and can emit smoke as free action. Additionally you gain regeneration 2 in arid environments. The regeneration is suppressed by attacks that deal cold or acid damage or by simply being doused with water.

At 14th level you learn to adjust your shape so you resemble an ordinary equine (horse, zebra, mule, donkey, etc…) but you have no fire powers while in such a shape. Also you can now breathe fire once per day in a 15 ft cone (damage 1d6 per level, save is 10 + 1/2 HD + Con).

At 16th level you become immune to fire damage and your regeneration increases to 5. Your maneuverability increases to perfect and you can breathe fire an additional time per day.

At 18th level you can breathe fire 3 times per day and the cone increases to 30 ft.

At 20th level you and your otherwordly form have become one. You now count as outsider for the purpose of spells, but can still be resurrected like a member of your previous type. You can use the abilities of Planeshift and Ethereal Jaunt at will. Also fire breathing can be used once every 1d4 rounds. Your size increases to Huge which adjusts your stats as follows: Str +8, Dex -4, Con +4, Natural Armor +8)

Spell-like abilities:
In addition to shapeshifting you gain a limited amount of spell-like abilities which are usually based on Cha, but other mental stats are possible depending on what shape you chose. These abilities are usable in both forms but may have slightly different effects. Using the abilities does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Caster level is equal to levels in monstrous shifter.

For the Nightmare shape you gain these spell-like abilities at every uneven level:
1) Spark (at will) - Same in both forms.
3) Mass flare (at will) - Same in both forms.
5) Heat Metal (at will) - Same in both forms. The nightmare shape allows you to use the ability once per use of monstrous shape as immediate action to affect a metal weapon striking you in combat. After that you have to assume your normal form and change back to nightmare form before you can use heat metal again.
7) Burning Gaze (at will) – Same in both forms.
9) Ash Storm (3/day) – Same in both forms.
11) Wall of Fire (1/day, but split usage) – In normal shape you can cast and place the wall as usual. However you can also split the usage up, either making a wall at full length or create as many smaller segments as you like over several castings (minimum segment is 5ft) up to the maximum length of the wall.
In nightmare shape “casting” works differently. You can’t place the wall freely, but instead turn your trail of fire into a wall of fire as a free action. Again you can split up the uses freely in 5ft segments.
13) Obsidian Flow (1/day) – Same for both forms.
15) Sirocco (1/day, but split use) – Same for both forms. You can split up the duration over several uses.
17) Fire Storm (1/day) – Same for both forms.
19) Lava Wall (1/day, but split use) – This ability works similar to the wall of fire for the two forms, but instead creates a wall of lava.

Notes on the nightmare shape
Powerlevel: While some abilities sound rather strong, my estimate is that this class is on the lower end of the power spectrum. Fire is the main element in pathfinder and many enemies can resist it. Compared to a druid you give up a lot of power (full spellcasting, Natural bond and Wild Shape).
The class has its moments of course (such as using overrun maneuver with trample, powerful charge and the trail of fire ability) and I have not considered combinations with other classes.

Adapting this class to other creatures:
The pacing is simple. Extra wild shape and a new spell levellike ability at ever uneven level.
More powerful form at ever even level (exception is the 2nd level form which has been pushed to level 1 so you can start with shapeshifting).

It will be a bit of work, but you can adapt this class to most other creatures. As a guideline use the beast shape (or other appropriate transformation) spells to check when to add which abilities. Since this is the main focus it is okay to give some abilities earlier than would be possible otherwise. Ideally you choose abilities the monster has, but at higher levels you will probably run out, so any thematically fitting ability is okay.

For the spell like abilities you work in a similar manner. Since you gain a spell like ability at every uneven level (the same speed at which full spell casters gain access to new spell levels) you can simply use that as guideline for the powerlevel. As some spells are more powerful than others adjusting a spell one level up or down is okay.

Also your caster stat should be tied to the spell types you chose. Cha for arcane spells, Wis for divine spells. Exceptions can be made of course with good reason. I also mixed Sorcerer and Druid spells. Most important is that the spells complement the form.

Some possible ideas:
Shocker lizard: This type of form would play more into a trickster fighting style. You stay rather small and have a powerful electro attack. The electric sense could turn into blind sense/ blind sight/life sight (you feel the electric field of living things like a shark) at higher levels.
Spell like abilities would be of course lighting attacks, maybe clouds and even teleport like abilities (turn yourself into lightning to move to different place).
Unicorn: This form would be interesting for a paladin-like play style with smite and healing.
Winter Wolf: Rather similar to the Nightmare just with a cold theme (and more trippy than trample ;) )
Basilisk: Turning people into stone would be an interesting fighting style. However I would limit access to save or die abilities until higher levels (when flesh to stone becomes available). The spell calcific touch has mechanics for a gradual petrification for example.

I am working on an Aasimar Rogue(Burglar)/Master Spy with focus on disguise, traps and poison. The idea is that he can use most of his abilities (especially disguise) without using magic (for example to foil True Seeing).
What I am aiming for character-wise is a mix of "the Spy" from Team Fortress 2 and Hans Landa from Inglorious Bastards.
A backstabbing scumbag that can talk your ear of (and no I do not plan on backstabbing my fellow players) and within a moment's notice assume a new identity to fool the enemy.

Despite his non-magical focus, magic items are still essential.

The following items are pretty much obligatory:
Hat of Disguise will allow him to quickly blend in when there is no magical detection.
Armor with glamor enhancement allows him to simply put up some makeup (1 round with the right talents) to pass as a member of an army/guard etc.
Circlet of persuasion and +x to Charisma boosts the main skills

Helm of Telepathy would be interesting for the Spy part.
Helm of Comprehend Languages would be nice for scouting (although the character will be able to speak a lot of languages naturally thanks to the alternative racial trait of the Aasimar)

I am looking for some more items along that line. Boosting the key skills or give new interesting options. There are so many items now it is hard to choose.

Please do not comment that the character is too weak or useless in battle. It is not for a PFS game and we handle our private rounds quite relaxed with a lot of leeway.
Also I am quite happy with my selection of race and class for flavor reasons.

My group has unleashed a torrent of undead upon Absalom (long story ^^) and now I want to have a "Zombie" invasion.

However, the group has explored the Cairn Lands and also visited Geb once and thus have seen their share of undead.
Thus I wanna give them something unusual to make it interesting.

One thing I found is the Apparition (3PP) that uses Mind Tricks to make things think they are strangulated.
But apart from that I have not found cool/unusual undead monsters I like yet.
Even homebrew stuff is okay. Don't be shy. CR range should be 6 to 10.

Threads about the monk's usefulness are plentiful in these here message boards :)
After skipping over yet another monk thread I decided to try and make some home brew "improvements" to the most common complaints.

1) Flurry of Blows and High Speed Bonus do not work well together. He deals best damage standing still.
2) The attack bonus of the monk is too low

Focused Training: At first level a monk decides on what aspect of battle he focuses: Speed or multiple attacks.

Speed: A monk focusing on speed does not get flurry of blows. When moving at least 10 ft in a round, he gets a +2 dodge bonus to AC that lasts till the start of the next round.
When doing a charge attack he may forfeit the AC bonus gained from movement and use his Wisdom bonus for the attack roll (instead of Strength or Dexterity).
Lastly whenever he successfully deals damage to an enemy after moving at least half his speed the die size of his unarmed strike or weapon increases by one. Most often this will be a charge attack, but other attacks are possible too like a spring attack, flyby attack or an overrun maneuver with trample (if you get that somehow). Weapon must be a monk weapon of course.
Short Version: Give up FOB, gain +2 AC when moving, Wis for atk on charge and larger damage dice on charge attacks.

Multiple attacks: The bonuses to speed gained from the monk class are halved.
When the monk lands a hit while using flurry of blows he gains a +1 insight bonus to his attacks that lasts till the start of his next round (only for unarmed strikes and monk weapons). This bonus increases by 1 each time the AC bonus from his monk class increases, however it can never be higher than his Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).
Short: Give up speed (bonus halved) and gain insight bonus on attacks in flurry.

Monks can’t overcome DR (when specializing on unarmed strikes)
The simplest solution I can see is to put “Penetrating Strike” and "Greater Penetrating Strike" on the list of monk bonus feats (thus you don’t need to meet the prerequisites) or let monk levels count as fighter levels for this feat.

Diamond Soul is actually bad because your friends can't buff or heal you.
The monk can establish a spiritual connection to a number of creatures equal to his Wisdom modifier. This rather informal ritual takes about 1 minute and last for 1 hour per monk level. Creatures with whom the monk has connected do not need to overcome his spell resistance when casting spells.
The connection to a single individual can be broken with 1 round of concentration. The connection to all individuals can be broken as immediate action (just in case you got in the way of a fireball of your friendly caster and want some additional protection).

Wholeness of Body delivers too little for too much cost
Add the following uses to the ability:
For 1 ki point you can stop a bleeding wound as swift action (you do not heal anything).
If you have ki points left when you fall into the negatives (and are unconscious) you may either spend 1 ki point stabilize or you can spend 2 ki points to heal for the usual amount (possibly waking up again).

Several times I have attempted building a wordcaster so far, but it is rather complicated. None of our players plays one and I usually don't create NPC wordcasters.

However for the big bad of my campaign it would be very fitting. She is in the Mawanghi Expanse trying to resurrect the old Snake Gods, who in turn granted her some of their (leftover) power.
I have slowly revealed clues about her, one of them is that she uses an archaic form of spell casting.

What I would like to see are some thematically fitting spells that will surprise the players (some of them are quite experienced, but do not know much about Word casting, so it could be a nice surprise for them).

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Short Version:
Design several word spells for a level 12 Sorcerer (human) that have a snake, poison, pain, ancient gods theme. Avoid instant kill spells.

There are only 7 weaknesses in the Race Building guide (well, 8 if you count slow). 4 of those are about light and/or sunlight. And the other 3 are of rather limited use as well. That is hardly a useful variety.
As such I made up some more weaknesses to use. Feel free to add your own or comment on the ones posted so far.

Voracious (–1 RP):
Prerequisite: Race must have a con modifier of at least +2.
Weakness: Members of this race must consume 3 times as much food than is normal for their size. Treat starvation with the same time limits as thirst (1 day instead of 3). Wearing a Ring of Sustenance merely reduces the food consumption to normal levels.
Races with this weakness prefer to eat fresh food and care little for 'fake' nourishment created by spells.

Fast Metabolism (–2 RP):
Prerequisite: Regeneration or Fast Healing
Weakness: Once members of this race have healed an amount of hit points equal to their total amount of hit points they begin to starve immediately. Each time they heal 50% of their total hit points while starving counts as 1 day of starvation. Remember that non-lethal and lethal damage from starvation can't be regenerated unless food is consumed. Their body effectively digests itself to repair its wounds.

Heavy Breather (–1 RP):
Prerequisite: Creature must need to breathe.
Weakness: This race's body burns through energy fast. They suffocate twice as fast compared to other races. This means they can only hold their breath for 1 round per point of Constitution and lose 2 rounds for each full-round action.

Magic Magnet (–2 RP):
Prerequisite: No spell resistance.
Weakness: Members of this race are very susceptible to the forces of magic. They suffer a -2 penalty to saves against spells and spell-like effects. This race also can't benefit from spells or effects that grant spell resistance.

Magic Magnet, Greater (–4 RP):
Prerequisite: Magic Magnet
Weakness: When a spell is targeting a creature within 30 ft of this race and misses, it automatically targets this race instead. Also the AC against spells and spell-like effects is reduced by 2.

Short winded (–1 RP):
Prerequisite: Must have Con score. Endurance feat has no effect.
Weakness: This race runs out of breath quickly. They have a -4 penalty to all stamina based fortitude saves (such as forced marching, starvation, thirst, saves against fatigue and exhaustion etc.)

Bleeder (–4 RP):
Prerequisite: Must be living creature. No regeneration or fast healing.
Weakness: When taking lethal damage members of this race begin to bleed and take 1 point of bleed damage each round until healed or treated with the heal skill (DC 15). Heal is always a class skill for members of this race and they get a +2 bonus to treat their own wounds.

Cursed Wounds (–4 RP):
Prerequisite: None.
Weakness: This race carries a terrible curse which prevents healing magic from working properly. Members of this race have SR of 6 + character level against all healing spells. Unlike normal SR, this SR can't be voluntarily lowered and is active even when unconscious. In addition all heal checks to aid members of this race (treat wounds, longtime care, cure diseases, etc...) have their DC increased by 5.
Heal is always a class skill for members of this race and they get a +2 bonus to treat their own wounds.
Creatures that are healed by negative energy gain SR against negative energy instead. For undead the RP gain is reduced to -2.

Rotting (–2 RP):
Prerequisite: Creature type undead.
Weakness: The bodies of this undead race are permanently rotting away. Each day they lose 1/4th of their current hit points (minimum 2). To survive this race must consume the flesh of the living or the essence of other undead. Magic can be used to reverse the rotting as well.

As a hero you sometimes forget how hard it is for the normal person to get by. As such I'd like to offer this little challenge (there is nothing to win. It is just for fun).

How could a normal person with a little talent and the will to work hard manage to get rich and powerful (because money=power). They are an everyman (or woman) who do not wish to risk their life and become adventurers.

The "hero":
Our average guy (or gal of course) is a normal human of 16 years. His parents are poor and he is not happy with that. Though he noticed he has some talent in a certain profession and sets out to the big city to try his luck.

Stats:
10/11 base with the human's bonus applied to Wis.
Feat: Skillfocus Profession(?????)
Ranks: 1 Rank in Profession(?????), Rest elsewhere

Equipment:
He arrives at the city with 1 set of peasant clothes and 10 silver pieces.
If he is content with the cheapest options, he can get by with 3 silver pieces per day (1 for food, 2 for lodging).

The city:
Largest category of city. It is (relatively) safe and civilized. Workers are needed and you can find a job rather easily.
Your skill in the chosen profession is 8, which means at average you can earn about 9.25 gp per week (minimum 4.5 - maximum 14). Bare minimum of food and lodging cost you 2.1 gp per week. This means you can put aside 7.15 gp each week (after 7 weeks of work you can afford a single cure light wounds potion ^^).

The challenge:
Can our "hero" become rich before his 20th birthday? If he works hard and does not divulge in any luxuries he can earn 1487.2 gp in these 4 years. That would be the baseline.

Can you increase the cash flow above that?

Addtional Info:
-He will not engage in any illegal activities.
-Due to the enormous size, the city has spellcasters of every level and their services can be bought for the standard price (the standard price of "spell level x caster level x 10 gp + costly material components").
-You can chose the profession he is good in.

Personal Note:
I got the idea when I was calculating how much a commoner could earn and was surprised that he could easily afford having a level 1 spell cast for him every other week (10 gp) and thought... that has to be usable somehow but didn't find anything worth mentioning. So the main focus would be to find nice combos of spells with a certain profession (of course I won't shun other ideas too if they sound logical).

Ideal would be long lasting spells with no material components of course.
Sadly permanency (the absolute minimum price is 2945 gp) is totally out of reach, unless he works for 8 years straight and even then the options are not really overwhelming.

As a big fan of Tengus I thought it would be very cool if you could fight using your own feathers like throwing darts. Thus I created this feat chain.

What I am looking for is feedback regarding powerlevel (especially fitting prerequisites) and maybe better names for the feats. Other input is welcome of course too.

Also I can't shake the feeling that something like this exists already. But a quick search hasn't turned anything up. Maybe it was in 3.x? Or a different game system altogether?

Iron Plumage
Prerequisite: Feathered Race (such as a Tengu)
Effect: Your feathers grow stiff and hard almost like iron. You gain a +2 Armor Bonus to AC (does not stack with armor worn). This bonus increases by 1 for each feat in the Iron Plumage Chain. During winter your plumage grows fluffy and dense which increases the AC by 2 but also gives an armor check penalty of -1.

Feather Dart
Prerequisite: Feathered Race, Iron Plumage
Effect: With a flick of your arm (or wing) you can fire a feather as sharp as a blade. Treat the feather like a dart appropriate for your size, except the range increment is 25. It can deal slashing or piercing damage. Also the feathers regrow fast enough to neglect the impact on plumage, although extended fighting with feather darts gives the user a ruffled or even plucked appearance.
Feather darts count as natural weapons for spells like magic fang, but are limited to 50 shots as if they were ammunition.
A Monk can treat his own feather darts like shurikens for his monk abilities.

Improved Feather Dart
Prerequisite: Feathered Race, Iron Plumage, Feather Dart
Effect: Your feathers gain the ability to penetrate damage reduction. Choose one type of DR: silver, cold iron or magic. Your feathers count as weapons of that type. This feat can be taken more than once, each time it applies to a different type of DR (up to 3 times). In addition the feathers also deal 2 additional points of damage when used against a creature with DR they penetrate.

Feather Storm
Prerequisite: Feathered Race, Iron Plumage, BAB 5
Effect: Instead of a single feather you can lose a whole volley of feathers. This creates a 30-ft cone of razor sharp blades. The cone deals 1d6 damage per character level. If used against an enemy whose DR is penetrated with Improved Feather Dart you deal 1 additional point of damage per die. A reflex save halves the damage. The DC for this save is equal to half your character level + Dexterity.
Using this ability does use up a lot of feathers however. Each time you use the ability the AC bonus from Iron Plumage is reduced by 1. If the bonus sinks to 0 you can no longer use this ability. The full plumage regrows over night.

Large Feathers
Prerequisite: Feathered Race, Iron Plumage, Feather Dart
Effect: Your Feathers increase in size. This has several effects. Your AC bonus from Iron Plumage increases by 1 (in addition to the +1 you get automatically). If you have a fly speed, increase maneuverability by one step. If you have no fly speed your plumage now catches enough air so that you only take half falling damage. And lastly the damage of your feather darts fired increase by one die size and their range increment increases to 30.

Since there are no official books on this (at least I have not found them) I am free to invent stuff :3
My players have already shown interest in doing the test some day. ^^

My basic idea was that each person that has passed the test added a challenge to get to it, making it more and more difficult. Thus there would be one challenge from each of the ascended gods: Aroden, Norgorber, Cayden Cailen and Iomedae.
This way the players can try to anticipate what challenge awaits them.

Some other points I made up:
- That you need to fly over the chasm is just a myth. You can use the bridges. Not that it would be much of a challenge anyway.
- Theoretically the test should be doable by anyone regardless of class or level. More power should not make it easier to succeed, but allow you to survive more often in case you fail (thus making it easier of course).

What I have so far:

Upon converting my artsy type cleric to Pathfinder I thought it would be neat to give him a personal spell. One that he could have researched in the downtime.

I based the spell on Wall of Stone and worked my way up from there.
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Wall of Statues
School: conjuration (creation)
Level: 7
Casting time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, DF
Range: Medium
Effect: A row of animated statues 5 ft per level long [S]
Duration: 24 hours or 1 rd/level
Saving throw: Will negates, see text Spell Resistance: no

Upon casting this spell a line of humanoid statues grow from the ground. They appear to be made from whatever material the ground consists of and have the same hardness. However the hardness can never be higher than 10. The given area is for medium sized statues. Using small or large statues doubles or halves the length respectively.

For up to 24 hours after casting, the wall can be commanded to animate. After the animation effect is over or 24 hours have passed the statues become inert or crumble to dust (caster's choice).

There are two options for the animation.

First the statues can be commanded to grapple any creature within reach (5ft for small and medium statues, 10 ft for large ones). The statues' CMB is equal to caster level + wisdom modifier and its CMD is equal to CMB + 10. Small statues have a -1 penalty to CMB and large statues have a +1 bonus to CMB.

If the grapple is successful the statues can either deal damage (1d6+Wis for medium, 1d4+Wis for small, 1d8+Wis for large statues) or move the creature along the wall in any direction (even up) as far as reach allows (similar to the drag maneuver). The wall does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Every 5-ft section of the wall can grapple one creature and it does so the moment a creature enters its reach. Thus running along the wall provokes an attack from every 5-ft section passed.

The statues stand close together, sometimes even fused at the legs or hips. To squeeze through the wall, a medium creature must succeed on an escape artist check with a DC of 25. The DC is 30 for small statues and 20 for large statues. If the wall is active, it grapples any creature attempting to squeeze through.
This effect lasts for 1 round per caster level.

Each 5-ft section of the wall has 50 hitpoints and a break DC of 26 (+10 hp and +4 break DC for large statues, -10 hp and -4 break DC for small statues).

The second option is a hypnotic dance. Creatures that see the statues move, must make a will save or be fascinated for as long as the effect lasts. The effect is similar to a hypnotic pattern except there is no HD limit. The DC of the effect is increased by 2 if the caster has 10 or more ranks in Perform(dance) or an appropriate craft skill (such as carpentry, stone masonry, etc...)

The statues can be shaped like the caster pleases, even depicting specific individuals. A craft check is necessary for any high quality work however.
If the caster only wishes to use the hypnotic dance effect he can also make a solid wall with the statues depicted as drawings or reliefs. This prevents creatures from squeezing through the wall.

I would like to create a transmutation specialist that debuffs enemies by turning them into helpless things (so he can tease them and humiliate them).
And in battle he transforms into stuff and fights personally (using beast shape, transformation etc.)

Now checking the spell list I see lots of great transmutation spells, but few offensive ones (at low level). Most that can be cast on others and could be used for debuff only work on willing creatures (levitate or gaseous form for example).
Reduce person (for fighter types) and enlarge person (for casty tpyes) would also be nice debuffs, but have a long cast time.

Baleful Polymorph and Disintegrate are the goodies I am waiting for :)

So here are the things I know already:
Race: Elf (with lightbringer variant...)
Class: Enhancer(Transmuter) Wizard

We usually play with a flaw that grants an extra feat at first level, in case you want plan whole feat series.

What feats would you suggest?
What spells? (I am not that familiar with the spells outside of core so I may have overlooked some nice stuff there)

I developed this little monster for an adventure in Geb and thought you guys might like it too.

Behind the main front lines, towering over the lesser undead leading the attack you see several giant humanoid creatures. In one hand they carry a shield large enough to crush a house and under the other arm they carry a sinister looking cannon.
Suddenly a light flashes and loud noise echo's over the battlefield. Only moments later a large hole is punched into the walls of the castle. What firepower!

Zombie Canoneer Team CR 9-10

While the classic dungeon run is only against a few opponents at a time, sometimes a large battle is very fun and satisfying too.

But when the dice rolling orgy begins many players (and GMs) begin to moan. And not because of excitement.

I'm going to write some of the shortcuts to large dice amounts we use in our games and I hope to hear some from you as well. Some of these come from rules from 3.5, are homebrew or may even be in Pathfinder (I don't know the whole PRD and what things have been added)

Into battle!

1) High level spells or diving in lava or falling from high places. Rolling 20d6 takes a while (or 40d6 for a failed Desintegrate).
So to make it faster, just roll 4-5 dice and average the rest. This also has the nice side effect of preventing extreme highs and lows (if you prefer some predictability in your games). If the number of dice is even roll 4 dice and if it is uneven use 5 dice (this makes averaging easier cause there are no fractions). To quickly average an even amount of dice just take half the number of dice and multiply it by the die size +1. So 16d6 is 8 x 7 = 56 damage.

2) Attacks by large groups of weaker monsters. Just calculate the odds.
Especially good for groups of archers. You can calculate the chance of 1 archer hitting (lets say 25%) and multiply it with the number of archers (lets say 20) and then you get the number of hits (5 hits) without having to roll a single die.
You can even use the average AC of the whole party to calculate and then distribute the hits as its seems most logical (so if fighter stands in front guarding the others he would take more hits even though his AC might be the highest).

3) Combine groups into mobs. Mobs are like swarms just with larger creatures. If your hero is totally surrounded from every side just assign damage that seems appropriate.
Or use a single modified attack (like with a +4 or +6) to see if the mob can hit the hero.
I don't think definite rules will help much here. Just go by feeling.

4) Again this one is mainly for archer groups. Coordinated archers can make an area attack instead of a direct attack showering a square (or several) with pointy death. Hero just needs to make a reflex save to reduce the damage, only 1 dice roll needed.

5) Lots of saves.
One houserule we have is if your save is higher than the DC +10 you don't need to roll at all (so rolling a 1 is like you rolled a -10).
Because when the player who pushed his fortitude save to 25 wades through a pit full of tiny snakes with poison DCs of 11, let him have his glory of being a tough guy.
Or a high level rogue just dancing through a series of "beginner traps" without breaking a sweat.
Apply rule of cool here.

That's all I can think of for now. Looking forward to hear from you ^^

I am currently GMing a group that is paying Alkenstar a visit. I tried to find material and info on this area, but it seems that it is a rather undocumented territory.
So I thought I'd share the things I came up with for the area.
Maybe some of you would like to share your descriptions of the Manawastes and Alkenstar as well :)
Of course you are equally welcome to give feedback on my stuff ^^

When I tried to revamp a retired character of mine to Pathfinder (just for fun) I noticed Oracle would be a good class for him. However, none of the curses available fit the theme. So I invented my own.

He was worshiping a homebrew goddess that represented all 4 extreme alignments and much of the theme of the character was the difficulty of trying to fulfill every aspect. Thus the idea for the following curse.

I didn't cite any examples of positive effects based on alignment cause I couldn't find them. I do recall some abilities, but I am not sure if those were from 3.5 (For example automatically maximized healing for yourself and people of your alignment).

A little addition to the 5th level ability.
While you can cast spells that do not match your alignment, you are still responsible what you do with it. However the act of casting in itself does not influence your alignment.
So if you are a good Oracle and you cast an evil spell to do good (fighting bad guys) then you are fine.

I wanted to try a the PFS game, but due to may location (Austria) it is hard to find a game. Now I plan on visiting a Con in America next year and there I may get the chance of playing a game.

Thus I made a character... just in case ^^. Please tell me if all my choices are legal for PFS play. Thank you.

Race: Gnome (with alternative trait "Gift of Tongues": It gives +1 Diplomacy and Bluff and you learn 2 languages for each skill point)
Class: Alchemist (Gnome specific Archetype "Saboteuer": Saboteuer gives a Chameleon Mutagen.)
I exchanged the Brew potion feat with Extra Bombs as per the guide book.

Languages: With my high Int and 1 rank in Linguistics (and Gift of Tongues) I get 8 Languages at first level (Languages will be one of his shticks).
Gnome, Common, Sylvan, Dwarven, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Orc[/spoiler]

A questions that may arise:
Why ranks in carpentry and scribe? - Mostly for fluff reasons.
Because forging documents and such will be one of the character's specialities. While it is covered by linguistics, it felt more complete with those two skills. With carpentry he can make sigils/stamps and scribe is what he did before he became a pathfinder.

Backstory:
Alcka Sellza spent most of his life in stuffy rooms full of books and paper. And while he is fond of books and writing of all kind by the time he reached 150 he felt something was missing in his life. He wanted to have some stories to tell. Things like managing inventory makes for rather boring stories.
Thus he joined the Pathfinder Society where he worked as pencil pusher for several years. In the evening he studied Alchemy so that one day he could become a more active member of the Society. And the time for his first adventure arrives soon :P (I hope)

Character in game:
In social situations his high Charisma and his many languages help him talk his way out of many situations. He can also act as a translator.
When faced with bureacratic stuff he can grease things a little by forging permits and other things.
In battle he throws bombs. And when he runs out of bombs he throws purchaseable alchemical items.
And with his cameleon mutagen he does recon work with climbing walls and sneaking around.

Later on I plan on giving him the Healing Discovers so he can heal himself and others (for emergencies or when no healer is around).
With Fast Bombs and Rapid Shot he can throw more stuff each round.
Also the Bore Bomb sounds fun. Melts holes in walls ^^
His main focus is support. So he gets Tanglefoot and Sticky Bombs to hinder opponents so others can hack them better.
I'll try to get Infusion too so I can buff others.

I know some coices aren't optimum for DPS and PFS play, but I like some fluff meat on them bones ^^. And since much likely I only get to play once anyway it doesn't really matter if he dies.

The Idea: A casting Class that does not rely on a mental attribute.

The Flavor: You made a deal with the devil so to say and use your own life’s energy to fuel your spellcasting. You don’t need to be bright or wise or charming to use spells. Actually that is usually preferred by the beings that offer these things.

There are 3 types of pacts (one for each physical ability score):

Blood Pact: Casting stat = Constitution
Usually old and powerful Vampires offer these (or other powerful creatures that have to do with blood). You draw your spell prowess from your own blood (and therefore your Con Score).
Payment for these abilities includes being a food/blood source for the creature at the very least, but usually you have to do much more.

Skin Pact: Casting stat = Strength
Practitioners of this simple and brutal type of magic have huge, unnaturally swollen muscles. Their skin is stretched in such a way that it can rip open if strained.
For a Skin Caster their muscles turn into batteries that store their magic. The more magic is stored the more swollen the muscles are and the muscles visibly deflate with repeated usage of magic.
Gods/powerful beings that favor fighting can offer these kinds of pacts.

Bone Pact: Casting stat = Dexterity
This tricky type of casting only requires hand movements. While normal casters often need elaborate gestures to complete their spells, a bone caster takes it to the extreme. In a very lengthy (and painful) ritual runes are etched onto the bones in their hands and fingers.
These runes allow them weave magic by simply moving the hands in the appropriate patterns trained for hours and hours on end.
Certain rogue guilds offer these kinds of services. Or a magic academy that finds itself short on suitable students might pick the practice up to fill their ranks.

The Pact Caster:

General Stats:
Medium Base Attack
d8 Hitdie
2+Int Skillpoints
1 good save (Fortitude for Skin and Blood, Reflex for Bones)

General Class Skills: Knowledge(Arcana), Knowledge(Religion), Craft, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device, Profession
Blood Caster: Heal, Knowledge(Nobility), Disguise, Bluff, Diplomacy, Appraise
Skin Caster: Swim, Climb, Survival, Fly, Intimidate, Survival
Bone Caster: Stealth, Disguise, Perception, Bluff, Acrobatics, Escape Artist

Spellcasting:
All pact casters are spontaneous casters. They have an amount of known spells like a Sorcerer.
Due to their difficult approach to magic pact casters are very limited in their directly usable spell power. They only have 1 spell slot per spell level and can only gain more by having a high ability score. However when they have cast all their spells they can still continue casting albeit at a high price.

They start with a first level spell slot and gain a new spell-level at every uneven level to a maximum of 9. Pact casters have no cantrips (if they learn a cantrip they cast it as first level spell).

Pact casters can choose spells from any spell list (the GM still can put restrictions on the available spells depending on who they have a pact with. A Balor surely won’t offer “Holy Word” for example).
They don’t distinguish between arcane or divine spells. If it is important for an effect then treat the spells of blood and skin casters as divine and spells of bone casters as arcane spells.

Visuals:
Since pact casting is directly tied to the body its effects are hard to hide. It usually has a very noticeable effect on the caster.
As mentioned skin casters appear obscenely buff when full of magic and look like a wrinkly old person when empty.
Blood casters have a very rosy skin color when full with magic and turn pale and sickly as they use up their magic.
Bone casters have glowing runes on their hands and prolonged casting can result in them looking more and more like bone.

The Blood Pact:
Special Ability:
Blood regenerates very fast. Con damage is healed as 1 per hour (If she has plenty to eat. When starving, the regeneration is like that of a normal member of that race). Con drain heals 1 per day.

Overexertion Consequences:
To cast spells after all spell slots of a level are used up, a blood caster must add his blood as material component to his spells. Depending who they have a pact with that can mean cutting a wound into one’s body and spill the blood or it can by mysteriously drained from the body. However it is achieved, adding blood to a spell is part of the spellcasting and does not use up an action.

Adding blood to a spell causes Con damage. 1 point of Con damage fuels one spell level. You do not lose the ability to cast spells through this type of damage even if you sink below the usual required threshold. However the DC to resist your spells is reduced accordingly with your score.

If the accumulated Con damage is higher or equal to half your caster level (minimum 1, rounded down), then all the following Con damage is turned into Con drain. This drain can only be healed by natural regeneration (1 per day) and is not curable with magic. Proper treatment (DC 15 heal check) and plenty of rest can double the regeneration.
Temporal bonuses to Con (like from a barbarian’s rage) do not give you extra spells, but they do increase the DC.

Advantages: No restrictions on spell selection (except RP wise by GM)
Disadvantages: Casting is tied to your Con score. Overexertion reduces this score. Con is very important.

Skin Pact:
Special Ability: Strength Surge (works like “Might of the Gods” from the strength domain). Non-lethal damage is regenerated twice as fast.

Overexertion Consequences:
Spells cast over the limit put serious strain on the muscles (in extreme cases causing the skin to burst open). Every spell deals 2 points of non-lethal damage per spell-level to you (If you are immune to non-lethal damage this damage you can’t become a skin caster).
If you have accumulated non-lethal damage equal to twice your caster level, then all excess damage is lethal damage.

Advantages: Easy handling of the overexertion (It can simply be healed away).
Disadvantages: Skin casting lacks finesse and is the most primitive form of the three types. Spell selection is limited to the following spells.
Can only learn spells with a casting time of 1 standard action (Feather Fall is too short; Enlarge Person and Symbol of Sleep are too long for example.)
Skin Casters can only learn and use these three metamagic feats: Empower, Widen, and Maximize (but applying those does not increase the casting time)

Bone Pact:
Special Ability: Your hands are like scissors for the fabric of magic. This allows you to deflect magical attacks (magic attacks that require a touch attack to hit) with your hands like a monk can deflect arrows. [Optional: Also you qualify for the snatch arrows feat, which allows you to throw the attack back at the caster or keep it like a charge in your hand.]

Overexertion Consequences:
Execution for the spell weaving must be flawless for the spells to work without side effects. But little errors are unavoidable. They are compensated by the runes, but manifest as some kind of paralysis of the fingers and later the whole body.
For every spell cast over the limit you take 1 point of Dex damage per spell level. This is physically represented by a slow petrification-like process but otherwise follows the same rules as the effect on Con for skin casters. If you reduce your Dex score to 0 with this ability you turn completely into a statue made of bone and must be returned to life with a Stone to Flesh spell.

The Dex damage and drain can be healed by magic normally.

Advantages: Does not need words to cast. All spells are silent.
Disadvantages: Always needs both hands free to cast. Even a strapped on buckler is too much of a burden.

As a GM I can bend some rules a bit and some of my players are quite experienced and knowledgeable about the system and monsters and stuff.

So despite being good at separating Player and Character Knowledge, they tend to find reasonable argumentations why they would fight a certain creature a certain way that is very effective (even if only subconsciously).
I want to throw them a curve ball so they have no idea what to expect. But I would like to hear some opinions about what you think. Did I go too far? Is there a way to achieve the result with less breaking? What would you think if a GM lets you encounter this:

Zen Archer 4
Druid (Eagle Domain) 6
Arcane Archer 2

He specializes on ranged combat in the Form of a Manticore, imbuing his tail spikes with druid spells, while keeping out of range.

Rules I had to bend (break ^^):
Combining Arcane Archer with divine class.
Wisdom Bonus on attacks for the spiked tail attack instead of a bow.
Druid would need Beast Shape IV for Manticore, yet druids only get to Beast Shape III (I used the "Powerful Shape" feat as a "tax" so he can do this)
______________________

This guy is supposed to be the right hand of the big boss of the whole story arc and thus should be a big challenge.
I thought, he'd use the Tar Ball spell imbued in his Spikes to pin the players down while he rains more spikes from above.

Hm... do you think my players would be angry if I shoot a volley of Rusting Grasp'd Spikes at them? :P

I want to build a quadruped Eidolon that can only do one thing. Charge into enemies and trample them to death (if they haven't died from the charge already). It goes for a single powerful attack, not multiple attacks, using Vital Strike and such.
As I was reading the Summoner (I have never played one so far) a few questions arose.

1) Does a quadruped Eidolon with Bite evolution (that already has a bite, which means you get 1 1/2 your Strength as damage) qualify for the Furious Focus feat?
The feat requires a weapon wielded with two hands. With the bite evolution the Eidolon deals damage as if he would use a 2-handed weapon. Does that count?

2) For flavor reasons (I want to make the Eidolon look like a Rhino) can I change the Bite to a Gore attack?
I noticed the Gore Evolution costs 2 points while the Bite evolution only 1, yet they both deal the same damage. Is the extra cost because usually you get the gore in addition to the bite attack that most Eidolons have?
Or does the Gore have an advantage the Bite does not have?

3) The evolutions that grow the Eidolon don't mention that the damage of their natural attacks increase as is normal for size increases (if it could wield a weapon it would wield a bigger one after all).
Do natural attack damage dice increase when I progress my Eidolon to large/huge?

4) I think I read this one already somewhere, but I can't combine Power Attack and Vital Strike right? (Or was that Spring Attack and Vital Strike?)

5) Is there something similar to the Powerful Charge feat from 3.5 in Pathfinder? (Gives you 2d6 extra damage when you make a charge attack). I have checked but haven't found something yet.

6) Is it legal to increase the damage of a natural attack with an evolution and a feat? I never states one would exclude the other.

I sadly don't really get to use Symbol spells a lot, since as adventurers we rarely defend a place. But I like them, so I tried to think of a legal way to bring them into a fight.

As per spell description it can't be used offensively directly (like putting it on sword and then hitting someone).

So I thought I could put a symbol on my shield, using the trigger condition: If I lie my shield flat on the ground and step on it with my feet it activates.
After that I could pick it up again and have it radiating the effect.

Is this a legal usage of the spell? I thought about putting the healing Symbol on it for emergency healing (if made permanent it is a free group heal every 24 hours for 10500 gold).

At least that is what I hope this will become ^^

I have seen some threads here that have rules for epic level play and I thought it would be neat if we could collect them all together, so people can have a look and choose their favorite method.
This is not a thread to complain about epic level gameplay (I think there are enough of those around if you want to voice your opinion on that).

(I managed to get into epic levels once so far and since it was only for 2-3 levels we just continued on as if nothing had changed to wrap up the current story arc.
Personally I am not that interested in playing to even higher levels, but more in playing at level 20. When you finally get your level 20 abilities you wanna use them a few times at least)

So I'll just write up what I have read and still remember in various places (not only in Paizo forums) or have cooked up myself:

Method 1: Ignorance (Level cap? Whut?)
You just go on leveling. Everything increases like it has before (BAB, Saves, HD, etc...)
You can also continue to increase the classes abilities that have predictable patterns (Inspire Courage Bonus for Bard for example).

Method 2: World of Warcraft (Purple gear wohooo)
You simply stop leveling up. You just continue making money and increase your gear.

Method 3: Feats are the new levels
Instead of gaining a level when leveling up you get a feat. And that's it!
You can use the feat normal or do the following.

Method 4: Classes are the new levels
The level 20 cap is only for classes, not character level. At level 20 you simply multiclass and add the bonuses together as normal.

Method 5: Gestalting
Instead of going beyond 20 you begin at 1 again. Building your character up as a gestalt character (this obviously won't work if you are playing with gestalt characters).
So if you are Fighter 20, you can then go Monk 1 and level all the way to 20 again reaping the sweet bonuses of both classes.

For those that don't know gestalt characters:

So. Gimme your ideas and I will add them to the rooster :)