Kelseus's page

I decided to put together a homebrew an Aether and Void Kineticist.

I started with a quote from a sidebar in Rage of Elements about the "elements" of aether and void. I had three goals in mind when designing these elements. First was I wanted to be as true to the original void and force kineticists from Pathfinder 1 as I could. Secondly, I wanted to create more unique and original impulses that play into the unique aspects of each element instead of just reskining existing impulses.

Third, I wanted the new abilities to be balanced against the existing impulses. Force was particularly hard to balance. The Kineticist damage curve is already pretty stingy, but I was worried that giving force the same damage curve as other elements would make it too strong since there are no force resistant/immune creatures and it is a trump card for a subset of monsters (incorporeal). On the other hand, if you pull back on force damage too much then the rough damage curve gets even worse.

See the link below for write up. Any input is helpful. Is the ability unbalanced either way (too strong or too weak). Is there some void/force concept that I didn't use that could be better represented?

Aether and Void Kineticist

I just want to start with saying that I really appreciate how up front you all about this process and the changes that are coming.

my understanding is that under the current system, your PDF is released once your box is packed and has a shipping label. Which means some people get their PDF the first day of shipping and some get it after the release date.

From reading this it looks like you guys are going to charge our cards on the first "shipping" date even if our box is not ready to go. But that also means that everyone who subscribes gets their PDF on the same day.

Is this correct?

It appears that Paizo is using its mid-level size to help out smaller independent RPG publishers break into the larger market by helping with distribution and sales of their products through the Paizo Website and Warehouse. Link below for the story (subscription only, but only $1).

Paizo and R. Talsorian court indie designers for their next projects

I think this is a great move for Paizo. It is good business and I think it will help with general good will toward the mid-sized publishers. Helping the next guy is always preferable to ladder pulling.

Thanks Paizo!

pg. 18 Coral Athamaru armor has a "Strength value of 16" should read "Strength value of +3"

pg. 151 Concert Frog's jaws attack deals 2d11+11 damage. Likely should be d10s.

A new Pathfinder video game is getting ready to launch a kickstarter campaign

Pathfinder: The Dragon's Demand Kickstarter

By Ossian Studios. Never heard of them before and their website looks like it hasn't been updated since 2021.

Just got my PDF. Ask away!

If any of you follow gaming news over the last month or so, you are already aware that WotC announced that they would be overhauling the OGL, with the implication being that it would be tighter and more easily controlled by WotC.

A few of the details came out today on the currently unreleased updated OGL. You can read the story here on Gizmodo
Dungeons & Dragons’ New License Tightens Its Grip on Competition

I suggest you give it a read.

I wanted to start a discussion on how this might affect out most beloved of past times, playing Pathfinder and Starfinder, both of which are dependent on the existence of the OGL.

While I am a lawyer, I am not an expert in licensing law. It is all but certain that this will be litigated in court and it will be expensive. BUT I also believe that WotC is on shaky ground at best since the original license states that it is a "perpetual, worldwide, [and] non-exclusive license."

There would also be a clear defense of Latches and Equitable Estopple, which are fancy legal jargon which generally mean that if a party relies you your statements to their detriment, you can't then change your mind midstream.

Obviously, this is but the first salvo in a fight that may last until Pathfinder 3E.

Paizo Con starts today at 10:00 am Pacific, Huzzah!

I wanted to start a thread where everyone can post their Paizo con info, or post links to other sources like Reddit or Discord.

While we are waiting we can start with some good natured guesses maybe? I'll go first:

- A playtest announced for two new classes to come out in August 2023. This time they will give us two rounds instead of one.
- the two classes will be a bounded divine spellcaster to be the spiritual successor to the Inquisitor, (but with a different name), and the Shamon, a wis based spontaneous primal caster.
- We will continue with the current trend of one 6 part AP and two 3 parts.
- low level 3 part will be an Arcadian adventure dealing with defeating colonizers
- high level 3 part will be the Ascension of the Living God, dealing with Razmir's last desparate attempt at immortality and Godhood.
- the 6 part AP will start in Jalmeray and explore the western Vudran Empire.
- The long awaited Dead God's Hand will finally be published, to be released in spring 2023.

This started a comment on the Dark Archives thread, but I wanted to put it out here for a chance at a more robust discussion without derailing the product thread.

Someone brought up the idea of the Kineticist as a class archetype.

Anyone else half expecting to see kineticist as a class archetype for psychic? Burn for brain drain, primal for occult, different amps?

I responded:

I don't think the kineticist would even be occult in P2.

It's almost all manipulation of matter, so primal or arcane (really just to cover the force damage stuff). What part of mind or spirit is involved in shooting fireballs from your eyes?

And then another response:

I don’t really think Kineticists have a tradition at all - their blasts are sort of a distinct thing from spellcasting, and I think it would be quite the surprise if they have a traditional spell list at all whenever they come over to 2e.

My personal position is that it will definitely have a tradition, as all magical abilities have one. I could be like the wizard, where all kineticists are primal only. Or similar to sorcerer/witch where depending on they subclass or ability you select, that determines your tradition. Or even like a Monk, where you get to decide occult or divine, and it doesn't really make a difference mechanically.

As for the tradition itself, I stick to my prior position that Kineticist is most likely to be a Primal tradition caster, even if they don't get access to the Primal spell list. All fo the original Kineticists except force were elemental damage, which is solidly in Primal territory. The only reason I'm not stronger on Primal only is the force kineticist, force spells being generally absent from Primal list. Maybe it could be Water/fire/earth/etc are primal OR you can be Arcane if you go force only.

So I open the question to the floor: Once the Kineticist is brought to P2, what magical tradition do you think it will have, if any?

I have a Monk PC in my party who has Monastic Weaponry and has been using the Kusarigama mostly for reach. All totally fine.

Party just hit 8th level and he took Tangled Forest Stance. Now TFS is a permissive stance, "can make" not "can only make" lashing branch strikes. TFS also has an additional effect.

While you’re in Tangled Forest Stance and can act, every enemy in your reach that tries to move away from you must succeed at a Reflex save, Acrobatics check, or Athletics check against your class DC or be immobilized for that action. If you prefer, you can allow the enemy to move.

My question is: can the PC use his weapon reach to determine if the foe has to make a check to move away? I think RAW yes because there is nothing to say you can't.

I also feel that RAI you are using lashing branch and the expectation is that your unarmed attacks do not have reach.

Thoughts?

I received two boxes from Paizo today. Both boxes were addressed to me. One had my order in it.

The other had a packing slip for order number 36533076 Addressed to Aaron Dalton in Maryland. If you want to send me a correct packing slip, I would be happy to drop it in the mail.

The current game I am in has a large group, currently 6 players. The GM is getting a bit frustrated with challenging the group with encounters that aren't flirting with a TPK every round.

Party is currently level 3. For a Moderate encounter you have 80 + 20 +20 or 120 exp budget. That means either a single level 6 monster, a 5 and a 3, two 4s, three 3s, four 2s, or six 1s (with some mix and matching possible).

The problem is that it seems like the PCs can easily destroy this kind of encounter. I know that the single monster is not a good idea, 3 actions to their 18, but even two 4s (6 vs 18).

Level 3 PC has an AC of about 20 (10 + 5 armor/dex, 2 trained, lvl 3) and between 24 (elf wizard 10 con) and 60 (orc barb 18 con) hp, with an average of closer to 38.

A level 6 monster will have a +17 to hit and average of about 15 damage. This means they average 33.9 damage on two sings. Meaning they could easily drop a PC every round.

It would take this group of 6 PCs almost 4 round to take down this level 6 creature. Just on the math alone, this could easily be a TPK.

Does anyone have any suggestions on modifying the creatures to make this less deadly but still not a cake walk?

A Cleric of Iomedae adds true strike to their divine spell list per the Deity class feature

Your deity also adds spells to your spell list. You can prepare these just like you can any spell on the divine spell list, once you can prepare spells of their level as a cleric. Some of these spells aren't normally on the divine list, but they're divine spells if you prepare them this way.

So true strike is now a divine spell on my spell list.

Now at level 2 I take Sorcerer Archetype and then level 4 take sorcerer basic spellcasting, so I can now cast a 1st level divine spell once per day as a sorcerer.

Can I select true strike as my level 1 repertoire spell?

As the topic suggests. Does a cleric gain "access" to their Deity's granted spells or not?

Your deity also adds spells to your spell list. You can prepare these just like you can any spell on the divine spell list, once you can prepare spells of their level as a cleric. Some of these spells aren’t normally on the divine list, but they’re divine spells if you prepare them this way.

you can prepare [spells] each morning from the common spells on the divine spell list in this book (page 309) or from other divine spells to which you gain access.

So, by RAW, does this mean that if I am a Cleric of Zon-Kuthon, I can prepare Shadow Walk as a 5th level Divine Spell as soon as I hit level 9 OR is Shadow Walk just considered an Uncommon spell on the divine list and I also have to gain access to Shadow Walk via scroll or some other means before I can prepare it each day?

Cancel Order 31308706 and Lost Omens Subscription please.

So this came up in our game this week. Our monk had a whip he had taken off of a corpse and wanted to use it to reach a wizard who was blasting us from the cavern ceiling.

Now, being a Monk, he wasn't proficient in martial weapons, but the "trip" entry for weapon traits says that "You can use this weapon to Trip with the Athletics skill."

So my question is: what is his bonus to hit? Is it his Athletics at +7? His Dex only at +4? Can he even use the trip with a whip if he's not proficient with it?

Give us new ones!

I am putting together an update and conversion of the Second Darkness AP to Pathfinder Second Edition. The Intent is to maintain the CR value of each encounter. Jumping up two editions however can make that more difficult. I am assuming that the Adventure Path expects the PCs to be no better than the pregenerated characters at the back of the book (a safe bet I think). This will help to set a better expectation as to what is written as a hard versus an easy or moderate check DC, particularly for skills, since it puts a max for any ability modifier at +3 at level 1, and only when that race has a bonus in it.

Converting the NPCs are a bit more complicated, as NPCs are monsters in P2, that being said with some few exceptions the CR should just be a straight conversion to level, meaning a CR 3 Wizard NPC in 3.5 is a Level 3 monster in P2. This helps to smooth out “NPC” class levels as well. A level 3 expert in 3.5 was a CR 2 creature. In P2, it will just be a level 2 creature.This is actually easier going from 3.5 to P2 than P1 to P2, as in P1 NPCs are CR=lvl-1 as opposed to CR=level in 3.5. This means you don’t have to worry about your NPC having access to spells that are too high for their level or needing to adjust the experience for the whole adventure. Particularly since in book 1, almost every encounter is NPCs until you hit part 4, i.e. the end game.

Comments and questions are welcome. I have the first book all done, and I've started my notes on book 2 and 3.

In the oracle section under Divine Spellcasting: "Each day, you can cast up to three 1st-level spells."

The table to the left says you only have 2 1st level spell slots. The language for spell repertoire also seems to confirm you should only have 2 1st level spell slot at level 1.

"In the Emanation section, add the following sentence to the end. “An emanation effect includes the target of the emanation, but the creature creating the effect can exclude the target if desired.”

So if I'm reading this correctly, I can caste an emanation spell on another creature and only effect those around it? Makes emanations much more offensive.

HUZZAH!

Just as the title says, I'm a bit confused on how you calculate EXP for an encounter. Every time I try to read it, it just gives me a headache.

I literally pulled up the rules for experience, so I could refer to them while writing this post and it just got more confused.

So, if I have an encounter with 5 level 2 PCs and they are fighting 2 wolves (level 1 monster each). How much Exp do I give for that encounter?

Also, is the exp totaled and then divided? or Am I awarding the exp amount to everyone?

I place my order a week ago and it's still only pending. Is there any eta on it shipping?

From what has been said in the Oblivion Oath Thread it appears that Paizo has kept the way experience worked in the playtest for second edition. I.e. It takes 800 exp to level up, regardless of what level you are.

My concern is, how do I make this work for a mixed level party. For instance, the other night we had a party at the table of two 9th level PCs, three 8th, and one 7th. This happens because if someone misses a night, their PC doesn't get exp for that session, or if you die and roll up a new PC, they start at the minimum exp for the lowest level in the party.

Right now, doing exp at the end of the night is easy. I add up the exp for all the monsters they killed or other rewards, and then divide by the number of characters present. It's easy, that 2000 exp at the end of the night is worth a lot more for the 7th level PCs than it is for the 9th, since they need less to level up.

If the exp is based not on the Monster's level, but on the Party's this can become unworkable fast. For the level 9 PCs, each fight was worth 50 exp, because they were a level 9 equivalent fight, but for the level 7 PCs I have to recalculate because at level 9 encounter is worth a total of 300 at APL 7 instead of APL 9. Also how do I calculate the APL for a party like this? I know that exp numbers became comically huge in P1 by the low teens but having the monster be worth X exp regardless if you were level 1 or level 10 makes my job easier as a DM, especially at the end of a 6 hour gaming session.

It also makes encounter design more difficult. In P1 a CR 5 enounter is worth 1600 exp, so I just keep adding monsters until I have a 1600 and that should be about right. One CR5 monster, or two CR 3s or three CR2 or 4 CR 1s. Now I have to keep going back to another table that ells me how to calculate the level of the encounter depending on the level of each individual monster then compare it to the level for each individual PC level.

I have a question for those of you who have pathfinder society experience, especially GMs. As the vast majority of the published adventures are PF Society Scenarios, I was wondering how suitable these scenarios are for non-PFS play?

Do they really cry out for everyone in the party to be in PFS? How hard do you all think that it would be to modify it to avoid that issue? Is their format conducive to home play or is the structure really expecting PFS play/players/GM?

Does any one have suggestions of what scenarios are good to start with?

Should we expect to have a PRD like we did for Pathfinder 1st edition? Will it contain rules elements printed in the World Guide line or just the main "RPG" line?

So, as with many of you still lurking in the forums for a defunct playtest, I am also chomping at the bit and hungry for any morsel of information about 2nd edition.

I think it is fair to say that we are all expecting there to be preview blogs in our future (although not as close as I would like). So to try to stave off the hunger pangs I suggest, as the title states, that we speculate wildly about the preview topics and expected schedule.

I expect to start getting previews by late April at the latest. We know that there will be a lot of info dropped at Paizo Con memorial day weekend and I think they would like to at least start trickling some info out to us before then. I would also expect to get an announcement at Paizo Con about a street date for the Bestiary 2E.

As far as topics, I am unsure if the previews will mostly focus on 1E vs 2E or have a lot of Playtest Vs 2E.

Thoughts?

When I pull up the forum page, the number of posts for each thread is miss aligned so that they all bunch up near the top of the subforum section. I took a screen cap and I can email it to you.

I am using Firefox on a Windows 7 machine. I have the same problem with Internet explorer and Crome

On the main page for the adventure paths, if you click on the links for Next to the AP descriptions,HERE it just sends you back to the main adventures page.

I am wondering if there is any news or action on updating the Pathfinder PRD? It hasn't been up dated since May of 2016, 19 months and counting. We've had 7 hard covers published since then:
Ultimate Intrigue
Horror Adventures
Villain Codex
B6
Adventurer's Guide
Book of the Damned
Ultimate Wilderness

Additionally there have been errata issued for UE that predates the last update that isn't included. Not to mention all of the errors on the website that haven't been fixed.

Is there any timeline that we can expect for this info to go up?
(not holding my breath for Starfinder SRD coming "fall 2017")

When on the main page for RPG line, when I click on the "preorder" tab, the site goes to load and then just reloads the "available" tab instead.

I would like to cancel my Roleplaying Game Subscription.

I'm not interested in Ultimate Intrigue, but I will probably re-up for horror adventures.

So I ordered Occult Origins (listed on my order confirmation email), but I received Occult Realms in my box.

Welcome, Josh!

Exciting!!! I really like the Rune Giant sending the Hill giant mooks to do her dirty work!
The singles are clearly a marsh giant and a stone giant, but I can't figure out what the middle one is.

My copy of City of Locusts, AP#78, is almost completely separated from the cover. The binding is also coming apart, with pages falling out.

During a game hiatus, my group lost one existing player and gained a new one and I am trying to figure out a good 2 or 3 class suggestions for our new player to roll up for our existing WotR campaign.

The group is currently between books 3 and 4, at level 11/Tier 4. The existing group is:
Paladin/Marshall
Cleric of Serenrae/Hierophant
Inquisitor of Iomedae/Guardian
Transmuter/Archmage

The group lost the Barbarian/Champion.

The new player is somewhat new to Pathfinder, and she playing a Fighter and Life Oracle in the other games we have going (one will drop off when mine starts back up). Obviously I don't want to suggest she play the exact same character as in her other game or just replace one barbarian for another (unless that's what she wants). Any suggestions for a good class that isn't too complicated but also fits the group?

I had asked that order 3312736 ship with my subscription this month but it is not listed in the order from my confirmation email I received this morning. It appear that Advanced Class Origins is still sitting in my side-cart.

Bloodrager has a similar spell progression as the Paladin and Ranger, not getting spells until level 4. In both the Paladin and Ranger spells section it has this language:

Through 3rd level, a paladin has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is equal to her paladin level – 3.

Identical language for the ranger, just switch the class name. So for a 12th level Paladin/Ranger, their CL is 9.

However the Bloodrager (although starting spell progression at 4th level like Paladin and Ranger), has no similar language in their spells section. In the Bloodline section, it specifically says

For all spell-like bloodline powers, treat the character’s bloodrager level as the caster level.

This at least implies that the spells might have a different CL than the Bloodline Spell-likes. To Get to the point:

What is the Caster Level for a 12th level Bloodrager? CL12 or CL9 like Paladin or Ranger?

Hope your dice are in your carry on! You can get some hardcore one-shot action during your interminable stay in purge... the airport.

Mythic Realms and Pathfinder Secrets 3 were both originally in Order -188, both were placed in my side cart. Mythic Realms was moved to Order -191 with my subscription order of Advanced Class Guide, but the Comic was not. Is the Comic not shipping with the subscription order? Why not?

Shouldn't the Title be: Crusader's Road Sample Chapter?

About half way through the book and loving it so far. Definitely a top Pathfinder Tales Novel.

please cancel my AP subscription. The product quality couldn't be higher, but I just can't justify the cost.

My binding for Worldwound Incursion is coming apart. The top of the page is no longer glued into the spine through page 26.

For the Divine Source Universal Path Ability, it says that you gain access to your domain spells as spell-like abilities but it doesn't say what the CL is for the ability or what stat you use to calculate DCs.

For instance: Monk 15/Champion 7 selects Divine Source, selecting the Law and Good Domains. So I can cast up to 7th level domain spells as a spell-like 1/day per spell level. When this character casts Hold Monster how many rounds does it last? 7 b/c of teir? or 15 b/c of class level? Or maybe 14, double my teir? or 15 b/c that is the minimum cleric level needed to cast a 7th level spell?
For the save, the DC is 17 + casting stat, but what is it? Is it Wisdom since I'm casting cleric spells? Or Cha which is the default for SP? OR can I pick which ever stat I want? Does it have to be a Mental stat? What if I use the same example, but change the levels to Fighter, can I pick Strength as my "casting" stat?

Depending on the answers to these questions, Divine Source can be either a really strong ability OR just some really nice fluff.
Please FAQ

So I have a question on who gets an SR check for Plague Carrier.

Range touch

Target creature touched
Duration 1 hour/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes
The target's natural attacks carry filth fever (DC 10 + 1/2 of the creature's Hit Dice + creature's Con modifier)

If I cast Plague Carrier on myself, and then attack a creature that has SR, does the creature get an SR check to not contract Filth Fever

OR

Is the SR check only for the target, i.e. the carrier of the plague, and any creature I attack with natural attacks does not get an SR check, just a fort save v disease.

Since Rogue Eidolon's guide is the only one out there for the rogue and it hasn't been updated since the CRB came out, I decided to do an update.

I included the original guide (because why reinvent the wheel), but added new sections for new rules from the APG, ARC, UC, and UM. I plan on adding more on the equipment section, but I haven't quite gotten there yet. Any comments are welcome, but please try to keep them constructive.

Guide is HERE