Knott C. Rious's page

Hello, everyone! How are you doing? Well, I hope.

This time, I'm here to ask you a question about skills:

How useful is each of them, relative to each other?

I ask this partially because I want to see what's the general opinion of the community and partially because I'm thinking of an idea for a future house-rule...

First, let's divide skills in three separate groups: physical/outdoorsy, academic/intellectual and social...

Then, we rank them by-

"Lemmy, you min-maxing muderhobo! All skills are useful!"
First off... I prefer the term "resource-efficient manslaughter nomad". Also, all skills can be useful, but how often and how much changes drastically. No sane, honest person will say Appraise is as good as Perception!

"It depends on the campaign! In my low-fantasy nautical campaign, Profession(Sailor) and Swim were amazing and UMD was useless! Stop generalizing, you a~~%~&~!"
Everything is dependent on the specifics of each campaign... That means nothing. I'm asking about the overall value of each skill... How useful they are in games that face a variety of challenges and scenery. Also, I have a full human body, not just the end of my digestive track.

"What about character role? Your skills are more or less useful depending on what you want-"
I KNOW! Again... This is not about specifics. It's an overall analysis of skill utility, assuming the campaign includes a variety of challenges. Obviously Spellcraft won't be as useful to the Fighter as it is to the Wizard (although it'd still be useful, unlike, say... Fly, which is completely useless if you can't fly). Perform is awesome for Bards and useless for everyone else.... That's not the point.

I believe the base assumption of the game is that characters travel at least a little bit and face various challenges in various environments.

"What about skill unlocks?"
Well... I don't use it. In fact, I use almost nothing from Pathfinder Unchained. So I'm not taking anything from that book in consideration.

Ahem... Back on track...

After we split the skill list in the three aforementioned groups, let's rank them. And remember: This is a general analysis. It isn't taking in consideration specific campaign themes, such as game focusing political intrigue or one based on underwater exploration... Or anything like that, which would make some skills unusually valuable or insignificant.

So... The ranks I give each skills vary from 0 (almost never useful) to 5 (very useful very often). 3 is the average. i.e.: "This won't always be useful, but it'll be useful often enough. You won't regret putting ranks here but it's probably not a game-changer either.".

Now, this is my ranking:

Physical/Outdoorsy Skills:

3 - Acrobatics (I think it's an under-appreciated skill. Ignoring AoO is amazing, IMO)
1 - Climb
2 - Escape Artist (Doesn't show up that often, but it saves lives when it does)
0~3 - Fly (Value depends on whether or not you can fly, of course)
5 - Perception
1 - Sleight of Hand
4 - Stealth (Some spells can obsolete this skill... Those same spells can be easily countered by other spells that usually last much longer).
2- Survival
0~5 - Ride (Is your character focused on mounted combat? Yes: Worth 5 points. No: skip it).
1 - Swim

Academic/Intellectual Skills:

0 - Appraise (I hate this skill).
0 - Craft
2- Disable Device
0 - Heal (This one might barely qualify as a 1).
3 - Kn(Arcana/Dungeon/Nature/Religion) (All of these can identify common threats. Kn(Arcana) is somewhat better than the rest, but not enough to be a 4, IMO)
1 - Kn(All The Rest) (History is slightly better).
2 - Linguistics (A seriously underrated skill, IMHO)
0 - Profession
2~5 - Spellcraft (5 if you cast spells, 2 if you don't).
3 - Use Magic Device (I'm giving it a 3, but it can easily range from nearly useless to game-breaking).

Social Skills:

3 - Bluff (I think a little bit of creativity makes this skill amazing)
3 - Diplomacy (Again: can easily range from nearly useless to game-breaking).
1 - Disguise
1 - Handle Animal
2~5 - Intimidate (This skill is much more useful if you can make use of it in combat without sacrificing action economy: Cornugon Smash + Hurtful, I'm looking at you!)
4 - Sense Motive
0 - Perform

As you may have noticed, I tend to value skills that increase your mobility and/or your variety of options. Stealth and Diplomacy may not be as good in combat, but they essentially give you access to areas that are otherwise out-of-bounds.

So, what do you think? Do you agree? Do you disagree? On what points? What skills do you think are not as good as people say? Which ones you think are underrated and deserve more recognition?

Cheers! Keep on finding and creating new paths!

Seeing as this wonderful dream-come-true animation is coming up... I thought it'd be nice to have a thread to discuss DC's straight-to-DVD animated movies released under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies flag (not to be confused with Bruce Timm's DC Animated Universe, which is also freaking amazing!).

Say what you will about Warner and DC Comics, their animation department is really good! They have quite the portfolio of great films. Not all of them are amazing, but the vast majority of them is pretty good.

For me... It's really difficult to choose a favorite, but if I had to, I'd probably pick Batman - Under the Red Hood.

Justice League - War and Aquaman - Throne of Atlantis were quite disappointing, IMHO. Fortunately, they are counterbalanced by great flicks such as Wonder Woman, the Green Latern movies and more than a few great adaptations of comic sagas, such as Batman - Year One.

Do yourself a favor and check these movies out!

So... What are you favorite DC animated films, if any? Which ones do you think could be better? Is there any that you really didn't like? Any story you wish they'd adapt into a full-length animated film?

Tell us! :)

Salutations, dice-rolling folk!

This is a thread devoted to my collection of homebrew feats. I figured it's easier to keep them all in a single place instead of updating multiple googledocs every time I change one of them.

This thread is meant to make it easier for me and anyone interested to find this stuff.

Lemmy's Homebrew Feats & Gear Emporium

This homebrew is designed to allow a greater variety of viable characters and combat styles, some times that means breaking certain monopolies and niche protection.

Feel free to check it out and/or use all this stuff however you see fit. Suggestions, comments and criticism are always welcome.

And, if you're willing, check the some more of my in my profile!

I particularly like and recommend Lemmy's Custom Weapon Generation System.

Thank you for the attention.

Cheers!

So... Here goes my half-rant/half-request-for-advice hybrid monstrosity!

- - -

I recently started playing 2 new campaigns. I decided to go with martial characters, because I didn't want to play another caster.

There! I made a character with a cool personality and background and gave it a solid build! Awesome! Let's Roll!

- - -

Fast-forward a couple weeks...

- - -

I'm bored already.

Not because of the GM, players, setting, or anything in the campaign. In fact, I really enjoy my gaming group and GMs. And the out of combat portions of the game are mostly okay.

But then, we roll Initiative...

It's just... I think I'm burned out. I want to play a martial character. I really do! But... I can't. I tried making my char more interesting in combat, but as soon as I start thinking of ways to do it, I realize I've already done (and am doing it) it with so many other characters that it completely kills my excitement.

And the worst part is... Since I'm having such a hard time enjoying combat, I end up getting bored of the character and that hurts my enjoyment of the non-combat portions of the game as well...

I HATE the idea of just spamming full attacks without any thought or decision making! I need action variety in my characters! But what else can I do?

- Combat Maneuvers? I already have 2 characters focused on them. Both can consistently use 2 or 3 of them. I do that every time for the very same reason. It's reaching the point where taking [Improved Whatever Maneuver] is just slightly more exciting than taking Weapon Focus... And that's the world's most boring feat.
- Martial debuffing abilities, such as Cornugon Smash and Spear Dancer? These are interesting, but they still don't add any decision making to the game. I'm still spamming full attacks, only now they do something else. That's an improvement, of course. Just not enough of one.

It's even worse when I remember that most of the few feats that actually give something interesting to do in combat require 13 levels and half a dozen feats to work. (It's hyperbole, I know... You get the point!)

I thought about using Path of War. I have players that use them in my campaigns and I can see they are well designed classes, but they are not an option this time for unrelated reasons (i.e.: my GM doesn't know them very well and honestly, I'm do not feel like playing one either. I just finished a one-shot adventure with a Stalker).

It feels like I tried everything there is too try in combat without involving some sort of spell-casting. That can't be true... But it's how I feel. And it bums me out...

Nowadays, I actually have more fun creating homebrew stuff than actually playing the game. -.-'

Anyway, sorry for the rant... I just wanted to unload a little of my frustration. And also ask who else of you ever felt this way and what you did to fix it.

- - -

tl;dr: I can't play a combat-focused class without being instantly bored during combat. How do/would you make martial classes more fun to play? How do you give them more real options and meaningful decision making, specifically during combat?

Has anyone tried something like this?

My friend is contemplating adding this house rule to his next campaign... For Critical Hits, we'd rule that at least one die must be a 10 for it to count as a critical (e.g.: 10 & 8 is a critical threat for a scimitar, but 9 & 9 isn't). Natural 1s simply wouldn't exist (alternatively, 1 & 1 they would require an additional die roll, if it's a odd number, it counts as a 1. If it's an even number, it counts a 2, but I think he's leaning towards completely removing Nat 1s).

In they, it should make the game less "swingy", but I'm not sure if there would be unforeseen consequences. Is there any that you guys can think of and that I should be worried about?

So... What do my fellow dice-rolling folk think?

I decided to check this archetype because I despise Burn mechanics, but it seems it can't do anything that would cost Burn, unless you have the ability to reduce Burn.

So what's the point of taking it instead of using the normal Kineticist and simply not using Burn? I don't need to base my class features on Cha to raise the attribute.

It's such a horrible archetype, it feels almost like it was made out of spite. I don't think that's the case, but by the gods... This archetype does basically nothing but remove options from the class and make it MAD!

Seriously, what am I missing here?

Are you tired of seeing scimitars everywhere? Bored of everyone carrying a longbow even in settings where sniper rifles are a thing? Have you ever wished to see a Barbarian wielding anything other than a falchion?

Your problems are over! We at Lemmy Homebrew Corp have the perfect solution for you!

Lemmy's Custom Weapon Generation System is just the tool you need to infuse weapon variety in your games!

Now you can create and customize your weapons without sacrificing neither game balance nor character concept!

With this product you can do things like:

- Create weapons unique to a setting, race or even character!
- Make more fantastical versions of real weapons!
- Make more realistic versions of fantastic weapons!
- Expand the effective arsenal of entire campaigns!

Just listen to these satisfied customers!

"I can now defeat my enemies with a single well-placed stroke of my blade! It's every duelist's dream! Thank you, Lemmy Homebrew Corp!"
Satisfied customer 1

"I'm now a playable character in Pathfinder! Thank you, Lemmy Homebrew Corp!"
Satisfied customer 2

"I can finally have my signature weapon! And wield it with Dexterity, like I've always been meant to do! Thank you, Lemmy Homebrew Corp!"
Satisfied Customer 3

"Thanks to Lemmy's Custom Weapon Generation System, people actually like me! Thank you, Lemmy Homebrew Corp!"
Satisfied Customer 4

"Now that GMs are no longer afraid of me one-shotting the PCs, I get lots of job proposals in Pathfinder campaigns! Thank you, Lemmy Homebrew Corp!"
Satisfied Customer 5

AND THAT IS NOT ALL!

Lemmy's Custom Weapon Generation System is a 100% compatible with the Pathfinder's weapon list! If you can't create an old favorite weapon, just bring it over from RAW!

And as if that were not enough, we are proud to offer tech support and technological updates with no additional cost!

DON'T WASTE ANY TIME! Get now your very own Lemmy's Custom Weapon Generation System! The first 100 customers get a 50% discount*!

- - -

Lemmy Homebrew Corp - Turning Boredom & Free Time into Fun & Balance since 2012!

- - -

*Lemmy Homebrew Corp is legally bound to inform our viewers and customers that this discount results in a total saving of 0 (zero) US dollars.

Hail, fellow geeks! How are you today? Cool...

Anyway...

As you may or may not know, my opinion of the Fighter class is... Uh... Less than flattering. I think the class is too narrow-minded and too focused on numerical numbers.

IMO, what the class needs is:

A- More out of combat utility
B- More in-combat versatility
C- More cool shit! (I die a little every time I add Weapon Focus to a character's sheet... High-level characters should get awesome stuff! Where is my cool shit, Paizo?! WHERE IS IT??? I WANT IT NOW!!! I-)

Ahem... Sorry... I got a bit carried away right there...

Back on topic. I also enjoy creating homebrew stuff, and I think that simply being a non-caster should be an excuse to have high level characters with the CR of high-ranking demon to be capable of little more than a really fit real-world athlete.

So, what did I do? I revived and updated my very first homebrew for Pathfinder RPG, of course! And I like it!

Still, I'd appreciate any feedback you guys and gals are willing to give (except Kirth! Because his homebrew is awesome and he will make me feel bad! XD)*

Well, without further delay... Here is...

Lemmy's Revised Fighter for Pathfinder RPG.

Be warned, though... If you don't like the idea of Fighters doing unrealistic stuff at high level, you might not like some of the high-level feats and abilities. :P

Also, don't drink and drive. ^^

- - -

*It should be obvious, but Poe's law and all that, so... Just to be 100% clear: I'm kidding Kirth, I'd love to hear your input. ^^

So... Flurry of Blows...

This ability fails on so many levels... It has three huge problems:

1- It turns a supposedly mobile class into a particularly crappy variety of stand-still-or-suck syndrome.
2- It forces unarmed Monks to pay twice as much for half the benefit. (You have to charge twice as much for the AoMF because otherwise non-monks could use TWF with IUS and get double the benefit for the price of a single weapon).
3- It makes any archetype that loses the class feature struggle with low accuracy... Rogue Style!

So... Here is my idea to deal with these problems:

Step 1 - Remove the "use Monk level instead of BAB" thing and simply give Monks (as well as Brawlers and any other class that gets FoB) a +1 to all attack rolls made with unarmed strikes, monk weapons or natural attacks (plus any other weapon they would be capable of flurrying with). This bonus increases by +1 at 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter (maximum of +5 at 20th level).

This allows archetypes to remain effective even if they lose FoB.

Step 2 - Remove the "There is no such thing as a Monk's off-hand unarmed strike..." line form his Improved Unarmed Strike class feature (this is to allow the fix for AoMF, keep reading).

Step 3 - Replace FoB with this variant:

Follow-up Strike (Ex): At 1st level, once per turn, when the Monk successfully hits an enemy with an unarmed strike or monk weapon, he can spend a free action to make an additional attack. This attack uses his total attack bonus and must be made with a monk weapon, unarmed strike or natural attack (This attack will henceforth be referred to as "Follow Up Strike").

At 8th level, during a full attack, the Monk can use this ability twice per turn. The second Follow Up Strike suffers a -5 penalty.

At 15th level, during a full attack, the Monk can use this ability three times per turn. The second Follow Up Strike suffers a -5 penalty and the third one a -10 penalty.

This ability cannot be used in conjunction with Two-Weapon Fighting.

- - -

(Notice that archetypes and feats that allow characters to use FoB with unusual weapons would allow them to use this ability with those weapons as well).

- - -

This has 2 main advantages:

1- The first Follow Up Strike doesn't require a Full Attack, which allows Monks to move and make two attacks, giving them an incentive to move and attack. It's not as powerful a a full attack, of course, but it's a good thing.
2- Since it doesn't use TWF mechanics, it allows the creation of a more sensible AoMF without giving double enhancements for unarmed non-Monks:

Amulet of Mighty Fists, Lesser: This amulet can be enhanced as a normal weapon (same price and same enhancement limitations). The enhancements added to it are applied to the user's unarmed strikes (but not natural attacks or off-hand attacks).

Amulet of Mighty Fists: Works as the normal one... It's there for TWFing unarmed combatants and creatures with natural attacks. (I'd give it the enhancement limit of normal weapons, though. I don't see why it should be capped at +5).

So what do you guys and gals think? Any suggestions?

Well... I posted my playtest experience in the wrong thread, and because I used spoilers, I can't quote/copy it here, so I will add a link here to the relevant playtest.

Character build can be found here:

10th Level Dwarf Aero-Kineticist Playtest

(If there's any mention of the Hunter class here, ignore it. I used it as a basis for the Kineticist in HeroLab to post it here more quickly. In-game, I used a hand-written character sheet)

The party was a Arcane-blooded Sorcerer, a Ninja (Scout), an Inquisitor and a Gunslinger (Bolt Ace).

Sadly, the Kineticist is turning out to be pretty underwhelming... It's mediocre at his best and completely useless at his worst.

Does Brawler's Flurry Count as Flurry of Blows for the purpose of fulfilling prerequisites?

So, the ACG came and brought us the long waited Dex-to-Damage and Cha-to-Will options... Unfortunately, they are quite underwhelming, to say the least.

Dex to damage requires 3 feats, doesn't work with light weapons (or rapiers) and for some reason is restricted to a single weapon (which means that TWF with a rapier and daggers requires anything between 6 to 9 feats).

There! It requires 2 feats and doesn't let characters use shields, stopping their AC from going too high. This, added to the feat cost and lower damage, gives a significant advantage to Str-based builds.

"Lemmy, you insane bird brain! That applies to ALL weapons! Isn't that overpowered!"

I really don't see how. Letting the feat apply to all (finesse) weapons simply prevents situations like this:

Guy-Playing-a-Swashbuckler: So, what do I find in the assassin's body?
GM: You find 2000gp, a mithral chain shirt and a +3 adamantine dagger.
Guy-Playing-a-Swashbuckler: Cool! I can sell that dagger to upgrade my +1 punching dagger!
GM: Why... Why don't you just take his dagger?
Guy-Playing-a-Swashbuckler: Because my feats only apply to punching daggers. Not normal daggers.

Limiting it to a single type of weapons is a pointless restriction. The feat applying to multiple weapons doesn't increase the character's power, just his build versatility.

...And my brain is at least 20% bigger than that of a bird, thank you very much.

"But Dex-to-Damage is TOO POWERFUL! No matter what!"

Look... It costs 2 feats (the scarcest resource in the game) and you still won't deal as much damage as the guy with a greatsword who invested zero feats.

BUT if you still think it's too good, just add the following line to the feat's benefit: "...If you have a negative Str modifier, that penalty still applies to your melee damage rolls."

Or, use one of the following alternate feats:

Or this one:

- - - - - -

"Whatever... What's your problem with Cha-to-Will? There are like, 3 or 4 different ways to do it in the ACG!"

Exactly! 3 or 4 different ways. All of them needlessly complicated and/or situational (or way too powerful, in the case of Divine Protection). They use different types of bonus and/or apply to only against specific effects for some reason.

My suggestion? Remove all of those feats and class features!

No more Divine Protection! No more Steadfast Personality! No more Charmed Life! Here is an universal feat that is simple, effective and balanced!

"But... This will make Wisdom a dump stat!"

Yeah, but unlike pretty much every other character in the game, you can't dump Cha. And you're one feat behind. And now you don't have 3~4 different ways to stack Cha on your will save. And your GM doesn't have to remember if it's a mind-affecting effect or not, you simply add the bonus anyway.

"Hah! You are forgetting about Paladins! They'll still be able to add double their Cha modifier to will saves!"

I didn't forget about them. It's just not a big deal... Paladins have great will save and gain immunity to many effects that require will saves (fear, charm and compulsion). What they don't have are feats. Paladins (And Anti-Paladins) are very feat-starved, so it doesn't really bother me if they want to spend one of their very precious feats just to get a bonus they don't even need.

But if that really bothers you... Just add the following line to the feat:
Special: You can already add your Charisma modifier to Will saves, you instead replace your Wis bonus with half your Cha modifier (rounded down)

"And what about Swashbucklers? Their saves suck! Without Charmed Life, they are doomed!"

You're right. Fortunately, this problem has a very easy solution: Give them this feat as a bonus feat at 6th level... And maybe a +1 luck bonus to Will saves every time they would get an additional use of Charmed Life.

Now Swashbucklers have acceptable saves and can actually use their class features without fear of dying because they spent their immediate action and are therefore incapable of using Charmed Life.

- - - - - -

So, this is my take on Dex-to-Damage and Cha-to-Will feats/class features.

IMHO, they are simpler and better balanced than the options introduced in the ACG, which, unfortunately, pretty much guarantee we'll never see anything like them in the future.

So I'll just leave an additional suggestion for devs and homebrewers:

In the future, try to keep things simple. There is no point in creating 4 different options that do the same thing in slightly different ways and/or making options needlessly complicated and/or restrictive. You cannot and should not balance an option by making it more annoying to use.

Anyway, hope you guys and gals like these ideas, and thanks for reading.

Cheers!

So... I've been discussing a some possible house rules with a few friends of mine. The basic idea is to reduce overall damage output to avoid rocket tag, replacing it with increased mobility and in-combat versatility. A secondary goal was to make full attacks faster to resolve.

There is nothing concrete right now, but here are some of our basic ideas:

Now, these are just initial ideas, they are not finished and not all of them (or any one in particular) would necessarily apply.

What do you guys and gals think? Would you enjoy a game where your martials have lower damage output but a greater variety of options in combat?

Yes? No? Why? And if yes, how would you do it? Share your thoughts!

The idea here is to discuss the pros and cons of such a game, not any mechanic or house rule in particular, and if it you would find it more or less enjoyable than a normal game.

Well... While FAQs are not errata, I'll give credit where credit is due.

Thanks, Paizo for (finally) fixing the Paragon Surge exploit. The spell is still very useful, but it's no longer game-breaking. It's been a long time since I last saw casters being hit with the nerf bat.

While Pathfinder still has plenty of balance issues, this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully we'll see this FAQ as an official errata.

I'd say this restores a tiny bit of my hope in a more balanced PF, but there is still a long road ahead...

Hello again, fellow gamers! How are you today?

Well, some of you might already be familiar with this particular creation of mine, but it's been a while since I made an actual thread for it, and the homebrew itself was at its early stages then.

Lemmy's Revised Rogue for Pathfinder. (Also here if you would like to know more about the thought process behind each change, want to find out what was added at each update or simply can't open googledocs for some reason).

I'm still constantly tinkering with and updating this homebrew. Usually when someone gives me a really good idea or when I think of a cool new Rogue Talent (latest one is the revised version of Defensive Roll).

Special thanks go (in alphabetical order) to Ashiel, Byrdology, Rynjin, Scavion, StreamOfTheSkies and all other posters who provided me with invaluable insight.

The design goals for this homebrew are the following:

- Feel Like a Rogue. I do not want a Trapper Ranger with a different list of class skills, so no full BAB and no good Fort save.
- Functionality. That means Rogues have the means to overcome their weaknesses.
- Build Variety. Not all Rogues want Weapon Finesse or TWF.
- Remove feat/talent taxes. Self-explanatory.
- Keep The Names. The names of class abilities (especially Rogue Talents) must stay as close as possible to the original. This allows players to use character-creation software, such as HeroLab.

So, if you have the time, check it out and share your thoughts! All suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome.

(Apologies if this is not the appropriate forum, I don't really know where to post this).

Hey, I know that is not possible for normal poster, but could I ask an admin to edit a post for me?

Of course I only noticed a couple mistakes there when the post as 1h and 2 min old. -.-'

The mistakes really bother me because it's the opening post of my new PbP campaign, so it kinda feels like the game had a bad start. :(

The mistakes are the following:

In the 2nd paragaph...

"One step beyond this point and you're no longer my problem, so keep moving!" shouts a grumpy dockmaster as you walk down the wharf. "All those who wish to become permanent citizens are required to register at the notary.."

The bolded part should be removed. It belongs somewhere else in the post, but since I apparently forgot to erase it here, it's said twice.
-.-

The second one is not as bad, but it still bugs me to no end... At the 6th paragraph...

She scoffs at him and they both disappear into the crowd.

It should read...

She scoffs at him as they both disappear into the crowd.

Thanks in advance to any admin who decides to fix those for me. If that's not possible, well, then thanks for the attention.

Here is a google.doc with the campaign's rules & guidelines, please read it carefully and tell me what you think.

Discuss away!

"One step beyond this point lies Blue Shell, the City of New Beginnings and Second Chances!" - says a clearly over-excited young-looking woman with green eyes and raven black hair as she spreads her arms and takes a deep breath of the sea wind. "We are finally here! It's said that this place is as likely to bring unparalleled wealth and glory as it is to cause immensurable pain and suffering, and that no one is safe from the city's twists and turns."

"One step beyond this point and you're no longer my problem, so keep moving!" shouts a grumpy dockmaster as you walk down the wharf. "All those who wish to become permanent citizens are required to register at the notary.."

The girl doesn't seem to hear the man's remark and goes on with her words.

"Those who dwell in here are brave, ruthless, foolish or greedy enough to take the risk, and now we're included among their ranks! This is too exciting! I hope we find 'Din soon!"
Next to her, a black-haired man donning red jackets with a cynical tone.

"I hope most of them are foolish… But greedy is good too…"

She scoffs at him and they both disappear into the crowd.

The scene doesn't surprise you. Overly eager travelers can be seen in every port. This one is no exception. The real exception here is Blue Shell herself. A city this young has no business being this big or crowded, but there it is, in front of you. With tall marble-colored buildings, docks brimming with life and streets filled with... colorful banners (?!) and vivid paintings.

You can hear dozens of different criers trying to attract the attention of the newcomers and sailors...

"All those who plan to take up permanent residence are required by law to register at the notary's office!" yells the man in an official-looking outfit on top of an wooden stand.

"Want some company, sailor?" seduces away a short girl with braided blonde hair.

"Out of the way, scum!" shouts some nervous-looking man as he and his fellow guards move in a rather hasty march.

"Start your day with the best beer in a hundred miles! Drink at the Mad Shark!" announces the red-haired girl with freckles on her face and flyers on her hands.

"Hello, stranger! How about making some quick money to kickstart your brand new start?" whispers a shady looking man just loud enough for you to hear it (and even then, it seems like you shouldn't be able to).

"Dear guests! Buy your Moon-Face at Madame Leticia! We have the classiest and sexiest ones! Custom made just for you!" sings the girl in a fancy dress and fox-shaped mask.

Countless other voices and sounds can be heard, creating an endless cacophony, but their collective message is clear:

"WELCOME TO BLUE SHELL! THIS IS YOUR NEW BEGINNING. MAKE IT A GOOD ONE."

Hello again, fellow gamers.

I was thinking about different character concepts, and found it frustrating how there is really only one way to be a unarmored warrior, and that'd be dipping monk (and a few archetypes or PrC).

So I made this universal "archetype" for players who want to adventure without depending on armor.

This variant can only be selected at 1st level. It replaces armor (and weapon, if applicable) proficiency gained by class levels.

Evasive Maneuvers
You can exchange your armor and shield proficiency to instead be able to add a Dodge bonus to AC equal to your Int, Wis or Cha modifier (whichever you select at 1st level) when not donning armor or shield of any kind. If your class has proficiency with medium armor, this bonus increases by +1 at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter. If your class has proficiency with heavy armor, this bonus increases by +1 at 2nd level and every 3 levels thereafter. This bonus does not stack with other class features that allow you to add Wis, Int or Cha bonus to AC, unless said class features allows the character to replace her Dex bonus to AC.

Unarmed Combat
You get the IUS feat and your Unarmed Strike's damage die rises to 1d6* (1d4 if you're small) You're considered to have the Stunning Fist feat for the purpose of fulfilling prerequisites.
*If you are a Cleric or Inquisitor of a deity whose favored weapons is unarmed strike, this damage die increases to 1d8 at 8th level (1d6 if you are small).

Additionally, if your class is proficient will all martial weapons, you can exchange this proficiency to instead be proficient with all Monk weapons and a single martial weapon of your choice.

---------------------

So... This raises a few questions...

Why add an unarmored variant for every class?
Because I like character variety. Unfortunately, while there are many ways to focus on all other combat styles (You don't have to belong to any specific class to be an archer, TWFer, 2-hander, grappler, tripper, etc), unarmed/unarmored combat remains restricted to very few classes/archetypes that don't necessarily make the best fit for your character concept. This is a more open-ended variant.

Is this balanced?
I think so. Unarmed Combat isn't known for being overpowered, and Monk weapons are not exactly amazing either.

Won't characters use this variant to get high touch ACs with no ACP?
Perhaps... But then again, their flat-footed AC will be very low, and they'll need to spend an item slot if they want to keep their AC up to par with their level. Doesn't really bother me.

What about multiclassing? What about classes who don't get armor proficiency anyway, but could benefit from this rule, such as Wizards adding Int to AC?
This variant can only be selected at 1st level. In order to multiclass, you must have at least 2 class levels, and at 2nd level, you can't take this variant.
Wizards and Sorcerers getting a free AC bonus is one of my concerns, which is why I specifically mentioned that the dodge bonus to AC replaces armor proficiency gained through class levels.

Doesn't that mean Wizards could dip a single level in a class with martial proficiency to get this ability?
Well, if they want to lose a caster level to increase their AC, I'm fine with that.

What about classes that get better armor proficiency at higher levels, such as Magus?
This is a bit more complicated. I'd simply rule that whenever a character gets better armor proficiency through class features of the class that grants him the dodge bonus to AC, he'd simply add the appropriate numerical adjustments to that bonus.
e.g.: When a Magus gains proficiency with medium armor, he'd add a bonus equal to 1/4 his Magus level to his Dodge bonus AC, as long as he got that armor proficiency from one of his Magus' class features, and not with a feat or through multi-classing.

Why give Stunning Fist for characters with martial weapon proficiency?
I didn't. They are only considered to have that feat for the purpose of fulfilling feat prerequisites. That's so that they can grab cool unarmed combat feats (such as Dragon Ferocity) at a reasonable level.

Won't this step on the Monk's toes?
Yeah... A little. However, note that the Monk is still better at fighting unarmed (his damage die scales with level and he can add his full Str modifier to off-hand unarmed attacks) and unarmored (a Monk's bonus to AC is untyped, so it applies to flat-footed AC as well, although classes with access to heavy armor will have higher AC). In my case, specifically, this is even less of an issue, since Monks benefit from a handful of house-rules that make them considerably more effective, including proficiency with all Monk weapons, free MoMS archetype and increased critical multiplier for unarmed strikes at 8th level.

---------------------

So, what do you guys and gals think of this idea? Share your thoughts!

Thanks for your replies... Except Rynjin, because I know he likes any idea that involves unarmed combat anyway. Heh.

(JK, Rynjin, I appreciate your feedback as well).

Title says it all.... Is there?

Thanks for the attention.

Hey, everyone. I'm considering playing a Synthesist Summoner in an upcoming game, but given the raw power of a the archetype, I was thinking of ways of balancing it without crippling the class.

My best idea is simply not having the ability to replace attributes and BAB. The Synthesist would simply gain whatever evolutions his Eidolon has, but still use his own attributes. He'd only get higher Str/Dex/Con/Whatever if he has an evolution that gives him a bonus to Str. Possibly, even attribute-increasing evolutions wouldn't be allowed either.

What do you think? Would this make Synthesists balanced enough to work on a somewhat optimized game?

Hey there, everyone. My group just an into this situation, where a Cloaker under effect of Mirror Image managed to grapple my character (He rolled just 1 above my CMB, the freaking bastard!).

I decided to full attack and kill the thing. Luckily for me, my Barbarian uses unarmed strikes. However, it created an weird situation...

Does Mirror Image works against a character you are grappling?

RAW says it does, but it doesn't seem to make sense. Since the grappled character can obviously feel the enemy her, wouldn't she automatically know which image is the real one?

The GM was nice enough to rule it in our favor (Yes, your character does know which one is real), but I'm still in doubt.

The rules say:

Grappled creatures who become invisible gain +2 to CMD to avoid being grappled, but receive no other benefit.

It would make sense that other similar illusion and concealment effects would have the same weakness, although other effects that actually make the creature untouchable (such as Blink) should work just fine. Much like the"If you don't sleep, you're Fatigued the next day" rule, this seems to be a logical and reasonable extension from the invisibility vs grapple line, but I can't be sure.

I'd like to know what are the RAI here.

Hey there, everyone.

So, one of my players wants to play a Justiciar.

The thing is... How is the "Authority" class feature supposed to work? What are its limits?

Where is the Justiciar's authority recognized? Over whom can he assert it? Who is has to listen to and possibly obey a Justiciar character? Who does he have to report to? What are his duties?

I don't have any problem with the class, but I'm not sure how to make this ability fit in my campaign. I want the player to be able to use it, though, as it seems a very flavorful class.

If that helps, we play in Golarion and the player's character is to be an Inquisitor of Pharasma 7/ Justiciar 3.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I'm playing a PbP game, but while I can still post in it, the game completely disappeared from my "Campaign" tab in all of my Aliases' profile.

One of my aliases is still listed as a Player (instead of a character), but my player profile (Lemmy) is listed as a "Previous Character".

posting again the Gameplay and Discussion threads, but it didn't do anything.

Does anyone know what might have caused this and how to fix it? I tried

Hello, everyone! I think most players would agree that Rogues need a few buffs. Well, at least I think so. So I thought about making a few improvements to the class.

I might be wrong here, but I think most players who decide to play a Rogue want a clever character who can get out of trouble with his quick-thinking, agility and charm. Not necessarily a character who deals absurd amounts of damage per round.

Focus on Dex, Int and Cha seems to fit the iconic Rogue much better than extra damage dice.

So this is what I came up with:

1- Either reduce Sneak Attack progression by half (for every class with this class feature, not only Rogues).
or
2- Restrict SA to be applicable only against enemies who are denied their Dex bonus to AC. Flanking does not automatically means SA.

"What???!!! You're nerfing Rogues??? Screw you, Lemmy! You suck!"
Yeah, I know this is a nerf, but bear with me... Rogues will be compensated. Keep reading! Also, no need to hurt my feelings :(.

Trapspotter: Rogues get this ability for free at 4th level. This way stealing their iconic role is much harder.
Improved Evasion: Rogues get this for free at 9th level. Really I never understood why they don't get this already. Rogue higher levels have a huge vacuum of class features, and Improved Evasion seems to fit perfectly the flavor of the class.

Poison Stuff Rogues get all the poison abilities given to Ninjas. Will this make ninjas feel obsolete? Perhaps. I think they'll have to be satisfied with Swift Action Invisibility, Mirror Image and all other cool stuff they get. Ideally, I'd like to fuse both classes, but that's an idea for another day.

Pretty minor stuff so far... Lets give them an extra lass feature, shall we? How about daily doses of poison. Say, Int modifier + Half Rogue level doses per day. Fort save DC = 10 + 1/2 Rogue level + Int Modifier. This particular poison is applied through injury and can be applied to your weapons as a move action.

I'm perfectly aware some of these ideas might be too much, which is why I'd like to hear what you guys and gals have to say.

So... What do you think?

Every character knows when his attack misses, save for extraordinary circumstances... But do they know how badly they miss?

e.g.: If a characters needs a 12 to hit his target, but rolls a 10 or 11, does she now her attack almost hit? Similarly, if she rolls a 2 when a 16 was needed, does she know it wasn't even close?

Personally, I'd say yes, characters do have a general idea of how close they came to hitting their targets.

This can be a huge factor in determining how opponents react to AC-focused builds. If they miss, but they don't think it was by that much, they might continue their attacks, if they miss and they have no idea of how far off the target their attacks were, then they might try again to confirm, and finally, if they miss and they notice they can't possibly penetrate their enemies defenses, then they'll most likely try different tactics, retreat or find another target.

So, fellow gamers... What do you think? How is it ruled by your GM?

The thread about languages made me think about this...

What kind of notes do keep at hand for quick reference? As in, not just having the book, but having it in a more accessible form.

As a GM, I try to have a sheet with all "passive" skill checks of each PCs, always assuming they're taking 10 all the time, unless they specifically say otherwise.

This includes Perception, Sense Motive, Knowledge skills (I just ask them to roll a die and add the modifier myself so avoid metagaming. e.g.: I say something like "roll Knowledge(Religion) they will it's an undead creature, even if their character don't beat the skill check DC.) and languages known (in alphabetical order) so that I know who understands what.

As a player, I try to take notes about seemingly important NPCs. Basically their names and small summary of their appearance and behavior. Maybe a note about where/when we met.

If a NPC has a name, chances are I'll have to remember it later!

What about you, ladies and gentlemen? What kind of quick notes do you have behind your GM shield? (Other than the ones already present in the GM Shield itself)

Here I'm once again, dear role-players! How are you doing today?

Today's subject is "My GM Made me Paranoid!".

Tell me, what are the precautions you always take because of a past event or two, even if the chance of it happening again is nearly zero?

Hee's some of my personal examples:

- If you check any of my builds you'll see I don't care much about buying really powerful weapons. But I'l have my first +1 sword ASAP! Just because years ago, the 1st enemy my 1st level party faced was a freaking ghost!
- You only have to be ambushed by vampires once before you decide to carry 2 or 3 scrolls of Daylight. Even in campaigns with no undeads. I don't care if I might carry them the whole campaign, I'll have at least 2 of those scrolls. And it works for shadow demons too.
- Lost my favorite weapon to a Rust Monster once. Now I cary losts of silversheen weapons, even when I reach levels where I can afford +3 weapons and rust monsters are no threat at all.
- Adaptable bows. Ever since Ultimate Equipment I carry bows with the Adaptable enhancement at all times, even if I'm not a Barbarian or dedicated archer. Have a ghost drain your Str once and you'll do the same!!!

There are probably others, but I can't remember right now.

So tell me, fellow adventurers! In what ways has your current or past GMs traumatized you and/or your characters???

Give me some good stories, so I may add your paranoias to my own! ^^

In the last few days we've seen many Fighter x The World threads. This is not one of them.

One of the first threads I actually participated was about discussing martial builds. Unfortunatelly, said thread ended up locked after a particullary heated argument.

But then, ciretose had an awesome idea! He created a great thread for us to share cool and interesting builds! And many great ideas were presented!

Recently, Nicos had a similar idea! A thread to show off kickass martial characters! A thread to show off the sheer badassery present to warriors everywhere!
Shallowsoul tried this not long ago, but I guess people didn't stick to the original spirit of the thread, so let's try again, shall we?

Prove to the world that Fighters can be scholars, Barbarians can be gentlemen, Rangers can be swashbucklers and Paladins can be something other than a stick in the butt.

The rules are simple:

1- Your build following these simple guidelines?

- 20pt buy.
- Standard WBL.
- 2 Traits.
- Kicks Ass.
- Build for 1st, 3rd, 6th and 10th level.
These are commonly played both in and outside of PFS. I thin they're good benchmarks too. Adding more levels, such as 15th or 20th is okay, but it's a lot more work and few people actually care about them.

2- Stay focused. This is a build thread. Want to discuss what class is better? There's at least 3 other threads about that.

3- Be polite. No problem in comparing/criticizing builds to see which character seems to be more versatile/efficient, but try and keep things friendly.

4- Stay focused. It's worth saying twice. This is a build thread, not a Fighters vs The World thread. I know we can do this because it happened before!

Here, I'll take the first step, this is a build I personally really like.

Meet Dr.Fighty McCharming. Straight out of the Fighter University, where they only use books as ammo during the Throw Anything class.

A few months and many, many dead Orc and Goblins late, Dr.Fighty McCharming finally got that Falchion he always wanted! Shiny, as he calls it, is made of the best silver money could buy. This way it won't get all rusty like his old axe. For some reason, Groundskeeper Wolfman hates Shiny, but who cares about what that hairy buffoon thinks?
Dr.Fighty McCharming still dons his old armor, he couldn't find one that fits him in the Dwarven Market, but at least he got a fine shieldthe Wet-Chain Mail contest, and his prize was a fine shield! Fighty also carries a bow now, because he'd rather eat wild birds than pay the absurd prices of the Cleaving Cafe. They tried to convince him it's not that expensive, but recently, Fighty has shown remarkable will power and stubbornness .
----------------------------

Hello, fellow role-players! Long time ago I had the idea of a Magus archetype that fought with just his fists and his magic.
However, it ended up being too SAD and with higher than normal AC up to 7th level.
This is a revised version. Hopefully, it's better balanced than the old version, but just as much flavorful.

Arcane Fist

Armor Proficiency: Unlike other Magi, an Arcane Fist Magus is s not proficient with any armor at 1st level.

Class Skills: The Arcane Fist adds Acrobatics and Escape Artist to her list of class skills.

Unarmed Strike: The Arcane Fist magus gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat at 1st level and she becomes proficient with 2 monk weapons of her choice.

Starting at 4th level, the damage from an Arcane Fist Magus' unarmed strikes increases to that of a Monk with half her levels.

This ability replaces the Magus proficiency with martial weapons.

Mystic Tatoo (Su): At 1st level, Arcane Fist Magi craft mystical tattoos on their bodies. This tattoo is usually a symbol that represents the magus personality, allegiance or beliefs, and is usually located on the magus' fist, chest or shoulder. This tattoo can be enchanted as an weapon, allowing the magus to add enhancement bonuses to her unarmed attacks.

This ability replaces the Magus' Medium Armor class feature.

Way of the Arcane Fist (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, when not wearing any armor, an Arcane Fist Magus adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per Magus class level to her Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class. If a magus is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus.

At 5th level, an Arcane Fist Magus applies her Intelligence modifier as well as her Dexterity modifier on initiative rolls (minimum 0).

At 7th level, the Arcane Fist Magus benefits from Way of The Arcane Fist even when wearing light armor.

This ability replaces the Magus' Heavy Armor class Feature.

Light Armor Proficiency: An Arcane Fist Magus only becomes proficient with light armor when she reaches 7th level. She can cast magus spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance.
Like any other arcane spellcaster, a magus wearing medium armor, heavy armor, or a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component. A multiclass magus still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.
______________________

From my HeroLab builds, it seems this guy will have lower DPR and AC than a normal Magus, but has the advantages of using unarmed strike (can't be disarmed/sundered/stolen/etc and is always armed) without having to pay the exorbitant cost of an AoMF (which is considerably cheaper after Paizo's monk patch, but still too costly for a medium BAB character without TWF/Flurry of Blows).

I'm still a bit worried about its difficulty at enchancing his tattoos. unlike other martials, this guy can't simply loot better weapons. He must either craft them himself or find someone capable and willing to do it for him.

So, what do you guys think?

I'm a bit confused, how do you decide how many spells known a wizard (or witch) has in his spellbook (or familiar)?

Should I assume they only have the extra 2 they get from leveling up? And charge the others from WBL as if they had bought a scroll?

That seems a bit unfair, since it's very possible for a Wizard to defeat an enemy wizard and take his grimoire. Or find more scrolls (although I suppose that'd be deduced from WBL anyway)

I remember seeing a rule about it somewhere, but I just can't find it...

-.-'

Hail, fellow roleplayers! How are you doing today?

I bring you a funny story about a party doing their best not to explore the boss' weakness!

The Boss was a customized Drider who was vulnerable to daylight (being a drow) and positive energy (because she became part of the haunt). She had some rather powerful abilities for her CR (including DR 10, Regeneration, SR 22 and a few spell like abiltiies). She also made it so the very ground tried to attack and entangle anyone who moved. Then she became invisibile and had some fun shooting balls of negative energy!

But all of that could be temporarily shut down with positive energy. And her spells and spell-like abilities had reduced duration in daylight.

The PCs even found an imprisioned spirit who told them that those were the priestess' weaknesses. But the players didn't bother to write it down. So at the time of the next game session, two weeks later, they had forgotten about it. And it was pretty hilarious to see both the Cleric and the Paladin go out of their way to actually avoid channeling energy around the priestess out of fear of healing her!
I was trying my best not to LOL at the table... heh...

I suppose I could have told them... After all, even though the game session was 2 weeks later, it was just few minutes for the characters, but I decided that if someone tells you the weakness of the BBEG right to your face, you better remember it or face the consequences!

In the end, they managed to defeat her the hard way, mostly thanks to Smite Evil and the timely return of the Fighter's courage, and the Cleric finally succeeding its Int check to remember her vulnerability.

This little funny moment of our group inspired me to create this thread!

What about you?

Share your stories about some of the more interesting and unusual encounters you faced or threw at your players!

- A boss with weird weaknesses and/or powers?
- A trap with a creative effect and/or disarming method?
- An enemy with odd tactics or abilities?

How did you figure it out how to defeat it? Or did you do it the old-fashioned way like my players? Did your GM give you clues? Did you have to gather info before facing it?

Tell us!

tl;dr: Share some of the more interesting and unusual challenges your party has faced!

"Martials can't have nice things"
"Casters are too powerful"

These are probably the most common sayings we see in DnD/PF forums, and pretty everyone agrees with one or another of them, probably both.

However, these statements are so overused that most people don't seem to think about why things are like this.

You know, I've loved Fighting Games ever since I first played Street Fighter 2 about 20 years ago. You won't see me winning any major tournament, but I devoted enough time and effort to them that I can tell you a lot about professional players, characters strategies, important tournaments, etc. All my life I've played lots of different Fighting games franchises. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Soul Calibur, Marvel vs Capcom, etc... Each one of them with its own unique design, characters, mechanics and gimmicks.

"But, Lemmy, what the friggin' hell does Street Fighter has to do with Pathfinder! They are completely different games, you dumb f*%#!"

I agree. They are completely different, but please, don't call me a dumb f$@*. It hurts my feelings.
Anyway, from fighting games, I learned something very interesting. Something that is consistently true to pretty much every game ever, from DnD to Mortal Kombat, passing by Magic The Gathering and Super Mario Bros. And quite possibly, to many aspects of real life as well:

Options are the most valuable resource you can have.

Read it again, it's important. It's the whole point of this post.

In fighting fames, just like in PF, we have the concept of "tiers". These tiers are based on character effectiveness. While there is never 100% consensus, there are many points where the players of any given game will agree. e.g.: In Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, people might disagree about who's better, Vergil, Zero or Dr.Doom, but they'll tell you that all 3 of them are incredibly effective.

"Lemmy, you son-of-a-pig, who cares about Dr.Doom? I don't play those stupid fighting games! I play Pathfinder! Screw you!"

I'll let you know that both of my parents are human. And I have no intention of screwing myself.

Back on topic, it's very common for "grapplers" to be at the bottom tier of fighting games. Why is that?
Grapplers are usually big characters with large amounts of health. They are also usually capable of dealings lots of damage with a single move. And yet, this doesn't stop'em from being relatively weak in many games. Game that are exclusivelly about combat, mind you!
The reason this happens is because their insane damage and huge life bars are of no use if the opponent can easility outmaneuver them or keep them away with fireballs. So grapplers have big numbers, but often lack options.
Does that sound familiar? No? Then put the Grappler in a full-plate and give him 11 extra feats. What about now?

On the other hand, top tier characters are usually those who have lots of different options. Good mobility, decent damage output, good space control and/or a good number of offensive and defensive tactics.
Remind you of anything? No? What if give them a meta-magic feat and a familiar or domain? Yeah... These are casters.

So, if in a game which involves combat and only combat, having more options with most often outweight having bigger numbers, what happens when you expand the game to involve non-combat situations? What happens when you expand it to involve pretty much every situation a GM can think of?
What happens is that having extra options becomes even more important, and number tend to mean less. Your number must be high enough to make you options effective, but after a while it doesn't matter.
A character who deals 300 damage per attack is just as good as one who deals 100000 damage per attack, but a character with 10 options is much, much better than a chracter with 5 options.

Wizards are ungodly powerful because they have an answer for pretty much every possible situation. Fighters are (IMO) underpowered because they lack options. Either you can hit the problem with your sword or you can step aside and hope your friends can solve the problem for you.
Of course, you can build a reasonably versatile Fighter. But it takes a lot more effort and investment for a lot less return.

What I mean is: when evaluating how powerful a character/build/class/whatever is, don't focus on its damage output. Focus on options first, and numbers second.

Want to buff Fighters? Giving two extra skill points will help him more than giving him an extra 50 damage to their DPR.
Gunslingers are not OP. Pouncing Barbarians are not broken. Archery is not the most amazingly powerful thing ever.

All of those things can be shut down rather easily. It doesn't take much effort for the GM to think of a way to challenge them.
It's much harder to try and prepare a challenge for a guy who has dozens of different spells to choose from, each one of them completely unrestricted by realism, while the Dragon-Slaying Demon-Hunting God-Killing Epic Fighter can't even jump 20ft in full plate without someone crying foul.

tl;dr: Options are the most valuable resource you can have. Bigger numbers are useful, but not nearly as important. Dealing lots of damage is not that good if damage is all you can do.

I'd like to know what you guys think about this. What classe do you think could use more options? Which ones need bigger numbers? Does any of them has too much of either of them?

Share your views!

Hello, fellow pathfinders, how are you?

Today I come to ask your opinion about fumble rules. Do you use any in your game?

My group uses a few houserules about critical and fumble.

1- You don't need to confirm criticals for natural 20, except for a few critical special effects, such as vorpal weapons (but the multilied damage takes effect anyway).

2- A natural 1 is a Fumble, you may drop your weapon (usually described as an enemy disarming you, so your character doesn't seem incompetent) or something like that.

Well, my players said they like the fumble rules, as they make combat less predictable and more fun. So hey, if they are having fun, that's all that matters!

But I'm a little worried, as they reach higher levels, the chance of losing their weapons increases (due to making more attacks per turn) and the consequences become more dire (being disarmed against a dragon is a lot mroe dangerous than being disarmed against goblins.)

I'm particually worried about the Paladin, because between full BAB, TWFing and what seems to be a talent for rolling natural 1s, he's could be in real trouble.

So, I'd like to tell me your opinions and experience with fumble rules. Do you use them? Why?

I have an idea about "confirming" fumbles. When you roll a nat.1 you roll your attack again, if you hit, that means you just missed the enemy, but if you miss it again, then you suffer the fumble. What do you guys think?

Recently we've had a discussion about Fighters and their feats, and while both sides of had valid points, in the end I'm under the impression that Weapon Focus/Specialization seems almost obligatory for Fighters to have a real advantage in DPR. IMHO, this should not be the case. Fighter should have awesome damage anyway, and the spec tree should be just an options for players who focus completely on damage.

Recently, one of my players became unable to play with us 'til the end of the year. That means the party lost its Barbarian. In order to fill in for him, I wanted to make a Fighter to replace him.

Why a Fighter? Well, first, I want a character with good AC/DPR who is also decent at ranged combat. Second, I don't want to make one of the same class as the character who left, and we already have a Paladin and a Ranger. Lastly, this NPC is not expected to help much outside of combat, he's just filling the "meat shield" role, non-combat problems should be solved without the help of any NPC, even one mostly controlled by the players, so skills are not a real worry. (Even if in my games, Fighters do get 2 extra skill points and a few other buffs)

Thing is, I hate the Weapon spec tree. At most, I just take Weapon Focus because it's a very common prerequisite.

So here is what I'm asking: What are the best ways to raise a character's damage without resorting to Weapon Focus/Specilization?. An no EWP: Falcatas either.
Power Attack/Deadly Aim, Furious Focus and Improved Critical are pretty obvious, but I'm sure there is more than this.

EDIT: Oh, and 3.5 feats are valid suggestions.

Hello again, people!

One of my friends wants to GM a one-shot adventure at 20th level, and it sounded fun, but I can't decide on what to play!

So I come here asking for suggestions!

What would you play in such adventure?

A few notes about the one-shot:

- So far we have a Wizard and a Summoner (I think). So those are out.
- I need something with good saves. This is 20th level, after all!
- This is a neutral/evil camapign, so Paladins won't work.

Here are some of my ideas:

- A Barbarian/Anti-Paladin Hybrid that Pounces enemies and sunder spells!
- A Oracle of Battle focusing on reach weapons.
- An archer Inquisitor (Not sure how good they actually are)
- A Kitsune Sorcerer focused on Compulsion spells.

What do you think?

Hello once more, fellow pathfinders!

So here I am... Fooling around in HeroLab, creating a ninja just for fun. Then I decide to buy a feel Masterwork tools for her.

Of course, HeroLab doesn't limit which skills you buy masterwork tool. So I suddenly got me thinking... "How could I justify a Mwk Tool for skills Bluff or UMD?"

I suppose I could always say it's some kind of book or guide that teaches you how to lie better. But that's no fun and could be used to justify a mwk tool for any skill.

So I came up with things like:

Bluff - Monocle & Fake Mustache: Because everything sounds official when said by someone with a monocle and/or mustache.
Diplomacy - Chocolate: Do I need to explain? The Cocoa Dark Lord has probably saved more relationships than every therapist put together.
Disguise - Common Spectacles. Forget wigs and costumes. If spectacles are good enough for Superman, they are good enough for me!
UMD - Pointy Hat: Now you know why every wizard uses them. It could also be something like a voltimeter, if there is any mundane way to measure magic in the scenario.

Of course, these things could also simply be circumstance bonuses.

That's why I decided to create this thread. Share your funniest and/or most creative way you convinced your GM to give you a circumstance bonus!
e.g: "I know these guys respect Strength, so I'll ask for their help... WHILE FLEXING!!!" or "Do I get a +2 bonus to Stealth if I am wearing slippers?"

tl;dr: Tell us the most creative way you got your GM to grant you a circumstance bonus on a skill roll.

Hello again, fellow Pathfinders!

So, as I start a new campaign (and resume another one that had been in hiatus for a while), I decided I'd invest more in wands/scrolls this time.

That said, the obvious question came to mind... Which spells make good scrolls, and which are better taken as wands.

There are always the obvious wand of CLW and wand of Lesser Restorarion. Maybe one or 2 scrolls of Ressurection at higher levels.

I'm aware that wand/scroll selection changes depending on your party's casters, but what I'm asking is more of a general list. One that is universally useful (like those wands of CLW).

So tell me, what scrolls and wands do you guys usually buy? What about potions?

Hello, guys.

A friend of mine asked me about one Pathfinder image in particular, one of a monk girl in green robes with leaves floating around her. He asked me if I knew this image, and more impaortantly its artist, as he wants to know if he/she has an online art gallery, such as an account in deviantart or similar site.

Problem is, I couldn't find the picture. He knows he's seen it in one of my books, but I have lots of them, so that doesn't really help. And I don't know how to find out the artist name even if I found the image my friend is asking about.

I'm not asking for the image, although I'd like to know here it's from. I just want to know its artist and if he/she has an online gallery.

Thanks for any help.

Okay, guys, here's the deal:

A friend of mine is starting a new characters, he told me he's interested in playing a divine full caster, so either an Oracle or a Cleric.

He really likes the combat part of the game more than roleplaying. And he rolled really, really well.

His stats are 18; 16; 14, 12, 11 and 8. (Without racial bonuses!)

He asked me for advice, as he's not very experienced in char building. So my question for you guys is: How would you distribute these scores?

For an Oracle, I'm torn between:

Str 18 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 8 Cha 18 (more punchy)
or
Str 16 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 8 Cha 20 (more casty)

And would you suggest Mystery of Battle or Mystery of Metal (or, if another Mystery, which one? And why?)
Also, would you rather increase Str or Cha as the Oracle levels up?

I'm leaning towards Oracle of Metal with the "punchy" attribute set,increasing Str at 4th, 8th, 12th and 16th level, and increasing Cha at 16th (to be able to cast 9th level spells even if something happens to his headbanbd), but I'd like to hear your opinions about it first.

What do you guys think?

Hello, there, people.

I've been a fan of Ranger ever since I first played D&D.

Overall, I was very pleased by PF's changes to the class, but I still feel it's slightly underpowered, needing just a little push to be just as effective as Barbarians and Paladins, which are, IMHO, the two best martial classes, and among the best balanced too.

I love Inquisitors, but they pretty much stole the Ranger's thunder. Well, the Tanger does have a few things going for him, but not enough to compete, IMO, a Inquisitor with Feather Domain is basically a Ranger+.

So I wanted to buff Rangers so they become great hunters, trackers, infiltrators and all that jazz. This might cause this homebrew to step on the toes of Rogues and maybe Fighters. I don't really care about that, as they are quite limited anyway, and I do intend to buff them too.

So... Here is the improved Ranger (BTW, I suck at naming abilities, ignore that):

Wild Stalker: Starting at 2nd level, a Ranger adds half her levels in the Ranger class to all Perception, Stealth and Survival checks. Starting at 10th level, a Ranger is capable of tracking even creatures that are usually impossible to track (such as a druid with the Trackless Step ability), although the Ranger does suffers a -10 penalty to her tracking check. At 1th level, a Ranger can completely conceal her scent for as long as she chooses to do so; it becomes impossible to track or detect her by scent.
Keen Senses A Ranger's senses become more effective as she learns more about exploring and surviving in the wilds.
At 2nd level, the Ranger gains low-light vision (triple normal vision range in dim light if she already has low-light vision). At 6th level, she gains darkvision 60 feet (or adds 60 feet to the range of any darkvision already possessed), at 10th level, she gains Scent. At 14th level, she gains Blindsense 30ft. Finally, at 18th level, she gains Blindsight 30ft.
Hunter's Bond: Exactly the same, except the Ranger's effective Druid level is equal to her Ranger levels.

I also considered giving them Trackless Step (at 5th level), Fast Movement (at 8th level) and pretty much everything in the Trapper archetype (it's really not even close to being worth the loss of spell casting, and it's kinda weird that you need an archetype to make traps!), But dropped the idea as it seemed like overkill, and for now this is enough.

How well you think this guy fares compared to Barbarians, Paladins and Inquisitors?

Hello again, folks!

Just now I was checking the custom items I gave to my players in the campaign I'm currently GMing. And I had the idea to ask you guys to share your personal favorite items that you didn't take from any book, but instead, created it yourself!

Gotta say, my personal favorites right now is the Pipe Wrench of Torag.

Pipe Wrench of Torag: Found on the hands of a dead dwarf cleric, this adamantine pipe wrench is immune to all rusting effects and grants its wielder a character a 2 bonus to Disable Device, Knowledge(Engineering) and Knowledge(Religion). It can also cast mending at will.

In combat, it works as a +1 adamantine heavy mace.

There is also a gauntlet named Hand of Iomedae, but I don't remember exactly its properties, as I'm not home right now to check my notes. -.-'

So, tell me, is there an item you created that you think is really cool and interesting, even if it's not the most powerful artifact around?

Share your home-made gadgets with the rest of us!

Who knows, maybe Paizo adds them in the next edition of Ultimate Equipment!

Okay, I was discussing this with a friend last saturday, and he asked me to post clarify this on this forum.

My question is, can a creature with 2 identical natural attacks (in this case, a Catfolk with 2 claws) use both of them as a standard action? And does she have to roll each attack separately os is it one single roll that counts for both attacks?

In my understanding she can't, but on a full attack he gets to have two extra attacks (at -5, or -2 if she has Multi-attack) independently of her BAB, and yes, she must roll each Claw attack separately.

Otherwise, wildshaped druids would get pretty silly.

Also, when does a creature adds 1,5x Str modifier to an attack made with a natural weapon, when it only has one natural weapon, or when it only uses one natural weapon?

e.g.: Could a tiger choose to use only its Bite attack (instead of also using its claws) in order to add 1,5x Str modifier to said Bite?