Koja of Khazari's page

#2 is correct. Everyone has a Natural Armor bonus, humans just have one of +0.

I was kind of leaning that way myself. It does lead to some strange situations with the advanced simple template, but it does make more sense overall from a rules perspective. I just wish this was made clear in the rules somewhere other than at the end of the description paragraph of one of the spells in the core rulebook. I suppose this comes from the fact that the only way players have to improve natural armor is through barkskin (or an amulet of natural armor), so that's the only place in the book where that information would be relevant.

The advanced simple template states that (among other things) you increase the base creature's natural armor by +2. My question is, for a creature without natural armor, what happens? The way I see it, there are two options:

1. A creature without natural armor has no natural armor bonus to increase, so there is nothing to add the +2 bonus to.

2. A creature without natural armor has a natural armor bonus of +0, so the template increases the creatures natural armor bonus to +2.

In my head, #1 makes more sense in the game world. Just because a creature is bigger and tougher doesn't mean its skin turns into leather or chitin or something. But the barkskin spell states that "a creature without natural armor has an effective natural armor bonus of +0", which would support #2. This would seem to answer the question already, but I'm not sure whether that line from barkskin is meant to pertain only to the spell itself. That is, is the line I quoted from barkskin the rule on natural armor, or an exception to the rule on natural armor?

Anonymous Warrior wrote:

I've got misgivings about Animate Animal. It just seems ripe for abuse.

As for animate animal, I agree.

What if I remove the part where it obeys your spoken commands? It just comes to life and shambles around a bit. If you want it to do something specific, you have to command it through some other means. Maybe it automatically attacks your enemies (like summon monster), but that's it (it's pretty useless as a combatant anyway, even at 1st level). With this version, it might not even follow you unless you find a way to command it.

Anonymous Warrior wrote:

Besides, as soon as +1 Longbows are a thing, this spell becomes practically worthless.

The way that sharpen is written, it would stack with an enhancement bonus.

I'll change sharpen so it provides an enhancement bonus. The whetstone should probably have the same change.

Also maybe just make sharpen target melee weapons?

I'm thinking this might be a good idea after all. There's a big difference between 4 arrows an hour and 600 arrows an hour. This effectively transforms every masterwork longbow into a +1 longbow.

Looking closer at the whetstone, and by a very strict reading of the rules, it doesn't work on ammunition. Not sure if that's intended, but if it is, I can see why now.

I would add that spook doesn't stack if the target is already shaken.

Quote:

This actually goes without saying. Conditions like shaken, dazzled, sickened, etc. never stack with themselves.

Not quite.

Quote:

Becoming Even More Fearful: Fear effects are cumulative. A shaken character who is made shaken again becomes frightened, and a shaken character who is made frightened becomes panicked instead. A frightened character who is made shaken or frightened becomes panicked instead.

So if the target is already shaken, a casting of spook will make them frightened.

Oops. Good catch, thanks.

Jinx is OK. It's very similar to my Minor Curse except the duration which I increased to make up for the saving throw. And it's enchantment vs necromancy, and similar differences.

Similar differences... hmmmm :)

I actually had a hard time choosing a school for this one. Guidance is a divination, but a spell that essentially does the opposite clearly isn't divination. I dismissed necromancy, since the penalty isn't fear-based, and it's not really affecting the life-force or anything (though thinking of it as a curse makes sense). It's not an illusion, it's not a transmutation, I couldn't justify making it universal... I finally settled on enchantment, reasoning that it places a self-sabotaging compulsion in the target's mind. This also means that undead, constructs, etc. are immune, which works thematically.

I like your minor curse, but I'm thinking of a rebuild of it for my game, so jinx and minor curse can coexist in the same world without too much overlap. The way I'd build it is to be more of an opposite to resistance. Necromancy, close range, 1 minute duration, Will negates, -1 to all saves for the full duration. What do you think?

I would add that spook doesn't stack if the target is already shaken.

This actually goes without saying. Conditions like shaken, dazzled, sickened, etc. never stack with themselves.

Looking at sharpen, I'm guessing you got the idea for the mechanics looking at the Whetstone. Since you can already do what your doing permanently to a set of 32 arrows for 1 silver piece (just hire out an untrained hireling), I don't really see an issue. Besides, as soon as +1 Longbows are a thing, this spell becomes practically worthless.

You make a good point. You are correct that I was looking at the whetstone as the basis for sharpen. I thought it reasonable that a 0-level spell could do in seconds what a mundane piece of equipment can do in minutes. My concern regarding arrows came from the difference between 4 per hour vs. 10 per minute. Mudfoot's solution works from a game balance perspective, but I don't like how it turns it from a mundane result into an ongoing spell effect. Moto Muck's solution works as well, but it does so by placing an artificial restriction on the spell that is hard to justify in the game world (other spells do this, of course, but I like to avoid it where possible). But ultimately, "solving" the arrow problem simply means that anyone who wants a quiver full of properly honed arrows needs to spend several hours of downtime with a whetstone (or, as you say, hire an unskilled laborer). Sparing the player that chore hardly seems game-breaking in that light.

I've got misgivings about Animate Animal. It just seems ripe for abuse. I forsee wizards stocking up on dead snapping turtles, sending these to see if the way is clear of traps.

I understand where you're coming from, but I don't see the scenario you describe as abuse. I actually did think about this as I was conceptualizing the spell. It's the most obvious use of the spell for adventurers. But sending a tiny animal down a hallway should rarely actually find a trap. They are simply too light to trigger any but the most sensitive pressure plates, will miss trip wires unless they are placed low enough, and are probably too close to the ground to trigger invisible beams or the like. Most trap designers don't want their traps going off every time a mouse happens by, so they design their traps accordingly. I'm not saying that a zombified weasel shambling down a trapped hallway would never successfully discover a trap, but it's hardly a foolproof technique. As for magic traps that vaporize everything that passes through, there is already a 0-level spell to detect those. It's called detect magic.

Another issue is that most PCs are of an alignment that would take issue with animating the dead for any purpose. Carrying around a bagful of roadkill for use as undead mine detectors doesn't mesh well with many PCs' moral codes. Good-aligned clerics can't cast the spell at all, and are unlikely to approve of another character in the group doing so. In any case, repeatedly casting evil spells will likely have negative consequences over time for nonevil characters.

Animate animal already exists in my world (none of the rest of these cantrips have been added yet). The party wizard found it in the spellbook of a vanquished necromancer. It hasn't caused any problems yet, but this is due mostly to the fact that the cleric couldn't cast it even if he didn't find the idea utterly abhorrent, and the wizard won't add it to her spellbook because it's disgusting, and she knows she'd never use it.

Another thought: fester ought to have the evil descriptor, huh?

Animate Animal

I'm looking for feedback on all of these. I've posted animate animal before, but I included it here, because why not? I'm looking for any glaring balance issues, suggestions for improvement, stuff like that. In particular, I'm wondering a couple of things:
1. Should jinx give a -2 penalty? (I envisioned it as a sort of opposite to guidance, but I wonder if -1 is too weak considering the victim gets a save.)
2. Is sharpen a problem, given that arrows exist?

I like to listen to audiobooks at work, and it'd be really great to be able to listen to Pathfinder Tales that way. Too bad it's only available on Audible, otherwise I'd be all over this! :(

Here's my conversion of the greater doppelganger. I went with a doppelganger variant instead of a full monster build because, for one thing, it is a variant doppelganger, and treating it as such seems to be in line with the Pathfinder design philosophy. As presented, its base CR will be a good deal lower than the 3rd edition version. I don't see this as a problem in itself, considering that its CR will be adjusted upward if it absorbs a particularly powerful personality. In fact, one of the problems with the original monster was that its power could vary widely depending on the identities it had consumed, yet it had a flat CR of 12.

I also attempted to address some other areas that were either vague, nonsensical, or clumsy. I think the result works pretty well.

Doppelganger variant- Mirrorkin (Greater Doppelganger)

A greater doppelganger, also known as a mirrorkin, is a normal doppelganger with the advanced simple template, as well as a number of additional abilities. A mirrorkin will frequently have levels in a character class as well.

Challenge rating: As a normal doppelganger +2 (includes advanced simple template). When calculating the CR of an individual mirrorkin, the class levels of its already consumed identities (see consume identity ability) should be factored in to the overall CR of the encounter. Add +1 to the mirrorkin's CR for every 2 levels possessed by the highest level identity the mirrorkin has consumed (excluding divine spellcasting classes).

Defensive abilities: Instead of immunity to charm and sleep, a mirrorkin gains immunity to all mind-affecting effects. In addition, a mirrorkin is immune to any effect that detects alignment. If the mirrorkin is wearing the guise of an identity it has consumed (see consume identity ability), it may choose to reveal the identity's alignment or keep it hidden.

Special attacks: A mirrorkin gains the following special attacks.

Polymorph Rend (Su): A mirrorkin can make a touch attack against a creature that is under the effect of a polymorph spell or effect, or any other shapechanging ability. If successful, this touch attack deals 6d6 points of damage, and causes the creature to revert to its natural form unless it succeeds on a Fortitude save. The save DC for this ability is 10 + 1/2 the mirrorkin's HD + the mirrorkin's Cha modifier.

Consume Identity (Su): A mirrorkin can absorb the mind, memories, and personality of other humanoid creatures of Small or Medium size. To do so, it must spend at least 1 minute in physical contact with its victim. In general, this means the victim must be helpless. This process doesn't remove the victim's memories and personality, though it does severely damage the victim's mind, dealing 2d6 points of damage to the victim's Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma (roll separately for each). If the victim is conscious for this process, it is an extremely traumatic experience, as his thoughts, memories, emotions, and even his basic sense of self are violated against his will. If the intended victim is dead, the mirrorkin can still consume his identity. To do so, the mirrorkin must consume the victim's brain within 1 hour of his death.

Once the mirrorkin has consumed a victim's identity, it can then assume the victim's form with total accuracy. The mirrorkin possesses all the victim's memories, personality, and even abilities. Essentially, the mirrorkin now is that person; racial abilities, class levels, hit dice, ability scores, skills, feats, even alignment are matched perfectly, and even the victim's closest friends and family can't tell the difference (no disguise check is needed; the copy is that perfect). The only exception to this is divine spells and divinely granted abilities, such as a paladin's lay on hands ability. For this reason, mirrorkin rarely consume the identities of such characters. (As a rule of thumb, any class ability that can be lost by violating a code of ethics cannot be emulated by a mirrorkin assuming the identity of one of that class.) The mirrorkin still has access to its own abilities, including any class abilities it may have. At any time, it may use its own ability scores rather than those of its assumed identity (this is a deliberate act; it will never do so accidentally).

The mirrorkin always uses either its own hp total (modified by its current Con score) or the hp total of its assumed identity, whichever is higher. Any damage the mirrorkin has taken in one form remains if it changes form before being killed. If the damage taken by the previous form exceeds the maximum hp of the new form, the mirrorkin does not die immediately; the newly assumed form (whether consumed identity, normal shapechange, or natural form) will always have at least 1 hp per hit die.
[I'm not sure I like handling hp this way. My original idea was to always use the mirrorkin's own hp total, modified by its current Con, but that sort of falls apart when assuming the identity of, say, a 14th-level fighter, while still having an average of 34 hp or so. The way I have it now should work pretty well, and the few weird corner cases it produces are neither likely nor particularly problematic, but I admit it feels a bit clunky, and I'm open to suggestions for improving it.]

A mirrorkin can hold a number of identities equal to 3 + its Cha modifier. If it ever exceeds this limit, it must immediately lose one identity of its choice. Mirrorkin with the resources to do so might keep their victims alive in captivity, so they can later absorb their identity again.

I'm currently leaning toward having it still count as a creature of its type, simply due to the "rule of cool". It's more interesting to have the demon "statue" radiate an aura of evil, revealing that the "statue" is more than it appears. Maybe other fell creatures are attracted to the petrified demon, worshiping it as a god or just basking in its evil glow.

Coolness aside, I really kind of need to work this one out. Is a petrified creature an inanimate object, or is it still a creature of its type (and subtypes) that is suffering from a severe affliction? What do the aforementioned spells do? Does a bane hammer do its extra damage when you try to smash the "statue" to pieces?

Here's a strange one: does a petrified creature still count as a creature of its type, plus any subtypes, or does it count only as an inanimate object until it is restored to flesh? For example, does a petrified demon still count as a demon, or is it effectively just a statue of a demon? If someone casts detect evil, is the petrified demon detected? If someone casts dismissal or dispel evil on the petrified demon, does the spell succeed because it's an evil outsider (and does it still get a Will save), or does it fail because it's a stone object?

And here is the infestation itself, admittedly written a bit clumsily:

Kyuss Worms

Kyuss worms are supernatural parasites that infest the undead that bear their name. When they come in contact with living flesh, they burrow into the skin, make their way to the unfortunate victim's brain, and consume it. The victim usually dies screaming, only to rise moments later as a new wormspawn zombie. The infestation can be stopped any time after the worm has entered the target's body by casting remove curse or remove disease. These spells instantly and automatically destroy all Kyuss worms currently infesting the target's body.
The infestation can be broken into four phases: contact, invasion, consumption, and transformation.

Contact: The worm is burrowing in through the skin of its host. This process inflicts 1 hp per round, and lasts one round, plus one additional round per point of natural armor bonus possessed by the target (any amount of damage reduction is enough to provide immunity to the worms). During this phase, the worm is considered helpless. It can be killed by normal damage (with the host taking half as much damage as the worm), by applying fire (which deals 1d6 damage to the host), by the touch of silver (a touch attack with a silver object, such as a coin), or simply pulled off with a DC 12 Strength check (a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity). The worm is a Fine vermin with AC 13 and 1 hp. No roll to hit is necessary if a full-round action is taken (see rules for helpless defenders). If the worm successfully burrows into the skin, proceed to the invasion phase.

Invasion: The worm is inside the target's body, making its way to the brain. This is extremely painful, and inflicts 1 point of Constitution damage per round. The worm uses the inflicted pain to navigate its way to the brain. During this phase, the worms can be cut out using a slashing weapon. This requires a DC 20 Heal check, and inflicts 1d6 points of damage per round that the host has been infected, even if the check is failed. Surgeon's tools (Ultimate Equipment p.79) can also be used, and provide their listed bonus to the check. If the implement being used to cut the worm out is silver, it grants a +4 bonus to the check. If the Heal check is successful, one worm is removed. This phase lasts 1d4+1 rounds, after which time the worm has reached the brain. Any effect that suppresses pain (such as delay pain) adds its listed duration to to this phase of the infestation, buying valuable time to try and remove the worm. (Since the worm uses the pain it causes to find its way to the brain, completely suppressing pain effectively causes the worm to become lost in the victim's body.)

Consumption: The worm is now eating its way through the victim's brain, inflicting 1d2 points of Intelligence damage per round. During this phase of the infestation, the victim is actually in less pain, but becomes increasingly incoherent as his intelligence is eaten away. The victim can sense the worm inside his brain, eating through his knowledge and memories, and knows he is doomed. At this point, the only way to save the victim is through magic. Once the victim reaches 0 Intelligence, he dies, and proceeds immediately to the transformation phase.

Transformation: Once the victim has died, the worm starts reproducing with unnatural swiftness. Anyone who dies while infested with Kyuss worms (whether or not the death was actually caused by the infestation) rises as a wormspawn zombie 1d6+4 rounds later, worms bursting from every orifice of the host's head. At this point in the infestation, sanctify corpse will work normally, but remove curse and remove disease only have a 5% chance of successfully killing all the worms and preventing reanimation, though such magic does serve to delay the transformation by 2d4 rounds. Furthermore, if anyone touches the corpse during this time (for example, to cast one of the aforementioned spells) there is a 50% chance that 1d3 worms burst forth to attempt to claim them as a new host (a DC 15 Reflex save avoids the worms). If the corpse is somehow prevented from reanimating, any worms infesting it will die in 1d4 minutes unless they can find a new host. The worms burrow their way out of the body and instinctively locate the nearest suitable living creature, inching their way slowly toward it. If noticed, these worms are easily dispatched by merely crushing them under one's boot.

Here is my take on the Spawn of Kyuss.

Zombie variant- Wormspawn

Challenge rating: As a normal zombie +2
Fast healing: A wormspawn zombie has fast healing equal to 1 per hit die it possesses.
Defensive abilities: Instead of DR 5/slashing, a wormspawn zombie gains DR 5/silver. In addition, a wormspawn zombie gains channel resistance +2. Anyone who strikes a wormspawn zombie with a natural weapon or unarmed attack is subject to the bestow worm ability (see below) unless he succeeds on a DC 15 Reflex save. Anyone who begins his turn in a grapple with a wormspawn zombie is automatically subject to 1d3 worms via the bestow worm ability.
Special attacks: A wormspawn zombie gains the following special attacks.
Bestow Worm (Su): A wormspawn zombie can transfer a worm from its own body to that of an opponent. It does so automatically whenever it hits with a natural weapon, or it can do so deliberately by making a melee touch attack, or by throwing or spitting a worm up to 10 ft. as a ranged touch attack. Unlike most touch attacks, the bestow worm ability has a special caveat: if the target is wearing silver or mithral armor, or using a silver or mithral shield, he may add its armor and/or shield bonus (not including any enhancement bonuses) to his touch AC against the bestow worm ability. If the attack is successful, a worm is transferred to the victim, where it latches on and begins burrowing in, and the victim has contracted the Kyuss worm infestation.
Disease (Su): Any natural attack of the wormspawn zombie carries the Kyuss' gift supernatural disease, which manifests as rotting flesh and dementia. Kyuss' Gift: injury; save Fort DC 10 + 1/2 the zombie's HD + the zombie's Cha modifier; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d6 Con and 1d4 Wis damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. Anyone afflicted with this disease receives only half of the normal benefit from any healing effect, whether natural or magical. This effect begins immediately upon failing the initial save to resist the disease, and only ends when the disease is finally cured.
Abilities: As a standard zombie, but the worms infesting its body grant it a +4 enhancement bonus to Charisma. In addition, wormspawn zombies are not mindless, and possess an Intelligence score equal to the base creature or 6, whichever is lower.
Skills: A wormspawn zombie gains skill ranks according to its hit dice. These are usually distributed more-or-less evenly between Climb, Perception, and Stealth.
Feats: A wormspawn zombie keeps Toughness as a bonus feat, and gains additional feats according to its HD. These are generally simple feats, such as Skill Focus or Weapon Focus, or feats the base creature possessed as bonus feats.
Special qualities: A wormspawn zombie does not gain the staggered special quality. Instead, it gains the following special quality.
Curative vulnerability (Su): If a wormspawn zombie is targeted by remove curse or remove disease (or a more powerful version of either spell), many of its abilities are suppressed. The zombie gets a Will save to resist this effect. If the save is failed, the zombie loses its bestow worm ability, channel resistance, damage reduction, enhancement bonus to Charisma, and fast healing, and also loses its Intelligence score, becoming mindless. These abilities are suppressed for 2d4 rounds unless the wormspawn zombie rolls a natural 1 on its Will save, in which case the worms in its body are completely destroyed, and the suppressed abilities are lost permanently.

It's not listed, but it does have a racial +8 bonus to climb checks, same as any creature that has a natural climb speed.

Crap, I totally missed that! I know about that modifier too, but missed that it has a natural climb speed. Rookie mistake. Got so hung up on the modifier math that I missed the obvious o_0

I'm looking at the wolverine in the Bestiary, and its skill numbers seem a bit off.

The two skills listed are Climb +10 and Perception +10.

A wolverine has 15 Str and 12 Wis. At 3 HD, it should get 3 total skill ranks. It also has Skill Focus (Perception).

So, if we assume all 3 skill ranks go into Perception, we get Perception +10 (+1 Wis, +3 skill ranks, +3 class skill bonus, +3 Skill Focus feat). This leaves no points left for Climb, which no longer belongs in the stat block at all (Climb +2 due to Str only).

If, on the other hand, we assume all 3 skill ranks go into Climb, we get Climb +8 (+2 Str, +3 skill ranks, +3 class skill bonus), which will only increase to +10 if the wolverine is raging (additional +2 Strength bonus). This leaves Perception at +4 (+1 Wis, +3 Skill Focus feat).

No matter how you juggle the skill ranks, there is no way to get the wolverine up to the numbers in the stat block.

The situation for the dire wolverine is similar. Both skills are listed at +12; either skill can reach +12 if all available skill ranks are assigned to it, but not both.

Am I missing something? Is there a racial bonus that should be included, but isn't listed? A +8 racial bonus to Climb checks would solve the problem for both the normal and dire variants, but there is no such bonus listed.

I like this a lot, it seems fairly balanced. My only concern is that the duration may be too long, maybe only ten minutes.

I'm actually thinking the same thing, just a flat 10 minutes. I went with 1 hour, because prestidigitation, but I agree that is perhaps too long. 1 minute is too short, 10 minutes seems just right. Now if I can just figure out how to edit my post...

I don't think it is balanced at all for a 0 level spell. Cantrips are not supposed to be able to do much.

Remove the DR. A dead rat is not going to be any tougher than a live rat to a medium size creature.

Also, 1d8+3 hit points is too high for a creature that may have 2 or 3 hit points when it is alive. Maybe 4 or 5 (if you remove the DR).

Lastly, make the duration 1 round per level at most.

Sure it's balanced. It's not any more powerful than being able to spam 1d3 acid damage per round, or to detect magic as often as you want, or to do 5lb. telekinesis at will. You're right when you say cantrips aren't supposed to be able to do much. Causing a dead squirrel to shamble about for a little while isn't much.

If anything it's a weak choice for an attack spell; in addition to having a miserable attack modifier and negligible damage, it has to enter the target's square to attack, provoking an attack of opportunity in doing so, (this may take several rounds to accomplish, due to being staggered). Also, they are no help to rogues looking for a flank.

The DR is because it's a zombie, and zombies have DR. Stabbing with a spear isn't going to do too much to a cat without functioning organs, but chopping it with an axe will work fine.

Also, 1d8+3 hp is the exact right number for a creature that had a d8 hit die when it was alive, and gained toughness when it got animated.

The suggested CR for a 1HD zombie is 1/4. In this case, even that's a little too high, considering the live versions of the animals are more formidable opponents than their zombified counterparts (even before you factor in the staggered special quality), and most of them have a CR of 1/4 or better. The only thing that gets better for a zombie animal is its durability. Everything else gets worse, since just about all the good stuff the zombie template grants (bonus HD, natural armor) doesn't apply, and all the bad stuff (loss of Weapon Finesse feat, staggered condition) does. My point? Certainly not overpowered. In a combat, your zombie pet can be safely ignored in most cases.

Animate Animal

School: Necromancy [Evil]
Level: cleric 0, sorcerer/wizard 0
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S
Range: touch
Target: one animal corpse of Tiny size or smaller
Duration: 1 hour
Saving Throw: none Spell Resistance: no

This spell turns the corpse of a normal animal (no larger than a common housecat) into a zombie that obeys your spoken commands. It remains animated until it is destroyed or the spell expires. No individual animal may be animated more than once by this spell. Undead created by animate animal do not count against your total HD of controlled undead. The corpse to be animated must be mostly intact, or the spell will not work.

You can only have one animate animal spell active at any one time. If you cast this spell while another casting is in effect, the previous casting is dispelled. If you make this spell permanent (through permanency or a similar effect), it does not count against this limit.

Pages 131-133 of the Pathfinder Bestiary contain examples of animals that can be animated by this spell. An animated animal has the following statistics:

Defense
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 12
HD 1d8+3 (7 hp)
Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +2.
DR 5/slashing.

Offense
Speed 20 ft. if Tiny (10 ft. for birds), 5 ft. if Diminutive; bats and birds can fly at a speed of 60 ft. (clumsy)
Melee natural weapon -2 (1 point of damage) using whatever natural attack is appropriate to the animal
CMB -2 CMD 9

Special Qualities: staggered

If the GM prefers, full rules for converting a creature into a zombie can be found on pages 288-289 of the Bestiary.
[end spell description]

I was picturing this as a cantrip used in wizard academies to teach students the basic principles of necromancy. I was thinking of it as something viewed by the students with a certain amount of trepidation, like having to dissect a frog in biology class.

I had this vision of something like that scene in the first Harry Potter movie, where the students are trying to get a feather to levitate. Only this time, they're waving their wands over a bunch of dead animals (squirrels, pigeons, snakes, etc.), trying to get them to come back to some mockery of life. The gifted kid gets it right away, a few others get some promising twitches, others can't seem to get any movement at all and get frustrated. One kid faints when he finally gets his animal to move.

I had some "quick conversion" rules in my first draft, but I dropped them in favor of a standard stat array for the sake of game balance and ease of use. The deleted rules look like this:

Parsing it is easy because of a few factors. We know how overrun works normally. You move and the combat maneuver makes an exception letting you spend a standard action during the move.

For charge we have two examples of other charges. Normal charge double move single attack. If you charge the person being overrun is the target of the charge. You double move and somewhere in there can overrun someone. As I said earlier we know this is how it works as doing anything else requires rules exceptions that are not provided.

This is correct. The rules for overrun are worded badly in the core book to be sure, but this is the way it works. There is no need to make it any more complicated than this, parsing language, trying to decode some secret power by reading between the lines. If overrun did anything more interesting than let you move through an enemy's square (possibly knocking him down), it would say so in the book. It would, perhaps, be worded badly, but there would at least be something to debate.

Charge Through does exactly what it says in the feat description: let you overrun one guy to reach another with a charge. The purpose of this is obvious.

Elephant Stomp does exactly what it says in the feat description: let you turn your overrun into a melee attack if you roll high enough on your overrun attempt. The purpose of this less clear, since it is generally better to just run up to your opponent and attack him if your goal is to damage him. If your goal is to get to the other side of him, then you overrun. All Elephant Stomp does for you is let you change your mind in the middle of an overrun if you get a good roll.

We ran into trouble with overrun in our last game. I think I have it figured out now, and I emailed the player with the solution. I'll post the contents of that email here, in the hope that it helps to clear this issue up in the absence of a FAQ entry:

"I've figured out the confusing bits about overrun. Part of the problem is poor choice of wording in the book, which doesn't make it exactly clear what it does, and what it doesn't do. So here goes:

Overrun is a combat maneuver designed to allow you to move through an enemy's space. The whole purpose of it is to get to a position you couldn't otherwise reach. The movement is the point, the potential for knocking them down is just gravy. It's a standard action, and since you only get one standard action per round, you can't overrun multiple targets.

What makes it a bit confusing is that it's a standard action you take DURING your move, not before or after moving. So you can move, say, 10 feet, perform your overrun, and if you're successful, you get to complete your movement. Interestingly, it doesn't specify that the movement has to be in a straight line.

The alternative use, the "as part of a charge" part, is the part we were interpreting wrong. It doesn't mean you get to overrun one opponent to charge the one behind him. It simply means you can double-move in a straight line and make an overrun on the way. There is a feat in the Advanced Player's Guide (Charge Through), that allows you to overrun one guy to attack another, which tells me you can't do this normally.

So, you can move up to 30 feet, turning and zigzagging as you wish, and attempt to move through one opponent's space on the way as your standard action. Or, you can move up to 60 feet, in a straight line, and attempt to move through one opponent's space as your action during the charge, and your AC is penalized by -2 until your next turn (as per charging). Although it doesn't say so, I think you get a +2 to your Overrun attempt in this case (same as a charging Bull rush).

The way I see it, to use football analogies, a Bull Rush is what the defensive player does TO the ball carrier, driving them back, or out of bounds. The goal is to move the target. Overrun is what the offensive player does AS the ball carrier, charging through the defender or knocking him aside with a stiffarm. The goal is to get past the target."

What if the pcs want to buy two of a magic item do I roll once and see if it is a success then roll another time to see if the quantity on the market is more than 1 and so on? It does say you only need to wait a week if you fail right. Does that mean they can buy another right away?

An old post, but I thought I'd reply anyway, in case you're still thinking about this.

By a strict interpretation of the rules, I would say yes, you roll again to see if there is another after they find one. However, I would personally reduce the percentage by a set amount (say, 15%) for each consecutive roll. Or, you could just cap the amount of a particular item that can be available at a given time. It really depends on how much "magic market syndrome" you are willing to accept in your game.

I'm slowly, on an as-needed basis, converting Forgotten Realms domains into Pathfinder domains or subdomains, as appropriate. So, here's my conversion for the Hatred domain:

Hatred Subdomain
Associated Domain: Evil
Replacement Power: The following granted power replaces the scythe of evil power of the Evil domain.
True Loathing (Su): At 8th level, you can give a weapon touched the bane special quality for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level. Each time you use this ability, you must choose a creature type (or subtype, in the case of humanoids and outsiders). You can use this ability once per day at 8th level, and an additional time per day for every four levels beyond 8th.
Replacement Domain Spells: 1st level- wrath (from Advanced Player's Guide), 3rd level- bestow curse, 6th level- song of discord.

I decided to make Hatred a subdomain of Evil because, for one, it's an obvious fit. Also, upon looking over the Forgotten Realms deities that grant the Hatred domain, I found that every single one, without exception (and perhaps obviously), was evil (and thus grants the Evil domain anyway). The two domains even have a key spell in common (blasphemy).

The "true loathing" power was modeled after similar powers granted by the alignment domains. The bane weapon quality is a bit weaker than the unholy weapon quality (looking at the weapon qualities in the core rulebook, bane is a +1, while holy/unholy/axiomatic/anarchic are all +2). However, I figure the ability to choose your creature type before each use balances that apparent weakness.

Wrath is a 1st-level inquisitor spell from the APG, but it's a perfect fit, and even resembles the Hatred domain power from the FRCS. Anyone using subdomains probably has the APG, but on the outside chance that you don't (and you should!), I recommend instead using doom from the core rulebook.

Song of Discord is a 5th-level bard spell. Bards start casting 5th-level spells at 13th level. Making it a 6th-level domain spell means clerics with the Hatred domain can cast it at 11th level, which is, I think, thematically appropriate. Also, this means it replaces create undead, and leaves blasphemy intact as the 7th-level spell (imagine not getting a spell called blasphemy as part of the Hatred domain!).

Hopefully this will be of use to someone. If anyone has any ideas to make it better, or sees a game-breaking balance issue I may have missed, I'm all ears... er, eyes?