Kuhani's page

It sounds like this is for a home game. Why not just do it?

You should lose your shield bonus. You should probably take some sort of penalty like when using a buckler.

That's probably as far as mechanics need to go in a home game.

Yes this is a home game with my husband and another couple, on the weekend after the kids go to bed. Not real strict, but I want to be fair mechanics-wise.

I play a Viking-type bard, who appears in battle to be a fighter with buffs. He wields a spiked darkwood heavy shield (which counts as light for weight purposes) in his off-hand and a one handed battle ax in his main hand. He has TWF.
I'm wondering if there is a way to have him grip the ax, while staying in the arm strap, for that extra oomph (1.5 strength) on certain occasions. Roleplay is important so it has to make sense in game. So action-wise perhaps he is letting go of the grip strap while keeping the arm strapped in, if gripping the weapon while still being in the grip doesn't seem plausible.
My GM and I are looking at perhaps creating a situational feat, enchantment, etc, and I thought I'd get some messageboard feedback as well.
A heavy shield that is made of darkwood weighs that of a light shield. A light shield's weight allows the weilder to carry something in that hand, but not wield a weapon. The weapon would still be wielded in his main hand. But a bit of extra power would be applied with the off hand (.5 strength).
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I have a witch that uses the spell Blood Money to "pay" for material components of spells. Her strength is only 11, so I would like examples of what state she would be in after applying this strength damage in her swift action. Would she even be able to cast the main spell? Could she stand up still? It's perhaps just roleplay (which is actually very important in our games) but it could make a difference otherwise as well.

One of our players has taken over for the DM, to give him a much-needed break. He's great with role play, but gets frustrated with Pathfinder rules. So any help here is appreciated.
If a character uses the scry spell to contact an ally who has infiltrated an enemy camp, can others hear/detect anything said by the scryer using Message? Usually, without scry, someone near the target gets to roll for a chance to hear it. But since the Scry spell has a save, does that mean those other than the target automatically made it?

With only 1 feat you managed to generate, how many new story hooks? Each of those followers has their own needs, desires, weaknesses, problems, etc., all of which the party now has a reason to be involved with. As a GM I get excited when players want to do that - it makes my job a LOT easier and more fun!

Before I took Leadership, these people were contacts/acquaintances. Now they simply have more to do with the story, and have become reoccurring NPCs who favor the party. Some of the guys at the table actually think that I wasted a feat by taking it. There are many times in our games when people play several characters. I could have just kept playing both roles (having no cohort) and the followers would stay as contacts. But I like the story arcs that can come out of the feat.

So with one feat you doubled your action economy in combat,

When I said that I try to play the cohort as still a goblin at heart, here is an example of what I mean:

So with one feat you doubled your action economy in combat, got a bunch of new abilities, the wealth of gear that a 5th level character comes with, picked up access to the resources of a library, and put a great deal of narrative focus on your character?

Other "good" feats offer things like ... a bonus to damage if you take a penalty on your attack roll.

There is no "wealth of gear". My witch has provided all of the cohort's equipment from the start, as she is acting as his mother. He does not get a split of the loot, as she provides him with what he needs. Plus if there is an item that she feels he could use, it is put in as her share. She is splitting her gain with the cohort. No extra at all. The gain of the cohort has limited her advancement monetarily. As I think role play is more important, and fun, I'm okay with that.

She had purchased the library long before I even thought about taking the leadership feat. The librarian maintained his position there and runs it how he sees fit.

Our campaign is very role play oriented. There are months where there is no combat at all. And it has been nearly a year out of game since we have been to a town/place where we can sell/trade items for gold.

I have no idea what you're trying to say and I don't care enough to wade through your wall of text. From the title, I assume you're going to say Leadership isn't always broken? I'm pretty sure everyone agrees on that. The problem is it's too easily abused and takes up more time.

Honestly I wasn't looking for comments regarding only the title. (I don't see much point in you even bothering to comment at all.) If you aren't interested in a post, perhaps just keep on scrolling till you find one that does interest you. :-)

I have an 8th level witch, who is desperately trying to learn any and all magics to heal, reincarnate, raise, and someday resurrect, due to a terrible family incident in her past. At level 4 she found a baby goblin, whom she raised as her child. He became quite civilized (although he gets distracted extremely easily). At level 7 she took the Leadership feat and he became the witch's cohort, as a rogue/alchemist throwing bombs from the back of a giant vulture (no item creation feats). My DM lets me play him, and I do my best to keep him still a goblin at heart, not my main character, and out of immediate danger (except for trap finding), as he is 2 levels behind her. Along the way, she has acquired a library, and the librarian has become one of her followers. She corresponds with him to expand his knowledge and that of the library. He does as he wishes with the building and its income, but my DM plays it that he is loyal to her, and I play her to be respectful of him and his life. She also has several followers in different temples throughout the lands they have ventured through. Also some town leaders' assistants, to keep up on the going's ons. Again, more of an information chain up to this point.

When fighting a demon possessed man, my witch found out that he was actually a summoner. At the age of 14, he had stolen his grandfather's book about being a summoner and attempted to summon an eidelon. Instead, everything went completely wrong, and he accidentally opened up a pathway for a demon to bind itself to him. (The boy actually would become the demon, then break out of the dead-looking demon when it had left him.) This demon then went on a rampage and killed his entire family, and many of the townsfolk. The kid had no control over what it did, as he was pretty much just viewing it from the back seat. After it was done with it's destruction, it would go away for a while and leave him, with the horror and terrible regret of what he/it had done.

My witch realized that it wasn't the man fighting, after she thought she killed it and the now-19-year-old broke out of its "shell", weaping, quivering, and begging for it to end. After some confusion, then comforting by the witch, he explained that the only way to separate them was to kill the man, which he was hoping the she would do. (The demon would possess him any time he had tried to kill himself, stopping him and causing him even more regret.) When asked if he would mind coming back as another race, he seemed extremely relieved. And just as he agreed, his eyes rolled back as they had when he had "turned" before, and she abruptly killed him.

She put him in a stasis, using a spell (Carry Corpse) my DM and I made up. She will be able to Reincarnate very soon and plans on bringing him back as soon as possible. She will stay with him in a Secure Shelter, comforting him, helping him to come to terms with his new self (and his old self) and helping him learn his new "levels". He will be her first 2nd Level follower after all that. My DM and I have discussed this and he will be playing it that the kid will be very grateful to her, and he will also look up to her as a mother-figure (something she is in desperate need of, after the death of her real child). He will be a scribe and will continue to stay in a Secure Shelter while traveling with her and the party, documenting the things that happen to them. If he does not see first hand, she will replay events in the evenings, or whenever, with the help of her staff that has Silent Image and Ghost Sound enchantments. He will then become part of her library network, someday getting his own library to run, when they both feel he is ready.

I don't feel this is any kind of abuse of the leadership feat, but I keep reading thread after thread about how any use of the feat is abusive. So I thought I'd post this and see what you all thought. Would you allow this use of the feat in your games? Is it just the free item creation feats that ruin it?

Note: This is not a complete telling of the story, as it has been going on for years. But it is the basics of how the feat is being used by me and my DM. (Mostly role playing/information, and no extra crafting feats.)