Goblin Squad Member. Organized Play Member. 281 posts (1,172 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 2 Organized Play characters. 17 aliases.
Charisma measures a character's personality, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and appearance. It is the most important ability for paladins, sorcerers, and bards. It is also important for clerics, since it affects their ability to channel energy. For undead creatures, Charisma is a measure of their unnatural “lifeforce.” Every creature has a Charisma score. A character with a Charisma score of 0 is not able to exert himself in any way and is unconscious.
So, according to the book (and then to me)
1. Personality (The higher your Charisma, the more dynamic your personality is)
2. Personal Magnetism (Ability to draw others in)
3. Ability to lead (Ability to inspire others)
4. Appearance (Grace)
5. If 0, you may not exert yourself (not quite sure how this distinguishes from the other scores being at 0)
So, according to the book, what is Charisma NOT
Charisma is not:
1. Will power
2. Intuition
3. Awareness
So, I could accept this definition at face value if all Charisma did was affect Diplomacy and Bluff, but it does so much more than that.
Charisma Affects:
1. A nymphs AC due to her "unearthly grace" as a deflection bonus
2. Your ability to use magical items
3. Most creatures ability to cast SLAs
4. A Sorcerer's, Bards, Paladin's, Summoner's, and Oracle's ability to cast spells
5. The Ki-Pool of a ninja
6. The duration and effectiveness of a ninja's, paladin's, and a bard's abilities
7. A Druid's and a Hunter's ability to influence animals
8...... the list goes on
So what do any of these listed abilities have to do with the definition of Charisma provided by Paizo? In my opinion, not much. The definition is way too narrow to offer any sort of explanation as to why Charisma can do what it does. To me, Charisma is much more than meets the eye, and in a strange way, it makes sense to me.
Charisma, not per the dictionary, but as I see it applying to Pathfinder, measures Self-Actualization as well. Now, while this seems much more appropriate for Wisdom, but the Paizo definition of Wisdom refers almost exclusively to one's interaction with their surroundings, and with information.
Now, when I say Self-Actualization, I'm referring to the idea of someone working toward understanding themselves, and reaching their full potential. For example, why do spontaneous casters and SLA's (primarily) depend on Charisma? Because it requires the creature to be in touch with what they are innately, what it is they have inside of themselves. They need to understand what's inside of them before they can adequately express it externally, in this case, Magic.
Now lets apply this same principle to the idea of "personal magnetism", it's the same thing. Understanding your potential, and who you are gives you a significant advantage in your ability to influence and inspire courage in others. After all, what wise man ever truly believed in someone who did not believe in themselves?
Now, a bit more of a stretch, how could Charisma possibly enhance your AC? The way I look at it, it can be interpreted as follows: a creature with a high Charisma can channel their self confidence and self understanding into a physical advantage in combat. After-all, there is nothing more attractive than a woman who is not only physically sexy, but who is confident in her... own assets. Regardless of how "hot" or fit her body is, she cannot reach her full potential (physically) if she does not understand what it is she is working with, and isn't confident in what that is. Another example would be a man stepping into a yoga class. It takes a special kind of confidence for a man to get himself to move like that. Even individuals who aren't perfect physically, but are confident and comfortable with who and what they are are better company than shallow or insecure individuals.
Anyway, I've been working a melee class which incorporates some of these ideas, such as "AC Bonus" as Monk but with Charisma instead of Wisdom, bonuses to social skills, bonuses to certain acrobatics or escape artist rolls, charisma-based abilities that help you push a physical ability to the next level.
Never was there a limit on what weapons could be used whilst two weapon fighting before, why now?
Because you've been misinterpreting the RAI for a long time. I've actually been playing it correct because that's how it makes sense to me; if you've expended your attacks, you can't just make more attacks because you have more weapons. Goes to show there's two sides of the coin, and you've been judged to be on the wrong side of it. So what? Get over it, and start a thread in the homebrew section where you can develop an approach you feel is more balanced.
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Where did the rule come from?
From the same people who MADE THE GAME. That's where it came from. Where else would you want it to come from?
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Why is it every individual who disagrees, or asks for clarification being mocked, ruthlessly?
That's unfair, because that's not the case. People who are being rude, demanding, and/or relying upon the Pathfinder developers for their self esteem are being told to stop that. Your point is made. No matter how much you fight, you will not be right. Take your balancing conversation to the homebrew section. Legitimate questions about how to understand and apply this ruling are appropriate, and I think Rynjyn (i can't even remember) among others is one of the only ones who is asking real questions that apply. When you lace and frame your questions in contempt, frustration, and anger, you get little sympathy.
blackbloodtroll wrote:
It a schoolhouse bully mentality, and we get called "childish".
It's ugly, and I don't like it.
No more than this is a "woe is me" victim mentality.
It's really quite pathetic, in my view, that there is so much anger and so many PERSONAL ATTACKS on the people that made the game that you love to play so much (not necessarily talking to you here BBT). This thread is full of nasty comments made about SKR, the developers, and the editors. If you're not going to ask real questions about how to apply this ruling, you need to stop, plain and simple. You're just creating a nasty dynamic between the developers and the community and pretty soon the level of engagement and communication will drop. Nothing the developers ever say will control or dictate how I play at my table, ever, because I get to control that. What I cannot control is how they choose to build the game, and neither can you. Time to move on.
Saltwater is hypertonic, and thus unsuitable for sustained consumption. The spell says "suitable for eating and drinking". Saltwater is not suitable for drinking.
Has anybody gone through the words of power and give each one a word in Draconic or some other language? I think it would be cool to have a name for your spells as opposed to "Burst Fire Blast" which sounds cool but not what the word of power actually is.
So the idea would be to create a Prefix, Infix?, and Suffix for each Target, Effect, and Meta word respectively.
This seems like a big undertaking by an expert in linguistics, so I'm not about to pretend like I could do this. Does anybody know of an existing set of WoP translations?
I am going to show the 12 year old player in my PFS group this thread while I crumple up her Ninja's Character Sheet and throw it away in front of her while waggling my finger and telling her 'no'.
You, sir, should be kept nowhere near 12 year old girls...
"He hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself. He will never be rid of his need for it."
"It's pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had a chance!"
"Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. And some that died deserve life. Can you give it to them Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many."
It would take an epic DM to spin a story that good including this band of evil Drow fighting for evil and ultimately saving the pure in heart from themselves... though would invite it. Usually, Drow are just Drow, not epic universe altering Drow.
"I've been playing this game for a long time. It does not hinge on genocide being okay."
- You mean your game doesn't hinge on genocide being okay, and that's okay.
"If one is playing a redemptive character, like the paladin apparently is, they absolutely should try to change the world for the better."
-Sometimes changing the world for better means killing the evil little critters that lurk in the night and kill your family in their bed. It's simply a different way of viewing what evil is, and what good is.
"I could say the same for all the folks that have shoved baby-murder genocide fantasies down my throat during my first experiences with the game."
-Touche. Sincerely, I would have no qualms with playing at a table that viewed "evil" as a primarily learned trait.
Goblins are not hardwired to be irredeemably evil. They're not damned for having the misfortune of being born into the "wrong" race.
Good and Evil need to mean something more than different team jerseys. Leave the genocide and infanticide to the bad guys.
I wouldn't say that they can't change, but I wouldn't lump the responsibility on my party to make that happen.... but it sounds like it would make for some fun roll-play.
What you're suggesting about "leave genocide to the bad guys" essentially unravels the entire game, and makes you question just about every combat encounter you ever have. If they're all redeemable, then why are we using lethal means of attack?
"The only valid attack vs goblins is sleep, because anything else is cutting their potential for good short"
I know i'm putting words into your mouth, but following your logic, it's like saying that they should all be captured, roped up, and forced to learn about good stuff to see if it takes root, if not... kill them or let them go somewhere.
As for babies, like I said, I don't encourage my players to kill them outright, but I don't consider them evil for ridding the world of them.
The good guys with good intentions will do more harm trying to muck with the nature of evil... it's the task of Deity.
"They're not damned for having the misfortune of being born into the "wrong" race." I respect your sympathy, but don't push it on me :P
There are certain assumptions and guidelines that I play under at my table: Creatures that are evil in the bestiary are primarily evil by nature, not by nurture. In other words, even though these Goblin babies are "innocent" in action today, they are universally guilty of being evil. Generally, if a creature is not inherently evil, or if their alignment is subject to change, it will say so in the entry.
That is one interpretation. However, in Golarion there are non-evil goblins, and I think there's been mention of non-evil members of other generally evil species as well.
You're absolutely right, and perhaps I should have clarified when talking about "my table". At "my table", I set that expectation so that the players understand that I won't penalize them for taking the "evil" into consideration while dealing with "innocents". I won't turn them evil for leaving the pups where they are, or perhaps putting them out of their misery in the most humane way possible.
Also, that goes for playing with evil races. When they wanna play an evil race, I won't force them to be evil per say, but two things:
1. I want a back story
2. Everyone in Golarion will treat them as untrustworthy, and perhaps even try to assassinate them.
The GM is the PS1 Disc you put into your drive. If you don't like the Disc, play a different game... or learn hexadecimal coding and change it yourself.
I've created a table for your pleasure. What this table attempts to do is to help players know where their Attack Bonus should be at each level to ensure the chances of hitting are always in their favor.
On the x axis is hit bonus
On the y axis is CR (With average AC on the left)
60%-95% is green
45%-55% is yellow
05%-40% is red
On the left, if the CR is green, means I've averaged every Paizo creature of that CR's AC (From PFSRD) and listed on the left. If it's in red, means I've just made an educated guess. When I finish, I'll revert it to black so that you know that it's accurate.
Not sure this is worth stickying, but it should be helpful!
You'll also notice that I've only pasted values. If you're interested in the formula PM me.
As a DM the only considerations I would make are cultural/racial/situational ones.
Tribe that skins their own dead?
Fey creatures who skin any aggressors?
Company of freezing humans in the mountains?
I don't think there's ever a simple answer, and contemporary taboo's should never play into PC's motives, they're not playing on earth, but on Golarion, or whatever fantasy realm it may be.
Hard to say. I look at Prestidigitation as the weak anything and everything spell. It's a universal spell, meaning it doesn't really belong or have abilities that are limited to one school of magic. Some things I've done with it recently:
1. Lit some oil by creating a simple spark.
2. Made flowers appear to grow at my feet as I walked through the grass.
3. Created a handful of small flowers to give to a crazy man who said he wanted a tribute of flowers.
4. One of my party members was hallucinating a troll attack, which actually ended up damaging him. I made it look like I was casting a CMW spell, and I even spoke the words my cleric speaks and mimicked his gestures. I also made it give him a tingling sensation in his chest. He believed it was really a CMW spell and it healed him, since the damage was only "believed" damage.
5. I pulled a Gandalf by manipulating someone's tobacco smoke in our home into a boat and sailed it out the window, implying that I was irritated that he was smoking in the room.
I can't say that all these uses are RAW or RAI, but the fact it they were VERY fun uses, and sparked some excellent RP. The way I look at it, the idea is minor manipulation of the essence around you.
I can say that use of Prestidigitation is heavily based on your own imagination and problem solving skills. You can use it as often as you can come up with a silly idea of how some minor magic would make a situation cooler. I use prestidigitation in combat only about 20% of the time I actually use it. Most of it is flavor/rp stuff.
People kill people. Limiting gun ownership is not going to stop that.
And vaccines don't stop diseases because people still die of disease.
I'm not a huge fan of restricting firearm ownership to those without a proven record of violence or mental instability. Or in other words, I believe that gun regulations should ONLY make it more difficult for those who in one of those two categories, and nobody else.
That being said, I think that *this* says something. I'm not saying it's proof of anything, but consider Europe vs USA. Europe as a whole is at 3.4 intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants. Excluding eastern Europe, that drops to somewhere around 1.3 per 100k. Compare that to the United States at 4.2 per 100k and all the sudden, such easy access to such a large variety of guns seems like a bad idea in 2012. This is a significant difference. If my math is anywhere near correct, that would equate to reducing intentional homicides in america from 12,996 to ~4100, a difference of ~9,000.
To ease any doubts look at *this* graphic which summarizes statistics from the Bureau of Justice. This just says that the overwhelming majority of homicides in America are committed with use of guns.
Anyway, this whole thing sucks, and it seems like with every passing day there's another terrible tragedy related to gun violence.
I personally see my Sorcerer as someone who is on a journey learning about himself. He see's himself a step above the rest, as he need not rely on anyone or anything for his power. It's like a kid who's gone through puberty. He has things about himself that he doesn't quite understand, and that he's learning. Charisma is a measure of personality and personal magnetism. Those two things are directly linked to confidence and self-awareness. The more self-aware you are, and confident in what you are, the more you will be able to tap into that. If you have raw magical power coursing through your veins, you need high self-awareness and confidence to be able to tap into that reservoir of power. Consider this: A sorcerer with 10 Charisma would be able to cast a few cantrips at best. The power is inside of him, he just doesn't understand himself, and simply does not have the ability to channel this power.
Meh, I'm happy with nerf'd spell prog. My sorcerer is nothing like a wizard. His mentality towards magic, magic source, and use of magic is nothing like a wizard. He does not learn, he discovers and masters. At 3rd level, his 3d4+3 burning hands up to like 7 times at 3rd level were great rather than lets say a wizard using scorching ray at 4d6 however many times he prepared it.
The sorcerer is simply a different class, and shouldn't be seen as another flavor of the Wizard, it has it's own value.
Is it possible that sticking to and enforcing some christian principles in the public arena would be beneficial to a society, regardless of the claimed source of the principle?
If so, is it possible that the christian belief (as interpreted by many) that the institution of marriage should only exist between a man and a woman a good one for our society, again, regardless of the claimed source of the principle?
I submit that all things considered, there are many benefits to basing the standard of marriage and family on something that empirically shows more success, and allowing those who disagree to live their lives in peace without bigotry, hate, and judgement from the rest.
pres man. I think you're comment was actually pretty substantive. You may forget to pay your car loan for whatever reason, but you'll probably start remembering when they come to repo it.
CommandoDude,
I don't know you, but I want to be completely honest with you since I think that's what you're looking for.
If I were you, I would i'd feel kinda bad. This is a lesson that unfortunately has hit you the hard way, and you can accept it, or reject it.
If I were hosting you, based on the things that you described, I would have serious problems with you being in my home. Adults assume that a guest in their home:
1. Has respect for those around them
2. Has respect of their customs
3. Doesn't need to be asked twice for anything
I, personally, would have spoken with you. I would want to know if:
1. You had a social disorder
2. Were taking advantage of me, my friends, and my home
3. You sincerely kept forgetting, and if you were prepared to commit to making some serious changes to you behavior.
Then again, they don't have to ask you 3 times. I think they're justified in just saying goodbye. I'm sorry this happened to you, but this is a fantastic learning experience, and I think it's great that you have already recognized the issues here. With all sincerity and desire for your well being, take this as a lesson and learn from it!
IMO, people chill out after a while. If you'd like to go back, just shoot them an email (or get it from the dm). Say that you're sorry about what has happened and that you recognize what went wrong. Tell them it won't happen again, and that you're open to feedback real-time or indirectly through email. There's still a good chance you can get back into this group.
Anyway, that's my spiel for what it's worth. Good luck!
If only I were using these forums as long as I've been playing this game...
Selecting Leaders:
The PCs should decide on their own method for selecting
which roles each of them will fill in the leadership of their
nation. In many cases, these choices should come naturally,
as each leadership role relies on a different ability score for
success in that role. Yet there are 11 different leadership
roles to choose from—unless you have 11 players, there’ll
be some vacancies left over after each PC chooses his role.
These vacancies should be filled by NPCs. While you can
certainly handwave this element of the game and simply
say that each vacancy is filled by a typical NPC skilled in
the required role (effectively giving each such role a +1
modifier to the appropriate kingdom element), it can be
more rewarding if the PCs fill the vacancies with specific
NPCs they’ve encountered and allied with. This adventure
and the previous adventure present a large number of
NPCs that the PCs can encounter, and most of them could
do quite well in positions of leadership. Which NPC gets
placed in which leadership role should be left for the PCs
to decide.
