Lord_B's page

I don't want to colonize. I don't want to get involved in converting the local orcish culture to a different culture, in subjugating orcs, or in extracting their resources and treasure in exploitative trade. I don't want to settle their lands with people from my nation.

Your actual tasks, motivations, actions, are inherently going to be limited by the adventure path you have chosen. So yes, you may have made a character who can participate in the adventure. However, the freedom in character creation is where did you come from, what are your motivations, where did you get your training, etc.

The Order of the Nail is, in the text, a pretty villainous organisation. They believe in the Chelaxian culture of tyrannical rule, and see it as the de-facto standard to be enforced worldwide. If you have qualms with the way Queen Abrogail II of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune does things, and would prefer not to see your culture trend the same way... well, you must not be "civilised" enough. Die!

Now, choosing a villainous organisation as a sponsor can add some interesting tension to a party. It gives you the opportunity to discuss politics with your fellow adventurers over the bonfire, even while generally agreeing on what needs to be done now. Your experiences might expose issues they hadn't considered before, and testing arguments on you might prepare them to de-escalate future conflicts. However, tension without resolution is just sorta frustrating. If you're going to be the token villain of the party, you kinda need to betray the party at some point, or undergo character development and change your worldview, or both in rapid succession (either order works... sometimes the betrayal can be a fake-out). I doubt the adventure path is going to plan this opportunity out for you, so it's really going to take some negotiating with the GM to set-up that scene, and some trust with the other party members that such a scene is coming.

The alternative would be making some radical changes to the lore. if no other Hellknights appear in this module (you'd have to check with your GM first), you could make some selective edits in order to preserve the aesthetic without the settler colonialism. The whole classifying cultures into civilised and non-civilised is right out, and you may also want to seriously consider your stance on the law of Hell. If, however, you want to have a hard stance against specific issues (e.g. slavery, child abuse, state-sponsored piracy, other things has Cheliax definitely isn't above), that's pretty good for a heroic character, provided they remain on-issue rather than just using it as an excuse for regime change.

Has the windlass crossbow been invented? If so, where can they be found on Golarion?

Does long-term pesh use have any obvious signs and symptoms? Stuff like losing teeth, weak appetite, lasting cough... you get it.

Ranged weapons are the kind of vague term that game designers occasionally fail to get around to firmly defining.

"Ranged weapons don’t normally add an ability modifier to the damage roll, though weapons with the propulsive trait (page 283) add half your Strength modifier (or your full modifier if it is a negative number), and thrown weapons add your full Strength modifier."

This text treats thrown weapons as ranged weapons.

"Ranged and thrown weapons have a range increment."

In the bestiary, monsters with throwable melee weapons have the attack listed in both Melee and Ranged, for the two kinda of attacks. However, a thrown weapon is marked with the text "thrown x feet" instead of "range x feet". This is done irrespective of whether the weapon is a typical "ranged weapon" like a javelin or a typical "melee weapon" like a spear.

I'm pretty sure that any weapon, while being thrown, is considered a ranged weapon. Similarly, if you took a ranged weapon and started slapping people with it, it would count as if it were any other improvised melee weapon.

However, as an alternate ruling, perhaps the Raging Thrower feat is exclusively designed for the javelin, dart, and shuriken, and any melee weapon is always melee, and any ranged weapon is always ranged. I don't think it's what they went for, but I don't think it will break the game either.

Acid sizzles across the surface of the weapon. When you hit with the weapon, add 1d6 acid damage to the damage dealt.
In addition, on a critical hit, the target’s armor (if any) takes 3d6 acid damage (before applying Hardness); if the target has a shield raised, the shield takes this damage instead.

The standard procedure is:

Damage -= Hardness
if (Damage > 0) Hit Points -= Damage
if (Hit Points < 0) Hit Points = 0
if (Hit Points = 0) Item is destroyed
else if (Hit Points => Broken Threshold) Item is broken

The text that confuses me is:

"takes 3d6 acid damage (before applying Hardness)"

Interpretation 1:

if (Damage > 0) Hit Points -= Damage
Damage -= Hardness
if (Hit Points < 0) Hit Points = 0
if (Hit Points = 0) Item is destroyed
else if (Hit Points => Broken Threshold) Item is broken

Interpretation 2:

Remember to subtract Hardness after you roll damage.

A weaponized net is an uncommon advanced ranged weapon. It requires two hands to use effectively.

You can use this weapon to Disarm or Trip with the Athletics skill even if you don’t have a free hand. This has a reach of 10 feet and adds the weapon’s item bonus to attack rolls as an item bonus to the Athletics check. If you critically fail a check to Disarm or Trip using the weapon, you can drop the weapon to take the effects of a failure instead of a critical failure. If you critically succeed a check to Disarm, you still need a free hand if you want to take the item.

The net has a rope attached to it, typically 30 ft long.

With a 2-action activity, you can tie the rope around your wrist, although this is not necessary to use it.

As an action, you can throw a net over a 10-foot square up to 10 feet. When you throw a net, you make a ranged attack against the Reflex DC of each creature under the net. Each target that you hit is under the net and flat-footed.

As an action, you can draw the string on a net. If there is only one creature under the net, and they are Medium or smaller, they are restrained. If they are Large, they cannot make attacks that require two arms. If they are Gargantuan, they begin suffocating.

As an action, you can feed the rope. This changes the maximum distance between you and the target. You may attempt to pull the target closer to you. If supporting the combined Bulk of the target and all their gear would not give you the encumbered condition, you can pull the target up to 10 feet. If you can support the weight, you can pull the target 5 feet. Otherwise, you cannot pull the target.

A creature trapped under the net cannot move further away from you than the trailing end of rope.

The net has an Escape DC of 17, or 21 if the drawstring is pulled. It has a Hardness 4, 16 Hit Points, and a Broken Threshold of 8. On a critical failure to deal damage to the net, roll an attack with the weapon against the target.

If you can make attacks of opportunity, you can take them against a target under your net with a melee attack roll. On a hit, they take no damage, but any additional effects from your attacks of opportunity (such as disrupting a manipulate action) still apply.

A net must be folded to be thrown effectively. The first time you throw your net in a fight, it is unfolded. After the net is unfolded, you take a –4 circumstance penalty on attack rolls if it is thrown again. It takes 2 two-action activities on consecutive turns for a proficient user to fold a net and 4 three-action activities for a non-proficient one to do so.

---

Is it too powerful, too weak, too exploitable, or too complex? Is there a better way for me to write up rules accounting for net size and composition? I cut that the first time because the words were too confusing. In summary, what do you think?

I'm not converting monsters in that way, but those numbers you came up with for the nightgaunt seem acceptable on their own. Exceptions to these rules can and should exist, and it's important to design new actions for the creatures to perform so we aren't left with a sea of monsters that only ever spend their actions to Stride and Strike.

I don't think it scales quite as well for high levels though. High level 1e creatures seem to be up by closer to 8 points, and often have saves way below the comparatively uniform scaling in 2e. In the following example, literally the second creature I checked, one save went up 21 points.

MU SPORE (1e)

AC 37
FOR +26 | REF +11 | WILL +19
Melee bite +32
Melee tentacles +27

MU SPORE (1e)

AC 45
FOR +38 | REF +32 | WILL +38
Melee bite +32
Melee tentacles +27

Other thing you might have noticed, secondary natural attacks no longer benefit from a -5 penalty to attacks, particularly as the best way to give them tactical use is to make them agile for the slight bonus to hit.

Your method might work okay for quickly remaking low level monsters, but if combat is the main focus of the game, you should expect serious problems. These systems are not designed to work the same way.

I don't think anyone's mentioned it yet, so I'm gonna try to add my thoughts, rules or otherwise.

There's no off-hand penalty anymore. A fighter who's trained all their life in fighting a sword with their right hand could lose it and fight with their left hand exactly as well.

Personally, I like to GM to expectations. If a player is a two-weapon fighter, there's no off-hand penalty. If a player is playing a bard with one sword and decides that it'd be really fun to dual-wield it with the silver axe they found in this fight against a werewolf, there's no off-hand penalty. If a player asks the question, "What's it gonna take for me to get good at using this pair of scimitars", suddenly I'll say they'll have a circumstance penalty until they've tried it out for a bit, gauge how long they expect it to take, and work it out as we go. And finally, if the tone of the game demands realism, I just outright won't let someone use an off-hand weapon without penalty unless they are specifically choosing two-weapon fighting related abilities.

They existed in 1e. They no longer exist. The religion is no longer required to be legal by the overreaching any alignment within 1 step of the deity system, and this has allowed the banning of oddities like clerics of Pharasma healing undead and followers of Torag that don't respect the virtues of Lawful rulership.

In some other cases, the older opposed check has been replaced with initiative.

Stealth initiative vs Perception initiative replaces the old stealth vs perception before the fight starts

Deception initiative vs Perception initiative replaces the old sleight of hand vs perception when trying to draw a concealed weapon and attack the enemy while they still trust you.

And as is mentioned in that section, social encounters can result in a variety of weird skills replacing perception for initiative, all of which comes down to an opposed check to see who acts first.

Quote from 1e Gods & Magic that summarizes what I was talking about: "Like the god himself, Gorum’s followers tend to be impulsive, violent, and prone to grabbing whatever they feel like owning; as a result, there are far more evil followers of Gorum than good."

I recognize there's more complexity than this, that Gorum is selfless and honorable in the pursuit of war, that he will not compromise his virtues out of self-interest, etc.

However, the willingness to be used against an evil force doesn't change that you're willing to accept the same virtues and mantras as tyrants. That you couldn't find a less deity out of dozens that would give you comparable tools with a philosophy that actually values humanoid life.

Gorum is the god of battle. Philosophically, Gorum sees battle as the only activity of moral virtue. It is believed by some that if at any point, no two forces are in conflict, Gorum will die.

As I understand it, Gorum takes everything he wants to by force, by fair and proud means, and encourages his followers to do the same. To worship Gorum is to accept this behavior.

I'm not gonna lie, I don't think of the SWAT team as the good guys. I think of them as the guys with guns. The people who co-ordinate the SWAT team, who learn what's going on, determine the appropriate amount of force to cause the best possible outcome in a poor situation, and accept liability for their mistakes are the good guys.

Anyone who runs in with a gun, sword, whatever, relying on blind faith that what they do is right and hoping to find a rival to challenge them, is not so much good as a servant of good.

Of course, alignment raises a *lot* of questions and I don't have great answers, but I think that it's commonly accepted in our modern world that war is undesirable, and this translates into our games. Allowing pure war, for the sake of taking stuff, to be objectively Good is the kind of challenge to expectations Paizo may be unwilling to make.

You can use your pool of focus points however you want.

2 force bolts
1 force bolt, 1 elemental tempest
2 elemental tempests

You can spend 1 point, regain 1 point, spend 2 points consecutively, regain 1 point, spend 1 point, however you want. Your Focus Points pool is a number, nothing more.

You do not voluntarily heighten a focus spell. When you hit level 5, all your Focus Spells are cast at level 3. If that happens to be Force Bolt, your dart of force does 2d4+2 damage due to heightening, without any decision or cost on your part.

Force Bolt is not the same as Magic Missile. If you want multiple force darts, instead of 1 force dart that increases in size, you will need to prepare that spell in one of your spell slots.

I agree with what Pit Wizard said. Our statements are not mutually exclusive. The language is what's confusing. A School Spell is not a Wizard Spell, it's a Focus Spell available to Wizards.

If you specialize in abjuration, you may spend one Focus Point to cast protective ward.

At level 1 or 2, when you spend 1 Focus Point, it's a level 1 spell. At level 5 or 6, it's a level 3 spell. This may come up for the purposes of concentration, dispelling, but for most cases this spell is exactly the same.

At 8th level, if you're looking to do something more powerful with your focus point, you can pick up energy absorption with the Advanced School Spell feat. This will also increase the size of your Focus Points pool to 2.

At level 18:

10 + legendary proficiency = 10 + 8 + 18 = 36

Out of 7 level 18 creatures in the bestiary:

The Reflex DC of the Crimson Worm (sand worm from the Elemental Plane of Fire) is low enough for you to Disarm or Trip, if you're Huge or have the Titan Wrestler feat. Otherwise, you can still Tumble Through their space.

The Perception DC of the Crimson Worm is low enough for you to Feint, leaving them flat-footed against your next attack.

The combo certainly works less often, but it's not completely invalid.

At 3rd level you would have:

5 cantrips (as usual)
3 normal 1st level spell slots
1 school-specific spell slot
2 normal 2nd level spell slots
1 school-specific spell slot

You *cannot* prepare focus spells in spell slots. They are a different ability, with a different resource.

School-specific spell slots are an additional slot that can only be used to prepare spell from that school. They are chosen from your spellbook as normal.

By default, you have a pool with 1 Focus Point. You can rest for 10 minutes to get 1 Focus Point back. This point can't be used to cast spells from your spellbook, only to use the 1 power that you get with your Arcane School.

Feats may modify this system as you obtain them at higher levels, but you can figure that out as you go along. It's a long way to level 8.

On Table 10-13 of the Core Rulebook, the Mild heat temperature range is marked by an asterisk.

* Adjust temperatures down by 15° in areas of high humidity.

Is this supposed to say adjust temperatures up?

Evidence for:

• People can quickly get heat exhaustion and then die of heatstroke at those temperatures at high humidity, but will only experience heat exhaustion (and slower) in arid areas.
• The point on the curve at which this distinction is most noticeable is around these levels, so it would explain why this rule only applies to mild heat.
• "Adjust temperatures down" could be replaced by "Treat as normal temperature" and create the same result with less math. "Adjust temperatures up" lands in 2 zones, and thus gives purpose to the math.

Evidence against:

• In fiction, the hot arid desert is often portrayed as harder to traverse than the hot jungle, so hand-waving the problem early on prevents an awkward explanation before the problem of the temperature is of self-explanatory concern.
• The real danger of high humidity at high heat would probably carry the same rule into severe heat and extreme heat.

+3: I love the 3 action/1 reaction system and how the rules around it are a lot more watertight than they once were
+2: I love Resonance for getting everyone involved with magic items
+1: I really like how weapons are becoming distinctive, even if it is a tad conservative

+0: I feel indifferent about the new crit system.

-1: I do not like the weird changes that have occurred with large lore implications. You can now resurrect outsiders is probably the biggest one.
-2: I dislike how much longer combats are dragging on. The last few fights I've run have gotten really slow.
-3: I hate that every time I look into people's opinions on the playtest they're so overly negative. It feels like half the posts on this website feature someone saying they're really disappointed and aren't even going to try the finished product. Easily my worst experience with the Playtest.

this is first and foremost a GAME, not a historical study or an attempt to calculate real-world dynamics and physics of weapons into codified statistics that accurately represent how the weapons work. That way lies the route to overwhelmingly complex and thus boring/unworkable rules for what should be a fast-paced and enjoyable simulation.

I just want to be clear I am fully aware of how impossible it is to be both realistic and codified. It's reasons like this that I'm happy to see the Playtest making it clearer what is codified and what isn't. Games like D&D have been influential enough in the gaming world to seriously miscolor a lot of people's expectations. I genuinely believed leather armor and a sword would have been common equipment in warfare a year ago, and I know I wouldn't be alone.

Would you support a sidebar appearing somewhere towards the front of the next Core Rulebook clarifying that these mechanics do not depict realistic combat, nor do the mundane arms and armor align with Earth's history?

they're generally fantasy/made-up ones inspired by history and fiction and art alike

I guess my question was a bit broad but I was more interested in the specifics of sources you would use. Seeing the kinds of weapons you were involved in, I can probably delve a bit more specific.

Can you name any sources you used when designing the Starknife?

What kind of research and brainstorming goes into reinvention of historical weapons and armor like 1-handed longswords, 2-handed falchions, tridents, leather and hide armor etc.?

I particularly am interested in the ratio of historical sources, like medieval treatises, vs mythical or fictional sources, like the Iliad or Lord of the Rings.

How do goblins, which hardly seem able to construct basic buildings, do their metalworking?

I'm particularly curious about how such an uncivilized folk could "drill" holes in their dogslicers with what looks like a variable ~1" radius without... you know... power tools.

Golly it is hard to think of questions involving the Playtest when you won't answer rules questions... However, I think I have something.

The daily regaining of abilities concern a particular piece of text. "Once every 24-hour period, you can take a period of rest (typically 8 hours), and then prepare, which typically takes 1 hour."

Now, this 24-hour period is left without context. It could start at midnight, or dawn, dusk, midday, at the point that the previous rest started etc.

Among people I have spoken to, this rule is controversial. It is more consistent and easy to use then the incomplete rest-based rules provided in the Core Rulebook for 1e, but I cannot find any interpretation for this rule which when applied literally cannot be either exploited or overly restrictive.

My question is, if it came down to you, which system would you prefer to see implemented in 2e? a crunchy specific-times for specific class/ability like 1e that many people gloss over and gets increasingly difficult to understand with later releases OR an easier to understand symmetrical system like Playtest that can be interpreted a few wildly different ways, none of which are foolproof?

Should we expect to see a Pathfinder Playtest FAQs soon?

I've already got a few questions that I think should be cleared up, and here's a sampling (I don't expect you to answer any of them here)

This thread died a while ago, but frankly no-one came to a solution and I feel this really needs a lengthy FAQ with many examples.

Anyway, I want to give my interpretation and it starts with an outline of the hierarchy of rules on abilities in general down to specific.

At the top, we have the type of ability, which is the marking from (Ex), (Su), and (Sp). Rules defined here go down to everything.

Then the path splits into 2. In the first, some Monster abilities are defined by Universal Monster Rules, including Ferocity (Ex), Change Shape (Su), Spell-like Abilities (Sp), and Summon (Sp). In the second, class abilities are defined, such as Evasion (Ex), Hexes and Blessings (Su).

On the first path, specifics and variations on abilities can be found in the individual descriptions of the monsters using them. On the second path, specifics and variations should they exist, are listed as subsets like in Rogue Talents, Hexes and Blessings.

I would place a final box at the end, to say that the GM has the right to make the final calls on altering the specifics of all abilities and thus rest on top of this tree-like hierarchy as if they were a blanket.

If an ability lists a spell in it, it is a defined method of using that spell's ability and thus more specific than the spell itself. This places the spell directly before the ability referencing it in the chain of general to specific.

I will start with the Witch Disguise Hex as an example:
In the order I have listed, here is all relevant information:

Supernatural Abilities (Su)
Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability’s effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells.

Hex
Witches learn a number of magic tricks, called hexes, that grant them powers or weaken foes. At 1st level, a witch gains one hex of her choice. She gains an additional hex at 2nd level and for every 2 levels attained after 2nd level, as noted on Table: Witch. A witch cannot select an individual hex more than once.
Unless otherwise noted, using a hex is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The save to resist a hex is equal to 10 + 1/2 the witch’s level + the witch’s Intelligence modifier.

Feather Fall
School transmutation; Level bard 1, bloodrager 1, magus 1, psychic 1, sorcerer/wizard 1, summoner/unchained summoner 1; Domain void 1; Subdomain feather 1; Elemental School air 1
CASTING
Casting Time 1 immediate action
Components V
EFFECT
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Targets one Medium or smaller free-falling object or creature/level, no two of which may be more than 20 ft. apart
Duration until landing or 1 round/level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless) or Will negates (object); Spell Resistance yes (object)

Levitate
School transmutation; Level alchemist 2, magus 2, medium 2, mesmerist 2, occultist 2, psychic 2, shaman 2, sorcerer/wizard 2, spiritualist 2, summoner/unchained summoner 2, witch 2; Domain void 2; Elemental School air 2
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (a leather loop or golden wire bent into a cup shape)
EFFECT
Range personal or close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target you or one willing creature or one object (total weight up to 100 lbs./level)
Duration 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

Fly
School transmutation; Level alchemist 3, bloodrager 3, magus 3, shaman 3, sorcerer/wizard 3, summoner/unchained summoner 3, witch 3; Domain travel 3, void 3; Subdomain azata (chaos, good) 3, feather 3; Elemental School air 3
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (a wing feather)
EFFECT
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

Flight* (Su)
The witch grows lighter as she gains power, eventually gaining the ability to fly.
Effect: At 1st level, the witch can use feather fall at will and gains a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks. At 3rd level, she can cast levitate once per day. At 5th level, she can fly, as per the spell, for a number of minutes per day equal to her level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be spent in 1-minute increments. This hex only affects the witch.

Ok, so at the moment we're looking for the casting times. Step 1 is to consult the required action in the combat section.
"Using a supernatural ability is usually a standard action (unless defined otherwise by the ability’s description). Its use cannot be disrupted, does not require concentration, and does not provoke attacks of opportunity."
This places our initial assumption at standard action.
In the Supernatural Ability description, this is not listed. In the Hex description, it provides "Unless otherwise noted, using a hex is a standard action".
Our assumption is unchanged.
In the feather fall example, the hex says that it allows the casting of the spell. Thus, the assumption for casting time should be that of the spell, 1 immediate action, and it will require the typical components and risk of interruption of casting. Similarly, levitate is 1 standard action, and carries the same requirement. However, the use of fly gained at level 5 merely replicates the effects of the spell, and thus is a standard action as per our previous assumptions, requiring none of the components.

Another example could be the Communal Aid Warpriest blessing. Here's all the info:

Supernatural Abilities (Su)
Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability’s effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells.

Blessings (Su): A warpriest’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. Each warpriest can select two blessings from among those granted by his deity (each deity grants the blessings tied to its domains). A warpriest can select an alignment blessing (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain. If a warpriest isn’t devoted to a particular deity, he still selects two blessings to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities, subject to GM approval. The restriction on alignment domains still applies.
Each blessing grants a minor power at 1st level and a major power at 10th level. A warpriest can call upon the power of his blessings a number of times per day (in any combination) equal to 3 + 1/2 his warpriest level (to a maximum of 13 times per day at 20th level). Each time he calls upon any one of his blessings, it counts against his daily limit. The save DC for these blessings is equal to 10 + 1/2 the warpriest’s level + the warpriest’s Wisdom modifier.
If a warpriest also has levels in a class that grants cleric domains, the blessings chosen must match the domains selected by that class. Subject to GM discretion, the warpriest can change his former blessings or domains to make them conform.

Communal Aid (minor): At 1st level, you can touch an
ally and grant it the blessing of community. For the next
minute, whenever that ally uses the aid another action, the
bonus granted increases to +4. You can instead use this
ability on yourself as a swift action.

As before with the hex, our initial assumption should be standard action.
Unlike with hexes, the blessings description does not say to assume the ability is a standard action, however in this case it would be unnecessary to specify.
Reading through the body of Communal Aid, we can conclude that the ability is normally a standard action to use, but is hastened to a swift action if used by the caster themselves.

Finally, we come to Battle Companion (also Warpriest):

Supernatural Abilities (Su)
Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability’s effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells.

Blessings (Su): A warpriest’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. Each warpriest can select two blessings from among those granted by his deity (each deity grants the blessings tied to its domains). A warpriest can select an alignment blessing (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain. If a warpriest isn’t devoted to a particular deity, he still selects two blessings to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities, subject to GM approval. The restriction on alignment domains still applies.
Each blessing grants a minor power at 1st level and a major power at 10th level. A warpriest can call upon the power of his blessings a number of times per day (in any combination) equal to 3 + 1/2 his warpriest level (to a maximum of 13 times per day at 20th level). Each time he calls upon any one of his blessings, it counts against his daily limit. The save DC for these blessings is equal to 10 + 1/2 the warpriest’s level + the warpriest’s Wisdom modifier.
If a warpriest also has levels in a class that grants cleric domains, the blessings chosen must match the domains selected by that class. Subject to GM discretion, the warpriest can change his former blessings or domains to make them conform.

Summon Monster 4
School conjuration (summoning) [see text]; Level antipaladin 4, arcanist 4, bard 4, cleric/oracle 4, medium 3, psychic 4, skald 4, sorcerer/wizard 4, spiritualist 4, summoner 3, summoner (unchained) 3, warpriest 4, witch 4
CASTING
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, F/DF (a tiny bag and a small candle)
EFFECT
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect one summoned creature
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

Battle Companion (major): At 10th level, you can summon
a battle companion. This ability functions as summon
monster IV with a duration of 1 minute, but for only a good
outsider or an animal with the celestial creature simple
template. This ability can summon only one creature,
regardless of the list used. For every 2 levels beyond 10th,
the level of the summon monster spell increases by 1 (to a
maximum of summon monster IX at 20th level).

Once again, the default time required to use a supernatural ability is 1 standard action, and the description of Blessings does nothing to change this.
The Battle Companion ability says that it "functions as" summon monster IV, which means that it replicates the effects but would not affect the casting time. Note the word "functions", which means that it achieves the goal, but does not specify the means. Thus, rather than this being a passive supernatural ability to allow the use of a spell, this is an active supernatural ability that merely replicates it's effects.
Therefore, this is a standard action.

If any member of Paizo staff could get involved and either confirm my beliefs or find my errors, that would be extremely helpful.

Thank you for reading however much of this as you cared to read.