Ok, so I know that a tower shield is prevented from shield bashing and from having shield spikes. However, the concept that is floating around in my head involves a fighter/paladin wielding two tower shields.
So.
While I cannot normally use a tower shield to attack with, is it rules legal to use the main hand tower shield as an improvised weapon?
And yes, I know that the shield bonuses don't stack. Actually, I was considering grabbing defending with my offensive tower shield (another rules legal question), and taking the fighter tower shield specialist archetype to go with it. I'm still not done perusing the paladin options, but I wanted a proof of concept before I spent too much more time on it.
Does a Cognatogen count as a mutagen for the purposes of the master chymist prestige class abilities and/or prerequisites? I searched around but didn't find anything specific on the forums.
Cognatogen entry from the srd:
Benefit: The alchemist gains the ability to create a cognatogen, a mutagen-like mixture that heightens one mental ability score at the expense of a physical ability score. If the cognatogen enhances his Intelligence, it applies a penalty to his Strength. If it enhances his Wisdom, it applies a penalty to his Dexterity. If it enhances his Charisma, it applies a penalty to his Constitution. Otherwise, this ability works just like the mutagen ability (including the natural armor bonus). Anytime the alchemist would prepare a mutagen, he may instead prepare a cognatogen. All limitations of mutagens apply to cognatogens as if they were the same substance—an alchemist can only maintain one mutagen or cognatogen at a time, a cognatogen that is not in an alchemist’s possession becomes inert, drinking a cognatogen makes a non-alchemist sick, and so on. When the effect of the cognatogen ends, the alchemist takes 2 points of ability damage to the ability score penalized by the cognatogen. The infuse mutagen discovery and the persistent mutagen class ability apply to cognatogens.
Cognatogen entry from the Mind Chemist:
At 1st level, a mindchemist learns how to create a cognatogen, as per the cognatogen discovery.
This ability replaces the mutagen class ability (a mindchemist cannot create mutagens unless he selects mutagen as a discovery).
A player is looking to design a 4th level spell for his summoner, and I wanted some advice on balance for it. Any thoughts and comments are welcome!
The intent of the spell is to allow the eidolon to deal electrical damage with the wing buffet evolution OR to allow the eidolon to throw lightning bolts down at a target. Both options to be included in the spell.
Here are my current thoughts:
It's an untypical spell for summoners, and it has two potential options built into it.
I'm thinking that the spell will be 1round/level in duration.
Damage for the wing buffets *since the evolution grants the eidolon two wing buffet attacks* would be 1d6+ 1 electrical damage every two caster levels.
For the bolt effect, the electrical damage would be 1d6/caster level, capped at 5d6.
Once cast, the eidolon would have the option each round of either using a bolt of lightning as a standard action, or attacking with the bonus on the wing buffet.
We're striving to find a good balanced effect for a 4th level summoner spell.
I've been considering for a while different ways to build around the sap adept and sap master feats. The basic premise behind this character is that stat-wise he's focused on skills, while he uses his feats and class abilities to supplement his combat skills. Basically, I want to maximize the *I punch you in the face!!!* without going monk. He's thrown together using a 25 point buy.
He'll come into play at level 7 or so.
Race: Human
Str 8
Dex 17
Con 10
Int 18
Wis 10
Cha 15
That's after the racial bonus and stat point from leveling.
Couple notes about the build. Vanishing trick, while nice, isn't really needed. However, I couldn't find anything else that I wanted. The character fights with gauntlets, for enchanting purposes. The character portrays himself as a bard, using the light spell to *prove* his bardness.
I picked up evasion at the end because of a lack of anything better I could find.
Supposedly by level 20 versus a susceptible opponent, this guy will have 8 or 9 attacks a round. Each attack will be 1d3(gauntlet) + 10d6(sneak attack) + 10d6(sap master) + 20(knockout artist) + 40(sap adept) + 2 points of str damage(crippling strike).
Sans the markers, it's:
1d3+20d6+60 and 2 str damage. Average damage on a hit of 132 or so. 8 hits would be 1056, though that's probably very unlikely.
Against enemies not susceptible to subdual damage:
1d3+10d6
Or if immune to sneak attack, a simple 1d3 damage.
As long as the target can be sneak attacked, there'll be heaps of ac to go around, plenty of damage to deal. When skill-based stuff comes in, he'll be very useful as well. Versus sneak attack immune, he'll be worthless :P And versus subdual immune, as long as they can still be sa'd, he'll be ok.
His saves are not stellar - excluding reflex.
I really want to avoid sacrificing the 8+int skill points. And alchemist is a no-no in this campaign. Basically anything from pathfinder is good to go, as long as it can be found on the pathfinder d20 srd. Oh, and poisons are interesting, but not really worth adder's strike in my opinion. Cost/effect ratio, availability, and all. Feel free to change my mind about it.
Any thoughts on how to make this guy a better unarmed combatant?
**edit**
Or, I guess I should ask whether this is an unholy abomination that should never see the light of play.
So, after spending too much time searching for strange character ideas, I finally got in my head the concept of an alchemist that dual wields longbows.
Specifically, he uses the vestigial arm discovery twice to net himself two more arms to use as part of the two-weapon fighting chain.
As a sidenote, he's also a vivisectionist with the tumor familiar and the feat that grants his tumor a 1 point evolution for +8 racial to UMD. The tumor uses a wand of grease while he fires two bows at the same time. Eventually he gets Imp. Invis.
So the question is whether or not you CAN two-weapon fight with longbows, or any type of bow or crossbow. Usually, needing two hands prevents it from even being an option. However, ranged weapons don't have a default sizing for two-weapon fighting. So, weirdness.
So this question came up about the unnatural aura evolution of the eidolon. Is it actually an aura that takes up a 5ft square? We have a halfling riding a serpent eidolon, and the argument was that the halfling was safe from attacks by dire rats because his eidolon had the unnatural aura and the effect encompassed him.
First off, does enlarge and lead blades stack for monk unarmed damage?
If so, starting at 2d10, and adding 3 size increases, what would the damage end up as?
2d10>3d10>5d8>6d10?
*sigh* I'm running with the assumption that the number is as close to 1.5 dmg increase per size increase as possible.
Cloak of the manta ray provides a tail attack for 1d6. Can this attack be used at any time, or only in water? Is the damage for this attack based on size, and would it go up in damage with the enlarge/lead blades combo, or would it remain a proud and unbent 1d6?
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So I know that there is a damage chart for small/large weapons in the equipment section of the CRB, and a damage chart for natural weapons in the bestiary.
Are there any charts that extend that range? There are a lot of options these days for players to increase their damage dice through size and abilities that increase weapon damage *as though* they increased in size.
Soothsayer's Raiment is a specific armor in the APG. Specifics about it follow.
spoiler:
Pg. 286
This +1 chainmail is attuned to a particular oracular mystery and
contains a revelation associated with that mystery (see the oracle
class description). While wearing the armor, an oracle has access
to that revelation and may use it as if she had it as a normal class
feature. The oracle must have the appropriate mystery to use the
armor; for example, a soothsayer’s raiment (battlecry) is only usable
by an oracle of battle. If the wearer already has that revelation and
the revelation gives an ability with a limited number of uses per
day, the oracle can use that ability one additional time per day.
This ability has no effect if worn by a non-oracle.
For divination spells with a percentage-based chance of
success (such as augury and divination), the wearer’s chance
increases by +5.
So here's the potential problem I see. Based on the wording, it appears that an oracle can use this armor to get access to revelations that would otherwise be level-restricted, and beyond the oracle's grasp.
The section about revelations under the oracle class guide does have level restricted revelations. The phrasing used to restrict them is as follows:
"You must be at least 11th level to select this revelation."
Since the armor bypasses the selection process, the level limit never comes into play.
Contrast this with the Ring of Revelation on page 293 of the APG.
It has an additional selection of text that is not present in the Soothsayer's Raiment section.
"The oracle must have the appropriate mystery to use the ring, and must
meet the level requirements (if any) of the revelation itself"
I would assume that it was an unintentional error, and needs to be corrected in future printings/releases of the APG.
Before I posted, I performed a rules search and found no results for Sooothsayer's Raiment
So, what do you all think? Can the Arcane Archivist fulfill the requirements for mystic theurge?
Arcane Archivist (Su): Your experience with lore-filled
tomes has granted you the ability to cast arcane spells as
if they were on your spell list. Once per day, you can cast
a spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list as if it were on
your list of spells known. The spell consumes a spell slot
one level higher than the level of the spell. You must have
a spellbook containing the spell to cast it in this way, and
the spell is erased when you complete the casting. You
must be at least 11th level to select this revelation.
Mystic Theurge requires:
Spells: Able to cast 2nd-level divine spells and 2nd-level
arcane spells
The oracle class can fulfill the divine spell requirement. Bolded the section I think is most relevant from the ability.
If it functions, you could effectively take 11 oracle levels, one sorcerer level, and 8 mystic theurge levels. You'd end up with 9th lvl oracle spells and 4th level sorcerer spells. If you went wizard, you could nab 5th level spells, but you'd need to stack some int as well.
Also, forgive me if this has been beaten into the ground already :p I did a quick search and nothing came up so...
And yes, I know this is cheese of the cheesiest kind. But hey, more cleric buffing can't hurt. Right? :p
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I've done some searching. The treantmonk guide assumes that haste and the extra attack from burning a ki point stack. I've found a few other threads that are arguments one way or the other. I checked the d20 pathfinder faq and class entry, but didn't see any relevant entries.
So. I'm hoping for an official weigh-in, or a link to one, so I can reputably either include or exclude it in a dpr comparison build.
So, the druid caps out at beast shape 3, and doesn't have access to magical beasts.
I'm considering opening up magical beasts through a druid prestige class I'm working on. I would like some feedback as to whether this becomes too powerful for the druid.
I went through all the magical beasts and here are my discoveries:
Beast shape three only allows access to small or medium magical beasts.
Beast shape four, which druids don't currently get, allows for tiny and large magical beasts.
These are based on damage, since the abilities are the same as those granted by other, non-magical forms.
Best Tiny Form:
The Stirge. That's only because there's only one tiny form in the bestiary :D The stirge doesn't even deal damage :P
Best Small Form:
The cockatrice, darkmantle, and shocker lizard all have 1d4
Best Medium Form:
Basilisk at 1d8 damage
Best Large Form: Here is where the forms get powerful.
The Chimera gets 5 attacks, for a total of 2d8 and 3d6 damage. No pounce though.
The Girallon gets 1d6, 4d4, and rend, which requires all four hit and deals an extra 1d4 damage. Still no pounce.
The manticore is the last contender. 1d8 and 4d4 damage.
And that's it. Going through the entries, I didn't see anything particularly overpowering. Most of the magical beasts have special abilities that give them power. However, those are automatically ignored unless listed in the spell text. I think as druid shapes not available until, minimum, level 12 for small and medium, level 14 for tiny and large in the prestige class, there isn't anything here that is unbalancing.
I'd like people's opinions on whether it's unbalancing, and additionally on anything I may have overlooked.
First off, I want to lament the absence of a straight up pathfinder rpg character optimization board :p
So, here's the idea I had with the character, and I wanted some feedback on viability and it's ability to compete efficiently with other classes.
The idea is a druid who's specialized in one form for better damage output.
The form in question is the stegosaurus. It's huge, and has a single attack for 4d6 damage. The animal becomes available at druid level 8, and from there on, it's all about maximizing that damage. Prior to that, the standard treantmonk animal forms provide plenty of pain.
20 point buy:
Race: Human
Str 16 (+10)
Dex 14 (+5)
Con 13 (+3)
Int 13 (+3)
Wis 13 (+3)
Cha 7 (-4)
Comments? Suggestions? The character caps with 4th level spells. Enough for some buff spells. A rod of quicken will help make them more useful, potentially even in later levels. The comparatively high attack bonus means that power attack can be used rigorously. Since damage is normally applied at 1.5x for the tail, you get the 3-1 ratio for damage.
Alrighty, this got me curious. And then interested. And then curiously interested. So here we go.
The Wild Shaper:
The Wild Shaper is a druid who sacrifices spellcasting in order to become closer to those forms. She is often a straight druid, though frequently druid/fighters, druid/monks, and druid/rogues choose to enter this class.
HD: D8
Requirements:
Feats: Alertness, Natural Spell
Skills: Survival 6 ranks, Knowledge: Nature 6 ranks
Special: Ability to assume the form of a large animal through the Wildshape class feature.
Class Skills: As druid.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int
Class Features:
Nature Talk: The Wild Shaper retains her ability to speak normally while in Wildshape.
No Shape Left Behind:
The Wild Shaper's class levels stack with druid levels for determining Wild Shape progression. The Wild Shaper gains no other benefits, such as spellcasting levels, or nature's bond progression. Perfecting the form is a sacrifice, and requires dedication.
Greater Wild Shape: The Animal Master gleans greater powers while wildshaping. Starting at level 2, the Wild Shaper may increase the wildshape bonuses to ability scores by 2. This bonus increases by 2 at sixth level, and an additional 2 at 10th level. At 4th level, the Wild Shaper can increase the Natural Armor bonus granted by wildshape by one. This bonus increases by an additional one at 8th level.
Quickened Form: At 3rd level, the Wild Shaper can activate Wild Shape as a move action, instead of a standard action. At 7th level, the Wild Shaper can activate Wild Shape as a swift action.
Advanced Shape: The Animal Master gains greater form mastery through experience. At 4th level, the Animal Master can assume the form of Magical Beasts as though using Beast Shape 3. At 6th level, this improves to Beast Shape 4. At 5th level, the Animal Master can wildshape as though using Giant form 1. At 7th level, this increases to Giant Form 2. At 9th level, this increases to Giant Form 3. At 6th level, the Animal master can wildshape as though using Form of the Dragon 1. At 8th level, this increases to Form of the Dragon 2. At 10th level, this increases to Form of the Dragon 3.
Level---BAB----Fort---Ref---Will---Special
1st------0------0------0-----1-----Nature Talk, No Shape Left Behind
2nd------1------1------1-----1-----Greater Wild Shape +2 Ability Scores
3rd------2------1------1-----2-----Quickened Form (Move action)
4th------3------1------1-----2-----Greater Wild Shape +1 Natural Armor, Advanced Shape Magical Beast (BS3)
5th------3------2------2-----3-----Advanced Shape Giant Form 1
6th------4------2------2-----3-----Greater Wild Shape +4 Ability Scores, Advanced Shape Magical Beast (BS4), Advanced Shape Form of the Dragon 1
7th------5------2------2-----4-----Advanced Shape Giant Form 2, Quickened Form (Swift action)
8th------6------3------3-----4-----Greater Wild Shape +1 Natural Armor, Advanced Shape Form of the Dragon 2
9th------6------3------3-----5-----Advanced Shape Giant Form 3
10th-----7------3------3-----5-----Greater Wild Shape +6 Ability Scores, Advanced Shape Form of the Dragon 3
Ok, I'm looking for some suggestions on putting together a fun-to-play wildshape-themed druid, but with some caveats.
First off, only pathfinder material, or material that's come out specifically to be compatible with pathfinder. No reverse compatibility in the form of 3.5 prestige classes or feats.
Yeah :(
Secondly, part of the character concept involves changing to diminutive creatures for the bonuses to hide, coupled with at least one level in shadow dancer for the hide in plain sight goodness.
Thirdly, pets/summons = irritating. I want to play the character, not him and his pet leopard, or his three summoned dire bats. So I'd like this build to be viable sans summon natures ally spells, and definitely no animal companion.
The druid seems to drop off in interesting abilities right around 12th level. After that, it's stuff you don't need, stuff that's redundant, stuff that's slowly increasing, nothing really interesting to interact with.
I've been hashing this over in my head for the past week or so. Honestly, I'm hoping that there's some pathfinder-type base class or prestige class that gives me the wildshape stuff, some interesting stuff, and doesn't destroy the spellcasting progression. This character is all about survival first. He gets targeted, his first instinct is to find a way to remove himself as a target.
Anyhow, I did some forum and google searches, but didn't really hit on anything that fit. So here's hoping someone out there can point me in the right direction!
So, some of these seem pretty evident to me how they go, but being unable to find a specific answer, I'll ask them here too.
1 When a druid wildshapes while wearing armor, is he still affected by the armor check penalty?
2 If a druid is wearing armor he isn't proficient in, and wildshapes, does he still take the non-proficiency penalty?
3 What if, as above, the armor also has the wild enchantment? Armor check penalties, non-proficiency penalties?
4 Is there any way at the moment to change to gargantuan size animals within pathfinder rules? I notice that enlarge spells don't work with polymorph.
5 would there be any issue with wearing a regular amulet of might fists and a slotless amulet of mighty fists to get the +5 enhancement and +5 special ability bonuses?
6 Is it worth it to create a higher level beast shape spell that grants gargantuan size so that my players can fight the 5 power druids:
