Most recent familiar: Brandt's Familiar/Companion Brent. Brandt is a bat-kin skinwalker who's always in Bat Form. Brent is his very similar looking bat familiar/packmate (via Eldrtich heritage.) They're both good boys.
Brent uses a Ring of Eloquence to speak now, which is nice. He really picks on person in the group to hang out on and help. He used to be an Emissary familiar, able to cast guidance at will, and 1/day Bit of Luck. But after a series of dreamland adventures, he became a Figment familiar! Which mostly makes him a really good scout/guard. (Flying Foxes get Skill Focus[Perception], Figment gives him Skilled (Perception) as an evolution.) He's got a bandolier of various Oils that he uses in combat to help his chosen PC. At lower levels, he could be as effective as Brandt, but now the basic Oils are somewhat less cool. Oil of Enlarge Person is a rockstar though! Being able to apply it as a standard (instead of a 1 round cast) from a familiar helps out melee types a ton. But he's used Cure Light Wounds, Holy Weapon Balm, Bless Weapon, and Shield of Fait to good effect as well. He should probably grab some Vanishes too.
He was mostly a joke to have twin bats, but I've been pleased at how much he can help in combat. I think an Ioun stone or two (maybe with Watchful Eye?) would go a long way if I ever play him again.
Eye usually lives in Ira's forhead (via the Mutant Eye trait) but when he's well behaved, he gets pulled out to fly around and scout. Nothing too mechanically interesting here, but if you don't see the awesomeness ins arguing with your floating eyeball, I don't know what to do for you.
Eye is a Decoy familiar, so he can speak (somehow) all of Ira's many languages, and turn into and exact duplicate of Ira for up to 11 minutes at time. He hasn't been able to play with that much though. He's also got a Cracked Vibrant Purple prism Ioun Stone and a Regular Vibrant Purple Prism, to throw around a couple of spells in combat when he's bored. Deja Vu is particularly handy for keeping Murderous Command targets down an extra round. Oh, he can also communicate telepathically with Ira out to a mile, which is handy.
Eye had one crowning moment: Fascinating a would-be assassin in the middle of a crowded market, preventing the murder and letting the group get through the crowd. I had one level of sorcerer, and took a bloodline familiar so his effective wizard level kept up. But this also gave him the Fascinate bardic performance. Which he's used twice.
That reminds me: Cracked Purple Prisms are a great buy for familiars. There are a lot of solid 1st levels spells that come in very handy if your familiar doesn't do much in combat. Remove Fear, the lowly CLW, Watchful Eye, Moment of Greatness, Deja Vu, Obscuring Mist, they can all do a lot!
My Skald Malric's familiar Goat is quite the butt kicker. He started as a normal semi-intelligent goat, driven to rage by Malric's song. At low levels, he was a great flanking partner and triggered Amplified Rage for some pretty effective attacks. He was eventually blessed by Sarenrae and turned into a Fire Mephit.
Now, at 17th level, he's basically a high level Barbarian:
26 Str while raging, DR 5/Magic, Fast Healing 8 while raging and FH 2 out of combat hanging out in a fire.
Wielding a Furious Bloodsong Fauchard for big crits.
A nice mix of Rage Powers (Strength Surge, Savage Dirty Trick, Unexpected Strike, Flesh Wound, Guarded Life)
Solid combat feats from Eldritch Guardian (Power Attack, Outflank, Coordinated Charge, Improved Dirty Trick, Greater Dirty Trick)
I haven't gotten to play with him since picking up Improved/Greater Dirty Trick. Skalds basically rage cycle every round once they get sift action perform at 13. So he's using Strength Surge (+15!) + Savage Dirty Trick for a pretty debilitating and almost guaranteed Blind every round, Flesh Wound basically negating one hit a round, and Outflank + Fauchard picks up a lot of extra AoOs. He's also usually the trigger for Coordinated Charge, which is a great way to give martials (or Malric, depending on what he's up to at the start of the fight) an improved Pounce.
I was thinking about this recently: I wish Tactician started as a Move action. It should be a cool ability and would really have changed the dynamics of Teamwork feats. Jumping straight to a swift at 9th is too long to wait.
It's a tiny change, but I would also swap the Life Shaman's level 1 Spirit spell to Cure Light Wounds. It got cut and pasted from Life Oracles, who always get CLW known.
There will not be a case where a familiar is a better choice to scout than a character. The only case where you actually want to use a familiar as a scout is when you don't have another option.
Are we mixing up terms, or mixing up the Exploration action part of the discussion?
Scout during Exploration mode doesn't use a skill at all, so a familiar would be just as good a Scout as anyone else. Assuming other PCs have at least some other reasonable Encounter mode action, the familiar would *always* be the choice for Scout.
If Familiars could Scout during Exploration, they would be freeing up/replacing a PC.
I'll be playing in PFS, so level 10 is a long ways off. Master Monster Hunter (possibly with Assurance (Nature)?) does look like it helps a lot. Maybe I'll hold off until 10 (or I've played a lot more PF2) and retrain into it then.
Is there a strong way to build for and use the Ranger 1 Monster Hunter feat? I like the idea of getting more out of my Hunt Prey actions in combat. But I'm having trouble feeling like it's worth investing in.
Has anyone tried Monster Hunter and had good luck with it? Do you think it's worth investing in any Lore or other mainline skills to back it up? Are there some skill feats that might make it cooler?
Am I reading the Animal Companion rules correctly, and an Animal Companion can't use the attack bonus from Magic Fang because it's an item bonus? Was this intentional?
When you Hunt Prey, your animal companion gains the action’s benefits and your hunter’s edge benefit if you have one.
Ranger: Hunter's Edge: Precision wrote:
The first time you hit your hunted prey in a round, you also deal 1d8 additional precision damage.
Your Animal companion's first hit per round is tracked separately from your first hit, right? Meaning Precision can trigger twice if you and your companion both hit the Prey.
Is there any equivalent for PFS 2E of the "only one familiar, companion creature, etc" rule? I'm thinking I may try a Familiar+Animal Companion build if they're legal.
I've been playing PF1 for years, and retrained class levels and feats a bunch. But I've been avoiding adding archetypes, because I'm not even sure how to read the rule.
The rule: wrote:
To gain an archetype that replaces standard class abilities you already have, you must spend 5 days for every alternate class feature you would add, subtract, or replace by taking that archetype.
I want to take the "Red Tongue" archetype on my Skald. It has 5 alternate class features: Great Orator, Seed of Discord, Rile, Rogue Talents, and Duplicitous Rhetoric. It replaces Bardic Knowledge, modifies Raging Song, and modifies the level 1 Versatile Performance, and replaces the other Versatile Performances.
How long does it take a level 14 Skald to retrain into this archetype?
I think it's just 5 days times 5 Alternate class features. All the modified/removes features are Standard Class features. But you'd never remove or replace an Alternate Feature, only add them. So I'm not sure what the actual intent is.
I normally love Bards and buff/support classes. But I'm really having trouble getting excited about the PF2 Bard. I thought they'd make some of the Inspire Courage class feats (Input Heroics and Lingering Performance) less clunky, but it doesn't look like the changed anything from the playtest.
Is there something awesome I'm missing that makes spending an action every round for a non scaling +1/+1 really compelling? Or worth spending feats on to make it into a random bonus that costs Focus? Is there some other gem in the Bard's abilities?
Is anyone who's going to GenCon interested in trading their GM Rebuild Boon (or some older rebuild boon) for a PF2 Core Rulebook (assuming they're fully stocked at the con)? If most folks are starting up on PF2, I'd still like to re-build a few of my beloved PFS1 characters.
Will these be valid for use at Gencon? I may sign up for a few more games with these replays burning a hole in my pocket. :)
Also, will the existing GM recharge boon be fillable/usable every year going forward? Or is the Season 10 one I've got filled out the last recharge I'll have of my "real" GM stars?
I'm looking for as many "Traveler in an Unstable Timeline" as I can get.
If you've got other tradable replay boons, that would be cool too.
I've got:
Vanaran
Inheritor of Ghol Gan (Grippli after checking boxes)
Merfolk
Pathfinder's Apprentice
Spirit of the Shadow Lodge
Moment of Glory
Extra Hours x2
Arcane Ammo
Alchemical Efficiency
Loci Spirit
Fighting Off Corruption(Ghoul)
Brutal Reputation
Mendevian Weapon Training
Hypnotic Therapy
S R, I assume your'e referring to This FAQ? Your answers don't match the FAQ.
Familiars don't start with *any* base slots, they have to use Extra Item Slot feats to use any slot based items:
FAQ wrote:
By default, familiars do not have any magic item slots, but they can unlock magic item slots associated with their respective body shape. See below for a list of which body slots each familiar is eligible to unlock. To unlock a magic item slot, a familiar must take the Extra Item Slot feat...
Familiars don't start with Neck and Armor slots for free, that's a rule for Animal Companions:
FAQ wrote:
An animal companion has access to the armor and neck magic item slots automatically, as long as its body shape is eligible for these slots.
Soo, what kind of plans do people have for their new demi-gods?
Does anyone have any cool plans for a new character worshipping their old friend?
Does anyone else want to ask for the Boon to be modified to allow other players to worship you if they have a copy of your character's boon?
I'm trying to brainstorm an interesting follow-up character. Given my Rasping character (a Pharsman Fateful Channel Life Shaman based around re-rollls) I'm thinking of a Warpriest/Involutionist Shaman. But the actual domains from worshipping aren't that central in a build like this. I can't think of a particularly cool build that really highlights the worship of a weird Ex-Pathfinder deity.
John, I don't think you realize how big a deal this is for Paizo, the company certainly is not acting like you think it's important. I've already canceled my subscriptions because of this. At this point, I'm giving up on buying any Paizo product except scenarios I'm needed to run. In particular, Pathfinder 2 is a non-starter to me until I see some acknowledgement of the problem here and a commitment to addressing it.
I've been playing an Undine Sensei (+Ki Mystic and Qinggong) Monk that's been a ton of fun. Unfortunately, he was already level 11 when I played 9-24, so I didn't get to play him.
He's a low Strength Grappler (which wouldn't be limited underwater, and coud be neat for drowning air-breathers) :
Improved Grapple, Snapping Turtle Style, Snapping Turtle Clutch, Greater Grapple.
Grappling possibly too effective, I try my best to only engage when attacked, or when I think someone could be in trouble.
I took Wisdom in the Flesh trait to get Wisdom on Swim checks instead of Str.
Blazing Rondo is a super effective Bardic Masterpiece, one of the only ones worth a feat. Throwing out a giant AoE Haste as a move action is super effective.
Level 1 sucks, because you haven't got Wisdom to hit yet.
Sensei isn't that cool until level 6, so definitely stick with Monk until then.
Level 7 Gives you Bardic Performance as a Move action.
At level 8, you can take one level of Cleric (I took Sacred Attendant) for Ki Channel. Ki Channel can give you a ton of Ki points, especially with a Phylactery.
I retrained back to full Monk at 10th level, since the level 10 Sensei power is crazy good (1 Ki Point gives your whole party a Ki power. For example, +4 Dodge to AC.)
Get a Ring of Ki Mastery as soon as you can, so that you can hand out re-rolls cheap from Ki Mystic.
I took True Strike, then Barkskin, then Gaseous Form for my Qinggong powers. Sticking with Wholeness of Body is probably fine as well. Giving True Strike to other people is very Sensei-y. Giving True Strike to your entire party is fun, if not overwhelmingly effective. Handing out +4 Natural Armor to the group for 100 minutes is great (and gets nonsensical when you're handing out +4 Dodge on top of that in many rounds.)
You can double down on Ki Channel if you want by taking the Aquatic trait for Undine and the Aquatic domain. You'll get a second set of channels. I found I didn't need that many Ki points, so I never actually did this. Also buy a bunch of Tea of Transference to get extra cheap Ki for emergencies.
If they just leave us hanging on the books we've bought since January, I'm going to be very wary about buying anything else. I'm already extremely frustrated at the handling of additional resources this year (and overall, honestly.)
These skill checks also seem like a recipe for annoying gameplay, by adding another roll and GM DC check to the Bard's turn. And by having the Inspire Courage bonus change from round to round.
I'd really rather they gave Inspire Courage a Heightened (3) and Heightened (5) bonus increase.
I don't think it's fair to count the Bard's Muse feat against the Sorcerer, since it can't be used for Multiclass feats, and is more like the first level bloodline power. The second level class feat is also a little suspect since the only real choice is to Multiclass or take the only feat you qualify for.
It would be really nice if the 6th and 10th level bloodline powers were just turned into class feats, to give Sorcerers some build options.
I'll just throw in here that Triple Time could use a line about using it as a Exploration Tactic. Or Exploration tactics should have a different tactic for single-action spells like Compositions. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out a good use for it, unless you happen into the sweet spot where your enemies are 40' (or 80') away and you can save two allies actions.
Occult Evolution looks significantly better than Esoteric Scholar:
- You get a free trained skill.
- You don't have to pay for and drag around a spellbook.
- You can nab any Occult spell you want (even though the Bard ponied up cash, you're still more flexible.)
- You can pick your spell during the adventuring day in a minute, rather than during your Daily Preparations.
I'm concerned about some of the Compositions as well. Specifically, the skill checks for Inspire Heroics and Lingering Performance. Rolling skill checks every round to figure out basic things like what your attack bonus looks like it will slow things down dramatically. Having wildly varying bonuses to allies looks frustrating to track for everyone. I'm honestly not sure how someone who's played with PF1 bards could think having their bonuses change round to round would be anything other than annoying. Finally, spending Spell Point on buff abilities only to have them fizzle ~50% or more of the time looks completely un-fun.
Oops, sorry about the double-post. I thought Kvetchus' response was from the original thread, and edit/delete have timed out now. :(
Kvetchus, that seems like a plausible reading, even if I disagree with it. But is tehre any basis in the rules for it? Telepathy is typically described as "mind reading", which would be the *exact opposite* of way you've described (can only read minds, not send messages.) I don't think either version of "one way only" communication is supported by the rules but without any official information, the ability is basically unusable in SFS since rulings can wary wildly.
This came up again in a PFS session tonight. It's really frustrating that a year in, there aren't even clear rulings on things like whether telepathy is two way, or requires line of sight.
Please clarify this, it's a core part of how the world works.
The Bast Shape feat for Skinwalkers and the Fox Shape feat for Kitsune both have similar wording and similarly ambiguous durations. I'd been assuming the Bat Shape lasts until you shift back, but realized last session that that wasn't explicit.
Fox Shape has an explicit Campaign Clarification:
"5—A kitsune who takes the Fox Shape feat can remain in fox form indefinitely."
Bat Shape only has clarification that you use Flying Fox stats.
Since it's ambiguous, I'm going to continue assuming it works like Fox Shape and lasts as long as you want to stay in bat form. But I'd like more opinions (and ideally an updated CC ;).)
For your first Rage power at lower levels, Lesser Spirit Totem is a nice boost to overall party damage. Later on, you can retrain it to Strength Surge, which starts off weak but scales well. I swapped to at 6th when I got Savage Dirty Trick. Letting all your allies Blind+Stagger, with a +6 to their CMB, goes a long way. At 9th, Unexpected Strike lets them Blind+Stagger when an enemy comes adjacent. Then I took Flesh Wound at 12th for damage mitigation.
Lesser Celestial Totem looks solid if it's legal for you.
I wouldn't worry about rage cycling until 7th level, when you can do it as a Move. But then it's solid. Rage Cycle+Attack w/Unexpected Strike is usually better than a Full Attack for you, as well as granting your allies piles and piles of AoOs.
Seems like there's consensus. It's a crazy effective way to clear Curses, Diseases, ongoing effects that don't prevent swift actions (and to a lesser extent poisons.)
Has there been any clarification on the costs of transfering Weapon Fusions in SFS?
Basically, I'm looking at getting a Item Level 4 Spellthrower Fusion on a weapon. Is buying an IL1 Fusion first (120cr) then transfering it to my level 4 weapon (340) the cheapest, legal way to do that, or has something dealt with this rules issue?
Something like:
Leaving the Scarab Sages faction is similar to leaving a faction when it retires:
* This change costs no Prestige Points.
* You keep any benefits earned on your Scarab Sage's Faction Journal Cards, but after changing factions, you are no longer able to fulfill new goals.
* You keep any Scarab Sage-specific boons earned on Chronicle sheets.
* You retain any Scarab Sages faction trait.
* You keep access to any purchased Scarab Sage-specific vanities.
* You can perform this change whenever you would like, but cannot return to the Scarab Sage faction once you've done so.
As things currently stand, even though changing from Scarab Sages costs 0 prestige, you'd have to follow the rules at the bottom of the first column of page 28, and lose all Scarab Sage prestige awards.
Have we ever gotten any clarification on this ability?
My Sacramental Alchemist would really like to be able to liberate people from diseases and curses. But the wording on this could have been a lot clearer.
I'm really confused. Do you not think the attribute modifiers are part of the racial traits the eidolon gets (a human wouldn't get +2 to any attribute, for example)? If so, your reading is so far from mine (and so far from your own reading earlier in the thread) that I can't really reconcile them.
@Chess Presumably +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Str, 20' move as well?
I'm not sure what you mean by "normal size for the eidolon"? It sounds upthread like you thought it would be small size because of the racial trait, without any of the small size modifiers from the Eidolon rules?
Being specific, I think the stats would end up like this:
Str 14 Dex 14 Con 13 Int 9 Wis 10 Cha 11 20' move, +1 Size Mod
Are you saying I'd have a hulking Medium size Ratfolk with no racial modifiers?
Str 16 Dex 12 Con 13 Int 7 Wis 10 Cha 11 30' Move
Or that I'd need to take a Small Eidolon and get the racial mods?
Str 10 Dex 16 Con 11 Int 9 Wis 10 Cha 11 20'Move, +1 Size Mod (+2 Size Mod? Racial trait and regular size mod?)
