MathNerd's page

"School savants are able to prepare more spells per day than typical arcanists, but their selection is more limited."

I'm not sure if the person who actually wrote this read it.

See, Arcanists CAST 'Spells Per Day' (it's a keyword). Arcanists Prepare 'Spells Prepared'.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advancedClassGuide/classes/arcanist.html
There's a section... a whole section... with the words "Spells Per Day". :/

Personally, I bet the blame falls on quick editing/fixing... someone saw it, thought they were trying to say one thing, and 'corrected' their grammar/phrasing in editing... to something that was wrong.

Here are the rest of the problem phrases under 'school savant'

In addition, the arcanist can prepare one additional spell per day* of each level she can cast, but this spell must be chosen from the selected school.

These are technically correct, the arcanist can prepare more spells each day... but... not 'spells per day', those are never prepared.

Is it nitpicking? Maybe.
Are A LOT of characters getting extra power for free because they made this mistake: Yes. I have seen it on character sheets and in forums. I had a list I made from Giantitp and Paizo forums of people making this mistake.

Elemental Master:
The arcanist can prepare one additional spell per day* of each level she can cast, but it must have the elemental descriptor of her chosen element.

Only the Eldritch Font gains additional power, and it may not be able to use those due to not having a spell of that level prepared. (that puts it up to 2 levels behind the wizard in terms of highest level spell)

School Savant:
School savants are able to prepare more spells per day* than typical arcanists, but their selection is more limited.

In addition, the arcanist can prepare one additional spell per day* of each level she can cast, but this spell must be chosen from the selected school.
(My suggestion is to simply delete the words 'per day'). It does not change the meaning at all, but clears up any ambiguity, and the correction can be administered to existing books by a single swipe of white-out!

My suggestion, an edit for clarity, is to simply remove the words 'per day' from the two sections, from the summary and the main body, which will result in 3? minor corrections.

The other reason 'per day' is unnecessary is simple, Arcanists need not prepare spells daily, they can keep the previous day's prepared spells, or just change those they need to change.

Also, the arcanist does say "spell slots per day" in one entry.

My issue is how easy it is for people to miss that the specialist Arcanist only gains in versatility, not in total spells. :/ The wizard gets spells 1 level sooner, gets extra from being a specialist, and can take the 'Spell Sage' archetype!

A rogue who has selected the 'minor magic' or 'Major Majic' may refill this staff with his minor magic (1 charge) and 'Major Magic' (2 charges) may activate this staff for the following abilities.

2 Charges: Pass without trace.
3 Charges: Invisibility.
5 Charges: Greater Invisibility

Cost:

400*4*11 / 3+300*2*11 / 5 + 200 * 1 * 11 / 2

400gp * 4 * 11 / 3
300gp * 2 * 11 / 5
200gp * 1 * 11 / 2
10,120GP Base cost.

Unlike other staves, once per day this staff can be refilled using a 0th level spell, provided that spall came from the 'Minor Magic'. Additionally, expending a use of the 'Major Magic' talent refills a single charge as normal for a 1st level spell, even if that spell does not appear on the list of spells the stave is capable of casting.
(Cost, 1,500 for heighten spell, I was unable to cost major magic as a charge option, but I don't think it should alter the staves cost as it could be a viable charge option anyway)
Cost source: 1/3rd of a single level spell bump (eg: silent spell, for heighten), * 1.5 for including it into a pre-existing item 1/day.

Base cost so far, 11,570gp + the cost of the 'variable charge' ability... though I am tempted to leave it at 11,570

I'm also likely to restrict it to nonlawful alignments (absent a UMD check) for an additional 10% discount, as per magic item creation.

Unfortunate drawback: cannot be used to fuel arcanists consume items ability as it takes 2 charges for a single spell to be released. Then again, the item is intended for rogues with UMD.

The Arcanist was not overpowered in my opinion, it was good, yes, but the Sorcerer had it outclassed in spells per day, as did the Wizard. Absent the 'mis-reading' glitch that many seemed to make (assuming that specializing gives more spells per day), the Arcanist was clearly the most limited in terms of spells.

It's advantage was the ability to convert it's spells into minor bonuses.. though, admittedly, 1 per spell level did add up to a lot of hopping around with dimension slide. (I'm talking about 'consume spells').

It's now limited to 1 use per point of charisma modifier... which means that it scales linearly with top spells, assuming you use your highest level spell slots to fuel it.

The problem... this goes FAR beyond a simple nerf... a class feature has gone from unlimited to 2 or 3 times a day. Worse than that, a class feature that powers all the other class features... it's so bad, in fact, I'm probably going to wind up making a lot of reversals on the eratta for my home games.

I think it would have been much better to cap the total spell levels or points gained at Cha * Highest Spell Level points per day. Or to not cap it at all.

My problem, however, is how the instability and surprise nerfs affect players... and even those who have old copies of books. Eratta should be common sense clarification... not full-on redesigns. (Though, sometimes it's necessary, as in the case of the Constitution casting scarred witchdoctor and it's single attribute dependency).

One players character was suddenly unplayable due to having 9 Cha. Even with a higher Cha, he bounced around the battlefield so often (and needed that maneuverability) that he would deplete his entire reserve in mere rounds.

Can you recommend a new character for me?
How does this make you feel about your books?
Has anything else been nerfed this hard? (Besides the silly [does it make sense, yes, does it double cost? Yes] ruling that the already weak Monk has to alternate 'flurry' with two weapons?)

Small question on the above... I was reading the Monk class, seems to me he still needs two weapons to flurry, just has 20 BAB so he can switch to normal attacks... is this correct or was there some change in the wording?

Also, is there an old copy of the Paizo Pathfinder PRD archived anywhere??? I don't like a lot of the new eratta and when I make a home game I will be un-nerfing some stuff and Rule-0-ing some rulings.

Paizo, if you're reading this... old prd archives??? By date? Please tell me you kept them. I don't really want to have to search through internet backups and manually copy things over. It would take a year... and if I had to go that far I'd... it would be a lot of work and I would rather avoid a year long project! The less work I can do, the better for both of us.

I used a diplomatic solution and managed to bypass an encounter. Because of this, the DM ruled that I had not found an item and crossed it off my (and the other characters) character sheets. It was a very nice item, I got bored, and didn't play again for 2 years.

I was using a pregen and hadn't even made a character yet... and I was already down an item. As were all the other characters. Now, I can imagine a scenario lacking a rogue.

Then I realized I could NEVER AGAIN attempt that scenario to get that item. I considered what might happen with a necessary item... and...

That was two years ago... if not more. (How long has it been since pathfinder was released?)

http://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=167240
This is old but....

Items found During this Scenario These are items found/boons gained during the course of your scenario. If you did not find the item or gain the boon, it should be crossed out. These items are available to buy at any time, but you do not get them for free.

The item was crossed out because a character we didn't murder had it.

How to properly play pathfinder:
MURDER EVERYTHING THAT ISN'T HUMANOID!!! Just like a videogame... actually, why don't I just go play the videogame. (And I did... actually, I think that was my reasoning).

I just want to say, that I think this is a problem.

I also think it's wrong to punish a character for being good, especially in a game about heroes which mandates non-evil alignment. I think it's silly to punish a whole group for not having a rogue to pick everyone's pockets. (I probably could have cast detect magic and decided to murder them all out of character because of a magical glow).

And I remember 'Mike Brock' saying the whole point of chronicle sheets is to make sure everyone has the same stuff...
He was talking about editing chronicle sheets, 2012 I think... but basically the point is the same.

Is there a glitch in the quote above?

Memorize Page.
Memorize Page, from the Advanced Class Guide, is an amazing spell, it lets you take a backup of 'int mod' pages, plus one for your familiar, if you need to.

The rules glitch is as follows: The large problem with the spell is that the memorized pages remain no matter what... in short, you cannot change which pages you memorize, ever... they are permanent unless removed by the 4th level spell 'modify memory', which only bards can cast, or another similar effect.

However, according to the pathfinder society rules, any spell cast by a PC ends at the scenario, along with all effects thereof. In short, no matter how many times you cast the above spell, you begin and end every scenario without the memories. (Basically, much like free hit point restoration if you don't heal up, your memories are fresh as a daisy next adventure).

This also means that if you want to learn a spell and add it to your spellbook, but don't have the gold... it's gone from your memory at the end of the scenario.

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2rt5g?When-does-a-scenario-end
I've never had a problem as a player or GM with the PCs hanging out together for days after the mission ends to nurse each other back to health.

My big worry with this glitch, is that a GM might hate it and try to force a scenario to end. However, I just noticed that it says end of a session. So.... :)

"The existence of a Day Job check pretty much indicates that PCs are assumed to have time before and/or after the adventure to do things."

"This is a subject of table variaion."

"must be resolved before the end of the session" - death

Can anyone else think of a spell or an ability that benefits from whatever players do being undone?

I was using the mobile version of the Humble Bundle website. Unfortunately, when I checked my receipt I found out I somehow had the comic bundle, not the RPG bundle. (I suspect that it has to do with using the physical back button, and the previous page not having the data in question embedded into the URL). (It's a recommended design practice to improve usability and prevent these kinds of errors, but not all programmers know about it.

They refunded me. (It's all good, right... not so much, apparently the glitch counts against my purchase limit and I can't get a 3rd Humble Bundle... as a gift... :/ This means that whatever group I find/make in my area, we will have to use 2 sets of e-books instead of 3... which would be perfect with 1 physical set.)

One of the sets is mine, my first pathfinder books... ever. I should also mention that my city DOES NOT have a pathfinder game running, in spite of the fact that there is actually a SMALL yearly tabletop gaming convention in my city. (Though, to be fair, the nearest other city is about an hour and a half away, and in that gap there are a great many small towns and other cities, and pathfinder has a pretty good turnout from those small towns at the local event... I know that at least 4-5 tables of pathfinder games run simultaneously at the yearly event... and those are usually booked solid all day).

I, honestly, would have rather lost out on the donation and still been able to buy the bundle... :/ All I really cared about was getting all 3 of those bundles.

This also means that anyone who bought both the comics and the RPG books would have been rate limited on one because of the other. (In short, one could buy 3 comics, 3 books, or 1 comic 2 books, etc.

Is it really fair to punish those who also wanted the comics? I'm getting distracted... unfortunately, while they did remove the rate limit... I just got the e-mail and the bundle is over. Is there any way for me to get that 3rd bundle? (Keep in mind that I'm the same guy who waited 2 years for a second 100baseFX fiber optic unit at my local goodwill... ($5 btw, regularly $120 new!) cheap... and broke... do not begin to describe the vast emptiness that is my wallet. I still need it at the humble bundle price, and if I hadn't found it luckily, I likely never would have purchased the books.)

One more guys... you have no idea the value you are getting... I literally get paid to sell stuff... by the hour. When I have something, when I like something, when I enjoy something, I share it. Honestly, if I can't get that bundle, Paizo is losing much more than me.

Genius
Requirement: Human, half elf, half orc, gnome, halfling or other race with a racial bonus to a mental ability score.
You lose 2 points of your racial bonus to Wisdom or Charisma(whichever you used to qualify for this feat), and gain an equivalent racial bonus to Intelligence(max: +2). You may additionally select one trait related to spellcasting, an arcane spellcasting class, intelligence, or any intelligence based skill, including selecting a qualifying racial trait through the trait 'Adopted'.

Special: This feat may only be selected at first level, or when subject to a 'reincarnate' spell if your previous form had a racial bonus to intelligence and your new form has or can have a racial bonus to Wisdom or Charisma.

The intent of this feat is to support gnomes who are supposed to be amazing inventors. I would probably also allow a gnome to get this feat in place of ANY racial trait(the ones under the 'gnome' entry such as Defensive Training or illusion resistance), but not gain the extra trait effectively, it becomes a half-feat they can trade a racial ability for, well unless they trade Gnome Magic, that ability is worth a feat.

Metamagic Ring, Lesser Quicken 1/day, Cost 12,000gp.
This item functions as a metamagic rod to quicken a single spell of up to 3rd level once per day. The ring must be worn for 24 hours before a spell can be cast in this way.
Note: It costs a straight third of a metamagic rod of quicken spell, but also has the requirement that it must be worn for 24 hours and takes up the ring slot. Balanced? (Normally, a slotted item would be half the price, but I upped it from half because I thought it fair and underpriced otherwise).

Metamagic Ring, Lesser Versatile. Cost: 17500gp
This ring allows for up to 3 levels of metamagic feats to be applied to spells of 3rd level or less per day. This ring must be worn for 24 hours to function.
1 Charge: Silent Spell or Still Spell
2 Charges: Silent Spell and Still Spell
3 Charges: Quicken,
Varies: Any other metamagic feat or combination of metamagic feats up to +3 spell levels, chosen when you prepare spells(if so chosen, this replaces quicken).
1 Charge: You can activate a metamagic rod of up to 3000gp held in hand without expending a charge or without moving it (your choice) by expending one charge from the ring, it's effect (in addition to those of this ring) are added to the spell.
2 Charges: Up to 9000 gp.
3 Charges: 15000 gp
You may combine the above actions, up to 3 charges or spell levels may be expended in this way.
Creation: As a metamagic rod, plus Rary's Mnemonic Enhancer.
Note: This ring fills the void of a missing 'Metamagic Still' rod, which can't exist because metamagic rods need to be waived around.

To get pricing of versatile: Divide metamagic rod of quicken by 3 (one charge of 3 spell levels, the most powerful ability), multiply by 1.5.
To get pricing of lesser quicken ring. It should give 4 spell levels, but only gives 3 unless quicken is used. Cost is ad-hoc.

Bizarre Metamagic Ring of Spell Silencing, Lesser
While wearing this ring, sounds you produce appear muffled and you gain a +2 competence bonus to stealth checks, additionally when not trying to be silent and attempting to communicate, make an stealth check at a -10 penalty, those who fail are unable to hear your words (thought they can read your lips normally).
After the ring has been worn for 24 hours, three times per day the wearer may, without a sound, gain the effect of the 'Silent Spell' feat as applied to a spell of 3rd level or lower.
Cost: As a metamagic rod of the same price, plus 600gp, so 3,600gp.
(1.5 times the cost of a +2 competence bonus from an ioun stone).

(Note, this is a crazy fun item, especially with a cranked up stealth check, especially on a rogue).

Ring of Unseen Casting CL 3rd (Caster level based on mistmail)
3000gp (As a metamagic rod of still spell)
400gp (Single use of a first level spell effect, caster level 1 2000 gp / 5/charges [one]) That's per charge cost.
CL 3, 3 mins total, single use or 3 cl1 charges
Three charges would be 1200... hmm.
1200*1.5 = 1800

Ring of Unseen Casting, CL 3rd
Cost: 4800
Three times per day you may choose to cast a glamer over yourself which prevents your motion (other than throwing a ranged weapon, or

benefit from the spell 'Illusion of Calm', while under the effect of that spell you may also cast a single spell as though it had been prepared with the still spell feat. After you have cast the spell, the illusion ends.

/

2250, 250 masterwork chain shirt

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2lfo8?The-Witch-and-using-scrolls
Read Magic is not on the witches spell list.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/magicItems/scrolls.html
Spellcraft check DC20+ spell level to use a scroll of a spell on her class list without read magic.

Or: Two worlds magic... which still doesn't let you learn spells from spellbooks. In fact, even the Bard, Paladin, and Ranger get it on their list. That's every core class from the edition pathfinder was based on, which implies that it was a very necessary spell (everyone gets it).

bard 0, cleric 0, druid 0, paladin 1, ranger 1, sorcerer/wizard 0
Basically, every spell casting class in 3.5.

"It's still kinda weird that witches feed scrolls to their familiar."
"Oh, we just tell everyone that, we really just destroy scrolls because we're irked at being the only ones who can't read them."

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2n9xw?Can-a-Witch-use-Divine-scrolls
Also misses the mark. However, the fact that the witch's familiar EATS the scroll to learn the spell means arcane/divine is irrelevant. Is this a legacy rule that was missed? If so, what should replace it? As is, witches can't cast scrolls, might as well eat them.

The problem is that witches are one of the few classes that does not get read magic. Thematically, it does fit, but crippling their ability to use scrolls when even Mr. thwack n heal (paladin), bard, and ranger can... is weird.

The more I look at the witch class, the more crippling flaws I find. Please tell me, am I right? If so, how does it make sense for witch spells to be available as scrolls.

Hex Vulnerability
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/h/hex-vulnerability
How on earth can you buy a scroll of this? By all the laws of logic such things should not exist.

Please tell me I'm wrong, or that it's an error.

Witches have to pay 6000 minimum to back up their spells and can only do so at a certain level (when that is 1/4 their wealth). Witches have a living spellbook that many GM's try to kill, cannot learn spells from sources other than other willing familiars or scrolls (so none or little as loot, whereas a wizard could find an entire spellbook[or 'borrow' one]).

Heck, for the ultimate in broken-ness, (comparatively) a wizard who loses his spellbook can just borrow another mages, and can then proceed to prepare every spell he had in his old book, which he can then scribe from memory, even if that spellbook is destroyed. A witch who loses her spellbook, however, must begin again from the beginning.

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2qjro&page=1?PFS-and-NPC-Wizard-Spellbooks
The wizard can get any spell in the game for 1.5 times the cost.

Also, if a wizard or a witch finds a scroll, only one of them can use it to learn a spell in pfs. (Could cause conflicts).

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2qs1d?Wizard-and-Witch-who-gets-the-scroll
This has been clarified according to the upper link, which is actually older.

Scrolls used in this way during an adventure do not need to be purchased, but are still consumed as normal.

Hmm... memorize page... memorize page functions on a scroll and does not consume the scroll (as it does not borrow, duplicate, or retain any of the magic), it would allow the wizard to scribe it later, then the witch could eat it, the wizard would retain perfect memory of the page for the entire duration of the adventure, good for up to 5th level spells for a good int wizard build. 6th if the familiar can memorize one page.

As for flipping a coin in pathfinder society: No. It's not in character to do so. I am a seeker of esoteric lore, the idea of allowing someone to burn a spell thus permanently destroying what might well be the only copy is abhorrent to me. My response would be simple:
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD? Can you not see reason, knowledge is something to be treasured, recorded, shared, passed down, not fed to a cat."
Familiar: "Hmmph"
Wizard: Not you, obviously.

The pathfinders are: "a legendary league of explorers, archaeologists, and adventurers dedicated to discovering and chronicling the greatest mysteries and wonders of an ancient world beset by magic and evil."

Does this sound like someone who burns scrolls before copying them, or who would risk the destruction of information when not absolutely necessary? (EG: someone needs the scroll to raise an evil god, sure, burn it).

Sorry for the PFS specific stuff, but people keep kicking threads out of Pathfinder Society when they ask rules questions, so I'm putting it here in expectation of that happening anyway.

Am I right, a Witch can't use a scroll without a DC20+spell level spellcraft check?

Anthropomorphic Animal (or Alter Self) + Familiar Melding + Mistmail barding gives your witch's familiar a permanent 20% concealment.

Note: I did the calculations to break down the cost of Mistmail, it is, in fact, priced as 24/7.

It's 7th level, if anyone can think of a way to pull this off at a lower level, let me know.

Or Alter Self (The lowest level spell that does the job)

School Familiar archetype, Familiar Adept Wizard gets 'Greater Summoned Shell' if you are a Conjurer, and it can control a Lantern Archon, Bralani Azata, Kyton, Salamander, or succubus.
A medium metamagic rod of extend spell (double duration) plus the occultist Arcanist archetype (1 minute per level) gives your familiar the ability to control a succubus for 2 minutes per level.

Improving communication:
Extra Item Slot: Belt of Dwarvenkind.
The wearer can understand, speak, and read Dwarven. \
Robe of Blending
Turn into an orc, or whatever, speak orc, or whatever.
Alter Self.
School Familar: Illusion, lesser illusory maestro (4th level, one level below speak with master your familiar can make illusions).

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/share-memory
Share memory pathfinder, 3rd level. (2nd level spells) Have your familiar imagine saying it in common, alter self is more effective.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/a/accept-affliction
Same level/cost as remove curse, no opposed roll.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/memorize-page
Memorize Page is automatically erased at the end of scenario, per the pfs rules, you can scribe whatever spells you memorize. Also useful for maps! Ironically, the PFS nerf makes this MORE useful.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/d/duplicate-familiar
Duplicate Familiar: Range: Touch.
You can have the familiar carry the touch spell and use it when it needs it.
Alter self: Possibly also the same, if you can designate your familiar as the toucher for a spell that was personal converted to touch.

The stated example gives a 1/1hd eidolon, but between the two of them there is only one feat to be divided. Also, the large size evolution (given later) gives medium and small eidolons. The hinge is on the word 'divided' which does not necessarily mean evenly. (Nor is even possible at every odd level, and I need to do some calculations to see if it is even possible at all). It is possible to divide evenly at 5th level, and every 5 thereafter.

Regardless of the number of eidolons in the brood, each eidolon has the same base attack bonus and base saving throw bonuses, but the rest of the eidolons’ base statistics must be divided between the eidolons, including Hit Dice (minimum 1), skill points, number of feats, armor bonus, Str/Dex bonus, evolution pool (but see below), and maximum number of natural attacks.

The example given is a level 2 summoner, 1/1hd. However, it only has one feat and only one Eidolon would get it. Also, it later details two small eidolons and one large eidolon (Should they have the same HD, I don't think so, as certain creatures advance in HD they get bigger). One possibility I'm not sure most of you have considered, giving most of the abilites, hit dice, etc... to ONE eidolon, and only a few to the other. (Though, attacks would still have to be allocated, which would reduce the utility of the first.

(Suddenly, I want to make one small eidolon with 1 hit dice and +16 natural armor, and another huge eidolon with NO armor bonus and 15 hit dice).

When you think about it, splitting strength, armor, and hit points evenly in half cripples the Broodmaster so much at mid levels that it becomes inviable. It's twice as easy to hit and has half the hit points, that is far weaker than any CR-appropriate creature would be[each reduction Halves it's combat survivability], on all terms. However, dividing them unevenly is more viable.

The mental hangup is the mathematical definition of divide (most often used in D&D, divide your armor bonus by two if tiny[does that apply tho the base armor bonus, the enhancement and armor bonus combined, or... later]), vs. the linguistice divide, which means to separate into parts, which could be categories but need not be even. For instance, the two small one medium would have 4 attacks to split between them.

All the mechanics, only sacrificing hp for one eidolon, only summoning one eidolon, only looking through the eyes of one eidolon, in spite of being a brood master.

The discussion centers very heavily one the definition of the word divide.

Math Lingo vs. Plain English: Double Entendre
Has an entire paper on this, and a small snippet relevant to this conversation:
Correspondingly, "divide" means cut into pieces, possibly equal pieces. In math lingo, "divide" is the same as "multiply," in the sense that dividing by a number other than zero is the same as multiplying by some other number (its reciprocal).
Possibly equal, but not necessarily so, and not possibly so in this case.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gamemastering.html
Add up the XP values for each CR and then divide this total by the number of characters—each character earns an amount of XP equal to this number.

However, if the mathematical definition of 'divides' is intended, then the broodmaster directly contradicts it's-self by

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/spellcastingClassOptions/s ummoner.html

The broodmaster decides to give the first eidolon 4 skill points, one feat, a +1 armor bonus, a +1 bonus to Strength, 2 points from the evolution pool, and a maximum of two attacks. The remaining 4 skill points, +1 armor bonus, +1 bonus to Dexterity, and 2 points from the evolution pool go to the second eidolon, but it gains no feats and can have only one natural attack.

The uneven-ness looks to be out of necessary, but it says he 'decides to give'.

RAW and RAI, DM's of PFS, how do you rule?