Toughness only increases your HP(Hit Points). Magical Knack is limited by your HD(Hit Dice). There is no interaction between toughness and magical knack.
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Is there a school that grants a bonded item? That ability is usually granted to wizards independent of their school class ability There is a bloodline that grants one, but bloodline development puts a limit on that:
If this ability is used to gain an arcane bond and a bonded item is selected, the arcanist can only use that item to cast spells of a level equal to the level of spell that could be cast by her equivalent sorcerer level (limiting her to 1st level spells unless she spends a point from her arcane reservoir).
She does not gain any other abilities when using this exploit in this way, such as bloodline arcana or those bloodline powers gained at 3rd level or higher. That exploit only gives you the first level bloodline power of that bloodline. For example, Student of Humanity (Ex): At 1st level, you gain Diplomacy, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility), and Linguistics as class skills. In addition, when using these skills to learn, study, or gather information about humans, you add an insight bonus equal to your Charisma bonus on such checks. If you took one level of sorcerer, then the other 19 of arcanist could indeed work towards advancing the entire bloodline. But being a spell level behind is very hard on the leveling character. If the arcanist already has a bloodline (or gains one later), taking this exploit instead allows her arcanist levels to stack with the levels of the class that granted her access to the bloodline when determining the powers and abilities of her bloodline.
If you are using mythic rules, you should be comparing a mythic swift action to a mythic standard action instead of a normal standard action. Can you give some examples?
With fresh eyes, I see that this ability lets you do either courage or competence "as a bard". So, I think the monk would be prevented from using the competence bonus on himself, but could use courage just fine.
I've been thinking about this for a while now, and the only problematic swift actions I could think of were from mythic sources. Those are the only swift actions that can be more powerful than the standard actions they are inspired by. There are also some perks to a being a swift action that the standard doesn't get, like ignoring most AoOs. So, I'd probably create a houserule like this. "A swift action from a non-mythic source can be performed as a standard action. This is still a standard action and does not benefit from general qualities of swift actions, such as avoiding Attacks of Opportunity"
Inspire courage is reminder text as it is in parenthesis. and inspire competence is an exception. I’m not sure of the intent, but as written the wisdom can indeed be used on the monk. And that works thematically. Reciting koans to oneself.
The eidolon can make a good grappler, having the grab evolution and access to larger sizes. You might even try it as a synthesist summoner, so you can do the grappling yourself.
Another option is heal tanking. It’s maybe the most effective way to fulfill the tank role in Pathfinder, but it also thematically doesn’t feel like what you imagine a tank to be. Basically, you use something like the life oracle to make attacking anyone else in your party meaningless. Dumb enemies will attack whoever is closest and smart enemies will want to kill the “healer”. Your own survival will be up to your shield, medium armor and own healing.
Most of those don’t seem particularly interesting to me, but applying composite infusions to regular blasts is something I hadn’t considered. I’m not even sure if that was intended. But it is an interesting thought.
I do feel that the archetype overvalues the option of applying off-element infusions to your blasts. Can anyone think of any particularly interesting combos they can do with this?
Versatility is a power of the base magus though. Spells can replicate most of the abilities of the black blade. And spell recall allows you to spam those diverse spells. Energy attunement is pretty nice but you can only do it a few rounds of combat per day. And almost any magus can add flaming or frost to their weapon.
I find the archetype to be a fine set of trades. It's better than a single arcana, and so it has the reduction of your pool too. It's not a bad archetype. It's more that it doesn't give you a big combat advantage over not using the archetype, and it is behind the curve if magic item crafting is available to you. That's why I call it a vanity item. It's often not a bad weapon, but it's also not often much better than the weapon you could have had anyway. I've actually played a bladebound twice now. It's fun. I'm not trying to talk people out of playing it. But I also don't want people to come out disappointed about using it.
You could set the trigger to "as soon anyone else does anything".
The damage bonus of the strike is negligible compared to all of the other sources of damage the magus brings. I can't think of a situation where it would knowingly be worth the pool cost. Unbreakable just prevents the "broken" condition. The blade can still be destroyed by taking enough damage. Energy attunement is actually pretty strong, letting you ignore DR in a novel way. But you are very limited in how often you can use it.
Still, don’t be shocked if you end up with a main weapon that outclasses your black blade at certain levels.Since the Black blade is intelligent, a magus would typically not want to upset it by doing that, and unless the other weapon is of the same type, the feats used to get better with the Black Blade will still allow it to outclass the "other blade" The personality of the Black Blade is up to the player and GM. While it could be jealous, it may just be happy that its guiding purpose is being accomplished at all. I could even imagine one who gets upset at being used for day to day activities, considering it's purpose to be the only completely correct time to use it, and begrudingly letting you use its power more regularly just to keep you alive.
I guess the first question is if they will ever be adventuring out of merged form. If they are 99% in merged form, I’d just add a note with their unmerged stats. If they are expected to split their time, then you’d probably want a second stat block, almost like having a pet
It makes sense if you compare it to just the regular magus with a regular magic sword. And in a lot of campaigns the regular magus will have those enhancement bonuses from a regular magic weapon earlier than the blade bound. The black blade is mostly a fun vanity item, though it can be handy in campaigns that are low on magic items. And it’s nice for knowing you’ll have a good option for any weapon specific feats at every character level. Still, don’t be shocked if you end up with a main weapon that outclasses your black blade at certain levels.
Readying a swift action means you use your standard action to set a trigger on when you use your swift action. The actions haven't changed. While people fall on different sides of the question, "Is readying to get an extra swift allowed?". No one seems to agree with your interpretation of "why" that is. You have a fundamentally different interpretation of that text. I assume at this stage you won't be convinced that you are wrong, but you should also realize that you aren't convincing anyone to your view either.
people are just confusing/conflating monster rules with Class(PC) rules. It's not PF1 RAW or even 3.0/3.5 OGL material. yeahhh... You are actually supposed to conflate those though. The issue is just that the Paizo designers decided they didn't want proficiencies to be granted by type after it was brought up, so they added an obscured rule to the ARG to cover that corner case. It's not like proficiencies aren't already granted by race, so being granted by type isn't some huge leap of logic. If they had noticed this issue before printing the Bestiary, they probably would have just moved the proficiencies to the features instead of the traits, which would be a change from 3.5.
That case is mostly just vague writing. All sentences in that paragraph after “If a humanoid does not have a class” are in reference to humanoids that don’t have classes.
You talk about worrying a lot, even when your fellow players tell you not to.Your fellow players are right and you should not worry. It's funny, because you are 100% right, and yet my experiences with people having anxiety tell me that they are very unlikely to believe it. If you are ever considering treating the anxiety, you might try to find a therapist using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
Swapping a standard for a swift seems completely reasonable, so I wouldn't call it "rules cheese". It's probably just an oversight that we can't already do that. When swifts were first cooked up they were pretty minor convenience things, and there weren't many actions that used it. But has anyone listed anything even close to overpowered they could do by losing their standard action to get a second swift?
No the basis was that the proficiency is listed in Outsider traits and that trait is not removed by the race. But, I missed the second half of Belafon's quote from the ARG. That's the only reason they don't, because of that specific rule. Frankly, this is probably why the FAQ considered the issue closed, because that sentence got included in this one place to correct this issue with granting proficiency. It was published a year and a half after James's comment. A very sneaky "otherwise specified", since it treats it as a matter of course within a long list instead of a new addition to the rules.
The Vine Leshy is a good example of a creature that is "otherwise specified":
Leshy: Vine leshys are plants with the leshy subtype but lack the immunities to mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep, and stunning that the plant type usually grants, and they lack the immunity to electricity and sonic that the leshy subtype usually grants.
The outsider type also grants 1d10 HD, BAB equal to total HD (full BAB), Two good Saves, and 6 skill points per HD. Do native outsiders also get those? If they had racial hit dice, they would. But those values are in their own separate section that is indeed all about hit dice, also known as "Features". The "Traits" are universal to any member of that monster type, unless specified otherwise. Look at the wyrwood. They officially get all of those traits, even though they aren't all mentioned in their race entry. You can see this by looking at the example one, as it gets +10 to its hitpoints from being small. That bonus is only recorded in the construct traits, because it's a construct. https://aonprd.com/MonsterDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Wyrwood Or being even more ridiculous, humans don't need to "eat, breath or sleep", because that is only mentioned under the humanoid traits, which isn't mentioned in their race entry. Planetouched is a term used in D&D and is not used anywhere in the actual Pathfinder rules. Yeah, though that's just trivia. In this case, it matters that they are native outsiders. Addendum:
As for the cleric, remember that the first few Bestiaries mostly avoided Golarion-specific references. The entry for the Tarrasque doesn't even mention Rovagug or the Pit of Gormuz. The clerics are generic, not tied to a specific deity. Assuming a deity free cleric, that cleric still shouldn't have trident proficiency. Is there any other explanation for that proficiency?
To be fair, "You can perform only a single swift action per turn." was probably meant more as reminder text than some sort of hard limit. It was put there, because the previous sentence was comparing it so much to a free action, which can be taken multiple times a turn. Also, Pathfinder is an exception based system. I think we can all agree that the corset of delicate moves would let you take more than 1 swift action in a round, so it's not unthinkable that a readied action could allow you to do the same thing. For the duration of this spell, you gain an extra swift action you can use only during your turn. This one is funny, because it presumes that you can already take swift actions outside of your turn.
Of course, James has previously claimed to not be a "rules guy". And it's pretty hard to refute the undine cleric's trident proficiency.
That interpretation can't be right That's not what those rules say though, per my earlier argument. Readying is a standard action that triggers outside of your turn. Upon that trigger you may perform "a standard action, a move action, a swift action, or a free action". Saying that I need to take that action out of my previous turn is nonsensical, because it'd imply that I wouldn't have a standard action left to take after using it to ready the action.
The Undine monster entry seems to suggest the native outsiders get proficiency with martial weapons. https://aonprd.com/MonsterDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Undine It is a cleric with the water and charm domains and proficiency in trident. There is no deity with both a favored weapon of trident and the charm domain. So, not only do those races "technically" have martial weapon proficiency, but it appears to be the intent as well.
Compare to the wyrwood race.
Do the traits in Construct not apply to the wyrwood, eventhough they aren't listed in the wyrwood description?
Oreads are defined by class levels—they do not possess racial Hit Dice. Oreads have the following racial traits. Can you expand on why that is an issue? I really think this is an oversight in Pathfinder, but I'm not seeing any rules that override the outsider rules. "otherwise noted" implies a conflict or outright negation of what's listed in the type. Both sets of abilities are compatible, so nothing was "otherwise noted".
I have to congratulate Tottemas for finding a RAW method for allowing a swift action to be performed as a standard action. That interpretation can't be right, because that would mean you also must use your standard action to ready another standard. But of course, you only have one standard action per round.
The ready action lets you prepare to take an action later, after your turn is over but before your next one has begun. Technically, you aren’t in a turn when you perform the ready action, so that limit doesn’t exactly apply. But it might apply in other less clear ways.
The core rule book wasn’t written as legalistically as we have become used to. I’m pretty sure if this got an FAQ, the paladin could target himself as if he were an ally, so a standard action.
Yeah. I had earlier pointed out that time is an issue with this method. But assuming you are scouting because planning to ambush with a sleep spell, it’s not unreasonable to assume you took the time to at least try. As for determining magic items, I think that’s mostly a detect magic and spellcraft kind of thing.
If you take the faq as being a final follow up, it’s pretty decisive. And that is indeed what it is, coming years after many arguments like this. You increase the damage by one step. The creature is bigger than small so you take the two steps on the faq chart. If your GM wants to do something else, then it’s probably not worth arguing about. It’s only a couple damage of difference. But basically everyone on these boards will agree with what we already told you. Damage Comparison:
That template precedes the FAQ by a lot. The issue is that “step” gets used in a confusing redundant way here. There is the size damage increase step and the damage dice chart step. No rules outside of the damage dice chart are referring specifically to the steps of the damage dice chart
That kind of question gets asked frequently
So a croc being larger than small size to start, that 1d8 becomes 2d6. And the 1d12 becomes 3d6
That is assuming you are trying to figure out the actual value. Some things should be a little more obvious. The guy in polished full plate that fits him well is probably fairly high level. The guy in ill-fitting patched up studded leather is probably not. The guy in the fitted studded leather in good repair is probably not low level.The quality of their gear is also another indication that can be used.That’s a good idea. I guess you could get a rough idea of that with an appraise check. But it’s either 1 full round action to determine the most expensive item or 1 standard per item they have, which is time consuming Yes, your version is fine for assuming who's most important in a mixed group. But by using appraise, you could make some assumptions about their general wealth by level for NPCs. Which would give you a ballpark of what levels they are, instead of how they stack up to each other relatively. If they are all dressed the same, you could appraise their armor and weapon and get a pretty vague idea of their level. Armor upgrades a little faster than weapons. So, those break points can tell you things. Regular armor, probably level 1-4. Masterwork armor but regular weapon, probably level 3-6. Masterwork weapon, probably level 4-8. Those are just generalities, but they do give you possibly helpful ranges. If a group of enemies all have masterwork weapons, I wouldn't use the sleep spell against them. And you can make similar assumptions based on how magical their weapons and armor are.
The quality of their gear is also another indication that can be used. That’s a good idea. I guess you could get a rough idea of that with an appraise check. But it’s either 1 full round action to determine the most expensive item or 1 standard per item they have, which is time consuming
I'm pretty sure there are no official rules for this. There are abilities and spells that can let you know some of their attributes, but I don't know of anything to determine hit dice. At best, you may be able to tell who the leader(s) of a group are, and then assume the others are lower level.
Nethys comes to mind. He seemingly achieved the power of a god under his own power.
Those are good guides. It sounds like the issue here is less about what can be done and more about how to feel about what can be done. Treant's "god wizard" is almost a state of mind. "I let my allies do the petty things like attack, because I'm controlling the battlefield itself." I'm just not sure if that's compatible with Merellin's personality. It's worth checking out though.
Similar to the issue of being reactive, I think part of the problem may be with support downtimes. Especially in the early levels, a support can find themselves with no optimal actions to take during a round of combat. After a couple of rounds you have already activated your abilities and spells that are worth expending for that combat. Sometimes a healer will heal during this time, but if everything went well, even that isn't always necessary. And you are left with a weak attack or cantrip to fill your time. This becomes less of an issue with later levels when you have a lot more spells per adventuring day. Different people fill this combat downtime in different ways. The weak attack is most common, but you may also try something like the aid another action.
There really isn't a default right or wrong amount of min-maxing in my opinion, which is why I asked about your specific preference. If the rest of your party is bringing enough damage and you just want to match them in addition to support, then I'm not sure there is a good way to help you, without getting quite min-maxy. In my experience, most tables are very happy to have a person who likes to play "healer", as many people prefer the class fantasy of standing out by dealing damage or strong controls. And people don't expect their healer to be bringing the damage, except for maybe when undead are involved. Have you tried playing a witch? They are very support focused, while having a more active than reactive playstyle. It may be the reactive nature of support that you are not enjoying. And while they can do some damage, that's not what they are good at, so it's not expected of them.
Summoning can be a very engaging form of support, while offering some damage(relatively more damage at low level and less at high level). And you can combine this support with your support spells. We may also want to know how "munchkin" you'd like to try this. For example, a charisma focused skald can share Lesser Spirit Totem with their party, giving you an ok extra attack for every eligible ally you have on the field. Combine that with some summoning for more extra attacks. Or combine it with something like the spell warrior archetype, so all of your allies can easily qualify. Being charisma focused, you could take Desna's divine fighting technique and have charisma to attack and damage at level 1 with a starknife.
Speaking of that deed, I've often wondered this: does Opportune Redirection and Riposte allow the Guiding Blade to parry the attacks she redirects to herself? I assume not, because there is no such indication in the deed language, but redirecting a weapon to bash/pierce/stab you seems... kind of ridiculous. I didn't know if maybe one of the developers had weighed in on it, in the event that it didn't make the FAQs. It’s a very niche ability, but they can’t parry and riposte it, because they don’t even have that deed anymore. I suppose if they gained it through another route then it may be possible. Though there are rules against using multiple attacks of opportunity against the same triggering action.
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