Rogues now have the option to grab sneak attack with simple weapons instead of getting dexterity to damage, creating the possibility for a strength-based rogue. Unfortunately, without the ability to increase Strength instead of Dexterity, it's a strictly suboptimal choice. Can rogues be added to the list of classes that can key their ability off either Strength or Dexterity?

First off, I really like the direction of having sorcerers of different bloodlines use different spell lists. There might be some issues to iron out (mage armour not being on all the lists is a big one already), but it's a cool direction and definitely helps to set sorcerers apart from wizards. It also makes an encounter with a sorcerer so much more interesting, as you're not entirely sure what kind of threat you're facing until you're eating your first spell. I'm even curious to see what a party of sorcerers would look like.

That said, there are a few problems. First off, three out of the five bloodlines in the playtest give the same spell to sorcerers at first level. Can we have a bit more difference than just every sorcerer knowing fear? Magic missile for Imperial and burning hands for draconic would have fit perfectly well.

Second, please leave it up to the sorcerer to advance their bloodline powers. Sorcerers are currently the only class that loses feats for feat equivalent abilities; wizards and clerics both have the option to pick up upgrades to their school/domains but are not forced to, and can choose which level of feat they want to use to gain them. A huge number of sorcerer feats will not see use if powers are mandatory to gain.

Heightening has been brought up many times on the forums already, but I'll reiterate: let us heighten our spells. It's such a cool feature, and it could be the spontaneous spellcaster's niche to have that flexibility. If unlimited heightening is too much, at least give sorcerers the same treatment as bards with an Additional Heightening feat.

Last, keep in mind that all sorcerers cast off of Charisma. Unfortunately, none of the magic skills key off that stat, so barring bards who are in the same boat, a sorcerer will never be as good at their magic skill as the other class that they share a list with. Sorcerers would benefit greatly from either a flat bonus to their magic skill checks, or the ability to use Charisma to recall knowledge from their bloodline's magic skill.

Riding a horse animal companion with a ranged weapon, I get my horse to use its work together feat, and we move more than 10 feet that round as well. Does my next ranged attack get Charge's circumstance bonus to damage?

I'm looking at the Specialized options, and I think some clarification is in order.

First of all, what can I order an animal companion to do? Stride and strike seems easy enough, but what about ordering it to Demoralize? Is that a base ability, or is it unlocked somehow? If it's not possible by default, there should be some clarification in regards to the Bully Specialization, because Expert in Intimidation seems a bit odd to have.

Why does the Ambusher get a +1 bonus to Initiative? Doesn't it just act on your turn when you give it orders?

The Tracker specialization seems to tell me that animal companions can be ordered to track. Does it say how to do this? Do all animal companions understand the concept of tracking?

Anyway, I'm seeing a lot of abilities that are hinted at being available, but there's no real rules for doing so at this point. I don't know whether base animal companions can demoralize or if it's just a Bully option. I certainly don't know why Ambushers get an initiative bonus.

As far as I can tell, after pinning with the Athletics skill, moving at all becomes impossible without the captive breaking free. Is there no way to grapple then move someone? How would a kidnapping happen in the current ruleset?

Furthermore, is there a way for a PC to move a prisoner?

Going through the treasure tables for a bard, I'm dismayed to note that the circlet of persuasion and the phylactery of the occult are both 'circlet' items. I'm assuming this means you can only choose one. I've noticed similar problems with spellcasters on the divine list: the headband of inspired wisdom and the phylactery of faithfulness are also both circlet items.

It seems as though arcane spellcasters have access to a great number more items, and also have a great amount more item slot freedom available. A wizard or arcane sorcerer that wants to increase their signature magic skill can wear a robe of the archmagi or hat of the magi, and neither of these interferes with the diadem of intellect.

I think equity among items or a clause that allows changing the slot of an item to another appropriate option would allow for far more flexibility in building. At the very least, there's no reason an arcane sorcerer should have more items available than a sorcerer of another bloodline.

At low levels, an animated broom is actually a pretty solid summon: Average level 0 enemies have an AC of 13, so its +7 to hit is hitting 75% of the time (80% with Augment Summoning). This seems to fall way down as a conjurer levels though.

Average AC stats provided by BlackBacon on Reddit.

Level 2 creature (AC 16) against any of the summon monster II options (highest I could find was still +7) is now only a 55% (60% with Augment) chance.

Level 4 creature (AC 19) against summon monster III (highest I could find was +8): 50% chance to hit, or 55% chance with Augment.

Level 6 creature (AC 21) vs. summon monster IV (highest I can find is +10: same 50% chance to hit.

Level 8 creature (massive AC jump to 25) vs. summon monster V (highest is +13): 45% chance, 50% with Augment.

The pattern continues. Short of Augment Summoning, I can't see any good ways of buffing attack further. I know that summoning in PF1 needed to be toned down, but it's looking like it will just be frustrating to summon at levels higher than 5.

I didn't cover high levels much, but as one example: a rune giant is a level 16 creature with 38 AC. A 17th level wizard can summon an ice devil with +25 to hit against it, or +26 with Augment. That's a 40% chance to hit with Augment. I'm worried.

I'm looking at pictures of the various armours shown in the medium category, and I'm having trouble figuring out why the breastplate is the prime defensive option. I'll preface this by saying I am not an expert on historical warfare by any means.

As near as I can tell, the breastplate was just a part of any armour set. You wouldn't go into battle wearing only a breastplate and your clothes underneath, because it would leave your head, neck, legs, and sometimes arms exposed. When I compare this to some of the pictures of full chain mail, scale armour, and even hide (I guess we'll say that's boiled leather or lamellar?), there's usually more covered by these other armour types.

I understand the breastplate was the best choice in PF1, but if this is a new game, we could probably kill a few equipment cows. It would even be fine if you had light, medium, and heavy categories of armour and let the player say what kind of armour they're wearing.

With no descriptions of the armours available in the equipment section, there's now some strange wiggle room for druids. Without a bit more detail in the table, who's to say there isn't an enterprising armorer who has created breastplates out of only horn, bone, and leather? What is studded leather actually studded with? Can I choose what it's studded with if I craft it myself?

It looks like fighters are already trained with all exotic weapons, and they gain critical specialization effects as they level up. Is this feat meant to do something else, or is it a legacy option from before fighters had exotic weapons?

So fists are a simple weapon, which means almost every class gets proficiency. They're also agile and finesseable, which means the rogue can add Dex to damage for them, as well as sneak attack.

And this means that at level 1 at least, most rogues will outdamage most monks in fisticuffs. It seems like most monks are leaning towards Dexterity builds, so let's take two level 1 characters (one rogue, one monk) with the following stat array:

Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10

Monk is attacking at +5 for 1d6 (average damage 3.5). Rogue is attacking at +5 for 1d4+4 (average damage 6.5). The monk could use wolf or tiger stance to increase damage, but that still only puts them to 4.5 on average. Granted, flurry of blows lets the monk attack twice with one action, but it's still a pretty interesting look at low level disparity.

Also, the rogue can wield a bow without penalty while attacking. The monk has to spend a feat on shuriken. :(

What do people think of the power level of Quickened Casting as it currently stands, including the 1/day limit?

From a game sense, I have a lot of trouble enjoying 1/day abilities. If I have something cool I can do, I want to do it often enough that it gets noticed. That said, maybe I'm underestimating the power of Quickened Casting. It does let you get off potentially two spells (or I guess three if you have two single action spells to cast?) in a single round. Is that worth a feat slot if you can only do it once per day?

If it were changed to be more often, maybe it could add a penalty that prevented further use until combat was over? Slowed seems appropriate: you're effectively borrowing actions from your future turns.

This ancestry feat is weird. On one hand, the critical success on some mental effects is good. The language after about being able to critically succeed against a Coerce check is strange though, because I didn't think that the PCs were going to be targeted by NPCs by Intimidate and Diplomacy in this way.

I was trying to make a 2E 'brawler' starting with the monk, but I'm not entirely happy with either staying single-classed, or taking either the fighter or rogue dedication. Rogue because the theme doesn't match, and fighter because armor and weapon proficiency don't do much.

So would anyone like to help brainstorm a barbarian dedication? I imagine a rage action with stunted damage progression, along with Intimidate as a signature skill as the dedication feat. I also think one feat could involve getting a totem. Any thoughts?

If my character takes Additional Lore, I get free skill increases at 3rd, 5th, and 13th that can only apply to Lore. That runs just short of being able to improve the skill to Master at 7th and Legendary at 15th. Is that intentional? I ask because I believe it runs counter to the text at the bottom of the feat:

Special You can select this feat more than once, choosing a new subcategory of Lore each time and gaining the listed skill increases to that Lore.

Emphasis mine. I believe the intent might be similar to the Gnome Obsessive feat, but at some point the numbers were tinkered with.

Occultism as a skill is sticking out like a sore thumb due to its current key ability not matching with the two occult spellcasting classes. I think it was smart to have Nature and Religion both key off Wisdom, because you would expect clerics and druids to be knowledgeable about their subject matter. Naturally Arcana stayed Int-based because alchemists and wizards will both be pumping those stats.

It's just a bit weird that bards and aberrant sorcerers, who will be specializing in occult magic, will have far worse progression with their key knowledge skill. I understand the relationship that Int has had to Knowledge skills, but we've already slayed that sacred cow with Nature and Religion.

Granted, bloodline abilities are probably pretty powerful, and the sorcerer gets them to replace the feats they would otherwise get. But in a game where other classes can choose to what degree they invest in their school/order/muse, not having that choice just feels bad. It makes a multiclass sorcerer far less satisfying, and removes the agency present with every other class. What are other people's thoughts?

So I know it's listed as their Key Ability, but I'm having trouble figuring out what separates a human cleric with 18 wisdom and a goblin cleric with 10. Do you still need a certain ability score to cast spells? Is it just for spell DCs and spell rolls? I know it governs the Religion skill, but that seems less with things like Assurance.

If a cleric is planning only to buff and heal, how high does their Wisdom need to be?

Monks with fighter dedication want to know.

Just noticed this about falling on another creature. In most cases they'll take between a quarter to half of the falling damage you take. So we don't have the following tropes:

- Jumping on someone as an ambush (you take more damage and also fall prone)
- Having a bigger creature break your fall (you take the same amount of damage you would have normally)

Another interesting wrinkle is with Cat Fall, because creatures only take damage if the falling creature takes damage. So much for the rogue dropping from the chandelier example in the book.

I was really excited to see that a small bird companion can grow medium-sized at level 4, and then at level 8 could become large-sized as a savage companion. Druids on rocs is such a cool idea, right? Unfortunately, without the mount special ability (hint: only horses apply), riding an animal companion forces it to use its land speed only.

I know there is the odd horror story of the player that brought a giant flying mount to a low level adventure and completely trivialized it, but I'm noticing that even at higher levels, there is no way for a druid to ride a giant flying mount. Could we at least have the Mount ability available as a specialization option (level 14)? As it stands right now, a druid can cast fly on a horse and ride it, but can't cast fly on a bird and then ride it.

First off, if you're one of my East Toronto players, please do not read!

I'm starting a Strange Aeons campaign this Saturday, and unfortunately 2 out of 5 of the players will not be able to attend that first session. I don't want them to just be NPCs for that session, and I don't want them to miss out on all the creepiness of the opening, so I've developed a short set of encounters that we'll be able to do using PbP. My goal is to have them still with amnesia but to simply be waiting at the chapel when the other PCs manage to get there.

The set of encounters is as follows:

The two PCs will emerge from a lake in the dream world and are almost immediately plunged into a combat. French soldiers fight against yellow-garbed men, and the two PCs will face off against one themselves (with aid if necessary).

Following the combat, the only survivors will be the PCs and an old man with a violin. He is mute, but can still gesture, point, and will hopefully result in a short bit of interaction before a small number of ghouls arrive. At this point the old man will begin playing and will summon the other three PCs. They will fight together until the Tatterman arrives and quickly kills the three summoned PCs. The old man plays his violin loudly, and at that point the PCs have a will save to awaken normally or be killed by the Tatterman.

Either way that plays out, they will awaken outside the asylum's front door. The mist will prevent their escape, and there will be weak encounters should they not press inside. At that point, they are accosted by the chapel survivors, who begin to yell at them to put down any weapons. As they shout, their voices blend into both common and French, and a loud violin sound plays over and over until they have become unconscious. They wake up as survivors in the chapel, being attended by Winter. She will be able to answer some of their questions.

Any comments or thoughts are appreciated! I wanted to have a fun and creepy RP session with the players who couldn't make it, and I wanted to also take that as an opportunity to leak a bit more information about future adventures.

I will be beginning the first book of this adventure soon, so I don't expect this to come up for awhile, but I want to get ahead of the problem.

Regaining memory for the PCs is a plot-significant event, and yet psychic surgery seems to be a cure-all for any amnesia or fugue state. The PCs even receive two of these scrolls in the notes from the count. So... is this an exception? Do the scrolls simply remove mental damage, and the fugue state mysteriously remains?

This came up in a game last night where the skald in our group was giving out his inspired rage. My hunter and dog are both allies, but there was confusion in the group as to whether my dog is affected.

Personally, I'm of the mind that the dog is an ally, and with no real disadvantages to speak of in accepting the rage, should totally do so. Obstacles I encountered were along the lines of "Well you wouldn't be able to call him off after" and "He's not smart enough". Go figure, an argument for being too stupid to rage!

So were there any posts in the playtest regarding this? What about summoned creatures? If a bring in a flock of eagles, are they allowed to become angry birds? Who decides whether they do, me or the GM?

A new feat in the ACG gives a character with the aberrant bloodline the ability to gain a tumor familiar, as the alchemist discovery. Bloodragers can get said bloodline, and it even ends up being one of the best in my opinion. So start with a bloodrager with the Aberrant Tumor feat for a tumor familiar. Familiars get the BAB of their master (so full BAB), and half their hit points. Bloodrage explicitly does not give temporary hit points, so expect your tumor's health to fluctuate up and down as your character bloodrages.

Get an Improved Familiar (level 11 without Magical Knack, level 9 with), preferably with the highest strength possible while remaining tiny sized. With a cursory glance, the Nycar has the highest, with a Cacodaemon and Cythnigot coming in at a close second. A tiny familiar when polymorphed to something small or larger gets an automatic +4 to strength and –2 to dexterity before the polymorph affect is added, so that Nycar has an effective strength of 17 before any buffs. Not bad for two feats and a spell! You can even start as a human for the Eye for Talent alternate race trait to give him another +2 to his strength.

Implementing this to fight as a team: Make your familiar a valet archetype from the Animal Archive so that he shares your teamwork feats. From that point you're able to take the Improved Spell Sharing teamwork feat, along with maybe Outflank. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.

Buff yourself and familiar with beast shape I, bull's strength if you've got time, and enjoy your full BAB flank buddy!

Any thoughts on how to make this better? I'm seeing a medium cat familiar with 21 strength (25 with bull's strength) available at level 10. So a class feature that can bite/claw/claw at +17/+17/+17 for (1d6+7).

Most people know about the wizard arcane discovery Fast Study:

That's well and good, but then I saw the Pathfinder Society Primer had a new feat:

Question: Do these two abilities interact? Is a wizard with both able to prepare all spells in 7.5 minutes, and a single spell in a mere 30 seconds (5 rounds)?

FAQ if you can! :)

I've been looking at Feral Combat Training lately, and I'm beginning to think a lot of people (me included) have been reading it incorrectly.

At first glance, I was under the impression that a character with claws could apply this to both claws, but it doesn't say 'one type' it says 'one weapon'. A similar ability is the summoner's reach evolution:

The FAQ on that one clarified that it applies to only one of the eidolon's attacks, not an attack type. Therefore:

Question: If my character has two claw attacks and takes Feral Combat Training, does it apply to both claws? What if my character has four claws? Twenty claws?

We've been shouting at each other for awhile, and this thread isn't for that.

Let us assume for the moment that we have a GM who plans to follow this FAQ to the letter, including the example. That means he will allow only three reloads maximum, and less if the PC plans to use any other free actions. Of course it's hyperbole, but let's see what it does to the class. I want to see if we can still build an effective character using other class features, like Dead Shot and Vital Strike.

Dead Shot: We can pool multiple attacks into one shot, and we do an extra die of damage for every hit. I'm not sure if Dead Shot includes extra attacks like from haste and Rapid Shot. If it does, it's probably okay. Big downsides include not getting increased damage based on the number of hits other than a die increase. As for upsides, it's a great way to crit-fish, as a single 20 (or 19 with Improved Critical) is enough to warrant a confirmation roll. A thundering pistol or musket could be looking at an excellent amount of damage on a critical hit, although it would be pretty lackluster at any other time.

Vital Strike: It's extra damage I suppose. Unfortunately it doesn't improve on a critical hit, but a musket is looking at an extra 6.5 damage. Is there a version of gravity bow for guns? Improved and Greater Vital Strike means that a single shot is doing 4d12 damage (average of 26) plus relevant modifiers. However, that's going to pale to any other ranged attacker. Keep in mind that Greater Vital Strike is available at level 16.

Utility Stuff: Gunslingers partner well with rogues and vivisectionists, who can enjoy a full round of an enemy being flat-footed with no save. Targeted Shot is also an excellent ability. However, at this point the gunslinger is not a primary damage dealer.

In any case, can people come up with a viable build for a gunslinger with limited free actions? To set a definition for viable, let's say that he should be, if not equal to, at least not horribly inferior to an equal level archer.

Let's NOT bring in magic items that are only available in the late stages of a campaign. A glove of storing might be okay, although that's a free action to use if I recall. The issue with the pistol of the infinite sky is that you have to get to a high enough level to use it, and even then, what if I wanted to use muskets? Ideally, a gunslinger can function enjoyably from level 1 on, right?

This is a response to a number of rules question threads that have been started in this forum. If you're asking how different rules interact with each other, this is not the place for it. The only exception to that should be if PFS has a campaign rule that messes with the way the rules usually work.

Crafting being banned in PFS, how does a wizard's bonded object work?

Can I make a trip manoeuvre as someone gets up from prone in PFS?

With very few exceptions, if your question is just a rules question with 'in PFS' tacked onto the end of it, please move it to the rules forums where it belongs.

Hey everyone in the GTA, I just realized I suck and am posting an announcement about Spellstorm WAY LATE. Sorry! (In my defence, a lot of Ontario people already know from our Ontario website.)

SPELLSTORM is a weekend-long convention being held The Royal Canadian Legion Hall in West Etobicoke, and we have a weekend full of gaming for people!

This will be a lot of Torontonian's only chance at playing Race for the Runecarved Key, so I strongly suggest signing up! There will also be convention boons and prizes, especially for the best table Saturday night! You can register on Warhorn, and tickets are purchasable at Picatic. Spellstorm's website can also be found here.

I look forward to seeing a lot of old and new faces there! Don't forget to register so you have a spot!

I am very happy to announce the appointment of Glen Shackleton as Venture-Lieutenant for the Ottawa-Gatineau region of Ontario. Glen is a dedicated and hard-working fellow who I know will bring a great deal of himself to PFS. People in the area can look forward to a lot more Pathfinder in the future, and our local crew can look forward to fewer ridiculous car trips.

Welcome aboard Glen. I can't wait to see what you can do! :)

My wizard Manny the Magnificent is getting up there in levels (he's one away from fifth!), and I'm planning ahead. He's definitely grabbing Improved Familiar, and I have in mind to grab an imp; however, I'm most interested in grabbing an imp consular. You see, Manny's familiar is currently a viper called Mr. Slithers, and I would prefer if he didn't notice the change too much. Imps can only turn into rats, while consulars can turn into vipers. They also get wicked telepathy! :D

Anyway, I'm just making sure that this is allowed in PFS. It's in the Bestiary, but I have no idea if I'm missing out on some exception that would prevent it. I don't want to waste an entire level not having an imp if there's no point in waiting until level 8 for the better one anyway.

Hey Ontario, hopefully you came here when you noticed our website is down. We've been hacked, but we don't think it's anything more than a prank. It seems fairly harmless, but it'll probably take a few days at least to get the website back on. Don't panic, games are still ongoing at 401 and Dueling Grounds, and we're working on bringing back our website.

Unfortunately, advance signup is going to have a few problems. I'm not sure what we're doing about that yet.

I would like to introduce Ontario's newest VL: Michael Iantorno! Michael is an amazing GM, and is currently organizing two conventions to take place early in the new year (AARG and Gryphcon) as well as setting up a game day to take place at the Silver Snail. I'll be depending on my VLs a lot, so I'm glad I've got another that is up to the task! :)

Welcome Michael!