Michael Riter's page

So, I recently ran Risen from the Sands and for the first time ever, I had a group that did not do so well in it, and in fact had to run from the last encounter. So, not understanding the rules as to how to deal with a primary mission not being completed I made a mistake with the chronicle sheets. Thankfully one of the players was kind enough to let me know of my mistake and here I am.

I have corrected most of the chronicle, but seem to be at a loss to determine how much gold the PCs have earned. Reading through the scenario, there seems to be about 6500 gp worth of treasure and this does not include magic items. The problem is the chronicle only has 1237 gold The PCs completed the following encounters:

They ran from the pyramid.
They defeated the mimic.
They killed the swarm.
They killed the harem guards
They beat the actual harem.

So from here, how do I determine how much gold the PCs earned? Thank you for your help.

Hello everyone! I will be running this game at Aethercon IV (This is NOT a PBP game). If you do sign up, please send me the following information at the following email address: realist.w@gmail.com

Name
Character name
PFS Number
Faction
Class/Level
Character Token

If interested, please sign up on Warhorn at this link: https://warhorn.net/events/aethercon-iv/schedule/2015/11/14/sessions/97699

Hello all, I'm Michael Riter, and I've recently went to work on creating an Urban Fantasy campaign setting which would detail a large city; the capital of an empire to be exact. Now the setting crosses elements of the Roman Empire, Victorian England, as well as the years Europe was stricken with Black Death. I have taken to calling this project Oxonia: Collapse of an Empire.

Now, I have gotten to work on what to include in this setting to really breath life into it and came up with a list of things to be added to keep me organized.

Once I get further into this, I will be looking into mapping out each city district completely as well as having a complete map of the capital city. Not only that, but later down the line, I am thinking of even expanding by writing an Adventure Path taking place primarily within the city.

Now, here is the main reason I posted this: What do YOU look for in a campaign guide? More specifically, what do you feel helps create an atmospheric and enjoyable experience? Now, I know everyone is different and I already have that in mind, but I wanted to get a feeling of what people other than myself think about when looking at various campaign settings. Nothing specific of course (such as I think you should have a character/faction that does X), but more broad topics similar to what I listed above. This would be of great help to me as I flesh out the world and keep in mind the different styles of play for everyone.

Alexander raises an eyebrow as you leave the tavern. "Leaving so soon? Ah well, do remember to come back and spend your gold here when you get the chance!"

The tiefling at the bar smiles. He grabs a glass and gestures to the extensive collection of wines and ales behind him. "Would a drink suit your fancy, or are a night's accommodations more your liking?"

Westcrown. Some may call it a den of thieves and liars. Others may see it as nothing more than a stepping stone on the path to greatness. Others still, call the city home and find both comfort and solace within its shadows. The Aspis Consortium is one such organization that has planted its roots within Westcrown and you, a new Aspis Agent, have found your way here for one reason or another. Upon entry within the city, you are told that if you ever need a place to stay, there is a tavern by the docks owned by another Agent.

By the counter, you see a tiefling in relatively comfortable silk clothing, leaning back against a wall lined with fine liquors. He gives you a short nod and grabs a glass from behind with with one swift motion of his tail. "My first customer! How can I help you friend?"

Well everyone, I have seen quite an interest in the Aspis Consortium on these boards and in truth I am quite interested in the organization as well. So, I decided to open this thread as an Open Roleplay (as in, this being less of a Pathfinder game with a set GM and more of roeplaying for roleplay's sake) of sorts, using the different sections (Gameplay, Discussion, Recruitment) as different places to actually roleplay. Here was my idea:

Discussion Forum: Twilight's Edge Tavern - Here you may have open IN CHARACTER interactions between your created characters.

Gameplay Forum: Aspis Group Missions - Here you may have a collaborative roleplay experience. We'll see how convoluted this ends up getting. If it proves to be difficult, I might open up another gameplay thread (and this is also assuming the Tavern becomes popular enough to be crowded)

Recruitment Forum: Solo Adventures - Like the other two forums, this would also be an character type ordeal, with a twist. Here, we will go one step further with the roleplaying in that this will be a way your character can 'level up'. We will write poetry or prose pieces which will feature our characters (maybe doing a job for the Consortium, or a boasting narrative of one's exploits) and will help 'progress' our characters through the levels and Consortium's ranks. The exact formula is a work in process though (though obviously, everyone, including myself starts as a level 1, bronze tier member of the Consortium).

Anyways, as an open roleplay, this is open for suggestions. I'll post my first poem presently. Kick back, relax, and welcome to the Tavern.

Let us assume that I am a complete novice with legal terminology and the like. Now let us also assume that I was interested in writing an adventure for/as a 3rd party, which would potentially be sold and distributed.

Now here is my situation. As mentioned above I was in the midst of writing an adventure arc when I realized that "Hm... I have no idea what I have to do to get this released! I don't want to be sued by Paizo or the Wizards that live by the Sea after all. Would anybody be able to simplify this for me?

1) Assuming I am trying to write a Pathfinder compatible product, what would I have to do if using information from the bestiaries?

2) How does this apply to 3rd Party Products such as the Tome of Horrors? There are quite a few interesting creatures there which I would LOVE to use, but again, have no idea how to do so.

Any help would be appreciated greatly. I tried searching the forums for an answer, but it seems that my search-fu is weak.

EDIT: After rereading a few times, I am starting to get it. I guess the question remains: Can I reference something used in the Tome of Horrors, and is there a special way to do this as opposed to a Paizo Product? I am also now looking at the Pathfinder Compatibility Licence.

I've personally always wondered about this topic, as have many others. Now, I truly don't expect a rule change any time soon, but I do want to know what other people think the reasoning is behind allowing an alignment such as Chaotic Neutral into organized play, but barring Lawful Evil.

The only reason I could truly think of was the truly arbitrary "Well, if they are evil, and you have a Paladin in the party, things will go downhill and they will go downhill ASAP." My question is why? What reasons would a LE party member give a Paladin to actually detect evil on them?

Disruptive to the party: The LE PC is one of the most trustworthy around. If they give you their word, by the gods, you can trust them. Furthermore, you can rely on them to stay on the right side of the law. This is particularly beneficial to social scenarios in which good conduct is essential for completing it without a problem. Contrast this with the CN PC. They may decide to play nicely with the conventions set forth by the scenario... they may also decide that the best way to find out what they need is to snoop around, threaten NPCs, etc. This is not to say that LE PCs cannot do this... but they are indeed less likely to.

The Paladin says, 'I will not allow you to...": Steal from those innocents. Murder those prisoners. Insert other example here. We've all seen this and it is nearly always dealing with the CN PC. Now, in ethical dilemnas, the Paladin will almost always side with the LE PC before the CN one. In fact, the same may hold true for moral dilemnas as well due to the LE PCs pragmatism versus the CN PCs "Because I felt like it" philosophy. With a few minor exceptions (diabolism... but that is already ALLOWED for LN PCs) you will likely find agreement between the LE and the Paladin.

Betraying or otherwise leaving the party: Just... no. Especially not in organized play where there is no benefit for either the player or the PC. If CN PCs can be trusted here then so can LE ones.

Roleplay: Sometimes, you don't want to be a hero. Sometimes you want to play a Varys, or Dexter, or Ra's al Ghul. All of which could work well in a team environment. It seems a bit odd then, that CN Stabbity McMurderhobo was let through the door and not any of these three. It is not as if the Society doesn't have Lawful Evil members. Why disallow these excellent roleplay concepts due to the E in LE?

Now, this next part might be put in its own section, but I think it ties in nicely. Some might argue that because the characters are evil, theh might have a mechanical advantage against certain enemies. Now, that is certainly true! However, do think of the oppertunities that this could open up. We might see more Law vs Chaos conflicts in which morality is not a particular kssue. This would allow us to see all new foes such as CG fey, or open up interesting storylines such as "What if a Paladin decided to go full out Judge Dredd according to her god's ideals?" It would also allow us to work more closely with evil aligned members of the Society, which we HAVE done in seasons past.

I repeat, I don't expect a rule change. I just thought it would be an imteresting discussion to have. Thoughts? Opinions?

Hello there! I was thinking of bringing a switch hitter dwarf ranger/barbarian into the mix for the Core Campaign. Here is what I have thus far.

I guess my question is, would this be viable? I was thinking of attempting to take both classes at a 50/50 rate, but would one be better as a dip? I certainly don't want to go as a single classed character due to flavor reasons, but... I am not sure what my level up options should be later down the road. What would you all suggest?

P.S. I'm not sure if this should have been in this forum or the advice forum. Sorry in advance.

Long story short is this: I no longer have any of the Pathfinder books I used to make any of my PFS characters... save for the Core rulebook. So until I own all the other books again, I decided to challange myself and play PFS with what I have. (Seeing as I can't legally play the other charaters now... Those other books really did spoil me)

Which led me into trying to create a Dragon Disciple. My initial thought was to make it melee focussed and... well my stats look something like this:

Lvl 1 Human Paladin
Str: 16 (+2 racial)
Dex: 13
Con: 14
Int: 7
Wis: 7
Cha: 16

Feats: Toughness and Power Attack

So my initial thought was to jump into Paladin for 4 straight levels, using my 5th level to quickly pick up a sorcerer level, and go into straight dragon disciple from then on.

I guess I was wondering if anyone saw an major problem with this build, had suggestions for later levels or had any idea as to how to make it better. I am open to any suggestions just short of "Don't do it" or "buy the other books ASAP". I purposely wosh to stick to Core on this one, especially since I wrote up the backstory.

You may discuss things here.

Before much else could go on a young, well dressed, yet balding human man Pathfinders recognize him as Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin walks into the room, followed by two scholarly looking half-elves. Ambrus looks around and starts dividing everyone into groups the PCs conveniently placed in the same group as one another while the half-elves passed around several ancient looking tomes, urging people to use caution with them.

Once Ambrus gets to the PCs, he quickly gives them a once over, nodding at all current Pathfinders. "You all know the drill. Everyone who isn't familiar with the Pathfinders, you'll quickly learn that knowledge is power. I'd start reading up on what you might find on that island. Start with the name Acererak. He was a sorcerer- what is it?" He spins around an annoyed look at one of the half-elves who nervously whispers something to him.* He nods, sends them away, then turns back to you all. "I'll be back shortly to brief you. Start getting to know each other, and start studying. That is of course, unless you want to end up dying of ignorance." With that, he disappears off into a hallway, followed by the two scholars.

Everyone give me a linguistics check to see how fast you can read. If you beat a DC 20, then give me two knowledge checks of your choice to learn something about the island or this Acererak. If you fail, only give me one knowledge check of your choice.

Before much else could go on a young, well dressed, yet balding human man Pathfinders recognize him as Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin walks into the room, followed by two scholarly looking half-elves. Ambrus looks around and starts dividing everyone into groups the PCs conveniently placed in the same group as one another while the half-elves passed around several ancient looking tomes, urging people to use caution with them.

Once Ambrus gets to the PCs, he quickly gives them a once over, nodding at all current Pathfinders. "You all know the drill. Everyone who isn't familiar with the Pathfinders, you'll quickly learn that knowledge is power. I'd start reading up on what you might find on that island. Start with the name Acererak. He was a sorcerer- what is it?" He spins around an annoyed look at one of the half-elves who nervously whispers something to him.* He nods, sends them away, then turns back to you all. "I'll be back shortly to brief you. Start getting to know each other, and start studying. That is of course, unless you want to end up dying of ignorance." With that, he disappears off into a hallway, followed by the two scholars.

Everyone give me a linguistics check to see how fast you can read. If you beat a DC 20, then give me two knowledge checks of your choice to learn something about the island or this Acererak. If you fail, only give me one knowledge check of your choice.

A halfling dressed in the finest Taldan silks crosses his legs, looking about the round table. He brings a cigar to his mouth and snaps his fingers, magically lighting it before inhaling.

"My my, the Chels certainly know how to roll a good bit of tobacco. I am Ozymandias, a Marquis of Taldan descent, but that is of no matter. Onto business! The Sovereign Court is made up of what many would call the 'lesser nobility'. Many, if not all of us have titles, land, or wealth in some capacity or another. The one thing we are missing is political power." The halfling puts the cigar off to the side.

"Are you not frustrated with your lack of control over world events? As individuals, we are nothing! We have no sway, no influence, nothing of note besides an empty title... but together we can change this! Together we hold influence!

I propose that we begin taking our power by discussing what laws and policies we wish to alter, dismantle, or propose to our respective governments. Once we have agreed on those, then we can focus our attentions and divert our full strength to enacting those decisions. So... I leave the floor open."

EDIT: Ozy's eyes brighten as he adds, "How could I forget? Perhaps our first order of business to craft a constitution of sorts, that binds us together, and holds the rules and structure for the Sovereign Court?"

As far as I know, there is no such document yet, other than Lady Morilla's word. It would be nice for us player's to come up with something on our own.

You may dot this.

You have all found yourselves, at the Grand Lodge in the City at the Center of the World, as you have all been summoned, or requested to come on behalf of Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin. There are many different people here of all different races and nationalities, but you all have a feeling that you all received the same handwritten letter from the Venture-Captain, asking for your immediate presence here. One line in particular must have caught your attention. "The Decemvirate has requested you personally for this task." You know that an island appearing in the middle of the sea can't be good, but for the Decemvirate to call upon anyone from outside of the Pathfinder Society is odd and worrisome.

You are all currently in a medium sized amphitheater, waiting to be called on by Ambrus. For now all you can do is wait in anticipation.

Once you have your information on the recruitment page, you can start Roleplaying here, so I can get a sense for your style.

Hello and welcome foolish mortals, to my second offering of Tomb of Horrors!

Now let me state this now. This is going to be run on Golarion, and I hope for this to be a great Roleplaying experience. You may be asking, "But isn't Tomb of Horrors that really deadly module from Gygax's day? You can't possibly have a great Roleplaying experience with that!" You'd only be half right with that assumption! Though yes, this module is known to be deadly, I am hoping to tell an overarching story that spans not only the ToH, but possibly other memorable modules such as White Plume Mountain, as well as my own material. Though I owe the conversion to my former GM, the story is mine.

And so, I hope to set up a good group who would be willing to have an adventure. I will be taking five characters, with preference show to those who signed up in my first thread (this doesn't mean that you can't sign up if you weren't in that thread), and those who I have seen roleplay before. I really want this to be a character driven experience filled with many memorable moments in this world.

There will be a 25 point buy for all the characters and we will be starting off at level 9. You can expect to gain a few levels before this is all over, so keep that in mind. I will accept most paizo material (no 3rd party), but please keep in mind that while building your characters, I don't want you to try and break the game. Optimize, but outright munchkin like antics will be frowned upon. I want this to be a challange, but the story is much more important to me. If you think that something might be far too powerful, then ask me and I will approve, veto, or make a few changes so that you choice might work. If you have played ToH or White Plume Mountain before, let me know.

There is no clear start date as of yet, but I am thinking sometime in early November. If you have questions, just ask.

Discussion is open. Any purchases should be made here, stating the name of the item and how much it costs. I would suggest you have everything prepared before you begin as you will NOT be able to buy anything in the middle of the scenario.

That being said, you are Pathfinders. Be prepared for anything. Make of this as you will: this is a season 3 scenario. But it was a really good predictor of what came in this season and the last.

Well the question is simple. If I were to offer to run Waking Rune for the PBP gameday, would there be people willing to play it? I won't sign up as a GM if there is none, but would definitely love to if people want to play. Hard Mode or not is up to you all ;)

Signups will be here!

All characters must be PFS legal, and I will only be taking 6 at maximum. The map will be on roll20 once I get the scenario so... yeah. The first six will be chosen.

After about an hour of socializing with each other, the Venture Captain comes back, but this time alone. He points at certain members of the group the chosen PCs and gestures for you to follow him.

"I hope you learned everything you want to know about Acererak," he says curtly. "Because we are going to have one of our Venture Lieutenants teleport you onto onto a boat near the shore of that island. You all are some of the most competent adventurers we have available at the moment; everyone else is fighting off demons in the Worldwound. Anyway, you are going to be entering one of the two locations that Acererak may be hiding with another group going into the other. Here's the catch." Ambrus looks at you all grimly. "The Decemvirate has no idea why Acererak returned after all this time, and they aren't even sure he is a hostile. Nothing has attacked any of the people we sent to the island thus far. We want you to find him and figure out his goals. If he can be reasoned with, then go that route. If not, we want you to destroy whatever threat he poses, understand?"

Once you have created your character, and posted in the forum, you may start to interact with each other here. I want to see how you roleplay, and... what your general style of writing is.

You have all found yourselves, at the Grand Lodge in the City at the Center of the World, as you have all been summoned, or requested to come on behalf of Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin. There are many different people here of all different races and nationalities, but you all have a feeling that you all received the same handwritten letter from the Venture-Captain, asking for your immediate presence here. One line in particular must have caught your attention. "The Decemvirate has requested you personally for this task." Doubtless, whether you were ordered here (in the case of Pathfinder agents) or spotted and singled out for one reason or another by a spy or recruiter, you have a feeling that the situation is dire.

Right now, the lot of you are waiting in a medium sized amphitheater, unsure of when you will be called upon. Hopefully when you are, you can gain some more insight as to why you were called here.

So, I just wanted to put it out there... who among you would be interested in traversing the infamous Tomb of Horrors? This horrific adventure has been converted to Pathfinder and now the evil within the Tomb threaten ALL of Golarion. I have converted the original story to fit into the world you are used to, and have incorporated elements that might be familiar to you (The Worldwound).

BEWARE FOOLISH MORTALS! This adventure is not for the faint of heart... furthermore, I would only be accepting adventurers who have little to no knowledge of the contents within... So... who will step up and rise to the occasion? Who will take this opportunity to test their metal... and their mettle?

The starting level will be 7 (standard gold for that level) and the stats will be rolled. (4d6, drop the lowest number) I will at least consider any Paizo (no 3rd party) material you throw at me... but be forewarned, a backstory as to why you are trying to explore the Tomb is important to me, and I would prefer if your build is not obviously set up to... break the dungeon. (Thankfully for some players, any alignment will be allowed as long as you are trying to work with the party) I will only be accepting 6 applicants, and think that next Friday, September 12th, is the deadline for applications.

Roll20 for the map... and I believe that may be it. 2 traits, a drawback optional... If there are any questions, just post away.
(Note. This is not a full on campaign... for now. If this group REALLY gets along well, and completes the module, I can see about extending it.)

Well I think this is a multiple part question for me so here we go this is all assuming you are abandoning the extra feat for this Adoptive Parantage racial trait of course:

1) if you are not going to choose a class that gives a +1 BAB bonus at first level, can you choose weapon focus as the feat choice (assuming the race you choose does not have weapon familiarity?)

2) if you choose the Weapon Focus feat as allowed by this racial trait, must it be something that you are proficient with via your chosen class or are you considered proficient with the weapon you choose for this weapon focus?

3) is there a list of weapons that are considered "appropriate" for races without weapon familiarity in PFS?

4) assuming you get this far, are unarmed strikes available to be taken with this weapon focus? Or what about a specific improvised weapon? (A Muse-touched Aasimar wielding a lute comes to mind)

Simply put, can you choose to not apply a chronicle to a character once playing, and completing a scenario with that character? I was hoping to make a few changes to the character using the retraining rules for first level characters, forgot to apply them, and played a scenario as a level 2 character... so now I was wondering if I can choose to 'opt out' of the chronicle and for all intents and purposes act as if I had never played it with this character, (Mainly so I can happily retrain my character before making him second level.)

Well, I was truly curious as to what the protocol would be for this. I know that the only boons you can trade are the one gained at Cons, that specifically come on different sheets than the ones you would find on a Chronicle, but am not sure if there are any specific rules one must follow besides that. Do you officially sign the boon of to someone, somehow, or do you just sort of, give them the sheet?

Okay, so I this might be mentioned somewhere, and I am just not seeing it (in which case, I'd love a page number), but for some reason I am having trouble coming up with the CR of a BBEG. If the race is human, and there are no templates being applied, is the CR of this singular character just his class level? Is this altered by multiclassing?
(I'm realizing this would have been better posted in the rules questions board)

Alright guys, a little background first. I am running a home campaign using a mix of pathfinder modules for early game, adventures from the Ravenloft setting for midgame, and old school D&D modules such as Tomb of Horrors for late game. We are using a few We are starting from level 1, and three of the players are new to D&D/Pathfinder. Here is the party composition thus far:

Tengu Ranger (Switch hitter, but optimized to use a bow)
Fletchling Rogue (Melee)
Aasimar Life Oracle (Healer+Spellcaster)
Gunslinger (No race selected yet)
Half Elf Scout (3rd party class. I ruled that so that the Rogue wasn’t left out, the precision damage was gained at level 1 + an extra d6 every three levels, and that it wouldn’t be applied to anyone engaged in melee combat, or anyone with concealment)
Ifrit Sorcerer

The three new people are playing the Oracle, Gunslinger, and Scout. Here’s the problem. They came up with these class choices on their own, and are dead set on playing them. I have personally never seen a party where the rogue is the leading expert on all things melee (and doesn’t really have a flanking buddy to boot)... and was wondering what you guys thought? Is there any hope for them? Or is this party kind of doomed? If the latter of the two, what suggestions do you all suggest to make sure that combat is challenging... and yet not overwhelming. We have a lot of good roleplayers, but I don’t think that Diplomacy bonus is any good when inside the Tomb of Horrors.

So uh... funny thought came to my mind the other day. In PFS, you are allowed to have one combat companion if you were to have an animal companion AND a familiar. But from the looks of it, you could have both your familiar and a mount (please correct me if I'm wrong). So... naturally, being a Lawful neutral, Cheliax aligned Wizard with a familiar, who is about to get the improved familiar feat so that I could have a Cassisian (an angel) as a familiar... I was also thinking of becoming a diabolist at level 10.

Which of course brought images to mind of the tiny imp animal companion riding the small sized angel as an exotic mount. Totally normal thoughts of course.

Point is, I wanted both my followers to be useful, and quite honestly, not burdensome. This is the best way I could think of doing it without completely abandoning one of them (roleplay wise, that's not ideal).

My question is concerning the interactions between metamagic feats and a spell like Aqueous Orb, which both allows for multiple saves, and these saves could be applied across multiple rounds. How does, let's say, Persistent Spell, effect it? Does it only effect the first save, or the first save that the opponent fails (as this is a two part spell), or does it effect every single save, concerning that spell of course, that the opponent makes while the spell is in effect?

Well I had just been wondering the other day, "Hey, how do worshipers of deities of DRASTICALLY different alignments interact with each other?" Then I got to thinking, what if a Cleric of Asmodeus, a Paladin of Iomedae, and an Antipaladin of Lamashtu or Rovagug got together and were put in the same room. Obviously the Paladin and Antipaladin would clash, but who would the Cleric of Asmodeus get along better with? In my mind, he/she would be annoyed at the Paladin, thinking him self righteous and ineffective at bringing order to the world, and utterly despise the Antipaladin, who represents the worst in society, pure chaos.

Any thoughts? It doesn't necessarily have to be these deities, as it is the alignment of the deity that counts.

The description of Mummer's Ruff states:
"The wearer of a mummer's ruff gains a +10 bonus on Bluff skill checks when attempting to imitate another's voice."

My question is concerning the bluff check. I thought attempting to disguise oneself, including one's voice was covered by the disguise skill. Now, am I wrong in this, and disguising one's voice is covered by bluff, while physical appearence is covered by disguise? Would the bluff increase ONLY be to disguise one's voice, or does this bonus take affect as long as I am attempting to imitate someone's voice, and can be used as part of a larger bluff such as a lie?

... that is the question. Now I had often wondered what people consider more effective, especially in PFS, so I thought, "Hey, why not just ask?"

I know it would be fun to have both types of players in a party, but what if you could just have one? Which and why?

Am I missing something here? I can't seem to find them anywhere! So my question is this. Can you provide examples of vanities (I know I am supposed to purchase them with PP) and which rulebook I can find them in?

I've seen it played with on a few different threads, but I'm just wondering what the rules say happens to a creature (or creatures) inside one of the various pit spells when a wall spell is placed flat over the opening... And then the pit spell is dismissed... With wall of fire, I assume the only thing that happens is that the creature takes fire damage, but what happens with the wall of stone, or force wall? A DC strength check to break the wall? If the check is failed, do damage dice even have to be rolled? If so, how many, and what happens to the creature, or the wall for that matter? Is the wall moved after damage is dealt? Or is the unfortunate creature crushed? I know what would happen in REAL life, but real life rules cannot be found in a handbook.

Here's the thing. I just want an animal. Like a raven. But my character is a Paladin... Okay, I want to know what the cost is, can this non-familiar raven speak or learn common, and finally, what rulebook this is all in. Oh right, and if this is legal for PFS play.

Okay, let's get this straight, we all hate power gamers who think that 'winning' is the best thing in life. Unfortunately I'm friends with one, and recently introduced him to PFS so we could possibly join games together.

Here's the problem. He's a min maxing, power gaming munckin. I know I already said this, but it cannot be stressed enough. He's a good role player, as well as a funny guy, and that is the ONLY reason my DM put up with his antics.

He decided that he was going to start up a bard character (sandman archetype) and wrote an 8 page backstory. Legitimately an 8 page backstory. Anyways, he added details about getting a succubus' blessing that gave him a +2 ability score of his choice (or was it bonus? I forget) as well as giving himself an intelligent weapon. I took one look at this, and said, "no. This just isn't allowed." he claims there was no rules against it, and he searched for them. Please help me here... Just.... Yeah...

Lets say I were to use smite evil on a CN creature. Would I also be able to use smite chaos on the same creature, or can it only be effected by one smite effect at a time?

All right, really what I wanted to know is this. Does a magic item have to be created as a magic item (for example, a +1 enchantment) or do you need a masterwork item to enchant? If it's the first of the two, can you add enchantments as time goes on, or do you have to buy new items? (For example, If I have m enchanted +1 sword, can I add a +1 ability, and later on add another +1 and then another +1 ability, or perhaps buy a +2 enchantment then two +1 abilities?)

Okay, for the first time ever I am choosing to play a paladin whose deity is LN instead of LG... specifically the goddess of vengence. I'm trying ro make a party friendly paladin who is much more lenient with the otner party memebers, and doesn't mind if THEY set traps, use poison, or kill prisoners... So long as the target is evil. Thia paladin does indeed believe that as long as evil is being punished for its crimes, that these measures are fine, and worshipping rhe goddess of vengence supporfs this belief.

Is this roleplayable? I mean, 'standard' paladins wouldn't put up with this, but I see this character as more of a Judge Dredd.

Alright then, I know the difference between these two, but here's my problem. I was reading up on the Oracle, and was thinking of multiclassing into it, however, several of the 'level' terms are vague. For example, sometimes a revalation will state that it is dependent on your 'oracle level' other revalations simply state 'level'. It looks something like this:

Cinder Dance (Ex): Your base speed increases by 10 feet. At 5th level, you receive Nimble Moves as a bonus feat. At 10th level, you receive Acrobatic Steps as a bonus feat. You do not need to meet the prerequisites to receive these feats. Oracles with the lame oracle curse cannot select this revelation.

vs.

Firestorm (Su): As a standard action, you can cause fire to erupt around you. You can create one 10-foot cube of fire per oracle level. These cubes can be arranged in any pattern you desire, but each cube must be adjacent to another and one must be adjacent to you. Any creature caught in these flames takes 1d6 points of fire damage per oracle level, with a Reflex save resulting in half damage. This fire lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier. You can use this ability once per day. You must be at least 11th level to select this revelation.

Am I to assume that the first means character level, or the oracle level of my character. Is my paladin going to recieve Nimble Moves at Lvl. 4 Paladin, and Lvl. 1 Oracle, or does the Oracle Level need to be 5?