Mistah J's page

Yo,

Long story short; A PC has the Equipment Trick (rope) feat and proficiency with spiked chains.

He is using his rope of climbing as his weapon of choice but, now that we've reached 6th lvl, he is starting to feel the lack of weapon enhancements.

He would like to start enchanting his rope as if it were a spiked chain.

What would you do/say? and Why?

Thanks!

Hey folks,

Let me be straight; I don't like the Hand of the Apprentice ability.
Ok, the ability itself is fine... it just seems more like a feat you could take after taking Arcane Strike to me.

As a wizard ability.. it just seems out of place? Not many wizards out there seem like they would care about being able to 'force throw' their weapon.

and I especially don't like it as the ability of the Universalist. Nothing about the ability says "Student of all schools but master of none" or even just 'general practitioner of magic'.

So I came up with 2 alternatives:

1. Universalist (Metamagician)

Metamagic Adept (Ex): At 1st lvl, the wizard gains a bonus metamagic feat. Upon reaching 5th level, and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th), the wizard can choose to learn a new metamagic feat in place of a metamagic feat he has already learned. In effect, the wizard loses the metamagic feat in exchange for the new one. The old feat cannot be one that was used as a prerequisite for another feat, prestige class, or other ability. The wizard can only change one feat at any given level and must choose whether or not to swap the feat at the time he gains a new metamagic feat for the level.

The 8th lvl ability, Metamagic Mastery, stays the same.

2. Universalist (Diverse Caster)

Diverse Memorization (Ex): At 1st lvl, the wizard gains Flexible Wizardry as a bonus feat even if she does not have the normal prerequisites. When the wizard prepares two spells for a given slot in this manner, they must be from two different schools.

Improved Diverse Memorization (Ex): At 8th lvl, the wizard gains Improved Flexible Wizardry as a bonus feat even if she does not have the normal prerequisites. The two spells must still be from two different schools.

I'm not keen on the name 'Diverse Caster' so if someone can think of something better.. I am all ears!

Thoughts?

Hey folks, looking for some brainstorming from the collective here.

Long story short: A powerful entity (fey/fiend/genie) decides to empower the wishing well of a small thorp or hamlet so that it actually grants wishes.

The adventure here is that the PCs discover this and have to fix things but what I need help with is, coming up with a large variety of wishes made by the locals that have already come to pass. Or will come to pass as the PCs investigate

So please, give me what you got:

Who made the wish?
What was it?
and of course... how does it go wrong?

Thanks

Hey all,

So Illusion spells of the phantasm type usually allow for a Will save to disbelieve at the onset of the spell, but then, I'm a little unclear of whether a target ever gets another chance if they fail.

Unlike figments, their save entry doesn't say 'if interacted with' but there are a lot of spells that raise a lot of questions otherwise.

As an example, take any of the hallucination spells; a target who fails that initial save thinks what they see/hear is real.. but what if someone tells them it's not? or what if they witness proof that it's not themselves?

Do they ignore that? Does the mind-affecting aspect of these spells mean their brains fill in the gaps or otherwise reject the evidence? Nothing in the spell says anything like that though.

I'm inclined to think that they should follow the general rules for disbelief but I just wanted to get other people's thoughts on this.

Thanks

Hey folks,

So today, as I was developing a Bard character for an upcoming game, I fell down the rabbit hole regarding maintaining a bardic performance vs. instruments that require 1 or 2 hands to use.

Basically, if your Bard uses an instrument that requires the use of their hands (flute, violin, etc) then:

1. By RAW they can still cast spells or attack because by RAW, maintaining a performance only requires a free action - no other requirements are mentioned.

2. But logically, this makes no sense because if your hands are occupied, how are you holding a weapon?

Now, I like the logical consistency of option 2 but I realize that it creates a disparity; no Bard would choose such an instrument over something like singing or oratory since those require no hands.

So, I'd like to come up with a benefit that makes those instruments worthwhile. Here is what I thought of:

If a Bard uses an instrument that requires both hands to start and maintain a bardic performance, they can also start and maintain a different bardic performance using a performance that requires no hands (probably the aforementioned singing or oratory).

Is it strong? Yeah maybe.. but we are talking about giving up your attacks here, so it should be good. The only issue is of course, running two performances eats up a bard's rounds per day of performance pretty quickly.

Anyway, it's a rough brainstorm I had and would very much like some input on.

Thanks

Guard: "Halt! No one enters while the nobles are in session"

PC: "See this ring? It is the crest of my father's family - by right, I should be in there!"

Guard: "You? You're the most dishevelled warrior I've ever seen. You're telling me you're a noble? I don't think so"

..but of course, in this case the PC is telling the truth, she really is the daughter of a Lord.

There has been some back and forth on how to adjudicate how you convince someone of the truth - especially when that truth is unlikely.

The base DC to determine trustworthiness with Sense Motive is 20. Says so right in the skill description. The problem is, that's kind of high for NPCs. Especially low level ones.

So this is my take:

Start with the base DC of 20. Modify it using the table found under the Bluff skill - only inverse. So a 'far-fetched' truth adds 10 while 'the target wants to believe you' reduces it by 5.

Then, the convincer can make a Diplomacy check to help convince/implore their case. Half their check result is then subtracted from the DC and the final result is what they have to beat with Sense Motive.

Thoughts?

Ok, here is the hypothetical:

a 7th lvl rogue has both the major magic talent and the Bookish Rogue feat. They also have a spellbook with a few 1st lvl spells in it.

If they took the Empower Spell-like Ability feat, does it apply to any spell in the major magic slot or just one particular spell and if they switch to something else, they can't use the feat until they switch back?

Obviously, we are talking only about spells that could be empowered like shocking grasp or magic missle and for the sake of this discussion, we can assume the character in question can take Empower Spell-like ability even though it is a 'Monster' feat.

Thoughts?

Edit: For what it's worth, I am inclined to think that it's the latter.

Hey,

So what I am looking for is what kind of penalties/modifiers/conditions would apply to a group of people fighting (as in, combat) but trying to remain undetected to a third group that was somewhat nearby.

It is DC -10 to hear a pitched battle. Now in addition to the regular modifiers for distance and walls or doors in the way, what kind of modifier would you add if one or both sides were trying to keep it quiet?

I'm sure you can think of lots of examples where this might come up - trying to take out one or two sentries before the rest of the guards become aware is, I think, the most obvious.

So please, let me know what you think the rules would be in this situation - even if you think the rules say it's impossible.

Thanks

Thinking about changing the wyroot special material so that it is just a bank for ki or arcane pools.

Forget all the "crits that don't deal damage stuff" and just say a wyroot weapon can hold 1, 2, or 3 pts until needed.

I want to keep the pricing the same so I'm looking for opinions on if it's overpowered now. If it is, I'm leaning towards making it take longer to store energy (a full-round action).

Thoughts?

Hello,

In past thread concerning the Unchained Monk, I've expressed dissatisfaction with the Head-butt style strike, for two main reasons:

1. It says it can only be used with a 'head-butt' attack even though no such attack is listed under the unarmed strike ability (only fists, elbows, knees, and kicks).

2. Using it lets you attempt to stagger a foe. That would be great if monks didn't already get a super version of Stunning Fist; with more times per day and a whole list of possible status effects to inflict (including staggered).

So, I feel that the Head-butt should just incorporate what the Monk already has; maybe like this:

Head-Butt: The monk slams his head into his enemy's head, leaving his foe reeling. If the attack hits, the monk can immediately use one of their Stunning Fist attempts with a +2 DC. Creatures without a discernible head are not affected by this style strike (subject to GM discretion). The monk must attack with their head to use this style strike.

Now, for this to work, you'd have to add 'head' to the list of appendages the monk can attack with under the unarmed strike ability.

The biggest thing I am having trouble with now is what to do if a monk does not have any Stunning Fist attempts, either because they ran out for the day or because they picked an archetype that swapped it for something else.

Thoughts?

Hey all,

Let's say the PCs are talking to an NPC and they, through one of the various means, figure out the poor soul is under the effects of a charm effect. So they tell them.

Let's assume for this discussion that we are at a point beyond:
"no, I'm not!"
"yes, you are"
"no!"
"..'fraid so"

So now our NPC believes them. What do they do? How do they act?
Enchantment isn't like Illusion, there is no extra save with a bonus for pointing it out.

How does one interpret the fact that their 'friend' forced them to "perceive their words and actions in the most favourable way" in the most favourable way?

Thanks for your thoughts

You can run for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution modifier, then you have to make Con checks to keep going.

Golems (and other constructs) have no Constitution so either:

A) They can't run at all.
or conceivably
B) They can run forever since they never tire.

Thoughts?

I might be crazy, but would Sneak Attack be better if it worked like the investigator's Studied Combat and Studied Strike?

In fact, if I were really out there, I would go so far as to say that Sneak Attack should be a better version - gaining more power over levels.

It just seems like a good way to make the Rogue's signature ability more self-reliant. Something which I understand is, in the opinion of many, where the class is seriously lacking.

Now, I'm just brainstorming here, but they would get both Studied Combat and Studied Strike at 1st level - wrapped up in an ability called Sneak Attack. You would have to add a rule that says the Studied Combat gave a minimum bonus of +1.

I would say that, unlike the Investigator, this ability's duration would be based on the Rogue's Dexterity modifier.

I would also say that at some higher level (maybe 10? maybe earlier) they would be able to choose their target as a swift action.

Actually, you could add a few features if you wanted - either baked in or as options through rogue talents. The ability to choose a target as a free action on a surprise round, or the ability to have more than one target at one time, stuff like that.

There is the issue that Studied Strike only works against a given target once every 24 hrs unless you spend inspiration - which a rogue doesn't have. Also, flanking and flat-footed would no longer matter to a rogue any more..

but some might see that as a feature, not a bug.

Give me some feedback here please, am I crazy or could this work?

Anyone ever consider it?

Spread out over the 32 core, base, alternate, and hybrid classes are 15 with only 1 good save.

Some, like the fighter or rogue, feel like they have one because they are original classes when this all got started and are out of date now.

Others, like witch or oracle, feel like they just emulate whatever core class they are closest too.

and the others, like arcanist or bloodrager, feel like they just cribbed from a parent class.

I guess I am just curious as to what makes the distinction between a 1 good save class and a 2 good save class.

I am also curious about the ramifications of giving all 15 solo-saves classes a secondary good save.

Anyway, this is just a thought that popped into my head - I haven't done any math or serious consideration so if you have any arguments for or against the idea, I am all ears.

Ok,

I've been doing some research here, and I must be missing something.

The Eldritch Scion archetype grants an 'eldritch pool'. The scion can spend a point to enter "mystical focus' for 2 rounds. Which, and I quote:

"...allows him to use abilities from his bloodrager bloodline as though he were in a bloodrage..."

Now to me that suggests that some Bloodragers, depending on their choice of bloodline, get powers that only work/can be activated during a bloodrage and any Eldritch Scion who gets the same power has to enter the mystical focus first in the same manner.

Example: The fey bloodrager bloodline gets Quickling Bloodrage at 12th level which states "while bloodraging you're treated as if you are under the effects of haste."

From this I gather that the bloodline powers that do not state they only work/can be activated during a bloodrage can therefore be used outside of a bloodrage by a Bloodrager, and therefore can be used outside of a mystical focus by a corresponding Eldritch Scion.

However, everywhere I look, the consensus seems to be that one of the main reasons the Eldritch Scion is no good is because he has to spend a swift action every other round just to get access to any/all bloodline powers.

Please tell me what I am missing?

Hey,

So I'm looking at the Evangelist Kyton (or Chain Devil) and their attack pattern gives me pause. Let me tell you what I get from it:

As a standard action, it can attack with 1 chain.
As a full-attack, it can attack with 4.
As a standard action, it can animate up to 4 chains within 20 feet and they each attack once (using the same attack/damage as the kyton).

Is that right?

Picture this, if you will:

A field of snow. Somewhere between knee and waist deep. Certainly deep enough to hamper movement/be treated as difficult terrain.

As the party travels across, they awaken nearby zombies that were lying dormant on the ground. The undead start rising out of the snow to attack.

The party cleric decides to channel energy against the advancing horde.

Here is the question, IF there were zombies still under the snow, and not yet 'activated', within the range of the channel energy. Would they be hit by it or not?

Thanks for your help.

Hello everyone!

Long story short: I happen to own, and love, Red Dragon Inn 1 & 2 from Slugfest Games. For those who don't know - Red Dragon Inn is a card game where players use special decks that represent characters who have just come back from a successful adventure and then attempt to drink and spend each other under the table. Last player standing wins.

Check them out here for more details if your interested. I highly recommend them!

Anyway. What I want to do is this: The players of my game all choose a RDI character that best approximates their character. We then spend the evening playing RDI as a means to get their characters to unwind.

Here is the rub - I want to include an NPC. Partly so I can play too but also because I want this NPC to be important. Ideally, the idea would be that if the party can beat the NPC, they give up something good - a clue, a favour, a treasure, whatever.

The problem I have is that RDI works best as a free for all. How can I keep my players from simply 'ganging up' on the NPC to ensure a win? I could create a scenario where someone gets a grand prize for winning but an individual prize then puts 1 party member ahead of the rest in terms of wealth by level and the like.

Any thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated, and thank-you in advance!

Yo!

I'm leading a pirate-themed campaign and the party has managed to acquire a boat for themselves.

I'd like to see their ship-to-ship combat skills improve but at the same time, that's a pretty specific niche to devote character resources like feats/talents/gear etc.

So I was thinking that over time, I could award individual PCs a bonus feat to help run a better ship.

My only example so far is that someone has expressed interest in equipping the vessel with canons - so I may grant them the Exotic Weapon Proficiency needed to make that work.

What other feats do you suggest? I'm looking for the ones that are neat, and would be good to have but normally don't get chosen because they're just too specific.

Thanks!

Long story short - the PCs are going down an ice chute.

I could just treat it like a fall: make a save or take some damage but that seems boring. I'd rather have some fun with twists and turns, some splits and other obstacles. Make it a real challenge/encounter

Anyone know if this kind of thing is out there? I'm looking to adapt some
thing in the interest of time but I'll glady accept any ideas on how to do it from scratch.

Thanks

Here is something for the think tank:

I've got an alchemist at the top of a 100 foot cliff. There is a bandit camp at the bottom.

At that range, the alchemist suffers a -8 penalty to attack due to being at maximum range. If the bomb misses, you have to figure out where it goes using the splash weapon miss rules.. but since it can't 'fall short' I would just use the d8 to determine a radial direction.

But what if the cliff were 120 feet? Now, the bandit camp is technically farther than the alchemist can throw but the bomb won't stop falling. How would you adjudicate? Would you just continue the -2 penalty per extra range increment? so in this case a -10? Would you say it is impossible due to being beyond the max range and just automatically roll to see where it goes via the miss table?

What if the bandits were instead an army and their camp extended for hundreds of feet? The alchemist wants to hit a target 120 feet down and 30 feet away? Could they just throw the bomb 30 feet straight ahead and let gravity do the rest?

I'm leaning towards figuring out the total distance from alchemist to target and then just adding more range increment penalties even if it goes beyond the normal limit

but I'd like to hear what others think is fair.

Hey folks,

Interesting thought experiment I am playing around with.

I'm thinking of a cosmology with the regular elemental planes but I also want to have what I would call 'Antithesis'* Planes. Here is what I mean:

Fire and Water are opposites but Fire and Ice are Antithesis. So an Elemental Plane of Cold would be Fire's Antithesis.

Water's Antithesis would be.. well dryness.. or dessication.. represented by a Plane of Dust?

What comes to mind to you for Air and Earth?

*I am aware that 'antithesis' and 'opposite' are primarily the same thing. I picked the word to denote difference between the usual Fire/Water or Air/Earth oppositions.

Hey all, I need a wee bit of help here for my campaign,

An island from the Plane of Shadow has appeared in the ocean of the Material Plane.

It is not a big island (takes almost a day to walk across) but it is infused with darkness/negative energy/anti-magic.

The players are no where near it, but they ARE in the same ocean, on a ship.

I'm looking for something 'odd' they can see/encounter/interact with that will be a puzzling mystery for a while, then make sense when they encounter the island itself (or at least learn about it) later on.

Thanks for the help

You know the ones I mean - hot or cold weather that require increasingly difficult Fortitude saves.

The most basic one requires 1 check per hour. Given an 8 hour day for adventurers, that can turn into a lot of checks - which can really bog down play. Especially so if the party is just travelling between point A and point B.

Is there anything that can be done to help streamline this process? By that I mean, take the core concept and make it work better. I don't mean ignore it/assume someone has endure elements/handwave travel time etc.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Hey all,

Just looking for some input really, but remember those skill tricks that were introduced in the Complete Scoundrel? I'm wondering what is the best way to bring them into Pathfinder.

They could be:
a) Straight Conversion: Anyone can spend 2 skill points to pick one up, just as described (barring any other conversion required due to rules/skill changes, etc)
b) New Skill Uses: Each trick is simply given a particular DC and anyone trained in that skill can attempt them.
c) Feats: Turn them all into feats
d) Rogue Only: Any of the above choices but state that only Rogues can get them (instead of feats, they'd be turned into talents). This option is really more of a flavour thing, or maybe if you agree that rogues need a bit of a boost these days... but I don't want to turn the thread into that.

Once I get a few opinions on this fact, I may use this thread to start converting them (and welcome others who are interested to do the same).

Thanks!

Hey!

So, I think there are a lot of builds out there looking to wield a polearm one-handed. I want to facilitate this in a balanced way - I'm not looking to create any kind of dual-wielding monster with lances, or fauchards, or what not.

Here is what I have so far:

Take the Quarterstaff Master feat and use the same prerequisites - substituting Weapon Focus: Quarterstaff for Weapon Focus: the one polearm you want to use this feat with.

Then, where Quarterstaff Master says you cannot use one as a double weapon in one hand, this feat would say you cannot wield a polearm in your off hand. A polearm in one hand would also lose its brace ability (if it had that).

If that weren't enough, it could also not be able to be used with reach polearms.

Thoughts? I fully understand that polearms get some big damage dice plus usually one, two or even three special qualities so using one with one hand is a big deal but I think there are enough thematic/flavourful builds out there that arrant an attempt at making it possible.

Thanks

Hey folks,

So I am leading a game that has 6 4th level PCs. The style of the game is steampunk west - everyone has advanced firearms, no armour, lots of 'old west' themes/style. They are on their way to rescue an important NPC from a band of wild goblins that make their home in some nearby canyons. The goblins are primitive (no guns) and are semi-famous for using coyotes as mounts/companions.

The party has the following:
A paladin (holy gun archetype)
A rogue (sniper archetype)
A cleric (luck and charm domain)
A wizard (spellslinger archetype)
A bard (daredevil archetype)
An alchemist (homebrew tinker alternate class)

They are just about to reach the main lair of the goblins. The NPC is inside it, somewhere.

Here is where I could use some assistance. I want this tribe to be so large that it becomes readily apparent that a "kick in the door" style attack is not the best option. I would like it to be more "sneak in, find the NPC, sneak out" but I have two main problems:

1. Not every PC is a stealthy type, in fact some are quite poor at it. If they get left behind, I need to work out how they can contribute to the encounter, I don't want anyone getting bored or left out.

2. I'm a little unsure how to run the encounter. I don't want to work out the entire camp and the location of EVERY goblin - especially because I want to keep the idea of huge numbers. I also don't want it to end up being nothing but Stealth check roll after Stealth check roll.

So, I guess I am asking for suggestions on how to keep this thing dynamic, inclusive, and most important: entertaining. This has the potential to be one of the highlights of the campaign.. or the incident we will never speak of again.. please help me make it the former!

Thanks!

P.S: I should mention, this encounter SHOULD be a hard one. I don't want to make it easy, just easy to run. I will also mention that I DO have an idea of what happens if they get caught red-handed; rather than simply attacking outright, the goblins will force the PCs into a 'game' they play - if you can imagine what kind of physical sport Goblins would come up with.. but that is a contingency if the above encounter falls apart.

Hey folks,
Check out this feat I built for a friend:

KI HEALING
You can channel your ki into others, sharing your ability to heal.
Prerequisites: Wis 15, wholeness of body class feature.
Benefit: As a full-round action, you may touch a living creature and heal them using your wholeness of body ability. Using wholeness of body in this way provokes an attack of opportunity.

My question is simple - is the wording clear? I know what I mean (the monk spends the ki to activate his wholeness of body ability but the other person gets the benefit), but I want to make sure strangers get it without the context.

Did I succeed?
Thanks!

Yo,

So the players in my game are about to find themselves on one side of a small village with a desperate need to get to the other without being seen by the general populace (think lynch mob).

What I would like is a quick, easy and fun way to adjudicate this and not by mapping out the whole village, with multiple Stealth checks against the Perception checks of countless villagers, and all that.

How would you go about it? I don't want to make it a Chase (even though I love them because a)did one already and it's too soon. and b)they aren't being chased by the mob - they are running around, trying to avoid them.

My first instinct is to model it after Chases though as it is similar. Something like, the village is 9 cards (3x3 grid) and as the PCs move from card to card, there is a chance of being seen.. that grows as the mob spreads over more squares?

The other factor in this scenario is the PCs are against the clock. There is another group in the same situation but there is only one escape and once a group uses it, it is gone. Thus, the party has to beat the NPCs to it.

So, maybe going from square to square can be done fast, but obvious or slow but hidden?

Give me your thoughts please.. I'd love to cement this

Greetings

One of my players is a Monk with levels of Paladin. He took those levels because he wants to be a slayer of evil - just with a martial artist feel instead of the standard knight in shining armour.

He's starting to feel the sting of multiclassing though (he is the only player to do so). Since he focuses on monk, he has only 2 levels of Paladin.. which means his smiting is.. not so good and it is only getting less as they advance.

So I'm looking for a way to give him smite evil. I have a mechanic all worked out - spend 2 ki points (maybe 3) to smite.

What I need help with is HOW to deliver this mechanic to the character.

It could be part of a Prestige Class.
It could be part of an Archetype.
It could be a feat.
It could be a magic item.

What would you choose? As a stand alone ability, I'm leaning towards feat or item. Specifically, I'm thinking about a mini quest in which he gains a mystic scroll... something like the Tomes or Manuals of stat boosting. I.E. he spends time studying then scroll and then he gets the power.

Thoughts?

Hey!

So, I've adopted the common "2 attack" house rule regarding BAB and full-attacks.

For those not in the know, it goes like this:
At BAB +6 you don't get +6/+1 you get +4/+4
At BAB +11 it becomes +10/+10
At BAB +16 it becomes +16/+16

I'm a full convert to the system. Less attacks but better chances of hitting really simplify AND speed up play.

What I'm looking at now is how to fit Two-weapon Fighting in there. I have two options:

[u]OPTION A[/u]
Two-Weapon Fighting: grants extra attack. all attacks take -2
Improved Two-weapon Fighting: the -2 penalty is removed
Greater Two-weapon Fighting: a 2nd extra attack, the -2 penalty returns
"Superior" Two-weapon Fighting*: the penalty is removed again

[u]OPTION B[/u]
Two-weapon Fighting: grants extra attack. all attacks take -2
Improved Two-weapon Fighting: the penalty is reduced to -1
Greater Two-Weapon Fighting: grants 2nd extra attack
"Superior" Two-weapon Fighting*: penalty is reduced to 0

*Made up feat to end the chain smoothly

In both cases:
TWF requires BAB +0
ITWF requires BAB +6
GTWF requires BAB +11
STWF requires BAB +16

My question is, which option do you think is the best one?
I am leaning toward option B but I would like some consensus.

Thanks

A use-activated magic item that cast detect evil would cost 3,000gp (lvl 1 spell x lvl 1 caster x 2,000gp x 1.5)

If such an item also gave you the paladin-only option of detect evil (1 move action for 3 rounds of study on one target). Would you expect the item to cost more? If so, by how much?

Quick survey:

Say you want a character who is knowledgeable in things like art, books, music and the famous artisans who make them.

Do you make up a new Knowledge skill or do I try and fit it into an existing one?

in fact, how many of us treat the knowledge skills like craft, profession, and perform and how many think the 10 provided are it.

Hey all,

I've got the PCs facing up against a fighter type who uses intimidation to good effect. Things like Dazzling Display, Enforcer, that kind of stuff.

He needs a henchmen to help build up the challenge - so I'm thinking rogue.. but I'm wondering what kind of build would best take advantage of shaken or demoralized enemies?

It's a sea-faring campaign.. so the more swashbuckle the better but it's not required.. I can add that flavour pretty easy.

Thanks

Hey folks,

So the PCs faced off against a group of desert cultists. Think 'partially mummified monks'. This was their first encounter with them but it will not be the last - I plan on having them be recurring villains.

As part of their mystique, I designed them to degrade into dust and sand upon their death. I thought it was a pretty cool visual and helps make them more mysterious.

So, after the battle, one of the spellcasters of the group says "I gather up the sand remains of one of them".

I say sure. the PC is played as kind of an oddball, poor social skills, kinda guy - this certainly helps his image of being a weirdo.

Then he says "I cast create treasure map. So I look up the spell and decide that a pile of sand cannot be used as remains for the spell.. it says clearly it has to be some manner of flat surface that can have a map drawn on it.

'Ok' he says 'I take the sand to a glass-blower and pay him to make it into a sheet of glass."

...huh. Well, he can certainly do that. The battle took place inside the big city and though it was late at night, he basically strong-armed/bribed the glass-blower into opening his shop and taking the job by paying him in gold. Also, even though the spell has a 24 hour limit, I am pretty sure it would not take that long to make a very basic sheet of glass.

Now I am unsure as to if this should work or not. On the one hand, it seems like trying to work around the restrictions of the spell. On the other, it seems like very clever thinking.

I can handle it if it does work - this isn't about trying to keep the party from using its resources to find answers/solve mysteries before I want them to.. it's about whether or not this should work.

I want to be able to reward the PC for his outside-the-box thinking but at the same time, I don't want to just break the spell and make it too good.

What are your thoughts?

If someone said to you, "hey I wanna use the archetype 'Poison Hand'!" What class do you think it would be for.. Monk or Ninja? or another?

Personally I think it would be either Monk or Ninja which is why I offered those ones by name. Of the two, which do you think is the better fit?

Yes, it's another one!

This is my take on that very popular subject: the artificer/engineer style class.
=======

TINKER
Note: The Tinker is an alternate class for the Alchemist base class.

Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d8
Starting Wealth: 3d6 x 10gp (average 105gp). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10gp or less.

CLASS SKILLS
The tinker’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (any) (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Fly (Dex), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis), Use Magic Device (Cha)

Skill ranks per level: 4 + Int modifier.

BAB: As Alchemist
Good Saves: Fort, Ref

Special abilities by level
1.Bomb 1d6, catch off-guard, master craftsman, tinkering, trapfinding
2.Innovation, jury-rigging
3.Bomb 2d6, trap sense +1, swift crafting
4.Innovation
5.Bomb 3d6
6.Innovation, trap sense +2
7.Bomb 4d6
8.Innovation, swift disabling
9.Bomb 5d6, trap sense +3
10.Innovation, trap mastery
11.Bomb 6d6
12.Innovation, trap sense +4
13.Bomb 7d6
14.Innovation, rapid construction
15.Bomb 8d6, trap sense +5
16.Innovation, rapid disabling
17.Bomb 9d6
18.Innovation, trap sense +6, rapid crafting
19.Bomb 10d6
20.Great Innovation

Contraptions by level
1. 1
4. 2
7. 3
10. 4
13. 5
16. 6
19. 7

CLASS FEATURES

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The Tinker is proficient with all simple weapons and bombs. They are proficient with light armour but not with shields.

Bombs (Su)
As the alchemist class feature.

Catch Off-Guard (Ex)
All Tinkers gain the Catch Off-Guard feat as a bonus feat at 1st level.

Contraptions (Su)
Tinkers have the ability to create special items that blur the line between magic and technology. These contraptions are magical devices that emulate spells and though a tinker is limited in the number he can create, their wide selection and ability to be switched-out easily means the tinker is a master of versatility.

A contraption is a magic item that effectively lets a tinker ‘cast’ a certain spell. All contraptions are use-activated magic items that require one hand to use. The caster level of a contraption is equal to the level of the tinker and the save DC is equal to 10 + ½ the tinker’s level + the tinker’s Int. modifier.

At 1st level, the tinker chooses 3 schools of magic to provide him with the blueprints for his contraptions. The tinker can make an item that produces the effect of any spell from that school provided his caster level is at least equal to the caster level required to cast that spell.

A contraption takes time to build. Creating one requires 1 hour per level of the spell being produced (minimum 1 hour). This time need not be continuous but a contraption will not function until it is completed. A contraption lasts until it is destroyed or the tinker dismantles it (which takes 1 hour). A 1st level a Tinker can have 1 contraption. At 4th level and every 3 levels thereafter (7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th), the Tinker may build another contraption.

A contraption can be used without consequence a number of times per day equal to 1 plus 1 more for every 4 tinker levels. It can be used beyond this limit but doing so requires a Use Magic Device check each additional time it is activated (DC equal to 15 +1 per previous check). On a failed check, the contraption does not function and is destroyed.

Only a tinker may use the contraptions he creates. If another creature attempts to use a tinker’s contraption, it does not function and is destroyed instead.

Master Craftsman (Ex)
A tinkers gains the Master Craftsman feat at 1st level as a bonus feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites. Instead of choosing a Craft of Profession skill, the tinker gains the +2 bonus granted by the feat to his Use Magic Device skill and uses it to determine his effective caster level.

Tinkering (Ex)
At 1st level, a Tinker gains a pool of Tinker Points equal to 4 + his Intelligence modifier. At each level after 1st, he gains an additional 2 Tinker Points. These points can be spent to modify gear and equipment, making them perform better in a number of ways.

It takes 10 minutes per Tinker Point spent to modify an item. These points remain spent until the item is destroyed or the tinker dismantles it (which takes 1 minute).

Only a tinker can use equipment he has modified with Tinker Points. If another creature attempts to use such an item, it automatically malfunctions (see below).

A tinker can:
- Spend 1 Tinker Point to have an item grant a +1 circumstance bonus to one skill (chosen by the tinker at the time of creation). A single item can grant a maximum bonus to one skill equal to 5 + the tinker’s level.
- Spend 1 Tinker Point to reduce the armour check penalty of a suit of armour or shield by 1 (cannot reduce the penalty below 0).
- Spend 2 Tinker Points to grant an item a +1 enhancement bonus to attack rolls made with it (maximum bonus +5).
- Spend 2 Tinker Points to make an item grant a +1 enhancement bonus to AC (maximum bonus +5)
- Spend 3 Tinker Points to make an item grant a +1 resistance bonus to one save, chosen by the tinker at the time of creation (maximum bonus +5)
- Spend 3 Tinker Points to grant an item a +1 enhancement bonus to damage rolls made with it (maximum bonus +5).
A single item can be modified in multiple ways. As long as the tinker has the Tinker Points to spend, he can give an item any combination of benefits.

Malfunctions
Every item modified by a tinker has a complexity rating equal to the number of Tinker Points spent in its creation divided by 5.

- If the natural result of your skill or attack roll falls within the complexity value of the item or weapon, it malfunctions. A weapon that has an existing misfire value adds that to the complexity rating.
- In the case of armour, if the natural result of a roll to confirm a critical hit against the wearer is equal to 21 - the complexity, the armour malfunctions.
- In the case of saves, if the natural result of the saving throw falls within the complexity value, it malfunctions.

When a device malfunctions, the item immediately gains the broken condition and you fail the skill check or miss with the attack (even if you would normally succeed or hit).

All benefits a malfunctioning item grants are also reduced by half (rounded down, minimum 0) in addition to the regular penalties for being broken. If a malfunctioning device malfunctions a second time, it is destroyed.

Trapfinding (Ex)
As the Rogue class feature.

Innovations (Su)
At 2nd level, and every even level thereafter (up to 18th level) a tinker devises a brilliant mechanical innovation. Unless otherwise noted, a tinker cannot select an individual innovation more than once. Some innovations can only be selected if the tinker has met certain prerequisites, such as other innovations.
The DC for any saving throw called for by an innovation is equal to 10 +1/2 the tinker’s level + the tinker’s intelligence modifier.
Bomb innovations marked with an asterisk do not stack. Only one such innovation can be applied to an individual bomb.

Jury-rigging (Ex)
At 2nd level a tinker can, as a full-round action, remove the broken condition from one item he is holding for 1d4 rounds. The item does not regain any hit points but otherwise functions normally. At the end of the duration, the item regains the broken condition. If an item under the effects of a jury-rigging has the broken condition when the duration ends, it is destroyed. A tinker cannot use this ability on an item already under the effect of a jury-rigging.

Swift Crafting (Ex)
Starting at 3rd level, a tinker can craft items much more efficiently than a typical artisan. It takes a tinker half the normal amount of time to create a non-magical item when using the Craft skill.

Trap Sense (Ex)
As the rogue class feature.

Swift Disabling (Ex)
It takes a tinker half the normal amount of time to use the Disable Device skill. An action that normally takes 1 round (such as opening a lock) can now be done as a standard action.

Trap Mastery (Ex)
A tinker never accidentally sets off a trap he is trying to disable, no matter by how much he fails his Disable Device check. In addition, whenever he comes within 10 feet of a trap, he receives an immediate Perception check to notice the trap.

Swift Construction (Ex)
At 14th level, a tinker reduces the amount of time it takes to build his devices. Items modified by Tinker Points now take 1 minute per point spent to complete and it is a full-round action to dismantle one. Contraptions now only require 10 minutes per spell level to build and be dismantled in 10 minutes.

Rapid Disabling (Ex)
A tinker can now use the Disable Device skill with blinding speed. Any action that normally takes 1 round can now be done as a move action. Any other action can be completed as a full-round action.

Rapid Crafting (Su)
At 18th level, a tinker can produce items both mundane and magical at an incredible pace. When making Craft checks to create non-magical items, the tinker compares his check result x the DC to the price of the item in gp instead of sp. When crafting magical items, a tinker takes 1 day for each 2,000 gp in its price.

Grand Innovation (Su)
At 20th level, a tinker develops a grand innovations. He immediately learns to normal innovations, but also learns a third innovation chosen from the list of grand innovations. These represent the pinnacle of ingenuity, the spark of pure genius that most tinkers spend their whole lives striving to achieve.
=====

-All the innovations are in the post below.

There it is!
Feel free to comment and make suggestions. It is not quite done yet.. I'm not thrilled with how the tinker points class feature interacts with armour and shields and I could always use more innovations so I am totally looking for feedback.

Hey all,

Let's say your character finds a broken spyglass. It is magical though and when activated it casts ________.

What spell would you expect to be there? Let's say 2nd lvl or lower.. it's a treasure for a low-level game.

Thanks!

Hey!

So, if you look at the list of poisons for sale, you'll see a price for Giant Wasp, a few sizes of scorpions and spiders, and a host of other poisonous creatures....

...but no snakes! I find this a bit odd: vipers are a pretty common choice when it comes to naming poisonous creatures. I'm trying to figure out the prices for the various snake poisons. Here they are:

Snake, Venomous: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Con; cure 1 save.

Snake, Cobra (Emperor): Bite—injury; save Fort DC 17; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Con; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Snake, Sea (Giant): Bite—injury; save Fort DC 19; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex and 1d2 Con; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Snake, Swarm (Venomous): Swarm-injury; save Fort DC 15; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves.

Snake, Viper: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 9; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Con damage; cure 1 save.

The question is, what kind of prices should be attached here?
The Emperor Cobra poison is VERY similar to Wyvern Poison - the only difference is 1d3 Con instead of 1d4. Wyvern poison costs 3,000gp a dose.

Since it all does Con damage, I'm thinking they should be a little on the pricey side but I could use some help with making some guidelines.

Thanks!

Hey folks,

Gotta game coming up where the party will lose one of the PCs (or an NPC) overboard during a storm.

One of the PCs is an Undine - he has a swim speed. I fully expect him to simply dive in to save the day so I want to ensure I have rules down to make sure it's somewhat of the challenge it is supposed to be.

With a swim speed of 30ft. He can go that far in the water as a move action - regardless of the stormy conditions. It should be no problem to reach the victim. What can I do to increase the difficulty of the return trip?

With a swim speed, the Undine can effectively 'take 18' on Swim checks (taking 10 even in danger and +8 racial bonus to swim). What kind of penalty does dragging someone with you impose? Is it a medium or heavy load? impairing his speed? require swim checks of a high DC to cover the distance back to the boat?

Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks.

Would you let purify food and drink turn seawater into drinkable water?

Just curious if some would consider salt to be a 'contamination'.

Hey,

The Eldritch heritage feats from Ultimate Magic grant non-sorcerers bloodline powers.

Is there any reason at all why a series of feats that do the same thing only for Oracle Revelations would be way out of line?

it seems like 6 of one/half dozen of the other to me... right?

Thanks

EDIT: First thing is, of course, that an Oracle gets more revelations than a Sorcerer gets powers - and there is a bit of choice involved.
It's not a perfect fit... but I don't want to change this into a Feat design thread - that's for House Rules.

Hey folks,

I have a player who is keen to play an electricity/storm based Magus. She has also chosen, to give herself a secondary non-combat role, to put some focus into divination spells.

It's not a big focus, just something to help round out the character. What I am looking for to help her, are ways in which to add divination spells to her repertoire.

We have already pegged the Magus Arcana - Spell Blending. In fact, we have also pegged the feat - Extra Arcana so she can take it as much as she likes. It can only get us so far however since it only lets you pick lower-level wizard spells and there aren't that many.

Are there any other feats/archetypes/tricks out there that can help?
If it matters, the theme is someone who listens to the wind/ask questions to the sky and gets an actual response.

Thanks!

Hey all,

What, in your opinion, would it take for an illusionist to convince people it was raining?

I don't mean, look out the window and it looks like it is raining, I mean a crowd of people outdoors experiencing a rainstorm.

Such an illusion would certainly take all 5 senses to pull off properly so it would have to be at least a major image. Let us also assume that everyone he wishes to fool is standing inside the effect of the spell (i.e. he is a high enough caster to make it big enough to cover everyone).

What kind of problems would he face? One I can think of is that as soon as someone left the area, they would no longer be 'wet' and that is assuming the illusion can make people think they were soaked to begin with. How could the illusionist deal with this issue?

Would being "rained" on give the targets an automatic Will save?

Without falling too far down the rabbit hole concerning the power of illusions.. do you think it could be done within the scope of say, 10th to 20th level?

Thanks for the input!

Hey,

So my players are just starting a low-level 'survive the wilderness' adventure and they want to build a wagon to cart around the supplies they've gathered.

Assuming they can do that (how to quickly build a wagon is its own thread), how should I adjust the numbers for how much they can drag?

I'm assuming here that the 'push or drag' weight limit is based off of full contact with the ground and that propping it all up on wheels makes it easier.

Consider their Str score to be 2 points higher? 4? Maybe 'reduce' the weight of the supplies?

I know 'weight watchers' doesn't sound like much fun for an adventure but I'm only doing it the once... at low-level when it actually makes for a challenge. It doesn't take long before magic and whatnot makes these types of challenges obsolete.

Thanks!

Ok.

So, I'm about to start leading a wild west style campaign using all the advanced firearm rules from Ultimate Combat.

Obviously, this is going to change the way combat works in a major way. Namely, instead of everyone rushing towards each other to fight.. they are all going to run away from each other and find cover to shoot from.

So I want to be clear on the cover rules, specifically firing from cover.

If character A has cover from character B (she's hiding behind a tree), she has to leave cover (by moving) in order to attack with a ranged weapon.. correct? There is no 'leaning out to shoot then ducking back" option beyond, say: 5ft step out, shoot (standard) and return (move).

I know about sniping, but it's not the same thing since no one is trying to hide from anyone.. everyone knows character A is behind that tree.

Also, if you were one of my players.. would you be looking for ways in which to 'shoot from cover'? I want to be as prepared as I can because I know the questions are going to come in fast and furious once I ask for an initiative roll.

Thanks!

Yo!

A friend of mine wants to play a Tinker/Engineer type character in an upcoming game and I, who can never ever resist a challenge, agreed to help come up with such a class.

I'm making it an alternate class of the Alchemist, which I am using as the framework to build it from. I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible.. but it ain't easy!

Right now, I've designed a class ability that essentially lets the Tinker take a piece of mundane equipment and improve/alter it. I'm trying to think of all the different ways the mechanics of equipment could be altered. Here is what I mean:

1. grants skill bonus
2. attack bonus
3. damage bonus
4. improves AC
5. reduces Armour check penalty
6. reduces weight
7. improves saves
8. improves max dex bonus
9. reduces spell failure chance

I'm looking for any other mechanics, die rolls, or aspects of a character that a piece of gear could effect.. or could be affected by the stereotypical 'mad inventor' style gadgetry.

If you see something I have missed.. please let me know!

Thanks

..or any other kit that has expendable uses in it, such as a Healer's Kit.

It'd be a minor magic item for sure.. say 500gp? That's the equivalent of buying 10 regular kits. That is 100 uses.. surely that's more than a character would ever need and therefore is equal to 'endless'?

Thoughts?

Hey all,

I need some character building advice.

The character is a 1st lvl. Dwarf Fighter. I have decided to go down the iconic 'tank' route. Full-plate armour, heavy shield (as a back up bashing weapon), the whole works. Eventually ending up with the toughest adamantine armour.

I am leaning towards taking the armour master archetype for fighters but I am also looking at the Stalwart and Improved Stalwart feats from Ultimate Combat.
- They both offer DR X/- that improves over advancement but:

The feats DR stacks with other class features but not adamantine armour.
Armour Master grants DR that stacks with adamantine but nothing else.

Armour Master doesn't grant DR until level 5. It doesn't improve until level 19. I can't take Stalwart until level 4 but at least it works right away, even if it never gets as good.

I can't decide if it is worth taking the Stalwart feats. Taking them with the Armour Master archetype would give two different sources of DR. That could be useful because there may be times when my character is caught out of armour, and because getting the most out of the archetype's DR won't happen until much later levels.

What do you think?