Mithral Mustang's page

Oh sweet, thank you so much Gauss!

He shouldn't be normalized to medium?

So his 9 Str would go up to 23, and his Dex would drop to 18.

A dragon familiar can wear a magical belt right? :-P

I kinda thought there was a change in size modifier, but I have struggled to find anything supporting that.

I would think going from tiny to huge would be a major jump in Strength, and a drop in Dex...

I'm building an Evil Arcane Sorcerer for a home game, and intend to take Improved Familiar at 7th level for a Shadow Drake.

If I was to cast Form of the Dragon III on my familiar through Share Spells, would he become a Huge dragon, or just increase two size categories?

How would his Stats change?

Also, this is probably GM Fiat, but do you think a Shadow Drake could activate a wand using his tail?

Thanks in advance! :-)

Rules for pickling things (cucumbers etc)

Functional subsystem for rugby games
Chocobo Knight base class
Armored Spiker base class

If these ain't in, I'm throwing a fit on the forum.

I agree completely! There just isn't enough pickled rugby in Galorian!

If they added Rugby, they'd finally have something that monk could excel at!

Has it been two months since the last go round already?

LOL! :-P

I love beating the dust, that use to be goo, that was formly known as a dead horse... just ask my GM, I give him headaches.

Of course, then our party tends to eat 10 Cone of Colds in one round, and then he looks at the Ranger who was like I got Evasion [Female Dog]!

Then says yeah, I'm going to go smoke, you think about how you're going to fix those other four that are dead or dying, should probably fix the cleric first if you can...

We love Pathfinder, at least I do, and Paizo managed to get a lot of things right. Eventually however the rules will need to be updated and things will have to evolve or risk becoming stagnant.

So what are some changes that you would like to see in the future that go beyond what simple errata can cover?

Things I'd like to see!

- A complete focus on skills, perhaps a further condensing of rarely used skills. Combining Fly with Acrobatics, combining Climb and Swim and call it Athletics, Combining Knowledge History and Nobility (probably still wouldn't take it.), putting appraise in the toilet. Most importantly detailing the skills and making sure they work fluidly for all 20 levels.

- Make Feint based on CMB vs CMD, have a feat line for it like trip does.

- Create a crafting system that is fun and makes sense, not just an after thought

- Clearly defining and seperating feats into categories that make sense, and giving every character bonus fluff feats or non combat feats. This would really help flesh out characters and promote RP.

- Bring back the darkness. Every creature in the world of Galorian has either low light vision or darkvision save for Humans, Halflings, and maybe a few other things that have some other sense that trumps darkvision. This is why stealth is useless now, concealment no longer exists really. Low light vision should be rare, darkvision should be stupidly rare and saved for things that would have it based on ecology. Also, light should cost resources, not just endlessly cast on stones by a cleric and slinged down a hallway.

- Class Balance, with some good editions to prestige classes or doing away with them completely in favor of base classes or archtypes.

-Facing! Rules that make it matter, and the benefits and drawbacks of it!

can't use piranha strike with a scimitar. I meant invalid in the sense that they are very weak physically. Other PC's would probably look at your character as a liability.

You're right, Piranha Strike doesn't work with the scimitar, it does however work with the Wakizashi, which is what my character was going to use with Dervish Dance thanks to this super awesome trait I call Peculiar Dervish! :-P

Also, you're comment about being an invalid opened up a whole lot of RP ideas for me, so I really do thank you for it! :-)

To each his own. I don't feel utterly confident when confronting dragons with an invalid "ninja".

It's not min/maxed for combat, this much is true. Though it's not going to be as awful as you think. At 5th level I'll have Weapon Finesse, Dervish Dance, and Piranha Strike which allows me to stack Dex for Attack, Damage, AC, Initiative, and a lot of skills. Kitsune have a Natural bite attack, and ninja's can spend a Ki point to get an extra attack.

Level 5 Full Attack with a +1 Wakizashi and 20 Dex while Flanking with Piranha Strike
1st Attack +10 to hit, 1d6+8, +3d6 Sneak Attack
Ki Point 2nd Attack +10 to hit, 1d6+8, +3d6 Sneak Attack
Bite Attack +4 to hit, 1d4+0, +3d6 Sneak Attack

Invalid? I don't think so. Especially after I use bluff/diplomacy on said Dragon and fly around burning down villages with him. :-P

I'm building her for ok damage, but more importantly RP. I'll talk the king into killing said Dragon with his armies, and letting us keep the gold since we "saved" his kingdom.

When you build a character to be a hammer, you're going to see every problem as a nail...

In theory, until you realize how much of a hindrance it is just to carry your own equipment. I have never seen someone dump strength. I have seen people not invest, but that's not the same thing.

I must be weird then, the ability scores I'm going with for my ninja involve a 6 Strength, lol. I think it'll be fun having a 20 lb light load. :-P

Muleback Cords are my friend! And only 1,500 Gold to add them to a Cloak of resistance. :-)

I suppose it'd have been useful if I actually linked you to the product that I was offering to comp you.

And hey, you could always tell your GM that you wrote any content that you happen to like. : P

Was about to PM you and ask which product you were recommending, lol.

I wouldn't feel right claiming someone else's work, lol. For a dollar, I can give it a look, he might be willing to yield if it's something that I can prove is balanced and comparable to the paizo material. :-)

As a trait, it might be overpowered. As a feat, maaaaybe not. Either way, it sort of takes some of the "wow" factor out of weapons like the elven curve blade (i.e. "big" finesse-able weapons).

What if the trait allows the effect to "kick in" when certain feat prerequisites are met? For example, once you have Combat Expertise, Weapon Finesse, and Weapon Focus with a one-handed slashing weapon, only then you may gain the benefits of this trait (which does nothing for you, otherwise)?

Side note: if you're really playing a kitsune ninja, this might be of interest to you (it has a bunch of ki content for kitsune, so it's sort of perfect for the build you're describing). It's only a buck, but send me a PM if you're truly broke and I'll get you a copy.

Daron Woodson
Abandoned Arts

I suppose it may devalue the Elven Curve blade some, but I think it would still have a place in builds that wish to utilize a dex based two handed build. You would still get 1.5x damage for using two hands, and could utilize a buckler if you wanted. Two things you can't do while using Dervish Dance since you must keep your off hand free.

The idea for this trait was to add a little versatility to the weapon options for a free hand fighting style. I'm sure strength builds using a two hander and two weapon fighting builds would still be more effective then this. The trait doesn't kick in until you pick up Dervish Dance however, so there is some delay before it can be utilized.

I appreciate the offer to purchase a product for me, that is very generous, even if it is only a dollar. I'll give it an honest look, but I doubt I'll be able to persuade my DM to allow us to use 3rd party material. He's historically block headed about it, I consider it fortunate he's allowed me to create this trait. :-)

I already allow it without the trait, so go for it.

WOW! I hope your group knows how lucky they are! :-P

And lets people pay to finesse their katanas.

So what's your opinion Toaster? Is this trait balanced? Any way I could change it to make it better? Would you consider using it?

Talking to my DM, we decided it should be a Combat Trait. Would you agree?

Do keep in mind Mustang's idea can work with any one handed slashing weapon Mr. Sin, not just light and finessable ones. In my games I have the following,

All weapons that were previously compatible with weapon finesse get it's effects for free.
weapon finesse gives dex to damage for said weapons
dervish dance affects any one handed slashing weapon

As you can see it's very similar to your own setup.

I had thought about that. That allowing one handed slashing weapons that usually don't benefit from weapon finesse to be able to gain that property could cause an issue. I decided however that it wasn't game breaking given that there isn't any one handed martial weapons with combat maneuver properties that I'm aware of. Given how good the scimitar is in my opinion, and it gains the finesse property with Dervish Dance, other one handed weapons should be able to benefit without breaking the game.

Mithral Mustang wrote:

So in your opinion, is using a trait to make Dervish Dance versatile balanced if perhaps unnecessary for similar weapons?

I think so, and I can't see anything that would be broken in particular. If you just look at numbers exotic weapon proficiency itself actually falls a little short outside of special weapons(Sawtooth Sabres are pretty cool and unique for example.) I might be missing something, but atm it looks okay to me.

I appreciate your time and input MrSin! :-)

Mithral Mustang wrote:

Making it versatile seems like it should make it more challenging to acquire.

Why is that? Its not really more powerful. At best you can add 1 damage on average with a trait. Its about meeting a character concept and making it viable right? Is it going to break the game if you allow it to be used with a katana or wakazashi? How about a cutlass or Rapier? Or even a dagger! Now ask yourself if it improved the game and makes it more fun if you allow it. Important questions when making a change.

If the only mechanical implication is that you can get one more damage on average with an exotic weapon, its probably safe to say it won't break the game.

Mithral Mustang wrote:

I do however question if it is attainable too early...

Well, people already build around it as is, so making it available at level one means they just don't have to wait on it. Its as powerful at level one as it will be at level 3 or five. The difference is how long it takes for the build to come online.

You make a strong argument, and I am inclined to agree with you. I just have some concern that if we house rule Dervish Dance in that manner that it could be abused somehow...

So in your opinion, is using a trait to make Dervish Dance versatile balanced if perhaps unnecessary for similar weapons?

Weapon Specialization is worth a flat 2 damage, if one could expect an average increase of 1 damage with certain weapons, then that seems trait worthy.

Mithral Mustang wrote:

Perhaps changing the prerequisites to Weapon Finese, Weapon Focus, and 4 Ranks in Perform Dance? Then apply the benefis of Dervish Dance to a light or one handed slashing weapon that you have weapon focus for.

I think that would make dervish dance relatively weak and reserved for campaigns that start late tbh. The ranks in perform dance on their own a little ridiculous, and it probably wouldn't be overpowered to let it be used with weapons with similar stats, like the wakazashi, cutlass, and rapier, without needing a trait. Just call it improved weapon finesse or something.

You think so? I've seen a lot of debate over Dervish Dance as it already is. Making it versatile seems like it should make it more challenging to acquire. I'm not in the camp that it's over powered, since it is quite similar to the Agile Weapon Enhancement. I do however question if it is attainable too early...

...than the scimitar.

(Hey, you asked for it. ;-) )

I'd make it a feat myself, but it's not ridiculously powerful for a trait.

Indeed I did! Thank you for the comment. You think that's worthy of a feat? What do you think about changing Dervish Dance instead of adding another feat?

Perhaps changing the prerequisites to Weapon Finese, Weapon Focus, and 4 Ranks in Perform Dance? Then apply the benefis of Dervish Dance to a light or one handed slashing weapon that you have weapon focus for.

This would make Dervish Dance more versatile while preventing early access to the feat. It would also make Dervish Dance more comparable to the Agile weapon enhancement.

Dervish Dance

Agile Weapon Enhancement

Edit: Quoted VRMH

Also, any thoughts on weather this trait is completely broken or not would also be appreciated. Thank you.

I'm building a Kitsune Ninja for a future home game, and since my DM is such an awesome guy he said it was ok for me to use the wakizashi in place of the scimitar for the Dervish Dance feat if I burned a trait as a tax.

That got me thinking. What will I call this trait? How should it be worded?

Here's a rough copy.

Peculiar Dervish

While trying to learn the deadly dervish dance, you discovered that you were more comfortable practicing with a different slashing weapon then the scimitar.

Benefits: You may use any one, light or one-handed slashing weapon in place of the Scimitar for the prerequisites and benefits of the Dervish Dance feat. This trait does not grant you proficiency with that weapon.

I often fail with grammer and terminology, so any advice on how to word it better would be appreciated.