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But how is that any sort of benefit for a major class feature when the Scoundrel class feature already gives you the critical Feint success as your normal success? The normal Feint rules read;
I have a question in regards to the Scoundrel Rogue's modification to Feint on page 180.
Since this is not clarified in the errata, on a critical success who's turn is it actually supposed to end on?
Old topic, but I just found my local brick and mortar game store had the Vampire Hunter D supplement for sale (and yes, I got a copy). Since the book is now generally available beyond the kickstarter, maybe there's a chance this will get approved for PFS. The class is actually REALLY cool.
That's a surprisingly lean number of spells for a 12th level Wizard to know. Assuming he started with an 18 Int score (if he didn't, why is he a Wizard), he would have all 0-level spells minus his opposition school spells and 7 1st level spells (3+Int bonus). At 2nd level he'd get two more for at bare minimum, 9 1st level spells. Generally speaking, a Wizard will always take the highest level of spell he can cast at a given level for his two free spells per level, giving him at minimum 4 spells of each level. If he's been adventuring from level 1-whenever he'll have even more spells than that either by capturing enemy spellcaster spellbooks, finding spellbooks or scrolls as treasure, or spending gold to purchase more spells from other Wizards. As for opposition schools, unfortunately no, the elemental schools aren't valid opposition schools unless your specialized school happens to be an elemental school. I've played a LOT of necromancers over the years and since Pathfinder opened up the ability to choose your opposition schools, I prefer to drop Enchantment and Divination. Enchantment is a crap school unless you are expressly specializing in it and Divination, for the most part, is a school that works best out of combat or from a scroll. Never drop Illusion as it has most of the best defensive spells, nor Conjuration as it has most of the non-SR spells. Onto spell choice. I'll give you my proposed list based off that painfully limited number you're being allowed. 0-level:
1st level:
2nd level:
3rd level:
4th level:
5th level:
6th level:
I'm going to stick with the Core lists since there are far too many options available elsewhere and I don't feel like going down that rabbit hole right now. I'm operating under the assumption that as far as I understand, I am the only spellcaster on the planet, but I also have no proof that I'm not. Sorc/Wizard: 0-Open/Close; I refuse to be this lazy, and I intend to use magic to prolong my life and youth anyway.
Those three PFS GMs are wrong. The gloves are magic items, but not spell trigger nor spell completion. They do not require any for of UMD check. Rulings like that are indicative of GMs that like to see PCs die or who run their games GM vs PC rather than as a collaborative storyteller.
All of the above are good spells for dealing with the Undead. Here are a few more: Harming
Controlling
Defense
A few notes to your notes, SiuoL; Adamantine is also the most effective way of dealing with many Golems and their DR/Adamantine. Alchemical Silver is not limited to Piercing/Slashing weapons. It can totally be applied to Bludgeoning weapons, it just suffers the -1 damage to P/S. Blightburn can be utilized by Blightburner Kineticists. It's kind of the point of the material appearing opposite the archetype in the same book... Fire-Forged Steel Spiked gauntlets or a Cestus combined with a Shirt of Immolation on a grapple-specialized Monk or Brawler would pair well. Noqual is basically Mithral that provides a +2 Save Vs Spells when used in armor for a whole lot more gold. Not particularly worth it to buy, but maybe a cool flavor piece to hand out to players when you GM?
You should check the Errata for Ultimate Combat. It clears up the Scorpion Whip completely. Basically you need Exotic Weapon Prof: Scorpion Whip and Exotic Weapon Prof: Whip to switch between the Benefits/Disadvantages of either one on the fly.
Heh, I've actually been playing a Belmont inspired Warpriest/Dungeon Delver Infiltrator Ranger for a few years now. Due to Altitis, Richter Von Aubreck is only level 6 or 7 at this point. Although optimization-wise being a worshiper of Calistria would have been an easy way to get access to a lot of feats through Faithful Combat Styles, thematically it made ZERO sense for an Undead hunter. So I instead made him a Neutral worshiper of Ahriman. Basically he and his people suffered at the hands of powerful undead, local clerics and gods weren't getting things done, so he went out into the world in search of a power that would help him accomplish his goals. In doing so he stumbled upon a ruined shrine to Ahriman and since Ahriman doesn't really care about anything other than seeing all mortals and mortal works destroyed, he was more than happy to lend his power to Von Aubreck. Afterall, most undead are just mortals in a new form, so screw 'em. The concept has worked well for roleplaying the fallen/doomed hero archetype, though it usually throws other players for a loop when they realize I can't convert spells for spontaneous healing. The main reason I opted for Warpriest/Ranger was to get access to Improved Whip Mastery a level earlier than a pure Warpriest by going; L1: Warpriest 1 - Exotic Weapon Prof.: Whip for being a worshiper of Ahriman, Weapon Focus: Whip, L1 Feat Weapon Finesse, Human Bonus Feat: Exotic Weapon Prof: Scorpion Whip
The Dungeon Rover archetype basically gives you the Trap Spotter Rogue talent in place of Track. Coupled with Perception being a Ranger class skill and a decent WIS, 'cause Warpriest, this little class feature has helped prevent three potential TPKs. Plus, it's totally fun to see the look on a GMs face when you calm down a swarm attack with Vermin Affinity. Having the Scorpion Whip proficiency opens up the option of using special materials *cough*adamantine*cough* with your main weapon.
I appreciate the responses so far and am at least happy to know I'm not crazy or blind in being unable to find a clear answer to this question. I tried looking through the Rogue's talent list to see if there was a similar issue since Investigators are a hybrid of Rogue and Alchemist, but at no point could I find a Rogue talent that was available before a Rogue class feature came online. I finally got a PFS Investigator up to 3rd level and hit a roadblock on how to proceed. =/
This may be a silly question, but I've been combing FAQs, errata and forum posts but have not been able to come to a conclusion. I know that an Investigator can choose a non-level restricted Investigator Talent at 3rd level. Studied Combat comes online at 4th level. But it isn't clear that you can't take Quick Study as your 3rd level talent in preparation of being able to use it at 4th level. And yes, I'm fully aware that doing so means you have a dud talent for a level. Let's say, for argument's sake, I simply do not care about taking Mutagen, Infusion, Extend Potion Discovery, etc., and will take Quick Study provided I'm allowed to do so at 3rd level, full stop. Am I allowed to do so?
Missing limbs would fall under the rules presented in Chapter 5 of Ultimate Combat regarding called shots. Unfortunately this doesn't help PFS players. The information can be found in the results for a debilitating blow. In regards to legs,
Debilitating Blow: Legs:
"A debilitating blow to the leg knocks the creature prone. The blow renders the leg entirely useless until healed unless the target succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the leg is severed or otherwise mangled such that only regeneration or similar effects can repair it. If the save succeeds, the target is instead lamed and moves at half speed until the leg is healed, or until it receives a successful DC 20 Heal check. A creature with a useless or severed leg moves at half speed if it still has more than half of its legs usable; otherwise, it cannot stand up and must crawl to move. The target also suffers the effects of a called shot to the leg (if the leg remains usable) for 2d6 minutes.
Called Shot: A called shot to a leg lowers the target creature’s speed by 10 feet for 1d4 rounds if it has two or fewer legs, and by 5 feet if it has three or four legs. In either case, the creature’s speed cannot be reduced below 5 feet per round. Called shots to the leg have no effect on creatures with five or more legs. Hitting the same leg more than once has no extra effect, but the speed penalty for hits on different legs stack. Additionally, any skill or ability checks involving movement (such as Acrobatics or Swim checks) take a –2 penalty for 1d4 rounds." Debilitating Blow: Arms: "Debilitating Blow: A debilitating blow deals 1d6 points of Dexterity damage and 1d6 points of Strength damage. The blow renders the arm useless until healed unless the target succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the arm is severed or otherwise mangled such that only regeneration or similar effects can repair it. The target also suffers the effects of a called shot to the arm (if the arm remains usable) for 2d6 minutes.
Called Shot: A called shot to an arm deals no additional damage, but for 1d4 rounds, any attack rolls, ability checks, or skill checks made using the wounded arm take a –2 penalty. A flying creature shot in the wing must make a Fly check to avoid descending involuntarily."
I second the recommendation for two levels of Lore Warden Fighter if you're planning on taking two levels of fighter anyway. Bear in mind, the free Combat Expertise Lore Warden's receive does not need to meet the prereqs for the feat. So, you don't need to have an Int of 13 unless you want to. Also, although the two additional skills per Lore Warden level have to be spent in Int-based skills, the archetype also makes all Int-based skills class skills. Congrats, you can now be a Knowledge monkey. Finally, although the Lore Warden does lose medium and heavy armor proficiency and shield proficiency they retain full martial weapon proficiency.
Gisher is indeed correct. When firing at an opponent that an ally is currently engaged with in melee combat, without Precise Shot you will suffer a -4 at best and a -8 if you can't get a clear line of effect. I strongly recommend taking Precise Shot at level 3 over Rapid Shot. First, hitting more consistently is preferable to hitting harder at early levels. Second, you will have more available wealth to afford alchemical cartridges at higher levels than you will at lower levels. Some will try to argue that since you're attacking a target's Touch AC, the -8 isn't that big of a deal. Those same people that argue that seem to consistently forget that firearms only hit Touch AC at the first range increment, which you are not always going to have the luxury of attacking, especially when using pistols. Don't be a rube. Get Precise Shot.
Hi Vash. In PFS although generally you cannot craft, there are a few exceptions that are called out in the PFS campaign FAQs. Gunslingers are allowed to do this with the justification that they aren't technically crafting but "buying at a discount." Rogues and Alchemists that have the Poisoner Archetype and the Master Poisoner ability are allowed to craft poisons. Alchemists are the only other exception that I'm aware of. They are actually allowed to craft alchemical items and weapons provided their Craft: Alchemy is high enough to meet the DC's and they can afford the cost. All of this can be found in the PFS FAQ linked earlier.
Actually, this is covered in the PFS FAQ under How does purchasing/crafting special material alchemical cartridges work in Pathfinder Society Organized Play? "You figure out the cost of special material ammunition the normal way (or look it up on the table on page 141 of Ultimate Equipment). If you have the Gunsmithing feat you can craft non-alchemical cartridge ammunition for 10% of the cost. If you have at least 1 rank in Craft (alchemy) you can craft alchemical cartridges for half the price of the cartridge." [Edit]Nefreet did an even more comprehensive breakdown of the prices in this thread To quote Nefreet,
Rerednaw also brings up excellent points. If crafting is allowed, a great combination is a Goz Mask or Fog-Cutting Lenses and Obscuring Mist (a wand is perfectly suitable in this case). Short of the enemy using something like a fireball, they won't be able to target you while you can target them. Fewer creatures can see through mist/smoke than invisibility and True Seeing is useless versus concealment. I once nearly soloed a Very Old Umbral Dragon after the rest of the party had fled using three castings of Obscuring Mist from a wand, a Goz Mask and a combo of Spectral Hand and Calcific Touch, but the Cleric teleported me out before I could finish it off. If I had just rolled a 2 instead of a 1 on my last Calcific Touch, the thing would have been lawn art.
Wear a Cold Iron Spiked Gauntlet but do not invest in any feats/traits to be proficient in it. The goal isn't to fight with it, but rather to always threaten the spaces around you without giving up your hands for spellcasting and wand/potion use.A Cestus has the same damage, same weight, same cost, same proficiencies, but twice the threat value and does B/P instead of just P damage. Wear the Cestus. All good points that are in favor of the Cestus, however, the majority of GMs I've encountered are all too happy to point out the following bit of information you forgot to mention; "When using a cestus, your fingers are mostly exposed, allowing you to wield or carry items in that hand, but the constriction of the weapon at your knuckles gives you a –2 penalty on all precision-based tasks involving that hand (such as opening locks)." It is commonly argued that spellcasting with somatic components is a "precision-based task". Since the point of wearing a gauntlet/cestus as a Wizard is just to be able to threaten and keep your hands free, penalizing your primary schtick with a -2 is not worth added threat range and a damage type you will rarely if ever benefit from.
I prefer to play cockroach wizards and have been doing so for the majority of my D&D and Pathfinder career and so far have only had one Conjurer die (to be raised after the fight). Here's what I've learned in my time. First, know your GM. Know how they run. Are they strict RAW enthusiasts or do they take liberty with the rules? Do they prefer to play it loose to tell a story or do they stick to the books? How do they run their NPCs? Do they play their thugs as opportunistic or not? Do their villains target "soft targets" like Wizards and Alchemists first over the more tanky fighters and clerics? If so, invest in Mock Armor. Deception is your friend as a Wizard. Survivability as a Wizard depends on you being prepared. Survivability as a Wizard with a long career depends on you being paranoid. The Handy Haversack is worth it's weight in platinum. Always, and I mean **always** have at least a second Spell Component Pouch, if not three or four. You will *never* win the AC war. Don't even pretend you will. Instead consider every possible way you can prevent your opponents from hitting you in the first place by stacking forms of Concealment and Miss Chances. In this regard, do not waste your time with spells that operate on Rounds Per Level but rather Minutes Per Level or even better Hours Per Level. You want your defenses up as often and for as long as you possibly can. If you're spending the first two or more rounds in an encounter buffing yourself, you're as good as dead. This doesn't even take into consideration situations in which you have lost surprise. That said, always have Mage Armor up. Some AC is better than no AC. And as an hour per level spell, it's cheap to have up. If you don't want to waste your valuable spell slots on it, wands of Mage Armor are a better investment than scrolls. Consider your Opposition Schools carefully, but since we're playing Pathfinder and not D&D and finally have the choice of which schools we want to drop, DO. NOT. DROP. ILLUSION. Some of the best defensive spells exist in that school. I would also strongly discourage dropping Necromancy as False Life and Greater False Life are incredibly valuable. Surprisingly, I've found Divination is actually quite useful to drop. Unlike previous editions, you aren't prohibited form casting opposition school spells, it's just more costly to prepare. With the exception of True Strike, nearly every divination spell is just as useful cast from a scroll. Enchantment is also worth dropping as it tends to rely on you specializing in it and having a good Charisma. On the topic of False Life/Greater False Life, you will technically have more hit points than the average wizard, and everyone "knows" how squishy spellcasters are. Consider diverting some of your skill points to Bluff. Playing dead is a valid option. Stay at range. Spectral Hand is a valuable tool for accomplishing this and doesn't cost you a Feat slot for Reach Metamagic. Precise Shot is not a bad option if you prefer rays. Summoning is also a good option, especially when combined with Invisibility, Silent Spell and any feats or traits that reduce the casting time of a summons. Remember, you can cast any spell that doesn't directly harm a target up to and including Summon X and not break invisibility. Silent Spell just helps prevent your opponents from knowing who/what is causing the creatures to appear. Wear a Cold Iron Spiked Gauntlet but do not invest in any feats/traits to be proficient in it. The goal isn't to fight with it, but rather to always threaten the spaces around you without giving up your hands for spellcasting and wand/potion use. Sure, the optimizers will tell you it's okay to dump Strength. On paper, they're probably right. In practice, those Wizards end up Fatigued, ill prepared and ***DEAD***. There are vastly more creatures that can dish out ability damage or drain to Strength than to Charisma. Don't be yet another Wizard that got strength-drained into the ranks of the undead. Those guys are an embarrassment. If I can think of any other advice later, I'll include it.
Alternatively you could go Inspired Blade Swashbuckler 1 / Empiricist Investigator X. If the Swashbuckler side of the character is most important, a single level dip in Investigator is still pretty nice since you then get all Knowledges as class skills and any you are trained in qualify for the +1d6 Inspiration bonus for free without spending inspiration.
I use shocking grasp a lot for my pure wizard. I recommend the following combo; -Take the trait Magical Lineage or Wayang Spellhunter, applied to Shocking Grasp to lower the effective level of SG when you apply metamagic to it. -Take the feat Intensified Spell, apply it to your Shocking Grasps and raise the damage die cap from 5d6 to 10d6 (actual caster level dependant, of course). The trait you took in the previous section keeps the spell in 1st level spell slots so you can prepare more. As for delivering the spell without putting yourself in melee range? Screw putting your familiar at risk or screw having a familiar at all and go with a bonded item. Use Spectral Hand. It will let you make touch attacks at medium spell range with a +2 to your attack roll, but not suffer any of the usual ranged touch attack nonsense (-4 for shooting into melee, -4 cover) since it's still a *melee* touch attack, just at range. That said, don't dump your Strength. Also, always be aware of whether your target is wearing metal armor or using a metal weapon. The +3 to attack rolls Shocking Grasp provides in those situations is nothing to scoff at. If you want Shocking Grasp to be your signature spell for later levels, make sure to invest in a Lesser Elemental Metamagic Rod so you can switch up the electrical damage when needed. When you get to even higher levels and can learn 4th level spells, take Mnemonic Enhancer. If you have roughly 48 hours in game to prepare for a big battle, fill all your 4th level or higher spell slots with Mnemonic Enhancer on day 1. Immediately before resting for day 2 (battle day), use the Prepare option of ME to give yourself 3 extra levels of spells to prep per casting of ME. Fill them up with Shocking Grasp or whatever, go to sleep, then prep the rest of your spells in the morning with the phantom slots from the night before still in effect for the remainder of ME's 24 hour duration (from the time you cast it). Using that trick, a 20th level wizard that used all 24 base spell slots from levels 4-9 would be able to prepare an additional 72 levels of spells (no higher than level 3, mind you). Bare in mind, casting those 24 castings of Mnemonic Enhancer would take you 4 hours plus the 1 hour to prep the actual spells into the phantom slots. Add in your 8 hours of rest and hour to prep your normal spell slots so you'd have only 10 hours to use up those 72 phantom levels. A Ring of Sustenance and or the Arcane Discovery Fast Study would buy you more time to play, of course... [edit] Last thing. Only a Wizard can pull of this fun little trick. Mnemonic Enhancer is one of the sweetest Wizard-only spells in the game.
Oh man, just about every character I play has the this load out; Handy Haversack, two Bandoliers, two Spring Loaded Wrist Sheathes. As for the Haversack itself, I prefer the following Mundane:
Magical:
For my Bandoliers:
Wrist Sheathes:
In light of another FAQ request currently making the rounds, I propose a change to the material components line of the spell Infernal Healing. At present it reads; Components V, S, M (1 drop of devil blood or 1 dose of unholy water) As the other FAQ points out, a drop of Unholy Water has a value of 25gp which would increase the cost of making a 1st Level wand of Infernal Healing to 2000gp rather than 750gp. Such a change would have a detrimental effect to all PFS players who use this spell in wand form for healing at low levels and higher by making this spell unavailable to them. Reviewing all 192 published Paizo Sorcerer/Wizard spells of 1st level, I found that there are only three spells out of all of them that have defined GP costs (Fabricate Bullets, Pesh Vigor and Stumble Gap). It is my belief that the spell Infernal Healing and by extension, Celestial Healing were not intended to have any additional gp cost for their castings. A simple solution to this issue would be a simple change to the spell component line of Infernal Healing to the following. Infernal Healing
This would both solve this problem and prevent a destructive outcome for the many PFS players relying on this spell.
Sooooo, you want to take a spell that is currently a 750 gp wand and turn it into a 2000gp wand. You realize this would have a **massively** detrimental effect to thousands of PFS players, right? Wouldn't a much more reasonable FAQ request be to simply omit the Unholy Water component in favor of only a drop of Devil's Blood?
I'm not sure I was going human but no low light does pur a damper on that I thought of elf but the con hit hurts are there any races that give dex int and dark or low light too? If your GM allows it, Tieflings are perfect for what you want. +2 DEX & INT, Darkvision, they can cast Darkness as an SLA and they have an option for a prehensile tail that will allow you to retrieve smal objects as a swift action. The take a -2 CHA hit, but there are traits to get you around that, such as Clever Wordplay as mentioned above or Student of Philosophy.
I can't speak about Blood Money in regards to its use with Raise Dead, Limited Wish, etc. But I will humbly request the campaign leaders reconsider the ban in regards to it's interaction with Animate Dead because that is where I do have experience. My primary character is a single class Necromancy Specialist Wizard. He is my first character for PFS and I've loved playing him so much that I've done all I can to stretch out my play time with him over the last three years (only 9th level thanks to slow advancement). That said, Blood Money has been an incredible boon to playing my character considering how highly penalized he is as a necromancer in PFS. To start, animations don't last between scenarios and depend upon finding an appropriate body to even cast the spell. Understandable limitations in PFS, but expensive ones considering the cost for material components. But a greater penalty to necromancer characters is the fact that none of the additional templates for animations are PFS legal, limiting the spell to vanilla zombies and skeletons. Already players enjoying a necromancer concept are triply penalized. Then there's the OOC social limitations imposed upon the concept. I can't speak for other players but in my experience some people have an irrational problem with a player trying to use Animate Dead at their table. I enjoy making sure everyone I play with is having a good time and is comfortable but it does try my patience every time I have to table a large part of my character's concept when a vocal minority at a given table gets upset at the idea. And please, before anyone suggests I just play my character however I wish as long as its legal, I do not pretend to live in a bubble and do not go out of my way to build a reputation of being a difficult player. But that's beside the point. Anyhow, taking the issues I presented, Blood Money helped balance them out to a small extent to allow me to play my concept. Please reconsider the ban or at least reconsider it in regards to Animate Dead.
I've used the Travel and Liberation domain powers from my Varisian Pilgrim/Musket Master on his parties consistently at PFS tables without issue. The rulings I've always had from various GMs is that both domain powers last for one day among the party members but that in order to use the powers, the party member must be within 30 feet of my Gunslinger/Cleric. Also, the rounds per day of Agile Feet come off of my character's maximum. So if I had, for example 6 rds of Agile Feet per day and 4 party members used it in the first combat, then I would only be able to divvy out 2 more rounds to myself or any other party member for the remainder of the day - so each party member under the effect of Caravan Bond doesn't get their own individual pool of 6 rds of Agile Feet per day, if that makes sense.
A familiar is an animal chosen by a spellcaster to aid him in his study of magic. It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but is now a magical beast for the purpose of effects that depend on its type. Only a normal, unmodified animal may become a familiar. An animal companion cannot also function as a familiar. Once a spellcaster chooses an animal as their familiar, the creature is no longer an animal, it is a magical beast with a minimum intelligence score of 6 that increases with the spellcaster's level. Now, note the text I bolded regarding the fact that animal companion's cannot be familiars. There is no argument that animal companions are animals with animal intelligence that require tricks, training and Handle Animal to perform tasks. It's just that it's easy to gloss over the fact that classes with animal companions tend to always have the Link ability that makes the handle check all but moot after a point and easy to forget is needed. Familiar's don't require that check because they are no longer animals.
A few issues for the AR update in regards to the Inner Sea Monster Codex; Unless there is going to be some way for players to play as a Girtablilu, no player can take the feat Guardian of Tradition because it has the prerequisite of being a member of the Girtablilu race. There are no magic items on page 41.
Here it is. It's a pity though that the spell has a mere 1 round duration for a 6th level spell slot. Even extended, that's a hefty price for your slots. Worse if you happen to miss the attack.
The other reason folks like BBT, myself and others want the Scorpion Whip to work is that it's the only viable way a whip specialist can get their weapon made from special materials like Adamantine, Silversheen, etc. It sucks to have to invest so many damn feats into a primary weapon to find out that it becomes nigh useless at higher encounter levels. =(
Actually, the feat Command Undead does not actually function as the spell Control Undead. The sentence only refers to how you communicate your commands to the controlled undead - specifically you have to verbalize your commands without a language restriction as opposed to purely mental commands. Otherwise, the feat is a form of Channel Energy and should default to being a Supernatural Ability which cannot be dispelled. It will not function, however under an Antimagic Field or Mage's Disjunction as it is a magic effect.
A heightened version of this spell to up the DC's might be interesting. I'm not sure that Adhesive Spittle would work through a familiar with either Share Spells nor Deliver Touch Spells, however. Share Spells specifically calls out spells with a target of "You" and Deliver Touch Spells only works with Touch spells. Adhesive Spittle's range is 15ft and it's target is "One Creature." =/
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