Mysterious Stranger's page

Your GM is mistaken about the rules. As a GM he is free to change anything in the game and if he wants to alter how caster level is determined that is his right. But what he is doing is going to make nerf spell caster to the point they cannot function. Caster level is the basis for a lot more than just damage and altering in this way is going to have detrimental effect on the game.

The roll to penetrate spell resistance is based on caster level. When trying to get past spell resistance you need to roll a d20 + your caster level and at least equal the spell resistance to affect the creature. Unlike an attack roll the caster level check does not succeed on a natural 20. That means if your caster level is less than the creatures spell resistance -20 you have no chance of bypassing its spell resistance. Consider a Marilith with a spell resistance of 28 and a CR of 17. A CR 17 creature should be a average challenge to a party of 17th level characters and an epic fight for a party of 14th level characters.

A 17th level Wizard can cast 9th level spell, so needs a 19 or 20 to penetrate the Marilith’s spell resistance. A sorcerer can cast 8th level spells so needs a 20. A Wizard of less than 15th level or a sorcerer of less than 16th level cannot penetrate a spell resistance of 28 even if they roll a 20. A 6th level caster like a magus or bard under these rules can never affect the Marilith. A spell caster that relies on spells for damage being completely unable to affect his target is not an epic challenge it is a slaughter.

Another thing to consider is what this does to item creation feats. To create a magic weapon your caster level has to be 3x the value of the bonus. That normally means you have to be 15th level to create a +5 weapon, under this rule the bonus maxes out at +3. Most enchantments for magic weapons have a caster level of +8 or higher. Flaming has a requirement for a 10th level caster. Under this rule you have to be a 9th level wizard to create a +1 sword, and even a 20th level wizard cannot create a +1 flaming sword. It takes a 13th level wizard to create rings and creating staves cannot be created even by a 20th level wizard.

Logically this should make magic items incredibly rare especially anything above a +3 weapon or with a special ability. This in turn means the martial classes do not have access to the equipment the game assumes. This further degrades the party’s ability to face level appropriate challenges.

I would bring up these issues with your GM, and if he still does not change decide if this is the type of campaign you want to play in.

The only way a paladin/monk combination is going to work well is if the monk is CHA based. That means it is probably using the Serpent-Fire Adept archetype. To get a high AC is going to require a high DEX, which probably means his STR is not that high. If that is the case the character sacrificed a lot of offensive ability for his defenses.

If the character is relying on smite evil for offense, he is likely to run out of smites quickly. The way to counter that is to throw more mid-range threats at him. Instead of one powerful foe throw multiple slightly weaker foes. Paladins are extremely good at taking down the big bad boos, but often have trouble with multiple foes.

Smite evil also contributes to his defenses against the target of the smite evil. One way to counter that is to use neutral monsters instead of evil. Smite evil does not work well against elemental, constructs or non-evil foes.

Even if it is a published AP in a published setting does not mean the GM has not altered things. It is not uncommon for a GM to make changes to either a setting or an AP. Even if the GM has made no conscious changes that does not mean the setting is the same. The setting is dependent on the GM and his perception as per rule 0.

A developer is not going to respond in a Pathfinder 1E forum. Since the publication of 2E Paizo no longer actively supports 1E. They keep the forums up, but the developers do not participate in them in any way.

I mentioned the mysterious stranger in my post, but that does not change the fact that a 9th level primary caster needs a much higher casting stat than a 6th level utility caster.

Use a pepperbox and take two weapon fighting and a gunslinger/inquisitor can rack up some serious damage bonuses. Give the character improved critical for the pepperbox and at 15th level they have a 47% chance of rolling at least one critical hit. Throw in gun training, judgement of destruction, and divine favor and you have a good chance of doing around 200 points of damage in a round. Take the feat double bane and the damage goes even higher. A critical hit from a pepperbox at this point is going average 97 points of damage, with a minimum of 83.

Getting Evasion and Stalwart on the same character that has all good saves makes you incredibly tough to affect with magic. That better than mythic saves because it applies to all attacks including mythic spells. Mythic Saves is 5th tier ability.

Gunslinger/Inquisitor is going to be better than Gunslinger/Oracle for several reasons. First is that both are WIS based classes. Going with Oracle is going to require investing in CHA in order to access those higher-level spells. The gunslinger grit is limited to his WIS modifier, so they are going to need a decent WIS. If the inquisitor focuses on buff and defensive spells, they need a good WIS but do not need to max it out. They can easily get by with a 16 WIS plus a headband. Having both characters important mental stat the same means the headband boost both classes. This also allows the character to max out DEX as the primary stat. WIS also has the benefit of increasing Will saves. You could take Mysterious stranger to shift the gunslingers grit to CHA, but you still have to prioritize CHA over DEX.

There is also more synergy between gunslinger and inquisitor than there is between gunslinger and oracle. Adding both DEX and WIS to initiative means you have a much greater chance of going first, and the higher DEX of the gunslinger/inquisitor boosts that up higher. Many of the inquisitor's class abilities are designed to boost their combat effectiveness and can be used with a gun. The oracle relies on spells and revelations for his power. These for the most part cannot be used with a gun.

The inquisitor is much better at skills than an oracle. Not only does the inquisitor get more skills and class skills, but they also get bonuses to multiple skills. Stern Gave boost intimidate and sense motive, Tracking is situational, but still useful. Monster lore helps in identifying creatures. Stealth as a class skill on a DEX based character is always useful.

The inquisitor may only have access to 6th level spells, but the spell list is actually very good at buffing and utility. It has a few offensive spells but does a better job at other things besides combat. With spells like disguise self, invisibility, Knock, Heroism the inquisitor can really shine out of combat.

The big problem with the gunslinger/oracle combination is the inability to use the major class features at the same time. Nearly all the gunslingers class abilities focus on using a gun. The most powerful class ability of the oracle is their spells. It is very difficult to cast spells at the same time you are using a gun. You could use buff spells, but the inquisitor gets many of those same spells, and has other abilities that can be used while firing a gun. This means you are choosing which class to favor each round instead of using abilities from both. This ignores what makes the gestalt a different than a standard game.

Have you considered summoned creatures? The Summon Monster lines of spells are on the Wizard’s spell list. That could last you until you get high enough level to get Planar Binding.

Game terms have specific meaning and do not always match their meaning in English. Mindless in the game simply means it is not affected by mind affecting effects, nothing more nothing less. Unconscious in the game means you are helpless. The Ooze attacking when it had 1 HP was perfectly legal, but it should not have been able to attack at -11 HP. Mindless creatures are still subject to the disabled, dying, and staggered condition. Dying explicitly states you cannot take any action.

Also, the party should have been able to notice the fact that it was healing. It’s wounds closing up should have been a clue that it was not dead.

Sometimes how an ability functions depends on the spell level. By giving the paladins mount a spell level it allows you to figure out how those abilities interact with the paladin's mount. For example, a lesser globe of invulnerability blocks Spells (and SP) of 3rd level or less. If positioned right a lesser globe of invulnerability could prevent a 9th level or lower paladin from summoning his mount. There are probably other things besides a globe that deal with level of the spell. By stating this clearly it makes it avoids an ambiguity.

Greater Create Demiplane specifically allows you to create a permanent portal, and it also specifically allows creating a dead magic plane. There is a warning on a dead magic plane that you are trapped in your plane unless there is a permanent portal and references the portal section of the description.

The description lesser create demiplane specifies you must be on the astral or ethereal plane or a plane that has access to one of those planes. Since the first plane you create has to have access to one of those planes nothing prevents you from creating another plane from that plane instead of enlarging the first one.

You would need to create the first plane and make it permanent. After that you create the second plane and make that permanent. Then use greater create demiplane to create two permanent portals. The first portal leads to the other plane, while the second portal leads to whatever entry plane you want to use. When you add a feature, the duration is instantaneous, so you do not require a permanency for the features. Finally use greater create demiplane to make the first plane a magic dead plane. The second plane can continue to be expanded and altered even after the first one is made magic dead. You could in fact create a series of nested planes with this method.

this is the rules forum. Might want to ask this in the advice instead of here.

Create plane does not give a lot of details on how the plane interacts with the transitive plane it is connected to, so much of this is going to be up to the GM. If the demiplane is coexistent it allows greater access to the plane including the ability of extrapanar creatures to travel through the plane. If the plane is coterminous, it limits the interaction of exterplanar creatures. From the intent of the spell, I would say that a demiplane created by it would be coterminous by default. If given the choice, that is what most casters are going to choose anyways.

Whether an astral or ethereal traveler can enter the demiplane is going to depend on the abilities of that creature and how they are traveling through the plane. One thing to keep in mind is that the demiplane is its own plane and not the material plane. A lot of creatures have the ability to enter the material plane, but those abilities will not work on the demiplane. Xill’s for example, can enter the material plane, but cannot enter other inner planes.

One way to protect your plane is to use a layered plane. The top plane is a dead magic plane with two permanent portals. The first portal is to the material world, the second leads to the real demiplane. Make the second portal hidden and use some sort of physical closure to prevent other from using it even if they find it. A mechanical trap of some sort would be the obvious solution.

Iomedae has the following subdomains Chivalry, Duels, Heroism, Honor, Glory, and Tactics in addition to a few others.

There should be no problems using any kind of honorable tactics. Waiting for an opportune time to attack is not going to be a problem. Using dishonorable tactics would cause problems. Using magic to hide during a fight to attack without you opponent being aware might cause problems.

The not being taken prisoner is about not giving up without a fight. If you fought an honorable fight and lost surrendering would be ok. Basically, you have to at least try and stop evil, even if it puts you in danger.

The surrendering those under your command is about protecting and supporting your troops. You seem to be taking the exact opposite view of what this means.

Iomedae does support duels, but only if following the rules and laws on duels. Any duel that required you to perform a dishonorable or illegal action would not be a valid duel. If the society you are in does not have a formal dueling code she probably does.

The part about giving honor to worthy opponents is the important part. It means you treat people well even when they don’t agree with you. You are polite and respectful to those that are worthy. The second part is a little trickier, but contempt does not have to mean you treat them badly. Ignoring them someone can be a form of contempt. It can also be calling them out for their behavior.

The death before dishonor means you would rather die than perform a dishonorable act. Honor is in this case is not reputation it is how you behave.

I am fair to others. I expect nothing for myself but what I need to survive is about generosity. It means you should help those less fortunate than yourself. Hording your resources when it could help others is wrong, but at the same time you also have needs. The last part means you don’t have to give away all your worldly possessions trying to help others.

I will fight fairly when the fight is fair and will strike quickly and without mercy when it is not means even when you are fighting you still act fairly, but if someone abuses your fairness you don’t have to put up with it.

I will redeem the ignorant by my words and actions. If they will not turn to the light I will redeem them by the sword means you give people a chance to change, but killing those that cannot or will not change is sometime acceptable. Something like undead and evil outsiders are nearly impossible to redeem. Basically, this says to avoid violence when you can, but sometimes it is necessary.

The two sections above have some interaction. If the only way to protect the innocent is to kill evil it is better to kill the evil, then let the innocent perish.

Hope this helps.

Sounds like you already have two other frontliners. What I don’t see is any scouting/stealth, ranged combat or offensive caster. A warlock Vigilante might be able to cover all three, but not much else could. You might have to choose 2 of the 3 weaknesses.

For ranged and stealth an Urban Ranger might be good. Favored Enemy Human and God Outsider would probably work very well in this adventure path. Archery combat style would take care of the ranged combat. You take power attack and quick draw and go for a switch hitter. A human ranger is also going to have lots of skills including knowledge local and your favored enemy bonus will boost them further.

Sorry, that should be ABP from Pathfinder Unchained. Auto Bonus Progression is an optional way to give the characters the stat bonuses that are assumed without having to use magic items slots.

The 15-point buy is to allow Paizo to create creatures that can be used in almost any game. It also does not factor in size, racial adjustments, level/HD increases or magic. Since the 15-point buy is for standard games which do not fit Demon Lords, I would adjust that upward. Demon Lords to me should start with a 25 point buy.

The Half Fiend template gives +4 to three stats and +2 to the other three. That is not taking into account a demon lord is more powerful and fully demonic. I would probably just double those. That would give a +8 to three stats and a +4 to the other three. Most Demon Lord are large if not huge so that should also be taken into account. Looking at some polymorph spells it seems large gets a +4 to STR and -2 to DEX, where huge often gets +6 to STR and -4 to DEX.

Give the Demon Lords a bonus of +1 per 4 HD like a PC gains for level to account for that. The last thing I would do would be to use the bonuses from the APB optional rules but not count them as enchantment bonuses. Since Demon Lords will be 20+ HD they get at least the maximum bonus of +6/+4*+2 on both mental and physical and 8 more points for going over. You could even use the bonus for saves AC and other abilities as well.

Last thing to consider is Demon Lords are ancient immortal characters. I would also give them the mental adjustments for age but ignore the physical penalties. Basically, grant them the equivalent of the mythic path ability longevity.

This is just an idea of how it can be done. It has no basis in the rules but still gives you a framework to work with.

The ultimate power actually rests with the players. If they don’t like the way the GM is running the game, they are free to leave the game. If all the players leave the game, there is no game. But within the game the GM is the final authority.

This is not a rule of the game; this is part of socializing with others. If you don’t like how a person is acting don’t associate with them.

@Alex_Iscariot you don’t seem to have a grasp of what the game is trying to simulate. RPG are not trying to simulate reality, they are trying to simulate movies and stories. Players are supposed to be the heroes of the story, not the ordinary Joe on the street. From the sounds of it you are building your NPCs using the same guidelines as the PC’s.

An NPC 5th level cleric with a basic NPC Array and favored class bonus into skills will have about 19 HP not 40. This assumes an 8 STR, 10 DEX, 9 CON, 11 INT, 16 WIS, and 12 CHA.

You also specified out of combat. A character in a grapple is not out of combat. You are trying to fix something that is a design feature not a problem. A 1st level warrior is not supposed to be a challenge for a group of 5th level characters.

Even if you can talk with animals does not make them sentient. The animal you talk with still has the mind of an animal. Besides Speak with Plants is also a spell, so if talking to animals makes you become vegetation that would mean all druids starve after achieving 5th level.

There are cultures that give thanks to animals before they are eaten. The move Avatar had the aliens doing this, but that was taken from real world cultures. A character that can speak to animals would probably do something similar.

Personally I think the inquisitor has one of the better spell lists especially for a 6th level caster. The Inquisitor already has decent combat ability without spell, so they don’t need to rely on spell to be effective in combat. Inquisitor spells are very good at overcoming obstacles and getting information.

If you want to play a blaster the inquisitor is probably not the best choice of class, but if you want to play a problem solver the inquisitor is a great choice.

Urban bloodrager modifies bloodrage at all levels, Including mighty bloodrage and greater bloodrage. Since Prowler at World’s End modifies those these archetypes do not stack.

Any investigator works well as a magical thief. They are basically a combination of rogue and alchemist. They don’t get spells per say, but their extracts can give them decent magical ability. Extracts tend to focus on boosting the character instead of affecting others, but they can be fairly effective.

I prefer the Archeologist bard because I think spontaneous casting works better for this type of character. Also, the synergy between the Archeologist Luck and some of the spells (especially heroism) is incredible. Bards also get a fair number or illusion and enchantment spells. Those can be very useful for a thief.

Bards also get cantrips which can be use an unlimited number of times. At first level they can start with Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Mending and Prestidigitation. The value of Detect Magic and Mage Hand should be fairly obvious. Mending allows you to break things and fix them which is great for covering up evidence. Prestidigitation is probably one of the most useful things a thief can have. It can be used to clean up the character after crawling through the sewers or change the appearance of something by changing its color. By making something look dirty by soiling it you can increase the chance of hiding the loot you just stole. The possibilities are endless with prestidigitation.

Whether undead are inherently evil depends on what an undead creature really is. The game does not explicitly state what undead actually are except that they were once living creatures animated by spiritual or supernatural forces. Sure, they give some features all undead share, but do not define what they actually are.

Pathfinder does state that undead are evil. That seems to imply that the spiritual or supernatural forces animating them are evil. In the case of mindless undead or those that do not retain their memories and personality it seems reasonable that the spirit animating the body is not the original soul. The spirit animating it is an evil spirit summoned from somewhere else to inhabit the dead body. For those undead that do retain their memories and personality the spiritual or supernatural forces probably corrupt the soul turning it evil.

Other game systems may treat undead differently and may have good undead, but that is not how Pathfinder does things. If a GM wants to change that in their game that is their right, but at that point we are talking about a house rule.

You are forgetting about the archeologist bard. The bard spell list is actually very good for utility and trickery. Because they are a 6th level caster, they get early access to some spells. Heroism is only a 2nd level bard spell, so they get access to it at 4th level instead of 5th level. Heroism combined with the archeologist luck can give your skills, attacks and saves a huge boost. They also get baric knowledge and bonus to all perceptions rolls, not just for traps. At 10th level they get Jack of all Trades so can use any skill untrained.

Eldritch scoundrel only gets 4 skills per level vs the bards 6 and their spells per day are about the same as a bard. The Arcane trickster will end up with more skills than an Eldritch Scoundrel. Both of them use INT for their casting stat so that will even things out and maybe even give them a slight edge. But once you factor in the bonus from bardic knowledge and clever explorer the archeologist still has an advantage. They can also take 10 on both knowledge skills and disable device.

Clever explorer also allows them to use disable device faster than normal without having to use any rogue talents. They get rogue talents and have about the same number as an Eldritch Scoundrel and more than an Arcane Trickster.

They are proficient with light armor and can cast while wearing it without having any arcane spell failure. They will have better saves than either of the other two classes. Their BAB and HP is equal to the Eldritch Scoundrel and better than the Arcane Trickster.

For corporeal undead it could be that when you create the undead the spirt animating the undead is not the soul of the original creature. Since undead have strong ties to the negative material plane the spirt probably comes from that plane. The dead body is more of a temporary shell for a malevolent spirt.

Other than skeletons and zombies there are not a lot of undead that are created by spells. Most undead other undead are the result of being killed by an undead or when a creature dies in a specific manner.

In the game a duration of permanent means there is an ongoing magical effect that last until it is dispelled or removed. The magic can last indefinitely, but once you get rid of the magic the effect goes away. With a duration of instantaneous the effect creates a permanent effect that cannot be dispelled or removed. Dispel magic does not work because the magic made a permanent change to the target.

Let’s say the spell creates an object of some sort. A permanent spell will create the object, but it will detect as magic and a dispel magic or similar spell will get rid of the object. An instantaneous that creates an object will create an object, but it will not detect as magic and cannot be gotten rid of with a dispel magic or similar spell.

The duration of Polymorph Any Object is listed as Permanent if you are 9+ on the chart. That mean it last until dispelled or removed. As long as you can cast dispel magic or a similar spell you can get rid of the spell and the fighter will resume his normal form. The game term permanent has a slightly different meaning than the normal usage in the English language. The duration of instantaneous matches the normal English language usage.

Unless Paizo publishes something about earth in its settings most people are going to assume real world earth when talking about earth. As Claxon points out there are so many fictional and gaming setting featuring alternate earths that it becomes pointless discussing it otherwise. If a GM decides the earth in their campaign has magic or advanced technology that is their prerogative.

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

A single mid-level wizard specializing in enchantment could take over just about any country on earth in a fairly short time. Spells like sow though and charm person combined with a few illusions like invisibility will get him access to our leaders. Once he has access to our leaders spells like suggestion, dominate person, and Geas will give him control. Lesser geas is all he probably needs.

None of leaders on earth are going to be high level characters and most will have low will saves. Nor are they likely to have extremely high stats. Obviously they have no magic items to boost stats or saves. Nor are they likely to have feats that boost will saves. +7 is probably about as high of a will save as you are going to see, but most will be about +3 or lower.

Considering how many people fall for the bull s&%# people spread without magic how bad do you think it will be with magic. Having the stronger army means nothing if you control the leaders of the opposing side.

Or the weirdly dressed man with the foreign accent who is acting suspiciously is assumed to be a communist spy and is shot dead.

Or the weirdly dressed man with the foreign accent is walking down a tunnel when he sees a bright light like a lantern in the distance. He calls out, but receives no response, suspecting trouble he goes invisible and is crushed by a freight train.

Or the weirdly dressed man with the foreign accent arrives in an alien city and marvels at the sights and sounds. He flies up to take a better look and sees a convenient structure to perch upon. He alights on the huge metal frame coming into contact with two thick metal cables and is immediately electrocuted.

Cultural Adaptation removes any accent and make you seem to be a native of the culture. Aura of the Unremarkable allows you to be ignored by anyone you are not directly threatening. You can be beating the crap out of someone and the only one who is going to notice is the person you are beating. Tongues allow you to speak any language and can be combined with Cultural Adaptation. Invisibility can also prevent anyone from noticing you. A properly prepared wizard is not going to be noticed.

Divination spells can give you information about earth before you get there. Scrying works at any distance. Contact other planes and similar spells can give you information about earth. Ears of the city can be used to gather information local information. If you have a cleric or inquisitor willing to help you spells like divination or commune can also be used to gather information. A wizard has a lot of ways to gather information before acting.

Even a mid-level wizard is going to have genius level intelligence. They are not going to walk blindly into a situation.

A single mid-level wizard specializing in enchantment could take over just about any country on earth in a fairly short time. Spells like sow though and charm person combined with a few illusions like invisibility will get him access to our leaders. Once he has access to our leaders spells like suggestion, dominate person, and Geas will give him control. Lesser geas is all he probably needs.

None of leaders on earth are going to be high level characters and most will have low will saves. Nor are they likely to have extremely high stats. Obviously they have no magic items to boost stats or saves. Nor are they likely to have feats that boost will saves. +7 is probably about as high of a will save as you are going to see, but most will be about +3 or lower.

Considering how many people fall for the bull s&@$ people spread without magic how bad do you think it will be with magic. Having the stronger army means nothing if you control the leaders of the opposing side.

Knowing other planets exist is not the same as knowing that a specific planet exists. In the real world just about everyone knows other planets exist. But how many people can name a planet outside our own solar system, especially one on the far side of the galaxy.

In all honesty there are a lot of things besides food that is going to make living somewhere more enjoyable. Eating a 9 course banquet in a small cave damp cave smelling of dirt and mold is not really going to be that enjoyable after the first few times. What you should be focusing on are ways to make the environment more pleasant and provide entertainment.

The Spell permanent Image can do a lot to make the environment a lot more pleasant. It includes visual, auditory, olfactory and thermal elements. This allows you to create pretty much any surrounding you want. Now your mess hall is a luxurious chamber rivaling that of the finest noble house, your sleeping chamber is a comfortable meadow with a babbling brook to lure you to sleep. Even your latrine is a pleasant environment that does not stink. Since you can voluntarily fail a save you can enjoy the benefits of the environment even knowing it is not real.

Hallow would be another spell to use for these locations. The entire site gets protection from evil, and it prevents any bodies from becoming undead. It also allows endure elements to be “fixed” to the site. Endure elements makes it so that all the inhabitants of the location can exist comfortable in conditions between -50 and 140 degrees. Combined with permanent illusion it provides a safe comfortable environment regardless of the actual conditions. The endure elements will have to be renewed once a year, but that should not be that difficult.

Those two spells could be used to setup an incredibly luxurious environment that would be better than reality in a lot of ways. Being assigned to an isolated location like this could become a premium assignment instead of something to be avoided. The cantrip prestidigitation can change the flavor of food, so any nutritious food can taste like a feast.

Mindscapes from Occult Adventures seems like it would work well for entertainment. You can create a permanent mind scape but getting in after it is initially setup might be a problem. I am not really that familiar with Occult Adventures so I might be missing something. From what I can see a mindscape can be setup that allows people to exit, but entry after it is created requires the create mindscape door spell. If that problem could be solved, you could create mindscapes that allowed different entertainments. Not sure if you can have imaginary creatures as part of a mindscape, but if so, it would increase the entertainment value.

All the alignment detections spells do is detect the presence of said alignment or active intents that match that alignment. So, a good character that has evil intents will detect as both good and evil, likewise with an evil character with good intents. The presence of one alignment does not affect the other. So, the evil character cannot fool the paladin by having good intents but can register on the clerics detect good by doing so.

Removing the alignment game mechanic from the game is not going to remove the idea of good and evil. The concept of good and evil is as old as humanity itself. Many of the stories and legends that inspire the gaming are rooted in those concepts. Even today in the real world we see conflicts that people view as a struggle between those two concepts. Even in systems that lack any kind of alignment game mechanic many of the adventures are based on that very conflict.

What the alignment game mechanic really does is to define what is considered good or evil. I suspect that some of the people who don’t like the alignment system might be because that it forces them to examine their own behavior. No one want to think of themselves as evil, and when some of your personal behavior or beliefs are flagged as being evil it probably makes you uncomfortable.

In the case of aligned outsiders, it is not the alignment itself that is forcing you to act in a certain way; it is the nature of the outsider. There is a little bit of a chicken and the egg circumstance in this case, but the reason the outsider acts in a certain way is because it is their nature. If it was the alignment than a non-outsider creature of the same alignment would also be forced to act that way.

My question about detecting evil when you have actively evil thoughts is how strong is the aura? What if the evil act is only marginally evil? Do they still have an aura based on their level/HD? To me it does not make sense that a 15th level character who is planning to steal something from someone detects as evil as a serial killer that has tortured and murdered hundreds of victims.

The spell seems to assume that all characters are fully committed to their listed alignment. Should the high-level character that is borderline evil have an aura that is stronger than a lower-level character that is fully committed to evil? If you are using the numeric alignment system from ultimate campaign it you could adjust the alignment of the aura based on the number. Use the chart in the book for someone in the middle position. If they are in the 1 or 9 position their aura is moved up the chart by 1, if it is in the 3 or 4 position it is moved down the chart by 1.

That same system could be used to determine the strength of the aura when someone is acting with evil intent. Rate the act on how evil you consider it and assign it to a rating of where it fits on the numeric alignment system. And adjust the aura’s strength accordingly. For example, a 5th level character who only has a minor active evil intent still does not radiate, but a 1st level character who is actively planning to slaughter dozens of helpless children would radiate a faint evil.

Obviously, this is not raw, but it does give a little more flexibility to the alignment system.

This kind of explains why clerics and paladins radiate even at low level. They are radiating the aura of their deity, which is assumed to be stronger than normal. Which means that a character with the aura class feature is not subject to these adjustments as they have already been applied.

The duration is permanent not instantaneous, so dispel magic should work. You can keep trying until you succeed in the caster check. Unless the spell was cast from an item the character who cast it should have a fairly good chance to dispel his own spell.

I think the real value of the trait is that it increases the HP or ability damage from long term care. The heal skill does not go into a lot of details on how it works. In real life there are a lot of times where healing someone requires you to do damage to them. Surgery for the most part is not really detailed in the game.

Just thinking about doing an evil act should not be enough. You have to actually intend to perform those acts. You do not have to have performed the act, making the decision to act is probably enough. The description says evil intents not evil thoughts. It is a subtle difference, but still a difference.

I have to agree with Heather about what a role means. I have worked at jobs that restrict access to locations and information for security reasons. To make things easier access is often based on roles. That way if someone is assigned a role they get all the access that role needs. Most people are assigned multiple roles. I personally had about 20 roles assigned to me. Most people I worked with had a lot of the same roles assigned to. Since one role provided access to the lab we worked in every person in the lab had that role assigned to them.

The group I have gamed with have used the word role in the since Heather is talking about for decades. There are usually more roles than there are party members and sometimes those roles are shared.

Diego Rossi wrote:

You get false positives.

No, you do not get false positives, the spell "Detect Evil" Specifically reveals if the target has an Evil Aura or not, this aura is based on their HD and actual alignment. The only way you get false positives are with the target having certain feats and/or spells, items on them. Their current thoughts or intents have absolutely nothing to do with it, only their actual alignment.

How about a lawful neutral cleric of a lawful evil deity? They radiate a strong aura of both law and evil. While someone serving an evil deity is probably going to end up tending towards evil, the character is still not evil, but detects as evil.

A 2nd level lawful neutral cleric of a lawful evil deity sitting there thinking good thoughts still detects as having a moderately evil aura. That means he has the same aura as an 11th – 15th level assassin.

From the looks of it DR cold iron also seems to be a little more common than DR that is overcome by other special material. Cold Iron usually is needed to hurt Demons, Div, Fey Kami and Qlippoth. Fey is a basic type not a subtype like most of the others.

Not sure the oil of life has a time limit. The description of the philosopher's stone states the quicksilver becomes unstable and that all transmutations must take place within that period. The next paragraph states you can also mix the quicksilver with a cure potion to create a special oil of life. It makes no mention of the oil having a limited lifespan. It seems to me that when you mix the quicksilver with the cure potion it transmutes the cure potion into oil of life. If the oil only remains active for 24 hours why does the gold last more than a day?

Slayers have poor will saves and little reason to pump WIS. They also have no way of removing conditions. While they have lots of skill points most of the suggested skills are not class skills. They can get disable device as a class skill fairly easily.

My suggestion would be an archaeologist bard. They have good will saves and can boost it with luck. They are spell casters with some condition removal spells and a CHA based class with UMD as a class skill. They get a bonus on all knowledge skills so only need to put in a few points. The get a bonus on disable device and perception but need a trait to make it a class skill. Take fates favored for another trait. Half elf gives you keen, and adaptability allows you to pick up skill focus perception. Lingering performance, weapon finesse, weapon focus rapier and fencing grace are good feats.

Make sure to take heroism as early as you can. It stacks with your luck bonus and gives you a bonus to nearly everything including saves and skills. Between those two things you have a huge bonus when you need it.

As to the cost of journals you are basing it on modern writing styles. The writing styles of the Middle Ages is quite different than how modern people write. Cheap paper and almost universal literacy have changed how things are written. Computers also altered how people write. When paper is expensive you learn to write extremely small to make the paper go farther. The declaration on independence was written on a single page including the signatures. When I paste in the text to the declaration of independence into MS word it takes about 3 pages not including signatures. If you have ever seen the document or an accurate copy it is incredibly hard to read because the writing is so small.

Near universal literacy has raised the bar on proper spelling and grammar which tends to be longer and wordier. Take a look at some of the historical records of the colonial era and you will see a lot of spelling errors and or abbreviations. They also tend to be lacking in detail. Journals were often more of a way for someone to remember something than a completely accurate record. They often skipped large chunks of time where nothing of significance happened.

Combine these two things and the 50-page journal is going to last a lot longer than a few months.

In Darksuns the sorcerer kings were trying to become dragons. Dragon Disciple fits that and gives some decent physical boost. If you are not looking to follow that than skipping Dragon Disciple and taking another bloodline would work.

Oracle uses the same casting stat as Sorcerer, so has a lot of synergy. The Sorcerer Kings also grant divine spells so it seems fitting they should be able to cast them. Oracles revelations add a lot of flavor and would allow you to create some interesting theme based creatures. As I mentioned I rarely use occult adventures so when I think of two different casting types I usually think in terms of arcane and divine.

I have been playing around with using mythic gestalt characters to create demi-gods. I wanted something that was capable of being the ultimate BBG, but less than a full deity.

I rarely use the material from occult adventures, but it looks like a Psychic may be a better choice than Oracle. Use 4 feats for favored prestige class and prestigious caster to make up for the loss of caster levels from dragon disciple. Longevity will allow you to ignore the penalties from age effects, so you can gain 3 points on each mental stat. I recommend using the ABP rules to boost the stats. A sorcerer king is going to need to be at least 3rd tier to be able to grant spells, but that only allow his follow to cast spells equal to his mythic tier. Mythic Paragon will boost that by 2.

The way I would do it would be a mythic gestalt sorcerer/oracle. On the sorcerer side of the gestalt take 10 levels of dragon disciple. Take the mythic path ability longevity and divine source. You could use another class besides oracle. A sorcerer king would have to be at least tier 3 but probably higher.

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

With fortune and misfortune, the target chooses which roll they can reroll, but it only works once per round. You also have to make the choice before you roll. So, they could choose to reroll the conformation roll, but then they would not be able to reroll the attack roll. The conformation roll is a separate attack roll even if it is using the same modifiers as the attack roll.

Just clarifying that this is only true for Fortune. Misfortune forces you to roll twice on all affected rolls.

HEXES wrote:

Fortune (Su) (Advanced Player's Guide pg. 66): The witch can grant a creature within 30 feet a bit of good luck for 1 round. The target can call upon this good luck once per round, allowing him to reroll any ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, taking the better result. He must decide to use this ability before the first roll is made. At 8th level and 16th level, the duration of this hex is extended by 1 round. Once a creature has benefited from the fortune hex, it cannot benefit from it again for 24 hours.

Misfortune (Su) (Advanced Player's Guide pg. 66): The witch can cause a creature within 30 feet to suffer grave misfortune for 1 round. Anytime the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. A Will save negates this hex. At 8th level and 16th level, the duration of this hex is extended by 1 round. This hex affects all rolls the target must make while it lasts. Whether or not the save is successful, a creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 1 day.

Good catch, my mistake.

It might be a good idea to install the different versions in different directories. Depending on the OS and program that can often make it easier to run different builds of a program, but it depends on how the developer wrote the program.

If you install it in the same directory chances are a lot of the files will get overwritten.

If the party is protecting the witch, why is the game being ruined? I have seen a lot of martial characters that can take down most foes fairly quickly, are they ruining the game? Almost any class can be unbalanced if the GM is not familiar with the class.

Many of the witch’s hexes and even their spells are mind affecting. There are a lot of foes that are immune to mind affecting effects. Many witches struggle to deal with these types of foes. Almost all combat focused hexes do have the limitation that they only work once per day per creature. Hexes are also usually single target only, so having multiple foes prevents them from getting out of hand. Hexes also usually have a short range especially the combat hexes.

If the party is protecting the witch how is the game being ruined? If the other party members are actively protecting the witch while it takes down the foe that is good tactics. When the party works together to overcome challenges that is how the game is supposed to work. If you had a party that had one melee specialist so one character summoned up some extra creatures, the wizard cast haste and the bard used inspire courage to boost everyone that would that be ok? How is that any different than the party protecting the witch while it takes down the foe?