I am having trouble with creating my next PFS character. I have a concept, but I am having alot of trouble making him playable. The mechanics just don't work well for the concept, so I am open to modification to the concept, and/or advice on how to make the build work.
Concept:
Appears to be a brash and arrogant entertainer who sometimes travels with a carnaval. Prefers acting, oratory, and knife throwning displays to singing. Loves to tell grand (and obviously false) stories about his own exploits, such as killing giants, taming and riding dragons, and tricking gods.
In reality, he is a ruthless spy (loyalties currently unknown). The brashness and arrogance is an act/cover identity. His profession as a wandering entertainer allows him freedom to travel and access to information from seedy taverns to grand banquet halls.
He prefers to avoid combat, if possible, but is capable of contributing. (Combat style undecided.)
Build:
At first I thought well-rounded Bard, with a combat focus on throwing daggers, but throwning weapons are feat intensive. Mechanically, I am drawn to the utility of a support focus Bard with Flagbearer, Banner of Ancient Kings, Bodyguard, etc, but I feel like I would have to alter my concept for that.
This concept could also be changed to fit a Urban Ranger (entertainer comes just from skills, better combat power), or potentially a rogue.
Any suggestions for concept or build would be appreciated.
I was hoping I could get a critique/some help with this PFS character build. I have not run a PFS game before, but expect to participate in several, and hope to build 4 decent characters that can fill primary roles, depending on the table.
This is my first: A Fighter(Lore Warden) 10/Rogue2 with enough skills to fill in without a skillmonkey, while only sacrificing a very little combat potential:
Race: Human
Age: 32 (No Mechanical Effect in PFS)
Deity: Shelyn
Alignment: Neutral Good
Traits:
Inner Beauty: +4 to Bluff/Craft/Diplomacy/Perform 1/day after roll is made.
Indomitable Faith: +1 to Will Save
Attributes:
STR 14
DEX 21 (16 + 2 Human + 3 Level)
CON 12
INT 14
WIS 10
CHA 8
All Increases into Dex
My primary purchases would be: Gloves of Dueling, +4 Str/Dex Belt, +4 Wis Headband, cloak of resistance +2, Amulet of Natural Armor +2, Ring of protection +2, Circlet of Persuasion, +2 Adaptive Shocking Composite Longbow, with various Bane arrows. I would also get a +X Mithril Breastplate of Comfort, but im unsure if it would work with the Rogue Evasion.
This also gives me 92 skill points, and just about everything you could want as a class skill. I figured I would max Perception, Diplomacy, and after that, i'm not sure.
I could put alternate between 6 knowledge skills or max 3, will still enough skills left over to put into Trained Only abilities or get a good class-skill bump in skills like swim, climb, acrobatics, disable device, etc.
With Cologne and a Circle of Persausion, my Diplomacy would be +19 all the time, with a +4 bonus 1/day, which should be good enough for most tasks, and the +4 bonus should be very useful early in my career, especially since I can use it only if I'm pretty sure it will be the difference between success and failure.
My damage output is fairly reasonable, but my armor, fort and will saves are distressingly low.
BAB (+11) + Dex (+7) + Weapon Training (+2) + Gloves of Dueling (+2) + Weapon Focus (+1)+ Magic Weapon +2 - Rapid Shot (-2) - Deadly Aim (-3)
Thanks to Lore Warden, I should be able to get a +2/+2 against BBEGs with a knowledge check.
Compared to going Lore Warden 12 with Traits to give me Perception and Diplomacy, I
Gain: +3 Trait Bonus to Diplomacy 1/day, +1 Trait to Will save, 8 more skill points, +1d6 sneak attack, multiple class skills, +3 Reflex
Lose: 1 BAB, delay several feats/warrior class skills, +1 Trait to Perception, +2 Fort save
I have a strange character concept in my head. A pike-wielding dwarf obsessed with the sky. I see him being raised above-ground with a bird animal companion (that he wants to train to ride) and feathers braided into his beard.
My first draft of the build for this character was a Cleric of Erastil with the Feather domain, and the Adopted(gnome) trait so I could get the "Animal Friend" gnome race trait.
While I love dwarves and roleplaying them, I know very little about gnomes. I would love some roleplaying advice as to how a dwarf raised by gnomes would act. Thank you.
So I had an idea for a campaign where part of the campaign involves Quantum-Leap-style time travel. Link to the Wikipedia page for those unfamilar with the show. The PCs would occationally (maybe 10% of the time) wake up and find themselves in control of the same 5 NPCs that are legends in the modern day. So the players will roleplay their PCs, who are currently in the bodies of NPCs.
The campaign would revolve around a) trying to figure out why they are time-traveling, b) seeing how stories differ from actual history, and c) seeing how changes in the past affect the modern world.
I wanted to start the PCs around level 2, and legends of the NPCs will be introduced early, but the time-traveling will not begin until level 5+. The NPCs around level 12, and have the PCs level up much faster than the NPCs, so by the end of the campaign, the PCs and NPCs are all about level 16.
I already have ideas as to the character classes the NPCs should be (a Paladin, a Cleric, a Wizard, a Rogue/Sorcerer, and a Warrior). The PCs are playing an Inquisitor, an Oracle, a Summoner, a Rogue, and a Ranger. Unfortunately, the Inquisitor and the Ranger are not strong in understanding the game mechanics, so I am worried that they would feel lost being asked to play any character other than their own, let alone a different character class.
My questions are:
1) Should I adapt my NPCs to mirror my PCs, in either class or role?
2) Should I ask for player input into the NPCs (thus giving away part of the surprise) or should I build the NPCs myself?
3) Should I even attempt this concept with my current group? I'm beginning to think this would work better with a more mechanically strong group?
4) Should I even attempt this as a relativly new GM? This seems like an ambitious concept and I am fairly new to GMing.
5) Any other suggestions to make this idea work?
So, I am about to embark on my fouth GM session ever, and first time I am not running a pre-made adventure (not a knock on pre-mades, I just have a fun idea I want to try out), and I'm slightly intimidated.
I'm not worried about the rules, I know those pretty well, and I am comfortable with Rule 0 if I don't. I'm not worried about my story, I have a rough outline of that in my head, and an open enough sandbox that I don't feel like I have to railroad my players past the group formation phase. I'm not worried about the BBEG fight(s) either. I look forward to designing challenging fights for the party. That's one of the reasons I started GMing.
What I am worried about are the non-BBEG fights. I don't want every fight to feel like an "epic" BBEG combat, because that diminished the impact of the big fights. But I am worried about creating combats that are both challenging enough to keep players focused, and interesting enough to keep players having fun, while balancing the amount of prep-time I put into CR-1, CR+0, and CR+1 encounters.
This is especially worrying at low levels, and because the first half-dozen or so combats the party will encounter will all be against humanoids. I would like some variation so that that it doesn't feel like they are grinding the same group of CR 1/2 human warriors over and over again.
My group and I are about to start a new game in the Eberron setting, but using mostly Pathfinder rules. My GM is planning on using the Spell Point system from Unearthed Arcana. For those unfamiliar with it, the Open Sourced rules are listed here.
I would love to play a Magus in this setting, but I am very concerned with how the spell point system, especially paying 1 extra spell point per damage dice, would interact with the Magus's class abilities.
For example, at level 4, I will have ~10 spellpoints, and a 4d6 Shocking Grasp (level 1 spell) would cost me 4 spell points. A 4d6 Frigid Touch (level 2 spell) would cost 3 spell points, stagger the target, and have no save.
If I used an empowered Shocking Grasp (level 2 w/ metamagic) at level 10, it would cost me 10 spell points, 1 more spell point than a level 5 spell. Magus dont even get access to level 5 spells until level 13.
And how would the spell recall mechanic (spend arcane pool points to recovery spent spells) work with spell points? Could I spend 2 arcane pool point to regain all 10 spellpoints associated with an empowered shocking grasp? Or do I just recover the base cost of a level 2 spell?
Does anyone have any insight as to how to house-rule spell points with the Magus? I plan on suggesting some modifications to my GM, or potentially going with a class other than the Magus. Any custom rules, feats, or ideas are welcome. Thank you.
We Powergamers are a much maligned group of players. We play a game and want to be the best at it, and yet are called out for ruining the game that we love. We are branded, so to speak, as munchkins, min-maxers, non-roleplayers, rules-lawyers, and other mean labels. All because we love (and are good at) rules synergy and math.
So below, I am listing my top 5 tips for being a powergamer and hiding your evil math-based powers from your group.
1) Create a Backstory and Roleplay: Powergamers frequently get identified by their lack of roleplaying, so fake it. Create a backstory and character based upon your favorite comic book or video game character not named Wolverine or Sephiroth, and just think "What would so-and-so do?" It takes very little time and effort, and you will be able to pretend you are roleplaying like everyone else. Which brings me to number 2.
2) Don't roleplay the antagonist: Keeping in mind that D&D is usually not player vs. player, a quick and easy way to identify powergamers at the table is by comparing characters. If your character has higher damage than the Barbarian, better defense than the Sword+Board Paladin, and is a better Skillmonkey than the Bard, people will notice. So don't give them a reason to compare character sheets. Don't intentionally start inter-party conflict to prove your character can "win" against the non-powergamers. If you do, rocks will fall, and your character will die.
3) Moderate your min/maxing (no extremes): I know this is counter-intuitive, but min/maxing will usually not help you in the game. Sure, it will give you a mechanical advantage, but there is no faster way to single yourself out from your group than extreme min/maxing, which, in turn, could trigger DM retribution. For example, instead of taking 20 Str and dumping Int to 7, take 19 Str and keep Int at 10. Or instead of taking the 9 best feats for your build, take the 8 best feats and 1 OK feat instead.
4) Give credit to the other players: So combat is over and your party just barely survived. And by "just barely survived," I mean that your teammates are near death and out of resources, and you were hardly touched. You should instantly compliment your teammates in or out of character. "Man Cleric, without your Bless and Protection from Evil, I would have been in trouble. Thank you." "Wizard, that Haste saved my life!" "Bard, your singing totally won that fight?" Is it true? Probably not, but by attributing your success to other people, you encourage people to overlook the fact that you are overpowered.
5) Don't show off unless you need to: You are a powergamer. You have a better build that everyone else in your party. You don't need to prove it. In fact, you want to *hide* it. You don't want your DM to know your super-nasty rage-charge-lance-pounce-autocrit-stun combo, because then the bad guys will prepare for it. And in most combat, being superpowered is unnecessary. Your party is more than a match for that CR=APL ogre guard, so why 1 shot it in the first round of combat? That is just showing off how awesome you are. The smarter thing is to *hide* how awesome you are until it matters. Instead of being the jerk who 1 shots an easy enemy and doesn't let anyone else play, be the hero who kills the dragon when all hope seems lost.
Follow these 5 tips, and noone will suspect that you are a powergamer. No gaming group will ostracize you. No DM will design encounters specifically to counter you. Lay low, roleplay, minimize your min/maxing, play nice with the party, and people will cheer you killing the dragon, instead of cheering when the dragon kills you.
1) Is this spell restricted to Dwarves? The source of the rules and the access to dwarven weapons implies that it is, but nothing in the spell description in the SRD states "Dwarves Only."
2) Can this spell create a different weapon per casting? For example, can it produce a longsword 1st cast, greatsword 2nd cast, composite longbow 3rd cast?
3) Can the weapons in this spell have other non-magical properies? For example, can "the weapon of my choice" be a +1 flaming cold iron waraxe or a +1 guided silver greataxe?
4) If I create a weapon that is also armor, do I get the benefit of the armor? For example, a spiked heavy shield is listed as a type of weapon. Can I create a spiked heavy shield as a weapon and get the AC bonuses from it?
5) Can I cast Greater Magic Weapon on this weapon?
6) The spell states that if it leaves my hands, it disappears. Does that mean if I sheath the weapon or sling it across my back for any reason (to show non-hostile intent or to pull out spell components) that it disappears? Or does that just apply if the weapon leaves my body (I get disarmed or try to throw the weapon, etc.)
My GM is about to start a Pathfinder campaign set is Forgotten Realms. I want to revive an unfinished cleric that I have from 3.5 into this game, but I'm having difficulty figuring out how to build a strong support cleric that stays true to my original concept. The GM is allowing feats taken in 3.5 to translate over, but im uncertain if he will allow new feats to be taken from 3.5 material.
Also note: House rule, with a spellcraft check of 20 + 2xlevel of the spell, you can recast a spell from an expended spell slot.
Character Concept: Nathan Ford from Leverage. My character blames himself, a rich merchant family, and Cyric (God of Lies and Murder) for the death of wife and child. After being unjustly exiled from his home city, he encountered a priest of Hoar (Minor God of Karma/Vengeance), and dedicated himself to bringing "justice" to people who the law cannot touch. For his own part in his families deaths, he has developed a drinking problem and a near-death wish, believe he deserves to die for his mistakes.
He primarily focus on tactical planning and support for his teammates, ensuring success by enhancing each party member's strengths. His prefered weapon is a warhammer (his gavel).
Explainations of 3.5 Classes/Feats not in Pathfinder:
Inscribe Rune is a crafting feat allows the storing of Divine spells in written or metal runes that cast automatically when touched on the person that touched them. Think brew potion, but for divine only, no spell level limit, and you can set traps if people touch it accidentally. My GM has ruled that touching a rune to activiate it is a move action. The Runecaster prestige class is basicly a Cleric (3/4 BAB, full divine casting, same saves) that gives up Turn Undead (Channel Energy in PF) for nice bonuses to the Craft Rune ability, including eventually having the ability to have runes cast x/day or permenant. These are both from the 3.5 Player's Guide to Faerun.
Divine Metamagic is a feat from Complete Divine that allows you to use (level adjustment of metamagic + 1) turn undead attempts to cast metamagic without a level adjustment. My GM is allowing this to work with Channel Energy charges in Pathfinder.
Easy Metamagic is a feat from Dragon Mag. #301(I think?), that reduces the level adjustment of a certain type of metamagic by one.
Human Paragon is a class that is 2/3 caster progression, 3/4 BAB, gives 6 + int skill points per lvl, and makes 1 skill a class skill (I'm planning on Perception), 1 bonus feat, and +2 to one stat. I needed Human Paragon to get +2 to Int to qualify for Inscribe Rune feat, and the extra skill points to qualify for Runecaster.
His in-game end-goal is killing Cyric, or dying in the attempt. To accomplish that goal, he knows he needs to put together a team and a skill-set capable of killing a major god.
My DM might allow rebuilds/retraining of feats.
Any build advice is welcome. I am particularly concerned with feat selection, and which spells I can inscribe into runes to really help my party shine.
I'm helping a friend create a BBEG(s) for his campaign, and one of my ideas was to create a Ranger with an "animal companion" that is really a Synthesist Summoner. By RAW, is it possible for an Eidolon to look like, say, a very large aligator?
Per the Pathfinder SRD, "The eidolon’s physical appearance is up to the summoner, but it always appears as some sort of fantastical creature. This control is not fine enough to make the eidolon appear like a specific creature. The eidolon also bears a glowing rune that is identical to a rune that appears on the summoner’s forehead as long as the eidolon is summoned."
When I first read this, I thought that this refered to the Eidolon not being able to take the form of a specific individual, i.e. the Eidolon can look human-ish, but can't immitate the town mayor. Upon, re-reading it, it seems to indicate that the Eidolon cannot look like a speficic species, like an aligator. I also am confused, since the Eidolon Models section in Ultimate Magic indicates that and Eidolon can look like ordinary animals, like sharks and vermin.
My plan was to give the PCs Knowledge(Nature), Knowledge(Arcane), and Knowledge(the Planes) checks to be able to recognize that although it looks like an abnormally large aligator, it is actually something else.
DC10 Nature would indicate its not really an animal. DC 15 Nature, Arcane, and the Planes would indicate that its not from the material plane. DC 20 the Planes would indicate its an Eidolon.
So a friend of mine is fairly new to GMing (this is his 3rd campaign) and appears to have gotten over his head. He started an evil campaign with a group of mutual friends, and has allowed a crazy amount of power creep into the game.
The current setup is:
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- All Pathfinder and 3.5 books are legal, rules conflicts default to Pathfinder rules.
- Stats are 7x4d6, reroll 1s, drop lowest dice, drop lowest score. The results of the rolls are an average stats that would require a 50 point-buy.
- All LA <= 2 races allowed with LA bought-off before the campaign.
- 6 lvl 6 PCs: a Orc Barbarian, Drow Ranger, Half-Elf Wizard, Human Fighter, Human Rogue(5)/Cleric(1), and a Nymph (8HD creature, no LA buyoff, treated as a lvl 8 druid for spells)
- He is generious with magic items, so the party's average wealth is now ~20k per PC... at level 6.
- Oh, and they freed a NPC Gestalt Sorc (10)/Monk (10) Half-dragon gnome from his prison, and this NPC has agreed to help them (played by the GM).
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He cannot challenge them (shocking!), and has asked me to help.
To me, one of the primary problems based on what he has discribed was that they are so strong, they brute-force most problems. While they do RP, they don't have to because nothing is a challenge for them.
I started to build a group of 6 lvl 8 "Hero" NPCs to start hunting them, designed for combat and capture (Two specialize in non-lethal damage to imprison evil, not kill it). I have talked to the GM about maybe having a prison-break scenero if some are captured.
My goal was to create a group that could TPK (TPC? Total Party Capture?)them in head-on combat, but with each NPC having an RP weakness that the PCs can exploit. Using 1 or 2 of these weaknesses should allow the PCs to win. Using more could get them bonuses or just be fun overkill.
My questions are:
1) Is lvl 8 (with level 8 wealth) strong enough to challenge this group and their NPC helper?
2) Should I try to challenge, or should I try to TPK/TPC? The GM likes the idea of the prison break, but...
3) The GM I am helping said he wants a "50/50 chance" of victory for the PCs, with "the Sorc(10)/Monk(10) determining victory, defeat, or a draw." This raised red flags for me. In my mind, NPCs should never determine victory or defeat. This turns your players into spectators. What should I do?
