Number 27's page

Hi all,

After moving to a new state I unfortunately fell out of the habit of playing pathfinder without my amazing local PFS chapter or friends for home-gaming - luckily my friends have decided to start a new AP (War for the Crown) via Roll20, so I'm excited to get back into it. However, given my year-long delay I am a bit rusty.

For this campaign I am creating a Samsaran Rebirth Psychic - I will be the only 9th level spell caster in the group of 5 (others are rogue, investigator, warpriest, and vigilante). I am trying to figure out what are the best options I can choose for spells for the Mystic Past Life alternate racial trait for Samsarans.

As of now I am planning on taking Heal from the Spiritualist list, but I have 4 more options I am unsure about. Any good recommendations?

I recently hit my 30 tables of credit for GMing PFS, but the number of stars shown on my profile and organized play player card still only show 1 star. I went into to refresh my points, which now does correctly show 30 tables worth of credit on my account. However, the stars themselves haven't updated. This is a relatively minor problem, but I was wondering if there is anything I need to do in order to get everything to update correctly.

I am planning on GMing Ire of the Storm: Part 2 soon for PFS, and it is currently scheduled for a 4.5 hour evening slot. We play at a bar that closes, so the length of the slot is pretty set in stone.

It seems like Part 2 (and Part 3) have enough content to run waaaay longer than 4.5 hours. As of now, it seems like my options are to try to cut out 50% or so of the non-core story encounters (which I am unsure if it is legal or not for PFS), split it over 2 games days (less than ideal) or convince the organizer that we should run something else.

Has anyone run this module for PFS before and have any insight?

I am planning on building a Vine Leshy Inquisitor for PFS with some GM credit, and was looking into the Ravener Hunter/Sanctified Slayer archetypes. I've never played a front-line fighter and I like the visual of an anthropomorphic vine in armor, swinging a great sword, so I figured I'd try to do a two-handed melee build.

For flavor reasons I am leaning towards going with Gozreh as the diety, though I recognize it is definitely sub-optimal. Based on this, I am not particularly impressed with either the domains and inquisitions available, so I figured I'd go Ravener Hunter to pick up an Oracle Mystery.

Build so far, starting at level 6:
STR: 23; DEX: 12; CON: 14; INT: 6; WIS: 16; CHA: 7

Traits: Fate's Favored and Reactionary

Feats: 1 - ???
3 - Power Attack
3 - Demon Hunter (Archetype Bonus)
5 - Extended Bane
6 - Precise Strike (Class Teamwork Bonus)

I am currently trying to figure out which Mystery to choose, and am leaning towards Battle. This would give me martial weapon/heavy armor proficiency at level 1 (So I can ditch the trident and use a great sword), as well as Weapon Focus and Improved Crit at level 8/Greater Weapon Focus at 12.

The optimal choice would be to go with Gorum to get Greatsword proficiency and get to skip having to burn a revelation on it, but I'm not sure I want to completely kick the RP aspect to the curb quite that much.

Have other people played Ravener Hunter Inquisitors? I am interested to hear if there are other good Mysteries that might be better options. Any other advice on the build would definitely be appreciated as well.

Starfinder Armory has an augmentation called Clinging Hands

Your hands are covered with tiny fibers like those on a gecko’s toes. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your KAC against disarm combat maneuvers and to attacks to perform disarm and grapple combat maneuvers. You can ignore any increase to the DCs of Athletics checks to climb due to slipperiness, iciness, or heavy gravity. You can’t benefit from clinging hands if you are wearing armor or gloves that have not been either tailored or adjusted for you (Core Rulebook 196).

My question is, does this biotech augmentation still provide bonuses to disarm and grapple combat maneuvers if you are using a weapon with the disarm/grapple special property? RAI I would assume it would not, since having sticky hands doesn't mean you weapon does a better job at disarming foes. However, RAW it doesn't specify at all with the blanket statement of +2 to combat maneuvers.

Hello all,

I am looking to build my second SFS character, and am trying to find some semi-unique niche to focus on. One thing that has jumped out to me is how little combat maneuvers have been used in my area, so I figured that would be something I would look into. While the KAC+8 (+4 with feat) DC seems daunting, I wanted to see if there were ways of making it viable in combat.

Tripping seems far less useful in a world where >50% of people use ranged attacks, but both Grapple and Disarm seem like they could be useful (disarm seems particularly interesting to me, especially with the ability to play races with multiple hands to grab disarmed weapons).

Has anyone built or seen PCs based around using combat maneuvers? While Improved Combat Maneuver and weapons with the disarm ability provide a decent boost, I'm having trouble finding other feats/class abilities that work to improve grapple or disarm much at all.

I'm reaching high levels with my Intrigue Oracle in the Hell's Rebels AP, and am considering taking Spell Perfection at 15. However, I'm not sure what spell is worth choosing (or if it's even worth taking the first place). Metamagic so far includes Piercing, Persistent, Quicken, with one more option available.

The role is summoner/controller/support, so not many blasting spells and minimal buff/healing. Given the Chelaxian setting, I'm tempted to go with Dismissal/Banishment, though I fear that that is too specific to be worth it.

Any other recommendations for good Oracle spells that are worth Perfecting?

I am about to start playing Eyes of the Ten, but have absolutely no background in what was going on in the Society back in Seasons 0-2 (I started playing in 5, and have only sporadically played old scenarios throughout the past 4 years).

Does anyone have any recommendations for how I might brush up on the key background information from those seasons, or specifically which might relate to Eyes. I've heard it has a fantastic story, but I feel like there is a good chance it'll all go over my head without some prior knowledge.

I've noticed that for specific magic weapons (Luck Blade, Holy Avenger, etc.), the size of the weapon isn't ever actually listed. Is it just assumed that every named magic weapon is Medium (and thus Small PCs are out of luck on all of them), or is it possible to obtain them in different sizes?

I recently was given the option to play a Vine Leshy, which doesn't seem particularly powerful, but has a lot of flavor. As such, I'm trying to figure out which build would be best and am hoping to go with a nature-themed class/archetype. While I am not necessarily looking for the #bestbuildever, I would like to be moderately effective in combat at a minimum.

I already have a druid, so while that is an obvious choice I'd prefer to try something new. Given the CON and WIS bonus, Shaman and Kinetiscist came to mind - unfortunately, it seems like the Nature and Wood Spirit and Wood Element are pretty mediocre.

Do you have a favorite nature-themed build that might play well with a Vine Leshy?

I'm currently running a Fracture Mind Spiritualist who is focused on delivering debuff touch spells through his incorporeal Despair phantom. I've just hit level 5, and am struggling to figure out exactly which feat to take. Given this, I figured I'd turn it over to the collective Reddit wisdom to see if anyone had any details.

Fractured Mind Spiritualist Halfling 5

STR 7
DEX 12
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 12
CHA 23

Feats so far 1) Spell Focus (Necromancy) 3) Emotional Conduit

Spell penetration is an obvious choice, but I was planning on holding off til level 7, since I'm not sure how much crazy SR I'll experience in Society play until that point. I thought about some metamagic feats, but I've still only got level 2 spells, so I'm not sure there is anything of worth. Some other thoughts

Toughness, Steadfast Personality (CHA to Will), Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy)

Note: Cross-posted on r/Pathfinder_RPG

Hey all,

In trying to build my first starfinder character for society play, I am definitely leaning towards playing one of the caster-classes (both because I like the utility of spells as well as the fact that it seems most people in my area are going with other classes). I am now trying to decide between Mystic and Technomancer.

I am currently leaning towards Star Shaman Mystic, primarily due to the ability to heal HP damage now that wands are no longer a thing. However, it seems like from reading the forums, HP damage can be pretty limited.

I am interested in what more experienced players see as the pros/cons of each class - my goal is to have a reasonably optimized character with some unique attributes to bring to a society table.

Hey all,

My favorite character, a whip-based War Priest of Calistria, is nearing his retirement in PFS, so I am trying to figure out his successor. I have several other characters for PFS, but all of which use themes/builds/mechanics commonly seen, and as such they've gotten fairly boring.

I'm hoping to get some ideas from the community on other interesting/underused mechanics (much like a whip) around which I can build a new character. The only stipulation is that it be at least moderately combat effective.

Hey all,

First of all, I couldn't quite decide if this post should go in the Rules sub-forum rather than Advice, so I apologize if this is not the right place.

I am playing an Intrigue Oracle in a Hell's Rebels campaign, and one of the mysteries I have chosen says this:

Assumed Form (Sp): You can change your appearance at will, as disguise self with a caster level equal to your oracle level.

Looking into this, I am trying to figure out the various pros/cons of disguise self vs using the disguise skill, and wanted to see if others had any advice/could add things I am not taking into account.

Disguise Self

Pros

• More difficult to see through (requires "interacting" with rather than just suspiciously looking)
  
• Instantaneous disguise upon casting spell, rather than 10's of minutes

Cons

• DC to see through is lower (~DC 15 Will currently, vs ~DC 30 Perception for disguise skill when taking 10, +2 from disguise kit, and adding +10 from spell)
  
• Can't emulate specific people
  
• Potentially lose disguise if spell runs out in dangerous situation; Only can be used a certain number of minutes per day (not a factor for me with an at will usage)
  
• Can be dispelled

Based on these factors, in seems that using the Disguise skill is more useful if you have time to apply it, while Disguise Self is really only best used if you need a spur of the moment disguise.

Does this seem like a pretty decent analysis?

Hey all,

I created a Google Spreadsheet for my group that automatically fills out a large majority of the items on the Rebellion tracking sheet, which can be shared among an entire party. It allows you to only enter things like Supporters, Notoriety, Treasury, and Team Names and calculates the rest for you.

I figured it also might be of interest to others, so I figured I would share it here.

Let me know if there are any issues that people find. Otherwise, enjoy!

Rebellion Tracking Spreadsheet.

Hey all,

I am building an Intrigue Oracle for the Hell's Rebels AP, and I would love to get some advice from more experienced gamers. I'm not necessarily looking to be ridiculously optimized, but exceptionally competent would be a nice range to shoot for.

I primarily chose the Intrigue Mystery because it fits the theme of the AP so well, but it also seems to be moderately effective.

So far I have:

Human Oracle (Intrigue Mystery)
Haunted Curse

STR: 9
DEX: 12
CON: 14
INT: 12
WIS: 12
CHA: 18

Traits: Campaign Trait, Deft Dodger (+1 reflex)

Feats at Level 1 - Spell Focus (Conjuration), Improved Initiative

Revelation at Level 1 - Whispered Glimpses (CHA to perception and sense motive)

I am interested to see what people think about future revelations/feats. For combat, I am looking to go a control caster route (definitely taking augment summoning and something for spell resistance) but I also want to have a healthy dose social skills.

Revelations that I am considering so far
3) Assumed form (Disguise self/polymorph at will)
7) Poetic Vengeance (1/day deal 50% of received damage/effects back on enemy)

Also interested in spells people have found particularly useful - this is my first spontaneous caster.

Thanks!

Hey all,

I am about to start Hell's Rebels AP and am looking into a class option that grants the Conceal Spell feat, without needing to meet the Prereqs (so I can avoid the Deceitful feat tax). Seeing as the AP plot is centered around intrigue, deception, and social situations, it seems like an appealing way to use magic to influence non-combat situations (charm person, etc.). However, I am not sure how easy it is to actually use Conceal Spell, or if some magic rules I don't know about make it unlikely to work the way I hope.

Has anyone used Conceal Spell with any degree of success?

Hey all,

For the Hell's Rebels AP, I am taking a trait that gives you a +1 bonus to Linguistics checks as well as making Linguistics a class skill. However, it does not specify that I learn a bonus language.

I am assuming this means that I do not actually learn a language like I would if I took a rank in Linguistics, but I figured I would check just in case.

I am building my first full spontaneous caster (oracle) and am trying to plan out feats for higher levels. I am leaning towards penetrating spell since the hope is to have high enough knowledge scores within the group to identify SR before I cast, but I'm not sure if the +1 spell level is worth an extra +3 caster level check

Hey all,

I am looking to build an oracle with the Intrigue mystery for Hell's Vengeance, since it seems to fit really well with the theme of that AP. However, I am having trouble deciding on which revelations to choose, and the order.

I currently have

1) Hidden Magic (Conceal Spell as free feat)
3) Assumed form (Disguise Self at will, eventually becoming a polymorph effect)
7) Poetic Vengeance - "You constantly plot and scheme to take your revenge against those who wrong you. Once per day as an immediate action, after an enemy successfully affects you with an attack (whether with a spell, a physical attack, or any other sort of attack), you can force the enemy to take half the effects of its own attack unless it succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your oracle level + your Charisma modifier). Any damage from the attack is halved, and non-damaging effects have a 50% chance to apply. If the non-damaging effect has a DC, the enemy receives a saving throw against it, at either the DC of the original effect or the DC of this ability, whichever is lower."

I am trying to decide if I should switch Poetic Vengeance and Hidden Magic, or if Hidden Magic is even worth it. Does anyone have experience with Conceal Spell? While my DC for verbal components will be pretty high, the DC for somatic components will be pretty average, so I'm not sure it'll actually be useful.

Hey all,

First time GM (but PFS player) running CotCT out of the updated hardcover, with a group of players who are essentially brand new to any kind of table-top game (only one has ever played before, and that was only for a couple months). So far things have been going relatively well (I'm pretty light on the story, but they seem okay with it), but we're about to start Skeletons of Scarwall and I'm pretty intimidated by the scale of it. As such, I wanted to see if more experienced GMs have any advice.

A) Seeing as these PCs have never really played before, they have absolutely no idea of how to fight undead. Considering that they should get advanced warning from Laori/Sial about the nature of Scarwall, I think it's reasonable to assume that they should be able to prepare. However, I have never really done much with undead either, so I don't have a lot of advice to give them.

Any recommendations for tidbits that Laori/Sial could share to help them prepare? I don't want to give them items that make it a cake walk, but i also don't want them to get destroyed.

B) The maps are massive - in the book, it says that every square is 10 feet. If I were to draw out every single 5 ft square, the map would drastically exceed the size of the map I have. I was planning on just running it on the small side, with every drawn square as 5 feet. However, there are a number of encounters that occur in narrow hallways - the mechanics drastically change if the hall is 5 ft wide vs 10 ft wide. Any recommendations for how to handle this?

C) The sandbox nature of the path through Scarwall and the large number of maps is also going to overwhelm the one flip-mat I have. I am looking into purchasing a second, but until then I feel stuck. I don't want to draw, erase, and redraw maps constantly everytime they go up and down stairs. The only reasonable alternative I have come up with is to artificially limit them to complete a single map at a time, but I would rather not have to say "A ghost is preventing you from going up those stairs" all the time.

Thanks for the help!

Hey all,

First time GM here, and I just ran into a PC casting Wall of Thorns for the first time. He managed to trap 4 high level NPCs (with no save) in enough thorns that it would be practically impossible for them to get out, then lit the entire thing on fire using a Flaming Sphere. It was towards the end of a long session (and I was pretty frustrated), so I just hand-waved it and said they all died. However, this seems like an incredibly broken mechanic to kill pretty much anything, so I am hoping to have some kind of counter in the future.

My initial thought was to say that the fire damages the thorns enough to allow anyone inside to break out easily, while taking some amount of fire damage. Has anyone else encountered this and have another way of dealing with it? Or any general ideas?

Hey all,

I am starting a new PFS character using the spiritualist class, and wanted to get some informed opinions on the choice of phantom. I originally chose this class because I

A) Wanted to try a charisma-based casting class (Fractured Mind Archetype)
B) Wanted to do something different than most other players (thus Occult Adventures)
C) Was interested in focusing on a debuffing support class

Given C, my original choice for phantom was Despair. However, after speaking with some more experienced PFS players it seems that the traditional debuff/save-or-suck party role can be pretty boring too play down the line.

I am now leaning more towards the Anger phantom, as the damage-output might compliment the debuff-based casting more than a debuff-focused phantom.

Does anyone have any experience using either the Anger or Despair phantoms? Any advice on which build can lead to a more enjoyable late level experience?

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I am looking to build a debuff-focused mesmerist, and an obviously going to focus on spells with will saves.

Does anyone have an opinion on which spell school has the most useful spells with will saves? Looking into planning spell focus feats, etc. Also trying to decide if going with a gnome for the illusion bonus is worth it.

First time GM running CotCT, and my PCs are just getting to the point where they meet Laori. Assuming they choose not to fight her, I was wondering if anyone has any advice for how to handle her character moving forward.

Should I give her stat bloc to the PCs so they can play as her in the rest of the combat for this book? Should I run her as an NPC, but on the PCs side? She seems like a pretty powerful character, and I'm afraid adding her to the PCs party will make future encounters too easy

Thanks in advance!

Hey all,

I am a new GM running CotCT in a home game, and am looking for some advice from some more senior GMs. The party of 4 7th level PCs (fighter, unchained rogue, sorcerer, druid) just finished the Arkminos encounter, but have been pretty decimated to this point (especially the spell casters), so I think they are planning on leaving to rest, then heading back in.

They currently have 8 priests, the leukodaemon, and both iterations of Lady Andaisin left, but I'm afraid a fully spell-stocked sorcerer and druid will wipe through those encounters (plus, it doesn't seem realistic for the clerics to do nothing for an entire day).

Any ideas on how to reset the temple to make it more realistic (and more challenging)? Rolth escaped, but I am hesitant to bring him back (I doubt Lady Andaisin would be too forgiving). I was thinking that Urgathoa could animate the dead clerics, but zombies and skeletons won't provide much resistance to this party.

Thanks in advance!

Hey all,

So for part 4 in seven days to the grave (Pestilence) it states there are 6 things for the PCs to do to help fight the disease in Korvosa. However, in my copy of the AP, there are only five things....

Furthermore, on the maps it includes a map of "Graveyard" and "Guard Post" but they don't appear to actually be used.

Am I missing something here? I tried to look for answers on the internet, but didn't have any luck

Thanks in advance!

Hello all,

I am about to start running CotCT with a group of friends (my first time ever GMing, and about half of the groups first time playing), and as I am preparing for the first session, I noticed something seems to be missing from the description of the old fishery.

How are the PCs supposed to find/get to Gaedrens lair? There don't appear to be any stairs, and while it does say there is a door leading from the barge to the underway passage, you can only find it with a DC 22 Perception (which is unlikely for 1st level characters to get).

As of now, I plan on playing it as they see a small skiff that they can drop down into, at which point they'll see the underpass the the door into Gaedren's room, but I was interested in how others handled this/if someone could point out something I am blatantly missing

Thanks in advance for the help!
Travis

Hey all,

So I've recently agreed to GM the CotCT AP with a group of friends. This will be my first time GMing (I started with tabletop RPGs only a year ago), but the PCs will be inexperienced as well (two have never played tabletop RPGs, one has played a couple times, and the last is as experienced as I am).

Given that CotCR was written with 3.5 rules, would people recommend trying a different AP for a first time GM, or is CotCR a good one? I've already found very helpful conversions for all the NPCs (and just assume I can find stats on beasts from Pathfinder sources like PFSRD), a brief glance at the first encounter doesn't seem too troublesome. However, I'd hate to get into it before realizing that there is a lot I'll need to finaggle further down the line.

Thanks!

Hey all,

So I've recently agreed to GM the CotCT AP with a group of friends. This will be my first time GMing (I started with tabletop RPGs only a year ago), but the PCs will be inexperienced as well (two have never played tabletop RPGs, one has played a couple times, and the last is as experienced as I am).

Given that CotCR was written with 3.5 rules, would people recommend trying a different AP for a first time GM, or is CotCR a good one? I've already found very helpful conversions for all the NPCs (and just assume I can find stats on beasts from Pathfinder sources like PFSRD), a brief glance at the first encounter doesn't seem too troublesome. However, I'd hate to get into it before realizing that there is a lot I'll need to finaggle further down the line.

Thanks!

Hey all,

For a home-game I have been playing, we have been given a slight hint that the next session will involve a lot of water. I've already been informed of the usefulness of air crystals and potions/scrolls of touch of the sea, but are there any other cheap items that can be useful for dealing with lots of swimming/underwater action? Either something that would add to those items mentioned above, or something that is better than those?

Thanks!
Travis

Hey all,

In an effort to do something a little differently, I'm interested in trying to come up with a character specializing in mounted combat for PFS. I would ideally like to be a small character (so I don't have to worry about cramming large mounts into whatever random small spaces I'd be likely to come across).

So far I've been interested by Halfling beat rider cavalier, but as I continue to look into it I'm not so sure (lack of feats, etc.)

Any recommendations for ways to make a mounted combat character good for PFS?

Thanks!

Hey all,

I'm just getting into PFS, and was looking into making a character that is slightly different from what I've used in the past (pretty much straight damage) - from what little I've read, it seems like a character specializing in combat maneuvers (trip, disarm, etc.) would be a pretty interesting one to play with. Does anyone have any experience with this, or have any ideas of classes/builds that I can start looking into?

Thanks!

Hey all,

I'm a brand new player to PF (I'm at level 3 on my first character of any kind of RPG ever), and was looking for some advice from more experienced players.

I'm currently playing as a Dancing Dervish Magus. I feel like I've chosen most of the 1st level spells that are obviously worth it (Sheild, Vanish, Shocking Grasp, Color Spray, Grease, True Strike, Ray of Enfeeblement) but am looking for some guidance on which of the other spells to choose.

Specifically I'm trying to decide between

Chill Touch - The idea being I cast it once, and my sword then deals an extra d6 damage + a loss of strength for the next 3-5 times I use it (I'm assuming around level 5 I'd probably stop using it for its full duration, if at all)

Floating Disk - The idea being to use it to move around another PC so that they can make a full round attack on some turns where they would need to move normally

Hydraulic Push - Seeing as I'm a Dex based character myself, my CMB is pretty bad - Hydraulic push would then provide me with a viable way of using Bull Rush (which we've already run into a situation where that would have been nice)

Expeditious Retreat - Self-explanatory

Thanks!

Hey all,

So I'm a brand new player to RPG's, and am starting up a campaign soon with friends. I'm primarily interested in the Magus class, but am trying to determine if either the Bladebound, Kensai, or a combination is a worthwhile path to take.

I am leaning towards playing as an Elf, using a Dervish Dance-based Dex build. Are group is also starting out at level 1, using the 15 point buy for ability scores.

From what I can tell, choosing Kensai seems to be a pretty big blow at the lower levels (really poor AC until you can fully use Canny Defense as you can't use armor - lack of spells to heal, combat cast, etc.). Are the later class attributes worth those negatives? Perfect Strike and Critical Perfection seem great, but I have no idea how useful Iaijutsu, etc. will be.

Along those lines, has anyone tried the Bladebound archetype and have an opinion? It seems more fun for the RPing aspect, but am unclear if it will hurt me in combat (lower arcane pool, etc.)

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hey all,

So I am completely new to RPGs (like COMPLETELY new), and was hoping to get some advice from those more experienced than I.

I was interested in choosing a Bladebound Kensai Magus (mostly just because it seems cool), but am now questioning whether it is a good choice after my groups first session.

Given a 15 point build, my character so far is

Race: Half-Elf
Class: Bladebound Kensai Magus
Starting Level: 1
Abilities
Str 10
Dex 15 (17)
Con 13
Int 15
Wis 10
Cha 8

With Weapon Focus (Scimitar), Skill Focus, Weapon Finesse, Arcane Training, Canny Defense, and Magic Lineage (shocking grasp) as a trait.

The plan was to do a dancing dervish build, high on both Dex and Int. However, I'm starting to question this choice. For example, with only at 15 point build, I can't get both Dex and Int really high, so even with full Canny defense at level 3 I'd only have an AC of 16 (since Kensai's can't be proficient with armor). I guess I technically could be an Elf and punt Con as well to get +4 and +3 to Dex and Int in some arrangement, but it still seems to pale in comparison to being able to use armor towards AC.

Do people still think this can be a viable build at low levels with a moderate abilities purchase? I'm now questioning whether the combination of low AC (due to no armor) and downgrades to spellcasting (Less spells per level, no spell recall) is worth the added benefits of Kensai. (For reference, our group is made up of a Witch, and Oracle, and a tank-ish Druid, so we have more casters than good melee fighters, which was part of my rationale for choosing Kensai).

Furthermore, does Bladebound make sense? The decrease to arcane pool sucks, but I was mostly choosing it for the RPing side anyways. For example, a huge benefit to Magus seems to the Dancing Dervish build is to use a keen-enhanced scimitar to land massive Crits with spellstrike/spell combat Shocking grasp. Is it possible to apply those enhancement bonuses from your arcane pool you get at level 5 to a black blade?

Thanks in advance! Hopefully there aren't too many questions buried in here