Armor temperature protections have been changed from protect only from temps between -20 and 140F, rather than the previous wording that protected against all temps.
I'm really curious how that meshes with the temperature of space. In the real world, the background microwaves left over from the big bang give our empty space a temperature of approximately -455F. Perhaps the Starfinder universe has a bit cozier temperature than our own but going from a few degrees above absolute zero to -20F is a colossal jump. It seems to go against the game design idea that you can freely go into space in your armor if it doesn't protect you from the cold of the vacuum. Unless the temperature of space is between -20F and 140F which seems like it would bring on even more issues.
Quick question: with Brawler's Flurry, can I take Two-Weapon Feint? Do I count as having Two-Weapon Fighting?
Jason Bulmahn wrote:
A brawler can use the feats granted by brawler's flurry to qualify for other feats, but can only use those other feats when using brawler's flurry (as that's the only time she actually meets those prerequisites).
SO it seems to be working as expected by the dev's...
Thank you for these quotes. This is what I was looking for earlier in the thread when I mentioned that I had not heard of such a rule. For some reason I was unable to find that thread, but it succinctly answers the question that Brawler's Flurry does allow you to qualify for the TWF tree of feats but only during Flurry.
Druids can take ranks in fly even though they do not always fly. So can wizards.
"You cannot take ranks in this skill without a natural means of flight or gliding. Creatures can also take ranks in Fly if they possess a reliable means of flying every day (either through a spell or other special ability)." There is your RAW exception that specifically allows that to happen.
"Some feats have prerequisites. Your character must have the indicated ability score, class feature, feat, skill, base attack bonus, or other quality designated in order to select or use that feat. A character can gain a feat at the same level at which he gains the prerequisite.
A character can't use a feat if he loses a prerequisite, but he does not lose the feat itself. If, at a later time, he regains the lost prerequisite, he immediately regains full use of the feat that prerequisite enables."
Please point out a similar exception that allows you to take a feat without already having the prerequisites and have it turn on when an ability temporarily grants you the prerequisites you were missing.
There is rules precedent for this, having Feats you can only qualify for part of the time (such as Improved Natural Attack for one of the Sorcerer Bloodlines that gives Claws).
Is there a RAW example of this precedent? Would your example be permissible in a PFS scenario using a temporarily granted ability to qualify for a Bestiary feat? It still sounds like it would require some Rule 0 changes by your DM in order to qualify at which point I don't see the necessity to come ask on the forums.
Incorrect. Brawler's Flurry actually grants the Feats, unlike Flurry of Blows.
Perhaps I am mistaken, but it only grants the feat when using the ability correct? Meaning that outside of the full round action, he does not have access to the Two-Weapon Fighting feat. If that is the case, what is he using to fulfill the prerequisite for Two-Weapon Feint?
Let's assume that he does not have Two-Weapon Fighting and the improved version as feats he has taken due to level advancement/granted bonus feats. How do you propose he is able to take Two-Weapon Feint then if he does not possess the prerequisites? Is it possible to take a feat without qualifying for the prerequisites and then have it turn on during the Brawler's Flurry but remain off otherwise? If so, that is a rule I was not aware of.
Quick question: with Brawler's Flurry, can I take Two-Weapon Feint? Do I count as having Two-Weapon Fighting?
No. When you use that ability, the penalties for two-weapon fighting are reduced as though you had the feat. In order to take Two-Weapon Feint, you must actually have the feat itself.
Normally a bard can not use Inspire Competence on himself as stated in the ability's text. But, is it possible to use the 5th level spell Shadowbard in order to get around this stipulation? Basically, does the shadowbard consider it's caster as any other ally? I ask because I likely will soon have to try and bluff a dragon and need as much Perform: Acting as I can get.
Rick would be a 20th level McGuffin master (considering he made satan try to hang himself out of being frustrated by Rick's immediate foiling of his "needful things" scam)
And Morty as Criticalquit stated is level 1 commoner..just along for the ride.
And that's why cartoon character usually make rotten drop in characters for most game systems..especially funny cartoon characters. :)
Rick especially, as he's a gadgeteer. Other than guns, Pathfinder isn't very tech-heavy. You'd have better luck recreating him in Paranoia or Shadowrun.
Let's pretend that I'm going to wash over the whole part about him using technology as it's said "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." So from this standpoint, what spells have a similar effect to some of the gadgets that he is using (such as Plane Shift that I noted earlier)? I can work around the fluff issues, but I need some semblance of a spell list to start with. Usable items are certainly within the realm of possibility. I imagine the spell Fabricate will come up to help smooth out any kinks.
For example: The Mr. Meeseeks Box could be an item with a limited number of uses that creates a Simulacrum of some monster bound to help the person who used the box. I don't mind houseruling how some of the items/creatures act to fit better, but if there's a decent Pathfinder equivalent (in terms of effect, not literal equal) that would of course be preferable.
During my campaign, I'd like to arrange a scenario where the party gets captured and when all seems hopeless someone randomly plane shifts into their prison cell. In a chance encounter of mutual benefit, they will work their way out and find some item of importance in the dungeon.
This chance encounter will be with none other than the Pathfinder versions of Rick and Morty that we are building here. Initially, I'm thinking of going a level 13 Wizard for Rick so that he has access to Plane Shift. Outside of that, I'm open to any ideas that make the Pathfinder version similar to what is in the show.
As far as Morty, I'm a bit lost for where to place him in the Pathfinder universe. He seems like a bit of a Bard with him being far more sociable than Rick. Likely he should be many levels lower than Rick, but really this could go anywhere with justification.
Care to chip in a thought or two for how you would build these characters?
The 2d6 from Holy and Bane are untyped damage bonuses so they stack since they are from two different sources (ie you can't give a weapon Holy twice and expect 4d6 damage).
The Bane enhancement bonus against a specific type of enemy has no conflicting enhancement bonus with Holy so that should not be an issue either.
After further reading, I am also starting to lean towards a binary reading of the feat. Primarily because of the line of text "Whenever you are using bardic performance" as opposed to "Whenever you start a bardic performance" makes it look like the feat is checking whether or not you have a performance going but not activating for each performance separately.
Not sure. I suspect Virtuoso is intended to be different TYPES of performance, however the Discordant Voice kicks in when you "create a spell-like or supernatural effect" so in theory you could inspire courage and competence and get the bonus damage twice. The question is does it stack? Given that is it is 3 rounds of performance, a feat and a 4th or 5th level Bard Spell (in the case of Shadowbard) for an extra +1d6 or +2d6 damage I'd be inclined to go with it (it's probably only going to benefit one or two allies at best).
Dotting.
Yes. It is indeed quite an investment to pull off and only for about a minute each day at full potential. I just want to know precisely what the full potential is. Right now as a 10 Bard/1 Oracle of Lore (for the Sidestep Secret and Lore Keeper revelations), she can have Good Hope, Haste, Inspire Courage +2, Dirge of Doom, and Discordant Voice all active within 2 rounds (assuming Good Hope was already buffed precombat). The question really comes down to deciding if Discordant Voice gives the 1d6 sonic damage per performance or as an all-or-nothing feat. I, of course, like to read it as per performance since it states it stacks with other energy damage implying that it could stack with itself. Are there any other feats with similar wording?
Discordant Voice
By singing out a precise tone, you cause discordant vibrations to run through allies' weapons.
Prerequisites: Bardic performance class feature, Perform (oratory or sing) 10 ranks.
Benefit: Whenever you are using bardic performance to create a spell-like or supernatural effect, allies within 30 feet of you deal an extra 1d6 points of sonic damage with successful weapon attacks. This damage stacks with other energy damage a weapon might deal. Projectile weapons bestow this extra damage on their ammunition, but the extra damage is dealt only if the projectile hits a target within 30 feet of you.
Virtuoso Performance:
VIRTUOSO PERFORMANCE
School transmutation; Level bard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level
While this spell is active, you may start a second bardic performance while maintaining another. Starting the second performance costs 2 rounds of bardic performance instead of 1. Maintaining both performances costs a total of 3 rounds of bardic performance for each round they are maintained. When this spell ends, one of the performances ends immediately (your choice).
Virtuoso performance does not stack with any other method of maintaining simultaneous bardic performances.
Does Discordant Voice work in a binary fashion where you either do or do not have a performance enabled to gain its effect, or does it create separate instances that stack allowing a Bard to grant +2d6 sonic damage while maintaining 2 performances with Virtuoso Performance? If it is the latter, would a Shadowbard, being a shadowy duplicate of yourself, enable you to bump it up to +3d6?
A scroll of the Sorcerer version of Spider Climb and a good UMD score perhaps? The Wizard or Druid version can be used, but they would require an additional UMD check to emulate the INT or WIS score of those casters.
Being a Bard definitely limits your spell choices for replacing the Thuums. You will likely have to rely on potions and scrolls for some of the effects.
Examples:
Frost Breath - Potion of Dragon's Breath (Alchemist CL 10) for 1000g
Aura Whisper - Closest I could find for a Detect Living spell would be Bard Level 3 Seek Thoughts
Drain Vitality - Scroll of Vampiric Touch (Sorcerer CL 6) for 450g
Ice Form - Scroll of Frigid Touch (Sorcerer CL 4) for 200g
Dragon Aspect - Scroll of Form of the Dragon I (Sorcerer CL 12) for 1800g
First thing I can think of would be a Circlet of Persuasion giving +3 competence bonus to CHA-based skill checks which UMD would fall under. In terms of directly contributing to the UMD bonus by name, I'm not aware of anything that accomplishes this.
However, I would actually, in the context of the build, advise against being more focused on wisdom than dexterity. Partially to get more steam out of combat reflexes. Partially so that the prerequisites of Manyshot can be met without Combat styles. Partially to increase your CMD so enemies struggle to get around you even more.
This is one of the major reasons my build goes for 3 levels of Zen Archer (other than Point-Blank Master as a bonus feat without needing Weapon Specialization). Right now, considering the bonus feats I have planned, I only need a Dex of 13 to begin with for Dodge, 15 by Improved Snap Shot at 11, and 17 if I decide to go for Greater Snap Shot which I may choose to forego. Since I plan on wearing a suit of Full Plate (likely Adamantine instead of Mithril for the DR/- instead of an increased max dex AC), I won't benefit from the additional Dex to armor but will apply the check penalty to CMD vs tumbling and bluffs to move. The loss of additional Combat Reflex attacks (current build would have me at 3 or 4 per turn depending on any Dex boosting items/spells) could be an issue, but the lockdown aspect is secondary to the damage potential (also Halting Blow wouldn't be available till 13 for this build). My build allows me nearly all of the archery-based damage feats, 10 BAB out of a possible 11, pretty good saves across the board (9/9/6 base), and 6 levels of Ranger skill points which is something a Fighter/SD would severely lack.
The idea is to be a damage dealer first at range, and, when things start to get hot and heated in close, switch to Defensive Stance and punish anyone coming through my squares.
I've been interested in making a ranged Stalwart Defender character for quite some time. One of the biggest hurdles is the inherent lack of threatened squares with a ranged weapon (important for holding down your territory in Defensive Stance) and the number of feats required to make Archery respectable in damage (which clashes with the 3 feats required for Stalwart Defender). If I have gone over things correctly, I believe this character setup should take care of those concerns and allow for a heavily armored, long-ranged, but slow moving PC equivalent of artillery.
The build at level 11 consists of 3 levels of Zen Archer (to reach into Point-Blank Master and using WIS instead of DEX for attack rolls), 6 levels of Ranger (for the abundance of Archery feats and Favored bonuses never hurt), and 2 levels of Stalwart Defender (to move our way to the Bulwark/Halting Blow defensive powers to stop people with AOOs).
Let me know if this feat tree works as I expect it:
Snap Shot and Improved Snap shot should increase my threatened area to 15 feet around me allowing me to block off a considerable amount of the battlefield especially when in my Defensive Stance. Combat Reflexes gives me the opportunity to Rapid Shot and Manyshot make up for not being able to use the Zen Archer's Flurry of Bows while in heavy armor. Point-Blank Master and Precise Shot should allow me to let the front line enemies come up to me in melee without it being an issue.
Where do I go from here to continue the concept? My first choices for my next feats will likely be from Clustered Shots and Greater Snap Shot, but I'm not sure where else to go for a low-mobility high-armor archer. Ideally the bow will be an Adaptive Composite Longbow to take advantage of the Strength boosting while in Defensive Stance.
I would primarily like to keep it within the bounds of the rules as much as possible. I'm willing to smudge some things or setup purposeful spells to keep escape options limited (such as enclosed spaces to counter flying or permanent dimensional anchor to stop teleportation). The simplest setup I can think of is a) having it happen before the PCs have access to escape spells such as fly and the various teleports, b) the BBEG has minions of some sort (golems seem the easiest in terms of mindlessly controlled destruction), c) the BBEGs dying breath has a command word that activates the minions and they begin knocking out actual load-bearing structures such as pillar in the final encounter room.
I like the creative ideas you have put forth so far. Very interesting takes on the self-destruct trope, and I enjoy a story-driven workaround as opposed to a blatant "wizard did it" when possible.
If you have played 8 and 16 bit RPGs, you may be familiar with this type of boss. A "Load-Bearing" Boss is usually at the top of some structure (typically a tower) and when defeated that structure begins to crumble and collapse. Is there a Pathfinder way to recreate this scenario where upon defeat of the BBEG the surrounding structure/pocket dimension/area begins a slow but inevitable collapse that the PCs must escape or be crushed/trapped?
With sonic thrust you can hurl a bunch of weapons.
1. Can arcane strike can imbue them all
2.Does good hope apply
3.Does inspire/luck
1. Arcane Strike:
You draw upon your arcane power to enhance your weapons with magical energy.
Prerequisite: Ability to cast arcane spells.
Benefit: As a swift action, you can imbue your weapons with a fraction of your power. For 1 round, your weapons deal +1 damage and are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. For every five caster levels you possess, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.
This is an untyped bonus that lasts for a round so it should apply to all of the attacks made for that round.
2. Good Hope:
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Targets one living creature/level, no two of which may be more than 30 ft. apart
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
This spell instills powerful hope in the subjects. Each affected creature gains a +2 morale bonus on saving throws, attack rolls, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls.
Good hope counters and dispels crushing despair.
This gives a morale bonus, so it stacks with any other non-morale bonuses to attacks and damage (such as Arcane Strike).
3a. Inspire Courage:
A 1st-level bard can use his performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard's performance. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 5th level, and every six bard levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +4 at 17th level. Inspire courage is a mind-affecting ability. Inspire courage can use audible or visual components. The bard must choose which component to use when starting his performance.
This gives a competence bonus, so it stacks with any other non-competence bonuses to attacks and damage (such as Arcane Strike or Good Hope).
3b. Archaeologist's Luck:
Fortune favors the archaeologist. As a swift action, an archaeologist can call on fortune's favor, giving him a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls. He can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Charisma modifier. Maintaining this bonus is a free action, but it ends immediately if the archaeologist is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. Archaeologist's luck is treated as bardic performance for the purposes of feats, abilities, effects, and the like that affect bardic performance. Like bardic performance, it cannot be maintained at the same time as other performance abilities. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level, +3 at 11th level, and +4 at 17th level.
This gives a luck bonus, so it stacks with any other non-luck bonuses to attacks and damage (such as Arcane Strike, Good Hope, or Inspire Courage). It should be noted that this requires a swift action to activate, so it would have to be active from the previous round in order to use Arcane Strike as well.
As a Bard, you could potentially use your move action to start Inspire Courage, swift action to activate Arcane Strike, and then a standard action to cast Sonic Thrust all in one round. It looks to me like all of them stack since they each give a different typed (or untyped in Arcane Strike's case) bonus to your attack and damage rolls. In fact, if you were an Archaeologist with another Bard buddy using Inspire Courage, all 4 bonuses would be applicable to the attacks made by Sonic Thrust.
Excellent ideas all around and I will have to look into some of the references you guys gave. I am starting to warm up to the 1 point in Linguistics method again, but I believe I will restrict when they can do that to when a story opportunity opens giving them ample time to study in a place appropriate for learning a language.
Prior to that point, I think I will make an early quest reward where the party goes to a swamp witch (actually Wizard since it needs Comprehend Language for the treasure, but colloquially known as such) who wears an amulet with a fish inside it that can act as a universal translator. I'll say it is a rare version of a blind mimic fish that can speak and repeat any language it has heard. The party will have the option of either fighting the swamp witch for hers or try to convince her to help them make one. Since they won't have the Craft Wonderous Item feat until 3rd level, the witch will send them on a quest to retrieve the correct fish, fight some monster that took something of hers (as a payment, which the party can choose to keep if they forego the mission), and then take a few days to create a copy of the amulet that the party can then use for communication by making the fish permanently have Comprehend Languages to complement its natural Tongues-like ability.
This should give me some time to see if they enjoy pantomiming their ideas and being resourceful in town to get what they want. The more creative they get the more rewarding I am willing to be, but if they find it tedious as some have suggested, I'll hook a plot line to get them to visit the witch and quest for the universal translator item.
I'm enjoying a lot of these ideas. There will be multiple facets that should help give a feeling of isolation. The language will be one of them at first as they spend the first few levels picking up pieces of it before becoming passingly fluent. The prophecy that they are a part of is an ancient one in this world that has vastly different interpretations (as all good prophecies should) which will lead to drastically different reactions from the populace to their presence. The fact that they will be mythic as time goes on will also lead them to be treated differently than the normal folk.
I am building this campaign entirely from scratch and don't have PCs chosen by my players yet since I am still in the building process. I want the beginning to be a Lost World theme until they can acclimate themselves and begin to uncover their destiny and those that are manipulating their path.
At the moment, since they will be entering this world at level 1 and wouldn't have the opportunity to take a Linguistics rank towards this new language, I believe a first rank would allow them some basic reading. Such as the names of buildings (Inn, Weapons, Armor, Guardhouse, etc.). A 2nd rank will allow them to speak a broken version of the language to communicate basic ideas (sleep, buy/sell, help) without having to pantomime the idea or guess at words. A 3rd rank will allow them to speak passingly. Any ranks beyond that allow for reading texts in libraries, communicating complex ideas, understanding sarcasm and plays on words, and things of that nature. Of course, Comprehend Languages and Tongues can help in this matter if they don't want to invest skill ranks.
Houserule where it takes 3 or 4 ranks of linguistics and a certain amount of time/exposure to become fluent in a new language?
EDIT: Or that the one rank rule is for languages when you can find a fluent teacher, and require the players to make deciphering checks and a certain number of ranks before they can learn the one that no one can teach them?
Also, there are such spells as comprehend languages and tongues to consider.
I am leaning towards this interpretation for learning the language. I'm perfectly fine if they want to use their spell slots for Comprehend Languages as it only lasts for 10 minutes per level but doesn't allow them to speak it. Maybe they could get a bonus when they talk while under it since its a bit more effective using pure body language when you can understand the subjects reactions.
Later on down the road they may come across a fluent teacher that has knowledge of their tongue or something relatable. Like a human Rosetta Stone quest that was mentioned earlier. The party figuring out how to actually get to that person could be an interesting plot device.
EDIT: And in regard to Tongues, it requires at least a level 4 Bard, 5 Wizard, or 6 Sorcerer by which time they should be able to speak in a passing manner.
Linguistics skill, until they can gain a level and put a rank into it.
I'll be explicit here. I do not want them to simply hit level 2 and become fluent in a language that has no root in anything they know or could potentially know from the previous world. What I would like are ideas on how to roleplay such a scenario.
I figure there will be a lot of Sense Motive and Perception checks to try and discern the NPCs attitudes. Maybe the PCs will try and find someone that isn't hostile to teach them basics through pointing and saying words the way you would with a child. I plan to have the BBEG talk to them through dreams in the common tongue they know so that at least something familiar exists even if it is only when they sleep. Possibly a library where they can use their Linguistics checks to learn from picture books.
I only want this to last for the first couple of levels to give them a sense of struggle and something to overcome. Eventually magic will be able to give them fluency beyond what they can obtain through more creative means. I'm looking for plot ideas that could be employed to help this or creative uses of skills to convey information without knowledge of the language.
I am building a campaign from scratch centered around the party of PCs being transported through unknown means to another world/plane/dimension/time where they are seen as the fulfilling of a mythic prophecy. I want to create a real sense of isolation at the beginning of the campaign to contrast the familiar, comfortable world they come from with one where they are truly foreign entities.
To accomplish this, I want to have the NPCs in the new world speak a language that is unrelated to anything from their homeworld. I'd like to have the PCs gradually learn parts of the language as they progress in order to better communicate with the locals and have a plot device to send them around places that might help them learn. My question is this: how would you roleplay the interactions before they understand the language and how would you allow a PC to begin to translate and understand words prior to the aid of magic spells?
But again, if one is looking for a hard and fast general rule of thumb, I say it has to be taken into account that your foe isn't a single wall of limitless hit points - much more often its a group of numerous foes all with a very limited supply... and every time you kill a foe, unless you hit the number exactly right, you lose whatever benefit the bonus damage provided.
Agreed. An encounter doesn't end by having the highest average DPR. It ends when your enemies are dead. The way I see it, stacking damage can potentially lower the number of rounds required to end an encounter but it increases the variance. Where as adding hit lowers variance but may not be able to end an encounter as quickly.
What I'm saying is that stacking damage could lead to an encounter lasting 3-8 rounds whereas stacking hit would make it more likely 5-6 rounds. On average, they can be close to equivalent, but +hit will give you more consistent results while +damage gives more dramatically swingy results both positive and negative.
The correct answer for whether or not this equivalency holds is: it depends. Each modifier works a different side of the combat equation and therefore different circumstances lend themselves to favoring one or the other.
Basically, +hit increases your damage by multiplying your current average damage per hit by the increased hit chance the modifier provides. This increased damage depends not only on your modifiers to hit (str, BAB, +hit, power attack, etc.) but also on the monsters ability to avoid it (their AC). The increase from adding +hit (or decrease if something is making you less accurate) is equal to your average damage per hit multiplied by a factor of (current%+hit%)/(current%)-1 where current% is the current chance to connect a hit and hit% is the increase provided by the +hit modifier.
Example: against such and such monster, a roll of 12 or higher will connect and do on average 8 damage. This makes your current%=60%. If you are adding +1 to hit your +hit%=5%. Therefore, the damage increase from the +1 to hit is [(60+5)/60 - 1]*8 = 0.67 average damage per hit.
On the other hand, +damage modifiers increase your average damage per hit linearly since your hit% is unaffected. Your increase would be calculated with the equation (CurrentDamage+damage)*current%-CurrentDamage*current%.
Example: against the same monster, your roll of 12 or higher will hit normally for 8 damage. With the +2 damage modifier, your increase will then be (8+2)*60% - 8*60% = 1.2 average damage per hit.
In this scenario, increased damage modifiers outscale hit since our current% is high enough to make the +damage have enough effect. Now imagine the same scenario, but this time you are facing something considerably tankier that you can only hit by rolling a 5 or higher. Your current% is now only 25% which leads to the following increases:
+hit [(25+5)/25 - 1]*8 = 1.6 average damage increase per hit.
+damage (8+2)*25% - 8*25%= 0.5 average damage increase per hit.
Ok final scenario, this time our base average damage will be increased but the rest remains the same. Against the first monster with a base average damage of 25 instead of 8 we get the following increases:
+hit [(60+5)/60 - 1]*25 = 2.08 average damage increase per hit.
+damage (25+2)*60% - 25*60%= 1.2 average damage increase per hit.
Against the second monster with our increased base damage we get the following increases:
+hit [(25+5)/25 - 1]*25 = 5 average damage increase per hit.
+damage (25+2)*25% - 25*25%= 0.5 average damage increase per hit.
So what can we take from these results? As a general rule, I don't think you can say that +1 hit ~= +2 damage. I would say that it depends on which is scaling up faster for your character between your current hit percentage against your average enemy versus your current damage output. If your (current% + hit%)/current% - 1 > (currentDamage + damage)/currentDamage - current% then the +hit will give your more average damage. If the inequality is the other way around, +damage will win out.
As per Dimensional Anchor it would last 1 min/level for that target, even if it leaves the Worm's mouth. It has essentially been targeted with a quickened Dimensional Anchor spell.
Ok. So if the worm makes its Will save, it can choose to either a) cause a quickened Dimensional Anchor effect cutting off transportation for 16 minutes from that target or b) it allows the effect and transports with it but the target would be able to transport again next round barring another save?
I've never dealt with point buy, but we were told to use the pathfinder one on this website in order to help figure it out.
http://tools.digitalightbulb.com/pbcalc.html
The extra feat is conditional on it being in order of being taken at the very first level.
Yeah, that's the standard point buy system. 32 is pretty darn strong considering 25 is usually considered "epic" in terms of strength. Given that, I would go with this:
Str 16 (10)
Dex 15 (7)
Con 16 (10)
Int 12 (2)
Wis 14 (5)
Cha 8 (-2)
You have 2 points to put in a stat for being a Human and 2 individual points from reaching level 4 and 8. I would suggest 1 in Dex to bump up your armor class another notch and the rest being dumped into Str (you are a Fighter after all).
For items:
+1 Mithral Breastplate 5,200g
+1 Heavy Shield of Bashing 4,020g
+2 Cloak of Resistance 4,000g
Belt of Giant's Strength +2 4,000g
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 2,000g
Ring of Protection +1 2,000g
Boots of Striding and Springing 5,500g
That leaves you with 6,280g for whatever else you might want (potions, CLW wands, etc.). Hope that helps get you started. :)
For feats this is the skeleton I would go with to concentrate on shield bashing and bull rushing:
H Power Attack
1 Improved Shield Bash
F1 Weapon Focus (Shield Bash)
B1
F2 Improved Bull Rush
3
F4 Weapon Specialization (Shield Bash)
5
F6 Shield Slam
7 Greater Bull Rush
F8
If your bonus feat at level 1 can be anything you're eligible for, that leaves you with 4 more feats to select. The Step Up line can be nice, Combat Reflexes can be good getting free bull rushes with each AoO, Disruptive can be put in the 8th level feat to make caster have a bad day, Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack is always an option, Improved Inititive/Iron Will are classic standbys, Furious Focus to make that Power Attack even better, and some other defensive oriented choices if that's what you're looking to focus on.
When you say you have 32 points, do you mean in the normal equivalent where a 10 score = 0 points and an 18 score = 17 points? Is this extra feat a part of the campaign that can be used on any level 1 eligible feat?
It doesn't seem like this mythic hero ability has been discussed on this site from the searches I've done, so I will just have to bring this question to bear.
Here are the relevant parts of the scenario: A mythic Purple Worm with the Dimensional Grappler ability (details in spoiler below) has a Hamatula currently grappled in its mouth. When the Hamatula's turn comes up, it attempts to use its Greater Teleport ability to escape. With a caster level of 12, spell level of 7, and INT modifier of +1, would the DC of the worm's Will save be 18 (10 + spell level + modifier)? If the worm succeeds at this save to identify the spell/intended location and chooses to prevent it, how long does the Dimensional Anchor effect last? If it is a persistent effect, would it last for 16 minutes (# of worm hit dice * 1 min/level) and does it only prevent the currently grappled enemy from teleporting away or any enemy grappled in its mouth for the duration?
Dimensional Grappler:
Dimensional Grappler (Su): When you have an opponent grappled or pinned and it attempts to use a teleportation effect, you can attempt a Will save against the effect, even if it would not normally allow a save. If you succeed, you learn the type of teleportation effect (such as dimension door) and the creature's intended destination, and then may prevent the effect (as if using a quickened dimensional anchor, using your character level as your caster level) or accompany the opponent as if you were part of its gear with negligible weight.
Very good. That should help compensate a bit for my monster's awful touch AC. It's a shame it has an intelligence score of 1 so it will not discriminate between what attacks it tries to block. We will just have to see if the PCs will notice.
Here's the scenario: I have a monster with the Block Attacks defensive ability from Mythic Adventures, and it is being targeted by a wizard's Scorching Ray attack. Since the Scorching Ray spell requires a ranged touch attack, is this eligible to be blocked by the monster's once per round Block Attacks ability?
Good. I want this thing to be terrifying to fight. Fortunately this outcome is limited to once per round since it requires an immediate action, but being able to turn aside an attack onto an enemy and then hit essentially 2 enemies for free will be a huge swing in action economy for my World Eater.
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I'm looking to build a particularly nasty Mythic Purple Worm. Reading over the mythic path abilities I can pull from, I noticed an interesting interaction that I wanted to make sure was correct between Meat Shield and Uncanny Grapple.
Meat Shield: "You can use a creature you're grappling to protect you from harm. If you're grappling a creature and are attacked with a melee or ranged attack, as an immediate action you can attempt a grapple combat maneuver check against your grappled opponent. If you succeed, the incoming attack targets your grappled opponent instead of you. If you fail, the grappled opponent breaks free from the grapple and the incoming attack targets you as normal."
Uncanny Grapple: "Upon making a successful grapple combat maneuver check against a creature you are grappling, you can perform one of the following actions: throw, crush, or swing. For a throw, you can throw the target of your grapple up to 10 feet per tier; if the creature strikes a solid object before reaching this distance, it takes 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of the remaining throwing distance and lands prone. For a crush, you deal 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per tier. For a swing, you can use the target as a weapon against another creature, treating the grappled creature as a two-handed weapon. If you succeed at a melee attack against an opponent adjacent to the target, both that opponent and the grappled creature take 1d8 points of bludgeoning damage from this attack + 1-1/2 × your Strength modifier."
When my purple worm has already bitten someone, successfully grappled them, and is now the target of a melee/ranged attack, it can make a grapple check to shield itself with its victim if successful. Can it then also use it as a weapon through the Uncanny Grapple ability to whack whatever is in the worm's range due to this confirmed grapple check while already grappled?
Yeah, those are good and over the time she will get them. But I'm looking for class-specific things like the Bracers of the Avenging Knight or the Ring of Arcane Mastery that have a unique feeling.
I'm not aware of many class-specific Bard items that center around combat. Most are instruments that produce effects when used in a performance such as the Harp of Charming/Contagion/Shattering, Horn of Valhalla, Lyre of Building, Pipes of Dissolution/Haunting/Pain/Sewers/Sounding, Doomharp, Drums of Advance and Retreat/Haste/Panic, and the Goblin Fire Drum. Maybe you could create a ring or amulet that lets him use the spell Virtuoso Performance or Allegro once per day. Take a look at the Bard spell lists and maybe you will recieve some inspiration for an item.
Don't forget that there are a whopping 15 slots you can have equipment in:
Armor
Belts
Body
Chest
Eyes
Feet
Hands
Head
Headband
Neck
Ring (up to two)
Shield
Shoulders
Wrist
You've already got Shield, Armor, and Belt taken care of, but there are many more possibilities to fill out the character. My Bard is looking forward to a Circlet of Persuasion and Glove of Storing as her next big item purchases to complement her skill checks and let her use a Wand of Enlarge Person on our frontliners without needing 2 rounds to do it. I'm not sure if these would be as useful to a Savage Skald since my bard prefers to be well back from the swordplay.
A PC normally has its own level as its CR, so by that math the hill giant would count as level 9 for the APL calculation. The hill giant's mythic rank is already factored into its CR.
That said, CR is not a great indicator of party utility, and there aren't any rules for including NPCs in APL calculations as far as I know, so anything at this point is winging it.
Yeah I was having trouble finding a corollary in the rules. If the CR is already factored in, then maybe I'll have a pair of Mythic Hill Giants join them and have some exiled brothers story thrown in. I guess I'll just go with their experience level if they themselves were an encounter and treat them as 1 PC for the APL.
2 CR 9 creatures would be 6,400 XP each which combines to the equivalent of a CR 11 monster. Adding that to the current APL would keep it approximately the same, so I'm just going to wing it like you suggest and say they're around 15-16 APL. The PCs are still the majority of the contribution, but it will help having extra bodies in case 1 PC gets incapacitated which could easily wreck an encounter.
Since two of our regular players will be leaving for the holidays, instead of continuing our current campaign we have postponed it in favor of a one-shot scenario that I am designing. We have yet to play with the Mythic rules, so this seemed a fun way to try out the new features.
My issue is this: we will only have 3 PC characters (Level 13 with 6 Mythic tiers) and I wanted to add a Mythic Hill Giant companion for story purposes and to make fights a bit more exciting. The Mythic Hill Giant is a CR9/MR3 monster, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to factor it into the group's APL so that I can properly ballpark their encounters.
My current calculations for the group would have them at an APL of 15 ([39 for levels + 9 for mythic tiers]/3 - 1 for only 3 players). When adding this Mythic Hill Giant companion, how much should I adjust the APL to compensate?
If I have a Goblin Sorcerer (Draconic bloodline let's say) who has the spell Fire Trail (Goblin specific spell from the Advanced Race Guide) and Fly active at the same time, does he essentially turn into a napalm generator dropping fire on top of my enemies?
Fire Trail reads: "When you cast this spell, flammable liquid oozes from your pores, dripping onto the ground and spontaneously combusting. The flame does not harm you. During this spell's duration, each time you leave your space, you create a trail of fire that burns within the spaces you move through for 1 round before it burns out."
My interpretation of this is that the flammable liquid ooze drips off of you and falls to the ground where it ignites. If I am above an enemy, it should cause them to start their round inside of the fire and thus take the increased damage as compared to starting next to it if I ran by them on the ground. Does this seem to be the correct way to read this interaction?
My Bard will soon be hitting level 7 (6 in Bard with 1 in Oracle). Since I took the Lore Mystery for my Oracle splash, I have access to the revelation Lore Keeper (use CHA modifier in place of INT modifier for Knowledge skill checks). This revelation combined with my Bardic Knowledge bonus, Circlet of Persuasion bonus, and Headband of Alluring Charisma +2 give me a base of +15 to a Knowledge check in which I have only a single rank invested (+5 CHA, +1 rank, +3 class skill bonus, +3 Circlet of Persuasion bonus, +3 Bardic Knowledge bonus).
When coupled with the Bard class ability Lore Master, I can Take 10 resulting in at least 25 for any Knowledge skill in which I have a rank invested. My question is this: under what circumstances would I need to make a check of greater than 25 DC requiring a roll?
Yes, If your playing Pathfinder Society, it's legal too.
Found in the Paizo Book Adventurer's Armory. Note that these are different from the ones in the Ultimate Campaign book. These are the ones you want.
Adventurer's Armory Page 9, Bottom Left Corner:
Wrist Sheath, Spring Loaded:
This item works like a standard wrist sheath, but releasing an item from it is a swift action. Preparing the sheath for this use requires cranking the sheath's tiny gears and springs into place.
Cost: 5 gold
I have 2 on my Magus with wand arcana. Wand of shield and wand of infernal healing, Ho!
Well to be honest, it's not a free action, but a swift action instead. Sorry I missed the mark about your request.
I usually don't like threads where a person asks for x and people tell him to "stop wanting x, do abc instead!" So I hope I didn't do that to you too bad.
Still, it's a swift action, you can pack 2(one per wrist), and it's 9995 gold cheaper than gloves of storing. Available to a lvl 1 PC. Cheers!
I will have to see if my GM has that book. Those would certainly be quite useful since my Bard doesn't use swift actions very frequently (with the exception of Arcane Strike when I want to rough something up). Might be that he's getting an early Christmas gift if he doesn't have it already.
Is there any combination of feats or items that allows the drawing of a wand as a free action? Quickdraw explicitly excludes them from the benefits of the feat. Say I have a Wand of Enlarge Person (which takes a full round to cast), is there any way that I can have this wand accessible but not drawn to begin a turn yet be able to use it for that turn?
Is there any combination of feats or items that allows the drawing of a wand as a free action? Quickdraw explicitly excludes them from the benefits of the feat. Say I have a Wand of Enlarge Person (which takes a full round to cast), is there any way that I can have this wand accessible but not drawn to begin a turn yet be able to use it for that turn?
One of our local GMs, who happens to be our Venture Captain as well, is now saying that even when our weapon wielding party members are walking through dungeons, with our weapons in hand, we still have to use a move action to "Ready" them before attacking. His logic is that its this way because otherwise the Quickdraw feat is useless. I tried to tell him about the standard charge rules during surprise rounds, but he won't hear it. He says he'll do it this way until someone shows him an official ruling here on the forums, even though its completely counter-intuitive.
All this seems to be, is a way to sap actions from the party so he has a better chance of killing us. My 25+ years of D&D and RPG experience means nothing to him, and even real world examples are falling on deaf ears. All he says beyond that is to take it up with the Venture Captain (Him).
So I need an "Official" Pathfinder Society ruling to get back the move actions for everyone who plays at his and his lieutenants' tables.
I can't speak for PFS specifically, but I am confused by what exactly you are looking for. You want a ruling that specifically contradicts the thing he made up about having to "ready" an already drawn weapon? Does he concede that the weapon is already drawn by the player character?
Quote:
Draw or Sheathe a Weapon
Drawing a weapon so that you can use it in combat, or putting it away so that you have a free hand, requires a move action. This action also applies to weapon-like objects carried in easy reach, such as wands. If your weapon or weapon-like object is stored in a pack or otherwise out of easy reach, treat this action as retrieving a stored item.
If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you may draw a weapon as a free action combined with a regular move. If you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you can draw two light or one-handed weapons in the time it would normally take you to draw one.
Drawing ammunition for use with a ranged weapon (such as arrows, bolts, sling bullets, or shuriken) is a free action.
Drawing a weapon (and the opposite sheathing of a weapon) implies that you are going from free hand to weapon drawn or vice versa. If you already have a weapon drawn, it makes no sense to have to draw it again.
Quote:
Quick Draw (Combat)
You can draw weapons faster than most.
Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: You can draw a weapon as a free action instead of as a move action. You can draw a hidden weapon (see the Sleight of Hand skill) as a move action.
A character who has selected this feat may throw weapons at his full normal rate of attacks (much like a character with a bow).
Alchemical items, potions, scrolls, and wands cannot be drawn quickly using this feat.
Normal: Without this feat, you may draw a weapon as a move action, or (if your base attack bonus is +1 or higher) as a free action as part of movement. Without this feat, you can draw a hidden weapon as a standard action.
The benefit of this feat clearly states that you can draw a weapon (implying you started the round with a free hand) as a free action instead of the normal move action.
"A bard can't inspire competence in himself." Sorry about that.
Blast! Failure to read to the end of a paragraph foils me again.
LazarX wrote:
DesolateHarmony wrote:
If your GM allows you to have access to that scroll made by a sorcerer, you should buy it.
Some settings, like PFS play, limit the source of items. In PFS, you have to buy the wizard, cleric or druid version, unless the spells are not on their lists.
On the other hand, it's hard to justify the creation of a sorcerer NPC who's made the effort to learn scroll writing for the following reasons.
1. Sorcerers don't have to pick thier spells, they can cast whatever they know as long as they have slots.
2. Sorcerers can not make scrolls of spells they do not know. This requirement can not be bypassed as per the magic item creation rules which specifically call scrolls out on this.
My GM is a bit more relaxed in that sense. There are a lot of traveling merchants going in and out of this town (which we are in for the next month). It could be feasible that a Sorcerer in a nearby city sold a scroll to one of them which found its way to me.
UMD DC = 20 + caster level, so that's DC 25 and 26 for wizard and sorcerer respectively. (Scrolls are hard!)
However, I don't believe it matters which class made the scroll - I believe you can use Int or Cha, regardless of the creator. Use Magic Device only references ("the appropriate ability"), and the description of scroll use in general says "The user must have the requisite ability score." Scrolls are otherwise only arcane or divine. Check with your GM on that.
You are correct about the UMD DC using caster level. I'll just have to burn some performance rounds and Inspire some Competence to help with that check (pretty sure I could use it on myself). When "the appropriate ability" is being referenced, it very much does depend on who made the scroll. Quote: [Emulate an Ability Score: To cast a spell from a scroll, you need a high score in the appropriate ability (Intelligence for wizard spells, Wisdom for divine spells, or Charisma for sorcerer or bard spells).]
