OutsiderSubtype's page

So it looks to me like Holy Guide and Holy Tactician can go together.

It looks to me like you can Battlefield Presence teamwork feats you get through Holy Guide (they are bonus feats after all).

You can also use the Holy Guide ability and the Holy Tactician ability to give out multiple teamwork feats at the same time.

Maybe something like:

Paladin (Holy Guide & Holy Tactician)

1 Fey Foundling, Power Attack
3 Combat Reflexes, Outflank (HT Bonus)
5 Furious Focus, Broken Wing Gambit (HG Bonus)
7 Weapon Focus (or Extra LOH or something?) Paired Opportunists (HT Bonus)
9 Improved Critical
10 Shake it Off (HG Bonus)
11 Critical Focus (or maybe Strike Back), Escape Route (HT Bonus)

You could also do a ranged version with Target of Opportunity.

Studied Target seems okay since you can use it more often than Judgments and it seems like most of the time Inquisitors are just using Justice anyway.

But how do you leverage your sneak attack?

Would you focus on flanking and your flanky teamwork feats?

Improved Feint, perhaps with one of the Inquisitions that let you bluff with Wisdom?

Would you go the Dazzling Display/Shatter Defenses route? I don't think you can get Shatter Defenses until 8 or 9 unless you multiclass, but if you multiclass you delay getting sneak attack to use with Shatter Defenses.

Feral Child should be unbanned.

The main reason for their ban seems to be that they start as illiterate. This rubs me the wrong way, because they can learn to read and write (and thus make PFS reports) by spending one measly skill point.

True Primitive barbarians, which are illiterate and can never become literate, are PFS legal. This seems incredibly unfair to the Druid archetype.

If necessary, there could be a provision that PFS Feral Child characters must spend one of their starting skill points on Linguistics to overcome their illiteracy.

Benefits of doing this:

1. Consistency with other rules. There are other allowed archetypes that come with illiteracy - indeed, illiteracy that is less easily overcome (True Primitive). There are other allowed archetypes that come from primitive or wilderness backgrounds, or backgrounds that might have trouble fitting in with civilized society (many Barbarian, Druid, and Ranger archetypes). An alternative might be banning those archetypes, but it is better to resolve an inconsistency by giving players more options rather than fewer.

2. We all know Rogues are a little weak. Pathfinder developers have acknowledged as much. Feral Child gives an option to have a Druid character with some rogue-like abilities.

3. Giving players more options in general.

4. Being raised by wolves is a classic trope of heroic legend and fantasy.

Possible drawbacks:

1. There is no precedent for a rule mandating how players must spend one of their skill points. However, in this context, such a rule would actually be giving players more options by opening up a banned archetype. Further, such a rule might not even be necessary since True Primitive barbarians are legal despite their illiteracy.

Please note that nothing in the Feral Child archetype indicates that the character is a child now or changes their starting age. The archetype has to do with the character being raised in the wild, not with their current age. Thus, there is no need to discuss PFS age rules or similar in this thread.

Can anyone recommend a good general Pathfinder combat tactics guide?

I've seen The Forge of Combat from the Guide to the Guides. It's very helpful but I'd also like to see other perspectives.

Which of these statements about paladin builds do you agree with, and why? Assume that we're talking about PFS, not home games. There's a lot of conflicting advice on this board and I'm trying to spark a little healthy discussion and debate.

1. Paladins should use two-handed weapons. If they don't, they won't do enough damage to draw attacks from monsters. Paladins can always heal themselves so their AC doesn't need to be great.

2. Paladins should strive to max AC, using shields and maybe even Combat Expertise. If they don't, they aren't really a tank. They will get overwhelmed by monsters with multiple attacks if their AC is too low. Paladins can't beat fighters and barbarians at the two-handed damage game, so they should focus on being rock-solid defenders instead.

3. Paladins should build for two-weapon fighting, maximizing the extra damage from smite evil.

4. The archer Paladin is the strongest way to go, smiting evil at range. You will absolutely melt evil monsters.

5. Archer paladins are nonsense. You will never be a better archer than a Ranger or Zen Archer monk, so get in the front line where you can use Lay on Hands to best effect.

6. Mount is the way to go for mobility, height advantage, and more. You can get your mount in the dungeon if you put your mind to it.

7. You will never get your mount in the dungeon, or at least not enough for it to be worthwhile. Take Weapon Bond instead.

8. Besides Perception, the only skill a Paladin really needs is a social skill - Intimidate or Diplomacy.

9. Besides Perception, Paladins need Climb and Swim.

10. Besides Perception, Paladins need the Knowledge skills that help identify evil monsters, like Knowledge (Religion) and Knowledge (Planes).

11. Paladins need a broad skill array.

Why is the Feral Child druid archetype not legal in PFS? It does not seem overpowered or anything like that.

If it is the illiteracy/not fitting in well in cities thing, then why is the True Primitive barbarian archetype legal?

Please critique this build. Focus on levels 1 through 11 since all casters get a little nuts after that and don't need that much optimization.

Human
Druid (Menhir Savant)

Wis>Dex>Con>Int>Cha>Str

Traits: Magical Lineage, Some Initiative Booster

For Magical Lineage, I would ask the DM how quickly we will be gaining levels. I would choose Chill Metal if leveling slowly, Flaming Sphere if leveling at moderate rate, and Ball Lightning if leveling quickly.

Feats:

1: Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning
3: Rime Spell
5: Natural Spell
7: Dazing Spell

Commentary:

This isn't really about blasting as much as adding control effects to damage spells. Tactics involve adding Rime and Dazing effects to spells like Produce Flame, Chill Metal, Flaming Sphere, Call Lightning, etc.

Why not be a Wiz?

Versatility, flavor, better HD, and Menhir Savant is easy way to get CL buff. I would consider it if I could find an appropriately nature-themed wizard archetype.

Why not be a Sorc or Oracle?

In my experience the delayed spell progression at low levels hurts a lot when you want to use metamagic feats.

Questions:

Domain or animal companion? Concept is definitely more caster but animal companions are nice at low levels. Possible domains are Earth (Cave Subdomain) and Swamp (mainly for the nettle spell at 2nd level, it's a nice blast for that level).

Would some other archetype be better than Menhir Savant?

Would some other feats be better than Spell Focus and Augment Summoning? Summoning rocks later but the duration is awfully low at early levels.

Bloodline Arcana: Whenever you cast a spell with the cold descriptor, you may select one *target of the spell* to be slowed (as the spell) for 1 round. A Fortitude save (DC 10 + the level of cold spell + your Charisma modifier) negates the effect.

Emphasis mine. Pretty much no cold descriptor spells actually target a specific person or monster. It might work with Ray of Frost and Polar Ray, but that seems quite debatable since those spells don't have a Target line in the description.

You could maybe get around this by doing Crossblood with Elemental (Water), but then you're combining the Crossblooded and Wildblooded archetypes which also seems of dubious legality. Elemental Spell feat does not actually change the descriptor.

So does this arcana only work with like 3 spells? Or was this bloodline solely meant as a 1-level Sorcerer dip for Admixture Evokers?

I am looking for ways to get the Trap Spotter rogue talent or an equivalent ability.

Here is what I know of so far:

1. Be a Rogue
2. Be a Ninja
3. Be an Archaeologist Bard

Are there any others?

Please note that I said Trap Spotter (which lets you automatically roll Perception to detect traps). Trap Spotter is not the same thing as Trapfinding (which adds bonuses to your rolls to detect and disable traps) and is also different from Trap Sense (which benefits your saves and AC against traps). I know that there are lots of other ways to get Trapfinding but I am asking about Trap Spotter specifically.

Thank you for your help.