Peevenator's page

Thanks. That was my thinking at face-value reading. Wanted to make sure there wasn't a separate rule or stipulation I might have been aware of.

Suppressive Fire: "As a full action, you can use a ranged weapon with the automatic weapon property to provide covering fire or harrying fire in a cone with a range equal to half the weapon’s range increment."

Unionist: "You gain a +2 insight bonus to attack rolls made as part of the covering fire and harrying fire actions. When you have two or more allies within 60 feet, this attack bonus increases to +5."

The consideration is for Organized Play, so I don't want to assume just because the interaction makes sense.

The Unionist feat wording states: "bonus to attack roles made as part of the covering fire and harrying fire actions."

Would this apply to the Suppressive Fire action since it is providing either covering fire or harrying fire?

I dig the last part of the adjudicating tips and spelling out the "fail forward". The biggest circumstance I can think to relate to it is key clues or story information requiring a successful Perception check to obtain and nobody in the party succeeds. This has lead to at least a few stalled moments that take longer out of game to conclude rather than simply taking more time in-game to discover for the sake of progression.

Failed the check to find loot? They just don't get the loot.

Failed the check to find the note from Big Bad to Little Bad that details why the party should care to go find Big Bad? Takes longer to find, giving Big Bad more time to prepare for the encounter.

Just a point of feedback: The PDF delay would have been nice to have been received via email. I know that the main post states that an email would be sent, but I never received any communication (I did check the spam box) and had to look for answers once I discovered that my subscription PDFs weren't available post-shipping as usual.

I'm curious as to how "Arnois" is supposed to be pronounced.

Arn-wah?
Ar-noise?
Ar-no-is?

I am prepared to die (three times)!

(Does anyone have a 1st printing physical copy of the Advanced Class Guide? ...I'm wondering if Pack Flanking flanking always had Combat Expertise as a prerequisite, or if it's a case of one of those "stealth updates" where the wording changes overnight on d20pfsrd and Nethys. Or it's just my stegosaurus walnut-brain that blocked it out.)

It has always been there. I first made my hunter during playtest, prior to the release of the feat. I had to do some finagling to get it as rebuilding wasn't an option.

We still run into the Int 13 issue.

Looking over Slim Jim's build, I'm a little confused as to how Pack Flanking is being qualified for. What am I missing?

For clarification, is this separate from the Organized Play volunteers signup?

I've mostly poked around at various ideas since release, but lately I've started brainstorming characters from Borderlands 2 as a means to familiarize with classes.

Mr. Torgue - Soldier with Icon theme, lashunta for the Charisma and Strength boost with Wisdom penalty. Shock and Awe for the primary fighting style, Bombard for secondary. EXPLOOOOOSIONS! The Synaptic Accelerator will "boost" his Charisma by incorporating an automated vulgarity censor.

Zer0 - Android Operative with Ghost specialization. The only sticky part I'm running into is a katana-like sword being usable with trick attack.

I haven't worked out builds for the following yet:

Maya - Solarian. Seems like it could work with either armor or weapon. Lashunta seems ideal.

Axton - Soldier and/or Mechanic with a combat drone.

Krieg and Salvador - Not sure here. I don't know of any "rage" sort of class abilities available.

Gaige - Mechanic with combat drone.

Tina - Bombard soldier.

Do we know if this is a multi-level module like Dragon's Demand or Ire of the Storm?

I haven't seen it mentioned, but I also could have missed it being mentioned in a previous post or discussion: Will version 1 GM credit continue to apply to version 1 GM stars once version 2 starts?

Nope. It's done as part of a move action or use of Spring Attack.

For Legend of the Five Rings fans, the samurai archetype provides a decent option for a Dragon samurai style character.

Not sure if it was intentional, but the blog title now has a Bush song playing in my head.

The take on dinosaurs caught me by surprise, but I like it. Having a synopsis on how to create your own dinosaurs is pretty handy as well.

It works with Bladed Brush just fine. You don't need to worty about having a free hand with any abilities the class provides. Since glaive is a reach weapon, it provides some additional benefits with threatened range.

I've been fiddling with this one since I got the book. Some other things to consider:

Order of the Blossom for sneak attack
Jaguar Pounce for early-ish access to Improved Critical
Spring-Heeled Style and Spring-Heeled Spring for attack bonus and increased movement

For a little more context for my specific use-case, I'm looking for things to do with a dog companion of a ranged hunter. The teamwork feats the hunter will be provide are pretty much taken care of, so I'm not too worried there. I'm looking for more for the dog to do than just stand there and provide flanking bonuses to other party members and Coordinated Shot benefits.

I have a melee hunter built around a big cat mount with all the bells and whistles for creating AoO's through Pack Flanking, Paired Opportunist, and Broken Wing Gambit. Looking to try the other path.

Most of the guides and discussions that are easier to find for animal companion builds are either older and don't incorporate Ultimate Wilderness options, or they're focused more around damage output. My hope here is to get some discussion going for more ideas.

The idea is more along the lines of utility options and tactics for a companion rather than outright damage from the companion. Things like battlefield control/disruption, buffs or debuffs.

Some examples:
-Menacing enchantment on an Amulet of Mighty Fists: provides an additional +2 bonus to allies if a creature is flanked
-Disruptive Companion feat: A mini version of the Disruptive feat, plus makes it harder to Take 10, even with abilities that allow for it.
-Broken Wing/Wounded Paw Gambit teamwork feats: Creates attacks of opportunity
-Skirmisher tricks: For hunters or skirmisher rangers. A lot of options here.
-Vine Strike spell: Not PFS legal, but otherwise an option. Potential for the entangled condition.

While there are Combat Maneuver options, I'm looking outside of them as I've found they tend to lose steam for a companion after the early levels. The lower BAB progression doesn't seem keep up well with the increased HD/BAB and Strength progression of creatures.

I talk a bit about this in my announcement in the "Pathfinder Backlog" section:

"Rules: For a long time I chose not to post this longer content as Paizo’s own PRD had it covered; generally, I focused on mechanics which were reproduced across multiple volumes, like Feats and Spells. Since the discussion of this partnership, however, we’ve made large strides towards bringing that same content onto the Archives. Still, this is the one area in which we’re behind the original PRD, but that gap is closing every day. We’ve already finished ingesting the rules from the Advanced Player’s Guide, and the Gamemastery Guide is next on the list."

I'll admit that I didn't get that far. The way the section was formatted made it look like a magic item entry, so I subconsciously decided it wasn't important information and skipped past it.

As a long-time user of AON, this is pretty exciting!

A concern that has come to mind, but I didn't see mentioned here or on the AON front-page announcement:

To date my understanding is that AON has primarily consisted of character options and encounters, with little in the way of core game mechanics. Will core game mechanics be added to the AON?

If you're familiar with the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the warrior poet and Order of the Songbird essentially make up a Crane Clan samurai. A lot of focus around dexterity, charisma, mobility, the arts, and courtly etiquette.

I'm super stoked about it. Since the release of sword saint, I have been trying to figure out a build around what this archetype does with much better grace.

I've found it difficult to get players to commit to a full six book AP, given the amount of time it takes to get through one. I've had much better success with getting interest and play through a number of super modules that have been released for Pathfinder (Ire of the Storm, Dragon's Demand, etc).

A three-book series feels a lot more manageable for players to commit to. Having another series set to be able to continue right into allows for player and/or character shuffle as needed without anyone losing out on story bits.

My only Starfinder play thus far has been through organized play events, so I'm looking forward to potentially being able to put together a home game with Aeon Throne.

I recently retired an Iroran Paladin from PFS play (via reaching level 12). I did a sort of postmortem review to see if there might have been a better way to build. It essentially came down to deciding on what you want to do.

With the Iroran Paladin (Strength focused), I found it had much better encounter versatility, between spell access and Personal Trial. Where it fell short was in the skills department.

In the experimental build I did as a Champion of Irori prestige class path, I managed to make it much more generally versatile using the Nornkith monk archetype and going with a Dex-based route, allowing ability focus on Dex and Cha. While it did not have a much in base hit points, it had higher saves and AC, plus ended up with solid Knowledge skill base with the help of Deific Obedience (Irori's is +4 to Knowledge skills). While it did not pack as much offensive versatility, it would be able to hold its own in fights involving evil or chaotic creatures.

Name: Mitsu, the Sunstone Sage
Alignment: Lawful Good
Race: Suli
Class: Iroran Paladin 12 (retired upon completion of Salvation)
Description:A tall, bald man who at first glance looks to be of Qadiran descent. He is typically only wearing leggings, sandals, and a fine-linked chainmail armor. He is mostly covered in tattoos, though they are only fully visible when he is not in armor. He carries a traveling pack with a sansetsukan tied to it. Almost always seen with a smile on his face, he will talk with anyone about anything, treating it as a new experience to learn from.

For inquisitor, the sanctified slayer archetype is pretty solid for solo adventuring. You essentially trade out Judgements for sneak attack and the Slayer's Studied Target ability. While the sneak attack may not be so helpful for solo work, Studied Target is likely to get more mileage than Judgement due to having no limit of usage. You also get some Slayer talents along the way, which can add to utility.

The only teamwork feat that really works without additional allies is Broken Wing Gambit, but that can make things a bit dicey when you're on your own. There are a couple of additional archetypes that could pair with the Sanctified Slayer archetype that trade out teamwork feats and Solo Tactics. The Cloaked Wolf gets bonus abilities to avoid surprises and betrayal (potentially good for mercenary entanglements). The Spellbreaker gets some abilities that help with combating arcane magic.

As an additional option, there's also the Eldrich Scoundrel rogue archetype, which is a rogue with arcane casting capabilities. However, if you expect to be operating on your own most of the time, the archaeologist bard may be more ideal as once again, sneak attack isn't quite as effective without flanking partners.

also - if a full cavalier.

i never use challenge with charges - it's mostly over kill and annoy the party and DM.
i save the smites for when i CANT charge or even dismounted.

Of note, while not using a challenge with a charge to avoid overkill is good for avoiding anti-climactic endings, as Order of the Dragon, you will still want to use your challenge on pretty much any boss-like encounter or creatures with jumbo AC. Providing bonuses to attack to your allies goes a long way and depending on how you decide to work your level progression, you'll likely to be providing a +2 or +3 for the campaign.

If you've ever wanted a keytar that looks like a space gun, now is the time!

I did have the thought recently on whether there were currently mechanics to make something along the lines of a Noise Marine from WH40K.

My anticipation for this puts the voice of Marcus Kincaid from the Borderlands series in my head whenever it comes to mind.

"Guns! Guns! Guns!"

"Guns! I've got them, you need them!"

This may have already been addressed elsewhere, but what's the viewpoint on a sort of "community library" of unofficial player or organizer created pre-gens? While there will be plenty of individual postings and discussions of various character creations, these are often scattered among multiple locations and posts, which can be difficult to easily review quickly. As not all communities or groups will have the means to allow for additional character creation time, it seems like having a somewhat centralized place of reference would be a helpful community resource to fill in the level gaps around the official Level 1 and Level 5 pregens.

Oooo, the Dwarven stuff is pretty cool, Sky Seeker style rocks (f!%* you reach users) and Dwarven Scholar is a Wisdom based battle Bard :3

I haven't yet been able to find clarification on whether attacks at reach are considered to be with a reach weapon or if "reach weapon" specifically means a weapon with the reach property, but the nuance is significant for this style chain.

After 1.5 years it'll be nice to finally get Seers of the Drowned City Sanctioned.

Ruins of Azlant sanctioning is exciting as well.

"Seers of the Drowned City" sounds quite similar to "Hearing of the Bound Ditty". This is one I've been waiting for as well, so I'm hopeful that this is what is being referenced.

I've been piecing together prepwork for Strange Aeons for a while now as I eventually wanted to run it regardless of sanctioned state. This just gives a bonus.

I had a character (barbarian at the time) who was a bit more reckless in his early adventuring days and frequently tried to convince the rest of the party that launching him from a catapult was the best course of action. It only happened once to get him closer to the opposing army's leadership, but the plan worked out well enough in the end.

By RAW, yes, they can use it. However, if your GM doesn't want to allow it for Summoners, that's his call to make regardless of design intent.

At this point there's a lot mentioned that hasn't been seen, so I figure I'll provide some of my own rarity characters.

-Iroran paladin (I made this more complicated than it should have been and really goofed up the build, but the character is fun and it's still playable.)
-Armored hulk barbarian specialized in Overrun
-Melee hunter built around AoO's -This was an accidental beast that started with ACG playtest. I don't play him very often because it can be disruptive for flow of gameplay, so I limit it to specific scenarios or playgroups and apologize repeatedly to those who aren't familiar with what's going on with it. I haven't seen anyone else in my area with a hunter and it's a large play area.
-Tactician Fighter/Student of War - Looks a bit like an Order of the Dragon bodyguard cavalier, but with skills.
-Savage Barbarian/Savage Technologist barbarian aka GunBarian - Inspired by Sean Connery's character in Zardoz.

Collapsible Plank 4sp, AA - For when those who aren't athletically inclined need to get across a gap. Theoretically you could get two to split the load for more heavily armored individuals.

Offering more for flavor ideas, I ended up doing something similar along the Bodyguard lines with a tactician fighter/Student of War. I had wanted something different and better rounded in the skills department than a typical fighter or cavalier would be. The teamwork feats I have to share are Swap Places and Harrying Partners.

I personally have very, very few of the various companions and other supplements, so I have no idea what was reprinted and what wasn't. I just know the viking looks quite fun, though I'm personally not a huge fan of Rage in general.

The rage feature is what actually got better in UW, compared to the original People of the North version.

There are two archetypes I'm particularly interested in:

The filidh bard casts as a divine caster instead of arcane. Sort of a druidic bard.

The jungle stalker hunter. Gives up animal companion for "double" animal focus as if its companion were dead, and a number of party utility abilities like tactician and breath of life, and the ranger's survival suite.

The Vorpal aspect doesn't come into play until level 17, so how impacting it will be depends on whether you expect the campaign to go that long and if so what you expect them to be encountering at that point.

Here's a back-of-a-napkin math breakdown on how a bard can benefit the party in that level range. This breakdown focuses more on the attack bonuses than the damage bonuses.

Level 11 bard bonuses
Inspire Courage +3 (competence)
Flagbearer (after Banner of Ancient Kings), Good Hope, or Heroism +2 (morale)
Haste +1
Total: +6

Level 11 fighter
Bab +11
22 strength +6
Weapon training +2
Greater Weapon Focus +2
Magic weapon +2 (low-balling this)
Full-attack Totals without buffs: +23/+18/+13
with buffs: +29/+29(haste)/+24/+19

Using the average AC of CR+15, so 28 for a single CR 13 (challenging):

Die rolls needed without buffs: 5/10/15

die rolls needed with buffs: 2/2/4/9

It's effectively a %30 improvement on each iterative roll.

The Seasoned Commander or Tactician fighter archetypes could potentially work.

The Castellan has its strengths, but is highly situational.

The attack bonuses a bard is able to provide become a lot more meaningful once party members start getting multiple attacks per round. Here's a little math to help in case anyone wants to dispute a bard's impact in combat.

Level 11 bard bonuses
Inspire Courage +3 (competence)
Flagbearer (after Banner of Ancient Kings), Good Hope, or Heroism +2 (morale)
Haste +1
Total: +6

Level 11 fighter
Bab +11
22 strength +5
Weapon training +2
Greater Weapon Focus +2
Magic weapon +2 (low-balling this)
Full-attack Totals w/o buffs: +22/+17/+12
with buffs: +28/+28(haste)/+23/+18

Using the average AC of CR+15, so 28 for a single CR 13 (challenging):

Attack rolls needed w/o buffs: 6/11/16

Attack rolls needed with buffs: 2/5/10

It's effectively a %30 improvement on each iterative roll.

Depending on what you're looking to make your character's style, building around Overrun could be a way to accomplish getting past something and into flanking position.

That's a fair point on yourself being considered an ally. I had forgotten about that ruling.

The problem with Broken Wing Gambit is that it absolutely requires two (or more) separate individuals with the feat for it to function. One has to leave themselves open to attack for the other to benefit. If you are the only one who has it, you do not have anyone to benefit from the attacks of opportunity if you leave yourself open, nor someone else to leave themselves open for you to potentially get attacks of opportunity.

While Flagbearer with Banner of the Ancient Kings does create a redundancy with Heroism and Good Hope, the fact that the bonuses are always active allows more freedom of utility for spell usage.

While this is more for a later level selection, Discordant Voice is another to keep in mind.

It really depends on the party makeup. It would make sense to have Outflank and Precise Strike if the rest of your party consists of ranged attacks.

One thing to consider would be dipping a level in cavalier for the Tactician ability to share teamwork feats. A number of the better ones still require everyone in the situation to have the feat, such as Broken Wing Gambit.