Phloid's page

Since I didn't make the top 32 this year, I have decided to do something different in the post 32 forum critique frenzy. If you post the complete text of your item here (with any notes you want to leave) I will edit your item and repost. I will also leave brief notes on the major changes I made (if any) and notes on issues it still might have that would keep it from superstar status. This may change what you intended your item to do depending if the mechanics need work or are somewhat ambiguous, so notes might be helpful to the editing process. I'll also reference any critiques of your item on the forums before I edit your item. I don't really have an professional experience as an editor or much in the way of published Pathfinder game material, but I am an eight year veteran of RPGSS with one top 32 finish. Although my entries may lack the mojo to break into the top 32 most years, I've got a strong grasp of the rules and my writing has gotten cleaner over the years. Think of it as a different way to get a critique, but don't post if you have compunctions about putting your item in the hands of another designer. I'm not sure how popular this thread will be, but I will edit items on a first-come, first-served basis and eventually get to all of them posted here. I will likely only do one edit per item, because I don't want this to end up being a design by committee thread, but I'm sure I will miss things and might make an occasional correction.

I can't be the only one who has entered this contest all eight years and has still not disqualified themselves with a high finish or writing credits.

Or am I?

This might make me very sad indeed.

I can't find this anywhere and maybe it should be obvious and self explanatory, but I thought I'd ask it here anyway.

So, is Sneak Attack damage independent of weapon damage and Strength bonus, or is normal weapon damage determined first and then Sneak Attack damage added to it. This matters if the attacker has a negative Strength modifier.

Lets say my 3rd level halfling rogue has a 4 Strength due to poison and therefore a -3 Strength modifier. I am stuck fighting with my dagger. When I deal normal damage I deal 1d3-3 damage so I'm dealing 1 nonlethal damage based on the minimum damage rule.

Minimum Damage: If penalties reduce the damage result to less than 1, a hit still deals 1 point of nonlethal damage.

When I'm in a sneak attack situation I get my +2d6 sneak attack damage, but I'm not sure how it is applied. Do I deal 1 nonlethal damage and 2d6 regular damage? Do I roll all damage dice and then subtract my Strength penalty from the total? Am I limited to 1 nonlethal damage if I roll ones on all three dice? Because:

...cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty.

Is there a line of rules that clearly addresses this or is it just thought to be obvious?

Thanks.

I completely understand SKR's stated reasons for not having the archetype round this year. Archetypes are hard and may not be a good indication of being able to write a good adventure. Heck, I scrubbed out bad in that round last year and my entry was described as seeming more like an NPC than an archetype for PCs, so maybe I'm one of those.

But I guess I don't see why the second round was completely dropped and the other three moved up to fill the void. Isn't there something else that could fit the second round word count that would be more relevant for finding a good adventure writer?

I guess my biggest issue with the lack of the archetype round, or the organization round of 2012, or the villain/monster concept from previous years is that this way, each round after the first has a higher word count than the same round in previous years. 32 fully flushed out monsters at 500 to 600 words apiece was a lot to go through. It took me about 5 days of spare time to get through them all and I had to take notes to remember what I liked about each one so by the end I could vote. I got pretty fatigued toward the end and there is a chance I was not giving the final entries I read a totally fair shot at getting my vote. I'm feeling the same thing as I go through 16 encounters. Eight encounters is plenty to go through.

I don't know. Anyone else feel this way, or miss the fact that this year has one fewer round in it?

Do the bloodline abilities of a sorcerer have a "spell level?" They don't do they? Unless a spell-like ability actually duplicates a spell, it doesn't have a "spell-level." Caster level, yes. Spell level, no. right? For instance:

Elemental Ray (Sp): Starting at 1st level, you can unleash an elemental ray as a standard action, targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. This ray deals 1d6 points of damage of your energy type + 1 for every two sorcerer levels you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

No spell level.

A halfling character falls off a tower and falls 130 feet and lands squarely on top of another human character. How much damage do they each take?

The falling rules say the halfling takes 13d6 damage (1d6 for each 10-feet fallen). If the halfling counts as a Small object in the falling object rules, then the human takes 2d6 damage. is that right?

If the roles are reversed, the Medium sized human takes 13d6 and the halfling takes 3d6. If either falling character lands on solid stone, they take only the 13d6.

I suppose the first 1d6 of the damage could be converted to non-lethal for a "yielding surface." I don't know. It seems like an awfully large gap in damage from the falling character to the one that gets landed on. Wouldn't it make more sense if they shared some part of that falling damage if one character helps to "break the fall" of the gravity stricken character? Do you agree that these are the rules as written and it would have to be a "Rule Zero" ruling to change this in a game?

Oathlorn (Cavalier)
An oath taken in the River Kingdoms, is an oath taken seriously. Cavaliers who swear loyalty to their orders and the causes they serve know this well. There are some, however, called oathlorn, who can't seem to stick to their convictions. The oathlorn moves from one kingdom to the next and appears to swap loyalties on a whim. But whether he's a compulsive liar, or just keeps finding a more worthy cause, in the River Kingdoms, he's a wanted man.

Class Skills: An oathlorn adds Disguise (Cha) to his list of class skills. He gets the additional class skills granted by his order as normal, but does not get any additional ability from his order's skills entry. Instead, whenever the oathlorn uses Bluff to conceal information about his identity or his broken oaths, he receives a competence bonus equal to 1/2 his cavalier level (minimum +1).

Oathbreaker's Challenge (Ex): At 1st level, whenever an oathlorn issues a challenge against someone who intends to punish him for breaking an oath, he gains a bonus against the target of his challenge. He may choose a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls or a +1 dodge bonus to his AC. The bonus increases by +1 for every four cavalier levels the oathlorn possesses and lasts for one minute. The oathlorn can benefit from this ability at the same time as his order's challenge ability, as long as both criteria are fulfilled. This ability replaces tactician.

Fleeting Devotion (Ex): At 2nd level, an oathlorn gains one opportunity to change his order without waiting an entire level. He may do this anytime before gaining his next level, but must give his oath directly to representatives of the new order, and they must be willing to accept him. The new order's abilities replace his current abilities immediately, and he is bound by the new edicts. The oathlorn cannot choose the order of the cockatrice.
The oathlorn gains one more use of this ability at 5th level, 9th level, and 14th level, but cannot swear an oath to an order he has chosen previously.
This ability replaces banner, greater tactician, and greater banner.

Order of the Oathbreaker (Ex): At 17th level, the oathlorn becomes a free-lance without an official order. He retains his order abilities, but is not strictly beholden to any edicts. Each day at dawn, he may change one of the following order abilities: bonus class skills, challenge ability, ability gained at 2nd level, at 8th level, or at 15th level. He replaces it with the like ability from any order he has previously belonged to. This change remains until he alters it again on a subsequent morning. This ability replaces master tactician.

I have figured out how to link on the message boards to the Pathfinder SRD, and I've figured out how to link to a certain spot on long pages in the SRD, but these work inconsistently.

I think that is has to do with linking to the same page multiple times, but different spots on the page. Sometimes it leaps to the bottom of the page instead of the phrase I want when I've already clicked a link on the same page. Is there a BBCode that will reset the page history with each click and avoid this problem? Would a BBCode that opens the link in a new tab or window fix this?

Also, sometimes the SRD will link to the phrase I want and leave the search bar at the top which covers up the info I want. And I've also had the search bar scroll up with the page and disappear. Does this have to do with my browser? I'm using Crome on a Mac. Is there a fix for this with BBCodes other than linking to a phrase that appears above what I want to read?

Really, any help or additional BBCodes used to link to the SRD or other sites would be helpful. Thanks.

I've got a player who intends on changing his cavalier order the next time he levels up. This changes the bonus class skills for the character based on his new order right? It sort of seems weird to change a class's class skills later in its progression, but I guess it is a lot easier to take away the +3 bonus and apply it to other skills than it would have been in 3.5 where he would suddenly have more ranks in non-class skills than is legal.

I just want to make sure if everyone agrees that this is how it works.

Sandals, Thorn Creeper

Aura moderate conjuration and transmutation; CL 10th
Slot feet; Price 19,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.

Description
Though comfortable to wear, these open-toed sandals appear to be made of thorny vines, the soles of which are covered in small, twitching roots. If the wearer is the subject of a bull rush, drag, reposition, or trip attempt, the roots momentarily burrow into the ground, and grant the user a +2 circumstance bonus to CMD.

The wearer can stamp her feet as a free action to begin planting deep roots that spring up thorny vines as she walks. While the sandals are active in this way, the wearer's speed is limited to 40 ft, but each 5-ft. square the user exits as part of her movement, is affected as though by an entangle spell with thorns (DC 17). The wearer can use this ability for up to 10 rounds per day. These rounds need not be consecutive. The entangle effect's duration begins the round the wearer ends an activation. Once per day as a standard action, the wearer may cause the vines in up to 40 of these spaces, to spring 10 feet into the air. This replaces the entangle effect in those spaces, with a thorny bramble that mimics the wall of thorns spell, except that the duration of the wall is the remaining duration of the entangle effect it began as. Those caught in the wall automatically take damage.

All of the sandals' abilities function only on surfaces that are softer than steel.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Heighten Spell, certain grip, entangle, wall of thorns; Cost 9,500 gp

Situation:
I designate my familiar as the "toucher" for an offensive touch spell I'm casting (say Chill Touch) by using the "Deliver Touch Spells" familiar ability. In the following round, on the way to deliver the spell, my familiar is hit by an arrow and takes 6 damage. Normally when a caster is holding a charge on a spell he must make a concentration check to retain the spell when taking damage.

Question:
In this situation does my familiar make a concentration check or do I? If my familiar needs to, which seems like the way it should be, what is his bonus? In 3rd Ed Concentration was a skill so his bonus was the same as mine because we share skills. In Pathfinder, concentration is not a skill. My concentration bonus is my caster level plus my Int modifier. What is my familiar's concentration bonus? Or does he just lose the spell? Is there an official ruling on this?

Edit:
Now I can't find the text that says you loose a spell that you are holding a charge on. Do you not have to make a concentration on a spell you have already cast but are holding a charge on?

I've entered this contest all five years and have never made the top 32. I am really a pretty good writer, super creative, and a heck of a DM (so I'm told), but I just can't seem to crack the first barrier. Is anyone else in the same boat?

Maybe, if you have all five of your submissions, they can be posted here. Or summarize if you don't have them. If you didn't submit three or more years please don't post. Otherwise mark them with the year you submitted in the same post.

I'll try to dig mine up this weekend.

Good luck next year.

GRAPPLE AND QUESTIONS
I have recently purchased Pathfinder and replaced my 3.5 game with the new system. Overall, I like the game, but... I've heard that one of the biggest complaints with 3.5 was the grapple rules and that one of the intentions of Pathfinder was to simplify and fix grapple. I find the grapple rules confusing and ambiguous in many areas and I'm writing this to clarify some of my assumptions and perhaps shine some light on the design choices that Paizo made. Forgive me if I seem annoyed or accusatory in my questioning, but I was really hoping for a streamlined system. Here are the grapple rules and condition definitions for "grappled" and "pinned" and my notes and questions.

Grapple
As a standard action, you can attempt to grapple a foe, hindering his combat options. If you do not have Improved Grapple, grab, or a similar ability, attempting to grapple a foe provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. Humanoid creatures without two free hands attempting to grapple a foe take a –4 penalty on the combat maneuver roll. If successful, both you and the target gain the grappled condition. If you successfully grapple a creature that is not adjacent to you, move that creature to an adjacent open space (if no space is available, your grapple fails). Although both creatures have the grappled condition, you can, as the creature that initiated the grapple, release the grapple as a free action, removing the condition from both you and the target. If you do not release the grapple, you must continue to make a check each round, as a standard action, to maintain the hold. If your target does not break the grapple, you get a +5 circumstance bonus on grapple checks made against the same target in subsequent rounds. (So my opponent gets two chances to escape each round, once during his own turn and once when I attempt to maintain the grapple during my turn? Granted, I get a +5 to maintain, but was this done just to tone down the power of grapple?) Once you are grappling an opponent, a successful check allows you to continue grappling the foe, and also allows you to perform one of the following actions (as part of the standard action spent to maintain the grapple.

Move: You can move both yourself and your target up to half your speed. At the end of your movement, you can place your target in any square adjacent to you. If you attempt to place your foe in a hazardous location, such as in a wall of fire or over a pit, the target receives a free attempt to break your grapple with a +4 bonus.

Damage: You can inflict damage to your target equal to your unarmed strike, a natural attack, or an attack made with armor spikes or a light or one-handed weapon. This damage can be either lethal or nonlethal.

Pin: You can give your opponent the pinned condition (see Conditions). Despite pinning your opponent, you still only have the grappled condition, but you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC.

Tie Up: If you have your target pinned, otherwise restrained, or unconscious, you can use rope to tie him up. This works like a pin effect, but the DC to escape the bonds is equal to 20 + your Combat Maneuver Bonus (instead of your CMD). The ropes do not need to make a check every round to maintain the pin. If you are grappling the target, you can attempt to tie him up in ropes, but doing so requires a combat maneuver check at a –10 penalty. If the DC to escape from these bindings is higher than 20 + the target's CMB, the target cannot escape from the bonds, even with a natural 20 on the check.
Is this all I can do while grappling an opponent? The character I'm grappling can cast spells (albeit with some difficulty). Can I cast a spell? Can I cast a Silent and Still modified spell if I have Eschew Materials? Even a pinned character can do this with a concentration check, so why can't the initiator of a grapple? Can I use a Quickened Spell because it doesn't take a standard action? Do I need to make a concentration check to do so? If I can cast a spell by making a concentration check as the grapple condition implies, do I take a -4 penalty to my grapple check (for using a single hand) if the spell has a somatic or material component and I don't have Eschew Materials or apply Still Spell? What if I have Greater Grapple and can maintain as a minor action? Theoretically I should be able to use my standard action then to cast a spell (with concentration check), but is Greater Grapple the only way? How come the character I've grappled can cast spells without Greater Grapple, but I can't?

If You Are Grappled: If you are grappled, you can attempt to break the grapple as a standard action by making a combat maneuver check (DC equal to your opponent's CMD; this does not provoke an attack of opportunity) or Escape Artist check (with a DC equal to your opponent's CMD). If you succeed, you break the grapple and can act normally. Alternatively, if you succeed, you can become the grappler, grappling the other creature (meaning that the other creature cannot freely release the grapple without making a combat maneuver check, while you can). Instead of attempting to break or reverse the grapple, you can take any action that requires only one hand to perform, such as cast a spell or make an attack with a light or one-handed weapon against any creature within your reach, including the creature that is grappling you. See the grappled condition for additional details. If you are pinned, your actions are very limited. See the pinned condition in Conditions for additional details.

Conditions
Grappled: A grappled creature is restrained by a creature, trap, or effect. Grappled creatures cannot move and take a –4 penalty to Dexterity (This equates to a -2 to CMD, right? That sucks for both the grappled and the grappler, but mostly the grappler because he is trying to hold the other and by being grappled makes it easier for the opponent to escape). A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple. In addition, grappled creatures can take no action that requires two hands to perform. A grappled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level), or lose the spell. Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity.

A grappled creature cannot use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling it, even if a special ability, such as hide in plain sight, would normally allow it to do so. If a grappled creature becomes invisible, through a spell or other ability, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus on its CMD to avoid being grappled, but receives no other benefit.

Pinned: A pinned creature is tightly bound and can take few actions. A pinned creature cannot move and is flat-footed. A pinned character also takes an additional –4 penalty to his Armor Class. (Since Pinned doesn't stack with Grappled, my opponent no longer has a -4 penalty to Dexterity and is instead Flat-Footed. A Flat-Footed character "does not add its Dexterity bonus to its CMD." So this means if the opponent I'm pinning has a 10 Dexterity, I now have a -2 to my CMD and he no longer does. Even if I normally have a +1 Dex modifier, he is now better off than I am in CMD and actually has an easier time escaping than when he was "grappled". Or rather, I have a harder time holding him. I don't think that's right.) A pinned creature is limited in the actions that it can take. A pinned creature can always attempt to free itself, usually through a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check. A pinned creature can take verbal and mental actions, but cannot cast any spells that require a somatic or material component. A pinned character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level) or lose the spell. Pinned is a more severe version of grappled, and their effects do not stack.
So if I am pinned and I beat the character pinning me with my grapple check, am I completely free, or still grappled (but not pinned like in 3.5)? It seems to say that you not only escape the pin, but also escape the grapple. In this case, pinning a character is not very good and the only reason I see to do it is if you want to hold a character down while your friends stab him to death with the -4 AC and Flat-Footedness. And that's is not very heroic. Or to make it a bit harder for them to cast a spell with any components. Not only that, but while I'm pinning, I now have a harder time maintaining the grapple which makes escape easier. Not cool.