Vega stays relatively close to Sapphira, even going into the mist. "Then let us hope that whatever is here is as blind as we are." ___________________________
Current Buffs:
Yar! Some of you know, but I fear that some may be unaware of a simple little fact. "Rouge" is an actual word. It has it's roots in the french language, translates to "Red". It is most commonly associated with lipstick and/or other cosmetic products. It has also found it's way into naming conventions for both characters (the variations on the Red Thief mentioned above), locales such as the restaurant The Bistro Rouge, or even services such as Air Canada Rouge. Changing one's avatar whenever they type some derivative of the word RED would by highly obnoxious. Same with Sapphire/blue/aqua/ultramarine/periwinkle/liberty/independence/space cadet/azure/cerulean/zaffre/indigo. Smurfs, on the other hand, are a recent (as far as language is concerned) invention, specifically meaning a small blue cartoon creature whose own language is made up primarily (but not entirely) of the word "smurf", used to mean just about anything and everything regardless of inflection. The smurf avatar change is not based on a common typo, nor a word that has been a standard part of a living language since it's gradual inception from previous languages. Rouge is from "[French, from Old French, red, from Latin rubeus; see reudh- in Indo-European roots." Smurf has its origins (as far as I can tell) in animation. It is a silly word with silly associations (it's use as nearly every word in a language used by the creatures called the same word). I may be wrong, but I have yet to witness a typo leading to a smurf. It's inclusion in a post seems to be specific to an actual smurf as we know them. The image of a smurf is rather iconic as well. The uniqueness of the word combined with the iconic image associated with it makes for a silly, light hearted quirk of the forums. An avatar change for typing rouge would (for most of us here) be nothing more than publicly calling out a typo (in my opinion). The avatar change associated with smurfs is nothing like this. It is light hearted and silly. It is something that adds a kind of quirkiness to paizo without being demeaning or even unintentionally malicious. Quirks are only endearing if they are small, light hearted, and unique (not overbearing, either in quantity of or quality of, so that one cannot be effectively communicated with anymore). Smurfs is this. Adding rouge/rouge typo admonishment is (in my opinion) crossing the line. Also (if this gets implemented. This is a hypothetical. I'm not asserting that it will happen), what happens when one types rouge and smurf in the same post? What if more words are added to the list? How do they interact? Someone in paizo-land will have to write up a code for each possible combination. The smurf code was added in fun, early on in paizonian existence, most likely as a fun side project, a gag, and maybe even as an exercise in familiarizing oneself with forum code. Now that paizo is bigger and busier, the complexity of new codes to implement this idea without breaking things as it interacts with similar code that already exists to do something similar and the inevitable firing of both codes at the same time, such an effort would be, in my opinion, not even remotely worth it. New code that improved the website, they layout, and the ease of which on can interact with are all good, and all serve the company with a motivation to make profits. Such niceties help them make profits. This idea does not (again, in my opinion) help them do this. It would be them "forcing the unskillled typers some education!" in a very passive-aggressive way, while simultaneously reprimanding those who use the actual word "rouge" in a legitimate fashion. I get that it (the typo version) annoys some of us. What about other common mistakes, like the/teh, weather/whether, their/there/they're, desert/dessert, its/it's, and/nad, the misuse of a/an before a word, etc? Even if it was only for rogue/rouge, I cannot see how any effort to do something like this could be worth it at all for paizo as a company. This company is not in the business of teaching people how to type without making mistakes on their forums via passive-aggressiveness. And I (personally) hope it never becomes so. Your (in a general sense, not any specific poster) personal need to educate the masses on a typo is not the responsibility of the company that runs this site. (though I totally understand the pet peeve. I do not like reading typos or words misused either, even though I have made my share of those mistakes myself) EDIT: O_O I'm smurfette! :O *checks pants* ...still a dude. *phew* ^_^ ~P
Yar! Nothing in that racial write up says they don't get darkvision as well. This is a poor argument for any rules issue. This game is based on what one can do according to what the text says you can do. It is not based on what you cannot do according to what the text says you cannot do*. Note that the Suli has a actual entry in the ARG character section, which states what it can do/what you gain for being a Suli. They have Low Light Vision. Darkvision is not mentioned at all, therefor (just like how humans and half-elves and halflings do not mention Darkvision) they do not have Darkvision. The bestiary entry for Suli does not list darkvision either. Only Low Light Vision. Now, the example races for the race building section does include the Suli, and it does mention darkvision there. I posit to you that this single instance is a typo, as the Suli appears in multiple other locations, locations which are significantly more prominent than an example of an optional rules section, and none of these other places mentions Darkvision. Ravingdork, I am all for your rules questions and the discussions they create, but this position of "it doesn't say they don't get it" (paraphrased) is something I cannot condone. Everything falls apart once/if that mentality becomes acceptable. EDIT: * I realize that this is not an absolute, as there are instances where a rule stats circumstances where you cannot do something (ie: limitations on Charge rules), however, these are always called out as such. For the most part, it is assumed one can do only what it (rules text) says you can do, nothing more. (ie: Spell descriptions. Feat descriptions. Racial abilities. etc) ~P
Yar! My opinion is this: I hate it when old posts get scrambled. My post above used to be so clean with quotes and links, and now after two+ years and who knows how many code updates, it's all scrambled with my links within what used to be a quote fighting for supremacy and destroying the layout of the post. *cries on the inside* :( As for the actual topic at hand, while I still play it as "it replaces the normal Ki Pool", I do also wish for an actual answer, as the wording (or lack thereof regarding any mention of the normal ki pool) still lends itself to having two separate ki pools. *wishes he could hit FAQ again* ~P
Yar! There are a few things to consider regarding the mounted Cavalier that make it more viable. As the saying goes "It's not the size that matters, it's how you use it!" ... aka: bigger isn't always better. Halfling
Strength: 18 base - 2 race + 5 levels + 5 inherent + 6 enhancement = 32
Recomended Traits: Fate's Favored, Axe to Grind Must Have Feats:
That only takes up about half of your available feats by level 20, not including your bonus teamwork feats, so there is lots of room to play with. If this is a solo game, I recommend Leadership for a buffing cohort. Gear:
~Mount: Riding Dog~
Recommended Mount Feats:
Nimble Moves + Acrobatic Steps lets you ignore up to 20 of difficult terrain and lets you 5' step in difficult terrain. IUA + Dragon Style lets you completely ignore all difficult terrain but only while charging (which you're going to be trying to do all the time anyways) Other worthwhile feats for your mount:
Mounts Gear:
What does all this give you? Well, without buffs from allies and/or cohorts, you get the following: You can function easily in dungeons.
So against Medium sized and smaller creatures, you will be doing: (1d6+16+18+5+13+24+1)x4+5d6 = 9d6+308 = 317 to 362. Plus you get a free combat maneuver check that does not provoke.
Against Large and larger enemies, it increases to: (1d6+16+18+5+13+24+1+12)x4+5d6 = 9d6+356 = 365 to 410
This is before buffs. I recommend the following Buffs (Need the following Allies: Bard, Ranger, Cleric, Paladin or Inquisitor, Suli race)
I've probably missed a few raw damage buffs, but lets see where the perfect conditions get us at this point... (1d6+19+18+7+14+34+1+12+4+2+20+16+5+7)x4+6d6 = 10d6+636 = 646 to 696 (this is before applying the doubling from Litany of Righteousness) On a crit: (1d6+147)x6+6d6 = 12d6+954 = 966 to 1026 (again, before applying the Litany doubling) ... One hit. Highly maneuverable. Works in dungeons. Can charge through allies and can turn during the charge. Again, only one attack. ... *ahem* ... ...halfling cavaliers rock. ^_^ ~P
Yar! The Sunblade states: "Against Negative Energy Plane creatures or undead creatures, the sword deals double damage (and ×3 on a critical hit instead of the usual ×2)." Is the bracketed note about critical hits an affirmation of the normal rules for multiple multipliers of damage, or is it actually a modification of the weapons normal crit multiplier? ie: When I crit against an Undead creature with a Sunblade, do I do x2+x2=x3 damage, or do I do x2+x3=x4 damage? ~P
Yar!
There are a lot of rules spread over many different books. While I (now) know where this rule is, many do not. By the very existence of this thread it should be clear that many do not know where that rule is (or that it even exists at all). Please site your sources rather than simply declaring it so, else it can be assumed that you are simply making things up. (I've been guilty of this on occasion as well, but I do try, especially if it's something generally less known and/or located in an obscure place). being helpful:
It's in the environment section of the core rule book, linked to HERE. CRB is big, and it's easy to miss things. I freely admit that I missed this, and I've been reading and rereading it since it was first released, and was even involved during the beta and alpha playtests. ~P
Yar! Gnomes get Speak With Animals just for being gnomes. Speak With Animals is a 3rd level bard spell (Arcane), so a level 1 fighter gnome qualifies for Eldritch Knight. Question: If the above mentioned gnome went into Eldritch Knight at level 2, what would his spellcasting class be? I assume Bard in this particular case (as that's what class the spell that let him qualify comes from), but I figure I should ask just to be sure. Also, does that mean if the spell is a sorcerer/wizard spell, you get to choose which one you act as? (wizard or sorcerer). Perhaps I missed something, but nowhere does it say you must have a level in a class that can cast spells, only that you can cast a spell of X level, and there is precedent with several monsters that they "cast as X class" without having actual class levels, so I assume this follows the same trend. ~P
Yar!
Uhm... where is that stated? I cannot seem to find such a rule anywhere. However, there is precedent (in the Intelligent Magic Item section) that 200,000 is NOT a "hard" cap on items. Only the effective enhancement bonus is a hard cap. It just happens that an effective +10 weapon is 200,000 gp, but then you can still add flat costs, material costs, and intelligence to it. Heck, a theoretical non-magical intelligent weapon can easily have a value of over 200,000. One of the potential purpose powers is a flat +200,000 to the value, let alone the plethora of other powers it needs first before it can even get there. The table for ego modifiers has a 200,001+ entry as well. Of course, I only have access to the books I happen to own, plus the PRD and SRD, so there may be some new rules that I've missed, or perhaps an official forum ruling that turned into an errata or FAQ, but as it stands, I cannot find any rule that states 200,000 gp is a hard limit on item value. Until I see such a rule, I have to say that 200,000 is NOT a hard limit. The only hard limit is the effective enhancement bonus, and flat costs get added separately and thus on top of it. Meaning a +5 Adamantine Vorpal dueling transformative Elven Curve Blade would have a value of 227,000 gp. If that same weapon were also intelligent, had all three mental scores at 16, 60' senses, darkvision, speech and telepathy, can cast a 4th level spell 3/day, is purposed to kill spellcasters, and can cast True Resurrection on it's wielder once per month while pursuing the death of spellcasters, would have a new total value of 469,100 gp. EDIT: added an example of the rules as I understand them and the high potential values of weapons with them. ~P
Yar! Let's not forget feather tokens. Never underestimate the power of a the tree! (instant cover, readied action to block/negate charges, climbing and raining death from above, 60' tall ladder in areas where flight and teleportation may not be feasible, etc). What happens when a feather token Swan Boat and a Feather Token Tree get activated inside a monsters mouth? (this is not covered anywhere, so it's either "nothing, it can't activate" or it's "OMG head explodes!", depending on the GM) ~P
Yar. Ah, well, that is good to know. May I recommend in the future that when such is done, it gets prefaced with such information? Even something like...
See, civility in one's text. That little bit of extra time and thought towards your audience can go a long way to be taken more seriously, and will be far less likely to cause knee-jerk reactions offended senses, and as a result, posts getting flagged, deleted, and eventually seeing entire threads locked. How you say something is just as important as what you say. ~P
Yar. Really now kmal2t, this is starting to get petty. What Steve Geddes wrote was an honest declaration of his point of view. Copying the response and changing key words to twist the intent doesn't strike me as your opinion, but as snide backlash instead. I don't see how such is beneficial to the discussion, or if it can even be called a part of the discussion at all. Please correct me if I'm wrong. doing the exact same thing:
Who is saying you should not be disrespectful in someone else's home?
My view is you should start recognizing that other peoples houses are not democracies and there is nothing objective about unacceptable actions within the home beyond "whatever the home-owner bans should be banned". Declaring what "should" happen falls within the home-owner's purview and nobody else's. (they may choose to ask for feedback on that, but they're not obligated to). Keep telling people what you like but stop telling them you're right. Keep telling the home-owner what you don't like but stop telling them they're wrong. ~P
Yar! Is discussion bad? When one claims to be "discussing" when they are in fact: speaking at others while either ignoring replies or dismissing them outright; promoting circular arguments; flamebaiting/trolling; using one's mastery of the English language to insult, belittle, or insinuate negativity against others in veiled/indirect ways, or even blatantly doing so; yes. That form of "discussion" is, in my opinion, bad (though at that point I wouldn't even call it a "discussion" at all). I am not saying you are doing any of these things at this moment, but I have seen others do these very things in the past. ~P
Yar! This right here is, in my opinion, NOT an unreasonable request. Ignore it and continue to push the boundaries of civility and decency, and it will become a demand (and a rightful one at that. This is their messageboard). Continue to ignore it, threads get locked. Makes sense to me.
~P
Yar. mysteries of the dot:
To dot a thread is to post in it with the expressed purpose of marking it so that you can come back to it at a later time in order to see how the discussion develops, showing that while you may not have anything useful to add at the moment, the topic presented is of interest to you.
The act is called "dotting" because when you post in a thread here, a little dot gets added to the thread title, giving you a clear visual for threads that you are involved in, thus making them easier to find at a later time when browsing the messageboards. The more you know! :D ~P
Yar. ... so... a stat block of a pre-made character, designed to be used "as is" by anyone, to be able to just jump into things without having to worry too much about rules and builds, and thus doesn't include a detail about an option to change it's own build, is the example of irrefutable proof that what was written in the rules book and explicitly stated is, in fact, NOT what paizo intended to write and publish? Publish not as an "example of a ready to play build/character", but published as the Core Rules of the game to be used for creating your own builds and characters? o_O ~P
Yar! Hurray for being clear and concise. Your position is significantly more clear now. I, however, disagree with your interpretation. I think that "Fighter Bonus Feats" and "Combat" feats are not synonymous. While a "Fighter Bonus Feat" must be chosen from the list of "Combat" feats, "Combat" feats do not have to be "Fighter Bonus Feats". Otherwise other classes (who do not gain "Fighter Bonus Feats" could never select them). The Fighter class feature that grants bonus feats specifically calls out "bonus" feats, not any feat , not regular feats, not even "combat" feats. It specifically states "bonus feats". Thus, I posit that the exchange must be one of the feats gained via his "bonus" feat class feature. While yes, it must be a combat feat, it must also be one that was chosen via the "bonus feat" class feature. And yes, I do keep track of this with my characters. ~P
Yar! ... Anunnaki, I don't think it means something reptilian, just a Mesopotamian word for ''gods'' ... Given the Serpentfolk tenancy for narcissism and the subjugation of other races, I'd say that is a pretty good word then for how they would describe themselves to other races who can't handle telepathy. ~P
Yar! If I make an acrobatics check to jump "as far as I can" and the result of my roll is higher than I could normally move in a round, how far do I actually travel? Do I travel as far as I can based on my normal movement and then land? Or do I travel as far as my movement will allow for the round and remain in the air to finish the distance traveled in the following round (as it was in 3.x)? ~P
Yar! I agree that something that alludes to their perceived superiority is appropriate. The other thing to consider is that "serpentfolk" are telepathic. Their name for themselves may not even be a word, but a feeling, or a mix of emotions and mental images of grandeur. Though something less abstract taken from what I read from the SS AP could be something like "The True People" or "Divinity of the Flesh" or something like that. If I remember correctly (I'm at work, so no reference material handy atm) the AP often has them refered to as "truefolk" or something like that. Book 5:
There is a ghost/apparition of an old serpentfolk trapped in the Thousand Fangs guarding the bodies of countless trueblood serpentfolk in temporal stasis who declares to the PC' something about the "truefolk arising again" and so forth (not exact words, obviously). *shrugs* I prefer the empathic projection of grandeur as their racial name for themselves over an actual word myself. ~P
Yar! uhm... this is the same art we've been getting from paizo for the entire pathfinder line. It has not changed. At all. The swords have always been thick. exhibit A: Valeros (one of the earlier pieces of pathfinder art we have has the same thick swords) Heck, Seelah, who is featured on the cover, is exactly the same as when she first appeared in the CRB! exhibit B: Seelah. Same armor. Same sword. This IS what pathfinder art looks like. It has not changed. As you said: "This has been a recurring theme through out your products." Why yes, yes it is. You just nailed it. This IS a theme with their products. This IS a theme with their art. This is a part of what makes it "Pathfinder". That is a good thing. ~P
Yar! Every bonus has a type. ie: armor, shield, enhancement, luck, sacred, inherent, dodge, deflection, resistance, etc. If nothing is mentioned, it is untyped. Untyped bonuses always stack. Bonuses of different types stack, bonuses of the same type do not with a few exceptions. Exceptions: Dodge bonuses stack. Circumstance bonuses from different sources stack. Racial bonuses stack. Barkskin provides an enhancement bonus to your natural armor. Creatures without a numerical representation of natural armor are assumed to have a natural armor of 0. like armor and shields, this isn't an "enhancement" bonus to your AC, it's an "enhancement" bonus to your natural armor, and would thus stack with the bonuses gained from armor, shields, and the various "enhancement" bonuses to those values respectively. tl:dr - yes, Barkskin stacks with a monk's AC bonus, wisdom, dex, dodge, deflection, armor, and other bonuses of different types. As to part 2: --- Dex, Dodge, Deflection, Monk specials (listed by you above), and a few other corner cases/special class abilities too obscure for me to search for while at work. Regular armor does not add to Touch AC, but it does add to Flat-Footed AC. Same with Natural Armor bonuses. ~P
Yar! Im not going to get too far into this, however there is something I should say regarding the notion of combining TWF with FoB... In order to get the extra attacks from wielding a second weapon, you must use a Full-Round Action. This is in the Combat section under the heading of Full-Attack. Similarly when you use the Cleave feat you must use a Standard Action, when you use the Whirlwind feat you use a Full-Attack Action, Spring Attack is a Full-Round Action, and when you cast a summoning spell normally (as in, you are not the Summoner Class) it has a 1 round casting time (taking up your entire round of actions and finishing the next round). A monk may make a Flurry of Blows attack as a Full-Attack Action. You only get to perform one Full-Attack/Full-Round action per round, as it takes up all your actions for that round. The combat section says that as well. You normally do not get to make two Full Attack/Full Round actions in the same round. You can either FoB or TWF, not both. Just like you may either Spring Attack or Whirlwind, not both. Even though the wording of those two feats are "as a..." and "when you...", they are still understood as separate actions that each require a Full Round/Full Attack Action to use, and thus cannot be combined. Same with combining any of these with a charge... it simply doesn't work due to action economy. Neither can you combine TWF with Spring Attack or Whirlwind or Charging or Withdrawing or casting a 1 Round casting time spell or any other Full Round/Full Attack action. Each of these options/actions require one to use a Full-Round/Full Attack action. (I don't think I've ever seen anyone argue being able to TWF while Spring Attacking or Whirlwind-ing or Charging). As it is with FoB and TWF. They each require you to use a Full Round/Full Attack action to perform, thus they cannot be performed at the same time. Any arguments that FoB and TWF can be combined must also include being able to TWF during any action that is a Full-Attack Action. hm, I ended up rambling a bit. Sorry about that. ~P
Yar! Name: Braximus (Braxen is the summoner, Chemedis is the Eidolon. Together they become Braximus Prime)
Survivors: Leros-Kora Nassai (Human/Ulfen), T'sai Koga (Human/Tien), Esalia Co'helumus (Elf), Anky (Ankylosaurus Animal Companion), and Kallen (Half-Elf). The Gory Details: The assault upon the Fortress of Thousand Fangs has begun! First, some house-changes t the plot: I found Eando Kline's involvement to be a bit of a slap in the face of the players and also didn't make much sense, feeling more like an awkward insert for a sort of deus ex machina to tie the plot together. So I instead swapped him out with Amivor Glaur (The leader of the Pathfinder faction from Racing to Ruin). My group allied with both the Pathfinders and the Pirates, so both Amivor and Kassata Lewynn (Pirate captain) became prominent NPCs, and due to an unfortunate run-in with the Aboleth "Yog'oltha" (long story short) they both ended up being captured by the Serpentfolk and brought to Ilmuria while the PCs were busy with other tasks. Kassata escaped and became my groups "Juliver", becoming enfeebled and smashing the crystals that activated the portal and fleeing the scene. Amivor made an escape when first some morlocks, then the "Vagabond Spiders" attacked the serpentfolk caravan, thus allowing Amivor to escape into Ilmuria and take the place of Eando Kline, befriend the morlocks, speak with Izon, and end up in the fortress as a recaptured prisoner.
So, my group entered the Thousand Fangs in order to rescue Amivor Glaur. They entered quietly through the Postern Gate, bypassing the portcullis via Dimensional Hope and Dimension Doors. They encountered the first set of guards lounging about, though the battle itself took quite some time. Alert Status Level 1. After a few minutes of casual looting, they proceeded to systematically make their way up the body of the fortress, hitting every door on their way. At the second guard post, they got the jump on them and did something truly epic. Long ago T'sai had collected some of the Midnight Spores directly from Urschlar's Lab in the First Vault. He tosses the jar into the room, shattering it and closing the stone doors right away. Arrows clink against the inside of the closed stone door just before half of the Serpentfolk guards within succumb to the paranoia insanity of the spores. The eerie silence is suddenly replaced not with shouts or screams, but with telepathic screams sending to all nearby creatures instead of only other serpent folk. Fearful cries of "Pink skinned doom is upon us!" "WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIEEEE!!!" "I'm going to kill you all!" and so on reverberate constantly in everyone's heads (and in every other serpentfolk and other creatures nearby). While thsoe not affected sent out a warning that the "pink skins have turned serpent against serpent, a powerful attack comes!" Alert Status Level 2. After the battle, the group left the ones who were too paranoid to fight rationally alone to continue fighting each other instead, while the telepathic insanity continued to ring out throughout Thousand Fangs. They then go on to find Belkor and his guards, and proceed to kill them all, but not fast enough. The guards send out more telepathic warnings. Alert Status Level 3. General Alert. After a while of continued exploration, the telepathic screaming stopped. The group came back to the guard post to find only one serpentfolk left alive. They scream at it and close the door again, starting another several minutes of telepathic paranoid screaming insanity throughout the fortress. Now things are getting serious (especially with the nature of these telepathic screams). Full Alert and more active mobilization of forces. The group goes on about their merry way, spending resources, Hero Points, and Plot Twist cards on a brutal encounter with Tsskath in the Chamber of Sleepers, and nearly reawakening the ancient truefolk within (thankfully they didn't, but they do have a number of ioun stones flying about and they almost did activate some of the stasis chambers with them). After barely getting through that and looting some more and getting electrocuted by the trapped secret door, the wandering Fiendish Spirit Nagas have made their way down to the first Gymnasium entrance, which is the area next on the PC's hit list. After leaving the Chamber of Sleepers, T'sai gets a feeling that something is about to happen, but perceives nothing around. He pulls out the Darkskull they just found, bathing the area in an invisibility purging unhallow. The Naga's become visible around them (huzzah) but also gain the general boons of the unhallow (horror!). Fireballs explode and another fight ensues. The serpent folk in the gymnasium easily hear this ruckus, and prepare for a careful counter-attack to both gauge the enemy and delay as a better force arrives. After 3 rounds of combat with the Naga's, the doors to the Gymnasium open again and armed and ready serpentfolk show their strength. Braximus sees this and is the only one in a good position to do anything about it. Being a large creature that looks like Tyrael (Diablo 2 & 3 - energy wings are tentacle evolutions, and the Azureblade El'Druin is a heavily enchanted Bastard Sword), he charges the serpentfolk before they can exit and also completely blocks the doorway (I made all the double doors regular sized, so they create 10' entrances). The serpentfolk at the front proceed to disarm and bash Braximus while the ones further away pelt him with arrows. Due to the only light being the bit of luminescence from the Serpentstone, everything is dim light. Esalia sends a Deeper Darkness into the Gymnasium, blinding the hoard of archers within as well as the fighters at the front with supernatural darkness. Unfortunately, the well disciplined serpentfolk soldiers act calmly. The archers closest the the back doors find them and leave, sending out telepathic info on the situation as they do so, while the flail warriors at the front continue to attack while slowly advancing, trusting their intuition and skill of arms to drive their foes back. They succeed, rolling lucky and not missing due to the miss chance the darkness grants, and manage to bring Braximus beyond his limit. Chemides fades away with a cry of despair and Braxen falls to the continued advance of whirling flails and serpentfolk. The telepathic phone-line continues to travel as the archers leave the darkness from the other side, entering the Central Courtyard where Sskhavo and a lot of "on alert" serpentfolk are at the ready. The warning of the magic of these invaders combined withthe insane ravings of the paranoid guards from earlier leads and allows Sskhavo to convince Khavith to assist the defense against this incursion. Khavith buffs, teleports into the dark gymnasium, dispels the darkness, and proceeds to dish out the arcane retribution against the still living PCs. Kallen and Esalia both call for a retreat. They barely manage to get out, as Esalia is the only one who can teleport effectively, yet the party is to large to get out in one casting. The result was a panicked shuffling of bags of holdings while sending Anky and other "bag of holding-less" players and Braxen's body into their portable hole to reduce the number of bodies Esalia needs to actually teleport, all while fighting back against the advancing serpentfolk guards now lead by the purecaste Khavith. Only thanks to a well played Plot Twist Card to distract Khavith at the right time were they able to escape. It wasn't a complete loss though. They have Belkor's gear as proof of their deed, so now have the backing of Izon and the Urdefhans. Resources are being pooled to raise and restore Braxen, and a significantly more sound plan is being worked on to try again., including using their now small army of Ilmurian allies (Morlocks and Urdefhans) to create a more effective diversion, and spending the time it will take to organize them to do a more thorough recon of the fortress, including Greater Scrying on Amivor, multiple Divination and Commune spells, and more!
Yar! You* may not be able to in real life, but why can't your character? Your character is not you, nor is it a toon or avatar that acts as the middle man for you to interact with and win the game^, it's a character controlled by you (Yes, there is a difference). Just saying in a dead pan "My character falls to his knees and cries, temporarily overcome by emotion to do anything else." is easy to do, and what (from the sounds of it) rarely happens when one would think it is appropriate to do. Personally, I have had characters break down, cry, rage to the point of making bad choices, go insane, and so on. Sometimes even mid-combat. Some of my other friends who I play with have done so as well. I cannot speak for others, but from my personal experience (which may not jive with other peoples experiences, and that is okay), those who tend to not emote in any way seems to me to be players who view their characters as themselves with different skins and super-powers, or simply as gateways for their (as in, their real life selves) interaction with the game world instead of actual characters with their own personal desires, different perspectives, and alternate ways of thinking and doing things that may or even may not be the same as the player does in real life$. There is nothing wrong with either approach to characters. They are just different, and in my personal experience, have shown themselves through many various nuances, including the lack of sad/negative emotions portrayed by the characters. * You as in a general you, not any specific individual. ^ This is my opinion, an how I play. This is not an absolute truth and may be, to varying degrees, how someone else plays... and that is okay. $ Again, this is not an absolute truth. There are people who can play like this and be emotions, and people who do not play like this and do not emote either, and any variation in between. That is okay. This is just a summation of my personal observations in this topic. ~P
Yar! Why in gods name would I need to roll a concentration check for a spell-like ability that's an immediate action? As has been pointed out in the other thread, it is RAW that you have to make a concentration check to cast a spell while falling. A character cannot cast a spell while falling, unless the fall is greater than 500 feet or the spell is an immediate action, such as feather fall. Casting a spell while falling requires a concentration check with a DC equal to 20 + the spell's level. One of my posts in that thread has been getting plenty of FAQ hits regarding these exact issues (the concentration check and the "pit trap" scenario). Hopefully with enough FAQ hits there, we'll actually get an official answer to those questions. Until then, it is, as always, up to the GM to interpret the RAW, and the RAW vs RAI. In this case, the RAI seems to conflict with the RAW, which is: if you're Flat Footed, you cannot take Immediate Actions (this includes Feather Fall), and if you cast Feather Fall when you start to fall (the most common scenario for casting it, as far as I know), then you must make a DC 21 Concentration check or the spell is wasted. EDIT: also, Spell-Like Abilities do require Concentration Checks to use to avoid provoking and to avoid being disrupted in the same way normal spells do. LINK to that rule on the PRD ... Using all other spell-like abilities is a standard action unless noted otherwise, and doing so provokes attacks of opportunity. It is possible to make a concentration check to use a spell-like ability defensively and avoid provoking an attack of opportunity, just as when casting a spell. A spell-like ability can be disrupted just as a spell can be. ... Bolding is my own. Also also, here is a link to the table that shows examples of what can disrupt a spell (and subsequently, Spell-Like Abilities) and their respective Concentration check DCs. ~P
Yar! there are usually plenty of good ideas and comments in such a long thread until 1 comment gets it shut down You can open it in case you're interested in the early, valuable bit Indeed. A lot of great things get discussed in these message boards, by a lot of very intelligent and creative people. Whenever I'm curious about something, the first thing I do is use the Search feature to find similar topics to what I'm interested in to see what others have already said. I don't need to be able to post in a thread to be able to read and learn about great ideas, rules clarifications, or the like. I just need to be able to read them. And many threads that get locked still have great ideas, clarifications, interesting discussion and the like within them. If I could never access those posts ever again due to deletion, I'd probably spend a lot less time here in the first place. Some form of indication that the thread has been locked may be nice (in case half way through reading I get the urge to respond to something), but outright deleting it? No thanks. ~P
Yar! Whenever I do this, I treat "sunblade" as a +3 equivalent property. I provided a breakdown of why HERE. Others have given other ideas in that thread as well, but (obviously) I like my pricing the best (as both a player and a GM). ~P
Yar! THIS LINK will give you some basic info on the Faction, and is a great starting point. For more (and more detailed) information, you will (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) need to purchase and read through one or more of the following supplements on them. Pathfinder Society Field Guide and when it comes out in June: Pathfinder Society Primer I probably missed a few. For example: Pages 268-9 of the Inner Sea World Guide has some basic info on the Pathfinder Society as well. But for now, the info within the first link I provided above should be plenty at this point in time (or at least, a satisfactory starting point). ~P
Yar! Do I have to make a Concentration Check (DC21) to cast Feather Fall while falling? A character cannot cast a spell while falling, unless the fall is greater than 500 feet or the spell is an immediate action, such as feather fall. Casting a spell while falling requires a concentration check with a DC equal to 20 + the spell's level. ... Also: What happens if I fall into a pit trap? I've seen it argued that being surprised by a trap makes you Flat-Footed. Feather Fall is an Immediate Action, and Immediate Actions cannot be performed when you are Flat-Footed (unless you have Uncanny Dodge or a similar ability). Is this interpretation correct? ~P
Ya---arrr. :/ I, sir, am OFFENDED! *walks away in a huff* ~P
Yar! The whole reason the swordlords agreed to commission free agents (the PCs) to explore the greenbelt and set up their own kingdom there was to create an independent ally at their southern border without raising suspicion of active expansion in order to prevent civil war. Secrecy during the initial phases of establishment is vital! They PC's are not yet established as their own kingdom, so to prevent civil war, they need to maintain some semblance of secrecy in these relations with the swordlords. If the PC's are constantly going to Restov instead of their own fletchling kingdom, it's going to seem like they are direct representatives of Restov and their actions are the actions of the Swordlords. That kinda negates the whole purpose of the initial contract and will bring about civil war (lots of death, both military and innocent civilians). I would have the swordlords be very firm with a message to them about this. They do not want this to happen (and I assume neither do you, as such an event could easily draw the PCs up north to fight in the civil war instead of dealing with the events of the greenbelt aka the Kingmaker Adventure Path). If after a very stern warning the PCs continue to use Restov as their "go to" place for resupply or whatever, I would even go as far as to have the Swordlords publicly declare them saboteurs, trying to bring ruin to the northern kingdoms by implying direct Restovian aid in the expansion and colonization of the Stolen Lands, and that if they continue these actions, they will be judged as criminals / spies eliciting espionage. And then give a quite aside "but we don't want to go to that extreme. We want to be your allies, but we need to ride out this storm first. Civil war is at our doorstep. You were part of our plan to prevent civil war, but you constantly coming here is risking causing it. Please. Stop. Let us worry about things up here, and we will trust you to worry about things down south. But we do NOT have time or the means to help you with the going-ons down south beyond what we are already doing, and trying to do incognito. Some tact, please." ... or something. They want to prevent civil war while making allies to their southern borders, after all. The PC's actions are putting them into a tough spot. After the above, I would also tell the PCs out of character that "seriously, if you keep this up, the swordlords will be forced to take action against your characters, and it could be a potential campaign ender. I don't want that, and I do have a backup plan to keep the campaign going should you draw their ire and get yourselves killed, but I'd rather not have to go to those lengths. But in the end, if that's what your characters would do, then please understand that the world will respond in kind, and there will be consequences." This may sound cruel, but if the PCs do push them, or do not take their words seriously and continue, then the swordlords should and would take action against them. They have other expeditions in the Stolen lands after all, and it wouldn't be a stretch to give one of them a bit more aid (in secret) to take over the PC's fletchling kingdom and become the new independent ally to the south in the PC's place. The backup plan would then be to have the new group of PCs be one of the other expeditions that are now tasked with taking over the old PC's fletchling kingdom and take over where they left off. Just some thoughts. ~P
Yar! The readied action interrupts the triggering action. If he is still able to, he may continue the action. If you are out of reach, he is unable to perform that action... does that mean he can change his intended action, or must he swing at air? If he can change it, then he's likely use his standard action to move again, this time to be right beside you. You are now pooched. You cannot 5' step away and ready the same action, as you can only make one 5' step each round and only if you do not otherwise move. At best (with this ruling), this will only negate the first melee attack against you, and that's it. ~P
Yar! I agree. But if we must play the "blame game": it isn't the optimizers* fault, it isn't the role-players* fault, and it isn't the GM's fault either. It's the "player^ who is unwilling to be flexible"'s fault. * = These terms are not mutually exclusive.
~P
Yar. off topic but important for everyone:
I'm actually going to defend shallowsoul in this case. He obviously has no interest in discussing this in the many previous threads anymore (and indeed I can see he is only making comments in them now as off topic replies to other off topic posts). At least - in this instance - he has taken the advice of Gary and other posters in that he has just created a thread with a non-aggressive title, the contents of which are simply stating what he wishes to discuss in a civil and non-aggressive manner.
While I am sad and annoyed that there are so many threads on this now (there really only needed to be one, regardless of where it ended up being relocated to), I do say props to shallowsoul for listening to the moderating staff and following their posting guidelines. Perhaps this time, if we allow it to happen, we may actually see a good, insightful discussion about the flaws of the current system. ~P
Gar? The original was locked because people were getting overly nasty towards each other, aka being jerks. The very first listed and declared as the most important rule of these message boards is "dont be a jerk." There is no need to relocate a thread that has been locked. Again, locking a thread is the proverbial "stop this nonsense, let it die". Relocation is "Lets keep this site organized, with threads were they belong based on their content, so future visitors to our site will be able to have their needs met." It has nothing to do with hoping it will "quiet down". It really doesn't. You can still post there to your hearts content. And I see that you actually are continuing the discussion there, along with many other posters! Congratulations! The relocation was not detrimental after all. ...and for the fifth time: The Suggestions/House Rules/Homebrew forum is not homebrew only as is being implied by some, it is actually primarily for rules suggestions. The current organization of this message boards lumps suggestions for rules changes and homebrew content together. This is not a hierarchy if relevance. It is simply a method of keeping content organized. That thread was moved to the Suggestions forum because the content evolved to be primarily about suggested rule changes. That forum IS about suggestions to the core rules, as well as (in addition to, not in exclusion of) house rules and homebrew material. Heck, a bit earlier in this thread, magnuskn made a fabulous suggestion about this orginization of these messageboards here, to which you enthusiastically agreed with here, and I even agreed with and continued with a suggestion on how to make it a reality right here. I understand if you don't want to click the links and open a bunch of new tabs/windows, so I'll copy-past it now as well:
...the suggestion of separating Suggestions and Homebrew into two separate forums is an idea worth investigating. May I suggest a new thread (with an appropriate title) in the Website feedback forum to make a stronger case for, and to more appropriately discuss, such a alteration to this site? So again, I will reiterate: This is a good idea and (as far as I can tell) will help to alleviate much of the apparent headaches going on. You feel that a forum for suggesting changes to the core rules and a forum for presenting house rules and homebrew content should be separate entities. Currently they are meshed together. If you are serious about this change in the organization of this website, the best way to go about it is as I suggested above: "a new thread (with an appropriate title) in the Website feedback forum to make a stronger case for, and to more appropriately discuss, such a alteration to this site". I hope you do not take my advice as an offense, it is not. It is simply advice. I know that unsolicited advice is subconsciously taken as an offense (hurray for human nature), so I implore readers to not take my posts as an attack, but as genuine desire to make things better in a respectful manner. Of course, in that light, I truly do hope that you are able to take my advice seriously. It is being put out here to the benefit of you and all future visitors to this site. PS: hehe, I was a Pirate long before Dodgeball came out and presented Steve the Pirate. Still, fun movie. ^_^ You may not think I'm a Pirate, and that's okay. I do not think that you have a shallow soul. You actually appear to be full of life, energy, and fire. However, may I request that we both stop the comments on each others aliases? Such comments can be easily construed as an attack. Thanks, ~P
Yar! I actually see it as an announcement of "all discussions revolving around suggesting changes to {insert any paizo published rules here} need to be in the Suggestions/House Rules/Homebrew forum, as that's the forum we have designated for the discussion of suggestions for rule changes, as well as for posting similar content such as house rules, and so forth". I respectfully disagree with the phrasing of "dismissed as a homebrewn discussion". It hasn't been dismissed. And it hasn't been called homebrewn. It has been relocated for organizational purposes - being a thread that turned into something centered around suggested rules changes - to the forum designated specifically for suggested rule changes. For the fourth time, the Suggestions/House Rules/Homebrew forum is not only about homebrew, but also (and by the forum name, I'd say primarily) for suggested changes to the rules. Which the thread in question had become. ~P
Yar. That was one thread out of the many, many threads which blew up to monstrous size about the class. Perhaps it's my luck with the search engine, but I'm not seeing it. There are a number of monk related threads in the Pathfinder RPG General Discussion forum, and most of them are single digits in post lengths, some are in the teens to 20's, and there are a small handful that broke 100 posts (all nothing compared to the 1667 of the previously mentioned thread). I've even been trying to read through them, and I'm finding something interesting: they contain very little to no actual suggestions, fixes, or house rules. They are mostly about the actual rules as they are written, visuals of what is being described, and other general concepts as appropriate to the Pathfinder RPG. The most I've found so far was 1 posts and 2 replies out of 135 posts that mention a possible alternative, and one single comment saying "they really should have just ... rather than list them." That is such a small percentage of the overall posts in that thread that it, apparently, wasn't worth moving it to a different forum. Heck, there's even a good one about "how do you do it", which was about the current (at the time) split in interpretation of a rule. However, that still belongs in the Pathfinder RPG general forum as the central point of it wasn't "homebrew" at all, nor suggesting changes, fixes, or alternate solutions, but instead focused on how you interpret and use the text as presented in the Pathfinder RPG with full knowledge of multiple legitimate interpretations. Perhaps it is my search skills failing at this particular moment, but I seem to be unable to find these threads that blew up due to talking about proposed rules changes, fixes, and houserules located outside of either the Suggestions/House Rules/Homebrew forum, or the Rules Questions forum. The thread relocation that started this thread had evolved into having most of the posts be about suggested rule changes. Going back and reading it again, it really did. I cannot bemoan an 'unjust move' that I do not see as being unjust. ~P
Yar! Well, then, why were the Monk discussions not moved to Suggestions/Homebrew? You mean the giant monster of a thread that was Flurry of Changes to Flurry of Blows which is where the most discussion of the clarifications and suggestions of fixes took place? Because that actually was moved to the Suggestions/House Rules/Homebrew forum. I honestly do not see the double standard here. I do not believe that paizo is "shunting" threads to other forums, especially not as a means to shut them down. I've eluded to this already, as have the very staff that move threads. The reason for thread relocation is to keep these forums organized for the benefits of future visitors so that it is easier for them to find the topics they are searching for. This is about organization. There is nothing malicious about it (Yes, that is a strong word that no one has said yet, but the implications of some posts suggest that feeling). And I will say it a third time: The Suggestions/House Rules/Homebrew forum is for discussing suggestions for changes to the core rules as well as homebrew things. At the moment, they are not mutually exclusive entities, hence why "Suggestions" is the very first word in the name of the forum. Of course, the suggestion of separating Suggestions and Homebrew into two separate forums is an idea worth investigating. May I suggest a new thread (with an appropriate title) in the Website feedback forum to make a stronger case for, and to more appropriately discuss, such a alteration to this site? ~P
Yar! I just feel the need to mention, the "house rule" forum is actually called the "Suggestions/House Rules/Homebrew" forum, which is described as "post your rules suggestions, house rules, variant classes, homebrew settings, etc. here.". "this is how they ought to be" sound a lot like a "rules suggestion", thus that is the perfect forum for it. Indeed, that is where it should be. Heck, the devs DO go into that forum, read posts/threads there, and even reply to posts there as well. They do listen to your customer input, even when it is in the Suggestions forum. ~P
Yar. "You might be a munchkin if..." ... you came into this thread looking for ways to "up your game". ~P
Yar! Pendin Fust gave a great link to another thread where we discuss Hirst molds - that is, making bits of terrain with plaster casting. It can give you really high quality terrain, but can cost a penny as well. (I was going to say if you have the patience, but that is true for ALL 3D terrain. Patience patience patience!) There is the fast and super inexpensive method some people call the DM-Scotty method, which uses carbdoard and more everyday laying around the house materials to great effect. At the moment I do my 3D terrain in foam. In my opinion, the "labor intensive" aspect of it is more waiting for things to dry so you can move to the next step... but it does take time. However, I find the cost to make it to be acceptable, especially for the results I have seen. But the bulky aspect of it can be true. My large foam set pieces are often one single large piece of terrain, and thus take up a fair amount of storage space. quick breakdown of my process to build 3d terrain out of foam:
Including setting and drying times, one scene usually takes 3-5 days.
Day 1 consists of planning what needs to be done, sketching roughs of the terrain onto foam boards, cutting out the pieces from the foam (I use a hot knife, so the cuts are clean, but you can only go so fast, and you need good ventilation as the fumes can be dangerous) (except for when I want a rougher cut, then I'll use a regular - but very sharp - knife instead), and using foam friendly adhesive, start gluing the freshly cut pieces together (some glues will eat through foam, and/or not stick properly) The sketching out the plans part takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on how complex it is and if I want to just approximate it, or replicate perfectly to scale (I have drafting experience). Cutting likewise takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on how complex the piece may be. Most foam glues take 24 hours to properly dry. They may set quickly, but wont become strong until the next day (and so, we wait). Day 2 consists of sealing everything with an acrylic gloss. This is for several reasons: 1) acts as an adhesive to bond and seal the whole thing even more, making it all extra strong. 2) protects the foam from the paint (as many paints will literally eat through/melt foam). 3) acts as a primer for the paint and helps the colors pop. The acrylic gloss takes about ... oh I don't know, 1-2 hours to cover a whole scene piece with, and (depending on how thick it is) about the same amount of time to dry. Once I feel it's dried, I do a basic paint with spray paint. It's fast, covers large areas quickly and evenly, and as the bottles say "dries in 15 minutes, ready to handle in 1 hour". Sometimes day 2 is nothing but dealing with the acrylic gloss and letting it dry, and painting happens on day 3. Day 3, after any additional painting, consists of fine details. Applying flock for grass, ballast for sand and stone, turf and other such things for bushes, trees, and other various textures. This also takes a various amount of time, depending on the complexity and so forth. First you put a clear drying adhesive over the areas to be textures (mod podge, scenic cement, etc), then apply the texture, then spray with scenic cement (again) to seal the texture in. Can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours (or more for truly harrowing details). That all takes about 24 hours to dry. Day 4+ consists of final touches, often including addition textures and realistic fake water. I use Woodland Scenic's Realistic Water and Water Effects, which takes 24 hours to dry per application. EDIT: except for the temple and the well scenes. For the water there I used E-Z Water, which dries in minutes. It is heat activated though (and takes some times to melt from it's pellet form into a pourable liquid - which begins drying right away, so move quick!), so it has the potential to melt the foam scene a bit, and it has a yellowish tinge to it as well, so beware! Examples of what I've made are all for the Serpent's Skull AP, so map spoilers in the following links: World Map, An Ancient Ziggurat, The Underground Temple, a side of a mountain Ritual Site (with high and low tide options), and a dinky little well made from leftover bits. (there are just a few examples) But yeah, as you can see, they are big and not easy to store. The "world map" is actually 5 pieces, but each piece is 14" x 48", which is still larger than many people are able to store easily. I hope this helps a bit, and - as you're already doing - if you have questions, please ask! :D ~P
Yar! I must admit, I've been so busy IRL with work and whatnot, I haven't had the time to build as much as I'd have liked. I'm still going to build some of the areas we've already played through, simply because they were cool scenes, it's fun to do, and could be useful in the future should a similar area ever come up in future games (for example: the Camalutz's nest I changed to be on top of the dam, putting the statues on top of it, making THAT the first thing people would see coming into Saventh-yhi from that side, statues of soldiers and the hero-companions of Saventh atop a huge dam/bridge, instead of on a wide street in the city down below - that encounter was a big one, and would make for a great piece of s3 terrain, and useable in any situation requiring a bridge or dam) ... however, the "First Vault" is finished (and has been for a while) and I finally put pics of it up. Only 3 pics, and I forgot to place the doors at the main entrance for the pics. Oh well. It's low detail dungeon tiles (made from foam), made for the First Vault, but usable with any dungeon with some creativity. First Vault (the whole thing completed) First Vault (exploring from the center out) Also, my goblin has new eyes (they glow in the dark), and I have pics of him up now as well: HERE. I'll be making him a friend/brother soon. ~P EDIT: oh yeah, I checked out that guy's work. Pretty good stuff, though still too expensive for me. I'll take the extra time and MUCH less money to do it all myself for now. ^_^
Yar! This is an issue of word emphasis when that sentence is read in your head or aloud, creating different meanings depending on where you apply the emphasis. There are two meanings for that sentence. "...make one melee attack at your highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach." Could mean ONE attack that applies to multiple creatures, or "...make one melee attack at your highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach." could mean each creature receives one attack (so if there are 5 targets, you make 5 attacks, 17 creatures = 17 attacks, etc). Most people read it as the second, not the first. Hence the "Furious Focus can only apply to one of the targets in a whirlwind attack" instead of all of them. ~P
Yar. I see that, but that still doesn't negate the validity of IronTruths point, nor does it lessen the strength of the words you chose to use an both sides of the word "can". "entirely believe" "stay the hell out of the way" ... are both very powerful statements. Leaving the statement at just that without expanding upon the "can" portion will lead many people to similar conclusions about your meaning. I still maintain my point: that IronTruths clarification does not negate his point of "rules, dice and action shouldn't take away from the story/plot/fun of the game". I also maintain my point that your previous statement "can stay the hell out of the way" - and I am taking into account the use of the word "can" - is a much more stern and one sided statement than, and seemingly at odds with, your second one of "They can be useful storytelling tools, but they can also get in the way when the story doesn't need them". Regardless, my apologies for nit-picking. I shall drop this and move on. ~P
Yar. As a few others have eluded to and stated already, my first thought when I read "He comes from the northern wilderness..." and "... his new backstory appears to be (conveniently) that a portion of his family lives in the city." was the following: *GM-Pirate hears this in game* GM-Pirate: okay. Make a Bluff check. Seriously, you already have his backstory. It may be sparse, but his character is now making stuff up. That's a lie. A bluff. His character is pretending that he has family in the city to sneak one past the guards. Of course, I am also all for expanding on the details of one's backstory... so long as it makes sense. It should be about fleshing out the character, not gaining skewed advantages or for throwing curve-balls at the GM/other players. ~P |
