Sunlord Thalachos

Quintain's page

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So when I get up in the morning I manifest Share Pain 8 times, and I know take 1/8th of any damage I receive.

You are breaking stacking rules.


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The other side tends to us an interpreted "RAW". They see it as ignoring known intent (in this case we know it's considered unique deities and not valid), requiring directly addressing the issue which is unlikely (FAQ are sparse), and mocking the rules as flawed.

The problem is that they haven't been proven to be a) unique nor b) deities.

The proof to the opposite is a) a generic stat block, and b) the "deific" ability is available to mortal creatures (specifically mythic creatures, which are by RAW, mortals).

These counter-arguments are being ignored by the "interpreted RAW" group in preference to their preferred conclusions.

It would be more honest to open a FAQ to ask the question of whether green men are able to be used by the plant form spell series or not.

But as it stands now, the evidence weights heavily in the favor of the "strict raw" group.

Note: I'm neither.


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A non-lethal method of taking out mass targets is a pretty appealing option. I think it stands on it's own merits.


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John Mechalas wrote:

What about the SoD aspect? That can very easily be converted to "unconscious".

By RAW, I guess it's technically not damage so it wouldn't work. By RAI, though, it might make for a reasonable house rule.

Instead of trying to shoehorn a cloudkill spell with the merciful feat, why not just research a new spell that does what you want?


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Poison Dusk wrote:
Viondar wrote:
As to the Green Man being a deific creature or not... It's a bit confusing.
Bestiary 6 wrote:

Deific A green man grants divine spells to worshipers. This does

not require any specific action on the green man’s behalf. The
domains granted by a green man vary according to the green
man’s alignment. Most green men are neutral and grant access
to the domains of Plant, Protection, Strength, and Weather
and to the subdomains of DefenseAPG, GrowthAPG, ResolveAPG,
and SeasonsAPG. A neutral good green man grants access to the
domains of Good, Plant, Protection, and Weather and to the
subdomains of DefenseAPG, GrowthAPG, PurityAPG, and SeasonsAPG.
A neutral evil green man grants access to the domains of
Evil, Plant, Strength, and Weather and to the subdomains of
DecayAPG, GrowthAPG, ResolveAPG, and SeasonsAPG. Regardless of
his alignment, a green man’s favored weapon is the sickle. If a
druid worshiping a green man chooses to take a domain, the
druid must choose the Plant domain, regardless of alignment.
The green man’s holy symbol is that of a masculine face made
of leaves, but the exact expression and appearance of the face
varies by green man, and each is unique in detail.
I believe this is part of what causes the confusion.

As an aside, being "deific" is not a refutation of being generic. or confirmation of being a deity. Mythic creatures can do the same thing.


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Moonheart wrote:


The problem with your "environment where all participant are satisfied" is that is not something always possible. There are always times when players disagree on how some points of the game should be managed and will stand their ground no matter the amount of efforts you attempt to find a middle ground. (Which is the case of the OP's table, visibly)

At that time, someone have to play the arbiter, and the guy who's in charge of it is the GM. That's why he -has- autority, he just -must- have it, or the first occurrence of that kind of situation will immediately sink the game.

It can't be anyone else at the table to do it, too, because the one disatisfied may leave... and while a table can afford to lose a player, it cannot afford to lose its GM.
You can replace a player that left, but the GM have to stay, and thus, in case of a unsolvable disagreement, the option to keep is the one that the GM agrees to, for the sake of everyone else.
If the GM becomes unhappy with the game, the game itself is doomed.

-----------

Also, you must not forget an important point: the GM workload.
A GM spend a lot of time preparing a game. Sometimes in a campaign, his total work made between the game sessions can total to more than a thousand hours!

The GM is a kind player who is wishing to do that work...

I can tell you from experience that "losing the GM" is not even close to the death knell of a campaign. It has happened in the campaign that I'm currently playing in -- someone else familiar with the setting and that was a player under the former GM simply took over running the game. Players come and go, and so to GMs. All of them are replaceable. Sometimes GMs burn out and sometimes players want to GM. As long as everyone is flexible in their role, everyone goes home happy.

As for "all participants are satisfied not being always possible" -- of course. But it is still a goal that should be aspired to.

'Cuz you gotta have goals :P


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Implementing this, mechanically, would be easy enough by pre-building aegis class abilities as a template(s) and then fixing the progression of those abilities based on the level of the character who possesses the item itself.

Similar in how one would build a gestalt character (more powerful option) or a Variant Multiclasing from Pathfinder unchained (less powerful), and have the aegis "artifact" replace the feats gained from class progression.

I've made VMC options for the Aegis in my spare time (never published, not official), that follows this progression:

Aegis
A character who chooses Aegis as her secondary class gains the following secondary class features.
Psionic Focus: At 1st level, she can gain psionic focus if she could not already.
Form Astral Suit: At 3rd level, she gains the Form Astral Suit class feature. She can choose only one type of astral suit: skin, armor, juggernaut or transformed body and once chosen cannot be changed. She does not gain any free customizations.
Customizations: At 7th level, she gains customization points. She gains one half the normal customization points of an aegis of a class level equal to her character level minus 4.
Invigorating Suit: At 11th level, she gains the invigorating suit class feature.
Reconfigure: At 15th level, she gains reconfigure class feature, treating her character level -4 as her effective aegis level.
Augment Suit: At 19th level, she gains the Augment Suit class feature, treating her character level -4 as her effective aegis level.


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Sagiso wrote:

A friend of mine mentioned the possibility of a more psionic game (in a setting without spells)and I started wondering how I'd try to build one of my favorite characters for that kind of game.

Of course, me being me, I ended up with the probably most inefficient class wishlist I could have thought up, and now I'm wondering if it's even possible to make it work.

Basically, for that rogue-ish feel, I'd want to start off with the cutthroat soulknife archetype. So far so good, right?
Well, then ideally I wanna go and grab a level of shadowdancer because I'd really like hide in plain sight and that's not on the list of rogue talents the cutthroat can choose from.
And before anyone goes "But look at those feat prereqs!" I'm painfully aware of them, but they might be necessary anyway because...

I also wanna go elocater, the ability for gravity to be optional just seems like too much fun to pass up on. (Though I need to figure out how to get past that "ability to manifest 1st level powers" requirement).

So that's Cutthroat, shadowdancer and elocater, and if possible I'd really like to do two-weapon fighting as well because the character has a history of that. This will of course leave me very feat starved and I'm not sure if what remains is enough to make it a viable build.

Any tips?

With this build in mind, look at psychic warrior. With the right choices, it does everything you want.


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Daw wrote:

If the (uninhabited) inert clone was living, there wouldn't be the follow-on note that it will rot unless preserved in some way. I guess the spell gives the clone a psuedo-life until it becomes potentially viable (complete), with the clone becoming actually viable when it becomes "inhabited".

EDIT ADD
Classic advice to the GM, "Kill your Darlings".

Not necessarily. Our presumption earlier of self-sustaining clone body may have been incorrect. It could be that the clone is technically living while being grown for the 2d4 months, but without a soul present it dies upon completion ("stillborn") unless preserved, and once the soul enters the clone, it is resuscitated similar to a breath of life spell.


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This has got to be one of the more fascinating discussions I've seen on these boards in a while.

I suppose the definitive answer is just what is meant by "inert"

The common definition when the word is: incapable of moving or acting (but apparently still living).

Which would mean that the clone spell essentially creates a soulless, living body.

This kind of leads to more questions -- just what can one do with a "inert duplicate" of a creature prior to that creature dying and having it's soul inhabit the duplicate?


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The lantern archon's ray attack is not considered to be a "natural attack" like claw/claw/bite as far as I'm aware. It's a ray -- which is considered a weapon for things like feats, etc -- the question is whether it is considered a weapon for spells.

The spell could also potentially affect kineticist blasts, etc. So clarification on this would be helpful.

Ah, it appears there is a FAQ for this very thing:

FAQ

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Ray: Do rays count as weapons for the purpose of spells and effects that affect weapons?
Yes. (See also this FAQ item for a similar question about rays and weapon feats.)

For example, a bard's inspire courage says it affects "weapon damage rolls," which is worded that way so don't try to add the bonus to a spell like fireball. However, rays are treated as weapons, whether they're from spells, a monster ability, a class ability, or some other source, so the inspire courage bonus applies to ray attack rolls and ray damage rolls.

The same rule applies to weapon-like spells such as flame blade, mage's sword, and spiritual weapon--effects that affect weapons work on these spells.

This is perfect.


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Yeah, it's not "try all day". But a mid-level manifester (with Share Power as Quintain pointed out) would still be able to force a few saves on the guard, possibly doubled with Persistent Power, and that seemed overpowered for a 2nd-level power.

It was puzzling for the DM as well, who ruled that "willing" wouldn't be enough, you'd need a Charm Person or something on the guard - so possibly Bluff/Diplomacy would get them to be friendly to you. Or would you also need to convince yourself that you were their friend? Or just the latter? Or their willingness plus your benign intent qualifies, even when they don't particularly like you or want to help you? (I can think of PC's who accept aid but have no intention of returning the favor.)

It's not just a 2nd level power in isolation. It's a 2nd level power, a feat modifying the spell, along with what would likely be a collective ability that makes the range greater than the "close" range limitation of the power itself. It's much more than just a 2nd level power.

Whether someone is your ally is from the perspective of the target of the spell. You could use charm/deception to make him think you are his ally. The manifester is not a target of the power, so his intentions are immaterial.

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The racial bonus doesn't call out Expanded Knowledge, it just has a similar effect (including the limit on "1 level below highest-level power known"), and not even identical wording. I don't know if racial bonuses modify class abilities or act as a separate (stacking) effect.

The rule establishes a common ground for the ability. The "general rule" as it were, expressly stating that you count only your powers known from your class as the value you base the calculation on. (That's the first sentence). There are no exceptions given in the general rule, but multiple examples of abilities that expressly state that they are not exceptions. There is no exception text in the racial ability, so it defaults to the general rule.

That is how to read the rules in pathfinder. General rule is established, specific exceptions require specific exception text.

I'm still up in the air as to whether you are simply trying to rules-lawyer or your system master is simply at the beginner level. But it seems you are completely missing very simple things in an attempt to cheese things to your advantage.


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The target of Dimension Swap is listed as an "ally". I have scoured the web looking for a definition of this (re: willing), but only seen whether you can be your own ally. The power would be too strong if you could just use Body Equilibrium to walk over the lake, then stand looking up at the guard atop the castle walls, and several rounds later be inside the castle with the guard suddenly drowning in the lake. Was it kept not "willing" to prevent this from working with Unwilling Participant, or was "ally" accidentally used instead of "willing"? If "ally" is effectively the same as "willing", but you still used the other term deliberately, what is the distinction?

An ally is someone that is friendly to you. There is no "Pathfinder" definition, because pathfinder uses the common definition.

The distinction is that "ally" gets a choice. If you manifest dimension swap on a party member, and he doesn't want to go, he is able to automatically resist the power. Someone who is willing can be an "enemy" who has voluntarily foregone their saving throw - for whatever reason - or someone who is a member of a collective.

Dimension swap cannot be used with a collective. It does not have the network descriptor (without the use of additional feats). Regardless of whether they are part of the collective or not, since the power says "ally", it cannot be used in the way you describe.

Untouchable aura can be used with Shared power and manifested across a collective. It is not much different than using a communal spell feat with sanctuary, in effect. Be prepared to hit your maximum power point per manifestation limit very quickly.

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"A character can only benefit from a number of mind stones equal to half his powers known from his manifesting ability.

Hard stop at the end of this sentence. Do not take explanations of what other things do not work as an invitation to believe that other things do work. If Psychic Chirurgery doesn't work to increase the powers known limit for the number of mind stones, then assume nothing else will.

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Are powers gained from Expanded Knowledge available for manifesting with each class of a multi-classed character?
(Assuming that the manifester level with each is high enough to do so.) When dipping cross-class for bonus feats, can those feats be used for enhancing class abilities of a different class? When dipping cross-class for bonus feats, must any Expanded Knowledge feats be calculated based on the manifesting level in whichever class went up a level when the bonus feat was gained? Combining these, can a Vitalist (level 7) dip into Psion for an Expanded Knowledge feat to gain a 3rd-level power from any class list, even though they cannot manifest 4th-level powers as a psion?

Expanded Knowledge will add a power known to your powers known list, and you will manifest them at the manifester level of the class feature that granted you the feat. All the cross-class complication you are bringing up is immaterial.

The only time that being multiclass comes into play is if you have a power that exists on one power list or the other -- you have to use the one that applies best. -- See Page 27 - Ultimate Psionics.

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Rage power: Celestial Totem, Lesser
The non-spell examples given are still divine magic; does this interact with psionic healing? Can the additional healing be redirected (over a collective), or does it only kick in when the final recipient of some healing has been resolved? Must each recipient receive at least 1 point if they are to get a bonus from Celestial Totem, or can the entire psionic healing amount be redirected once the Celestial Totem healing kicks in?

Yes, additional healing can be redirected over a collective, just like any other healing. The redirection can be resisted by the barbarian in question. There is no "at least 1 point has to be applied limitation" that I'm aware of. The additional healing is added to the value of the healing spell, and the vitalist chooses to redirect whatever he wants, when he wants.

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Can the Persistent Power feat be used with the psi-like power in the Vitalist class, "collective"? Normally a free power (to add one or more new members to the collective), would paying a total of 2 PP require Unwilling Participant to make two saving throws, with the failure of either bringing them into the collective? If so (if someone was added to the collective with Persistent Power), must they later make all saving throws against other powers (class or psionic) as if still affected by the Persistent Power, fueled by that original payment instead of needing to pay another +2 for each further power?

Adding someone to the collective with or without unwilling participant is a (Su) action, not a psi-like power or a power. Persistent Power feat is not applicable.

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Vitalist: Reduce the power point cost to augment powers that heal hit point damage by 1/2. [JBE:BoHR:AFCO]
How does the Samsaran favored class bonus (Vitalist) work? The "golden rule" explicitly limits the PP that may be spent, so a 4th-level manifester augmenting their Natural Healing power five times - normally a cost of 6 PP - would reduce that cost by 2, with the leftover (4) no greater than their manifester level. Or is it the amount they would spend that is capped at their manifester level (4), and then they expend less energy (reduce by 2) (leaving 2) to manifest it?

For the samsaran ability, you spend power points to manifest the power which is equal to X. Augmenting the power adds an additional Y power points to the amount spent. Samsarans need only spend 1 point for "2 points worth of augmented effect".

So, a non-samsaran:
X + Y = PP spent, limited by max power points 'golden rule'

Samsaran
X + (Y/2) = PP spent, limited by max power points 'golden rule'

Note: this is not a DSP race or ability created by them. Final interpretation would have to be up to Jon Brazier Enterprises.

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Can you manifest powers on targets you can only see through a member of your collective upon whom Sense Link has been manifested?

All those sense sharing abilities provides line of sight. They do not provide line of effect, which is also required.

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When using Shared Power to bestow Inevitable Strike on every member of your collective, does it remain in effect for one attack each of them attempt, or does any one of them using it cause the power to immediately end for everyone?

They are all tracked individually, just like if you were to cast a communal true strike spell (if that is possible).

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Was the intent for Drain Health to use the same wording as with Steal Health? (Should we treat it as having that wording?)

No, Drain Health can only be used over a collective. It was meant as a way to prevent the Life Leech to have packs of low hd creatures used as HP batteries by using unwilling participant to add them to the collective and suck them dry.

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Can the Skills As One power be used within your collective to relay skills? If you are treated as though you actually had those ranks in the skill "for all purposes", can you manifest it through the collective to acquire skill ranks from one member (who has them) and then share them with another member (who, like you, does not), effectively enabling the first member to share their skill ranks with the second (even though they cannot use the power) using you as a conduit?

Yes, all of the "as One" powers have the network descriptor and along with the Spirit of Many ability, you can augment it to apply it to multiple members of the collective along with yourself.

Psychic Bodyguard: using over a collective doesn't change the way the spell is applied. -- You'll be rolling a lot of saving throws for your compatriots. Your Cap will work with one roll per day.

Strength of My Enemy: you have to do damage. It also works with ranged weapons.

Expanded Knowledge: powers do not have a primary stat, your class does. If you use expaned knowledge to add a power to your powers known list for your class, you use your class primary stat to manifest that power. Which class you use depends on which class gave you the expanded knowledge feat in case of multi-classing.

Psychic Warrior: the feats you can choose from are [combat] feats or [psionic] feats.

Power stones and UMD: For Power stones, You use UMD twice, one to address it, the other to "Use a power stone", the DC is set as if "you had a particular power on your class power list" already. So, doing the "emulate" option of UMD does nothing further.

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The class ability "collective" has no PP cost - with effectively infinite use, line-of-sight becomes "I try until my target rolls a 1 on their save". ... How can a magic-user who is unprepared for psionics defend themselves?

If you are referring to Unwilling Participant, read up on that feat. Even an unwilling participant is able to save against powers manifested on him while in the collective -- the DC is different, and he will remain in the collective, but he can still resist.

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Many animals are listed as having 1 HD - can a Sadist bring one into the collective, let someone else kill it (since per my reading of Drain Health, above, they can't simply snuff out the poor creature's life on their own), and then have a bonus PP to use on buffs before cooking and eating the animal? Do they need the animal to suffer, or is this fluff that can be readjusted for a painless mercy killing?

Despite the name of the archetype, it doesn't matter how the creature dies, only that it dies. Note it doesn't stack with itself.


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Dr Styx wrote:

Would Ectoplasmic Spell Feat added to the Summon Monster Spell not work?

Effects of Metamagic Feats on a Spell wrote:
Metamagic feats cannot be used with all spells. See the specific feat descriptions for the spells that a particular feat can't modify.
The Feat says nothing about not working with this spell.

There are arguments both for and against ectoplasmic spell working. One of the con arguments is that in order for an ectopic spell to work, it must directly affect the incorporeal creature.


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Claxon wrote:

I mean, the same thing that I do in parties that don't have ghost touch weapons.

I cast ghostbane dirge. Sure, you could whittle away it's HP by dealing half damage with magic weapons, or you could cast the spell.

Also, Magic Fang should allow you to hit them for 50% damage I believe, as though their natural attacks were magical.

Sadly, my character is an arcanist -- so Ghostbane Dirge is unavailable. We don't have a bard, and our party cleric is one that is unlikely to be cooperative.


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Jeff Morse wrote:
evolved summon lets you give magic attack. would be same as ghost touch on non magic attacks.

Fantastic -- while not what I was looking for exactly, it looks like the Shadow Form evolution does give melee attacks the ghost touch ability -- but only half damage to corporeal creatures.

Bleh, it's a two point evolution.


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Interesting. Good Catch. The text is similiar to the Transformation spell (which prevents spellcasting). -- But that particular text is indeed not in the power.

I checked the Psionics Expanded book (it's original source) and that particular text is not there either.

Given the mythic text, I would say that the original power's restriction on preventing manifesting is the oversight vs a bad reference in mythic psionics.


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One thing:

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Cantrips: Wizards can prepare a number of cantrips,
or 0-level spells, each day, as noted on Table 3–16 under
“Spells per Day.” These spells are cast like any other spell,
but they are not expended when cast and may be used again.
A wizard can prepare a cantrip from an opposed school, but
it uses up two of his available slots (see below).

So, unless the wizard was mind wiped, he still has cantrips memorized. This gives him the potential to have some sort of way to gain assistance from the outside world or a way to slowly (think Shawshank redemption) reduce the integrity of his prison and eventually escape.


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Related Question Does the use of teleportation-like spells qualify for the preconditions necessary to use abilities that require "movement" (e.g. stealth).


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Ryze Kuja wrote:
Quintain wrote:
tynansdtm wrote:
I must have missed something very important, because I have no idea what "Use -1 HP to +1 PP every level" means. What option is it, and from which book?

I think it's in reference to the favored class bonus available to elans. It essentially gives +1 PP per level.

Personally, I'd go for the +1/4 power known, myself.

You can do both. Psionic Aptitude is an Elan racial trait, trade 1 SP or HP for 1PP per level.

The +1/4 power known is the FCB for Elans.

Psionic Aptitude is the title for the favored class bonus for Elans. They are mutually exclusive. It adds that option to the list. You only get to choose one.

Edit: I just checked ultimate psionics. The FCB (in addition to the option of +1 PP) for Elan Psions is: Psion: +1/2 bonus on concentration checks when manifesting psion powers.

Note that the FCB allows you to replace +1 HP or +1 Skill Point for +1/2 Concentration check, the Psionic Aptitude race trait does the same. It is essentially a FCB for all psionic races. You still are required to choose it, however, as you only get to choose +1 HP or +1 Skill point when you gain a level in a favored class.


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This is easy: transfer whatever curses, magic or wounds from the three inflicted people to those who are requesting the curse, and transfer their gear to the prior location of where the curse took effect.


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Ryze Kuja wrote:

So at lvl 20, I'll have a nice range of damage effects:

75ft Single Target: Will, Mind dmg (Mind Thrust)

75ft Single Target +1 Target W/I 15ft: Fort/Reflex, Cold/Fire/Elec/Sonic dmg (Energy Current)

300ft 1 to 7 Targets: Fort/Reflex, Cold/Fire/Elec/Sonic dmg (Energy Missile)

120ft Cone Area: Fort/Reflex, Cold/Fire/Elec/Sonic dmg (Energy Wave)

300ft Single Target +1 Target W/I 300ft: Fort, Unspecified dmg type (Disintegration)

1200ft 30ft Radius Area: Fort, Force dmg (Concussive Onslaught)

30ft Single Target: No Save, Force dmg (Surge Blast 6d6 dmg)

I'm really only missing an AoE Will Save.

You'll definately want to diversify. A single enemy with spell turning would turn you to goo.


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you could theoretically pump the power up to dozens of d6s or missiles, provided your manifested level was high enough. Even if you had a caster level of 100, your fireball would still only do 10d6 damage. A psions energy ball (with the same 100 manifester level) could do 100d6 damage.

The amount of effort to be able to put into something like that is extremely prohibitive. Moreover, you have to pump additional power points into the manifesting, making it a much higher level power.

A 5th level spell, with a 15d6 damage limit is and always will cost 1 5th level spell slot.

A Swarm of Crystals power that reaches 15d4 will cost 18 power points, which is the quivalent of a 9+ level spell, and require you to be level 18 manifester. 15d6 by a wizard comes 3 levels earlier, and with 1 feat, you can go as high as 20 at level 18.

So, while "technically limitless" in completely unrealistic scenarios, it is much more costly for a manifester to reach the same damage range as a wizard/sorcerer.


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Remember that it does piercing damage. So, any applicable DR will apply to the effect.


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_Ozy_ wrote:


Except that your common sense breaks down in a game with uncommon abilities.

Sure, we all agree that a DC0 bear 'trap' on a table should obviously be detectable without an active search.

And yet, that DC20 tripwire stretched across the path is just as easy to see for my high level character with a +30 perception as that bear trap is for a 'normal' person. But I've been told, common sense aside, that I can't see that tripwire unless I'm actively searching for it.

So, what's the difference between that bear trap on the table and the wire across the path which makes one 'obvious' and the other 'invisible'?

The problem with your argument is that there is a difference between perceiving a thing and realizing a thing is a trap.

Perception != recognition.


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Poison Dusk wrote:
While I think both sides have some good and bad points, and I usually stay out of Paladin threads, I would be remiss if I did not make one point. There is a group that includes paladins in Cheliax that are actively fighting in an underground resistance to the fully legitimate authority of the Thrunes. There is an entire AP about it.

That is correct. The Paladins in question would have to have allegiance to a different legitimate authority that gave them permission to perform said resistance actions.

The basic idea is this: The local governing authority is the legitimate one unless your allegiance is to another governing authority and that other governing authority has given you permission to perform whatever heinous acts you deem proper.

In the absence of permission from your governing authority (church, kingdom, whatever), you must obey the local governing authority as much as your code allows.


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BigNorseWolf wrote:
Quintain wrote:


I still fail to see what is evil about killing an unrepentant evil enemy in a merciful fashion that is admittedly torturing an innocent.

1) the whole murder is bad thing that a lot of humans seem hung up on

2) she wasn't torturing. It was more lex luthor level of evil than the joker.

The thing of it is, it's not even murder. Killing, yes, execution, yes. Not murder.

I'd disagree on the torturing part. Deliberately withholding medicine to a child (no less) that has a disease (debilitating? -- must be -- the kid can't get away while sick -- Painful? -- likely) qualifies as torture, imo.


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voodoo chili wrote:

I wouldn't blame the player or necessarily the GM. That was a rather poorly written encounter. I played a LG monk in that scenario and had the exact same reaction. The scenario was written to force the players to kill a captive.

I think more recent rules have been written for redemption though I'm not familiar with them. There ought to have been a diplomacy check offered to put her off. I guess one option in game mentioned earlier was to barrel her and ship her to proper authorities.

I still fail to see what is evil about killing an unrepentant evil enemy in a merciful fashion that is admittedly torturing an innocent.


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It's always worked well for me and I've never automatically fell into a wilderness trap while traveling overland [but HAVE encountered traps outside].

Your rules basically hand-wave traps outside the dungeon into irrelevancy.


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Why is a paladin obligated to answer any question at all when speaking to a slaver?

Not answering or telling him to go screw himself would be my go to option.


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_Ozy_ wrote:


Um, are you trying to tell me that someone using stealth to hide themselves for an ambush is not considered 'hidden'?

O.o

No, someone using stealth to hide is different than a trap. Both are hidden, one is using his own skill to hide, the other is deliberately disguised by their maker so as to go unnoticed.

One is a variable DC, the other is static. One allows passive perception, the other, active.

Not the same.


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From ulitmate Psionics:

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Talents: Each psychic warrior gains two 0 level talents
(see Chapter 5: Powers) of their choice. These talents do
not count against the psychic warrior’s powers known.


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I don't see where the GM thinks killing the agent with a coup de grace is an evil act.

She's evil, the confessed to crimes, she's unrepentant. The sentence justice demands is quite obvious.


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Then they will get a perception check against the bandits and if they try to charge in without any sense of caution, they will trigger the trap. And the bandits will likely be hit at the same time.

Sounds like a good use of traps to me.


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Ravingdork wrote:

I can pretty much guarantee you that once my players blindly walk into a concealed pit trap on the open road with no permitted checks to avoid it, they will turn around and say something to the effect of, "From now on, we are always searching for traps, wherever we go."

As much as I like the new ruling, it does create a couple problems.

Then as a DM, you say. "Ok, you can't move more than x number of feet per round".. Congratulations. Your trip from city A to City B which was 2 days long now takes 3 years due to your OCD Paranoia.

Quote:


There needs to be a 'hints to divulge' or at least 'hints to notice reactively' section of the statblock for the DM to read off, or use, to give players some form of understanding of their situation.

No, there doesn't. That defeats the entire point of using traps in a tactical situation. Which I'm guessing is your entire intent. If you don't actively look for traps, the consequences are obvious.

Traps are what are called a force multiplier. Think to the original Rambo movie -- that is an effective use of traps in combat.

It slows down those who think they have a tactical advantage after their first few mooks get destroyed (or their "champion" who was stupid).


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Ravingdork wrote:
_Ozy_ wrote:
Wow, now the best traps ever will be covered pit traps on wilderness trails, or really any trap in the wilderness. Because nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to be searching every 10' when they have to travel 10 miles to the next town.

Hey if it worked for Team Rocket...

Seriously though, now Trap Spotter is actually worth taking.

Ultimately, I approve of this FAQ, though the suggestion of the GM taking away player agency by making their rolls for them gives me pause.

I'm fully in agreement here. This is how perception should work, and makes traps significant and not just a hand-wave. Choices become important again.


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graystone wrote:


Then what's the functional difference between that and allowing a passive check? None that I can see. And to be clear, you couldn't actively search at 30'/round wouthout houserules.

Actions economy and time. Action economy being the greatest impact.

Passive perception takes no action, active perception (aka Searching) requires move actions. If you are looking for traps, and do it twice in a round, your ability to respond to dangers other than traps is extremely limited.

Action economy is where the Trap Spotter talent provides it's greatest benefit. Unfortunately, it is often hand-waved by DMs that don't use traps effectively for the bad guys.

As with time, buffs on a round per level expire mightily quickly while searching for traps on that 200' corridor. That's roughly 20th level caster buffs gone, right there.

You have to make a choice -- suffer the traps and keep your buffs, or find/disable the traps and have your buffs run out at an extremely inconvenient time during that boss fight.

Choices, choices.


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Divert Teleport:

Similar to detect teleportation, except that you know
the intended destination, and you can divert the final
destination of any teleportation attempt made by others
within the area.
You can divert the destination of both incoming and
outgoing teleportations, psionic and magical. You must
overcome the power resistance of creatures that possess it
to make a successful diversion, and the teleporting creature
can make a Will save to foil the diversion as well.
For the purpose of this power, “divert” means you choose
the actual destination of any teleportation attempt you can
affect, as if you yourself were teleporting to that location,
regardless of the teleportation range of the effect you are
diverting. The destination you choose must be a location
with which you are very familiar or that you have studied
carefully.

Detect Teleportation:

You sense the use of any effects of the teleportation
subdiscipline within the area. You sense the use of these
powers whether or not you have line of sight or line of
effect (although a force effect prevents this detection).
When you sense the use of an appropriate power, you know
the direction in which the power was used, though not the
distance or the exact effect.

Once manifested, the duration is 10 minutes per level, as a result, the manifester is essentially air traffic control for any an all teleport effects within the area of effect.

1) Is there any required action on the part of the manifester once the power is manifested in order to "choose" the destination of the any teleports in the area?

2) How many can he divert at one time? If you have 3 simulteneous teleports, can he divert all 3 at once?

3) Can you only choose a single destination for all teleports or can this be on a per teleport basis?

3a) Can a group of teleporters be separated from the caster of the teleport?

4) Is there any information on who/what is teleporting beyond the detect teleport description as modified by the Divert teleport?

5) How is the maximum load limitation calculated?


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Traps by their very nature are hidden things. So they aren't by default in the category of "observable stimulus" -- at least not prior to when they go off.

Active perception check is "searching for traps" to find them prior to their triggering.

Passive Perception check, requiring a thing to be in the category of "observable stimulus" is not possible for traps -- except by those with trap spotter or it's equivalent.


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I would say that you should look at the abilities that enhance finding traps to define the restrictions of standard trapfinding.

There is a rogue talent called Trap Spotter that is defined thus:

Trap Spotter (Ex): Whenever a rogue with this talent comes within 10 feet of a trap, she receives an immediate Perception skill check to notice the trap. This check should be made in secret by the GM.

This is a reactive perception check, which means searching for traps cannot be reactive by default. According to the rules for perception, a non-reactive perception check for whatever reason (active searching for anything) is a move action and according to the unchained book, says is restricted to a 10-foot-square area.

Seems pretty definitive to me.

Unless it is only the question on the restriction to a 10' square that you are questioning, not the move action aspect.


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Possibly, but you also hit on the whole problem: they see something like this alchemist or psionics as "messing with their campaign" but not the same way when the exact same thing happens with a wizard's basic abilities.

It's more taste than circumstance.

I'll give you an example. We have a ranger that has been known to do in the range of 400 dpr against chaotic evil outsiders. -- completely acceptable to GMs.

Yet a psionic cryptic doing even half that is "overpowered". If I were do do this with a gish rogue, he wouldn't have a problem.

It comes down to familiarity and acceptance of mechanics. Style over substance.


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Two things:

If your DM is complaining about your alchemist, your wizard isn't doing his job.

I find that a lot of DMs, when confronted with something they don't necessarily like, will complain about a "overpowered mechanic" while at the same time completely accepting the same mechanic from a different class (see wizard). Some people just can't get over that hump.

You get a lot of this with psionics.


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Eric Hinkle wrote:
Dumb question -- if hypothetically evil characters can't restore someone to life for whatever reason, can they raise them as an intelligent undead and use magic to force them to do what they want?

This is entirely possible. But there are countermeasures.

This leads me to two questions:

1) Is there any way to alter what the soul "knows" upon resurrection/raise dead -- anyway to bluff the soul being raised.

2) If they refuse the first raise dead, can they accept others or is it a "one and done" -- and at that point, they are permanently dead.


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Trimalchio wrote:

Whatever happens just be sure to have the players be attacked by a band of adventurers who surely assume they are a camp of evil poachers in the middle of dressing a Unicorn carcass.

"No, no, we're not evil poachers, we just killed the evil poachers, and we're, uh, well why let a good unicorn corpse go to waste right? Want a taste?"

This, at least, is a reasonable response. Although, I'd suspect the details of the state of the unicorn carcass and whether it is identifiable as such and not simply a horse would be in question.


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Having truespeech means you starve.


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There is no moral bearing on eating the flesh of a dead creature. At that point, it is nothing more than meat. The meat isn't even magical.

It isn't cannibalism. It's simply food. The soul/spirit/guiding intelligence has left the body. If a wild animal were to come across the carcass, they wouldn't hesitate to feed off of it, the same would apply to your carcass if the animal found your dead body in the wilderness.

Had they just left it there, the nearest scavenger would have eaten, regardless.

Consumption of a dead body is a wholly natural thing in the cycle of life -- the dead nourish the living.


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Avoron wrote:
Level? Resources? Party composition? Time frame? We're going to need a little more information to go on.

The Map is essentially Rappan Athuk's 2nd Temple of Orcus, but the two side entrances to the temple have been filled in with rock, so there is really only one entrance that is open -- the one to the north.

Levels is 17-19, Party Composition is extremely varied. Timeframe is about 6 hours of available prep time. We have two 19th level mages, A 18th level tactician, 19th level cryptic, about 15 15th level under equipped paladins (do not rely on equipment here). Two underequipped 15th level clerics of Thyr, 4 Ghaele Azata's, One Brijidine Azata, and a Star Archon.

We have forbiddence already in place and a area of effect teleport redirect effect that has the potential to have us control any teleportaitonal effects.

The temple itself is underground. We will need to hold off this force for approximately 14 hours before our hallow spell is cast and we at that point will have converted the old temple of orcus into a Temple of Thyr.

There will also likely be a lot of accompanied undead -- especially numerous incorporeal types for harassment purposes.


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_Ozy_ wrote:
If you're hiding until you break stealth with an attack, how can the readied action go off before the attack?

You aren't hiding when the attack occurs, realistically under this scenario.

What is happening is:

1) Your opponent is unaware of you at the start of your turn (which allows the sneak attack per RAW - unaware combatant)

2) You then move and reveal yourself (he is now aware) if you cannot stealth through your entire movement (depending on your specific stealth requirements)

3) Then comes your attack

4) You move back into a position that allows for stealth in order for your opponent to lose track of you (similar to how bluff works).

However, when your opponent has a readied action against this sort of tactic, he starts unaware of you specifically, but if you cannot maintain your stealth all they way up to your attack, he aware enough that an attack is occurring to preempt your attack with one of his own.

It's like a "mini-surprise round" for the rogue on his turn, mechanically speaking. Although the target is not flat footed or denied his dexterity because he has already acted (by having a readied action).

Note: this is not a strict raw reading of the breaking stealth rules -- which technically state you don't leave stealth during your movement to the target (--but that really doesn't make much sense --), but it does allow for reprisals by readied-action prep'd targets instead of being complete victims to this sort of tactic.

It is simply, what I believe to be, an alternative sequence of action event that follows the rules for stealth more strictly than "remaining hidden despite not even qualifying for being hidden by the rules of steal due to the turn-based action resolution that Pathfinder uses." gerrymandering that this stealth skill errata implements.


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Diego Rossi wrote:


You still break stealth and you are plainly visible as soon as you attack. You can reenter stealth as part of your movement as soon as you are in an area that allow you to hide (i.e. within 10' of a shadow), but you need to have moved at least 5' after attacking, as the stealth attempt is part of your movement.
HIPS don't turn your stealth skill into greater invisibility.

A slightly different take on what Diego said, once you move out of the area that allows you to remain hidden, you become visible, but since your target was unaware of you at the start of your turn, they are susceptible to your sneak attack, and after your sneak attack, you move and can re-hide once the conditions allow for it.

One catch though: If your target has a readied action in response to an attack, then he can attack you prior to your sneak attack -- although you still get your sneak attack if you are still able after his attack is resolved -- you are still able to continue your action post-readied action -- if you can.


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Since the enchant can't be a prerequisite for anything and the wielder must qualify for the feat themselves, what would be the best feats for the various classes?

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