RegUS PatOff's page

The Spells database on d20PFSRD can allow you to download an excel or csv file. With filtering it’s possible to generate the list of alternative class spell levels for any given wizard spell level.

Example:
Filter 1 Spell level CONTAINS Wizard/Sorcerer 2
Add a column to your file to ID those rows (enter W/S 2 as the identifier)
Filter on that row so you only see W/S 2
Then change the Spell level column filter to CONTAINS Bard 1
Now you can see all W/S 2 spells where they are also Bd 1

You can get more elaborate but that’s the quickest method to get all the relevant spells IDed.

Blood Money coming as a reward at the end of RotR adventure path means at least some GMs won’t let you access it without equivalent story effort. Also isnt it arcane?

Second the notion of referencing GMs Guide to Challenging Encounters. It gives a good explanation of what you should expect for different CR encounters with some very practical tips.

You might also consider E6 or E8 if you are concerned about power creep with level increase. Just a thought.

Take a look at ShakaUVM’s guide to Necromantic Success. Interesting ideas on how to play a Necro-Cleric. Posting from my phone - having a little trouble copy/pasting the link.

This seems like a great adventure hook. Assuming the Lich is super intelligent, the phylactery hiding place would also have a cash reserve and some emergency supplies (wands/scrolls) the Lich can use to get back on his/her feet after being beaten. First the Lich would attempt magic. Then, when that doesn't work, the Lich would start to reach out to allies to help find the group.

You could structure this as:
1) Lich hires one or more groups to research the group. Then leverage that intelligence for 2-4 below.
2) Lich contacts NPC group 1 to try to buy the bonded item (as part of a larger purchase of loot from the group).
3) Lich contacts NPC group 2 to find vulnerabilities in family or dependents of the group members, and conduct a kidnapping to use to leverage a trade for the item.
4) Lich contacts NPC groups 3-5 to do some basic snatch & grabs to steal things from various members - hopefully getting the bonded item as part of the burglary.

In all cases, the Lich would not want their hirelings or allies to know the value of the bonded item. Instead, the Lich directs each to try to get the bonded item as part of a larger set of items. That also hides the value of the item from the adventuring group.

It also sets up the potential of two or more groups bumping into each other as they work at cross purposes to try to get the item.

Could be very fun as the adventuring group now has a powerful hidden enemy moving pawns to hinder them. But the reason for the enemy's actions would (initially) be hidden from the group. So there's the opportunity for the group doing counter intelligence to try to find out why these different groups are targeting them.

A 5' step can be taken as part of a Full Attack action. Therefore, that 5' step is part of an attack action. You cannot stealth as part of an attack action. Therefore, you cannot stealth as part of a 5' as part of a full attack.

Note: sniping gives the exception to the general stealth rule that you cannot stealth as part of an attack. It costs you a movement action (not the 5' step of a full attack). Since you cannot use the sniping rules for melee combat, IMO it seems pretty clear that the 5' step as a 'movement' that allows stealth is not a valid ruling.

For more ideas, take a look at the GM's Guide to Creating Challenging Encounters and the associated discussion thread. When you're looking at an average party level of 15, you need to think about having some of the encounters be around CR18-20 to provide a challenge.

Also, since you're thinking about high level encounters, remember that single boss-type monster fights rarely go well. There's a good thread, Combat advice for a DM - single foes, attacks of opportunity and combat mobility, on things to throw in to spice up and make a high-level encounter more challenging. Hope this helps!

IMO it is overpowered to allow a CL20 Greater Magic Fang + CL20 Permanency. However, if you allow it, the pricing rules are clear:
Spellcasting services, costs Caster level × spell level × 10 gp

GMF = 20 x 3 x 10 GP = 600 GP
Permanency = 20 x 5 x 10 GP = 1,000 GP
Material cost of Permanency of GMF = 7,500
Total 9,100 GP

This assumes he gets a boon from two 20th level NPCs. That's verging on mythic/superpowered plotlines. While it doesn't cost much, the general assumption is these guys are very hard to find. Once found, it's very hard to get their attention to cast such spells - they're focused on much bigger, more important things. So if the monk found them & the Mage & Druid agreed to cast, it's probably because they decided they needed the monk to do something for them (plot hook!).

If instead you did a couple of rolls & determined that he might have bumped into a couple of 12th level senior adventurers, then you're looking at similar gold (8,460 GP), but lower power level and lower obligations. And the spell is more at risk of a dispel. It's a permanent +3 versus +5 - but with a CL of 12 for dispel checks.

<Ninja'ed by Suthainn! That's what I get for starting to write, then stopping to answer a call>

Dazing Merciful Burning Hands gun: gives you a 15' cone burst of 'Stop that!'

Glitterdust gun: lock them up with blindness. Think a wand with a heightened Glitterdust to give you higher DCs.

Checking magic items, it seems the maneuverability bonus isn't referenced in any of the Fly skill bonus values provided - although several don't seem to use the Fly spell's 1/2 CL as the bonus.

IMHO natural fly speed is a fly speed based on body or nature (wings, ghost). Spell based fly speed gets a bonus based on CL. The maneuverability values seem to be a hold-over from the 3.5 fly system who's only current value is for (a) natural fly speed Fly skill bonuses or possibly also as an optional (b) use of the 3.5 fly system's more detailed grid of flying actions & maneuver ratings.

Magic Items granting a Fly speed:
Wings of Flying
CL10 average maneuverability & +5 Fly competence bonus
CL10 Fly spells grants +5 - check

Wings of Flying, Lesser
CL10 poor maneuverability, no mention of Fly competence bonus
CL10 Fly spell should grant +5 - but the 'Lesser' status, and/or the Poor maneuverability result in no mention
If you started with +5 (spell) then subtracted 4 (poor), you'd still have a +1, which you don't

Cloak of the Bat
CL7 - no maneuverability listed - explicitly references the Fly spell; "including a +7 bonus on Fly skill checks"
CL7 Fly spell should grant +3 - matches if you're adding both the Fly spell's "Good" maneuverability plus 1/2 CL bonus. This doesn't align with other items - but this is one of three cloak items which actually gives you wings

Floating Feather Feather Token
No CL - average maneuverability

Carpet of Flying
CL10 - no maneuverability listed - explicitly references the Overland Flight spell; "a carpet of flying can hover without making a Fly skill check and gives a +5 bonus to other Fly checks."
CL10 Fly spell should grant +5 - check

Broom of Flying
CL9 - no maneuverability listed - explicitly references the Overland Flight spell; "+4 on Fly skill checks"
CL9 Fly spell should grant +4 - check

Cauldron of Flying
CL10 - no maneuverability listed - explicitly references the Overland Flight spell
CL10 Fly spell should grant +5 - not provided

Broom of Flying, Racing
CL5 - no maneuverability listed - explicitly references the Overland Flight spell
CL5 Fly spell should grant +2 - not provided, but CL looks wrong given the regular Broom of Flying

Chest, Flying Chest
CL10 - no maneuverability listed - explicitly references the Overland Flight spell; "with a +5 bonus on Fly checks"
CL10 Fly spell should grant +5 - check

Celestial Armor
CL5 - no maneuverability listed - explicitly references the Fly spell
CL5 Fly spell should grant +2 - not provided

Winged Shield
CL5 - no maneuverability listed - explicitly references the Fly spell
CL5 Fly spell should grant +2 - not provided

Artifact: Cloud Castle of the Storm King
CL20 - clumsy maneuverability - explicitly uses the Fly skill of the person controlling its motion; can hover without fly check & never risks falling
CL20 Fly spell should grant +10 - not provided

There's a lot of great feedback, suggestions, commentary already provided. And kudos to you for jumping in with both feet. Sounds like everyone is having fun, which is the main point of game.

If you start to feel like it's too hard to continually improvise, don't be afraid to lean on modules or adventure paths. There are some very good low level modules and adventure paths that can take some of the burden off you by providing a ready made plug-in adventure when your current plot thread starts to thin out - or can act as drop in alternatives if the group takes a strong left turn away from your main plot.

Is this PFS? The traits Magical Knack and Magical Lineage are both good - but they are both Basic category/Magic subcategory traits.

Characters choose their traits from six different categories: basic, campaign, equipment, race, region, and religion. A character can have only one trait from each category (or subcategory, in the case of basic traits, which fall into the areas of combat, faith, magic, and social).

This may not matter depending on your GM if you're not doing PFS, but worth noting.

Human Sorcerer FCB is so good, it makes human the strongly preferred race to take for a dedicated sorcerer build. If you go crossblooded then plan to use metamagic and traits/feats to increase spell level and reduce metamagic costs, so you can use boosted low level damage spells as your blasts.

Words of Power can be very fun - but need a lot of preparation and buy in by the GM.

There are a couple of good guides on Sorcerer blasting builds discussed on the Guide to the Class Guides thread. And take a look at Zenith Games related Comprehensive Pathfinder Guides Guide.

"...but if the foe attempts to move to a position where the mouser is no longer in its space, the movement provokes an attack of opportunity from the mouser. This deed replaces opportune parry and riposte."

IMHO This is a statement of a special ability which provokes an attack of opportunity, separate from that provoked by moving from a threatened square. Therefore, IMHO, the Mouser could get 2 AOEs from a move, one for the special ability and one for moving from a threatened square.

As stated previously, there can be three interpretations. Clarification of the language would be helpful, so clicking the FAQ button.

FAQ Question:

• Does the Mouser Underfoot Assault ability provide an extra attack of Opportunity beyond that provided from moving from a threatened square? Or,

• Does the Mouser Underfoot Assault ability provide the normal AOE from moving from a threatened square, modified to include ALL movement, even that movement that normally would not provoke an AOE? Or,

• Does the Mouser Underfoot Assault ability provide the normal AOE from moving from a threatened square, with all the exceptions and ability to negate that AOE by other actions such as 5' step, withdraw, or tumbling?

Sounds like the GM may be inexperienced or feeling challenged running the group/players/campaign. Also sounds like the Slayer character is sub-optimally built based on the prestige class target.

Overall, this is a player-GM-group social dynamics discussion, not a character build discussion. You could start by saying something like "I hear you have concerns about me overshadowing the Slayer. If the Slayer character wasn't an issue, is there anything else that concerns you about what I'd like to do? Is there anything I/we could do to help?"

Then tease out any issues - things like

• GM doesn't want a Grippli character (doesn't like the flavor)
  
• GM concerned about you playing 2 or more characters (not saying you're doing that, just an example)
  
• GM concerned about you being able to, in his/her mind, Min-Max a character to 'break' the game or make the GM up the difficulty thus making it no fun for other (especially Slayer) players
  
• GM concerned about your play style
  
• GM concerned about his/her campaign/game style
  
• Interpersonal stuff
  
• Etcetera

Would the GM and would the player running the Slayer be open to you providing build/rebuild advice or tactical advice on how to make the Slayer more relevant?

Maybe the GM is feeling overburdened running the campaign. Could you or one of the other players offer to co-GM or to switch off GM duties?

Overall, this is a social game where everybody should be having fun. If the GM won't let you have fun and won't discuss, then time to try another table. But try talking out & understanding the GM's point of view first. Discussing things in an open & friendly atmosphere can help identify and minimize issues that are detracting from fun for someone.

There are some very good build guides you can access through the Guide to the Class Guides thread and page. I'd suggest a spontaneous caster to limit in-game decision paralysis when thinking about spells. Read through the Sorcerer or Oracle guides, then pick a concept from one of them and create a general list of spells you'd like to cast.

Sorcerer is probably the easiest. There's a lot of work already done identifying which spells are more effective for spontaneous casters - since their selection is limited, the choices lean towards those that can serve multiple purposes. For Sorcerer, things like Grease or Glitterdust are easy low level spells for which you'll find plenty of uses.

The guides can help you with character creation and with character development. Spend the time up front to plan out how your character's powers will evolve. Nothing's worse than picking what seems like a cool feat at level up, only to find it's really a trap.

Feel free to post any builds. I've found people to be very willing to provide feedback and suggestions when you're working on a build concept.

Hope this helps & happy gaming!

Some thoughts:

Replace Buffering cap (2,000 gp) with Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier (5,000 gp).

Get Candle of Invocation for 8,400 gp. Multi-use CL+2 for Cleric spell preparation & one-time Gate use.

A Dream Journal of the Pallid Seer gives you a one-time saving throw or opponent attack reroll to avert death for only 600 gp.

Some Pearls of Power for Cleric, & Pages of Spell Knowledge for Sorcerer, can make you even more flexible. Pricing is 1,000/4,000/9,000 gp for 1st/2nd/3rd level slots/spells.

A wayfinder and some Ioun Stones are also good items to have handy. There are lots of flavorful choices, and some good bargains both for full stones & for some of the cracked or flawed ones.

A set of 1st-3rd Guiding Vellums are useful for getting a hint at what type of hazards you'll encounter each day. Pricing is half that of a Pearl of Power, at 500/2,000/4,500/8,000 gp for advice on which 1st through 4th spell level you should prepare. 2nd or 3rd are generally the sweet spot - but check with your GM, as if he/she will only be suggesting Cure X Wounds then the value goes down.

Cape of Free Will is a nice mythic upgrade to your basic cloak of resistance. Shifting from your +2 to a +3/+4 is a 4,000 to 13,500 gp jump.

Lastly, taking your Headband of Wisdom from +4 to +6 is definitely worth considering as a 20,000 gp upgrade.

Any generally available free healing, whether it's fast healing or free cures, will upset the general parameters of the game. When it's a non-adventure path campaign, the GM can typically handle the adjustments necessary to keep it from being too overpowered. But in a module or AP, there's a pretty clear set of resources and challenges provided, and fast healing will weaken those challenges.

However, if the fast healing we're discussing is that available only through current Pathfinder standard spells/items, I'm not seeing the problem.

Ring of Regeneration: 90,000 gp - too expensive for what it gets you

Infernal Healing 1 wand = same as Cure Light Wounds wand. IH1 has slightly better consistency, doesn't surge for quick replenishment, does stop bleeds.

Castings of Greater Infernal Healing 4th level spell = guaranteed 40 hp over 1 minute vs Cure Critial Wounds 4d8 + level (max 40 hp) in one round. Same arguement as above.

Boots of the Earth is probably the most unbalanced item. It has several threads discussing it in detail. To summarize, it gives Fast Healing 1 for 5,000 gp when standing still. This can be underpowered if the GM has the world keep moving while your party waits for the owning character to heal. Or overpowered if every pause between encounters is hand-waved to allow full top-off of hit points (and possibly passing the boots around).

Some of the character abilities/special ways to get access to fast healing do result in a measurable change for that character, but not for the party as a whole. And that is as it should be, since the player devoted that build's limited resources into making this character unique and special with this focus.

IMHO I don't see a problem with the way fast healing works today, but I'd strongly lobby against cheap/cheaper fast healing items in campaigns in which I play.

I agree with everyone above. For a decently tough boss fight, set the level around 5. Low level fights like this can be swing-y when you put a SoS caster or a tough damage dealer against them. In this case you've got both, plus a few mooks to help keep party numbers from dominating your encounter.

Reviewing this from the perspective of CR, you've got a 5th level Cleric, 3rd level Barbarian & ~4 Kobolds, right? Your Cleric has PC wealth, while your Barbarian has NPC wealth. Each Kobold is worth 100 exp, the Barbarian is 600 exp (NPC wealth) and the Cleric is 1,600 exp. Matched against 6 level 3 characters, that's 2,600 exp, or 466 exp/character, which is just above the 2,400 target for a CR +2 fight.

It seems like you're communicating with your players, but it wouldn't hurt to reemphasize that it is OK to not fight through all obstacles.

If you want it to be more tense, crank it up to CR3, with a budget of 3,600 exp. Move the Barbarian to PC wealth (+200 exp). Add 4 more Kobolds (+400 exp), possibly as a second wave, and a Kobold leader with class levels (Shaman 2 or Barbarian 2 or Rogue 2) (+400 exp).

If the party seems to be getting overwhelmed quickly, you can have the Cleric call for a parlay, negotiating from a position of strength. If they make all the saves and stop the Barbarian & Kobolds cold, you can have the second wave appear from Kobold tunnels in the walls.

Also, the Kobolds may be willing to fight, but not die, for the Cleric. Use them as trip wires, but as soon as one goes down, have them run, then snip from cover.

Another thing you might want to consider is how you are determining when an engagement starts. There are a number of ways to use the perception rules to evaluate when one side becomes aware of the other - and at what range.

This can result in the opponent having multiple rounds to buff, prepare the battlefield, position minions, and then start the engagement at a range which is most beneficial to the minions/boss initiating it. Of course, turnabout is fair play - so if the group gets the drop on the boss, you should allow them to carve through the defenders quickly.

Look for positional bias - i.e. I've seen a GM set up the encounter within 40' because the battle map they're using is only an 8" x 8" board. Not saying you're doing that, but take a look at how you structure the meeting engagement phase of the overall battle.

I'll second what everyone (TacticsLion, Riuken, etc) said above, there are a lot of additional ways to buff or modify a combat encounter to make it more interesting. It sounds like you've got some players with strong system mastery - which means it's a challenge to make the combat encounters challenging for them. The Agile, Invincible or Savage Mythic templates are all excellent choices to help boost the boss's survivability, but tactics, mobility, and miss chances are also all valid approaches to do the same thing.

I may be misunderstanding, but it seems that your overall issue is Boss fights are either too easy or too hard. There's a common issue with action economy, where 4 players vs 1 boss equal 4 turns vs 1 turn.

Take a look at the GM's Guide to Challenging Encounters thread and associated Google doc. Alexander Augunas repeats some of what others have said about action economy and breaks encounter design down into very clear elements.

Given what sounds like your interest in a single boss, the things to consider are things that take away, minimize or split the action economy of the group. You can do this in a number of ways:

Blocking line of sight while giving the opponent a way around it (Fog & Fogcutting Lenses, or peep holes in walls).

Blocking or hampering movement (pits, chasms, ability to earthwalk, fly, etc). If the party flies, think about giving your Boss a way to affect winds. For example, give him a home base with constant hurricane force winds throughout - no flying without significant fly skill checks.

Providing special defensive gear/abilities that will reduce (but not totally neutralize) some of the key capabilities of one or more party members - A scroll of Spell Resistance or even Shield of Law (if you've got chaotic characters) can make it tough for the casters. Or the classic Boss use of a scroll of Protection from Energy, for the energy type to which he/she's vulnerable.

Provide minions - this is a standard response, but may not fit given your focus.

Consider including skill check associated mechanisms/effects that require split attention by the party. For example, a couple of arcane mechanisms giving off blasts of energy on a cycle, which, if left uninterrupted, will kill the party/cure the boss, gives you something else to divide the parties efforts. Someone's got to figure out how to turn each one off, while others battle the big bad.

And most importantly, have the Boss fight smart. If he/she is surprised, try to get some separation, then disengage, prepare, and resume the fight only when he/she's ready to lay the smack-down. With intelligent bosses, especially ones that have some prior knowledge that the group is interfering with their schemes, have them have a clear plan for
1) breaking contact if surprised by this group
2) gathering troops/minions/tools/buffs
3) reengage at a time/place of their choosing
Note that you've got to play a careful balancing act with this, as your party may walk into a total buzz-kill TPK if you spring this on them without warning.

I second what everyone else has said - CR3 is a particularly inconsistent challenge level. A wight or a shadow can ruin a poorly configured or poorly played group. Building a CR3 or CR4 encounter from batches of lesser creatures usually is more effective when dealing with a boss/final story-arc fight for a group of level 1 adventurers.

Take a look at the GM's Guide to Challenging Encounters thread and associated Google doc. Alexander Augunas breaks encounter design down into very clear elements.

It's a little complex, but take the whole ability in context:

6th level fighter choices are:
+6 Sword/+1 Sword
+6 Sword/+2 Shield Bash (+1 damage)
+7 Shield Bash (+1 damage)/+1 Sword
+7 Shield Bash (+1 damage)/+2 Shield Bash (+1 damage)

The point about the no additional attacks & no two-weapon fighting penalties is in context of the 5th level bonus.

There are a lot of cracked & flawed Ioun Stones that are worth picking up, including some extremely cheap +1 competence skill bonuses. My favorites max utility/min cost ones are:

Amber Spindle, cracked
+1 Resistance to Fortitude, Reflex or Will Saves. Price: 3,400 gp

Dark Blue Rhomboid, cracked
+1 competence bonus on Perception & Sense Motive checks. Price: 400 gp

Dusty Rose Prism, cracked
+1 competence bonus on initiative checks. Price: 500 gp

Mossy Disk
+5 competence bonus on one Knowledge skill. Price: 5,000 gp
Cracked: +1 competence bonus on one Knowledge skill. Price: 200 gp

Orange Prism, cracked
Add one cantrip or orison (determined when the stone is created) to spells known/prepared. Price: 1,000 gp

Pale Green Prism, cracked
+1 competence bonus on attack rolls or saving throws. Price: 4,000 gp

Pale Lavender Ellipsoid, cracked
Absorbs spells of 1st level or lower. After 5 spell levels, then burns out. Price: 2,500 gp

Pearly White Spindle, cracked
Regenerate 1 hit point of damage per hour. Price: 3,400 gp

Vibrant Purple Prism, cracked
Stores one spell level, as a ring of spell storing (minor). Price: 2,000 gp

And the most important Ioun Stone for an Ioun Stone user:
Western Star
As a standard action, its user can alter his appearance as with a disguise self spell. When so disguised, the user can render the western star and other ioun stones in his possession invisible. Price: 4000 gp

The OP's question was, with a Vampire access to Slam, to two Claw attacks, and to a two-handed weapon, what are the combat choices.

Based on to 1,500+ post thread with the FAQ, I'd say it's pretty clear that you treat Vampire Slam attacks as a two-handed attack, rather than as a primary attack which could also include secondaries (two Claws at x0.5 STR). In either case, the Slam gets 1.5 x Strength modifier to damage, but the FAQs pretty clear that you can't mix it with hand weapons. If so, those hands aren't available for Claw attacks.

So for the OP's creation, it'd be either:
Slam (plus energy drain)
Claw x2 (plus energy drain)
Two-handed weapon

Note that normal (if there is such a thing) vampires don't get both Slam and Claw. The Bestiary only provides one or the other: Slam + energy drain for normal, two claws + blood drain for Nosferatu version. The OP was having the claws appear as a function of Sorcerer bloodline, where claws are sort of a weak extra if the sorcerer gets into melee. For a vampire, the claws option wouldn't really help much - which is true for most sorcerers of that level/HD.

Let's go through the basics, then look at some niche items:
Magic Weapon (equivalent +3 = 18k)
Some nice options are +1 Holy, +1 Disruptive (Cleric Classic Club - say that three times fast), or +2 Spell Storing

(a)Magic Armor +3 (9k)
(a)Magic Shield +2 light fortification (equivalent +3) (9k)
or
(b)Magic Armor +4 (16k) if you're thinking you need two hands

Headband of Inspired Wisdom +4 (16k)

Cloak of Resistance +3 (9k)

Ring of protection +2 (8k)

Amulet of Natural Armor +2 (8k)

With (a), you've spent 18+18+16+9+8+8 = 75k
With (b), you've spent 18+16+16+9+8+8 = 73k
So you've got about 45-47k left

Here's a quick pass totaling 41.4k:
Handy Haversack (2k)
Ring of Invisibility (10k)

Metamagic Rod: Empower, Lesser (9k)
Metamagic Rod: Extend, Lesser (3k)

Brooch of Shielding (1.5k)
Boots of the Cat (1k)

Cure Light Wounds wand x2 (1.5k)
Grave Salt (1.1k)

Pearl of Power 1st lvl x2 (2k)
Pearl of Power 2nd lvl (4k)

Ioun Stones:
Cracked Amber Spindle (3.4k)
Cracked Dark Blue Rhomboid (0.4k)
Cracked Dusty Rose Prism (0.5k)
Cracked Vibrant Purple Prism (2k)

You might also want to take a look at Ashiel's Guide to Adventure Preparation, Tricks, and Strategies. Especially consider the Ghost Touch net idea.

(edited to correct math error)