Hey all you shamans out there! Tired of scrambling through the PFSRD on your phone trying to figure out what you want your wandering hex to be? Print this out and worry no more!
The Seer's Catalog is a printable compilation of all the shaman's spirits and hexes. While some of the spirit animals, true spirit abilities, and manifestations had to be excluded for page length reasons, this has everything you need to leverage Wandering Spirit to the utmost.
I'm curious: which would make a better debuffer, a shaman or a witch? Considering that they both have access to Evil Eye, Cackle/Chant, and Misfortune, it really could be either. What do you think, forums?
Hey all! Looking for some help fleshing out an idea: a synthesist summoner whose eidolon is a suit of super-armor. I like the idea of a guy who seems to be a typical Paladin-style armored knight, but then busts out a bunch of crazy powers and arcane spells.
So far I'm thinking Half-Orc for falchion proficiency and because Ferocity means you can stay up for one more round to summon something if you get hit so hard your armor fizzles out. Plus it has good RP value for a paladin-style character - I'm considering specializing in Diplomacy.
For evolutions, Improved Natural Armor, Ability Increase, Damage Reduction, Flying, and maybe Energy Resistance/Immunity all seem like natural choices, but I'm sure there's much more that can be done. Sadly Alignment Smite only affects a natural weapon. :'(
As for feats, other than Power Attack, I'm kind of stumped. Help please!
Hey all! I need suggestions for a build I'm working on: an UndineShaman (Spirit Warden archetype) for Skulls and Shackles. However, I really don't know much about either shamans or necromancy, sadly. A few questions on my mind:
-If I have the Command Dead spell via Spirit Warden, plus Animate Dead, am I pretty much set for controlling the dead?
-Is the Undead Master feat chain worthwhile? What other feats are good?
-What are good main spirits for Skulls and Shackles, considering I'd already have a swim speed?
Hey all! Looking for some help in constructing a Thor-inspired Dwarf Magus. I want a guy that can fly around, toss one-liners, and smack someone really hard with an electrified warhammer, preferably to the face.
I'd really love suggestions for magic items, or a good way to make a Returning Warhammer work out.
Also, to experienced magi: How often did you find yourself using Spellstrike without Spell Combat, vs. Spell Combat with a non-touch spell? Did you often need Arcane Accuracy to hit? What did you like best about playing the class?
Hey all. In case you missed it, ACG graced us with this amazing feat:
Evolved Summon Monster:
Evolved Summoned Monster
The creatures you summon have evolved to have even
greater abilities.
Prerequisites: Augmented Summoning, Spell Focus
(conjuration), ability to cast summon monster I.
Benefit: Each time you cast a summon monster spell, you
can select a 1-point evolution from those available to a
summoner’s eidolon. Your summoned creature gains
this evolution. The summoned creature must conform
to any limitations of the evolution. (For instance, only a
creature with a reach of 10 feet or more can have the pull
evolution.) Evolutions that grant additional attacks or
enhance existing attacks can be applied only to Medium
or larger summoned creatures.
If you summon more than one creature with a single
spell, only one creature gains this evolution.
Special: You can take this feat multiple times. Each
time you do, select an additional 1–point evolution for one
of your summoned creatures. If you summon more than
one creature, you can choose to apply all the evolutions to
a single summoned creature, or split them between the
creatures summoned.
Just for reference, here are all the things you can now trick your favorite summoned critter out with (one evolution per feat!):
Basic Magic
Bite
Claws
Climb
Gills
Hooves
Improved Damage
Improved Natural Armor
Low Light Vision
Magic Attacks
Mount
Pincers
Pounce
Pull
Push
Reach
Resistance
Scent
Skilled
Slam
Sting
Swim
Tail
Tail Slap
Tentacle
Unnatural Aura
Wing Buffet
So what are you going to be summoning in the near future?
PS: I can hear Treantmonk's mind exploding from here. :p
Hey all. Thanks to the Arcanist's exploits and archetypes, it's possible to have a full bloodline and some access to an arcane school, or vice versa.
Exploits in question:
Arcanist ACG wrote:
Bloodline Development: The arcanist selects one sorcerer bloodline upon taking this exploit. The arcanist gains that
bloodline’s 1st-level bloodline power as though she were
a 1st-level sorcerer. The arcanist must select an ordinary
bloodline with this ability, not one altered by an archetype.
As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from
her arcane reservoir to bolster her latent nature, allowing
her to treat her arcanist level as her sorcerer level for the
purpose of using this ability, which lasts for a number
of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
She does not gain any other abilities when using this
exploit in this way, such as bloodline arcana or those
bloodline powers gained at 3rd level or higher. If this
ability is used to gain an arcane bond and a bonded item
is selected, the arcanist can only use that item to cast
spells of a level equal to the level of spell that could be cast
by her equivalent sorcerer level (limiting her to 1st level
spells unless she spends a point from her arcane reservoir).
If the arcanist already has a bloodline (or gains one later),
taking this exploit instead allows her arcanist levels to
stack with the levels of the class that granted her access to
the bloodline when determining the powers and abilities
of her bloodline.
School Understanding: The arcanist can select one arcane
school from any of the schools available to a character
with the arcane school wizard class feature, but does not
have to select any opposition schools. The arcanist gains
one ability of that arcane school as though she were a 1st-
level wizard, using her Charisma modifier in place of her
Intelligence modifier for this ability. The ability must be
one gained at 1st level and is limited in its use per day to 3 + the arcanist’s Charisma modifier. As a swift action,
the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir
to bolster her understanding, allowing her to treat her
arcanist level as her wizard level for the purpose of using
this ability for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma
modifier (minimum 1). During this time, she also gains
use of the other ability gained at 1st level for her selected
school. She does not gain any other abilities when using
this exploit in this way, such as those gained at 8th level.
If the arcanist already has an arcane school (or gains
one later), taking this exploit instead allows her arcanist
levels to stack with the levels of the class that granted the
arcane school when determining the powers and abilities
of her arcane school.
Archetypes:
Arcanist ACG wrote:
Blood Arcanist (Archetype)
Though most arcanists possess only a rudimentary innate
arcane gift, the blood arcanist has the full power of a
bloodline to draw upon.
Bloodline: A blood arcanist selects one bloodline from
those available through the sorcerer bloodline class feature.
The blood arcanist gains the bloodline arcana and bloodline
powers of that bloodline, treating her arcanist level as her
sorcerer level. The blood arcanist does not gain the class
skill, bonus feats, or bonus spells from her bloodline.
If the blood arcanist takes levels in another class that
grants a bloodline, the bloodlines must be the same type,
even if that means that the bloodline of one of her classes
must change. Subject to GM discretion, the blood arcanist
can change her former bloodline to make them conform.
This ability replaces the arcanist exploits gained at 1st,
3rd, 9th, and 15th levels, as well as magical supremacy. A
blood arcanist cannot select the bloodline development
arcanist exploit.
School Savant (Archetype)
Some arcanists specialize in a school of magic and trade
flexibility for focus. School savants are able to prepare
more spells per day than typical arcanists, but their
selection is more limited.
School Focus (Su): At 1st level, a school savant chooses a
school of magic. The arcanist gains the abilities granted by
that school, as the arcane school class feature of the wizard,
treating her arcanist level as her wizard level for these
abilities. She can also further specialize by selecting one
of the subschools found in the Advanced Player’s Guide. In
addition, the arcanist can prepare one additional spell per
day of each level she can cast, but this spell must be chosen
from the selected school.
Finally, the arcanist must select two additional schools
of magic as her opposition schools. Whenever she prepares
spells from one of her opposition schools, the spell takes
up two of her prepared spell slots. In addition, a school
savant takes a –4 penalty on any skill checks when crafting
a magic item that has a spell from one of her opposition
schools as a prerequisite. A school savant cannot select the
school understanding arcanist exploit. This ability replaces
the arcanist exploits gained at 1st, 3rd, and 7th levels.
Never before has this been possible in the same, non-multiclassed character. What are some awesome things we can do with this?
Hey all! Question: what are the WORST magic items for a bunch of mischievous or malevolent fey to get their hands on? I'm working on a "fey civil war" set between the 3rd and 4th acts, and I thought a fey raid on my PC's magical academy could be quite hilarious and/or devastating.
So what's the worst that could happen if you give a bunch of fae free access to a kingdom's worth of magic items?
Hey all! Anybody want to help me brew up a fey vs human powder keg?
My players just finished Varnhold Vanishing. It's been fun, but so far, the "kingmaker" aspect of things has been pretty much relegated to a spreadsheet - other than a plague during Act II, there have been few things that really test the PC's abilities as RULERS rather than just as adventurers. And it looks like Act IV will be primarily exploring and infiltration, too.
So, here's what I'm thinking: it's time to make the PCs make some tricky choices. So far, they've been going for a Neutral Good kingdom that gets humans and fey to live side by side, and it's been working fine. But now that their kingdom is getting pretty big, and the ruler has switched from a Ranger of Erastil to a Paladin of Abadar, I think there might be some chafing going on. Tensions will surely be rising, and if the PCs don't step in, there might be a full blown civil war!
Here's where you come in: I'd love some ideas for interesting conflicts the PCs could try and mediate. I want them to feel the pressure of making peace between two very different and very angry types of beings. I want to expose the monstrous parts of humanity and the human parts of the monsters.
Some ideas I've had so far:
The PC's seemingly monstrous Tiefling Alchemist/Dragon Disciple becomes the champion of the local kobolds, who are threatening to eat some miners who "invaded their territory."
Humans in the capital city are threatening to exterminate pixies and other naturally mischievious fey, who don't understand why everyone is getting so upset over a few pranks.
A popular cleric of Abadar has been preaching the advantages of civilization and the evils and chaos of the wilderness, and is gaining a dangerously fanatic crowd.
There's also the potential for intrigue - Nyrissa and/or Irovetti could easily send some in some agent provacateurs. Hell, maybe even Brevoy wants to put some stumbling blocks in the kingdom's path! I'm eager to bring back the quickling Rigg Gargadilly from the second module, either as a provacateur or as a potential diplomat for the PCs.
Hey all! Here's the deal: I gave my PCs a limited-time-only resting room at the beginning of vordakai's tomb, which has now been expended. They've cleared out most of the dungeon except the prison and its guardians and the final series of encounters starting in the feasthall, which I intend to run as one ongoing battle.
It seems as though they intend to rest before the final battle, but that presents a problem for me: since Kingmaker has so many 15-minute adventuring days, I wanted this dungeon to really put them up against the wall in terms of resource management - I want the Paladin to actually run out of Lay on Hands and maybe force them to use some of their back-up scrolls, for example.
So, how can I/should I disturb their rest? This will be the first time in the campaign their rest has been disturbed. I'm thinking some Soul Eaters might attack them in the night, thus disturbing the rest of the party and giving them only 3/4s of their resources for the next day (Channels, Lay on Hands, etc.; 1 less spell per level for casters). I might also replace some cyclops zombies they killed on their first run through the dungeon. Thoughts?
Hi all. I know that for most melee eidolons, the conventional wisdom is that getting the Large evolution is key to having a great combat eidolon, thanks to the massive boost to HP, Str and CMB. However, I'm starting an urban campaign shortly (Crimson Throne), so I'd like to hear ideas on making a kickass medium-sized eidolon.
Also, for those who have played with medium eidolons, did you find that the eidolon's strength was enough on its own or did it need the ability increase evolution/Bull's Strength belt to be competitive?
Hey all. I'm about to take this character into a new Curse of the Crimson Throne game. I'd appreciate any feedback on the character or advice for the campaign, and what evolutions or items might come in handy later on. No spoilers, though, please!
For reference, the rest of the party consists of a Paladin, a Flowing Monk, a Ninja, a ranged Eldritch Knight, and an Oracle of Bones.
Rube Twiddlethumbs
Backstory:
Early Life
Rube grew up in the Shingles, Korvosa's massive shanty town. His father, Miro, worked as a deckhand in the Leroung shipyards, but went missing on a journey to Mwangi when Rube was a child; his mother, Mara, took to begging and odd jobs to get by. Rube spent most of his youth riding dogs through the streets and dumpster diving for interesting pieces of junk, though he dreamed of learning magic in the city's famous Acadamae.
Joining the Acadamae
Shortly after puberty, Rube's mother died of illness and stress, and after grieving Rube decided he would make it his goal to graduate the Acadamae. Taking a loan from local crime lord Gaedren Lamm on the condition that he would pay back double after graduating, Rube bought some textbooks and the other supplies he needed to apply. However, his lack of accomplishments, connections, and schooling meant his application was rejected time and time again. Growing desperate, Rube applied once more, and was accepted... as a janitor.
Student Loans
Menial as his janitorial duties were, they brought him into close contact with the students and staff of the Acadame. Quietly, Rube managed to pick up the basics of summoning and spellcasting, learning intuitively and practicing in secret between mopping up alchemical spills and the guts of failed students. However, Gaedren Lamm is neither a patient nor a forgiving man, and after just two years demanded Rube pay the loan back immediately. When he could not, Lamm used him as a fall man: Lamm lured, robbed, and killed a wealthy young Acadamae student and pinned the blame on Rube. Though he was eventually declared Not Guilty of the crime, the verdict came too late to prevent his eviction from the Acadamae.
Slobad's Shop
Though devastated, Rube was not unemployed for long. The gnome Surskit Slobad, owner of the magic pawn shop Slobad's Sundries, remembered and took pity on the young halfling who had always ogled the wondrous items in his window. Though he began as a stock boy (and, of course, janitor), Slobad found Rube a quite capable item-crafter, and took him as an apprentice.
Making Diesel
When not crafting items for the store, Rube worked on his own side-project - a magically-powered mechanical vehicle. Finding that his own arcane powers were insufficient to get the vehicle running, Rube combined his magic shop and Acadamae experience to summon and bind an Agathion, a neutral good bestial outsider, as the power source for the vehicle. It worked, and now Rube can be seen riding his partner, Diesel, up and over the buildings of the Midlands and Shingles. Though content working for Slobad and tinkering on Diesel, Rube has sworn vengeance on Gaedren Lamm, and always keeps an ear to the ground for ways to get back at him.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Appearance
Rube appears as a roughly 3'2" tall, lean halfling. His short, copper-colored, curly hair is often covered by a pair of vintage racing goggles. He wears a studded leather jerkin with an abundance of pockets, out of which poke various tools. His manner is cheery and helpful, but he possesses an uncanny ability to blend into the background of a situation and deflect attention from himself.
Stats (15 point buy)
Str 10
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 12
Cha 16
Languages: Common, Halfling, Varisian
Traits
Helpful (+4 granted with Aid Another)
Framed (+2 spellcraft)
Racial Traits
Outrider (+2 Ride and Handle Animal)
Appearance
Diesel appears similar to a motorcycle sidecar. Attached to his side are four metal cylinders; protruding from each of these are short, four-toed robotic legs. These result in a motion like that of a cross between a crocodile and a freight train; though seemingly awkward, Diesel can move very quickly, and by protruding small suction cups from his toes can walk up walls and ceilings as easily as solid ground. The car's front grill separates and opens to reveal a maw quite similar to a bear trap, that can ratchet open and snap shut with alarming force. The headlights swivel and can open and close like camera lenses, allowing Diesel to see in the dark. Finally, when threatened, Diesel can open panels on his side to reveal a pair of robotic-limb mounted buzzsaws (a la Inspector Gadget), which combined with his bite allow him to eviscerate most enemies in short order.
Base Form: Quadruped
Starting Statistics
Size Medium; Speed 40 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Saves Fort (good), Ref (good), Will (bad); Attack bite (1d6); Ability Scores Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Free Evolutions
bite, limbs (legs) (2).
Feats:
1 Fleet (+5 base move speed)
Skills:
Perception, Sense Motive, Acrobatics, Intimidate
Summoner has always struck me as one of the most open-ended classes in Pathfinder - it essentially gives you a blank canvas when it comes to making your eidolon.
We've all seen plenty of variations on the pouncing animal, the dragon wannabe, and the hulking bodyguard. What eidolons have you seen or imagined that don't look like anything you might find in the bestiary?
Bonus points if the summoner's flavor meshes well, and if the pair manage to be both interesting and effective.
Does Expeditious Retreat affect an Eidolon's flight speed?
Expeditious Retreat wrote:
This spell increases your base land speed by 30 feet. This adjustment is treated as an enhancement bonus. There is no effect on other modes of movement, such as burrow, climb, fly, or swim. As with any effect that increases your speed, this spell affects your jumping distance (see the Acrobatics skill).
Eidolon Flight wrote:
An eidolon grows large wings, like those of a bat, bird, insect, or dragon, gaining the ability to fly. The eidolon gains a fly speed equal to its base speed. The eidolon’s maneuverability depends on it size. Medium or smaller eidolons have good maneuverability. Large eidolons have average maneuverability, while Huge eidolons have poor maneuverability. For 2 additional evolution points, the eidolon flies by means of magic. It loses its wings, but its maneuverability increases to perfect. Flying via magi makes this a supernatural ability. The eidolon’s fly speed can be increased by spending additional evolution points, gaining a 20-foot increase to fly speed for each additional point spent. The summoner must be at least 5th level before selecting this evolution.
For that matter, would adding legs (which add to base speed) affect flight speed?
Hey all. You know how sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic? Well, for Pathfinder, I'm going to say racecars count for that. I want to build a racecar eidolon, accompanied by machinist summoner. I figure max ranks in Spellcraft should make him an expert at tinkering with anachronistic arcane devices.
Other than Mount and as many Limbs (legs) evolutions as I can tack on, how would you build it?
(no particular campaign in mind, just brainstorming)
Hey all. I was mulling over Summoner builds and thought it might be mildly hilarious to have an Eidolon Bus, with the summoner as conductor and ticket collector. (Think Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro.) Ideally, multiple party members could hop on and ride the bus!
The obvious evolutions for something like this are Large, Mount, and likely a couple pairs of Limbs (legs); I'd also want to tack on Trample to attack with, and later on Fly would give the whole party a mode of flying transportation.
However, I have no idea how multiple people riding one creature would behave. I'm looking for suggestions on:
a) rules determining how many people could ride at once for a given size/carrying capacity
b) how people moving at different initiatives works
c) how threatened area works from the back of a large/huge/gargantuan creature, for a lone or multiple riders
Hey all, put your thinking caps on. I was looking at sorcerer bloodlines and found this neat ability from the Shaitan Bloodline:
d20pfsrd wrote:
Avalanche (Su): At 9th level, whenever you hit a single target with a spell that deals damage, you may make a bull rush check as a swift action. Your CMB for this maneuver is equal to your sorcerer caster level + your Charisma bonus. You can make this maneuver even if the target is not in melee range, and you do not provoke an attack of opportunity for making this maneuver. If the target is in contact with earth, stone, or rock, you gain a +4 bonus on your CMB check.
So what spells, feats, and abilities can you guys think of to make best use of this ability? It strikes me that if you cast True Strike and then next turn use a spell that doesn't require an attack roll (e.g. Fireball only targeting the one creature) you could get a +20 on your Bull Rush, which seems neat. I'd also definitely be taking Battering Blast for a Shaitan sorcerer.
Bonus points if you can think of hazards that can affect huge and/or flying creatures!
Hey all, I was brewing up a Drunken Master build (har har) and noticed a quite relevant trait: Iron Liver.
Iron Liver wrote:
Iron Liver
Due to a lucky constitution or frequent exposure, your body is resistant to poison, including alcohol and drugs.
Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on Fortitude saves against poison and drugs, and a +4 trait bonus on Fortitude saves to avoid the effects of alcohol.
Source Adventurer's Armory 30
But try as I might, I can't find a listed Fort save for drinking - just this from the Game Mastery Guide:
Alcohol wrote:
Alcohol
Just like drugs, alcohol can be abused and have significant negative effects. In general, a character can consume a number of alcoholic beverages equal to 1 plus double his Constitution modifier before being sickened for 1 hour equal to the number of drinks above this maximum. Particularly exotic or strong forms of alcohol might be treated as normal drugs. Those who regularly abuse alcohol might eventually develop a moderate addiction.
So when would someone make a fort save vs. alcohol, and what would the DC be?
Hey all, I could use some suggestions for fun mountain-based encounters. (This is for a Kingmaker campaign, several level 8 players doing Varnhold Vanishing, so spoilers ahead. Ethan, Dan, Gabe, the rest of you: shoo, g'wan, get outta heayah.)
Long story short: the PCs have to chase down a bunch of spriggans into the mountains to recover a holy centaur longbow. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do for that fight - it involves spriggans riding spiders, including the leader on a Huge spider. However, I'd love a few ideas for a good lead-up to the encounter. How do they track the spriggans? What monsters do they have to fight along the way? How will adventuring in the treacherous mountains be different than the forgiving plains?
So if anyone has had good mountaineering stories, lay 'em on me.
Party Makeup:
All level 8; I'll usually get 5-6 players at a given session.
Sylph storm druid, casting focused
Elvish rogue/barbarian
Human direbat-mounted cavalier. (dat custom horse reincarnation table)
Half-elf caster cleric (very new player)
Tiefling alchemist/sorcerer/barbarian/dragon disciple/madman
Fetchling summoner with giant greatsword-wielding eidolon
Elvish hex-happy witch
The witch, druid, and cavalier have consistent flight; the others need spells and whatnot.
Hey all! If you were going to be playing a character solely at level 1 - that is, just playing him at level 1 for 1 or 2 sessions - what would you play? What are some fun builds that are effective right at level 1?
15 point buy, no stats below a 9 before racial bonuses, average starting GP according to class.
My first thought is a Don Quixote-style Cavalier...
Hey boards! What race/class combination would you award with the title of "Best Small Strength-Based Martial Character?"
Limitations:
We're looking specifically at small races with a Str penalty. No halfling-descended Aasimars or such. The point is to build around the penalty.
We're also looking for martial characters. It's fine if they can cast, but this character needs to stand on or near the front line.
Strength must be the primary attribute of the character. That doesn't mean it has to be the highest attribute - a Gnomish Barbarian could easily have more Con than Str - but no Dervish Dancers, no Guided weapons, etc. Damage and to-hit should be based on Strength.
"Best" in this case mostly means either "highest DPR" or "biggest awesome/fun factor." Versatility is a plus though.
Hey all. I know it's far from optimal, but how would you build and/or flavor a Summoner and Eidolon around the Trample ability? It's pretty fun flavor, and it opens a lot of room for defensive, sensory, and movement evolutions.
Remember, of course, that summoners get Enlarge Person on their spell list, and it does work on their eidolon. So at later levels you could be riding a Gargantuan eidolon as it tramples over the huge monster you're fighting.
PS: Rules check - using Burrow to overrun people in a tunnel is legit, right?
Let's say I'm playing a Halfling with 7 str and I get hit by Waves of Exhaustion, giving me a -6 penalty to Str. I now have an effective Str of 1, giving me a Heavy Load carrying capacity of 7-10 lbs. Since I'm small, this goes down to max heavy load of 7.5 lbs.
From the core rules:
Quote:
A character can lift as much as double his maximum load off the ground, but he or she can only stagger around with it. While overloaded in this way, the character loses any Dexterity bonus to AC and can move only 5 feet per round (as a full-round action).
From the halfling entry, average weight for a halfling is 35 lbs. This is more than even double my max load, even after shedding all gear.
So am I disabled, as if I had 0 str? Can I move? Can I wield a weapon? Can I cast spells? What happens?
OK, some exaggeration in the title, but I could use some advice here. My players finished Act II with a little less than half of the Greenbelt settled. By the beginning of Act III, they're supposed to have settled almost the entire thing! This represents at least a dozen or two kingdom rolls, for which I said they could take 10 on all of them.
Skimming ahead, though, it seems to me there are two reasons to keep bothering with the kingdom rolls:
1) The mass combat in Act V
2) The fact that many of the rewards/hazards in the AP are expressed in BP and bonuses/penalties to kingdom rolls
So, question to those who have gotten through the whole AP, or at least Act V: Do you think it was worth it to keep up the kingdom rolls? How well do the "kingdom in the background" sidebars cover what's going on?
IMO, I'm leaning towards getting rid of them. My players seem to enjoy exploration and divvying up leadership roles more than the actual upkeep involved with calculating economy checks and whatnot. However, I'm concerned that unless I come up with some kind of alternate system, half the sidequests will be pointless, and I don't want to deprive my players of mass combat fun. Help!
Hey all! I could use some advice on a neat summoner build I'm toying with. The basics of it is to use Combat Reflexes, reach, and Enlarge Person to get free attacks of opportunity at ridiculous distances from level 1. I'd love tips on how to make it better, or on flavorful ways to roleplay it. Gracias!
I'm leaning towards Biped because of the reach and strong slam attack, though not having trip hurts. I'm not really interested in a max damage Pounce build - I think I'd like to stick with one attack, since the build is around attacks of opportunity. (Push really helps with this!)
Hello all! I'm attempting to make an Intimidating Mounted Barbarian Gnome and could use some advice. I know having a -2 racial to Str and a -4 to Intimidate for being small nerf this build pretty hard compared to a Half Orc, but to me that's what makes it funny, so I'd like some help making it as effective as possible.
Here's the build:
Mounted Fury Gnomish Barbarian:
Mount: Wolf
20 point buy
Str 14
Dex 12
Con 16
Int 10
Wis 12
Cha 13
Main things I need help with:
1) Is Intimidating Glare/Terrifying Howl/Cornugon Smash the best way to go about intimidating people?
2) What's the best way to improve Intimidate? Gotta get over that -4.
3) What should my mount's feats be? Note: he'll probably use Aid Another to help me when I intimidate out of combat.
4) How important is Mounted Combat in practice, esp. with a full-strength animal companion? I'd love to splice Raging Vitality into this build...
Thanks a bunch!
PS: Rules question - if my mount moves/double moves/charges up to the enemy, can I Intimidating Glare as a move action and attack as a standard? (Intimidating Glare requires you to be adjacent to the enemy.) RAW I think so, but I'm not sure... It seems to me that a very angry gnome, wielding a greatsword, riding a wolf straight at you, while glaring you straight in the eyes, is enough to warrant an intimidate check.
I've been brainstorming a halfling sorcerer build that will greatly feature Ghoul Touch, a touch-attack spell that paralyzes an opponent and sickens anyone that comes near. I realized that even if I had a few turns alone with a helpless opponent, a 6 str character really does not have a lot of options for finishing off an opponent. Coup De Grace using even a x4 small weapon (and simple weapons only go up to +3) with 6 strength only does at best (1d6 - 2)*4 damage, or 6 on average.
Now, I know I could simply increase strength and he'd be better at coup de grace-ing, and that crossbows don't take a strength damage penalty. However, as a touch attack sorcerer he'll be slightly MAD already, and crossbows have to be reloaded. Considering I don't want to poison my teammates accidentally if they go in and coup de grace, what are good ways for the little people to finish helpless enemies off?
Hey guys, though experiment: If your GM said that combat maneuvers don't provoke attacks of opportunity, even without the Improved/Greater feats, how would the game change? What kind of character would you make?
Hey all! Question for you archers out there: how do you keep things interesting in combat? Casters have to consider what spell to cast, and melee types have lots of positioning and potentially combat maneuvers to consider; but it seems to me that in combat, archers can simply maintain distance from the enemy and full attack nonstop. Our party needs an archer, and I'm sure I can build one capable of doing lots of things out of combat, but I feel like combat would become somewhat repetitive pretty quickly.
What do you guys think about this? Are there any classes that bring a lot of interesting decision-making to archery?
Hey all. Some of you may know of the ancient art of Panther Style, which allows one to retaliate against any fool foolish enough to strike you for moving around the battlefield. It's a powerful art, to be sure, but I've been scratching my head for days about a good way to utilize it, and I could use some more brainpower.
To use Panther Style to its fullest effectiveness, one must:
1) Be OK with getting attacked A LOT
2) Have something good to do with a standard action
3) Have a Wisdom of at least 15 to qualify for Panther Claw and Panther Parry
4) Have a decent move speed
So far the best thing I've come up with is a Titan Mauler Barbarian using Vital Strike, and a reach cleric with the Plant domain, but both of these builds have their problems.
So what are your best exemplars of the Panther style?
PS: Remember that one can start the turn with two hands on a weapon, take one hand off to move around with it, and then reaffirm their grip to attack.
PPS: Note that many builds, including the ones I said above, benefit from taking a level of Unarmed Fighter to get Improved Unarmed Strike and Panther Style for free.
Hey all! I was thinking about how to best utilize the Crane Style line of feats, and realized that a Barbarian might be just about the best option. Here's my thinking:
When using Crane Style:
-you're probably fighting defensively, and so have -2 to your attacks
-you want to have one hand free
-you'll be able to parry one attack per turn, and possibly counterattack
So what does that get you? A character no enemy wants to attack, certainly, thanks to your defenses. But it also makes a character that isn't likely to hit (-2 to attacks) and likely deals less damage (no two-handed weapons, though check with your DM if you can two hand a longsword/whatever and then still have a hand free).
So why Barbarian?:
Well, barbarians love to charge into battle, get right in the middle of the enemies (Improved Uncanny Dodge says hello), and beat the heck out of people while tanking hits. Rage and full BAB means fighting defensively isn't a big deal, and Crane Style helps makes up for your lessened AC from charging and raging.
So how would you build a Crane Style Barbarian?
PS: By RAW, "While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration." Not sure if crane style requires "concentration," but if your GM says it does, Crane Style Urban Barbarian could still be pretty good. Share your thoughts!
Hey all. My players have just finished getting through most of the troll lair in Rivers Run Red, but we had to stop just before they got to Hargulka's room. As such, I thought I might take the time to make the encounter a little more interesting. As written, it's pretty much just a "what are you doing here, I'ma fight you" type encounter, leaving the Nyrissa implications to come from the map and other small details. I'd like to spice up the RP a bit to shed some light on Nyrissa for the PCs.
That being said, Hargulka is a troll, and probably doesn't have a lot of patience or excess brainpower for drawn-out conversation. I sent one troll ahead, so he'll be warned of their coming, but he could ignore it and thus allow a "PCs walk in on the villain talking to himself" type thing.
What do you guys think?
PS: I'm also open to advice on how to make the fight more interesting. I've got 7 6th level fairly-optimized PCs that are pretty worn out from fighting all the extra trolls I threw at them, and I'm thinking it will be Hargulka, a regular troll, an advanced trollhound, and *maybe* the rock troll I excluded from his proper room. The last battle took place almost entirely in the doorway of the barracks, with all the PCs bunched up in the hall; that's something I'd like to avoid this time.
Hey boards! I was just cooking up some ideas for summoners, and thought of a cool combo based very loosely on some mix of "the fox and the hound" and japanese/chinese mythology. I could use some help fleshing out the build, though - particularly in feats.
The general idea being a "simple wanderer and his dog" that secretly is much more. Like I said, I'm aiming to evoke Asian folklore, utilizing the Kitsune bonuses to Cha and Enchantment DCs, as well as access to Fox Shape, to create a stealthy trickster; and a decent assortment of abilities, including the skilled evolutions, to make a loyal and almost preternaturally aware guard dog.
Currently the plan is to have the summoner use Daze, Acid Splash, and a crossbow to contribute to combat in early levels, and shift towards buffs, debuffs, and a tinge of battlefield control later on. If there's a good way to make a Kitsune flank buddy or mounted summoner, though, I'm all ears.
Opinions needed: which is better for a stealthy halfling?
Swift as Shadows: Halflings possess incredible stealth even while moving through obstructed areas. Halflings with this racial trait reduce the penalty for using Stealth while moving by 5, and reduce the Stealth check penalty for sniping by 10. This racial trait replaces sure-footed.
Fleet of Foot: Some halflings are quicker than their kin but less cautious. Halflings with this racial trait move at normal speed and have a base speed of 30 feet. This racial trait replaces slow speed and sure-footed.
The build in mind is an Oracle of the Dark Tapestry (Seeker archetype, Deafened curse) that would act as party face, scout/trapfinder, and divine caster.
I'm tempted towards Fleet of Foot, because I think with all of the things available to boost stealth, I should be able to pump my stealth so high that a -5 doesn't matter. The lowered sniping penalty is interesting, but I don't think there are many great ray spells on the oracle spell list. What about you guys?
Hey guys, I could use your help with a build I'm thinking of. I was just mulling over the Oracle abilities, and realized that an oracle with the Dark Tapestry mystery and Deafened curse (free silent spells!) would make an amazing stealthy full caster/party face.
Note: I'm designing this in a vacuum. No idea whether it would be PFS or a regular campaign. Thus, I've left a few things (like Knowledge skill selection) variable.
Stats (20 point buy)
Str 6
Dex 16
Con 12
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 18
Traits:
Reactionary
?
Skills (6/level):
Key: Stealth, Acrobatics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Perception
Secondary: Knowledge (planes or arcana or religion), sense motive, spellcraft, disguise, linguistics (to read lips)
Revelations:
1 Cloak of Darkness
3 Many Forms
7 Wings of Darkness
11 Pierce the Veil
Feats:
1 Skill Focus: Knowledge (Arcana/Planes/Religion)
3 Eldritch Heritage - Arcane (familiar - Monkey (only one that can use sign language))
5 Improved Initiative?
7 Improved Familiar? (maybe 9th depending on ruling)
So, already this guy is amazing at stealth and infiltration. The high Dex, Reactionary trait, Alertness, and Improved Initiative make up for the penalty from being deafened, and he can read lips and use sign language with his monkey to overcome that shortcoming as well. His ability to Alter Self (and eventually even polymorph into different animals), plus his high bluff, stealth, acrobatics, and silent spellcasting make him awesome at sneaking around places, and in combat he's got a high charisma and *full casting*!
Sadly, the first few levels are going to be really hard on this guy, and I welcome suggestions to make them easier. No monkey = no pal with hearing, and little other than a small light crossbow to do damage with. (Perhaps I could just cast Sanctuary and use Aid Another?)
I'm also not super familiar with the cleric spell list, especially in the context, and would love recommendations for spells known. Also, if there are better feat options, I'm open to suggestions.
Thanks guys! Looking forward to making this guy awesome.
So we're in part 2 (Rivers Run Red) right now, and a plague (courtesy of the 3% chance of one on the "random events" table) has struck my PC's kingdom. I had the dryad with the scythe tree problem reward them with some plants that would help (read: +2 on the save), and more save bonuses for them establishing quarantine, etc., but some incredibly bad rolls means that their kingdom is about to fold under this plague. (And of course they've got what's-his-face the bard pinning the whole thing on them.)
Long story short, I need to come up with a sidequest for them to cure this plague - either modifying one of the exploration slots they haven't done yet, or putting one in an otherwise unoccupied hex. Anyone have any brilliant ideas?
So we were in a high-level custom dungeon crawl on Sunday, and my wizard stepped into an alcove that made him evil. (It also changed his gender, but that's irrelevant, and soon to be remedied with Break Enchantment.) Now, it happened that he turned back to good immediately after, but if he hadn't, what do you guys think is appropriate for a newly evil character? My first thought was to stab my party in the back during the next boss battle, but with no assurance that the boss would then make me his general or something, that would be too risky. Of course, he would have to hide it from the other PCs...
Long story short: if your GM turns you evil, is a TPK at a dramatically appropriate moment acceptable?
In a game I'm in now, I'm playing a 13th level god wizard, and my friend is playing a 13th level halfling ninja. He's very good at sneak attacking with shuriken and being the party face, but recently he's been pretty useless in combat against undead and elementals.
Are there any spells I could cast that would give him something useful to do in these situations? He's got 5 str and no weapon finesse, so I can't think of a useful polymorph form...
Hey guys, here's a thought experiment: how would you design a Rogue to disable and take out a high-level (10+) spellcaster? Assume the rogue is sneaky enough to get the drop on the caster; how would you take him out without getting leveled by a Dominate Person/Baleful Polymorph/etc., or losing him once he goes invisible and flies away?
Hey, all. I'm playing a Wildshape-focused Druid in an upcoming campaign, and I've decided I want a Rhinoceros as an animal companion. Here's what I've got so far for his feats:
For 1st, I was looking at three possibilities: Toughness, Light Armor Proficiency, and Improved Natural Armor. Which do you guys think is best? Also, Mage Armor can be cast on a rhino, right?
PS: Expecting to have a good time rolling Vital Strike with Strong Jaw, Improved Natural Attack, and Animal Growth at higher levels. ^_^
It seems to me that the druid could, in theory, make a great Combat Reflexes fighter. He gets large and huge shapes which, depending on the form you choose, can have 10 and 15 ft reach; and has a number of spells that create and let him navigate through difficult terrain.*
On the other hand, he gains natural proficiency with zero reach weapons, and receives penalties to Dex for becoming huge and large. To gain an advantage from Combat Reflexes while huge, he'd need at least 16 Dex pre-wildshape.
Does anyone have advice for how to create a good Combat Reflexes/Reach druid?
*Reach and Difficult Terrain:
For those unaware, having reach and the ability to take 5-foot steps in difficult terrain can give someone a huge advantage in combat. Since your opponent has to take a move action to get close to you (assuming your reach is longer than theirs), you get an AoO for them moving through your threatened area, and they only get a standard action to hit you; then on your turn, you can take a 5-foot step and full attack. Rinse and repeat.
I was looking for good deities and domains for a Shinto-style religion (i.e., worshipping kami/local spirits), but all of the pathfinder deities seem pretty monotheistic. Am I best off trying to convince my GM to let me houserule it, or is there a deity I missed? (I was kind of looking at Gozreh, but he seemed a little more like the Drowned God/Poseidon and a little less like what I was going for.)
Here's the character in question, incidentally. Advice is much appreciated!
Tengu Inquisitor:
Race: Tengu
Alignment: TBD - most likely pure neutral
Class: Inquisitor - Heresy inquisition
Stats (20 point buy)
Str 9
Dex 18 (2 racial)
Con 12 (-2 racial)
Int 14
Wis 16 (2 racial)
Cha 7
The character is designed as a skill monkey/monster encyclopedia that can also do pretty well in melee (especially if flanking). He also makes a pretty good lookout and party face, with his high wisdom, racial traits, and inquisition supporting initiative, perception, sense motive, and intimidate. I imagine the build will play somewhat like a divinely-empowered rogue that can "go nova" with Tengu Wings, Improved Judgment, bane, and spells.
It seems to me that Nimble Moves doesn't get enough love.
Nimble Moves
You can move across a single obstacle with ease.
Prerequisites: Dex 13.
Benefit: Whenever you move, you may move through 5 feet of difficult terrain each round as if it were normal terrain. This feat allows you to take a 5-foot step into difficult terrain.
Now, it's obviously not for everybody, but I see one big way to take advantage of it: if you and your opponent are on difficult terrain, and you have reach but your opponent does not, then Nimble Moves would let you practically double your attacks. If there's a 5 foot square between you, you can hit your opponent, but they can't hit you. If they take a move action to get closer to you, you get an AoO, and they get a standard attack. Then, you get to 5 foot step back and full attack, and the cycle repeats. Even if you don't use a reach weapon, I could see it coming in pretty handy whenever you run across or create difficult terrain, which for me is fairly often.
I feel like this is at least worth considering in some of the reach weapon/combat reflexes builds.
I'm an 11th level wizard in a homebrew game I'm in, and until now I've been specializing in battlefield control, especially walls and pit spells. But now we're starting to encounter a lot of flying enemies, as well as huge elementals that are too big for my pits and unaffected by a lot of other spells.
Now, summoning is always dandy, and I imagine casting Fly on a T-rex could have some fun results. But what other spells do you guys like to use on flying, huge, and otherwise troublesome opponents? (I really want Sirocco to be good for this, but it's only a DC15 fly check to stay in the air, which most things can make easily.)
Rewatched The Lion King the other day (don't ask why, I don't know), and my friends and I started up the old "what class would he be" thing. I thought, hey, roleplaying Timon and Pumbaa could be really fun. And there's one class that can do it...
Timon::
Halfling Summoner (Neutral Good)
Str 10
Dex 18
Con 14
Int 12
Wis 8
Cha 15 (+1 at 4th level)
Traits:
Highlander (+1 on Stealth checks, Stealth is a class skill; +2 instead if in a hilly or rocky area)
Fast-Talker (+1 on Bluff, Bluff is a class skill)
Timon is a brown-haired, tan-robed summoner with a penchant for blowing his mouth off. Out of combat, he makes a good party face, with his high Bluff, and a good scout with high Stealth. In combat, he buffs himself and his eidolon up, and rides Pumbaa into battle using Weapon Finesse.
Pumbaa::
Eidolon (Quadruped)
Size: medium; Speed: 40ft; AC: +2 natural armor; Saves: Fort (good), Ref (good), Will (bad); Attack: bite (1d6)
Ability Scores:
Str 14
Dex 14
Con 13
Int 7
Wis 10
Cha 11
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, Improved Natural Attack
Though he appears a large brown boar, Pumbaa is of the "dog" build of eidolon - one nasty bite attack that gets a lot of Attacks of Opportunity. He also has skill focus: perception, so at least one of the pair can pay attention.
I'm pretty confident on my build for Pumbaa, but I'd like some advice on how to build Timon. Right now I have him as a weapon finesse battler that rides on Pumbaa, but I could also picture him as a sling/archery type. I know Summoners can't rely very much on their low amount of spells, but what's the best thing to go with them?
There's a druid spell in Ultimate Magic called url=http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/cape-of-wasps]Cape of Wasps[/url].
Quote:
You summon a wasp swarm, which fills your space (up to 5 feet by 5 feet) but does not attack you. The dense cloud of vermin gives you partial concealment against ranged attacks. Any creature that makes a successful melee attack against you takes 2d6 points of swarm damage and poison from the wasp swarm, but is not affected by the swarm’s distraction ability. As a free action on your turn, you may have the swarm cling to you tightly, giving you a fly speed of 20 feet (poor maneuverability); when using the swarm to fly, it does not provide concealment or harm creatures that strike you. You can return the swarm to its protective shape as a free action on your turn.
My question is this: The spell states that the wasps fill at most a 5x5 square, so how does this spell behave if you wildshape into something Large or bigger?
