Pegasus

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Organized Play Member. 240 posts. No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 4 Organized Play characters.




One thing that has always bothered me about Pathfinder melee weapons is they often cannot do damage types they by all rights ought to be able to do. There are lots of weapons that are clearly better at one type, but can do the other kinds.

Accordingly, I would like to propose that in PF2E melee weapons can do multiple damage types... just at less damage for some. I offer the following examples of this premise, plus an explanation of what benefits it offers the game.

Longsword or Scimitar: These classically slashing weapons (1d8 or 1d6 respectively) are perfectly capable of thrusts in real life. They might not be as good at it, but there should be an option. Likewise, they can do bludgeoning damage. I would suggest the following,

Longsword / Scimitar
Slashing: 1d8 / 1d6
Piercing: 1d6/ 1d4
Bludgeoning (representing either pommel strikes or flat-side bashing): 1d4 / 1d3

Polearms in general: Should be capable of staff-fighting adjacent foes. This is basic polearm combat; if someone slips past your spear-tip then the sensible things to do are either footwork backwards so you can try again, or if they're overtaking you too quickly for that to work... you hit them with the big stick already in your hands.

Accordingly, I would advise some kind of 1d4 or 1d6 bludgeoning attack against adjacent foes if Reach rules remain similar to how they were in PF1E.

What's the Benefit?: It would cut down on characters carrying a truly silly amount of weaponry. Sure, a main weapon and a backup make sense. Carrying three or four different ones to make sure all damage types are covered is a bit odd.

It would also reduce the need for Feats that permit this behavior in PF1E, when competent combatants should be learning how to do this stuff as part of their early training.

Also opens up some design space for polearm fighters that don't need armor spikes for close combat, because they'd already be doing it with what they have in-hand.

Hopefully this idea has some merit; I'd love to see martials show off various alternate ways of fighting with a weapon!


Several days ago, designer Mark Seifter (I think it was him, anyway; forgive me if I've mis-remembered this) mentioned playtesting an arcane character that I understood to be (and may be wrong) themed around holy/light style magic. I wanted to ask a few questions about this and see how well PF2E supports certain character ideas that original Pathfinder allowed... but in some cases it took a while to get around to. Others were in 'day one', though.

Thus, if anyone on staff is willing to indulge some questions, I'd like to ask whether the game will 'day 1' support any of the following?

Non-lethal damage spells: I really liked my character being able to drop a big, surprisingly non-fatal Fireball on foes. The Merciful Spell feat and Sarenrae's Divine Fighting Technique feat both allowed this in various ways. Is this something I can port over on day one of PF2E? Not every encounter need to be won via non-lethal damage, but I'd certainly love for it to be a practical option.

Angel wings: The Celestial Sorcerer bloodline granted angel wings after a while. Loved it, it was great visual flavor. Unfortunately, this bloodline wound up competing with the (otherwise far superior) Solar bloodline. Solar bloodline lacked the wings, but gave your character tons of other holy-themed powers like Light-based attack spells along with decent (not great, but decent and enjoyable) healing. It even offered significant upgrades in firepower. Having to pick between the these aspects of a 'Holy sorcerer' concept was kind of disappointing, because the 'firepower and healing' part begrudgingly won out over the wings most of the time I designed characters. Will there be any way to reconcile these differences in PF2E?

Good-themed Attack spells in general: Burst of Radiance is, hands-down, my favorite spell in the game. Searing Light (technically Light-themed rather than Good-themed, but close enough!) is also easily in my 'Top 10.' Getting them onto some kind of spontaneous arcane caster was a pretty fun thing for me. Can we expect to see reasonable equivalents (they need not be the exact same spells, just the same basic idea) around, including access for non-Divine classes?

Celestial-themed Familiars/similar: Will these remain an option? I loved being able to pick up companions like the Silvanshee Agathion (Enlightened benevolent intelligent cat? Yes please) and the various minor Archons and Azata. Will this sort of thing still be around?

In Summary: I loved being able to design characters who were unambiguously devoted to holy/light/celestial/Good ideas and got some of the toys you'd associate with that, but their primary tools and game mechanics for getting things done weren't the traditional Cleric ability set. PF1E supports this extremely well (it took a lot of expansion content to get there, but we did indeed arrive at 'the materials to build nearly the exact character concept I had in mind'), and I'm wondering how well PF2E will support it or how much I should be ready to drop from said character concepts.

Can anyone at Paizo offer some insight on this? Mark's brief response on this a week or so back seemed encouraging, but as my initial question was lacking in details... his reply felt similarly vague to me (not that I'm upset by it; if I frame the question wrong, I'm not likely to get the answers I seek).

Thank you for your time in considering these questions!


I'm trying an unusual concept here and would like feedback on whether the following build is viable. It need not be 'the best', but I am open to some optimization clean-up if you find obvious problems. Beyond that, I'm mostly wanting to make sure it's decent enough that people would be comfortable with it at a PFS table. Can I get thoughts on this?

At a glance: Intelligent, polite Paladin focusing on polearm-based control fighting. Wants to take lots of AOOs and control space.

PFS legal, 20 point buy.
Human, LG Align, Paladin 11 (Hospitalier OR Chosen One archetype used). Deity is Qi Zhong.
Favored Class bonus: +1 HP at every level

Attributes
Str 17 (15 + 2 Human)
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 14 (Not a typo, please see below)
Wis 7
Cha 14

+1 to Str at L4, +1 to Wis at L8.

The Int 14, Wis 7, Cha 14 is meant to reflect a very specific character idea: A Paladin who is actually pretty well-studied and polite, with a big heart... and bad eyesight and similar issues.

I'm open to some stat juggling here if it helps shore up a weakness.

Hospitalier archetype is to reflect the healing interest, but I might go Chosen One instead to get a fun familiar (an Owl and later a Silvanshee Agation, I think).

Human racial ability substitutions: None at this time but am open to PFS-legal ideas.

Traits:
Tianjing Temple Guard (+1 to AOOs with Polearms) - Am open to other suggestions.
Fate's Favored (Improves Luck bonuses) - Also open to other ideas here.

Skills omitted for brevity. Assume the usual mix of Diplomacy, knowledges, Perception, possibly Heal, etc. Int 14 will help here.

Feats:
L1: Combat Reflexes (human bonus feat), and Weapon Focus Horsechopper OR Bec De Corbin
L3: Weapon Trick: Polearm Tricks
L5: Power Attack
L7: Lunge
(Will pick up Blind-Fight via an Ioun Stone resonance at this point)
L9: Weapon Versatility in whatever was Weapon Focus'ed above. Very open to other suggestions, I'm mostly using this to enjoy all three damage types on one polearm. That's 'important flavor' for me, but not absolutely vital.
L11: Phalanx formation or open to better ideas.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


I've been trying to branch out from my usual mix of straight-class Sorcs and full-BAB martials, and decided to try my hand at a buffing/healing based bard. More buffing than healing, as I'm aware of the math behind 'primary healer' not being able to keep up with incoming damage. Nonetheless, the idea is a support character.

Could I get some folks to look over the following and offer input on whether it's good, whether it needs improvement, etc.?

PFS Legality Required, 20 point buy
Human, NG Align, Deity is Shelyn
Bard (Arcane Healer) 6 / Argent Dramaturge 5

Str 8
Dex 14
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 17

(All level-up bonuses to Cha)

Racial Feature Swaps/Replacements: None so far but open to suggestions.

Favored Class Option: Generally going to new spells.

Skills omitted for brevity, but going for strong Diplomacy and such.

Traits: Maestro of the Society (+3 rounds of bardic performance) and Reactionary (+2 init)

Feats: I strongly suspect I've overlooked something. Any better ideas on these?
L1: Steadfast Personality (Human bonus feat), Extra Performance (L1 base feat)
L3: Improved Initiative
L5: Skill Focus Perform/Sing (required for Argent Dramaturge)
L7: Spellsong
L9: Lingering Performance
L11: Discordant Voice

Argent Dramaturge ability selections include: Heartening Song, and Masterpiece (Battle Song of the People's Revolt to grant the Escape Plan teamwork feat.) Am open to suggestions on replacing these two selections.

Equipment would mostly be a Shortbow and backup melee weapon, but this character is primarily a buffing/healing/spellcasting/social platform.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


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I've been spending a lot of time thinking about Conjure Carriage, and have come to the realization it may be an underrated spell. Accordingly, I'd like to talk about some things it can be used for and what kind of obstacles it faces.

I acknowledge that some of these points are recycled from discussions on other message boards and communities, while others are new ideas. I wanted to add some new uses for it, while also gathering other ideas in one place.

So, what do you get out of this Level 3 arcane spell? Some uses are obvious, but others are more clever.

Brain Teaser: It has a range of Close, not 'adjacent to caster.' Nothing stops you from making it appear in absolutely baffling places, such as a nearby rooftop (provided the roof can bear the weight, of course!). If you want a distraction, "How in the hell did someone manage to get a horse and carriage up there?!" will probably do it! Heck, put one in thick jungle trees where it makes even less sense.

Drop It on Stuff: Half of 6d6 bludgeoning non-magical damage (DC 15 Reflex Half) isn't all that great for a level 3 spell, but it IS an option. It even ignores SR. If you have absolutely nothing else that will get through, this is something you can do. Note that it does half damage (on top of the possible Reflex half) because it is wooden, and the normal 6d6 damage for dropping a Large object on someone presumes the object is stone or metal instead of wood.

Make Stuff Collapse: Dropping two horses and a carriage on top of something that can't bear that extra weight will make it fall in one heck of a hurry. Drop it on huts, smaller trees, shacks, and so on.

Ambulance: Got disabled allies? Need a way to move them without making another party member carry them? Put them in here instead.

Loot Storage: Need to drag a lot of stuff around (Loot, or passing out weapons to a peasant rebellion or so on)? This will do.

Travel While Resting: If you don't have Teleport yet and need to cover as much ground as possible, this can keep moving while some of the occupants rest inside. It might not be the safest option, but it is there.

Bunker: Requires cutting horses free (have an ally handy to do this), but suddenly you have a bunker for up to four creatures to make ranged attacks/spells out of. This invites AOE in return, but not every fight is going to have opposing AOE. You'll get Cover versus most attacks this way, too.

Line of Sight Blocker: Specify that the carriage has curtains for the windows. Pull them shut. Anyone inside has now blocked LOS. This of course works both ways, and there are methods to do damage into the carriage anyway (most AOE).

Instant High Ground: Put your archer on the driving deck (or, if the archer is light enough, the roof can hold up to 200 pounds). Again, cut the horses away before doing this.

Quasi-Wall: This also needs the horses to be cut free immediately, but you can block a lot of movement if you put this in a hallway or other good spot. Just note that it's not a true wall, so people can sneak Fireballs and such underneath it and hit the other side. At 90 HP and Hardness 5, it will withstand a few hits if used as a wall-like object.

Bonus to Reflex vs. AOE: If you know you're going to be getting hit by a Lightning Bolt or similar effect no matter what, hanging out next to the carriage will give you a +2 to Reflex in many cases.

Look Important: Presuming your party (or at least one person in it) can look like a Very Important Person, having this sweet carriage can help lend credibility to the story. This can be useful in some cities.

Decoy: Since it looks important, you can send it through a battlefield and there's a decent chance someone will go after it.

Protection from the Weather: It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

Tow Truck: Unhitch the horses, re-hitch them to something stuck in a ditch or similar bad terrain, have them pull it out.

Detachable Horses: Nothing stops you from detaching the horses from the carriage and letting others ride the horses while the carriage itself stays put.

Make Some Money: Need a little bit of cash? Congratulations, you now have your very own taxi service. Sure, this is only useful to get tiny amounts of money... but if you're in a case where you have no money whatsoever, this would be an option to fix that.

Downhill Crowd-Scattering: Put this on top of an incline. Cut the horses free. Shove it real hard. Watch whatever's below scramble to get out of the way!

Despite these fun uses, it has some drawbacks.

Terrain Reliant: Only works in terrain where a wheeled carriage and horses can reliably move through. ...Unless it being immobile isn't a problem for you.

Horses can get spooked: If your planned use requires the carriage stay still, you absolutely need to have an ally handy who can immediately cut the reins so the horses can't move the carriage anymore. Otherwise, the moment something alarms them (which will be "nearly anything" on a battlefield!) they will bolt.

Poor Driving Skill if Unmanned: The included driver fails at pretty much any stressful skill check for driving the carriage. You'll need a better driver at the reins if you expect danger to come up.

Can anyone think of other fun uses, or noteworthy problems, for Conjure Carriage? If so, please speak up!


The Solar bloodline for Sorcs includes a fun line about those who are "servants in the sun goddess' court" or words close to that. It got me thinking... what exactly is a deity's court?

Does this include lesser deities who happen to get along with them? For example, are Empyreal Lords part of Sarenrae's 'court'? Or is it purely characters and general outsiders and so on?


I've been trying to figure out how to make good use of the 'extra healing' aspect of the following Solar Sorcerer 3rd level ability, and would love advice from others. Presume PFS legality requirements, presume the character is a Human with a normal human body and is mostly a blaster Sorc.

The ability is as follows:

Friend of Fire (Su): At 3rd level, you gain fire resistance 10. At 5th level, when in contact with flame or a burning object (including a flaming weapon, lantern, or torch), add 1 per die to any healing effect of which you are the target. At 9th level, your fire resistance increases to 20. At 20th level, you gain immunity to fire.

Are there any practical ways to reliably have a fire/burning item handy while still having one hand free to hold Metamagic Rods and another hand free to cast spells? Admittedly the healing effect is modest, but I want to see if one can make use of it.

Any good ideas would be greatly appreciated!


I've got an odd build I'm trying to do, but having trouble finding all the relevant components for it and wanted to turn to the wider community for help on it. Based on my specifications below, can you point me at anything that would be PFS legal and reasonably effective at the table? You're welcome to propose either full builds, or just tell me the materials to look at!

Specifications:
PFS Legal. 20 Point Buy.
Human
Align: NG, LG, or CG.
Deity: Any NG, LG, or CG.
Primary Stats: Dex and Cha.
Weapon: Any polearm with Reach; spears, glaives, horsechoppers, naginata, it's all good.
Armor: None or Light ideally, but willing to entertain other ideas if needed.

Class: Any, including multiclassing (I came across some possibilities for Cleric + Unchained Monk at one point, if this gives you an example of how unusual a build I'm willing to entertain)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Edit: Answer received. The result is a fairly clear 'No, these two mechanics do not interact in regard to the Fire-based healing. Yes, they do interact on the Fire-based damage dealing.' on multiple grounds.

The post below has already been answered and is only retained in case others are curious.

I suspect this is a case where RAW never foresaw this possibility and so the RAW answer is 'No', but I want to ask anyway about how Healing Flames spell and Solar Bloodline arcana interact. Note that Healing Flames not being a Sorc spell is not a problem; Magaambyan Arcana trait can solve that.

Solar Sorcerer Bloodline Arcana:Whenever you cast a spell with the fire descriptor, if it deals damage, it deals +1 point of damage per die rolled.

Healing Flames: You unleash a blast of holy flames that washes over all creatures in the area in a glorious display of divine power. This deals damage to evil creatures and heals good creatures in the area. The amount of damage dealt and the number of hit points restored in each case is 1d8 points per 2 caster levels (maximum 5d8).

My question: Does the bloodline ability increase the health restored? My guess is by RAW, 'No, as restoring hit points is not the exact same as dealing damage even though they use similar behavior modifying the same game mechanic.'

RAI suggests to me this should count for the healing aspect of the spell too, but I don't imagine RAI gets very far at a PFS table?


I've been making some adjustments on a Sorcerer build I like, and would love it if someone could look this over for three things: Legality (I want to be sure it's Pathfinder Society legal), General Effectiveness, and Possible Improvements up to a point. Put more simply, I want to be sure it's table legal and is a character people would be comfortable having at the table when TPKs can be on the line.

Admittedly, the character's theme narrows my selections somewhat; they won't use Evil spells and such, even if it is PFS legal.

That said, here's what I have.

The Basics
Human, NG Align, Sarenrae is their Deity.
Sorcerer 11, no Archetypes (none fit the concept). Solar Bloodline.
Str 7
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 12
Wis 12
Cha 18 (as 16 + 2 Human bonus)

+1 to Cha at L4, and +1 to Cha at L8.
Languages: Common, Celestial

Skills: Focusing on Perception, Know/Arcana, Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device (the latter mostly to enable CLW Wand usage). Occasional points tossed into Diplomacy, Intimidate, Bluff, Know Planes, and Know Religion where possible.

At a Glance: A Sorc meant to help the party with a mix of blasting, control, and occasional defense-improvement spells. Very openly Good-aligned, wields lots of Light themed spells and tends to use Merciful Spell on their larger blasts.

Racial Feature Substitutions: None, but am open to ideas.

Favored Class Option: A new spell, every single time. I won't list them here, for brevity.

Class Feature Substitutions: At third level, replace Friend of Fire with Blood Intensity.

Traits:
Illuminator (+2 Diplomacy, becomes Class Skill)
Reactionary (+2 Init)

Feats: Am open to suggestions, but here's what I have so far.
1: Eschew Materials (Class granted), Merciful Spell (L1 Base feat), Steadfast Personality (Human Bonus)
3: Improved Initiative
5: Spell Penetration
7: Greater Spell Penetration (L7 base) and Empower Spell (L7 Sorc Bonus Feat)
9: Additional Traits (Magaambyan Arcana to pick up the Healing Flames spell, and Magical Lineage: Burst of Radiance)
11: Spontaneous Metafocus for Burst of Radiance, or better idea if you have one.

Bonus Spells: As per standard Solar bloodline progression. No substitutions or alterations to rate of acquisition.

Faction: Silver Crusade

Spells: This list is incomplete, as Pages of Spell Knowledge might be used to fill in gaps as needed. Remember that human bonus spell options were used to get more spells than is normally possible.

L0/Cantrips: Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Grasp, Open/Close, Mending, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Spark, Message, Mage Hand

L1: Burning Hands, Celestial Healing (mostly for theme purposes), Grease, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Protection from Evil, Searing Light (Bloodline Bonus)

Pages of Spell Knowledge will likely be used to pick up Shield, Vanish, Ear-Piercing Scream, possibly Snowball (despite the recent nerf), and maybe Feather Fall (though a Ring of this is probably smarter).

L2: Gust of Wind, Burning Arc, Burst of Radiance, Create Pit, Fury of the Sun (Bloodline Bonus), Glitterdust, Mirror Image, Admonishing Ray.

Pages of Spell Knowledge might be used to grab Resist Energy, Stone Call, Scorching Ray, False Life, and possibly Fog Cloud.

L3: Daylight (Bloodline Bonus), Dispel Magic, Fireball, Fly, Force Punch, Haste, Sleet Storm

If I somehow have money left over, Pages of Spell Knowledge might cover Magic Circle Against Evil, and Conjure Carriage.

L4: Dimension Door, Emergency Force Sphere, Healing Flames (via Trait), Resilient Sphere, Shield of the Dawnflower (Bloodline Bonus), Wall of Ice.

L5: Flame Strike (Bloodline Bonus), Gravity Sphere, Wall of Force.

L6 if Character Level 12 is ever obtained: Chains of Light

And that's what I've got. Feedback is welcome (if you know something that would be even better with this 'openly holy-aligned blaster' concept, I want to know about it), and thank you for looking this over!


So, I'm having an odd issue: I love the Solar bloodline for Sorcerers, but am trying to add two things to it for a PFS straight-class Sorc. Specifically, I want to be able to pick up an Improved Familiar (a Silvanshee Agathion to be precise) and angel wings akin to the ones granted by the Celestial bloodline.

Other than Cross-blooded Sorc, which is bad on a straight-class build, are there any viable ways to do these things in PFS? Edit: No multi-classing either unless it keeps spell progression and so on. The major things this build seeks are 'holy-themed arcane magic', 'a silvanshee agathion familiar', and 'angel wings.' The build's theme is not the least bit subtle.


I've searched for a few threads on this, but the results were inconclusive so I'd like to raise the question in a more specific way.

Imagine you have a Neutral Good align character who is level 7, as Bard 1/Magus 6, with the Improved Familiar feat, a Familiar arcana from their magus levels, and Magical Knack granting +2 caster level to Magus (well, +1 in this case since 6 + 2 is higher than 7 and it would cap at current overall level).

The Pseudodragon entry states: "Pseudodragons will serve as familiars if they approve of a spellcaster’s personality (and if the spellcaster takes the Improved Familiar feat)"

Magical Knack states: "Pick a class when you gain this trait—your caster level in that class gains a +2 trait bonus as long as this bonus doesn’t raise your caster level above your current Hit Dice."

Can this character take a Pseudodragon familiar at character level 7 under these circumstances, or will they have to wait until character level 8 (at which point they become Bard 1/Magus 7 and unambiguously qualify for the Pseudodragon)?

If not, is there any rules-fu that COULD let this character PFS-legally take the familiar at character level 7 (Bard 1 + Magus 6)?


I've been fine tuning a Scimitar Magus of an unusual sort lately, using Bard 1/Magus 10 to build it. It's very flavorful and I am happy with almost every aspect of the character, except for one issue: I cannot seem to get their HP high enough to be on the front lines unless I ditch Weapon Finesse. This isn't insurmountable on its own, since the Bard level (Dawnflower Dervish to be precise) grants the Dervish Dance feat.

However, I want to get Weapon Finesse in here if possible since it would make non-sword-delivered Touch Spells more accurate if needed and also allow some viable backup weapons at early levels when they tend to be needed.

With that laid out, and the build provided below, can anyone suggest some PFS legal ways to get the HP count up on this character edit: within the first few levels if possible (end edit) or else legitimately convince me that I don't need Weapon Finesse on them?

Build: 20 Point Buy, PFS Legal

Elf, NG Align, Deity Sarenrae
Str 11
Dex 17 (15 + 2 Elf)
Con 13 (15 - 2 Elf)
Int 16 (14 + 2 Elf)
Wis 8
Cha 12

+1 to Dex at Level 4, then +1 to Con at Level 8.

Levels: Bard 1 (Dawnflower Dervish), Magus 10 (Hexcrafter). Favored Class is Magus.

Favored Class Options: Magus 1: +1 HP. Magus 2-7: 1/6th of a New Arcana to gain Admonishing Ray and Burst of Radiance via Spell Blending. Magus 8-10: +1 HP.

Skills, Languages: Omitted for brevity, will provide on request if it will help.

Traits: Magical Lineage (Shocking Grasp) and Quantium University Graduate (+2 Concentration on Defensive Casting arcane spells)

Feats:

1 (Class Bonus): Dervish Dance
1: Weapon Finesse or Toughness (would prefer Weapon Finesse, but if someone can convince me the build doesn't even need it... then I'll gladly ditch it to keep Toughness)
3: Spell Penetration
5: Extra Arcana (Healing Hex via Hexcrafter options)
6 (Magus 5 Bonus): Intensified Spell
7: Improved Familiar (To obtain a Pseudodragon at Level 8)
9: Weapon Focus (Scimitar)
11: Extra Arcana (Spell Blending: Communal Resist Energy and Magic Circle Against Evil. Am willing to be talked into better options for these)

HP Counts: By Level

L1: 9 (as Bard 8 Level 1 maximized, +1 Con)
L2: 16 (as Magus d8 to 5, +1 Con, +1 Favored Class)
L3: 22 (+6)
L4: 28 (+6)
L5: 34 (+6)
L6: 40 (+6)
L7: 46 (+6)
L8: 60 (as +6, then Con 14 kicks in adding another +8)
L9: 68 (+8, as 5 Magus + 2 Con + 1 Favored Class Option)
L10: 76 (+8)
L11: 84 (+8)

This concerns me because I've seen non-melee Sorcerers and Wizards who are as tough as this, often without any special help or spells to do so. I fear my 'front liner' doesn't have enough HP, accordingly. The problem isn't as severe from Level 8 onward, but it's still not great. I'd love to find a way to keep Weapon Finesse (or be convinced it's unnecessary) in the build while still fixing the HP issue.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


I've been intrigued by the Bloodline Familiar option open to Sorcerers, but I can't find options for it with a lot of the newer bloodlines. So I wanted to ask: Does anyone know if the Solar bloodline can swap something out to gain a Bloodline Familiar? If so, what is the exchange that's made?


Hello all,

I used to have a small plastic disc that had a long retractable string inside that I used for Line of Sight (and tracing Line effects), but I've lost it over the years and had no luck finding a replacement on various online stores; all I found were badge holders whose length would be way too short for LOS/line-effect checking.

Can anyone suggest a product suited for this, that I can order online?


Looked under the Handle Animal skill and didn't see much there, so I'm hoping someone can clear this up for me... what kind of Action is it to unhitch one (or ideally, two) horses from something they're pulling such as a carriage, wagon, or cart?

Additionally, are there any ways to do it faster than whatever the usual pace for it might be?


Conjure Carriage produces a real carriage to ride in, along with an invisible coachman and "two quasi-real light horses".

This raises a few questions.

One, are these "light horses" as in the smaller type of typical horse, or are they "horse-like things made out of light"? Normally I'd presume the former, but 'quasi-real' leaves it open to some questioning.

Two, how do they react to being attacked? Will they stay where they are? Do they take off running with the carriage still attached? Can you direct them to stay still? Failing that, how easy would it be to unhitch them from the carriage?

The reason I ask is I'm exploring this spell's uses as a means of summoning a quasi-wall/'bunker' in combat, and the horses' interactions with the carriage strongly influence whether this even works or not.


So, I've been pondering a fun little problem lately... Familiars can take archetypes of their own, and one of them is Sage. It changes their Int growth and lets them try Knowledge checks untrained. This has obvious use on a talking familiar like a Raven, Thrush, Parrot, or any speech-capable Improved Familiar. I'm curious about something else entirely.

Specifically, how would one get a non-talking Familiar that doesn't yet have its Familiar-Master unique language, to actually make use of Sage abilities in a way that actually helps its master? Bearing in mind they don't just lack the ability to speak until they gain that language... said familiars outright don't have a language at all beyond animal noises, so they can't read languages yet either.

I'd love to get thoughts on this, because I'm interested in working with a Sage-type Owl on a celestial Sorcerer build and this has been eluding me for a while. The obvious fix would be to grab a Thrush instead, but I'd love to have the Owl if I could actually make use of Sage somehow. Any ideas?


I understand that the general advice for designing a melee character's main magical weapon in most campaigns favors Adamantine over most other forms. If it were a regular campaign, I'd immediately jump on it.

Knowing that there will be a practical level cap of level 11 (or at most 12) outside of playing special scenarios in PFS, I'm left seeking help for designing a scimitar-using Magus' main weapon since I can't presume I'll be bringing this thing all the way to level 15+. With this reduced wealth budget in mind, what should I be looking for?

I suspect that I want to make it +1 and Keen since that's what a scimitar Magus does; they go for expanded crit range. What about other effects though? I suspect any further magical improvements would cost too much given the WBL cap (I'm doing this on funds a character would have from levels 4 to 10, basically). Am I basically going to need to leave it at +1 Keen and move on?

How about special materials? It seems to me like Cold Iron, normally maligned since sufficient +X enchantment can overcome DR/Cold Iron, might be more viable here due to budget concerns; I'm unlikely to get a +3 weapon. ...Or perhaps it would be possible through Arcane Pool behavior, would adding Arcane Pool benefits to what is already a +2 (+1 and Keen) Scimitar be enough to beat DR/Cold Iron and the like?

tl;dr: "I'm trying to design a good scimitar for a PFS Magus, with the proviso that due to PFS' level cap I won't have as many funds available for a long-haul build that many campaigns would assume. Is there something better I can do within the cost range of +2 and a Special Material? If so, which material and which enchantments?"


Hello all,

Lately, I've been fascinated by the Healing Flames spell. A quick overview: It's normally a Level 4 spell for Clerics and similar classes, that does a 10 foot radius burst centered around the caster. It deals 5d8 'half divine, half fire' damage to evil enemies (and half that to neutral enemies), and an equivalent amount in healing to good allies (and half to neutral allies). Reflex Half, Spell Resistance does apply. 1 standard action, all the usual stuff on that front.

For melee front-liners, this has obvious uses. I'm interested in something else. The spell is very flavorful, and I've been considering using a Trait to get it onto a Celestial Sorc's spell list. For reference, the Sorc in question is a traditional 'low armor, low melee ability' sort that focuses on control spells, long range blasting, and defense improvement for allies; pretty typical build overall.

Has anyone tried Healing Flames on such a build, and if so how did it go for you? I'm strongly considering adding it to a character I'm designing and am curious if it's worthwhile. My major reservation is the '10 foot radius on the user' thing means they'd have to be very close to enemies to make it work. On the other hand, dishing out approx. 22 damage (subject to reductions) and 22 healing like this does seem appealing. Those calculations assume caster level 8, which is about when they'd get this spell.

If this is a 'trap' option, I'd rather find out now so I can spend the Trait slot on something else. Note I am distinguishing between 'decent but not optimal' (which I'm okay with) as opposed to 'genuinely bad idea' (which, if Healing Flames on this build is, I could walk away from it).

Any input is much appreciated!


I'm wondering if there's anything in the rules that touches on this... with the Emissary Familiar option, it's indicated that your character's worshiped deity sends the Familiar.

However, as near as I can tell by RAW a non-Improved Familiar is Align Neutral (just N). This seems odd. Is there anything out there that would make such 'divinely-sent Familiars' align the same as the issuing deity, or is this in fact an odd issue in the rules?


I've never played the Magus before, but was inspired to build one based on the class' versatility. Toward that end, I'd like to submit what the character looks like at Level 1 (150 GP for gear) as well as show where they're going... and ask you a few questions about it.

Please bear in mind my critique is mostly concerned with "is this good enough to carry its weight at a table and not drag the party down?" I'm not worried about total optimization for damage output, merely "Good enough" while maintaining high flavor; I was going for a Sarenrae worshipper who is also something of an overachiever that dabbles in many interests. Yet if you see anything that makes it legitimately unplayably bad, please suggest improvements. If at all possible, maintaining the overall flavor of the build is highly desired but I'm willing to lose an aspect or two of it if need be. I'm also wanting a legality check, as I'm not sure my Hex and Arcana selection were done correctly.

With that said, here's the build:

(Name TBD)
Human Magus (Hexcrafter archetype) 1, Align NG. Deity: Sarenrae

Attributes
Str 8
Dex 16
Con 12
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 14

Note this will be a Scimitar Magus build once it can take Dervish Dance.
Cha 14 is an intentional choice to enable this character to do Face roles.

Combat Stats
AC 15 (10 Base, 3 Dex, , +2 armor)
HP 8 (6 Class + 1 Con + 1 Favored Class Bonus)
Melee Attacks: Gladius (1d20+3, 1d6-1 dmg) or Tonfa (1d20+3, 1d6-1 dmg) or Cold Iron Dagger (1d20+3, 1d4-1 dmg)
Special: Blade of Mercy - may do +1 damage on non-lethal slashing attacks and ignore the -4 attack penalty.
Ranged Attacks: Sling (1d20+3, 1d3-1 dmg, uses Rocks) or Acid Splash (1d20+3 vs. Ranged Touch, 1d3 Acid, will get Acid vial for +1 Dmg later on)
Saves: Fort +3, Ref + 3, Will +2

Favored Class Bonuses
Always +1 HP. Will go straight Magus 11 or Magus 12.

Languages
Common, Celestial, Draconic, Infernal.

Skills
The usual Magus choices are kept maxed (the relevant Knowledges, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device, etc), with a few ranks in the Perform skills needed to Dervish Dance, plus Intimidate and Diplomacy for Face role.

Traits

Blade of Mercy (+1 damage, ignore attack penalty, for non-lethal slashing attacks)
Friend in Every Town (+1 Diplomacy and Know/Local, Diplomacy is Class Skill)
Will later gain Additional Traits feat to pick up...
Magaambyan Arcana (adds Burst of Radiance to spell list)
Magical Lineage (for Shocking Grasp metamagic purposes)

Feats

1: Weapon Finesse, Eschew Materials
3: Dervish Dance
5: Additional Traits (see Traits above), Intensified Spell (Bonus Feat)
7: Improved Familiar (Silvanshee Agathion)
9: Spell Penetration
11: Toughness, Merciful Spell (Bonus Feat)

Arcana/Hexes

3: Flight (via Hexcrafter) - Legality check requested
4: Healing (via Hexcrafter)
6: Familiar
9: Empowered Magic
12: Devoted Blade (Unlikely to actually get to use it due to level cap, though)

Common Spell Choices - Obviously not all at once, but they show the general trends in daily memorization.

Cantrips/0: Acid Splash, Light, Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Brand (this is gained via Hexcrafter)
1: Shocking Grasp, Vanish, Obscuring Mist, Grease, Burning Hands, Snowball, True Strike, Magic Missile, and so on.
2: Bladed Dash, Burst of Radiance, Frigid Touch, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray (really wish I could fit Admonishing Ray into the build...), Glitterdust, etc.
3: Haste, Fly, Vampiric Touch, Sleet Storm, Fireball, Aqueous Orb, Storm Step, etc.
4: Dimension Door, Dragon's Breath, Shield of the Dawnflower, Wall of Ice, Ward Shield, etc.
5 and 6: Unavailable to this character before the practical level cap is hit.

Character also has various Curse spells available via Hexcrafter.

Starting Gear (Roughly 150 GP spent of 150 GP available, only pocket-change is left):
Lamellar Curiass
Gladius
Tonfa
Dagger, Cold Iron
Sling (uses Rocks for ammo)
1x Alchemist's Fire
1x Cure Light Wounds Potion
Spellbook
Magus Kit (character is Encumbered by this and will drop it to regain 30' Speed in combat)

Closing Notes

As you can see, this character spreads out their focus a lot. I envision them as a very curious scholar type who wants to be useful in a lot of different ways (some healing, some terrain control, some Face skills, places some value on learning holy spells like Burst of Radiance, etc) while still being able to help out with long range and close range fighting. It's a high-flavor build, but I want to be sure it's at least playable and won't drag the party down. Being able to end some fights non-lethally is fairly important to the character, given their Sarenrae religion.

With this in mind, is my build legal and would you be comfortable with it at the table at level 1? Level 3? Level 5 to 11?

Thank you for reading this, I look forward to your input!


1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

I'm looking for a PFS-specific ruling on this and couldn't find it; apologies if I've overlooked something.

I was wondering, since Celestial Healing can work off either Holy Water (which does have a listed price) OR a drop of Good Outsider blood (which has no listed price)... could a caster with Eschew Materials cast Celestial Healing for free, invoking the idea that the second possible material component has no cost?

I ask since this would be an interesting spell for some of my character concepts to pick up (I'm not worried about it being inefficient, it'll still do what I want it to). If they can do so at no cost, this would be fantastic for my purposes!