Rikkan's page

I'm creating a soldier and looking at skills to take. It seems the skill DCs just scale too fast for my character to keep up. Let me give some examples.

As a soldier my class tells me I need Str, Dex and Con. So I figured, I'd have something like 12 int and 20 Cha at high level.

I take a look at the bounty hunter theme:
Jack of all trades [12th level]
Allows me to roll skills untrained and get a +4 if I roll a 20.

#1: Let's say I want to identify what I'm fighting and I meet a DM created Space Goblin King [CR14] at lvl 14.

To identify it, I need 5+ 1½ CR (DC 26). If I roll a 20 +4 (jack of all trades) +1 (int), I have a total of 25, not enough to identify an equal CR space goblin (which should be peanuts imho). Let alone know any facts about it.

Apparently the theme is useless?

#2: I'm [lvl 20] know and put used all my skills ranks for identifying creates. Now I'm meeting the DM created Space Goblin Emperor of Goblin Kind [CR20].
But now I got the skill fully trained, I'm an expert at identifying creatures!

To identify it, I need 5+ 1½ CR (DC 35).
I got 20 ranks +3 class skill + 1 int for a total of 1d20 +24, I need to roll an 11 to recognize the Space Goblin as a Space Goblin.

That seems way too high to identify an equal CR Space Goblin as a fully trained, at identifying creatures character. I can't even identify rare creatures on a natural 20 (DC 45)

#3: Well maybe soldiers have no need to identify creatures and it just doesn't work. Let me try training intimidate instead, it is a class skill after all and I invested a lot to get 20 Cha.
I'm a scary soldier with a big weapon, max ranks in intimidate and 20 Charisma at [lvl 20] and I have a Dwarven buddy who dropped his charisma to 4 for roleplaying reasons.
Should be much harder to intimidate me, a battle hardened soldier, right? DC is Intimidate skill +10.

He, a dwarf with 4 charisma, has a defense vs intimidate of 15+ 1½ CR (DC 45).
Me, I got 20 (ranks) + 3 (class skill) + 5 (20 Cha) = 28 Intimidate
28 + 10 is 38, 7 short of the 45 everybody gets.

Even if I grab skill focus for another +3, I'm still 4 short.

Is there any point in getting skill ranks if you don't get a class based insight bonus in this game?

I always thought penalties from the same source stacked, because of this:

Bonus Types: Usually, a bonus has a type that indicates how the spell grants the bonus. The important aspect of bonus types is that two bonuses of the same type don't generally stack. With the exception of dodge bonuses, most circumstance bonuses, and racial bonuses, only the better bonus of a given type works (see Combining Magical Effects). The same principle applies to penalties—a character taking two or more penalties of the same type applies only the worst one, although most penalties have no type and thus always stack. Bonuses without a type always stack, unless they are from the same source.

If you have a weapon that is augmented by your Arcane Strike feat, when you damage a creature with an attack made with that weapon, that creature takes a –2 penalty on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities. This effect lasts for 1 round.

Diseases, poisons, spells, and other abilities can all deal damage directly to your ability scores. This damage does not actually reduce an ability, but it does apply a penalty to the skills and statistics that are based on that ability.

For every 2 points of damage you take to a single ability, apply a –1 penalty to skills and statistics listed with the relevant ability.

If penalties from the same source don't stack, then if say if I have 4 ability damage, I'd apply two -1 penalties, which don't stack.

If a feat has this text:

This lasts for your next three weapon attacks or until the end of combat, whichever comes first.

How long does the effect last if I use it while I'm not in combat?

I came across this trait: hill fighter.

Now I'm wondering, what exactly are the normal acrobatics rules for charging down a steep slope?

I'm playing in a skulls & shackles campaign and got a boarding pike. I can extend the reach of the boarding pike to have '20 reach (can only attack at '20, not closer).

But how does that ability function if I'm Large, or Huge etc.?

*note, I do know how the standard reach works, only wondering about that special ability.

Are elementals who use whirlwind / vortex immune to weapon damage?

What if they catch a swarm, do they take damage from the swarm each round?

If I have an Animal Companion with 1 single attack, it makes its attack at full bab with 1,5 Strength damage.

If I am a Level 9 Druid, it gains another attack through multi attack at -5.

What is my total attack line now?
A) Full BAB + 1,5 Str
& Full bab -5 + 1,5 Str

B) Full BAB + 1 Str
& full Bab -5 + 1 str

C) Full Bab + 1 Str
& Full Bab -5 + 0,5 Str

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateEquipment/gear/alchemicalWeapons .html#_acid-flask

You can throw a flask of acid as a splash weapon. Treat this attack as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 10 feet. A direct hit deals 1d6 points of acid damage. Every creature within 5 feet of the point where the acid hits takes 1 point of acid damage from the splash.

So if I hit someone with a flask they take 1d6 damage and 1 splash damage since they are within 5 feet of the point where the acid hits?

Does this work in the same way for all splash weapons?

Question: Can non-magical arrows from a magical bow hurt incorporeal creatures?

I do know this from the PRD.

Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

But that is only for damage reduction, not for incorporeal creatures?

So would I need to have +1 arrows to hit incorporeal creatures even if I have a +5 bow?

Note: please assume the ranged weapon in question does not have the ghost touch property.

When exactly does a spell counts as 'known' for a wizard?

The wizard class description includes this line

A wizard may know any number of spells.

The text of a spell can be changed to show another spell of equal or lower level known by the caster.

If the check succeeds, the wizard understands the spell and can copy it into his spellbook (see Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook).

Is understanding a spell the same as knowing it?