| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
What you write in a fugue state, stays in a fugue state.
Well the Jingasa got hit with the nerf bat. It used to negate a crit once per day.
stuff Sounds good! I just wanted to make sure it was intentional and wasn't like how Deadly Aim originally didn't work with firearms till they fixed it. The rationale makes sense and I can accept it even if I don't personally agree. Thanks for taking the time to keep us in the loop and respond to our questions I am super excited for this product!
I'm so excited to see the Aldori stuff.
This thread is magic to me.
Live in the Charleston, SC area. I stayed home the wife took our son up to her mom's house in Columbia. Storm basically blew itself out before it got here the wind did some damage around town and knocked power out in places for a day or so based on where you were. Strangely enough my side of the street has power but only half of the other side of my street does.
Announced at GAMA Trade Show and now available for preorder! Cover is very close to final, but may change when we go to print. Description is not final.And now we know why James got pulled off Strange Aeons. I hope Shattered Star, Second Darkness and one to two more of the older paths (I hope either Carrion Crown, Serpents Skull or Skulls and Shackles) go this way in a year or two. I love that you guys update them and add some new material. Great call! I'd personally like Legacy of Fire and Second Darkness before they revisit any of the actual Pathfinder APs. The 3.5 ones should get priority imo.
Scarred Witch Doctor was never PFS legal. My mistake I just assumed it had been a PFS option. I made an assumption that there weren't that many Orcs rolling around as PCs in that many games to make it an issue. Though technically a Half Orc qualifies since they count as an Orc. I think that archetype is a prime example of things people don't like seeing though. An interesting alternative take on an existing character class that loses it's niche thing for some inexplicable reason. We just got a Con based blaster caster, what's the big deal with a Witch using Con?
Vic, from a different view point I agree that C is the winning option for how to handle things. The issue is that the updates aren't just hitting PFS, they're going to the source material instead of a PFS reference document. Some of my players will buy the PDF or a more recent physical copy than the source I have on my shelf. That causes conflict at tables outside of PFS, where it really shouldn't. PFS is it's own strange beast with it's own esoteric rules and adjustments and that is perfectly fine, when it flows out and begins to twist the rest of the game it becomes a problem.Following that logic, you would prefer we were selling new players the exact same Core Rulebook that we introduced several years ago, complete with all the problems that we've identified and fixed in the years since? I'm not a fan of that plan. I'm not saying go that far. I'm saying that for issues that seem to arise mostly from PFS and are huge issues there due to encounter design restrictions and other factors that introducing errata that makes a sweeping change on things that were otherwise functioning in home games is something that should be avoided. For instance the sheer blowback on Crane Style and Scarred Witch Doctor looked to me that the issues seen in those options were much more of a PFS issue. Fixing things that do not function is not something I'm against. Clarifying things so they read the correct way and remove some misinterpretation as to how it worked is fine. Changing a class/feat/etc to no longer do what it originally did so it now does something different, that's where I feel things can get out of hand. It's also why I compared it to patch notes as that happens a lot in some games where abilities are changed in their entirety just keeping the original name. I would like for my table top game to not do that. My logic wasn't that you should not issue errata or make 1st printing the only printing. My suggestion that was for issues that are particularly damaging in the PFS setting to only receive fixes or rewrites specific to that setting. Re writing something in the neutral core line based on PFS feedback doesn't feel good to me at least.
Vic, from a different view point I agree that C is the winning option for how to handle things. The issue is that the updates aren't just hitting PFS, they're going to the source material instead of a PFS reference document. Some of my players will buy the PDF or a more recent physical copy than the source I have on my shelf. That causes conflict at tables outside of PFS, where it really shouldn't. PFS is it's own strange beast with it's own esoteric rules and adjustments and that is perfectly fine, when it flows out and begins to twist the rest of the game it becomes a problem.
I used to view errata as a message clearing up a misinterpretation of a rule/adjudicating how a rule should function or fixing something that was broken and did not function as written. Errata has become more like patch notes for video games. I think that's why I tend to ignore them or just mine them for the real errata.
Recently the errata that has occured, Crane Wing/Riposte, Scarred Witch Doctor, FCBs, etc. make me glad I avoid PFS like the plague and stick to homebrew. Being able to avoid errata that makes 0 sense to me or my table makes me happy, though I won't deny a little schadenfreude watching things burn. I love Pathfinder and am a staunch supporter of it, but I agree there are things that get "fixed" that make me feel someone needs an anime style gutpunch for breaking nice things.
Aside from additional class skills, the bonus spells are all fire/heat themed as they should be. Some of the revelations are things like Increasing your charisma score when you take con damage from volcanic vapors Having your fire spells that do damage catch people on fire Being able to use touch spells at range on targets that are on fire Being able to walk on lava/magma/etc without taking damage. And things of that nature
Should there be a number indicating the rate at which Furcas regenerates? Unless the lack of one indicates he regenerates to full hp every round!!
Sounds reasonable. I agree that personally outfitting your troop could make things get wildly out of hand in regards to damage. While it'd be cool to do so I agree with it being a GM call and avoiding it when possible to prevent possible inflation.
Right. As the designer do you think it would be unbalancing if a player wanted to outfit their Troop? For instance if the troop took Exotic weapon (Bastard Sword) and the player bought every member one sword and a heavy shield. Would that warrant a die change up to 1d10? Or was that sidelined as being a power increase to avoid, or was it sidelined as just being too messy an issue. I was looking at doing an NPC in an upcoming game using this class and having the troop represent the "Honor guard" and all use the same weapon as the NPC himself.
stuff By your argument I can also say that the Monk is marginally better than the Barbarian, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Cavalier, Gunslinger, Bloodrager, Brawler, Hunter, Slayer and Swashbuckler. Because they all have poor will save progression.
The major complaints I always saw in regards to the monk, now to be fair I didn't haunt those forums too often since I never had issues in any of my games, was that it had issues hitting and lacked maneuverability.
Believe me I hear your concern and definitely concede that it is super complex when you consider how many spirits a Medium may have connected. Keep in mind though that most players will find a spirit they like and bind it every day. Most likely you'll see players have 2-6 go to spirits that they use the most and then a slew of situational ones. Once you hit Dual Vessel you have a lot of versatility when you can actually trance to pull in the niche spirits for their juice when applicable. I expect players to do a little prep work for their characters, remember every table is different, I tend to have little patience when it comes to my casters. If my players who are running casters can't answer questions in a timely fashion, IE what's my save dc or am I making a save etc, then I'll skip their turn as they stand there contemplating their immeasurable power. At level 12 having, for argument sake (we'll say they have a 20 charisma) 5+6 spirits, so 11 spirits. Odds are they'll have those handful of Go To or Gotta Bind spirits that mesh with their character concept or even define their concept and then the Niche ones. I think in play it won't be as overly complex and game stopping as it looks on paper.
I agree it has a lot of moving parts, I don't think that's a bad thing I rather like complexity. I think what could go a long way to cleaning it up is better organizing the language on how multiple spirits interact, IE when you have 2 spirits how they function based on alignment, and cleaning up influence a bit. There are a TON of combinations which is amazing to me but I understand how it can be overwhelming at first blush. I think the key things to remember is that even though there will be 54 spirits, you'll only know a fraction of that you might be able to get to half or more by blowing feats and having a high stat. The multiple spirit thing is complex, but after looking at it a bit things fall into place. The influence aspect increases the bookwork, but I think if you're playing this class you came into it expecting to have lots of notes. Notes on Spirits, notes on Influence kinda ties in with spirits, and notes on spells. This class has a lot of potential, I would hate to see it "simplified" and lose most of it's charm. To be fair I play a lot of Video Games in addition to my massive tabletop library/interests and simplified has become a dirty term for me from my experience in MMOs where simplified means they're stripping your class/race of what makes it unique/neat/fun and making you "easier" at the expense of interesting.
Yeah I like the idea of the Mesmerist, but I hate the timer on tricks. It really means you either have to know what you'll need or just never take cool niche tricks. You'll want something you know you can trigger in a combat or you'll save it to hopefully Apply then Trigger mid combat which just doesn't feel right. Mid combat I implant a hypnotic trick to turn around and trigger all within 6 seconds? Just feels out of sorts for me. Would it terribly unbalance it to remove the minutes/level duration of an Implanted but untriggered trick? I feel it would be more thematic. You're doing your daily prep and Mesmo the Mesmerist is taking party members aside and being all "Let's have a chat ::hypnotoad:: cool see you in a bit" or "I'm just gonna tamper with your mind a little bit, no really don't be alarmed it'll just let your reflexes kick faster in certain events subconsciously" and implanting triggers during their conversation. Self tricking in combat doesn't feel as weird to me as it's almost like they're refreshing a self hypnotism, kinda refocusing their center or just re aligning their perceptions to what they were when they tricked themselves the first time.
I wonder if ray of funshine is going to be a new spell in the Advanced Class Guide Adventure Path. At the very least I hope we get a blog post outlining it as an option for caster characters. Though is it Ray of Funshine or Summon Ray of Funshine? Either way there will be fun.
Lies!! She's a Ray of Funshine!! We don't even know what she can do!! For all we know she could obliterate your entire Bookshelf not just the books on said shelf. Her power is absolute! FUNSHINE!
Yeah I think Discworld influenced why I read it the way I did and why I didn't get it.
Yeah it took me reading the comments to understand she was a trans character. It just seemed her parents were living in denial in having another daughter and just shunted her into "son" territory to try and not deal with the issue until she finally hit maturity and they couldn't avoid it anymore. I approve of the character, just did not get that it was a trans character until it was talked about in the comments.
Swish and Flick, it's all in the wrist. I think of it more as Somatically manipulating it into working as opposed to Verbally commanding it to function.
This preview gives me great joy. It shows how wonderful Paizo is at listening to feedback and incorporating the community into the development of their products. I see a lot of the concerns I had coming out of the playtests have been fixed. I'm curious do they still have a spirit familiar? I also hold out hope for an archetype with only Wandering Spirits for a really good pantheistic Shaman or Shinto Priest.
So I was able to pick up the Free RPG day module and take a look at our iconic swashbuckler's sheet. Everything looks good, except parry. Now you have to declare before the incoming attack roll, use an aoo, and a point of panache. So if you beat an attack roll that would hit you awesome you made it miss and can riposte if you still have panache. If you beat an attack roll that would have missed you and have panache left you can riposte. If you lose to an attack roll that missed you, no riposte but no hit. I dislike having to declare a parry before the enemy rolls to attack me, mechanically why would I waste my precious resources like panache to attempt and parry an attack that is missing me. If they miss me I just wasted Panache which while I can get it back is still a finite resource. That's my only beef with this one I dislike seeing Parry mechanics becoming a declarative action prior to someone hitting you. It only makes sense to me that you would attempt to parry/block an attack that will actually hit you.
Thoroughly intrigued by the Knights of the Ioun Star, mostly because I love Ioun Stones. Have they been mentioned anywhere before and I just missed them?
Looks good we need more goblin stuff! Fixed that for ya! :)
-Change wasn't needed, it was balanced and acceptable. Agree that the speed with which Master of Many Styles could acquire this combo was very quick. However it just meant adjusting combat slightly to adjust for player tactics, this is assuming not all enemies are mindless meatbags. There are so many ways to make things a challenge with this feat the way it was, and should remain 1.0, that it shouldn't have ever been an issue. EDIT: Having run 3 different players in different games who have used this feat tree to the great enjoyment of all WITHOUT any hiccups or absolute game shut downs as seem to happen in PFS. I'm currently playing a character who uses this feat tree as a Kensai Magus and am still reliably smacked around in melee. All I can say is YMMV apparently when it comes to this feat.
That's been a major concern since the start of the playtest, nothing done to the class yet has alleviated the "Variant non cursed Oracle" feel yet. The spell list change has definitely put it firmly more in a Druid/Oracle hybrid feel which isn't bad and is something I could get behind if they triage the rest of the Witch out of it. As the Witch is honestly one of my favorite classes in Pathfinder the way it's being underused in this hybrid makes me rather remove the Witch from it entirely than to see it not even half heartedly contributing to the hybrid.
The other hybrids tend to be more of a flavor AND mechanics hybrid. The issue right now is it's mechanically more like a druid/oracle as the only two mechanical witch themes here are the familiar and the revelations being called hexes. Even the spirits tend to follow the naming pattern of oracle mysteries.
I want a couple things fixed, like can I use extra hex to take any hex from any spirit or just my primary one. Can I use extra hex to snag a witch hex since I'm technically part of the witch class. The fact that the majority of their "hexes" are revelation level in power throws me for a loop cause does that mean a Witch can take one of their hexes? I feel the spirits are a missed opportunity to really make that their central focus and gameplay. I expounded more in the Shaman discussion, but generally I feel no matter what spell list they wind up with expanding the number of spirits they can have at one time is the best way to give them a custom list, without giving them a custom list. You can customize it yourself by binding the appropriate spirits that day. The real disappointment is check the first post in every class and there's an update from the team, except Shaman and that's disheartening. We did get that they're thinking of using the Druid spell list, which is fine the spell list they use doesn't really matter to me whether it's the Cleric, Druid or Witch list as the Spirits should be your customization in regards to spell selection. I just feel that the Spirit feature should be the focus and currently it's more like swappable Oracle mysteries than dealing with spirits.
Having this information is great but also disappointing as it shows that the class I wanted changed the most is "working as intended". I've got 9 other classes to make up for the one that's gonna be a wash for me and my table though so that's a good thing.
Though it seems like I'm tossing a lot of flak at this so far, it's only because I LOVE Paizo and I want to see a product I'm excited for. I don't want to see a product that feels lackluster or seems like it missed a great opportunity to do some awesome things and push the envelope. My hope is that we're far enough out in advance of the product that all the feedback across the playtest can have a strong impact on the final product so our community gets the greatest satisfaction possible from helping create a product we all want to see and can be excited for.
Yeah the big issue with Extra Hex tomfoolery is that you have to meet the pre reqs. And the Hex entry for Shaman's say you pick from those available to your Spirit. That's why it doesn't work to let you branch out it to the standard Witch hexes unless I'm missing something. After some more thought I like a bit of what the class is doing I would do an overhaul. Let them cast from the Cleric list, that's fine. Let them sacrifice prepared spells for cure/inflicts, Oracles can do this just let Shamans do it too. Please note I couldn't see if that was included already, if so please direct me to it. I would have their max spells/day/spell level be something like 2+3 (or 1+3) instead of 4+1. Where the +1 is spirit magic, aka domain spell. This would make it 2 prepared spells and 3 spirit magic slots. I'd do it this way as I would increase the number of spirits the class acquires as per one of my previous posts in this thread. This would result at end game giving them 2(plus any bonus spells from high stats) prepared and then 3 more floater spells they can cast on the fly from 4 different spirits. This adds some serious flexibility to the class, while also making the Spirit choices that much more important and have a greater effect on the class overall. I'd revert the Hexes to being called Revelations, they can use Extra Revelation to get more of them as usual. I'd just add Hexes to the class at levels 3, 7, 11, 15, 19. Advancing at the Witch rate for major and grand levels. This lets them start using Extra Hex if they want to. Now this means they'll have a lot of sustained power throughout the course of a day. To tone things down I'd probably tweak their spell list maybe reduce their max spell level or more probably reduce their spells per day. Or put them back at the d6 poor bab area. I feel that a focus on Weird Powers derived from spirits makes a better fit for this concept than another caster.
The problem calling them Hexes is that we have Hexes already, they're in the Witch class. And these are not those.
I'm on the wagon with the Shaman's hexes not really being hexes, they're revelations from Oracle mysteries let's just call it like it is. That said I enjoy some of the things the class is attempting to do. I think when it comes to this hybrid though I'd much rather see Witch Hexes and Oracle Revelations be the primary power of the class as opposed to it's spell casting. What I mean by that is I think I would be more excited by this class if it actually combined the hexes from witch, opening up the Extra Hex feat if you wanted to go that route, and also having revelations based on their bound spirit. Because the Spirit you've bound granting you powers based on what it's revealed to you feels like Revelations, not hexes. I think having a single permanent spirit is awesome, but I'd love to see more than one wandering spirit. An older 3PP the Encyclopedia Divine's "Shaman Call of the Wild" I feel did an ok job at presenting a format for having multiple spirits. Now I wouldn't go down the rabbit hole they did, but I think maybe having Wandering Spirit scale upwards in number would be neat. So at 4th she gains one wandering spirit. Then at 12th she can bind 2 and one of them grants it's greater power. Finally at 20th she can bind 3 and one gives it's true power, one gives it's greater, and the last is the standard power. Edit: Also I've been kinda meh about the spell list choices made so far in the playtest. I'd rather have oracle revelations with the witch list as opposed to a few witchy things with a cleric spell list.
Oh I agree Adjule I was one of those people. I know they caught a lot of flak from Blood of the Night because it wasn't what people were expecting from it's announcement and what we had seen in the previous "Blood of" installments. So going into that one people expected heavy Dhampir info and minor Vampire info. Then Blood of the Moon was announced and skinwalkers weren't mentioned in it's first announcement they were tacked onto it later. Which is fine, I think it's an expectations issue on my end. Blood of the Night I wanted heavy Dhampir and minor Vampire stuff, for Blood of the Moon I wanted heavy Lycanthropy, especially since it's much easier to contract Lycanthropy imo than Vampirism, also as I could completely live without skinwalkers.
Load and Reload were two of my favorite albums. I feel that they really exhibited the band's growth musically and showed that they were more than just a thrash metal band. Now mind you I still LOVE S&M and think it's probably my favorite of their albums. I gave St. Anger a shot, but it was such a disappointment that I stopped following them and stuck with everything pre St. Anger.
An Unforgiven 2 reference? <3 you.
It was run last year during Paizocon. I didn't win a seat at the table, but 2 people who had didn't show up and I was allowed to roll a character real quick and join the fun. It was a good time, there were hiccups on my end with the Gunslinger class but the adventure itself for the parts we saw was a lot of fun and promised to be a great time. I got to pick Mr. Renie's brain a bit about Alkenstar, but there wasn't that much he could talk about as it didn't seem to be fully nailed down at the time. I think this adventure could do a lot for those of us who love the Alkenstar area so we'll have to show our support by purchasing this product in the hopes that we'll get more attention in that area of the world. I for one plan to buy this module for just that reason. After all Alkenstar is the hold out of the Browncoats don't ya know.
As excited for this book as I am, I'm incredibly wary of the "lesser shapeshifter" race. Shifters worked for Eberron, but I personally dislike the idea of a watered down version of Lycanthropy as it doesn't really fit IMO. I look forward to seeing how it's presented and will attempt to reserve final judgement until I get to read it. Unless it's presented well and makes sense though I am afraid it may weaken the product overall and detract from the horror of full lycanthropy by providing a no drawback/major benefits race of lesser lycanthropes.
Because honestly they don't make a whole lot of sense. Lycanthropy is hereditary or infected and honestly if you didn't inherit it most were-pappies would probably give you the bite to keep you part of the pack. So the whole watered down version doesn't really flow too well. As for Tengu and Kitsune. There's a difference between Were/Lycanthropes and anthropomorphic race based on folklore tricksters who shapechange. Kitsune and Tengu are most definitely NOT shifters in the Eberron sense nor are they Lycanthropic as they don't infect people. Shifters were a very Eberron thing they fit the world and made sense there as Lycanthropes were basically hunted hard on a continent wide status. Preventing the "Oh son you didn't get the gift lemme fix that" scenario. Full blown Lycanthropes are pretty plentiful by comparison in Golarion. Ustalav and Darkmoon Vale are prime examples.
I think that's the difference. Do people see half-lycanthrope and think Anthropomorphic animal races similar to Catfalk, Ratfolk, Tengu and Kitsune. Or are people wanting a race that is somehow a half werewolf or a watered down were-race like shifters from Eberron. If people are thinking half lycanthrope I'd like to get a bit more on people's thoughts on what exactly they're looking for in a halfbreed that a full lycanthrope natural or afflicted doesn't provide.
I WANT Blood of the Moon. That being said I feel there's a difference between what Blood of the Night and Blood of the Moon deal with to an extent. To me there's no half-lycanthrope. You have afflicted and you have natural you're born with it or not as unlike vampire it's not a permanent state. Werewolves sometimes you're human others you're a wolf or a hybrid of the two. As a vampire you're always a vampire there's no option to be living again. Did I want more Dhampir stuff yes, am I flipping tables over the end result for Blood of the Night? No. I'm quite happy with how the book turned out and it gives solid information on how to incorporate Vampires as PCs. If you combine the material in here with that presented in Advanced Race Guide for Dhampirs and you have the crunch I assumed we would get in a full primer on Dhampirs. Maybe a little less. For Blood of the Moon I would focus entirely on Lycanthropes as PCs and do bits on the different types of Lycanthropes and some info on how to make other Lycanthropic races. The one thing I would ask you to avoid is the 2 page art spread with 3 feats spread across it. As pretty as the art is in that section I would have used the space for more fluff or crunch. The idea about an in character entry like that mentioned above would definitely be ideal as it combines the art and fluff into deliciousness. EDIT: I think part of the feedback on this book is due to the preconception that it would be similar to our previous Blood of books where we focused on the halfblood unions of monster and mortal. I know that was my initial thought when it was announced that we'd get some serious Dhampir love and a little information on how to incorporate a Vampire character. I like the way it turned out besides my one minor nitpick and I will actually be using material from this book as one of my players has always wanted to be a Vampire. Edit the 2nd: My stance is firmly against the Half Lycanthrope idea as to my understanding they're typically born as a Lycanthrope hence why we have natural born ones. If they don't get it through genetics I assumed they would be turned by their parents to be "part of the family". Unless you know they needed a normal to do something for them.
I actually asked this question in the Ask James Jacobs anything thread. His response was
So I believe it's a question best directed at Mr. Bulmahn. I eagerly await the reasoning behind this design decision.
Another good one that happened. I'm typically the GM for my group so when I get to play it's a rare treat. For my birthday a buddy of mine ran Master of the Fallen Fortress. I played a Cavalier with a decent str and con, but I took toughness and dropped my favorite class into hp so I had about 23 hp or so (we use the racial hp at level 1 optional rule). The hook we used was we were part of a military unit. I played the character very Space Marines referring to everyone else as Brother and acting very brave and stalwart. I went full tower shield and armor. Well things went well till we got up to the top of the tower and the floor fell out from under me... and I plummeted 4 stories or something. I survived and by the time I reached the top everyone was dead... so I went back to base. Reported our failure and requested reinforcements. So everyone rerolled or changed their names and our DM was like "Well that was harder than I expected. You lived so hit level 2 and win this round." We got back the next day a few more enemies have arrived from patrol so there was a little bit to reclear. We get back to the top the fight goes on my teammates are dropping like flies to the croc companion. At which point I get to the edge of the tower between the croc and my last surviving companion. I succeed at a grapple check vs the croc turn to my companion and say "Tell our Brothers of our deeds!" and jumped from the tower to my "death". The dm rolled relatively poorly for damage and reduced it by a die as I broke my fall with the croc. The croc died and the boss descended right after killing my buddy and tossing him from the tower. I turned to fight whistling for my horse. My horse and I re engage the enemy leader with my whopping 5 hp left and 3 rounds later he dies as I hit -1 hp for taking a standard action at 0 hp. My faithful steed stood by as I slowly regained consciousness and took me back to base to report.
I think the Winter Witch is an excellent FAQ candidate as I can see either interpretation, but I personally took it to be the former of they still gain hexes as they go up in the Prestige Class. I can understand Jason's interpretation as well as that was my initial gut reaction of "oh that's obviously not right they don't still get hexes do they?" then I re read Winter Witchcraft and the line of gaining those hexes "in addition to those gained from normal advancement". The reason why I assume they still gained hexes is that IMO once you start a prestige class people typically continue in it and don't really bounce back and forth between their first class and the prestige class. That may just be my table. Also I read your response Jason assuming you didn't write the Winter Witch entry. If you did ignore my response as ramblings of an addled brain. Though in 3.5 there was many a cherry picking. |