Saldiven's page

This is half a rules question and half an invitation for fun discussion. Not positive it belongs here, because I don't see anything in the rules that directly addresses this, unless it's in a FAQ or something similar that I haven't seen.

The Mansion created is up to 300' per side and has up to four stories (however, interestingly, it doesn't say how many sides it has). The duration is "until the next time you make your daily preparations."

So, what happens to the people up on the 4th floor when you make your next daily preparations if you forget to tell them to get out first?

And as an aside, if the mansion has four sides, it can be up to 36,000 square feet of living space. Pretty spacious. But, what if you decide to make it a decagon (ten sides) at 300' per side, it would have a bit over 69,000 square feet of living space.

Clerics have a restriction on casting spells that have an alignment opposite on the law-chaos/good-evil axis from the cleric's deity.

I seem to remember a feat or trait that would remove this restriction, but I cannot seem to locate it now.

Does anyone know what this might be, or am I incorrect in my recollection?

I play in a group that has a huge amount of RPG experience, including Pathfinder and D&D 3.X.

We've gotten to the point that we don't feel the need to always make the obvious optimized builds, but instead try to find something interesting and then make it as good as we can (even if other core options would have been better from a pure optimization standpoint).

We're currently playing Strange Aeons. I'm running a CN Cleric of Azathoth (who, for various reasons, doesn't even know he's a cleric, much less of what god...he's totally insane, but in a nice, amiable kind of way. He's not a violent type at all, but often times, the reality he's dealing with is totally different than what everyone else is experiencing). The DM has allowed me to mix Elder Mythos Cultist and Herald Caller (both only get one Domain, so they shouldn't stack); the flavor is that everything he summons is some Lovecraftian horror in appearance, rather than just a Dire Rat or Small Earth Elemental (the creature rules don't change, just the appearance).

So, I'm making some of the normal choices as far as Feats and such for a Summoning focused Cleric so the Summons will stay moderately effective as the levels increase. However, I noticed Summon Guardian Spirit, and it intrigues me. I'm trying to figure out how it works.

First a rules question. When it says that you can select a creature that "qualifies to be an improved familiar," is it safe to assume that the alignment restriction remains? I would assume so.

In any case, any ideas on how to make this not just a wasted Feat selection? I'm not seeing much that jumps out at me. The Charisma buff the creature would get makes me think selecting something with cool SLA's would be a good idea due to the buff to the save DCs. Most are Tiny, so trying to get combat effectiveness out one would be more challenging.

The Wild special ability for armor allows the armor bonus and enhancement bonus to be retained by the wearer while they are in wild shape. It is the equivalent of a +3 bonus.

I'm looking at making a new ability that functions similarly, but allows the armor & enhancement bonuses to be retained while the wearer is under the effect of any polymorph effect. Rather than melding into the wearer's new form, the armor itself would change to be appropriate to the new form (becoming giant sized armor under Giant Shape, or an exotic type of barding under Beast Shape, for example).

This should be more powerful than Wild due to the wider range of uses. So, should it be +4 or +5 equivalent?

Opinions welcome.

I'm planning a new campaign that will involve a series of monsters with a variety of class levels to spice up the interest factor. Of course, adding character levels to monsters takes a bit of paperwork and bookkeeping.

Would anyone have an idea of a product or program that would make the process a little easier to handle rather than doing it on paper or a basic Excel spreadsheet?

I'm kicking around doing a backwards design for a campaign based on an idea for a final villain I have. So, I'm constructing the villain first.

If you give character levels to a creature that already has racial hit dice and a built in BAB figure, do the BAB bonuses from the character levels simply add onto those for the base creature, or is there a different calculation?

There was a recent reply to an old thread discussing "Weaksauce Dragons." The original thread from several years ago was from a GM who had trouble with his dragons providing any challenge to his players. The recent reply (from five years after the original post) was from another GM who (along with his other GM friends) had encountered the same issue.

Here is the reply that brought that thread back to Page 1.

"Lunched today with some GMs and this kinda came up. After negative action economy, DPR, size modifiers and such were well BSed, the unanimous consensus was that a few key Class levels were the best, followed by truly wicked templates."

I decided to start this thread for more experienced GMs to give advice for other GMs who have run into this situation. Dragons are very iconic creatures in the fantasy RPG genre, so anything to make them more interesting and exciting would be appreciated.

I'll add my suggestions shortly, but started this to get the ball rolling.

I was telling a friend about my Dwarven Bard who played a timpani, and he spontaneously came up with another idea that I MUST PLAY!

Gnome Bard who's "instrument" is a One-Man Band.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, here are pictures:

Images

Does anyone have any suggestions for an archetype that might most aptly work with this patently silly concept?

(As for the build, obviously, stealth is out of the question....)

One member of our play group has decided to run this AP.

I wanted to make a character that was well suited to the campaign, and I've kicked around several ideas.

Right now, I'm considering a straight up Wizard. I don't wanna be a "god wizard" or anything that will break the game, but I do want to be worthwhile to the party. So, I was thinking about an Admixture Evoker.

The idea is that his father was a wizard and former member of the Technic League that became disillusioned with the heavy handed methods utilized by that organization. So, he broke away from the League and fled into hiding. However, his father was still enamored with the wealth of knowledge available in Numeria, so couldn't bring himself to leave the area entirely. The character was raised in the ways of both wizardry and technology, learning as much as he could about both. Unfortunately, the League eventually tracked down his father, killing both the character's parents with magic and laser fire while the character hid nearby.

Today, the character's goal is to continue his father's work, seeking ever more interesting ways to meld magic and technology, while simultaneously harboring a deep seated hatred for the League and all who belong to it. If the possibility presents itself, he'd do everything in his power to bring the league down, regardless of the consequences.

Any suggestions for build? Stats I already have in mind, but was thinking more about Feats. I know that Technologist is something I'll take at first level (character is Human, so has another Feat to use). At some point, he will absolutely take the EWP to use the Technological ranged weapons. Also, Craft Magic Weapon and Craft Technological Arms/Armor fit well. I assume that since I'm looking at "blasting," then Feats that increase save DC would be a good idea, too?

Honestly, it's been so freaking long since I've played a Wizard, I'm not positive what feats I should be looking towards....

There are so many spells out there now that I don't feel like digging around for it. I hope the internet masses already know the answer.

Masterwork Transformation exists to make a regular item a Masterwork version of itself, and has the material component requirement that make it pretty much cost the same as if you had purchased that item.

Is there an equivalent type spell that can transform an existing item to the same item, but made of a special material?

I had originally considered Polymorph Any Object, but it has a specific restriction that it cannot be used to make items that have significant value like gold, silver, or any of the special materials in the weapon/armor sections of the CRB/Ultimate Equipment.

Our group has decided to start running Strange Aeons. We're going for kind of a classic Cthulhu investigator type party concept rather than typical Pathfinder party, so our character concepts are being based on the things you usually see in horror RPGs (shoe-horned into Pathfinder character classes as well as can be).

I've decided to play a Renfield type character. He's totally nuts having had voices in his head ever since he went through puberty.The voices are rambling, indistinct, raving, and non-sensical, not the type that tell him to murder people. Consequently, he's prone to unpredictable, but not necessarily malicious behavior. Fundamentally, he's a decent person, but is easily distracted and often involved in conversations with entities that nobody else can see.

What he doesn't know, or even suspect, is that his mind is linked by an ever-so-fine micro filament connection to Azathoth, and he has become a Cleric to the mad god. The character has no idea where these mystical abilities come from, and doesn't really have any understanding or knowledge of the Elder Mythos. He's had an birthmark on his right cheek that resembles an eight pointed star, but not even he realizes the significance of that mark, other than it seems to glimmer when he manifests his mystical powers.

As for the build, he's going to be a Human CN Cleric of Azathoth. He's not going to be the douchey type CN. The alignment merely represents his madness. As I mention, he's a friendly enough person, and kindly in his own way, but has gotten in trouble in the past for doing such things as bathing naked in a mud puddle in the middle of the street and chasing down important town functionaries to relay messages of "dire" import he heard from the voices babbling in his head. He's mad as a hatter, but not vicious; he is only untrustworthy in that he doesn't place the same level of importance on things that others do, and he's likely to forget promises that he's made. He has a propensity for playing with fire; he likes watching things burn and becomes mesmerized by the dancing flames.

I have permission to combine two archetypes that, strictly, do not normally combine: Elder Mythos Cultist and Herald Caller. His one Domain will be Void(Dark Tapestry). He will, of course, focus on creature summoning; for fluff, all his summoned creatures will be re-skinned into things appropriately Cthulhulian in appearance: an eagle will appear as an insect winged collection of mismatched mandibles; a dire rat will appear as a wetly flopping conglomeration of tentacles from which appears a disturbingly full-lipped human mouth for bite attacks.

Now, for the advice.

I'm trying to decide if I should go full on Caster, using a missile weapon for physical damage combat, or work more towards a Reach Cleric build.

If full Caster using missile weapons the array would be:
10-16-14-12-8-16(18)

If Reach Cleric:
16-14-12-10-8-16(18)

Will definitely have the Birthmark Trait, since that allows for him to have a Divine Focus without actually carrying around a (un)holy symbol, which isn't something he'd really do.

What first level feats would be good? A lot of summoner cleric builds suggest taking summoning feats at first level, but I'm not so worried about that since first/second level monster summoning is pretty weak. Herald Caller gives free summoning feats at 4 and 8. I think I can get by with other feats at lvl 1, and start working on the summoning feats at lvl 3.

Considering the Elder Mythos Cultist's specialized channel energy, and the number of uses I'll have with the high Cha, I think Selective Channel is pretty important.

Anyway, I've rambled enough. I'm curious what other people think about the direction to take this character beyond the initial concept.

I'm trying to purchase a PDF of an adventure path.

When I get to the section for entering a payment method, the system will not continue. I can enter the credit card number and expiration date. I click to enter an address, but the system will not save the address I enter. Neither of the options at the bottom of the address mini-window function. The only thing that works is the "x" at the top right of the box, which closes the box without saving the information.

Any suggestions?

I'm getting ready to run a campaign where all the characters will be either Goblins or Monkey Goblins. The premise is that all of the characters are the first set of graduates of a "Goblin orphanage" where baby Goblins where taken by good aligned adventurers (after wiping our the adult Goblins) in the hopes of raising them to be benevolent and contributing members of civilized society.

Regular Goblins are pretty well fleshed out with a wide variety of alternate racial traits and FCB's. I want to put together a similar spectrum of options for Monkey Goblins. My goal is to prevent any two characters from being too terribly same-y.

I came up with a couple of ideas, but thought appealing to the inter-webs would speed up the process and hopefully prevent anything too overpowered from creeping in.

The two ideas I had were:

Vicious Maw: Some Monkey Goblins are born with a larger and stronger than normal set of jaws. These examples lose their natural tendency towards stealth in favor of a more aggressive predatory nature. Such Monkey Goblins has a Bite attack as a Primary Natural Attack doing 1d4 points of damage. This trait replaces Acrobatic.

Gliding Wings: A rare off shoot of the typical Monkey Goblin has wing flaps between arms and legs similar to that of a flying squirrel. This adaptation allows the Monkey Goblin to fall any distance safely with a DC 15 Fly check as if under the effects of a Feather Fall spell. Additionally, with an additional DC 15 check (per round in combat or distracted, or per minute when without distractions), the Monkey Goblin can glide in a controlled fashion, functioning as if the character had the Fly 20" ability (Poor maneuverability) with the following restrictions. The Monkey Goblin must descend 5' for each 10' of distance traveled, he/she may not gain altitude, nor may he/she hover. If the Monkey Goblin obtains another means of flight, that overrides these limitations as long as that means is in effect. This trait replaces Natural Climber and Prehensile Tail.

I was thinking of a trait that would replace Natural Climber (and maybe another trait) to give the character Claw attacks with 1d3 damage; would that be too much combined with the bite attack? I was thinking it would make an interesting combination to represent a Savannah Goblin Monkey, more used to a lesser forested terrain and functioning more as an animalistic predator.

...for a very specific idea I have.

I've been kicking around an idea. I fear this is probably something that would be best home-brewed, but I don't really have the interest in spending the time it would take to do it all myself, so looking for a good suggestion for an appropriately (humorous) published AP to run for this idea.

Everyone has heard of the whole "Goblin orphanage" concept. For those who haven't, it's a spin off of the whole moral dilemma thing of, "What does the Good aligned party do with the room full of goblin babies they just found." Some have suggested the idea of an orphanage for the offspring of evil humanoids to be raised by good aligned people in the hopes of converting the children.

My idea is to run a campaign where all of the players are running children raised in a Goblin Orphanage. Now, before people complain about restricting choices and such, our play group has been around a long time, and we often dabble with things like this to prod ourselves into trying combinations that we'd never considered before. All the characters will be Good aligned Goblins (or Monkey Goblins) using any of the alternative racial traits from the ARG to add customization, and I'll probably come up with a few more so everyone isn't completely same-y. The characters can run pretty much any class/archetype they want, as long as I can review it and understand the mechanics ahead of time.

So, with that concept in mind, what AP would be fun/interesting to play? We've already run RotRL, Iron Gods, and Giant Slayer, so something other than one of them.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Are there any archetypes, feats, or anything that modify the Bard's primary stat away from Charisma in any way?

(Just curious, as there are some things that shift around other classes primary stats a bit.)

Interested in both RAW and "how I would play it" interpretations of this Feat.

From a RAW standpoint, it would seem that you can only jump/controlled fall down from a distance equal to or less than your charge distance to use this feat.

From a real world physics standpoint, a person could fall 500-odd feet in the six seconds of a combat round.

For those GMs out there, would you opt strictly for the "can't charge-fall greater than your charge movement" usage of the Feat, or would you be more lenient, allowing greater distances? If allowing greater distances, what modifiers would you put in place? I mean, I can't imagine allowing someone to free-fall for 500 feet while attempting to land on top of a specific enemy without some sort of modifier on the to-hit roll...

Quick question:

Is there any trait/feat/class ability/whatever that replaces Strength with Dexterity for the Climb skill?

I'm sure this has been answered somewhere (or at least debated somewhere), so I hope someone could point me in the right direction.

If you are occupying an enemies square, where are you considered to be as far as flanking is concerned?

(Specifically, this was prompted by the Vexing Dodger archetype for the Rogue. When the 'Dodger is climbing on his opponent, is he ever considered flanking to allow Sneak Attack?)

I'm running an Inquisitor in a campaign right how that uses a reach weapon with the Brace ability:

I was wondering how that would interact with Intercept Charge.

The Inquisitor's Solo Tactics ability means the entire party is counted as having the Feat, so Intercept Charge could, in theory, be triggered if any other character in the party were the subject of a charge.

If the character had readied an action as described in the Brace rule, and then use Intercept Charge, do you still get the benefit of the Brace rule? (I ask because the Brace rule doesn't say the charge had to be declared against the person with the Brace weapon.)

Is Point Blank Master the only way to make regular attacks with a bow from within an opponent's threatened area without provoking attacks of opportunity?

I'm pretty sure it is, but wanted to make sure.

Here is the text of the spell:

It doesn't appear to be specifically typed, so does that mean it would stack with any other modifier?

Similarly, Inflict Pain doesn't seem to type it's modifier.

I'm working on a Intimidate Inquisitor build who worships Zon Kuthon, and I was trying to find thematically appropriate spells and such that focus on the whole "pain" thing. I'm just trying to decide which de-buffs will stack and which won't.

One of my players in my current campaign is running an Undead Lord Cleric.

I actually like the flavor of the archetype, but I feel that the Corpse Companion ability hasn't been fleshed out enough.

As it reads, it appears that you can only make regular Skeletons, or the modified skeletons that appear in the Skeleton entry in the Bestiary. I find that kind of un-flavorful. I kind of want to at least allow a Skeletal Champion to be created, especially since the party is up to 10th level, and a regular Skeleton (even at 10HD) doesn't really do much of anything.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to make the Corpse Companion a bit more interesting and able to contribute to the party?

What is a good Feat for a Draconic Sorcerer just hitting 9th level in Iron Gods that might help make the character more effective against the Robotic enemies so common in that AP?

Any suggestions would be welcome. Am just brainstorming right now.

I'm considering building a campaign world based on the latter part of Victorian Europe (circa 1870-1900 in Earth analog). I am planning on down-playing magic and playing up the Jules Verne type of sci-fi technology. Obviously, the "modern" firearms like revolvers and repeating rifles will exist.

The feel I'm looking for is along the lines of the computer RPG "Arcanum" from 2001, if anyone remembers that one.

I don't want firearm combat to just completely dominate everything, so I was considering using the Armor as DR optional rules. That way, pretty much everyone is hitting using what amounts to "touch AC," and most attacks have to deal with DR. The idea is that firearms won't be such an obviously superior choice to melee weapons, but should still be strong.

Has anyone used the Armor as DR rules from Ultimate Combat? What were your experiences with it? Any other suggestions to try to make this theme work?

I know that the general rule is that you cannot have multiple stacked archetypes on a single class level that both modify or replace the same class feature.

However, sometimes an archetype will make what I would call a modification to a class feature, but does not call out the change. Typically, an archetype feature will have a final sentence that says, "This ability modifies X" or "This ability replaces Y."

For an example, the Inquisitor Heretic archetype adds a new Judgment to the list available to the Inquisitor. It doesn't change the number of times used or anything else about the Judgment class feature, but does add to the list of possible Judgments. However, this is not called out as modifying or replacing the Judgment class feature.

How would this interact with any Inquisitor archetype that specifically calls out that it is modifying or replacing the Judgment class feature?

I'm curious as to both rules opinions and "how I would play it" opinions. For example, what if a player wanted to have a Heretic Monster Tactician? Heretic adds the Escape Judgment to the list of Judgments available, but Monster Tactician replaces Judgment entirely (thereby losing that "benefit" which Heretic had granted).

I was interested in hearing anecdotes about weird and funny things that have happened in your campaigns, either as player or GM. I'm not referring to unlikely die rolls or super optimized niche character builds. I'm referring to those things that happened that were primarily role-playing in nature, developed organically over the course of the campaign, and eventually became uncontrollably hilarious. I don't mind if there is rule-bending involved; the funny factor is what I'm looking to share.

For example, here's my contribution.

One of the member's of my long running Sunday campaign group, call him M, always likes to play kind of odd characters. He played a Dwarven Abyssal Sorcerer in a previous campaign, Cha penalty being less important that making a character that looked like a cool miniature he had bought.

His current character is a Halfling Verminous Hunter who got a Giant Slug as his animal companion. He Halfling focuses on ranged combat because he's an inveterate coward. He hit high enough level to have his Slug grow to be large. During a lull between adventures, the party was in a large city, and M decided he wanted to have a permanent Anthropomorphic Animal cast upon his large sized Giant Slug. Normally, it isn't a valid target since the spell targets an animal, but the thought of a giant Slug-ataur was so funny to me that I let him have it, including finding a wizard to give a large portion of his character's money for the Permanency.

Of course, M names the slug Slurms. (Try google if you don't get the reference.)

It gets better. After the last sitting, we discussed M taking Leadership just for the sole purpose of making Slurm his Cohort so it can have character levels....

Good morning!

I am a fairly experienced Pathfinder GM, but am looking for some advice to make sure I'm helping some new players the best way I can.

I have started running a brand new group through a Paizo AP. The group consists of five players, only two of which have any Pathfinder experience (each has played one time before). I'm only using CRB, APG, UM and UC. I wanted some decent amount of options without swamping the players with too much stuff (I made that selection not realizing the group was quite as inexperienced as they are).

In any case, one of the characters is set on playing a monk. The player is leaning towards the Master of Many Styles, because the player likes the concept. Personally, I have never played that build nor spent any time theorycrafting one.

So, I was wondering about some good build direction to take, specifically where Feats are concerned, and which style combinations are good.

Please, do not take this down the road of absolute, ultimate optimization. That's not the direction I want to take with a bunch of brand new players, especially after discussing playing styles and such with them. They're more interested in playing, having a good time, doing some role-playing, and having cool stories to tell. So, I'm most interested in fun combinations that still have a degree of effectiveness that will prevent the monk from being marginalized too much. Also, what are some trap options that should be avoided?

I seem to remember reading an effect that could allow multiple uses of Intimidate on the same subject(s) to increase the level of debilitation inflicted. (Shaken becomes Cowering or Frightened, for example.)

I can't remember if it was a weapon enhancement, a class ability, a Feat, or what. Can anyone point me in the right direction for this?

Here's an example which illustrates my question.

1st level Inquisitor with the Heresy Inquisition and the Student of Philosophy Trait. These grant the following:

"Righteous Infiltration (Ex): You use your Wisdom modifier instead of your Charisma modifier when making Bluff and Intimidate checks."

"You can use your Intelligence modifier in place of your Charisma modifier on Diplomacy checks to persuade others and on Bluff checks to convince others that a lie is true."

So, when making Bluff checks, this character has abilities that substitute either/both Int and/or Wis. Obviously, the character wouldn't get both Int and Wis. Does one take precedence? Does the character get to choose? Are the rules silent on this?

I'm sure this has been discussed or posted somewhere previously, but my google-fu proved to weak to find it on my own.

Is there a comprehensive (or at least fairly comprehensive) list of way to obtain luck bonuses to any/all rolls? The obvious one is the Luck Stone, but there's also spells like Divine Favor.

Thanks for the assistance, assuming any is forthcoming.

I've been working on a thematic Cavalier idea using the Beastrider archetype so I can build a Dwarf riding a Bear miniature that I've had for like decades.

While looking at the Beastrider, I noticed the following:

"This mount functions as a druid's animal companion, using the beast rider's level as his effective druid level. The animal chosen as a mount must be large enough to carry the beast rider (Medium or Large for a Small character; Large or Huge for a Medium character)."

And later,

"Medium beast riders can choose a camel or horse mount at 1st level. At 4th level, a Medium beast rider can also choose an allosaurus, ankylosaurus, arsinoitherium, aurochs, bison, brachiosaurus, elephant, glyptodon, hippopotamus, lion, mastodon, megaloceros, snapping turtle (giant), tiger, triceratops, or tyrannosaurus as his mount. Additional mounts might be available with GM approval."

The problem I noticed is that pretty much none of the animals on the list for 4th level options are Large at 4th level, meaning all of them violate the first paragraph I quoted ("...Large or Huge for a Medium character.") All of them go to Large at the 7th level advancement.

Is there something I'm missing, or is a Beastrider pretty much stuck with Horse or Camel until he gets to 7th level where the list actually opens up?

I have an old miniature of a Dwarven Ursine Cavalryman from back in the 1980's (it's an old Grenadier model). I've finally decided to make a Pathfinder character based on that model, and I'm looking for ideas to make him both flavorful and useful.

Taking the Beastrider Cavalier archetype will allow the character to have a riding bear at lvl 7. My plan was to go the typical 2hnd fighting route for the Cavalier. I was thinking about using the Dwarven Long Axe because the model is wielding a big ol' axe. I like the Cavalier for the Heavy Armor proficiency, since the model appears to be wearing plate, and for the Dwarven FCB to Cavalier.

Now, if the rider (medium sized) is on a large sized bear, is the reach for the weapon calculated from the bear's footprint on the grid, or is it otherwise?

I was considering pursuing the Dwarven Cleave feat chain; worth it? Seems decent since it mitigates the biggest limitations on Cleave, though it's Feat intensive.

After lvl 7, I was considering 3-4 levels in Hunter with the Divine Hunter and Primal Companion archetypes (it appears they mix since neither one replaces/modifies the same class ability). I just like the idea of a Celestial bear that can take some of the Eidolon mods like increasing the bite/claw damage, pounce, or heck even growing wings. (Heh...flying bear.)

Last notes: Our groups tend to play fairly long term campaigns, rarely ending before 10th level, and usually play with the intention of going to the mid teens.

Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome.

Ok, a little preface.

The group with whom I play pretty much all have a lot of RPG experience. We're mostly past the stage where we want to just build the most hyper-optimized character builds found on the internet. Instead, we like to find character types that are a little bit more "out there" and then try to optimize them as far as possible while staying within the context of the original (sub-optimal) character concept.

I've had this idea of making a character who specializes in Two Weapon Fighting with two Whips of all things. The image in my head of the character wailing around himself in all directions with two whips simultaneously is entertaining to me (I just now thought about the bad guy in the second Iron Man movie, and with some cool enchanted whips...yeah, I like that). However, both using whips and TWF are both quite Feat intensive.

It appears I'll be able to use the Adopted Trait to get the whip proficiency from Hobgoblin (I think this is a bone being thrown to me, for which I am grateful), so at least I don't need the EWP:Whip or to dip Bard or something for that proficiency.

I was originally thinking of Fighter with the archetype for TWF and Human for the additional Feat. Using the trait for the whip proficiency, Feats would begin something like this:

1. Weapon Focus: Whip
1h. Weapon Finesse
1f. Whip Mastery
2f. Slashing Grace: Whip
3. Two Weapon Fighting

After this, I'm not sure where to go. First level, I'd probably do damage with a ranged weapon since the character will probably have a Strength of 10 or less. After getting Slashing Grace, would most likely single wield a whip. Honestly, unless going against lower AC stuff, probably single wield the whip until the Two Weapon Warrior bonuses to hit start at lvl 5, unless I can get an Effortless Lace for the offhand earlier. The question I have is how to proceed from here? How do I make this build actually do damage? Should I go in combat maneuver direction? If so, I'd have to take Agile Maneuvers and the improved maneuvers, too. How about going all into the AOO direction? Then I'd have to take Combat Reflexes and Dodge/Mobility/Combat Patrol....

So, to quit rambling, is this even something that could work, or is it hopeless?

From the Beast Rider archetype for the Cavalier (UC):

"In addition, a 7th-level or higher Medium beast rider can select any creature whose natural size is Large or Huge, provided that creature is normally available as a Medium-sized animal companion at 7th level (like a bear). To generate statistics for such a mount, apply the following modifications: Size Large; Ability Scores Str +2, Dex –2, Con +2. Increase the damage of each of the mount's natural attacks by one die size. A beast rider cannot choose a mount that is not capable of bearing his weight, that has fewer than four legs, or that has a fly speed (although the GM may allow mounts with a swim speed in certain environments)."

Here are the issues.

1. A Medium beast rider can select a creature whose natural size is Large or Huge, yet you apply a modification granting Size Large. Does a Huge mount shrink but grow stronger and less dexterous and with a bigger bite?

2. The creature selected must normally be available as a Medium sized animal companion at lvl 7. Does this mean specifically "Medium" or does it mean Medium or larger? The reason is that the number of animal companions that are specifically Medium at lvl 7 is actually pretty small. Also, if they can only be Medium at lvl 7, they can only be made Large, so why the reference to Huge as a size that can be selected?

(Also depressed by the "cannot choose...that has fewer than four legs" restriction when I saw that the Kangaroo was Medium at lvl 7. I had a LoL moment imagining a Cavalier riding to battle in a Large kangaroo's pouch.)

Ultimate Equipment says:

"A whip deals no damage to any creature with an armor bonus of +1 or higher or a natural armor bonus of +3 or higher. The whip is treated as a melee weapon with a 15-foot reach, though you don't threaten the area into which you can make an attack. In addition, unlike most other weapons with reach, you can use it against foes anywhere within your reach (including adjacent foes)."

Is there a feat or ability that allows a whip to threaten the area into which attacks can be made?

For example, if a character is a race that has an innate Resistance, say Acid Resistance 5, as an example. If they later take a class that grants the same Resistance (such as Draconic(Black) Bloodline Sorcerer at lvl 3), does it become Acid Resistance 10, or does it stay Acid Resistance 5? Does it stack or only take whichever is highest?

Can a character holding a touch spell active deliver that touch spell through an unarmed strike or natural attack, or must it be done through a touch attack? Does using an unarmed or natural attack to deliver the touch spell require the Magus' Spellstrike ability?

I'm sure this is spelled out somewhere, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. If someone could direct me to where in the rules or FAQ that this is stated, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

I seem to remember in a forum thread a few months ago a reference someone posted that stated purchasing of custom magic items was prohibited by standard rules in Pathfinder. A rules quote was provided.

The thought crossed my mind about that post today, and I've been looking through the books to try to find that rule, but I have not been able to find it.

Was that post inaccurate, or is my search-fu merely weak?

"Stand Still (Combat)

You can stop foes that try to move past you.

Prerequisites: Combat Reflexes.

Benefit: When a foe provokes an attack of opportunity due to moving through your adjacent squares, you can make a combat maneuver check as your attack of opportunity. If successful, the enemy cannot move for the rest of his turn. An enemy can still take the rest of his action, but cannot move. This feat also applies to any creature that attempts to move from a square that is adjacent to you if such movement provokes an attack of opportunity."

As written, this doesn't function with reach weapons attacking at their reach distance. Has this been FAQ'd, or does it work specifically as written?

Assume two weapons are identical in statistics (dmg, weapon rules, relevant feats, enchantments, etc.) except for crit range:

A: (19-20) x2
B: (20) x3

Which one will consistently do more damage.

Not sure if this is the correct forum; hoping for some direction....

In the last week, I have downloaded two of the free Paizo PDF files. (The PFS introductory stuff and the Iron Gods player reference.)

However, neither one of them is remotely useable. The background color is so dark that over 50% of the document is illegible simply from not being able to differentiate the black text from the background. Additionally, on several other portions, there are patterns and designs that presumably were intended for background, but end up overlaying the text, making that section unreadable. The file is write-protected, so I can't edit anything out to make it easier to read, and I haven't been able to successfully open it with another program.

I've already sent an e-mail to Paizo asking for assistance in reading the products, but I have not yet received an answer.

Any suggestions? At this point, I'd be content with a text version with no graphics whatsoever.

I've been a GM for 30+ years, but only in Pathfinder for the last few. Usually, I run home-brew worlds/campaigns, but there are several of the published adventure paths that I find really interesting.

However, our play group really, really prefers the 25 point buy system (they like the big numbers), and I know this is much higher than the initial character power level that the AP's have in mind. I fear this will lead to encounters being too easy, and therefor not being rewarding enough for the players. (From my past in running home-brew, the big, main fights would often last 10+ rounds with every character fearing death, though only very rarely actually experiencing it. I guess I've trained the group to have a degree of concern going into major combats, and I fear they'll be disappointed if combats are too easy.)

Am I accurate in fearing that the AP combats will be too easy for a 25 point buy group? If so, what is the best way to adjust AP encounters to account for the stronger party and give an experience that has a strong enough challenge to give a successful party the sense of accomplishment they want when overcoming the obstacles?

(I've read a good bit on guides for adjusting encounters for additional players, and I have a good grasp of that. I'm more interested in how to adjust encounters when each individual character is stronger than the norm.)

Is there any way to speed up a Supernatural Ability. As in, if using one is a Standard Action, is there a Feat anywhere to make it a Move Action?

This is probably a pretty easy one, I just haven't seemed to get my eyes in the right place to find it.

Character has Spirited Charge and Vital Strike. The character is armed with a lance. The character charges an enemy and hits.

How many dice does the player roll for damage? It's a question of order of operation. The best I can figure, the answer will be between 4 and 6 dice. Which is correct?

Thanks :D

My play group is running an interesting little DIY campaign. The theme is that we're the last four members of a monk temple sect that was destroyed by surrounding rival sects. The trauma of the attack and subsequent desire for revenge has turned us all pretty much evil; we've all decided to exact revenge by any means possible and destroy all the other temples. Each party member was entrusted with a lesser artifact item (it's effectively a magic item that scales as we get higher levels without having to pay for it), but have to find the six other that were stolen to salvage our temple's honor.

One aspect of this world is that from a PC and NPC standpoint, Arcane and Divine magic do not exist in this world, but Psionics does. To keep things simple all normal magic items are available, but their effects and such are reclassified as being Psionic in origin rather than Magic. The in game effect is that we cannot have any character class that is capable of either Divine or Arcane casting, but Psionic classes are available, but there are no meaningful restrictions on magic items. Because we were all temple monks, at least 1/2 of all of our character levels at any given moment must be Monk levels.

I've played with this group for several years now, and I knew going in that the other three characters were going to be fairly optimized to mash face, but otherwise be pretty useless. So, I bit the bullet to make more of a utility character with decent communication skills. After reading through some various options, I decided on a Dhampyr Hungry Ghost Monk with some Ninja levels. I kinda liked the idea of a sneaky Vampire Ninja-Monk who sucked the life force from his enemies (he'll have a high Acrobatics, too, so he can actually hop...dunno if you get the joke or not). Honestly, not the most optimum of builds, but the back story was fluffy as heck, and I was really interested in role-playing him. Unfortunately, to get my theme in place, I won't have everything done skill- and feat-wise until 9th level, at which point, my combat effectiveness will be lagging behind the rest of the party fairly badly. That's balanced out by the fact that I'm the only useful character in any sort of social setting, but I don't want that gap to continue to get ever wider as we go higher in levels.

So, here's the deal. I need to find the most optimum way to improve damage output (or at least, support ability) in combat after 9th level.

At 9th lvl, stats will be the following based on the magic items I have now at 5th (though I have money to buy some when we get to the next large city).

S: 10, D: 16, C: 10, W: 18, I: 15, Ch: 16

My "artifact" currently grants +2 Int and a limited number of psionic abilities daily.

Feats will be:
Improved Feint
Greater Feint
Snake Style
Snake Sidewind
Snake Fang (I think that's the name)
Combat Expertise
Combat Reflexes
Dodge
Mobility

Skills have maxed Acrobatics, Bluff, Perception, and Sense Motive. Decent in Diplomacy, Disable Device, Use Magic(Psionic) Device, and a couple of others.

{PS: I had to get permission to take those Feats. For a couple of them, when I got the Feat, I didn't have the pre-reqs, so was allowed to sit on the available Feat until the following level. The DM was fine with this because it meant my character was actually limited for a level, and allowed me to reach towards my character concept. One of the Feats was from a Ninja Trick.}

So, after this wall of text, my request is this:

What Feats and Magic Items should I be looking towards to improve my combat effectiveness, either as a damage dealer or supporter of my party? My plan is to get to Lvl 13 Monk (to get all the Hungry Ghost Monk abilities) and the other 7 in Ninja (to get the 4d6 precision damage). Oh, and at 9th lvl, it will be Monk 5/Ninja 4. My plan from there was to focus on Monk until 13.