Sammark Bellefont's page

Me and my roommate are looking for good fantasy themed games for the Xbox 360. We'd like something to play co-op for the rare nights when we are both in the apartment at the same time. I am, of course, cognizant of Diablo 3 and will likely pick it up once the price drops a bit but are there any other good ones out there?

So, I'm wondering what kind of equipment restrictions the Heavy Blade Scabbard Trick, Steer Opponent has. The specific trick is as follows:

Link

Obviously you have to have a heavy blade scabbard but nothing in the feat specifies whether you have to have a free hand to wield that scabbard or whether you can wield shields while preforming any of these tricks. Three possibilities present themselves to me:

-One: These tricks operate on something similar to TWF rules. The cannot be performed with heavy or light shields and you take a -1 and lose shield bonus to AC if you decide to perform any of them with a buckler equipped.

-Two: They cannot be performed while using shields or bucklers.

-Three: They can be be performed while using shields or bucklers without penalty as you are merely using the scabbard to alter your natural ability to bull rush an opponent and not actually making an attack with a weapon. (The scabbard could still be clutched in the shield hand.)

Number one seems the most likely but I would like to get the opinions of a few other people as well.

A shanty (also spelled "chantey," "chanty") is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. The term shanty most accurately refers to a specific style of work song belonging to this historical repertoire, however in recent, popular usage, the scope of its definition is sometimes expanded to admit a wider range of repertoire and characteristics, or to refer to a “maritime work song” in general.

While not exactly historically accurate in some instances, the sea shanty has always been tied to time at sea as something to coordinate sailors and ease the burden of labor. Being able to at least carry a tune used to be as important to sailors as knowing your way around the rigging or being strong enough to haul cargo. The shanties helped sailors pass the time with grim or humorous tales and coordinate efforts that required their collective strength. They ran the gamut from incredibly raunchy to cautionary tales to songs of longing for the comforts of shore.

Seeing as how Golarion is mostly based on western history, it would not be unreasonable to assume that some sort of maritime tradition similar to real world sea shanties would crop up. With bards and the Ensemble feat, sea shanties could very well have specific mechanical benefits as well. Dealing with terrible weather and difficult maneuvers could actually be eased by having the ship's bard lead the crew in a rousing chorus.

Of course, this would not exactly be the Pirates of Penzance. Some of the best songs feature prostitution, maimings, and hangings to say the least.

So, I figure what we need is some good ol'sea shanties for Golarion. I'll kick it off with my adaptation of a shanty, but I'd like to see more. Extra points if you generate a completely new song.

Alright Pathfinders, I'm considering joining your ranks but before I do I want to know which classes/kinds of character the lot of you would like to see more of. No promises here but I want to get a feel for what the pathfinders might be in need of.

This idea came to me while I was trapped at work today and I've been running with it ever since. The television was set to a channel seemingly devoted to playing Westerns and I decided after the fourth shoot-out of the day that there should be a way to replicate the iconic, tense, and deadly staple of both Westerns and Samurai films where life and death are resolved in a single blow.

The idea is to create a unique combat that combines a truly debilitating blow with some strategy to make for a fight that will leave one man lying in the dust and another walking away if he is lucky. So here it is, the Showdown.

This is how a Showdown would progress:

The Challenge: A challenge (not the class feature) is issued by one combatant. If accepted, both combatants place their weapons in a 'ready' position. A ‘ready’ position would be holstered, sheathed or lowered in the case of two-handed weapons, and the Showdown proceeds to...

The Stare Down: Here they proceed in rounds but do not roll initiative. For all intents and purposes, actions are taken simultaneously. There are two actions that can be taken during the Stare Down phase.
Focus: For every round you spend to Focus, you gain a cumulative +1 Focus bonus. You can only gain a Focus bonus up to your character level. This bonus also applies to Sense Motive checks to ascertain when you opponent plans to Aim True or Dodge during the Draw phase and when they to trigger the Draw phase. The Sense Motive check is opposed by a Bluff check. There is no way to actively mislead a foe during the Stare Down.
Dishearten: Instead of Focusing you may make an Intimidate check to weaken your opponent’s resolve. A Will save opposes your check but if your opponent fails their save then they take a -1 penalty to their Focus bonus and they do not gain the benefits of Focusing this round. If you manage to completely sap an opponent’s Focus bonus then you can inflict a penalty equal to your character level to their attack roll during the Draw phase.

The Draw: Either combatant may initiate the Draw phase. During the Draw phase, both combatants get to draw their weapon and make a single attack at their highest BAB. The first thing that happens during the Draw phase is that both combatants reveal their Draw phase actions. Initiative is then rolled. Both combatants get their Focus bonus to their initiative bonus. The winner of the initiative has their attack resolved first. The two actions that can be taken during the Draw phase are Aim True and Dodge
Aim True: When you Aim True, your Focus bonus is applied to your attack roll and you roll your damage a number of additional times equal to your Focus bonus and add it together.
Dodge: When you Dodge, your Focus bonus is applied as a dodge bonus to your AC and, if hit, you get a Reflex save to reduce the damage by half. You may also make one attack but only get your normal attack bonus and deal normal weapon damage.

After the Draw phase, combat resumes as normal using the initiatives rolled during the Draw.

Misc:
If you take any actions apart from those listed in each phase then your opponent may choose to act as though it were the Draw phase and you had lost initiative. You also forfeit your Focus bonus.

You are considered flat-footed to any threat apart from your foe in the Showdown.

Use of a two-handed weapon causes your Initiative bonus during the Draw phase to be cut in half.

If the combatants are using a melee weapon for the Showdown and are starting any distance apart, they are able to move up to their movement speed toward their opponent and may choose to charge.

Comments and ideas highly welcome. Please be patient, this is my first time homebrewing anything.