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Suppose you find yourself in midair after an action or two. Could you use your remaining action(s) before dealing with falling and landing?

Could you, for example, Dimension Door 120 feet straight up for 2 actions, and then do a ranged strike?

We've been giving every character a free Recall Knowledge check at initiative to learn the name and some common fact about creatures. I don't think this is in accordance with the rules. I'm wondering what other GMs do. Do you just describe the creature? Does it matter how common they are? Surely everyone would recognize a bear or a skeleton, but maybe not the specific type.

What do you share with subsequent recall knowledge checks? Do the PC's request some specific bit of info?

Do spellcasting dedications give a character a "spellcasting class feature"? They say "You cast spells like a" sorcerer, wizard, oracle, etc. But they do not say you have the Class Feature of those classes.

The Ring of Wizardry states "It does nothing unless you have a spellcasting class feature with the arcane tradition." Would this work with an Arcane Sorcerer Dedication?

Given the following scenario, would a character be better off with a shield or with the shield cantrip?

- The cantrip is available through a Dedication, and therefore only 2 cantrip slots are available.
- Character may be low, mid, or high level.
- The character has the Opportune Backstab reaction, competing with the cantrip reaction.
- The character has no means of raising or casting a shield without using one action.

Would you prefer the extra +1 AC from a physical shield, or the scaling damage reduction of the cantrip's reaction?

We've been discussing the potential for redemption at our table, and the obligations our good characters have towards allowing/encouraging it. Certainly evil NPC from playable races can change their ways. And we've played under the assumption that many intelligent creatures (e.g. giants and dragons) have enough volition to choose paths that are contrary to their Bestiary alignment listings.

But are their creatures who must be evil? There are a handful of Animals with low intelligences that are listed as evil. Can they be taught to be neutral or good? Is there an obligation for a follower of Sarenrae to try to redeem them?

What of devils or demons? Can they be turned to goodness? Are they always evil at birth/spawning/hatching/whatever?

I do understand that many don't like the alignment system. I'm one of them. But for purposes of the game as written, I'm curious how the universe is supposed to work.

Seeking feedback on this idea. It was born from a discussion with m table's Warpriest. He dislikes that he can't generally prepare any spell other than those he believes are most likely to be highly useful. For example, he might believe that Heorism is useful every day, while Remove Poison is useful once every 20 days. As such, Remove Poison will likely never be prepared when it is needed. Our Druid has similar complaints. Our Champion would surely love to choose his Divine Weapon rune when he has a better idea of what kinds of creatures they might be facing. Etc.

I don't mean to discuss the complaint so much as provide a solution that does not break the game systems nor devalue any classes. D&D 5E has a system where you prepare as many spells of a level as you have slots (if I understand it correctly). Applying an idea like that would be a major power boost and greatly devalue spontaneous casters.

The Wizard has the Spell Substitution Thesis. With 10 minutes, one prepared spell can be swapped for a new spell. I think this is more inline with what we are trying to achieve. So here is my proposal:

Class (or General?) Feat, Level 8(?)

Flexible Preparation
You gain the Reprepare Focus Spell.

Reprepair Focus 4

Uncommon, Emotion, Mental
Cast 1-action, Somatic
You may change one decision granted by a class feature that was made during that day's Daily Preparation

How much does this devalue the Wizard Thesis? It is strictly better, as Spell Substitution, as that Thesis requires 10 minutes of concentration before it takes effect, while Reprepare uses a Focus point. But it is not available from Level 1 and requires a feat.

Does this devalue spontaneous castes too much?

Is Level 8 reasonable (assuming the entire idea is not broken)?

Thanks for any thoughts on this.

I made this fillable PFD character sheet for easy linking to spell information on the web.

It is a modification of this one, which was based on this one by Neceros.

If you type a spell name in the spell name column, the associated "LINK" text will take you to the spell on d20PFSRD. You can also add a character portrait on the last page. Lot's of calculations are automated, but you should be able to add fudge factors for home rules or unusual circumstances.

Please let me know if something is not working for you.

Fiendish Proboscis is an Arcanist Exploit.

Effect The arcanist can spend 1 point from his arcane reservoir as a standard action to grow a long, articulated proboscis covered with small spiky hairs. The appendage grows from the arcanist’s face and houses a highly flexible, muscular tongue tipped with a cartilaginous barbed quill. The proboscis lasts for 1 round per arcanist level, during which time the arcanist cannot speak or use verbal components.

The arcanist can end this exploit’s effects early as a swift action. As a standard action, the arcanist can attack a target with the proboscis’s tongue. This is a primary natural weapon with a 10-foot reach. Attacks with the tongue resolve as a touch attack. If the arcanist uses his tongue and hits a creature capable of casting spells or using spell-like abilities, he drains a portion of the target’s magical ability and adds 1 point to his arcane reservoir (points gained in excess of the reservoir’s maximum are lost). If the arcanist hits a creature that cannot cast spells or use spell-like abilities, the tongue instead drains a portion of the target’s life force and heals the arcanist of 1d6 points of damage. Regardless of the target’s ability to use magic, the tongue’s unnerving siphoning of magical or life energy causes the struck creature to become sickened for 1 round.

While the arcanist could use more and easier ways of gaining back Arcanist Points, this seems utterly broken. An arcanist could refill his/her pool OOC in a very short period of time with a cooperative caster teammate, with a summoned creature, with a familiar, or with a stabilized, defeated enemy caster.

Any thoughts on how this could be modified so that a GM might actually allow it?

The Arcanist has the greater exploit

Greater Metamagic Knowledge: The arcanist can select a metamagic feat as a bonus feat. She must meet the prerequisites of this feat. Each morning, when she prepares her spells, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to exchange this bonus feat for another metamagic feat, as long as she meets the prerequisites of the new feat. The arcanist must have the metamagic knowledge exploit to select this exploit.

Certain metamagic feats have other metamagic feats as prerequisites. Could you change the prerequisite feat into a feat requiring it? For example, Umbral Spell requires Tenebrous Spell. Could you take Tenebrous Spell when you gain Greater Metamagic Knowledge, and then change it into Umbral Spell by paying 1 Arcane Point?

The Occultist archetype of the Arcanist has a spell-like ability

Conjurer's Focus (Sp)

An occultist can spend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to cast summon monster I. She can cast this spell as a standard action and the summoned creatures remain for 1 minute per level (instead of 1 round per level). At 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, the power of this ability increases by one spell level, allowing her to summon more powerful creatures (to a maximum of summon monster IX at 17th level), at the cost of an additional point from her arcane spell reserve per spell level. An occultist cannot have more than one summon monster spell active in this way at one time. If this ability is used again, any existing summon monster immediately ends.

Metamagic and metamagic wands can not be used with spell-like abilities. However, it reads to me that the spell-like ability here is not the spell "summon monster", but the ability to cast the spell in a certain way, with certain benefits. If "summon monster" is not a spell-like ability in this case, should metamagic be allowed?

Metamagic that alters spell slots that would need interpreting, but metamagic rods don't have that issue.

I’ve been looking at the Magaambyan Initiate (aka the Collegiate Initiate on the SRD) archetype of the Arcanist. This seems to be specifically designed as an entry point to the Magaambyan Arcanist prestige class, but I’m wondering how it stacks up on its own.

The archetype loses arcanist exploits at levels 1, 5, 9, and 17. The last of these is unlikely to matter in most campaigns. In exchange, you get:

Aura of Good - I don’t know that this does much of anything.
Spell Mastery - At level 5, you get the Spell Mastery feat. This is expanded upon if you take enough levels of the Magaambyan Arcanist prestige class. It won’t matter if you don’t go that route and your DM is not one to target spell books.
Halcyon Spell Lore - This gives you a druid or good cleric spell every level. They cost arcanist points (and use a spell slot) to cast. This essentially doubles your prepared spells per day.

Losing 4 of 10, and 3 of the first 5, exploits is harsh, but having the best druid spells added to your daily prepared skills seems powerful. Entangle and Barkskin for 1 arcanist point each? I’ll take it. I have not done the math, and am not sure if you will burn through arcanist points faster than spell slots. Also, Quick Study somewhat reduces the value of having more spells prepared. Still, on the whole it seems like an upgrade from the vanilla arcanist. Perhaps it is not as strong as the Occultist and School Savant archetypes.

What do you all think? What druid and good cleric spells would best complement the the wizard spell list?

The Spell Storing magical property for a weapon says

Anytime the weapon strikes a creature and the creature takes damage from it, the weapon can immediately cast the spell on that creature as a free action if the wielder desires.

If this property is placed on an Amulet of Might Fists, would an animal companion, with an intelligence of 2, be able to cast the spell stored in the amulet after a natural attack? Could it be pushed or trained to do so? This seems difficult, since handling or pushing an animal causes the animal to act on its next action. I'm not sure you can tell it to attack and use the stored spell.

I'm relatively new to Pathfinder. I'm building a 4th level druid, and find myself unable to decide which direction to take him. We roll for our stats. Because they turned out pretty darn well, this character could excel as a spell caster or a wild shaper.

Str: 17
Dex: 16
Con: 13
Int: 14
Wis: 17
Cha: 11

In addition, I can switch two of those values. My thinking is to switch Con and Dex and make this fellow a Dwarf, giving him 17, 13, 18, 14, 19, 9. If I take a domain (CRB only) and focus on casting, will I be wasting too much wild shaping potential?

I'm willing to sacrifice some optimization for some role playing potential. Perhaps this Dwarf could take the Earth Domain and summon mostly animals that could live underground.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Would you go domain or animal companion if you were focusing on being a caster and were limited to the CRB domains?