Scooter Scott's page

So I have a player in a game wanting to run a treesinger with a treant sapling... Considering she has built her character from the Advanced race guide with fey subtype, etc. etc. sounds cool... Until I started looking at the companion.

I realize they get huge bonuses at 4th level, but compared to a full fledged treant doesn't the Natural Armor seem a bit low? Or maybe it should have a small portion of the DR treants normally get? 11 AC is low for anything, but DR could get a bit unbalancing (though the character already has it, so I guess not too bad), and the treant does not have a huge number of HP either...

Also, they are listed with 2 INT in the treesinger, but 12 INT in the Plant Shaman... Bestiary also says 12 INT... Is there a reason that as a plant companion the poor thing suddenly loses 10 INT? Or is this just a typo?

Perhaps these are all dumb questions that don't really amount to a whole lot of difference, but it's driving me nuts trying to figure out where the numbers came from. I even reverse engineered it using several of the advancement methods and couldn't come up with the same numbers... Sorry, I am just one of those who wants to know the "why" and "how" these types of things change to where they are.

Personal thoughts on handling this are: reverse engineer the treant down from huge to medium; leave it at 12 INT; change starting NA to +2 or +4 (AC would be 13 or 15 respectively) since they specifically cannot get any feats to allow the use of armor or weapons; and leave everything else alone... Feedback?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

I have already posted this elsewhere, but as that thread is well over a year old, thought this might be a better place...

Along these same lines... The default ranger gets his favored terrains are 3rd, 8th, 13th, and 18th levels... The entry for adaptation says the last one is gained at 15th level. The errata currently doesn't mention this... Anyone know if this is a typo and should be covered in errata, or if it really is supposed to be gained at 15th?

Along these same lines... The default ranger gets his favored terrains are 3rd, 8th, 13th, and 18th levels... The entry for adaptation says the last one is gained at 15th level. The errata currently doesn't mention this... Anyone know if this is a typo and should be covered in errata, or if it really is supposed to be gained at 15th?

I have played tabletop RPG's since the 80's, MMO's since the mid 90's... That said I am both excited and apprehensive about this particular MMO... I WANT it to be great; the BEST actually... So I wanted to share my experiences, and hopefully others will chime in too.

The good:

Star Wars: Galaxies had an awesome player based economy system. With the extensive crafting skills from Pathfinder RPG, I think this would be great to carry over. Especially a system where the best gear can only be created by the players; not by defeating some enemy.

Guild Wars 2 has a great system for having an individual story for each character, including choices made at character creation. If the traits system is going to be involved this could be a way to immerse the player in the game more fully... Of course, from the sound of it, that is already going to happen anyway... I am just listing what I like about a few MMO's.

Rift has made an absolutely beautiful world to be involved in, and the auto party system for world events is particularly cool. At least that way party based skills and abilities become much more widely applicable in areas where you really don't have time to think about adding people helping you to the party.

The bad:

Conan... enjoyable game... If you don't mind people camping on spawn points and killing you as soon as you pop into the game... If there is a non-PVP part of the game, I never found it. Coming from someone more interested in the PVE type of environment, PLEASE don't make the game solely PVP.

The Ugly:

WoW is an extensive game, and horribly popular, so please don't think I am insulting it... If the graphics weren't so cartoonish for both the world and the characters, I would probably have played it a lot more.

Just a few examples of what I would like (and wouldn't like) to see from Pathfinder Online... Hopefully many, many more people will add to this thread. Together, with how open to the ideas from community this project has already been, I really think this could be THE MMO of the future.

I am gathering this is the time where the world, system, NPC's, etc. are being created (like any good traditional RPG campaign), and the player's involved are going to be shaping it immensly from the sound of it. Why not throw it back to the basics? This is Gamemastery at it's finest. There is even the Pathfinder RPG "GameMastery Guide" to lend credibility.

I think calling it: Pathfinder MMO: GameMastery, or PFO:GameMastery, however the Pathfinder Online is going to be abbreviated anyway, would peak a lot of curiosity and excitement. Not to mention garner special interest from all of the GM's out there for the tabletop game this is spinning off from.

Just my 2 cents worth, but getting in on the "GameMastery" phase of an MMO would be something I would want to brag about being involved with.

I had actually thought of that option as well, might even give the character a bit more flair, especially as an NPC. I just wanted to know what the official answer was regarding if it was a mistake, or if I needed to read more carefully before the question came up... Every game has a rules lawyer somewhere... and the least experienced player in my group still has over 10 years gaming experience...

Thanks for clearing it all up! Always nice to know there are knowledgeable, and helpful people out there to answer a question quickly... Now if I could just find those darn black unicorns from the mana waste that I know I read about... LOL...

My question is actually about the original Archetype for the Winter Witch... If it is misplaced, please feel free to move it.

The "Ice Magic" ability specifically states "... A winter witch cannot learn or cast spells with the fire descriptor at all." But later on, in the Patron Themes list, Vengeance is an optional Patron... Vengeance includes burning hands, burning gaze, and incendiary cloud...

So do Patron spells override this type of limitation, are they altered to deal cold damage instead, or was this just an oversight? I am creating a winter witch as an NPC in a game I am currently running, and need a little clarification before deciding which patron to choose...

Since this thread hasn't been updated lately... Is this project still in the works? Like a few have mentioned already, even just small maps of the individual districts (like the one for the Ivy District) would be AWESOME. I have a group planning a heist from the pathfinder society HQ, and knowing the layout of the Foreign Quarter would make this so much more fun...

This may be in the wrong place, if so, I apologize... But, I am relatively certain I have seen a black unicorn listed in one of the pathfinder books. Said something about them being a product of the twisted magic inherent to the mana wastes... Problem is, I cannot find it again. There are lots of instances of the creature listed, but I have failed to find a post that mentions where it can be found... Can someone please help?!?! I am down to zero hour before a game (not quite literally, but I do need to sleep) and I need to find as much info on the denizens of the mana wastes as possible. Actually, any information on where to find creatures native to that area would be greatly appreciated.

It's random. I hate random. It always works out worse for the players. If the players want that, fine. I don't.

As for the 50/50 topic, I would make it a random target among all creatures in range. If it always negatively effects the caster, it's not being random. You want wild magic, make it wild and unpredictable. Just because something backfires doesn't mean it goes badly for the subject, just differently. Maybe you don't hit who you were aiming for, maybe you hit your own teammate, or maybe you hit the guy sneaking up behind you. Or maybe you turn a poor innocent bystander into a newt.

I agree fully that it should be completely random for targets (caster included) if you want wild magic. As should the effects themselves... Give a chance for it to work properly, or even better than intended, but also make it possible to go VERY wrong... Like rolling on the magic scroll table for the appropriate level to see what spell actually goes off, targeted randomly, with no bias except for maybe the caster (IE it is easier to roll a d20 for 17 possible targets and assign 1 and 18-20 to the caster than trying to figure out how to get 17 targets.)

But TOZ... If you hate random, isn't playing an RPG like Pathfinder a bit of an oxymoron? ;)

I was afraid that was going to be the answer... Oh well... That's what feats are for...

No, Swashbuckler replaces Trapfinding too...

Looking through the knife master archetype it mentions a lot of different weapons the sneak stab can be used with, but of all of them, only dagger (and maybe punching dagger) are rogue proficiencies... Am I missing something? is a knife master supposed to replace some or all of the rogue proficiencies with the list in UC?

Umm... This isn't where I parked my cart...

Sweet. Thanks for all of the information everyone! I think for now I will go with the officially published options, though I do like the idea of making the player also use up a trait... Probably call it Twice Cursed...

It's good to know that there are so many knowledgeable and creative people out there to help out a fellow Gamer/GM on such short notice.

It looks like I have some shopping to do... :P

huh you can use elemental fist and flurry. pretty sure like all the other monk abilities stunning fist etc you van only do it ode a round. the ability isn't itsown action it modifies one.

Elemental Fist is a Monk of the Four Winds ability which replaces Stunning Fist... Though after re-reading both ability and feat descriptions, I do agree I made my judgement in error. Thanks for pointing this out... Ought to make the monk really happy.

Ok both have something kinda along those lines. The SGG book has one, where you get a second curse and a second mystery but the second mystery gains powers at 4 levels lower. The Open Design one lets you pick any mystery power you would have at your level from another mystery for a feat slot. Not sure which one works better for you.

I presume SGG is Super Genius Games? I only found the book about curses, and only have your review of the product to judge from at the present, but didn't see anything about revelations... Can you point me in the right direction? I am already seriously considering the Oracle OD book, for the reason you mentioned.

Just for a little more clarification... Does the character actually have to have the spell (in their spellbook for wizards, or known for just about everyone else) or just have it as a possible spell on their list?

As a separate note, the back story mentions a curse by the shaman. Is this separate from the regular Oracle curse? Because a second curse, with the normal benefit replaced by having a second mystery, might be a solution.

Yes, it would be a seperate curse, but related to the first. Her back story mentions not being able to control the fire burning within her... (Problem is, no fire spells or abilities in Heaven Mystery)Almost as if it had it's own intelligence, or at least it's own desire to kill innocents... As for the second curse option... You mean like being haunted, without the cool stuff, but a complete second mystery? Hadn't thought about that, but it could work... Still seems sorely over-powered, but in combination with some of the other ideas (like Seth's trait/feat use combo) might be a solution...

I agree with Kierato. Had a similar situation between flurry of blows (full round action) and elemental fist... Even though elemental fist isn't specifically an attack action, certain combinations do get out of hand...

Selgard, you kinda hit on my thought... The main problem isn't so much the revelations, as there are published feats in place to handle these, but more the availability of spells to make the background work... I am having a real hard time figuring out how to make an exception on that without horribly unbalancing the game.

Mistress, if you can come up with the name of the book, please, PLEASE post it. That would make my life so much easier... lol... If not, what is 3pp? Maybe I can peruse their site (or just their inventory here if it is available) to find the appropriate book.

Okay, so I just started a new Pathfinder Campaign, and one of my players really likes the Oracle, and has a great background story. But she is finding it extremely difficult to choose between the Flame and Heaven Mysteries... To the point of considering playing an Oracle of Heaven and multiclassing as a Sorcerer...

I guess a little of her background might help to explain... She is playing an Aasimar, with the Tongues curse causing her to speak in Abyssal. The story behind this is that at her birth her village saw her as a blessing from Sarenrae... Not too uncommon from the race description... Except for one person, the village "eccentric shaman" (in reality a witch) who saw this child as a threat and called upon her powers to lay a powerful curse on the child. so she has spent her life trying to overcome the true curse, and live up to her heritage... So you should have spotted my dilemma, and hers. Having the flame mystery, or at least some access to it, makes perfect sense, but so does having the Heaven Mystery.

I have been doing some research into possible solutions, and the new "Strange Revelation" feat from the Advanced Feats: "Visions of the Oracle" sounds promising from what I have read...

Here is another option I came up with, and want some input to see if a general consensus can be brought about concerning game balance. It would be a feat (gotta cost the player something, right?) possibly called "Errant Mysteries" or "Rogue Mysteries" or something like that.

The effect would be that a secondary mystery would be chosen, and each time a special ability (whether spell or revelation) was gained the player would have to choose 1 total from the entire spectrum available, with the exception of the final Revelation. That must be from the primary mystery.

In and of itself this doesn't seem too unbalancing to me, just a bit confusing... With the extra revelation feat it could concievably become overly powerful very quickly though. Should the feats be mutually exclusive, or just restricted to extra revelation only being able to take from the Primary mystery (though this particular player is pretty smart and would likely just choose a revelation from the secondary every time and use extra revelation to gain from the primary... Well, that's what I would do anyway, and I tought her pretty well...)?

Is this too powerful even without taking that into consideration, or am I just being paranoid?

So the next question then becomes (and I know this is a feat from 3.5) if an oracle of fire takes the energy substitution feat (Complete Arcane), which doesn't specifically state it is arcane, can the fireball become an acidball, or even a ligntning ball depending on the energy type chosen?

So I just downloaded this sheet, honestly haven't played with it much... One thing for sure it definitely is a large file and takes a while to open... Which leads me to the question of, if people are using this as a "live sheet" rather than printing it, is there any way (other than having multiple copies of the file with different file names) to save multiple characters?

Also, I may have done something wrong, but the Oracle does not seem to be in class lists... Has it not been finished yet?

Scooter Scott wrote:

So far Gods and Magic is a great supplement, but I had read somewhere here on the message board that each deities Holy Days were supposed to be included in their stat block... I will admit to not having read every entry between the covers, but I have not found any such listing... Nor have I been able to locate more than one or two mentions in the text about them.

Am I blind (and/or possibly an idiot) or did the Holy Days not get included for some reason? If they did not get included, is there a resource somewhere that outlines them?

I am in the middle of writing an entire campaign, and these days are kinda important... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Scooter

They are listed in the Campaign Setting book (Old 3.5 book), and may be re printed in the upcoming Inner Sea World Guide (PFRPG) Hardcover coming out in March.

D'oh! Guess I will have to spring for the 3.5 Setting then... Thanks Dragnmoon. Do you happen to know if there is a table, or are they just spread throughout the text?

p. 306 "Cannibal" Stat Block has greatclub +6 (1d10+6), Str Mod is +4, so the damage should be +4 too.

Greatclub is a 2-handed weapon chops... STR bonus is x1.5, thus 4x1.5=6. Sounds right to me...

So far Gods and Magic is a great supplement, but I had read somewhere here on the message board that each deities Holy Days were supposed to be included in their stat block... I will admit to not having read every entry between the covers, but I have not found any such listing... Nor have I been able to locate more than one or two mentions in the text about them.

Am I blind (and/or possibly an idiot) or did the Holy Days not get included for some reason? If they did not get included, is there a resource somewhere that outlines them?

I am in the middle of writing an entire campaign, and these days are kinda important... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Scooter

First off, AWESOME calendar. A couple of questions though... Does anyone have a list of the holidays for ALL of the Major deities? I am cool with putting the information into the calendar on my own (and even reposting with that information provided I have the permission of the original authors) but finding the info on the Holidays themselves has been a bit of a headache...

Also, and I have no idea if there is a correct answer to this, but I found a list of holidays outside the months, and the days of the week are a bit different (link listed below)... So now I am confused... Is there an official standard for these things, or is it just by personal taste?

Personally I don't like the idea of holidays falling outside the calendar, so this is much more to my liking... But I do want to stick as close to a standard for weekday and/or month naming conventions as possible.

and here's the link I mentioned earlier...

http://www.pathfinderdb.com/component/content/article/100-calendar/681-ilea n-calendar

For those of you who want more info and haven't already found this... Here's a link to the individual products on the publisher's site.

http://skirmisher.cerizmo.com/categories/22--city-builder-books

I have been looking it over and am very likely to order it... Just gotta wait and see what payday brings. :)