Shar Tahl's page

Thought I was losing my mind for a moment until I realized this was for second edition.

Will there every be modules put out for Starfinder(other than a SFS scenario)?

I am running an adventure where there would be no nearby civilizations at their current location, so races for any filler characters to replaced dead characters would be nearly non-existent. The SRO is one could be in storage that could come back after several millennia. On this note, I want to create one of each class that are based on famous robots and droids from sci-fi franchises. Looking for assistance on famous movie or TV droids/robots

R2-D2 : Small SRO, Ace Pilot, Mechanic(exocortex)
C-3PO : Medium SRO, Envoy, Xenoseeker
K-2SO : Medium SRO, Mercenary, Soldier(Sharpshooter?)

I appreciate all the input. I still can't quite grasp what a racial trait "is". My basic response to the player was " that was unexpected, I'll need some kind of backstory on this. . ."

Think of racial traits and something they are inherently good at or something that comes natural to them. The gnome with pyromaniac trait has a natural affinity with fire, but doesn't necessarily mean they only like things on fire.

For an example, a player could make a Boreal Bloodline sorcerer with pyromaniac alternate racial trait. From a role playing standpoint, without any background information, I can definitely see how it would not make sense to a GM. The player may just like the spell like abilities and think they would compliment what they want to do. As a GM, I would be inclined to ask what the player had it mind for their build to make sure they were not limiting their character in an unneeded fashion. They may have been from a fire based family and are being a rebellious teenager saying "screw your fire, I am going to use ice!".

Instead of saying they "need" to explain it, let them do it and ask if they could provide some background for the character. It is always nice to have the players give a short little character background.

I would agree with Orfamay Quest. The ability is to turn in to a bat, not a bat-like creature. With that modifying feat, it adds another shape. It is a strictly modified version of Beast shape II. This is a feat that is available at level 1, so it is going to be balanced as such. It is beast shape II because that is the first to allow tiny. You change into a tiny bat.

Even with this limitation of only bat, it would be excellent for a sorcerer. Tony size AC bonus, dexterity boost, attack boost. Nothing more really needs to be squeezed out of it

Cybernetic Arm

Price 4,750 gp; Slot arm; Weight 9 lbs.; Install DC 28; Implantation 2

A cybernetic arm completely replaces a normal arm, from the shoulder to the hand. It can take the place of an arm lost to a severing wound. The arm is fully functional and no different in appearance from a regular arm, although cyberart can be added to the arm at no additional cost. A cybernetic arm does not increase a user's Strength score. If a creature has two cybernetic arms, it can lift and carry double the normal maximum weight for that creature's Strength and size, and it gains a +5 circumstance bonus on Climb checks. A character who wields a one-handed or light weapon with a cybernetic arm gains a +5 bonus to CMD against disarm attempts; two cybernetic arms do not increase this bonus, but do allow the bonus to apply to two-handed weapons.

Construction

Craft DC 25; Cost 2,375 gp

Craft Cybertech, cybernetics lab

No, just like have 4 flashlights of the same type taped together does not increase the overall brightness. The light brightness is still equal to the brightest individual source

The legendary Axe of the Rock Gods.

This +2 great axe is also strung like a 6-string guitar and can be played with the Perform (strings) skill. When used by a character with Bardic Performance, the Axe of the Rock Gods continues playing for 3 rounds while being used as a weapon. These rounds still count against the Bard's performance rounds, and the Bard must play the instrument with two hands for one round to continue the Performance effect at the end of three rounds. In the hands of a character with at least 10 ranks in Perform (strings), the Axe also gains the shock property; and with at least 15 ranks it gains shocking burst.

The sound of this instrument is unique, being magically distorted to provide more volume and energy than is normally possible though a solid bodied guitar. Once per day, the performer can also turn it up to 11.

The most frightening member of any party, the blind gunslinger. Could have some mutation from the Numeria source book, with Blindsense or Blindsight.

so....is the OP the player or the GM? This seems like a real easy situation. It is not a frequently misunderstood problem, as the polymorph mechanic has been in the core since the beginning of Pathfinder. Types never changed.

If he/she is the GM, then rule it the way you want it to work.

If he/she is the player, ask the GM how they would rule it.

This whole thread is one person arguing an established rule contrary to how everyone else sees it. They are either extremely stubborn, enjoy propagating argument style debates, or enjoys riling people up.

actually, the rolling method uses the same roll for both height and weight, so the proportions will always be the same. This is kind of a ding against it forcing rolls. If you wanted a below average or above average weight character, you would need to choose instead of roll

PRD

Age

You can choose or randomly generate your character's age. If you choose it, it must be at least the minimum age for the character's race and class. Alternatively, roll the dice indicated for your class on Table: Random Starting Ages and add the result to the minimum age of adulthood for your race to determine how old your character is.

Height and Weight

To determine a character's height, roll the modifier dice indicated on Table: Random Height and Weight and add the result, in inches, to the base height for your character's race and gender. To determine a character's weight, multiply the result of the modifier dice by the weight multiplier and add the result to the base weight for your character's race and gender.

Height and weight does not give the same starting sentence as the age. Personally, this is all trivial and as long as it has no mechanical change(size), then it doesn't matter. I usually have PC be within the range of what a random roll would be, but they can have ones that stretch beyond those as long as it has no mechanical effect. No 5'10' halflings

Excuse me, campers.

So far, this NPC has about 7800gp at most. I used this money to buy a +1 mithral breastplate and an Amulet of Natural Armor +1. I figured neither would really break the game, as all they do is collectively grant 8 points of AC.

+1 mithril breastplate for a large winter wolf is more than that. A large humanoid sized mithril breastplate is 10,400, so a non-humanoid is more (x4 cost multiplier instead of x2). NPC wealth by level is not a lump sum you can craft things for them with

pledged! Looking forward to this

It still surprises me that a GM can manage to run a campaign without basic reading skills.

Great attitude. Try and see the whole picture before going on the offensive.

Problem Text:

Lore Master (Ex): At 5th level, the bard becomes a master of lore and can take 10 on any Knowledge skill check that he has ranks in. A bard can choose not to take 10 and can instead roll normally. In addition, once per day, the bard can take 20 on any Knowledge skill check as a standard action. He can use this ability one additional time per day for every six levels he possesses beyond 5th, to a maximum of three times per day at 17th level.

The implication here with this specific situation is that normally it is not allowed. This ability would be 50% useless with take 10's for all. I can already see the normal responses when this comes up "I read it as take 10, even under duress", but that is not RAW. As written it is either saying something redundant and it's a 50% non-ability or knowledge was not meant to be a take 10. That is the Frequently Asked Question. My home games are in the 'no take 10 on knowledge skills' camp. To me, the knowledge skills represents the chance the character read about/encountered/heard of whatever is being checked. The bard ability represents the more worldly nature of the bard and the fact that they have heard of a great many things.

People are reading way too much into things. There is such a clear wording. You can only do a move action. full stop. It is a powerful condition. No ambiguity, no grey area.

They would be separate class features. You would have a different pool of uses, as one is charisma based and one is intelligence based. The channeling for the wizard is very specific and only uses it for command undead. Just remember that the wizard side cannot channel to heal undead or harm living, just command.

This is the first time I have seen this come up, and this item is from the CRB. You don't attach mechanics to fluff text, period. It says it adds dice to channeling energy, with the positive item doing positive energy and the negative item doing negative energy. This applies to the channel energy class feature only. There is no ambiguity unless you start mixing fluff with rules.

A designer has said that Pharasma is indeed the most powerful of the gods.

1000

If they aren't being challenged, increase the CR of the encounters one step. have many smaller foes instead of singular large foes. You can also present them with challenges they have to figure out instead of resorting to dice

And that is why it is generally best not to play evil in campaigns you want your characters to have longevity. At that level, it just would depend if the GM wants the clone as a plot hook. A level 5 really would have no chance against a 16 wizard unless your GM wills it so. With the spell resources available to a lvl 16 wizard, you can't hide (scry) or flee (flying/teleports/planeshifting) and he most likely has stronger friends than your strong friends

I used to have an issue with this too, but have rethought it to make it work (In my head at least). I look as having a lot of ranks in a skill as not only knowing about it, but also having an aptitude for learning about it. So when someone goes into a new town, and they have a high Knowledge local I think of them as picking up on things right away. They ask the guard about some local places. Check the local stalls and see what the merchants say, listen to what people are saying about the dangers. That way when something comes up they can make their roll and talk about the things they have learned that other people without the skill may not have known.

Also like all skills and class abilities etc they are always practicing, so even though it may not be role-played all the time, I assume they are asking people they meet all about the areas nearby, about places they expect to be going soon, etc.

That is part of the problem with the "knowledge(local)" thing. Asking around is Diplomacy(Gather Info). The knowledge skill is knowing right away by yourself.

Personally, I have decided to solve this in my own games by having it working like this:

The player will chose a scope of the area they know. So for the Iron Gods I am running, they can choose Knowledge(Local, Torch) or knowledge(local, Numeria), or even knowledge(local, Golarion). There will be DC steps that will modify the DC based on how many steps you are away from what you are trying to know. So if you have Numeria and wanted to know local info about a specific towns customs, the DC would be 5 higher than someone with knowledge of that specific town. If they had knowledge local Golarion, then that would be two steps away (World->Region->City), so it would be +10 DC. It is still in "beta" right now, but I feel it is pretty fair. You can be very 'worldly' and dump a lot of points in Knowledge (local,Golarion) and have a decent shot and knowing stuff about any city with a DC 20 for basic stuff

The problem is, popular is a relative term. The entire knowledge local check it self is relative. It does not make sense unless a "locale" is attached. By RAW, since Earth exists in the Pathfinder universe, but in another galaxy, a level 10 rogue with 10 ranks in knowledge local and 16 intelligence, along with his group, could be randomly teleported to downtown Seattle Washington. At that point, he could roll high enough to direct his group to the Space Needle(popular location) and know soem details about it, without talking to any locals(that would be Diplomacy). It's not really "local" relative to Golarion

As written, it really cuts into the immersion.

I'm actually quite uninterested in combing the rulebooks to find some statement that supports the common sense innate within determining that the provincial level 1 rogue who has grown up in Diamond Lake cannot use his +6 Knowledge (local) modifier to answer questions about destinations on the other side of the world. Much less that those questions are the exact same DC as those about the locale with which is he eminently familiar. That you pretend such is otherwise is simply testament to the fact that you are unable to understand or accommodate other points of view. That you do so belligerently and dismissively is your own personal flawed choice to make, but contributes to me not intending to retread this tired ground about your fantasies of martial inferiority. My suspicion is that even logical and reasonable concerns about caster/martial imbalance are ignored or passed over by the developers, due to the sheer degree of hyperbolic claims made by you and those who share your views.

It's not just that, but even more extreme. You could be whisked away to Castrovel (Planet in Golarion solar system) and be able to take 10 in knowledge local and have basic knowledge of their society, even with never having been to that entire planet. That particular knowledge skill needed to have a locale attached to them. If you wanted to have intimate knowledge of several regions, you should have to throw several skill points at it instead of one.

Fantasy RPGs seem to not be an ideal place for those offended by the idea of a story with other deities than their own real life one they believe in. Some of the most interesting things come from the deities of Golarion. For anyone not religious like them is in the group, sterilizing the game would suck the fun right out of it for the others. Also, this thread has a high change to take a terrible turn. I've been editing what I say heavily, so as not to offend (atheist). Apologies if any is.

To be honest, I believe the Adventure Path assume that your characters aren't very familiar with technology nor do they have access to tech based archetypes at the beginning of the AP. You're supposed to discover all these technology as your progress through the story and unlock it secrets.

So, the way I see it the question is moot at this time because techslinger wouldn't be a valid selection at the beginning of the game. You could always retrain later on after you have decent exposure to technology.

I agree with this. You have limit access to technology for a few levels, so having someone specialized in the using of technology. I would allow a free retrain after the first book is done and your character could reflect on all he has experienced, starting the second book as the archetype. I am running it now and I have allowed the wizard PC to metagame his first few feats and skill ranks to allow the entrance into the Technomancer prestige class once he is the right level. The archetype I see as level 1 archetype is Numerian Scavenger. The rest are too tied to technology right off. But in the end, it's all up to the GM.

Having the Technology guide archetypes right off won't break anything and at most would have abilities that wouldn't be able to be used for a couple levels. Heck, I got two people essentially playing Rocket Raccoon and Groot.

Time Worn Technology + Masterwork Transformation. Would you have this remove the glitch chance and let it be charged? I just hit the point in Iron Gods where my players are finding tech items.

Does that combination lead to a masterwork technological item that does not glitch and can be recharged?

Keeping this thread live with its current title is useless. As a FAQ question, it is a 100% no, no grey areas. explicit in the rules. All these side arguments should have their own threads.

Note: there is some controversy over the use of the word "may" in the bardic performance ability which some view as allowing the slower action types as well.

Controversy over the word "may" being mandatory or not? That is a straight up fact "may" is optional. You may use the express checkout if you have 12 items or less. If you just have a can of soda, you CAN use the normal slow checkout, but you MAY us the express instead

I don't think this will solve what it seems you see as a "caster problem". Stats are not the end-all strength of a character. A 10 buy wizard will still outclass a 25 buy fighter. They would just need to use more spells that are no saving throw related, controlling the battlefield as they do. These rules will just pigeonhole your non-optimizing players and discourage them from playing things they enjoy, because while the full casters can overcome this "crutch", it still isn't fun being forced to dump stats.

Building this out. Here is what I got to simulate that character. A thing of note is there is no documentation of any race trait that gives +30 movement for ifrit.

Level 3 Ifrit Sorcerer(Elemental Fire)
20 point buy
Str: 7
Dex: 18
Con: 11
Int: 7
Wis: 8
Cha: 20

Movement: 30 ft
Initiative: +12
HP: 14ish
AC: 14
Elemental Ray(as level 4 and +2 Cha):9/day; +5 attack, 1d6+2 damage
1st level spell slots: 5
Resist fire 10
Favored Class: +1/2 level for Elemental ray, taken 3 times (+1 level)

This is assuming Improved Initiative was taken. I assume he used the 3rd level slot for Quicken metamagic feat, which is totally useless by the rules at this level. That leaves this build with a single open feat slot.

There is nothing spectacular about this build, other than it will go first maybe half the time. Other than that, it is on par with most optimized builds for blasters.

*

Rule Problems/ Rule Misinterpretations/Made-up stuff

Racial trait adding +30 movement for a wisdom penalty, can find any trace of its existence.

Quicken using spell slots you don't have, just because you will gain a bonus slot once you do have them later.

The general thought that he has the following spell slots: 1st=5, 2nd=1, 3rd=1, 4th=1, 5th=1

Elemental ray doing 3d6 instead of 1d6+2

Throwing melee foes at an optimized limited trick ponies not going to challenge them. Throw the above mentioned Ice Devil(CR13) or six Erinyes(CR13) at them. The system isn't the problem, the problem is they have adapted and optimized to your style of GMing.

This is all madness. This is when the game stops being fun, when every word is dissected and micromanaged. Something as simple as "This spell boosts your strength by 4 for a duration of 5 minutes" turns into this 130+ post argument. Too many micromanagement rules when just treating the strength as 4 higher for a short time is simple enough. This is why I have drifted away from RAW and make the game more fluid with house-rules. Rules are bloating more and more with every FAQ (don't even want to think about the SLA FAQ)

Why is this a FAQ? Isn't this really "I don't like how this ability works"? Is the Question of the FAQ "Why does this ability(in the FAQ'ers opinion) suck?"

As written, it is pretty darn clear:

* DR 10/evil

* Smite Evil modification: evil outsiders are subject to a Banishment, after which the smite ends. A +2 CL and a +4 DC are added on for the banishment, in addition to any other modifiers.

* Channel positive and Lay hands at max possible.

For the most part, FAQs address ambiguous statements or things that fall in the grey area. I don't see any grey area here or contradictory statements. Banishment is instantaneous and does not "hold a charge", so the effects resolves whether is was successful or not, thus ending the Smite Evil vs that target. Yes it sucks to have it end if the banish fails, but there is nothing unclear as written. Having the ability blow off a 6th level Cleric Save-Or-Die spell on contact every single hit until the save is failed is a little much.

This is what happens when you completely abandon intent and try to exploit every single wording change and bend things to the point of ridiculousness. pure chaos!

My games will continue to run them as "Able to cast 3rd level spells from your current arcane class spell list"

I run a few play by post games and was looking to change up some rules after a long break from gaming. Here are some of the ideas I have had that I would like some feedback on. These are rough ideas that have not been tested in-game, but they are ways to make some parts of the game more relevant.

**********

- Classes get a defense bonus to AC based on the BAB of the class. This would be the same alternate system from 3.5 and other RPGs that used class defense.

- Armor now provides a percentage damage mitigation calculated by (Armor Bonus x 5%). Enhancement bonuses would increase this by 5% per plus. This way the front line forces can better do their job of fending off the enemy and absorbing blows to protect the weaker members.

- Armor now gives a penalty to the dexterity modifier equal to half the armor check penalty, rounded up. This replaces the max dexterity bonus. Enchantments and materials would be added to the modifier prior to the calculation to get a new result. I see this as making more sense, as a guy with no dexterity modifier to begin with will be easier to hit when wearing full plate than a guy with no armor and the same dexterity. Its just not as easy to move quickly.

- Shields now have a percent chance to deflect a confirmed hit equal to the (Shield Bonus x 10%). As with armor, enhancement bonuses will increase this by 5% per plus. 10% seems like a bit much with a +5 tower shield blocking 90%. May impose a max blocks per round with possible class/BAB/Feats increasing this.

- Armor, Shields and Weapons will have a durability that will decrease as they are hit or hit other things. The way this total is calculated is still in progress. Magical items will have a percent chance to take no durability loss. These items will be able to be repaired, but reduce the maximum durability. Items will decrease in effectiveness as the durability decreases.

I would also like to have the weapon damage type effect the damage mitigation, but that is a much more daunting task, as each armor type would have a different number based on its construction.

**********

I also want to revamp the item creation system to utilize Craft(x) during item creation and increasing the minimum level to make items. Right now magic items, As written, get trivialized around mid-level. I would like them to seem more special and unique and not commonplace. I would also like to implement more unique materials to supplement getting magic items later. The new materials would have different interactions with durability and offensive factors based on hardness and weight. This task segment is very difficult and will take me a lot of time to think up. right now, I am just focusing on the first bullet points since those are a bit more manageable.

Example of Fluff vs Mechanics that came up in another thread.

Creature Type mechanic

Fluff: "This small humanoid has pointed ears, green eyes, and a wicked grin."

Mechanic: CN Small fey

Charm person will not work on this because it is the Fey type and not Humanoid. The fluff says humanoid, but that has no bearing in the mechanical regard

You could just use a ratio to find the equivalent human age. If human start at 20 and the elves start at 120, then a elf at age 50 would be calculated as such:

20/120=x/50
x= 8.33

So at 50, it would be sized and look like an 8 year old human.

The thing is, they are mindless. They have no past, no former life, therefor no access to what they knew in the previous life. They are distinctly different than skeletal champions, which retain aspects of the former life

+1 is a pure metagame item. They would only effect characters with an odd ability score. the +2 items are essentially +1 to related abilities, working the same for all characters.

Gandalf's magic isn't nearly powerful enough for him to be a full-caster, unless you only make him fourth-level or something. I'm inclined to agree with Cult of Vorg and say Bard is the closest match.

Magic worked differently in Middle-Earth. Gandalf and his fellow Istari were very powerful, but the magic was more subtle. He was able to fight off the Nazgul at Weathertop with his magic, though he did have to escape. You cannot compare what the magic looked like and say he didn't do much or wasn't very powerful, especially from just he movies. Magic in Middle-Earth had the potential to corrupt the wielder and needed to be used conservatively.

In this system and game world, if would absolutely be fair to make him a full caster. He was nearly immortal, living over a thousand years and a direct agent of the gods along with his fellow "Wizards". His primary area of power was fire, so I would actaully put him as an evoker. Yeah he didn't use a spellbook in the movies or books, but again, magic is different in Middle-Earth. I could definitely see him as an epic level wizard using the words of power system.

A normal wolf which has the following base stats:

Ignore that completely. Not relevant to companions

Now, the starting stats listed under Animal Companion are:

Wolf:
Size Medium; Speed 50 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d6 plus trip); Ability Scores Str 13, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.

(QUESTION 1) My first and probably most important question is this; are the Natural Armor bonuses list in both sets of statistics the same, or do they stack? My guess is that they are the same, but I'm not sure...

Now, I look at the chart. At 3rd level of druid, the NA for ANY animal companion goes up by +2. Does my wolf now have +4 NA, or +6 NA? Essentially, this is my question 1 reworded.

The baseline NA for wolf companion is +2. The chart amounts add to this. Again, forget anything you saw on the wolf statblock. At 3rd level, that +2 bonus is added to the base of +2, giving you +4. Don't look at these as bonuses, they are permanent increases to the baseline bonus of +2.

Then, at 7th level, I have another +2 for NA and then, the wolf gets the advancement:
7th-Level Advancement -- Size Large; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d8); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex –2, Con +4.

Here I'm really confused. Does the NA for the wolf increase again, or is this +2 the same as the Starting Stats? I would think that they stack, so at 7th level, I've increased by yet another +2, BUT, if that is the case, why? The +2 is listed as an unnamed bonus, like the first +2 unnamed bonus in the starting stats.

These are bonuses added to the existing wolf. So looking at Natural Armor, you base is +2. Then you add the +4 from the chart, then add the +2 from the 7th increase, giving you a total of +8 natural armor.

Now for the stats. You have the base stat array and the level increase of +1 at level 4. From the chart, you further add +2 to Strength and Dexterity. Then, you add the modifications from the level 7 increase, +8 strength, -2 Dexterity, and +4 Constitution. This would give the following stats:

Str: 23
Dex: 15
Con: 19
Int: 2
Wis: 12
Cha: 6

There will also be a single floating point gained at level 4 that will be applied to this.

I cant emphasize enough, ignore the bestiary entry. You gain only the abilities listed on the companion listing

What I do for the players that use those shaman archetypes, is to size up the natural attacks of the largest normal version they have. For that example, using the huge boar example, I would move the 1d8 Gore damage from a medium boar up two steps to 3d6 with a huge version, then they would gain the use of Scent, Low-light vision and Ferocity.

I only allow the beast shaman to do it this way, giving them something unique that others do not have access to. Other druids need to use existing bestiary entry sizes.

at some point, a line needs to be drawn between an improvised weapon used as a primary weapon and a new exotic weapon.

Fighter with Archer archetype

Trick Shot (Ex)

At 3rd level, an archer can choose one of the following combat maneuvers or actions: disarm, feint, or sunder. He can perform this action with a bow against any target within 30 feet, with a –4 penalty to his CMB. Every four levels beyond 3rd, he may choose an additional trick shot to learn. These maneuvers use up arrows as normal.

At 11th level, he may also choose from the following combat maneuvers: bull rush, grapple, trip. A target grappled by an arrow can break free by destroying the archer’s arrow (hardness 5, hit points 1, break DC 13) or with an Escape Artist or CMB check (against the archer’s CMD –4).

This ability replaces Armor Training 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Strength Bonus: When you hit with a melee or thrown weapon, including a sling, add your Strength modifier to the damage result. A Strength penalty, but not a bonus, applies on damage rolls made with a bow that is not a composite bow.

Off-Hand Weapon: When you deal damage with a weapon in your off hand, you add only 1/2 your Strength bonus. If you have a Strength penalty, the entire penalty applies.

Wielding a Weapon Two-Handed: When you deal damage with a weapon that you are wielding two-handed, you add 1-1/2 times your Strength bonus (Strength penalties are not multiplied). You don't get this higher Strength bonus, however, when using a light weapon with two hands.

YAPCG - Yet Another Pathfinder Character Generator is good too. I use both that one and sCoreForge, though I like the workings of the YAPCG one a bit better. As said above, bug fixes are responded to quickly on both.

Playing the game that realistically using a "what would the monster do" approach can make it a miserable experience for the players. I think very few players enjoy their characters dying. A playing dying from make poor choices is one thing, but arbitrarily killing them is another.

As the teller of the story, you have several option to make the adventure harrowing and suspenseful without killing the fun. Some GMs seem to almost gloat about being "killer GMs". I find myself having more empathy for the players and their experience, and I don't have fun if they don't have fun. I have had a player hit by a heavy pick critical( x4) at level 2, clearing having enough damage to kill them. I chose to put them down at -9 hp and the creature moving on to the next opponent. Killing them off does nothing to help the gaming experience. Sometimes it sounds like some GMs treat it like GM vs Players deathmatch.