Hey Folks, I've been working on doing a rework for the Gunslinger. I've never liked playing classes that did not let you select abilities or spells every few levels, so I ditched the deed system entirely and came up with a new core mechanic other than just "can shoot gun". I have one of my players testing it now, but I'm interested in more feedback.
As Gunslingers are precise and daring fighters, I gave them a real risk vs reward theme. They gamble their HP by provoking additional attacks in order to increase their DPR, and can risk Grit when making saving throws, combat maneuver checks, or skill/ability checks in order to recover it. Lastly they get to craft a special pool of ammunition they can use each day much like Alchemist Bombs.
The following document is a complete redesign of the Gunslinger. It also optionally includes a new set of rules for firearms and ranged weapons in order to make Guns more balanced and Crossbows more useful: giving each a specific role to play as compared to bows. You can probably run the Gunslinger without these new rules, or by only grabbing a select handful of them. If you do not want to use all of the new rules, I highly suggest allowing for Paizo Guns and Crossbows to be made "Heavy Frame" aka Composite.
I’m working on some Fighter changes for my campaign, the exact details are in flux but I’d be happy to share them in Homebrew when I’m done. Meanwhile, I’d like to tap on the communities collective consciousness to find feat chains that just take too long to fire off, or when they do fire off they end up being extremely lack luster. I know about stuff like Cleave, Vital Strike, anything to do with the Aldori Dueling Sword, and that there are a few style feats that are just silly. There are however a lot of feats out there, and so I’d welcome being pointed in the right direction.
Okay, so one of my players passed away recently and it killed our existing campaign. They were too integral to the story and no one feels like continuing without them. As a result I need to put something I had on the back burner into production without nearly as much time as I thought I had.
The idea behind the campaign is fairly simple, everyone is at least part Kineticist. The elemental Genie tribes are native outsiders to this world and the only way humans have access to magic is by being their descendants. This sets up four of the kineticists elements easily, ifrit and efreeti, etc etc….then I get to the remaining three elements.
I still want players to be able to select Wood, Void, or Aether as elements but I don’t really have a good idea of what outsider/Fey/monsterous humanoid would be appropriate as the progenitors for the relevant element and what their corresponding PC race would be. I don’t mind judging the details a bit, I’ve been thinking of using Astomoi as the Void defended PC race but then I need something that could theoretically birth Astomoi when I’m a union with a human. So I’m unsure.
I have some ideas for some of the third party elements from Kineticists of Polyphera but I’m not sure my players want to have the expanded content to choose from or not…so I may need ideas spitballed for that too.
I can provide more details if it would help folks, thanks in advance.
My home brew campaign’s religions are currently a mess, and I’m looking for some in canon sources of creatures that can be worshipped and grant access to domains. I remember reading about a few of these that can give out domains and limited spellcasting (like up to 5th level, but I’ll take any that grant full 9th level spell access too) but I’m having trouble finding them. I’d take a list, but even individual instances of this would help me have a starting point for my current project.
Thanks folks!
PS: I know a number of Emphenral Lords and such grant spells, looking more for things under 20 HD.
Christmas transcends the boundaries of many worlds, with one form or another of Santa Claus popping up in everything from Discworld to Harry Dresden. Around this time of year, I like to surprise any campaign I've been running for a few months with a secret visit from the jolly red gentleman and drop off some magical adventuring gifts.
Its a fun tradition that has led to a whole host of homebrewed magical items ranging from toy to terror. So I thought I'd share it with you. Lets come up with all sorts of fun seasonal magical gifts.
I'll start us off with one from late into a game:
Icecrown Tophat:
CL18 Conjuration/Transmutation
Slot: Head
This slightly beat-up black hat's brim is constantly laced with a combination of ice and snowflakes. This hat provides the wearer with the effects of the spell Ice Body at will, except as noted below. This version of the spell has a duration of permanent, but may be temporarily dispelled upon suffering fire damage. When struck with fire damage while under the effects of Ice Body, make a DC 22 fortitude save. Failure immediately dispels the effects of Ice Body, and this ability may not be reactived for 1d4 rounds. If you are burrowing through snow or ice, you immediately ejected from the ice to the nearest unobstructed space and are stunned for one round. In addition to the spells usual effects, a target struck by the unarmed strikes of the user must make a fortitude save (DC 22) or be staggered for one round.
Additionally, once per week the user may throw the hat upon the ground and speak a command word. An Elder Ice Elemental with the Advanced Template and HP equal to its rolled maximum will appear and agrees to serve you for seven days, provided it retains possession of the Icecrown Tophat throughout. As long as the Elemental is in possession of the Icecrown Tophat, it gains additional spell like abilities.
At Will: Snowball
5/day: Frosty Aura, Icicle Spears, Winter's Grasp
3/day: Icy Prison, Cold Ice Strike, Wall of Ice
1/Day: Polar Midnight, Mythic Control Weather (Augmented, but cast at Tier 0)
Hey folks, I'm the GM for a player and they are looking for ways to turn an injury poison into a contact poison. I know Alchemists can do it, but they are currently a Vishkanya Oracle and the party does not have an alchemist. Are there any magical items or alchemical tools that they can use?
Hey folks, my group meets about once a week for 2-3 hours and so we kinda scrunch the game into those 2-3 hours. A lot of times, to save on game time, this means that the only fights and puzzles that show up are BIG fights and BIG puzzles. However, as I understand it a standard CR = encounter is meant to use up about 1/3rd of the party's resources for the day and not be terribly threatening.
As a result, I end up just sorta guessing my way through encounter design. I've gotten pretty good at it, but every now and then I realize that I've put the PCs into too much danger if I play things perfectly and need to scale the enemy tactics back to prevent untimely PC deaths. I don't mind PCs dying if it makes a good plot point, but dying to the monster of the week isn't ideal.
Anyway, how would you folks go about designing 1 big encounter per adventuring "day" with the current CR system? Just start throwing CR+3 encounters at them, use that as the XP budget and throw a ton of smaller CR= or CR-1 enemies?
Hey folks, I remember a feat existing that boosted a spellcaster's caster level by up to 4 levels but no more than their Hit Dice. It didn't give more spells known or spell slots, but helped multiclass casters recover lost levels.
Am I nuts and mixing it up with a trait or another feat?
I swear I read it in one of the official paizo books and I can't find it. It is like Boon Companion for spellcasters.
So, spells can do things that some folks spend their class levels trying to gain. For instance, Sense Vitals gives you Sneak Attack of up to 5d6 which is great on Bards (and why folks always seem to prefer a Bard to a Rogue in my games).
What other spells just straight up duplicate class features? What spells out-pace class features? I'm curious.
Hey folks, one of my players uncovered an artifact that has the lords of hell abuzz. In my campaign Asmodeus has vanished and the lords of hell are all scheming against each other, either to locate Asmodeus, install themselves as the new lord of the 9th circle, or working for other masters. The 8 Archdevils of Hell are in a bidding war for the artifact, each offering a thematic gift (curse). The player in question is well aware that this will go poorly for them, but they are super excited about the story implications therein.
I'm busy making 8 thematic curses that appear to be gifts, but provide a serious (potentially permanent) negative consequence as well. For instance, protection against spells in the form of spell resistance that you cannot lower (thus making it difficult for your allies to heal you). Worth noting, I do not want any of these effects to result in instant death, becoming a statue, or crippling them by making them a vegetable/an animal. These are meant to be a challenge, but not cripple the character to the point where they have to retire. I've included the stat blocks for the three devils I have yet to create a thematic curse for, and would love suggestions.
So, I was building some monsters for a late game showdown and ended up looking at the Erlking statblock and...wasn't terribly impressed So I wanted to pose the question to the community, think of it as a tiny beastmas. The goal is to build a PC that can reliably solo an erlking as early as possible.
So, the Erlking isn't terribly impressive as a CR18 threat. Its AC and saving throws are only average for a monster of its CR. It is very vulnerable to combat maneuvers for an entity of its power, thanks in part to its terrible BAB from being a Fey. This same BAB means that its attack rolls are fairly anemic except against humanoids, and its poor strength does the same thing for its damage. Erlkings do have blur granting them partial concealment, along with a constant protection vs Evil and Law, but that is the extent of its extraordinary defenses. Fast Healing 10, DR 10/Cold Iron (pierced automatically by any weapon of +3 or greater), and some energy resistances are all that protect an Erlking from damage.
The Erlking has a high movement speed, but does not have Flyby Attack or Spring Attack to take advantage of its speed. Additionally, it only gets 3 attacks on a Full Attack even with its constant Haste effect. Additionally, an Erlking lacks the ability to move freely through difficult terrain and instead needs to rely on its flight speed when it makes use of its spell like abilities. Speaking of those, an Erl King has a few tricks. Black Tentacles, Repel Metal or Stone, Plant Growth, Summon Nature's Ally, and Plant Growth lets him harass you while Tree Stride allows him to run away and heal up if necessary. He can also bust out a Finger of Death which, at this point of the game is quite lame.
As far as rules for creating a PC and the fight itself, no 3rd party stuff, use a 20 point Buy (bonus points for running a 15pb), with appropriate wealth by level. Combat with the Erlking begins either at 180ft from him and an initiative roll-off or an ambush if you can reliably beat his +28 perception. Worth noting, he cannot see in the dark as he only has Low Light Vision and not Dark Vision.
His first move will be to attempt to use Black Tentacles at your position to buy him time to use a Summon or a combination of Plant Growth and Animate Plants. Once his first wave of mooks has appeared, he will move to engage you in melee combat alongside his allies. If black tentacles fails to stop you long enough for him to summon help, he will use Plant Growth to entangle you or make use of Repel Metal or Stone if you seem immune to entangle (such as by having Freedom of Movement active). He is intelligent, will try to flank you if possible, use Power Attack only if he can hit you with above 50% accuracy, and use vital strike if he cannot full attack. Assume that the Erlking, if reduced below 25% HP, will attempt to use tree stride to flee. Failing to kill him before the end of your next turn (unless you can follow him reliably) will result in a loss. The Erlking escapes, heals up, and proceeds to be really annoying for your PC during the rest of your time within his domain.
Scout Rogues can apply sneak attack damage to an attack made during a charge. If the Scout had Charging Hurler and Startoss Comet or Startoss Shower, would the sneak attack damage apply to the "bounces" of the thrown weapon? The reason I ask, is because while the Scout ability Skirmisher indicates that damage is only applied on the first attack; the Scout Rogue's Scout's Charge ability does not specify a limit to the number of attacks to which sneak attack can be applied. Additionally, Startoss Comet itself says nothing about not applying precision damage verses any additional targets BUT does specify that additional damage from Vital Strike is only applied to the first target.
Hey folks, my party is progressing ever deeper into a dungeon and getting close to finding a treasure hoard. In addition to the usual gobs of gold, I wanted to provide them with some helpful items they might not buy themselves if given gold to spend. I know the core magic items well enough, but there are so many different wondrous items these days that I get overwhelmed. Don't worry about WBL when pitching your items, I don't mind pushing them past it with situational bonuses and/or really cool stuff (and it helps keep this post less identifiable). Anything too far out there will just be saved for a later adventure.
The party classes are: Bloodrager, Paladin, Investigator (No alchemy), Hunter (no animal companion, has Wild Shape), Oracle, and Witch.
Hey Folks, I was helping a friend make a character earlier today when I came across this particular archetype and ability. It gave me some serious pause, for reasons I'll explain as I go. First things first:
Cover of Night (Ex): At 2nd level, a guerrilla learns to use darkness to her advantage. She gains a +5 bonus on Disguise, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth checks while she is in areas of dim light or darkness, and can create mundane disguises in dim light or darkness with a full-round action (instead of the normal 1d3 × 10 minutes). Additionally, while in dim light or darkness, if a guerrilla would have concealment, she instead has total concealment.
Now, with that taken care of, the sentence I have questions about is that final sentence under the Cover of Night ability. Gaining Total Concealment is HUGE according to the rules and I wanted someone else to help me interpret the ramifications. I'd also like to note that this ability is not phrased like some of the other Rogue abilities that increase your miss chance from concealment to 50% but don't actually grant Total Concealment. It just says that in Dim Light you have total concealment.
Here is what I think this sentence means:
Total Concealment means that opponents can't target you with attacks, you do not have line of Sight to your target only line of effect, and can only target the square in which you believe they reside. You are also, as your opponent cannot see you, invisible denying them their Dex to AC and gaining +2 to hit (though I understand that this last bit is arguable under the rules). As you have total concealment from dim lighting this concealment does not go away when you successfully land an attack (as you are not gaining this concealment from the Stealth Skill or the spell Invisibility); but, instead are gaining concealment from your environment. So, unless the light level increases you will maintain Total Concealment despite any actions you take. An opponent successfully making a perception check can detect which square you are in, but cannot negate the benefits of concealment. They still lose their Dex to AC against your attacks as they still cannot see you, and you can freely sneak attack them. Ergo, opponents without Dark Vision that fight you in Dim Light or Darkness are absolutely screwed unless they can change the light level.
Benefit: Choose one ability. You ignore penalties from ability damage to that ability until you have taken an amount of ability damage equal to your score in that ability.
Somehow, there has to be a way to abuse this particular feat. Its absurd. Self-inflicted ability damage remover, like ignoring Alchemist Mutagen penalties or Blood Money costs.
What do you think? Anything crazier than ignoring Blood Money's only penalty?
Hey folks, I'm running a campaign and the party is finally starting to make bank. Many of them are new and looking for benchmarks to purchase specific items, I've always bought items based on feel but I don't want to leave them in a lurch by making them trust their instincts.
Can folks outline when, by level, you should on average have the Big Six items and their various upgrades (Magic Weapon, Magic Armor, Ring of Protection, Cloak of Resistance, Stat Belt, Stat Headband).
I know this has probably been asked and answered a thousand times, but thanks for taking the time to help me out!
Hey folks, I tried to post this a couple times but the site kept experiencing trouble. A new player just joined us, they have no experience but are a quick learner.
I built them up an Oracle, and they're struggling a bit with spell suggestion so I was looking for good spells from 1st to 4th level. Now, I'm not just reading an oracle guide because there have been a few new spells made since the last time the ones on Zenith were upgraded and this player is a little particular.
They only want thematic spells, they're fairly set on area denial/debuffs, and I'm trying to get them a wide selection to overcome different weaknesses. Currently they have Shadow Trap, CLW, Obscuring Mists, Faerie Fire, Hideous Laughter, and Pilfering Hand.
Can anyone suggest a few spells that can help them keep relevant and target some defenses other than Will and CMD?
I've just been thinking that it doesn't make sense for a class without spellcasting to lack full BAB. With Unchained Monk released a while ago, Rogue, Ninja, and Stalker Vigilante are the only three classes in the game that lack spellcasting and suffer from this BAB reduction.
The question is, why? Sneak attack is clearly not worth the BAB reduction, neither are rogue talents. In comparison the Fighter has 1.5 as many feats, better armor, and a better chance to hit. The Ranger has 4th level spellcasting, better saves, and enemy specialization. Lastly the Slayer has better saves, half a rangers benefits, and half Sneak attack progression
I understand the old "Because thats how DnD did it," argument, but from a balance perspective I doubt full martial rogues would really break the game at all.
Does anyone know if they tried this during Playtesting and Rogues turned out to be OP, or is Sneak Attack just really valued that highly in terms of design cost?
There are powerful spells, there are efficient spells, and then there are spells that exist for no other reason than to show off. The spell you, as a powerful caster, keep prepared just to demonstrate your power in as audacious a manner as possible. The type of thing a BBEG throws around in their first encounter to off a beloved NPC in as fashionable a way as possible.
What other spells are there that do this, show off a caster's raw might despite being suboptiomal under most circumstances. They don't all need to be save or suck spells, but those tend to have the largest effects.
Hey folks, I'm currently running a campaign where there is a conspiracy/organization of villians working together to become more powerful. As a result of their experiments, they've managed to become Gestalt characters with the full benefit of 2 classes. There are some other things too, but the point is that I'm trying to make a group of gestalt characters to act as my game's villains.
Now, I have ideas for some of these characters but I'd like to get some folks opinions on fun Gestalt Characters. For instance, one of them is a Gestalt Scaled Fist Monk/Enigma Mesmersist who serves as an assassin. Its ok if they use a weird build or weird strategy, they are the Villians after all and have no need to play fair.
So, especially with the new Occult classes and various archetypes that change casting stats, can anyone suggest some fun gestalt ideas?
Sorry if this is a silly question, I have a character in my campaign who has 12 strength and is two weapon fighting with a Quarter Staff (yes this is silly, don't ask).
I know he gets +1 damage on his main hand, but does he get +1 or +0 damage on his off hand? I know you round down on the off-hand, but do you round down to 0?
So I'm planning on playing a Dragon Disciple in my next game, but more on the melee side of Dragon Disciple. I've planned the character from 1-20 and by the end I have 15 BAB and the ability to cast 7th level spells as a sorcerer. As a melee character who has little room for caster feats, poor save DCs, and only 15 Caster levels I have chosen spells based upon a lack of saving throw or that buff me Dragon Disciple.
While picking spells, always agonizing as a sorcerer, I had a realization that I had no idea how to play this Gish at higher levels. Sure, I can quicken up to 3rd level spells by 19...but in terms of action economy for normal spells I'm stumped. Early game it's easy: I have cantrips for utility, Mage armor for defense, and expeditious retreat for mobility. Mage armor can be precast, so my only spell decision is whether I need to speed up to charge some archers or case down a runner.
Later though, I'll have so many spells not only competing against each other for use but also Competing with simply smacking an opponent in the face a bunch. How do you balance buffing and bashing? Do you prebuff and then only cast 1 round of in combat buffs? Do you buff as necessary? If you only can spend 1 round buffing how do you decide between buffs? Etc.
So I'm working on home brewing the shifter from a hot pile of garbage into something workable. Part of what I'm figuring out, however, is just how valuable class abilities are in terms of power. Druids gain access to Beast Shape 1 with a serious time buff two levels before they could otherwise cast it. Shifters are built entirely around shifting, without spells or an AC,ergo shifters should have that same ability earlier and exceed the Druid at shifting.
To help with this, I'm trying to figure out what I can give a level 1 shifter, and the bar that I've set for myself is Barbarians Rage. +4 to str, +4 to con, -2 to AC, +2 to will saves. Lasts rounds per level, leaves you fatigued at the end, can anyone give me a guess as to how valuable barb rage is if it were a spell? Level 4? Level 5?
My newest campaign features a "lost heir" situation, where the plot revolves around restoring the rightful ruler to the throne. If they die, the plot can go different ways, the game doesn't game over but it certainly turns the tale darker.
Due to the heir being quite powerful, but also needing the ability to make mistakes, I've decided on letting one of my players control them. They are excited, but worries that the "favoritism" will make the others feel bad. I'm less concerned since they are a single class charater (with some benefits) in a gestalt campaign I doubt there will be too much complaining. I'm not going to develop the world in exclusion to others; but rather to tell more of an epic story rather than your standard adventure.
However, I'd like to poll you folks. Would you be ok with working towards restoring another PC to the throne as a campaign or does that interfere with sharing the spotlight.
Hey Folks, I've been working on making the Sword Saint usable since I saw one in action and just felt bad for the player who tried to make it work. I like the idea behind the class, but find its mechanics just goddamn awful.
As such, I wrote my own. I would like folk's opinions and suggestions on how to properly balance it out. I think I did a pretty solid job, but idk about higher level play since I have yet to run a game that lasted past the standard character career.
Prerequisite(s): Dastardly Finish, sneak attack +5d6, studied target class feature.
Benefit: As a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, you can attempt a coup de grace against a cowering, helpless, or stunned opponent that you have designated as your studied target.
So merciless butchery got changed at some point and now takes a standard action to activate instead of a swift Booo which means it now is much harder to trigger. I think it still works if you manage to land a Stunning fist during an AoO, but I'm unsure of whether or not I'm reading stunning fist correctly.
Regardless, with the action economy seriously hammered, how do you activate this feat effectively? Is there some method, either through AoO, move action, immediate action, free action, or swift action to set up this feat? Or is it too situational now, and just a worse version of throat slicer?
I was thinking of having a campaign in a world where magic actually takes physical effort to cast. I was wondering if there were any pre-established alternate campaign rules for making spells cost HP to cast in addition to spells/day or spell-slots. Maybe something similar to kineticists burn but less punishing early.
Obviously casters have it rough early game, but later on into the game they can almost break reality at will, twice, in the same amount of time it takes a fighter to swing his sword 3 times. If it takes a fighter 2 turns to kill something, the wizard could have disabled the entire enemy group twice over by then.
The problem is that a Wizard with 12 Con will have a max of 180 HP if he/she takes Toughness and gets 6HP every single level from rolling. So finding a universal formula for HP cost is challenging. If I make the HP cost last until the end of the day, the caster could experience critical consciousness failure like a Kineticist and just be out for 8 hours. If the HP loss can be healed then all it takes is a wand of CLW to remove the purpose of the system.
There is also a second approach, which is to allow spellcasters to cast spells even when they have used up all of their spell-slots except to make the cost be HP. If you combined this with reducing the number of spellslots a caster receives, even just by a total of 1, it will encourage them to go "nova" more often. Especially if you intentionally stretch your party's resources thin.
Anyway, I just wanted your thoughts on this. Obviously this might be a hated idea because it does hurt casters, and buffing martials would be preferable to nerfing casters. However, I've already done a lot of Martials in my game and I'm still not satisfied with the balance of power.
Let us assume that a character wielding a conductive weapon has successfully rolled high enough to hit an enemy and decides to make use of their conductive weapon.
Does the damage apply before the discharged ability, the ability before the damage, or do both apply at the same time?
I believe they apply simultaneously. Unlike a spell storing weapon, which requires you to deal damage in order to trigger the effect, the text for the Conductive ability only requires that you make a successful attack.
Hey Folks, I've been working on a campaign and I realized that I need some assistance.
I was wondering if anyone would have a suggestion for an ability I could tack onto the Red Dragon at Wyrmling stage. Out of all the chromatic dragons, only the Red dragon lacks an extra ability or movement type from being a hatchling. For instance, Blue Dragons gain a burrow speed, Greens and Blacks gain a Swim, and White Dragons gain both a swim and a Burrow speed.
I would prefer if the ability is not replaced by a later ability that the Dragon will possess as it grows, and is of equivalent power when compared to:
Water Breathing:
A black/green dragon can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use its breath weapon, spells, and other abilities while submerged.
Desert Thirst:
A blue dragon can cast create water at will (CL equals its HD). Alternatively, it can destroy an equal amount of liquid in a 10-foot burst. Unattended liquids are instantly reduced to sand. Liquid-based magic items (such as potions) and items in a creature’s possession must succeed on a Will save. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Ice Walking:
This ability works like the spider climb spell, but the surfaces the dragon climbs must be icy. The dragon can move across icy surfaces without penalty and does not need to make Acrobatics checks to run or charge on ice.
So nothing too powerful, unless that power is exceedingly situational. I'm afraid that I've come up dry after all my other work on the campaign, and was hoping one of you folks would have fresh enough minds to give me a good suggestion.
The goal is to achieve the legendary blind folded warrior concept and put it into action, unfortunately the build requires 9 feats to work and I cannot trim off more than 2 levels. The build doesn't offer much outside of slamming deeper darkness down and beating people up in the umbral area but you can at least take a cool fighter archetype or stacking monk archetype.
I've not seen anyone mention these, and I am confused because they are just silly.
A Powder Keg is a 5lbs keg of blackpowder. Normally it costs 1000gp to make, however with the gunsmithing feat it only costs 100gp and requires 0 points in any crafting skill. Powder Kegs are vulnerable to fire and electricity, and when exposed they explode and deal 5d6 damage in a 20ft radius with a DC15 reflex save for half. While this isn't anything spectacular, it sure does a lot more damage to a lot more people than throwing an alchemist's fire.
Unless you have the Throw Anything feat (or are a Barbarian Hurler or have some method of increasing range increments or reducing the range increment penalty) you are looking at an attack roll of 13 to land the keg 25ft away from you. The trick is to set these off on the same round that you throw them.
That is actually difficult, since the easiest way to draw a powderkeg is as a move action from a Handy Haversack. Unfortunately, that limits you to a single standard action where you need a standard to throw the keg and another action to ignite it.
Does anyone have any ideas as to how you can get this whole nonsense off in one turn? The lower the level you can manage it, the better, since even an infinite number of 5d6 powder kegs doesn't matter too much at higher levels.
Harrying Partners is probably one of the best teamwork feats in existence, turning Bodyguard from a way to negate one attack into a method to boost your AC to absurd levels. However, Harrying Partners normally requires quite a bit of investment from your companions.
Now other classes can take advantage of Harrying Partners on their own, namely Hunter (or the Inquisitor archetype that does the same thing) and eventually any class with an animal companion. However, most people that can take advantage of need to wait until level 9 to achieve BAB+6. This is where the Eldritch Guardian Fighter comes into play.
While people normally build the EG with a Mauler familiar, the key to this build is to obtain a Protector Familiar. The Protector familiar can boost its master's AC even without threatening the attacking Foe. This is important, because it means that you can use Bodyguard against any attack used against you, including ranged attacks.
Now, the interesting thing about Harrying Partners is that it DOES NOT REQUIRE BODYGUARD as a pre-requisite. This means that your character does not need to select Bodyguard or combat reflexes as feats since the Protector Familiar begins play with them. That means all you need is to invest in a single Teamwork feat in order to qualify. I like Shared Healing but there are probably other useful ones out there.
High Dexterity familiars are preferred for this build, with the king being the Scarlet Spider who can manage 6 AoOs a round, though the standard Greensting provides 4 and a better passive ability. The end result is effectively a permanent AC boost starting at level 6, instead of just protecting yourself from a single attack. This AC combined with the high AC from a fighter will result in you being almost impervious in a melee, though it will attract a lot of magic your way as creatures struggle to find a way to damage you.
The Traveler's Any Tool says that it is made of iron, would it be possible to craft them from Adamantine for the appropriate amount of gold (600 from it being a 2 lbs item?)
This is a question regarding an exceptionally dumb build I am working on for fun. The idea is a Titan Fighter/Titan Mauler that TFWs with two handed weapons meant for a creature larger than themselves.
The idea is to stack Giant Weapon Wielder with Jotungrip, taking a -4 for using a Two Handed Weapon meant for a larger creature, taking -2 for using a Two Handed Weapon in each hand as a one handed weapon, and lastly taking a -4 penalty to hit from TWF with one handed weapons.
So far, I think I am in the clear as far as rules go. However, the catch comes at Level 3 of Titan Mauler and their ability, Massive Weapons which reads: "She can use two-handed weapons meant for creatures one size category larger, but the penalty for doing so is increased by 4."
So I already have the ability to use Two Handed weapons meant for creatures on size larger (Giant Weapon Wielder from Titan Fighter 1) however Massive Weapons (Ex) says that the penalty for using these weapons is INCREASED by four. Now normally this is related to the penalty for using an inappropriately sized weapon (-2) but would I take this penalty in addition to the penalty from Giant Weapon Wielder? Should I take the lower of the two penalties? Should I take the higher?
This is my conundrum, and your assistance would be appreciated in solving this rules riddle.
Let me provide the appropriate details. The AC claims to rage as a barbarian. Does this count as possessing the Rage class feature, like a Barbarian? If so then can a Badger AC with 3 Int (enough to allow it to take any feat it could learn) take feats that require the rage such as Raging Vitality and Extra Rage?
Badger AC Stats:
Starting Statistics
Size Small; Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 10 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 claws (1d3); Ability Scores Str 10, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10; Special Attacks rage (as a barbarian, 6 rounds per day); Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
Hey folks, I just finished my first draft of some handy Animal Companion reference material. When you click the link, you can select columns and choose to sort from A-Z or Z-A. You can do several sortings in a row, and the spreadsheet will remember your previous sorts. You can use this to identify overlapping important characteristics. In order to "reset" the table, sort the first column from A-Z.
The sheet covers a wide range of statistics for ACs including:
A freeze frame look at base stats for levels 1, 4, 7, and 9 allowing for a comparison between the ACs at their various "peaks"
A look at the # of attacks, the flat damage from die rolls, and whether or not they get 1 and 1/2 Strength
The random special qualities that animals possess
Soon, I will be updating the sheet with a second page assuming "optional advancement" using that weird rule where you can choose to boost your animal's Dex and Con by 2 instead of taking the normal advancement.
A third page will follow, comparing the previous two.
While this information is obviously not useful to everyone, I hope someone finds it helpful. I'm looking for general feedback, corrections (I did a lot of this by hand), and for a few missing pieces of information.
1: How much reach should an Elasmosaurus have? They have abnormally long reach on their Beastiary entry and I'm not sure how to properly size that down to large size.
2: How much reach should a Yolubilis Heron have? Their stat block doesn't seem to exist on d20, where I get my information.
3: What the heck is the SQ "Scavenger" that Giant Ravens possess?
I've got a crazy druid player who loves finding weird stuff to make as his animal companion. He's made all kinds of stuff his familiar from the list given in the Monstrous Companion Feat from Cohorts and Companions. Link.
However, now he's talked me into giving him expanded options and then sprung this on me. A Living Topiary Link.
He plans on investing the gold into making on, and upgrading it to be fire resistant and the dude is cool. I have 0 problem with allowing him to do this. However, I'm not entirely sure what level it should be counted as and I need to know because Monstrous Companion fills in spare levels with class levels or maybe I'll have to tell him to wait a few levels.
So this is where I could use some advice, what level would a Living Topiary count as for the purposes of being a Cohort?
I don't know if I missed all of the Hum Hallelujahs when this archetype came out, but I have to say that just seeing this thing on D20 made me so excited to play a cavalier.
So, what is a Constable, how is it awesome, and how does it differ from the regular Cavalier? Well, simply put the Constable replaces your Mount, everything based around your mount, and your banner with some sweet abilities. These abilities mostly focus around Combat Maneuvers, and specifically make for a great Grapple build. There are also thematic bonuses and the quite excellent Badge ability, but let me break it down below:
Constable Ability Comparison:
1: Mount -> Apprehend
-Instead of rocking a horse, your Constable instead is trained in taking down criminal scum. At first level your Constable gains Improved Unarmed Strike for free and can make a grapple attempt instead of an attack at the end of a charge. A free feat is always wonderful, but especially wonderful when the free feat opens up your level 1 feat to Improved Grapple. +4 to grapple checks from level 1 is really solid, but the ability also grants you a scaling bonus to perception and some combat maneuvers at 1, 7, 12, and 17. As long as you can charge this ability is basically a +6 to grapple checks over the life of your character and free perception is never a bad thing.
3: Cavalier's Charge -> Squad Commander
-Spend 1 minute making a plan (think like a Readied Action) which lasts for up to an hour and when triggered is a free activation of your tactician ability that lasts for 1 minute per cavalier level. There is NO limit to the number of times you can do this during a day, but you may only have one plan enabled at a time. Provided you can convince your party to give you a minute between encounters and you ready your plan correctly...your whole team will have a free teamwork feat forever because the feat lasts for MINUTES. This is so absurdly powerful that if losing your Mount wasn't compensated by Apprehend it sure as heck is now and you don't even lose anything because your mount is already gone. Its fantastic.
4: Expert Trainer -> Quick Interrogator
I don't know many people who used Expert Trainer, and even though Quick Interrogator is also a situational ability I feel like it will come up a whole lot more often than training mounts will. Especially if your GM is a stickler for the time it takes to gather public information, 1d6x5 minutes is way better than 1d4 hours because at the very least you cut the time in half. At the most, you spend 5 minutes instead of four hours. That's a lot of daylight saved when time isn't on your side. Being able to spend 5 rounds to Intimidate someone isn't always useful but if you end up on the sidelines or in the middle of a stand-off you might be able to arrange a situation where you can get this ability off. And if you do, oh its powerful. You can turn a hostile ogre guarding a bridge into a a cowed creature that will let you pass by for free.
5: Banner -> Badge
Whoooo boy, this is amazing. Banner is just a +2 to saves against fear, its basically AoE Bravery and no one likes Bravery. Badge is a +2 not only against fear but also Charm and Compulsion from level 5! Instead of waiting all the way to level 14 for that bonus. As a martial character who might grapple-crush your party if Dominated, you love this and so does everyone else within 30ft of you. Yes, the Aura is smaller which is a shame but totally reasonable. Everyone also gets a free +1 to hit verses your challenged target because why shouldn't this just be better and better?
11: Mighty Charge -> Instant Order
Yikes, this is a very dangerous ability to use. Instant Order allows you to give an ally a free standard or move action but Dazes them during their next turn. It uses up your current action, and their next turn so it is terrible for the action economy of your party but it can also save lives. Use with caution.
14: Greater Banner -> Greater Badge
This replacement is the one I'm sad about, its how we pay for getting Badge at level 5. Unlike a normal Cavalier, Constables cannot spend a standard to grant allies, within 60ft, a reroll against an ongoing spell against them. Instead, they can spend a standard to grant 2xlevel in temp hitpoints in a 30ft AoE. At level 14 this is 28 free temp per ally, including yourself which is fairly strong when you look at it from an AoE perspective but still weaker than Greater Banner. 28 HP is maybe a single hit at that level, and it takes a Standard Action. But it lasts for 10 minutes, so that is a plus and you can pre-buff before a combat spreading your Temp HP across the entire party. Your squishy backline friends will appreciate it if nothing else. But be warned, it only works once per day which is really really rough but to be fair Greater Banner works the same way.
20: Supreme Charge -> Instant Order
Instant Order is now a Move action, but only usable once per round. While it no longer dumps your Standard action it still dazes your ally and that is less than ideal. Honestly this is a crap Capstone, but the good thing is most games do not go on this long so you will rarely be disappointed.
With the abilities looked at, lets talk about Order. There are two which pair Exquisitely with the Constable Archetype. They are The Order of the Hammer and The Order of the Penitent.
Order of The Hammer:
The Order of the Hammer starts exceedingly strong, granting you a free Grapple Attempt after a full attack against targets of your challenge. You also gain some acrobatics and Knowledge Local to better run down criminal scum. We'll call the Order of the Hammer the Bad Cop.
Being a Bad Cop gets you monk-scaling on your non-lethal unarmed strikes right from level 2. Against anything vulnerable to non-lethal damage, you don't even need a weapon. At Eigth level, you gain Chokehold as a free feat and don't even take the penalty for using it. Spellcasters are now an even jucier target. Lastly, you gain the ability to inspire your allies with +4 to hit, strength checks, and fortitude saves just by flexing your muscles.
Order of the Penitent:
The Order of the Penitent also starts strong, but focuses on the ability to quickly apprehend and incapacitate your enemies. They possess an intricate knowledge of ferreting out lies, and escaping bonds. Challenged foes have a harder time using combat maneuvers against you and escaping your grapples. We'll call Order of the Penitent the Good Cop.
Being a Good Cop gets you the ludicrous ability to tie-up grappled opponents right from level 2. You don't even need to pin them, just grapple and tie. You even have a bonus on the check they need to surpass to escape. Get yourself some heavy duty rope/chain and go to town. At level Eight you not only gain a free Improved Disarm but you can automatically grab whatever was dropped if it can fit in one hand. This is perfect against anyone who wields a weapon or when the bad guy tries to leg it with the magic stone you need to save the village from human-shark criminal scum hybrids. Lastly, if the Good Cop has to beat someone down, they can choose to knock them unconscious with non-lethal damage instead of lethal damage.
Regardless as to the Order you choose, both are awesome. The Order of the Hammer excels at beating people unconscious and can spend a full turn monk-punching his challenged foe before grappling them. Meanwhile, the Order of the Penitent can simply remove foes from a fight in two rounds...or one round as soon as they get Greater Grapple. Either way, both make Great Constables mostly because the Constable archetype sures up the Order's weaknesses.
Basically, these guys are awesome grappling machines and I'm really surprised there hasn't been more said about them. Lets strike up a conversation, talk about builds, yell at me about my analysis of the class and etc. Show the Constable some love.
Hello all, I am the GM with a wonderful group of players. They are all in my games for different reasons, from RPing to just being a murderhobo, and I couldn't ask for a better group. They listen when I talk, ask questions when confused, and and have started working as a team. So to be clear, I have no problem managing my group.
The problem is there are eight players, an eidolon, and two horses. Again, I can keep combat moving just fine. I am a little authoritarian in regards to keeping combat moving fast, and force combat to go at a good pace. However, I cannot seem to get the difficulty right for a fight. First off, I'm unsure what the APL is for a group of 8 so it is hard for me to pick out the right CR for an encounter.
Secondly, I am scared of making things too hard accidentally. The last fight the party rolled well and I flubbed some rolls, but I feel like the party still would have flattened my boss with or without the crits and save failures.
Third, I am unsure of just how hard some encounters will end up. The three goblin crossbowmen I put up in the rafters nearly killed the whole party, while they steamrolled the boss of the dungeon with ease.
As a GM, my number one rule is for my players to have fun. Right now, they seem to be having fun...but that will not last without a challenge to keep the game interested. So the question is, how to I keep the game hard but fun for a group of 8 level 2 characters? What should I treat the APL as?
Hello everyone, I might end up in a "high" level game starting at level 9 and making its way all the way up to twenty. To be completely honest, I've never had free reign of more than 10k gold or so in any of my other campaigns as they all started low level and died before anything fun happened. As such, I'm not too sure how to divide my gold up. I tried looking at the automatic bonus progression rules and basing my character off that, but I got a little stumped when I realized that did not account for a two weapon fighter.
The character is designed to take advantage of passing Butterfly Sting criticals from the Kukri to the thundering heavy pick for absurd critical damage. I know I could do this with a lot of classes but I like the slayer and I think the Vanguard archetype provides a lot of utility for a full BAB martial class.
Anyway, the game is a 20 point buy and I think there are no traits. Below is the build I came up with, and below that in its separate tag is my shopping list thus far.
Build:
Thorin Thunderblood
Male Vanguard Slayer 9
N Medium Humaniod Dwarven
Initiative: +6, Senses: Darkvision 60ft, Stonecunning; Perception +14
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Giant, Goblin
DEFENSE
AC: 22 = +2(Dex), +8 Armor, +1 Deflection, +1 Natural Armor
HP: 83 (9HD)
Fort: 8 Ref: 8 Will: 5 +2 vs Poison +4 vs Spells and Spell Like Abilities
Defensive Abilities: Stability (CMD +4 vs Trip and Bull Rush on the Ground), Defensive Training (+4 AC vs Giants)
OFFENSE
Speed 20ft (4 Squares)
Melee +1 Thundering Heavy Pick 15/10 (1d6+5x4) [+3d8 on a Crit, DC14 of target is permanently deafened], +1 Kukri 15/10 (1d4+5 15-20 x2)
Ranged +1 Composite Longbow 12/7 (1d6+6 x3)
Special Attacks: Sneak Attack 3d6, Studied Target +2 [Swift Action: Hit, Damage, Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival], +2 Survival to follow and +1 to attack rolls against Giants
STATISTICS
Strength: 20 (+5), Dexterity 14 (+2), Constitution 14 (+2), Intelligence 14 (+2), Wisdom 14 (+2), Charisma 5 (-3)
BAB: 9, CMB: +13, CMD: +24 (28 vs Trip and Bullrush),
Feats: Combat Expertise (1), Lookout (2), Butterfly Sting (3), Steel Soul(5), Two Weapon
Fighting (6), ???????? (7), Improved Two Weapon Fighting (8) Improved Critical(9)
Skills: Acrobatics: 14, Climb: 8, Knowledge Arcana: 7, Knowledge Dungeoneering: 10,
Knowledge Nature: 7, Knowledge Planes: 7, Knowledge Religion: 7, Perception: 14, Sense Motive: 14, Stealth: 14, Survival: 14, Swim: 8
SQ:
Combat Gear: Kukri +2, Thundering Heavy Pick +1, Longbow +1, Agile Breastplate +2, +2 Cloak of Resistance, Ring of Protection +1, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Feather Step Slippers
Encumbrance:
Shopping List Thus Far:
Starting Gold:
= 46000
- 10000 +1 Thundering Heavy Pick, +1 Kukri
= 32000
- 4000 +2 Armor
= 28000
- 4000 +2 Cloak
= 24000
- 4000 Ring of Protection 1, Amulet of Natural Armor 1
= 20000
- 4000 Belt of Giant’s Strength +2
= 16000
- 2000 Ranged Weapon
= 14000
- Feather Step Slippers
= 12000
So I am looking for a few hints. For one, is my stat line up alright? I went Dwarf to keep my saves high and I like having a decent Intelligence for passing half my studied bonuses around like a bard, and a strong Will Save so I don't turn on my party and cut them to ribbons.
For another, level 7 feat...no idea what I should take. I was thinking Big Game Hunter, but I'm not entirely sure. A part of me wants to get 17 dexterity so I can take two weapon rend when I hit 11, which would mean I would need to take Double Slice for the extra 3 damage on my Kukri.
And lastly, the big one, Money Troubles...12k-expenses and no idea how to spend it. +2 Kukri? Better saves...Quick Runner's Shirt...no idea how to spend it.
Any help you guys have would be greatly appreciated.
I was looking into the Arcanist when I suddenly realized that, if I'm understanding them correctly, they are hellishly broken.
So here is the set up, Human with a 15 point buy. Stats of
7, 14, 12, 18, 10, 12. Human uses bonus feat to go straight into spell specialization Burning Hands.
Spell Specialization raises your caster level by two, so does using your Reservoir with the Potent Magic exploit. This means a Level 1 Human Arcanist can cast Burning Hands as a 5th level character dealing 5d4 damage in a 15ft cone with a reflex DC of 16 to take half damage.
Same Arcanist levels up to 5, taking the Intensify Spell feat through Metamagic Knowledge. Now can cast Burning Hands as a level 9 Arcanist dealing 9d4 damage. If they took Spell Tatoo and Greater Spell Focus the DC of that Burning Hands is up to 18, probably 19 if the Arcanist bought a Headband of vast Intellect.
Next level? Spell Specialization switches over to Fireball, Arcanist can now cast a 10d6 fireball at level 6 with a save DC of 21. Heck, they still have a free Exploit left over meaning they can grab School Understanding Admixture to get around resistances.
Am I understanding this right, have Arcanists unseated Wizards as the blaster master?
So, some back story: I've let my players mess about a bit with the new Occult classes just to see how they work and one of them came up with a rather ingenious (if infuriating) idea.
Using the "Trail of Fire" utility power from being a Kineticist, he has his character designed to "Withdraw" through a series of enemies in order to leave them burning with the Wall of Fire. The main problem with this of course, is whether or not you can even use Acrobatics while taking the full round action to Run or Withdraw. I logically don't see anything wrong with this, since you can see Football players run in a straight line while juking around the defense at the same time its weird to think of the character just running around the battlefield setting fire to everything.
Now, this doesn't activate till level 12, but it is pretty cool when it does.
Step 1 is to be an Orc/Half-Orc hunter multiclassed as a Barbarian. This is already a pretty sweet combination since you get Rage for free at level 3, which is a nice boost of damage. However, the real gem is when you hit level 11 and gain access to a rage power. Namely, Ferocious Mount.
Once that happens, at level 12 you gain another teamwork feat, in which case you would take Amplified Rage. Now instead of simply giving your animal companion +4 Strength and +4 Con, now the two of you have +8 Strength and Con.
The beauty of doing this is that, as a Hunter, you gain free teamwork feats and thus can afford to lose some regular feats. (All you really need is Combat Expertise anyway for Pack Flanking). Those lost feats give you some powerful ooph, which stacks with your Hunter's Focus or Evolved Companion abilities. Once your animal companion gains the ability to rage, and you can make use of the Amplified Rage feat these bonuses only get bigger and as long as you are mounted you might as well be a full scaling Barbarian.
At this point, while raging and riding your animal companion you have a minimum to hit of +17/12 without even considering your base Strength score, spells, being mounted and thus taller than your opponent, your other two normal feats, or your other two teamwork feats.
All in all, if you are going into a higher level campaign or expect it to make it past level 12: Consider the Raging Hunter!
Rake is basically just a stronger version of the Enforcer feat in exchange for damage while Thug gives the Rogue the ability to Frighten and Sicken. In addition a Normal Rogue is more likely to be a Strength Rogue meaning they can buff their Intimidate with their Strength and Charisma.
However, the Unchained rogue automatically gets Dex to damage, has access to the absolutely NASTY effects of Rogue's Edge Intimidate which include effects like Panicked and COWERING. In addition they have access to Debilitating Injury which is brutally strong.
Basically, normal Rogues kind of suck but have Archetypes while the Unchained Rogue is really cool but I'm not sure if GMs will accept Archetypes like Thug or Rake because the Unchained Rogue no longer has Trap Sense and instead has Danger Sense.
Thoughts?
Naturally the goal behind this is to take advantage of the Sap Adept/Master/Intimidate Rogue build of old.
At level 5, you can cast Disfiguring Touch, Attack with an Unarmed Strike, and Hex Strike in the same round. The way this works is that you land the punch which delivers the Disfiguring Touch and then you get to land your hex with a potential -2 to saves.
Of course you have to choose your hex, but I like Evil Eye because this combination is the ultimate save shredder. Especially as you gain levels, with Accursed Strike you can use Spellstrike to land Bestow Curse. At level 8, you'll be able to bestow curse and evil eye for a -8 to all saves on impact in a single round.
Next round you can follow that -4, -6, or -8 saves up with a spell or hex to crush your opponent. If the opponent makes their saves, you can always use a Cackle to keep the evil eye up...and keep a Quick Runner's Shirt available in order to move and cackle in the same round.
The best part is that you can take the Hex Strike feat multiple times in order to follow up your initial hit and save shredding with both a spell and another Hex.
I am working on a Hexcrafter magus, and found out this beauty of a skill. My question is that when the ability states that the hair has 10ft of reach so does it:
a: Give you 10ft of reach (like a normal human hit with an enlarge spell, threatening at 10ft and 5ft)
or
B: Only threaten at 10ft but not at 5ft (like wielding a spear)
and also, one last question: What squares do you threaten when enlarged?
Hey guys, I recently lost a character so I have begun to work on his replacement. Right now he is a 7th level Invulnerable Rager set up to be a tank, with Endurance, Combat Expertise, Diehard, and Stalwart.
My current Rage powers are:
Lesser Beast Totem
Superstition
Animal Fury/Ghost Rager/Witch Hunter (Still deciding)
We just got done with a Vampire city, though I know we are going to be facing more Undead as we continue our quest. As such, and because my last character could barely damage the Jiang Shi, I've decided to buy a weapon to backup my natural attacks.
Right now I have purchased the following items
1: +1 Furious Alchemic Silver Monk's Spade
2: Handy Haversack
3: Cloak of Resistance +2
4: Darkwood Armor
5: Vicious Amulet of Mighty Fists
6: Traveler's Anytool
Current stats
18, 10, 20, 13, 14, 8
Current Saves
F12(14), R4, W6(9)
I have 3660 gold left to spend, any ideas?
I was considering covering some of my bases with like a Swarmbane Clasp or picking up some Featherstep Slippers so I can charge over rough terrain.
Oh, only suggest things on the PRD without considering the ACG, the only books allowed are Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Equipment, Core Rule Book, and Advanced Player Guide.
Simple question, can a Necromancer bring an undead creature back to the "Unliving" by recasting the spell that created the Undead Creature in the first place?
Or is the undead permanently destroyed when reduced to zero HP?
So, I know a guy who has been RPing for a long time and he is certain that Dex to Damage is OP. He believes that spending three feats for it is too cheap and that going Dex is far better than a Strength character is every way. He has played the core for a long time and believes that only Mythic characters should be able to get Dex to Damage without using a weapon enchantment. He uses Dex to Damage as an example of how the ACG is OP and he bans it from his games.
Now, I've run a few numbers and I am certain that two handing with a strength weapon is better. Or at least on par with Dex to damage. It's cheaper, it deals more damage, the saved feats can compete with the bonuses you get from going Dex, and the Dexterity a Dex character gets limits tier armor choices which allows a lower Dex character to keep up The problem is that I don't want to get into a straight math battle with the guy because it would just be two people optimizing characters to prove points .
Can anyone here help me comeup with a way to explain things?
