Sir Ophiuchus's page

I'd never bar a player taking certain levels for their character, as long as it was within the rules.

I'd like them to be able to explain how their character grows and changes over time. This also applies to single-classed characters. In general, it's nice to have an idea of why/how a character's powers are increasing and expanding.

Generally, I like the idea that characters can answer questions like "What did it feel like the first time you cast a spell?" and "That was amazing! How did you manage that move, where you jumped past the guy and backstabbed him?!" in-character.

Realism isn't a problem. But a degree of verisimilitude is nice.

If a player is going "meh" to any in-character interaction, that's a bigger problem than multiclassing.

So could the White Male club send me one of those cards? Please?

Sure!

***

White Male Privilege Card
Now conventially broken down by 'white' and 'male'!

This card entitles Skeletal Steve to the following, modifiable by intersectionality with other factors:

- Better treatment by law enforcement (white)
- Better odds of bail and reduced prison terms (white)
- Massively reduced risk of sexual assault and rape (male)
- Not being told you're inherently less intelligent (twofer - white AND male!)
- Legacy generational benefits (white) http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.8201434.2735/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg
- Being treated as an independent individual responsible for themselves (male)
- Doubled personal space (male)
- Having your aggression and willingness to stand up to someone valued (male, but also white)
- Living in a country where the vast majority of people look like you and instinctively trust and relate to you more (white - this applies to Canada, US, Europe, NZ, Australia, at a minimum)
- Walking alone at night (male, though you still probably shouldn't)
- Not worrying if an offer to walk you somewhere is a rape threat (male)
- Not having your body and capacity to reproduce treated as public property (male)

If that's not enough, let us know! There's plenty we couldn't fit on the card!

***

Okay, sarcasm over. The point I'm trying to make is just because you're disadvantaged by income/education/class/circumstances/whatever, it doesn't remove the fact that you do benefit from being white and male. You just don't notice.

Technically, this is not true. While it is rare, a man can be violated in this way (... by another man).

Not that rare. But it doesn't change the fact that, for example, a man can't be impregnated by their rapist. However, yes, rape is rape and is awful regardless of gender. The literal circumstances can differ, though.

This is more of a statement that that's how allegedly are than an argument that they are that way. I think there are a huge list of differences between how men and women are treated in society and that living as a male can't simply be dismissed as "easy mode" because there are too many incomparables between the two. You can compare a +1 weapon with a +2 weapon. You can't compare dimension door and phantasamal killer. How do you put a number value on encouraging sports/science achievements vs a greater ability to ask for/get help from society?

Because it's not about quantifiability. That would imply that there's a "scale" of privilege. Thinking about it that way is missing the point. Yes, the term "easy mode" is simplistic and doesn't get across everything; that's what simplifications do. They express the basic idea of something. You're picking holes in the simple explanations people are using to describe a very complex problem, on the ground that they're not complex enough.

Of course they're not complex enough. They're simplifications.

Now, just because being male is a net positive in some areas, it doesn't mean that it's not a negative in others. You're right about that. I suffered a lot from the "boys don't cry" stereotype, for example, and I had non-gender-normative interests. But that doesn't mean being male didn't make my life easier in many areas. And honestly it was overall still "easier" being male - I suspect I still had more net benefit - than being female would have been.

Saying "men have it hard, too" is missing the point. First of all, gender bias hurts everyone in different ways. Second of all, honestly, things are, objectively, more difficult for women, across more areas.

Some of what you're referencing is described by intersectionality. Personal anecdote time. I'm male, white, and upper-middle-class. That's made my life a lot easier in certain areas. Without question. I've gotten jobs because of my accent or because friends of my parents hired me. I've been treated better by police, etc, because of my accent, I can walk alone at night without being too worried (most of the time). I'm also gay. That's made my life more difficult in some other areas. But being gay doesn't make my privilege in those other fields just go away. It doesn't change the fact that my parents could afford private tuition which helped me get into my university course, which is privilege I have over people who were poorer, for example.

This got longer than I thought. A summary:

- Everyone has some type of privilege.
- Being disadvantaged in one area doesn't remove your other privileges.
- Comparing one type of privilege to another is not helpful...
- BUT pretending all disadvantage are equal isn't either.

Thanks.

A sidenote on the concept of dealing with rape in games: I have played in games that dealt with rape, but only when everyone in the (mixed) party, plus the GM, was okay with it and had discussed it and how it would be handled OOC beforehand. This was also a very experienced set of roleplayers, in a modern-day psychological horror game. I also ask players about triggers before running any potentially triggering material in my own games: at least three of my gamer circles are rape survivors, and I know of two of those are because the topic arose in conversations they were part of (not during a game). Sometimes accidentally upsetting people whose triggers you don't know is unavoidable. Sometimes it's not your fault. The important thing is to be aware of the possibility, and make an effort to be aware of and to accommodate other gamers' (and other people's, more generally) boundaries and comfort levels.

Any reason you couldn't use Caustic Slur on your allies?

And give them penalties to attacking you, and extra damage when they do?

I'm sure you could, but I'm struggling to find a reason for it.

Don't play with that guy again.

You get the larger bonus when it applies, though, so I don't see the problem. It just makes the barbarian's rage will bonus useless almost all of the time.

You can bypass your own SR, but not the need to save, unfortunately. Even Rage Prophets need to save against their own spells while raging if they're superstitious, I've found. Personal range spells allow no save, so they'er a good bet.

Good day.

I just wanted to thank all of you nice young people for all your help. It means a great deal to me that so many of you are willing to go out of their way to assist an old lady.

Fare well, dears, and may you walk bright paths.

Now that I have a somewhat coherent build, a character background is suggesting itself...

Esme had an interesting and enjoyable life. She never travelled very far, or did anything very significant, or even had a husband and children, but it was a productive, meaningful life nonetheless. She had looked after her house, helped with the life of her village, and worked at small farming and crafts to make ends meet until age crept up on her. She was lookng forward to a peaceful last few years in her own home, surrounded by the rewards of a life well lived.

Then Janice, her neighbour and best friend since they were girls together, was found strangled in her own kitchen. Murder was almost unknown in the sleepy little village, and there was great excitement. The lord's constables came about and asked questions and took notes, and they were very nice earnest boys, but Esme grew more and more frustrated. They weren't local - they didn't know what questions to ask, they didn't know who to talk to, and they didn't listen to her when she tried to tell them so. Though they were very polite, of course.

So Esme started asking some questions of her own. And, being elderly and harmless, nobody saw the harm in answering them. Piece by piece, she put the clues together. A labourer, discharged for theft. Janice's careless habit of not locking her door. Gossip about the pension Janice received after her husband died in the last war. A small amount of local area knowledge.

After that, it was almost trivial to take Janice's soldier husband's crossbow and head out to the forest, and it was no surprise to find the fellow hiding in the old woodcutter's shack. He didn't think she'd really fire it, and neither did she until she put a bolt through his leg. Then she tied the wound off and went to call the constables.

She attended the man's trial, and his hanging. Afterwards, his lordship asked for a private word. He'd been impressed with her skills - though, as she said, it was really just that one picks things up, living in a village for so many years - and he wanted her advice and assistance tracking down a notorious highwayman...

That was a year ago. Now Esme has a small reputation as an investigator who'll go out of her way to track down serious wrongdoers. She won't take bounties, and she won't take bribes. But she'll ask questions in her innocent little way, and put everything together in her fluffy white head - and then she'll deliver a killer or a thief to justice.

Once Esme knows her target, nothing will save them from her. Because when she looks at them with those soft cloudy eyes, it's like she sees right into their souls. And if she has to use her dead friend's crossbow to shoot an evildoer, she never seems to miss.

Things to consider from a RAI perspective

- Is the intent of Tireless Rage that you can drop into and out of rages without taking fatigue penalties? I'd say yes.

- Is it also intended to make your 1/rage powers effectively 1/round? I'd say yes also, that sees reasonable considering it's a 17th-level ability (to compare, at 17th level casters can get wish/miracle...).

- Is it appropriate to try to get an equivalent ability through other means? I don't see a problem with that, considering that you're usually making pretty big sacrifices in order to do so.

Generally in order to get immune to fatigue, you need to either:

- take a racial trait which gives up your human skill points and only works once a day. Hardly crippling.

- multiclass. If you're going oracle, for example, you can "dip" it but you're still getting smacked with an unremovable curse that's as much a drawback as a blessing at low levels ... which are the levels this matters at anyway. And dipping out of full BAB is a meaningful sacrifice.

- use a magic item that takes up the belt slot. This one may be a bit overpowered, I'll admit.

But is rage cycling overpowered, in and of itself? No, I don't think so. Remember that barbarians only get a limited number of rounds of rage/day, compared to the ten extra feats fighters get that are on all the time. Making their powers more useful when they still have to burn limited resources to use them seems fine to me.

Experienced spellcasters
- Have the relevant stats for all their spells (especially DCs) calculated in advance, and noted on either their character sheet or a separate sheet.
- Learn at least one or two spells with no verbal components, and one or two with no somatic components.
- At high level, take Quicken spell. At low level, have some spells that are less than a standard action to cast.
- Have a physical weapon of last resort.
- Learn more than one g*#$@@med elemental type for evocations.
- Know what their spells actually do. Message is a massively underrated low-level "radio" spell for scouting missions, and saves lives.
- Have a list of "my standard all-day buffs" that they hand to the GM, cross off their spells per day, and note on their character sheets.
- Max the Spellcraft skill.

Experienced wizards
- Have a list of "my standard prepared spells, unless I say otherwise".
- Learn all the utility spells they possibly can, and leave a few slots open for them.
- Write as many scrolls as possible. Give them to people who can use them.

Experienced sorcerers
- Use the criterion "is this a spell I will cast literally every day of my life?" when picking their spells.
- Use wands and scrolls.
- Max Use Magic Device if they plan to have access to spells not on their list.

Experienced melee combatants
- Have their attack bonus, damage, and critical threat all spelled out on their character sheet, both WITH and WITHOUT Power Attack. If they have a backup weapon, likewise.
- Know the rules for readying an attack with the trigger "If they start casting a spell."
- Max the Perception skill.

Experienced adventurers
- Drop PRONE when being peppered with arrows from concealment.
- Carry a healing potion at all times.
- Discuss, in character, what the other characters are capable of.
- Sell their souls for initiative bonuses.
- Know which actions are standard actions, which are move, and which free/immediate/swift. If necessary, photocopy the chart from the book.
- Drop a few ranks into Heal and/or Use Magic Device if possible.
- Know when to say "screw it" and just take the AoO.

Experienced players
- Don't make builds that are dependent solely on magic items.
- Don't make characters with exactly one easily-negated style (You're a fantastic grappler? Hope you have a backup plan when I cast freedom of movement.)
- Plan their turns in combat before it comes to them,
- Work out a marching order where relevant.
- Only play characters that could break the group after extensive discusion with the GM and other players.
- Similarly, know when to subordinate "it's in character!" to the needs of the game as a whole.

Experienced GMs
- Know how to improvise.
- Know how to drop clues to players.
- Know when to fudge, and when not to.
- Listen to what their players want.
- Don't reflexively ban things.
- Don't contradict themselves.
- Use fiat as sparingly as they possibly can.
- Know what their monsters can do, and what they're going to do.

Based on your account of the session (and campaign), and the fact that the GM is letting you refresh your current spells, just not update them, this actually sounds like a fantastic RP opportunity.

So, shenanigans...

Scarification. Scar the symbols onto your body and read them with your fingers. Too extreme, you say? Nonsense! How could any sacrifice not be made in the pursuit of power!

Put ranks into Perform (Oratory) and come up with elaborate rhyming chants that your wizard uses to re-memorise his spells. ("Lens of will and well of power, draw upon them hour by hour, safe I'll be from other's rage, in the armour of a mage." For example.)

The same idea, but with Perform (Dance), and using interpretive dances. (I'm not going to describe an example interpretive dance. Just no.) Both of these ideas effectively create a new magical language for the character.

Practice meditation, and work towards reestablishing the character's concept of his spells from first principles. See how many of them he can hold in his head.

In general, I suspect working with the spellbook itself is missing the point. Your character is getting pushed to examine his relationship to his power.

I'm not suggesting you take it just for this, but if you'd planned to take Spell Mastery *anyway*, you might as well start roleplaying towards it now (I like the idea of being set up for the "lost spellbook" scenario, which is why I like Eschew Materials too.)

See how versatile you can be with just the spells available to you. See how abusable they are, and how far your character can stretch their use. He's getting a feel of what it's like to be a sorcerer (admittedly, a crap sorcerer). He should *treasure* his versatility after this!

The Rot Grub wrote:

This question specifically concerns a monster/NPC using the Full Attack action. Here's the scenario:

You're running a monster that has 3 attacks -- two claws and a bite -- and it's standing within 5 feet of a PC. It carries out the Full Attack action. You adjudicate its attacks, and the first 2 knock the PC down into negative HP. There are no other PCs nearby to attack: do you carry out the third attack, which has a reasonable chance of killing the PC?

I have my own thoughts on this but want to hear what other people think.

Absolutely not. That is quite unfair, and is a good way to lose players.

Why is it unfair? What if everyone's expectation for the game was that it would be dangerous and highly lethal?

If a GM did that to me, I would have to inflict physical violence upon them... as I have done in the past.

Yes, I have problems with anger management. Deal with it.

Assaulting people is not a good recommendation, nor a good choice.

It is not the obligation of other people to deal with your mental issues around anger. It's your obligation to limit how those affect other people.

But well done for coming across as the sort of player I'd cross the street to avoid!

If you're with a party of warriors, anyone with some experience could probably pick out the arcane spellcasters. They don't wear heavy armour, always keep at least one hand free, don't carry huge weapons, and many of them have spell component pouches about them.

This is in addition to the traditional "dress like a medieval scholar" pattern.

Do you remember the story about a party that fought over who should get the artifact 'Hand of Vecna'?

That's nothing compared to the Head of Vecna anecdote. :)

As for the description versus rolling for thigns like trapfinding, as a GM I'd generally ask players to explain what they're trying to do, and possibly give a circumstance bonus if they were particularly inspired.

But there is a set of players who don't want to (or can't) be as creative as that, and you have to cater to that when you GM for them.

As for the flat "you can't do that because the rules don't say you can", I've left games because of GMs with that attitude, and I would again. Improvisation is the primary requisite of being a GM. If you can't do that at all, don't GM.

If it is possible to meet the prerequisites for loremaster via bard, that's the way I would personally go. I just don't know off hand if the bard gets access to enough divination spells. I assume they do, but I'm not certain.

Oh yes.

0: Detect Magic, Know Direction, Read Magic
1: Comprehend Languages, Identify
2: Detect Thoughts, Locate Object, Tongues
3: Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Scrying, See Invisibility

That's just from the core rulebook, and you only need seven out of those eleven, only one of which has to be third-level.

As written, it means that you can choose to see (but not hear) out of any flame within range.

You can certainly roleplay that you look into a flame you have beside you to do that, but it's not necessary. (If it helps, you are the flame you gaze into to establish sympathy.)

So yes, the campfire example would work. GM discretion on whether you can look through a source of flame you don't know exists, though I'd allow reasonable guesses:

- So the assassins are conferring upstairs in the inn?
- Yep.
- Cool, I'll spy on them with gaze of flame.
- What makes you think they have a fire in the room?
- Nothing. But I'm pretty damn sure they'll have a lamp or a candle.
- ...

Jason Buhlman clarified it. First part is always on.

http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz1s0c?Duration-of-Revelations-Misread#0

A barbarian/oracle who's immune to fatigue using Furious Finish to deal amusing amounts of damage.

And before the incorrect rules arguments, furious finish says you'd be fatigued even if you'd normally not be (to prevent tireless rage use), not fatigued even if it is literally impossible for your character to be fatigued.

Message. At low levels it's invaluable, because it's like having walkie-talkie communication with the entire party.

Because deconstructing the artificial constructs we have agreed to play by helps us understand them, use them to enhance our roleplaying experience, and ultimately reconstruct them to better fit their intended purpose.

Flexible ritual magic.

I trust the people arguing for allowing unlimited wishes from summoned creatures are either:

- not entirely serious
- perfectly happy with a party of players with +5 inherent bonuses to all stats
- completely insane

But if the players can hit those ranges, so can the NPCs. The Captain of the Guard, the kindof scary one? He's Bruce Willis' character in RED, but medieval.

I did this, and it worked really well. When the PCs rolled into the town around which the campaign was based at first level, they got shanghaied into a job by the Captain of the Guard, who wasn't taking any of their crap and shut them down fast when they tried to use their little tricks on her. Trying to charm a 10th-level fighter with Spellbreaker is unwise, especially when she's now AoO'd you to the ground (pulled and nonlethal, of course) and is giving you noogies.

A year and a half later in realtime, and many levels later, they were still intimidated by that character, despite being powerful enough by then to actually challenge her. In fact, it was when one of the PCs challenged her to a friendly duel and managed to land a couple of hits on her that they knew they'd really made it as respected warriors. She still won, but she had enough of a local reputation that even landing the hits got the character bought drinks by the entire guard corps. :D

And she could exist without breaking the sense of the setting. She was a 10th-level fighter because she'd been a mercenary captain before she settled down and made an arrangement with the town's lord. The town guard were her Leadership followers. Her second was her cohort. She was powerful enough to be a reasonable threat to wandering adventurers, and she could train the guard corps properly because of her experience. She didn't deal with these external threats herself because (a) she considered herself semi-retired and had no intention of getting killed, and (b) if she left town, she figured the place would fall apart without her.

A year and a half later, she'd gained a level or two due to background action happening in the setting, but the PCs had gained a hell of a lot more ground. Ultimately, she was a really good barometer for PC-badassery and she never overshadowed the work the PCs did themselves. So I don't have a problem with using high-level NPCs intelligently and effectively. It worked for me.

My approach is one that applies all the same rules to everyone equally - you determine how much gear you can have by rolling, and then you make up the story of how you got it - rolling up 100 gold and getting 4 scrolls with it could be equally described as "I bought these from some scholar that needed a bit of coin to pay his debts," or "These are the leftovers from my time working as a scribe at the college."

That seems perfectly reasonable.

I would like to add, though, that it is important to give characters downtime so that they can do whatever they like to do in that space of time. Crafters can craft, charisma-types can build contacts and gather information, characters can consolidate their power bases.

Spending your downtime crafting doesn't mean that you're gaming the system; you're getting the benefit you paid for, both in character elements (feats etc.) and in time, which is a resource for characters like any other.

I love Jackie Chan Adventures, but these things are in fact horribly broken. They're also not at all balanced. "Levitation and telekinesis at will? Pfft, I'll take the +20 to strength!"

What level campaign are you talking about? You should pick a power level for these things and stay reasonably consistent. Here are my quick and dirty fixes. What I've done is to put them all in roughly the same power bracket (pretty high) and made all their powers fall within the standard canon. Pretty much. Ish.

These are scary-powerful, but if you're playing at low level you should introduce them very slowly and not let characters keep them for long. If at high level, go nuts! Remember bad guys can carry them too! After wall, sticking rigidly to power/level guidelines isn't a very Jackie Chan style - so long as the bad guys are silly powerful too, it works out!

Let me know what you think.

***

The Ox: Acts as a belt of giant strength +4 while carried.

The Pig: Can be used as a ring of x-ray vision while carried.

The Dragon: May be invoked by the bearer at any time, affecting them as though they had just drunk an elixir of fire breath.

The Snake: Can be used as a ring of invisibility while carried.

The Dog: Any limbs, organs, or body parts lost by the bearer while this token are carried are instantly regenerated, as per the effects of a ring of regeneration. While the bearer has this token, they are considered to have the monk ability Timeless Body and all ability score penalties due to age are suppressed. Time passing while they bear the token is not counted toward their age.

The Horse: The bearer is considered to have the witch healing and major healing hexes. Their character level is considered their witch level for the purposes of these hexes. The major healing hex cannot be used by a character below 10th level.

The Rabbit: The character can be affected by the haste spell as a free action, as with boots of speed. There is no time limit on the use of this ability.

The Monkey: The bearer may cast beast shape IV three times a day. Their character level is considered their caster level for the purposes of this spell.

The Rat: The bearer may cast animate objects three times a day. Their character level is considered their caster level for the purposes of this spell.

The Rooster: The bearer is considered to have the witch flight hex. Their character level is considered their witch level for the purposes of this hex. They may also cast telekinesis three times a day. Their character level is considered their caster level for the purposes of this spell.

The Sheep: The bearer may cast lesser astral projection three times a day. They may cast dream one per night, with the following modifications. The spell may only be cast on the caster. The spell lasts for up to one minute per caster level. The caster may dismiss the spell at any time. No message is delivered unless the caster wishes it. While they visit others' dreams with this spell, they may make Perception checks to observe a dream and Stealth checks to remain hidden from the dreamer. Two-way communication with the dreamer is possible. No combat, spellcasting, or interaction other than hiding, observation, and conversation are possible in such a dream.

The Tiger: Acts as a headband of mental superiority +4 while carried. If this token ever gains the broken condition, a duplicate of the bearer comes into being. This duplicate is identical to one created by a mirror of opposition and attacks the bearer.

When I ran Pathfinder, I always had characters level up during downtime, even fairly brief downtime like a day or so.

However, my current GM did it the "video-game" way: white glow, sudden full HP restoration, refresh on all spells and powers. I thought he was being ridiculously gameish until I realised that (a) he's not like that, and (b) his setting is quite realistic otherwise.

So I narrowed my eyes and muttered to him "The only possible way that would make sense IC would be if a powerful outsider's keeping a direct eye on this party." I got a level look in reply.

...guess what I've since found out is happening? :)

This thread has turned into a train wreck.

BlueStar obviously has no intention of giving up the weapon, compromising, or doing anything other than asserting how right he is. The Oracle, according to him, is a shrill harpy who'd rather the party suffer a TPK than her not getting her shiny. The DM is, presumably, sitting on his hands and watching the party go to hell. The players in general seem to have no concept of compromising OOC in order to have a harmonious game.

I could say more, but frankly it seems pointless. No-one's listening to each other here as it is, and everyone is arguing from different, irreconcilable assumptions. That game should end. This thread should too.