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OK, let me back up. I'm still confused...

What does the grapple trait actually do for a power? Traits give some benefit to attacks. Like versatile or finesse. What benefit does an attack with grapple have that an attack without grapple does not?

I do appreciate all the input.

Action 1: Action to get in Stance.
Action 2: Stride to the Enemy.
Actions 3: You use the Grapple action and roll an Athletics Check against Fort DC with +1 item bonus from handwraps applying their item bonus to the check due to Gorilla Slam having the grapple trait. You now have MAP -5 since Grapple has the Attack trait, but that's end your turn no biggie. Success! The target is now grabbed until the end of your next turn and you can choose to deal bludgeoning damage equal to your Str Modifier from Crushing Grab after a successful Grapple.

Wait...

This makes grapple sound nearly useless. I make an attack to grapple and do a WHOPPING 4 points of damage from my strength mod?? Then if I want to make a REAL attack I have to try to hit at a -5 penalty???

Also, it's an Athletics check, not an attack roll, so normally the to-hit bonus from your handwraps of mighty blows don't apply to them. However, if the weapon or unarmed strike you're using has the right trait, then you do get to add that bonus.

OK, color me confused. HOW, exactly, do I grapple an opponent? Does it suffer from the multiple attack penalty?

Gorilla Slam has the grapple trait. So I *do* get to add my bonus for crushing grab??

Sorry, but this is all really new to me. I kinda need it spelled out.

So.

I've started a Monk. She's a Sacred Nagaji focused on strength.

I took Gorilla stance with her, because it has the grapple trait. My idea is that she uses Flurry of Blows to hit her opponent, then grapples them and does her strength bonus a second time using the Crushing Grab class feat (once she gets it at level 2).

Does this work? If I hit them while in Gorilla Stance I automatically grapple? And the damage from crushing grab just automatically adds in? (I like the idea of her grabbing opponents into her coils and squeezing them.)

Any other advice for a grappling monk that anyone can offer me?

My Kitsune Battledancing Swashbuckler is level 5 now (yay!). But I think I have been missing opportunities to gain panache. I keep trying to do tumble-through move actions to gain panache. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail.

But I just noticed under my swashbuckler's style that it says this about battledancing:

"You gain panache during an encounter when the result of your Performance check to Perform exceeds the Will DC of an observing foe, even if the foe isn't fascinated."

So I can do a performance action in combat and if my roll exceeds the Will DC of an observer I gain panache. This is a good alternative to just trying to tumble-through all the time. And it will give me more role-playing opportunities.

But two questions:

Can I do this as part of a move action? As in I am dancing across the battlefield to reach a foe and make the performance check as part of that? I can gain panache as part of a move action with a tumble-through, so this makes sense to me.

Also, the rules say "an observing foe." Does this mean a SPECIFIC observing foe, or does it mean ANY observing foe? In other words, do I have to specify a specific foe that I am performing for, and roll against their Will DC? Or do I check against all foes on the battlefield and if my roll exceeds the Will DC of just one of them I gain panache? (Obviously I would prefer the second option to be true.)

Thanks in advance.

They're under runes, should be right next to options button.

Derp. There it is. Thank you.

All,

I now have enough gold to create a specialized back-up weapon that I've been planning for awhile now.

It is a wakizashi named "Yomi no Kiba" (Fang of the Underworld). It is silver, for harming devils, +1 Potency, and has a Ghost Touch Rune. Another adventure and I'll be able to give it a striking rune as well.

But I'm having trouble getting Pathbuilder 2e to print it properly on my character sheet. That is to say, I don't know how to tell that software that the wakizashi has Ghost Touch. I click on the Weapons tab and it displays my weapons. I click on the Options button under the wakizashi. I see where I can add a +1 Potency Rune. But I cannot see where to add a Property Rune.

How do I do this?

All,

My wife has a basic, vanilla fighter. She bought a war horse and wants to use it in combat. I know some characters can have animal companions that they direct in battle, but I don't know if a basic war horse can be used this way. I think there must be a particular skill that she needs to take in order to have a combat-ready animal that she can direct to fight independently of herself.

Also, as we level up our characters a standard war horse is going to be lunch meat for the higher level monsters we will fight, unless the horse can also level up some way. So I'm thinking that there must be some way of obtaining such a horse.

A person in our organized play group has a wolf companion that fights for her. I'd ask that person directly but we have something coming up on our regular Pathfinder night this week so it's going to be a couple of weeks before I can even ask them. And my wife's fighter has just hit level 4, so she wants to choose her new skills right away.

I don't even know what terminology to use in a search for this information myself.

Please pardon my ignorance. Can someone point me in the right direction, please?

Southern Claw wrote:

My Battledancing Kitsune Swashbuckler has taken Distracting Performance at level 4. The rulebook has this to say about it:

Prerequisites expert in Performance
Your performances are especially distracting, allowing your allies to Sneak away with ease. When you Aid an ally who is trying to Create a Diversion, instead of the usual effects of Aid, you can roll a Performance check and use that result to determine the outcome of the diversion, instead of the ally rolling a Deception check.

It reads as if I can only use the skill to aid an ally's distraction. But my character is a performer and it seems that I should be able to create a distraction by myself. (For example, doing a dance performance on a city dock so that my friends can sneak onboard a ship.)

How does this work?

Mechanically an example scenario where this is useful is as follows:

I am wanting to sneak away. I have decent Stealth skill, but my Deception is untrained and terrible.

Fortunately, you are around and wanting to help out. So you ◆prepare to help, as is needed for Aid, and I use the ◆Create a Diversion action anyway since it is an untrained action. But then instead of your ↺Aid reaction giving a +1 circumstance bonus to my roll, you roll your Performance check and I use your result in my Create a Diversion action instead of my own terrible Deception roll.

So narratively, your performance is drawing the attention of everyone away from me, and I can sneak away.

OK, I think I get it. It's just worded a bit oddly. Thanks.

My Battledancing Kitsune Swashbuckler has taken Distracting Performance at level 4. The rulebook has this to say about it:

Prerequisites expert in Performance
Your performances are especially distracting, allowing your allies to Sneak away with ease. When you Aid an ally who is trying to Create a Diversion, instead of the usual effects of Aid, you can roll a Performance check and use that result to determine the outcome of the diversion, instead of the ally rolling a Deception check.

It reads as if I can only use the skill to aid an ally's distraction. But my character is a performer and it seems that I should be able to create a distraction by myself. (For example, doing a dance performance on a city dock so that my friends can sneak onboard a ship.)

How does this work?

All,

I have an Empty Sky Kitsune Swashbuckler Battledancer that's just about to turn level 4. She has Martial Disciple in acrobatics and is taking Basic Sorcerer Spellcasting at level 4 and Expert Sorcerer Spellcasting at 12. She has Foxfire as her first ancestry feat. I gave her Acrobatic Performer at level 2 and Assurance in acrobatics at level 3.

I have her class feats and ancestry feats mapped out for the next few levels. But I am having a hard time selecting general skills. Most of them seem... rather lackluster.

So I'm looking for advice on what useful general skills to give her as she levels up. Preferably synergistic with her current path, of course.

Curious what you are doing with the katana, though, since it is neither finesse or agile.

What I'm doing with a katana is fudging.

It is *actually* a rapier. It just *looks* like a katana. For thematic reasons.

Southern Claw wrote:

Does it cost more to enchant weapons made of silver or cold iron? I mean aside from the increased cost of the weapon itself?

Sort of. You need higher grade purity of the materials to have higher level enchantments on it. So to keep competitive it gets more expensive.

What I mean is, is it more expensive to enchant a +1 on a silver weapon than it is on a steel one? I'm not talking about the cost of the weapon. Just the cost of the enchantment.

Does it cost more to enchant weapons made of silver or cold iron? I mean aside from the increased cost of the weapon itself?

Cold iron works against Demons, Silver versus Devils.

Do they take extra damage from these, or is it just that they don't resist the damage?

All,

My Kitsune Swashbuckler is a drinker. She likes beer and wine but I'm thinking that distilled alcohol is something she would really go for. As in spending 2 or 3 gp between adventures buying and consuming the good stuff.

Of course, this begs the question: Does distilled alcohol even exist on Golarion? And if so, can it be found in the place where most of the written adventures for Pathfinder Society members take place? And also, how much it would cost (I know there would be a range depending on quality).

I only have the Core Rulebook and it just lists beer and wine.

All,

My swashbuckler is level 3, and already **really** tired of ghosts and devils and things that resist normal damage.

She carries a katana and wakizashi (short sword). I'd like to work the wakizashi into something that's effective against ghosts and other "things of the Netherworld." (I have other plans for the katana, but want to keep a weapon handy for those annoying situational encounters.) Obviously I'll need to get a ghost touch enchantment on the wakizashi, but I am also thinking of making it out of either silver or cold iron.

I know that in Pathfinder the "Netherworld" is not one place but is actually broken down into different planes, and that demons are different from devils. It's all a bit confusing for my ancient brain. Of the two materials, silver or cold iron, is one effective against both demons and devils? Anything you can recommend?

All,

I'm running my first original Pathfinder character, a Kitsune swashbuckler (and having a blast, thankyouverymuchforasking). But I have a couple of questions:

Say I have panache and decide to spend it doing a finishing move. Do I announce it before I roll to hit, or after I hit and am about to do damage? (I've been announcing it before.)

If I announce the finishing move before rolling to hit, and I miss, do I still lose panache?

Then with Nimble Dodge:

Does the +2 circumstance bonus only apply against a single enemy attack? And do I announce I'm using it before the GM rolls to hit?

Thanks in advance.

Indeed, bumping up your Acrobatics along with whatever skill your Style (the subclass) gives you is key, since you'll be trying to use Tumble Through and whatever action your Style dictates to regain your panache whenever you spend it.

Since you're a fellow kitsune, might I guess that you're going to be a Fencer or Wit Swash?

I selected Battledancer.

I'm working on a Kitsune Swashbuckler. It's my first Pathfinder character. (Yes, I've been told that I should try something simpler for my first time. But when have I ever in my life made things easier for myself?)

Tumble Through is a single action. OK. But is it a skill that I need to buy in order to do it? It grants me panache, so obviously I'll be doing it a lot.

I'm using Pathbuilder 2e (on my PC) and it's not coming up an a skill option anywhere.

Like double slice? In class swashbucklers get twin parry (and its stance), and dual finisher (which is an okay finisher, a bit situational). Dual weapon warrior gives you access to a bunch of pretty good dual wielding feats.

OK, thanks. That's the information I was looking for. Dual Weapon Warrior.

Subject line says it all.

I have a Swashbuckler Battledancer and I'd like for her to get dual wielding. Is this possible?

In the hamburger (three stacked lines) menu at the top left of the screen you will find a "Save Character" option. It will open a little confirmation window that will have a checkbox that asks if you want to save a new copy.

Image.

Yes, I see that. But where is the new copy? How do I name it? How do I call it back and switch between the different copies?

Can't access a PC right now, but on the android app there's an option to manually save your current character which also gives you the opportunity to create an extra copy. I would assume it's similar on the web version.

Yes, I also assume there's an option. I just can't find it.

I'm using Pathbuilder 2e on my PC.

But I'm having a difficult time mapping out my character's progression through her levels. I keep selecting different choices to see how things shake out. But if I don't like the changes and want to go back to the previous choice, there isn't an undo option that I am aware of. It can be really tough to re-select the previous options because some of the choices have to be reselected, because they are sub-choices.

Is there a way to save a copy of my character so I can play around with with the copy and then just open the original and be back where I was before?

3. Consider the kineticist. For multiclass you'll still need to spend feats to improve your offensive scaling but it won't require you waste precious skill boosts, and there are cool utility impulses too to avoid making further investment. Or consider going full classed. There are some exciting dynamic movement options that can get you that acrobatic vibe, like using a jet of flame to propel yourself across the battle field or up into the air. If you want your main schtick to be throwing fire, this is really the best option.

OK, is Kineticist something I can do in addition to being a swashbuckler?

Where do I find this (using Pathbuilder on my PC)?

...If you want more spell slots than that, you have to spend one of your higher level feats on Expert Sorcerer Spellcasting, and eventually Master Sorcerer Spellcasting. You can also gain more slots of the same...

This was really helpful. It was my proficency level in Nature being too low that had me locked out of choosing Expert Sorcerer Spellcasting.

Now I have hard choices to make. I'd wanted to bump up acrobatics and performance proficiencies, but that will be really difficult if I'm focusing on Nature.

Your suggestion about Bloodline Breadth is really good too. The lower level fire spells fit my concept better than higher level ones do. So maybe I'll not bump up Nature proficiency so much to get Expert Sorcerer and go that route instead.

THANK YOU for your help!

At level 12 if you have Master proficiency in Nature, you will be able to spend your level 12 class feat on Expert Sorcerer Spellcasting.

THERE is it is!

I needed to put more proficiency in Nature. It wasn't allowing me to select Expert Sorcerer until I did that. I had no idea that was a requirement.

Thank you so very much.

However, as an archetype Sorcerer, you do not gain these bloodline spells automatically. When you get a new spell, you can choose a spell from the primal spell list or a bloodline spell of the same level, so when you selected Basic Spellcasting, Pathbuilder has given you all your choices, i.e. those from the Primal spell list and the bloodline spell of the appropriate level, which is why your choice is wider than just the bloodline spells. Those are thematic choices, which is why they’re given for free to full sorcerers, but you have very limited space available in your repetoire as an archetype sorcerer so may wish to go for something else.

I am still confused. If I do not take Basic Sorcerer Spellcasting then I get no spells to select from at all.

I don't want to take it if I don't have to. I want a few fire-based spells, but I don't want to spend skills and feats more than once to get the same access to this magic.

Since you are not a full sorcerer, but a multiclass sorcerer, you will not gain any additional spells unless you spend more feats.

How do I spend more feats? How do I get Pathbuilder to let me select more feats? I've been up and down the menus and can't figure it out.

So. Rolled up a Kitsune Swashbuckler. I'm new to Pathfinder so I'm using Pathbuilder to work out how she is going to level up. But I'm really confused.

I took Sorcerer Dedication at level 2:

Prerequisites Charisma 14
Choose a bloodline. You become trained in the bloodline’s two skills; for each of these skills in which you were already trained, you become trained in a skill of your choice. You cast spells like a sorcerer. You gain access to the Cast a Spell activity. You gain a spell repertoire with two common cantrips from the spell list associated with your bloodline, from the spells granted by your bloodline, or any other cantrips of that tradition you learn or discover. You’re trained in spell attack rolls and spell DCs for your tradition’s spells. Your key spellcasting ability for sorcerer archetype spells is Charisma, and they are sorcerer spells of your bloodline’s tradition. You don’t gain any other abilities from your choice of bloodline.

So I selected Phoenix as my Bloodline:

Bloodline Skills Diplomacy, Nature
Granted Spells cantrip: detect magic, 1st: burning hands, 2nd: see invisibility, 3rd: fireball, 4th: remove curse, 5th: breath of life, 6th: disintegrate, 7th: contingency, 8th: moment of renewal, 9th: meteor swarm
Bloodline Spells initial: rejuvenating flames, advanced: shroud of flame, greater: cleansing flames
Blood Magic The primal fire of life and death flows through you or one target. Choose to have either you or a target of the spell gain temporary Hit Points equal to the spell's level for 1 round, or to have a target of the spell take fire damage equal to the spell's level (if the spell already deals initial fire damage, combine this with the spell's initial damage before determining weaknesses and resistances).

But when I set Pathbuilder to show the character at higher levels, none of these spells are listed as available.

So at Level 4 as a class Feat I took Basic Sorcerer Spellcasting.

This lets me pick from a huge number of spells, not just the ones listed under Sorcerer Dedication.

What am I doing wrong?

My character has a 10 INT. So they would get just common and their racial language, yes?

It's under 'Details.'

Ah. There it is. Thank you.

Sorry, I'm using the PC version. I should have specified.

Hey all,

I am new to Pathfinder and I am making up a character in Pathbuilder 2e. I think I have almost everything down, but when I create the stat block pdf it lists my languages as none selected.

How do I select languages for my character so they will print out nicely on the pdf sheets?