Spike E. Bits's page

I feel very slightly bad... but not terribly.

I rewrote some of Auberon's statblock to make him far more dangerous.

Specifically, he now has Spell Perfection (Horrid Wilting) because of how appropriate it is to his story. He's spent centuries studying among other things, and now has both an Empowered and a Quickened Horrid Wilting prepared (in addition to the general prep outlined in the AP).

I made a couple other small changes. We have a Paladin/Multiclass, so he has Warding Bracers of Armor, for instance. He also has Secluded Grimoire'd his main spellbook to keep some of his secretes to himself (aka away from the Wizard), and those are the spells he will have if he is reconstituted on Kalas-Ti (my group is dead set on destroying him, so I need to follow up with a book 6 version of him).

I wish I'd come here earlier to think up a better history from him. My timeline is scrunched compared to Paizo's (~5,000 years instead of 10,000) but it still feels lackluster that he is the terror of such a small area. I think I'm going to drop clues in his Omen Dominion bungalo about stasis or tinkering or, more likely, plans of a counterattack against a previous group of heroes that laid him low.

bolding above mine

(From Spell Perfection - "...as long as the total modified level of the spell does not use a spell slot above 9th level. " so... a Silent Horrid Wilting would be ok, (cast from an 8th level slot), but not the other two examples...)

Running this soon, and prepping the monsters and looking at Dahaaka and ... well, I'd like to know how other people have run her.

in particular her Wild Shape ability.
It seems to me that she should Wild Shape to Water Elemental - at her level that would be a Huge Elemental right?
"At 12th level, a druid can also use wild shape to change into a Huge elemental...When taking the form of an elemental, the druid's wild shape now functions as elemental body IV."
and that would give her
"... immune to bleed damage, critical hits, and sneak attacks while in elemental form and gain DR 5/—."

"Water elemental: ...+4 to Strength, –2 penalty to Dexterity, +8 to Constitution, and a +6 natural armor bonus...also gain swim 120 feet."

What are the down sides to this tactic that I am missing?

thanks in advance for the advice!

A “runner” of Leslie’s?

A Trestle of Leshies?

Or, realizing they are all PCs?... A Party of Leshies!

Anti-social dwarf druid who really doesn't like animals. Or people. or things that move around much.

Plants are nice. And rocks.

The lodge GMs here disagreed with the tree sled idea saying that they'd just roll for damage for it being "dragged", eventually killing off the companion.

Just how much damage does being "dragged" thru snow do? and how do the normal sleds survive it? Never mind, clearly "the lodge GMs" would just come up with something else to nerf the idea. Sigh... Oh well... If I were the table judge we would totally go with this.

Again, the other question that's being brought up was what do you do with a large companion and the sled? The talk right now is that squeezing could be a thing, but then the druid couldn't fit. There's also the idea of using the companion instead of the dog, but the harness technically wouldn't fit or they'd just do a makeshift attempt with a skill roll and only move at 3/4x speed.

What would you guys do?

Have the Tree AC lay down and hook a team of dogs to it... instant sled. (18" wide and 6' long? Sounds like the tree trunk to me. "Please keep all limbs inside while the sled is in motion... "

:)

It's really going to freak the Aspis out when they stop and one of the sleds stands up though... LOL!

Not sure who would be rolling the Driving check though, the guy "riding" on the sled or the "Animal Companion"!

Spike E. Bits wrote:

MadScientistWorking wrote:

Wei Ji the Learner wrote:

...but can tiny bird communicate with party or snipe from far away?

I think nosig has hit it on the head, Harsk needs a good 'set-up' but few parties are willing to give it due to the ever-escalating push of the 'rocket-tag race'.

Lini has a range of 120 ft. If you switch her build around she can do it while wildshaped but her best ranged option does have that range.

Are you talking about spell ranges? What spell?

entangle has a range of Long... so that would be 400 +40/level. And is one of her prepared spells at all levels... or are you talking about something else?

entangle is actually a good spell to use with shooting. Drop it on the bad-guys and stand back and plink them to pieces. Or even back up and plink them even more. Even when they make their save, it slows them down. I've seen a wand of entangle being called "a Wand of Slowing the Enemy Down" - cause even with the DC11 save they couldn't get out of the AOE before the caster dropped another one. All the while the party was shooting them to pieces...

I was talking about produce flame which isn't a bad spell in off itself. Its just the range is pointless.

now I am confused. Lini doesn't have produce flame prepared, so unless you are switching out her spells (something I have had several judges not allow) she doesn't have it available.

edit: and why do you feel the range is pointless?

Wei Ji the Learner wrote:

...but can tiny bird communicate with party or snipe from far away?

I think nosig has hit it on the head, Harsk needs a good 'set-up' but few parties are willing to give it due to the ever-escalating push of the 'rocket-tag race'.

Lini has a range of 120 ft. If you switch her build around she can do it while wildshaped but her best ranged option does have that range.

Are you talking about spell ranges? What spell?

entangle has a range of Long... so that would be 400 +40/level. And is one of her prepared spells at all levels... or are you talking about something else?

entangle is actually a good spell to use with shooting. Drop it on the bad-guys and stand back and plink them to pieces. Or even back up and plink them even more. Even when they make their save, it slows them down. I've seen a wand of entangle being called "a Wand of Slowing the Enemy Down" - cause even with the DC11 save they couldn't get out of the AOE before the caster dropped another one. All the while the party was shooting them to pieces...

clearly, this is another instance of the person writing the rules, doesn't read the rules they are referencing...

likely the confusion is coming from the rules use of the General Purpose training listed in the CRB. The one called "Combat Training (DC 20)"...

From the Handle Animal skill as listed in the CRB...
Train an Animal for a General Purpose: Rather than teaching an animal individual tricks, you can simply train it for a general purpose. Essentially, an animal's purpose represents a preselected set of known tricks that fit into a common scheme, such as guarding or heavy labor. The animal must meet all the normal prerequisites for all tricks included in the training package. If the package includes more than three tricks, the animal must have an Intelligence score of 2 or higher.

An animal can be trained for only one general purpose, though if the creature is capable of learning additional tricks (above and beyond those included in its general purpose), it may do so. Training an animal for a purpose requires fewer checks than teaching individual tricks does, but no less time.
• Combat Training (DC 20): An animal trained to bear a rider into combat knows the tricks attack, come, defend, down, guard, and heel. Training an animal for combat riding takes 6 weeks. You may also "upgrade" an animal trained for riding to one trained for combat by spending 3 weeks and making a successful DC 20 Handle Animal check. The new general purpose and tricks completely replace the animal's previous purpose and any tricks it once knew. Many horses and riding dogs are trained in this way.

so, it looks like a mount with less than a 2 INT can't have Combat Training?

Muse. wrote:

wait - isn't a banana a berry? 8 bananas at once... O.O

The edible part of a banana is actually the seed.

Knowledge (Nature) to discern what berries are ripe in the region during that season of the year.

ah - no.

Banana Wiki.. "The banana is an edible fruit – botanically a berry" - Wikipedia

the common banana most people eat is the Cavendish bananas - which are a sterile hybrid. And all of them are basically clones, which is... another story. The "seeds" in the Cavendish are the little black specks inside the fruit - which are very sterile and have almost disappeared in the Cavendish hybrid (and in most commercially grown varsities). If you find a "Wild" banana, the seeds are VERY noticeable and MUSH larger in the fruit.

Actually, I've been using a wand for healing for a little while... (At low levels). Net healing per charge is only 2d4, but it comes in one HP units. So it's great to "top off" - being able to heal up that last HP or two without using an entire CLW wand charge. No "wasted healing".

I know it wont be as useful as we level up, with a limit of 8 HP healing per PC per day - but then I'll still be using it to "top off" HP, and each berry is a "full meal"! And I can see using it go get past encounters with "hungry monsters" - toss a few berries in it's mouth and it's not "hungry" any more! Maybe it'll go away.

Anyway - not a total replacement for a CLW wand, but useful in it's own way.... and the RP possibilities!

Halfling PC:"each berry is a full meal... how many have you had this morning? Five for me..."

Goblin PC:"BURP! ... 10 I think. Not heal me any more, but not so hungry right now..."

Driver_325yards wrote:

Jeraa wrote:

Driver_325yards wrote:

I really don't know, but can you eat 30 goodberries at once?

It would depend on the type of berry. Can you eat 30 blueberries at once? 30 strawberries?

But as you can only get healing from 8 berries on any given day, eating 30 wouldn't do anything extra.

Good point, can you eat 8 at one time? Is it a free, move, standard action? Can you keep them in your mouth like chewing tobacco and then just munch when ready?

Basically trying to figure out if the spell is worth anything

It is not worth anything in a fight, use CLW. The times it comes into it's own it really shouldn't make any difference how long it takes to eat a berry.

heck, I burn a few of the spells off before a fight (2PP for a wand of the spell) and hand the berries out in groups of 8. (I use Holly Berries, so they are real small). That way the other PC is able to do his own healing - it's like giving him a Healing Potion of up to 8HP of healing (controllable by the PC).

and any unused berries get used as food late in the day (or given to beggars etc. as we feel like it).

how about casting Faerie Fire on a Returning Chakram and making it look like Tron?

wow... I picture another use for the spells
Wood Shape and Stone Shape - are diamonds stone? Or why limit it to just diamonds... all types of gemstones made into false teeth... Talk about a smile that will sparkle!

Spike E. Bits wrote:

Swapped his Hide armor to Dragon Hide Breastplate (2 PP) (pushing his AC above 20)

Sorry for the derail. Out of curiosity, can you do this at level 1.2? "Dragonhide armor costs twice as much as masterwork armor of that type" of armor. Breastplate is 200gp. Masterworks pushes that to 350gp. So double that is 700gp. Since dragonhide is not on the "always available" special material list, a player would need 9 fame. A 1.2 character would have, at almost, 4 fame.

yeah - what they said.

I was thinking of getting it with armor spikes (+50 gp) or something... maybe silver filigree inlay or something that costs 50 gp... even if it would just be "flavor text"... seems a loss to not spend the full 750 gp allowed for the 2PP, but oh, well...

Nefreet wrote:

Brendan Molloy wrote:

I suppose my argument is that at level 1 all characters are transient and can be completely rebuilt before level 2, which puts them on the same level as a pregen.

If you're playing your own character, you have access to resources and abilities that Pregens don't.

So, no, they are entirely different situations.

What different resources?

And Kenku, you've completely ignored my point that there is no difference between two identically built Druids aside from which character number each one belongs to.

As a point I don't spend gp or pp before level 2 for this very reason.

1st of all, you have my sympathy for getting stuck in a bad game. Hate when that happens...

I am looking at playing a Tier 1-5 game this week, and looking thru my PC available to play in it. I could play a "fresh guy" with 150gp in stuff, or one of several others who have differing amounts of equipment. Most likely I will be playing my level 1.2 Druid. The reason I would play him? he has a lot more equipment. After his first game he picked up:
- a Wand of good berries for party healing (2 PP).
- three scrolls of 1st level spells (which means he has access to twice as many spells)
- a Healers kit, Masterwork Thieves tools (swapped my normal Tools on these, so it's sort of an upgrade) and 4 other Masterwork tools (boosting 6 of his skills by +2, or I could loan them to another player if they is better than my druid at using them).

After his 2nd game he picked up:
- Swapped his Hide armor to Dragon Hide Breastplate (2 PP) (pushing his AC above 20)
- Swapped his normal wooden shield to a Darkwood shield..
- and I'm looking at upping his Ax to a Masterwork Ax... maybe. Or I'll go into the next game with a little over 300 gp for use in the game.

What I'm trying to say is - why do you hamstring your PC by NOT using the resources you have available as a PC with more wealth? Why restrict yourself to starting equipment? Could you have avoided the TPK with more equipment (perhaps a potion of Invisibility - did you have access)? What was on your first Chronicle that you could have bought before this last game?

So... the "difference between two identically built Druids", one just starting and one with 2 chronicles? For me, that would be:

- a Wand of a 1st level spell (50 charges).
- twice as many spells available for use.
- 6 boosted skills (+2 on each) and the ability to loan the boosts out to other PCs.
- +2 on his AC.
- 5 points less on his Armor Check Penility.
- and maybe a +1 to hit, or else 300 gp available during the game (for buying stuff I need during the game).

Various forms of nutritious meals for a wide variety of new friends.

It's amazing how many encounters can be solved peacefully if the inhabitants of the places that we're just visiting fill their belly with food instead of pathfinders.

A couple good berries in a chunk of meat...

Katisha wrote:

Murdock Mudeater wrote:

Keirine, Human Rogue wrote:

No, but Dragonhide is specifically called out as not being always available and, therefore, requiring fame.

Or by using PP to bypass the fame requirements. Dragonhide Breastplate is 700gp and is therefore eligible for a 2pp purchase.

is there anything a person could add to this to push the "cost" up to 750? say silver etching? or ermine or mink lining? or... something? maybe just a "designer label" or a little alligator logo etched on it? Seems a waste to not "use up" the last of the 750gp value on a 2 PP purchase...

Make it spiked dragonhide armor? (armor spikes add 50 to the price of an armor)

AH-HA! perfect! putting this on my "get" list! (now to just figure out how it works)

yeah, my Core Druid is named Spike E. Bits!

I had a newbie use SNA-1 to summon an eagle, then gnome racial Speak With Animals to tell it to carry a healing potion to a character trying to revive a certain NPC who needs it in The Confirmation. I was pretty impressed the player came up with that.

ah... it only lasts one round at first level right? how did she have TIME to tell it what to do and get it to do it? ... Grab potion, next round summon, next round tell it to carry this over to that guy, ... yeah, maybe it would work. Good timing would be important (if I tried that, the darn bird would bite my hand and take my glove to the target! lol)

Spike E. Bits wrote:

pulls up chair and taps beer keg,

While I empathize with your frustration, baiting is uncalled for. So far everyone has been helpful and polite, lets please keep it that way.

actually - I was hoping that by quoting the magic phrase ("Yellow Tengu!") we would avoid the School One types - and maybe get those persons that have the "denial auto-response " to pause a moment and think, before issuing a blanket objection. Sort of vaccination against that sort of response.

:)

pulls up chair and taps beer keg, settling in to wait for those persons sure to object. After all, some people on the board default to the view that the poster is "up to something" and that they are not going to let them "get away with this kind of shenanigans", even when they can't think of any broken application themselves. ... yeah, I'm a bit of a cynic...just remembering "Yellow Tengu!")

Murdock Mudeater wrote:

Fromper wrote:

Seriously? People are trying to claim that plants are sentient?

If we're talking the special types of plants in the Bestiaries, maybe, but for your normal rows of hedges being trimmed by a gardener, that's just nonsense. A druid may not like nature being defiled, but not because of pity for the plant's feelings, since plants don't have feelings

You are clearly not a druid. Plants DO have feelings.

As for sentience, recall that many druids can speak with the plants. Even if not sentient, most druids would regard plants as sentient.

He doesn't look druish....

druish? wha...?

Fromper wrote:

Seriously? People are trying to claim that plants are sentient?

If we're talking the special types of plants in the Bestiaries, maybe, but for your normal rows of hedges being trimmed by a gardener, that's just nonsense. A druid may not like nature being defiled, but not because of pity for the plant's feelings, since plants don't have feelings

You are clearly not a druid. Plants DO have feelings.

As for sentience, recall that many druids can speak with the plants. Even if not sentient, most druids would regard plants as sentient.

but - how come no one is coming to the defense of the poor "screaming squirrels"? Are we just over looking them?

Murdock Mudeater wrote:

Ring_of_Gyges wrote:

What good character is going to stand around while my character tortures their slaves or carves up screaming squirrels?

No different from a neutral good druid standing by while a gardener shapes hedges with huge clippers. Those hedges are totally being tortured/disfigured by the gardener, all for the petty purpose of looking good in the eyes of people that don't appreciate the natural world...

That is not even remotely the same.

well... yes it is. At least in the eyes of the Druid.

Wow...picture a bag of Goodberries tossed into an open mouth...

"20 full meals..."

Quote:

Lots and lots of stuff about clerics, bards and sorcerers

IIRC, and I can't find it right now, if there is a scroll of a non-Core spell on the Chronicle sheet, a spontaneous caster can buy it and 'expend it' to put it on their list of spells from which they can choose. Or it may be that they can choose it when they next level up.

I think this also applied to clerics, but as I said, I can't find the specific rule clarification in regards.

Using a scroll in that way would add the spell to their spell list, just as adding it to a wizards Spellbook would add it to her spell list.

But absent the scroll, with only a wand, it is either not on the spell list and can't be cast without UMD, or the wand gives access, and the spell is on their spell list.

If it's on the list, it can be added when they get new spells (and a cleric can prep it).

So, it looks to me like they wouldn't be able to use the wand....IMHO.

Spike E. Bits wrote:

SodiumTelluride wrote:

Spike E. Bits wrote:

this thread has caused me to wonder about something "access related".

If a PC has access to a wand with a non-core spell on it, do they have access to the spell?

If not, how could they cast the spell from the wand? I mean, if they don't have access to the spell, just to the item, then the spell isn't on their spell list, so they couldn't use the wand with the spell... could they?

This is making my head hurt...

As Dave Baker said, PFS rules are meant to be as unambiguous as possible. It might lead to some situations like this that seem pretty dumb and almost counter-intuitive, but those are the rules.

Let's say you have a Core wizard who gets his hands on a wand of vanish. I'm pretty sure how this works is that you're considered to have "enough" casting access to use the wand-- it's a wizard spell, after all. But you don't have enough to write it into your spellbook when you level up, because you're Core. I agree that it's weird-- but we're already playing in an environment in which an intelligent item with a specific personality that appears on a Chronicle sheet has potentially unlimited clones of itself (one per player). So PFS is already weird.

actually I don't think the wizard could cast it. It would be like a Wand of Cure Light Wounds which is on the Bard list (and thus an Arcane spell) but not on his Spell List (not a wizard spell). So he could UMD it, but not just activate it. IMHO.

That I'd disagree with. It's still a wizard spell. It's just a wizard spell that he doesn't have access to in any form other than the wand. So he doesn't have a scroll, can't copy it into his spellbook and prepare it, etc.

Now there's a question: If you get a scroll of a non-Core spell from a chronicle, can a wizard copy it into his spellbook and continue to use it in the future? I know spellbooks can be copied, but scrolls?

so... what about a cleric spell? Does a Cleric who owns a wand of a non-core spell have the ability to prepare that spell? Let's say Burning Disarm. Cleric has a wand of it. Can he prepare it?

a) NO - he doesn't have access to prepare it. This means that he can use a wand of a spell that is not on his spell list... Kind of like using a wand of Longstrider when he doesn't have the Travel Domain (a cleric with Travel would have it on his spell list and thus could use it). The spell isn't on his spell list - yet he can use the wand.

b) YES - the spell is on his spell list, and thus he can both prepare it and use the wand.

The wizard with the wand of vanish is in the same boat. He has a spell on a wand that is either:
a) not on his spell list.
or
b) on his spell list - BUT NOT IN HIS BOOK.

Now, let's talk Sorcerer/Bard... if he gets the wand of vanish can he cast it? If he can, can he then add the spell (which would have to be on his spell list for him to be able to use the spell trigger item) when he levels and gains a new 1st level spell known? (Spells Known are picked from his spell list).

Spike E. Bits wrote:

this thread has caused me to wonder about something "access related".

If a PC has access to a wand with a non-core spell on it, do they have access to the spell?

If not, how could they cast the spell from the wand? I mean, if they don't have access to the spell, just to the item, then the spell isn't on their spell list, so they couldn't use the wand with the spell... could they?

This is making my head hurt...

As Dave Baker said, PFS rules are meant to be as unambiguous as possible. It might lead to some situations like this that seem pretty dumb and almost counter-intuitive, but those are the rules.

Let's say you have a Core wizard who gets his hands on a wand of vanish. I'm pretty sure how this works is that you're considered to have "enough" casting access to use the wand-- it's a wizard spell, after all. But you don't have enough to write it into your spellbook when you level up, because you're Core. I agree that it's weird-- but we're already playing in an environment in which an intelligent item with a specific personality that appears on a Chronicle sheet has potentially unlimited clones of itself (one per player). So PFS is already weird.

actually I don't think the wizard could cast it. It would be like a Wand of Cure Light Wounds which is on the Bard list (and thus an Arcane spell) but not on his Spell List (not a wizard spell). So he could UMD it, but not just activate it. IMHO.

this thread has caused me to wonder about something "access related".

If a PC has access to a wand with a non-core spell on it, do they have access to the spell?

If not, how could they cast the spell from the wand? I mean, if they don't have access to the spell, just to the item, then the spell isn't on their spell list, so they couldn't use the wand with the spell... could they?

This is making my head hurt...

How do you get a dragonhide breastplate? Boon? Chronicle sheet?

Don't need to know particulars, just seem to recall it being on the 'restricted items' in the Guide?

2PP

Gets an item up to 750gp value...

trollbill wrote:

Worst case I have seen recently was a CORE game that had 4 players with no real healer. We had 4 CLW wands but the only one who could use one was a Druid who went down in the middle of the second battle. I was the only one who also had a Potion of CLW to force down the Druid's throat and got lucky enough on the role to make him conscious enough to use the Wands. Otherwise it might have been a short adventure.

Where is your potion of CLW and how is it labled?

Many Druids I play with prep a goodberry spell, and if the adventure runs more than a day, will have 2d4 berries per level ... We would start by feeding her those...

I'm trying out a new wand for healing... At low levels a wand of Goodberries. Net healing per charge is only 2d4, but it comes in one HP units. So it'll be great to "top off" - being able to heal up that last HP or two without using an entire wand charge. No "wasted healing".

It wont be as useful as we level up, with a limit of 8 HP healing per PC per day - but then I'll still be using it to "top off" HP, and each berry is a "full meal"! I can see using it go get past encounters with "hungry monsters" - toss a few berries in it's mouth and it's not "hungry" any more!

Anyway - not a total replacement for a CLW wand, but useful in it's own way.... and the RP possibilities!

Halfling PC:"each berry is a full meal... how many have you had this morning? Five for me..."
Goblin PC:"BURP! ... 10 I think. Not heal me any more, but not so hungry right now..."