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I personally think option 2 is best. While true stars never really indicated the quality always it did show some level of dedication, and much of the experience will be transferable. I mean general game mastering role-playing portions won't be terribly different, and much of Golorian's lore will similarly be accessible. I think it makes sense to give a slightly accelerated way to get stars back.
*rant start* So I was planning a silly build using a pufferfish familiar and with ultimate wilderness came a lot of familiar things. Now the pufferfish can't even attack with its poison so to use it was taking some setup, but the poison used to be staggered 1 round then paralyzed for rounds. Somehow it got altered to staggered one round then minor strength damage. Given that poisons in Pathfinder have never been terribly powerful, who saw the pufferfish and thought, this is too powerful?! I like challenges, but I like nice payoffs for those challenges, so it kinda annoys me when things like this get nerfed, while a lot of the generally broken mechanics stick around or get more broken. Cause, while I spend time buffing a pufferfish poison DC and trying to goad things with enchantment to attack it, would be fun if it means they get paralyzed potentially, other wizards are just dazing acid arrowing things for a 3rd level spell slot. Considering how many things are simply immune, how many saves this takes at not great DCS to start, and how much prep is needed for this to work even reasonably, I don't know why it was worth the time when it removes the flavor of the apparently dreaded fugu fish. *rant over*
So I was building a Psychic bloodline sorcerer and was planning to take the veiled illusionist prestige class. I was building it in hero lab and it is interacting weirdly and upon rereading, I want a second opinion or 2.
Undercasting Prodigy:
Undercasting Prodigy (Sp): Starting at 9th level, whenever you gain a new level of spells, you automatically replace any psychic bloodline spells that can be undercast with the highest-level version you can cast in your list of spells known. For example, at 9th level, you would replace mind thrust I, id insinuation I, and ego whip I with mind thrust IV, id insinuation III, and ego whip II, respectively, as spells known. It says any psychic bloodline spells, regardless of if you in sorcerer long enough to get it as a bonus spell, at least that is how hero lab is reading it. I don't think it is entirely intentional but RAW is that how it works?
So I was building a Psychic bloodline sorcerer and was planning to take the veiled illusionist prestige class. I was building it in hero lab and it is interacting weirdly and upon rereading, I want a second opinion or 2.
It says any psychic bloodline spells, regardless of if you in sorcerer long enough to get it as a bonus spell, at least that is how hero lab is reading it. I don't think it is entirely intentional but RAW is that how it works?
So the spell parchment swarm reads
Spell description:
When you cast this spell, you quickly tear a parchment into shreds, releasing the flying fragments to swarm around a target creature and deliver thousands of tiny paper cuts. Using normal parchment, the spell deals 1d6 points of magical slashing damage per caster level (maximum 15d6).
If you use a magic scroll as the material component, choose one of the spells stored in the scroll. If the spell is 1st level, you can choose to apply the effect of that spell to the parchment swarm’s target on a failed Reflex save (if the spell on the scroll has its own saving throw, the target then attempts that save as normal). If the spell on the scroll is at least 2nd level, you can choose to instead change parchment swarm to affect a 20-foot-radius spread instead of a single target. The way it's written I feel like the 2nd level scroll version literally does nothing. My question is was this intended to be an increasing effect? So paper does damage, and first level scroll does damage and might affect them with the spell, and a second level or higher scroll does both those previous things and affects and area?
I like a lot of the the theme of this book :-p
One major gripe:
Why does good not get nice balanced with evil things? I could see the rounds per level if it was 1 round per level as in starts off worse but eventually becomes better(when you are actually still playing), or may instead of a full round cast you get it as a standard to at least make it worth it eventually. But infernal healing is just better overall.
Personally I liked the spell. I felt that limiting it to standard action spells only made it much more reasonable, and it did provide a balance for aspiring necromancers due to the undead don't stick around clause. (in home games that could get a bit unbalanced, but pfs balanced better because of it) I just never saw it as truly broken, just a boon of your class, that you sometimes had to work with to get cool things, like any other ability. People just get this weird vision of it being unbalanced because it deals with something called "expensive", when really most spells you can use it with aren't that pricey in the long run. You could really only use it on expensive things with considerable risk of unconsciousness if you run into strength damage. Removing that damage does cost money or resources as well (spells or time). Really most of the broken things people come up with involve high level play in which you can often use other ways to achieve the same thing by that time anyway. I'm more annoyed by the spell component tracking you have to do without it. Part of why I avoid those extra optional components and usually avoid expensive spells. I like just being self sufficient.
So I am fairly certain I know the answer, but it occurred to me that the aegis of recovery states that when it is used to heal you after you drop to 0 hp or less it crumbles to dust. Does that mean it just destroys itself and if so can the dust be repaired with make whole? I'm doubting so, I just don't feel like being a member of the dawnflower's flock just for a dawnflower's sash and don't want to spend an extra 1500 gp every time I drop below 0. Might need to find another way, so any advice would also be accepted!
I'm not sure if there was a specific ruling but was having trouble finding a good answer.
Instead what about already being a wizard, but not a transmuter, and umding annihilation spectacles to act as if you had chosen the transmutation school? Or an Oracle using umd ona ring of revelation from a different mystery. If interested in why I am asking, I wanted to make someone specialized in umd and have quirky items worn, trying to use it as much as I can. If you have suggestions for items other than staffs, wands, and scrolls would be appreciated as well!
Alright so recently I have been playing a Kineticist and just hit level 10, and was picking up the Telekinetic maneuvers wild talent. This lets me use combat maneuvers as if it was the telekinesis spell. This apparently has several things less clear than it did at a glance, I cannot find a thread actually getting an answer on most of it. There are a few clarifications I think need to be made about the spell in general. 1. What is the CMD of the telekinesis when grappling someone? It is either the 10 + the CMB, 10 + the CMB + your Dex, or 10 + the CMD + your casting stat. I lean towards the middle one as I think it makes sense to still be based on your quickness. 2. Do rider effects occur? As in if I grapple someone 500 ft away with this spell are they pulled at break-neck speeds to me in order to be adjacent to me, allowing me to basically pull all my allies out of trouble when needed? Does failing a trip attempt by 10 or more with the spell mean I might fall over? And if you do keep them where they are when grappling in particular does it hold them there keeping them from falling? 3. Is size ever a consideration for this spell? If I am smaller like being a gnome do I take a penalty? If I polymorph into a huge thing do I get bonuses? Can I not trip things of much larger sizes? 4. When bull rushing can you choose the direction, or is it still straight away from you? 5. When grappling you can pin, but was it intended never to damage or move? I feel like move would make sense, may be not the others, but if you can damage what is the damage? 6. Specifically for the Kineticist does doing the steal maneuver pull the object right to you? 7. Do feats or bonuses that improve your combat maneuvers apply to the spell? Does Greater Grapple let me concentrate as a move action to maintain the spell/grapple, and am I still limited to only one maneuver check each round? Does Greater Trip allow the spell to let my allies get an attack of opportunity?
I thought it was a broken in two ship but looking closer might just be submerged a bit. I'm not sure I'd have a reason to go here, its got a druid hobo vibe of recycling the wrecked boat and using garbage to plant gardens on. I have a character that might live here... but that's a different story. Not sure what you would be really fighting here or why you need this map though.
At first glance I want to vote for it, but the devil is in the details. The tiered structure makes it hard to tell where things are. If someone is able to fly or just good at acrobatics questions to the gm will be can I get to x platform in such amount of movement and I am not entirely clear where each is in relation to each other.
Biggest problem is I can't read it easily at all, that is a resolution issue. Biggest story problem for me is the lava, cause that would melt ice fast I presume so does that mean that if the players take too long rooms have melted away? I could be wrong I'm unfamiliar with the interaction of glaciers and lava.
More detail in the blank areas would be good, are there trees? Is it all open plains? Dirt? It has to be something. I'm not sure if that boat was supposed to be it crashed so hard that it plowed through a house and that far inland, or it was dragged to where it now rests. Overall there is a lot going on that intrigues me, but more polish is needed!
Hmm I feel like its location should have been mentioned in the name, there is a post here saying it's in the sodden lands and I had to look real close to find the one place in the map it's mentioned. I like the look, I always like towers though haha. There is potential here, I think its supposed to be a ruin that has more recently become inhabited again.
I like that it tries something different, but I don't think it quite works for use. I would find it a tad hard to actually play on this map and given the scale I assume you should be. It can be hard to make overlapping areas work. Let's see pyramid has been mentioned, but I'm also looking at the pool house and lovers grove area. If there is a pool house was this like an ancient country club or resort? And who's been keeping the lovers grove trimmed, since the other side just over grew? Overall there are some cool ideas here and some parts that feel less thought out to me. I tend to like maps that end up on top of each other to be separated by level, just so it is easier to differentiate.
To me this is way too cluttered. It also makes those with necromancers squeal with delight. Lets put it this way, in an evil campaign myself and friends ran across a linorm skeleton written in the adventure path. The one doing all the undead animating just goes "we are going to make this happen". It is at least an interesting area choice, but between the clutter of all the bones everywhere in a large area, and not completely sure on how the scale is (size of pond made by an imposing river/huge quicksand areas) not quite in my top.
Marking what the rooms are and what the blue is would help tremendously. I have to think it was meant to be a largely sunk into the swamp type temple. May be like that one abandoned mall that got filled with rainwater and is now populated by a ton of fish. After looking into the name... looks like it can be found in fey revisited.... and it is a pretty good representation of what is described, unfortunately from the map alone prior to finding that description, I cannot visualize the description. The short version, label rooms, what is blue, what is underground, and it would give it a lot more umph.
Initially I was confused by the layout, but the side view in the corner explained my questions well. I like it it has potential, but I feel like there would be too much poisonous fumes from the volcanoes core still. On the other some dwarves have extra bonuses versus poison so might be fine for them usually. Overall solid in my view.
It is good that you chose a theme and went with it, but it seems like you have something specific in mind that can't quite be conveyed in the map alone. Main thing I think to work towards is less straight edged square rooms and hallways. They make it a little boring or if you can handle the pun square.
Let me start by saying I like probably even voting for it. But by far my biggest problem with this particular locale is how terrible the stench would be since it doesn't look completely decayed yet at all. So unless inhabited by a tribe of troglodytes not completely sure what would even live here :-p
There is always going to be a problem with attendance some of the time. Whether too many players to GM ratio, just to few, and sometimes too many people (I do hate turning people away but the store I run can really only fit two full tables really, three if less people per scenario.) Much of it does involve catering to those who attend regularly so they can still play, or at least play on and off with gming. As far as getting new GMs, sometimes you just have to ask someone you have seen around a bunch, and suggest something simple to start like first steps or the convocation. Once someone GMs once they are more likely to volunteer again.
The way I plan on ruling it is you need proficiency or you take the penalties as if they existed. I would also still count the character as wearing armor for the monk ac bonus. Whether or not it is there on the outside or melded I think that it is still there in some form of bulk; just giving the benefit of the doubt for all other penalties. Heck the proficiency needed can be seen as the ability to effectively meld the armor to your form. In a home game I think I would keep all the penalties for armor and encumberence but for pfs using my first paragraph. Do expect table variation until stated officially.
Personally I can see both sides of this, I think it sadly is something that depends on the situation. I mean if a wizard is hiding in a silent image barrel and fails a stealth check when guards are near (aka dust got kicked up and he sneezed) is that proof the image is fake since is didn't sound like it was in a barrel? What about when they go to open the barrel thinking it is a barrel and cant seem to grab it? What if just the wizard pops out and casts a spell at them? or casts a spell through the barrel? What situation does get proof is still under table variation currently. I do think spellcraft proves it in some cases you need to see the effect being made by the caster, and be able to identify it, as in able to hear or see it. (Note spellcraft does have the same distance penalties as Perception as well as other condition penalties). I clicked the FAQ haha
Well unless the fighter have spell craft IE can tell it was illusion cast it could have been teleporting just as easily or invisibility, or many other things. I would give the proof bonus to a wizard identifying such a thing, but I assume this has table variation. As for the watching soldiers vanish this is as much about where you chose to put the illusion. If the spell lets you change it you might need the readied action to do it so intricately at least. The construct I think would have to save as long as it isn't mind affecting. Illusions do have many problems and honestly I use them mostly to just avoid being found. Invisibility, I have seen a silent image used in a desert to make the party look like a large rock to a roc, and that works perfectly well, no reason for the roc to investigate one rock formation of many in the area. Illusion always seems more useful defensively or to give a brief moment of surprise, and largely needs to be used more creatively than some spells.
Well personally I'm not looking forward to another restart haha. I'm too invested in the rules as of current and will be several long dark nights with a red moon before I switch to something entirely different. I see there is a nerf the spell casters debate going on, I suppose to be expected, when spells keep getting added some things will be better than others. Same goes for magic items, class options, ect. Really I like having all these options, if something seems broken as a GM you can simply say no. Unless in PFS but they tend to block many broken things themselves. In the end the rules as always are really more a guideline in any home game, and with the current rules it is really pretty flexible to simply say stick to core mainly if there are things outside you want run it by me. PFS is a different can of worms but that is trying to balance rules in a way to keep everyone having fun. Where was I... I think I've lost my train of thought. Ah right, I would not be happy with a rules change unless it makes more logical sense in almost every change I see (which was a rare event that got me off my first system, dnd 3.5, to pathfinder) or I prefer the older system with more material at my disposal for use both by the GM to keep things interesting, and by the players to specialize awesomely. May be that's just me but if this system doesn't change extremely and just evolves over time I would greatly prefer that.
Now I will say the AC bonus is not going to keep up as easy with a fighter in full plate and shield who only puts into the bonus, but if it is a dex based fighter? That +3 bonus could easily get more ac than a single point worth. It just seems weird to allow that to work that way to me. May be more of my problem is with the agile property, as it certainly is one at times. Why not add a new dump stat to start this whole equation with. Really though it is more the fact that this combination of things makes this character have basically no weakness. When a character can just solo scenarios something is wrong, as this game is supposed to be a cooperative experience. If one build at a table could do everything, it makes others feel left out. I'm just ranting again at this point so time to end this post haha |
