Stephen Wight 333's page

Anybody else seen an uptick in disruptive play from players who are playing goblin characters? Maybe it's just that my play style differs greatly from the style in my new location, but I don't find it particularly enjoyable to spend my time cleaning up after a character that, in pf1, would've been arrested in the first act.

I wondered if folks might give me some feedback on a custom creature. Any idea the level such a creature should be? I don't know exactly what the stat modifiers are just yet:
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Clockwork Golem
Slam +15
Athletics +13
Reaction: When an attack misses the clockwork Golem by <5, the Golem may use its reaction to attempt to disarm the attacker. If it does so, it may hold (but not wield) the weapon
1 action: if the Clockwork Golem begins its turn holding a disarmed weapon, it may apply its slam damage to the weapon as an action (no attack trait)
AC 22
TAC 20
HP 115
Resistance: physical 5 except adamantine

Immune: mind affecting and Critical Hit damage (special)

Vulnerable: on a critical, instead of applying extra damage to the golem, apply it as you would an object with hardness 5 (apply non-crit damage normally). The Clockwork Golem can take two dents without becoming broken, but each dent applies a -2 penalty to all dice rolls (including damage) and -2 to AC. A broken Clockwork Golem does not function, but it may be repaired by an expert craftsman. A destroyed Cloclwork Golem cannot be repaired and is a total loss.
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Thoughts?

When a telekineticist uses Foe Throw, is she subject to the weight limits of Telekinetic Blast?

Ability links:
Telekinetic Blast
Telekinetic Haul
Foe Throw

Arguments in favor:

My question: Does a +1 Arrow fired from a +1 Evil-Outsider-Bane Bow at an evil outsider bypass DR/Silver or Cold Iron?

Some relevant sources:

Magic Ranged Weapons and Ammunition: When a ranged weapon shares its enhancement bonus with its ammunition, does this count as “true” enhancement bonus or more like a temporary bonus like greater magic weapon? In other words, does the shared enhancement bonus allow the arrow to bypass damage reduction as if it was cold iron, silver, adamantine, and aligned?

No, other than the ways indicated in the Core Rulebook (if the ranged weapon is at least +1, they count as magic, and if the ranged weapon is aligned they count as that alignment as well) the enhancement bonus granted to ammunition from the ranged weapon doesn’t help them overcome the other types of damage reduction. Archers and other such characters can buy various sorts of ammunition or ammunition with a high enhancement bonus to overcome the various types of damage reduction.

source: link

01–12 01–08 01–04 Bane(2) +1 bonus

...snip...
(2) Bows, crossbows, and slings crafted with this ability bestow this power upon their ammunition.

source (which is much more readable): link

So my question, I suppose, depends on the answer to this question:
When a Bane bow is fired, is the BOW getting the benefit of Bane, or is the ARROW getting the benefit of Bane?

Because if the BOW gets it, it then passes on its hit/damage, but the ammunition does not count as +3 for DR purposes. If the ARROW gets it, then the +1 the arrow has and the +2 from Bane make the ARROW a +3 arrow for all purposes, including DR.

I appreciate your responses!

I looked, but I couldn't find another thread.

Oracles who cast modern spells get cure or inflict spells in addition to their spells known.

That language is conspicuously absent from the description of wordcasting oracles

Oracles and Sorcerers

Oracle and sorcerer wordcasters gain bonus spells from their mysteries or bloodlines respectively, just like their spellcasting counterparts, and can cast these spells in addition to their wordspells by using up the appropriate spell slots. They can exchange effect words for new effect words according to their normal progression, but may not exchange their mystery or bloodline bonus spells

I know pretty well that in the rules forum, I'll get a RAW answer. I guess my question is whether people think it's also RAI that oracles have one fewer known spell per level if they are wordcasters?

And with that, we're back to developing more scenarios, sanctioning more playable content, and working toward our best convention season yet!

I hear there's a Drowned City whose seers could use some official Pathfinder Society sanctioning...

:)

If you're looking for suggestions, that is.

Is there a price in the book for purchasing a diminutive bird? I was thinking of buying a thrush and keeping him in a cage for my next PFS character - an Archaeologist bard.

If the bird dies, time to cast Air Bubble and get out!

Based on the following:

You can cast a spell at a lower caster level than normal, but the caster level you choose must be high enough for you to cast the spell in question, and all level-dependent features must be based on the same caster level.

Usually, a spell-like ability works just like the spell of that name. A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus. The user activates it mentally. Armor never affects a spell-like ability's use, even if the ability resembles an arcane spell with a somatic component.

A spell-like ability has a casting time of 1 standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description. In all other ways, a spell-like ability functions just like a spell.

Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated. Spell-like abilities cannot be used to counterspell, nor can they be counterspelled.

If a character class grants a spell-like ability that is not based on an actual spell, the ability's effective spell level is equal to the highest-level class spell the character can cast, and is cast at the class level the ability is granted.

Can a kineticist choose to use a kinetic blast as though they were of a lower level? That is, could a level 10 kineticist choose to fire a 1d6 + half con simple energy blast as though they were a level 1 kineticist?

I'm running this at home, outside of organized play. (It's not sanctioned for campaign mode, so no chronicles.)

The first room is as far as we got, and it took three hours!

Does anybody have any idea how long this module typically runs?

In the Golarion universe, do dragons tend to work alone, or have they been known to work together?

I've posted on product discussion, too, but I wasn't sure which location was appropriate, so I cross-posted. Hope you don't mind!

The Glyph of the Open Road (Pathfinder Society Logo, Logos package, Community Use Packages) is monochromatic, black-on-transparent.

I'd like to personally embroider the glyph onto a custom dice bag, and I was going to use gold. Would that be an acceptable use? The policy says not to change the color, but since it's monochromatic, I thought maybe.

Second, with a product like a dice bag, it's hard to incorporate the CUP statement into the item itself. Would a printed copy included with the dice bag (which I'm giving as a gift) be sufficient, or would I need to put it on a tag?

Thanks so much!

I'm running this tonight. I've been doing a bit of research, and I can't come up with a solid answer.

The Haunt on p14 doesn't offer a save. It does, however, mimic a spell that DOES offer a save. d6+str is not likely to kill anyone. But it seems unusual to ask a PC to harm themselves with no save.

I now what the rules say, under the brew potion feat, concerning making choices at the time of brewing. Potions of Lesser Restoration should be tagged with an ability score. (Potion of lesser restoration (constitution) )But they're often not. In the wild and on chronicle sheets, you'll find plenty of examples of untagged potions.

Has there been a campaign clarification about hand waving that requirement? I'll be honest, I didn't know it existed until earlier this week, and I'm going to have to go back now and change my characters' inventory to include tags.

I've also never seen it enforced. So I'm curious. Is this a requirement i should be using?

I'm planning a long battle. Like, a solid four-hour dungeon crawl. Our heroes have a way to track down the baddie who's been plaguing the town, but she's got time to prepare.

I don't imagine they'll have much time between battles to rest. If they do, they'll probably have a fight during one of the watches. How do I rate the CR of the fights at the end of the battle to represent their depleted resources?

I am constructing a witch to be the "Big Bad" for the sleepy little town my PCs started in. I'm pairing her with some undead of my own creation that function in almost every way like burning skeletons, except they deal negative energy damage instead of fire, and their aura empowers negative energy effects within 5 ft. (CR1)

My party is well-built, balanced, and tactically intelligent. They handled a CR6 encounter at level 2. I'm trying to decide at what level to bring in the witch.

I can't wait too long, as the build loses effectiveness pretty quickly.

She can control (L) HD of undead, so if I brought her in at 6th level, she'd have 2 channel dice, 6 minions, and level 3 spells. She'd be CR5, and each of the skeletons would be CR1, resulting in a CR7 encounter. But most of the power is centered in one creature.

Mm, she also has animate dead as a patron spell, and could conceivably raise 12HD of undead in one go (twice caster level, right?). I'm also unsure of how that interacts with bone thrall, though it would appear she has both pools of undead to pull from. Maybe she'll raise a skeletal T-Rex if she gets in trouble. We're in the mwangi expanse, after all.

Is this challenging or a TPK in the making? What kinds of tactical advantages should I give the PCs to make this fight a fight worth remembering?

Euphorica is a fairly interesting drug. But RAW it doesn't effect potions - only spells cast.

If I were to have it affect cure potions in a home campaign, how do you suppose I would let people detect it? Spellcraft 16 is just going to get them the Cure Light Wounds spell. How do I get them the rest of the way? Treat it like a cursed item?

Bracers of armor +1/spell storing

Since the bonus is a force effect, it works vs. Incorporeal creatures. Would that mean the spell stored would be cast on an incorporeal creature?

If the same character is wearing +3 full plate, do the bracers still work vs. the incorporeal? It says they shut down in the presence of more powerful armor, including their enhancements.

Might be fun to run around with a cure critical stored in your bracers. Never ever goes off until the shadow tries to steal your soul...then smack!

But it's a significant waste of money if you aren't regularly encountering incorporeal undead. So it's mostly a curiosity.

Any ideas how to estimate the cost and caster level to create this item?

I'm trying to figure it out for balance purposes, mostly. All of the players in this game get a custom item, and I'm trying to be sure they balance.

Item: Evoker's Wand of Spontaneity
Ability: Provides Spontaneous Evocation spell slots to casters

This item allows the spontaneous casting of any evocation spell that the user knows or has prepared that day. The user is granted a number of charges equal to the highest level of spell he or she can cast. These charges correspond to spell levels. A level one spell may be cast using one charge, a level four spell using four charges, etc.. This wand can be used to cast level 0 evocation spells and their racial spell-like counterparts as cantrips, regardless of whether the user is able to cast level 0 spells as cantrips.

When this wand serves as an arcane focus, it may be used to cast a single spell from either spellbook or spells known once per day as normal. However, if the spell cast is from the Evocation school, and if the wand has sufficient charges remaining, those charges can be used to apply any single metamagic feat the user knows. The user must be able to cast a spell at the resulting spell level, and using the wand in this manner is a full-round action.

When one casts a touch spell, one receives a free touch attempt in that round. That's undisputed.

But could you use that free attempt to feint? What about to aid another's attack?

I'm playing a buff/heal oracle, and I don't have that many offensive options. The party fighter has picked up an intelligent sword that has a habit of teleporting him to the other side of the battlefield, and that leaves the rogue without a flank buddy.

I'm considering picking up a wand of inflict light and the Feint Partner feat so that I can double up on that role. Being able to cast AND feint in the same round would be very useful. My GM did let me cast a light spell and, with a bluff check, aid an attack once. (That was amusing.)

Thoughts?

Hey everyone,

I've played at some really amazing tables. I've also played at some really terrible ones. To wit, I've been pondering of late what makes the difference, and I've come to believe (at least, for the moment,) that the difference is immersive game state.

As a GM, at my tables recently, I've been trying to really up my storytelling game. I try to describe the feel of the air on your skin, the shadows playing around the edges of light sources, and the ambient sounds around you. When spellcasters cast spells, I make certain I know what material components the spell uses and describe exactly how the spell comes together. I do this as a player now, too. Example from today, as a player.

"I spit in my palm. Then I reach into my spell component pouch and withdraw a pinch of soot and salt, which I mix with my saliva while canting over it, and it begins to glow with a soft red light. In a swift gesture, I wipe the glowing slurry from ear to ear like this [demonstrate from ear to ear by way of the eyes]. When I open my eyes, I begin to read aloud the following:" [the GM takes over]

Another example - Enlarge Person:
"You see the wizard withdraw something from his pouch and begin to cant. As he does a ball of glowing, golden dust seems to rise from his hands and swirl in ever-widening paths. Spellcraft?" [Dice roll] "You'd guess that's probably iron filings, and the spell is Enlarge Person."
[later]
"As M'natas's arrow shatters against the wall, you look over, and the swirl of golden dust seems to erupt across the room and envelop the barbarian, who almost instantly doubles in size."

As a GM, I find this seems to really engage my players. I also find that if I'm not careful, it turns a 4 hour adventure into a six-hour one. Or, to be more honest, I find I give up after I realize I'm behind and start running the game in speed mode. Thus, the beginning of the game seems very immersive, and the end (to me) seems very grind-it-out.

GMs: How do you balance creating a player's experience with respecting their time? How do you create an immersive environment that everyone's going to love and enjoy without running over your scheduled timeframe. With PFS, this is especially important.

Players: How much do you put into your storytelling? Do you follow the GM's lead, or do you try to lead by example? I look forward to reading your responses!

Can anyone point to a source that describes these Feast Days? I'm running a Halloween game, and I'd like to incorporate a little bit of material.

Scenario:

character 1 requires an action to throw a thunderstone if character 2 starts casting.

Character 2 casts a spell, so character 21throws the stone.

Character 2 must make a fortitude save vs deafness (dc15).

Is character 2 subject to a dc [thunderstone]15 + spell level concentration check to keep from losing the spell on account of the really loud bang that just happened?

It would seem like it should to me, but I'm not sure by RAW.