Stolen seconds's page

So, I'm running a party through the AP, and the party is...let's say 'less than optimal'. Went through Harrowstone with:

A Shielded Fighter/Trip Monkey
A Universalist Wizard whose constant contribution was the Ray of Frost spell and Hand of the Apprentice to attack with a dagger (now a longsword)
A Barbarian who did not rage once. All adventure.
A Cleric Used mainly for Channeling and Knowledge skills
And a generic Rogue

Needless to say, the first adventure was difficult. Now, a bunch of CHA-dumping misfits are to play Perry Mason. I don't see this going well. I thought about jumping in myself, but I've never liked GMPC's. Any suggestions for keeping themselves from too much more foot-shooting?

I would like to get involved in a PbP game. I like the concept, and it makes it easy for me to participate. However, I have never done this before. I can glean some information from just lurking here and seeing what others have done, but I wondered if someone could give me a rundown on the process. If I want to join in, do I just present backstory in a recruitment thread? Do I have to make a whole new paizo.com profile to match my character? Any tips on getting noticed?

I am currently running my group through the Carrion Crown AP. They are moving through the Haunting of Harrowstone. While I enjoy the mechanic of Trust Points, as it gives me a mechanic to keep my players from devolving into the dreaded 'Chaotic Hero' alignment. However, I have run into a problem that I can't seem to find any errata for. I shall hide it, just in case:

Has there been some ruling to fix this, and if not, how did you deal with it in your experiences?

Thinking about making an Oracle for a game (I played a lot of Sorcerers in 3.x, and it seemed like an easy shift), but I can't decide on a Mystery. This group needs pretty much everything, and I know simple things (Take battle if you want to heavily mix in Fighter, Flame if you want want to mix in the classic boom-boom mage), but I am literally blind to the advantages of the others. Apparently, just from reading the boards, Heavens could get by on color spray alone, and Waves is apparently bad (although I don't know why), but how are the others? Any shining stars? Bones seems interesting, since someone stole my usual role of summoner, and Necromancer seems like a decent substitute. I also think wind seems interesting from a battlefield control standpoint. Any other strengths that anyone can provide?

tl:dr version: What mystery do you like, and why?

I was reading the abilities of the Polearm Master variant of the Fighter, and under the ability "Sweeping Fend" it states:

a polearm master can use any spear or pole arm to make a bull rush or trip maneuver, though he takes a –4 penalty to his CMB when making such attempts

However, the description of the Trip maneuver makes no mention of needing a weapon with the trip quality to make a trip maneuver. Is this a typo, or am I missing some other errata or adjudication on the rules?

Okay, boards, here's the dealio: I am starting in a friend's PF game this weekend. While I have played 3E D&D all the way back to playtesting it the Gen Con they announced it at, this is my first foray into PF. Now, anyone who has played with me knows I am notorious for being indecisive with my characters, switching back and forth with builds ad infinitum until time forces me to pick one. So I need help picking a class. Here are the givens:

DM has stated you can play anything in a PF book, including playtest classes like the Gunslinger and Ninja. Party currently consists of a bomb-focused Alchemist, Drunken monk, Summoner, and Rogue. One thing I can be sure of is that it will likely be human. I only ever play humans in fantasy games. Call it a quirk.

My one rule I am trying to stick to is "Powers, not spells". I have played a Wizard or Sorcerer in every 3E/3.5E game I have ever been in. Over 5 years of arcane magic. I have had my fill, and I'd like to branch out a bit. I love monks, but we already have one.

I don't need to make some overly kitted out monstrosity, but I'd like something with some overall effectiveness, especially in combat. A few things seem interesting (Shapeshifter Ranger, Barbarian with Spirit totem rage powers), but I'm lost. Anyone have any good ideas? Not full builds, but a general direction that would be fun to play for a few months would be much appreciated. Thank you all in advance.