Sueda's page

No problem! Being an old Darksun fan, the piecemeal armor rules were a neat addition for me...

The answer is actually right above the entry in the Eastern Armor intro paragraph:

Many of the following types of armor are constructed of multiple parts, which a number of these armors mix and match. For instance, it is not unheard of for warriors to combine chain mail with four-mirror armor (see, the variant piecemeal armor rules on pages 198–205). Only the various types of plate mail would be either rare or unfamiliar in an Asian-inspired setting.

Change for upgrading composite bows (allowed the last time I read the earlier guides, and much discussed/maligned):

A mundane item can not be upgraded to masterwork, nor can non-magical aspects of equipment be upgraded (such as the strength rating on a composite bow).

For me, I'm okay with the change as it's rather weird to think about gluing new strips of material to buff up an existing bow (at least without it actually costing a lot of gold).

On the other hand, with the new spell that can turn a standard item into masterwork for the appropriate GP cost, I'd actually like to see the first part of the sentence removed. Of course, on reading the Spells sections it's unclear if that spell is actually allowed or not. The "Any spell cast by a PC during the course of a scenario that is still active at the end of a scenario ends when the scenario does." obviously keeps a party member from doing this, but one could use the Spellcasting Services section to have an NPC accomplish the same thing. It already includes spells such as Make Whole that are instantaneous but apparently last after the scenario.

Bob Loblaw, I do not expect a "perfect" product. I expect a highly polished, finished product with very few mistakes. If I can find bugs after a brief use of the software (trying it on a friend's computer), that's an indication to me of an unfinished product. I am concerned about all of the mistakes that I have not found, not just the one or two that I found.

Can you provide examples of what you mean, and when you tried the software? If the comments are from their first version of Pathfinder, versus their latest, then that's a very different thing.

I work in software development and have for over a decade. Zero defect software is fiction, and I've seen software that had millions in development dollars go out and still have bugs found the first day.

My point is, the argument is a bit specious based on my own experience with pretty much every piece of software I've used in the last three decades. I can't really say this is the case, however, without specific examples of the bugs you found.

If a monster has two targets--one that's hitting it for good damage and another that's doing less but is harder to hit--it will go after the more threatening target. Now, I'm not saying ignore AC entirely, but if you spend all your resources on AC then your damage output will suffer, and that makes you a target worth ignoring. A turtle is hard to kill, but not nearly as threatening as a bobcat...make yourself an alligator snapping turtle and that's a whole different story.

Note that Full Plate has a Maximum Dexterity Bonus cap of +1. You can get that to +2 with the fighter's armor training, but you lose that final +1 from your Dex until you take Fighter 7 and get Armor Training 2.

And as others have noted, don't worry too much about jacking AC way high or monsters will just ignore you.

I really liked the modules originally put out for 3.0. You could easily start with The Sunless Citadel, weaving in elements that will grow all the way up to Bastion of Broken Souls. The modules can all be readily tied into various plots and sub-plots and the overall storyline is really epic. I did this for a home game and it went very well.

Our group shifted to running Pathfinder Society scenarios. You can carve out the modules by region and play them all there so you don't get the "bouncing between Galt and the Mwangi" issues. We started with the group in Absalom passing their test through Master of the Fallen Fortress (add RP by using material from the Absalom book). They then get shipped off to their new assignment in Varisia. We ran through Godsmouth Heresy and now we're looking at doing the Shards of Ice series followed by the two City of Secrets scenarios. That may wrap up our time in Varisia, at which time we could move back to Absalom for lots of city adventures or head to another region with lots of scenarios (there's a good amount on Garund).

Found the post I was thinking of from James:

As for why Golarion has to be the same size of Earth... that's because we don't have enough geologists, astronomers, historians, meteorologists, cartographers, geographers, sociologists, and other "-ists" on staff to make sure that if we set our campaign on a world that's drastically different in size or nature than Earth that we get things right. This is also why regions in Golarion sort of match up to regions on Earth; europe and the middle east and africa more or less correspond to Avistan and Qadira and Garund, for example.

By assuming earthlike weather, earthlike gravity, earthlike shape, and all the other earthlike features, we can turn our attention away from that kind of minutae and focus on telling stories. This is the exact same reason why humans are the dominant species on the planet; we all know how humans work and therefore we don't have to re-figure out what happens to a society if, say, the baseline race can breathe water or doesn't sleep or can fly or doesn't need to eat.

By assuming Golarion's basically the same as earth, we save us a LOT of headache on keeping canon right.

Paizo folks (like James) have stated in the past that Golarion is basically identical to Earth in most respects in order to keep the basic physical rules like gravity, length of days/months/years, etc. the same.

MSE is totally free and well-regarded (see Gizmo's review above). I use it on all my Windows 7 machines.

This site is your best friend for freeware:

Gizmos Freeware Reviews

Which feat do you want to see on summoner? Are they on PFSRD?

It's not so much wanting a particular feat/spell/trait/etc. as it is knowing the app will have ongoing support for new material. Ultimate Magic, for instance, introduces the Summon Minor Monster* spell. It's not a major need, I'd say, but is possible to use during a game. It's basically a question of whether this app will continue to mature with the game or just sticks to the older material. I'm looking for the former, but understand if the latter is the model.

*Link is to PFSRD.

I'm afraid that Ultimate magic is not an official paizo content, but just a compatible one.

I don't think i will implement non-official things, because this application doesn't give me a proper reward, so i'm afraid that after another release i will only do bugfixes, if the application will need it.
Anyway, if the interest for summoner will increase, i'll be happy to add new features, like multiple summoning monsters and other feats.

I have not decided yet anyway.

My need is on the Android side, but figured I'd place it here for the continuity of conversation...

I'm not sure what you mean by "non-official" in this case? As UM is published by Paizo and distributed as as part of their Roleplaying Game subscription, it's pretty standard. I've been waiting on purchasing this app (on the Android side) to see if you'd be supporting new material. If the answers is yes, just requiring a time delay to implement, I'd purchase. If however you don't intend to provide any updated for UM or future material, then the app isn't worth it to me--I can just continue using my Excel-based summoning tools and update myself.

So, in summary I'm really hoping you do find it feasible to add updated material as this app looks like it would be really handy. However, if the cost to you in time/effort is not worth the return, I entirely understand!

We will, only if they are OGC elements. I know that rulebook is presented under OGL, but on same rulebook, you can find OGC and not-OGC elements. I can't know for sure witch element is what, so i have to wait that PRD (or some other officially compatible reference document) is refreshing.

Note that Paizo releases almost every mechanic, including feats, spells, traits, monsters*, etc. under the OGC. I can't recall a single feat or spell, for instance, that is not OGC and I have every Pathfinder book ever published...

Just something to consider for helping the app receiver wider use. The faster you can stay on top of new material, the better. You can reference the d20 PFSRD as a source since it is updated much faster than the PRD and is endorsed by Paizo

* A few monsters have been used with specific permission from IP holders. These are specifically noted in the relevant works. The coeurl is an example of such a monster.

For sanctuary, the save is specifically for those trying to attack the warded creature per the description in the spell text. The target of the ward itself either (a) gets no save or (b) must make a save since the spell doesn't have the term (harmless) in the save descriptor. The latter is strange to me, but technically feasible as the target could then invoke the Voluntarily Giving up a Saving Throw mechanic (assuming he's conscious--could create problems if trying to ward a downed comrade). As such, I've always gone with the former interpretation, especially since an unwilling target can simply attack and break the ward. It's a weird corner case, though, that's never impacted my game in the past decade of playing 3e, so I haven't given it much brain time...

Sueda, thanks for that location on confirmation. What I get out of that is as a "general" rule is IF the saving throw indicates (harmless) in any way, then the saving throw is optional (i.e. "...if it desires.") which as mentioned earlier way more often than not the target is willing. If it doesn't say (harmless) one MUST look a the spell rules. Because they wouldn't have an option but to accept: with Sanctuary, like Atonement, or Magic Missile there is no save; SR for Atonement and Magic Missile; but no save which means the target has no option but to take it willingly or unwillingly unless something would impact. (i.e. Shield for Magic Missile)

Correct assessment?

Correct. And note that with regard to SR, the creature must use a Standard Action to drop SR and accept the spell. Otherwise the caster must make a caster level check to overcome the SR. This applies to, for instance, cure light wounds.

Marc, look in the Magic section under Saving Throw. It defines various save-related rules, including:

(harmless): The spell is usually beneficial, not harmful, but a targeted creature can attempt a saving throw if it desires.

So, only the target gets the save. Aiming A Spell section discusses targeting, but basically mage armor targets "creature touched" so that is the only person to get a save.

Sanctuary has no (harmless) entry so the targeted creature cannot resist (no SR either). The spell rules define how the Will save works for the spell.