TPV's page

Unrelated to my prior message, the Aquatic Combat Rules state:

"You take a –2 circumstance penalty to your attack roll for bludgeoning or slashing attacks that passthrough water."

This applies to all attacks.

The Feat Underwater Marauder states:

"... and you don't take the usual penalties for using a bludgeoning or slashing melee weapon in water."

This only un-penalizes melee weapons.

In other words, this Feat doesn't apply to Unarmed Strikes. Because those aren't weapons. I think that's a mistake. If you can learn how to swing a Maul underwater effectively, I feel like you can kick/punch/headbutt effectively.

"yes can you please fix polymorph spells so that they scale properly and Clarify rules on what can work with untamed form."

+1

I think it's very frustrating that Untamed Form is difficult to use.

At certain levels, you're locked into specific sizes.
You can't be anything but Large or bigger.
Adventure Path maps are cramped enough for Size to regularly matter, for example.

I think the Heightening of Form Spells should have the Size change be entirely optional, while still keeping the improved stats of Heightens. Just as a fundamental Quality of Life aspect. This is an issue with other spells too, like the Light Cantrip being unable to be shrunk back to 20/20.

Beyond that, you can't use Untamed Form for combat at level 1-2, or 19-20. So, 10% of the game makes it unusable for its clearly intended base purpose (combat, since it gives bonuses to that; and it requires Druid Feats to be effective for non-combat usage). It's especially absurd that the zenith of your power (LV 19-20) makes you rely on something that isn't what most of your Druid Feats are usually focused on (if you're focusing on Untamed Form in general).

It's entirely possible to invest >50% of your Druid Class Feats on improving Untamed Form, then get to level 19-20 and most of them just don't matter anymore since they're combat-oriented, but now you must use Nature Incarnate (a 10th-rank spell) to be good at combat in a battle form since any Untamed Form you take actually decreases your Caster AC. This comes from the form spells' AC scaling only within its "level band" but not beyond it. Level being added isn't enough.

It becomes optimal to retrain out of most of the Druid Feats that improve Untamed Form at level 19-20 because of this. I think that's a bad outcome of the design.

It's also a bit silly that you go from "I can enter this combat form as long as I have Focus Points." to "I can enter this combat form once-or-twice per day." since it shifts from relying on a Focus Spell to relying on a 10th-rank Spell Slot. It basically relegates you to not being an Untamed Order Druid for combat purposes.

It's also a bit silly that you "level out of" specific forms being useful. If I want to play a Druid who only shapes into Animals to fight, and not fantastical creatures like Phoenixes, Dragons, etc, I think that fantasy should be viable & supported. I'm happy we have Dragon Shape, and so on, but it shouldn't be required to switch to them to stay combat viable as the levels climb.

I think you should be able to take on any lower form and keep the stats of a higher form (so long as the spell - Untamed Form - is of the appropriate rank for the higher form). If I were to cast Untamed Form at level 18, and I have Dragon Shape or Monstrosity Shape, I should be able to become an Animal Form that has the stat improvements that Dragon Form or Monstrosity Form provides (primarily AC, but speeds & skills matter too).

Realistically, I think the best way to change it would be to give a status bonus to AC instead of recalculating it altogether, to upgrade the caster's AC accordingly (i.e. +2, akin to Untamed Form's bonus to melee). You could create a ceiling value with a formula to avoid shenanigans like a Monk getting a form spell cast on them, or you could lock this to Untamed Form. I think there are definitely options.

Injury & Ingested Poisons are in a weird place with Alchemists.

For Injury, "using" an Injury Poison is done by applying it to a weapon/ammunition. This has no duration in the rules for poisons, so it lasts indefinitely. A 1,000 year old sword with an equally old Poison applied to it as as potent as the day it was entombed, RAW. I'm talking about in general. Not "from an Alchemist". This is just baseline how they work.

If we compare this to using a Mutagen, an Alchemist Quick Alchemy creates the item on their turn, then has until the end of their turn to "use" the item before its potency goes inert. For a Mutagen, you consume it to "use" it, and gain its effect for up to 10 minutes due to Quick Alchemy's limitation on Durations.

However, since Injury Poisons have no Duration when applied to a weapon or ammo, the Alchemist doing so can leave it on their weapon for an ambiguous amount of time, because it's unclear if Quick Alchemy's 10 minute limitation on duration applies once the Injury Poison has been used. This is also because the Duration of a Poison begins specifically after a creature has been exposed to it. This is because most Poison's Duration is part of the Affliction itself, and they otherwise don't have one. Inhaled Poisons being the exception.

In other words, there's this liminal space for Injury (and Ingested & Contact) Poisons where, when they're applied to a weapon/ammo (put in food, coated on something), it isn't clear if a creature must be subjected to their effect by end-of-turn if they were created through Quick Alchemy..., or if they last indefinitely since they are no longer subject to Quick Alchemy & Infused Trait's time-based limitations (by virtue of not meeting the requirements for when they apply) ..., or if they last 10 minutes by being somehow subject to Quick Alchemy's duration limitation despite that language not being used for Injury (and Ingested & Contact) Poisons' duration after being Activated (used).

Similarly for Ingested Poisons, their Durations are under their Afflictions as well. These Durations are presumably also limited to 10 minutes due to Quick Alchemy when they're created that way. Inhaled Poisons are the most clear-cut of Poisons for this, because their Area of Effect has a built-in duration of 1 minute.

Meaning, of the 4 Poison types, 3 have this liminal ambiguity between "used" (applied to weapon/ammo, put in food, coated on something) and "Duration begins".

I would like clarification on exactly how Poisons are meant to be used, or for these rules to be made less ambiguous.

Interestingly, the Infused Trait makes an exception for slow-acting items, listing poisons as the example. This implies poisons with durations in the hours/days can be used. Does this exception enable these types of poisons to go beyond Quick Alchemy's duration limit? Normally, I'd assume no, but all this ambiguity makes me question it now. If they didn't, it'd mean this exception was exclusively for your daily Alchemical Items, which would make sense.

Alchemical Toolkit's description says:
"This mobile collection of vials and chemicals can be used for simple alchemical tasks. If you wear your alchemist's toolkit, you can draw and replace them as part of the action that uses them."

Alchemist's Versatile Vials says:
"You can store all your versatile vials within your alchemist's toolkit, with no increase to its Bulk."

When the Versatile Vials are in the Alchemical Toolkit, do they gain the benefit of the Toolkit's "draw and replace" action reduction? Or is that only for the vials that come with the toolkit?

For example, if I am a Mutagenist Alchemist, do I need 1 Action or 2 Actions to use a Versatile Vial with my Field Vial Feature?
- 1 Action: Draw & Drink (which uses the vial)
- 2 Actions: Draw => Drink

For all Alchemists, do they need 2 Actions (Draw=>Strike) to Strike with their Versatile Vial if they're in their toolkit? Or 1?

Treasure Vault pg 131 [This is specific to the Remaster.]

Celestial Staff has Frigid Flurry & Howling Blizzard for 7th-rank spells.
Not only do these not match the theme, but neither are Divine spells.

Looking at other Staves, it looks like they were copied over from the Boreal Staff's list.

As it stands, a creature needs access to two traditions to use all spells on the Celestial Staff: Divine & either Arcane or Primal. That doesn't seem right.