Taffer's page

I have been searching my books with no luck trying to find this rule. A friend of mine wants to play a fey creature in a new 1st-level campaign. This fey has 1 racial HD. He thinks he gets to swap this out for a 1st-level HD from whatever class he picks. I told him no, that's not how it works...unless the race is specifically "defined by its class levels", it keeps its racial HD, even if it's just 1.

However, I cannot find this rule anywhere. The best I've been able to do is find an example (p.13 of The Snows of Summer).

If anyone out there can point me to the actual rule so I can show him (he's very stubborn about these things sometimes), I would really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

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Taffer

I've been doing some work on an older adventure that has several forbiddance spells in place, to keep others of certain alignments from entering the area.

Forbiddance used to do this. Now, it seems, Pathfinder has nerfed it.

It prevents entry by teleportation, sure... but now instead of preventing entry, it only damages anyone of the "wrong" alignment who enters.

Am I reading this right? This used to be a pretty good spell...now it's, I don't know, severely nerfed. :(

Tell me I'm reading this wrong. Or that it's been errata'd somewhere and I've just missed it.

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Taffer

I was reading up on the roper recently, and I'm a little bewildered.

Ropers used to be these scary monsters that snatched you out of the dark and dragged you into their waiting jaws.

But according to the Bestiary, some things have changed. Specifically, their strands no longer stick. Aside from a single reference to the strands being sticky, it appears a roper just lashes out, weakens you, maybe pulls you 5 feet closer, then withdraws its strand.

There is a provision for severing a strand, but I'm not really sure how you go about this in melee if its not currently connected to a victim, so this is confusing.

Is this the new roper? Has it been weakened to this point? Or is there text missing? Is this an oopsie, like the missing text from the Xill in the 1st printing of the Bestiary? Or is it an intentional weakening?

Any thoughts? Anyone?

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Taffer

I'm running into a problem with this item. First of all, aside from giving length and weight, the description for a maul of the titans does not give its size. So, is it a Medium weapon, usable by Medium characters without penalty? Which means Small characters can't use it (as it's a 2-handed Medium weapon.)

Like most weapons, I am assuming this one can be created at different sizes. (My halfling wields a Small longsword, why not a Small maul of the titans?)

So in this adventure, there's an ogre wielding the maul. He's not taking an attack penalty for using a wrongly-sized weapon, so I assume it's Large. Meaning that if the party gets it off of him, no one can use it, as its a 2-handed Large weapon.

In Bestiary 2, the Elysian Titan wields this bad-boy, and again takes no attack penalty for a wrongly-sized weapon, meaning it's Colossal.

But this "weapon" is a wondrous item. Does it simply resize to the wielder's size?

I'd really like to get this sorted out before my party actually acquires this item. :(

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Taffer

Our Pathfinder game recently lost a player, and I'm trying to find someone to replace him.

This group has been together (in one form or another) for 8 years, with the "newest member" having been in the group about 5 years. We are hoping to find another player who wants to be part of a long-term group.

We play every other Saturday (Oct 17th is our next game), from between 2 pm and 8 pm, in the White Oaks (south) area of London.

We do not consider experience a requirement (we were all newbies once ourselves).

If you're interested, or if you'd like more information, please send me a private message with your contact information (preferably a name, phone number, and best time to reach you).

Happy Gaming!
Taffer

Our Pathfinder game recently lost a player, and I'm trying to find someone to replace him.

This group has been together (in one form or another) for nearly 8 years, with the "newest member" having been in the group about 5 years. We are hoping to find another player who wants to be part of a long-term group.

We play every other Saturday (May 30th is our next game), from between 2 pm and 8 pm, in the White Oaks (south) area of London.

We do not consider experience a requirement (we were all newbies once ourselves).

If you're interested, or if you'd like more information, please send me a private message with your contact information (preferably a name, phone number, and best time to reach you).

Happy Gaming!
Taffer

I am trying to work out the value of some larger-than-normal composite bows, and I'm running into trouble...when do you double?

For instance, the Ogre Mage (Bestiary, p.221) is using a composite longbow with a pull of +7 Strength.

The rules used here are:
- Base Price: 100 gp.
- Price Increase: +100 gp per point of Strength.
- Large weapons double in price.

So, do you double BEFORE or AFTER adding the cost for Strength? If before, this weapon is valued at 900 gp; if after, it jumps to 1,600 gp.

Another example, the Storm Giant (Bestiary p.152) uses a Huge mwk composite longbow with a pull of +14 Strength.

There is a rule (Core Rulebook, p.468, "Weapons for Unusually Sized Creatures") that says the masterwork component is always +300 gp for a weapon, no matter its size, so that is static.

Assuming a Huge weapon's value is x4 that of a Medium weapon, then this weapon is worth either 2,100 gp or 6,300 gp, depending on when you double.

At first, this seems easy...the Core Rulebook says you double the cost for a Large weapon, the composite longbow entry says the cost goes up by +100 gp per point of Strength, so it's also doubled. But then there's that pesky rule about masterwork quality...if it isn't doubled, why should the extra pull be?

This situation is further muddied by the Ultimate Equipment Guide, which changes the "Cost" column to "Price", but doesn't change the wording in the composite weapons entries. :(

In the great scheme of things, this is a very minor point, and not worth the effort I'm putting into it. But, it's bugging the heck out of me!

So, opinions? Better yet, a Paizo opinion? Best yet, a rule someone can point to and easy my headache?

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Many Thanks,
Taffer

I am very confused about the hydra, and it's all because of one word.

In the Bestiary (p.178), it states (under Hydra Traits), that "...Severing a head deals damage to the hydra's body equal to the hydra's current HD."

It's the word "current" that is giving me problems.

As HD for a monster are usually static, the fact that the word "current" is used here implies that a hydra's HD are not static.

It implies (based on instructions for creating more powerful hydrae) that a hydra's HD is ALWAYS equal to it's CURRENT number of heads.

This means that, every time the party successfully severs a head and prevents it from growing back, the GM (that's me) has to recalculate BAB, attack bonuses, Saving throws, skill bonuses, whether or not it loses a feat (and which one), whether or not it loses an ability score bonus due to high HD (and which one), and possibly many more if an ability score drops to the point where the ability modifier is changed.

Likewise, every time the hydra successfully grows new heads, the GM (still me) has to recalculate BAB, attack bonuses, Saving throws, skill bonuses, whether or not it gains a feat (and which one), whether or not it gains an ability score bonus due to high HD (and which one), and possibly many more if an ability score raises to the point where the ability modifier is changed.

This simply cannot be what was intended. A single hydra fight would take an entire evening, with the players mostly sitting around bored waiting for the GM to FINALLY finish his calculations...until another head was lost/gained....

It is my assumption that this statement somehow slipped past the editors, and that it was supposed to say that the hydra loses hp "equal to its current number of HEADS". However, the errata was released, and it wasn't fixed there, so my confusion continues.

Any official word on this anywhere?

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Taffer

I realize the topic of calculating the CR of a monster with class levels has been covered quite extensively on the boards, but I have a situation that I haven't seen broached yet.

According to the Bestiary, when adding non-key classes, the CR goes up 1 for every 2 non-key levels added, until the number of levels added equals or exceeds the creature's original CR. (At which point, the remaining levels are treated as "key" levels.)

My question is in two parts:

1) What if I'm adding more than one class?

Let's take a treant for example (CR 8). If I add 6 levels of druid and then 6 levels of bard, I've just added 12 total levels in non-key classes.

If I was adding 12 levels in one class, that would make this CR 16. However, neither class's class level exceeds the original CR of the treant. Does these mean none of the levels count as key? (Which would make this a CR 14.)

Total levels exceeding original CR vs. each class's class level exceeding the original CR. Which is it? The wording in the Bestiary (p.297) is unclear.

2) Same example...treant, CR 8... but this time adding only 3 levels of druid and 3 levels of bard. Is the CR 10 or 11?

Having an odd level hanging there, does it count as a half CR, which can be added to the other classes hanging half CR, or is it just rounded down in each case?

The wording in the Bestiary (p.297) is that you add 1 CR for every 2 levels added. This COULD be interpreted as 1/2 CR for every level, but unfortunately, that's not what it says.

(For this part of the question, I am leaning towards the half CRs NOT counting, as the original wording from 3.5 DID say 1/2 CR per level.)

Thanks for your consideration,
Taffer

I've seen a lot of messages regarding this feat, but I haven't found an answer to my questions.

I've got a new player who wants to take Vicious Stomp along with Improved Trip. The way he is reading it is that he can trip his opponent, and when he falls, take an attack of opportunity against him.

My understand has always been that if you are forced to do something that normally provokes attacks of opportunity, you don't. For instance, when you bull rush someone, if you bull rush them through threatened squares, he does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

The same is true for the Drag and Reposition combat manoeuvres from the Advanced Players Guide.

And, even if it did somehow provoke (such as with the Greater Trip feat), can a character take an attack of opportunity off of something he instigated?

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Taffer

Our Pathfinder game recently lost a player, and we're looking to put another butt back into the empty seat!

This group has been together (in one form or another) for over 6 years, with the "newest member" having been in the group about 4 years. We are hoping to find another player who wants to be part of a long-term group.

We play every other Saturday (Dec 28th is our next game), from between 2 pm and 8 pm, in the White Oaks (south) area of London.

You will be entering into an already-established campaign, and your character will start about 7th-8th level.

We do not consider experience a requirement (we were all newbies once ourselves).

If you're interested, or if you'd like more information, please send me a private message with your contact information (preferably a name, phone number, and best time to reach you).

Happy Gaming!
Taffer

I was looking at this spell, and noticed something peculiar.

The Targets line states "One or more creatures, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart".

However, nowhere in the spell description does it state anything like "One creature per 2 levels" or anything like that.

Does this mean that the only limit (at any caster level), is that they must all be within 30 ft. of each other? Or is this something that was missed?

Also (just so I'm clear on how this works), the positioning of the targets... "No two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart". This applies only for the initial casting of the spell, correct? Once the spell has been cast, these creatures can move about as they please, and the spell stays in place so long as they remain within the spell's range (400 ft. + 40 ft./level), right?

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Taffer

I am having a difficult time wrapping my brain around the idea of an elemental.

Oddly enough, I can completely understand the concept of living fire. Or living water. Etc. And the images I've always seen of elementals seem to support the theory that they are, essentially, living "elements". But elementals don't actually seem to be creatures of their element.

Take the fire elemental. I've always thought of a fire elemental as living fire. However... how do normal weapons hurt living fire?

Or an air elemental...how does one GRAPPLE an air elemental? (It has a CMB and a CMD, and there's nothing in the monster's writeup stating it cannot be grappled.)

Or a water elemental...it's water mastery grants it a bonus to its CMD vs bull rush attacks. Just how does one (successfully) bull rush water?

The only one that actually makes sense in these situations is the earth elemental (sticking strictly with the first Bestiary...I haven't gone looking for more trouble yet). All the others seem to be somewhat oxymoronic.

Can someone help me understand? Or is this one of those concepts that "you either just get it or you don't"?

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Taffer

I am a little confused when it comes to the skills of a templated creature.

Specifically, if a template changes a creature's type (let's say from monstrous humanoid to undead), even if the template specifically says not to redo the creature's skills, does the creature's class skills (based on creature type) change?

Put more simply...in the example above, does the new undead have the class skills of a monstrous humanoid, an undead, or both?

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Taffer

Our Pathfinder game recently lost a player, and we're looking to put another butt back into the empty seat!

This group has been together (in one form or another) for nearly 6 years, with the "newest member" having been in the group about 4 years. We are hoping to find players who want to be part of a long-term group.

We play every other Saturday (April 20th is our next game), from between 2 pm and 8:30 pm, in the White Oaks area of London.

Pathfinder is VERY similar to Dungeons & Dragons (3rd and 3.5). In fact, it is actually based on 3.5 (some refer to Pathfinder as D&D 3.75). If you've never played Pathfinder but you have played D&D, you'll find the learning curve is very small.

If you're interested, or if you'd like more information, please send me a private message with your contact information (preferably a name, phone number, and best time to reach you).

Happy Gaming!
Taffer

I'm working on creating an Ettin Skeleton, and run into a bit of a quandary.

When adding the skeleton template it states that "A skeleton loses all skill ranks possessed by the base creature and gains none of its own." (Bestiary p.250.)

Okay, that's pretty clear...monster loses all skill ranks. What about racial bonuses though? The ettin has a +4 racial bonus to Perception...is this retained, or discarded?

What if it had been a skeletal tiefling? +2 racial bonus to Bluff and Stealth.

Sometimes, I can see where common sense overrules the question...a tiger gains a +8 Stealth bonus in tall grass, but that's probably due to its striped fur pattern, which the skeleton would lack. Others aren't so black-and-white though.

Any thoughts on this?

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Taffer

I am a little confused with the lammasu.

From the monster's entry, B3: "A lammasu casts spells as a 7th-level oracle...but does not gain any other class abilities possessed by an oracle..."

So, based on this, does the lammasu gain each spell level's "cure" spell to its list of spells known, as an oracle would, or not?

Checking out the monster's list of spells known, each of spell levels 1-3 has the appropriate cure spell, so it looks like yes.

But, looking at the table for Oracle Spells Known (APG p.45), it also has exactly the right number of spells known per spell level for a 7th-level oracle, WITHOUT counting the cure spells as bonus.

*Confusion abounds*

Any thoughts on this? (I'm converting a 3.5 adventure to Pathfinder with a lammasu, so this is really bugging me atm.)

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Taffer

Where exactly do I find the formula for computing a monster ability's DC?

For a spell-like ability, it's right there in the Bestiary, p.304, under "Spell-Like Abilities". There is no such general entry for Supernatural Abilities or Extraordinary Abilities, however.

Many monster abilities are spelled out in the Appendix, and state plainly how that specific ability's save DC is calculated.

But some monsters have abilities that aren't spelled out. (For instance, an astral deva's stun ability, or a cockatrice's petrification ability.) For this abilities, it simply states the DC, and which ability score it is based on.

I have been unable to find the general formula spelled out anywhere, and this is bugging me. I know it's "10 + half HD + ability score modifier". I've used it for a long time. But I cannot for the life of me FIND it.

Please note, I am not looking to have the general formula explained...I am looking to have its location pointed out to me.

As an FYI, my main reason for this is to see if save DCs increase when adding class levels. Specifically, does the general formula state "+ half HD" or "+ half racial HD"?

I have seen instances in official Pathfinder adventures where it does, and also where it doesn't, so no help there. :(

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Taffer

I was reading up on a monster for an upcoming game, and I ran into a bit of a puzzle.

The Wind Effects section (Core Rulebook p.439), "Severe Winds" states that this is the velocity of the wind produced by a gust of wind spell.

However, the information given in the gust of wind spell (Core Rulebook p.293). only partially matches the information given in the Wind Effects table. For example, the table says a severe wind checks Small and smaller creatures, and can knock prone Tiny creatures. The gust of wind spell says it checks Medium and smaller creatures, and can knock prone Small creatures.

This confused me, until I went back to the D&D 3.5 books. It seems that the wind effects table in the DMG (p.95) matches the gust of wind spell (PHB p.238).

So, what happened?

1) When they copied the Wind Effects table, they decided to lessen the severity of the winds' penalties, but missed the necessary changes in the gust of wind spell?

2) As #1, but purposely left gust of wind unchanged, as its a magic spell and should probably be treated special?

3) When the copied the Wind Effects table, they meant it to be identical to the D&D 3.5 table, but they accidentally shifted part of the table, and this discrepency crept in?

This is going to be an issue for me, as the monster in question will be using an ability that alters the winds "raising wind force to as strong as severe", and not "affects the wind as a gust of wind spell".

I couldn't find anything official on this...perhaps this has been missed until now, or perhaps I'm being overly analytical.

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Taffer

I have lately become quite confused regarding the detect magic spell and items with multiple auras (usually armour or weapons).

Consider the following weapon: +1 axiomatic bane (fey) dancing thundering longsword.

By my count, this item has five auras:

1) the +1 enhancement bonus gives it a Faint Evocation aura (CL 3);
2) the axiomatic property gives is a Moderate Evocation [lawful] aura (CR 7);
3) the bane (fey) property gives it a Moderate Conjuration aura (CL 8);
4) the dancing property gives it a Strong Transmutation aura (CL 15);
5) the thundering property gives it a Faint Necromacy aura (CL 5).

It has always been my understanding that stronger auras "overshadowed" or "blocked out" weaker auras. So my way of handling this so far has been: detect magic only detects the most powerful aura (in this case, Strong Transmutation); Knowledge (arcana) roll to detect the aura only detects the Strong Transmutation aura (DC 22 in this case), and a single Spellcraft roll against the highest aura is needed to identify the sword (DC 30 in this case, revealing all properties).

Now, it seems I may have been doing it wrong. Unfortunately, I've heard that I'm doing it wrong from several different sources, each proclaiming a different way to do it:

1) A single check to identify the aura reveals ALL auras and their strengths, and a single Spellcraft check reveals all properties.

2) EACH aura must be identified by detect magic with a SEPARATE check (at each aura's appropriate DC), and the Spellcraft check reveals all properties ONLY if you've identified ALL auras.

3) As #2, but if you fail, when you try again the next day, any auras you identified the previous day stay identified.

4) As #2, but if you fail, when you try again the next day, you must re-discover any auras you already discovered the day before.

5) As #2, but even if you fail one or more checks to identify auras, you can still use Spellcraft to identify the properties of the aura's you've successfully identified.

There are probably other methods people use, but I hope you can see why I'm confused. The books don't help much on this issue, and there isn't anything in the FAQ addressing this either. So I once again turn to you, in the hopes of finding out just what in the nine hells I'm supposed to be doing!!!

As always, if there is anything official that I've missed, I'd appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

Thanks,
Taffer

Something that has confused me for some time about energy vulnerablity.

The book says something like this: A creature vulnerable to an energy type takes half again as much damage (+50%) from that specific energy type, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed or if the save is a success or failure.

That last part is throwing me. Is this saying that a creature vulnerable to an energy type doesn't get a save from that energy type?

Example: A wizard casts a cold-damage spell that deals 30 points of cold damage, half (15) if a save is made.

The way I've always though it worked was this: The spell is cast, the creature with vulnerability to cold rolls its save. If it fails, it takes 30 + 15 = 45 damage (+50%). If it succeeds, it takes 15 + 7 = 22 damage (+50% of half damage). (Or would that be half of 45? Numbers work out the same, but the mechanic may prove important in another situation...)

However, the reading of the spell could be taken to say that this poor cold-vulnerable creature takes 45 damage from this spell, regardless of whether or not it makes its save.

Is there any clarification on this anywhere?

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Taffer

I am a little confused with this topic. In particular, one aspect.

Core Rulebook, Spell-Like Abilities (p.221): A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus.

Bestiary, Summon (p.304): "A creature summoned in this way cannot use any spells or spell-like abilities that require material components costing more than 1 gp unless those components are supplied...."

Ummm, what? A spell-like ability doesn't have any material components. Says so in the core rulebook. No qualifiers, no exception, just a blanket statement. (I've also checked Bestiary 2 and Bestiary 3...the statement is repeated almost verbatim in each book.)

The way I read this, it can go one of two ways:

1) Spell-like abilities have no material components, costly or otherwise. So, no restriction. (Which seems to make the statement in the Bestiary unnecessary.)

2) The statement in the Bestiary needs to be amended: "A creature summoned in this way cannot use any spells, or spell-like abilities WHICH ARE BASED ON SPELLS, that require costly material components costing more than 1 gp unless those components are supplied..."

Or am I missing something rather obvious here?

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Taffer

I've been playing D&D since about 1983. I now play Pathfinder, but even during the 3rd/3.5 run, there was one thing I absolutely forbade in the games I ran. The Leadership feat. And from the reactions of serious disappoint I get from some players, it seems to me that that was the right call. Everyone seems to want to take it, to give their character a second character to play, and who can blame them? For the price of a single feat slot, you essentially get a second full set of character class abilities at your disposal. (I know technically that the cohorts are NPCs under the DM's control, but my games usually have 5-6 players...if they each take this feat well, who are we kidding? I'm gonna let them run their own cohorts to avoid the pain in the ass it would be for me to run them all.)

This to me seems about the most unbalancing thing in the game, and it has always amazed me that it keeps popping up in other editions (3.5, Pathfinder... I'm not sure about 4th Ed, as I don't play it). Essentially, it seems, cohorts and such are treated as "summoned monsters", in that they are taken into account in the character's CR. After all, they used a feat slot to take it, so it's part of THEIR CR, right? To break it down even further, if I have 5 players at the table, I tailor the adventure for 5 characters. If any or all of them have cohorts....well, I still only make the game for 5 characters, because their cohorts DON'T COUNT. And if you DO make the adventure tougher because of the cohorts, well then the experience points and treasure just get crazy, and characters level up faster than you can say "Monty Haul".

It seems a no-win situation (from the DM's perspective) to me. But perhaps I'm missing something about this feat? Perhaps there is some aspect of granting players a cohort and small army at their disposal that makes this completely game-breaking feat actually usable?

How do you handle the Leadership feat in your games? More specifically, how do you keep it from causing serious imbalance in the game?

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Taffer

I am relatively new to Pathfinder (about 7 months now), and even more so to Golarion. However, I have been playing D&D in one form or another since about 1982, and I have a massive collection of old adventures.

I am very interested in converting some of these to Pathfinder and placing them in Golarion, but I'm clueless as to where they might fit. I was hoping others more knowledgeable than me might offer their advice.

In particular, I'm thinking of the generic, non-world-specific adventures, or ones that could easily fit in Golarion. The old Dragonlance and Dark Sun adventures are probably out, as they are very world-specific, but something like Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure could easily fit in Golarion with minor tweaking. Also, most Ravenloft adventures would seem to fit nicely into Ustalav.

I also have a large campaign I started working on, and I am definitely bringing that into Golarion once I've fit it. I was only a few adventures in, but these are the ones I had finished at the time:

N4 - Treasure Hunt
B9 - Castle Caldwell and Beyond
RQ1 - Night of the Walking Dead
UK2 - The Sentinel
UK3 - The Gauntlet
RA3 - Touch of Death
RA1 - Feast of Goblyns (work halted on this one atm)

The above list is just a small sampling of the many, many adventures that would be great to convert.

Some of them could probably fit just about anywhere (The Ghost Tower of Inverness and Tomb of Horrors come to mind), while others would have to be placed very carefully (such as the Slave Lord adventures).

So, does anyone have any idea where to place the older adventures in Golarion? Not just the ones mentioned above, but ANY of them?

If necessary, I could provide a list of adventures from the before-time....

Thanks in advance!

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Taffer

The Lycanthrope is one of the most confusing templates in the Bestiary books. This confusion is compounded by obvious omissions in the template itself, poor choices for examples, sometimes numerous errors in a single stat block, and the inexplicable exclusion of an example of the creature in animal form. After reading, re-reading, googling, and searching the forums for answers, I decided to take it upon myself to create "The Definitive Lycanthrope Template". This has been put together by information provided in the books, details I have gleaned elsewhere online, deductive reasoning based on official examples, and in some cases my own interpretations and use of common sense.

If I've made a mistake, or you disagree with anything stated below, please feel free to say so!

DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with Paizo (or any other company, for that matter), and this work is provided as one person's interpretation of the template. It is provided in the hopes that it will make someone else's life a little easier when it comes time to do a lycanthrope in their game.

Assumption #1: Lycanthropes are humanoids with the ability to turn into animals and animal-humanoid hybrid shapes (Bestiary p.196). This means that when they change into their animal form, they are not becoming that animal...they are simply assuming its form. This assumption was instrumental when creating the guidelines for the creature's animal form.

Assumption #2: A lycanthrope retains all the special attacks, qualities, and abilities of the base creature. In hybrid or animal form, it gains the special attacks, qualities, and abilities of the base animal. (Bestiary p.196). I have assumed that "Special Attacks" refers to anything on the special attacks line of the stat block, "Qualities" refers to anything on the SQ line of a stat block, and "Abilities" refers to anything beneath the "Special Abilities" header of a stat block, or anything explained in "Universal Monster Rules" section of the Bestiary (p.297-306), subject to interpretation and common sense.

Creating a Lycanthrope
"Lycanthrope" is an inherited (for natural lycanthropes) or acquired (for afflicted lycanthropes) template that can be added to any humanoid.

Challenge Rating: Same as base creature or base animal (whichever is higher) +1.

Alignment: Based on what I have found, there is no alignment shift due to simply becoming an afflicted lycanthrope. However, the actions one takes in the various forms could cause an alignment shift, subject to the GMs interpretation. For natural lycanthropes, I suggest using the alignments provided in the various example lycanthropes in the Bestiary books. (As two alignments are given in the Werebear example (Bestiary 2 p.181), I suggest you choose the one most suited for your situation.)

Type, and Subtype(s): The humanoid (hereafter referred to as the base creature) gains the shapechanger subtype. The lycanthrope takes on the characteristics of some type of animal (referred to hereafter as the base animal) within one size category of the base creature's size.
- Important Note #1: The lycanthrope has the same type and subtypes in all three forms.
- Important Note #2: Despite the example wererat give in Bestiary p.197, lycanthropes should NOT gain the augmented subtype!

Size: In humanoid form, the lycanthrope maintains the size of the base creature. In animal form, the lycanthrope maintains the size of the base animal. In hybrid form, the lycanthrope is the same size as the base animal or the base creature, whichever is larger.
- Important Note #1: The size change should incorporate some (but not all) of the normal adjustments a size change would normally incur. On page 296 of the Bestiary, apply the changes stated on Tables 2-3, but ignore Table 2-2.
- Important Note #2: Equipment does not meld into the hybrid form, and resizes if necessary based on the new form. Should this happen, take note of the damage change to weapons based on size. (Medium and Small are listed on the standard equipment table; adjustments for Tiny and Large weapons are given on Table 6-5 on page 145 of the Core Rulebook.)

Senses: In all of the lycanthropes forms, it gains low-light vision and scent. If the base creature possesses any other special senses (such as darkvision or tremorsense), it retains these in all of its forms. If the base animal possesses any special senses that the base creature does not, the lycanthrope retains these special senses in its animal form and hybrid form, but does not gain them in its humanoid form.

AC: In hybrid or animal form, the lycanthrope has the natural armour bonus of the base animal increased by +2.
- Important Note: Since equipment does not meld into the hybrid form, a lycanthrope in hybrid form will gain the natural armour bonus plus any armour and shield bonuses from equipment!

Hit Points and Hit Dice: In all three forms, the lycanthrope will use the Hit Dice of the base creature. The hit point total will vary based on a changing Constitution score from form to form, but will always include any favoured class bonuses the base creature may have, or bonuses from feats such as Toughness that the base creature may have. (See Feats, below.)

Saving Throws: In all three forms, the lycanthrope will use the base saving throw bonuses of the base creature. The actual saving throw bonuses will change based on changing ability scores, but will always include any bonuses from feats such as Iron Will that the base creature may have. (See Feats, below). Any racial bonuses the base creature may have (such as an elf's bonus against enchantment spells and effects) are maintained in all three forms. Any racial bonuses the base animal may have should be applied to the lycanthrope's hybrid and animal forms only.

Defensive Abilities: A natural lycanthrope gains DR 10/silver in animal or hybrid form. An afflicted lycanthrope gains DR 5/silver in animal or hybrid form. Any defensive abilities possessed by the base creature (such as spell resistance or immunities) are maintained in all three forms. Any defensive abilities possessed by the base animal should be applied to the lycanthrope's hybrid and animal forms only.

Speed: Same as the base creature or base animal, depending on which form the lycanthrope is using. Hybrids use the base creature's speed.
Important Note: Since equipment does not meld into the hybrid form, a lycanthrope in hybrid form could be slowed down due to the armour it is wearing.

Melee: A lycanthrope gains natural attacks in animal and hybrid form according to the base animal.
Important Note: If the lycanthrope is using manufactured weapons in its hybrid form, it may be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the "Natural Attacks" section of the Universal Monster Rules (Bestiary p.301).

Space/Reach: In humanoid form, Space/Reach is the same as the base creature. In animal form, it is the same as the base animal. In hybrid form, Space/Reach should be the same as most humanoid creatures of the same size. This would be 5 ft./5 ft. for Small and Medium lycanthropes, and 10 ft./10 ft. for Large lycanthropes.

Special Attacks: A lycanthrope retains all the special attacks, qualities, and abilities of the base creature. In hybrid or animal form it gains the special attacks, qualities, and abilities of the base animal. A lycanthrope also gains low-light vision and scent (see Senses, above), as well as the following:

Change Shape (Su): This section remains relatively unchanged from the Bestiary (p.196) except for adding the following: "If the lycanthrope's size in hybrid form is different from its size in humanoid form, its equipment changes size to match the lycanthrope's new size when it changes to hybrid form."
Important Note: Missile weapons such as crossbows, bows, and slings do damage as the larger weapon, unlike "Enlarge Person" which reduces the missile once it is fired by the enlarged creature. (This is a personal opinion, but the Polymorph section of Chapter 9 (p.211-212) seems to bear this out.)

Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Unchanged (see Bestiary p.196).

Lycanthropic Empathy (Ex): Unchanged (see Bestiary p.196). (See also Skills, below.)

Ability Scores: Unchanged (see Bestiary p.196).

Base Attack Bonus: In each of its forms, the lycanthrope uses the Base Attack Bonus of the base creature.

CMB/CMD: In each of its forms, the CMB and CMD is calculated using the base creature's Base Attack Bonus, adjusted (where applicable) for Strength, Dexterity, and size. Any adjustments the base creature has to these (such as from feats like Improved Grapple or Dodge) still apply in all the lycanthrope's forms. Any adjustments the base animal has applies to both the lycanthrope's animal and hybrid form, subject to common sense. (For instance, a werewolf's wolf for has a bonus to CMD for having more than two legs; this would not apply to the hybrid's CMD, as it only has two legs.)

Feats: In all of the lycanthrope's forms, it uses the feats of the base creature. If the base creature has racial bonus feats (such as a human's bonus feat at 1st level), these feats apply in all of the lycanthrope's forms. If the base animal has racial bonus feats, these do not apply in any of the lycanthrope's forms. (The animal form of the lycanthrope is simply taking on the FORM, not becoming the animal.)

Skills: In all of the lycanthrope's forms, it uses the skills of the base creature. Some of these skills may be modified based on changing ability scores. If the base creature has any skill bonuses (such as an elf's racial bonus on Perception checks), the lycanthrope applies these bonuses in both its humanoid and hybrid forms, but not its animal form. If the base animal has any skill bonuses, the lycanthrope applies these bonuses in both its animal and hybrid forms, but not its humanoid form. If both the base humanoid and the base animal have racial bonuses in the same skill, they do not stack in hybrid form, only the better of the two applies. If the base animal uses a non-standard ability score to modify a skill (such as a Dire Rat using Dex instead of Str for Climb and Swim checks), this can be used as an optional choice in the lycanthrope's hybrid form only if the hybrid form is the same size as the base animal; otherwise, it uses standard ability scores to modify the skills. Furthermore, if Diplomacy is not listed, it should be added, noting the conditional bonus for Lycanthrophic Empathy (in hybrid and animal forms for afflicted lycanthropes, in all forms for natural lycanthropes).
Important Note: My choice of how to handle creatures using non-standard ability scores to modify a skill was a personal choice, I really have nothing in-game to back it up.
Important Note: Bonus skill points, such as those gained by a human, still apply in all the lycanthrope's forms.

Languages: A lycanthrope retains the understanding of all the base creature's languages, but most animal forms will lack the proper biological construction to use language.
Important: It is up to your GM whether or not a were-parrot can speak in animal form.

SQ: In addition to Change Shape and Lycanthropic Empathy, any special qualities possessed by the base animal should be included for the lycanthrope's hybrid and animal forms. Likewise, for afflicted lycanthropes they should add the following special quality:

Involuntary Change: In addition to the involuntary change an afflicted lycanthrope suffers each full moon, whenever an afflicted lycanthrope in humanoid form is injured, it must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or involuntarily change into its animal form. This is a full-round action, which consumes the lycanthrope's next turn in the round (if applicable). If the afflicted lycanthrope is aware of its condition, it may attempt to return to humanoid form as normal (DC 20 Constitution check, full-round action) if it wishes. An afflicted lycanthrope who is not aware of its condition will remain in animal form until the next sunrise or after 8 hours of rest, whichever comes first, at which time it automatically reverts to its humanoid form.
Important Note: This is an amalgamation of the Lycanthropy rules (see Bestiary p.196 (Lycanthrope)) and the Werewolf Lycanthropy curse (Core Rulebook p.557).

Gear: Any gear the lycanthrope wears in humanoid form melds into the animal form, but not the hybrid form. If the hybrid form and the humanoid form are not the same size, the equipment resizes itself to match the lycanthrope's new size.

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Happy New Year everyone!
Taffer

I've searched for the answer to this, so far to no avail.

I'm DMing a Pathfinder group through Howl of the Carrion King. One of the player's took the Reclaiming Your Roots trait, giving him a masterwork weapon. Unfortunately, it's been shattered (via the spell). He's now desperate to get it repaired, as he has a -1 penalty to his Will saves for 1 year unless he does so. However, I'm having a little trouble understanding the Mending and Make Whole spells. (Specifically Make Whole.)

Mending: This spell states it repairs 1d4 hp to the damaged object. All well and good, but the weapon (an elven curve blade) weighs 7 pounds. No one in the party (or nearby, for that matter) is 7th level, so no one can use mending to fix the blade. (At least not until the party's cleric gets to 7th level.)

Make Whole: This spell shows some promise. The target can be one object UP TO 10 cu. ft. per level. The weapons definitely falls within this parameter, so a 3rd-level cleric could definitely cast this on the weapon. And the party's cleric just happens to be 3rd level. The opening statement of the spell is the source of my confusion:

"This spell functions as mending, except that it repairs 1d6 points of damage per level when cast on a construct creature (maximum 5d6)."

From my reading of this sentence, when the party's 3rd-level cleric tries to cast this spell on the shattered weapon, it will repair 1d4 points of damage. Not 1d6, not 1d6 per level, not even 1d4 per level, but a straight 1d4.

Please, tell me I'm missing something. This doesn't seem right. :(

Thanks in advance, and my apologies for my long-windedness. :)

We had this come up at the table after our tonight, as everyone was leveling up their characters.

The basic question is, can feats such as Point Blank Shot be used with spells? In particular, ray weapons?

This question has probably arisen since our group made the switch from D&D 3.5 to Pathfinder a couple months ago, and in D&D there was a statement made (somewhere) that these feats could, in fact, be used with "weapon-like spells". I am unable to find such a statement (either for or against) in the Pathfinder books, leading me to believe that they cannot be used in this way.

However, I've seen several places where the rules state certain spells (rays in particular) are treated "like a weapon" (for instance, the ability to crit).

Unable to find a definitive answer in the books, I turn to you. Any official word on this? A book and page reference would be most helpful!

Thanks,
Taffer

We had this come up at the table after our tonight, as everyone was leveling up their characters.

The basic question is, does a ranger deal additional damage with spells against their favoured enemies?

At first glace, the answer seems to be no, since it specifically states the damage is added to "weapon attack and damage rolls" (Core Rulebook, p.64). However, I've seen several places where the rules state certain spells (rays in particular) are treated "like a weapon" (for instance, the ability to crit).

Unable to find a definitive answer in the books, I turn to you. Any official word on this? A book and page reference would be most helpful!

Thanks,
Taffer

I'm looking for an online download site where I can download the free materials (such as the Wayfinder and Pathways e-zines).

I think Paizo is great for offering these free items, but they stamp my name, download date, and copyright date on every page of the download, which drives me crazy. :(

So, does anyone know somewhere where these (and hopefully other free products) can be downloaded without the annoying stamp/watermark/whatever it's called?

Thanks,
Taffer

I'm running my first Pathfinder game in less than three days. I've noticed something that I can tell will already be trouble at the table.

When using detect magic and Knowledge (arcana) to determine the school of magic associated with the aura (be it an item or active spell or whatever), does it also reveal subschool and descriptors?

For the descriptors, I say it's an easy "No, it doesn't." For the subschool, I'm not so sure.

Unfortunately, the only thing I can find to support NOT revealing subschools is the complete absence of any mention of it.

I can already see my players arguing with me that they SHOULD be able to get the subschool as well, and I can see both sides of the argument.

Has this come up before? Has there been any official word on this?

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Taffer

I'm in the process of advancing a monster (the Huecuva from the Bonus Bestiary), and I've hit a snag.

The base creature has 3 HD, and a spell-like ability that it uses at Caster Level 3 (clearly stated in the Spell-Like abilities portion of its stat-block). I am advancing this creature to 6 HD. Does the caster level advance to CL 6 (to match the HD), or does it stay at CL 3?

I can't seem to find anything that says either way. Is there any official word on this sort of problem?

(As usual, despite the fact I've given a specific example, I would prefer a general, all-purpose ruling, so that I'm well-armed in the future with the correct procedures.)

Thanks in advance,
Taffer

Here's a hypothetical situation...

The characters attack an orc guard outpost, with about 6 orcs in it. Melee ensues, and after a round or two, an orc that had stepped outside to "answer nature's call" comes back in and joins the fight.

In D&D 3.5, it was stated how to handle this situation (DMG, p.23-24)...if the new combatant is "aware" (ie: knows what's going on), he acts at the top of the initiative order before everyone else. If he's not "aware" (ie: he just sorta stumbled into the room not knowing what was going on), he rolls initiative normally and gets his action inserted at the appropriate time (according to his initiative roll)...he's flat-footed until then.

I am trying to find the Pathfinder rules for what to do when additional combatants enter after melee starts, but I haven't been able to locate it yet. Any help would be appreciated!

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Taffer

New to Pathfinder, we'll be starting our first game in about two weeks (Legacy of Fire). Going through the adventure, I've got a question.

In general, can mind-affecting effects affect an unconscious character? To me, my common sense would say the answer is no...the character's mind isn't really in a state to be affected by such things (unless they are visions or dreams specifically being placed into the unconscious, for example).

Specifically:

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Taffer

What effect does an overwhelming magic aura have?

In the various Detect Alignment spells (Detect Good/Detect Evil/etc.) it's clearly spelled out. But for Detect Magic (Core Rulebook, p.267), it's just sort of mentioned in the table.

DM: You detect a magic aura nearby.
Player: Sweet! Keep concentrating...
DM: You've discovered an overwhelming aura...
Player: Overwhelming? So...what happens?
DM: Ummm....well...you're...uh...overwhelmed?

Is there an effect? I can't tell. :(

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Taffer

Please forgive my verbosity. I'm doing my best to make sure my question is understood, and that sometimes leads to long-windedness. :(

Okay, I've searched, but found no answer to my question.

Here's my question: Does a creature with racial HD and character class levels get maximum hit points for its first class level? Core Rules seems to say "no", but Bestiary seems to imply that it might.

Core Rules, p.12 ("Hit Points"): "...A creature gains maximum hit points if its first Hit Die roll is for a character class level. Creatures whose first HD come from an NPC class or from his race roll their first Hit Die normally..."

Bestiary, p.6 ("hp"): "...Creatures with PC class levels receive maximum hit points for their first HD, but all other HD rolls are assumed to be average..."

Bestiary 2 repeats the information from Bestiary.

You'll notice the Bestiary definition does not say "Creatures with PC class levels and no racial HD"... just "Creatures with PC class levels".

So, what do you do with a creature with racial hit dice AND levels in a "character" class...for example, a 1st-level Hill Giant Fighter. He has 10 racial HD and 1 Fighter HD.

The Core Rules would seem to say he rolls his first fighter HD (no max hp).

The Bestiary could be interpreted either way, however. It could be read as saying "Creatures with PC class levels receive maximum hit points for their first class level", or it could be read as saying "Creatures with PC class levels and no racial HD receive maximum hit points for their first HD".

(The Bestiary could also be interpreted just as it is read, saying that a creature with class levels, regardless of whether or not it has racial HD, gets max hp for its first HD, regardless of whether or not that HD is a racial HD or a class level HD. But I'm sure it's not MEANT that way.)

Whew... again, I apologize for my long-windedness. I've looked for an answer online and in the books, but every answer I've seen seems to overlook the combination of racial HD with character class levels.

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Taffer

I have a Forgotten Realms campaign I would like to convert over to Golarion. It had the characters using Waterdeep as their main base of operations/adventure launching point.

I am wondering what the Golarion equivalent of Waterdeep is? Not necessarily by the way the city is set up, but more what is considered the world's "main city". (Forgotten Realms has Waterdeep, Greyhawk has the City of Greyhawk, etc.)

Thanks in advance!

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Taffer

While going through the Bestiary and Bestiary 2, I came across a discrepancy.

Bestiary, p.6: Ability Scores - "...while creatures with character class levels have the elite array (15, 14, 12, 11, 10, 8)..."

Bestiary, p.6: Ability Scores - "...while creatures with character class levels have the elite array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8)..."

I can't seem to find anything anywhere to support either one of these arrays (perhaps I'm missing something?), so I'm left wondering which is the correct one?

Being new to the game (but a longtime 3.5 DM), I have to wonder if one of these is an error, or if both Bestiaries applied the elite array they stated to the monsters they provided.

I realize this may be a very minor difference, but I'm a stickler for details.

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Taffer

I'm new to Pathfinder...making the switch from 3.5, and I am on my first read through the rules. I've tried finding an answer to this question in the books and in the forums, but have had no luck so far.

(And Yes, I did find the "What Happens When a Cat Crits" thread, but my question is slightly different.)

The Viper (Bestiary p.133) has the following melee attack: "Bite +5 (1d2-2 plus poison)".

My confusion involves the minimum damage rule and the poison. The minimum damage rule says that if the damage from your attack has penalties that reduce it below 1, you still do 1 damage, but it is non-lethal. (Paraphrasing...that book isn't in front of me atm, sorry.) Judging from this creature's attack line, it will do 1 non-lethal damage every time.

However, the Viper's poison states it is "Injury" based. Have it "injured" with non-lethal damage? Does the poison still get applied? If not, why give it a poisonous bite in the first place?

I'm not so much interested in this specific example as a general ruling for the future. It's bound to come up again when the player's reduce the strength of a monster they're fighting to the point where it's doing minimum damage... what if a giant leech finds itself in this position? Does the "minimum 1 non-lethal" rule mean it still attaches? Does a dire rat pass on its disease? What about a wererat's bite? Does it pass on its lycanthropy if it does a mere 1 non-lethal? What about paralysis? Ability drain tied to damaging the opponent? The list goes on.

Is there an official ruling somewhere?

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Taffer