Terjon_OTBR's page

My group has only recently started running into dispel magic in Pathfinder and I'm not sure entirely about the effects on certain spells. I understand how things work when dispelling single target effects even with multiple effects on a target but what about a multi target spell such as haste or communal resist energy. What about multiple creatures summoned with one summon spell?

Dispel magic says "You make one dispel check (1d20 + your caster level) and compare that to the spell with highest caster level (DC = 11 + the spell’s caster level). If successful, that spell ends."

So is haste dispelled from only the target or does the "spell" end along with all of its targets. What if I specifically target the spell haste itself instead of a creature. Would it then be considered "a spell affecting an area" like wall of fire? If I target a summon spell do all the summoned creatures disappear or do I have to target a single creature?

Especially with the reduced effects of the spell it seems like I should be able to take down a whole spell and not just one target worth of its effects. I know in 3.5 I always used the rule that it only affects one target but back then there was an AoE effect which could be used to target multiple effects from one spell.

Fair enough. Like I said the rules don't cover this issue in much detail. On a flying mount it shouldn't be difficult to tie yourself in in such a way as to allow you to fall from the saddle without falling completely free of the mount. If I were dealing with a setting like Dragonlance there would almost certainly be feats and/or equipment designed ing specifically with this issue in mind. And with a PC a DM should work with them on matters like this. All of the listed options require exceptional mobility to do to a flying player unless he has already hit near ground level. If you are really worried though look into trying to get access to feather fall.

Readied characters should give off some sort of visual clue that they are prepared. You may be forced into switching to a ranged attack but that still a viable option in many cases.

*edit shouldn't, not should be difficult*

Yes. Free actions can be performed at any time (subject to DM discretion). It should be noted, however, that if you fail the check you don't finish the dismount until the mount finishes its actions for the round as move actions cannot interrupt another creatures initiative (not even an ally or mount acting on yours).

You can be bull rushed, grappled (with the movement option on a later grapple), or repositioned out of a saddle.

Unseat lets you get a free bull rush on a successful attack while dealing damage. It also means you are using a weapon to perform that attack and can gain its bonuses on the CMB check.

Stay in saddle is for a bolting mount or taking damage while mounted not to resist effects intended specifically to remove you.

Mounted combat provides huge benefits to face down unprepared foes but someone trained with appropriate techniques can counter with decent planning.

Buckling up is not really an option given by the game. Being tied to a horse well enough to prevent any possibility of falling could easily lead to ugly consequences like being dragged or considered helpless according to the rules.

As a DM I personally would allow you to use a military saddle to gain a +2 to CMD to avoid being dismounted and would work with you to create a feat to allow you to use your ride skill to modify CMD against attacks that remove you from the saddle if I thought a player was really being hurt by this.

I was afraid that was the answer. It would certainly help to solve some of the rules issues I see repeating on the board if they did define this as a category of attack with its own set of clear rules. I guess I'm stuck with sneak attack all by its lonesome.

Yes to all three. He threatens, your ranges look right and he should get 1-1/2 str.

Does he get the 1 1/2 str on the bite with an AoO if he has already attacked with the weapon this round? I know PA is set for the whole round and can't be turned on or off for the AoO. It seems like the bite should become secondary for the full round too.

Where in the "rules text" of sneak attack in the rogue entry does it use the words precision damage? Duelist as I said is actually more limiting as worded in my book. I don't know swashbuckler off the top of my head but I assume as duelist.

More importantly where do you get the answer your giving? I'm looking for a rule for determining this more than the straight list. If the list is all I can get then I'd like an official rules supported one like a faq.

I know that some creature types state they are immune to precision damage(like sneak attack) and/or crits but I can't seem to locate anything to define what determines if an effect is precision damage. Even the most basic example of sneak attack doesn't actually use the term anywhere in the rogue entry.

Is there a list anywhere, or better yet a standard, for determining what qualifies?

A few examples of things that could be seen to qualify are:

Sneak Attack: This obviously is. It is the example given in the creature type entries that are the only place I can find the term actually used in a rulebook.

Point Blank Shot: Like SA this is limited in range and seems to imply an ability to target more damaging areas.

Duelist Precise Strike: Technically more limited that SA it says it doesn't work against anything immune to crits. Since as far as I know there are a few creatures that are immune to crits but not precision and none that are immune to precision but not crits it doesn't seem to be precision damage.

Deadly Aim: The description says it works by "pinpointing a foe's weak spot". This seems to imply that it is but, like sneak attack itself, there is nothing in its rules entry to indicate this.

Vital Strike: The name seems to imply a strike at a foes vital areas but nothing else seems to imply precision damage. It deals extra damage dice like SA but so does flaming and this damage is weapon dependent so I think no.

Favored Enemy: Could be interpreted as knowing where to target a foe to do the most damage. There is nothing in the entry that states as much though. I tend to think not but worth mentioning just for clarity's sake.

I'm running this campaign right now as well. My guys are only just now entering the 4th book so I can't say with certainty what they'll do but I will say that I've looked ahead and seen some of the same issues. I will also note that I always heavily customize the game to respond to my players actions (I eliminated Vordakai entirely) and as a result may not have quite the same game as you.

As far as the matter of how much info the players get I plan to make them work for much of it. By default Evindra will tell them about Nyrissa's existence, what Briar is, and where they can enter Thousandbreaths. She won't be able to tell them about the trophies or blooms but is one of several characters who might be able to identify the effects after they occur.

I've given my players access to numerous characters who know more than they do and allowed them to work out who knows what and how to get that info from them. In one case I made the swamp witch a good deal more knowledgeable about some of what is happening but one of my players took a huge disliking to the attitude I gave her and has since cut that source out of the picture as a potential ally.

A more successful case is when I placed a crown of ashes into the treasure of the baobon sith from the keep but then had my players make a knowledge check to recognize that fey, while magically predisposed to respect the wearer, would heavily resent the knowledge that it was in the hands of a mortal. I also made it clear that if the knowledge were leaked that the characters sold the item it would almost certainly damage their relations with any fey allies. So far they have decided to turn the crown over to one of their known allies but haven't actually done so. When they do they'll get a chance to meet a hamadryad which will promise them a boon after receiving the crown as a gift. She may bargain if they force it on her but this will actually reduce the quality of their reward as I intend to keep her in the background should I as DM need a Deus Ex for later. If the players think to ask her about the green hair they have encountered or even the history of the area and fey in it she will become a clear source of knowledge for them to tap later but she won't be able to give out specifics as a result of "fey law" with teasers to indicate that this may change in the nearby future. Unless they mention Nyrissa specifically she won't tell the players anything about her (They have heard the name once due to my modding a few things but shouldn't make this connection).

I also intend to have Irovetti tease them with the fact that he knows more than they do. If they decide to capture, rather than kill him, they will be able to pry the information out. Irovetti will know that the blooms are coming but not how to stop them and of course knows where Briar can be found (though this may require extreme compulsion to get out of him).

These encounters make the knowledge something the players have to seek out but give ready access to the answers once they know the right questions to ask. I feel just giving them all the info they need straight from someone like Evindra is a bit of a letdown. She should give them enough that they answer a few old questions but come up with new ones. Ones that they can get answered if they think a little about where to ask.

As far as the question of timing out the encounters goes I will make sure that my players know that the longer they are gone the greater the chance of a new bloom while they are off trying to take down the big baddie. If I know them there will be a significant debate over whether they risk leaving the kingdom unattended while they look to put a stop to things especially since a simple knowledge check can tell them that time flows erratically in the first world and the perpetual twilight reinforces this. Again the allies they have made, and the villains they will face, can help if the players choose if they actively seek out the necessary info and ask the right questions. The horned hunter will know full well the effects of the blooms, up to and including the trophies, and even the troll and giants can give indicators about the what Nyrissa intends to do with the blooms. If there any left at the end of the fight with the troll his caged pixies can and will give specific info and can even indicate the effects of defeating glade guardians in Thousandbreaths. Several NPCs and even a decent knowledge check can indicate that the Jaberwock is her biggest punch and not likely to be followed if they reach that point.

I don’t see the creatures from the glades coming back since defeating them is supposed to tear the glade from the realm. I would even consider making the glades themselves disappear after the player’s leave them, so that if they try to return with the same path it takes them to a simple crossroads. No need to tell them that with enough defeated the whole realm uproots. Of course if they have learned it on their own they are welcome to focus their efforts as a reward for having earned that knowledge.

The issue of the glades not being held by the primary focus of their anchor is solvable by having these characters regenerating visibly within the glade. The leftovers become obvious guardians and with them gone the players can strike down the regenerating form by bringing it into contact with the appropriate token(again knowledge that anyone who knows about the bloom effects can share) or even destroyed through mundane means since they are now home(potentially giving them reason to worry about retreating and returning since they may have no way to guess how long such regeneration will take).

Nyrissa, as written, may or may not make a challenge for your party depending on a lot of factors. If you’re worried about her being too easy she is not hard to upgrade since she is far from an optimized build. I know that my players tend to have very effective builds and so I often re-build major villains before they face off. Nyrissa for example can change a fight fairly effectively just by adding pilfering hand to her spell list (BTW she doesn’t have the 10th level ability of mystic theurge listed anywhere and an opening shot of Prismatic Spray & Firestorm at -2 save penalty, followed by a quickened Obsidian Flow can make a great show of power for a climactic battle).

Ah. Thank you. I had seen the button but missed the list of other FAQs on the side of the page.

I've DMed for 10+ years and I've looked time and again, through both D&D and Pathfinder and I've never been able to find a decent definition of precision damage. I don't even see anything in SA that specifically uses the term (at least without looking into the definition on an ooze). Personally I've never allowed spells without attack rolls to do SA based on the rules from 3.0/3.5, which Pathfinder is supposed to be compatible with. In complete arcane they clarified these rules in the category "weapon-like spells" which specified that only spells which require an attack roll and deal damage can be enhanced by effects like SA, Favored Enemy, or the weapon focus/specialization feats.

That said from a purely balance oriented standpoint I'm not sure what the issue here is. Certainly I would require the spell to do damage, thus preventing entangle, but generally speaking a pure wizard or pure rogue will do more damage since spells can only go off once per round.

From a RAW standpoint of course one can argue that the word "strike" requires an attack roll (If a rogue can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage).

P.S. Several people in this thread have attempted pointing to the FAQs. As I am relatively new to this board would anyone mind pointing out where I can find these?