The Shaman's page

I've seen people try to make a poisoner, but it's usually a side gig.

First, PCs are usually meant to take on enemies in one go and the game rewards you for defeating them quickly, so poison - which requires time to ramp up - is generally not seen as a good option. While you're busy poisoning the enemy, the barbarian can just cleave them in two - which takes them out of the game a lot faster. Second, it costs money to make or buy (in most cases), which eats into the party's gear budget, unlike magic such as cloudkill or the poison spell.

I'd probably suggest the alchemist, either the core/vivisectionist for a capable utility guy/gal with some poison knowledge, or the eldritch poisoner or toxicant archetypes for a poison specialist. The Toxin Codexer investigator is also fairly good imo, not as strong as the alchemist in a fight but better in social or investigative situations. However, in either case I'd treat poisons as a backup option, like maybe lobbing a grenade at that reedy git in the back that talks funny, rather than your main combat contribution.

Talking about bards, anyone can take the Bard VMC, though they don't get inspire courage until level 7.

Other than that, a paladin's auras can provide some pretty good resistances to allies, cavaliers get teamwork feats and the banner feature, and the battle cry feat gives a small morale bonus to attack and a save bonus vs fear or a save to break an ongoing fear effect.

I'd definitely consider a freebooter ranger, but I'm a fan of the ranger chassis in general: you get a good number of skills as well as bonus feats with early access to some very nice ones, as well as a smattering of spells later on. It was FAQ'd that quarry works with the target of Freebooter's Bane as well (presumably, so does Master Hunter, if your campaign reaches level 20).

How big of a deal is it, though? A wizard can still be an expert in athletics. I wouldn't mind seeing a feat to add to signature skills, but so far I'm not particularly impressed. It would be nice, sure, but that's about it.

It's not like you can't get any mountain climbing experience, or you have to have magic staves and grimoires to cast more spells the way a fighter needs a magic sword to do significantly more damage..

I don't really mind signature skills, but it would be cool to get more ways to get them. For example, a feat that gives you a signature skill or makes your background skill a signature skill with some added bonus would be nice.

Before you invest skill feats, the difference between expert and legendary is a +2. That is not that huge imo.

TheLoneCleric wrote:

That seems like a big oversight. I'd have to houserule it until they fix it.

Hopefully they do fix it soon. Right now, wizards and sorcerers are in some trouble.

You would probably need to inform them that you made this house rule when you submit your play test feed back though or else it could cause chaos on their reporting.

I don't think they are in trouble, they just get armor ASAP.

What is a bit iffy for me is that by the system, they should wear the heaviest armor they can get away with. They don't lose any AC since they are untrained with unarmored/mage armor either, and it doesn't impact their spells.

I have a question: how big of a deal are signature skills? On its own, you only get +2 from being legendary over being expert. Some of the feats require master or legendary level, but I'm not sold on how key this is for a combat- or spell-focused character.

I wouldn't say no to a feat that allows you to get an extra signature skill, though. Granted, my first priority would be to push for ways for martials to get extra damage from proficiency as well (i.e. master/legendary increasing weapon dice or just getting a flat damage bonus).

Edit: As for paladins and deities, well, I'm generally a fan of divine classes having to have a divine patron by default. My interpretation is that they wanted to have deity-specific codes by default, rather than having a generic "one size fits all" code and then having to clarify it when aspects of the code seem to clash with the deity's dogma.

That is the purist reading, yes. However, you can use them for class skills, and there are currently very few general feats for characters who want to focus on other options.

I think if "general" feats give you the option to take more skill feats, they should give you the option to specialize in class abilities like the "extra X" feats from 1E and get more class/multiclass feats. What do you think?

Hi, I am currently going through the core book, and I am a bit confused just what you can take with the general feats. I expected it to be any feat you qualify for - after all, they include skill feats, which you specifically get from your class. Does that mean you can also take the general feats to get more class or multiclass feats - and if no, why shouldn't they, since you can use them to take more skill feats?

Interesting, though I am not sold on AoOs requiring a feat or being a fighter now, unless there are no ways to avoid them like there were in PF1E. They are something that nearly all games have been featuring in a long time.

- Vivisectionist (Alchemist): not everyone wants to lob bombs, and the mad scientist vibe can work just as well with a "doctor" feel to it.

- Evangelist (Cleric): for me, a big issue with the cleric was that despite it being a great miracleworker, it´s actually pretty bad at being a preacher. The evangelist helped at least somewhat and made the cleric a good inspirational figure.

- Tie between Freebooter & Guide (Ranger): I like the ranger, but I also like the idea of twisting the favored enemy feature into something more generalist. These two archetypes do that and I am a big fan of both

- Invulnerable Rager (Barbarian): it gives some of the uncanny instincts of the base class in order to be the toughest, meanest and strongest badass in town, and as a barbarian, that is often exactly what I want.

- Archeologist (Bard): honestly there are several bard archetypes that I am a fan of, but this is probably the most distinct one and this is why it edges my other 2 favourites (the stormcaller and the detective).

I´d also give an honorable mention to the following:

- Daring Champion (Cavalier): my favourite duelist archetype, the only reason it's not on the list is because the cavalier is not one of the Base 11+1

- Zen Archer and Quinggong monk - the former for giving a great new twist to the monk that both changes how it plays and retains some of the theme, and

- Toss-up between the consigliere and knife master rogues, for being good variant "spins" of the rogue core archetype.

Looked into bard, still seems runner-up to alchemist do you agree?

Nope.

As already noted, bards can eventually start performance as a move or swift action, which means that they will be able to do that, and cast a spell, in one round.

Alchemists (respectively investigators) have some very good buffs, but they are all or almost all single target buffs. For an alchemist to cover the entire party, they must expend multiple slots and multiple rounds, which means it has to be done before the fight starts. The bard (or evangelist cleric for that matter) can also throw some spells before then, but can then follow up with a good suite of short-duration buffs (performance + haste is usually the staple) on round 1.

Xexyz wrote:

Paladin. Bigger hit die, better saves, access to heavy armor, and swift action self-healing. In addition, being a full-BAB class with an extremely strong offensive kit against evil enemies makes them generally threatening enough to warrant paying full attention to them.

indeed, well said I agree with everything except the heavy armor thing being a big issue. A cleric player may say, I touch of madness my enemy and then plane shift them, gg no-re.

You can say that, but against enemies with good threat range and powerful attacks, relying on casting 2 spells in the middle of a combat is not always a good idea. In fact, frontline characters ideally try not to rely on spellcasting during combat in the early levels: defensive casting is unreliable, and AoOs hurt when you have a d8 hit die.

Now, at high levels, few things beat a full caster, but that´s at higher levels. A paladin is a very decent tank from level 2 on, when they get a big save boost and self-heal.

Ehhh, tankiness is hard to quantify in Pathfinder as there aren´t very solid "taunt" or other control mechanics outside of spells, and you usually don´t want to be casting those on the "frontline".

I would give the paladin a nod because of their great defense vs magic, quick action self-heal and better combat ability. Clerics and oracles can certainly do a decent job later on, though, and warpriests deserve a mention for the combination of feats, spellcasting and fervor-empowered self-buffs.

Was it this, by any chance?

1. Shadows of Golsifar - the murder of the up-and-coming baroness Arimanna has shocked the provincial town of Golsifar. There is an official investigation, but a local nobleman and a friend of the baroness suspects that the official investigation would not be particularly interested in getting too far into the matter. The PCs have been accused of the crime, but through a technicality and a lot of influence, their new patron gives them a chance to find the real killer. They have to find the assassins and turn them in,dead or alive... or else. Finding what the motive is would not hurt either.

6. Three Days to the Apocalypse – Despite the deaths of the viscount de Graive, his final gambit proceeds as foreseen with a planar invasion of Taldor. They have less than half a week advanced notice before rifts to Abbadon open throughout the countryside and armies of daemons swarm out, and assassin cults and plaguebearers already spread chaos throughout the country. Hastily appointed as wardens of Oppara, the characters need to secure the city and Taldor itself in order to beat back the hordes of Abbadon and seal the greatest rift before the Seraph of Desolation herself rides out from it and brings down the mighty empire that survived legendary betrayals and the death of a god. Will the Lion of Taldor rise from its slumber and roar defiantly once more, its victorious standard planted in the dusty vistas of the Grey Waste, or will it fall silent forever as a new Worldwound tears it apart?"

Holy smokes, I just saw that and it´s awesome. I´ve been hoping that there is a Taldor AP, and even had an idea about a possible plot presented in a thread.

If we´re saving Taldor from daemons, it would feel like a deja vu :) .

So, only the druid VMC if we go by official sources. Okay, thanks. Pity, I was hoping there would be something in the Ultimate Wilderness book, but I´m not quite looking for a shifter.

Hi, I have been a ranger fan for a while now, and I have always been sad that there I could not find any ranger archetypes that let you gain (limited) wildshape - something that to me, the class has always been close to due to its links to animals and nature in general. Is there a way to get wildshape on a single-class ranger or get its effects in any other way,such as beast shape as a spell (ideally 1 level lower)? I had high hopes for Ultimate Wilderness, but as far as I understand while a few other classes got archetypes that give them this feature, rangers did not.

Hi, is this the result of the Kaidan campaign setting Kickstarter project, or is there going to be another book for players?

Undead will probably win out when it comes to easy access to an army of compliant workers but is there any other alternatives through spells or class features?

I am not sure it is easy. Just getting a sufficient amount of onyx to animate them could be a pain in itself. 50 undead = 1250 gold pieces worth of onyx alone (how many settlements have that at hand?), and you need lieutenants for large groups because of the control HD limit. Said lieutenants need to either be have channel energy or need to cast animate dead as well; level 2 experts need not apply. So you need a sizable initial investment and, for larger groups, specialized managers. They are also crap at anything resembling specialized work. Even your level 1 commoner would likely have a rank in a useful skill and enough brain to know how to use tools. Skeleton carpenters or builders... no thanks.

Overall, I would say they can be quite useful if you need extremely simple emergency work or need to work with extreme conditions, but they are not as great in most situations. Plus, well, you can't just get them anywhere. Humanoid bodies or even bones in intact condition are not something that is universally available.

Just as an example,a level 8 bard with leadership (which, granted, many DMs do not like, but most don't like dealing with undead hordes either), decent charisma and an investment in a home base can easily get a leadership level of 15+ and attract something like 25-30 followers on top of their cohort - most would be level 1 NPCs, but there would be a smattering of level 2 and 3s. This is on top of any hirelings who are just there for the money and the food; these people are fairly loyal and can form the foundation of your organization.

What about the sandman bard? You get the bard's usual spell list (which has both illusions and a lot of support), some sneak attack, higher DC against enemies who are flat-footed, and 1/2 your level to bluff, SoH and stealth. You lose the suggestion line and most of your inspire buffs, sadly, but you get stealspell (a bit like the 3.5 spellthief) and instead of suggestion you can make fascinated enemies fall asleep. Stealspell is iffy, but potentially very powerful. Remember, you can "tap" your allies for spells as well, being able to use them as sources of temporary spells known.

blahpers wrote:

"Monster nerf" might be overstating it a tad.

Enjoying an extra attack on-demand is one of the best possible of all class abilities.

-- But let's split the difference and label losing it a bestial nerf.

They can still get an extra attack, but it is unarmed. On one hand,this means no weapon bonuses, on the other - the full BAB and no TWF penalties help with landing the attack, and style strike can bring some riders on it. So yes, that component of flurry was nerfed - but I personally do not see it as a big nerf to the FoB feature itself and, considering the extra attack bonuses, thin it is stronger than before. Style strikes, which require an unarmed attack, are how the UMonk can do a flurry while moving without committing to a single style, which iirc the core monk simply could not do. Pummeling charge, which is the other option, requires unarmed strikes as well, locked you into a style chain and also had several prerequisites, so if anything it was an even more limiting option.

It is harder to be a pure weaponmaster UMonk than an unarmed or mixed one, although ascetic style or ki focus weapons help with that, just as they do with the core monk.

Just started a mid level game and the GM keeps complaining in hints that we all didn't pick Elves or something else that lives for hundreds of years. I'm playing a human spellslinger with a Changeling cohort / spouse Witch. Anyone know how to make them either turn back the clock or just not age to beguine with? Maybe a way to change race or just steal years off our enemies? I would be willing to go Vampiric but I have never heard of that going well for PC's.

Well, it might take a while to get there, but a Thuvian Alchemist / Natural Alchemist eventually becomes good enough to synthesize their fabled sun orchid elixir. A Living Monolith gets a similar ability, though you would have to deal with your significant other being at times rather rather... hard (I am told this is a more appreciated ability for husbands). Both PrCs can be entered at level 6, so you reach the capstone at level 15.

Speaking of which, there IS the sun orchid elixir, but it is extremely hard to get. Six of these sell for enough to almost base Thuvia´s budget on, and that is an entire country (granted, a small country, and the tourism caused by the auction helps).

I usually frontline with a barbarian or bloodrager, but I have a soft spot for the daring champion cavalier. It is essentially a swashbuckler with a cavalier chassis, trading the animal companion and charging stuff for some of the swashbuckler goodies. With a decent dexterity, a (magical) buckler and the nimble feature your AC should be at least as high as it is now, easily higher (presuming at least +1 armor and buckler).

Unchained monk: ...now that is some of the worst munchkin-bait nerf bait Paizo has put out in a long time. Peer under the hood, and you can really tell that the base class is too strong and they think they need to tame it. Flurry with temple swords? Not anymore. You better be in love in with your fists, because they're about all you're going to get to use now. Kiss goodbye your will save and your pseudo ITWF and GTWF attacks. Ooo! But I get full-BAB!

Big deal. You get your -10 iterative at 11th. Meanwhile, and ordinary monk has the same attack bonus with a far greater range of monk weapons (a one level dip of fighter[unarmed] opens up everything) and doesn't have to blow his Ki getting goodies that are free on his list but cost it on the unchained versions. I'm sorry, who was chained here?

Wait a minute. Why would the unchained monk not be able to flurry with a temple sword? It is a monk weapon. They can flurry with all monk weapons. In fact, since UMonks are proficient with all weapons with the monk quality, they can flurry with nine-section whips, seven-branch swords etc just fine. The difference is mostly that before flurry was pseudo-TWF, now it is a flat attack at full bonuses. At level 8, a base monk´s flurry based just on base attacks would be 6/6/1/1, an unchained monk´s would be 8/8/3. Sure, the pure monk has an extra attack at +1, but he is a bit behind on attacks. At level 10, the Umonk gets a third attack at full BAB. Their flurry looks quite good to me.

The will saves nerf was not needed and made it too close to the brawler. The HD and save change was one of the things I did not like about the new monk, the other was the loss of archetypes. Some of the ki powers lost out, but there are enough that are okay.

Give the Umonk a good will save (even at the cost of the d8 HD) and have the DM allow more archetypes, and I´d be happy enough.

Anyway, here are my favourites:

Full BAB, no spells: Barbarian. Get angry, wreck stuff, job done
Full BAB, 4th level spells: Rangers get a bad rep recently, but they are versatile and flavorful
3/4 BAB, no casting: Kineticist. I was into manipulating elements even before Avatar came out.
3/4 BAB, 6th casting: Bard or inquisitor. Both are so, so good. The investigator and alchemist get an honorable mention.
3/4 BAB, 9th level spells: Oracle:I like divine casters, but a cleric´s progression is broken. The oracle fixes almost all of those problems
1/2 BAB, 9th level spells: Witch. Pacts with mysterious beings for arcane might are just so flavorful. The sorcerer is a close second.

An archeologist does not perform, but for a macabre artist a dirge bard is imo a great choice Funereal oratory is still a performance, and you should be doing something to impress your teammates.

If you do not to be an inspirational figure, I think an occultist or a medium is a better choice. Just check with your DM how finding and regaining spirits will work for a medium in this campaign - the class is reliant on being able to find one or more wherever you go. I wish it had the option to retain a spirit from the previous day, that way you could keep a spirit until you want to change.

According to page 489, her stance has not changed.Undead are abominations to be destroyed, as are those who raise them.

I can see her religion being a proscribed cult on Eox with some fringe appeal. As for the bug... yeah, if it is a Pharasmin, it makes 0 sense to raise undead.

Speaking of Osirion, there is Wadjet, who is a valid patron for NG or LN druids. Yig does not really support good druids, as he is CN in alignment (and druids have to be at least part neutral in alignment).

To be honest, druids work perfectly well as priests of nature deities. Sadly, the cleric class does not really give you all that many abilities outside of its casting, so having "alternative" priests like druids, warpriests or inquisitors makes perfect sense for some religions.

Did the errata ever state if the Dragonheir scion´s arcane strike damage increase with his level, the way it does for casters? It always struck me as a natural thing to ensure that the feat function as well as it does for its intended recipients, but it is not strictly RAW.

Oh! Oh! Do you have a moment to talk about our Snake Lord Yig?

Yig is one of the Great Old Ones, but alongside Bokrug and Mhar, he is fairly non-malicious (you know, for a deity out of the Cthulhu Mythos). It is a deity of cycles, procreation and serpents, and tends to have some worshippers among nomads or hinterland dwellers. It is not likely to care too much for your ancestry or, ahem, peculiar look. Such mortal fancies are insignificant to Yig!

Yiggite cultists have a good chance to be noticed and protected, but must continue being devoted in kind - Yig is not a kind god, and lapsed worshippers or those who offend it are likely to be cursed with infertility, mutations, failing harvests, deadly snake attacks or various curses. Also, harming snakes is generally discouraged; harming serpentfolk - not so much. Apparently, some minor serpentfolk deity called Ydersius considers Yig a rival or enemy. This... could come into play. Yig's favored children are huge, strongly venomous serpents with a crescent on their heads. There is more about Yig in Bestiary 6, including a stat block of the Big Snake Daddy itself.

Also, seriously, how often do you get to play a worshipper of a Great Old One in Pathfinder and not be just another insane cultist?

Not that insanity is a problem or anything, of course. And yes, Yig is one of my favourite Pathfinder deities.

It looks great! BTW, I think you can be a cultist of Yig as well, if you want a relatively non-malicous Great Old One (I would say he is like a slightly tamer and less b****y version of Calistria) that plays well with others. The revelry subdomain is not best ever, but having some extra buffs as domain spells and automatically extending many buffs at level 8 isn´t half bad. Yig does not have the extra weapon proficiency that Bokrug offers, though.

Also, I'd like to give my +1 for the Dreamed Secrets, too, although the will save it entails is a bit of a problem for the EMC. But hey, you don't choose this archetype to be sane if you value your sanity all that much.

I would lean towards the inquisitor, as the versatile skill set makes them very good at handling diverse situations. A cleric becomes more powerful (eventually), but there are very few situations in which an inquisitor cannot contribute.

Granted, the group is a bit light on healing so an oracle or cleric isn´t a bad choice by any mean, but of the two, I would go with an inquisitor. Of course, no one would ever call you an inquisitor - you are a priest of Besmara to those in the know, just a sly and savvy one!

I don't know about 1 level, but I can really dig a 2-level dip in bard or skald for a paladin. Some basic performances when you have a standard action ready,some cantrips, a few extra skills and versatile performance, and a license to go totally ham.

Like i said calistria WAS the obvious first choice all things considered, I'm just not sure that her worshiping her wouldn't have just bolstered the past trauma my character dealt with. If you can convince me otherwise though that would make things easier moving forward.

http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Calistria

This has more details and really nothing suggests that a chaotic good calistrian wouldn't get A LOT of rolled eyes at the bare minimum.

From what I can tell, Calistrians are selfish in that they act on their desires with minimal inhibitions. That does not mean they don´t care for anyone else, and there are quite a few CG worshippers and even clerics of the deity. Faith of Balance and the other religion books have more on the topic. Basically, they are more free-spirited than anything else, and while the "eff you, got mine" attitude is not unknown in the faith, it does not define it either.

If your have a personal beef with slavers and desire to see them die and suffer, Calistria is more than fine with that. If you pursue your vendetta in such a way that it brings home the karmic aspect of vengeance, and you do it with style and while looking good, you just made the shortlist for her favor. Don´t forget, she is about more than sultry looks and exotic courtesans - vengeance is a big part of her portfolio and vigilantism is quite common among her followers. Some, less principled ones, also go into assassination, but usually the point is that someone was wronged and there is an element of vengeance in what they do. You gotta feel it, get a kick from it. Dispassionate murder is more up Norgorber´s or maybe the Red Mantis´ alley.

So far I have seen nothing about her character that indicates that she would not be a model Calistrian. Yes, she focuses her wrath on slavers and the like, because such people had wronged her greatly in the past. Nothing heretical so far, especially for a lay worshipper. In fact, Calistria would be my first choice for deity for such a character (alongside maybe Yig, unless you have an issue with snakes).

I have a bigger problem associating this character with Shelyn, though she is probably the closest Golarion deity to Sune. Shelyn is the goddess of love and beauty, and she is fairly pacifistic and defensively minded. Assassination is very unusual for her, even if the target was evil - in fact, she can be just as much (or at least almost as much) about redemption as Sarenrae is. The "flaunting" itself is not that big of a deal - she may be fairly chaste herself, but considering her portfolio (love, beauty, and art of any kind) she is unlikely to be too prudish about erotic art or some nakedness. Murdering people, now, that is not so cool in her book. That doesn´t mean a believer of Shelyn cannot ever be a spy, but killing is something they are likely to see as wrong and to be avoided whenever possible.

Sohoi/EWMs are better archers than Zens.

What do you mean by EWM?

Hi, I had missed the kickstarter, but I am interested in the setting conceptually. Does anyone know if it the book has already been published and if it will be made available at DriveThruRPG or elsewhere?

All alignments/deities get holy warriors. They are called Warpriest.

Not all alignments/deities get "Paladins" and they shouldn't.

You may not like that but that's how it is.

For now, yes, but that something is a certain way does not mean it has to ever stay that way. Also, a paladin is a holy warrior. A warpriest is a militant priest. It could be a difference of degrees, but I think the archetype is significantly different.

I like the consigliere mostly for the social stuff. You get an option to take teamwork feats, you don´t have to take them. You lose trap sense for it, sure, but Convincing Attitude gives you 3 features for 2, so I consider it a wash.

Sharper I want to like, but to be honest I am on the fence about. As you said, steal is an iffy maneuver, although I have a soft spot for anything that lets you disable enemies that rely on paraphernalia like holy symbols, spell components, etc. OTOH, some of the other stuff it gets is really nice. I think it is the only archetype to get half of its rogue level to all sleight of hand checks, right? The cutpurse can steal items with SoH with a sneak attack, but I like all the other tricks a sharper brings to the table, especially the rerolls.

Also, speaking of social rogues that can be made to represent "businessmen," the rake can function fairly well as a relatively suave, but also ruthless mobster.

Depending on the level, Deific Obedience (Pharasma) offers various anti-undead bonuses. Most come into effect fairly late, though. I would, however suggest not skipping on generic defensive feats - something like great fortitude could be very good when facing undead.

I am seeing all those mafia jokes and I can´t help but think - does everyone hate the consigliere archetype or is it too obscure? Bonuses to persuasion and teamwork abilities aren´t bad at all imo. Sure, you aren´t a better fighter than a straight rogue, but the concept is already inclined towards a more social character.

Also, the sharper is also worth looking into if you want to be good with concealing a knife, but it more oriented towards b!!#%&@!ting people or swiping nice things off them, and the latter isn´t quite so business friendly.

Create Mr. Pitt wrote:

Why not use paladin or create paladin-like classes for each alignment instead of telling non-LG characters too bad so sad go play warpriest?

"Paladin-like classes for each alignment" you mean the Warpriest? or a step further "The Champion of the Faith" archetype?

It's been done already.

But its not good enough since people just want the Paladins abilities minus the Paladin part.

Seriously...wanting to change the Paladin to remove restrictions is the same as wanting to remove the restrictions of other classes.

I want a Wizard who casts spells spontaneously and doesn't need a spellbook, but i also want to keep the same progression of Wizard spells.

Why not use Wizard and make it that way instead of telling them too bad make a Sorcerer?

I think it is a matter of different restrictions, not of no restrictions. Why should all alignments and deities have clerics, but only LGs have full holy warriors? Is there a reason NG deities cannot sponsor NG champions?

The warpriest archetype is a band-aid, but it is fundamentally a different chassis.

Ok, I think a better question is, outside maybe paladins,what classes cannot be pirates, because I can definitely see most working out. I guess the psychic is a bit harder to rope with their fluff, but there is certainly nothing stopping them from using their talents for plunder and glory.

Fedorchik1536 wrote:

Alex Mack wrote:

Dawnflower Dervish + Singing Steel: making barbarians look like weaklings since 2017...

What's Singing Steel?

A new kind of Mithril from AA2. A bard with an appropriate weapon or armor can activate his Bardic Performance one step faster.

So a move action becomes a swift action activation. It's pretty pricy, but for light armor it's only 750 GP extra. So basically you can get a chainshirt before you reach Level 2.

Woah, this is pretty great for the price, considering most bards wear light armor anyway. Isn´t that actually cheaper than mithral?

Three Reasons to live is a magical instrument that makes you count as higher level for the performance bonuses. It is detailed in the Archives of Nethys.

Most classes can heal HP damage, with wands if nothing else, though you need the heal spell to be able to heal a lot of damage quickly. Curing disabling effects is a bit harder, but most divine full casters, paladins (via mercies), and alchemists can do a decent job at it.

I am partial to the herbal witch (not the hedge witch, surprisingly). The poultice lets you remove some pretty unpleasant effects fairly easily and quickly. You don´t have any alignment restriction, so it can work for your case (also, I think it does pretty well as a poisoner, just in case you need one).

Hmm, it could be a wondrous item, the way the incenses and some elixirs are. Granted, they take action a lot slower, but you could have something to fit the niche. However, for minor effects I am more partial to non-magical alchemical items.

I am very disappointed in this thread. I came here expecting other things.

Go right, then third door to the left, there is a Companion to the Lonely discussion there :)

Speaking of lance, has anyone played the Dragoon fighter lately? It gets extra damage with spears via weapon training (and specifically gets weapon training) and some nice spear tricks instead of armor training. With nature soul - animal ally, it can get a good mount as well.

Does it need to be a magic item? Because I can see it work pretty well as an alchemical item instead. These tend to be cheaper and somewhat weaker, so if you want weaker effect it can work reasonably well.

How strong effects do you want to put in this form?

Skull and Shackles could work. You get a bit less personal dislike for the sub-villain, but beyond that, volume 1 is mostly just to get you used to the piratey mechanics.

Technically if you are level 3, you can start skip the ship grind and just get kidnapped, pressganged and escape after the ships split. No need to stage the whole island exploration bit.

Also, although I like book 1 of Carrion Crown, the exploration and grind is not so valuable to the plot. You can easily skip it after the burial and directly get to the hook for book 2. The whole AP has a "monster of the week" feel to it. Other than that, well, I think Giantslayer, Second Darkness Legacy of Fire, Skulls and Shackles and Kingmaker could work if you start from book 2 and just have a prologue where the plot-necessary ending bits of book 1 are handled. Considering that many APs get you to level 4 in the first book, it should not be too hard to start from 3 and have a 1-level prologue.

How is ranger 3 doing it?

Archetype, I guess. I was thinking Sword Devil, although it specifies "light or one- handed slashing melee weapon". If the DM allows it, you can be one impressive, agile son of a spear. Or a daughter, as the case may be.