The Wormwood is the lead ship of the 3 other contenders. If the PCs' ship is ahead of the Wormwood, it's by no more than 55', which puts them in range of Peppery's scroll of Summon Monster VII (CL 13th). If the Wormwood is in the lead, Barnabas has Peppery sick the Invisible Stalkers on the ship in second place. If this ship is an NPC's ship, the Invisible Stalkers cause enough mayhem to cause the ship to fall behind the other 3 ships (including the PCs').
...
Any suggestions or thoughts on this as a possible outcome to the regatta would be greatly appreciated!
Someone posted elsewhere that they came up with the idea to have the Invisible Stalkers in this scenario each carry over a Feather Token: Anchor and attach it to the PCs' ship. As I reported above, I stole this for my campaign and it worked beautifully. Did serious damage to their already trashed ship and gave Harrigan the edge he needed to sail into 1st place.
The PCs were enraged and contemplated attacking Harrigan right then and there, but thought better of it given how rules-focused and powerful the Master of Gales was rumored to be. This was a good choice on their part, as the surrounding waters were teeming with large sharks.
I solved it by having the 3rd place finisher arrive a few minutes later and report to the Master of Gales about various infractions/murders/mayhem that the Wormwood crew committed while sailing within the hurricane, producing evidence (a broken piece of the Wormwood's bowsprit embedded in their hull from an illegal ram) to prove the allegations.
The Master of Gales immediately disqualified the Wormwood crew and awarded victory to the 2nd place PCs. They were pleased with the outcome, but they still had that "2nd place is the 1st loser" bad taste in their mouths when it was all said and done.
To avoid giving the PCs an opportunity to fight their old nemeses, Peppery cast Submerge Ship and Major Image to conceal their hasty departure.
Did anybody else skip Tsadok's second test, "A Friendly Game of Cards", entirely? It was entirely inappropriate for my group -- they would have been bored within the first dice roll.
For those of you who ran it, how did you keep the entire party engaged?
I turned it into a drinking contest.
I wrote up Tsadok as a 14th level Barbarian Drunken Rager with a huge Fort save bonus. PCs were 8th level at this stage of the adventure.
The contest took place outside a tavern in the street, where the bar staff set up a small table and chairs. The barmaid put down trays full of rum shots and pulled a live cobra out of a basket, which she used to expertly 'milk' a drop of venom into each drink.
Players had to match Tsadok shot for shot and could walk away after each round keeping their winnings, but the goal was to impress Tsadok with their drinking prowess.
Each drink consumed required a DC10 Fort save to not drop unconscious (the fate of losers was left to their imaginations) and every drink consumed after the 2nd round gave a cumulative -1 penalty to skills and saves for 1 hour.
The captain anted up the 1000gp entry fee, as did the sailing master. Both were the only crew who believed that they had a reasonable chance to win/not embarrass themselves. Captain (Swashbuckler) used his Charmed Life to survive 10 or more rounds, and the Sailing Master (Shaman) outright cheated with Polypurpose Panacea and lasted 15 until he started to think that Tsadok was getting wise.
Tsadok produced gold and platinum bars between rounds as wagers in order to keep the PCs from quitting too early. Both walked away with more than 10,000gp in winnings, and Tsadok's grudging respect.
Other events I subbed in: Bareknuckle Boxing, Fetch The Strumpet, Dagger Catch, Tell The Tale
I thought creating my own tests ended up being more fun than the stock ones were.
When I was running Skull & Shackles, I looked everywhere I could think of to try and solve the same problem you're running into.
In the end, I wrote up stats for the various ships myself. I used the base stats from the players' guide, ships of the inner sea, and the AP as a baseline. I wanted the other types of ships to have non-aesthetic differences so that my players would have a reason to want a particular type of ship.
Each time they encountered a new ship type, I'd let them roll Profession: Sailor to get the 'stats' for it.
I designed a pro-wrestler encounter for my Skull & Shackles campaign.
It was a tremendous success. Maybe you can use some of what I came up with for your PC.
He used Opportune Parry and Riposte to Trip, then followed up with a wide variety of Dirty Tricks. His Tricks would land debuffs for a minimum of 1d4 rounds, could be used during a full attack/flurry, and required a standard action + successful Will save to remove. With Brawler's Flurry, he could do 4 Dirty Tricks to anyone in range per round.
With Brawler's Fury, he could do some lethal/nonlethal damage, and with Brawler's Strike he could overcome most Damage Reduction.
(as a PC, he probably would've needed Adamantine Brass Knuckles)
Use Martial Flexibility to get whatever combat feats you need to do the wrestling move you have in mind each round. Bull Rush is handy when there's a rope or other obstacle to knock an enemy towards to set up a do-si-do or a flying kick or something cool like that.
He had a +1 Brawling mithral chain shirt that was styled like a sparkly sequined vest with his name embossed on the back in semi-precious stones. The Brawling enchantment on armor is essential for this type of character.
Sample Dirty Tricks:
blow powder in the face = dazzled
pull down pants = entangled
crotch-kick = sickened
eye-poke = blinded
fish hook = shaken
box ears = deafened
stomach-kick = fatigued
Other thoughts:
Dirty Trick Master is the capstone feat, but it requires BAB +11.
Superior Dirty Trick probably isn't worth it.
Dirty Fighting is a very strong and effective feat, especially for this type of character. Don't overlook it.
Without Quick Dirty Trick, you will probably be frustrated.
Your Will save will be terrible. Plan on addressing that with gear/buffs.
Deja Vu is another unlikely choice, but can cause all kinds of trouble for an opponent if used at the right time. No save.
Deja Vu isn't as good as you think. Lots of people misunderstand this spell and think it's better than it is.
The target acts normally the round after you cast it, then repeat that action on the second round after you cast it. So there is no "right time" because you can't predict what action they will take after you cast it and hoping for a good restriction two rounds from now is not a great strategy. If the target has Spellcraft and identifies the spell they can deliberately choose an action they don't mind repeating after the spell hits them.
Agree with how the spell works. Totally disagree with your perspective on its usefulness.
The spell has no save and limits an enemy's options. A thoughtfully prepared offense with this spell can put the enemy into a difficult situation and force a difficult choice. You can predict what an enemy will do if you're thinking ahead and/or manipulating the conflict.
A high-level Wizard has more than a few things up their sleeves that can mess up a PC's next couple of turns when combined with this spell.
Another note: If you prepare Quickened Dispel Magic and a regular Dispel Magic, you can cast it twice in a turn. This is a very strong option.
Ill Omen is a fantastic Quickened spell, especially at high levels. Say that the BBEG researched a Wizard version of it.
No-save "get off me" spells like Hydraulic Push and Frigid Touch might be good, or at least unexpected. Quickened Spells don't provoke AOOs, so that could be handy.
Deja Vu is another unlikely choice, but can cause all kinds of trouble for an opponent if used at the right time. No save.
If you choose feats and abilities that abuse spells like Snowball or Snapdragon Fireworks, having quickened versions prepared can be nasty.
In my experience, a Darkwood Composite Longbow with +Str bonus equal to your normal Str bonus is the best option.
Get the Attack bonus on it as high as you can and don't worry about enchantments. A +3 bow is probably going to be good enough for most of your adventuring career.
Adaptive is ok, but isn't often necessary and there's better stuff to spend 1000gp on.
Bypassing DR is your primary obstacle.
Always buy Cold Iron arrows. They're 2gp for 20; buy at least 5 quivers at level one and always keep your supply at that level.
You don't ever want to run out.
Next, get weapon blanch and apply it to additional quivers of Cold Iron Arrows:
20x Silver blanched Cold Iron arrows (22gp)
20x Adamantine blanched Cold Iron arrows (202gp)
20x Ghost Salt blanched Cold Iron arrows (402gp)
Also, 20x Blunt Arrows (2gp) can help with undead and some other things.
Skip the Efficient Quiver and buy a Handy Haversack. You can pull out your specialty quivers as a move action and you don't have to rummage around for the right ones that way.
If you know you're going to be fighting a particular type of enemy, investing in some Bane enchanted arrows isn't a terrible idea. They can be expensive, but +2 attack/+2+2d6 damage is totally worth it. You'll be glad you have 20 Dragon Bane arrows when you need them. (+1 Bane arrows are 166gp each, if you can find them)
Other than that:
Fog-Cutting Lenses are great, but cost 8000gp.
Fortifying Stone
Spare masterwork composite longbow (+your Str bonus)
Slippers of Spider Climbing
Having played a variety of enchantment-focused casters, I can say that a sorcerer dip isn't necessary and will probably weaken your character.
The Impossible bloodline ability is a very niche thing; as you have seen, most constructs worth affecting with enchantments are immune to magic. It's great in theory, but ends up being a 'who cares?' kind of thing at the table. Those constructs not immune to magic can usually be blasted or smashed with minimal difficulty. Create Pit is probably a more effective way of dealing with them anyhow.
While it's nice to be able to affect undead with enchantments, you don't need to dip a level in sorcerer to do that. And as you say, your necromancer usually has that part covered.
Besides, you're an Enchanter! Why don't you send a minion or three to go fight the undead for you while you hang back and flip through a Pathfinder Chronicle or something? Geas, Lesser has been available for this purpose since 7th level, and now at 9th level you have access to Dominate.
Take a look at Threnodic and Ectoplasmic spell metamagic. A lesser rod of Threnodic spell with the Wizard spell list gives you a lot of options for enchanting undead. It's also pretty cheap. Ectoplasmic spell is worth it if you're running into a lot of incorporeal undead, and is absolutely brutal when combined with Telekinesis.
Even Fey bloodline is probably not worth the investment, since it drops your spellcasting one level behind where it would otherwise be (among other things). You have more efficient and effective ways to boost save DCs, and accessing more spells earlier than other casting classes is a huge advantage.
Bashing is a defensive enchantment for a shield. It says "This shield acts as a +1 weapon when used to bash."
Bashing takes the place of a normal defensive enchantment that would otherwise add to AC. You can't make it any higher than a +1 weapon enchantment this way.
In order to boost your attack roll with a shield via standard magical enchantment, the shield needs to be enchanted as a weapon, requiring a 300gp initial investment for a masterwork shield-as-weapon and the use of the magical weapon enchantment prices (2k, 8k, 18k, etc.)
If you're going to be a shield slammer, 'double enchanting' your primary shield is smart. It can get very expensive though.
For instance, a heavy steel shield that has a +2 AC enchantment as well as a +2 weapon enchantment would cost 12,470gp
It's a good idea to make it adamantine too (+3000gp).
"'Farrukh is brutal fighter, mercenary. If scenario hits red levels, may be possible to turn him against own side. Simple form, but complicated fighting style makes impractical for switchup.' A newer note here reads, 'Do not get between Al'Khatel and wall.'"
Unfortunately, he didn't follow his own advice.
The free trip part is the better part of Shield Slam.
That's what I mentioned above. I agree the trip against the wall is the best part. Trip them against a wall on your first attack then demo them with the rest of your attacks while their AC is lowered. If other party members are close you lowered the target's AC for all of their attacks as well. If you can 5 foot step do so and avoid the return full attack. Barring reach, monkey style etc. etc. as I mentioned above.
I do wonder how a pair of shield slammers with combat reflexes could use this though.... could they actually juggle a foe indefinitely?
The best best part is that it's not a free Trip. It's an automatic prone result if they hit an obstacle. There's no roll.
Also, until you can qualify for the Shield Master feat (11th level), your shield needs to be double-enchanted as armor and a weapon. The Bashing property seems like a good deal at first, but you're capped at a +1 bonus. Paying the +450 to create a masterwork weapon/armor shield and enchanting both aspects lets you keep building the attack bonus up as you gain the resources to do so. You can free up a feat this way too.
Paizo user Uri Meca wrote out their plan for all of the side quests listed in the back of the Wormwood Mutiny book.
Link to the plans
I took what Uri did and ran with it in my S&S campaign. It was pretty easy to elaborate on Uri's plans, and the hooks definitely set in.
The players loved it. We finished Tempest Rising in mid 2016 and they were still following clues and mulling over the possibilities of solving some of them.
I seem to recall that the curse was bestowed on Pilk by Besmara herself, so magical or mundane means of curse removal are not necessarily an option, nor is simply throwing it overboard.
Personally, I'd have the curse make life exceedingly inconvenient for the PCs while Pilk regroups for the next fight. Eventually, Pilk will want his bell back, and he will be better prepared to wreck the PCs when he arrives. After all, he's seen how they fight and can be ready to counter their strongest abilities.
If the crew isn't favored by Besmara, or hasn't made substantial sacrifices of treasure to her lately, maybe she intercedes and tilts the odds in Pilk's favor somehow.
Note: Pirate captains were commonly elected democratically. The politics and innuendo were fierce, and being captain was not necessarily an enduring title. Endangering the safety of the crew, or worse, failing to successfully enrich them with the spoils of successful pirating could get a captain voted out, marooned, or thrown to the sharks.
If they elect a new captain, the bell can just switch its power/curse to the new one. The bell doesn't care who is in charge.
When I ran this part, my players recovered pieces of the bell after wrecking it. They defeated Pilk (for now) but the curse is a powerful one and he's still bound to it. The bell can find its way back to Pilk or Pilk can find his way back to the bell.
I would try to play it with subtlety, whatever you do. If you make the curse obvious, they'll ditch the bell right away if they're smart.
Ideas:
-Pilk starts talking to one of the PCs through the bell. Probably through their dreams.
-The bell becomes heavier and heavier with each passing night, until it starts damaging the ship.
-The bell tolls itself, summoning brine zombies that climb over the side and attack. This keeps happening at inconvenient times.
-One morning, they find that the bell has replaced their own ship's bell; no matter what they do, it appears back there at dawn each day.
-The PCs figure out some way to break the curse on the bell (should be very difficult); Pilk arrives and offers them fabulous treasures before he departs, freed of his curse.
-The PC captain starts slowly developing the greed/insanity that possessed Pilk in life and begins having urges to push the crew to travel farther and farther from shore in pursuit of fabulous riches.
-If they bring the bell to a major port, someone identifies it and freaks out, tells everyone. No one will deal with them and they're kicked out until/unless they do something truly impressive to undo the taint of the curse.
-If they throw the bell overboard, it reforms the Deathknell and it continues to pursue the PCs.
Giant does not descibe its size (there is no giant size), but its template. Because of the giant template it is actually medium sized, but the aboleth did some magic to make it appear even bigger.
So its really medium sized, but seems to be large.
True that it has the "Giant" template, but that would only increase its size to Medium.
The Charda that hangs out at the Brine Banshee looks like it's 16' tall (Huge?).
The description on page 30 says that Uthiggmaru the Aboleth cast Veil on it to make it look even bigger and more threatening.
A PC that made their Knowledge: Nature check to identify it would probably be VERY concerned about seeing a Charda this size. It would be like facing off against a 16' tall nightmare badger.
In my experience, Extend Spell is normally useless for a prepared caster. I think OP is on the right track with a lesser rod.
Reach Spell is by far the most useful metamagic feat that I've used on support casters. The "Communal" line of spells make the +1 spell level worth it. Also, if you're a Cleric, being able to spontaneously convert prepared spells into Reach Cure X Wounds is bound to be useful sooner or later.
Other good feats for prepared support casters:
Planned Spontaneity is very good, but isn't available until 9th level.
Improved Initiative (as suggested above) is a good choice.
Reactive Healing isn't bad.
Bless Equipment and associated feats can be solid, but can require a sizable investment to really get going.
Spell Specialization and Greater can be quite useful, but will require some initial planning and focus for your character.
Quick Channel is a good way to make channel energy a decent option in combat.
Spell Perfection is a decent plan for any prepared caster, but you need three metamagic feats and 15th level to get there.
This sounds like a total blast, I would have loved to have been there for this session.
Thanks!
It was hysterical.
You didn't mention fans in your article. I think that's something that could make it more exciting.
The Leadership feat grants you followers, which could be awesome, but you can just hire warm bodies to cheer for you on the cheap.
Genuine fans come with a solid reputation and a winning record. They can even help you out (cheat for you) while you're fighting. Maybe an NPC fan gives you a Cure potion when you need it, or he sticks out a weapon to give you flanking when your enemy's back is turned...
If you're using performance combat and get creative with fans, it can really be a lot of fun.
My wrestler had fans get in a knife fight over his warm-up robe that he threw on the ground at the beginning of the match. Some fought each other for his autograph, and one leaned into the ring to ask the wrestler to punch him in the face as a memento.
Gear selection and styling is important too.
I thought of giving the wrestler a mithral chain shirt, but it was designed to look like a sparkling sequined vest. He went bare-chested underneath.
There are dusters and bracers and all kinds of leather or chain armors that can be styled to be impressive-looking in the ring.
There tons of mask options too.
Muleback Cords would be essential for almost any Pathfinder wrestler.
Your 5th level feat could be Greater Spell Focus: Divination
This Psychic might be the only type of character that would ever have a use for it.
You have focused on getting your CL way up, but you also need to increase the save DC.
Dark Half may protect you from fear effects, but you only get 11 rounds per day, even with your high Charisma.
I suggest carrying a few potions of Remove Fear and learning Placebo Effect as Saethori suggested.
Oddly, the Remove Fear spell isn't a good option for a Psychic, since it's got an Emotion component.
I created a wrestling encounter for the Skull & Shackles campaign I've been running. The enemy was a high-level Brawler with maxed out Dirty Trick plus Mocking Dance which was hilarious.
I modeled him after Beef Supreme, the gladiator from Idiocracy.
We used the Performance Combat rules to determine the winner, and I had the crowd contribute to the mayhem in the ring.
He brutalized the pirate PCs one at a time, until they figured out that the ref was paid to walk away at the beginning of the fight. Then all kinds of hell broke loose.
Lots of broken furniture, cheap shots, rope stunts, blowing dust into their eyes, knockout punches, etc. Probably the most fun encounter I've ever run.
I agree that Fortune Teller isn't going to work for your purpose.
It might not be your style, but it would be easy to switch it out for Truth in Wine. Get yourself addicted to alcohol and grab some scrolls of lesser restoration to take care of the inevitable con damage.
You might even be able to work in the Accelerated Drinker trait and apply it to beverages instead of potions. Or just put alcohol in some potion bottles.
I also agree that you will probably struggle at higher levels if you focus so much on Mind Thrust.
To motivate the PCs, I had the grindylows vandalize their ship's boat while the party hiked up to investigate the stockade.
The PCs didn't leave anyone on the beach to guard the boat, so the grindylows hacked big holes in it, ripped the sails, drew obscene pictures everywhere, and dragged all of the oars away (they conveniently threw them into the botfly-infested cornfield where the Ankheg lived).
When they all came back down the hill, they saw the damaged boat and freaked out. They easily spotted the grindylows out the sea, laughing and bodysurfing on the waves with the water barrel lids that they stole from the boat.
This... upset the PCs quite a bit.
Later, when they used the spyglass to discover the wreck of Infernus, the grindylows taunted the PCs from the deep waters, beckoning them to come out and play.
The party was highly motivated to investigate the caves.
Absolutely agree. I was also in this group and I think that Andrew did a fantastic job.
He was well-prepared, fair, and made sure that we all had a great time.
In my game, the mutiny happened at sea; as soon as the Wormwood was out of sight, everyone started flinging accusations at each other. Nobody could stand Plugg & Scourge, and it looked like a storm was coming.
Plugg had almost won the crew over with, "You're really trying this now? Just get to your stations, or doom us all," but later pushed an insolent Sandara overboard with his cutlass.
What followed was a dramatic tussle on board a nearly adrift ship sailing right into a storm - people grabbing the helm, only to get shoved away, opponents teaming up to attack the odd boarding grindylow - and when he was staggered and disarmed, the ship's barbarian picked up Mr. Plugg and threw him overboard. Scourge fell soon after, but the mutineers' victory was short-lived as a huge wave flung them directly into a sandbar.
They found Mr. Plugg later, though - tied to a post and half-eaten. That didn't stop them from mutilating him even more.
That is awesome. It's a great story, and it sounds like it was a blast to play out too.
Truth In Wine is the best feat for this purpose. Wander into combat with a bottle of fine Elven Absinthe in hand, drink up, and then blast away with your mind.
Mind Over Matter or Lesser Restoration to get rid of the pesky Con damage.
If your intention is to boost damage, it's a better choice. There are not many Divination psychic spells that need CL boosts, so a blanket +1 CL isn't necessarily important. Also, you can switch the spell that Spell Specialization covers when you gain higher level versions of Mind Thrust.
There has been a lot of great advice so far in this thread, which I encourage you to follow.
After seeing your tentative plan, I think it will be great.
Suggestions:
Change out your spells known to Vanish and Charm Person.
True, Color Spray is powerful at low levels, but you have to get really close to the enemy to use it; it's easy to get surrounded in combat throughout this AP and you don't have the HP to hang out up front.
Silent Image is a strong spell, but it might be difficult to get good use out of it early on.
Vanish is awesome, even at 1st level.
As others have said, you will have plenty of opportunities (in combat and socially) to get good use out of Charm Person.
Your Water Blast power should do great until 3rd level when you get Hydraulic Push (very good in this campaign). Use Water Blast frequently.
Use a light crossbow whenever you can.
Buying 20 Charisma at 1st level is probably too much of a sacrifice.
Try: Str10 Dex12 Con14 Int10 Wis13 Cha18
Put 4th and 8th bonus points into Cha, then 12th into Wis
You don't want a Strength of 7 in this campaign, especially in the early levels.
I agree starting with a 20 Cha is not that great.
A 18 or 19 AFTER racial modifier is more than plenty and will allow you to put points elsewhere.
I recommend Charm person and Monkey Fish (Gaining a climb and Swim speed) at first level as your spells. Climb and Swim are important throughout this entire campaign and in the early levels will be used a LOT. Then you can trade out the Monkey Fish at level 4 for something a bit more useful...But for the first 2 levels you will be making a ton of Climb and Swim checks.
I'm about to end this campaign and skipped 2 books due to smart play and decision making; as well as following every lead that comes our way. My character prefers Poly-morphs now turning into things with a fly or swim speed as needed.
Indeed. I agree that Monkey Fish is probably the best choice here.
This way, you have a strong self-buff, a mental control combat/social option, and a couple of ranged options (Water Blast, Ray of Frost, Xbow)
Good stuff.
Diaz Ex Machina wrote:
Should I change anything? Traits and/or feats perhaps?
I think that your feats are fine.
In later levels, try to decide what primary role you want to play (buff, control, offense, etc) and focus on the one that you have the most fun with.
Your Traits are fine too. Good choice taking one of the campaign traits. I think that they are all really interesting and helpful.
My group is halfway through this campaign.
There has been a lot of great advice so far in this thread, which I encourage you to follow.
After seeing your tentative plan, I think it will be great.
Suggestions:
Change out your spells known to Vanish and Charm Person.
True, Color Spray is powerful at low levels, but you have to get really close to the enemy to use it; it's easy to get surrounded in combat throughout this AP and you don't have the HP to hang out up front.
Silent Image is a strong spell, but it might be difficult to get good use out of it early on.
Vanish is awesome, even at 1st level.
As others have said, you will have plenty of opportunities (in combat and socially) to get good use out of Charm Person.
Your Water Blast power should do great until 3rd level when you get Hydraulic Push (very good in this campaign). Use Water Blast frequently.
Use a light crossbow whenever you can.
Buying 20 Charisma at 1st level is probably too much of a sacrifice.
Try: Str10 Dex12 Con14 Int10 Wis13 Cha18
Put 4th and 8th bonus points into Cha, then 12th into Wis
You don't want a Strength of 7 in this campaign, especially in the early levels.
I use online spreadsheets to do a lot of my RPG pre-writing and plot-tracking.
It might be worth trying; I find that I can organize my ideas very quickly that way and can make meaningful progress on a piece of the story in only a few minutes.
"Fleshing them out" comes naturally once I have enough details, notes, or goals set up.
Doing a little bit at a time is a lot easier for me than trying to write everything out in one sitting.
A lot of people seem to think Skill Focus is never a good idea.
I disagree; if you have a good reason to need to be good at a skill, it can be worth a feat. I think SF: Intimidate isn't a bad choice, especially after 10th level. The DC escalates pretty quick after that, so you need it as high as possible to make sure it works in combat. +6 is a big boost.
Circlet of Persuasion gets you +3
Gravelly Tonic is only 50gp and gets you +5 for 1 hour
If you're not committed to Dwarf, Half-Orc gets a racial +2 to Intimidate
The feat chains that have been suggested are good, but I've found that Power Attack / Cornugon Smash is all you really need. Hurtful can definitely be useful, especially if you don't have much of a use for your swift action.
Since you seem to have a Strength-based character, Intimidating Prowess can help get your bonus even higher.
Lemeres suggestion of a Cruel weapon is definitely a good plan.
Familiar with the Emissary archetype choosing the Glory domain.
Then get Noble Scion(scion of war) to use Cha instead of Dex.
So: +4 Cha, +6 level (touch of glory), +4 familiar, +4 improved initiative, +4 ifrit, +2 trait, +1 ioun stone, +4 enhancement from crafting a dueling weapon, +3 Diviner, +6 insight(intesified Anticipate peril).
Should be within WBL and such. +38 to initiatve 1/day. Oh and +32 for other combats(Should have at least three anticipate perils per day, more if using pearls of power ect.).
Intensified Spell doesn't work like that. It only affects damage dice.
The Emissary + Noble Scion of War is a cool idea. It's good that Touch of Glory lasts 1 hour, which is plenty of time for what you're going to use it for.
The Diviner Foresight school power Foretell could let you sneak in another +2 Luck to Initiative (a Dexterity ability check) in some circumstances. Fire it up when you know that there's going to be a fight on the other side of the door, etc. Fortune's Favored trait for a further +1, obviously. Foretell is a fairly decent group buff too.
EDIT: I looked again and saw that you are trying to balance charm/compulsion bonuses with Crossblooded. I don't recommend it.
The rest of your plan looks good.
Suggestion: avoid Crossblooded. It gives you a huge penalty for what you get. It's normally only a good choice for particular niche direct damage sorcerer builds. Even then, I am skeptical about its value.
Since Infernal's bloodline arcana applies to charm, and Fey's bloodline arcana applies to compulsion, it's best to pick one or the other.
Looks like you want Infernal.
Greater Spell Focus is your next best bet for boosting DC.
Raising your Charisma is really the only thing that's left after that.
You could look to debuffs like Mind Fog, Enervation, Bestow Curse, etc. Those make your nasty enchantment effects more likely to stick, but you will have to wait a while for them.
My PFS Kitsune Fey Sorcerer is going to learn Unprepared Combatant at next chance he gets. Thanks for that Alexander... I had considered the combo before, but hadn't realized how strong Pit spells are for control until recently. That's gravy.
Hi me and my friends are going to start a S&S camapign, we are 6 and we need advices for the best classes to fill the role of:
- captain, he must be charismatic and quite smart, leading his crew in combat. The enemies must be scared by his legend
- quartermaster, he is the best friend of the crew, the captain commands his crew, quartemaster persuades them to obey
- the surgeon
- the carpenter
- the navigator
- the guy who manages the treasure
All official books
No 3rd party
No good people, if possible all true neutral or chaotic neutral
Suggestions:
-Captain = Daring Champion Cavalier. Gives up Mount to get Finesse and replaces Int with Cha on combat feat prereqs, among other good stuff.
Cavalier's Banner as the captain's pirate flag would be awesome.
Or swashbuckler. In our campaign, the captain is a Swashbuckler and uses Intimidate and Opportune Parry/Riposte to great effect. Swashbucklers and Cavaliers can be incredibly fearsome.
-Quartermaster = fits best with an Int-based class (detail oriented) or Cha-based caster (persuasive, affable). Ours is an NPC. Maybe an Investigator or maybe a Cleric or Inquisitor of Abadar (LN).
-Surgeon = Cleric of Besmara or Chirurgeon Alchemist
-Carpenter = any class, just rank up Profession: Shipwright or Carpenter. Wood Oracle or Druid maybe?
-Navigator/Pilot = Storm Druid or Waves Shaman
-The guy who manages the treasure would be the Quartermaster. I highly recommend a Cleric or Inquisitor of Abadar.
The difficulty that you're having as GM is due to the fact that you're trying to challenge PCs with obstacles that are totally outmatched by their equipment and skill.
This. A locked chest is a challenge at low levels; not at whatever much higher level they are now.
A locked chest is never a challenge. Period.
The same for a locked door.
The challenge will come from other things, such as opening the door or the chest quickly and/or silently, while being chased by opponents or things like that.
If the whole challenge is opening a door (or a chest) without anything else, power attacking the door (or the lock) will open it even at first level.
And this is where the "appropriate tool" issue arises.
If the task is to sneak in without anyone knowing you were ever there, destroying a lock isn't going to result in success.
So, in that instance an adamantine dagger is not an "appropriate tool;" a set of thieves' tools is what you need.
If the task is to get through the door as fast as possible, just about anything will work, including simply kicking it in. An adamantine dagger is an "appropriate tool" for the job, but so is a portable ram.
The adamantine dagger isn't doing anything you couldn't already do with a greatsword, just more stylishly (and much easier). It's very loud, the lock is useless after, and it's super obvious to anyone who looks at it. It's a magic metal that ignores most hardness, of course it's great for breaking things.
Now, there are absolutely other ways to use it (like Ravingdork suggests) but those are based on the fact that adamantine is super hard, you could do them with an adamantine rod same as a dagger.
Oh, and the "inappropriate weapon" stuff is completely pointless for this specific discussion. If a dagger isn't a suitable weapon for breaking locks, then assume they bought one that was (they all cost the same). Heavy pick, perhaps. Oh, and "unable to reach the hinges unless they can break the door frame or wall" isn't a restriction unless the door frame and wall are made of something with hardness 20 or higher. That's the whole point of an adamantine weapon.
Or, you know, they could have 2 levels of barbarian, grab Smasher (Ex), and destroy everything.
Exactly.
The idea that an adamantine dagger is an inappropriate weapon/tool for disabling a lock is absurd. It's not going to be clean, quiet, or quick, but it will work.
Like Jiggy said earlier, by the time your players can afford a 3000gp dagger, mundane locks are a trivial obstacle.
I am baffled as to why so many seem to think that mundane locks should somehow present a serious obstacle to an adventurer.
An iron lock is an iron lock. It's not made of miracles.
A real-life parallel: off the top of my head, I have probably 10 different tools in my garage that I could easily grab and use to disable even the most stout of typical padlocks, deadbolts, or other 'normal' mechanical security devices. However, it would be messy and incredibly obvious that "someone dun broke in here". This doesn't require any specific skill or training. Hit it hard enough or saw on it long enough and it will break.
Consider a lock on a wooden door or a padlock on a wooden chest. How long would it take your average joe to just chip away at the wood around it with a mundane hammer and chisel? Not long. Now, make that tool incredibly hard, sharp and sturdy. Easy.
An adamantine dagger would easily destroy or disable a mundane lock (simple through superior) almost immediately.
The problem is not the dagger.
The difficulty that you're having as GM is due to the fact that you're trying to challenge PCs with obstacles that are totally outmatched by their equipment and skill.
Just looking for some feedback on the ideas below...
My PCs have just taken the "Devil's Due" (A Chelish renamed version of the "Man's Promise") and this week will be shipwrecked at Bonewrack Isle.
The first five sessions were a bit dodgy as the PCs hated being press-ganged, and thought they could arrange a mutiny really quickly to take the Wormwood... .
Sandara managed to talk them out of it, but thanks to their lack of "respect" for Scourge and Plugg they already had a keelhauling (Tharak)... but he easily survived.
I added a side-trek to a tiny atoll (to get more fresh fruit) to get them off the Wormwood and cool things down a bit. Included some Cyclopean ruins where pirates had hidden a bit of treasure.
This was kinda added on the fly, but the pirate loot has since become part of a revised story...
It will turn out that the treasure belonged to Whalebone Pilk, so he and his ghost ship will come looking for the PCs later, in Book 2.
I was thinking of changing Tidewater Rock to be Whalebone's old fortress, and have the "lady" there be his now-vampiric wife, with more undead (wights) as her guards... but still a bit sketchy on details.
Also... I keep having this crazy idea that Sandara is actually an aspect/avatar of Besmara... but not sure what impact that might have or where I will go with it.
Thoughts?
A new idea...
I think that I will have Sandara turn out to be an agent of Tessa Fairwind, investigating her suspicions of Harrigan / Cheliax.
She seems far too important an NPC to just be another random press-ganged person, especially in my campaign.
But she will stay very quiet on her mission right up until when the PCs meet Tessa. Should be a nice reveal (if i can keep her alive).
I like how you modified the adventure so far.
The cyclopean ruins are cool and will help bring a sense of continuity later in the AP.
Making Sandara an avatar of Besmara could be interesting, and an easy way for Besmara (you) to communicate with the crew about divine matters.
Making her an agent of Tessa Fairwind would probably be easier.
I think there's a timeline issue with changing Tidewater Rock to be Pilk's fortress. His story took place about 100 years before the events in S&S.
You might have a tough time tying in the other events in book 2 if you do that.
Book 2 spoiler:
If Lady Smythee and crew are vampires or wights (or whatever), why would Krellort want to raid them? A vampire is super dangerous.
They wouldn't have any supplies worth taking and would likely kill any Sahuagin raiders.
You might have a tough time getting the story back on track towards Mancatcher cove.
I guess it could be rewritten to spring from a chance encounter with the Thresher. The PCs could discover the map that way... and maybe Sandara tells them about the legend?
You can always make another island somewhere with a vampire fortress that needs a good pillaging.
The super-shark was more of a hazard than a combat:
I played it up like the movie Jaws did, having the shark bump the bottom of the boat and roll near the side of the ship. I said that it's dorsal fin came up over the gunwale, which is pretty dang big. Then it did the classic "Jaws attack" with the 10' high dorsal fin up out of the water.
My daughter has an 18" stuffed animal shark that I borrowed to represent the beast attacking their ship ("The Maiden" cardstock model ship).
It was pretty funny.
The goal of the encounter was to not let it damage the ship enough to sink it, which would have been very, very bad. Of course, I decided that Sharkskin Reef is absolutely teeming with big hungry sharks that circled around in a frenzy near the Angustiden, waiting for scraps.
Swimming wasn't really an option. One PC debated trying to use Sanctuary to protect him from the regular sharks while he swam around and attacked super-shark in an effort to try and 'draw him off' the ship. I had him roll Knowledge:Nature and Perception and explained that there were at least 100 Large sharks and countless smaller ones circling around. A few of them were bound to make the Will save.
The shark rammed the ship, stopping it dead in the water and promptly chomped down on the bow. By my calculations, an Advanced Dire Angustiden does 4d6+16 18-20/x2 with grab(+41 CMB), which gives it a free Sunder at +39 (vs. the ship's pitiful CMD). That Sunder immediately does an additional 4d6+16. So each round, it was doing 8d6+32 to the ship. I described splintering timber and shredded rigging, horrible and sickening crunching sounds as the structure took tremendous damage.
I set up some 'pain thresholds' where super-shark would change tactics after a certain amount of damage. It's an animal, so it just wants an easy meal; sharks have a natural intuition about how much a given meal is worth expending energy and getting hurt for. If hurt badly enough, it would swim off.
Super-shark started with 400HP
At 300HP, it dove below for a couple of rounds and then rammed the ship from beneath, ripping a hole in the hull. It started attacking again from there.
The NPC ship's carpenter frantically tried to barricade bulkheads to stave off the water rushing in but solemnly allowed two of the PCs to pass, nailing the bulkhead shut behind them.
The two brave PCs who chose to hold their breath and fight the shark in the flooded compartment were pretty freaked out. Luckily for them, they were not noticed by the shark (nictitating membranes cover a shark's eyes when they attack, blinding them temporarily, so I had the PCs roll DC20 Reflex checks each time the super-shark bit down to see if they would be caught by its enormous bite while it attacked the ship) They were able to do another 100HP of damage in two rounds which was enough to make the super-shark swim off to find an easier meal.
After that, they limped to the final stage, where they were attacked by the Wormwood.
(Someone posted an idea about having Peppery Longfarthing summon an Invisible Stalker and give it a Feather Token: Anchor to use on the PCs ship. I stole that one and it worked beautifully. The PCs hate Harrigan with a passion now.)
Sure!
Since the regatta makes many of the Stormbound Hazard results moot, I modified both the ranges and the results.
For example, I eliminated "Dragged Anchor" because it simply doesn't apply in the Regatta, and I modified "Slippery Deck" to incapacitate on a failure for one Sailing Check; so no Aid Another, no casting spells, no steering the ship, etc.
I eliminated the "Pooped" result because it would have washed everyone overboard and ... maybe one of the PCs would be able to survive being adrift in a hurricane after their ship sinks. IMO, percentile dice should not risk a TPK.
According to the AP, a Hurricane adds +15 to all hazard rolls. I boosted this to +25 because they were sailing into the Hurricane and I wanted it to be more difficult.
25-40: Slippery Deck: All crew make DC20 Acrobatics or fall prone and get tangled in loose gear; you may not participate in the next Sailing Check
41-59: Violent Swell: All crew make DC20 Reflex or fall prone and are nearly washed overboard. You may not participate in the next Sailing Check as you clamber back aboard.
60-69: Jammed Rudder: -15 on the first Sailing Check in this area as your crew directs their attention to freeing the rudder.
70-72: Torn Sail: -1/3 speed until repaired with a DC 30 Profession: Sailor Check
73-78: Debris in the water: -5 to all Sailing Checks in this area
79-82: Man Overboard: Starting with the closest PC to the stern, make DC20 Reflex saves until one falls over: -1 to your Race Score as you come about to recover them.
83-85: Sprung a Leak: your ship gains the broken condition until repaired; PCs working on the repair cannot participate in Sailing Checks (duration was GM call based on their creativity)
86-91: Driving Rain: -10 to Sailing Checks in this location
92-94: Lightning Strike: 60% chance it hits the ship, 40% chance it hits the PC that is at the highest point on the ship. 4d6 electricity damage; DC18 Reflex for half.
95-97: Broken Mast: -1/3 speed, pierces hull if not cut away in 2d6 rounds; PCs who work on this may not participate in Sailing Checks
98-99: Broached: ship is blown over for 1d4 rounds (ship will right itself on its own). All PCs make DC20 Reflex saves each round or fall overboard
100+: Roll twice
War cleric should get destruction and glory or war domains. That casting cleric has too low of a str to move around in armor. As a cleric, you have to be able to do 3 things, cast, fight, and channel. Never start with a charisma less than 13. Avoid dwarf like the plague.
A human with str 14, dex 12, con 13, int 10, wis 17, cha 13 works well. Start with selective channel. For battle, go gorum with destruction and glory or war domains. I'd look at fire and some other good utility domain for more of a caster.
From personal experience with playing Clerics, I disagree nearly 100% with this advice.
"Nearly" in that I agree Gorum is a fine Deity for a battle Cleric.
Any of the Core deities can be used to make an interesting and fun Cleric. I'll stick to Gorum to provide counter-advice against Cory:
1. Vanilla Destruction domain is not amazing. While the Destructive Smite power is just ok (even though it's only for the single attack action), the Destructive Aura will cause as much trouble for you and your allies as it does for the enemy. Considering that by the time that you gain that aura, most enemies will have more attacks per round than you, it's not a good choice. Catastrophe subdomain replaces it with a halfway decent control power that's worth looking at, but it's not Core.
2. Vanilla Glory domain is garbage for a battle Cleric. Sanctuary is not a battle Cleric spell. Gorum would not approve; are you really going to stand there and hope they fail Will saves instead of killing them?
Glory with Heroism subdomain is incredible, but not Core.
3. A casting Cleric can buy 16 Str (or get a belt) and have plenty of Strength to run around in full plate and 25lbs of gear. Or, just be a Dwarf (who make excellent Clerics) and never worry about encumbrance.
4. No Cleric has to cast, fight AND channel. Pick "cast" or "fight" and focus on it. Channel is just extra gravy unless you focus your build on it, which is a highly niche type of Cleric build and not recommended with only Core resources.
5. Start with 10 Charisma (or less) if you want to "fight" and don't care about channeling. Cha is not worth the investment unless it's all part of your plan. Buying 13 Cha to qualify for Selective Channel is not a good idea; taking a standard action to channel is not a wise use of your actions as a battle Cleric, except in emergencies. Maybe a casting Cleric who wants a hobby would start off like that...
5. Dwarf is a fantastic race for a battle or casting Cleric! A penalty to Charisma is only a big deal if you're focusing on Channeling, which most Clerics should not do.
Bonus to Wisdom (important!) and Constitution (what's not to like?) is a great way to begin.
They also get Darkvision, decent Weapon Familiarity, and are unaffected by encumbrance. Just as good as Human, if not better.
6. calagnar has presented good suggested stat arrays above. That's close to what I'd use.
7. If you're interested in a Core battle Cleric of Gorum, War and Strength are the strongest domains.
War: domain spells are decent self-buffs for early levels and the Weapon Master ability is incredible at 8th.
Strength: you can safely ignore domain abilities while focusing on the domain spells granted => Enlarge Person 1/day. That spell alone is worth taking an otherwise useless domain for a battle Cleric
The guides that you read earlier have plenty of good advice on feat selection for battle vs. caster Clerics.
Avoid Extend Spell metamagic though. In my experience, it's totally useless in actual gameplay.
I revised the system of checks and encounters in each stage and I think that it worked pretty well.
In each stage, I set a different wind intensity with accompanying penalties, somewhat based on the Wind Effects table in CRB.
I split it into seven stages:
minor spoilers?:
Stage 1&2 (Race Start, Silted Shrouds) were "Severe Winds" -4 to ranged attacks, -4 to Fly skill
Stage 3&4 (Raker Shoals, Iris's Splinters) were "Wind Storm" -6 to ranged attacks, -8 to Fly skill, -5 to Sailing checks
Stages 5 (Into the Storm) was "Hurricane" ranged attacks only within 30', -12 to Fly skill, -10 to Sailing checks
Stage 6 (Sharkskin Reef/Pinnacle Atoll) was "Wind Storm"
Stage 7 (The Home Stretch) was "Severe Winds"
The minimum DC (pre-adjustment or penalty for weather and hazards) of any racing check was about 30 at my table. Some started at DC45.
They're sailing into a freakin' hurricane. It's supposed to be hard.
I made sure that their ship took a lot of damage and that they had to replace sails several times to keep the tension high.
I scaled up the DC and changed the flavor for most of the tasks listed in the AP, which helped make it a more believable set of challenges for a group with huge Profession: Sailor bonuses.
If the PCs accomplished certain tasks at appropriate times (provide aerial reconnaissance, make a huge Survival check, other creative working-together accomplishments) I gave them circumstance bonuses on their Sailing checks.
I took some time to revise the Stormbound Hazards table to be more convincing and to provide more practical penalties to Sailing checks.
I also made them fight off an Advanced Dire Angustiden Shark near the end of the race.
It almost ate their ship.
For a total of 7500gp. You can shave off 3800gp if you can live with the guy running around with negative energy levels for a while, and further 1650gp if you can get your GM to agree that the piece counts as 'part of the creature's dead body' while in stone shape.
3700gp total if you're being cheapskates(i.e. no restoration), and 2050gp if you can get your GM to let you reincarnate the guy without turning him into flesh first.
Yeah that's true, but that process is a pain in the neck. What if he comes back as a Troglodyte? Or a Goblin even...
So, the Folding Boat seems obscenely under-priced......
Has it been an issue for players of S&S? I would hate to have to DM banhammer it, but at the same time it's oddly affordable compared to a real ship of comparable size, in fact it's less expensive and more versatile....
It is quite expensive for what it does.
Given how easy it is to find a ship's boat or similar vessel, most PCs would probably avoid it.
Such an item would make an interesting addition to a treasure hoard though.
Wormwood Mutiny Spoiler:
Near the end of The Wormwood Mutiny, the PCs receive an item that is very similar to a folding boat. In fact, it does more for less than half the price.
In my campaign, they haven't found a reason to use it since then.
If I were to suggest a singular class, it's likely be a ranger. They have a small spell list, an animal companion, and the option to fight at range or in melee. They generally also serve well in wilderness settings, so she would be able to contribute to the party outside of combat that way.
If you're handing a new player a pregen, Harsk is not an excellent choice.
I agree with the others who have suggested Hunter.
Unite the seven dragon balls and ask mighty Shenron to bring him back!
Stone to Flesh with a concurrent Regeneration spell should do it without the other pieces. Don't forget milk of the poppy to ease his pain. Both fairly affordable spells if you have the money
Regeneration does not work on the dead.
Being turned to stone does not kill you, but having your statue form shattered does. Even if the statue was mended, the person is still dead.
Since the NPC's father is most certainly dead (non-survivable injuries as a statue), the cheapest way to do it is:
Stone to Flesh (6th level spell), then Raise Dead (5th level spell), immediately followed by Regenerate (7th level spell)
He will have two negative levels, but who cares? He's an NPC.
This assumes that the statue has been (traumatically) broken for no more than 9 days if you use James Jacob's perspective on when a petrified creature dies. If your GM is more flexible than that, it'll work.
You're going to be spending some serious gold: 10,150 for three scrolls.
It's still cheaper than the 28,825 it costs to buy a scroll of Wish, Miracle or True Resurrection.
The getting early access thing is annoying. BUt I'm sure the wizard also envied your ability to keep casting a needed spell over and over without having to give up other options, so it's a balance thing.
==Aelryinth
Totally agree with your perspective, as usual.
I'd say that you're probably right; in some circumstances, spamming a spell until the bad guy failed their save was very useful. Sometimes a problem just can't be solved without someone being able to cast Blindness 4 times or throwing 6 Fireballs at it.
I agree that the classes are well balanced against each other, but I think it comes down to more of a style thing for the player.
Veilgn, to decide between Wizard and Sorcerer, ask yourself if you want to have the power to cast the same few spells many times per day (Sorcerer), or if you want the flexibility to pick different spells each day (Wizard).
There are a lot of other ways that the classes are different, but that's the simplest way to describe those differences.
Wizards gaining higher-level spells one class level earlier than Sorcerers is not an insignificant difference.
Having played through 10 levels as a Sorcerer in a campaign with a Wizard also in the party, this difference came up much more frequently than I imagined it would. We worked together and were a powerful combo, but I was often envious of her new tricks.
Being able to spam spells is nice, but in my experience having access to higher level spells earlier is much more powerful.
From my point of view, it's apples to oranges. Sorcerers and Wizards may be similar, but they have a lot of important differences and fill different roles in a party.
If you like spamming certain spells and are interested in the powers that a particular bloodline grants, Sorcerer is for you.
I recommend against trying to "make a Wizard out of a Sorcerer." You're better off with the real thing.
I've played several Sorcerers in both home and PFS play. You have to be very careful when selecting your spells known, since you get so few.
Pages/Rings of Spell Knowledge are a good option, but they scale up in price rapidly. Count on not being able to afford very many. Sure, the 1st level versions are cheap, but how long are you going to rely on 1st level spells?
Having a scroll library of utility spells that don't necessarily benefit from having a high caster level or save DC will help mitigate the differences for either class. It doesn't "buy" a Sorcerer the versatility of being a Wizard though, just as it won't "buy" a Wizard the abilities of a Sorcerer. Having 10 scrolls of Fireball does not make a Wizard a Sorcerer. Having 1 scroll of every spell does not make a Sorcerer a Wizard.
There have been some good suggestions in this thread about how to make a Sorcerer more flexible.
Giving a Wizard more options and the ability to spam spells can be accomplished with things like Planned Spontaneity, Split Slot, Fast Study, a Bonded Object and Greater Spell Specialization, if that's what you're going for.
One of the ways that I handled it was that when the PCs visited the temple of Calistria in Quent, they learned about Dr. Fitch. Obviously, a temple of Calistria would have a good relationship with the local traveling doctor... I'm sure they would have periodic needs that his medicines, salves, and remedies could take care of.
Since the PCs were so very helpful there, Dindreann suggested that they seek him out, since he is quite well traveled in The Shackles and may have useful information. Doctors often hear very interesting things from their patients after all.
When they found the statuette in Drenchport, the PCs immediately thought to ask Jaymiss about it; he gave them the info about Corlan being a minor smuggler based in Hell Harbor.
I don't think that if the PCs go to Hell Harbor and seek out Roweena and Corlan first that it would necessarily eliminate the need to continue with Beachcomber and Brine Banshee.
If you look it over, there are tons of places where you could plant notes, messages, or other evidence that could link each of the scenarios to the others.
For example: If your PCs head to Hell Harbor and it seems like they are on track to bypass the other encounters, have them discover clues in Roweena's quarters or Corlan's apartment that point them towards the other areas next.
It's true that Roweena is the ringleader, but they need to gather as much info on the spy ring as they can if they want to impress the council.
If they decide to take what they found at Hell Harbor to Tessa and bypass the rest, you could even have her express enthusiasm but skepticism about what they have discovered so far. "It's good, but probably not enough... have you followed up on those other leads?"
She could even give them "new" leads to pursue.
The group in my campaign decided to attack after exploring Bonewrack Island for gear and supplies.
They had a pretty good idea that Plugg meant to kill them all when they returned to the ship, so they did their best to sneak up on the Man's Promise. Some of them were able to swim out there with Touch of the Sea.
They even built a mantlet to protect them from missile fire and fixed it to the bow of the ship's boat as they sailed back to the ship.
Good thing too, because Plugg and Scourge had the crew fire at them with the ballistas from the sterncastle the whole way. Almost sunk them.
Once they got aboard, the fight didn't last long. They hated Scourge so much that they were fighting each other for the chance to kill him.
"at will" usually is used to denote unlimited usage.
It may be this author thought it meant "as a standard action".
Go with the more stringent restriction as opposed to the unlimited at will.
Agree.
This is how we ran it too. The "at will" = "standard action" also bypasses the 10 minute casting time of Clairaudience/Clairvoyance.
It seems a little absurd to hang around for 10 minutes just to see what's on the other side of a door for 6 seconds.
