Tykane's page

I think I see where I got hung up. I'm so used to seeing specific tags mean specific things that I keep seeing the "moderate" label as specifically meaning "moderate xp." But if I'm understanding correctly, the labels on rooms and areas are just generic guidelines with no effect on XP - everything is calculated based on the creatures (or hazards) within a room.

Thanks!

The way it works is that experience is handed out evenly to all party members based on the opponent's level, not on what the encounter adds up to be. In the case of a party level + 2 creature, it would be 80 XP. You're looking at the chart for a "Moderate Accomplishment," which would be something like fulfilling a quest, not combat.

So although the room is labeled "Moderate 3," that actually has ZERO impact on XP? As in it's a "moderate" encounter for level 3 characters, but XP should be granted based on what's actually in the rooom - 80 xp based on a party level + 2 creature?

If that's how it works, seems a little confusing to provide XP tables for trivial, moderate, and major, use those labels on rooms, but then completely throw that XP chart out the door...

I'm setting up Malevolence, getting ready to run it for four players, and I'm trying to map out how much XP per room they can get. But I'm having trouble understanding exactly how it works. If anybody happens to also have it, I'm looking at room B16 right now.

It's listed as "Moderate 3," which I understand to mean it's a moderate encounter for level 3 players. This should grant them 30 xp. However the only creature in the room is a level 5 creature, which I thought would mean "party level+2," which should grant them 80 xp.

I thought the label on each area (moderate 3) was meant as a simple "this area will add up to this amount of xp" thing, but that doesn't seem correct looking at the experience granted. Am I misunderstanding how xp is calculated?

It depends on if the Persistent Damage is part of the attack's normal damage, and not an effect that only triggers on a Critical Hit.

(it wasn't clear before the errata, and several threads argued about it; it's mostly clear now)

So an Acid Flask's Persistent Damage is multiplied, because it's part of the Bomb's base damage, but if the Bomb instead only caused Persistent Damage on a Critical Hit, that would not be doubled.

And under the rules for doubling damage, you can choose to either roll twice, or simply double the result.

Ah, so the vaguery is just...something to deal with? You just decide on 1d8x2 vs 2d8 whenever? I mean I understand that it's literally written into the rules that the GM can allow that, but it just seems strange to me that that is written as the "this CAN happen" rule, but the only example of critical persistent damage I can find is counter to the "main" way of doubling damage.

I've searched around but I can't seem to find an actual ruling that isn't a roundabout guess based on other rules - changed rules via errata #2. Let's just use Acid Flask, lesser. 1 acid, 1d6 persistent acid, 1 splash acid. With the The critical hit rules are very specific:

"If you critically succeed at a Strike, your attack deals double damage (page 451). Other attacks, such as spell attack rolls and some uses of the Athletics skill, describe the specific effects that occur when their outcomes are critical successes."

Page 451 states:

"When this happens, you roll the damage normally, adding all the normal modifiers, bonuses, and penalties. Then you double or halve the amount as appropriate (rounding down if you halved it). The GM might allow you to roll the dice twice and double the modifiers, bonuses, and penalties instead of doubling the entire result, but this usually works best for single target attacks or spells at low levels when you have a small number of damage dice to roll. Benefits you gain specifically from a critical hit, like the flaming weapon rune’s persistent fire damage or the extra damage die from the fatal weapon trait, aren’t doubled."

So from this, it would seem a crit normally does 1x2 regular, 1d6x2 persistent, 1x2 splash. We need to see if there are any specific rules on this. We already know initial damage is doubled because of the critical hit rules. Now for the persistent damage. And luckily it's on the same page, immediately prior:

"persistent damage is a condition that causes damage to recur beyond the original effect. Unlike with normal damage, when you are subject to persistent damage, you don’t take it right away. Instead, you take the specified damage at the end of your turns, after which you attempt a DC 15 flat check to see if you recover from the persistent damage. See the Conditions Appendix on pages 618–623 for the complete rules regarding the persistent damage condition."

Nothing within the Persistent Damage rules mentions critical hits, so we have to assume the persistent is 1d6x2. Now for Splash - I've cut out the beginning few sentences for the relevant bit:

"You don’t multiply splash damage on a critical hit.

For example, if you throw a lesser acid flask and hit your target, that creature takes 1 acid damage, 1d6 persistent acid damage, and 1 acid splash damage. All other creatures within 5 feet of it take 1 acid splash damage. On a critical hit, the target takes 2 acid damage and 2d6 persistent acid damage, but the splash damage is still 1. If you miss, the target and all creatures within 5 feet take only 1 splash damage. If you critically fail, no one takes any damage."

Ok, so now this is different. This is a rule about the splash trait on alchemical bombs, so now we know for sure a crit doesn't double splash damage. But it seems now that it doubles the persistent in a totally different way from before. Before I assumed a crit on lesser acid flask is 1d6x2, now this rule suggests 2d6. But it doesn't say specifically "double the number of damage dice for persistent damage," AND this is a ruling about splash damage, not persistent, and we've already established that persistent damage doesn't seem to have a critical hit rule. Now normally, the specific overrides the the general. But this is a ruling specifically within the splash trait, and doesn't mention why persistent is doubled as it is.

So my real question - what's the official ruling on persistent damage from a critical hit?

Edit: Removed the fire ray example because I'm a dummy and forgot that was only on a crit anyways. Let's say an alchemist sticky bomb:

"You mix in an additive to make your bomb’s contents adhere to the target and continue to deal damage. A creature that takes a direct hit from one of your sticky bombs also takes persistent damage equal to and of the same type as the bomb’s splash damage. If the bomb already deals persistent damage, combine the two amounts."

With a lesser alchemists fire, that turns the persistent from 1 fire to 1d8 fire. Is that 1d8x2 on a crit or 2d8?

Edit: I'm a double dummy and realized the sticky bomb example doesn't matter because it's off splash and not regular...but I'm still curious about acid flask

The bulk of the 1st level is on the top of a low hill. The edges, where it moves to the water, slope downward to meet the water. Probably could have been more clear in my map turnover that there's steep slopes along the shorelines on the uppermost level. (It was a bit more clear on the side view of the dungeon I sketched out while building all the maps for all ten levels, but we didn't have room to publish a fancier version of that map, alas).

Thanks for the clarification! I do have one more question to help figure this out, and it has to do with the exact location of the opening to the cave area B19. It looks like the entrance is directly under the boathouse dock, A17? Am I interpreting that correctly? And if so, how far above the water is this dock, exactly?

I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around elevation between A7 and a straight line to A23.

If I'm understanding - A7 is on the hill, there's a drop down to A16/17 which are at water level, A24 is water level, then A23 is back up and elevated quickly?

Are the maps printed backward, or are there some errors on directions? Multiple references to the black dragon Ravirex mention he's in the West, but his location is the easternmost section of the Hunting Grounds level.

And now reading through a little more, this east/west confusion seems to extend to quite a few other places. The rooms around Lady's Whisper, as well as the description of room C2 at the least. Might be a good idea for anybody running this to pay extra attention and not just read the descriptions as-is.

Are the maps printed backward, or are there some errors on directions? Multiple references to the black dragon Ravirex mention he's in the West, but his location is the easternmost section of the Hunting Grounds level.

That's sort of my thought, except for the fact that wands and scrolls specifically call it out. Seems odd that Paizo missed writing an entire "crafting a staff" section.

I'm running into a weird situation. Staff entries specifically say the crafting requirements are "supply one casting of all listed levels of all listed spells." And in the general crafting rules, page 535, "an item might require the crafter to provide specific raw materials, supply spells, blah blah." To ME, this sounds like the crafter has to be able to cast the spells. But that seems needlessly restrictive, since the rule info for wands and scrolls specifically have a section called "crafting a *blank*" that specifically say that another person can provide the casting.

I'd assume this means the same requirement could apply - but then that made me think if the staff rules (page 592) specifically do NOT include a "crafting a staff" section because they are intended to work differently. I can't seem to find any official ruling either way, does anybody know if Paizo just forgot to include this section of the book or have said specifically either way?

I've been looking around trying to figure out an answer to this, because it either seems like an oversight or otherwise Charm is just WAY better than I thought.

SPOILERS FOR AGE OF ASHES BOOK 2 FROM HERE ON

I'm currently playing Ages of Ashes book 2, we encountered the Kishi and the Angel. I'm playing a fighter, flanking the Kishi with my Monk party member. The Kishi has the Monk in his mouth already, then on his turn he turns around and uses Charm. I crit fail the save, but since it's an incapacitate effect it was only a regular fail (level 6 character, level 1 spell). So I'm friendly to him for one hour.

Now my question is this - do hostile actions against my allies have ANY effect? At ANY point? He ended up going on a rampage and knocking the other 3 down to half health in succession, and all I could do was try to push my allies away and stand between them, urging both sides to stop. I feel like having hostile actions break the charm only when it uses a hostile action vs YOU is a little busted if it's the ONLY way to stop it, but I don't know if that's just me being a little salty. It is literally magic, after all. Thoughts?

Is there an official Paizo ruling on that? It feels like that's the obvious way the rune works but I'm curious if they've weighed in.

I'm playing a fighter in book 2 of Age of Ashes and the party just got a +1 Striking Shifting Cold Iron Dagger. I'm little confused about how exactly this works. From the text of the rune: "The weapon takes the shape of another melee weapon that requires the same number of hands to wield. The weapon's runes and any precious material it's made of apply to the weapon's new shape."

So theoretically, let's say I transform this dagger into a whip. Does it then lose the agile, thrown, and versatile traits from being a dagger and then gain disarm, nonlethal, reach and trip from being a whip now?

Similarly, what if I change it to a flail? Does the damage change from 1d4 P to 1d6 B?

I guess what I'm confused on is whether the Shifting rune purely changes appearance or if it actually grants the properties of the new weapon?