VRMH's page

Can characters with distinctly separate personalities (like a Master Chymist or a Splintersoul Vigilante) have different Gods for their personas, and so qualify for different feats or even Prestige classes that have specific Deities as a prerequisite?

A Detached Hand will "acts as a wizard’s familiar, using your character level as your effective wizard level". Does that mean it can take Familiar archetypes, provided it has the required abilities to replace?

I think only the Elemental archetype is actually available, but a flying, Auran-speaking hand would be... interesting. And since a Detached Hand is posessed by a "ghost, spirit, or outsider", having an air elemental spirit in your pinky matches the fluff.

The Coax Information Rogue Talent allows a character to use the Diplomacy of Bluff skills when bullying someone into being cooperative. But what exactly does the PC say in such a case?

Specifically: the Bluff skill has a lot of feats, traits and class abilities that improve specific uses of the Bluff skill - like lying, or specifically telling an outrageous lie, or hiding your intentions, or claiming to be innocent... et cetera. So it's rather significant to know what type of Bluff it takes to make someone "friendly" for 1d6 × 10 minutes. Does anyone know?

If a Twinned Summoner's Eidolon has the Shared Evolution evolution, it can pass on one of its evolutions to the Summoner. If it was to pick the Extra Feat evolution for that... can the Summoner pick another feat than the Eidolon had?

I saw no rules barring it, but if true, the Summoner and their Eidolon could start playing "Feat Ping Pong": passing the Extra Feat evolution back and forth between each other and picking a new feat every time. That sort of flexibility would be a serious increase in power to the Summoner.

Fabricate: "You convert material of one sort into a product that is of the same material."
Does that really mean you can only Fabricate items made from one, single material?

Let's say you want to create a Trompe l'Oeil, which requires a "masterwork painting" as it's base material. So you pick up your brush, brush off your Craft(paintings) skill and get to work. But what's the DC you're aiming for? Is it:

A). 20, for a "complex or superior item"?
B). 15, for a ""high-quality item"?
C). 15, and then 20, per the "masterwork component" rule? But if so: what's the cost of this mw component?
D). something else?

Is every instance of a d20 roll + an Ability modifier, with no additional bonuses, an Ability Check? My search-fu yields much discussion on the subject, but no conclusive answers.

(Specifically, I wonder if a character can take 10 on a Coven Caster check.)

Can creatures who do not have blood of their own, create a Homunculus? Off-hand I'd say no, but some PCs have particular Homunculi as a class feature. Could one be made using the blood of another, and then ownership be transferred perhaps? Or are the Undead or Constructs simply out of luck here?

'cause I really like the idea of a Trompe 'l Oeil Promethean Alchemist...

Constructs - being Magical Items - have a Caster Level, which determines the DC to craft one. But does this CL qualify them for magical crafting feats?

(Nah, I don't think so either. But a CL is a CL...)

Qualifying for a feat can be done with permanent ability score bonuses (the official example given being a +2 Belt of Giant Strength worn for 24h).

Does this also apply to permanent bonuses to things other than ability scores? Specifically: can using a 24h Caster Level bonus (from for instance an Ioun Stone) help qualify for Item Crafting feats?

When creating a Sentient Waxwork Creature, it gets a 3d6 Intelligence score. Now, I imagine that's actually rolled and not selected by the crafter. But would there be any way to influence that roll? A smart creature would after all be a lot more useful than one with a three point Intelligence.

The Perfect Style feat gives "a ki pool that you can use to activate abilities of your chosen House of Perfection style".
Does that allow a character to use said ki pool for other ki-fueled abilities too?

You can “lose” a prepared spell in order to cast any summon nature’s ally spell of the same level or lower, instead of casting a cure spell or an inflict spell as you normally would.

Can a character with this feat still spontaneously cast Cure or Inflict spells?

The Ancestor (unchained) Eidolon may gain the Sorcerer "Simple Class Template" at level four. Cool. The template stipulates (among other things) the following:

• Select a sorcerer creature’s bloodline when the template is added.
• gains the bloodline arcana and bloodline powers of its chosen bloodline

The Implant Urge spell is marked as allowing a partial Will save. But its description doesn't mention anything that's only partial - it's all or nothing. Does anyone have any idea which parts are Will-saved and which parts apply regardless?

The Ebony Bolero, from Agents of Evil, is a rather stylish and interesting piece of equipment. It has several powers, among which:

the wearer can force a creature with the rage class ability to enter a raging state for at least 1 round (though the target can remain in this state longer if it chooses).

Seriously? Your party's Barbarian can choose to continue raging? Forever? Isn't that a bit overpowered?

Most of the Monk's Ki abilities explicitly use up Ki points from their Ki Pool.
Some sources of Ki points explicitly are not added to a Ki pool (like Drunken Ki).
Some uses and sources of Ki points don't mention Ki Pools at all.

• Are pool-less Ki points usable as replacement for Ki points from a Ki Pool?
• Are sources of Ki points, unless otherwise stated, added to a Ki Pool?
• Can pool-less Ki points be transferred to a Ki Pool?

The Devolutionist Druid is presented as a rather evil character, in its original fluff. But I'm thinking they have a great opportunity to be... social reformers!

It makes perfect sense for a Druid to consider Animals morally superior to Humanoids. And "devolving" a captured villain into a creature unburdened by the weight of its culture and past would then be a good deed. However, it's also a bit unnatural. Humanoids are Humanoids and should live in Humanoid communities.

So how would one turn a:

I'm guessing they need an Intelligence boost, to open up access to all feats. And retraining to actually get useful ones. But can that be done to an Animal? Or would it need to learn "tricks" and remain under the control of a shepherd of sorts? Can they even be reliably pacified?

Please tell me the game has options to turn the rather anti-soical Devolutionist into a benevolent "Revolver".
Even if it's just so I get to use that name.

The Infuse Poison feat allows characters to add a spell to a poison. Which isn't really all that big a deal in itself. However: an "infused" poison is still a poison, and the cost of infusing it with a spell is just 2 hours and 50% of the base value.

So would it be an option to take, say: Addlemind poison (75gp, 1d2 Wisdom damage), infuse it with the Invigorating Poison spell to turn that into +4 Wisdom for 1d2 minutes... and then infuse it with any other applicable buff you know?

An Addlemind pill infused with Invigorating Poison, Bull's Strength, Enlarge Person and True Strike would cost 225gp and turn your frontline warrior into a combat monster simply by poisoning her. You could even skip the Invigorating Poison spell and just cure your "victim" later, if the poison does a slow or irrelevant damage.

Can a creature with a (secondary) Natural Attack that has a 10' reach deliver a Touch Spell at that range? I don't mean holding the charge and then making a Natural Attack; I mean in the usual touching-as-part-of-casting-a-spell way.

A specific example would be: a PC with the "Reaching Vines" fungal graft wanting to cast a Cure Light Wounds spell on an ally 10 feet away.

So, Hand's Detachment. It costs a hand and three feats, but then you do get a creepy crawly hand for a pet. Cool. But how does it work?

"Use the statistics for a crawling hand (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 59) to represent the detached hand" - that's clear enough.
"save that the hand isn’t undead" - Okay, not Undead. Then what is it? I'm guessing it'll be a Construct, given that it doesn't have a Constitution score. But does it keep its Undead traits? Does it get the Construct traits? Both? Neither?

Also: do you still get the benefits (and penalty) of the prerequisite feats, once the hand is loose? It'd be illogical to get the boons of a possessed hand, when said hand is off gallivanting about the countryside. But the RAW is silent.

Familiars are both useful and fun. They'd be more useful and fun with a Humanoid body though - both for social subterfuge and equipment-wise. So my brainstorming-question for you all is: in what ways can a Familiar get a Humanoid(-ish) body for a reasonable length of time (say: one hour)?
So far, I got:

• Magic Jar (cast from an item)
• Beastbonded Witch
• Greater Hat of Disguise (possible preceeded by an Alter Self spell to make the head slot available)

It's an interesting thing, this poison. Having a beneficial effect on a successful save is, afaik, unique. But on which save does it do that? On the initial one, as you then "avoid becoming poisoned"? Or on the next save, as that's when a poison would start to have an effect?

And while on the subject: is there any way to decrease a poison's DC? Or increase it's potency without increasing the DC?

Is "harmless" a game term, or a descriptive word?

I was reading the description of the Fool's Gold spell, which contains this little nugget:

if it fails a saving throw against a magic ability of yours that is not harmless and has a duration, the duration is doubled for that creature

That seems a pretty cheap way to increase the duration of all sorts of friendly magical abilities, like maybe a Bard's Performances (provided they have a save). However, most of those are harmless in effect even though they're not spelled out as such.

So: is a magical effect "Harmless" when it's effectively harmless, or merely when it is spelled out to be such?

Skilled (Ex): An eidolon becomes especially adept at a specific skill, gaining a +8 racial bonus on that skill.

It's a bonus. But it's not a bonus to the skill check, but rather to the skill itself.

The Bestow Luck feat allows Humans the following:

You can also use your Inexplicable Luck ability to grant an ally that can see and hear its benefit as an immediate action.

That phrase is wholly unclear to me. Is it to be taken literally? The benefactor can be halfway across Golarion, as long as the intended recipient "can hear and see"? That seems rather odd. Unless "an ally that can (see and hear its benefit)" was meant. But "its benefit" cannot be heard or seen, it's just a bonus. And the feat doesn't say whether it's SU or EX, but either way the act of bestowing shouldn't be witnessable.

So is something missing? "an ally that can see and hear you" maybe? Or "an ally that you can see and hear"?

The Wizards' Arcane Bond ability grants two options (familiar or bonded item) and has two forms (Ex or Sp).

So which is which?

Specifically a Promethean Alchemist. They can't throw bombs and they can't "hulk out" with a mutagen. So all that's left are the Alchemists' Extracts. But the Homunculus has that covered already: it can make and use them.
Where does that leave the Alchemists themselves? What do they actually do? Make constructs all day?

My search-fu has failed me; how many hours per day do the mundane Craft skills require? Creating magical items takes up eight hours a day, but I found no rule for non-magical ones.

Also: can regular gear be made while adventuring, the same way magical gear can? It seems reasonable for an archer to be fletching some additional arrows during his guard duties, but again I found no rules for it.

...or maybe not.

Anyway, I was thinking about crafting Constructs (as you do) when it suddenly dawned to me: at no point do the rules explicitly state that the Constructs you craft will actually obey you! Oh sure, several have that in their description (like the Golems) but there doesn't seem to be a general rule to that effect.

I did notice that Animated Objects are called out as following commands... in the description of Clockwork Constructs, not in their own write-up. But do Iron Cobras follow instructions other than their "kill mission"? Or do Caryatid Columns take any orders? Scarecrows?

Is there a general rule that self-crafted Constructs will obey their creator (unless their description states otherwise)?

(First: this is not about Pages of Spell Knowledge or Rings of Spell Knowledge, but the Spell Knowledge Discovery.)

Select a single spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list that is at least 2 levels lower than your highest-level extract known. You can prepare and cast this spell as an arcane spell. Preparing the spell uses up an extract slot 1 level higher than the spell's level.

That's pretty cool. But how does it work? Does the Alchemist prepare the spell like a Wizard and if so: is the spell in his Formula Book or does he need a separate Spell Book? Can Wizards read an Alchemist's spell, even though they cannot understand Formulae?

How can Alchemists create an infused extract of True Strike, when they cannot make an extract that has a Focus requirement?

Alchemist and infusions: Can I use the infusion discovery to create an infused extract of a personal-range formula (such as true strike), which someone else can drink?

Yes, you can. The design team may decide to close this loophole in the next printing of the Advanced Player's Guide.

Extracts cannot be made from spells that have focus requirements

Components V, F (small wooden replica of an archery target)

• Alchemists with the Clone Master archetype get the Clone spell as a 6th-level extract.
• Clone cannot be made into an Extract, as it has a Focus requirement.
• Clone cannot be made into a magical item, as none exists for it. No Wand or Potion, obviously. But also no Staff or other kind of item that I'm aware of.

It has already been established that the casting of Stilled & Silenced spells can be observed, since bystanders get to roll a Spellcraft check. So what's the point of the Warlock's Concealed Casting talent? It's definitely not concealing anything, since it merely hides Verbal and Somatic components.

Also: the talent's description specifies it works on "the target". If that is the target of the spell, then a third party would still see and hear everything. "Observers" are only mentioned in relation to an already hidden Vigilante.

Homunculi can be jointly created by several people: "it is possible for one person to give blood for the creation, another to sculpt the base material, and another to magically animate it". So who's the actual "maker"?

• "A homunculus is a miniature servant created by a spellcaster from his own blood." So the blood-donor is the maker?
• "A homunculus’s creator determines its precise features." Or is it the one rolling the Craft(sculptures) check?

It's relevant, since:

• Homunculi Familiars have to be created by their master.
• "the process of creating one links it telepathically with its creator"
• "They are extensions of their creators, sharing the same alignment and basic nature."

The Homunculus' description has this little titbit:

it is possible for one person to give blood for the creation, another to sculpt the base material, and another to magically animate it

• Can one character have required feat, and another roll the skill check?
• If so, what happens when the DC is increased to gain speed or cover a lack of requirements?
• Would they both need to be present and actively work on their shared creation for the whole duration of the process?

A summoner and his eidolon share magic item slots. Does this also apply to:

• Magical Tattoos? They're already priced as slotless anyway.
• Fungal Grafts? They're not actually magical, they just render a slot inaccessible.

There are a lot of different ways Feats (and magical items) refer to the requirement of having a Familiar:

• Levels in a class that grants a Familiar
• Familiar class feature
• Spellcaster with Familiar class feature
• Familiar
• Ability to acquire a Familiar
• ...you get the idea.

In an attempt to find some use for the Lesser Simulacrum spell, I came up with the following scenario:

1. The spellcaster Bob Zero creates a Simulacrum copy of himself: "Bob One".
2. Bob One creates a Lesser Simulacrum of himself, "Bob Two". Bob Two is therefor a lesser simulacrum of a simulacrum.

The effect of some spells depends on the Material Components used. How does this work for spells cast from items, when there are no Material Components involved?

If someone was to use a Scroll of Simulacrum, for instance, would it:

1. create a specific Simulacrum, determined by the creator of the scroll?
2. create any Simulacrum the user of the scroll wishes, as long as it has the Hit Dice predetermined by the scroll's creator?
3. create any Simulacrum the user of the scroll wishes, as long as it does not exceed the Hit Dice predetermined by the scroll's creator?
4. create any Simulacrum the user of the scroll wishes, regardless of the value of the scroll?

Casting Time 1 swift action

Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
You can attempt to influence unfriendly or hostile creatures, altering their attitudes toward you. After casting, make a Diplomacy check against the creatures as a free action; you gain a +2 sacred bonus on this check against creatures that failed their saves against the spell.

So you just cast this spell (as a swift action, no less) and you get a free Diplomacy check? Diplomacy is an easy skill to boost, and the DCs are fixed. Since it doesn't matter if the targets made their Will save or not, you could be guaranteed to take enemies out of the fight before there even is a fight.

I haven't done the math, but how hard can it be for a dedicated Oracle to make a 30+ Diplomacy check?

"The magic properties of a bonded object, including any magic abilities added to the object, only function for the wizard who owns it."

Does this mean that an intelligent bonded object cannot use its own powers?

What is the "fluff" of the Summoner class? Is their magic innate, learned or granted? And how do they get their Eidolon?

• Does a Summoner simply answer the door one day? "Hello. I'm your Eidolon. Where's my room?"
• Does a Summoner select an Eidolon? "Eidolon #3, if you had one wish for the future, what would it be?"
• Is an Eidolon formed, based on the Summoner's subconsciousness? "...What was I drinking?"
• Is an Eidolon formed, based on the Summoner's wishes? "Yes, I'll have three claws, wings... oh, and hold the anchovies."

Does a Lesser Simulacrum know it's a simulacrum, and if so: is there any reason it wouldn't run off and go do the things people do, when they have less than 24h to live?
And if it doesn't know, does it think it's its original?

Based on the Simulacrum spell, I have some questions about ice.

1. Where do you get it / how do you make it?
   In cold climates it would be a matter of leaving a trough filled with water outside, or hacking chunks out of the river.
   In moderate climates, there might be ice-houses which store large blocks. But there's no spell that makes ice and a simple catrips can unspoil food anyway, so... why bother with an icehouse? And where does ice come from in other climates? Judging be the (Lesser) Simulacrum write-up, you need a full sized ice sculpture of whatever you're creating. For some creatures, that is a lot of ice!

2. What kind of damage does it do to keep a hand on a block of ice for twelve hours? And what might protect against it, while still allowing spellcasting?
   The Cold-Weather Outfit mentions no gloves, and mere leather ones probably won't cut it that long.

3. How long does creating an ice sculpture take, based on its size?
   I've no experience whatsoever in sculpting, but I do recall making small snowmen seemed to take forever.

Do the Shield Other and Unwilling Shield spells pass on the type of damage done? Or its nonlethality, should that be the case?

Gnomes have this "Bewildering Koan" feat available to them:

As a swift action, spend 1 point from your ki pool and make a Bluff check by asking a creature one of the impossible questions you ponder when meditating. If the creature fails its check, you choose whether it loses its next action or you gain a +2 bonus on all damage rolls you make against that creature for 1 round.

The feat description says the target loses "its next action". SKR has clarified they lose "their turn".

Skills: For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks, use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master's skill ranks, whichever is better. In either case, the familiar uses its own ability modifiers. Regardless of a familiar's total skill modifiers, some skills may remain beyond the familiar's ability to use.

When a familiar uses its master's skill ranks, and said master is trained in that particular skill, is the familiar considered trained too?