ValkyrieStorm's page

I have two questions which I have not been able to find direct answers in the Core Rulebook.

Are all magic items with the description "command" (verb) 100% of the time referring to "command word" being verbally spoken?

Can a personal spell be put into a scroll if you scribe and use the scroll yourself? If no, why not?

Answers with page number references would be nice but not necessary as it helps me learn the book and where to find things (it has been difficult for me to learn all the different places in the book to find info on a complex topic like scrolls).

After the first few levels, when I started to have more than a few channels and spells, I went from being a combination spellcaster and back-up fighter (fun for me) to primarily a healer (not as much fun). It has actually been said that if the cleric (me) is active in the battle (not healing), things are either going really good or really bad. When I started playing a cleric, I specifically did not want to be the heal-bot and, even with the help of a very experienced player in building my cleric, that's what I feel I've become. If I get a single offensive spell cast I feel exceptionally accomplished because most of the time I drop them to heal.

And for the record, I don't heal to top off my allies hit points. I heal to keep my allies from dying. They are either nearing single digits or they are already unconscious.

I have considered taking the quick channel feat so that I can heal AND cast in the same round. This would make me feel less like a heal-bot (good for me), but I forsee a problem with my allies who have grown accustomed to me healing instead of bestowing curses and holy smiting (bad for me as I run out of healing faster with quick channel and not dropping spells to heal).

Should I warn my allies that I'm going to potentially have less heals (quick channel & not dropping spells) available for them?
OR
Is there a tactic of how I could play my cleric which would fulfill the role of heal-bot AND spellcasting-cleric?
OR
Should I just accept my role as party heal-bot (and relish the few times I get to do something else)?

I apparently don't think like a gamer, at least not the experienced gamers (from AD&D to Star Wars to whatever pretty much) at my table. And it is starting to be a problem for both me and the group. I love playing the game and have a blast, but the fact that I don't think and apply things the way they do is ... becoming an issue. Pathfinder seems like a weird mix of science (extremely specific terminology, mathematical formulas, etc) and religion (application is up for interpretation). As I try to understand and learn, I'm either parsing things too much (scientifically breaking something down) or taking a too broad view of things (interpreting it based on past experience and not parsing it enough).

Anyone have any suggestions on how to "think like a gamer"?

background: lifelong SciFi fantasy fan but no previous gaming experience: no tabletop rpg & no video games (unless Sims and brain game like games count).

Whenever I cast a spell that requires me to roll/check concentration, SR, or saves, I generally go the "tell me what to roll ... tell me what add to it" route. And, in the heat of the battle, I don't retain what I just did so the next time it comes up, it's like I've never done it before. I'd like to become more self-sufficient and less "tell me what to do."

Could someone explain who-what-when-where-how I'm suppose to use concentration, spell resistance, and saves. As Cleric Level 8, I know that my Concentration(12)=Wisdom(4)+Caster Level(8). My spell DC(14 to 18)=10+Wis(4)+spell level(0 to 4)

Thanks

Yesterday, for the first time, I understood the sentence that I often hear my GM utter "A 9 hit die monster ...." I had never asked the term "# hit die" to be explained because I usually have 100 other more immediate personal things to understand and understanding the fine points of the monster I encountered is low on the priority list. Anyway, I have come to understand the "# hit die monster" is roughly equivalent to "# level monster". For example, I am an 8th level cleric which means I am a 8 hit die character.

Question: Does number of hit die equal character level? If yes, why have two terms?

I love game night. I thoroughly enjoy playing Pathfinder. BUT, the accounting, paperwork, and Core Rulebook make me long for April 15th because it comes but once a year and has simpler rules. Where's Pathfinder's version of H&R Block? If it wasn't so much fun to play, I'd happily give the game up.

I'm trying to come up with a document that I can share with people like myself; horribly frustrated newbies. As I'm updating my current character sheet, a few of my problems with Pathfinder occurred to me and got me started.

Problem #1
-----------
I can't find anything in the book(s) or what I find doesn't give me the information I'm looking for

Post-it notes are your friend (unless you want to write in your book)
A question that sounds simple "how much damage does my weapon do?" can actually require that you look in 2 or 3 or more places in the book. This can be very frustrating to the newby who looks in the index, finds a page number, and said page number only gives you 30% of the information you need. I add my own cross referencing to my book by adding post it notes with page numbers to "the rest of the story."

As a newby it is immensely frustrating for me to want to know how X works, look up X in the index, and then come game day run into a wall of "that's not how X works" because the index and text failed to tell me that I had to look in 2+ other pages to find the whole story.

Other than post-it note cross-reference additions to the book, how does a newby deal with this?

Problem #2
----------
Leveling is a royal pain in the ***

Don't be afraid to write little notes on your character sheet. For example, I write where my bonuses come from. "Su-protection" above the column for a bonus to my saves that my Cleric Domain gives me. Or, "Dragon book" next to the skill bonus a magical book found while adventuring gave me. "BAB+STR+Size+Magic" above my weapons attack bonus to tell me how it's calculated so that when my BAB goes up I remember it does to.

If your GM likes an uncluttered sheet, either negotiate the need you have for the notes OR keep "two sets of books"

To a newby, leveling is a complicated process in which you have to remember and take numerous factors into consideration. How can a newby deal with this?

Problem #3
-----------
Forever asking "why?"

Still haven't found a personal suggestion/fix for this one. How do I stop being the "Pathfinder toddler" who keeps asking "But why? ... but why? .... but why? ..." when trying to understand and make sense of things?

***

What newby problems have you come across either as a newby yourself or as a GM of newbies?
What are some of your solutions or suggestions to newby problems?

Thanks