RPG Superstar 6 Season Star Voter, 9 Season Dedicated Voter. Organized Play Member. 95 posts. No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 3 Organized Play characters.
I am running a homebrew and I have run into the following real problem: my main group of PCs is in the 10-12 range and are quite powerful but the way my world works does not really lend well to the “there is always something bigger and badder” approach. That being said obviously the BBEG is clearly bigger and badder as are his immediate underlings but it means that the various other factions in the world and NPCs/monsters are generally not a challenge for the party. The world is a lower fantasy world (which means high level magic is really messing with me now ha) and so I am trying to use more Mundane enemies and issues to push the story forward.
Right now my PCs have split into two groups to solve two problems:
The higher level group is about to go to a town that has been overrun by cultists of the dead god that the BBEG serves and is trying to restore to life. The town is in a dangerous wooded area and was home to about 2000 people before being completely overrun by scores of these dangerous cultists. Most of the people have been killed or run out and the cultists are now using it as a place to plan and execute additional offensives from. The head cultist in this town is likely a 6-7th level character (powerful but individually not high up in the hierarchy nor powerful enough to challenge those higher ranking people) and the regular rank and file are 2nd to 3rd level. This job is being undertaken by the 10-12th level characters and my concern is two fold: 1) they will get straight up murdered by the party because of big offensive magics and level disparity and 2) in the alternative the fight will be a massive slog in which the party comes out ahead for the same reasons but takes forever because of the simply massive number of participants needed to make it dangerous.
The lower level party (5) is headed to the home of a company of hobgoblins to slay its general (who is allied with the cultists and has actively sought to assassinate a hobgoblin allied with the party) and install an ally (the other hobgoblin) as the new general. The general is probably 7-9th level and is a martial class. His head advisor is a poison-happy alchemist of 7th level. The party is 6 people all between 4-6th level. I really do not want this to devolve into a massive slog where they move through essentially a city’s worth of hobgoblins, nor do I want it to devolve into a “stealth and assassinate” in the general’s chambers. The sheer number of PCs will make this fight very one-sided without adding either a ton of mooks to absorb actions or something else to help slow the party down. I was thinking of having the general be essentially unkillable (as in infinite HP) until a nearby altar to the dead god is destroyed....or something.
Does anyone have any advice for making less individually powerful people/monsters/etc a challenge without having to simply stack levels? Any interesting ideas for making the encounter more complicated from an action economy standpoint? Hoping someone else out there has dealt with the fact that sometimes lower level enemies are still the ones you need to deal with first in order to later deal with the BBEG but without just rolling up and murdering them with ease and without any fun.
I have a session I'm running tomorrow that includes an alchemist that summons elementals (forget the archetype off the top of my head). I have already had the party fight some fire elementals but I wanted something a bit more unique so I decided on magma.
I am quite attached to the lava puddle ability and I love to use little details in the game because some of my players really like to craft or otherwise accumulate interesting items, etc. I have been flipping through the various rules pages and I cannot see anything that states that the 2ish inch deep pile of cooled lava would be sent back to the elemental plane of fire/earth with the elemental that spat it up when the spell effect ends.
I would love to essentially allow my characters to have a free "block" of what I would treat as obsidian after the fight. They may not care but it could be really interesting for those interested.
I know that I can do this no matter what as gm but at this point I'm just curious to know if I am right that nothing in RAW forbids it.
So I run a game in my own home brew world revolving around the acts of a cult of an old dead god trying to restore him to the realm (blah blah blah, really ha)
Long story short the party is quite powerful (lvls 10 and 11 at the moment) an they are about to fight a legit-powerful group of cultists for the first time. They have fought some lower level followers and some mid level cultists (but they were under geared due to the circumstances).
The party:
1) lvl 11 magus (few levels of evangelist)
2) lvl 11 inquisitor
3) lvl 10 oracle (and a cohort that is a fire elemental barbarian)
4) my npc: a lvl 11 arcanist
This next fight is with a number of baddies:
1) lvl 11 cleric
2) 4 lvl 7 inquisitors
3) a lvl 13 summoner (synthesist) [who will not stay the entire time...he is intended to get away]
4) the difficult part.....hundreds of orcs
Here is the set up: So the orc leader (the summoner) has converted to the faith of the evil god, and has turned a large number of his followers. The oracle was a member of this clan in the past and seeks to free it from the rule of this new leader. The party has scryed on the camp and will be teleporting in to confront these cultists. I want to be able to challenge the party (which frankly is quite powerful). I may need to boost the inquisitors a bit, but really what I need advice on is how to use the orcs. There are hundreds of orcs and while they would all die in one decent fireball they would still fight.
What can I do with them that would avoid ridiculous numbers of die rolls (and quite frankly misses)? Has anyone tried to handle these mass fights? I am relatively familiar with the mass combat rules, but I cannot for the life of me remember how they interact with individual actors rather than other armies.
Let me know if any context is needed, but I just want to make sure the presence of a literal army is not ignored in this situation.
I may be a bit late to the party with this, but I was wondering if anyone has taken the "advice" of the Unchained book and given this feat/system to Fighters for free and used it as a fighter mechanic.
If so have you noticed any effects? good? bad?
I am considering doing it, as a way to give fighters, only, that scaling ability that could really help to define them.
Any advice?
I am hoping this is properly in the advice thread, rather than rules. I am less concerned about how it works mechanically and more about the effects on the game/party.
So one of my players is a Magus with item carting feats. He is our power player: leadership; crafting; kindve a know it all, etc.
He did pose one interesting question however. So I have not been giving a lot of magic items, and those they find are actually gear of those they slay. As a result he is in need of lots of non magical things for crafting. This makes some sense to me, especially since many of the types of items he has been collecting are otherwise perfect spell components or metamagic components.
The items he has include the following: Drake Eyes/tongue/teeth/glands; minerals; hides of various beasts; blood from magical beasts; as well as some plant parts and stuff that would otherwise be used to craft poisons, etc.
He has compiled an algorithm for the purposes of calculating crafting value based on the CR of the creature and the rolls (knowledge; survival; profession ("witched" [for lack of a better term]) that the person makes for collecting. I have not read all that he has compiled, and I know that he will use these in his own game regardless of whether I use them.
What I am wondering is, has anyone out there found some way to give value to things that are not themselves magical (at least not traditionally) for those crafters in their PC groups?
Gauntlets allow one to deal lethal damage with unarmed attacks. Such attacks are still treated as unarmed.
If I am reading this right...this means that you would still provoke an attack of opportunity without the "improved unarmed strike" feat, correct?
I think at some point I was under the impression that gauntlets essentially removed the need for the feat (at the expense of hand dexterity....for ranged weapons, locks, casting, climbing, etc).
In a related, but less strictly rules related, question does anyone feel that this would be broken?
I would assume personally that part of the reason we provoke AoOs with unarmed attacks is because we would hurt ourselves and would thus be more cautious. Gauntlets would definitely mitigate this to some extent.
I like the idea of the longspear wielder still being able to punch those that get within 10 feet.
So my rogue will be 9th level soon and is a crossbow user (driver archetype for shooting on the move). He is also a bookish rogue (see feat) with a knowledge of magic. He is well aware, with that knowledge and an 18 int, that concentration is a very important aspect of spell casting.
That being said, I enjoy readying actions to shoot when I see casting (sometimes this means I need to make a spell craft to distinguish casting from not casting).
My question is this:
"Since I am almost 9th level I am considering taking vital strike as my feat. I use a light crossbow. What do we all think about the extra D8 damage for the purposes of forcing concentration checks for dealing damage."
The idea would be to hide (invisibility, stealth, etc) and crowd control a caster. This may mean ducking down in my wagon (custom wagon with plenty of add-ons). The idea being to wait for when that caster is about to throw some nasty spell on my teammates (or heal himself for that matter) and bam: 2D8 + 5D6 sneak attack (+1 point blank) + misc. Forcing that concentration check.
Standard DC = 10 + damage dealt + spell level.
So the question is....again....is vital strike worth the extra 4.5 damage (i.e. +4.5 to concentration DC)?
Even without sneak attack the average damage would be: 4.5 (1D8) + 1 (enhancement) + spell level (lvl 9 so assume 4-5th lvl spell). DC would be: 20.... but with vital strike it'd be 25.
This obviously isn't counting deadly aim or anything like that.
What do you all think? Would vital strike be worth it here?
(in other news....it would also come in handy for coup de grace)
Hey everyone. I am sorry if this idea has been brewed up in the past and dissected but I haven't personally seen something on point.
So I love the fighter. I love it as is, but this is not to say that it couldn't be improved on. I have noticed the trend Paizo has been on in giving classes a flexible point based mechanic (Ki, Panache, Grit, Inspiration, etc). I feel that Bravery could follow in suit. Here is my proposition:
Bravery: An intangible, but very real, quality of those that train in arms in a world filled with mystical creatures and arcane magics beyond the ability of the standard person's comprehension. Bravery allows one to face odds that baffle the mind, or to stand up to one with powers you do not understand. Bravery separates those that fight from fighters.
At level 2, a Fighter gains a pool of Bravery points equal to one half her fighter level plus her constitution modifier (1/2 fighter + con). So long as a fighter has 1 bravery point remaining in her bravery pool she may:
1) Use her constitution modifier in place of her wisdom modifier for will saves.
2) Be considered one size category larger for the purposes of CMD.
By spending a point from her Bravery pool a fighter may:
1) Add a +2 morale bonus to any saving throw.
2) Heal a number of hit points equal to your fighter level.
3) Be treated as one size category larger for the purposes of one CMB.
4) Ignore their armor check penalty from armor or shields for any one skill roll.
5) Ignore the non-proficiency penalty for a weapon they are not proficient with for 1 round.
6) Re-roll any will save versus an effect that would cause fear, at a +2 bonus.
By spending 2 points from their bravery pool a fighter may:
1) Treat a successful attack as a critical threat. (still requires confirmation - but can't use bravery for it)
2) Gain (or improve existing) damage reduction x/-- equal to their constitution modifier for a number of minutes equal to their con modifier.
A fighter's bravery pool refreshes each day upon 8 hours of rest, though there a few ways in which to restore points that have been spent without rest, though a fighter may never have more than their max number of Bravery points. A fighter regains a Bravery point when:
1) A fighter defeats a creature in a fight during which the fighter expended at least 2 bravery points.
2) A fighter successfully saves against a fear effect while the fighter has no Bravery points remaining in her pool
Each of these uses of Bravery points is to be activated as either a swift action or an immediate action within its context.
What do you all think? Is this the kind of mechanic that could help to re-energize the fighter and help them live up to expectations?
So I am putting together a changeling character with two distinct personas (a male and a female) each of which is distinct for the purposes of game play. The idea is that this changeling constantly switches between the two personas by the day, bluffing to party members that s/he is cursed to be different people and never knows which s/he will be on any given day. Each will have a distinct personality and "style". This means I need to choose a class that can realistically do two very different things in order to make this ruse somewhat successful.
I have considered the following:
Fighter: has enough feats that I could conceivably use two very different fighting styles, from light-heavy armor to power attack / TWF. Does prevent real mastery in either however.
Investigator: Alchemist / Rogue .... but just not distinct enough IMO.
Cleric/Paladin: Could work, priest and fighter....but I don't see the char as particularly religious. (yet)
Rogue: Something like counterfeit mage or underground chemist could work.
Bard / Skald: Both could work well. A bard and a Barbarian, its just that the song would be a dead giveaway, since there would be no other way to rage. Magician or Sandman could help.
Full Casters: Wont work until higher level.
Bloodrager: Was a top choice of mine, but the late access to spells and the more martial bloodline flavor doesn't draw the line between the personalities sharply enough for me.
Magus: I think this is my best option. I am considering Greensting Slayer AND Staff Magus (should both be available) in order to essentially have a "wizard" and a "rogue/fighter". I can burn arcane points when in "rogue mode" (without obviously using magic) in order to get sneak attack, and I can play off both personalities carrying a staff as pragmatism.
What do you guys think? I know I have left out multi classing. I don't want to actually dilute my power too much. The long term plan is (assuming I ever trust the group) to one day (unless I'm found out) reveal my nature to the party, thus freeing myself to use all my power regardless of my current personality.
Hey all. Im pretty sure this fits here better than advice or rules, so thats why you see it here. I hope I was right.
So which prestige classes are out there that do not require casting to enter (or small stuff) and come with their own casting (meaning their own spell lists and casting comes from the PrC...not +1 caster level).
So my gm allowed me to customize my 'medium wagon' in our new game. My char is a 4th lvl driver rogue with craft carpentry. I got the greenlight to essentially do what I want (within reason) because I spent 5x standard price (475 v 75 gp).
As of now I have the following:
1) lots of nifty storage, such as inside the seating and in the floor.
2) a lever in the front that releases caltrops in the back
3) a conversion method to switch open-top wagon to covered wagon that uses canvas and a hidden frame.
What other nifty things that are no magical wold you do?
Looking at the "Spell Completion" description makes me wonder -- without counting metamagic feats, do other passive spell modifiers make their way into a spell because a certain caster created the spell?
So....assume im a 4th level wizard with the "Extended Toil" trait (which increases the duration of spells like mount and unseen servant by 50%). I want to make a scroll of "Mount" at CL 4th.
12.5 GP x CL 4 x SL 1 = 50 Gp as my cost to create the scroll.
The spell slot is taken up as though I had casted it....I even went so far as to make it as good as I can (CL 4).
When i read this scroll what happens?
1) Mount (CL 4): 8 hours of mount.
2) Mount (CL 4) (extended toil): 12 hours of mount?
The rules do not (as far as I can tell) really hammer down what happens. If you are making scrolls in order to have access to a spell as though you casted it, because frankly you are better at it than Joe Scroll-Shop Wizard, t would stand to reason that you'd try to impart your talent into the casting.
So I will be in a 4th lvl game starting next week and the group consists (so far) in 2 witches, 2 hunters, and a brawler.
I am thinking of running a rogue, since this shtick has yet to be filled. So far my idea is to run a knife master with a ki pool and vanishing trick in order to get a few easy backstabs in.
My question is:
Short of improved feint, flank and dirty trick (for blind), is there any other reliable means of getting your target flatfooted?
To be honest the brawler should be a good flank buddy....but I have this idea of essentially slowly stalking around the battlefield invisible and popping out to stab hard.
So I'm running a campaign for one player in my home brew world. I have multiple story lines going but the current one involves the players paladin tracking down a target aberration in the city's old sewer system just as the city (metropolis) is attacked. The player has spent 3 days in the sewers helping a thieves guild (yay rp) only to just now reach the surface again.
I want a gritty urban campaign and so I'd love to know what others have done to set the feel for encounters and just post attack city scape drama,
Spoilers: attack was a combined attack by a fallen paladin (the city's bishop....can't wait for that rp) and a disgraced politician. The anti paladin wishes to restore an old defeated god and is seeking the objects needed for the ritual which he thinks may be partially in the city. The politician seeks to rule the city. The attack included clerics and cultists of the evil god, troglodytes (controlled by pol.), mercenaries and other brigands paid to fight, and an assortment of other creatures including a few demons (summoned by cultists) and ice trolls (historic connection to the evil god).
The city has a population of about 250,000. About 10% of that is still within the walls and I just don't want to mess up setting the scene by overlooking any really realistic or interesting tropes.
So the rules say that magic items (including attended ones) get the better of their save or their holder.
Otherwise unattended items generally do not take damage or need to make a save unless otherwise stated or if the wearer rolls a 1.
If I case break on a non-magical bow currently wielded....the save is for the item. Does it use the save for the item (whatever that may be) or the fortitude save of the wielder?
It says in the spell description that the acid lasts for 1 round.
Under acid affects in the Core Book it says that corrosive acid deals 1D6 damage per round of exposure (except in cases of immersion in which case it is 10D6).
Does this mean that when you use acid splash that 1 round later as the acid goes away the creature that was hit with acid splash takes an additional 1D6 damage?
It says that attacks with acid, such as from a hurled vial or monster's spit, counts as a rounds of exposure.
Is there any chance that a cantrip that creates a non-instantaneous acid effect also counts as 1 round of exposure?
I am about to start a game as a lvl 1 diviner (foresight) and I was wondering if anyone has done something similar. If so what kinds of spells would you suggest?
So I will be playing a wizard in a new game sometime in the next few weeks. He is a diviner that will always have a large amount of scrolls on him (he loves making scrolls).
As of now my plan is to have him be a paper maker by trade, providing paper for scrolls and all other paper uses.
From what I see in the Core book, paper is 4 sp / sheet.
At lvl 1 his Craft (paper) = +7
I am wondering, how would you all go about this rules-wise? So i can mention to DM.
In one week I could make (taking 10) (and upping DC by 5): 15 * 17 = 255 sp worth of paper per week, or 36 sp/day. This means in 8 hours I could make 9 sheets of paper per day working 8 hours.
WOuld this be worth it for anything but making scroll sheets?
Hey everyone I wanted to run a build by you all. Please let me know what you think.
The basic intent is a Human Fighter (will be viking later...but the archtype does nothing at level 1). He is a member of a group of warriors designed to protect a coalition of small towns and villages in a frontier area. They are all trained to be self sufficient, since they are not a large brotherhood. As a result they all learn basic hedge-magic.
We rolled stats and I came up with: Str 17, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 13.
Traits:
Trifler: Prestidigitation 3/day
Arcane Dabbler (mending and Arcane run) 1/day each
Feats:
1: Faster Learner (used for skill rank and Hit Point);
Human: Improvisation (+2 to all skills without ranks);
Fighter 1: Opening Volley (+4 to next melee attack by next round after dealing damage with ranged attack)
Skills:
1 rank in each of the following: Climb, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge(engineering), Ride, Survival, Swim. *improvisation for others
Essentially fights by leading with a javelin and waving in with his axe.
Outside of combat he is trained to do quite a bit. He and his brothers have been trained to learn quickly: Trial by Error.
Future of Build:
The build will be Fighter (viking).
Feats: fighter2 (dodge). Lvl 3 (improved improvisation).
Skills: pretty much investing in those chosen for a while since by lvl 3 he will have +4 in all skills without ranks.
What do you all think? Where do you see my biggest weaknesses? Any suggestions?
My players and I have a card system that adds some additional fun (we think) to the game.
One of my players played a "magic item" card and I gave her a token that can be a black bear for 10 minutes per day (max health). Based on previous actions and a pawn of the gods card.
My question is: I'd like to find a way to scale this item in some way. Is my only real option a3.5 weapon of legacy? I do think there should be investment but I just don't know where to start.
I tend to be a little tame with my spell selection and battle plans occasionally and my players have prevented me from giving the bad guy monologue in the past. I need a way to work in story with fun and effective combat. Below is the basic build of the guy in question. A noble from a major city attempting to assume control of it.
Stats: Str 16 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 20 Wis 14 Cha 18. (rolled obviously)
He was educated at the magic school in the city.
His caster Level is 10. He wields a Long sword, but favors using magic and influence to get things done. He isnt an experienced combat leader, nor soldier, but was trained to fight due to being a noble and has magical experience from schooling.
I would be interested to know what you all think about spell selection, tactics, and other ideas for how this fight should go. The PCs are lvl 7 atm (Magus, Fighter, Inquis, Arch. Bard).
He currently has a camp hidden in some forested terrain North West of the cities and off the grid. His army is growing. He will be headed to the city to "assume control" within a few weeks, but its only been about three weeks since the attack and the city is not 100% under the control of his forces.
What do you all think about spell selection for such a character? He is skilled in melee, but not a fool. If you all have any build swap ideas I am open to them as well.
Hello everyone. My game is currently on hiatus as I finish graduate school (few more months yay) and I have been using some free time to finish putting touches on my NPCs that the party will be coming up on throughout the story.
The character I am working on now is as following: (Brevin)
The youngest son of his generation, though he is 37. His family (for 3 generations now) have served in various and well placed positions in their city, Metrepti, one of 9 major metropoli in the region. Three years ago, game time, his own opportunity to be elected to the city's highest position arrived. He ran a campaign for the position and was the popular choice. During the campaign, however, his opponent (or someone....) started a rumor that his family was too ambitious; that they sought to rule the city. It did not help that both of his brothers were in elected positions and their father had been Magister (the position in question) a few years back. The rumor stuck, and his campaign shattered. His opponent continued to press and in the process of winning the election completely destroyed the credibility of Brevin's family. In the fervor that followed Brevin's loss his family was disgraced and run from the city. He became a drunk and disappeared for a while.
After about a year he snapped, becoming paranoid and delusional. He began to believe that his family should rule Metrepti, he should rule it. For the past two years he has been tirelessly working to bring about his dynasty as the ruler of the city. A major religious figure in the city (incidentally the real threat to the city and the world) that has become corrupted by an evil (and dead) God offered assistance in exchange for help in bringing the God back from the dead. Brevin accepted believing the idea ridiculous and believing he was getting the better half of the deal.
After two years of prep they led an army of various creatures (money and promises go a long way) and sacked the city in the middle of the night. This is where the game began. The gist of my question to you all is: Brevin is LN (believing that the city can only be protected by him and that his opponent brought the destruction on the city). The players will eventually fight him and I would like your help in preparing him.
Stats: Str 16 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 20 Wis 14 Cha 18. (rolled obviously)
He was educated at the magic school in the city.
His caster Level is 10. He wields a Long sword, but favors using magic and influence to get things done. He isnt an experienced combat leader, nor soldier, but was trained to fight due to being a noble and has magical experience from schooling.
I would be interested to know what you all think about spell selection, tactics, and other ideas for how this fight should go. The PCs are lvl 7 atm (Magus, Fighter, Inquis, Arch. Bard).
He currently has a camp hidden in some forested terrain North West of the cities and off the grid. His army is growing. He will be headed to the city to "assume control" within a few weeks, but its only been about three weeks since the attack and the city is not 100% under the control of his forces.
If you need more information let me know. I have class soon and wanted to get my basic post up before I forgot.
I have a quick two part question that may involve some class participation. So I will be having my party (eventually, after the semester is over and I am home) partaking in a tournament (should they have any interest in an important plot point and item) and have a question and a request.
Basic Background: Homebrew world. The party will be asked to enter a competition on behalf of a powerful wizard in one of my major cities. It consists of 7 rounds of combat in which teams of up to 4 may enter but both teams must fight with the same amount of fighters (meaning individuals can enter and be competitive). The other big hitch is -- no magic. In fact, the arena itself is within an antimagic field. This is a skill-at-arms competition (hence the wizard needing the help). As a result I have multiple teams to create to challenge the group. (I expect that they will be on average lvl 8-9 at this point: fighter, bard, magus, 1 of various npcs).
1) I will be quite busy while im prepping this and I was curious to know what everyone's opinion of the NPC Guide is. I will be needing to create the following teams:
a) 4 lvl 3 characters
b) 4 lvl 5 characters
c) 4 lvl 6 characters
d) 3 lvl 7 characters
e) 3 lvl 7 characters and my lvl 8 story npc (premade).
My question about the npc guide is: "Will it cover enough of these to be a sole resource or even a major resource?" Meaning, are its npcs well built? These are all martial characters to be made. The bard and magus will be stretched far, but are played by smart players.
2) If the npc guide will be lacking, what do you all think are interesting and memorable martial characters that I could use. I would not worry about skills much (unless build requires). With so many to make I just want to make sure I have stats in front of me without killing myself. All items are on loan from the arena itself and fights are not to the death unless if accidental. These items are mundane, with masterwork and special materials being highly prized. They are bought with credit earned by the level of success of the party.
What do you all think? Obviously I will begin work, but if anyone has any quirky or fun or powerful builds that involve no magic that you'd like to see used in the field please feel free to post about them.
Few notes:
- no gunslingers
- extraordinary and supernatural abilities remain allowed (just no spells or spell-likes)
I have been looking through all the materials I have, but I cannot find anything on the effects of a broken bone. Is anyone familiar with anything in the rules regarding long term injury like this?
If not, how do you guys handle this as a house rule?
In this case I'm looking at a character that broke his wrist as a boy and 7 years later has not had anything done about it. One of his main desires in adventuring is to fix his wrist.
Hey guys. Im rolling ideas around for a witch character. Specifically a Beast-Bonded Witch. Id like to have a "bear" as a familiar, however even a baby bear is small sized (and otherwise not a listed familiar). The bear is an important part of the character's story, and I was wondering if anyone knows of a feat or something else (other than DM discretion) that can help me get there.
In theory i could take improved familiar at 1st level.....and hope that my DM would allow a small sized bear cub (rather than anything celestial/infernal, or otherwise listed).
Eventually I can take the evolved familiar feat and do something with that, but as of now does anyone know of anything to help make a familiar more viable?
Im looking at first lvl at this point.
Can i get a small sized bear as a familiar at 1st level?
I have two questions: (and i hope this isn't redundant, but i hadn't seen anything on it)
1) If I am reading "Eye for Talent" correctly, a human druid could sacrifice their human bonus feat at lvl 1 to provide their animal companion with +2 intelligence (thus creating an animal companion with 4 int from lvl 1). Is there any reason to believe this is possible?
Language of the trait: "when the human gains an animal companion it gains a +2 to any ability score" (paraphrased). It says gains, this does not appear to refer to the human's ability to find an animal that already had such a bonus (thus preventing int boost, as the animal would cease to be one)....though the name of the trait suggests otherwise.
2) I know I personally love getting the animal companion to at least 3 int, since I like them taking on a real personality of their own, but I wonder, what do you all think the give and take amounts to in this case? Is the loss of the feat worth getting such a bonus? I honestly don't think the bonus to any other ability score is worth it, but Int offers the most to the animal.
So a character of mine has become a devil and is looking at a 5-level gain, however I am considering taking outsider HD. Atm he is a kobold rogue/sorc. 3/9
Has any1 built a devil or demon? I am a unique devil, and really am only interested in taking the HD if it can benefit me with my casting. My bloodline is kobold (he didn't know about the infernal bloodline) and so I cannot see these HD stacking (like dragon disciple) easily, though my DM has no problem with it.
Really I'm just curious to know what kinds of approaches to take when it comes to building a devil prince (i should mention he is asmodeus' son).
As of this week's session Asmodeus has been trapped outside his realm and I am currently within it.
I guess i really just need help discovering what i can do, rather than what i should, at least atm while I'm kindve in the dark.
I am starting a game this fall in my own world and because of the size of the group wanted to avoid including my own full fledged npc. I am, however, unable to have zero influence so I have decided that my own part of the party will be a story device without being a character that needs to role play to the extent of a player.
As a result, i have decided that I will have my "npc" be an ex-familiar. The idea being that in this world when a wizard's familiar meets an especially brutal or tragic end and the familiar is the sole witness, the familiar will not lose its sentience when its master dies. Instead, fate kicks in and the familiar is awakened, as per the spell, and seeks to avenge or right the wrong.
In this case the familiar was a viper. His wizard was brutally murdered by an evil wizard and is the only witness to this wizard's cruelty.
My question arises in the context of advancement and building the viper.
As i understand awaken, he gains 2 HD and all of it (including his previous HD) becomes magical beast rather than animal?
Assuming this is correct, id like to ask what you all would do for advancement. Would you suggest the viper being taking class levels (rogue probably) or would you feel continuing with magical beast HD would be the best approach?
Thanks, and i can help clarify anything I've missed.
I am starting a game this fall in my own world and because of the size of the group wanted to avoid including my own full fledged npc. I am, however, unable to have zero influence so I have decided that my own part of the party will be a story device without being a character that needs to role play to the extent of a player.
As a result, i have decided that I will have my "npc" be an ex-familiar. The idea being that in this world when a wizard's familiar meets an especially brutal or tragic end and the familiar is the sole witness, the familiar will not lose its sentience when its master dies. Instead, fate kicks in and the familiar is awakened, as per the spell, and seeks to avenge or right the wrong.
In this case the familiar was a viper. His wizard was brutally murdered by an evil wizard and is the only witness to this wizard's cruelty.
My question arises in the context of advancement and building the viper.
As i understand awaken, he gains 2 HD and all of it (including his previous HD) becomes magical beast rather than animal?
Assuming this is correct, id like to ask what you all would do for advancement. Would you suggest the viper being taking class levels (rogue probably) or would you feel continuing with magical beast HD would be the best approach?
Thanks, and i can help clarify anything I've missed.
