Warforged

Vendis's page

462 posts. Alias of Rivade.




I'm in the process of setting up to GM a campaign, and I've spoken with a few of my players, and we've decided to run an E6 campaign. Now, I've already created the story and the setting, and it's fit to E6, but as far as actual implementation, I've got no prior experience on this part. I've been reading about E6 for a few days now, but it can't hurt to ask.

I've been here. Do these feats look about right to you guys? Is there another place? Maybe a guide to E6? What can I expect? Any advice at all?


For reference: Loremaster (d20pfsrd.com)

Relevant part to question:

Secret:
At 1st level and every two levels higher than 1st (3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th), the loremaster chooses one secret from Table: Loremaster Secrets. His level plus Intelligence modifier determines which secrets he can choose. He can't choose the same secret twice.

There are secrets for with requirements for each number 1-10.

My question is what level is being referenced in the Secret description, the one telling you which ones you can choose? Is it the Loremaster level or the character level?

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for it to be the character level, because the entry requirements include 7 ranks in any two Knowledge skills, which restricts you to entering it no earlier than 8th level. That would mean you have 8 + Int at the time of getting the first secret, and as it is directed towards Int-based spellcasters, it's basically a moot point. If it is character level, then there might as well be no requirement period.

Loremaster level makes more sense to me, but I think any time a level aside from character level is referenced, it's usually noted as such.


Hi all.

I have a game that I started up relatively recently. It was a challenge to approach it, as only one of the five players had played Pathfinder before - and his experience wasn't much by any means (he didn't even know a feat like Weapon Finesse existed) - and only one other person had ever done tabletop stuff, but they're all my friends, and they're all geeky, so I thought it'd be fun. And it was. Was.

We haven't met for a long time, about a month or so, and we won't be able to meet for another couple of weeks because of plans already set. Why we don't meet changes from week to week, but it's usually that there's always one or more people who have decided to not show for one reason or another. The guy giving me the most problems in terms of showing up - as in, has not shown up, ignoring calls and texts - is vital the current story (he's the only dwarf in the party, and they were brought into their first dwarven mountain where they were only welcomed because of him), so it's hard to proceed without him.

At this point, I'm kind of thinking of just scraping this campaign, and coming up with something that fits better to a group that can't be relied on to show in full. This would be a more "gamist" campaign, less story focused, I think, but my other players are getting tired of not being able to play. My thoughts at this moment are some sort of military or guild or otherwise organized structure of people where missions, named whatever is appropriate, occur roughly once a week in real life, so whoever shows can go and I can just modify the numbers on the fly to fit the relative strength of the party. This idea isn't new, I don't believe, but I've never done anything like it.

Has anyone ever tried anything like this? Would it work, are there problems that arise? If not, do you have a possible solution to my situation?

I appreciate any and all advice.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Hey all,

I got Inception'd by a friend a while back, and I ended up writing a database program for Pathfinder. I want to provide it to anyone who wants it free, so here it is.

It's nothing too exciting, but I find it's a much faster reference resource than books or loading up webpages (though I usually have all 3 at hand during games).

The information is taken from d20pfsrd.com's downloadable database, so a huge thanks to them (and a'course to Paizo). A main goal of the design was to allow users to update the information on their own, so by using the databases from that site, anyone can overwrite the database files in the folder. This should always work, unless d20pfsrd.com changes their format, in which I can simply alter the program.

The link to the zipped file does include the most recent database files. For reference, though, they are here:

Spell DB
Feat DB
Magic Item DB
NPCs DB
Monsters DB

Simply download the .csv version and place them in the folder, overwriting any existing. It should be noted the program will require all of them, even if you don't intend to use them all.

Mac Owners: Apple dropped Java support a while back, which means Macs will only have up to Java 6. Java 7 is the most recent version, so it's possible it won't work on Macs. Java tries to be backwards compatible as best as it can, but there's no guarantee. If any Mac users try it, if you could please report back and let us know. I would test it myself, but I don't have access to one.

Note: If you think data is missing, it probably has to do with copyrights and licenses. The databases are parsed at runtime to only include material that a program such as this is allowed to. I'm pretty limited in my understanding of this, so if you notice stuff is absent that could be included and is not restricted by law, it's trivial for me to update allowances, so let me know.

If anyone has any feedback - questions, suggestions, bug finds, hate mail - you're welcome to respond to this thread, inbox me on this website, or email me at rivade09@yahoo.com.

Thanks much!
Kyle Patrick Sharp


Hi.

I am working on a program that can generate a random wizard spellbook. I have only just this week started on it, but I can already do that - completely random though. Because of the way I've written it, it's mostly trivial to add in getting a certain amount of random spells. Probably before the end of tonight, it will accept a wizard level and intelligence score to generate the list, sorting it by spell level and then spell name. Nothing flashy, but it's darn useful in the right situation.

Right now, it only includes core material (CRB, APG, UM, UC, and ARG), and as I am still getting a grasp of the OGL stuff, I am hazardous to add more than that.

My intent is to release it freely once it's worth something. It's going to be a project I'm intending to work on for a while.

I would like to ask for suggestions from my fellow Pathfinders. What functionality would be useful? Anything you can think of. I appreciate any sort of ideas you have. I can expand it to work with other spell lists, so if you think you've got a good idea, let me know, I will put it on the list.

Here's what I personally have come up with to possibly add:
- Be able to pick a school and have X% amount of spells appear in the book
- Be able to pick up to two oppositional schools and have -X% amount of spells appear in the book
- Generate spells memorized for the day

Again, anything is welcome.

NOTE: I don't think this belonged in the Compatible Products From Other Publishers because I'm not a publisher, and it's not a product yet.

NOTE 2.0: A big thanks to d20pfsrd.com, as they are allowing me to use their Spell DB to get the raw spell list.


Sitting in my college library, I am printing off the PDF of RRR, which contains the kingdom building rules. I don't know, though - are players supposed to have access to this? I want to print a second copy of the chapter if so, but I don't know. If they aren't, what sort of info do I give them on it?


So my players and I are discussing creating a sort of character stable or guild function, where a player can have multiple characters that he can access. I have a few questions for anyone who has dealt with this.

1) Is there any sort of blog post (Paizo or not) or otherwise already created mechanic for this?

2) I want there to be an in-game time period in which a player cannot swap a character. I'm thinking a month or so. Good idea or no? Maybe I should just do it per level?

3) We're thinking the secondary characters would be one level lower, at minimum experience, at all times (our method for new characters, so that people don't just create a new character to replace old ones who have fallen behind). Sound good?

4) Any other advice.


ARG shield enhancement:

Guarding (shield special ability): A guarding shield
allows the wearer to transfer some or all of the shield’s
enhancement bonus to an adjacent creature’s AC (this
bonus stacks with all others). As a free action at the start
of her turn before using any of the shield’s other abilities,
the wearer may choose an adjacent target and how much
of the shield’s enhancement bonus to allocate at the
start of her turn. The target’s AC bonus lasts until the
wearer’s next turn or until the wearer and the target are
ever more than 5 feet apart, at which point the target’s
bonus ends and the shield’s enhancement bonus works
normally for the wearer. This ability only affects a shield’s
enhancement bonus to Armor Class, not its enhancement
bonus on attack rolls (if any) or any other shield abilities.
Moderate abjuration; CL 8th; Craft Magic Arms and
Armor, shield other; Price +1 bonus.

Guarding, Greater (shield special ability): As the
guarding property, except as a free action, the wearer
selects any number of adjacent allies to receive the
shield’s bonus. All selected allies receive the same bonus.
If a shielded target is ever more than 5 feet from the
wearer, the effect ends for that target but not for any
other targets.
Strong abjuration; CL 12th; Craft Magic Arms and
Armor, shield other; Price +2 bonus.

So if you had a group of martials with +5 shields, using this ability to provide it to everyone adjacent to them, you would be looking at up to a +40 AC, that specifically says it "stacks with all others."

Of course, having 8 people surround you isn't that feasible, and that person would almost definitely not be attacked, plus getting your hands on 8 +7-equivalent shields, but still, kinda crazy. Definitely improves the phalanx.


Relevant info:

Ferocity
Stable
Dying

So here are my questions:

1) Does someone who has Ferocity and is at negative hitpoints roll Constitution checks to stabilize and stop taking the 1 point of damage per round?

2) Can someone who has Ferocity and is at negative hitpoints receive a Stabilize spell or similar effect to stem the 1 point of damage per round?

ARG Orc Feat:

Ferocious Action
You ferocity is quick but shorter lived.
Prerequisites: Ferocity racial trait, orc.
Benefit: When you fall to 0 hit points or fewer, you
lose 2 hit points each round, but you are not staggered.
If you are in a rage (such as that caused by the barbarian
rage class feature), you instead only lose 1 hit point
per round.

3) How does 1 and 2 interact with this feat?


1 person marked this as a favorite.

So I've spent the better part of today typing this up. It's REALLY long, so I don't expect a large amount of responses (if any, really), but I'd like to get some soundboard going on here for it. Spoilering everything to make this post not stupid long. I apologize for poor readability. I can't help but stop typing a sentence mid-word to go back and add to an old one or start a new one further down the page; I always get some hangers I forget to go back to.

Bonus points if you get all the references and connections that I made. And there's a lot. Seriously. Just do a Google search on each name.

Council of Nine:

The Council of Nine are the nine most prestigous wizards within the realm. As a group, they act as advisors to multiple noble houses (including kings and queens), run the Tashgar Collge, and control the balance of magic across the world. Individually, they might offer their services to anyone who can afford it (or they are willing to trade favors for), spend time teaching (both in and out of the college) and researching.

Though they are considered archmages and the best of their time, the Nine are usually very specialized. This shows considerably when comparing the council members' abilities outside of their school - it is usually only on par with a much weaker mage (though this is not always true). The exception to this is the Universalist seat, which must be held by someone who displays outstanding prowess in all fields (though this wizard is still weaker in each school than those who specialize). Each school of magic has its own place within the council, and it is forbidden to break this rule - each school must be equally represented.

Every 5 years, there is a competition that tests any wizard who volunteers to show off his abilities (though they can only apply for one school per competition). It takes one week, known as the Haze, followed by the Grand Challenge. The first few rounds of this are arbitrary tests that any wizard of worthwhile power could succeed, designed to weed out those without enough experience. After this, the trials turn competitive, and the participants are pited against each other in contests of their specialty. Sometimes these matches are lethal, though not particularly often.

Once only 5 are left of each school, each are given a chance to show why they think they deserve the seat. This is usually a spell they created themselves or a particularly mastered version of an existing spell. Regardless of choice, the 5 are compared and only the top 2 are considered for the postion. At this point, the council member himself must make an appearance and prove his skills in 3-way challenge. The Grand Challenge does not take place at the site of the Haze. The challenge is created using the essence of each school as critera, and as such, each Grand Challenge is different for each group of participants. The judges announce the challenge only once it begins.

The Grand Challenge is not something that can be necessarily watched - usually, spectators learn the results through word of mouth or the written documents that the judges release every day of the challenge, detailing how the challenge is progressing. The challenge might include: for diviners, to learn a secret from one of the judges (much more difficult than it sounds); for enchanters, to strike a truce between a kingdom and one of its enemies; for conjurers, to somehow gain command over a particularly powerful outsider. These challenges are changed each year, though they are sometimes reused.

The Grand Challenge can last for days, weeks, or even months, depending on the difficultly of the task and the opponent's attempts to sabotage each other. Despite this, some of them have ended in mere seconds, due to a particularly skilled mage's abilities (decades ago, Pynthia immediately won, having divined that her job would be to locate and retrieve an item that was loaded with anti-scrying spells and presenting the judges with it as soon as they announced it).

The competition has become a source of upper class betting, usually watched from a series of crystal balls than can be purchased from the college.

The competition is judged by a group of celestial beings - the Aspects Three. They are Lore (who maintains the Library of Tashgar), Province (who helps the Nine protect the Fracture), and Prospect (who is the main judge of the competition and also designs the challenges). These three entities are emissaries of the God of Magic.

The competition comes with a set of rules pertaining to spells used during it: any spell, even if it is created by an individual, has its effects immediately transcribed and cataloged. While the specifics of how the spell was done is left unknown, it usually takes little time for the wizards of the college and the Nine to reverse engineer it and recreate it. Some notable exceptions, such as Astoroth's spell that merged Ixis, have been had copies made many times, with all manner of wizards attempting to recreate it. None have succeeded yet, though, and so these spells might never be used again.

The Library of Tashgar is set within the college (which is itself set over the Fracture). It houses all of the knowledge of basic to advanced to legendary wizardry that exists to most of the arcane practitioners.

Abjuration: Makelo:

Makelo [Female Half-elf Abjurer]
Very "stalwart" personality
Depends only on herself and her magic but is very confident in both
Aside from Skuld, spends more time than the rest on continuing to hone her craft

Makelo is a very strong minded individual, fitting for her school of specialization. She believes that the force of one's will is a more direct factor in abjuration magic than experience in casting, and as such, she usually focuses on pupils who have the ability to steel their minds more than others.

In her training, students are taught to maintain their physical body, unlike most wizards who neglect their health. As such, many of the more promising ones dabble in transmutation magic to reinforce themselves.

Makelo keeps such a sturdy focus on these due growing from a family of illness, having watched all of her siblings, her parents, and her offspring die off from a naturally occurring sickness. She, through her own determination and her affinity for learning magic, was able to fend it off, though not indefinitely; Pythia has predicted she will eventually die because of it, though the abjurer intends to break that prophecy.

"Maybe you've heard the question of what happens when an unstoppable force meats an immovable object. I'll let you know when I find an unstoppable force."
- Makelo, to a king's court

Conjuration: Prospero:

Prospero [Male Human Conjurer]
Yearned for companionship/acknowledgement of self after growing up in solitude
Focused on conjuration for obvious reasons
Has 2 familiars (Caliban [Imp] and Ariel [Sprite])
Enjoys mentoring, spends most time doing so

A very sociable man, Prospero enjoys conversations and unimportant topics. Just as soon as he would spend weeks buried in his research and teaching his students, he would sit around, idly chatting with friends about just about anything. He craves attention and though he accepts it within himself, he is afraid of losing the respect and admiration of others. Prospero and Astoroth are the only two wizards in the council who have a true friendship. The conjurer treasures this friendship above all else.

Prospero's familiars, Caliban and Ariel, are rarely with him. His bond with them is so strong that he is able to send them off to do errands for him. Both of them, as a group and individually, have represented him during meetings.

Prospero has spent much of his time communicating with outsiders, and it is the contracts he negotiated that allow quite a few of monsters be summoned from the conjuration spells. While he has not spent a lot of time on this recently, the conjurer still ensures to contact representatives of each kind and maintain a strong relationship between the mages and the monsters.

"Ah, so you have brought friends with you. We think alike, you and I."
- Prospero, being ambushed by assassins

Divination: Pythia:

Pythia [Female Human Diviner]
Known as The Vista
Has a natural desire for information
Spends most of her time in the Library, talking with Lore and rereading the books

Pythia is the epitome of foresight. She is always many steps ahead of those around her, sometimes even having experiencing it already. She has an insatiable need to record everything and has developed and cast a permanent spell on herself that instantaneously converts her thoughts and visions into written form (a quill that never needs ink writes on on parchment that scrolls at the needed pace).

She does not hoard her knowledge, though - the information she discovers is almost always cut into a book and placed within the Library. Indeed, she contributes more than any of the other Nine. She only witholds information when it is potentially dangerous or is irrelevant, though she has still kept the secret of Ambriose Diggs.

Pythia cares intensely for Lore, the aspect that watches over the Library, and has expressed interest in becoming an aspect once she is ready to shed her mortal coil.

The diviner has only twice ever regretted learning something: when she learned Skuld's past, which was filled with such monstrosities and indescribable horrors that she spent the better part of a week quite sick initially; the second was when Lore finally gave her a glance at his view of the world, despite his repeated claims of her not being prepared. In this second event, she was granted his vision for one day, though she could not remove it before the day was up. Before the end of it, she had been forced to blind herself with a dagger, unable deal with the sight of a godly aspect. She has had her vision restored, but she left the scars that surround her eyes where she had maniacally stabbed her eyes. Many believe the scars were left to remind herself not to look too far, but in reality, she keeps them only as a remembrance of what she will become when she becomes an aspect.

"There are those who don't think diviners have the insight they claim. This room has mostly evokers and transmuters who believe that. Fun fact of this speech, most of them seem to like the color green and are currently looking down at their clothes to see if they're wearing it."
- Pythia, during an introductory speech to new students at the Tashgar College

Enchantment: Ambriose Diggs:

Ambriose Diggs [Male Halfling Enchanter]
Also Oscar Zoroaster, Illusionist of the Nine
Friendly, charming, outgoing, very personable (though oddly does not get along with Prospero [who secretly finds Diggs's natural charisma threatening])
Has negotiated a very high number of treaties and truces between warring kingdoms (rumored to have ended a 10 year long war after a week of involvement)

Ambriose Diggs was not born a halfling. Nor was he born at all. Oscar Zoroaster, in a test against himself, created the persona to try to fool the entire council. He knew he risked his own seat permanently for the attempt at deception, but he viewed it as a honest desire to further magical knowledge.

He spent years perfecting the character and giving him life, coming up with clever ways of handling being in two places at once (including some spells he created). It wasn't until he felt entirely comfortable in the illusion that Diggs made an appearance. Instead of immediately entering The Haze (which he would be a finalist, at the very least), he put Diggs at the entry level of Tashgar College and went through years of studying enchantment magic, even dedicating himself to appearing to learn the basics.

An entire decade passed and Oscar was able to keep up this facade, developing even better techniques, and finally, the would-be halfling entered The Haze. He did quite well and got to the Grand Challenge. At the start of this, Pythia sought Oscar out and informed him that she knew what was going on. He pleaded with her to allow him to finish his experiment. She almost turned him in, but Oscar did something no council member had ever done: allowed the Diviner full access to his mind, telling her she would not be disappointed.

Pythia, who could not resist the chance to find out what untold wonders could lie within the brain of a gnome illusionist, tentatively agreed, on the condition that if he was doing this for personal gain, she would report him. What she saw there confused her, though. She learned that Oscar, using a combination of enchantment and illusion magics on himself, had cracked his mind in two, allowing both Diggs and his actual self to share the gnome's body. The two minds regarded each other as brothers and the closest of friends but were otherwise independent. Both were aware of what had been done, but neither cared.

Seeing the devotion that Oscar had to furthering his illusions, Pythia had no choice but to allow him to continue. Diggs went on to upseat the previous Enchanter.

"I don't know, have you ever thought that maybe people just like me? I mean, after all, I -am- a halfling. It's sort of our thing, isn't it?"
- Ambriose Diggs, to Prospero

Evocation: Ixis Naugus:

Ixis Naugus [(Male) Humanoid Evoker]
Three people, fused into one being that has the qualities of an elf, orc, and human
Each of the three were masters of evocation: a wizard, sorcerer, and wizard (respectively)
Using Astoroth's help, were able to combine into one being and succeeded the previous archmage using their combined powers
Very standoff-ish and confrontational

Ixis, due to the nature of his being, is a very complication man. Though, to call him a man is not entirely accurate, as the elf fused within him was female and her voice, along with the voices of the orc and human, are apparent when he speaks. He does not particarly care for the purpose of the council, he fights for the seat more as proof of his superiority of in his craft.

Par for the course for him, Ixis has an open challenge to any evoker who thinks they can best him: if they can beat him in a test of evocation, he will give away his seat. There is some speculation as to whether or not he has the authority to do this, but he has never been beaten, so the issue has never come up. Though they cannot be council members, Ixis extends his call to any caster, from sorcerers to clerics to druids to test their mettle against him, promising riches and magical items in return. These duels of his lead to death for the other side about a quarter of the time.

"I applaud your courage, and I am grateful for your challenge, but I feel so very bad for you at the same time."
- Ixis Naugus, after a challenger had approached him

Illusion: Oscar Zoroaster:

Oscar Zoroaster [Male Gnome Illusionist]
Also Ambriose Diggs, the Enchanter of the Nine (see his entry)
Thinks the Tashgar College creates a dullness in wizards, though he teaches there and graduated from it
Occasionally conspires with Pythia about ways of getting certain votes through the council

Oscar Zoroaster is a brilliant trickster, having deceived even the majority of the Nine (all but Pythia) with both his magic and his pure cleverness. He grew bored, as a child, from ripping off his peers and even elders, with basic cons and devoted himself to the study of magic as a way to further the capabilities of his trickery. It was then he found the deep love for illusion magic and its potential uses for pranks.

He then joined the college and flew through the ranks, outwitting those around him. He participated in The Haze once, though he fell out right before the Grand Challenge. The next time it came around, Oscar blew everyone else away, winning his seat before any of the other schools had finished. He then once again grew bored of his capabilities and set out to create Diggs. Currently, that has kept him interested enough that he hasn't chased down some new idea.

"Too many wizards think that everything has to be done with magic. I tell you now, if you take one thing away from me as a professor, remember this: magic is not the only source of trickery. An illusion of a wall is not as good as an actual wall. You need to use what already exists and what you can create without magic first. The spells come after, when the illusion has already been built, to make it into an even grander trick."
- Oscar Zoroaster, during a lecture

Necromancy: Skuld:

Skuld [Male Human Necromancer]
Known as The First - it is rumored that he is the first lich to ever have existed (making him centuries and centuries old), though if he is even a lich has not been proven
Has no qualms going to any means necessary to further his research
Part of the original council, has never been upseated
Spends all of his time studying - rarely seen (only takes no more than 3 personal pupils, many of which turn up dead for unknown reasons)

Skuld is a dark man with an even darker history. However, the details of his past before the council's creation have been forgotten by most. Astoroth, who is only one of the Nine to rival his age and experience, and Pythia, who spent many years researching it, are the only two wo have any clue who Skuld is (or used to be), and the transmuter is only willing to hint at it, though it is always with a dreadful shiver, with Pythia hiding the information for Skuld's sake, whom she believes has changed.

The necromancer usually attends meetings by a proxy spell and has even held his seat against the Grand Challenge in the same way. He dislikes the council but understands its necessity and also enjoys the research benefits of having access to the Library. Many a time, he has been accused of participating in evil activities, though he has always been able to shrug off any real evidence.

"How fortunate for you to approach. Subject count is low."
- Skuld, being attacked by a group of religious crusaders

Transmutation: Astoroth:

Astoroth [Male Elf Transmuter]
Part of the original council, lost his seat only once, which was regained 10 years later (when he merged Ixis)
Tends to change his form pretty common, though always appearing with a signature wide brim hat
Always comfortable in any setting and even with things are dire, tends to take everything in stride

Astoroth is a happy fellow who enjoys puzzles and riddles. He almost always has a story for anyone to listen. He and Prospero are the only two of the Nine who have a genuine friendship that is not based around their position as council members.

Before the creation of the council, Astoroth spent most of his time learning about other sources of magic and trying to copy their effects into his own branch. His favorite time was spent learning from the druids, in which, during his long hours of study, he would give the animals in the forests human-like characteristics and enjoy their company. He has since taking a liking to this, and usually can be seen with some exotic creature who has been gifted the ability to speak, among other things.

Though it is not confirmed (as Astoroth only gives a subtle smile and a knowing wink on the matter), it is suspected that familiars (most notably ravens) that speak Common are somehow Astoroth's doing.

He approached the three that became Ixis, during a fight that might have left none of them standing, after his relatively brief upseating, and offered a way for all of them to attain the seat they so desperately wanted.

"I believe we should cut out early today. I hear a teacup calling my name. No, really - I just remembered I left him in the drawer. He hates it when I do that. Class dismissed."
- Astoroth, in the middle of a lecture

Universal: Myrddin Wyllt:

Myrddin Wyllt [Male Elf Universalist]
Though he gives off the appearance of madness, is quite clever and is valued as an fellow member amongst the council
Entered the Fracture (a crack in the universe, is the source of all arcane magic in the realm)
Refers to himself in third person

Myrddin Wyllt was a brilliant and very promising wizard long ago. He was one of the first students at Tashgar College, and his extraordinary mind couldn't attach itself to just one subject. So, he studied them all.

Despite his tireless work, constantly learning as much as he could about every aspect of magic (becoming a pupil to both Astoroth and Skuld at differing times), he never found himself ever straying from his desire for wizardry. It was only until he first achieved the height of Council of Nine (at the young age [in terms of humans] of 27) that he was told of the Fracture. He immediately dedicated himself to unlocking all of its mysteries.

However, after a decade of dedicated research and experiments, he found he could neither replicate nor even identify the cause of the Fracture. In a final attempt in which he was willing to die, with a completely sound mind, he entered the Fracture.

Before him, only one mortal had done so, a paladin of a long forgotten god, and he had never returned. Myrddin, however, emerged seconds later. He had aged over four decades in those few moments and had obviously lost a part of his mind. While his brilliance was, if anything, improved, his being was forever altered, sporting large glowing scars all over his body and a broken personality.

The two of the Nine present at the time, Astoroth and Skuld, have very differing reactions to this. The former, who has tried (with Myrddin's permission) numerous times to fix his now misshapen body with his masterful transmutation magic, looks at Myrddin with a sadness; Skuld simply can't wait for him to die, wanting his body for research.

"Too many wizards, weak mages, can't get through The Haze for a specialty, poor them, because of some brighter, more clever person-people bests them in wits. Then they think they can just take Myrddin's seat away from him. Myrddin sees them thinking, thinking of Universal magics as a fall back. It is fun, to go to the Grand Challenge, for Myrddin, because of this. Wipes those silly smirks right off of those poor wizards' faces."
- Myrddin Wyllt, to Astoroth


Player is looking at taking craft feats. I have little to no experience with them. He asked about a gauntlet of shocking grasp, with unlimited use. Meaning no daily limit, no charges, nothing. He wants it at 5 CL, so it does its max damage (5d6).

Magic Item Creation

I either see a 7500 base price or a 2000 base price. I get the first from the 50 charges, spell trigger entry, doubling it (since it has unlimited use). The latter, from the Use-activated or continuous entry (with no need to double it).

Either way, I have no clue. I could be completely wrong.

NOTE: I don't want this to degrade into a "magic item rules are broken" or "those are just GUIDELINES, just price it how you want" or even a "well, you need to tell him to just get a wand" - I know all of that, I know that I will be taking any answers with a grain of salt. I appreciate anyone who will help me, though. It's as good a time as any to learn these rules.


So, last session, my players ran into a random encounter - a werewolf.

So after seeing the number on the chart, I flipped the Bestiary to the Lycanthrope entry, scanned over its stats (in hybrid form), and started the encounter.

It wasn't but a few rounds into the encounter that I realized just how terrible that entry is.

Werewolf

Real quick, check the human form. CR 2, though it is a 2nd level fighter, but that's okay - it does have a few things that are buffed from being a werewolf. Overall, doesn't seem that bad.

Now let's look at the hybrid form.

First, gear. Okay, it is using a longsword and a bite attack; that's not at all what I think when I think werewolf. I think of clawing and biting, but it doesn't even get a claw attack. Also, it has a crossbow. What? Who has ever envisioned a werewolf using a crossbow? If you try to make the argument that the hybrid form is the human form shifted and to just use what makes sense, then why the heck isn't it listed under a "Gear" section, instead of attacks? Finally, it is wearing chainmail. Nice.

Let's move on. DR 10/silver. This was actually something I altered mid-game when I realized it - I cut it down to 5. I think out of my party, if they all hit, they averaged around 6 damage per hit. Only 1 of them had a way of bypassing the DR, and that's because she was having to use blast spells. Regardless, according to d20pfsrd.com's Monster DB, only the Doru, Lantern Archon, and the lycanthropic enemies have DR 10 at CR 2 - all others are 5.

Thing is, there is no listed CR change from the human form to the hybrid form. So this DR 10/silver, the increased stats, new bite attack (which has trip and curse of lycanthropy tied to it), and the +5 to its AC (a whopping 22 at "CR 2") apparently yield no CR change? I felt bad for throwing it at my party, and I gave them extra experience after it.

Anyone know of a better werewolf stat block, maybe one that's more fitting to a bit more common concept?


So my group, with me as GM, started Kingmaker a few weeks back. We have played a few sessions so far.

If you have run, read, or heard about Kingmaker, then you know the reason why the PCs are exploring. So my question is, what happens if there is a TPK? It would be lame to just say, "Okay, new batch of characters, here's your charter - go do everything you just did."

One of my group has come close to dying already, and they have been in situations in that if they chose to do X, then it very well might have been a TPK (they went straight to the kobold cave, fresh out of Oleg's), barring some very clever plays on their part.

I proposed a "guild" idea, but it didn't catch any traction - they wanted to retain their individuality.


1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

Let's say, for maybe a reason involving sleep or maybe a trip, you have Character A that is prone. Then, Character B casts a spell on A.

Scenario 1: The spell is Levitate. B uses his move action to move A up 20 feet. Does A still have the prone condition? He isn't lying on the ground, but he never did anything to get rid of the condition.

Scenario 2: The spell is Fly. On A's next turn, does he have to spend a move-equivalent action to stand up, then can use his movement to fly upwards after that? Can he just fly upwards without standing up, since he's flying by magical means?

Levitate:
Levitate

School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 2

Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S, F (a leather loop or golden wire bent into a cup shape)

Range personal or close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Target you or one willing creature or one object (total weight up to 100 lbs./level)

Duration 1 min./level (D)

Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

Levitate allows you to move yourself, another creature, or an object up and down as you wish. A creature must be willing to be levitated, and an object must be unattended or possessed by a willing creature. You can mentally direct the recipient to move up or down as much as 20 feet each round; doing so is a move action. You cannot move the recipient horizontally, but the recipient could clamber along the face of a cliff, for example, or push against a ceiling to move laterally (generally at half its base land speed).

A levitating creature that attacks with a melee or ranged weapon finds itself increasingly unstable; the first attack has a –1 penalty on attack rolls, the second –2, and so on, to a maximum penalty of –5. A full round spent stabilizing allows the creature to begin again at –1.

Fly:

Fly

School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 3

Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S, F (a wing feather)

Range touch

Target creature touched

Duration 1 min./level

Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

The subject can fly at a speed of 60 feet (or 40 feet if it wears medium or heavy armor, or if it carries a medium or heavy load). It can ascend at half speed and descend at double speed, and its maneuverability is good. Using a fly spell requires only as much concentration as walking, so the subject can attack or cast spells normally. The subject of a fly spell can charge but not run, and it cannot carry aloft more weight than its maximum load, plus any armor it wears. The subject gains a bonus on Fly skill checks equal to 1/2 your caster level.

Should the spell duration expire while the subject is still aloft, the magic fails slowly. The subject floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 rounds. If it reaches the ground in that amount of time, it lands safely. If not, it falls the rest of the distance, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of fall. Since dispelling a spell effectively ends it, the subject also descends safely in this way if the fly spell is dispelled, but not if it is negated by an antimagic field.

Prone:

Prone: The character is lying on the ground. A prone attacker has a –4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A prone defender gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks, but takes a –4 penalty to AC against melee attacks.

Standing up is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity.


d20pfsrd.com wrote:


Mounts that do not possess combat training (see the Handle Animal skill) are frightened by combat.

The Handle Animal skill entry isn't relevant to my question.

At what point is a mount "frightened by combat?" Is it the second someone makes an attack? Does the GM need to roll perception checks if it's far enough away?

If one group is on mounts and are stopped by a group of bandits asking for a toll, then the party attacks, then that's combat, that's obvious.

But what if there is a fight off in the distance and the party speed up to get there quickly, maybe allies being on one side of that battle (so they're already intending to rush in and help)? At what point are they going to have to start worrying about the mount freaking out?


With summer coming, my group is losing a member for a few months, so we're taking a break from our current campaign (which is kinda a shame, because we're relatively close to finishing it). We've decided to run Kingmaker, with me as GM.

I'm asking for any advice anyone has for this. Do I need to brush up on any specific rules? Is there any need to read more than a book ahead? I have some experience running modules but never an AP.

Anything you guys have to offer is appreciated.


Telekinesis is a pretty cool spell. I think a lot of people appreciate it. But I have a few questions...

For the Combat Maneuver action:

1)If you receive it as an Oracle from the Haunted curse or maybe one of the mysteries (haven't check them all), what do you use, if anything? It doesn't plainly state that you use your relevant casting stat, but I feel like this is an oversight. Is it acceptable to use CHA or, because of how the word is spelled out, they must use STR or DEX (making little sense)?

2)If you have a sorcerer with the Sage or Empyreal bloodline that changes your casting stat, do you still use CHA, since it actually calls out the stat you use (not even allowing you to use STR or DEX, due to the wording)?

2.1)Not incredibly related, but I just realized Sage and Empyreal are from different base bloodlines. What if you crossblooded these?

More globally:

3)If using a Ring of Telekinesis, do you use the crafter's stats? Would the modifier be stuck at +2 (15 being the minimum casting stat), for the CMB modifier and the saving throws and such? Would the CL 9th control the pounds you can manipulate?


Cold Snap, from the Wordcasting variant, does not have a target word restriction.

As such, you can choose to use Personal (though this would damage you, but still an option), Selected (the description of this one makes it into a range/melee touch attack, since it deals energy damage), or Cone.

Now, the description of Cold Snap says that if this effect word has only a single target, it requires a ranged/melee touch (though the saving throw disappears).

So just to be clear, does that mean if I make it a cone but only would hit one target that I must still roll the touch attack? Or is the intent of that clause to explain that if I use Selected or combine it with other effect words to reach a higher wordspell level (thus opening other target word choices), the saving throw is no longer need?


Bestow Curse has a

Verbal Component:
Verbal (V): A verbal component is a spoken incantation. To provide a verbal component, you must be able to speak in a strong voice. A silence spell or a gag spoils the incantation (and thus the spell). A spellcaster who has been deafened has a 20% chance of spoiling any spell with a verbal component that he tries to cast

What exactly is important to say within the verbal component? Is it just mutterings tied to actually casting a spell? Do you have to say exactly what you're cursing them with?

Could you, say, cast Bestow Curse, saying whatever verbal parts you need, then declaring you are cursing them with X, but in your head, intend for Y to happen? Which would take precedence?

It's not language dependent, but my confusion is based around the verbal bit.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I don't like to metagame. I don't like seeing others metagaming. However, as a player, it's super hard to not go on the defensive when the GM asks for a Sense Motive while talking to a NPC or a Perception when you are in any given area. Yes, you can simply say that at this point it is up to the player to not cheat, but as I said, it's hard, and I think controlling this can be very rewarding factor in roleplay - makes that betrayal or that ambush seem that much better, from a storytelling point of view.

I have a few problems with the ways people handle this. And if you intend to pick apart my examples, then I ask to not bother. I am not the best at explaining things, so try to understand what my point is, don't reply specifically to an example without a basis against the argument.
-----
1) Passive score of (x + skill). X is usually 10.

That means that roughly 45% of the time, your passive ability is better than your active. It's likely you might bring up "Ever stared in the fridge for the milk, and though it's sitting right there, you just can't register it's in front of you?" Yes, that happens. But not even close to 45% of the time. That might be like 5% of the time, if that, and that would translate to rolling a 1 every now and then on my Perception roll. As I said, this isn't that bad, but it does allow for some strange situations ("As you are sitting at the bar, relaxing from the day's events, the gambler's, whom you are playing a friendly game against, eyes seem to be darting back and forth constantly. Something seems up, he appears worried." vs "You scan over the gambler, unsure of his truthiness (Colbert ftw), assessing his facial expressions and body language. He does not appear to be lying.").
-----
2) GM rolling the dice for the players.

This one is probably the most legit, but it does three things I don't like. One, it still brings about the same issue that exists if the player rolls it - knowing something's going on. This can be mitigated somewhat by rolling random dice at random times throughout sessions. My first DM did that as a scare tactic. Two, you constantly have to keep up with skill totals for all your players. This can be simple, if they hit a high point and it never goes up except once a level, but if you have conditional modifiers (rangers and the like), it becomes more of an issue and possibly gum up the works. Three, and this one is conditional, if you are in the Fudging Is Okay group, then you might be tempted to fudge just so something has a certain outcome - specifically what fudging is for, but having more opportunities to fudge means you will fudge more (and while I am in the above mentioned group, I do not think you should use fudging as a constant support to your story - it should be used lightly and occasionally as a way of safeguarding the fun for the players). While it's true you can fudge DCs instead of rolls if you use a different method, thus having the same results, sometimes it won't really be possible, such as just really high rolls. That situation is eliminated using this.
-----
3a) Taking down a list of passive numbers, rolled by the players or GM, at the beginning of any given period of time (usually each session), and referring to the list whenever necessary.

This one is probably the most bulletproof, as it keeps the randomness of rolls, prevents any unintentional metagaming by the players, and allows the players themselves to roll. My biggest issue is how this interacts with conditional modifiers (again, I'm looking at you, rangers - though there are others), which is similar to what was explained above. The second issue is what to do if after the last number on the list. You can cycle the list, but that's restricting the range of possibilities, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I like having lots of possible outcomes - if you don't, then simply ignore that point. Not even to mention that you might have a set roll very low, despite any modifiers to the skill, simply due to a short streak of bad luck.
--
3b) Taking down a list of passive numbers, using a an unordered base roll array (such as all {1-20}, or {5, 10, 15, 20}, or any set you want), and using them when needed.

I am probably most partial to this, probably using {1-20}. Recycling a list isn't as much of a problem in this, as it's a fair base across all players; though if you don't use a complete array, then you are restricting your possible outcomes in this way as well. There is a little more bookkeeping involved in this method, which is never a plus as a GM who already has a ton of stuff to watch. To mix the list, you can simply roll a dx (x being the number of numbers in your array) until you land each number, writing them in the order they are rolled. I would probably recommend rolling up a separate array for each party member, so as to not have either everyone or no one pick up on something at the same time. The biggest issue I see with this is it takes a decent amount of prep time for a smaller part of the game, and it mostly lands on the GM to keep track of everything.
-----

Actually, now that I think about it, the conditional modifiers apply to any situation of using a passive skill without the player's knowledge. It's not particularly a huge issue, but it does yield some extra number crunching for the GM and can easily slow down conversations or other game play.

My group simply allows the players to roll any skill check when required, whether passive or not.

Feel free to counter any of my arguments. I am not at all set in my ways on the above, that's just how I currently see it.

tl;dr So to bring us to the actual thread title, are there any other ways not mentioned here that you use or have heard of for passive skills (most notably Perception and Sense Motive)?


I was looking into touch spell delivery with nonlethal damage, and I found this:

PRD wrote:

Start/Complete Full-Round Action

The “start full-round action” standard action lets you start undertaking a full-round action, which you can complete in the following round by using another standard action. You can't use this action to start or complete a full attack, charge, run, or withdraw.

I've never seen nor heard of this. It looks interesting, but at the moment, I can't come up with an overly useful application of it - after all, two standards does a lot more than one full-round.

Anyone have any good ideas with it?


1) Is the Life Link damage stopped by DR?

If not, I think it should be. Otherwise, even a single dip into the class can give one ally almost fast healing 5, the differences being when it takes effect and the (HP - 5) limit. Of course, this is after you have gotten DR 5 from items or abilities.

2) Can multiple Life Links exist on the same creature?

I am not trying to cheese, I am trying to clarify rules so no cheesing does happen.


I'm looking into possibly playing an Oracle with the Words of Power casting. Any thoughts on how effective this system is? It's my understand that it's weaker overall but has more versatility.


Forgive me if this has been asked before, but I want to know what people think.

I had a dream last night of trying to save some helpess man from this demon spawn. I was running to him as fast as I could, but right before I got there, the demon did something like a finger of death, and the man died. I started getting upset, but then the man stood back up and said, "Actually, I am okay. The DM changed his mind." Thus my questions.

How often, as a GM, do you just kind of ignore the number on the die you roll and dictate a result based on what you would rather happen? Why did you do it? Or, are you against this sort of thing? Why?


My main campaign is kicking back off in a few days, having taken a break for summer between college semesters, and I was thinking back on what all has gone down since we started. It's been brought up a few times, but we've never really talked about it.

Roughly, we've spent 1 year of in-game time and are now level 7, after starting at 1. And that's with quite a bit of downtime, because we use scaled maps and follow the RAW on travel, which has been mostly done by horse and foot - and we've had to travel plenty. Really, if given better circumstances, we could have easily gotten to 7 MUCH faster, in a small percentage of the time.

There are multiple reasons I don't like this, because what the hell has the rest of the world been doing when I can hit 7 in a year, yet even generals that probably have been in their respective armies for decades are stat'd up as fighter 11.

I know that PCs are "heroes" and thus above the common man, but a general in an army would more be a "PC" - not being played by a character but still a man among men. I mean, they do have 11 fighter class levels.

Is there any sort of system that anyone uses to make sense of this? I dunno what would work. Playing by some kind of "cannot level X times in Y years" or something would be terrible, but I like for my roleplay experience to be more immersive. "Oh, hey, McRogue, haven't seen you in like a year, since you got that first class level of yours. How ya been? What's that you say? You're level 10!? But your old bandit lord is only level 12, and he's been at this since for twenty years!

Anyway, I think I'm rambling at this point, but I'm just trying to see if anyone has found a fix.


1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

Does the evolution Reach work:

A) on all attacks (i.e. applying it to Claw so that all Claw attacks that the eidolon has gains Reach)
B) on a single attack (i.e. a single Claw gains Reach)
C) on an attack granted from an evolution (i.e. both Claw attacks from a single set gain Reach)

References from PRD:

Reach:
Reach (Ex): One of an eidolon's attacks is capable of striking at foes at a distance. Pick one attack. The eidolon's reach with that attack increases by 5 feet.

Claws:
Claws (Ex): An eidolon has a pair of vicious claws at the end of its limbs, giving it two claw attacks. These attacks are primary attacks. The claws deal 1d4 points of damage (1d6 if Large, 1d8 if Huge). The eidolon must have the limbs evolution to take this evolution. This evolution can only be applied to the limbs (legs) evolution once This evolution can be selected more than once, but the eidolon must possess an equal number of the limbs evolution.


Motivated from the thread about the dude playing the paladin (would link, but I am on break and doing this from my phone), I want to know people's opinions on paladins and how they interact with gods and alignment. I have heard of people allowing paladins with any alignment, so long as they matched it to their diety. I can be convinced differently, but I don't agree with that.

To start off, I'll state what I think.

Conceptually, paladins were supposed to be warriors who used divine power to further the overall cause of good, while adhering to a rigid code of conduct.

By design theory, they were meant to be a notch above other classes, at the cost of alignment and roleplay restrictions.

Neutral, to me, goes against the intent of the class - that is, to have apathy towards both lawfulness and chaoticism (is that a word?). Paladins were meant to be devoted, and the very idea of having apathy at all seems wrong to me.


So after reading over a few of the house rule threads, my roommate and I decided to change our current critical system (which is massive criticals/fumbles - you can keep critting for more dice and you can keep botching for more screw ups).

What we've come up with so far:

- Natural 20 means you're given an option:
A) Auto hit and auto crit
B) Roll to confirm: if you "miss", it's just a hit, but you can continue confirming for massive crits if you land within crit range

- Natural 1 means you're given an option:
A) Auto miss and you drop your weapon
B) Roll to confirm: if you "miss" again, you have the chance to hit an ally or even an enemy (determined randomly), but you can not drop your weapon if you "hit"

I have two questions here:

One, do you guys see any problems? The idea is that there is a trade off for choosing to roll again.

Two, what to do about critical threat range that isn't a 20? Do they not have the chance to massively crit, only to confirm the first crit?

Any suggestions are appreciated.


It makes perfect sense that the fighter, through fighting stuff, has learned how to fight better. The rogue has become more deft, the archer can aim much better, and the barbarian is closer and closer to the point of insanity.

My question is, what about spellcasting?

Spontaneous casters have innate abilities, so probably the most common thought (though not the only: tell me how you do it) is that the more they use it, the better they get at it, leading to being able to cast higher level spells.

In Dragonlance, Raistlin essentially learned Sleep before he could cast 1st level spells, but it didn't work for him. Why do you say that is? Does his body not mesh well enough with the magic, since it just hasn't become attuned enough? Why can't this rogue with tons of experience with magic devices and an 18 INT grab a spellbook and learn to cast a 3rd level spell? I understand that from a mechanics point of view, it needs to be as it is, but that just means you get to give it fluff and make it have a "logical" progression by working backward.

What about divine casters? The more that cleric does in the name of her god, the more her god gives her powers? Does that mean it's impossible to RP a cleric who follows her god but doesn't -really- care about it all or at least can't get above a certain level of spells? Or maybe she just doesn't follow the tenants as she should. If not, what's to stop this new convert who truly, with all of his soul, loves and worships the same god, from being granted the ability to cast 5th level spells?

I'm just curious.


Heya, new to the forums (first post, actually, though I've been reading and watching... waiting..).

Starting up a campaign to mess around with during off time from our main (and somewhat serious) campaign. Sat down to make a character and after some consideration, decided I want to play Necromancer.

I can think of at least 3 classes than can most likely do this: cleric, wizard (and sorcerer, I guess), and oracle. My question is: which is best?

So, have at it. We're coming in at 14th level (yeah, its mainly for kicks), and there might be only 3 people in the party. I know one is going to be an archer ranger, and the other is most likely going to be a damage dealer as well - I think he's leaning towards gunslinger for this, and his go-to class is rogue, so I'm expecting that. I'm not necessarily looking for someone to plan out my levels, but maybe a race/class combo, with possibly a few recommended magic items (or spells, if it applies). I'd like to stick to core stuff as much as possible, but the more toned down 3rd party stuff probably won't be so bad (though the DM hates psionics, so avoid that).

Anyone who helps gets free t-shirts, available at the nearest volunteer center near you.

Liberty's Edge

For my money, you can't have more fun than you can with an Oracle. The RP possibilities are vast, the flavor of the class is cool, and you're a useful part of any team. Human Oracle of Life and Dwarven Battle oracle are personal favorites, although a whole thread could be devoted just to Oracles and what makes them awesome.

1 to 50 of 610 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | next > last >>