VillainHat's page

Hello all. Longtime lurker here, big fan.

Currently running an Iron Kingdoms game. If you're not familiar with the setting, I'll just mention that magical healing is extremely limited and quite dangerous.

This variant fits my game like an old glove. It allows me to make things more interesting (read: dangerous!) without feeling like I'm just taxing healers. I compulsively attempt to make the crunch and the fluff match up in my games, and this "minor change" has been like relieving a cramp I didn't know I had.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone involved.

You can! Dervish Dance will allow you to use your Dex mod instead of Strength to attack rolls. It won't add to damage - because Flame Blade doesn't get a bonus from Strength, you can't sub in Dex for it.

Note however, that you can't carry a shield or weapon in your other hand.

1) There are many different styles for loot. Aside from actually taking stuff from the bad guys (equipped gear, handful of coins, the odd gem or jewelry), I like to make sure it fits with the story. I don't seed metallic loot if a rust monster is anywhere nearby, for example. If a bunch of orcs in a dungeon have a chest, I seed things there they wouldn't actually use, but would hang onto for its value.

Good example, I put a longsword of greater undead bane at the bottom of a pit over a tricky, trapped, narrow walkway. Next to the (aged and unpreserved) remains of what was likely a knight of some kind, if not a Paladin. It tells a story, they get a cool item, and the world as a whole seems richer for it.

That said, there's always the random method. Each monster entry will list the treasure to allocate (by CR), then you just roll down the loot table. Takes a little time, but you're more likely to come up with some off the wall neat item nobody would have thought of.

2) If you look under Craft in the Skills section, it lists the core alchemical items and DC's. Here's a link:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/craft

Oh, I've got another question.

Would Enlarge Person be a good buff for me? Losing some Dex for the duration wouldn't get rid of any versions of TWF that require higher than 13 Dex, right?

I believe you would lose access to the feats while your dex was debuffed, yes. You lose access to a feat you've taken when you no longer meet the prereqs, until you meet them again.

However, your Dwarven Waraxe is suddenly doing 2d8, and you've got a 10' reach. Not the worst thing ever, if your character can get past being eight feet tall. It's unnatural!

I don't think Vital Strike's the way to go. You'll always want more shots if you're Smiting.

I see a nice hook for this. Kobold society is an ordered society, in its own way, which means they'd have their own internal laws/rules/traditions. If one kobold can be relatively honorable and decent, another can be comparatively cruel and mean. Some of them might be dangerously insane, even by kobold standards.

Surely even kobolds need judges, and those judges need someone to carry out their decisions. A paladin is ideal. Apsu's domains include Creation and earth, which are not a far stretch for a kobold to dig, and Travel, which implies his worshipers have a tendancy for wanderlust.

This might even work better with a LE tribe. Odds are good they're all for killing anything that isn't a kobold. He may not be super-bright, but he could still gain the sense that there could be a better, peaceful way to protect his home - and even if you don't want him to be that kind of big thinker, there can always be some older, wiser kobold who is.

Of course, being a PC, "peaceful" is probably going straight to the bad place. He'll get caught up doing violence to many of these other people anyway, and might even save the world doing it. But that can still all be a part of his larger goals.

edit to add:

Build-wise, I think you might do well with crossbows. Wear light armor, gun for an Agile melee back-up weapon, and rock a ranged smiter build. they do good things. Worry about Strength only as far as you need to carry your gear.