Waldergrave's page

Signed up on the spreadsheet. I just need to go through my characters to see who hasn't "played" it yet. Note, I have ran this multiple times (it is my go (along with Ashes) for newbies just after Confirmation).

Edit: Looks like I have two level 3's that are in tier and can play. One is a Dwarf Priest Soldier, the other a Formian Tempered Pilgrim Solarian. Both are 'characters' in different ways :-)

It is a tough call...you make Baron Okerra an ally, you piss off the Night Swan, and vice versa....Honestly, I kinda hand waved it. The Night Swan unfortunately fell to a person who was designed for diplomacy (I think a +20 something) who assured her that they were of like mind (note that the player character's backstory was ~90% the Night Swan, and this is pure chance as the player made the character well before book 2 was even out!). Baron Okerra they assured that the Night Swan was not going to be a problem, as long as the common folk were treated well...and well the Asmodeus Priest with a +30 barrister (which can be used as Diplomacy or Bluff) assured him it was okay, and then married him off to the group's alchemist....all good :-).

My suggestion to you is that Dorius talks his little sister to let it be, and maybe go work on another area in Taldor...maybe Yanmass maybe? ;-) That way you can have her appear and maybe help in book 3.

On Okerra, maybe if you have a unmarried PC (or even a friendly NPC), marry him, and then explain that sometimes you work with people even though you don't want to.

Yep. That single mention in one of the questions to Martella is all I remember seeing the name Cateline. Makes me wonder if something got cut out from one of the books (book 2 maybe, or later...).

If you REALLY want to add her in (I am contemplating it once I get there), in book 6 I might add her as being one of the people Martella brings in to help her through the death. Or else, if your group didn't ask that one question, then just ignore it. My group did ask, and I have a person doing their own spreadsheet of people, so that will will be asked again of me I am certain.

Yep. That single mention in one of the questions to Martella is all I remember seeing the name Cateline. Makes me wonder if something got cut out from one of the books (book 2 maybe, or later...).

If you REALLY want to add her in (I am contemplating it once I get there), in book 6 I might add her as being one of the people Martella brings in to help her through the death. Or else, if your group didn't ask that one question, then just ignore it. My group did ask, and I have a person doing their own spreadsheet of people, so that will will be asked again of me I am certain.

Gotta love the flavor text that writers use on attempting to use items "creatively".

Prefacing this with I haven't gotten to here yet in running, and when I do things will likely be upscaled in NPC and Ice golem (since I have 6 players at the table instead of 4). So Argentus will likely be 1-2 levels higher, and the ice golem might be either advanced, or be given more hp than the average the bestiary gives.

I liked how Argentus uses charm person and suggestion to make diners like his food and give him good reviews...especially since I plan on playing him up as a semi-sleazy sczarni type of person. How he gets the PC's under it might require a bit more gentle hand. Especially since you as a GM saying, "Give me a will save" would immediately make them suspicious.

With that....

On how he uses the wand and spells on others....I would assume that since there are just 4 tables (E map only has 4 tables), that maybe there is a way that Argentus can get a line of sight on anybody in any of the tables from the west side behind the last set of tables. LOS would allow the charm person or suggestion to be cast less obviously. Maybe a opposed bluff vs. sense motive, or perception.

Additionally, you can look up and see if there are any reagents that would allow a negative in will saves for charm or compulsion spells. Brain Mold Fungus would add to duration, but maybe Argentus spikes the food or drink with mild sedatives and such to make people more suggestible.

So with that, I would be rolling the will saves in private, or at least knowing the players saves. That way I could just ask the players "Let's see how well you thought of the meal, go ahead and roll a d20 and let me look at a chart real quick...." when in reality they are rolling the will save, though still look at a piece of paper or a screen or something.

Last...honestly, the whole encounter E felt that it was supposed to fall apart and the PC's were to confront Argentus....so hopefully you will get 1-2 PC's thinking it is the best meal ever, 1 maybe confused on why everybody else is thinking that, and 1 would likely find this all suspicious and start the encounter.

GM PDK. It could be Moost, not enough to really determine it, except the hedge maze. It probably isn't Birdsong (doesn't have the tower on the west that would be the Prince's tower, or the L shape where the dance is held). It could just be a "generic" manor, but I would use it as the back of Moost if PC's want to see what Moost would look like.

I would think page 4 has a little of the Palace of Birdsong in it....behind the iconics and the peacocks that is. But yeah, not much artwork of Birdsong is in the book.

Pretty much what Blue Eyed Devil said. I told them what the amulet was worth, and told them that without it the rest of the statue was worth ~500 (nobody made a great appraise check, but I had figured it worth 500).

They had it professionally removed, as none was confident with their ability. I charged them ~150 for the removal (and extra). They didn't sell the statue though, and had the person removing it make a fake amulet to put on the bust--as they didn't want to insult Dame Crabbe when she came to their manor.

Getting ready to start Book 3, and I was wondering how other GM's first few games in book 3 went? Any unusual detours that the PC's took or rabbit holes you didn't expect? Did they immediately go after the plot hook with the Twilight Child, or did they work against Yandass and the Imperialist's plot/issues?

Just asking on how it went for others, as I know my group loves the open-endedness of this AP so far...and I have this bad feeling they will find a rabbit hole I didn't expect. This way I can hopefully see how it went for others, and maybe won't be blind sighted (as bad) by my group.

Meliski's ability:

When a character at your location would fail a check, you may recharge a card (□ or shuffle it into your deck) to allow her to reroll 1 die (□ 2 dice). She must take the second result.

I think there are other classes and items that allow something like that. But would it be a game changer allowing 1 reroll...probably. :-) As Theryon said...use it on the last desperate attempt on the BBEG. :-)

Tis Season 0...things like this will likely get hammered out eventually. If it happens (or not), I am fine with it.

If it did...then what use would there be for Meliski's ability :-(

I don't know why my brain missed you bought a wand of CLW....my bad. Yeah, it should be an automatic buy for a lot of people...but with that you can probably get people to agree to get splashed once if you promise to heal them ASAP.

Artisan's Shop is in the Pathfinder's Society Field Guide. I would suggest buying the PDF...some good things are in there to read about.

I can see some GM's having issues with you carrying an Alchemist's Lab around on your back. :-) When I bought mine I think I had already had the Artisan's Shop and just stuck it in because it made sense. We as Pathfinders "Might" get free rooms, but I don't know if we get a free place to set up our Lab. Things like Alchemist's Labs can become a hazard to the building it is in :-)

Yeah I agree, the actual ruling on either targeting a creature or an intersection is weird. Especially since you get either A)Creature or B) Intersection...which is 1 direct and 8 splash, or 4 splash. Then it gets weirder in that if you miss the creature, you now move the bomb X squares (1 square per range increment) based off of an 8 sided dice, then "it deals splash damage to all creatures in that square and in all adjacent squares"...which means 9 squares of splash. (BTW the Splash Weapon Mastery Feat helps here to adjust it back a little).

Also, always remember to announce that your roll is "ranged touch attack"....sometimes GM's might not remember, and it is always helpful to remind them that your to hit is (likely) going to be easier than the melee people's.

I would suggest if you can, spend 2 PP on getting a wand of CLW, and talk to the people you might/will splash that if they get splashed you will cover their healing with your own CLW. That should get you to level 2 in most cases. Worst case is you toss at an intersection to miss your party members.

I would also suggest when you have the PP to use it to get yourself an Artisan's Shop (5 PP. That helps with day jobs, and you can then put your Alchemist's Laboratory in there.

Sounds like you enjoyed this.

I agree with trollbill. I have played an alchemist to level 12 and never had a GM have issue with "Personal" infusions being handed out to other PC's. I doubt that there are many GM's out there that would rule that "Personal" infusions are not able to be handed out.

It sounds like you have a solid build. Once you get your character made and play a game or two please post on how the character plays.

I have rarely seen a scenario that the fights start longer than 100 feet (I know there are some, so I won't say it doesn't happen). Longbows are wonderful if you go archer build (with all the feats and other perks) or if there are 100+ feet fights in the games. A lot of the feats you will get will likely go towards discoveries (which I think are as good as a lot of feats if not better).

Alchemists get the "Throw Anything" which gives +INT bonus to all splash weapons.
" An alchemist adds his Intelligence modifier to damage done with splash weapons, including the splash damage if any. This bonus damage is already included in the bomb class feature"
This makes an alchemist fire do 1d6 + INT. Which if you think about it is actually better than a shortbow, or a longbow without adaptive (and ah high ST). The biggest issues is the range increments. 10' range increments means that you will be at -2 at 15', and -4 at 25' (etc). That is why splash weapon mastery helps.

Don't sell yourself short on inflicting damage. Your damage will be resistant to the elements (fire for fire bombs, etc), but not any DR. I would suggest that when you hit the min level to get it, force bombs make your bombs fun (lower damage, but almost nothing can resist the damage, and the primary target getting knocked prone helps).

My level 12 alchemist does 6d6+8 (or +16 if I drink the targeted admixture). If I have my cognatogen going that goes up by +3 more (or +6 with targeted)--I have greater cognatogen now. The damage if you can hit twice a round is 12d6+16 (with not targeted), or ~50 damage each round. You will likely be on par with a lot of other blasters.

Just keep in mind that infusions allows any of your elixirs to be handed out...not just cure spells. I think that is really how an Alchemist becomes an awesome support character.

I would start to at least plan out your levels (maybe level 1 to 6-7) to see how it goes with +Hit, spells, and damages (with bombs, with bows, with alchemical items, with HtH). That might help you decide on weapons/equipment.

Hobbun, it is your build, build it as you want, and have fun with it. All we can do is give you thoughts and suggestions. :-)

I will say that I have yet to really see a "BAD" alchemist build, though I have only seen about 7-8 different builds being played, so my data pool is kinda limited.

TBH, I find that the only reason to go higher than 14 DX for an alchemist is the +AC and maybe the Initiative. Your bombs are ranged touch attacks, and except for that weird monk, or strange creature, most touch AC's are going to be 10-16. By level 8 You will almost always (minus that low roll (<5)) hit with your first bomb, and if you have fast bombs, your 2nd will be at worst ~25/75 miss/hit.

If you run out of bombs to throw, use your ability to make cheap alchemist fires and such (liquid ice, etc). At lower levels the difference in a direct hit from a bomb and your alchemist fire is not an issue, and at higher levels--if your INT is maxed--hopefully you won't go through all your bombs in a PFS scenario. If you do, you still can do 1d6 +INT value...not much, but at least something.

Another possibility is to go Mindchemist. With Cognatogen you will find that your bomb damage will go up (especially with targeted bomb admixture). Plus you become the skill monkey for all knowledge skills.

Additionally, if you are going to go for the "Hail Mary" throws, go for Splash Weapon Mastery instead of Far Shot. The ability to attempt to move a missed bomb either +1/-1 squares can be a big help, along with the extra 1 more "splash" square.

Finally, Once you get to a decent level (6-8), I would really recommend getting infusion. The ability to give out your infusions (such as shield, false life, or even higher level stone skin) literally makes you a force multiplier for the group. If you are set up to help the party this way, it could allow the spellcasters to pick other spells instead of the buff spells.

"No Falmus, my bombs are NOT messy, they are very precise, hence the use of the word "strategically". I can hit exactly where I want, and only that spot. I can use the force bombs to destroy specific poles in the rigging...I know that fire bombs on a ship would not be a good idea."

"If you feel that my bombs are not good enough to slow down the ship via the rigging, I could use them to target the helmsman to slow the ship. Additionally maybe I will help you and target the archers and ballista that are going to make you a pin cushion."

"Besides, I am not just a mad bomber. I could make infusions for the group to allow them to have a skin of stone along with other defensive abilities. My services as a very strong support personnel is being given to the Pathfinders."

"Once we get within sight, I will fly over to make sure that the pirate ship can't flee with strategically thrown bombs to cripple their masts and their helm if necessary."