Warwick Cailean's page

For the Champion Blessed Shield ability, does it apply only to one shield, like Armament, or to every shield that you pick up?

In your hands, a shield gains the minor reinforcing rune. As you go up in level, the shield gains the reinforcing rune of your level (lesser at 7th level, moderate at 10th level, greater at 13th level, major at 16th level, and supreme at 19th level). If your shield already has the appropriate reinforcing rune for your level, or if it’s a sturdy shield of the same level as the appropriate reinforcing rune, the shield’s Hardness instead increases by 1.

Because this doesn't say Choose one shield like Armament says Choose one weapon, I initially read it as affecting any shield your are wielding. However, I've just seen Shield Paragon:

Your shield is a vessel of divine protection. When you're wielding your chosen shield, it is always raised, even without you using the Raise a Shield action. If the shield would be destroyed, it vanishes to your deity's realm instead, where a servitor of your deity repairs it. During your next daily preparations, the shield returns to you fully repaired. While the shield is gone, you can spend 1 minute to infuse a different shield with your blessed shield benefit until your true shield returns.

That seems to be written assuming it is a single, chosen shield.

If that is true, then there are some issues with Blessed Shield. It doesn't tell you to select a shield. It also doesn't provide any way to change your selected shield, like Blessed Armament does for a weapon.

So, are you stuck with the same shield for the life of the character, except for brief periods of time at 20th level? What happens if it's destroyed before level 20 and Shield Paragon? What happens if you lose it?

Or, does this work for whatever shield you are wielding?

Or, does this only work for one shield that you choose at the start of the day?

It is a huge difference if it's only one shield/day or one shield ever than if it is whatever shield you are wielding. It becomes just a gold saver, or you can pay hundreds or thousands of gold to get 1 extra hardness.

At least it scales without an additional feat, unlike Blessed Armament and Blessed Swiftness.

Also, if it is just a gold savings, it's still significantly more gold than Blessed Armament saves you. It can save you up to 32,000gp. Blessed Armament (without another feat) saves you at most 225gp for Shifting..

Grimoires include some confusing language, which makes it look like they could possibly be used by a Witch.

Grimoires

Spellbooks are useful tools for any magic user to write down incantations and runes of power, but where most spellbooks are nothing more than ink on parchment, grimoires have absorbed the magic of the spells within—magic that knowledgeable spellcasters can use to augment their spells.

Most grimoires can hold up to 100 spells, like any spellbook, but allow spellcasters to erase spells written by a book's previous owner in favor of spells that employ their own magical formulas. If a spellcaster wants to transfer their spells from one of their spellbooks to a grimoire, they can conduct a simple, 1-minute ritual with the two books to cause the spells to vanish from their spellbook and appear in the grimoire.

If you prepare spells (whether from your class features, like a cleric or wizard, or from a special feat or ability, like the Esoteric Polymath bard feat), you can study a grimoire during your daily preparations to enhance one or more of the spells within. Until your next daily preparations, you gain the ability to Activate the grimoire. As you've already absorbed the power from the grimoire during your daily preparations, you can Activate it even if you later lose possession of the book itself. Grimoires' benefits apply only to spells cast via spell slots—not cantrips, focus spells, or innate spells. No one can use more than one grimoire per day, nor can a grimoire be used by more than one person per day.

On the one hand, the section starts off talking about spellbooks. On the other hand, it says that a grimoire can be used by a cleric. To me, this reads like only a caster with a Spellbook can put a spell into a grimoire, but that anyone who prepares spells can study the grimoire during their daily preparation to gain its benefit. Am I missing something? Is that intended?

It's unclear what the Gunner's Saddle does. It includes the following line:

"Just like a normal tripod, you Interact to deploy the tripod to stabilize the firearm, and then again to retract the tripod to move it."

Does that mean:

A) Once it is deployed, you cannot move the tripod from the square in which it was deployed unless you take an interact action to retract it. Meaning that the Mount could not move to another square unless you take the Interact action to retract the tripod.

B) Once it is deployed, you cannot move the tripod from the square in which it was deployed unless you take an Interact action to retract it, but the Mount can move to another square, leaving the tripod (and potentiay the gun) where it was deployed.

C) Once it is deployed, you cannot move the gun separate from the tripod unless you take an Interact action, but the mount can move to another square, bringing the deployed tripod along with it, and you don't need to spend an Interact action to either retract the tripod or deploy it in the new square.

Random thought without any math behind it, but what if guns caused bleed damage on a normal hit instead of getting fatal on a crit? Right now, they seem extremely swingy and gunslinger feels like a crit-fishing class. But if guns caused bleed damage, that could simulate the ball dealing internal damage. Suddenly the 1d6 you’re doing with a musket becomes 1d6 plus 1d4 bleed (or whatever). A crit doubles the bleed to 2d4. So a crit is still doing a lot, but doesn’t spike the damage quite so much, and a normal hit is slightly buffed. There could also be other options, like still getting fatal (maybe at a lower die than now) but not doubling the bleed.

There are obvious drawbacks to this for shooting things that don’t bleed.

As the clock winds down for spending any Fame that we acquired before it was removed, I've run into some questions about how to do so. I know that I just record the purchases on my chronicle. Questions are:

What requirements do I use for the Tiers? Tier 3 previously required 50 Reputation, and Tier 4 required 90. Now, 50 reputation would still be "liked" and 90 would be "admired."

If I use the new categories, how does that affect the All -Factions Boons?

Do I use my current Reputation or my Reputation at the time that the Season 2 guide was released? Meaning I have a character who had 80-ish reputation when the guide released, but is now over 90. Can he purchase a Master Hireling (if he has enough fame from before Paizocon)?

If I purchase a Hireling with Fame now, can I upgrade the Hireling with Achievement Points later? Or will the system reject the purchase if I haven't already purchased a Hireling Boon through the Achievement Point system?

And I'm unlikely to want to do this, but if I purchase a boon that requires completing additional tasks (like Off-hours Study), can I complete those after Dec 31st as long as I have purchased the boon before then?

Thanks.

I'm building out a couple of different versions of a Magus, and I'm struggling a little with cantrip selection. It seems very beneficial to a Magus to be able to choose damage type, but to do that with cantrips means taking Acid Splash, Electric Arc, Produce Flame, and Ray of Frost. But Telekinetic Projectile does the most damage.

So do you just load up on 5 damaging cantrips? Or do you take shield? Daze for Mental damage or Chill Touch for Negative Energy? Detect Magic/Read Aura for utility?

Or do you take fewer attack cantrips, say Electric Arc, Ray of Frost (for something with a good range), and Telekinetic Projectile?

Is Cantrip Expansion another required feat for the Magus to have any utility casting?

At 1st level in particular, it feels like I'm either going to need to use cantrips or just ignore casting offensive spells most of the time.

I've been trying to figure out what happens with Home Region and Languages in Guide 2.0, and if the changes are intentional. Home Region says this:

This is also the stage at which you should choose your character’s home region (Core Rulebook 420-429), and in the case of human characters, your ethnicity. (Core Rulebook 430-431). Home regions fulfill access requirements and prerequisites for character options. See Rarity for more information.

Looking at pages 420-429, the only regions included in that are the 10 regions of the Inner-Sea, which does not include Tian-Xia, Vudra, etc. Is it no longer legal to have a character from Tian-Xia?

The Tian ethnicity is listed, so presumably you could be Tian and be from somewhere other than Tian-Xia (or be from Tian-Xia originally), but it doesn't look like you can select anywhere in Tian-Xia as your Home Region anymore.

On languages, the Guide says:

All Pathfinder Society characters are literate and speak Common (Taldan) as well as any other languages granted by their ancestry. Regional languages (Core Rulebook 432) are uncommon and require access.

So languages that were previously widely available are now Uncommon and require access. That means that, for example, my Dwarf, who is from the Saga Lands (Varisia), can't select Tien as a bonus language, which he took when he raised his INT to 14 at 5th level, because he had traveled to Tian-Xia in Lost on the Spirit Road.

According to the chart on page 432, the only locations that have Tien available to them are "Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Realm of the Mammoth Lords, Tian Xia"

Similarly, Varisian is only available to, "Brevoy, the Gravelands, Nidal, Nirmathas, Ustalav, Varisia."

Shoanti is only "Hold of Belkzen, Varisia."

And so on for the other languages, which are all limited to very specific places. Ethnicity might also open the language up, though some of those are listed in the World Guide, not the pages referenced in the core rulebook, so if you're Tian from the Mwangi Expanse, you can select Tien as a bonus language. It's possible that being available to one nation within a region means that it's also available to the entire region, but that is not the way that the rule reads right now.

Humans also no longer appear to get their ethnic languages for free, meaning that they need to use their 1 free bonus language to select either their regional language or their ethnic language, and they can only start with both if they have a 12+ INT and use one of those bonus languages (and have a home region with access). I expect this to become even more problematic when an equivalent to the Dragon Empires Gazetteer is released, and Tian-Min, for example, will have to choose between Tien and Minkaien.

And finally, of particular note and interest, Absalom is not listed anywhere on the chart on page 432. So if a character is from Absalom, it's not clear that they can select any human languages other than their ethnic language with their bonus language.

I suspect, for example, there might be a lot of characters who speak Osiriani who no longer have access to it, since it now requires being from "Geb, Katapesh, Mana Wastes, Nex, Osirion, Rahadoum, Thuvia" which rules out the Acadamae in Korvosa or any other academic themed character from any other part of Golarion (who is not Osiriani by ethnicity).

Was all of this intentional? And if so, what do we do with the language we no longer have access to?

Does anyone know how the Staff Nexus Makeshift Staff works for PFS? Normally I understand that you can't upgrade items into other items. However, the ability says:

You begin play with a makeshift staff of your own invention. It contains one cantrip and one 1st-level spell, both from your spellbook, but it gains no charges normally during your preparations; you must expend a spell slot to grant it charges in the same way you would add additional charges to a normal staff. You can Craft your makeshift staff into any other type of staff for the new staff's usual cost, adding the two spells you originally chose to the staff you Craft.

So clearly it's meant that you can upgrade it at least once. But with the way the levels work on staves, if you get a Staff of Evocation, you're eventually going to want a Staff of Evocation (Greater). It would stink to have to then give up your benefit from your Arcane Thesis if you can't upgrade the staff again.

There are four possibilities I can see:

1) You can't upgrade it at all (effectively making Staff Nexus worthless).
2) You can upgrade it once, but not beyond that.
3) You can upgrade it more than once, paying the difference between the two items.
4) You can upgrade it more than once, but you have to pay/craft full price each time.

If it's number 4, there's also the question of whether you could go Makeshift Staff->Staff of Fire->Staff of Evocation->Staff of Evocation (Greater) if you are paying full price each time. Effectively you'd have bought all three staves without being able to sell any of them. It's just a question of keeping your extra cantrip and 1st level spell in the staff. EDIT: And being able to use your ability to expend extra spells to charge it farther.

I didn’t have a chance to listen to all of the presentations from Paizocon, so I don’t know if this was covered.

I’d like to submit a request that PFS keep the 0 cost rebuild boon available until some pre-determined time after the APG is sanctioned. Right now, there are a lot of people looking at the list of things contained in the APG and wanting to see what they are to potentially use them with their characters. There’s also been a little bit of a sentiment that the rebuild boons might go away with Year 2, or might go away when the ACP system is fully released.

The issue right now is that we don’t know when any of these things are going to happen. The APG is going to release at the end of July, but there’s no guarantee when it will be sanctioned. If the rebuild boon ends with GenCon Online, then it wouldn’t be able to be used with the APG, even if there are a few days after the books releases while the boon is still available.

If, however, PFS can tell us that the rebuild will be available for at least X amount of time after the APG is sanctioned (a week, month, whatever makes sense), that would do a lot of things. It would put people at ease who are worried they might not be able to use the options from the APG with the rebuild boon. It would also let us know that APG would be the last book guaranteed to be covered by the rebuild, which also gives some clarity when looking at future releases.

Now, the new Society Guide is also on the schedule, so it might be that the rebuild is going to remain until that is released, which would also be great.

It’s the uncertainty around basically facing the possibility of the rebuild being removed with little notice, and sanctioning for the APG taking a while, and it would be great to have some confirmation whether or not we’ll be able to take advantage of those options on our characters without spending a bunch of downtime.

I've got a shiny new Kobold boon for PFS, and I'm working on a Sniper concept. I'm aware that it's not entirely clear which options are legal for a Kobold to take using the current boon. For now, let's assume it opens up the same options as the Gencon Kobold boon did. The goal here is to have a character that can snipe constantly in order to get sneak attack damage, even while observed.

Kobold Slayer 11

STR 6 (-4 racial) DEX 21 (+2 racial, +1 4th, 8th) CON 12 (-2 racial) INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 10

1) Skill Focus (Stealth)
2) RCS: Precise Shot
3) Kobold Sniper (Sets sniping penalty at -10)
4) RCS: Rapid Shot
5) Expert Sniper (reduces sniping penalty by 10)
6) RCS: Improved Precise Shot
7) Hellcat Stealth
8) CT: Master Sniper
9) Deadly Aim
10) Assassinate or Evasion
11) Accomplished Sneak Attacker

Alternate Racial Trait: Spellcaster Sneak (important part is +2 stealth)

Traits: Reactionary, Child of the Moon (Variable +1 to +4 stealth dependent on phase of the moon)

Important Items: belled catsuit (+2 circumstance stealth), shinobi shozuko (+2 circumstance stealth), +1 Shadow (+5 competence stealth) Haramaki (eventually Improved (+10) then Greater (+15) Shadow), wand of mage armor, prowler's palliative (expendable), +2 longbow, sniper's goggles, ring of the faithful dead

Feats and slayer talents through 8th level are pretty much set in order to realize sniping with no penalty to stealth and getting 2 shots, and Hellcat Stealth to be able to hide while observed and without concealment at a -10 stealth.

Feats and Slayer Talents from 9 on could be swapped for something, if there are better options.

At 8th level, where the build comes fully online, it looks like this against my Studied Target:

Stealth +8 [ranks] +3 [class skill] +4 [size] +2 [racial] +3 [skill focus] +2 [catsuit circumstance] +2 [shinobi shozuko circumstance] +5 [shadow competence] +2 [studied target] +1 [trait]

Total: +32 or +22 using Hellcat Stealth

Attacks: +8 [BAB] +5 [dex] +2 [enhancement] +2 [studied] -2 [rapid shot] +1 [size]

+16/+16 (1d6+4+2d6) against flat-footed AC

At 11th, those numbers are: +39 stealth (+29 hellcat stealth) +17/+17 (1d6+11+4d6) including deadly aim and accomplished sneak attacker

That's not including stat boosting items or other sources of bonuses to-hit. The damage feels a little low, mainly due to never getting a stat bonus to damage and Slayer's slower sneak attack progression.

Any suggestions to improve on this? Obvious bonuses to stealth that I'm missing? Or anything to improve damage?

Ok, I've been wanting to use a few different options for a while, so I just combined them on one build.

I wish there were more room to make use of Advanced Weapon Training options, but two is pretty good. Obvious weaknesses are Will saves and Skills. Hardy from Dwarf helps some with the saves. I'm bummed Weapon Master gives up Bravery, as Armed Bravery is really nice.

Anything fun I'm missing?

At 8th level, the shields will be doing 1d8. At 10th that'll be 1d10, on par with wielding two Dwarven Waraxes, but without the extra penalties for TWF. At 11th, I'll take no penalty for TWF.

I'm at a crucial point of a complicated Whip wielding Warpriest build, so I'm looking for advice on the next level choice. He's a Crusader's Flurry whip build working towards Difficult Swings to maximize AoOs. Currently he's Unchained Monk 1/Warpriest 4 with no archetypes. I'd taken Slashing Grace with his Warpriest 3rd level bonus feat so that I could get Dex to Damage until I can afford/have the fame for an Agile whip. Since Slashing Grace doesn't work with flurry, I'll eventually retrain that.

The question is, what to do once I hit 6th level. The currently planned build looks like this.

I'll hit enough fame/gold at 5.2 to buy an Agile whip assuming I get full prestige in the next 2 scenarios, or at 6 if I play a module.

I need a +5 BAB to take Improved Whip Mastery and Martial Focus without them being a Warpriest Bonus Feat.

The options I'm considering are:

1) as spec'd, take Lore Warden at 6. This gives me a bonus feat, which I can use on Improved Whip Mastery. A small benefit is that I get +2 skill ranks, but with a 7 INT, that effectively becomes +1 skill rank (2-2=0 min 1 plus human point =2. Or LW 2+2-2 = 2 + human bonus rank = 3, and 2 likely need to be in INT skills).

2) Take Unchained Monk at 6. Retrain Slashing Grace to Improved Whip Mastery. Gain Dodge as a UMonk Bonus Feat and Evasion. I wouldn't take Weapon Specialization until 11th with my level 9 Warpriest Bonus Feat.

3) Take Warpriest at level 6. Retrain Slashing Grace to Improved Whip Mastery. This moves some stuff around later in the build, but I think I can still take everything roughly at the same place except Weapon Specialization, which would move to the bonus feat at 10th (WP 9), and I likely wouldn't get Power Attack at all. BAB ends up at +8. I get 4th level spells, major blessings, and a 1d10 damage die. Dimensional Hop as the major blessing for Travel is nice.

Hmm... maybe option 3?

I've leveled my Pei Zin Practitioner to 2nd, so I need to settle on a few things before he's locked in. The general concept is that he is a third son of a Taldan noble family, and thus not in line for any inheritance/property or meaningful title. During the crusade in the Worldwound, he was enlisted as a combat medic and witnessed firsthand the horrors of war with a demonic horde. He believes that Dalenydra blessed him, and that's why he survived the campaign. He has embraced the mantle of The Blessed Attendant as he's followed Gloriana Morilla's guidance and joined the Pathfinder Society.

While he will be a pacifist, I know that word often triggers some strong feelings in PFS. I am aware of the need to contribute in combat, and I am definitely planning to have options. Also, Dalenydra's code allows for fighting if you're attacked. That being said, his melee/direct damage ability is going to be minimal. His main contributions will be healing (life link/channel/spells) and buffing, debuffing, and control spells. Because of the heavy casting focus, I would like to try to stay single classed, or at most a 1 or 2 level dip. Most Oradin builds seem to take more than 2 levels of Paladin, which hurts spell casting too much. A Medium dip is possible to pick up the Hierophant Seance bonus. But for now, worked up as single class.

Any help is appreciated. Especially around making a character that doesn't deal direct damage very much at all.

I'm trying to figure out how the Deinotherium's Sweep ability works in practice. The creature appears in AP #91: Battle of Bloodmarch Hill

A deinotherium can sweep a target with its downward-curving tusks and knock the victim to the ground. As part of a charge, a deinotherium can move up to twice its base speed in a straight line and make a gore attack at any point during its movement. If this attack is successful, the target is knocked prone and the deinotherium can deal damage with its trample attack before continuing its movement.

As a full-round action, a creature with the trample ability can attempt to overrun any creature that is at least one size category Smaller than itself. This works just like the overrun combat maneuver, but the trampling creature does not need to make a check, it merely has to move over opponents in its path. Targets of a trample take an amount of damage equal to the trampling creature’s slam damage + 1-1/2 times its Str modifier. Targets of a trample can make an attack of opportunity, but at a –4 penalty. If targets forgo an attack of opportunity, they can attempt to avoid the trampling creature and receive a Reflex save to take half damage. The save DC against a creature’s trample attack is 10 + 1/2 the creature’s HD + the creature’s Str modifier (the exact DC is given in the creature’s descriptive text). A trampling creature can only deal trampling damage to each target once per round, no matter how many times its movement takes it over a target creature.

Format: trample (2d6+9, DC 20); Location: Special Attacks.

1) Does the creature deal Gore damage when it makes the Gore attack? Or is that just for knocking the target prone?

2) Does the target get a reflex save or attack of opportunity like with a normal trample to halve the trample damage?

3) Can the creature deal trample damage even if the target is not at least one size smaller than the creature?

Now, the Deinotherium can also be an animal companion. And it has the belt [saddle] slot (in PFS, anyway). So it can be a mount.

While mounted and charging, you can move, strike at a foe, and then continue moving.

Prerequisites: Ride 1 rank, Mounted Combat.

Benefit: When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). Your total movement for the round can’t exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent that you attack.

4) If the rider has Ride by Attack, then can the rider also attack during the Sweep, since Sweep is performed "as part of a charge" and mounts and riders are both charging per the FAQ?

5) At what point does the rider attack? As soon as he is within reach?

6) If the trample damage as part of Sweep allows for an attack of opportunity from the target, does Ride by Attack prevent the Deinotherium from provoking (leaving the target with only the Reflex save option)?

Any other potential issues combining these two things? I'm going to lock the character in at 2nd level (PFS) soon, so I want to make sure I don't make choices that aren't going to function later.

I want to make a dapper, but tattered, ratfolk from Ustalav. I saw the Tatterdemalion archetype, and I love the flavor of it. So he has collected discarded items of fancy clothing (usually made for children) and dressed himself up to feel important.

This is an attempt to essentially make a 3/4 BAB, 6th-level caster Witch. Because I'm building it around the Tatterdemalion archetype, I can't just go Hexcrafter Magus, even though I know I could just take prehensile hair hex and have basically the same mechanics a lot easier.

I need a backup melee option for when I either don't have enough uses of prehensile hair, or don't have the round to spend activating it.

I'm trying to avoid the "standard" hexes, with the exception of Flight (Evil Eye, Misfortune, Fortune, Slumber, and Cackle), because I want to try new stuff, and I ran a witch through Reign of Winter.

I have never made a character with a 6 STR. I would feel better about it if Witch had ant haul on its list.

A more optimal patron (Strength, Devotion) could help boost attack, but actions are already going to be limited with having to activate the threads each fight, so buffing divine favor on top of that might not happen.

I just want to have fun with my raggedy rat-man. He doesn't have to be the most optimal. He just needs to stay relevant. And he'll still have spells and a decent DC from Int.

Ok, I'm trying to sort out a potential PFS character build. I've been wanting to try out a Goliath Druid for a while, and I've never actually made a character with an animal companion. I have a Spiritualist, and I have some familiars, but no animal companions. I was considering dipping Hunter for 3 levels instead for Hunter's Tactics, Animal Bond, and access to lead blades, but the need for so many feats has me thinking a single level of Dragoon will be best.

Also, I'm building a concept partially around a boon item. I won't say where the boon came from. Name of item is in the spoiler tag.

Starting at 8th when the Deino is large (or 7th if I enlarge person it), the idea would be to charge using Sweep and Ride by Attack. Deino sweeps the target, knocking it prone. I attack (not sure if I get the prone bonus or not on the initial charge). Deino tramples the target. Deino continues on to be 10 feet away on the other side. Wait for the target to stand and we both take attacks of opportunity.

Issues with this build:

- I lose 1 level of the animal companion, and I don't have a feat to spare on Boon Companion.
- I lose a level of spell casting.
- I don't gain access to lead blades. Though I can probably use a vibrant purple ioun stone to do so once a session. UMD is probably not going to happen for this character.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

I'm going to play my 14th level Human Abyssal Sorcerer for the first time in three years this weekend (in All for Immortality). I need to pick a single known 7th level spell. I'll get Greater Teleportation as a bloodline spell at 15th level.

Limited Wish?

Mostly, he's a generalist and fairly flexible as a caster. His CHA is only 24 (with a +6 headband), so save DCs aren't fantastic. But he has a Ring of Spell Knowledge IV, a Mnemonic Vestment, the Versatile Spontaneity feat, and a Blessed Book that I'm going to fill with lots of stuff. Plus several scrolls, including several Cleric spells (14 WIS) and a +25 UMD. All of which allows him to pull a lot off as needed.

Also interested in any newer lower level spells I should check out to put in the Blessed Book. Since he hasn't been played since October of 2014, a lot of new material has come out.

Current spells known are:

0 - Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Mage Hand, Message, Light, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Resistance

1 - Burning Hands, Cause Fear(B), Chill Touch*, Feather Fall, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Prot. from Evil*, Shield, Shocking Grasp, Snowball, Vanish

2 - Alter Self, Bull's Strength(B), False Life, Glitterdust, Scorching Ray, See Invisibility, Spectral Hand, Spider Climb

3 - Dispel Magic, Displacement, Fly, Haste, Rage(B), Summon Monster III, Slow

4 - Dimension Door, Dragon's Breath, Emergency Force Sphere, Enervation, Greater False Life, Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer, Stoneskin(B)

5 - Dismissal(B), Telekinesis, Wall of Force, Waves of Fatigue

6 - Cold Ice Strike, Flesh to Stone, Greater Dispel Magic, Transformation(B)

7- ????

* Page of Spell Knowledge, (B) Bloodline Spell

Feats - Combat Casting, Empower Spell(B), Eschew Materials(B), Great Fortitude(B), Improved Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Intensify Spell, Quicken Spell, Spell Penetration, Toughness, Versatile Spontaneity

He mostly blasts with Dragon's Breath and Snowball, sometimes Intensified, sometimes Quickened.

I’ve got a couple of Samsaran boons for PFS, and I’m trying to figure out what to make. I’ll probably eventually trade the second one, so I’d like to come up with something cool and fun for my one Samsaran character ever (in PFS, anyway). I’d also like to take advantage of Mystic Past Life.

Things I’m considering (but open to more):

I originally thought I’d make a Speaker for the Past Shaman as a kind of Timelord character (reincarnation standing in for regenerations). I could still see this being fun. I realized, though, that several races can already use their Shaman favored class bonus to pull spells off the Cleric list, and that made using the Samsaran feel less special.

Thassilonian Specialist (Sloth, most likely) - I have a boon to make one of these. I’m not sure how Mystic Past Life will interact with Thassilonian Specialist, though. Could I take a spell from am opposed school, for example to get mirror image? Or would I still not be able to actually prepare it? If I went this route, I’d take Acadamae Graduate and focus on summons.

Wizard (Teleportation school) - The alternative, also focusing on conjuring, but getting Shift. I’m not sure what Arcane spells would be worth grabbing. (Taking things lower level from Summoner is out).

Questioner Investigator - I’m about to retire my Investigator, and I really like the class. I know this Archetype has issues, but it’s an Arcane caster with the Bard spell list. That means there would be plenty of good options from the Wizard list to add. I could see this being kind of a Sherlock with magic. (EDIT: Or possibly Harry Dresden-esque).

Witch - someone locally is already using their boon for this, and I don’t want to step on their idea.

Mystic Theurge - See Witch. Don’t want to duplicate characters locally.

I’ve got two Maguses active, and I don’t really want to deal with an eidolon or a pet class where the pet outshines the character (Familiar is ok).

Any other ideas? Interesting Prestige class options?

How would the spell reloading hands interact with a Dragoon Pistol or Musket? Would it conjure/load a full Dragoon Cartridge?

Can a Gutbite Belt be enhanced in PFS? It’s a named item, but the description specifically says it can be upgraded as a weapon. If so, would you just pay the 2,000, 8,000, 18,000, etc. cost on top of the 4,500 base cost (fame allowing)?

Obvious follow-up question. Can it be made of special materials?

There was a similar thread about the Blades Belt a while back. It would be great to know how to handle these items and any others that contain similar wording.

With the Gloves of Improvised Might becoming PFS legal, I thought it might be interesting to put together a Juggler Bard who uses a series of improvised weapons, either thrown or melee. So far Im thinking of going with Ifrit, because I don’t have one, and also for the bonus to Dex and Cha. Feats I’m looking at are:

Catch Off-Guard
Deflect Arrows (bonus from Juggler)
Snatch Arrows (bonus from Juggler)
Throw Anything
Arcane Strike
Quick Draw
Two Weapon Fighting

What else would work well with the build?

The Gloves mention that they don’t work on normal weapons unless used with a weapon that mentions being used as an Improvised weapon (like Arrows in Melee). Does anyone know any other weapons that meet this criteria?

The other instance they can be used with a normal weapon is “if the user has an ability that allows the use of normal weapons as improvised weapons.” Does anyone know an ability feature that fits that criteria? I’d like to be able to quick draw things to throw, but still get the benefit of the Gloves.

An Alchemist dip is a possibility for Throw Anything and INT added to splash weapons.

Anyone got ideas?

Do Dhampir fangs get 1.5x STR if you don't have any other natural attacks?

On occasion, a dhampir may inherit his father’s lengthy canines. Whenever the dhampir makes a grapple combat maneuver check to damage an opponent, he can choose to bite his opponent, dealing 1d3 points of damage as if using a natural bite attack. As a standard action, the dhampir can bite a creature that is bound, helpless, paralyzed, or similarly unable to defend itself. This racial trait replaces the spell-like ability racial trait.

It's not a normal natural attack, because you can't make a normal attack with it. But when you can attack with it in a grapple, it says "as if using a natural bite attack." So it should get 1.5x STR, right? That would make it a little more useful.

Can you put weapon enhancements on a buckler?

Under normal circumstances, you cannot perform a shield bash with a buckler. You cannot put shield spikes on a buckler. Buckler does not appear in the weapon table.

However, the Upsetting Shield Style allows you to shield bash with a buckler. Also, in the rules for enhancing shields, it just says that you may enhance a shield separately as a weapon.

Could I make a +1 Cruel buckler, for example?

I'm aware of the Anaconda's Coils. I'm looking for another option, because I would like to use a different belt slot item, and because Anaconda's Coils aren't affordable until relatively late in a PFS career.

Assuming the race of the character cannot change (Dhampir), are there any other items, feats, spells (other than something that polymorphs him like Beast Shape), or 1 or 2 level class dips that can grant constrict?

Constrict is such a big part of the damage on a grapple build at the higher PFS levels (9+), that I don't want to give it up. But if an alternative way exists to get it, I might be willing to do that.

Does a level (any level) in the Emerald Spire satisfy the Scarab Sages Faction Card goal to:

Explore an ancient site during the course of an adventure. To qualify, the original occupants must have abandoned the site at least 1,000 years ago, and it must cover at least 2,500 square feet (a 50-ft.-by-50-ft. area).

Without spoiling any particular level, I know the spire as a whole is bigger than 50x50, but I'm not sure any individual level is. It's actually pretty tough to find a location in PFS that's bigger than 50x50, since most of the flip maps are smaller than that. So it either has to be a custom map, or use both sides of the flip map. Even the Bigger Dungeon map (used in a popular scenario) is only 27x39.

So, would one level (level 1, for example) count?

If so, then would each level count? Meaning if you play level 1 and 2, you can check off both boxes?

If not, would exploring two levels count for one checkbox, even though they are technically spread over two different chronicles?

Or does that goal just not apply, because no individual level is big enough?

Stalker Vigilantes can take a Rogue Talent in place of a Vigilante Talent. Can they take Combat Trick?

I ask, because the Vigilante Talent: Combat Skill also grants a bonus Combat Feat, but it is only available to Avengers. It does have the added bonus of counting Vigilante levels as Fighter levels.

I have a build that could benefit from an extra feat at 11th level (Vigilante level 8).

A quick search found nothing on the topic. I think the answer is yes, it just feels like it might be no.

This ability doubles the threat range of a weapon. Only piercing or slashing melee weapons can be keen. If you roll this special ability randomly for an inappropriate weapon, reroll. This benefit doesn’t stack with any other effects that expand the threat range of a weapon (such as the keen edge spell or the Improved Critical feat).

A whip is a one-handed slashing weapon. So it's eligible for keen, yes? I have a whip using Warpriest, and keen is on the list I can add with Sacred Weapon, so just trying to make sure I know my options.

I have Whip Mastery and Improved Whip Mastery planned. I can't use a Scorpion Whip, because my Deity's Favored Weapon is Whip, not Scorpion Whip, and I'm planning to use Crusader's Flurry.

This is for PFS, so it's not as simple as just discussing it with my GM.

I've got a PFS Unchained Monk/Warpriest whip using build, which is kind of a puzzle carefully put together. I have no idea what to take with my Warpriest 3rd level bonus feat. I did have that slotted as Weapon Specialization, taking a Fighter level before I got the feat to qualify as Fighter 4, but there's apparently a lot of disagreement about whether or not actual Fighter levels and Warpriest levels stack for qualifying for feats. Enough disagreement that I don't want to try doing that for PFS.

The character is currently 2nd level, about to hit 3rd, but once I start playing him again, I expect he'll get to 4th fairly quickly. 4th level is when I'll get my 3rd level WP bonus feat.

Here's the basic build.

The character is locked in at 5XP and has been played at 2nd level. So stat array can't change and levels 1 and 2 have been committed to.

My main goal with the build was to make a whip user with Crusader's Flurry. I didn't want to go dedicated trip build, because I already have a character that uses trip. The second priority is getting to Difficult Swings, which turns all of the terrain adjacent to me into difficult terrain whenever I full attack. Meaning enemies can't 5-foot step to get next to me and attack, and instead have to provoke.

Choices I've considered:

Wolf Style: This would have been great, but for PFS it's only legal for Skinwalker characters.
Slashing Grace: While this would give me DEX to damage sooner than Agile, it doesn't work with Flurry.

So I'm looking for a Combat feat that either combines well with other aspects of the character, or that improves damage output, since I can't take Power Attack or Piranha Strike.

Another option is to delay Whip Mastery until 4th level, which would allow me to take something other than a Combat feat at 3rd. I don't know if I want to put off using a whip for yet another level, though. He's basically been using Unarmed Strike for 2 levels, since his Whip doesn't do lethal yet.

Finally, if there's a better Fighter Archetype to dip than Lore Warden, I'm open to changing that. It's mostly there for the bonus feat and BAB to let me get to Difficult Swings faster. Most Fighter Archetypes don't get anything interesting at 1st level, and if they do, they usually swap their 1st level bonus feat for it. Lore Warden, even the new one, at least gets some extra class skills and skill points. Though I don't really have any skill points to continue to put into them, or the INT to make use of them.

I've been working on a Kinetic Knight build, and a question came up. I'm hoping to go TWF (kinetic blade and my shield), but the archetype also works best with heavy armor, so I'm trying to avoid the DEX prerequisite on TWF. I could dip two levels of Ranger or Slayer, but I found a combination that may allow me to stay single-classed.

The Kinetic Warrior ability of the Kinetic Knight says:

Kinetic Warrior (Ex): The kinetic knight can use her Constitution score in place of her Intelligence score when qualifying for combat feats. This ability counts as having Combat Expertise for the purpose of feat prerequisites.

So Kinetic Warrior means I can qualify to take Artful Dodge, because my CON will meet the INT 13 requirement. Artful Dodge reads:

Artful Dodge (Combat)

You are practiced at avoiding attacks when outnumbered.

Prerequisite(s): Int 13.

Benefit: If you are the only character threatening an opponent, you gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against that opponent.

Special: The Artful Dodge feat acts as the Dodge feat for the purpose of satisfying prerequisites that require Dodge.

You can use Intelligence, rather than Dexterity, for feats with a minimum Dexterity prerequisite.

That looks like it means I could use INT for the DEX requirement on TWF and then use my CON in place of INT to qualify using only CON, which will be well above the DEX 15 requirement.

The author of the Kinetic Knight Archetype said I should expect table variation HERE, and to talk to my local GMs. One of them has said he isn't sure, and to try the Rules forum. So here I am. This specific character is for PFS, but a general understanding of the interaction would be good regardless.

This thread is meant to be about the interaction of this class ability and this feat, not about the build in general or whether TWF is a good idea. Details on that are in the other thread. I'm just trying to figure out if this "double substitution" is legal, unknown, or if there's been something somewhere saying you can't do this type of thing, so I can take that into account when finalizing the build. Thanks in advance.

My Investigator just picked up 4th level extracts, and I'm having trouble deciding which ones to take. I'm short on gold, so just looking at the two free ones I get with the level for now. I can prepare 2 4th level extracts a day thanks to my INT.

Mainly, he's a Dex based Melee Investigator that's primary tactic is to turn into either a Charda or a Gargoyle (depending on whether he need flight or not) by way of Monstrous Physique. He runs quite a few 10 min/level buffs, so freedom of movement and stoneskin stand out.

He's also a Gnome, so freedom of movement may make sense from that aspect as well. His CMD is definitely a weakness. I picked up Boots of Escape not too long ago, though, so he can get out of one grapple/pinned situation.

Tail strike would give me a 6th natural attack in Charda form, but it's minutes/level and I already sometimes have to skip a buff or two if combat breaks out and I'm not expecting it.

Greater Invisibility would let me use my 1d6 sneak attack (from a dip into Sleepless Detective) more often, not to mention the miss chance. It's yet another thing to buff during combat, though.

Any thoughts? Favorite 4th level extracts? Must haves?

Is there a Bard Archetype that is particularly helpful with grappling? For role-play reasons, I'm looking at adding a level or two of Bard to a grappling character, but it would be great to find something in addition to Inspire Courage that would help the character's main tactic.

In anticipation of receiving a Ratfolk boon, I've been thinking about what to make with it. I have too many dex-based sneak attacking characters, so I want to do something different. Ratfolk have access to a Riding Rat animal companion from Monster Codex, which I thought would be cool to use. Riding Rats have a climb speed, and I thought that might also be something fun to take advantage of. That brought me to Spellscar Drifter. I haven't played a gun-using character in PFS. I've also not played a Cavalier or anything with an animal companion. So I have this image of a rat folk, riding a rat up the wall, in a long coat, with guns strapped to him. I haven't found the details of the riding rat online, but in the book it's size medium with a 14 STR, so plenty big enough to carry a ratfolk.

Spellscar Drifter doesn't give much interesting after 7th level, other than more Challenges and increased Challenge damage. So I was thinking about a dip into Mysterious Stranger. But that doesn't get me a whole lot, either, other than the increased grit, limited Charisma to damage, and a bonus to Will saves if I take a second level (that doesn't stack with Lucky Horseshoe). Weapon Master Fighter, on the other hand, gets me a ton of feats, Weapon Training with 3 levels, access to the Advanced Weapon Training Feat, and access to Weapon Specialization with four levels. Also, I could get away with a much lower Charisma (maybe 10 or 12).

Here's the basic structure of the build:

As I don't see sending the rat into combat often, I didn't prioritize Boon Companion. I'm also not sure how important Mounted Combat or Mounted Archery are. I've also never built an animal companion, so I haven't even thought about that yet.

Nothing is definite. Any suggestions are welcome.

Ok, I recently got a Dhampir boon for PFS, and I'm trying to figure out something flavorful and fun to do with it.

Vigilante seems interesting, because of the (admittedly not very useful in PFS) Social Talent Guise of Life. There aren't a lot of great Social Talents that aren't reliant on Renown, so I figure I can spend one for flavor and not lose much.

I toyed around with a Zealot or Zealot/Inquisitor build, but I never came up with something that I liked. Zealot trades away too much for spell casting, and I already have three divine casting melee characters with Fate's Favored who start every combat with Divine Favor. So I'm scrapping that idea.

Enter the Hangman Vigilante Archetype. Now, I've got a human nobleman by day, noose wielding vampire-kin by night who drops the noose over his opponents' necks, drags them close, and bites them with his fangs. The idea would be to fashion a whip into a noose (so I can enchant it, etc.) as per the Hangman's Noose ability. Take a couple/three of levels of Strangler Brawler for Strangle, Martial Flexibility, Maneuver Training, and BAB. Then Pin my opponent as quickly as possible so they are denied dex and use my fangs to deal lethal damage plus Strangle sneak attack damage, plus Hidden Strike damage.

I used a good bit of the information in THIS THREAD by the infamous Bruno Breakbone. But I do have some questions about things he includes there.

I'd like to play this character from 1st level. Possibly slow track.

Here is what I have so far:

So, lots of questions...

Does everything here work? Does Power Attack apply to constrict damage? Do I take the Power Attack penalty on the grapple checks (assuming this is yes).

I won't have that swift action grapple check from Rapid Grappler for most of my career. That will bring average damage way down.

Strangler feat is worthless on a Strangler Brawler, correct? Unless I'm getting sneak attack damage from somewhere else? And Hidden Strike does not count as Sneak Attack.

Does Accomplished Sneak Attacker work with the Strangler Brawler ability? Guessing not, because it's not called Sneak Attack (even though it grants Sneak Attack dice).

Worth it to take Snakebite Striker with Strangler to get an actual 1d6 Sneak Attack (bumped to 2d6 at some point with Accomplished Sneak Attacker)? I would lose a +1 to grapple from maneuver training, and Martial Flexibility, but would gain the ability to feint as part of a standard move. Seems like a lot to give up for the extra damage.

Best Amulet of Mighty Fists for this build?

Bodywrap of Mighty Strikes for +1 to-hit/damage? The to-hit wouldn't apply to the whip, but damage would apply to my bite. The limited attacks wouldn't be an issue until 11th, when I get Rapid Grappler. Before that, I wouldn't be making more grapple checks per round than my iteratives.

Wasn't there an errata or clarification in PFS that made Final Embrace stop being a player option, even with Anaconda's coils? Maybe the Ultimate Equipment errata?

Snapping Turtle feats the best option, or something else?

Would Lethal Grace work in combination with the damage from a grapple check, if I'm using Weapon Finesse with the whip or Agile Maneuvers?

I'll keep some kind of big 2-handed martial weapon around in case of things that are immune to sneak attack.

I realize healing will be an issue. I'm planning to max UMD and keep Inflict wands/scrolls/potions around. There's also the Life Channel spell I could use from a scroll or wand. If I make it to 20 fame, I've got a Debt to the Society boon I can put on him if he ends up low on prestige.

I've got a +2 stat boon that I would consider using on this character, though I was planning to reserve it for boosting a caster's Int/Wis/Cha at some point.

Thanks.

EDITED: To remove Primalist

I'm working up a new character for PFS, and I'm looking for advice. I've never played a Bloodrager (or Barbarian, for that matter) before.

I'm fairly settled on the race for the character. I have a Nagaji UMonk who is in Liberty's Edge and now at Seeker levels, so the idea is that this is one of the Nagaji that he convinced to join the society and Liberty's Edge. But where the Monk is controlled and deliberate, the Bloodrager is wild and unpredictable.

Here's the working build so far.

I can't figure out what's a better combination among Fey Foundling, Raging Vitality, and Toughness, or if I should keep all three. The theory is that if I ever go negative, Raging Vitality will keep me conscious (and thus alive) and I can use Spell Eater for some quick healing, boosted by Fey Foundling. Fey Foundling will also make recovering all those lost hit points I'm going to have a little easier/cheaper. Fey Foundling also would work into backstory and help explain having the Chillblight Emissary trait.

I might prefer to fight with a Tetsubo for flavor, if it wasn't an exotic weapon. I don't want to spend a feat to pick up the proficiency, so it would mean using something else until I can buy the cracked Ioun stone to get familiarity with it. I'll probably carry a tri-point double-edged sword for a reach weapon.

I tried to work Arcane Strike in, but would have to lose one of Fey Foundling, Raging Vitality, or Toughness. I'm not really using my swift actions, though, except for emergency healing. Another thought was to take Lesser Elemental Rage to add 1d6 energy damage for the round as a swift. 3.5 avg starting at 4th or 8th vs 2 starting at around 7th, up to 3 at 10th. The elemental damage is subject to resistances and the Arcane Strike damage multiples on a crit. There's also the possibility of taking both and finding a way to fit Blooded Arcane Strike in, but then I'd have to free up 2 feats instead of just 1.

How important is Charisma? I know I'll only every need a 14 (13 really) for spell casting, but I usually like to at least keep my casting stat to where I get the bonus spell for the highest level I can cast. So I set it up to get to 16 well before I hit 10th level. It also helps Steadfast Personality. Bloodrager spells per day are incredibly low. None of my Bloodline abilities rely on Charisma, even if I don't swap them out, and I doubt I'll be casting many spells that allow a saving throw.

Any help is appreciated.

The Zealot Vigilante can select several options as Vigilante Talents that are tied to negative or positive energy or affecting good/evil creatures. Channel Energy, Empower Symbol, and Zealot Smite. A Neutral Zealot of a Neutral Deity gets to choose whether to channel positive or negative energy, whether to create a consecrate or desecrate effect, or whether to smite evil, good, law, or chaos. Each ability states that the Zealot must make the choice when taking the ability, and that it can never be changed.

Normally, when a class has an option like this, they are making the choice once when they first take a level in that class (cleric, oracle, warpriest).

Can a N Zealot of a N Deity have Channel Negative Energy AND Smite Evil? Since they could select Smite Law or Smite Chaos, and neither of those have a counterpart in their Channel Energy talent, it would seem that the answer is yes, because the choice for each talent is independent of the other talents. I just want to make sure I'm reading it right.

I'm potentially working on a Dhampir Vigilante, and I'm wondering if I went Zealot if I could do this, so that I can heal myself channeling negative energy (or channel it to harm), but still pick up Smite Evil for battling evil enemies.

Thanks.

I have a 1 level dip into Occultist on my Magus, and I realized tonight I might be cheating myself out of a focus power.

At 1st level, an occultist learns the base focus power from both of his two implement schools (see Implements below) and can select one more focus power from the list of those available to him through those schools.

Each time the occultist invests mental focus into a divination implement, the implement grants the following resonant power. The implement's bearer gains the benefits of this power until the occultist refreshes his focus.

I have the Divination and Transmutation implements. So if I'm reading all of that right, with 1 level of Occultist and 6 Mental Focus, if I put 2 MF into Divination and 4 into Transmutation, I'll have 5 total Focus Powers:

Divination:
Resonant Power: Third Eye
Base Focus Power: Sudden Insight

Transmutation:
Resonant Power: Physical Enhancement
Base Focus Power: Legacy Weapon

And I still get to choose 1 addition focus power from either Divination or Transmutation, like Sudden Speed?

It's that last power I wasn't including.

Occultist really is a phenomenal dip. It costs a BAB and slows down spell and class ability progression, but you sure do get a lot in return.

Yes, yet another Unchained Rogue wielding an Elven Branched Spear. I know there are a few threads, but there have been several books with useful feats released since the last one. I actually haven't yet seen this build in play locally or online, so I'm going to go ahead and jump in and make one.

The base build I'm looking at is:

I could also go with an Elf variation:

And, I could dip Brawler.

Brawler at 1, rest Unchained Rogue

Standard Brawler: Martial Flexibility 4/day, Brawler's Cunning, Martial Training, Improved Unarmed Strike (1d6)

Snakebite Striker: Replace Martial Flexibility with +1d6 Sneak Attack

Mutagenic Mauler: Replace Martial Flexibility with Mutagen (+4 DEX, -2 WIS)

I like Brawler dips for Martial Flexibility. If nothing else, it's an encounter definable Dedicated Adversary, and a +2 hit/+2 dmg is a big deal for a Rogue. Brawler's Cunning also let's me dump Int instead of Cha, which does mean fewer skill points, but it frees up a trait I'd have had devoted to making Diplomacy viable, and it lets me bump my Wisdom to 13 to help with abysmal Will saves. The dip does set Sneak Attack progression back 1 level, as well as Dex to damage.

I was leaving Combat Reflexes until late in the build, just before I'm able to pick up Opportunist and really make use of it. But I could bring it forward if I find myself missing out on AoO chances.

Any advice is appreciated.

I'm trying to make sense of the PFS archetype rules for Unchained classes. Up until this point, I've only played an Unchained Monk, so archetypes weren't a concern.

Specifically, can you have an Unchained Mad Dog Barbarian? Mad Dog delays rage until 4th level, then gets it at -3 effective levels. here's what I understand the rule for PFS to be:

"The unchained barbarian qualifies for any archetype that does not modify how the rage class feature operates (such as the urban barbarian archetype), and she is limited to any barbarian rage power that appears in Chapter 1 (including the rage powers on page 13)"

Does Mad Dog Barbarian "modify how the rage class feature operates?" Or is it a legal archetype in PFS for an Unchained Barbarian?

I have a Kapenia Dancer 6/Occultist 1 for PFS. I'm trying to decide on a magic item for the little used Chest slot. Mainly, I'm trying to decide whether the Quickrunner's Shirt (Gain a Move action by using a Swift action) or the Corset of Delicate Moves (Gain a Swift action by using a Move action) is better for my build. Both are 1/day items. Or, is there another item I should be looking at?

Here is my build at this point:

As a Wand Wielder, one of the biggest issues I run into is having out a Wand I use a lot, like Blade Lash, but needing to cast a different spell or use a different wand. There's no good way in the game (that I'm aware of) to store a wand quickly. So, I end up dropping them. Now that I have the Brownie following me around, he can pick them up and even use them with a decent UMD. Eventually the Faerie Dragon will serve the same roll, just much more effectively.

Things I use swift actions for:
- Activate Arcane Pool to Enhance my weapon.
- Retrieve a Wand from a Spring-loaded Wrist Sheath
- Recover an expended spell using Spell Recall.
- Activate the Elasticity Arcana to give my Bladed Scarf reach until my next turn.
- Activate Sudden Insight for a +1 on a single Ability roll, Attack roll, or Skill roll
- Eventual additional Magus Arcana? Accurate Strike is likely for Magus level 9/Character level 10.

Things I use move actions for:
- Move up to be able to attack. (full-attack if it's an extra move action)
- Put a Wand away.
- Pick a Wand up off the ground.

I'm sure there are lots of useful things I'm missing from the Move action list.

I know that I'm probably one of three people this directly affects in PFS, but I figured I'd add it to the list just in case.

The Kapenia Dancer Magus Archetype from Varisia, Birthplace of Legends says that "A Kapenia Dancer is not proficient with armor or shields and suffers the normal arcane spell failure chance when casting magus spells while armored." The archetype does not, however, say that anything replaces the Medium Armor and Heavy Armor abilities that a normal Magus receives at 7th and 13th levels.

The Kensai Magus Archetype has similar language in the Weapon and Armor Proficiencies class ability. At 7th level, Kensai replaces the Medium Armor class feature with Iaijutsu, and at 13th it replaces Heavy Armor with Iaijutsu Force.

Kensai would seem to imply that losing light armor proficiency at 1st level does not automatically remove the medium armor and heavy armor abilities gained at 7th level.

So I'm looking for clarification about what happens with those abilities for a Kapenia Dancer. Here are the options I can see as interpretations within the rules:

1. Kapenia Dancer loses those abilities along with their light armor proficiency.

2. Kapenia Dancer retains those abilities, gaining them at 7th and 13th like normal.

3. Kapenia Dancer instead gains light armor proficiency in place of medium armor at 7th, and medium armor in place of heavy armor at 13th. This is supported by the FAQ that says if something replaces the first instance of an ability like Weapon Training, then when you receive Weapon Training 2, you get the benefit of Weapon Training 1 instead.

I'd be happy with any clarification. As is, the Kapenia Dancer is either significantly weaker than Kensai (which is appears to be based on), or it receives two abilities that directly conflict with Canny Defense, because the Kapenia Dancer can only gain that benefit while wearing no or light armor.

So option 3 would obviously be the one that would most benefit the class. Writing a whole new ability to replace them seems like too much of an overreach. Option 3 would at least make the archetype a little more workable, and might encourage more people to use what I've found to be a flavorful, Golarion based archetype.

Option 2 would still be a boost, as technically you could wear a Mithral Breastplate. The class ability grants medium armor proficiency and removes the arcane spell failure chance, but Mithral armor would count as light armor for Canny Defense. I think there's a good argument for this being the most likely way it works without clarification, given the wording in Kensai and that the medium and heavy armor abilities are separately replaced there.

I'm going to keep playing the archetype regardless. Right now I wear a haramaki in case I'm surprised and UMD a wand of mage armor. I turn 7th in two levels, though, so being able to wear a chain shirt (or a Mithral breastplate) would be a huge benefit.

This has been discussed in the rules forum HERE and very briefly HERE. Since it's in the player companion line, it's unlikely to ever receive an FAQ.

Thanks for reading this far. I know this isn't a pressing issue. Possibly not for anyone other than me. But it seems like the type of thing the Campaign Clarifications could address, and it would help fix the archetype.

I'm trying to figure out exactly how this spell works.

1) The description says that the Motes can increase or decrease the illumination level by up to two categories. Does that mean that you can choose to have them only change the illumination by one category if you want? So Normal Light would go to Dim Light instead of Darkness, for example?

2) The description says the motes must stay within a 10 foot radius of one another. Do all four motes need to be within 10 feet of every other mote?

3) What happens where they overlap? Say you have 1 mote that is lowering the illumination by 2 steps and 1 mote that is raising the illumination by 1 step. Is the illumination lowered by 1 step where they overlap?

For a specific situation, I'm trying to create as small of an area of dim light as possible (ideally a single square covering my character, but a 5 foot radius would be ok), and trying to figure out if that can be accomplished by overlapping these motes. I can't quite wrap my head around the placement, but depending on the answer to those questions, I think it's possible using 3D space if I have enough height in the room or am outside.

I'm finally getting back around to playing my PFS Brawler. He's going to hit 3rd level this weekend, and I'm trying to plan out his feats. I was going to take Hurtful at 3rd, but that's no longer PFS legal. I'll likely now take Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike). I'm wondering if there's any advantage to taking Martial Focus at 5th. That would open up Weapon Mastery feats like Weapon Style Mastery and Retributive Kick.

The build/plan looks something like this.

Instead of Weapon Specialization at 5, I could take Martial Focus with my bonus feat. I could then take a Weapon Mastery feat with my regular 5th level feat. I'd get +1 to damage instead of +2 from Specialization.

Does Retributive Kick work if the original full-attack is with unarmed strikes? If so, that would basically give me a free reroll on my last attack every round.

Or I could take Outslug Style then Pummeling Style and work toward Weapon Style Mastery. That progression would look something like this:

1) Enforcer
B) Improved Unarmed Strike
B2) Power Attack
3) Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
5) Weapon Specialization (Unarmed Strike)
B5) Martial Focus (Close)
7) Outslug Style
B8) Pummeling Style
9) Weapon Style Mastery
11) Pummeling Charge
B11) Greater Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)

There are lots of ways I could swap the order of feats around. If I want to prioritize Pummeling Charge, for example, I could move Pummeling Style to 7, Pummeling Charge to 8, Outslug Style to 9, and Weapon Style Mastery to 11.

I feel like I might use Outslug Style more consistently, though. With the progression above, at 7th, I'd be able to pick up Outslug Weave and Lunge with Martial Flexibility, or I'd be able to pick up Pummeling Charge and Greater Weapon Focus with Martial Flexibility at 8th, though the action economy on that isn't great. Even if I use a move action and grab two feats, so I'll have a swift to enter Pummeling Style, I wouldn't be able to charge that same round.

Anyway, I'm a little overwhelmed with all of the new options. I think Weapon Focus is my level 3 feat regardless.

I just want to doublecheck, because the retraining rules confuse me sometimes. I have a sword and board fighter with the Armor Master archetype who uses the Bodyguard feat. I've been underwhelmed with the amount of damage he deals, so I want to retrain him into a regular (no archetype) fighter. that way I'll get Weapon Training next level. He's currently 4th. Armor Master has swapped Bravery out for Deflective Shield.

So, this would cost me 5 prestige and 200gp, since I'm retraining out of one feature that the archetype granted?

If I decide I want a different archetype, then I would have to retrain again into that, correct?

Given the recent FAQ on Greater Feint, let me see if I understand how it would work in combination with Two-Weapon Feint.

Two-Weapon Feint lets you use your primary main-hand attack to make a Feint maneuver as part of a Full-Attack action. Greater Feint makes an opponent flat-footed against everyone until the start of your next turn. So the opponent would be flat-footed to the rest of your Full-Attack attacks, correct?

The Improved Two-Weapon Feint feat accomplishes that, but only for your attacks, not everyone else.

My ninja currently has Two-Weapon Feint and Improved Two-Weapon Feint. So I could potentially retrain a feat into Improved Feint, then retrain Improved Two-Weapon Feint to Greater Feint. The target would still be flat-footed to all of my off-hand and the rest of my main-hand attacks, including any ki or haste attacks, and would also be flat-footed against everyone else in the party and any attacks of opportunity I take before my next turn. I would lose the use of whatever feat I retrained to Improved Feint.

Does that sound accurate?

In my specific case, I would either retrain Dodge and Improved Two-Weapon Feint, or I would retrain Improved Two-Weapon Feint to Improved Feint and take Greater Feint with my 12th level Master Trick: Feat (Currently planned to be Twist Away). Since I can throw gold at AC, I think I'd rather have Twist Away than Dodge.

I'm looking for some clarity around the spell Memorize Page.

So, can a prepared caster, like a Wizard, prepare a spell that they have memorized with Memorize Page without their spell book?

Can an Arcanist prepare a spell that they have memorized with Memorize Page without their spell book? And can they use Quick Study to swap a prepared spell for one they have memorized with Memorize Page without having access to their spell book?

I'm looking for general advice. Which is better for a caster? A +1 effective Caster Level or a +1 Spell DC?

Specifically, I'm looking at Wayangs. With the release of Blood of Shadows, they now have the option to choose between the two for spells of the Shadow subschool.

The base Wayang gets:

The Alternate Racial Trait is:

Shadow Inheritor looks to apply to more spells, as it applies to anything with the Darkness descriptor as well. But I'm more concerned with which option is generally better. +1 CL or +1 DC.

Has anyone else downloaded the Roleplaying Guild Guide lately and had a problem with the character sheet at the end? The orange/yellow bar that appears at the bottom of the header on the normal page layout is showing up on the front of the character sheet for me. It cuts right across the logo just a little above the top line of the character sheet. I was going to print up some blank ones for a con this weekend, just in case, and noticed it. I ended up going back to the season 4 guide character sheet (most convenient one I could find on my hard drive).

I downloaded it twice to make sure and tried opening it in two different programs.

Another thread got me thinking about a Warpriest/Unchained Monk build and whether that could work out.

Here's what I've come up with so far. It's a work in progress.

Human Monk 1/Warpriest 10 of Moloch
Alignment LN

STR: 16 (+2 H, +1 8th) DEX: 14 CON: 12 INT: 10 WIS: 15 (+1 4th) CHA: 7

Traits: ???, Fate's Favored (+1 to all Luck Bonuses)

L1 UMonk 1: Power Attack, H) Phalanx Formation , B) Dodge, B) Stunning Fist, B) Improved Unarmed Strike, Flurry
L2 WP 1: B) EWP (Whip), B) Weapon Focus (Whip), Sacred Weapon (1d6), Law and War Blessings
L3 WP 2: Whip Mastery, Fervor
L4 WP 3: B) Combat Reflexes
L5 WP 4: Crusader’s Flurry, Channel Energy, Sacred Weapon +1
L6 WP 5: Fervor 2D6, Sacred Weapon (1d8)
L7 WP 6: Improved Whip Mastery, B) Weapon Specialization (Whip)
L8 WP 7: Sacred Armor +1
L9 WP 8: Lunge, Fervor 3D6, Sacred Weapon +2
L10 WP 9: B) Greater Weapon Focus (Whip)
L11 WP 10: Quicken Blessing (War), Major Blessings, Sacred Armor +2, Sacred Weapon (1d10)

So, I didn't want to make a trip build, but I thought the idea of Flurrying with a Whip was fun. I'm still working on his personality and why he's in the society. At the least, he'll likely be pretty intense.

A weakness is not being able to use armor. At Level 1, my AC would be 10+2DEX+2WIS+1Dodge=15. Much like a normal Monk, though, I'd carry a Wand of Mage Armor to hand off and some potions as a backup. So that boosts it to 19. At 4th, it goes to 20. Shield of Faith can help at lower levels, before I can afford a Ring of Protection and Amulet of Natural Armor. A Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier will eventually net me a +2 thanks to Fate's Favored. And there are tricks to be able to cast Shield a limited number of times. A Snakeskin Tunic or Ioun Stone for +2 DEX, Headband of Wisdom, and Monk's Robe would provide additional bonuses. So I feel like eventually I can get my AC above 30. Trickery Domain gives me a limited Mirror Image.

Offense is where this build is focused. I'd most likely start at level 2 thanks to GM credits, so I'd be able to power attack with a Whip from the start over an ally, though it would be non-lethal damage for 1 level. I'd have Unarmed Strike and Martial Weapons as a backup. At level 3, I'd be doing 1d6 lethal plus STR and Power Attack. If I understand the Whip correctly, while I can't get 1 1/2 STR when using two hands, I could still get 1 1/2 Power Attack.

5th level is when the build comes together. My Flurry with a Whip at 5th would look something like (Assuming +2 Str Belt and +1 Weapon):

To hit: +4BAB+5STR+1Magic+1Weapon Focus+2Divine Favor-2Power Attack = +11
Dmg: +5STR+1Magic+2Divine Favor+6Power Attack = +14

+11/+11 (1d6+14/1d6+14)

At 7th it would be:

+13/+13 (1d8+17/1d6+17)
I'd also threaten to 10 feet and be able to attack from 15 feet.

And at 11th (Assuming +4 Belt and +1 from Ioun Stone), it would be:
+20/+20/+15 (1d10+22, 1d10+22, 1d10+22)

War Blessing, when I have time to activate it, would give me another +1 to hit most rounds, or +2 to saves (+1 luck bonus + Fate's Favored).

Not amazing numbers, but good enough for PFS. Finding a way to cast Longarm would help the build. I'd also carry Potions of Enlarge Person.

Am I missing anything that would fit this build? Better feat choices? Is there a better option than Phalanx Formation? Is Lunge worth taking when I can already attack at 15 feet? Is there a Style chain that would work with Whip?

While a second level of Unchained Monk is tempting for another Bonus Feat (likely Combat Reflexes so I could take something else later) and Evasion, I'd lose the Major Blessings at 11th, the 1d10 damage, and 4th level spells.

Thoughts? I'd appreciate any advice.