My guess is, it's intended for swift actions to actually require a choice as far as when to use them. After all, if they just wanted you to be able to use the abilities whenever, they wouldn't take a once-per-round action. In addition, there are classes that hardly use swift actions at all, such as the Fighter and Rogue, and generally speaking they're considered weaker than other classes that fill similar roles. Giving them things to do with their swift actions helps level the playing field, since the classes that are generally considered "better" usually already use their swift actions (and in fact, that's one of the reasons those classes are usually considered better).
In other words, keep it as is. Resource management is part of the game.
Yeah, I absolutely detest the lesser trials as written. The ones that aren't dirt simple or GM fiat require either absurd luck or terribly disruptive amounts of metagaming.
The luck based ones are basically completely pointless when you have to declare your trials ahead of time. No one is going to go for "get 3 consecutive critical hits" when there are sane options available; the choice might as well not even exist. If trials didn't have to be declared ahead of time, these would be OK (if still generally requiring stupid amounts of luck) simply because you wouldn't be forced to choose between metagaming and a roll of the d10000.
The metagame ones are absolutely rage-inducing, though, and unfortunately they're the vast majority of the available trials. These require you to play in extremely stilted and unnatural ways with the express goal of fulfilling your trial quota at the expense of gameplay. School Display, for example, absolutely requires that the combat extend for 8 rounds and that the caster expends likely the entirety of their top two tiers of spells. This puts an enormous strain on the game because it essentially enforces the 5 minute work day. You're encouraging wizards to unload all of their strongest spells in the least efficient way possible (because they have to extend the combat to 8 rounds, which is bleeping HARD when you're tossing around max level spells), which is going to leave them basically neutered for the entire rest of the day.
School Display is hardly the only offender, either. Every single path has at least one that's as bad or worse.
And then there's the "Really? That's all I have to do?" choices. Boon Giver: cast bless on a party of at least 5 people including mounts and other cohorts, have everyone attack once, collect Trial. Wild Warrior: be a Druid while fighting any mythic monster, collect Trial. Simple Success: seriously, it doesn't even have to be a mythic encounter. Unexpected Strikes: get wizard to cast greater invisibility on you, collect Trial. Savant: put points into Knowledge skills, collect Trial. Blockade: find 5' hallway, collect Trial. Etc.
I don't see why Lesser Trials have to exist at all. Just give the GM the entirety of the keys to Mythic play. Let them decide when you advance a tier. They can already do that because of the Greater Trials; just remove the ugly busywork of Lesser Trials entirely.
Alternaly, redesign all of the Lesser Trials. Almost none of them feel right to me. There's a few that are close (Indestructible would be OK if you didn't have to pick it in advance and it didn't discourage taking fortification armor, for example), but I really don't think any of them hit the balance between being epic storytelling moments and epic gaming moments, and that's what they should be aiming for if they're to stay. You shouldn't have to sacrifice story for gameplay or vice versa just to advance your character.
So, based on William Senn's analysis, all fighters should actually carry a dragonbane bow.
Ehh, that's assuming that every creature of a given CR is an equally common encounter, which is a seriously flawed assumption (even if it is the assumption I went with for my analysis). In actual play, dragons are going to be pretty rare. I'd say an evil outsider bane bow would be more useful, because they're summonable and fairly common as foot soldiers as you go up in levels. Dragons aren't really summonable until you get to gate, and tend to be either the final boss or one of the final boss's primary agents, so don't get encountered without warning.
I'm feeling bored and a bit contrary, so I'm going to go through the monsters by CR for Bestiary 1 (since there is no monster by CR chart on the prd for the other two and I'm too lazy to do this without hyperlinks/bookmarks), starting at CR7, and find the proportion of monsters with flying and ranged attacks.
CR7:
aboleth, air elemental (huge), black dragon (young), black pudding, brass dragon (young), bulette, chimera, chuul, dire bear, dracolisk, drider, earth elemental (huge), elasmosaurus, elephant, fire elemental (huge), flesh golem, ghost, greater barghest, hill giant, invisible stalker, lillend, medusa, nymph, remorhaz, shadow demon, shaitan, spectre, stegosaurus, succubus, water elemental (huge)
30 creatures, 11 fliers. Of the 11 fliers, 7 1/2 (air elementals, dracolisks, non-ranged-class ghosts, invisible stalkers, lillends (with default gear), shadow demons, spectres, and succubi) aren't long-term threats outside of melee, having at best limited-use ranged options (or gazes with no other ranged options, which just means you look away until it attacks you in melee). 3.5/30 = 11.67% fliers that a solo Fighter without a ranged weapon will have trouble attacking.
CR8:
behir, copper dragon (young), dark naga, dire tiger, efreeti, erinyes, giant octopus, giant slug, gorgon, greater shadow, green dragon (young), intellect devourer, mohrg, nabasu, ogre mage, sphinx, stone giant, treant, triceratops
19 creatures, 8 fliers. Of the 8 fliers, 4 (greater shadow, nabasu, ogre mage, and sphinx) have to mix it up in melee at some point. 4/19 = 21.05%.
CR9:
air elemental (greater), blue dragon (young), bone devil, bronze dragon (young), dire crocodile, dire shark, dragon turtle, earth elemental (greater), fire elemental (greater), frost giant, giant squid, marid, mastodon, nessian warhound, night hag, roc, spirit naga, tyrannosaurus, vampire, vrock, water elemental (greater)
21 creatures, 7 fliers. Of those 7, 1 doesn't even always fly (vampires) and 4.75 (air elementals, bone devils, rocs, non-ranged-base but still flier-base vampires, and vrocks) need to attack in melee. 2.25/21 = 10.71%.
CR10:
bebilith, brachiosaurus, clay golem, couatl, fire giant, giant flytrap, guardian naga, rakshasa, red dragon (young), silver dragon (young), white dragon (adult)
11 creatures, 4 fliers. Of those 4, 1 (couatl) has to melee. 3/11 = 27.27%.
CR11:
air elemental (elder), barbed devil, black dragon (adult), brass dragon (adult), cauchemar, cloud giant, devourer, earth elemental (elder), fire elemental (elder), gold dragon (young), hezrou, retriever, stone golem, water elemental (elder)
14 creatures, 6 fliers. Of those 6, 2 (air elemental, cauchemar) have to melee. 4/14 = 28.57%.
6 creatures, 2.5 fliers (liches generally can't fly innately and non-arcane liches generally won't have an all-day combat flight spell). All 2.5 of them are suitably deadly at range, however. 2.5/6 = 41.67%.
CR13:
blue dragon (adult), bronze dragon (adult), froghemoth, ghaele, glabrezu, ice devil, iron golem, storm giant
8 creatures, 4 fliers (levitate doesn't allow lateral movement, so storm giants are out as you can just move out of their range). All 4 are non-melee threats. 4/8 = 50%, finally.
4 creatures, all fliers. Balors actually can't do much at range. 3/4 = 75%.
CR>20:
solar, tarrasque
2 creatures, 1 flier, said flier is a ranged beast. 50%.
-----------
Conclusions I draw from that? Dragons are bad for stupid Fighters that don't have any ranged options, friends who can make them fly, or money spent on ways to fly. If we remove dragons from the equation, there's very little that can actually kill the Fighter without engaging him in melee.
EDIT: Also, a huge portion of the fliers are good dragons and good outsiders, which are very rare to encounter as enemies unless you're playing an evil game, which is outside the default assumptions of the system.
Ignore the flavor text; it's obviously inverted from "move before and after an attack".
As for the rules text, it's much clearer when you add the missing commas: "Benefit: When flying, the creature can take a move action and another, standard, action at any point during the move."
I would require a Concentration check, as it makes sense that at least a *little* concentration is involved.
No, it doesn't. Breath weapons are Su abilities. Should a dragon be forced to make a Concentration check to breathe? Damage Reduction can be Su; should a golem be forced to make a Concentration check to reduce incoming damage?
Supernatural abilities are inherent and (super)natural to the creature that has them. They are, as a rule, as basic to the creature as walking or swinging a fist. They don't require any sort of verbal/somatic/material/focus components and do not require any concentration by rule (as a moment of concentration is what makes Stilled Silent spells and SLAs still provoke AOOs).
Legend lore is a 4th level spell for a bard, so a bard could indeed make a wand of legend lore, and a wizard or sorcerer (or anyone else with legend lore on their spell list, regardless of where that spell appears) could use that wand.
The key question of course is why bother? Bards are spontaneous casters who merely have to spend slots on doing so. Given that they can only craft wands for the spells they know, and what they know is so limited... why would a Bard take such a feat? And crafting such a wand with so limited utility isn't a cheap thing to do.
Technically yes it COULD be done. Practically however expecting to find a bard who both learned that spell and the feat would be like expecting to find a five leaf clover. Anyone who subscribes to any version of "Naturalism" would be hard pressed to explain the existence of such a wand.
The bard doesn't need the feat. Anyone (even an item) can supply the spell for magic item crafting; the spell does not have to be supplied by the same character that has the crafting feat. So a 3rd level wizard could hire a bard to cast legend lore for him as he crafts the wand. Of course, that'd be prohibitively expensive, but it would be entirely within the rules.
I mean that as long as the party's average wealth is within the general range of the WBL guidelines, you're fine. Don't try to apply it to each individual character; there's no way they're all going to have exactly the same amount of wealth. Also, at least in my experience, stuff like potions, wands, and scrolls are usually considered "party loot", which is difficult to track on an individual basis for obvious reasons ;)
So what you're saying is that at 5th level every should have 10,500 but since some players might have more and other less you go by that number times the number of players. So a party of 4 5th level characters should have about 42,000 GP in treasure combined.
Correct. Obviously there's going to be issues if the treasure split in a 4 person, level 5 party is 0/0/0/168,000 (or other less hyperbolic, but still heavily imbalanced distribution), but I've found that the players are usually pretty quick to sort that kind of thing out for themselves. "You got that greatsword and the magic full plate last time, Bob. I think Joe should get the belt of giant strength".
I don't think it breaks verisimilitude at all. Level 10 or higher PCs (that's what level you have to be for CR9) are already "superheroes" who can do things that only exist in mythology. Cuchulainn managed to fight an army by himself; why shouldn't my own high level Fighter be able to? And, hell, 10th level is high enough for 5th level spells, which lets a Druid cast control winds to create a 800 foot diameter tornado as a standard action, assuming there's already high winds in the area. That'll do massive damage to any army.
A mithral tower shield should be significantly heavier than 22 pounds. The 45 pound tower shield is wooden. Somewhere there are stats for a metal tower shield, and it's closer to 70 or 80 pounds in weight.
So, our all-Dwarf Kingmaker party took out the Stag Lord's fort last session in true Dwarf style:
We repaired one of Oleg's light catapults, hauled it to the Stag Lord's fort, built a quick palisade wall and spike pit at the edge of the forest, and started lobbing rocks. The first rock was inscribed with a surrender demand. There was quite a bit of debate over whether it should be inscribed in Dwarven or Common; Common eventually won out, just to give them a fair chance to read it and surrender. That rock was aimed at where we knew the Stag Lord was holed up (one of our party who couldn't be there at Sunday's session did an advanced scouting run using the password to get into the fort as a "new recruit"). We waited a couple rounds until the arrows started falling, then started raining boulders with flasks of alchemist's fire strapped to them onto the archers' positions.
Eventually the Stag Lord, Auchs, and Dovan snuck out of the fort and through the woods behind us (which we'd trapped with all the bear traps from the trap field; the traps did no damage, but warned us of their approach). The Stag Lord very nearly killed our Queen-to-be with a lucky helmet-assisted crit, but was crit by a bear-riding cavalier in return. Auchs and Dovan got bogged up attacking my Eidolon and didn't really do much (the Eidolon got a bit beat up, but not even close to being banished), and by the time the turncoat fallen Paladin second-in-command came riding out of the fort to help us against the Stag Lord (and was greeted with an exploding bomb from our alchemist for his trouble -- how were we to know he was on our side?), the fight was pretty much over. Burning Stag Lords don't hide very well.
---
It was a ton of fun. I don't think the adventure designers really anticipated a bunch of Dwarves building a fort outside of the fort, Caesar-style, and laying siege to the place, but hey, the only other Dwarven option was to tunnel under the walls, and then we wouldn't have been able to use the catapult!
So, anyone else have any awesome "storming the castle" stories?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: people really underestimate flat bonus damage. +2 to damage may not look like much (and to be fair, it's not as good as +1 to hit from Weapon Focus), but it's definitely a good feat. There's a reason FighterMan took Weapon Spec and Greater Weapon Spec, and pretty much every other Fighter build I make does as well.
Weapon Specialization is a check-down feat, just like a check-down pass in (American) football. You're looking through your feat options and there's just nothing that works -- you don't meet the pre-reqs yet, it's not useful in enough situations, whatever -- so you just check down to Weapon Specialization. It's not a feat that is a major cornerstone of any build (except as a pre-requisite for other feats, perhaps), but it's certainly better from a combat perspective than taking Athletic or Endurance.
BTW, I wish Paizo didn't use the term "racial traits" for two entirely different rules entities. That term refers to both the benefits you get from being a specific race as well as being a category of trait that only a member of that race can take. I'm referring to the first definition in my first post (racial features, not race-specific traits).
I still don't have my APG. Do any of the nonhuman classes get anything for being a sorcerer comparable to +1 spell known/level?
Not really. Half-Orcs get +1/2 to fire spell damage, but elves just gets extra uses of the 1st level bloodline power. Only Humans, Half-Orcs, and Elves get special favored class bonuses for Sorcerers.
That said, I'm definitely in the "I'd rather have the hit points" camp. I can already get pretty much all of the spells known I need with a baseline non favored class Sorcerer; the extra spells would just provide utility, and I can get wands or staves for that.
Is there a comprehensive list of known bonuses and their contexts (i.e. applies to ability, applies to attack roll) ?
If not, anyone want to help build one?
Like I said, there was one in 3.5. It's in the SRD:
3.5 SRD wrote:
Modifier Types
Ability Modifier
The bonus or penalty associated with a particular ability score. Ability modifiers apply to die rolls for character actions involving the corresponding abilities.
Alchemical Bonus
An alchemical bonus is granted by the use of a nonmagical, alchemical substance such as antitoxin.
Armor Bonus
An armor bonus applies to Armor Class and is granted by armor or by a spell or magical effect that mimics armor. Armor bonuses stack with all other bonuses to Armor Class (even with natural armor bonuses) except other armor bonuses. An armor bonus doesn't apply against touch attacks, except for armor bonuses granted by force effects (such as the mage armor spell) which apply against incorporeal touch attacks, such as that of a shadow.
Circumstance Modifier
A circumstance bonus (or penalty) arises from specific conditional factors impacting the success of the task at hand. Circumstance bonuses stack with all other bonuses, including other circumstance bonuses, unless they arise from essentially the same source.
Competence Modifier
A competence bonus (or penalty) affects a character's performance of a particular task, as in the case of the bardic ability to inspire competence. Such a bonus may apply on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, caster level checks, or any other checks to which a bonus relating to level or skill ranks would normally apply. It does not apply on ability checks, damage rolls, initiative checks, or other rolls that aren't related to a character's level or skill ranks. Multiple competence bonuses don't stack; only the highest bonus applies.
Deflection Bonus
A deflection bonus affects Armor Class and is granted by a spell or magic effect that makes attacks veer off harmlessly. Deflection bonuses stack with all other bonuses to AC except other deflection bonuses. A deflection bonus applies against touch attacks.
Dodge Bonus
A dodge bonus improves Armor Class (and sometimes Reflex saves) resulting from physical skill at avoiding blows and other ill effects. Dodge bonuses are never granted by spells or magic items. Any situation or effect (except wearing armor) that negates a character's Dexterity bonus also negates any dodge bonuses the character may have. Dodge bonuses stack with all other bonuses to AC, even other dodge bonuses. Dodge bonuses apply against touch attacks.
Enhancement Bonus
An enhancement bonus represents an increase in the sturdiness and/or effectiveness of armor or natural armor, or the effectiveness of a weapon, or a general bonus to an ability score. Multiple enhancement bonuses on the same object (in the case of armor and weapons), creature (in the case of natural armor), or ability score do not stack. Only the highest enhancement bonus applies. Since enhancement bonuses to armor or natural armor effectively increase the armor or natural armor's bonus to AC, they don't apply against touch attacks.
Insight Bonus
An insight bonus improves performance of a given activity by granting the character an almost precognitive knowledge of what might occur. Multiple insight bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest insight bonus applies.
Luck Modifier
A luck modifier represents good (or bad) fortune. Multiple luck bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest luck bonus applies.
Morale Modifier
A morale bonus represents the effects of greater hope, courage, and determination (or hopelessness, cowardice, and despair in the case of a morale penalty). Multiple morale bonuses on the same character do not stack. Only the highest morale bonus applies. Nonintelligent creatures (creatures with an Intelligence of 0 or no Intelligence at all) cannot benefit from morale bonuses.
Natural Armor Bonus
A natural armor bonus improves Armor Class resulting from a creature's naturally tough hide. Natural armor bonuses stack with all other bonuses to Armor Class (even with armor bonuses) except other natural armor bonuses. Some magical effects (such as the barkskin spell) grant an enhancement bonus to the creature's existing natural armor bonus, which has the effect of increasing the natural armor's overall bonus to Armor Class. A natural armor bonus doesn't apply against touch attacks.
Profane Modifier
A profane bonus (or penalty) stems from the power of evil. Multiple profane bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest profane bonus applies.
Racial bonus
A bonus granted because of the culture a particular creature was brought up in or because of innate characteristics of that type of creature. If a creature's race changes (for instance, if it dies and is reincarnated), it loses all racial bonuses it had in its previous form.
Resistance Bonus
A resistance bonus affects saving throws, providing extra protection against harm. Multiple resistance bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest resistance bonus applies.
Sacred Modifier
A sacred bonus (or penalty) stems from the power of good. Multiple sacred bonuses on the same character or object do not stack. Only the highest sacred bonus applies.
Shield Bonus
A shield bonus improves Armor Class and is granted by a shield or by a spell or magic effect that mimics a shield. Shield bonuses stack with all other bonuses to AC except other shield bonuses. A magic shield typically grants an enhancement bonus to the shield's shield bonus, which has the effect of increasing the shield's overall bonus to AC. A shield bonus granted by a spell or magic item typically takes the form of an invisible, tangible field of force that protects the recipient. A shield bonus doesn't apply against touch attacks.
Size Modifier
A size bonus or penalty is derived from a creature's size category. Size modifiers of different kinds apply to Armor Class, attack rolls, Hide checks, grapple checks, and various other checks.
This text was removed entirely from the Core Rulebook.
Circumstance bonuses from different circumstances also stack ... but that may have been part of the list of bonus types that was in 3.5 but no longer is in Pathfinder because it was cut to save room.
Because Pathfinder is a game, and your friend's novel is a book.
What do I mean by that? Well, every medium has certain strengths. One of the strengths of a book is that the author controls 100% of the actions and consequences within the book. That means magic can have wild and unpredictable side effects for even minor spells without ruining the entire experience. However, games do not share that strength (indeed, they would not be games at all if anyone had absolute control over the entire game; games require actions and consequences, and if you control everything, there are no consequences to your actions). In a game, if your character stands a chance to blow up the local area whenever he casts a spell, basic statistics will tell you that eventually your character will unintentionally blow up the local area. That's not fun (especially to the mage's companions).
Another reason is that mages just plain wouldn't get used. Take a look at Arcane Spell Failure for an example of this: ASF is a small chance for any spell you cast which has a Somatic component to fail. This is essentially the same thing as your "magic with consequences" concept except less dangerous. How many mages have you ever seen in any game ever wear armor with an actual Arcane Spell Failure chance? I've never seen even one unless they had some way to Still Spell most or all of their spells (and thus avoid ASF). It'd be even worse with your idea, because on top of not getting the spell off, actively bad things would happen.
It's fun, but it's not very strong. I play a Bard/Harrower (with Perform: Fortunetelling as her main performance skill), but we had to house-rule a feat that let Bard and Harrower levels stack for the purpose of bardic performance rounds per day and inspire courage in order for it to be the least bit viable a combination.
I strongly recommend making the Harrow Casting class feature infinite uses per day. It very rarely comes up with anything terribly useful, so limiting it to just a handful of times per day is just over the top.
The only other spell that delivers similar simultaneous sources of damage is Meteor Swarm, which does specifically note that it's damage is only reduced by energy resistance once.
Only other spell maybe (I'm not gonna bother looking it up); however, it's not the only other Core energy damage option that does so.
Manyshot fires two arrows with the same attack roll that both either hit or miss simultaneously. If those arrows are enchanted with flaming, that 1d6 fire damage gets applies separately for each arrow, not totaled up and applied once.
I wonder who decides exactly how much any given diamond is worth
Publius Syrius wrote:
Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.
In other words, it doesn't matter, mechanically, whether the diamond is 10 carats or 1/10th carat. It matters how much money the PCs had to spend to buy it.
In my own homebrew campaigns, I give every character 2 extra skill points that can only be assigned to "background" skills (knowledges, crafts, professions, performances). I also have house rule/homebrew systems to take advantage of them, like this one.
There was a huge thread (almost 500 posts) about classifying the classes into "tiers", where alot of folks were complaining about "lower-tier" classes (fighters, barbarians, bards) sucking because they couldn't solo every encounter.
No, actually, there weren't any folks complaining about anything like that. Blatantly and intentionally misrepresenting an argument like that is at best being obstructionist and does you no favors when you attempt to sound like you know what you're talking about.
3rd Level Spells
Removed: black tentacles, dimension door, mass enlarge person, greater invisibility, mass reduce person
Added: haste, sleet storm, slow, stinking cloud
Reduced: summon monster IV -> summon monster III
4th Level Spells
Removed: baleful polymorph, hold monster, insect plague, teleport, wall of stone
Added: black tentacles, dimension door, mass enlarge person, greater invisibility, mass reduce person, solid fog
Reduced: summon monster V -> summon monster IV
5th Level Spells
Removed: banishment, creeping doom, greater dispel magic, ethereal jaunt, mass invisibility, sequester, simulacrum, spell turning, greater teleport, wall of iron
Added: baleful polymorph, break enchantment, cloudkill, hold monster, insect plague, polymorph, prying eyes, teleport, wall of stone
Reduced: summon monster VII -> summon monster V
6th Level Spells
Removed: antipathy, binding, mass charm monster, discern location, dominate monster, incendiary cloud, maze, protection from spells, sympathy, teleportation circle
Added: acid fog, banishment, creeping doom, greater dispel magic, instant summons, mass invisibility, simulacrum, spell turning, greater teleport, wall of iron
Reduced: summon monster IX -> summon monster VI
---
That's a total loss of all the 6th level "removed" spells, as well as sequester and ethereal jaunt. In return, they gain the "fog/cloud" spells (stinking cloud and solid fog and their derivatives), sleet storm, instant summons, and prying eyes. That's a horribly bad trade considering how heavily the "cloud" spells got nerfed. Also of note is that the Summoner has delayed access (compared to a full caster) to every single spell on their list of 2nd level or higher. That breaks the unwritten rule of less-than-full casters (that spell level is reduced for key spells so that they gain them at a similar character level to the full casters).
Wait, honor says I can't take unfair advantage of an opponent.
You're thinking of the Knight, not the Paladin. Paladins have NEVER been forbidden from "taking advantage of an opponent". By your interpretation, Paladins have to fight on a perfectly level playing field, or one that's tilted to the opponent's favor. They can't flank enemies, they can't use tactics, they have to march straight forward into the maws of death. After all, attacking from the side is dishonorable.
Sorry, no, that's a load of dreck. Paladins cannot take evil acts, must not associate with the wrong people, and must maintain a Lawful Good alignment. That's all their code demands. Using a bow is not an evil act and is not acting in a fashion outside of the Lawful Good alignment.
If you can spring attack while flying, why would any creature ever take fly-by attack? Fly-by attack does exactly the same thing as spring attack but provokes attacks of opportunity.
Because Fly-by Attack is much, much, MUCH better than Spring Attack? SA doesn't work with basically any feats (no Vital Strike, etc) and only lets you make one single melee attack. Fly-by Attack, on the other hand, lets you take a standard action in between moves. That can be casting a spell, using a breath weapon, making a Vital Strike bite attack, or pretty much anything else you can do with a standard action. Including making a single melee attack.
1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.
1 person marked this as a favorite.
The more I think about this, the less I like it.
I think we have to restrict it to character level-dependent, rather than class level-dependent. Why?
Because BAB and Saving Throw Bonuses depend on class level, but not character level. If we apply the "level-dependent variable" text to class levels, any multiclass character is utterly and completely hosed.
So, I withdraw my statement that Caster Level is a level-dependent variable. It's a class level-dependent variable, but that way lies madness.
I can't think of any character level-dependent variables off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's some somewhere.
Why? If his score is even he loses 2 mod like he rolled 4, isn't it?
Nope. Ability damage (and only damage, not drain) is handled differently in Pathfinder than it was in 3.x. In Pathfinder, ability damage works like nonlethal damage, in that it doesn't alter your ability score at all; whenever you take ability damage to an ability score, you count up the total ability damage to that score. If the total damage is equal to or higher than the score, you're unconscious. If the total damage is less than that, you take a -1 penalty to anything related to that score for every 2 points of ability damage you've taken to that score. Whether your score is even or odd is entirely irrelevant.
Again, that's only for ability damage. Ability drain still directly reduces your ability score and still gives penalties at arbitrary amounts of drain depending on whether your score started even or odd.
I'd go with a Druid. Travelling alone, you need to be able to heal yourself and function in a fight where you may not be able to reliably cast spells (attacked by a swarm, for instance).
Of the core classes, Druid is absolutely the best choice. I state this from experience, having started a campaign playing a solo druid (the campaign eventually expanded to a 3 person party, but broke up shortly thereafter; I played the solo druid from level 1 to 3 or 4 IIRC and the campaign broke up around level 5 or 6). Druids are full spellcasters, so they have that going for them. They can heal, which is important. They have much better offensive spell choices than clerics, the other healing full spellcaster. They get an automatic second party member (animal companion). And, if push comes to shove and they're out of spells, they can wildshape and not be quite so sucky in melee as an arcane caster.
EDIT: Oh, also a decent amount of skill points and decent class skill selection (the best of the full casters, again).
Sorry, it was like 4:30 AM and I went to bed before seeing this thread. I improved him a little and fixed the ranged attack math (where on Earth did I get 4 attacks at highest attack bonus? I blame 4 AM). His average damage per round within one range increment is now 255.875. Here's FighterMan again:
BAB: +20
Ranged Atk: +38/+38/+38/+33/+28/+23 (1d8+2d6+33 / x4; average 44.5)
(Attack Breakdown: 20 BAB, +12 Dex, +2 Greater Weapon Focus, +4 Weapon Training, +5 Enhancement, +2 Competence, +1 haste, -2 Rapid Fire, -6 Deadly Aim)
(Damage Breakdown: 4.5 average of 1d8, +7 average damage of 2d6, +7 Strength, +5 Enhancement, +4 Greater Weapon Specialization, +4 Weapon Training, +12 Deadly Aim, +1 Competence)
(Damage Per Round: 1 attack @ 95% chance to hit for 89 average damage, 2 attacks @ 95% chance to hit for 44.5 average damage, 1 attack @ 90% chance to hit for 44.5 average damage, 1 attack @ 65% chance to hit for 44.5 average damage, 1 attack @ 40% chance to hit for 44.5 damage; (0.95*89)+(2*0.95*44.5)+(0.9*44.5)+(0.65*44.5)+(0.4*44.5) = 255.875)
Melee Atk: +42/+42/+37/+32/+27 (1d6+15 / 18-20)
(Attack Breakdown: 20 BAB, +12 Dex, +3 Weapon Training, +5 Enhancement, +1 Competence, +1 haste)
(Damage Breakdown: 7 Strength, +5 Enhancement, +3 Weapon Training)
(Damage Per Round: 3 attacks @ 95% chance to hit for 18.5 average damage, 1 attack @ 85% chance to hit for 18.5 average damage, 1 attack @ 60% chance to hit for 18.5 average damage; (3*0.95*18.5)+(0.85*18.5)+(0.6*18.5) = 79.55)
CMB: +25
CMD: 49 (cannot be grappled, cannot be disarmed while wielding a longbow, 53 vs sunder while wielding a longbow, 52 vs disarm and sunder while wielding a light blade)
Equipment:
+5 mithral full plate
2 +5 composite longbows (mighty +7)
+5 rapier
ring of freedom of movement
manual of quickness in action +5 (already applied)
manual of gainful exercise +4 (already applied)
manual of bodily health +4 (already applied)
belt of physical might +6 (strength and dexterity)
headband of inspired wisdom +6
boots of speed
greater bracers of archery
cloak of resistance +5
eyes of the eagle
pale green prism ioun stone
pink rhomboid ioun stone
luckstone
20 +1 holy arrows
20 +1 axiomatic arrows
20 +1 anarchic arrows
20 +1 unholy arrows
40 arrows
Magical enhancement bonuses on weapons only overcome damage reductions at certain thresholds.
+3 weapons count as cold iron and silver for DR purposes.
+4 weapons count as adamantine for DR purposes (NOT for sundering, etc).
+5 weapons count as alignment weapons (good, evil, lawful, chaotic) for DR purposes.
+1 and +2 weapons only overcome DR/magic, plus the damage type/s (piercing, slashing, bludgeoning) and material (silver, cold iron, adamantine) of the base weapon.
Detect magic can penetrate a certain amount of material (check the spell description). The rogue needs either cover or concealment to hide, barring Hide In Plain Sight or a similar ability. If the rogue is using cover, chances are detect magic will be foiled. If the rogue is merely using concealment (shadows or fog, for example), detect magic will detect any magical auras they have.
The trick is that detect magic takes 3 rounds of concentration to narrow down a each aura to a point in space, and detect magic only covers a 60' cone of area. Now, if the caster knows that they're supposed to be the only thing in the area with any magic, and they find a magic aura that is then gone in the next round or two, they'll know something's up. They just won't know exactly where that something is.
Arcane sight, on the other hand, works very well as an invisible/concealed rogue detector.
I always loved the flavor of the Sha'ir class (Dragon Compendium vol 1), but it's always had some really strange mechanics that just don't seem to jive right. I saw a Sha'ir "Bloodline" for sorcerers shortly after the release of Pathfinder, but I decided to go ahead and do a complete re-write of the class because I felt it was unique enough to warrant it. I present it here in its alpha state for consideration and comment. Please keep all discussion on-topic and constructive. I apologize in advance for the tables; these boards aren't very table-friendly.
Conversion notes:
Spoiler:
The biggest thing I changed was to greatly streamline the spell retrieval process. Before, you had to send your gen after every. single. spell. you wanted to prepare, which was a royal hassle and actually made it virtually impossible to use the domain spells you're supposed to be able to retrieve, thanks to the preparation time limit (which is gone) combined with the extremely long retrieval time for domain spells (which is reduced).
I changed the retrieval skill check to only check once per set of spells (basing the DCs off the most extreme examples -- ie, highest level spell, most metamagic-modified spell, hardest spell to retrieve -- and number of retrieval attempts that day) and basing the time off whether you knew all the spells and whether any of them were divine. This makes the class actually usable at a table.
The other big thing I changed was the addition of a bloodline/domain/arcane school/oracle focus/cavalier order type system, called Patrons. Patrons are powerful genies or elementals that grant special abilities to Sha'irs in exchange for a sliver of their power at all times (ie, technobabble).
The Sha'ir:
Spoiler:
BAB: as Wizard
Saves: as Wizard
HD: as Wizard
Skills: Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Knowledge: Arcana, Knowledge: Planes, Linguistics, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft
Skill Points: 2 + Int
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: as Wizard
Summon Gen Familiar (Su): Sha'irs rely on a special type of familiar, a gen, to help them in their spellcasting. At 1st level, a Sha'ir summons and bonds with a specific gen familiar, chosen from table S-3. Note that the gen you summon and bond with at 1st level must be chosen from the list of gen available to your Patron (see below). Gen are Tiny Outsiders with the Elemental Endurance, Elemental Travel, and Retrieve Spells abilities (described below), movement speed 20', fly speed 60' (perfect), immunity and vulnerability to a damage type (see table S-3), and elemental traits. Gen advance as a normal familiar; see page 82 of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook.
If a Sha'ir's gen dies or is dismissed, it can be replaced after 24 hours by completing a ritual that takes 12 hours and 100 gold in ritual materials. This new gen can be of any type, but note that using a gen that does not match the Sha'ir's Patron imposes a penalty to its ability to retrieve spells.
Patron: A Sha'ir chooses one Patron, a powerful Outsider or deity who grants a portion of their power to the Sha'ir in exchange for a portion of their power. Each Patron grants the Sha'ir a number of extra class skills, the ability to learn spells from a limited list of Domains (although they do not grant any other abilities of those Domains), and other assorted powers. Patrons must be chosen at 1st level and once chosen cannot be changed.
Spells: A Sha'ir casts arcane spells drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list and selected domain spell lists. Sha'irs prepare spells like Wizards do, but instead of preparing spells from a spellbook, they send their gen familiar to 'retrieve' spells for them. Once retrieved, the spell remains prepared by the Sha'ir until cast.
To learn or cast a spell, a Sha'ir must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell's level. The Difficulty Class for a Sha'ir's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the Sha'ir's Charisma modifier. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day (but not spells known) if he has a high Charisma score.
A Sha'ir begins play knowing five 0-level spells and three 1st-level spells of his choice, taken from the sorcerer/wizard list and the domain spell lists granted by his Patron. He learns more spells at each level as shown on table S-2.
In order to prepare his spells for the day, the Sha'ir must have had 8 consecutive hours of rest and must send his gen familiar to the elemental plane of his Patron to retrieve his spells. How long the gen takes to retrieve these spells is determined by what type of spells the Sha'ir sends it to retrieve. If the spells are all spells he knows from the sorcerer/wizard list, the gen returns in 1d4 minutes. If the spells are all spells from the sorcerer/wizard list, but not all of them are known, the gen returns in 3d4 minutes. If at least one of the spells is drawn from one of the domains allowed by his Patron, but is one of the Sha'ir's spells known, the gen returns in 1d4*10 minutes. If at least one of the spells is drawn from one of the domains allowed by his Patron and is not one of the Sha'ir's spells known, the gen returns in 3d4*10 minutes. Always take the worst applicable time. In any case, the gen always returns with either all of the spells it was sent to retrieve or none of them.
To determine if the gen successfully retrieves the spells it was sent for, the Sha'ir makes a Diplomacy check, with a DC set according to table S-4. If the Sha'ir succeeds at this check, the gen returns with all the spells it was sent for and they are considered prepared. If the Sha'ir fails at the check, the gen must be sent to retrieve a new list of spells; this new list must be one step easier to retrieve if possible (in other words, the Sha'ir must remove all unknown domain spells, all domain spells in general, or unknown sorcerer/wizard spells, as appropriate).
At 4th level, and every even-numbered Sha'ir level thereafter, a Sha'ir may choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows, just like a Sorcerer.
A Sha'ir may use any metamagic feats he knows to modify spells his gen retrieves. In order to do so, the gen must be sent to retrieve the spell with any metamagic feats applied to it. Because the metamagic is not being applied spontaneously, the Sha'ir does not need to use a full-round action to cast a spell modified by a metamagic feat.
Cantrips: A Sha'ir can prepare a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day, as noted on table S-1. These spells are cast like any other spell, but are not expended when cast and may be used again.
Recognize Genie Works (Ex): At 2nd level, the Sha'ir can identify items or magical effects that have been created by geniekind. The Sha'ir must make a Knowledge: Planes check at DC 20 to recognize an item crafted by genies, or DC 15+spell level to recognize a magical effect created by genies. The Sha'ir gets a bonus equal to half his Sha'ir level to this check.
Elemental Protection (Ex): At 6th level, a Sha'ir gains protection from the elements. He gains resistance to fire, acid, cold, and electricity equal to half his Sha'ir level, DR 3/- against attacks from creatures with the fire, earth, water, or air subtypes, and +2 to saves against spells with the fire, earth, water, or air descriptors. These bonuses are doubled against creatures, spells, and attacks of the type associated with his gen familiar.
Elemental Travel (Sp): At 10th level, the Sha'ir gains the ability to cast plane shift, as the spell, as long as the destination is either the Material Plane or an Elemental plane. At 14th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the Sha'ir may use this ability an extra time per day.
Create Genie Prison (Ex): At 16th level, you gain the ability to create a genie prison as if you had the Craft Wondrous Item feat. A genie prison is identical in all respects to an iron flask, except that it can only trap genies and only costs 100,000 gp. If you have the Craft Wondrous Item feat, you can create genie prisons at twice the normal speed.
Table S-1: The Sha'ir
Spoiler:
Level Special
1 Patron power, summon gen familiar, cantrips
2 Recognize genie works
3
4 Patron power
5
6 Elemental protection
7
8 Patron power
9
10 Elemental travel 1/day
11
12 Patron power
13
14 Elemental travel 2/day
15
16 Create genie prison
17
18 Elemental travel 3/day
19
20 Patron power
Gen____Subtype_Imm.____Vuln.___Special Ability
Flame...fire............fire....cold....Master gains +5' to base land speed
Wind....air.............elec....acid....Master gains +3 bonus to Fly checks
Wave....water.......cold....fire....Master gains +3 bonus to Swim checks
Stone...earth........acid....elec....Master gains +2 Fortitude save
Table S-4: Spell Retrieval DC
Spoiler:
Condition | Modifier
Base | 15
Highest spell level* | +spell level*2
Unknown sorcerer/wizard spell** | +2
Domain spell** | +5
Unknown domain spell** | +10
Highest metamagic spell increase*** | +increase
Each previous retrieval in 24 hours | +2
Using a mismatched gen | +5
* Count only the actual level of the spell; do not count any increase to spell level due to metamagic
** Only count the highest modifier
*** Count all spell level increases for each spell and use the highest total
Spell Retrieval Example:
Spoiler:
Ustiyad, a 3rd level Sha'ir, sends his gen familiar off to retrieve his spells for the day: web, still magic missile, sleep, color spray, burning hands, and magic missile; magic missile, sleep, color spray, and burning hands are known spells, but web is not. The highest level spell he is attempting to retrieve is a 2nd level spell (web), adding 4 to his DC. Since he doesn't know web, but he's not asking for any domain spells, he adds another 2 to the DC. Finally, one of the spells he's attempting to retrieve is a still magic missile, which is a +1 increase in spell level and thus a +1 to his DC. His gen matches the types allowed by his Patron, so he adds together 15 + 4 + 2 + 1 to get a total retrieval DC of 22. His gen will return in 3d4 minutes, at which time he must make his Diplomacy check. If he fails the check, he can send his gen back to try again, but he must drop the web spell (perhaps choosing another still magic missile to replace it) and the DC changes to 20 (15 + 2 for only 1st level spells +0 all spells are known + 1 for one level of metamagic increase +2 for previous retrieval).
Gen Abilities:
Spoiler:
Elemental Endurance (Ex): Gen can survive on the elemental planes like a native. They are immune to environmental damage and negative planar traits on Elemental planes. On the Plane of Water, they can breathe water and gain a swim speed equal to their fly speed. On the Plane of Earth, they gain a burrow speed equal to their land speed and leave no tunnel or sign of passage like an earth elemental.
Elemental Travel (Sp): A gen can plane shift at will to any Elemental plane or from any Elemental plane to the Material plane. This ability transports the gen only, but is otherwise identical to the spell plane shift (caster level 13).
Retrieve Spells (Ex): A gen is empowered to bargain for and deliver spells from the Elemental planes to its Sha'ir. The time required depends upon the spells requested, as given in the Sha'ir description.
Sample Patrons:
Spoiler:
Jafaar, Grand Vizier of the Efreeti Gen: Fire
Skills: Add Disguise, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth to your list of class skills.
Domain Spells: A Sha'ir who chooses Jafaar as his Patron can learn spells from the list of spells granted by the Evil, Fire, Law, and Trickery Domains.
Granted Powers: Jafaar is a twisted, scheming efreeti malik who grants powers related to deceit, greed, and fire to those who he grants Patronage to.
Consuming Flames (Sp): Starting at 1st level, you can designate any creature or object within 30 feet to be the target of his consuming flames as a standard action. That creature or object must make a Reflex save (DC 10 + half your Sha'ir level + your Charisma modifier) or be set on fire for 1d4 rounds. Unattended objects get no save. This fire deals 1d6 points of fire damage + 1 for every two Sha'ir levels you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier.
Pierce the Smog (Su): At 4th level, you can see through smoke, fog, and fire without penalty as long as there is sufficient light for you to see normally.
Smokescreen (Sp): At 8th level, you gain the ability to create a 15' radius cloud of thick black smoke, centered on yourself, as a move action. This smoke provides concealment against creatures within 5 feet and total concealment against creatures farther away. Creatures entering the cloud must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 10 + half your Sha'ir level + your Charisma modifier) or be sickened for as long as they remain in the cloud and for one round after they leave or the cloud disperses. The cloud lasts a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1 round) unless dispersed by a strong wind and can be used once per day per two Sha'ir levels.
Cunning Deceit (Ex): At 12th level, you can add your Intelligence modifier (if positive) to your Bluff, Disguise, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth checks.
Cosmic Power (Su): At 20th level, you take on many of the qualities of an efreet. Your type becomes Outsider (native, fire), you gain immunity to fire, your body emits Heat as an efreet, and you can use alter self as a spell-like ability at will. Unlike a normal Outsider, you can still be revived if killed.
Suliq, the Sand Sea's Sultan Gen: Fire and Air
Skills: Add Knowledge: Nature, Perception, and Survival to your list of class skills.
Domain Spells: A Sha'ir who chooses Suliq as his Patron can learn spells from the list of spells granted by the Air, Fire, Sun, and Travel Domains.
Granted Powers: Suliq is a powerful air elemental lord who rules over a massive stretch of desert in Osirion. He grants his supplicants powers related to his desert home.
Desert Blast (Sp): Starting at 1st level, you can fire a blast of sand and salt as a standard action, targeting any foe within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The sand deals 1d6 points of damage + one for every two Sha'ir levels you possess. If the target is bleeding, they must also make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + half your Sha'ir level + your Charisma modifier) or be dazed for one round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.
Surefooted (Ex): At 4th level, you gain Nimble Moves as a bonus feat.
Sandstorm (Sp): At 8th level, you can summon a sandstorm to harry your foes. Designate one creature per point of Charisma bonus you have (minimum 1) as a full-round action; each of those creatures are engulfed in miniature sandstorms that follow them for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). The sandstorms are considered greater duststorms (see page 438 of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook) except that they only affect the creatures you target. These sandstorms can be sustained for a number of rounds per day equal to your Sha'ir level.
Desert Shroud (Su): At 12th level, you are constantly surrounded by a swirling desert wind. Any ranged attacks directed against you have a 20% miss chance, as the entropic shield spell. In addition, if you are in an area filled with sand, gravel, or other loose, light matter, you gain 20% concealment against all attacks. This ability does not function underwater or in a vacuum. You can suppress or resume this ability as a free action.
Master of the Desert (Su): At 20th level, you take on many of the qualities of an air elemental. Your type becomes Outsider (native, air) and you become immune to paralysis, poison, sleep effects, stunning, critical hits, and precision damage. Unlike a normal Outsider, you can still be revived if killed.
If you do use spell compendium, watch out for those orb spells (orb of ...) and other ranged touch spells like bolt of glory. Hitting a touch AC is usually damn easy, they have no spell resistance and no save, so they can be real nasty. If I let them in my game again I'd wouldn't allow them to be immune to spell resistance.
Oh, and by the way, bolt of glory allows spell resistance.
The bloodline is more the spark than anything else. Once the tinder (that's the character) has caught fire (taken levels in sorcerer), the spark is only relevant in a historical sense. The character still knows everything he knew before, so he can still cast magic and summon forth all the same abilities he had before. Having dragon blood or whatever eases the passage into becoming a spellcaster, but it's not a requirement.
Gauntlets are pretty pointless for a monk to use, and they also kind of fly in the face of the idea of an unarmed guy or gal who does bare-handed kung fu.
Actually it appears that, according to the Pathfinder rules (since you guys changed gauntlets from doing fixed damage to doing unarmed strike damage), gauntlets are great for monks. They're classified as unarmed strikes, so they do unarmed strike damage and are usable with flurry of blows, they can be enchanted at normal weapon prices, and they aren't classified as armor so they don't interfere with other monk abilities.
As far as the image is concerned, boxing gloves are essentially gauntlets, really (just padded ones that do nonlethal damage).
I have no clue where people are getting the "in 3.5, each attack in a flurry of blows must come from a different weapon" silliness. No such rule exists.
26 int, 26 wis, for the record. That's smarter than a lot of archmages and wiser than a lot of high priests (and smarter than almost all high priests and wiser than almost all archmages).
I agree with most of the comments made so far, but I don't see Intimidating Prowess adding too a perform (comedy) check to Intimidate.
Intimidating Prowess seems to add to the Intimidate bonus, which is specifically replaced by the perform (comedy) bonus.
Nope. Intimidating Prowess states, and I quote, "Add your Strength modifier to Intimidate skill checks in addition to your Charisma modifier". It specifically adds to the checks, not to the skill itself.
