if the dagger doesn't leave his hand then its not a ranged attack yet there for it doesn't trigger the aoo, aoo is only triggered once the dagger leaves the hand but b4 it goes to confirm a miss or a hit on the target
throw
THrō/
verb
1. propel (something) with force through the air by a movement of the arm and hand.
The AOO triggers at the start of the arm and hand movement. The AOO does not wait till the dagger has been thrown (past tense).
If your premise were true, then spellcasting could never be interrupted either. A huge portion of the rules for concentration checks would be irrelevant.
..."the swashbuckler makes an attack roll as if she were making an attack of opportunity;" ...
That is from the Advanced Class Guide Playtest. This is what is says in the current version:
Spoiler:
Opportune Parry and Riposte (Ex): At 1st level, when an opponent makes a melee attack against the swashbuckler, she can spend 1 panache point and expend a use of an attack of opportunity to attempt to parry that attack. The swashbuckler makes an attack roll as if she were making an attack of opportunity; for each size category the attacking creature is larger than the swashbuckler, the swashbuckler takes a –2 penalty on this roll. If her result is greater than the attacking creature’s result, the creature’s attack automatically misses. The swashbuckler must declare the use of this ability after the creature’s attack is announced, but before its attack roll is made. Upon performing a successful parry and if she has at least 1 panache point, the swashbuckler can as an immediate action make an attack against the creature whose attack she parried, provided that creature is within her reach. This deed’s cost cannot be reduced by any ability or effect that reduces the number of panache points a deed costs.
Parry is a specific action with a specific cost. It costs 1 panache point and 1 attack of opportunity. It allows you to make an attack roll to compare to your opponent's attack roll. Riposte is an attack made as an immediate action, nothing more.
Neither parry nor riposte counts as an attack of opportunity. Neither will be affected by things that specifically modify AOO's.
If a class feature spell does not become part of a character's class list till it is granted as a usable spell...
A flames oracle could not use a wand of fireball before 6th. level, and a cleric with the travel domain could not use a wand of fly before 6th level. Correct?
My 1st. level oracle would like to select his mystery's first bonus spell (1st. level spell granted at 2nd. oracle level) as a spell known. Is that within the rules?
I believe that it works this way:
If a mystery or archetype grants a bonus spell that is not normally on the oracle list, it becomes part of that character's spell list. It can therefore be selected as a spell known at 1st. level. At 2nd. level, the character would gain the same spell known again and be unable to replace the first instance. He would have the spell known twice. At 4th. level, he could learn a different spell in place of the non-bonus version per the normal rules.
The trade-off is that the character gains a particular spell early but has one fewer 1st. level spell known at 2nd. and 3rd. oracle level.
Any PC that wasn't spotted would get to act in the surprise round. If all PCs are spotted, there is no surprise round.
Core Rulebook (p. 178) wrote:
If some but not all of the combatants are aware of their opponents, a surprise round happens.
You don't have to be aware of all of your opponents; you only have to recognize that there are, in fact, opponents.
Example: The wizard teleports in with a rogue, cleric and fighter. The rogue spots all of the PCs. The wizard spots some of the PC's. The cleric and fighter spot none of the PCs. There is a surprise round. The cleric and fighter don't get to act. The wizard, rogue and all PC's get to act.
Example #2: The wizard casts invisibility before teleporting. If the wizard spots one PC, he gets to act in the surprise round. Only the PC's who can see him get to act in the surprise round. If the wizard spots one PC and all PCs see him, there is no surprise round.
Since the ability is unclear, the best thing to do is get a ruling from your GM.
This is how I would rule it:
For rules interpretations, specific trumps general. The rock throwing revelation supersedes the thrown weapon rules found in the Core Rulebook.
1.) Two size categories smaller would be "tiny" if a Human were throwing the rock. A rat is "tiny," so the rock is probably no bigger than a softball. It is a one-handed weapon that gets 1.5x STR to damage due to a class feature.
2.) A men's competition shot put weighs 16.01 pounds (7.260 kilograms). I am comfortable with the stone oracle's rocks weighing between 5 and 15 pounds.
3.) A class feature should never assume a penalty that isn't explicitly stated. You do not take a -4 penalty.
Once again, please ask your GM for a ruling. Good luck!
Thank you all for your input. Even if we still have some disagreement, the content of your arguments has been helpful.
My conclusion:
The rules state that spell-casting requires concentration. The rules do not state that reloading a gun requires concentration. Reloading also does not count as a dexterity based skill because there is never a check. A Pathfinder character can therefore reload a gun while raging.
I agree that you and I would need to concentrate to reload an early firearm in real life, but we aren't battle-hardened firearm experts. Experts have enough muscle memory to make reloading second nature. This is also Pathfinder. In real life, nobody can cast fireball.
When the Advanced Race Guide was errata'd last year, some of the favored class options changed. Treat as +1/2 level higher for an oracle revelation or bardic performance options were changed to +1/6 level.
There are still characters in my area using the old options (which were integral to some builds). Are they grandfathered? If not, what are the guidelines for updating the characters? I couldn't find anything in the rules changes thread that covers favored class options.
Thanks in advance for your help. I'd like to be well informed before delivering bad news...
According to the PFS FAQ (http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/faq#v5748eaic9p51):
Can my animal companion or familiar wear or use magic items?
...
Additionally, animal companions have access to magical item slots, in addition to barding and neck, as listed on the inside front cover of the Animal Archive so long as they select the Extra Item Slot feat. The Animal Magic Item Slots table found in Animal Archive is not a legal except under the following conditions. First, an animal companion, familiar, or bonded mount, may choose one slot listed under its body type when taking the Extra Item Slot feat (this feat may be taken multiple times, each time selecting a different available magic item slot based on the creature’s anatomy). Second, access to specific magic item slots may be granted at a later date by another legal source. If you do not own a copy of the Animal Archive, your animal companion may only use barding and neck-slot items.
...
The brownie, faerie dragon, imp, lyrakien azata, mephit, quasit, sprite familiars, granted by the Improved Familiar feat, use the Biped (hands) section of the chart. The carbuncle and voidworm protean, familiars granted by the Improved Familiar feat, uses the Serpentine section of the chart. If you do not own a copy of the Animal Archive, your animal companion may only use barding and neck-slot items.
_________________________________
The Extra Item Slot feat lists "non-humanoid body shape" as a prerequisite. Does this mean that a Sprite familiar must wait for updated wording to legally wear a ring in PFS?
Per RAW:
The Sun is a colossal object (+8 perception to see it)
-1 perception for every 10 feet away it is (-49 billion perception to see it)
"Circumstance bonus" is used in printed adventures, but there is no actual rule for it in the Core Rulebook
Constructive point: The rules aren't perfect, and that's okay.
Pathfinder is a game. The objective of the game is to have fun. The rules exist to create better communication and common expectations. The rules attempt to create balance so everyone has a fair chance to shine.
Like most of you, I have a very high I.Q. I have learned, however, that fixating on rules that I don't agree with (I'm looking at you, adamantine shuriken!) makes the game less fun, not more.
The next time someone asks me how fast a scorching ray is, my answer will be "whatever speed makes a more interesting and enjoyable story." Maybe it will be super fast like a laser beam. Maybe everything will seem to slow down in a dramatic moment that may mean the death of a beloved NPC. Time will tell (smirk).
In another thread there seemed to be a lot of confusion and disagreement about immediate actions. Adjudicating immediate actions can get tricky, so let's try to come up with some user-friendly guidelines.
* Proposal #1: Let's accept that we probably cannot have a hard and fast rule that will cover all situations.
* Proposal #2: Just as with free actions, the GM should determine what immediate actions he or she feels are reasonable.
* Proposal #3: GMs should do their best to decide what to allow based on existing precedent.
On the other thread there was a lot of disagreement about whether or not an immediate action could be used as a spell is resolving. I think people are disagreeing because they see specific examples and want the answer to be either yes or no. Whether or not someone can respond to a spell during resolution should actually depend on the spell being cast.
Example A: Larry the Lich starts casting enervation. Walter the wizard identifies it using spellcraft. As the spell resolves, the Lich points at Walter and "a black ray of negative energy" streaks toward him. Walter casts emergency force sphere to block the ray. The ray shield combat feat could save a PC from enervation, so I believe Walter should get a chance to cast EFS.
Example B: Larry the Lich starts casting greater dispel magic. Walter the wizard identifies it using spellcraft. Walter waits to find out who Larry is going to target. Greater dispel magic resolves, and Walter gets his 3 highest level buffs dispelled. Walter doesn't find out that he's the target till it's too late, so I believe he should not get a chance to cast EFS.
What guidelines would you like to see for immediate actions?
I've been running RPGs since Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Really good defense is far less likely to break a game than really good offense. My dragons are annoyed about EFS, but they are terrified of 7th. level gunslingers with targeted shot (head).
As a GM, I had the BIG BAD at the end of a (customized) Skulls and Shackles game use EFS on the deck of a ship. One PC used a Lyre of Building to start dismantling the deck while the others hacked away at the EFS. It took less than two rounds for the PCs to break through; the BIG BAD did not get the much needed respite.
I have played alongside a well-optimized diviner who uses EFS. It has saved him, but my sorcerer never felt it was worth retraining a spell known to get it. I am, however, salivating over the Staff of the Master (Necromancy) mentioned earlier. :)
If I were to make a list of the twenty PFS-legal things that break the game the most, EFS would not make the cut. Please don't ban it.
You may want to consider Grand Lodge for the fighter. It is the largest and most powerful faction. He would be following the rules, counting on his strength and finding his own way in due course.
Liberty's Edge for the samurai. Definitely. Rage against the devil-worshiping establishment!
Thank you for the correction. I was previously given a "campaign mode" chronicle for playing a level of Emerald Spire.
Yes, I have always intended to use a GM chronicle to gain that quirky effect. I wanted to make sure to do it legally before committing an Aasimar boon. :)
Michael - Modules and sanctioned adventure paths may be run in "campaign mode." Players may use any character that the GM approves then apply the chronicle to a PFS character. If your GM approves...you could build an 11th. level oracle, play ES 15, then apply the chronicle to a 1st. level PFS bard.
For PFS scenarios, of course, only the approved pregens are allowed.
"A player who uses a pregenerated character must apply the Chronicle sheet to a 1st-level character or hold the Chronicle sheet until his character reaches the level of the pregenerated character. (Guide to Organized Play, 31)
"If the GM with a low-level character runs any higher tier scenarios that don’t include a subtier for her 1st-level rogue, she takes the lowest subtier Chronicle sheet from that scenario and holds it for her PC. Then, once her PC achieves the appropriate level for that Chronicle sheet, it is immediately applied." (Guide to Organized Play, 39)
"You may also opt instead to apply the Chronicle sheets earned with a non-1st-level pregenerated character to a 1st-level character with the amount of gp gained reduced, and any character specific boons earned must wait to be utilized until the character is of the same level as the subtier on the Chronicle sheet unless otherwise noted." (Guide to Organized Play, 21)
Can a PC make changes on the chronicle that caused her to gain a level before the held chronicle is applied?
Example: Emerald Spire 15: Order and Chaos...
Spoiler:
has a boon called "runes of change" that permanently changes the PC's race. The PC retains his previous race-specific feats, etc. but does not qualify to acquire new ones.
Bob the Aasimar gets a chronicle that gives him enough XP to gain 10th. level. Then he retrains a feat to "angel wings," which requires him to be at least 10th. level. Then the "runes of change" boon applies. He is now a Dwarf with angel wings.
It seems like this should work with a held chronicle as long as the retraining is noted and paid for on the previous chronicle. It is not really different from retraining before playing Order and Chaos. The case of the "runes of change" boon on a chronicle applied to a 1st. level character seems much more murky. Thoughts?
No, it seems we need something else. After discussing the options in-house, we're strongly considering what I'll call the Player Character Responsibility solution: A PC can acquire a boon (negative or otherwise) through the actions of his CFE. If the effect would have an in-game effect that triggers before the end of the adventure, the creature that triggered it still experiences that effect until the end of the scenario, at which point the PC gains the boon (and the CFE is no longer affected).
Consider the following hypothetical examples that involve a CFE and a situation that grants a boon on the Chronicle sheet.
A demon offers the PCs hamburgers made out of angels, and eating one pushes one's alignment one step closer to evil. Only the druid's boar animal companion eats one. The boar becomes neutral evil for the rest of the scenario. At the end of the adventure, the druid gains the associated boon that says, "You ate an angelburger, and you're now evil"—unless of course the druid received an atonement to undo the damage.
A doorway has a curse that afflicts whoever walks through first. It's a really amusing curse, and I've decided that it should be on a Chronicle sheet as something a PC might have for a while. The summoner's eidolon walks through first, fails its saving throw, and suffers the curse for the rest of the adventure. At the end of the adventure, the curse transfers to the summoner.
A scenario offers a boon to whoever can succeed at a DC 25 Climb check and recover a gem. A wizard sends his monkey familiar to do it for him. There's no benefit during the scenario, but the wizard would receive the Chronicle sheet boon instead of his familiar.
This route does introduce some minor narrative hiccups, but it also prevents the use of animal companions as minesweepers and eidolon as cole mine canaries.
To address the "double the risk" issue, please consider applying PCR only when the CFE experiences something the PC does not.
If the boar and druid both eat angelburgers, then the druid's alignment only shifts once.
If the wizard already attempted and failed the climb check, then the familiar's subsequent success would not grant the boon.
If a summoner and eidolon save vs. the same effect, only the summoner's result counts past the end of the scenario.
-----
This would address the minesweeper issue without overly penalizing the PC.
Under Conditions, Death, and Expendables (p.23) it states "All conditions gained during an adventure, except for permanent negative levels, ability drain that does not reduce an ability score to 0, and conditions that provide no mechanical effect, must be resolved before the end of the
session; if these are not resolved the character should be reported as ‘dead.’
Under Spells (p.25-26) it states "All spells and effects end at the end of a scenario with the following exceptions: ... Afflictions and harmful conditions obtained during a scenario remain until healed and carry over from scenario to scenario (except in specific instances as noted [above]).
I therefore conclude:
1. Andrew Christian is right. The general rule is to handwave the good stuff and keep the bad stuff.
2. If an eidolon doesn't resolve conditions, it is reported as "dead." Since death doesn't have a long term effect on an eidolon, it can effectively handwave conditions between scenarios.
3. As Lorewalker (and others) stated, eidolons do not receive anything printed in the body of a chronicle.
I would like to add to the posts offering genuine hygiene advice:
I used to have frequent body odor problems. Then I switched to a mineral salt deodorant. It's a big salt crystal that I rub on my wet armpits. It has no fragrance and prevents odor-causing bacteria from growing. A couple of years ago, I was too badly injured to take a shower but still made it through an entire convention without stinking. It wasn't just wishful thinking; my wife would have complained. :)
After a few years an RPG becomes quite vast. It becomes nearly impossible to avoid making mistakes.
I have been GMing since 1988. I have 99th. percentile I.Q. I spend about 10 hours preparing for a session. I still make mistakes. In your position, I could have made the same mistake. You are presumably a human and therefore not perfect.
Try this:
1. Prepare adequately to run a session.
2. Accept that you're going to make mistakes.
3. Try your best to learn from your mistakes.
4. Remember that any player demanding more from you is being unreasonable.
The brawler fighter archetype gets +1 to hit and +3 damage with the close quarter weapon group at 3rd. level. At 4th. level you qualify for specialization for another +2 damage.
...level 15, Order and Chaos, touching a rune permanently changes your race. Per the module, this applies to creatures of any race. Wish and miracle don't normally exist in PFS, so it isn't reversible.
An animal companion or familiar would need to be replaced, but there is no provision for replacing an eidolon. Would a PFS summoner be left with a core race eidolon, or would she lose the eidolon class feature?
It's not the eidolon that's receiving a boon.. It's the Summoner who's been inflicted with a permanent modification on one of his class features. And yes, that's legit.
Thank you all (especially LazarX) very much for the clarification.
I assume that the eidolon could then also receive positive effects. For example:
Spoiler:
An eidolon eating a sigil wafer in 4-10 Feast of Sigils would gain +2 to one stat for a year.
I recently played a scenario which granted a permanent negative boon for failing a saving throw. My eidolon failed. The GM asked me to post here to find out if the negative boon actually stays with the eidolon.
I believe that an eidolon shouldn't be able to receive a negative boon because an eidolon shouldn't be able to receive a positive boon. There is too much room for abuse by effectively doubling some of the best boons. That is just my opinion, of course.
Please point me to any official rulings that you know of.
Displacement states "The subject of this spell appears to be about 2 feet away from its true location. The creature benefits from a 50% miss chance as if it had total concealment. Unlike actual total concealment, displacement does not prevent enemies from targeting the creature normally."
Blind Fight states "In melee, every time you miss because of concealment (see Combat), you can reroll your miss chance percentile roll one time to see if you actually hit."
If a character with Blind Fight misses due to displacement (which technically doesn't grant concealment), does Blind Fight allow a reroll of the miss chance?
I would be happy to GM a PFS scenario in this slot. 6-09 By Way of Bloodcove would be my first choice (though anything currently out is fine). I prepped it for another Con, but it was a Thursday afternoon slot that didn't fill.
If you need to keep standard PFS out of this slot, then I would be willing to run an "Out of Retirement" game or the new We Be Goblins.
That's impressive. How did you do that after the FAQ on spell like abilities.?
PFS characters that were played as a prestige class before the FAQ change are grandfathered in. Sorry; I don't have a link handy. I will make sure to discuss it with our GM, of course.
I am very interested and willing to withdraw from any games necessary to make it work.
Character highlights:
Decent offense, high defense, great support for melee characters, useful in a wide variety of situations
Mystic Theruge - casts as sorcerer 11 / oracle 8
initiative +12, perception +20
offense - feeblemind DC 25 (roll twice), 12d6+24 fireball
defense - 140 hit points, saves 15/18/15, healing and restoration spells
liberally uses dimension door and misfortune revelation to control the battlefield
social skills +16, knowledge skills (all) +13 to +18
Here's what happens if I'm forced to rebuild as an Oracle 1 / Sorcerer 10:
Lose: 2nd. and 3rd. level oracle spells
Gain: 6 hit points, +1 natural armor, fire resistance 10, 10d6 breath weapon, a bonus feat and bloodline spells (very important for cross-blooded sorcerers).
According to the Core Rulebook FAQ, spell-like abilities satisfy prerequisites for item crafting feats, item creation and prestige class requirements. An SLA does not, however, count as having the spell on a class list for the purpose of activating spell completion and spell trigger items.
Example: A 6th. level Aasimar fighter, named Bob, has a Daylight 1/day SLA. Bob could have taken craft arms and armor at 5th. level. Bob can use his SLA to craft Radiant armor. Bob can qualify for Eldritch Knight because he is "able to cast 3rd.-level arcane spells." Bob cannot, however, activate a wand of Daylight (without use magic device).
I believe that Bob counts as "a creature that can cast arcane spells" and would receive a -4 penalty to his Will save vs. feeblemind. Is that correct?
4-05 The Sanos Abduction (tier 3-7) seems to be best suited to new or moderately experienced players. The journey is both linear and interesting. The challenge level is moderate. The NPC's are great, including
Spoiler:
a faerie dragon that joins the party and can later be taken as an improved familiar. The scenario gives you the option to use him to distract the final boss so you can adjust the difficulty. His dialog is tricky, though, requiring extra prep time to rehearse.
"If the player is playing a non-1st-level pregenerated character, he
may choose instead to apply this Chronicle sheet to a 1st. level
character by reducing this value to 500 gp (or 250 gp for
the slow advancement track)." If I didn't miss anything, the Guide says nothing else about it.
Typically, GM's also cross off all items and boons from the chronicle. Is that correct even if the Guide doesn't say so?
It appears that GM's do not have the option to apply a chronicle to a 1st. level character. Is that correct?
It appears that there is no option to apply a 3xp/4pp chronicle from a module to a 1st. level character. Is that correct?
If I'm running a table and discover that one of the players has an illegal character...
Is there an official rules source or set of guidelines to refer to?
If there are multiple ways to correct the problem, should I let the player choose? Example: A character has weapon focus: scimitar, weapon finesse and dervish dance (no ranks in perform: dance). Two skill ranks could be shifted to perform: dance, or dervish dance could be replaced with slashing grace.
How would you handle a more complex problem such as wizard 5 / dragon disciple 5?
1.) Increase the activation time from 1 standard action to 1 minute.
2.) Add Bardic Knowledge as a prerequisite (previous characters can be grandfathered in).
-----
Another thread brought to light that many GM's have serious problems with Pageant of the Peacock. Yes, it is overpowered. Rather than debate whether or not it should be banned, let's fix it.
A lore oracle using Focused Trance can meditate for 1d6 rounds to gain a +20 circumstance bonus to any intelligence-based skill check. This can be used to auto-succeed at all beginning of scenario lore checks. It is not, however, useful in combat because of the required time to activate. It is also important to note that it does not allow untrained knowledge checks.
Fix #1 should therefore be to increase the time required to activate PotP. Increasing to 1 minute makes the ability useless in combat. It is still good thematically; compare the longer activation to using the disguise skill.
The next offense is allowing a bard to sacrifice Bardic Knowledge for an archetype then gain a superior version at a low cost.
Fix #2 should therefore be adding Bardic Knowledge as a prerequisite (allowing existing characters to be grandfathered in).
The next powerful aspect to PotP is the duration of 10 minutes per round of bardic performance. Changing this, however, would ruin the original intent of using it at a social gathering.
From a game design standpoint, please remember the importance of simplicity. There are probably better fixes, but adding too much complexity to the errata can create more problems than it solves. Applying these two fixes will still leave PotP superior to Focused Trance, but characters devoted to monster lore will no longer be overshadowed.
What are your thoughts?
How do we bring this to the attention of the powers that be?
Thank you for clarifying the general rule. I figured the answer was "no," but wanted to know why. Sometimes it states that you do need to meet prerequisites; sometimes it states that you don't. Not seeing either statement left a lingering doubt.
The unbreakable fighter states: "At 5th level, an unbreakable gains the Heroic Recovery feat as a bonus feat, if he does not have it already. If he already has this feat, the unbreakable can choose any combat feat instead."
As stated, an unbreakable who already has heroic recovery can choose ANY combat feat at 5th. level. It does not state that he must meet the prerequisites, only that it must be a combat feat. The official errata for Ultimate Combat makes no comment. Does anyone know of any official commentary?
Until there is official errata, would it be legal (though admittedly cheesy) to pick something like greater vital strike as the replacement feat? What about in PFS?
