Xethik's page

Huzzah!

Darkened Forest Form was a spell that initially underwhelmed before I warmed up to the sheer versatility it had on a class that specializes in the very idea of flexibility. My only standing issue is that it feels underwhelming once you cease gaining heightened benefits, namely at rank 8, 9, and 10. Up until then it seems like a great focus spell option for any animist that has it primarily attuned.

It feels like adding Monstrosity form mostly fits the theme while patching rank 8 and 9 - does it make sense to anyone else to add those as options? Or do we know of any battle form spell changes that might make these heightenings unnecessary?

I could see a high level feat adding the spell to the options as well, especially if it was wandering (I believe the other two feats related to the focus spell are not).

Huzzah!

Yoon is looking great as always - love the embracing of each element despite staying true to her fire.

Huzzah! New Apex!

The real question is if we're seeing the actual Mirage Dragon or if it's just an illusion...

Excited for more dragons! I wonder where the inspiration for some of these is coming from... Tian Xia efforts? Something else? Where might we find Mirage Dragons in Golarion?

Just wanted to spin up a thread on what I imagine will be a contentious subject. Kineticist gets expert in unarmed and simple weapons at level 7, similar to an alchemist or warpriest rather than a "martial" like monk or ranger, and similar to when full casters get expert in spell attacks. However, they receive critical specialization and master in attacks much like full martial characters do (5th and 13th) which puts them in a bit of an odd spot.

Even with a Con key stat, a kineticist will be able to match a class that starts in an 18 for their attack stat at level 5 in terms of ability modifier for their own attacks. But they will be a proficiency tier behind at level 5 and 6.

Linnorm kobolds when?

Let's use this thread to talk about playtest characters you have/are excited to create!

Hey folks,

It seems that my subscription order number 36630330 may have been misdelivered, as it is marked as Complete but never arrived for me. The tracking number doesn't seem to be working unfortunately (as other threads have mentioned), so I am not sure when it should have arrived. My assumption is that the delivery service dropped it off at the wrong address. Is there any way to get in contact with them to confirm?

Shipment went out on August 20th, so it doesn't seem beyond possibility that it hasn't arrived yet. But with it marked as Completed, I am wondering if it could have gone to the wrong location.

Thanks!

It feels like having a thread for small topics not worth dedicating a whole thread to would be useful.

To kick us off, the Oracle's Battle Mystery lists borrow feat as its greater revelation spell. This should be heroic feat (no Borrow Feat is listed as a Focus spell).

Are things like power attack and deadly aim remaining feats then?

Can you take class specific feats appropriate to your level on an odd level or just general ones?

Other than that, getting feats every level seems really nice.

I assume fighter has other things to compensate him, rather than the normal heres all these feats this edition?

Edit: Meant odd levels not even

Looks like I forgot to set up a Payment type for my Starfinder subscription and my Alien Archive order never had a Payment Method set. I've since updated my subscription preferred payment method, but it doesn't look like that has applied to my pending order.

I could be wrong and the UI just hasn't updated or I am misreading it. But if not, can I apply my (now) default subscription payment to this pending order?

Thanks!

Hey everyone, I'm having one of those "I saw this great piece of art but I can't find it" moments.

The creature in question is I think a Nightmare Ettercap. You can find one picture of it here.

But I swear I've seen additional art of creatures with the same template or just similar looking creatures. My GoogleFu is failing me, though. Anyone have any ideas of what I could be thinking of? I just remember the white flesh contrasting with the blood red and the minimal features of the face.

Hey all, I'm looking to see if anyone has found a clever way to early enter into a prestige class since the SLA reversal. Are there any prestige classes that can be entered before level 6 (X 5/Y 1)?

If it matters, I'm hoping to go Arcane Caster 4/PrC 1, but this is more of a thought experiment at this point so I'll take any crazy combo you can think of to get that first level of a PrC at 5 (or earlier!)

And by SLA reversal, I'm talking about no longer being able to qualify spellcasting requirements with Spell-like Abilities. Any official rules work, no 3pp, sorry! Does not need to be PFS legal.

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice in regards to running an Arcane Trickster! I'm going to be GMing a solo campaign for a player going Arcane Trickster and I want to be able to help and challenge him.

Pretty much, I'm looking for any tricks to running an Arcane Trickster as combat effectively as possible. For specifics, he is playing a Tiefling Arcanist 2/Snakebite Brawler (+ Wild Child??) 1/Rogue 1 (no archetype afaik) and will get up to Mythic Tier 3 by level 15 assuming I stick to current plans, but I'm all for general tips. Perhaps these can be added to one of the two existing Arcane Trickster guides! Build advice or items I can toss his way both work great.

Here are a couple that I came up with for my player to give an idea of what I'm looking for:

- Improved Familiar with a Wand of Mudball. The familiar can ready an action or delay to go just before you, hit them with the mudball, blinding the foe. This will ideally leave them denied Dex to AC (assuming they are not immune). Works great vs a single-target. Possibly too good, we'll see how it goes in play. Related: Quickened Mudball to remove the Familiar portion of the equation.

- Valet Familiar with Feint Partner. Familiar feints, then player blasts. Good tactic vs foes that can see through invisibility, but puts the familiar at risk of death.

- Pseudodragon with Evolved Familiar (Reach). Allows for flanking Sneak Attacks with melee touch spells. Definitely not an ideal situation for his character in particular, but good for more martial ATs.

- If your DM allows it (I'm on the fence), Wild Child is a freebie for Snakebite Striker 1-dips. All gain no loss.

So, any thing else you can think of? My player has the unique situation of being in a solo campaign, but any advice is surely welcome. We could pick up a couple players over the weeks and I'm sure other AT-lovers will appreciate it.

Also, any advice on how I can design encounters to not be feast-or-famine scenarios would be great. I don't want everything to see through his invisibility, but it would be nice to offer unique challenges every now and then.

I know the combat effectiveness of Rogues and Ninjas is often debated, a lot of it hinging on Sneak Attack. The arguments against it are good; Sneak Attack is horribly conditional, you will very likely have a lowish hit chance, and (assuming 100% hit chance) other classes can get very close to the same bonus damage and DPR.

Personally, I like Sneak Attack. It forces me to play differently in combat. I'm encouraged to flank or employ interesting party tactics that come out of feat chains like Moonlight Stalker. I won't deny it: I'm also a sucker for a bunch of attacks. I've never actually played a Sneak Attack character though. The downsides always keep me away and I find my oddball character concepts can't afford squeezing it in.

However, is there a situation in which Sneak Attack is worthwhile? Let's say you have high uptime on Greater Invisibility, does it finally become something worth looking into? What about Gang Up in a party with plenty of melee summons and companions? What if it's the damage focus on a character who can fallback and support with buff/controls for a fight where precision damage isn't an option? Can even the Sneak Attack haters out there find a use for it?!

Personal context in spoiler, very open to criticism on build idea, but not main focus of thread.

Looking for some help putting together/optimizing a build that uses the Kobold feat Scaled Disciple well. Let me say this: I'm a massive fan of Kobolds, but they kind of suck. Well, they do for this build. So I think the best course of action is to go Human, snag Racial Heritage (Kobold), and fly with it. Wonky? Yes. Against the rules? Doesn't seem like it. If the DM is bribed enough, I'm hoping I can run it as a larger Kobold/Wyvaran rather than a true Human. If I ever run the character, that is.

Ignoring all that weird "fluff", I'm looking to build the character rule-wise, but tidbits of fluff advice are welcome and appreciated.

Goals of the build:
Be better than a normal melee Cleric build, achieving decent levels of DPR without completely sacrificing spellcasting.

Work better or different enough from a standard Sorc/Paladin/Dragon Disciple build. I want this to feel different than that sort of character, if it can be managed, not just a relabel.

Come up with alternate plans. I'm a bit opposed to a Paladin dip personally, so if it is possible to come up with Build A that does include it and Build B that does not, that would be neat. If one build isn't a complete upgrade of another, keeping both on the table of discussion would be nice, especially if someone finds this thread later looking for a similar build. One for Inquisitor, one for Oracle, so on.

If possible, a level-by-level run-down from level 1 until a specific path loses relevance (usually 16 for a build like this I feel).

Spells that work well with the build.

Here are the ideas that I have brainstormed thus far:
Human with the Racial Heritage (Kobold) feat, the Scaled Disciple feat for starters. 20 point-buy would likely be something like this for an Oracle/X/Dragon Disciple:

STR: 20 (18+2) - Building around a high strength here due to DD boost
DEX: 10 - Dex to AC isn't too important for several Oracle mysteries
CON: 12 - A bit low, would be nice if higher
INT: 7 - Skills are not a focus of this build
WIS: 10 - Don't want an awful will-save, but can't afford to boost
CHA: 14 - Primary casting stat, boosting with magic items to keep spells castable

Notable melee dips:
Fighter - Unarmed Fighter or Weapon Master (Is natural weapons a choice or would it be claw/bite/tail?) Brawler would be nice if it applied to natural weapons. Gives bonus feats, heavy armor, weapons proficiencies... possibly bonus to damage.

Barbarian - Rage to produce an additional strength bonus. Can give more rounds of natural weapons, but not necessary (hopefully). Rage cycles nicely with Oracle Curse (Lame). Armored Hulk is a possible archetype for heavier armor. Could Prestige into Rage Prophet after DD seeing how Eldritch Knight is off the books.

Monk - Master of Many Styles is a good fit, Flurry is useless for this build. Lower BAB, no heavy armor, but good bonus feats, starts with Improved Unarmed Strike (see below), and improved damage die with unarmed strikes. 3/4 BAB, however.

Paladin - No archetypes stand out. Gives Char to saves, Smite Evil, Lay on Hands, heavy armor.

Ranger - Can get permanent claws, full BAB, favored enemy bonuses. Not too crazy about it, however. Doesn't give heavy armor, favored enemy can be limiting. Guide archetype could help with that.

Cavalier - Heavy armor, weapon proficiencies, but not much to write home about. Not crazy about mounts for a character like this and unmounted Cavaliers don't get much for a handful of levels.

To me, Barbarian seems like it would be the best. As much as I would love to get Gloves of Dueling and Weapon Training on a build like this, it doesn't seem feasible for the entire natural weapons group with less than 5 levels. Monk could also be a good choice, as they give plenty of solid feats for a small dip while improving Unarmed Strikes. I know using unarmed strikes might seem odd at first, but they are the only way (other than boot knives or those weird beard masks) to get iterative attacks to go alongside natural attacks at higher levels. Pre-6 BAB, it's probably best to use your attacks as primary and ignore "manufactured" weapons, but once the iterative attacks start piling on, it would seem silly to ignore them.

Feats of note:
Racial Heritage
Scaled Disciple
Tail Terror
A number of Weapon Focuses
Power Attack
Feral Combat Training, likely with Claws
Dragon Style
Dragon Ferocity when combined with Feral Combat Training
Eldritch Heritage (Abyssal) gives more claw/bite rounds and leads to...
Improved Eldritch Heritage for +2 Str (+4 at 15, and +6 at the elusive level 19)
A bit out there, but perhaps Two-Weapon Fighting and Double Slice? Really benefit from that large strength bonus.

Probably missing a handful, so hopefully someone can start pointing out the pieces I missed.

I'm thinking 3 levels in Oracle for the caster levels. In my opinion (which can be very wrong), I feel the Divine casting list is generally more sufficient for a buff-and-swing type of character when compared to the Arcane, and this character should use that to their advantage.

For curses, I'm thinking the Lame curse if going with Rage, otherwise Wolfscarred (and perhaps Deaf with Dual-cursed). Wolfscarred gives a bad bite attack and, perhaps more importantly, access to Magic Fang. Sadly, Greater Magic Fang doesn't kick in until 15th level, so... most likely never. Haunted and Legalistic are good choice, too.

Battle and Metal give access to Heavy Armor while Nature and Lore give Charisma to AC instead of Dex. Most likely, only one Revelations per Mystery is really even worth going for, so I think it depends on what I multiclass into. If heavy armor is already obtained, get Cha to AC. Otherwise, get the proficiency.

So, a lot of text here, and I'm just trying to get people started. Any help at all is appreciated, even if you have to call me an idiot.

I am trying to make an assassin type character that gets into melee like a rogue but has illusion based magic as back-up. I'd plan on using such spells like invisibility, the image spells, and hopefully some of the shadow spells. Currently some very rough ideas I threw together were:

Bard (Sandman) / Crimson Assassin(RMA) / Shadowdancer[I like the whole shade thing but I am unsure if it would work]

Rogue / Wizard (Shadowcaster) / Arcane Trickster

Ninja / Sorcerer (Shadow 3rd party) / Arcane Trickster

Link to the 3rd party bloodline: Shadow Bloodline

The Arcane Trickster PrC seemed like something to what I was looking for, but unfortunately with their low BAB it seems like you would end up spamming rays most of the time (I am willing to fall back on this if the whole melee thing ends up being a dead end) instead of being in melee getting off sneak attacks. I've been playing mostly blasters recently so anything to get away from that kind of feel would be nice.

Another option would be to go straight Sandman Bard, however with such infrequent sneak attack bonuses I feel like my damage would be rather pathetic in melee. I like the feel of sneak attacks although I could be convinced to just take power attack etc and rely on dervish dance or something to deal melee damage.

The character doesn't need to be optimized, as long as it can function well enough in combat. Currently we plan to go from level 1 to as high into the teens as we can go, hopefully until 20. My DM is rather nice when it comes to not killing our characters, he won't focus me just because I am there flanking kind of thing so I feel like I have a little more wiggle room to work with than usual.

I know this is all really rough and lacks a lot of fine details but any advice or ideas you have will be welcome.

Edit: My DM wanted me to stick to official PF stuff for the most part, 3.5 stuff is generally out of the question unless I clear it with him first (same with 3rd party)

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice with a build. I had an idea for a character that is essentially an armored lightning hurling holy-man for quite some time and have never actually put it into use. I made a concept build at some point in 3.5 but those records are long lost to me. I had a revival of love for the character after playing some good ol' Dark Souls and realizing what a fun character playing Solaire would be.

So yeah, the character.
Divine would help fit the "holy man" role, but honestly, I feel that if Arcane could somehow manage to do it, then prayer and worship could just be flavor for the character and I could pretend he learns from the Gods.

Ideally, I would like the character to use some sort of spear (long, short, trident, etc.) and a shield, though his actual defensive capabilities don't matter too much. As long as he has something more than cloth on, I think I'd be happy. For this reason, it would be great if his BAB was 3/4, perhaps with some full BAB from a PrC if that works well.

The spell list would be mostly focused on blastiness with Lightning (as in a "my gods are smiting you" kind of manner) if at all possible. It seems that fire would be the ideal route, and if necessary, I could see myself changing the character up to go that way. If it isn't too much of a hindrance, lightning and electric would be preferred.

For stats and books, 20 point buy and all Paizo books (and some 3rd party as per GM discretion) are allowed. Traits and all that jazz, too. I don't plan on seeing the character any higher than 14th or 15th level, but a full 20 level build is by all means more than fine.
I'm not looking for some optimized character possible, but to optimize the character concept and make it strong and fun, if that makes sense.

Here are some of my own ideas for starting points for critique, though anything you can think of is more than fine!

Storm Cleric w/ Sorc boosts:
One level in Crossblooded/Tattooed Sorc Orc/Dragon Bloodline
This gives +2 damage per die at a bit of a cost but would really help my few lightning spells hurt. Plus, I could grab an incredibly weak Shocking Grasp.
After that, Theologian Cleric with the Storm or Catastrophe subdomain (Weather and Destruction). Call Lightning doesn't really work with the Theologian Cleric's Domain Secret, though, and would normally be the key spell in my mind... Not sure how great Call Lightning would work with the rest of the build, either.
Eventually, I could enter Holy Vindicator for a bit more BAB and martial prowess.

Pros:
Hard hitting lightning spells
Pretty decent utility spells
Medium armor and martial weapons
Channel positive energy for some healing, too.

Cons:
Not that great martially
Honestly not too many spells that work with the build

Storm Druid w/ Sorc boosts:

As per above with Sorc.
Storm or Tempest Druid Archetype for a pretty similar thing as the Cleric, but a bit more Lightning spells and a lot of things that would allow me to ignore storm effects, if those ever come up. If Storm Druid is chosen, I could spontaneously cast some Domain spells instead of preparing them. With Tempest, I would have Trident proficiency and the ability to bend bolts (would be cool if I could somehow get Lightning Bolt myself and use this to avoid friendly damage, though I don't see a way to)
Pros:
Hard hitting lightning spells
A lot more lightning spells
Still a good selection of utility spells

Cons:
Armor restrictions
Wild Shape doesn't fit the character, really
Druid just doesn't really fit the character that much. More nature based, less smiting based.

A similar thing as the Cleric/Sorc build could work with Oracle if I was going the fire route, but I don't see a good way to do Lightning with Oracles.

Cleric/Fighter/Holy Vindicator or Cleric/Fighter/Hellknight Signifier seem to be possibilities, too. It would definitely have a lot more of the martial ability with some spell support then the other builds, but I'm just not sure if either of these builds could support any blasty spells at all.

The post is getting a bit long but I will list some spells that seem to have potential. Of course, I would have no qualms about using spells like Holy Ice or even Infernal Healing as long as the spell does its job and my character still has a focus.

Gozreh's Trident: A lightning spear for a couple rounds, though Str mod doesn't increase the damage and thus isn't that great for the character if I manage to find the room for a decent strength score.

Call Lightning: Wooh lightning damage! Isn't very bursty and doesn't work well with metamagic, though. Also, though it is a duration spell, I couldn't attack and Call Lightning at the same time, which is too bad.

Call Lightning Storm: As above.

Control Weather: Could boost the damage of the last two listed abilities.

Ball Lightning: Pretty similar to Call Lightning, but can be moved as a move action.

Lightning Bolt: Would be beautiful, but I don't think there is any way for a Divine caster to get it.

Am I better off just going fire? If so, how would you best do it? I think the character is just trying to do too much to actually do anything at all, but perhaps someone out there can save me. Any tips or love?