Z. H. Darkstar's page

At least he didn't say lamb & tuna...

Edit: That shankslinger archetype looks awesome. I think I'm going to use that to inflict as much stabbity death as possible on my group's PCs. I'm either going to add the suggested Knife Master dip or bust out Talented Rogue, depending on how badly I feel like punishing them.

Okay, I think I'm getting it. While looking through the CR 1 fey, I found a possible balance issue. There are quite a few CR 1 fey that have multiple hit die, allowing them to cap out at an earlier witch level. The faun is the most broken of the bunch with 3 HD and medium size stats. That's essentially starting at 1st level with a 3rd level sorcerer cohort. Since most games are unlikely to reach levels 16-20 (post-faun cap out) anyways, there's no reason to pick any other fey as a familiar. The risks associated with having a medium size spellbook are nothing compared to the rewards of having a free caster partner that out-levels you until after 5th level. I think that an errata should be in order to limit the starting hit die to one regardless of bestiary entry, much like a mount or animal companion.

I also noticed that applying the Fey Creature template to any of the normal familiar options is a very bad choice, as none of them would have a Charisma over 9 afterwards. Perhaps a modified version of the familiar progression chart with a scaling Charisma score, instead of Intelligence, should be added for those who wish to go the template route.

I has two more questions regarding SLAs. How many times per day can the SLAs gained from hit die advancement be used? Does the Feybound Crone's use of a limited-uses-per-day SLA count against the Fey Familiar's total uses, or does she have her own pool of uses?

I knew this archetype was going to be confusing at first when I reviewed the book. I just never expected this many questions and concerns to pop up while trying to fill out a character sheet. I did learn quite a bit about the various qualifying fey in the process, so at least that's a plus.

Thanks for the quick response. However, there are still two more things that could use a little clarification.

1. What do you mean by "A fey familiar learns spells as a spontaneous caster and is a Charisma-based spellcaster"? The mention of the sorcerer list leads me to believe you mean to use sorcerer progression.

2. First World Magic leaves me confused as to how exactly this archetype's spell acquisition and preparation differ from a vanilla witch. I get the second sentence about SLAs instead of cantrips, part of what I really like about the archetype. It's the sentences before and after that could use some explaining. Can I prepare spells my familiar knows that aren't on the witch list? That's just one of the many questions I have regarding the way that one ability works.

I know I can just handwave a lot of these things myself, but knowing the intended function is better in the long run. I have another group where I'm still a player and not the sub-GM in charge of NPC creation/combat, a position I'm in because the GM hates how powerful my knowledge of character creation is when used against him. :P

How exactly does Feybound work? Do you apply the Fey Creature template to the normal familiar options or do you pick a fey from the bestiary? I'm building a half-elf Hexcrafter Cabalist(Orc bloodline)/Feybound Crone as a recurring NPC that will eventually go Heathen and align with BBEG. However, the party first meets her before then, so I need a pre-PrC version of her familiar. Any suggestions for a familiar that's not telling her witch the whole truth about her patron?

Posted my review today. I would've had it up sooner, but the site was acting up yesterday before I had to go to my game.

I'm pairing this up with Deep Magic to make the Warlock that I'm running into a clockwork cyborg using the Clockwork mystery and the Mechanical bloodline with Eldritch Heritage.

The wording on Clockwork Incorporation is a little confusing.

"Choose one of the following options whenever you can select a new revelation. You can select each option only once, but you can select a different option each time you are able to choose a new revelation."

Are the listed options gained in addition to the new revelations or in place of them?

Just picked this up for an upcoming game. I'll do a thorough review in the morning. In the mean time, I had a question. Can you take the Weapon Mastery revelation (Battle) for Eldritch Blast?

At the very least, adding Weaponwand to the list of spells that can be made permanent would make the wand wielder magus arcana worth the wealth investment associated with it. Another idea would be to make a weapon/shield magic ability, either flat-rate or +1, that functions like Weaponwand with the ability to manually eject the wand with a command or automatically when empty.

Has there been any clarification on Greater Vanishing Trick? All it currently states is a concept without any mechanical definitions attached to it regarding point cost, caster level, or duration.

I would really love to use Ki Magus with Rite Publishing's Primagus and Ninja to make the uber Arcane Trickster. However, it's hard to do so in its current state.

I just picked this up to bolster a Wrestler for a game tomorrow. Lo and behold, I found an even better class to play with the arcane grappler. Unfortunately, I noticed one big missing feature: no listed weapon/armor proficiencies. The skill points per level is also missing.

I was also hoping the pdf had a clarification on the Wrestler's Mountainous Power as that did not have a listed duration in the King of the Ring pdf.

Edit: Do Arcane Grapplers use their Con or Int mod for determining the DC of their grappling techniques?

Edit 2: The class skill set looks incomplete without Acrobatics and Escape Artist. Those are staples for the Wrestler that I will always houserule as class skills for Arcane Grappler. A grappling class without Escape Artist just feels weird...

Also, moving Eldritch Knowledge to 4th level as Drayco84 suggested makes more sense, as a 1st level bonus spell is a lot more useful at 4th level than at 9th. Going with the 3 level progression would be granting the bonus spells when you first gain warlock spells that are one level higher, instead of the bonus spells being two levels behind. No need to open the flood gates, as 6 cherrypicked spells is still a nice boon to give each Warlock an unique set of extra tricks. The shadow conjuration/evocation spells could add extra blasting options. Of course, having access to the witch's healing spells opens up other support strategies. Also, it forces the player to plan for longer term utility as these 6 spells can't be swapped out like the rest of a warlock's spells known.

Flurry Blast looks fine to me, but a little clarification on whether a creature can be targeted more than once would be nice. I'm inclined to believe that you can as the progression mirrors spells like Scorching Ray with multiple rays.

I agree that an Improved Hideous Blow of sorts would be useful to take advantage of the 3/4 BAB. My version of it would add half of the EB damage to iterative melee attacks in a full attack with the bonus to attack from Hideous Blow.

Extra Invocation seems like a feat that should exist considering every other Extra "class feature" feat like it. Although I guess the one from Complete Arcane would suffice, although the restrictions to being of one lesser degree should be lifted as there's only three degrees in your conversion instead of four.

I second the notion that not separating invocations into blasts and essences does kind of nerf the versatility that shaping invocations had in 3.5. It gave each warlock's eldritch blast a more unique touch. Otherwise, it makes it necessary to spend your Eldritch Knowledge bonus spells if you want any effective blasting variety.

Drayco84's idea of a divine spell list nature archetype does lend itself to good warlocks having a different rp dynamic. Not too familiar with divine spells to suggest an alternate list, but it is something that I'd look into if there's interest from others.

Sorry for the thread necro, but I felt the need to post it here as it's the fulfillment of something stated 9 months ago. I added support for this class and your Warmage to my Magical Senshi PrC. Let me know what you think of it, especially if things need to be balanced better.

I love this product. The Hardcore is perfect for a Casey Jones build. I did have a question about Powerful Improvisation, as the wording is a little confusing. Does the damage increase to 2*(Weapon)+Unarmed?

The new hybrid classes look pretty damn dope. I can't even imagine the archetypes planned for these classes.

Arcanist is pretty much the most broken arcane caster ever. Prepares just like a Wiz but treats prepared spells like a Sorc's spells known. So the most versatile class became even more versatile than before. Heaven forbid one ever gets its hands on a Blessed Book.

Bloodrager is essentially a non-bloodline specific Sorc/Barb Dragon Disciple as a base class. The bloodrage bloodlines are an interesting spin on existing sorc bloodlines.

Brawler is the unarmed fighter finally done right. Take monk punching and the non-Wisdom AC bonus and slap on the fighter's bab/hd with an ability that grants temporary combat feats on the fly.

Hunter is a druid/ranger mix that is all about working in tandem with your animal companion. Definitely a good class to play for those familiar with teamwork feats.

Investigator is the vivisectionist archetype with access to rogue talents and trapping. Mix this with a dip in Brawler would make an interesting batman-esque build, with the extracts being part of your utility belt.

Shaman is one of the more interesting classes in the bunch. It turns an oracle into a prepared caster like a cleric with a wtich's familiar instead of a curse, while granting access to hexes in addition to those granted by the mystery variants called spirits.

Skalds are bards with rage powers. Seems like it could be a fun option for those who like the idea of a more combat-oriented bard. This is pretty much the Dethklok class.

Slayer is the ideal choice for rangers who don't care about animal companions or the small smattering of spellcasting. Favored Target + Sneak Attack is the name of this game. Add track, quarry, and rogue-like talents to the mix and you have the perfect partner for an Investigator both in and out of combat.

Swashbuckler is the perfect alternative for games that don't allow firearms, It uses a firearms-less version of the gunslinger's deeds with the fighter's weapon training with a focus on weapon finesse, making this a more ideal dex fighter.

Warpriest is little more than a cleric giving up 7th-9th level spells and domain spells for fighter weapon and armor training and domain variants called blessings. Pretty much a more focused version of preexisting melee cleric concepts.

All in all, I think this is going to be a great new addition to Pathfinder. If anyone wants to run a game or mock battle on roll20.net, let me know.

I was curious as to the reason why Mirror Blast is a melee touch attack instead of ranged.

I love this conversion and plan on using it as the Pathfinder side of the equation when I expand the Magical Senshi PrC I made for The-Mage-King's Sentai class to include Warlocks and other notable non-core casters from 3.5.

That Warmage looks nice too, so that'll be probably get added into the mix later tonight. If you have any other conversions of the 3.5 non-core casters, I'd like to see them to add further compatibility. A lack of PF conversions is the reason why I'm missing some of the obscure 3.5 caster classes in my design as my group switched over to PF forever ago.

Look under the abilities you can give legendary items at tier 6.

One of them allows you to ignore AC and Deflection bonuses.

Forgot about that one. In that case, maybe tack on 4 levels of monk to make use of mythic monastic legacy with a ridiculous WIS score on top to make up for the loss of armor for non-caster baddies.

Your Rule 0 is exactly how I interpreted the abilities anyways. The last bolded section under full round action just states that you the choice of option A or option B, but does not state that A and B are the same thing.

As for the Machine Gun, you misread Fleet Warrior. He's still limited to his speed for total movement. As for the dealing with his attacks against touch ac, consider giving the baddies a ridiculous deflection bonus or some other bonus to AC that's hard to overcome.

I did look at the Gun Mage before. One of the problems I had with it is that it doesn't even a single simple weapon proficiency, "A gunmage only gains proficiency with one-handed firearms." Even wizards and sorcerers know how to use a couple melee weapons for emergency use. A gun mage couldn't use the dagger portion of a dagger pistol without a penalty as written.

As for the Dante build, you could just take your two gun pallys and have the abilities be exclusive to each pistol. Any Neutral for alignment restriction, Detect Good/Evil becomes Detect Alignment, and the Aura of Neutrality is actually both Good & Evil but each is at half level, thus it appears neutral on the surface (maybe require Spell Resistance check to discover). Spell list could be a condensed mashup of the two lists, comprised 70% of spells they share and 15% from each set of class-exclusive spells. Not sure how to handle Lay on Hands/Touch of Corruption but Mercy/Cruelty only work with the appropriately aligned pistol, so it encourages taking Deeds more as you could use them with either pistol instead of your choice only being half effective.

Early firearms are going to be commonplace in this setting so that's why the firearms rules aren't exactly vanilla. Even though the culture is a mashup of pop culture references from the past 50 years, magic filled the role of science so certain technologies evolved differently.

I completely forgot about Distance, which means rifling can be added to make a legendary triple range increment weapon. (I think I'm saving that for a boss NPC!) Everloaded wasn't going to be on the Gun-Fu Master's guns but more likely to go on the Rogue's dagger pistol for short-range sneak attacks.

The spell-storing bullets I found there makes for a more versatile Myrmidarch than the Myrmidarch itself. The Magus spell list just doesn't have that many useful ranged touch spells so giving him a way to use those melee touch spells at a range is nice.

I also have a very interesting character dynamic for a tiefling paladin using your gun archetypes. He's going to be a schizophrenic Div-spawn (devil dad/cleric mother) who thinks he hears the voices of the Angels of Mercy and Death in his head. His alignment and powers change depending on which Angel is in control: Mercy makes him a Holy Gun and Death makes him a Hell Gunner. His weapon is going to change in appearance with his powers but functionally remain the same regardless of which form he's using. Which would you suggest: double-barreled pistol or double-barreled musket?

Thanks for the quick reply. It actually makes my life easier as the Gun-Fu Master is a new player so simpler is better. I'm using this with some of the goodies from d20pfsrd like Rifled Barrels, Everloaded, and the different ammo types to make things interesting. Since I am allowing the use of the Guided weapon ability, would you recommend using it over Agile to get the gun-whips off Str for damage?

EDIT: Also, how would a Monk's Robe affect the Gun-Whip damage?

A: (Level + 5)/2
or
B: (Level/2)+5

First thing, I love the archetypes in the guide. There's finally enough gun-related material between this and the other 3rd party stuff on d20pfsrd that I can run a game that is one part magic and one part Police Academy 4.

My question is regarding the Gun-Fu Master's Gritty Ki, specifically this line:
"...gritty ki counts as the gunslinger's Grit class feature for the purposes of qualifying for feats and deeds."

I get that you could get more deeds via feats and that part makes sense to the GFM. However, does this also give you access to the deeds a vanilla Gunslinger gets access to via level progression?

EDIT: Upon further examination of the current version and assuming an answer of "No" to my question, it looks like that the GFM can only gain a non-feat-only deed via Amateur Gunslinger, but only if it's taken at either 1st or 3rd level. Once they hit level 4, they no longer qualify for Amateur Gunslinger as they have a Grit pool. Was there any other intention for the Grit pool other than getting access to the Grit recovery for extra ki points?

My group is going to play our first Pathfinder game soon. GM is looking to do a steampunk/spaghetti western game where firearms are no longer exotic weapons but early/advanced = simple/martial. I'm planning on running a Elf Bladebound Myrmidarch wielding a revolver shortsword. I convinced him to let me use it since the weapon actually existed and is period-appropriate. Stat-wise, it's a small revolver/medium shortsword double-weapon.

We roll stats the old-fashioned way but I already surmised from the Magus guide that I need to go Dex > Int > Con > Wis > Str > Cha. First feat is obviously going to be Weapon Finesse with the Agile magic weapon ability on the sword, but I could use some advice on where to go from there.

Edit: Before anyone mentions it, I've already read about the Gunmage archetype from the netbooks. I know I'm taking the double hit to spells and arcane pool but I think I can make this double stack something fun to play.