After fifty days at sea, the Pathfinder lodge at Heidmarch Manor in Magnimar is a welcome place to spend the night on dry land. In the shade of the gazebo on the shore of the manor’s exotic carp pond, the resident venture-captain, Sheila Heidmarch, speaks to the assembled Pathfinders in a low, breathy voice.
“I hope you’ve found your brief stay here in the City of Monuments relaxing. The Pathfinder Society owes you a debt of gratitude for engaging in such an important and lengthy mission. When you set out from Absalom nearly two months ago, I’m sure you never anticipated the monotony of a life at sea, but I’m happy we can put you up as the ship restocks before the final leg of the journey to the Mordant Spire.
“Thus far, you have done an excellent job of representing the Society as the escorts of the Mordant Spire’s envoy, the distinguished Sephriel, whom we hope had a productive meeting with the Decemvirate regarding the Azlanti ruins over which the Mordant Spire elves hold such a protective position. If he was pleased with the meeting and doesn’t find you too
reprehensible, perhaps we can launch full expeditions into the lost continent of Azlant from this very lodge in the near future.”
She winks, and her eyes glance around the assembled agents. With a wry smirk, she continues.
“Keep up the good work, and ensure that Sephriel’s final two weeks on the Throaty Mermaid are as pleasant and event-free as they can be on
as disreputable a smugglers’ ship as it is. Thus far, it’s provided an
unassuming cover for such an important dignitary. Let’s hope the unscrupulous crew delivers their current cargo on time and in pristine condition. When you arrive at Riddleport after dropping Sephriel at the Mordant Spire, a chartered boat will be waiting to take you back to Absalom. May Desna’s blessings be upon you.”
I'll open the gameplay thread a few days before the official event start.
Misc. Procedural Info
To keep up a pleasant pace, I will be rolling for the party any opposed checks and saves. All proactive rolls will be left to the players, but I may provide prompting for specific skills now and then. If you cast a spell or employ an effect that offers a saving throw, please provide the DC in your post.
If your build includes any immediate spells, re-roll granting effects or other out-of-turn abilities, such as Saving Finale, Improved Iron Will, or Step Up, please let me know in advance so that I can make appropriate adjustments to the publication of rolls.
In combat, if any player has not posted within a day and a half of the last GM update, I will default to what I deem a reasonable course of action, based on circumstances and past behavior, that does not exhaust any non-trivial consumables. Out of combat, after a full day with no activity, I will proceed under the assumption the missing player(s) agrees to follow the current course.
If you predict that you will be unable to post for a day or two and inform us before hand, I will be willing to extend the window. You may also designate another player to dictate your character's actions during a brief absence with whatever license you wish to allow.
Everyone feel free to provide conditional directions, especially in combat, to a reasonable degree of specificity. Otherwise, actions within an initiative block will be resolved in the order they are posted, and delay actions will be assumed where it matters.
Recruiting up to six intrepid Pathfinders to escort an elven ambassador on his voyage home to the Mordant Spire, on which absolutely nothing goes horribly wrong when someone definitely isn't mysteriously murdered.
Scenario Info:
Though your adventure will not be devoid of combat, the scenario is heavy on investigation. Your quest will proceed noticeably smoother with the intelligent application of social skills and deductive techniques.
Such tools will serve you well in many areas, not the least of which will be in the completion of your special faction missions, the completion of which will determine whether you receive your second prestige point at the mission's end. Because this is a Season 2 scenario, PCs of the Andoran, Cheliax, Osirion, Qadira, and Taldor faction will experience richer role-playing opportunities, while those of the Grand Lodge, Sczarni, and Silver Crusade will have to suffice with the mission of one of the other five.
About Faction Missions:
If you have played PFS in the last several months, you will be familiar with secondary success conditions, hidden goals which determine whether a party earns the bonus 2nd prestige point on completion of a scenario. The reward method replaced the older system of faction missions, in which players were given faction-specific handouts at the start of the scenario with instructions on how to further their organization's goals while completing their main quest.
While most scenarios abandoned their faction missions entirely with the advent of the new rules, this particular adventure has instead converted them to secondary success conditions. If you have ever wondered what the old system was like, or have ever yearned for the retro experience of stealing everything not nailed down to satisfy Baron Jacquo's hoarder tendencies, this is the scenario for you.
General Requirements:
-Familiarity with Pathfinder rules in general, and Society play in particular. The PFS Guide to Organized Play and Additional Resources are the best sources for the latter, both available for free on this site.
-A legal PFS character of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level, with a complete pazio.com messageboard profile.
-An abbreviated stat block somewhere in the Classes/Levels field of your profile with essential values for yourself and any companions. One potential format with example values: HP 10/10 | AC: 18 /T: 13 /FF: 15 | Perc. +4 | F: +4 / R: +3 /W: +0 | CMB +5 | CMD +17 | Speed 20 | Init. +3
-Ability to interact with Google Docs, where maps will be hosted.
-The ability and desire to post at least once a day over the next few weeks. To demonstrate that you have read the above and confirm your eligibility, include the name of a musical genre somewhere in your post.
The Game Day doesn't begin until April 5th, but with so many tables already recruiting, it's in everyone's interest to establish their commitments ahead of time. Everyone who signs up by 11:59 PM (EDT) on Saturday, March 15th will potentially have a seat at the table. If I receive more than six signups, the final roster will be determined randomly. Otherwise, everyone will take aboard, and if we still have less than six, the remainder will be filled out on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The recently released Peoples of the Sands player companion includes an interesting new trait.
Community Minded (Rahadoum): While some pray to the gods for mercy or prosperity, you follow a different tack—you believe in improving the lives of those around you through earnest labor and the efforts of you and your community. Your hard-earned discipline and the candor of your words affect all who bear witness. Any morale bonuses you confer upon your allies through your own abilities or spells last 2 additional rounds.
"Wait a minute," you might be saying, "isn't that just a souped-up version of Optimistic Gambler, which was already one of the best traits around?"
Yes and no, but yes.
2 rounds is slightly less desirable than 1d4, and you can't extend bonus granted by external sources, including your allies. Your allies, however, will receive extended buffs from *you*. And you have to be from Rahadoum, which I think we can all agree is a bonus. Most crucially, however, Community-Minded, unlike its predecessor, is PFS legal.
Advice Forum, how would you best take advantage of this wondrous boon?
There have already been a haversack of threads discussing Optimistic Gambler + Barbarian rage, and another on Touch of Rage. What are some more esoteric short-duration Morale bonuses that would benefit from this trait?
Does a weapon with multiple exclusive damage types always count as a weapon of each type, or does it vary based on the chosen mode? Ex. the duelist's Precise Strike ability allows her to add her class level to damage rolls "with a light or one-handed piercing weapon." Would she be able to use Precise Strike when using a dagger (P or S) to deal slashing damage?
The intent seems pretty clear--you get the benefits only if you're actually dealing the listed damage type--but this inquiry was sparked by a situation in PFS, so the RAW is what matters. I'm not out for a reductive argument wherein the definitions of common words are called into question, but the CRB does not provide a conclusive answer.
I'm having trouble deciding which of these competing racial traits to take on my half-orc warpriest of Abadar, before playing his first scenario at 2nd level and departing the comforting bosom of free retraining. Both seem to have strong synergy with his class and two-handed frontliner build.
Orc Ferocity: Once per day, when a half-orc is brought below 0 hit points but not killed, he can fight on for 1 more round as if disabled. At the end of his next turn, unless brought to above 0 hit points, he immediately falls unconscious and begins dying.
PRO Fervor ability of warpriests (essentially single-target, touch-range, partial-dice-progression channel energy) can be used to heal self as swift action.
PRO No must-have feats at 1st level as a partial BAB class, making Ferocious Resolve an easy pickup.
CON 1st level feat could still be spent on generic survivability options like Improved Initiative or Toughness.
Sacred Tattoo: Half-orcs with this racial trait gain a +1 luck bonus on all saving throws. This racial trait replaces orc ferocity.
PRO Excellent combo with Fate's Favored, which also works well with luck bonuses from warpriest (cleric) spell list, eg. Divine Favor.
CON Warpriest already has good Fort and Will saves, and is Wis-based on top of that.
They both appear to be strong defensive options. Orc Ferocity seems better at surviving a worst-case encounter, while Sacred Tattoo seems better at avoiding that situation altogether. This character will likely receive my GM chronicles from a home game of Dragon's Demand, so he may skip several early levels if that matters. Has anyone had great success (or failure) with either of these racial traits?
“There’s trouble at the Blakros Museum again,” Venture-Captain Adril Hestram growled when you first entered the meeting room in the Grand Lodge earlier this afternoon. “The museum’s curator, Nigel Aldain, came to me this morning asking for help. Apparently, a wayward daughter of his illustrious patrons, the powerful Blakros family, has disappeared, along with a few of the museum’s watchmen who went looking for her. The Society has helped him in the past, and he wants us to find her, before he loses his job, or worse. Now Nigel’s an old friend, and a former Pathfinder, but this kind of missing person case isn’t really our bailiwick. Normally I’d tell him to find the district guard and leave the Society out of it.
“But then he made me an offer that was too good to pass up. Not only will he allow the Society access to the Blakros Museum’s extensive and very private library, but apparently this same missing daughter just returned to Absalom with a pack full of ancient relics collected throughout Osirion and northern Garund. And Nigel promised the Society first pick of any of those pieces that catch our fancy. I don’t need to tell you what those kinds of things might be worth, so it looks like you’re heading to the Blakros Museum tonight.
“The missing daughter is named Imrizade Blakros—half-Osirian herself and a pretty successful adventurer and fortune- hunter by all accounts. She just arrived in Absalom out of the blue a few days ago, after a couple of years’ worth of tomb-raiding in the Osirian deserts, and carrying an odd metal cylinder covered in hieroglyphs, like nothing Nigel has ever seen before. Nigel says she went straight to the basement of the museum to do some research in the family’s library, muttering something about ‘whispers in the dark’ and ‘old tapestries,’ or something. He didn’t hear from her for a couple of days, which isn’t unusual when someone is deep into their research in the archives, but he got worried when strange noises started coming from the basement. He sent a watchman down there to investigate, and when he didn’t return, Nigel sent a few more. That was last night, and they haven’t come back up either.
“Go to the museum and find out what happened to Imrizade Blakros and the watchmen. Nigel would prefer them alive, of course, especially the Blakros woman, but the Society is more interested in what she brought back with her. I’ve got a hunch it wasn’t just grave goods and pretty jewelry. Whatever she found, the Society wants it, or at the very least some information about it.”
Now would be a fitting time to roll Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), and/or Diplomacy (gather information) to assess the task before you.
I'll put up the gameplay thread once we have four confirmed.
Misc. Procedural Info
To keep up a pleasant pace, I will be rolling for the party any opposed checks and saves. All proactive rolls will be left to the players, but I may provide prompting for specific skills now and then. If you cast a spell or employ an effect that offers a saving throw, please provide the DC in your post.
If your build includes any immediate spells, re-roll granting effects or other out-of-turn abilities, such as Saving Finale, Improved Iron Will, or Step Up, please let me know in advance so that I can make appropriate adjustments to the publication of rolls.
In combat, if any player has not posted within a day and a half of the last GM update, I will default to what I deem a reasonable course of action, based on circumstances and past behavior, that does not exhaust any non-trivial consumables. Out of combat, after a full day with no activity, I will proceed under the assumption the missing player agrees to follow the current course.
If you predict that you will be unable to post for a day or two and inform us before hand, I will be willing to extend the window. You may also designate another player to dicate your character's actions during a brief absence with whatever license you wish to allow.
Everyone feel free to provide conditional directions, especially in combat, to a reasonable degree of specificity. Otherwise, actions within an initiative block will be resolved in the order they are posted, and delay actions will be assumed where it matters.
Recruiting one daring Pathfinder to delve the depths of the Blakros museum, and solve the disappearance of a missing heir.
If you have played the first Blakros scenario, 0-5 Mists of Mwangi, you can expect similar structure from this one: exploring dangerous museum property, with encounters skewing towards combat rather than puzzles or social challenges.
You will be rounding out a four-person party, with three spots reserved for friends and unselected applicants for my previous scenario. These slots will likely be filled by a Wizard 1, an Inquisitor 2, and (some martial class from the ACG) 1. A fair degree of party balance is all but guaranteed, so all classes will be equally welcome, including (especially, perhaps) Advanced Classes from the ongoing playtest.
Requirements:
-Familiarity with Pathfinder rules in general, and Society play in particular. PFS Guide to Organized Play and Additional Resources are the best sources for the latter.
-A legal PFS character of 1st or 2nd level, with a complete pazio.com messageboard profile.
-An abbreviated stat block somewhere in the Classes/Levels field of your profile with essential values for yourself and any companions. One potential format with example values: HP 10/10 | AC: 18 /T: 13 /FF: 15 | Perc. +4 | F: +4 / R: +3 /W: +0 | CMB +5 | CMD +17 | Speed 20 | Init. +3
-The ability and desire to post at least once a day over the next few weeks.
I'll keep signups open until noon on Tuesday the 26th (EST). To demonstrate that you have read the above and confirm your eligibility, include a nautical idiom in your post. Any questions about what you can expect from me as a GM and/or about any rules interactions specific to your character are more than welcome.
Q: Which skills, if any, cannot be used by quadrupeds or by other creatures lacking arms?
I'm asking for my PFS summoner and his quadruped eidolon, but I suppose the question isn't PFS-specific. The APG says, "An eidolon can assign skill ranks to any skill, but it must possess the appropriate appendages to use some skills." Fly requires some method of flights, and Climb requires "both hands," and Sleight of Hand has "Hand" in the name. Disable Device seems like it could go either way, but a quadruped eidolon would probably have a tough time with Craft (calligraphy) or Profession (barrister) as well.
On logging in today, I noticed that the PDFs listed under 'My Downloads' are now organized by type, and that each type category can be expanded or minimized individually.
If this is a new feature: Great! The improvement to readability is much appreciated.
If this is an existing feature I just turned on somehow: What took me so long?
If the trigger to a readied action involves a creature moving into range of a spell or attack, is the creature considered to be fully within than range when the readied action is taken?
Example: Say you’ve got an inquisitor facing down a longspear-wielding Hill Giant. The inquisitor readies an action to cast Rebuke when the giant enters the spell's 20 ft. range. The giant, who has 20 ft. reach, moves into a space 20 feet away from the inquisitor. When the inquisitor casts the spell (non-defensively), can the giant take an attack of opportunity? Does it matter if the giant is making a regular move, or taking a 5-foot step?
Shriek (Su) Instead of biting, a vargouille can open its distended mouth to shriek. Those within 60 feet (except other vargouilles) who hear the shriek and can clearly see the creature must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 2d4 rounds or until the monster attacks them, goes out of range, or leaves their sight. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same vargouille's shriek for 24 hours. The save DC is Constitution-based.
I have a player trying to defend against this ability with countersong, which seems like a very logical use. However, countersong as written only works against "sonic or language-dependent magical attack[s]." Supernatural abilities are usually magical, I believe, but the PF bestiary entry doesn't specify sonic, language-dependent, or any other qualities, while the 3.5 bestiary calls Shriek "a mind-affecting fear effect." What's the fairest way to rule here?
What is the allowable use of gold found during a scenario?
An excerpt from the scenario that triggered this question, with spoilers removed:
Quote:
For Tier 1–2, a sack of 500 gp (for random expenses) can be found in the desk. For Tier 4–5, the sack contains 200 pp.
...
Rewards: If the PCs recover the sack in the desk, reward each tier thusly:
Tier 1–2:
Give each player 233 gp.
Tier 4–5:
Give each player 348 gp.
The reward does not reflect an even split for a party of any size, in either tier, so what's the point of the gold in the sack, other than unlocking the reward? They don't get to keep it, of course, but the 'random expenses' line suggests to me that I should allow the PCs to use the gold to pay for, say, spellcasting services after the main quest is over.
The gold provides them with absolutely no benefit to advance the scenario itself, so that's the only point I can imagine. But when I played this adventure as a player, the GM apparently actually mentioned the group finding the sack, but only added the reward gold.
What happens when a monster or other NPC loses all its HP? Does it die immediately, or can it dip into negatives, and follow the same disabled-dying-dead progression as PCs?
Example scenario: The party has encountered a lackey of a local warlord, and wants to interrogate him for information. On the lackey stat block, the morale entry says something like, "Fearful of his employer's wrath, the vicious thug will fight to the death." The PCs take the lackey to 0 with full lethal damage. Could they then attempt to stabilize him and take him alive, or would he be dead the moment he lost his last hit point?
The Blakros Museum rises into the night sky, its single black spire severing the full moon in twain. The black iron gates surrounding the exhibition hall grind in protest against the wind. Beyond, the museum’s large oaken doors stand wide open, a silver-gray mist belching forth from the cavernous darkness within. You wonder how you ended up here, standing at the precipice of unknown terrors, and instantly Venture-Captain Adril Hestram’s wide looming face is conjured into your minds’ eye. His booming words ring out from memory as clearly as he spoke them only one hour ago:
“The Blakros Museum is cursed. Some darkness has descended upon the place and those who enter are blasted with evil and left raving through its halls, more beast than men. The curator, Nigel Aldain, is an old associate of the Society, though he chose to leave our organization some years back after a disagreement.” Adril looked sheepish then, as if remembering some distasteful incident from his youth.
“Nigel has long denied the Society access to the Blakros Museum’s considerable collection of relics and scrolls, using his extensive contacts to nab several excellent finds right out from under us... he always had a nose for the hunt. Whatever is past between Nigel and the Society, he needs our help now. Perhaps if we can come to his aid, he may think on rejoining the Pathfinder Society, or at least offering to share his discoveries with us.”
“Apparently the trouble at Blakros Museum began this morning, shortly after a wayward Pathfinder named Lugizar Trantos returned to Absalom after months spent in the Mwangi Expanse. Supposedly, instead of coming straight to the Lodge to report in, he went to Blakros, sold his finds to Nigel, and then disappeared with a hefty sum of gold. The few who glimpsed Lugizar claimed he was much changed by his time in the Mwangi... gaunt, his eyes yellowed and unfocused, a strange rasping cough that seemed to wrack his now wasted frame. Whatever he brought back with him, we believe it is the cause of the Blakros Museum’s ills. Root it out.”
You have been shuttled off with little time to prepare. The only aid the Venture-Captain could give came in the form of a museum visitor's map and the suggestion to first seek Nigel in the offices.
Before entering the museum, everyone may roll Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), and/or Diplomacy (gather information). Knowledge and Diplomacy checks may both be made untrained, bu such Knowledge checks will not provide any info above DC 10.
Also, Caern: I forgot to mention earlier, but you should declare now if you would like your familiar to be counted as a combat pet for the duration of the scenario. Combat pets can attack and be attacked, while a non-combat familiar will be basically an inanimate object on your person during fights.
At the table:
Caern Esriellen - Wizard 1
Alia Charybdis - Cleric 1
Arret Vell - Cleric 1
Fissah Fuihlah - Bard 1
Confirm here that you have read the information below and finalized your build, and ask other questions you may have. As soon as everyone is ready, I'll open the Gameplay thread.
Misc. Procedural Information
To keep up a pleasant pace, I will be rolling for the party any opposed checks and saves. All proactive rolls will be left to the players, but I may provide prompting for specific skills now and then. If you cast a spell or employ an effect that offers a saving throw against an enemy, please provide the DC.
If your build includes any immediate spells, re-roll granting effects or other out-of-turn abilities, such as Saving Finale, Improved Iron Will, or Step Up, please let me know in advance so that I can make appropriate adjustments to the publication of rolls.
In combat, if any player has not posted within a day and a half of the last GM update, I will default to what I deem a reasonable course of action, based on circumstances and past behavior, that does not exhaust any non-trivial consumables. Out of combat, after a full day with no activity, I will proceed under the assumption the missing player agrees to follow the current course.
If you predict that you will be unable to post for a day or two and inform us before hand, I will be willing to extend the window. You may also designate another player to dicate your character's actions during a brief absence with whatever license you wish to allow.
Everyone feel free to provide conditional directions, especially in combat, to a reasonable degree of specificity. Otherwise, actions within an initiative block will be resolved in the order they are posted.
Finally, for any players new to PbP, remember to use appropriate tags in the Gameplay thread. [ ooc][ /ooc] for out of character, [ b][ /b] for "dialogue," and [ i][ /i] for thoughts and mental communication.
At 1st level, as part of a full-attack action, a maneuver master can make one additional combat maneuver, regardless of whether the maneuver normally replaces a melee attack or requires a standard action. The maneuver master uses his monk level in place of his base attack bonus to determine his CMB for the bonus maneuvers, though all combat maneuver checks suffer a –2 penalty when using a flurry.
At 8th level, a maneuver master may attempt a second additional combat maneuver, with an additional –3 penalty on combat maneuver checks.
At 15th level, a maneuver master may attempt a third additional combat maneuver, with an additional –7 penalty on combat maneuver checks.
This ability replaces flurry of blows.
Because FoB is being replaced entirely, and there is no "This ability otherwise follows the normal rules for..." clause, by RAW it gets around the usual FoB restrictions. You can FoM in armor and with non-monk weapons, and you apply the normal adjustments to your Strength bonus for off-hand and two-handed normal attacks.
My question is, how does BAB from other classes work with FoM? FoB, as originally written, looked like it replaced a multiclassed monk's full BAB with only his monk levels. This was clarified in a FAQ some time ago:
FAQ wrote:
Monk: The monk rules for flurry state, "For the purpose of these attacks, the monk's base attack bonus is equal to his monk level." How does this interact with BAB from class levels and racial Hit Dice? Does a multiclassed fighter 19/monk 1 flurry as if his BAB were only +1?
A monk using flurry treats his BAB from monk levels as equal to his monk level. He still adds BAB from other sources (such as other classes or racial Hit Dice) normally to this total.
So a fighter 19/monk 1 has a normal BAB of +19. When he flurries, he treats his monk BAB as +1 (for his 1 level of monk) and still gets BAB +19 from his fighter levels, for a total flurry BAB of +20.
—Sean K Reynolds, 09/10/10
The entry here just says "flurry," but the errata on PFSRD calls out FoB. The FAQ ruling also pre-dates Ultimate Combat, in which (I believe) Flurry of Maneuvers first appeared.
I fear the implications for my planned Maneuver Master 1/Barbarian X. Should the FAQ stand with FoM, or is getting your full CMB in armor just trying to have your cake and eat it too?
Seeking a few stout-hearted players to fill out a Pathfinder Society play-by-post table. On these very boards, we shall run the Mists of Mwangi scenario, arisen from the retro depths of Season 0.
This table is not part of the PFS PbP Gameday that began October 5th, but will happily accept any low-level PCs who just missed out on it. This will be a short jaunt, with a combat emphasis. A quick summary, cleaned up to avoid spoilers:
Quote:
The PCs are charged by a Pathfinder venture-captain to brave the [redacted]-filled Blakros Museum and seek out the [redacted], an [redacted] who hates the Society and has [redacted]. Within, they brave [redacted] come to life, walking [redacted], possessed [redacted], and monkey [redacted] composed of pure [redacted]. They must [redacted] these [redacted], and [redacted].
If you've played other scenarios set at the Blakros museum, it may or may not be familiar to you. No previous Blakros expereince necessary, however: chronologically, this is the first of the many playful romps set in the museum, and we don't need to go messing with space-time to create more problems.
Here's what is necessary:
-Familiarity with Pathfinder rules in general, and Society play in particular. PFS Guide to Organized Play and Additional Resources are the best sources for the latter.
-A legal PFS character of 1st or 2nd level, with a complete pazio.com messageboard profile.
-An abbreviated stat block somewhere in the Classes/Levels field of your profile with essential values for yourself and any companions. One potential format with example values: HP 10/10 | AC: 18 /T: 13 /FF: 15 | Perc. +4 | F: +4 / R: +3 /W: +0 | CMB +5 | CMD +17 | Speed 20 | Init. +3
-The ability and desire to post at least once a day over the next few weeks.
Other points of interest:
Secondary Success Conditions:
Per the recent blog announcement, this and all other games starting on or after October 1st will be run using Secondary Success Conditions. These are hidden missions designed to replace the defunct faction mission system in awarding the bonus 2nd Prestige Point per scenario.
Whereas faction missions were handed out at each scenario's start, however, the new success conditions are hidden from the players (no peeking). You will not know until the end of the scenario whether or not you have earned the bonus PP. Just because the missions are hidden, however, does not mean that players will need to distract themselves from the main task to achieve them. Comport yourselves as proud Society members by performing the best job with the least harm, and you will be rewarded.
About the GM:
This will be my first time organzing a PFS table. In the course of the game, if you believe I've made an error anywhere, don't hesitate to speak up. I will audit each character profile to the best of my ability/patience before we begin, so do your best to avoid ambiguities. The goal is to provide an edu-taining experience for all concerned.
If anyone has any interpretive rules questions, specific or general, I would be happy to discuss them.
I'll be capping the table at four seats in the interest of both challenge and expedience. A friend of mine has already expressed interest in playing, so there remains space for 3 more players. (If anyone has had poor experiences in the past with GMs showing favorable treatment to friends, rest assured that will not happen here. All players are entitled to equal treatment under the RAW.)
If we receive more than three volunteers within the next 24 hours, I'll keep signups open until midnight Friday (EST), and create the final table over the weekend, with the goal of starting no later than Monday. If interest comes slower than that, it'll be first come, first served.
I have a 1st level Alchemist (Grenadier) in PFS that I'm retraining from Aasimar to Elf. Some of the Elf racial traits seem of dubious use to a bomb-focused alchemist. I'm not very experienced in Society play, so I turn to the forums for some suggestions on what to drop and what to pick up.
Traits in question:
-Weapon Familiarity Proficiency with longbows, shortbows longswords, rapiers, and elven weapons (just ECB?) become martial.
-Elven Magic +2 CL to overcome SR, and +2 Spellcraft to identify magic items.
Grenadiers get a free MWP feat, which I put into longbow when he was an aasimar. I could now move that over to ECB, but I'm not interested in spending a feat on Weapon Finesse that could be going to bomb buffs (Point Blank, Precise, Rapid Shot) or Extra Discoveries.
Instead of weapon familiarity, he could take Fleet-Footed, which gives +2 Initiative and Run as a bonus feat. This also replaces the trait that gives +2 Perception.
Elven Magic also seems pretty useless. As far as I can tell, every alchemist ability is Supernatural or Extraordinary, so he should never have to roll against SR (unless through UMD?). He has a good Spellcraft bonus, but can't identify magic items without Detect Magic. The most compelling replacement traits is Envoy, which gives a handful of 1/day SLAs: Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Read Magic, and Comprehend Languages. There are a bunch of options though, and Desert Runner would be a nice thematic fit for an Osirion.
Once per day, the power of your faith surges, further empowering your judgments.
Prerequisites: Judgment class feature
Benefit: Once per day, you can treat your class level for your judgment class feature as if it were 3 higher than normal. If you have multiple judgments active at the same time, this benefit applies to all of them.
Judgment (Su):
From Advance's Player's Guide, Inquisitor class
Starting at 1st level, an inquisitor can pronounce judgment upon her foes as a swift action. Starting when the judgment is made, the inquisitor receives a bonus or special ability based on the type of judgment made.
At 1st level, an inquisitor can use this ability once per day. At 4th level and every three levels thereafter, the inquisitor can use this ability one additional time per day. Once activated, this ability lasts until the combat ends, at which point all of the bonuses immediately end. The inquisitor must participate in the combat to gain these bonuses. If she is frightened, panicked, paralyzed, stunned, unconscious, or otherwise prevented from participating in the combat, the ability does not end, but the bonuses do not resume until she can participate in the combat again.
When the inquisitor uses this ability, she must select one type of judgment to make. As a swift action, she can change this judgment to another type. If the inquisitor is evil, she receives profane bonuses instead of sacred, as appropriate. Neutral inquisitors must select profane or sacred bonuses. Once made, this choice cannot be changed.
Destruction: The inquisitor is filled with divine wrath, gaining a +1 sacred bonus on all weapon damage rolls. This bonus increases by +1 for every three inquisitor levels she possesses.
Healing: The inquisitor is surrounded by a healing light, gaining fast healing 1. This causes the inquisitor to heal 1 point of damage each round as long as the inquisitor is alive and the judgment lasts. The amount of healing increases by 1 point for every three inquisitor levels she possesses.
Justice: This judgment spurs the inquisitor to seek justice, granting a +1 sacred bonus on all attack rolls. This bonus increases by +1 for every five inquisitor levels she possesses. At 10th level, this bonus is doubled on all attack rolls made to confirm critical hits.
Piercing: This judgment gives the inquisitor great focus and makes her spells more potent. This benefit grants a +1 sacred bonus on concentration checks and caster level checks made to overcome a target’s spell resistance. This bonus increases by +1 for every three inquisitor levels she possesses.
Protection: The inquisitor is surrounded by a protective aura, granting a +1 sacred bonus to Armor Class. This bonus increases by +1 for every five inquisitor levels she possesses. At 10th level, this bonus is doubled against attack rolls made to confirm critical hits against the inquisitor.
Purity: The inquisitor is protected from the vile taint of her foes, gaining a +1 sacred bonus on all saving throws. This bonus increases by +1 for every five inquisitor levels she possesses. At 10th level, the bonus is doubled against curses, diseases, and poisons.
Resiliency: This judgment makes the inquisitor resistant to harm, granting DR 1/magic. This DR increases by 1 for every five levels she possesses. At 10th level, this DR changes from magic to an alignment (chaotic, evil, good, or lawful) that is opposite the inquisitor’s. If she is neutral, the inquisitor does not receive this increase.
Resistance: The inquisitor is shielded by a flickering aura, gaining 2 points of energy resistance against one energy type (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic) chosen when the judgment is declared. The protection increases by 2 for every three inquisitor levels she possesses.
Smiting: This judgment bathes the inquisitor’s weapons in a divine light. The inquisitor’s weapons count as magic for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction. At 6th level, the inquisitor’s weapons also count as one alignment type (chaotic, evil, good, or lawful) for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. The type selected must match one of the inquisitor’s alignments. If the inquisitor is neutral, she does not receive this bonus. At 10th level, the inquisitor’s weapons also count as adamantine for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction (but not for reducing hardness).
Second Judgment (Ex), Third Judgment (Ex), True Judgment (Ex):
At 8th level, whenever an inquisitor uses her judgment ability, she selects two different judgments, instead of one. This only consumes one use of her judgment ability. As a swift action, she can change one of these judgments to another type.
At 16th level, whenever an inquisitor uses her judgment ability, she selects three different judgments, instead of just two. This only consumes one use of her judgment ability. As a swift action, the inquisitor can change one of these judgments to another type.
At 20th level, an inquisitor can call true judgment down upon a foe during combat. Whenever an inquisitor uses her judgment ability, the inquisitor can invoke true judgment on a foe as a swift action. Once declared, the inquisitor can make a single melee (or ranged attack, if the foe is within 30 feet) against the target. If the attack hits, it deals damage normally and the target must make a Fortitude save or die. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the inquisitor's level + the inquisitor's Wisdom modifier. Regardless of whether or not the save is made, the target creature is immune to the inquisitor's true judgment ability for 24 hours. Once this ability has been used, it cannot be used again for 1d4 rounds.
Which parts of the Judgment ability does Judgment Surge improve, exactly?
The feat's wording is ambiguous, at best. The only certainty, as far as I can tell, is that it boosts the direct effects of individual judgments, such as granting a 2nd-level Inquisitor an additonal +1 AC from Protection.
I'm building an Inquisitor for PFS, so I'm trying to get a good idea of how various DMs might interpret this trait. Questions, with my best guesses, in descending order of ambiguity:
Does Judgment Surge provide an extra use of Judgment?
In the feat description table from Ultimate Magic, it summarizes the feat: "Gain improved versions of your judgments." So, it does not appear intended to add extra judgements, at least by whomever wrote that table.
The actual language of the feat is very broad, however. Uses per day is part of the "judgment class feature," and it is governed by "class level." Similar boosts to class features, such as from Robe of Arcane Heritage, specify what parts of the feature they effect (in that example, available bloodline powers and effects, but not available bloodline feats or spells, or their effects). Judgment Surge has no such restrictions, so by RAW there seems to be no reason why it wouldn't grant an additional judgment usage while active.
The ambiguous duration complicates (as below) complicates this a bit further. I could understand a DM ruling that the Surge adds one use to the judgement pool when activated, and subtracts one when terminated, so that ex. a 1st-3rd a level Inquisitor who Surges their first Judgment of the day would have no uses left when it expires, but Surging after having used their normal one Judgment/day would gain another use.
Does Judgment Surge unlock Second Judgement et al. in the appropriate level range?
Second, Third, and True Judgment are all listed separately from the main Judgement entry on the Inquisitor page. Further, some archetypes (Exorcist) replace the three (Ex) abilities without changing the main Judgment class feature, while other archetypes (Heretic, Vampire Hunter) alter Judgement without affecting Second Judgment, etc.
I would consider these four separate class abilities, and say that ex. a 5th level Inquistor using Judgment Surge cannot use Second Judgment.
When can Judgment Surge be used, and what kind of action is it?
I don't have any idea what rules govern untyped abilities with unspecified activations. Does it need to be used before, after, or simultaneously with the use of Judgment?
How long does it last?
Presumably until the affected judgement ends, i.e. until the end of the current combat. Still unsure of what the RAW say on this, if anything, but it would be a pretty worthless feat otherwise.
Careful Teamwork (Su): A detective uses performance to keep allies coordinated, alert, and ready for action. All allies within 30 feet gain a +1 bonus on Initiative checks, Perception, and Disable Device checks for 1 hour. They also gain a +1 insight bonus on Reflex saves and to AC against traps and when they are flat-footed. These bonuses increase by +1 at 5th level and every six levels thereafter. Using this ability requires 3 rounds of continuous performance, and the targets must be able to see and hear the bard throughout the performance. This ability is language-dependent and requires visual and audible components.
This performance replaces inspire courage.
Saving Finale wrote:
You must have a bardic performance in effect to cast this spell. With a flourish, you can immediately end your bardic performance when a creature within range affected by your bardic performance fails a Saving Throw, allowing the subject to immediately reroll the failed Saving Throw.
Does Careful Teamwork, after the initial 3-round activation, count as "a bardic performance in effect" for the purpose of Saving Finale and similar spells? This question has been asked once or twice before, but it has never received much discussion or a definitive answer.
My instinct is that Careful Teamwork does not count for this purpose. But if that's true, then the Bard should be able to use other performance abilities after the first three rounds, while keeping the Careful Teamwork bonuses.
Is it worth taking the human sorcerer favored class bonus at levels 1-3 over the extra health, when all you're getting is cantrips?
Starting a human sorcerer. Stats were rolled, relevant scores include 13 Dex, 13 Con, probably going to take Toughness at level 1. 6 cantrips by level 4 seems like enough to cover the essentials, and I doubt you'd ever really need more than 9. Every source claims the human favored class bonus is good at all levels, but are Acid Splash/Spark/Message worth 1 hp?
Playing in my first Pathfinder game. The DM has set it up as an evil campaign--I don't think we'll have to pillage towns or devour children, but Good alignment is banned, and we're all supposed to be [x]-neutral at the least. The other thing is that it's going to be run remotely on a forum, play-by-post, so each player will able to venture off on their own easily.
I'm looking to play some sort of (evil) social manipulator-type, using skills as well as Enchantment and Illusion spells to achieve whatever evil ends the character will seek. While Bard especially is tempting with Suggestion and the like, I want a full casting class to be able to use the good spells earlier and more often.
Short list of goals:
-Good score in Diplomacy or Bluff
-Full casting
-Good pool of Enchantment and Illusion skills
Everything Paizo is in play, except that Summoner is banned. Other than Druid, which doesn't seem to offer much in the way of desirable spells, I'm having a hard time narrowing it down.
Wizard: Enchantment school for Charm Person as spell-like ability, fastest spell progression, and Int to dump into social skills.
Sorcerer: Bloodlines like Infernal look pretty great, and Charisma to buff social skills, but will have a hard time affording skills.
Cleric: Devil and Trickery domains are promising. The Evangelist archetype spontaneous spells are great, but skills would be a problem no matter what.
Oracle: Deaf cursed for free silent spell has potential. Revelations don't seem to add as much Enchantment trickery as domains, but they at least have 4
Witch: Charm hex, Trickery patron, and gets some fun spells (Beguiling Gift, etc.)
I'm leaning towards wizard at the moment. Being able to stack Int for more skills without becoming MAD or sacrificing UMD/Perception/Spellcraft is probably worth losing out on the coolness factor from some other classes. I'm very much open to suggestions, however.
