Zalco's page

You can restore both lost levels with two Restoration spells cast a week apart with a cost of 1,000 gp each.

Thanks :-)

Raise Dead reads "The subject of the spell gains to neagative levels when it is raised, just as if it has been drained by an energy-draining creature". Does mean that you can restore the lost levels with Restoration?

Well Oterisk, I think you win :) The bard archetype arcane duelist is fitting so much that I think 10 levels of it will be nice. I have 3 levels more (I base my character concepts on our current level in my main game), so might look at either rouge or shadow dancer. Pretty sure my DM doesn't like shadow dancers unless you can justify getting into the class as who is going to teach you the skills.

So thanks everyone, time to go looking for arcane duelist builds ;)

Awesome video

Yah, I agree. Arcane duelist or Arcane duelist/shadow dancer seems right.

I see no reason for the magic items to have names in the rules. The DM can name them if he wants to. I do that most of the times - but then again I would never give them players a plain +1 or +2 longsword - I would always give it some kind a special ability that could give the play a small advantage or disadvantage ... or maybe just someting funny.

Maybe you could have them find the remains (including some statues) of them last party that tryed to figth the dracolisk. Along with the remains they could finde some usefull items. maybe: 10 keen +2 arrows of Icy Burst and some potions: 1 Protection from acid, 1 bull's strength, 1 Stoneskin and 1 Haste

If you think that one of the players could manage it, you could allow that player to play a secondary character. That character should be weaker than the other characters - at least 2 levels lower than the other characters. A idea could a cowerdly goblin rogue that have been forces to flee from his tripe because he stole something valuable from the supreme priest.

... but the necromancer could be more fun.

At one time I was in a role-playing group in in which one player played a necromancer who had an undead crow as familiar. It was very funny cause undead crow has a eye that continued to fall out all the time.

I'm running Legacy of Fire adventure path. I have a player who always plays something a little bit odd...usually evil. We gave him a hard time about it and challenged him to play something good. He played a paladin and wanted to run around Katapesh putting an end to slavery. That's not where the party wanted to go (or me...they have more important matters), and it got into a big argument over what a paladin would/could not do.

So the paladin died, and his next character idea was a magic user that played with dead things...had a few zombies and skeletons following him around all the time. Some people had a problem with that.

So now his new idea is a slaver magic user...he wants to have one of the slaves to follow him around being a body guard.

What's the rules for a player who wants to have a slave follow him around as a body guard?

I would say no problem. Allow it.

... and if he does have leadership the slave will not be very loyal. If has has leadership - secretly make check intimidation check before each gamesession to see how willing the slave is to serve him. Since the slave don't serves out of his own free will.

It he wants 100% loyal slave tell him to make an enchanter.

The bonus to saving throws against magic that involves runes, symbols or signs could probally be changed to +4 without any it being too powerful since the bonus is given to so few spells.

Note: The reason for the saving throw bonus is that illiterate characters are more sceptical toward signs that literate characters and therefore more cautious.

Dugald: Inquisitor

Daniel: Paladin

both backstories: very cool.

I agree :-)

Good luck in your game.

That being said, your character sounds like a charismatic rogue (see the Rake archetype), bard, or possibly even paladin depending on how you see being a "icon of hope". Both the bard and paladin have magic, though, so they may not be the best choices.

I agree a rogue with the Rake archetype seems like a good choice, if your DM allows alternate class features. If he doesn't use your Rake's Smile (Ex) to talk him into allowing it anyway. At 10th level it should give your a +3 bonus to your diplomacy :-)

Zalco wrote:

Maybe if you stopped mix/maxing and started to think more about your characters background and personality it would make roleplaying more fun for you and your fellow games - just a thought.

Or do both. :)

In my experience you get better characters and more fun out of playing if your start with the personally and background for the character and then go into the technical stuff later.

Of course it is not a rule that characters with poor numbers will make it more fun to play. I just say that you should start with most important stuff - the personally and that should be the focus - worry about the numbers later.

I really like the idea, but it doesn't look like it would be worthwhile when you consider the limitations it would impose for your character. You couldn't read signs, maps, plans, etc. While it would be fitting that a fighter might be illiterate, it still seems like a harsh trade for a paltry +2 to limited spells.

Also remember that many magical spells are spoken with somatic components as opposed to language/rune/sign based so what spells would this even affect?

Not being able to read a magical rune wouldn't really prevent you from being nuked, just like not being able to see color doesn't give you any benefit to not being burned by a fireball.

Would be nice to see a series of drawback based feats that could have roleplaying interaction. Illiterate, color blindness, and similarly disabling yet politically correct traits would be cool.

I was thinking of spells like Explosive Runes, Sepia Snake Sigil and all the Symbol spells. You can't trigger them and if someone else trigger them while you are nearby you get +2 to your save if relevant.

I agree that it isn't that powerfull. The idea was just to make it posible for a character to be illiterate and to give it some flavor at the same time. Suggestions to improving the trait are welcome.

P.S. I am also thinking about a one eyed trait.

Maybe if you stopped mix/maxing and started to think more about your characters background and personality it would make roleplaying more fun for you and your fellow games - just a thought.

Ok so I need help. I have not played a Fighter in PF, and I have not played anything but small characters since 2002.

I want to make an elven fighter that is all over the board and using his elven curveblade or other finessable weapons to do damage.

I rolled his stats (with no mods yet) 15, 16, 13, 13, 13, 11

I need him at 2nd level and at 7th.
So yeah I need help with Feats, stat placement and items to buy.

I can use Core & APG

I'll say forget about the numbers and try to imagine you character. Write a background story for him, then take the numbers at try fit them to your charactor as well as you can. Take feats and skill that fit your character.

Characters made this way are always more fun to play, because you can know what they are about. If you start with the numbers you risk that your character will just be a bunch of number - and there will be less roleplaying and more moving a random miniature around.

The numbers really doesn't matter. It is you putter life into your character that makes him powerfull.

Okay I think that I was wrong about how the spell works, so here I go again:

New Social Trait: Illiterate (3rd try)

A character with the illiterate trait either comes from a illiterate background or was poorly educated and isn’t able read or write.

She can't learn skill or take feats the require that she can read or write. She can't read scrolls or learn spells by reading.

Any spell involving reading or writing runes, symbols or signs including read magic and comprehend languages are removed from her class spell list.

A illiterate character can't trigger spells, magic traps or cures that are triggered by reading, and she gain a +2 trait bonus to saving throws against magic that involves runes, symbols or signs.

The character is trained in a oral tradition. she gain a +1 trait bonus to Knowledge: Local and Knowledge: Local is a class skill.

It's posible for the character to learn how read and write in the course of the game - of course she would have to find a teacher. If the character learns to read she will loose all disadvantages from the feat, but her will also all other advantages than the +1 bonus to Knowledge: Local and Knowledge: Local as a class skill.

A stupid and illitterate kobolt sorcerer cast tre spells over tre days

The first day he casts read magic.

The second day he casts comprehend language.

The third day he casts tongues.

My question is will he be able to read anything by using the spells?

I'm not quite sure what "Local History" is. Is that supposed to be "Knowledge: Local and Knowledge: History" or just "Knowledge:History checks pertaining to the area where she (your character) is from"?

Incidentally, since this is irrevocable and even overrides magic, this doesn't seem to be illiteracy, but rather occipital lobe brain damage. *smirk* I'd allow comprehend languages and tongues and the like to function normally (magic overriding a deficit is sort of the point of magic) but I like read magic not working, unless used in conjunction with these higher level spells.

It should just be Knowledge: Local (no history). Sorry for the confusion.

Idea being that in cultures that are primary illiterate, they tell a lot of local tales around the fireplace. The tales a not just fun stories. They tell you how to behave in that culture and they ophold the culture, since there is no written language (or that the written language takes a long time to write. That being the case with runes in the Vikings culture.)

Some of the stories may originate from true historic events, but the stories are told generation after generation and will change over time. The story about a boy who saved his sister from a snake, could become a story about a hero that saved the village from a dragon after a few generations.

I was not trying to overwrite magic. My idea was that the comprehend language change the written foreign language into your native language, but since you can't make sense of your something writen in your own language, you still can't read it. I could be wrong on how the spells work, so that would be a rules question.

Also it not meant to be irrevocable. The character can learn to read and write in the course of the game - Of course she would have to find a teacher. If the character learns to read she will loose all disadvantages from the feat, but also all other advantages than the +1 bonus to Knowledge: Local and Knowledge: Local as a class skill.

Yes, I think it should be a social trait.

Thanks

Does the favored weapon of a clerics deity do anything alse but give the cleric proficiency in that weapon. And if it is a favored weapon is a simple weapon then the cleric already has proficiency in that weapon.

Am I wrong? Are there spells that effect the favored weapon? Or ...?

Thanks for the input. I have rewritten the trait.

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Character Trait: Illiterate

A character with the illiterate trair either comes from a illiterate background or was poorly educated, and isn’t able read or write.

She can't learn skill or take feats the require that she can read or write. She can't use spells involving runes, symbols or signs. She can't read scrolls or learn spells by reading.

She can't get any usefull information out of a read magic spell. Comprehend languages and tongues will not enable her to understand any written text.

A illiterate character can't trigger spells, magic traps or cures that are triggered by reading, and she gain a +2 trait bonus to saving throws against magic that involves runes, symbols or signs.

The character is trained in a oral tradition. she gain a +1 trait bonus to Local History and Local History is a class skill.

It's posible for the character to learn the read and write in the course of the game. If she do so the trait simply gives you +1 trait bonus to Local History and Local History is still a class skill for you (all other benefits and disadvantages are removed)

I have been thinking about how to make a illiterate charactor trait. Here is my first draft (... or accurately my second but don't mind that)

Character Trait: Illiterate

The character comes from a illiterate background and isn’t able read or write.
An illiterate character cannot trigger spells, magic traps or cures that are triggered by reading. A illiterate character gains a +2 bonus to saving throws against magic that involves runes, symbols or signs.

What do you think? Comments or suggestions on how to improve the trait is welcome.

For the renaissance period there were strong difference between the various parts of Europe.

Speaking of Italy generally common farmers and workers were incapable of reading/writing, but as soon as you start looking at urban areas with enough trade the skill was reasonably common.

Another matter is what they were capable to read and write.

A good percentage of the people was capable to manage a "grocery list" and do some basic math but little more.

A relatively common find when restoring building from the XIV century onward is a walled niche with a paper signed by the architect, master builders, carpenters and even common workers at the end completion of the building, remembering who worked there.

Practically anyone that had a commercial activity (from the smith to the miller to anyone that traded with someone living outside his immediate neighbourhood) had more extensive writing skills and generally shared them with the family members.

So the reading skill wasn't rare, writing a bit more (people was capable to decipher a piece of paper and sign it, but incapable to write more than that).

In Golarion? I would consider most NPC barbarian and ranger illiterate or barely literate, fighters, rogues and commoners would be a mixed lot, witches, sorcerers, oracles could be illiterate as they don't need to know how to read and write for their craft (even if it would be useful). For all the other classes it would be...

I liked you post Diego Rossi. You have a lot of different useful toughs and some fun facs.

Or I could give everyone an extra Character Trait at the start of the game and make Character Trait called literate. Then you would need the literate Character trait to be able to read or write.

Thanks, I found it on page 17.

When I think of a medieval or renæssance fantacy world. I wouldn't assume that the common soldier, thief or hunter would be able to read or write. Does anyone use some good house rules to cover that.

Maybe I could make an background Character Trait called illiterate. That makes the character come from a illiterate background and therefore unable to read or write. This trait could give free feat at the start of the game, but if wanted to learn the read or write later in the cause of the game, it would cost you a feat.

I just bought the Pathfinder core rulebook. I couldn't find any rules about reading and wrinting other than the Linguistics skill.

On what page can I find the rules for reading and writing?

... or do you need the Linguistics skill for you character to be able to read and write?