abbamouse's page

Yes.

http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fm#v5748eaic9svt

My, how embarrassing. It was in the FAQ all along. Thank you!

I'm building a psychic. Will a wand of Remove Fear allow me to deal with those pesky Intimidate effects? I can't find a FAQ on whether they count as fear effects, although I ran into a few threads with inconclusive debates in them.

I have to agree that the lesser rod is sufficient. If it's not, what actual advantage is gained by the Magical Lineage trait? The RAW seem really clear here, and to match up with RAI (e.g. everything having some purpose).

Inner Sea Races can be a useful read for such an enterprise. Remember that you can spread the "bad/brutish" races around a bit and simply have subraces of humans, subraces of Orcs, etc. Pay attention to governance structures and institutions, too. For example, the Athenians were imperialistic slavers (perhaps a brutish race with an unusual amount of INT) living in an illiberal democracy.

The main thing is that you actively work to undermine the racist stereotypes of the "civilized" West against the "uncivilized" barbarians. Real-world racism isn't abstract -- there are concrete associations with skin color (for example) that you want to subvert. Take a desert folk -- the stereotype would Orientalize them, but you could think of them as Finns (since both live in hostile climes) and assign them racial and subracial/cultural characteristics accordingly. The Macedonians might be strong and proud but have weak institutions.

Finally, think of a little alt-history to go with the world. In the real world, nations, cultures, and races blend together as mass migrations and invasions occur. Maybe the Orcish Macedonians adopted some Hobgoblin Athenian traditions as their own and then spread them across their known world, only to see their empire split apart into many smaller polities -- polities which retained some of their influence but were perhaps of different races, etc.

Wizard. I like the idea of studying things combined with the power to make things happen. Then again, I'm a professor IRL, so it appeals to my scholastic interests. I also love to collect things, and there are so many spells to try to track down. (Gotta scribe 'em all!)

So my level 3 Alchemist has an INT of 16. This makes his bomb damage on a direct hit 2d6+3. He also has point-blank shot (+1 to hit/damage within 30') and the Tiefling FCB of +1/2 bomb damage per level (+1 at 3rd level). But he also has a strength of 12. Does he add the +1 from Strength to damage from a direct hit, as with other thrown weapons? That would give him 2d6+6 damage (8 splash damage, REF save for half). Is this correct?

INT is going to be your main stat but, in my experience, DEX is not as important as you would think. The ability to target touch AC makes hitting very easy by mid levels, except against certain types of foes. 14 to start for DEX is very viable.

I don't know of any race that gives +4 to INT that is commonly allowed as PC race. However 16 to start is fairly respectable. Obviously you will want to put stat increases to INT and get a headband that boosts it as much as possible as well when you get the opportunity.

I am a pretty big fan of switch hitting with the Alchemist class. If you don't have a real idea for the character that relys on Race, I would be tempted to suggest going Half Orc for Darkvision, Favored Class bonus that increases bomb damage, +2 to INT, and proficiency with the Falchion. Put your third 14 onto STR and carry around a longspear to keep enemies at bay a bit. Once you have exhausted your bombs for the day drink your mutagen keyed to STR and lay the smack down on enemies with the longspear or falchion.

I've heard that many people favor the Grenadier archtype, and I can't really argue against it. I'm more partial to the Beastmorph archtype myself though.

Good luck with your character. I've played 2 Alchemists and I always have a lot of fun with them.

Thanks for the detailed reply! Is the Falchion likely to do much good, considering that Alchemists seem pretty squishy (d8 and 3/4 BAB, but only light armor). I thought he'd stay behind the line and toss bombs (I'm even thinking of a chirurgeon just to get a little more healing in the party) or shoot things.

So my GM had me roll for stats and the rolls came out above average, but with no outstanding stat: 13, 12, 14, 14, 14, 13 arranged as I wish. I'd like to be an alchemist focusing on bombs (and using the party's CLW wand -- we have no real healer), so where might I go with this? I've never played an alchemist before, but they sure look like a SAD class. I could be an Elf or Ratfolk or Tiefling (although I have a Good character in mind), since INT is king and DEX is prince for this class.

Is there any race that gives +4 INT or will I have to settle for 16 with racial bonuses? I just want to contribute my fair share to the party. Is there any other way of boosting my INT at low levels that I'm forgetting? And would a Grenadier be the ideal archetype?

I really appreciate all the options people are coming up with. One thing I should mention is that the players are relatively new to 3rd Ed/Pathfinder stuff (they've played a few 1st/2nd-level modules, but nothing more), and I think gestalt would get too complicated for them to have fun. I do think the 6th level caster idea might work, although I wonder if they'll be powerful enough by the endgame of the campaign. I'll definitely show them the ideas in this thread, though.

So is having a tank less important than I think it is? Or does a Magus fully replace a front-line martial?

So I'm running Curse of the Crimson Throne for three PCs. If I really have to I can have an NPC tag along, strictly limited to a support role. But I'd rather see the three PCs take on the AP. So what's needed for a three-PC party? It seems like a martial is needed and arcane magic is needed. But what of the third character? Maybe a Paladin or other character with a bit of healing? Or is a full-fledged healer needed? Can a Rogue-like character be dispensed with? Is there some synergy that would help the party overcome encounters built for four PCs? They'll have slightly better stats than a 15-point buy (choice of 4d6 or 20-point buy if you don't like your rolls), so that should enable some MADness if needed.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

These are the house rules I intend to use in my next campaign. I thought it might be nice to stress-test them here before finalizing them.

1. We follow the rules as intended, but the best single indicator of intent is what is written. So errata and the books come first, and when those are unclear we can turn to FAQs and developer posts. I’ll try to adjudicate quickly at the table and then write down anything that needs further investigation. In all cases, once we find the correct ruling, it takes precedence over what we’ve been doing so far.

2. We don’t play with Mythic Adventures or much of Pathfinder Unchained (see below), but all other Paizo materials are fair game, with the following exceptions:
a. The spells Simulacrum and Blood Money don’t exist.
b. The feats Leadership, Arithmancy, and Sacred Geometry don’t exist.

3. Pathfinder Unchained. This book is only used for some of its classes.
a. Rogues should (but are not required to) use the Unchained rules.
b. Summoners must use the Unchained rules.
c. Monks may use the Unchained rules.
d. All other classes must use the standard rules.

4. Optional systems.
a. We use traits (see the Advanced Player's Guide and Ultimate Campaign). You may select two, provided that your character meets the prerequisites for each. If you also take a drawback, then you may select three.
b. We don’t use hero points.

5. Character generation.
a. Roll 4d6 six times and arrange as you please. If you don’t like the result, then feel free to build a character using the point buy rules. You have a 20-point buy.
b. Characters should have a brief background. Rolling one out of Ultimate Campaign or simply choosing one using the included charts is acceptable.
c. Full-BAB classes can select one of the following bonus feats for free at first level, provided that they meet the prerequisites:
i. Dodge
ii. Combat Expertise (you may select this feat even if you do not meet the prerequisites)
iii. Improved Unarmed Strike
iv. Weapon Finesse
v. Point Blank Shot
vi. Weapon Focus
d. Any character which can cast one or more spells of first level or higher automatically gains Improved Counterspell as a bonus feat.

6. Leveling Up: When you roll hit points for your new level, you may keep rerolling any natural ones until you get a result higher than one.

7. Combat: Successful Combat Maneuvers do not provoke attacks of opportunity. Failed Combat Maneuvers do provoke attacks of opportunity, unless the character has the relevant feat to prevent such attacks.

What conversion do you think would be neccessary? They can almost all work as written, but in some cases it would be smart to change the spell level or tone back the potency.

I know one thing that would be useful to me would be for someone to suggest spell levels for the non-Core casters.

Can gnomes take Blackened? I thought that one was race-specific. My GM allowed my human oracle to take it, but I figured that was a house ruling.

I love playing Wizards, especially the Air Elementalists. I devote most of my downtime to either tracking down scrolls/spells or crafting magic items for the party. I like the Jack-of-most-trades that a lower-level Wizard is with a nice fat spellbook and the Master-of-most-trades that he/she is at higher levels. And researching all the spells is fun. Oracles are my second favorite to play, though they're a bit boring compared to a wizard with dozens of spells.

I thought ceasing to concentrate on a spell was an immediate action, but I can't seem to find it in the PRD.

The answer is (1) for Air, Fire, Earth and Water. Is this for a Sha'ir Occultist?

No, this is just for an Air Elementalist Wizard.

The APG provides a list for the four Western elements, but as far as I can tell, UM and subsequent volumes with spells didn't update the lists. Does this mean:
1. I should regard everything post-APG as neither opposed nor available as a bonus school spell;
2. I should regard only those spells with an element specifically listed in their schools as opposed/bonus spells; or
3. I should do # 2 and also add in spells that essentially duplicate bonus/opposed school spells (i.e. all electricity spells as Air and all acid spells as Earth) to the elementalist school lists; or
4. Consult some table other than the one in the APG?

Thanks for the help, everyone!

I made an Oracle with the Blackened curse from Blood of Angels. As the curse advances, I get fire spells, including Burning Hands at level 1. Is this still an arcane spell given that I'm a divine spellcaster and it says to add it to my list of spells known? I was planning on wearing armor to make up for my low Dex, but need to know if the Arcane spell failure chance applies when I cast Burning Hands.