It has come to my attention that some of you may be having difficulty keeping your paladins upright. I have compiled this list of Helpful™ tips for the enrichment of the community.
Why does your paladin keep falling? Semantics, that's why. A strict interpretation of the Paladin and an even stricter reading of the description of Lawful Good can get you around most issues:
#PaladinProblems:
Lawful wrote:
Lawful characters tell the truth, keep their word, respect authority, honor tradition, and judge those who fall short of their duties.
(l)Awful Good wrote:
Lawful Good: A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. She combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. She tells the truth, keeps her word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.
Code of Conduct wrote:
Code of Conduct: A paladin must be of lawful good alignment and loses all class features except proficiencies if she ever willingly commits an evil act.
Additionally, a paladin's code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.
Note that nowhere does it say that if you break your orders code of conduct you will lose your powers. Only if you commit an evil act. Is breaking your code an evil act? No, it's a chaotic act, so forget the code of your order, which is fluff anyway and has no RAW mechanics of any kind.
The following are the absolute baseline rules for Paladins to avoid falling:
1. Don't lie. Just keep your mouth shut. Nobody said you couldn't mislead, misdirect, distract, or delay others if you're doing it for Good™ reasons. But no fibs, or you're being Evil™. See rule 4 for more excellent reasons why you don't need to tell the truth to people who might do Evil™ with the information you're giving them. When in doubt, babble incoherently.
2. Don't cheat. However, unless there are specific rules of engagement, or rules of a game involved, the concept of cheating is meaningless. Combat only has rules in the training room. Feel free to throw sand in your opponents eyes, unless the ref tells you you're not allowed to do that, before combat starts. Cheating Evil™ merchants in the monetary sense is okay, because that makes buying from them Chaotic™, rather than Evil™. That's why you hang out with rogues; they can steal your money back for you, and then you're back to being Good™. See rule 4 for more excellent reasons to break rule 2 when dealing with Evil™.
3. Don't Poison People. This is another good reason that you hang out with the rogue. He's Chaotic Good™ and he can poison anybody he wants, plus he's better at it than you. Be wary of offering food to the needy. If they have a gluten allergy, and you give them bread, that's Evil™. Also, never buy anyone a drink; alcohol is a poison, and therefore Evil™. This seems harsh but it's good for your coinpurse, and will prevent Falling.
4. Do Help People. The ends justify the means here, so feel free to help anyone you want, as long as their ends are Good™. Or, alternatively, as long as you're sure you can stop them before they do something Evil™ with the help you provide. So feel free to buy poison for the thief, but be ready to strangle the thief in his sleep if you have to. If you're doing it to stop him from doing Evil™, that's Good™. But make sure you detect Evil™ on everyone you plan to buy something from. If you buy cookies from Evil™, you've just helped them, and that's Evil™. You fall.
5. Punish people who threaten or harm innocents. This is the only really tricky one. Feel free to punish them in any appropriate way that isn't in violation of the previous four rules, or clearly Evil™. Since you don't actually get any guidance on what sort of punishment is appropriate, you're going to have to Kill Them All™. If you don't kill them, and they go on to do something Evil™, then you have helped them do something Evil™. That's not Good™.So, when in doubt, detect Evil™, and then kill everything that pings. But don't punish people who threaten or harm Evil™ innocents, because that's you helping Evil™. You will fall.
6. Don't ever do anything unexpected while someone Good™ is watching. The only significant addition to baseline Lawful™ that comes along with Lawful Good™ is that you are required to act however you are expected to act...by anyone capable of having an expectation about your actions. Evil people don't matter, as you're going to Kill Them All™ anyway, which they should be expecting by now. But, if you surprise a Good™ or Neutral™ person, you are no longer being Lawful Good™. Not being Lawful Good™ is not Good™. Keep those shenanigans up and you'll be on your way down the slippery slope towards buying cookies from Evil™ and feeding them to Good™ while ordering drinks for the house, cheating at cards, and lying about losing a hand of poker to Evil™. You will Fall.
That concludes this announcement. I hope this has helped clear up any confusion about the Paladin class.
Note: Your DM may disagree in part or in whole with any of these rules, at any time, for any reason, because Objective Alignment™ and Subjective Paladins™ are very silly things to mix together.
Further Note: Due to the lack of a sarcasm font, some people may mistake this post for something other than satire. That's not Good™.
Which of these prices is the most recently published? We've got a 2013 printing of UE at the table (copyright after the FAQ) that lists the higher price. Want to make sure my player isn't getting shafted on the price if this was an oversight.
I'm trying to figure out if a PC that gains a subtype as part of a class feature is intended to gain all the benefits of the subtype, or only the benefits explicitly mentioned in the class feature itself.
Thoughts?
Example 1:
Sorcerer - Serpentine Bloodline:
Scaled Soul (Su): At 20th level, you gain the shapechanger subtype, and you can assume the form of a reptilian humanoid (as alter self) or snake of Diminutive to Huge size (as beast shape III) at will. You retain the power of speech and the ability to use somatic spell components when transformed. You also become immune to poison and paralysis. You may use serpent's fang as often as desired, and you may choose to inflict damage to any ability score.
Shapechanger subtype:
Shapechanger Subtype: A shapechanger has the supernatural ability to assume one or more alternate forms. Many magical effects allow some kind of shapeshifting, and not every creature that can change shapes has the shapechanger subtype. A shapechanger possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).
A) Proficient with its natural weapons, with simple weapons, and with any weapons mentioned in the creature's description.
B) Proficient with any armor mentioned in the creature's description, as well as all lighter forms. If no form of armor is mentioned, the shapechanger is not proficient with armor. A shapechanger is proficient with shields if it is proficient with any type of armor.
Example 2:
Sorcerer - Rakasha Bloodline:
Outsider (Su): At 20th level, your natural form becomes an animal-headed humanoid, like a true rakshasa. This does not affect your ability to speak or cast spells. You can use your alter self or other disguise and polymorph abilities to assume your original form or other forms when it suits you. You are forevermore treated as a native outsider rather than as a humanoid (or whatever your original type was) for the purpose of spells and other magical effects. Unlike other outsiders, you can still be brought back from the dead as if you were a member of your previous creature type. You gain DR 10/piercing.
Native / Outsider:
Native Subtype: This subtype is applied only to outsiders. These creatures have mortal ancestors or a strong connection to the Material Plane and can be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected just as other living creatures can be. Creatures with this subtype are native to the Material Plane. Unlike true outsiders, native outsiders need to eat and sleep.
Outsider:
An outsider is at least partially composed of the essence (but not necessarily the material) of some plane other than the Material Plane. Some creatures start out as some other type and become outsiders when they attain a higher (or lower) state of spiritual existence. An outsider has the following features.
d10 Hit Dice.
Base attack bonus equal to total Hit Dice (fast progression).
Two good saving throws, usually Reflex and Will.
Skill points equal to 6 + Int modifier (minimum 1) per Hit Die. The following are class skills for outsiders: Bluff, Craft, Knowledge (planes), Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth. Due to their varied nature, outsiders also receive 4 additional class skills determined by the creature's theme.
Traits: An outsider possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry).
A) Darkvision 60 feet.
B) Unlike most living creatures, an outsider does not have a dual nature—its soul and body form one unit. When an outsider is slain, no soul is set loose. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don't work on an outsider. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection to restore it to life. An outsider with the native subtype can be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected just as other living creatures can be.
C) Proficient with all simple and martial weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entry.
D) Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Outsiders not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Outsiders are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
E) Outsiders breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep (although they can do so if they wish). Native outsiders breathe, eat, and sleep.
Q: If I use summon minor monster, and select ravens, can they have the Shadow template, under RAW?
Follow up Q: If the answer is no, what summoning spell do I have to use to summon a raven (or multiple ravens) with the Shadow template?
Q the third: Which templates can actually be applied to creatures summoned using Summon Minor Monster, under RAW?
The goal is to be able to do this with either a 1 level dip into cleric, or with a sorcerer spell of second level or lower. If there's an item that will let me do it, that would also be of interest to me.
Rule 1: The Heal and Harm powers need to be thematically balanced.
Rule 2: Include the Portfolios and/or Domains that seem most appropriate.
Game on.
#1 - Corpse Wright
Domains: Undead / Trickery / Entropy
Heal: You rapidly grow flesh on one decomposed or skeletonized corpse of a Medium of smaller creature per Channel Energy attempt, providing it with sufficient flesh that it can be animated as a zombie rather than a skeleton. The corpse looks as it did when the creature died. The new flesh is somewhat rotted and not fit for eating. This has no effect on undead. For each d6 of additional Channel Energy damage that would normally be applied, the channeller may target an additional corpse of Medium size, or may instead target a single corpse one size larger than Medium.
Harm: You rapidly decompose the flesh from a single corpse of size Medium or smaller per Channel Energy attempt, leaving behind a perfectly cleaned skeleton. This has no effect on undead. For each d6 of additional Channel Energy damage that would normally be applied, the channeller may target an additional corpse of Medium size, or may instead target a single corpse one size larger than Medium.
Granted Powers: You gain the Disruptive feat as a bonus feat (even if you do not meet the prerequisites). When you defeat an enemy (whether by reducing it to 0 or fewer hit points, taking the enemy captive, or accepting a truce), you gain a +2 sacred or profane bonus to AC for 1 minute per level. You gain a sacred bonus if you are good, profane if you are evil; if you are neutral, you choose either sacred or profane when you select this inquisition...
The Spellkiller Inquisition uses nearly identical verbiage to the "Decisive Defeat" definition from the Ultimate Campaign chapter covering Story Feats and the terms used to define their conditional triggers. It omits two follow-on sentences, however, which would drastically change the frequency with which the Spellkiller Inquisition would provide a mechanical benefit to the player.
Is this omission intentional, and designed to reduce the utility of the inquisition, or should the "defeat" conditions that trigger it be treated as inclusive of the broader definition of defeat (bold text below) which appears in the "Decisive Defeat" definition?
Story Feats - Glossary - Decisive Defeat:
Decisively Defeat: You overcome a foe in some way, such as by killing the creature, knocking it unconscious, or causing it to be taken prisoner. You must be a significant participant in the conflict to defeat the opponent, even if another strikes the final blow. Whether or not merely causing the enemy to flee qualifies is up to the GM. Generally, driving off an enemy while causing little actual harm does not qualify as a decisive defeat.
It is crafted with a +3 enhancement bonus. It then has Furyborn applied.
Assume the wearer makes eight unarmed strikes against the same opponent in single combat. Are the enhancement bonuses below correct, or should they max out at +5?
1. +3
2. +4
4. +5
5. +6
6. +7
7. +8
8. +8
Note: The merits of furyborn and the AoF (or lack thereof), and the likelihood of hitting something eight times are not what I'm interested in here. All I'm looking for here is math/capping help.
