I'm making this thread just to ask that during consideration of this class that some additional support is provided to add Runes which directly support spell casting as much as there are runes for supporting melee. The previous Commander play test also had a 'support' style which heavily focused on melee support and so looking over the Runesmith's options currently, I can't help but say "I wish this did more to support spellcasting."
Certainly, reducing an opponents fire resistance does this, so I won't completely ignore that fact but I'd like to see some more general purpose runes that a Runesmith could inscribe on someone's staff or explorer's clothes which would do more to set them up to enhance casting.
Some examples might be: runes which impose circumstance or status penalties to specific saves when traced an/or invoked against targets, runes which 'draw' ranged spells and ranged attacks to a target when traced on them giving +1 circumstance bonuses to attack rolls of those types, runes which enhance the damage of spells from a person with them traced or etched on their gear.
These need not be dominant themes but a little bit more options along this line would be great and do a lot towards encouraging more teamwork to support spell casters as much as we have in encouraging players to support melee.
---
Separately but somewhat related: I would love to see some kind of class archetype support in this book taking elements of the Runesmith and pairing it with Wizards, possibly as a Thesis option or even just a few new feats that stay on this theme. PC1 added some new feats for Wizards in the form of 'Spell Arrays' or runic sentences which provide bonuses that point to this potential overlap and integration. I'd love to see this concept extended and blended with Runesmith themes. This could even be a class archetype for Wizards giving them Runesmith like options for specific Runes that support spellcasting -- not dissimilar to the Spellshape concept but with more focus on runes.
Spell Protection Array: "You inscribe a circle of arcane runes that dampen enemies’ magic".
I had to get a new credit card earlier this year. I've added this as a payment method to my account, twice now. These two records I can update, but the older credit card is still showing up as the default method of payment. I cannot seem to remove it, nor do I seem to be able to force my account to acknowledge one of the other two as the default.
It's not stopping me from making transactions, but it is creating unnecessary friction from me giving you money.
During 1e, I played a psychic to level 10 in PFS. I decided that I would try to recreate that character, insofar as it's possible, for the play test and run it it through a few scenarios. I am using the PFS play test rules and will be testing against Society scenarios. This is essentially a chronicle of play tests for an Infinite Eye psychic.
In this first post, I will outline my thought process while (re)building the character. I'm building Questin as level 1, 3, and 5 for the play test, but my first game would be at him for 3 so the process I went through for that level is detailed below. Subsequent replies will include my play test experiences in scenarios
Questin Razzlemir (Level 3) in 2e:
Spoiler:
Questin Razzlemir, Sorcerer 3
N, Small, Gnome, Fey-Touched Gnome, Humanoid Perception +7; Low-Light Vision
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Gnomish, Jotun, Sylvan, Undercommon
Skills Acrobatics +7, Athletics -1, Crafting +6, Diplomacy +9, Lore: Mercantile +6, Occultism (E) +9, Society +6
Str -1, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +1, Wis +0, Cha +4
Items Mage Armor, Adventurer's Pack, Healer's Tools, Repair Kit
AC 19, Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +7
HP 32 Speed 25 feet
Melee Sickle +7 (Agile, Finesse, Trip), Damage 1d4-1 (S)
Unleash Focused Intent (Psychic, Psyche) Requirements It’s your third turn of the encounter or later; After some time of acclimating to a stressful situation, your psychic magic flares to greater destructive power; Benefit When you Cast a Spell from your spell slots while you have Unleashed Focused Intent, you gain a status bonus to that spell’s damage equal to double the spell’s level as long as spell deals damage and doesn’t have a duration; Drawback The focus on offense comes at the expense of your defensive instincts. You take a –2 penalty to AC while you’ve Unleashed Focused Intent.
Unleash Self-Defense Requirements (Psychic, Psyche) Requirements You’ve cast two beneficial spells on yourself or an ally this encounter, each on a different round. The conflict-averse aspects of your personality float calmly to the surface, causing your mind to subconsciously deflect incoming attacks, though this comes at the cost of reduced fatal intent behind your spells; Benefit While this psyche is Unleashed, you gain a +1 status bonus to your AC and to one saving throw of your choice, decided when you Unleash your psyche. All of your spells that don’t have the death trait gain the nonlethal trait; Drawback The pacifist influence on your mind makes it difficult for your spells to strike a killing blow. You take a penalty to spell damage rolls equal to the level of the spell, and you take a –1 penalty to spell attack rolls and DC of any spell that deals damage or otherwise affects the target’s health or Hit Points (including those that apply the drained condition, disease or poison the target, or kill the target).
Occult Known Spells DC 19, attack +9 2nd biting words (sig) (H+1), augury (1 slots); 1st mage armor, soothe (Sig), true strike (2 slots); Cantrips detect magic*, guidance*, mind scan*, shield, haunting hymn, telekinetic projectile Primal Innate Spells DC 19, attack +9 Cantrips disrupt undead Focus Spells (2 points) Psi Amp; When you cast a psi cantrip (*), you can amp it by spending 1 Focus Point to add the effect described in the spell’s Amp heading.
Additional Feats Assurance, Canny Acumen, Crafter's Appraisal, Fey-Touched Gnome, Gnome Polyglot
Additional Specials Assurance (Medicine), Subconscious Mind (Emotional Acceptance), Conscious Mind (Infinite Eye), Canny Acumen (Perception), Signature Spells, Psi Amp, Unleash Psyche
A few observations:
* Building around cantrips was obviously going to be key; for Infinite Mind this meant aid another and expecting to buff players, and probably making spell attack rolls.
* Choosing between Int and Cha was fine to help streamline different ancestry choices. Recommendation: I'd have preferred the stat choice be a pure player choice and not tied to the specific Subconscious Mind (still selecting that for the particular kind of psychic spellcasting).
* Feat selection felt weak for levels 1-4; if allowed I'd probably have gone for a dedication
* Spell selection was incredibly challenging; almost to the point that it felt boring. I felt forced to optimize my picks and still ended up with staple spells. Recommendation: I'd prefer an extra spell slot per level that could only be used on my Conscious Mind spells known.
Rebuilding Questin Razzlemir in 2e
Spoiler:
In 1e, Questin Razzlemir was a level 10 gnome Amnesiac Psychic of the Rebirth Discipline. His general backstory was that he was a conduit / high sensistive to past-fey lives. This caused a certain amount of short term memory loss. He was regularly scribing snippits of lore from those lives, channeling them to recall spells and information.
* The rebirth discipline gave an equivalent to bardic knowledge, which when combined with the Psychic's high Intelligence made him a strong contributor to knowledges and linguistics. His discipline also favored divination spells.
* His discipline also allowed him to pick alternate spell lists to pick up off-class spells. I played this as him communing with various past lives.
* The amnesiac role limited his spell list in favor of recalling spells on the fly; also flavored as him remembering tricks from pieces of past lives.
* He maintained a reasonably high charisma and commensurate diplomacy skill.
* His main offensive fallback was an overcast and heavily metamagiced mind thrust (a divination/mental attack), taking full advantage of Will of the Dead and Undercast Surge.
* He had levels in the Loremaster prestige class to further emphasize his commitment to divination magic and acquisition of knowledge.
* Questin was a member of the Pathfinder Exchange faction, not necessarily driven for money but to acquire books of stories to help explore / research his past lives.
I chose to anchor on the Infinite Eye Mind and build around that since it seemed to most closely match Questin's old pattern of buffing the party and relying on divination as a primary strategy. This informed the rest of my build heavily with some areas going back and forth on how to best play to this style. I knew that I'd probably have a heavier emphasis on spell attack rolls since I have guidance (status) and mind scan (competence) bonuses. I'd also be getting true strike at level 1. Lastly, I know I'll be building around aid another since that's also a benefit of an amp'd mind scan
Ancestry:Gnome; obviously, but I seriously considered whether or not a human, halfling, or even Gnoll would have been better given the reliance on Aid. Their relevant ancestry feats to boost Aid checks seemed like they'd have been useful even before I played my first session.
Heritage:Fey-Touched; the primal cantrip which I can change once a day is at least on brand for Questin's amnesiac / rebirth powers from 1e. He often liked to pick up spells to fill gaps in psychic list or generally to approximate different roles in a party. My default pickup will be disrupt undead to have an answer to a common mindless threats, also a head nod to the 1e Will of the Dead phrenic amp and Questin's past lives come from divine/primal traditions (clerics, paladins, druids).
Ancestry Feat:Gnome Polyglot; my usual inclination here would have been one of the many Gnome reactions that don't usually have competition on a caster (e.g. Empathetic Plea, Live-Giving Magic, or Unexpected Shift. Knowing that I was going Infinite Eye meant I'd probably be saving my reaction for the Aid granted by Mental Scan. Questin knew a lot of languages, though, so this gives a lot out the gate with a potential for a lot more with Multilingual skill feats later.
Background:Magical Merchant; this is a head nod to Questin's old ties to the Exchange. I considered some other similar backgrounds like Merchant or Occult Librarian but decided it didn't much matter. I needed one with an Int or Cha boost to pair with Dex; the skill feats were all roughly equivalent in that they were situational.
Level 1 Class Features:
Subconscious Mind This got tricky for me. I originally wanted to do Precise Discipline to keep the Int primary, but as I looked over the flavor text, the Emotional Acceptance Mind seemed to better capture the fluff of Questin being hit not just by the emotions and experiences of others, but of his own past lives. It also helps that Gnomes get their Charisma boost. In truth, I didn't see either penalty as coming up frequently enough to matter much so this really came down to personal choice and sort of how well the rest of the build clicked together.
Conscious Mind: Infinite Eye; noted above as the cornerstone of this build.
Level 2 Class Features: Class Feat: Unleash Self-Defense; When I initially went with Precise Discipline to be Int based, I was excited at the prospect of using this feat slot to grab Ancestral Mind here since I already knew I planned to use innate ancestry spells. Once I switched to Emotional Acceptance, though, Ancestral Mind became unnecessary. I didn't like the look of of Unleash Focused Intent in theory, so picking up a new stance felt okay, or at least safer.
A little aside: PFS play test rules prevent the taking of archetypes, but looking over the available level 1, 2, 4 feats available in the play test I almost certainly would have taken an archetype. Bard Dedication seemed particularly good for this build: getting 2 additional occult cantrips and some skills. At 4 or 6 I could grab Basic Bard Spellcasting for some additional spell slots and Bardic Lore via Muse's Whispers At 8, I could pick up Inspire Courage which would stack with the bonuses of mind scan. Loremaster Dedication would be another path. There's actually a lot I'd probably rather do than what was presented.
Skill Feat: Assurance (Medicine); this is a relatively boring, but safe, pickup. I'm not planning to invest in medicine but since I don't know who I'll be playing with I decided I'd like to be able to hit my Treat Wounds checks if I needed it.
Level 3 Class Features: General Feat:Canny Acumen (Perception); this character is based on divination so getting a slight edge in detecting threats and acting first seemed thematically appropriate.
Skill Increase: Occultism; no particular reason other than it felt right. Diplomacy or a Charisma skill probably would have been more effective.
Signature Spells: 1st: soothe, 2nd: biting words
Spell Selection
Spoiler:
I wanted to cover spell selection in a different section because I think it deserves some extra discussion due to the psychic's limited pool of spontaneous spells known and slots. Some spells were set by my initial choice of Infinite Mind.
Getting only 1 or 2 spell slots per level meant I had to make sure they'd count. This meant mostly going for spells which had sustained presence on the battle, a lot of utility out of combat. I knew I wanted at least one 'blast' to simulate Questin's use of Mind Thrust. Looking back over his old 1e level 1-2 spells showed he also used Ear-Piercing Scream, Mirror Image, Placebo Effect, Magic Missile, and Burst of Insight/Adrenaline. I tried to go for similar spells. Knowing that I'd mostly be using cantrips I settled on the following for a level 3 spell list.
Knowing only two-three spells per level, and being able to cast them only 1-2 meant that I'd need one really strong signature spell and one spell that probably was a buff or I'd only cast once. This felt like the best combo to cover a lot of situations given a very small number of spells / repertoire. Biting words in particular felt good because mind scan and guidance are both one action ways to buff my spell attack roll and would give me ways to blast for 3 rounds. Bless would be another good choice since it'd last a whole combat and stack with mind scan.
In general, I didn't feel like there's a lot of room to get creative with psychic spell choices. It was kind of disheartening and I wasn't sure going in whether it'd feel good or not.
What happens to a Dhampir under the effects of undead sorcerer bloodline power Undeath's Blessing when they are targeted by a Heal spell?
Despite having negative healing, the Dhampir is a valid target for Undeath's Blessing since it is a "living creature."
It's clear that a Harm spell targeting the Dhampir would do it's full negative healing + 2 (from Undeath's Blessing). Undeath's Blessing clearly seems designed to allow the Harm spell to heal a living creature or an undead creature so this should work for the Dhampir regardless.
It's less clear to me what happens with the Heal spell. It definitely doesn't get the extra +2, but does it heal the Dhampir? Does it harm them? Does it do nothing? Undeath's Blessing makes the heal spell treat the Dhampir as living but it was already living, just with a reversed energy. This question would equally apply to a Bones mystery Oracle.
Context: I'd really like to play a Dhampir, but the risk of becoming a liability for a regular party trying to use a 3 action heal is a bit much. I'm looking into ways to mitigate the Negative Healing ability that comes with the versatile heritage.
The idea of the school rework / simplification is great. The implementation is really poor. The changes have actually reduced player choice and actively discourages association with one of the schools because there's an optimal solution: it's the generalist.
Each of the five paths look superficially equal, but in practice they aren't at all. The spells item list used to be very versatile (maybe too much), but now the reduction down to handful of non-heightened scrolls means that several casters have dead levels or won't have much use at all. The scrolls and swords school are dominated by talismans with incredibly marginal utility. Even worse, to use most of them in the Blades school, you need to be an expert in Acrobatics at the level 3 tier and an expert in Athletics in the level 5-6 tier. If you aren't doing both of those skills, you're kind of hosed.
Of course, everyone can pick a heal potion, right? That's the problem: if your school list is so narrow that is has no good choices, you'll always be picking heal potions. But if you're picking heal potions all the time, why wouldn't you be a generalist who can often get more or better potions? The Generalist list also has consumables which are just more useful in 90% of scenarios (water breathing, antiplague, antitoxin, etc). Generalist also cherry picks lores from the other schools and has some very strong feat choices (looking at you battle medicine).
I'd actually prefer if we did away of the school specific consumables altogether. What's the actual objective for the lists anyway? Why can't I pick from any school? I can't imagine that the Spells school would deny a low level magic scroll to a Blades student. You can also do away with the heal option for everyone that way. This frees up players to pick the school that matters the most to them for the identity of their character and not which one will add the most mechanical benefit in every scenario they play.
Note: These problems existed with the old lists, but the existence of the "catch-all" category made all of the lists at least have a handful of reasonable options. It's reducing them down that creates the illusion of more choices (more schools), but actually results in less.
For adventure unlocks of boons in the future, can we expect the chronicle sheet to at least indicate that there's a boon associated with the scenario? Or will it kind of silently show up on the AcP page?
Source Lost Omens Character Guide pg. 95
Archetype Knight Reclaimant
Prerequisites Knight Reclaimant Dedication
You can invoke the Crimson Oath to unleash blasts of ruby energy from your weapon. You gain the invoke the Crimson Oath focus spell. If you don’t already have one, you gain a focus pool of 1 Focus Point, which you can regain using the Refocus activity to recite the Crimson Oath and meditate on its teachings; if you already have a focus pool, increase the number of Focus Points in your focus pool by 1. Your knight reclaimant focus spells are divine spells; when you gain this feat, you become trained in divine spell attacks and spell DCs.
Focus spells are usually derived from base classes which have key ability scores (e.g. Champion or Monk). It is entirely possible, however, for a fighter, rogue or some other non-spellcaster to become a Lastwall Sentry and then a Knight Reclaimant. Invoke the Crimson Oath could be the first and only focus power acquired by the character. The feat accounts and gives training in the divine spell attacks and spell DCs, but doesn't say which ability modifier to use? Is it assumed Wisdom because it's divine, is it the key ability score of the class for class DCs (str or dex for fighters?), or something else?
Didn't see a thread for this so I figured I'd start one. I ran this at my lodge and overall thought it was a great scenario. Players really loved the cryptic hunter vibe.
Couple of notes from my experience.
100% print out the mosquito Witch doll art and use it liberally. I regularly moved it between party members. They'd throw it off the boat, into the fire, etc. and then sometime later when a PC retrieved an item I'd have in their pack. Players loved this and it helped set the tone.
In Town:
Spoiler:
After seeing how Galia dealt with the mosquitos, they kept asking each NPC how they dealt with them. You may want to have a few precanned answers.
My PCs really got infatuated with Tanner, probably because I overplayed the Android bit which stood out against every other NPC. I eventually had to shoo them away rather than spend too much time here.
The Carraige:
Spoiler:
Narrating this was a bit tricky because it was hard to explain how some PCs had time to climb aboard while others had time to build barricades. We stuck to the mechanics which worked fine, but felt a little gamey as a result. Several casters also wanted to use magic and I would have been nice if future encounters like that offered some guidance on what could be substituted.
The Forest:
Spoiler:
I liked the way this was set up but definitely read the sections here since it's easy for the party to end up missing one of these it they aren't thorough.
My party had the magnetic rock from tanner and I let them make a DC 15 craft check to create a simple compass to act as a "landmark" for navigating to a disturbance in the woods.
There was a bit of an inconsistency in the scenario with there being no one to heal Andor in town when the PCs meet a priest of Tsukiyo in town. The PCs immediately thought that they should bring him back to town and I had to sort of hand wave that they were pretty sure only their medical skills would suffice.
Final Fights:
Spoiler:
Peaches fight was about as emotionally charged as you might expect. Definitely read all the attach and blood drain rules since there are a lot of triggers for various conditions depending on when things happen once a blood seeker is attached.
Fight with the mites was fairly anticlimactic. It was a good challenge for a team of 6 level 1 PCs though.
On 7/13, I received a shipping notice for my package (3208770) on order number 7936115. The tracking link with UPS Mail Innovations continues to not populate any information and gives an error and suggests I contact the shipper if it has been more than 72 hours. I understand this is not uncommon and may be out of the control of your team. I was wondering if it would be possible to get confirmation that the package is in transit as expected (the email said 4-8 days). Thank you in advance.
How does a Namekeeper Shaman have to wield their inherited wayfinder? Can be be worn around the neck on a chain or on the wrist, held in hand, or just on the Shaman's person?
The Namekeeper Shaman replaces their spirit familiar with a bonded wayfinder which functions as a wizard's bonded item but for shaman spells. This is fine except that a wayfinder is a slotless magic item, which has no associated rules text in the wizard bonded item rules.
Inherited Wayfinder (Su) wrote:
A name-keeper forms a powerful bond with a damaged wayfinder inherited from another. It functions for her alone. This functions as a wizard’s bonded object except it can be used to cast shaman spells (instead of wizard spells).
This ability replaces spirit animal.
Wizard Bonded Item wrote:
Wizards who select a bonded object begin play with one at no cost. Objects that are the subject of an arcane bond must fall into one of the following categories: amulet, ring, staff, wand, or weapon. These objects are always masterwork quality. Weapons acquired at 1st level are not made of any special material. If the object is an amulet or ring, it must be worn to have effect, while staves, wands, and weapons must be held in one hand. If a wizard attempts to cast a spell without his bonded object worn or in hand, he must make a concentration check or lose the spell. The DC for this check is equal to 20 + the spell’s level. If the object is a ring or amulet, it occupies the ring or neck slot accordingly.
Slotless magic items aren't covered by categories presented in the base rules. The implied intent seems to be that it needs to be "equipped," but this is also the only example of an alternate bonded object I can find that doesn't specify how it needs to be used. This could be an intentional omission, or oversight, so I figured I'd see how most people would rule as I cannot ask a single GM where I play.
Here are the alternate bonded items I could find for comparison:
Spoiler:
Bonded Mask - Arcane Discovery wrote:
Your devotion to the Forgotten Pharaoh enables you to select a mask-typically an Osirian funerary mask-as your bonded item. The mask must be worn to have effect, and occupies the head slot. In addition, the mask shields you from notice. While wearing your bonded mask, efforts to use the Diplomacy skill to gather information about you take a -1 penalty, and you gain a +1 competence bonus on all saving throws against scrying and mind-reading effects that allow saving throws.
Bonded Mask - Halycon Druid Archetype wrote:
Bonded Mask (Su): A halcyon druid forms a powerful bond with a mask, which functions identically to a wizard’s bonded object except that it can be used to cast druid spells (including those gained from class abilities) instead of wizard spells. A bonded mask must be worn to have an effect, and it occupies the head slot. A halcyon druid can enhance her mask with abilities appropriate for a head slot item, and can designate an existing head slot item as her bonded mask (but only if it covers her face).
This ability replaces nature bond.
Ioun Bond - Arcane Discovery wrote:
You can form an arcane bond with an ioun stone. If you choose this arcane discovery at 1st level, you gain a dull gray ioun stone as a bonded object at no cost. A bonded ioun stone must be orbiting your head to have effect. At 12th level, you can turn a bonded dull gray ioun stone into another kind of ioun stone as if you possessed the Craft Wondrous Item feat; if you die or replace a bonded ioun stone that has been transformed in this way, the stone reverts to a dull gray ioun stone.
Runic Focus - Runesage Archetype wrote:
Runic Focus (Su): A runesage can use her knowledge of runes to create a runic focus, a small, semiprecious stone engraved with Thassilonian runes that she manipulates to alter her spellcasting abilities. In function, a runic focus behaves like an ioun stone. To activate a runic focus, the runesage must meditate on it as she prepares her spells. Following spell preparation, she tosses the gemstone into the air, after which it orbits around her head. A runic focus remains in orbit until the next time the runesage prepares her spells. A runic focus automatically functions as a runesage’s bonded object.
[...]
A runic focus has an AC of 24, 10 hit points, and hardness 5, as per an ioun stone. While the first runic focus a runesage creates is free, replacement runic foci can be created using the standard rules for replacing a bonded object for a wizard’s arcane bond.[...]
Pathfinder's Focus - Trait wrote:
Benefit: You can select a magnetic compass for your arcane bond class feature; this compass is non-magical, but you can later spend 250 gp to upgrade it into a wayfinder.
Choosing this trait allows you to upgrade this wayfinder to a variant or unique wayfinder per the normal rules for improving magic items. A bonded wayfinder must be held in your hand to grant the benefits of being a bonded object.
Pathfinder's Focus is notable because it's the closest comparison to the Inherited Wayfinder, but at least one person I've asked made the argument that since Inherited Wayfinder doesn't include the same line as the Pathfinder Focus, that it isn't subject to the same rules. Same individual argues that it's also a potential difference between a trait and a class ability similar to how the Runic Focus is similar to, but different than, Ioun Bond.
Interested to hear what others think. If you do think it needs to be held in hand (not wielded since you can't wield a slotless item), what action would be appropriate to put it in hand if worn on a chain on the wrist? The implications are significant if the shaman planned to use a two-handed weapon or employ some other strategy that wouldn't allow easy access to the Wayfinder.
The Nov 24. update to additional resources includes Patron Themes from Blood of the Coven stating that "To select a specific patron, a PC must be able to select a witch patron and have the hex class feature."
This limits Patron Themes to witches as the only class with access to both patrons and hexes. However, several witch archetypes swap out the hex gained at first level when patrons are also selected. It's my understanding that witches don't gain the hex class feature until they gain their first hex, resulting in a few possible readings.
A) Witches who trade out their first level hex cannot select a patron theme, because when they select their patron they do not yet have the hex class feature and the patron theme needs to be selected when the patron is selected. Most conservative reading.
B) Witches who trade out their first level hex cannot select a patron theme until they acquire their first hex and the hex class feature (probably at 2nd level). The player would essentially mature into the patron theme when they qualify. Middle of the road reading.
C) Any witch who will eventually get hexes is considered to have the hex class feature for the purposes of selecting a patron theme. This essentially only restricts selection from those archetypes that fully alter patron or the hex class feature (e.g. havocker or white haired witch). Most liberal reading.
If I have cast Revenant Armor on myself and then cast Possession, Object Possession, or any number of other possession like spells to have my soul leave my body, does the trigger for Revenant armor kick in to activate Revenant Armor? It would seem to me that it would, but since you aren't technically dead and your conscious is elsewhere, I'm not sure how some might interpret it.
Revenant Armor
Spoiler:
Source Armor Master's Handbook pg. 23
School transmutation; Level antipaladin 3, arcanist 4, cleric/oracle 4, magus 4, medium 4, occultist 4, paladin 3, shaman 3, sorcerer/wizard 4, spiritualist 3, warpriest 4, witch 3
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (one suit of armor)
Effect
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one suit of armor
Duration 1 day/level or 1 hour/level; see below
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell endows a suit of armor with a singular purpose realized only after its wearer goes unconscious or is killed; whenever the wearer of a suit of armor warded by revenant armor is brought below 0 hit points or otherwise rendered unconscious (but not paralyzed or held) in combat, the armor is immediately brought to life as a Medium animated object. This animated suit of armor still contains the unconscious (or dead) body of its former wearer and moves with a shambling gait at a speed of 20 feet. This animated object has average hit points and, if the armor is made from metal, it has the metal animated object extraordinary ability (plus additional abilities based on the type of metal, as indicated on page 14 of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary). Once animated, the revenant armor remains standing (and stands if knocked prone, doing so without provoking attacks of opportunity), and prevents the wearer of the armor from being considered helpless. If an ally of the wearer is within range of the armor, she can direct it to move, though it refuses to go anywhere that requires a skill check. If grappled or otherwise restrained, it can attempt to break free with a Strength score equal to your caster level and a CMB equal to 1 + your caster level + the armor’s Strength modifier. If the armor’s wearer is reduced to dust, made conscious, or removed from the armor, the spell ends.
Possession:
Spoiler:
Source Occult Adventures pg. 180 (Amazon)
School necromancy; Level arcanist 5, medium 3, mesmerist 5, occultist 4, psychic 5, sorcerer/wizard 5, spiritualist 4, summoner 5, witch 5
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Effect
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target one creature
Duration 1 hour/level (D)
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
Description
You attempt to possess a creature by projecting your soul into its body. The target creature must be within spell range and you must know where it is, though you do not need line of sight or line of effect to it. When you transfer your soul upon casting, your body appears to be dead. Failure to take over a host ends the spell.
If you are successful, your life force occupies the host body. The host’s soul is imprisoned with you, but can still use its own senses (though it can’t assert any influence or use even purely mental abilities). You can communicate telepathically with the host as if you shared a common language, but only with your consent. You keep your Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, level, class, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, alignment, and mental abilities. The body retains its Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, hit points, natural abilities, and automatic abilities. A body with extra limbs doesn’t allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal. You can’t activate the body’s extraordinary or supernatural abilities, nor can you cast any of its spells or spell-like abilities.
As a standard action, you can shift freely back to your own body regardless of range, so long as it remains on the same plane. If the host’s body is killed, you return to your own body and the life force of the host departs (it is dead). If your body is slain, when the spell expires or the host’s body is killed, you are slain. It is possible to cast this spell on a new target from within another creature’s body; this resets the duration. You still return to your original body (not any intermediate body) when you take a standard action to do so or the spell’s duration expires. Returning to your body ends the spell. Creatures whose souls are their bodies, such as incorporeal undead and non-native outsiders, use the effects of greater possession instead.
I've been wrestling with a concept for a few weeks and fleshed out over a half dozen builds, but am not yet satisfied with what I've come up with. So I'm looking for some help fleshing out a character for PFS which is going to inherit a bunch of boons, including one to make him a Vanara. Here's the rough basic backstory:
Since Vanaran culture is a little sparse, I'm going to play that this character was captured at a young age as a curiosity and forced into slavery in Cheliax. He'll be eventually 'rescued' when a pirate vessel attacks the slave ship transporting him between owners. The ship's Besmaran cleric takes a liking to my PC, and brings him into the crew which is easily supportable given his obvious knack for climbing rigging.
Some months/years later, the pirate ship will get lost in a storm, with my PC being the only survivor. He's rescued by a group of Pathfinders and he eventually joins the Society. While at the Grand Lodge, one of my retired characters, an enchanter wizard, sees some natural talent and takes the PC on as a protege. Enter level 1.
I'm looking for help with ideas on class and feat progression. I've already considered several options, but am hoping that what people suggest will either sway me to something I've already picked or encourage me to investigate something else.
Must Haves:
Vanaran (+2 Dex/+2 Wis/-2 Cha) with an additional +2 to any stat as a result of a boon
At minimum, venerates Besmara as a sort of 'patron saint' of slaves freed at sea. I have a bonus trait from a boon that mostly covers this mechanically (Ease of Faith, diplomacy is a class skill, +1 diplomacy), but if the class selected has religious aspects, consider Besmara as the diety selected.
Liberty's Edge faction, may not matter except trait selection, but feeds into the point above.
Should Haves:
Given his trainer is a wizard, this character should have some aptitude with magic, preferably arcane magic but I can be persuaded here especially if the alternative still included a spell book. Mechanically I think I would prefer 6th level casting, but 4th or 9th could work too.
Casting should be Wis or Int based, ideally. I've already got several Cha focused characters.
Build should have some way to capitalize on the natural climb speed of Vanarans. I've considered the following: Branch Pounce; shooting/throwing/casting spells from a high vantage; ki throw and blade lash to lift and drop opponents
Primary class features shouldn't clash with climbing without a means to compensate (Clinging Climber feat or just using a single hand)
Nice to Haves:
Use the Dex bonus to some degree -- Weapon Finesse would be good if it can be fit in. Ideally blending decent Dex with light or medium armor to maintain decent AC
Some way to save on standard character purchases during the PC's career (auto scaling weapon, no need for cloak of resistance or belt of X, etc). I've got dreams of saving enough for an airship by retirement to become a Sky Pirate Captain.
Extra Boons Available (not necessary to be used, but could be if it makes sense):
Arcane Ammunition: Can buy smaller amounts of +1 elemental arrows/bolts/ammunition
Fighting Off Corruption: Ghoul (my first character was killed by ghouls twice so his protege being infected would be thematic)
Thanks in advance for your help or ideas.
Edit: For those who are familiar with the Liveship Traders series by Robin Hobb, I'm using elements of Wintrow and Kennit's story as some inspiration.
I've got an enchanter Wizard in PFS about to hit 10th level. For some time now I've been saving up my gold to make a big purchase of a rod of persistent metamagic (normal). However, I realized that for roughly the same price, I could snag a rod of quicken spell (lesser).
My general spell load out is a combination of enchantment control spells, conjuration control spells, and buffs for the party. I'm a bit more of a generalist wizard -- this is my dash 1 so there aren't any specific fancy tricks I'm trying to employ. I'd originally wanted the persistent spell rod to make sure that key abilities like Dominate Person or Confusion hit early to help turn the tides on key fights, but action economy can be tough and the idea of being able to cast a quickened haste along side of a higher level control or summon spell in the first round of combat is also pretty tempting.
Any advice from those who've been in this situation? It's likely I'll only have enough gold before retirement to buy one or the other.
I did a search on the forums but didn't find anything definitive.
1. Do Spiritualist levels stack with Ghost Rider Cavalier levels for the purpose of determining a phantom's effective level?
2. If one is yes, does the order in which these classes are taken determine which version of the phantom is advanced? (e.g. if Spiritualist is taken first, does Cavalier advance the humanoid phantom).
3. If two is yes, does the phantom have both sets of abilities (e.g. does the mount keep the mount physical form but gain an emotional focus).
Ghost Mount: (Su)
Spoiler:
At 1st level, a ghost rider gains the ability to manifest a special mount of conjured ectoplasm rather than one of flesh and bone. This spectral companion functions like a spiritualist's phantom companion, using the ghost rider's cavalier level as her effective spiritualist level. The phantom takes the form of a ghostly creature analogous to one of a cavalier's normal mount options for her size and class level, such as a Large horse for a Medium ghost rider or a wolf for a Small ghost rider. A ghost rider must choose a mount that is capable of bearing her weight, that has four or more legs, and that lacks a fly speed (although the GM may allow mounts with a swim speed in certain environments). The GM might approve other animals as suitable mounts.
The ghost rider can manifest her ghost mount only in ectoplasmic form, and she gains the spiritualist's etheric tether class feature, applied to her ghost mount.
The mount shares the cavalier's alignment. Though the mount cannot speak, it understands its master's verbal commands and gains the phantom's link ability. The ghost mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves, and can have ranks in any of the following skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Escape Artist (Dex), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str). The ghost rider's ghost mount does not gain the share spells, deliver touch spells, or incorporeal flight abilities. Ghost mounts do not gain emotional focus abilities.
The ghost rider does not take an armor check penalty on Ride checks while riding her mount. The mount is always considered combat trained, and begins play with Endurance as a bonus feat.
Ghost Mount Starting Statistics: Type animal (phantom); Size one size category larger than the ghost rider; Speed 50 ft.; AC +4 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 hooves (1d6; this is a secondary natural attack); Ability Scores Str 16, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6.
I'm really trying hard to come up with a way that the Medium isn't a giant trap of a class. I really liked the idea of a character who was possessed by some sort of spirit, so I naturally gravitated to Medium and Spiritualist once I got the Occult Adventures book. I really didn't want to add to the usual glut of pets you see in PFS scenarios, so that pushed me towards the Medium. For clarification, I am looking at this as if the Medium caps at level 12, so that does change things a bit.
Let's look at the Medium without a spirit:
d8 HD
3/4 BAB
average (4+ skills) with a decent class list
simple weapons,
light armor,
medium armor.
knacks
4th level caster progression
So far it's a pretty vanilla start - there isn't much there that isn't in any other 3/4 BAB class. However, I really can't get over how limiting each of the spirits is given how little they actually grant you toward your chosen role. I'd understand this if you were meant to swap between them during the day, but you're pretty much locked in to one a day (the role-playing requirements of finding the right location aside). It's also mechanically infeasible to distribute your wealth across the different roles and pick up the gear you'd need to be effective in each, not to mention picking feats that are useful in more than one.
My impressions of each spirit are below:
Spoiler:
Archmage: Spirit boost to spell damage suggests you should be a blaster, but with only 6th level casting you're going to run out of spells incredibly fast. Don't count on falling back into melee when that happens though since you're rocking sweet penalties in melee, combat, and constitution. I can see taking one, maybe two of these taboos.
Champion: Probably one of the only ones that might be possible. The spirit bonus is strong and the penalties aren't crazy terrible (though unnecessarily losing CL is a bit of a string). The problem comes down to proficiencies. This is the only spirit that gets martial weapon proficiency, so if you ever plan to use a different spirit, this won't be the one to take. Worse, rather than give you combat feats up front, you get 1 (or 2 if you go relic channeler) exotic weapon proficiencies which you also can't build on or get feats for. I can see one, maybe two of these taboos if you can realistically expect not to lose your heirloom weapon.
Guardian: Suffers from a lot of the same problems as the Champion, namely I'm not going to invest in heavy armor and a shield that I can't use most of the time unless I only ever plan to use this spirit. The bonuses here are all defensive and up until level 12 only help you. Two taboos are reasonable, one seems like a good way to lose yourself to the spirit.
Hierophant: Another decent contender, but still tough. As with the archmage, you'll get some more spells and this time you can actually take some utility spells since you'll also have channel energy (with good synergy on your casting stat) and all the cure/inflict spells. Unfortunately, since you won't always have channel, you probably won't invest feats in making that any good either. The inability to do lethal damage is a bit of a downer, but I suppose there's room for Enforcer and Intimidate to try and influence your foes to convert to your spirit's religion (thus avoiding the Influence penalty hit to Cha checks). Two reasonable taboos, one that's a little tougher but not impossible.
Marshall: Some interesting potential, given the synergy with Cha and really getting the most out of taboos. I also like that you can boon from another spirit (grabbing Champion seems very viable). Better yet, you can be a reasonable team buffer if everyone in your party participates - as long as they let you be in charge. One of the taboos is reasonable, two are so so depending on the group or the mission.
Trickster: I don't have anything really good to say about this one.
Skills and SA with some pretty obnoxious taboos and a so so spirit boon and a great way to get yourself killed when a healer tries to help you and misses the touch attack.
What I end up with is that the only real synergy that might exist is between the Champion, Marshall, and Hierophant is focusing on Str, Cha, and Con. You'll need to invest in non-metal armor, probably wield a simple weapon like a longspear. You may or may not augment with an exotic weapon when you go Champion, but you won't invest any feats in it since you won't have access to it all the time. In most of those forms you'll end up with 1 or 2 taboos, giving you between 4-6 Spirit Surges a day, leaving a small buffer for when the party forces you to do something your spirit hates. If your team seems cooperative, you'll go Marshall and rock extra taboos for more spirit surges to dole out, using the Champions bonus to keep your melee up a bit. Otherwise you're going to go full beat stick in the Champion, or Hierophant if they need support.
All of these roles just end up feeling like some kind of weird bard/druid/barbarian hybrid that really just falls short of something workable. You end up jumping through so many hoops and almost compromising with yourself to even be the thing the spirit wants you to be. The only other way around this I can see is just picking a single spirit and sticking with it exclusively, which ultimately feels a little boring, self-defeating, and one-note.
To be clear, I really want to make this work - I just cannot for the life of me figure out something that might be fun to actually play to take advantage of the ability to entertain multiple roles. Am I missing something?
Fractured Mind alters spell-casting and replaces replaces detect undead, calm spirit, see invisibility, and call spirit.
Rules as written, there doesn't appear to be any direct conflicts, but I'm wondering if the fact that the Ectoplasmatist loses their phantom means they don't have an emotional focus. The Emotional Focus ability of the Fractured Mind reads:
Spoiler:
Emotional Power (Sp): The fractured mind gains a number of spell-like abilities, which are tied to her phantom’s emotional focus. ... This ability replaces detect undead, calm spirit, see invisibility, and call spirit.
I liked the flavor of these two archetypes since the Ecto loses their phantom, so it sort of makes sense that their powers might just manifest from their own emotional state, but emotional state isn't really a class feature outside of the phantom. This might just be a flavor text conflict, but I'd like to use this character in PFS, so swapping caster stats isn't something I'd want to undertake lightly since it'd be impossible to fix the character if it turns out these archetypes aren't compatible.
I'm in need of a little advice. After a bit of a crisis of faith with my wizard, I'm back on track and just made it to level 5. Unfortunately, in the process of feeling out how I like to play my wizard I've sort of ended up at a weird cross-roads where I'm not sure where to take him from here. Also unfortunately, due to an untimely -- though heroic -- death in the Halls of the Flesh Eaters, I'm low on prestige. So any recommendations should keep retraining to a minimum (though I am open to it).
Short term, I need a 5th level feat and my wizard bonus feat. Long term, I need some advice on where to go on my way to 12th (this is for PFS). In combat, I've mostly been using Enchantment and Conjuration to control the battlefield and Illusion to protect myself. I plan to use most of my 3rd level slots for Heroism and Haste/Slow. My really strong social and knowledge skills help out of combat. I've always seen this character as a bit like a bard in function, but with obviously more emphasis on spells.
That said, I don't feel like I know what I'm building towards at this point. The obvious thing to do is to stay Wizard, but I'm not sure what feats I should go with moving forward especially given how hit or miss offensive enchantment spells are. Additional Traits seems like a safe feat at 5. I'm looking at Deathtouched (thematic given my death, and +1 Fort Saves is nice) and Magical Lineage if I want to start tricking out a signature spell with metamagic, or Magical Knack if I decide to dip outside of wizard. I don't really have a single particular tactic to beef up with Spell Specialization or metamagic, however, so I'm not sure what to pair here. If I don't pick up a metamagic feat, that really just leaves me with Spell Mastery or an Arcane Discovery, none of which seem all that useful at this level. (I'm open to being convinced otherwise here).
I'm also considering focusing more on summoning (since I've gone down that path to some extent). This could entail just picking up Augment Summoning - but I could go as far as pick up Scholar at 5, Spell Mastery for my bonus feat and then go Collegiate Arcanist at 6th with Sacred Summons right after.
Lastly, I could go for a big departure and maybe do a Hellknight Enforcer. This path would require the biggest investment in retraining or a dip in a martial class to get the armor proficiencies, but there's something about being a spell caster in a giant suit of armor with an imposing mask trying to beguile people that is sort of fun.
Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Just trying to get a sense of what others might do.
I recently started playing PFS in the last few months, but I'm having some trouble settling on a character concept to play through to 12. The issue I'm running into is that I like to play characters that enable and round out a team, but the variable nature of tables means that it's hard for me to do that effectively like I would in a home game.
My PFS location seems to be have a pretty heavy population of martial focused characters. Newer players seem to gravitate towards a lot dex-based melee. The areas I feel are often ignored are a few of the lesser used knowledge skills (history, geography, etc) and social skills. Arcane casters also seem to be at a premium with about 0 or 1 at a table.
I played it safe to start on my first character and ended up with an enchantment wizard for the base bonus to skills and feats focusing on conjuration. I'm almost level four and -- while I don't necessarily dislike the direction I took the character -- I feel like I invested way too far into diplomacy both with my stat choices and feat choices. As a result, I feel useful when I cast, but rationing my spells results in me often sitting with no good filler action in combat.
So I started a new character to try a few things out and I'm about to head into level 2. I spent my first three scenarios trying out different options (melee hunter and melee skald). I'm not sure either was exactly the right fit. I didn't like constant overhead of managing a permanent animal companion with the hunter. The Skald felt a little like I was trying to recreate the enchanter with more combat focus; it was maybe the right direction but something about it felt a little off and I think it was that I was building it too much as a martial front-liner.
So I'm turning to this forum for help. I've sketched out a couple dozen ideas on paper but have no idea if they'd satisfy the below needs in practice. So I'd like to know from some more experienced PFS players if they have any ideas to help guide me in the right direction.
Stats: I generally don't dump stats. I'll do a single 8 or 9 if necessary to maintain the rest of this list, but I'm not looking to min/max, just play effectively.
Skills: I like having options with skills, so getting 6+ skills per level would be ideal. This can come from any combination of favored class bonus, intelligence bonus, base skills, skills from familiar, etc. Skills I like to have access too are: Spellcraft, Knowledge Local, and Knowledge History. Skills I'd like to not be terrible at: Diplomacy, Sense Motive.
Magic: I like the versatility that spell casting brings. Thematically, I prefer arcane magic over divine, but a blended list would totally work too. I'd prefer to open combat with some kind of battlefield shaping, control, or party buff spell and then wade in with others only using additional spells as necessary. I *think* I'd like the option of summoning to bring out additional companions (see below), but it doesn't necessarily need to be the go to tactic.
Companions: I'm not incredibly fond of animal companions. I'm okay with familiars, but generally not for direct combat. Related to magic, I think summoning would be useful to pull out a companion when we need more front-line support (on the rare day there isn't a glut of martial characters).
Combat capability: I'd like to be able to contribute in combat outside of spell casting. This doesn't necessarily need to be (and probably won't be given the rest of this list) top DPR or anything like that, but it can't totally be ignored and should be something I could contribute each round. This is obviously more important the less spell casting is emphasized in the build. Bonus points if team work feats are a part of the build (especially if they can be granted to those who don't have them)... but I understand if that's not terribly viable.
General feel: I prefer characters who are a bit more cosmopolitan/urban to those from more rural/nature backgrounds. I'd like to work this in as a member of the Sovereign Court faction.
Anything PFS legal goes. I own most of the major Paizo books as PDFs and, if necessary, I'll buy the ones needed to make this work.
Relatively straight forward question: are the performance rounds performed by a Duettist bard's familiar affected by the feats the bard knows?
Example: Could a bard's familiar perform a round of Inspire Courage at the cost of 2 rounds, then cease, and have it persist for 2 rounds assuming the bard had the Lingering Performance feat?
The text for Performing Familiar does not explicitly say the familiar inherits the masters feats that affect Bardic performance, but it does say that they perform "just like its master"
Quote:
Performing Familiar (Su)
At 4th level, a duettist's familiar learns how to create supernatural effects with its performances, just like its master. The familiar can use any of its master's bardic performances, but only the familiar or the duettist can have a performance active at any given time, not both. If one is performing and the other starts a performance, the previous performance immediately ends. Each round that the familiar performs consumes 2 rounds of the duettist's bardic performance.
[Edit] Updated to include Inquisitor since it looks like they'd interact the same way
How does Hunter or Inquisitor's bonus teamwork feats interact with Tactician, if Tactician is taken after the Hunter/Inquisitor gets its first bonus feat?
Can a hunter who takes a level of Cavalier after gaining the Hunter or Inquisitor's ability to change the most recent feat acquired alter the bonus feat acquired by Cavalier, thereby allowing the character to rotate what feat can be shared?
I was working on a character concept where I'd go 3-4 levels in Hunter and then take a level or two in Cavalier when I stumbled on this interaction. If I'm reading it correctly, since the last bonus teamwork feat I acquired came from Tactician, and the Hunter's teamwork feat lets me rotate the last bonus teamwork feat I acquired, that I should be able to rotate my Tactician teamwork feat until I acquired another bonus teamwork feat (such as from continuing in Hunter). Is this a correct interpretation?
Relevant material:
Hunter 3 - Teamwork Feat:
At 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter, the hunter gains a bonus teamwork feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. The hunter must meet the prerequisites of the selected bonus teamwork feat.
As a standard action, the hunter can choose to learn a new bonus teamwork feat in place of the most recent bonus teamwork feat she has already learned. In effect, the hunter loses the bonus feat in exchange for the new one. She can change only the most recent teamwork feat gained, and must meet the prerequisites for the newly selected feat. A hunter can change her most recent teamwork feat a number of times per day equal to her Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). Whenever she gains a new teamwork feat, her previous teamwork feats become permanent.
Inquisitor 3 - Teamwork Feat:
At 3rd level, and every three levels thereafter, the inquisitor gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as teamwork feats. The inquisitor must meet the prerequisites of the selected bonus feat.
As a standard action, the inquisitor can choose to learn a new bonus teamwork feat in place of the most recent bonus teamwork feat she has already learned. In effect, the inquisitor loses the bonus feat in exchange for the new one. She can only change the most recent teamwork feat gained. Whenever she gains a new teamwork feat, the previous teamwork feat becomes set and cannot be changed again. An inquisitor can change her most recent teamwork feat a number of times per day equal to her Wisdom modifier.
Cavalier 1 - Tactician:
At 1st level, a cavalier receives a teamwork feat as a bonus feat. He must meet the prerequisites for this feat. As a standard action, the cavalier can grant this feat to all allies within 30 feet who can see and hear him. Allies retain the use of this bonus feat for 3 rounds plus 1 round for every two levels the cavalier possesses. Allies do not need to meet the prerequisites of these bonus feats. The cavalier can use this ability once per day at 1st level, plus one additional time per day at 5th level and for every 5 levels thereafter.
For reference, this not working isn't going to ruin my character concept. It would kind of just be icing if it did work, especially since I'd probably end up continuing in Hunter and it'd only last a few levels anyway.
