christian kramer's page

yea. clawhand shield is better and cheaper.

Idk if it's objectively better.. It's just different. Better is determined by what kind of style your table uses. If your GM is one that pushes play and forces the party to really manage character resources, then the Shield of the Mage is definitely better.

The clawhand shield has it's benefits
1. Two more AC bonus, but most full caster's won't really be relying much on AC anyways
2. Auto attack against a grappler
3. Allows somatic components, so you can hold something (staff, rod, touch attack etc.) in your off hand.

But the Shield of the Mage can truly be built around to the point where it becomes broken.
1. Though it is a 2-turn use in combat (1 for the shield to decipher the scroll as a full round, and 2 to cast it) It doesn't actually use any of your actions.
2. Here's the big one... You can control and determine your "spells known" through a variety of ways. A wizard can erase spells that they deem as unnecessary and a sorcerer can reselect spells known as they level, and as graystone pointed out an alchemist can limit spells known to 1. If the only spells that the shield can cast are ones that are always useful, then it's essentially a free lesser quickened spell every other turn, and virtually unlimited use outside of combat. Haste, Invisibility, fly, ray of exhaustion, heroism... How about a party that has permanent heroism 24-7?

I of course think that using the item this way is dumb and really takes the fun out of the "randomness", but still. It truly can be munchkinned into being OP.

Kill your investigator and tell him to come back with an alchemist so that you'll have endless class specific loot to give him.

Yup looks similar to what I filtered out. Now it's going through them all to determine if they are useful or optimal.

Sure a Potion of Disfiguring touch is possible, but it is hardly useful pending very specific situations/shenanigans.

It will take some time, but I'll put some sort of guide together.

As someone fairly new to Pathfinder and TTRPGs in general, there are several reasons why I keep coming back to the table.

So I just turned 28, but for most of my childhood and my young adult life, I never really got much exposed into this kind of gaming. I was never too much into video games, was very much into athletics and schoolwork and stuff. But always in the back of my mind, I had this wildly rampant creative imagination, but I never really got to/chose to let it loose. I'd see movies like LOTR or Star Wars and think to myself... I've got these kinds of stories and characters and lore swarming in my head all the time.

By random chance, I had a friend who turned me onto a podcast (The Glass Cannon Podcast) and it really kind of opened my eyes to what RPG are all about. I never really thought that I looked down upon or thought that kind of gaming experience was weird or lesser. If fact I actually had no real conception of what it even was, but I guess everything else in my life never really led me to ever experience it.

I really liked that podcast. I found it witty, funny, charming, and the guys on it sounded like my friends. Just a bunch of guys sitting around, drinking beer, busting each other's balls and playing a cool game. But also... the storytelling. The ability to tell your own story and using lore and mechanics to flesh it out... I had found that outlet for this creativity that I never let loose before. That was the beginning of the end of it for me. Turns out I even really love the improv acting of it too.

Some of the other reasons why I play

• Consistent time for me and my friends. Often times as adults we get swept up in the ongoing and sometimes overwhelming monotonous responsibilities. This allows me to have scheduled (Me) time. (Me) time that I choose to spend with my buds
• Games: it is really not much different than al other games when you boil it down. There are solidly constructed rules, you get to apply strategy, build a player, and luck is involved.

Reasons why it is tough &/or reasons for migration to 5E

• Scheduling & consistency: As adults, its good to schedule the fun stuff, but the responsibilities are really more important. Scheduling and consistency is consistently difficult no matter what activity it is, whether it's RPGs, dinner with family, or pickup basketball.
• Work: This is probably the most Pathfinder specific answer. There are a lot of rules, lot of mechanics, lots of content in general. Having a fun experience through a well flowing game takes work. Work by the GM and work by the players. I personally enjoy reading the rules, understanding the RAW vs RAI, learning nuances, and getting in deep and knowing many aspects of the game. Work and Fun are not mutually exclusive for me, but some people prefer a more laid back, loose, and easier approach to their RPG games.

As indicated, alchemical splash weapons are great, especially at low levels. And the DC can even scale decently well if you use the "full pouch" spell.

Here's some things that may help what you're looking for.

Feats:
Some of these aren't really all that powerful, but definitely help an alchemist who wants to forgo the rout of using a stupid crossbow. You're an alchemist after all, not a wizard!
Concentrated SplashLike targeted bomb admixture, but for all alchemical weapons, and it doesn't use any action.
Spalsh Weapon MasteryObviously listed above, but pretty good.
Close Quarters ThrowerA reasonable GM would allow this to apply to both bombs & splash weapons for an Alchemist. Since there is no realistic difference for either action.

Items:
Portable Alchemy lab (You'll want it for crafting)
Alchemist's Atlatl to increase splash weapon range.
Hybridization Funnel This is an absolute must, especially for the price. Put that craft alchemy to work.
Focusing Flask Combine doses to make it more potent during downtime.
Spring Loaded Sheath Two of these will allow you to save action economy in arming yourself at least twice in a single combat.
Bombchucker You should already have this..best effect in the game for 12 gold.

Alchemical Weapons:
Some deal decent damage, some have cool debuffs, and with a hybridization funnel you can have both.
Holy Water
Burst jar
Ghast Retch Flask
Fungal Stun Vial
Tanglefoot Bag
Drugs..(Opium is an incredible debuff for only 25 gold) Inhalation, Injury, or Consumption (typically applied with a syring spear or a medlance). Yes it gives some temporary HP and +2 to fortitude saves to the target, but it also fatigues them for an hour, deals 1d4 Con and 1d4 Wis damage thus hindering HP and Fort/Will saves, with a base DC of 20.

The alchemist isn't the most powerful class, but It is the most unique and fun in my opinion. Hope you have fun, and good luck.

In several adventures that I've played through or DM'd, this is the coolest way that I've seen it used.

The PCs were rescuing slaves (normal people from a village) from an orc camp. The party was very stealthy, but among the group of slaves were some children. The children, much like their adult counterparts, were upset, hurt, and afraid.

However, unlike the adults they lacked the understanding of the ultimate imperative need for silence. Several of them began to wimper and cry, threatening to wake the slumbering Orc tribe.

The wizard used prestidigitation much like a doctor would utilize the old coin behind the ear trick, though we imagined that actual magic would create magical butterflies of light or something much more spectacular than a coin.

This intrigued curiosity, and temporarily provided enough of a distraction to stifle the children's fear (and noise) enough to make a safe escape.

There aren't as many arguments about rules at our table as there is just forgetting rules.....we drink a lot when we play

Obviously certain spells vary greatly in effectiveness based upon your build, specialty, or party makeup, but I'll try my best to list some spells that are universally effective and that I've used quite a bit myself.

Sorcerer (You'll have to account for your limit of spells known, so each spell has to have consistent and repeatable usability). Though you would be wise to invest in a Mnemonic Vestment and a small spell-book for useful utility casting.

Level-1
A. Grease: useful for more than just combat, and scales considerably well from low to high levels
B. Enlarge Person: Spells that you can use to buff yourself or allies have flexibility, but buffing your martial ally to large size is great.
C. Heightened Awareness: This spell isn't super powerful in combat, but has a long duration at higher levels and makes good use of 1st level spells at high levels.

(special mention - Vanish: At lower levels, this is how you don't die and is incredibly powerful since you can use it on allies and grant stealth buffs, but it falls out of favor for better things later on).

Level-2
A. Burst of Radiance: targeted area effect for light amount of damage but also for blindness, most enemies & monsters will be evil.
B. Stone Call: Great damage and battlefield control area effect at low levels, and a guaranteed application of dazing spell meta-magic at higher levels.
C. Mirror Image: You want to not die...

(Special Mention: Anticipate Thoughts: If for some reason you're going as a melee sorcerer or into eldritch knight then this can greatly improve your martial prowess.

Level-3
A. Battering Blast: (A truly powerful spell and my favorite ever) and one that is versatile and has No Cap! Nothing is immuine to force damage, and this spell has no damage limits by caster level and can be abused to do extreme things. Bull rush and prone against weak REF save is just the cherry on the top.
B. Heatstroke: It is exclusively better than ray of exhaustion, and It is of the Evocation school which usually is more utilized than necromancy.
C. Haste: If your party is only casters it drastically decreases in effectiveness, but otherwise take it and don't think twice.

Level-4
A. Emergency Force Sphere: Immediate Action, save yourself, even save an adjacent ally depending on the interpretation of a 5 foot radius. But this spell will protect you from virtually anything and everything and it is awesome. (it is a Std Action to dispel though).
B. Dimension Door: This essentially is all the teleport that you'll need in an immediate scenario.
C. Enervation: Ranged touch, No save, negative levels stack. great debuff spell.

(Special Mention: Ball Lightening is a great battlefield control spell and also had great potential for dazing spell because it persists).

Level-5
A. Icy Prison: This isn't a save or suck, this is a suck or suck. It either ends combat for a target, or it entangles and forces them to waste their turn breaking free or take cold damage and entangled penalty continuously.
B. Overland Flight: This will fundamentally change the way you play the game since you'll just be flying for hours at a time.
C. Cloudkill: Potent area effect crowd control debuff, kill spell. Cloud them up, and wall them in, and hear them die.

(Special Mention: Teleport is another game changing spell, but it is best left for a wizard. You typically wont be using it 6 times per day).

Level-6
A. Contingency: This spell has unlimited potential for almost anything if used right. It can be a powerful divination effect when the condition is applied right "cast light if the BBEG is behind this door". And in later levels action economy is king. Save a turn by having a spell cast on a predictable contion.
B. Chains of Light: This is Icy prison on crack.
C. Unwilling Shield: Really make the enemy want to not kill you.

Levels 7-9 i'm not certain about as I've never been to those levels.

Good Luck

I usually just scrap wealth by level entirely. It is a strange and fragile baseline for things that can vary massively, and can be abused by mechanically strong players.

My players are savy, and I don't like having to apply advanced templates and beef up encounters just to satisfy loot needs. I typically keep all my APs and campaigns in a low loot settings.

I encourage the PCs to use what they find and limit crafting to consumable items, as I've found that the players actually have more fun when they aren't able to get everything that they want (whether they know it or not). Being numerically and statistically powerful in the game and steamrolling through isn't nearly as a rewarding experience. If I feel that they really are starting to struggle I will splash in a piece of extra loot here and there.

If a new PC is coming into an adventure after a death, then I simply award them enough wealth to start with comparatively to average loot of the existing party.

If they are each wielding one gun, then make him a gunslinger that wields two.

If they wield two, then find a way to give him extra arms and give him four. Like a Kasatha wild wild west alien style. And then just give him items that protect against firearms, like the gunman's poncho.

You can't bring knives to a gun fight... only guns.

As stated, the tumor doesn't have to be a gross external lump. It can reside inside the body, and then burst out like Alien, whenever needed.

Could even be a cool character thing.

Sipping champagne at a fancy ball and getting hit on by a handsome prince. Your eyes drifting between his persistent gaze and the two suspicious half-orcs across the room. (All of the sudden, on draws a blade and moves upon one of your allies).

"Excuse me, good sir" as you ask him playfully to hold your glass.

He obliges as his eyes wander curiously towards your bosom... In his mind, he's making you quite nervous. He thinks he's going to get lucky. Look, your heart is beating heavily, practically beating out of your chest. Wait... it really is beating out of your chest!!

"What the F^#&!!!". His face is showered in blood as fluffy the gore drenched hedgehog springs from a wound in your chest onto a nearby dining table.

You slip two daggers from a sheath on a garter belt under your dress, turn to the shocked and horrified prince. "You look spectacular in red dear". Then charge off to battle.

I have seen some blaster builds optimizing battering blast do some absolutely mind boggling high damage by abusing Caster level boosting items. Though I think to get 9000, you'd need quite a few Orange Ioun Stones at 30,000 gp a pop.

I cannot believe that this post has 17 responses lol.

Archimedes must study this age old mystery

In the Glassworks of Sandpoint all the way back at level 1 in ROTRL. My GM ruled that my Tiefling alchemist who had 5 fire resistance could spend a full action dunking his hand into the molten glass and throwing it at a goblin as a splash weapon.

It was just a perfect situation where I got to use multiple mechanical features in a very unique way and also got to specifically interact with the environment around me.

The imagery and uniqueness of that kill really made me feel like I wasn't even playing a game at that point and I applaud my GM for allowing it to this day.

No confirming natural 20 criticals or natural 1 fumbles.

In all of the playing that I've done what I found is that.... Nobody likes your secret backstory or your big reveal like you do.

That doesn't mean that your writing or idea is bad, but when you make the reveal... it almost always falls flat and is lackluster.

Instead, talk to your DM, trust him and let him insert it into the story as it seems fit.

It will most likely be revealed in a light that is detrimental to you and your party which will then create a reason for them to sympathize and find a way to reclaim your anonymity and protect the identity of their super friend.

They continuously roll over in their graves

I am creating a reasonable sized hex map of the southern Chernasardo Region on roll20. The PCs clearly have their original home base identified, but under the GM view I have several hexes marked for only me to see.

The "Events" occur on their own after so many days, or are triggered by actions, but the Locations and Encounters have physical locations. The party is able to travel "their speed" (6 hexes) and back in a single day if they pass my assigned Knowledge Geography DCs (otherwise they get lost and move slower or in a random direction etc.), or choose to move further and camp-out in the wild wherever they stop.

Any of the marked hexes that they pass through they trigger that encounter or foraging opportunity or whatever and it then becomes view-able to them on their map. It will be reminded to them though, via notes or interrogation that they are being pursued and that the refugee camp may not be safe on their own for too long.

Days are just tracked by normal days on a calendar.

Perhaps the scenario is a result of a little bit too much information revealed too quickly.

I really really really like the idea of the Ironfang Legion as incredibly well trained, disciplined, and full of purpose. After such a kick in the ass intro into the adventure path, for the PCs to uncover that this "Legion" isn't just another Goblinblood war or group of raiders maintains a heavy atmosphere of great severity. This army cannot be disbanded, deceived, converted, or broken. It's what makes the Legion much more threatening than Orc raiders or a goblin horde. The hobgoblins are not stupid. They have trained engineers, alchemists, cartographers, craftsmen, and shamans.
They have all bought in to their ultimate leader's purpose, because Azaersi really is an incredible leader who has suffered personally as well as witnessed the suffering of her people in the Goblinblood wars. Imagine a 13 year old, pulling a spear from her belly and crawling out of a mass grave of her own kind. Fleeing into the wilderness as the rest of the goblinoids were slaughtered, driven away, and the chitterwood burned. Then spending the next (X) years mastering both leadership and combat qualities and assembling an army comprised of the best of the best, delving into the center of the earth to retrieve a powerful artifact to lead a cause that is not for her, but for her nation of "monsters misfits". That's some PC level heroics.
I think during any interrogations I would have any soldiers or grunts possibly reveal important short term information, or perhaps give up direct superiors. But most of them, especially commanders of note, would rather die than betray their leader in any way.

But to actually answer your immediate question, I think it might be a good idea to make your PCs believe that they can redeem Azaersi and the Legion, but ultimately come to realize that the other side will not accept compromise.
As in the real world, sometimes compromise is not acceptable or just not accepted. It put a morale decision, and a tough one, in the hands of your players but sometimes the ideal solution is not a feasible one.
In order to do this, allow your PCs to uncover Zanathura's manipulative and selfish goals a bit earlier on. Paint her as the real BBEG earlier. And once they dispose of her, they come to realize that Azaersi never really was affected by the naga's magic. That she gave the naga the illusion of power over her, in order to maintain their "alliance".

Or perhaps Azaersi is so enraged by being controlled, that she is not open to the further manipulations.
"the promises of men mean nothing to my people" "they ask for a truce now, but years to come, we will find our people persecuted and driven from our homelands once again".

All in all, write your story. It might not have a warm fuzzy feeling at the ending, but great wars and historical conflicts rarely do.

The brilliance of flexible creativity. Interpret it however you want. I like to see curses by good deities, as a a god's constant reminder of their presence and your purpose on earth through them. I guess Paizo's team had to assign some word to define the mechanics of the class and decided on curses, since they technically are drawbacks. But it is up to the player, or rather the character themselves how they want to view or categorize it.

For example, an oracle of Sarenrae "cursed" with blindness might not even interpret it as a curse. At a group campfire moment, claiming,

"The great lord of light has not bestowed me with an affliction my friend. The gods give and take, there is balance in all things. Though my eyes may not report what lies before me as do yours, my god has allowed me to see the world with my heart." Casts Spark on the wood assembled, followed by a smirk. "It is not with our vision that we feel the warmth of the Sunlight."

Are ya'll just dungeon crawling or doing one-offs? Or are you in a campaign or AP?

If the later, then whatever you do... don't just design an encounter to kill a character, just to do it.

Kill someone if you must, but make them a specific target. It should be part of the story, and It should make them say... Wait.. What? Holy sh&t! Part of every good player's responsibility is letting go.

1) Create a custom poison, something so diabolical, that they are bound to fail. Have an Assassin with a particular motive, poison someone who just straight up dies horribly over a day or two. Then allow the rest of the party the ability to figure out the who what when where and why of it all.

2) Have a PC killed in combat, then right before the party avenges them, the BBEG raises their dead comrade, then escapes. With their friend, not serving as an undead slave to their new enemy. (they might even have to fight them later on).

3) My favorite. Heard this from somebody else actually. Have a PC get captured. Tell that player it is only going to be a temporary thing, and have them roll out a backup character. Then when the group with their new friend is exploring, they come upon the executed remains of the captured ally... As was described to me. "I have never had more respect for a DM than I did in that ultimate deception".

The trick with that last one though is ensuring that the PC's capture was on some folly or failed check of her own doing. So that it's not a punishment, just a consequence.

Dave Justus wrote:

As far as I can tell none of them.

All the Golarian gods simply seem to be spouting various types of proganda to gather in souls that then become fuel for their personal power.

Sure, some have propaganda that is nicer than others, but the Gods themselves are all simply predators/parasites at their core. Even the ones who use good messages in their ad campaigns are evil.

If you going with the "Gods are powered by belief" thing, that's not how it works on Golarion and in the Great Beyond.

Haven't you seen the end of Elf? That's exactly how it happens! ....wait, is Santa Claus a god?.... hmmm Archimedes will have to conduct more research.

Whut? I think that basic communication and a respectful understanding between people allows this kind of stuff to be sorted out on its own without some sort of official points system.

I play for fun with my friends, and we almost never have to deal with any of this. Though maybe I'm the outlier here

I know that they are technically a playable race, but I think Hobgoblins are so bad ass. They are quick, they are strong, they are smart, and probably the best of all, they can be organized.

I love that thousands of years of cultural brutality and militarism has taken effect on their very nature. They are like the spartans of the races. Orcs are dumb brutes, but hobbies have potential.

I'm running an Ironfang Invasion campaign, and by far the scariest things that threaten my PCs is the fact that creatures can combine such physical prowess, resourcefulness, intellect, hostility, and purpose in one package.

"Humans are slaves to their own empathy. Slavery, violence, and conquest are all turning cogs in the Hobgoblin war machine!!!"

I never really make any changes when it comes to hand-waiving rolls, or allowing actions to defy the physical or magical boundaries of a character, despite how "cool" the PC thinks it would be to snowboard on the skull of a yeti then triple backflip into a fireball power- attack yada yada.

For example: "I wanna dropkick a tree, and knock it over onto the troll that is attacking my ally!!!

Here, I wouldn't just say "No you can't" but I might elaborate that "while there are many small shrubs and saplings, there aren't really any trees in the area large enough to accomplish this purpose", or better yet I'll explain that "there is one really large dead tree, 50 feet away, and it looks like if the base of the tree takes close to X damage it might collapse in a specific direction effecting X many squares and doing roughly X damage.
This can be achieved by having the PC's roll specific checks too (nature, engineering, etc.), with arbitrary DC's based on how difficult the activity would be.

This way, it not only allows the player's idea to shine, even if just by being possible, but it will also encourage the whole party to work together at damaging the tree and luring the troll to the right location if they wish.

I really encourage my players to know their characters and know the rules of the game. I don't encourage them to try to supersede the rules. But what I really really like is when they interact with their environment to accomplish something as a team.

I will however enact the "Rule of Story". If a decision or dice roll or something were to happen to cause a major disruption in the plot or spoil a great surprise for my players... then it simple just does not work.

From what he has said they don't use point buy so the only change he can make to follow this instruction would be to make his str 5 and his cha 20... This still doesn't change the fact that his character isn't actually an issue.

The beauty of the game is that the players and the GM can literally do whatever they want to do, as long as they can all compromise and come to an agreement. 75% of the "Is my GM right or wrong" issues are mostly because either side would rather be asses and try to best each other with numbers, RAW vs RAI, or advocacy from forum support instead of just talking it out and be willing to concede a little bit for a smoother and less stressful experience.

Don't try to beat the game... try to have fun and tell a good story with your friends. Doing slightly less damage, doesn't make your character any less of a high flying ass kicking monk.

Just take some of that 20 Strength and put it into that 5 Charisma, and call it a day. Quick and simple. It doesn't put any more of a burden on yourself and allows you to basically use all the same abilities you already have and will slightly lessen your ability to hit and inflict damage. It doesn't create a more difficult burden for you, and slightly will lessen the burden of the GM, which is essentially all that he's asking for.