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We recently started a new campaign and decided to use the Wounds and Vigor alternate rules along with Armor as Damage Reduction. I have always wanted to play a Synthesist summoner archetype. But the wounds and vigor rules are making it even more confusing than usual. Anyone care to help me figure this out? Specific issues:

Original summoner rule: Eidolons are not sent back to their home plane until reduced to a number of negative hit points equal to or greater than their Constitution score.
Wounds and Vigor rule: It seems like the equivalent here would be for the eidolon to be sent back when its wound points reach zero.

Original rule: When the eidolon is summoned normally, the eidolon's hit points are unchanged from the last time it was dismissed or banished.
Wounds and Vigor rule: It seems like both wound points and vigor points should be unchanged when the eidolon is summoned.

Original rule: When the eidolon is summoned after being slain, it returns with half its hit points.
Wounds and Vigor rule: It seems like the equivalent here would be for the eidolon to return with half its vigor points, but all its wound points.

Original rule for synthesist: The synthesist gains the eidolon's hit points as temporary hit points.
Wounds and Vigor rule: In the wounds and vigor rules, temporary hit points are considered temporary vigor points instead, and are lost first as usual. So it seems like the synthesist should gain the eidolon's vigor points as temporary vigor points. But what about the eidolon's wound points? Is the eidolon now dismissed when vigor points reach zero? Or should the eidolon's wound points also be turned into temporary vigor points?

In my last game we had a character who's a stalwart defender who had just come out of his defensive stance, so he was fatigued. The next round an enemy wizard appeared and cast Waves of Fatigue on the party. The spell says that characters who are already fatigued are unaffected. However, given that the stalwart defender's fatigue only lasts a few rounds, but the fatigue from Waves of Fatigue lasts until the target rests for 8 hours, it doesn't seem right to let him be immune to the spell. Thoughts?

I'm looking at the Snapping Turtle style feats.

While using the Snapping Turtle Style feat with at least one hand free, you gain a +1 shield bonus to AC.

This seems to imply that you can still use the feat without a free hand, but it just doesn't give you any benefit. Which is where the next one comes into play.

While you are using the Snapping Turtle Style feat, the shield bonus the style grants to your AC applies to your CMD and touch AC. Whenever an opponent misses you with a melee attack while you are using the Snapping Turtle Style feat, you can use an immediate action to attempt a grapple combat maneuver against that opponent, but with a –2 penalty.

Notice it says "while you are using the Snapping Turtle Style feat" without clarifying whether you need a free hand. Naturally you wouldn't get the shield bonus. But as written, it would appear that you can still get the grapple attempt, even if you don't have a free hand. This could be important if, say, you're already grappling someone and therefore using both hands. What do you think? Have I found a loophole in RAW?

Even if you say you need a free hand and would therefore be taking a -4 penalty on your grapple checks, it sounds like this would let you get a free grapple check if the guy you're grappling decides to attack you and misses.

In an unrelated case, would Snapping Turtle Clutch allow you to grapple someone who missed their attack of opportunity against you? AoOs count as melee attacks, right? With Dodge and Mobility, this could form a nasty trap. Simply provoke an AoO, and assuming they miss—bam! You've got them in your clutches.

I'm working on a Maneuver Master monk, and have a few questions. I've searched the forums a bit and the consensus seems to be that the Flurry of Maneuvers ability lets you do a regular full attack, using whatever attacks you can normally make, plus make an extra combat maneuver on top of that.

So....

At levels 1-7, as a full attack action, you could do 1 attack + 1 combat maneuver.
At levels 8-14, as a full attack action, you could do 2 attacks + 2 combat maneuvers.
At levels 15+, as a full attack action, you could do 3 attacks + 3 combat maneuvers.
And as usual, the attacks could be replaced by disarm, trip, or sunder.

The questions:

1. Does it matter where in the sequence of your full attack the maneuver occurs? Can you, for example, do your extra combat maneuver first, followed by the rest of your regular full attack? So at level 8 you could do, say, a reposition, an unarmed strike, a disarm, then another unarmed strike?

2. At level 8, could your two extra combat maneuvers both be grapples? The Flurry of Maneuvers description says the maneuvers can be done "regardless of whether the maneuver normally replaces a melee attack or requires a standard action." Since maintaining a grapple is a standard action, it seems like you ought to be able to do that as one of your extra maneuvers. So you could initiate the grapple for your first extra maneuver, then maintain it as your second extra maneuver (allowing you to move, damage, or pin as usual).

(Edit: Changed subject title since it ended up being about more than just grapple.)

I am looking at a Cavalier using the Beast Rider archetype. One of the potential mounts is the arnisoitherium, which has a trample ability. This ability works just like overrun, with a few changes.

So the creature ability Trample lets you overrun without making a check, but the target can choose to make an AoO at -4 or else try to avoid the trample by making a Reflex save to take half damage. It also looks like the creature can Trample more than one target, as long as they are at least one size smaller.

It's a pretty cool ability. But what if the cavalier also takes the Trample feat?

Or what if the mount takes Improved Overrun and/or Greater Overrun?

The Trample feat obviously overlaps somewhat with Improved Overrun/Greater Overrun, but lacks the bonuses to CMB and CMD and the ability to avoid the AoO. It would be a waste to take all three. Improved Overrun and the Trample feat both make it so the target can't avoid the overrun. Greater Overrun and the Trample feat both give the creature a free attack if the overrun succeeds. The feat Improved Overrun additionally makes it so you don't provoke AoOs when doing an overrun.

Do you think the rules support the idea that these could be combined somehow? I don't see anything in the wording of the different rules that makes it obvious they wouldn't work together. They all trigger from the attempt to overrun. If they were combined, the creature would get an auto-overrun that doesn't provoke AoO, can't be avoided, and does automatic damage against multiple (smaller) targets. That seems pretty crazy.

Or would you say that the player has to pick one? Either a standard overrun buffed by feats (Improved Overrun/Greater Overrun or Trample), or else a standard creature Trample. That seems more reasonable, but again, I don't see anything to really prevent combining them. That doesn't mean it isn't there, though. Maybe I'm just not seeing it. Sometimes the interpretation of these things can turn on a single overlooked word.

One of my players wants to make a gunslinger, and I want to let him. I have read through the rules and now have a superficial understanding of them. However, I've never seen firearms in play. How is the gameplay different with early firearms versus advanced firearms? Obviously advanced firearms are faster, more reliable, and more deadly at further ranges. But how does this actually play out in the game? What's the power balance like between the two? How about compared to archery?

Apologies if this has been discussed on the forums before, but I couldn't find anything. Thanks in advance.

I am currently running a Kingmaker campaign. One of my players is playing an Inquisitor. One of his game goals is to build up his character's religion in the kingdom, and I'd like to accommodate him. He wants to do things like convert the NPC leaders and townsfolk. Any advice on how to handle preaching attempts and long term conversion?

The rules talk about Diplomacy improving a person's attitude by steps, saying the improvement lasts 4 hours, or longer subject to GM discretion. I hesitate to allow a single Diplomacy roll to result in the permanent improvement of attitude, let alone permanent conversion to a religion, but I'm not sure how else to handle it. How many rolls should it take? Or is there some other method you'd suggest?

A secondary question... I'm not sure how prominent Erastil turns out to be later on in the Kingmaker adventure paths. Is there going to be some conflict if my player builds up a religion worshiping a different deity than Erastil?

Alright, I know this is probably a noob question, but I've gotta ask it...

How do bonus spells work when you multiclass? Say you take two spellcasting classes where their bonus spells are determined by different ability scores. Do you get two sets of bonus spells? If not, how do you know which ability score to use to determine bonus spells?

I'm trying to build a grappling barbarian, but I don't quite understand how it would work with natural attacks such as his Animal Fury or Lesser Beast Totem rage powers.

Example 1: Round 1, the barbarian successfully get into a grapple (thanks to his +4 from Improved Grapple and Greater Grapple). Round 2, he has to maintain. Animal Fury states that you get a free bite attack before you do a grapple maintain, and if you hit you get a +2 on the maintain. He's got the Greater Grapple feat, so it's a move action to maintain. So, round 2, he does his move action to maintain and gets a free bite first. Along with the maintain, he can do damage using a natural attack. So he could bite again. For his next action, he can maintain again thanks to Greater Grapple. So he gets his free bite first, then his natural weapon damage for another bite. So he's essentially biting four times a round. (Do you think Mike Tyson had this feat?)

Does that sound right? I know there had been some question about whether the Animal Fury bite attack could be considered a primary attack or not, but my understanding is that the Bestiary rules prevail and it IS a primary attack, unless you're attacking with a normal melee weapon first.

Example 2: Identical to example 1, except the barbarian chooses to use his claw ability from Lesser Beast Totem as his natural attack damage after maintaining the grapple. Does he get to use both claw attacks, or just one?