diemythtruth's page

IF it still matters to you or for anyone else reading this - here's what i wish i knew before i started playing with my son:

1. Buy and play beginner box until reasonably familiar with structure/rules
(ask questions on PF forums)

1A. (optional but useful step at this point: check out EdOWar's Beginner Box character conversions at https://edowarsblog.wordpress.com/downloads/ )

2. Buy and use Pathfinder Strategy Guide (it is not what it sounds - it's actually an on-ramp to the full Core Rule Book but bridges onward from the Beginner Box very nicely
(ask questions on PF forums)

3. Buy and use Core Rule Book.
(ask questions on PF forums)

i mean i have no idea what i'm doing half the time and the 9-yr. old is telling me the answers.

Interesting, thank you BadBird, it's difficult migrating to the core rules from beginner box and thinking that you are proceeding nicely but have possibly 'hung yourself' as Dasrak said above. Learning the balance of characters - what rules impinge upon other rules - is one of the major ongoing struggles we have. The best kind of struggle though!

Cool, thanks Temperans.

THANK YOU Dasrak (and bhampton) - I just read him all of this feedback and he's very excited. I am amazed at the helpfulness of posters sometimes, thank you immensely. I'm bookmarking this post so I can refer to it in future!

Excellent, thank you! Super helpful of you! He will be pleased to know that. One more please, concerning what you alluded to above? Once he becomes that 1st level Arcane Archer are the other classes then "closed off"..? Or can you continue to add levels as you see fit? E.G. he could eventually become level 7 Ranger, lvl 3 Bard, level 2 Arcane Archer, etc?? It would seem like so. Thanks once again.

So Arcane Archer is a prestige class, that means once you have the pre-reqs, you can level up in that class rather than your other class(es). So in your son's case, he needs a BAB of +6, and the ability to cast Arcane spells...now as he's a straight Ranger, he only has the ability to cast Divine spells, so he would need to multiclass in something that adds the ability to cast Arcane spells, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard, etc.

Does that make some sense?

ah i do see, thank you! - so just to repeat if i'm reading you correctly bhampton: he needs (at lvl. 5 Ranger) one more level in e.g. Ranger to get the BAB = 6 and then a further level in Wizard/Bard/Sorcerer to satisfy the final Arcane spell prerequisite. So essentially he has to level up 2 more times it seems? thank you again!

I forgot to add he's a half-elf. Thanks for any info.

Hi, novice player here, just migrated off Beginner Box to implement core rules with my son. I've searched the forums and elsewhere online and have tried some videos but would love some basic information on creating an Arcane Archer please. My son's character is a lvl. 5 Ranger (basically Link from the video games) and he's desperate for me to figure this out.

I understand he needs the pre-requisites here:

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/core-rulebook/arcane-arch er/

"Base Attack Bonus: +6.
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Spells: Ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells."

He almost has the BAB and i think he has all the feats. The part i'm more confused on is the Spells, and then... what comes next? I don't think he can cast 1st-level arcane spells yet but i'm not sure since the Ranger has some spell ability? I'm confused by the spell level vs. caster level stuff and have to re-read it constantly. Again, very ignorant player here.

Most threads i've seen discuss the Arcane Archer from the ground up but he loves his lvl. 5 Ranger and won't change or reset that. Can someone please describe, at a VERY basic level, what "happens next"? Thank you for any guidance!

EdOWar, you-are-the-best. Thanks!

If you're a complete novice like me/my son, prepare to fiddle with the rule books/character sheets a lot during Black Fang's dungeon until figuring out that it's best to just start ignoring things for the sake of expediency/fun. The game really opened up for us at that point and now we like it a lot.

I think I see now - thank you CrystalSeas.

Thank you Cattleman (and Val'bryn2). Those examples make sense. And sorry to belabor the point but this is what an eager 8-yr. old will undoubtedly ask me: does the battleaxe and only the battleaxe retain the feat forever, until e.g. the dwarf dies? Very new to RPGs in general, apologies.

Thank you Cattleman. So the dwarf can go like this?

Attack rd. 1 - Battleaxe +1 to attack roll due to Weapon Focus
Attack rd. 2 - Crossbow +1 to attack roll due to Weapon Focus
Attack rd. 3 - Battleaxe +1 to attack roll due to Weapon Focus
Attack rd. 4 - Crossbow +1 to attack roll due to Weapon Focus

..or are rounds 3 & 4 not allowed since he used the feat already in Rd 1 & 2 for those weapons?? And if this is the case, in the next room/encounter I imagine it resets so he can start at #1 again? Thanks.

Hello, I've searched some posts but couldn't find a basic explanation for the Weapon Focus feat in the Beginner Box. My son has a Dwarf Fighter with a Weapon Focus = Battleaxe but we don't understand this text:

"PREREQUISITES: Attack Bonus +1
BENEFIT Pick one weapon you can use, such as battleaxe, heavy crossbow, light mace, or longsword. You gain a +1 bonus on your attack rolls with that type of weapon. You can choose this feat multiple times, but you must pick a different weapon each time you choose the feat. Fighters get this feat as a class feature automatically at 1st level. If you are a fighter and you choose this feat, you must choose a different weapon than the one you selected with your 1st-level fighter Weapon Focus."

I'm completely lost as to what's supposed to happen here during a series of turns. Could a patient pathfinder please explain it? Thank you so much. The game is tons of fun regardless.