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I'm joining a game tomorrow and was finishing up my character concept so wanted to see what anyone else thought about this character!

Name: Still haven't decided - toying with Enos after the chimp that went to space
Race: Vanara
Class: Zen Archer Monk

Background: Enos lived at a small monastery at the top of the World's Edge Mountains. He trained there since being mysteriously left there as a child on their door step. One day when he was out hiking in the mountains he came back only to find the monastery on fire and all the inhabitants including his mentor Shaolin killed. He wondered if it was the Giants of the mountains, the abyssal demons that lay deep within the underdark of the mountains or another unknown group. He left and began investigating and a tip led his to join the group.

Character Stats (rolled post racila modifiers and one ability score increase at level 4): Str 16, Dex, 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 19, Cha 9.

Favored Class bonus each level: Vanara bonus to get +1 to acrobatic checks to jump

Traits: reactionary (+2 init) & honored fist of society (+1 ki)

Level: 7

Fort save: 7
Reflex save: 8
Will save: 9
CMB: 8
CMD: 26 (+2 for trips and when hanging can't be tripped and +2 to bull, drag, reposition)

Skills:
Acrobatics: 19 (7 ranks, 3 ability, 3 class skill, 2 racial modifier, 4 feats
Climb: 21 (7 ranks, 3 ability, 3 class skill, 8 racial modifier
Perception: 9 (2 ranks, 4 ability, 3 class skill)
Stealth: 13 (5 ranks, 3 ability, 3 class skill, 2 racial modifier)
A few other 1 rank stats as well

Feats:
Tree Hanger (level 1 feat)
Improved Unarmed Strike (bonus)
Precise Shot (bonus)
Perfect Strike (bonus)
Point Blank Shot (bonus)
Weapon Focus (bonus)
Point Blank Master (bonus)
Deadly Aim (level 3)
Monkey Style (level 5)
Weapon Specialization (bonus)
Improved Precise Shot (bonus)
Spider Step (level 7)

Attack stats: (using a longbow - well for flavor i'm going ask to call it a diakyu)

Standard attack: +10, 1d8+5
Flurry of blows only: +10/+10/+5, 1d8+5
Flurry of blows with deadly aim: +8/+8/+3 1d8+9
Flurry of blows with deadly aim and point blank shot: +9/+9/+4, 1d8+9

Other character strategies:

Enos already has a +41 total jump stat at level 7 and that with his high movement for being a monk (50 ft), spider step ability and tree hanger ability, his goal is going to be to move around combat and hopefully get to a spot where he can perch high up with his tail and then shot with his bow. Going to carry around pitons to place into walls to use for hanging when I have prep time.

Thoughts/Concerns/Questions:

He feels a little like a one trick pony with his high agility and ability to shot fairly well with his bow damage wise. Also, I'm concerned a little about the synergy between his full round action flurry and all his movement based abilities (jump, spider step, tree hanger, etc). I've considered swooping one of the movement feats (probably spider step or monkey style) for vital strike so when moving he does a little extra damage as well.

Also, he has low HP only 52 at level 7 which is a little alarming so I've also considered the ole standard toughness or moving a few favored class bonuses to HP rather than jumping.

Finally, I've considered changing out his honored fist trait for dangerously curious (UMD +1 and a class skill) and pumping ranks into it for a +10 at level 7 for using low level wands like gravity bow, etc. Yes I'll only have a 50/50 shot with a 20 DC but I was still thinking about it as it gives him some other things to do while moving. If I got that route, I could consider taking out spider step or monkey style for skill focus UMD for a total +13.

Haven't thought about items yet as well but also toyed around with taking a vow of poverty for the rp flavor and also crazy extra ki though of course it's not really needed. I have no idea how the group is going to do magic items so i'll find out tomorrow!

Any other thoughts or ideas on the character would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thanks!

So i'm toying around with a character concept that involves a good hobgoblin who uses his race's own weapon normally used for evil, the whip, for good.

I'm looking for him to have a disguise of some sort for additional role playing flavor and for the fact that our core race heavy campaigns won't take too kindly of a hobgoblin just running around.

So class and feat wise is where I'm having a tough time. I've looked at the following classes in crazy detail (spreadsheet and all!): thug rogue, swashbuckler mysterious avenger, slayer, inquisitor sanctified slayer, caviler daring champion, and fighter mutation warrior (mainly for and extra feat).

I believe if I wanted to go full optimize i'd probably go inquisitor with a thug rogue dip, however i'm not totally feeling a magic using hobgoblin (maybe I could be convinced?!).

With that in mind, I was looking at the Swashbuckler to fit my role playing needs however it looks like the Cavlier Daring Champion with Order of Vengenance would do almost everything the swashbuckler does except better. The only problem though (but a big one) is that the Daring Champion doesn't grant the ability to use the whip with your swashbuckler abilities.

Would a dip into swashbuckler mysterious avenger for 1 (or more) levels followed by the cavalier daring champion allow me to use the whip with my abilities? Also, would my precise strike damage stack with both classes levels?

Let me know what you think; if you have any other character ideas too, feel free to let me know, i'm open - really i'm looking for a character that functionally is good with the whip damage wise, can intimidate well (include frighten with thug rogue dip), and can take advantage of the reach (once improved mastery is obtained for whip) with AOO perhaps.

Thanks!

Great stuff! What about in terms of class?

So I'm trying to figure out a Goatman build.

I'm picturing a medium sized character wielding a two handed greatax. If you google "goatman axe" there's a few that fit the bill.

Obviously I'll have to make a race or use the satyr or beastman races i've seen floating around here (I believe the beastmen race was 3.5).

I have 11 RP to play with and of course it's all GM discretion so I can't just power build the race; it needs to make sense and not just be made to optimize the character

A few thoughts so far:

- I'm thinking a mostly martial based character right now; fighter most likely or maybe a hunter though I'm not sure if that fits two handed (would be feral hunter then as I don't feel like companions fit the bill) or maybe a ranger?
- Mainly two handed great ax use with some vital strike power attack combo for dealing a lot of damage
- I'm considering eldrich heritage (of course i'll have to have the cha) for the fey, orc, or abyssal bloodlines. The invisbility from the fey bloodline kind of fits.
- For the race: I'm thinking +2 str and +2 cha; I feel like strength fits considering their sheeer power and cha for their mystic woods characteristics
- I'm also considering adding some kind of gore or hoof attack and increased movement maybe or adding some spell like sleep abilities similar to feys. That and adding some sneaking characteristics despite their size as after watching some movies featuring goatman like characters he's kind of a Jason like character at times in terms of disappearing.

What are you thoughts for building the race or class options?

So i'm trying to figure out which type of character to play.

To give some background; I'm looking to play a Hobgoblin whip master for flavor so I know I'll have some bonuses to dex and con to start off with.

I am considering using intimidate as an important skill as well to fit the flavor of the hobgoblin.

Any thoughts?

Woops, I meant second level for the Improved Trip (monk bonus feat)!

So that gives me two feats at level 2: improved trip and weapon focus. Yeah, I"m on the fence about whether it's worth it; good point.

Good idea about blade dash!

What do you think of the idea of using the hexstrike function; do you think evil eye is the ideal hex for that? I was thinking that or either ice tomb, though with ice tomb I'll have to wait a bunch of levels to use it.

Also, do you think my character is going to be too squishy without Toughness or some kind of HP enhancement?

*Game starts at level 4

Name: Unknown!
Race: Human
Class(es): Maneuver Master/Weapon Adept Monk 2/Staff/Hexcrafter Magus 2
HP: 31 (using Favored class bonus on HP)

Background: He grew up near the worldwound in Ustalav in a family with a line of arcane casters. At a young age, his father became corrupted by some Abyssal forces. Because of this he left his family at a very young age (with his family's heirloom quarterstaff), eventually stumbling upon some Monks in the mountains of Varisia. He was taken in by a Half-Orc Monk, Bubvonjaegermeister, who just passed away (my friends character who died in a campaign) and left the monastary distraught.

Stats: Str: 20 (+2 racial and +1 4th level bonus), Dex: 15, Con: 12, Int: 18 (+2 racial (used Dual Talent alt. trait), Wis: 9, Cha: 14

* We use a unique stat structure where you can allocate a 17,16, and 15 then roll the other stats in order so thus the somewhat odd stat composition. *

Feats:
Lvl1: Combat Expertise
Lvl1 Monk bonus: Combat Reflexes
Lvl1 Monk bonus: Improved Trip
Lvl2 Monk bonus: Weapon Focus (quarterstaff)
Lvl3: Vicious stomp

Other features:
Improved Unarmed strike (monk)
Master of Maneuvers (monk)
Quarterstaff Master (staff magus)

Traits:
Bred for War (+1 cmb)
Heirloom Weapon (+2 trip)
Magical Lineage (shocking grasp)
Drawback: Paranoid

Level 4 stats: +8 attack rolls, Trip CMB: +12

Future levels: Advance levels in Magus the rest of the way

Lvl5 (feat): Weapon Specialization (quarterstaff)
Lvl5 (arcana): Wand Wielder
Lvl6 (hexbonus): Evil Eye
Lvl7 (magi bonus feat): Intensify Spell (shocking grasp)
Lvl7 (feat): Hexstrike (Evil Eye)
Lvl8 (arcana): Flight
Lvl9 (feat): Greater Trip

That's as far as I've planned so far. At one point I was toying with switching out hexstrike for toughness at level 1 to help with my low HP (and taking combat expertise at level 7). Also, I really wish I could squeeze Slumber in there somewhere as it's just a great spell.

General combat strategies:
1. When I have spells, I'm closing the enemy with spellstrike dropping a two-handed attack or using spellstrike with a trip (is this legal?).

2. Once I get full round attacks, assuming I have spells I'm: 1) adding an enhancement bonus through my arcane pool, 2) using my flurry of maneuvers to trip the opponent, 3) if successful vicious stomping them, 4) using spell combat with spellstrike for an attack and delivering shocking grasp, 5) delivering my actual attack, 6) Waiting for the baddie to get up to deliver my other AOO on their turn.

3. When I don't have spells (or I need other buffs), I'm hoping to use wands and the hexstrike feature more often.

4. I'm looking to use shillegah oil when I need an extra punch as well. In that case I might use that as a standard action (would I have to use a move action to pull the oil out if it's in a bandolier?) and then grab my wand as a free action when moving (If i can), then close. Does Shillegah stack with enlarge by the way? (if so, 3d6 attacks!).

I'd love for anyone's input, general thoughts, critiques on the build.

Great stuff everyone, thanks for the insight. I agree, it's probably not something I want to specialize in, but could be helpful when I don't have a full round attack available when I have to move to close anyways.

Overall, I see it's use somewhat limited to those kind of situations but then it's not bad (although I might be better to just cast some stuff at range in that case!).

What i'm wondering though is how I can complete all those actions in one turn?

Casting a spell is typically a standard action and I'll need one hand free to do that (if it has somatic components which most spells do).

After casting the spell, I'll need to put the weapon back in both hands, which I"m not allowed to do according to the quartermaster feat (i.e. you must choose to wield your staff two or one handed at the beginning of your turn).

Based on that feat, how I am able to switch hands with the weapon during my turn?

But can you do all of that in one turn?

The "official ruling" is what's written in the rulebooks. That's as official as it gets.

END QUOTE

Thanks for the information Jiggy. Sorry I don't think I was asking the right question. So yes, Spellstrike can be used 2 handed as you mentioned, but can it be used as follows and in one turn?:

1. Hold 2-handed weapon one handed
2. Cast spell using free hand (casting any spell that has somatic components requires a free hand)
3. Grab weapon 2-handed again
3. Utilize spellstrike to deliver spell with two-handed weapon

In many posts there were arguments about whether it is RAW (thanks for clarifying that by the way!) to do that in one turn, i.e. use a free action to go from 2 to one handed with the weapon.

Does it make a difference if the weapon you are holding is 1 or 2 handed or if you have the quarterstaff master feat and are wielding a staff?

So I've been looking in the forums up and down and on other rules websites etc for a ruling on how spellstrike works 2 handed?

I've seen a lot of contention about people interpreting the rules different ways but really i'm looking for the official ruling on this (by the way what is RAW?).

Also how does being a staff magus and having the quarterstaff master feat fit into all of this. This feat allows me to use my weapon one or two handed each turn, however I have to decide whether I use it one or two handed before each turn. Does that mean that the feat actually stops you from spellstriking 2 handed as you can't use a "free" action to switch hands as specifically stated in the feat?

Weird, so does that mean that someone without that feat has an advantage over someone with it?

Thanks for your help!

So am I able to use ANY wands with the wand wielder arcana regardless if they are on the magus class spell list?

So I'm wondering if the magus arcana "wand wielder" is worth it passed really low levels. The way I see it is that it gives me the ability to cast true strike to almost auto-hit someone, and a few other things including enlarge person, shield, etc., when wielding the wand.

Do you think this is a good feat, or are there better options for my magus?

So I'm raking my brain about whether this works:

1. I trip an opponent with a maneuver during my attack (using maneuver of blows monk ability). After the maneuver my turn continues as I have another attack.

2. The bad guy falls prone from the successful trip, triggering Vicious stomp: "Benefit: Whenever an opponent falls prone adjacent to you, that opponent provokes an attack of opportunity from you. This attack must be an unarmed strike." I kick him when he does with this ability.

3. The unarmed strike allows me to as a free action use Hex Strike: "Benefit: When you gain this feat, choose one hex that you can use to affect no more than one opponent. If you make a successful unarmed strike against an opponent, in addition to dealing your unarmed strike damage, you can use a swift action to deliver the effects of the chosen hex to that opponent. Doing so does not provoke attacks of opportunity."

Is this the case?

I've been searching the forums and seen different takes on when a swift action can be used. The official statement is:

"A swift action consumes a very small amount of time, but represents a larger expenditure of effort than a free action. You can perform one swift action per turn without affecting your ability to perform other actions. In that regard, a swift action is like a free action. You can, however, perform only one single swift action per turn, regardless of what other actions you take. You can take a swift action anytime you would normally be allowed to take a free action. Swift actions usually involve spellcasting, activating a feat, or the activation of magic items."

In this statement it says "per turn"; my assumption is that it is considered my turn as I have another attack after this AOO and my turn is continued; is this the case?

Also, as it mentions "you can take a swift action anytime you can perform a free action" and many free actions are done out of turn; would it even matter if it were or were not my turn really?

Thanks for your help with this one!

Are there ways to increase the max dex bonus (other than armor training fighter feature) and decrease the acp other than the masterwork (which only decreases acp)?

So i've been looking up and down for about an hour on in various books and on websites to find out what magical armor and shields do.

I was under the impression that is does this, example chain shirt:

Normal bonuses; armor bonus: 4, max dex bonus: 4, armor check penalty: - 2, arcane spell failure: 20%.

Now +1 chain shirt:

Bonuses: armor bonus: 4, max dex bonus: 5, armor check penalty: -1, arcane spell failure: 20%

Is this the case or does that add +1 to armor bonus as well? If so, do you know where this language is in the rules?

Onto shields; do they function the as I noted do they improve their ac shield bonus?

Thanks for your help!

So I've really been considering a staff magus character and I'm not sure about how the "staff weapon" ability and spellstrike function would work together.

Lets say I have a staff of fire with burning hands charges on it.

I use my quarterstaff master feat to hold the staff with two hands.

I also am high enough level to have obtained the staff weapon staff magus feat.

Lets also say I have the wand wielder magus arcana that allows me to activate a wand or staff in place of casting a spell when using spell combat.

As a full-round action am I able to use spell combat to activate the staff's burning hands spell while yielding it two handed then use spell strike to deliver the burning hands through my melee attack two-handed?

So I'm a little confused about how they work.

So the first one, Crane Style:

"Benefit: You take only a –2 penalty on attack rolls for fighting defensively. While using this style and fighting defensively or using the total defense action, you gain an additional +1 dodge bonus to your Armor Class."

Explained (is this right): When fighting defensively with this stance active I take a -2 penalty on attack rolls and gain a +3 dodge bonus to AC (+2 for typical fighting defensively and an additional +1 as noted in the feat).

Now the second feat, Crane Wing:

"Benefit: Once per round, when fighting defensively with at least one hand free, you can designate a single opponent you can see. You receive a +2 dodge bonus to AC against that opponent for one round. If you using the total defense action instead, you can deflect one melee attack that would normally hit you. An attack so deflected deals no damage and has no other effect (instead treat it as a miss). You do not expend an action when using this feat, but you must be aware of the attack and not flat-footed."

Explained (is this right): When fighting defensively with this stance active I take a -2 penalty on attack rolls and gain a +5 (do these stance feats stack?) dodge bonus to AC against one designated opponent. Against opponents not designated I gain a +3 dodge bonus.

Is this right, do the feats stack like that?

Would I need to be a master of many styles monk to use "Crane Style" and "Crane Wing" at the same time. Or if I am this style of monk can I use both of those (because they stack?) and another style at the same time?

Thanks for your help!

I'm looking to dip mainly for the RPing flavor it brings. I of course want it to bring some benefit though.

My backstory is my character comes from a family of extreme arcane power, however they are generally evil. So he left his family in his early childhood and went in a different direction (that's what the starting out dip illustrates) before realizing he can use his powers for good.

So i'm trying to decide on an initial dip from an RP perspective as well as make it have some character benefits.

Great idea with the Panaches, very cool, never thought of that one!

So I've decided on a Hexcrafter Staff Magus. Still pondering on the backstory. I have decided I want my character to start out with another class for a very short "dip" (1-2 levels). In a previous thread I got some great ideas from the group on possible dips based on character flavor.

The backstory (still fleshing out why he's a different class to start): My character's family is a long line of evil arcane caster types. He left that life because he's not an evil person. Since leaving he studys in one of the areas below before he finally decides that he could use his arcane power for good so he starts to embrace it while still utilizing the fighting prowess he gained from one of these initial class dips.

So here goes, let me know what you think about these:

1. 1 Level Bloodrager (orc or draconic, not sure which) dip

Gains: Fast Movement, Bloodline Powers (extra damage on shocking grasp spells and other die based spells), +1 to BAB, Bloodrage for a few rounds a day (though I can't spell cast while raging)

2. 1 Level Feral Hunter dip

Gains: Cool animal aspect ability, 2 level 1 druid spells (assuming 12 wisdom), new orisons, ability to use low level druid spell wands without magical device skill (is that right?), lots of skills for that level

3. 2 Levels in Maneuver Master/Weapon Adept Monk

Gains: Improved Trip, Dodge, Perfect Strike, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus, Good Will Saves, Flurry of Maneuvers

4. 2 Levels Brawler

Gains: Martial Flexibility 4 uses a day, One bonus combat feat, Brawler's Flurry

Hey fellow RPGers!

I was wondering about some really solid 1-2 level dips? I know it greatly depends on how we want to RP our characters, but can you think of any that would bring some added strong benefits to the characters?

I'm considering a 2 level dip in Maneuver Master/Weapon Adept Monk for my Staff Hexcrafter Magus i'm looking at.

Originally I was looking at a 4 level dip including 1 level of MM monk and 3 levels of Lore Warden for the flavor the Lore Warden adds in the area of combat Maneuvers. The only issue is that's a huge dip and really puts me behind the ball in spells, magus abilities, etc.

So now i'm thinking thi MM/Weapon Adept monk, here's the breakdown:

Level 1: monk bonus: Dodge
Level 1 maneuver master monk: Improved Trip
Level 1 weapon adept monk: Perfect Strike
Level 2 maneuver master monk: Combat Reflexes
Level 2 weapon adept monk: Weapon Focus

That's 5 feats all pretty useful ones to for a staff magus in 2 levels!

Can you think of any other good dips for flavor for a staff magus?

So here's a build i'm thinking, I've got two variations below that are slightly different. First one:

Human, Lore Warden level 1, 2, 3, Monk 4, Staff Magus, Hexcrafter 5
Feats: level 1 (general): Weapon Focus, Q-Staff
Level 1: (fighter): Dodge
Level 2: (fighter, bonus): Combat Expertise
Level 2: (fighter): Improved Dirty Trick
Level 3: (general): Improved Trip
Level 4: (MM): Flurry of Manuevers
Level 4: (MM): Combat Reflexes
Level 4: (MM): Improved Disarm
Level 5: (Magus): Quarter Staff Master

Stats:
Str: 16
Dex: 14
Con: 12
Int: 16
Wis: 9
Cha: 9
*Using the Dual Talent racial trait for +2 to Str and Int. 15 point buy

Traits: hierloom weapon (+2 trip cmb staff), Bred for War (+1 cmb)

Second build:

Hexcrafter Staff Magus level 1-5
level 1 feat (normal): Combat Expertise
Level 3 feat (normal): Improved Trip
Level 5 feat (normal): Weapon Focus, Q-Staff
Level 5 feat (magus bonus): Dodge
Magus Arcana: Manuever Master, level 3

Str: 16
Dex: 14
Con: 12
Int: 16
Wis: 9
Cha: 9
*Using the Dual Talent racial trait for +2 to Str and Int. 15 point buy

Looking at a +14 trip for both builds at level 5. The Magus build seems more "optimized" with the better spell casting while the Lore Warden build has more combat maneuver versatility early. I could also go Magus followed by lore warden to use the extra feats on things that require a higher BAB. My only issue is for Role Playing purposes I prefer the Lore Warden start as I'm thinking about a character who is a sort of "lonely fighter" who uses his cunning rather than outright strength to be a good fighter. He later learns that his family were trained Magic Warriors who used their magical staffs for a furious combination of fighting and magic in combat.

What do you think; any feedback is greatly appreciated whether it be from an RP perspective, optimize perspective, etc.

FYI I plan on using shillegah oil and casing enlarge person to gain bonuses on the staff at low levels. Someone also mentioned using true strike staffs as a helpful option if I pick up a arcana that uses that at some point.

Let me know what you think either way!

If you're looking to do combat maneuvers with a Magus the easiest way is -

Get yourself a Wand of True Strike
Pick up the Arcana: Wand use (allows wand use for spell combat)
CMB feat chain.

That +20 to any attack roll will allow almost any combat maneuver to happen.

One more advantage the quarterstaff has over a regular weapon is that you can bring your 'walking stick' almost anywhere. Even places where 'weapons' aren't allowed.

I've read about that before; looks interesting. It seems like an exploit though of some sort though; is this kind of thing sanctioned in PFS games?

Thanks for the answers everyone, good stuff!

A few more thoughts/questions based on what everyone is saying:

1. I'm looking to make a magus that not only uses spell combat and focuses on delivering his spells through touch attacks but also one that does some combat manuevers, specifically trip well. Based on that, is there a way to get the Shillegah spell with a magus without taking druid levels?

2. Could I find an NPC to enchant my hierloom staff rather than having to take the feats myself or have someone in my party do so?

Thanks everyone, the responses have been really helpful when thinking about the character concept I'm hashing out in my head. A few questions from everyone's responses:

1. The Shilleglah spell looks like a level 1 druid spell; if I were to play a staff magus is there a way to get this on my spell list without multiclassing druid? Is multi-classing druid with a magus a viable option?

2. So as a Staff Magus, I can wield a magical staff basically as a quarterstaff? So how does casting the staff spell work in conjunction with my spell casting feat and the magus in general?

3. This question kind of goes with my build: so lets say I take the trait hierloom weapon (my character's backstory is that this weapon has been passed on down for generations) for a staff; it sounds like with the staff magus (with the enhancement bonuses later in levels) I could legitimately keep using that weapon throughout the game without it being over shadowed by powerful magical items?

4. Kind of in line with question three, lets say I do that; could I make that staff a "magical staff" with charges of some spell? Is that something i can do myself or pay someone to do in the game?

Thanks!

So i'm not sure if maybe i'm just misunderstanding the rules but what is the point of the Quarterstaff?

Is it worth using over other 2 handed weapons that do way more damage and why?

I was looking at the different magus archetypes and the idea of a staff wielding light armor magus, perhaps with some lore warden multiclassing for flavor and CMB reallly appeals to me.

The only thing is there are things that do way more damage than a measely 1d6.

I mean you do get to add 1/2 times your strength modifier wielding 2 handed but that's not that big when you're talking about the build I'm thinking because I was hoping to balance strength and dex a little because of my lower AC with only light armor prof. with a staff magus.

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding double weapons? My understanding was you need to take 2 weapon fighting to remove the huge penalty for doing an extra attack with a double weapon; that's the case right?

Thanks!

Hello,

Was just reading up on the Hexcrafter archetype for the Magus and am unsure what the archetype replaces (as opposed to the standard Magus).

I understand that spell recall is lost, however what else?

Specifically, this statement (from Magus class guide):

"Hex Arcana

A hexcrafter gains access to the following magus arcana, or may select any witch hex in place of a magus arcana. At 12th level, the hexcrafter may select a hex or major hex in place of a magus arcana. At 18th level, a hexcrafter can select a hex, major hex, or grand hex in place of a magus arcana. He cannot select any hex or arcana more than once.

Accursed Strike (Sp): A hexcrafter magus who can cast bestow curse, major curse, or any spell with the curse descriptor can deliver these prepared spells using the spellstrike ability, even if the spells are not touch attack spells.
"

Is this saying that the magus does not get any "normal" magus arcanas and instead selects it's "arcana" (so to speak) from the witch hex list? Is it saying that the only "normal" magus arcana a hexcrafter can select is the "accursed strike" arcana? So this means that a Hexcrafter doesn't have access to traditional magus arcana at any point?

Confused, any clarification would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Thanks Tacticslion for sharing. Yeah, I was thinking about just GMing the next game. You got me thinking more about the clashing playstyles; I totally agree; he's playing a Synethesist build with the classic crazy dump on physical stats for our game this weekend so I think it's fair to assume he's totally into optimization!

Now to decide how to tell him I think this may ruin the game as his party mates are a all new people; one is a halfling fighter with 14 strength, a bow paladin who's new, a random elemental sorceroress, and a brawler. The disparity is absurd; I mean he gets 4 attacks at level one!

So, I wanted to see what everyone thinks about this. Over the weekend, we played for the third time in this campaign with mostly new players and a GM who has only been GMing for about 2 months.

We were playing the Rise of the Runelords adventure path and we made it to our third dungeon, Thistletop. We managed to get to the second level and get into a fight with Bruthazmus and Orik Vancaskerin and a few goblins.

We have a three party members: a level 3 Half-Orc Monk, level 2 gnome alchemist, and level 2 Bard. The Bard is played by my friends girlfriend who really is still learning the game; she mainly just does inspire courage and then fires slings at baddies for very minimal damage.

The battle begins with a surpise round by Orik who hits our monk for about half his hit points; then Bruthazmus hears the fight so shows up and knocks our bard unconcious in 1 turn. I proceed to throw some bombs and the goblins and Bruthamus to try and bring him down however he eventually knocks me uncounsious after a few rounds (drawing AOOs getting bombs ready). Finally, our Monk is surrounded and knocked uncouncious by Orik.

So now we're on our third adventure with this new GM and all dead. Should our GM been throwing punches a little for a new group and taken into consideration that there are only 3 of us and one of our group is just learning the game?

I go back and check the adventure path just to see the stats of these baddies and it looks like our GM was even raising the AC of Orik from 20 to something like 23 making him nearly impossible to hit.

I tell the GM, hey don't you think you should go a little easy while the game is still new and he says he was; he says there should have been more goblins attacking us; I checked the path couldn't find anything saying that. Looks like he didn't lower the difficulty at all with essentially 2 and a half players.

Experienced GMs, what are your thoughts on this; or I am just crying foul with nothing to stand on? If he was in the wrong, how could I talk to him about this; he's my cousin so I want to be somewhat careful about what I say.

Just to give some background, I used to game a lot back in the 2.5 days but it has been 10-15 years since I played, so I'm not sure how things stand now in the roleplaying norms arena.

I'm finding myself a little peeved and now unfortunately considering total munchkin like character builds so next time I play there's less chance for GM fiat to down the party. This is sad, considering I typically like to play unique builds with some optimization, but not at the expense of RPing flavor. Tough conundrum.

Quick question about multiclassing and class abilities like the favored enemy bonuses or ranger's focus (guide archetype)

Lets say I play a Ranger and level them twice then level a fighter 5 times so:

Ranger 2/Fighter 5 (or the other way around)

Based on the statement below (rule for ranger's focus), would I receive the increase in the bonus at Fighter level 3 (overall level 5)?

"At 1st level, once per day, the guide can focus on a single enemy within line of sight as a swift action. That creature remains the Ranger’s focus until it is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points or surrenders, or until the Ranger designates a new focus, whichever occurs first. The Ranger gains a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls against the target of his focus. At 5th level, and every five levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +2."

Same question with the favored enemy bonuses? Kind of unsure how this stuff works in general; thanks!

Oh I didn't mean to do that; I only posted it once. The system was running really slow when I pressed submit so I did press it multiple times; maybe that's what made it post more than once?

So, I've been searching the forums and reading up and want to make sure i'm thinking about Crafting (alchemy) the right way. I'm specifically trying to figure out how fast I craft an item. In our adventure, we generally don't have entire weeks to sit around crafting so really i'm focusing on when we get a few hours or a day or two between quests.

Here's an example below, is this right:

I'm looking to craft Acid; it's DC is 15 and it costs 10g (100 silver pieces) normally to buy.

Crafting requires one third the price of the item you're trying to make in components - 3.34 gp

1. I roll a D20 - lets say I role a 15
2. Add on my alchemy bonus - lets pretend it's 10
3. I times my total role (15+10=25) by the DC of the item - in this case 25 x 15 = 375
4. Assuming there are normally 8 crafting hours per day in a week (56 hours a week for normal crafting) I divide the 375/56 to determine my "crafting power" per hour (I know this is not the word for it, but I can't think of a better one) = 6.7
5. I divide the total "crafting power needed" by my hourly "crafting power", 100/6.7 = (approximately) 15 hours.

That means it take me 15 hours to create the acid.

6. (bonus); assuming I have the "swift alchemy" feet; this time is reduced to 7.5 hours.

I know this is a weird way to get there; I'm just trying to find a way to determine how many potions of a certain type I can create when I have 1 night of downtime or a few hours.

Does this sound about right?

If so, It looks like the Master Alchemist feat will be essential for my Alchemist if he wants to have any real capability to make potions for adventuring without having crazy amounts of downtime. That sound about right? Now just to figure out if I want to use one of my few feats on this one?!?!

So i've been searching google, Pathfinder literature, these message boards and the d20 website for more information but I'm not finding anything that answers my questions.

I'm playing an Alchemist and have just obtained the "throw anything" feat. I'm trying to figure out how this works.

For simplicity, lets create a scenario.

I'm in a tavern and I grab a beer bottle and toss it at an enemy.

I'm assuming my attack rolls bonuses are the normal range bonuses?
Lets say I hit the enemy; what is the damage???! How do I determine the damage depending on the item thrown?

I read somewhere that thrown weapons deal "falling damage". I've read out falling damage in the SORD however it's confusing. What I took from it was that anything thrown less than 200lbs (and more than 5lbs), deals 1d6 damage per 10 foot increment. Now is this 10 ft increment how far the item falls? So, going back to our beer bottle; because this has fallen presumably less than 10 ft (I didn't throw it high in the air and arc it back down at the enemy; can I even do that and would that effect damage?!), what would the damage be then; just a standard 1d6???!!

I have so many more questions but I'll stop there; maybe help with these initial questions will kind of bring it all together.

Thanks,

Newer to the game and am encountering lots of tables in the core rulebook, ultimate equipment, and other guides that list off D%'s that I'm unsure what they're referring to.

My guess is for example, on page 135 of the ultimate equipment book where it's listing d%'s this means when a spellcaster casts some kind of craft spell for one of these items (for example a lesser medium weapon), they would roll a D100 and use their rolled number to determine the random properties of the item?

Thanks for the help!

Great,thanks everyone. love the suggestions. Some of these are really cool!

Does anyone know of any viable third options that are different than these two or more than likely take them into account?

The reason I'm asking is I was thinking a combo of the two might allow players to integrate more of their back story into this process. It would put some randomness into the equation but also allow them the stability of a point buy.

Any thoughts on any fun variants?

Great, thanks, that's really helpful!

I'm somewhat new to Pathfinder as a player and GM. Been GMing a bi-weekly adventure for about 2 months and our adventurers are finishing up the Masks of the Living Gods module currently.

After this, my plan is to give them the sandbox of option of going to other areas on the golarion map. My plan is to have them learn of possible adventures in other areas including Ravenmoor, Belkzen, Andoran, etc. (all the "suggestions" for possible adventures will be in line with other pathfinder modules).

Between discovering these other major story arcs, I'm hoping to put some flavor into the world of Golarion with random encounters (combat and non-combat) on their journey.

My only problem though is that I can't find a map with travel distances to accurately map things out. This will greatly help with determining just how much happens on a journey from one place to another.

I mean is it 50 or 500+ miles from Tamran (Nirmathas province) to Almas (Andoran province)? Or maybe longer or somewhere in the middle? Right now, I have no idea; the only map I have is the Folio from this website and the unofficial map from another website; both of which don't give distances.

Thanks for any help!