dulsin's page

Tiny Coffee Golem wrote:

Until you get bracers of armor +4 it's still worth it.

I don't really understand why anyone would buy bracers of armor ever again, now that the Haramaki and Silken Ceremonial Armor are around. They're cheaper: +3 Haramaki gives a +4 armor bonus for the same price as +3 bracers of armor, and they also leave you a magic item slot open for bracers of archery or raven bracers.

At low levels that is a great idea but the +5 Haramaki maxes out at +6 AC. If you are willing to pay for them bracers can take you up to +10 AC.

you should be investing in bracers of armor asap. +8 constant with no wasted spell or ASF, and they are cheap.

I agree that by level 9 +4 bracers should have shown up by now.

You have an odd idea of cheep if you consider +8 bracers cost 64,000gp.

The best defense for a caster is to get some miss chance. A lesser cloak of displacement for a constant 20% and start each fight with Imp invisibility for 50%.

There is a big difference between the easiest class to play and the most powerful.

A wizard can be the most powerful if he is very very good at what he chooses for spells each day. but this is also the most difficult because to achieve the perfect spell for every event requires that you have good intel on what is about to happen. If he goes into a cave not knowing if there is undead, constructs, or drow he will have a very tough time working with a generic spell list. Other wise he needs to make a significant investment in scrolls and wands to be ready for every emergency.

A sorcerer can be significantly easier to play with their limited spell lists and bonus feats and abilities. The limited spell list can be augmented with a collection of scrolls and wands just as easily as a wizard but don't have to worry about running out of spells and can just zot away. If you are in the camp that says you will always have your full list of spells for every encounter will not agree with the value of so many spells per day but our group loves big dungeon crawls and you don't always have the luxury of taking 8 hour breaks.

Monks and fighters are very easy to play and can make a significant difference in every fights. Monks are much more survivable but fighters (especially archers) can mop the floors with most other classes damage output with little planning or min-maxing.

I think a lot of people confuse Lawful with "following the law."

Just because someone is Lawful doesn't mean they'll automatically toe the line of whatever weirdo laws are in place wherever they might be.

While an amusing role-playing idea, it's hard to imagine that a clearly LG paladin would cheerfully engage in slavery, sacrifice and other stuff just because they happened to walk through the gate of a city.

There are many places where laws are evil. Such as places where slavery is legal. A paladin could not survive for long in such a society because he would constantly be challenged to uphold the Law or Good. The answer for that person would be to swear allegiance to an order dedicated to bringing down these evil laws.

If he just went out and started killing slave owners and freeing slaves he would be a lawbreaker and by definition chaotic. Look up the Liberation domain for clerics. This is only granted by chaotic gods.

I disagree with the idea that a lawful character can never tell a lie. If that was the case a lawful player could never try to infiltrate an enemy using stealth and guile.

If you are a detective or a spy it will be necessary to lie to suspects and enemies as part of your work. As long as you are doing these things to promote the kingdom and not yourself this is still the act of a lawful person.

A lawful person believes that the welfare of society as a whole is more important than individual rights. You uphold the law even if you do not agree with it. Just saying that you have a personal code and go out each night dressed as a bat does not make you lawful. You may have "good" reasons for what you do but you have decided that societies "laws" can not be trusted to deal with what is wrong with the world.

This is what separates Vigilantes from Policemen.

I would put the caster on notice.

Tell him that this is a quest for good that will not be marred with the slaughter of innocents. Tell him that you are watching him and the next time he kills innocents out of malice or recklessness he had better target you because next time he will have to answer in blood.

My last GM came up with a magic slave collar. It forced a concentration roll for spell casting and gave -20 to all concentration checks.

It was technically possible to cast while wearing it but very tough.

The downside to rolling dice is that some one will get a much nicer stat array than everyone else and someone will get Quasimodo.

I like to roll the dice. In my games I have everyone roll 4d6 x6 for a stat array. Then everyone gets to pick any of the stat arrays to use for their character.

Typically this makes for much higher stat arrays than is normal but everyone has fun. The last game I ran the winning array was 17 16 15 15 15 13. It works out to a 47 point buy but no sane person (min-maxer) would ever intentionally make an array with all odd numbers. So it makes for some interesting characters.

I am in the camp that Familiars should get feats.

Not because I think it is supported by the rules but because they are mostly useless past level 5 and could use any help they can get.

Batman and Robin Hood are good examples of chaotic good behavior. Laws are not working so take the law into your own hands.

A great LG rogue could be a spy in payment to the Kingdom or a religious order.

I have a group of seven players who always travel with 2-3 NPCs.

Pump the number of minions in an encounter by x2-x3 and add 2 character levels to any leaders or solo encounters.

If the encounter calls for 3 goblins with a level 4 Druid try 8 goblins and a level 6 druid. Solo encounter with a Troll? Give the troll two fighter levels with all the feats.

We pared the Item creation feats down to 3 separate feats.

Create Minor
Create Medium
Create Major

Any class that gives create scrolls or potions gets the Create minor instead.

The rule is that Create Minor can make any item less than 8,000 cost
Medium 8,000 - 27,500
Major 28,000 ++

Just like the wondrous item break down.

Any player can create any item they want for an investment of three feats.

I like the idea of allowing your familiar to deliver touch spells. That makes them much more useful.

I am not sure why you are doubling the skill points/level. As an Int caster they will not have a shortage of skill points and has never been a weakness of the class.

Does your house rule for meta-magic feats increase the spell slot used?

I favor giving the wizard bonus feats every even level like the fighter. They are the spell casting specialists why not give them the feats needed to prove it?

We need to start introducing creatures that are immune to anything a wizard can cast or at least highly resistant.

Then the wizard could use feats to reduce the penalties for casting against these resistant creatures.

Does anyone have an archetype for the alchemist that removes the Monster transformation for better/more bombs?

I love the idea of a gnome bomber but the Jeckel/Hyde thing doen't interest me.

I like the hammer looks the like a good match to the bastard sword. The bow is strait out of a 3.5 splat book.

It would be nice to have more exotic 2-handers that are not double weapons.

I believe there was an exotic weapon with a x4 crit called the Mercurial Sword.

Never let players use the item restriction discount on items.

The discount should only come up for extremely specific items which have some history behind them.

If the player is intentionaly making an iconic item it would be ok but never for a single shot item.

Example:

Peter high priest of Iomedi wants to equip the paladins of his order with a special shield. I would let him have the bonus after he has given out five of them.

Holy Shield of Iomedi (Paladins only)
+5 Heavy Shield
SR 17

25000+50000 = 75,000/2 = 37500 (first 5)

37500 * .7 = 26250

The only argument I have ever heard for Imp Familiar being to powerful is the wand argument.

So if you have an Imp Familiar and take
Celestial hawk
Dire rat
Fiendish viper
Elemental, Small

Is the feat over powered?

If there is a choice on the list that is massively more powerful than the others isn't it a GM's responsibility to even the playing field a bit?

Either nerf the ability to use wands or give all non-wand using familiars a bone.

Hit points have gone up with each new expansion and spells that do direct damage are considered a waste of time to cast. Especially at levels under 5. I miss the impact that spells had back in 2nd edition.

+1 damage for each die of a damaging spell

Magic Missile 1d4+2
Fire ball 1d6+1/level
Sound Burst 1d8+1
Incendiary cloud 6d6+6

We have played this for 9 months now and playing a blaster is fun again but the archer is still out dealing the dragon bloodline sorcerer.

There is also a board for finding PFS games - the Grand Lodge.

When I do a Google search for "the Grand Lodge"

Since everyone who is anyone in the Pathfinder multiverse comes here. Would you host a looking for group board?

Those of us who live in the midwest have a tough time finding groups some days.

Maybe you can put up one for each state? or even take cities

Try to be civil please.

Heal or not heal that is up to what you need. If you can polish off your foes before they can become a threat to you, then yes, healing is a waste of time.

I like there to be suspense in the fight. If the players are not in fear for their lives then what is the point of the fight? If there are truly dangerous encounters the ability to grant health to a critically injured companion can mean the difference between success or failure.

In my games the players rarely die but if the figures go onto the mat they are in serious trouble and need to pull it together or some one will fall.

The last major battle in my campaign the 5 players (level 8-9) and 3 NPCs (Level 7-8) defended Sandpoint from a Giant attack. They did not defeat the 13 giants 3 bears and a young dragon the fight called for. They defeated a force of 26 stone giants 6 dire bears and an adult red dragon. Why? Because it was cooler. A couple people came close to falling but some spot healing in the 6th round saved several players.

If healing is not an important feature of D&D combat then you are not fighting worthy challenges. If a fight is so trivial that you end it in 2 rounds or less why even fight it? Just say that the players overwhelm the minor opponent and move on with the story.

That is the way I look at it.

A caster does not have allot of options at low levels so they deserve a break. At high levels he can use a lower level spell or pull a wand/staff on his opponents.

If you only have level 1 spells that is what you have to use. When you have 7-8-9 there are worlds of options and you should not be able to cast those in the face of a swordsman that is trying to stick you or it should be very hard.

I would look over the D&D minis from WOTC. They have destroyed the collect-ability of the game and you can buy individual plastics pretty darn cheep. For the gnome look at the Star Wars plastics. I'm betting there are some little rifles toters in there some place.

This is one of the first things I changed in my Pathfinder game.

The way things are structured it gets easier to cast your highest level spells. That means most of the hardship is on low level casters that have a tough time already. Once they hit Level 10+ it is almost a waste of time asking them to roll.

In my game the roll has been changed to DC 10 + 3/level

At level 1 the DC is 13 instead of 17

To cast a level 9 the DC is 37 from 33.

If the high level caster is threatened they have the option of casting a lower level spell. But if they are pressed they have a reason not to use the biggest toy in the arsenal.

I made a new weapon for my game.

Arbalast - Martial Ranged weapon
2d8 Damage 1 full round to reload.
Rapid reload halves the reload time.

Without rapid reload you could only fire once every other round.

You are allowed to create heavier pull arbalasts but if the users strength is not equal or exceeds the bonus of the weapon add 1 more round to the load time.

It makes an excellent vital strike weapon.

We have a level 8 fighter with a 20 str so he can fire once a round for 4d8+5 damage. It still pales against the strength longbow fighter with rapid shot and multi-shot but it comes closer.

Bring a +4 weapon to the fight and almost all DR disappears.

I am in favor of letting rogues and duelists have their sneak damage it is the criticals that bothers me the most. Constructs are supposed to be tougher than people.

In 3.5 Undead and constructs were immune to critical hits and precision damage. In pathfinder they are just as vulnerable to crits as any human.

Does anyone think a compromise position should be adopted? Maybe give them medium fortification so they can shrug off 50% of crits but still have weak spots.

What happened to the tables for chapter 6?

The random treasure chart talks about a mundane treasure table in section table 6-x but there are are no chapter 6 tables and noting in the index.

I think you would need a Deeper Darkness L3 spell to counter Daylight L3.

"This spell does not stack with itself. Darkness can be used to counter or dispel any light spell of equal or lower spell level. "

Now a potion of fireball would be interesting if you had a good fire resistance... Get a 30 fire resist ring then start downing the potions 10d6 save for half. Average damage is only 35 even if you failed the save.

I disagree about the CL having to be 9.

"A creator can create an item at a lower caster level than her own, but never lower than the minimum level needed to cast the needed spell."

If I wanted to create gloves of Quickened Magic Missile CL 9 would make perfect sense. The added levels give the spell additional effect for the added costs.
(SL x CL x 2000 gp) / (Charges / 5) = (5 X 9 x 2000) / (1/5) = 18,000

There is no reason that you could not instead make the CL 1. In the case of MM that means you would get only 1 missile instead of 5.

Suggestion - V, M

Was the spell cast with the Silent spell metamagic feat?

If they had failed the save how would they have known what the monster wanted them to do? Does the creature have telepathy?

If one of the players that had to save had spell craft they could have gotten a roll to identify what happened.

In a situation like that I would have the mob ask them in the name of to leave their weapons out of the cave before they enter. Those that failed would comply and those who didn't would get nervous.

A problem with the way you handled it. Walls block line of effect. If the mob could not see the players how could the monster have targeted them with the spell?

How many bonus types are there?

Are there any rules to what casters can affect which bonuses?

It all comes down to stacking rules..
I have a creative player in my game that would like to create new spells and I would like to make a ruling on how each class can affect the game.

Bard
Resistance - resistance bonus
Heroism - morale bonus
Rage - morale bonus
Haste - Dodge Bonus plus an unamed bonus to attack

Clerics:
Resistance - resistance bonus
Guidance - competence bonus
Bless - morale bonus
Prayer - luck bonus
Aid - morale bonus
Magic Vestment - enhancement bonus
Magic Weapon - enhancement bonus
Holy Aura - deflection bonus
Divine Power - luck bonus

Druids:
Guidance - competence bonus
Resistance - resistance bonus
Shillelagh - enhancement bonus
Barkskin - enhancement bonus to the creature's existing natural armor bonus
Magic Fang - enhancement bonus

Wizard/Sorcerer
Resistance - resistance bonus
Mage Armor - armor bonus
Shield - shield bonus
True Strike - insight bonus
Magic Weapon - enhancement bonus
Haste - Dodge Bonus plus an unamed bonus to attack
Heroism - morale bonus
Transformation - competence bonus

That use of the TK spell ends when you stop concentrating on it.

You could have let the spell drop any time you wanted to.

Heck, otherwise an amulet of continuous true strike would be 1x1x2000g

That would be true if True Strike had a duration. Since it is an instantaneous effect you must have charges.

The purpose of the review and evaluation is to find out if an item is breaking another part of the item creation rules.

Example: A Bracer of continuous Mage armor could be created for 2000gp. This would effectively give a +4 AC but the rules ala Bracers of armor say the cost for this item is 4^2 * 1000 gp = 16,000 gp.

On the other hand. You could create the Mystical Sweater of Comfiness. Endure Elements level 1 continuous effect for 2000gp

Anburaid wrote:

The price rules are more "guidelines" than "rules". The Dm is supposed to look for similar items in the book and use that as a guide as well. I could, by the guidelines, make boots of expeditious retreat that would be cheaper than boots of striding and springing and provide better bonuses, but a DM would be within his rights telling me that it costs more.

That's a very important point...

When it comes to true strike (and other powerful spells) I'd pay attention pricing items and the maths, IMO, should only be the starting point of a valuation.
I mean, if my player would like to create the same object with quickened true strike 5/day, the maths would tell me 18000x5=90000 but I'm not sure I would allow it without a discretionary +50% (at least).
Even about the 18000 one (1/day) I'd do some consideration before.

If you do not like the idea of a particular item in your game it is completely proper to ban it or give a crazy cost to it but according to the rules of the game the item cost would be 2000gp.

18K would put the item in the same class as +4 Mithral armor, +3 ring of Pro, or +3 Natural armor. A bit much for something that can only be used on one swing each day.

I am no longer interested in getting the map packs. please remove them from my subscriptions.

I suppose it goes like this:

(CL x spell level x 2,000)gp / (5/charges) = (9 * 5 * 2,000)/(5/1) = 18,000 gp

You can voluntarily reduce your caster level to lower price and effect. Since True strike has the same effect at level 1 as at level 20 .....

(CL X Spell Level x 2000) / (5/Charges) = (1 * 5 * 2000)/(5/1) = 2000 gp

My favorite is an eternal wand of cure light 5 charges/day.

(1 * 1 * 2000) / (5/5) = 2000gp

On the physics side you should look at the equations for inelastic collisions. The objects in question will deform and take damage rather than bouncing apart like billiard balls.

m1v1 + m2v2 = (m1 + m2) vf

With the final velocity you can then see how much kinetic energy was absorbed by the objects

Ke = .5mv^2

In this case the v in question is change in speed.

As far as spells go I don't see any problem with a level 5 spell that requires multiple to-hit rolls can do 15d6 to multiple targets.

Arcane Fighter

Requirements
To qualify to become an arcane fighter, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +4.
Feats: Weapon Focus (any Meele), Weapon Specialization (any Meele), Combat Casting
Spells: Ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells.

This will bar rangers and paladins from achieving the class. Is that intentional?

Ok, now you guys have put me in the mood to watch "House of Flying Daggers" again.

I'm confused...

You had a Summoner NPC fight a party to a stand still for 18 rounds, alone, only using class abilities, and you think this is a good thing?

He is great for the BBEG at the bottom of a dungeon but I shudder to think of what a party with 3 summoners and a cleric would cut through.

not entirely unimportant, it shows sure signs of passing, if a lock is picked you can unlock and relock it and nobody knew you were there till it is too late maybe. a burned out lock can alert some passersby or a patrol, or make the way clear for the competition

Very true... But emptying a safe is a sure sign of passing too. It depends on what the goal is. If you want the door down it would be faster to use the dwarf as a battering ram. The acid splash to open the lock is slower and quieter.

I was thinking of the rogue as a thief who is having trouble with one of those DC 30+ safe locks.

You can't even use these for opportunity attacks. Opportunity attacks give you one swing with a melee weapon. Most of these effects require a standard action to use. And unless you are a monk or have the improved unarmed feat you can not make opportunity attacks without a weapon in your hand.

I would love to see some improvement to domain abilities:

Charm Domain
Dazing Touch (Sp): You can cause a living creature to become dazed for 1 round as a melee touch attack. Creatures with more Hit Dice than your cleric level are unaffected. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

Repose Domain
Gentle Rest (Sp): Your touch can fill a creature with lethargy, causing a living creature to become staggered for 1 round as a melee touch attack. If you touch a staggered living creature, that creature falls asleep for 1 round instead. Undead creatures touched are staggered for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

In my opinion you can continue cleaving till you miss, I would actually allow a near miss that destroys an image to be treated as an hit, since it supposedly reflects the lesser AC of the images.

Though I guess that last is purely a judgement call also based on what the spell was like in 3.5

As a standard action, you can make a single attack at your full base attack bonus against a foe within reach. If you hit, you deal damage normally and can make an additional attack (using your full base attack bonus) against a foe that is adjacent to the first and also within reach.

The spells does not make multiple targets. There is only one target but you are unsure of exactly where. Otherwise a magic missile spell would instantly dispel Mirror image. (I target 5 images with separate missiles and they all disappear)

This is a limitation of the gaming system not the spells or class. Just ask anyone who has attempted to run a battle with more than 40 combatants on the board.

It takes forever to move them all separately much less roll multiple attacks for each one. Then you need to keep track of the damage each one has taken....

I would be much happier with this class in my games if the pet was an elemental that grew as the player leveled. Pick an element and at level 1 gain a small elemental of your favorite element.

That would be much more in the spirit of a summoner and not be open to the potential for abuse the Eidolon has.

This would be an extremely nice pet at level 1 maybe to much...

Small Air Elemental CR 1
N Small outsider (air, elemental, extraplanar)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size)
hp 13 (2d10+2)
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +0
Defensive Abilities air mastery; Immune elemental traits
Speed fly 100 ft. (perfect)
Melee slam +6 (1d4+1)
Special Attacks whirlwind (DC 12)
Statistics
Str 12, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 11
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 15

The Elder elemental is a bit weak for level 17+ but they could get an enhancement for their pet at those levels.