gatherer818's page

it still amount to the same, an intelligent enemy who witness this (or learn of it) could just ready to shoot when you do and the path is clear. and since he ready in response to you - he get to shoot first...

The big difference here though is that you can't ready a full-attack action, so each enemy with ranged attacks can only take a single shot with their readied actions. That's rather different than multiple archers taking full attacks, especially if they're specialized for archery with stuff like Rapid Shot.

Not interested in Second Edition, could you please make the last First Edition AP book the end of my subscription please?

only if they use a magic item or spell that produces bright light. Torches and non-magic lanterns only get up to normal, so it's annoying but doesn't affect her enough to do anything to her mechanically. A sunlight spell or other bright light source (like natural sunlight) will blind her for a round, then keep her dazzled until they get out of the light, though.

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/universal-monster-rule s/#Light_Blindness_Ex

So short version, no, she'll be fine.

Unless you're using the old 2e rules about infravision (now darkvision) not being enough to read by, there's no need for light, the owner can read his books just fine in the dark. :) Light is irritating to the Drow, who are adapted to the perfect dark. Unless it's bright light it doesn't come with mechanical penalties, but the only reason to have any light at all would be if he expected to have non-darkvision visitors and cared about their comfort. If it's just him.. well, would you just sorta sprinkle itching powder on your furniture, or skunk musk in your air? Sure, it wouldn't kill you, but you wouldn't want to live in it.

Stereotypical Drow prefer misdirection, pain, terror, and cruelty. There should be zero light and maybe some means of enforcing that darkness, maybe a monster with a darkness SLA. If no PCs have darkvision, punish them for their lack of vision... pun intended.

Libraries tend to have high ceilings, so a Lurker Above or Trapper Lurking Ray can stay out of torch range until they can drop on a PC.

Any form of spider or spider-like monster is usually appropriate for a Drow.

Unless the library is specially designed or warded, the Flame aspect of the antagonist is probably best kept far away, by their own design - they know exactly how dangerous fire is to old books, after all.

You clearly haven't tried his 'potion' before telling him he's wrong.

Might be difficult to do unless he has Speak With Dead as an extract.

If he can beat their saves, the best PvP applications of Polymorph Any Object will be polymorphing them. Human into horse is permanent and denies them the ability to wield weapons, equip armor, use the vast majority of magic items, speak language, cast spells with verbal, somatic, material, or focus components (typically), or use nearly any class ability in the game.

Shorter term transformations can be even more effective using nearby monsters/NPCs - elf into worm won't last as long, but tossed into a piranha swarm no worm will survive the duration, even with PC hitpoints - and if they do, they're probably already drowned. Halfling to wooden halfling statue can be deadly with the application of a single alchemist's fire - or an axe. Turn them into an animal the townsfolk are hunting, maybe?

If he can't beat their saves, it works well on objects, especially if they haven't worked out a defense against falling damage or being crushed yet. A bridge into a bridge filled with traps, a door into a mimic pretending to be a door, a watchtower into a set of wooden spikes (leaving whoever was in it to fall onto the spikes), etc.

Truly, creativity is a weapon with this spell.

Magic, Range

Touch

You must touch a creature or object to affect it. A touch spell that deals damage can score a critical hit just as a weapon can. A touch spell threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a successful critical hit. Some touch spells allow you to touch multiple targets. You can touch up to 6 willing targets as part of the casting, but all targets of the spell must be touched in the same round that you finish casting the spell. If the spell allows you to touch targets over multiple rounds, touching 6 creatures is a full-round action.

Combat, Standard Actions, Cast a Spell

Touch Spells in Combat

Many spells have a range of touch. To use these spells, you cast the spell and then touch the subject. In the same round that you cast the spell, you may also touch (or attempt to touch) as a free action. You may take your move before casting the spell, after touching the target, or between casting the spell and touching the target. You can automatically touch one friend or use the spell on yourself, but to touch an opponent, you must succeed on an attack roll.

While it's not explicitly spelled out as such, it's very very strongly implied here that rather than treating resisted and unresisted touch spells as totally different things, that unresisted touch spells just auto-hit instead of requiring an attack roll. It doesn't make sense for the target's decision about whether or not to dodge to completely change the type of action the caster takes.

Going to be honest, I was really hoping this thread was started by the same guy who started the "My party is eating a Neolithid why are adventurers like this?" thread over in Advice...

Said Wizard could work with their GM to research an Inevitable Shape spell though that did grant those powers - but doing it with Polymorph Any Object wouldn't grant anything above and beyond. (Probably because allowing a PC to polymorph into literally anything and gain all their powers would make a party unstoppable. GM throws a Balor their way, party becomes a Balor, a Solar, a great wyrm red dracolich, a gazebo, and a fighter. The fighter sighs when he sees the bard became a freaking gazebo, and wonders how long he'd have to train UMD before he could use that staff of Polymorph Any Object instead.)

Claws are definitely not considered held weapons, but a GM should definitely allow this. Most rules and buffs for PCs aren't written with natural weapons in mind, but things that affect your unarmed strikes should affect natural weapons using the same limbs unless there's a very good reason they shouldn't (such as trying to apply a bonus from your brass knuckles to your claw attacks - you're not hitting with the brass knuckles! But if your entire arm is on fire, that includes your claw, ergo your claw should do fire damage just like your fist, or elbow, or shoulder...).

I swear I saw something in a rulebook somewhere that said something similar, but I can't recall where yet, so for now I can only give you opinion. If I find it, I'll update with rule support.

Most ingested poisons have an onset period before they start dealing damage, so you probably wouldn't immediately be aware you'd drank a poison (unless it was noticeable with a Perception check - cyanide, for instance, has a distinctive flavor like almonds that would be hard to hide in a drink that wasn't either very strong or expected to have a almond taste). When the ability damage started setting in you'd realize something was wrong, but you wouldn't necessarily know it was your drink.

You'd have to ask your GM which book he means. I think APG had them pretty early, but the Web Enhancement had them first, if I remember right. If you're running an AP, the Player's Guide for that AP should have traits specifically for that adventure...

I've never seen a rule that says there's a minimum range for ranged attacks, although if an opponent is in their melee reach you usually provoke an Attack of Opportunity when you make a ranged attack.

I don't think there are any variant rules in the Core Rulebook, so the Gamemastery Guide is probably what you're thinking of. There are also a TON of variant rules in Ultimate Campaign.

I know it's not the main point here, but I'd like to point out that detect evil is only a tool, not a foolproof "kill that" marker.

Besides the things that don't show up to detect evil (or only show as faint) but are actually things that needs killing, the bigger problem is the things that DO show up to detect evil but don't need killing.

• Characters who are evil at heart but still manage to live in a society. Evil doesn't necessarily mean murder and torture.
  
• Neutral Clerics of Evil deities
  
• Neutral Clerics of Neutral deities who chose to channel negative energy? I can't remember...
  
• Anyone (including Good adventurers) recently exposed to a serious source of evil, such as destroying an evil artifact.
  
• Anyone (including Good adventurers) currently or recently under the effects of an Evil spell. (Such as if someone misunderstood how to use Corruption Resistance or used a Follow Aura spell to find a Good character, got hit by Undine's Curse or Malediction, infected with Contagion or tortured with Agonize - oh, wait, or had a teammate give them Infernal Healing. Yeah, the best non-combat heal in the game leaves an Evil mark based on the caster's level.)

Paladins should be seriously careful when attacking anything their detect flags as evil, killing many of them is an evil act itself.

Pretty sure that's all the time, very similarly to the Summoner's life link that prevents him from sending his Eidolon across the planet.

Scrolls you can't use, nice.

I did mention touch spells at range, but didn't think about crafting them at higher than minimum CL, which could make them more useful - especially shocking grasp, yeah.

Thank you.

Sometimes I love this forum, sometimes I hate it...

My understanding of the OP's question from the official FAQ and the collected direct answers by devs previously collected on the d20PFSRD is that falling damage, as untyped damage, ignores DR, which only applies to B/P/S typed damage.

I think some handwaves involving DR not protecting you against internal injuries like your spleen bouncing around in your body might have been involved, I don't care, I put Boots of the Cat on any character I expect might have a chance of dropping more than two stories without feather fall handy. Jumping out of a crow's nest to land in melee with an enemy who expected you to take several turns climbing down is priceless.

I'm having trouble picturing aa time I'd intentionally learn or prepare parchment swarm. Same damage as fireball but generally two levels higher and single target without the extra expense of a level 2 scroll, Reflex half and spell resistance is the same, it just seems like a waste of a fifth-level slot.

The only two use cases I can see for it are far too situational to bother with:

scroll of 1st level touch spell with no save allowed (because if you have 5th level spells, your target's pretty likely to save against a 1st level scroll DC 11) that you absolutely must deliver at range

no elemental area spell (fireball, cone of cold, chain lightning) will work, but for some reason, a "slashing fireball" is perfect.

Anyone willing to explain what the use of the spell is?

I've been on a forum dive recently, getting back into Pathfinder after a long hiatus, and one thing I've seen come up several times with much confusion is whether or not iterative attacks after the first can benefit from sneak attack damage, so here's a quick guide.

It depends on the situation.

Short version: If the thing you're using to set up sneak attack breaks on the first attack, later attacks don't gain sneak attack. If whatever is enabling your sneak attacks persists after the first attack, the later attacks do gain sneak attack.

Long version...

Starting combat with a sneak attack: During the surprise round, you can't full attack, so you only get one sneak attack. However, if your target didn't act in the surprise round AND you out-speed them in round 1, you could full attack them then and get sneak attack every time because they're still flat-footed. (Caveat: Unless it's been errata'd or your GM gives you the look when you try, you can use a method of gaining pounce or "virtual pounce" and use a partial charge to make a surprise-round-charging-full-sneak-attack...)

Stealth, vanish, invisibility, or feint: Usually, mid-combat, these options only grant one sneak attack. Feint only causes the target to be flat-footed "for the next attack", and you break out of Stealth or drop your vanish or invis spell when you attack. Improvements to feinting can make it count for more.

Improved invisibility, darkness/deeper darkness, mist/fog effects: Improved invis allows unlimited sneak attack against any foe that can't treat you as visible (blindsight or tremorsense, scent with certain upgrades, or a see invis or true seeing spell). Darkness and concealment effects will allow unlimited sneak attacks if and only if you have a way to ignore them (darkvision, blindsight, watersight, etc). Remember you cannot sneak attack a target with concealment, so you must be able to beat that concealment. Also, many mist/fog effects don't grant total concealment when you're adjacent to your target, so while you can Stealth with just concealment, it will still break when you attack - you need total concealment to enjoy unlimited sneak attacks.

Flanking: As long as you have your flanking bonus, sneak attacks forever. Bonus points if you have an artificial flank set up (a spell that makes your opponent flanked without needing a teammate to actually stand there) or a good tank teammate with a way to stop the bad guy from attacking you.

Other situations: Refer to "Short version" above. As long as the target is still denied their Dexterity bonus to AC and don't have cover or concealment against your attack, you can keep sneak attacking.

I sincerely hope this was helpful ^_^ have fun proving all the "rogues so underpowered" peeps wrong!

(Whatever you do, do not build a Waves Oracle 1 / Unchained Rogue X with the watersight revelation and obscuring mist known, build for ranged and two weapon fighting, pick up two of the dartguns from the Emerald Spire, and lay down ranged-with-total-concealment full-sneak-attacks with poisonous dartguns that hold entire magazines of darts from within the safety of the magic mist. It's only funny until you pull grudge monsters...)

I know I'm new to Paizo, but not new to D&D or pathfinder. One trick ponies are actually fun, because combat is only one portion of the game. Plus during combat you can always use your abilities in new ways with creative ideas. I am currently rocking a fighter who is exclusively Longbow specialized and no part of combat has become boring because when you focus on one aspect you can maneuver around and make that aspect fun every combat. Mine is a priest (not cleric) who began as a zealot against certain religions, then became more humble and pious, but he used almost exclusively a longbow. So it is all about how you play it.

4-year necro, not bad. Not sure what caster level you are, but I'm glad you cast the res when you did, wouldn't have been long before you had to bump up to true res just to get the thread moving again ^_^

Thank you both. I'll talk to the players, of course, but now I've got more info to go to them with, without having to buy every AP and read them all cover-to-cover (to-cover-to-cover...) to figure them out, which I greatly appreciate.

Leaning toward Kingmaker if we have no new players, probably War of the Crown, Council of Thieves, or Hell's Rebels otherwise, but one of the players did talk about wanting a ship-based campaign, so keeping Skull and Shackles in the mix.

Stuff with a Megadungeon is out simply because if they decide they're cool with a giant dungeon as long as I manage to include some story with it, I'll just attach Thornkeep to Emerald Spire, I've always wanted to run it and never had a group make it far enough to even attempt the obligatory water level.

Regarding creating undead always being evil, 3.0/3.5's Book of Vile Darkness (I think...) noted that even when creating unintelligent undead, the soul that used to belong in that body would be irritated or in pain for the duration of the unlife. It wasn't debilitating, but it was chronic. Low-scale torture of the soul of someone who'd already died and earned their eternal reward just for an expendable minion.

That said, that description lends itself well to houseruling that undead of non-sentient life shouldn't be evil - nothing stops you from making a zombie out of a giant beetle, and if your GM decides that animals don't have souls, I suggest looking into the various dinosaurs.

My one Neutral Cleric with that AT that gives a Corpse Companion - Undead Lord, maybe - only made her Corpse Companion and otherwise didn't create undead.

I remember a time when a 1st lvl fighter with 10hp or thereabout could do de 12 damages+4 for 18/85 strength and had a fighting chance to kill an ogre <ith only 4d8+1 hp and 1d10 dmg per blow that landed.

I remember a time when my 3rd level wizard died to an irritated housecat's claw/claw/bite routine before getting a turn. I'd rolled poorly on all three Hit Dice and had a low Con to boot (4d6H3 in order) and the cat managed to roll slightly above average on damage (I think it totaled 5, but it's been a while).

Garion - a corpse's HD is the RACIAL HD for the corpse's race. Don't include HD from class levels but do include HD from templates. This means virtually all "playable" races give only a single HD undead. They're good for making mobs of weaker undead. Big animals and monstrous humanoids tend to be better for making fewer, more powerful minions.

My Cleric with that one AT that grants a Corpse Companion likes to use a fast zombie heavy horse with gentle repose cast on it to stop it from decaying, and we both wear angelskin studded leather / light barding to make it harder to pick us up on detect evil :)

Barbarian DR (or any DR that's expressed as X/-) simply reduces Slashing, Bludgeoning, and Piercing damage by X. If it's listed as X/silver, for example, it reduces S/B/P damage EXCEPT BY SILVER WEAPONS by X instead.

The person hosting my new group (my first game in a VERY long time) requested, if possible, more puzzles/discussion/intrigue/anything but constant combat - they're fine with 75% combat / 25% other, but they're hoping to get SOME non-combat stuff in. I've never run an AP past the first or second session, and only know the plot to Rise of the Runelords thanks to the ACG.

I know all the APs will include some non-combat stuff, but how much - and how much it feels like - I have no clue. Recommendations would be MUCH appreciated.

(I own... maybe half, but I'm willing to buy ones I don't already have, so...)

Spellbooks take damage from fire like any other object. A spellbook might survive where a scroll wouldn't just by virtue of its size, though, since thicker items have higher hp.

If it was soaked in oil and not protected somehow or extinguished, it'll take 2d3 damage from the fire over 2 rounds. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment/goods-and-services/herbs-oils-other-subst ances/#TOC-Oil-Lamp

Paper has 2 hp per inch of thickness. A scroll therefore probably only has 1 hp and is destroyed, but a spellbook has a chance. One-inch thick - destroyed. Two-inches thick has nearly a 50/50 chance, Three-inches is only destroyed if both dice come up 3. Thicker is fine. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment/damaging-objects/

If it's leather-bound and was only splattered (not "soaked") in oil, the leather's hardness may apply, and the GM may halve the damage (you normally halve energy damage like fire or cold against objects, unless the GM considers that object to be weak against that energy type, like paper and fire...). That ensures the book survives. Likewise for a scroll in a case of some sort.

Wands are typically treated wood, and should halve damage from fire. With hardness 5 and 10 hp, they're basically immune to ordinary lamp oil.

I hope that helps!

The -20 is typically for creatures that completely outclass their opponent in close combat. When a Kraken snatches a commoner off a ship, the entire Kraken isn't suffering the grappling penalties for the slight inconvenience of saving a snack for later. When the 15th level Fighter leaps at the Kraken to save him and it has to use 6 of its limbs and all of its attention to keep him from rending it in twain, it's grappled.

This makes me want to Alexa. I think my new Kindle can do so, I will check later and send you a message if so ^_^

I'm dying laughing over here. My personal favorite I'm afraid dates me, all the way back to 2e

102) "Save vs. death/disintegration."

Frankly I'm leery of assassin NPCs for the same reason I'm not a big fan of "open the door to see a lich already casting circle of death." If they are successful in what they're supposed to do, they beat the party's perception checks, and then a member of the party lives or dies based on a saving throw. Zero tactics, zero chances for the PCs to have done something differently, it's just dumb luck.

I don't think the intent is to assassinate the PC's. Assassins make good bad guys when they're attacking someone important that can't make their Perception checks, but the party can - and now they have a brief opportunity to save a life, but drawing weapons when the assassin is still unnoticed could get THEM attacked instead...

So I got a chance at work to really look at this build in Mythic, it's looking really good. Just in case anyone is ever looking to actually play the Ragebeast past level 3, here's the options I came up with that made me decide the build can remain useful and fun to play...

Discoveries
Must have: Feral Mutagen, Greater Mutagen, Grand Mutagen (note you can get these from Master Chymist if you go that that route)
Cool: Psychokinetic tincture, Wings, Tumor Familiar, Vestigal arm, Mummification

Feats: (If Mythic: Weapon Finesse. Get the Mythic version too, play as a Small Ragebred and use Reduce Person and Cat's Grace... and Titan's Bane, so you can hide underneath Medium sized creatures and sneak attack them all day long), Extra Discovery... still working on these

Mythic Path Abilities - Trickster
1st: Titan's Bane, Supreme Stealth(?), Path Dabbling(save for later?), Legendary Item (Amulet of Mighty Fists?)
3rd: Vanishing Move (spend an MP for a full-attack of sneak attacks...), Fickle Attacks (especially if your GM will let it apply to sneak attack dice), Ethereal Trapsmith
6th: Bloody Streak (+tier to sneak attack dice as long as you keep hitting with them), Class Mimic, Enduring Elixir

Master Chymist PrC
what you give up: "Beast shape" progression from Beastmorph, 3 levels of casting, free extracts known per level, 3 special extracts from Vivisectionist (awaken, baleful poly, and regenerate), discoveries and grand discovery, instant alchemy @ 18th; sneak attack progression from Vivisectionist - ask your GM about this one, since Master Chymist advances bomb damage and sneak attack replaces bomb and advances at exactly the same rate. If they say no, skip the PrC.
what you get: Full BAB and slightly bigger HD, 2 to 5 additional mutagens per day, 5 special mutagen upgrades (pick from: +1 die size to bite and claws, 2x mutagen duration, evasion, greater/grand if you didn't get them as discoveries, growth if you're not using the Titan's Bane version, dark vision, scent, and free healing), and +2 to +6 damage with all your natural attacks.

Hope that helps anyone who comes after me!

(P.S. for Scott: That build looks really interesting, to be honest, but your post didn't really help me, since I was asking questions specifically about the Ragebeast build [Ragebred Vivisectionist with Feral Mutagen, gets 6 naturals with sneak attack at level 2] and your post didn't cover it at all. But you should totally post that build somewhere it'll get seen, it's unique!)

Maybe reduce it slightly further from Dastis's suggestion if it can't be suppressed by the wearer, so it has a chance to reflect beneficial magic.

Definitely price it as a specific armor or a gold cost bonus, not a + bonus, if it only works 10% of the time and has a drawback besides.

You get a +2 because they can't see you, but more importantly, they lose Dex/dodge to their AC because they can't dodge what they can't see. Touch AC is almost all Dex/dodge anyway, so basically you're attacking AC 10 with a +2 bonus unless they have running magic that provides touch AC passively. Sneak attacks are the way to hit high tAC targets...

...assuming you can't just put them to sleep or something and walk up to coup de grace with vamp touch or let the rogue or fighter do it with a sneak attack or x3/x4 crit weapon.

I'm liking Master Chymist a lot! I will have to ask my GM if they'll allow Master Chymist to progress my sneak attack, since it would progress bomb damage... thank you ^_^

People who spend (too much) time on these boards have probably heard of the Ragebred Vivisectionist (optionally additionally Beastmorph) with Feral Mutagen getting 6 natural attacks with sneak attack. I'm interested in giving it a try, however...

I really like Beastmorph (I can get Pounce with 6 natural weapons? Yes please!), but I don't care for trading away my persistent mutagen, since my combat style kind of relies on my mutagen being active. Is there a way I can get that back?

I've never seen an example of the build past level 3. I imagine without magical weapons (besides the Amulet) it probably trails off even harder than most martials, but it's got sneak attack and extracts to make up for that, at least in part. Where do I take it after level 3? I'm kind of lost on this one...

The game I'm thinking of using this build in intends to go Mythic. I'm even more lost on what to do with my mythic stuff. Trickster path, or Champion? There's no Mythic version of Improved Natural Weapon - what do I do with my mythic feats?

...so, yeah, I really hope you guys can help me out some. I have other concepts I can go with if I can't figure this one out, but I'm on a bit of a time crunch, so I'm entreating you for assistance.

Gatherer818 wrote:

Unless there is some reason the character cannot use his Perception skill at this point (checking the body triggered a modify memory spell that made him forget what kinds of insects and how many there were, AND one of the other party members has driven them off with a smokestick or a spell so they're no longer there to study; or, say, the character has been attacked by someone wanting to prevent him from studying the body too closely), refusing to allow it makes absolutely no sense. "You can't see because you're a doctor."

....and is metagaming.

Horsefeathers.

His character is starting to be extra suspicious because the DM told his player that something was up. His character has no reason to do that. The character is trying to act on information from the player that the character should not have. Thats metagaming, the kind that qualifies as cheating. (not the acceptable breaks from reality kind of metagaming like NOT killing your party members when you character really would try to kill them or running into a dungeon with a random bag of mixed nuts)

What information he shouldn't have? If he's capable of inferring those kinds of details from looking at insects or whatever, then he's capable of doing so (and should receive a check to try). If he's not capable of doing so, then why did you offer him a chance to try in the first place?

Honestly.. why DID you offer options in the first place? Rather than saying "you can roll Heal or Perception", just say "do you want to try to determine the time of death?" and let the player come up with what to do. They'll probably try Heal first if they're trained, but if that doesn't work, Knowledge(nature) to see if they can determine anything based on knowledge of the insects eating the corpse would be a creative and awesome attempt. That way there's no "metagaming" (we're clearly not going to agree on that issue) AND the player is engaged with the game, instead of simply being offered options and rolling dice.

He says, "Oh, I'll make a Perception check instead, because you offered me that choice," and I'll say that's metagaming.

So is not playing an Evil character in PFS. So is not playing a Vivisectionist because it's banned. So is making a check in the first place, you should just say "my character uses his medical knowledge to determine the victim's time of death", there are no dice involved in that. Except, you shouldn't say "my character" because that's meta as well....

Metagaming isn't a crime. Metagaming isn't against the rules. Metagaming is literally required from all players at all times. If you reference your character sheet, roll dice, speak out of character, or check the mechanics of a spell or feat, you're metagaming.

Unless there is some reason the character cannot use his Perception skill at this point (checking the body triggered a modify memory spell that made him forget what kinds of insects and how many there were, AND one of the other party members has driven them off with a smokestick or a spell so they're no longer there to study; or, say, the character has been attacked by someone wanting to prevent him from studying the body too closely), refusing to allow it makes absolutely no sense. "You can't see because you're a doctor."

....and is metagaming.

Had a subscription order get declined because my card expired; there's an option to update the expiration date but it doesn't seem to take, keeps showing the old one and saying it can't be charged. Tried both from the order itself and the payment methods page.

My card's new expiry date is 05/2020. Can you either update it for me or tell me what I'm doing wrong?

The STR-to-accuracy thing is because the base assumption WAY back even before D&D was published was that hitting the target was basically assumed, it was getting through their shield and armor that was the problem. It's an artifact of D&D being adapted from wargaming, and it's why older versions had charts of which armor types gave how much armor against which attack types.

Most other systems are Dex-accuracy that I know of. Exalted 2e had a "Savage Strike" trait that allowed you to substitute Str-accuracy in melee, I saw that taken exactly once, and that character didn't survive to regret dumping Dex. Of course, in Exalted Dex was THE stat. Physical-primary characters typically maxed Dex as a given (except for certain shapechangers who might be better served with Con); other specializations put their limited Physical points into Dex as well (except for combat sorcerers who might go Con). Str was a "nice to have but not required" stat for the majority of characters.

The Arcane Weapon exploit lets you put weapon enchantments on your black blade, I strongly suggest you get it. It gains generic pluses as you level up, per the chart for the Bladebound Magus. These pluses are free; as a Blade Adept you don't have spend gold to upgrade your primary weapon. You can put that money into a ranged weapon, better armor, more stat items, or additional situational items, as you prefer :)

Maximizing HP = doubling it (slightly less than double for bad guys with PC class levels, but only very slightly less). Increasing by 50% of the maximized amount means it's totaling triple.

Yeah, save or suck, preferably stuff that can set up a coup de grace if it doesn't kill them outright. Or at least keep them downed long enough you can accomplish a narrative kill (off cliff, into lava, woodchipper trumps everything). Nothing with HP limits, obviously, so power words are out...

This is probably the opposite of what you were expecting from the title, but I need help reactivating my AP subscription. I'm gearing up to give PFS a go again, at a store that should be friendlier towards its gamers than my last attempt, and I think the Pathfinder Advantage discount will more than pay for itself. Once it kicks in, I'll be adding the Scenario subscription as well and picking up some older scenarios and modules, filling some holes in my collection.

(Plus I'm kind of upset I didn't actually read what Strange Aeons was about before I cancelled before, I'd assumed with Starfinder on the horizon it was going to be about the newer alien races and technology, similar to Iron Gods, and didn't remotely imagine it was going to be Lovecraftian. T_T that's entirely on me, though.)

So I'd like to pick the subscription back up with the last part of Strange Aeons while its available at the sub price, but regardless of which product I choose to start with, the website kicks me out with an error about having already purchased this product in February of 2016. Can you help me get back in the club?

This looks pretty straightforward to me.

Cleric chooses to channel negative energy against living creatures.

As a living creature, the cleric is affected unless they exclude themselves.

The energy affects them as though they were undead (healing instead of harming), while harming other living creatures in the area and ignoring undead ones.

Only the effect of the energy is reversed by the racial ability, you don't "count as undead for all purposes related to channelling energy", you're just affected oppositely. You still get affected by the living-side of the coin.

Which is probably working as intended, given that I'm pretty sure that ability is meant to be one of those "powerful in certain situations but a hassle to deal with" powers. Sure, it's great when you're fighting an evil cleric who wants to channel your entire party. But it sucks when the party cleric throws a group heal and has to take a feat specifically to spare your precious hit points, and has to memorize Inflicts instead of spontaneously curing you like everyone else.

There's a discussion of exactly this over at RPG.SE, if you want to take a look. (The link goes to my answer directly, you can scroll up to see the question.) http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/45283/does-the-augmented-humanoid-su btype-count-the-creature-as-humanoid-for-spell-eff/45284#45284

Now that I'm the proud owner of the entire AP, as good as the next one looks, I really can't spare the cash anymore, especially with a new ACG base set coming up. Thank you very much.

Nope, it's good, I just wanted to double-check. Thanks a bunch.

It shows one of the class decks being shipped separately, but they have the same estimated ship times (late July to early August) and everything else is being sent in one package - if it's as-intended that's cool, but I'm thinking the class decks aren't that big, maybe it can all fit in the one and save me a few bucks?

It seems to be working for me now, but I didn't change anything in the Oracle tab except picking Cure as auto-known spells. Could that have been it?

As an aside, while you're doing other UI improvements, I'd LOVE a way to sort Archetypes by does/does not replace class feature X. I'm going through the Rogue ATs now going "NO WHY DOES EVERY FREAKING ARCHETYPE FOR THE CLASS THAT SPECIFICALLY HANDLES MAGICAL TRAPS TRADE MY [censored] ABILITY TO DISARM MAGICAL TRAPS DIE IN A FIRE A MAGICAL FIRE TRAP HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" -cough- I mean, um, yeah. "Retains: Trapfinding" would be amazing...