glandis's page

The description of the Terrifying Croak Racial Trait seems to be missing some important info.

Am I missing something? Seeing as it seems to be built from the Boggard ability, which says "within 30 feet", that's what I'd assume it should be. But ... FAQ/Erratta required?

This is almost certainly a typo/errata issue, but I couldn't find any reference to it. Liberty's Blessing reads "you can use this ability for a number of times equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier." So, like - ever? Something around 5-9 times in the life of the character? It's a pretty cool power, and 5-9 times a day would be a lot, but a lifetime cap? Surely not!

I've read lots of threads discussing issues around size increases, and while there is much (often good) discussion, including some comments from designers, I haven't been able to find any definitive FAQlike answers (feel free to point me at 'em if they exist). So for ease of FAQability, let me ask 3 questions:

1) Shields with the magic "Bashing" enhancement and shield spikes: do these size increases stack?

2) If a character under the effects of "Enlarge Person" has another way to increase/effectively increase the size of their weapon (e.g., Lead Blades spell, Bashing shield), do some and/or all of those effects stack?

3) Where do we look to find the amount of damage done by Huge or larger weapons?

I think answers to those questions (and whatever nuances the designers would care to comment on) would clear up a lot of issues. I could see all answered in many ways. I do have thoughts/opinions, naturally, and I'll post 'em below, and of course anyone can chime in. But I'm hoping clearly leaving the above as core questions not universally/definitively answered will help get FAQclicks and/or designer comment.

The class skills gained by a bloodline are usually specific - a particular skill or a particular type of Knowledge. With the Arcane default, it's Knowledge(any one), so you have the flexibility to pick. But it's still a particular Knowledge.

Maestro, on the other hand, simply gives you Perform. I figure this ought to be Perform(pick one).

Without this, I guess Eldritch Heritage is technically impossible to take with the Maestro bloodline, as there is no Skill Focus: Perform(all), only Skill Focus: Perform(some specific form). Hero Lab has this problem, BTW - it apparently looks for Skill Focus: Perform(all), and does not recognize (e.g.) Skill Focus: Perform(oratory) as meeting the Eldritch Heritage prereq.

Thoughts?

So, the rule says "You heal nonlethal damage at the rate of 1 hit point per hour per character level." But - per hour of what? Just elapsed time? Time spent resting? Sleeping?

If you're walking for an hour, do you heal your level in nonlethal? What about if you're hustling? What about if you're riding?

My temptation is to say that any strenuous activity (in combat, hustling/running, riding at a run/hustle, doing anything while fatigued, etc.) prevents nonlethal recovery, but something like normal speed riding/walking ... sure, you recover nonlethal then.

But there may be wiser minds out there! Thoughts?

Or at least one way of interpreting it. As context, I'm a long-time D&D player, but have just recenly started PF - I was looking at creating a monk, and so I've followed the recent threads. My opinion is that 1) there are clearly some contradictions that need resolving, 2) most of the actual positions on the subject I've seen are supportable. I'll not comment on the attitudes and personalities except to say I have seen some clearly incorrect claims made. A big one for me is that "Flurry has NOTHING to do with TWF" - reading the class description makes clear the devs made a connection. The nature of that connection is, granted, VERY uncertain (and contradicted by some published monk examples)- but saying there's no connection is just not reading, IMO. Another I saw too often is the claim that Magic Fist works with all your unarmed blows - I really don't see now people could read it that way.

Also, one of my favorite D&D monk characters back in the day wielded a pair of sai: one enchanted with fire-based stuff, and one with cold-based stuff. I always played him as getting half his flurry-strikes with fire, and half with cold. It frankly never occured to me to flurry with just the cold sai vs. a (say) fire elemental - that just wasn't the way flurry worked. My monk had flexibilty over the flaming-sword wielding paladin, but against the right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) opponent, yeah, he was less effective. And, he was Master of Fire and Ice! I mean, that's more important than some average damage calculation, right?

Anyway, I wanted folks to know where I'm coming from, but I'm not looking to re-debate all that's gone before. I want to express what I like about the Flurry/TWF connection.

Short version It boils down to "I VASTLY prefer the flavor it gives the monk."

What do I mean by that? I see a flurry as representing a monk's ability to use "alternate" types of strikes in a way that the standard fighter class does NOT (or at least, the monk does so more effectively). Frankly, a "flurry" of (say) conventional slashes with a single kama is, to me, boring. It's obviously more efficient (in terms of magic item focus & etc.), but - bleh. When a monk flurries (in my vision), it's because half the blows are something different, and perhaps unexpected - a kick, a push, a smack with the haft of the (again, e.g.) kama. Or from the other hand - which could also hold a kama, obviously, but if you wanted it magic you'd have the burden of enchanting it seperately. And the opportunity to enchant it differently.

Even outside the traditional double and/or paired weapon, this works for me. I like the vision of a flurrying monk with a sword in one hand doing unarmed strikes with his other fist/feet/whatever (and per his unarmed damage stats/enhancements) for half his flurry. Just gaining extra iterative attacks with a single weapon doesn't say "flurry" to me. Or for two-handed/reach weapons, I can see half the attacks coming from a smash or thrust from the haft of the weapon, or even from a reach-kick using the haft as a lever (and thus not leaving your square). Again, I'd do half the attacks per his unarmed strike/damage, unless he had a double weapon. I might even let him turn a (e.g., for a sohei) halberd into a double weapon and enchant the haft/spear differently than the axehead.

Between flexibilty and flavor, I prefer this kind of approach (details might vary, but this spirit works for me). I doubt it over-gimps the monk, but I confess I'm not overly concerned with absolute equity amongst characters, and I value situational flexibilty quite highly (I found it totally worth it that my two-sai monk had some extra-effective attack twice as often vs. a super-effective attack half as often). And I value flavor over all. Flavor with a connection to mechanics, especially.

What's left of the problems created by varied interpretation of TWF-Flurry (unless I missed something) is the Zen Archer, who can't reasonably "half unarmed" or "double/paired weapon" flurry with a bow (firing half the arrows as per his unarmed damage is a bit too wierd for me). A new solution would be needed there. Is there a PF feat to injure multiple opponents with a single arrow? That'd work for me - bow-flurry is attacking 2 foes (within what, 10'? 30'? of each other?) with a single arrow for each normally-paired flurry-BAB. You get the "one item" synergy, but have to spread it across 2 bad guys. And (big bonus, for me) be different from a fighter/archer with bow feats.

So, there you go. I entirely understand that other people may have different priorities, and prefer flurrying away with a single weapon at regular-for-that-weapon-everything. I just wanted to express how I'm against that not so much for power reasons as for flavor reasons (and "inside my head" logic - I understand that "inside your head" may vary).

Anyone else?

. . . with the Dance of Blades mystery. If you add the modifiers in the order the character acquired 'em (20 base - 5 Lame mod + 10 Dance mod), you get a speed of 25. Alternately, 20 base becomes 30 base from Dance and then loses 10 from Lame to get a speed of 20.

What's right? I kinda like the oddball speed of 25, but 20 obviously keeps more of the sting of the Lame curse. Thoughts?

The Vanish spell in the Advanced Player's Guide is only listed as "Touch", not "Touch or Personal" like Invisibility and etc. Intentional, or an error?

So it's pretty clear that normal performance combat checks can only happen when triggered by the specific things listed in that section(charge, crits, etc.) But with Performing Combatant, you can make a check outside of performance combat - but WHEN? Only on the same triggers (some of which make no sense without an audience)?

Or maybe, as the performance feats are pretty much always swift actions, Performing Combatant lets you spend a swift action to get the benefit of the feat (regardless of trigger)? Unless you have the Master feat that turns them into free actions.

I'm torn between "trigger only" being awfully weak outside performance combat (making the feat not-so-useful), and a swift action DC20 Perform check for an extra d6 damage or demoralize attempt on every attack being a bit strong . . .