iosifs's page

EDIT: I am assuming the d20 roll is for concentration, mostly. But all I see is "casting defensively" and what if I'm not, especially when it comes to a spell like Light.

It's me, back again because I don't understand combat sometimes. I am requesting the steps for casting a spell (for examples: Light for typical, Ray of Frost for combative, and Mage Armor for self). Rolling the d20 if that's even necessary, etc...

Thank you all!!!

I am getting so confused over the rules on this, for some reason it won't click. For this ranger, I have STR 17, DEX 19 and BAB of 1. He has a shortbow (not composite). Can y'all just tell me what his weapon layout would be?

ATTACK BONUS = ? + ? (if anything and where it came from)
DAMAGE: = ? + ? (if anything and where it came from)

And what/which applies to what/which? Just give me a rundown of what I'm adding to which rolls without telling me what it says in the core rulebook (right in front of me and just not clicking, like I said, because of how it's worded).

Like...

1. I roll for attack... what do I add to my d20 roll?
2. On a successful hit, I roll for damage... what do I add to my d6 roll?

Sorry if I sound blunt, sometimes I am just so frustrated with how the rules are worded in the book and when I look on other Pathfinder sites they just quote the book and it still doesn't make sense!

As a DM, I have an antagonist that "haunts" the PC with the lowest will-saving roll with the spell, sometimes inflicting damage. However, I kind of want to be cleared up on the use of this spell, or magic in general as I don't have many magic-users in my players' party, as well the main "magic users" are the antagonist and another (for now / so far).

I'm a rather new DM and want to understand spell-casting as clearly as I can without getting confused with googling and flipping through all my books.

Questions I need answered, basically...

1. Are direct magic attacks/spells counted as range (& is DEX mod added to attack or damage, both)?
2. Are instantaneous spells such as Nightmare, that have no range, etc, required to be rolled for their success or are only based on the target's will-saving roll?
3. Are Connection and Knowledge added against one another since it's target vs. caster?

I looked up the gauntlets and it looks like the +10 only applies if someone is trying to disarm you, not with any other combat maneuvers. If I understand it, you get one gauntlet with a chain or something that you can use to attach your weapon to the gauntlet, so you can still wield the weapon with that hand, but can't do anything else with it. Because of the chain, you can't drop the weapon and other people will have a harder time ripping or knocking it out of your hands. I'm not really seeing any benefit to chaining the weapon to both hands.

It seems as if it would be only to disarm so I'll keep it in mind for that. However, it just says a "locking gauntlet" (which, in a real world's term, would mean it is a padded metal glove where the fingers lock around the sword itself so it can't be for lack of a better term, smacked from my grip). But aiding the rulebook description, it would pretty much just be... realistically not thrown away out of my vicinity, just jangle a few inches away, still attached to the gloves.

Makes sense about the +10 bonus only being for the disarm action itself, I'll make a note of it somewhere (says the person with an actual FAQ to myself because I am trying to remember so much).

By the way, I'm not sure where in the rules this is, but my friends swear you can draw your weapon while moving from point A to point B (as part of the same move action) and still be able to use a standard action if you have at least +1 BAB (Base Attack Bonus). As a level 1 Fighter you should have +1 BAB.

You learn one thing with Pathfinder, and the cost is learning something simple, like my own name. Touch and flat-footed now make a little more sense actually, so thank you very much for that!

Gauntlets is under armor but grants no bonuses to AC, it's just described to take a full-round action and provoke actions of opportunities. Only other description is that it adds a +10 bonus to CMD (it's just "untyped" and suddenly my regular CMD jumps from 16 to 26, that's all I know).

But if I can use a 5-foot step as a free move, I could probably lock my GS into the gauntlet (now it's harder to disarm me) and jump back five-feet it I'm in a bad spot.

Oh, Pathfinder. I'm trying my best.

Just to add to this; "attaching/unlocking a weapon to the gauntlet is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity". Simple as that?

In a round of combat, you can do either:

-1 Full-round action OR
-1 Standard action + 1 Move action (in any order) OR
-2 Move actions (effectively trading your Standard action for a Move action)

Plus a combination of :
-1 Swift/Immediate Action AND
Any number of Free Actions

(I believe a "5-foot step" is listed under "Miscellaneous Actions" but still counts as a move-action, simply unprovoked? Would I be able to do this after an FRA, or no?)

Blah-blah, previous round where I draw my weapon and do something/anything else. After that, given I am using my FRA to attach my greatsword into my gauntlet, am I still able to use one swift/immediate action (along with free ones, talking, etc)? I just don't think there are any "swift" actions that a fighter can do, so I am just wondering if I am missing something in all the reading I am doing.

And here it says: "[a full-round action] may be taken as a standard action if you are limited to taking only a single action in a round." Any clarification?

Sorry if I am repeating myself, reading the Core Rulebook sometimes just takes me in circles and doesn't clarify certain things I want to ask. But I am so sure we would all just simplify this for actual gameplay.

Our first "session" is Saturday, but it's just six of getting together so the GM (my girlfriend) and I can help them with their pages and any questions they may have.

I thought I would just drop off some info on the finished product of my first-level fighter and everything I used to make him work to my liking regarding his ACP, feats, and bonuses. I'm usually picky about this stuff it comes to any game across any form of media. Like, my ACP was -4 and got the acrobatic feat (+2 to acrobatic and fly checks) so it would be canceled out along with his DEX bonus of +2. Typing it out now makes me realize, wow, I wasted two hours working to muscle out that negative affect for evasion rolls.

(Every ability was rolled, and apparently I had enough luck with that.)

NAME: Iosif
FIGHTER 1
ALIGNMENT: CG
DEITY: Cayden Cailen
HUMAN / medium size / male / 26 years old / 6'10, 210lbs.
(extra: long, auburn hair loosely tied back and pale, green eyes.)

STR: 17 (+3)
DEX: 14 (+2)
CON: 15 (+2)
INT: 15 (+2)
WIS: 12 (+1)
CHA: 15 (+2)

AC of 18: 10 + (5 from scale mail, 2 from DEX mod, +1 dodge combat feat)
(extra: I was honestly thinking of putting him in either hide or studded leather for aesthetic sake,
then I realized, as a digital artist myself, creating what his armor actually looks like is all up to me.)

OTHER GEAR:
1. backpack (empty)
2. flint + steel
3. flash (empty)
4. grappling hook (lmao do I need rope or chain or is this left to interpretation?)
5. belt pouch (x2)

I guess feel free to ask about any other information on him, suggest any gear (he has 116gp left)... but I am mostly exhausted with editing anything regarding his skills and feats and all that special junk. I got it so it would work in my own favor.

NOW, ON TO MY QUESTIONS.

➤ Absolutely still trying to figure out how "touch AC" and "flat-footed AC" works? If some explanation to how to figure it out or what it's really used for, that would be awesome. (GM may be giving us a break for being new and since she is having trouble figure it out as well, may exclude it from first plays.)

➤ I do have a question regarding locked gauntlets and a two-handed weapon. I know there is a +10 bonus for CMD for it (P.S. do I add this to my CMD of 16 on the character sheet itself? just put "26" as the CMD total?), you know, not easily disarmed with this thing, but would I realistically (or for aesthetic sake) need two locked gauntlets for a greatsword for this to (realistically, aesthetically) work? I know the sword itself can be held with one hand, but it's swung/fought with two.

Basically:
1. Do I need to have two locked gauntlets in order for the CMD/can't-disarm-me bonus to work on a two-handed weapon... or is just, hey, one hand is gonna keep the sword from flying away anyway? The bonus work just being there.
2A. Do I write my CMD as 26 with the +10 bonus from said locked gauntlet? Or 16?
2B. Is it only 26 for a disarming attempt from an enemy?

Also, I am assuming that even if I had two locked gauntlets (hypothetically, of course, I don't even want two)...
those +10 CMD bonuses wouldn't ever stack. It would still remain as just +10.

(I am aware that locking a weapon to the gauntlet is a full move, so that's why I am asking. I can just stick with one, lock the greatsword to one hand, technically speaking, and be okay? I mean, also realistically speaking, if both gauntlets were then locked, how would I unlock them myself? Probably wouldn't be able to, period. I'd be a weird, flailing mess for a little while.)

I did want to comment on this, as it's a trap many people fall into on accident when starting new in the game.

Whatever alignment you play, that's fine, however, no matter what, don't have your character betray the rest of the team.

Seriously, I cannot stress this enough - you cannot have a character who will betray the rest of the players, unless it's a twist the rest of the players are actively "on board" with for the game that you play that with them.

(...)

That said, especially as this is your first foray, I strongly recommend against any betrayal, even in-character. Hurt feelings are an all-too-real possibility, even and especially on accident, even between friends.

All this I considered, but I had him planned to at least make some arc to a better, less-evil side. He has a backstory making him volatile but he wouldn't betray the group he is with. Even if my group is made up of my own friends, I wouldn't wanna be a dick.

... I recommend that you build a sorcerer for your first go at magic in Pathfinder.

The reason? There are a lot of moving parts in the Pathfinder game (as you're learning), and a sorcerer is (in my opinion) a bit easier to start with than a wizard (as you don't have to juggle your spell-selection each day - you can simply learn what you can do and keep that).

I'm definitely not going to ignore this, and I'm gonna switch him to a sorcerer because of that "spell per day" thing, yeah. I need an easy entry class to get used to the game so I totally get this.

Some new questions (after looking at more stuff, ugh)!

1. What is point buying (vs. rolling)?
2. Are there just standard/static ability scores I can set them to get started or is that out-right cheating (or does it matter??? literally our first campaign, we're all new, we just wanna jump in)?
3. As a sorcerer and only having one knowledge class skill, still a good idea to focus ranking on knowledge or any other place? That, with either class, I'm still trying to figure out.
4. TIPS, TIPS, TIPS. ARMOR, WEAPONS, TIPS.

Right: 'trained' indicates ranks (any number of ranks) in the skill.

Alright! So long story short, all skills (and class skills) are all untrained until at least one rank is put into it. The only thing with class skills is that it gives a +3 bonus once a rank is dropped into it (and therefore trained if *Trained Only).

BTW, you said your INT was 13... for an arcanist. Really? Did you use rolled stats? 15-point buy? That seems very low for a dedicated spellcaster.

Also, you may have just chosen one of the most complex spellcasting classes in the game. Welcome to Pathfinder!

It was just a first roll, but I am pretty much going to do that over. This was us just testing how things worked. He isn't cemented at 13 INT, and I may not even keep him as an arcanist (just move him to a wizard), because I know it's an advanced class.

Yes: the number of ranks you have is a bonus to your skill roll.

So - a class skill in which you have ranks has a bonus of [NUMBER OF RANKS] + [ATTRIBUTE MODIFIER] + 3.

A skill in which you have ranks (that is not on the class skill list) has a bonus of [NUMBER OF RANKS] + [ATTRIBUTE MODIFIER].

Some skills can't be used untrained at all. But if the skill doesn't say 'Trained only', you can attempt it by rolling a d20 plus the attribute modifier it uses (as if it were an attribute check).

Certain races get racial bonuses to certain skills - these bonuses apply to all three situations (class skill, non-class skill, and untrained.)

Yes, this clarified it for me! Thank you.

Correct on both questions.

Thank you so much then! I need all the information on the trivializing stuff I can get. One last thing! No matter how many ranks there are on a class skill, the +3 bonus doesn't stack (this much I know). But does the amount of ranks in that skill (class or not) as an additional bonus to the roll in a skill check?

Like, for a class roll... a roll of 6 +(number of ranks) +3(bonus)? Or just 6 +3(rank bonus)?

(Sorry for all the questions, I am always paranoid about stuff like this.)

Are class skills automatically trained or just, there needs to be a rank in that anyway for it to be used? I may be re-asking the same question, but this is just to clarify.

The only thing a class skill does is give you a +3 bonus on the skill check if you have at least 1 rank in the skill.

Any class can put a skill rank into any skill. Any class can use any skill - the only exception are Trained skills. For Trained skills, you must have at least 1 rank in that skill to use it.

Okay, so only check the box if it is a CLASS skill (I'm dumb, I wasn't looking at the character sheet right). Rank points can be added to ANY skill despite the class... but it HAS to be a class skill in order for the +3 bonus to be added when there is at least one rank on it?

For all classes, you use what is listed. So if it says you get 2 + Int modifier per level, you get2 + Int mod for that level. Add any other bonus ranks you might get to that, like the +1 for being a human.

Makes sense. I think it wasn't being read right in my head.

P.S. Thank you for replying so quickly.

I have a human arcanist I am currently working on more as a demo to try out things for our first campaign (our first meeting, we are actually all mostly new and my girlfriend is GM'ing, so we are going to go through putting our sheets together as best we can). Earlier today we purchased the hardcover Core Rulebook and I've been skimming through it for answers I had to things I just couldn't put together in my head (sometimes how these sentences are structured, I can't figure it out?) But I have a bunch of pages, chapters, sections bookmarked to go back to where I need to. I am aware the arcanist is an advanced class.

UH, NOW MY QUESTIONS:

➥ My first and biggest confusion is over class skills. And whatever the arcanist has in their class skills (a mix of wizard/sorcerer ones, got it) is automatically checked off in the skills list, yes? So does that mean it just automatically learned? (Not regarding the skill ranks earned per level. It doesn't need to be trained or anything? And if there is a rank put into it, that's mostly just adding the +3 bonus and giving it more of a chance to succeed when it comes to skill-based checks.

➥ I read somewhere that there is a formula for determining how many skills (rank?) points is determined for a first level and I think an arcanist was at 16. Is this true or what does it start at? ("Humans gain an additional skill rank at 1st level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level" / arcanist: skill ranks per level: 2 + INT modifier. So at first level, would I be assigning 2 + INT modifier + racial (+1; or is that per level gained after?)IN SUMMATION: How many skill rank point things do I start out with on the first level, and how do I find this out? Is it the same ranks per level formula?

➥ I also just found out that ranks do not stack +3 bonuses, they are an additional bonus number toward skill-based rolls/checks. Whatever question I had for that seemed to be the only thing I found clarified (sorta) in the core rulebook. Huh-freakin'-zah.

➥ If someone can find me a completed character sheet on an arcanist or wizard (can't seem to find one) to send my way, I need a reference to something. (I have all information about him, he's a character I've had for a while and I wanted to incorporate him as a chaotic evil arcanist stuck with a rag-tag team of new kids on the block.)