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I have a 7th-level character who wears a blindfold. She currently only wears it about half the time (she's training with it). At 10th level, she will wear it all the time.

Here are some of the ways that she "burdens" her party:

• Adjacent allies get a +4 bonus to AC most rounds;
  
• Once per day, if she can touch an evil enemy, then she takes half the damage that the touched enemy inflicts against her allies instead of them;
  
• She can lay on hands;
  
• Next level she will have a 6d6 cold breath weapon;
  
• And she can also simply tank; she is very good at standing in the doorway and letting ranged allies lob shots over her head (she's a halfling).

You can build a character around this concept. Make sure that you are still contributing toward the group. The clouded vision oracle is a good idea (I have one of those also, they are fun). You can use a blindfold to effectively blind your character. Some other tips:

• Get the Blind-Fight feat. It will help a lot.
  
• If you can get access to blindsense, or even better blindsight, do so. Some polymorph effects allow this, and there are other ways as well.
  
• You can target creatures with spells if you can touch them. Buffing works okay with blindness, but some of the higher-level buffs are going to give your party a bit more trouble (like haste) unless they are all willing to stand right next to you for a round.
  
• Bardic performance doesn't depend on your sight. You can inspire courage to help your allies all day long without seeing a thing. Same with channel energy (though Selective Channeling won't work). Look for other effects like that to help your party.

As long as you are a contributing member of the group, I think you'll be okay. Some people will moan and groan when you tell them that your character is blind, but when you start saving their characters' lives, they'll forget about it.

Explore, Report, Cooperate.

this exactly. i read the posts saying being blind is just being a burden and wonder how a blind person would feel knowing that was said. pfs should be welcoming of all types, and stating that playing a disability means you are being a jerk says more about you than the other person

One other thought,

... you kind of still have to specialize into one or two types of spirits when you assign your stats. This is counter to the design for this class as I understand it, which is for it to be able to be a back-up to almost any role.

as it is now..
I'm going strength/ charisma & con, in that order and maybe I put some points into intelligence if I want to use the knowledge spirits..
because I would like to do some damage at lvs 1-4.

so I have to drop the dex & con & int spirits if they are doing something that is based on a dice roll/ skill check / maneuver check be cause the stat bonus is not there.

The other option is to crack out my charisma & just resign myself to the fact that I don't get spells until 4th & i'm going to be "bear" with a low strength.
When I think of a medium, I think of a fortune teller or some guy in Victorian-style clothing. Schwarzenegger is not someone that comes to mind.
I think this is a problem.

I don't think it would be too outrageous to have a power that let you substitute the Medium's charisma score or (charisma score -2) for either their dex, st, int or con based on the primary spirit's type. As long as it applied only when using the Medium's powers.

the prollem with using cha as other stats is that it lets you dump the other stat with no drawback. even at cha -2 you would be getting an effective +21 points to your point buy. ( race with +2 cha, and dumping str, normally str gets you +4 points, and an 18 str would cost you 17 points).

If I have a level 4 gm baby that hasn't been played, can it be one of these?

If I take a level of one of these on a level 3 character, after the playtest ends can I no longer play the character?

Are there retraining synergies? Could I retrain to one of these classes, play a level to get the boon, and then retrain the rest back and keep the splash level?

i see a few people asking for less spirits, please don't remove options from this class. i doubt you would, but figure i should say something.

you had mentioned one of the non printed spirits gives weapon proficiencies in exotics, is that a level one ability?

could you clarify that if you seance the same spirit every day, and even trance it once a day, you are in no danger of going to 4 influence?

full bab and more proficiencies doesn't help the lack of real options (in combat and otherwise) from level 1-6

out of the options available we have :

full round: trance (standard action at 6th)

standard action: very limited spells starting at 4 (some might be longer or shorter, but this is the usual action), create wisp (demon's lantern), dancing lights (demon's lantern)

move action: move wisp (demon's lantern)

swift action: become confused (the lost), increase dc of a charm or compulsion and possibly lose your character if it works (rakshasa)

immediate action: change attack rolls to 50% for you or adjacent enemies (rabbit)

so at 6th level we have two standard actions to choose from that are different from what an expert can do. we have 4 spirits that give us additional choices, but 2 of those are choices that are not reasonable at all (confused as a swift action? why?). the closest class to this core is fighter, who gets feats every other level and full bab and other various boosts.

this is what i mean about the class lacking choices of what it can do. sure, it has a lot of small boosts to various skills, but since you only have one or two boosts per day and it takes you an hour to change them, your boosts are unlikely to come up unless they are combat. and the combat boosts are just a flat damage boost and a choice between claws + enlarge and fists + flanking bonus.

so i realized i was prolly doing it wrong posting all that stuff in the other thread, so ill make a private thread you guys can peruse at yer leisure. if all the other posts i made are moved here i don't mind.

so talking with people, it seems a lot are confused by the medium. it seems like you have a ton of options, all up front, and it can be quite overwhelming. i have some time, so ill go over the options here.

at level one you can seance spirits, and once a day trance as a full round action to get a second or boost the one you have.

spirits, by stat:

str:
big sky - +1 attack and +1 damage; +2 cmd/cmb while trying to break grapple; ignore 1 point of dr *trance: +1 ac, +1 reflex *
bear - +1 attack and +1 damage; +2 str to break things; 2 claw attacks *trance: enlarge person*
beating - +1 attack and +1 damage; +1 attack and +2 damage vs people you have already damaged; improved unarmed strike, treat fists like monk-4 *trance: if you flank all allies flank and gain +1 attack*

dex:
cricket - +1 ac and +1 reflex; +2 on saves against entangle, stagger, and paralysis effects; +10 move speed and ignore difficult terrain *trance +1 attack and +2 damage for every 20' moved in a round*
rabbit - +1 ac and +1 reflex; +2 cmd vs disarm and sunder; weapon finesse, +1 attack and +1 damage *trance: immediate action to make attacks against you or enemies you threaten hit on 11+ instead of normal roll*
demon's lantern - +1 ac and +1 reflex; +2 on sleight of hand; move action visible trap that does level/2 d6 damage, dancing lights at will *trance standard action trap shield that triggers 20% of the time and does level/2 d6 to attacker*

con:
the desert - +3 hp, +1 fort; +2 vs disease and temperature effects; you and a friend can trade one point of damage back and forth forever *trance when someone removes a debuff from you, you get +1 attack, +1 damage, and +1 saves for a round*
teamster - +3 hp, +1 fort; +2 on saves against fatigue, exhaustion,
sleep, or knock-out effects; endurance and diehard as bonus feats, treat con as 3 higher when dying *trance: when dying no longer disabled and get 1 temp hp/round*
waxworks - +3 hp, +1 fort; +2 vs polymorph; melee attacks reduce speed by 5' for a round, if speed is reduced to half the target is entangled *trance if you hit a guy you hit at least 2-3 times already this round there is a chance they are immobilized*

int:
hidden truth - +1 on all skills; +2 on perception vs secret doors; always get a check to notice secret doors within 10' *trance +2 on knowledge checks and always take 10*
vision - +1 on all skills; +2 on spellcraft and know(arcana), standard action linguistics check to give ally +1 attack/+1 saving throw once per day per target *trance does nothing until level 4*
rakshasa - +1 on all skills; +2 on intimidate vs attitude; intimidate vs attitude lasts longer *trance does nothing until level 4, after level 4 you can trade your character away for no mechanical benefit*

wis:
winged serpent - +1 will, +1 concentration (?); +2 init; always act in suprise round, +1 attack and +1 damage against flatfooted in surprise round *trance uncanny dodge (full round action to gain this? ouch)*
owl - +1 will, +1 concentration (?); +2 on Heal and Know(nature), +1 attack and +1 damage against targets with 1/4 hp (functionally nothing against almost all cr 1 creatures) *trance +1 attack and +1 damage after you knock out an opponent for 1 round*
lost - +1 will, +1 concentration (?); +2 vs language dependent effects; +1 on confusion rolls within 120 feet (yes, that is 1%), you can become confused as a swift action (why?), when creatures are equidistant, you choose which to attack while confused (situational at best) *trance hide alignment for a minute (in case you have a full round before someone detects you?)*

cha:
unicorn - +2 on aid another checks; aid another for +3 (doesn't stack with other aid bonuses) and they get the bonus for the next 3 actions (awesome!) *trance aid another for attack gives +1 damage, aid another for defense gives +1 to saves*
the twin - choose another spirit and get its powers, but +2 disguise instead of the second one * trance does stone cold nothing til level 5, after which it still does functionally nothing*
liar - +2 on bluff, +1 on charisma checks vs creatures that are already helpful and could be attracted to you (so +1 bluff vs some helpful creatures) *trance does nothing til 4, after which it lets you ignore cha checks to influence charmed creatures*

it seems like a lot right? well mebbe it is, so choose a number of these equal to your charisma mod, and that is how many different ones you know. easier now right? so like 1-4 known. lets max it out, choose 4 you like. now choose one of those you want to use. every day you can choose a different one. its like you are a cleric who can switch between four domains but no spells per day. each even level you get to know a new spirit.

now do that for 3 entire levels, nothing new being added.

at level 4 things get exciting, you can cast a spell per day! actually since we have 18 charisma we can do 2 spells per day. granted, you only know 2 spells, and they are tied to spirits, and level one spells, but you can cast them 2 times per day. i meant to say it is exciting because you can now trance rakshasa and lose your character in exchange for casting command on an npc and letting the dm decide what the command does (exciting!). also at level 4 all those +1 to random things is now +2.

at level 5 things get more real, you get to choose a second power from your pool of spirits. look at the third powers from the spirits, you now at level 5 get to choose a second one to have all day. so at fifth level we have 2 abilities, and 2 spells per day. so yeah, still not anything actually new being added.

at level 6 the trance power is now a standard action and we can use it more. effectively another dead level, as no new options are available.

at level 7, the trance powers become base powers, and some new trance powers become available. i don't really wanna describe them all, because whether they are good or not does not make up for levels 1-6.

from levels 1-6 you are doing the exact same nothing every day. sure, you get to know more spirits, but they do not gain powers until 7. taking a level in this class is great, but each level after that is worth less and less until level 7.

if wizards learned second level spells at level 7, they would still have more options per day than this class.

the teamster: sweet splash level, prolly not as good as fighter if you want diehard but whatevs. as a main class for the first 6 levels this makes it so you can do nothing for more rounds.

That's certainly not reflected in the title of the topic. Like I said earlier, the more flexible you are with the code of conduct, the easier it will be to have the paladin at the table. The situations you describe seem to be self inflected difficulties from very strict application of the rules.

Your analogy with undead lord is invalid because Animate Dead is still legal. People use that and the world still turns.

Could it be that not worrying about how other people play their characters would solve this?

yes, if we allow paladins to ignore their code of conduct for society, it completely solves this

Advice for Paladins who are told not to reveal they are Pathfinders, and are asked:

Keep your wits about you. You're a Pathfinder, and you have to weigh this up carefully. Have a quick response ready to change the subject and keep the context of the conversation going.

Good GMs will usually see what you're doing, and unless your party has really gone down to a point where the NPC absolutely, 100%, wants the answer, you should be able to talk the NPC into following your new line of conversation, and you can successfully not reveal who you are.

There's always a chance that you may have to break your VC's rule and reveal you are a Pathfinder during the mission, but dealing with consequences is part of the life you've chosen. Nobody said being the good was easy, and your reward is that more of the population generally know that they can take you at your word because of who you are (a paladin, not a Pathfinder).

Be aware there are steps you can take to balance that scale carefully to get your cake and eat it too.

Contextual lie

One can state part of the truth out of context, knowing that without complete information, it gives a false impression. Likewise, one can actually state accurate facts, yet deceive with them. To say "Yeah, that's right, I ate all the white chocolate, by myself," using sarcasm, a form of assertion by ridiculing the fact(s) implying the liar believes it to be preposterous.

Is the point of the society to introduce people to pathfinder in hopes they will break off into groups and do adventure paths? Is the target audience gamers in general? Or optimizers? Is the point of society play to make it so people can travel to different parts of the country and always have a game available? Are we meant to be welcoming to new players? Or adversarial? Is there meant to be a story and roleplaying? Or just a series of combats and then random useless treasure?

I ask this because I see a lot of gms on here who spend more time saying no to ideas than yes. I also ask because I continue seeing scenarios where the only roleplaying happens when I decide to make the monsters speak languages they don't know and talk to the murder hobos that are tramping about. "Assault on the wound" goes so far as to reduce the party to I just their charisma bonuses for the first two thirds of the adventure, and then follows it up with a nonsense dungeon with a bizarre bbeg with bizarre tactics.

Why are there so many adventures where the only talking is during the box text at the beginning? Is pfs meant to just be an organized open play tactical combat game? It often seems as if it is.

Why is it acceptable for there to be "killer gms" in society? Is the management really ok with people openly trying to be mean to strangers? Are they not worried this reflects bad on the game itself? Are they unaware there is social stigma of the game? Are they unaware that people of color and women have had bad experiences with being marginalized in games for sake of "authenticity"? Why is slavery acceptable in golarion? At gencon I was in a sea of priveleged white males, with few minorities and women around. In one of the missions people were sent to a slave auction, and I heard this being run at tables around me, people joking and laughing about slaves. Is it possible the management does not see this as perhaps insensitive? Do they perhaps not see slavery as actually evil?

We pretend dragons and liches are real, but we can't pretend women are equals? Or that slavery is evil?

After a year of traveling and helping out low level players and seeing the state of the pathfinder society at large, I have decided that the need for the shadow lodge is greater than ever. Sheila Heidmarch continues to send inexperienced recruits out on missions to their certain doom. The decemvirate continues to hoard artifacts for their own purposes. Pathfinders of all experience levels are sent on suicide missions for simple political gains.
Sure, the man who created our brotherhood was a traitor, but the faction he created was greater than him. His ideals, even if they were just a guise, are still ideals worth striving for. Are the lives of our fellow pathfinders nor worth protecting? Is the spirit of camaraderie and cooperation not worth fighting for?
I have seen the lodge fall apart in the last year, splintered by the despondency wrought by our leader's treacherousness. I have seen the grand lodge attempt to absorb our numbers, speaking with their twisted words of reparations and goodwill. Other factions swept in like vultures, picking our family apart, for who else did we have to turn to?
I have a proposal for all former shadow lodge members, and all those who would stand for unity and the common man in our hierarchical society. We should reform the shadow lodge, only this time instead of one man pulling our strings, we should only follow the ideals we have always followed in our hearts. Stand up for the weak, protect each other, question the orders of unscrupulous leaders, root out treachery, and find proof of the misdeeds of the various factions of the pathfinder lodge.
Going forward, I propose that all those that stand for these ideals sign this charter, so that those in power know that someone is keeping tabs on them.
By signing this charter you divorce yourself from any faction to which you may have had ties to in the past. You agree to stand up for your fellow pathfinders, regardless of their current faction.

Hangman Henry IX, your brother at arms

ive been playing feral gnasher in legacy of fire, and i want to say i love it. i really suggest getting Roll With It as it makes the lack of armor less of a deal and really makes combat hilarious.

i playtested 4 of these with the hive totems build at level 8 against my pcs last night and it was a blast. they dont do much damage out of a grapple, but once they bite it is sick. and rolling away from 25 damage instead of taking a full attack is just great.

my build:
"teeth-of-justice"
half-orc feral gnasher

racial abilities:
toothy (since this is the same as Hard Head Big Teeth it should bump damage same)
shaman's apprentice
orc weapon familiarity
darkvision 60'(i prolly shoulda taken skilled)
str:20
dex:14
con:16
mentals are all 7 cause a guy that eats everything should be kinda dumb

feat/rage power choices:

1: racial heritage (goblin)
2: none
3: roll with it
4: brawler (gets you imp. unarmed strike while raging)
5: improved grapple
6: animal fury
7: greater grapple
8: hive totem 1
9: rapid grappler
10: hive totem 2
11: imp. nat. attack (bite, which should now be 2d6)
12: hive totem 3
13: diehard (i dunno bout this)
14: come and get me (bite them first? yes?)
15: deathless initiate

it gets pretty sketchy from here, i never relaly play characters this high level. i should also note, a reasonable gm (an gm that is letting you play feral gnasher really) will let animal fury and hive totem 3 just boost the damage die of yer attack by one step. if you want to argue this, point out you are spending feats and such to get around +3.5 damage on an attack that costs an insane amount to get enchanted and does not cut through any DR.

i was really toying with the idea of a single level of monk (marital artist archetype) at level 7 to get that +2 to saves and 2 feats for free but it is not nearly as fun. if you want yer guy to be survivable its better, just do as above, but switch out brawler for superstitious and switch out improved grapple for diehard. if you do that you cant get rapid grappler til 11 tho...

also, beware of casters who can cast lipstitch