johnnymac's page

Hey gang -

I know this has been discussed but I've never really seen a solid answer come down the pipeline.

We know that wooden tower shields exist and have their HP/hardness. There is also a magical item for a mithral tower shield.

What would be the HP on this mithral tower shield? We know its hardness is 15. With other metal equipment, the conversion for metal/wooden is pretty easy - but there is no "base" metal tower shield to convert from.

Has anyone else dealt with this? What are the stats for a "base" metal tower shield so that we can figure out other tower shields?

I know there is no solid answer for this - but does anyone have any examples of stuff theyve homebrewed? Specifically regarding the object HP of mithral/metal tower shields.

Thanks again

John

Hey gang -

I know this has been discussed but I've never really seen a solid answer come down the pipeline.

We know that wooden tower shields exist and have their HP/hardness. There is also a magical item for a mithral tower shield.

What would be the HP on this mithral tower shield? We know its hardness is 15. With other metal equipment, the conversion for metal/wooden is pretty easy - but there is no "base" metal tower shield to convert from.

Has anyone else dealt with this? What are the stats for a "base" metal tower shield so that we can figure out other tower shields?

I know there is no solid answer for this - but does anyone have any examples of stuff theyve homebrewed? Specifically regarding the object HP of mithral/metal tower shields.

Thanks again

John

Hey guys!

So, last week my party used a summon planar ally, lesser scroll that they found in a treasure horde. A few questions came up:

- Do you pick the creature's HD, or is it random? For lesser planar ally - is it anything up to 6HD, or you pick, say, 1HD, 2HD, 3HD, etc...
- If cast from a scroll written by a NE cleric of Lamashtu - would the planar ally be someone Lamashtu would pick? Or someone the PC's god (Sarenrae) would pick? I could see the fun of it being a NE pick, tee hee.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help.

John

Hey guys!

Curious if anyone had any insight. If a hunter - which is a spontaneous spell caster - took either of these two feats, what would the effects be?

Would it simply add the spells listed under the feats to your spell list of available spells to choose from each level, or would they automatically be entered as spells permanently known?

In other words - do you gain the spells, or do you simply gain access to them?

Thanks again

John

Hi guys!

So, a PC cavalier has taken the monstrous mount feat and selected a griffon. That griffon has the hover feat.

Both the enemies and the PCs make occasional use of the obscuring mist spells - theyre great for foiling otherwise pesky archers. The PC is saying that his griffon - by use of the hover feat - can pretty much dispatch all fog-type spells. Here's the direct rules information:

HOVER:

If a creature of size Large or larger with this feat hovers within 20 feet of the ground in an area with lots of loose debris, the draft from its wings creates a hemispherical cloud with a radius of 60 feet. The winds generated can snuff torches, small campfires, exposed lanterns, and other small, open flames of non-magical origin.

Obscuring Mist:

A moderate wind (11+ mph), such as from a gust of wind spell, disperses the fog in 4 rounds. A strong wind (21+ mph) disperses the fog in 1 round. A fireball, flame strike, or similar spell burns away the fog in the explosive or fiery spell’s area.

Its worth noting that "Fog Cloud" has similar language, as does "Solid Fog" - although the mph has to be 30+ in that case.

The PC is stating that the winds generated by this hover effect would disperse these fog spells. I tend to disagree - both for game balance purposes lol and because it seems like the hover is a little bit different than, say, a gust of wind in that it basically creates a hemisphere instead of actually blowing anything away.

Your guys thoughts?

Thanks a bunch, I always appreciate the help that this forum offers!

John

Okay, I'll get off the fence and say No, on the grounds that "touching" is a subset of "could make a touch attack on," which you can't do because it's got total cover.

I'm not dwelling on the realism of touching someone through fabric or full plate, just the mechanical question of whether you can make a touch attack. If you can, you might be touching. If you can't, you definitely aren't.

Thanks, im in agreenent. For RAW reasons, i agree with you. For RAI reasons, i dont think a 5th level ability should create an hp battery increasing your hp by 50% that is essentially locked into an impenetrable safe free from any danger.

That seems out of scope for a 5th level power.

Thanks for all the responses!

While many of you have been referencing the bodyguard ability, i am specifically concerned with the "shield master" abilty:

Shield Master (Su)
At 5th level, whenever a protector or its master takes hit point damage, as long as the protector and its master are touching, its master can split the damage evenly between them as if under the effects of shield other.

Can this be performed from inside the total cover of a familiar pouch?

Quote:

The creature in the pouch has total cover from everything outside of the pouch - doesnt this include the PC itself?

Yes.

Quote:

this familiar is very active in combat with the bodyguard feat

If it's in a pouch with total cover from everything, including its master, I wouldn't let it use bodyguard. Probably not shield master, but definitely not bodyguard, which involves flinging yourself around.

Basically, familiar pouches/satchels are for familiars who stay the heck out of combat, not for those who are part of it.

We're in agreement with regard to bodyguard - that actually requires you to be in line of effect to use it. But Shield Master has no such language

Hey guys!

I have a PC who has a protector familiar which spends a lot of a time in a familiar pouch. My question is regarding the 5th level "shield master" ability.

At 5th level, whenever a protector or its master takes hit point damage, as long as the protector and its master are touching, its master can choose to split the damage evenly between them as if using shield other.

My PC thinks that being within the pouch counts as "touching" for all intents and purposes, since its part of his equipment. Now, this familiar is very active in combat with the bodyguard feat and I am not inclined to just waive any danger the familiar might face.

I have a concerns about this. The creature in the pouch has total cover from everything outside of the pouch - doesnt this include the PC itself?

Would you allow your PC to benefit from the Shield Master familiar ability from within the pouch - what counts as "touching" in this case?

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the help

Hey gang! Let me thank you in advance for your help.

My question:

Two of my players have familiars tucked away in satchels. Neither is the typical "unseen" familiar - both are very active in helping the players gain advantage in combat. As such, I'm not prone to just waive away any danger they might be in.

A familiar satchel grants total cover to a familiar inside.

The fireball spell is a spread, which "goes around corners" and in some cases ignores cover granted by corners. Would a familiar in a satchel be affected by this spell?

A lightning bolt spell is a line spell, which affects "Every creature inside of that line". Would a familiar in a satchel be affected by this spell?

I know that there are certain rules for equipment, but creatures are clearly not equipment and I dont think they should be treated as such.

Thanks for the thoughts!

John

I was playing in a game over the weekend and we had some problems adjudicating some of the common "set your PCs on fire items"

1. Goblin throws Alchemist fire:

Alchemist fire says:

A direct hid does 1d6 fire damage. Easy enough. On the following round the target takes 1d6 additional points of damage. If desired, the target can use a full-round action to attempt toe extinguish the flames before taking this additional damage.

During round 3 with an initiative of 10, the goblin hits the PC with alchemist fire. The PC has initiative 18. He takes 1d6 points of damage. Round 4 happens. It is the PC's turn.

- Does he take the damage then, in round 4? or wait until round 5?

The opposite: During round 3, with an initiative of 18, the goblin hits the PC with alchemist fire. The PC has an initiative of 10. Still during round 3, it becomes the PC's turn.

- Does he take damage then, in the same round the goblin threw it?
- When does he get to save?

I suppose the same question exists for other ongoing damage effects, like acid arrow. When is the damage applied in each case?

I just wanted to say that although it looks like this topic has been a long time in the making, reading over these rules in the last few days has actually made me pretty excited.

However --

- Is there a combat section coming up or that I am missing?
- When playing Kirthfinder, what spell list is generally seen as being available? I see that some classes pull their effects from a wiiiiiide variety of sources. Are we just looking at PF core? 3.5 core + PF core? Every splat book thats been envisioned under the sun?

Thanks for all your effort!

- John

hey guys-

First, a thanks for the tons of people who volunteered their knowledge when I've asked questions in the past. It helps, a ton.

My question regards create pit and large creatures. In a recent scenario, a PC cast create pit into a group of enemies. In the 10' x 10' effect area were two medium sized creatures and 1/4 of a large Annis Hag. Only the bottom right hand corner square of the Annis Hag was within the spell effect.

Does the Annis Hag fall into the pit?

According to my players, yes (surprise) by RAW. Create Pit states:

"Any creature standing in the area where you first conjured the pit must make a Reflex saving throw to avoid falling into it"

Much like if only 1/4 of the creature was in a fireball or grease spell, the creature would be affected.

How have you guys ruled this? I can't find anything on the FAQ. And while RAW seems to support the idea that 1/4 of a large creature can cause said creature to fall into a pit, the idea of ... I don't know, 4 trolls falling into the same pit with one spell just galls me a little.

Thanks again!

JOHN

Hey guys, quick question:

My group recently came into a fight with some priests using the madness domain, so both these effects have been slinging around quite a bit. Some players in my group have expressed concern about the use of the spells confusion and murderous command.

* Confusion, on a roll of 76-100, has you attack the nearest creature. Is this is a single attack action, or 3+ if you have 3+?

* Murderous command gives you a mental urge to kill your nearest ally, which you obey to the best of your ability with a melee or natural weapon. It says you make this "attack" (not attacks!) against the nearest ally. Again, is this a single attack action, or 3+ if you have 3+?

Some of the players in my group think that a full round of attacks are not in the intent of the authors and make the spell prohibitively dangerous for 1st level spells (confusion has a 1st level counterpart).

I would just like to see how other groups have adjudicated these issues and what they think the intent of the spells were, before I make a decision, as to avoid a potentially unintended result.

Thanks guys!

JOHN

Hey guys!

So, I have a player who is constantly pushing at the boundaries of the rules, which is fine lol! Occasionally, it helps to see what other people's interpretations are out there in Paizo-land on some probably rarely-seen scenarios.

This character is a witch 1/wizard (diviner) 1. For her wizard level, she has taken the familiar adept archetype.

My question is in regard to the following abilities associated with the familiar adept archetype:

School Link - familiar can cast at will one cantrip from its masters associated arcane school

School Cantrip - a school familiar can cast at will one cantrip from its associated arcane school, using its master's caster level.

My player wants to use the witch spell Guidance (witch 0 divination school) as the school cantrip and wants to know if Guidance is affected by the ability School Link. Guidance is not normally available to wizards.

Her argument it that guidance is an arcane divination spell, and should be able to be used with both of these. My argument is that the intent of Danny the Divination-bird's archetype ability is meant to refer to the wizard divination arcane school, not the witch divination arcane school.

Am I being too strict? What would other people rule?

Thanks again for the help! I truly appreciate it!

The mounted charging should not be impeded by the rider's vision. It should work.

Thanks, wraithstrike. It was just one of those things that, in the heat of the moment, we weren't really sure about. It seemed strange that having a mount would nullify a lot of the human illumination issues, but I guess you're right. I ruled the same way.

Thanks for the help :)

First, expect table variation. :P

This is my interpretation:

1) Dim illumination provides concealment which results in a 20% miss chance, but this doesn't affect movement or the ability to charge at all.

2) If the rider can see, but the mount cannot, you can direct the mount to charge. You'll most likely need to make a Handle Animal check to push the mount to do this. It must then make a DC 10 Acrobatics check or fall prone (for moving over half its speed). Because you can see, you can make a charge attack at the end of this movement. Because the mount cannot see, it doesn't gain the benefits of charging, and thus can't attack.

3) If the rider cannot see, but the mount can, you cannot direct the mount to charge using standard mounted combat rules. You could, however, use a trick or push the mount to "charge an enemy in that general direction". If you succeed, the mount could charge the enemy and you'd just be along for the ride. However, you'd have no direct control over the charge and are at the mercy of how the GM feels the mount would interpret your command.

... I was under the impression that dim illumination creates difficult terrain for those affected by it. Am I wrong?

Byakko wrote:

First, expect table variation. :P

This is my interpretation:

1) Dim illumination provides concealment which results in a 20% miss chance, but this doesn't affect movement or the ability to charge at all.

2) If the rider can see, but the mount cannot, you can direct the mount to charge. You'll most likely need to make a Handle Animal check to push the mount to do this. It must then make a DC 10 Acrobatics check or fall prone (for moving over half its speed). Because you can see, you can make a charge attack at the end of this movement. Because the mount cannot see, it doesn't gain the benefits of charging, and thus can't attack.

3) If the rider cannot see, but the mount can, you cannot direct the mount to charge using standard mounted combat rules. You could, however, use a trick or push the mount to "charge an enemy in that general direction". If you succeed, the mount could charge the enemy and you'd just be along for the ride. However, you'd have no direct control over the charge and are at the mercy of how the GM feels the mount would interpret your command.

3 won't work. You have to be able to see a target to charge.

PRD, Combat, Charge wrote:

Movement During a Charge: You must move before your attack, not after. You must move at least 10 feet (2 squares) and may move up to double your speed directly toward the designated opponent. If you move a distance equal to your speed or less, you can also draw a weapon during a charge attack if your base attack bonus is at least +1.

You must have a clear path toward the opponent, and nothing can hinder your movement (such as difficult terrain or obstacles). You must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent. If this space is occupied or otherwise blocked, you can't charge. If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement, slows movement, or contains a creature (even an ally), you can't charge. Helpless creatures don't

...

Well, let me clarify.

The rider and horse are outside on a starlit night, providing dim illumination. The rider *can* see his opponents, they're only 80 feet or so away... he just can't see them very well. If anyone has ever been outside at night in real life, use that for experience :).

Normally, however, dim illumination creates difficult terrain, so its impossible to charge. However, the horse can with his low light vision. One of my players has a combat trained horse animal companion. He pointed out the enemy 80 feet away, and told his horse to charge it.

The cavalier couldn't do this on his own - you can't charge over difficult terrain. Can he direct his horse to?

I guess as an extrapolation of this... is a human rider is riding around on a horse with low light vision at night... does he still move half speed, because the rider can't see perfectly? Or at the horse's normal speed, because the horse *can* see perfectly?

Hello! I couldnt find an answer to this question with the search function, so thank you for your help.

If I am a human with normal vision, and I'm riding a horse with low-light vision, do areas of dim/shadowy illumination still count as difficult terrain?

Can I charge through this terrain or move at a normal speed if my horse can see just fine, even if I can't?

Thanks for your help!

The story of my Kingmaker campaign is here. We are currently in the middle of RRR. I want to also say that I have benefited greatly from the resources here, from lists of fey pranks to the 6-player conversions to Dudemeister's Monster Kingdom to the picnic books to ideas on expanding the political elements. This forum is pretty awesome, IMO.

Oh that's funny, I've stolen stuff from you too. Thanks man!

I know I enjoy reading the exploits of other GM's campaigns and seeing how they did things differently in this very sandboxy AP. I have been reading through all the Kingmaker games on Obsidian Portal and I noticed a LOT of chaff and only a little wheat out there. By this I mean there are alot of campaign sites that are empty shells to wade through to find the really developed long running games. My favorites are one with a completely different flavor, like evil or Viking lands.

To make things easier for new Kingmaker GMs who might like a little peek at others take on things, I thought it would be helpful to make a thread and have everyone post their online campaign websites. Plus that way I get the fun of reading everyone elses. :)

Lords of Fluviallis

Can you tell the queen is a high school latin teacher?

I raise this thread.... FROM THE DEAD!

My site is pretty well developed. I've stolen liberally from just about every source I can find, lololol, including you Redcelt. I want to thank everyone! My players are doing a great job, and you're welcome to visit my site

My Kingmaker Group

Hey gang! I have a six PC group running the six player Kingmaker conversion and we've been having a great time. My players are a bit impetuous, however, and after running into (and befriending) the kobolds at the Radish Patch, decided they absolutely love kobold NPCs and wanted to get involved in their politics. Through impressive ingenuity and teamwork they managed to overcome the mites at the Sycamore and are headed straight to the Sootscale caves.

And I was really happy for them! I gave Nakpik and Mikmek class levels to help them out (Cavalier and Rogue) and they love them - they want both to come live with them at Oleg's, lol.

Anyway, they're still level 1, and headed for the Sootscale caves. I used the Tartuk as Summoner conversion because it is just 1000% more awesome. I looked at his eidolon's (Old Sharptooth, of course) stats and realized "Wow. He's gonna slaughter them". I downgraded Tartuk to level 5, but his eidolon is still more powerful than ... anything they've encountered and is almost unhittable.

I want to keep Tartuk and his eidolon but I don't want to kill the PCs. If possible, I'm going to try to have Tartuk try to get away to hassle the PCs in the future, so him not fighting to the death gives me a little leeway. I guess the best way to run this encounter after giving the Chief that statue is something different than "show up, swing sword" and I was hoping to get some ideas here.

I was thinking of starting it off by having the PCs battle Tartuk socially at first for the hearts and minds of the tribe, exposing him as a fraud through some roleplaying. Depending on how that goes, X amount of kobolds will be converted from Tartuk's cause to the Chief's before battle commences. Maybe have Sharptooth/Tartuk more focused on slaughtering the kobold population once he is exposed, and rallying the kobolds there to stop him? As Tartuk flees the caverns, his eidolon's hps will become lower and lower as their connection weakens. I have about 8 different kobold NPCs personalities developed and this might be a great way to showcase them.

Anyway, --- any ideas on how to make this encounter less linear? Has anyone else encountered problems like this in a sandbox adventure?

Thanks for the help guys! I always appreciate the help I receive here.

I want to start off by thanking the community for the swift and helpful replies. What a great resource!

Like some posters, I'm also torn about making food/water/feed a "thing" or not. Some people here say that such bookkeeping rarely leads to players having fun, and I see the merit in that reasoning. My role-playing roots in DND/PF are certainly of the school of hard knocks variety, and maybe I'm pulling off those experiences too much in trying to create a survival mini game inside of Kingmaker.

Recently, players have been complaining that iron rations are too expensive, and they're forced to use survival to explore the wilderness. This, in turn, leads to more encounters, some of which are deadly. These same players don't blink at buying the fanciest clothing, an incredible assortment of varied weaponry, blowing 50-75 gp on potions, etc. etc.

Don't get me wrong - overall I'm very pleased with the direction of the game. My PCs have put a lot of investment into their characters' backstories, motivations and relationships with the world around them. Our intra-group relationship is pretty positive; we're all friends IRL and we don't have any major differences.

Bottom line: for some reason, handwaving the entire food needs (water is a cantrip) for a group of explorers and their mounts just irks me for some reason. Am I alone in this? Should I just let it go?

hey everybody!

I'm GMing a Kingmaker campaign right now where my PCs are still level 1 and rampaging around the wilderness exploring things. I've tried to make survival an issue, simulating the need to plan for long overland journeys with horses, food, water, etc.

The pfsrd says that one day of animal feed is 10 lbs and costs 5cp. My players are incredibly, notoriously cheap... I'm sure you've seen the type. They refuse to buy rations and mostly get by via the survival skill. They refuse to buy a lot of animal feed and then about halfway through their journey realize they're about to run out of food.

I have ruled that a horse eats about 4x what a human does (by nature of it being large), and about half of that can be met by letting it graze at the end of the adventuring day, reducing the amount of food eaten by horse to 5 lbs/ day. My players are in a bit of an uproar, saying that horses should be allowed to graze for their entire meal allotment... its just grass, blah blah blah.

Has anyone devised any kind of ruling in terms of how horses are fed on overland journeys? Have you had players try to feed their horse "on the road" or with the survival skill?

Thanks everyone!

John