Hi folks, I guess I've 'come in from the cold', and decided to start trying to learn the 2nd Edition rules. I've been reading over the first rulebook, and I'm thinking about how to re-build a bunch of my 1st Edition pet builds. I could use a little advice, if that's okay.
1) I have a greataxe-wielding half-orc rogue. 1a) Is there a way in 2nd Edition to get sneak attack with a greataxe? (I actually built this character as a protest against D&D 4th Edition rogues.) 1b) Is there a way to get a feat similar to Surprise Follow-Through?
2) I have an Order of the Paw halfling cavalier. Now, if I want a wolf-mounted PC, I basically have to be a goblin, right?
3) I made a team of wolf-mounted halfling PCs, using the bard's inspire courage and the nature oracle's friend to the animals to maximize buffs to the whole party. Is there a similar ability that can give buffs to a bunch of animals that stacks with inspire courage?
4) I haven't picked up the Advanced Players' Guide yet, but do I have it right that an oracle of a given mystery always has the same curse?
5) So I built a white-haired witch back in the day. Would that basically be a witch with the Living Hair feat and multi-classing to monk? I take it that I shouldn't take any monk feats that grant a stance with a specific attack if I want to keep attacking with my hair?
6) Druids can't turn into different creatures anymore? Asking for songbird or hippo builds.
7) I built a bard with fun extra options like Diva Style and the masterpieces from Blood of Angels. 7a) Is there a similar 'fightin' bard' set of feats? 7b) I guess I could multiclass to cleric and pick up some domain focus spells, but since Shelyn (my goddess of choice) doesn't have either the freedom or the sun domain, I couldn't pick up focus spells like the symphony of the Elysian heart or the pallavi of Nirvana's blossoming masterpieces?
8) There's that cool picture of a monk/dragon disciple from the D&D 3.5 DMG. To take the dragon disciple archetype as a monk, first I'd have to 'multiclass archetype' to either a draconic sorcerer or a draconic barbarian, right?
I think that's enough of that. I might have more questions later, but these were the first I could think of trying to slot my square pegs into the round holes of 2nd Ed. Thanks for your time.
Hi there. I'm trying to retire at least 1 PFS1 character before I try out PFS2, so to that end I'm going to try earning some points by running some scenarios for a change. And because a) I don't see them offered very often anymore (where I live), and b) my poor character is of high-enough level to benefit from them, I'd like to try GMing some 7-11s (or maybe a 5-9 or two).
What are some of your favorite 7-11 scenarios? Maybe there's a cool fight scene in one, or a wacky magic boot on the chronicle of another. Tell me what floats your boat, and I'll try to set up a table and run it. Thanks!
lantern staff: This long metal staff has reservoirs for lamp oil, and a lantern-like structure at its head. The lantern staff is fueled as and provides light as a hooded lantern. While lit, attacks with the lantern staff deal 1 point of fire damage in addition to the normal damage. Any effects that apply to a quarterstaff, except those that require it be used as a double weapon, also apply to a lantern staff.
Ultimate Equipment wrote:
fire-forged steel: Dwarves stumbled across the secret of crafting fire-forged steel in an effort to make forge-friendly tools. It didn’t take them long to adapt its unique properties to arms and armor. Fire-forged steel channels heat in one direction to protect its wearer or wielder. When it is crafted into armor, heat is channeled away from the wearer, offering some limited protection. Armor crafted from fire-forged steel grants the wearer fire resistance 2.
Weapons crafted from fire-forged steel similarly channel heat away from the wearer; this does not grant the wielder energy resistance. Instead, the blade absorbs and channels heat to the parts of the weapon that contact enemies. If the weapon is exposed to 10 points or more of fire damage (such as from an opponent’s fireball or by holding it in a campfire for 1 full round), the weapon adds +1d4 points of fire damage to its attacks for the next 2 rounds. If the wielder is wearing fire-forged armor and using a fire-forged weapon, this bonus damage increases to 1d6 points of fire damage and lasts for 4 rounds. This bonus damage does not stack with fire damage from weapon enhancements such as flaming.
1. Make a lantern staff out of fire-forged steel.
2. Light it.
Does it deal +1 fire damage, or +1d4 fire damage?
Bonus question!
Ultimate Equipment wrote:
shield sconce: This metal frame holds a torch and is designed to be strapped to the front of a light, heavy, or tower shield, allowing you to carry a torch without giving up your shield or occupying your weapon hand.
1. Craft a light steel shield out of fire-forged steel.
2. Strap a shield sconce to it, and stick a torch in the sconce.
3. Light the torch.
Does this shield
a) offer the wielder fire-resistance 2?
b) grant +1d4 fire damage on a shield bash?
c) do nothing special?
Right. So, I have an unchained eidolon, and I know there is at least a little variance about taking evolutions from Ultimate Magic, buu~uut if hooves were okay with a GM...
Animal Archive wrote:
horseshoes of sacred silver: These mithral horseshoes are imbued with heavenly power. They grant the holy weapon special ability to the wearer’s hoof attacks, and if the wearer hits an evil-aligned target with both hooves in the same round, the target is staggered for 1 round (Fortitude DC 16 negates). In addition, the wearer gains a +2 sacred bonus on bull rush, drag, and overrun combat maneuvers. If the wearer is a mount and the rider uses the Trample feat, add 2 to the rider’s overrun combat maneuver check. If the wearer uses the trample special ability, increase the trample DC by 2; if the target fails its save against the trample attempt, add the damage from the holy weapon special ability to the trample damage.
1. These are some of the very few horseshoes that do not say you have to wear all four. An eidolon with only two hooves could wear them just fine.
2. They are made of mithral, one of the very few ways you can tack a DR-bypassing metal onto a natural attack. Horseshoes of crushing blows can also be made from special metal, but unfortunately you have to have four hooves for those.
3. They don't care about the wearer being a horse (horseshoes of a zephyr), or have a command word that only works for a mount's rider (sorry nightmare horseshoes), or force the wearer's family to be from Kelesh (the overpriced horseshoes of desert fury).
4. The wearer of these horseshoes can be evil, and won't suffer a negative level from wielding a holy weapon.
So, hooray to whoever wrote these! They are perfect for a hooved, evil eidolon who wants their feet to count for something.
deliquescent gloves: These heavy leather gloves ripple and flows at the wearer’s command, reshaping to fit any hand, claw, tentacle, or alien limb. The wearer’s melee touch attacks with that hand deal 1d6 points of acid damage. If the wearer uses that hand to wield a weapon or make an attack with an unarmed strike or natural weapon, that attack gains the corrosive weapon special ability.
1. The item is described as 'heavy leather gloves'. I would presume that means you get more than one.
2. On command, these gloves can reshape themselves to fit any hand (or claw, alien limb, but not hoof). Okay.
3. The hand around which these gloves reshape themselves gets to be corrosive. Does your other hand get to be corrosive too, or just the one hand? Do the gloves fit around your one corrosive hand like a 'glove sandwich', or do you, you know, get to actually wear these mutating gloves on both hands?
And of course my real question is this:
4. Assume that a bipedal eidolon has two limbs (arms) evolutions. Now assume that the eidolon has a claws evolution for each set of arms, and is wearing a set of deliquescent gloves. Does the eidolon get one corrosive claw attack, or two, or four?
5. Or, does gaining an extra set of arms grant an extra set of magic item slots for those arms (two ring slots, a wrist slot, and a hands slot)?
Hi there. I got a Kickstarter copy of Heroes & Treasure, which is half an RPG dungeon crawl, and half a boardgame. It's pitched to be very family friendly, and it's pretty easy to pick up. Here's the link, if anyone's interested: Heroes & Treasure.
And, well, because non-tragic heroes grow up eventually, I figure I'd make 6-level Pathfinder builds out of each of the PCs. Let me describe the PCs, and my starting notes, and maybe I could get some advice to these builds? I'm a little rusty making Pathfinder builds.
Spoilers for the treasure found in Heroes & Treasure's first campaign, if that matters to people here.
Rogue
The rogue does sneaky rogue things (spotting clues, finding hidden treasure, and hiding). He/she fights with two daggers, and eventually receives a bow. The bow is interesting because it's a very risky weapon, usually missing but capable of dealing high damage.
My first thoughts are a human rogue with Improved Initiative (because Rogues always go first), Two-Weapon Fighting, and Deadly Aim. Maybe the adoptive parentage (elf) alternate racial trait for the longbow proficiency, but that's not strictly necessary.
1) How does one go about making a good switch-hitting rogue or rogue-alike?
Fighter
The fighter has a sword and a ton of hit points. They eventually get a better sword and...more hit points. They also have the ability to break shields to negate damage. This fighter wants to be in front attracting attention and absorbing hits.
My first thoughts are a human fighter with later feats in Exotic Weapon Proficiency (falcata), Toughness, and Fortified Armor Training.
2) How does one distinguish a defense-oriented fighter from a summoned monster?
3) Aside from moving my 4-6 feats to earlier, what are some good feats for a sword-and-board?
Wizard
The wizard eventually gets three spells: some sort of frost ray that can rob an opponent of their next action (by freezing them), invisibility, and a single-target fireball that can also steal the target's next action (by stunning them). Other goodies include a frosty dagger and a wand of AoE fireballs. They also get really few hit points.
There really isn't a great cognate between all this stuff and what a Pathfinder wizard can do. Let's start with a human evoker with an arcane bond to a wand, the trait Magical Lineage (snowball), and Rime Spell. Spells include snowball (the Ultimate Wilderness one, I guess), invisibility, and fireball. Maybe Point-Blank Shot and Precise Shot in order to hit with snowball reliably.
4) Aside from butterwitchery (using an acid-enabled grease with Dazing Spell), what are some good options (spells, feats, class options) for a wizard or wizard-alike to deal energy damage and control the battlefield?
5) Since there are so few spells, should I just go with a sorcerer? What bloodline would be good for both evocations and invisibility?
Cleric
The cleric is also defined by their spells, a cure spell, something that damages undead (good thing there are undead monsters, eh?), and a protection spell (similar to the fighter's shield, the spell shield breaks to stop a hit). The cleric has fewer spells than the wizard, but can cast any of them with their slots. There's also an upgrade from a mace to an undead-smooshing hammer.
Lots of choices here, let's see. Starting with an adoptive parentage (dwarf) human oracle of life for the warhammer proficiency and channel energy. Maybe Channel Smite and Weapon Focus?
6) Is there an oracle archetype that gets diminished spellcasting in exchange for something else?
7) Is there a divine spell that acts like the 'damage undead' part of channel energy? That would mean I could pick a different mystery.
8) Is there a divine spell that acts like an ablative piece of armor, like a once-a-spell negating a hit or a crit?
If the cleric gets so fewer spells than the wizard, how about starting as a base inquisitor or a vampire hunter? Could get an undead-bane weapon with judgement. Okay, that really works.
9) Is there an inquisitor archetype or domain power (or spell) that gives access to the 'damage undead' side of channel energy?
Clockwork Bond (Ex): At 1st level, a tinkerer forms a bond with one of her creations, and begins play with it at no cost. This functions as the familiar option of the wizard’s arcane bond class feature, with the tinkerer’s effective wizard level equal to her alchemist level. If a tinkerer would gain a familiar through another class, those levels stack for purposes of determining the familiar’s abilities.
Ultimate Magic wrote:
Tumor Familiar (Ex): The alchemist creates a Diminutive or Tiny tumor on his body, usually on his back or stomach. As a standard action, the alchemist can have the tumor detach itself from his body as a separate creature vaguely resembling a kind of animal suitable for a familiar (bat, cat, and so on) and move about as if it were an independent creature. The tumor can reattach itself to the alchemist as a standard action. The tumor has all the abilities of the animal it resembles (for example, a batlike tumor can fly) and familiar abilities based on the alchemist’s caster level (though some familiar abilities may be useless to an alchemist). The tumor acts as the alchemist’s familiar whether attached or separated (providing a skill bonus, the Alertness feat, and so on). When attached to the alchemist, the tumor has fast healing 5. An alchemist’s extracts and mutagens are considered spells for the purposes of familiar abilities like share spells and deliver touch spells. If a tumor familiar is lost or dies, it can be replaced 1 week later through a specialized procedure that costs 200 gp per alchemist level. The ritual takes 8 hours to complete.
1) Can a tinkerer take the tumor familiar discovery, and have two familiars, one of flesh and one of cogs? Neither familiar is gained 'through a different class'; they're both class features of the alchemist.
2) If no to two familiars, do the 'familiar levels' from the discovery stack with the 'familiar levels' of the class feature, giving you a 2*level familiar? Would a clockwork familiar with 'tumor powers' be able to gain fast healing 5 if its master had some sort of 'cyber-clockwork energy port' that the familiar could attach to?
3) Not a question about the amalgam, but about the clockwork familiar and archetypes: A clockwork familiar eventually gets a 'deliver extracts' power, and a 'speak with other clockworks' power. Can these (plus speak with master) be traded out for the mauler archetype?
Hi folks. A few weeks ago I solicited some ideas for a 'Shelyn team' of agents/adventurers/whatever, mostly because I had two great ideas for Shelynites, and I wanted some more. So...here's a team of PFS-legit characters who are all into Shelyn in various ways (presented in the order I thought them up). I'm just doing feat (and other big choices) lists, the rest is not as important. Please let me know what you think.
Notes
The obvious first choice for a Shelynite, someone who uses music and magic in battle. I liked the idea of 'bard martial arts' (the Diva Style line), and the rest of it came together. For spells I have a mix of pregen spells, spells from the exalted boon of Shelyn (even though he doesn't have the feat), and the bardic performances from the Blood of Angels book, replacing their slots a few levels later with the human bard FCB. The versatile performance choices are good because they don't overlap their skills, allow for those special performances, and let you go into a fight with Master Vidlian's squeeze-box, if you so choose.
I designed him as a guy, because I was kind of in a rut designing low Strength, high Charisma women. So, let's flip the script on the other teammates too.
Notes
The devoted muse prestige class presumes that you're using a glaive in combat with Bladed Brush. That feat is a little weird, so I went with falcata instead, because it has a better crit range. Moonlight Stalker has a crazy-fun strategy with the distracted flourish, and at 11th level, you might be able to take the bard's job with an inspirational strike.
Of the three races (human, half-elf, tengu) that can cadge EWP (falcata) for free, only the half-elf can get a racial Charisma bonus and doesn't need to take two alternate racial traits. Think of this guy like Lotor from Voltron if he wasn't evil.
Notes
Think of a little girl with a magic paintbrush, who ends up painting tons of animals and things, and at the end she paints a giant dragon and flies away into the sunset. That's this!
I picked Magaambyan initiate because a) they have an aura (for Sacred Summons) and b) they can grab a single summon nature's ally for the *light Summons feats. Do you think that feats designed to make cleric conjurers and druid conjurers better would be good on an arcane chassis? I think so!
I don't know how to squeeze one more feat out of these levels (without being a human) for Superior Summoning, but that's the only missing piece I think. The exploits I chose to look mostly like the conjuration wizard school, but are otherwise unoptimized. Maybe all that acid is like primordial magic paint?
paladin/sentinel: devotee of the glaive:
sacred tattoo half-orc paladin of Shelyn w/oath against grotesquery 5/sentinel of Shelyn 6
1: Weapon Focus (glaive)
3: Power Attack
3: Paladin Mercy: shaken
5: Deific Obedience (Shelyn)
7: Combat Reflexes
S2: Combat Expertise
9: Improved Trip
11: Greater Trip
Notes
A paladin of the deity of beauty being a non-traditionally pretty armored half-orc lady? Sign me up! I went with a tripping build here because the oath against grotesquery might preclude harming intelligent creatures with lethal damage. A merciful glaive might be a good investment. The other fun thing is Glorious Might, the 'cap' divine boon for sentinels of Shelyn: double your Charisma to attack with a smite. Would you care to turn on Power Attack and Combat Expertise both at the same time? Sounds great! The only downside is missing that last paladin level, because paladins get some nice bennies on even levels. Maybe feat 13 would be Felling Smash, which I never thought I'd say.
Maybe a 'bladed brush' can be a glaive wielder that paints giant murals with it, using the blade like Bob Ross used an art knife. Then I realized that fame in Pathfinder affects crafting time. Weird.
I'm not much for playing lots and lots of Pathfinder, so right now I've gotten Mr. Bard up there up to level 2 in PFS. I just figured I'd share what I thought of.
I was thinking about a kid wizard with a magic paintbrush who could conjure things and creatures by painting them, with of course the pinnacle of the art being to summon a large dragon or a phoenix and flying away with it.
Is it possible to summon a dragon, phoenix, ki-rin, or heck, one of those very large turtle/island critters in Pathfinder? I didn't see any obvious way to accomplish that.
There's a feat I have my eye on, but it's got a totally incompatible religion requirement. So that's a bummer, but I'd love to be able to cheat it. Any way to 'fake' being a worshiper of a deity, enough to fool a feat requirement?
I had a cool idea for a bard that was very into being religious for Sheyln, because a lot of, you know, classical music was religious. Plus polka music.
Then later I had a cool idea for a swashbuckler/devoted muse bird person wielding a falcata.
So, now...I kinda want to fill out this adventuring party in my head, you know?
Maybe some kind of conjurer/summons master that paints monsters onto the field, sort of like Relm from FFVI, or the traditional kid with a magic paintbrush? Or, what would a Shelynite alchemist look like? A good Oath Against Grotesque paladin build? paladin/sentinel?
Anyway, I'm looking for ideas for Shelynite characters who are _not_ swashbucklers or bards, and would possibly make for a good team-up with said swash and bard.
I posted this at the bottom of a long-dormant thread, and I didn't get any nibbles. So I thought I'd try again
Say you have a Small-sized summoner. 27 lbs soaking wet, 46 lbs with gear and armor (falling juust below the encumbrance limit himself).
And say the summoner's eidolon is a biped with 18 Strength, 100 lb weight limit and no armor. 26 lbs gets spent on weapons and ammo and such, so the eidolon has plenty of spare weight capacity. The eidolon has the flight evolution, with wings.
And lastly let's say the summoner is proficient with the blade boot and the barbazu beard (both weapons that you don't hold in your hands), and has Still Spell
Scenario #1
The eidolon picks up the summoner and holds him. What can the summoner do? What can the eidolon do?
Scenario #2
1) the summoner double-moves to a square adjacent to his eidolon.
2) the summoner's eidolon spends one move action picking up the summoner (probably using the eidolon's first two arms), and another move action moving somewhere (flying or not)
3) the eidolon then spends a free action to drop the summoner, hopefully into an adjacent square.
The summoner triple-moved. Is this legal?
Scenario #3
1) the summoner spends a move action to grab ahold of the eidolon's ankles.
2) The eidolon flies off somewhere.
Can the summoner cast Still spells? Can the summoner fight with his sharp shoe and beard?
sling: A sling is little more than a leather cup attached to a pair of strings.
Ultimate Wilderness wrote:
speed sheath: It [the sheath] can hold one forearm-length item, such as a dagger, dart, potion, scroll containing a single spell, or wand.
1) Can you put a sling into a speed sheath? Is a sling a 'forearm-length item'?
Ultimate Equipment wrote:
weapon cord: Weapon cords are 2-foot-long leather straps that attach your weapon to your wrist.
2) Can you attach a weapon cord to a sling? Or, can you tie a leather strap to a string? (also, in RL, isn't that how slings work? Aren't you supposed to tie one end to your wrist or your finger?)
3) Can you tie one end of a sling to a weapon cord attached to your wrist, and stuff the other end of the sling into a speed sheath? Or, like, tie it in a slip-knot around your wrist for easy untying?
What I'd love to do, and I'm not 100% that the rules are there (which is why I'm asking), is:
1) I'd like to run around with my hands free.
2) Then I'd draw, load, and fire a sling in a single turn (swift to draw the sling, free for the ammo, move to load, standard to fire).
3) Lastly, I might drop the sling in combat and not lose it later.
I think I'd be okay having a sling dangling on the end of a strap attached to my wrist without looking too uncool. What do you think?
The devoted muse prestige class likes to fight with something with a high crit multiplier, with the assumption that you'd use a glaive with Bladed Brush.
a) Bladed Brush has problems, and isn't PFS-legal.
b) The 6th-level power, inspirational strike, is a lot better if you actually crit when it happens. This is tricky for high crit multiplier weapons.
Except for the falcata. It's the only weapon I can think of that's got a crit chance of 19-20/x3.
So here's a chassis for a swash 5/devoted muse X. High Dex, high Cha
Feats
1st Weapon Finesse (from swashbuckler), EWP (falcata) (from somewhere), Weapon Focus (falcata)
3rd Slashing Grace (falcata) (at this point you can actually finesse the falcata, plus you get Dex to damage)
4th Combat Expertise
5th Improved Critical (from swashbuckler), Improved Feint
And at this point the swash is qualified (with the right skills and alignment) for devoted muse.
So, I need advice.
a) the 'from somewhere' to gain proficiency with the falcata. There's 3 race choices that'll work: human (military trained or otherwise), half-elf, or tengu (a falcata is a kind of sword). Which one would you choose? Is one those 3's alternate FCB for swash really powerful?
b) So, a swash plus a prestige class that mimics a swash is a bit limited, right? Kinda crummy saves, really focused on dealing damage. I'm...okay with that, but I've only got feats figured out to 5th level. What next?
c) any good traits out there, besides probably Indomitable Will?
evolution surge: This spell causes your eidolon to take on new characteristics. You can grant the eidolon any evolution whose total cost does not exceed [2,4,6] evolution points. You may only grant one evolution with this spell, even if that evolution can be taken multiple times. You can grant an evolution that allows you to spend additional evolution points to upgrade that evolution. This spell cannot be used to grant an upgrade to an evolution that the eidolon already possesses. The eidolon must meet any prerequisites of the selected evolution. This spell does not allow an eidolon to exceed its maximum number of natural attacks.
I have a bunch of questions, because while this spell is transmutation, it's not in the polymorph subschool. Let's talk about what happens when you grant the Large evolution.
1) I know this has been asked before, but what happens to the Ability Increases you've already purchased?
2) While the Large evolution grants size bonuses, what's another good polymorph spell that can add to this one? (more of an advice question, sorry)
3) When you go from Medium to Large, it doesn't say anything about the eidolon's gear growing either. Does this mean that (say), the eidolon's belt of giant strength snaps off during the surge?
4) So, you can't upgrade an evolution that you currently possess (no going Huge with greater evolution surge). However, even though your surged evolution only lasts minutes, could you spend real points to upgrade spell-given points? Here's an example:
a) cast evolution surge on your eidolon, making it Large.
b) somehow cast transmogrify with a standard action, instead of the usual 1-hour casting time.
c) Can you shuffle the points around so that the first evolution surge spell is the one that grants Large, and then you spend 6 points yourself to grant Huge.
Lantern staff: This long metal staff has reservoirs for lamp oil, and a lantern-like structure at its head. The lantern staff is fueled as and provides light as a hooded lantern. While lit, attacks with the lantern staff deal 1 point of fire damage in addition to the normal damage. Any effects that apply to a quarterstaff, except those that require it be used as a double weapon, also apply to a lantern staff.
Core Rulebook wrote:
efficient quiver: This appears to be a typical arrow container capable of holding about 20 arrows. It has three distinct portions, each with a nondimensional space allowing it to store far more than would normally be possible. The first and smallest one can contain up to 60 objects of the same general size and shape as an arrow. The second slightly longer compartment holds up to 18 objects of the same general size and shape as a javelin. The third and longest portion of the case contains as many as 6 objects of the same general size and shape as a bow (spears, staffs, or the like). Once the owner has filled it, the quiver can quickly produce any item she wishes that is within the quiver, as if from a regular quiver or scabbard. The efficient quiver weighs the same no matter what’s placed inside it.
1) If you light a lantern staff, and you stick it into the 'bow pocket' of an efficient quiver, will it damage the quiver, or things inside the pocket?
2) Will the flame in the lantern be extinguished, or will it continue to burn, or what?
and 3) If normal lit lamp oil would be too dangerous or obnoxious to have in a quivered lantern staff, can you think of a way to keep the lantern lit (and capable of dealing damage) without needing oil?
This is, what, maybe 1/3 of the way towards full plate? and it's totally okay for a druid to use these without losing their powers? or, a wizard with no arcane spell failure chance? or an eidolon at all?
Also, while I'm here, how come there are no magic greaves or sabatons? Can someone provide an example of one of those I missed?
So, I play PFS around 1/month. One effect of this is that my characters tend to have chronicle sheets from several years back, and another is that I haven't yet run into a situation where I'd be stuck playing a scenario I've already played.
Sometimes on the scheduler I see a bunch of scenarios that say, 'This scenario is intended to be played in order with this other one, or these other two'. I've never felt that I could play in these because I'm like, you know, Neptune, my frequency of gaming is much slower than the other folks I typically play with.
But, eh, this month that's all I see that fits my schedule. What happens if I just play the one scenario? Will I still get a chronicle sheet? Or is my character 'stuck' until eventually I get to finish the multi-parter?
Right. It seems a little weird to wear a cloak if your character has wings. Seems like things could get pretty tangled up.
Specifically the advice I'm seeking is for a winged eidolon in PFS (which means no 'reskinning' a cloak of resistance as something else, such as, I don't know, jorts of resistance), but this advice would be good for any winged character, or for anyone who takes Edna Mode's edict (no capes!) to heart.
What are some good shoulder slot items that aren't cloaks or capes?
say my usual routine is to beat up bad guys with claws and bite. I'm also Strength-based, and may occasionally use Power Attack, but not necessarily every round. All well and good.
bu~uut
Sometimes there's a bad guy with DR that I'd normally have a hard time dealing with, like a werewolf or something. I could get an amulet of mighty fists +3, but that's 36000gp, which seems like a lot. Dealing with golems and angels gets even more expensive.
To deal with the latter critters, I can pack an oil of align weapon or two, plus a sling with some adamantine-blanched sling bullets.
Question
Should I pack along
a) a cold iron dagger and an alchemical silver dagger (and when I get rich enough, an adamantine dagger)?
I'll have the dagger (best simple weapon for crits, I think), plus two secondary natural attacks.
or
b) a weighted spear with a cold iron spearhead and a silver, uh, 'haft weight'?
I'm not going to invest in TWF, but it's a two-handed weapon made of the right material. Plus one secondary natural attack left over.
or
c) something else?
Bonus Rules Question
Is there a way to sheathe a spear or weighted spear? I know I could just hold the spear in one claw and switch to the other claw as a free action...but that seems kinda cheesy. Ever found any good art or a mini to explain a 'spear sheath'?
Yeah, yeah, I'm looking at more crazy options for an eidolon that's also an evil outsider. Hey, smites are scary! But in any case, I think Smiting Reversal is good enough (and not 'evil-only' enough) to be added back in to the Additional Resources for ::sigh:: the Agents of Evil book.
Agents of Evil wrote:
Smiting Reversal: Three times per day after being targeted by the smite attack of an enemy, you can immediately make an attack of opportunity against the target. You gain a bonus on this attack roll equal to your Charisma bonus. If this attack of opportunity hits, you gain a bonus on the damage roll equal to your character level. This attack of opportunity ignores all damage reduction the creature possesses.
So, you can smite back someone who's trying to smite you. That's kind of neat! It feels a bit Calistrian in a way.
1) This feat would be useful for anyone (good) who gets into a fight with an antipaladin or a fiendish animal. It doesn't have an 'evil only' requirement, and it could actually be useful to other pathfinders.
There are other ways to stuff a smite anyway that are allowed by the resources. None of them have quite that verve that Smiting Reversal has, though.
2) The warding armor enchantment.
3) The spell unholy ward. Now this is an interesting one, because it's also from Agents of Evil, and it really is only for bad guys.
So, that's what I have for reasons to add the feat back in: it's interesting, it does something unique, and there are already some anti-smite items and spells on the books. What do you think?
Benefit: Whenever an ally within 30 feet makes an attack, you can attempt a DC 10 Perform (oratory) check as an immediate action. If you are successful, the ally gains a +2 morale bonus on her attack roll. If an attack affected in this way would normally deal nonlethal damage, it deals lethal damage instead. This ability has no effect if your ally cannot hear you speak or understand your words.
Sooo...one of my PFS 'characters' is the evil pet of a neutral summoner. I've been told
a) This is allowed...for now.
b) Watch it, buster!
So far I think I've behaved myself, occasionally asking politely if any paladins want to lose their powers, offering hits from a wand of lesser infernal healing, that sort of thing. Also I've been exploring, reporting, and cooperating like any good Pathfinder should. I've no reason to be an evil jerk, after all.
It just so happens that I took Combat Reflexes and Bodyguard, mainly because I can't continue my vaguely evil ways if my summoner gets hurt. I just saw the Fanged Crown Massacre feat, and I thought it would be flavorful to use it if there wasn't a bless on the field. I also noticed that the 'opposite' feat, Scarlet Rose Devotion, is legal for PFS. Additionally, the feat text doesn't say that gaining the bonus is an evil act, and I think that I personally wouldn't try to grant the bonus to anyone who didn't want it.
I understand that this is a non-standard corner case. But hey, Pathfinder 1e is full of stuff like this. Ever been at a table with someone with the Fast Drinker feat?
Sooo, say you’re a LN cave druid wild shaped into an ooze. You’ve got a killer offense, but one big defensive hole is that you’ve got no hands with which you might activate a wand. And while you certainly could rely on your teammates for that chore, oftentimes they’ve got better things to do.
So, the obvious thing to do would be to have a hand-having familiar on hand to use wands and such. Bonus points is for stuffing it into an open polymorphic pouch that’s subsumed, unmelded, inside your oozy body. An arbiter inevitable is out, because it’s too heavy for the pouch (and, well, might not like living inside an extradimensional space inside an ooze). A homunculus works (as long as you give it a ring of eloquence), but that’s an extra 4000gp for the privilege.
1) Is there any way to get a fungus leshy as a familiar? It works, it fits, and it seems thematic for a cave druid.
2) Aside from that, is there any way to get, say, a leaf leshy as a familiar without being a leshy warden?
So, I'm not looking for an optimized build here, especially for a kineticist with a Con penalty, right?
For anyone who hasn't played Ever Oasis (if you own a 3DS and like action-adventure, please do), Tethu is a 'Seedling of the Great Tree', which means he/she is a small half-plant person who can create blasts of holy-ish wind (and can also equip a variety of weapons, and can bond with an animate water spirit to create an oasis, and can also make friends with lizard people, fennec fox people, other seedlings who open quaint shops, and scorpion people, etc etc).
So. I've never built out a kineticist before, and I was thinking of starting air, and taking wood at 7th for the positive blast, although I think there isn't an 'air + positive' composite like 'white wind' or similar.
Without resorting to alternate racial traits (there's no 'desert gathlain') or archetypes (gotta walk before I can run), what are some suggestions people have for powers or feats?
polymorphic pouch: This leather pouch is usually decorated with a druidic motif. Within is an extradimensional space that can hold 4 cubic feet or 40 pounds worth of items and otherwise functions as a small bag of holding. If the bearer uses a polymorph effect or wild shape to transform into an animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin, the pouch never merges with her body. It automatically relocates to an easily-accessible place on her body (such as on a belt or a cord around her neck), allowing her to access the pouch and items within it while she is transformed.
Some of the forms you can turn into that the pouch recognizes don't have any hands.
1) So, say you turned into a giant cockroach, could you pull out a potion and drink it?
Advanced Player's Guide wrote:
cave druid's wild shape (Su): A cave druid gains this ability at 6th level, except that her effective druid level for this ability is equal to her druid level – 2. She cannot use wild shape to adopt a plant form. At 10th level, the cave druid can assume the form of a Small or Medium ooze as if using beast shape III, and at 12th level that of a Tiny or Large ooze as if using beast shape IV (treating the ooze as if it were a magical beast without a natural armor bonus). When in ooze form, the cave druid has no discernible anatomy and is immune to poison, sneak attacks, and critical hits.
So here's my favorite ability ever, the way a cave druid can turn into a total killing machine.
2) Does a cave druid turning into an ooze count as a magical beast for the purposes of the polymorphic pouch?
3) Can an ooze pull a, say, an arrow out of a polymorphic pouch (as a move action) and use it as the target of a spell-like ability?
Activate the Spell: Activating a scroll requires reading the spell from the scroll. The character must be able to see and read the writing on the scroll. Activating a scroll spell requires no material components or focus. (The creator of the scroll provided these when scribing the scroll.) Note that some spells are effective only when cast on an item or items. In such a case, the scroll user must provide the item when activating the spell. Activating a scroll spell is subject to disruption just as casting a normally prepared spell would be. Using a scroll is like casting a spell for purposes of arcane spell failure chance.
Like, does a wizard have to have the scroll in their hand in order to see and read it?
What if someone taped a scroll to their back for a wizard to read in times of trouble? Or, I dunno, attached a scroll to one side of a banner?
If scrolls don't have to be vellum, you could have a fight in a gnome's front yard, and he's put up a ton of yard signs with scrolls on them? Or carved a scroll into their front door? Could another wizard skywrite a scroll into the clouds high above a conflict?
Blistering Feint: You gain a +2 bonus on feint checks made while wielding a weapon that deals fire damage. Anytime you successfully feint a creature while using such a weapon, you may deal its fire damage to the enemy.
Okay, 1) can you use this feat with battle poi?
Adventurer's Armory wrote:
battle poi: This pair of arm-length chains has handles at one end and heavy fuel-soaked torch heads at the other. The weight of the poi is insufficient to deal physical damage, but the burning fuel deals fire damage. If you are proficient in battle poi, you are treated as if you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat for the purposes of making poi attacks. Poi can be extinguished by spending a full round action smothering them in sand or submerging them in water.
2) If you enchant your poi into a +1 flaming battle poi, does that mean that the damage from your Blistering Feint is now 1d4+1d6+1?
So let's add some more fun to the mix
Ultimate Intrigue wrote:
Ranged Feint: You can feint with a ranged weapon by throwing a thrown weapon or firing one arrow, bolt, bullet, or other piece of ammunition; this feint takes the same action as normal to feint, but depending on your weapon, you might have to reload or draw another weapon afterwards. When you successfully use a ranged feint, you deny that enemy its Dexterity bonus to AC against your ranged attacks as well as your melee attacks for the same duration as normal. If your feints normally deny a foe its Dexterity bonus to AC against attacks other than your own, this applies only against others’ melee attacks.
3) Can you deal fire damage to a target by using Blistering Feint and Ranged Feint with, say, a +1 flaming longbow?
And then there's this one
Dirty Tactics Toolbox wrote:
Equipment Trick (cloak): Distracting Cloak (Stealth 3 ranks): When you attempt a Bluff check to feint, you can use your cape to create a diversion instead of denying your opponent his Dexterity bonus to AC. Compare the result of your Bluff check against the feint DC of each opponent that can see you (DC = 10 + the opponent’s base attack bonus + the opponent’s Wisdom modifier, or 10 + the opponent’s Sense Motive bonus if he is trained in Sense Motive and this bonus is higher). You can attempt a Stealth check to hide from any opponent that you successfully feint against in this manner, even if that opponent is observing you. If you do not have cover or concealment against any of these targets at the start of each of their turns, they automatically spot you at that time.
4) If I feint against every creature that can see me while I'm holding a battle poi, even if I don't deny them Dex to AC, do I still get to deal fire damage as a sort of AoE?:
I thought asking more dumb questions about doing this with rogues and swashbucklers and mesmerists, but I think that's been pretty well beaten into the ground already.
Say you're playing a low-Str character who has to watch his encumbrance to the point where in order to free up weight you do things like buy a mithral melee weapon or a darkleaf spell component pouch in order to afford a speed sheath's 1 lb cost.
Ultimate Wilderness wrote:
Speed sheath: This sheath is designed to be strapped around your forearm, but it is too bulky to be hidden under a long sleeve. It can hold one forearm-length item, such as a dagger, dart, potion, scroll containing a single spell, or wand. As a swift action, you can bend your wrist to cause the sheathed item to drop into your hand (provoking attacks of opportunity as normal for retrieving an item). Placing an item in the sheath is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. You can wear only one wrist sheath per arm that you have.
Also, am I allowed to be annoyed that you can't use a speed sheath with the underhanded rogue talent? Argh.
Anyway, say you can only afford to carry one of these babies, and using a special material on it is questionable, because we don't know what speed sheaths are made out of in the first place. What's the best thing to carry in it?
Say, one option for someone who can cast CLW, someone who can't cast CLW, and someone who can't cast anything. Best three in that scenario.
I don't really know if this is just posting a build for posterity, or asking for advice, or both. ::shrug::
I wanted to make a bard using Diva Style, maybe an Argent Voice, maybe a Silver Balladeer, but in the end I just settled on bard. And I wanted to try to make a low-Strength high-Charisma male bard, and see what that was like. (I've bashed up a bunch of Strength-dumping women...but eh, I'm a dude, I should stick to what I know) I'm really enjoying myself in PFS so far with him, and so like the obsessive grognard that I am, I've got him all planned out.
I'm aiming for 'half-iconic'. That is, a bunch of the useful iconic spells on the one hand, but a little more melee focused with the Diva Style line, and also a little more religion focused with the masterpieces from Blood of Angels and the spells from Shelyn's exalted boon.
Wayfarer human bard 11
FCB (+9 hp, +2 extra spells)
Starting Abilities Str 8, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 16
Choices
Traits: Ear for Music and Focused Disciple
1: Weapon Finesse, Diva Style
2: Versatile performance (keyboard: Diplomacy and Intimidate)
3: Combat Expertise
4: +1 Dex
5: Improved Feint
6: Versatile performance (sing: Bluff and Sense Motive)
7: Diva Strike
8: +1 Cha
9: Greater Feint
10: Versatile performance (dance: Acrobatics and Fly)
11: Diva Advance
Skills
Max ranks in Perform (dance, keyboard, and sing) and Perception
1 rank split two ways between Linguistics and Use Magic Device
1 rank split three ways between Escape Artist, Spellcraft, and Stealth
1 rank split ten ways between all the Knowledge skills
Spells
1: 0th: dancing lights, detect magic, ghost sound, prestidigition1st: charm person, sleep
2: 0th: mage hand1st: saving finale
3: 0th: light1st: unbreakable heart
4: 2nd: heroism, invisibility
5: 1st: swap sleep for liberating command sacrifice a 2nd-level spell known for the rondeau of Heavenly order
6: 2nd: calm emotions
7: 1st: heightened awareness use an FCB for 2nd: sense vitals3rd: deep slumber, haste
8: sacrifice a 3rd-level spell known for the symphony of the Elysian heart
9: 3rd: good hope
10: 2nd: Aram Zey's focus use an FCB for 3rd: summon monster III4th: break enchantment, rainbow pattern
11: 1st: dazzling blade sacrifice a 4th-level spell known for the pallavi of Nirvana's blossoming
Good Things
1. You can use a Perform skill to feint with without taking a versatile performance for Bluff at level 2.
2. You can potentially feint as a move action before level 5.
3. 7 skill points goes a long way with versatile performance, bardic knowledge, and the 2 languages for the price of one from wayfarer.
4. You can fake rogue things with sense vitals and Aram Zey's focus. At level 10 you can use Disable Device untrained with lore master.
5. You can summon a bunch of low-level monsters and make them possibly threatening with inspire courage.
6. You can add Dex (with an agile weapon) and Cha (with a sneak attack or feint) to your weapon damage.
7. At 11th level, you can feint at range and make your quarry lose their Dex bonus vs. anybody's attacks for a round. As a move action.
8. Also at 11th level, you can feint as a move, cast dazzling blade as a swift to boost your CMB to disarm, and attempt a disarm manoeuvre without provoking an AoO against your opponent's flat-footed CMD.
9. You can blow up vampires with the power of dance.
10. There's such a thing as a magic accordion.
right, so, I'm perfectly happy with my Diva Style bard, a little of this, a little of that, but...
So Flagbearer + [b]banner of the ancient kings[/i] is a known good optimization. For a bard, feats are really important. And you know, I figure if you're gonna be extolling some ancient kings, they better be really ancient, yeah? so here's a super-beardy dwarf bard, horns, drums, oratory, and lots of armor and weapons
dwarf longspear bard
(have to get 13 Cha to start, and get +1 Cha on 4 and 8 for Flagbearer at 9)
FCB: take the special FCB (1% less arcane spell failure for 10 levels, hp on 11th)
feats
1st Toughness
2nd retrain Toughness to Phalanx Formation
3rd Arcane Armor Training
5th Shield Focus
7th Shield Brace
9th Flagbearer
10th Medium Armor Proficiency (from your FCB)
11th Arcane Armor Mastery
hmmm...no Combat Reflexes. I guess that's really good to have...
anyway, this guy eventually gets Flagbearer and ties his banner to a longspear. He's wearing medium armor and not suffering proficiency penalty or arcane spell failure, so heck, make it adamantine or something. Plus he's got a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. He's got the armor for the front lines, and can use his spear from the second rank, all while handing big bonuses whilst extolling said ancient kings.
huh, I thought I posted this...well, let's try again
Adventurer's Guide wrote:
wayfinder:
wayfinder: A small magical device patterned on the design of ancient Azlanti relics, a wayfinder is a compact compass typically made from silver and bearing gold accents. While it serves as a badge of office for agents of the Pathfinder Society, a wayfinder is as much a handy tool as a status symbol. With a command word, the bearer can cause a wayfinder to shine (as per light). A wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders feature a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. A ioun stone slotted in this manner grants the bearer its normal benefits as if it was orbiting her head, and resonates its powers with the wayfinder, replacing its ability to shine with a different power.
shining wayfinder:
shining wayfinder: A shining wayfinder appears as a polished silver compass. In addition to the usual functions of a wayfinder (including the ability to create light) a shining wayfinder can be used to cast detect evil—when so used, its needle points not to the north but rather to the nearest source of evil within 60 feet. Once per day, a shining wayfinder can be used to cast protection from evil upon the wayfinder’s bearer. A shining wayfinder functions only for a creature that is good-aligned. When held by an evil creature, the shining wayfinder’s needle spins in a frantic circle. When held by any creature that is both nonevil and nongood, the needle does not point to anything in particular (not even to the north).
Pathfinder Society Primer wrote:
discerning wayfinder:
Discerning: This wayfinder functions as
normal, except the user can cast detect magic at will in
place of light.
musical wayfinder:
Musical: The crafter of this wayfinder constructed
it with the ability to play back a sentimental, enchanting
melody when it is opened and the compass needle is
pressed. This wayfinder functions as normal, except the
user can cast lullaby at will in place of light.
Core Rulebook wrote:
lullaby's duration:
concentration + 1 round/level (D)
detect evil's downside:
If you are of good alignment, and the strongest evil aura's power is overwhelming (see below), and the HD or level of the aura's source is at least twice your character level, you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends.
I have questions! So many!
1) A wayfinder doesn't cast light, and it doesn't let you cast light either. It lets you activate it (for 50 minutes at a go, I presume) to shine like using light. Does a musical wayfinder work in the same fashion? That is, when you activate it, that the effect goes off on one of the corners of your character's square, and that it follows you around as the wayfinder moves. Correct?
2) Isn't causing an AoE debuff (even a minor one with a Will DC of 10) a bad idea?
3) Lullaby (and detect evil and detect magic) have a duration involving concentration. For how long may a wayfinder concentrate?
4) Detect evil does something bad to you if your target is a lot more evil than you. What is a shining wayfinder's number of hit dice? What is a shining wayfinder's alignment, and what happens to it when it's struck by an overwhelming aura?
5) Say my character is a wimpy Shelynite, and is always happy to talk about ways to mitigate encumbrance. Can I get a shining wayfinder, and on the way back home can I get it shaped into a holy symbol and have the musical enhancement? I think the only thing cooler than having a cool-looking holy symbol is if you turn the bird's tail and have it actually play a tinkly little song.
Why would you need a wizard to create a magical breed of bears that look like owls, when you already have regular bears and magical owl people?
Half-owl
CR: Same as the base creature +1.
Type: If the starting creature is an animal, change its type to magical beast, and recalculate its hit points, base attack, and saves. In addition, give it the syrinx subtype.
Special Qualities and Defenses: A half-owl gains darkvision 60 ft. and low-light vision.
Speed: If the base creature is Medium or smaller, give it wings with a fly speed of twice its base speed (average maneuverability).
Special Abilities: A half-owl with Intelligence 3 or higher can communicate with all birdlike magical beasts (such as phoenixes, thunderbirds, or other half-owls).
Abilities: Changes from the base creature are as follows: -2 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, +4 Charisma
Skills: A half-owl gains +2 to Perception and Stealth checks at night.
That very nearly gets you from grizzly bear to owlbear. Plus you get all the other owlbreeds you could possibly want. I guess the next question really is: why bears?
Feral Combat Training: Choose one of your natural weapons. While using the selected natural weapon, you can apply the effects of feats that have Improved Unarmed Strike as a prerequisite.
Ultimate Combat wrote:
Dragon Roar: You gain one additional Stunning Fist attempt per day. While using Dragon Style, as a standard action you can expend two Stunning Fist attempts to unleash a concussive roar in a 15-foot cone. Creatures caught in the cone take your unarmed strike damage and become shaken for 1d4 rounds. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Wis modifier) reduces the damage by half and prevents a target from being shaken.
Dragon Roar has Improved Unarmed Strike as a prerequisite. So,
Can you roar with your natural weapon instead of your unarmed strike?
So say I've got 16 Cha, so I can haz up to 3 follower vanities.
1 a porter to carry around camping gear and ropes and treasure and such.
2 a herald because it seems like a good idea. maaaybe. I could just announce myself, probably while waving a sword around and spearing some cocktail wieners on the end of it. That seems like more fun
3 a ... what? I want someone to cook meals and keep my clothes and armor clean and mended. maybe to go scrounging for firewood when called for.
So...that seems like a butler or a maid or a what-have-you. Is there such a follower vanity? And if not...why not?
So, these days I pretty much play PFS, but there's a level of advice that I can't seem to find anywhere easily. How should you spend your character's treasure?
I have one 7th level character, and this is riiight around where a lot of cash comes in for a ton of low-level doodads. +1 or +2 weapons or armor, cloaks of resistance, various amulets, what-have-you.
I want to know that when I spend gold, I'm spending it in an efficient way, rather than a haphazard way. Ugh, sort of like how I pick funds for my 401(k) account. (For balance, I'm not entirely sure that I shouldn't just dump it into gold and bullets, but anyway...)
I have this from the 3.5 Player's Handbook II.
1) For a character who is not a sorcerer or wizard, spend about 50% of your treasure on your weapon.
2) Spend 3/4 of the remainder (so, 37.5%) on your armor or shield (or both).
3) Spend the rest mostly on the other 4 of the big 6. (The book suggests a stat booster.)
That sound right? Out of 10,000gp, 5K towards a weapon (could be adamantine, or magic, or maybe both), 3.75K towards armor (+1, maybe light mithral), and 1.25K towards consumables and a few hundred towards an amulet or ring or something.
Anyway, aside from that. Where else has information like this?
Sorry if I'm rambling.
Okay, so, semi-inspired by the fact that your farmer in Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns can marry a guardian deity...
Anyway, here's one take. Has this been before?
Kaamisar +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma: Kaamisars are insightful, confident, and personable.
Native Outsider: Kaamisars are outsiders with the native subtype.
Medium: Kaamisars are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Kaamisars have a base speed of 30 feet.
Darkvision: Kaamisars can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Hex-Like Ability: Kaamisars gain the ward hex as a witch of their character level, except that she can also ward plants (typically large trees), objects (such as portable shrines or altars), or locations up to the size of a small building or cave. In addition, a kaamisar within 120 feet of her ward can use her senses through any part of the warded object; she can use this ability up to 1 minute per character level per day. The duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1 minute increments.
Otherworldly Resistance: Kaamisars have acid resistance 5, electricity resistance 5, and fire resistance 5.
Languages: Kaamisars begin play speaking Common. Kaamisars with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Auran, Aquan, Ignan, Sylvan, and Terran. In addition, a kaamisar may spend two points of high Intelligence bonus (or two ranks of Linguistics) to gain speak with plants as an unlimited spell-like ability.
So, what do you think? Aside from the name, which I know is awful. ;)
1. The section on bardic masterpieces does not mention how one might be disrupted or stopped.
2. If bardic masterpieces are really bardic performance (which is a whole 'nother can of worms), then we rely on the CRB for how to disrupt them.
Core Rulebook wrote:
Bardic Performance: [...] A bardic performance cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the bard is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. [...]
Nowhere in that list does it say 'grappled'. But I'll throw in the text of the grappled condition.
Core Rulebook wrote:
Grappled: A grappled creature is restrained by a creature, trap, or effect. Grappled creatures cannot move and take a –4 penalty to Dexterity. A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple. In addition, grappled creatures can take no action that requires two hands to perform. A grappled character who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level), or lose the spell. Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity.
A grappled creature cannot use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling it, even if a special ability, such as hide in plain sight, would normally allow it to do so. If a grappled creature becomes invisible, through a spell or other ability, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus on its CMD to avoid being grappled, but receives no other benefit.
Further, I'll throw in a somewhat notorious James Jacobs quote. Just to show it's not phony: link to the quote
James Jacobs wrote:
Okay; I've been thinking this over and rephrased myself better on a similar thread... but basically, here's the trick.
Bardic performance does NOT require you to use a Perform skill that you have ranks in. It doesn't even need a Perform skill at all. Not only is Perform usable untrained, but the bardic performance ability does not require you to make Perform checks of any kind except for a few specific TYPES of bardic performance, such as countersong or distraction.
This means that when you inspire courage, you're not necessarily doing so by playing the flute or banging drums. It's more likely that you're singing or bragging or taunting or dancing or otherwise just showboating to raise your allies' morale. If you WANT to say that your bardic performance is from a particularly rousing violin solo, that's fine... but once it's started you don't have to keep playing the violin if you want to put the violin down and fight or spellcast or whatever because the actual Perform (strings) skill doesn't ever enter the picture.
So, it looks like you can maintain a bardic performance while grappled.
Now, here's the text to a few bardic masterpieces from Blood of Angels
Blood of Angels wrote:
symphony of the Elysian heart: The complex arpeggios in this piece follow each other so quickly that the music can sound jumbled and disjointed at first. As the piece progresses, however, distinct phrases emerge, creating a wild but harmonious piece that inspires feelings of unfettered freedom. You and up to one ally per bard level within 30 feet who can hear you can move and attack normally for the duration of your performance, even if under the influence of magic that usually impedes movement. This effect is identical to that of freedom of movement, except that this masterpiece does not allow subjects to move and attack normally while underwater unless these creatures would already be able to do so, and only lasts as long as you continue the performance.
pallavi of Nirvana's blossoming: You begin your dance slowly, focusing on exact posture, the position of your limbs, even the direction of your gaze, then build to a blur of motion. Upon completing the performance, you summon a fixed aura of divine sunlight that glows in a 100-foot-radius circle centered on you.
The divine sunlight acts as true daylight and affects creatures damaged or destroyed by such light. The light is as bright as sunlight at full noon and counters or dispels any darkness spells of 4th level or lower. If the dance is performed in an area of more powerful magical darkness, both the divine sunlight and darkness are temporarily negated so that otherwise prevailing light conditions exist in the overlapping areas of effect.
Within the area of the sunlight, plants grow and blossom rapidly, becoming a overgrown tangle. This effect mimics the overgrowth version of plant growth. You and one ally per three bard levels are immune to the movement-impairing effects of the overgrowth. The divine sunlight and all its associated effects last for 1 minute per bard level you possess.
Now let's posit that you're a bard and you know these two masterpieces. Further, let's suppose that a vampire is grappling you right now. What can you do?
Q1: The symphony of the Elysian heart takes a full-round action of either blowing on a flute or playing a concertina to start (probably). If you're being grappled by a vampire, can you start or complete the full-round action, or not?
Q2: Again with the symphony: say that you're now just maintaining it using a free action. If a vampire is grappling you, can you just walk out of the grapple as a standard action (per freedom of movement), or is your masterpiece disrupted by the grapple?
Q3: On to the pallavi of Nirvana's blossoming. If you're in the middle of the 3 full rounds it takes to create the effect, can a grappling vampire disrupt you? The difference here is that it's a dance (compared to the symphony's instruments). Do you need two hands to dance?
The pallavi seems like it would be incredibly effective against a vampire, grappling you or not. However,
Ultimate Magic wrote:
Bardic Masterpieces: [...] This brief description summarizes what occurs when a bard performs the masterpiece. Unless otherwise stated, a masterpiece's effects are supernatural. Unwilling creatures may attempt a Will save against the effect of a masterpiece; the save DC for masterpieces is equal to 10 + 1/2 the bard's level + the bard's Charisma bonus. Masterpieces that duplicate spells use the bard's caster level for the spell's caster level. [...]
Q4: Can a vampire make a Will saving throw against either the pallavi's overgrown plants (even though regular plant growth offers no save) or its superior sunshine?
Diva Style: While using this style, you can use any Perform skill in place of Bluff to feint in combat. You can attempt a Perform check to feint as a move action when you begin a bardic performance.
also applicable here is versatile performance: act, comedy, sing, or string
Rival Guide wrote:
dazzling blade: Dazzling blade makes a weapon appear dazzlingly shiny, as if crafted from pure silver and heavily polished. In combat, the flashing movements of a dazzling blade become almost hypnotic. The wielder of a weapon under the effects of dazzling blade gains a +1 competence bonus on all Bluff checks made to feint in combat. The wielder also gains a +1 competence bonus on all CMB checks made to disarm a foe, and a +1 competence bonus to his CMD against disarm attempts made against the weapon bearing the dazzling blade effect. This bonus increases by +1 for every 3 caster levels, to a maximum bonus of +5 at 12th level.
Advanced Race Guide wrote:
Blistering Feint: You gain a +2 bonus on feint checks made while wielding a weapon that deals fire damage. Anytime you successfully feint a creature while using such a weapon, you may deal its fire damage to the enemy.
Ultimate Combat wrote:
Distracting: You gain a +2 bonus on Bluff skill checks to feint in combat while wielding this weapon.
An ifrit rogue with Blistering Feint and a flaming fighting fan gets +4 on their Bluff check to feint.
An ifrit bard with Diva Style, Blistering Feint, and a flaming fighting fan gets +2 on their Perform check to feint.
A wayang with Diva Style and a fighting fan enchanted with dazzling blade gets...bupkiss on their Perform check to feint. However, they would get a nice bonus to disarm checks, especially when disarming a foe affected by Diva Advance.
Right?
Mmm, I guess the real question is: should Blistering Feint apply only to Bluff checks? Or should all bonuses to 'feint checks' apply to whichever skill is used to feint?
The idea being to pick up an agile shortsword, be in melee, sing inspire courage, and stab things dramatically. What are some good bard spells then? Especially spells not found in the CRB, please.
Any good spells that would normally provoke an AoO? Any spells that grant bonuses when using Combat Expertise, or when feinting?
Right, so you remember when the ACG errata came out, and wouldn't you know it, but someone wrote 'swift' where 'standard' should have been for Merciless Butchery? Funny story...
So argh. If I can't walk up to a bad guy and arbitrarily stab them to giblets, I might as well do that same thing with spells...and I think the first spell that might work here is phantasmal killer.
Hmm, I just remembered, there's a boon I got recently which unlocks an on-mystery oracle revelation with no true level requirement, I think I just have to be 5th level to get it. Oh yeah, and it's for all my future characters, not just my current happy little orc.
dark tapestry or heavens oracle with a oothesayersay ainmentray tied to the dweller in darkness revelation - 5th level!
The one (admittedly hard) trick with phantasmal killer is you have to force your target to fail two saves. But...with the initial effect tied to only 5 levels of caster, there are a bunch of dips or choices to make that can tip the scales in mean ways. Let's start with this chassis
race: gnome
class: oracle of the heavens 5
one feat: Spell Focus (illusion)
one revelation: Awesome Display
Here are a couple of potential add-ons. Which one do you like the best?
oracle 6
Nets you an extra shot at 11th, could potentially go AoE at 17th level.
unchained thug rogue 3
feat: Enforcer
Shake, sicken, kill
mesmerist 3
50/50 shot at maybe killing that lich dragon
archetype: dual-cursed
revelations: Awesome Display and Misfortune
class: 1 or 2 extra levels in sorcerer, because the dual-cursed archetype trades your color spray for ill omen
Force your target to reroll a successful saving throw.
concertina: miniature-ish accordion, probably a good stand-in for a 3 lb instrument that relies on Perform (keyboard) to use.
materials: wood for the side boards, cloth and leather for the bellows, and brass or steel for the reeds.
So, for an 8 Str bard, every pound matters. For the purposes of making a concertina or accordion out of a special material, which one is it: mithral, darkwood, or darkleaf cloth?
Could I assume that each kind of part weighs 1 lb, and price it accordingly? 500gp for the mithral reeds, 375gp for darkleaf bellows, and...I dunno, 110gp for darkwood boards?
Which is more economical? Keep in mind neither path would work inside an antimagic field.
a) a weapon with the agile property? (a +1 on your weapon)
b) an opalescent white pyramid ioun stone stuffed inside a wayfinder (which resonates to give you Weapon Focus with the keyed weapon type) and the feat Something Grace (Fencing or Starry or Slashing) (rapier, starknife, or aldori dueling sword) (this costs 10,250gp...and an extra 1 lb of weight)
Is it not kosher to rely on a magic item to get a prerequisite feat? Or is there a cheaper PFS-legal way to cadge Weapon Focus?
Here's the setup. You're an 11th-level bard with max ranks in Perform (dance), and you know the pallavi of Nirvana's blossoming.
Blood of Angels wrote:
pallavi of Nirvana's blossoming: [...] The divine sunlight acts as true daylight and affects creatures damaged or destroyed by such light. The light is as bright as sunlight at full noon and counters or dispels any darkness spells of 4th level or lower. If the dance is performed in an area of more powerful magical darkness, both the divine sunlight and darkness are temporarily negated so that otherwise prevailing light conditions exist in the overlapping areas of effect. [...]
Action: 3 full rounds.
Clearly that horde of vampires you're fighting would be very put out if you actually managed to dance that long un-suctioned. One would hope that you're under the effects of invisibility or similar, but if not, how would someone identify the bardic masterpiece before it goes off? It's equivalent to a 4th-level spell, so, uh, maybe a DC 19 Knowledge (local) check?
Here's the setup. You're a cleric of Desna, and you own a home away.
Villain Codex wrote:
home away: [...] Once per week, the home away’s owner can pull the wagon’s kingbolt, causing it to unfurl into a 60-foot-wide tent with the same coloration as the wagon. The owner can declare a purpose for the tent as she pulls the bolt—such as celebration, meetings, performance, or wilderness survival—and the tent creates bleachers, tables, beds, and other simple furniture to accommodate this purpose.
Can you cast hallow in the middle of this tent? Or, for a lesser effect, you could do this to a plain old tent?
Core Rulebook wrote:
Hallow makes a particular site, building, or structure a holy site.[...]
The idea being to get an AoE dimensional anchor or dispel magic targeting non-Desnans once a week for a year. A home away appears to be the only portable structure magic item that unfurls/unloads/sets itself up with just a standard action.
Dancer's Garb: This combination of loose-fitting sashes, veils, and ornamentation accentuates a dancer’s form and movements. Dancer’s garb provides a +2 circumstance bonus on Perform (dance) checks, similar to that provided by masterwork instruments for other Perform skills, but does not grant this benefit when worn with armor or other concealing clothing.
So no Swan Lakein hellknight armor. Makes sense.
Core Rulebook wrote:
Celestial Armor: This +3 chainmail is so fine and light that it can be worn under normal clothing without betraying its presence. It has a maximum Dexterity bonus of +8, an armor check penalty of –2, and an arcane spell failure chance of 15%. It is considered light armor and allows the wearer to use fly on command (as the spell) once per day.
As far as I know, celestial armor is the only kind you can wear as long johns. Or, to put the question another way: do you get the +2 to Perform (dance) from the garb if your underwear is magic armor?
Feint: Feinting is a standard action. To feint, make a Bluff skill check. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + your opponent's base attack bonus + your opponent's Wisdom modifier. If your opponent is trained in Sense Motive, the DC is instead equal to 10 + your opponent's Sense Motive bonus, if higher. If successful, the next melee attack you make against the target does not allow him to use his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). This attack must be made on or before your next turn.
Adventurer's Guide wrote:
Diva Style: While using this style, you can use any Perform skill in place of Bluff to feint in combat. You can attempt a Perform check to feint as a move action when you begin a bardic performance.
Adventurer's Guide wrote:
Diva Advance: While using Diva Style, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from creatures you have successfully feinted against. Additionally, you can feint against a creature using Diva Style from up to 30 feet away.
The rules for feinting don't say you have to threaten or be adjacent to your target, nor is there anything about the range of 'perform feinting' Diva Style.
So, let's see, you get perform as a move, 3rd level bard spells, panache and some deeds, things to do when you feint, things to do when you could feint but don't, Cha to damage (a little), Dex to damage, Cha to AC, Dex to AC, you get the idea.
what do you think? what would you improve? and is there any good ways to boost the critical multiplier of a rapier?
this is another take on the 'Conqueror Ooze' from a while ago. (That is, at 10th level, a cave druid can turn into a carnivorous crystal with its ridiculous 7d8 natural attack). I was thinking, there's two more gross things to do with that: use Feral Combat Training and flurry with it, or use Furious Finish and end a rage to deal max damage with it. Basically, One-Punch Man's 'Consecutive Normal Punches' or his 'Two-Handed Punch', give or take. So, why not both? Well, because usually monk powers and barbarian powers have mutually exclusive alignment restrictions on them.
So yeah, ulfen guard is like a prestige barbarian with entry requirements that don't require feats. Neat. So later on I can advance monk for good defensive stuff (although it looks like I can't style strike with a slam, oh well), and I can advance ulfen guard for more rounds of rage with which to blow holes in bad guys with Furious Finish. Seriously, 32d6+6 maximized is 198, that's enough to break through a wall of force made by a 13th level caster.
I've got something great to do in melee during a full attack, and I have something great to do in melee after moving. I need some advice for the following things
1 trait
the human bonus feat (or what to trade it out for)
2 low-level bonus monk feats
1 combat feat or rage power (1st level barb)
magic doodads (I know I'll need a ring of eloquence)
I don't need help with things like crits, or with those cool Nature Magic/Vital Strike feats (they assume that whatever you hit is still standing).
So, this is my actual PFS character, and I've gotten up to level 7 of this build. I figure I'd post it and see what people would change, or what magic items beside the big six you'd go for.
toothy half-orc
unchained rogue 7/slayer 2/ranger 2
traits: Militia (+1 Atk when flanking), Indomitable Faith (in Gorum and Norgorber, pan-theology is fun!)
starting abilities
Str 17, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 8
feats/class powers:
slayer 1 Improved Initiative
rogue 1 Weapon Finesse
slayer 2 Cleave, slayer talent: ranger combat style: two-handed: Power Attack
rogue 2 rogue talent: combat trick: Surprise Follow-Through, +1 Strength
rogue 3 Step Up, finesse training (kerambit) (just in case)
rogue 4 rogue talent: weapon training: Weapon Focus (greataxe)
rogue 5 Press to the Wall, rogue's edge: Acrobatics
::for the future::
ranger 1 favored enemy: humanoid (dwarf) (RP reasons) and lead blades on a wand
ranger 2 retrain Cleave and Surprise Follow-Through to Dodge and Mobility, take ranger combat style: two-handed: Cleave and Surprise Follow-Through
rogue 6 rogue talent: emboldening strike (would have taken it sooner, but I've got chronicles on this fellow from...2014? so I didn't know it existed)
rogue 7 Canny Tumble
The overarching theme is: doing more with sneak attack, usually without having to succeed at a secondary roll (I hate feinting).
Improved Initiative: better chance at sneak attacking on round 1
Surprise Follow-Through: sneak attack on a cleave
Press to the Wall: flank with trees and rocks
Canny Tumble: sneak attack after moving
The overarching weakness is: Will saves! yikes!
a) So far I've pretty much bought consumables, adamantine weapon and armor, a nice ranged weapon or 4, and big six magic items (weapon, armor, cloak, ring, belt). What else should I grab?
b) I don't suppose there's a chronicle out there that offers fractional save bonuses from Pathfinder Unchained? that would be nifty...if there is, don't tell me which one it's on, I don't want to know that.
c) Say I'm adjacent to a creature at the start of my turn. Is it better to take a 5-foot step to maybe get into a better flank position later and full attack (first axe, second axe, bite), or Canny Tumble the same 5 feet and make just one attack that sneaks?
