raindog308's page

I'm looking at p31 of the core (3rd printing). It says that every character begins with a single favored class - "typically, this is the same class as the one he chooses at 1st level."

However, it doesn't say it must be ;-)

So, I interpret this and subsequent sentences as meaning that I can choose and it need not be the class I took at 1st level.

For example, I was listening to a podcast where they discussed a monk/druid build in which the character took Monk at 1st level and then Druid for all subsequent levels. In that case, obviously you'd want Druid to be your favored class. Can you do that?

Just to clarify, it looks to me like HeroLab is a quality product. And personally I don't have a problem with the price. It's merely the SA part.

I do wish that part of the SA mindset from the provider's side was "if we ever go out of business, we promise to release a patch that would remove the SA part of our products so you can keep using them". I do use SA product in cases where I have no choice - for business reasons, I need to use Windows, for example. Ditto for Adobe products.

I do appreciate LoneWolf showing up here and interacting. It's made me think a little bit more.

I'm looking for...well, honestly, something like 4e's Character Builder but for Pathfinder.

Things I have found:

PCGen: Played with this a little. Looked very feature-rich. Wish the output was a little more like the official Pathfinder character sheet but that's a minor quibble. Step-by-step program instead of Excel-based. The UI could use a little polish but it was certainly usable.

Heroforge: I may be missing something, but I only saw 3.5 support.

The Only Sheet: aka TOS+. $10 (which is fine - I don't mind paying for what I want). Excel-based. Didn't play with the demo yet but I will.

sCharGen: Another Excel-based product.

The Pathfinder Character Excelerator: Another Excel-based product.

Hero Lab: Disqualified because they used software activation, which leaves you stranded if they ever go out of business, is buggy according to their forum, and is a pain when you upgrade your equipment or want to use it on both your laptop and desktop. Good reputation if that isn't an issue for you but I didn't bother. I might have paid $30 for this were it not for the SA. Makes me sad. On the other hand, I briefly played with it and while it was a little more polished than PCGen, it seemed similar.

So...

• Did I miss anything I should look at?
  
• Any recommendations? (Obviously I just started looking at some of the ones listed above).
  

I'm looking to improve my overall mastery of the PF rules. As in core rulebook + APG + GG. My group has been running Microlite 20 (they were new to RPGs) and now is thinking of getting a bit more crunch and options.

It's been a while since I played D&D 3.5 and even longer since I ran it as GM.

So...I'm looking at the 576-page core rules and thinking...what is the best way to master it? I'd really like to have the system down cold.

I started by going through the combat chapter with a fine-tooth comb. I'll probably sound horribly geeky but I made flashcards ;-) I just don't want things to bog down during combat. Unfortunately, the PF GM screen is missing some things that I think are important to have at hand during game play...e.g., eventually table 8-2 (actions in combat) will be pretty much second nature but I'd rather have it on the screen instead of experience points and treasure per encounter, which I never need during gameplay.

After combat, I figured I'd roll up a few characters (one in each major type) and then advance them through a few levels to get the skills/feats down. And have a few NPCs for the game ;-)

Other sections that probably need some study are skills, feats, and stuff like movement and environment.

Anyway...other than just "playing it a lot," what techniques have you used to master the rules?

Tyler Walpole's looks like a demonic jackalope.