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If a creature uses a two-handed weapon and becomes grappled, can it use the "two-handed" weapon in one hand as an improvised weapon?

What if that creature also has natural attacks that it normally doesn't use because it is wielding the two-handed weapon under normal circumstances? Say, a Barbarian with the Lesser Beast Totem power is grappled... normally it has a two claw attack... obviously by logic if one hand is not able to be used it would only get one, but mechanically, would it only get one claw attack? Or could it even use the claw attack at all?

After searching and reading everything I can on swarms, I have to post my own thread about my questions... I am just unclear no matter how much I try to research it myself. There seems to be a lack of consensus on how this works, and nothing in the FAQ...

Assume "fine" or "diminutive" swarm for all issues below to not muddy the waters with "tiny" swarms:

Can you attack a swarm with a ray attack?

If you can't, I'd argue that you can't attack it with any other weapon either... since a ray is a weapon, not the spell itself, where the spell itself is "delivered by" the attack using the ray...

So, if you can attack a swarm with a weapon, I'd argue that you can attack a swarm with a ray. The rules say swarms are immune to weapon DAMAGE not to weapon ATTACKS... can this distinction be made? If not, then it would seem that not only can you not attack a swarm with a ray, but you can't attack a swarm with a weapon either...

Yet, it seems like you are supposedly able to attack swarms with torches or with magic weapons that have elemental damage added and the swarm should be affected by that...

What about attacking a swarm with a splash weapon? Its a targeted attack, but the effect is not the attack, the effect is again "delivered" by the the attack...

Right?

I am in the Northern Virginia area, and looking for a Pathfinder game. I'm also bringing along +1 player.

I am open to either being a player myself, or GMing the game. If I GM though, please note that I have only limited experience GMing. I know the rules, and have lots of fun building characters, creatures, house rules, etc., but my table time to date is low mostly just GMing very casual low-level adventures for 1 or 2 close friends. If this level of experience is OK for all, I'm ready and willing.

Player or GM, I'm looking to meet people, make some new friends, and increase that table time significantly.

Please post back or PM me if interested!

I’ve tried numerous, and I mean numerous, times to make a house rule to deal with what I perceive to be an irreconcilable problem with HP. I had previously started a thread about how environmental damage was too low, and there was some discussion there about how HP is not supposed to be “realistic”. I picked on the infamous falling damage, and others pointed out issues like starvation, or area of effect blasts, etc. but the common thread is that HP is not just unrealistic, but I can’t really figure out how to describe the events at all.

No matter what I do, there are always anomalies, or extremely over-complicated bookkeeping to try to make a “realistic” world with “unrealistic” heroes. There were a few attempts that I made that were surprisingly close to doing the task, but again, way too much bookkeeping and changes to the system. A system is worthless if it isn’t usable at the table, even if a computer might be able to process it.

So, I’ve also explored trying to try to make some sense of things by leaving the game mechanics alone, but giving the events descriptive explanation. It’s OK, even preferable, for this fantasy universe to be unrealistic. Its high fantasy after all. I get it. Heroes should be unrealistically capable to survive. The key question though is HOW DO they survive.

Again, the explanation doesn’t have to be realistic. The explanation can be magical. The problem is that magic has its own place in the game already. Spells, supernatural abilities, SLAs, magical equipment, etc. all do specific things. If HP is magical, which it really is, how does it fit in with those other mechanics?

No amount of “dodging” or “toughness” can save you from a high fall… OK people hate the falling damage argument because some freak accidents happen where people survive high falls in real life… so, let me rephrase that… no amount of “dodging” or “toughness” can save you from a lava bath, and eventually “toughness” will not be able to save you from starvation or being on fire for a minute or 2… yet HP allows this to happen. Clearly, HP is magical, as it can’t be represented by normal physical properties of living beings as we know them.

The Game Mastery Guide insists that the majority of the population should not be magically heroic. Most of them should be commoners. Yet, very few characters the PCs interact with are commoners. The PCs seem to run into gobs of cultists and brigands who are super heroes (or villains as the case may be). Why are there so many “super” beings? Also, why is a non-magical animal a super being? What causes a T-rex to have “153 hp”? I know a Commoner 1 should die quite quickly in a lava bath, but so should a T-Rex. Are there no “commoner” T-rex? All T-rex are superheroes?

I just don’t get how I am to describe the events that are happening. In a video game, you don’t have to describe it, you don’t worry about the realism. A little ticker of damage goes off above your toon’s head, and you look the same, but now your bar is a full of less red or green or whatever… but at the table, its not just “pure abstraction for the sake of playing a game”… there is a story in here somewhere right? How the hell am I supposed to tell a story when I don’t even understand what the hell just happened?

I want to play a high fantasy game because I love the magic, the setting, all the cool nicknacks and the whole atmosphere…. But HP is just making me nuts. I don’t know how to describe anything after about level 2. Nothing makes any damn sense past there, so beyond just saying “You take X damage” I have no description that does anything any justice. This, and the fact that all the commoners in the world don’t matter, because they don’t actually exist at the table means that the entire world the PCs actually play in is just full of super-beings totally takes the bite out of BEING a super-being and makes it commonplace and worthless.

How do I do this?

I’m looking to make a gritty and more deadly/realistic setting for my next campaign. If anyone would like, please critique or offer suggestions to add to the below. Please keep in mind it is SUPPOSED to be different from the “cartoony” way damage occurs in normal rule play. Humanoids SHOULD be nearly certain to die if they fall 80 feet, for example, and only take a few rounds to be severely wounded or dead if on fire, etc. That is the plan.

One thing to help add to this might be a balanced way to make resurrection of dead PCs a *little* more obtainable (but still not easy) at lower levels… more obtainable that blatantly non-existent really. If things are more deadly, it might make sense to offer some relief from he high likelihood that many characters won’t make it past level 4 or 5 to balance things back up a bit.

Temporary vigor points are always lost first, as it says below, because that is magically, supernaturally, or extraordinarily explained with in-game reasoning. High level play would be almost impossible if that were not the case too. It may make those temporary points a virtual necessity, but I have no problem with that, because in order to do super-human things, you need to buff yourself beyond super-human capacity.

Any constructive advice is appreciated.

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Using the Wounds and Vigor optional rules

Creatures without a Con score use whatever score (typically Cha) they used to calculate standard hit points to calculate their wound points.

Positive energy (when used to harm targets which are harmed by positive energy) can be used in the manner described for negative energy channeling in terms of targeting wound or vigor points as selected.

Environmental damage such as falling damage, catching on fire, being in extreme cold, etc. that under the standard rules would cause lethal damage deals its damage to wound points directly.

Temporary vigor points are always lost first in all cases, including when taking environmental damage, damage added to a critical hit based on the crit modifier, and when taking positive/negative energy harm damage.

Does charging directly toward your opponent mean that you can only charge in cardinal directions if you use a grid?

Or does it mean that you can charge in 360 degrees of straight lines and apply the line areas from the magic section to determine the path you took to get there?

So, this really is too subjective for the rules forum... but, I was just thinking as I was re-reading the Inner Sea World Guide for fun, about Nex and Geb fighting... I figure that any wizards that powerful would have 9th level spells for sure.

It seems to me, if you know the name of your enemy, that you can easily kill them in just 3 standard actions, no save, no restrictions... based on that, I don't see how a war could rage so long amongst such high powered beings which are still mortal (I realize Geb came back as a ghost later, and there is resurrection, but still)...

How? Cast a form of protection from the fate you are trying to inflict on your victim. Cast gate to bring yourself to another plane. Cast gate to bring your victim to said plane... victim dies instantly due to being unprepared for said extraplanar dangers.

For example, cast earth glide on yourself. Gate to the Plane of Earth. Gate your victim to the Plane of Earth. Your victim is crushed into nothingness.

If your victim is able to glide through earth at the time you want to do this, then use other planes. Whatever one fits the bill for the target at the time.

Anyway, I thought that was fun. Doubt it will ever come up in a game though ;)

A pair of dimensional shackles are called "shackles" but, the description doesn't mention anything about them restricting any physical movement or capability. By RAW, is there a "chain" or something between them that would prevent mundane use of your arms if you were wearing these?

I ask, because wearing these on purpose would be a way to prevent yourself from being the subject of a maze spell, or some unwanted forced teleportation or planar travel that could kill you. Yes, it would also make it so you could not use teleportation too, but if you were worried about conjuration and teleportation magic being used against you in creative ways, a constant dimensional anchor 24/7 could be a good thing... but it would also suck if you were so restricted you were bound like a prisoner in handcuffs and limited thusly too...

Each domain grants a number of domain powers, depending on the level of the inquisitor. An inquisitor does not gain the bonus spells listed for each domain, nor does she gain bonus spell slots. The inquisitor uses her level as her effective cleric level when determining the power and effect of her domain powers. If the inquisitor has cleric levels, one of her two domain selections must be the same domain selected as an inquisitor. Levels of cleric and inquisitor stack for the purpose of determining domain powers and abilities, but not for bonus spells.

So, it seems clear here that an Inquisitor X/Cleric 1 would be able to have 2 domains, and that the domain that both classes for this character share would equal the total character level, not the level -1.

I do not find it clear if the domain granted only by the cleric level would be level 1 or the full character level.

For example:

An Inquisitor 7/Cleric 1 of Desna with the Luck and Liberation domains.
Luck is granted by the Inquisitor domain, and Liberation and Luck both granted by Cleric.

Does this character:

1) Have access to only the level 1 and 6 Luck domain powers calculating them at an effective cleric level of 8, and the Liberation level 1 power calculated at an effective cleric level of 1

2) Have access to both Luck domain powers and both Liberation domain powers, and all powers from both domains are calculated from an effective cleric level of 8?

For the fast healing in different environments that mephits have, like an air mephit healing in "gusty" environments, or a dust mephit healing in "dusty" environments... how can this be determined? Yes, the GM technically decides everything at the table, but does the GM have to keep track of and decide if a location is "gusty" or "dusty" if someone were to have one of these as a familiar?

Can a mephit use magic devices like wands and scrolls?

Can a mephit wear other equipment in other slots?

A cleric can choose to not include himself in the channel.

Then, that cleric takes Selective Channeling.

If that cleric has a Cha of +3, does that mean he can remove himself and 3 allies, or only himself and two allies?

Do Wondrous Items that would replace parts of sets of armor count as an armor type for causing a check penalty and inuring spell failure chance?

So, a bracers of armor, or a helm of brilliance, for example...

I find drawing the map as the PCs move about to be extremely tedious and slows down the game tremendously, especially in really complex "maze-like" areas and the like. I mean, for when I GM personally, this is one thing that almost ruins the experience for me, having to reach and crane my neck and count out squares and fiddle around on a frequent basis.

Of course, the flip side of that, pardon the pun, is that a pre-drawn seems to have a high degree of potential to tempt even the best of players to metagame their journey through a dungeon.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

So, is there?

If it needs any clarification, a character has two two-handed weapons, and they want to switch between them for one reason or another during combat. One typical type for this is an archer that switches to a two-handed melee weapon.

In order to switch quickly, there is the Quick Draw feat, but to avoid an AOO or to get a full attack on the same turn as switching, even this means you have to drop the weapon you were holding onto the ground. I tried looking at magical enhancements for the weapon that might help, but wasn't sure if any of them really could... also looked at weapon cord, but it has to remain tied to your weapon hand, and specifically says you can't use another weapon while its tied to your hand with the weapon cord...

It's OK if a low level character couldn't do it or afford it, but is there any way at any point in level progression where you can get around having to drop a weapon on the ground to be an effective switch hitter?

I don't know if this is a rules question or not, because it seems to be very open to interpretation on the part of the GM, but, assuming we are using the table for treasure rewards per CR, how do you measure the value of the item against that table? Obviously coins and commodities are worth the exact amount, but what about things that are sold? Do you consider the fact that the PCs only get 1/2 the price for selling stuff they likely can't make use of themselves? Or is the suggested treasure value supposed to be equal to the full retail price?

So, if a group is looting the corpses of their foes and finds a bunch of weapons, longswords let's say, they aren't going to use. Would those longswords take up 15 gp, or 7 gp worth of the treasure total each?

So, when I first started GMing, I tried to draw dungeons and such on the grid as people explored. So, when people entered a hallway or a room, they would move their pieces around, not based on movement points like in initiative, but arbitrarily within one room or hallway at a time. I'd estimate how much distance their light source allowed them to see to, and drew that much of the room.

I figured this would help to decide if they walked over any traps or next to any still-stealthed monsters. Further, I thought it would help to define if they were able to see an object at all or not due to lighting conditions, it being at a different elevation like in a pit, if their detect magic could go out far enough to see it... all of these sounded like great things for the grid to express.

In practice, however, I found this to be unbearable and extremely unfun and difficult. I was constantly having to struggle to reach and draw all the time. In addition, I found that it raised more questions and gripes from the players instead of alleviating them. "Why can't I stand over HERE and disarm the trap" or "I didn't know I had to say that I was looking down into the water with my detect magic to make the cone intersect the aura" or "I should have been able to see that within the light radius"... sigh. Not that my players are that annoying or anything, I was (am) inexperienced too and we are having fun, there weren't any real upset people, just logical questions and concerns like those above.

So, I've decided that outside of initiative to not use the grid at all. I'm sure many here will say "No duh" to that, but... though using the grid has its own set of problems... not using it seems like it does as well. How DO I decide if they were looking into the pool of water with their perception/detect magic? How DO I decide if they were standing in the path of the trap when they were trying to disarm it? How DO I decide what was in their light radius. etc... any advice on that would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Oh, and another thing I forgot... when running the grid during exploration mode, everyones minis and tokens would be stacked up at the door inside the hallway with their designated "tank" or "scout" at the door itself. What inevitably ensued after almost every time the part entered the room was then that the person out front would typically succeed their perception check to see enemies, and initiative would be rolled where everyone was packed into the hallway, and it just became a standoff between the tank in the door with 2 or 3 enemies blocking all entry to the room for most of the battle. Sometimes, this was advantageous to the party, but in other situations it could leave people with literally nothing to do at all for several rounds. How can I fix that too? Damn cramped dungeons :P

So, if poison were applied to a bladed scarf, and the creature wielding it was successfully grappled, would the creature be poisoned? Obviously by any "realism" standard, yes, but what about RAW?

The bolded text in the bladed scarf rules don't say anything about an "attack", so the 1d4 is automatic, but poisoned weapons but how else is the damage being dealt? I am having trouble finding how poison works in general in the rulebook, but the method for poisoning in this case is a specific one, from the Envenomed Sorcerer bloodline.

It doesn't say how the poison is passed from the weapon to the victim directly, but does say that it no longer is poisoned "after the first successful attack". Does automatically dealing the 1d4 for the weapon when grappled constitute a "successful attack"?

Envenom (Su): At 3rd level, as a swift action, you can lick or bite a melee weapon to imbue it with 1 dose of black adder venom. The poison's DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 your sorcerer level + your Charisma modifier. You may use this ability once per day at 3rd level, and one additional time per day for every three additional levels. The poison cannot be removed or stored, and the weapon loses the benefit of the poison after the first successful attack or 1 hour has passed. The bloodline power replaces serpentfriend.

The skill required in using such scarves effectively and not revealing their deadly nature makes them exotic weapons. If you are proficient with a bladed scarf, you deal 1d4 points of slashing damage to any creature that makes a successful grapple check against you while you wield the scarf. You can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on attack rolls with a bladed scarf sized for you, even though it isn’t a light weapon.

I'm finding it very hard to describe credible attacks of greatswords and arrows not outright killing unarmored people... let alone being on fire or falling off a cliff.

With the attacks, I can describe the damage as relevant to the percentage of HP of the creature like, even if the attack dealt 14 damage, if the you have 100 hp, I say something like, "The hilt of the greatsword crashes into your arm" or something to explain cinematically how you survived.

Now... it's pretty hard to fudge this with any degree of realism for falling damage, environmental damage, and being on fire, etc. I can't very well say... You fall straight down after being ejected from the elemental's whirlwind, plummeting 100 ft for... 32 damage... you are just fine and now its your turn where you can attack and move just fine."

This really doesn't sit right with me. I'm noodling with the idea of 1) using massive damage optional rule, and (more importantly) 2) making environmental and "being on fire" damage (not instantaneous fire damage) scale with HD... for every HD a creature has, add 1d6 to the falling, fire, acid pool, etc. damage. So, if you are level 7 and you fall 100 feet, you take 10d6 as normal plus an additional 7d6 falling damage.... if you are on fire you would take 8d6 fire damage per round.

This way, you don't have creatures that are completely unbelievable when interacting with the environment. What do you all think?

Can you occupy the square of a creature that is not yet dead, but is at negative hit points?

If the whirlwind's base touches the ground, it creates a swirling cloud of debris. This cloud is centered on the creature and has a diameter equal to half the whirlwind's height. The cloud obscures all vision, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. Creatures 5 feet away have concealment, while those farther away have total concealment. Those caught in the cloud of debris must succeed on a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell.

How would I measure that diameter? Most area effects are measured from corners, but this is measured as "centered on the creature".

If that were a 10ft tall whirlwind, would that mean that only the square the whirlwind is currently in is affected? Yes, I know the difference between diameter and radius, I'm just curious then, the whirlwind must be 20ft tall before it obscures anything outside the square where the whirlwind creature currently is correct?

Even then... how do you handle this? if it is centered on the creature, not a grid intersection, how do you deal with the fact that it still doesn't fully encompass any squares?

Not sure how to measure this one out on the grid.

If a creature does something within the threatened area of an animal companion, can that animal companion make an AoO? The handler/owner of the AC can't tell it to attack when its not their turn can they?

What about a mount that the owner/handler is currently mounted upon? Can the mount be directed to do an AoO during the provoking creatures turn while ridden?

What happens if a summon monster is successfully brought into the fight during the surprise round? I don't mean if a summoner starts a full round action in the surprise round and then completes it later... I mean, what if an elemental gem is smashed as a standard action or a Quicken Spell is applied to a summon, and the summon is actually completed during the surprise round on the caster's surprise round turn.

Does the summon "go immediately" and get its full range of actions? Go immediately and get only a standard action? Not go until the caster's next normal turn?

So, I've read the entry about natural attacks a few times, and I'm still not clear on some things.

So, if a creature has an attack like 2 claws (1dsomething) or 2 slams (1dsomething) etc... they can only take both "claws" or "slam" attacks as a part of a full round action right? So, if they move, they can only get one of those attacks?

Also, if a creature has an attack like that 2 slams, and cleave or great cleave, like a water elemental, for example... how many attacks would it get per attack when using Cleave? 1 slam per attack or 2 slams per attack?

I'll admit, I think I know the answer to this one, but I want to make sure I get it right for my group, and I'm not completely 100% sure...

So, if you have the Crane Style feat, you are supposed to be able to use it if your hand is "free". When you have a Cestus, it says you take a -2 penalty to precision tasks, but that your fingers are left exposed. Does this count as the hand being free?

Cestus or not, when you succeed in using Crane Wing, it says that you "deflect" the attack. For instances where this nuance matters... does that mean that your opponent "missed"? Say another ability triggers on the opponent "missing" when attacking you... does their attack getting deflected by you count as your opponent missing their attack against you?

And finally, to be REALLY nuts and thorough... Crane Wing says that you deflect the attack, but then goes on to say the attack deals no damage to you... by RAW then, does that mean that if it had some other effect besides damage that this would still occur... like a melee touch attack with a spell for example? You deflect it yet still incur the effects? This, imo, would be stupid, but just checking all angles here.

I have a player who has a gnome cavalier who is trying to be a charger with a lance on the back of a medium mount.

The biggest concern here was, from the group as a whole, we went through an entire adventure module and he wasn't able to charge, not even once. The mechanics never allowed for it. I wasn't trying to shut him down either, its just... dungeons seem so cramped from hallway to room that being 15 feet away and in a straight line from your opponent without anyone in the way just never ever seems to happen.

The reach weapon isn't so much of a problem. The AoOs and attacking from a distance, etc. really were tactical. In fact, if he wasn't using a reach weapon, he would have gotten off far fewer attack rolls. Why? Well, the second gripe has been that having to roll to make Ride checks just to move a mount seems pretty lame... a Ride check to make your mount attack is ok, but just to move? That leads to LOTS of rolls... and of course over and over again where the roll to move was a high roll, and then the attack that follows is crap. I realize that last point is just subject to random chance, but it happens often, and every time it does, its disheartening.

I realize it seems like being on a mount and having the extra actions etc. are good and powerful, but that's on paper. In practice, this character is driving the player and the other players at the table a little nuts in how unpredictable it is, and how many rolls it has to take just to do anything... and the fact that it's best move NEVER happens.... not that its not a successful attack roll, but that the event never is even attempted, ever.

Any thoughts? Should I just let this character be re-rolled? Anyone else experience chargers being ineffective in most adventures?

Example: elemental gem (water)

It summons a large water elemental... but for how long, and why that long, if you could help me out with the "why" part too so I may understand the lengths of other similar effects.

Can you:

Round 1: Cast summon monster
Round 2: Summon monster appears... delay your turn until after the summon monster
Round 3: Summon monster goes before you again, your initiative is now separate from your summon monsters and 1 lower in count

???

When a magical armor has a special ability, does the listed enhancement bonus in the Base Price Modifier column get added to the armor’s enhancement bonus?

How do you handle when there is a cost listed in the Base Price Modifier column for a special ability for armor and not an enhancement bonus?

How many special abilities can an armor have at once? This may be cleared up, or at least to some extent, by the first two questions above… but if these abilities aren’t tied to a specific number of enhancement bonus units… how do you limit how many special abilities can be on an armor at any given time?

These figures do not represent a top down view of the grid, but a cross-section view in 3D from the side. Effectively, they outline how the characters are standing in 5ft cubes, not just on a 5 foot grid square.

C = The medium creature standing on the Wall
W = The wall (5 ft thick at least)
L = The large (tall) creature standing next to the wall.

In the figure below, do either of these creatures have cover from one another? Total cover? Improved Cover? Partial Cover?

Just as a tangent point to this… when can you ever have normal (but not total) cover if only small or medium creatures were involved? I’m having a hard time picturing a circumstance where you could have line of effect, but that less than half the creature was visible unless sizes other than small or medium are involved. Sorry this is two questions, but there you have it.

________________________
| | | |
| C | | |
|_______|_______|_______|
| | | |
| W | L | L |
|_______|_______|_______|
| | | |
| W | L | L |
|_______|_______|_______|

Edit... not sure how to keep the formatting on the post. If quote my post, the diagram will look correct in the input box...

If a spellcaster were to cast summon monster or the like into a room in which they had reason to believe there were foes, but no initiative had yet been established, how would that play out? For the sake of argument, assume that the caster has line of effect, like lots of rooms in dungeons have twists and angles interacting with hallways, so they could in many circumstances get the target location for their spell to be in a space they could see without creatures in the next room seeing them.

How do you, farily, track the duration of the summons during this time? If the summons are seen by hostile creatures, how would the summons know they are hostile to the caster (since summons attack the casters "foes") if the caster is not pulled into initiative. Do you just use GM fiat to pull the caster into initiative even if the creatures aren't technically aware of the caster, only the summons?

What about casting things like fireball spells randomly into rooms? This could obviously lead to destroyed stuff you need to not destroy or innocent lives lost, so I'd give a chaotic alignment shift to someone going nuts with this one... but is it even kosher?

Any thoughts on this or other scenarios like this?

When a monster is advanced by a template, such as a summoned monster being advanced by a Celestial template, does it add (stack) resits and DR onto any it had before?

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For example, a Lantern Archon is already immune to electricity so that is moot so I'll only focus on the DR part for this example. It already has DR 10/evil. Does it gain a separate DR entry so it has two different types of DR then?

Does
DR 10/evil;
become
DR 15/evil or --;
or
DR 10/evil and DR 5/--;
?

If it's the latter, what do you do in the case that that creature is hit by a weapon that does not ignore all DR, but is evil? What happens if the attack is both not evil and does not ignore DR?

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Another example would be an Bralani Azata. To not muddy the waters with the above example, I'll just focus on the resists part only.

Does
Resist cold 10, fire 10;
become
Resist cold 15, acid 5, electricity 5, fire 10;
or
Resist cold 10, acid 5, electricity 5, fire 10;
?
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An Eagle has +0 BAB, +2 Dex Mod, and Weapon Finesse. This is all accurate, but then, it's melee attacks are listed as having a +3 attack roll. Am I missing something? I know, this is just a CR 1/2 creature, but I have a player summoning these repeatedly and so eventually I noticed something awry... I think.

If an incorporeal creature is the same size or larger than the total thickness of the wall in square feet, can it then pass through that space? Or, if it is larger than the space available in the wall, is it the opposite, and it actually cannot hide in the wall at all?

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0 = open space/floor
x = wall
I = incorporeal creature (contigous "I"s are one creature larger than Medium)
H = wall space "I" is hiding inside of

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Example 1:
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xx000x000xx
xx000x000xx
xx000xI00xx
xx000x000xx
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Can "I" move here on its turn?

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xx00Ix000xx
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Example 2:
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xx000x000xx
xx000xII0xx
xx000xII0xx
xx000x000xx
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Can "I" move here on its turn?
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xx000x000xx
xx0IIx000xx
xx0IIx000xx
xx000x000xx
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Example 3:
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xx000x000xx
xx000xII0xx
xx000xII0xx
xx000x000xx
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Can "I" hide inside the wall here? Or can I just not hide in the center wall at all in this case because "I" is too big to use that wall to hide in?

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xx000x000xx
xx00IH000xx
xx00IH000xx
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edit: The formatting of the diagrams is skewed by the font once its actually posted... copy/paste into a text editor or a response input field to see it a little better...

With the developers saying that you can "switch grips" as a free action (please don't make me hunt for a quotes you all must have read them by now, but tell me if I understand it right)... you could be wielding a one handed weapon in one hand, and a buckler/light shield in the other, and "switch grips" for casting.

As a free action, you can "switch grips" to just hold the weapon in your buckler hand instead of wield... then cast a spell with somatic components with your now totally free hand, and then as a free action switch your grip back such that you now have your weapon wielded again as if nothing happened equipment-wise, and be ready with weapon and shield again after casting.

This runs counter to the text in the buckler description specifically, in that if you were to just try to use the buckler hand to cast a somatic component of a spell while leaving your weapon in your other hand, you would lose the buckler's AC next turn.

So... with switching grips, not only can you get no penalty for using a light shield instead of a buckler, you can actually retain your shield's AC with a light or buckler shield by doing MORE finagling with what you are gripping when?

I'm confused by this one.

There was some discussion about this in a GM reference for a pathfinder module a while back, but I don't feel like it was satisfactory.

Figments can't cause damage, but they can cause sensations. A figment created with a Major Image spell is a full-fledged figment that can do it all, unlike a silent image, which is a limited "visual" figment only.

"An object" is very loosely defined by the spell. If by RAW you could really only create the illusion of "an object", you could only create the illusion of the smallest particle of quantum energy that can exist. However, if you can create "an object" in the sense that such a definition includes a banquet table... this extends the definition of "an object" to many, many, objects... even if we aren't getting ridiculous about particle physics, there is the table, the table-cloth, plates, bowls, silverware, etc. etc... so it seems that you can really create as many objects as you want, as long as they are all related objects to the illusory scene you are trying to create. Otherwise... we'd have to be so nit-picky as to say you could only create an illusion of a doorknob, OR a door, not both... or just one stone in a stone wall illusion instead of the whole thing made of multiple stones... etc.

You can also say that you could create the illusion of air. Its not visible, but not because you are using a figment to make something invisible... you are using a figment to produce the sensation of something that is invisible to the naked eye normally. Based on this, if you keep the "space" between objects in mind in your illusion as the fluid between them, the objects don't need to be touching each other visually to the naked eye... because the object is all touching itself in the sense that the figment fluid is bridging the gap between the naturally visible parts and the illusion is all one "object" in that sense as it is contiguous.

So, this means that within the radius of the allowed space (which by the time you get Major Image you are level 5 and can make an illusion in a 9x10 foot cube) you could theoretically, by RAW, create any number of "objects" as part of "an object" in a space that is 9 10-foot cubes wide. Let's say then that you decide that you would like to create the illusion therefore of 90 flying creatures all stacked in a big cube together flying toward your opponents.

Assuming that none of your opponents succeed at their will save, they now have to interact with the figment believing it to be real. Let's say they attack it... it only has an AC of 10+its size. So, in the case of the big cube, its a pretty low AC as it is at least a "colossal" creature since there aren't rules for things so big. This would mean that its virtually impossible that your opponents won't hit it.

So, your opponents hit it and still don't disbelieve. Major Image says it should disappear... UNLESS you make it react as if it was hit. So, you make it react as if one of the creatures was hit and possibly slain, thereby making the rest of the illusion remain a bunch of unwounded, still living creatures.

Now, the illusion gets to attack... does it get 90 attacks? Does each attack offer a new save? When your opponents believe they are being hit, they can't be damaged, but they'd believe they are being damaged... and feeling the pain of being damaged, sight of wounds on their body as though they are damaged, etc. since figments cause sensations. What happens when they get to the point where they BELIEVE they have been knocked out or killed? They'd be in as much pain as if that were the case, so it seems that they'd at least go unconscious because they still BELIEVE they've been knocked unconscious, if not actually be able to die from their "wounds" simply from "believing" themselves to be dead... because you can't believe anything once you are dead this is a catch-22... but unconscious sounds legit.

I know this sounds a bit much and is very long... but crazy as it sounds, I see no reason why this is not RAW.

There have been some other threads on this, but none answered the question to complete satisfaction and were old so I didn't want to necro them. I'm aware this is a long post, but I am very confused and no amount of researching it myself has yielded a final verdict.

A Cavalier 1/Paladin 5 takes divine bond as a mount. According to most interpretations I've read (and I agree with), that mount should "stack" with the level of Cavalier. What does this stacking mean? Obviously it at the very least means that the mount's level is equal to the character level, not the class level of just one of their classes.

However, this leaves some points unexplained. The mount for the Cavalier gets a bonus feat for Light Armor Proficiency. The Paladin mount gets Int 6, and magical beast and spell resistance bonuses at level 11. Does the mount get to keep the bonus feat in addition to the Int, magical beast, and SR bonuses, or does the player have to choose which ones they get? Note that the player is not happy about the idea of getting a "new" mount, as there is strong emotional attachment to the initial mount from levels 1-6... so the idea put forward is that the initial mount is "upgraded" by being divinely transfigured when it becomes a divine bond, but I just don't know if that's how the rules intend it.

Even more confusing are some of the other abilities granted by these features. These two refer to what the character can do, instead of what the mount itself can do. A Cavalier takes no armor check or Ride penalties riding his mount. A paladin can summon his mount. Does it make sense that because the Cavalier now is riding a different mount that he loses a skill he has himself and now takes Ride and AC penalties because of leveling up and taking a new feature? I guess the summoning one makes more sense if you are stating that the ability to summon the mount is because it is the divine bond, but it says the "Paladin has the ability to summon the mount", not that the "mount has the ability to be summoned".

Its all very confusing, and it seems unfair to remove bonuses instead of stacking them. After all, this character is forgoing a level of Paladin specifically for the purpose of being a mount-centric character from level 1. Its also not munchkinism, I assure you, its not for power gaming, this player really just wanted badly to have their cat a part of their game, but wanted to be a paladin too... so it's a halfling riding a cheetah because the player likes it, not for some metagaming reason...

If the features don't stack, then starting at level 6 this character becomes somewhat penalized compared to their power from levels 1-5. It's all pretty unclear to me.

I know there are, and I am using, the tables for determining what general type of magic item is (wand, weapon, scroll, etc) and then further determining what specific magic enhancement or spell that item has randomly... but if you are randomly generating an item, and the type comes up weapon or armor, in addition to the enchantment, is there any way in the rules to randomly determine which type of item within that category it is? You know, is the +3 defending weapon I just randomly rolled a longsword, battleax, dagger, etc.? Or do I just have to decide that part on purpose?

If a racial trait grants you something you would otherwise not qualify for, but doesn't spell out specifically that you may take it even if you would otherwise not qualify, can you still take that racial trait and its bonus?

For example, can a half-elf take the Ancestral Arms racial trait and get Exotic Weapon Proficiency at level 1 even if they are also taking a level of a class that only has 0 BAB at level 1? (Exotic Weapon Proficiency has a prerequisite of +1 BAB)

Vorpal is a magic weapon effect, and as such, it cannot have an occurance or roll of it's own. Weapon effects require, and take place based on, the successful attack rolls and, where specified, confirmed critical hits of the weapon to which they are ascribed. The text regarding vorpal is worded in a slightly odd way, but given that vorpal itself cannot have a d20 roll, the d20 roll referenced in the effect is the attack roll of the weapon that has the vorpal property, not some non-existent roll for vorpal itself.

Confirming the critical hit on the natural 20 roll described in the vorpal weapon property entry in the rules is reffering to confirming the critical made with the weapon, not the vorapl ability itself (again, vorpal doesn't get a roll, so there is nothing to confirm regarding vorpal directly). The reason a roll of natural 20 is called out instead of it saying simply "upon a critical hit" is not to make it easier for a vorpal weapon to activate by being some weird case where a weapon effect goes off all by itself instead of based on the weapon's critical hit. If that were the case, you could just roll infinite amounts of d20 checks without even attacking, and cut off infinite heads. The roll is for the WEAPON, not the effect. In the case of vorpal, the wording of the effect is written as it is to spell out that the critical hit made with the weapon must also be a natural 20, and not a critical hit made with increased threat range.

Vorpal does call out that undead and constructs are affected by vorpal but, aside from vampires, not killed by the loss of their heads. This is not because vorpal is an effect separate from criticals. It is already stated in the general magic weapon effect rules that while such creatures are immune to the extra weapon damage dice of a critical hit, they are not immune to the magical effects of a confirmed critical. So, this stipulation about undead and constructs cannot be used as evidence that vorpal is an effect that can take place regardless of the weapon's critical. In fact, it is, if anything, more evidence that vorpal is simply a weapon property that goes off on a critical hit with a weapon that has it as a property... not on its own.

Therefore, fortification effects would prevent vorpal. They do not prevent vorpal directly. Arguments that vorpal isn't a critical hit are moot. I agree vorpal isn't a critical hit. It isn't. It is an effect on a weapon that only takes place if a critical hit takes place.

Some would argue that fortification doesn't negate vorpal or other magical effects that rely on criticals. Those that make this argument state that fortification only eliminates the extra damage dice when it is effective, but allows critical hit effects to still go off. This too is incorrect. Fortification says that "the critical hit or sneak attack is negated AND damage is instead rolled normally."

Two things are emphasized above. Firstly, and most importantly, it says the critical hit or sneak attack is negated. It doesn't say that the extra damage dice are negated... it says the whole critical hit or sneak attack is negated... and then also, secondly, points out that this means you roll damage normally. This isn't pointed out because not getting the extra damage dice is the only thing that occurs due to the negation. It is an "AND" statement, like a clarification or reminder. The fact is, the critical hit is NEGATED, so there is no critical at all... and if there is no critical, there is no critical hit effect.

TL;DR
If a vorpal weapon does not confirm its critical hit, the vorpal effect does not occcur. A critical hit that activates a vorpal effect must occur on a natural 20 roll only, not on increased threat range. Successful rolls to confirm fortification effects negate criticals entirely, they don't only negate their damage dice. Since a critical hit does not occur when fortification is successful, vorpal cannot be activated in such cases, because the critical hit never happened... it was negated.

Please discuss.

Can you speak the command word of an attended item not in your possession and activate/deactivate it?

For example, a fighter is brandishing a +1 Flaming Longsword. His opponent knows the command word... perhaps he figured it out magically or through spies, or overheard the fighter activating sword.

Can this opponent speak the command word and cause the sword to deactivate its magical property?

Can a magic weapon deliver its magical damage with a melee touch attack instead of a melee attack?

For example, can a +1 Flaming longsword be used to merely touch the opponent instead of striking them, and deliver its 1d6 fire damage but not its weapon damage for this action?

My group has a paladin that would really like to have a lion as a mount, to reflect her real-world cat, and name it for it etc. I realize that of course you can do virtually anything you want with house rules, but is there a way to do this legally too? If the official rules have balancing reasons for things, I'd like to use them if at all possible, instead of just bypassing the rules when there is a "right" way to go about it.

Would THIS be legal by official RAW:

At character level 4, the PC has 4 levels of paladin. At the next 2 level ups, take 2 levels of another class... let's say fighter for the bonus feats... and then at character level 7, take another level of paladin. This gives us a Paladin 5/Fighter 2 who's character level is 7. Since the paladin class level is 5, she can select Divine Bond (mount). If she also takes the Boon Companion feat from Seekers of Secrets, her effective level for calculating the mount's level is 4 levels higher. This bonus is based off of and cannot exceed her CHARACTER level, not CLASS level... this is the key... is this correct?

If this is the case, it would seem that since her character level is 7, the Boon Companion feat would increase her effective level for selecting her mount to 7, and since large cat animal companions at level 7 are large size category, a Lion would be an appropriate at this level?

What if the paladin was small sized? It would seem that if the above works for a medium creature, that a small paladin could simply take a small cat, which would be medium sized at level 4, and thus be an appropriate mount for a level 5 small paladin without needing Boon Companion at all.

It seems like a fair tradeoff to me to either have to be small and use a medium mount, or wait two levels and take a feat to pull this off instead of just waiving requirements. Any thoughts?

After a successful run of the Beginner Box and a small amount of home brew, I THINK I'm ready to take my group through some full rules professionally crafted stuff now... but where to begin?

I know it might sound ambitious, but I'm looking to run with the same group as high as can be level wise, even if we are in it for years though it's our first time. Basically, we've been learning the rules (mostly me to GM, but still) and have spent a lot of time understanding how characters and mechanics of the game will work. Characters all made up with no place to adventure! The character creation has had a LOT put into it in terms of back story and character build direction... general enough to fit any campaign, but very robust and rich characters that have been built here, so the group would like to keep on and on reaching for 20 (or 17, or 15, whatever is actually doable with published stuff).

That's the thing... I'm not sure what modules, paths, or campaigns to string together to go from level 1 and on and on. I'd like to stick with Pathfinder stuff personally because I only learned this system and converting from 3.5 would not be my preference.

I saw Crypt of the Everflame and it's sequels are recommended for starting out and get you to 6-7. is there any way to fill a little more time before what sounds like a slightly too epic quest for level 5s that is in the City of Golden Death? I'd like to advance in the epicness at a moderate pace if at all possible... smell the roses, get interested in the world in which the adventure is taking place before diving in to fighting epic baddies.

Sorry for the ramble, but that's basically the thought process... unfocused and lost. Given the above, does anyone have a recommendation of what books to buy to string together (or what single campaign if it exists) can be used from level 1 through to 15-20 that will be world-enriching rather than quickly promoting quick "super adventure" style gaming? Anyway, thanks for reading!

I've seen some scattered posts intermixed in threads on other similar topics, but nothing on this directly so here goes:

The human alternate favored class bonus for a Paladin says:

Paladin: Add +1 to the paladin's energy resistance to one kind of energy (maximum +10).

This is unclear. I hope this doesn't devolve into a nasty argument, but really, I hope how anyone can see how this is NOT crystal clear and can be interpreted at least three ways:

1) You can only ever take this bonus 10 times and they all have to be used for the same energy type.

2) You can only ever take this bonus 10 times and those 10 times can be interchangeably used between different energy types

3) You can take this ability as many times as you want, but you can only increase resistance any one energy type by a maximum of +10, at which point if you take this alternate bonus again you must choose a different energy type.

Its vague enough that its possible I missed yet other interpretations that could be derived from this.

I saw a brief post I can't find again right now about how there is some clarification in comparing it to another similar rule, where Gnome Druids can gain energy resistance for favored class bonuses as well:

Druid: Gain energy resistance 1 against acid, cold, electricity, or fire. Each time the druid selects this reward, increase her resistance to one of these energy types by 1 (maximum 10 for any one type).

Now, there is some slightly different wording, but it still doesn't stitch up the confusion, it only makes it worse. One might interpret the gnome druid ability as being more lenient than the paladin's... or vice versa.

1) Because the druid language says "maximum 10 for any one type" and the paladin wording only says "to a maximum of 10", not mentioning "any one type", the druid can take a limited selection of energy types, but may increase any of them and a selection of at least 2 of them (in a 20 level character) up to 10 each, whereas the paladin can only take the one chosen energy type to a maximum of 10 and no others.

OR

2) The paldadin language doesn't list out a limited selection of energy types, and that is why the wording is different regarding the "max 10" language. Because the paladin is not limited in what energy type may be selected to increase the resistance for, the language about "any one type" was left out simply because the text was written differently end to end for the ability and the same copy wasn't copied.

The paladin text does say "one type of energy", but the bonus chosen is chosen per level. Adding +1 to one type of energy per level seems every bit as valid a reading of the raw as interpreting it as that you can only add to one type of energy ever once chosen. Given that favored class bonuses are intended to be chosen level by level as you go along and the non-clarity of this rule, I think the way I'd rule it is that you CAN take multiple energy types and that any one of them cannot exceed a +10.

Anyone else have a stab at it or an official ruling lying around?

Does a caster class that is not a full caster still count each level as a caster level? For example, is a Paladin, who only gets spells starting at class level 4, still a caster level 1 at level 1, and a caster level of 4 at level 4, etc.? Or is this character a caster level 1 at level 4?

A related question is, even if a character's caster level does start from level 1, is it possible to outpace normal caster level progression for the purpose of magic item creation feats via the Master Craftsman feat? For example if a level 1 character character has Profession (Blacksmith) +5, but a caster level of 1, would they be able to take and use Craft Magic Arms and Armor with a substituted CL of 5?

I guess another way to ask that question would be: are "skill ranks" only the hard point increases, or does that term factor in the modified skill bonus as well (+1 "rank" for being level 1 vs +5 total bonus to said skill for the hard +1 and the +3 class skill and +1 ability score mod in this case)?

Instead of receiving an additional skill rank or hit point whenever they gain a level in a favored class, humans have the option of choosing from a number of other bonuses, depending upon their favored class. The following options are available to all humans who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the listed favored class reward.

Emphasis mine

This wording is confusing to me. Does it mean that once you select this favored class option alternate that you then must take this and only this at each level up in your favored class?

Or does it mean that if you apply the APG rules to your game that characters of said favored class and race get to pick interchangeably between 3 options, hp, skill, and alternate and they are just saying something redundant and that it applies when you select it?

The Djinni Sorcerer bloodline has this power:

Whirlwind (Su): At 9th level, you gain the ability to turn into a 10-foot-high whirlwind once per day for 1 round per sorcerer level.

Is this any different from the Whirlwind that you would turn into if you cast Elemental Body (air elemental) and then used the whirlwind ability?

The Djinni Sorcerer bloodline power text "Whirlwind" online is linked to the druid spell, NOT to the universal monster rules for elemental whirlwhind capabilities. Does this mean that it should be 30 feet wide? (I'd think not... just asking anyway).

Also, this power says that you become a 10-foot tall whirlwind... what if you are NOT medium at the time you use the ability? Does a small character using it still become a 10 foot whirlwind? Does a large creature?

Also, as a general rule about whirlwind, not just related to this Djinni bloodline power... would a 10 foot tall, 5 foot wide whirlwind created by a medium creature turning into one still be considered a "medium" whirlwind that could then only damage and lift small creatures? Or, since it is 10 feet tall, would it be considered "large" and then be able to damage and lift medium creatures as well, even though it is only 5 feet wide and not 20 like a typical large creature?

Given your answers to the above, I wonder on people's takes on if this Djinni power is gimped, the same, or better than the comparative of using elemental body first and then transforming into a whirlwind?

Sorry for the long post with so many questions, but I have a player who wants to take this power and I'm just not familiar with whirlwind, and them more I read other posts and the rulebook, the more confused I get.

Forgot to ask... does being a whirlwind (though it doesn't say it in the rules) make you also immune to non-magical weapon damage? I guess from a RAW standpoint I see no reason for that, and maybe that is unbalanced... but how would swinging a sword or shooting an arrow at a whirlwind damage it in any way?

Yet ANOTHER thing I forgot to ask... since the rules for whirlwind form state that this form does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but it also seems that you are able to cast spells in this form provided you can get around the component restrictions (eschew materials, still spell, silent spell, etc), do you provoke attacks of opportunity when casting a spell in this form?

A whip says it has 15-foot reach, but you don't threaten. Yet, a medium creature can attack with it into an adjacent square 10 feet away, or 15 feet away. Ok, this is clear enough I think.

Now, the question comes in with Improved Whip Mastery. This feat says you "threaten the area of your natural reach plus 5 feet." This wording confuses me. Does this mean that, based on the normal whip rules, you can still attack 5, 10, or 15 feet away, but you can only THREATEN 10 feet away and therefore only get AOOs from 10 feet away but not 5? Or does it mean that you now can attack 5, 10, and 15 feet away, but that you threaten both 5 and 10 feet away (but not 15)?

Also, the feat says "you can use 5 feet of your whip as if a grappling hook" etc... I'm also unsure on this wording... does that mean you can grab something 10 feet away and swing/climb from there, but if it were 15ft or 5ft away you could not do so? The 15ft part of this question seems obvious, that you can't, but if you can "grappling whip" 5ft away or not is less clear.

Various Cleric domains grant domain powers which are Su type abilities that involve auras. These abilities are all standard action to activate unless otherwise noted, as the Cleric class rules state, but I'm not seeing where it says what type of action it is to turn it off. I'm assuming free, but not completely sure and can't find it in writing.

Unlike Paladin auras, these are limited in the length of time they can be active, so I'm also not sure if they can stack if you activate more than one at a time. Do you have to turn one off before turning another one on?