Actually this brought up a question for me... I'll get to it at the end of my post.
Imari Shiverscar: Curse of the Crimson Throne, CG gnome bard, follower of Shelyn. Imari was a prostitute in Korvosa, addicted to the drug called shiver. When she hit rock bottom, she found vibrance, colour, love, and beauty with the followers of Shelyn. She picked herself back up and threw herself into the pursuit of beauty, music, and saving those on a path of self-destruction. She started a salon to elevate her friends still on the streets and became a huge patron of local musicians, artists, and courtesans.
Omnom Striker: Kingmaker, LG half-orc ranger, follower of Sarenrae. Twin brother to Blayde, LG half-orc paladin, follower of Sarenrae. Omnom was raised by church of Sarenrae, an orphan abandoned on their steps. While he appreciates the teachings of her followers, he finds himself rarely turning to the heavens for guidance or direction. He leaves the religious claptrap of tithes, holy days, scripture, and so on to his brother and gets on with the practical business of making the world a safer place from evil.
*As of yet unnamed*: Legacy of Fire, CN elf gunslinger, follower of Calistria. This character is still in development, but I want to draw on old cowboy movie tropes about tracking down men that have done wrong and delivering retribution, regardless of the law. So he'll definitely be a follower of Calistria's vengeance aspect.
So here's a question: My first Golarion character was a 3.5 NG Tibbit Druid (from the Dragon Compendium) in Rise of the Runelords. His initial deity was "The Cat Lord" as is described in the book. Eventually he moved towards becoming an avatar of holy vengeance against the evils cropping up everywhere around Sandpoint, and there were some pretty atrocious evils. I moved into the Book of Exalted Deeds and became a Lion of Talasid, justifying it by saying Talasid and the Cat Lord were aspects of one another. So in keeping with the lore of Golarion, who would appropriate facsimiles be for my former character to praise?
Here is an old Paizo blog with examples of awful, bad, mediocre, and reasonably good maps, plus two links to common map symbols used in the gaming industry.
It doesn't hurt to get a head start... or, if you've never done a map before, get caught up!
Thanks for the links Sean! I was wondering how some of the maps for previous years were made.
Hmm... if next round is going to be like previous years and use content from round 3, I'm even more excited to see everyone else's monsters! It'll be awesome to see what kind of encounters this monsters can create!
Submitted it late last night. I still wish I could have gone over it another five or twenty times, but I'm fairly sure I caught all the glaring issues.
Now time to distract myself for five days so as not to explode from stress.
Good luck to everyone! Here's hoping for a helluva round!
Converting from the old Save vs Wand, Save vs Spell, Save vs Breath Weapon to Fort/Will/Reflex involves a lot of guesswork on your part. Saves are largely based on the nature of the attack, rather than its source. Saves vs. Poison, Petrification, Paralysis would largely be fortitude saves now, but the spell Hold Person causes paralysis and requires a Will save.
Your best bet is to look for equivalents for the spell or effect in PF and go from there. If you can't find an equivalent, go with your gut, figure out which of the three saves (Fort/Will/Ref) is most appropriate and gauge how hard or easy the save DC should be based on the severity of the encounter.
Learning to convert is a tricky process at first, but it becomes much easier once you start getting a feel for the rules and how things look when Pathfinderized.
I'm fairly sure I know who the 18th level lich is and I think he was still 18th level in 3ed too. I think it was the nature of the old adventures to have some absurdly difficult encounters; characters were supposed to die. If you want to keep that old flavour, leave them as is. An 18th level lich is a CR20 creature all by itself. A group of level 12 characters would have a hell of a time toppling him, but at level 12, they might just stroll through the other encounters. There's a template in the Varnhold Vanishing module called Atrophied Lich that'd knock him down in power some if you want the players to stand a fighting chance, though it might be simpler just to lower him and the shade down 2-4 levels in that case.
Be sure to post here as well with specific questions. There are a lot of people with experience converting from as far back as the original D&D modules, so someone has probably run into the same issues you have.
First off, check out Mistfinder. It's the most complete conversion of Ravenloft to Pathfinder I've found so far and it might provide you with a lot of help in converting a Ravenloft module to Pathfinder. Any work you don't have to do is good in my books.
Secondly, characters in Pathfinder are more powerful than their counterparts from previous editions. You'll probably want the PCs to be somewhat lower level, 7-9, or even 6-8 if you really want to challenge them. Largely it should be based on the average CR of the encounters and how challenged you want your PCs to feel. It may end up being that 8-10 is just right in terms of challenge.
Third, what monsters in particular are seeming underpowered or overpowered? Have you converted them to Pathfinder equivalents or is this just eyeballing the stat blocks from the module? Best thing to do is convert them, check the CR of the converted monster and gauge from there. If they're too powerful, consider applying the Young template from the bestiary. If they're too weak, look at the Advanced template, or consider increasing the number of creatures in the encounter.
I entirely pictured the Nordic longhouse as well for some reason. Bit of a vaulted ceiling too, thatched roof. Maybe some incongrous stained-glass windows, though I'll be damned if I can fix my mind's eye on them and tell you what they look like.
Standing room, a bar, maybe some couches in front of a roaring hearth. Throw some bearskins on those couches for the viking appeal.
...I'd kind of like to lie down on those couches I'm picturing right now. They look comfy.
I appear to be the only Canuck in the pack... no relation to NC here! Only family I've got in the states are in NJ or TX.
My History:
I was introduced to D&D when I was handed a 2nd Edition PH and asked if I wanted to play. I was 9. I'd just started at a new school. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
I began as a thief. I attempted to backstab everything. In short order, I got knocked into negative hit points by a lizardman, spider, falling rocks, and a wight. That was the first adventure. If not for the entirely non-optimal set up we had of 3 clerics and two fighters, I probably would have stayed dead. Instead, the clerics blew a lot of cure light wounds keeping the thief out of trouble.
I was entranced.
Unfortunately the group foundered and died. I tried, unsuccessfully, to encourage new groups to grow. But, my school was small, and I had little luck keeping players on board. I started DMing as a necessity since I had a rotating stable of new players and I was the only person with any experience. I used APs initially, but the storyteller in me felt compelled to homebrew for more personal touches.
I spent a few years doing this before giving up. I found other RP opportunities and tried my hand at writing (really juvenile) novels. I played Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and even joined some private Ultima Online servers just to find the opportunity to roleplay.
A change of rule system revived my interest. I played Shadowrun for a few years, immediately after its 3rd edition came out (1998?) moving from pen and paper to pbp. I had good times and it definitely revived my flagging interest in pen and paper games.
When I moved away for university, I ended up changing towns a few times. I played 3.0 and eventually 3.5, Rifts, Shadowrun 4e, and a handful of White Wolf games. I dabbled in reading other systems, but I never really got the chance to play them. I started homebrewing a 3.5 game that continues to run with the same group of people to this day (2006-2012).
I settled back into my hometown of Toronto after school was finished and, as old friends started moving back as well, I started to get to play again, starting with a Shackled City game. A friend was very closely following the trials and tribulations of Paizo finding its feet and getting Pathfinder launched and gathered a few of us together to run Rise of the Runelords. We were still running 3.5, but we all had a blast and looked forward to the next game, Curse of the Crimson Throne. In CotCT we officially converted to the PF rule system and we were absolutely giddy about it. We kept finding new things to be excited about in terms of classes, spell mechanics, rule variations, and general improvements on the game we'd all come to enjoy.
Last year, my friend recommended I participate in RPG Superstar. I figured it was worth a shot. My submission, the Gauntlets of Icy Grasp, didn't get into the first round, but I got some positive feedback when I posted in the critique thread so I decided to try again in a year. In the past year I've been lurking and contributing on the forums where I can, which gave me a crash course in rules mechanics. The time spent on the forums was invaluable in getting me up to speed on so many aspects of Pathfinder.
All told, I've been gaming for about 18 (almost 19) years. Not that much when compared to people that remember Basic or the Red Box, but I've had a good run so far. I rarely run anything as written and I'm more prone to going off the rails as a player and a GM if the story seems more interesting in that direction. Largely, I'm in the game to entertain and be entertained, whatever that entails.
where do i sign up for the blankets and chicken soup?
Seconded. I've been avoiding the forums to keep my nerves from jangling too much, but I can't keep myself from peeking in every now and again. This whole segment is absolutely nerve-wracking.
Thanks for the link, that was exactly what this reminded me of!
I think the idea has potential, and it's definitely a concept that comes up frequently on the forums, but I also definitely got the tongue-in-cheek vibe from this entry. That kind of killed it for me, but to each his own; it might not work for my games, but it could easily work for someone else's.
From all I've read, the response from a god in Golarion would be largely invisible. The physical response would be decidedly mundane; a murder was committed and local law enforcement may become involved. They may also realize that they are simply not powerful enough to contend with a group of heroic characters (level 11s can thwomp most NPCs, case-in-point being the High Priest getting steam-rolled).
Like Hyla said, there are a lot of bad guys in Golarion. The most common way for powerful bad guys to disappear is at the hands of a bunch of adventurers. Law-men or members of Pharasma's flock may turn to another adventuring party to bring the PCs to justice.
Where Pharasma fits in with all this is largely ephemeral. Maybe the rival adventuring party consistently manages to stumble across the PCs, seemingly by sheer luck. Any influence the goddess has on the PCs being brought to justice should be able to be explained away as being luck, circumstance, or just a damned fine coincidence. You as the DM will know she's involved, and the PCs may eventually suspect, but it's never concrete. Pharasma can't risk being a bigger influence without opening the door to other gods to do the same. It's the uneasy cease-fire they all implicitly agree to; sort of mutually assured destruction.
The only clear indication of Pharasma's influence in this should be her withdrawal of power from the PC cleric. As for other gods, or demons, or devils... no one will try to goad the cleric down a darker path if he's content to walk it already. If he shows signs of wanting to repent, then a darker influence might try and throw up road blocks, or prove that redemption is a false hope, or something along those lines. But again, the name of the game is subtlety. The powers-that-be of Golarion are not big on flashy shows of force.
Thanks Grick. I missed the line where Rending Claws is called out as precision damage. That outright eliminates it. The other two are iffy, but I'm leaning towards "No" to my own question. Rends aren't called out as normal attacks in any other way; you can only extrapolate that by assuming the extra Strength damage makes it so.
Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:
I was looking for the answer to this question once, and found a really long thread about it.
Mort, do you happen to have a link to that thread? I'd be interested in seeing what was said.
blackbloodtroll wrote:
Is this the only way to get rend?
There's also Boar Style, which grants an ability sort of like rend. It's called bleed damage though and there's a lot of discussion on the forums about how that feat is supposed to work. It still functions like a rend, as you need two successful (unarmed) strikes to execute the additional damage.
I'm referring to the monster ability specifically, but the question could also apply to Two-Weapon Rend or Rending Claws.
For reference:
Universal Monster Rules wrote:
Rend (Ex) If it hits with two or more natural attacks in 1 round, a creature with the rend special attack can cause tremendous damage by latching onto the opponent's body and tearing flesh. This attack deals an additional amount of damage, but no more than once per round. The type of attacks that must hit and the additional damage are included in the creature's description. The additional damage is usually equal to the damage caused by one of the attacks plus 1-1/2 the creature's Strength bonus.
Now, would the enhancement bonus from an Amulet of Mighty Fists be applied to the damage from a rend attack?
And to complicate the question, what if only one claw (or weapon) had an enhancement bonus?
I'd like to see the whole thing wrapped up. I don't really have time to run the games I've already got going, so I don't think I can playtest anything, but it'd be nice to see how all your hard work is turning out.
1. Bard - Because bards are problem solvers. They will solve your problems.
2. Druid - One of the most fluid classes in the game. Full caster progression, shapeshifting, a pet that can be a mount, flanking buddy, meat shield, or whatever else you need them to be. Pick a focus and enjoy the ride.
3. Gunslinger - Because this is my boomstick; everyone else is a primitive screwhead.
Folks are free to treat my advice and rulings and help on these boards as "unofficial" or "optional" or even "untrustworthy" if they want, and I try not to let that bother me... but I've seen that attitude pop up enough on these boards that I generally don't answer rules-based questions on the rules forums.
And since I'm one of the most active Paizo employees on these boards, that means that folks have more or less "scared off" what could be a pretty handy resource for them to resolve questions and conflicts in their own game. Which is kind of sad. So... hopefully folks take my previous post in the way it was intended: as helpful advice and a look behind the philosophy of my own game design and interpretations of the rules.
This makes me very sad :'(
To the OP, I'm not really sure what else you can ask for at this point. As far as I can tell you represent a small minority of people who might find the wording of the alchemist as a gamestopper. A quick search of the forums did not turn up a great number of similar threads, as is normally the case with ambiguous or unclear rules. James designed the class. He's given his opinion on the matter. A number of players stepped in well before and drew from their experience some very persuasive arguments, backed by legitimate interpretation of the rules.
And that's all you can really ask for. People have given you a response, to the best of their abilities. You have to take those responses and put them together with the written rules and try and come to a consensus that allows the game to continue in a way that's still fun for everyone.
Remaining intractable when presented with well-reasoned, cited, and informed arguments is what's 'scaring off' a lot of people that used to post very helpful information. People are less inclined to be helpful when presented with inflexible viewpoints.
I'm sorry you didn't find the answers you were looking for. I'm sorry you felt attacked when defending your viewpoint. Hopefully you can find a way to resolve this issue to your satisfaction. I don't believe you'll find that solution here.
You'll probably want to be an Oracle or Cleric with some form of speak with dead, and spells that will protect you from the undead (Protection from Evil, Hide from Undead, Hold Undead) without directly harming them. You may want to help ghosts, but some ghosts may not be onboard with that and you'll need to guard yourself against possession and protect against the possibility of mindless undead just trying to take a bite of your delicious brains.
Cleric with the Repose domain, or Oracle with the Ancestors mystery would fit.
An alternative could be an inquisitor with the Repose domain (or the associated Ancestors subdomain). I could see that being a pretty neat concept, but mechanically it has fewer tools for protecting against undead or communicating with them and more tools for just killing them.
So, on average, an 8th level druid with nothing but a holy amulet of mighty fists (or flaming/shocking, corrosive/frost, whatever) could deal more than half the total hit points a CR8 might possess in a single round by expending a use of a 3/daily ability and using an amulet that amounts to almost 2/3rds of your WBL (20,000/33,000gp).
In order to execute this attack, the druid needs a straight line through a corridor at least 15ft tall and 25ft long for a minimum of 10ft of unobstructed terrain, 15ft across (3x2 square area) to charge through. The position of allies, position of enemies not being charged, difficult terrain, and other factors limit the ability of a huge creature to charge and gain the benefits of pounce. But, under those conditions, and without factoring in feats or the remaining 13,000gp worth of equipment, the druid can deal a hefty amount of damage, likely in excess of a fighter with similar restrictions.
Amulet of Mighty Fists
Aura faint evocation; CL 5th
Slot neck; Price 5,000 gp (+1), 20,000 gp (+2), 45,000 gp (+3), 80,000 gp (+4), 125,000 gp (+5); Weight —
Those are the prices I quoted yes. You also stated that a +1 flaming longsword would be 4,000gp. That's the crafting price. The purchase price is 8,000gp.
Taason the Black wrote:
A +5 amulet of mighty fist equals a +6 weapon since the amulet does not require the initial +1 investment to add effects. So it is equal to the 128k +6 item you spoke of. In addition, it applies to BOTH claws where the +6 longsword applies to one hand so significantly more damage.
I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that a +5 weapon is +6 because it doesn't have a +1. A +6 weapon is 72,000gp as well, 56,000gp cheaper than the item I quoted. With 56,000gp I could buy another +5 weapon and a wondrous item with the change. 72,000gp is still significantly cheaper than a +5 amulet, even if I do choose to agree with the assumption of +5 = +6.
Taason the Black wrote:
Please give me one build that does 90 DPR on average to a generic opponent without the use of feats nor magic items said one at 10k. Keep in mind, said druid is doing this without any other spells or magic items except for a +2 amulet of natural attacks. We arent talking about ranger favored enemies.
Show me the math that proves the druid can put out 90 DPR. My math is showing 60~DPR against a CR8 opponent, given 14 Strength, an amulet of mighty fists +2, and 8th level wild shape. Also, that's a bit of an unfair rubric. A DPR build without feats or equipment is a poor point of comparison. Also, the druid has a 20,000gp item, so giving me a 10,000gp item seems a tad unfair.
Also, that's the nature of the druid class to be able to put out signficant wildshape damage, not the amulet of mighty fists. Does equipping a monk with an amulet of mighty fists make them unbalanced? What about an unarmed fighter, natural weapon ranger, or beast totem barbarian? It sounds more like you take issue with the class using the item, not the item.
The same 1handed sword would cost 4k (+1 enchanment then +1 for the flaming/shocking, etc). And its only one hand. And it takes up the hand slot.
I would think most anyone would give up a neck slot in place of a hand held slot any day of the week.
That's not the same at all. That's a +2 sword. It costs 8,000gp (plus the cost of a mw longsword). A +1 flaming amulet of mighty fists costs 20,000gp. 8 * 2.5 = 20. You might be looking at the crafting price.
Amulets of Mighty Fists also cap out at +5 (at a whopping 125,000gp). I could own a +5 long sword for 50,000gp. Or I could own a +5 holy longsword for 98,000gp. Or a +5 holy undead bane longsword for 128,000gp. I could never own an amulet of mighty fists of equivalent power, because the amulet can hold only +5 worth of enchantments. I can own multiple weapons of equivalent power for the cost of a single amulet of mighty fists. This is how it balances. You are buying 2.5 weapons for the cost of the amulet.
The amulet applies to all attacks. If it did not, they would have called it out, as in the Magic Fang spell. The item does not state (as Magic Fang does) that you must choose one attack to enhance. It states simply that natural attacks and unarmed strikes are enhanced.
Also, 90DPR at level 8 is achieveable by multiple builds. You seem to be having a strong kneejerk reaction to this. Step back, take a look at the DPR olympics perhaps, and reconsider.
Rune Blade, i think would be easier if I just say to the primary stat used for spellcasting? This way I don't add unnecessary bonuses to the other stats. After the effect is temporary it becomes permanently attuned to it's wielder?
See, that's what I was thinking at first. But then I got kind of frustrated trying to figure out how to phrase that. What happens with multiclass casters? If you have an Int based caster class and a Wisdom based caster class, which is your primary stat? Is it your higher level class? What about if they're even? What if you're a wizard 3/cleric 3/mystic theurge 4? Your highest level is mystic theurge and both Int and Wis are primary caster stats for that class (given the source classes) so which one gets the bonus. These are corner cases, yes, but I've come to expect players to bring issues like these up.
Stapling a headband of +2 to all mental stats to the sword was the simplest solution I could come to. At worst, you're granting the possessor a +1 to wisdom, charisma, and intelligence based skills and +1 to will saves. Spell casters get +1 to spell DCs, and maybe an extra spell per day. That's reasonable for the price tag. On top of that, the enhancement bonus from the sword won't stack with benefits from headbands, and single stat headbands will, on the whole, be cheaper for better benefits. The advantage is that you don't need a slot for the sword. So long as it's in your possession, you gain the benefits. Oh and even if you pick up a single stat headband, the other two stats continue to gain the benefit of the sword.
TL;DR: Rune Blade needs to be rebalanced; Ancient Sword is OK!
Rune Blade:
Yikes! More than +3! By a longshot! An orange prism ioun stone increases your caster level by +1 and it's 30,000gp. So, you've got a few options here.
You can knock the CL increase to +1 and add the cost of the ioun stone into the sword, for a final cost of 32,315gp.
OR, you can try and extrapolate the price of the +2 CL ioun stone. Unfortunately, you can't just double the price of the ioun stone. Wondrous items scale up in price more dramatically then that. You're probably looking at around 75,000gp to 90,000gp for an item that occupies no slot and grants +2 CL. The sword rockets up to 77,315 to 92,315gp. Not a cheap sword, at all.
Last option is to, instead of boosting CL, have the sword actively boost the primary caster stat of the wielder. The Rune Blade increased your MA by +2 right? So have the PF Rune Blade do the same.
Rune Blade v2 wrote:
This +1 long sword is inscribed with ancient runes of eldritch origin, known to amplify the power of any spellcaster that wields it. The rune blade grants a +2 enhancement bonus to the Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma to its possessor. Treat the bonus as temporary for the first 24 hours the rune blade is carried. The increase to Intelligence does not grant any additional skill ranks. Price: 34,315gp
Ancient Sword:
This seems to fit pretty well. DC feels a touch high for a +2 weapon, in my opinion, but that's just my instinctive response. At 8,315gp, it's reasonably balanced.
JMD031 wrote:
I believe that the individual who makes an item can set the DC for it during the creating process and by having it be a lower level than their current save DC will lower the cost to make said item. However, I wouldn't quote me on that and I'm too lazy to get my book to check.
I couldn't find anything in the magic item creation rules to support that. Only thing I could find was this from the PRD:
PRD wrote:
Magic items produce spells or spell-like effects. For a saving throw against a spell or spell-like effect from a magic item, the DC is 10 + the level of the spell or effect + the ability modifier of the minimum ability score needed to cast that level of spell.
...
Most item descriptions give saving throw DCs for various effects, particularly when the effect has no exact spell equivalent (making its level otherwise difficult to determine quickly).
Which is basically "If the effect is made up, make up a DC too!"
yes I know... >_< I tried to find some sort of "consistency" in the pricing of magic items and it was neigh impossible for me. That's why I just priced the Blind knife as a +2 since it's like the venom dagger so I based it like that and just didn't care lol, just pretended the caster casted it like a 4th level spell for the blind knife and gave it appropriate save DC I think.
The DC confuses me too! The dagger of venom has a DC14, which means that the caster had a +0 mod to their caster stat. Poison is a 4th level spell, which means you need at least 14 wisdom for a cleric to cast it (+2 mod), which should mean a DC16... Unless you don't factor in the caster's primary stat? So the blind knife would be a DC12 by proxy...
But a blinding shield has a DC of 14 as well. >_< Brain hurt!
Okay, just set the DC to whatever you want. DC15 sounds reasonable. +2 dagger price sounds fine.
Mage Masher, lower the DC a bit (16 maybe?) and it should be fine as a +3 dagger. Caster types will have trouble passing Fort saves most of the time anyway
Blood sword is just a tad on the broken side. Imagine the sheer amount of healing a straight up fighter could do for himself with it. Here's my idea for a revision:
Blood Sword v2 wrote:
The blade of this cruelly sharp +2 bastard sword is a deep crimson, as if it were drenched in blood. On successful critical hit, the sword deals an additional 2d6 points of damage. The wielder gains temporary hit points equal to the additional damage dealt. This ability otherwise functions exactly as the vampiric touch spell (CL5). Special: A Dark Knight wielding a blood sword adds +2d6 additional damage (and healing) to his Sanguine Sword dark sword skill.
Price for the blood sword... 42,335gp. 32,000gp for a +4 weapon (gauging the vampiric touch on crit as a +2 bonus), +10,000gp for the nifty always-on-for-Dark-Knights ability, and 335gp for a mw bastard sword. It's an expensive sword for sure, but it's pretty awesome in the hands of a skilled melee fighter. And unlike the blood sword in FFT, you're less likely to replace it as new equipment become available.
The sleep sword is a +1 sword I guess? The big thing to remember is that someone blinded or poisoned isn't helpless. Someone asleep is. This sword is part of a one-two combo to coup-de-grace someone. That should scale up the price significantly. Drop the DC as well, because this is a very effective way to essentially one shot someone with a low Will save. Maybe DC14 or 15, tops. I'd price this somewhere around 20,000gp, give or take a thousand. Plus the cost of a mw longsword (315gp).
I've been working on pricing the weapons you posted when I have some downtime at work and it's... it's just awful. Not your weapons, but the pricing. I'm trying to use existing weapons from various sourcebooks as a reference, but it's all so arbitrary. Sometimes they use the rules for wondrous items, sometimes they use the rules as though a special ability were an enhancement bonus. It's so random at times.
Take your blind knife for example. It's based on the dagger of venom by the looks of it, and the dagger of venom is priced exactly as though it were a +2 dagger. That implies that someone, somewhere thought that the "on strike" 4th level spell was equivalent to a +1 enhancement bonus. So what's the price of blindness/deafness (a 2nd level spell)? +.5 enhancement bonus? >_<
Trying to find a consistent way of judging and pricing magic items is just plain hard.
I was hoping I could get some input from people more familiar with the 3PP material out there.
I'm playing a half-orc natural weapon ranger in a Kingmaker campaign and I've been looking for interesting ways to play with the natural weapon style.
Can anyone point me to some books that have feats, alternative rules, or archetypes that lend themselves to helping PCs that focus on natural attacks? I'm not opposed to splashing levels in a different class, so support for barbarians, summoners, alchemists, or anyone else that gets to mess about with natural attacks is definitely welcome!
Oh god. Magic item pricing. Urgggh. I'll take a look at the weapons, but I may procrastinate on it.
Titan:
CMD: Should be 37.
Attacks: Huh. The Universal Monster Rules say that Slams for large sized creatures are 1d6. But a large sized giant in the bestiary slams as 1d8 without Improved Natural Attack. Soooo... basically what I'm saying is I see nothing wrong with Titan's slam. Maybe ignore my comment about Shiva's slam too.
Special Attacks: Is Rock Throw = Rock Throwing(Ex) from the Bestiary? If so you need to include a range (120ft seems common) and damage as part of a Ranged Attack description. I looked at a Hill Giant in the Bestiary for comparison.
Saves: Your saves look a little off. I'm guessing his base saves are Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +4. Fort is good, but Reflex is 1 too low (should be +13) and Will is one too high (should be +9).
Stats: Not a correction or a criticism exactly, but dang Titan is nimble! 20 Dex!
Titan, like Shiva, has 4 class skills he can assign based on his theme (according to the Outsider creature type description). You can potentially increase Acrobatics, Climb, and Intimidate by another +3 by making them class skills.
Feats: Titan is missing 3 feats. I'd suggest this combo Power Attack -> Improved Bull Rush -> Awesome Blow. Seems to fit Titan's image as a hulking brute.
Spell-Like Abilities: Where are Acid Hands and Earth Shard Strike found? Couldn't find them anywhere in the PRD. Also, I don't think you can make a spell with a duration of Instantaneous constant. Force Punch might just have to be At Will.
Earthen Shards: I might turn this into a 100ft (or longer) line attack, rather than a cone, but that's just a suggestion. Shorten the range if you'd prefer it as a cone. Even CR20 dragons have a 60ft cone for breath weapons.
Anger of the Land: Ha! Nice! A Smite attack! Should note the bonus type. Maybe "Titan gains a morale bonus equal to his Constitution modifier to attack and damage rolls...". Morale, competance, or intuition bonuses would all make sense. I suggest morale first since barbarian bonuses tend to be morale based.
Earthen Fury: How far can Titan leap? How often can he use this ability? Quick rewrite for clarification. I'm prone to swinging the nerf bat around and I really wanted to hit the 60ft radius, but I'm leaving it as it is. I gave the leap a distance of 100ft to keep in line with most aeon abilities to this point.
Earthen Fury v2 wrote:
Earthen Fury (Sp): Once per day, Titan can leap up to 100ft into an unoccupied space and slam his incredible fists into the ground as he lands. The resulting impact buckles the earth and creates a devastating shockwave in a 60 ft radius, dealing 10d6 points of bludgeoning damage to creatures in the area of effect and knocking them prone. Creatures within the area of effect that succeed on a DC23 Reflex save take half damage and are not knocked prone.
Ramuh:
AC: Should be 32 AC, 27 flat-footed to factor in constant Mage Armor.
CMD: Should be 34.
Skills: Ramuh doesn't have enough skill points for all those skills. There are 10 knowledge skills in the game. Ramuh gets 14 skill points per HD. He can max out all knowledge skills plus 4 others. Maybe drop bluff and intimidate? It also looks like Ramuh's got all knowledge skills as class skills too. While not strictly by the book, that makes far too much sense to argue with, so I wouldn't change it. Crazy old lightning man gets to be as wise as he looks.
Spell-Like Abilities: Like Force Punch, shocking grasp is instantaneous. I think this excludes it from being constant. I may be wrong though. Is Lightning Ray basically scorching ray with an energy substitution? The DCs are off too. I think I might have missed this for Shiva as well. DCs for SLAs are 10 + spell level + CHA mod.
Languages: Maybe give aeons truespeech like angels get? Just replace the word "angel" with "aeon" and make it a part of the aeon subtype and you're good to go.
Angel Subtype wrote:
Truespeech (Su) All angels can speak with any creature that has a language, as though using a tongues spell (caster level equal to angel's Hit Dice). This ability is always active.
Shock Strike: This ability needs some clarification... see my changes for suggestions. It's generally bad form to make a no save ability. Making it a ranged touch attack per bolt makes it more reasonable, especially since that means he can split the damage however pleases.
Shock Strike v2 wrote:
Shock Strike (Sp): Once per day, Ramuh can call down the force of a lightning bolt into his upraised staff. He can then unleash that energy as ten rays of eletrical energy at any target within 100ft. Each ray requires a ranged touch attack and deals 1d6+1 electricity damage. The rays may be fired at the same or different targets, but all rays must be aimed at targets within 30 feet of each other and fired simultaneously.
Judgment Bolt: Might be clearer to state it's a 30ft radius centred on Ramuh.
Judgment Staff: This ability is extremely similar to Judgment Bolt, with the added fact that it can dish out a whopping 130d6 damage with zero concentration from Ramuh required to maintain it once it's active. I'd scale the damage down to a few d6 and keep the duration if you're happy with the effects as they are. I had an idea while reading it that I figured I'd suggest. It may not fit as well so feel free to not use it.
Judgment Staff v2 wrote:
Judgement Staff (Sp): Once per day, Ramuh can hurl his staff up to 100ft away. Where it lands, it calls down a merciless barrage of bolts in a 20ft radius. Creatures caught in the area take 5d6 points of electricity damage every round and are paralyzed for 1 round by the lightning coursing through them. A successful DC26 Reflex save halves the damage and negates the paralysis, but creatures that remain in the field on Ramuh's next turn will continue to take damage and must make a new save. The lightning field remains for as long as Ramuh maintains concentration, plus an additional two rounds after he ceases concentrating.
The ability is still deadly. People caught in the field may get stuck and die in it. The downside is that Ramuh has to maintain concentration on it, so anyone that breaks free can attempt to break his concentration and save their allies. If he doesn't concentrate, that's still 3 rounds (and potentially 15d6 lightning damage).
Skeletal Fiend:
AC: AC still seems a little high. Average AC for a CR10 is 24. Stick this guy in fullplate and he's nigh unhittable and still effectively a CR10. I think that's what worries me about these guys. Variable equipment really cranks their effectiveness. It's not unheard of for a CR10 to wield a +1 weapon or wear +2 armor. Still, that's me just worrying. Let it go to playtest as it is and that might give more telling results than my kneejerk reaction.
Special Qualities: I think you combine the DR into one stat. So "DR 5/Bludgeoning or Good" in this case.
Saves: All three saves are one point too low. Should be +10, +8, +9 respectively.
You still have 36 skill points kicking around from high Int. They don't have to be spent, of course, but they're there.
Feats: Skeletal Fiend doesn't qualify for Imp. Critical. BAB +8 is a prerequisite and he's only at +6. Maybe swap out Cleave, pick up Combat Expertise and take a combat maneuver? A skeleton with Improved Disarm would be a mean fight. Regardless, Imp. Crit can't be taken, so you'll need to pick a different one.
Assuming you haven't changed anything from the Bonesnatch, you've got my feedback on his other abilities.
I was kind of distracted while working on this, so forgive any grammatical errors! I'll double check it when I'm a little less tired and make sure it makes sense :)
Attack: Bite +14 (1d10 + 21). Tiamat has some mean jaws. Creatures with only one natural attack get to add +50% strength mod to their attacks. Attacks that you get to add +50% strength mod to get +50% more power attack damage. So that's +9 from strength and +12 from Power Attack. She takes the -4 to hit from Power Attack with a +12 BAB.
Special Attacks: Why pounce? Tiamat only has a bite to take advantage of, so technically, she full attacks any time she can take a standard action. Grab might make more sense, with her jaws of steel.
Special Qualities: Looks like you lifted this statblock right off of the hydra. Does Tiamat actually have Hydra Traits and the ability to regenerate what appears to be a single head?
Skills: Tiamat is more skilled than her limited intelligence would allow. She has 12 skill points from her HD. If you put 10 into perception, you could have +16 (10 ranks + 3 wis + 3 class skill), with two points left over for Climb and Swim. Climb and Swim would both be at +10 (1 rank + 6 strength + 3 class skill).
Breath Weapon: Tiamat's breath weapon looks a little underpowered. I'm guessing the cryohydra breath weapon is about half HD in d6s and that appears to be what you're basing Tiamat off of. So Tiamat's breath weapon should be about 6d6 damage, which for a CR13, isn't too bad. Average damage is about 21 (10 on a save). Also might want to remove those sentences about stopping regeneration of heads. Is Tiamat immune to cold and fire? If so, that should be included as part of the Special Qualities.
Dark Whisper: "...or suddenly collapse dead. Those that make a successful save must..." Edits mine. Just a run on sentence, needed some punctuation changes. Maybe add a caveat that creatures immune to death effects are immune to Dark Whisper?
Bonesnatch:
AC: That's a lot of natural armor for a CR6. A 6th level fighter with weapon focus and 19 strength has a 30% chance to hit him. 3/4 BAB classes would be looking at about the same if they're optimized for combat. Much less if they're not. A monk with 16 strength would hit on 19-20 on a d20, as an example. Shave down the natural armor a few points (down to 2 or 3 at most). Shave down the Dex a few points. An AC of 21-23 will provide a challenge for a level 6 party.
Attack: Power Attack is -2/+4 since the Bonesnatch has a BAB of +4. You can't choose to take less on a Power Attack, so his attack with a scimitar looks like:
+6 scimitar (1d6+8/18-20x2)
Enduring Unlife: Rewrote for clarity. There's the question of what happens if you smash their remains, or if they're killed by a disruption weapon or disintegrate and their remains are dust. Also, is it intentional that a bonesnatch could potentially rise with more hit points than before? Because that's a little scary.
Revised Enduring Unlife wrote:
Enduring Unlife(Su): Once per day, upon being reduced to 0 hit points, a bonesnatch may attempt a DC15 fortitude save. If successful, they cling to their mockery of life and rise in 1d4 rounds. A bonesnatch that rises rolls 6d8+24 to determine its current hit points. If the bonesnatch's remains are destroyed in any way, this ability does not function.
Shiva:
Speed: Does Shiva have a Fly speed? If it's as the spell that's 60ft (Good).
Attack: Slams for a large sized creature are 1d6. She could have a Slam of 1d8 with Improved Natural Weapon(Slam) though.
Special Attacks: Snowstorm doesn't appear in the description of abilities. Is Freezing Entombment the same thing?
Looks like you didn't factor in the class skill bonus for some skills. Also, Shiva is Large so she takes a -4 size penalty to stealth. Also, Shiva gets 11 skill points a level. You haven't spent 39 of them by my count. I'd suggest maxing Spellcraft, Diplomacy, and Acrobatics.
Neat thing I never noticed before, Outsiders get 4 floating class skills you can assign based on their nature. I'd suggest Diplomacy, Intimidate, Fly, and maybe Spellcraft as her unique class skills. Essentially, pick 4 skills you think fit her theme (that aren't already on the Outsider list) and add 3 to each.
Feats: Shiva's missing about 4 feats from her HD. Suggested feats: Power Attack, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus(Slam), Improved Natural Weapon(Slam), Flyby Attack, Hover, Wingover
Heavenly Strike: I like the descriptive text, but it's best to minimize that so people don't lose track of what's fluff and what's crunch. Pinned and prone seemed a little extreme. You'd also need to provide DCs for escaping the pinned condition. I'm always in favour of streamlining down to fewer rolls and less conditions to track.
Heavenly Strike v2 wrote:
Heavenly Strike (Sp): Three times per day, Shiva can call into existence a massive block of ice over any one target within 100ft and bring that block down with crushing force. The target creature takes 5d6 cold damage and is knocked prone. A DC24 Reflex save negates the damage and the prone condition. The DC for Heavenly Strike is Charisma based.
Freezing Entombment: I like the descriptive text again. I remember watching these cutscenes endlessly, so I can entirely picture what's happening. Still, need to keep from overloading abilities with fluff. Also, pinned doesn't quite fit what's happening here. They're completely entombed and immobile for one round. That's probably a paralysis effect, although you could probably just create the "entombed" status on the fly within the description of the ability. The difficult terrain effect also feels a little out of place. You just shattered ice into thousands of explosively propelled flechettes. The victims are likely to be harmed by that.
Freezing Entombment v2 wrote:
Freezing Entombment (Sp): Once per day, Shiva can unleash a blast of pure frigid might against her enemies in a 60ft cone. Creatures in the area of effect are quickly entombed in ice, becoming paralyzed and taking 10d6 cold damage. Creatures that pass a DC24 Reflex save avoid the paralysis and taking half damage. Entombed creatures are paralyzed until the end of Shiva's next round. As a standard action, Shiva can snap her fingers and shatter the ice surrounding creatures entombed by this ability, dealing half the damage previously taken. The DC for Freezing Entombment is Charisma based.
Diamond Dust: Not much to say about this one! I made some changes so it made more sense grammatically, but otherwise a straightforward and dangerous ability. I made an assumption that the DC was for half damage.
Diamond Dust v2 wrote:
Diamond Dust (Sp): Once per day, Shiva can whirl on the spot, sending motes of blue snow scattering across the battlefield in a 100ft radius, centred on herself. Where they land, the snowflakes instantly grow a hundredfold, hardening into cruel spikes of ice that freeze and pierce with impunity, dealing 13d6 points of cold damage to all creatures within the area of effect. A DC26 Reflex save halves the damage taken. The DC for Diamond Dust is Charisma based.
And I'm spent for now. Ramuh, Titan, and the creatures that follow can wait for another day.
Magic items are tough to price, Wondrous Items most of all. I took a stab at it for ya.
Phoenix Down:
Phoenix down Aura moderate conjuration(healing); CL 13th
Slot none; Price 4550 gp; Weight -.
Description
This soft, fluffy substance is a bright crimson in colour and often takes the shape of a small feather. Created through alchemical means, while phoenix down is not actually from the legendary bird its name is derived from, its function is very reminiscent of it. If applied to a creature that died within the last four rounds they are restored to life per the raise dead spell. Using a phoenix down is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Construction Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, breath of life; Cost 2275 gp
Pricing explanation:
The phoenix down is a use activated, single shot, spell effect simulating something between breath of life and raise dead. Pricing for a similar single shot, spell effect, healing item works like this:
Spell level x Caster Level x 50gp
So, since the effect of the phoenix down is similar to (though not exactly like) breath of life let's build that, assuming it's like a potion. To begin with, a "potion of breath of life" would cost 2250gp (5th level spell x 9th level caster x 50gp). But, breath of life only works within 1 round of death. So let's pretend for a second that we can apply the Extend Spell metamagic to double that time limit. Let's pretend we can stack it while we're at it, extending the time limit to 2 rounds, then doubling it again to 4 rounds. We effectively increase the spell level to 7 and the minimum caster level to 13 (7 x 13 x 50gp). We end up with an item that costs around 4550gp. Again, I'm bending the rules and reinterpreting them liberally to make this item, but unfortunately that's the only real way to stat most wondrous items.
Alarmingly, this is cheaper than a raise dead scroll and it can be used by anyone. However, the trade off is the limited period you have to use it and the danger of using it midcombat (provokes AoOs).
I'll probably start working my way through the aeons and the bonesnatch next week :) Keep up the good work!
Hookay, let's start this catch up. Already had my post eaten up once, so bear with me.
Warhorse:
HP: Should be 42 hit points. Avg hp per 1d10 = 5.5.
AC: That's a lot of natural armor for a CR4. Young dragons have comparable natural armor to this. Compound that with the fact these guys have armor proficiency and are (I assume) intended to be ridden, you could have a seriously high armor horse. Drop it by half I'd say, or maybe just +6 to bring it in line with the Mallicant.
Full attack: Why did you give horses a bite attack? Are they omniverous in this universe? I've been bitten by horses in real life, and yeah it hurts like the dickens, but they're still herbivores; they don't have the teeth to tear and rend flesh normally. I'm guessing they have horns as well for the gore attack?
Anyhow, your full attack should break down like this,
Full Attack: 2 hooves +2 melee (1d6 +4), bite +7 melee (1d4 +9) and Gore +7 (1d8+9 19-20x2)
Power Attack is included (-2/+4). Hooves are a secondary natural attack, bites are not, so hooves take the -5 to hit.
Warbeast: This is 3.5 material, isn't it? MM2 I think? Have you updated the template for PF at all or is it a straight import?
Sleipnir:
HP: Should be 92 (8d10 = 44 avg + 48)
AC: Should be 26. Also, see the warhorse for my comment on natural armor. PCs facing an armored Sleipnir will be swinging and missing a lot, unless targetting its touch.
Full Attack: 2 hooves +7 melee (1d6 +6), bite +12 melee (1d4+13) and Gore +12 (1d8+13 19-20x2)
Power Attack is included (-3/+6). Hooves are secondary.
Swift: What's the Swift special quality? Not familiar with this one.
Mallicant:
HP: Should be 63. Got to remember those .5 hit points. They add up!
AC: Should be 19. (+4 Dex, +6 Natural, -1 size)
Full attack: 2 hooves +6 melee (1d4 +2), 6 tentacles +6 (1d6+2), and bite +11 melee (1d6 +5)
Tentacles are also secondary attacks. Need to specify the number of tentacles as well.
Feats: The Mallicant doesn't qualify for Greater Grapple. He doesn't even qualify for Improved Grapple. Improved Unarmed Strike is a prerequisite. You might want to invest in either Weapon Focus(tentacle), to help with initiating a Grab attempt, or Ability Focus(Extract) (see my comments below).
Grab: This is usually written in with the attack. So "6 tentacles +6 (1d6+2 plus grab)".
Extract: Few things on this ability. One, this sounds like a death attack. Usually good form to call it out that way. That statement also clarifies that undead, constructs, and similar critters are immune. Second, a no save death effect sucks for players. Give them a Fort save at least. CON based with Ability Focus(Extract) still gives a difficult DC20 to pass. Last, why are hydras and other multi-headed beings immune? This sounds like it liquifies organs, not brains. Is that just the fluff text confusing me?
Orc:
HP: Should be 17. Is this annoying yet? :D
Skills: Orcs are natural fliers I take it? The +16 Fly seems out of place.
Equipment: What type of armor are they carrying? How many javelins?
Gnoll:
Skills: Perception isn't a class skill for humanoids, normally. At best, it should be +3 (+2 skill ranks, +1 wisdom). Survival can be +6 at best. (+2 skill ranks, +3 class skill, +1 wisdom). Add +3 to perception if you're homebrewing humanoids as having access to Perception as a class skill though.
Feats: "Skill Power Attack" looks like a typo.
Pack Attack: "When two or more creatures with Pack Attack are flanking an enemy, they each get a +2 circumstance bonus to damage." This seems like a clearer way to say what you're getting at. If you'd rather the bonus be easier to maintain, swap it to "adjacent to one another" instead of "flanking an enemy".
Equipment: What kind of armor and shield do they carry?
Kobold:
Creature Type: Kobolds are humanoid(canine)? Humanoid(goblin)? What creature type are they now? The used to be humanoid(reptilian) but that's wyrmkin territory now. Are they medium sized or small? I'm assuming they're small Humanoid(?) for now.
That's not what equivalent means in the context of that table...
What it means is a +3 enhancement bonus is equivalent to the weapon being cold iron/silver. A +1 holy longsword has a bonus of +3 for determining weapon power and price, but has only a +1 enhancement bonus. A +1 holy longsword does not overcome DR as a cold iron/silver weapon. A +3 longsword does overcome DR as a cold iron/silver weapon because it has at least a +3 enhancement bonus (and not just a +3 bonus).
This is to add value to people investing in weapons with a pure enhancement bonus, rather than getting nothing but holy/bane/furious. The key word is enhancement bonus. A weapon with +8 bonus worth of special abilities and a +1 enhancement bonus only has a +1 enhancement bonus, despite effectively being a +9 weapon.
Read the magic weapons section of the PRD carefully. It outlines the difference between enhancement bonus (which caps at +5) and the effective bonuses added by special abilities in several places.
Okay, let me see if I understand what you're getting at here.
You create a +5 heavy shield. You add a +1 flaming burst/icy burst/shocking burst/holy/ghost touch shield spike. With the shield master feat you could use the enhancement bonus of the shield in place of the enhancement bonus of the spike, effectively giving you a +5 flaming burst/shocking burst/holy/ghost touch shield (effectively a +14 weapon).
This is what you're suggesting, yes?
RAW, yep, that seems to work. You treat your shield bonus as the enchancement bonus. Enhancement bonuses don't stack so you take the higher of the two. Your shield, in your hands, at 11th level minimum, and the cost of numerous feats, is a +14 weapon that costs you 225,330gp to make (although I'm not sure how you find that much money by 11th level).
However, you only add the +5 to attack and damage rolls, per the wording of the feat. Since your actual enhancement bonus is +1 as a weapon, it likely would not overcome DR as a +5 weapon. Still, +5 to attack and damage plus a whole slew of abilities would help you bypass that DR, so that might be moot.
So, I guess there are no more helpers out there ^^ well will continue to post stuff still just in case someone is nice enough to stop by and help me with some suggestions, review, critique, etc...
I'm still around :) I'm peeking in on occasion, but you're putting out a lot of material. I do a lot of editing and revision for my job so I get a little exhausted by it sometimes.
When things are quieter I'll try and catch up, starting with the Horses and working my way up to Shiva and any new aeons/espers/summons you've got written.
As far as I understand our impact on our Golarion as players...
RotRL spoilers:
RotRL: There's a crusading tibbit druid and his celestial cat companion roaming the wilds around Sandpoint, purging everything evil with ruthless efficiency. He's sometimes accompanied by a female shoanti frenzied berserker. (We were still running 3.5e at this point, so Lion of Talasid and Frenzied Berserker, respectively). An elven enchanter has built a palace atop the ruins of a haunted house on the cliffs and maintains an uneasy standoff with the druid. (Our party functioned great when they were clocked in. When we weren't adventuring though, there were some serious personality conflicts, most notably between the druid and the enchanter. The druid is not a fan of the enchanter's flexible moral structure and is pretty much ready to collapse those cliffs into the ocean the second the enchanter shows an inclination towards evil.)
CotCT spoilers:
CotCT: Korvosa is currently ruled by the Faerie Queen Imari Shiverscar (gnome bard with the Fey Heritage feats from Complete Mage). Its military is run by a dwarven cleric of Gorum (it's an efficient and violent military) and the Queen's seneschal is a mousey Ulfen cerebremancer (from Dreamscarred Press Psionics Unleashed). Korvosa is slowly being moulded into a libertine city with an emphasis on art and culture (Queen Imari is a devoted member of Shelyn's church). Did I mention the queen was originally a drug-addled prostitute? Hence Shiver-scar, shiver being a popular drug in Korvosa. I used her last name as my screenname on the forums since she was my first PF character.
Kingmaker spoilers:
Kingmaker: We're in the midst of this but... A new kingdom has appeared in the Greenbelt, called Halfheim, forged by a mercenary group called the Company of Bastards, four half-brothers (3 half-orcs and one half-elf) that are all the illegitimate progeny of one perverse (and now deceased) noble lord. The ruler of Halfheim, a blind half-elf Lore Oracle named Redric, governs with benevolence. His half-orc brothers enforce his will as his Marshall (Inquisitor of Abadar), General (Paladin of Sarenrae), and Warden (Natural Weapon Ranger). The oracle has a certain affinity for fey and he's kept us on good terms with the locals because of that, but there's a fair bit of grumbling from the half-orcs when they inevitably get pranked.
Don't skeletons normally carry broken equipment? In most statted instances that's how I've seen them. If it's a style choice to leave the equipment intact, ignore my comment entirely.
Skeleton Warrior:
AC: Should be 23 with the +1 shield bonus from Two-Weapon Defense.
Saves: Will should be +3, unless the skeletons are getting a bonus from somewhere else I'm not aware of.
Skills: How many skill ranks do the skeletons get per HD? Normal PF skellies get 0, but most undead get 4 + Int Mod per level. This looks similar, but you're not factoring in the bonus for ranks in class skills (assuming you're using the Undead class skills), so each skill should be 3 higher (Climb +8, Intimidate +6, Perception +6, Stealth +8).
Feats: Skeletons in PF get Improved Initiative as a bonus feat. Did you decide to drop that?
Languages: Can the skeletons talk or just understand language?
Skeleton Archer:
HD: Should be d8 not d12. Looks like the average HP are based on d8s already though, so just a typo I guess :)
AC: Should be 20. Armour bonus from Chain Shirt is +4 (Max Dex +4).
Attacks: Crit Range on a Longbow is x3.
Saves: As with Warrior; Will should be +3 unless I'm missing something.
Skills: Same as the Warrior. See my comments there.
Languages: As above.
Equipment: How many arrows do your skeletons normally carry? Maybe a single quiver of 20?
Skeleton Mage:
HD: Should be written as 3d8+6, so 20 hp. Undead add their CHA bonus to hp.
Saves: Fort should be +2 (+1 from CHA) and Will should be +3.
Skills: Intimidate should be +7 (3 skill ranks, +3 class skill bonus, +1 CHA modifier). Other skills should be +6 (3 skill ranks, +3 skill bonus, +0 ability mods). If this skeleton is getting 4+Int Mod skill points per HD, he has 21 skill points kicking around and only 9 have been spent. There's another 12 skill points available.
Feats: Should be Ability Focus(Flaming Anima) I believe.
Flaming Anima: What's the skeleton's caster level? Is its CL equal to its HD?
Monster Creation Rules[/url]]The DC for almost all special abilities is equal to 10 + 1/2 the creature's Hit Dice + a relevant ability modifier (usually Constitution or Charisma depending on the ability).
So Burning Strike would be DC26 (Again, odd to use Strength as the modifier for an ability, but this is your show).
Infernal Blaze would be DC25.
Hellfire would be DC27, assuming a CON based DC.
Secondly, I'm not sure where Ifrit is taking penalties to his natural attacks from, or why he needs Multiattack. This might be a throwback to 3.5 rules. In Pathfinder, all natural attacks are primary attacks (and made at your full attack bonus) unless specifically called out in the rules or if you incorporate manufactured weapons as part of your attack cycle. When you include an attack made with a manufactured weapon, all your natural attacks become secondary. Base attack 13 and STR mod of +10... Ifrit should attack at +23 for natural attacks.
It's also become standard practice to include Power Attack penalties and damage as part of their full attack cycle in the stat block. In Ifrit's case I believe it should look like this:
Full Attack: 2 claws +19 (1d8+18) gore +19 (1d8+18) bite +19 (1d10+18)
Since he doesn't need Multiattack unless he's using a manufactured weapon, you can swap that feat out for something else. Maybe Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Toughness...
Burning Strike:
The multiple area of effects of Burning Strike seem like a lot bookkeeping to me in order to manage terrain issues, overlapping areas of effect, and stacking damage. The wide radius of the effects means that you can easily overlap multiple fields in his relatively small 60ft cone, which is a very easy way to stack up deadly damage and wipe a party. Impassable terrain gimps melee as well, as Ifrit can simply stand in the lava. That's not a bad thing, really, it's a clever tactic and entirely valid for the monster to use to survive. But with 3/day uses Ifrit can pretty much blanket your standard battlefield in lava and leave players dead, dying, or twiddling their thumbs.
I put this together as an alternative. See if it works for you in part or as a whole.
Alt. Burning Strike wrote:
Burning Strike(Sp): Ifrit lets out a chilling roar as flames begin to dance across his claws. Lunging forward, he smashes his fist into the ground. Two effects take place when Ifrit uses this ability. The first effect is a fire storm blanketing the area, as the spell (CL 13) with a DC 25 reflex save for half damage. The secondary effect is a 15ft cone of lava jets from the ground at Ifrit's feet, coating an area he designates. Ground covered in Ifrit's lava is considered impassable. Anyone in the area of effect or entering the area of effect takes 4d6 points of fire damage, DC 25 reflex save for half. The lava disappears after 1 minute.
Wasn't sure how long the lava should persist (maybe forever?) so I left it at 1 minute since 10 rounds is easy to track and may outlast the fight.
Infernal Blaze:
This is just a really dramatic fireball... I have a suggestion for improvement though. Retain the damage, the split between bludgeoning and fire, but make it 1/day and creatures in the area of effect have to pass a DC25(CON Based) Reflex save or be knocked prone. No save for half damage, you just take a rock to the face and have to struggle to stay standing. It's (Sp) so spell resistance applies, fire resist will lower the fire damage, DR can lower the bludgeoning. Seems fair to me, and Ifrit already gets the fireball spell 3/day. This is an upgrade with some oomph.
Hellfire:
I am tempted to suggest splitting this into 2-3 different abilities. The fireballs + coruscating sphere could be combined into one ability, likely a (Sp). Describe the attack, but combine the full fire damage (maybe 15d6) and make a single Reflex to avoid it. Even if they avoid the fire damage, they can still be pulled 10ft up into the glowing corona of fire. Reverse gravity, a similar effect, gives them a reflex save to grab onto something to prevent being pulled into the air so long as there's something to grab onto. It's worthwhile to borrow that mechanic rather than reinvent one. They stay elevated until the end of Ifrit's next round if they fail their second save.
The secondary ability (Call it Earth Toss? Rock Hurl?) is the Ifrit grabbing the terrain and chucking it at them. It's (Ex), a standard action to make a ranged attack that deals 5d6 bludgeoning damage to the target. If the Ifrit targets the coruscating sphere, it's a ranged touch attack and deals 5d6 bludgeoning damage to everyone inside the sphere and they drop back to the ground. They drop only 10ft (so no falling damage). If the Ifrit is prevented from making the attack, or chooses not to, or is killed, or fireballs them instead, they drop back to ground and still take no damage.
This splits the damage up, gives the Ifrit a utility ranged attack that can be used at any time, and gives the players a chance to escape the full effects or counter it. It also feels less like you just gave the Ifrit 3 rounds worth of actions in a single round.
He's a heck of a CR13 too, maybe even a higher CR considering the power of his abilities. Comparable to devils and demons of the same CR and those are rarely easy fights. The bright side is he doesn't have DR or Regeneration like a lot of devils and demons, so he's low on the defense side. Fire Resistance and a blitz of damage would be the best bet. Low defenses are the only justification I can see for him not being a CR15 or worse. The saving throws, if CON based, are super tough to beat.
I don't see anything in the prerequisites that require you to be mounted to take advantage of this feat. Even the wording just states "charge" and not "mounted charge". You could use this in tighter quarters to devastating effect still.
A couple barbarians with greater beast totem and rhino hide. Charge, pounce, and demolish someone.
Still doesn't seem terribly overpowered. It's a three feat investment with a minimum level of 10 that can be countered by difficult terrain, distance, friendly obstacles (other PCs), unfriendly obstacles (other enemies), curving hallways or other architectural obstructions. Not to mention all the other things that come out of a charge, such as -2AC, and provoking AoOs from nearby creatures or creatures with reach.
If you have Ride-by-Attack (we're up to a 5 feat investment now), you can couple that with this charge and set yourself up for another charge on your actual initiative. As has already been stated though, you've used up your immediate action for this round, so you have to wait for another ally to charge in after your next turn to take advantage of this. And to make sure that this mounted charge is worth all the effort, let's pick up Spirited Charge, because why wouldn't we? So that's 6 feats. A cavalier could easily manage that by level 10, given the bonus feats at level 1 and 6, but cavaliers don't get bonus feats at level 10, so they invest in something else useful. Power Attack and Weapon Focus(Lance) let's say. So level 11 is the earliest a cavalier could get this feat.
So a level 11 cavalier could make two charges in a round given enough room and given conditions that allow a charge. I'm guessing the feat might help their damage since they can't make iterative attacks while charging, and they just got their third iterative attack at level 11? They can also bring others along for those charges, though after the first round, unless everyone is a mounted character with Ride-by-Attack, the cavalier will likely not be making extra charges outside his own turn as anyone who would charge into combat probably already has.
A fighter could do it a level earlier, but he wouldn't have the fancy bells and whistles of the cavalier.
So let's say the OP builds an encounter based around this feat where a bunch of dragoons square off to level all of the players. Okay, well, if you build the situation to favour the dragoons and their feat, yes they will win. So will a giant with Great Cleave if you stick him in a small room with the party. And Great Cleave can be taken earlier and may taken out several weaker party members at once. So, yeah. You can use this feat to build enemies that will kill players. Congratulations.
Also, Inquisitors need to meet the prerequisites for their teamwork feats. A prerequisite for this feat is BAB +10. With a 3/4 BAB, the earliest the Inquisitor can take this feat is level 15, which means they don't get to do what cavaliers can any earlier.
Oh dang. I had not considered how Bonecrusher would work when used by a BBEG. A player would be flat out obliterated. The BBEG would have no special Iaido attacks from samurai left, but he'd still have arcane pool and spells left. Errrgh. This class is a rough fight.
I'm actually thinking you might want to make this a "smart fighter" class. Drop Power Attack for Combat Expertise (Int 13 pre-req) as a pre-requisite and keep all the abilities except the arcane caster level advancement. Spells and arcane pool and a full caster level advancement makes wonder what the downside is.
Then again, I'm not a big fan of the magus class or fighter/mage combos in general, so I am by no means an expert on how they work. If you're set on samurai being a magus prestige class, I'd recommend staggering the arcane spell advancement some. Maybe no spell progression at levels 1, 4, and 9 (similar to Arcane Archer).
Back to Bonecrusher though... It's a reactive ability if I remember right. Maybe it could work like this?:
Reactive Bonecrusher wrote:
Bonecrusher(Ex): When a samurai suffers a melee attack that reduces him to zero or fewer hit points, he can, as an immediate action, spend a daily use of Iaido to make a counterattack against his attacker as he falls. The samurai makes the attack at his full attack bonus. At level 5, this attack always deals maximum damage. At level 8, this attack is automatically a critical threat (the samurai must still roll to confirm).
I think this would work pretty well. If you manage a crit as you're going down you'll deal a heavy hit to the guy that brought you down, maybe take him with you. Feels like it fits well with samurai and the FFT ability.
Also, lolz @ the rogue stabbing the poor paladin to death.
