After a bit of research, I was surprised not to find anything to this effect; not even on the forums. So I'd like to discuss how we should do this here.
I propose the following rules for punting as a combat maneuver:
Punt:
You can attempt to punt a creature as a standard action or as part of a charge, in place of the melee attack. You can only punt an opponent who is at least two size categories smaller than you. A punt is an attempt to knock an opponent back, off their feet, through the air. Although the name implies it to be an unarmed maneuver (with the foot), any bludgeoning melee weapon may be used in a punt attempt (subject to GM discretion). If you do not have the Improved Punt feat, or a similar ability, initiating a punt provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver.
If your attack is successful, your target takes normal weapon damage and flies back 5 feet. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent's CMD you you can make the target fly back an additional 5 feet. For every size category by which you exceed your opponent beyond 2, this distance is doubled. For example, an opponent 3 categories smaller is knocked back twice as far, 4 categories smaller is knocked back 4 times as far, and 5 categories smaller is knocked back 8 times as far. If your attack fails, your movement ends in front of the target.
An enemy flying through the air as the result of a punt does not provoke an attack of opportunity because of the movement. If the enemy flies into a square occupied by another creature and both can't occupy the same space (because of size), you must immediately make a punt check against that creature. You take a –4 penalty on this check for each creature being pushed beyond the first. If you are successful, that creature is pushed as if by a bull rush attempt (even though punt maneuver bonuses are used for the check), but additional creatures can't be pushed further than the distance of the original punt victim.
You cannot punt a creature through a square that is occupied by a solid object or obstacle unless it can fly over or past that object(DM discretion). If the punted enemy does collide with a solid object, then they take damage equal to 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 ft remaining in their distance.
At the end of the movement, the punted enemy (but not additional pushed enemies) may make an acrobatics check (DC 10 + the amount your punt check exceeded their CMD) to avoid falling prone. If they succeed, they're instead staggered for one round. If the enemy has a flight speed, they use fly instead of acrobatics. Failure means they begin falling; otherwise they're staggered for 1 round. If they collided with a solid object before ending movement, then the DC is 25, as usual for colliding with a solid object.
For example a dwarven fighter is being attacked by a bat. He makes a punt attempt against the bat with his warhammer, and succeeds by 6. The bat takes the dwarf's usual weapon damage. Because the bat is Diminutive in size, it flies back 20 feet (base 5ft + bonus 5ft =10ft x 2 for size = 20ft). The bat can only travel back 10 feet before it collides with a wall, so it takes 1d6 bludgeoning and movement stops. Miraculously, the bat is still alive (must be someone's familiar) so it attempts a DC 25 fly check, but fails and falls prone next to the wall.
To those of you Orc barbarians who love kicking around goblins, I say use bull rush, or grapple and throw them, because even the strongest men can't really kick a 30-40 pound object any significant distance through the air (though a giant could). Punting small woodland creatures, over-sized insects, or pixies, however, seems feasible.
Here are a couple feats to go with punting:
Improved Punt (Combat):
You are skilled at punting smaller foes across the battlefield.
Prerequisite: Str 13, Power Attack, base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing a punt combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks made to punt a foe.
Greater Punt (Combat):
You can aim a punted enemies towards other enemies
Prerequisites: Improved Punt, base attack bonus +6, Str 15.
Punted enemies can function as an improvised thrown weapon, that can only be aimed at anyone in a cone shaped area in the direction between you and the punt victim, up to the distance determined by the punt check.
After succeeding on a punt check, make your ranged attack against an opponent in range. If you get bonuses to attack with the weapon used in the punt check, that applies to the ranged attack, but not to damage. You still take increment penalties for ranges further than 10 feet. The damage is equal to that of an unarmed strike from a creature of that size plus 1/2 your strength modifier. This attack and damage is used instead of the extra punt checks normally applied to push back additional creatures.
Here are a few things I'd like advice about:
Should it really provoke an attack of opportunity, and if not, what should Improved punt do, if anything?
Greater Punt is just a cool idea, if not very realistic. Is it too much, or should it work differently?
Should the punted enemy get the acrobatics check to avoid falling prone, or not?
I think the Fly check for flying creatures is still appropriate, because they're used to flying across the room, and can react better to the situation, but, I can't imagine many creatures other than a cat landing on their feet after being violently smacked across the room. At the very least, they should be staggered for one round.
What's a better word for this sort of maneuver, other than punt? Swat? Whack? Knockback?
Any other questions, comments or suggestions are welcome! :D
As he watched the giants march ever closer over the hill, the Barbarian prayed to Gorum for strength in battle. Seeing his faith, Gorum granted him his blessing, and the benefits of the Deadly Jaugernaut spell.
This is the idea behind this new skill. Characters who otherwise wouldn't have access to divine spells can pray to their deities for certain appropriate blessings.
I'm unsure how exactly I'd like the skill to work, but here's my idea so far.
Prayer (Wis) is a class skill to all divine casters.
Characters can use this skill to cast certain divine spells appropriate to their deity, as prayers. These prayers do not need to be prepared or learned as a divine caster's spells. The prayer's level is the same as the equivalent divine spell level. If the spell is a different level for different divine caster classes, the lowest level counts as the prayer level.
Save DC of prayers is 10 + prayer level + Wis.
The character must beat a DC of 15 + 2 x prayer level, or there is no effect.
Concentration checks do not apply to spells cast as prayers, and neither does Arcane Spell Failure chance.
The prayer's level can't be more than 1/4 the character's level.
The caster level of the prayer is 1/2 character level.
Characters gain "prayer points" equal to the number of ranks in this skill.
Using this skill consumes a number of prayer points equal to the level of the prayer (minimum 1), even if it fails.
Prayer points are regained after one hour spent in reverence and prayer, or less time at an appropriate altar or with the aid of a divine caster of your deity. Divine casters regain prayer points when preparing their spells, without needing to spend extra time.
Which spells can be cast as prayers depends on the character's deity, and would be a limited list, kind of like a domain spell list. I'm not sure how exactly I'm going to decide which spells can and can't be accessed with this skill, except by reading up on the PC's diety, and judging if the spell is appropriate. Not every deity is going to grant you Summon Monster and Cure Wounds spells, for example.
The prayer doesn't even have to be limited to a specific spell. It could be something like, "I'm praying I don't trigger any traps on this lock" and the DM could grant them a bonus depending the level of the prayer, which is equal to the number of prayer points spent. These sorts of non spell prayers are typically a standard action with a rounds/caster level duration, like most spells, but could be different at DM's discretion.
In a 3.5 campaign consisting of a Minotar, Dwarven Dragon Shaman, and Vampire (all some alignment of evil except for the vampire), I figured this would be a great chance to try out a Necromancer, with all of those cool spells and abilities that are harder to make work in a good aligned party.
After reaching 3rd level my friend playing the vampire decides he's not so fond of his character choice, and opts to reroll a new character, which we're all cool with. At first I was somewhat relieved, because that Vampire didn't like the idea of my dark magic fiddling with the undead.
Then I just found out that the new character he's chosen is a Lawful Good Paladin/Cleric/Monk who's all about healing and cleansing the world of, well, people like my Dread Necromancer. As you can understand, this is a big wrench in my plans for this character. To the same token though, he's also wanted to play a character like his for a while too, and the rest of the party could benefit from a good healer.
I don't want to ask him to pick a different character, and he hasn't asked me to either, but I really don't see how we can make this work. What made him think that his character could fit in this party is beyond me, but he's made his decision, and I'm genuinely scared for my character's future now.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. How can we coexist?
In case it helps, here's my character's back story.
David Frankenstien:
My grandfather was a great wizard and innovator in the necromantic arts. In the pursuit of a more powerful form of arcane resurrection and immortality, he performed many dark experiments in the house where my father, Frodrick (yes, like from the movie "Young Frankenstein") grew up. Whether from some dark ritual or just prolonged exposure, my father gained a certain affinity for negative energy. After meeting the love of his life, my mother, he cut all ties from the family business so that he could be with her.
I lived a mostly normal life, except for a strange condition that prevented wounds from healing by most clerical means, though my father was able to heal me, somehow. About a month ago I discovered an old journal/magic book stored away that revealed the truth to me about my grandfather, and incite into my condition. I got caught attempting some of the magic described in the journal, and when our ties to Necromancy were revealed, we were forced to flee the country.
While at sea, our ship was attacked by pirates and my mother and I kidnapped. I became separated from my mother a short while later, and I haven't seen either of my parents since.
I was taken to a pirate island and found work with a party of adventurers, continuing my grandfather's work in the dark arts.
Side Note: I actually started out playing as Frodrick at level 1, and what turned him back to Necromancy is a slightly different story. Unfortunately, he tragically died to a high damage crit, escaping from prison with the rest of the party. They later met up with David at level 2 on the pirate island, so I could still play a Necromancer.
Most of us have probably heard about the option of rolling 3d6 in the place of a d20 roll.
I had an idea to make this option available through a feat.
Feat:
Equilibrium
You can focus to perform adequately at most tasks, neither great, nor poor.
Benefit: You can choose to roll 3d6 instead of a d20 on any attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. This allows you to perform more consistently, rolling 7-14 over 80% of the time. On attack rolls, you cannot miss on a natural roll of 1, nor threaten a critical hit on an attack unless your weapon normally would threaten on an 18 or lower.
To put things in perspective, here's a chart demonstrating the chance of success, depending on the roll result needed.
Chart:
The left column is the minimum roll result needed for success.
The middle column is the chance of success on a normal d20 roll.
The right column is the chance of success on a 3d6 roll (rounded to the nearest .1%)
As you can see, this feat is beneficial when you only need a 10 or lower to succeed. As such, one might choose to use this feat when they have a particularly high modifier, to hopefully minimize their chance of failure.
For example, this feat is great for saving throws, when you already have a high bonus, like a rogue making a reflex save.
Another example is certain skill checks. Using this feat is similar to taking 10, except there's still a small range of uncertainty, and they don't need to be free of distractions or threats. You can think of it as a "take 7" feat, with a 90.7% chance of success, that you can use at any time.
A fighter with high attack bonuses could also use this to minimize his miss chance, and the cost of critical chance.
As a feat, should it have a prerequisite, like 13 Wis?
Do you think you would ever take this feat? Why or why not?
Would it be better as a default option, item ability, or spell?
In a spell of bad luck (not an actual spell) one of my characters died, got resurrected, broke his leg, got it healed, and then managed to take 8 Con damage, all in 3 consecutive sessions. Given his condition, I've opted to roll up a new character for the campaign, and I figured I’d share it on here to organize my thoughts and ask for advice.
For what it's worth, the current party composition includes a Sorcerer, Fighter, Rogue, and Cleric. The Rogue took a 1 level dip in Wizard, and is going into the Arcane Archer Archetype, and the Cleric has started multiclassing into rogue (I think). There's also a Druid and Barbarian who occasionally join us. I'm building a level 10 Arcane Duelist Gnome who goes by Shrimpy. His backstory is underdeveloped, but part of the idea is that he’s a traveler/treasure hunter type guy with some history with pirates.
Gnome Racial Traits (* Alternate Racial Trait)
Racial Modifiers: +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, –2 Strength
Small: +1 size bonus to AC, +1 size bonus on attack rolls, –1 penalty to CMB and CMD, a +4 size bonus to Stealth
Slow Speed: 20 feet Low-Light Vision: See twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light
*Magical Linguist: +1 to the DC of spells cast with the language-dependent descriptor or those that create glyphs, symbols, or other magical writings and +2 racial bonus on saving throws against such spells
*Spell-like Abilities: 1/day—arcane mark, comprehend languages, message, read magic *Eternal Hope: +2 racial bonus on saving throws vs fear and despair effects. 1/day, reroll natural 1 on d20
Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus on Perception checks
Obsessive: +2 racial bonus on a Craft or Profession skill of choice
Weapon Familiarity: Treat any weapon with the word "gnome" in its name as a martial weapon
Languages: Begin play speaking Common, Gnome, and Sylvan, and with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc
Favored Class Bonus: +1/level to total bardic performance rounds per day.
Rolled Stats: 18, 17, 12, 11, 15, 15 (we roll 4d6, remove the lowest, and reroll 10s and under)
After racial bonuses and bonus int and cha at lvls 4 and 8, I end up here.
Str (-1) 9 (-2 racial)
Dex (+4) 18
Con (+3) 17 (+2 racial)
Int (+3) 16 (+1 at 4)
Wis (+1) 12
Cha (+5) 20 (+2 racial) (+1 at 8)
At levels 12, 16, and 20 I'll probably stick the bonus stat into dex, dex, then con, unless I decide I want that con sooner for fort saves or HP.
I’m not 100% sure if I want to go with the -1 Str and +1 Wis mods, or swap those stats and have a 0 mod in both. I feel like the wisdom is more useful for will saves and skills, like Sense Motive and Perception. Strength would only help my CMD, and the off chance that I ever have to climb or swim, in which case I could Inspire Competence in myself.
For feats I’ve selected the following (B = Bonus feat from the Arcane Duelist archetype):
Arcane Strike, Combat Casting, and (Greater) Penetrating strike are great bonus feats to have. Disruptive and Spellbreaker drive home the idea that the Arcane Duelist is meant to deal with enemy casters, so I grabbed Step Up to get the most out of them.
I decided to go with a dex build because the racial penalty to Strength is no fun, and I should be able to make my Arcane Bonded weapon Agile pretty easily. This also makes a TWF build possible, and the dex bonus to AC partially makes up for my lack of shield. Bard guides I’ve read discourage TWF, but it looks pretty good to me. I can dual wield rapiers and make them both Keen and Agile, probably giving them energy burst abilities later on. 15-20 threat range goes a long way for a two-weapon fighter; especially since my group houseruled that a critical threat is an auto hit, even if it’s not a natural 20. That’s also why I grabbed Critical feats. Greater Two-Weapon Fighting might not be worth the feat, and could be traded out for some other good late game feat, or used to make room for Quickdraw which could be important, as mentioned below.
I grabbed Craft Wondrous Items so that I can get cheaper magic goodies, and my party should love me as well. I can already add abilities to my Arcane Bonded Weapon myself.
I didn’t grab any Metamagic feats because Metamagic Rods seem more practical for a caster with only 6 spell levels.
For Skills, Here’s what I’ve thrown together for level 10:
I don’t usually drop 1s in all my class skills, but since bards get more ranks than most classes I figured he can afford to. I need max ranks in Spellcraft for crafting Wondrous Items, and 10 ranks in Perform (sing) for Discordant Voice. Intimidate is mostly for Rallying Cry, and the rest for their usual uses.
For Spells, Here’s what I’ve selected for level 10:
Here are the Magic Items I’d like to get eventually.
Weapons: Two +5 Agile Keen Elysian Bronze Rapiers with +3 in other abilities (302,640g) (Arcane Bonded weapon is half price)
Armor: +5 Mithral Agile Breastplate with +5 in abilities (104,400g)
Total: 407,040g (Could be more if I choose to add abilities with a flat gp cost, such as Glamered or Spell Resistance)
Wondrous Items Belt: Belt of Incredible Dexterity (4-36k), Meridian Belt (1k, 1.5k to combine)
Body: Resplendent Robe of the Thespian (75k)
Chest: Shirt of Immolation (8k), Tunic of Careful Casting (5k, 7.5k to combine)
Eyes: Pirate's Eye Patch (2.6k), Eyes of the Eagle (2.5k, 3.75k to combine)
Feet: Jaunt Boots (7.2k), Boots of the Cat (1k, 1.5k to combine)
Hands: Glove of Storing (10k), Deliquescent Gloves (8k, 12k to combine)
Head: Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier (5k), Circlet of Persuasion (4.5k, 6.75k to combine)
Headband: Headband of Alluring Charisma (4-36k)
Neck: Amulet of Natural Armor (2-50k), Hand of Glory (8k, 12k to combine)
Rings: Ring of Protection (2-50k), Ring of Energy Shroud (19.5k), Ring of Foe Focus (10k), Ring of Spell Storing (50k, or 18k for minor)
Shoulders: Cloak of Resistance (1-25k), Pauldrons of the Serpent (3k, 4.5k to combine), Cloak of Fiery Vanishing (2.6k, 3.9k to combine)
Wrist: Duelist's Vambraces (8k), Spellguard Bracers (5k, 7.5k to combine), Bracers of the Glib Entertainer (7.9k, 11.85k to combine)
Rods: Persistent Metamagic Rod (32.5k, or 9k for lesser), Lesser Quicken Metamagic Rod (35k)
Slotless: Handy Haversack (2k), 2X Scabbard of Keen Edges (16k each) ( Stone of Good Luck (20k)
Total: 591.55k (including combined items and maxed out items, such as Ring of Protection)
Some of these have much higher priority than others, and some are just relatively cheap things mostly for flavor. Theoretically, I could even stick +1 str ability on my belt for 1.5k to get rid of that ugly negative modifier.
Here are other rods that peak my interest: Immovable Rod (5k), Extend Metamagic Rod (11k, or 3k for lesser), Dazing Metamagic Rod (54k, or 14k for lesser), Piercing Metamagic Rod (11k, or 3k for lesser)
(Using Metamagic Rods (with the exception of Quickening) would increase cast time to a Full Round Action, so I’m not sure they’re worth it)
Here are some other slotless items that peak my interest, mostly for cheap: Page of Spell Knowledge (1-36k) , Volatile Vaporizer (2.2-3.8k), Snapleaf (750g), Bottle of Messages (300g), Iron Rope (750g), Stubborn Nail (100g), Wasp Nest of Swarming (1k)
I should be able to save around 250k crafting the Wondrous Items I want. Assuming my DM gives us recommended gold, I think I should be able to get all of this stuff by level 20.
With my 62k 10th level starting gold I’ll be able to buy the following:
That seems to cover the essentials and leaves me with 5,520 pocket change. I could grab some of those cheaper Wondrous items or save up for something bigger.
I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to make the Metamagic Rods work. I could hold it in my offhand and drop it after use, before drawing my second rapier, or retrieving it from a glove of storing as a free action.
I could try to sacrifice a feat for Quickdraw and start combat with the Metamagic Rod, and then drop it or store it in a glove of storing before drawing my offhand for the rest of the fight.
I’ve also flirted with the idea of enchanting the metamagic rod as a light mace and using it as my offhand weapon, but the rapier would be much better with increased crit range, and benefiting from my weapon focus and penetrating strike feats.
Any other Rods I might get would have to sit in my Handy Haversack and drawn as a move action, before taking up a full Round Action the next round to use.
For the big fights I could try to start with something like this:
Move Action: Inspire Courage Bardic Performance
Swift Action: Quickened Haste (Lesser Metamagic Rod)
Standard Action: Virtuoso Performance or Shadowbard (Bladethirst or Inspire Heroics)
Then engage the enemy in melee in the 2nd or 3rd round, after I’ve got some good Bardic Performances and other buffs/debuffs going.
That pretty much sums it.
I’d like a general review on my feat/spell selections and such.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
Shouldn't armor spikes provide some sort of defense against grapplers?
As a small character (gnome) I have little interest in grappling my opponents, and I'm even less interested in them grappling me! I'm sure there are plenty of wild beasts out there who'd happily gobble me up if given the chance, and I don't like that. Looking at what the CRB says about Armor spikes, they seem to only function for the character dominating the grapple. I suppose it makes sense that anything trying to grapple me would avoid any spikes on my armor, grabbing me elsewhere, but what if my armor is Glamered? You can't tell me that an orc trying to pin a gnome in traveler's clothes is going to be able to avoid the armor spikes hidden under the illusion, right?
Sure, there are other (even better) ways for low CMD characters to hinder grapplers, but I think armor spikes should be an valid option. After all, porcupines do it.
Looking at crafting magic weapons specifically, here's what PRD says.
Creating Magic Weapons:
To create a magic weapon, a character needs a heat source and some iron, wood, or leatherworking tools. She also needs a supply of materials, the most obvious being the weapon or the pieces of the weapon to be assembled. Only a masterwork weapon can become a magic weapon, and the masterwork cost is added to the total cost to determine final market value. Additional magic supplies costs for the materials are subsumed in the cost for creating the magic weapon—half the base price of the item based upon the item's total effective bonus.
Creating a magic weapon has a special prerequisite: The creator's caster level must be at least three times the enhancement bonus of the weapon. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the two caster level requirements must be met. A magic weapon must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus to have any melee or ranged special weapon abilities.
If spells are involved in the prerequisites for making the weapon, the creator must have prepared the spells to be cast (or must know the spells, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) but need not provide any material components or focuses the spells require. The act of working on the weapon triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the weapon's creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)
At the time of creation, the creator must decide if the weapon glows or not as a side-effect of the magic imbued within it. This decision does not affect the price or the creation time, but once the item is finished, the decision is binding.
Creating magic double-headed weapons is treated as creating two weapons when determining cost, time, XP, and special abilities.
Creating some weapons may entail other prerequisites beyond or other than spellcasting. See the individual descriptions for details.
Crafting a magic weapon requires 1 day for each 1,000 gp value of the base price.
Item Creation Feat Required: Craft Magic Arms and Armor.
Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft, Craft (bows) (for magic bows and arrows), or Craft (weapons) (for all other weapons).
My first question regards this bit:
PRD wrote:
The creator's caster level must be at least three times the enhancement bonus of the weapon. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the two caster level requirements must be met.
1. Does this mean that a 9th level caster can add enhancements or abilities to any weapon with an enhancement and/or ability bonus up to +3, or that they can only add up to that many enhancements to a weapon at a time?
For example: Suppose I'm a 9th level caster with a +3 Keen Flaming Burst rapier. Can I further enchant that rapier, or does it already have as many enchantments as I could give it?
2. Can I somehow borrow spells from an ally, if I don't know them?
For example: If I'm a bard who wants to put a flaming enchantment on his weapon, is there some way I can borrow a necessary spell from an ally wizard, sorcerer, druid, or cleric, or can I simply not apply that enchantment because there's no way for me to learn it myself? I recall reading about people using spells from scrolls for enchanting with spells they can't know or prepare, but I don't know if that's actually possible, or how it works, since u need to spend that spell every day spent crafting the item.
3. Why does a player need "a heat source and some iron, wood, or leatherworking tools?" I guess the heat source kind of makes sense, but if I already have the masterwork weapon I'm enchanting, why do I need weapon crafting tools? Do I have to take the weapon apart to enchant it or something? How do I know which tools I need? It's not that big of a deal, but it seems a bit odd to me.
4. I recall people saying that it's possible to have a +1 weapon with +9 worth of abilities, but wouldn't that require the enchanter to have a level 27 caster level? Shouldn't the maximum abilities on one weapon be +6 (Caster level 18 requirement) excluding epic levels?
5. Is there any way to remove enchantments or abilities already on an item?
What are the rules regarding characters who can craft magic weapons through an Arcane Bond?
Arcane Bond wrote:
A wizard can add additional magic abilities to his bonded object as if he has the required item creation feats and if he meets the level prerequisites of the feat. For example, a wizard with a bonded dagger must be at least 5th level to add magic abilities to the dagger. The magic properties of a bonded object, including any magic abilities added to the object, only function for the wizard who owns it. If a bonded object's owner dies, or the item is replaced, the object reverts to being an ordinary masterwork item of the appropriate type.
6. Can a character with Arcane Bond only add abilities, or can they add enchantment bonuses too?
7. How does the cost of these abilities effect price to enchant, and the value of the bonded weapon, should it be sold, considering it only applies to the person it's bound to?
8. If the bonded weapon is lost or stolen, can the new owner add new abilities to it, and if so, how does that effect the price and number of bonuses on the weapon, should the original owner retrieve it?
9. For the same reason, can these extra abilities exceed the usual maximum +10?
For example: Suppose I'm a level 15 wizard with an arcane bond to a +5 dagger. Through my Arcane bond, I add abilities to the dagger to make it a +5 Vorpal dagger. This would cost 75k gold, and take 75 days to finish, correct?
Now suppose I give the dagger to my Cleric friend (who also can craft magic weapons) and ask him to give it the holy ability. To him it's merely a +5 dagger, so can he give it the holy ability or not, and if so, does it cost him as much as a +6 ability (11k) or a +11 ability (21k)?
If he manages to give it the Holy ability, do I now effectively have a +5 Vorpal Keen dagger (total +11)? I never died or replaced the weapon, so the Vorpal ability shouldn't have gone away, right?
So I've got a character with around 6-7foot long hair braids that he uses as short range whips for tripping and stuff. It's mostly just a flavor thing, but I don't want to risk losing it every time I fail a trip check.
In a recent session the character almost had one of them chopped off. I mentioned afterwards that I would have just used mending to fix it, and the DM said that that wouldn't have worked because my hair is part of my body. I'd have needed something more like regenerate.
I hope it never comes to that, so I'm wondering if there's any way I could somehow make his hair stronger, so that it's less likely to be sundered. I'm thinking barkskin could have that effect, but I don't know how that would work, or if it'd be good enough. There is a sorcerer in the party who makes potions, so I'm thinking of asking him to brew me up some sort of magic shampoo that greatly increases my hair's HP and burst DC so it's super tough. It should have DR/slashing, right? I'm not sure what my DM would say about that though, assuming the sorcerer doesn't just laugh in my face. Is there any sort of spell the potion could be based off of, or would it have to be fully home brewed?
What other options might I have? All of this would have to be run past the DM, but I'm looking for different ideas in case mine aren't good enough for him.
For what it's worth, the character is a monk/druid.
On a similar note, if barkskin could be applied to my hair, then what about other spells that effect my skin? Could thorn body be applied to my hair to make a braid attack do 1d6 piercing damage? Outside of a couple witch spells/abilities, I can't seem to find any information on hair mechanics, for some strange reason. ;)
In my campaign there is a society of fairies that the PCs will eventually discover and one of the PCs wants to play a fairy. I'm fine with this. I even suggested it. I need a race template for the player to use. I recall reading a few homebrewed Fairy templates on this forum, but I cant find them. I've started building one from scratch using the PF Race Builder partially based on the Pixie creature.
Here's what I've got so far.
Fairies
Type Fey +2 rp
Size Tiny +4 rp
Base Speed Very Slow (10 ft) –3 rp? not listed
Ability Score Modifiers Standard (+2 Dex, +2 Cha (maybe Wis), –2 Con) 0 rp
Languages Standard 0 rp
Racial Traits
Fey Damage Resistance +3 rp
Enclave Protector (+1 caster lvl abjuration spells and spell-like abilities: constant—nondetection; 1/day—faerie fire, obscure object, sanctuary) +2 rp
Spell-Like Ability, At-Will Invisibility +4 rp
Flight (60ft good maneuverability +4 fly skill) +10 rp
Total 22 rp
These are the main features I think fairies should have.
I know that Pixies are considered Small instead of Tiny, but I think the Tiny features better fit the fairy description.
There is no listed 10 or 15ft land speed, so I just estimated.
Enclave Protector spell like abilities help explain why fairies are so rarely seen, and Invisibility as well.
I'm unsure if I want them to have average or good flight maneuverability.
I'd like to squeeze in a few other features that seem reasonable, if I can keep it under 30 RP, but maybe I should just reduce flight to average and leave it at 20 RP.
I ask because I'd like to try out a different set of rules for gaining ranks, and if I set the cap at max 10 ranks in a given skill, how much do you think that would impact skill checks?
1d20 + 10 + ability Mod + class skill + other bonuses seems like it would be reasonable to ensure a good chance at success on just about any skill check.
Which skills really benefit from having more than 10 ranks?
Do you need more than 10 for anything, really?
In case you're curious about the rules I plan on using...
Characters gain additional Skill Points (SP) each level equal to their character level.
Each Skill Rank costs more than the last. 1st rank costs 1xSP, 2nd rank costs 2xSP, 3rd rank costs 3xSP, etc. Example: Increasing an untrained skill to rank 3 costs 6 SP (1+2+3=6). Increasing a skill from rank 3 to rank 5 costs 9 SP (4+5+9). It helps to think of it as buying each rank one after the other, and each rank costs the new total number of ranks in SP. When leveling up, extra skill points not spent can be saved for the next level if the remaining skill points are too low to buy 1 more rank in the highest skill. Otherwise they must be spent.
I wouldn't NEED to set the cap at 10 ranks, but it costs 55 SP to go from 1-10, so much higher than that sounds a bit far fetched.
I'd like to be able to get a mount as a bard, but I don't want it to become useless in combat as the Bard levels up.
The only way I see to get a mount to level up with a PC is to have it be an animal companion, but I see no way to do that without a class feature.
I don't mind if I'd have to raise it from a smaller form before I could actually ride it at later levels. I also don't mind if its always a couple levels lower. I just don't want it to be useless, or likely to die in combat.
Is there any official way for a character without a class feature to get a mount who levels up with him, or would this have to be some sort of house ruling?
I'm DMing a campaign themed in the world of RuneScape and I'm adding a few Homebrew features to add to the flavor of the experience.
Pathfinder already has information on Bronze, Iron/Steel, Mithral, and Adamantine materials. They're close enough to RuneScape equivalents for me. I'd like to homebrew higher tier materials unique to RuneScape, like Runite and Dragon Metals. In RuneScape these materials don't have many defining qualities other than different tiers of equipment, so there's not a lot for me to go off of than my own imagination, and what I know about the game's lore. Runite should be considerably better than adamantine, and Dragon better than Runite.
Here are a couple ideas I souped up.
Runite: Runite is a rare sturdy metal with a natural magical conductivity, considered a delicacy among dragons.
Runite is easier to magically enhance than most other materials. Cost for applying magical abilities/enhancements to Runite equipment is treated as +2 less. It will still always cost at least +1 for the enhancement. For example: enchanting a Rune Longsword to be +5 Keen (+1) Flaming Burst (+2) would cost as much as a +6 weapon enhancement instead of +8. Runite equipment can effectively be enhanced to +12 this way, for the cost of a +10 enhancement. Runite equipment is always masterwork and costs more to make, as noted below.
Type of Item......Item Price Modifier
Ammunition.......+300 gp per item
Light armor.......+2,500 gp
Medium armor...+5,000 gp
Heavy armor.....+7,500 gp
Weapon............+15,000 gp
Dragon: Not to be confused with Dragonhide, this extremely rare ancient crimson metal is rumored to be forged by the dragon-kin. This craft has long-since been forgotten, so Dragon metal can not be forged by normal means. All items made of this material are considered artifacts.
Dragon Metal absorbs energies (acid, cold, electricity, or fire) that it's exposed to, and channels it to its wielder's advantage. Dragon equipment exposed to 10 points or more of energy damage (from mundane or magical sources) becomes charged for the next 2 rounds. Equipment can only be charged by one energy type at a time. Charged equipment charged by different energy type cancels the previous type, and gains the new one.
Charged Dragon Armor grants it's wearer Energy Resistance 5 of the appropriate type.
Charged Dragon weapons deal +1d6 points of energy damage to their attacks.
The equipment's ability to absorb energy can be enhanced if the source of energy is a dragon breath weapon, or the wielder is both wearing Dragon armor, and wielding a dragon weapon. Helmets, gauntlets, boots, a second weapon, and other equipment crafted from dragon metal do not count as Dragon armor for the purposes of this bonus unless specifically listed otherwise.
If one of these situations is applied, then the bonuses increase to energy resistance 10, 1d8 energy damage, and lasts for 4 rounds.
If both situations are applied, then the bonuses increase to energy resistance 15, 1d10 energy damage, and lasts 6 rounds.
These bonuses do not stack with energy resistance or damage enhancements such as flaming.
All dragon equipment is of masterwork quality. Because of the unique properties of the metal, it's more difficult to enchant. Cost to apply magical enhancements to Dragon equipment increases by +1.
Note: All dragon weapon artifacts already come with magical enhancement and properties to simulate special attacks from RuneScape, so further enhancing them shouldn't be necessary. Dragon armor does not come with any enchantments, but does come with (randomly) either spikes as spiked armor or ornamental runite and gold gilding trim that negates the increased cost to enchant.
I'd like some feedback about if these seem reasonably balanced.
If you're familiar with RuneScape, do you think they seem to fit the flavor?
Does a character under the effects of Tree Shape count as a tree for the purpose of spells like Tree Stride?
If so, then a druid could use Transport Via Plants to travel through another druid using Tree Shape?
If that's possible, then could a Tree Shaped druid with still spell/silent spell travel through themselves as a tree for the purpose of Tree Stride/Transport Via Plants, effectively transporting to any tree in range, from wherever they can assume Tree Shape?
Volley Spell (Su): At 15th level, when a targeted spell or spell-like ability fails to overcome a flowing monk's spell resistance, he may reflect the effect onto its caster as spell turning by spending a number of points from his ki pool equal to 1/2 the spell's level (minimum 1).
It doesn't say if this is a free or immediate action. I'd like to assume it's a free action, but most other ki powered abilities are swift actions, so I'm not sure.
I need some stats for a medium sized land based bird for use as a mount. Specifically, a Terrorbird.
My best idea was to try to rework a Clawfoot for pathfinder and just change it's look, but I'm not sure what to add/remove mechanic wise. I would probably give it a beak attack, and I'd like to think these things are faster than a human, but I'm not sure. I also don't really know how skill ranks and feats should work for it, or how it's BAB, saves, and such would scale, as I'd like for it to level up with the PCs. Any relevant advice would be helpful.
Description
This simple brown robe, when worn, confers great ability in unarmed combat. If the wearer has levels in monk, her AC and unarmed damage is treated as a monk of five levels higher. If donned by a character with the Stunning Fist feat, the robe lets her make one additional stunning attack per day. If the character is not a monk, she gains the AC and unarmed damage of a 5th-level monk (although she does not add her Wisdom bonus to her AC). This AC bonus functions just like the monk's AC bonus.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, righteous might or transformation; Cost 6,500 gp
Monastic Legacy:
Your formal unarmed training continues to bolster your training in other areas.
Prerequisites: Still mind class feature, Improved Unarmed Strike.
Benefit: Add half the levels you have in classes other than monk to your monk level to determine your effective monk level for your base unarmed strike damage. This feat does not make levels in classes other than monk count toward any other monk class features.
For example, if I had a 3rd level monk/8th level other, could I gain 4 effective monk levels for unarmed damage from the Monastic Legacy Feat, and then wear Monk's Robes for an additional 5 levels, and deal the unarmed damage of a 12th level monk? (3+5+8/2=12)
I thought this would be a pretty cool idea for a feat, but I couldn't find anything like it anywhere. I decided to just write it up myself, and ask for feedback on it.
Arcane/Bardic/Divine/Druidic Legacy
Your spell casting experience continues to bolster your training in other areas.
Prerequisites: Ability to cast spells.
Benefit: Add half the levels you have in classes other than your caster class to your caster level to determine your effective caster level for spells known/spells per day. This feat does not grant you the ability to cast higher level spells; only more spells of the levels you can already cast. For example, a 5th level sorcerer/8th level fighter with this feat would gain additional spells known/spells per day appropriate to a 9th level sorcerer (5+8/2=9), but wouldn't gain access to 3rd or 4th level spells. This feat does not grant access to any other caster class features.
Special: You can select this feat more than once. Its effects do not stack. Each time you select this feat, it applies to a different caster class.
Feat name can obviously be modified to be appropriate to the caster class it's applied to, even beyond the names I suggested.
I'm not sure if it should also increase effective caster level for DC checks or other things related to caster level, but I'm thinking not.
If a character uses Elemental Fist while under the effect of Thorn body, do the effects stack, granting an additional 2d6 damage (of the appropriate types).
Elemental Fist:
You empower your strike with elemental energy
Prerequisites: Con 13, Wis 13, Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +8.
Benefit: When you use Elemental Strike pick one of the following energy types: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. On a successful hit, the attack deals damage normally plus 1d6 points of damage of the chosen type. You must declare that you are using this feat before you make your attack roll (thus a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). You may attempt an elemental fist attack once per day for every four levels you have attained (see Special), and no more than once per round.
Special: A monk of the four winds receives Elemental Fist as a bonus feat at 1st level, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. A monk may attempt an Elemental Fist attack a number of times per day equal to his monk level, plus one more time per day for every four levels he has in classes other than monk.
Thorn Body:
School transmutation; Level alchemist 3, druid 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level
This spell causes spines to grow from your exposed skin, damaging creatures that strike you. Any creature striking you with a melee weapon, an unarmed strike, or a natural weapon takes 1d6 points of piercing damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +15). Creatures using melee weapons with reach are unaffected by this spell. Creatures that successfully grapple you take 2d6 points of piercing damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +15). In addition, your natural attacks and unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d6 points of piercing damage.
Thorns created by this spell persist through any new physical shape or form you assume, such as via wildshape or any polymorph effect.
It seems to me like these should stack, but I'm not sure.
On a similar note, Don't the following boosts also stack?
Bristle:
School transmutation; Level druid 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range touch
Target one creature
Duration 1 minute/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes
You give a creature the ability to redirect a portion of its innate toughness away from its own defense and toward the amount of damage it deals with natural attacks. Each round, as a swift action at the start of its turn, the creature can choose to reduce some or all of its natural armor bonus to AC and gain an enhancement bonus on all damage rolls for natural attacks equal to that amount. The reduction to natural armor, and thus the enhancement bonus on damage rolls, cannot exceed 1 point per 3 caster levels, to a maximum penalty/bonus of –5/+5 at 15th level. A creature cannot reduce its natural armor bonus to less than 0 with this spell. All attacks directed against the creature use its adjusted AC until the start of its next turn, at which time it can choose to modify its AC again or keep it at its current level. Creatures make this decision without any need for conscious thought or reflection; even creatures with no Intelligence score can benefit from this spell, although they always opt for the maximum possible reduction and bonus, regardless of any tactical advantage they might lose.
or
Greater Magic Fang:
School transmutation; Level druid 3, ranger 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one living creature
Duration 1 hour/level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
Magic fang gives one natural weapon or unarmed strike of the subject a +1 per four caster levels (maximum +5) enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls. The spell can affect a slam attack, fist, bite, or other natural weapon. The spell does not change an unarmed strike's damage from nonlethal damage to lethal damage. This bonus does not allow a natural weapon or unarmed strike to bypass damage reduction aside from magic.
Alternatively, you may imbue all of the creature's natural weapons with a +1 enhancement bonus (regardless of your caster level).
Greater magic fang can be made permanent with a permanency spell.
Wooden Fist:
As a free action, your hands can become as hard as wood, covered in tiny thorns. While you have wooden fists, your unarmed strikes do not provoke attacks of opportunity, deal lethal damage, and gain a bonus on damage rolls equal to 1/2 your cleric level (minimum +1). You can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Animal Aspect (Gorilla):
School transmutation (polymorph); Level alchemist 2, magus 2, druid 2, ranger 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (a part of the animal)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 minute/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
You gain some of the beneficial qualities of an animal. Your base form is largely unchanged and your size is unaltered, but some of your body parts are altered. Armor or gear you are wearing adjusts to your new shape for the duration of the spell. When you cast animal aspect, choose one of the following animals to gain the associated benefits. You can only have one animal aspect or greater animal aspect spell active on you at a time.
Gorilla: Your arms become long, flexible, and strong like those of a great ape. Your unarmed damage die type increases by one step, and you gain a +4 competence bonus on combat maneuver checks when making the grapple or reposition combat maneuver.
Strong Jaw:
School transmutation; Level druid 4, ranger 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 minute/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
Laying a hand upon an allied creature's jaw, claws, tentacles, or other natural weapons, you enhance the power of that creature's natural attacks. Each natural attack that creature makes deals damage as if the creature were two sizes larger than it actually is. If the creature is already Gargantuan or Colossal-sized, double the amount of damage dealt by each of its natural attacks instead. This spell does not actually change the creature's size; all of its statistics except the amount of damage dealt by its natural attacks remain unchanged.
Not to mention other spells/abilities like enlarge person, wild shape, and beast form that can actually increase the size of the character, and thus their base damage.
If they don't stack, why not? I know that Enhancement bonuses from Bristle and Magic Fang don't stack with each other(the larger is taken instead) but I don't see why the others wouldn't.
Lastly, I wonder if damage to incoming melee attackers stacks from these three effects.
Bramble Armor (Su):
At 6th level, you can cause a host of wooden thorns to burst from your skin as a free action. While bramble armor is in effect, any foe striking you with an unarmed strike or a melee weapon without reach takes 1d6 points of piercing damage + 1 point per two cleric levels you possess. You can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Thorn Body:
School transmutation; Level alchemist 3, druid 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level
This spell causes spines to grow from your exposed skin, damaging creatures that strike you. Any creature striking you with a melee weapon, an unarmed strike, or a natural weapon takes 1d6 points of piercing damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +15). Creatures using melee weapons with reach are unaffected by this spell. Creatures that successfully grapple you take 2d6 points of piercing damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +15). In addition, your natural attacks and unarmed strikes deal an additional 1d6 points of piercing damage.
Thorns created by this spell persist through any new physical shape or form you assume, such as via wildshape or any polymorph effect.
Cape of Wasps:
School conjuration (summoning); Level druid 4, witch 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level (D)
You summon a wasp swarm, which fills your space (up to 5 feet by 5 feet) but does not attack you. The dense cloud of vermin gives you partial concealment against ranged attacks. [/b]Any creature that makes a successful melee attack against you takes 2d6 points of swarm damage and poison from the wasp swarm,[/b] but is not affected by the swarm's distraction ability. As a free action on your turn, you may have the swarm cling to you tightly, giving you a fly speed of 20 feet (poor maneuverability); when using the swarm to fly, it does not provide concealment or harm creatures that strike you. You can return the swarm to its protective shape as a free action on your turn.
This would result in a total of 4d6 damage (off the appropriate types) to anyone who attacks the character in melee, not counting the additional damage from cleric levels or poison damage.
There may also be other effects that do the same sort of things I've mentioned. Feel free to discuss those here as well if you can think of them.
The Flowing Monk archetype from Ultimate Combat gets a cool ability called Volley Spell.
Volley Spell (Su): At 15th level, when a targeted spell or spell-like ability fails to overcome a flowing monk's spell resistance, he may reflect the effect onto its caster as spell turning by spending a number of points from his ki pool equal to 1/2 the spell's level (minimum 1). This ability replaces quivering palm.
However, the Flowing monk doesn't get the spell resistance that a monk usually gets from Diamond body because of a different ability that replaces it.
So it looks to me like this ability is useless unless the Flowing Monk is under the effect of a Spell Resistance spell or some other outside source. Do you think this is intended, or it's just an oversight by the designers? How often can a flowing monk even get significant spell resistance?
This looks broken to me, and I don't know how to deal with it.
