Burning Knight of Moloch

spectrevk's page

Organized Play Member. 1,538 posts (1,780 including aliases). 2 reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 21 Organized Play characters. 4 aliases.



1 to 50 of 155 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | next > last >>

If a creature has a miss chance for more than one reason, do you roll for each?

For example a Gray (20% miss due to Phase) who is invisible (50% due to total concealment) and also has cast Displacement (50% miss chance). Would you need to roll 3 miss chances, or just one at the highest miss chance?
oh, and what if there was a smoke grenade (concealment, 20% chance)?


I just got an email that the new printing of the Advanced Player's Guide had been updated on PDF, but when I try to download it from my library on the site I only get a 151 byte zip file, containing an invalid PDF.


One of my players is a Skittermander who took the "Guardian" alternate trait, which states:

Quote:

Most skittermanders are self-sacrificing, and some put themselves directly in harm’s way to protect others. These skittermanders can enter or occupy the space of a single Small, Medium, or Large creature without imposing the normal penalties on either themselves or the creature sharing their space. They take a –2 penalty to AC while sharing their space but provide the creature whose space they share with a +1 shield bonus to AC against ranged attacks.

This replaces grappler.

However, he's also a soldier, and recently began wearing Powered Armor, which means he's no longer Small, he's now Medium. Was the rule intent here that their ability to occupy the same space as a small, medium, or large creature without penalty was due to their size, or something else? I've been allowing it thus far as I don't think it's game breaking, but I'm curious what the "official" ruling is.


So, I run kind of an open-ended style of home game, where I come up with some loose plot ideas/encounters, and then fill out the ones that my players go for. In this way, the group has bounced between Vidrian (where they learned of some political machinations by Mzali to weaken the area and drum up anti-foreigner sentiment, and pushed back an undead attack, then got themselves in political trouble for mistreatment of a prisoner), to Absalom (where they dealt with a minor noble air genie who was holding Absalom's shipping for ransom by forcing air elementals to stop winds around the island), and back to Vidrian. In between, they've dealt with a classic murder mystery (old woman dies, which one of her potential heirs did it? Where's the revised will?), rescuing a Chelaxian noble kid before his Paladin-in-training girlfriend could get herself into a world of trouble doing so herself, and they also met a sea dragon who now considers them his vassals, though they haven't checked in in a while.

So anyway, when they got back to Vidrian, Anthusis was in an economic downturn. Tons of unemployment, low wages, little food...they investigated, and discovered that an Alchemist with an awful lot of funding/backing was using alchemical golems to poison the farmland of Vidrian to cause a famine. As a side effect of this, evil Fey were being drawn to the area and causing additional chaos, and poverty was driving many people to banditry. They spent some time chasing this Alchemist around, destroying his golems, and a small mobile lab he had on a riverboat, but the Wizard's reliance on Scrying, even after the alchemist saved well enough to know he was being watched bit them after he set up an ambush for them in an Anthusis warehouse, collapsing it onto them. This is probably too much detail.

Long story short, they eventually tracked down his benefactor, an Aspis (though they haven't confirmed this) agent who is intentionally tanking the local economy to make it easier for them to take over. They responded by taking a week of downtime to spread rumors that she and her shell companies (they only knew of one) were responsible for the famine. A week later, they found the burn-out shell of a merchant wagon belonging to one of her companies, and a lot of anti-outsider propaganda (recall, they never fully rooted out the Mzali agitators the first time they were in Vidrian).

Now, one of the story threads they left behind from last year was a locked door in a temple that was marked "do not open, a great evil has been sealed here". They decided (at the Wizard's urging) to basically bail on the town (reasoning that they could only make it worse) and go explore that temple instead.

How badly screwed could Vidrian be when they return? Full Mzali-friendly coup in effect? Open uprising in the streets? Pogroms against foreigners? I'm open to ideas.


In the FAQ, it says:

Quote:
Update: We will be updating the tools revamp to indicate that worn healer's tools (along with other tool kits) take only one hand to use, as you don't have to hold the whole kit in your other hand, just pull out the things you need. What this means for Battle Medicine is that you only need one free hand to perform it with worn healer's tools, you don't need both hands.

However, even in the newly updated PDF, Healer's Tools are still listed as requiring 2 hands to use. Now, personally, I prefer this, as I can't really imagine bandaging or treating someone's wounds with only one hand. Try putting a band-aid on with only one hand. Now imagine having to use a bandage that wasn't made with the benefits of modern technology.

What is the actual intent here? Is it intended that a barbarian can spend one action attacking, his sending bandaging himself, and then go right back to attacking? Should he not have to put down the greataxe?


Recently, my group's druid decided to deal with a pair of Invisible Stalkers by casting Fireball in the party's own bedroom. The Stalkers survived, but I'm concerned about the party's stuff, and I can't find any proper 2E rules for how magical item saving throws work. A Bag of Holding is described as being made of Cloth, and according to the Core rulebook that means it has a Hardness of 1 and 4 HP, so a 16 damage fireball would have incinerated it, along with everything inside, but that doesn't seem right to me. On the other hand, simply stating that the bag of holding is immune to damage doesn't make sense either. Nobody was holding the bag during combat; as they were attacked after bedding down for the night. Any help?


I recently ran my group through a hastily converted version of Plunder & Peril. As a result, the group's goblin monk now has Captain Redclaw's Clockwork Arm attached to him in place of his right arm. However, since it's not a weapon, but rather a fairly unique magical item, I'm at a bit of a loss on how to rule it with regards to his unarmed combat abilities. Is it a simple weapon that he's proficient with? An enhancement to his unarmed attacks? When he goes into Wolf stance, does it do his Wolf Jaw damage, or the usual claw damage? If his claw has the Wounding property, does that also apply to wolf jaw attacks?

The text for the item says:

Peril & Plunder p.47 wrote:


Clockwork Arm
Price: 6,400GP
Slot: None
CL: 13th
Aura: Strong conjuration and transmutation

The claw can be attached in place of the missing arm of any medium humanoid to function as a replacement arm. This requires an hour-long installation surgery that must be performed by a character with 8 ranks in both Craft(clockwork) and Heal. The recipient myst succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save for the arm to properly attach, and takes 2 points of Constitution damage from the surgery in any case. If the arm is properly attached, the recipient can lift up to 1-1/2 his maximum load over his head, and gains a claw attack as a secondary attack that deals 1d6 points of damage (if nothing is held in that arm).


I bought the Starfinder crit fail deck a while ago, but I've lost the card that explains the instructions, and I can't find a PDF of the instructions on the site anywhere. Help?


I'm building this for an Attack of the Swarm game coming up soon, and I'm using the alternate Half-Orc traits from the Character Operations Manual. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Half-Orc Technomancer
Background: Guard (+1 DEX)

STR 10
DEX 15
CON 10
INT 18
WIS 12
CHA 08

Self-Sufficient: Half-orcs receive a +2 racial bonus to Survival skill checks.

Darkvision: Half-orcs can see up to 60 feet in the dark.
Professional Focus: Especially on Apostae, half-orcs are educated by the drow to be an expert in a particular vocation, filling that role throughout their lives. Such half-orcs gain Profession as a class skill. In addition, these half-orcs gain 1 additional skill rank per level, but this rank must be invested in the Profession skill.
This replaces intimidating.

Orc Ferocity: Once per day, a half-orc brought to 0 Hit Points but not killed can fight on for 1 more round. The half-orc drops to 0 HP and is dying (following the normal rules for death and dying) but can continue to act normally until the end of his next turn, when he becomes unconscious as normal. If he takes additional damage before this, he ceases to be able to act and falls unconscious.

EAC: 13 KAC: 14
HP: 11 Stamina: 5
Fort: 0 Ref: 2 Will: 3

ATTACKS
Azimuth Laser Rifle +2 (1d8F)
Energy Ray +2 (1d3A/C/F)
Tactical Baton +2 (1d4B)

SKILLS
Computers (Int) +8
Engineering (Int) +8
Life Science (Int) +8
Mysticism (Wis) +5
Perception (Wis) +5
Physical Science (Int) +8
Piloting (Dex) +6
Profession: Research Assistant (Int) +8
Sleight of Hand (Dex) +6

FEATS/PROFICIENCIES
Light Armor
Basic Melee
Small Arms
Longarms Proficiency (feat)

SPELLS
0: Detect Magic, Mending, Dancing Lights, Energy Ray
1 (3/day): Remote Operation, Supercharge Weapon

GEAR
Azimuth Laser Rifle 425
Second Skin 250
Tactical Baton
235 credits

CACHE AUGMENTATION: Technopathy Node (Armory p.93)
Your studies of the fundamental forces of the galaxy have enabled you to enhance one of your body’s systems to benefit from the energy of stored spells. You might have been bestowed this augmentation by an order of technomancers, implanted the augmentation into yourself as part of your research, or witnessed part of your body undergo a technomantic apotheosis that left you with the ability to cast spells. Your cache augmentation takes the form of any cybernetic augmentation or magitech augmentation (Starfinder Armory 90) of your choice with an item level of 1. Each time you gain a level, the item level of your augmentation increases by 1, and you can replace it with a different augmentation with an item level equal to your technomancer level or lower. This augmentation counts toward the total number of augmentations you can have implanted into each of your body’s systems as normal.
At 6th level, each time you regain your spells, choose one of the following: attack rolls, Computers and Engineering checks, Fortitude saves, or Reflex saves. You gain a +1 enhancement bonus to rolls of your chosen type. This enhancement bonus increases to +2 at 12th level and +3 at 18th level.
At 12th level, each time you regain your spells, choose a second option from the 6th-level list. You gain a +1 enhancement bonus to rolls of this type. This enhancement bonus increases to +2 at 18th level.
At 18th level, each time you regain your spells, choose a third option from the 6th-level list. You gain a +1 enhancement bonus to rolls of this type.
These enhancement bonuses count as part of the effects of your cache augmentation, and if your augmentation is removed or its effects suppressed (such as by the reject augmentation spell; Starfinder Armory 149) you also lose these bonuses.
This replaces spell cache and cache capacitor.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

It seems like a pointless "class feature" to gain martial weapon training as a Warpriest, given that:

1. Most deities have simple weapons as their favored weapons.
2. Warpriests only get improved proficiency in their deity's favored weapon

Between higher proficiency and Deadly Simplicity, a Warpriest of a deity with a simple favored weapon is likely better off using the favored weapon. And Warpriests of a deity with a martial or even Exotic favored weapon are already proficient with that weapon at level 1. So what's the point of wasting a Doctrine ability on martial weapon training?


So, I know that if your class would give you trained proficiency with a skill you are already trained in, such as from a background, you instead become trained in another skill, but what if it’s not the class per se, but a class option, such as a sorcerer bloodline? For example, if I was a Hag bloodline sorcerer with a charlatan bloodline, do I just lose out on a trained skill (since both give you Deception), or would I treat it as if it were the class giving me the skill?


2 people marked this as a favorite.

I think this all started after a friend of mine played a Solarian in one of my first Starfinder campaigns, and he had a really rough time of it. I initially assumed he was just poorly optimized (he had a low dex, high strength and charisma, an went with the solar weapon) but as I've spent more time looking at the class and trying out builds on my own, I'm left with some puzzling questions.

1. Why do they get two extra class skills at 1st level when they have so few skill points to begin with? The class requires investing in STR, DEX, and CHA at a bare minimum, and CON would certainly be a higher priority than INT, so at most they'd start with 5 skill points as a human.

2. Why don't they get more ways to use their Charisma? They're a Charisma-based class, it gives them Resolve points, but all it does for the class itself is affect the DCs of their revelations, most of which do not require a saving throw. Some kind of Charisma-based damage bonus seems like a no-brainer here, but perhaps I'm not seeing something and that would be unbalanced?

3. What is the role of the Solarian? As a melee combatant they are outperformed at low levels by Soldiers (who can focus on fewer ability scores, and thus invest in some utility as well); their revelations do offer some interesting battlefield utility, but Technomancers offer much more diverse options and superior field control. In starship combat they're basically stuck being gunners, as other classes likely have higher DEX (for piloting), INT (for engineering/science office) or CHA (for captain) abilities/skills. Is it sort of a compromise between having a Soldier in the party and having an Envoy?

4. Is it just me, or is it odd that while Kasathans are (in lore) the originators of the Solarian tradition, Korasha Lashuntas are far more optimized for the class?

I'm not pointing these things out to complain; rather, just to illustrate my current understanding of the class. If other people have found ways to make it work and make sense, then I'm eager to learn more. Please, post some example builds, or an explanation of what approach works best when creating a Solarian. All I can figure is taking Heavy Armor Proficiency if you go Solar Weapon and saving a little on DEX.


I was looking through my copy of the Lost Omens World Guide and noticed the Bekyar Redeemer background. There's a problem though: nowhere in the book (or the core book, or any other 2E book) does it explain who the Bekyar are, why they need to be redeemed (the background itself mentions that they're known for worshipping demons, but which demons?), what they look like, how they differ from other Mwangi natives, etc.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Like many people, I was opposed to the "new" Hobgoblin art style first introduced in Starfinder, where they become just Goblins with longer legs. When this continued in the Bestiary, I was similarly bummed out. But then I looked at the Lost Omens World Guide, and the Hobgoblin leader is illustrated in the style of 1E Hobgoblins. So which is it? Are there now multiple types of Hobgoblin?


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Apologies if this is a rehash of an old topic, but I'm curious about why the 2E elemental sorcerers were designed the way that they were. Some of the changes, like giving them the Primal spell list, seem welcome and interesting. But while Fire elemental sorcerers retain their ability to do Fire damage from 1E with their class spells; Water, Air, and Earth all do Bludgeoning damage. This is problematic for at least a couple of reasons:

1. It makes these options functionally identical, which makes the choice feel irrelevant. This is a shame, since one of my favorite things about 2E character generation is that the choices generally feel important and interesting.

2. It creates a bit of a balance issue, as Fire sorcerers get to deal energy damage, while Water, Earth, and Air are all stuck with physical damage. This means, for example, that the later three are all at a disadvantage when dealing with incorporeal creatures.

Now, I imagine that at least part of the reason for these changes was to create some rarity around access to acid, electrical, and cold damage. And perhaps there was something a little silly about an "earth" elemental dealing "acid" damage (are rocks known for dissolving things?) and "air" becoming more of a "lightning" element, but this solution doesn't sit right with me, or many of the other players and GMs that I've talked to in my area.

I think one possibly better solution, to at least resolve the first issue, would be to have Earth deal Bludgeoning, Air deal Piercing, and Water deal Slashing damage. This makes sense, as pressurized air can puncture objects, and pressurized water is used to cut things in industrial settings. It still doesn't resolve the second issue, though.


I'm interested in starting my 2E group out with a campaign set during the fall/transformation of Sargava, but I have some questions about what the culture was like there before it became the more egalitarian Vidrian:

- Were Halflings still enslaved in Sargava? Did they enslave local halflings, or import "slips" from the homeland?
- Did they enslave any of the local humans/elves/etc, or were the latter disenfranchised in other ways?
- How common was diabolism in Sargava among the ruling class?


Looking over the new cleric rules, it seems to me like the Cloistered Cleric is a bit underpowered. They give up all armor proficiencies, and get delayed improvements to weapon proficiencies, and in return they just get...a domain at first level? A war priest at first level potentially gets two feats (shield block and deadly simplicity) while the cloistered cleric just gets one (the aforementioned 'free' domain). I love the idea of a pure, unarmored casting cleric, but it seems like an objectively worse option to me here. I suspect I must be overlooking something, since it made it through the play test like this. What am I missing?


So, one question that I have about running PF1 Adventure Paths in PF2 is what to do about converting the Campaign Traits, since traits no longer exist in PF2 (having been replaced with backgrounds). Is there any official word on this, or general guidelines?


Welcome to the game! Let's all have fun.


It is summer in the sleepy village of Heldren, and an uncommon, pleasantly cool wind is chasing away the oppressive, sticky heat that would be the norm at this time of year. The streets are relatively lively, with food vendors lining the town square offering all manner of summer treats. As expected, the children of the village are out in force: a group of boys are roughhousing in front of Vivialla Steranus' General Store, and Vivialla herself is reaching for a broom to chase them away; but we are more interested in another group of children, making their way towards the town square, and making their own plans for the day's mischief...


So, I've been thinking about trying to run Reign of Winter again, but this time as a play-by-post, and with another twist: the PCs will be children, facing the fairies, witches, and trolls they've only heard about in bedtime stories. The rules for creating "young" characters in Pathfinder can be found here: http://aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?Name=Young%20Characters&Category=Campaign% 20Systems

As you can see, they're a bit harsh. NPC classes only to start with. Now, I plan for this portion to only last briefly, as there is a story beat in the adventure that will give us an excuse for these kids to 'ascend' into full PCs, but it will be a little rough to start with. I have a few ideas for how to ameliorate this:

1. A lovable pet dog that will accompany the group on their adventures near town.

2. Granting everyone five (5) "kids are resilient" points. Spending one point will restore all HP with a 5 minute rest, or allow one attack to auto-hit. If used on an attack that has already hit, it will turn that hit into a critical. These points will be lost after the kids become full-fledged PCs.

3. A third idea that I haven't thought of, but which perhaps someone interested in this game would suggest.

So my question is both which of these options would be most appealing, and whether anyone would be interested in the idea at all.


So, when I'm calculating the saves of a 1st level Solarian's revelation saves (say, to avoid Supernova), the formula is (level X 0.5) + CHA bonus. Is there a minimum of 1, as there is when calculating Resolve, or does it round down to zero? Would a CHA 10 Solarian have a save DC of 10, or 11?


Last night, I was running Hell's Rebels for my usual group. Without offering any spoilers, they were fighting a pair of creatures with pounce, four attacks that could apply both bleed and poison, and a poison cloud attack that happened as a free action after a pounce (provided that at least one attack hit).

One of them was pounced on, and hit with all four attacks. They saved against the poison for half of those attacks, then failed against the cloud, for a total of 3 failures. The section on poison in the Core Rulebook states that poison stacks, unlike other afflictions, but also clarifies that it stacks by extending duration and raising the save DC. Are these the only stacking effects, or does the damage of the poison get applied for each application of a poison that a person fails to save against? This is important because it's the difference between a person with 8 Wisdom taking 4 points of Wisdom damage (bad) or taking 10 points of Wisdom damage (death/catatonia).


3 people marked this as a favorite.

We have 3 small races, and a class (Barbarian) that can potentially wield weapons built for large creatures, but I can't find any rules for how size alters the damage of a weapon in the playlets rules. Am I missing something, or is the only benefit of wielding a Greatsword sized for a Troll doubling your conditional damage bonus from rage?


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Just after my last session running a (non-playtest) Pathfinder game for some new players, I was looking over a random encounter (Leech Swarm, CR 4, vs a 2nd level party) and realized how badly it would slaughter them if I used it. It's not just the challenge rating (a level 2 party is capable of taking a CR4), but their composition, and I recalled previous times when swarms have made life miserable for low-level parties (the classic spider swarm being a good example).

Due to the way that Pathfinder treats diminuitive and smaller swarms, it is possible for even a CR1 swarm to end up largely invulnerable to the attacks of a CR1 party, as weapon attacks do nothing, single target spells cannot be used, and such swarms are often mindless, and thus immune to spells like sleep or hypnosis. Unless the party has a Wizard/Sorcerer who chose Burning Hands (a spell that many guides recommend skipping in favor of Magic Missile, or control spells like Grease), or an Alchemist with bombs remaining, or someone spent 10-20gp (a big investment at 1st level!) on splash weapons like acid/alchemist fire flasks, the party is helpless.

This can be easy for us "old hands" to forget, especially if one has played a lot of PFS where swarm preparation is second nature, but it can be a nasty, unfun surprise for new players. Tough fights are fun; fights where absolutely nothing works because you made the wrong choices at chargen (and had no way of knowing what the right choice was) isn't fun. Will 2nd edition adjust the swarm rules to avoid this loophole? 5e D&D simply makes swarms normally targetable with weapons, which seems silly to me (I can just individually slash the entire swarm? What?) but I'm hoping that Paizo has another solution in mind.


I'm well aware that the most optimal build for a Magus involves prioritizing INT and DEX, and using Weapon Finesse with a Rapier (or perhaps Elven Curve Blade), but I'm interested in exploring other options, partly out of simple curiosity, and partly because I think a Bastard Sword or Scimitar-based build would be more thematically interesting.

So, assuming a Human with 20 build points, I was thinking of something like this:

STR 16
DEX 14
CON 12
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 08

The most obvious problem is a lower AC; even with a Chain Shirt, we're topping out at 16 AC at 1st level, with 9HP. Bad times. On the bright side, if we take that feat we were going to spend on Weapon Finesse and spend it on Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Bastard Sword, we're now doing 1d10+3 (average damage ~9) in weapon damage versus 1d6+0 (average damage ~4), with no reduction in magic damage from Spell Combat/Spellstrike.

Has anyone tried this sort of build? If so, what were the results like? Did you have more fun as a DEX-based Magus?


The Akashic Connection's first-level ability states that in addition to giving you Channel Skill at 1st level instead of 2nd,

Quote:
Eachd ay when you recover your spell slots, you can tap into the Akashic Record, enabling you to choose one Profession skill and add that to your list of associated skills for the channel skill class feature.

Channel Skill, of course, simply adds a small insight bonus to skill rolls. It sounds like the intent here is that the Mystic can 'access' skills that they don't normally have via the Akashic record, but by RAW this isn't possible, because the Profession skill cannot be used untrained, so unless you are investing all/most of your skill points in random profession skills, you're unlikely to ever use the ability to switch Profession skills when you recover your spell slots.

Is this ability being described incorrectly, is it simply a bad/useless ability, or have I made a terrible mistake in my understanding of how these rules work?


1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. 1 person marked this as a favorite.

The Mystic Strike feat requires you to have the "Ability to cast spells". All Lashuntas receive 3 spell-like abilities. Do these count as having the ability to cast spells for the purposes of qualifying for the feat, or not.


One of the vestigial limbs left in Pathfinder from 3.5 was forcing dex-based combatants, even ranged combatants, to rely on strength for extra damage. I suppose this was intended as a balancing measure, since strength-based combatants required DEX for their AC, but it's not a popular decision among players (at least in my experience as a GM) and D&D5e, for example, did away with it (and eliminated DEX from the AC of fighter-types by altering how armor affects AC, particularly heavy armor)

Why then did Starfinder choose to keep this particular design decision? Sci-fi is home to many weapon types that make more sense adding Dex to damage rather than Str (laser swords, monofilament whips, etc.) I'm curious.


I just finished the second book with my group, and I have to say: this was not a good adventure at all. The combat encounters are far too easy for any competent group, the "set piece" combats are particularly awful as they rely on throwing the party at a single opponent with only occasional AOE attacks, and the recommended tactics for the characters are also bad.

From a story perspective, the potential entertainment value of exploring a city run by evil witches is curtailed by draconian security and an exceedingly railroad-y plot. The resistance group feels flat, because they just give the players a big mission as soon as they meet them, and that's that. The final fight with Nazhena was particularly bad.

First, her tactics state that she uses Summon Monster IV to summon an Ice Mephit, which is easily the weakest thing she could summon with that spell. It can cast Magic Missile 1/hour and has a 1d4 breath weapon. The author expects this waifish creature, and a single Ice Golem, to hold back a party of 6th level PCs, which is completely ridiculous.

The tactics for Nazhena are similarly unrealistic. She casts Summon Monster IV in round 1, then Spectral Hand in round two, and then begins casting touch spells to take advantage of her Winter Witch abilities. Now, her initiative bonus is nothing special, and the golem has a -1, so they're unlikely to go before the PCs. That means she's basically wasting like 4 rounds on prep before she even begins damaging the PCs. Even a moderately well-built martial will be averaging a good 20 DPR, and the module has already given the PCs an Adamantine weapon by this point, so the Golem is going down before Nazhena even has a chance to do anything. And if your players have any sort of tactical knowledge (say, using that cauldron they got in volume 1 to summon a small army of small elementals to harass enemy casters) the encounter is going nowhere fast. It's a tactically dull, easy encounter with little to no emotional impact because the PCs have only ever heard of Nazhena before; they've never met her.

This is the most bored/disappointed I've ever been while running Pathfinder, and I'm honestly not entirely sure I'm going to bother with book 3.


A monk in my weekly game has the Boar Style feat, and recently went up against a creature with a considerable hunk of DR. Now, I've always understood the Boar Style feat to act similar to a Rend, so I applied the DR to his first attack, second attack, and then to the rend (treating them as three attacks).

HOWEVER, looking up the most recent version of the Feat text, it says that you simply deal an additional 2d6 damage "with the attack", which implies that it's not a separate attack, but adds on to an attack. But which attack does it add on to, if that's the case? Boar Style only activates after you've hit with 2 or more unarmed attacks.


I'm working on a 1st level character build for a friend's game, with the intent of being an assassin (likely taking levels in the prestige class). Unchained Rogue is not an option, but Core Rogue is, as is the Slayer class.

On one hand, the Slayer will be a bit more likely to hit, but Studied Target is a fairly small bonus that seems more appropriate for longer engagements with an enemy. The Rogue will have a crappier BAB, but sneak attack damage progression is much faster, 2 extra skill points per level, and with an archetype like the Knife Master, I could be looking at d8 sneak attack damage. Seeing as we're headed into Galt and will likely need to keep a low profile, the larger weapons and heavier armor that are available to the Slayer will be useless to me.

Are there any benefits to Slayer that I'm missing here? Does the d10 hit die offer that much over the d10?


I've been invited to a Hell's Vengeance game by a friend, and I was thinking a Lawful or Neutral Evil knight-type character would be fun. The GM for this game is known to be ruthless, however, so I'll need to have a strong build. Here's what I'm considering so far, but any suggestions are more than welcome:

Tyrant Antipaladin
Pros: Smite Good and Fiendish Boon (weapon) should provide excellent damage, adding Charisma to saves will be good defense.
Cons: Smite Good will be useless against Neutral enemies, Touch of Corruption is flat-out worse than Lay on Hands, and Cruelty isn't much better.

Order of the Cockatrice Cavalier (Daring Champion Archetype?)
Pros: Challenge works on any target, Swashbuckler deeds will eventually provide similar damage bonuses to what I'd get from Smite.
Cons: Lower saves, Daring Champion kind of pigeonholes you into Piercing Damage, no spellcasting.

Infernal Bloodrager
Pros: Set my sword on fire (awesome!), perfect for the theme, spellcasting
Cons: Cool stuff is limited to when I'm raging, saves aren't as good as Antipaladin

Warpriest of Asmodeus
Pros: Spellcasting from the start, Sacred Weapon provides nice weapon bonuses/enchants, instant self-buffs, free armor enchants via Sacred Armor.
Cons: Lower damage/BAB than the other options, still no self-heal unless I go Dhampir


I've been re-reading the Occult Adventures book, revisiting classes that I'd overlooked for one reason or another previously. I noticed that Mesmerists get a choice of two different damage prevention/mitigation tricks, and I'm trying to decide which one is better.

Psychosomatic Surge wrote:
Psychic magic soothes the subject, alleviating her wounds temporarily. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject takes damage. The subject gains a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d8 + 1/2 the mesmerist's level. If the damage from the triggering attack would have reduced the subject to 0 hit points or fewer, this trick grants an additional 1d8 temporary hit points. These temporary hit points last for 1 hour or until discharged.

So, what I like about Psychosomatic Surge is that it's triggered by any damage, regardless of the source, and it's a "heal" that can be triggered from considerable distance. It's effective as a buff on melee, and also works as an insurance policy for soft targets (including the Mesmerist). The downside is that the wording implies that it applies the healing *after* the damage has been done, so it isn't really preventing damage, and technically it isn't healing it either. It's just a band-aid until you can find a real healer. You could get hit once, trigger the healing, and then never use those temp hit points if you aren't damaged again in the next hour.

Shadow Splinter wrote:
The mesmerist protects the subject against an attack and redirects the harm to someone else. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject takes damage from an attack. The damage the subject takes is reduced by an amount equal to 3 + the mesmerist's Charisma modifier (to a maximum of the total amount of damage the attack deals). Another creature within range of the original attack, other than the attacker, is affected by a shadow illusion that makes it appear as if the attacker is attacking that creature instead of the attacker's actual target. This second creature takes an amount of damage equal to the amount by which the attack's damage was reduced. This shadow doesn't require a roll to hit and ignores cover and concealment, but the target can attempt a Will save to disbelieve the effect. If it succeeds at this save, it neither takes the damage nor believes the attacker targeted it. This trick can't be triggered if there's no eligible second creature within range to take the redirected damage. This is an illusion (shadow) effect.

Shadow Splinter prevents damage and redirects it to another target in a manner that could possibly create infighting among the enemy. That's great! However:

1. It's only triggered by attacks, so indirect damage (traps, etc.) won't trigger it.

2. There is a will saving throw, so it could potentially not work (though the damage prevention happens regardless)

3. There has to be a secondary target in order to trigger the effect, and they must be in range of the original attack.

4. The damage prevention scales with Charisma, rather than character level, so progression will be slow.

Overall, Shadow Splinter appears to be tactically superior when it's applicable, but Psychosomatic Surge seems like it would apply in more situations. Which would you prefer?

1/5

For reasons I no longer recall, at some point I skipped from -13 to -20 with my PFS character numbers. Well, a week ago I created a new character for a PFS game and tried to use -14 as the character number for it. It looks like it went through okay and the game was recorded, but now I can't create a character for it in my profile on the site, as the system auto-numbers all new characters after 20.

What should I do?


I'm whipping up an Occult-flavored character for some PFS play, and I can't shake the impulse to try out a Mindblade Magus. Easy weapon switches sound too good to pass up. Something dex-based would be tempting, but I decided to try strength-based for this build:

Half-Orc Magus (Mindblade) 1

STR 16
DEX 10
CON 14
INT 16
WIS 12
CHA 08

Alternate Half-Orc trait: City Raised (proficient in whips/longswords, +2 knowledge: Local)

AC: 16 (20 with shield)
HP: 12
Psychic Pool: 4

EQUIPMENT
Scale Mail

FEATS
1: Medium Armor Proficiency
3: Power Attack
5: Artful Dodge
Bonus Feat: Defensive Combat Training
7: Two-Weapon Fighting

SPELLS (at first level)
0: Dancing Lights, Disrupt Undead, Ghost Sound, Ray of Frost
1: Shield, Monkey Fish

Monkey Fish is a good utility spell to have for PFS situations, as a climb speed/swim speed in one spell can make easy work of many non-combat encounters.

I suppose if I was going to go full-dex for this build, I'd swap the DEX/STR scores, go Human, and adjust the feats as follows:

1: Weapon Finesse
Human: Agile Maneuvers
3: Pirana Strike
5: Two-Weapon Fighting
Bonus: Two-weapon Defense
7: Double-Slice

Slashing Grace is incompatible with TWF, so I'd just cough up the money for Agile enchantments instead. Any suggestions? Does either build seem more sensible than the other, or am I on the totally wrong track here?


The Mindblade Magus Archetype from Occult Adventures casts Psychic spells, and has an ability that replaces the Magus' Improved Spell Combat ability. This, combined with the quirk of Psychic spells that raises Concentration check DCs by +10, seems to imply that Mindblades have a much more diffiuclt time succeeding at Spell Combat than a regular Magus would.

Is this intentional? Are there any ways to mitigate this, besides the obvious (Combat Casting feat, pumping INT)? Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't seem like the Mindblade gains much in exchange for this disability, since spontaneously making their weapons magical is an ability that Maguses have as well.


I've been thinking about playing a Rahadoumi character for some time now, and on the surface and Evil campaign seems like an interesting opportunity for a pragmatic nihilist type, but I'm concerned because I don't know much about the overall campaign, and how closely one would end up working with Asmodeus and his church. Does one have to bend knee to Hell to work in this AP, or can we simply take their money?


The starting age table for Tieflings on the prd seems to indicate that Tieflings have a base adventurer starting age of 20 years, and between 4d6 and 8d6 added on top of that, depending on the class you choose.

But if you look at the aging effects table, Tieflings age at the same rate that humans do, so on an average roll, a Tiefling Wizard enters play at 44 years old, well past middle age and nearly "old". Meanwhile, a Human Wizard enters play at an average age of 21, well within the prime of their life. Is this a typo?


Spoiler:
Elf Warpriest (Cult Leader) of Calistria

STR 10
DEX 16
CON 10
INT 16
WIS 14
CHA 13

HP: 9 (+1 favored class)
FORT +2, REF +3, WILL +5

Attacks: Whip +3 (1d6), other finesse weapon +3

Equipment: Whip, Chain Shirt, other stuff

Feats: Weapon Finesse, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Whip

Skills:
Acrobatics (Dex) +7
Disguise (Cha) +7
Knowledge (local) (Int) +7
Knowledge (religion) (Int) +7
Perception (Wis) +8
Sense Motive (Wis) +6
Stealth (Dex) +9

Spells:
0: Light, Guidance, Stabilize
1: Shield of Faith, Bless

Blessings: Luck, Trickery


A friend asked me to whip up something for a Hell's Rebels game he's running, and I thought the idea of an Elven dominatrix Batman fighting the forces of hell sounded kind of entertaining. The thing is, I'm not sure that the "Cult Leader" archetype is worth what I'm giving up; on one hand, light armor is what I wanted for this character concept anyway. On the other hand, losing Weapon Focus is a bummer, since it complicates getting Whip Mastery ASAP.

But here's my plan: at level 3, use the 3rd level character feat to pick up Weapon Focus, and the 3rd level Warpriest Bonus feat to pick up Whip Mastery, at which point she can use the whip full-time as a weapon. Prior to that, focus on trying to disarm/trip from a distance to avoid provoking AoOs, since I won't have the improved Disarm/Trip feats. Does this seem viable?


I've been pondering a character concept, a partisan who fought in the Galt rebellion who fled the country after the revolution went bad, and has since been reticent to use violence. I'm trying to figure out if a Half-Elf would be long-lived enough for this to be feasible, or if a full-blooded Elf or Dwarf would be necessary.


I was just thinking about how much fun it'd be to run a Heavens Oracle, partly because I think it'd be fun to play an armorless Oracle, and they get an armor revelation, but that's a whole 'nother story. To compliment the build, I was thinking of going relatively high dex, reach weapon, and Combat Reflexes. So that brings me to the question: which reach weapon to go with.

Longspear is the obvious choice, and requires no feat investment. Hard to argue with simplicity, but it's Piercing damage only, and one's odds of surviving low-level play without encountering Zombies and/or Skeletons are terribly low.

Bec de Corbin / Lucerne Hammer would require a feat, or a dip into a martial class (fighter?) and could deal Piercing and Bludgeoning. The sunder bonus is likely wasted on this character though, as I doubt I could afford the strength investment to make it worthwhile.

Meteor Hammer is Bludgeoning only, but as an Exotic weapon I'd feel much better spending a feat on it, it's fairly unique, and in Fortress mode it provides not only reach, but +1 AC.

Are there any other good options that I'm disregarding here?


Bats are awesome, and pretty adorable, but +3 to Fly checks doesn't really cut compared to other familiar options which can give you 3hp (a big deal for a 1st level wizard) or +2 to a saving throw. Has anyone here built a wizard with a bat familiar? Was the concept built around fly checks, or did you just do it for kicks?

The only other mechanical reason I could see for doing it would be the blindsight.

Edit: does anyone know why the regular bat isn't listed in the PRD? They've got bat swarms and dire bats, but no regular bat. What gives?


Even with the cobblestones of Argent Avenue and the foliage of Aria Park still wet from the morning’s light rain, dozens of Kintargans have gathered along the facade of the opera house to protest the city’s new lord-mayor, Paracount Barzillai Thrune. The city’s new leader was appointed by Her Infernal Majestrix, Queen Abrogail II, in the wake of the previous lord-mayor’s sudden flight from the city— an event that still has local rumormongers whispering furiously. In a scant seven days, Paracount Thrune has instituted martial law, a curfew, and seven outlandish and polarizing proclamations. These actions and more have called many of Kintargo’s dissatis ed citizens here on this overcast morn. There’s been no sign yet of Barzillai Thrune himself, and the opera house’s doors remain tightly closed—as they have since the man chose the landmark as his new home—but judging by the growing sound of the protesters, he surely can’t ignore the scene on the streets below much longer.

The Proclamations

Proclamation the First:
All slayers of city pests (hereby ascribed as doves, mice, and ravens) who present said pests to the dottari shall be rewarded with a bounty of one copper piece.

Proclamation the Second:
All places of public business must display in a position of prominence within the rst room accessible from the building’s primary entrance a portrait of Her Infernal Magestrix Queen Abrogail II. Said portrait must measure no less than 17 by 11 inches.

Proclamation the Third:
All those who capture, alive and unharmed, feral dogs of a weight exceeding 50 pounds are to be rewarded with a payment of two silver pieces upon transfer of the dogs to the dottari. Such noble guardian creatures should find homes worthy of their kind!

Proclamation the Fourth:
The right to wear ne embroidered clothing in public is hereafter proscribed to anyone other than agents of House Thrune or the Holy Church of Asmodeus. Exceptions can be awarded or purchased at the city’s discretion.

Proclamation the Fifth:
Grain is life! Should grain be spilled in public, all must be gathered, cleaned, and repackaged within the hour. Any person who allows grain to go ungathered after a spillage shall be fined one copper piece per grain.

Proclamation the Sixth:
The imbibing of night tea brings a dangerous imbalance to the slumbering mind. Between the hours of sunset and sunrise, the taking of tea is proscribed.

Proclamation the Seventh:
The odor and flavor of mint is an abomination to the refined palate. Be not the cretin! Mint use in candies, drinks, and all manner of confections is hereby proscribed.


A place for OOC discussion of the rebellion against Barzilai Thrune.


I've never run an online game on these boards before, but I'm a bit curious to try it out, and Hell's Rebels, with its emphasis on urban politicking and rebellion, seems more suited for the format than a traditional dungeon crawl. If you're interested, post your character here (please use spoiler tags to save space). Let's say that the due date for applications is Saturday, October 24 so that we can get started next Monday.

Chargen:

- Standard 15 point buy, no stats lower than 8 before racial modifiers. I want to see how Paizo's assumption of 15 point buy looks in practice :)

- All alignments are welcome, but it seems unlikely that Lawful Evil or Chaotic Evil characters would want to join an organized rebellion against Cheliax.

- In lieu of a biography, please present a brief introduction of the character, from their point of view. Imagine that they've gathered in a cafe with other rebels, and are getting to know one another.

- If you also choose to provide a biography, you can start with two free 1st level potions of your choice.

- Remember to also choose a "Reason to Protest" from the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide.

- Average starting gold for your class.

- Tieflings and Aasimars are more than welcome, but please no variants/sub-types.

- Two traits, one of which should be from the Hell's Rebels Player's Guide.

I'm looking for a party of 5, ideally.


Among my own friends, the Cavalier has long been a pitiable creature: outshone by its variants (The Samurai) and Archetypes, or relegated to niche builds (gnome/halfling lance charge cheese).

But how might we really make it work, as originally intended? What if someone, perhaps after playing with the Alain pregen, decided to keep going? What can a Cavalier really do that isn't done better by a Fighter or a Paladin? And how might a Cavalier succeed in a dungeon crawl, where they are likely deprived of their mount?

To begin to answer my own question, a brief overview of what the Cavalier has going for him/her:

- Full BAB progression
- 4+INT Skill points her level, on par with the Ranger
- Free combat-trained, light-armor proficient horse at 1st level
- No ACP on Ride checks while riding their own mount.
- Free Teamwork feat; can give this feat to the party 1/day.
- Some incredible mounted charge bonuses

And the downsides:

- Only one good save (compare to Paladin and Ranger, with two good saves, full BAB, and partial spellcasting).
- Mounted combat is a niche in a game where so much action happens indoors or underground.
- Technically speaking, the Inquisitor gets a better deal on Teamwork feats.
- Fewer bonus feats than a Fighter
- Financially responsible for outfitting themselves *and* a mount from 1st level

1 to 50 of 155 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | next > last >>