theillway's page

I know that this is a hardcore necro, but since the game just came out officially a couple weeks ago I wanted to weigh in a little. My understanding is that arcane magic is learned through books and teachers and chalkboards and theories. If you want a pop culture reference, think Harry Potter.

Occult magic is a gypsy fortune teller reading tarot cards, or a turbaned carnival performer levitating and speaking with the dead. It's a voodoo witch doctor, a coven chanting around a cauldron, or a ouija board. This isn't Harry Potter, it's Supernatural.

I bought a sailing ship as part of a downtime/intrigue based campaign, but I don't know how much it would earn me.

The downtime rules can sort out how much everything around a ship earns -- piers, dockhands, a ship captain and sailors, even a whole waterfront -- but I can't find anything to help me figure out what I would earn if I owned a whole mercantile ship.

My only thought would be to somehow reverse engineer the ship like it was a building under the downtime rules, but normal buildings don't move and can't carry you places, so I'm not sure that's a fair comparison.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Instead, Ready an Action to attack any foe who comes within reach. You won't get double damage from brace, but you will typically get one attack via your Readied Action and possibly an AoO.

I thought bracing a weapon was just saying "I ready an action to attack [whatever criteria you pick]". Then, if someone triggers your readied attack while charging, you deal double damage.

Does brace deal double damage anytime you're using a readied action to attack a charging opponent?

From the combat rules:

"You can ready weapons with the brace feature, setting them to receive charges. A readied weapon of this type deals double damage if you score a hit with it against a charging character."

What if you use something like Rhino Charge to counter-charge someone? What if you ready an action to brace, then use the Intercept Charge feat or Protect the Meek to get in the way of the charger, and then use your readied action?

With those, you're 1) using a readied action to 2) attack a charging opponent. That seems to fit the definition.

Conceptually, this makes total sense to me. You've got a pike and you're guarding an area. Someone charges in, you shuffle over and lance them.

Mechanically, I think it doesn't work (at least, not without help). Using brace requires readying an action as a standard action, and Combat Patrol requires a full round action.

Does the action used to set up a patrol count as readying an action for brace?

I'm making a defense-oriented dwarf that's going to be hunting giants, and I'm looking for a way to deal with incoming boulders. The only thing I've found so far is Smash From The Air, but that requires Weapon Mastery. I was planning on going the Yojimbo archetype for Samurai, which doesn't have Weapon Mastery.

I can't find anything else that lets you deflect or dodge unusually massive ranged projectiles. Am I missing something?

I've been looking up a lot of discussion about these abilities, and everybody seems to be in consensus that you can use Kinetic Blade with iterative attacks with no problem. That's not what I got from my reading of it.

Here's the language that's confusing me:

Kinetic Blade: "You can use this form infusion once as part of an attack action, a charge action, or a full-attack action in order to make melee attacks with your kinetic blade." (Bold added.)

Kinetic Fist: "You can use this form infusion as part of an attack action, a charge action, or a full-attack action to add damage to each of your natural attacks and unarmed strikes until the beginning of your next turn." (Bold added.)

Why the difference? Does it mean that you can only use Blade once per round? Or does this mean that if you're spending burn on Blade you have to spend that burn for each attack, where with Fist you only spend it once? Is the difference in language just because Fist lasts until the beginning of your next turn? Or is this just weird, inconsistent writing?

I have a gut feeling that this has been cleared up in a discussion or errata somewhere, but I couldn't find anything. Any help would be appreciated.

hardcore necro....currently playing a Kensai in a game closing in on 13th level, is it just me or is this ability functionally useless(Iaijutsu Focus i mean)? Getting INT to damage is nice and all but should apply whenever the opponent is denied their DEX to AC no just when they are flat-footed, the way the ability is worded it sounds like they think getting to attack in the surprise round is a common thing when usually all you can manage is moving(which allows you to draw your weapon negating the need of the "swift" action), granted a Kensai will generally be able to get that INT to damage once per combat with their initiative bonuses but this whole flat-footed nonsense just needs to go away.

To re-necro this, I have to believe this was a typo. Hell, Quick Draw lets you do it as a free action.

I have to vote to agree that there are no swift actions during the surprise round. The Bandit rogue archetype gives you the Ambush ability, which says "When she acts in the surprise round, she can take a move action, standard action, and swift action during the surprise round, not just a move or standard action."

Also, just for some history behind the Iaijutsu ability, "iaijutsu" means "strike from the sheath" and the ability goes all the way back to D&D 3.0. Back then, you had to hit someone who was flatfooted, immediately after drawing your weapon. Granted, it did a ton more damage potentially, but that's sort of the vestiges of where it comes from.

Thanks guys!

To expand on what's already been pointed out, you could have a BAB of +6/+1, make your first attack with the sword, and make the second attack with the shield/torch/whatever, clearly wielding both, but STILL not take any TWF penalties.

Bumping for this. Anybody know if you can alternate your iterative attacks between main and off-hand?

I have a player that's using two pistols. He's got a +6/+1 base attack bonus and wants to make one attack with his main hand weapon and one attack with his off-hand weapon without taking the penalties for two-weapon fighting (a brutal -4/-4 because pistols aren't light weapons).

The Two-Weapon Fighting feat says "If you wield a second weapon in your off hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon. When fighting in this way you suffer a –6 penalty with your regular attack or attacks with your primary hand and a –10 penalty to the attack with your off hand." The feat reduces this penalty. The bold text is what got me thinking.

By contrast, if you had two guns with one tucked in your belt, you could fire one, drop it as a free action, Quick Draw the second, and then fire it as well. Because the game doesn't have right- or left-handed characters anymore (we miss you Ambidexterity!), you could fire with the opposite hand.

Is there any reason that you couldn't alternate attacks between your right and left hands without penalty for two-weapon fighting, as long as you weren't getting extra attacks from it?

"Bleed: A creature that is taking bleed damage takes the listed amount of damage at the beginning of its turn."

I want contesting that it wasn't a condition. The point I was aiming for us that it isn't a toggle yes or no condition like stunned. You're either stunned or you're not. Bleed is different.

I think, though, that the phrase "the listed amount" is the end of it. There's no way to claim that a listed amount can crit.

Thanks for the lively discussion, folks! Now I'm annoyed with the phrasing of every bleed ability about an attack that "does bleed damage.". You're not doing bleed damage, you're giving them the bleed condition

I don't think that use of language is a precise as you make it out to be. For example, the ninja trick Pressure Points says "Whenever the ninja deals sneak attack damage, she also deals 1 point of Strength or Dexterity damage, decided by the ninja." So is this "bonus" damage or "extra" damage?

The feat Precise Strike says "you deal an additional 1d6 points of precision damage with each successful melee attack." Again, this ignores the semantics that you point out as the deciding difference.

I'm being pedantic and stupid, I know. I'm playing devil's advocate because I'm hoping someone has a really clear way to shoot this down. And I do appreciate your point, that some damage is part of the base damage that multiplies, and some is icing on the cake. I just don't think that it all hinges on that word choice, because word choice is notoriously inconsistent.

The Core Rulebook says this about what damage multiplies: "Multiplying Damage: Sometimes you multiply damage by some factor, such as on a critical hit. Roll the damage (with all modifiers) multiple times and total the results.

...

Exception: Extra damage dice over and above a weapon's normal damage are never multiplied."

Also, from a post above, "A critical hit means that you roll your damage more than once, with all your usual bonuses, and add the rolls together." Bleed damage is part of your usual bonuses.

This is my understanding of what multiplies. Flat numbers multiply, dice do not. If the ability damage from a spell gets multiplied, why doesn't bleed damage?

(Sorry for the lack of links/cites and multiple edits; I'm posting from my phone.)

I guess I'm not seeing the distinction. My understanding was that variable extra damage, such as sneak attack or the flaming weapon property, would not be multiplied. However, static bonuses such as from Weapon Specialization, smite, favored enemy, or from an enhancement bonus would multiply.

This is not a bonus from a weapon special ability, this is additional damage from a class feature. If you crit with a touch spell that deals ability damage, that damage doubles, so clearly crits aren't limited to just normal weapon damage. (See spells and critical hits.)

I would understand if "bleeding" were a condition like stunned or blinded, but it isn't. It is damage.

Also, if it were part of the core rules that bleed damage doesn't multiply on a crit, then why do some sources point out that they don't multiply? That would be redundant.

I know that there are lots of places where bleed damage specifically says it doesn't multiply on a crit (Deadly Stroke, Wounding weapon special ability, etc.), but there are some places where it doesn't say that.

For example, the Gunslinger's Bleeding Wound deed does bleed damage equal to the Dexterity modifier or, alternately, does 1 point of Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution bleed. It says that creatures immune to sneak attack are immune to this damage, but it doesn't say that it doesn't multiply on a crit.

Does that mean that if I crit with a pistol or a musket, I can give them 4 points of Con bleed?

If the Bonethrall ability's duration is per the command undead spell, but theCommand Undead feat (that every other Necromancer and undead-controlling class has) has an indefinite duration, why does the Gravewalker archetype say that: "Unlike the creations of standard necromancers, a gravewalker's creations remain forever tied to her will..."?

By my read, a duration of 1 day per level is less than an indefinite duration. Am I missing something? Doesn't this mean that the Bonethrall ability is way less powerful than the Command Undead feat, because you can only affect one undead at a time, it only lasts 1 day per level, and you only have the rough control or influence listed in command undead rather than the complete control that Command Undead gives you (as per the control undead spell)?

The Experimental Spellcaster feat says, "Select one class that grants you the ability to cast spells. You can now use the slots from that class to cast a limited number of words of power spells."

Under Meta words, it says, "Unlike with other words, a wordcaster can only use meta words a number of times per day equal to half his caster level in his wordcasting class (minimum 1)."

If I'm an experimental spellcaster, how many times per day can I use meta words? Does my normal spellcasting class now count as my wordcasting class, because I can cast a few words of power? Or, do I count as having no wordcasting class, and I just get the minimum of 1?

Treants are described as an "animated tree". They are size huge plants, and have a 23 constitution. I'd use these stats.

In fact, Treants even have an ability called "Animate Tree" that makes a tree fight with the same stats as the Treant, including the constitution score. If awakening is basically "tree + animate object," then I think using the Animate Tree ability as a guideline is a pretty safe bet.

Also, the Liveoak spell animates a huge oak tree, and uses the stats of a Treant as well.

Oh, thanks! It didn't show up in my search.

I just wanted to check whether my key to infinity spells per day was legit.

It revolves around two feats: Spell Perfection (from the Advanced Player's Guide) and Echoing Spell (from Ultimate Magic). Spell Perfection lets you pick one particular spell and add any one metamagic feat to it without any increase in casting time or spell level. Echoing Spell lets a spell affected by the feat linger on, letting you make a second casting without expending a spell slot or prepared spell.

Wouldn't this let you use Echoing Spell on a spell you have Spell Perfection with, and then add Echoing Spell again for free on the second casting, which would then give you a third casting, and so on and so forth?

I was looking up animal companions in the Bestiary, and I ran across some discrepancies. I tried to find a discussion of this on the boards, but haven't found anything.

Apes in PCR have a 1d6 bite and 2 1d6 claws.
Apes in Best have 2 slams for 1d6.

Lions in PCR have trip and grab with their claws.
Lions in Best have no trip and grab with their bite.

Velociraptors in PCR have 2 talon attacks for 1d8, a 1d6 bite, and 2 1d4 claws and are at max size medium.
Velociraptors in Best have the same thing, except under the druid animal companion section at the bottom, where they just have a 2d6 bite, and are size large.

Vipers in PCR deal 1 Con damage.
There is no Snake, Viper in the Bestiary, but both Familiar, Viper and Snake, Venomous deal 1d2 Con damage.

I haven't checked absolutely all the information, but I'm guessing there are more discrepancies. I've checked the most recent erratas, and nothing is mentioned. Any guidance?