Pathfinder Player Companion: Bastards of Golarion (PFRPG)

David knott 242 wrote:

That Practiced Impression race trait for suli -- what is the general gist of it?

You're good at making first impressions, so you get a +2 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks made against NPCs whom you've known for less than an hour.

Ah, thanks. Very interesting. I am really looking forward to this book.

I was kind of hoping for support for changelings of different kinds of hags, but I guess that would be an alternate racial trait and also this was never the book that was likely to have it.

This is one of the reasons why several of us have started agitating for a 'Blood of the Coven/Hag/Cuckoo/etc' in the line sometime soon.

+1 for a Blood of the Coven/Hag book in the Player Companion line. With all those new hags (Blood, Storm, Winter), there must be some new changeling bloodlines out there.

Mikaze, I wonder if you liked Eberron? Pretty much all the half-orcs in there didn't have rapey backgrounds.

Greensting Slayer is a cool archetype; it is a hybrid Magus/Rogue that can spend arcane points for a reduced sneak attack effect at the cost of the magus's ability to add an enhancement bonus to his weapon. It also gains evasion and improved evasion abilities instead of medium and heavy armor proficiency.

...Overall, I think this product is worth it for these archetypes alone, personally.

I wonder how the Greensting Slayer compares to the rogue-/arcane trickster-themed Spiderhawk magus archetype I did in Wayfinder #10?

Just got my book today!
Very very excellent read.

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Greensting Slayer is a cool archetype; it is a hybrid Magus/Rogue that can spend arcane points for a reduced sneak attack effect at the cost of the magus's ability to add an enhancement bonus to his weapon. It also gains evasion and improved evasion abilities instead of medium and heavy armor proficiency.

...Overall, I think this product is worth it for these archetypes alone, personally.

I wonder how the Greensting Slayer compares to the rogue-/arcane trickster-themed Spiderhawk magus archetype I did in Wayfinder #10?

I dunno. Pay an arcane point, get temporary Sneak Attack.

As written, I don't think you can use the archetype to qualify for Arcane Trickster, so that's something.

David knott 242 wrote:

That Practiced Impression race trait for suli -- what is the general gist of it?

You're good at making first impressions, so you get a +2 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks made against NPCs whom you've known for less than an hour.

An hour just passed? Give me 5 minutes with him [casts modify memory on self]

Alternately, you get worse at first impressions if you research your subject before hand, while you can somehow still make a first impression on the wizard who has been scrying on you for forever.

(ignore this if that's not the actual wording)

Mikaze, I wonder if you liked Eberron? Pretty much all the half-orcs in there didn't have rapey backgrounds.

Like 98% of them. Hell, they almost have a monopoly on prospecting for the magical equivalent of oil.

After reading both the racial hertiages for Half-Orc and Half-Elf heritages fluff texts, I got to agree with the idea that Half-Orcs are generally just better accepted by their parents and society.

What do the new feats do other than Dirty Trick Master and Unusual Origin?

What do the new feats do other than Dirty Trick Master and Unusual Origin?

Betraying Blow: Requires Solo Maneuvers and BAB +8, when you use a melee attack to deal nonlethal damage to a creature that only you threaten, make a Bluff check opposed by their Sense Motive check, deal an additional amount of nonlethal damage equal to half the difference between your Bluff check and your opponent's Sense Motive check (minimum 0). If they currently have an attitude of friendly, whether due to an intimidate check, charm effect, etc., you instead do an amount of extra nonlethal damage equal to the entire difference between your checks. The amount of extra nonlethal damage dealt with this feat cannot exceed your HD.

Divert Harm: Requires combat expertise, the evasion class feature, and BAB +6, allows you to make a gamble where when you're in a situation where you would use evasion (area of effect attack that normally deals half damage on a successful Reflex save), instead of making a Reflex save, you can as an immediate action block with an adjacent foe within one size category of yourself. This doesn't require any kind of check. The foe then has to make a Reflex save against the attack in your place, if they fail, they take half the damage from the attack and you take none, if they succeed, you take damage as normal as if you'd failed your saving throw (improved evasion still applies). If the opponent was already in the area of the attack, yes, they could potentially take damage twice, once for being in the attack, and once for being your meatshield.

Solo Maneuvers: When you're the only one threatening an opponent, you gain a +1 on CMB checks against them and a +1 to your CMD against combat maneuvers that creature makes.

Mikaze, I wonder if you liked Eberron? Pretty much all the half-orcs in there didn't have rapey backgrounds.

I've been told, and from what I've seen it's true. Unfortunately they never really explored that culture for PCs to pull from though, as far as I was able to see.

I'd just rather not have to look to a whole separate setting to have human-orc parentage without rape shoehorned in, especially considering how much I love most of the rest of the setting.

The rainkin and sandkin seem to hint at that possibility at least(rainkin pretty much comes out and says consensual unions are the order of the day). Still trying to figure a way to squeeze that out of the cragkin in Shoanti territory.

Considering most of the Inner Sea's opinion of orcs, and if reality is any guide, I'd expect the kids of consensual stable orc/human parents to have worse experiences--both parents are sticking their necks out even further by being exceptions to the rule in most cultures. The violence and vitriol toward the family could be tremendous.

That kind of origin and drama is exactly the sort of thing I was surprised to not see. One of the three variations on "your life just plain sucked" backgrounds easily could have been replaced with that.

Also, totally in love with Averaka now. Right down to the flavor behind the regional traits. :D

Got mine today, looks good, but I do have two questions.

Can we see the full art for the pic on page 3? (What the hell is she fighting?)

Why no Half Elf Heritage for those with Half Elf Heritage? (You know those born from Half elves for one or more generations?)

doc the grey wrote:

Heine Stick wrote:

Ogrekin get a brief paragraph in the Distant Heritages section as well as a typical racial trait (natural armor).

Really just natural armor? They already get that as part of their build.

That's because the 'Distant Heritages' section is a set of guidelines of using the ARG's race builder rules to represent someone with a more diluted non-human heritage.

...

While I do like that section (some very... interesting sources of nonhuman heritage), I personally find it to be a little clunky because if you're swapping out existing human racial traits for an equal point value of new traits to represent heritage (which is one of the suggestions), the existing human racial traits come in chunks of either 4 or 1 and a lot of the suggested heritage traits cost 2. So unless your character's family tree is really complicated (which is in-theme for the book), you're going to need a GM willing to let you get a little creative with making up those extra points. Something like swapping out 'Skilled' (4 RP) for a 2 RP trait to represent heritage and then, say, the 'Skill Bonus' trait (2 RP). But that might be a better discussion for its own thread.

I found the Distant Heritages section very evocative: it inspired me to review the Advanced Race Guide Race Builder for the first time in a while.

If your DM allows it, I think it's well worth reviewing that resource to choose a couple of alternate racial traits, and dropping Flexible Bonus Feat (4 RP) is probably the simplest way to glean a set of race points with which to play.

For example, after reviewing numerous Dhampir threads, I've been puzzling over a Dhampir (moroi-born) paladin but felt stymied by Negative Energy Affinity, which threatens to make a 1st level PC stillborn unless one selects Life-Dominant Soul as one's initial feat (healed by either channeled positive or negative energy used to heal, but only half the normal amount from either; while remaining vulnerable to positive energy used to harm undead).

Reviewing the ARG Race Builder, it turns out that Negative Energy Affinity is worth only -1 RP as a weakness, and it's a prerequisite for the defense race trait Resist Level Drain (1 RP). Hence, from a balance standpoint, omitting Resist Level Drain from a Dhampir PC is a fair way to remove Negative Energy Affinity, and this trade-off seems a much better solution to the "my DM hand waved Negative Energy Affinity" comments made in several of the Dhampir threads.

All's to say, thanks to the Distant Heritages section of Bastards of Golarion!

Someone mentioned something about the Gillmen. I had thought there was supposed to be some feats or something in here for them. Was there anything in there?

Someone mentioned something about the Gillmen. I had thought there was supposed to be some feats or something in here for them. Was there anything in there?

There's a racial feat (Unusual Origin) and a racial trait (Azlanti Inheritor) for them.

Currently wondering how many people are going to want to play spireborn just to have a reason to wear those cool masks. :)

Seriously wondering just why the insular Mordant elves seem to be purposefully looking to have half-elf babies. Maybe there's some Azlanti-stuff that requires human genetics to interact with properly?

Maybe including the deific "power source" of the Mordant Spire itself?

Currently wondering how many people are going to want to play spireborn just to have a reason to wear those cool masks. :)

Seriously wondering just why the insular Mordant elves seem to be purposefully looking to have half-elf babies. Maybe there's some Azlanti-stuff that requires human genetics to interact with properly?

Maybe including the deific "power source" of the Mordant Spire itself?

Acavna! Never Forget! Never Forgive!

Seriously wondering just why the insular Mordant elves seem to be purposefully looking to have half-elf babies. Maybe there's some Azlanti-stuff that requires human genetics to interact with properly?

Maybe including the deific "power source" of the Mordant Spire itself?

And for the logical notion, if the Mordant elves need foot soldiers/manpower to protect the Mordant Spire, a half-elf ages to adulthood (and is therefore ready for combat/defense) much faster than a pureblood elf.

Currently wondering how many people are going to want to play spireborn just to have a reason to wear those cool masks. :)

Seriously wondering just why the insular Mordant elves seem to be purposefully looking to have half-elf babies. Maybe there's some Azlanti-stuff that requires human genetics to interact with properly?

Maybe including the deific "power source" of the Mordant Spire itself?

Maybe it's an Azlanti version of the Ancient Technology Gene (ATG).

Or here's a scary thought... Maybe that's what Menek-whatever-his-name-is is breading for? Something that requires a pure Azlanti to activate?

The 'need foot soldiers' is such a boring paranoid theory. :-)

The 'need foot soldiers' is such a boring paranoid theory. :-)

If everything is a super special and unique reason, then no reason will ever be super special and unique. Given the extreme efficiency we've heard of from the Mordant Spire elves, it makes sense. They're essentially dumping gold for bodies. Sometimes a mysterious one-night stand is just a mysterious one-night stand that includes a free child soldier eight years later. That's not a long time to wait for an elf.

As for the "Azlant Technology Gene," it doesn't really work because if memory serves correctly, its mostly Chelexians who have hints of Azlant blood but the Mordant Spire elves go to villages in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. So for the theory to hold true they would have to exclusively mate with Chellexian travelers, which would have been an obvious detail to include that the somewhat xenophobic Ulfens would have definitely notice.

Good points on both.

I was kidding on the boring paranoid theory part. i.e. "That makes the most sense, but it's not as crazy!"

I try to keep my PCTs to Hermenea and the Silver Mount myself.

I noticed an editing error in the 1/2 Orc Heritages section. The two heritages which have the best likelihood of Human parentage from Ulfen have Ulfen in their language choices section. The Ulfen language is not Ulfen, it's Skald. This error was not found in the 1/2 Elf Heritages section.

Obviously it's too late for the physical copies, but perhaps it might be corrected in the PDF's?

Currently wondering how many people are going to want to play spireborn just to have a reason to wear those cool masks. :)

Seriously wondering just why the insular Mordant elves seem to be purposefully looking to have half-elf babies. Maybe there's some Azlanti-stuff that requires human genetics to interact with properly?

Maybe including the deific "power source" of the Mordant Spire itself?

Lol I'm waiting for an opportunity to play a half-drow vivisectionist for pfs. Just realized how fun that combo would be in a pf game as a refugee seeking asylum in the organization to hide from the drow he or she ticked off escaping their former home.

I think the vivisectionist is banned from PFS play.

It is.

What are the new items in this book?

What are the new items in this book?

Kin's Face Tattoo (1,600 gp) and Ring of Culturemeld (7,500 gp).

The tattoo is slotless, and consists of thousands of lines of ink and scars; when activated, the design shifts and the scars open, pulling the bearer's face into a different shape, changing them as per disguise self into the form of a specific half-orc, human, or orc, with the disguise lasting up to 5 hours per day, duration need not be continuous, but must be used in 1-hour increments.

The ring gives a +5 competence bonus on language-based Diplomacy checks to anyone who wears it, and a half-elf who wears it gains the ability to absorb a dominant non-Common local language by spending time in a settlement were it's spoken after a day, being able to speak and understand it, and after five days they gain the ability to read (but not write) the language and a +5 competence bonus on opposes Sense Motive checks against speakers of the attuned language. If the half-elf is out of contact with people who speak the language or it becomes attuned to another language, the old language is lost.

Edit: There are also two new kinds of drugs (felwil and silvertongue), but I presumed you meant magic items.

I'm playing a less-than-half drow elf right now, and my GM is fairly open to rebuilds and backstory edits. Will this book be useful to me?

Anything useful in here for elemental races (especially sylph)? I know we have Blood of the Elements in June, but I hoped this might have a new trait or two.

@NoncompliAut
Not much, but it does give a reasonable starting point for rebuilding.

@theWasp
Each of the demi-human races get something in this book.

That "Why are there no half-dwarves" sidebar in the inside back cover clearly was not well thought out. The very existence of the Racial Heritage feat implies that humans can mate with and produce fertile offspring with any sort of humanoid.

Fortunately, this book does provide some guidelines as to how you might create such characters anyway.

It doesn't say there is any direct mating. It could be thru Aasimar, for example.

The map of at-least-half humans by region lacks borders and country names. I edited it in Illustrator with the Inner Sea World Guide map to have these. Is there any way the PDF can be updated to have borders, or for me to legally post my edited map online?

I didn't mind this book, but I have to admit that going into it I was honestly expecting to see a Pathfinder version of the Races of Consequence book where there was almost literally every mashup of races. Even something like Bastards and Bloodlines. Instead, there's a blurb at the end about how some races just aren't compatible short of wish and miracle spells. Guess it's time for those evil wizards and clerics to get even more stereotyped.

That "Why are there no half-dwarves" sidebar in the inside back cover clearly was not well thought out. The very existence of the Racial Heritage feat implies that humans can mate with and produce fertile offspring with any sort of humanoid.

Fortunately, this book does provide some guidelines as to how you might create such characters anyway.

I'd have to look up the post (and I'm on my phone or else I'd go ahead and do so) but the Racial Heritage feat has been said to be intended for game worlds other than Golarion where it is possible. Unless they specifically state otherwise, the core set hardcovers are setting-neutral and don't always represent options available on Golarion. It's like how one can have nondenominational clerics in the PHB but in-setting, every cleric is expected to have a deity.

The picture of pre-crazy Nualia on page 20 was a nice touch. Probably wouldn't have recognised her if the page hadn't been about a half-breed that's held high for their heritage.

Question: BoG heritage languages: Do the replace the standard Half-Elf and Half-Orc bonus languages, add to them, or something else?

Not sure if this post will ever be seen - if no one responds, I guess I'll re-post in general.

Question: BoG heritage languages: Do the replace the standard Half-Elf and Half-Orc bonus languages, add to them, or something else?

Not sure if this post will ever be seen - if no one responds, I guess I'll re-post in general.

The listed languages are just an example of what languages those kinds of half-breeds would speak. Depending on what parent the child is left with, they could theoretically speak any of the example languages, since in Golarion nearly every playable race starts with Common, a racial language, and an ethnic language if applicable.

Guang wrote:

Question: BoG heritage languages: Do the replace the standard Half-Elf and Half-Orc bonus languages, add to them, or something else?

Not sure if this post will ever be seen - if no one responds, I guess I'll re-post in general.

The listed languages are just an example of what languages those kinds of half-breeds would speak. Depending on what parent the child is left with, they could theoretically speak any of the example languages, since in Golarion nearly every playable race starts with Common, a racial language, and an ethnic language if applicable.

So in practice, for PCs, they add to possible bonus languages?

This intricate tattoo covers the bearer’s face in thousands

of hair-fine lines of ink and carefully incised scars. The
bearer can activate the tattoo to cause the marked design
to shift and the scars to open and pull the bearer’s face
into a different shape. The bearer then gains the benefits
of disguise self, save that he can take only the form of a
specific half-orc, human, or orc, and the disguise lasts up
to 5 hours per day. This duration need not be continuous,
but it must be used in 1-hour increments.
The material components for the kin’s face tattoo include
rare pigments that are mixed with the bearer’s blood, then
worked into the bearer’s skin. To remove this tattoo the
tattooed portions must be erased and the scars healed.

A few questions about the kin's face tattoo: