Pathfinder RPG Preview - Rules and Mechanics from the PaizoCon Banquet


General Discussion (Prerelease)

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Scarab Sages

Due to the fact that these transcriptions originated from a mortal, they may not be entirely accurate. That said, they are as correct as Mr. Bulmahn presented them to his audience during the PaizoCon Banquet. Some information may be repeated from the already shown previews, I am merely listing all that a certain mortal says he spoke on during the Banquet.

Enjoy.

  • All races may choose their own favored class.
  • Half-Elves may choose two favored classes.
  • Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, and Humans have a +2 bonus to a single ability score, and no penalties. Yes. Half-Orcs.
  • Jason Bulmahn previewed a change with the Barbarian in a thread here that spoke on Rounds of Rage and Rage Powers staying constant. This has made it into the final version.
  • Clerics receive domain spells again much like in 3.5, but also retain certain Domain Powers at (typically) levels 1, 6, and 8.
  • The Cleric's domain spell list now incorporates spells from other sources, such as the previewed Fireball.
  • A Monk's flurry base attack bonus is now based off of the Fighter progression (Good). It is unknown how their normal base attack bonus will function.
  • Paladins may use their Detect Evil much faster, instantly knowing who is evil.
  • Paladins have a new mechanic called Mercy that they get at 3rd level and every few levels after. Each time they get it they may choose a type of condition (such as fatigue, nausea, etc.) and will be able to remove that when they use their Lay on Hands onto someone. Their ability to remove disease and the like is also factored into this.
  • Paladin's smite evil works similarly to before, except it is target based instead of round based. A Paladin may choose a single evil target that they may gain their smite evil bonus against until that opponent is dead. This bonus doubles if the enemy is an evil outsider, undead, or evil dragons. During their smite, they also bypass their target's DR.
  • Wizards do not need to pay as much anymore to add spells to their spellbooks. It will only cost 10 GP to add a 1st level spell to the book, and scales upwards from there to a maximum of 800 GP for a 9th level spell.
  • All bloodline powers, domain powers, school powers, etc. are now located in their respective Class area. Less flipping around.
  • There are a ton of Feats, many of which were previewed by Jason Bulmahn in certain threads and include various ways to improve Criticals, bypass DR, and other effects. A lot of these are Fighter (many high-level) based.
  • Perception has been simplified, the five-sense differentiation being all but removed from its calculations.
  • The Weapons table received a new column focusing on abilities of the weapon, such as Trip, Reach, etc. This will make it easier to reference the weapons.
  • All Medium and Heavy Armors have had their AC increased by 1.
  • Mithril weapons count as silver for bypassing damage reduction. This is so one does not have to use a weapon with -1 to damage to bypass it.
  • Though Mithril armor still counts as one weight category lower, it does not do so for the purposes of proficiency. Thus Mithril Full Plate is treated as Medium armor, but the wearer will still need Heavy Armor Proficiency to use it properly.
  • Poisons do not always activate immediately, some may wait hours or even days before affecting the target, and can damage them a day at a time (for a rather slow and painful death).
  • Crafting is still based off a skill check, as in the Beta, and is normally low. Lowering the time or missing requirements can make this higher, failing by a lot can create a cursed item.

I have omitted minor changes or minor things that stayed from the Beta. If you have a question on anything that may have been answered, ask away. There is a chance the mortal that relayed this information to me forgot various important changes. If this occurs, he shall be killed, resurrected, and the information shall then be added.

Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys

Scarab Sages

As an added piece of information, it sounds as if level adjustments have been removed. The mortal was not as sure on this piece of information, due to the noise in the Banquet Hall, but he recalls the conversation as such:

Person in Crowd: "I heard a rumor about level adjustments being removed, is this true?"
Jason Bulmahn: "I can't answer any questions concerning the new Bestiary. But yes."

Take this as you will.

Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys


thanks for the tid bits. All this is very nice

Scarab Sages

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps Subscriber

Was there any comment on:

Whether favoured class still gave you either a bonus hit point or a bonus skill point?

Subscription?

And thanks for this, it is appreciated by 'We Who Did Not Attend'.

Sczarni

I like the new stats for Half-Orc. Brings them more in line with half-elf, and (in my opinion) is an upgrade!~

Scarab Sages

sanwah68 wrote:

Was there any comment on:

Whether favoured class still gave you either a bonus hit point or a bonus skill point?

Subscription?

And thanks for this, it is appreciated by 'We Who Did Not Attend'.

The favored class bonus was not commented on, but the mortal assumes this (one bonus hit point or skill point) is how it still works.

There shall be a subscription for the Pathfinder RPG products. This will start with the Pathfinder RPG in August and the Pathfinder Bestiary in September. They also announced two other products. A Pathfinder DM Screen in September, and a book called Gamemastery (or GameMastery) scheduled for next March, which will go much more in-depth on DMing, providing lots of ready-to-go NPCs, information on creating your own world/adventurepath/anything, etc.

Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys


Funniest moment of the evening, Jason was talking about a line from the Marvelous Pigments Wondrous item. Apparently the editors were doing a run through the book and they all came across this line in the description:

The pigments are applied by a stick tipped with bristles, hair, or fur.

Which was moved over from the SRD. Every single editor circled the entry and put a comment to the effect "Like a Brush". So they did some research on why the item was listed in such a strange way. It turns out the pigments have been listed this way since the very beginning.

So they left it as it was.

I guess you had to be there.

Scarab Sages

I agree. That moment was absolute hilarity. His delivery was top notch.


Also missed that they announced very soon (maybe by the end of the week?) that you will be able to add normal orders with your subscriptions to save on shipping, a much requested feature.

Scarab Sages

Indeed! That will be quite the nice bit of awesome.

I'm still reeling from all the RPG rules. Paladins! Monks! FEATS! So much. I think I overloaded.

Paizo Employee Senior Software Developer

You'll be able to add most products to the next possible subscription shipment. Non-Paizo preorders and any backorders will still have to ship separately. This will happen during order checkout, and at that point you'll also be able to select any currently pending order to ship with.

I know Erik said "Tuesday or Wednesday" at the banquet, but the real answer is "when it's done," and I think it'll be all done sometime next week.

Scarab Sages

An addendum.

The environment section has been revised as well, especially underwater combat. Tail was looked at thoroughly and it was questioned.

Avalanches hurt.

Your God of Magic,
Nethys

Scarab Sages

Woah; some of this will please a few people I know...

All races may choose their own favored class.

I'm not personally fussed about fixed favoured class encouraging racial stereotyping; indeed, I thought that was what it was for.
However, enough people have twittered on about their Mary-Sue Dwarven Sorceror and Gnome Monk being a 'central archetype of fantasy' that we may as well do it this way and leave them to it.
It saves publishers of alternate settings having to devote pages to printing a list of different favoured classes, for readers to get their knickers in a twist all over again.

Half-Elves may choose two favored classes.

That's fine. A good way to reflect that 'not quite of two cultures' aspect.

Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, and Humans have a +2 bonus to a single ability score, and no penalties. Yes. Half-Orcs.

Goodness me. We'll be letting them attend schools next!
It's the thin end of the wedge, social breakdown, end of civilised society, you mark my words...<mumble>

No more 'Thog Smash!', I suppose...

Clerics receive domain spells again much like in 3.5, but also retain certain Domain Powers at (typically) levels 1, 6, and 8.

Having some powers held back for later levels certainly helps to encourage single-classing, instead of waltzing off to a PrC at the first opportunity.

The Cleric's domain spell list now incorporates spells from other sources.

Didn't it always? This sounds like an increase, rather than a new concept.

A Monk's flurry base attack bonus is now based off of the Fighter progression (Good). It is unknown how their normal base attack bonus will function.

It could be rather unwieldy to have two progressions to keep track of. You'd end up qualifying for certain feats and iterative attacks on a situational basis. There's plenty of people who would argue that the Monk is a Martial class, so should have good BAB all the time.

Paladins may use their Detect Evil much faster, instantly knowing who is evil.

This was introduced in the revised Paladin download.
You have a choice of a cone sweep, for three rounds, as per the spell, or a targetted scan, for instant ID, on one creature, area or object.
Very useful for smiting someone's brains out on round two.

Paladins have a new mechanic called Mercy that they get at 3rd level and every few levels after. Each time they get it they may choose a type of condition (such as fatigue, nausea, etc.) and will be able to remove that when they use their Lay on Hands onto someone. Their ability to remove disease and the like is also factored into this.

Again, already previewed. I like that they can choose a type of condition to be their 'favoured cure'. It prevents all paladins looking the same (a common complaint), and allows two or more to travel together without their abilities being redundant.

Paladin's smite evil works similarly to before, except it is target based instead of round based. A Paladin may choose a single evil target that they may gain their smite evil bonus against until that opponent is dead. This bonus doubles if the enemy is an evil outsider, undead, or evil dragons. During their smite, they also bypass their target's DR.

OUCH. Looks like my 'boss monsters' will have to travel with bodyguards in the future.
The doubling, for the iconic enemy types, is better than the old '+Xd6', as it removes the possibility of rolling poorly, and dealing less damage than normal.

Wizards do not need to pay as much anymore to add spells to their spellbooks. It will only cost 10 GP to add a 1st level spell to the book, and scales upwards from there to a maximum of 800 GP for a 9th level spell.

I'm trying to see the formula here; if the 9th-level spell were 810gp, it could be (spell level, squared, times 10gp)?

All bloodline powers, domain powers, school powers, etc. are now located in their respective Class area. Less flipping around.

And easier to print to a PC folder. Thumbs up.

There are a ton of Feats, many of which were previewed by Jason Bulmahn in certain threads and include various ways to improve Criticals, bypass DR, and other effects. A lot of these are Fighter (many high-level) based.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this; it's good as long as they aren't simply forcing PCs to buy back basic actions that should be free for all (ie, shouldn't need a feat).

Perception has been simplified, the five-sense differentiation being all but removed from its calculations.

There must be some creatures who favour one sense over another, and have situational modifiers, surely?
I think I'd get exasperated if my silenced PC were constantly being spotted by dire bats and grimlocks riding giant moles...

The Weapons table received a new column focusing on abilities of the weapon, such as Trip, Reach, etc. This will make it easier to reference the weapons.

Thumbs up. Simple and effective. No more looking for a footnote.

All Medium and Heavy Armors have had their AC increased by 1.

No complaints here. Most of the AC bonuses for armour have simply repeated the traditional values from previous editions. No reason why they can't be revised.

Mithril weapons count as silver for bypassing damage reduction. This is so one does not have to use a weapon with -1 to damage to bypass it.

Gives a reason for a mithral weapon. I can't imagine encumberance is a factor for most PCs; if you're proficient with large weapons, you're probably strong, and after a few levels, you probably keep most of your gear in an extradimensional space.
I also can't recall any creature with DR x/mithral, off the top of my head.

Though Mithril armor still counts as one weight category lower, it does not do so for the purposes of proficiency. Thus Mithril Full Plate is treated as Medium armor, but the wearer will still need Heavy Armor Proficiency to use it properly.

Makes sense; it's not just about the weight, but how it hangs.
(If you'll pardon the expression)

Poisons do not always activate immediately, some may wait hours or even days before affecting the target, and can damage them a day at a time (for a rather slow and painful death).

YES! YES! YES! At last!

Crafting is still based off a skill check, as in the Beta, and is normally low. Lowering the time or missing requirements can make this higher, failing by a lot can create a cursed item.

Yes; the DCs need to be set at a level that allows low-level commoners to make most stuff, given the right tools.
Allowing non-casters of legendary skill to craft magic items fits many myths, and justifies where these items come from, since I've never seen any wizard PC take Craft Arms and Armor.

So; general impressions - Wo0t!


The PFRPG Shadowdancer prestige class will be in Kobold Quarterly #10.

The assassin looks freakin' badass. Those that they assassinate will freakin' stay dead.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Lilith wrote:
The assassin looks freakin' badass. Those that they assassinate will freakin' stay dead.

What? Something like requiring a True Res or Miracle/Wish to bring someone back? Kickass. A good reason to actually be afraid of assassins, rather than just annoyed by them.

Liberty's Edge

Did they keep the spells out of the assassin? I really really hope so >_>

The Exchange

Lilith wrote:

The PFRPG Shadowdancer prestige class will be in Kobold Quarterly #10.

The assassin looks freakin' badass. Those that they assassinate will freakin' stay dead.

I've mixed feelings about the favored class change. Kind of like giving a prize for 4th place. I'm a fan of Elf wizards, Dwarf Fighters, Halfling Rogues. Not sure I like the change to Half-orcs stat bonus either... Oh well, over all I am pleased. Epecially with Pallys and Assassins.

Channels T-bird: But you ain't you. You can't be you. We put you through the window. There ain't no coming back. This is the really real world, there ain't no coming back. We killed you dead, there ain't no coming back! There ain't no coming back! There ain't no coming back!

Silver Crusade

(Bowing) Many thanks for the all of the incredible information, oh wise Nethys.

The Exchange

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Nethys wrote:
As an added piece of information, it sounds as if level adjustments have been removed.

Thank Desna! LA was a mathematical and logistical nightmare. Rest in pieces!


well,I don't know...

Paladin sounds a little bit too powerful to me,it was already a decent class in 3.5, with divine grace,lay on hands,special mount...and so on.

In beta they're immune to charm, enchantment at high levels and now they can add twice bonus to smite evil? It's just...isn't that too much?

Dark Archive

Wow. Let me just say wow.

As someone who's been extremely vocal on how un-3.5-ish it is to give races two +2 bonuses to begin with, I've to applaud Paizo's cleverness in their final resolution. Mathematically, they still net a +2 overall, but cosmetically it now looks much closer to 3.5. Well done. If that's indicative of their sensibilities throughout, I'll cast my skepticism over board pretty soon. :)

Second, as someone who's been pretty vocal on not fixating every race on just a single favoured class (I recommended two for each), Paizo's decision to lift favoured class restrictions comes extremely timely too.

While I *still* keep my resolution to continue playing 3.5 and solely use PF RPG as a tome for the odd houserule, this forum post is the first tidbit about the new game which encourages me to think that PF RPG will serve me well in the second regard.

Ok, a pretty self-centered post for me, so let me say to the OP: thanks for posting, and thanks to everyone for communicating the CON's enthusiasm and lightheartedness as well.


I'll leave out the full negative thoughts and opinions, and merely voice my concern:

Nethys wrote:
[list]
  • Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, and Humans have a +2 bonus to a single ability score, and no penalties. Yes. Half-Orcs.
  • What does this do to the poor Half-Orc? What does s/he have to make them worthwhile to be played?

    Half-Elves get two favored classes, making them a relative shoe in for a multiclass character, Humans get a feat and more skill points...

    What will the poor Half-Orc get? Orc Blood? I hope that isn't the only thing. I guess Darkvision... But that can be replicated by a spell/item.

    I hope there is something to make the Half-Orc more than the lesser cousin to Humans and Half-Elves.


    Nethys wrote:
    Tail was looked at thoroughly and it was questioned.

    If you got some tail at Paizocon, you should consider yourself lucky; don't question it!

    (Seriously, I have no idea what this sentence is supposed to mean.)

    Sczarni

    Disenchanter wrote:

    I'll leave out the full negative thoughts and opinions, and merely voice my concern:

    Nethys wrote:
    [list]
  • Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, and Humans have a +2 bonus to a single ability score, and no penalties. Yes. Half-Orcs.
  • What does this do to the poor Half-Orc? What does s/he have to make them worthwhile to be played?

    Half-Elves get two favored classes, making them a relative shoe in for a multiclass character, Humans get a feat and more skill points...

    What will the poor Half-Orc get? Orc Blood? I hope that isn't the only thing. I guess Darkvision... But that can be replicated by a spell/item.

    I hope there is something to make the Half-Orc more than the lesser cousin to Humans and Half-Elves.

    What are you talking about?

    Now I can create a 20 intelligence half-orc wizard that can blast an enemy in complete natural darkness before the rest of my party can see it. I can have a skill-based half-orc rogue that can actually search.

    Yes it's harder to do an 18 str 18 wiz Monk, Cleric or Druid that's dumber than a box of rocks. But that's about it.


    Spiffy Jim wrote:
    Now I can create a 20 intelligence half-orc wizard that can blast an enemy in complete natural darkness before the rest of my party can see it. I can have a skill-based half-orc rogue that can actually search.

    And what is stopping you from doing that with a Human or Half-Elf, and get more from your race?

    You know, the "they can do everything I can - but better" argument that is the cornerstone of the CoDzilla arguments.

    Sczarni

    Disenchanter wrote:
    Spiffy Jim wrote:
    Now I can create a 20 intelligence half-orc wizard that can blast an enemy in complete natural darkness before the rest of my party can see it. I can have a skill-based half-orc rogue that can actually search.

    And what is stopping you from doing that with a Human or Half-Elf, and get more from your race?

    You know, the "they can do everything I can - but better" argument that is the cornerstone of the CoDzilla arguments.

    They don't have that lame darkvision, for one =P


    Spiffy Jim wrote:
    They don't have that lame darkvision, for one =P

    I guess I am simply asking too much when I expect those who quote my posts and try to debate them to actually read them.


    Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

    Lame Darkvision....hmmmm well as a GM and a Player I hardly call Dark Vision lame....

    Why...well in the dark...you can see light for miles....and I do mean miles... thus a rogue has a mighty hard time sneaking up on ye old anything if he is saddled with a torch or other light device... If you dont beleive me...send one of your buddies out a mile or so on top of a hill with a flashlight....Sure the wizard can eventually produce darkivision to overcome said obstacles...but not until 5th level...and face it...you gotta survive to 5th level to get it...not too mention exceptionally far reaching darkvision is a huge advantage...seeing your foe...who thinks he;s safely tucked away in the dark from 120' grants all kinds of advantages...hell it allows the party to top, assess and come up with a strategy.... plus as a mage...wouldn't you rather spend your 3rd level spells on Fireball, haste, dispel magic.... I would

    So in my games...which tend to adhere to the laws of physics...unless magic is involved in manipulating them...Darkvision is a blessing


    Snorter wrote:

    A Monk's flurry base attack bonus is now based off of the Fighter progression (Good). It is unknown how their normal base attack bonus will function.

    It could be rather unwieldy to have two progressions to keep track of. You'd end up qualifying for certain feats and iterative attacks on a situational basis. There's plenty of people who would argue that the Monk is a Martial class, so should have good BAB all the time.

    Note that a monk essentially has full BAB progression with his flurry of blows already, at least from level 1-12. That is, his chance of hitting with a flurry of blows increases by 1 each level. So I'm not exactly sure what has been changed.


    hogarth wrote:


    Note that a monk essentially has full BAB progression with his flurry of blows already, at least from level 1-12. That is, his chance of hitting with a flurry of blows increases by 1 each level. So I'm not exactly sure what has been changed.

    Not quite, the monk starts at -2 to begin with, which is 3 down from a fighter's +1. This means the level 1 monk is net -1 as a fighter taking TWF feats.

    As you implied, he also misses out at levels 13 and 17, this means at level 13 the monk is -2 over a fighter taking TWF feats, and at 17, they are -3.

    All in all, any boost to a monk's attack bonuses is bound to be a good thing for the class, I'm looking forward to their changes.

    However, you're right to caution us not to be too excited, the changes probably can't be too great in magnitude.

    The Exchange Owner - D20 Hobbies

    seekerofshadowlight wrote:

    Person in Crowd: "I heard a rumor about level adjustments being removed, is this true?"

    Jason Bulmahn: "I can't answer any questions concerning the new Bestiary. But yes."

    No, it was more like:

    "Is something done with the horrible thing called Level Adjustment?"

    But he did say yes. What has been done is left open ended.

    Lilith wrote:

    The Cleric's domain spell list now incorporates spells from other sources.

    Didn't it always? This sounds like an increase, rather than a new concept.

    No, he said the spell lists have changed. For example (the one he gave) Fire Domain now contains Fireball.


    Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

    Nethys - thanks for all the crunchy info. I linked this thread over at ENworld and copied your punchlist of items; if that's not cool, please let me know.


    Disenchanter wrote:


    B@!&!, b&*+%, b@&%%. Half-Orcs screwed even though I don't know how. Half-Elves are so much better than Half-Orcs even though I don't know how. Everything I don't know about sucks....

    I guess I am simply asking too much when I expect those who quote my posts and try to debate them to actually read them.

    I read it; I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to debate.


    totoro wrote:
    Disenchanter wrote:


    b@!%~, b@!%~, b@!%~. Half-Orcs screwed even though I don't know how. Half-Elves are so much better than Half-Orcs even though I don't know how. Everything I don't know about sucks....

    I guess I am simply asking too much when I expect those who quote my posts and try to debate them to actually read them.

    I read it; I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to debate.

    I'd recommend checking your firewall settings. Your ignorance port is open to the internet.

    Scarab Sages

    Let's please not clutter this thread with bickering, it is for discussing the new rules presented at PaizoCon, let's not let it get past that. ;)


    Karui Kage wrote:
    Let's please not clutter this thread with bickering, it is for discussing the new rules presented at PaizoCon, let's not let it get past that. ;)

    seconded.

    Sovereign Court

    Nice review Nethys. Thank you.

    Scarab Sages

    hogarth wrote:
    Nethys wrote:
    Tail was looked at thoroughly and it was questioned.

    If you got some tail at Paizocon, you should consider yourself lucky; don't question it!

    (Seriously, I have no idea what this sentence is supposed to mean.)

    You will find your answer in the Underwater Combat section here.

    Needless to say, Jason thought it strange that there was a column for Bludgeoning/Slashing, and then a column for...Tail.

    Your God of Knowledge,
    Nethys

    Sovereign Court

    Disenchanter-- I think what you are asking is this: What does the half-orc get besides +2 to any ability score? The answer is: We don't know yet. Jason didn't tell us anything else about the half-orc. We will just have to wait until the book releases to find out. I'm curious about it, too! :)

    Scarab Sages

    Zootcat wrote:
    Disenchanter-- I think what you are asking is this: What does the half-orc get besides +2 to any ability score? The answer is: We don't know yet. Jason didn't tell us anything else about the half-orc. We will just have to wait until the book releases to find out. I'm curious about it, too! :)

    This is correct. My statement was only to confirm that the Half-Orc had their ability scores changed from the old +2/+2/-2 set-up to +2 to any one score, like the human and half-elf.

    Your God of Knowledge,
    Nethys


    as far as that goes why does a half elf or a human gain a +2 to any score? Half orc gaining the same +2 to any score fits.

    Lantern Lodge

    Dennis da Ogre wrote:

    Funniest moment of the evening, Jason was talking about a line from the Marvelous Pigments Wondrous item. Apparently the editors were doing a run through the book and they all came across this line in the description:

    The pigments are applied by a stick tipped with bristles, hair, or fur.

    Which was moved over from the SRD. Every single editor circled the entry and put a comment to the effect "Like a Brush". So they did some research on why the item was listed in such a strange way. It turns out the pigments have been listed this way since the very beginning.

    So they left it as it was.

    I guess you had to be there.

    I was thrilled by this story as my PFS character is shooting for getting a set of these.


    seekerofshadowlight wrote:
    as far as that goes why does a half elf or a human gain a +2 to any score? Half orc gaining the same +2 to any score fits.

    I suspect their going for the old standby reason that humans are more versatile. One aspect of this versatility is that humans can be what they want. Growing up, they focus on STR, or INT, or whatever.

    The other races are not so versatile.

    Half-elves and half-orcs, by virtue of their human blood, seem to have now inherited this versatility. Or so I would guess.


    That is what I was thinking myself. I do like half orcs gains a +2 brings them more inline with half elves.

    I do wonder what else has changed, if anything with them


    Oh Great God Nethys, here this mortal's additions to your mighty words:

    1. Favored Class - "what does it give?" - the preview blogs so far have already confirmed that it grants either hitpoints or skill points (if it can grant more than that, no sign yet).

    2. Domains - "Powers" are gained at 1st, and *either* 6th or 8th.

    3. Paladin Smite Evil also grants a deflection bonus to AC equal to Charisma modifier, against the target of the Smiting.

    4. Lay on Hands now works on d6's (slight hesitancy on Jason's part on that), like d6/2 levels.

    5. As previewed a bit, the Vital Strike chain lets you move and take a standard action to hit for additional damage (not specified, but presumably a multiple per feat, which now includes *Greater* Vital Strike).

    6. CMD confirmed to be essentially CMB + Touch AC, except for size modifiers.

    7. Spellbooks - the "800 gp for a 9th level spell" was not a precise figure, so the presumption of "level squared times 10" is a good one.

    8. Reiteration of changes to Darkness, et al, as illumination levels. Darkness spells reduce the level by one or more steps.

    9. Assassins - "Stay Dead" - not defined. "Spells?" - could not be seen - but nothing on the main chart that I could see. A second chart would have been on the next page.

    10. Wealth by level guidelines are on the easily remembered page 399.

    11. Magic Item skill check affected by "rushing", "not having components", and "not having spells". FYI - cursed items in the beta release were not based on "failing by a lot", but actually failing by a little. Jason did not elaborate on that at all during the preview (changed or not).

    12. 578 pages, recommended readings pages.

    13. Question on Multi-classing was addressed essentially as "We tried to make staying single-class a much better option." I garner from the brief answer that there will not be a "magic rating" type effect, for casters or other effects. HOWEVER - that question was absolutely not what was asked or answered - simply an inference of my own.

    Quotes:
    Lisa Stevens: "We're making these games, and suddenly people are creating things that make *my* game better." [referencing her running Rise of the Runelords and all the resources available made by fans.]

    Jason Bulmahn: "This book would not be what it is without you." [referencing all the playtesting of course.]

    Erik Monda: "Coming to PaizoCon and seeing the Wayfinder [fanzine] brought me back to the rush and excitement of seeing a new product, that I haven't been working on for five months."

    Scarab Sages

    A worthy addition.

    Your God of Knowledge,
    Nethys


    Given the changes to Half-Orc, I'm assuming they are now also human/orc only. Which is a good change, I think. I always thought it was stupid that they stated a half-orc was either orc/human or rarely orc/elf. I don't have an issue with orc/elf (erc? Orf? Olf? Elc?), but they sure shouldn't have the same stats as a human/orc.


    Zootcat wrote:
    Disenchanter-- I think what you are asking is this: What does the half-orc get besides +2 to any ability score? The answer is: We don't know yet. Jason didn't tell us anything else about the half-orc. We will just have to wait until the book releases to find out. I'm curious about it, too! :)

    That is pretty much it.

    I wouldn't say questioning, because that suggests that I expect an answer. But otherwise, you have it.

    Darkvision doesn't do it for me, since anyone can have it as early as 3rd level. (It's not automatic, but available to all characters that follow a certain path - Wizard to 3rd level.)

    Orc Blood, or any <Racial> Blood, ability has been a let down in general. Great flavor, but I don't really recall any published item/spell/etc. facilitating it.

    Orc Ferocity, from the Beta, was a bit of a let down to me. I don't buy into the "ability near death" design because it almost punishes players who play well tactically.

    So I am concerned that Half-Orcs got slapped around on this change. I'm not saying they did, but I am concerned.

    Dark Archive

    Nethys wrote:
  • Half-Elves may choose two favored classes.
  • Paladins have a new mechanic called Mercy that they get at 3rd level and every few levels after. Each time they get it they may choose a type of condition (such as fatigue, nausea, etc.) and will be able to remove that when they use their Lay on Hands onto someone. Their ability to remove disease and the like is also factored into this.
  • Paladin's smite evil works similarly to before, except it is target based instead of round based. A Paladin may choose a single evil target that they may gain their smite evil bonus against until that opponent is dead. This bonus doubles if the enemy is an evil outsider, undead, or evil dragons. During their smite, they also bypass their target's DR.
  • Wizards do not need to pay as much anymore to add spells to their spellbooks. It will only cost 10 GP to add a 1st level spell to the book, and scales upwards from there to a maximum of 800 GP for a 9th level spell.
  • All bloodline powers, domain powers, school powers, etc. are now located in their respective Class area. Less flipping around.
  • There are a ton of Feats, many of which were previewed by Jason Bulmahn in certain threads and include various ways to improve Criticals, bypass DR, and other effects. A lot of these are Fighter (many high-level) based.
  • All Medium and Heavy Armors have had their AC increased by 1.
  • Mithril weapons count as silver for bypassing damage reduction. This is so one does not have to use a weapon with -1 to damage to bypass it.
  • Though Mithril armor still counts as one weight category lower, it does not do so for the purposes of proficiency. Thus Mithril Full Plate is treated as Medium armor, but the wearer will still need Heavy Armor Proficiency to use it properly.
  • Poisons do not always activate immediately, some may wait hours or even days before affecting the target, and can damage them a day at a time (for a rather slow and painful death).
  • Crafting is still based off a skill check, as in the Beta, and is normally low. Lowering the time or missing requirements can make this higher, failing by a lot can create a cursed item.
  • These are good. From rather good (paladin's Mercy and wizard's spellbook) to awesome good (poisons, high-end fighter feats).

    Nethys wrote:
  • Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, and Humans have a +2 bonus to a single ability score, and no penalties. Yes. Half-Orcs.
  • Jason Bulmahn previewed a change with the Barbarian in a thread here that spoke on Rounds of Rage and Rage Powers staying constant. This has made it into the final version.
  • Perception has been simplified, the five-sense differentiation being all but removed from its calculations.
  • These will be house-ruled. Big no-no(s) in my book.

    Other points, I can't really say if they'll have a marked effect on my games, so no opinion yet.
    Overall, a rather positive preview.

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