Creative Director
|
I'll just say that the parts of the book I wrote were the chapters on aboleths and beholders, several of the new monsters-Oo, did you do the Silthilar? Those were my favorite, it made me happy to see fleshshapers with a good alignment. :)
I did indeed design the silthilar. That requirement was basically "design a good-aligned aberration." Which was actually weirdly hard for me.
|
James, what do you think of the possibility for a Baldebound magus to enchant his Black Blade?
I think it should be allowed, but the cost should be based on the enhancement bonus of the blade at level 17+, i.e. the cost should be that of enchanting a weapon with a +5 enhancement. That way it would not be possible to "game" it adding abilities that have a high enhancement cost at a low level and at a low cost and benefit from them at high level.
The magus powers are great for temporarily enhancing the weapon, but they lack several of the new options and all the fixed price abilities like Dueling.
Another ability that plenty of magus would like to add to a weapon is the Agile property. Without that ability every magus that want to get an high dexterity will end using a scimitar ant taking the dervish dance feat. it is a neat feat, but when it become a mandatory choice it lose most of its appeal.- * -
Edit, another black blade question:
A blackblade glow, i.e. it is one of the magic weapons that shed light?
If you think it should be allowed, and you're the GM... you don't need my permission.
I'm not familiar enough with the archetype to offer advice... but I suspect that if the archetype specifically says you can't magic up the black blade beyond what the archetype grants you in the first place is a balance thing.
And whether or not ANY weapon created by a PC, be that creation via the classic item creation rules or by something like this archetype, glows, is up to the PC I say. Glowing is a pretty minor effect. If your GM says no, it's just a 100 gp or so payment to have continual flame put on it anyway.
The Archetype don't say anything about enchanting the weapon. A few of us have FAQed that question in the rule forum, but no reply so far.
My GM and I feel that it is a bit too god at level 5-6 and become +5 a bit too late, I have suggested a slightly different progression of the bonus and he as accepted it, so now, in our game, it follow a bit more closely the power curve of the weapon of a regular magus (or at least what we think it will be).The archetype is beautiful and has a strong flavour but it seem to suffer at high level when compared to a regular magus. Customizing your main weapon is important for a class with a strong martial bent.
|
Creative Director
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
1)Are we getting a new type of Aboleth in the Innersea Bestiary or is it something they created?
2)I know the art pic for the Lashunta will be female but what are the other 0HD races gender for there art in the Innersea Bestiary?
3)Have you seen any new movies lately? If so what and did you like it?
4)Have you guys said a release date for Ultimate Campaign?
5)What are your five favorite creatures from greek myth?
6)Have you ever had to fight the Tarrasque(in game of course)? If so what class(es) were you?
7)If you could pic one creature that was owned by wizards that you could put into Pathfinder what would it be?
1) The veiled master is what's aboleth-related in Inner Sea Bestairy; they're a tougher version of the standard aboleth.
2) Female, Female, Male, Dunno.
3) Just saw "End of Watch" last Sunday. GREAT movie. One of the best cop movies I've ever seen, in fact.
4) Nope.
5) Charybdis. Harpy. Lamia. Scylla. Charon.
6) Nope. I shapechanged into it once though! Swallowed a balor and it blew up inside my belly! Didn't hurt that much, fortunately.
7) Demogorgon.
JJ how does grapple/grab/ and constrict look when used togther? Does the creature get a grapple damage effect, damage from the grab ability, AND damage from constrict on subsequent rounds after the first? I will send cake if you will show me an example of a constrictor using these abilitites versus a kobold!!
My guess..
Round 1
Bites, does damage, starts a grapple for free and wins, does constrict damage.
Round 2
Maintains grapple, gets to do grapple action damage (per CRB 200). GRAB ability damage (301 Bestiary), AND constrict Damage (Bestiary 1)!!
Round 3
Same as round 2
Also if a creature with more than one attack (octopus) chooses to take a -20 and simply hold the target, does it have to make standard action to amintain that hold, if yes then doesn't it lose the ability to use its other arms for combat?
RAW speaking, can I take the Dimensional Agility feat so that when my Teleportation Wizard uses his Shift ability, he's able to take actions afterward?
James is NOT the rules guy. It's been said before.
|
RAW speaking, can I take the Dimensional Agility feat so that when my Teleportation Wizard uses his Shift ability, he's able to take actions afterward?Dunno. Where are Dimensional Agility, Teleportation Wizards, and Shift abilities from?
Associated School: Conjuration.
Replacement Power: The following school power replaces the acid dart power of the conjuration school.
Shift (Su): At 1st level, you can teleport to a nearby space as a swift action as if using dimension door. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You must be able to see the space that you are moving into. You cannot take other creatures with you when you use this ability (except for familiars). You can move 5 feet for every two wizard levels you possess (minimum 5 feet). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
Prerequisites: Ability to use the abundant step class feature or cast dimension door.
Benefit: After using abundant step or casting dimension door, you can take any actions you still have remaining on your turn. You also gain a +4 bonus on Concentration checks when casting teleportation spells.
James,
If you could see someone do a novel based on one of the existing Adventure Path's which would it be?
For that matter will there ever be any novels based on any of the current AP's (Rise of the Ruinlords, etc.)?
Where's the basic Aboleth? In one of the Adventure Paths?
|
Creative Director
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
RAW speaking, can I take the Dimensional Agility feat so that when my Teleportation Wizard uses his Shift ability, he's able to take actions afterward?James is NOT the rules guy. It's been said before.
James is also one of the guys who knows the rules pretty well, and that, combined with the fact that he answers questions relatively quickly/frequently makes him a not bad choice to ask these questions.
|
Creative Director
|
JJ how does grapple/grab/ and constrict look when used togther? Does the creature get a grapple damage effect, damage from the grab ability, AND damage from constrict on subsequent rounds after the first? I will send cake if you will show me an example of a constrictor using these abilitites versus a kobold!!
My guess..
Round 1
Bites, does damage, starts a grapple for free and wins, does constrict damage.
Round 2
Maintains grapple, gets to do grapple action damage (per CRB 200). GRAB ability damage (301 Bestiary), AND constrict Damage (Bestiary 1)!!
Round 3
Same as round 2
Also if a creature with more than one attack (octopus) chooses to take a -20 and simply hold the target, does it have to make standard action to amintain that hold, if yes then doesn't it lose the ability to use its other arms for combat?
A snake on a kobold attacks with its bite. It has grab, so it gets a grapple check for free with its bite. If it wins the check, it deals constrict damage there and then.
Round two, if it maintains the grapple, it deals constrict damage, which is generally more than the normal grapple damage. A creature with constrict generally won't want to forgo its constrict damage to just do the grapple damage. Keeps it simpler too.
A creature that has more than one attack can just make a normal attack in that case since it has grab; if it hits the foe it's grappling it gets a grapple check to maintain for free.
At least... that's how I see it all.
|
Creative Director
|
RAW speaking, can I take the Dimensional Agility feat so that when my Teleportation Wizard uses his Shift ability, he's able to take actions afterward?Dunno. Where are Dimensional Agility, Teleportation Wizards, and Shift abilities from?Associated School: Conjuration.
Replacement Power: The following school power replaces the acid dart power of the conjuration school.
Shift (Su): At 1st level, you can teleport to a nearby space as a swift action as if using dimension door. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You must be able to see the space that you are moving into. You cannot take other creatures with you when you use this ability (except for familiars). You can move 5 feet for every two wizard levels you possess (minimum 5 feet). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
Prerequisites: Ability to use the abundant step class feature or cast dimension door.
Benefit: After using abundant step or casting dimension door, you can take any actions you still have remaining on your turn. You also gain a +4 bonus on Concentration checks when casting teleportation spells.
I'd allow it.
Although rules as written, "Shift" isn't called "abundant step" or "dimension door" so it wouldn't let you use the feat with that ability. But I'd still allow it because it's the same type of ability as those two.
|
Creative Director
|
James,
If you could see someone do a novel based on one of the existing Adventure Path's which would it be?
For that matter will there ever be any novels based on any of the current AP's (Rise of the Ruinlords, etc.)?
Crossing those streams causes problems, in my opinion. I'm okay with novels that take place in the same regions and might have similar themes to an adventure path... but what's good for an AP isn't good for a novel and vice versa.
Not sure what else I can say, frankly, at this point, except maybe to just not cast greater magic weapon on confusing weapons?
I understand the game mechanics well enough. Just needed to get my mind around the extremely limited applicability of Greater Magic Weapon/Magic Fang, to wit, only ever apply to to hit and damage and doesn't really count as an enhancement bonus on the weapon for the purpose of weapon properties that consider such.
Thanks for answering my question.
prototype00
James,
1. What is the most short-lived PC you've ever played? Race/class/name
2. What are your two favorite PCs you've ever played?
3. When creating a character from scratch, where do you start? Gameplay, PC personality, or concept? Why do you start there?
4. What are the steps you go through when designing a wondrous item?
5. What makes an item 'wondrous' - philosophically, not RAW.
Thanks!
Where's the basic Aboleth? In one of the Adventure Paths?It's the second monster in the Bestiary.
Ah, derp. I must have skipped right over it!
Related to RasTenira's question: "For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher."
Does that mean that using Familiar Feat to give Toughness would grant the familiar hp equal to my level?
I came across this thread looking up the tiny/small Fox debate. 9 str on a tiny creature is crazy for polymorph spells.
It might, except that the familiar's HP is automatically overwritten with "Half of the Master's HP." As far as I can tell, the main use of giving it HD is for being affected by things like color spray and pattern spells, and if you get a familiar with a save DC on one of its abilities, I think it would improve that.
|
So, I heard you like horror Movies, have you seen the recent Swedish horror film, Marianne? I ask because it has a fairly interesting structure (it's sort of a psychological drama horror film)and has a creature from folklore in it that hasn't turned up in Paizo products yet,
If you have seen the film, how did you like it?
If you haven't seen the film but know what a
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
James is also one of the guys who knows the rules pretty well, and that, combined with the fact that he answers questions relatively quickly/frequently makes him a not bad choice to ask these questions.RAW speaking, can I take the Dimensional Agility feat so that when my Teleportation Wizard uses his Shift ability, he's able to take actions afterward?James is NOT the rules guy. It's been said before.
YES!
I once had that " James is not the rules guy" attitude. I don't anymore. James is the most helpful person on this messageboard and he know the rules good enough, or even better actually. Let's face it, even Jason or Sean change rulings. So rulings are not always an easy thing.My sincere apology for my jerk remarks in that alchemist thread.
1) How does it feel to be the most appreciated poster on the messageboards? :)
2) Do you like any Cuban music?
3 A) Do use background music when you play call of cthulhu?
3 B) If, yes, any advice on cool cthulhu-music?
Will you be voting come the next election? May I suggest voting for the Elder Party?
Cthulhu/Dagon 2012!
Will you be voting come the next election? May I suggest voting for the Elder Party?
Cthulhu/Dagon 2012!
Why vote for the Lesser Evil?
1. If there were in-universe wanted posters of the iconics, what do you think would be listed as their respective crimes character-by-character?
2. Who would post a bounty of them and how much gp would the reward money be for each of 'em? ;)
I'll just point out that I used to own some of Queen Abrogail's corsets. Not any longer, though. (I gave them to Ezren, not sure why he wanted them.)
So, I heard you like horror Movies, have you seen the recent Swedish horror film, Marianne? I ask because it has a fairly interesting structure (it's sort of a psychological drama horror film)and has a creature from folklore in it that hasn't turned up in Paizo products yet, ** spoiler omitted ** I know this creature shows up in a number of different places in European folklore, Germany and Poland for one thing, as well as the Scandinavian countries.
If you have seen the film, how did you like it?
If you haven't seen the film but know what a ** spoiler omitted ** is, what kind of creature would it be in Pathfinder? a fey? an outsider? something different?
I guess James doesn't know Swedish ;-)
Translation:Mare
link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare_(folklore)
JJ how does grapple/grab/ and constrict look when used togther? Does the creature get a grapple damage effect, damage from the grab ability, AND damage from constrict on subsequent rounds after the first? I will send cake if you will show me an example of a constrictor using these abilitites versus a kobold!!
My guess..
Round 1
Bites, does damage, starts a grapple for free and wins, does constrict damage.
Round 2
Maintains grapple, gets to do grapple action damage (per CRB 200). GRAB ability damage (301 Bestiary), AND constrict Damage (Bestiary 1)!!
Round 3
Same as round 2
Also if a creature with more than one attack (octopus) chooses to take a -20 and simply hold the target, does it have to make standard action to amintain that hold, if yes then doesn't it lose the ability to use its other arms for combat?
A snake on a kobold attacks with its bite. It has grab, so it gets a grapple check for free with its bite. If it wins the check, it deals constrict damage there and then.
Round two, if it maintains the grapple, it deals constrict damage, which is generally more than the normal grapple damage. A creature with constrict generally won't want to forgo its constrict damage to just do the grapple damage. Keeps it simpler too.
A creature that has more than one attack can just make a normal attack in that case since it has grab; if it hits the foe it's grappling it gets a grapple check to maintain for free.
At least... that's how I see it all.
Thank you so much for your time Mr. Jacobs. This has vexed me for a long time.
I just want to be crystal clear, a creature with grab and constrict, on subsequent rounds after the first (if it successfully maintains a grapple), only gets to do constrict damage, not damage from the grapple action itself, nor from grab as a separate ability?
|
Creative Director
|
James,
1. What is the most short-lived PC you've ever played? Race/class/name
2. What are your two favorite PCs you've ever played?
3. When creating a character from scratch, where do you start? Gameplay, PC personality, or concept? Why do you start there?
4. What are the steps you go through when designing a wondrous item?
5. What makes an item 'wondrous' - philosophically, not RAW.
Thanks!
1) It was for a Call of Cthulhu game. My previous character went insane and got herself thrown into an insane asylum. The adventure, though, was "Horror on the Orient Express," and so since the adventure was heading on to the next stop and leaving my insane character behind, I ended up making a replacement character. I built the character up, found a cool picture from National Geographic to be his character image, and then started playing—he was a safari hunter on vacation. The game starts, and to introduce my character the GM tells me "You hear a bumping sound in the next car and a muffled cry for help!" It was, of course, one of the established player characters being attacked by a monster. SO! My character runs over, kicks in the door, sees the poor player is being attacked by animated patches of skin that are trying to jump onto his face and grow over his mouth and nose to suffocate him. Another skin patch immediately jumped on my face, grew over it, and I failed some sort of check and died. Took me longer to create the character to play it, and this is for a game where character creation takes 15 minutes or so.
2) Shensen and Tyralandi.
3) That depends on the game. If I'm the last one making a character, I'll generally pick an unrepresented class and go from there. If I'm starting fresh, I'll typically pick the class first as well, but often pick the deity she worships first too. But sometimes there's just a personality quirk I wanna play, such as "I wanna play a character who's a failed trapeze artist," and then make choices from there.
4) Usually, I build wondrous items because I've come to a story element that requires a certain type of effect to occur that the NPC or monster or situation can't do. That makes it more or less obvious from the start what the thing needs to be, which makes the rules part easier.
5) Something that when you read it you go, "oooh! I want one!" and it's not just a spell in a can. Spell in a can wondrous items have their place, of course, but that place is in the Core Rulebook where other baseline stuff lives.
|
Creative Director
|
Do Beholders (Or Beholder like Creatures?) live/exist in Golarion?
Only in home campaigns if the GM wants them there. We can't publish stuff about beholders, so we're not going to try to "fake" it by saying, "This ruined castle is the lair of a big round magic monster with lots of eyes." That's lame.
|
Creative Director
|
Related to RasTenira's question: "For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher."
Does that mean that using Familiar Feat to give Toughness would grant the familiar hp equal to my level?
EDIT: oops... answered too quickly. Nope, Toughness doesn't help a familair. They're weird; their hp is equal to half the master's hp. Their HD are used for effects like daze monster or or circle of death that need to know the target's HD to resolve things.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
So, I heard you like horror Movies, have you seen the recent Swedish horror film, Marianne? I ask because it has a fairly interesting structure (it's sort of a psychological drama horror film)and has a creature from folklore in it that hasn't turned up in Paizo products yet, ** spoiler omitted ** I know this creature shows up in a number of different places in European folklore, Germany and Poland for one thing, as well as the Scandinavian countries.
If you have seen the film, how did you like it?
If you haven't seen the film but know what a ** spoiler omitted ** is, what kind of creature would it be in Pathfinder? a fey? an outsider? something different?I guess James doesn't know Swedish ;-)
Translation:
** spoiler omitted **
Not having seen the film I suspect that would be a
|
Creative Director
|
What is the DC for a Sangudaemon's contagious gore?
Also can you give anymore information on urdefaden society and culture?
The Sangudaemon's contagious gore DC is 20. In a case like this, you can always use the formula of DC = 10 + 1/2 the creature's HD + the creature's ability score on which the attack is based. In this case: 10 + 6 +4, for DC 20.
And the urdefhans have been a part of my homebrew world for decades. I think I first made them up back in 1989 or thereabouts. So... yeah, I've got a LOT of stuff I could talk about them... too much to unleash here in a messageboard post, alas.
|
Creative Director
|
So, I heard you like horror Movies, have you seen the recent Swedish horror film, Marianne? I ask because it has a fairly interesting structure (it's sort of a psychological drama horror film)and has a creature from folklore in it that hasn't turned up in Paizo products yet, ** spoiler omitted ** I know this creature shows up in a number of different places in European folklore, Germany and Poland for one thing, as well as the Scandinavian countries.
If you have seen the film, how did you like it?
If you haven't seen the film but know what a ** spoiler omitted ** is, what kind of creature would it be in Pathfinder? a fey? an outsider? something different?
Oooh... haven't seen that and never heard of the monster! Neat! MORE RESEARCH IS REQUIRED. (scurries off to Netflix)
EDIT: DANG! FOILED!
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
1) How does it feel to be the most appreciated poster on the messageboards? :)
2) Do you like any Cuban music?
3 A) Do use background music when you play call of cthulhu?
3 B) If, yes, any advice on cool cthulhu-music?
1) Gratifying! Especially to hear it, since it's easy for one or two negative comments to wash away an entire day's worth of good feelings. Thanks!
2) Not really. I don't mind it, but neither do I seek it out.
3) Generally, no, but if/when I do, I usually use horror movie soundtracks. John Carpenter stuff is particularly good because it's usually VERY menacing and creepy. "The Thing" works particularly well since the music sounds like insanity breaking through the thin veneer of rational life.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
1. If there were in-universe wanted posters of the iconics, what do you think would be listed as their respective crimes character-by-character?
2. Who would post a bounty of them and how much gp would the reward money be for each of 'em? ;)
1 Heh... an interesting question that I don't have the time to stop and answer since it would require some pretty deep continuity creative thinking... times 21. I'll see if I can't come up with an answer over the weekend, if I don't forget.
2) See above.
|
Creative Director
|
I just want to be crystal clear, a creature with grab and constrict, on subsequent rounds after the first (if it successfully maintains a grapple), only gets to do constrict damage, not damage from the grapple action itself, nor from grab as a separate ability?
Normally, if you grapple someone, you can choose to do damage by bear hugging or otherwise crushing them for your unarmed strike or natural attack damage or whatever, but that requires you to make a successful grapple check as a standard action.
For monsters with constrict... while that's still an option, it's generally a less useful one since they can just make their attack normally, use grab as a free grapple check, then constrict for free.
JJ how does grapple/grab/ and constrict look when used togther?
Does the creature get a grapple damage effect, damage from the grab ability, AND damage from constrict on subsequent rounds after the first?A snake on a kobold attacks with its bite. It has grab, so it gets a grapple check for free with its bite. If it wins the check, it deals constrict damage there and then.
Round two, if it maintains the grapple, it deals constrict damage, which is generally more than the normal grapple damage. A creature with constrict generally won't want to forgo its constrict damage to just do the grapple damage. Keeps it simpler too.
A creature that has more than one attack can just make a normal attack in that case since it has grab; if it hits the foe it's grappling it gets a grapple check to maintain for free.
The RAW here is just screwed up: I will bold:
A successful hold does not deal any extra damage unless the creature also has the constrict special attack. If the creature does not constrict, each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals the damagee indicated for the attack that established the hold. Otherwise, it deals constriction damage as well (the amount is given in the creature's descriptive text).
So the last line means: if you choose to constrict, you do constrict damage as well.
'As well' just doesn't make any sense there.Further, the 'baseline' norm for Constrict is that the damage is equal to the damage for the melee attack type...
That can change, and may be more, but per the baseline, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE between choosing to do Constrict damage and choosing not to Constrict but having this clause kick in to do damage equal to the melee attack type.
Effectively, this clause means that the Grabber may choose to use the melee damage if better than Constrict, but I'm not just sure why that wasn't stated directly and simply... Further, pretty much every creature with Constrict has Grab, so it's silly to bifurcate this rule function across two abilities.
...getting on to other aspects...
The constrict damage applies on ANY successful grapple check.
(per RAW, that means also for grapple checks to escape/reverse a grapple)
If a Snake who has already Grabbed a Kobold is using Maintain a Grapple action,
they will do Constrict damage in addition to whatever they choose to do with the Maintain.
If they choose the Damage option, that IS in addition to the Constrict damage.
Since that isn't 'progressing' the Grapple sequence though, they might as well 'drop' the Grapple and re-initiate it using Grab, potentially getting MULTIPLE attacks in via Full Attack... And even if they only have one attack, each melee attack with a free Grab can Crit too (Constrict doesn't Crit, and SKR stated CMBs including Maintain Grapple for Damage can't Crit, although that doesn't hold up well based on RAW since CMBs are attacks and Crits are a central part of attacks, I'm willing to accept that as explicitly stated RAI).
If they are interested in restricting their target more so than they are doing more damage in a round, they will probably be progressing the Grapple to Pin (which prevents the target from attacking back or doing anything else but try to escape), while still doing Constrict damage. Apparently escaping a Pin is just as difficult/easy as escaping a Grapple (and per current RAW, the untyped AC penalty from Pinned doesn't apply to CMD either).
Also if a creature with more than one attack (octopus) chooses to take a -20 and simply hold the target, does it have to make standard action to amintain that hold, if yes then doesn't it lose the ability to use its other arms for combat?
Barring a specific special ability that says otherwise, Maintaining a Grapple works the same for anybody. Grab's -20 option specifically mentions that it applies to Maintaining a Grapple, which uses Standard Actions (Grab doesn't change that).
As I mentioned above, dropping and re-Grabbing is almost always a better way to 'maintain' the Grappled condition on a Target, Maintain is better only if you actually want to progress to Pin (or Move the target).The only rule regarding 'hands free' is that humanoids take a penalty to Grapple checks (CMB) if they don't have 2 hands free. I don't see anything preventing ANYBODY from doing other things with any/all of their hands as long as when they are making the check they can use 2 hands... And the penalty doesn't apply to CMD in any way (i.e. difficulty in escaping your one-hand Grapple). Non-humanoid creatures with a Bite that has a Grab attack already are immune to that rule (CMB penalty for not having 2 hands free) just for being non-humanoid) (good thing, since many don't have hands), the -20 option is really just about making them not have the Grapple condition themself (so they can still Move, take AoO's, etc).
I don't really think asking 'RAW' rules questions is appropriate in this forum, asking how JJ runs things in his own games is one thing, but there's a Rules Forum for questions solely pertinent to the rules, e.g. RAW. Since I happened to mention several ways the rules here are just borked, I would have liked to FAQ this post, but I can't because this isn't in a Forum that you can FAQ posts. (like Rules and Product Forums)
James, what do you think of the possibility for a Baldebound magus to enchant his Black Blade?
I think it should be allowed, but the cost should be based on the enhancement bonus of the blade at level 17+, i.e. the cost should be that of enchanting a weapon with a +5 enhancement.
I think the cost should be what the total bonus (w/Black Blade abilities) is at the time you add extra enchants. If/when further Black Blade abilities are normally gained, you would lose out on additional Black Blade enhancement bonus UNTIL you re-enchant the Blade (so total GP invested equals the difference between now-current Black Blade enhancements and now-current total enhancement bonus). Until you've done that, the added enhancements 'CLASH' with the Black Blade enhancement progression, only allowing some of the Black Blade enhancement to seep thru (equal to how much you paid for). Alternatively, the Black Blade enhancements could have 'priority' and 'suppress' additional enchantments that you've added (but haven't 'paid for' to make 'compatable' with the higher level Black Blade enhancement level).
Either way it would be nice to have Errata, since with the RAW not saying anything, I don't see why all Enhancement-equivalent Enchantments WOULDN'T apply on top of the Black Blade bonuses, and that seems unbalancing at higher level. You would still run into the +10 maximum level for Enhancement-equivalence though, just like Paladins, et al. (barring Errata to contrary, I would stick with previously existing Enchantments in that case, i.e. Black Blade progression would be suppressed if you run into the +10 maximum)
You wouldn't happen to know why the dire weasel wasn't ported to PF, do you? It's in the SRD, which is odd.
A friend told me of an interesting house rule call he made as dm, and I was wondering about your opinion. I've read your thread for a while and don't worry, I will not be trying to berate anyone that "James said this is how it works," I just find myself generally agreeing with your approach and wanted to hear what you'd do.
My friends player made a character designed around "rage cycling." Basically, he's a barbarian who took 5 monk levels with the Martial Artist archtype to avoid alignment restrictions and get an ability that makes him "immune to fatigue." This ability would seemingly let him drop his rage every round and restart it to refresh once per rage abilities like strength surge or what have you.
Given that barbarians do basically get this ability (at 17th level), the player feels it's just clever character design. The DM has concerns about whether this combination SHOULD work (he accepts that the rules seem to suggest it would, unlike another ruling on invigorate I found you commenting on). Would you be ok with a player in your game using this class combination (or another, it's my understanding you can do the same thing with the oracle's "lame" curse) in order to "cycle rage" and use once per rage abilities every round?
PS: Thanks for keeping this thread up. My friends and I have often looked to some of your rulings for how you do things over the years and found it invaluable. Basically, you are cool for keeping this monster going.