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Ok, I am probably being a bit goofy here, but I am not understanding what this does to help?
Arcane Training: Half-elves occasionally seek tutoring to help them master the magic in their blood. Half-elves with this racial trait have only one favored class and it must be an arcane spellcasting class. They can use spell trigger and spell completion items for their favored class as if 1 level higher (or as a 1st-level character if they have no levels in that class). This racial trait replaces the multitalented racial trait.
So uhm....whats a spell trigger, and or a spell completion item?
Wand, staff, scroll etc.
I think it's pretty awesome. you can make say a fighter pick wizard then use wands staves etc as if you were a level 1 wizard. a lot of versatility for buffing etc
Ok, I am probably being a bit goofy here, but I am not understanding what this does to help?
Arcane Training: Half-elves occasionally seek tutoring to help them master the magic in their blood. Half-elves with this racial trait have only one favored class and it must be an arcane spellcasting class. They can use spell trigger and spell completion items for their favored class as if 1 level higher (or as a 1st-level character if they have no levels in that class). This racial trait replaces the multitalented racial trait.So uhm....whats a spell trigger, and or a spell completion item?
I don't think pathfinder ever explicitly specifies what type of item a scroll is (it was a spell completion item in 3.5), but wands and staves are explicitly listed as spell trigger items.
A fighter would have to designate wizard as his favored class to make use of this ability. That means that as long as he took levels of fighter he would not gain any of the favored class bonuses. It's a rather large tradeoff when 1st level potions are so cheap.
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Ok, I am probably being a bit goofy here, but I am not understanding what this does to help?
Arcane Training: Half-elves occasionally seek tutoring to help them master the magic in their blood. Half-elves with this racial trait have only one favored class and it must be an arcane spellcasting class. They can use spell trigger and spell completion items for their favored class as if 1 level higher (or as a 1st-level character if they have no levels in that class). This racial trait replaces the multitalented racial trait.So uhm....whats a spell trigger, and or a spell completion item?I don't think pathfinder ever explicitly specifies what type of item a scroll is (it was a spell completion item in 3.5), but wands and staves are explicitly listed as spell trigger items.
A fighter would have to designate wizard as his favored class to make use of this ability. That means that as long as he took levels of fighter he would not gain any of the favored class bonuses. It's a rather large tradeoff when 1st level potions are so cheap.
but using a wand is cheaper (and more convenient) than having 50 potions of the same type.
A fighter would have to designate wizard as his favored class to make use of this ability. That means that as long as he took levels of fighter he would not gain any of the favored class bonuses. It's a rather large tradeoff when 1st level potions are so cheap.
On the other hand, that fighter can use a wand of fireball. I know, bad example, but the point is he can use any wand of the favored class.
Another example: you could choose bard/witch and use wands of CLW - you can now do healing, even if it's out of combat. I guess there are better things to do, but it's nice to have that versatility.
but using a wand is cheaper (and more convenient) than having 50 potions of the same type.
+1
Ok, I am probably being a bit goofy here, but I am not understanding what this does to help?
Arcane Training: Half-elves occasionally seek tutoring to help them master the magic in their blood. Half-elves with this racial trait have only one favored class and it must be an arcane spellcasting class. They can use spell trigger and spell completion items for their favored class as if 1 level higher (or as a 1st-level character if they have no levels in that class). This racial trait replaces the multitalented racial trait.
I don't really understand this trait... For use with staves, yes, the caster level is 1 higher. But for wands and scrolls, I can't see that it has any effect, as they are based on the items caster level and not your own.
While there is the distinct possibility of a fighter taking it to use wands, it does not seem like the intended use (since you choose a favored class that you have not intention of taking levels in).
Ok, I am probably being a bit goofy here, but I am not understanding what this does to help?
Arcane Training: Half-elves occasionally seek tutoring to help them master the magic in their blood. Half-elves with this racial trait have only one favored class and it must be an arcane spellcasting class. They can use spell trigger and spell completion items for their favored class as if 1 level higher (or as a 1st-level character if they have no levels in that class). This racial trait replaces the multitalented racial trait.I don't really understand this trait... For use with staves, yes, the caster level is 1 higher. But for wands and scrolls, I can't see that it has any effect, as they are based on the items caster level and not your own.
While there is the distinct possibility of a fighter taking it to use wands, it does not seem like the intended use (since you choose a favored class that you have not intention of taking levels in).
For scrolls it will let you use them without making a check for higher level ones. So if you are a 4th level half-elf wizard, you would normally need to make a (trivial) check to read a CL 5th level scroll (like fireball). With this trait you don't have to. Not all that and a bag of chips, but it's there. The staff thing is nice. If you were planning on going with a prestige class, giving up the favored class bonus is not so bad...
OK, let's say your a half-elf fighter at 1st level. If you don't have this trait, can you use scrolls, wands, or staves? No, not unless you invest in Use Magic Device (except to whack people with these items, of course).
Let's try again, this time with the trait. We'll choose wizard for our favored class. Now, you can use arcane scrolls with spells from the wizard spell list. Mind you, there's a chance of misfire for higher level spells, but you can still whip out a scroll of protection from evil (1st level wizard spell) and save yourself some potential headaches (literally) later. You can use a wand of mage armor to give yourself some AC against incorporeal attacks without a problem. Or for that matter, use the shield function of a staff of defense.
The key to "1 level higher"? You didn't even have a 0 for levels in that class before. Now, you're effectively a level 1 wizard for the purposes of using spell-trigger and spell-completion items. No spellcasting, no school abilities, but for activating items you know a little something. It's not about boosting the power of the effects, it's all about getting the magic to work at all.
And yes, scrolls are spell-completion items.
For scrolls it will let you use them without making a check for higher level ones. So if you are a 4th level half-elf wizard, you would normally need to make a (trivial) check to read a CL 5th level scroll (like fireball). With this trait you don't have to. Not all that and a bag of chips, but it's there. The staff thing is nice. If you were planning on going with a prestige class, giving up the favored class bonus is not so bad...
Fair enough, especially as it replaced the the multi-talented racial trait, which a lot of characters won't get any use of anyway, it is a fine choice.
I dislike the whole 'having no levels in your favored class and count as a 1-lvl caster'. It just seems outright cheesy to choose a favored class that you are never going to take. The character history will become something like: "I was trained in arcane magic, and wizardry was coming natural to me. Therefore I choose to dedicate my life to melee fighting, without ever delving further into the world of magic".
It might be a good choice, especially if you are going into a prestige class at level 6, but the effectivity does really not justify the fact that it grants an ability that i many cases are totally unrelated to the character you play.
I don't like that it plays with the favored class mechanic. It just opens up to too much number-crunching with certain builds.
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I showed great aptitude with magic as a young lad but due to the death of my father, who was the main money maker for our family, I had to take a job in the local militia and was never able to afford to go to Mage school.
His talents (read "favored class") lay in a different area than the direction his life took.
I dislike the whole 'having no levels in your favored class and count as a 1-lvl caster'. It just seems outright cheesy to choose a favored class that you are never going to take. The character history will become something like: "I was trained in arcane magic, and wizardry was coming natural to me. Therefore I choose to dedicate my life to melee fighting, without ever delving further into the world of magic".
It might be a good choice, especially if you are going into a prestige class at level 6, but the effectivity does really not justify the fact that it grants an ability that i many cases are totally unrelated to the character you play.
I don't like that it plays with the favored class mechanic. It just opens up to too much number-crunching with certain builds.
How about :
"My father forced me to study magic, so I could follow in his footsteps, but I just want to hit things, so I grabbed a sword and ran off"
or
"Things were going so well at the mages academy, until the night with the headmaster's daughter, a keg of dwarven ale, and the gnome twins. Now I'm on the run, with a curse barring me from using magic and a price on my head."
I agree that it feels a little off. You are using the mechanics to get something that's hard to justify in character, but it can be made to fit. And you are paying for the ability, with the opportunity cost of not getting to actually use your favored class bonus.
I dislike the whole 'having no levels in your favored class and count as a 1-lvl caster'. It just seems outright cheesy to choose a favored class that you are never going to take. The character history will become something like: "I was trained in arcane magic, and wizardry was coming natural to me. Therefore I choose to dedicate my life to melee fighting, without ever delving further into the world of magic".
It might be a good choice, especially if you are going into a prestige class at level 6, but the effectivity does really not justify the fact that it grants an ability that i many cases are totally unrelated to the character you play.
...Or it could represent the opposite.
You were born to a family with a long-lasting expertise in magic, and sent to the arcane school. However, you never quite grasped magic naturally, and couldn't use it without direct instructions or aid (such as from a scroll). Your failings upset your father, who thought of you as a shame to the family, and you had to leave your father's home. As a young man without money or a supporting family, you were forced to work as a caravan guard - you'd always been healthy and quite strong.
There, a nice background for a 1st level fighter that can use spell completion items. And let's face it, it's hardly cheesy. You give up 6 hit points or skill points to be able to use low-level magical items, if you go into a prestige class. And 6 ranks in UMD might serve you equally well; while it doesn't give guaranteed success, it allows you to try at any spell completion item, not just those of sor/wiz spells.
I guess I never think of characters in isolation. In a party with a spellcaster, I don't see a real need for a fighter to be using a wand. In combat, it's likely going to be a waste of action. Out of combat, why not let the spellcaster do it?
Yes there are times when that's not the case, but there are also cases where the extra 6 hp would have saved your life, so I guess I just don't see it. Oh well!