The advantages of the Charm hex, as I see them, are...
1: Its nearly undetectable. Using it is purely mental. It does not provoke, and unlike an SLA, no one gets a Spellcraft check or any other way to detect you using it. If they make their save, they know something happened, but there is nothing to connect it to you.
2: Its a standard action, unlike Diplomacy. It can make inroads where Diplomacy would leave you trying to spend a minute while someone may be trying to kill you.
3: It works with Diplomacy. You can use it to make your check to improve their attitude further much easier, and more effective.
Its not a replacement for Enchantment and such IMO, and its not a great combat ability (though it can be if you extrapolate from elsewhere how creatures react to their attitude changing in combat), but for roleplaying abilities... its hard to beat, especially if you want to be a face.
|
Hands are required to manipulate objects. Furthermore, wands generally need a command word to be spoken, hard to do if you're holding the wand in your mouth.
Putting something that unreasonable in your guide taints the whole thing, "RAW" or not.
I agree in general. Which is why I pointed out the cacodaemon's Change Shape ability.
The issue with Charm Hex and Diplomacy is pretty straightforward. Charm Hex doesn't give you any control over your target it just improves their attitude by 1 step and that's it.
Best case scenario you use it to improve a targets attitude to Helpful and want it to find it's master, or attack the troll or even just roll over or do ANYTHING. How do you get it to do any of that? Well if it's of any type besides animal you make a Diplomacy check, DC based on it's attitude towards you + the modifier assigned to that action on the Diplomacy Chart.
(Little used Fact, trying to get it to fight for you is considered Serious Peril and they can refuse, no matter their attitude level)If it's of type=Animal however you MUST make a Handle Animal check (no matter it's Intelligence) DC 25 (if it knows the specific handle animal TRICK you want it to do it's...
Charm Person doesn't give you any control over the target either.
This charm makes a humanoid creature regard you as its trusted friend and ally (treat the target's attitude as friendly). If the creature is currently being threatened or attacked by you or your allies, however, it receives a +5 bonus on its saving throw.
The spell does not enable you to control the charmed person as if it were an automaton, but it perceives your words and actions in the most favorable way. You can try to give the subject orders, but you must win an opposed Charisma check to convince it to do anything it wouldn't ordinarily do. (Retries are not allowed.) An affected creature never obeys suicidal or obviously harmful orders, but it might be convinced that something very dangerous is worth doing. Any act by you or your apparent allies that threatens the charmed person breaks the spell. You must speak the person's language to communicate your commands, or else be good at pantomiming.
I don't think it really requires a Diplomacy check to ask someone who is Friendly or Helpful to do something reasonable for you. As a PC of those attitudes, it is free to comply or refuse as it sees fit. Convincing said NPC to do something more than reasonable WOULD require a Diplomacy check, but "Hey, buddy. Can we get by?" seems pretty damn reasonable to me unless the NPC has specific orders not to let anybody past without proper clearance or knows that there is something beyond that people in general shouldn't have access to.
|
Stuff
Now see you are making the mistake of confusing what is reasonable with how the rules work. It's perfectly reasonable to ask a new guard buddy if you can get by, however by the rules it's a DC 15+ Diplomacy check (since he could be punished for letting you by).
This is the difference between Charm Person and Charm Hex.Charm Person is a flat opposed charisma check no matter what if you ask the target to do something for you they don't want to do. Normal requests are auto success and you can ask for as many of them as you want.
Charm Hex on the other hand is really just a -5 to your Diplomacy DC check. You are still bound by the basic rules of the Diplomacy skill so every extra request bumps the DC by 5, you have variable DC's for whatever you want to do and absolutely requires you to actually spend ranks in Diplomacy if you want any chance of success.
Now Charm Hex is a great tool for any character who chooses to focus on the Diplomacy skill (it stacks with regular use of the skill) and in a heavy RP game can be really useful. BUT it's a poor substitute for the basic Charm Person spell in any other kind of game since it lacks the raw
power of charm person.
|
|
Stuff
Now see you are making the mistake of confusing what is reasonable with how the rules work. It's perfectly reasonable to ask a new guard buddy if you can get by, however by the rules it's a DC 15+ Diplomacy check (since he could be punished for letting you by).
This is the difference between Charm Person and Charm Hex.
Charm Person is a flat opposed charisma check no matter what if you ask the target to do something for you they don't want to do. Normal requests are auto success and you can ask for as many of them as you want.Charm Hex on the other hand is really just a -5 to your Diplomacy DC check. You are still bound by the basic rules of the Diplomacy skill so every extra request bumps the DC by 5, you have variable DC's for whatever you want to do and absolutely requires you to actually spend ranks in Diplomacy if you want any chance of success.
Now Charm Hex is a great tool for any character who chooses to focus on the Diplomacy skill (it stacks with regular use of the skill) and in a heavy RP game can be really useful. BUT it's a poor substitute for the basic Charm Person spell in any other kind of game since it lacks the raw
power of charm person.
And this is where you help prove my point. You're saying that somehow you have a higher chance of winning an opposed Charisma check (as a Witch) than making a check with an artificially low DC?
On top of that, we have this:
If a creature’s attitude toward you is at least indifferent, you can make requests of the creature. This is an additional Diplomacy check, using the creature’s current attitude to determine the base DC, with one of the following modifiers. Once a creature’s attitude has shifted to helpful, the creature gives in to most requests without a check, unless the request is against its nature or puts it in serious peril. Some requests automatically fail if the request goes against the creature’s values or its nature, subject to GM discretion.
Charm Person never gets the target past Friendly. Keep in mind that I'm not saying that Charm Person doesn't have it's uses, merely that the Charm Hex is, in fact, no better or worse in general.
Finished Familiars and Skills, and started on Equipment. Wondrous Items are a daunting task. O.o
After a headband of Int, this needs to be on every witch's shopping list.
|
|
Finished Familiars and Skills, and started on Equipment. Wondrous Items are a daunting task. O.oAfter a headband of Int, this needs to be on every witch's shopping list.
Ooh, that IS nice. When (if T_T) I get to the Ws, that will definitely be going in there.
|
|
And this is where you help prove my point. You're saying that somehow you have a higher chance of winning an opposed Charisma check (as a Witch) than making a check with an artificially low DC?
Stuff
Now see you are making the mistake of confusing what is reasonable with how the rules work. It's perfectly reasonable to ask a new guard buddy if you can get by, however by the rules it's a DC 15+ Diplomacy check (since he could be punished for letting you by).
This is the difference between Charm Person and Charm Hex.
Charm Person is a flat opposed charisma check no matter what if you ask the target to do something for you they don't want to do. Normal requests are auto success and you can ask for as many of them as you want.Charm Hex on the other hand is really just a -5 to your Diplomacy DC check. You are still bound by the basic rules of the Diplomacy skill so every extra request bumps the DC by 5, you have variable DC's for whatever you want to do and absolutely requires you to actually spend ranks in Diplomacy if you want any chance of success.
Now Charm Hex is a great tool for any character who chooses to focus on the Diplomacy skill (it stacks with regular use of the skill) and in a heavy RP game can be really useful. BUT it's a poor substitute for the basic Charm Person spell in any other kind of game since it lacks the raw
power of charm person.
Yes, this absolutely what I'm saying.
Lets take your example and try it out here with a first level witch. The average witch built along the elite array will have a Cha bonus of +1 (charisma 12) against the average guard -1 or 0 (cha 8 or 10).For a regular request of let my by ("hey buddy can I watch the show from backstage?" or "I'm with the band let me through") falls under the perceive in most favorable light rule and you auto succeed based on you coming up with a halfway believable story.
The Charm Hex on the other hand changes the guard from unfriendly (default for all guards) to indifferent and requires you to roll a 13+ (65% failure chance) to get him to let you pass.
Winner, Charm Person spell.
On top of that, we have this:
If a creature’s attitude toward you is at least indifferent, you can make requests of the creature. This is an additional Diplomacy check, using the creature’s current attitude to determine the base DC, with one of the following modifiers. Once a creature’s attitude has shifted to helpful, the creature gives in to most requests without a check, unless the request is against its nature or puts it in serious peril. Some requests automatically fail if the request goes against the creature’s values or its nature, subject to GM...
You are correct, charm person never gets it past friendly but Charm hex can only get it past friendly IF you are 8th+ level and the target is already at indifferent or better. The real difference is in the following phrase:
it perceives your words and actions in the most favorable way which firmly puts it in the world of he'll believe you if you don't tell a horrible story.The big difference I'm trying to get to is Charm Hex is built around the Diplomacy skill which is slow, tricky and has it's own set of rules. These rules are not friendly for a Witch PC and require an expenditure of a limited character resource (skill points) and doesn't guarantee any level of success.
|
|
Lets take your example and try it out here with a first level witch. The average witch built along the elite array will have a Cha bonus of +1 (charisma 12) against the average guard -1 or 0 (cha 8 or 10).
I think I've seen more Witches with 7 CHA than 12, but if we're assuming an average, shouldn't we go with 10? Either way, yes, Charm Person will likely work on any given target. The main trouble there is the fact that it's an opposed roll. Even a social outcast with a Charisma of 1 has the potential to outroll a caster with a Charisma of 36. Diplomacy deals with roughly static numbers, making it a lot easier to use reliably.
The big difference I'm trying to get to is Charm Hex is built around the Diplomacy skill which is slow, tricky and has it's own set of rules. These rules are not friendly for a Witch PC and require an expenditure of a limited character resource (skill points) and doesn't guarantee any level of success.
I see your point, but Charm Person doesn't come with any guarantees either. That and if you fail your opposed Cha check, you get no retries.
Like I said, I feel that they both have something they can bring something to the table which is largely obsolete by the time Dominate Person rolls around.
Yes, Charm Person works both more quickly and more effectively, but the Charm Hex works more frequently.
|
|
Lets take your example and try it out here with a first level witch. The average witch built along the elite array will have a Cha bonus of +1 (charisma 12) against the average guard -1 or 0 (cha 8 or 10).I think I've seen more Witches with 7 CHA than 12, but if we're assuming an average, shouldn't we go with 10? Either way, yes, Charm Person will likely work on any given target. The main trouble there is the fact that it's an opposed roll. Even a social outcast with a Charisma of 1 has the potential to outroll a caster with a Charisma of 36. Diplomacy deals with roughly static numbers, making it a lot easier to use reliably.
The big difference I'm trying to get to is Charm Hex is built around the Diplomacy skill which is slow, tricky and has it's own set of rules. These rules are not friendly for a Witch PC and require an expenditure of a limited character resource (skill points) and doesn't guarantee any level of success.I see your point, but Charm Person doesn't come with any guarantees either. That and if you fail your opposed Cha check, you get no retries.
Like I said, I feel that they both have something they can bring something to the table which is largely obsolete by the time Dominate Person rolls around.
Yes, Charm Person works both more quickly and more effectively, but the Charm Hex works more frequently.
Charm hex is MAYBE more likely to work the first time but since each additional request kicks the DC up by 25% (stacking +5 to the DC of every additional request) after the first thing you ask for you should prepare to never get another request through.
Good point about creating a new table. It's still pretty effective on casters if they lose their prepped spells for dying. It's also good on Dragons because "The magic of the spell creates an entirely new young adult body for the soul to inhabit from the natural elements at hand." You'll probably facing dragons that are stronger than young adults.
I'd like to know why Cook People is considered a good hex, discounting alignment stuff. You get merely one buff for an hour of preparation, for a major hex? Feels week to me.
|
|
Good point about creating a new table. It's still pretty effective on casters if they lose their prepped spells for dying. It's also good on Dragons because "The magic of the spell creates an entirely new young adult body for the soul to inhabit from the natural elements at hand." You'll probably facing dragons that are stronger than young adults.
I'd like to know why Cook People is considered a good hex, discounting alignment stuff. You get merely one buff for an hour of preparation, for a major hex? Feels week to me.
Look again and compare it to a potion/misc item that does the same:
It's a supernatural buff not a magical one so it's immune to dispel magic/anti-magic field/disjunction/etc.
It lasts for an hour while those last for a few minutes tops.
It costs NOTHING to make, those start at 25-50 gold a pop.
I can make 8 of these a day you can only make 1 of those a day.
I can use it to make up to 360 unique homunculi an hour and have them all taking full actions for me. (Yeah I win the action economy game here)
It's just an awesome ability for the creative/buffing type.
"Cook People (Su): The witch can create fabulous spells by cooking an intelligent humanoid creature in her cauldron, either alive or dead. Using this hex creates one meal or serving of food of the witch’s choice, typically a delicious stew or a dough suitable for cookies, pastries, or other desserts. Cooking the victim takes 1 hour. Eating the food provides one of the following benefits for 1 hour: age resistance [UM], bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, neutralize poison (instantaneous), owl’s wisdom, remove disease (instantaneous). Alternatively, the witch can shape the dough into a Small, humanlike creature, animating it as a homunculus for 1 hour. The witch must have the cauldron hex to select this hex. Using this hex or knowingly eating its food is an evil act. Source: Ultimate Magic"
It takes an hour to cook someone, and then you only get the homunculus for an hour. So how are you getting 360 homunculi?
The buffs are not that amazing, you'll have +4 enh items to the stats that matter by the time you're lvl 10. Spending an hour to get a buff for an hour doesn't seem that good either.
If you're comparing it to potions, sure, it's better. I am not convinced that makes it good.
|
|
"Cook People (Su): The witch can create fabulous spells by cooking an intelligent humanoid creature in her cauldron, either alive or dead. Using this hex creates one meal or serving of food of the witch’s choice, typically a delicious stew or a dough suitable for cookies, pastries, or other desserts. Cooking the victim takes 1 hour. Eating the food provides one of the following benefits for 1 hour: age resistance [UM], bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, neutralize poison (instantaneous), owl’s wisdom, remove disease (instantaneous). Alternatively, the witch can shape the dough into a Small, humanlike creature, animating it as a homunculus for 1 hour. The witch must have the cauldron hex to select this hex. Using this hex or knowingly eating its food is an evil act. Source: Ultimate Magic"
It takes an hour to cook someone, and then you only get the homunculus for an hour. So how are you getting 360 homunculi?
The buffs are not that amazing, you'll have +4 enh items to the stats that matter by the time you're lvl 10. Spending an hour to get a buff for an hour doesn't seem that good either.
If you're comparing it to potions, sure, it's better. I am not convinced that makes it good.
It takes an hour to cook up the dough but shaping the homonculus only takes a full round action (see waxen image). 360 full round actions per hour = 360 Homonculii.
As for the buffs it takes an hour to cook but it only takes a standard action to eat (just like a potion) and you can have all of them running at once if you want.Mostly the advantage is it's free buffs for an army that doesn't cost you anything.
I don't see why you think that the time to use Waxen Image is the time it takes to create a homunculus. You're using Cook People to make a homunculus, and that takes 1 hour. The time it takes to make a Waxen Image has no bearing here, as far as I can tell.
And how do you get all of the buffs? When you cook people for a buff, you choose one of the spells to benefit from, not all. And again, since it takes an hour to cook, and lasts one hour, you'll only be able to have one buff on you at a time.
It's a supernatural buff not a magical one so it's immune to dispel magic/anti-magic field/disjunction/etc.
I think you're wrong for two reasons. First from the hex description:
Hex: Witches learn a number of magic tricks, called hexes, that grant them powers or weaken foes. At 1st level, a witch gains one hex of her choice. She gains an additional hex at 2nd level and for every 2 levels attained after 2nd level, as noted on Table 2–10. A witch cannot select an individual hex more than once.
And second from the supernatural ability description:
Supernatural Abilities (Su): Supernatural abilities are magical attacks, defenses, and qualities. These abilities can be always active or they can require a specific action to utilize. The supernatural ability's description includes information on how it is used and its effects.
In both places it refers to supernatural abilities being magical and, therefore, would be subject to those things you listed.
From anti-magic field:
An invisible barrier surrounds you and moves with you. The space within this barrier is impervious to most magical effects, including spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. Likewise, it prevents the functioning of any magic items or spells within its confines.
I believe, though, an A/M field is the only thing that can shutdown a supernatural ability. Dispell says it only works on spells and mage's disjunction states it only works on spells and spell-like effects.
That said, at level 20, assuming all 20 levels are caster levels, you'd have a 20% chance to negate an A/M field with mage's disjunction but that's a slim chance, to me.
|
|
It's a supernatural buff not a magical one so it's immune to dispel magic/anti-magic field/disjunction/etc.I think you're wrong for two reasons. First from the hex description:
Hex: Witches learn a number of magic tricks, called hexes, that grant them powers or weaken foes. At 1st level, a witch gains one hex of her choice. She gains an additional hex at 2nd level and for every 2 levels attained after 2nd level, as noted on Table 2–10. A witch cannot select an individual hex more than once.And second from the supernatural ability description:
Supernatural Abilities (Su): Supernatural abilities are magical attacks, defenses, and qualities. These abilities can be always active or they can require a specific action to utilize. The supernatural ability's description includes information on how it is used and its effects.In both places it refers to supernatural abilities being magical and, therefore, would be subject to those things you listed.
From anti-magic field:
An invisible barrier surrounds you and moves with you. The space within this barrier is impervious to most magical effects, including spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. Likewise, it prevents the functioning of any magic items or spells within its confines.I believe, though, an A/M field is the only thing that can shutdown a supernatural ability. Dispell says it only works on spells and mage's disjunction states it only works on spells and spell-like effects.
That said, at level 20, assuming all 20 levels are caster levels, you'd have a 20% chance to negate an A/M field with mage's disjunction but that's a slim chance, to me.
I see what you are saying but disagree.
The anti-magic field is IMPERVIOUS to supernatural abilities meaning I can't penetrate the field with a supernatural effect, however it then goes on to say that it only prevents the functioning of spells or magic items inside of it, two separate effects.An anti-magic field will protect you from my evil eye hex but it won't stop my prehensile hair from strangling you or my cookie of bulls strength from granting it's bonus.
@Raje +1, thank you, I should have written that in a clearer manner and I appreciate you cleaning it up for me.
I see what you are saying but disagree.
The anti-magic field is IMPERVIOUS to supernatural abilities meaning I can't penetrate the field with a supernatural effect, however it then goes on to say that it only prevents the functioning of spells or magic items inside of it, two separate effects.
An anti-magic field will protect you from my evil eye hex but it won't stop my prehensile hair from strangling you or my cookie of bulls strength from granting it's bonus.
I can see a GM saying that since the hair is modified and animated by a magical effect that as soon as it reaches the field's boundary that it simply falls to the ground. But, I can see what you're saying as well.
Relevant rules text:
An invisible barrier surrounds you and moves with you. The space within this barrier is impervious to most magical effects, including spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. Likewise, it prevents the functioning of any magic items or spells within its confines.
An antimagic field suppresses any spell or magical effect used within, brought into, or cast into the area, but does not dispel it. Time spent within an antimagic field counts against the suppressed spell's duration.
I'd personally say it comes down to if a supernatural ability counts as a magical effect.
|
|
After searching the PRD I've found I was incorrect and Supernatural abilities do not work in an AM field. They are not dispelled just suppressed but I was incorrect on that point.
Supernatural Abilities (Su): Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability's effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells. See Table: Special Ability Types for a summary of the types of special abilities.
It's not a major change but does slightly reduce the extra benefits of the Cook People hex, I still find it a potent ability however.
For fortune hex, my thoughts are this:
You can only benefit from the hex once per day. That is true. But the benefit is not 'you get a reroll.'
The benefit is 'Once per round you get a reroll.'
Once the effect ends you can't reuse it for 24 hours, but until then you are entitled to the one reroll per round.
I honestly think this is the way it was meant to be.
magical items don't give skill points to my knowledge btw.
|
|
magical items don't give skill points to my knowledge btw.
If you're referring to the Int Headbands, they specifically say they give you ranks in predetermined skills. d20pfsrd.com even has a FAQ clarifying that these skill points replace the retroactive skill points you would otherwise get from the increase to Int.
Looking at the Lyrakien (Azata) it has a CHA20 - very good if you want to utilize a lot of wands via your familiar, gives a +5 to UMD skill, and it could use a wand of CLW (as its on the spell list).
Looking at the Lyrakien (Azata) it has a CHA20 - very good if you want to utilize a lot of wands via your familiar, gives a +5 to UMD skill, and it could use a wand of CLW (as its on the spell list).
Two things: First, it having Cure Light Wounds as a SLA does not make it 'on its spell list', so it has to check even with a wand of CLW.
Second, you're completely correct, Lyrakiens are incredible familiars, especially for UMD. Their SLA's aren't terrible either; Silent Image without having to burn your main action for it can be clutch.
rods: still spell doesn't seem that useful to me, if you can grab a rod, you can wave your hands.
also I would add the bouncing one from APG.
ring of wizardry, there is a thread about pearl of power vs wizardry, if I read everything right, then the pearls are cheaper, only downside is that you have to stick with the spells you've got to recast.
you list every single item, if you feel lazy you could have clustered the +ability items and have said something like int>dex>con>wis.
There is no colourcoding with the items, I understand that it's probably not worth it, but perhaps if you have enough time on the builds add an example equipment so newcomers have it easy to pick.
For builds, I would also have put a beast-bonded "survivor". I wonder what you will bring with the damage dealer as that option seems like a bad one (I'm happy to be proven wrong).
the flying cauldron is ridiculous, but it can provide cover, you can brew in it and it can crush your ennemies, load it with 1000 pounds, fly it over your ennemies (you don't have to be in it, command word is enough) and let it fall down. Or use the good old "hot tar over their heads" technique. Also you can look like this awesome dude.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
A couple of comments on the hexes.
Evil Eye: This is a very nice hex. But it is a mind-affecting ability, and as such doesn't work against a lot of things. Constructs, Plants, Swarms, Undead, and Vermin all are flat out immune to it, and a bunch of other specific creatures have special immunity to it, too. So if you know you are going to play in, say, an undead heavy campaign (*cough* Carrion Crown *cough*), this shouldn't be a first priority.
Healing: The more people (or creatures) in the party, the better this becomes. If you have someone who can channel, this becomes less important. But if not I almost always pick this hex to pick up some of the healing slack. It's also great to use on NPCs without wasting resources. Waking up that unconscious bandit to question or healing the rescued townie costs you nothing. Getting tenish 2nd level spells per day at the price of one hex is nothing to sneeze at. The Healing Hex also has the added benefit of never provoking AoOs in combat, and can double as a backup attack against Undead in a pinch.
Ward: I really think this is an underwhelming hex. Resistance is far and away the most common bonus to saving throws in the game. And Deflection is far and away the best AC bonus for it's availability. Especially since Cloaks of Resistance and Rings of Protection are such common items in APs. At higher levels, your party may not have +4 Deflection and +4 Resistance- but they probably have at least some. And the major problem still remains. The ward fails the second it is breached. At high levels when you are facing creatures that have multiple attacks, their first attack is almost guaranteed to hit. It's those third, fourth, and fifth hits at lower BAB that you are hoping to block. Too bad your ward phased out when the first attack hit you. It is somewhat of use on your Familiar, sure, but I still can never really justify picking this hex over many others.
|
I'd like to know why Cook People is considered a good hex, discounting alignment stuff. You get merely one buff for an hour of preparation, for a major hex? Feels week to me.
mmmm... pastry... <drool>. I wish I could take this for organized play. "Gee, too bad about our fallen comrade... now, who wants turn-overs?!?"
(just kiddin folks) :-) (mostly)
Damn, wish I hadn't said "turnover" as now I am in inner conflict because at first I thought fruit turn-over and now that I thought about it realistically, all I can think of are pork empanadas.
@Viking Irishman: Thanks for the guide!
Great stuff. Looking forward to the builds section. :)
Hope you don't mind that I added your guide to the Guide to the Guides.
I think the ring of sustenance should be mentioned considering it's cost for what it does.
I don't think the The Damage Dealer (or “Fire Burn”) build can pick up the Spell Hex feat at level 5 as Major Hex is a pre-req for the feat.
the equipment section is very nice and partly overkill as you yourself have noticed.
I'm happy to see the builds, they aren't hugely detailed but a give a good point to start.
Spell Hex can indeed only be picked at lvl 10 I guess.
And spell hex cure light wounds? Why? The healing is still capped, it's 3 times per day ... for a feat? Same for the others, altough the Save DC gets harder the damage is still capped and won't be enough later in game.
The non-Debuffer builds are just as non-optimal as was to be expected in my opinion.
One last little disagreement: favored class bonus, only humans and half elf can choose spell, and also why would they? You can get as many spells as you want, they are cheaper than wizard learning. I would normally go hp all the way and only for very heavy Roleplaying or if the party seriously lacks skills take a skillpoint.
Perhaps if the GM is really strict about what access you got to spells, I would consider taking a spell known.
btw. what's that half-orc favored class bonus good for? you give your familiar a skill rank, but you familiar can use yours if it is bigger, so giving yourself the skill rank would also up the familiars skill... bad design, or am I missing something?
Anyhow, again, great guide, good that Harmor added it to the guide to guides.
|
|
I don't think the The Damage Dealer (or “Fire Burn”) build can pick up the Spell Hex feat at level 5 as Major Hex is a pre-req for the feat.
O.o I'm honestly not sure how I managed to miss that through my ENTIRE GUIDE. Thanks for the catch.
the equipment section is very nice and partly overkill as you yourself have noticed.
I'm happy to see the builds, they aren't hugely detailed but a give a good point to start.
Spell Hex can indeed only be picked at lvl 10 I guess.And spell hex cure light wounds? Why? The healing is still capped, it's 3 times per day ... for a feat? Same for the others, altough the Save DC gets harder the damage is still capped and won't be enough later in game.
The non-Debuffer builds are just as non-optimal as was to be expected in my opinion.
One last little disagreement: favored class bonus, only humans and half elf can choose spell, and also why would they? You can get as many spells as you want, they are cheaper than wizard learning. I would normally go hp all the way and only for very heavy Roleplaying or if the party seriously lacks skills take a skillpoint.
Perhaps if the GM is really strict about what access you got to spells, I would consider taking a spell known.btw. what's that half-orc favored class bonus good for? you give your familiar a skill rank, but you familiar can use yours if it is bigger, so giving yourself the skill rank would also up the familiars skill... bad design, or am I missing something?
Anyhow, again, great guide, good that Harmor added it to the guide to guides.
Well, Spell Hex; CLW WOULD have been a great choice for low levels if it didn't have the Major Hex requirement. After somehow missing that requirement while making my guide, I'm dropping it's color. By level 10, if you don't have the 1st level spell slots to spare, then you're doing something wrong or your GM is a hardass.
The extra spell is simply so you don't have to spend money on them. I know spells are cheap, but (especially at lower levels) money can be tight for that kind of thing.
As far as the Orc Favored Class bonus? I honestly have no idea. It seems so lackluster comparatively and, honestly, a bit misplaced. I would rather have seen something like 1/6 to the DC of their Hexes per level or something like that.
Thanks for this great guide.
I especially like the bit about using a buckler. Very nice addition to AC.
I'm also intrigued with prebuffing your party with Fortune and cackling away to keep them buffed for the duration of a fight.
I agree that the way it reads allows you to do that.
Now, as to practical matters, if you're cackling every turn, then you need to use your Standard action to move. Or your Standard action to cackle. Either way, you're losing an opportunity to take a Standard action AND also Move (cackle) every turn.
So, I thought, if you're prebuffing for a fight, why not summon a Hound Archon (4th level Summon Monster) and have him change into a large canine? Then you can ride him around the fight. He has an INT of 10, so you can tell him "Keep me within 30' of X character" and he'll keep you within cackle range of that important fighter you've buffed (or whomever).
The Hound Archon will be using HIS turn to move to keep you in range. In fact, he can use his action and his move so he can move you 80' a round. He can't fly, which is a pity. But a Large Bat (3rd level summon) can. It has an INT of only 2, so I don't know if that's enough for it to understand the order to keep you within 30' of your buffees. (You are the buffer, your comrades are the buffees.) Also, he doesn't speak any languages, so you need Speak With Animals, etc. and perhaps a Handle Animal check. The Hound Archon avoids all that. You really need an intelligent summoned monster for this tactic to work.
As a 5th level summons, you could summon a Large Air Elemental to carry you around.
With a Rod of Extend, you would have this Summoned Monster around for the duration of the fight.
This is all very situational, of course. Prebuffing before a big fight doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's usually a damned important fight so it's worth the trouble to be able to have your Move and Standard action available for the fight. Then you can Cackle AND use another Hex or cast a spell and be the Uber Witch you've always dreamed of.
Corrections for your guide.
You asked for spelling mistakes in your guide. Here are the only three I saw:
---Forced Reincarnation - A neat concept, but all it really does is hit the target with 2 negative levels. That and likely change it’s race, which may or may not be a cool thing.
You misspelled "its." It should be "change its race..."
---Cauldron of Flying - Wait, what? The image that this provides is just...man, I can’t stop laughing. Still, it’s no less useful than the othe “of Flying” items.
Misspelled "other."
---Patrons
Partons are mysterious beings that for some reason have taken a liking to you...
"Partons..." misspelled Patrons in body of text.
BTW, I'm a writer by profession and I must compliment you on your well-written guide.
And did you watch the documentary on PBS on Woody Allen in "American Masters?" They showed script pages of his fresh from his typewriter and the spelling mistakes were numerous and basic. And he uses a freaking typewriter that he's had for forty years!
|
|
Thanks for this great guide.
I especially like the bit about using a buckler. Very nice addition to AC.
I'm also intrigued with prebuffing your party with Fortune and cackling away to keep them buffed for the duration of a fight.
I agree that the way it reads allows you to do that.
Now, as to practical matters, if you're cackling every turn, then you need to use your Standard action to move. Or your Standard action to cackle. Either way, you're losing an opportunity to take a Standard action AND also Move (cackle) every turn.
So, I thought, if you're prebuffing for a fight, why not summon a Hound Archon (4th level Summon Monster) and have him change into a large canine? Then you can ride him around the fight. He has an INT of 10, so you can tell him "Keep me within 30' of X character" and he'll keep you within cackle range of that important fighter you've buffed (or whomever).
The Hound Archon will be using HIS turn to move to keep you in range. In fact, he can use his action and his move so he can move you 80' a round. He can't fly, which is a pity. But a Large Bat (3rd level summon) can. It has an INT of only 2, so I don't know if that's enough for it to understand the order to keep you within 30' of your buffees. (You are the buffer, your comrades are the buffees.) Also, he doesn't speak any languages, so you need Speak With Animals, etc. and perhaps a Handle Animal check. The Hound Archon avoids all that. You really need an intelligent summoned monster for this tactic to work.
As a 5th level summons, you could summon a Large Air Elemental to carry you around.
With a Rod of Extend, you would have this Summoned Monster around for the duration of the fight.
This is all very situational, of course. Prebuffing before a big fight doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's usually a damned important fight so it's worth the trouble to be able to have your Move and Standard action available for the fight. Then you can Cackle AND use another Hex or cast a spell and...
LMAO This is just too silly! Effective, but silly, and it leaves a lot of room open to GM interpretation of what the Archon does. I don't like any more power to be in my GM's hands than strictly necessary.
That said, Cackle is a Move action, so you can cackle twice in one round, giving you a full round to do whatever it is you need to do.
Corrections for your guide.
You asked for spelling mistakes in your guide. Here are the only three I saw:
---Forced Reincarnation - A neat concept, but all it really does is hit the target with 2 negative levels. That and likely change it’s race, which may or may not be a cool thing.
You misspelled "its." It should be "change its race..."
---Cauldron of Flying - Wait, what? The image that this provides is just...man, I can’t stop laughing. Still, it’s no less useful than the othe “of Flying” items.
Misspelled "other."
---Patrons
Partons are mysterious beings that for some reason have taken a liking to you..."Partons..." misspelled Patrons in body of text.
BTW, I'm a writer by profession and I must compliment you on your well-written guide.
And did you watch the documentary on PBS on Woody Allen in "American Masters?" They showed script pages of his fresh from his typewriter and the spelling mistakes were numerous and basic. And he uses a freaking typewriter that he's had for forty years!
Thank you very much for the catches. It's hard to get everything in a document this size.
As an (unpublished) author myself, I know that, usually, authors have terrible spelling and/or grammar. I try my best to properly edit my own work.
Viking reread the ring of sustenance. What you typed for your guide is wrong.
|
|
Viking reread the ring of sustenance. What you typed for your guide is wrong.Well, let's see here...
This ring continually provides its wearer with life-sustaining nourishment. The ring also refreshes the body and mind, so that its wearer needs only sleep 2 hours per day to gain the benefit of 8 hours of sleep. This allows a spellcaster that requires rest to prepare spells to do so after only 2 hours, but this does not allow a spellcaster to prepare spells more than once per day. The ring must be worn for a full week before it begins to work. If it is removed, the owner must wear it for another week to reattune it to himself.
Holy crap! You know, I never actually looked that hard at the ring when I switched over from 3.5 to Pathfinder. I think I might need to go through and see what other core parts of my game knowledge are still outdated. Thanks much!
Viking reread the ring of sustenance. What you typed for your guide is wrong.Well, let's see here...This ring continually provides its wearer with life-sustaining nourishment. The ring also refreshes the body and mind, so that its wearer needs only sleep 2 hours per day to gain the benefit of 8 hours of sleep. This allows a spellcaster that requires rest to prepare spells to do so after only 2 hours, but this does not allow a spellcaster to prepare spells more than once per day. The ring must be worn for a full week before it begins to work. If it is removed, the owner must wear it for another week to reattune it to himself.Holy crap! You know, I never actually looked that hard at the ring when I switched over from 3.5 to Pathfinder. I think I might need to go through and see what other core parts of my game knowledge are still outdated. Thanks much!
You're welcome. ;)
Hi! You just forgot (or are planning) to add comments about Dimmensional Occultist.
Thanks for the guide!
|
|
Hi! You just forgot (or are planning) to add comments about Dimmensional Occultist.
Thanks for the guide!
Ah, thank you! I'd been meaning to add the Bestiary 3 Improved Familiars for awhile now, and I hadn't even noticed the new Archetypes that popped up.
That said, new familiars and archetypes added!
And of course as soon as I post my guide up I actually find one...
I still think my guide has a lot to offer.
Nice guide. I particularly like your coverage of familiars.
Feel free to copy anything from my guide if you think you are missing anything.
But a Large Bat (3rd level summon) can. It has an INT of only 2, so I don't know if that's enough for it to understand the order to keep you within 30' of your buffees. (You are the buffer, your comrades are the buffees.) Also, he doesn't speak any languages, so you need Speak With Animals, etc. and perhaps a Handle Animal check. The Hound Archon avoids all that. You really need an intelligent summoned monster for this tactic to work.
Feral Speech hex perhaps?
I am curious to see what everyone's opinions/thoughts are on my feat choice for my 3rd lvl witch. The choices I am considering are:
- Scribe Scroll - (my party consists of a cleric, alchemist & Magus for spellcasters so none of them have or were planning on taking Scribe Scroll - I am the only one with Identify on my spell list - the cleric focuses on healing/buffs)
-Alacritous Cogitation - (love the versatility of this feat but is it just better to have scrolls on hand?)
- Extra Hex - (currently have Evil Eye, Flight & Cackle) - was thinking either Warding, Healing or Misfortune)
My current feat is Extra Hex for Cackle.
Isn't Alacritous Cogitation a 3E feat? If so, does that mean 3E material is allowed?
Have you considered Slumber hex?
Accursed Hex is nice but not so useful when your only offensive hex is evil eye -- w/ cackling, their save really doesn't matter.
Scribe Scroll is a fine choice to snag some spells from the other casters in the party to use magic device and such. Create Wondrous Item is also very good.
Isn't Alacritous Cogitation a 3E feat? If so, does that mean 3E material is allowed?
Have you considered Slumber hex?
Accursed Hex is nice but not so useful when your only offensive hex is evil eye -- w/ cackling, their save really doesn't matter.
Scribe Scroll is a fine choice to snag some spells from the other casters in the party to use magic device and such. Create Wondrous Item is also very good.
3E stuff is allowed on a case-by-case basis in this campaign but it is mostly straight Pathfinder.
I thought of Slumber but we have already fought undead which was frustrating when my Hexes were useless against it...so wanted to stay away from all mind-affecting stuff.
Is it cheaper to just make 1 time use Wonderous Items instead of scrolls?
...my character is a Rokugan Crane Clan inspired Witch. The Crane Clan specialized in making 1-shot talisman items. Only thing is in this campaign you have to have access to a "lab" to make any magic items besides scrolls and we will mostly be in wilderness/small towns....so don't want a feat I will rarely use.