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Some GMs also attribute it to finding out the weaknesses and strengths of humanoid races, which is something I can't wrap my head around. Apparently the same skill that lets me find a good bar is the one that lets me know how best to kill a gnoll.
While I don't think it's a great fit, the reason why some GMs attribute monster knowledge about humanoid races to Knowledge (local) is: "Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids)."
Good stuff, Mergy!
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Some GMs also attribute it to finding out the weaknesses and strengths of humanoid races, which is something I can't wrap my head around. Apparently the same skill that lets me find a good bar is the one that lets me know how best to kill a gnoll.While I don't think it's a great fit, the reason why some GMs attribute monster knowledge about humanoid races to Knowledge (local) is: "Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids)."
Good stuff, Mergy!
Yes, I suppose I should have said that I don't understand the reasoning behind the rule. I understand how the rule works, but the why is troubling.
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Something else to keep in mind: Pathfinder Chronicle collections from the inner sea world guide. +2 to a knowledge skill if you take a minute or two to consult with it. Even if you don't have the skill yourself, you can hand it to someone that does have the skill. Collect the whole set.
1d4 rounds, actually. Combined with my Lore Oracle's +20 circumstance ability, guidance, and take 10, a few GM's have learned to hate the words "Hey, whats a 37 knowledge *anything* check tell me?". Those books are really useful, and fairly cheap.
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Some GMs also attribute it to finding out the weaknesses and strengths of humanoid races, which is something I can't wrap my head around. Apparently the same skill that lets me find a good bar is the one that lets me know how best to kill a gnoll.
It makes sense if you note what's over the mantel of the fire place in most adventurer's bars...
50gp, right? So they're basically masterwork tools.
Yes. But very specific ones, so you don't have to ask if the DM is going to allow tools or not.
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If my faction mission is not secret I announce it to the party so they can help me. I ask other party members that can to do the same.
As a Druid, I specifically ask the Qadirans what form of vegetable matter they would like me to find so I know likely places to look. I also give them the opportunity to buy me a scroll of locate animals and plants if they'd like to improve their odds.
I ask who has belts of what enhancement bonus, so I know what stat boosters to memorize.
I try to keep every NPC alive if possible. Not only is it in character, but someone might need them. Fixing "they're alive" is much easier than fixing "they're dead.
Since I'm the one usually searching bodies, rooting through boxes,and being lowered into sewers for things, I only read the pieces of paper until i know what they are. When a party member says "OOOOO I need that" I hand it back to them and then pointedly do not look at what they're doing with it.
Every party member gets some sort of rare plant matter to carry. This is so i can find them with locate animals and plants.
Stupid rogue tricks:
Check the door for traps. Deal with trap/lock. Move to the back of the party to cover the squishies. Let the meat shields move in. If nothing come out of the dark to kill us, resume position at the front looking for traps.
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Uh oh. Friday deadlines come too fast... :(I can sympathize with that.
I try to keep every NPC alive if possible. Not only is it in character, but someone might need them. Fixing "they're alive" is much easier than fixing "they're dead.Heh. Whip Mastery is your friend. Whips may not have a lot of variance in their damage amounts, other than crits, but being able to decide, on th efly and without penalty, whether you are doing lethal or non-lethal damage is awesome.
I suspect that we had less trouble in The Ruby Phoenix Tournament because my character was a tripping, disarming, non-lethal damage nut.
Whip Mastery: Lethal or non-lethal, not blocked by armor or natural armor, does not provoke.
Improved Whip Mastery: Able to take AoOs out to 10' (for Medium or Small, Enlarge Person is another matter). Trip & Disarm keywords.
Greater Whip Mastery: Swing from chandeliers. Does not drop weapon to avoid failed trips. Able to grab small unattended items. Even able to grapple with the whip.
All that, with a Lore Warden Fighter? Ugly.
That was a big part of it, although I was amused when the last session turned into
Honestly, that experience showed be as a GM that Lore Wardens are good, but not overpowering. Pretty much everyone had their moments in that mod. Also that I suck at running
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New one is up! :)
Great stuff as usual, Mergy! Way to work in the thing about multi-spell scrolls!
One nitpick: you mention the benefit of a Handy Haversack as being that you can retrieve these scrolls as a move action (as opposed to rummaging around). This implies that without it, it will take you longer to retrieve a scroll.
This is misleading, as it would only take you longer if you have your scrolls buried at the bottom of a backpack like some kind of nincompoop. Explorers have pockets:
The clothes have plenty of pockets (especially the cloak).
Between pockets, sheaths, belt pouches, etc; you should never ever be rummaging for small items like scrolls or potions or whatever.
What then, you ask, is the benefit of the Handy Haversack? Retrieving an item from that sack doesn't provoke an AoO, while pulling it from your pocket does. (Well, that plus carrying capacity issues.)
Aside from that, though, great article!
That and stuff in the haversack should be waterproof.
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New one is up! :)
Great stuff as usual, Mergy! Way to work in the thing about multi-spell scrolls!
One nitpick: you mention the benefit of a Handy Haversack as being that you can retrieve these scrolls as a move action (as opposed to rummaging around). This implies that without it, it will take you longer to retrieve a scroll.
This is misleading, as it would only take you longer if you have your scrolls buried at the bottom of a backpack like some kind of nincompoop. Explorers have pockets:
The clothes have plenty of pockets (especially the cloak).Between pockets, sheaths, belt pouches, etc; you should never ever be rummaging for small items like scrolls or potions or whatever.
What then, you ask, is the benefit of the Handy Haversack? Retrieving an item from that sack doesn't provoke an AoO, while pulling it from your pocket does. (Well, that plus carrying capacity issues.)
Aside from that, though, great article!
Ah, you're correct. On the other hand, if you're carrying 50 scrolls, I would question your knowing exactly where each one is. You're right though, by RAW there's no difference, aside from the attack of opportunity.
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Ah, you're correct. On the other hand, if you're carrying 50 scrolls, I would question your knowing exactly where each one is. You're right though, by RAW there's no difference, aside from the attack of opportunity.
Who the frick carries fifty scrolls?!? In that case, yeah, they probably want a Haversack.
Unless they're a wizard or witch, in which case they've probably got something like 22 INT and have probably created a rather obsessive organizational system for their scrolls and pockets! ;)
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Ah, you're correct. On the other hand, if you're carrying 50 scrolls, I would question your knowing exactly where each one is. You're right though, by RAW there's no difference, aside from the attack of opportunity.Who the frick carries fifty scrolls?!? In that case, yeah, they probably want a Haversack.
Unless they're a wizard or witch, in which case they've probably got something like 22 INT and have probably created a rather obsessive organizational system for their scrolls and pockets! ;)
This seems like a perfect segue into the best trait ever.
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Nosig: that sounds pretty expensive. First level spells are very cheap to scribe, but it gets pretty pricey. I think 250gp per 5th level spell scribed?
There is a consideration that a bonded item wizard can get by with less scrolls as long as it is in his spell book, with the exception of spells you want people to use on you in emergencies. And bonded item spells scale with level unlike scrolls. Also copying spells from others spellbooks is a significant cost factor in PFS.
Generally scrolls of spells available at your your level get marginally cheaper as a percentage of wealth by level as you progress. If you are spending 10% of your WBL on scrolls then you are buying 2-4 scrolls per character level. However you can scribe 4 spells for the price of one scroll from level 3 onwards.
Are you planning on providing advice on when to buy items relative to the WBL curve?
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Seems like there are still a lot of foundation subjects to cover. Possibilities which spring to mind are:
Handling long term effects and PFS (a consequence of not preparing from your current blog entry).
Topical is metagaming and separating in-character and out of character knowledge. Which is part of the wider table etiquette subject: have fun, help each other, help the GM, dont be a jerk, PvP, equal spotlight/attention hogs, 3-dimensional PCs, etc.
Play styles (eg Robin's Laws) and being inclusive/no one-true way: tactician, power-gamer, storyteller, butt-kicker, specialist, casual-gamer, method actor
Pros and cons of home play (adventure paths?) vs PFS
Spelling 101: spell types and versatilty. Direct damage, buffs, debuffs, status effects, battlefield control, summons, utility.
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I think you should cover topics that are pertinent to your player base, and these subjects can change from week-to-week. Only you know you're player base.
In other words, something comes up at a table you're GMing and you'd like to share with the rest of your player base.
That's probably the easiest way to write a blog as well, because topics will naturally come to mind after each session.
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One nitpick: you mention the benefit of a Handy Haversack as being that you can retrieve these scrolls as a move action (as opposed to rummaging around). This implies that without it, it will take you longer to retrieve a scroll.This is misleading, as it would only take you longer if you have your scrolls buried at the bottom of a backpack like some kind of nincompoop. Explorers have pockets:
The clothes have plenty of pockets (especially the cloak).
A scroll is exactly that: a scroll. When something is "scrolled up" we know what it looks like. It is rolled up like a tube.
So you are proposing that a scroll can be put in a weapon sheathe, or that a caster place various scrolls all in a multiplicity of "pockets", essentially armoring themselves in a dozen tubes of fragile paper.
I would not suggest that you try to pursue this course of action at one of my tables. We have scroll cases in the game for a reason. They protect delicate items with one HP and no hardness from being destroyed or to become exposed to rainwater in a manner that would destroy them.
What you are proposing is far too "gameist" in approach for my tastes. RAW does not support it, and nowhere does it say that it works in the way you propose. While you might suggest that "it doesn't say you can't" and that this somehow supports your approach, I think a more accurate statement is to say that the rules are silent on it and as such, it is a matter left to GM discretion and you should expect heavy table variation.
I would also suggest that the first player at one of my tables to say that he was storing 15 scrolls scrunched up into individual pockets about his person is a character who is likely to lose half of those scrolls when he rolls a 1 on a saving throw against an area attack.
Because that would be RAW. It's one of those RAW rules I tend to "forget" as a GM because it can disappoint players a lot and make the game unfun. But in this case? I wouldn't just be remembering, I'd be waiting for it.
Between pockets, sheaths, belt pouches, etc; you should never ever be rummaging for small items like scrolls or potions or whatever.
Scrolls are not potions. Potions are small, can be transferred to iron bottles for more secure storage and can be placed in leather Adventurer's Sash's. While they might become hit when in an iron potion bottle, they are unlikely to be damaged when stored in this manner. Far more to the point, very few GMs feel that by equipping yourself with potions in such a manner is somehow going against the RAI.
A spring loaded weapon sheathe is intended for a dagger and might be used for a wand. It is stretching the use and intent of the item beyond all recognition to suggest you can use it to insert a rolled up scroll into it, however. I would never allow it.
Scrolls are stored in scroll cases for a reason. They are expensive, fragile and delicate and easily damaged works of magical ink scribed on fragile parchment and vellum over a process of hours. The higher the spell level, the bigger the actual physical scroll is, too. (A spell takes one page per book to scribe per spell level). Even a mid-level scroll is a document that when unrolled is a sheet many feet long. This is not something you put into individual pockets by the dozen, unless your character concept is The Michelin Mage.
When you get to a high number of them, expecting to be able to produce one as a move at will without magical assistance is not a reasonable approach, imo. That's what a handy haversack is for.
I expect that we are NOT going to agree on this.
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Robert, RAW does in fact support retrieving a stored item as a move action. RAW likewise supports storing a forearm-sized item in a wrist sheath. It can't really get anymore RAW than that. It may not be what the sheath was originally designed for, but denying it is introducing house rules to PFS.
That is your opinion and I do not share it.
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A scroll is exactly that: a scroll.
This discussion seems a bit moot to me. If you're playing a character with a lot of objects (scrolls, potions, alchemists fire, whatever) surely a Handy Haversack is an insanely good investment regardless, if only to get the lack of opportunity attack combined with the increased carrying capacity. Its certainly one of my top priorities.
As a GM, what I'd allow at a non PFS table is quick character access to a couple of scrolls but not to dozens.
But I will point out that realism arguments don't make a lot of sense in Pathfinder. That train sailed with their insanely unrealistic implementation of guns, to the extent that it hadn't already gone with things like how long it takes to put on and off shields.
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But I will point out that realism arguments don't make a lot of sense in Pathfinder. That train sailed with their insanely unrealistic implementation of guns, to the extent that it hadn't already gone with things like how long it takes to put on and off shields.
Nonsense. 3.xx Pathfinder has ALWAYS been a balance between simulationist and gameist design. The fact that one rule is more simulationist in approach and another specific implementation may have gone hard over to a gameist view does not speak with finality as to how ALL rules should or must be interpreted within the system. That is not the way the Rules for the have ever been interpreted.
I do not agree that the Rules as Written support Mergy's interpretation of this, at all. This is dressing up opinion and theory as straightforward RAW. It isn't so.
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Anyway, I've created a new thread in the rules forum for everyone to play in. It's all about scrolls and wrist sheaths.
Let's keep this thread's purpose less argumentative.
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Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area South & West
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I do not agree that the Rules as Written support Mergy's interpretation of this, at all. This is dressing up opinion and theory as straightforward RAW. It isn't so.
Pot? Meet Mr. Kettle.
I am further saddened that such argumentative, dogmatic posturing is coming from a Venture Captain.
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Robert, RAW does in fact support retrieving a stored item as a move action. RAW likewise supports storing a forearm-sized item in a wrist sheath. It can't really get anymore RAW than that. It may not be what the sheath was originally designed for, but denying it is introducing house rules to PFS.That is your opinion and I do not share it.
In Mergy's defence, that is not an opinion, it is in both the text of the rules and the accompanying table as RAW. Making it take longer to retrieve a stowed item for whatever reason and then punishing players who try to get around that is not RAW it is vindictive and nitpicky DMing.
JohnF is right, it is disappointing to say the least to see this sort of thing coming from a Venture officer.
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Let's try and keep things civil, folks.
I think it's clear that there would be some table variation on this... While you could probably risk a scroll in a wrist sheath should you choose, it isn't really ready to use until unrolled (unlike a dagger or wand, say), so sadly the RAW doesn't go conclusively one way or the other. This is the reason we have GMs - to rule on the grey areas.
The reason we have Venture-Officers is to facilitate PFS in their regions. Most V-O's are also GMs, though, and nothing about being a V-O takes away the GM's right to rule at their table. It doesn't make their ruling any more than that, though: how they rule at *their* table.
That's all I'll say here, to avoid fanning flames that are better left to die out on their own.
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Let's try and keep things civil, folks.
I think it's clear that there would be some table variation on this... While you could probably risk a scroll in a wrist sheath should you choose, it isn't really ready to use until unrolled (unlike a dagger or wand, say), so sadly the RAW doesn't go conclusively one way or the other. This is the reason we have GMs - to rule on the grey areas.
The reason we have Venture-Officers is to facilitate PFS in their regions. Most V-O's are also GMs, though, and nothing about being a V-O takes away the GM's right to rule at their table. It doesn't make their ruling any more than that, though: how they rule at *their* table.
That's all I'll say here, to avoid fanning flames that are better left to die out on their own.
Well said. Players should expect table variation from time to time, however undesirable it may be to the idea of organized play.
I will argue, however, on your claim that it takes a move action to unroll a scroll. This is most definitely a non-action, or just part of the standard action of casting the spell. All scrolls are stored in a rolled up format, and to require a move action to retrieve it and a further move action to unroll it is not based in the rules.
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Speaking of the wrist sheath...
Here's a hilarious example of what would happen if Michel Gondry directed Taxi Driver.
In it, we can see that drawing a weapon from a wrist sheath is clearly a full-round action, if not two full-round actions.
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Speaking of civility, could we please make sure to address our disagreements to the people who actually said the things we disagree with? Robert started with a quote from me, then proceeded to rant about a bunch of stuff that I didn't actually say (mixed in with a small amount of stuff I did say). I'd prefer not to get yelled at for what someone else argued with you about in the past. That seems like a reasonable courtesy to ask for, yes?
Thanks. :)
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Speaking of civility, could we please make sure to address our disagreements to the people who actually said the things we disagree with? Robert started with a quote from me, then proceeded to rant about a bunch of stuff that I didn't actually say (mixed in with a small amount of stuff I did say). I'd prefer not to get yelled at for what someone else argued with you about in the past. That seems like a reasonable courtesy to ask for, yes?
Thanks. :)
I see your concern and raise you a "no".
=b