I just learned today that dim light does not exist objectively, just subjectively.
Got (still have ) a friend who has almost pathological nightsight. Great partytrick when we were young- the guy could walk home on moonless nights with "glacier-glasses" on (those have around a 90%-95% dimming factor- or more) for 3 or 4 miles,. No stumble, no nothing, rough ground ( Alps). heearned a few hundred marks and lots of beer casks that way.
He never notices his carlights are not on (and has since had them automated to activate). That guy cooks in the dark - curries, roasts, the works ! No, he is not in fact blind. but he actually does not notice shadows as dimming, just as a variance of directly reflected light. Limited colour perception, tooSubjectively, that friend and in game terms has some (EX) form of nightvision (and before you ask, he has eyes which pick up on sideways movement very badly)..... And yes, put him on a boat in bright summer, he is blind (greened out) before noon. He had a prescription at the Bundeswehr to actually wear sunglasses at all times, even on parade etc.... and guess who got the nighttime watches ?
so "dim light" is a very subjective thing. Same for orks, dwarves, tieflings..... and Sahuagins. For some it exists, for many it doesn't.
I have yet to figure out what a 'tiefling' is. I have heard of such cases and it affects my wife to a limited extent. She goes around in the dark or limited light most of the time and has to wear sunglasses outside. If you think it is bad in Germany, try it in S. Texas with our sun! But for most of us 'humans' dim light while relative tends to average game terms, this is a game after all.
I just learned today that dim light does not exist objectively, just subjectively.Got (still have ) a friend who has almost pathological nightsight. Great partytrick when we were young- the guy could walk home on moonless nights with "glacier-glasses" on (those have around a 90%-95% dimming factor- or more) for 3 or 4 miles,. No stumble, no nothing, rough ground ( Alps). heearned a few hundred marks and lots of beer casks that way.
He never notices his carlights are not on (and has since had them automated to activate). That guy cooks in the dark - curries, roasts, the works ! No, he is not in fact blind. but he actually does not notice shadows as dimming, just as a variance of directly reflected light. Limited colour perception, tooSubjectively, that friend and in game terms has some (EX) form of nightvision (and before you ask, he has eyes which pick up on sideways movement very badly)..... And yes, put him on a boat in bright summer, he is blind (greened out) before noon. He had a prescription at the Bundeswehr to actually wear sunglasses at all times, even on parade etc.... and guess who got the nighttime watches ?
so "dim light" is a very subjective thing. Same for orks, dwarves, tieflings..... and Sahuagins. For some it exists, for many it doesn't.
Sooooo, because orcs, dwarves, tieflings and Sahuagins can't see "dim light", they would never be able to activate the Hide in Plain Sight ability of the Shadow Dancer.
I have to say that "dim light" really is a bit subjective. I grew up having a paper route that required me to be out deliving papers a bit before sunrise, and my eyes adjusted to the limited light of the street lamps and other random lights just fine, and still can to this day. Like wise, most of history, people had little more than candles and starlight to provide light in darkness, and some of the initial complaints about electric lighting was how bright it was (complaints which continue to this day amongst astronomers who built telescopes out in the middle of nowehere for a reason only to have them swallowed up by cities and rendered useless with all the background light created by those cities). I would say find a house rule that satisfies everyone and move on. Some rules can never truly have a good official answer that works universally.
I have yet to figure out what a 'tiefling' is. I have heard of such cases and it affects my wife to a limited extent. She goes around in the dark or limited light most of the time and has to wear sunglasses outside. If you think it is bad in Germany, try it in S. Texas with our sun! But for most of us 'humans' dim light while relative tends to average game terms, this is a game after all.
tiefling : check the Bestiary and the pretty good player companion : blood of fiends
subjectively light. Approaching the big fourty now, I do notice that darker conrers and nooks truly feel darker these days. Checked recently in the old attic of the house we lived in as kids. These days I actually NEED the flashlight (and not for scaring my kiddo sisterˆˆ )
Sooooo, because orcs, dwarves, tieflings and Sahuagins can't see "dim light", they would never be able to activate the Hide in Plain Sight ability of the Shadow Dancer.
dim light to the observer, perhaps ? Hide in plain sight works on the elf. But not on the dwarf ?
After all, even dragons can go invisible, although they would see each other quite plainly.
Or even worse... have a shadowdancer hide in plain sight, pullling out his gem of seeing....and suddenly popping up out of nothing.
Let's catch someone from the rulesteam to verify this ( i mean someone with actual paizo credentialsˆ). I think otherwise we can spend days and hours making up fun examples.
Personally, I do see a massive balance probleem if a character at sixth level can bascially go invisble, at will, with a skill ckeck, with no actual counterbalnce.
S&S isn't so much easy, as much as we have an overcompensating DM who pits the group against overpowering encounters and as an example, Weekly William can't see why half the 14th level party of 12 PCs was wiped out in 1 round by the 15 18th level NPCs who not only have better stats, but better gear as well.
The boarding pike does 1d8+1 damage on its own. The +1 is because it's a magical weapon with a +1 bonus.
If your character has a STR bonus, you add that to the damage. Since it's a two handed weapon, you add half your STR bonus again to that. So if your character has a +0 STR bonus, it just does 1d8+1. If he has a +1 STR bonus it does 1d8+2 (+1 for enchantment, +1 for STR bonus and half of 1 is 0.5, and when you have a fraction you round down in PF). If he has a +2 STR bonus it does 1d8+4 (+1 enchantment, +2 STR bonus, +1/2 STR bonus for wielding two handed).