Thassilonion Specialist Question


Rules Questions

Silver Crusade

Heya all,

I've been going over the boards and saw one post where it was stated that you can't take a sub-school for thassilonion specialist. For example you can be a regular invoker (wrath - evocation) or necromancer (gluttony - necromancy) but you cannot pick the sub schools of admixture (evocation) or uncead (necro). From what I've read in the book it doesn't specifically spell out disallowing the specialty schools but I would like to know for sure before I make a character.

Thanks

The Exchange

Unless someone can find a Paizo post disallowing it, I would say it's OK to take a focused school.

APG - Focused Arcane Schools wrote:
Wizards that specialize in one of the schools of magic can instead chose to focus their studies still further.

You still wouldn't be able to choose your opposition schools.


The subject has been discussed before (cannot find it though)

being a thassilonion specialist does not exclude you from picking your school, including the subschools.

Silver Crusade

Well....found a faq and it puts it in black and white.

No Subschools. It took a while but I found the answer on the pfs boards.

The FAQ that Time Forgot


Tamec wrote:

Well....found a faq and it puts it in black and white.

No Subschools. It took a while but I found the answer on the pfs boards.

The FAQ that Time Forgot

Thassilonian specialists say nothing about the school powers because they don't change those at all, the first sentence basically deprives his own argument of merit. since any and all alternate class features can be used as long as they are not already being replaced.


Tamec wrote:
Well....found a faq and it puts it in black and white.

Erm... That's not an actual FAQs.

TBH there really isn't any reason I can see you shouldn't be able to pick any subschool. Your still specialized in the same school, not even specializing in a subschool of that school but choosing a different power more to your liking.


MrSin wrote:
Tamec wrote:
Well....found a faq and it puts it in black and white.

Erm... That's not an actual FAQs.

TBH there really isn't any reason I can see you shouldn't be able to pick any subschool. Your still specialized in the same school, not even specializing in a subschool of that school but choosing a different power more to your liking.

It's sorta the FAQ since James is the designer for the Thassilonian Specialist.


Scavion wrote:
It's sorta the Golarion FAQ since James is the designer for the Thassilonian Specialist.

I think that makes it 'word of god' or 'how I would do it' rather than an official FAQs.


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Indeed, if the Designer's Opinion carried any real weight, the Titan Mauler would actually get to wield weapons larger than his size allows.

The Exchange

Tamec wrote:

Well....found a faq and it puts it in black and white.

No Subschools. It took a while but I found the answer on the pfs boards.

The FAQ that Time Forgot

Thanks for finding that. OK, given that I change to "no subschools."

Of course, if your GM wants to allow it...


Eh...

I am going to go with

Stephen Radney-MacFarland wrote:
Messageboard posts on a subjects made by the design and development team are not "official rulings" on the games. Clarifications in FAQ posts and errata are official rulings.

Even from the author.

You can add multiple archetypes to a class that don't modify the same class feature.

Sub-school specialization and Thassilonian specialists are both basically archetypes, and don't modify any of the same class features.

So I don't see any reason why you couldn't have a Admixture Wrath specialist.


Samasboy1 wrote:

Eh...

I am going to go with

Stephen Radney-MacFarland wrote:
Messageboard posts on a subjects made by the design and development team are not "official rulings" on the games. Clarifications in FAQ posts and errata are official rulings.

Even from the author.

You can add multiple archetypes to a class that don't modify the same class feature.

Sub-school specialization and Thassilonian specialists are both basically archetypes, and don't modify any of the same class features.

So I don't see any reason why you couldn't have a Admixture Wrath specialist.

Sadly, I also have to agree with this. There is precedent for FAQ disagreeing with designer intent.

Check out the Sohei Monk. The 'unofficial errata' listed in the pfsrd indicates that the original author's intention was that Flurry of Blows NOT work while wearing armor. However, the official FAQ allows armor to be worn.

After the designer submits his work, a small team of gremlins/goblins attacks it (the stories change), often altering it before it reaches publication. True story.

Sczarni

3 people marked this as a favorite.

The Runelord of Sloth never got around to editing it.


Nefreet wrote:
The Runelord of Sloth never got around to editing it.

^^ =D


Nefreet wrote:
The Runelord of Sloth never got around to editing it.

Well, he was busy sleeping until a bunch of murderho- I mean err... pathfinders wandered in his tomb to liberate his loo- I mean stop him from doing anything bad. Yeah... Liberate. That's a good word for it.

Kind of afraid to see it edited because you never know which way they'll go sometimes.

The Exchange

kyrt-ryder wrote:
Indeed, if the Designer's Opinion carried any real weight, the Titan Mauler would actually get to wield weapons larger than his size allows.

Be careful to draw a distinction between the "designer" (little 'd' - the author of the archetype) and a "Designer" (big 'D' - the Paizo staffers whose responsibilities include making sure the mechanics are balanced). If you search through the many, many threads on Titan Mauler, you will find that the Design Team deliberately changed the author's submission for balance concerns. (If you disagree with the balance issue, then please post in those threads, not this one.)

Anyway, there never has been a "FAQ" for Thassalonian Specialist. Without that, I would default to James Jacobs. You can argue the mechanics of the writing if you wish, but James's responsibilities are the entire lore of Golarion and he gave the official Paizo reason why a Specialist would/could not take a specialized school.

Again, if your GM allows it, go for it.

Sczarni

Tamec wrote:

Well....found a faq and it puts it in black and white.

No Subschools. It took a while but I found the answer on the pfs boards.

The FAQ that Time Forgot

That would be a good candidate to include in THIS thread.


Belafon wrote:
kyrt-ryder wrote:
Indeed, if the Designer's Opinion carried any real weight, the Titan Mauler would actually get to wield weapons larger than his size allows.
Be careful to draw a distinction between the "designer" (little 'd' - the author of the archetype) and a "Designer" (big 'D' - the Paizo staffers whose responsibilities include making sure the mechanics are balanced).

NOPE!

The Designer (big 'D') is the guy who actually invested himself in the material, while the Paizo staff you mention are Quality Control. (I won't get into my disagreements with their balance philosophy in this thread.)


Belafon wrote:

he gave the official Paizo reason why a Specialist would/could not take a specialized school.

Except, as per Stephen, it is not official.

Sczarni

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Indeed.

As I pointed out in that other thread, Stephen's quote invalidates quite a few things that were only understood via quotes from Designers. Now none of them matter, and we're back to square one.

I wonder if he realized, when he said that, that his work load would quadruple because of it.

I also find it ironic that people are quoting a Designer who says we shouldn't use quotes from Designers as official clarifications. Does that, in itself, invalidate what Stephen said?


Nefreet wrote:

I also find it ironic that people are quoting a Designer who says we shouldn't use quotes from Designers as official clarifications. Does that, in itself, invalidate what Stephen said?

Well, he said dev posts about rules were not official, which is itself not discussing a rule (at least, not a rule of the game).

But I can understand the amusement in the situation, though I fully endorse his statement.

Silver Crusade

Thanks for the comments all, as far as my GM allowing it, that's why I posted it here because really it is for PFS so paizo is my GM.

Personally, I don't think there will ever be a FAQ or Errata on this at least as far as PFS is concerned because this Specialization is very limited in PFS.

In my home game, wizards will have to pick base schools, and personally for PFS I will do the same to keep the intended flavor of the class what it is supposed to be.

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
kyrt-ryder wrote:
Indeed, if the Designer's Opinion carried any real weight, the Titan Mauler would actually get to wield weapons larger than his size allows.

Shots fired!

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