What I'm gather from this, is that Wes is a great target for a domination spell to take control of the rules teams.
The "rules team" (aka the designers) are the only large group you wouldn't get with that spell. You probably want to dominate Erik Mona. He's both Jason and Wes's boss.
So you actually have something in print now for Paizo with the Familiar Folio. I know we have already seen some of your work with the Occult play test, but does it feel different to have actual paper products out their which you are responsible for.
Though I realize you finished up the Folio a while ago now, and probably are hip deep in your current work.
It does feel different, although fair is fair, I suppose—despite Monster Codex being basically almost done when I came here, I did write the Goblin Stickylord to assist in copyfitting, so I have an author credit in that despite minimal work on it.
I am indeed hip deep in Occult right now, and soon I will be starting freelance work on next fall's book too!
If you could errata free will out of the real world, would you do it?
What is the most annoying part of your job? Even if its a great job, you will have moments when you want to leap out the nearest window and run screaming into the sunset.
There will always be parts of any job that aren't fun. For me, it'd probably be Bestiary errata, I suppose. It's a huge stream of almost only number-checking.
If you could errata free will out of the real world, would you do it?
As far as I've heard, if you want the world to have free will, expect table variation.
FAQ Friday fans: Today's FAQ sounds like it's being moved to Tuesday due to the long weekend. It's all set on our end, so there should still also be something else next Friday too.
THE TEASER IS A LIE
I know right. It throws off all of your guesses now. The PDT has it ready to go for today though, so it's true from that perspective.
FAQ Friday fans: Today's FAQ sounds like it's being moved to Tuesday .....
Noooooooooooo<in my dramatic voice>
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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THE TEASER IS A LIEI know right. It throws off all of your guesses now. The PDT has it ready to go for today though, so it's true from that perspective.
Can you perhaps spoil the topic? Or maybe state the content in a non-official manner, just to ease the wondering?
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FAQ Friday fans: Today's FAQ sounds like it's being moved to Tuesday .....
Fixed.
Possibly a big and a little unwieldy question, but... Do you think 1 minute/level buff spells such as Shield or Elemental Body are good for the game?
A) 1 round/level spells that are cast either in the beginning of combat or immediately before combat starts, like Haste.
B) 10 minutes/level or 1 hour/level spells that are cast before the party engages in whatever they're doing, like Mage Armor or Heroism. Usually assumed to be active unless the party is caught napping.
1 minute/level spells seem to be somewhere in the middle and (imo) have an unfortunate side effect of making people want to 'go fast' in order to capitalize on them. Limited duration that are still long enough to last through multiple encounters seems to create an artificial motivation for parties to rush through areas where you would normally expect a party to move cautiously and slowly - such as when exploring a trap-filled dungeon or infiltrating an enemy stronghold.
I've been vaguely aware of this effect for a while but it really came together when I reread the Master Summoner. Being able to summon an army for about 10 minutes is a massive motivation for running through a dungeon as fast as possible rather than take your time and try to enjoy the full experience.
Possibly a big and a little unwieldy question, but... Do you think 1 minute/level buff spells such as Shield or Elemental Body are good for the game?
** spoiler omitted **
I vaguely remember Monte talking about something similar way back when he designed Arcana Unearthed. I do agree that the grind of minute per level buffs has huge repercussions for the way the game is played. If you reduced them all to 1 round per level, it would certainly be one step in the direction for people who would prefer to limit spellcasters and would dramatically weaken buff-based characters.
I vaguely remember Monte talking about something similar way back when he designed Arcana Unearthed. I do agree that the grind of minute per level buffs has huge repercussions for the way the game is played. If you reduced them all to 1 round per level, it would certainly be one step in the direction for people who would prefer to limit spellcasters and would dramatically weaken buff-based characters.Possibly a big and a little unwieldy question, but... Do you think 1 minute/level buff spells such as Shield or Elemental Body are good for the game?
** spoiler omitted **
I think reading a playtest from something like that would be very interesting, but it's way too big a change for me to be comfortable with introducing to my home games. It would dramatically upset the balance point for partial casters, which tend to be the classes we enjoy playing and GMing for the most. I'm happy with houserules that can mess with the top classes and improve the bottom classes, but I prefer to leave the sweet spot in the middle as untouched as possible. :)
I think reading a playtest from something like that would be very interesting, but it's way too big a change for me to be comfortable with introducing to my home games. It would dramatically upset the balance point for partial casters, which tend to be the classes we enjoy playing and GMing for the most. I'm happy with houserules that can mess with the top classes and improve the bottom classes, but I prefer to leave the sweet spot in the middle as untouched as possible. :)I vaguely remember Monte talking about something similar way back when he designed Arcana Unearthed. I do agree that the grind of minute per level buffs has huge repercussions for the way the game is played. If you reduced them all to 1 round per level, it would certainly be one step in the direction for people who would prefer to limit spellcasters and would dramatically weaken buff-based characters.Possibly a big and a little unwieldy question, but... Do you think 1 minute/level buff spells such as Shield or Elemental Body are good for the game?
** spoiler omitted **
I would also be interested in learning from such a playtest, but it would certainly affect some of the partial casters heavily, for instance, the bard's buffing becomes even more dramatically excellent as heroism gains even more ground over other buffs, and monsters that use negative energy become much more dangerous with round/level death ward so you can't trivialize them like the group I play in did in <AP name redacted> Book 5 with that one dungeon full of them...and that's a few among many implications. Fascinating stuff to be sure.
Quick doodling on the back of a napkin:
Warpriests and to a lesser degree Magi would improve dramatically since apart from Quickened spell, fervor casting and spell combat are basically the only reliable way to get up multiple short-duration spells without sitting out the fight. Bards, investigators and alchemists are really enjoying their unique long-term or swift action buff effects with mutagens and inspire courage.
Martial classes that rely heavily on short-duration buffs (inquisitor, battle cleric/oracle/druid, summoner, hunter++) would all get shafted pretty hard since they can no longer reliably pre-buff and expect the buffs to last more than two encounters. The in-combat buff round goes from beneficial to basically mandatory. 4th level casters suffer as well, but not as much since they typically rely less on spells and more on class features such as Smite Evil or Bloodrage. Full BAB becomes more relevant since it's harder for medium BAB classes to cast a spell or two and close the gap, but non-casters suffer since they can no longer rely on preemptive buff spells like Fly, Freedom of Movement or Greater Invisibility.
Primary casters would also become less powerful, though perhaps not as dramatically as the staggered casters since they have larger spell lists that offer multiple approaches to combat, and faster access to high level spell slots mean they have more opportunities to use Quickened spells.
I think changing 1 minute/level to 1 round/level is a bit too harsh, but changing 1 minute/level to 10 minutes/level is far, faar too generous. The best solution would probably be to go through the spell list one by one and either up- or downgrade depending on how the spell will handle, but that's more a system rewrite than houserule territory.
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We're getting yet another blizzard this weekend, and running out of places to put the snow (Somerville has been under a snow emergency since last Saturday). Do you miss winter here in Boston?
Also, do you guys have any fun Valentine's Day plans? David and I are supposed to see a movie, but that may be cancelled due to the weather (so far the T is still running tomorrow, but they've already announced they're shutting it down for Sunday).
We're getting yet another blizzard this weekend, and running out of places to put the snow (Somerville has been under a snow emergency since last Saturday). Do you miss winter here in Boston?
Also, do you guys have any fun Valentine's Day plans? David and I are supposed to see a movie, but that may be cancelled due to the weather (so far the T is still running tomorrow, but they've already announced they're shutting it down for Sunday).
Sometimes I do miss all the snow, though not really the blizzards. Linda and I usually do off-Valentine's things to avoid the crowd and also since her birthday is the 10th. So sometimes we do the 10th, or the 12th (splitting the difference).
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Sometimes I do miss all the snow, though not really the blizzards. Linda and I usually do off-Valentine's things to avoid the crowd and also since her birthday is the 10th. So sometimes we do the 10th, or the 12th (splitting the difference).We're getting yet another blizzard this weekend, and running out of places to put the snow (Somerville has been under a snow emergency since last Saturday). Do you miss winter here in Boston?
Also, do you guys have any fun Valentine's Day plans? David and I are supposed to see a movie, but that may be cancelled due to the weather (so far the T is still running tomorrow, but they've already announced they're shutting it down for Sunday).
See that's the good thing about a blizzard on Valentine's Day - unless you're hitting the grocery store (you don't really need more milk or bread, right?), there are no crowds!
But seriously, I hope you guys had fun whatever it was you did, and I hope Linda had a happy birthday!P.S. I'll see what we can do about sending a truckload of snow (or 40) to you guys. :)
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Mark, I think I'm going to crack, and it's your fault. Well, it's half your fault.
I have a coworker whose last name is Seifert.
And as you of course know, yours is Seifter.
And you use different vowel pronunciations than each other.
Seifter.
Seifert.
Seifter.
Seifert.
Seifter.
Seifert.
MAKE IT STOP!!!
Hey Mark, I want to thank you for your thoughts on combat healing. They have been like a breath of fresh air.
I also really appreciate this thread.
Did you know it is exactly 1,010 posts since this one (which I know, because the one before it was the last I saw when I clicked on this thread last August)?
EDIT: negating double-post
That is both exciting and a little terrifying. Because on the one hand, I am super-pumped about this book and several of the awesome factors, including giving people game elements they've been looking for for a while and some they didn't think to ask for that will be amazing, but on the other hand, some people are going to be disappointed that it isn't the same as psionics no matter what. It's fair to say I am also a psionics fan, given that one of the two inspirations for my handle of "Rogue Eidolon" (other than the monster from MM2) was a Ghostwalk telepath (psion) eidoloncer and that my last big homebrew campaign before our group started running APs by popular vote was heavily psionic, but I'm personally really excited for the different take in this book, rooted strongly in real world occult mythology with help from Brandon and Erik.So... how thrilled are you that your introductory book is, basically, going to include the number 1 most requested system since, like day 1 of Pathfinder in Psychic Magic?Pathfinder Unchained is really my introductory book, which is thrilling because I love tinkering new subsystems like Unearthed Arcana. However, I've really fallen in love with the classes I've adopted for Occult Adventures. I didn't think I would say this, but I may be more excited for Occult than Unchained!While true, I'm not sure how much of Unchained will be considered part of the core rules as it seems, from what's been teased, more a hypthetical book.
So your first hardcover rulebook that is likely to be considered binding rules, especially for PFS, is Occult Adventures.
Also, I'm betting people are more excited about OA than Unchained due to Psychic Magic being so heavily requested.
This makes me happy. Just the fact that there is a huge psionics fan on-staff is awesome!
EDIT 2 (sort of): So, Mark: what's the "strongest" 0-level spell?
I mean, we all already know the correct answer, but I'm just curious what you're going to say. :D
Also: awesome, or just interesting?
(For a more real [set of] question[s], what do you think of those as deities, as-presented? Do you like FR, and do you enjoy seeing impacts and changes by players? New gods that were PCs? Do you prefer static settings, or dynamic? How do you feel about sticking with "the canon" of a setting? Please note, that not all of these are really separate questions, and you can of course ignore some.)
Finally: is this better as noe post, or would you prefer, in the future, it to be broken into several, if I have that many tangentially-related points or questions?
(My apologies for gushing. I think you're a really cool dude, and am just curious.)
EDIT 3: Wow, I messed that one up. Fixed, I think. Sorry.
Was there a FAQ put out today?
Sometimes I do miss all the snow, though not really the blizzards. Linda and I usually do off-Valentine's things to avoid the crowd and also since her birthday is the 10th. So sometimes we do the 10th, or the 12th (splitting the difference).We're getting yet another blizzard this weekend, and running out of places to put the snow (Somerville has been under a snow emergency since last Saturday). Do you miss winter here in Boston?
Also, do you guys have any fun Valentine's Day plans? David and I are supposed to see a movie, but that may be cancelled due to the weather (so far the T is still running tomorrow, but they've already announced they're shutting it down for Sunday).See that's the good thing about a blizzard on Valentine's Day - unless you're hitting the grocery store (you don't really need more milk or bread, right?), there are no crowds!
But seriously, I hope you guys had fun whatever it was you did, and I hope Linda had a happy birthday!P.S. I'll see what we can do about sending a truckload of snow (or 40) to you guys. :)
We did have fun, and we had a great Kingmaker/Jade Regent double-header on V Day itself. The Jade Regent group came up with a creative way to use wind walk relays to get an item that can't be teleported 1500 miles in just over 24 hours.
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Seriously, take all of this g*$~!+n snow and do something with it mark.
I have been out of school for atleast a month total with these damn blizzards.
if I miss another week from it, I am filing a lawsuit against gozreh and irrisen.
Tell them to knock it off.
They just don't seem to get the memo. They might be mad that I wrote a non-snow-based "Let it Go" for the iconic bloodrager.
Do you ever mention this thread in the workplace? Like, "So this weirdo on the forums yesterday asked me what kind of coffee I drink, like wth. Black of course."
Or the like...
I will occasionally bring up a post if it is humorous enough or germane. Probably not one about coffee though!
Mark, I think I'm going to crack, and it's your fault. Well, it's half your fault.
I have a coworker whose last name is Seifert.
And as you of course know, yours is Seifter.And you use different vowel pronunciations than each other.
Seifter.
Seifert.
Seifter.
Seifert.
Seifter.
Seifert.MAKE IT STOP!!!
I'm not surprised that there might be a Seifert, but I'm more surprised by the different pronunciation. The Germanic root would generally imply a long i, like eidolon.
Was there a FAQ put out today?
I'm expecting there may be, the one meant for last Friday, but I need the assistance of other departments to get it out, so I can't predict when it might appear (or if it might not appear), since our team can't enter it ourselves. I've asked to be notified just as soon as it happens, and I'll make a mention here when I know.
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Did you know it is exactly 1,010 posts since this one (which I know, because the one before it was the last I saw when I clicked on this thread last August)?Hey Mark, I want to thank you for your thoughts on combat healing. They have been like a breath of fresh air.
I also really appreciate this thread.
Not until you mentioned it. Is 1,010 numerologically significant?
EDIT 2 (sort of): So, Mark: what's the "strongest" 0-level spell?
In terms of the effect on the game, it's gotta be detect magic, hands-down, for reasons mostly mentioned in that thread.
Also: awesome, or just interesting?
(For a more real [set of] question[s], what do you think of those as deities, as-presented? Do you like FR, and do you enjoy seeing impacts and changes by players? New gods that were PCs? Do you prefer static settings, or dynamic? How do you feel about sticking with "the canon" of a setting? Please note, that not all of these are really separate questions, and you can of course ignore some.)
I would say interesting to me, and clearly beyond awesome for the group involved that got to play out these stories and see them unfold. I like having a consistent version of the setting that my home group uses across campaigns, a group canon with continuity nods between them, so in that sense I prefer a setting that is dynamic for our group to discover the stories, rather than being hugely dynamic "on its own". I particularly dislike when a dynamic setting's dynamism eliminates the ability to use material without setting it at an earlier date (like if a Golarion products all began to add into canon the fact that On Kuthona 12, 4712, Varisia exploded and sunk into the ocean, then I would have to either ignore this or not run any of my Varisia adventures that require it to not be exploded, or set it back in time, thus cutting myself off from other elements that happened after 12/12/12).
Finally: is this better as noe post, or would you prefer, in the future, it to be broken into several, if I have that many tangentially-related points or questions?
(My apologies for gushing. I think you're a really cool dude, and am just curious.)
Either way is fine, but I'm more likely to answer a question at any given time if it's part of a post that has fewer questions (like maybe 1-3), just because I don't want to "miss" a question, so I'll usually put it off until I have time to answer them all.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I'm not surprised that there might be a Seifert, but I'm more surprised by the different pronunciation. The Germanic root would generally imply a long i, like eidolon.Mark, I think I'm going to crack, and it's your fault. Well, it's half your fault.
I have a coworker whose last name is Seifert.
And as you of course know, yours is Seifter.And you use different vowel pronunciations than each other.
Seifter.
Seifert.
Seifter.
Seifert.
Seifter.
Seifert.MAKE IT STOP!!!
I'm pretty sure words stop having origins when you're in the midwest.
I'm pretty sure words stop having origins when you're in the midwest.I'm not surprised that there might be a Seifert, but I'm more surprised by the different pronunciation. The Germanic root would generally imply a long i, like eidolon.Mark, I think I'm going to crack, and it's your fault. Well, it's half your fault.
I have a coworker whose last name is Seifert.
And as you of course know, yours is Seifter.And you use different vowel pronunciations than each other.
Seifter.
Seifert.
Seifter.
Seifert.
Seifter.
Seifert.MAKE IT STOP!!!
lol
Was there a FAQ put out today?I was wondering the same.
I have been told to expect it tomorrow. My apologies, but it is out of my hands.
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I will occasionally bring up a post if it is humorous enough or germane. Probably not one about coffee though!I was bemused to see myself mentioned in the VO forums when I was finally granted access. Now I just need to get a mention in the Overheard at the Paizo Office thread. :)
Did you search for your name or just the (*#$#($# symbols? :)
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Kind of a general rules interpretation question here, with some specific examples that may have specific answers.
Do individual sentences in In Feats, Abilities, etc. stand alone, or are they meant to be considered in the context of the text surrounding them? Recognizing that if the answer is the latter, the context may well be subjective.
You have mastered the ancient Thunder and Fang fighting style, allowing you to fight with increased effectiveness when wielding an earth breaker and klar.
Prerequisite: Str 15, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (earth breaker), Weapon Focus (klar)
Benefit: You can use an earth breaker as though it were a one-handed weapon. When using an earth breaker in one hand and a klar in your off hand, you retain the shield bonus your klar grants to your Armor Class even when you use it to attack. Treat your klar as a light weapon for the purposes of determining your two-weapon fighting penalty.
Normal: An earth breaker is a two-handed weapon, preventing the use of a klar in one hand without imposing penalties for using the earth breaker one-handed. A klar can be used either as a one-handed weapon or a shield; it does not grant a bonus to AC during rounds in which it is used as a weapon.
Can a medium character use this feat to wield a large earthbreaker in two hands? The sentence reads "you can use an earth breaker as though it were a one-handed weapon" with no other caveats, and a Large 1HW can be wielded in two hands as a Medium 2HW. Or is it only meant to be used in one hand when a klar is in the other, as the rest of the text implies?
You combine acrobatics and opportunity to devastating effect against your opponent.
Prerequisite: Wis 13, Improved Unarmed Strike, Monkey Moves, Monkey Style, Stunning Fist, Acrobatics 11 ranks, Climb 11 ranks.
Benefit: While using Monkey Style, if you successfully deliver a Stunning Fist attempt, in addition to the normal effect of Stunning Fist, you can spend a free action to enter a square adjacent to you that is within your opponent’s space. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. While you are in your opponent’s space, you gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC and a +4 bonus on melee attack rolls against that opponent. If otherwise unhindered, the opponent can move away from you, but if he does, he provokes an attack of opportunity from you even if his choice of movement does not normally do so.
Normal: You cannot enter an opponent’s space.
Can a tiny character in a medium creature's space use the benefit of this feat without a successful stunning fist attack? What about a medium creature in a huge creature's space? The "while you are in your opponent’s space..." and proceeding text are not explicitly tied to entering via stunning fist, though it is all in the same paragraph.
While the mouser is within her foe's space, the foe takes a –4 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks not made against the mouser, and all of the mouser's allies that are adjacent to both the foe and the mouser are considered to be flanking the foe. The mouser is considered to be flanking the foe whose space she is within if she is adjacent to an ally who is also adjacent to the foe. The mouser can move within her foe's space and leave the foe's space unhindered and without provoking attacks of opportunity, but if the foe attempts to move to a position where the mouser is no longer in its space, the movement provokes an attack of opportunity from the mouser. This deed replaces opportune parry and riposte.
Can a tiny mouser gain the benefits of this ability if they did not spend panache to enter the space? Or are the benefits implicitly tied to the triggered entry? The benefits are in a separate paragraph, and could reasonably be considered a separate 'thought' from the means of entry.
Not until you mentioned it. Is 1,010 numerologically significant?
Not in the slightest! It just looks cool. :D
(It also means that there were over one-thousand and ten posts since I last read your thread, buuuuuuuuuuu~t, I'm going to plead "real life gets in the way" for that.)
I would say interesting to me, and clearly beyond awesome for the group involved that got to play out these stories and see them unfold. I like having a consistent version of the setting that my home group uses across campaigns, a group canon with continuity nods between them, so in that sense I prefer a setting that is dynamic for our group to discover the stories, rather than being hugely dynamic "on its own". I particularly dislike when a dynamic setting's dynamism eliminates the ability to use material without setting it at an earlier date (like if a Golarion products all began to add into canon the fact that On Kuthona 12, 4712, Varisia exploded and sunk into the ocean, then I would have to either ignore this or not run any of my Varisia adventures that require it to not be exploded, or set it back in time, thus cutting myself off from other elements that happened after 12/12/12).
Very cool. Thanks for the responses! To a limited extent, I can agree. I find that continuity is something that adds a great deal the life of a setting - the greater history of each of the regions, the more the events, and even a few large ones makes it feel alive - however, I also find that if something changes too much or too quickly, the setting instead becomes (temporarily, at least) effectively unrecognizable.
So in other words, while I am personally fine with a setting that invalidates older material through change (this can make it feel alive), if this happens too much all at once it can be jarring and overwhelming, taking you out. And where that "too much" line is definitely differs for different people!
Either way is fine, but I'm more likely to answer a question at any given time if it's part of a post that has fewer questions (like maybe 1-3), just because I don't want to "miss" a question, so I'll usually put it off until I have time to answer them all.
Thanks! Good to know. I'll try to be less... gushy next time! :D
Thank you for all of your answers and responses!
I have been told to expect it tomorrow. My apologies, but it is out of my hands.Was there a FAQ put out today?I was wondering the same.
That's okay. Do you have an estimate of what time today they'll be putting it out?
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When it's FAQ Friday or I expect an update to come soon I tend to check http://paizo.com/people/PathfinderDesignTeam/posts every couple of hours. It's a nice way to keep up to date. :)
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There's also an RSS link if you use a newsreader.
That's okay. Do you have an estimate of what time today they'll be putting it out?I have been told to expect it tomorrow. My apologies, but it is out of my hands.Was there a FAQ put out today?I was wondering the same.
I heard it's up now. I'm about to go check too.
EDIT: Yes
Kind of a general rules interpretation question here, with some specific examples that may have specific answers.
Do individual sentences in In Feats, Abilities, etc. stand alone, or are they meant to be considered in the context of the text surrounding them? Recognizing that if the answer is the latter, the context may well be subjective.
** spoiler omitted **
Can a medium character use this feat to wield a large earthbreaker in two hands? The sentence reads "you can use an earth breaker as though it were a one-handed weapon" with no other caveats, and a Large 1HW can be wielded in two hands as a Medium 2HW. Or is it only meant to be used in one hand when a klar is in the other, as the rest of the text implies?
** spoiler omitted **...
With the usual boilerplate about not being official, etc:
Context is important. Things are pretty much always intended to be read in context, but I won't just use that as an aegis; we should strive to avoid these ambiguities if we can. Even though I wasn't around for those books, I'm sorry, and I'm working every day to avoid these kinds of things being an issue where possible. However, for now, I pretty much agree with you on all three of those redward.
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Well, glad I never did an early entry character.
Ooof. Not surprising, but that really hurts the mystic theurge and arcane trickster. :(
On another note: Shouldn't that FAQ note that it has been changed recently akin to the other revised FAQs? I'm pretty sure that's not how the phrasing was earlier.