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I was playing with ability scores and once I realized it's possible to take 5 14s and one 7 I decided I had to attempt to make something with this. So I made a dwarven ranger named Amber. s14 d14 c14 i7 w14 ch14.
I tried to come up with a good dwarven enemy to take favored enemy for, but thinking about it I realized that all the classics are strangely missing from pfs. Orcs are for some reason extremely rare, as are giants, and goblins are just too weedy to warrant needing bonuses against.
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I think I'll start with either a dedicated healer (cleric) or a straight rogue. One, because I haven't played either one in PFS yet, and two, because a lot of people keep trying to tell me they suck as options and I think they are wrong.
However, CORE kinda gives you a reason to try a PrC. They tend to be a slightly less effective option vs. base classes, but without the craziness of all the Ultimate/Advanced/Splat books, the difference is less of an issue. I expect to see a lot more Eldritch Knights, Mystic Theurges, Dragon Disciples, Duelists, and Arcane Tricksters in CORE than I've seen in NORM. And in nearly seven years of PFS, I have yet to see a single Arcane Archer, but with CORE, I'm almost certain I will, even if I have to play one :-D
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Given that core lacks most early entry tricks I don't expect to see any eldritch knights, arcane tricksters or mystic theurges as they are painful to play without them.
Weird. I have two eldritch knights. Neither has early entry. (One is even a tiefling! If I had built him as a human, he would be 100% Core.) They are both a hoot to play. My only complaint regarding those characters is that they are a bit too powerful.
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Given that core lacks most early entry tricks I don't expect to see any eldritch knights, arcane tricksters or mystic theurges as they are painful to play without them.
There are still some early entry tricks.
My planned mystic theurge will be wizard 3/cleric 1 when he goes in. So I essentially lose just 1 level as a wizard and some MAD which is a quite acceptable trade off (probably both ways as I expect this to be neither stronger OR weaker).
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Which Cleric SLA are you using the qualify for 2nd level divine? I was thinking about this earlier today and I don't think Copycat counts as it is arcane being based on Mirror Image. Do any other domains offer valid level 2 SLA's? Does Copycat actually count as divine? I remember how these worked kept changing so it might do. Even so you face the split stat priority issue and the loss of any caster level is a big deal.
There's a FAQ stating that any SLA granted by levels in a spellcasting class is of the same type (arcane/divine) as the class that grants it. Thus, any SLA granted by cleric levels is automatically divine.
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Additionally, there are arguments saying that there is a disctint difference between gaining an SLA that emulates a spell effect and actually getting the spell. Many will argue that having Copy Cat is not the same as having Mirror Image and thus would not qualify you for the early entry.
For this reason and the one above, expect table variation.
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Additionally, there are arguments saying that there is a disctint difference between gaining an SLA that emulates a spell effect and actually getting the spell. Many will argue that having Copy Cat is not the same as having Mirror Image and thus would not qualify you for the early entry.
For this reason and the one above, expect table variation.
That one got answered too, straight from SKR, and it does work. If memory serves, I think that answer actually came before the arcane/divine FAQ.
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Do you have the source? I do not recall that one. In fact it is an issue that arises from numerous domain powers and class abilities that emulate spells. There does not seem to be anything definitively supporting or refuting either side of the argument.
And not to be a nit-picker, but SKR is sort of known for repeated rule flipping, and often his quoted comments are from many years ago. With all the additional material released and new rules that often conflict with existing ones, I'm not sure how much stock can be placed in his comments.
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Do you have the source? I do not recall that one. In fact it is an issue that arises from numerous domain powers and class abilities that emulate spells. There does not seem to be anything definitively supporting or refuting either side of the argument.He answers in the form of a teaching question, to demonstrate that the rules already lead directly to this answer.
And not to be a nit-picker, but SKR is sort of known for repeated rule flipping, and often his quoted comments are from many years ago. With all the additional material released and new rules that often conflict with existing ones, I'm not sure how much stock can be placed in his comments.
This one is in direct response to exactly this question (even using Copycat as one of the examples). I'm sorry, but you don't get to evade this one unless/until they reverse the whole SLA FAQ that started it. As is, though, there's no wiggle room here. The rules are clear for those who are willing to put in the time to learn them.
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Copycat is simply a weaker version of mirror image. That makes it a weaker version of a 2nd level spell and really shouldn't count as a prerequisite.
I absolutely agree. When SKR asked his "Teach by questioning" as referenced above my answer was "Well, it is OBVIOUSLY significantly less powerful and hence only a 1st level spell". I found that particular rhetorical style particularly grating in this case.
But his meaning was crystal clear. Until the PTB reverse themselves the rules are what they are.
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Copycat is simply a weaker version of mirror image. That makes it a weaker version of a 2nd level spell and really shouldn't count as a prerequisite.
Cheese like that IMO also violates the spirit of the Core campaign.
I'm starting to think that maybe it's not so much that people think it's okay to use their own preferences and traditions as some kind of objective standard for determining how other people should be allowed to have fun, but rather that they don't even realize that's what they're doing.
Hm, come to think of it, that would fit with the old saying "never attribute to malice what could be attributed to ignorance," I suppose.
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Jiggy, thanks for pointing this SLA (Copycat) out to me before.
Would this also apply to (Su) abilities like Liberation (Liberation Domain Power) that gives the cleric the "...as if you were affected by freedom of movement"? and thanks for your help!
There is currently no rule on the books that a supernatural ability counts as being able to cast a spell. I suppose, in theory, that if a supernatural ability literally said "you can cast X spell" then that might be a different issue, but in general, no.
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As I see it, "slightly more durable wizard 1 spell level behind" should be quite suitable.
It's not so much the spell progression hit that's the problem but the BAB situation. At some levels you'll be at par or nearly at par, but at a number of levels you'll be pretty dang behind on to-hit. You can cast spells that improve your to-hit, but so can other classes that come with a decent BAB chassis like Bard, or even full BAB with efficient buff spells like Paladin.
Also every spell cast to bring your to-hit up to par is another spell that can't be spent "solving" encounters, such as Glitterdust and Fly and all manner of things.
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Speaking of the SLA ruling, I was tinkering with a Necromancer Mystic Theurge whose plan was to throw his wealth by level into animating the dead and then turn them into bombs at high levels using Explosive Runes.
I could still totally do this on a straight Wizard but it lacks some of the extra punch the cleric spells could've given the concept, and can control less HD worth of undead in total. Since the Command Undead spell is Core I'm undecided between building it like a traditional wizard, or having a high CHA like an Arcanist would in order to actually take advantage of Necromancy's channeling.
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Well, going back to the OP: I haven't had the chance to do much PFS lately, with real life getting in the way. I know our local players here in Winnipeg have a lot of people making characters for use with the Core Campaign, so I present to you Gaius Aurelius the Second, Lawful Good Human (Taldan) Ranger of the Sovereign Court, er I mean Pathfinder Society.
However, young Gaius wasn't deemed worthy of becoming a Paladin, so he began his training as a Ranger instead, hoping to prove his worth to the Paladins of Erastil, to be annointed as one of their own.
To that end, he has joined the legendary Pathfinder Society as a means to both fulfill the tenets of that organization (Explore, Report, Cooperate), and to prove his worthiness of becoming a Paladin.
I may even have him take a level of Paladin eventually, even though there is no reason for it apart from his background.