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Most of it doesn't, though. bbt is right because my statement is a bit too all inclusive as there are other things you can do with them than what I stated.
You seem to have a good grasp on what would and wouldn't work just from your initial question. So I'm sure there are some decent edge cases out there that will get you what you're looking for.
Wear a heavy shield while shooting/reloading a gun.
it let's you do things with out retrieving stuff, the actual best thing, is to hold a metamagic rod, have a free hand to cast spells, and hold a weapon or two or a shield at the same time. this let's you decide on a moment's notice what your using and allows you to threaten your surroundings or defend yourself.
but caster's hate multiclassing.
You must not be familiar with the concept of role-playing...Drawbacks?
You mean, opportunities?
oh he is, he just doesn't see creeping out the locals as a problem... especially if your an alchemist...
Wielding a reach weapon, and a non-reach weapon, is an option.
Or you can use a Sarissa for 15' AoO in a cone and longhammer for 10' AoO all around. If he's a monk, that's AoO for 15',10' and 5' ;) .
Honestly, none of the in game benefits are worth the role-playing drawbacks of being a three or four armed freak imo.
In the midst of 1/2 demons-angels-rat-cat-monkey-bear-shark-boar-wolf-undead-fish-elemental-fox -bird-construct people, extra arms are the cutoff for being a freak? Myself, I think people would be more freaked out by someone's hair moving on it's own or some dude covered head to toe in tribal scars.
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You must not be familiar with the concept of role-playing...Drawbacks?
You mean, opportunities?
Some person is a guy who regularly uses alchemy to enhance himself, who happens to have a particular enhancement that gives him an extra arm. How exactly is this exclusive from roleplaying as a general concept?
I'm honestly curious as to how you drew this conclusion.
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I have an Numerian alchemist who was captured and experimented on/tortured for years.
He returned changed, with extra limbs where before there were none, a strangely animate tumor, vicious scars crossing his body, and a damaged throat and lungs that leave him raspy and incapable of intonation. He seeks now to find out about his life before he was taken, and reclaim the man he used to be. He is at best seen as a disgusting freak, and at worst as an abomination to be killed. He wrestles with the anger and rage this builds inside him, the urges to hurt and kill those who torment him, and the last vestiges of the man he used to be, who calls for him to seek peace.
Mechanically, he has extra arms twice, tumor familiar and a mask of stony demeanor. He wields a reach weapon, non reach weapon and shield in combat, and chugs infusions of enlarge person to threaten a 50ft cube.
So in summary, yes, you can get some great mechanical benefits out of a few extra arms. But the idea that this somehow precludes role playing is ridiculous.
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So in summary, yes, you can get some great mechanical benefits out of a few extra arms. But the idea that this somehow precludes role playing is ridiculous.
So you are roleplaying ala Vampire. You're an angsty monster trying to regain his humanity. It's a boring concept, and while it works in a game where everyone is an angsty monster trying to regain humanity, it doesn't work when you are in a team based game and you can't contribute to the social interactions without risk of being discriminated against at best or attacked as a monster at worst.
I never said you can't roleplay with extra arms, tentacles, or a Quato on your chest. But there are some severe social disadvantages if you choose to do so.
dual wield guns/crossbows with no reloading shenanigans needed
use a two hander and a shield and have a have free for casting/style feats/potion chugging/etc
beat 4 chumps at arm wrestling at the same time
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Honestly, none of the in game benefits are worth the role-playing drawbacks of being a three or four armed freak imo.
I resent that remark, good sir, having twice as many arms as the average individual is of great aid to me in my mission to murder evil people. I dare say it makes me twice as proficient at murdering evil people.
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So in summary, yes, you can get some great mechanical benefits out of a few extra arms. But the idea that this somehow precludes role playing is ridiculous.
So you are roleplaying ala Vampire. You're an angsty monster trying to regain his humanity. It's a boring concept, and while it works in a game where everyone is an angsty monster trying to regain humanity, it doesn't work when you are in a team based game and you can't contribute to the social interactions without risk of being discriminated against at best or attacked as a monster at worst.
I never said you can't roleplay with extra arms, tentacles, or a Quato on your chest. But there are some severe social disadvantages if you choose to do so.
Eidolons, non horse/dog/hawk animal companions, a huge chunk of non core races (and the half-breeds in core), a tendency to constantly be armed to the teeth, and the any kind of overt displays of magic all have a chance to get PCs ran out of town or at least treated like a disaster waiting to happen.
I get how 3+ arms makes you stand out in an adventuring party, but every adventuring party stands out from everyone else.
Also, Vampire is great.
What an incredibly rude thing to say. (Emoticon that denotes I'm joking!)
yeah, maybe it's me, but I was thinking of mixing
a) mutagenic mauler X
b) some form of alchemist 2
c) the feat Eye of the Arclordspeaking of, do you qualify for the Eye of the Arclord feat with just alchemist levels?
so, any discussion of 'you look weeeird', is not really helpful.
so, most of these involve holding things. let's see
a) hold a metamagic rod, a weapon, a shield, and have a hand free for casting
b) hold a close weapon and a reach weapon
c) hold multiple bows/crossbows/gunsnot so much about using those arms, or 'one hand free' goofiness.
I like the multiple guns/crossbows stuff.
Can you TWF with crossbows, and use your extra arms to 'fire with two hands' on both of them?
RAW yes. The extra arms are specifically called out as not letting you gain any more attacks than your normally could have. But you can already dual-wield light and hand crossbows* so having the extra arms isn't breaking any loop holes.
*the attack penalties for doing so are pretty bad though
*also RAW you couldn't reload them unless you dropped one
*also also RAW you could carry a lot of pre-loaded crossbows and use quick draw to fire, drop, pull another, repeat; should one wish to combine improved/greater TWF with crossbows
*if someone says the above point is ridiculous and unrealistic, cite the fact that pirates and others did that exact thing with braces of flintlock pistols before the invention of the revolver and magazines
since i haven't seen it mentioned in this thread yet, there is an entire race that has 4 arms and is playable at 1st level called the Kasatha
If the character you want has four arms then build it, I have a fighter/alchemist/barbarian with 3 arms and have had a blast with him in combat and in role-play. Having the extra 4 arms can be tons of fun when you get creative with it and part of the fun I had was discovering new uses as my character developed. The way the extra arms will interact with certain style feats that have been mentioned will definitely be interesting as will finding a reason that your monk either purposefully gained 3 arms, had some sort of freak accident in the lab or something completely different. Bottom line make a character you will have fun playing!