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I'm considering buying a Monstrification Staff for my Investigator, and I want to make sure I understand how it will work.
1) Recharging - Since the staff calls out that it can be recharged by an Alchemist or another character that can create extracts, then an Investigator with either Enlarge Person or Monstrous Physique I (I have both) can recharge it, correct?
2) Activating - Given the recent FAQ for Investigators and Spell Trigger items, it would require a UMD roll to activate, correct? The DC would be 20?
3) Caster Level - Would the caster level be my class level? Investigators don't have a true caster level, and unlike with recharging, the staff doesn't make an exception allowing Alchemists to use their level. Or would it be CL 8, the CL of the staff? Or would it (for PFS) be CL 5, the minimum CL of the spell?
4) Caster Level pt 2 - My Investigator is a gnome and has a first level SLA (Chill Touch from Fell Magic). Does that mean I would use my character level (currently one higher than my class level) for the CL? Or does the FAQ about Spell-like abilities and crafting, etc. mean that my CL doesn't apply?
5) Enlarge Person - Same CL questions. Would it be my class level, character level, CL 8 from the staff, or CL 1 as the minimum to cast the spell?
6) Melee Weapon - It would count as a small quarterstaff for my gnome? Or could I call it a small club, since staffs function as a "walking stick, quarterstaff, or cudgel?" I'd like to treat it like a cane/club to fit the character better. Since it would not be finessable either way, the chances I'll ever attack with it are slim.
I think that's all my questions for now. Thanks.
I'm considering buying a Monstrification Staff for my Investigator, and I want to make sure I understand how it will work.
I'm happy to see that they finally fixed the caster level for this staff. Having it be 5th level was weird.
1) Recharging - Since the staff calls out that it can be recharged by an Alchemist or another character that can create extracts, then an Investigator with either Enlarge Person or Monstrous Physique I (I have both) can recharge it, correct?
Yes, you can recharge this. Getting 3 charges for Monstrous Physique I is especially nice.
2) Activating - Given the recent FAQ for Investigators and Spell Trigger items, it would require a UMD roll to activate, correct? The DC would be 20?
Correct. Investigators don't get the Alchemists' class ability to use spell trigger items.
3) Caster Level - Would the caster level be my class level? Investigators don't have a true caster level, and unlike with recharging, the staff doesn't make an exception allowing Alchemists to use their level. Or would it be CL 8, the CL of the staff? Or would it (for PFS) be CL 5, the minimum CL of the spell?
Caster Level isn't something that UMD can emulate, so you would use the caster level of the staff which is 8th.
4) Caster Level pt 2 - My Investigator is a gnome and has a first level SLA (Chill Touch from Fell Magic). Does that mean I would use my character level (currently one higher than my class level) for the CL? Or does the FAQ about Spell-like abilities and crafting, etc. mean that my CL doesn't apply?
You can use your SLA for crafting spell trigger items but not for using spell trigger items. This has never made sense to me, but that's the way the rules work. So you will use the staff's caster level which is 8th.
5) Enlarge Person - Same CL questions. Would it be my class level, character level, CL 8 from the staff, or CL 1 as the minimum to cast the spell?
You will use the staff's caster level which is 8th.
6) Melee Weapon - It would count as a small quarterstaff for my gnome? Or could I call it a small club, since staffs function as a "walking stick, quarterstaff, or cudgel?" I'd like to treat it like a cane/club to fit the character better. Since it would not be finessable either way, the chances I'll ever attack with it are slim.
That is an interesting question. For sizes, we have the following rules.
Size and Magic Items
When an article of magic clothing or jewelry is discovered, most of the time size shouldn't be an issue. Many magic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they adjust themselves magically to the wearer. Size should not keep characters of various kinds from using magic items.
There may be rare exceptions, especially with race-specific items.
Armor and Weapon Sizes: Armor and weapons that are found at random have a 30% chance of being Small (01–30), a 60% chance of being Medium (31–90), and a 10% chance of being any other size (91–100).
So most worn items adjust to character size, but armor and weapons have a definite size. Since we are talking about using the staff as a weapon, I would think that it would be a fixed size. But which size would it be? Staves can be anywhere from 4' to 7' to I would think that a particular staff could be either a small or medium weapon. I guess this is just one of those things that would be up to the GM
I think that's all my questions for now. Thanks.
I hope this helps.
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Thanks. I just wanted to make sure I understood everything. I'm perfectly happy with CL8. It'll really only make a difference if someone throws a Dispel Magic at me. With 3 castings at 8 minutes each, the duration is plenty long enough. And I don't expect to ever hit anyone with it as a melee weapon. I'd just rather the character not have to carry around a quarterstaff sized item. Otherwise I'd probably have bought a Quarterstaff of Entwined Serpents at lower levels. I spend the majority of my 3rd level extracts on Monstrous Physique now, so this would be a huge boon to the character and allow him to be much more versatile.
EDIT: Having to make the UMD roll is a little disheartening, but I expected that from the FAQ. It's unlikely that I'd fail (+17 on UMD at the moment, and I can always spend a point of Inspiration).
Some things that help with the UMD.
- UMD is a class skill so you get +3 already. I see you already figured this in.
- At 2nd level the Empiricist archetype can use their Int bonus instead of their Cha bonus for UMD.
- If you want to use INT for UMD without being an Empiricist, you can always pick up the Pragmatic Activator Trait.
- As you said, you can use Inspiration on UMD so that is another +1d6 (or 1d8 if you end up getting Amazing Inspiration). Device Talent will even let you use Inspiration at no cost.
- If you are going to use one of those spells a lot, you could invest in a Wand Key Ring. It grants an insight bonus so sadly it won't stack with inspiration.
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I've got Pragmatic Activator already. My UMD skill breaks down like this:
9 Ranks + 3 Class Skill + 5 Int = +17
I suppose I could invest in an ioun stone for a competence bonus. I forgot my Circlet of Persuasion doesn't apply, since UMD's no longer a Cha skill. That means I could add a competence bonus. Id forgotten about the Wand Key Ring. That's a good suggestion, but at this point it's probably cheaper to push on to a +19.
My headband of Vast Intellect is only at +2 right now, so I'll probably upgrade that before I buy the staff anyway, which means I'll get the staff next level (10th overall - Investigator 9/Sleepless Detective 1) This is for PFS, so 2 scenarios away for me.