Sorry, I've gotten distracted...
Well, you can only draw a weapon-like item, and potions isn't there. Also if you have it stored (like me in Handy Haversack) you need to use Retrieve Item action.
Oh. Well, then, you have a kind GM -- and since the rules are being a Rick about it, I'd say a properly kind GM. Take it and smile!
Does the Slayer have all of his bonuses added up on his character sheet? (...)He does, that's the worst part lol!
OMG! OMG! OMG! Bring a book.
These are my items at level 7:
+2 INT Fly 4k -
Lesser Rod of Selective 3k -
Handy Haversack 2k -
Cloak of Resistance +2 4k -
Cracked Dusty Rose Prism Ioun Stone 500 +1 Initiative -
Eyes of the Eagle 2.5k +5 Perception -
Spells 2332 Gold -
Unnecessary Scrolls 1275 -
Ring of Sustenance 2.5k -
Wand of CLW 750GP -
Pot of CLW 50GP -
Uh, I want one of them there Unnecessary Scrolls. Those look great! Where are they in Ultimate Equipment? I looked them up and couldn't find them... :)
Here's the shopping list I put together, just for the rods. (I had a BIG haul to spend!) I have to warn you, I have Selective Spell as a feat now, and am planning to get Empowered Spell & Quicken Spell as feats, so they're not here. Also, the GM had me roll, and Intensified Spell & Rime Spell weren't on the store shelf this trip, or didn't make as much sense. Owning those two shinies is in my future. I'm adding my Lesser Maximize Rod to the list; I'd had that already, and have found it to be invaluable. (As opposed to unvaluable, like your scrolls!)
Varitsa's Collection of Rods
14K ~ Lesser Dazing Metamagic Rod {higher levels as affordable}
11K ~ Elemental (Acid) Metamagic Rod
11K ~ Elemental (Cold) Metamagic Rod
14K ~ Lesser Maximize Metamagic Rod {"}
5.5K ~ Merciful Metamagic Rod
9K ~~ Lesser Persistent Metamagic Rod {"}
11K ~ Piercing Metamagic Rod
3K ~~ Lesser Silent Metamagic Rod {lesser only, for Silences}
3K ~~ Lesser Toppling Metamagic Rod {lesser only, for Magic Missile}
I also bought a Scabbard of Many Blades to house 8 of my rods. Only 8! Decisions, decisions. I'm probably getting Quick Draw next level to take ultimate advantage of it. Hope this helps.
Well, you can only draw a weapon-like item, and potions isn't there. Also if you have it stored (like me in Handy Haversack) you need to use Retrieve Item action.
Smart choice, obviously. :) Although... can't you draw the potion while you're moving? RAW, I mean. You can certainly move & draw a weapon in the same Move Action.
The Mythic feat Quick Draw lets you quick draw potions as a move action (or anything else) rather than just weapons.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/mythic/mythic-feats/quick-draw-mythicThe Potion Glutton feat lets you drink a potion as a swift action (though has some specific deity worship requirement).
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/potion-glutton
So, with either of those, you could draw and drink a potion in 1 round (assuming it was handy on your belt; if located elsewhere, probably still GM discretion - though if you picked one of these feats I think it should work).
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"It's a Gila monster."
"Is that a reptile, amphibian, or mammal?"
"You don't know, but by exceeding the DC by 5 you know it has thick skin and a poison bite."
Yeah, no.
Ask your GM if he will let you ask questions based on your Knowledge rolls. I generally let my players ask for specific questions for every +5 they beat the knowledge DC. So it is not unusual to ask for specific weaknesses, if there are any.
Im gonna see what happens next time, well see. Im not really sure honestly.
Simply ask your GM to use your knowledge skills to find out of the creatures are renowned to be susceptible to certain types of magic?
Ask are they known for weak wills, slow reactions, poor constitutions or what?
Casters know how their spells work. They know that certain spells work on the slow, or work on the weak willed or work on those with poor fortitude. As a caster those are things that are quantified in the magic you make. It is totally IN GAME to ask what a creatures type is known to be weak on for magic purposes.
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"It's a Gila monster."
"Is that a reptile, amphibian, or mammal?"
"You don't know, but by exceeding the DC by 5 you know it has thick skin and a poison bite."
Yeah, no.
Yeah, knowing the type and subtype goes hand-in-hand with knowing the creature's identity in the first place. Otherwise you haven't identified it, all you've done is gotten the GM to spout out a random contextless nonsense word.
GM: You pass the DC, it's a Flufflemumph.
Player: What's a Flufflemumph?
GM: You have no idea what it is. But you've totally identified the creature you're facing as one.
Not quite sure how I'd handle a Ranger in such a situation, mind you - adding the bonus from favoured enemy doesn't feel quite right.
Why is that? Adding the bonus from favored enemy to a knowledge roll is pretty straight forward from the rules.
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Part of the problem is that the rules in this area aren't well defined, so we really can't tell your GM that he is doing it wrong or what you have a right to. This is how I handle it as a GM, though.
My players always know the apparent type of monsters, though maybe not the subtype. Apparent is important, since a monster that is hiding its type (perhaps a polymorphed succubus) will look like a human, not like an outsider. My main reason for automatically giving the players this information is that creature type is obnoxious to hide. The players will need to know which knowledge check to roll against a monster unless I want to bog down the game hiding it. I consider it entirely fair for players to know all of the information that is derived from a creature's type as well.
Although it isn't listed in the type block, I also assume that it's fair that seasoned adventurers would know things like "most fey creatures resist attacks not made with cold iron" and such as well, or "use silver against devils" (they would need to know that the creature is a devil). They wouldn't get "use silver & magic against vampires" since that trait isn't broadly shared with other undead.
Once a knowledge check is made, I don't like using the "let players ask questions" method. They often ask questions that aren't important and end up hurting themselves. What I do is imagine that the players are talking to a learned sage. What would be the first thing (and second thing and so forth) that the sage would tell them? About a ghoul, the first thing he'll tell them is that a ghoul's claws can paralyze you. Whatever the most important thing to know when fighting this monster is. Then the second most important thing and so on, like ghoul fever perhaps.
Obviously game-only elements like number of Hit Dice are just off the list of things I would tell players. Challenge Rating as well, though they can often imply that based on their Knowledge checks.
So, I would be unlikely to tell you "this creature has bad Will saves" but you'd easily be able to tell "this creature is a giant and has poor Will save progression".
It seems more like you have a problem with your party than the GM, and you're feeling like you have to handle a problem by yourself. Your party does seem somewhat dysfunctional.
However, I agree with your GM, and I wouldn't have told you 'it has poor will saves' or 'it has good fortitude saves'.
Most of the Wizard's Power comes from some sort of Metagaming. I didn't understand this at first, but all I can do now is rely on my opinion of: Brute Guys poor will saves and things like that.
I'm not familiar with many of the monsters on the books, so I have no idea what does work and what does not.
Besides the fact that the party is not good enough, there's only so much I can do with my limited spell slots, so I either need to deal damage or CC the enemy somehow.
Since I refuse to rely on Summons because they're annoying, I'm left using Fireballs and the usual Wizard's spells.
I usually ask the normal questions, like: How to avoid DR if any, Resistance to Damage and what spell like abilities the monster has.
Every group handles questions differently. Some GMs rule they provide the information they think the player wants to know, some GMs let the player ask the questions.
But I think your GM is very stingy on the answers. I only see your account of the situation, but a higher Knowledge roll should result in more answers. Your GM seems to only provide one or two things that are the bare essentials. Maybe ask the GM in private why he's reluctant to reveal information to you.
It's difficult to keep subtype information secret. You encounter a demon, you see it's immune to electricity. You fight another demon, he's also electricity resistant. You can probably infer that most things with the demon subtype will not care about electricity, but you shouldn't be able to know immediately what that subtype entails unless you've studied them more thoroughly. But yeah, it's a vague subject.
Enemies follow a pretty common type for saves. If it's small and/or quick, it's probably got high Reflex. As you said, brutes will have high Fortitude saves. Things that look like they can cast magic have strong Will saves. There's some bleed here and there, and higher-level creatures also tend to have high stats, so it's not a foolproof plan, but that's the gist of it. Asking for specific save numbers is not done, but asking "what is its weakest save?" should certainly be an option.
So, I'm face with this issue. Despite having knowledge my DM of course won't tell me Giants are weak against Will save, or this enemy has high Fort Save.
So, I'm left deciding on the spot what spell is best to affect an enemy.
The most effective wizards concentrate on stacking the deck in their party's favor.. You cast things such as Haste, you put meat shields on the field with Summon Monster, and you cast things such as Grease that laugh at the concept of spell resistance.
And against spell casters, you ready either Magic Missile to force concentration checks, or Dispel Magic for either counter spell or buff removal. Let the fighters handle damage... that's what they are THERE for.
So, I'm face with this issue. Despite having knowledge my DM of course won't tell me Giants are weak against Will save, or this enemy has high Fort Save.
So, I'm left deciding on the spot what spell is best to affect an enemy.
The most effective wizards concentrate on stacking the deck in their party's favor.. You cast things such as Haste, you put meat shields on the field with Summon Monster, and you cast things such as Grease that laugh at the concept of spell resistance.
And against spell casters, you ready either Magic Missile to force concentration checks, or Dispel Magic for either counter spell or buff removal. Let the fighters handle damage... that's what they are THERE for.
His party doesn't have fighters or meat shields, it has 2 glass cannons and a healbot.
You can build a oracle healer that does have an impressive healing output (which given the lack of damage output might be the only thing preventing a TPK given how slow they are to knock down a primary combatant). When the OP said that the slayer & ninja don't flank too often, that sort of raises red flags that the general issue is a lack of a modicum of system mastery.
A sneak attack based glass cannon ain't doing crap if they aren't flanking. If they are not using acrobatics and mobility or any other trick to set up that flank they might as well be playing elite leveled commoners. While it's only an extra 2d6 for the slayer, considering they can't hit the extra flank bonus should help.
As far as wizard choices in this situation, I would probably consider retraining out of blasting and going the summoning route. They can set up flanks and the summon creatures can function as a stop gap considering that the party has no meat shield. Not to mention, they can also function as a poor man's battlefield control by blocking off movement paths until they are slain. Against high AC monsters, there are a few summons that use touch attacks (like Lantern Archons) that will benefit from spells like Haste).
A slayer or ninja PC not liking Haste is a bit of a head scratcher...I've only seen it with one fella who hated doing math or remembering status effects. Other long lasting support spells (at least 10 min\lvl) like Heroism may also help this group a little.
If shoring up weaknesses doesn't work and there is no signs of improvement on the learning curve with the other PCs, I'd make certain my PC had a contingency plan (i.e. scrolls) available for when things start to look like a TPK. It used to be a 1st ed D&D staple that there were some encounters you should just run away from. You even saw encounters like that in early 3e adventures like the Roper encounter in the Sunless Citadel.
Obscuring Mist is the early level standby but Dimension Door should be available as well. Purchasing a scroll of Overland Flight can really stop a pursuit cold if the PC has to flee from an adventure site not in a urban area. There are a lot of 'oh crap, runaway!' spells that can be used for a fair escape...for he who fights and runs away, lives to recruit the replacement party in ye olde tavern (and make g!*&@$n certain there is a beatstick or virtual beatstick in the next batch).
So, I'm face with this issue. Despite having knowledge my DM of course won't tell me Giants are weak against Will save, or this enemy has high Fort Save.
So, I'm left deciding on the spot what spell is best to affect an enemy.
The most effective wizards concentrate on stacking the deck in their party's favor.. You cast things such as Haste, you put meat shields on the field with Summon Monster, and you cast things such as Grease that laugh at the concept of spell resistance.
And against spell casters, you ready either Magic Missile to force concentration checks, or Dispel Magic for either counter spell or buff removal. Let the fighters handle damage... that's what they are THERE for.
His party doesn't have fighters or meat shields, it has 2 glass cannons and a healbot.
You can build a oracle healer that does have an impressive healing output (which given the lack of damage output might be the only thing preventing a TPK given how slow they are to knock down a primary combatant). When the OP said that the slayer & ninja don't flank too often, that sort of raises red flags that the general issue is a general lack of a modicum of system mastery.
The party is going to have issues, plain and simple. It's one thing to play a party that doesn't have balance, it's a recipe for disaster when it's the same party who aren't playing as an organic and strategic whole. Wizards simply don't make good frontliners... period. In that group, the wizard is another glass cannon, and glass cannon parties have to be very very careful, even if they do have a healbot. He probably should be concentrating on summons and haste and they should be very careful on how much they try to acheive in a day, and very paranoid about how they rest.
The party is going to have issues, plain and simple. It's one thing to play a party that doesn't have balance, it's a recipe for disaster when it's the same party who aren't playing as an organic and strategic whole. Wizards simply don't make good frontliners... period. In that group, the wizard is another glass cannon, and glass cannon parties have to be very very careful, even if they do have a healbot. He probably should be concentrating on summons and haste and they should be very careful on how much they try to acheive in a day, and very paranoid about how they rest.
My feeling is that melee guys don't do enough damage. Both being TFW when we face something like last boss (AC 25), they have a hard time hitting. (we're level 7)
And even if the Slayer hits it's doing 1d8+7 +2d6 I think of damage, while the Ninja does 4d6.My Fireballs don't help much, but when they start failing hit after hit or takes too many turns to kill something, you notice.
Then I am astonished at the fact that they don't like you buffing them. Just...do it, honestly. Look for ways to incorporate disables into blasts (like Dazing Spell), but first and foremost, buff the crap out of your martials, and if they refuse, then just summon some monsters to do their job for them.
If they want to be disfuncional by being lone wolf action heroes, then show them how silly they are by replacing them with some angels. Give them the BMX Bandit treatment.
Then I am astonished at the fact that they don't like you buffing them. Just...do it, honestly. Look for ways to incorporate disables into blasts (like Dazing Spell), but first and foremost, buff the crap out of your martials, and if they refuse, then just summon some monsters to do their job for them.
If they want to be disfuncional by being lone wolf action heroes, then show them how silly they are by replacing them with some angels. Give them the BMX Bandit treatment.
My previous Wizard was a God Wizard. Glitterdust, Create Pit, Grease.
At one point we faced some ghouls. Slayer got Paralyzed like forever, I Create Pit + Summon Earth Elemental and won the combat, meanwhile the Ninja was panicking because there wasn't much to do and Oracle just healed.When I first hit level 5 I took Haste. Everyone was saying "why would you take Haste instead of Fireball?".
Right now? I don't care. I'm just gonna play like they want to, spamming Fireballs and doing subpar damage, because I'd rather have a TPK than play against the Party's Wishes.
I'm a team player, and I don't mind not playing the God Wizard at all. Blasting is fun too, but I'm gonna be pretty clear about it: my spell slots are limited and if you don't do enough damage and I have to compensate, forget about Fly, Greater Invi and other stuff.
I've already voiced my concerns. A Slayer and a Ninja not hitting consistently is a big drain on resources for me and the Oracle.
Last combat we basically survived because of 2 reasons:
1- Boss had enough bad luck and missed like 4 rounds of Glitterdust, being blinded. DC was only 17
2- DM played the Boss assuming we had Protection from Evil on us, even though the Oracle NEVER cast it on us.
SUMMONS:
I don't use them. Slayer/Ninja are kinda slow on damage resolution, and if I start with Summons it drags combat even more.
Also I don't like using tech while playing, distracts way too much, and printing many Summons gets
a- annoying
b- half the DC are usually wrongly calculated
c- many summons don't have Augment Sum calculated into their stats,, and it's a pita to get them all ok.
I've never understood TWF on a Rogue/Ninja. Yeah, the damage potential is there, but you already have an only okay to-hit and no real way of buffing yourself. If you can hit reliably enough, I'm confident you can start taking penalties. The Slayer basically cancels out the TWF penalty with his Studied Target. But if you're already having trouble hitting, I wouldn't lower that chance even more. Though weirdly more attacks = more potential to hit, so I'm not sure where the balance point lies. I guess when the to-hit on TWF becomes less than 25%, I'd rather just try hitting once.
To be fair, an AC of 25 at level 7 is problematic, but not impossibly hard to hit (wonky math incoming, might be incorrect). Level 7 is BAB +4 for the Ninja. Probably at least a masterwork weapon for another +1. Probably a flank for another +2, cancelled out by the -2 to-hit for TWF. TWF required at least 15 DEX, so that's another +2 at the very least. A Ninja, with DEX 15, has a +7 to hit at the bare minimum, using TWF and flank. A healthy Ninja also has upped his to-hit as much as possible, probably using Weapon Finesse, so a DEX of 18 or 20 with a belt seems reasonable at the least. You're already rocking a +10 to hit, including flank and TWF. That's a hit on a 15+. That's a 30% chance per attack to hit, 40% if you're using one weapon. Slayers have a BAB of 7, masterwork weapon for +1, DEX +5 again, and Studied Target of +2. TWF and flank cancel each other out, that's a to-hit of +15. That's a 55% chance of hitting when TWF-ing and flanking. Rogues/Ninjas statistically have trouble hitting even once when using TWF, while Slayers have roughly the same to-hit chance on each individual attack. Rogues compensate for that by hitting harder.
The other players (you and the Oracle) can facilitate them by using Haste (slightly better to-hit, extra attack chance), using buff spells (Bless, Invisibility), or debuffing the enemy (Glitterdust, Mudball). I'm not placing the blame on you, but the group doesn't seem to work as a cohesive whole if combats are this gruesome. Try adjusting your spells, or look at your builds and try to improve where you can. Some choices are made for flavour, and I respect that, but it's still a game of survival and efficiency.
The other players (you and the Oracle) can facilitate them by using Haste (slightly better to-hit, extra attack chance), using buff spells (Bless, Invisibility), or debuffing the enemy (Glitterdust, Mudball). I'm not placing the blame on you, but the group doesn't seem to work as a cohesive...
All of this + doing damage falls on me.
Oracle never used Bless, Protection from Evil, Shield of Faith or anything like that. Only spells I've seen him use is Summon Monster I (eagles) and Prayer, besides the Cure.In our last fight, against the Lamia, I used ALL of my spells. I had troubles beating SR and the only reason Lamia didn't escape was because she was hit by Glitterdust and couldn't turn invisible.
Party doesn't like Haste (like I've said) and I can't tell what to do to the Oracle. I already have enough problems convincing him that wasting 5000 gold to make his armor in Mithril and thus moving 30ft is not a worthy investment, but he won't budge.
To be fair, Mithral is pretty sweet, not sure why you're against it.
I've only seen your account, so I might be biased, but it just seems like your party members are unwilling or unable to participate meaningfully in fights. I'd just ask your group why that's the case. And maybe you're just playing the wrong style of game. If the players aren't really interested in fighting, maybe the GM could scale it down a bit, or switch campaigns to something less combat-focused.
Either way, the way you portray it, you're having bigger problems than just you having to carry the game.
To be fair, Mithral is pretty sweet, not sure why you're against it.
He's an Oracle who doesn't go in the frontlines, doesn't have Stealth or any DEX skill. The only real benefit would be moving 30 ft. So, he's basically paying 5k to gain 10ft speed.
He doesn't own a Weapon/Shield, so far he's basically a healbot.
Either way, the way you portray it, you're having bigger problems than just you having to carry the game.
I've had issues using the classic Crowd Control spells because we often fight in close rooms and around 30ft diameter. Some spells are impossible to use sometimes.
What I've noticed is a lack of consistent damage. The only one dealing damage is the Slayer (and I can't tell you how many times he rolls less than 5), meanwhile the Ninja NEEDS to flank or deny DEX, otherwise he's not dealing any damage.I'm gonna try using Haste and see what the party thinks, maybe I can convince them it's a great spell.
Oracle not being a buffer and just a healbot it's a huge detriment, but it seems I just can't make him cast Shield of Faith or other spells.
Last session it took him 6 rounds to cast Prayer and he was all excited when he did. The effect is almost the same as Bless, which is a level 1 spell and he never used.
Its been years, but if I remember correctly, that lamia was tough. Almost TPK tough.
That said, you could always concentrate on buff spells. I know you said your party doesn't like it, but the player playing the oracle seems to be playing it in a way you don't like, so why do you feel beholden to play YOUR character as other people want you to play it. Its YOUR character. Play it the way you want.
In particular, given what I've heard about this party, you'll probably want to look into better battlefield control and setting things up so others can accomplish their roles more effectively. In particular, I feel like Glitterdust is something you should be using more often on anything that doesn't seem to be good at Will Saves - blinding foes does good things for Ninja friends.
I once used Glitterdust. Ninja focused the ONLY guy who wasn't affected by it for 4 turns, doing 1d6 damage. I can't play other people's characters!
I've read that guide several times, but my party doesn't take advantage of a Create Pit spell for example.Maybe I am not seeing it, why is he taking 6 turns to cast prayer? It's a standard action and affects all allies and enemies in a 40' burst.
He wanted to affect everyone so he kept doing other things. Burst doesn't spread around corners and we were fighting in a tight spot losing Line of Sight. Eventually he used it when the only one left was the boss.
Its been years, but if I remember correctly, that lamia was tough. Almost TPK tough.
That said, you could always concentrate on buff spells. I know you said your party doesn't like it, but the player playing the oracle seems to be playing it in a way you don't like, so why do you feel beholden to play YOUR character as other people want you to play it. Its YOUR character. Play it the way you want.
I'm being a team player. If they don't like Haste I'm trying to use something they appreciate. The Oracle several times complained I didn't have (on my previous Wizard, level 5) Magic Missile/Fireball, so now I'm a full blaster.
Eventually my damage won't be enough and we will either die or I can shift to a God Wizard and do what I could've been doing much earlier.I enjoy the character anyway, I like playing the adventure and having fun.
The only thing I'm not using is Summons.
First, keep one thing in mind going forward: There are ways to work around a bad GM. There are ways to work around a bad player, or even multiple players. (By 'bad' I just mean people who, for whatever reason, make the game less fun for you.) But if you're having to work around both a bad GM and bad players, you're never going to have as much fun as the game wants you to have. Sometimes the best answer is just to find another group. But if you're going to stick with this group, keep that in mind.
As for your question, my advice would be to use spells that either don't allow a save (like most conjuration spells), or still have some reduced effect on a successful save (disintegrate, spontaneous immolation, just about anything involving a Reflex save). Try having reduced-effect spells that target all three saves, then probe until you find which save seems weakest.
If you are having fun with the blasting then maybe go whole hog and ask for a rebuild?
Something like
Evocation admixture wizard 6\ Crossblooded Orc\Draconic (Copper) Sorcerer 1
Rabbit Familiar for +4 Initiative
Stats (20 PB, or just use what you have)
Str: 10
Dex: 12
Con: 14
Wis: 10
Int: 18 point buy + 2 Racial + 2 headband (I saw you said you had this already) + 1 level = 23
Chr: 7
Traits
Wayang Spell Hunter (Fire Ball)
Magical Lineage (Fire Ball)
Feats
1: Spell Focus (Evocation)
Wizard (1): Scribe Scroll
3: Spell Specialization (Fire Ball)
5: Varsarian Tattoo (Evocation)
Wizard (5): Empower Spell
7: Spell Penetration or Improved initiative
So you can throw out 3 {[(9d6 + 18)*1.5]+3} = 77.25 damage on a failed save or 38.625 damage on a successful save acid balls a day + what ever pearls of power you buy. Next level you get another due to int increase. The DC for these will be nice too at 20.
If you are a human you can have both spell penetration and improved initiative.
Use you 2nds for "easier" fights, and save the big ka-boom for when you need to win.
Hope this helps.
I don't know what to tell you. As others have pointed out, your main problem is not the title of this thread. It's that your party is so far off the rails that they may as well be playing a different game.
What should concern you is: you are in RotR and the AP is a huge grind. Yeah, there's story behind it, but that story basically strings a bunch of grinds and dungeon crawls together, one after another. The fights are hard and they just keep coming. The way your party is playing you are headed for a TPK.
Are you still enjoying the game? This is the only question that matters.