Threefold Aspect


Pathfinder Second Edition General Discussion

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3rd Level seems a bit high for a almost purely RP spell to me.

I really liked the PF1 version where each age category gave a different benefit.

I might bring that back in as a houserule. Not the stat boosts but something reminiscent of the flavour.


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Xenocrat wrote:
Rysky wrote:
You seem to be operating under the assumption people can memorize other people’s outfits with just a glance.

I am a mentally competent adult, yes.

MaxAstro wrote:

Xenocrat, I'm not still not entirely sure why the idea of a spell existing mostly as a cool flavor thing with some limited mechanical benefit seems to personally offend you so much.

Like... okay, it's not a very powerful spell. It has some niche use but it mostly exists for witches to be able to do the "mother maiden crone" thing that is such a part of their mythology.

Why is that a problem? Why should Paizo feel guilty for publishing that spell?

I highly approve of this spell being published. Paizo deserves great plaudits for being able to publish stuff like this and convince their fan base to eat it up. It's positively Trumpian, you have to admire the hustle.

Awww, you think that eyewitness accounts are reliable. That's cute.


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Natan Linggod 327 wrote:

3rd Level seems a bit high for a almost purely RP spell to me.

I really liked the PF1 version where each age category gave a different benefit.

I might bring that back in as a houserule. Not the stat boosts but something reminiscent of the flavour.

Maybe, young gives you +1 to reflex, middle age +1 to fortitude, old +1 to will? And you only get the bonus for the first roll after you assume an age, though you can just switch to a different age to get that bonus, or switch back to the first age to get the same one again.


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My PF1 witch had this spell active all the time. His successor in PF2 will likely do so as well.


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ArchSage20 wrote:
we don't have illusionists using magic

We have magician like David Copperfield that an make planes and buildings seem to disappear so I'm not sure this matters: both contain visual legerdemain to make things look different than reality. The Carbonaro Effect is an entire TV show based on illusions.

ArchSage20 wrote:
our clothing looks remarkably less unique than what you would get in pathfinder

I don't know where you are, but I'd challenge that. I've seen clothing that'd put pathfinder to shame. Look at lady gaga or Liberace and say pathfinder is "more unique"... Even if you're talking 'everyday' people, which I don't think the average adventurers ARE, you can see a vast multitude of variety wandering around big cities like San Francisco, NYC, New Orleans, ect.

ArchSage20 wrote:
the don't necessarily have to remember the whole clothing just a small aspect and the missing member should be enough to doubt

It'd have to be unique and something you can't easily swap out. If you're using the spell why not invest in a reversible cloak and/or vest/corset. Slip off your distinctive boots for some slippers? Even if one thing looks familiar, seeing something that they'd think they would have remembered is enough to blow it off. "Hmmm. That hat looks similar but I KNOW I'd have remembered those boot so it must not be them..."

The Exchange

Wow- Most of the posters responding to Xenocrat label him mentally incompetent. It sounds like a group of kindergartners. There is no disagreement with his and my point that this is a L3 spell that most people would not even consider taking except in very limited circumstances.

This spell appears to be designed for an NPC flavour. For a PC, it MAY serve a very limited RP purpose for a very niche circumstance in a very specific campaign (similar to the Vigilante archetype and that purpose could be easily handled by other means). That this spell exists is not bad in itself BUT having it as a 3rd level spell appears to be ludicrous. Even the Illusory Disguise spell is better for these RP purpose. It is bad when people dig deep to come up with a justification for this and label as a spell that they will take often

Regarding eyewitness testimony and the value of this spell, changing the color of a shirt would be the simpler solution to foil eyewitness (yes, that would be sufficient if you use current knowledge about perception especially in a stress situation). If only there was a lower level spell which could do that
Another option would be to switch out/in a carried 2-H weapon. Enough research has been done on focal objects.


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People aren't/weren't calling Xeno out for not liking the spell, they were calling him out for trolling and acting like people were stupid for enjoying something he didn't like.


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Garulo wrote:
Wow- Most of the posters responding to Xenocrat label him mentally incompetent. It sounds like a group of kindergartners. There is no disagreement with his and my point that this is a L3 spell that most people would not even consider taking except in very limited circumstances.

Yeah, have to a little bit agree here. Xenocrat assigning malicious intent to the Paizo devs for publishing this spell is ridiculous, but doesn't call for people insulting him back.

Like I said earlier, more of a "flag and move on" situation.

As far as the actual spell goes, I'd honestly feel weird not taking this spell if I were playing a traditional witch; it's such a core part of their mythology, which I'm sure is the actual reason Paizo made it.

And it does have some advantages over comparable spells, such as the long duration and ability to constantly swap between multiple forms. Combined with mundane disguises this could be a decent utility spell. As far as it being 3rd level, I'm not sure it could be lower; it is strictly better for its purpose than a 2nd level illusory disguise with, again, a much longer duration in exchange for much more limited forms.

It's not an amazing spell, it's not even a great spell, but it's not an awful spell.


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Garulo wrote:
Wow- Most of the posters responding to Xenocrat label him mentally incompetent.

Actually, with context, Xenocrat opened that can of worms by implying that everyone who disagreed with him/didn't find memorizing clothing easy is mentally incompetent.

Now, that doesn't really excuse the retaliations of everyone - we should be above that whenever possible. But Xenocrat insulted a large swath of posters in one go and this has colored every potentially positive response since as bleeding with sarcasm. That's not a fair way to treat posters that simply disagree.

Liberty's Edge

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For the record, I don't think Xenocrat is mentally incompetent and never meant to imply otherwise. I was just noting that memorizing people's clothing at a glance is scientifically proven to not be a normal thing most people do.

That's really all I was trying to say there.


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Garulo wrote:
Wow- Most of the posters responding to Xenocrat label him mentally incompetent. It sounds like a group of kindergartners. There is no disagreement with his and my point that this is a L3 spell that most people would not even consider taking except in very limited circumstances.

Please take note that no one replied to you in that way. Why? Because you where just offering your opinion and not trolling. There is clearly a difference in opinion over the usefulness of the spell: the moral of this is if you don't want a thread to read like elementary school playground fight, don't act like an elementary school kid first. Once you do, it shouldn't be a surprise if other go to your level to reply. In fact, if you're trolling that's what you want.

Read through Xenocrat posts first once and maybe think that you should be commenting on his posts too: Just because he's on your side of a debate doesn't change the fact that he's an integral part and the cause of what you are complaining about. So if you're calling out people, I think you started off with the wrong ones. If he was JUST politely giving his opinion, do you think any mention of "mentally incompetent" would have happened?


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Garulo wrote:
Why would anyone take the L3 spell "Threefold Aspect?" It only changes your age (adult, young - adult - adult, elderly). It does not appear to impact anything really. Is this meant for some niche campaign? Or does it provide something that I am missing?

Welcome to the world of role-play as adjudicated game. Everything has to have some kind of combat or functional use to be justified in one's limited allotement of combat and functional abilities. Everything else gets left on the cutting-room floor, as it were.

But for those who don't build characters exclusively around hitting well and hard or teleporting past doors, it might be a bit of fun.

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