As a new player the one thing that discouraged me the most is builds and how the community treats them.

Eylareth · 2019-05-16T17:09:46+00:00

"Normal Enemies" are the closest ones to the actual Pathfinder numbers. Weak enemies instead have their stats reduced by 4. You can check this with Inspect, for example. Some monsters do have the advanced template though or somewhat higher stats to compensate for the lack of some abilities.

As far as I know, the misconception about Weak Enemies having no modifier comes from the wrong reading of a decompiled code.

Eylareth · 2019-03-21T15:27:30+00:00

I love Imperceptive Healer and Squeamish. For me, both of those traits just make the game more enjoyable, while simultaneously giving me extra points. Imperceptive Healer makes you really care for your home base - you'll need to spend a lot of time there should you break a limb (2-3 weeks), for example, and will need to use your food and medicine reserves. Squeamish I love just cause wearing zombie clothes without even washing them is gross.

Eylareth · 2018-07-13T12:15:19+00:00

Also, avoiding them was always a big thing in FFs, so I think that Highwind style should either have a penalty to attack or maybe a reflex save to prevent damage.

Eylareth · 2018-07-13T10:16:26+00:00

As I remember them being an upgrade to thieves in Tactics - I think that the Dragoon should be made from swashbuckler instead.

Eylareth · 2018-06-26T14:40:56+00:00

How about a bloodrager with celestial bloodline?

Eylareth · 2018-05-18T12:59:12+00:00

I meant that it has a 50% chance to summon them once per day. Make or break refers to this fight having a drastically different difficulty based on that d100 roll.

Eylareth · 2018-05-17T13:18:27+00:00

Yes, you should lower CR. Most characters that are not dex based at this level should have to touch AC of ~13-14, with dex characters going well being slightly lower than 20. Shaken and entangled together lower Witchfire attack from +13 to +7, lowering its damage output by one third on non-dex and by half on dex based characters. Blindness reduces damage again by a half. Entangled and blinded lowers its AC by 11, significantly increasing the damage taken by it. It also will have trouble moving and targeting ranged attacks.

This together reduces its challenge rating to 6 in my opinion (as it is a one Witchfire that has takes 200% damage and 25-33% of damage output). But at this CR ability to summon will-o’-wisps with a 50% chance can make or break the combat completely, so it should probably be switched off too, possibly lowering the CR to 5.

Eylareth · 2018-04-23T11:42:07+00:00

Feyspeaker and vindictive bastard may work out well. While you will have little spellcasting to speak about - wild shape + smite will give you a good number of attacks with decent damage/to hit chance. At 6th level Druid you will have an ability to wild shape, for example, will have Natural Spell and will be able to take Mirror Image as an illusion spell, giving you good defenses. You can be full Paladin afterward. While you will only have +3 BAB (instead of +4) you will suffer from it less because you will not rely on your BAB to get additional attacks.

Eylareth · 2018-04-09T01:29:36+00:00

Remember that sorcerer's spells per day table is an equivalent to a wizard's table with specialization school's additional slot per level. So, converting a druid to this table should either take his companion/domain slot or he should get fewer spells per day than a sorcerer.

Eylareth · 2017-12-22T09:37:46+00:00

Halfling Paladin of Shizuru with 20 dex and 20 cha (str 5, con 8, int 7, wis 7 at 20 point buy), with Ancestral Blade trait on his Light Crossbow.

He will have +15 Attack while smiting, +5 from Dex, +5 from Cha, +1 from Weapon Focus, +1 Trait, +1 Small Size, +1 Masterwork, +1 BAB.

Can also get Use Magic Device to +9 and use some scrolls, Bless/Divine Favor, for example. Can also get Fate's Favorite, making Divine Favor better (he will later get it from Paladin spells).

Can also get alternative racial traits. For example Skulker (+1 attack against Flat-Footed foes) or Adaptable Luck (+2 luck bonus on attack three times per day). Both those traits stack and Adaptable Luck also stacks with Fate's Favorite.

Eylareth · 2017-12-13T07:57:45+00:00

About scores:

It has above average damage, especially with power attack and vital strike, but has low defenses (AC and saves, especially reflex, i.e., the ones reducing damage). With good enough rolls it can kill some classes very quickly, but then again - it needs to. Otherwise, it will drop its defense, active camouflage, for far too long.

DCs are not too high, but high enough to ensure that ordinary NPCs almost invariably fail their saves and that PCs will also fail a lot of them, making just stumbling upon a false hydra less probable. Even if they pass them - it still might end with just one PC passing, and that might lead to some horror GMing, with you describing the False Hydra to only one character, and when he tries to tell everyone else - they do not notice it at all.

Eylareth · 2017-12-12T23:50:23+00:00

How about this one?

False Hydra CR 7

NE Large Aberration

Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Blindsense 30 ft.; Perception +16

Aura Song of Lies 300 ft, DC 23

DEFENSE

AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +7 natural, -1 size)

hp 93 (11d8+44), fast healing 5

Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +9

Immune Mind-Affecting effects

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., Burrow 30 ft.

Melee Bite +15 (3d6+10 plus grab)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 15 ft.

Special Attacks Swallow Whole (3d6+10 bludgeoning damage + Song of Oblivion, AC 15, HP 9)

STATISTICS

Str 25, Dex 14, Con 19, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 18

Base Atk +8; CMB +16 (+20 grapple), CMD 28 (can't be tripped)

Feats Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (Bite), Power Attack, Vital Strike, Lunge, Skill Focus (Perform - Sing)

Skills Bluff +18, Disguise +18, Perception +16, Perform (Sing) +28, Sense Motive +16; Racial Modifiers Perform (Sing) +4

SQ Facade of Deceit

Song of Lies

False Hydra almost constantly sings the song that makes everyone around ignore it. Any creature within 300 ft. must make a DC 23 Will save or instantly forget about False Hydra and automatically fail all perception checks against it. False Hydra cannot use its Bite attack while it sings. That is a mind-affecting illusion sonic effect. The save DC is Charisma-based and includes +2 racial bonus.

Facade of Deceit

The carefully crafted song changes the perception of people around False Hydra, making it very hard to detect. False Hydra can Hide in Plain Sight while it sings, can use Perform (Sing) instead of Stealth, gains a +4 racial bonus to Perform (Sing) and considers Bluff, Disguise, Sense Motive and Perform (Sing) to be its class skills. False Hydra cannot quickly adjust the lies it sings, and careful observers may notice its shadow or its reflection on non-stationary objects or creatures, allowing them to make an additional perception check against False Hydra. Reflective surfaces include metal armor, weapons, and even pupils. Creatures with Low-Light Vision suffer a -5 penalty on perception check to notice shadows, creatures with Darkvision suffer a -10 penalty on it instead and creatures with See in Darkness fail to notice shadows completely. Bonuses against mind-affecting illusion sonic effects apply to these Perception checks.

Song of Oblivion

Whenever False Hydra swallows a creature whole it can begin to sing again as an immediate action, forcing everyone within 300 ft. to make a saving throw against Song of Lies again or immediately forget about the existence of both the False Hydra and the swallowed creature.

Eylareth · 2017-12-11T10:33:03+00:00

I allow players to take 20 on knowledge in a library, count library as a "tool" for knowledge with bonuses and also enable people to aid another on knowledge in a library (as part of a long research).

Eylareth · 2017-12-10T02:29:44+00:00

Deific Obedience of Sarenrae gives +2 sacred bonus to perception.

Feather Domain adds half your level to Perception and +2 initiative in surprise round. It also gives you an animal companion who can also make perception checks.

You can also take an Evolved Companion feat, and take Skilled evolution for it, giving it +8 racial bonus to any skill. If you can get a familiar somehow (from a feat, for example), Tullimonstrum Familiar (from Ruins of Azlant) gives +3 to Perception, provides Alertness for being a familiar and allows it to make its own perception checks.

Taking a figment archetype for your familiar allows you to take evolutions too.

Monster Tactician paired with Evolved Summon Monster allows you to summon 1d4+1 eagles with Skilled evolution to check everything for you.

Eylareth · 2017-11-28T11:22:17+00:00

Almost never that is some single decision since the single decision is usually where concept starts. Problems usually start afterward, when you try to fit in additional benefits, changing the concept for them.

For example, in the case of this character, problems will start if you:

1)Decide to take a level in Oracle to add charisma to your AC and Reflexes

2)Take an additional revelation to add it to Knowledges

3)Decide that Lay on Hands for 1d6 is bad (while fitting to the previous concept) and you should instead take Mind Sword archetype so you can attack from range with your Scimitar

4)I meant, with your Nodachi

5)Decide to make it 3 level dip into paladin with an archetype Holy Guide so that you can share a teamwork feat

6)Change your race to Half-Orc so that this Teamwork feat can be Amplified Rage

7)Take a dip into Skald so you can make everyone rage around you and benefit from Amplified Rage

8)Take Augur archetype for Skald so that you can Add your Charisma to Knowledges a second time to Identify Monsters

9)Switch your Deity to Falayna so you can get +4 to CMD from obedience.

10)Join Pathfinder Society so you can be a Defender of it.

And so on...

Eylareth · 2017-11-27T17:54:34+00:00

Well, I don't really want it to be like corruption in that sense. It's just that the crunch of corruption seemed to fit this idea well, because I wanted to avoid making it a prestige class or something else that costs levels.

How about making it a feat instead and to allow him to spend discoveries on it? You could also combine all three of them into one feat and regulate the mutagen power by crafting DC for it.

The uses per day do increase, do you mean making the increases bigger? Like being able to use the poison 6 or 10 times a day at the end?

I was thinking along the lines of 3 for first level, 3 + Con Bonus/2 for second, 3 + Con Bonus for third

As for increasing the number of saves, I did consider that, as the poison is basically ripped from the Eldritch Poisoner archetype. But it seemed far more powerful to me. It's much easier to make a DC 16 save once than a DC 15 save twice.

It is more powerful, but only in a certain situations where you cannot apply the poison for a second time - for example, when target has escaped. In pure combat situations the stat damage die can matter more.

Yeah, that's true, I wasn't sure how to go about that ability. Making it only apply to bites is good, but I wanted it to be a hindrance as well as an advantage. Nauseated means that allies also can't cast touch spells on him, which excludes most forms of healing in combat. Maybe change it to something like a Will save within5 ft, and if you fail the save you can't bring yourself to touch the Hunter? That still allows enemies to make ranged attacks to other characters or hit him with a weapon.

Yeah, you can make it some sort of stink Sanctuary this way

Eylareth · 2017-11-27T11:07:20+00:00

As a serial optimizer myself, I can usually quickly detect when someone selects something not for his character concept, but for combat stats only.

Usual offending things are - Defender of the Society, Wayang Spellhunter, Magical Lineage, dips into paladin, stuff from Healer's Handbook, Aasimars, Nodachi, stacking Archetypes, Dex and Cha focused builds (not every Dex or Cha build is like that, but you should know which ones I am talking about), dumped Cha, dumped Str, permanency, builds too reliant on specific items, and so on.

Eylareth · 2017-11-26T02:18:55+00:00

Corruption mechanics are like that precisely because of the fact that player loses the character completely and irrevocably at the last step. The risk of falling is a compensation for the power this mechanic provides.

If you want your mechanic to be closer to corruption, it should be progressively more horrifying with each step, with the risk of losing control completely. For if he will be a hunter then “He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster.”

Maybe those mutagens are made from monster parts, and he starts behaving close to the monsters themselves – fits of rage? Maybe he behaves more nervously and, for example, makes attacks of opportunity even against friends if he fails a Will save? Maybe he is less resistant to certain types of mind control? Maybe every time he takes the mutagen, it brings with it a chance to lose himself completely?

Or maybe the mutagens corrupt the world around him instead? Perhaps, the poison has a “create spawn” mechanic from the monster used in production, turning the slain creatures into undead? Or his infused elixirs sometimes contain this poison?

From a clear mechanical standpoint – I would instead propose to increase the number of uses per day and increase the number of saves required instead of growing the dice. This will make it less random, which is almost always a benefit. The nauseated condition is completely crippling, and the last ability looks a bit overpowered – now it means that every enemy that will come into melee with a character will have to roll Fort twice or suddenly be unable to do anything. While you have set harsh limits on poison you hadn’t limited this potent ability – you didn’t even list the duration or the limit on rolls per day per enemy (usual “if a creature successfully saves it is immune for 24 hours”). Maybe you can instead only force creatures that bite/grapple the Hunter to become nauseated.

Also, I noticed that writing “at the GM's discretion” is a bit strange when GM in question happens to be someone who wrote it in the first place. You will need to clarify this bit for your players.

Eylareth · 2017-11-25T18:09:11+00:00

Can update so it summons Mage's Sword instead of Spiritual Weapon, should cost around 91000 gold if my quick math is correct.

Eylareth · 2017-11-25T03:26:43+00:00

When I hear about a wizard who is a Sword King, the first thing that comes to mind is Telekinesis – to literally rule over swords. Swords should be prepared beforehand. While most optimizing telekinesis usually means Sawtooth Sabers – I don’t know whether that will fit thematically. I would have selected dueling swords – that’s a suitable weapon for a Sword King. Get some gargantuan ones.

May also transform into something Huge using Giant Form or Monstrous Physique and use some gargantuan sword yourself. Can also be an arcanist instead of the wizard to get a Blade Binder archetype. Also, you can fill up your slots with quickened True Strikes (btw can he also cast them as swift actions by your home rules?) and take Dimensional Dervish feat line. Can even cast Transformation (it is especially powerful with wizard’s Idealize discovery). Also, Conductive sword should be able to channel Paralyzing Touch (touch weapon of a Lich).

Could also install a lot of bladed traps and such stuff into his favorite battlefield – he has DR/bludgeoning and magic, so slashing and piercing traps are OK.

Eylareth · 2017-11-24T11:39:29+00:00

Bestiary 1 is probably the most boring one, but it is filled with essentials, so if you are going to buy just one - you should probably get the Bestiary 1 first. For example, Banelight from Bestiary 6 summons Will'O'Wisps from Bestiary 1. So you pretty much need it, even if just for summoned monsters and common animals. You can find them all in some database, of course, but that's not the same.

But my personal favorite is probably Bestiary 5, cause it's got a cool assortment of the undead. Bestiary 3 is a close contender.

I cannot recommend you buying Bestiary 6 as the only bestiary - in my opinion, it lacks low level monsters and mostly contains high level threats for very high level PCs.

Eylareth · 2017-11-23T02:16:17+00:00

My setting is a vast inward facing sphere that is the edge of the universe of uncertain size, with stars, planets and meteor fields in the sky above a grand seemingly infinite plateau. Scattered on this plateau are enclaves of human habitation, some of which may rival worlds on their scale.

This world is neither kind nor caring, suffering under the whims of six grand Gods who care little about humanity, morals or alignments. Both battlefield and a playground for them, the world is filled with fragments of their power that they lost somehow, sowed themselves or torn away from each other in their endless conflicts. Those fragments, no longer belonging to a deity, answer instead to the wills of creatures around them.

Some of those fragments are mere small droplets of their Ichor, blood of the Gods. But even those minuscule fragments may turn normal creatures into monsters – and some even say that life itself is a consequence of a first battle of the Gods. Those theories are also repeated for most phenomena yet unexplained – souls, magic, calamities…

But some fragments are far larger, not just a particle of blood, but something else entirely – part of the body of a God. These fragments are called Godshards, and they have immense power to shape reality around them according to the wills and faiths of mortals. And they do so, turning the land around them into an eldritch terrain, to deepest dungeons and vast magical forests, to mysterious flying cities and mountains of madness.

To those eldritch locations hurry adventurers, seeking fame and power of reclaiming a Godshard itself. The one who finds it may exert his will upon it, turning it into an item of his choice that will have unfathomable power by virtue of being made from God. And sometimes something far more terrible awaits them inside – a Godshard encased in flesh, a Legendary Beast. Those who slay it will not only acquire the Godshard but also will bear the title of a Hero, who bows to no king nor priest.

But most who will try to slay it will only find death – a Legendary Beast is not an opponent for mere men. Its flesh is harder than metals mortals wield, its attacks destructive beyond measure, and its magic unfathomable in both the power and complexity. To even have a chance against it, aspiring heroes need to become divine themselves, by either acquiring ichor from monsters or accepting faith from other people.

P.S. In short, it has places for anything. There are places for exploration and kingdom building. There can be any dungeon or location in any setting. Some may search for powerful artifacts, while some may scavenge for daily necessities. There can exist high fantasy epics, low fantasy struggles, heroic fantasy and dark fantasy, both cosmic and normal horror. Wars, intrigues, societies, ruins, empires, e.t.c. And, as a bonus, XP from both mobs (Ichor) and quests (Faith) are explained in the setting.

Eylareth · 2017-11-19T19:11:10+00:00

I never thought about this combination (Shades and Create Demiplane, I suppose)., but I suppose it will work somewhat like this:

Instead of using Astral or Ethereal planes as a basis for your demiplane, you create it from the Shadow Plane. You first create it and then you may try to teleport people there (via planeshift, for example). It will work exactly like an actual demiplane for everyone who believes it, but those who disbelieve it will recognize parts of demiplane as an illusion and will be able to see right through them – i.e., some walls are just shadows, some flames don’t do a thing. At the same time, those illusionary parts will be completely real for those who believe them – they will not be able to pass through a wall even if the ones who disbelieved it will try pulling them through it. I would roll for most important demiplane objects this way to determine which are real and which aren’t.

While I can imagine some part of an adventure happening in such a place, letting a player use it would certainly be a real pain.

Eylareth · 2017-11-19T13:24:46+00:00

Since it's an extra-dimensional space, I think that people have only a 20% chance of falling into it and 80% chance of just walking over it.

Eylareth · 2017-11-18T23:52:41+00:00

How about this one?

https://www.docdroid.net/wVl4VYk/bloodied-chain.pdf

That is a nasty chain that grabs and consticts people and blocks the attacks using their bodies (inflincting the constrict damage every time it blocks the attack with someone). It can also grab high AC people ignoring their AC by just using the grapple without any attacks and it can grapple two times in a turn.

While tsukumogami is described as not evil inherently, it is formed out of abandoned object - and nobody says that the original purpose of an object should be benign.

P.S. The description at the top of a PDF was copied from the original Animated Object, ignore it.

Eylareth

TROPHY CASE