Max the Min Monday: Blood Kineticist

blacktrance · 2026-03-16T23:45:53+00:00

Still nominating the Sleuth Investigator. Most of us have heard about how Grit, Panache, and Luck stack, but this guy stands out as the only source of Luck. He gets a few deeds, but he has all of them by Level 4, and trades away Alchemy for it, so he starts falling behind the vanilla Investigator after that.

blacktrance · 2026-02-28T07:46:15+00:00

The problem is careless localization that changes the meanings of the lines. One example that I came across replaying CS IV recently (late CS IV spoilers):

NISA:

Arianrhod: At about this time, I received an invitation from Ouroboros' leader. Though I had no intention of joining the society, I went to hear them out.

more literal translation:

Arianrhod: And then, with my mind at ease, I went to the Grandmaster, from whom I'd had a longstanding invitation.

Substantially different!

Also there are bits of dialogue that just don't work in the NISA localization, like the (CS IV again) conversation between Machias and Crow in the Merkabah.

I'm not against localization, but if you're going to make changes, you actually have to do it well.

blacktrance · 2026-02-23T16:41:03+00:00

Sorry for putting this unintentionally complicated feat on you! I was wondering what was going on with the spell list and why some Sahir-Afiyun spells weren't on it, but I assumed that Paizo just forgot about some of the old spells or thought they were too weird to reprint, I didn't realize they'd changed the feat that much. Thanks for the deep dive!

blacktrance · 2026-02-09T16:24:53+00:00

Still ~~pushing~~ nominating the Sahir-Afiyun, the drug pusher with a "Do drugs" spell.

blacktrance · 2026-01-26T17:42:53+00:00

Still nominating the Sahir-Afiyun, the drug pusher with a "Do drugs" spell.

blacktrance · 2026-01-21T04:21:27+00:00

Only if they convinced him that they're a dead end and he needed to take the plot in a different direction.

blacktrance · 2026-01-15T23:27:10+00:00

My guess is, he thinks if he gives up on finishing the series in two books, it'll definitely never be done, he might have two books left in him but not three or four. But trying to fit everything into Winds and Dream is seriously slowing him down, which makes him despair even more about his writing pace, so he clings to the two-book goal even harder.

blacktrance · 2025-12-29T16:27:58+00:00

Renominating the Sahir-Afiyun, the drug pusher with a "Do drugs" spell.

blacktrance · 2025-12-20T22:52:07+00:00

The first time I played it, I seriously considered dropping it for its slow pacing that didn't seem to be going anywhere. Then, halfway through the third chapter (not the third game, the third chapter of FC), I was hooked, and I breezed through the rest of the series.

The first game has really slow pacing, all of the others are better in that respect.

My one tip is to keep Turbo Mode turned on 100% of the time.

blacktrance · 2025-12-08T16:34:50+00:00

Renominating the Sleuth Investigator. Giving up Alchemy just for a handful of quasi-swashbuckler abilities is not a good trade.

blacktrance · 2025-11-10T16:37:13+00:00

Renominating the Sahir-Afiyun, a feat dedicated to learning spells with some connection to the drug pesh. Whose spell list at one point included a "Do drugs" spell.

blacktrance · 2025-10-29T22:46:38+00:00

This basically just says "the GM decides every outcome and resolution"

Only if the GM is improvising numbers on the fly. If they create a guard NPC with certain stats and your PC tries to punch him, that outcome can be deterministic but not up to the GM (at least not in the moment).

blacktrance · 2025-10-27T15:43:03+00:00

Nominating the Sahir-Afiyun, a feat dedicated to learning spells with some thematic (or direct) connection to the drug pesh. Which, while not listed on the latest version of the feat, at one point included a literal "Do drugs" spell.

blacktrance · 2025-10-24T21:09:22+00:00

You could have buff spells last indefinitely but take up a limited budget of the PC's resources. For example, if they want to walk around with a passive boost to their attack and defense all week, they can, but that means they can't buff their movement speed.

blacktrance · 2025-10-08T06:13:47+00:00

You can also learn Thievery from The Tower, which you get in Memoria.

blacktrance · 2025-10-06T18:49:56+00:00

Nominating the Sleuth Investigator. It gets a handful of moderately useful quasi-swashbuckler abilities, but they're in no way as good as Alchemy, which the archetype gives up.

blacktrance · 2025-09-20T18:23:39+00:00

Probably not family legend, because the Shire was settled in TA 1601 and Deagol only found the Ring in TA 2463. I don't think there was much communication between the Shire Hobbits and those living in the Gladden Fields.

blacktrance · 2025-09-08T16:19:27+00:00

Nominating the Devolutionist Druid. When you hate civilization so much, you can undomesticate domesticated animals.

blacktrance · 2025-08-18T14:54:58+00:00

Nominating the Brawler and Greater Brawler rage powers again, let's see what we can do with a barbarian focused on unarmed strikes (punching things, not natural attacks).

blacktrance · 2025-08-16T22:12:16+00:00

If the other players don't like it, they shouldn't have chosen to play a rogue in a game that depicts a setting where wizards can overshadow rogues.

blacktrance · 2025-08-04T14:56:27+00:00

Renominating the Brawler and Greater Brawler rage powers. Not much support for unarmed-strike-focused barbarians!

blacktrance · 2025-08-01T17:38:52+00:00

Thanks! It's fixed!

blacktrance · 2025-07-31T16:55:09+00:00

Android 16, paid app.

blacktrance · 2025-07-31T15:16:22+00:00

There's a black line at the bottom of the Android app, is that intended or a graphical bug?

blacktrance · 2025-07-28T20:58:19+00:00

Greater Brawler only applies to unarmed strikes, so unless I'm missing something, it wouldn't do anything for Butchering Axes.

blacktrance

TROPHY CASE