Pathfinder General /pfg/

>Can you help? No? Shut the fuck up then.
I am. Pathfinder is not enjoyable using the core rule book, it's barely enjoyable with just core materials. 5e does what you are looking for much better if you insist on just using PF's CRB.

I'm going to be running a Pathfinder game set in Azeroth using some of the stuff from the Warcraft RPG, which is a very slightly modified 3.5. In the rules it states certain races like High Elves, Night Elves, and Tauren have to start as one level lower than the other party members because of how powerful their race is. Should I throw out those rules in Pathfinder or follow them?

But user! Playing a game where the DM asks for preferred pronouns will t-t-TRIGGER him!

LA has always been a rather wonky mechanic. It might be better to adjust some races up or down so everyone gets to be more or less on par with each other.

Would a race that gets 4 0-level spells off the Wizard/Sorcerer spell list, casts all spells at +1 caster level, and the ability to use the Empower Spell feat once per day on any spell without incurring a spell slot penalty need level adjustment or is it fine?

So assuming you're focusing on it, you can reach 19 Intelligence, plus let's say you stick on a +4 headband for 23. This +6 modifier gives a bonus spell of each level 3rd through 6th, and two bonus spells 1st through 2nd.

Here are your feats: Scribe Scroll and Craft Wondrous Item bonus, Spell Penetration, Spell Focus/Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Improved Initiative (so he gets an extra turn before going down, if all goes well), Defensive Combat Training, Combat Casting, and Improved Familiar (an imp or a quasit).

Here are your spell picks once the undead army's built up:
>(schools not prepared: evocation, enchantment, divination. flexible with the barred schools)
1st (6+1 per day): Ray of enfeeblement in the bonus slot, mage armor, grease, feather fall, expeditious retreat, jump, protection from good
>2nd (6+1 per day): scare in the bonus slot, false life, mirror image, invisibility, see invisibility, protection from arrows, glitterdust
3rd (5+1 per day): vampiric touch in the bonus slot, vampiric touch, ray of exhaustion, dispel magic, dispel magic, protection from energy
>4th (4+1 per day): Enervation x5 on a bad day, otherwise enervation in the bonus slot, stone shape, mnemonic enhancer, stoneskin, summon monster IV
5th (3+1 per day): Symbol of pain in the bonus slot, waves of fatigue, overland flight, teleport
>6th (2+1 per day): Circle of death in the bonus slot, programmed image, wall of iron

Have a contingency spell set up to dispel magic on himself if he stops breathing (hint: he can choose to do that in case he's prevented from normal casting).
In lieu of hard-style equipment, go wild with wands, potions and scrolls of low-level buff spells at caster level 8 (but who makes them? have fun with that element).

also a lone scroll of animate dead, with 500 gp of onyx (for 20 HD of creatures). in case your undead army gets a gash in it.

I'd say its fine, not getting any ability score adjustments hurts more than spontaneous empower spell 1/day helps.

Oh it gets ability score adjustments and more stuff, those were just the stronger abilities.

Getting access to some cantrips is in no way a "strong" ability, and the other abilities only matter at all if you want to play a caster.

Pro tip, if your necromancer boss ever has to see combat, you're doing it wrong.

how do you suggest the matter of PCs coming to slay her get resolved, then?
(not the user who posted the request)

Hubris. After slogging their way through the near unending hoards of undead, have either all the structural damage collapse on her, or have her get killed by a powerful undead or fiend she tries to raise/summon, only for it to kill her. Or perhaps she gets betrayed/backstabbed by her short-sighted apprentice, or maybe something happens to make her lose control over her hoard and you watch as she's torn to pieces by countless undead.

If the party does very well and tries to close in on her, chances are scroll of Emergency Force Sphere, followed by AMF and being carried away on her bone golem would work, and possibly set up stuff for a sequel. OR maybe, when you do kill her, you discover that it wasn't really her, but a corpse she was animating to be a decoy for her, and have it actually be someone the party thought they knew was alive the whole time. That twist is perfect for a Halloween/Horror themed bit.

Or perhaps the necromancer is undead herself, and her life force is tied to one of the player's, that'll spook'em good.

>scroll of Emergency Force Sphere
Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of the spell, since EFS is an immediate action, but scrolls can only be activated as a standard?

You're right, my mistake. I stayed up too late and am a little preoccupied with research, so forgive me for making dumb mistake.

What should an interested user make for this campaign? Anything you guys think would generate some fun stories?

Brief announcement folks; I'm going on a vacation here in five days, which is most of the reason I haven't been around (that and sickness). I'll be back roundabouts the 15th of November, at which point I'm going to finish up malefex and get it into the final stretch of playtesting no matter how many innocents have to die.

Thank you for your patience.

What campaign?

What is this? a gif for snails?

Say Gareth, you have experience with being forced at gunpoint to make races, right? What would you say are important things to consider, both for content and content organization, when making a homebrew race?

Ooh, lemme guess the races! Tiefling, tiefling, tiefling, and tiefling?

I gotta go be Gainfully Employed like, right now, so you may need to ask me that either later tonight if I remember to get on, or when I get back from vacation. In the meantime, could I ask you to expand on that question? I wanna be sure I understand wholly what it is you'd like to know; between recovering from illness and Literal Autism I am not on my A game when it comes to communication skills here.

Looking to play a deathless ghost necromancer (3.5 and DSP allowed, plus other 3pp run by GM). What are some alternatives to spellbooks?

>In the meantime, could I ask you to expand on that question?
Esserntially, I'm asking what type of information should be included in a race's description, and what's the best way to format race description for people to read. Basically just a question on the general book-keeping of race creation

Ayy-esque tieflings are the best type of tiefling

Spells written directly onto slaves via tattoos?

Grab the Athasian Spellshard from one of the old Dark Sun conversions. Trees are too rare to waste on paper on Athas so they store their spells as psionic imprints held within polished quartz.

Necromancer, the wizard subclass, does not automatically mean "stupidly evil". It's rather easy to command the forces of death and undeath and not be evil doing it.

Talking floating skull familiar that recites the spells to you.

What's evil about slave tattoos?

Tatoos are one, for those spells you don't know. Complete Arcane pages 186 on has Tatoo spellbooks, and Arcane Tokens, also in complete arcane. Should the game take place in primarily one place, you can use structures instead.

Why aren't you being the champion of good that you know you could be?

What advice would you have for a first time GM, /pfg/? Pls

Does being a witch-hunter count?

Wee phone posting.

It... depends. Bloodforge, the race book I worked on, did not follow official formatting (mainly on accident). What that official formatting even /is/ seems to be in flux too. For awhile Paizo did a race point breakdown with every race but then the ones in the new Bestiary didn't have one.

I dunno how helpful Bloodforge's information and formatting was, as the only real comment on that part has been people noting that it's not the official breakdown, and uninformed hopefuls wanting race point breakdowns that they will only get over my steaming corpse.

I'll try more in depth help once I get home.

Plan, but be ready to adapt. Figure out what your players like, and you can motivate them. Copy down rules and statblocks so you don't have to constantly look them up in the book. Take notes on what your players do narratively and CAN do mechanically. Don't encourage idiocy. Steal ideas you like, but be a little bit subtle. If there's an issue, discuss it with the player(s), ideally in private. Accept that you're probably going to stumble, but learn from the experience.

So much advice.
>Have a plan, but don't railroad
>Don't trust that the paizo designers knew what they were doing, the rules are not any standard of good design and you should overrule it with judgement or common sense as needed
>Every battle, especially the earlier ones you run, have two backups, one for if it turns out too hard (eg something that will suddenly weaken the enemies or make them flee), and one for if it turns out too easy (Reinforcements, emergency bonus hp, etc).
Make sure these are decided beforehand, as changing the stats of the battle on a whim while it's happening leads to bad habits.
>Know what all your party members can do, I personally make a very simple spreadsheet of their AC, to hit, normal damage, and their strongest ability, as well as any narrative-altering abilities
>Nobody is ever the perfect GM when they start, skill comes with experience and experience comes with going ahead and doing it sooner rather than later

I suggest adding to your spreadsheet what their modifiers are for hidden rolls you probably need to make. If you deal with those.

Only if the witches are evil, and you do your best to redeem them.

I'm about to be playing a game run by a guy that doesn't trust anything outside of core. Given that I've never played PF before I'm not planning on pushing back, but what are some obvious weaknesses that supplements cover that I could use as an example down the road?

I don't. I ask them to roll and trust them not to metagame.

Most of them are, yeah.

But I usually just kill them.

I really liked these ideas, will keep them, thanks

Need some build advice- will post requested character art in return for advice

Looking for advice on a battlesmith. If anyone here's familiar with Ragnarok Online's Black/White Smith, that's essentially what I'm looking for: a crafting-focused bruiser/off-support.

I realize that sounds pretty specific, but I'm honestly open to all build ideas and suggestions at this point; nothing is a deal-breaker except wizards. Fuckin hate wizards.

3pp is allowed on a case-by-case basis, but I typically build around Paizo-Only material.

How much AC is considered "good" for level 12? Is it worth it to use unhindered shield/shield focus with a buckler for the extra AC?

Brawler class, Winding Path Renegade archetype, Mystery of Untwisting Iron ability.

>Looking for advice on a battlesmith. If anyone here's familiar with Ragnarok Online's Black/White Smith, that's essentially what I'm looking for: a crafting-focused bruiser/off-support.
warpriest

Generally you'll want to aim for 20+character level at minimum.

You're telling a story, not running a game. The rules help, but they can be ignored if you think they're getting in the way. That doesn't mean you should god-mod everything- be judicious with how you break or bend the rules.

Learn some Improv. skills. "Yes and" is a VERY powerful DM tool and can make a game super memorable even if it went a bit off track.

same poster

let me revise cause what I said was dumb:
"Your'e telling a story, not playing a video game"

"Yes and" as well as "Yes, but"

That could work, though the lack of spellcraft as a class skill hurts for crafting.

I've heard unfavorable things about the warpriest, but you're not wrong. Any advice on playing one?

Preach
The important takeaway: don't negate your players unless it is SUPER important that you do. They can't be doing internally inconsistent shit, but otherwise try to accommodate for their spontaneity- not punish it.

Can Scaled Fist monk use Dragon ferocity 1st lvl?

Yes but it's also important to know when and how to say no.

Not unless you can get 5 ranks in acrobatics at first level or somehow can bypass the prereqs

Fuck I meant dragon style. But I suppose it still applies via acrobat requirments. Thnx.

My players are playing Kingmaker book 3 and have decided to join Vordakai. I wasn't exactly prepared for this, but how should I handle the fact they're going to help a lich rebuild his ancient cyclops empire?

Hold on there, you can totes take Dragon Style first level as a Scaled Fist.
They can choose it as a monk bonus feat starting at 1st level- and those bonus feats don't need to meet prereqs
You're gold, boyo

>unfavorable things about the warpriest
from the clueless

>Any advice on playing one?
Be human, take Human FCB for as many feats as a fighter gets. Destruction is a great blessing, especially when you can quicken it.

Divine favor, Divine power, shield of faith, blessings of fervor are good self-buffs that you can cast as swift actions on yourself.

Also be a 6th level casting cleric, to provide all of the prepared divine assistance that every party needs.

Complicated as fuck to play well though.

Think the Forgemaster archetype is worth the tradeoffs? (has to pick certain bonus feats at certain levels, but also loses channel energy which is a big one)

:0
You-you mean... i can my unchained scale fist monk murder with power attack+dragon style with a +4str at first level? Joyous day!

>[muffled sound or repeating Cart Termination in the distance]

Yup- take it and run man, Monks don't get a lot of powerhouse options. Just keep in mind that your crazy movement speed is probably your strongest feature.

Back in my day, we called it "High Speed Cart Ram"- weren't no Clowns either, they's was Minstrels

>channel energy
>big one
literally what? why would you use channel energy? A warpriest is a divine magus, not a gimped cleric.

Forgepriest seems like a great archetype if you were going to take craft anyways.

I forgot it takes Fervor to use- never mind that, shit's wack.
Forgepriest sounds decent. Spell selection for crafting's a bit meh for crafting, but I suppose there are ways around that +5 to the DC.

Attached is an example of a warpriest I built. I made this guy for AC and AoO shenanigans.

As a swift action you can:
>get +4(luck) attack and damage with first level spell
>Get +5(luck) attack, damage, and haste with a fourth level spell
>Get +4(deflection) ac with a first level spell
>get +3(enchant) attack and damage and +2(enchant) AC with a 12/day class feature.
>get +6(untyped) damage with a use of 2 fevor

The longer combat lasts, the more of a monster you become.

...

Jebus
I probably won't be that much of a combat monster but I'm beginning to see your point.

I'm going to be in a game soon, in a 3 player party.
GM says we're allowed to use anything we can find on d20pfsrd, and I was wondering what would be most useful to play?
I know the others are playing a dragonkin warrior and a sylph ranger.
None of have much experience with pathfinder and I can't decide what I want to play, would a witch be a good idea? Or would we need another melee fighter?

>anything we can find on d20pfsrd

Jesus christ

>Kitsune
You trying to troll us brother? However I'am surprised thats a male kitsune though. They should oughta be more common.

I couldn't find that one, is it under classes or races?

Does anybody have a pdf of the Spanish translation of the core rulebook from Devir? I plan on porting a 5e campaign to Pathfinder once we're done with Lost Mines and wanna get everybody somewhat prepared before I order the rulebook.
Playing with Spanish speaking players using english material is a pain in the ass jesus christ.

It's here
d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-prestige-classes/rogue-genius-games/godling

Noted! Thanks. My third feat is enforcer
Because I enjoy the synergy with scale fist and redcution of MAD. Im taking Hurtful and Intimidating prowess 3rd lvl to capitilize on it even more. Ive considered taking at least a level in rogue for the thug archetype benefit. Not sure if thats unsound though. Character is for a Second Darkness campign

Have any of you ever used or thought up some homebrew eidolon evolutions? I'm trying to think of some to add to the normal list for my homebrew.

Huh, well, I didn't expect that.

Yes does anyone have HAVE either of these things? Or even Horror Realms perhaps?

So I got suckered into GMing a game for some people, two of which have never RPed before. This will also be my first time being a DM. Does anybody have tips on how to start the party out?
Most campaigns I played have started with a plot explained to us beforehand, and everyone then made characters that shared a common goal. But I've also heard of the typical "your party meets in an inn". How does that typically work out? The party is in an inn, how do you get them together, and then have them stay that way?

Is that you Max?

Sorry, no.
I do suspect at least two/three of my players are on Veeky Forums, but only one of them should be a fa/tg/uy

This vaguely seems like the DM I am playing with today(one shot) and next week (campaign start).

The inn strategy really depends on the players. People too into RPing or roleplaying a bard get stuck drinking and gambling for forever.
The one time I did use an inn as the opener, the party ended up burning it down before really figuring out some of the plot hooks.
Usually I start just as their assignment begins (guarding the trader's cart, town near dungeon they must go into for the mcguffin). That, or I force them to act in the inn by having something happen to push them towards the start.

A thing to keep in mind though.

If the players are having fun just dicking around in the bar, and you're having fun just dicking around in the bar...

Just roll with it, y'know? It doesn't matter that you didn't 'get anything done' as long as everyone had a fun time of it. Things'll work themselves out eventually.

And if you feel you wanna give 'em a little kick, then yeah, make the adventure come to them. A shady guy bumps into the anger-prone party member, spills his drink and kicks off a bar fight, something happens in the town/city outside like an explosion or fire, or they just spend so long boozing that they wake up the next morning in the throes of ADVENTURE.

My sessions won't begin until next week, so it ain't me. Judging from what you said, I'll probably not use the inn-start at all. There's just too many things that can go wrong that I don't know how to prepare for yet.
If I just have everyone guard a trader's cart like in your example, or a pilgrim or something (and have them make up a reason why they do that), then have some socializing/combat. Then their destination-town will have the plot dangled in their face obviously. Is that generally enough to bind the group together for some sessions? I haven't had a lot of varied groups, so things like this are hard for me to predict.

This is what I aim to do, but it'd help if I could predict a general course of action I should prepare for, plus I don't want somebody being "That Guy" who leaves the group. Hence why I am asking these questions. The examples at the end of your post are some good ideas though.

If someone insists on being a loner then you gotta take 'em aside and explain the game just doesn't work well with that kinda character.

They can WANT to be a lone wolf all they want, but they gotta deal with working with people.

Basically what I'm saying is that the 'im a lone wolf' guy is an out of character problem, not an in character one.

>Spend so long boozing that they wake up the next morning in the throes of ADVENTURE
>"Congrats, boys, you're now part of the Galtan Foreign Legion!"
>"But we're Andoran!"
>"Nobody's perfect. Now get marching!"

>The party's first encounter is a group of other adventurers mid-argument about being part of the Andoran army despite being from Galt.

Seriously, does anyone have Strange Aeons Part 3 yet? Or Curse of the Crimson Throne?

No, stop asking. When they're scrubbed they'll be posted.