Pathfinder General /pfg/

>There's probably a stance somewhere that can boost it up to 25, too.

>Stance of the Thunderbrand
>You gain a +4 dodge bonus to your AC, your reach increases by 5 feet, and opponents you threaten provoke attacks of opportunity with any movement, including 5-foot steps and teleportation.

Question is, how do you explain a swordsman with a spear?

Oh and I forgot Landsknekt is a STR build so you benefit from the Expansion option too.
Get a Skinwalker's Leather or Plate of the Juggernaut to make your Aegis level count as another 2 higher, and then you'll also have permanent Expansion up for +2 str and another reach boost.

Yes this is getting a bit silly but you can do it

You Jojo fags really need to just fuck off already.
You need to stop spamming, especially if you're doing it by forcing your irrelevant images as the OP's of popular generals.

>That spoiler

I need this.

You aren't necesarrily a swordsman as a Landsknekt

Not historically accurate but Landsknekt is already fucked because it focuses on 1-handing shit when they were famous for zweihanders.

Make it a Swordspear

Is there a way to get a swarm of ravens to attack and defend you like the kryll do for raam?

Well, he *is* an Artisan, and that *does* mean a penchant for crafting...

Do it user, invent Swordspears.

>And here is the portrait of a gorgeous elven heroine, as painted by the famous landsknecht. Many have speculated on the peculiarity of her expression-eyes cast down, face flushed, biting her lip-but the artist has refused to explain in detail, except that "she didn't want the whole party to hear".

>What's the most complicated but still functional character you've made?

I have a soft spot for my Aegis 3/Knight Chandler X, with a vitalist gestalt on the side. Really, most of this would have worked even without the gestalt, though.

>Have to track illumination, animus, random maneuvers, all of which change literally every turn of combat, plus power points too
>Traited into Sleeping Goddess for the style feat
>Every move action I could do one of:
-Move
-Regain psionic focus and a maneuver, bypassing Mystic's random recovery and also changing element for Elemental Flux
-Sheathe a weapon because my strongest strike is Rapid Current but it wasn't worth getting Lightning Swap for
>Most standard actions were for strikes
>Every swift action I could either:
-Take a bonus 5 foot step
-Use a boost
-Manifest Inevitable Strike off the aegis side for +5 attack
-Manifest Hustle for another move action (consult the above list)

>A lot of my strikes and boosts were mobility/reach based (teleports, reflected blade style, death at ten paces, etc) so the choice of maneuvers I used also heavily affected what I did with my move action.

And then, there was the tracking of my magic candle position and sometimes moving around the free astral construct I had because Aegis was Ectopic Artisan, to trigger flanking and Knight-Chandler's 'bonus damage against enemies threatening an ally' ability.

I could spend the entire round after my turn going through options of what I was going to do next. Playing her was such a blast.

So now that I'm thinking about it again, what's some fun things to gestalt with a Sphere Magus? I originally had Hidden Blade/Phantom Thief URogue written down, but that was mostly for meme purpose, and the Stalker (Bushi, Vigilante) looks like it would be better overall.

>Kineticists of Porphyra IV: End of an Era playtest: docs.google.com/document/d/1XTgiUdDSrTCvATEDeDJ4MnbDgS6KEBLu2e9mjj5fwaw/edit
>suspended impact
>imbue Kinesis
>implant Blast
>Time Bomb
I'm in love

How about Dervish Defender Warder to bump up your BAB?

Oh you better believe that's what I'm into.

So I'm playing an Eldritch Archer Magus in Kingmaker (everyone is using 1pp).

Was wondering whether I should put a couple levels into fighter for some feats and go a little more martial-oriented with this character.

Other party members are
>Paladin
>Unchained Bandit Knife Master Rogue
>Bladebound Magus
>Cavalier
>Impossible bloodline Sorcerer

I was thinking of putting 5 into Drill Sergeant Fighter, but somehow I get the feeling I have better options that I can't think of.

Are you going for a Dex-based Magus, or strength? You've got a lot of options here, and I'd sooner ask what you had in mind for the character than recommend the mechanically ideal combination.

Fuck my players are gonna be in costumes tonight and I didn't even remember it's Halloween, let alone get a costume

Shave your entire body and wear some ragged pants.

Congrats you're now a Warboy.

Just tell them your costume is you pretending to be a functioning member of society.

wear a black hood and say you're the dungeon master for some pity laughs

Has a .pdf link for the anniversary edition of Curse dropped yet?

No, stop asking.

Quick question about spheres of power, I'm reading over the wiki and can't find what exactly a "Divine Crusader" is, though it is referenced in two separate instances in the suggested casting traditions. Any insight into that?

My reccomendation is to, if you really want to get some more martial power, just do some minor dipping, such as a 1lvl dip in Fighter or Slayer.

If you really want to go more martially inclined, and since your party already looks powerful enough to let you goof around, then maybe 5 levels in Gunslinger (Musketeer) for some magic gun shenanigans, but thats definately one of the least optomized options

However, it should be noted there is nothing wrong with staying the full way in Eldritch Archer instead, you'll be powerful and competent enough on your own, though my main worry is stepping on the toes of your fellow Magus and Sorcerer in terms of magical damage output.

Wouldn't that conflict with the fact that a magus, even a spheres magus, requires a free hand in order to spellstrike, since you're technically not actually fighting with two weapons?

Considering I was looking at URogue, was gonna stick with Dex for this. It's all just more theorycrafting though, since it's likely I'm never actually going to get to actually use Spheres or PoW anytime soon.

As far as the character attached to the build goes, "sheltered tiefling with far too much free time tries to learn everything he can, then runs away from home to try to become a champion of justice. Does not actually know what that entails."

Quality solutions

Buy a yellow coat and matching hat at the costume store real quick

Magus kind of fucks you in the ass on this one, since that's Dex/Int and most righteous classes are Charisma/Wisdom.

Can spheres magus spellstrike at the same time as a martial strike?
If not, why are you considering playing it with an initiator?

I've got gunslinging saved for a different character at the moment. Do appreciate the suggestions though.

As for the other magus, both me and that player had written our characters up as a sort of duo, with my character seeing the other magus as a mentor. I was thinking if having a dip or two both for an extra feat and to play with that idea flavor-wise by falling a bit behind in casting ability. I just wasn't sure if taking a heavier dip would be the right idea.

As for the sorcerer... I'll just leave that big nosed gnome to his money-handling devices.

Okay, I know we all love talking about Gonzo 2, But is Gonzo 1 any good?

I recall possibly incorrectly reading it wasn't as good.

What philosophies does /pfg/ take when planning gestalts? Do you do the active//passive thing, a build that only works in gestalt or something else? Do you try to get a d10, all saves, full bab, 6+ skills, casting and initiating on top of shared features? I personally never know where to start with gestalts other than tack it on to an otherwise completed build, but that leads to gestalting the same things over and over.

>Divine Crusader
Where are you seeing that?

>What philosophies does /pfg/ take when planning gestalts?
Me, personally, I just pick what seems fun, because chances are, being Gestalt, you're going to be pretty potent no matter what you pick, as long as its not something stupid like Ranger/Fighter or Swashbuckler/ChainedMonk

Well yea. He wouldn't have any of the "most righteous classes" on either side, since he doesn't know what he's doing.

>can spheres magus spellstrike at the same time as a martial strike?

No, pretty sure they can't.

>If not, why are you considering playing it with an initiator?
>PoW and gestalt are on the table
>not wanting to get in on having stances, boosts, and counters
>as a class that gets off on swinging a sword

"Muh versatility", I guess?

How do you determine what sounds fun though?

I either start with a concept and try to do something weird, or I look at the class I want to use and try to figure out what would complement it well.

What fits the character concept and is explained by the backstory?

You go to your background, you dig up the grave where you buried your inner child after it got shot in the head, and ask it what it thinks is radical, or what was the last cartoon it watched.

I miss my childhood

Found it. It's a misprint. It's called divine crusader in the chart, but it refers to the divine petitioner tradition.

But user, it never left. It's a part of you, and always will be.

If you play a Large race you get base 10 ft. reach, which gets doubled with a reach weapon to 20 and then gets all the other bonuses there. With an appropriate stance like you mention you'd have 40 ft. reach.

Say i am a cleric of gorum.

Is it ok to make undead out of the bodies of the wicked and treacherous to keep their souls from being rewarded by their vile gods in the afterlife?

Party bout to head into maelstrom. So that means I have a lot to work with in terms of what will show up encounter wise.

What are cool creatures to have show up in the maelstrom.

>Large party member makes large nude statues of party members

Only if they were wicked by merit of not fighting hard enough

That's some petty shit. Now, I'd argue you could do it on the grounds of depriving the forces of evil of followers, but I'm pretty sure you don't actually rip their soul from the afterlife for that unless it's some specific kind of undead like ghosts.

What do your PCs do for Halloween?

It's not great, but it's alright.
It has the parkour using Punk, that can tag enemies to blind them with magical spray paint. Also works pretty well for being a Dragoon.
It also has an Allahu Ackbar PrC. Explode, reform, explode again.
Finally, it has a class for playing Bugs Bunny, or any other Looney Tunes character. If that doesn't make you kek, you have no sense of humor.

>Do you do the active//passive thing, a build that only works in gestalt or something else?

Both of these are valid options.
Personally what I do is just pick a class I want to play, then think about what gestalts well with it, and then add it on. Lots of bonus points if it gestalts well with something that creates a unique combo that only works in gestalt.

>Do you try to get a d10, all saves, full bab, 6+ skills

That's petty and more restrictive than it's worth.

Is Halloween even a thing in Golarion?

or engaging in false battles, like slaughtering innocent or committing treachery under false flags.

I'm about to GM my very first game! I've got a bit of a noob question though. I often see talk about "keeping the BBEG leveled with the party". I want to do this because I don't know yet how powerful the party will be when they fight him. But how do I make him a threat? Do you give him more HP, some OP abilities, have his level be that of the party +5 or something?
I was hoping to make him a Bard/Warlock kind of deal, as a sort of Faust-parallel. In the worst case scenario where I made him too easy I could then also have his familiar turn into the demon he made a pact with. Anybody got some advice for me?

>That's petty and more restrictive than it's worth.
Do you have a minimum that you shoot for? Possibly like a d8, 2 saves, mid bab, 4+ skills?

I guess the true nature of my first question was "how do you define a 'good' gestalt?"

>I guess the true nature of my first question was "how do you define a 'good' gestalt?"

A good gestalt is a gestalt that faithfully recreates the vision you had for the character while maintaining the character's viability in a group of other gestalts.

Create a BBEG that'd be appropriately difficulty fight for your level 1 PCs.

Every time your party levels up, take some time after the session to level up your BBEG. Repeat until they actually encounter each other. It's quick and simple, just take a quick look to make sure that your bad guy isn't way ahead or way behind the power curve. The CR alogirthm is far from perfect, but it's a good starting point for how powerful enemies "should" be.

...

Yes, it involves a bag of bread and a nearby murder of crows

Well, we've had at least one All Hallow's Eve-style masquerade in our games, but otherwise, there's not any real observance.

>Do you have a minimum that you shoot for? Possibly like a d8, 2 saves, mid bab, 4+ skills?

>d8 HD
Not vital if you never plan to martial or enter melee.
>2 saves
Nice, but not vital either.
>4+INT skills
I'd say vital only because 2+INT skills on any non-int based class is a travesty that shouldn't exist in the first place.

If this is for the level 4 ROTRL gestalt mentioned last thread I know the GM and they said they don't plan to run until at least the new year

It was more that I felt the game brought up this question I have had. I often fall into the trap of trying to get gestalt characters to have EVERYTHING so they'd be good martials, skillmonkeys and have enough utility/buff/battlefield control casting, but it's not only difficult but also not very fun since it feels really limiting in concept. Hence why I was wondering on how to gestalt under a different philosophy

>think of a really dumb concept
>no, dumber than that
>yeah, that dumb
>make a character that can do that without gestalt
>add the gestalt to supercharge the build/make it more effective/efficient

Patpatpat

Depends, if it is for a small (1-3) party trying to play an adventure fitting a large (4-6) party, I go for high versatility, something capable of fighting, doing some skill checks, at least sixth level casting or initiating. Inquisitor, Investigator, Alchemist and Bard are all good picks for this.

For high power games, my group tries to create the most powerful, most focused, optimized monsters we can. Barbarian Alchemist with a dip on Brutal Stalker for MAX STRENGHT, Mesmerist Witch for FUCK YO SAVES EAT HEX, BITCH, that kind of stuff.

For just for fun games, well whatever looks cool or makes for a neat character you can't really do without gestalt. Slayer Alchemist for being a Witcher, Soulknife multiclassed Aegis gestalted with Vizier for Green Lantern. We once did one where everybody focused on roguish type classes to make different Batmen. I still mantain that to make a true Batman you need to gestalt some seven or eight classes gestalted. Everybody getting at least one Monk or monk-like class makes for a good Wuxia game.

>Until next year

Gestalt is a nice thing in 1pp because a lot of classes, martials especially, are limited in scope (and casters are /arguably/ limited in adventuring stamina) and so being able to be two classes ends up making you a single well rounded build with a nice but not overwhelming amount of features.

When content like newer DSP stuff joins the mix, this gets weirder, because DSP's design philosophy is rightfully that a class should be able to do that in the first place, and so if you start gestalting them you start getting too many things to do to the extent they fight each other.
(For example, martial maneuvers vs spellstrike)

In that sense I think it's much better in 3pp gestalt to have an active and passive side, where the passive side just complements or fills in gaps in the active class.
I'd say a good deal of the psionic classes make good passive sides because they don't necessitate doing things with your standard action every turn in combat (contrast things like initiators, revised spellburst savant, etc)

Every time I try that, I go through so much back and forth that the the end result feels vastly different from base concept.

Last time it went
Gunsmoke Mystic
Gunsmoke Mystic//Augmented Blade
Mystic//Augmented Blade using bows
Mystic//PsyArm Soulknife
All because pathfinder guns suck ass.

>Possibly like a d8, 2 saves, mid bab, 4+ skills?
In gestalt the only way to NOT have this minimun is to try to not have it. Like Wizard Psychic or Wizard Witch.

>What classes do I like and want to play the most, and what content is available?
>what are some classes with cool features, but I would normally not want to mess with on account of them being kind of shitty?
>does this combination let me pull of a really stupid build that would otherwise never work?
>does this gestalt give me a good will save?

Gestalt is one of the few isntances where I would unironically choose to play a rogue, monk, or fighter, though if Jolly's Vigilante stuff is on the table I might have a few specific builds that would want that instead.

How strictly do you follow the rules?

I understand that too strict can bore players as you dig through rulebooks, but not strict enough and youre not playing a game anymore. Is there an answer to this, or is it just "follow to the best of your ability and fudge when necessary" ?

So for gestalts that are mostly thought experiments as I can never find/get in campaigns that stick around that even remotely allow gestalt/3pp, should I just build for fun? Honestly there's a lot more questions I should be asking myself if this is the case, like "why do I even play PF?"

Besides the standard options like Aegis and Soulknife, what are some good passive classes for 3pp? And do utility/out of combat/support casters count as passive?

>Besides the standard options like Aegis and Soulknife, what are some good passive classes for 3pp? And do utility/out of combat/support casters count as passive?
All the initiating classes are pretty good passives if you focus on boosts and counters, unless you have lots of abilities relying on swift actions.

So, gm for the lewd gestalt RotRL//Jade Regent game here. It was suggested to me that I make a mailing list of sorts, so this is it.

app.roll20.net/campaigns/details/1770733/waiting-room-for-rotrl-slash-slash-jade-regent

Just post in the thread there and I'll add you to the game so you can be notified when the apps are open for the game proper, if you miss the notification.

>Besides the standard options like Aegis and Soulknife, what are some good passive classes for 3pp? And do utility/out of combat/support casters count as passive?

Yeah, fullcasters/manifesters are pretty standard, just use their spells for utility things.

From personal experience vitalist is a nice very passive side that has the hidden bonus of WIS to damage and healing once per round on an attack with a conductive weapon.
In general, classes that give passive augments to your damage can do great here (Dread with a conductive weapon, Kineticist with a conductive ranged weapon, Brutal Disruptor Cryptic in melee, even just Sneak Attack classes)

Some utility heavy classes like Empath Medium, Occultist, high spherecasters, and so on will also go a long way.

get an old set of clothes, run in circles around your house a few minutes while dragging these in the ground, get some car oil, drop it on a paper tissue and put it together along that set of clothes in an amorphous ball you keep shaping on your hands like it was clay.
Finally, take the paper tissue out, and stretch them hard enough until you start hearing the first rips
Congrats, you now look like either an hobo or a retard

>Not Authorized

Whoops, fuck me. Try this one.

app.roll20.net/join/1770733/2aujeQ

Alright, sounds reasonable. My main concern is that this is a single guy though. If I create him keeping to the same rules as the players, wouldn't he be very underpowered? If he weren't what's stopping a player from doing the same "build"?
At this point I figure I'd probably give him some extra (free) abilities, a bit more HP and having his level be always three levels above the party's. Is that generally a good course of action, or am I going the wrong way to make this guy challenging?

Yeah, I should have specified. When I mean a reasonable encounter for 1st level PCs, that'd be a 3rd or 4th level NPC with PCs classes. In the same way, a 13th or 14th level NPC is still a challenging fight for your average 10th or 11th level PCs. How experienced are your players?

I disagree! Keep asking user! It's the only way these assholes will give us what we want.

One is pretty experienced and suspectibly a powergamer. He's told me he'll be a Barbarian or an Alchemist (presumably mutagen-focused). Two have never touched a game like this before, and the last one is reasonably experienced with 3.5. He'll probably take up a role that the party is missing.

You should give us generation rules so we can nerd out and make characters!

I'd imagine the various agrigarian communities and such would have similar harvest festivals.

Also the 30th of Lamashan (October) is supposedly a Lamashtan holoday called Allbirth. No information is goven on said holiday

Harbinger (DSP) is an excellent passive option due to how a lot of it is "add extra movement options, better attacks, harder save DCs", as well as Incanter or Mageknight (DDS) for wanting quick boosts or long-lasting buffs.

>Yeah, fullcasters/manifesters are pretty standard, just use their spells for utility things.
Most fullcasters/manifesters have pretty terrible PASSIVE abilities.

>No information is given on said holiday

I'm going to assume it's very similar to a harvest festival in that it's a celebration of life and the creation of it.

Needless to say, lots of fucking, alcohol and food.

Dessert is cream pie.

Fine fine, but I didn't want to post those in case people felt like they got locked in months ahead of time or they made characters they would later not be able to play.

Or just make characters and months later not get chosen.

>better attacks, harder save DCs

Those sound pretty active to me.
The DCs also only apply to maneuvers of a discipline it has, so you're not going to be a super caster by having harbinger passive.

The idea of any full initiator being passive is just kinda silly.