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Topics - linklord231

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1
Min/Max 3.x / Spheres of Might Scholar Pet
« on: April 25, 2022, 06:34:50 PM »
For those unaware, Spheres of Power is a 3rd party system for Pathfinder published by Drop Dead Studios.

Their Scholar class has a pair of Knacks called "Animal Training, (Small/Large)", which give you a pet that scales on class level and counts as both a familiar and an animal companion, granting the abilities of both (a la Fochlucan Lyricist). It explicitly can take familiar and animal companion archetypes.

What's the craziest build you can think of to take advantage of this?

2
Min/Max 3.x / Dragonfire Adept help
« on: March 06, 2017, 06:05:21 PM »
It's my buddy's birthday on Saturday, and he wants to run a one-shot for us.  My character pitch is a young Kobold who's convinced he's going to grow up in to a real Dragon one day, but I have some mechanics concerns.

Fleek, Dragonborn (Wings aspect) Rock Gnome (refluffed into Kobold)
Dragonfire Adept 6
Breath Shapes:  Cold Breath, Slow Breath
Invocations:  Beguiling Influence, Endure Exposure, Frightful Presence
Feats:  Entangling Exhalation, Ability Focus (Breath Weapon), 1 free  (leaning towards Exhaled Barrier or Flyby Attack)

I opted to go with refluffing the race because it's the only way I could think of to get permanent, physical wings without spending 2/3rds of my feats on it. 
This guy can be a hell of a debuffer (Entangled, Slowed, Shaken -> Frightened), but he's pretty much crap at everything else.  Even with a Dragon Spirit Cincture to boost my breath weapon to 4d6, that's still only an average of 14 damage on a failed save.  That's frankly pathetic.  It gets even worse when you realize that Entangling Exhalation halves your breath weapon damage, and a successful save halves it again.  3 damage at level six is laughably bad. 

Does anyone have any ideas for improving this? 

3
Gaming Advice / Counterspelling Spells With a Long Casting Time
« on: October 11, 2016, 03:35:44 AM »
If someone is casting a spell with a casting time longer than a Standard Action, can somebody come up after the spell has been started but before it finishes and counterspell it?  Does the answer change if you use Dispel Magic instead of the same spell the other guy is using?

For example, the BBEG is casting Legend Lore to find out something you don't want him to know.  Sometime during the 2d6 weeks casting time, you bust in his door to stop him.  For some reason you can't get to him in order to use one of the myriad other ways to force him to stop the spell (such as by punching him in the nose or whatever).  Can your party spellcaster try to Counterspell the spell in progress?

4
Gaming Advice / Metamagic Spell Scrolls
« on: June 28, 2016, 05:16:49 PM »
Say I'm a Wizard with Scribe Scroll and Empower Spell.  According to PHB pg 88, I can scribe a scroll of an Empowered version of a spell I know (say, Fireball).  This much is clear.

Presumably, when I cast the spell off the scroll, it behaves as one would expect.  I could cast an Empowered Fireball from one of my own spell slots, so no UMD or Caster Level check is required. 

Assume that I have an apprentice, who is also a wizard with the Empower Spell feat, but can't yet cast 5th level spells.  Does he require a UMD or CL check?  I would assume yes, because although an Empowered Fireball is treated as a 3rd level spell for most purposes (despite requiring a 5th level spell slot), it still requires a Caster Level of at least 9.  Since the apprentice doesn't have that, it requires a CL check.

What if the apprentice didn't have the Empower Spell feat?  Would that change anything?  What about if I handed the scroll to my colleague instead of my apprentice - a fellow Wizard who had a Caster Level equal to my own, but didn't have the feat? 

What would happen if someone tried to copy my scroll into his spellbook?

5
Board Business / Is my avatar image broken?
« on: March 12, 2016, 04:24:54 AM »
Can other people see my avatar?  On my desktop, it gives a generic "broken image" thumbnail, but it seems to be working fine on mobile.  I'm not sure if it's a caching issue with one of my devices, or if I need to re-upload the image.

6
Off Topic Fun / Reviews
« on: June 02, 2015, 01:52:57 AM »
Imagine, if you will, a pair of headphones.  These headphones are the absolute best on the market - the sound quality is superb, they have every feature you could possibly want (and some you didn't know you needed), and they're significantly cheaper than the competition.  But, the company that produces these headphones does so by using slave labor. 

Is a reviewer of these headphones obligated to mention the fact that they're made by slaves in the review?  Should the headphones be given a lower rating because of how they were produced?  Should a reviewer recommend that consumers buy a different set of headphones instead, even if the alternative has inferior quality or a higher price? 

7
Gaming Advice / Skill Points and Negative Int
« on: May 22, 2015, 04:12:32 AM »
If I'm a Human Cleric with 7 Int, how many skill points per level do I get? 

8
D&D 5e / Mass Combat
« on: March 20, 2015, 05:09:40 PM »

9
Off Topic Fun / Tablets
« on: February 20, 2015, 07:20:52 PM »
I'm thinking about getting a tablet for use at the gaming table.  I'm looking for something in the $300-$500 range, probably with an 8" screen or bigger.  It absolutely needs to play nice with PDFs and web browsing, but I'd also probably use it for watching youtube videos and netflix when I'm not gaming.  Expandable storage via SD card is highly desired, and it absolutely must be Android (I hate iOS and Win8).  Top contenders right now are an Nvidia Shield Tablet, Nexus 9, and Samsung Galaxy Tab S. 
Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing, or suggestions for other tablets to look at? 

10
Gaming Advice / Shadow Blend and Embrace of Shadow
« on: February 20, 2015, 01:11:01 AM »
Let's say I'm a Monk 7/Umbral Disciple 3, with the Dark Moon Disciple Monk substitution levels.  I have these two abilities:
Quote from: Dark Moon Disciple 7, Champions of Valor web expansion
Shadow Blend (Su): In any conditions other than full daylight, a 7th-level Dark Moon Disciple can disappear into the shadows, gaining total concealment. Artificial light does not negate this ability, though a daylight spell does. This benefit replaces the wholeness of body class feature that the standard monk gains at 7th level.

Quote from:  Umbral Disciple, Magic of Incarnum 58
Embrace of Shadow (Su): Starting at 3rd level, you can weave incarnum into an obscuring shadow that clings to you, providing you with a limited amount of concealment. While you are thus cloaked in shadow, each attack made against you has a 10% miss chance per point of essentia invested in this ability. This miss chance does not stack with miss chances provided by any other ability or effect.
If the miss chance granted by this ability is 20% or higher, you also gain the ability to hide in plain sight that is, you can use the Hide skill even while being observed. See the ranger class feature, page 48 of the Player’s Handbook. Embrace of shadow is usable at will.

Is the concealment gained by Embrace of Shadow enough to trigger Shadow Blend, even in what would otherwise be full daylight?  Does how much essentia you've invested make a difference? 

11
D&D 5e / Eberron update
« on: February 06, 2015, 01:12:57 PM »
As it's first Unearthed Arcana column, WotC put out a little document with rules for most of the traditional Eberron races, the Artificer, and Dragonmarks.  Check it out.

Kalashtar is missing, probably because they haven't decided how Psionics is going to work.
Changelings can "polymorph in to any humanoid of your size that you have seen".  This desperately needs some clarification - what do you gain?  Can you make yourself look like an individual, or just a generic elf/human/whatever? 
Shifters kind of suck.  Your second ability increase is locked away unless you're Shifting, which you can only do once per rest.  That said, most of the Shifter traits are pretty decent for the right build.  A Barbarian would probably enjoy Beasthide's +1 Con and +1 AC, Dex Fighters and Rogues would probably like the bonus action attack that Razorclaw gets you, and casters might benefit from Longstrider's bonus action dash, I guess.
Warforged are great.  Flat +1 to AC, and instead of sleeping you just sit for 4 hours but remain aware of your surroundings.  And you don't have to worry about food.  I fully expect the +1 AC to get nerfed in the future.

Artificer got rolled in to a a Wizard Tradition instead of its own base class.  I'm not thrilled about it, but it does seem to be the only way to create permanent magic items so far, even if only chosen off a limited list.  Unfortunately that ability doesn't come until 20th level.

Action Points - get 5 + 1/2 level per level, spend to add 1d6 to a d20 roll after you determine success/failure. 

Dragonmarks are similar to 3.5, but you only need to take 1 feat to get all the scaling benefits.  You basically get 4 bonus spells per day, determined by your Dragonmark.  Handling, Making, and Passage seem to be the best. 

12
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Faerie Dragon familiar
« on: February 03, 2015, 04:26:05 AM »
So in my Kingmaker game, the Wizard player befriended the Faerie Dragon and wants to take it as his familiar.  Easy enough, just have him take the Improved Familiar feat next level.  The problem is, Faerie Dragons can't be taken as familiars until Caster Level 7, and they just hit level 3.  I'd rather not say "sorry, you have to wait 4 more levels", especially because there's no guarantee the game will even go on that long.  The current adventure is only expected to go til level 4 or so. 

Does anyone have any ideas for how to nerf Faerie Dragons down to be an appropriate familiar for a level 3 Wizard?

13
Gaming Advice / Solid fog and Stalling
« on: December 06, 2014, 03:01:52 AM »
Ok, let's assume there's a flying creature with Average or worse maneuverability, and who has a fly speed of greater than 10'.  What happens if he suddenly flies in to a Solid Fog cloud? 

For reference, here's the rules on stalling: 
Quote from: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/movement.htm
Minimum Forward Speed
If a flying creature fails to maintain its minimum forward speed, it must land at the end of its movement. If it is too high above the ground to land, it falls straight down, descending 150 feet in the first round of falling. If this distance brings it to the ground, it takes falling damage. If the fall doesn’t bring the creature to the ground, it must spend its next turn recovering from the stall. It must succeed on a DC 20 Reflex save to recover. Otherwise it falls another 300 feet. If it hits the ground, it takes falling damage. Otherwise, it has another chance to recover on its next turn.
Note that a creature's minimum forward speed is half its fly speed unless it has Good or better maneuverability. 

14
Creations & Ephemera / Karthun: Lands of Conflict
« on: September 24, 2014, 06:28:13 PM »
This is the first Kickstarted I've ever backed.  It's made by the guy who writes d20monkey, a gaming webcomic.  He and the co-creator have successfully delivered on a few other kickstarters, so I don't think there's substantial danger of them disappearing or the project being put on hiatus. 

From what I've seen of it so far, the campaign setting seems pretty awesome.  He's been dropping tidbits of lore and stuff throughout the comic. 

15
Off Topic Fun / Opposite of Meta-
« on: September 22, 2014, 01:48:31 PM »
What we do on these boards  - character creation, rules discussions, etc - is the "metagame", or the "game outside of the game".

The actual act of playing the game, where you sit down with your friends and roll dice and stuff, is the "game". 

What's the prefix for the events that happen in character?  Infragame?  Mesagame? 

16
Rules / Rolling and Roll20
« on: May 29, 2014, 04:18:12 PM »
Rolls should be done using the Roll20 die roller, and the results recorded in the relevant thread.  If you want, you can roll first so that you can narrate the results of your roll without having to post repeatedly.  I'll make sure to make the AC and saves of enemies visible, so you don't have to wait for me to announce a hit/miss or passed/failed save. 

Non-player characters will have the Green bar/circle represent their health, the Blue circle represent AC, and the Red circle represent saves in the form Fort/Ref/Will.  Click on the character token to see this information.  Feel free to use this format for your own characters too, but I won't require it as long as you keep your character sheets here updated. 

17
Min/Max 3.x / IronSoul Forgemaster Tank
« on: May 01, 2014, 04:03:35 PM »
Just for fun, I put together a 20th level ISF Tank build.  Nowhere near high-op, but I think it should be playable at most tables. 

Earth Dwarf Lawful Incarnate 8/Crusader 1/Incarnate +1/ISF 10
meldshaping as Incarnate 18 (22 ess, 8 shaped, 5 bound)
Bind to crown, feet, hands, arms, brow, shoulders, waist, heart (no throat or soul)
BAB 12/7/2
3rd level Crusader maneuvers (WRT, Shield Block, Mountain Hammer, 2 others, + stance, probably Martial Spirit)
Incarnum Radiance 2/day (+ 2 melee attacks)

Feats:
1. 
3.  Expanded Soulmeld Capacity
6.  Bonus Essentia
9.  Stone Power
12.
15.
18.

Soulmelds:
Incarnate Avatar (Soul)(+1 insight to hit per ess)
Bluesteel Bracers (arms)(+2 init, and +1 damage/ess)
Crystal Helm (Crown)(+2 vs charm/compulstion, and +1 deflection AC per ess)
Vitality Belt (Waist)(+4 Con checks, and +ML/ess hit points)
Spellward Shirt (Heart)(SR 5 + 4/ess)
Lightning Guantlets (Hands)(1d6 electric damage as touch attack, std action, +1d6/ess)
Mantle of Flame (Shoulders)(1d6 fire damage to attackers, +1d6/ess)
Airstep Sandles (Feet)(fly 10, fall at end of turn, +10'/ess)

Shield Bond (resist energy 5/ess)
Armor Bond (DR 1/- per ess, stacks)
Weapon Bond (+2 damage/ess, and fort save vs daze)

Bound:
Bluesteel Bracers (+2 init to party)
Crystal Helm (melee attacks have force descriptor, effect incorporeals)
Airstep Sandles (fly at perfect maneuverability, maybe don't have to land?)
Vitality Belt (immune to con damage/drain)
Lightning Guantlets (damage applies to one melee attack/round, no action)

I'm not quite sure what else to pick for feats, and I haven't even thought about equipment yet other than using Adamantine Full Plate and probably a Dwarven Waraxe.  Probably make it and the shield both Spiked (+1 Defending) for the extra AC boost.  The basic idea is to beat people's faces and be very resistant to HP damage.  A high AC combined with DR, Stone Power, and Vitality Belt should accomplish that.  He shouldn't be a slouch damage-wise either, because of Weapon Bond, Bluesteel Bracers, Lightning Gauntlets, and Mantle of Flame (those last two will probably be unpowered most of the time though). 
He overcomes the normal dwarf maneuverability problem via Airstep Sandles, which overwrite his ground speed with a fly speed of 10 + 10/ess.  If it's ruled that the foot bind gives a permanent fly speed, so much the better.  If not, there's items. 

Normal essentia loadout would be something like 4 each in his weapon and armor, 6 in Incarnate Avatar, and 5 each in Bluesteel Bracers and Crystal Helm.  As the fight goes on, some of the essentia from armor and Helm would get transferred to Vitality Belt to soak damage.  Vs spellcasters, just swap essentia from Crystal Helm to Spellward Shirt and Armor Bond to Shield Bond. 

18
OOC / Metagame Talk
« on: April 18, 2014, 04:28:09 AM »
For jokes, OOC quips, strategizing, and so forth. 

Remember folks, context is nice.  Linking the post you're responding to, especially if it's in another thread, helps with cohesion. 

19
Gameplay / Act One: Stolen Land
« on: April 18, 2014, 04:19:19 AM »
Each of you has accepted the call of the Dragonscale Throne of Brevoy to explore and "civilize" the Stolen Lands.  You have been granted a charter by the Swordlords of Restov, though it is up to you how you fulfill its terms. 

Though you may have set out from Restov seperately, you have all met up at Oleg's Trading Post, the last speck of civilization before the wild frontiers of the Greenbelt.  A cold breeze blows through the wooden palisade walls of the fort-turned-store on this, the last morning of the month of Calistril.  Looking up at the sky, you suspect it might snow.  You've got to know the Trading Post fairly well over the last day or so - not that there's a whole lot to see here.
(click to show/hide)


Oleg, the proprietor of this establishment, and his young wife Svetlana, have graciously put you up while you waited for the last of your companions to arrive.  Normally they're excellent hosts - obviously a bit removed from polite society, of course, but courteous nonetheless.  Today though, they seem a bit... off.  They've been huddled together ever since breakfast, arguing in hushed tones.  Occasionally, Svetlana glances appraisingly in your direction.  When you catch their eyes, Svetlana smiles warmly and Oleg huffs and crosses his arms. 

20
General Knowledge / Calendar
« on: April 18, 2014, 03:08:25 AM »
Time
Although many calendars exist among the peoples of the Inner Sea, the one in widest use employs Absalom Reckoning (ar) for all of its dates. This reckoning system is based on the foundation of Absalom (which occurred on 1 Abadius, 1 ar), and because of Absalom’s expansive influence, the city’s calendar has achieved great popularity throughout the region. In Absalom Reckoning, the day of the month is always given first, followed by the name or number of the month, with the year coming last. Golarion spins on its axis roughly once every 24 hours. A week consists of 7 days, with 52 weeks per year. A year has 12 months, each of which corresponds to a popular deity and (roughly) to a single cycle of Golarion’s sole moon. In order to most accurately ref lect reality, many calendars across Golarion add in leap days. In the Absalom Reckoning, the leap day is tacked on to the end of Calistril and occurs on every year divisible by 8. Thus, the current year (4711) is not a leap year, but 4704 was and 4712 will be.

Days of the Week
Day                    Task
Moonday            Work, religion (night)
Toilday               Work
Wealday            Work
Oathday            Work, pacts signed, oaths sworn
Fireday              Work, market day
Starday             Work
Sunday              Rest, religion

Months of the Year
Month                            Days                Season                  Associated Deity
Abadius (January)         31                    Winter                   Abadar
Calistril (February)        28                    Winter                   Calistria
Pharast (March)            31                    Spring                    Pharasma
Gozran (April)               30                    Spring                    Gozreh
Desnus (May)               31                    Spring                    Desna
Sarenith (June)            30                    Summer                  Sarenrae
Erastus (July)               31                    Summer                  Erastil
Arodus (August)           31                    Summer                 Aroden
Rova (September)        30                    Fall                        Rovagug
Lamashan (October)    31                    Fall                        Lamashtu
Neth (November)         30                    Fall                        Nethys
Kuthona (December)   31                    Winter                   Zon-Kuthon

Edit:  Well, my spacebar-made tables look like they were created by a drunken monkey.  If anyone knows how to properly format them, that would be pretty cool. 

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