Fun Pathfinds

[Nanashi]

Got my hands on The Puzzle Box, the final first party content for 1E PF. There's three new magic items in it. One is just a magic/clockwork replacement arm (there's a few such already in PF, including the Clockwork Arm of the same name), the second is a pair of gloves that give +5 to Heal checks and has some non-restoring charges you can blow to use Cure spells (though it has one possible abuse in that it never actually says how many charges it comes with aside from one for each finger/thumb, the spells it offers are so meh it's not worth the effort) but the third has some action economy abuse.

ONE-PERSON ORCHESTRA
PRICE
14,000 GP
SLOT armor
CL 12th
WEIGHT 25 lbs.
AURA strong abjuration, evocation, and transmutation
This unusual-looking suit of +2 studded leather armor has been fitted with a set of drums on the back, a frame on the helm that holds a set of panpipes, and adjustable armatures on the side of the torso that hold a lute. These three instruments are fully integrated into the armor and cannot be removed without destroying the one-person orchestra. A character who wears the suit can use it to make Perform (percussion, string, or wind) checks without needing to expend any actions to stow or retrieve the instruments in question. In addition, the three instruments themselves can each be used to generate a specific magical effect once per day each.
Panpipes: Once per day as part of any action used to start a bardic performance, a bard using these panpipes treats the effects of that performance as if they were generated by a bard of five levels higher. This effect lasts as long as the bard maintains that particular performance.
Lute: Once per day as part of any action used to start a bardic performance, a bard can use the lute to gain the effect of a shield spell for the duration of her bardic performance.
Drums: Once per day as a swift action, a bard can cause any sonic or electricity spell she casts of 6th or lower level to become empowered, as if by the Empower Spell feat.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
COST 7,000 GP, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, creator must have the bardic performance ability, heroism, shield, sound burst, summon instrument

(there's also a new construct, with the swarm subtype, that has crafting rules. May bother with the for mating of that one later)

[zook1shoe]

that's a fun item

Glowdrop is a hilarious looking npc

[Nanashi]

Iron Spine is no save sickened and 1d6 damage against a foe if they move. That's meh. If used against something with DR beaten by cold iron however, the target is instead nauseated if they move. It's really limited so not an every day prep, but it absolutely destroys Linnorms. It completely ignores their freedom of movement.

[Nytemare3701]

Iron Spine is no save sickened and 1d6 damage against a foe if they move. That's meh. If used against something with DR beaten by cold iron however, the target is instead nauseated if they move. It's really limited so not an every day prep, but it absolutely destroys Linnorms. It completely ignores their freedom of movement.

That pretty much disables an entire class of normally evasive creatures (fey)

[Nanashi]

Fey are the obvious and intended ones. If a lot of the weirder ones have skeletons get a bit too far into GM fiat for my taste though. Could possibly work on demons that need good or cold iron, but also GM. Linnorms unambiguously have one (would be awkward to mount their heads otherwise, and there's a skeleton one in a PFS module).

edit: It's a shame the requirements for Quick Study are so steep (have to be a fighter and can't have an archetype that replaces bravery), but it's a neat trick and most importantly you aren't required to make the same choices for the feat your teacher made. This really shines with DSP material: Myrmidon doesn't lose bravery and can pick Advanced Study, being able to pull any manuver he wants and qualifies for out of his ass (Brawler's dynamic feats don't work because you have to prep maneuvers).

[zook1shoe]

Free template on all First World-born gnomes

Templates: *snip* The following simple template is extremely common in the First World, and affects all gnomes born within the First World.

First World Creature: Creatures with the First World template live on the First World, and can be summoned using spells such as summon monster, summon nature’s ally, and planar ally. A First World creature’s CR increases by 1 only if the base creature has 5 or more HIt Dice. A First World creature’s quick and rebuild rules are the same.
Rebuild Rules: Type the creature counts as both its base type as well as fey for any effects related to type; Senses gains low-light vision; Defensive Abilities gains DR and energy resistance as noted on the table below, +4 bonus against mind-affecting effects; SR gains SR equal to new CR + 5; Special a First World creature killed while on the First World does not travel to the Boneyard, but simply reappears elsewhere in the First World 1d10 days later as if raised by resurrection, save that the negative level and Constitution drain from that spell cannot force it below 1st level or a Constitution score of 1. At the GM’s option, the creature may be reincarnated (as per reincarnate) instead.

HD 1-4: cold and electricity resistance 5
HD 5-10: cold and electricity resistance 10; DR 5/cold iron
HD 11+: cold and electricity resistance 15; DR 10/cold iron

this is backed up by Heroes From the Fringe, and somehow even PFS 1e legal

First World GnomesThe gnomes of Golarion are immigrants from the First
World, the primordial realm of the fey. While Golarion’s
gnomes have had generations to adapt to the realities of the
Material Plane, many gnomes remain in the First World to
this day. In addition to the First World creature template
(Pathfinder Campaign Setting: First World, Realm of the Fey 57),
most First World gnomes have the bond to the land alternate
racial trait, as well as the traits listed below.

[Nanashi]

Here's a weird one: In the Kingmaker video game, a priest of Kurgess says that for for priests of Kurgess "our bodies are the temples". I have no idea if that's canon, but if it is it's the best casting of Consecrate ever!

[zook1shoe]

Cyclical Reincarnation + Racial Heritage = customizable natural werecritters and werebugs

Finally found a way to make a were-jellyfish :-p

Or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

[TC X0 Lt 0X]

Cyclical Reincarnation + Racial Heritage = customizable natural werecritters and werebugs

Finally found a way to make a were-jellyfish :-p

Or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

I don't follow. At least as far as Racial Heritage feat goes, it requires Humans and only emulates Humanoids.

[Nanashi]

Yeah, it doesn't change your effective size. That's not even strictly linked to race since children are smaller and I think there's some species of humanoid that gets bigger once it crosses some racial HD threshold.

[zook1shoe]

The feat requires human, which several races besides human count as (half-elves, half-orcs, some planetouched via alt. racial traits).

The feat let's you choose a humanoid race to count as for the purpose of spells (among everything else).

A natural thrope is a legal option for Racial Heritage, since it can only be applied to humanoids and is inherent template as a natural thrope

The spell reincarnates you into a member of your race.

You're probably going to end up just having equal chances of becoming your actual base race or a full bred were-critter.

Ex. Human + Racial Heritage (were-cicada halfling) has a 50% chance of becoming either. If you get the former, your chances remain 50/50 on your next rebirth. If you get the latter, you lose Racial Heritage as no longer being a human. Now you have a 100% chance of re-emerging as a cicada midget on any future rebirths.

All this works for any race combination. Half-elf (among others) will really screw with the rebirth rates, 25% each for half-elf, human, elf, and heritage.

.

Cyclical Reincarnation works really fluffily with being a were-cicada. Almost like they were meant to go together :-p

Be prepared to block flying books, though.

[Nanashi]

Realistic Likeness is known for letting you take the form of specific humans (or humanoids, I'm surprised this was never answered since it's from a hardcover), overwriting the clause about not being able to take the form of specific creatures. That's the intent and obvious. Less obvious is it overwrites the inability to take the form of templated creatures.

Other than Young (small size, good disguise) and Lycanthrope (natural attacks and low-light), are there any templates that are plausible to find on Human(oids) without changing their type? Particularly interested in anything that grants something Alter Self can give ("darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, scent, and swim 30 feet.").

[zook1shoe]

I haven't done any template lists since Nethys is fairly complete. Advanced comes to mind, maybe the class templates (Monster Codex 245ish). The Nethys links are broken.

Theres the bug version of lycanthropy as I mentioned above.

[Nanashi]

Problem is those two don't give anything to Alter Self based transformation.

[zook1shoe]

True

Awakened from Stasis
Although you were born and lived on Golarion, you recently awakened in a strange vault with no memory of how you got there, surrounded by sleeping creatures of every shape and size in smooth glass eggs, all watched over by uncommunicative crablike automatons. As a side effect of your stasis, you gain all the benefits of 8 hours of sleep in only 2 hours. This allows a spellcaster who must rest to prepare spells to do so after only 2 hours, but does not allow a spellcaster to prepare spells more than once per day.

[Nanashi]

Weapon Mods from Adventurer's Armory 2 are an interesting concept largely brought down by being expensive and not being very good (Could have been expanded on if it wasn't printed so late). I did find one use though: Dual-balanced Cestus (because it's the best light simple weapon if you're being locked into one) can help a TWF Slayer RIP AND TEAR. While 2000 on both is fairly expensive, it's a mundane property, not a magical one so its price is thirded when crafted and doable instantly with a single spell, rather than halved and needing a feat and requiring downtime. Even if you're adding it to an existing magic weapon this only costs 1000 per weapon when fabricating, which is doable.

That aside, two notable uses. Versatile Design for abuse with Sohei or Ascetic Style+Strike feats (use any melee weapon with monk abilities) and maybe something with Shield Brace (not really sure what though since spears and polearms have plenty of options already). It's also worth it for a lot of Path of War users who want their weapon to be from multiple disciplines. Tactically Adapted is both an alternative to the Bludgeoner feat (Even a full 3000 GP is way better than spending a feat) for Sap Master abuse and a way to get a reverse blade sword.

[zook1shoe]

never thought of Versatile for monk

downside, w the mods, you would still need a feat to wield a modded exotic weapon. but if you apply the monk type to a martial weapon, they are proficient w/o the need of a feat.

flurry of blows doesn't require melee attacks. so you could make a pseudo-Zen Archer

A monk applies his full Strength bonus to his damage rolls for all successful attacks made with flurry of blows, whether the attacks are made with an off-hand or with a weapon wielded in both hands.

wow, you can get your Str to any flurry of blows weapon, since this overrides the general rules. your projectile weapons can get full Str to damage, even if they normally couldn't, like a crossbow.

rope darts and shurikens are ranged monk weapons, so the weapon group is not melee only, and can be applied to both.

[Nanashi]

Versatile Design sadly doesn't let you put ranged weapons into melee categories or melee weapons into ranged categories. You might be able to move slings (which already get your full strength...) and blowguns into something, since most "thrown" weapons are actually melee ones, but not bows. What can absolutely give you that bit of cheese is Sohei, which grants flurry of blows use with any one of  bows, crossbows, monk weapons, polearms, spears, or thrown weapons at level 6 and lacks the Zen Archer clause that specifically causes this not to apply.

 It also gives the Monk weapon group, not the Monk special quality (which unmonks are proficient in), so that idea is out.

[zook1shoe]

Ooooh.... derp

[Nanashi]

Clockwork Oar let you replace crew with 500gp machines. For most ships, the crew requirements would double the cost, and the speed is only as good as wind power overland (if you can control it for the 24 hours it can row tirelessly), rendering it a novelty. The exception is the Keelboat, which is actually faster overland, and relatively cheap to equip with them (4000GP), and, as a non-magical item, trivial if you've got fabricate (1333.333333333333).