Author Topic: [PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?  (Read 2016 times)

Offline Power

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[PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?
« on: December 02, 2019, 09:21:36 AM »
So I found this curious feat, I'm wondering what can be done with it:
Quote
GIFT FROM THE SEA
Source Heroes from the Fringe pg. 20
Although shoreborn see little of their aquatic parents, they can still call on their underwater kin for help.

Prerequisites: Shoreborn half-elf.

Benefit: Once per day, you can fill a vial with water from a natural source and the water will turn magical, functioning as a potion of a 1st-level druid spell of your choice with a caster level equal to your Hit Dice. This potion becomes inert after a number of hours equal to your Hit Dice.
The best part is you can decide which Druid spell you get each time you use the feat, and the potion even gets full caster level. The downside is you need a natural water source nearby to use it, and it only lasts a number of hours equal to your Hit Dice. A Dawnflower Dervish Bard can use Inspire Greatness on himself while filling a potion to give it +4 caster level and +4 hours duration, since IG gives +4 Hit Dice while filling it. A regular Bard only gets +2 HD (but there are two PF faction feats that can increase bonus by 2 total). Other than that there are no sources of bonus Hit Dice to my knowledge.

It's worth noting that with a Syringe Spear or Poisoner's Gloves you can insert potions and similar liquids into creatures as an attack action (the gloves in particular allow you to make touch attacks), the Cauldron of Fireworks will shoot potions into people as a ranged touch attack with a command (best let your familiar put the potions in the cauldron and later activate it, use Sage and/or Figment familiar (use Ability Increase 2-point evolution) archetypes and Fox's Cunning spell for higher int while filling potions), and the Accelerated Drinker combat trait lets you drink potions as a move action. In addition, the Alchemist's Alchemical Allocation (2nd-level) extract lets you drink a potion without expending it, Amplify Elixir (3rd-level) extract (Alchemy subdomain gives this as a 4th level divine spell) can Empower a potion, and the Tattoo Potion spell allows you to turn potions into permanent spell tattoos (at a cost of 500gp). Rune of Rule lets you raise a potion's CL by 2 with someone else's assistance. The Touch Injection spell, similar to Poisoner's Gloves, lets you use a melee touch attack to put a potion in someone. Alchemist discoveries can also double the duration of a potion you drink, make the duration of a potion you drink permanent (but only 1 potion at a time, and requires lvl16), and turn 1 potion into 2 potions (requires level 12). Deathwine spell can use a potion for a caster level bonus to necromancy (and undead healing) instead of its normal effect, and Transmute Potion to Poison extract will make a shitty 1d2 dex damage DC11 fort save injury poison out of your Spell Level 1 poison. This is probably not an exhaustive list, since I'm sure there are magic items and other abilities to affect potions.

According to PF, a potion or oil "can duplicate the effect of a spell of up to 3rd level that has a casting time of less than 1 minute and targets one or more creatures or objects."

It seems like there should be a lot of uses you can get out of this feat, especially if you are an alchemist.
« Last Edit: December 14, 2019, 08:09:31 PM by Power »

Offline Nanashi

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Re: [PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2019, 02:12:42 PM »
My first thought was to find something with an expensive material component. Alas the only 1st level druid spells with one are Obscure Poison (meh), Ironbloom Sprouts (Usable, but not worth the feat. Note the mushrooms don't have to be fresh like the berries do, and dried mushrooms last essentially forever.), Pesh Vigor (A lesser Animal Attribute that's addicting) and a pair of Rite spells (too long a casting time to be valid).

The other natural idea is spells that have a greater than standard action casting time or benefit from being silent. No valid full round/1 round spells show up to me. For silence, Touch of Combustion can set anything  on fire silently and quickly, and flying familiar can use it for an air strike.

Even without finding a cheesy spell to use it with, you can pick the spell every time and "from a natural source" is pretty much anything but magically created water (Even the water in a canal and well are ultimately from natural sources, there's just a middleman to make it easier to get to). 1st level Druid spells gives some good utility effects.

Offline Power

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Re: [PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2019, 09:27:30 PM »
Hm, by extension that would mean if you fill a decanter with spring water or river water or whatever, you have water from a natural source with you. In that case this feat is pretty easy to keep working, which would make it generally usable. I assumed that for this restriction to be meaningful the water has to be drawn directly from natural terrain features, but it's true that that kind of restrictive reading is going far above and beyond the description of "water from a natural source."

And yes, from what I can tell this feat isn't broken/overpowered. Just handy.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2019, 12:32:30 PM by Power »

Offline zook1shoe

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Re: [PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2019, 01:30:26 PM »
a barrel of seawater would qualify.

downside? you get only certain elf traits, and can't customize those for your character
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Offline awaken_D_M_golem

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Re: [PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2019, 05:36:09 PM »
.
Does a Water Elemental count as " water from a natural source " ??

Your codpiece is a mimic.

Offline Maelphaxerazz

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Re: [PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2019, 02:20:14 AM »
Drinking a water elemental seems... morally questionable, at least. Probably pretty dangerous, too.

Offline zook1shoe

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Re: [PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2019, 02:05:00 PM »
the price depends on if they spit or swallow
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Offline awaken_D_M_golem

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Re: [PF] What to do with the Gift from the Sea feat?
« Reply #7 on: December 04, 2019, 04:38:37 PM »
 :P oops weenie filter triggered.
 :flirt

Drinking a water elemental seems... morally questionable, at least. Probably pretty dangerous, too.
True.
I was thinking a parallel to the Blood Elemental being used by a Maho-Tsukai.
Your codpiece is a mimic.