Interesting stuff in Pathfinder

[zook1shoe]

Reading more into the vigilante. ... it sucks hard.

Like a rogue batman? Your sneak attack deals only d4s when flanking or flat-footed. And no other 1st level abilities that do more than fluff

Going martial instead?  Nice full BAB and..... nothing else.

The spellcasting options are usable, but that's about it.
---
Dragon Pistol + Mysterious Stranger = 1d6+ Cha in a 15ft cone as a -2 touch

[Jackinthegreen]

looks more like an ettin ninja

In the Warcraft universe, many ogres are two-headed.  They're also all big, fat, and generally stupid.  Here's the full Hearthstone card:



As far as the Vigilante goes...  Looking through the playtest now and might end up doing a smaller Libertad style review.  Already found a typo on page 3, and I'm expecting a couple more.

...  Dear god that's the longest class rules description ever.

[Keldar]

Always wanted to play a big brute that is sneaky? Now you can.

Crom!

[zook1shoe]

Appears you can Cleave w a ranged weapon, since it mentions reach. Just need to extend your reach to avoid AoOs, like w Long Arm.

How would this work with a double-barrel firing 2 bullets at a creature? Do you have to hold a second gun to be able to Cleave, or are Free actions allowed during the middle of std actions?

Goblin Cleaver seems like it'd be a harder feat to convince to working, since it mentions 'threatened area' not reach, as Cleave did. But you don't need to threaten w the Cleaving weapon, just w something like a whip or long arm and armor spikes?
---

Cackle doesn't seem to impede spellcasting, so Cackle + Fortune + Scar = daylong good fortune for your buddies, without impeding your normal spellcasting

[phaedrusxy]

Cackle doesn't seem to impede spellcasting, so Cackle + Fortune + Scar = daylong good fortune for your buddies, without impeding your normal spellcasting

Yeah, I noticed that too. Get a mount (or other way to move as a free action) and Cackle is basically "free". If only there were a way to do it silently... 

[zook1shoe]

You could always cackle under your breath... like a stereotypical villain

Or cast silence on yourself?

[Ice9]

How to optimize your annoyance level:
1) Be a Witch, with Fortune and Cackle.  Always be using it.
2) Wait until everyone is accustomed to having the Fortune bonus.
3) Announce that you're going to start RPing your actions out more.
4) By which you mean actually cackling as long as your character does.
5) Use this as inspiration.



Here's a new one - Versatile Summon Monster is pretty sweet, right?  Flight, burrowing, extra fire damage, and more.  However, it only works on creatures that would otherwise have an alignment template, which rules out some of the best options. 

Unless you go Story Summoner.  The Summon Arcana ability gives your creatures a random alignment template.  Usually not that great, because the smite will only match the foes you're fighting a fraction of the time, but it does add the template to anything you summon.  Which then makes it eligible for Versatile Summon Monster.

[zook1shoe]

Is it me, or does grapple seem the bypass Mirror Image? It's not a targeting spell or attack roll

---

TWF fire your +1 speed minotaur double xbow w splitting bolts for 12 bolts, drop and quick draw second for 12 more bolts.

Imp and greater make things ugly, and one abundant ammo interpretation for saving a crap-ton on the ammo

[StreamOfTheSky]

In Pathfinder, all combat maneuvers are melee attacks.  The maneuver check is like an attack roll and auto-fails on a 1.  It auto-succeeds on a 20 too, but if you can't win on your own merits w/ a 20, you had no business attempting the maneuver in the first place.  But!  Hey, if you get a nat 20, you threaten a crit....oh wait, the maneuvers don't do damage, so you get all the downsides of being an attack roll and none of the benefit.   

[deadkitten]

In Pathfinder, all combat maneuvers are melee attacks.  The maneuver check is like an attack roll and auto-fails on a 1.  It auto-succeeds on a 20 too, but if you can't win on your own merits w/ a 20, you had no business attempting the maneuver in the first place.  But!  Hey, if you get a nat 20, you threaten a crit....oh wait, the maneuvers don't do damage, so you get all the downsides of being an attack roll and none of the benefit.   

At least true strike will work for them.

[phaedrusxy]

In Pathfinder, all combat maneuvers are melee attacks.  The maneuver check is like an attack roll and auto-fails on a 1.  It auto-succeeds on a 20 too, but if you can't win on your own merits w/ a 20, you had no business attempting the maneuver in the first place.  But!  Hey, if you get a nat 20, you threaten a crit....oh wait, the maneuvers don't do damage, so you get all the downsides of being an attack roll and none of the benefit.   

At least true strike will work for them.

hmm... is this right? If so then a magus is the real maneuver master.

[StreamOfTheSky]

In Pathfinder, all combat maneuvers are melee attacks.  The maneuver check is like an attack roll and auto-fails on a 1.  It auto-succeeds on a 20 too, but if you can't win on your own merits w/ a 20, you had no business attempting the maneuver in the first place.  But!  Hey, if you get a nat 20, you threaten a crit....oh wait, the maneuvers don't do damage, so you get all the downsides of being an attack roll and none of the benefit.   

At least true strike will work for them.

hmm... is this right? If so then a magus is the real maneuver master.

It also makes True Strike a much less awful choice for Qingong Monk.  Take the Quicken SLA feat later on and you can 95% chance win a combat maneuver 3/day.  Yeah...still pretty unimpressive for the investment and minimum level required.

[zook1shoe]

Some of that wording is weird in that section. They use several different terms, thats why I was confused

[phaedrusxy]

Found a nice article that spells this out in a lot more detail, but a Witch with both the Cartomancer and Hedge Witch archetypes (and they can be combined) can spontaneoulsy cast cure spells at range through her thrown Harrow deck cards.

Also, the Healing Hex combined with Hex Vulnerability makes for a very nice, cheap healing method (wand of hex vulnerability + your familiar delivering the hex = 2d8+CL, up to 2d8+10, healing per wand charge).

Also, and please someone correct me if I'm wrong because it sounds too insanely good to believe, there seems to be no range limit on how far away your familiar can be when it delivers a Hex via touch. It specifically says it doesn't have to be touching you when you "activate" the Hex, unlike when it delivers a touch spell. So you could be scrying on it from across the world, and then when it gets near the enemy you want to target, BAM! Combine this with some easy way to bring it back from the dead (because obviously sending it out to attack people is risky) and this could be a way to use it for long ranged delivery of Hexes.

[phaedrusxy]

Remember the old Share Pain on your psicrystal trick to get +50% hit points? Well now pretty much every caster with a familiar can have that. You also basically get a free +2 AC out of the deal thanks to the feats the familiar gets. It loses Improved Evasion, which might hurt a lot in some games, but in games where you typically don't get hit with area attacks you won't miss it.

Some of the other archetypes are good also, but as far as combat benefits go this one is the clear winner.

Edit: Cross-posting this with the Witches handbook because it is just that damned good! The Arbiter Inevitable is an improved familiar that gets Regeneration 2 (Chaos)!  It might as well just say "unkillable" in most campaigns! This thing on a Beast-Bound Witch 10 basically means you're freakin' indestructible!  Even before level 10 (or for anyone, not even a witch), if you combine it with the Protector Archetype above that means that from levels 7+ you basically just get to ignore half the damage you take. 

[Raxx]

Sadly, an Improved Familiar gives up the same ability every Familiar archetype gives up, Speak with Animals.

[Jackinthegreen]

Kinda sad you can't combine the orc scarred witch doctor archetype (which uses Con for casting) with the familiar stuff since the witch's familiar gets replaced by a mask.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Those are nice finds.  Now I feel bad....  I've kind of stopped keeping up w/ Pathfinder the past year or so, because I've been fortunate enough to find 3E games and PF is a plainly worse 3E, so I was only keeping up w/ it on the bleak prospects of it being the only 3E-like system I could find games for (for quite a while, it really was like that).  So I doubt I'll be updating my Witch handbook again.

Kinda sad you can't combine the orc scarred witch doctor archetype (which uses Con for casting) with the familiar stuff since the witch's familiar gets replaced by a mask.

Arguably, since it's a different name from the typical familiar class feature, an Alchemist's Tumor Familiar can be combined w/ Scarred Witch Doctor.  A two level dip is harsh, though.  Might be other avenues...

[zook1shoe]

Tumor familiar fun

your tumor familiar carries a ring gate into your stomach when it merges. would turning it on shoot all of your guts out due to the natural internal pressure?

another thought? have your aquatic tumor familiar carry in a decanter of endless water for a nice little aquarium in your now true bloatmage image. obviously have it carry the decanter out before you explode

also a great way to avoid pick pockets... have internal 'pockets' of money

[phaedrusxy]

Sadly, an Improved Familiar gives up the same ability every Familiar archetype gives up, Speak with Animals.

rules quote? So you're saying improved familiars can't take archetypes?

Edit: saw it. You're right... Ah well umd + wand of shield other. ..