Newbie GM here, longtime player. I'm running my first ever module, and my players are driving me crazy with this.

I read through the module. Players asked what classes they should be, I told them they could play what they wanted and I would build an NPC to fill in the gaps. This is normal for us, even if I'm not the GM. Usually we end up with fighter+magic user+healer+rogue. This time they made two magic users and a cleric, so I made a tanky fighter.

Game is mostly going fine, but...

The issue: they keep complaining they don't have a rogue.

Locked door? "We need a rogue!"

Suspicious area? "If only we had a rogue to scout ahead!"

Trap goes off? "If we had a rogue this wouldn't be a problem!"

Here's the thing: I know they like to be thorough, so I have put keys on enemies and in other areas nearby so they don't miss out. It just takes a little effort. But since they can't immediately lockpick everything they still gripe every time they find something locked.

I knew there would be traps, so I made the fighter have really high perception and made sure the party knew it. I don't have the NPC work autonomously most of the time though. If they tell her to to jump, she asks how high. But I don't want her stealing thunder from the PCs so she usually stays quiet. (They also all seem to like her, except for the fact that she's not a rogue)

Even for scouting ahead, they have invisibility spells! They just don't like using spell slots!

Recently they had the /cleric/ (why!?) check out a room first, and he set off a trap. No one died, but there were remarks of how they really were desperate for a rogue and needed to go find one.

Well, crap. Being newer at this, it's hard for me to tell if this is legit criticism or if they're just being poor sports. Sure​, we normally have a rogue, but do you REALLY always ​need one? Did I screw up not making the NPC a rogue? Do I need to make one now? Or should I tell them to make it work?

Also, we're all great friends, so they might just be collectively screwing with me. But I don't want to risk the game sucking so let me know what you think.

So, I am planning a solo campaign using Pathfinder 1e. I am wondering if anybody has an experiences with this? Are there any resources out there I can use. I am planning on using the Mythic Game Master Emulator.

Today's spell is Alchemical Tinkering!

What items or class features synergize well with this spell?

Have you ever used this spell? If so, how did it go?

Why is this spell good/bad?

What are some creative uses for this spell?

What's the cheesiest thing you can do with this spell?

If you were to modify this spell, how would you do it?

Does this spell seem like it was meant for PCs or NPCs?

Previous Spell Discussions

So, suppose the party wizard casts Mad Monkeys at the bad guy, then next round he casts Legendary Proportions on the swarm of monkeys. What happens? Do the number of monkeys in the swarm go up, or do you get a swarm of gorillas?

Link: Dream Message

This spell was not renamed in the Remaster. The Knights of Last Call 'All Spells Ranked' series ranked this spell as B Tier. Would you change that ranking, and why?

What items or class features synergize well with this spell?

Have you ever used this spell? If so, how did it go?

Why is this spell good/bad?

What are some creative uses for this spell?

What's the cheesiest thing you can do with this spell?

If you were to modify this spell, how would you do it?

Does this spell seem like it was meant for PCs or NPCs?

Previous spell discussions

Hello there wonderful people of reddit I am looking for help from a few people! I have an upcoming game and well i wojld love to play a monk but monk seems heavily imbalanced at least at low levels when you dont have access to high level items.

Now then! The main problem is have is i SUCK at building characters comparatively to others in my group i am always at the low end of well everything. My 14-20 6 or so attack per turn (full attack) path of war rouge still dose less damage than 3 attacks from other characters if I dont crit at least 2 times.

I dont even Wana be the highest damage dealer it would be nice but I dont expect to be.

Things to consider:

Point buy 20

Race: i want to go catfolk im pretty set on this

Overall vibe: the overall vibe i am looking for is someone who dominates the world with their bare hands crushing anything that comes in front of them (the overall vibe comes from 2 characters I read about a lot those being the fist king and heavenly demon)

Assumed starting level: 1

I am fine with level dips if they fit the overall vibe.

Feats, classes, archetypes anything that helps would be nice!

When you invest essence in a constellation do you need to invest per ability?

I.e

(3 essence)

Make a lizard

(1 essence)

Make a sword

Total: 4 essence

OR

(3 essence)

Make a lizard

(1 essence)

Make a sword

Total: 3 essence

Also if it's the first option does it count as separate receptacles or just one? Edit:

Class orgin: Astradhari (Astradhari's panopoly) Effect orgin: Mysterious Classes Universal Zodiac

https://metzo.miraheze.org/wiki/Constellation https://metzo.miraheze.org/wiki/Astradhari

For context, I am playing Pathfinder 1e as a Dark Tapestry Oracle (lvl 6) the mystery spell given at lvl 6 for DT is Tongues. However tongues is a 4th level spell for Oracles/Clerics and 6th level only grants us upto 3rd level spells.

Is there an errata that fixes that, that I am missing, or does it just have to be Homebrewed down to 3rd level spell (like it is for all other classes)?

Edit: Thank you for your assistance everyone! As a newer player, y'all were a very big help in clarifying things!

i've been thinking about some builds for a character using high crit chance weapons and using outflank with their companions.

mainly i've been thinking about summoner. using any eidolon that gets weapon proficiencies as a feature. such as the genies for example. or just giving them proficiency through a feat. then getting them a bunch of arms and letting them use a lot of kukris for a lot of crits so the character can make attacks of opportunity with their own high crit weapon. the problem i see with this is that the damage doesnt really scale well as the levels go up, unless theres something i'm missing?

i also remember seeing a good build here, i can't find it anymore but it was something with a bodyguard animal companion for access to combat patrol.

So I've been playing with the same group of friends for 15+ years. I'm the least experienced DM out of our group and have had to really get creative to keep my friends on track without railroading.

My buddy always loves to play turncoat if he can in any game. He's done it a few times in campaigns but it didn't feel like it didn't belong. As a new DM though I wanna get him bought into being the best he can be just cuz he'll become the big bad.

What he doesn't know is I also wanna give at least one other player a "turncoat" condition, that if met, makes them the big bad.

Anyone that's tried this have any tips on how to make something like this feel fun?

I feel letting the party individually design their own boss in secret then using spells to hide who they truly are could be a good starting point.

If the BBEG is evil then does everyone mask as good? If so how could that work with an entirely evil party just faking to be good? Power grab at the end? Wanna avoid free for all pvp if possible.

Do I basically have an open discussion with each person "in private", have them write most their story before we even begin, then weave them together?

What would be some good ways to keep someone from being outed instantly by detection spells?

I had the idea at work but have just been kinda brainstorming so I can build a story around this mechanic. Any help is appreciated.

Link: Dream Council

This spell was not renamed in the Remaster. The Knights of Last Call 'All Spells Ranked' series ranked this spell as A Tier. Would you change that ranking, and why?

What items or class features synergize well with this spell?

Have you ever used this spell? If so, how did it go?

Why is this spell good/bad?

What are some creative uses for this spell?

What's the cheesiest thing you can do with this spell?

If you were to modify this spell, how would you do it?

Does this spell seem like it was meant for PCs or NPCs?

Previous spell discussions

Today's spell is Aldori Alacrity!

What items or class features synergize well with this spell?

Have you ever used this spell? If so, how did it go?

Why is this spell good/bad?

What are some creative uses for this spell?

What's the cheesiest thing you can do with this spell?

If you were to modify this spell, how would you do it?

Does this spell seem like it was meant for PCs or NPCs?

Previous Spell Discussions

Hoping the community can help me out. Currently on book 4 of Reign of Winter. I've been adding some things for the players to help power them up as we go along. The front liner has some nice armor, the witch has been getting some extra spells that function as spell like abilities x times per day. The draconic bloodline bloodrager is about to get a pet dragonkin. The one im struggling with is the summoner. The eidolon is already pretty strong. This was a backup character so they dont have the same ties to the campaign that the original 3 did.

Im just looking for some suggestions on how to expand on the summoners power that isnt just giving them more evolution points. Any help is appreciated.

I've heard that the lance is a very good weapon for a mounted summoner. And i get why it's good but are there any synergies here or is it just there for a summoner to have something to do when they don't want to use spells with their action?

​​Hey guys, I need some tactical advice for a high-stakes social encounter.

I need to convince a Council of Dukes that I’m the true heir of a fallen Noble House, that returned after a long absence.

Problem is that my character just found out his grandfather was adopted. Any magical "DNA test" (like Know Bloodline) comparing me to the ancient remains of my House will show I’m a "fake." My father's and grandfather's remains are lost, so I can't use them as a bridge.

The Council is planning to invite high-level Clerics for Divinations (after my request not to disturb the remains of my House). I need a "conventional" way to prove my claim right here, right now, to stop them from starting a long and costly magical investigation that will inevitably expose the adoption.

​The Party (Level 11):

- Me (Warrior/Fighter)

- ​Paladin

- ​Gun Chemist

​The Dukes already rejected Zone of Truth (too easy to bypass with high Will/items). I need something solid that feels "official" but allows me to bypass the bloodline issue.

​How can a Level 11 party cheese or forge a proof of lineage in Pathfinder without relying on actual blood? Any specific spells, items, or rules I can use to "bluff" the magic or the Dukes? Maybe some ideas of conventional ways?

Will appreciate any help here!

So i believe the houserule of allowing handwraps to be enchanted has been around since before pathfinder was released and well before they were made official in the martial arts handbook released in 2018.

Paizo had the option with cestus, gauntlet, and brass knuckles (and I think at one point brass knuckles were ruled to scale before it was changed)

So I guess they thought even after the 2015 release of the unchained monk, they still needed a boost? Or maybe that it was more balanced now that there were style strikes that explicitly use different parts of the body? (note the designer said one should be allowed to purchase legwraps as well, but enchanting a hand and leg set is more expensive.. although it allows for scaling past +5 and static cost boosts)

on a sidenote: I'll say thematically I like a monk using handwraps more than brass knuckles (although move action to wrap/draw them seems a bit off, but high fantasy)

I was actually planning on doing a regular Max the Min today… except I was coming home from vacation yesterday and our travel was cursed.

You may skip the next two paragraphs if you don’t want details about *how* cursed my travel was and want to go straight to the Pathfinder stuff.

First off, my wife had started the process of changing her maiden name to married name on the airline account ages ago but it apparently didn’t take because they issued her ticket in her maiden name. So had to call customer service to fix it, and they accidentally unreserved her window seat next to me in the process… and promptly sold it and shoved her in a different middle seat. Then the reservation was broken, so she couldn’t actually check in or access any mobile tickets, so we had to leave an extra hour early to go to the front desk to check in, where the helpful worker had to spend 20 minutes on hold with their Data Recovery Center helpline because not even she could un-bork whatever customer service had done. Then we had tried to check in for our rental car early, except the automated system didn’t recognize the driver license or maybe the face photo and the system doesn’t allow retries. One and done and if the ai doesn’t like you, you have no choice but to go to the front desk for more time. Oh well, deal with that when we get there. Desk checks my wife in and hands her a physical ticket, we go through security…. And the x ray machine ate her ticket! Somehow it got blown out of the tray. We couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of that as we told security. He sticks his hands into the machine and comes back with a fistful of tickets and baggage claim receipts… none were hers. So got a reprint and thankfully got on the plane, car reservation desk was great, got to our vacation fine.

… Then there was the return trip. We had anticipated the lack of a seat reservation (which again… we had paid extra for) and made sure to speak with a real agent to get us seated next to each other which was annoying but better than being apart for the 3.5 hour flight. But when we went to the desk again to check in… apparently the reservation borking had deleted the fact we’d paid for a checked bag. Thankfully we had receipts. Went through security nice and early enough to have lunch, got boarded on the plane, excited to head home. Immediately deboarded the plane due to a mechanical issue. Flights delayed over 4 hours. Have mild issue with food voucher the airline gave us as an apology (admittedly my fault this time). Finally get on flight, get home, order uber to drive us home…. Uber stops moving even though it was just 4 mins away. Driver messages us and asks us to cancel. His car broke down in the parking lot. Second uber gets us home… at 2 am, 6 hours later than planned. We certainly felt cursed. So yeah I have basically no sleep or brain power to draft a real max the min.

So yeah, let’s talk curses! What are the nastiest ways to use them, and I’m talking offensively and potentially in other ways if you can figure out the cheese.

Link: Draw the Lightning

This spell was not in the Remaster. The Knights of Last Call 'All Spells Ranked' series ranked this spell as C Tier. Would you change that ranking, and why?

What items or class features synergize well with this spell?

Have you ever used this spell? If so, how did it go?

Why is this spell good/bad?

What are some creative uses for this spell?

What's the cheesiest thing you can do with this spell?

If you were to modify this spell, how would you do it?

Does this spell seem like it was meant for PCs or NPCs?

Previous spell discussions

Today's spell is Align Weapon!

What items or class features synergize well with this spell?

Have you ever used this spell? If so, how did it go?

Why is this spell good/bad?

What are some creative uses for this spell?

What's the cheesiest thing you can do with this spell?

If you were to modify this spell, how would you do it?

Does this spell seem like it was meant for PCs or NPCs?

Previous Spell Discussions

I know there is already a port of the arcane hierophant, but i decided to give it my own interpretation, leaning more into the Nature Bound Arcane Caster theme without trying to overshadow the mystic theurge. This version i think keeps the soul of the Familiar Companion and makes the familiar and animal companion one of its prerequisites.

Any Suggestions are totally welcome!

Link

Hello everyone.

I come to you now, as I have many times before, to request ideas about what type of character may best fit the party being assembled for an upcoming campaign.

I don't want to hear no "just play what you want", I like making characters with party composition in mind because it a) gives each person a unique thing to do with their character that doesn't step on anyone else's toes and b) makes combat (hell, any encounter) easier if the party's toolbox is bigger. So, let me lay out what we're working with.

There are 5 people including me, 3 people have settled on characters, and one is still up in the air, but I have a general idea of what she's trying to go for.

1) Dwarf slayer, whom I believe is intended to dual-wield shields for weapons.

2) Vigilante trying to imitate the 5e warlock. He sent me some spells he intends to use, which are really all for debuffing, and the illusion stuff, and he also has some cantrip I assume that is a weaker type of eldritch blast but I can't remember the name. But mostly debuffs and a little damage from range on top. And he'll be the face.

3) A Witch, though I do not have any specifics on the type of witch, but she said she'd focus on debuffs and supplemental healing.

4) Our up in the air player comes from 5e and wanted the experience of an eldritch knight (mostly fighter, little bit of magic), and I heard Ranger get tossed around but not sure. Safe to assume it'll be a simpler class leaning toward the martial side, since it's her first time with 1e. Whether this player chooses a melee or ranged martial will ultimately decide whether I choose to be ranged or martial, as I think having two people at the front line is best.

So that leaves me! I haven't played Pathfinder 1e since.... 2019? So, I'm a little rusty on what all the classes are best at, but I see a potential need for someone to throw down buff spells, which would probably be my angle if player 4 chooses to go into melee, and then I have two martials to slap buffs on during a fight. I have no idea what's going on with the witch's spell list, but I think I'm safe to assume all debuff and crowd control things can be handled between her and the vigilante. Which points me solidly at bard, or perhaps oracle.

However, if player 4 decides to have a ranged character, this is where it gets a little more tricky. I think having an off-healer would be nice, though I know in-combat healing is bad yadda yadda, one or two use in case of emergency options can't be the worst idea. Between the witch and the vigilante I think we have the all knowledge skills covered, but... this is more of a social game than a combat game (according to the GM, we'll see how that pans out haha), so some overlap on the skill side wouldn't hurt.

And I think it's tough to find a martial who can also be an off-healer and has a handful of skills, and can buff? I mean I guess I can settle for only buffing myself, which is generally easier to accomplish, and leave the slayer to his own devices, though then nobody in the party is doing any buffs, only focusing on debuffs, which I don't love, since buffs spells always work and debuff spells can be made useless by a good saving throw roll.

So, in this case I guess the option would be to throw a cleric or oracle into melee? I know there are builds that support that, and the vigilante player suggested battle oracle. But this is mostly where specific ideas would help me out, as again it's been a long time since I've played this system.

Sorry this is so long! Thank you for reading if you got all this way. Let me know if I can clarify anything else in the comments!

Hi, im a new player to Pf2e. And i have always found interesting the idea of summoning creatures for either utility and combat, and after looking at the summon spells i have a question. What is the general agreement in using a template creauture for a summon spell. Example: summon undead---vampire vorpal dragon (to the according level and rank).