Character Creation Q&A

[CraziFuzzy]

2 hours ago, dalamb said:

Who's to say Arklytte believes in being traditional?

But I take your point. I skimmed everybody's submissions and it looks like many of us are avoiding magic-heavy characters. I saw at least one Scholar but don't recall seeing someone investing in magical healing.

I've typically found myself drifting away from totally magic focused characters in most of these spheres gestalt builds - it seems so much easier to lean into the martial side of things primarily, and use the magic sides to just support or add flavor to the martial bits - than to do the opposite.  So while the anti-magic may have leaned some further away from magic, I'm not sure it is universally because of the specifics of this adventure.

It ends up being really hard NOT to make some version of gish with gestalt spheres.

[Warlawk]

46 minutes ago, eriktd said:

I was curious, so I took a quick look at this. I can't see how you'd be triggering a dart trap as an attack action, which is necessary to use Vital Strike. Even if you attach it to a Deadly Shot as a [snipe] talent with Trap Launcher, it's still not an attack. Do I have that right? Vital Strike is very good with spheres generally, but perhaps not in this particular case.

Trap Launcher [Apoc]

Source: SA: Tricks & Traps

You’re capable of setting traps at a distance. When placing a trap with a creation time of a standard action or less, you may increase the DC to create the trap by 10 in order to place the trap within the first range increment of a ranged weapon you are wielding. This is considered a ranged attack and as such provokes attacks of opportunity and is subject to conditions that affect ranged attacks (such as wind).

If you possess the Sniper sphere, you may treat this talent as a (snipe) talent that allows you to shoot your traps directly at creatures. As part of a deadly shot, you create a snare trap that requires a standard action or less to create and fire it (this ignores the limitation of placing traps only within the first range increment of the weapon). A creature hit by the attack makes a Reflex save as normal to prevent triggering the snare, as if the snare trap originated from their square. As the trap is never set, creatures do not gain any bonus to AC or saves for seeing you set the trap. If a trap would usually activate multiple times, it only activates once. If the attack misses, the trap is destroyed.

So it is a ranged attack, and does not list a required action so it should default to a standard action. The text indicates that your trap creation time must be a standard action or less, but does not define an action for Trap Launcher aside from being a ranged attack. Based on that information, is there a reason that this ranged attack cannot be part of an attack action?

 

Scratch that, I rolled a 1 for my reading comprehension I suppose.

 

I believe you are correct, that simplifies things a bit.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Warlawk (see edit history)

[RedDingo]

Trap Launcher let's you turn all of your traps and alchemical formulae into special ammo...meaning you can turn a repeating crossbow into a grenade launcher.

[dalamb]

In Pathfinder is there anything to spend skill points on besides skill ranks? I started with 3 character concepts and I'm considering switching to one of the other 2: to someone who will be able to max out all the adventuring skills and have points left over. Do I take a lot of Craft and Perform and Profession skills? Is there anything like the 3.5e skill tricks?

 

Edit: Are the Beholder's eye rays spell-like abilities? Or are they just special kinds of attack? They "resemble a spell by a 13th-level caster" but aren't explicitly labeled SLAs in the 3.5e MM1. Of course a PF1 version might be quite different...

[GralphidBlackstrip]

10 minutes ago, dalamb said:

In Pathfinder is there anything to spend skill points on besides skill ranks? I started with 3 character concepts and I'm considering switching to one of the other 2: to someone who will be able to max out all the adventuring skills and have points left over. Do I take a lot of Craft and Perform and Profession skills? Is there anything like the 3.5e skill tricks?

You can check out skill unlocks and occult skill unlocks. Both basically in return for a feat provide extra uses of existing skill points, but not really something new to do with skill points.

Maxing out all of the skills is pretty tough given the various knowledge skills. I guess a scholar with a 40 intelligence and a couple of spheres that gives ranks to skills you could get ~25 skills maxed. There are 24 non-background skills, so that should about cover it.

[Warlawk]

2 hours ago, RedDingo said:

Trap Launcher let's you turn all of your traps and alchemical formulae into special ammo...meaning you can turn a repeating crossbow into a grenade launcher.

It doesn't though. As quoted in the post directly above yours:

 

5 hours ago, Warlawk said:

When placing a trap with a creation time of a standard action or less, you may increase the DC to create the trap by 10 in order to place the trap within the first range increment of a ranged weapon you are wielding.

So, when taking a standard action or less to place a trap, you can do so at range. You aren't actually making an attack with your crossbow.

 

If you choose to fire a trap as a Snipe talent you are limited to Snare traps and as it is a snipe talent you are normally limited to one per attack action, potentially two if you use the Sniper Sphere talent for that.

 

Perhaps I'm missing something though as this is a design space I haven't worked in before.

[RedDingo]

Quote

You’re capable of setting traps at a distance. When placing a trap with a creation time of a standard action or less, you may increase the DC to create the trap by 10 in order to place the trap within the first range increment of a ranged weapon you are wielding. This is considered a ranged attack and as such provokes attacks of opportunity and is subject to conditions that affect ranged attacks (such as wind).

If you possess the Sniper sphere, you may treat this talent as a (snipe) talent that allows you to shoot your traps directly at creatures. As part of a deadly shot, you create a snare trap that requires a standard action or less to create and fire it (this ignores the limitation of placing traps only within the first range increment of the weapon). A creature hit by the attack makes a Reflex save as normal to prevent triggering the snare, as if the snare trap originated from their square. As the trap is never set, creatures do not gain any bonus to AC or saves for seeing you set the trap. If a trap would usually activate multiple times, it only activates once. If the attack misses, the trap is destroyed.

You're using a weapon to launch it. And traps can have alchemical items used as part of making them. Hence, a tanglefoot launching crossbow is born.

Edited July 2, 2022 by RedDingo (see edit history)

[RedDingo]

Where can I find the Create Stable Formulae feat? I see references to a Brew Stable Formula feat in the Spheres of Power Wiki but I cannot find either in any source.

 

Addendum: I found it under in the Tech Sphere section under New Crafting Feats. Is it safe to say that this feat is allowed?

Edited July 2, 2022 by RedDingo (see edit history)

[Rudra]

Back again with another question: i'd like to refluff some things (mainly class features) to better fit my character idea and the alignment houserule, the mechanics would remain mostly the same (and it's that mostly that bring me here😅) 

 

For the oracle curse, i'd like to pick covetus but instead of non-magical clothings and jewels(my character wouldnt be able to wear them) i'd like to have her desire/amass another kind of non magical item(basically she is an obsessed collector, it's  shown in the backstory) instead of wearing the items(as per the covetus curse) she would carry them in an extradimensional space (lack of STR make carrying stuff complicated)

 

The character , in normal pathfinder, would be chaotic evil due to class/feat alignment restrictions(Mestama boon to become a ghost ) here it's not an issue, but mestama does require an act of cruelty, the way it is written i think "scaring someone" fit. Can this be refluffed to remove the whole "doing it for mestama" and say that the banshee(who has a really high intimidation score, skill unlocks and abilities) is naturally a source of scares and, being vindictive, her punishments are disproportionate so she end up causing tears or anger due to her nature and not because she pray a demon god?

Edited July 2, 2022 by Rudra (see edit history)

[Steel Warrior]

15 minutes ago, Rudra said:

Back again with another question: i'd like to refluff some things (mainly class features) to better fit my character idea and the alignment houserule, the mechanics would remain mostly the same (and it's that mostly that bring me here😅) 

 

For the oracle curse, i'd like to pick covetus but instead of non-magical clothings and jewels(my character wouldnt be able to wear them) i'd like to have her desire/amass another kind of non magical item(basically she is an obsessed collector, it's  shown in the backstory) instead of wearing the items(as per the covetus curse) she would carry them in an extradimensional space (lack of STR make carrying stuff complicated)

 

The character , in normal pathfinder, would be chaotic evil due to class/feat alignment restrictions(Mestama boon to become a ghost ) here it's not an issue, but mestama does require an act of cruelty, the way it is written i think "scaring someone" fit. Can this be refluffed to remove the whole "doing it for mestama" and say that the banshee(who has a really high intimidation score, skill unlocks and abilities) is naturally a source of scares and, being vindictive, her punishments are disproportionate so she end up causing tears or anger due to her nature and not because she pray a demon god?

I guess I would be worried if you end up being covetous to the party members, and desire the things they have that you don't.

If it's going to cause party conflicts or not etc.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Steel Warrior (see edit history)

[Rudra]

1 hour ago, Steel Warrior said:

I guess I would be worried if you end up being covetous to the party members, and desire the things they have that you don't.

If it's going to cause party conflicts or not etc.

If the party has the items my character desire, they either bought them specifically as bribe/gift for her or they just found them during the adventure, even without reading any of the other apps i'm reasonably sure nobody took said item😁 it's just a fluff object

Edited July 2, 2022 by Rudra (see edit history)

[dalamb]

How many signature skills feats are we allowed to have?

[Duqueen]

I am reading about the Great Mind Prc and considering the restrictions on the options available, should I just avoid it, or could the effects from specialties cover sphere effects too?

 

EG: "Sense Motive

A great mind specializing in Sense Motive may select one clairsentience or telepathy discipline psionic power that targets a creature for every 2 ranks they possess in Sense Motive. As a full-round action a selected power effect may be manifest by expending points from the great mind’s genius pool equal to the power level. The power is considered to be fully augmented for as many power points as the great minds Sense Motive ranks."

 

I could see this replicating effects from the mind/divination sphere.

 

[CraziFuzzy]

6 hours ago, Duqueen said:

I am reading about the Great Mind Prc and considering the restrictions on the options available, should I just avoid it, or could the effects from specialties cover sphere effects too?

 

EG: "Sense Motive

A great mind specializing in Sense Motive may select one clairsentience or telepathy discipline psionic power that targets a creature for every 2 ranks they possess in Sense Motive. As a full-round action a selected power effect may be manifest by expending points from the great mind’s genius pool equal to the power level. The power is considered to be fully augmented for as many power points as the great minds Sense Motive ranks."

 

I could see this replicating effects from the mind/divination sphere.

 

I believe all the City of 7 Seraphs stuff is disallowed.  Great Mind being one of them.

[Duqueen]

6 hours ago, CraziFuzzy said:

I believe all the City of 7 Seraphs stuff is disallowed.  Great Mind being one of them.

But in the char creation all material on the main page of the spheres wiki is available, with the trinity prcs banned.

 

But, if great mind is table then no problem.