Character Creation Q&A

[Eborne1]

Just now, OfficialNerdFire said:

ah if we can apply favored class stuff l8tr then rouge would not be mine lol. assuming what i want pops up ofc.

Take the +1 skill or +1 Hp instead.  

I've added this to the Announcements Page

[OfficialNerdFire]

done so already 😛

[Vedast]

I have a speculative question regarding the Ranger Archetype (Falconer) -- well, I guess all character questions are speculative until/unless our submission is accepted! 

So this archetype provides the character a raptor or similar bird as a companion at 1st level - somewhat ahead of the standard ranger scheme, albeit at a reduced ability level.  It also provides a number of new 'tricks' - particularly one that allows the bird to wander/forage for up to a week whilst the character might be dungeon crawling or spelunking - which is quite a logistic convenience. 

So this seems appealing - particularly from an RP perspective - and I had already written an affiliation with a bird as part of the Facility narrative for my proposed character.  That being said, we don't know anything of the geographic or adventuring setting or where the early game action might take place so I suppose my 'question' is simply whether a wait-and-see approach would be recommended here (i.e. simply stick with vanilla ranger and eschew the archetype)? Or perhaps this is a deal with this if-and-when sort of question.   

 

tl;dr ... Ranger Archetype (Falconer) vs. vanilla Ranger: advisable or no? Defer to later?  

[Eborne1]

I advise to go with Falconer if it is what you most want.  Shouldn't be a problem.  A character allowed a starting animal companion doesn't technically have to start with one.  Your character may have had falcons in the past and/or learned falconry over the course of his young life, but doesn't presently have a falcon companion and perhaps would be in search of one at the first opportunity.  The situation could be explained away in other ways too. 

Or, conveniently, as birds have frequented "The Facility", you could even RP it there, if you want.  Perhaps a falcon you seem to recognize but you can't quite remember keeps circling high overhead once or twice a day, with a look of concern.  Or your character sees one and begins luring it in with his falconing knowledge and befriends it.  Or maybe that happened a year ago and he already has one.  

Either way, you decide, I'll allow it.    

[Vedast]

2 hours ago, Eborne1 said:

Either way, you decide, I'll allow it.    

Thank you. Some quite interesting ideas. I'll give the matter some thought. 

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by Vedast (see edit history)

[Eborne1]

 Not a problem at all.  I like Rangers.  Rangers are widely appreciated in Trellunnd.  Lots of places to get lost or eaten.    

[Vedast]

Continuing on the Ranger Perpetual Question Quest:  would the Infiltrator archetype be permitted?  If so, I think that I might go with this as part of my submission.  I like the way this tracks the favored enemy designation (eschewing favored terrain) and would be campaign adaptable/responsive in the same vein.  I believe this is PFS legal if that is of concern.  

 

[Eborne1]

@Vedast Yes, those two archetypes don't overlap anywhere and so you can take both together.  

[Vedast]

21 minutes ago, Eborne1 said:

@Vedast Yes, those two archetypes don't overlap anywhere and so you can take both together.  

 

Oh, I wasn't even thinking of that ... taking both that is.  I'd more or less decided not to 'commit' to a falconer (i.e. to a specific animal companion) ... a bird is still a possibility with the vanilla ranger and I was thinking that it might be narratively more interesting to allow the game play flow to inform that choice ... emergence I think some call it.  Having read up on these archetypes, I thought that the Infiltrator fit that concept well too.    

[Eborne1]

@Vedast So archetypes must be chosen for a class from the beginning and don't change with any future levels you take in that class.  So you'll have to decide vanilla ranger/falconer ranger etc... from the start.  The reason is that they each trade out certain class abilities that you would otherwise get taking one or the other... (and you can't have both), if that makes sense. 
 

You can "multiclass", taking completely other classes at different levels to change your character up... (in an emerging fashion.)  But any future levels you take in the Ranger class has to be the same (with the same archetypes or lack thereof) as at previous levels...

Same with other classes.         

Edited May 6, 2023 by Eborne1 (see edit history)

[Vedast]

6 minutes ago, Eborne1 said:

But any future levels you take in the Ranger class has to be the same (with the same archetypes or lack thereof) as at previous levels...        

Understood.  I must not have expressed myself properly in the previous post.  What I meant by delay and emergent was not to take the 'falconer' archetype later, but rather to taking the animal companion at 4th level as per the vanilla ranger.  So I meant choosing to let the emergent gameplay and character development help determine the companion type at 4th level by selecting a vanilla ranger to start rather than committing to the raptor at 1st level by selecting falconer.  

I do think I'll go with the Infiltrator however.  

Anyway, sorry for any confusion.

[Eborne1]

Ohh... I see... gotcha.  Just keep in mind that level four is a ways off... Of course, you can always find a pet falcon and use the Handle Animal skill and tricks to have it do stuff for you... It just wouldn't advance in level until 4  

[Vedast]

^  👍

[LDDragon]

Just checking, is it possible for a monk to have both the lifting hand archetype and maneuver master archetypes? None of their replacement things overlap except for bonus feats, where they both add potential feats to the list.

 

Bonus Feat: In addition to normal monk bonus feats, a maneuver master may select any Improved combat maneuver feat (such as Improved Overrun) as a bonus feat. At 6th level and above, he may select any Greater combat maneuver feat (such as Greater Grapple) as a bonus feat. At 10th level and above, he may select any maneuver Strike feat (such as Tripping Strike) as a bonus feat.

 

Bonus Feats (Ex): A lifting hand adds Whirling Hold to her list of bonus feats at 1st level. At 6th level, she adds Dramatic Slam and Overhead Flip. At 10th level, she adds Savage Leap.

This alters the monk’s bonus feats.

[Eborne1]

@LDDragon Yes, I would allow that archetype stack