Could you use Guidance of the Avatar and/or Divine Inspiration for the Ride check on Mounted Combat to basically give your mount comical AC against a single attack? Not sure what it would actually do, but it seems kinda funny.

>>97431627
1-20, change as needed based on the game. Too many whiffed builds because I forgot a prerequisite in games like NWN to not plan all the way ahead.

>>97432753
Yes, although if you are investing such in to mounted combat, your ride check should be good enough out of hand.
>>97431627
Usually have a good idea from levels 1-13, not more than that due to varying factors during the game being accommodated for.
My current pc was going to be much different, then I became a werewolf, and changed up everything outside a handful of ideas.

>>97431627
>Thread Question: How far many levels in advance do you plan out your character's progression? Do you know your entire build from level 1? Do you take it as it comes?
Been playing my first and only character for the last 4 years, but I loosely planned his whole build beforehand and revised it as I learned more about the system, figured out new options, as the world changed around my character and as my character changed too.
Loosely as in I had several options of prestige class, feats, etc that could be combined in different ways and in different orders.
I never planned a Crusader dip for example, but the Warblade Half-Dragon PC is too cool to not end up influencing my guy in some way.

>>97432753
>Could you use Guidance of the Avatar and/or Divine Inspiration for the Ride check on Mounted Combat to basically give your mount comical AC against a single attack?
Casting Divine Insight and using it as a defensive reaction does sound like a pretty decent use of a Lvl 2 spell slot at higher levels.
Are there other instances of using skill checks to defend against attacks like that? Substituting AC, Saving Throw, etc, for a Skill Check?

>>97433807
ToB has Concentration in place of saving throws and damage rolls.

Thread Question Answered: When I level up.

>>97431627
I know most of my classes up to like level 15 or 17 and a list of feats I want but not when to get every feat.

>>97431627
So a player of mine is rolling up a new character after his last one died, campaign's at level 12, and he says he wants to make a new class by kitbashing Druid and Barbarian together. It would have 3/4 BAB, d12 HD, normal barb skills with like 2-3 added on, good Fort & Will saves, and the class features would be barb rage, and all the associated additions, greater rage, tireless, etc, and druid wild shape & animal companion, with all the associated additions, size, elemental, etc. Barb rage is not an equivalent exchange for spellcasting, not by a longshot, but I can't help but feel he's trying to pull a fast one on me.

>>97431627
>How far many levels in advance do you plan out your character's progression?
All the way to level 30. Only one campaign in 30 years has ever gotten that far, but I still do it.

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*unsteels your steel dragon*
*defangs your fang dragon*
I hate 5e. All Steel Dragons just being Silver Dragons, and Fang Dragons becoming Grey Dragons. They should have just made Basilisk dragons and called them Grey Dragons.

>>97434975
Honestly it sounds like he just wants to be a barbearian and claw the hell out of people. A melee-focused class with 3/4 BAB is a bit of a letdown, so that does increase the odds he's going for some sort of multiattack cheese, but all things considered like you said anything he can do in a rage is less of a problem than by-the-book druid spellcasting.

Also have him take a look at Druidic Avenger from Unearthed Arcana, if you'd prefer having something that's not homebrew.

>>97435100
I'm also bothered by similarly reducing the "Weredragons" to a subculture rather than distinct breed, though given how much page-space for not much difference the age categories take up I can understand why the content-averse 5e team did it.

>>97435100
I get what you mean but even in 3e Steel and Silver dragons are so similar in their nature(even if not in exact abilities) that the change simplifies things comparibly.
Personally I find it even reconciles well with the existence of Silverbrow Humans, who are the decendents of Silver Dragons who've long lived among humans and bred with them in hiding.
Like that backstory makes a lot more sense if a number of the Silver Dragons actually lived like Steel Dragons.

Though I'd have preferred if they had just made Steel Dragons even more distinct from Silver Dragons instead.

Like maybe make them a kind of Arcane Dragon Instead(which fits with the oddly high CLs Steel Dragons have) of a metallic dragon.

Do you think a proper wielder carrying a Rod of Embassy would actually experience the effects of being on their native plane?
>Embassy: There are actually many varieties of this item, and they vary so widely in appearance that it is practically impossible to characterize them at all. Each kind of rod of embassy is keyed to a different plane of existence, most to a specific Outer Plane. In general, the design and decoration of a given rod is strongly reminiscent of the plane it is keyed to.
>Thus, a rod of embassy keyed to the Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia is made of precious metals and includes images of archons, while one keyed to the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo is almost amorphous, resembling an elongated ooze, though careful exam ination reveals the likenesses of slaadi lightly etched into its surface.
>When a creature carries a rod of embassy keyed to its home plane, it is considered to be on that plane for as long as it holds the rod. The creature’s type does not change, but it is no longer considered an extraplanar creature. Thus, it cannot be sent away by banishment or dismissal, or even the powerful blasphemy, dictum, holy word, and word of chaos spells. In addition, it can use similar spells to banish other extraplanar creatures as if it were on its home plane.
>If a creature holds a rod of embassy keyed to a plane that is not that creature’s home plane, the rod has no effect.
>Caster Level: 9th; Prerequisites: Craft Rod, plane shift;
>Market Price: 20,000 gp
Like for example would a dark creature carrying one keyed to the plane of shadows, benefit from having all their Shadow Spells maximized as if they were actually on the plane?
Or do you just read it as a way of not counting as extraplanar with the effects of the plane you are actually on?

>>97436403
I'd say the latter. The enhanced shadow magic is a trait of the plane of shadow, not a facet of creatures from the plane of shadow while on their home plane.

>>97435609
>>97436165
I like the idea of Song Dragons being to metallic dragons what True Cambions are to demons.

That is, when a male metallic dragon impregnates a dragonblooded female human, the resulting child is born looking human but is actually a unique kind of dragon that lacks an ancestral memory.

>>97431627
I'll be doing my first 3.5 campaign in about a month. I've done a bit of PF so I'm not completely blind, but I understand it's still different.
I know I want to use a Guisarme because I like the aesthetic. I'm torn between Stand Still and doing Improved Trip. SS seems actually useful in 3.5, but is it a trap? not dealing damage seems kinda lame.

>>97437815
I'd lean towards improved trip, as it's more proactive. Prone enemies are very easy to dispatch, whereas Stand Still only helps you when an opponent specifically moves out of your reach. Mind you, a Guisarme's reach is a 10ft ring so enemies will move out of your threatened area to get within 5ft of you, but that's still more situational. Also note that Stand Still replaces your damage, but a trip attack doesn't do damage either. Improved trip lets you get a followup attack if you succeed, but the touch attack itself doesn't deal damage. The real perk in SS's favor is that tripping is an opposed strength check which is very easy to lose against melee monsters, whereas attacking their reflex save is a lot more likely to work.

For me the tiebreaker is that Improved Trip is a prerequisite to a lot of amusing feats like Curling Wave Strike and Knock-Down. If you're already trying to control the battlefield, additional rewards and opportunities to do so are important.

>>97437815
Stand Still does deal damage and uses that damage to set the DC (To nearly unbeatable levels) It's a fort save and only applies to creatures meaning the undead and construct immunity to fort saves that don't work on objects apply

Wait no the non psionic one that made it into the SRD (From what?) says Reflex, so nobody can bypass it.

>>97437878
>>97437879
>Benefit
>When a foe’s movement out of a square you threaten grants you an attack of opportunity, you can give up that attack and instead attempt to stop your foe in his tracks. Make your attack of opportunity normally. If you hit your foe, he must succeed on a Reflex save against a DC of 10 + your damage roll (the opponent does not actually take damage), or immediately halt as if he had used up his move actions for the round.

>Since you use the Stand Still feat in place of your attack of opportunity, you can do so only a number of times per round equal to the number of times per round you could make an attack of opportunity (normally just one).

Doesn't seem to say it replaces damage.

I'm lost.

>>97437885
>(the opponent does not actually take damage)

>>97437889
FUck sorry it's 3:30 am

I copied that from one spot but I was still remembering the 3.0 psionic version and only noticed the Reflex vs Fort change

>Prerequisite

>STR 13, reserve power points 1+,
>Benefit

>When a foe's movement would otherwise grant you an attack of opportunity, you may give up that attack and instead attack your foe prior to your foe's actual movement. This is akin to a readied action, but Stand Still doesn't affect your initiative count or actual readied actions, if any. The foe must succeed at a Fortitude save against a DC equal to 10 + the damage you deal, or be unable to move into or out of the area you threaten-essentially, this ends the movement of a foe who is closing, and prevents any movement of a foe who is fleeing (if you are normally allowed an attack of opportunity against the fleeing foe). Since you use the Stand Still feat in place of your attack of opportunity, you may only do so a number of times pet round equal to the number of times per round you could make an attack of opportunity (normally just one).

This one So there's a psychic version that does damage but can't work on undead or constructs. (And is I suppose technically depreciated since it's 3.0 content.)

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How far many levels?

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I know it used 2e, but I'm posting the novelisation of Baldur's Gate 1 over on /vr/

>>>/vr/12339660

>>97437878
>The real perk in SS's favor is that tripping is an opposed strength check which is very easy to lose against melee monsters, whereas attacking their reflex save is a lot more likely to work.
The real trick is to take both and use whichever one is more effective

>>97439719
If wishes were fishes we'd all have 40 feats that did various niche bullshit but at a certain point you have to make tradeoffs.

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This looks like an appropriate place to ask my idea.
A concept I'm trying to explore in RPG context is 'which is more admirable/noble', and the two contrasts I chose are not quite polar opposites...
One is 'good', because he's inspired by a stellar, shining example, an Ideal to aspire to.
(A human who decided to adopt the god of the Elves as his patron. Setup for a holy-bow-adin)
The character is young, naive, and wears a silver mask in the gods likeness.

The other is 'Stoic' because he's seen some dark things, and survived them when others died horribly, and is convinced that SOMEHOW, something DARK AND HORRIBLE AND EVIL is trapped inside him, and will get free if he dies,
He could be insane, deluded and wrong, but his BELIEF is that he keeps this EVIL trapped in his mental labrynths that he designs and builds in his dreams, which he remembers fragments of.
(Call it the 'Diablo sickness', like the plot of Diablo 2, with the entity inside the crystal, but the crystal is his mental constucts of labrynths).
this character gave up on adventuring early, and spent nearly 20 years a haunted wreck, afraid to face the dangers of the world, having seen his allies die more than once.
Finally, somehow inspired by the optimism of the young idealist, he's trying to overcome his inner demons, his haunting terrors and aversion to danger, to try to become stronger than he was, and try to make a change... or at least stop the kid biting off more than he can chew.
(His role is more 'traditional warrior' (and ex bartender), with a focus on Labrynth design (traps,maps and engineering), and trying to become as hard as nails, and harder to kill.)

The forced 'dichotomy' (if you read this far) is this:

Which is more noble? Which is stronger?
The one who looks outward, for an ideal to aspire to.... or the one who has seen evil, been scarred by it, and somehow still finds the strength within himself to go on, and try and overcome his inner demons?

>>97435302
I suggested Bear Warrior, but he wants the shape variety, and full companion progression so his pet stays useful even without spell buffs.

>>97434975
>3/4 BAB
>d12 HD
I haven't seen a single official class that has D10+ on its HD, and not be a Full BAB class.
Heck, even some D8 Classes have Full BAB.
I don't know if it's just me, but slapping a D12 on a 'non-martial' is a pretty bizarre choice.
If the class isn't meant as a front-liner (which I assume it is), lower the HD to d8.
If it IS supposed to be a front-liner, up that BAB to full and lower the HD to d8 or d10 (as well as removing the good will save progression).

>>97441142
Dragon Shaman is d10 and 3/4 BAB

>>97441142
>>97441199
>I haven't seen a single official class that has D10+ on its HD, and not be a Full BAB class.


Bone Knight prestige is 3/4ths and d10. But I've never seen a d12.

>>97441082
Primeval prestige class but with more variety for the shifting?

Noted, in my defence nobody has ever played a dragon shaman at my table. Regardless, it looks more like an outlier if you ask me (and d12 / bab 3/4 seems like a jarring disparity).
>Cleric is D8, 3/4 BAB.
>Druid is D8, 3/4 BAB.
>Bard is D6, 3/4 BAB.
>Rogue is D6, 3/4 BAB.
>Psychic Warrior is D8, 3/4 BAB.
>Swordsage is D8, 3/4 BAB.
>Binder is D8, 3/4 BAB.
>Totemist is D8, 3/4 BAB.
>Psychis Rogue is D6, 3/4 BAB.
No core class with 3/4 BAB exceeds D8, and supplemental classes generally keep the trend (excluding Dragon Shaman I suppose, and Soulknife now that I'm looking at it).

>>97441286
>Primeval prestige class but with more variety for the shifting?
He might go for it

>>97441391
It actually stacks with your base stats while transformed which is crazy good. If there's a druid for venomfire maybe discuss not using it on him if he goes for Fleshraker dino. Three poisons to turn into acid are pretty brutal. It's alright as regular poison. Even if his con and HD would make the DC pretty high it's only 1d6 dex per attack and most fights end fast enough the secondary damage doesn't hit.

It's when they turn into 1d6 acid per caster level of his druid buffer that it gets silly.

>>97431627
When I play, I plan everything to make sure I meet prerequisites.

When I DM, I try to get my players to do it so I can give them story reasons to meet prerequisites or justify their choices. Sometimes, I had to house rule something to help a build make sense mechanically.

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>>97441391
>>97441286
Sorry to shill but I actually just made a video about the Primeval prestige class. I left out the Swindlespitter dino, which was stupid, but other than that I'd be curious what you think of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuvXQaF2rfE

>>97434975
You could use some PF archetypes as a basis:

>https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/mooncursed-barbarian-archetype/
>https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger/archetypes/paizo-ranger-archetypes/wild-stalker

Or adapt the Shifter class:

>https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/shifter
>https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/shifter/archetypes/rageshaper-shifter-archetype/

>>97441619
I'd recommend against the Shifter, it's well known for being one of the worst classes in PF.

>>97441592
I meant to link your vid when I made the suggestion but forgot.

>>97441634
I never got the chance to test it in my game. Ultimate Wilderness released a year before the preliminary 2E rules were released.

It looked good enough after the errata and the Adaptive Shifter archetype came out.

>>97441686
It's meant to be the Druid's answer to the Paladin or the Bloodrager, but the class was severely undercooked, and the claw ability it gives is functional for a newbie but quickly falls off as it has next to no real amping options in later levels.

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>>97441706
...Like a Ranger?

>>97441754
Sorry you're right, it was actually meant to be akin to the Brawler. Not officially a hybrid between Druid and Monk, but a hybrid in spirit.

>>97441509
With an 18th level character who has 10 levels of primeval, you'd have +11 to Con in fleshraker form, say you did standard array and put your 15 in Con cause you really wanted to go for poison DC, that'd be a 26 Con so at 18th level your DC would be 27. Not bad but mature adult red dragon (CR 18) has +20 Fortitude save (I think they're also immune to poison but it's hard to find a CR 18 monster that isnt off the top of my head). I guess that's not a bad shot when it's 3 of them, but that's still only an average of 3.15 Dex damage per round. And I use the dragon of course as an example it's one of your best shots at incapacitating a monster with Dex drain.

Venomfire at that point would be 54d6 with some regularity so that'd be a better option IMHO.

I may have made some dumb statements here however.

>>97441646
That's okay, I'm just honored to know you thought of me

>>97441286
>Bone Knight prestige is 3/4ths and d10. But I've never seen a d12.
Dragon Disciple

If I cast silence on a creature in the middle of an enemy formation, but that specific creature resists the spell with its will save, does that dispel the spell entirely or does it mean that just this creature can still emit sounds while everyone around it is silenced?

>>97441814
Don't forget to shout TERRORIZE when transforming. Very important.

Or Maximize I guess if you're a goody two shoes.

>>97441850
Good call. THough doesn't that turn at the end into full bab Dragon RHD?

>>97442091
>Don't forget to shout TERRORIZE when transforming. Very important.
Based

been researching old posts to understand how silence works. The general consensus I am finding can be summed up as
>Have super-Archmage, Will Save +80, Spell Resistance 40, Wish granted to always reroll any natural one, never took Silent Spell feat
>Have a level 1 rogue with a scroll of silence
>if rogue tries casting Silence on the archmage, cannot possibly succeed.
>if rogue casts silence on a sticky spitball and than blow darts that spitball unto archmage's shoe, archmage is silenced
>because the spitball did not bother resisting the spell, it is now an active emanation and so the archmage doesn't get to try resisting that when it lands in his general vicinity or attaches to him

is this correct RAW?
I keep finding post after post opining that this is it and if so I wondering how that old debate about casters being powerful even came about when its this easy to shut them down.

> An unwilling creature can attempt a Will save to negate the spell and can use spell resistance, if any.
I've previously been ruling that anyone in the area of silence, whether they are there as its first cast, or enter it after the fact, gets to do this for themselves only and if they succeed, they and their attended items can make sounds but the spell remains in effect for others.

>>97444620
Yep that's RAW alright. Only get a save and SR if you're directly cast on, or someone casts it on an attended object.

>>97442091
>>97442165
Oh yeah good point, maximizing that you would get a LOT of mileage out of it... that's horrifying.

>>97444620
Well you are correct but there is no RAW way to "stick" something to someone except maybe a tanglefoot bag. An arrow doesn't technically "stick" to the creature it hits and is destroyed on impact, which I believe would end the spell.

Also, it's a 15-foot radius. Odds are the wizard could simply move out of the radius. You would notice the effects of silence instantly. Especially in a battle.

>so I wondering how that old debate about casters being powerful even came about when its this easy to shut them down.
Well, you are shutting them down with another spell, so it's kinda hard for that to be a strong argument against caster supremacy. I mean UMD rogues can be build to fight spellcasters pretty well but that doesn't mean anything in terms of the base class' abilities, at least if you ask me.

>>97441287
His reasoning is, it's a medium armor class that's going to be in melee for every encounter, barbs get d12 and damage reduction, so he took the HD. And, when you can use Greater Rage as a t-rex, full BAB just feels like he's pushing it. I told him, this is 3.5 and you're giving up full casting, push it.

what are the common solutions to finding tens of thousand of copper pieces in treasure hordes?
I get that its funny to have players have to escort a pack team of donkeys the first time around. But after that, does everyone just start leaving them behind?
in some hordes it consistently a few thousand gold's worth of copper.

>>97446318
Shovel it all into a portable hole and move on. Unlike bags of holding they don't have a weight limit, and 280 cubic feet will hold a pretty respectable amount of coin. Otherwise, you can leave it as a seed fund that will inevitably regrow the dungeon as smaller scavengers like kobolds move in. Kinda like a whalefall in that way.

Have you ever had your players control more than one character at a time? I'm thinking of having my two players each make two sheets for our next campaign

>>97446519
I had a player with a cohort.

The PC was a Dwarven Warder (Path of War), and I let him choose the cohort's class and the direction for the build. He chose a Marksman with the Sniper style.

>https://www.d20pfsrd.com/alternative-rule-systems/3rd-party-rules-systems/psionics-unleashed/classes/marksman/marksman-combat-styles/

I generated an NPC statblock with a few methods of attack and their skills so that combat wouldn't be slowed down too much.

>>97446318
Reinvest the money to make future runs easier. More containers, hired hands, labourers

>>97447048
They're not asking how to spend the spare change, they're asking how do you deal with ten thousand pounds of metal

>>97447243
>they're asking how do you deal with ten thousand pounds of metal
By hiring extra hands and containers to carry it

This is not Abbott and Costello

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>>97447309
>not Abbott and Costello

>We finally killed all the monsters, but now we've got an issue
>What's that?
>Take a look at the loot
>I don't see any lute, it's just coins?
>That's what I'm talking about, the hoard
>We killed the horde to get in here, where's the treasure
>It's right there, look at the copper
>Why are the fuzz here, we didn't do anything illegal!
>...
>All I see is a bunch of cash, so what's the problem?
>The problem is that it's coins! It's too heavy to get out of here!
>Well that's easy we'll just hire someone to carry it
>And how will we pay them if all the money's stuck here with us?
>We'll hire someone to go tell them that the money's here, and wait for them to show up
>Hirelings, hirelings. Why can't you go?
>Well that's simple, I don't want you stealing it all while I'm gone!
>...
>Fine, how about we both leave, and hire guards to protect the money. That way we can just store it all down here?
>Who do you think we killed to get this treasure in the first place?!

>>97447524
Ok that one got a good laugh out of me. Well done.

>>97447524
I need more comical performances about D&D.

Playing a necromancer (wizard with corpse crafter feats) who focuses on a few huge powerful undead instead of an army of weak ones.
How do I prevent the DM from just having someone walk up and cast the command undead spell on my big skeleton guy? We are low level, so no awaken undead or high level spells/items.
All that effort and resources just to have someone call a level 2 spell and instant fail it.

>>97448864
Very few people are going to wake up in the morning and have that prepped, so if you're consistently running into it either you have a reputation that's attracting people after you in particular (unlikely at low level) or your DM is being a dick. Nothing's gonna save you from that second one, and like you said at low level awakening the undead or granting them spell resistance isn't a viable option.

What you might do is just get a wand of command undead to steal them back if and when it happens. Other option is make them wear earplugs because Command Undead isn't telepathic so if they can't hear the caster, they can't follow any orders.

>>97448864
In these circumstance you would roll opposed caster checks
I think so anyway

>>97448975
My mistake

> In most cases, both dominate effects would work normally. Each time one of the controllers gives the target a command, the target follows that command to the exclusion of all other activities. As long as the commands don’t conflict, the target simply follows all commands given.

>If the controlled creature receives conflicting orders simultaneously, the competing controllers must make opposed Charisma checks to determine which one the creature obeys.

So you keep control. If the wizard dies its still your undead

>>97448890
How would they be able to hear my orders if they can't hear?
I also have command undead, so I was thinking that if I ran into anyone that looks like they can use Command undead, I would just hold my action to counter spell.
What about protection from good? I have that spell as well.

>>97448864
Protection from Good/Evil maybe?

>>97448864
this is the primary weakness of necromancers.
They always have to either contend with the risk of someone contesting control over their mindless minions, or with the risk of their sentient undead rebelling.
in our game my players looted a wand of command undead early on, kept it on them for 6 levels and than used it to take over a gargantuan dinosaur skeleton during a siege. CR7 minions flipped to their side with a simple wand. ironically was destroyed soon after to several dozen simple skeletons and had no real impact.

as for fighting this, you can exploit this clause
>Any act by you or your apparent allies that threatens the commanded undead (regardless of its Intelligence) breaks the spell.
If you control the undead because you created it, this restriction does not apply to you, but it makes the Control Undead very fragile.
Of course that depends on the DM but really even firing a single missile or spell or charging in its general direction by anyone on the enemy's side, should end the spell
think of options of how you can help it along
>compel the enemy into doing such an act with magic like suggestion
>engage them in diplomacy: "what do you plan to do with this minion afterwards" -if they say they will dispose of it, that's a threat.
>learn ventriloquism and threaten it yourself, mimicking enemy's voice
>sleight of hand with magic that fools the undead into thinking that its being attacked from the controller's general direction
>Disguise Self yourself as the guy who just took control of it and order it to attack that other guy while screaming you will kick it if it doesn't
again up to DM, but most rule that in this clause
>A creature that interacts with the glamer gets a Will save to recognize it as an illusion.
interact means physically. If your DM agrees with that, the undead doesn't get to see through the glamer until it reaches you so this will become a fool proof way to break the spell with a level 1 spell

a creature is diving from above from a height of 330ft
>Round 0: Run (x4) dives 240ft
>Round 1: move action to fly down another 60ft to a position where it intends to hover
As it takes its move action, it triggers a readied charge which ends up with the creature grabbed and damaged heavily, with an opponent that is heavier than it can bear, prompting a fall.

What height should the fall be considered to be from?
technically its position was ~50ft when it got intercepted
However it had the momentum of a 240ft full dive before that and was just beginning to even out its flight when it got pounced

>>97449160
Whether or not Protection from Good works depends on two factors:
1.) Does the GM assume that Command Undead is an effect that "controls their mind" (IMO they should but since most of the examples given are Enchantment effects some super RAW-only GMs will say it doesn't), and
2.) If the opposing caster trying to Dominate your Undead is Good-aligned. Near as I can tell, the alignment spells in general only work when people of that alignment are involved, so if an Evil or Neutral opponent Necromancer tries to take your undead you might be screwed.

>>97453154
Protection from good/evil are weird because the block against mental control works regardless of alignment.

>>97448864
Here's some creature ideas I have planned: Skeleton Girallon, Skeleton Behir, Zombie Hydra.
What are some other good ideas? Ideally, ones with many natracks because I have the deadly chill feat, and all of my undead have +8 STR and +8 DEX from other feats. I can also give each one a single feat (Girallon - Improved Natural Attack?, Behir - Snatch).
It sucks that the Girallon won't keep rend, and the Behir won't keep constrict or breath attack.

>>97456121
Many Natural attacks*

>>97456121
I would recommend you not go for exotic things at all, unless you are playing a high optimization game, or the DM is already took the gloves off.
If you have the corpsecrafter line, something as simple as a basic giant skeleton, appropriately armed and armored, will serve you for a long time, on top of being fairly easy to replace when they inevitably are lost due to being, at the end, expendable resources.
In a past game, I had a crew of 3 frost giants with magic weapons and armor that basically lasted 1/3rd of the entire game.
An ettin early on is actually great stuff, especially at low levels where the party can take one out.

>>97450874
Physics do not work in D&D like that. It would take the fall damage from 50'.

>>97459145
Fall damage and everything to do with flying is a bit of a kludge just because once you start trying to put aerodynamics and physics into it the math very quickly starts saying things like "a dragon's wings would pop out of their sockets"

Do you feel dropping the [Evil] tags for stygian powers mirroring [Evil] spells is sensible to carry through to an undead-making effect, or are you a hardliner on Always Evil Undeath? In both cases, what are your thoughts on basing off of Seed of Undeath from Complete Mage, a zombie-making spell that already lacks the [Evil] tag?

>>97461185
You think that's air that your character is breathing?

>>97461185
ALL the rules are kludged together to approximate things, and the nature of the rules is such that they are presented as the only way things work in practice.

Why isn't the prc Legacy Champion used more often in conjunction with builds?
The WoL are kinda eh, but being able to improve them and still get class features is a useful tool.

>>97465857
Well, first you have to know if the GM will say it can extend a class and how much. That changes the power of it drastically. Second, you still need an item you've qualified for and that the costs aren't too bad. Third, because it can't come in before 10th level without seriously permissive shenanigazing, you will be pretty deep into most builds. You could very well have to decide if the slight delay is worth the gains after, especially if the class isn't allowed to expand shorter PRCs.

>>97465692
>You think that's air that your character is breathing?
Yes.
D&D and all its derivatives (as a general rule) take place in fictional settings.
However, there are some basic concepts that we take for granted so that there can be a narrative, basic shit like:
>People need food and sleep to sustain themselves.
>When it's cold, you need warmer clothing.
>Fire burns you.
The fact its a fantasy setting doesn't mean that all the laws we know collectively get thrown out of the window.
There's suspension of disbelief, and then there's being a retard.
Don't be a retard.

>>97466726
>>97465692
My setting (not 3.5 exclusively, and mostly for homebrew concepts that nobody other than me sees) has an atmosphere with a higher proportion of oxygen than in earth's air, which justifies the presence of large arthropods. However, it's also possible that arthropods would evolve regular lungs, since book lungs already exist.

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>>97466726
>Don't be a retard.

>>97450345
>>engage them in diplomacy: "what do you plan to do with this minion afterwards" -if they say they will dispose of it, that's a threat.
But the undead is mindless, it can recognize orders and immediate physical threats, not verbal what ifs.

>>97467793
I am thinking if it can recognize an order
>go kill that thing
it should understand
>we will kill this thing once we are done with you.
If DM says that's too much, use the other methods.

>>97469090
Here's a thought
Order it to attack the competing wizard
If they defend against it, it is deemed hostile, automatically breaking the spell

>>97466623
>first you have to know if the GM will say it can extend a class and how much
Unless you are doing something stupid like Hellfire Warlock nonsense, being able to get class features of some value (some martial and caster base classes, not to mention prestige classes) gives flexibility.

>>97465857
I think it's in no small part because Weapons of Legacy kind of suck. They're a bunch of hassle, and while they do offer benefits raw WBL will usually keep you roughly at the same band of power regardless.

>>97434975
Just have him play a totemist or a totem rager

I keep trying to build paper copies of the 3e eberron books. It's really hard to even find them for sale anywhere, let alone at prices below 100€ per book.

>>97475713
How are you building them? Printing at home? Or getting someone to do it?
Might be able to find some unscrupulous print-on-demand company to do it for you. Or at Staples and spiral-bind it.

How far would you be willing to go with [Mindset] spells from Races of Eberron shifting the power out of the cast and into the preparation benefit? Long-duration discharge spells would be an obvious starting point, but the effect being outright indefinite and demanding the funky usually-high-level slot-burning effects to remove (possibly to the point of working under AMF...) would do a LOT to the power-budget of such an approach.

>>97482170
I mean reserve feats can be very powerful and this is a similar concept, but you don't have to burn a feat for it. So I'd say try to keep them less powerful than reserve feats.

The Blurring enhancement has saved my character's ass more times than I can remember these last couple years.
Should I invest into greater Blurring? Or would it be better to save my coin for a source of 50% concealment?

>>97485966
>Blurring enhancement
If you have the money and do not plan on adding any other real enchantments to the armor (and know you will not be running in to enemies with true seeing), it is perfectly serviceable.

>>97446318
10,000cp is 100gp (and weighs 200lbs)
>in some hordes (its "hoards" you dummy) its consistently worth a few thousand gold's worth of copper
a "few" is typically considered to be 3 or 4, so lets say 3
3000gp, thats not a "few tens of thousands", thats 300,000cp.

you're lying, you're wasting our time

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>>97431627
>How far many levels in advance do you plan out your character's progression? Do you know your entire build from level 1? Do you take it as it comes?

Ideally, you should play your character one level at a time and react to the game as it goes. The few of us who actually get to play have to just deal with whatever DM they get, and most DMs will bend over backwards to let you have what you want. On top of that, most games fizzle out right away. So really it doesn't matter.

I do have a few "ideal" characters that Ive built for fun and self-expression, that are meticulously planned to lvl 20.

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>>97487376

>>97487987
Unrelated to the argument you're having, that snippet about specters being weak in sunlight made me realize I'd never seen something akin to a decanter of endless water for other materials or for light. I have to imagine a small portal to the positive energy plane that you could open on command would be like a flamethrower for most undead.

>>97479585
I've never seen custom PoD shops with the right kind of paper but maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

>>97490731
Celestial Brilliance spell is your decanter with light. You enchant an item to cast this spell once a week. Using PF1 crafting rules that would cost only 1,440 gp or with 3.5 rules, craft it in 2 days with 720 gp and 58 XP.
Most DMs would likely want to treat that as closer to continuous effect calculation, in which case it would cost 28,000 gp, but you might be able to bargain that down because unlike a real continuous effect, a 1/week spell casting item might get the spell effect immediately.

>>97496437
>unlike a real continuous effect
that's just cheesing it.
Just like continuous True Strike being a permanent +20, you treat it as a continuous effect

>>97487413
magic missiles vs a gargantuan red wyrm dragon. These guys are fucked

>>97496495
Aim for the eyes.
Magic Missile never misses.

>>97496481
I guess that depends on how many spell casters are among your undead, demons and devils.
>Celestial brilliance counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower level, such as deeper darkness.
its a rare spell that is unlikely to be mentioned
I would allow it to be dispelled by any darkness spell of equal or higher level too.

in our game, I use Dispel against my players a lot. They use buffs a lot and often try to make spell combos work and that taught me that this would be bread and butter for any caster and used liberally. Especially as with 3.5 Dispel often gives you massive advantage in action economy.

so based on that, 28k for an item will get turned off almost every 3rd fight is going to be pretty steep. I would probably allow it at 14k

>>97496500
6th level caster is not getting past wyrm's SR 30

>>97496500
>>97496561
Can't target body parts with it either.

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>>97490731
it probably wouldn't be that expensive to make the Bracers of Dawn unlimited use, the difference in item creation of a x4 a day and unlimited is relatively minor.
the price should go from 26k to about 32k

>>97496542
>I would allow it to be dispelled by any darkness spell of equal or higher level too.
That's not how it works though. You are adding an extra caveat

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/3.5g/ what sort of story could I tell where the premise is the party are a bunch of mutant goblins? I wrote up some homebrew inspired by the Geomancer class in the Complete Divine. Essentially theyll earn mutation points as they level that can be spent on about 7 pages of options. Storytelling is not my strong suit so i cant think of any goal beyond: mutate and kill.

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Has anyone here ACTUALLY run a West Marches 3.5 campaign? Or sandbox campaign? How did it go with the lack of "story"? Did people lose interest? Did you have issues at higher levels having players return to the dungeon each time? Got a long-running group with inconsistent attendance who will need a new DM soon. Been thinking of taking advantage of that by having it be a west marches game. But even right now at level 10 combats take quite a bit. I know I can run them faster on the DM's end than the current DM, but that doesn't change the players being slow to take their turns, and even aside from that, I don't know how they will feel about it.

>>97496930
i have run a sandbox but it was at the lower levels. Level 10 is already quite high for me.
I don't see why people would be less interested.
The story exists, it's just one that the players chose instead of the dm.
I ve never had more invested players.
I is much more work though.
I used the alexandrian's hexcrawling rules and pathfinder's encounters per terrain and a simple will save for morale

>>97496593
in the mainstream spells from core materials (Light/Darkness, Daylight/Deeper Darkness) it is clearly intended that these spells are to naturally oppose each other's effects, dispel each other and counter each other.
Why is it wrong to make rare spells from supplements fit what is clearly the intended theme for this category of spells?

>>97498412
Celestial Brilliance is specifically brighter than sunlight

>>97496930
I've been running a pbp campaign with three irl friends on a discord server for about 2 and a half years now.
All three are playing solo (each on their own dedicated channel), mainly because if I could actually get these guys to play together, there wouldn't be a need for a pbp campaign.
I have them sandboxing around in the same setting, occassionally hearing about what each one does through rumours and stuff (which I assume follows the basic premise of a West Marches campaign).
The general idea is that the world has 'ended', and that they are wandering around as semi-undead in the cosmic Void (The Negative Energy Plane, but with more cosmi debri).
There is no set cap on their Level, and I treat XP as "Souls" (straight from Dark Souls, yeah) because I was originally hoping that they would start carving out realms for themselves and whatnot (and a big vast nothing filled with whatever survived "The End" sounds like an okay testing ground for epic shenanigans).
Right now I have a Level 14 Warblade exploring the ruins of a divine city, a Level 15 Evil Favored Soul playing the mercenary/treasure hunter for a cabal of demons, and a Level 19 Crusader who kinda wants to restore his humanity and return back in time.
With that out of the way...
1) There is a 'story', as in there's lore on why and how the world ended as well as what the current factions are, but 2 out of 3 players see this as some sort of Idle/Grinding campaign so it doesn't really matter that much.
2) One player has been consistently posting since the start, the other two have kinda lost interest, although they post from time to time (and I'm running a much more conventional campaign for one of them, on his own request).
3) I don't run the same 'dungeon' per se, so there's no issue with levels.

is there any official source or ruling on how far a character of a given strength score can throw an object of a given weight?
Think a strong PC trying to throw another PC across a chasm.

>>97498332
>The story exists, it's just one that the players chose instead of the dm.
True. How do I create interesting plot thread potential? Or even just deal with the fact that every session has to be self-contained, thus long journeys are less viable. Unless I am less strict with the formula, and allow some sessions to end outside of town, and just do what we do now for absent players in those sessions, and have someone else run their character for that session?

>>97499355
That's a cool setting anon I like it. I'm guessing since it's solo and pbp though they don't have to return to town at end of each "session"? Reconciling that play format with "story" whether player or GM created, is my biggest struggling right now to figure out.

>>97500450
There is some RAI regarding how weapons are usually object two size categories smaller than the creature wielding it, range increments for thrown weapons, and the carry weight table

>>97500499
From my understanding of west marches is that you can play different sessions with different groups. I personally wouldn't mid pausing a journey in the middle of traveling having longer journeys. If you were to play a real time type of game and one group is stuck in the middle of nowhere for a month while the other parties have gotten 3-4 sessions under the belt might be something of a problem but still i dont see much reason why you cant do it.
>How do I create interesting plot thread potential?
Use factions. Dnd is very good for setting up factions. Churches, thief organizations the local kingdom/nobility etc. there is a faction generator in chaotic shiny that i have used in the past.
Then write a few things about the faction. goals resources, association, notable members, potential problems etc. Write a couple of things each faction is pursuing right now and give information to players depending on their inquiries and actions. Eventually they will choose what they ll do on their own and you ll develop what they chose while the rest will lowkey go on the background. Maybe roll for it if you want it to be more random

>>97500517
>I'm guessing since it's solo and pbp though they don't have to return to town at end of each "session"?
I make sure to present 'merchants' and other similar NPCs for them to get rid of unwanted loot at regular intervals, but the only actual hub I have presented thus far is a demon lord's demi-plane (from the Favored Soul's perspective). Conventional currency is more or less non-existent, but I've kept various gems with the excuse that they hold elemental power (so they have some use for trade and crafting).
>Reconciling that play format with "story" whether player or GM created, is my biggest struggling right now to figure out.
If you introduce a central hub, and have said 'story' take place within the confines of said hub, then I don't see the problem. You can have 2-3 factions which fund the various excursions of the party, each with their own ambitions and goals. Your players can do as much adventuring as they want, but they will have to eventually return (to sell loot, buy services and whatnot), and be 'forced' to interact with the story.

>>97431627
I have some old 3.0 guides at home that are barely used, are they worth money?

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>>97447524

>>97500499
as far as i understand it the entire point of west marches is running a different group with different characters depending on who is available at the time, so when less people are there then run a different party with other characters and yeah just end the session outside town if this is what happened otherwise it is way to restrictive and gamey

>>97500619
Thanks, will look that up.

>>97500935
Yes, but probably not enough to sell piecemeal. An ebay lot would probably go for $20-40/book depending on which ones you have.

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>>97496500
t. never fought a swiftblade

>>97496495
its a dragon and its red, but its not a "red dragon"
anyway its trying to squeeze through a tiny door; they're fighting its head

>>97500750
True. I think basing it on NPCs in town will be important. I've never had a huge amount of "plot" with my D&D-style games anyway. It's always been more in-depth with generic systems that didn't have a built-in "gameplay loop" so they needed an intricate and intriguing plot to last.

>>97500738
True 3.5 has some underrated faction rules actually. I'm just not sure how many I could justifiably fit into a small city of 3,000 people.

>>97502709
>I'm just not sure how many I could justifiably fit into a small city of 3,000 people.
They don't need to be very large anon. 20 to 30 people can still be a relevant faction in a small town. You could have as many as you want but i could easily see 5 to 6 factions going on. A least i would start with that many to give players options.
One per alignment is the most easy rule of thumb for the minimum amount of factions to use (you can obviously skip some alignments which is where i come to my 5-6 initial number).
I would also like to point you to my personal favourite of the premaid 3.5 campaigns.
>The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde
This is a small contained sandbox style location with a couple of factions in different corners of the map like the paladin order, the mage tower etc.
All factions have a couple of prcs tied to them, by doing things for them you can gain favor points and eventually join and each can be a source of equipment, magic items etc
It just showed how to make a small contained sandbox in 3.5.
It is not without criticism though. it is very half baked and barebones imo but i recommend you check it out