archimage_a

As ever your mastery of the English language astounds.

Double negatives are not always bad English(Indeed they are generally good English), there are numerous examples: 'Its not unusual' 'I wouldn't say I don't like it' 'Its not infrequent' 'Thats not bad' However: Double Negatives that give an incorrect assessment 'I didn't do nothing'. Since its not conveying what you want it to. Double Negatives that enforce an unqualified superlative 'Its not not Green'. It can't be more Green than Green, and can't have another meaning. Double Negatives that are overly complex 'I never don't never do nothing'. Simply because they confuse people and have no other purpose. Are all bad English. Double negatives are permissable, only, when convey cunning nuances of meaning: 'She's not unattractive' has huge amount of ambigity surrounding it, you could be saying something postive or negative. 'It is not unusual' implies that it is the usual reaction, but is far more sympathetic than 'It was the usual reaction' 'Its not that I don't like your house' could mean 'I don't like your house but I am leaving anyway' or it could mean 'I do like your house but I think it should be painted green' Nevertheless fits into the same catagory. 'Yes I think this, but I still think we should do this.' However I still cannot see how "Never Don't" is stronger than "Always"? Always means 100% of the time. Are you saying that 101% of the time you use the WASD keys? Because then you fail Maths... If you were intentionally trying to trip people up then you are trolling, but using correct English. If you were not trying to trip people up then you were using bad English, since there is no second context, but merely using an unqualified superlative.

'Never don't' is bad English. Frankly, I find it hard to believe anything you say any more.

Ah but Alg, if he mainly used WASD then his arms would, normally, be under the same level of strain, as the Mouse and WASD are typically the same distance away from the body. However, if you are using the Arrow Keys with your Left Hand you end up turning, increasing the strain on the right arm, while lessening the strain on your left arm. While it is true that, if you use the Arrow Keys with your Right hand while your left hand manipulates the WASD keys, the opposite effect occurs, but the overall change in tension is several magnitudes smaller than using the Arrow Keys and Mouse. Nero was just being even more intelligent than I first thought, but then he is Canadian, which is like Norwegian, but +America.

How is you being left handed any less of an indication that you use the arrow keys more than the WASD keys? He was making a perfectly innocent remark about keybindings and turn it into something lewd.

Well, despite everything my Merc character only averages 24 damage, per target. Added to which both my character's and Nex's are built for frontal assaults, against anything that casts spells the effectiveness is diminished significantly. In addition we have both got a relatively limited skill ability. Also if we don't optimise to some degree then we are liable to die relatively quickly in a 'You are liable to die relatively quickly' campaign... Also: Alternate Character: [hide] SI Goblin Strength 8 Dexterity 18, +4, +2, +4, 28 Consitution 12 Intelligence 12 Wisdom 12 Charisma 10 BAB: +9/+4 Melee: +9/+4 Ranged Attack: +20/+15 Shuriken Attack: +24/+19/+22 Damage: 1+2+1 (4), +1d4 Con, +1d4 Cha, +1d8 Temporary Hitpoints HP: 76 AC, +1, +1, +4, +9, 10 (25) CMD 17 CMB -2 11 Fort 18 Reflex 8 Will Weapon Master Fighter 7, Spy-Rogue 3 Poison Use, Evasion, Sneak Attack +2d6, +1 Bluff +2 CMD Against Sunder and Disarm Attempts, +2 Bonus to Attack and Damage with Shurikens Reroll 1 Attack/Confirm/Miss/Damage roll, per day. Traits: Caretaker Defender of Society Bonus Feats: Weapon Focus (Shurikens), Weapon Specialisation (Shurikens), Snapshot (Shurikens), Rapid Shot, Feats: Point Blank Shot, Combat Reflexs (9), Precise Shot, Clustered Shot, Point Blank Mastery Talent: Finesse Rogue Belt of Incredible Dexterity IV, 16,000 +3 Silken Ceremonial Armor, 9,000 (25,000) Opium-Shuriken Fund CC, 5,000 (30,000) Pathfinder Pouch, 1,000 (31,000) Gloves of Reconnaissance, 2,000 (33,000) Daredevil Boots, 1,400 (34,400) Cloak of Resistance IV, 16,000 (50,400) Sleeves of Many Garments, 200 (50,600) Headband of Intuition, 7,000 (57,600) Masterwork, with Jade Inlay, Rapier, 400, (58,000) Gold of 4,000 48 Skill Points Stealth, +4, +4, +3, +9, 10 (30) Heal, +2, +3, +1, +1, 3 (10 Acrobatics, +3, +9, +5, 10, (27) Appraise, +3, +1, 3 (7 Disable Device, +3, +9, 8 (20) Knowledge Engineering +3, +1, 3 (7) Knowledge Dungeoneering +3, +1, 3 (7) Knowledge Local +3, +1, 3 (7) Perception, +3, +1, 5 (9) [/hide]

[hide]Voice Strength: 18, +4, +2, +4, 28 Dex: 14 Con: 12 Int: 10 Wis: 10 Cha: 8 BAB: 8 Melee Attack: 17 Ranged Attack: 8 CMD: 29 CMB: 17 HP: 80 AC: 30 (Base: 10, Armour: 11, Traits: 1, Dex: 2, Shield: 4, Natural Armour) Touch AC: 13 (Trait, Dex,) FF AC: 28 (Armour, Traits, Shield, Natural Armour) Will: 3 (Base 2, Stat 0, Resistance 1) Reflex: 9 (6, 2, 1) +1 Tower Shield Fortitude: 7 (5, 1, 1) Orc: Dayrunner Darkvision Smeller Scout, Chamelon Ninja 8/ Fighter Tower Shield Specialist 2 Misdirection Effortless Sneak: Urban, Underground Skirmisher Ki Pool (3) Lightsteps Burst Barrier Feats: Cleave, Greater Cleave, Exotic Weapon Proficency (Double Chained Kama), Suprise Follow Through, Skill Focus (Stealth) Talents: Shadow Clone, Pressure Points, Combat Training(Double Chained Kama), Combat Trick (Power Attack) Bonus Feats: Grudge Fighter, Improved Surprise Follow Through Traits: Caretaker Defender of Society Inventory: Cloak of Resistance I, 1,000 Pathfinder Pouch, 1,000 (2,000) Handy Haversack, 2,000 (4,000) Mask of Stony Demeanor, 500 (4,500) Tower Shield, 30 (4,530) +1 Double-chained Kama, 2,008 (6,538) Gloves of Reconnaissance, 2,000 (8,538) Belt of Giant Strength IV, 16,000 (24,538) Circlet of Mindsight, 22,000 (46,538) +2 Creeping Living Steel Full Plate, 12,000 (58,538) Robe of Infinate Twine, 1,000 (59,538) Amulet of Natural Armour I, 2,000 (61,538) Traveler's Anytool, 250 (61,788) Skills: Acrobatics: 10 Climb: 16 Escape Artist: 10 Perception: 14 Stealth: 16 Swim: 18 Heal: 14 Damage: 1d6+9+4d6 [/hide] Mercenary for Hire. For summary: I am expecting the Chained Double Kama to work as both a 10 ft reach weapon and a 5 ft reach weapon. I am expecting to be able to use Cleave fairly often, give this fact. If either are incorrect can you let me know so I can retool.

Its fairly simple...You use Handy Haversack for the Tower Shield, so I can draw it as a move action and then hide behind it for total cover as a standard action, and since it casts a shadow, instantly stealth =P Alteratively, since it doesn't provoke an AoO you can draw it in comabt, and since I only need to do Standard Attacks I can still attack. -6 Penalty from the armour was stupidly not applied though. However Voice MKII will be much improved...hopefully (I posted it after having two builds horribly collapse, and after I wasted most of my sleep hours (10 am lecture) on it.)

[hide] Voice Strength: 18, +2, +4, +6, 28 Dex: 14 Con: 10 Int: 8 Wis: 14 Cha: 10 BAB: 8 Melee Attack: 17 Ranged Attack: 10 CMD: 29 CMB: 17 HP: 70 AC: 26 Touch AC: 13 FF AC: 24 Will: 5 Reflex: 9 Fortitude: 6 Half Orc: City Raised Shaman's Apprentice Sacred Tattoo Darkvision Scout, Chamelon Ninja 8 / Fighter 2 Misdirection Effortless Sneak: Urban, Underground Skirmisher Ki Pool Lightsteps Bravery Feats: Cleave, Greater Cleave, Exotic Weapon Proficency (Double Chained Kama), Suprise Follow Through, Skill Focus (Stealth) Tricks: Vanishing Trick, Pressure Points, Combat Training(Double Chained Kama), Combat Trick (Power Attack) Bonus Feats: Dodge, Improved Surprise Follow Through Traits: Agent of the Dusk Defender of Society Inventory: Cloak of Resistance I, 500 Pathfinder Pouch, 1,000 Handy Haversack, 1,000 Mask of Stony Demeanor, 500 Daredevil Boots, 1,200 Living Steel o-yorio, 3,200 Tower Shield, 30 +1 Double Chained Kama, 2,008 Gloves of Reconnaissance, 2,000 Arachnid Goggles, 15,000 Belt of Giant Strength VI, 36,000 Miles of Rope, the rest Skills: Acrobatics: 15 Bluff: 13 Climb: 21 Escape Artist: 15 Perception: 13 Stealth: 21 Swim: 23 [/hide] Enjoy.

CR9

Fey ruled state... Do fey rule cities? It seems rather at odds with their nature... I would probably say that, fueled by the exodus from Absalom, Chelliax and other settlements caught in the crossfire, the Monolith settlement expanded rapidly. As the Whispering Way Enclave on the Island began its assault on the fledgling settlement the Fey assisted the new settlement, helping them through the first three months, by which time the Whispering Way had withdrawn, leaving only a token outpost, to fight in the main theatres of the war. The Fey and the Settlement worked together, eventually including the Drow in their numbers, and expanding across the other Islands, met eventually by the Kobolds who, despite the best efforts of the Federation of the Monolith, remained hostile. The war has blossemed in the last six months. The wave of expansion and optimism that accompanied the influx of refugees having passed and leaving the settlement with a three-way alliance which couldn't satisfy anyone. The Monolith settlers struck first, seizing several Drow tunnels to ensure safe passage between the Islands. The Drow, who had been making plans, were thrown off balance but quickly went on the offensive. The battles were hard fought but the lines remained largely static, waiting for some miraculous breakthrough. The Fey, through all this, remained neutral, withdrawing more and more, until they would only promise to defend both people in a resurgence of the Whispering Way. The Monolith settlement itself is tenuously united. The first year saw people calling each other 'Citizen', now 'Chelliaxian' and 'Absalomite' fill the air. Religiously the city is not devoted to any God, despite the rantings of the Sultan, but leans towards the Thriceborn as pilgrims make their way to the chapel at the top of the Monolith, which, it is said, The Thriceborn has appears to the faithful to offer his blessings. The sub-settlements, those spread across the Other Islands, are more united in themselves, usually composed of one cities' refugees, or, at least those with the same outlook. However, while the 6 Colonies are frequently at odds with each other, they are very frequently at odds with the Monolith itself, whom they regard as taxing their manpower without showing any representation of a defence force, against the Kobolds. While stirrings of rebellion have occured the Governors of the Islands have get to form a congress. (Enter the ragtag team of Player Characters, with different alignments and such) The Kobolds, for their part, have spread across the Islands, each time establishing a small settlement and then claiming the whole Island, which has lead to several skirmishes, though nothing decisive. Also, reference material: [hide][/hide] https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12603519/Islands/The%20Windward%20Isles.png https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12603519/Islands/The%20Windward%20Isles%20With%20Names.png Also: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12603519/Islands/The%20Windward%20Isles%20Cities.png https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12603519/Islands/The%20Windward%20Isles.xcf I would assume the majority of the settlements would have 500-5,000 people. Black tacks are the underground entrances/exits.

CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB =( Why did you have to die...Zulu was my favoriate, but you were second...Why not Hansan, or one of the interchangable soliders. Damn you and your self-sacrificing. Here is to you, the Canadian Medic Extraordinare.

Fortunately there are several weeks to build your character before you 'need' to cut down =P Do we have a plan in the event of a joint winner?

The Vampire's Dominate ability is a Supernatural Ability with no descriptors. (Like many things in Pathfinder NPC abilities are spontanously immune to player interference) I also hit him once. Also I would point out that all you did during that fight was act like a wildcard. Neither myself, or Retech, considered you a threat, so we ignored you. Alg was killed purely because Retech thought he was the subject of a coalition. Though Retech was an ungodly powerful monstrosity, using the Psionic rules, which could probably only have been defeated by Grim (And his undead), me and Ross working in tandem...and even then victory would be hard fought. In terms of Rapid Reload applying, it would make sense for it to apply, but the rules, as they are written, don't say that they do. So get Retech to make a ruling. Dominate superceeds Charm Person. Dominate means a person will act to the exclusion of all other activities. Charm Person means the person considers you a friend. Also if you and Lei wish to do a minor session in which I play the Vampire (With Retech observing) then I am fine with that.(though not today as I am goin going out)

#Ah, you misunderstand me...Since she failed the Will save (In the example) she is just the Vampire's Thrall and so it irrelevant from then on. (If the Vampire made her attack you then she would be required to make more Will Saves, and the Vampire has no reason to risk her becoming free. Equally the Vampire could have just dominated both of you. 5*2=10, which is still less than the Vampire's DR, so the damage would have been non-existant. Vampires have a FFAC of 18. Your 3 and 4 were insufficent to match this number. It has touch AC of 17, so Deadeye is a no go. It never directly attacked Lei so Gunslinger's Dodge is a no go. You went first so Gunslinger's initative is a no go. Lei was never in Melee range so Pistol whip is a no go. None of the 3 utility shots would have helped. Deadshot may have been useful, though she would have done....5 damage per round, after DR, and she has a limited number of Grit Points. Startling Shot wouldn't have helped, given that you can't shoot as a move action. None of the Targeting abilities would particularly help, and it would become immune in Gaseous form. And thats all them... If you had used your Whip then you could have done a few things...But at that point it had 102 HP (Or we could say 77 if Lei spent all her grit points on deadshotting it, and hit all of them.) If it grappled you (or you grappled it) then it would have started healing, tripping it over would have been viable, though with a CMD of 24 would have only succeeded occassionally...Added to which Whips don't work on creatures with a natural AC higher than 3...Vampire has 6. You could have summoned some monsters, which may or may not have been effective. Though as we can see from the PVP session a powerful enemy can easily dispatch them. Enthrall has already been dealt with, Dirge of Doom and Suggestion fall into the same catagory. It doesn't say anything about the 'advancement' of the firearm. And if we look at the Firearm's table a Rifle is definately a 2-handed Firearm...So what are you basing your argument on? Also, on a point of logic, Rifles can take even longer to load than muskets, due to the rifling making it difficult to insert the cartridge. If it is breech loading then drawing back the lock, inserting the bullet and pushing the lock forward again takes at least 3 seconds...half a round. (Muzzle loaded guns would typically take 15-30 seconds to reload, if the operator was sufficently drilled, though the designers of the game reduced that for obvious reasons) One of the tediously annoying things about Pathfinder...and the majority of games played with other people...Is that what we know to be accurate needs to be confirmed by the designers and/or the GM. If you talk to Retech and he says 'Yeah, I think that is fine' then we all accept it...or grumble to retech about it. If you are just 'fixing' something then there are two approaches you can take: 1) You make the changes and hope no one spots them. If they do then you can hope the GM comes to see your point of view. 2) You can ask the GM and hope they see your point of view. The second is obviously preferable. Also, for reference, I have no issue with Mather or Lei coming back. His part in events was that of a victim. However I won't stop Grim from exacting retribution if he sees fit.

All people great and small. There will be a PvP Pathfinder 'session' in 3 hours. Session will be on the RScript server cause still banned from the SwiftIRC server and they haven't got back to me yet (suprise suprise) #Bladeward If people have Google Chrome they can also use the roll20 online tabletop: https://app.roll20.net/join/14876/32-s9w It is mostly for people (Mather, Retech, Nex) who want to test out their characters/vent their hatred for the party without screwing up Windward. So level 9 characters please. Winner is best of 3 Last Man Standing.

Thats amazing...The thing I said 2-3 weeks ago turned out to be the stumbing block... Furthermore doing 3 shots per round is a Full Attack, which means you can only take a 5 foot step. Unless the enemies are directly on top of you, in which case you need to soak up their damage, you can't use the 15 feet cone. So let us assume you (By which I mean Lei) have been attacked by a Vampire. You shoot it 3 times with your rifle, scoring...14, 15 and 7 to hit. So 15 damage, reduces to 0 by the DR. The Vampire assumes Gaseous Form and flies towards you at 20 feet per round, using cover as it can. You continue plugging away shots, 9, 6, 10, 5, 8, 16, 4, 8 and finally a 20. But alas, in Gaseous form it is immune to critical hits. You decide that wasting ammo on this fight is silly and you wait for it to come into range. It gets to 30 feet and casts Dominate on you. 10+5+2 =17 You roll a 4. Add that to your will...3 Unfortunately 7 doesn't beat the DC and so you turn on your good friend, Mather and shoot him. You get a new Will Save, 9 this time. Still too low. Mather rolls 15 on his Reflex save, which passes, so Mather only takes half damage Damage roll is (12d6)37 + (6d4)14 + 54 = 105 /2 =52 Assuming you rolled all eights you have 72 HP, so you are now down to 20 HP. Its Mather's turn, he do something that doesn't really tip the balance back into your favour...Lets say he attack the Vampire with his Pen. He roll a 4 on the attack, which misses. The Vampire unassumes gaseous form, and attempts to grapple Mather, rolls a 9+7=16, which you can make, so doesn't effect him. Lei stands there grinning idle. Mather attack with his Pen, rolling a 3. Vampire 5 Mather, success, at last, a 20. You deal some damage. The Vampire rolls a 16+7=23, which I would assume hits. It drains 1 Con point from Mather, dealing 5 damage, and heals 5 HP. Mather attack, 6. The Vampire continues the grapple and attacks Mather. 13+8, which I assume hits. Doing 4+4 damage, plus 2 Negative energy levels. And Mather takes 4 Con damage (Which is 20 HP, so he is dead, but I forgot so...), and the Vampire heals 20. Mather rolls an 11, which usually hits, but with the 2 negative levels fails. Vampire rolls 15. Doing 1+4 damage, plus 2 negative levels and 2 Con damage, healing the Vampire for 10. Mather rolls a 10. Vampire rolls a 20, but fails to confirm. dealing 2+4 damage, plus 2 negative damage and 3 Con damage. Mather lies on the ground, dead. Lei goes off to serve her new master. 3 days later Mather rises as a Vampire Spawn, just in time to be fireballed to death by Garmund. So ends the tale of Mather and Lei.

Playing.

Its a fairly substantive ability. I mean a critical hit is like *4, so 1 in 20 shots are deadly. Anywho, if anyone wants to 'duel' or some such please let me know, purely in the interests of discovering the strengths and weakenesses of builds.

I think it is more for sweat... Anywho, I forgot my own advise from Space: 'If you mentally preface a 'good idea' with the word 'Seemingly' then it is actually a bad idea.' On the plus side I discovered I can carry twice my body weight at a rate of 1 mile per hour. (Though it impairs my ability to type)

The only targets I can think of with an AC below 12 are Sheds/Shed Sized enemies. If you have the Far-Sight Scope then you gain some benefit from enemies generally having poor Touch AC...but its usually still above or at 12. Which means an average of 5. Added to which shooting at 1 Kilometer is beyond your actual vision range... Ref: Stealth and Detection in Plains: In plains terrain, the maximum distance at which a Perception check for detecting the nearby presence of others can succeed is 6d6 × 40 feet 35*40 = 1,440. Feet to Meters is about 1/3rd, so around 480 Meters, at max. Even supposing that Retech allowed you to use spotters, the ability to annoy wasps...or kill level 1 peasants...Is not terribly useful. Unless you happened to be faced with an army of 10 shed-sized peasants, each with 4 HP, who were advancing on you, without cover, I can't imagine it would be immensely useful...Unless Retech decides to do the American version of the Battle of Yorktown. While I would agree the ability to shoot a commander or some important person, and then have 10 rounds to flee, is certainly a major advantage...or more if you were in a city and were out of range of their perception...I do have to point out that the ability to kill major NPCs at will never goes down well with GMs, and often times you will get 'A group of guards hear the shot, see the muzzle flash or stumble on your music' Alternatively, you might jump to the conclusion that shooting person X is a good idea, and then it turns out to be a bad idea. Reminded me of this:

Ok then.... http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/building-and-modifying-constructs Get a construct. For a Tiny Animated Object that is 250 gp. +8,000 for Crafter's Eyes. THEN attach it to a Hawk. I don't really get the rules on constructs so experiment. Other alternatives are: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/e/eagle-eye http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/words-of-power/effect-words/far-sight http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/share-senses Either use Scrolls or intelligent items. Alternatively, use a Spyglass, as I somewhat doubt the utility of being 'able to see' the enemy as actively increasing your to-hit chance. The best ranged firearm is the Rifle, and has a ranged increment of 80 ft, even with the Far-Reaching Sight and Distant Special Ability it is only effective out to around 800 feet. Only about 240 meters. Compared with the composite longbow which remains effective out to over 1,000 feet, or around 300 meters...as well as being much cheaper. You would still be better off with a Longbow and a Hawk that dropped flares...Or cast Dancing Lights via an intelligent object, so you know where to look and then look there, see the target and bam. The original alternative, the one of the Intelligent Item TELLING you where the target is would be considerably more subtle. Similarly massive gunshot wound isn't the debilitation in Pathfinder that it is in the real world, so even if you do hit it probably won't kill them. If none of these options satisfy your desire to achieve something that only Satalites, Cameras and Infra-vision have given us in the modern era then you aren't gonna get the item...Short of becoming a wizard, witch, sorcerer or summoner.

Another, even cheaper alternative is: Buy a Hawk (18 gp) Attach the Dull, Intelligent Ioun Stone of Message (Cost of 2,025) on a necklace or something. Or staple it to it somehow.... Volia... Highly dependant on successful handle animal rolls, though...And not especially capable of redirections in flight...and obviously if someone/thing attacks your hawk you might lose both.

Eye piece of Eiffel, eh Retech? For 12,025 GP you could get an Intelligent Object: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/intelligent-items Base Intelligent Item costs 500. Plus cost of a Dull Ioun Stone (The most basic of the magical items) That flys (10,000), has Speech (500), and can cast a level 0 spell at will, in this case Message (1,000)

Yes and no. Sometimes a custom 'magic' item is just an item that is just left out of the books and added/will be added in the future. Good example is the Antidote Kit added in Ultimate Equipment, or the 'Filter Hood' (Gas Mask) Which are relatively mundane but in the Pathfinder Universe such a device would need to be 'magic' to work. Likewise if you built a trap which could render the victim weakened in someway (not already covered by the traps in the book) then you have to pay 'Magic item' costs. Another example is the Shield Sconce which, under the old rules, would have required a casting of continual flame (or something) to light up a shield. Similarly it is rather easy to work out better combinations of effects, at lower costs, than those listed in the books. GMs will tell you that 'Using those items breaks the game', but those abilities can easily be used by spellcasters already. (Though there is some truth as Spellcasters are limited to the number of spells they can cast, and when...Though part of that is embodied in the extra cost of items verses spells...But anyway) The stance is partially justified, other times the GM is just being fickle.