PF - Optimizing 3.x Minionmancy Spells for PF

[unseenmage]

My GM has allowed me to port the spells Minor Servitor (SS), Awaken Sand (Sa), and Create Crawling Claw (MoF, LEoF) from to our Pathfinder game.

The Minor Servitor Spell will animate by volume as is written instead.
Create Crawling Claw will make one Lost Empires of Faerun Crawling Claw swarm per casting.

I know how to optimize these critters for a 3.x game. I had loads of fun doing so back in the day. But I'm a little lost on getting the most bang for my buck in the PF framework.

For example, 3.x has a far wider variety of special materials to animate with Minor Servitor, such as Aurorum and Thinaun Steel.
Awaken Sand is great with Bkack Sand and Shapesand, both missing in PF.
And the last time I used it Create Crawling Claw just made piles and piles of individual animated hands.

I'd love a way to let the Minor Servitors and Awakened Sands use spells. In 3.x I used Glyph Seals from Magic Item Compendium.

Giving the Crawling Claw swarms intelligence would be great too. In 3.x I used the Sacred Guardian template from Bestiary of Krynn Revised.
In PF the intelligence granting bioconstruct mod gets shut down with just Detect Thoughts (which as a doppelganger I have constantly active :smallannoyed:).

For the record I'm only allowed to convert 3.x spells at +1 spell level by custom researching them.

Ideas and suggestion welcome, and thanks to anyone mad enough to help with this. :smallbiggrin:

[unseenmage]

Reserved for converted monster stats... which I will get to eventually.


Got evicted, moved in with in-laws, computer is in storage indefinitely, writing up monster stats is difficult on phone.

[unseenmage]

Getting command of the free willed Awakened Sands and Minor Servitors is not the same in PF either.

For 3.x I'd used Diplomancy and the Fanatic disposition from the ELH in conjunction with the Greater Humanoid Essence spell for non-Dispel-able mind control.

Between that and the Domain Draught (MIC) of the Warforged domain amd/or the Rod of Construct Control (AaEG) I was rarely at a loss for backup options 'just in case'.

I am less sure of my options for PF Construct enslavement.

[noob]

Getting command of the free willed Awakened Sands and Minor Servitors is not the same in PF either.

For 3.x I'd used Diplomancy and the Fanatic disposition from the ELH in conjunction with the Greater Humanoid Essence spell for non-Dispel-able mind control.

Between that and the Domain Draught (MIC) of the Warforged domain amd/or the Rod of Construct Control (AaEG) I was rarely at a loss for backup options 'just in case'.

I am less sure of my options for PF Construct enslavement.
In pathfinder you are the master of your own constructs by default but since those spells do mention a friendship score it means you are probably not their master by default.
There is ways to get turn construct in pathfinder and now alter self always turn into humanoids so you can use grant spell(or whatever was called that cleric spell) to give alter self to your constructs to make them humanoids and then use one of the ways to enslave forever an humanoid.

[unseenmage]

Hmmm, another wrinkle.

Back when I used these spells in 3.x one of the most powerful parts of optimizing them was feat selection.

(We used Gather Info checks to find NPCs who had the desired feat then hired them as hirelings to remain present for the creation of a Construct so their knowledge could be mystically infused into the Construct, not RAW but it added a layer of fun for us.)

In making lists of the best feats that lack prerequisites it was revealed to me that 3.x just has more powerful (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=319962) feats than PF (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?426119-PF-What-Are-the-Top-10-Pathfinder-Only-Feats).

Which kinda sucks since giving installing a feat to give a Construct a CL or psionic power points was a nice way of optimizing their versatility.
Allowing any old mook to technically research new spells/powers for me or craft alchemical items kicked butt.


Seems now I'll have to resort to paying some extra gold at Construct creation to apply Simple Class Templates instead. A less satisfying, and certainly less RAW, option.


EDIT
On another note, Create Crawling Claw requires a Magic Circle Against Good. Both are 3rd level spells.
It occurs to me that it's only a little bit cheaper to scribe a scroll of each spell than it is to just craft a CR2 Crawling Claw swarm using the Price by CR guidelines.

Most likely I'll just put the Magic Circle Against Good permanently in the bottom of a Portable Hole and enchant the P. Hole to cast Create Crawling Claw once enough severed left hands are accumulated in it.

Be aware that though the intention is clearly to sever the hands of victims or corpses the description of the spell nor the creature requires such.
The hands off statues should work just as well.
Though optimally nabbing a captive troll would be best. :smallbiggrin: