Simple RAW for Pathfinder Thread VI: Return of the Red Die

[Rynjin]

Q453: Is there any mundane, i.e. non-magical "Rebreather" or other adventuring gear / equipment that could let an air-breathing creature survive underwater for extended amounts of time? I've already got Air Bladders, which let my character remain underwater for a little under half an hour, but i'm looking for something that can last longer then that. Maybe not quite as good as the "Water breathing" spell, but something closer to it.

trying to google "pathfinder rebreather" just gets me a real-world rebreather brand.

A453: Merfolk's Comb last 8 hours, and is a a mundane Alchemical item. It allows you to breathe both water and air for the duration, but is 750 gp a pop.

Expensive, but if you have somebody in the party who can craft it, it can be cost effective.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Q453: Is there any mundane, i.e. non-magical "Rebreather" or other adventuring gear / equipment that could let an air-breathing creature survive underwater for extended amounts of time? I've already got Air Bladders, which let my character remain underwater for a little under half an hour, but i'm looking for something that can last longer then that. Maybe not quite as good as the "Water breathing" spell, but something closer to it.

trying to google "pathfinder rebreather" just gets me a real-world rebreather brand.

A453: Devices are non-magical versions of magic items (very Frankensteinian steampunk, with lots of exposed wires and pipes and harmless static electricity arcs) from Ravenloft: Legacy of the Blood. It's an officially licensed WotC product, so take that for what it's worth. Feel free to take a necklace of adaptation, convert it to a device, and add in a fully-charged power cell to power it, and you've got yourself a rebreather that covers you in a protective bubble.

[Joydriver]

Q454: (This is a Spheres of Guile related question if that's ok)

In the "Capped Total Modifiers" rule variant, bonuses are split into "general" and "situational".

Each character’s total general modifier to a skill, including all general bonuses but not counting situational bonuses, cannot exceed 10 + 150% the character’s level.

I'm reasonably confident that the following things are "General" (not fully inclusive):

Always-on Feats
Always-on Equipment
Skill Ranks
Ability Score Bonus
Racial Bonuses


I am confident that the following things are "Situational":

The "Change Tactics" use of Skill Leverage
Guile Points from Hedgewitch
Silver Tongue feat from Mind Sphere
Invoking a motivation or Baring your Soul


However, I'm completely unsure if these things are "Situational" or "General":

Stony Demeanor from Body Control
Enhance Focus from Enchantment Sphere


Is there any clarification anywhere or canonical examples that help define the line between "Situational" and "General"?

[Kuro Dmon]

Q455

The "Mixed-Mystery" Oracle Archetype (from the book "Faces of the Tarnished Souk: Brynhild Eirensdottir, the Shining Valkyrie") grants both sets of class skills for each Mystery you pick.

The Divine Herbalist Archetype replaces class skills with the Master Herbalist ability.

Are these Archetypes completely incompatible (as they both would have an affect on the same class feature [skills], though in different ways)? Would Divine Herbalist override the bonus skills but otherwise still be compatible with Mixed Mystery? Or could Divine Herbalist override just one of the two sets of class skills from claiming two mysteries?

[Kurald Galain]

A455 Yes, they are incompatible, for the reason that you state.

[ciopo]

Q456

Would a nagaji favored class bonus for mesmerist (higher HD limit for some effects) apply even if said mesmerist takes an archetype that trades away mental potency?

[Kurald Galain]

A456 Yes. It stacks with mental potency but does not require mental potency.

[ciopo]

Q457

.a) can the focused metamagic be used only with spells that target a specific number of creatures, or does it work also with spells that have an area of effect?

.b) if there is only one valid target within range/area , can a spell still be modified by focused?

.c) if we have spell perfection, does the bonus of focused metamagic become +4?

[Kurald Galain]

A457

(a) It works on spells that affect multiple creatures, so AOE spells are valid.
(b) It works on spells that affect (as opposed to "can affect") multiple creatures, so no.
(c) Yes.

[Kurald Galain]

Q458 Is there some way for an Inquisitor or Bard to heal himself as a swift action (kind of like Lay On Hands, but without being a paladin)?

(edit) turns out, the Believer's Hands feat.

[exelsisxax]

Q458 Is there some way for an Inquisitor or Bard to heal himself as a swift action (kind of like Lay On Hands, but without being a paladin)?

A458: bards have healing finale, a swift action 20' radius heal burst. 3rd level spell, pretty great for a party but the heal is only 2d6 so personally you can't get anywhere near pretending to be a paladin.

[Rynjin]

A458: Baseline Inquisitor's Healing Judgment gives you Fast Healing 1 (up to 7 at 18th level) as a Swift.

[paddyfool]

Q459

I’m confused about favoured class bonuses. I’m building a half elf soulweaver for a spheres of power game, and I can see an entry for favoured class bonus under both the race (+1 hp or skill point) and the class (bigger channeling area). Do I get both bonuses or is it either / or?

[Rynjin]

A459: You choose one. Every class has access to the +1 HP or skill point, but some are unique based on class/race combinations. For example a Human Fighter can instead choose to pick two Combat Maneuvers and gain a +1 to their CMD against them, while a Half-Orc Fighter gains a +2 on rolls to stabilize when dying. A Human Sorcerer, instead, gains the option to choose a spell of one level lower than they could normally cast, etc.

Characters who count as multiple races get multiple options. Eg. the Half-Orc mentioned above can also take the Human FCB to get a bonus to CMD (because they count as Human) or instead choose the Orc racial FCB to gain a +2 to your effective Con score to determine when you die from negative HP.

Your racial option unlocks a suite of Favored Class Bonuses for each class, essentially. But you still only get to pick one of the options available to you. Our hypothetical Half-Orc can therefore choose any one of the 5 options available to him.

[Powerdork]

A459: More concisely, as a half-elf gaining a soulweaver level, your favored class options are those available to the specific intersections of 'elf soulweaver', 'human soulweaver', 'half-elf soulweaver' (because half-elves get to count as all three, thanks to their elf blood racial trait), or the baseline bonus hit point or skill point that anyone can take.

If you take a level in your other favored class (which you get as a half-elf, if you didn't substitute your multitalented racial trait for anything; for the sake of argument let's say your second favored class is fighter), then your options each time you take a fighter level are 'the elf fighter option', 'the human fighter option', 'the half-elf fighter option', or the baseline bonus hit point or skill point.

Note that while you only get to pick one at each level, you do get to change which one you take at the next level, as long as it's appropriate to the favored class you're gaining a level in.

[BisectedBrioche]

Q460 Are there any guidelines for setting level appropriate DCs in 2e when there's no specific level I can use?

Obviously there's a chart to consult, and the encounter building tool has some idea of how many levels you can increase something by to make it more challenging, but I can't see anything concrete.

Is there an easy way to understand Party Level +X as equivalent to 5e's bounded accuracy?

[Rynjin]

Q460 Are there any guidelines for setting level appropriate DCs in 2e when there's no specific level I can use?

Obviously there's a chart to consult, and the encounter building tool has some idea of how many levels you can increase something by to make it more challenging, but I can't see anything concrete.

Is there an easy way to understand Party Level +X as equivalent to 5e's bounded accuracy?

Not sure if this thread is meant for 2e questions but I will try to research this real quick.

First I kinda want to clarify what you mean though. Because in NO system should skill DCs be set by APL+X, since skill bonuses don't scale based on number of people in the party like combat capability does.

Or are you more asking about general guidelines on "difficulty"? Like "at level 10 a Trained check is easy but an Expert check is average" kind of thing?

[BisectedBrioche]

Not sure if this thread is meant for 2e questions but I will try to research this real quick.

First I kinda want to clarify what you mean though. Because in NO system should skill DCs be set by APL+X, since skill bonuses don't scale based on number of people in the party like combat capability does.

Or are you more asking about general guidelines on "difficulty"? Like "at level 10 a Trained check is easy but an Expert check is average" kind of thing?

I was basically thinking "in 5e D&D, bounded accuracy means DC 10 is standard, DC 15 is harder, etc, while PF2e has DCs by level, please consult this chart".

But it looks like either I was missing something, or the revised core rules have made it clearer (it's all together with the rules for DCs now), because now there's a section called "Adjusting Difficulty", which is what I was having trouble with (turns out the adjustments are +/-2, +/-5, +/-10).

[DrMartin]

A460: all the DCs are at page 53 of the GM Core (Remaster) or page 503/504 of the Core Rulebook (og 2nd ed).

You can use a simple DC by figuring out the kind of proficiency that best describes the difficulty of the action - from 10 (untrained) to 40 (legendary). This is the closest to the 5e paradigm.

If you have a level you can either consult the chart or calculate it - the formula is

14 + level + 1 every 3 levels.

On top of that you can apply a modifier if the action is easier or harder because of specific expertise, rarity, etc. - these go from -10 to +10

[Cieyrin]

Not sure if this thread is meant for 2e questions

That is kinda a problem, given 2e has been out for 5 years, with a remaster, and there isn't a thread specific to the edition. idk if both should be fielded here (since the thread title just says Pathfinder without regard to edition) or if when this thread hits the page limit they should split. I guess that's really more of a mod question, tho, isn't it?

[Rynjin]

That is kinda a problem, given 2e has been out for 5 years, with a remaster, and there isn't a thread specific to the edition. idk if both should be fielded here (since the thread title just says Pathfinder without regard to edition) or if when this thread hits the page limit they should split. I guess that's really more of a mod question, tho, isn't it?

I think the issue with 2e in general is that interest on this forum is low enough that it's discussed like...once a month, if that, so it hasn't gotten its own subforum. I believe the mods have said in the past that 2e discussions should be in either Roleplaying general or "Other d20" which I guess would be where the Simple RAW thread for it would go?

[BisectedBrioche]

A460: all the DCs are at page 53 of the GM Core (Remaster) or page 503/504 of the Core Rulebook (og 2nd ed).

You can use a simple DC by figuring out the kind of proficiency that best describes the difficulty of the action - from 10 (untrained) to 40 (legendary). This is the closest to the 5e paradigm.

If you have a level you can either consult the chart or calculate it - the formula is

14 + level + 1 every 3 levels.

On top of that you can apply a modifier if the action is easier or harder because of specific expertise, rarity, etc. - these go from -10 to +10

Ah, using proficiency as a scale for difficulty was the piece of the puzzle I was missing! Thanks very much.

[ciopo]

Q461

can a 10th level skald retrain the rage power he selected at 9th level with one that has "minimum barbarian level 10", assuming he meets the other prerequisites? (a placeholder to greater beast totem, in my specific case, while having lesser beast totem and beast totem as the 3rd and 6th level rage powers)

Q462 when an archetype forces you to take a specific "selection" of a class feature, can that choice later be retrained? examples are the 6th level rage power for hunt caller skalds, that "must" take scent rage power, or oracle archetypes that "must" take this or that revelation at this or that level

[Kurald Galain]

A461 No, per the sidebar on retraining rules this is allowed for feats specifically but not for class features.

A462 No. "Retraining a class feature means you lose the old class feature and gain a new one that you could otherwise qualify for at that point in your level advancement." If e.g. at level 6 you must take Scent, then at that level you only qualify for Scent. There's no choice to be made here, so nothing to retrain.

[ShurikVch]

Q 463

Dunno if somebody already asked it, but the Investigator class have (in all sources available to me) this line:

If a spell normally has a costly material component, that component is expended during the consumption of that particular extract. Extracts cannot be made from spells that have focus requirements; extracts that duplicate divine spells never have a divine focus requirement.

Meanwhile, Investigator's list (in both Archives of Nethys and d20PFSRD) includes such spells as:
Analyze Dweomer - "Components V, S, F (a ruby and gold lens worth 1,500 gp)",
Magic Jar - "Components V, S, F (a gem or crystal worth at least 100 gp)",
or Trapfinder’s Focus - "Components V, S, F (masterwork thieves’ tools worth 100 gp)".

How are they on the list, if extracts "cannot be made from spells that have focus requirements"?

Also, how it works for spells which are required costly material component when cast as arcane, but divine focus - as divine?

[ciopo]

Q 464 is there some easy way to get heavy armor profiency on a mount/animal companion? barring first taking medium armor profiency

the desired end result is taking the styles in the feat chain "Bulette" with a rhinoceros animal companion

I vaguely recall there was perhabs an armored/bodyguard archetype for animal companions, that traded.. multiattack? for armor profiency, but I can't find it anymore

[Cieyrin]

A 463 That seems to be an unaddressed problem of alchemists as well, as they have the exact same wording in their alchemy section. What that comes down to is they can't brew extracts of those spells despite being on their list. Seems to be an oversight, though in the alchemist's case, if those spells are on a staff, wand, or some other spell trigger magic item, they could cast them. There's an FAQ specifically saying Investigators don't get that, unfortunately, so no dice, there.
I'm not finding any guidance on which version of a spell's components to use for alchemists/investigators, either, unfortunately. If it's a non-costly material, then the point is moot, as you ignore them either way. I guess that's a GM call, as far as I can tell.

[Maat Mons]

(Partial) A 464: The Charger animal companion archetype eventually reduces armor check penalties by 3. Combined with mithral, this is sufficient to wear full plate without penalty.

[ciopo]

setup :Creature with the greater overrun feat (and prerequisites), charge through feat (and prerequisites), and the powerful charge special quality

Rhino charges opponent B, doing a free overrun on opponent A along the way:

Q465
if the overrun fails, per the charge through feat, the charge ends in front of A. can the charge attack be resolved against opponent A?

Q466
Does the +2 to attack rolls of the charge apply on the overrun attempt? ( I assume and assumed the answer is yes )

Q467
if opponent A is knocked prone, thus provoking an attack of opportunity, can the charging Rhino take that AoO against opponent A? (I assume and assumed the answer is yes)

Q468
Does powerful charge special quality apply on that AoO made while charging? (I assume and assumed the answer is "no")

Q469
Is powerful charge multiplied on a crit? My understanding is that it's a special attack that happens in place of the normal gore attack. or rather, we declare we're doing a powerful charge, which is a special attack that's "like a charge, except..."
to be clear, if a creature has a gore statline of 2d6+1.5STR and a powerful charge statline of 4d6+2STR, resolving a powerful charge does 4d6+2STR damage, not (2d6)+1.5STR+4d6+2STR

[Kurald Galain]

Hey, I've played such a character too!

A465 Up to GM interpretation (of the phrase "the charge ends...").

A466 No; the charge rules specify that you get a +2 on a single melee attack, not on everything that happens during your charge.

A467 Yes; you can take AoOs during your own turn.

A468 No, same reason as A466.

A469 Yes; unless specified otherwise, crits multiply everything except precision damage (e.g. sneak attack) and special weapon qualities (e.g. flaming), and powerful charge is neither of these.