I've been playing over skype and Roll20 for around two years now, and honestly I'm starting to prefer it over in person. With all the extra tools, and being able to mute yourself when you eat/drink something (thats nice for everyone), and not having to drive anywhere is really nice.
Though, I do miss hanging out with my friends in person and making a weekend of it
I've made a new Spell Database application for 2nd Edition Pathfinder. Just a little app to search spells & also has a few quick reference sheets for conditions, traits, monster abilities & other things you need at hand GM'ing. Also has a bookmarking feature so you can manage multiple bookmarked spell lists - good for tracking your spells available on different characters or just flagging a spell you're interested in returning to as you're browsing.
The app is available on the Google Play Store for Android. 100% free, no ads, just spells! Made it for my own use, figured I should share.
EDIT: For non-android users, it also exists as a website. It's set up to work offline, so if you view it & bookmark it you should be able to open it later even without internet.
I've updated Pathbuilder 2e playtest to the 1.4 rules. If you already have it then the update should be wending its way through the ether to you now.
On Android I can't recommend Pathbuilder enough.
It's a great character builder with a very user friendly UI. It is fairly new I think, but the developer is constantly updating with more features (spell support added recently) and books. There is a handy Information button next to all options (race, feat, skill etc) that links to Piazo, D20pfSRD or Neyths so you can see a full description.
Also, it's completely free.
I use this one on my phone: Pathbuilder. I haven't explored it too thoroughly so I'm not aware of any kinks that it might have, but for what I've been needing, it's worked great!
Tiny post-it notes work well for this. You can roll a bunch and write one on each note. When you want to "roll", just peel off the top sheet to reveal the new number.
I like this better than a sheet where I can see what number comes next to eliminate the potential to "metagame" myself.
If you grab a multi-color pack, you can have one stack for single rolls and one stack that has a roll for each member of the party. This makes situations where everyone needs to make a check really easy (which was more important before passive perception was a thing).
Edit: Another handy use is to pre-roll initiative for each planned encounter, write the results on a tiny post-it, and stick it to the relevant page of the module/notes. I find this makes it easier to keep things flowing when transitioning from adventure to combat.
There is an official Wheel of Time RPG, and it is, IMO, very well-written. I'd recommend just playing that or adapting it for Pathfinder. It's d20 3.0, so it's pretty easy to make the transition from Pathfinder to either playing or adapting the WoT RPG.
You really just need to learn. The list is extensive, but if you start with Core only and then branch out over time it will be a little more manageable.
You may want to start with sorcerer because of the very limited spells known, then when you feel comfortable you can transition to wizard. But this is only a suggestion, feel free to dive straight into wizard
If you need references without the internet you can pick up spell decks like this one
It's blocked at a lot of workspaces, but I can actually give you a workaround for that. if you replace the following part of the web address in this example: "http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian" with this instead: "https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/classes/core-classes/barbarian" then you can access it at most workplaces. Just to reiterate, you change it to "https" instead of "http", and then change "www.d20pfsrd.com" to "sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc".
Nope.
If you know anything about other countries, markets can only flourish with law and order. And it's argued persuasively in The Wealth of Nations that markets can only be efficient by controlling real estate, finance, and (there's a term I forgot that includes unnecessary licenses and unnecessary middlemen).
Corruption, violent gangs, thievery, and people always looking to get one over you makes for third world countries. Cops and government officials being paid off is the norm outside the west.
Poverty and lawlessness is a self-perpetuating cycle, but that's where culture and trusted networks or social identification comes in because they don't have a price.
Check out Pathbuilder. Its the best character building app by far and you can export your build as a character sheet. Also if you just want the character sheet part Pathfinder Toolkit is pretty ok.
> No one ganged up on him, considering the premise of the topic is to figure out if we should, because 4 years of the same thing is old.
Really?
> He’s out numbered 5 to 1 because everyone is kind of tired of it.
> This throwing character was ok and we kind of beat him down a bit when he had some bullshit feats.
> if we do try to RP the character he gets defensive and says "no" "that's not how she would react" or some other excuse.
> We did. He didn’t have “room”.
> best character he had was an vanilla Investigator one of us made for him
> No he's taking well thought out, sim/theorycrafted, and known builds and screwing with them
> > He changes well made and well know builds into shit because "he" made the choice.
You and I have very different definitions of "We." You also sound like the fun-police. Obviously he doesn't give a shit about copying builds. Everyone gets their enjoyment from different aspects of the game and maybe copying someone else's template eliminates the fundamental aspects of character creation that he enjoys.
> No one is going to become his character creator.
If no one is going to work with him and teach him to make a good character, you're going to be stuck with him making shitty characters. Grow up and help him. You have 20 years experience gaming, put it to some use.
> Everything else you said is now not really relevant, circumvents your original directive or insane.
Just because you don't know the fundamental basics of having positive interactions where you get your desired outcome doesn't make it insane. What I wrote for you is a crash course in hundreds of books about team building, communication, and getting people to help you/do what you ask them to do.
There is a dwarf miniature with the name "Brag Ironballs" and after seeing that I can't say I've ever heard a better name for a dwarf.
To be honest they probably plan things out using something like Adobe Indesign. That means meticulously laying out the format of the book after the book has already gone through a bazillion rough drafts as a simple text document.
You can achieve similar feats using a word processor however. Try OpenOffice. You can use the Format Page option to split the page into two columns. Half the reason most RPG books are easier to read are because of the two column layouts.
If you want a background you can add an image like this and make sure you've aligned the image to the back of the page, set the wrap to let the text go through it and anchored it to the page itself (not sentence or paragraph or anything). That will give you a textured background if you decide you want to pretty it up abit.
other than that, look up some online tutorials to help with formatting documents. Once again, if you want to get real fancy use In-Design. That's the program used for, i'd say, about 90% of document layouts for anything from RPG core books to random magazines.
I would say don't use Pathfinder or Starfinder. Instead, you're going for a 90s feel and a Bright kind of thing, find a D&D 3rd or 3.5 book, or just use the open source SRD material for it for the races, and then pick up the Spycraft d20 game.
Spycraft was set in that 90s/00s timeframe, so all the technology will be compatible. Just use the D&D races as a base, and then use the classes and tech from Spycraft. You can mix in magic items from D&D/Pathfinder if you want I guess.
If you have almost finished The Fall of Plaguestone and they aren't on board with PF2e, you might be out of luck. That's a good sized adventure and they should have a chance to experience all the rules and see most of the differences. Not everyone likes every RPG system.
You can try making another group online. Run a D&D campaign and a PF2e campaign if you have the time.
There is a website for PF2e but it doesn't have all the fancy extras D&D Beyond has.The Archive of Nethys website has most of the standard rules available for free.
https://2e.aonprd.com/PlayersGuide.aspx
Take a look at FoundryVTT. It's a one time purchase and full of features. You have to create your own maps and tokens. It has community made rulesets for D&D, PF and a lot more.
Can't believe nobody's mentioned Masterwork Tools. It's free and has everything on the PRD. With it you can search the PRD and make collections of bookmarks. I have collections for each of my characters, one for alchemical items, and another for often referenced rulies. It's a great app.
Ah, I see some 5e bleedover.
In 5e, your base AC is 10, and your base AC is adjusted to include armor or natural armor, so your base becomes 12 or 14 or whatever, +dex mod.
In PF, you don't really assume 10 is "base." 10 is just the number you start with no matter what. That's why you see the bonuses as "10 + armor bonus + <strong>Shield</strong> bonus + <strong>Dexterity</strong> modifier + other modifiers." In 5e, you're explicitly told your AC is now "14+dex mod," changing the base and not adding a modifier.
It's one of the many things that bounded accuracy has narrowed the field in through necessity.
That highly depends on what you and every single player and the GM consist cringe worthy.
Many here say sexual content are their no. one. My group never had any problems with that at all. We write down our adventures and players like to add short stories to that for flavor. Several of those are downright porn.
I cringe at the gaming table when a player doesn't listen and asks what happens the moment the explanation of what happened is finished . Ok, people have bad days but if it happens a lot it's fremdschämen for me.
I don't know what a character would have to do to make me uncomfortable.
Ah. Yes. There was one. He played all his characters in a way that made them sooner later rip off the head of an enemy and shit in their necks. It got old fast.
Check out Pathbuilder if you're on Android - really amazing character gen app, the developer (u/Redrazors) is active (and on this sub!).
Yes, issue 297 had a total of 8 planetouched races: the Axani, the Cansin (chaotic planetouched), and a selection of 6 para-genasi (Dust, Ice, Magma, Ooze, Smoke, Steam).
You can view a pdf of the issue on scribd here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/127726812/Dragon-Magazine-297 The planetouched races begin on page 62.
I would recommend a Belt of Dwarvenkind. If you’re a non-Dwarf, it gives you the ability to grow a dwarf-like beard, and allows you to speak/read Dwarvish. It’s technically a DND 5e item, but could easily be used in pathfinder.
Edit: apparently there already is a PF Belt of Dwarvenkind. The link is in the comment below this.
To show an example of InDesign being useful HERE is my custom pathfinder character sheet I made. Indesign really let me tinker with where I wanted things and align things pretty well. If I was a little less lazy it could have been more perfect. But I think it's decent.
I only know of this sheet by darthmarth for google docs, but I'm sure there are others.
However I suggest you look at using Roll20 because the pathfinder character sheet on it is fantastic, and you can roll everything from the sheet. Ignore this if you've already looked at roll20.
1.) You can pick any spells from the list as long as they aren't from your opposition schools.
2.) On this page you'll see a table that is titled "Spells per Day". That table tells you how many spells for each level you can have ready each day. Even though you can learn a lot of spells as a Wizard you can only have so many ready to be cast. Using level 1 as an example, you can have 3 level 0 spells prepared and one level 1 spell prepared each day.
3.) Level 0 spells are special in that they can be cast an unlimited amount of times whereas the level 1 spell can only be cast once. If you want to cast any non level 0 spell more than once you need to prepare it in multiple slots each day.
It's quite comprehensive and excessively automated. It needs excel and it's a bit slow though. Sometime's I'll use a Google Sheets spreadsheet I made myself as its a bit quicker but it's pretty disorganized.
The average human body is about 18 gallons of volume^* so you're basically casting an inconvenient Create Water spell at caster level 9.
If they want to use a 5th level or higher spell to fake a divine cantrip, I'm fine with that.
^* 66.4 liters times 0.264172 gallons per liter = 17.54102 gallons
EDIT: typo
Roll20 is a free way to play online, but you would want to be upfront about not being too familiar with the rules to make sure that the gamemaster understands. They do have some builtin Pathfinder support, so that is a nice touch. It supports text-chat as well as voice chat, either via their own web app or using Google Hangouts.
You can also check /r/lfg for both Play-by-email and roll20 groups, or even local meatspace ones. The community there seems pretty generous with new players, so I would say make a post over there and see what comes up.
You might be interested in the Guide to the Blockbuster Wizard then, of the Michael Bay school of spellcasting.
Such a build will never be as flexibly powerful as the Batman / God wizard, but damn fun to play.
I didn't even realize you could preorder 2E books on Amazon. If the normal bestiary is missing, it might just be an error. It shows up for me.
Pathfinder Bestiary (P2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1640781706/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wDoaDbPX2ECGT
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redrazors.pathbuilder2e&hl=en_IE
pathbuilder 2e,look it up,guy is amazing
This is the one I use:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spelltrackerapp.pathfinder
It sort of craps all over itself when it tries to handle domain spells, but it is generally ok.
This looks great, As you are finalizing things though, check out this version that includes a progression tab.
It lets you map out skills, hit point advancement, and stat improvement ahead of time so that when you increment your level it automatically updates all of your information. I have found it really helpful to be able to map out character advancement in advance. I also put in all my feats, 1-20 and gray out the ones that I don't have yet so that I can do all my planning up front and not have to hmm and haw at every level. It would be awesome if you could integrate something similar.
I'm generally a fan of the philosophy that more content is just inherently better than less. I love all additions to the rules, including a lot of 3pp stuff. However, some 3pp stuff is definitely not well-thought-out and not well-tested. If you've playtested something and it plays well, I'm all about adding it as an option for my players. That being said, Paizo has enough great content that you really don't NEED third-party stuff to have a huge amount of diversity in your game. And then there's the fact that even Paizo makes mistakes sometimes, and puts out stuff that just isn't balanced, like the Synthesist Summoner and a few items in Ultimate Equipment, so you always need to keep a watchful eye on game-breaking supplements.
As far as the Artificer specifically is concerned, there are so many conversions of it to Pathfinder now that I don't know what's what anymore. I like the concept of an Artificer, though, so if you can show me a well-written, well-playtested version, I'd probably allow it or even consider playing one myself.
I actually am part of a group that has been writing what we call "Multiclass Archetypes" for the past two years or so, which is basically a hybrid of two of Paizo's base classes in archetype form. You can see a few of them on my Labs page, along with my guide to Sorcerer Bloodlines, here: https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/extras/community-creations/cartmanbeck-s-lab
Pf1e Freedome. That's what I like in pathfinder. You want to be s climbing artist? Go for it. Want to be a skull smashing barbarian, that's very fine. Maybe more like a chieftain barbarian with a cohort? That's also fine (disclaimer most GMs don't want leadership) Through pathfinders archetype system you can be like anything. You just need to find it.
But it comes through this also with the opposite. So you are a skill smashing barbarian? Nice. Got buffed with rage nice... Add your mods. Druids buffs you add that. Cleric gives haste? Wow that's much calculating... Charge? More calculating... Flanking even more.
Sometimes your game change to "math"finder. That's something to have in mind.
I have done a similar thing but with Wiz-dice.
Nice thing it it's always complete sets. And a pretty good deal price-wise. We have a big tin can which I keep all the ones I don't use in. Then we can make sets for new players as needed. I kinda dice hoard....
You're right that kineticist can be complicated. Honestly, I would never build one without using Pathbuilder. AFAIK there's no iPhone version, but if you have an iphone, get yourself Bluestacks or some other android emulator and load up Pathbuilder, seriously, it'll make your life that much easier and helping sort out what options you qualify for and which you don't.
FrankExplains is right. The workload for such a large database is really enormous. Though the sheet is nice for managing your own character.
If you want to try out and build character concepts, I recommend Pathbuilder (Android app, smooth, but only for Android) or PCGen (PC software, initially a bit complex, but very comprehensive and not only for Pathfinder).
I started with Pathbuilder but migrated to PCGen. The ruleset is really nice and can by modified manually. Though it´s a bit complex at the beginning.
I recently found out about Pathbuilder, a very good, actively developed, character builder for Android.
Otherwise I use this amazing Google Sheets character sheet by u/darthmarth28. It's quite good and very playable as a sheet straight from my screen if I can't print it out.
I'm the creator of ItemForge, an Android app that helps simplify the process of crafting (or just pricing) of magic items by taking care of the tedious calculations and numerous crafting requirements.
Completely free with no ads.
Besides the stuff other people are saying (using an online reference or something similar - I use an android app) I would suggest running a published module or adventure path. There are threads for most of them on Paizo's site so you can see what other GMs have done and you will have a limited set of creatures to worry about.
Honestly, I'd scrap the cleric idea and go Juju Oracle. It's a lot stronger than the cleric, gives you some mobility, and you can pump up your undead much more effectively with things like Wendigo Spirits and certain undead variations. Here's Araonna Chorster, an example of what you can build into over time. You get your buffing ability, a little more casting flexibility in terms of spontaneous casting, and can create your own front line. You'll probably lose the mythic levels unless your DM is already planning them, but that's fine and you'll still be relevant.
In terms of story and play, I'd probably go Black Blood curse. It would explain your attachment to the dead and your distaste for positive energy (as it basically burns the fuck out of you). You can keep your ex-cult member scenario, and maybe even deepen it due to your class.
Summary: Go Juju Oracle instead. You'll get your supporting capabilities, have healing to dish out when you want, be more flexible in combat, have better undead minions, more undead minions, and a shit ton of fun.
Well it has a neat 8bit retro feel. I dig it. If you would like to work with more detailed textures in the future, check out THIS link. You can also use the free program G.I.M.P. (google it) instead of photoshop to do some cool high end editing. Do a quick search on youtube for GIMP tutorials on Layers and Masks and you will be most of the way to doing some cool new stuff! Have fun!
As other people said, go bard
You can also create a Arcanist (White Mage)/Fighter/Eldritch Knight which gives you healing spells (albeit a few times per day since it's limited by your reservoir) along with your regular arcane casting and ~3/4 BAB.
Mystic Theurge is possible to pull off ( https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/2ep0he/need_help_making_necromancer/ck1xfrt ), but your 1/2 BAB is a severe hindrance
Character creation is one of the more complex parts of Pathfinder, since it's so flexible. You might find it easier to start with some pre-created characters and get your head around the core mechanics of combat, magic, and skills using those.
Other than that: a bunch of reading works! I also highly recommend the Pathfinder Academy Podcast.
I use this version which lets me track hit points better and plan out character advancement from level 1-20, all I have to do each level is change the level number and implement any new feats.
You should also add the version number to your sheet. There are too many versions floating around, this is getting crazy. Based on version numbering in the notes, it looks like you started with a really old version of the sheet. Which I completely understand, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to know which is the latest and greatest.
The Panther Style/Panther Claw/Panther Parry style feats allow you to attack in response to an AoO that has been triggered by you moving through a threatened square. If you get Panther Parry then your attack happens BEFORE they attack and so if you can use your attack to trip them or push them away then you won't get to take their AoO at all!
I've actually thought about playing a monk that just runs around his opponents daring them to attack him :)
I don;t know of a tool for this in general, so I just made this. It's a bit off the cuff, so it only does one weapon at a time, but it gives you a graph of DPR-vs-target AC after you plug in your attack bonuses, average damage.
The linked example is set up for a hasted level 6-10 power-attacking barbarian with a +1 keen nodachi: 3 attacks at +15/+15/+10 each dealing an average of 25 damage per hit. Each crit is x2 damage and each attack roll requires a minimum of 15 to threaten. Does that work for you?
One of the hardest things, especially for new players (and often in PFS Organized Play) is being able to create and roleplay characters that are distinctive and have an interesting appearance, personality and approach.
Creating unique characters is a great way to create better roleplaying experiences and help characters stick in player's and GM's minds, and helps us to avoid the 'I'm just a barbarian with a big axe' generic approach!
Coming up with a unique character concept can be overwhelming though. That's why I made this easy to use one page sheet that will allow a player to quickly capture the key aspects of their character's appearance, upbringing, approach and attitude and will help create distinctive, unique, vibrant, one of a kind characters.
I have deliberately kept the sheet and details captured 'light weight' as this is mainly intended for organized play, although you are of course free to adapt and amend it to the needs of your players and groups.
More PF resources available here: https://drive.google.com/#folders/0B-IWkfoDZCX2QzhmQVQ1MzQycDA
PCGen is a work in progress and the trait specifically says it hasn't been implemented in the description...
That said to enable the ability for the time being
Close PCGen
Open the file "isr_abilities_race.lst" (I use a portable version of a Notepad++ but regular notepad works as well) inside of the PCGen folder located PCGen\pcgen\data\pathfinder\paizo\campaign_setting\inner_sea_races
Search for PREABILITY:1,CATEGORY=Special Ability,Sylph ~ Mostly Human and put it in a pair of brackets [PREABILITY:1,CATEGORY=Special Ability,Sylph ~ Mostly Human]
Load up PCGen and you will now be able to access the ability as you desire
Ifrit, Oread, Suli, Udine all are listed as not implimented but they can all be changed as easily the Sylph's to enable them
Absolutely! I'm trying a new thing to make the game as immersive as possible. To that end:
I bought the Harrow deck and actually spent the time to learn what the cards mean so I can do the readings -.-
After each session, I send my players a "news clipping" with summaries of what we've just done, any backstory they may have missed, and a bunch of random/funny side information that may or may not lead to side quests.
I use the crap out of Tabletop Audio and Spotify to add atmosphere and game noise.
Its the first time I've run a Paizo adventure path, and I have to say, compared to the WotC adventures, these things just kick so much butt.
For theorycrafting, or exploring possible characters, or just wasting time: the Pathbuilder Android app
For actual play, /u/darthmarth28's Autosheet for Google Docs.
There is still Mod Necroes Sheet which I and a couple others we play with now use. It's great for automating most things. (Download it to your computer if you want to edit)
Here are a couple portraits I did of us in an earlier campaign. I think I've improved since then. I also drew the city we're using for the current campaign.
Roll20 can do what you want it to, and doesn't absolutely require you to pay anything for it. Subscribing does get you more data and more functions, but if you just want to track character with in-game sheets, roll dice without physical dice, or even run with everyone in their own homes if they have decent headsets and internet connections. It does need a bit of tinkering to get the hang of, but once you do it's pretty versatile.
That's super sweet!
If you're interested, send me a DM. I may be able to run a session as Dungeon Master for the two of you over Roll20.net. That way, it can be just the two of you together playing the game with equal authority.
Totally understand if that's too awkward or not what you're looking for. Good luck and happy gaming!
I currently have an evil character in a good aligned party. The trick is to make sure that you make a character that still has the same goals as the party (or at least a long term reason to work with them). You don't want to be an antagonist, you want to be an antihero.
My character is a cleric of "Abidar" (cough, Asmodeus). I try to nudge the party toward more violent acts against chaotic creatures "Of course we should execute the captured goblins, they're awful scourges on a civilized society!", as well as trying to buddy-buddy up with the fighter and get him on my side in such matters. Just generally encouraging the party more toward violent solutions to things, in the name of establishing a strict legal code. His actual motivation is to find wealth to establish his own church (which he is open and vocal about), as well as trying to recruit the party's fighter as an enforcer for said church.
Also, I'm super happy about how the art turned out. Note the little Asmodeus star inside of Abidar's holy symbol. Credit to /u/grumplesoup for doing the excellent art.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_D8b5Tl5EC6Rm0zRXFiQnhqdzg/edit?usp=sharing
TL;DR - they're asking a ridiculous amount of money to check out a game nowhere near retail.
Yep that would do it.
As a side note I would instead recommend Foxit as opposed to Acrobat since it is much faster... that said I haven't used Acrobat in 5 years so who knows maybe they fixed their notorious bloat issues.
If you have an android phone, Spell Tracker has massively cut down on the number of sheets I need to keep on hand. Ben, the developer, is incredibly open to suggestions and quick to respond if you find bugs, as well.
Apart from Pathbuilder which IMO is the best app for character building, but at the begining can be overwhelming the amount of content. Spell Tracker is also fantastic, you can select the books you want to take spells from
This is where I need to take my personal development next. I just finished reading Clean Code and it helped greatly with my code readability. Next is something about test driven development. It's the problem with being stack overflow self-taught - there are massive gaps in my understanding/knowledge.
I'd suggest making it in Pathbuilder and exporting it to PDF. The option "include spellbook" will be checked by default and it will attach full details of all the spells. It'll be long yes, but you can print it for quick reference and summarize it yourself on the first page of the spellbook. It's also nice to be able to hand that to whoever receives the spellbook if they find it.
(And yes it works the same for sorcerers and clerics and such)
This is a side note to the topic at hand, but I really don't recommend using ES File Explorer; they've recently added a bunch of bloatware and pop-up ads.
Instead, try Total Commander, which allows for much the same thing without the BS.
Best character gen I've used for PF. Very friendly UI, everything has a link to one of the major websites if you need more info ("What's a Cavalier - click info button - opens Piazo site for Cavalier), you can make a full character in like 5 mins with it and it's free.
Here it is. Android only, as far as I can tell. It didn't fit my needs, but seems pretty nice for a vanilla Pathfinder game. Not sure how it would work for a caster.
Pathbuilder.
Yes. It's a mobile app, but for being in beta and free (donations are available) it's pretty badass. It has a lot of options. It's missing some race archetype and classes, but the main feats are there. Smaller book feats are being worked on.
I can't wait until they add a section where you can pick from ALL the alternate racial Traits, or a section for character traits introduced in the APG and added upon later.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redrazors.pathbuilder
Here's the full list. Highlights are:
For a character generator, check out Yet Another Pathfinder Charactersheet Generator: https://sourceforge.net/projects/yapcg/
It's... not exactly easy to use, but it's got loads and loads of options in it and it's very frequently updated. My advice for using it is to look at each tab carefully (it's an excel document, just look down the bottom for the categories). It's not incredibly intuitive, but it will put everything together for you into a character sheet so that everything should be calculated correctly, or at least listed as a conditional modifier.
P.S. Check out rpg.stackexchange.com The community is very helpful on Reddit, but the RPG equivalent of Stack Overflow may have a well-written answer for you already in a pinch so you don't have to wait for replies.
I'm Rich Howard, one of the authors of the Pathfinder Guide to Lycanthropes. We've all run into that problem. The main goal of the project was to create options for introducing shifters into games while keeping them balanced with other party members. This particular PDF discusses cultural, philosophical and practical differences between natural and afflicted lycanthropes and includes discussions on both playing and GM'ing shifters, an advanced race option to play natural lycanthropes of almost any animal, a sorcerer bloodline, feats, weapons, alternate racial traits, and more.
The PC race is built like any other, +2 in two stats, -2 in one with a list of applicable stat alterations for a variety of animals plus guidelines for adding others. They have several skill bonuses, a scaling DR/silver ability, and their shapechanging powers are based on the druid's animal companion with several tweaks. They also have two vulnerabilities to help balance things out. I hope that helps.
I love the race option, but the most interesting part of this supplement is the detail put into the various cultural differences and the advice on playing and GM'ing. Hopefully you'll find those helpful as well.
Other lycanthrope options are coming as part of the larger Pathfinder Guide to Lycanthropes that Kickstarted last year. You can already find the Wereblooded PDF linked at the bottom of the Playing Lycanthropes entry.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/962794554/bite-me-the-gaming-guide-to-lycanthropes
The Sylvan bloodline for the Sorcerer gives them a druids animal companion - less powerful than a Summoner's eidolon but the Sorcerer's casting potential is better and I personally prefer the flavour. A medium sized race can only pick Horse or Camel at first level but a small race (which fits the fey-ish fluff too) can ride a wide variety of creatures.
I recently was a player in an Iron Gods campaign, and I'm pretty sure that all the maps are in the book? If not, I have no idea where the DM got them, but they should all be somewhere in the book. We use Roll20.net and just screenshot the relevant maps off the pdfs and carry them over to the site, usually.
Counterspelling is weak unless you're the specialist wizard of the same name. The reason, as you've stated, is action economy, and there are better things to do instead of spending your Standard to ready a counterspell. That is the least efficient way to fight because it forces you to use reactive, and not proactive tactics.
Consider how you cannot legally ready actions before combat. The Counterspell specialist wizard allows you to counterspell as an immediate action, and even before you get to act with the Defensive Strategist trait. With Parry Spell and Preferred Spell (Dispel Magic), you could reflect a high-leveled spell back with a low-leveled alternative.
If you're a Counterspell specialist, you can also create a defense against a second caster trying to interrupt your interruption. See below:
> Your turn: Ready Action - offensive spell to interrupt
> Enemy 1's turn: cast spell (you interrupt)
> Enemy 2 (Readied): offensive spell to interrupt you
> You (Immediate): counterspell enemy 2, optional Parry Spell.
Lastly, Counterspelling is only a part of the picture. If you're an antimagic specialist you'd likely try to dispel the enemy caster's buffs with a targetted Greater Dispel Magic. A 15th level build gives caster level 36, allowing you to dispel up to nine different spells on a target.
With Dispel Synergy the target takes a -2 typeless penalty on saves against you for each spell dispelled (most penalties have no type and thus always stack.). You can then hit your target with a big save-or-suck, and your floating immediate-action counterspell greatly reduces their chances of finding a magical way out.
My Rogue: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8ZlYCUg2dXjQlNhYVJkcGZoemc/edit?usp=sharing
4 different third party sources. And works RAW but not using forum post FAQ's (as my play group doesn't). Works via two weapon feint and greater feint to have 3 attacks a round vs flat footed. Adds 5 to AC for each hit and deals 1d4+10+5d6 a hit at +16/+13/+13.
Currently using rolled stats and level 9 so not quite to specifications but oh well.
It seems decent enough on the whole, could use some better formatting. There's a few points I'd change, though. I'll preface my response by saying I have also made a ranged archetype for magus, which you can find here, and as such probably have some bias. Anyway...
Gaining light armor at 7th level is far too late to make it worth it, since the player will have had to probably buy bracers of armor or a wand of mage armor or some such to not have a terribly low AC. Consider maybe starting off with light armor proficiency only, then replacing the medium/heavy armor features with something else to boost defense.
I'm not entirely sure what Improved Arcane Archery does? Is it a single ranged attack plus a ranged spell with a standard action? Seems like that's basically Spellshot.
Countershot seems really powerful. High-level encounters tend to have magic users frequently, and being able to get a free attack on any of them within 100 feet or so (depending on weapon choice) whenever they cast is pretty huge, even if it can't interrupt the casting. Not sure what I'd do to balance it, really.
The last ability you have modifies True Magus, it doesn't replace it (just a formatting thing).
A lot of the archetypes that grant magus better martial skill tend to reduce its spells per day (like Myrmidarch, or Skirnir). Consider doing that to help with balance, since, as you said, ranged combat tends to do a lot of damage and adding spells will make it even better.
Most GMs shy away from non-pathfinder-published material for alternate stuff. No way to verify that they are even vaguely in line with where player's power level should be.
But if you had to chose the above, which would you go for? I could write you up a skeleton of a build for either, just want to know which you want.
If you want a magus, look at Myrmidarch. Though the feat cost is gonna be pretty heavy to do it with a gun.
If you have Excel, Yet Another Pathfinder Character Generator (https://sourceforge.net/projects/yapcg/files/) is pretty slick. The guy that runs it recently had a kid, IIRC, so updates are less frequent than they used to be, but it's still being worked on.
I like 5e's short/long rest system.
You could require a Heal check and limit the amount of hit dice that can be healed to the result minus ten, but you can split it up (e.g. tend to your own wounds and/or others in your party, but the hit dice count against whoever is being healed) (say you get a 16, you could heal yourself for 3 HD, your party barbarian for 2 HD, and that poor gnome you found on the side of the road for 1 HD. While still keeping the same overall limits that 5e has regarding)
A couple things to note, beyond what /u/ticviking said:
> Over time the PFSRD has begun to look like one giant advertisement.
> Some 3rd party material is even labeled as Paizo material w/ a link to what "book" it came from, when it's not.
Examples? Have you tried poking John on Facebook? Email? Every single time I've gone to him with an issue on the site, it's been fixed within a day.
> The entries just come off as laziness to make them appear to be "3rd party" entries.
Paizo asked John to change the names because of its publisher/competitor policies.
If you don't mind Google Docs, I use this one, it calculates a lot for you.
Part of the problem is just that Pathfinder is a complicated system.
I am particularly fond of Yet Another Pathfinder Character Generator, which I have found to be faster and more reliable than PCGen. It locks you into Excel, as all these sheets do because OOo and Libre work differently enough for the complex macros to break down.
Feats are the key to making a fighter. She needs to decide what kind of a fighter she wants to be. The basic builds are Archer, Two-handed Weapon, Two Weapon Fighter, Defensive. Once she decides what kind of a fighter she wants to be, she then chooses the corresponding feats. For example, Power attack and cleave are often taken for Two-handed weapon focus.
The different kinds of fighters also demand different ability priorities. A Two-handed fighter will prize Strength above all, while an Archer and Two-weapon fighter look for Dexterity. A Defensive Fighter will look to Constitution and Dexterity.
I would google Fighter Build to get some ideas. I would open an account in MythWeavers and use their sheet page to create your character. The page will auto-calculate some of your stats, like combat maneuver defense and AC. When I first started playing pathfinder, I created a half dozen characters to learn the system. It helped me learn the terms and how the game works.
There are a ton of rules in Pathfinder, but you can play without really knowing them, learning as you go. Just have fun. For me, creating characters is super fun, and a good way to learn the system.
Good luck
Tabletop Audio and myNoise are my go to for when I just need ambiance. Search "RPG" on the myNoise and you'll see some dungeons/caves and the like.
My group uses Mumble to talk because it has a push to talk feature, but Skype works just the same. For an online program check out roll20, my group has been playing on it for a couple months now and haven't had any major issues.
I have never used it, but many people play with https://roll20.net , including real play podcasts.
u/InitiativePodcast already gave advice on modules that I can't add to, except to suggest running a one-shot like We Be Goblins to get a feel for it before diving in.
Also, listen to real play podcasts to get a feel for what good GMing is. There are some great GMs podcasting and some not-so. I won't spoil it because I think you should decide for yourself.
Additional pro-tip. Never roleplay a player's family member, especially if it's a parent. It's SUPER awkward, every time.
Best of luck
Here's the Pandora station i used for my Deadlands campaign:
now that I've read the quote, it actually seems fuzzy. Translucent Definition
T'would seem that you can see past it but you can also tell that the illusion is there.
The Happy Camper Page 4 character sheet pack has some awesome cheat sheets for in game actions. Depending on the character you are playing there are pages with common skill uses and DCs, combat maneuvers, combat actions, and similar things. That might be helpful for you.
Looks like pathfinder database is still down, so I tossed up the page 4 section here: https://anonfiles.com/file/5992469facb98292a2ff7ed617821982
Personally, I'm a fan of going Rogue until 5, then 3 levels Anti-Pal (take Advanced Sneak Attacker at 7) then returning to Rogue or even going Slayer. I'm glad the guide was helpful, I wrote it because I wanted to make an Intimidate build myself, and there was just nothing about it.
If you like my writing, I've written some other stuff about Pathfinder here. Feats of Fury and Bench-Pressing are probably my best works.
The Pathfinder Card Game on Mobile could be called a Deckbuilder-Roguelite game (but definitely not a Roguelike game).
How to build a character
Step 1 - Download Pathbuilder 2e
Step 2 - ?????
Step 3 - Play.
Seriously though, it really simplifies the process and is really useful for showing you what your options are.
I'm pretty sure it is out of production. But, I did find a copy of it on Amazon for you. only $4807.99!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nm.codices40k
Faction abilities, spells, unit stats and equipment load outs, relics, it's all there.
Build your army with battlescribe and it will give you all the info and wording in a pdf too.
Both apps are free.
Explain to him that:
Paizo has multiple official product lines, including Core Rules, Player Companions, Campaign Setting, and even the modules and adventure paths. All of them are official content, not homebrew at all. Masterwork Tools only has some content from the Core Rules product line.
Masterwork Tools was made by scraping the old Pathfinder SRD website (see the store page). So, technically, Masterwork Tools violates his "No Internet" rule.
Paizo has announced multiple times that Archives of Nethys is the official online source for the rules. Heck, they even gave AoN early access to 2E material.
Our wiki has some great ones.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/wiki/resources#wiki_character_sheets
For android I would say pathbuilder
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redrazors.pathbuilder&hl=en
Thanks. Is this the app you are talking about?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redrazors.pathbuilder2e&hl=en
One app I use that I really, really enjoy is RPG Scorekeeper on Google Play. It allows you to keep track of all of your consumables and daily pools, as well as your HP and Nonlethal damage. You can make multiple cards to organize what can be refreshed and what cannot, and you can refresh an entire card with the tap of a button. It even keeps a history of changes that you've made until you reset a pool or card. I highly recommend it.
Have you tried Pathbuilder? It really keeps up with all of the crunchiness of Pathbuilder classes. Its mainly a character sheet. But it does do a fantastic job of keeping up with how many spells you can learn and save. Not exactly specific to spell casters, though and doesn't keep track of you what spells you used, but it's definitely worth a look.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redrazors.pathbuilder
While PCGen itself is not available for Android, this app can read PCGen files and display them very well as character sheets. Well worth a look.