[THIS.]

And this is why I stick with the product line.  Simply put.. we have one helluva honest set of developers.  Can't wait to see the product.  All of em.  (And I hope whoever Blue Falcon'd, got their just rewards...)

THIS.  Keep on truckin', we're cheerin'.

Shamelessly seconded. You can slay that dragon, Pat.

Hi there,

for question nr. 1 you are spot on. A monster worth 50 xp with the death throes quality inflicts as you stated 25 damage with a blast of 1. Normally this is only lethal damage, but you can also add more exotic damage. Have fun.

Question Nr. 2 is a bit trickier. Most of the time it is nothing to worry about. It just means that players of elven characters need a bit more careful sometimes. Keep in mind that this is also applied to the regeneration quality. So if you have Regeneration 1 you heal only 1 vitality every second round. All in all I wouldn't say that Burden of Ages is not that complicated, with the possible exception of high intense combat campaigns... but I would need to test that. In my group the Burden of Ages trait acts more as chokepoint for in-combat healing (by magic, or otherwise).

There is also a species feat in the Adventure Companion which takes away Burden of Ages. IIRC it is Horse Noble or Horse Nation?

All in all I think it is a balanced penalty and frankly I love it, just because the elves in FC have a Tolkien vibe to them.

A bogstandard Grizzled Human with the Warden Speciality is a nice package if you don't want to be Large but want something scary durable. Go for Ogre Blood and Stone Brave (putting CHA at -2 for the extra feat) and blammo you are good to go if you want regeneration. Stats would be: STR 14, DEX 10, CON 16, INT 14, WIS 13, CHA 10. It also helps with going pure Soldier for maximum DR. At level 20 you could still have 40 Wound Points (16 CON + 20 Class Level + 4 from Great Fortitude) without ever sinking one of your attribute points into CON or a getting levels in Bloodsworn. You still have Unbreakable and No Pain and a +5 bonus for Initiative and you don't have to sink as much silver on armor like a big creature. If you go Bloodsworn you can easily attain 50 Wound Points without sacrificing anything. FC is truly a game where to be human is really, really awesome.

Hi guys,

one of my players read through the Crusader and asked about the "Purgation" Battle Chant which allows you to regenerate vitality and subdual damage.

He asked if he could use that also outside of combat. Since the description states that you can enter a fight with an active battle chant, I told him that I'm okay with it. The downside: He runs around chanting... which might freak people out... because to some he might come of as a crusader who's expecting trouble or dealing out some harm.

But I'm curios... how would you rule in that case?

I would rule that yes, those costs must still be paid - because the alternative is cheesy.

Thanks for helping fending of the chaos.

Great work guys... the Crusader is awesome... And the ability of the Inquisitor to whip a horde into a desired shape is freakin' crazy... that would have been a total gamechanger during a plot were the group had to hold a village... same goes for the Avatar, nobody on his side will break... combine that with an inquisitor and you have a truly deadly options at your disposal.

Was a nice surprise.

Okay, during the creation for an Personal Lieutenant one question reared it's head.

Usually any caster in the service of an PC still has to pay the reputation cost of those spell which need reputation. So in most cases the PC has to cover the reputation cost or the group as a whole.

Strictly spoken the demonic Loremaster (a PL or Familiar)that I plan for an PC uses only Natural Spells... does the PC still have to pay the reputation cost of spells like Iron Body or Ressurrection or will no Reputation be incured because it is an innate ability?

I guess, to keep it fair the PC still has to pay up the reputation cost to keep the game sane. So how is it?

Right about now I begin to hate different timezones with a passion.

Just stoppin' by and then that... awesome.

Looks good... my money is also on some kind of ritual caster. Which would make my day... I'm dying to see how these will work.

Thanks for the help with this guys.

Right now I modified, as suggested, Nature's Ally and that's that. Works like a charm, especially since the creatures are pre-built, because the priests have no say in what they get.

I knew that not all summoning spells would be included in the core book... but I could have sworn that Nature's Ally covered the plant creatures. That's what I get for acting on a hunch with a spell I only read over once or twice.

Can't wait on the day that Spellbound comes around... I will finally be able to finish all the priesthoods in the setting and introduce some kickass illusionists, seers and prophets in one of my planned plots.

BTW, still using the Chaneller Conversion since I found it and its awesome, that's a battlemage right out of the gate who deserves the moniker. I don't care that you can't heal, teleport and whatnot... destruction has it's own charm... and the rebirth with Phoenix Egg is the single most awesome spell for the chaneller... I'm thrilled to see the updated version of that class. If you need carpet bombing accept no substitutes.

Hi there,

one of my players with a Druid (Priest) wanted to summon Ents to fight for him. On a hunch I told him to use his Nature's Ally spells per Priest. Since no one had used this line of spells up until that point, I was fairly sure that this spell would also deal with plant based creatures. I was very surprised that the spell description stated animal and nothing else. In any case it can be easily houseruled, but I'm still curios.

Did I get something wrong here and if not, why was it limited to animals in the first place? Or will there be a line of spells for plant creatures (I doubt it)?

Currently it is Kingdoms of Kalamar. Mostly because I was lucky enough to find some german books for it, so that I don't have to translate each and every bit. Helps me alot... and there are enough blank spaces to fill on your own. The only thing I handle different than the core material is that any non-human species are either very rare, subordinate to the far more numerous humans or like the elves live in the underdark.

When I have a bit more time I would also see how Golarion plays at the table. And if I need really exotic settings I might dust of the Talislanta or the Empire of the Petal Throne settings.

Ok, cool that's settled then. Thanks guys.

Hi there,

I told a buddy last weekend that he had spend 5 points to much on his Animal Partner and his Personal Lieutenant.
So he told me that he uses the 50 XP + all of the relevant feats... which for him include the feat that gave him the ability to have a e. g. Animal Partner.

So if he has 4 Feats (Animal Partner, 3 Terrain Feats) he uses up 70 XP... His reasoning is that the text says "50 + 5 × the permanent Terrain feats you have."

I on the other hand would say that the correct sum would be 65 XP.
My reasoning goes that Animal Partner/Personal Lieutenant doesn't give 5 XP on top, since it gives you a pool of 50 XP to create a AP/PL.

So which way is it supposed to be?

[@Gentry]

Thanks for the help, guys.

@Gentry

Your idea with the Path of Light is pure genius... just have to second that.

The speed of the Phoenix included the Feat "Fast Flyer" it's listed in the Stat Block but I didn't pointed that out in the speed entry. Sorry. It will most likely be kicked out to save XP. As is Regeneration I... another thing I had my mind set to and wouldn't want to give up... but your are right, it seems silly on a Phoenix.

The chosen spells on the other hand - taking a cue from Morgenstern here - will be swapped out from weaker to stronger ones... mostly because I play in a group where in combat no punches are pulled... and the phoenix is ultimately and hopefully my panic button if the group is caught between a rock and a hard place.

@Sletchman

I think you talk about the specialized caster classes... when it comes down to taking classes. The normal Mage has 5 Bonus Feats and at least 7 normal feats - depending upon campaign qualities... his circle of power ability isn't influenced by it. Nevertheless the Phoenix will be quite likely loose some XP overall, since I had time to sit down and work out the complete background for the char.

@Morgenstern

The idea to introduce several fixed tiers of advancement for an Animal/Beast NPC is awesome. I'll have to talk to the guys to see if it flys with them.

@Paddyfool

I would go out on a limb here and say that I would - just me, mind you - limit the Wits Spell for the Phoenix to ONLY WIS. Seeing as it would fit into the whole Simurgh mythology, in which he is believed to impart insight... it could help while negotiating with a bullheaded or stubborn crowd/person or helping by shaking off outside influences.
Just ignore also the fact that I add in some very heavy duty spells into the phoenix for very selfish reasons and rule of cool (Tiny creature of unspeakable doom).

The Familiar Basics Feat - per GenCon Preorder - allows you to share a spell with your Familiar and it conveys some advantages upon the familiar. I don't know more than that.

And your Young Phoenix makes it into my Monster Manual... just have to talk with the guys how the little guy should advance step by step.

I tip my hat to all of you guys for all the help.