New questions

[KidEternal]

1-How many hands do you need free to cast a spell, is it 2 because a mages pouch is D/2h?
2-Can you hold a weapon and attack with it when you have a buckler strapped to your arm?
I'm sure I'll have more our group comes up with about 2 to 4 each game session,btw is that common with most people at their games?

[Antilles]

1) Nominally yes, though a) the GM can easily decide magic works differently in his world, and b) there are several ways to either get a 'built-in' mage's pouch or get something else to count as a mage's pouch.
2) A buckler is considered a 1-handed weapon (as per it's description T/1h), so as per the rules you cannot have both a buckler and a weapon readied in the same hand. If you're not happy with this, just ask over in the License to Improvise board if they can't whip up something nice and balanced for you.

Oh yes, most groups, even those with experienced rpg/d20 players, will have lots of questions in the beginning. It should die off after a while as you get to grips with the system, however.

[KidEternal]

Thank you very much for the quick response . I figured most questions would start to die out after a bit ,hard shaking those 3.5 and Pathfinder rules loose in your head for something new lol.

[Bill Whitmore]

With regards to question 1, if you aren't using a Mage's Pouch you treat the skill check as being untrained.  Untrained skill checks increase the error range and the result caps at 15.  This means that you can cast 0 level spells, which are DC 13, without the Mage's Pouch equipped.  If you roll a threat, which lifts the untrained skill cap, or use action dice, which can increase the roll over the cap, you can theoretically cast any of your spells without needing to equip a Mage's Pouch.

[Antilles]

Where did you find the bit about threats lifting the untrained cap?

[Bill Whitmore]

Crap, I screwed that up.  Ignore me!

It came from Spycraft 2.0 page 88 and was reinforced when I read the wrong sentence when I did a search for "untrained" skill checks.  The last paragraph for Crafting/Improvise in Fantasy Craft says "With a critical success, this untrained limitation is lifted" but that is in reference to using the improvised item, not skill checks in general.

[LordKruelos]

To build off Antilles answers...

1) Nominally yes, though
a) the GM can easily decide magic works differently in his world, and
b) there are several ways to either get a 'built-in' mage's pouch or get something else to count as a mage's pouch.

Unless you're happy with leaving how magic "gets done" as relatively generic, loose and ubiquitous, similar to D&D, I would strongly recommend getting any players who want to be arcane casters to write a few sentences about a) the magical tradition they were schooled in b) how they learned / were exposed to this tradition

Making a player think about this as part of their concept is hugely advantageous to a GM, as any arcane tradition will likely have some organizational footprint, some internal rivalries, and some skeletons in the closet that can be tapped for ideas.

2) A buckler is considered a 1-handed weapon (as per it's description T/1h), so as per the rules you cannot have both a buckler and a weapon readied in the same hand. If you're not happy with this, just ask over in the License to Improvise board if they can't whip up something nice and balanced for you.

ARMA has a great piece on Sword and Buckler fighting (as distinct from "Sword and Board" fighting with a larger shield) http://www.thearma.org/essays/SwordandBuckler.htm

A buckler differs from a shield in that the latter is carried by straps and worn on the arm whereas the former is held in single-hand in a “fist” grip.  It is difficult to trace the history of the weapon as many times any type of round shield or small targe would be called buckler, regardless of whether it was held in the fist or worn on the arm.[2]  The buckler was a small, maneuverable, hand-held shield for deflecting and punching blows. It was usually round and made of metal but occasionally of hardened leather or layers of wood. (Tarassuk & Blaire, p. 105).  Bucklers were typically round and frequently between 8 to 16 inches in diameter, but octagonal, square, and trapezoidal versions were also known.

[ludomastro]

This is the absolute BEST description and picture I have ever seen for the "buckler issue."

Dankon!

[LordKruelos]

This is the absolute BEST description and picture I have ever seen for the "buckler issue."

The internet has solved more than one argument at my game table

[Mister Andersen]

Thing is, people also tend to use the buckler to represent concepts akin to Batman's armoured gauntlets. So a buckler+hands free option (such as the beast upgrade from the 1st printing) might be what your player is looking for.

[KidEternal]

That is what I believe they were looking for ,but you don't always get what you want lol. Thanks again for all the help guys.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

I now want to play a dual-buckler wielder who fights like a boxer.

[magustoad]

ARMA has a great piece on Sword and Buckler fighting (as distinct from "Sword and Board" fighting with a larger shield) http://www.thearma.org/essays/SwordandBuckler.htm

HA!  That brings back memories, make that doublet green/silver/black, add some dashing boots (always hated hosen), drop the serving plat.. er.. buckler for another pointy item and you have me in my tourney-fighting years.   

Bucklers are great an all but unless in mixed unit battles with a formation, I always did better with another main blade in-hand.  Two rapiers was not quite as raw protective in potential, but there was the MAD principle that only a case-of-rapier fighter can pull off.  Properly done you can make an opponent feel like he is fighting two separate combatants.

My fave was to fight two people, worked great as a skirmisher.  I'd harry a flank and force two to peel off from their unit or let me rip up their line.  I'd dance them away from their unit and then let my group (with a sudden numerical advantage) press the attack.  I'd play out my opponents as long as I could if I couldn't just dispatch them outright.  It was much fun. 

Wish I had more pictures from that time.  *sigh*

[LordKruelos]

The downside to rapiers of course is the asshole with the gauntlet who breaks your toys. 

I'd probably prefer a buckler with 8-12" spike in my off-hand over a parrying dagger, but at least part of that is because I rarely met rapier users who didn't throw a tantrum when their opponents disregard the rules of organized fencing (the ones who took in stride were usually awesome, however).

(Also, love the reference in your sig, whether you're referring to Harlan Ellison or Frank Zappa's version)

[magustoad]

Meh, gaunts never bothered me that much.  Most people trying that trick were pretty easy to bait into fixating on "catch the sword" long enough to bury the other one in them.

Psh fencing rules were more like guidelines for me.  When I did NCAA I drove the judges nutso with my antics.  Some of my team mates dubbed my fencing style "Screeching Weasel" and involved me being in the air as often as on the ground.  There was a reason I fought epee, no stupid right-of-way for a judge to put me over a barrel with because I wasn't from a proper school or fenced a proper game.  Dismantling a few of their expensive import students with said antics didn't win me any favors either.  Best. Match. Ever. was getting a french guy so pissed off he threw his mask and blade across the strip when I won.  Had it been a commoner like me I would have been black-carded and ejected from the premises.  He got a shrug when I raised an eyebrow at the judge.  That would be a large part why I stopped Olympic fencing.

Then I went into ren-style and things got much more fun.  Doesn't hurt that one of my sparring partners was an old akido/judo/something guy and would toss (heh) the occasional throw in for yukks.