How To Round out Your Party

       I see a lot of people asking how they can round out their party.  They already have a wizard, a melee fighter, and a Zen Archer, and they are wondering what they are missing.  Now, there is a scientific way to find out!

       Science - what a baller.

       Check out this Google Doc: Rounding Out Your Party

You can then either edit it directly - there are multiple sheets in the google doc, so use one of those if somebody is editing the first page - or save it to your computer and use it from there.

       In the left column, put how many of each class/archetype your party already has.  The middle column will then tell you what your party is good and bad at.  The right column will provide suggestions to help you round out your party.  The higher the number is, the better it is for your party.  A match number might be negative, but still add to the party - just look for the highest one!

      A party's and class's capabilities is broken down into the following categories:

• Does Melee Damage
• Does Ranged Damage 
• Heals my Allies
• Acts as a Tank
• Many Skills, Great out of combat utility
• Does Blasting, Area Damage
• Buffs my Allies
• De-Buffs My enemies and Controls the Field
• Has Magical Capabilities
• Trapfinder
• Acts as the Face of the Party
• Sneaky

The General and Combat Party Scores will help you get a grasp of how many bases your party covers.  General Party counts all factors evenly, while Combat counts the Combat factors more than the non-combat factors.  Get rid of those negatives to help yourself out.

Feel free to post your party score online or in the comments!

Enjoy!

World Creation

      So you wanna be a GM.  More than that, you want to design your own world.  It is fun, rewarding, and a great exercise, but it can be a lot of work.

How to Begin?

      The easiest and most effective way of creating an interesting world is determining one specific element or gimmick.  Once you have that element, use it to inspire the rest of the world.

      Below is a list of categories of world elements (and examples) to get you thinking. Pick whichever one inspires you the most, and branch out from there.   Don't try to build your world all at once.  Start with the element that you have developed strongest in your mind, and use that to inspire everything else.

World Elements

Broad Gimmick:  Many world have one overlying gimmick that defines them.  All other factors stem from this point.  These elements tend to be incredibly broad and vague, but they color every aspect of the world.

• Magic is very prevalent in this world - it seems that virtually everyone is able to cast some spell.
• The entire world is nothing but one immense jungle.
• Ghosts abound, and spirits never leave unless forcibly driven out.

Factions/Major Races:  Factions, nations, cultures, and races will likely play a major role in your campaign.  Because this element is so important, it can be useful to pick it first, then make the world suit its needs.

• A nation of Elves has come to subjugate all other nations, slowly turning the other races of the world into slaves.
• The world is primarily human, and seven major european-esque nations hold an unease truce.
• The Orcs, sick of ceaseless prejudice, have banded together with a nation of Ogres in a big, strong, dumb alliance.

Conflict:  War is hell, but if can also make for excellent material.  In this world, a single conflict is so important that it defines all other factors.  Conflict is often intrinsically linked with Factions.

• A small uprising has grown into a full rebellion.
• Two mighty nations are in an all-out slugfest, at great cost to their citizens and the very earth around them.
• A single monster or powerful wizard wages his own personal war against the entire planet.

Geography:  I love maps, and often start world creation with one.  Take this map of Svalbard for example, a random island north of Russia and ask yourself "If this were a continent, what would it be like?"

• Originally uninhabited, the North East island now acts as a refuge for those fleeing the growing theocracy.
• The Central, square island is home to unimaginably rich gold mines, and is the object much aggressive attention.
• Immense peaks and cliffs make the center of the main island virtually impassable, forcing travelers to make a long trek around the parameter.

World Event:  Often there is one immense event immediately prior to the campaign start which defines the world.  It likely changes all other elements, and will serve as the focal point of the campaign.

• A new, vengeful god has risen, and has smote his wrath upon the greatest cities, reducing them to ruin.
• The dead are coming back to life, zombie style!
• A comet has, or is about the strike the earth.  Can no one stop it?

Campaign:  Perhaps you already have a broad campaign in mind.  There is nothing wrong with building the world around a campaign. In fact, it's often the only way that a campaign can be run, if you are working at the epic level.

• Our heroes are out for revenge against an mad tyrant.
• Our heroes are marooned on an unknown island.
• Our heroes are fleeing for their lives from an angry god.

Expansion

Once you have an initial element, start asking yourself a few questions.  Given the paramaters you have set, exactly how would things go down?  Here are a list of questions to consider.  They may seem broad at first, but remember to answer them according to the World Element you have set.

• Who would thrive?  Who would starve?
• How would societies function differently?
• What resources would be valued?  What resources would be unusually common?
• Are people content with how the world is structured?  Would people try to tame the wilds?
• What would cities look like?  How would people live?
• What major factions would emerge?  Who would band together?
• What major conflicts would emerge?
• How would the geography best suit this element?  Would the geography be changed by this element?
• What major event caused this element?  What major events would be caused by this element?
• How has history led to this point?  What is the likely trajectory of events, if our heroes do not interfere?

Killing the Tarrasque

The Tarrasque is often presented as the big bad of Pathfinder, the omnipotent destruction machine that can't be stopped.  From even a cursory look, it's clear that this CR 25 colossal beast is no joke.  He's got  525 hp, 40 regeneration, and 40 AC.  He has immunity to a host of maladies, including ability damage, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, and, if you can believe it, permanent wounds.  And he's got great melee and ranged attacks.

But invincible, he ain't.

Methods for dealing with the Tarrasque should be divided into two categories:  Getting Him Down, and Keeping Him Down.

Getting Him Down

1 - Pummel Away:  Of course, you can just whup him good.  Go toe to toe and come out swininging. Difficult, but perhaps the most rewarding.  The Zen Archer One is a good example of a build that can destroy the Tarrasque through legitimate means.  He can get the Tarrasque down to approximately negative 16,000 without the Tarrasque lifting a finger, then have about 40 minutes to figure out what to do while the Tarrasque heals back up.

2 - Magic Jar:  Classic, timeless, the Magic Jar.  It's only a sorcerer/wizard level 5 spell, but it will do the trick.  You target the Tarrasque's worst save, and get to possess it!  Then, you can either stay a Tarrasque, or suicide with him, moving the Tarrasque and the jar out of range of each other.  This method will keep him down too.

3 - Ability Drain:  While the Tarrasque is immune to ability damage, he is not immune to ability drain.  There is some debate as to whether this is intentional or an oversight, but it is RAW (rules as written).  One way to inflict some ability drain is to create some Wraiths or Shadows, through the Oracle's Juju mystery or some other means.  Wraiths will deal him d6 con damage, though only if he rolls a one on his fortitude save.  Still, the Tarrasque can't do anything about the Wraith hanging around, so it's a good long term strategy.  Also, because the Tarrasque won't regain con, he will stop at 0 con and be dead.

4 - Suffocation:  The Rules for Regeneration clearly state "Regeneration does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation."  This means that you can take him out through the spell Suffocation or Mass Suffocation.  The bad news?  The spell targets his +31 fort save.  None the less, it is possible to get him down through these means.  The Vacuum is a great example of a build that can pull it off.

5 - Divine Intervention:  Divine intervention can seem like a cop out, but it is what a lot of GMs are looking for.  Get on the good side with a god, and have him deal with the beast.

6 - Eternal Slumber: At 18th level, the witch character class gains a grand hex of her choice.  The eternal slumber hex forces a will save or fall asleep until the death of the witch (wish or similar spells can break it).  Since technically the hex is not mind-affecting, the Tarrasque is not immune (though your GM may rule that such a hex is mind-affecting, cuz, well, it probably is).

Keeping Him Down

1 - Constant Damage: Constant Damage is the simplest way to keep the Tarrasque down.  There are, of course, a multitude of was to do this.  Dumping the Tarrasque in a volcano will do the trick, as will hiring a small army to constantly pummel him.  Alternatively, you could open "Joe's Tarrasque Burgers" selling 41 hit points worth of juicy burger every 6 seconds.

2 - Planar Relocation:  One method of getting the Tarrasque out of your hair is to take him somewhere far, far away.  Plane Shift will do the trick, for a very daring spellcaster.  Best of all, the Tarrasque doesn't even need to be dead.  Just run up to the baddie, cast Plane Shift (and beat his pitiful +12 Will) and he is outta there! For more fun, take him to the astral plane where he can do no damage.  Or take him to a plane where time moves excessively slowly.  Or maroon him out in the "Plane-Where-There-is-Nothing-Oh-I-Guess-There-Is-a-Tarrasque-Here-When-Did-That-Happen."

3 - Suffocation or Starvation:  The Rules for Regeneration clearly state "Regeneration does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation."  Thusly, placing the Tarrasque at the bottom of the sea, encased in rock, or in a plane with no food would be enough to get rid of him forever.

4 - Into the Sun:  This is really a combination of several strategies, but worth mentioning anyway.  At the center of the sun the Tarrasque will take massive damage, be unable to breath or eat, and be squished down to the size of blood cell.  After all, the sun is right there.

5 - Harpooned by Immovable Rods:  Let's say you build a cage out of immovable rods, or simply use them to harpoon the Tarrasque into the ground.  Each immovable rod can hold 8,000 pounds of force.  With a strength of 41, the Tarrasque can push at most about 36,000 pounds (max carrying capacity times 5).  This means that 5 immovable rods can contain him.  To play it safe, grab a couple dozen rods (they are only 5,000 gp a piece) to skewer and restrain him.  Technically, immovable rods can be moved with a strength 30 check, meaning the Tarrasque has to roll a 15 or better.  However, it is perfectly reasonable (at least in my mind) to assume that being harpooned into the ground and restrained incurs at least a -6 penalty to strength checks, making the roll impossible.

6 - Helm of Opposite Alignment:  This method is a bit risky, but can potentially be a huge boon for realm of Good.  As the Tarrasque is regenerating (or when he is up, if you can figure out how), plop a Helm of Opposite Alignment onto his head.  This will have a 50% chance of making him either Lawful Good or Chaotic Good, and with an intelligence of 3 and wisdom of 15, he should hopefully realize that wanton destruction is wrong and join your party.  Worst case scenario, he becomes chaotic or lawful evil, and easier for your friendly neighborhood paladin to smite.  Keep in mind that he's only got a 15% chance to fail this will save, so it may take a few tries, but hopefully you are attempting this method when he's already out for the count.

7 - Polar Midnight:  The spell Polar Midnight will do the trick.  Besides dealing some damage and dexterity damage, the 9th level spell has some particularly nasty effects against creatures that do not move (say, an unconscious Tarrasque).  Two rounds in the area of effect, and the Tarrasque's body will be transformed into ice - he can only be saved now by True Resurrection, Miracles, or Wish.  The Tarrasque's fort save won't even help him here, and saving against it doesn't prevent this effect.  Easy!

Guide to the Builds

Want a Dungeon at every Level from 1 to 13?

Check out the Entire Jacob's Tower Package Here

Here is the Guide to the Guides

A repository for all of the best guides out there.

Bookmark this Page and Send it to Your Players and Co-Adventurers!

This guide serves as a repository for all of the good and/or well organized builds out there. It can help you come up with NPCs, or it can give you ideas of how to build PCs.

I will be slowly adding DPR to some of these guys at 12th level.  At 12th level I'll be assuming AC of 27/11/24, with saves of 14/10/11.  These are the average defenses of enemies of that level.

Alchemist

*** Mad Bomber (Zenith Games) Half-Orc Grenadier Alchemist who just chucks many, many bombs. (12th level DPR: 88, confuse, entangle, blind, glue, four times a day.  Which is just silly.)

*** Mortar (Zenith Games) Hobgoblin Grenadier Alchemist, a slightly more well rounded bomber with an excellent array of attacks and options. (12 level DPR: 82, cold, stagger, entangle, blind, curse, confuse nearly 6 times a day)

*** Dissector (Zenith Games) Human Vivisectionist/Beastmorph Alchemist who hulks up, self-buffs, then uses his natural attacks, sneak attack, and strength to tear through opponents while tanking extremely effectively. (12th level DPR: 40 and 2 strength damage with sneak attack)

***Amy Alchy (Cheapy) Changeling Beastmorph/Vivisectionist Alchemist who dips into fighter, monk, and master chemist to become a ridiculously broken melee pouncing monstrosity. (Discussion)

** Undying Alchemist (Vortexius) Half-Orc Internal Alchemist who is an expert tank and is capable of fighting effectively below 0 hp.

Antipaladin

* Do Not Pursue (AndIMustMask) Dhamphir Antipaladin who dips phalanx soldier fighter and becomes a reaching-demoralizing-murder machine with good tanking ability.

Barbarian

*** AM BARBARIAN (Zenith Games) Human Mounted Fury/Superstitious Barbarian who wields a Lance, Rides a horse, pounces and gets to stupid, stupid damage.  (12th level DPR: 161, when raging, charging, and mounted)

*** Tankster II (Damocles Guile) Human Invulnerable Rager/Urban Barbarian who dips unbreakable fighter for a massive DR 24/- ... but it’s different from Mercurial’s build in some interesting ways (Discussion)

*** CAGM/Spellsunder/Debuffer (Krinn) Human Invulnerable Rager/Urban Barbarian with good AC and DR, high saves, and the ability to debuff and dispel with his sword (Discussion)

** Tankster (Mercurial) Human Invulnerable Rager/Urban Barbarian who dips unbreakable fighter for a massive DR 24/- and other great benefits.

** Astrid (AndIMustMask) Human Invulnerable Rager Barbarian who dips unbreakable fighter and fights with a Lucern Hammer.

Pandemonium Zodiac (ohako) Anglekin Aasimar Barbarian with up to 15 attack on on a charge (Level 13).

Bard

** The Controller Bard (Old Rolero) Kitsune Bard who delivers buff to his allies and rebuffs to his enemies.

* Bard Skill-Monkey (Zenith Games) Human Bard 19/Urban Ranger 1 who gets 10 skill points a level and has every skill as a class skill. Uses bardic performance, enchantments, and a longbow in combat.

* Tabby the Cat (AndIMustMask) Catfolk Archeologist Bard 19/Oracle 1 skill monkey with knowledge about everything and some combat skills. [Slight error, see comments]

Blanziflor Quatrefoil (ohako) Musetouched Aasimar bar with piiles of knowledge skills who dips fighter and oracle, and uses Kirin style in battle.

Brawler

** Shieldbonk Hero (Nerd-Ass Mess) Dwarf shield champion frontlinor who makes his own armor and weapons, and can switch seamlessly between melee and ranged combat.

Cavalier

*** The Truck (TarkXT) Human Order of the Sword Beast Rider Cavalier who rides a T-Rex and charges his enemies into oblivion. (DPR: 223 when charging, challenging and mounted)

** Corranderol (Pharmalade) Gnome Emissary Cavalier, Order of the Sword who lives to charge in on his wolf and attack!

** Chuck the Cavalier (Secret Wizard) Lashunta Luring Cavalier, an interesting build that throws great axes for damage, tripping, and battlefield control.

Cleric

** Ultimate Lawyer (Nerd-Ass Mess) Human cleric focused on spell casting with untouchable diplomacy skills and a ton of social and combat tricks.

** The Hangover Cleric Build & Handbook (Akal Saris) Human cleric who debuffs his enemies with variant channeling.

** Necro-Bard (Lucy Fur) Human cleric evangelist who raises powerful undead companions, and assists with blasting and party buffs.

* Dark Channeler (Zenith Games) Human Undead Lord Cleric dips 1 level into fighter for AC buffs, then wades into combat and negatively channels. (Discussion)

* Dark Angel (Zenith Games) Aasimar Undead Lord Cleric dips 1 level into fighter for AC buffs, then wades into combat and negatively channels to demoralize and blow his enemies away. (12th Level DPR: 36 to all within 30 feet, 3 times a day) (Discussion)

Druid

** Galeena, the Conqueror Ooze (ohako) Half-Orc Cavewight Cave Druid who also goes martial artist, savage barbarian, and savage fighter to morph into an ooze and get 12d8 for 4 attacks at level 10.

** Sickening Shapeshifter (Nerd-Ass Mess) Human druid focused on really powerful wild shape damage with a sickening aura, as well as all the healing and buffs that come with druid hood.

* Xochtli, The Insect Queen (ohako) Human World Walker Druid/Nature Warden who rides a giant flying mantis!

* Lily Oleander (Ravingdork) Half-Elf Plant Druid, as pleasant as poison ivy to her foes, this sensuous druid’s kiss is poison.

* Vallairs Urn (Ravingdork) Half-Elf Nature Warden Druid, who uses a longbow and a tiger named Alex.

Fighter

*** Teddy Rosy (Zenith Games) Human Two-Handed Fighter, the ultimate in damage dealing, destroys enemies with his Falchion. (12th Level DPR: 53.  Gets to 42 DPR with a single hit.)

** Crit Fiend (Zenith Games) Human Weapon Master Fighter who dual wields wakizashis to get an absurd number of crits each round.  (12th Level DPR: 43)

** Brute Doyen A switch-hitter Fighter based on being deadly with a bow at range… and being able to beat face at close range with a bow as a two-handed melee weapon too!

** Whirlwind Falchioner (Mercurial) Human Weapon Master Fighter who uses the Whirlwind feat with the Falchion to lay down some massive crowd control.

** Whirlwind Bardiche (Damocles Guile) Human Weapon Master Fighter who lunge whirlwinds his way into our hearts. Not as Critty as the Whirlwind Falchioner though.

** Tripping Fighter-Alchemist of DOOOM (Gelmir) Human Weapon Master Fighter who dips alchemist to, you guessed it, trip all over the place.

** The Dwarfiest Dwarf (AndIMustMask) A straight Dwarf FIghter who uses a warhammer and shield to dish out the hurt and avoid it himself.

** The Battlesnake (Damocles Guile) Human Master of Many Styles Monk 2/Unarmed Brawler Fighter 18 who punches his way to freedom.

** Iron Caster (Cartmanbeck) Weapon Master Fighter/Brawler who uses item mastery and to become a versatile Con-based caster.

* Lendar (Nicos) Human Lore Warden Fighter who gains a very high trip CMB.

* Seregon (Ravingdork) Human Fighter with a massive AC.

* The Ideal Slinger (Williamoak) Human or Tengu Two-Weapon Fighter who uses slings to send out as many projectiles as possible!

Retarius Magpie (ohako) Tengu Fighter who specializes in Disarm and Deadly Stroke.

Gunslinger

*** Gatling the Miniscule (Jehova) Goblin Wild Rager Barbarian 2/Weapon Master Fighter 4/Musket Master 14 who deals incredibly massive damage at level 20.

Belrim Eagle Eye (Tierce) Svirfneblin Musket Master Gunslinger with a fairly standard build.

One Handed vs. TWF Pistolero (kaisc006) Feat progression and 5th, 10th, & 13th level DPR for a one handed pistolero and a TWF pistolero.

Inquisitor

** Dazzling Inquisitor (Zenith Games) Half-Orc Inquisitor who piles on intimidate to dazzling display and shatter defenses. Dips into Cavalier (Cockatrice) and Rogue (Thug) to improve demoralizing ability. (Discussion) (12th Level DPR: 23 with shatter defenses)

** One-Man Everything (Nerd-Ass Mess) Tengu inquisitor monster tactician who always goes first and can fill nearly any role in a party.

** Sanctified Slayer (Xermax) Damage focused sanctified slayer inquisitor with an emphasis on martial prowess.

Kineticist

** The Fire God (Nerd-Ass Mess) Half-orc damage-dealer with a ton of hit points who uses fire exclusively and has a couple workarounds which largely ignore burn.

Magus

** The Blaster (STR Ranger and Mathwei apNial) Human Magus who dips orc/draconic sorcerer to emphasizes massive damage from shocking grasp and fireball.

** The Defiler (STR Ranger and Mathwei apNial) Human Magus who dips Witch to debuff.

** The Melee Transmogrifist (STR Ranger and Mathwei apNial) Human Magus is oriented around melee damage and using magic to gain pounce and monstrous physique.

* Gorgo (Scott Gray) More Spells and Faster Spell Progression as a full spontaneous caster.

* Kang Makhai (Ravingdork) Human magus who dips monk, a destroyer of armies, a magus transmuter of legendary power.

* Shiso Dafoe (Ravingdork) Samsaran Magus who focuses on cold based magic.

Marksman

*** Mark the Marksman with Moxie (Lucy) Half-Giant Rogue 1/Marksman 13 -  A sneaky gunslinger who uses psionics and alchemy.

Monk

***** One (Porpentine) Human Zen Archer Monk of ultimate doom.

* Yugi Invictus (ohako) Dwarf Monk 8/Duelist 5 who uses a siangham to poke people to death.

* Blind Ganji (Ravingdork) Human weapon adept monk, a blind swordsman and martial artist who wields flying swords in combat.

Captain Falcon (Tels) Dwarf Monk of the 4 Winds 15/Unarmed Fighter 5, a wonderfully amusing theorycraft who deals 192d8+4d6+75 damage on a single turn at level 20, average 953 (3 times a day). Falcon Punch! (now illegal)

Ninja

*** Classic Ninja (Zenith Games) Human Ninja who dual wields wakizashis to get sneak attacks. He also knows how to throw Shuriken very well at flat footed enemies - it’s loverly. (12th level DPR: 51 and 4.6 strength damage when invisible seven times a day)

*** Blackbeak (Zenith Games) Tengu Ninja who uses three natural attacks to deal sneak attack through his entire career.  (12th level DPR: 57 and 5 strength damage when invisible 6 times a day)

** Ninja Skill Monkey (Zenith Games) Human Ninja who dual wields wakizashis and throws Shuriken to get sneak attacks. Fairly similar to the Classic Ninja, but gets 240 skill points by level 20.

** Sap Master Ninja (Zenith Games) Halfling Ninja who uses the Sap Master feat to gain double sneak attack damage (12th level DPR: 80 nonlethal, and 3.6 strength damage, or DPR: 107 nonlethal and 4.8 Strength damage 8 times a day when invisible)

Oracle

*** Oradin (Grarrg) Template and mini-guide for the ultimate healer, a Paladin and Oracle of Life who sacrifices his own hit points to heal others, then heals himself as a swift action.

** Lunar (Akinra) Aasimar Dual Cursed (Wolfscarred and Deaf) with a Lunar Mystery to add a feral aspect to combat.

* Araonna Chorster (Ravingdork) Human death oracle, leads an army of non-evil undead, including a purple worm zombie that functions as a makeshift “ground-craft carrier.”

Paladin

*** Oradin (Grarrg) Template and mini-guide for the ultimate healer, a Paladin and Oracle of Life who sacrifices his own hit points to heal others, then heals himself as a swift action.

** Snakeman Hellknight (Nerd-Ass Mess) Nagaji palain/hell knight commander tank with fantastic mobility and high, active intimidate.

Solar (WerePox47) Aasimar Paladin with a two handed weapon and wings who looks and plays like a solar or angel.

Lay on HandiMan (Damocles Guile) Human Oath of Vengence Paladin who maximizes Lay on Hands to gain an additional 160 hit points worth of swift healing a day at 6th level (2,552 at 20th level).

Ranger

*** Natural Killer (Zenith Games) A Human Skirmisher/Guide Ranger of the Two-Weapon style who dual wields Wakizashis for plenty of crits and a few skills and tricks to play around with.  (12th Level DPR: 78 against 4 enemies per day).

*** Spine Breaker (Zenith Games) A Human Skirmisher/Guide Ranger of the Two-Handed weapon style who wields a falchion for massive damage. (12th Level DPR: 75 against 4 enemies per day).

* Mounted Ranger Archer (Zenith Games) Human Skirmisher Ranger who rides around on horseback filling enemies full of arrows. (DPR: 20)

Rogue

*** Shanker (Zenith Games) Human Knife Master/Scout Rogue who focuses on feinting and other tricks to deal massive sneak attack damage every round. (12 Level DPR: 26, and 1.8 strength damage  with sneak attack)

*** Smasher (Mercurial) Half-Orc Thug/Scout Rogue who dips Barbarian to deal massive non-lethal sneak attacks with, well, earthbreakers. A great contradictory build.

*** Batter McShieldBash (Prototype00) Human Ranger 7 (Guide)/Rogue 10 (Thug/Scout)/Fighter 3 (Brawler) who bashes his enemies with his shield in the best possible way.

** GM_Solspiral's Rogue Builds Check the Bottom of the page for 10 Rogue Builds of various flavors.

Rogue (Unchained)

** Swarmrogue (Nerd-ass Mess) Ratfolk with four natural attacks at level one who can just about always sneak attack.

Samurai

** A Samurai (AndIMustMask) Half-Orc Sword Saint Samurai (Order of the warrior) 19/Unbreakable Fighter 1 who excels at crowd combat and is no slouch in solo fights..

** Nobu Matsuhisa - Reference Samurai (Humphrey Boggard)  Human order of the Warrior Samurai that presents an effective, resilient, and versatile melee combatant. [Discussion]

Sorcerer

*** Enchantress (Mercurial) Kitsune Fey Bloodline Sorcerer who has unbelievable save DCs vs. Enchantment, culminating in a 36 DC Dominate Monster at 17th level.

** Fire Blaster (Zenith Games) Half-Orc Crossblooded/Tattooed Orc/Gold Dragon Sorcerer who maximizes his damage with fire.

** EleanorLorkien (EleanorLorkien) Gnome Sorcerer who dips Oracle to get highly mobile crowd control via illusions.

** Tesla (Scott Gray) PFS-legal Arcane Savant / False Priest Sorcerer build.

* Incapacitator (Zenith Games) Gnome Fey Sorcerer who focuses on incapacitating enemies rather than killing them.

* Roshgog (Ravingdork) Half-Orc fire Sorcerer, leader of his tribe and undisputed master of cleansing flame.

* She’er Falen (Ravingdork) Ifrit Sorcerer with a fondness for cute animals and fiery explosions.

Summoner

*** Angry Caterpillar (Zenith Games) Half-Elf Synthesist Summoner who sprouts hands to wield falchions and tanks massively. (DPR 54)

** Archer Synthesist (Zenith Games) Half-Elf Synthesist Summoner who sprouts hands to wield longbows and shoot his enemies in the face, many, many times.

** THE Master Summoner (Mercurial) Half-Elf Master Summoner who utilizes the Primal Bloodline - Air to maximize the damage potential of summoned monsters.

* Durin Wrang (Ravingdork) Half-Elf wild caller summoner with close ties to the natural world.

* Synthesist Skill Monkey (Zenith Games) Pure Theorycrafting, a synthesist summoner who gets seven of his skills into the 40s by level 20 and has a theoretical 374 skill points.

Warpriest

** Steward of Ignazio (Nerd-Ass Mess) Human with a powerful griffon mount focused on charging and horsedom.

Witch

** Debuffer Witch (Zenith Games) Fairly standard Debuffer Witch, with evil eye, misfortune, cackle, and slumber. Grabs a few healing hexes to help her buddies!

** Count Some Sheep Witch (Nerd-Ass Mess) Elven debilitated with maxed-out Int who fills a bunch of roles in and out of combat, capable of removing and creating status ailments.

The Bride of Hell (ohako) Tiefling White-haired Witch 8/ sohei 2/ Eldritch Knight 10 who grapples, flurries, and attacks with her hair.

Wizard

*** Admixture Blaster (Zenith Games) Human Admixture Wizard who dips Crossblooded/Tattooed Orc/Gold Dragon Sorcerer to really get the most possible damage out of fireballs - and he can change the elemental damage to something else on the fly.  (12th Level Fireball: 261 once a day, 218 twice a day, 109 3 times a day, 87 four times a day area ranged damage of any element)

*** The Vacuum (Jehova) Tiefling Foresight Diviner Wizard who rocks initiative and literally sucks the air out of the room.

* Angol Ceredir (Ravingdork) Elf Abjurer/Artificer wizard, a paranoid wizard and custom stone golem guardian that are ready for anything.

* Gilgeam Grayhem (Ravingdork) Human wizard diviner mage killer, a solemn and practical wizard known for his many quick and decisive victories.

* Akoran (Ravingdork) Human Lich Necromancer Wizard, her depravity is matched only by her false beauty.

Prestige Classes & Psionics

*** Champion of Irori (Prototype00) Aasimar Champion of Irori that has 20+ uses of smite evil/chaos, amazing saves, AC, and attack routine, especially against evil or chaotic characters.

** Defender Battle Herald (Thomas Hicks) Human Cavalier/Cleric/Bard/Paladin/Battle Herald who delivers excellent buffs both in and out of combat.

** Blasting Beast Build & Nuclear Nova (Lucy Fur) Human rage wilder able to deal immense blasting damage over short periods of time, as well as melee, utility, and defense.

* Paragon Duelist (Williamoak) Human Fighter (Swordlord) 7/Monk (hungry ghost, sensei) 1/Shadowdancer 2/Swordlord (Prc) 10 who dips all over the place for 66 AD at level 20.

* Kirom Lancaster (Ravingdork) Human duelist who splits fighter to gain massive AC.

* Adin Lir (Ravingdork) Noble Drow Mystic Theurge, despicable priestess, eager to see her schemes to fuition.

* Aleil Sylvari (Ravingdork) Half-Elf arcane trickster, a survivor of the underdark and spy for the drow noble houses.

* Grey (Ravingdork) Doppelganger rogue/assassin.

* Grunk (Ravingdork) Goblin rogue/assassin.

* Hulk (Nurlach) Human Aegis (Abberant) 12/ Alchemist (Internal Alchemist/Rage Chemist) 8 who self buffs with both Alchemist and Aegis Buffs.

* Robilar Smithe (Ravingdork) Human master chymist who wields bombs and guns.

* Not-A-Ninja (AndIMustMask) Elf Arcane Trickster 10/Magus Kensai 6/Rogue Knife Master,Scout 4, a rogue with more with nova and utility.

The model build will have the following 7 items:

1: It has a feat advancement list, showing what feats are taken at each level.
2: It has a short paragraph or two explaining what the build does, and why it chose what it did.
3: It is either a good build, or it is an interesting build. This should be explained in your paragraph. It would be helpful to make a forum post to see if others find it interesting. If others talk about it, that's a good sign.
4: It has items that the player should buy.
5: It shows what the build looks like at a handful of important levels, such as 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20, or 5, 10, 15, and 20.
6: It is be well-written, and well organized.
7: It is built out to level 20.

Builds that meet all of the criteria get three stars! Builds that meet almost all of the criteria get 1 or two stars. Builds that only meet a few criteria, but I’ve put up anyway, get no stars.

Spicing Up Encounters: The Animal Pit

    The Animal Pit requires some set up, but adds a lot to an encounter.  It is best for low level characters who do not yet have access to teleport or flight.

     In this encounter, one or two party members have been captured, stripped of their items, and thrown into a 30 foot deep animal pit.  The animal pit is a 25 by 25 foot square, and it has a heavy grate on top that prevents anybody from climbing in or out.  The grate is locked in place, though a DC 15 disable device check will unlock it, after which a DC 15 strength check will move it.  The grate also provides partial cover to anybody on the other side.

     The animal in the pit should be difficult for one or two party members to take on, its CR equal to the party member's level.

     The rest of the party is at ground level, fighting whomever threw their buddy in the pit.  One of the enemies up here has the key to the grate.  During the fight, the heroes can try to unlock and lift the grate, assist their buddy in the animal pit, steal the keys and open the grate, or kill the person who has the keys.  The rest of the party should do this before the hero in the animal pit succumbs to the monster in the pit.

      Simple, easy to run, and makes for some nice drama!

How to Run an Epic Battle

      Many great adventure paths and stories have epic battle between two (or more) gigantic armies.  These battles are often crucial to the plot, and serve as a climax to whatever scene they are in.  The question becomes how to incorporate a game like pathfinder, which focuses on a relatively small group of individuals, into a huge battle.  Well, there are a few points to remember.

Allow the Players to Scheme

      Although Pathfinder is a Role Playing Game, most players will latch onto the opportunity to utilize their Real Time Strategy skills.  In the weeks leading up to the battle, the players will want to build more towers, train the troops to withstand a cavalry charge, instruct the mages on the best uses of stone to mud, or make a fence of immovable rods.  You should allow and encourage this.

      During the actual battle make sure that the player's plans either come to fruition or are dashed, but make sure to address them.  Their preparations should have real and concrete effects on both the battle as a whole, and the skirmishes that the players take part in.

Break it up into Parts

      No matter how grand a battle, the end result will be boring if you don't break it into parts.  Instead of one long combat of wave after wave of enemy, divide the heroes' role into manageable subsections.  These sections should be distinct, meaningful, and realistic, and they should have a visible impact on the rest of the combat.  A few examples are detailed at the end of this post.

      Large battles should have at least 3 different segments to show just how immense they really are, but feel free to have epic battles with far more segments.

The Larger Battle Affects the Heroes

      As our heroes run around the battlefield, the fighting around them should affect what they do.  There are a few ways to accomplish this.  The simplest way is to adjust the number of enemies or obstacles in each combat depending on how the battle is going.  Attack the players with catapults until they take out the catapult.  Give the players healing if they lower the drawbridge, allowing the clerics across.

      A more complex method is to employ a variation of the performance combat rules.  Assign a score to how the battle is going for our heroes, from -3 to +3.  This score is known as a "Tide of Battle" score, and is applied as an untyped bonus to our heroes during attack rolls, CMB rolls, skill checks, and saving throws.  It represents not only the morale boost of winning, but also shouted warnings, "invisible" flanking partners littered across the field, unseen arrow volleys, and general strategic advantage.  As our heroes accomplish or fail at tasks, make sure to adjust the tide of battle score.

      Some characters, such as bards, clerics, and spellcasters are able to affect a large number of creatures at the same time.  For heroes using these abilities, for example a bard using inspire courage or a sorcerer using stone to mud under a horde of enemies feet, apply temporary adjustments to the Tide of Battle Score as you see fit.  After all, imagine how much more effective a bard is if he is giving bonuses to 50 people instead of 5.

Example:  Storming A Castle

      Before the battle, our heroes must make two diplomacy checks to pump up the troops, then two intimidate checks to warn them what will happen if they fail.

      The battle begins, but almost immediately there are problems.  The large gate in the outer walls is guarded by a group of trolls, and none dare go near them.  Our heroes must fight these trolls, then plant and arm a small bomb on the gate to blow it open.

      Within the first wall is a moat, and the drawbridge is up.  Our heroes must make swim checks to swim across the moat, then climb checks to get to the drawbridge controls.  Every round of checks is another round of arrows that our heroes must deal with.

      Within the drawbridge control room, there is a token force, and a puzzle for our heroes to figure out (Knowledge Engineering helps greatly).  When they have pulled the correct levers, the drawbridge comes crashing down.

      The drawbridge is lowered, but a gigantic magical siege engine is tearing our troops apart.  Our heroes get to the siege engine, and must endure infinite waves of enemies until they deal the siege engine enough damage to destroy it.

      Enough is enough.  Our heroes decide it's time to end this battle and kill the king.  Our heroes weave their way through chaotic streets, first making stealth checks to avoid arrow fire, then making perception checks to locate the king.

      The fight against the king and his guard is straightforward.  Once he is killed, our heroes may take his head and ride through the streets, making intimidate checks to cause enemies to throw down their weapons.

Example:  Defending A Castle

      Before the battle, our heroes must make two diplomacy checks to pump up the defenders, then two bluff checks to let them know that the odd are in their favor!

      The gate is holding, but the enemy has brought siege ladders.  Assign each hero onto siege ladder, and give them five rounds of one mook a turn.  At least the heroes know exactly where the mooks are coming from.  Fire or a good strength check will destroy a ladder or push it off into oblivion.

      Here come the siege towers!  Our heroes have 2 turns to destroy the approaching structure, or else out pop a band of ogres!

      Our commanding general has taken a poisoned arrow.  Make acrobatics checks to get to him in time, then defend him against infinite enemies as a party member treats him.  This only ends when his poison is cured or he dies.

      The combat on the walls has gotten intense, and those defending the cannon have fled.  A fighting retreat has been ordered, but the heroes may take a few turns of Disable Device or Knowledge Engineering to transform the remaining gunpowder into a bomb.  For each attempt, the heroes must deal with another round of arrows.

      Defend the King!  Our benevolent ruler finds himself face to face with the BBEG, and it is up to our heroes to defend his highness.  Our heroes are halfway across the battlefield, but a couple of riderless horses are milling about.  Fly, run, ride, or teleport, but get to the king as quickly as possible and defend him!

Skill Uses

Ever wish that you had a table explaining the basics of each skill?  Now you do!

Skill Table

Should the Paladin Fall?

         There are a lot of questions about when a Paladin should fall, and with good reason.  The rules are intentionally vague.  They describe a roleplaying situation, not a mechanical situation, and so are best left to DM and player scrutiny.

"A paladin who ceases to be lawful good, who willfully commits an evil act, or who violates the code of conduct loses all paladin spells and class features."

         

         The most important part of playing with a Paladin is communication.  Before even considering the fall, you must determine what the Paladin's codes are.  Does he follow the rule of law, or his own personal code?  Does he favor the greater good or the immediate good?  What God does he follow?

         I offer up the following five criterion for determining when a Paladin should fall.  If a Paladin meets all five of these criterion, he should fall.  If a Paladin meets the first two, and at least one of three, four, or five, he might fall.  If a Paladin does not meet both one and two he should not fall, regardless of all else.

1:  Did you warn him?

       If you did not warn him, he should not fall.  This is the most important rule.

       The fall of a Paladin should never come as a surprise.  It is the DM's duty to warn the Paladin of any wrongful course, should the player (if not the character) be unable to see it.  Pathfinder is a cooperative game that is about having fun.  Players will have a bad time if they feel that their powers are taken away without warning or apparent reason.  The DM must warn the Paladin that he is stepping down the wrong path, and perhaps suggest a better one.  If you forgot to tell the player that he may lose his paladin abilities, then his character should not fall.

     However, if you told a Paladin that his actions were likely to lead him down the path of darkness, and he took them anyway, then tally one against the Paladin.  However, take a second to consider what exactly an act worthy of falling is...

2:  Was there an obviously better alternative?

        Lose/Lose situations are not grounds for falling.  The Paladin should only fall if he knows of a better alternative.

        Every once in a while, a DM will place a paladin, intentionally or not, in a situation without a clear correct path.  Let's take the most basic possible example.  There are two children trapped in a burning building.  The Paladin only has time to save one.  Either way the Paladin will have the death of a child on his hands, and so he should not be penalized for choosing one or the other.  There is no better alternative, so the Paladin should not fall.

        Now, let's say that the Paladin has in his possession a wand of create water capable of putting out the blaze and saving both children.  However, the player or the character are unaware of the nature of the wand, and so does not use it.  This wand is not an obviously better solution, as the Paladin is unaware of it, so the Paladin should not fall.

      For the sake of argument, lets say that the Paladin is again faced with the burning building.  Instead of saving either child, he decides now would be a wonderful time to pull out his bag of endless marshmallows and make a s'more.  There is an obviously better solution, so this may be grounds for falling.

3:  Was his act unlawful?

      Pathfinder describes the relationship between lawful and chaotic:

"Lawful characters tell the truth, keep their word, respect authority, honor tradition, and judge those who fall short of their duties. Chaotic characters follow their consciences, resent being told what to do, favor new ideas over tradition, and do what they promise if they feel like it."

       In most games, there are two ways to play lawful characters.  Those who follow the law of the land, and those who strictly follow their own personal code.  The DM should ask what kind of Paladin the character is playing, and then use that information.  Often, the law and code will conflict.  When they conflict, don't hold law-breaking against personal-code Paladins, and don't hold code-breaking against rule-of-law paladins.

      Let's consider an example.  The Paladin Charity believes that she should give money to the poor.  Charity finds herself in the Land of Nice, where giving alms is mandatory.  She gives half her money to a beggar.  This is clearly a lawful act, as she is following both the law of the land, and her own personal code.

     Next, Charity wanders over to the Land of Mean, where it is illegal to give money to the poor.  The King of Mean is a wealthy jerk who kicks kittens every morning.  Charity decides to follow the rule of law, and she refrains from giving alms.  If Charity is the kind of Paladin who favors rule-of-law, then this is perfectly acceptable behavior.  If Charity is the kind of Paladin who favors personal-code, then this might be grounds for falling.

     After spending a few weeks in Mean, Charity has a change of heart, and wants to give money to the poor.  However, all of her money has been taxed away.  She decides to steal from the King of Mean, and give the money to the poor.  If Charity is the kind of Paladin who favors personal-code, then this is wonderful.  If Charity is the kind of Paladin who favors rule-of-law, then this might be grounds for falling.

     After successfully sneaking in to the castle, she comes across the treasure trove.  The mounds of gold open her eyes, and Charity decides to take it all for herself.  This is clearly an unlawful act.  She is breaking the laws of Mean by robbing, and she is breaking her own personal code.

4:  Was his act "un-good"?

       Pathfinder describes the relationship between good and evil:

"Good characters and creatures protect innocent life. Evil characters and creatures debase or destroy innocent life, whether for fun or profit."

       Some acts are clearly good (such as petting a puppy).  Some are clearly evil (such as killing a puppy).  Most of the confusion comes from greater good and immediate good.  Find out if the paladin favors greater good over immediate good.  Often, these two ideas will be in conflict, and when they are make sure to favor the paladin's reading of it.

       Paladin Smartz goes after a werewolf who has been terrorizing a village.  He tracks the werewolf back to its lair, and finds that the werewolf is a poor, defenseless boy who cannot control himself.  Luckily Smartz can remove the curse.  This is clearly a good act.  He is serving the immediate good by saving the boy, and he is serving the greater good by protecting the townsfolk.

       However, there is some bad news for Paladin Smartz.  Remove curse does not work.  Smartz raises his sword to strike the boy down.  If this is a greater good Paladin, then this is the right move.  Killing the boy will prevent any further attacks on the village.  However, if this is an immediate good Paladin, then this may be grounds for falling, as killing an innocent boy certainly feels like an evil act.

       Paladin Smartz slowly lowers his sword.  He cannot kill the boy, but his adventure would have no room for him.  Instead, he will bring the boy to the town jail, and force the town to work on his cure.  If this is an immediate good Paladin, then he has fulfilled his objective.  The innocent boy is not dead.  However, if Smartz is a greater good Paladin, this may be grounds for falling.  He is endangering the lives of every civilian by letting the werewolf live.

      The conundrum is too much for the Paladin.  He slays the boy, then returns to the village.  Smartz is angry at the mayor for placing him in such a delicate position, so he returns to town hall and slays the mayor.  Then all the witnesses.  Then everybody else in town.  This is clearly an evil act, as it serves neither the greater good, nor the immediate good.

5:  Was his act against his God?

       The fifth criterion is the one where you can have the most flexibility, and the most fun.  Why?  Because you are the Paladin's God.  You get to make the rules. You can even change the rules – Gods, even Lawful Good gods, are notably fickle.

       Paladin Hare worships BunnyLord, Lord of Bunnies.  He favors rabbits, hates oozes, and is pretty relaxed about out-of-wedlock hanky-panky.  When Hare is faced with a possessed rabbit, he chooses to capture the creature and perform a complex exorcism rather than simply kill it.  When he is given the choice between killing dragons and killing oozes, he kills oozes every time.  And when he finds his wife in bed with the mayor, he lets them both off with a warning instead of taking more serious action.  Paladin Hare is a great follower of the Bunnylord.

       Paladin Roast also worships the Bunnylord, Lord of Bunnies.  When Roast is faced with a possessed rabbit, he slays the beast to prevent further damage.  When he is given the choice between killing dragons and killing oozes, he goes after the red dragon that has been causing more damage than any ooze.  And when he finds his wife in bed with the mayor, he takes them both to a court of law for adultery.  Even though none of these acts is non-good or non-lawful, the Bunnylord may still be displeased.  Probably not grounds for falling, but the Bunnylord may have a stern word with Paladin Roast.

Wrap-Up

       A Paladin can be many things, and it is important to know exactly what a Paladin is before passing judgement.  To wrap up, let's consider the following example.

        Paladin Triky is greater good paladin, who follows a strict code of "destroy all demons" and worships the BunnyLord.  He is faced with a possessed rabbit who has been terrorizing the villagers.  But the villagers have been unable to kill it due to strict no-poaching laws.  He decides to destroy the rabbit as quickly as possible.  Should he fall?

       Well, you may want to ask Triky.  Triky was preserving the greater good by saving the villagers, even at the expense of the life of an innocent bunny.  He also broke the no-poaching law in favor of his own personal code.  However, that's all consistent with who Triky is as a Paladin.  True, he went against the BunnyLord's wishes, but with good reason.  Paladin Triky should not fall for killing the bunny.

      Paladin Conflikt is an immediate good Paladin who follows the law of the land and worships the Oozelord.  He decides to save and cage the bunny, wasting time and resources searching for a cure.  Should he fall?

     Well, you may want to ask Conflikt.  Conflikt was favoring the immediate good by saving the bunny, even at the potential expense of all those around him.  He preserved the no-poaching law, even against the OozeLord's wishes.  Paladin Conflikt should not fall for saving the bunny.

     Here's the take away:  What might make one Paladin fall is the right choice for another.  Know your player's Paladins.  Don't place them in unwinnable situations, or, if you do, don't penalize them.  And above all, let them know if a certain action will lead to a fall.

What Class Should I Play?

         It's a good question, and now we have the answer!

         Open up this Google Doc, and make a copy.   Then, in the column that says "Want or Do Not Want" place number 3 to -3, depending on what you want in your character.  Three means strongly want, -3 means strongly do not want, 0 means ambivalent.  After you do that, numbers will appear next to the classes - the highest number will indicate the class that best suits your playing needs!

What Class Should I Play? Questionnaire

Alternatively, looking for what class would best round out your party?  Check out the

Rounding Out Your Party Tool

How to Make a Good Campaign Wiki

         A good wiki or website can add a lot to your campaign.  It can store information about your world, story, and characters.  It can help players keep track of loot and exp.   It can provide a place for between-session roleplaying.  But most of all, it can keep players interested and excited about your campaign.

         Let's look at the aspects of a good campaign wiki.  You can see an example side-bar off to the side of this post.

A Good Hosting Site

         A lot of people use Obsidian Portal for their campaign wiki.  This is not surprising – Obsidian Portal is made for running table top RPGs.  There are many features that make life easier, such as pre-generated blank character sheets.  However, I have found that Obsidian Portal is a bit limiting in what they will let you do (at least without upgrading).  For example, they only allow you to have one map – problematic for us map lovers out there, and for most sandbox games.

         Instead, I suggest PBWorks.  It's free, easy to use, and very, very flexible.  It will require a few more minutes of set-up (they obviously don't provide you with character sheets), but once you get the format you like, making changes is very easy.

Player Characters

         I require my players to keep their up-to-date on the wiki.  This has a number of bonuses.  It allows me to audit player extremely easily, and without making anybody feel uneasy.  It allows me to put them up against enemies that they may find fun and interesting.  It allows me to see who is under equipped, and provide them with some nice loot in the next adventure.  It allows me to quickly review a character's backstory.

        It also allows other players to look at each other.  This encourages fun group dynamics and teamwork, as well as minimizing player overlap.  Most of all, as with every page on the wiki, it gets players to the wiki and thinking about the campaign between sessions.

Adventure Log

         After every session, I write up what happened in an Adventure Log.  I tend to run fairly intricate games, so reminding the players what has happened is crucial.  Make sure to give individual characters credit for what they do.  Players love reliving glorious or dangerous moments.

Group Loot

         Dividing up group loot can be difficult for some groups.  Clarifying exactly what's what often helps.  A group loot page should not only list the items that are up for grabs, but also have a comments section for players to discuss who should get what.

Character Chat

         The Character Chat is perhaps the most important part of a wiki.  This is where players can have in-character discussions in between sessions.  The Character Chat is a fun and exciting place for your players to be engaged in the game when they are not actually playing.  It keeps enthusiasm up and is a great opportunity for roleplaying.

World Information

         If you are running a homebrew game, then you probably want to tell your players about the world.  This is a section for you to explain everything that you players should know, from geography to religion to NPCs of note.

Everything Else

         Of course, you should feel free to write up anything else you like on your wiki. I lay out my House Rules on the wiki, so everything is clear with the players.  I keep track of crafting on my wiki, as it tends to get rather complicated.  I also keep track of real world information – for example, who paid for dinner a particular night.

Heroic Favor

         Sometimes, heroes need a helping hand. I award heroic favor to my player for good roleplaying or heroic deeds.  It is a powerful and rare resource, and should be saved up for the most dire of times.

Gaining Heroic Favor

         Each player starts off the campaign with one point of heroic favor. Heroic favor carries over from session to session. However, a player cannot have more than five points of heroic favor at any one time. If he does, he is not eligible for more heroic favor.

         At the end of each game session, the GM will choose one player who has demonstrated the best roleplaying ability, and award him with one point of heroic favor at the end of the session. This means that he has made choices not based on optimization, but rather on background and personality, sometimes to his own detriment. It also means that he has taken the initiative in out-of-combat situations. Note that a character being taciturn or reticent is not an excuse for a player not to be engaged. In such cases, there are still plenty of roleplaying opportunities.

         Additionally, any character who posts at least twice in the campaign wiki's character chat between sessions will automatically gain a point of heroic favor.

         If your character is not up to date on the campaign wiki, you are not eligible for gaining Heroic Favor.

Using Heroic Favor

         Heroic Favor is very powerful. Whenever it is used, it must be accompanied by a bit of flavor. Only one point of heroic favor can be used each round. Heroic Favor can be expended for one of three things:

         1: If you are at positive hit points, and an attack would kill you through damage, then you may spend one point of heroic favor to ignore all damage from the attack. Instead, your HP drops down to negative half constitution. You are not stabilized.

         2: You may spend one point of heroic favor to transform a natural 20 rolled against you into a natural one. You may also spend a point of heroic favor to transform a natural one into a natural 20.

        3: If you are at negative or 0 hit points, and an attack would kill you through HP damage (negative con), you may spend two points of heroic favor to ignore all damage from that attack. If you were stabilized, you resume bleeding out.

      4: You may use a point of heroic favor at the start of your turn to attempt remove any condition you may have. Re-roll whatever save you made to get the condition. If you pass, the condition dissipates, and you may act this turn as if you did not have the condition. If you fail the save, or there was no original save that gave you this condition, the condition leaves you at the end of your turn. You may use this for bleed, blind, confused, cowering, dazed, deafened, entangled, exhausted, fascinated, frightened, nauseated, panicked, paralyzed, shaken, sickened, staggered, or stunned. You may not remove broken, dead, disabled, dying, energy drained, flat-footed, grappled, helpless, incorporeal, invisible, petrified, pinned, prone, sinking, stable, or unconscious.

You may only use these die rolls on yourself! You may not use them to improve or save others.

Handling Crafting

          Crafting can be complicated and difficult to manage in a campaign.  By far the best way to handle crafting is to have a good crafting page on your wiki.

         A good crafting page will have the following four items:

         1:  A table of craftable items

         2: A Basic description of how crafting works*

         3: A Log of how much time crafting time passed during each session, and the level at which that session was played

         4: A Table logging what items were made when.  The Table should have:  Session Number, Item Requested, Materials Cost, Craft DC, Skill Bonus, Time Devoted, Die Rolls with Bonus, And Result in Percentage and Result.

        5:  A Fancy Crafting Calculator like this one.

* To determine how much time and money it takes to make an item, follow these steps.

1. Find the item's price in silver pieces (1 gp = 10 sp).
2. Find the item's DC from Table: Craft Skills.
3. Pay 1/3 of the item's price for the raw material cost.
4. Make an appropriate Craft check representing one week's worth of work. If the check succeeds, multiply your check result by the DC. If the result × the DC equals the price of the item in sp, then you have completed the item. (If the result × the DC equals double or triple the price of the item in silver pieces, then you've completed the task in one-half or one-third of the time. Other multiples of the DC reduce the time in the same manner.) If the result × the DC doesn't equal the price, then it represents the progress you've made this week. Record the result and make a new Craft check for the next week. Each week, you make more progress until your total reaches the price of the item in silver pieces.