The Creator of Spheres of Power Here: Ask Me Anything

[stack]

Yeah, I suppose the larger concern would be the guy that has his friends beat him near unconsciousness at the beginning of the day before he summons his super-companions using the boost to push his conjuration farther off the chart. Niche case though and most of that is coming form thaumaturge, not from the boons.

[LudoDiamonte]

This question may have been answered else where or I may have overlooked it, but can a conjuration companion have more than one form applied at one time? Thanks in advance.

[Pyromancer999]

This question may have been answered else where or I may have overlooked it, but can a conjuration companion have more than one form applied at one time? Thanks in advance.

Yes, but you must select a Form Talent each time you wish to apply it to a companion.

So you could select Form Talents W and X for Conjuration Companion Y, but you'd have to select each again to let either apply to Conjuration Companion Z.

[daremetoidareyo]

spellcrafting and spellbooks

When you craft a spell via the spellcrafting feat, do you only get to cast that spell once without a spellbook, or is it retained. Let's say you hammer out the specifics with weather sphere and creation sphere for it to rain oaken kitchen tables. You cast it. Now do you have to do a bunch of research to do it again? If not, why get the spellbook feat at all, seeing as how you can just make a caster of a tradition that doesn't use academics.

Further, when spell crafting, can you use the spiritualist tradition of the Hedgewitch to grant you access to a sphere in order to spellcraft something? Can you then record that into your spellbook? Say our weatherman decides that he wants it to rain holy water by combining with the life sphere, but he doesn't have the life sphere, could he then use spiritualist to do the research as if he had the sphere? Would it require another spirit point to record it down?

[stack]

Missed one CL booster, you can use a metamagic feat for another +1, though unless its a +0 metamagic you can't combine it with the one that gives +2 when out of SP.

[Extra Anchovies]

One of the common gripes about the D&D 3.5 Ranger and Paladin was that their caster level equalled one-half their class level. Why did you decide to reintroduce classes with half-scaling caster levels to Pathfinder (and even 3/4 scaling, for that matter)?

I ask because I'm probably going to be joining a Spheres of Power game soon, and am having trouble seeing any reason to play a low-caster, or even a mid-caster, who uses any of the duration-based effects (e.g. buffs). The list of things I can do with a zero-round duration on all of my non-concentration effects is a frustratingly short one, and most of the abilites are standard actions anyways so I won't be able to get any use out of most of the basic sphere abilities until level 4 at the earliest (3 for mid-casters). Granted, basically every SoP character sucks at 1st level because they either run out of spell points by the second encounter or spend every round concentrating (and not having any standard actions is exactly zero fun), but at least the high casters are playable by level 3 or so.

(As an aside, is there something I missed where concentrating on a sphere ability doesn't take the same standard action as concentrating on a spell?)

To be honest, the presence of different caster level scalings feels backwards and poorly designed, and they're by far my least favorite part of the system. I'm wondering what your reasoning was for making them a part of Spheres of Power.

[Vhaidara]

I'll give you the explanation one of my players gave me for that
You have 2 classes. One of them is a d6, low BAB class with full casting (bear in mind that spherecasting generally caps at T3), 30 Talents, and no real class features. The other is a d10, full BAB class with full casting, 10 talents, and a bevy of nice class features. Would you ever really want to pick the first option?

The reason it balances out is because spherecasting isn't as potent as Vancian casting. Also, you still get the same number of Spell Points (Level +Casting mod), so not concentrating is easier for the low casters, who generally have things other than casting to do with their turns.

[stack]

There is a boon that allows concentrating as a move action. I have a hard time not taking it on most builds. Destruction doesn't really need it, but it's amazing for others.

[EldritchWeaver]

The list of things I can do with a zero-round duration on all of my non-concentration effects is a frustratingly short one...

Luckily, there is a rule which states - if you have a CL 0 - that you are treated for effects as CL 1.

[Extra Anchovies]

Luckily, there is a rule which states - if you have a CL 0 - that you are treated for effects as CL 1.

Thanks for pointing that out. I just got my PDF yesterday and haven't read it cover-to-cover yet.

I'll give you the explanation one of my players gave me for that
You have 2 classes. One of them is a d6, low BAB class with full casting (bear in mind that spherecasting generally caps at T3), 30 Talents, and no real class features. The other is a d10, full BAB class with full casting, 10 talents, and a bevy of nice class features. Would you ever really want to pick the first option?

The reason it balances out is because spherecasting isn't as potent as Vancian casting. Also, you still get the same number of Spell Points (Level +Casting mod), so not concentrating is easier for the low casters, who generally have things other than casting to do with their turns.

Thanks for the explanation. I suppose that makes sense.

[Vhaidara]

It came up because I have an alchemist//armorist, and we were debating his caster level. Since alchemist pulls standard cl=level, I was okay with letting that be a thing (the player is our most hardcore rper, I know he won't abuse things). But another player made the argument I presented above.

[Adam Meyers]

@stack: Temporary increases in caster level such as the boons you mention don't increase the strength of companions, actually.

@LudoDiamonte: Yeah, they can have as many form talents as you have magic talents to spend on them.

@daremetoidareyo: You do not forget a spell after casting it. The spellbook is for the character who wants 20-something spells, as opposed to just a signature move or two.

Personally, I would allow someone to use things like the Spiritualist's powers to create spells, but if they don't use their spiritualist powers each time they cast the spell to re-gain the required talents, then they face that chance the spell will fail on them.

@Extra Anchovies: Pretty much what everyone's already said: Pathfinder is built on the concept of scaling magic, so when we re-designed the system, something needed to scale; since we removed spell levels, the simplest idea was to transform caster level into a BAB-like stat.

[Segev]

Alright, I'm afraid we've had enough *****-footing around here. Let's get to the hard-hitting, technical questions.

How many licks does it take to get to the toosie-roll center of the Candy Sphere?


edit: Huh, did not expect that censoring.

[Vhaidara]

I second this idea.

What is the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything?

[stack]

I knew that this staff bonus didn't apply and forgot to mention it in my post. Wasn't sure on the boons, so that's good to know. Thaumaturge of course only helps if you grab the master of cosmos feat, but that is still enough to make them a good basis for a companion build.

[Ironsides]

I am still on the road to building Gilgamesh and I have some more questions to ask you that relate to it.

1. Can the Armorist materialize weapons larger than what their character would normally wield. Like a small sized halfling summoning a huge sized nodachi and then using the Dancing Weapon talent to do battle with it.
2. The Telekinetic Sphere has size restrictions on what size things you can move around telekinetically at certain levels as determined by the Object Size Chart in that section. What rule of thumb would you use when you try to use Dancing Weapon on a weapon that is large, huge, colossal sized weapons compared to your size weapon. I was going with this as my rule of thumb but I wanted your opinion on it. I am assuming that a candelabra is roughly equal to a normal sized longsword.
   
   1. A longsword that a small sized character would use would be Diminutive sized for the object size chart in the Telekinetic Sphere.
   2. A longsword that a medium sized character would use would be Tiny sized for the object size chart in the Telekinetic Sphere.
   3. A longsword that a large sized character would use would be Small sized for the object size chart in the Telekinetic Sphere.
   4. A longsword that a huge sized character would use would be Medium sized for the object size chart in the Telekinetic Sphere.
   5. A longsword that a gargantuan sized character would use would be Large sized for the object size chart in the Telekinetic Sphere.
   6. A longsword that a colossal sized character would use would be Huge sized for the object size chart in the Telekinetic Sphere.
3. I assume that If I combine the talents Dancing Weapon, Animate Object, and Bestow Intelligence on a weapon that the weapon will now be able to threaten squares around it and make attacks of opportunity, but could that weapon make attacks of opportunity with just the Dancing Weapon and Animate Object talents instead.

[AGrinningCat]

@Ironsides:

Weapon Size: Every weapon has a size category. This designation indicates the size of the creature for which the weapon was designed. A weapon's size category isn't the same as its size as an object. In general, a light weapon is an object two size categories smaller than the wielder, a one-handed weapon is an object one size category smaller than the wielder, and a two-handed weapon is an object of the same size category as the wielder.

A longsword for a medium creature is a Small object.

Telekinetic Storm
Prerequisites: Telekinesis Sphere, Divided Mind, 4th Caster Level or higher with the Telekinesis Sphere, and one of the following feats: Two-Weapon Fighting, Rapid Shot.
Effect: As a full-round action, you may spend 2 spell points to make a bludgeon attack with every object you are holding with your Telekinesis. You may move each object up to your telekinesis speed in order to make the attack.

Adam; I got someone else poking me about this Gates of Babylon stuff.

Right now, to fully emulate this ability, the player is running into a pair of issues: 1) Weapons are heavy as ****, and 2) Action economy to withdraw items from the storage. Can I ask for an advanced talent/feat to fix this? Like (CL^2)x10lbs for determining your capacity, and you can pull from the storage as a free action?


(Also the new book was pretty good; Particularly a fan of the two Hedgewitch Archetypes. What's next in the lineup?)

[Forrestfire]

That is quite the feat

With Dancing Weapon adding casting mod to damage, you can toss out fairly insane burst early on. A hypothetical Human Sorcerer 2/Incanter 1 with Focus Sphere and Sphere Specialization can toss out 6 attacks for 1d4+casting stat per use of the ability (assuming arrows), and adds another one every time he levels up (eventually getting better damage dice, too). Sure, it costs spell points, but normal bludgeons don't, so you have the ability to likely instantly kill something level-appropriate, then fall back on normal telekinesis in-between. Seems like an advanced talent, or something that scales up your attacks slightly faster than with BAB, would be a bit better to have around.

I'm not sure what the normal etiquette about feats posted in that manner is, but I felt I'd post my thoughts on it. Concept is awesome and something I like, but I was really enjoying that Spheres had the first actually balanced telekinetic combat option I'd seen in 3.x. All the others tend towards too weak/situational or ludicrously strong volleys of damage.

[EldritchWeaver]

@AGrinningCat:

"A weapon's size category isn't the same as its size as an object." But the Telekinesis Sphere uses the object sizes to determine what can be levitated. It would be strange if just because something is shaped like sword, it becomes heavier to lift.

[Adam Meyers]

@Segev: You laugh, but I've been playing around with new spheres. No candy sphere as yet, but if someone can come up with a concept for one that works...

@Keledrath: Forty-Two.

@Ironsides:
1.Technically yes, there is no restriction on the size of weapon the armorist can create, but I could see myself putting a reasonable restriction on that as a GM if it got out of hand.

2. Size-charts are not a standardized thing in Pathfinder; I do believe a one-handed Medium weapon is considered a Small object, but you're right in the comparison of a sword to other listed objects; it's up to GM interpretation I guess.

3. Animate Object turns it into a creature, and creatures make attacks of opportunity, so yeah, I think that should work.

AGrinningCat: Personally, I'd say if the character keeps 20 daggers in a backpack, they could dump it all on the ground as a move action, lift them into the air with Divided Mind as a standard action, then the next round be poised to make a Telekinetic Storm attack.

@Forrestfire: Yeah, there's a reason things like that weren't included in the actual book.

If one were to include such a feat as the hypothetical Telekinetic Storm to their game, it can certainly get powerful; aside from spell points, the balance on it is that the caster needs to make an attack roll for each object (which given most caster's low BAB can become troublesome) and that it costs so many magic talents to set up as opposed to the Destruction spheres d6-per-level area blast that only costs 1 talent. Combined with the multi-round set-up (as mentioned above, one must first pick up the objects to be used for the storm) I think it becomes more manageable (I'd be willing to try it at my own table), but since I haven't personally tested this in a game it's all still very hypothetical for me. Still, I'm curious to hear how Ironside's character runs at the table.

[Vhaidara]

@Keledrath: Forty-Two.

I asked for the question, not the answer to the question

[AGrinningCat]

@AGrinningCat:

"A weapon's size category isn't the same as its size as an object." But the Telekinesis Sphere uses the object sizes to determine what can be levitated. It would be strange if just because something is shaped like sword, it becomes heavier to lift.

Keep reading -- A Medium sized Twohander is considered Medium sized. A medium sized One hander is considered small. A Medium sized Light weapon is considered tiny.

@Adam;
Backpacks with daggers is lame though. It's so much cooler to just pull them out of a portal.

Also I noticed something when going through the Sphere list -- There isn't a whole lot of penalties you can dish out. Can we expect new spheres/extra talents to be debuff oriented?

[Ssalarn]

Also I noticed something when going through the Sphere list -- There isn't a whole lot of penalties you can dish out. Can we expect new spheres/extra talents to be debuff oriented?

Sub-Spheres that are a combination of two existing Spheres could be a cool way to handle this; for example a Decay sphere that's a sub of Death and Time and is dedicated to rusting armor, weakening scales, rotting teeth to impose penalties on spells with verbal components, etc.

Or a Shadow sphere that's a sub of Darkness and Illusion and lets you do crazy stuff like binding someone's shadow to the ground and limiting their movement, clouding an individual's vision, etc.

[Mehangel]

Sub-Spheres that are a combination of two existing Spheres could be a cool way to handle this; for example a Decay sphere that's a sub of Death and Time and is dedicated to rusting armor, weakening scales, rotting teeth to impose penalties on spells with verbal components, etc.

Or a Shadow sphere that's a sub of Darkness and Illusion and lets you do crazy stuff like binding someone's shadow to the ground and limiting their movement, clouding an individual's vision, etc.

For a campaign that I am participating in, we have a bunch of 'Advanced Spheres' which do exactly this. In order to pick talents from an advanced sphere, one must have both base spheres.

[Fallenreality]

Sub-Spheres that are a combination of two existing Spheres could be a cool way to handle this; for example a Decay sphere that's a sub of Death and Time and is dedicated to rusting armor, weakening scales, rotting teeth to impose penalties on spells with verbal components, etc.

Or a Shadow sphere that's a sub of Darkness and Illusion and lets you do crazy stuff like binding someone's shadow to the ground and limiting their movement, clouding an individual's vision, etc.

I would take something like that shadow sphere idea so fast...

[Ironsides]

Keep reading -- A Medium sized Twohander is considered Medium sized. A medium sized One hander is considered small. A Medium sized Light weapon is considered tiny.

@Adam;
Backpacks with daggers is lame though. It's so much cooler to just pull them out of a portal.

Also I noticed something when going through the Sphere list -- There isn't a whole lot of penalties you can dish out. Can we expect new spheres/extra talents to be debuff oriented?

Nice catch AGrinningCat.

@Adam;
I just noticed that this ruling on weapon sizes makes this style of play relatively difficult to pull off until later on in your build. Would it be possible for you to take Powerful Telekinesis multiple times (it is implied that you can only take a talent once unless it explicitly states that you can take it more times). Maybe if Powerful Telekinesis had some limiter on how many times you could take it or at what levels this would be reasonable.

Also do you need to be proficient with the weapon in order to use Dancing Weapon talent on the weapon?

[CyanEyed]

Does use of the energy blade blast shape provoke attacks of opportunity? Asking because I want to hit people but don't really want to get hit that much.

[Vhaidara]

What do you think Spheres' biggest weakness is?

Personally, I think option paralysis

[stack]

I was just pondering the dimensional dervish feat line, specifically for a mage knight. I'm basing the idea on the warp sphere counting for the prerequisite, since it obviously corresponds well to dimension door. Makes for quick progression through the feat chain, though I need to see if I can squeeze enough feats into the build to make use of dimensional maneuver. Any reason a spheres game shouldn't allow warp to count?

[EldritchWeaver]

Keep reading -- A Medium sized Twohander is considered Medium sized. A medium sized One hander is considered small. A Medium sized Light weapon is considered tiny.

Nice catch AGrinningCat.

@Adam;
I just noticed that this ruling on weapon sizes makes this style of play relatively difficult to pull off until later on in your build. Would it be possible for you to take Powerful Telekinesis multiple times (it is implied that you can only take a talent once unless it explicitly states that you can take it more times). Maybe if Powerful Telekinesis had some limiter on how many times you could take it or at what levels this would be reasonable.

@AGrinningCat
I did read further. Objects and weapons use different scales. Telekinesis follows the object one. Applying the weapon progression makes no sense because of this.

@Ironsides
That also means that your proposal is unnecessary.