Spheres of Power Ask Me Anything #2

[Slavezero]

Q83 what is the point for a blaster armorist to take Variable Barrel Geometry over Charged Shot? since it looks like Variable Barrel Geometry does nothing you can't do with Charged Shot while still having a move action

Q84 can the normal armorist create different types of ammo like alchemical cartridges or barbed arrows for the bound/summoned equipment? and if you have Improved/Greater Materials can you choose which type of material your ammo is made of at will for your bound weapon?

[stack]

A83: The difference is the action cost. Looking back, they probably should have been combined into one talent.

[Grimm2769]

So I feel pretty bad about this but can someone point me to a guide or where I can find detailed info on the omnimental for building one as a familiar from the Incanter specialization? It's been so long since I worked with such things that I can't remember how to build one at all or where to find the creature's base progression.

[Mehangel]

Q85 So I feel pretty bad about this but can someone point me to a guide or where I can find detailed info on the omnimental for building one as a familiar from the Incanter specialization? It's been so long since I worked with such things that I can't remember how to build one at all or where to find the creature's base progression.

A85 Destroyer's Handbook, pg 28 has rules on Omnimental Familiar specialization; Destroyer's Handbook, pg 33 has the stat-block for a small omnimental.

[Grimm2769]

Reply a85 Thanks a bunch man. Spotted it through the wiki and don't have the Destroyer book. Gonna have to grab it so I can try it out cause omnimentals look friggin' awesome.

[Warriorking9001]

I'm sorry for kind of mentioning the same thing twice, but I thought put it as a bit more of a formal question

Is there any way to get a specific important item as a focus that is particularly powerful compared to other items?...

I admit that this is very similar to the last question of using bound item slots to gain stave abilities as weapons, but this is more related to the Black Blade.

though I'll also put my first concept of such as a boon

Spoiler: Also a Bound Focus concept to put

Show

Prerequisite: Focus casting

You gain greater use of your focus, using it to channel power in ways that other mages can only dream of.

when holding your focus, you slowly gain greater casting power, and gain +1 enhancement bonus to CL for every 4 levels you have as though it were a staff and may further enchant it to gain abilities (Up to the standard maximum) as though you had the Craft Staff feat.

If it could be enchanted as something else (for example a Sword) you could also enchant it as itself.

Here is the split.

either as part of it or as as a 4 boon cost version you could also get it as an intelligent item as the Black Blade Magus's namesake.

[Ryoungoragla]

Hi! This is my first time posting to these forums.

I have three questions about the destructive blade class feature.

First Question: How long do feats such as metamagic or the admixture feats last on a destructive blade? Destructive blade lasts CAM in rounds. Would, for example, the ghostly admixture feat with the drain talent allow the destructive blade to drain up to 1d3 levels and deal 10d6 damage per hit for CAM in rounds all for the cost of 2 spell points? Adding metamagic such as maximize would be even crazier.

Second Question: Does the greater blast destruction talent apply to the destructive blade?

Third Question: How does metamagic interact with the admixture feats? For example and tying in with the first question, if I mixed drain with a blast using the ghostly admixture feats, do I need to spend 3 extra spell points to maximize both the 1d3 drain and the 10d6 damage or 6 extra spell points (two applications for two effects)?

Thank you for your time. I think it's really cool how you do this Q & A with the community.

[Mehangel]

Q86 Is there any way to get a specific important item as a focus that is particularly powerful compared to other items?...

I admit that this is very similar to the last question of using bound item slots to gain stave abilities as weapons, but this is more related to the Black Blade.

though I'll also put my first concept of such as a boon

A86 Besides the Galvanized and Focus Casting drawbacks, I dont think that there are any drawbacks/boons that do what you ask. Although there is nothing stopping you from having your focus be a scaling item (a magical staff in weapon form) that grants an enhancement bonus to your CL.

[EldritchWeaver]

Please note that in this thread the questions are supposed to enumerated.

Hi! This is my first time posting to these forums.

I have three questions about the destructive blade class feature.

Q87: How long do feats such as metamagic or the admixture feats last on a destructive blade? Destructive blade lasts CAM in rounds. Would, for example, the ghostly admixture feat with the drain talent allow the destructive blade to drain up to 1d3 levels and deal 10d6 damage per hit for CAM in rounds all for the cost of 2 spell points? Adding metamagic such as maximize would be even crazier.

A87: Additional effects through feats or other things do not expire before the spell they are used on, as the effects are intrinsic parts of the spell. Your example doesn't specify the CL, the talents and feats used in detail, so I can't actually tell if it is correct or not.

Q88: Does the greater blast destruction talent apply to the destructive blade?

A88:

The destructive blade cannot be augmented by blast shape talents or have its damage increased to one die per caster level, but otherwise can be augmented like any other destructive blast.

RAW, the talent can be taken. Maybe stack overlooked it, because doing so feels going against RAI.

Q89: How does metamagic interact with the admixture feats? For example and tying in with the first question, if I mixed drain with a blast using the ghostly admixture feats, do I need to spend 3 extra spell points to maximize both the 1d3 drain and the 10d6 damage or 6 extra spell points (two applications for two effects)?

Thank you for your time. I think it's really cool how you do this Q & A with the community.

A89:

Benefit: All variable, numeric effects of a spell modified by this feat are maximized. Saving throws and opposed rolls are not affected, nor are spells without random variables.

According to RAW, all applicable effects are maximized in one go. No need to pay more than three SP.

[Ryoungoragla]

Sorry about not numbering my questions, but thank you for answering my questions.

It doesn't matter now since the question has been answered, but I was using a level 20 doomblade as the level of the caster. So caster level 20 for the blast and caster level 10 for the drain since the admixture feats say "If your caster level is different for the two spheres, the destructive blast is governed by your caster level for the relevant blast type and the additional effect is governed by your caster level for the appropriate ability."

[Grimm2769]

Apologies for forgetting to enumerate my previous question.

Q90 Is there an advancement bar hidden somewhere for omnimentals or do I base their advancement off of a standard elemental.

Q91 As a familiar it will never change in size from hd and it's hd will end up being equivalent to the caster's character level correct? It just gains usual familiar benefits, skill points, and feats from leveling or have I missed something by crit failing a perception here?

edited for spelling and some grammar

[Sukebe]

Apologies for forgetting to enumerate my previous question.

Q90 Is there an advancement bar hidden somewhere for omnimentals or do I base their advancement off of a standard elemental.

Q91 As a familiar it will never change in size from hd and it's hd will end up being equivalent to the caster's character level correct? It just gains usual familiar benefits, skill points, and feats from leveling or have I missed something by crit failing a perception here?

edited for spelling and some grammar

A91: familiars do not gain skill points, feats or even HD as they never actually level (though their HD are considered higher than the base for effects only)

So just use the base omnimental shown and change its stats according to the normal familiar table (hp = half yours, saves used the better of your saves or its saves and it uses your skill if they are better than its own)

[EldritchWeaver]

Q92: If I admixture Fire Blast with Shrapnel Blast, does the whole blast acquire the Shrapnel Blast secondary characteristics of ignoring SR and antimagic?

[TheIronGolem]

Diviner's Handbook:

Q93: The Nature Sense talent has this wording:

You may as a standard action to gain a special sense that grants you a +1 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks.

I'm guessing "spend a spell point" used to be in there but was removed, or alternately it was supposed to go there but got left out? I can't be sure, so I'd like to clarify if this talent is intended to require a SP expenditure.

[Mehangel]

Diviner's Handbook:

Q93: I'm guessing "spend a spell point" used to be in there but was removed, or alternately it was supposed to go there but got left out? I can't be sure, so I'd like to clarify if this talent is intended to require a SP expenditure.

A93: The Nature Sense talent used to cost a spell point, but it was decided that it wasn't powerful enough of a sense talent to require a spell point and was removed.

[AnonMD]

Q94: Can a blaster armorist summon two blasters instead of just one, or only one ever?

[stack]

Q94: Can a blaster armorist summon two blasters instead of just one, or only one ever?

A94:If you have two bound you can summon both though it requires separate actions.

[stack]

Q92: If I admixture Fire Blast with Shrapnel Blast, does the whole blast acquire the Shrapnel Blast secondary characteristics of ignoring SR and antimagic?

A92: yes, ignoring SR and all that is included in the admixtured blast.

[Eldaran]

Q93: Life sphere's Restore ability removes conditions unless they're part of an on-going effect. What is considered on-going, since almost all conditions will be on-going? For example, if you're fatigued from Forced Marching, is that suspended or removed? What if you're nauseated inside a Stinking Cloud? Or blinded from a Blindness/Deafness?

[A.J.Gibson]

Q93: Life sphere's Restore ability removes conditions unless they're part of an on-going effect. What is considered on-going, since almost all conditions will be on-going? For example, if you're fatigued from Forced Marching, is that suspended or removed? What if you're nauseated inside a Stinking Cloud? Or blinded from a Blindness/Deafness?

A93 An effect is ongoing if it is the result of the creature's location or circumstances and ends when they move or that circumstance ends, in opposed to having a set duration they can not interfere with. Put another way, an ongoing effect is when a spell or ability is doing something to a character on an ongoing basis, rather than doing something to them once and it lasting a period of time. It's like the difference between bleed damage from and injury, and ongoing damage because you're standing in a fire. So fatigued from Forced Marching or Blindness from Blindness/Deafness would both be removed. Stinking Cloud is more complicated: while in the cloud the effect is ongoing but Stinking Cloud would just be suspended, since the cloud reapplies the condition every turn, but once leaving the cloud, the 1d4+1 rounds the nausea persists could be removed. That's how I would rule it.

[Xararion]

Q94: Is the reason Intense study is pretty much straight downgrade from Favoured element that way to balance the fact that admixture savant is expected to inflict more secondary effects with their spells? Or is it just generally because it'd be hard to be focused on one element when you're meant to be mixing them into admixtures.

Q95: How does the metamagic Echoing spell work with spheres of power? As it stands it seems like it wouldn't really work, though I could imagine some sort of conversion of it being relatively easy. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metama...ell-metamagic/ for those who want to check the feat in question.

[Eldaran]

A93 An effect is ongoing if it is the result of the creature's location or circumstances and ends when they move or that circumstance ends, in opposed to having a set duration they can not interfere with. Put another way, an ongoing effect is when a spell or ability is doing something to a character on an ongoing basis, rather than doing something to them once and it lasting a period of time. It's like the difference between bleed damage from and injury, and ongoing damage because you're standing in a fire. So fatigued from Forced Marching or Blindness from Blindness/Deafness would both be removed. Stinking Cloud is more complicated: while in the cloud the effect is ongoing but Stinking Cloud would just be suspended, since the cloud reapplies the condition every turn, but once leaving the cloud, the 1d4+1 rounds the nausea persists could be removed. That's how I would rule it.

Thanks for the response. I wanted to add that I got the War Handbook a couple days ago (I believe you wrote it?) and I loved it! War was my least favorite sphere in the core book, and you totally turned that around. The rest of my group felt the same, there's so many cool ideas in there.

[EldritchWeaver]

Q95: How does the metamagic Echoing spell work with spheres of power? As it stands it seems like it wouldn't really work, though I could imagine some sort of conversion of it being relatively easy. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metama...ell-metamagic/ for those who want to check the feat in question.

A95: I don't see how a conversion would work. You can cast a sphere effect again, because you don't need to memorize anything. The only way would allow you to pay 3 SP in general to keep a copy of the casted effect in reserve, but considering the spontaneous casting you can already recast it. Which means it is worthless for effects costing less than 3 SP, useless for effects costing 3 SPs and potentially overpowered for effects costing more than 3 SP. Considering that the last cost 4+ SP for a reason, this wouldn't fly in my games. So honestly, I don't see a way which makes this feat work with SoP.

[stack]

Q94: Is the reason Intense study is pretty much straight downgrade from Favoured element that way to balance the fact that admixture savant is expected to inflict more secondary effects with their spells? Or is it just generally because it'd be hard to be focused on one element when you're meant to be mixing them into admixtures.

A94: The idea is that it frees you from focusing on a single element, encouraging you to employ a broad toolbox. You also have a deeper effective SP pool for metamagic and such, so they shouldn't suffer too much.

[Kentama]

Question 96

I'm looking at the Yamabushi archetype for a spheres monk. They only get a magic talent at levels 4, 8, 12, etc... but they can choose to gain extra magic talents instead of ki powers. My question is, can they also use their bonus feats for extra magic talents? I know any original spheres class can, but since monk is supposed to pick from the pre-selected monk feat list and yamabushi doesn't specify anything different, I wasn't sure if he also had to choose those combat feats as his bonus feats

[Mehangel]

Question 96

I'm looking at the Yamabushi archetype for a spheres monk. They only get a magic talent at levels 4, 8, 12, etc... but they can choose to gain extra magic talents instead of ki powers. My question is, can they also use their bonus feats for extra magic talents? I know any original spheres class can, but since monk is supposed to pick from the pre-selected monk feat list and yamabushi doesn't specify anything different, I wasn't sure if he also had to choose those combat feats as his bonus feats

Answer 96

The Yamabushi may not use their bonus feats to gain extra magic talents, but are instead limited to the pre-selected monk feat list.

[Kentama]

Answer 96

The Yamabushi may not use their bonus feats to gain extra magic talents, but are instead limited to the pre-selected monk feat list.

damn that's kinda depressing. It feels like it would drop that requirement since a lot of those feats don't match the yamabushi as much as they match a traditional monk thematically, especially since you lose stunning fist.

Lol all i really wanted from the original monk is the empty body ki power and flurry of blows and then almost all magic talents

[khadgar567]

Q97 Can you give conjured creature ( via conjuration sphere) spheres of might talent you know or let them dedicate focus to it?

[stack]

Q97 Can you give conjured creature ( via conjuration sphere) spheres of might talent you know or let them dedicate focus to it?

A97: Conjuration companions can access SoM spheres and abilities via feats just like anyone else. We may make a companion archetype or form talent for them to gain SoM access. Sharing talents you know would be more the territory for an archetype, which has been considered but the SoP/SoM crossover material is on the back burner until we are further along with the main book.

[khadgar567]

A97: Conjuration companions can access SoM spheres and abilities via feats just like anyone else. We may make a companion archetype or form talent for them to gain SoM access. Sharing talents you know would be more the territory for an archetype, which has been considered but the SoP/SoM crossover material is on the back burner until we are further along with the main book.

C97 So yes and no. yes you can do it and no you must use spesific archtype to do it.