The Pathfinder RPG, by Paizo Publishing, is a fork of the d20 ruleset that was open licensed from Dungeons & Dragons v3.5.
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Differences between D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder
What are some of the rule changes that Pathfinder brings in comparison to D&D 3.5? I am curious what changes were made so I can explain to my group what it has to offer.
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9answers
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How To Divide Up Loot?
I've been GMing a very successful (Pathfinder) campaign for quite a few months now, but we've developed a bit of a problem I'm not sure how to resolve: loot distribution.
None of my players are ...
31
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8answers
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How do I play a paladin without being a stick in the mud?
What are some tips for/examples of an epitome-of-good type paladin who does not disrupt the 'sinful' fun of the rest of the group?
As an example of the type of paladin I'm talking about, one of the ...
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7answers
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Do Teleportation spells transfer kinetic energy?
The Short question here is do teleportation spells in Pathfinder/3.5 carry over any kinetic momentum you were subject to before the teleportation. For context, please see this example situation (which ...
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Can a lich redeem itself?
According to the rules,
The process of becoming a lich is unspeakably evil and can be undertaken only by a willing character.
What if a lich, having done this, slowly over time realizes its ...
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Combat rules for large battles
In the later chapters of a future campaign I'm thinking of having a section where the players take charge of parts of an army and fight a larger battle. I don't want to hand-wave the strategy, I want ...
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20answers
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Beyond hit points: injury in D&D
I'm interested in adding a touch of realism to combat in D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder. Hit points are a very simple way of measuring injury and stamina, that contributes to the "hit things first, ask ...
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5answers
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What makes grease a good spell?
I often see people list grease as good go-to 1st level spell. Why is this?
The spell description lists 3 of its uses: forcing saves and slows movement of enemies, disarming enemies, and preventing ...
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4answers
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Can a lich be controlled by control undead?
If it is possible, which to me just does not seem at all fair to a lich, are there ways to avoid this silly little thing? If you have the feat or spell and the lich rolls badly, he is essentially ...
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Techniques for making high level D&D play more manageable?
Many people complain about high level D&D 3.x play. It can become less enjoyable for both players and GMs because of the huge nest of rules and complexity required for every character, the prep ...
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8answers
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What is the point of a spell component pouch?
While I'd like to think I know the general Dungeons and Dragons / Pathfinder rules pretty well, one thing I've never quite understood is the spell component pouch, especially in relation to the Eschew ...
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Who actually makes the Magic Books that boost stats?
The Pathfinder game has a series of Tomes and Manuals that, when read, permanently boost a specific ability score. Examples include the Tome of Understanding (Wis) or the Manual of Gainful Exercise ...
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Sword-and-board balance in D&D
Fighting with a weapon and a shield seem to be relatively ineffective in D&D relative to two-weapon or two-handed weapon fighting. This seems unfortunate, given their historical ubiquity, ...
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4answers
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How playable is Pathfinder at higher levels?
I know this is rather subjective, yet I'm curious about your experience. We're considering switching to Pathfinder from DnD3.5, partly because we've always found problems with the playability of the ...
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6answers
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How to improve the Diplomacy skill mechanic in D&D 3.Xe and Pathfinder?
In D&D 3rd Edition, 3.5 Edition, and even Pathfinder, it is ridiculously easy as a player to purposely or inadvertently break the skill system, especially with Diplomacy.
For example: A level 5 ...
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3answers
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Why is Survival not a class skill for animals?
Question in title.
Seems odd that an animal isn't naturally inclined to get bonuses to Survival, which typically involves dealing with the wilds and it's associated difficulties (an animal's natural ...
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7answers
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Should one buy the Pathfinder book when the content is available for free on d20pfsrd.com?
Does the Pathfinder core rulebook contain any information that is not included already on www.d20pfsrd.com that would make it worth it to buy the PDF version of the manual? Or does it only have extra ...
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7answers
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How can a GM justify changing a player's alignment?
Lately, in one of my campaigns, I've been having problems with a character who everyone agrees is acting out of alignment. Everyone, that is, but him. The problem, of course, is that he's playing a ...
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Inventiveness vs. breaking the game; How do I encourage one, without enabling the other?
So, recently, I had an issue where I had to make a call on a custom-made weapon, and I'm not sure I handled it very well. The player was using a human alchemist, and instead of throwing 'bombs' every ...
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3answers
755 views
What is the history and significance of the “dire” prefix to creatures?
Some animals in Pathfinder bestiaries are prefixed with "dire".
Does this come from the wolf species Canis dirus, an early edition monster/template or something else?
Where does this come from and ...
20
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5answers
465 views
Can a flaming sphere be kicked away?
In the flaming sphere spell description it is said that "the surface of the sphere has a spongy, yielding consistency".
So the sphere has some "consistency" and acts like a physical object, rolling ...
20
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2answers
586 views
What are important things to keep in mind when converting a 3e/3.5e module to Pathfinder?
I'm interesting in converting one or more of my existing modules for 3/3.5 to work with the Pathfinder rules. I'm interested to know from others who have done this kind of conversion what ...
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6answers
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Is Coup de Grace on sleeping and bound opponents an evil act?
So I was recently participating in a Pathfinder Society game. Our ship was attacked and boarded by pirates. First thing that happened was one of our party cast sleep, and succeeded in putting four of ...
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8answers
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Do desert heat hazards actually pose a threat to a Pathfinder party?
I am about to bring my characters into the desert in my campaign, so I decided to read up on desert rules. From the Pathfinder SRD:
Heat deals nonlethal damage that cannot be recovered from until ...
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8answers
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How do I handle a group that does not understand the 'assumption rule'?
1st rule of D&D (as of 3rd edition/pathfinder): The GM is the final arbiter on all rules.
I understand this, completely, and do not disagree. That said, I'm having trouble with a group that ...
19
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2answers
343 views
Catching falling characters
In my experience, whenever a character falls because of a pit trap or a botched climb check there is always at least one player that that tries to catch them. I can't seem to find any specific rulings ...
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7answers
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Help! My party isn't challenged?
While I've been running my campaign, I'm starting to get stumped. I am playing with a party of four, and we recently switched from 3.5 to Pathfinder, but the problem was the same in both situations.
...
18
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6answers
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How can I murder people and lie about it?
My character is a Halfing Rogue specializing in lying and ranged sneak kills with a concealed crossbow. With the Childlike and Pass for Human feats plus max ranks in Bluff I'm crazy good at a ...
18
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3answers
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Favored Class Bonus at 1st Level?
So, it doesn't seem entirely clear from the Core Rulebook: does one get the favored class bonus (+1 to hp or +1 skill) at first level? I wouldn't have thought so, but I notice that the Hero Lab ...
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3answers
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Can a Gelatinous Cube be knocked prone?
Actually, this is a more general form of the question. Can something that cannot be tripped still be knocked prone from an effect which causes it?
So, in the Gelatinous Cube Stat block, we have:
...
18
votes
2answers
431 views
Is there any information on how exactly verbal spell components must be phrased?
In a discussion about how to covertly hide a spell, it was brought up that you might be able to disguise a spell with a verbal component by sneaking the spell component words into a normal ...
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5answers
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What field-specific puzzles can I give to engineering and psychology students?
A few sessions ago, I gave my players a puzzle that involved converting a decimal number to binary to figure out the correct sequence to open a door. Since my group consists primarily of computer ...
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9answers
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Any GM headaches or canon reasons not to let resurrected PCs fight their reanimated corpses?
Given that,
a character can be dissolved in acid and resurrected
A body isn't necessary for resurrection.
Also, given that,
a dark cleric/necromancer can raise a dead body to fight
It seems ...
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8answers
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How can I make low levels of a high-level build more bearable?
In Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder, often you might design or plan a character for what he can do at high level. For example, I might want to play a Mystic Theurge or some other prestige class, or ...
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6answers
367 views
Good Mutiny Rules?
I am currently GMing a pirate game (running since 2009) where the PCs have become the command crew of a pirate ship. Their crew is they typical mix of pirates from other ships they've overcome (join ...
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2answers
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What is the disadvantage of raise dead+restoration against true resurrection?
We (my group and I) figured out, that in Pathfinder you can use True Resurrection for a price of 25,000 gp but Raise Dead works for 5,000 gp and you can remove the negative levels with Restoration ...
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1answer
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How do favored classes work in Pathfinder?
I'm working on creating a half-elf paladin character for a Pathfinder game. Full disclosure: this is the first time I've tried creating a character; I've used ones other people created before. In ...
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2answers
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Optimal Focused Fighter Builds in Pathfinder
Using just the core rulebook and the advanced player's guide, what would be an optimal build for a fighter using 25 points for point-buy character generation? Assume it's a level 10 fighter intended ...
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3answers
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Do Attack of Opportunity and Readied Action both apply?
Suppose I have a rogue facing an enemy spell-caster. My rogue drinks a Potion of Invisibility, stealth's behind the caster, and readies an action to attack when the caster casts a spell. The caster ...
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7answers
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How can I use a frame story and keep a sense of danger and mystery?
I am planning a campaign that I would like to present as a frame story: the heroes are recounting their adventures in a tavern in exchange for drinks (and then picking up the last leg of the adventure ...
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10answers
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What variant rules can promote a less kick-in-the-door mindset?
My group has long had a very kick-in-the-door attitude towards combat. Characters were min-maxed for DPS, and there was very little strategy to any combat. Characters would charge in, hit it till it ...
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5answers
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Any good steampunk material for d20?
The DM of my current Friday night game is running a steampunk-setting, using the Pathfinder rules system. We have two artificers in the party, but my feeling is that all of our material is fantasy and ...
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5answers
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How real are illusions?
The PCs this week tried to do something that stumped me this week, though I am sure this question has been asked before. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the PCs decided that they would cast an ...
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2answers
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Are there any resources for diseases or plagues in D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder?
In creating an adventure, there will be a major meterological event causing massive damage to the town's infrastructure. In the aftermath, there will be a pretty significant outbreak of at least one ...
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5answers
722 views
Covertly casting a spell
This question about Charm Person got me musing about a problem with the spell. Obviously, you can't cast Charm Person in the middle of a forum to sway an interlocutor to your side without the other 20 ...
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3answers
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What is the purpose of slow experience gain in Pathfinder Society Organized Play?
Pathfinder Society Organized Play allows players to advance either 1XP or 1/2XP per session. There are no advantages offered by taking the slower XP (experience) gain, so why would someone use this ...
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3answers
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Can you use a Longbow outside level flight?
Are there any rules for using a Longbow in parabolic flight, e.g. when you don't have Line of Sight or the target is a very long way a way?
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Lower spells in higher spell slots
Can you place a lower level spell in a higher spell slot? In other words, can you place magic missile in a 4th level slot if you want to, without a metamagic feat?
This came up in our Pathfinder game ...
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6answers
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How can I mechanistically empower a prophecy or fortune without railroading the plot?
I am interested in the idea of incorporating fate (via prophecy or fortunes told) in my campaign. I would like to come up with a set of rules/mechanics to make a prophecy or fortune teller's ...
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3answers
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What are the major differences between Pathfinder and D&D 4e?
I'm really only familiar with D&D 4e. Could someone give me a rundown of the major things that would be different if I were to DM Pathfinder? (I gather it is more similar to 3.5e, but I only know ...
