Andrew's Iconic Pathfinder Gallery

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Venture-Captain Cindrana Longpath

Korvosa

"My Lords and Ladies..Venture-Captain Cindrana Longpath, Runeslayer." The room went quiet as she entered the room. She was dressed in Varisan garb, though of exquisite cut and material, showing a bit of lithe body. It was quite an unusual one; the her skin the color of dried blood, black eyes with gold irises, and the vestigial wings and tail finishing the declaration of who and was. Tiefling.

Cindrana smiled, recalling a time decades past where she had been far more.. fetching to the Chellish-born that looked at her. Shocked at her attire and being, more than a few eyes lingering on the arm that bore the fiery tattoo, a sihedron rune wreathed in fire. Only five others had a similar tattoo, the Pathfinders who killed a Runelord.

Slowly, the party goers approached her; greeting and looking over the woman who helped kill a legendary bogeyman. A few were impressed that she knew some of the folk in power, others were surprised to discover her knowledge of the figures of influence within the city. The commandant of the Order of the Nail, who gave her a begrudged nod before departing. The condescending glare of the newly seated of a dock family. The look of disdain from the representative of the Acadamae, that look of having found half of something still wiggling in his sandwich.

He dislikes you. Her familiar purred in her mind as she watched the Master waffling back and forth.

"Yes dear, he knows I have the sort of thing he wants.." She whispered back to him as she slipped him a piece of taffy. "Spells.. magic.. secrets of the Runelords." She waved to him as she continued walking and mingling. In time, she'd give him some..since he had access to the Acadamae libraries, the restricted ones.

Because she had found out something important in Abaslon, clues that tied her birthplace to Sorshen. She needed to know how exactly, preferably in time to stop the awakening of another Runelord.

Well it's been a long long path for Cindrana, my tiefling admixture wizard, from 1st level to her final point as a full fledged Venture Captain at large: a 12th level Wizard/1st Pathfinder Agent. Eyes of the Ten opened her eyes to the truth of things, she saw a lot that she suspected but hadn't seen till now. In return for her 'understanding' she was given access to pathfinder lore.

So, now she's Venture Captain setting up house back home in Korvosa, where she can stick her nose into affairs and the figurative thumb in the eye of the magic school that kicked her out. After all, she has access to Azlanti lore they don't.

Cindrana Longpath, Venture Captain of Korvosa
Female tiefling pathfinder field agent 1/wizard 12 (Pathfinder Player Companion: Pathfinder Society Primer, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide 168)
CG Medium outsider (native)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +22
Aura elemental manipulation
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Defense
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AC 25, touch 14, flat-footed 22 (+5 armor, +1 deflection, +3 Dex, +2 natural, +4 shield)
hp 83 (13 HD; 12d6+1d8+26)
Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +14
Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft., fly 5 ft. (average)
Melee +1 club +7/+2 (1d6+1)
Ranged mwk light crossbow +10 (1d8/19-20)
Special Attacks intense spells (+6 damage)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 13th; concentration +15)
3/day—dancing lights
1/day—darkness
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 13th; concentration +23)
7th—ki shout[UM] (DC 26), intensified maximized lightning bolt (DC 22), limited wish
6th—chain lightning (DC 25), empowered intensified fireball (DC 22), extended overland flight, sign of wrath (DC 25)
5th—damnation stride[ARG] (DC 23), fire snake[APG] (DC 24), extended greater false life[UM], lightning arc[UM] (DC 24), communal stoneskin[UC]
4th—extended chain of perdition[UC], extended communal resist energy[UC], intensified fireball (3, DC 22), intensified lightning bolt (2, DC 22)
3rd—battering blast (DC 22), battering blast (DC 22), fireball (DC 22), haste (2), invisibility sphere
2nd—resist energy, scorching ray (2), see invisibility, intensified snowball (2, DC 19), spontaneous immolation[UC] (DC 21)
1st—hydraulic push[APG], liberating command[UC], mage armor, shocking grasp, snowball (DC 19), true strike, unseen servant
0 (at will)—detect magic, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic
Opposition Schools Illusion
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 26, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +6; CMB +6; CMD 20
Feats Alertness, Empower Spell, Extend Spell, Improved Familiar, Intensified Spell[APG], Maximize Spell, Opposition Research[UM], Skill Focus (Use Magic Device), Spell Focus (evocation), Spell Penetration, Varisian Tattoo[ISWG]
Traits focused mind, tomb raider
Skills Acrobatics +6, Appraise +14, Craft (tattoo) +22, Diplomacy +11, Fly +12, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +17, Knowledge (engineering) +12, Knowledge (geography) +12, Knowledge (history) +16, Knowledge (local) +24, Knowledge (nature) +16, Knowledge (nobility) +12, Knowledge (planes) +20, Knowledge (religion) +16, Linguistics +24, Perception +22, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +24, Stealth +9, Survival +1 (+3 to avoid becoming lost), Use Magic Device +20; Racial Modifiers +4 Fly
Languages Abyssal, Azlanti, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin, Hallit, Infernal, Kelish, Orc, Osiriani, Osiriani, Ancient, Polyglot, Shoanti, Skald, Sylvan, Thassilonian, Tien, Undercommon, Varisian, Vudrani
SQ arcane bond (rippy wiffle [familiar], dragon, faerie), pathfinder training (greater casting), prehensile tail, versatile evocation, wayfinder upgrade, wayfinder upgrade (daylight)
Combat Gear extend metamagic rod (lesser), pearl of power (1st level) (3), potion of cure light wounds (6), potion of cure moderate wounds (2), potion of protection from evil (4), reach metamagic rod (lesser), scroll of bite the hand, selective metamagic rod (lesser), spell tattoo of Feather Fall, spell tattoo of Infernal Healing, wand of channel the gift (CL 6th, 50 charges), wand of mage armor (50 charges), wand of magic missile, wand of shield (50 charges), wand of spectral hand (50 charges), wand of sure casting (50 charges), alchemist's fire (3), antiplague (3), antitoxin (3), tangleburn bag (2), tanglefoot bag (6), thunderstone (2); Other Gear +4 glamered silken ceremonial armor, +3 mithral light steel shield, +1 club, crossbow bolts (7), mwk light crossbow, amulet of natural armor +2, cloak of resistance +4, efficient quiver, handy haversack, headband of vast intelligenc +4, manual of bodily health +1, plague rat belt (greater), ring of protection +1, wayfinder, adventurer's sash, cleats, climber's kit, earplugs, everburning torch, explorer's outfit, familiar satchel, flint and steel, grappling hook, ink, black (4), inkpen (4), masterwork tool, noble's outfit, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pocketed scarf, scroll box, signet ring, silk rope (50 ft.), spell component pouch, trail rations (10), travelling spellbook, whetstone, winter blanket, diamond dust (stoneskin/comm stoneskin; 600 gp) (worth 300 gp), diamonds (2, limited wish; 1500 gp each) (worth 1,500 gp), 367 gp, 9 sp, 5 cp
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Special Abilities
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Admixture Associated School: Evocation
Antitoxin This substance counteracts a specific toxin. If you drink a vial of antitoxin, you gain a +5 alchemical bonus on Fortitude saving throws against poison for 1 hour.
Cleats -50% walking penalty for slick surfaces.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you.
Earplugs +2 save vs. hearing effects, -5 hearing-based Perception.
Elemental Manipulation (12 rounds/day) (Su) 30' Aura changes a chosen energy type into another chosen energy type.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Empower Spell Numeric effects of a spell are increased 50%. +2 Levels.
Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks.
Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Energy Resistance, Fire (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Fire attacks.
Extend metamagic rod (lesser, 3/day) Metamagic rods hold the essence of a metamagic feat, allowing the user to apply metamagic effects to spells (but not spell like abilities) as they are cast. This does not change the spell slot of the altered spell. All the rods described here are use-activated (but casting spells in a threatened area still draws an attack of opportunity). A caster may only use one metamagic rod on any given spell, but it is permissible to combine a rod with metamagic feats possessed by the rod's wielder. In this case, only the feats possessed by the wielder adjust the spell slot of the spell being cast.
Familiar Bonus: You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Flight (5 feet, Average) You can fly!
Focused Mind +2 to Concentration checks
Greater Casting (Wizard) The Pathfinder field agent gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. She doesn’t gain other benefits of that class other than spells per day, spells known, a
Illusion You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Illusion school.
Intense Spells (+6 damage) (Su) Evocation spells deal listed extra damage.
Intensified Spell You can cast a spell that can exceed its normal damage die cap by 5 (if you have the caster level to reach beyond that cap).
Maximize Spell All variable effects of a spell are maximized. +3 Levels.
Plague rat belt (greater, 3/day) You may reroll a save against disease or poison, keeping the second result.
Prehensile Tail Your tail can retrieve small objects on your person as a swift action.
Reach metamagic rod (lesser, 3/day) The wielder can cast up to three spells per day with a one-step increase in their range category (such as from close to medium, or medium to long) as though using the Reach Spell feat.
Speak with Familiar (Ex) You can communicate verbally with your familiar.
Spell Focus (Evocation) Spells from one school of magic have +1 to their save DC.
Varisian Tattoo (Evocation) Spells from chosen school gain +1 caster level.
Versatile Evocation (11/day) (Su) Change the damage type and descriptor of a spell from acid, electricity, fire, or water to any other of those types.

Eyes of the Ten: My take on the Seeker Arc.

Okay, first off I will try to keep this minimally spoiler-ish but I'm sure some will slip out. So those who haven't played it yet might want to jump to my next post, which will deal with my player character Cindrana who just completed it.

The big thing is it has a solid plot. IF you've played the stuff tied to it from season 0-1, and a smattering of season 2. There are a lot of hints towards the season 2 meta plot but it really is leading into the revelation of the Shadow Lodge bad guy plot of Season 2. You have to know/hate and have met the characters. And there are a bunch. Most of the plot sadly is tied in the GMs section.

Eyes show its age in the sort of challenges you meet though. Quite bluntly there is a lack of balance in the encounters. You got 'that is a CR 10?' Moments tied in with ''how many dice was that?' My biggest complaint is the lack of resilience in some of the NPCs. Way too easy to hit. The tactics as written were largely good and could definitely show some challenges. Players can get swatted by a good hit and we had two or three close calls where Breath of Life was a literal life saver.

All in all, I don't think retirement is needed so much as rebalance for a more skilled society at large.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Merissa Von Trapp (Human Bard [Flame Dancer])

I've been trying to think of a good Dark Archive type for a long long while. Not the out and out 'I'm only neutral, not evil..really' type of caster, but someone who might be a bit of an idealist who actually buys into the 'putting things on a shelf because they are dangerous' type. For that I needed to come up with a reason.
Merissa is from a Chelliaxan family but grew up in Ustalav and has a secret. She has this eldrich power burning in her, that comes out unexpectedly. She accidentally burned down her family's summer home when she sang one summer, only with the help of a family friend did she learn to control the fires (Paracountess Zarta Draleen).
Build Notes: I didn't go for outright pure power but a utility bard who can help out her party. Focused on arcane power (extra spells) and performances. Her focus for Versatile Performance early on will be either Comedy (for Bluff/Intimidate) or Oratory (Diplomancy/Sense Motive) with the other following on a little later on and I chose Dance as the final one (Ironic since she's a flame DANCER) that could help supplment acrobatics checks and/or flight (Assuming a wand, potion, item or scroll being on hand)

They will all burn

1st Level: This is Merissa at the beginning, she's finished her training in Abaslon and been awarded her wayfinder and is ready to start helping out the party. Starting off she's a typical bard, with several extra rounds of performance thanks to Maestro of the Society and Noble Scion of of the Arts, Lingering Performance stretching out her 13 rounds a day to potentially 36 rounds. She can do the staple Inspire Courage as well as Fire Dance (using dance or sing) to swap out their saving throws vs fire. While no monster at book learning she has a basic +3 to all skills at this time, and if you swap out a few performances for this or that knowledge, she can be pretty good pretty quick. Swap out a performance (or wait till 2nd level) and she could be a good face with a skill as well.
Her class favors are straight into spells (and will be throughout the build), and so she gets an additional cantrip at this level. Given her fire focus, I went with spark so she can light torches (and others covered in oil) with a word and a gesture.
Merissa Von Trapp
Female human (Chelaxian) bard (flame dancer) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 81)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +4

Defense

AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 9 (1d8+1)
Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +2

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks bardic performance 13 rounds/day (distraction, fascinate [DC 13], countersong, inspire courage +1)
Bard (Flame Dancer) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +4)
1st (2/day)—ear-piercing scream^UM (DC 14), saving finale^APG (DC 14)
0 (at will)—detect magic, light, prestidigitation, read magic, spark^APG (DC 13)

Statistics

Str 9, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 17
Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 11
Feats Lingering Performance^APG, Noble Scion Of The Arts^ISWG
Traits havoc of the society, maestro of the society
Skills Bluff +7, Diplomacy +7, Knowledge (arcana) +3, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +3, Knowledge (engineering) +3, Knowledge (geography) +3, Knowledge (history) +3, Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge (nature) +3, Knowledge (nobility) +5, Knowledge (planes) +3, Knowledge (religion) +3, Perception +4, Perform (act) +8, Perform (comedy) +4, Perform (dance) +8, Perform (keyboard instruments) +4, Perform (oratory) +8, Perform (percussion instruments) +4, Perform (sing) +8, Perform (string instruments) +8, Perform (wind instruments) +4, Spellcraft +6
Languages Common, Goblin, Varisian
SQ bardic knowledge +1
Other Gear 150 gp

Special Abilities

Bardic Knowledge +1 (Ex) Add +1 to all knowledge skill checks.
Bardic Performance (standard action, 13 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects.
Havoc of the Society Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, you gain a +1 trait bonus to the total damage dealt.
Lingering Performance Bardic Performances last 2 rds after you stop concentrating.
Maestro of the Society +3 rounds of Bardic Performance (or an equivalent ability) each day.

4th Level:
Now she is starting to show some of the 'heat' of her fire gifts. In addition to her normal performances she has access to 'Song of the Fiery Gaze', which helps cut down on the fog of war from smoke, fog and such. Add in a sorcerer or wizard with Pyrotechnics or a wand of it; she can give the party she's with a great advantage. In a forest or anywhere there are animals and plants (Animal companions anyone?) she can expand the range of her performances out to 60 ft for an extra round of performance as well. And who doesn't like singing birds, wolves, ect....
For more fun, swap out oratory for comedy as her first versatile performance and add in Burning Invective as one of her 2nd level spells, and dont' forget her +1 to spell damage courtesy of Havoc of the Society. She swears at folks..and they burst into flames.
Merissa Von Trapp
Female human (Chelaxian) bard (flame dancer) 4 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 81)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +8

Defense

AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 27 (4d8+4)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +5; +4 vs. bardic performance, language-dependent, and sonic

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks bardic performance 20 rounds/day (distraction, fascinate [DC 16], countersong, inspire courage +1)
Bard (Flame Dancer) Spells Known (CL 4th; concentration +8)
   2nd (2/day)—allegro^UM, mirror image
   1st (4/day)—abundant ammunition^UC, ear-piercing scream^UM (DC 15), feather fall, feather step^APG (DC 15), saving finale^APG (DC 15)
   0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read magic, scrivener's chant, spark^APG (DC 14), summon instrument

Statistics

Str 9, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 18
Base Atk +3; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Fey Performance, Lingering Performance^APG, Noble Scion Of The Arts^ISWG
Traits havoc of the society, maestro of the society
Skills Bluff +8, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4, Knowledge (engineering) +4, Knowledge (geography) +4, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nature) +4, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Knowledge (planes) +8, Knowledge (religion) +8, Linguistics +9, Perception +8, Perform (act) +12, Perform (comedy) +9, Perform (dance) +12, Perform (keyboard instruments) +5, Perform (oratory) +12, Perform (percussion instruments) +5, Perform (sing) +12, Perform (string instruments) +9, Perform (wind instruments) +5, Spellcraft +6, Use Magic Device +10
Languages Azlanti, Common, Goblin, Ignan, Osiriani, Thassilonian, Varisian
SQ bardic knowledge +2, versatile performance (oratory)
Other Gear 150 gp

Special Abilities

Bardic Knowledge +2 (Ex) Add +2 to all knowledge skill checks.
Bardic Performance (standard action, 20 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects.
Fey Performance Spend 1 rd/perf to add +30' to range of performance in areas with animal and plant life.
Havoc of the Society Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, you gain a +1 trait bonus to the total damage dealt.
Lingering Performance Bardic Performances last 2 rds after you stop concentrating.
Maestro of the Society +3 rounds of Bardic Performance (or an equivalent ability) each day.
Versatile Performance (Oratory) +12 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Oratory skill for Diplomacy or Sense Motive checks

7th Level: Now she's about ready to set folks on fire full time, if you didn't go with the Oratory/Comedy swap idea @ 4th, now you got both and she's a full time face for the party with all the social skills courtesy of Versatile Peformance. She can lie, threaten and coax folks to do things full time. Or she'll set them on fire. Bardic Lore and Lore Mastery mean she's at least able to 'aid another' automatically for knowledge checks or do a take 20 as a standard once a day. If you shift the points around, she's a specialist in one or two knowledges and is even scarier in their use.
Continuing her 'extra spells' as favored trait, she's now crawling up to the 2nd level spells and about to hit some fun utility spells as well. There are a variety of choices. Swap out Hideous Laughter/Grease if the mix below doesn't appeal; Spells like the 'finale' line and Allegro play off her nearly constant use of performance. Now she can put up to a 20 fire resistance on the party, see through obscuring clouds, and do it as a move action. Keep track of your action economy at this point. Performs are a move, be aware of which spells are swift, immediate and standard actions as that can literally be the difference between life and death. So be aware of how to lay out your actions too. Swift/Immediate to end a performance to give a life saving spell, THEN the move to resume performance (noting the new use of 1-2 round of perform) and THEN the standard for a spell or attack. Additionally, consider what is coming next level, you get THREE free spells known: Burning Hands, Flaming Sphere AND Fireball. Have fun. Think about things like Burning spell metamagic rods (Lesser) and runestones of power for your new role as 'back up' blaster.
Merissa Von Trapp
Female human (Chelaxian) bard (flame dancer) 7 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 81)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +11

Defense

AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 45 (7d8+7)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +6; +4 vs. bardic performance, language-dependent, and sonic

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks bardic performance 26 rounds/day (move action; distraction, fascinate [DC 17], countersong, countersong, inspire courage +2)
Bard (Flame Dancer) Spells Known (CL 7th; concentration +11)
   3rd (2/day)—haste, purging finale^APG (DC 17)
   2nd (4/day)—allegro^UM, blistering invective^UC (DC 16), gallant inspiration^APG (DC 16), glitterdust (DC 16), mirror image
   1st (5/day)—abundant ammunition^UC, comprehend languages, cultural adaptation, cure light wounds, ear-piercing scream^UM (DC 15), feather fall, feather step^APG (DC 15), saving finale^APG (DC 15)
   0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read magic, scrivener's chant, spark^APG (DC 14), summon instrument

Statistics

Str 9, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 18
Base Atk +5; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Extra Performance, Fey Performance, Lingering Performance^APG, Noble Scion Of The Arts^ISWG, Voice Of The Sibyl^UM
Traits havoc of the society, maestro of the society
Skills Bluff +15, Diplomacy +16, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9, Knowledge (engineering) +9, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (history) +9, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nature) +9, Knowledge (nobility) +11, Knowledge (planes) +9, Knowledge (religion) +9, Linguistics +12, Perception +11, Perform (act) +14, Perform (comedy) +15, Perform (dance) +13, Perform (keyboard instruments) +5, Perform (oratory) +16, Perform (percussion instruments) +5, Perform (sing) +13, Perform (string instruments) +5, Perform (wind instruments) +5, Spellcraft +8, Use Magic Device +13
Languages Azlanti, Common, Goblin, Ignan, Osiriani, Thassilonian, Varisian
SQ bardic knowledge +3, lore master 1/day, versatile performances (comedy, oratory)
Other Gear 150 gp

Special Abilities

Bardic Knowledge +3 (Ex) Add +3 to all knowledge skill checks.
Bardic Performance (move action, 26 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects.
Fey Performance Spend 1 rd/perf to add +30' to range of performance in areas with animal and plant life.
Havoc of the Society Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, you gain a +1 trait bonus to the total damage dealt.
Lingering Performance Bardic Performances last 2 rds after you stop concentrating.
Lore Master (1/day) (Ex) Can take 10 on any trained knowledge checks. Activate to take 20 as a standard action.
Maestro of the Society +3 rounds of Bardic Performance (or an equivalent ability) each day.
Versatile Performance (Comedy) +15 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Comedy skill for Bluff or Intimidate checks
Versatile Performance (Oratory) +16 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Oratory skill for Diplomacy or Sense Motive checks
Voice of the Sibyl Gain bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Perform (oratory) checks

12th Level:Now finally at seeker levels, she has the full monty of pay offs. Between Bardic Performance and one extra performance feat, she has 45 rounds of perform a day but don't get cocky. Several factors can rapidly eat this up. Virtuoso performance FINALLY lets you blend two performances into any given round; yeah you can have Inspire AND Fire Break (now @ Fire Resist 30) going at the same time. For a mere cost of 2 rounds/round, 3 if you're using Fey Performance. Don't forget all your friend's attacks also do 1d6 as well (Discordant voice). So you get a lot of bang out of that buck. You finally get your 3 free fire spells at 8th; so you can use them, or since they are now on your spell list, as well as wand/scroll versions of them without a UMD check. Trade out one of the 3rd level spells for Exquisite Accompaniment for to reduce your effect cost (I'd say by one round only.. but it is ultimately a GM call I'd guess).
Fractions of Heal and Harm let you hit a bad guy.. and while reducing damage by a quarter, lets you heal yourself by that lost quarter. Not entirely a bad thing if you're the healer or back up healer. Keeps you up and the doesn't break your ability to hit the other guys. Other finales and spells like Haste, Heroism, Heroic Finale, and so forth let you put the player in the position AND enhances their ability to do harm/mayhem when needed.
Merissa Von Trapp
Female human (Chelaxian) bard (flame dancer) 12 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 81)
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +16

Defense

AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 75 (12d8+12)
Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +9; +4 vs. bardic performance, language-dependent, and sonic

Offense

Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks bardic performance 37 rounds/day (move action; distraction, fascinate [DC 21], countersong, countersong, inspire courage +3, inspire greatness, soothing performance)
Bard (Flame Dancer) Spells Known (CL 12th; concentration +17)
   4th (4/day)—dimension door, freedom of movement, heroic finale^APG (DC 19), virtuoso performance^UM
   3rd (5/day)—dispel magic, fireball (DC 18), fractions of heal and harm, haste, purging finale^APG (DC 18), raven's flight, reviving finale^APG (DC 18), communal tongues^UC
   2nd (6/day)—allegro^UM, blistering invective^UC (DC 17), cure moderate wounds, flaming sphere (DC 17), gallant inspiration^APG (DC 17), glitterdust (DC 17), heroism, mirror image, suppress charms and compulsions
   1st (7/day)—abundant ammunition^UC, burning hands (DC 16), comprehend languages, cultural adaptation, cure light wounds, ear-piercing scream^UM (DC 16), feather fall, feather step^APG (DC 16), heightened awareness^ACG, saving finale^APG (DC 16)
   0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read magic, scrivener's chant, spark^APG (DC 15), summon instrument

Statistics

Str 9, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 20
Base Atk +9; CMB +8; CMD 20
Feats Discordant Voice^UC, Extra Performance, Fey Performance, Lingering Performance^APG, Noble Scion Of The Arts^ISWG, Prodigy^UM, Voice Of The Sibyl^UM
Traits havoc of the society, maestro of the society
Skills Bluff +25, Climb +3, Diplomacy +26, Disguise +9, Escape Artist +6, Knowledge (arcana) +12, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +12, Knowledge (engineering) +12, Knowledge (geography) +12, Knowledge (history) +12, Knowledge (local) +12, Knowledge (nature) +12, Knowledge (nobility) +14, Knowledge (planes) +12, Knowledge (religion) +12, Linguistics +17, Perception +16, Perform (act) +16, Perform (comedy) +25, Perform (dance) +21, Perform (keyboard instruments) +6, Perform (oratory) +26, Perform (percussion instruments) +6, Perform (sing) +16, Perform (string instruments) +6, Perform (wind instruments) +6, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +9, Use Magic Device +20
Languages Azlanti, Common, Goblin, Hallit, Ignan, Infernal, Kelish, Osiriani, Osiriani, Ancient, Polyglot, Shoanti, Skald, Thassilonian, Tien, Varisian
SQ bardic knowledge +6, jack-of-all-trades, lore master 2/day, versatile performances (comedy, dance, oratory)
Other Gear 150 gp

Special Abilities

Bardic Knowledge +6 (Ex) Add +6 to all knowledge skill checks.
Bardic Performance (move action, 37 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects.
Discordant Voice When using bardic performance, allies deal 1d6 extra sonic damage
Fey Performance Spend 1 rd/perf to add +30' to range of performance in areas with animal and plant life.
Havoc of the Society Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, you gain a +1 trait bonus to the total damage dealt.
Jack-of-all-trades (use any skill) (Ex) You may use all skills untrained.
Lingering Performance Bardic Performances last 2 rds after you stop concentrating.
Lore Master (2/day) (Ex) Can take 10 on any trained knowledge checks. Activate to take 20 as a standard action.
Maestro of the Society +3 rounds of Bardic Performance (or an equivalent ability) each day.
Prodigy (Perform [oratory], Perform [comedy]) Gain a +2 bonus on two Craft, Perform, or Profession skills.
Versatile Performance (Comedy) +25 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Comedy skill for Bluff or Intimidate checks
Versatile Performance (Dance) +21 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Dance skill for Acrobatics or Fly checks
Versatile Performance (Oratory) +26 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Oratory skill for Diplomacy or Sense Motive checks
Voice of the Sibyl Gain bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Perform (oratory) checks

Things to Consider: The big thing about a lot of her focus is utility. Switch out spells that you think will work for her. Additionally items like runestones of power and pages of spell knowledge can greatly extend her ability even more; the first giving her more low level slot uses a day and the other being useful for both out of class spells AND spells that you don't expect to use in combat and/or often. A good monstrous transformation and/or elemental shape can help her get about a lot.
Armor/weapon wise she is definitely a light armor and range weapon focus type. A UMD'd flame blade wand would do a lot to ease her penalty to strength (ie melee) damage as would an agile weapon.
Enhancement bonus-wise, it's a sure thing you're going to want to pile in a LOT of bonus on Charisma, perhaps going as far as a simple +6 Charisma headband right off, and using ioun stones for other mental traits (and bonus skills). Physically a plague rat (and later greater plague rat) belt will do a lot. Dex and Con right off, and the ability to reroll saves. If you got the books, stock up on alchemical components for spells like fireball, because a flask of alchemists fire to set someone on fire is a LOT less than a lesser burning spell rod.
Which brings to the spell enhancement area. Lesser rods will do lot to enhance performance for a long while. Reach rod to increase range, widen to enhance AoE, Burning spell for those fire spells, perhaps one or two Elemental spell rods for alternating her fire to other elemental types.

Falling Behind in my resolution

Well it’s been barely five months and I’m already behind in my resolution to put out 52 pots for 52 weeks of the year. I’ve been busy, though thats no excuse, and at times a bit unfocused. Losing a chance at Megacon (engine fan) made me a bit grumpyl; toss in a few things like losing the first mini I painted (1987) and I’ve been a bit ‘bleh’ in outlook.

Fear not all five readers.. I’m working on a few ideas.. trying to coax myself back into a creative mood.

So, I’m musing a few ideas.

The Fiveboars clan. I’ve got this old 2e character I made back in A-school in retaliation to my buddy Ryan Hammel not letting me play a wild mage. A halfing fighter/rogue by the name of Burgen Fiveboars. A complete and utter rascal and sometimes ‘retired’ brigand; whose self professed goal was to retire and happily commit bigamy. He kept a collection of wanted posters, of himself, to make sure he kept the eye patch on the correct eye to avoid being caught for offenses throughout the area. He had a mule he took with him everywhere. ‘You old bastard’ was it’s name. I think it liked to say hello by biting the hell out of anyone not too cautious. Burgen, according to my friends at the table, killed more people than cancer. He was fun.

So… my idea was to expand on the clan. I already have one Fiveboars in my PFS line up. Mercer Fiveboars, a Halfing Cavalier from Chelliax. An ‘emancipated’ one with a chip on his shoulder the size of Westcrown and a penchant for axes.

So, some of my ideas I’ll be working on are a few more of the Fiveboars Clan. Halflings one and all.

Some of the ideas I’m working on:
-Halfing Paladin (the ‘blacksheep of the family)
-Halfing Sorcerer (Not sure.. thinking of leaning towards something that might be an arcane archer or dragon discipline)
-Halfing (or Dwarf) Alchemist (Brewer/Cook type)
-Dwarven Sorcerer (Thinking eldrtich knight)
-Dwarven Ranger (done right.. no heavy xbow with no way to do your interatives at a higher level.. maybe go Heavy repeater)

Also have a few ‘novelty characters’ from the characters in Burn Notice.. maybe pull them off ths site and put them here.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

At A Glance: Pathfinder Unchained.

So, I sez.. 'betcha you won't pull that there chain...'

Pathfinder Unchained is what you get when you let the designers of the Pathfinder game brainstorm things out. Variant rules. Lots of them. New takes on the classes that have GMs tearing out their hair. Options and different takes on a myriad of things: Fractional Base Bonuses (saves/BAB and such), staggered advancement (variant version of multiclassing)

Classes: A new look at barbarian, monk, rogue and summoner.
-Barbarian: Not too bad. More of a steamline and polish than re-balancing. Barbarian rage is now a simple +2 to melee attack/damage, thrown melee attacks and will saves, along with a penalty to AC, and temporary HP that goes first.. so you don't die from HP loss at the end of your rage. Rage powers are pretty much the same, with a few enhancements. You got a new category of rage powers: Stances. You can only use one stance power at a time, so there will be some switching.
-Monk: A tweak and polish to the monk. Full BAB and a tweak to flurry gives the monk teeth while throttling back the flurry mayhem. The big change (I've seen so far) is the ki powers; they are a very broad and selectable. Very wuxia in outlook. Style strike is added as well. One of the monk's flurry blows can be a style strike (with more as he levels) and have all sorts of fun effects.
-Rogue: One of my favorite classes, though I typically suck at it, but let's be honest there are oh-so-many options on how to do a 'trap monkey' now. You got to do a lot to make the rogue relevant when you got slayers, investigators, and all manner of archetypes and traits to get trapfinding in the mix. Most of what we get is polish, not much outright new. The new is finesse training, rogue's edge and debilitating injury. Finesse training is like what swashbuckler's get, an agile fighting style, but staggered. At 1st level, a rogue gets weapon finesse for free, at 3rd they get to add their dex (in stead of strength) to one finesse useable weapon with others being added later. Rogue's edge plays on the rogue's role as a skill monkey, adding on skill unlock powers to the skills they have. (More on that later) and finally debilitating strike which inflicts a a status condition when dealing sneak attack damage. Adding in tweaks and polish to rogue talents, I think they did a good job of pushing the rogue back into relevance.
-Summoner: If there was a class more hated by GMs than the summoner, I can't think of it. The summoner gets some tweaks and some justifiably needed re-balancing. Pretty much stays the same spellwise, with a few tweaks. Yeah, no more 2nd level haste spell kids. The big changes, naturally, are all around the eidolon. Each one now has a planar subtype as well as a body type. Each is aligned and a summoner can pick any 'adjacent' aligned type. Each gets perks and bonuses. Forms are tied to type: resistances, bonus to saving throws, dr and so on. All in all. I'm a hung jury on the summoner till I get to tweak my summoner and compare him to him as an unchained summoner.
-Factional base bonuses & staggered advancement: Ways to advance/balance multiclass characters out. Meh to me.

Skills & Options: Background skills, consolidated skills, group skills, crafts/professions, skill unlocks and more on variant multiclassing. A variety of ways to streamline skill usage. Grouping skills by type, condesning them even further, and giving you a reason to specialize in a skill with Skill unlocks. You take a feat: Signature Skill, and go from there. Every five points you put in the skill comes an exceptional way you use it. I like that. Particularly for the rogues who now get one free @ 5th level. Lastly the multiclass alternates. (the stuff in classes is more phased advancement), this is more like the stuff in 4E multiclassing. Which I didn't like.
Gameplay: Gameplay elements like alignment, revising action economy, swapping out iterative attacks, tactics, wound levels and revised poison/disease. Tweaks and alternate methods of game play elements.
Magic: the big juice to me. You get rules for alternate spell casting as well as altering magic conditions (limited and wild magic) as well overclocking spells, spell fumbles, and esoteric material components and a few feats to juice things up. Then the last bit of the section is scaling items, and other approaches to magic items.
Monsters: More toys for the race/monster building crowd. Not my cup of tea but seems clear cut and good for making unique to your campaign folio of monster.

The crunch: Lots of it. particularly if you are a home gamer who wants to break with the usual mechanics. It will be interesting to see what plays out in PFS and how much of this is followed up on in the splat books over time.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

And on a side note.. a PC has acheived VC status.

Lady Roasa Annarey Hellena Delaphine del Noire; Baroness of Lower Zimar

Venture Captain of Yanmass

A mouthful in ain't it, she's the GM credit baby of the first Jacksonville run of Eyes of the Ten. Two weeks ago, I played through Beacon Below and got her to 12th level (finally) and from there jumped right up to 13th level.
So I started looking around for a place for the Lady del Noire to put up a Pathfinder Lodge that will fit her two goals in life; those are fairly simple to those that know her backstory. Roasa is a loyal subject of Taldor, the country not the ruler that is, and a Pathfinder; she's also a Lion Blade and has skills in diplomacy and such.
For Roasa, I chose Yanmass rather than Zimar as the location of her Pathfinder Lodge. From the trade city of Yanmass, she can build the intelligence network that she need to help the Society AND prepare for what she considers inevitable. The Taldan civil war that is going to break out when the Emperor dies in the next few years; Shes backing the Grand Prince's daughter in her claim for the throne.
Not that we'll ever hear of those tales sadly. There are no 13+ scenarios out there and as far as I can tell no modules in that range that cover Taldor or Qadira. Still, I'd like to hear of other folk's Seeker and Venture Captain-at-Large characters.

Baroness Roasa Annarey Hellena Delaphine del Noire
Female versatile human (Taldan) cleric of Pharasma 11/envoy of balance 2 (Pathfinder Player Companion: Champions of Balance)
N Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +22
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Defense
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AC 32, touch 14, flat-footed 31 (+10 armor, +2 deflection, +1 Dex, +1 luck, +2 natural, +6 shield)
hp 119 (13 HD; 2d6+11d8+50)
Fort +12, Ref +7, Will +18
Defensive Abilities death's embrace
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +3 consecrated cold iron morningstar +13/+8 (1d8+4) or
dagger +10/+5 (1d4+1/19-20) or
Masterwork dagger +11/+6 (1d4+1/19-20) or
Masterwork silver morningstar +11/+6 (1d8+1)
Ranged darkwood heavy crossbow +11 (1d10/19-20)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 8/day (DC 21, 7d6)
Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 13th; concentration +21)
11/day—bleeding touch (5 rounds), rebuke death (1d4+5)
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 13th; concentration +21)
7th—mass cure serious wounds, destruction[D] (DC 25), maddening oubliette (DC 25)
6th—greater dispel magic, eaglesoul, heal[D], word of recall
5th—communal air walk[UC], breath of life[D] (DC 23), fickle winds[UM], righteous might, wall of stone
4th—cure critical wounds[D], dismissal (2, DC 22), holy smite (2, DC 22), greater magic weapon, planetary adaptation
3rd—blood rage, cure serious wounds[D], dispel magic, magic vestment (2), communal resist energy[UC], searing light
2nd—bull's strength (2), cure moderate wounds[D], cure moderate wounds, false life, lesser restoration, silence (DC 20)
1st—bless, cultural adaptation, cure light wounds[D], endure elements, protection from evil, remove sickness[UM] (DC 19), shield of faith
0 (at will)—detect magic, light, scrivener's chant, stabilize
D Domain spell; Domains Death (Death, pharasma subdomain), Healing
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Statistics
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Str 12, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 26, Cha 20
Base Atk +9; CMB +10; CMD 24
Feats Command Undead, Fast Learner[ARG], Persuasive, Quick Channel[UM], Selective Channeling, Skill Focus (Diplomacy), Toughness, Versatile Channeler[UM]
Traits bully, extremely fashionable
Skills Acrobatics +5, Appraise +4, Bluff +14, Climb +3, Diplomacy +35, Disguise +11, Escape Artist +2, Fly +2, Heal +14, Intimidate +16, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Knowledge (planes) +12, Knowledge (religion) +12, Linguistics +20, Perception +22, Perform (oratory) +9, Perform (sing) +7, Ride +2, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +12, Stealth +2, Survival +10 (+12 to avoid becoming lost), Swim +2
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Hallit, Kelish, Orc, Osiriani, Osiriani, Ancient, Polyglot, Shoanti, Skald, Tien, Varisian
SQ endowment (spiritual equilibrium), healer's blessing, incisive spells +1, versatile human
Combat Gear cold iron crossbow bolts (10), extend metamagic rod (lesser), jingasa of the fortunate soldier, oil of bless weapon, potion of cure light wounds (3), potion of enlarge person, potion of protection from evil (4), reach metamagic rod, scroll of align weapon, remove paralysis, scroll of comprehend languages, scroll of cultural adaptation, scroll of ghostbane dirge, scroll of invisibility purge (x2), scroll of make whole, scroll of remove fear, scroll of suppress charms and compulsions (x2), scroll of tap inner beauty (x2), silver crossbow bolts (10), wand of cure light wounds, wand of cure moderate wounds (9 charges), wand of lesser restoration (17 charges), wand of spiritual weapon (11 charges), air crystal (4), alchemist's fire (2), antiplague (5), antitoxin (4), ghast retch flask (2), holy water (7), tanglefoot bag (2); Other Gear +4 glamered mithral agile breastplate, +4 consecrated darkwood heavy wooden shield, +3 consecrated cold iron morningstar, crossbow bolts (15), dagger, darkwood heavy crossbow, Masterwork dagger, Masterwork silver morningstar, pink and green sphere ioun stone, scarlet and blue sphere ioun stone, amulet of natural armor +2, cloak of resistance +2, efficient quiver, handy haversack, headband of inspired wisdom +6, ocher rhomboid ioun stone, plague rat belt (greater), ring of eloquence, ring of protection +2, sleeves of many garments, tome of understanding +1, wayfinder, bedroll, belt pouch, blanket, winter, diamond dust (worth 2,000 gp), dress jewelry (worth 150 gp), earplugs, everburning torch, flint and steel, ink, black (3), inkpen (2), noble's outfit, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, pathfinder chronicle, scroll box, shield sconce, signet ring, silk rope (50 ft.), silver apsis consortium badge (severing ties), silver holy symbol of Pharasma, sunrod (2), tattoo holy symbol of Pharasma, hand, tent, small, light horse, bit and bridle, bit and bridle, riding saddle, 2,968 gp, 7 sp
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Special Abilities
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Antitoxin This substance counteracts a specific toxin. If you drink a vial of antitoxin, you gain a +5 alchemical bonus on Fortitude saving throws against poison for 1 hour.

Alchemical Power Component
Like antiplague, this substance can augment certain healing spells.
Neutralize Poison (M): Add +2 on your caster level check to neutralize poison on a target creature. Antitoxin has no effect when you cast the spell on an object.
Bleeding Touch (5 rounds, 11/day) (Sp) Melee touch attack deals 1d6 bleeding damage.
Caravan (1 @ 5 lbs, Diplomacy) Can use the chosen skill to make Day Job rolls.
Cleric Domain (Death, Pharasma) Granted Powers: You can cause the living to bleed at a touch.
Cleric Domain (Healing) Granted Powers: Your touch staves off pain and death, and your healing magic is particularly vital and potent.
Command Undead (DC 21) Channel energy can take control of undead.
Death's Embrace (Ex) Heal damage from channeled negative energy.
Earplugs +2 save vs. hearing effects, -5 hearing-based Perception.
Extend metamagic rod (lesser, 3/day) Metamagic rods hold the essence of a metamagic feat, allowing the user to apply metamagic effects to spells (but not spell like abilities) as they are cast. This does not change the spell slot of the altered spell. All the rods described here are use-activated (but casting spells in a threatened area still draws an attack of opportunity). A caster may only use one metamagic rod on any given spell, but it is permissible to combine a rod with metamagic feats possessed by the rod's wielder. In this case, only the feats possessed by the wielder adjust the spell slot of the spell being cast.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

What type of Pathfinder are you?

"Excuse me?" The young man at the counter said to the dwarf beside him, behind them the rest of his party was laughing, cheering and telling tall tales about their recent antics
"I said, 'what type are ya boy?' I see you got a brand new shiny wayfinder on yer belt; so yer a pathfinder or a really stupid thief to wear it here in the Wisp out in the open." The dwarf said as he fished out a hip flask to add a jot of something to his mug. "You earn it in the tower, doing yer time as an apprentice, or in the field doing something truly impressive and or stupid that saved someone's life or epically heroic and stupid? Two ways ta get in the society." The dwarf drawled as he turned to face the boy, his much more beaten and weather worn wayfinder showing. "Oh I see you want ta ask how I earned mine? Definitely a case of 'epic stupid heroics', with a jot of sheer terror, an a few fine explosions." The dwarf added a jot to his drink. "Tell ya what.. you drink wit me an I'll tell ya about MY confirmation." His eyes twinkled. "Might even tell it all truthful like too."

There are two basic ways to join the Pathfinder Society; you can apply and do your time as an apprentice in Abaslon as an apprentice or you can earn a 'field commission' and doing something of note for the Decimivariate. (Gloriapedia)

Apprentices:

The girl was skinny and only just starting to grow into a woman like her mother, lithe and fast as a ferret; her brown eyes held the inquisitive alertness of her father as she looked him over and the bundle in his hands. She'd only left the gunworks when his man had given her the wayfinder clasped in her hands. He rubbed the scars over his face, recalling the two pathfinders who had been her parents from his days training them. He'd been away too long but he promised them he'd see to her needs. Hence his tracking her down and offering the teen a new family.
"You say this is an apprenticeship my parents would have gotten me into?" She asked as she held the other thing he'd given her; the long scarf that had been in her mother's family for generations. The kapenia that had been part of her clan for centuries. If you knew how to read it, there was a story in each one; telling the story of a Varisian's family and clan. He nodded as he pulled out the last thing he'd brought with him and unrolled the bundle to show the doeskin scabbard. He pulled the musket from it and set it down in front of her. Her father's musket, now her weapon, recovered along with their bodies from where they had fallen.
"Let me tell you about the Pathfinder Society; It is, after all, in many ways your family." Torch said as he told her of how her mother and father had met one another.

Apprentices are mostly volunteers who have been tested extensively before being allowed to apprentice with the society. From there they are put to the oath and spend years under the tutelage of one of the Masters in Abaslon before taking their final test, the Confirmation, and full membership within the society. The three masters cover the three big schools of the society: The Sword, The Scroll and The Spell. Martial skill, lore and magic are all vital tools in the pathfinder's job, and no school is totally exclusive. A swordsman might study under the Master of Lore to learn a language, or with the Master of Spells to learn the weaknesses of some magical beast or how to use some mystical item that he or she found in the field.
Till such time as then they work around the Grand Lodge as well as study there. There are always a bustle of pages, staff helping pack up the library, assist the masters with projects throughout the Lodge, runners who are sent out to fetch pathfinders that are to be sent out into the field (What you think Drendle Dreg finds all his agents at 3AM? He delegates the fetching and stays in his snug and warm office thank you very much!)

Field Commissions:

"I appreciate what you did Simon." The tall dark haired woman said as she poured the tea. "You managed to save more than one of my people in Nerosyam during the attack. Mostly after your own unit was wiped out."
"I was looking to survive myself, m'lady'" The tall taldane man said uncomfortably as he fidgeted in his chair. She was privileged and he was a grunt, why was he here? "My job was to fight and help the lads stay on their feet. I swore an oath on behalf of the Emperor to help the Crusade stand strong against the worldwound." He struggled to kept the disappointment from showing on his face.
"I came on behalf of a mutual associate; your comments have been .. intemperate of late and there is someone who has decided, for the sake of his son, that you are to remain where you are till he can 'tend' to you." She sat back and looked at him. "Without your skill at arms my team would have died in the Lodge." Her face was grim as she extended a document with an ornate glyph on it. "Discrete, honorable, skilled and flexible are all assets the society looks for in our agents; Taldor might not see your worth Simon, but we do. You've made impressive enemies since the siege; ones who have rivals in the Society. Why don't you help us with our traitor and our efforts to assist the crusade and we'll help you with returning home and tending to your commanding officer's cowardice from a position of strength?"

The other option for joining the Society is to be awarded a field commission; there are a variety of ways you can held the Ten enough to be awarded a field commission, for example: bringing something of unusual worth to the Society (lost lore, powerful magic or such), helping the Pathfinders in a situation of dire need (like helping out a team in the middle of war zone), a specific skill(s)/talent/area knowledge/connections, through political favors, or having someone in the Society pull strings to get you a position.
The field agent might have the 'short cut' to full standing but they also don't have as firm a foundation as an apprentice. Still, they bring vital skills and knowledge to the society.

Note: The next section is just my thoughts and impressions from my time in PFS play. I find these approaches best for getting characters that fit in and help parties pull off their missions.

Types of Pathfinders:

There are as many types of Pathfinders as there are players making characters for play; that being said, there are a variety of 'types' that help play run smoothly. You can build character who fit multiple roles, as these are definite and clear set roles. You might be a 'Wall' AND an 'Assistant' AND the 'Specialist'

"How about translating the riddle and giving Akim what he needs to undo the trap." She called as she stepped into the door way, seeing what looked like an endless array of undead coming down the hall as she put her tower shield down and leaned against it. They were many ,but dessicated skeletons couldn't match the weight of seventeen stone of her in armor and shield.
"What are you going to do?"
"What does it like? Keep you alive while you save us!" She yelled as she slashed at a skeletal arm reaching past her shield. "Be a minder, Rhea, keep them out of trouble, Rhea.." she said in a sing song tone mimicking her mentor's words. "I don't recall any necromancer's tomb in the briefing Drendle."

-The Wall: Bodyguard, wall, barrier, defender, tank and so on. You are the guy who steps up and beats on the foe, pulling their attention from the guy healing the fallen or woman raining fire upon them. (Somehow, the sight of 6+ feet of armored mayhem smashing at them is supposed to be more scary than the fire flinger.. more immediate definitely). Your job is to suck up damage and block the path of attack to the more fragile members of your group.

-The Face: The socialite, intimidating mobster and/or the sneaky weadling conartist. All of them have the gift of putting the right turn of phrase to get the job done. Sometimes it's the genteel offering of fifty head of oxen to the dragon so he'd let you go by, another time it might be infering that this store has a LOT of breakables that it would be tragic to see shatter, or simply putting the flim flam word play that leaves the person you're talking wondering what the hell just happened and where did his pants go? You can do it to get info on the location of the 'widget of doom', or to get the snake men's allies to take a five minute break at the stroke of midnight and that it might be healthy to not pay to much mind to the blood curdling screams and loud explosions that they might hear shortly there after.
There are more than a few scenarios that can be easily done with a well roleplayed 'talking' guy. Several scenarios over the last two or three seasons have long long term implications form the (lack) of talking the right way to someone. For example, season 5 villain is met at a wedding and left with less than a gracious opinion of the society (what can I say.. my gunslinger goofed on her roll, and she DID shoot his brother). With the new reporting system in place the impact of how you get along with some folks CAN have an impact.

-The Sage: Someone who knows what the hell THAT is. A vital thing in a fight. Knowing the difference between a zombie, a juju zombie and a specialized zombie with all sorts of surprises. Knowing what a critter is and how to kill it is vital in some cases. That is the immediate effect of having someone knowing all sorts of things. The lead up in a scenario can help with a variety of things; for example, researching about a region/person/group/critter that you'll have to face might help you prepare ahead of time and give your group a foot up in handling the big bad.

-The Jack of All Trades: The guy with all the skills, who knows what to do with a spring loaded bolt chucking trap. Or how to smooth talk the concierge at the social club. Or know who is feuding with whom this season. Or .. so on and so forth. Fill in the spot that a specialist might normally fill but your 'know-everything-about-royal-blowhards' isn't here due to car trouble. He's not likely to be as good at any particular skill as a specialist, but he can fill in the basics.

-The Assistant: Another sort of Jack of All Trades, this character isn't built around being good with at just skills. Aiding others can be a pay off in a variety of ways. Teamwork feats, aiding actions (and feats to enhance it), racial traits (halflings rock at being helpful) and so on. It could be a twist to help the main melee guy hit a difficult target, flanking to give the rogue a boost up in sneak attacking, protect the cleric/wizard with an aid to his defense or switching spots with him. It's not simply aiding another by the action but looking for ways to step in and help. It could be something like carrying a box of pathfinder journals and an 'aid another' roll to find out something during the briefing, using aid another in combat or one of the teamwork feats and/or combat manuevers to set up a bad guy for the main hitter.

-The Killer: A character that hammers things flat. 'Killer McKillmasses' is the optimized version of this that you occasionally run into in a wide variety of incarnations. The guy who does triple figures of damage in a round, or ionizes the entire encounter in one massive specialized spell that leaves a crater where the challenge should be. Consider this, if you make a guy who vaporizes the entire scene what are the other guys at the table going to get out of the scenario? This is a hard one to balance, between doing lots of damage and smoking everything and leaving ruins in the wake.

Types of Pathfinder Missions:
There are a variety of missions that a group of pathfinders can get sent on.
-Collection/Escort: A pathfinder team needs your group to pick up something and transport it safely to another location. This pathfinder needs you to bring the 'widget of doom' to him to enable him to negotiate this treaty with someone. There is a vital need for this healer/sage/whatever to get somewhere he or she isn't suited to go to alone. Hence, the team is sent in to escort/recover the item/person. Examples: Heresy of Man I
-Survey: The Society has found something that needs investigating. A secluded dungeon in the literal middle of no-where, a strange otherworldly vessel that appears only once a century, the location of strange temple in the middle of the jungle or a dwarven outpost only recently discovered. They all need 'investigating' to see if there is something of interest to the society. Long lost lore, magics waiting to be rediscovered, or whatever there is to be find there. The Society lives for a good mystery being solved. Examples: Destiny in the Sands II and III

-Social Event: Not entirely a new event, but one that the last few seasons have refine fairly well. Think of it as dinner and a dance, except the 'dance' is someone trying to kill everyone else there. Society goals are all killing folks and looting tombs; sometimes you have to smooze the guys who own the land the tombs are one, smuggle the stuff you want, or know where the folks you're looking to kill are. Social events and roleplay with mayhem and death for desert. So bring your fine clothes and dress weapons. Examples: The Blackros Matrimony.
-Clean Up: Sometimes being the premiere association of delving into lost lore, loot and locations mean you unearth things better left buried, cross folks that think for one reason or another that trinket belongs to them or simply wants to loot your teams cold bodies. When that happens, the Society sends your team in to clear out the threat, put down the ungodly threat or simply put boot too buttock to avenge the last team of pathfinders who didn't make it back. Find them or avenge them. Or simply find the traitors and put them down like the Ten demands. Examples: Eyes of the Ten I-IV (it's all one long rundown),
-Contest: Sometimes to get something, you got to play the owner's game. That means competing in some sort of contest. It could be a scavenger hunt, arena combat, riddles and so on, or even all of the above. The Society sends in a team with wits, will and weapon skills to pull out what they need. Examples: The Ruby Phoenix Tournament, You have what you Hold.

Note: Updated the types.. the damage monster is added.