General Discussion

[Aura]

My take on these questions:
(1) It's partially player nature, and it's partially knowing it makes such a difference to the group. I have a long history of playing healers in both tabletop and online gaming.
(2) I'm leaning towards no. Re-skinning a personal effect (e.g.: Kepli's familiar) has no practical effect on the world. Doing so with something you buy does.
(3) More or less, just like most class abilities. If you have a pre-made role-play reason built it, so much the better. If we were going to ask the tough questions (which we often don't in RPG's), I'd want to know how you're magically just becoming a spell caster.

As an aside, I'm not a fan of leveling up at all during an adventure, but it's kinda a must.

 

[perrinmiller]

1. Just curious, what draws people into healer types? I've never had any personal interest in them.

I have a lot of experience playing PF and D&D in PbP outside of LPF and EnWorld as well.

I think the sort of player that is drawn to healer type builds are those that have player personalities to match that supportive and helpful roles such a character plays.

I know several players that just do not play that way, always making characters that are not so much team players and all about being the most effective they can be against the foes. Many of these are more powergamey type people.

With PF, there are more ways to be a healer so it is not always about being a cleric. But even so, there is percentage of players that do not really get into the religion being part of the setting so much because they are agnostic themselves and clerics are unappealing.

Then there are those people that are comfortable playing whatever role that needs filling in the party so it is balanced. Many times that is filling a healer role of sorts. But here in a living world where we are often not building a party with balance in mind, healers and rogues are among the least popular for some reason. Think that is because the folks that typically find themselves playing the healer/supportive niche in other games, are also looking to play something different here because they can.

Oddly enough, my latest two replacement characters in LPF are a bard and a paladin, both with healing ability. I would consider an oracle too, but I have been working on playing that build somewhere else.

2. Bump the war pig question.

Hmm, maybe just name the dog “Pig”?

Ordinarily, I would say “no” as well. I think someone wanted do that once with a weapon as well, and we said no.

I do know that some Animal Companions use a certain example of an animal to represent various species. So that is how I view the Sea Gull/Raven issue for Kelpi. If this were a druid asking to make a pig animal companion with a dog’s mechanics, I would probably say “no” as well.

While there is not mechanical benefit, allowing it could set a precedent that can mess with the setting. I will be a soft “no” until [MENTION=40413]GlassEye[/MENTION] and [MENTION=29558]Mowgli[/MENTION] chime in as they are among the founding Judges.

3. If I multiclass into a class that has a familiar, does it just magically show up when I level?

This is the DM’s call if you are in mid-adventure. I have a character sitting on Improved Familiar, waiting until there is some in-game down time. In between adventure, getting the familiar is automatic, but I think it still costs 200gp/level. However, I don’t recall anyone ever paying for a familiar or animal companion, but that because I have not the issue arise very often.

As an aside, I'm not a fan of leveling up at all during an adventure, but it's kinda a must.

This is actually something completely at the DM’s discretion. Over a long adventure, it is kind of necessary as TBX alone means leveling once every 6 months. Another option would be to break the adventure into mini-adventures that allow shopping and leveling in between installments. It would provide explanation for leveling and make things easier on adventure planning for the DM to stick to the same APL.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

I agree with what others have said about the reasons folks play healing types. I've never really been able to get into a cleric build - the class just doesn't appeal to me. I do like the new Warpriest, and Inquisitors draw me in.

In regards to reskinning the dog as a pig - I vote yes. There's no mechanical advantage, so it has no effect on game balance. In general, I'm inclined to vote against any changes to game rules or mechanics (like the 'any spell cast by a particular class uses that class's primary casting stat') - it's just WAY to easy for the Law of Unintended Consequences to rear its ugly head, and it's a lot harder to UNdo that change than it was to do it in the first place. Reskins just add flavor, so long as nothing mechanical is changed.

 

[FrancisJohn]

Imagine taking the skin off a pig and throwing it on a dog ? Ew! I don't even care if it's a dog or combat trained pony. I just want a pig-riding halfling because I think that would be awesome.

 

[Scott DeWar]

I have seen dogs that look like [USA Type] of football. does that count as a reskin?

 

[FrancisJohn]

I'd even pay extra. One argument for yes, is that pigs are scientifically proven to be smarter than dogs. We can have him 'special order' his riding pig, Bacon, from his hometown Roughy River, south of the baronies.

 

[GlassEye]

I'm gonna bypass the re-skin issue and say that 'Animal Archive' which is among the approved for LPF sources has a combat-trained boar listed under riding animals for 150 gp and directs to Bestiary p. 36 for stats. And considering it is already established that Venza has mounts more exotic than a boar within their Grand Stable I don't think it is too much of a stretch to think it might have one for sale.

 

[FrancisJohn]

Sign me up for that! That's all I've ever wanted Glasseye. So it's 150 for the pig. Are there any accessories like saddle and bit and bridle included in the price? What other things do I need to buy before Bacon is good to go? Is there an option that allows me to ride and to carry some pack?

 

[Aura]

Well, if it's approved materials, then it's approved materials. GE is right, no reskinning is necessary, and we do have a fantastic stable for just such a purpose. I doubt it's realistic, regardless of intelligence, but I'm not real insistent on realism by any stretch in my gaming.

 

[GlassEye]

Sign me up for that! That's all I've ever wanted Glasseye. So it's 150 for the pig. Are there any accessories like saddle and bit and bridle included in the price? What other things do I need to buy before Bacon is good to go? Is there an option that allows me to ride and to carry some pack?

That price is just for the combat-trained boar. I would recommend a common riding kit as well. It has everything you would need for a mount and the saddlebags can hold up to 250 lbs of whatever gear you need to carry.