[Pathfinder] Burnt Offerings

[CanadienneBacon]

[sblock=Ambrus]

The Rise of the Runelords Player's Guide makes mention of goblins rummaging around in the junktoss bellow Junker’s Edge in the rumors section. "Don’t go down to the junktoss after dark: goblins steal the trash at night." I simply assumed that there was an element of veracity to that rumor. I can change it if you prefer.

I lost my original post just now when I inadvertantly hit the back button on my Web browser, so this will be a condensed re-post that hits the highlights of what I wanted to say. I spent 20 minutes last night hunting through the adventure module for where I thought I remembered seeing a tidbit about goblins around Sandpoint prior to the start of the adventure, to no avail. Duh--no wonder I couldn't find it--it's in the Player's Guide, not the module. Go right on ahead with your "barking at marauding goblins" tidbit in your backstory.

I'll wait to go over Taran's skill set until I know for sure that you've adjusted skill ranks to compensate for Gather Information being a sub-set of Diplomacy.[/sblock]

 

[CanadienneBacon]

I'm seeing what may be some discrepancies in skill allocation in some of the character sheets. I'll address any discrepancies with individual players, but before I do, I want to make sure that I myself have a firm grasp on how Pathfinder addresses skill allocation for first-level characters and for subsequent levels. Of those of you who have seen play with Pathfinder, if you could please post with a breakdown of how skills work, I'd be appreciative.

My basic understanding is, for example, that a human druid with an Intelligence of 12 would start play at first level with 6 points to spend (4 points for being a druid, 1 point for having a 12 intelligence, and 1 point for being human--assuming he hasn't taken an extra hit point instead of the extra skill point). As a 1 HD creature, the character could put only 1 rank in each skill he selects. After selecting his skills, he would add a +3 bonus to each skill that appears on his favored skill list for his class. The druid's finished skill list might look like this:

Handle Animal: +5 (1 rank, +3 favored skill bonus, +1 for Charisma of 12)
Heal: +6 (1 rank, +3 favored skill bonus, +2 for Wisdom of 14)
Knowledge (nature): +5 (1 rank, +3 favored skill bonus, +1 for Intelligence of 12)
Perception: +6 (1 rank, +3 favored skill bonus, +2 for Wisdom of 14)
Spellcraft: +5 (1 rank, +3 favored skill bonus, +1 for Intelligence of 12)
Survival: +6 (1 rank, +3 favored skill bonus, +2 for Wisdom of 14)

If the human decides at first level that Druid will be his chosen favorite class, it looks like he woud start play with 7 skill points to spend. His ranks will always be limited by his HD, however.

Let me know what flaws you spot in my logic, being sure to explain with examples. And please also let me know what happens to this druid at 2nd level.

 

[mfloyd3]

If the druid decides at first level that Ranger will be his chosen favorite class, it looks like he woud start play with 7 skill points to spend. His ranks will always be limited by his HD, however.

Let me know what flaws you spot in my logic, being sure to explain with examples. And please also let me know what happens to this druid at 2nd level.
[\quote]

OK, I'm new to pathfinder as well, but let me take a stab at this. You mix ranger and druid up there, but let me give you my understanding of each:

Druid: 4 points for being a druid, +1 for having 12 Int, +1 for being a human, +1 for choosing druid as a favored class =7.

Ranger: 6 points for being a ranger, +1 for having 12 Int, +1 for being human, +1 for choosing ranger as favored class=9.

These examples assume that the player chose to exercise the "+1 skill point" for favored class option, rather than the "+1 hit point" option. That may be part of the inconsistency between characters.

And yes, the skill allocation you give (except for Spellcraft, noted below), including the +3 bonus for a skill from the favored class list, seems to be correct.

At second level, my understanding is that the druid gets 6 points, and the option to choose a skill point for the "favored class" bonus for a total of 7 skill points. The ranger has a choice of getting 8 or 9. It appears that you can make this choice over again at every level.

If the druid puts 1 rank into a new skill that is a class skill, he gets the +3 bonus to that as well. For instance, if he puts a rank into Knowledge(geography), he gets
Knowledge(geography): 5 (1 rank, +3 favored skill bonus, +1 for INT 12)

However, adding a rank to a skill he already has does not add additional favored class bonus, it just increases the skill by +1.

Also, a nitpick: In your example above, Spellcraft should be +5 (+1 for his Int 12).

By the way, when you mentioned this, I noticed I listed 8 SP as the total for Elyra, but gave her 9. My understanding is that 9 is the correct number, as calculated above (I think when I was originally writing the character sheet I was confused about the "favored class" issue myself). Sorry about the confusion.

Anyway, I'm new to Pathfinder as well. Anyone see anything wrong with the above?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[CanadienneBacon]

You mix ranger and druid up there, but let me give you my understanding of each

Fixed in an edit, posted just a few minutes before you posted this. For coherency's sake, let's assume we're working with the druid example for the life of this conversation.

 

[Ambrus]

Let me know what flaws you spot in my logic, being sure to explain with examples. And please also let me know what happens to this druid at 2nd level.

Seems you've got it right to me.

At 2nd level, the druid gains another 6 skill points (4 base, +1 Int, +1 for being human) with the option of taking an extra skill point or hit point assuming that druid is the favored class.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

The basic formula would then be:

# Skill Points Allocated at 1st Level = class allocation + Int mod + 1 if human (assuming the human didn't already take +1 to his HP).

Correct?

 

[Ambrus]

The basic formula would then be:

# Skill Points Allocated at 1st Level = class allocation + Int mod + 1 if human (assuming the human didn't already take +1 to his HP).

Correct?

Not quite. At its base, the formula is simply Class allocation + Int bonus. In addition to that each character gains either +1 hit point or skill point if taking a level in their favored class.

Humans then gain an additional skill point as a racial trait. Clear?

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

Hope I'm Not Intruding (Still Lurking)

That's all correct, and the Druid then gets the same number of skill points (with the same choice of +1 skill point vs. +1 hp for taking a level in his favored class) each time he takes a Druid level.

It's also worth noting that the +3 bonus for class skills only kicks in when the character is trained in that skill (takes one rank).

Basically, this system simplifies calculations (while keeping the advantage of class skills) and removes the temptation to take a 'skill monkey' level at first to get that huge skill point advantage from the x4 multiplier. A PF rogue doesn't get any more skill points at first level than he will at any other level.

CB, if you'd rather I not kibbitz just let me know and I'll cut it out.

 

[Shayuri]

Not quite. Here's the breakdown as I understand it:

Class skill points (druid): 4
Intelligence modifier: 1
Human Bonus: 1
Favored Class Bonus: 1

Total skill points at 1st level: 7

Now, if the character opted for a bonus hit point instead of skill point, it would be 6 skill points at level 1.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

I'm clear now. Basic formula (I'm including stuff beyond just the class + Int model) would be:

Class allocation + Int mod + 1 if human and not taking bonus human HP + 1 if lvl in favored class.