TRAILBLAZER - PDF Release - Discussion/Questions/Errata

[GlassJaw]

I see a huge pack of stuff there in the middle I'm going to blame on Glassjaw.

Ouch. Looks like we should have done a search for "day" and addressed each one.

Scurvy, your notes here are very much appreciated. We are on it.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

We are on it.

The view from my window.

 

[joela]

The simple rule of thumb is that PC class features and hit points return on a per rest basis. I'll hunt these down. This is not (necessarily) true of natural (daily) healing rates for conditions, etc.



Pick one. You can pick new ones if you choose this feature again.



I'm not 100% certain I understand your question. The monk is getting his extra attacks from flurry. Flurry gets better, adding a second attack, and reducing the penalties, as the monk increases in level.

Iterative attacks are really very much based on the mechanics behind flurry attack. The monk ends up benefiting from both.

There's nothing about iterative attacks per se that limits a character to 2 attacks per round. You simply don't earn any iterative attacks beyond the 2nd.

But if you are hasted, two weapon fighting, barbarian with frenzy, monk flurry, rapid shot, etc. then you can certainly exceed 2 attacks/round.



Iterative attacks are BAB-based. Oof! I'll fix p. 19.

The monk's flurry attack is level based, and when it overlaps what is happening with iterative attacks, you get the chart shown on the monk table.



Don't presume to know what's going on under that cassock!



That is confusing. Does this make more sense?

"A sorcerer can manifest his familiar any number of times, but only up to 1 minute per caster level per rest."



I spent so long trying to explain this to Glassjaw that I think it ended up more confusing than where I started. We'll hunt it down together.



Per encounter would certainly clear up the intended use.



Yes, per day.



Yes, per day.

It's not a simple matter of doing a find/replace on per day vs. per rest. A rest does not equal a day, nor does a day necessarily imply a good rest.

You could also have noted fatigue and exhaustion (as Glassjaw did) which still have pretty long rest times.

Now, admittedly, functionally, these conditions may not be that big a deal if you have a cleric on hand. Take a short rest, load up restoration or the like, fix your oddball conditions, and get on your way.

But there are nods to verisimilitude that leave some "long rest/recovery times" intact.

Again, the intent of the rest mechanic is to refresh the class features and hit points of PCs as if they had rested for a full day-- but it's not technically a full day.

As I said, Glassjaw had a lot of the same questions you do, and in passing the ball back and forth as we did, we might have fumbled it.



I'll plead, "Monsters are not PCs," your honor.

These comments are very much appreciated by me (as I am sure they will be by other players).

*tosses his notes away*

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

The simple rule of thumb is that PC class features and hit points return on a per rest basis. I'll hunt these down. This is not (necessarily) true of natural (daily) healing rates for conditions, etc.

I thought that might be the case, which is why I went through looking for all those bits that I could find. I personally really dig the "per rest" thing for PCs refreshing their combat abilities and I'm fine with some stuff still staying in the "per day" category as in healing Ability damage. Having that rule of thumb is groovy and if there's a place to mention it in the Trailblazer document, it might be an idea.

Granted, there's a level of rules mastery expected in picking up and using Trailblazer, but it'll still help folks looking to gain their footing, or those that are more on the "casual" side when it comes to rules questions.

Pick one. You can pick new ones if you choose this feature again.

Groovy, thanks for the clarification.

Hmmm. I have to wonder, why would someone wind up taking "Trip" and "Disarm"? I guess with Disarm you're getting a +2 bonus which you'd otherwise only get if you got Improved Disarm, but... both maneuvers are normally available to a person whether they're using standard 3.x rules or Pathfinder.

As it reads to me right now, these are just a waste of a feat. Unless the intent is that they're eliminating penalties that are normally in place, and in the case of Disarm giving an additional bonus as well? If so, it might need to be called out more explicitly.

I'm not 100% certain I understand your question. The monk is getting his extra attacks from flurry. Flurry gets better, adding a second attack, and reducing the penalties, as the monk increases in level.

Iterative attacks are really very much based on the mechanics behind flurry attack. The monk ends up benefiting from both.

There's nothing about iterative attacks per se that limits a character to 2 attacks per round. You simply don't earn any iterative attacks beyond the 2nd.

But if you are hasted, two weapon fighting, barbarian with frenzy, monk flurry, rapid shot, etc. then you can certainly exceed 2 attacks/round.

Ok. It's not really clear to me from the text that this is the case. I was going to post a question asking about Hast and Two Weapon fighting, but you've already beat me to it.

Iterative attacks are BAB-based. Oof! I'll fix p. 19.

Groovy.

Don't presume to know what's going on under that cassock!

Speaking as a fellow that ran a half-senile cross-dressing pirate dwarf (the cross dressing part was his disguise during crimes), I can assure you I make no assumptions about cassock contents.

That is confusing. Does this make more sense?

"A sorcerer can manifest his familiar any number of times, but only up to 1 minute per caster level per rest."

Yes, much better, thanks!

It's not a simple matter of doing a find/replace on per day vs. per rest. A rest does not equal a day, nor does a day necessarily imply a good rest.

You could also have noted fatigue and exhaustion (as Glassjaw did) which still have pretty long rest times.

Now, admittedly, functionally, these conditions may not be that big a deal if you have a cleric on hand. Take a short rest, load up restoration or the like, fix your oddball conditions, and get on your way.

But there are nods to verisimilitude that leave some "long rest/recovery times" intact.

Again, the intent of the rest mechanic is to refresh the class features and hit points of PCs as if they had rested for a full day-- but it's not technically a full day.

As I said, Glassjaw had a lot of the same questions you do, and in passing the ball back and forth as we did, we might have fumbled it.

I expected as much but thought I'd hit up the potential rough spots and ask. As I mentioned above, I'm fine with there still being stuff that takes a while (or a spell ) to fix. Clarifying these things (what actually is intended to stay as per day) is something that I can see as getting a bit confusing and slipping through the cracks.

I'll plead, "Monsters are not PCs," your honor.

Totally cool by me. I've been noodling at a "Monsters aren't PCs" project and I'll be giving some serious thought about some of the stuff in Trailblazer in regards to that. I really dig that (some) folks are willing to push aside that for the sake of their own games. We've had years of "Monsters follow the same rules as PCs", so I think it's time we had some stuff that finally breaks that.

A note in the Monster section might be in order. Then again, in theory we're all big kids now and can come up with that determination ourselves.

These comments are very much appreciated by me (as I am sure they will be by other players).

Hey, if it's useful/appreciated, I'm happy. I figure since you were cool enough to let folks like myself get in on some groovy freeness, the least I can do is return the favor by actually reading the darn thing and providing some feedback. The fact that this hits a number of the points I'd been hoping would be fixed makes this a happy thing for me. It's especially nice because it means that we get to find the bits that aren't clear or whatever and see about getting them squared away before it gets offered up for PoD and there's folks complaining about having bought the book and there being these errors/unclear parts.

I really look forward to the ultimate payoff of running a game with this.

Ouch. Looks like we should have done a search for "day" and addressed each one.

Scurvy, your notes here are very much appreciated. We are on it.

w00t! I feel like Dr. Zoidberg: Hooray! I'm useful!

The view from my window.

Looks like someone else is getting a promotion.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Looks like someone else is getting a promotion.

Very perceptive, Admiral.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Hmmm. I have to wonder, why would someone wind up taking "Trip" and "Disarm"? I guess with Disarm you're getting a +2 bonus which you'd otherwise only get if you got Improved Disarm, but... both maneuvers are normally available to a person whether they're using standard 3.x rules or Pathfinder.

All weapons can be used to Disarm, but some of them are better at it. (Flail.)

Not all weapons can be used to make Trip attacks. (Flail, yes. Scythe(!), yes. Greatsword, no.)

I hope that clears up the value of adding the maneuver to the weapon. My fighter-rogue just took Trip with short swords.

Totally cool by me. I've been noodling at a "Monsters aren't PCs" project and I'll be giving some serious thought about some of the stuff in Trailblazer in regards to that. I really dig that (some) folks are willing to push aside that for the sake of their own games. We've had years of "Monsters follow the same rules as PCs", so I think it's time we had some stuff that finally breaks that.

I used to have a note to that effect in the Introduction. I wonder where it went...

 

[DBlue]

Typos.

Typo for ya, Wulf.

Page 30, barbarian class features, Evasion.

Here are the last two sentences:

A helpless barbarian not gain the benefit of evasion.
At 9th level the monk gains improved evasion.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

A helpless barbarian not gain the benefit of evasion.
At 9th level the monk gains improved evasion.

Anybody who has ever proof-read a large work knows how frustrating this is. Your eyes just literally stop seeing these things...

 

[random.brown]

Sorry if this is me not using my eyes properly, but the Wizard class description mentions bonus feats from the "wizard feat list."

Where can I find this list? Is it in another rulebook, like PF or a 3.5 PHB?

Thanks!

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Sorry if this is me not using my eyes properly, but the Wizard class description mentions bonus feats from the "wizard feat list."

Where can I find this list? Is it in another rulebook, like PF or a 3.5 PHB?

Thanks!

Yep, we caught that one earlier today.

Metamagic or Item Creation.