Pathfinder Rules

[reefwood]

Pathfinder Rules

(This opening thread has links to Pathfinder resources and a table of contents for the posts below.)

The official site for Pathfinder is at paizo.com/pathfinderRPG

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document: Pretty much all the Pathfinder rules can be found here, but please refrain from looking at monster sections unless you need some info there for a companion / familiar / mount.

The 3.5/Pathfinder Handbook which does a thorough job of explaining how the classes have changed.

Update: The online PRD is based off the first printings of the Core Rulebook and Bestiary. I own a second printing Core Rulebook and a first printing Bestiary. The erratas for the Core Rulebook and Bestiary can be found here - paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/resources

Table of Contents
01) Changes in Pathfinder
02) Deities
03) Damage Reduction
04) Nonlethal Damage
05) Injury and Death
06) Stabilization
07) Identifying Magic Items
08) Cover & Tower Shield
09) Combat Maneuvers
10) Fly (skill & spell)
11) Invisibility
12) Mounted Combat
13) Identifying Spells

[reefwood]

1) Changes in Pathfinder

I haven't read through the entire Pathfinder book yet, but I have gone over most of the chapters equivalent to the Player's Handbook in 3.5. Everything listed below is a rough outline of changes from the beta version to the final of Pathfinder, but don't take it to be a complete list, and be sure to look up the specific details about these things yourself. Although, since most of the players are humans, I will post their racial stats on here.

Also, I don't necessarily think all these changes are better, but for the time being, I do want to stick with these rules for the time being. Tweaks and house rules may come up as/if the campaign moves forward.

RACES
- Half-elves choose two favored classes at 1st level. Other races choose any one favored class at 1st level.
- Half-orcs gain +2 to any one ability score.


CLASSES

Barbarian
- Rage points gone. Instead you can rage up to 4+Con mod rounds per day, plus 2 additional rounds at each level after 1st, and break up the rounds as you see fit. Temporary increases to Con do not increase rage rounds.
- Rage powers no longer cost points and are constant, at-will, 1/round, 1/rage, or 1/day.
- After rage, you are fatigued for twice as many rounds as the rage lasted and cannot enter a new rage while fatiued or exhausted.

Bard
- Bardic knowledge now means that you add half your bard level to all Knowledge checks and can make Knowledge checks untrained.
- Bardic performance can be used 4+Cha mod rounds per day, plus 2 additional rounds at each level after 1st. Activation is a standard action, but it can be maintained as a free action. At 7th level, it only takes a move action to start, and a swift action at 13th level.
- Inspire Courage stops immediately with end of performance, not 5 rounds later.
- May use Perform check in place of certain other skill checks.

Cleric
- Channel Energy only used to heal or harm.
- Turn/Command Undead require feats.

Druid
- Animal companions advance differently, skills & feats must be selected from Animal category unless Int 3 or higher, and some have size increases.

Fighter
- May switch out bonus feats at certain levels.
- Armor training no longer includes increasing bonus to AC.
- Move at normal speed in medium armor, and at 7th level, in heavy armor as well.

Monk
- Wisdom bonus applies to Combat Manuever Defense
- Flurry of blows treated as two-weapon fighting feat progression with a base attack equal to monk level. Can use unarmed attacks and special monk weapons and receive full Str bonus to damage on all attacks (off-hand or two-handed). Also, may substitute disarm, sunder, or trip for unarmed attack as part of flurry. Natural attacks cannot be used in a flurry.
- Stunning fist capable of more than stunning at higher levels.
- Monk level used in place of BAB for combat maneuvers @ 3rd level.
- Monk level added to Acrobatics checks & treat as running start @ 5th level.
- Ki points grant an extra attack, increased speed, bonus to AC, heal, dimension door.
- Spell resistance

Paladin
- Can use a move action to detect evil on a single object or individual.
- Smite evil requires a swift action to activate and bonus damage applies to certain creature types. Smiting also bypasses any DR of the target and provides an AC bonus against it.
- Lay on Hands can be used 1/2 paladin level + Cha bonus times per day to heal 1d6/two paladin levels on yourself as swift action or on others as standard action. Also, mercy powers provide additional curative aids.
- Channel energy requires two uses of Lay on Hands and effective cleric level is equal to paladin level.
- Paladin caster level is paladin level -3.
- Divine mount functions as animal companion and effective druid level is equal to paladin level.

Ranger
- Knowledge skill check bonus for favored enemy.
- Half ranger level added to Survival checks for tracking.
- Does not leave tracks through favored terrain.
- Animal companion shares bonuses for favored enemy & terrain.
- Effective druid level for animal companion equal to ranger level -3.
- Caster level equal to ranger level -3.

Rogue
- Trapfinding allows a rogue to add half her level to Perception checks for traps & Disable Device checks and the ability to disarm magical traps.
- Sneak attack cannot be made against a target with concealment.

Sorcerer
- Eschew Materials as bonus feat at 1st level.

Wizard
- Bonded objects rules are clearer:
-- can be used 1/day to cast any spell from your spellbook.
-- magic properties can be added at the appropriate level as if possessing item creation feats.
-- must be worn/wielded to cast any spell or else a concentration check of DC 20+spell level is needed to cast.
- Spells prepared from opposition school use up two spell slots of that level.


SKILLS

Acrobatics
- Used to balance, move thru threatened squares (only with light load and in light or no armor), jump (10 ft running start), and reduce damage from purposeful jump.
- No jump can allow you to exceed maximum movement for the round.
- 3 or more ranks provides increased dodge bonus to AC for fighting defensively/total defense.

Appraise
- Standard action and DC 20 to determine value of common item.
- Full-round action and DC 20-30 to determine the most valuable object in a treasure hoard.

Diplomacy
- DC based on attitude + Cha modifier.
- Used to gather information.

Disable Device
- Disable device w/o trace of tampering increases DC by 5.
- Open lock w/o thieves tools increases DC by 10.

Fly
- Check only needed for complex manuevers.

Handle Animal
- Charisma check can be used to handle or push domestic animals if untrained.

Heal
- Treat deadly wounds (DC 20 +2 uses of healer's kit +1 hr) to restore 1 hp/level once per day.

Knowledge
- Can make check untrained but only up to DC 10. A library removes this limit but requires 1d4 hrs.

Linguistics
- Must be trained but can always attempt to read strange/archaic forms of your own racial bonus languages and detect a forgery.

Ride
- Move action required to sit up from taking cover.

Sleight of Hand
- Can make check untrained only up to DC 10, except for hiding objects on body.


FEATS
- Feats that provide +2 bonuses to skill checks increase to +4 with 10 ranks in the skill.
- Critical feats add conditions to critical hits.
- "Greater" feats for bull rush, disarm, feint, grapple, etc.
- Toughness gives +3 hp and 1 hp/HD beyond 3.
- Turn and Command Undead are now feats.


COMBAT
- Death occurs when hit points drop to the negative value of your Con score.
- If penalties reduce damage below 1 point, 1 point of non-lethal damage is taken instead.
- No attacks of opportunity while taking Total Defense.
- Invisible enemies still receive an attack of opportunity if you Withdraw.
- DC 10 Constitution check to stabilize with a penalty equal to the negative hp value. Natural 20 is automatic success. Anyone taking continuous damage cannot stabilize.
- Stable characters below 0 hp can become conscious 1 hour after being tended (and every hour after) with a DC 10 Con check with a penalty equal to the negative hp value. Natural 20 is automatic success. Conscious characters with negative hp are treated as disabled. Consciousness is automatically regained when hp reach 1 or higher.
- Non-lethal damage in excess of a character's total hit point value is treated as lethal damage (except for those with regeneration).
- Combat maneuver rolls count as attack rolls.
- Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB) is equal to BAB +Str mod +special size modifier.
- Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD) is a DC equal to 10 +Str mod +Dex mod +BAB +special size modifier, and creature can add any bonuses that would normally apply to its AC, except for armor, natural armor, shield, and size bonuses.
- Damage taken from an attack of opportunity caused by a combat maneuver is applied as a penalty to the maneuver roll.


MAGIC
- Concentration check is 1d20 +caster level +ability modifier
- Cast defensively DC is 15 +double spell level
- Spells with a variable duration are rolled secretly so the caster doesn't know how long the spell will last.
- Creatures feel a tingle or hostile force when a spell without obvious effect targets them but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. The caster senses when a creature succeeds on a saving throw against a targeted spell.
- Caster does not know if creatures succeed on saves against effect or area spells.

[reefwood]

2) Deities


Deity (AL) - Portfolios - Domains - Favored Weapon

Erastil (LG) - God of farming, hunting, trade, family - Animal, Community, Good, Law, Plant - longbow
Iomedae (LG) - Goddess of valor, rulership, justice, honor - Glory, Good, Law, Sun, War - longsword
Torag (LG) - God of the forge, protection, strategy - Artifice, Earth, Good, Law, Protection - warhammer
Sarenrae (NG) - Goddess of the sun, redemption, honesty, healing - Fire, Glory, Good, Healing, Sun - scimitar
Shelyn (NG) - Goddess of beauty, art, love, music - Air, Charm, Good, Luck, Protection - glaive
Desna (CG) - Goddess of dreams, stars, travelers, luck - Chaos, Good, Liberation, Luck, Travel - starknife
Cayden Cailean (CG) - God of freedom, wine, bravery - Chaos, Charm, Good, Strength, Travel - rapier

Abadar (LN) - God of cities, wealth, merchants, law - Earth, Law, Nobility, Protection, Travel - light crossbow
Irori (LN) - God of history, knowledge, self-perfection Healing, Knowledge, Law, Rune, Strength - unarmed strike
Gozreh (N) - Deity of nature, weather, the sea - Air, Animal, Plant, Water, Weather - trident
Pharasma (N) - Goddess of fate, death, prophecy, birth - Death, Knowledge, Healing, Repose, Water - dagger
Nethys (N) - God of magic - Destruction, Knowledge, Magic, Protection, Rune - quarterstaff
Gorum (CN) - God of strength, battle, weapons - Chaos, Destruction, Glory, Strength, War - greatsword
Calistria (CN) - Goddess of trickery, lust, revenge - Chaos, Charm, Knowledge, Luck, Trickery - whip

Asmodeus (LE) - God of tyranny, slavery, pride, contracts - Evil, Fire, Law, Magic, Trickery - mace
Zon-Kuthon (LE) - God of envy, pain, darkness, loss - Darkness, Death, Destruction, Evil, Law - spiked chain
Urgathoa (NE) - Goddess of gluttony, disease, undeath - Death, Evil, Magic, Strength, War - scythe
Norgorber (NE) - God of greed, secrets, poison, murder - Charm, Death, Evil, Knowledge, Trickery - short sword
Lamashtu (CE) - Goddess of madness, monsters, nightmares - Chaos, Evil, Madness, Strength, Trickery - falchion
Rovagug (CE) - God of wrath, disaster, destruction - Chaos, Evil, Destruction, War, Weather - greataxe

[reefwood]

3) Damage Reduction

Since our warforged friends have DR, I thought it would be a good idea to see how it works and works differently in Pathfinder.

The numerical part of a creature's damage reduction (or DR) is the amount of damage the creature ignores from normal attacks. Usually, a certain type of weapon can overcome this reduction (see Overcoming DR). This information is separated from the damage reduction number by a slash. For example, DR 5/magic means that a creature takes 5 less points of damage from all weapons that are not magic. If a dash follows the slash (DR5/-), then the damage reduction is effective against any attack that does not ignore damage reduction.

This is pretty straightforward and the same as 3.5. The DR is a certain amount. It can be overcome by a certain kind of weapon or not at all. "Normal attacks" is a bit ambiguous, but the rest of the entry clarifies it.

Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury poison, a monk's stunning, and injury-based disease. Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact.

Attacks that deal no damage because of the target's damage reduction do not disrupt spells.

Spells, spell-like abilities, and energy attacks (even nonmagical fire) ignore damage reduction.

This looks to work the same too, but I want to go over a few examples (found in the bestiary) to make sure we are on the same page.

Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack
Melee bite +1 (1d4 plus disease) - the entry for this disease specifies it requires injury, so if DR completely negates the damage, the target is not exposed to this disease.
Melee 2 claws +14 (2d6+7 plus grab) - this one seems a bit fuzzier at first, but that might be because of my 3.5 mind thinking. Grab makes me think of Grapple, and 3.5 Grapple starts off with a touch attack, and DR does not negate touch attacks. However, Grapple works differently in Pathfinder and doesn't involve a touch attack. Therefore, I'd say that negated damage means the grab does not happen.
Melee glaive +11/+6 melee (1d10+6 plus infernal wound) - negated damage means no infernal wound since the entry states it is something resulting from the wound, and no damage means no wound.

Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains.
I think most touch attacks deal damage from spells, so DR wouldn't apply anyway, but this is something I never realized before and is good to note.
Melee slam +4 (1d4 plus burn) - burn deals energy (fire) damage, so a successful hit still deals fire damage even if the slam damage is negated by DR.
Melee 2 slams +9 (1d6+3 plus 1d6 cold) - same deal here, so a successful hit deals 1d6 cold damage regardless of DR
Ranged +1 flaming composite longbow +14/+14/+9 (1d8+6/×3 plus 1d6 fire) - and again, a successful hit deals 1d6 fire damage even if the arrow damage is negated by DR

Spells, spell-like abilities, and energy attacks (even nonmagical fire) ignore damage reduction.
Pretty straightforward and the same as 3.5 here too. Examples of energy attacks include a flask of acid or alchemist's fire. I don't think of acid as a form of energy in our world, but it is an energy type in D&D, as are cold, electricity, fire, and sonic.

Sometimes damage reduction represents instant healing. Sometimes it represents the creature's tough hide or body. In either case, other characters can see that conventional attacks won't work.

You notice when damage is being reduced or negated. Same as 3.5.

If a creature has damage reduction from more than one source, the two forms of damage reduction do not stack. Instead, the creature gets the benefit of the best damage reduction in a given situation.

If the creature has DR 5/magic from one source and DR 10/magic from another source, it has a total of DR 10/magic.
If the creature has DR 5/magic and DR 10/cold iron, it ignores 5 points of damage from weapons that aren't magic and 10 points of damage from weapons that aren't cold iron, and additionally, a magic cold iron weapon is required to overcome all the DR of this creature and deal full damage.
An example closer to home would be if Sermon gained DR 1/- from taking levels in Barbarian. His DR 3/adamantine would reduce damage from normal attacks by non-adamantine weapons by 3. Damage from adamantine weapons would be reduced by 1. Although, +4 magic weapons would also overcome his DR 3/adamantine, and this is something new that is explained at the end of this entry.

Overcoming DR: Damage reduction may be overcome by special materials, magic weapons (any weapon with a +1 or higher enhancement bonus, not counting the enhancement from masterwork quality), certain types of weapons (such as slashing or bludgeoning), and weapons imbued with an alignment.

Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Similarly, ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an alignment gains the alignment of that projectile weapon (in addition to any alignment it may already have).

This is looks work the same as well:
DR 5/magic - a magic weapon of +1 or higher
DR 5/silver - a silver weapon
DR 10/magic and silver - a silvered magic weapon of +1 or higher
DR 10/magic or silver - a magic weapon of +1 or a silver weapon

Weapons with an enhancement bonus of +3 or greater can ignore some types of damage reduction, regardless of their actual material or alignment. The following table shows what type of enhancement bonus is needed to overcome some common types of damage reduction.

This is new. Basically it means that if your magic weapon is awesome enough, it can cut through anything:
+3 overcomes cold iron/silver
+4 overcomes adamantine (but does not ignore hardness)
+5 overcomes alignment-based (good, evil, chaotic, lawful)

EDIT: Mithral weapons count as silver for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

[icnivad]

we talked about this the other night, but I wanted to put it here, that I think we are still unsure how much nonlethal damage a character can take.

[reefwood]

4) Nonlethal Damage

Nonlethal damage represents harm to a character that is not life-threatening. Unlike normal damage, nonlethal damage is healed quickly with rest.

Dealing Nonlethal Damage: Certain attacks deal nonlethal damage. Other effects, such as heat or being exhausted, also deal nonlethal damage. When you take nonlethal damage, keep a running total of how much you've accumulated. Do not deduct the nonlethal damage number from your current hit points. It is not “real” damage. Instead, when your nonlethal damage equals your current hit points, you're staggered (see below), and when it exceeds your current hit points, you fall unconscious.

These are the basics of how nonlethal damage works, but it turns out, there is more to it explained below.

Nonlethal Damage with a Weapon that Deals Lethal Damage: You can use a melee weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage instead, but you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll.

Lethal Damage with a Weapon that Deals Nonlethal Damage: You can use a weapon that deals nonlethal damage, including an unarmed strike, to deal lethal damage instead, but you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll.

Pretty straightforward. If the merciful lance is ever in lethal damage mode, it can deal nonlethal damage with a -4 penalty just like any other regular weapon. However, I am going to rule that when the merciful enchantment is in effect ("weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of damage, and all damage it deals is nonlethal damage"), it is impossible for the lance to deal lethal damage.

Staggered and Unconscious: When your nonlethal damage equals your current hit points, you're staggered. You can only take a standard action or a move action in each round (in addition to free, immediate, and swift actions). You cease being staggered when your current hit points once again exceed your nonlethal damage.

An important thing to note between lethal and nonlethal damage is that when staggered, taking a standard action does not make you lose a hit point.

When your nonlethal damage exceeds your current hit points, you fall unconscious. While unconscious, you are helpless.

Spellcasters who fall unconscious retain any spellcasting ability they had before going unconscious.

If a creature's nonlethal damage is equal to his total maximum hit points (not his current hit points), all further nonlethal damage is treated as lethal damage. This does not apply to creatures with regeneration. Such creatures simply accrue additional nonlethal damage, increasing the amount of time they remain unconscious.

This last paragraph contains the key info I was looking for during the combat. Nonlethal damage turns lethal when the amount is more that your total hp. Let's have some examples! We'll use Gregor - a human 2nd-level commoner with 10 hit points and Con 11 (+0).

1) Gregor gets hit for 10 pts of nonlethal damage. He is staggered because the nonlethal damage is equal to his current hp of 10/10. If he receives 1 temporary hit point, this does not heal any damage, but it would bring his current hp to 11/10, which is higher than the 10 pts of nonlethal damage, so he is again fully functional.

2) Gregor gets hit for 11 pts of nonlethal damage. That turns into 10 pts of nonlethal damage and 1 pt of lethal damage, so he is now at 9/10 hp with 10 pts of nonlethal. The 10 pts of nonlethal damage exceeds his current hp, so he falls unconscious.

3) Gregor gets his for 4 pts of lethal damage. He is still fully functional at 6/10 hp. The next hits delivers 6 pts of nonlethal damage. He is staggered because current hp and nonlethal are now equal. Additionally...
- If he gets hit for 1 pt nonlethal, his nonlethal goes up to 7 pts and exceeds his current 6/10 hp, so he falls unconscious.
- If he gets hit for 1 pt of lethal damage, it drops his current hp to 5/10, and now the 6 pts of nonlethal exceed his current hp, so he falls unconscious.

4) Gregor gets hit for 12 pts of nonlethal damage which turns into 10 pts of nonlethal damage and 2 pts of lethal damage. He is at 8/10 hp, and the 10 pts of nonlethal exceed his current hp, so he falls unconscious.

5) Gregor is hit for 7 pts of lethal damage. He is down to 3/10 hp:
- If he gets hit for 4 pts of nonlethal damage, he is unconscious because this exceeds his 3/10 hp.
- If he gets hit for 13 pts of nonlethal damage, it becomes 10 pts of nonlethal damage and 3 pts of lethal damage, which drops him to 0/10 hp with 10 pts nonlethal. Being at 0 hp means he is disabled. Since the nonlethal damage exceeds his current hp, he is also unconscious. 1 more pt of lethal damage would put him at -1 and dying. Additionally, 1 more pt of nonlethal damage would turn into 1 pt of lethal damage because he can't take any more nonlethal damage, so this would also put him at -1 hp and dying.

6) Gregor is having a happy day when Sir Lance-a-lot hits him for 21 pts of nonlethal damage. This turns into 10 pts of nonlethal damage and 11 pts of lethal damage, so Gregor is down to -1/10 hp and dying.

7) Gregor is hit for 6 pts of lethal damage by Corporal Contraption. He is down to 4/10 hp. Then, Sir Lance-a-lot charges him for 27 pts of nonlethal damage. This turns into 10 pts of nonlethal damage and 17 pts of lethal damamge, which drops Gregor to -13/10 hp and kills him because he has a Con score of 11, so he dies at -11 hp. It is a sad day for Gregor. If his Constitution score was 14, he would still be alive but dying and bleed out in 1 round unless somehow stabilized.

Healing Nonlethal Damage: You heal nonlethal damage at the rate of 1 hit point per hour per character level. When a spell or ability cures hit point damage, it also removes an equal amount of nonlethal damage.

Gregor is down to 3/10 hp and has 7 pts nonlethal damage. He is unconscious because his nonlethal damage (7 pts) exceeds his current hp (3/10). A friend casts cure light wounds for 2 hp. Gregor now has 5/10 hp and only 5 pts nonlethal damage. He wakes up. He is still staggered but now conscious. It is a good day.

If Gregor had no friends, he would lay on the ground alone and heal 2 pts of nonlethal damage each hour, so he would wake up in 2 hours [(1 pt x level 2) = 2 pt/hr x2 hrs = 4 pts]. The first hour reduces nonlethal damage from 7 pts to 5 pts. The second hour reduces nonlethal damage from 5 pts to 3 pts, which is now equal to his current hp of 3/10 hp, so he is staggered but conscious again, and he goes out in search of friends.

Minimum Damage: If penalties reduce the damage result to less than 1, a hit still deals 1 point of nonlethal damage.

I found this in another part of the Combat section, but it is about nonlethal damage and is a change from 3.5. If you stab someone with a dagger and have a Str mod -3, the damage roll is 1d4-3. If you roll 2, that means 2 -3 = -1 pt of damage. In 3.5, this would still be 1 pt of lethal damage. In Pathfinder, this is 1 pt of nonlethal damage instead.

[reefwood]

5) Injury and Death

Your hit points measure how hard you are to kill. No matter how many hit points you lose, your character isn't hindered in any way until your hit points drop to 0 or lower.

Loss of Hit Points

The most common way that your character gets hurt is to take lethal damage and lose hit points.

What Hit Points Represent: Hit points mean two things in the game world: the ability to take physical punishment and keep going, and the ability to turn a serious blow into a less serious one.

Effects of Hit Point Damage: Damage doesn't slow you down until your current hit points reach 0 or lower. At 0 hit points, you're disabled.

If your hit point total is negative, but not equal to or greater than your Constitution score, you are unconscious and dying.

When your negative hit point total is equal to your Constitution, you're dead.

These are the basics. What it all means and it works is explained below. Also, Gregor was such a good sport last time that we're bringing him back to help this make sense.

Disabled (0 Hit Points)

When your current hit point total drops to exactly 0, you are disabled.

You gain the staggered condition and can only take a single move or standard action each turn (but not both, nor can you take full-round actions). You can take move actions without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other strenuous action) you take 1 point of damage after completing the act. Unless your activity increased your hit points, you are now at –1 hit points and dying.

Healing that raises your hit points above 0 makes you fully functional again, just as if you'd never been reduced to 0 or fewer hit points.

You can also become disabled when recovering from dying. In this case, it's a step toward recovery, and you can have fewer than 0 hit points (see Stable Characters and Recovery).

You all know how this works, but I'm having fun with the examples, so...

Gregor has taken 10 pts of lethal damage. He is down to 0/10 hp, and therefore, disabled. These are some sets of actions Gregor can do on his turn:
- Curse the goblin that stabbed him (free action) and cast cure light wounds (standard action) which gives him 1 pt of lethal damage, so he drops down toward -1 hp, but the spell will provide at least 2 hp of healing, so Gregor will wind up with at least 1/10 hp and be fully functional again.
- Walk his speed across the room (move action) and drop the sword in his hand (free action).
- Climb one-quarter his speed up the wall (move action).
- Let go of the wall (free action), cast feather fall (immediate action), and make a Stealth check as he creeps up to a door at half his speed, or faster at a -5 penalty (move action).
- Open a door (move action), say hello to the goblin inside (free action), and cast a quickened spell (swift action). If he wants to close the door (move action), he must wait until his next turn.
- Attack the goblin (standard action), but the effort gives him 1 pt of lethal damage, so he drops to -1 hp and is dying. Poor Gregor.

Dying (Negative Hit Points)

If your hit point total is negative, but not equal to or greater than your Constitution score, you're dying.

A dying character immediately falls unconscious and can take no actions.

A dying character loses 1 hit point every round. This continues until the character dies or becomes stable.

Dead

When your character's current hit points drop to a negative amount equal to his Constitution score or lower, or if he succumbs to massive damage, he's dead. A character can also die from taking ability damage or suffering an ability drain that reduces his Constitution score to 0 (see Special Abilities).

Certain types of powerful magic, such as raise dead and resurrection, can restore life to a dead character. See Magic for more information.

Gregor has taken 11 pts of lethal damage, so he is at -1/10 hp and dying. He will take 1 pt of lethal damage every round unless he becomes stable (DC 15 Heal check, stabilize, cure spell, etc). His Constitution score is 11 (+0), so he will die when he drops down to -11/10 hp. How long will this take? Let's see:

- If he does not stabilize, he will take 1 pt of lethal damage each round, so he will die in 10 rounds on his turn when his hp fall to -11.

- He will die sooner if he takes more damage from something else.

- He will die sooner if he takes Con damage. This can push him closer to death in 3 ways, especially if he takes at least 2 pts of Con damage because this will change his Con modifier too. First, a lower Con score means it takes less damage to kill him [i.e. 1 pt of Con damage means death at -10 hp, 2 pts of Con damage means death at -9 hp.]. Second, his current and total hp both drop if the Con damage changes his Con modifier [i.e. 2nd-level character with Con 11 (+0) dropping to Con 9 (-1) would go from -1/10 hp to -3/8 hp]. Third, a lower Con modifier would make it harder to succeed on the Con check to stabilize [i.e. 1d20 +0 Con -1 hp = 1d20-1 ---to--- 1d20 -1 Con -1 hp = 1d20-2.

In total, 2 pts of Con damage has Gregor drop from Con 11 (+0) to Con 9 (-1). His hp drop from -1/10 hp to -3/8 hp, and he will die at -9 hp, so instead of dying in 10 rounds, he will die in only 6 rounds if he does not stabilize.

[reefwood]

6) Stabilization

On the character's next turn, after being reduced to negative hit points (but not dead), and on all subsequent turns, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check to become stable. The character takes a penalty on this roll equal to his negative hit point total. A character that is stable does not need to make this check. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success. If the character fails this check, he loses 1 hit point. An unconscious or dying character cannot use any special action that changes the initiative count on which his action occurs.

This is where it says that you don't start automatically losing hit points until the turn after you go down and that it happens on your turn.

In last example of the previous post, Gregor had Con 11 (+0) and was at -1/10 hp. If he rolled a 10, it would be 10 +0 Con -1 hp = 9, so he would fail against DC 10 and drop to -2/10 hp. The chances of stabilizing appear to be much better than the 10% in 3.5, but it does get harder each round you fail since this causes the penalty to increase.

Characters taking continuous damage, such as from an acid arrow or a bleed effect, automatically fail all Constitution checks made to stabilize. Such characters lose 1 hit point per round in addition to the continuous damage.

If Gregor was at -1/10 hp and took 2 pts of continuous damage on his next turn, he would automatically drop to -4/10 hp without a Con check. The math is -1/10 hp -2 damage -1 dying = -4/10 hp.

You can keep a dying character from losing any more hit points and make him stable with a DC 15 Heal check.

If any sort of healing cures the dying character of even 1 point of damage, he becomes stable and stops losing hit points.

It doesn't say this directly, but I would rule that if you are stable at negative hit points but then take more damage, you would unstabilize, and therefore, be dying again since it is a new wound below 0 hp that needs to be stabilized.

Healing that raises the dying character's hit points to 0 makes him conscious and disabled. Healing that raises his hit points to 1 or more makes him fully functional again, just as if he'd never been reduced to 0 or lower. A spellcaster retains the spellcasting capability she had before dropping below 0 hit points.

This is pretty straightforward. As soon as you return to 0 hp, you are back in it, but you need to be at least 1 hp to be fully functional.

A stable character who has been tended by a healer or who has been magically healed eventually regains consciousness and recovers hit points naturally. If the character has no one to tend him, however, his life is still in danger, and he may yet slip away.

Recovering with Help: One hour after a tended, dying character becomes stable, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check to become conscious. The character takes a penalty on this roll equal to his negative hit point total. Conscious characters with negative hit point totals are treated as disabled characters. If the character remains unconscious, he receives another check every hour to regain consciousness. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success. Even if unconscious, the character recovers hit points naturally. He automatically regains consciousness when his hit points rise to 1 or higher.

This is one thing that I think we forget about. You can become conscious at negative hit points. If Gregor is stable at -3 hp and has been tended to by someone, but no one can heal him for more, he can wake up by making a Con check in hour. He needs to roll at least a 13 because 13 -3 hp = 10. He can try again every hour.

There are also rules on recovering without help. It is much harder to recover if no one has tended to you. You take 1 pt of damage every time you fail the hourly Con check to wake up. Success wakes you up and takes you to the next stage, which is that you don't start healing until you rest 8 hrs and make another Con check. Success means you start healing and are done with Con checks. Failure results in 1 pt of damage and no healing on this day, but you remain conscious and can try again the next day.

[reefwood]

7) Identifying Magic Items

It seems that between the Magic Domain allowing Clerics to cast identify without the 100 gp pearl component and items/spells in the expansion books also getting around that expense in 3.5 that Pathfinder decided to just not bother with there being a cost to ID the properties of magic items.

How it works now is that after studying a magic item for 3 rounds with detect magic, you can make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + item's caster level) to identify the magic properties of that item. It takes 3 rounds per magic item to identify properties, but if you fail, you can't try again until the next day. Also, the spell identify now works like detect magic except that it give you a +10 enhancement bonus to this Spellcraft check and only lasts 3 rounds/level.

One other thing to note about detect magic (and therefore, identify too) is that it seems like you can still try to identify all auras in sight on the 3rd round by making a Knowledge (arcana) check (DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + 1/2 caster level for a nonspell effect). And like with other Knowledge checks, if you don't know it on the first try, you don't know it. No retries. Anyway, if you have two magic items, you could try to determine both their auras in 3 rounds, but it takes 6 rounds (3 each) to make checks to identify the properites of both magic items.

EDIT: Since "you must be able to thoroughly examine the object" that you are trying to identify, I am going to say that you have to be holding it (if it is small enough) or able to touch it (if it is too heavy or cumbersome to hold) and see all of it.

Detect Magic

3rd Round: The strength and location of each aura. If the items or creatures bearing the auras are in line of sight, you can make Knowledge (arcana) skill checks to determine the school of magic involved in each. (Make one check per aura: DC 15 + spell level, or 15 + 1/2 caster level for a nonspell effect.) If the aura eminates from a magic item, you can attempt to identify its properties (see Spellcraft).

Identify

This spell functions as detect magic, except that it gives you a +10 enhancement bonus on Spellcraft checks made to identify the properties and command words of magic items in your possession. This spell does not allow you to identify artifacts.

Spellcraft

Action: Attempting to ascertain the properties of a magic item takes 3 rounds per item to be identified and you must be able to thoroughly examine the object.

Retry: When using detect magic or identify to learn the properties of magic items, you can only attempt to ascertain the properties of an individual item once per day. Additional attempts reveal the same results.

[reefwood]

8a) Cover

Cover provides a bonus to AC. This bonus applies against ranged and melee attacks, as well as combat maneuvers since they are attack rolls. Cover also provides a bonus to Reflex saves against attacks that originate or burst out from a point on the other side of the cover from you, such as a ray or burning hands spell.

Standard cover: +4 bonus to AC; +2 bonus on Reflex saves
Partial cover: +2 bonus to AC; +1 bonus on Reflex saves
Soft cover: +4 bonus to AC; no bonus on Reflex saves
Improved cover: +8 bonus to AC; +4 bonus & improved evasion on Reflex saves

Partial cover is subject to DM discretion, improved cover is based on special circumstances, and I'd say there can even be a form of cover between normal cover and improved cover, so something that gives +6 AC; +3 Reflex & regular evasion.

Another thing to note is the cover provides an untyped bonus, so it stacks with anything - other bonuses to AC/Reflex and itself. If you shoot an arrow at a target on the other side of A) one creature (soft cover) and a corner (standard cover), or B) two creatures (soft cover x2), the target would have a +8 bonus to AC on top any other bonuses to AC (i.e. armor, shield, deflection, etc).

Cover is covered in the Combat section of the PRD and includes a diagram to show examples.

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Here's a summary/breakdown of the rules with some of my take on them:

Ranged: To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target's square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).

Melee: When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has cover if any line from any corner of your square to the target's square goes through a wall (including a low wall). When making a melee attack against a target that isn't adjacent to you (such as with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.

The difference between ranged and melee attacks is that... for ranged, you just need one corner of your square to reach all the corners of the target for a clear shot... for melee into an adjacent square, all corners of your square need to reach all the target corners for a clean swing, but if the target isn't adjacent, you just need one corner of your square to reach all the target corners.

So if you and your target are diagonally adjacent to each other at the corner of a building, a bow could shoot a clear shot around the corner, but the corner would get in the way of a sword swing. If you two weren't adjacent but still on opposite sides of the corner, a longspear might be able to avoid cover depending on the positioning of you and the target.

Low Obstacles and Cover: A low obstacle (such as a wall no higher than half your height) provides cover, but only to creatures within 30 feet (6 squares) of it. The attacker can ignore the cover if he's closer to the obstacle than his target.

Cover and Attacks of Opportunity: You can't execute an attack of opportunity against an opponent with cover relative to you.

Cover and Reflex Saves: Cover grants you a +2 bonus on Reflex saves against attacks that originate or burst out from a point on the other side of the cover from you. Note that spread effects can extend around corners and thus negate this cover bonus.

Cover and Stealth Checks: You can use cover to make a Stealth check. Without cover, you usually need concealment (see below) to make a Stealth check.

A low wall will provide different cover for different-sized creatures. Something that gives a Medium creature standard cover would probably give better cover to a Small creature and less cover to Large creature and maybe nothing to a Huge creature.

Casting spells and taking bow shots around corners is awesome.

Cover from a corner won't give you any help against a fireball spell because it is a spread, and a spread goes around corners.

Attacking from around a corner is one way to get in a sneak attack.

Soft Cover: Creatures, even your enemies, can provide you with cover against ranged attacks, giving you a +4 bonus to AC. However, such soft cover provides no bonus on Reflex saves, nor does soft cover allow you to make a Stealth check

Friend or foe gets in the way of ranged attacks but doesn't help with Reflex save or let you hide.

Big Creatures and Cover: Any creature with a space larger than 5 feet (1 square) determines cover against melee attacks slightly differently than smaller creatures do. Such a creature can choose any square that it occupies to determine if an opponent has cover against its melee attacks. Similarly, when making a melee attack against such a creature, you can pick any of the squares it occupies to determine if it has cover against you.

If you or your target take up more than 1 square, it provides more options for targeting. Additionally, if you are fighting an ogre around a corner, it has a 10 ft reach, and therefore, determines cover as a ranged attack, so it can reach around that corner to smash you.

Partial Cover: If a creature has cover, but more than half the creature is visible, its cover bonus is reduced to a +2 to AC and a +1 bonus on Reflex saving throws. This partial cover is subject to the GM's discretion.

Total Cover: If you don't have line of effect to your target (that is, you cannot draw any line from your square to your target's square without crossing a solid barrier), he is considered to have total cover from you. You can't make an attack against a target that has total cover.

Improved Cover: In some cases, such as attacking a target hiding behind an arrowslit, cover may provide a greater bonus to AC and Reflex saves. In such situations, the normal cover bonuses to AC and Reflex saves can be doubled (to +8 and +4, respectively). A creature with this improved cover effectively gains improved evasion against any attack to which the Reflex save bonus applies. Furthermore, improved cover provides a +10 bonus on Stealth checks.

Nothing more to say about this.

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8b) Tower Shield

Shield, Tower: This massive wooden shield is nearly as tall as you are. In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. As a standard action, however, you can use a tower shield to grant you total cover until the beginning of your next turn. When using a tower shield in this way, you must choose one edge of your space. That edge is treated as a solid wall for attacks targeting you only. You gain total cover for attacks that pass through this edge and no cover for attacks that do not pass through this edge (see Combat). The shield does not, however, provide cover against targeted spells; a spellcaster can cast a spell on you by targeting the shield you are holding. You cannot bash with a tower shield, nor can you use your shield hand for anything else.

When employing a tower shield in combat, you take a –2 penalty on attack rolls because of the shield's encumbrance.

The phrasing "grant you total cover" and "attacks targeting you only" says to me that the "total cover" use of the tower shield only provides this benefit to the shield wielder (you). Not to those behind you. I think this makes sense because the square is 5 ft wide, but the shield isn't that wide. It's wide enough to cover you up but not the entire square, so attacks can still pass through your square. Of course, you will still provide soft cover to those behind you.

Additionally, if someone can reach around the "total cover" edge of your square, such as attacking with a ranged weapon or reach weapon from the proper angle, you receive no cover from that attack.

And spells can still target you, but it seems a bit unclear about spells that don't target you (i.e. area spells). It seems like total cover would keep you safe from a burst because it doesn't go around corners, and I think this effect is over when the action ends. Total cover would not help with a spread because it goes around corners. An emanation is like a burst, but it lasts for the duration of the spell (i.e. usually more than one round), so I'd say if total cover keeps you safe from a burst, it will keep you safe from an emanation as long as you keep using a standard action each turn to maintain the the total cover.

[reefwood]

9) Combat Maneuvers

Bullrush, Disarm, Grapple, Overrun, Sunder, and Trip are now grouped together as Combat Maneuvers which all follow the same basic rules (but still have different results and ways to be modified). You provoke an attack of opportunity, then make an attack roll (with a penalty equal to damage take by the AoO) to beat the defense of the target. There are no more opposed rolls. There is an "Improved" feat for each maneuver which allows the attacker to avoid the attack of opportunity and increases your attack and defense with that maneuver by +2, and a "Greater" feat that increases the bonuses by another +2 and gives an additional bonus based on the specific maneuver.


Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB)
This is the modifier that you use for the attack roll to attempt a Combat Maneuver.

CMB = Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + special size modifier.

Tiny creatures or smaller use Dex instead of Str. The special size modifier is: Fine –8, Diminutive –4, Tiny –2, Small –1, Medium +0, Large +1, Huge +2, Gargantuan +4, Colossal +8. Some feats and abilities grant a bonus to CMB when performing specific maneuvers. If your target is immobilized, unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated, your maneuver automatically succeeds (treat as if you rolled a natural 20 on the attack roll). If your target is stunned, you receive a +4 bonus on your attack roll to perform a combat maneuver against it.

Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver. Combat Maneuvers are attack rolls, so you must roll for concealment and take any other penalties that would normally apply to an attack roll.


Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD)
This is basically the AC you need to hit (or DC you need to meet) to succeed on a Combat Maneuver.

CMD = 10 + Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + Dexterity modifier + special size modifier

Some feats and abilities grant a bonus to your CMD when resisting specific maneuvers. A creature can also add any circumstance, deflection, dodge, insight, luck, morale, profane, and sacred bonuses to AC to its CMD. Any penalties to a creature's AC also apply to its CMD. A flat-footed creature does not add its Dexterity bonus to its CMD.


Determine Success
If your attack roll equals or exceeds the CMD of the target, your maneuver is a success and has the listed effect. Some maneuvers have varying levels of success depending on how much your attack roll exceeds the target's CMD. Rolling a natural 20 while attempting a combat maneuver is always a success (except when attempting to escape from bonds), while rolling a natural 1 is always a failure.

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A) Grapple
This has been greatly simplified. All the steps required to attempt a grapple now follow the basic Combat Maneuver rules - you provoke an attack of opportunity and make one roll. Grapplers no longer share a square, and the attacker does not move. Important things to note are:

1) Humanoid creatures without two free hands attempting to grapple a foe take a –4 penalty on the combat maneuver roll.

2) If you successfully grapple a creature that is not adjacent to you, move that creature to an adjacent open space (if no space is available, your grapple fails). *Since it does not say otherwise, I assume that this movement by the target would provoke an attack of opportunity from enemies as normal for movement out of a threatened square, if applicable, but not the grappler since s/he no longer can make AoOs anyway.

3) The initiator can release the grapple as a free action. Otherwise, a standard action to make another grapple check must be taken in subsequent rounds to maintain the hold, and you receive a +5 circumstance bonus on these subsequent checks until the grapple is broken, and succeeding on this check allows to you to also move, inflict damage, pin, or tie up the target.

The grappler and target in a grapple both gain the "grappled" condition:
Grappled: A grappled creature is restrained by a creature, trap, or effect. Grappled creatures cannot move and take a –4 penalty to Dexterity. A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple. In addition, grappled creatures can take no action that requires two hands to perform. A grappled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level), or lose the spell. Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity.

A grappled creature cannot use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling it, even if a special ability, such as hide in plain sight, would normally allow it to do so. If a grappled creature becomes invisible, through a spell or other ability, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus on its CMD to avoid being grappled, but receives no other benefit.

What has changed from 3.5 is that you no longer lose your Dex bonus, so you are no longer flat-footed or susceptible to attacks that benefit from the loss of Dex bonus (i.e. sneak attack). Of course, the Dex penalty still drops your AC, and a Rogue can still flank to get a sneak attack. Though, I'm not sure if you can flank with the grappler. Those with the grappled condition can't make AoOs, but it doesn't say they lose the ability to threaten, and they seem to clearly threaten the other person in the grapple, and being able to threaten in melee is how to achieve a flank, so I'll do more research on this aspect.

Also, the note about not being able to perform actions that require two hands seems to indicate that you can still do things with one hand, such as draw a weapon or retrieve an item.

A quick example... Bob has a CMB of +5 and tries to grapple Jim with a CMD of 12. Bob provokes an AoO from Jim. Jim does 3 points of damage. Bob rolls 10 +5 CMB -3 penalty = 13. Bob just barely but successfully gets Jim into a grapple. Jim fails to break the grapple on his turn. In the next round, Bob uses a move action to pull out a dagger (light weapon) with one hand and a standard action to make another grapple check with a +5 circumstance bonus. Bob rolls 5 +5 CMB +5 circumstance = 15, which beats Jim's CMD of 12, so Bob maintains the grapple and can perform an additional action, which Bob uses to make an attack with the dagger against Jim but at a -2 penalty for being grappled. But on this last grapple check, Bob no longer had two hands free because of the dagger in one hand, so should he receive the -4 penalty for not having 2 hands free, or does that penalty only apply to the initiation roll? I'm going to do some research on that answer.


So, what can you do if someone grappled you? You can:
1) Attempt to escape by making a Combat Maneuver check or Escape Artist check against the CMD of the grappler.

2) Reverse the grapple with a Combat Maneuver check or Escape Artist check against the CMD of the grappler. This means that now only you can release the grapple as a free action, and you will get the +5 circumstance bonus next time.

3) Don't bother making a check and just take any action that requires only one hand to perform, such as casting a spell or making an attack with a light or one-handed weapon against any creature within your reach, including the creature that is grappling you. And as far as I can tell, you can still take multiple actions, such as two move actions or full attack or some other standard combo.


And this is what happens if you are pinned:
Pinned: A pinned creature is tightly bound and can take few actions. A pinned creature cannot move and is flat-footed. A pinned character also takes an additional –4 penalty to his Armor Class. A pinned creature is limited in the actions that it can take. A pinned creature can always attempt to free itself, usually through a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check. A pinned creature can take verbal and mental actions, but cannot cast any spells that require a somatic or material component. A pinned character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level) or lose the spell. Pinned is a more severe version of grappled, and their effects do not stack.

A pinned target can be hit with a sneak attack because it is flat-footed, and therefore, loses its Dex bonus to AC.

[reefwood]

Fly (skill)

This is a Dex-based skill and armor check penalty applies. Size also matters (bigger is worse), and each creature/spell receives a maneuverability score that provides a bonus or penalty. One other thing to note is that a Medium Load (-3) or Heavy Load (-6) incurs an armor check penalty, but this does not stack with the ACP from armor; you simply apply the worse penalty.

Fly modifier: Ranks +/-Dex +/-Size +/-Maneuverability +Misc -ACP

Check: You generally need only make a Fly check when you are attempting a complex maneuver. Without making a check, a flying creature can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. It can also turn up to 45 degrees by sacrificing 5 feet of movement, can rise at half speed at an angle of 45 degrees, and can descend at any angle at normal speed. Note that these restrictions only apply to movement taken during your current turn. At the beginning of the next turn, you can move in a different direction than you did the previous turn without making a check. Taking any action that violates these rules requires a Fly check. The difficulty of these maneuvers varies depending upon the maneuver you are attempting, as noted on the following chart.

Flying Maneuver - Fly DC
Move less than half speed and remain flying - DC 10
Hover - DC 15
Turn greater than 45° by spending 5 feet of movement - DC 15
Turn 180° by spending 10 feet of movement - DC 20
Fly up at greater than 45° angle - DC 20

This is all pretty straight-forward. The rules later add that if you fail a specific maneuver, you have to wait until your next turn to try the same one again. Therefore, I assume you can attempt multiple different maneuvers in the same round regardless of success or failure, and you can even try the same one again if you do succeed the first time.

Lets say you are flying (50 ft fly speed) and want stop to Hover (DC 15) after 2 squares (10 ft). If you succeed, this move action ends. However, if you fail, you must continue to move straight ahead at least until you move a total of 5 squares (25 ft). If you don't want to move straight ahead, you can make a Fly check to turn 90° right (DC 15). If you succeed, you use up 5 ft of movement to turn and can start moving in this new direction and you can try to make another 90° turn during this round, but you still need to move 5 squares (25 ft) this round unless you also succeed on the check to move less than half speed. If you fail, you cannot turn 90° right or left now or at any point during this round, and since you can't turn right or left, I'd say you cannot make a check to turn 180° completely around either. Although, you could move straight down.

Attacked While Flying: You are not considered flat-footed while flying. If you are flying using wings and you take damage while flying, you must make a DC 10 Fly check to avoid losing 10 feet of altitude. This descent does not provoke an attack of opportunity and does not count against a creature's movement.

Collision While Flying: If you are using wings to fly and you collide with an object equal to your size or larger, you must immediately make a DC 25 Fly check to avoid plummeting to the ground, taking the appropriate falling damage.

It's good to know that you are not considered flat-footed while flying, and the rest about being attacked and colliding only applies to winged creatures.

Avoid Falling Damage: If you are falling and have the ability to fly, you can make a DC 10 Fly check to negate the damage. You cannot make this check if you are falling due to a failed Fly check or a collision.

If you can fly but are not actively flying, you can fall, but you do have the chance to negate damage. If you negate damage, you land on your feet. If you take damage, you land prone (as per the falling rules).

High Wind Speeds: Flying in high winds adds penalties on your Fly checks as noted on Table: Wind Effects on Flight. “Checked” means that creatures of that size or smaller must succeed on a DC 20 Fly check to move at all so long as the wind persists. “Blown away” means that creatures of that size or smaller must make a DC 25 Fly check or be blown back 2d6 × 10 feet and take 2d6 points of nonlethal damage. This check must be made every round the creature remains airborne. A creature that is blown away must still make a DC 20 Fly check to move due to also being checked.

This affects any creature that is flying. It probably won't come up much, if ever, and there is a chart in the book with all the info outlined by wind speed and creature size.

Action: None. A Fly check doesn't require an action; it is made as part of another action or as a reaction to a situation.

Try Again: Varies. You can attempt a Fly check to perform the same maneuver on subsequent rounds. If you are using wings and you fail a Fly check by 5 or more, you plummet to the ground, taking the appropriate falling damage (see Environment).

Looks like any Fly check will either be included with a move action or made as a reaction (free action). As such, to Hover will be part of a move action if you are already using a move action to move. Or if you want to start your turn with a Hover, it will require a move action since it is an active effort, but if you fail the Fly check to Hover, the move action will instead be spent to move forward (or in another direction if you succeed on a different Fly check to do so).


Squad Members: Sahme can fly with the fly spell that has a few additional rules (see below). The bloody skeleton nightmares fly magically and don't have to worry about "wing" checks or penalties (Fly mod: +3 Dex +4 Good -2 Size = +5 and -ACP for armor or load as appropriate).

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Fly (spell)

This spell uses the Fly skill as outline above and has a few additional rules.

The subject can fly at a speed of 60 feet (or 40 feet if it wears medium or heavy armor, or if it carries a medium or heavy load). It can ascend at half speed and descend at double speed, and its maneuverability is good. Using a fly spell requires only as much concentration as walking, so the subject can attack or cast spells normally. The subject of a fly spell can charge but not run, and it cannot carry aloft more weight than its maximum load, plus any armor it wears. The subject gains a bonus on Fly skill checks equal to 1/2 your caster level.

Should the spell duration expire while the subject is still aloft, the magic fails slowly. The subject floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 rounds. If it reaches the ground in that amount of time, it lands safely. If not, it falls the rest of the distance, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of fall. Since dispelling a spell effectively ends it, the subject also descends safely in this way if the fly spell is dispelled, but not if it is negated by an antimagic field.

Fly modifier: Ranks +/-Dex +/-Size +4 Good +1/2 Caster Level -ACP

And if the spell ends or is dispelled while you are still flying, you have 1d6 rounds of safe falling.

[reefwood]

11) Invisibility

Invisibility is a lengthy section, so I'm just going to include the points I find most relevant.

The ability to move about unseen is not foolproof. While they can't be seen, invisible creatures can be heard, smelled, or felt.

Invisibility makes a creature undetectable by vision, including darkvision.

Invisibility does not, by itself, make a creature immune to critical hits, but it does make the creature immune to extra damage from being a ranger's favored enemy and from sneak attacks.

A creature can generally notice the presence of an active invisible creature within 30 feet with a DC 20 Perception check. The observer gains a hunch that “something's there” but can't see it or target it accurately with an attack. It's practically impossible (+20 DC) to pinpoint an invisible creature's location with a Perception check. Even once a character has pinpointed the square that contains an invisible creature, the creature still benefits from total concealment (50% miss chance). There are a number of modifiers that can be applied to this DC if the invisible creature is moving or engaged in a noisy activity.

If an invisible creature is doing anything within 30 ft besides standing still, it can be noticed with a DC 20 Perception check. Pinpointing the exact location increases the DC by +20, so a DC 40 Perception check allows you to target the square of an active invisible creature. There is also a house rule that allows you to notice the general area of a creature with a +10 modifier, so a DC 30 Perception check allows you to target an active invisible creature with an area effect (i.e. fireball, channel energy, etc). But the invisible creature still has total concealment, so attack rolls have a 50% miss chance and spells that require you to see the creature would not work (i.e. magic missile requires a target, but scorching ray does not - it creates a ray, which in turn, can be shot wherever you want).

All this being said, many actions modifiy the Perception check DC. The following chart is taken from the book, and I have included modified DCs based off the DC 20 to notice an active invisible creature within 30 ft.

Invisible creature is...Perception
In combat or speaking: -20 = DC 0
Moving at half speed: -5 = DC 15
Moving at full speed: -10 = DC 10
Running or charging: -20 = DC 0
Not moving: -40 = DC -20?? (typo?)
Using Stealth: Stealth check +20
Some distance away: +1 per 10 feet
Behind an obstacle (door): +5
Behind an obstacle (stone wall): +15

To recap, the base check is Perception DC 20 to notice an active invisible creature within 30 ft, +20 to pinpoint the square (DC 40), or +10 to target with an area effect (DC 30). Adding the above modifiers means...

Combat, speaking (i.e. casting spell with verbal component), charging or running impose a -20 penalty, so it becomes Perception DC 0 to notice activity within 30 ft, DC 20 to pinpoint the square, or DC 10 to target with an area effect.

Moving at half-speed imposes a -5 penalty, so it becomes Perception DC 15 to notice activity within 30 ft, DC 35 to pinpoint the square, or DC 25 to target with an area effect. This could be good to do if you have a terrible Stealth modifier but want to be just move around somewhat sneaky.

Moving at full speed imposes a -10 penalty, so it becomes Perception DC 10 to notice invisible activity within 30 ft, DC 30 to pinpoint the square, or DC 20 to target with an area effect.

The "Not moving" line seems incorrect. It make more sense that the DC should go down when immobile, and the Stealth skill does note that when invisible, being immobile gives a +40 bonus to Stealth checks, and the bonus is +20 while moving. It seems like being immoble increases invisible sneakiness by +20, so applying the same increase here gives Perception DC 40 to notice an immobile invisible creature within 30 ft, DC 60 to pinpoint the square, or DC 50 to target with an area effect.

When using Stealth, the Perception DC is Stealth check +20, and making a Stealth check requires moving at half-speed. Or you can move at more than half-speed but less than full speed with a -5 penalty* (i.e. Stealth check +15). Also, being immobile while invisible is Stealth check +40. If you make a Stealth check of 17, the Perception DC would be DC 37 to notice you within 30 ft, DC 57 to pinpoint the square, or DC 47 to target with an area effect.

All these DCs are to notice an active invisible creature within 30 ft. Beyond that, the DC increases by +1 per 10 ft.

*"When moving at a speed greater than half but less than your normal speed, you take a –5 penalty." I've always thought this rule was unclear and assumed it meant three-quarters speed. But then, why doesn't Stealth just say three-quarters speed? The Climb skill does say one-quarter speed, and I think I've seen three-quarters speed used elsewhere. Well, I think this rule might actually be clearer than I realized. If your speed is 30 ft, half-speed is 15 ft, and greater than half but less than normal is 20-25 ft. If your speed is 20 ft, half-speed is 10 ft, and greater than half but less than normal is 15 ft. That does make sense, so that is how I will apply this rule from now on.

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Taking the most recent session as an example...

When Sahme was flying around at full speed, I was having him make Stealth checks and applying the -10 penalty for moving at full speed while invisible. It looks like this amounted to a mashing up of invisibility/stealth rules. I should have used the "full speed" or Stealth modifiers, which wouldhave been one of these:

1) Sahme moves at full speed (fly 60 ft). Perception DC 10 to notice him within 30 ft, DC 30 to pinpoint his square, or DC 20 to target him with an area effect, and these DCs increase by +1 for every 10 ft beyond 30 ft. Or...

2) Sahme makes a Stealth check +20 while moving at half-speed (fly 30 ft). The DC increases by +20 to pinpoint his square or +10 to target him with an area effect, and the DC increases by +1 for every 10 ft beyond 30 ft. Or...

3) Sahme makes a Stealth check +15 while moving greater than half-speed but less than full speed (fly 35-55 ft). The DC increases by +20 to pinpoint his square or +10 to target him with an area effect, and the DC increases by +1 for every 10 ft beyond 30 ft.

When Sahme shot the fireball, the Perception DC to notice him starts at DC 20 for being active. It then applies the -20 modifier for speaking since he cast a spell with a verbal component, so it would have been Perception DC 0 to notice him, DC 20 to pinpoint his square, or DC 10 to target him with an area effect, and these DCs increase by +1 for every 10 ft beyond 30 ft.

However, then Sahme moved away at full speed, so while the above DCs (0, 20, 10) would be used to notice his location when he cast the spell, a Perception check would also have to beat the movement DC (10 to notice, 30 to pinpoint square, 20 to target with area effect) to notice that he moved after casting the spell. If an orc rolled Perception 15, he would be able to target Sahme's casting location with an area effect but not Sahme's specific square. The 15 is also good enough to notice that Sahme moved after casting the spell but not enough to pinpoint his square or target him with an area spell.

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A creature can grope about to find an invisible creature. A character can make a touch attack with his hands or a weapon into two adjacent 5-foot squares using a standard action. If an invisible target is in the designated area, there is a 50% miss chance on the touch attack. If successful, the groping character deals no damage but has successfully pinpointed the invisible creature's current location. If the invisible creature moves, its location, obviously, is once again unknown.

If an invisible creature strikes a character, the character struck knows the location of the creature that struck him (until, of course, the invisible creature moves). The only exception is if the invisible creature has a reach greater than 5 feet. In this case, the struck character knows the general location of the creature but has not pinpointed the exact location.

Pretty straight forward. You can feel around for an invisible creature, and if it attacks you, you know the direction where the attack came from.

Accidentally Ending Movement in an Illegal Space: Sometimes a character ends its movement while moving through a space where it's not allowed to stop. When that happens, put your miniature in the last legal position you occupied, or the closest legal position, if there's a legal position that's closer.

This rule is from the Combat section and helps me think about a tricky thing may happen when creatures are moving near invisible creatures. Another thing to keep in mind is that you are never really standing completely still during combat, so even while in a single 5-ft square, you may be ducking blows or moving within that square for one reason or another. Anyway...

First off, based on the Overrun rules, it seems like you can allow an enemy to move through your square if you want to let the enemy go by. Also, it makes sense that you could also block movement, but this would reveal your presence and location. Depending of circumstances, however, the enemy bumping into you may not immediately realize what you are or that you are a threat.

Secondly, if an enemy ends movement in your square, it would be bumped back to its last legal position (or a closer legal position), and it would realize that something in its ending square bumped it back. Depending of circumstances, however, the enemy bumping into you may not immediately realize what you are or that you are a threat.

Scent (Ex) This special quality allows a creature to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.

The creature can detect opponents within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range.

When a creature detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed—only its presence somewhere within range. The creature can take a move action to note the direction of the scent. When the creature is within 5 feet of the source, it pinpoints the source's location.

A creature with the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Wisdom (or Survival) check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10 (no matter what kind of surface holds the scent). This DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.

If an invisible creature moves within 30 ft of a creature with scent, it is noticed, but wind and odor strength can change the range. If the invisible creature is 5 ft from the creature with scent, it is pinpointed.

In the most recent session...the wolf wound have noticed Sahme in the last square that he reached. The wolf could spend a move action to determine Sahme's direction, and use another move action to move in that direction. The wolf would pinpoint Sahme's square when they are 5 ft from each other. Then, the wolf could use a standard action to attack Sahme with a 50% miss chance for being in the dark (i.e. blinded). Once Sahme was further than 30 ft from the wolf, the wolf would have to make a Survival check against DC 10 to follow the trail at half speed (or normal speed with a -5 penalty).

[reefwood]

12) Mounted Combat

These are the rules I found that explain what can be done while riding a mount.

Ride

Guide with Knees (DC 5): You can guide your mount with your knees so you can use both hands in combat. Make your Ride check at the start of your turn. If you fail, you can use only one hand this round because you need to use the other to control your mount. This does not take an action.

You don't always need to "Guide with Knees" to make an attack while mounted. It is only necessary if you need both hands to do so, like when using a two-handed weapon, a pair of one-handed weapons, or a weapon/wand in one hand and shield in the other.

Fight with a Combat-Trained Mount (DC 10): If you direct your war-trained mount to attack in battle, you can still make your own attack or attacks normally. This usage is a free action.

This rule says a couple things. First, it says what is required to get a war-trained mount to attack. Second, it says that even if your mount makes a single attack or full-attack, the rider can still make a single attack or full-attack too.

EDIT: Since this is a free action, and free actions can be made even when it is not your turn, it makes sense that you can direct your mount to attack when an attack of opportunity arises.

Mounted Combat

Mounts in Combat: Horses, ponies, and riding dogs can serve readily as combat steeds. Mounts that do not possess combat training (see the Handle Animal skill) are frightened by combat. If you don't dismount, you must make a DC 20 Ride check each round as a move action to control such a mount. If you succeed, you can perform a standard action after the move action. If you fail, the move action becomes a full-round action, and you can't do anything else until your next turn.

Your mount acts on your initiative count as you direct it. You move at its speed, but the mount uses its action to move.

A horse (not a pony) is a Large creature and thus takes up a space 10 feet (2 squares) across. For simplicity, assume that you share your mount's space during combat.

A move action is required to control a mount without war training when in combat. Failure turns the move action into a full-round action.

The mount acts on your turn. One exception would be if you tell the mount to Defend you, because then, it would wait to attack a creature that attacks you. Though, a horse/steed wouldn't be smart enough to distinguish very well between different people and may not always be understand what constitutes an attack. Also, a mount with only one Attack trick will only attack humanoids, monstrous humanoids, giants, and other animals...so not dragons and whatnot.

Also, this says the mount uses its action to move, so the rider still has the option of using his or her own full round of actions. However, the rules below show that time is still limited, so if the rider wants to use a move action and standard action, and the mount uses a move action to move on this turn, one of the rider's action has to occur while the mount is moving, and the other rider action can take place before or after the move. Therefore, the rider can't take a move action, then have the mount move, and then, the rider take a standard action after the move. There just isn't enough time.

Combat while Mounted: With a DC 5 Ride check, you can guide your mount with your knees so as to use both hands to attack or defend yourself. This is a free action.

When you attack a creature smaller than your mount that is on foot, you get the +1 bonus on melee attacks for being on higher ground. If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a single melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can't make a full attack. Even at your mount's full speed, you don't take any penalty on melee attacks while mounted.

If your mount charges, you also take the AC penalty associated with a charge. If you make an attack at the end of the charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge. When charging on horseback, you deal double damage with a lance (see Charge).

While on a horse/steed, you only get the +1 bonus on melee attacks for higher ground when attacking Medium or smaller creatures on foot on the ground.

Also, this is where it says that time is limited. The rider and mount can only both make full-attacks with melee weapons as long as the mount doesn't move more then 5 feet.

You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple speed) at a –8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half its movement. You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving. Likewise, you can take move actions normally.

So ranged weapons can work differently than melee weapons while on a mount.

Casting Spells While Mounted: You can cast a spell normally if your mount moves up to a normal move (its speed) either before or after you cast. If you have your mount move both before and after you cast a spell, then you're casting the spell while the mount is moving, and you have to make a concentration check due to the vigorous motion (DC 10 + spell level) or lose the spell. If the mount is running (quadruple speed), you can cast a spell when your mount has moved up to twice its speed, but your concentration check is more difficult due to the violent motion (DC 15 + spell level).

Casting a spell on a moving mount works similar to making a ranged attack.

Based on all these rules, I will add that while the mount is taking a move action to move, the rider can take any action that can be performed during the movement, and the action takes place halfway through the movement.

Ex. #1 - Mount uses one move action to move 50 ft while rider retrieves a potion (move action). The mount provokes attacks of opportunity as normal for movement, and the rider provokes an attack of opportunity for retrieving an item at 25 ft into the movement of the mount. Additionally, the rider can drink the potion (standard action) when the mount stops, or if the mount uses another move action to move, the rider can drink the potion halfway through the second movement and will provoke another attack of opportunity from whatever square that the action takes place.

Ex. #2 - The mount uses two move actions to move 80 ft while the rider casts a spell (standard action). Casting requires a Concentration check for vigorous motion (DC 10 +spell level) and provokes an attack of opportunity at 40 ft.

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Charge

Movement During a Charge: You must move before your attack, not after. You must move at least 10 feet (2 squares) and may move up to double your speed directly toward the designated opponent. If you move a distance equal to your speed or less, you can also draw a weapon during a charge attack if your base attack bonus is at least +1.

This will work the same while mounted. If your mount only moves up to its normal speed while making a charge, the rider can draw a weapon during this time with a BAB of +1 or higher.

[reefwood]

13) Identifying Spells


Knowledge (arcana)

Identify auras while using detect magic (DC 15 + spell level)

Identify a spell effect that is in place (DC 20 + spell level)
I'd say you have to see or feel or somehow sense an effect from the spell.

Identify materials manufactured by magic (DC 20 + spell level)

Identify a spell that just targeted you (DC 25 + spell level)
I'd say you can roll this if you make the save and feel the hostile force, or if failing the save results in a noticeable effect.

Identify the spells cast using a specific material component (DC 20)
I'd say you have to see the spell being cast to see the specific material component, and the "+1 DC per 10 ft" modifier should apply because it would be harder to identify an item from far away.


Spellcraft

Identify a spell as it is being cast (DC 15 + spell level)
Identifying a spell as it is being cast requires no action, but you must be able to clearly see the spell as it is being cast, and this incurs the same penalties as a Perception skill check due to distance, poor conditions, and other factors.