PFS 03-13 The Quest for Perfection, Part 3- Defenders of Nesting Swallow
Arcane Strike (Combat)
You draw upon your arcane power to enhance your weapons with magical energy.
Prerequisite: Ability to cast arcane spells.
Benefit: As a swift action, you can imbue your weapons with a fraction of your power. For 1 round, your weapons deal +1 damage and are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. For every five caster levels you possess, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.
Dazzling Display (Combat)
Your skill with your favored weapon can frighten enemies.
Prerequisite:Weapon Focus, proficiency with the selected weapon.
Benefit: While wielding the weapon in which you have Weapon Focus, you can perform a bewildering show of prowess as a full-round action. Make an Intimidate check to demoralize all foes within 30 feet who can see your display.
Spirited Charge (Combat)
Your mounted charge attacks deal a tremendous amount of damage.
Prerequisites: Ride 1 rank, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack.
Benefit: When mounted and using the charge action, you deal double damage with a melee weapon (or triple damage with a lance).
Countersong(Su): At 1st level, a bard learns to counter magic effects that depend on sound (but not spells that have verbal components). Each round of the countersong he makes a Perform (keyboard, percussion, wind, string, or sing) skill check. Any creature within 30 feet of the bard (including the bard himself) that is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical attack may use the bard's Perform check result in place of its saving throw if, after the saving throw is rolled, the Perform check result proves to be higher. If a creature within range of the countersong is already under the effect of a noninstantaneous sonic or language-dependent magical attack, it gains another saving throw against the effect each round it hears the countersong, but it must use the bard's Perform skill check result for the save. Countersong does not work on effects that don't allow saves. Countersong relies on audible components.
Distraction (Su): At 1st level, a bard can use his performance to counter magic effects that depend on sight. Each round of the distraction, he makes a Perform (act, comedy, dance, or oratory) skill check. Any creature within 30 feet of the bard (including the bard himself) that is affected by an illusion (pattern) or illusion (figment) magical attack may use the bard's Perform check result in place of its saving throw if, after the saving throw is rolled, the Perform skill check proves to be higher. If a creature within range of the distraction is already under the effect of a noninstantaneousillusion (pattern) or illusion (figment) magical attack, it gains another saving throw against the effect each round it sees the distraction, but it must use the bard's Perform skill check result for the save. Distraction does not work on effects that don't allow saves. Distraction relies on visual components.
Fascinate (Su): At 1st level, a bard can use his performance to cause one or more creatures to become fascinated with him. Each creature to be fascinated must be within 90 feet, able to see and hear the bard, and capable of paying attention to him. The bard must also be able to see the creatures affected. The distraction of a nearby combat or other dangers prevents this ability from working. For every three levels the bard has attained beyond 1st, he can target one additional creature with this ability.
Each creature within range receives a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the bard's level + the bard's Cha modifier) to negate the effect. If a creature's saving throw succeeds, the bard cannot attempt to fascinate that creature again for 24 hours. If itssaving throw fails, the creature sits quietly and observes the performance for as long as the bard continues to maintain it. While fascinated, a target takes a –4 penalty on all skill checks made as reactions, such as Perception checks. Any potential threat to the target allows the target to make a new saving throw against the effect. Any obvious threat, such as someone drawing a weapon, casting a spell, or aiming a weapon at the target, automatically breaks the effect.
Fascinate is an enchantment (compulsion), mind-affecting ability. Fascinate relies on audible and visual components in order to function.
Banner (Ex): At 5th level, a cavalier's banner becomes a symbol of inspiration to his allies and companions. As long as the cavalier's banner is clearly visible, all allies within 60 feet receive a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear and a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls made as part of a charge. At 10th level, and every five levels thereafter, these bonuses increase by +1. The banner must be at least Small or larger and must be carried or displayed by the cavalier or his mount to function.
Cause Fear
School necromancy [fear, mind-affecting]; Level bard 1, cleric 1, sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one living creature with 5 or fewer HD
Duration 1d4 rounds or 1 round; see text
Saving Throw Will partial; Spell Resistance yes
The affected creature becomes frightened. If the subject succeeds on a Will save, it is shaken for 1 round. Creatures with 6 or more HD are immune to this effect. Cause fear counters and dispels remove fear.
Heroism
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 10 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
This spell imbues a single creature with great bravery and morale in battle. The target gains a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks.
Hideous Laughter
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 1, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (tiny fruit tarts and a feather)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature; see text
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
This spell afflicts the subject with uncontrollable laughter. It collapses into gales of manic laughter, falling prone. The subject can take no actions while laughing, but is not considered helpless. After the spell ends, it can act normally. On the creature's next turn, it may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect. This is a full round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If this save is successful, the effect ends. If not, the creature continues laughing for the entire duration.
A creature with an Intelligence score of 2 or lower is not affected. A creature whose type is different from the caster's receives a +4 bonus on its saving throw, because humor doesn't “translate” well.
Mirror Image
School illusion (figment); Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 min./level
This spell creates a number of illusory doubles of you that inhabit your square. These doubles make it difficult for enemies to precisely locate and attack you.
When mirror image is cast, 1d4 images plus one image per three caster levels (maximum eight images total) are created. These images remain in your space and move with you, mimicking your movements, sounds, and actions exactly. Whenever you are attacked or are the target of a spell that requires an attack roll, there is a possibility that the attack targets one of your images instead. If the attack is a hit, roll randomly to see whether the selected target is real or a figment. If it is a figment, the figment is destroyed. If the attack misses by 5 or less, one of your figments is destroyed by the near miss. Area spells affect you normally and do not destroy any of your figments. Spells and effects that do not require an attack roll affect you normally and do not destroy any of your figments. Spells that require a touch attack are harmlessly discharged if used to destroy a figment.
An attacker must be able to see the figments to be fooled. If you are invisible or the attacker is blind, the spell has no effect (although the normal miss chances still apply).
Sleep
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 1, sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, M (fine sand, rose petals, or a live cricket)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Area one or more living creatures within a 10-ft.-radius burst
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
A sleep spell causes a magical slumber to come upon 4 HD of creatures. Creatures with the fewest HD are affected first. Among creatures with equal HD, those who are closest to the spell's point of origin are affected first. HD that are not sufficient to affect a creature are wasted. Sleeping creatures are helpless. Slapping or wounding awakens an affected creature, but normal noise does not. Awakening a creature is a standard action (an application of the aid another action). Sleep does not target unconscious creatures, constructs, or undead creatures.
Tanglefoot Bag: A tanglefoot bag is a small sack filled with tar, resin, and other sticky substances. When you throw a tanglefoot bag at a creature (as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 10 feet), the bag comes apart and goo bursts out, entangling the target and then becoming tough and resilient upon exposure to air. An entangled creature takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity and must make a DC 15 Reflex save or be glued to the floor, unable to move. Even on a successful save, it can move only at half speed. Huge or larger creatures are unaffected by a tanglefoot bag. A flying creature is not stuck to the floor, but it must make a DC 15 Reflex save or be unable to fly (assuming it uses its wings to fly) and fall to the ground. A tanglefoot bag does not function underwater.
A creature that is glued to the floor (or unable to fly) can break free by making a DC 17 Strength check or by dealing 15 points of damage to the goo with a slashing weapon. A creature trying to scrape goo off itself, or another creature assisting, does not need to make an attack roll; hitting the goo is automatic, after which the creature that hit makes a damage roll to see how much of the goo was scraped off. Once free, the creature can move (including flying) at half speed. If the entangled creature attempts to cast a spell, it must make concentration check with a DC of 15 + the spell's level or be unable to cast the spell. The goo becomes brittle and fragile after 2d4 rounds, cracking apart and losing its effectiveness. An application of universal solvent to a stuck creature dissolves the alchemical goo immediately.
Lamellar, leather / 60 gp / +4 / +3 / –2 / 20% / 30 ft. / 20 ft. / 25 lbs.
Medium Armor
Lamellar, steel (Mwk) / 150 gp / +6 / +3 / –4 / 25% / 20 ft. / 15 ft. / 35 lbs.
Horse CR 1
N Large animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +6
Defense
AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 9 (+2 Dex, –1 size)
hp 15 (2d8+6)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +1
Offense
Speed 50 ft.
Melee 2 hooves +3 (1d4+3)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Statistics
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 7
BaseAtk +1; CMB +5; CMD 17 (21 vs. trip)
FeatsEndurance, RunB
SkillsPerception +6
Tricks attack, come, defend, down, guard, heel
Bringing In the Harvest
Harvesting crops is the top priority for the villagers, even above establishing defenses. Without food stored, they face starvation regardless of whether or not the bandits are fought off. This is an activity that can be performed mostly by the noncombatant villagers; even so, some able bodied farmers are needed as well. Until the harvest is finished, the PCs only have 30 villagers at their disposal daily. The PCs can choose to speed the harvest up both by assigning more villagers to the fields or by lending a hand themselves.
Time Requirements: Without additional manpower devoted to it, the harvest takes 6 days to finish. Regardless of how many NPCs or PCs work the fields, harvesting takes a minimum of 1 day.
NPC Requirements: Each day requires the participation of 20 able-bodied villagers. Every additional 10 villagers doing a day’s work reduces the total number of days before the harvest is completed by 1.
PC Requirements: Harvesting can take place without the PCs’ involvement, but they can speed it up significantly. One harvesting PC counts as 5 farmers. A PC who makes a DC 15 Profession (farming) or Knowledge (nature) check does the work of 10 farmers in a day. Defense Points: No Defense Points are earned by performing this activity, though swift harvesting allows for better allocation of manpower after it is finished.
Archery Training
Ranged weapons more effective than simple slings are a rarity in Nesting Swallow, but a handful of villagers own crossbows for hunting purposes; while they have never had to shoot at a target better armored than an antelope or hare, they can be drilled into effective support archers with effort.
Time Requirements: See below.
NPC Requirement: Only 10 villagers are potential archers. These are kept as a unit; while other villagers can be shuffled around to perform different jobs from day to day, a note should be made of whether these 10 are being used for archery training or for another purpose on any given day. If they have been assigned elsewhere, no other villagers can fill in for this activity on that day.
PC Requirement: Archery training requires the tutelage of a PC with a base attack bonus of +1 or higher who is proficient with light crossbows.
Defense Points: Each day spent training earns 1/2 of a Defense Point, up to a maximum of 2 points over 4 days. Beyond these days, a PC can earn additional Defense Points from archery training by spending an additional day with the archers crafting ammunition. The PC makes a single DC 15 Craft (bows) check at the end of the day; success indicates that the archers took their fletching lessons well and successfully produced enough bolts to earn the village an additional 1 Defense Point.
Combat Training
While unskilled combatants, the villagers can be given basic training, allowing them to maintain the barricades as a unit. Their weapons are limited to adapted farm implements and makeshift bamboo spears, but they are all willing to take up what arms they can and assist the PCs in the defense of their home.
Time Requirements: Training a unit takes 1 day.
NPC Requirements: Up to 40 villagers are available for melee training, in 10-person units. (The remaining 10 are archers; see Archery Training on page 10.)
PC Requirements: Training cannot take place without a PC dedicating a day to it. Whoever does the training must have a base attack bonus of at least +1. A single PC can train a unit of 10 villagers per day. Multiple units can be trained in a day, but this requires multiple PCs instructing them.
Defense Points: Each trained unit earns 1/2 of a Defense Point. PCs doing the training, however, can be ruthless drill instructors and play on the villagers’ fears; succeeding at a DC 15 Intimidate check while training the villagers makes the lessons sink in faster, earning 1 Defense Point for that unit (this bonus can only be earned once per unit). These unskilled combatants can only learn so much in a short time, however, so no unit benefits from more than 2 days’ training. Thus, the maximum number of Defense Points available through combat training is between 4 and 8.
Constructing the Barricades
Controlling possible attack routes is key to not being overwhelmed. Constructing barricades from wood and bamboo aids in this endeavor. Incorporating the landscape and the existing structures of the village into this barricade allows the defenders to contain attackers to several choke points. Construction was already underway before the party arrived in Nesting Swallow; by continuing to assign workers to it or overseeing construction, the PCs can assist in making it sturdier and more effective.
Time Requirements: A group of 30 villagers takes 6 days to complete the barricade.
NPC Requirements: Every additional 10 villagers assigned to this task reduces the days to completion by 2. Likewise, fewer villagers assigned increases the time by 2 days for every 10 villagers fewer than 30 working on it.
PC Requirements: PCs are not required to directly work on this defense, but doing so speeds construction. A DC 15 Knowledge (engineering) or Profession (woodcutter) check allows 10 villagers to be assigned elsewhere for that day with the same amount of work still being done on the barricade. (Only 10 workers per day may be reassigned in this fashion.) Additionally, if a PC oversees construction each day of work, she may make a single DC 15 Craft (traps) or Disable Device check when the barricade is completed. Success at this check represents traps incorporated into the barricade, such as digging concealed pits or sharpened timbers designed to impale attackers.
Defense Points: The barricade’s completion earns 2 Defense Points. If a PC designs traps into the barricade, an additional 1 Defense Point is awarded, plus an extra 1 Defense Point for every 5 points by which the PCs beat the Craft (traps) DC.