Dimity's page

I kinda love this

eddv wrote:

Bring back the Species name its So Good and much more thematically appropriate for Starfinder (a Bantrid and a Entu Colony have really very little in common ancestrywise)

Cool as the term Species is, as a GM who plans to incorporate both sets, I'd really rather keep the "This means this and that means that" charts to a minimum.

Also "Species" is kind of a bonkers category to apply to something like Androids or robots

The length of the ship combat round is unspecified, so you can say that it costs 1 action to move to a different part of the ship. Done.

One thing I'd like to see is for you to really feel the damage to your ship. In 1e your ship would take damage to its hull points, but unless there was some critical system damage it wouldn't really make a difference. I'd like it if every time you were hit, some function of your ship would stop working. I'd *especially* like it if lots of things broke, all the time, at a rate that would be difficult or impossible to stay ahead of, and that people got *hurt*. Then you'd have to balance whether to keep firing or start fixing things and healing people, which sounds to me like the kind of meaningful choices that keep combat interesting.

Aballon is one of the interesting planets though. Triaxus is boring – so I'd like to blow up Triaxus please.

A moon that eats people

Driftbourne, everything you say is absolutely music to my ears. Please tell me you are actually Thurston Hillman in disguise.

Imagine that every SF2E character gets to choose a Free Archetype that represents their starship role, and then can choose feats from that Archetype that only relate to starship combat. For example, the "Captain" Archetype would include feats that would enable or alter the Demand, Encourage, and Taunt actions, and higher level feats that would enable Orders and Moving Speech, and additional cool captain stuff that the designers think of.

I roll all my weather events ahead of time, so I have a calendar with the expected weather for each day all planned out. If a weather event that is beyond the party's ability to handle is expected, I will give them advance notice; for example, "the ground here is very dry and covered in kindling -- you expect that a wildfire could break out at any time. How would you prepare for that?"

That way they have a chance to prepare and it doesn't feel like a "surprise! You're dead!" scenario.

Can this book please include the Solarian, Vanguard, and Biohacker classes?

For example, one character that I like is the full mental character. Int, Wis and Cha + Con because hit points are important. But you're stuck with either Dex or Str if you don't want crippling Reflex. Full mental characters are definitely a trope, Professor Xavier is one of them that should definitely have low Str and Dex. It's sad you just can't play one without ending with a crippling Reflex save (AC is another problem, but I find Reflex to be much more of a problem on a backline character).

Another classic example is the unwise character. The Leroy Jenkins Fighter who starts at 8 Wisdom and sticks to it up to level 20. Nope, you can't play it without having a massive weakness. It's nowhere close to a strong build or whatever, it's just a type of character the system punishes...

So... you want to build a character with a glaring weakness (Professor X ain't dodging any fireballs), and then are upset that your character ends up having a weakness? It sounds like the system is giving you exactly the character you want. What am I missing?

I will be combining Book of the Dead and Guns & Gears to run a campaign where all of the PCs are undead cowboys, set in Utah in the 1880s. I'm exited to see what my players will come up with!

My bard in Strength of Thousands is a cheerleader, so that's another way to flavor your RP: as someone who's super exited about their team and cheers them on at every opportunity.

Never expected it would be so much fun to be a healer. Healing is *powerful* and being able to pull off big-time in-combat heals makes you feel like an all-star at the table. My first PF2E character was a fighter with the Medicine skill and Battle Medic skill feat, and I had so much fun healing in combat that I eventually added the Medic Archetype. Super fun stuff.

3. Starfinder class conversions. Not the system or setting abandoned, but the Starfinder classes offered as either archetypes, class archetypes, or full PF2 classes for those of us that like the setting but not the system.
4. Related, a book with high-tech fantasy items and archetypes. Guns and Gers was a good start, but I want the technology guide.

YES

Now ask yourself, which encounter do you think the vast majority of people will enjoy playing?

Malk_Content wrote:

The problem is NN you are talking as if your preference is universal.

NN959 wrote:

There is no legitimate or even good faith reading of my post that justifies your blatant attempt to misrepresent my position on this matter. As such I'm flagging your post. But misrepresentation of posters who take contrary positions is a tried and true method of tryin to "win" forum debates, at least here.

But earlier, NN959 wrote:

the vast majority of people

I think you should probably take a step back, unflag that post, and realize that nobody is "misrepresenting" your position -- which, based on your most recent post, you seem to realize the difficulty you are having in conveying.

Dimity wrote:

N N 959 wrote:

If I have to *constantly* change the difficulty level of the encounters to compensate for the +10 crit mechanics, then I'm not going to GM.

The most common suggestion is to give the players 1 extra level. Done. No further adjustment required.

The average person who buys an AP is not going to search the forums to find out that they need to add a level to any random AP. The overwhelming majority expect to play level 1 at level 1, as they should. When the AP says level 1, expecting a GM to know that's level 2 is nonsensical.

The more burden you put on GMs to have to figure out counter-intuitive changes like adding levels at the start of a level 1 AP, the less people will want to GM.

I don't understand.

The standard difficulty setting is what it says on the tin. If you want it to be easier, add a level. What's "counter-intuitive" about that? It's the most intuitive thing I can imagine.

If I have to *constantly* change the difficulty level of the encounters to compensate for the +10 crit mechanics, then I'm not going to GM.

The most common suggestion is to give the players 1 extra level. Done. No further adjustment required.

One change I absolutely adore, that I haven't heard many people bring up, is that "ability damage" is no longer a thing. While ability damage in PF1 makes sense, having to recalculate my character sheet is the opposite of fun for me. I am *so happy* that PF2 replaces ability damage with easy conditions that do functionally the same thing without having to recalculate all the fiddly numbers that key off abilities in PF1.

I am really excited to get a copy of the Mwangi Expanse book, but I noticed on this page that I was given an Artist credit, even though I wasn't hired to provide work on this book (I imagine that some art I made for previous publications was reused). Should I expect a contributor copy, or should I go ahead and place an order?

What are the chapters in this book?

Exploring the Galaxy (backgrounds, class options, exploration systems, equipment)

Life often leaves me in a position where I don't have the energy to go BIG BRAIN tactics at the rpg table. I just want to smash s#%% like I'm godzilla and the enemy is regular citizens.

Having a character build that stood on its own was amenable because I could take the time (on my pace) to craft it. And you could get help from other people to optimize your character. But with PF2 you really have to optimize your actions in combat, which is way harder and requires much more thought because every situation is tactically different.

I just don't have the energy to deal with that s%%!.

Claxon, I think I finally get where you're coming from. I also like "easy mode" games, because sometimes I just like feeling like a badass. I totally get that.

Disclaimer: I love both PF1 and PF2, and I don't think there's anything wrong with your preference. :)

Say I have the Knockdown fighter feat. It costs two actions --I get to make a strike, which if it hits, I can attempt a Trip without taking a multi-attack penalty. This is a pretty cool feat and I use it pretty often with my fighter.

My question is this: My fighter uses a Maul, and since he has critical specialization, whenever he crits the target is knocked prone. If I use the Knockdown feat and the strike is a critical, then do I just waste the second action or do I get it back?

Likely unpopular opinion but I would love to a conversion for Starfinder to run using the PF2e rules concepts. I love the 3 action system, and many of the concepts in PF2e.

Other than that I want Paizo to keep making awesome and inspiring content for it

PF2e rules in the Starfinder setting is my one wish for an RPG. Give me that and I will never play anything else.

Name: Crash Palaverous
Race: tiefling, male
Classes/levels: antiquarian investigator 4/rogue 5
Adventure: Shifting Sands
Location: Chisisek's Tomb
Catalyst: Always check that cool statues are not actually Stone Golems holding still before walking into their rooms.
The Gory Details: Was at full HP. Got hit twice, one was a crit, and insta-died. Brains everywhere.

Crash's absence gave us space in the party to add a tracker from the Thriae hive. My GM generously homebrewed a playable Thriae race and Zizzi the Ranger is now a member of the party.

I'm a bit concerned that Birnam's Bubble, the planet in Codex of Worlds that is completely incased in an impenetrable energy shield that is completely devoid of animal life, looks so much like earth. I mean, I can clearly see Turkey and the Caspian Sea. Is this what our future holds?

I've got a group of sacrifices all set up to throw into this meat grinder, I'm so pumped. Can't wait to have the PDF in hand!

I kind of got the sense that the Medic archetype can only heal Stamina if the target is already into their HP. Like, if I'm at full HP but my Stamina is down by 20, the Medic can't heal my Stamina because the rule says you have to "restore Hit Points to a creature" in order for the surplus to go to Stamina. If I'm not down any HP, then they can't restore any HP to me, and therefore can't heal my Stamina.

But after reading this conversation, it seems I might have misread this ability and Medics can heal Stamina even when the target is not into their HP?

I like that if you spend all day playing video games, you'll receive a +1 bonus on your first saving throw the next day.

Marco Massoudi wrote:

Rick Kunz wrote:

Announced for May! Product image and description are not final and are subject to change.

Hey Rick, with the august 2019 products been revealed, but no Pocket Editions being among them, i wonder if there will be more after "Ultimate Wilderness" & "Occult Adventures"?

Imo at least "Bestiary 6" & "Monster Codex" should be done. ;-)

To answer my own question:

It may be that with the release of "Second Edition" in august, there is no time to focus on anything else in this month.

The other possibility is that the next wave will be announced only shortly before the release date.

It would be great if somebody from Paizo could answer the question:

-Are further Pathfinder (and Starfinder) pocket editions planned or is this it for the time being?

I don't know if it's been announced anywhere, but Amazon has pocket editions of Bestiary 6 and Villain Codex available on October 1st.

MrCharisma wrote:

Western society was set in an era of civilizing the wild places, so Abadar would probably play a big part (and probably Ersatil as his antithesis). You could have the magic train be a new thing, and the railroad company is improving the lives of the people in major cities, but it's doing it at the cost of those on the frontier.

That's really interesting. Is there any part of Golarion that could be used as the setting?

While it's technically the "Wild East," I think the Whistling Plains east of Taldor might be an interesting place to set this campaign. Access to magical railway might cause Taldor to want to expand/settle the vast frontier region. It has bison, worgs, and bulettes (which all sound very cowboy to me), but also lions, which might be a fun addition. Also, you've got the lawmen of the Taldan Horse trying to keep order, and native tribes of centaurs and gnolls to deal with.

I love the idea behind Aspect Catalysts, and especially the improved versions -- retributive strikes! I can imagine creatures not wanting to hit the Exergy Vanguard in order to avoid it's ridiculous catalyst, or even allies targeting the Inversion Vanguard in order to get a quick heal.

I was lucky enough to see a pueo on my sole trip to Hawai'i. They are lovely birds.

My players were shopping at Absalom Station before heading out to the gate of the 12 suns. They decided to recruit a bunch of graduate students to come with them for the adventure of a lifetime. The mystic didn't roll too hot on their Diplomacy check, so I thought they'd leave without any recruits, but then the operative decided that he'd try with Intimidate. I was impressed, and he rolled hot, so I gave him 2d6 fearful green grad students (he rolled 8 of them).

This was my favorite part of the adventure so far. Of course, once the inevitable made it on board the Maiden, he immediately killed Craig the Scyphozoan, who was only 3 credits away from graduating. That means that my players have now indirectly caused the deaths of *two* graduate students (since Whaloss was trampled by a Mountain Eel on Castrovel).

That bit of game tales aside, I am wondering what I should do after my players nuke the control building that operates the gate of the 12 suns. I know they are going to try it, and I am going to let them, but I'm not sure where to take the adventure from that point onward.

Does anyone know why we haven't yet heard what the next book after Alien Archive 2 will be? Seems like we should know by now...

I also love the stamina mechanic from Starfinder because of the storytelling options it opens up, and because I think it does a much better job of representing the types of fights we see in media -- where the heroes will shake off lots and lots of minor hits but occasionally get hit real good, causing them an actual injury.

One thing I have considered changing about the mechanic, however (and I'm not sure how to go about it), would be to have critical hits always interact with hp in some way. Whether that means applying the bonus critical hit damage to hp, or the entire hit to hp, or some other split I have no idea. But I like the idea of criticals causing *actual wounds* that last.

I want a book of class options -- Connections, Drone Chasses and Mods, Expertise Talents, Exploits, Fighting Styles, Gear Boosts, Improvisations, Magic Hacks, Mechanic Tricks, Specializations, and Stellar Revelations -- the things that make your character unique.

Also, I would love to see any further setting material. I find the Starfinder setting to be delightfully weird and I want to know more about it.

I just started a wild west campaign last weekend.

I posted my campaign's house rules here: http://westernterritories.obsidianportal.com

For classes, I'm encouraging Alchemist, Brawler, Cavalier, Gunslinger, Hunter, Inquisitor, Mesmerist, Oracle, Ranger, Shaman, Sorcerer, Spirtualist, and Witch. I'm allowing Barbarian, Bloodrager, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Investigator, Monk, Occultist, Psychic, Rogue, Slayer, and Warpriest.

That means that I've disallowed Arcanist, Bard, Kineticist, Magus, Medium, Paladin, Skald, Summoner, Swashbuckler, Vigilante, and Wizard. I know that it might seem sacriligious to not have Bards, Paladins, and Wizards, but none of those classes seem to fit into the "Wild West" theme.

I'm using the "Guns Everywhere" rules from Ultimate Combat, but I've also been struggling with prices for guns. $400 seems awfully expensive for a standard revolver! I just allowed my players to have whatever guns they wanted at the start of the campaign.

I'll be watching this thread to see how it goes.

Yes. My point is the GM should make clear that the only clue they have is in that asteroid, and using nuclear weapons to open the door might not work well. If even then the PC want to nuke it because they don't care about the clues, fine

The way I see it, the PCs think they are chasing the cult in order to stop them from opening the gate. They get a tip that the cult is holed up on this asteroid. As far as they know, this is the end of it. Kill the cult, and the threat is removed.

Why would they think they need to gather any more "clues"? The cult, as far as they know, is here on this asteroid, and they have the capability to handle it. I don't see anything impetuous or careless in what my PCs were planning. How were they to know that the cult had already moved on?

Why would they want to nuke it?

They went there, in theory, to investigate the relation of Nyara's book with the Stellar degenerator. Nuking it defeats the purpose

They thought the Cult of the Devourer was holed up there, and wanted to take them out.

I am GMing a group of murderhobos through the AP. We just started Book 3 last night. I had told them they could upgrade the Maiden to Tier 5, and one of the things they added was a tactical nuclear missile launcher. They avoided combat with the Rusty Rivet through high rolls on Intimidation, and managed to get coordinates to K9204. Upon arriving, the captain said "let's nuke it!" and the rest of the party readily agreed.

I was thrown for a loop... obviously. Remembering what I read, I didn't see a problem with them nuking the asteroid, I just needed to figure out how and where to move them forward in the aftermath. I spent some time musing aloud at what to do next, and I think my players read my hesitation as "the GM doesn't want us to do this," because they changed their minds and decided to land on the asteroid instead.

I felt bad, because I was 100% fine with them nuking the asteroid, I was only hesitating because I wasn't prepared! Then they ended up almost getting killed by the Skreesire, so I felt even worse after that.

Moral of the Story: GMs, be ready for your players to skip over Part 2 of Splintered Worlds by way of aerial bombardment.

I have yet to see a new player confused with this beyond the first time reading the book.

I've yet to see a new player *not* be confused by this.

Why do ability scores even exist? What purpose do they serve, other than confusing new players? Just use the bonuses and trash the ability scores -- they are a sacred cow that it's time to slaughter.

Dimity wrote:

It's here: Golarion Megamap

Enjoy!

Extraordinary work, Dimity. I really liked the style you chose for the map.

If you allow me, I would like to translate your map's nomenclature into Portuguese for use in my campaigns. We could talk better by email if you prefer. Mine is gustavomalek (at) hotmail (dot) com

Fine by me! You might find the blank version (available here) easier to use for your purposes.

Dimity wrote:

It's here: Golarion Megamap

Enjoy!

Thanks for making it!

The only thing that I noticed missing is the map details from the Emerald Spire super-dungeon. (Specifically, the Spire itself, in Echo Wood south of Numeria.)

Also, I just began the (very long) process of placing invisible text on map names in a pdf converted version of your map (to make it searchable). However... I thought it might be smarter to ask if you had something like that already?

Like if Illustrator has an option to save as '.pdf with text' or something? (I'm just guessing wildly...)

~Q5

I can save it as a PDF. PM me your email and I'll send it to you through Wetransfer.

That is super cool. What did you use to make it?

The artwork was done in Photoshop. The labels, symbols, and lines were added in Illustrator.