That definitely works for wonders and relics, but from what little you have told me curios are made by ritual or more singular events. We would need to keep track of the functional essence count of a curio even if nobody spent an essence in its construction.
Correct. When designing curios, I'll determine the appropriate amount of essences contained therein and note it on the wiki.
Likewise, there should probably be a meta rule that if you can make curios by ritual or other ancient process without gathering essences from random dead people (how we make wonders), then you cannot extract the essences of the curios that you create. That way people could not hypothetical turn curio creation into an essence mill.
Excellent point. I'll add that meta-rule
Well Niyut, it look like Garidan won't be able to make use of that Transmutation essence after all. Valjoen has firmed up the rules for adding spells to an bonded general item--the ioun torch isn't an arcance/divine bond, but that's what it comes closest to for my purposes--so I can't use that arcane essence. Perhaps Rhykal has an essence or two stashed for trade purposes?
I'll toss in my two coppers regarding essences.
In general, I like the idea of essences. They allow for customization to be done by the players, yet streamline GM work by making them lore-appropriate. Fight a hag? Gain the essence of her with possibly haglike effects. 12 loot tables aren't necessary.
However, in the process of players determining how to use these essences, dominant strategies can form. Pathfinder making d20 the dominant die means a character with a matched attribute and maxed skill ranks being "good" at something will need only +20 from some outside bonus (say, essences) to become an untouchable god with skills. Niyut with stealth is a near example. Chance to hit/save a d20 roll with an auto success/fail is in a similar boat, one being able to push the odds to a 95%/5% endzone. As I understand it, essences allow the former to be accomplished much easier than the latter. I don't know either is a "good" scenario.
With spells as somewhat discussed, there is an essence-to-power issue. Part of that problem is spell level is not a linearly-scaling variable. I'm not even confident 9 essences to yield a level 9 spell 1/day is appropriate, for that Storm of Vengeance or whatnot can reap rewards far beyond the innate ability of its user with little risk. Consider those bows that were mentioned: They could have a middle-low caster level, say level 5. Purloining such items from a shop, battlefield, warehouse, etc. would be no harrowing feat over a period of time. If they allowed one to simply extract & transfer a spell-like ability to the user, Keen or something similar many times a day doesn't seem like a problem. Fireball though? Maybe. The bows could have been wands with a different army. If only 3 essences are needed for that level 3 spell and we could get 28 of them, that's quite a few fireballs/day.
Much of the above paragraph stems from the Vancian magic power level issue. Spheres of power goes a good way in addressing that & encourage diversity.
(Imagine if get a bit of an intellect going, like Gruskorb's trap, and started competing with Niyut and Malthazir for certain essences :D.)
Lockjaw is not going to compete for essences (unless the GM says so)! It's a vessel for Gruskorb's past/personality to have a stronger tie to the setting as we go. Usually, I don't play the quiet, edgy type. Niyut is quiet, but she is learned and forceful enough with her personality to forge the link between self and environment in a frequent, overt fashion. Being the thief-rogue and not a bard-rogue, Gruskorb did not have that level of ease in segueing, possibly due in part to my usual reliance on sagely/convivial characters' personalities to self-propagate.
With spells as somewhat discussed, there is an essence-to-power issue. Part of that problem is spell level is not a linearly-scaling variable. I'm not even confident 9 essences to yield a level 9 spell 1/day is appropriate, for that Storm of Vengeance or whatnot can reap rewards far beyond the innate ability of its user with little risk.
Thankfully, even under the current system it wouldn't be possible for us to do this. Since none of us are near 17th level, and to imbue a spell into an object requires a proportional level. It would be degenerate to be able to save up to pull that off at level 8, but at level 17 I'm guessing there are better things to do with 9 essences then get one cast of a spell to which you potentially already have access.
Niyut's stealth score owes nothing to the essence system and is for better or worse an artifact of the Pathfinder skill system itself. I think better. If one is willing to get Skill Focus, a familiar bonus, and a trait bonus one can be good at a skill. One of my pet peeves is when skill difficulties always scale to your score and one can never truly master an art.
I'm not going to argue with any of the rest of what Gruskorb says, not that I agree (or necessarily disagree), but I do believe that there is wisdom to be found in a diversity of voices. Its for the best to have multiple reasoned perspectives. Though if Gruskorb loves spheres of power so much, he might want to post in our spheres test game where he has been up in combat for half a week. ;-)
I wasn't knocking your specialization in stealth at all, Niyut! I'm saying if essence boni were dropped on top of that (as in any skill - Gruskorb could easily do the same with Sleight of Hand), it's less of a skill "check" and more of a skill order.
The creative features are what I like about the essences. Things like Lockjaw are more interesting to me than another +2 on melee damage, for example, even if they are strategically worse. One of the things I appreciate about Pathfinder is the mechanical foundation that can be customized to allow for specific, albeit sometimes impractical, purposes. Valjoen's essence system allows for further fractalization of those specializations, so it's a positive idea for me.
I'll be posting in the other thread tonight!
Thoughts on Rules Updates
1. "Spells: 1 ethereal essence per level of the spell to be added; the spell must be on the character's class's spell list and the character must be high enough level to cast spell; grants 10 spell levels of casting per "day", i.e. 10 casts of 1st level spells, 5 casts of 2nd level spells, 3 casts of 3rd level spells; 2 casts of 4th/5th level spells; 1 cast of 6th/7th/8th/9th level spells"
I like this, but may we add the caveat that you can add spells to a casting bond as long as you have high enough character level instead of class level to cast the spell.
This is important to Niyut because I want to use her wand to augment her sorcery by adding more arcane spells to it. For example, I was planning on imbuing her wand with See Invisibility, Burning Arc, etc. The thought being that she can only fully use her sorcery at higher levels of spell through her wand.
I would argue that this would be fine since you can create staves and wands with spells you don't have in base Pathfinder as long as your spell craft is high enough.
If you are not comfortable with making this a general rule, may I spend an Ethereal Essence to imbue my wand with the ability to gain spells based on character level rather than class level as long as I'm of a class that could cast the spells?
My only concern here is the chance for abuse. Someone makes a martial character, then dips sorcerer and cleric... suddenly they can cast high level arcane and divine spells through their Casting Bond. My thought is to use something like... To imbue essences for spells, limit it to your highest spell level access and from spell lists you have access to. So, my fighter example can only do 1st level spells from the sorcerer and cleric spell list. But, currently, in Niyut's case, she could only get access to 3rd level oracle or sorcerer spells. If someone finds an item with such a spell, they can still attempt to use it with UMD.
2. "Extracting from unbonded Wonder - cast appropriate spell and beat a Spellcraft check that is equal to 15 + highest HD of mortal creature previously bonded. Change to raise the DC to most powerful wielder of the item. Unbonding it from the current mortal will be based on its HD. But this way a powerful item in the hands of a neophyte doesn't instantly become easier to extract the essences. The essences should be based on the HD of the creature that imbued them. I think it's too much record keeping to determine that DC for each different essence, so I'll use the highest one."
Awesome! If I understand this correctly, then I can extract the essences from the gnoll bard's horn? Since he is very much dead.
Certainly, I always considered that you could strip essences from Wonders using the right spell... Disenchant or Greater Disenchant. But, I think I am going to prohibit "Taking 10". Doing so would still make the check by Niyut currently 95% success up to curios made by a CL 8. As long as you keep dropping a skill point into this skill, you'll always be able to get the 95% chance up to your character level. Same thing on Wonders, you and Mal have dedicated resources to getting your Spellcraft very high, and you should be rewarded. However, I feel like there should always be that chance of rolling a 1.
Additionally, I've added the caveat that it will be 15 + the CL of Creator in the case of a Curio that was later bonded with. For example, the 8th level wizard made the curio and then the item was bonded by a 4th level fighter. It shouldn't be easier to disenchant the item after bonding. This change will make it the same difficulty while a Curio and then eventually progress higher as the bonded character gains levels.
"My only concern here is the chance for abuse. Someone makes a martial character, then dips sorcerer and cleric... suddenly they can cast high level arcane and divine spells through their Casting Bond. My thought is to use something like... To imbue essences for spells, limit it to your highest spell level access and from spell lists you have access to. So, my fighter example can only do 1st level spells from the sorcerer and cleric spell list. But, currently, in Niyut's case, she could only get access to 3rd level oracle or sorcerer spells. If someone finds an item with such a spell, they can still attempt to use it with UMD."
Can you help me understand the potential for abuse?
For example, let's take Fighter 5/Sorcerer 1/Oracle 1 (Since that doesn't split the casting stat).
This fighter is losing +2 Bab, Fighter feats, and expanded weapon and armor training for what? A Bloodline Arcana, a Revelation (level-bound), and the ability to add spells to a casting bound. Under my proposal the highest level spell she could imbue in her casting bond is 3 due to her character level. Let's say she gets 2 level 3 spells, 3 Level 2 spells, and 5 level 1 spells in his bond basically replicating the spells known for one of her classes.
She has spent 17 Essences on her Casting bond alone. For reference that's about as many Essences as Malthazir had before this last battle. Think of the opportunity cost to her other items. Her weapon would have few enhancements. She might not even have magical armor. She would also need a good charisma if she wants her spells to have a credible DC which means less physical awesomeness.
It seems like she would have been better served if she wanted to be a casting warrior by being a Magus or a War Priest. If she wanted to do this, what would be the harm?
If she just wanted a couple of spells total, wouldn't she have been better off spell scribing her armor (something Garidan did) (it's extremely Essence efficient) or just having her weapon cast a spell or two like the ice axe relic or half a dozen base pathfinder weapons I can think of.
Multiclassing has real opportunity costs.
Example number 2: A 1st level wizard can use a wand of fireballs and a staff of necromancy with no problem. He doesn't need to be level 5 or 12+ to use these respective items. (How he got them is another question.) Character level limits on imbuing spells is a limitation imposed in our house rules, but I think it is a wise one.
Example 3: In base Pathfinder, if you want to craft an item that can do an effect that you think is cool but isn't one you can do yourself, then the spell craft of the item goes up by +5, but you can still make the item.
But what does this all mean for our heroes?
Under your present proposal, it means that Gruskorb couldn't add 2-4 level druid spells if he wanted to. (Though he has shown no interest in doing so thus far.) Malthazir cannot add 2-3rd level bard spells. Niyut cannot add 2-3rd level Sorcerer spells. What would be the danger of doing so? Essences spent on that couldn't be spent elsewhere.
What if we took inspiration from base Pathfinder here? To create items that you don't have the spells for requires heavy investment in Spellcraft. We could adapt that here.
For each rank in Spell craft you have you can imbue an items with spells on your potential spell list but that you cannot cast on a 1:1 Ratio. However, this functionally reduces the potential for you to replicate this imbuing process by an equivalent amount.
For example, Niyut has 8 Ranks of spell craft. She could imbue her wand with 4 level 2 sorcerer spells, or 2 level 3 sorcerer spells and 1 level 2 spells, 2 level 4 spells, etc. However, if she wants to ever get a fifth level sorcerer spell after depleting her spellcraft slot potential on her wand she would need to acquire 5 more ranks of spell craft.
Does that seem interesting or allaying your concerns for abuse?
If it doesn't, that's fine. There are many other awesome things to do with essences. I just don't see how it could be abusive or functionally different than things that already exist, like binding Ice Storm to an axe or spell scribed armor.
@Niyut - Good Points.
My one thought, and I hadn't worked it out to see if viable... Let's try an example. 1) taking one level of wizard and 4 levels of fighter, for example. At that point you could use 3 EE's to give you 3 casts of haste on a casting bond, but only for 1/round since you are caster level... Alternatively, you could use 3 essences to make a boots of speed effect on a sundry bond. That gives you 10 rounds. So, no problem I guess there.
End game abuse... a 16th level fighter with 1 level of wizard, uses 9 EE's to get Wish 1/day... albeit with a 25k diamond each day... alternatively, use 10 EE's to get ring of three wishes effect on a sundry bond. So, that could be abused either way... we'll need to discuss some of these high level spells as they come up. Probably, could just deny certain effects at GM discretion or require the material component... which there will be few diamonds of that nature found. LOL.
I need to ponder more.
This is the current allocated essences from the battle. Let me know if I have any of this wrong, or if there are other claims on the arcane essences. I hope to be posting updates to the essences for each character soonish.
Hill Giant:
..LE - Garidan
Cliff Giant:
..LE - Niyut
..EE - Truk
..EE - Gruskorb
..EE - Niyut
..EE - Malthazir
..EE - Garidan
..EE - Truk
..AE(Enchantment) - Niyut
Equine Idol
..EE - Gruskorb
..EE - Garidan
..EE - Gruskorb
..EE - Truk
..EE - Malthazir
..AE(Transmutation) - Niyut
@Niyut - Good Points.
My one thought, and I hadn't worked it out to see if viable... Let's try an example. 1) taking one level of wizard and 4 levels of fighter, for example. At that point you could use 3 EE's to give you 3 casts of haste on a casting bond, but only for 1/round since you are caster level... Alternatively, you could use 3 essences to make a boots of speed effect on a sundry bond. That gives you 10 rounds. So, no problem I guess there.
End game abuse... a 16th level fighter with 1 level of wizard, uses 9 EE's to get Wish 1/day... albeit with a 25k diamond each day... alternatively, use 10 EE's to get ring of three wishes effect on a sundry bond. So, that could be abused either way... we'll need to discuss some of these high level spells as they come up. Probably, could just deny certain effects at GM discretion or require the material component... which there will be few diamonds of that nature found. LOL.
I need to ponder more.
Pondering is good! Though in your example, the first rate of return for haste wouldn't be 1 round under present rules but 5. Since all casting bonds use modified staff-like rules for casting: total character level with DC modified by casting stat. 5 is still not ten+, but it wouldn't be one either.
Question: Is the appropriate spell to extract essences from an unbound Wonder Extract Essence or Disechant?
"Extracting from unbonded Wonder - cast appropriate spell and beat a Spellcraft check that is equal to 15 + highest HD of mortal creature previously bonded."
The base difficulty would suggest to me that Extract Essence would do it. Otherwise, we should add some clarifying text to Disenchant to give it a mode for unattended, unbound wonders. (It currently only talks about attended people and things thus the 30+ difficulty. We would need to add the +15 mode.)
If Extract Essence works, Niyut would reclaim the essences from the horn right after she did the idol so everybody knows how much they are currently working with.
If Extract Essence does it, how many Essences are reclaimed?
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"Critical Hits, Strikes & Misses
On the Nexus, combatants can make critical hits and have critical misses, and so can spell casters! A confirmed critical from a PC’s attack roll of a natural ‘20’, will also receive a random critical hit effect as determined by the GM. A PC’s or NPC’s attack foll of a natural ‘1’, will receive a random critical fumble effect as determined by the GM. Additionally, if a PC or NPC rolls a natural 20 with an attack in which she has weapon focus or spell focus, a confirmation roll is not required."
From the wiki -- if this last sentence is accurate then those with weapon focus should pay attention to it.
Lol, I've gone and impressed Niyut with something I did, and didn't even realize it.
And those essences are correct for Garidan. Please remember that I've already picked the feat for the life essence, and you assigned a secondary as well. All that remains are buffing his existing LE abilities. On that note, I'd like to request that you consider an alternative to increasing the damage to flaming riposte. +2d6 is pretty good, and while part of me would happily see the bonus continue to climb, the rational part of me says it'll get ridiculous soon.
I'm saving the ethereal essences for now, though I'll try to trade one to Rhykal for an essence taken from a bard; your rules for spellscribed are that the spell Garidan selects must have been known or memorized by the creature at the time of its death. A wizard is unlikely to have had either of Garidan's desired shelter spells memorized, and a sorcerer is similarly unlikely to have spent a spell slot for one. But bards have full access to their lists, IIRC, so I just need a high enough level dead bard to have spit out an ethereal essence that Rhykal then got possession of. Easy-peazy!
Hate to burst that bubble but bards have spells known. They aren't like those over-privileged clerics who get served up entire spell lists.
Huh, well ain't that a kick in nuts. And it also, by the rules for spellscribed--as modified for this campaign, that is--makes it darned near impossible to add specific spells to Garidan's armor >_<. (In fact, by those same rules, he technically shouldn't have been able to add Bountiful Banquet ;p.)
Well, apparently, he had that spell known. :-p
Are starfruit included in the bountiful banquet?
Are starfruit included in the bountiful banquet?
Ha!
Also, Garidan, you are up in spheres.
Huh, well ain't that a kick in nuts. And it also, by the rules for spellscribed--as modified for this campaign, that is--makes it darned near impossible to add specific spells to Garidan's armor >_<. (In fact, by those same rules, he technically shouldn't have been able to add Bountiful Banquet ;p.)
I wouldn't overthink it. It's like schrodinger cat, but for spells. Unless it is wildly inappropriate, our kind gm is is like sure it would make sense that that caster could have that spell. But until you asked whether or not they had that spell is unknown. :-)
Are starfruit included in the bountiful banquet?
The answer to that is a firm, definite "maybe!" I think it has be food that Garidan has at least some knowledge of, either by personal experience or by book learning, for the spell to produce it.
(And that brings up an interesting question. How the heck did the replicators in Star Trek ever manage to produce food that everyone more or less agreed was accurate to taste? That's a better trick than the replicating itself!)
Are starfruit included in the bountiful banquet?The answer to that is a firm, definite "maybe!" I think it has be food that Garidan has at least some knowledge of, either by personal experience or by book learning, for the spell to produce it.
(And that brings up an interesting question. How the heck did the replicators in Star Trek ever manage to produce food that everyone more or less agreed was accurate to taste? That's a better trick than the replicating itself!)
Mind altering substances that make people suggestible?
Mind altering substances that make people suggestible?Are starfruit included in the bountiful banquet?The answer to that is a firm, definite "maybe!" I think it has be food that Garidan has at least some knowledge of, either by personal experience or by book learning, for the spell to produce it.
(And that brings up an interesting question. How the heck did the replicators in Star Trek ever manage to produce food that everyone more or less agreed was accurate to taste? That's a better trick than the replicating itself!)
Pernacious platypus venom, perhaps.
Pernacious platypus venom, perhaps.Mind altering substances that make people suggestible?Are starfruit included in the bountiful banquet?The answer to that is a firm, definite "maybe!" I think it has be food that Garidan has at least some knowledge of, either by personal experience or by book learning, for the spell to produce it.
(And that brings up an interesting question. How the heck did the replicators in Star Trek ever manage to produce food that everyone more or less agreed was accurate to taste? That's a better trick than the replicating itself!)
Speaking of monsters which trigger me, I was able to confront a Linnorm. It was quite cathartic.
And there's Gruskorb with the long-absent platypus reference!
Also, what possible link could there be in your head between a platypus and a linnorm? Do I even want to know?
Question: Is the appropriate spell to extract essences from an unbound Wonder Extract Essence or Disechant?
"Extracting from unbonded Wonder - cast appropriate spell and beat a Spellcraft check that is equal to 15 + highest HD of mortal creature previously bonded."
The base difficulty would suggest to me that Extract Essence would do it. Otherwise, we should add some clarifying text to Disenchant to give it a mode for unattended, unbound wonders. (It currently only talks about attended people and things thus the 30+ difficulty. We would need to add the +15 mode.)
If Extract Essence works, Niyut would reclaim the essences from the horn right after she did the idol so everybody knows how much they are currently working with.
[dice=Extract Essence (DC 25: 15+10)]1d20+23
If Extract Essence does it, how many Essences are reclaimed?
Extract Essence would only work on Curios.
From Extract Essence- "Target: One dead mortal creature or unattended curio"
From Disenchant- "Target: One mortal creature, a curio or a wonder"
"Critical Hits, Strikes & Misses
On the Nexus, combatants can make critical hits and have critical misses, and so can spell casters! A confirmed critical from a PC’s attack roll of a natural ‘20’, will also receive a random critical hit effect as determined by the GM. A PC’s or NPC’s attack foll of a natural ‘1’, will receive a random critical fumble effect as determined by the GM. Additionally, if a PC or NPC rolls a natural 20 with an attack in which she has weapon focus or spell focus, a confirmation roll is not required."From the wiki -- if this last sentence is accurate then those with weapon focus should pay attention to it.
Totally forgot this.
Question: Is the appropriate spell to extract essences from an unbound Wonder Extract Essence or Disechant?
"Extracting from unbonded Wonder - cast appropriate spell and beat a Spellcraft check that is equal to 15 + highest HD of mortal creature previously bonded."
The base difficulty would suggest to me that Extract Essence would do it. Otherwise, we should add some clarifying text to Disenchant to give it a mode for unattended, unbound wonders. (It currently only talks about attended people and things thus the 30+ difficulty. We would need to add the +15 mode.)
If Extract Essence works, Niyut would reclaim the essences from the horn right after she did the idol so everybody knows how much they are currently working with.
[dice=Extract Essence (DC 25: 15+10)]1d20+23
If Extract Essence does it, how many Essences are reclaimed?
Extract Essence would only work on Curios.
From Extract Essence- "Target: One dead mortal creature or unattended curio"
From Disenchant- "Target: One mortal creature, a curio or a wonder"
Cool. We should probably update the language on disenchant for the second mode which has a base of 15+ rather than 30+.
And there's Gruskorb with the long-absent platypus reference!
Also, what possible link could there be in your head between a platypus and a linnorm? Do I even want to know?
Truk, Gruskorb, and I were all in a game where we were "rocks fall, everybody dies" by a GM. We were level 6 or 7. The linnorm was CR 19.
Cool. We should probably update the language on disenchant for the second mode which has a base of 15+ rather than 30+.Question: Is the appropriate spell to extract essences from an unbound Wonder Extract Essence or Disechant?
"Extracting from unbonded Wonder - cast appropriate spell and beat a Spellcraft check that is equal to 15 + highest HD of mortal creature previously bonded."
The base difficulty would suggest to me that Extract Essence would do it. Otherwise, we should add some clarifying text to Disenchant to give it a mode for unattended, unbound wonders. (It currently only talks about attended people and things thus the 30+ difficulty. We would need to add the +15 mode.)
If Extract Essence works, Niyut would reclaim the essences from the horn right after she did the idol so everybody knows how much they are currently working with.
[dice=Extract Essence (DC 25: 15+10)]1d20+23
If Extract Essence does it, how many Essences are reclaimed?
Extract Essence would only work on Curios.
From Extract Essence- "Target: One dead mortal creature or unattended curio"
From Disenchant- "Target: One mortal creature, a curio or a wonder"
Yep. I was waiting on finalizing (for now) the rules before editing the spells.
@Niyut - Good Points.
My one thought, and I hadn't worked it out to see if viable... Let's try an example. 1) taking one level of wizard and 4 levels of fighter, for example. At that point you could use 3 EE's to give you 3 casts of haste on a casting bond, but only for 1/round since you are caster level... Alternatively, you could use 3 essences to make a boots of speed effect on a sundry bond. That gives you 10 rounds. So, no problem I guess there.
End game abuse... a 16th level fighter with 1 level of wizard, uses 9 EE's to get Wish 1/day... albeit with a 25k diamond each day... alternatively, use 10 EE's to get ring of three wishes effect on a sundry bond. So, that could be abused either way... we'll need to discuss some of these high level spells as they come up. Probably, could just deny certain effects at GM discretion or require the material component... which there will be few diamonds of that nature found. LOL.
I need to ponder more.
After further pondering...
It's true that with even 1 level of an arcane caster like wizard or sorcerer, a multi-class character could use a wand of fireballs, for example, without issue. They meet the requirements for the spell trigger activation method
There is an opportunity out to multi-class and to use the ethereal essences on the casting bond as opposed to another bond or to the character.
So, I'll adjust the language to allow that spells can be added provided it's on the class list of the character imbuing the essence.
@Garidan - Here is a recap of your current essences.
Garidan:
..Essence Count (E&A19/P1/L5)
….Ethereal: 19
……(EE1:?) - Attack Enhancement Bonus +1; Fencing Repostition
……(EE2:Shadowbrood Cloaker) - Undead Bane; Screaming Critical
……(EE3:?) - Cruel; Electrifying Foil
……(EE4/5:?/?) - Impact; Disarming Parry
……(EE6/8: Bone Golem/Geist) - Sharding; Bone Cage
……(EE7:Huntmaster Ghoul) - AC Enhancement Bonus +1; Resilient Soul
……(EE9:Geist) - Alchemy +5; Initiative +2
……(EE10:Storm Hag) - Spellscribe Armor; Acrobatics & Stealth +2
……(EE11:Storm Hag) - Invisilbility; Vital Strike
……(EE12/13:Worg/Worg) - Attack Enhancement Bonus +2; Cold Stare
……(EE14:Ursikka) - Unassigned
……(EE15:Gnoll Bard) - Spellscribe: Bountiful Banquet; Lingering Magic
……(EE16:Tikbalang) - Unassigned
……(EE17:Fire Staff) - UMD +5; Enfeebling Strike
……(EE18:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE19:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….Arcane: 0
….Primal: 1
……(Fire1:Gnoll Priest) - Fire Resist +5; Fiery Burst
….Life 5
……(LE1:Fire Goblin Sorcerer) - Dexterity +1; Burning Riposte
……(LE2:Flame Drake) - Dodge; Speed Surge
……(LE3:Gnoll Slayer) - Weapon Versatility; Study Target
……(LE4:Gnoll Ranger) - Point-Blank Shot: ; Favored Enemy (Gnoll +4)
……(LE5:Hill Giant) Combat Stamina feat. (Secondary Effect) +2 bonus to combat stamina pool.
Here is a recap of unassigned essences. Let me know if you’d like to imbue any.
..Unassigned
……(EE14:Ursikka) - Unassigned
……(EE16:Tikbalang) - Unassigned
……(EE#:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE#:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
Here is a recap of newly imbued essences. Please confirm.
..Self
……(LE5:Hill Giant) Combat Stamina feat. (Secondary Effect) +2 bonus to combat stamina pool.
@Gruskorb - Here is a recap of your current essences.
Gruskorb:
..Essence Count (20+4)
….Ethereal: 19
……(EE1:?) - Attack Enhancement Bonus +1; Vengeful: Undead
……(EE2:?) - Called; Moaning Critical
……(EE3/4:?/?) - Attack Enhancement Bonus +2; Minor Shock
……(EE5:Bone Golem) - AC Deflection Bonus +1; Initiative +2
……(EE6:?) - AC Luck Bonus +1; Scrimshaw Magic
……(EE7:?) - Attack Insight Bonus +1; Longstrider
……(EE8/11:Gnoll Commander/Storm Hag) - Attack Insight Bonus +2; Vital Attack
……(EE9:Gnoll Priest) - Empathy; Animated Maw
……(EE10:Storm Hag) - Floating Trap; Shocking Maw
....(EE12/13:Storm Hag/Storm Hag) Self-Arming - Gruskorb can command Lockjaw to arm itself or snap closed on a creature within its square (which potentially didn't trigger it).(Secondary Effect) Opportunistic: Becoming aware of its surroundings, Lockjaw can make AOO’s whenever a creature moves out of its range, per normal combat rules.
....(EE14:Ursikka) - Unassigned
....(EE15:Tikbalang) Rusty Maw - Upon a successful attack, the rusty maw of Lockjaw apply Tetnus (Fortitude DC14) with an immediate onset period. Effect: 1d4 Dexterity damage and 50% chance stiffened jaw muscles prevent speech. The condition persists while Lockjaw is clamped down upon a creature plus an additional 1d3 rounds. (Secondary Effect) Range: Lockjaw can continue to maneuver up to Medium range from Gruskorb. However, at the range it will only follow Gruskorb or perform simple commands such as attack, stay, or arm.
....(EE16:Staff) - Skill Competency Bonus: Sleight of Hand +5 (Secondary Effect) Quick Reflexes: The essence imparts a portion of the ursikka’s incredible reflexes into Gruskorb giving him an additional +1
….(EE17:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
….(EE18:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….(EE19:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….Arcane: 0
….Primal: 1
……(Earth1:Tupilaq) - Acid Resist +5; Seek Target
….Life: 4
……(LE1:?) - Combat Expertise; Lightning Trip
……(LE2:Gnoll Slayer) - Dexterity +1; Study Target
……(LE3:Gnoll Priest) - Dexterity +1; Fiery Weapons
....(LE4:Gnoll Ranger) - Dexterity +1; (Secondary Effect) ??
Here is a recap of unassigned essences. Let me know if you’d like to imbue any.
..Unassigned
....(EE14:Ursikka) - Unassigned
….(EE17:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
….(EE18:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….(EE19:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
Here is a recap of recently imbued essences. Please confirm.
..Self
....(EE16:Staff) - Skill Competency Bonus: Sleight of Hand +5 (Secondary Effect) Quick Reflexes: The essence imparts a portion of the ursikka’s incredible reflexes into Gruskorb giving him an additional +1
..Lockjaw, the Bear Trap
....(EE12/13:Storm Hag/Storm Hag) Self-Arming - Gruskorb can command Lockjaw to arm itself or snap closed on a creature within its square (which potentially didn't trigger it).(Secondary Effect) Opportunistic: Becoming aware of its surroundings, Lockjaw can make AOO’s whenever a creature moves out of its range, per normal combat rules.
....(EE15:Tikbalang) Rusty Maw - Upon a successful attack, the rusty maw of Lockjaw apply Tetnus (Fortitude DC14) with an immediate onset period. Effect: 1d4 Dexterity damage and 50% chance stiffened jaw muscles prevent speech. The condition persists while Lockjaw is clamped down upon a creature plus an additional 1d3 rounds. (Secondary Effect) Range: Lockjaw can continue to maneuver up to Medium range from Gruskorb. However, at the range it will only follow Gruskorb or perform simple commands such as attack, stay, or arm.
@Niyut - Here is a recap of your current essences.
Niyut:
..Essence Count (E&A20/P0/L5)
….Ethereal: 13
……(EE1:Flame Drake) - Snowball; Snowball Barrage
……(EE2:Shadow Cloaker) - All Saves +1; Glide
……(EE3:Bone Golem) - Spellcraft +5; Initiative +2
……(EE4: Tupilaq) - Perception +5; Resilient
……(EE5:Geist) - Lesser Intensify Spell; Lesser Silent/Still Spell
……(EE6:Gnoll Priest) - Lesser Reach Spell; Spontaneous Combustion
……(EE7:Storm Hag) - Shadowy Disguise; Shadow Caul
……(EE8: Storm Hag) - Fly +5; Mirror Image
……(EE9:Storm Hag) - Unassigned
……(EE10:Storm Hag) - Unassigned
……(EE11:Ursikka) - Blur; Tremorsense
……(EE12:Tikibalang) - Lesser Tenebrous; Ventriloquism
……(EE13:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
….Arcane: 7
……(Divination1:Gnoll Scout) - Unassigned
……(Enchantment1:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(Illusion1:?) - Illusion DC +1; Illusion +2 CL
……(Illusion2:Gnoll Bard) - Illusion DC +1; Lingering Image
……..(Shadow1:?) - Shadow DC +1; Shadow Shift
……(Necromancy1:?) Research Death; The Hand of Death
……(Transmutation1:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….Primal: 1
……Water1:?) Cold Resist +5; Ooze Traits
….Life: 5
……(LE1:Gelatinous Cube) - Charisma +1; Ooze Traits
……(LE2:Gnoll Commander) - Charisma +1; Armor of the Spirits
……(LE3:Gnoll Slayer) - Charisma +1; Study Target
……(LE4:Storm Hag) - Scribe Scroll; Flight
……(LE5:Cliff Giant) - Charisma +1 (Secondary Effect) Cunning feat.
Here is a recap of unassigned essences. Let me know if you’d like to imbue any.
..Unassigned
……(EE13:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(Divination1:Gnoll Scout) - Unassigned
……(Enchantment1:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(Transmutation1:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
Here is a recap of newly imbued essences. Please confirm.
..Self
……(LE5:Cliff Giant) - Charisma +1 (Secondary Effect) Cunning feat.
@Malthazir - Here is a recap of your current essences.
Malthazir:
..Essence Count (E&A19/P1/L4)
….Ethereal: 19
……(EE1/2:?/?) - Spell: Invisibility; Flight
……(EE3:?) - Armor Class +1; Torrential Winds
……(EE4:?) - Whispering Wind; Whispering Wind
……(EE5:Bone Golem) - Spellcraft +5; Initiative +2
……(EE6:Bone Golem) - Intimidation +5; Intestinal Fortitude
……(EE7:Huntmaster Ghoul) - All Saves +1; Death Resistant
……(EE8/9/10: Geist/Geist/Gnoll Priest) - Spell: Dispel Magic; Fiery Summons
……(EE11/12/13/14:Storm Hag/Storm Hag/Storm Hag/Storm Hag) - Lesser Quicken Spell; Storm Rider
……(EE15:Ursikka) - Unassigned
……(EE16/17:Tikbalang/Tikbalang) - Improved Spell Predilection; Spontaneous Combustion
……(EE18:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE19:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….Arcane: 1
……(Conjuration1:Tikbalang) - Infernal Summons; Renew Summons
….Primal: 1
……(Water1:Ice Giant) Cold Resist +5; Greater Darkvision
….Life: 4
……(LE1:Hill Giant) - Intelligence +1; Giantkin Reactions
……(LE2:Mummy) - Intelligence +1; Mummy’s Despair
……(LE3:Gnoll Slayer) - Intelligence +1; Precision Summons
……(LE4:Gnoll Bard) - Intelligence +1; Feat: Diabolical Summoner
Here is a recap of unassigned essences. Let me know if you’d like to imbue any.
……(EE15:Ursikka) - Unassigned
……(EE18:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE19:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
@Truk'tosh - Here is a recap of your current essences.
Truk'tosh:
..Essence Count (18+4) (E&A18/P3/L4)
….Ethereal: 18
……(EE1:Fire Goblin) - AC Bonus +1; Whipping Tail
……(EE2/4:Ogre Brute/Bone Golem) AC Bonus +2; Bone Exoskeleton
……(EE3:Hill Giant) - Attack +1 (Axe); Minor Rage
……(EE5:Gnoll Huntmaster) - Throwing (Axe); Greater Range
……(EE6: Geist) - Returning (Axe); Fake Throw
……(EE7:Gnoll Priest) - Impervious (Axe); Fast Thrower
……(EE8/9:Storm Hag) - Mighty Hurler (Axe); Storm Strike
……(EE10:Worg) - Luck Bonus AC +1 (Skull); Survival +2
……(EE11/12:Ursikka) - Attack +2 (Axe); Awesome Strike
……(EE13/14/15:Tikibalang/Fire Staff/Fire Staff) - AC Bonus +2; Spider Climb
……(EE16:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE17:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE18:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….Arcane: 0
….Primal: 3
……(Earth1:Bone Golem) - Acid Resist +5; Bone Prison
……(Fire1:Fire Goblin) - Fire Resist +5; Burning Hands
……(Fire2:Gnoll Commander) - Fire Resist +5; Burning Spells
….Life: 4
……(LE1:Flame Drake) - Strength +1; Speed Surge
……(LE2:Gnoll Commander) - Constitution +1; Strength Surge
……(LE3:Ice Giant) - Constitution +1; Icy Transformation
……(LE4:Gnoll Ranger) - Strength +1; Precise Shot (Bonus Feat)
Here is a recap of unassigned essences. Let me know if you’d like to imbue any.
..Unassigned
……(EE16:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE17:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE18:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
I'll admit I haven't been following this whole discussion on the essence system closely. That said, it seems like a good time to voice my concerns based on what we've seen so far.
The biggest room for exploitation that I've seen so far is in wands. Because they are staff-like instead of locked to a low caster level and use charges per day, they drastically increase caster effectiveness at a steep discount and well before access to that kind of sustainability should be possible. As they function now, I would suggest wands be 'priced' at something closer what they would cost to build in traditional magic item creation. If you interested are in revisiting them, perhaps it would make sense to make their caster level function closer to traditional wands with the option to invest additional essences later.
Truk'tosh will imbue himself with the essence from the equine idol for a +1 resistance bonus to saves.
He'll imbue his wire holy symbol with the other two for access to extend spell.
@Niyut - Here is a recap of your current essences.
Niyut:
..Essence Count (E&A20/P0/L5)
….Ethereal: 13
……(EE1:Flame Drake) - Snowball; Snowball Barrage
……(EE2:Shadow Cloaker) - All Saves +1; Glide
……(EE3:Bone Golem) - Spellcraft +5; Initiative +2
……(EE4: Tupilaq) - Perception +5; Resilient
……(EE5:Geist) - Lesser Intensify Spell; Lesser Silent/Still Spell
……(EE6:Gnoll Priest) - Lesser Reach Spell; Spontaneous Combustion
……(EE7:Storm Hag) - Shadowy Disguise; Shadow Caul
……(EE8: Storm Hag) - Fly +5; Mirror Image
……(EE9:Storm Hag) - Unassigned
……(EE10:Storm Hag) - Unassigned
……(EE11:Ursikka) - Blur; Tremorsense
……(EE12:Tikibalang) - Lesser Tenebrous; Ventriloquism
……(EE13:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
….Arcane: 7
……(Divination1:Gnoll Scout) - Unassigned
……(Enchantment1:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(Illusion1:?) - Illusion DC +1; Illusion +2 CL
……(Illusion2:Gnoll Bard) - Illusion DC +1; Lingering Image
……..(Shadow1:?) - Shadow DC +1; Shadow Shift
……(Necromancy1:?) Research Death; The Hand of Death
……(Transmutation1:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….Primal: 1
……Water1:?) Cold Resist +5; Ooze Traits
….Life: 5
……(LE1:Gelatinous Cube) - Charisma +1; Ooze Traits
……(LE2:Gnoll Commander) - Charisma +1; Armor of the Spirits
……(LE3:Gnoll Slayer) - Charisma +1; Study Target
……(LE4:Storm Hag) - Scribe Scroll; Flight
……(LE5:Cliff Giant) - Charisma +1 (Secondary Effect) Cunning feat.Here is a recap of unassigned essences. Let me know if you’d like to imbue any.
..Unassigned
……(EE13:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(Divination1:Gnoll Scout) - Unassigned...
In the list of essences you note that I have two hag essences unassigned but not in the later call out for your note purposes.
I'm not currently imbuing anything. I have long term plans for my outstanding essences.
I second Truk's opinion. As somebody who is very familiar with prepared spellcasters, particularly wizards, I feel like I'm practically dripping with spellcasting resources.
@Garidan - Here is a recap of your current essences.
Garidan:
..Essence Count (E&A19/P1/L5)
….Ethereal: 19
……(EE1:?) - Attack Enhancement Bonus +1; Fencing Repostition
……(EE2:Shadowbrood Cloaker) - Undead Bane; Screaming Critical
……(EE3:?) - Cruel; Electrifying Foil
……(EE4/5:?/?) - Impact; Disarming Parry
……(EE6/8: Bone Golem/Geist) - Sharding; Bone Cage
……(EE7:Huntmaster Ghoul) - AC Enhancement Bonus +1; Resilient Soul
……(EE9:Geist) - Alchemy +5; Initiative +2
……(EE10:Storm Hag) - Spellscribe Armor; Acrobatics & Stealth +2
……(EE11:Storm Hag) - Invisilbility; Vital Strike
……(EE12/13:Worg/Worg) - Attack Enhancement Bonus +2; Cold Stare
……(EE14:Ursikka) - Unassigned
……(EE15:Gnoll Bard) - Spellscribe: Bountiful Banquet; Lingering Magic
……(EE16:Tikbalang) - Unassigned
……(EE17:Fire Staff) - UMD +5; Enfeebling Strike
……(EE18:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE19:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
….Arcane: 0
….Primal: 1
……(Fire1:Gnoll Priest) - Fire Resist +5; Fiery Burst
….Life 5
……(LE1:Fire Goblin Sorcerer) - Dexterity +1; Burning Riposte
……(LE2:Flame Drake) - Dodge; Speed Surge
……(LE3:Gnoll Slayer) - Weapon Versatility; Study Target
……(LE4:Gnoll Ranger) - Point-Blank Shot: ; Favored Enemy (Gnoll +4)
……(LE5:Hill Giant) Combat Stamina feat. (Secondary Effect) +2 bonus to combat stamina pool.Here is a recap of unassigned essences. Let me know if you’d like to imbue any.
..Unassigned
……(EE14:Ursikka) - Unassigned
……(EE16:Tikbalang) - Unassigned
……(EE#:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(EE#:Equine Idol) - UnassignedHere is a recap of newly imbued essences. Please confirm....
To start with,the unassigned essences are all correct, and all of the life essences as well. A lot of ethereal essences are too, in general terms. Here's a list of specific corrections.
EE #1 was a Flame Drake in the warrens of Eastgate, EE #2 was the Screaming Skull we found in that one wrecked village where Niyut also found her kitty friend--the cloaker is Truk'tosh, I believe--EE #3 was the gnoll sorcerer at that big campsite battle with your NPCs on the road to the Tower of Necromancy, and EE #4 and EE #5 was a Bone Golem.
(If you ever need to reference, I have all of my assigned essences neatly organized, in the order received and with source noted as well, under the "Campaign Boons" heading in my Paizo character sheet.)
Your pools at the top have a couple of Errors
Niyut is at (7 arcane + 13 Ethereal) (1 Primal) (5 Life).
Malthazir is at (1 arcane + 19 Ethereal) (1 Primal) (5 Life).
Illusion 1 is from Hairpin of Disguise. Shadow 1 is from the Shadow Cloaker. Necromancy 1 was from a trade with the Hazard of Necromancy. Water 1 was from the freezing flow.
Truk'tosh will imbue himself with the essence from the equine idol for a +1 resistance bonus to saves.
He'll imbue his wire holy symbol with the other two for access to extend spell.
Got it. Working on secondaries.
..Unassigned
……(EE16/17:Cliff Giant/Cliff Giant) - Lesser Extended Spell;
……(EE18:Equine Idol) - All Saves Resistance Bonus +1;
In the list of essences you note that I have two hag essences unassigned but not in the later call out for your note purposes.
I'm not currently imbuing anything. I have long term plans for my outstanding essences.
Updated:
..Unassigned
……(EE9:Storm Hag) - Unassigned
……(EE10:Storm Hag) - Unassigned
……(EE13:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(Divination1:Gnoll Scout) - Unassigned
……(Enchantment1:Cliff Giant) - Unassigned
……(Transmutation1:Equine Idol) - Unassigned
To start with,the unassigned essences are all correct, and all of the life essences as well. A lot of ethereal essences are too, in general terms. Here's a list of specific corrections.
EE #1 was a Flame Drake in the warrens of Eastgate, EE #2 was the Screaming Skull we found in that one wrecked village where Niyut also found her kitty friend--the cloaker is Truk'tosh, I believe--EE #3 was the gnoll sorcerer at that big campsite battle with your NPCs on the road to the Tower of Necromancy, and EE #4 and EE #5 was a Bone Golem
UPdated. Let me know if you want to imbue any of the ethereal essences.
Truk'tosh will imbue himself with the essence from the equine idol for a +1 resistance bonus to saves.
He'll imbue his wire holy symbol with the other two for access to extend spell.
Got it. Working on secondaries.
..Unassigned
……(EE16/17:Cliff Giant/Cliff Giant) - Lesser Extended Spell;
……(EE18:Equine Idol) - All Saves Resistance Bonus +1;
'
2 Essences would get full Extend, since its a base +1.
Good point. Thanks.
Malthazir is at... (5 Life).
I have him at 4 Life Essences.
….Life: 4
……(LE1:Hill Giant) - Intelligence +1; Giantkin Reactions
……(LE2:Mummy) - Intelligence +1; Mummy’s Despair
……(LE3:Gnoll Slayer) - Intelligence +1; Precision Summons
……(LE4:Gnoll Bard) - Intelligence +1; Feat: Diabolical Summoner
Malthazir's profile indicates a Storm Hag's Life Essence, but the effect listed is Storm Rider which he received when adding 4 EE's from the Storm Hags, not a Life Essence. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
That is correct. He has 4 Life Essences, and no Hag Life Essences. The Storm Rider is from EEs.
I'll admit I haven't been following this whole discussion on the essence system closely. That said, it seems like a good time to voice my concerns based on what we've seen so far.
The biggest room for exploitation that I've seen so far is in wands. Because they are staff-like instead of locked to a low caster level and use charges per day, they drastically increase caster effectiveness at a steep discount and well before access to that kind of sustainability should be possible. As they function now, I would suggest wands be 'priced' at something closer what they would cost to build in traditional magic item creation. If you interested are in revisiting them, perhaps it would make sense to make their caster level function closer to traditional wands with the option to invest additional essences later.
Quite often I feel like my opinion bounces around on this issue, but I recognize it is a complex problem.
The main goal I had when I decided to do the "essence" concept was to make crafting of magic items more dynamic. Character's would have fewer magic items but with greater customization. I'm tired of everyone having a cloak of resistance, ring of protection, blah, blah, blah. I wanted to give the players the ability to get bonuses & effects they wanted, but in unique items that they cherished. Additionally, I want them to have flexibility in both combat and role-playing encounters.
Most of the rules we've developed and use have helped accomplish that end. However, two rules have had additional impacts on the campaign. One created a power surge in the characters that is unbalancing against monsters and npc’s. The second furthered the gap between casters and martials.
1. Secondary Effects... Unarguably, they are compounding the bonuses and effects. It is making it harder to build challenging encounters. Your characters have become overpowered in some ways, which means I have to put tougher and/or more monsters up against you to make it a challenge to kill them. But, the risk of character death goes up. So, I've erred the last couple of battles on the side of caution which has, in my opinion, led to easier encounters. Once the tide turned in the recent battle, it ended rather quickly. I do worry about what it will look like once the characters get to the upper teens... or 20!
2. Wands... I should start with the statement that I personally don't enjoy the vancian magic systems as much as I enjoy other systems. I infrequently play wizards in Pathfinder, and when I do, they go scroll crazy. I don't like having a spell in my spellbook that I can't access when I really need it. So, I thought let's give them the ability to add spells to the "wands" but have them behave more like staves. We came up with a progression of essences to get higher level spells. But... Truk is correct in that it does vastly expand caster's abilities beyond martial characters, who are arguably weaker to begin with.
I know we tried to playtest the Spheres systems, and I've had fun with that campaign, but we only had a limited test on it. And honestly, I find the magic side to be a bit monotone... and the martial side not that impressive. I created over twenty characters and was able to make some very powerful, but one dimensional, casters with only 4-6 levels.
Personally, I'm hopeful that Pathfinder 2ed will better address the disparity between casters and martial characters. Also, from my readings, the shifting skills to proficiency levels rather than skill ranks, this will certainly affect many of the secondary effects.
NIyut, on the other hand, is correct in that spell trigger methods of Pathfinder would suggest that she should be able to add on upper level spells from classes she's accessed, and that there is opportunity costs for using essences to gain these spells.
My home game is playing essences differently as I'm trying to find the right balance. I'd like to get to one set of rules for future campaigns that I'm thinking about running. I won't change the rules for any current campaign unless everyone agrees. And any effects to items that have been granted will stay unless the player asks them to be adjusted. But I’m going to continually tweak some of the rules on wiki.
Sorry that I'm rambling, but I do appreciate and want as much input I can get from all of you. Further, I want to keep all of you happy, excited and engaged with the campaign.
I'm going to keep working on the rules for the world over the next couple of months. You may note that I'll separate out any campaign specific rules.
Let's keep the discussion going on rules. I value everyone's opinion and appreciate the time & energy all of you have put into the campaign.
Let's start with discussion on Secondary Effects. What is everyone's opinion? Fun & useful? Inconsistent? Better to have them upgrade older secondary effects? Too overpowering? Should only be on certain types of essences? Other thoughts?
Happy Thanksgiving!
I really like Secondary effects. They make characters and items have super cool and rather unique effects. They are a great way to buff martial characters and give them more options. I know that at least one person complains about having "too many options" and it "being so much to remember." But, that hasn't been my experience. Yes, there is greater complexity, but that just requires reading, paying attention, and reviewing the wiki. (Thank you for the wiki!). I have limited sympathy for any position that wants to read less. (Though of course your mileage may vary, it takes all types, etc.)
I love playing casting characters, and secondary abilities have made my character have options during long adventuring days.
I support you buffing our enemies to whatever level you feel is challenging.
All that being said, secondary effects do increase the power level of our game.
I have a few suggestions and thoughts on the matters you talked about.
1. "The GM, in his discretion, may increase the items powers and abilities when an essence is imbued to an item. " (Emphasis mine)
If you ever feel like secondary abilities are making too big of a difference, you have an out built into the system and rules. Secondary effects are entirely up to the GM. If you decide that you don't want to add one or reduce their occurrence by some percentage, no one would have any room to argue since the rules are widely promulgated (the nature of valid rules). Though for Essences that improve previous secondary effects -- Primal, Life, and Arcane -- I would still want the improved effects since that is part of their appeal.
2. While I personally think spheres is kinda lame, I'm not one to yuck on anybody's yum. If Gruskorb, for example, really wants access to sphere's tech in this game, personally I would support him.
3. Pathfinder 2.0 won't save us from the Vancian system. James Jacobs is on the record as saying that he doesn't like mana point spell casting systems in pen and paper games. Since he is the Creative Director, I don't think the game will change so much that it would fundamentally include system that he finds "boring" and makes him "not want to play."
Though I agree with you, I like more dynamic magic systems or at least it being a possibility. I don't understand why both things cannot be things -- wizards and clerics being Vancian and spontaneous casters being more flexible and dynamic (like these are my themes and I can flexibly cast within those themes.)