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Hi all,

Currently in a game with some friends and running a level 7 Vesk Vanguard. I joined late compared to everyone else, and didnt want to steal the limelight, so with some help I built a single job "stand at the front and punch things", assuming a lot of the game would be on the ship, or doing skill checks.

Unfortunately, the game was, basically, stand at the front and hit things, and I built my character more optimized than the rest of the party. The DM started having to really ramp up the encounters to stop me walking from enemy to enemy and ending them quickly. Unfortunately, that meant that if I got tied down by some unlucky rolls, or if I bit off more than I could chew and got downed, the rest of the party were suddenly in trouble. They only have one other real damage dealer, also melee, and she can make some... interesting positioning choices, which leaves the party very open. The DM and I have discussed a lot of things. It is not appropriate for the DM to change the fights even more at the moment, as before I joined, they were working out for the party. This is the game they want to play. I know in general, it would be possible to do that. Please understand there is no hostility. I have quite a bit of 3.5e experience so Starfinder is in my wheelhouse, while the DM and other players are experiencing a complex (or more complex than 5th) system for the first time. I am the outlier, I can change, I am happy to change. Please dont tell me they should change.

I might well be retiring my character (its a good point to do that), and bring in a new one. I want something support and BFC. And while I know its not the best class, I kinda want to play a witchwarper. It would come in at level 7 with appropriate WBL.

I am currently tempted by a Blind Vlaka for the lore effect (blind in this world, but can see into the infinite other worlds), but that limits my range to 60ft. We are usually within that anyway, but hey, having the option to slap a spell 100+ feet away is nice.

I also really like Imago as an option. Very fluff appropriate and some built in spell-likes. And no range limitations.

Aasimar would also be awesome. That energy resist.

Esper and Tempered Pligrim seem both appropriate themes, as does deathless.

But after that I am kinda stuck. Theres not a lot of help out there about Witchwarpers. What good feats are there? If I am looking for support and BFC, which spells are traps and which are must haves? Any advice on equipment, spells and when to use infinite worlds?

I have been thinking about Improved Demoralize as a feat, and the Push Grenade and Resist Element Shifts (the grenade one may sound bad, but our mechanic is grenade focused but bad at throwing...).

Thanks all.

Hi all,

Back in december, I asked for help making a Vesk Vanguard for a friends game.

A bit of background about the game first. I joined for season 2. Season 1 ended with my friends at level 5, with their own small ship. They were:

A dragon(-kin, she got refluffed to look like a full dragon) soldier, melee focus.
A Skittermander Envoy (6 guns, barrage, the usual)
A Shireen Mystic blaster, with bionic legs, a flamethrower, a frostbite rifle, and a tendency to "swap" weapons by throwing his current one with telekenetic projectile.
A Ysoki implant mechanic - I think they went grenade focus but a few bad scatter rolls means they tend to just shoot now.

They did ok, but they are all new to a d20 system (can we call Starfinder a d20 system? The similarities are obvious), and a few of them dislike anything which gives them a minus, so there are defiantly plays not being made.

I didnt want to step on any toes, so a combat focused Vesk Vanguard sounded fun. Trading damage, saving allies, etc.

What the forum came up with was (with a strength mod) 19 Str, 16 Dex, 18 Con, 10 Int, 10 Wis, and 8 Cha. A set of Basic Hardplate takes my AC to a staggering 24/25, and with entropy, that raises to 25/26. I have the DR = BAB feat, and basically my only other possession is a taclash (level 1) that I only use for AoO. I went Reaction, and took Dampen and Intervene. We have since leveled up to 6, and I took Entropic Charge, as I charge A LOT. Because the game is different to how I expected, the DM is going to let me swap dampen for friendly fire (i thought I wound spend a lot of time around my allies getting shot, but actually I tend to charge forward to stop the largely melee enemies from getting to my team).

Just before I joined, the party blew all its money on upgrading their ship, after one space battle that they could have disengaged from (they were the aggressors), and so were a little undergeared compared to my character. Even then, the AC of my Vesk, combined with lots of experience with 3.5e and Pathfinder 1e, and the ludicrous attack and damage rolls (way better than the fighter, which worries me - she sometimes gets her sheets wrong, but the DM is sat next to her and I trust him) mean that even accounting for 5 people, the DM is struggling to balance encounters.

If he puts in enemies that can challenge me (even if they can hit me, I have TONS of HP and Stamina, and he needs things that do acid damage as melee, since we are fighting swarm, to deal any significant damage to me), then the rest of the party is in severe danger. On the other hand, if enemies are level appropriate for the rest of the party, I charge from enemy to enemy, ending the encounter. I am trying now to tangle up the big bands in any fight to ensure everyone contributes, but yeah, its an issue.

So, we are nearing the end of a big character arc (one that saw us from when I joined in January at level 5, and will see us half way to 8th very soon). And the DM has decided that the party needs upgrading. The Dragon Soldier already has. She was given upgraded armour (Lashunta Ringwear III, which STILL puts her AC below mine somehow... I think she has no dex? Maybe even a dex penalty?). The others will be receiving probably weapons. But the DM and I had a chat. He is really struggling with my Vesk, and we both agreed that he has AC, DR and damage aplenty right now. I will be getting an item, but not one that upgrades any of those. Only problem? The DM cant think of anything.

So, having trawled through the items, I need some help picking one. Probably level 7 or below (potentially level 8). So far, and talking to the others about previous sessions, we have always fought on the ground, in full gravity, with an atmosphere, with the exception of a couple of ship battles. Basically, we are playing Pathfinder 1e in space. Item rules are:

No item that upgrades AC, DR, or (I have added these two) gives me Energy Resist or a miss chance.
No item that increases my damage, either directly or indirectly.
Combat mobility items or items that improve my (already broken) combat manouvres are probably fine, but the more abstracted from damage or AC they are, the better.
I have very few skills, and barely any are utility, but then we have never needed a single check that the envoy, mechanic, or mystic dont at least double up on.
Something fun that I will use often.
For role play only, so far, my Vesk has been more tech than magic, but this is a gift, he is a Merc, and he wont not use an item that could help him complete his job.

I had spotted the Falcon Boots which look cool, but I am otherwise at a loss.

So, any ideas?

Feats: Weapon Focus, Coordinated Shot for sure. Not as keen on "through the lines". WIth only one other melee char, the need to charge through her isnt great.

Then possibly the + to kinetic armour, but maybe something else now.

Disciplines: More unsure on. I like dampen, but I am wondering if friendly fire is better.

Dampen will mean I take WAY less damage, but so will my enemies (as well as my teammate). With friendly fire, sure, I will take full damage from enemy blasts, but I can threaten a large area standing in the middle of a group of enemies and actually be a target for my allies.

It doesnt appear I can swap them out, so long term, friendly fire is better due to the incredible synergy with accelerate at level 10. That said, I am level 5, and the campaign might never get to 10, in which case dampen is better.

There arnt a lot of good level 2 disciplines for what I want to do by the looks of it, but interfere and intervene both look good, but its a similar situation to above. On the one hand, interfere leads to me taking no damage, and my friend potentially taking none, but thats it. On the other hand, intervene sees her take half, me take half, and me maybe also getting an entropy point, which I could THEN use to power up entropic strike, potentially ending the fight quicker, which could prevent an entire round of future damage.

With the taclash in play, I am now thinking ditch momentum in favour of exergy for that sweet total CM vs EAC+2 (well, EAC+8-4-2). But Reaction is also looking very sweet, with especially the Blinded (for most targets) and entangled (for everything that cant be blinded) conditions (those seriously just look like the best ones). I would be at CM EAC+4 for attempting those, but then I could swap the kenetic feat for ICM trip anyway...

Unless anything else springs to mind for that last feat?

Im feeling good about this now, thanks guys.

Yeah, I was just thinking that.

Honestly, the difference between 1d3 and 1d6 isnt great, but the difference between 1d3 and 2d6 is massive. So I will probably get a taclash for now (while I am level 5), and as soon as I hit level 6, look for something else. Its not like I do damage with tripping or disarming anyway, so it doesnt hugely matter. I am looking to threaten, and I can do that with reach, but step in to unload with unarmed strikes.

From the entropic strike section:

"You can also deliver an entropic strike with any melee weapon, or any shield that allows you to make unarmed attacks (replacing the normal attack with your entropic strike). The attack’s damage is equal to the entropic strike damage of a vanguard of either your class level or a class level equal to the weapon’s item level, whichever is lower."

I had both read that wrong, AND still got the jist of it. I dont get the level added to the damage, but I am stuck with 1d3 + Con + Weapon Spec (for 1d3+9). That... seems a little bit lackluster, but I guess its only on average 1 less damage? The issue is when I hit level 6 and I should be throwing out 2d6 damage, but I am still stuck with 1d3.

Also, that class ability that lets me target EAC+8 for CM comes in at level 5 anyway. So I have that.

This is great, thanks guys.

One quick question. Doesnt a level 1 taclash greatly impede my damage from entropic strike? I have to take my damage as the lower of my level or the item level. I think the special form of Weapon Spec I get is in addition to this. So assuming Matt's proposed stats, I would be doing:

1d6 + 4 (con) + 1 (weapon level) + 5 (weapon spec Vanguard level) for 1d6 + 10

But with an equal level weapon, or unarmed, I could be doing 1d6 + 14? Or am I reading that wrong? Is that ok? Does that make a difference if I am trying to make others easier to hit and do tripping and disarming and maybe dirty tripping?

Hi all,

While I have quite a lot of experience with 3.5e and Pathfinder 1e, some 5e experience, and experience with other TTRPGs, I have never played starfinder before. I am soon to be joining a group of friends who have been playing for a little bit. They are now level 5, and so I need to be as well.

Its a lot to take in, and the first session I will be in is in about a week. So, I need help, with feats, items, weapons, and character choices.

I am currently leaning towards Vesk Vanguard. I dont mind being sub-optimal damage. There is already a frontline melee for that (Dragonkin Soldier Melee build) and everyone else is ranged or spellcaster. I think I would like some sort of lockdown build though, so I am leaning towards Exergy (for trip). Though Momentum also looks nice. While Vesk has a +2 to STR, probably going to go Con>Dex>Str>Wis=Int=Cha, grab a 2 handed reach weapon if one exists, or some other lockdown weapon, and focus entropic strikes. But maybe I want a tripping operative weapon as I can use dex for tripping then.

Beyond that, i am stuck. Anyone that can help out with anything mentioned or missed I would appreciate. Also, some clarification on whether Mitigate shuts down the Vesk +1 AC from wearing armour ability would be great.

I literally have no idea what I am doing, there is a lot to take in with starfinder.

Summary:

Need help for level 5 Vesk Vanguard Lockdown build, with specific attention paid to:

Choosing feats

Choosing class features (thinking Exergy or Momentum, but tips appreciated, and need the other options)

Choosing weapon (mostly for its abilities if I use entropic strike)

Choosing other items (level 5 WBL, no item above level 5)

Playing...

Thanks, and Merry Christmas