Beriliand's page

I think people keep asking changing proficiencies without considering the whole picture. I must remind you that using an impulse that uses class DC most of the time will have an effect of half damage on a success and one minor condition on the target(s).

Let's compare a lvl 1 fighter with expert proficiency in a weapon. If you get a failure you deal no damage, full damage on a hit and double damage on a critical hit. Whereas an earth kineticist using tremor will deal no damage on an enemy's critical success, half damage on a success, full damage on a failure and double damage plus knocked prone on a critical failure.

Based on this you have 1/2 posibilities of dealing damage with a fighter whereas you will deal damage 3/4 times with anything using your class DC. Considering it very likely that the final version of the kineticist will have a damage boost on impulses and elemental blasts if they also rise their class profiency at lvl 1 the class will be busted as hell.

I don't agree with you regarding the kineticist being like the fighter or the gunslinger. I think maybe the kineticist should have the progression of a regular warrior class being expert with blasts at lvl 5, swapping it with critical element.

I also don't want the kineticist being like the one from pf1e, this class was super complicated to track in terms of burn and features that modified blasts and it also was boring playing with it, not to say the class almost every time ruined the campaign bacause it was so overpowered in 1 enemy encounters (targeting touch AC or direct damage with regular AC blasts).

I agree that the current iteration needs more damage and the Con key ability is underused, but I can't come up with a solution that won't break the game.

At some point I considered implementing burn as a mixture between panache and inventor's overdrive, something like make a Fort save (or a special skill only used by kineticists using Con) and on a critical failure you take damage and loose your gathered element, at a failure you only loose your gathered element, at a success you are at a state of burn and add Con to your blasts damage or a fixed amaunt like panache does, and at a critical success you are at a "super" burn state that lets you increase damage of blasts like a success but you are also quickened, and can use this action only as part of using a feat with the impulse and overdrive traits, loosing the burn state after using it.

But once again I think this breaks the game and needs a lot of tweeking.

Nitro~Nina wrote:

Kekkres wrote:

impulses are also concentrate so rage is off the table

Darn. That's a good point. Elemental Weapon only for Barbs, then.

which is a shame because a barbarian geomancer would be cool as hell

You can always take the lvl 1 barbarian feat Moment of Clarity that allows you to use concentrate actions while raging.

YuriP wrote:

So comparing we can see at level 1 almost all compared spells and impulses have a similar dmg, but they vary a lot at range and AoE. But with the notable exception of EA thats allow the caster to hit 2 creatures in their range don't matter their position, the number of targets are very relative to AoE. Also the Pummeling Rubble can easily push the creatures while Tidal Hands needs a critical failure what's usually means thats rarely happen (you can't count with it). But the real noticeable diference here is the "Heighten" effects e relative number of actions; Focus and Spellslot Spells basically doubles their effects when casted in higher level while cantrips and Impulses just increases by 50% and in this situation the Impulses can be even worse than EA cantrip because they require 1 additional action making them effectively less cost efficient than a cantrip.

while I agree with your point, Kineticist abilities scale on class level, not spell level. So they effectively scale every spell level, which puts it on par with the spells scaling.

I agree. I also think YuriP is comparing the wrong spells with overflow feats. I think overflow feats are in par with AOE cantrips like acid splash, puff of poison and haunting hymn which scale every +2 spell levels and add dice damage from lvl 3 spell (except acid splash that starts with die damage and later adds your key ability mod).

Beriliand wrote:

Nitro~Nina wrote:

This was my thinking too, but unfortunately Gathering an Element disperses any Element already Gathered... Which also means no dual-wielding of Elemental Weapons and not much incentive not to use a shield for blasters. This is something that I really hope that they can change.

My group and I were discussing about this topic and we came across a solution, you can have an element gathered with gather element which uses your inner gate and use the gather option from adapt element to gather another element in your free hand since it doesn't use your inner gate as it says:

Gather (any element) You Gather the Element, drawing it from the environment instead of from your inner gate.

As a master I would rule you can do this since you are using two different sources for each element. So you can have an elemental weapon in one hand and use the other hand to use ranged blast attacks.

Hm... You're still Gathering the Element as a subordinate action to Adapt Element, so all the rules of that action still apply even if it has a different source. It's a fun houserule but it doesn't work per the text unfortunately.

All this talk of Elements and Masters is making me very excited to play some sort of Automaton Kineticist...

If that'd be the case, why would the designers use the same effect with two different action economy features? It is pointless to use gather with adapt element which spends 2 of your actions vs using gather element that is a 1 action feature with no using limit, moreover both features have the manipulate trait which means they trigger AOO.

Bad or rushed design or intentional? I wish I knew.

As I understand it you only need to use 2 actions to adapt element and at the same time select one of the options available, gather in this case, so 3 actions to gather 2 elements.

I agree it is not action efficient but it is the only way to work around the restriction from gather element atm.

This was my thinking too, but unfortunately Gathering an Element disperses any Element already Gathered... Which also means no dual-wielding of Elemental Weapons and not much incentive not to use a shield for blasters. This is something that I really hope that they can change.

My group and I were discussing about this topic and we came across a solution, you can have an element gathered with gather element which uses your inner gate and use the gather option from adapt element to gather another element in your free hand since it doesn't use your inner gate as it says:

Gather (any element) You Gather the Element, drawing it from the environment instead of from your inner gate.

As a master I would rule you can do this since you are using two different sources for each element. So you can have an elemental weapon in one hand and use the other hand to use ranged blast attacks.

I think most people in this post are focusing on damage alone whereas I see the class as very versatile when building it around 2 or four elements (though I think four elements is the worst of the kineticits options).

You are also forgetting that from lvl 3 onward you can obliterate creatures with an elemental trait you are currently gathering with extract element which weakens a creature on a failed save.

After reading through the playtest pdf I feel like the evolutionist is a wannabe DPS/tank without having anything to manage this role. I find the concept interesting but it isn't what I was expecting when I first heard of an Evolutionist. I thought it would be something like Pathfinder's Shifter but adapted to Starfinder.

Let's talk about what I don't like.

1- When I think of the concept evolution I see something that can adapt to every situation and this class seem to do very poorly. Only Eldritch and Mechanized niches can resist certain types of damage and you have to spend EP to get other types of movement that last a very sort time (3 rounds). If you want a class that can do this I recommend a Mystic (xenodruid) it has the same BAB and hp/sp increase per lvl and you have spells to heal yourself.

2- The EP pool is quite complex, I played a vanguard and half the time I forget to increase the entropic pool and myself and other players forget to spend it in combat.

3- Combat wise it does a lot of damage but having 3/4 BAB, light armor proficiency and 6 hp/sp means you are cursed to spend EP every round to increase your atack and if you choose a melee weapon you are going to need a mystic nearby to heal you specially with Eldritch and Mechanized niches if you recieve damage you are vulnerable to. If you want to tank make a vanguard or a soldier and if you want dps solarian is a better choice.

4- I don't get to do anything out of combat, sure flexible skill gives you more skill points and more trained skills but, what else?

5- Evolutionary focus: Augmentations only give you discounts on augmentations and the choice to have more than one in up to 2 systems. I personally don't buy many augmentations, mostly speed increase, darkvision and DR. Combat makes you a soldier (or close). And packmaster allows you to pass your adaptations to adyacent party members, I don't like half of them why would they want them?

6- Niches: I like the concept of becoming something else and I am very fond of dragons but Eldritch niche seem very niche ;)

There are very few spellcasting monsters in the game so SR won't matter 80% of the time. The drawback is insane just for something that would trigger once every sesion (being generous) unless you plan to be hindering your spellcaster all the time. Spell twisting only comes in handy if your party's spellcaster is lower level than you otherwise you will be wasting EP to reduce your pool. Sure it seems fun teleporting around the battlefield with arcane leap but does this make up for the drawbacks, I don't think so and besides it's a lvl 10 feature.

Mechanized is somewhat boring you only get DR and energy resistance but if you happen to choose it wrong you get an insane amount of damage at the end of your turn, not worth it I think. Avenging burst seems pretty lame. Rapid reboot I don't know how it will work in combat since there is no sneak attack but makes you the target of every intelligent monster that sees you flat-footed.

Sepulchral is the only one I would consider taking. Great damage output but you get penalized twice for this, first you recieve less healing from others and second you have to loose a move or a standard action if you killed someone, which is what I am suppossed to do. I wonder if this also works if you knock some unconscious with non-lethal damage. You can heal your wounds (great) but only once every 10 minutes (ow). And you can be a ghost, nice.

I have some serious problems with vital, it feels like this niche was intended to be the tank one, but the healing it provides is almost uneventful due to the damage output of the monsters in Starfinder (my group have argued several times that the attack rate and the damage output of monsters in Starfinder aren't balanced) and you are weaker to control magic just for this. I don't see the logic behind this, I can protect my party but if a spellcaster manages to control or confuse me and I end up attacking them I will do more harm than good, but as I said before there are very few spellcasting monsters in Starfinder so maybe it won't affect much. I don't know.

For all this I don't think I will be making an Evolutionist until it comes out and I see the changes they make, but it feels like this iteration is half made without considering what it can do out of combat and in combat the drawbacks are insane for the little benefit they provide.

I was trying to make a kobold fighter based on the one portrayed on "Little Trouble in Big Absalom" and I came across some problems with his abilities.

Simeek has STR 18, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 12

Selecting his options I came across this:
Ancestry: Kobold +2 DEX, +2 CHA, -2 CON, free (+2 STR)
Background: Laborer boosts STR or CON, free - I think they took +2 STR, +2 CON
Class: Fighter +2 STR

At this point he has 16 STR, 12 DEX, 10 CON, 10 INT, 10 WIS, 12 CHA.

I can't think of a way to apply 4 ability boosts and get the same abilities unless I apply two ability boost to CON as described on page 27 of core rulebook "Voluntary Flaws"

Sometimes, it’s fun to play a character with a major flaw even if you’re not playing an ancestry that imposes one. You can elect to take two additional ability flaws when applying the ability boosts and ability flaws from your ancestry. If you do, you can also apply one additional free ability boost. These ability flaws can be assigned to any ability score you like, but you can’t apply more than one ability flaw to the same ability score during this step unless you apply both of the additional ability flaws to a score that is already receiving an ability boost during this step. In this case, the first ability flaw cancels the ability boost, and the second ability flaw decreases the score by 2. Likewise, as an exception to the normal rules for ability boosts, you can apply two free ability boosts to an ability score receiving an ability flaw during this step; the first ability boost cancels the ability flaw, and the second ability boost increases the score by 2. For example, a dwarf normally gets an ability boost to Constitution and Wisdom, along with an ability flaw to Charisma. You could apply one ability flaw each to Intelligence and Strength, or you could apply both ability flaws to Wisdom. You could not apply either additional ability flaw to Charisma, though, because it is already receiving dwarves’ ability flaw during this step.

But it seems it is not legal for play according to the character creation section for organised play:

Pathfinder Society uses the standard method detailed under “Ability Score Overview” on page 20 of the Core Rulebook. Your character can also take two additional ability flaws to gain one additional ability boost as described in the Voluntary Flaws sidebar on page 26 of the Core Rulebook.

I may have missed something but I think they used a rule not explicitly mentioned on the rules. Is it legal for use since they used it on a santionable adventure or is it possible using 2 ability flaws for an ability boost?

My calculation with the voluntary flaws rule is STR 18, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 12, CHAR 10

Thanks in advance

I see , thank you.

Dunno why I read at the end. Now I have other questions.
Does fast healing work at 0 HP?
If so, you recover the listed HP, are consciuous and can act normally?

With Character Operations Manual we have a new feat for androids that grant fast healing and since this was mainly a monster feature I don't know how it works with RP.

So when you are dying (at 0 HP) you have to spend RP to stabilize or you will loose 1RP at the end of your turn and fast healing also comes in effect at the end of your round.

The question is, what comes 1st RP lose or fast healing? do I loose 1 RP and then I heal the amount listed or the other way around? do you die if you don't have RP while you have fast healing active?

I'm not, I've leveled my character from level 1 to level 4 through a number of scenarios.

Thank you both.

Thank you. So unless I have the mnemotecnic editor in a chornicle sheet I couldn't have bought it before attempting to level up cause I dont meet the character level +1 prerrequisite.

Let's say I have 9 chronicle sheets that grant me 1 xp, so I have a character at level 3 and should level it up to level 4. If I level it up to level 4 but I haven't played any other scenario with such character and no master has seen the changes made, can I remake any changes regarding level 4?

Then, can I use a mnemotecnic editor MKI to change the decisions made for level 2 and 3 and then change level 4 decisions if this character has not played any other scenario?

This is a discussion we are having with our GM and some people are starting to get upset so we would like other opinions.

I have been looking into making a goblin ranger/alchemist with a bird animal companion (similar to the archetype for goblins alchemists in Pathfinder 1) but I came across this rule on page 214:

"Riding Animal Companions
You or an ally can ride your animal companion as long as
it is at least one size larger than the rider. If it is carrying a
rider, the animal companion can use only its land Speed, and
it can’t move and Support you on the same turn. However, if
your companion has the mount special ability, it’s especially
suited for riding and ignores both of these restrictions."

According to this you can ride a bird animal companion larger than you but it won't be able to fly while you're mounted. So I looked into skills and feats and Rider feat only seems to work to ride animals that aren't an animal companion and it doesn't seem you can use Nature skill to teach a bird animal companion how to be a mount.

Does this mean we will have to wait until devs come up with a flying animal companion with the mount special ability such as a pegasus or a griffon? or has someone figured out how to fly on an animal companion?

Hi,

I'm creating a Shadow Caller, an archetipe for spiritualists that uses a shade instead of a phantom and I was wandering how do cure and inflict spells affect them.

It says it doesn't regain hp on its own and it starts with half hp if it was sent to its plane for being killed as a summoner's eidolon but it doesn't say how to heal its hp.

Since the book only states that the phantom is an Outsider I was assuming you can cast cure spells on it but then I remembered that incorporeals and shadows are considered undead and thus they are healed by inflict spells.

So can anyone tell me how to heal a phantom or shade's hp? with cure spells or inflict spells since the spiritualist can cast both.

Thanks.

Beriliand wrote:

My GM is about to begin Council of Thieves campain and he only allows to play with classes from the core rulebook.

Core Rulebook classes only is the dumbest rule. Wizard, Sorcerer, (core) Rogue and (core) Monk are ok, but Alchemist, Cavalier and Oracle are not?

He says those classes don't appear on the campain setting so he doesn't want us to play them. He also doesn't allow archetypes.

I know but you can get a +2 bonus to attack rolls, so you can cast enervation or death touch with +2 and +2 damage if the target succeds on the ST, pretty deadly if you ask me. Or if you are evoker you deal more damage than half your level with touch spells.

My GM is about to begin Council of Thieves campain and he only allows to play with classes from the core rulebook. I was checking the eldritch knight to make a wizard similar to a magus and just realized something.

If I recall well you can get weapon focus (melee touch attack) and weapon focus (ranged touch attack). As an eldritch knight your levels stack with fighter levels for the porpouse of feats requiring fighter levels and magus levels count as half his levels for the same porpouse.

So I realized you can get greater weapon focus (melee touch attack), greater weapon focus (ranged touch attack), weapon especialization (melee touch attack) and weapon especialization (ranged touch attack). Further more if you get more fighter levels you could get greater especialization.

Am I right or I just misunderstood the rules?