Cruel Illusion's page

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Will there be character options related to the serpent folk? Ancestry, heritage, dedication feats?

This sounds so promising! I'm very curious about the new ancestries, I hope at least a few will be common.
And gosh, I hope we get a write up for Holomog and the Ganzi!

How do witches relate to their patrons? Are the patrons directly giving the witches their powers, or are they more like teachers or allies?

Which of the new ancestries/heritages can have natural weapons?

Could you tell us what are the news ancestries and heritages like?

I always saw the witch patrons as teachers, mentors, gurus, or even surrogate parents; more providers of occult knowledge than direct sources of power.

To me a witch patron should teach spells to their pupils in exchange for their service or adherence to a philosophy espoused by the patron.

And since the patrons are inhumans creatures, their teachings should make the witches more inhuman, hence the hexes which are powers beyond traditional magic and symbolize the witch growing closer to their patron as they learn more and their mindset become more alien.

In short, hexes would be the way a human could emulate the inhuman abilities of their patrons.

Patrons benefit by having independant agents or disciples whose minds, world view, and very nature they have shaped, out and about in the world. The more powerful a witch is, the more closely she would be aligned with her patrons goals by dint of having accepted so much of their teachings.

This view also means a patron shouldn't be able to take a witch's power away since they only teach how to access that power instead of granting it the way a deity does with a cleric.

My favorite character in 2nd edition for now is a half-elf iruxi bard who travels to learn more about the arts of ancient or isolated cultures.

It's a very fun character and one of the fun part was finding a way to explain how a child like this could have been conceived (hint: magic).

In a world of high fantasy full of shapeshifting, wish granting spells or creatures, aliens, divine or demonic interventions, etc, there's no reason to forbid any ancestry from having a mixed heritage.

Except perhaps the Leshy, but even then it might be really cool to find a way to explain such a thing.

Nothing related to being a necromancer though

The wizard school of necromancy is described as such: "As a necromancer, you call upon the powers of life and death. While your school is often vilified for its association with raising the undead, you understand that control over life also means control over healing."

How do necromancers control healing?

Could Reptilians be a Lizardfolk heritage?

I'm eager for the return of Changelings, Skinwalkers, Strix, Geniekin, Naïads, Lashuntas, Triaxians and Cecaelias.

Well, that makes 1st level wizards a lot less appealing. Thanks for the answer!

Does the wizard's bonus spell have to come from the Arcane tradition or can they choose it from any tradition as long as it is from the right school?

Are there any new ancestries and/or heritages in this book?

An Occultist Archetype

Are the Sha'ir's Jins normally intangible?

Asking because of this line: "Jin (Su): At 1st level, a sha’ir learns how to contact a jin—a minor, insubstantial genie that makes its home on the elemental planes."

What are the occultist and magus archetypes like?
Are there interesting new options for kineticists?

Can a havoker witch gain hexes from taking the Extra Hex feat?

The Synthesist Summoner can be pretty tanky.

The Lorekeeper Oracle can learn Wizard spells, even though it's a divine caster. Add the Spirit Guide Archetypes on top and you can have Hexes and some more spells from your spirit.

Alright, thank you!

Are rays considered ranged weapons for the purpose of using Point Blank Shot?

Thank you!

Ok, thanks!

Does Eschew Material allow to cast Infernal Healing without fiend's blood?

Nothing about whether you can create arrows as well as a bow though?

Can a Phantom Blade's weapon be a bow or crossbow? If yes, would they need external ammunition?

Unfortunately it is not compatible with Water Dancer, but thanks!

Can elves have children with Lashunta? Would such offspring be half-elves, or Lashunta?
Can Lashunta have children with humans? or Orcs?

The Agathion-blooded trait seems to apply to my situation. Thanks!
Anything else?

Is there a way to play a non lawful monk? I'd like to make a Water Dancer character, but the alignment restriction bugs me and I'd I'd rather find a way to get rid of in within the rules, before asking to houserule it.

Something to do with Holomog, perhaps?

Anything for druid, psychic or kineticist?

Could someone describe the terrakineticist's abilities and the symbiosis psychic please?
Also, what is the new Leshy like?

Cruel Illusion wrote:

What is the Hag-called physchic about?

** spoiler omitted **

Cruel Illusion wrote:

Does the Arakineticist gain Hexes or a new infusion?

** spoiler omitted **

Hag-called sounds really nice!

What is the Hag-called physchic about?

Does the Arakineticist gain Hexes or a new infusion?

Do we have alternate racial traits for the common races? If yes, what are they like?

I just wish we would at long last have a spontaneous casting druid archetype. Preferably with its shapeshifting ability and BAB intact.

I'm also curious about the vine Leshy, and terrified the Shifter class will be another disappointment.

Anything for Ifrits, Undines, Sylphs and Oreads?

What do summoners get apart from the genie eidolon?

Playing in Golarion, I expect a character that belongs there organically and fits in. Too many of the weird freakshow races don't have much logical reason to exist, to adventure in conventional surroundings with other races or to be accepted in the existing society. Your stock gang of murderhobos is going to be distrusted enough even if human, but if they're a bunch of frogs, lizards, aliens and birdmen, they'll have a much harder time.

If the GM is always having to twist the world to accept this mondo-bizarro gang of weirdos, it soon loses its verisimilitude. Either that or the world changes from humanocentric with a smattering of the other normal races (as described in the ISG) to a menagerie of random species where most of them are just humans in rubber suits.

There's a halfway house with just a couple of wingnut races, such that gripplis or kasathas are common enough to be accepted, but that's a lot or worldbuilding to do properly.

One or two PCs from an unusual race are OK in an otherwise conventional party, but the racism and suspicion is going to get old fast. Either that or everyone goes around in a Hat of Disguise.

/rant

We're talking fantasy world, though. Those races have presumably always been there, so unless they're a race with a bad rep, there's no reason they're treated any worse than anybody else. Everybody knows there are different looking people running around, and while some people may be xenophobic, they're not gonna panick a the sight of a guy with four arms or by a humanoid rat if they don't do anything scary.

As for their reason to exist, what does that even mean? Are you talking in universe, or about why the writers created them? In both cases, this is fantasy, it justifies pretty well the presence of fantasy creatures.

Cruel Illusion wrote:

Quandary wrote:

Gulthor wrote:

Male Lashunta are the only +Str/+Int race in the game.

That was semi ret-conned away with Starfinder's move to saying either sex CHOOSES their sub-racial evolution during puberty or something, overt representation of biological sexual-dimorphism not desired apparently. Original Lashunta dimorphism re-cast as cultural norm which later faded away.

Where was this said?

Crystal Frasier went into some detail about it over here. The long and short of it is, in her words from another thread, "We've taken some steps to correct problematic elements of the lashunta for Starfinder."

Thank you. It's an odd change, but I like that Lashunta move away from the problematic tropes they embodied

I don't really think races have much influence over the mary sue trope, with the possible exception of things like Aasimar. The Snowflake thing I can see. Although I see a lot of half elf snow flakes.

I see just as many people playin humans wanting to be special. There's plenty of humns with the blood of dragons, gods, feys, lost princes, secret heirs, wandering nobles, chosen ones and bearers of magical marks.

From what is being said, it looks more like some people want to look at their characters and their adventures and imagine it could be them in the characters' places, wich seem harder when the character is too different from the player. I cold be wrong of course, but that's how it seems to me.

Gulthor wrote:

Male Lashunta are the only +Str/+Int race in the game.

That was semi ret-conned away with Starfinder's move to saying either sex CHOOSES their sub-racial evolution during puberty or something, overt representation of biological sexual-dimorphism not desired apparently. Original Lashunta dimorphism re-cast as cultural norm which later faded away.

Where was this said?

I also wonder who count as human, here? Does a half-elf or half-orc count as human? Do Aasimar with the Scion of humanity racial trait? Does a shapechanger in human form count?

I mostly play non-human spellcasters, beause I enjoy imagining and exploring the way those characters differ from myself, the way they relate to the world and interact with it, while bound by different rules, needs and expectations. Fantasy worlds are full of options that "normal" characters will never explore. Kind of a waste in my mind.

As a DM, I treat most NPC as being pansexual with a few exclusively hetero or homosexual exceptions when it can bring something interesting to thhe story.
Players often try to seduce NPCs and NPCs will occasionally try to flirt with attractive PCs if it fits the story, within the limits of everyone comfort zone.
I do avoid bringing the subject of bigotry unless I have a good reason and my players agree to it. I often play with other LGBT+ people, and we deal with bigotry enough in the real world that we don't enjoy also encountering it casually in play.

As a player, my characters are all over the spectrums of sexualities and genders, and respond to advances or make advances of their own depending on whatever their tastes are, and wether everyone involved is ok with it.

With Pathfinder rules: Oracle(Spirit Guide) and Summoner (Spirit Summoner)

With 3.5 rules: Wilder, Warlock, Totemist and Binder

Azten wrote:

Dragon78 wrote:

I love the kineticist but hate every archetype ever made for it ;)

N. Jolly's Kineticists of Porphyra has some amazing archetypes. Just saying.

Mine are pretty hype, but I like kinetic knight myself from 1p. I'll be watching this book closely, see if it has any fun kineticist tricks.

I dislike archetypes who take away ranged blasts outright even more than the others.

The Skinshaper Druid , the Mutation Mind Psychic, the Magical Child Vigilante, the Spirit Dancer Medium, the Blightburner Kineticist, the Dark Elementalist, the Kinetic Chirugeon, the Psychokineticist, among others.

Ths book sounds really nice! I'm really interested in the shapeshifter bloodlines and the Whimsy mystery. Too bad there isn't a kineticist archetype, though.

Could someone tell what the Heart of the Fey racial is about?