Distant Scholar's page

[I tried searching for this question, but couldn't find another post on it.]

I picked up the 2nd edition Core Rulebook recently, and made a few characters.

From what I understand, characters get ability score boost from (1) Ancestry, (2) Background, (3) Class, and (4) four free boosts. One cannot apply a boost to the same score at any of these steps.

Unless I missed something, none of the classes can give a boost to Constitution. Therefore, no first-level character can have an 18 Constitution.

Did I miss something?

If I didn't, I'm mildly disappointed. How game-breaking would it be to allow barbarians to use Constitution as their key ability score?

Why did I read the title as saying "Gravy Slime"? If someone wants a holiday-themed monster ...

Either you have space opera magic or high fantasy magic, you don't have both.

I am a fan of comic books in general, and Legion of Superheroes in particular, so I have no problem with many multiple power sources for character's abilities.

It looks like you have more than enough people, but just in case, I have a halfling ranger (family friend) in mind...

You probably already have more than enough candidates, but I am eager to playtest P2E.

I'll try to scare up a few example posts:

Sample 1: Keerik in action!

Sample 2: Davak (the Living Dark)

I don't always play weird 3rd-party classes: Sample 3: Vardlon the old-school elf

I prefer to go along with the story, rather than try to force it in a different direction. I know that play-by-post can be a slow process, and I don't want to do anything that will slow things down further.

Right now, as a character, I'm thinking of a dwarven alchemist/cleric multiclass. Or a punch-happy barbarian. Or an occult sorcerer. Or ...

Bards do have a 10th-level spell: fatal aria. They just have the one, though.

PCGen is free, and does a pretty good job with Pathfinder stat blocks. There can be a bit of a learning curve.

Pro tip: The development versions are more stable than some program's stable versions; go ahead and use the most recent one.

I'd be concerned if there weren't problems downloading it; that would mean not enough people are trying it out.

Extrapolating what fantasy stories would exist in a fantasy universe is tricky, at best. I'm tempted to say to pick whatever anime you want and metaphorically add "in Space" at the end, but then you'd get Tenchi Universe in Space and that would only lead to trouble.

RAW: Light blindness, despite the name, affects creatures when they are "first exposed to bright light" or "as long as it remains in an area of bright light". It doesn't say anything about whether or not they can actually see the light. :-) Maybe it's really a skin thing.

Personally, I don't know that I'd allow someone to mitigate the weakness with a simple 0-5 credit purchase. I'd have to think about it.

There's no officially-published device that I can find to stop light sensitivity. But, unless you're the Space Goblin Monark, it doesn't really matter---that's the only being with light sensitivity in the Starfinder universe.

Now, if you have light blindness---either you're a drow or got the wrong (or right?) mutation from a hesper---there still isn't any published device that directly mitigates it, but a shadow orb, or anything that reduces the light level down from "bright light", will help. The create darkness ability can help, but not if the light is magical.

Or, perhaps there's some other name for the weakness you're asking about, and I'm not thinking of it.

[Side note: There's no darkness spell in Starfinder. I'm surprised.]

In the AD&D 1e DMG, there's a paragraph or two that discuss the different ways "level" is used in the game - at the time, you had character level, dungeon level, spell level, and monster level. It basically said "We could have used different terms for these, such as character rank, spell power, dungeon level, and monster tier. But we didn't, so learn to live with it."

Nitpick: It was the AD&D 1e Players Handbook. Although it might also be in the DMG; I don't have it on hand to check.

It was initially contemplated to term character power as rank, spell complexity was to be termed power, and monster strength was to be termed as order. Thus, instead of a 9th level character encountering a 7th level monster on the 8th dungeon level and attacking it with a 4th level spell, the terminology would have been: A 9th rank character encountered a 7th order monster on the 8th (dungeon) level and attacked it with a 4th power spell. However, because of existing usage, level is retained throughout with all four meanings, and it is not as confusing as it may now seem.

I hadn't checked the spells. Thanks!

I was searching through Alien Archive and noticed that the endbringer evil and the two orocorans have resolve points, but I couldn't find any abilities that used resolve points. (Also, the stated guideline suggests orocorans should have 4 RP.)

Is there an ability I missed? Or do these aliens have RP just because? Or should they not have them?

(I found these, and am curious about these, because I'm working on a computer program to help write up aliens using the guidelines <unabashed plug>, and found these examples when trying to determine when to display RP in the statblock.)

Do you mean the android upgrade slot issue, or PCGen in general?

In general, version 6.07.08 was released on April 4. A lot of the changes are background changes. Some new sources were released since February in version 6.07.07 (and 6.07.06, too?).

OK. So, here goes.

If all is set up as I think it is, sfnc is a Java program that can create NPC or alien stat blocks from user input. From the link above, you'll need to put all the files in the same directory for it to run correctly. (The "fred.sfnc" file is an example NPC, so it's not strictly necessary.)

It isn't (yet) fully-featured, but it can do enough to make simple aliens. I haven't done class grafts, templates, or spells yet, or specific weapons, and many special abilities are just names and don't display all the info the stat block would.

If you have any requests or suggestions, please let me know. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. [If the question starts with "Why didn't you ...", the answer is probably, "Because I don't know any better."]

If you're interested in the source code, please look at my github repository.

A holy warrior for every alignment sounds great. I would prefer they keep the label "paladin" for Lawful Good ones, though.

Why should it be a mistake? One is a class ability, and the other is a spell.

I *do* have the book, but I also need to go to a meeting in about 10 minutes ...

BenS wrote:

Is this material that won't be in the upcoming City of Seven Seraphs, or is it a preview of material that will be there??

These classes and veils will be in the City of 7 Seraphs campaign setting, but serve as an early release for anyone who wants to start playing with the classes right away, or who might be more focused on the akashic player options over the broader and more complete book.

If I buy this, and like it so much that I want to buy the whole City of 7 Seraphs setting, can I get a discount on the setting? :-)

Maps!

Robert Petty wrote:

Ellias Aubec wrote:

Would be interesting to get formulas to generate armour/weapons/vehicles to make up the missing levels for things.

If there's one thing I have to have in a book like this is would be formula to create content that feel is missing.

I am opposed to this simply because it will make my extensive table calculating average damage/price of weapons a waste of time ;P

I'm seriously considering applying my newfound data analysis skills to the weapons chart to reverse-engineer the (supposed) formula for the weapons. It would be nice to have a double-check for whatever answer I get. :-)

Whats wrong with fighting-man, thief, and magic user?

1.) No cleric.

2.) We don't need any of your new-fangled, easy-mode, "thief" characters. Want to sneak around? Role-play it!

[I'm not serious.]

The closest simple formula I could come up with is 50*3^(spell level), where ^ is exponentiation, not bitwise and.

The formula isn't useful for much, unless you're planning to make spells higher than 6th level.

Edit: My formula is the same as the "multiply by 3 to get to the next level" formula mentioned above. But I did linear regression to get the answer, so mine is better. :-)

OK, so R did the linear regression. If you want to use 49.30374*(2.97725)^x, go right ahead. And the model A*B^(x^n) for n slightly bigger than 1 is probably even better (I haven't figured out what n should be yet, just that 2 is much too large).

Does it come with MP3s?

Starfinder doesn't have to please everyone.

It just has to please me, personally. :-)

Unfortunately, as of version 6.07.04, the broodmaster archetype is not fully implemented. If I remember, it has something to do with not being able to share feats and skill ranks between different eidolons (eidola?). But, it's been a while.

Sure, you cannot be Han Solo and one-shot stormtroopers, but I am okay with disallowing that idea.

I, however, am not okay with disallowing that idea. It's a space game. You've gotta have (feasible) blaster guns. And I don't mean blaster rifles.

Presenting:
Top 10 Products of All Time (through December 2017):
01. One on One Adventures Compendium (987 points)
02. Ultimate Psionics (787 points)
03. Way of the Wicked Book 1 (524 points)
04. Psionics Unleashed (387 points)
05. In the Company of Dragons (379 points)
06. Pathfinder Legends--Rise of the Runelords part 1 (289 points)
07. Psionics Expanded: Advanced Psionics Guide (274 points)
08. Kineticists of Porphyra (249 points)
09. Spheres of Power (245 points)
10. Path of War Expanded (217 points)

Adding the Psionics Expanded Work in Progress points to Psionics Expanded puts that book at 425 points. Adding the Path of War Expanded Work in Progress to Path of War Expanded puts that book at 326 points.
One may wish to ignore Pathfinder Legends. The next few books are Spheres of Power: Expanded Options (207 points), Book of the River Nations: Complete Player's Reference for Kingdom Building (188 points) and Kineticists of Porphyra II (150 points).

Top 10 Publishers of All Time (through December 2017):
01. Super Genius Games (3295 points)
02. Kobold Press/Open Design (3136 points)
03. Dreamscarred Press (2686 points)
04. Legendary Games (1793 points)
05. Pathfinder Paper Minis (1446 points)
06. Rogue Genius Games (1111 points)
07. OtherWorld Creations (1097 points)
08. Rite Publishing (1057 points)
09. Expeditious Retreat Press (1039 points)
10. Fire Mountain Games (904 points)

If one wishes to conglomerate Super Genius Games, Rogue Genius Games, OtherWorld Creations, and Everyman Gaming [products from each have fallen into Rogue Genius Games' current catalog], that adds up to a whopping 5685 points. One may wish to ignore Pathfinder Paper Minis. The next few publishers are Drop Dead Studios (773 points), Big Finish Productions (755 points), Louis Porter Jr. Design (694 points), and Purple Duck Games (553 points). Jon Brazer Enterprises is at 450 points; the rest are below 300.

[edit: minor formatting]

Presenting:
Top 10 Products of 2017:
01. One on One Adventures Compendium (314 points)
02. Starjammer: Core Rulebook (138 points)
03. (tie) Skill Challenge Handbook (124 points)
03. (tie) Ultimate Psionics (124 points)
05. Way of the Wicked Book 1 (92 points)
06. Starfarer's Companion [SFRPG] (91 points)
07. Aethera Campaign Setting (88 points)
08. Spheres of Might (57 points)
09. In the Company of Vampires (49 points)
10. (tie) Kobold Quarterly 21 (40 points)
10. (tie) Starjammer: Medical Marvels (40 points)
10. (tie) Ultimate Factions (40 points)

Kobold Quarterly 21 is up there because of a sale that lasted through four of five weeks of December. All the bundles have been bumped off the list. Only one Starfinder book made the list (The Starjammer stuff listed, and the Aethera Campaign setting, are for Pathfinder). Both Spheres of Might and In the Company of Vampires did very well, for only being available since mid-October (and KQ dominating sales in most of December).

Top 10 Publishers of 2017:
01. Rogue Genius Games (442 points)
02. Legendary Games (413 points)
03. Expeditious Retreat Press (354 points)
04. Dreamscarred Press (289 points)
05. Kobold Press (269 points)
06. d20pfsrd.com Publishing (202 points)
07. Drop Dead Studios (119 points)
08. Fire Mountain Games (108 points)
09. Zenith Games (99 points)
10. Rite Publishing (91 points)

If one wishes to ignore the 220 points Kobold Press got from its KQ sale, they drop to 49 points, below Louis Porter Jr. Design (76 points) and newcomer Stroh Hammer (52 points), which I believe is Starfinder-only. Jon Brazer Enterprises is at 42 points.

[Edit: fixed ranking numbers, minor formatting]

My Shabti really wants to know why his massive club does the same damage as the tiny one his little Vesk friend uses.

Is it the increased wind resistance in each swing? :-P

I'm not finding a "Club, Massive" in the weapons tables. :-)

Unless I missed something, weapons sized for larger (or smaller) characters don't change in bulk. Your Shabti has a regular-sized club with a big handle.

If one wants a better weapon, one has to buy a better weapon.

Be aware that, if you're in the United States and are living in a state that has sales tax, that state probably also has a use tax, where for any out-of-state purchase you need to pay the difference between whatever state sales tax you paid on it (none, in your examples) and whatever state sales tax the state you live in might have.

It's likely meant for large-ticket purchases like vehicles, but the law is there. Or, it is in the at-least-four states I've lived in that have sales tax.

Should this be in the 3PP Starfinder section, or are there Pathfinder stats, too?

I think "highly tuned for balance" is an overstatement.

The grafts (usually) don't change the base characteristics (damage, AC, save DCs, etc.) much, if at all. Lots of times they add resistances, immunities, senses, and so forth, or they give a variety of options (rather than more powerful ones), which aren't enough to raise the CR.

I have to occasionally remind myself when making monsters that I don't (and shouldn't) min-max the monster so it's as powerful as possible for its CR. Make the monster according to your vision for it, and it should work out fine.

Just don't accidentally make them immune to all the things.

1.) The Alien Archive stat block instructions say to put the Perception modifier in the intro to the stat block and not in the Skills section. One should never see Perception in the skills. [NPCs also don't have class skills as such.]

B.) As you pointed out, by the rules as writen, the First World Beast (and Inevitable, and Shadow Creature) summoning graft(s) would not actually change the Perception bonus. On the other hand, the elementals seem to not have any master skills, only good skills. It might not be too bad to bump the Perception bonus up to master levels for those creatures. [Bumping good skills to master skills means an extra +5, except for CR 1/3, which is an extra +4.]

III.) NPC skill modifiers aren't affected by abiiity score modifiers. I think the only things ability score modifiers affect for NPCs are initiative (Dex), melee damage (Str), and possibly AC for NPCs wearing armor (the Aeon Guard and Formian Warrior seem to get their AC from armor+Dex rather than the NPC charts).

Owlcon

Linkified.

Anyone have good or bad experiences with this convention before?

Holidays may slow them down, but they cannot stop the Dire Orc (CR 18).

I'm looking forward to reviews on this one.

Templates in Starfinder don't add to a creature's CR. They have a minimum CR value, but they don't increase the CR value.

This is like a better version of multiattack, with an extra ability tacked on. I'm not sure how to set the requirements for this.

I would suggest that the extra standard action only be used to make an attack (and not have them casting two spells per round, or what have you).

The Demon Trap Spider (CR 17) is ready for lunch.

How did I forget to post the Telykwyrm (CR 16)?

I'm just making changes to my "lst" files at the moment, and I would expect that Half-orcs speak Orc, But I couldn't find it in the SRD?!? perhaps it's in the rule book somewhere that Half-orcs get it as a bonus language?

• In Pathfinder it's one of the half-orc racial traits that "[h]alf-orcs begin play speaking Common and Orc." (Pathfinder Core Rulebook, p. 25, half-orc race entry)
• In Starfinder, "A character begins play speaking and reading Common, her racial tongue (if any), and the language of her home planet (if any)." (Starfinder Core Rulebook, p. 40, "Languages" section of the Races chapter) It's not explicit whether or not half-orcs speak orc as a racial tongue, although the list of Other Languages on p. 41 may suggest they do.

I don't know where to find these things in the reference documents. (Is the Starfinder reference document up and active yet?)

A Thunder Lizard (CR 15) is a fearsome beast, indeed.

The Ellack (CR 14) helps explain why one shouldn't use condemned prisoners for experimentation.

Fortunately, an ellack apocalypse is far less likely than a shadow apocalypse.

The Station Giant (CR 13), reporting for duty.

I'm not sure if its disrupt technology ability is too strong, too weak, or just about right.

How often does one check for exposure to the poison mist? Every round? If so, anyone fighting it in melee for any length of time is as good as dead.

(Or immune, due to armor environmental protections.)

Mwah-hah-hah!

Seriously, if they want to fight CR 12 threats, PCs need to be ready for this sort of thing. (The poison palm has plenty of weaknesses.)

Today's entry is the Poison Palm (CR 12).

The Eclipse Dragon (CR 11) didn't turn out as awesomely as I had hoped. Someone who knows solarians better than I do could probably help me do a better job.

It's probably not quite as tough as the young adult blue dragon, but it's also not supposed to be a "true" dragon.

The Great Black Eel-Shark (CR 10) will ruin your day if you run across it.

JiCi wrote:

Is the Shifter THAT bad of a class?

The class is ok, I just don't think it's the shapeshifting class anyone wanted/expected.

It's the shapeshifting class Pathfinder deserves, but not the one it needs right now. Or something.