Dr. Frank Funkelstein's page

For me its spontaneous spellcasting.

I think most people recognize Oracle as a strong class, but mourn the loss of class identity due to the remaster.

Even D&D5 is not getting a game like BG3 anymore, if you read the statements from Larian you don't even have to read between the lines to see how Hasbro/WotC really dropped the ball on that one.

I look at Solasta (and Solasta 2) as maybe more approachable levels of refinement.

As you know the amount of damage you would take, you should avoid blocking hits that would damage your shield overmuch, especially critical hits - unless that would save your life.

Everybody is envious of diverse lore, especially charisma classes.

A completely different way, but sometimes even more powerful, would be Oracle archetype to grab Whispers of Weakness, at least as far as combat applications of recall knowledge are concerned.

Maybe you should take Gang Up, which allows you - and your ally - to flank whenever you and an ally are in reach.
Or try a ruffian, who can set up off-guard with trip and/or grapple.

AoN states

Our group just played this part, we did not learn much about Froglegs, but as we were quite exhausted after the huts - and just reached lvl 5, but without gaining new spells yet - we tried a diplomatic approach despite all the other criminals fighting to the death.
This did not work out at all, we got quite a beating by her (i did not even know it was a her until just know) - but as your DM stated that the door was very sturdy we tried to lock her caster into it - without success. After the caster came out and the fight looked quite bad, we switched places, ran into the hut and locked it from the inside.
While they battered the door in, we searched the hut, gathered the items and finally shattered the wall to escape (learned that watching burn notice - the wall is sometimes weaker than a reinforced door).

A chase through the swamp at night followed, which we successfully completed.

Having played some time, we learned that resolving encounters peacefully or at least not killing enemies often rewards more XP and more praise from the professors.
We still opt for lethal force sometimes, and i did not think that assaulting a murderer in her swamp hut would be a situation were you are supposed to show mercy (unless your character is built that way).

Having mooks fight to the death (and lethally so) makes it really galling to switch to a mercyful approach with "named" enemys, a kind of metagaming i dislike.

For Thaumaturge i would like an option to remove manipulate from Exploit Vulnerability, and a way to actually use a passive implement with another.

Magus would need an option to avoid reactive strike as well.
Currently playing a Starlit Span, and while it is quite powerful, it is also not a very engaging build - most class features and class feats are useless as all power seems to be in the ranged spellstrike feature - and the rotation is really boring.
Without being able to spellstrike it is a really weak martial, giving more incentives to do other things then just spellstrike+recharge would be nice.

Gunslinger offers a very strong reaction with Fake Out, as a lvl 2 feat this can be taken using the archetype. Combine it with a gauntlet bow that you just never fire to have it available at all times.

Yes, you can switch to tome to use its intensify, but you cannot have both the passive regalia bonus (aura, skill bonus) and the passive tome bonus (+rk, free rk).
And if you want to use an active effect, e.g. amulet, you lose your passive effect of the other implement, e.g. regalia.

Unless you can talk your GM into it - handling multiple implements is quite a mess rules-wise. We just allowed it on our table, but it is not RAW.

My first advice would be to be aware of reactive strike - nearly everything you do as a Thaumaturge provokes it.

Using a gun will be really rough for action economy. I tried to make it work for my own Thaumaturge in Alkenstar, but went with a reach melee weapon instead.

With Regalia and Tome you should talk to your DM about switching them, especially as Regalia does not have an active ability and both are dependent on you actively wearing them.

I used marshal as an archetype to equalize my to-hit malus (charisma KAS) and to get reactive strike.
Later on i added psychic and the amped warped step was really helpful to bridge distances.

A Shields of Spirit Champion as a buddy. Doesn't work for yourself though.

From the text of silence:
"This also prevents the target from casting spells due to the magical words involved in casting, with the exception of subtle spells."

Pretty cut and dry.
And arguing that Fortissimo should make no sound even strikes me as a bit of bad faith rules lawyering.

I play an angelic sorcerer in Kingmaker, and while i did not take bard but swashbuckler (one for all), i see my role similar to yours.
You don't get the offensive focus spells of a cleric, and no divine font, but sorcerous potency + angelic halo (they stack!) let me heal at least as good.
For offense i decided to steal some force barrage from Nethys (blessed blood).

I would also think that this specific creature can grab without a check after successfully attacking, applying the success of a grab.
Fighting them is quite annoying if you don't have strong ranged attacks, and after encountering some of them we all bought us some of those gentle landing talismans.

Exemplar is now a second class that can properly use reload-weapons:
"When you Spark Transcendence, you can Interact as a free action to reload or draw a weapon ikon, either directly before or directly after your transcendence action."
(lvl 3, The Deft)

Going back to Outlaws of Alkenstar:
Our Gunslinger struggled a lot during the AP, there were lots of PL+2/+3 enemies where getting a crit was a 20 only thing, and the damage was pityful. Munition to trigger weaknesses saved his grace, and we loved him for fake out of course.

My main pain point is not even related to gunslingers: For our Outlaws of Alkenstar campaign, everybody wanted to use firearms, but only the Gunslinger can overcome the horrid action cost of reload.
A Thaumaturge with an air repeater is mechanically sound, but who wants to walk around with a toy weapon in a city of gun smiths?

I would prefer if there were other benefits of being a Gunslinger instead of being the class that can actually use firearms outside of some niche combos like investigator+risky reload.
Using the archetype lets you wait forever to get something but risky reload, and even that is a lvl 4 feat.

without triggering manipulate/move reactions

Casting the spell is manipulate, and it states that moving an unconcious ally does not trigger reactions, which would mean that a concious ally or yourself would still trigger reactions when moving.

Maybe checking out some Kineticist guides can help you to find combinations that work well.
Otherwise play a class that you like better, there are loads of options.

You do not get a Hunters Edge with the Ranger Archetype, only training in survival and the hunt prey action.

The weakness of thaumaturge isn’t only action economy, it’s manipulate action - that makes the class borderline useless in fights with AOOs

It is certainly something you have to keep in mind, but as exploit vulnerability does not have a range you can (and should) do it outside of a creatures reach. Having reach yourself also helps, making asp coil and the like very attractive.

Having a few utility spells can be a great boon for every martial character.
I loved unbound step psychic on my melee thaumaturge, as mobility was one weak point i had and the 1 action teleport helped immensly.
I had sure strike, albatross curse and wooden double as my occult spells.

Yes, the action economy is challenging as a thaumaturge, but more options are still good to have - you can't solve every situation with your standard rotation!

As if somebody had read a Mandalorian story, decided to make an archetype about it and stopped after a first brainstorming.
For an NPC, i would declare them a Magic Warrior and homebrew a proper archetype, not use this rule-fragment.

I think roll20 would need quite a team working for a very long time to get even close to the comfort of Foundry. And while I appreciate Demiplanes efforts to show me the rules in a nicer format, I appreciate not having to buy every book (again) even more.
In any case, good news for the people using roll20!

Also, even outside PFS some GMs use PFS rulings (I know I do).

I do as well, it is usually good guidance. I would not go as far as "kill" a character (concept) with such changes though. Letting somebody continue to play an unremastered oracle - if they want - would be an absolute no-brainer for me.

If you dislike the changes and don't play in PFS: Why not just ignore them?

I don't think mindless would be such a big issue (108 creatures on AoN), you could fall back to other spells and/or support instead of blasting in those cases.

When trying to evacuate a fallen comrade we found the rules a bit lacking and improvised pulling with half speed movement, a hybrid of carrying and reposition without needing 6 free bulk.

Counteracting is a bit difficult to understand, it is the rule base for dispel magic, counterspell etc.
Basically you roll a check, and if the effects (spells) are the same rank/level you check for success against the enemy caster DC, which would mean rolling 11+ if you both have the same stats.

Maybe the Resentment Witch Project guide can help you there

The level-to-rank conversion is easier to understand if you compare it to the spell-ranks a full caster get:
At lvl 3, they get rank 2 spells
At lvl 5, they get rank 3 spells
At lvl 7, they get rank 4 spells
etc (lvl/2 rounded up)

Creatures with innate magic effects are treated as a spellcaster of that level (unless their stat block says something different)

"I attack them if they move" is natural language and only relies on your perception of them moving, it does not care about stride, step or jump.
Standing up could also count, just clarify it.

A GM and their players are usually not caught in a "gotcha"-contest of tricking eachother with semantics.

"you must be wielding melee weapons or be able to make an unarmed attack"

Flanking on AoN

Don't ask LLMs for game rules

Having the defensive staying power can be an advantage in some situations - whittle the enemy down while taking their attacks in (shielded) stride.
In other situations it might be more beneficial to attack recklessly.

I played a redeemer champion in Malevolence, the whole group was not really high damage: A pistol slinging investigator, a lantern thaumaturge and a witch with ambitions of a fist fighter.
Some combats took long, but usually we were at least able to withdraw, and we had quite some standing power.

In the homebrew group i play on this fine sunday, we have a giant barbarian, my ruffian rogue, an unholy champion and a fire/earth/wood kineticist - its a bit of a race to finish enemies before they get us to the floor (the kineticist just added timber sentinel to get us some more staying power). Also a lot of fun to play, but completely different!

I think the Champion can hold its own on lower levels as well, and don't follow the "low value" proposition at all.
Especially the new Defensive Advance makes it quite efficient to play a classic redeemer with a shield.

The +2 AC makes quite a difference, and shield block is about 25% of total hp at first level, every turn.
The damage reduction quickly stacks up as well, and enfeebled 2 on a boss is something that makes casters envious for quite some time.

With Lay on Hands being a really strong focus spell, and deities domain giving you a second focus point and other options (ranged spell attack, or athletic rush or...) the package is quite good.

Of course sword+board is not the only viable playstyle.
Its a bit sad that the "evil" edicts are mostly bad, but that's kind of another discussion.

I would nomintate Inside Ropes
As a cantrip, you can start to terrify from the very beginning.

Yes.

Flanking:
"A creature is off-guard (taking a –2 circumstance penalty to AC) to melee attacks from creatures that are flanking it"

It is not listed as an option, but as the feat states "Your GM can choose to add domains to your list of available options" you can ask your GM to do that.

All but Nocturnal Senses reference the Acute Scent ability by name, and for that one i guess it is an error and should also be "Acute Scent" instead of only Scent.
You should qualify for all of them.

I am planning to use it for an upcoming Carrion Crown (2e) campaign.
She is a scholar of history, spirits and undeath, having studied in Lepidstadt under Professor Lorrimor.

I am going all in on lore skills, she is a Lorekeeper Shisk with the Shisk Lore ancestry feat and the Pillar of Society background, giving her a total of 7 lore skills - one auto-scaling due to additional lore.

We will be playing with Free Archetype, and i was looking for something different than Familiar Master.
Even though i am not a dwarf, i figured that living underground the Shisk may have some contact and the Rivethun philosophy/religion would be something interesting to use.

Just wanted to be sure that i understand the Emissary Familiar feat correctly, as Pathbuilder seems only to add the Enhanced Familiar yet.

You forge a mystical bond with a spirit or create a spirit from a fragment of your own soul. You gain a familiar. If you already have a familiar, you gain the Enhanced Familiar feat.

Your familiar gains two additional familiar abilities each day, one of which must be used to select the following master ability[...]

AoN: Emissary Familiar

The way i read this feat, you get either a familiar or the Enhanced Familiar feat.
And regardless of that, your familiar gains two additional abilites.
Which would mean 4 additional abilities, if you already have a familiar, with one of those being locked to the special master ability.

Even though you have to wait two levels compared to Familiar Master, it seems like a powerful option - in addition to loads of flavor.
Or am i reading it wrong?

I'd also vote for ignore

I think it is a really good feat, and usually somebody takes it in all groups i play or DM in.
Having a full plate wearing paladin without training in stealth getting level +2 instead of +0 is huge.

Regarding the forced exploration activity: It's usually only relevant if the group is discovered. If they decide to engage on their own, they can as well switch to another beforehand.

Being a sole frontliner is not a good idea as a Rogue - or about anybody, but especially a Rogue.
The Vindicator is ranged and the Inventor does not have a companion?

Maybe Exemplar would be another option, it is very versatile and can be really tanky on its own. Still, nobody to flank is hard.
A Swashbuckler, as suggested, could also work without a flanking partner. Has some skills as well.
Or you try the Avenger and go for a grappling build to get targets off-guard for yourself and your ranged compatriots.

I like that the Occult spell list offers possibilities for a wide range of play. A purely whimsical list would maybe fit a certain character, but would not leave much room for change.

You have a limited arsenal of spells anyway, there are lots of options but only a few relevant to your character, choosing only ones matching a certain theme should be entirely possible.

Spell schools is kind of a wizard thing mechanically, but you can just use it as a theming element for every kind of caster.

You could take a look at the Avenger rogue, which might be a combination of religious flavor, skills and combat abilities that would match your ideas quite good.
With strength as an key attribute choice you could be beefy and strong, focus on grapple/trip, bringing your targets down in word and deed.

Guns are mechanically difficult for most classes but gunslinger, the reload-feats are what makes it work - i tried quite hard to fit one into my Thaumaturge build for Outlaws of Alkenstar, but was not content with the overly strained action economy.

Audrey was an instant favorite. Still marveling how Deborah Ann Woll can speak like that for prolonged periods.
Felicia Day with some tactical breasts was also hilarious.

The DM introducing the story and everybody taking out their notebooks: Nice!

I wondered if nobody suggested to them that not maxing your key attribute is usually a bad idea.
A flying PL+4 enemy for a lvl 1 party would be a TPK if played straight, there was plenty of "rule of cool" - which is great! I just feel it could also be achieved while not disregarding the actual game rules that much.

The build I've given is the best Demoralizer in the game, competing with spell-based Fear spells.

Which has little to do with Swashbuckler, and more with the ancestry used.

Using a luck-based approach of panache generation (flashy dodge) to cast cantrips may be mechanically viable in some situations, but does not sound swashbucklery to me - electric arc as an option does not come from the class and, being one of the strongest cantrips, can offer a strong option for almost any build.

Also, for athletics maneuvers the Gymnast Swashbuckler is very comparable to other frontline classes and pulls away after level 10 due to Derring-Do.

I agree here, Derring-Do looks quite awesome. If you want to play a grappler or trip-based controller, there are lot of other options though that don't need 10 levels to "come online".

I think swashbuckling is awesome, but flavor is free and game mechanics are not - for a lot of swashbuckling there are better mechanical options, and especially thief rogue being so synergistic is relating a lot of possible builds to a "okay, i played everything else already" place.

I don't have high level experience with the Swashbuckler, had one in our Abomination Vaults group till level 5.
The remaster upgraded the class from bad to okay.

Movement and panache generation can often be combined (tumble through), but the tradeoff between doing a finisher without MAP and having a regular strike is really annoying. You can risk it against mooks, but it is a real drawback against PL+ enemies.

On its own the swashbuckler profits from easier off-guard and some additional hitpoints compared to a rogue, but as the game is team-based and flanking often possible the advantage gets quite small.

I agree with Deriven that the class misses something to do against high AC enemies that require the finisher to be the sole attack, leaving you with a near-useless third action.

No to moving through the wall corner.
Yes to moving between the two creatures.

I apparently can't read.

Happens to my champions all the time!