Frizz's page

Ok. I am not sure how this passes the smell test.
First, the difference between Easy and Medium Difficulty (which are just one difficulty stage apart) is now assumed to be a massive FIVE point difference at the low levels and becomes a 9 point difference by level 20 (the old chart had it start as a 2 point difference at the low levels, but did ramp up to the same 9 point difference at level 20). Alright, I understand, to an extent, that we are covering the gap between Untrained and Trained here and really driving home the point how much Trained matters, which I appreciate.

However, even by level 10 we are looking at a 7 point difference. That does not even compute as a rational difference between two tiers with the way the math works in PF2.

Second, below is the layout of what changed from the original system to the new. Positive numbers indicate when the DC went down and negative numbers indicate that the DC went UP in the new system (backwards thinking am I). The Easy (trivial) DCs all dropped. Low level Medium and Hard DCs actually increased and even in the middle levels of 7-13, looking at Medium to Ultimate, 20 of the 28 DCs increased or stayed the same.
Where they did decrease, it was not by much, until you get to the very top tier of challenges that are above 20.
This is not going to accomplish the goal of characters growing into CertitudeTM.

_L__E__M__H__I__U
00__2_-1_-1__0__1
01__2_-1_-1_-1__0
02__2_-1_-1_-1__0
03__2__0__0_-1__1
04__2__1__1__0__2
05__2__0__1__0__2
06__2__0__1__0__1
07__2_-1__1_-2__0
08__2_-1__0_-1__1
09__2__0__0_-2__0
10__2__0__0_-2__0
11__2__0__0_-2__0
12__2__1__1_-1__1
13__2__1__2__0__2
14__2__1__2__0__1
15__2__2__2__0__0
16__2__1__2__1__1
17__2__2__2__0__0
18__2__2__2__0__0
19__2__2__2__0__0
20__2__2__2__1__0
21__4__4__4__2__1
22__5__5__4__2__1
23__6__5__4__2__1

I would suggest the following chart. First, you generally want to avoid the double step difficulty increases at levels 5, 10, and 15, since those are the same levels as the Stat Bump increase (unless we can convince Paizo to have an alternate Stat Bump process). Players should be able to enjoy the fruits of that bump for 2 or 3 levels, before it gets harder. Second, the difference between Easy and Medium should be much less pronounced. Let us be the Master of Our Domain!

_L___E___M___H___I___U
00___7___9__11__13__15
01___8__11__13__15__17
02___9__12__14__16__18
03__10__13__15__18__19
04__11__14__16__19__21
05__12__15__17__20__22
06__13__16__19__22__24
07__14__18__20__23__25
08__15__19__21__24__26
09__16__20__22__25__28
10__17__21__23__26__29
11__18__22__24__28__31
12__19__24__26__30__33
13__20__25__27__31__34
14__21__26__28__32__36
15__22__27__29__33__37
16__23__28__31__35__38
17__24__30__32__36__40
18__25__31__33__37__41
19__26__32__34__38__42
20__27__33__36__40__44
21__28__34__37__42__46
22__29__36__38__43__47
23__30__37__40__45__49

The original Spellcasting power should only grant you the Level 1 Column on the Chart.

At odd levels caster classes should get a Class Feat. Each caster class should have a Feat that grants them access to the next Level Column on the Chart (must be at least level 3 for second column, must be at least level 5 for third column, etc.).

This allows casters to Archetype more dynamically, since right now they lack Class Feats compared to other classes. This gives them options, they can increase the spells they can cast, grab a different feat in their own class, or grab a feat from their Archetype if they have one.

Currently, the Ready Basic Activity uses up three out of four of a character's total actions per turn (2 during their turn, plus your Reaction) in order to properly time one action. Losing two actions is an awful steep price to pay and severely limits readied options. I feel the ratio of using two actions to properly time 1 action makes more sense.

This could be accomplished by making Ready a single Action instead of an Activity, but I feel the opportunity cost of spending two actions on your turn is an important factor to balance the timing option Ready gives. This also still severely limits readied options, as we can only ready one Action and we lose any of the nifty class ability Reactions we get.

A better option would be to have the two Action Ready Activity grant an additional Reaction. This allows for an interesting array of options. A Paladin could Raise a Shield and Ready to Attack and get both the readied Strike and a Shield Block. Your Fighter standing next to a doorway could get his readied Strike and if the enemy tries to then keep moving take his AoO (and maybe a second AoO on the next enemy that wanders in, if he has Combat Reflexes). A cleric could Ready a touch range Heal and still be able to use Divine Ward just before using the Heal spell.

Another interesting option this opens up is a Ready which can be two actions. I haven't pored over all the possibilities, but spending 3 actions to get 2 as well as the opportunity cost of losing two of those actions on your turn still seems like a reasonable cost to me (admittedly it is half the cost of the current design, but I think the current is significantly too steep).

A Paladin could Raise a Shield and Ready to Attack a creature she expects to move into melee and get both the readied Strike and a Shield Block. But the enemy instead moves to a spot out of reach of the Paladin, but within a stride. The Paladin could use her regular reaction to Stride into melee and then the Ready can now trigger (or maybe an ally moved the enemy into Stride range). Of course the Paladin no longer has any reactions to Shield Block nor Retributive Strike.

The Fighter holding a melee weapon who readied to attack an enemy that comes in range can now opt to Sudden Charge as soon as the enemy gets within that range, rather than just melee range, but without other Feats, can no longer AoO.

This also opens the possibility to ready two action spells. You could Tanglefoot or Acid Arrow something when it first comes into range. Throw a Fireball into a room once the door opens. Range Heal if prepared.

Not sure the two action ready is viable, but it is an interesting thought.

I put this in Classes because that is where the leveling rules are?

Allow high intelligence characters to train more skills as they level up.

Based on the chart below, you get an Intelligence based Skill Increase at that level and every multiple of the level after.
You can use this increase to either become trained in one skill you’re untrained in, or to become an expert in one skill in which you’re already trained.
If you are at least 7th level, you can use this increase to become a master in a skill in which you’re already an expert. If you are at least 15th level, you can use this increase to become legendary in a skill in which you’re already a master.
If your Intelligence increases, compare the number of Intelligence based Skill Increases you already have to the new amount you would have at the higher score. If your new total is higher, you may apply the Skill increase. For example, if you use your level 10 stat increase to improve a 14 Intelligence to a 16 Intelligence, you would now have two increases instead of one increase.

Int Mod __ Level Multiple
__ +1 ________ 7
__ +2 ________ 6
__ +3 ________ 5
__ +4 ________ 4
__ +5 ________ 3
__ +6 and up_ 2

Maybe it should cap at +5 __ 3 ?

The primary class feature of Rogue is Skill training.
10 + Int.
Yet archetyping into Rogue gets you ZERO skill increases except for Skill Mastery.

Yes, Rogue's get a skill feat every level, so it makes sense that Rogue Dedication grants a Skill Feat. Surprise Attack is also nice, if situational.
But it really should also grant ONE skill increase as well.

I think there also ought to be other Rogue archetype options that grant skill increases, besides Skill Mastery.

Well Rounded Feat(4)
[Archetype] Prerequisite: Rogue Dedication
You gain extra skill increases. Increase two different skills. You can use these increases to either become trained in a skill you’re untrained in or become an expert in a skill in which you’re already trained.

Legendary Skill Feat(16)
[Archetype] Prerequisite: Skill Mastery
Choose one rogue signature skill in which your proficiency rank is master. Your proficiency rank in that skill increases to legendary, and you gain a skill feat that requires you to be trained or better in that skill.
Special: You can select this feat more than once. Each time you select it, choose a different rogue signature skill.

It should be a basic part of the 3 casting version of Heal and Harm spells that they target appropriately on allies and enemies.

This change importantly helps non-clerics heal and attack with these spells in a more sensical way and is one less annoyance for Clerics.

Bless doesn't need to be told who to target.
Bane and Inspire Courage do not accidentally target the wrong people.

Old Prayer (which I will miss unless there is a version of it with a different name) knew how to target both friend and foe.

I am not a fan of Stat increases waiting every five levels. In my opinion that is too long to wait and 4 bumps at once is too much a of a jump in power. I love Starfinder, but this is one of the things about Starfinder I really do not like.

16 total stat increases can be divided up in a way that provides a more steady increase in power as well as allowing leveling up to feel valuable more often. The two proposed systems below also allow the final stat bumps to be enjoyed for more levels, rather than coming at the final level.

2 bumps at levels 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18.
This does however allow one to eventually increase a primary stat by 8 instead of 4. While I do not have an issue with that myself, I can understand it being a concern, since you are trying to keep the top end a bit lower than in the past. I like how this spread allows for more reactive character building, responding to events in the game more frequently with an always impactful build choice.

3 bumps at levels 4, 7, 10, 13, and 16 limits the increase of a single stat to 5 times, and still gives us a cleaner spread of stat bumps. I know one bump is lost (15 vs 16), but the spread over the levels works better, in my opinion.

Boots of Vaulting
If you have a speed of 30 feet, and use these boots to jump 15 feet, are you making the acro check to avoid AoO at the normal DC or does the act of jumping count as full speed movement even if you only move half your allowed movement?

If I am holding the charge, does the charge dissipate if I:
Activate a spell-like ability (that does not require me to touch something or someone, assume this for all of my questions)?
Activate a supernatural ability?
Use an extraordinary ability?
Attack with a thrown weapon I was already holding?
Attack with a melee weapon I was already holding?
Use a wand/staff/rod I was already holding?
Use a scroll I was already holding?
Activate a power from a ring I was wearing?
Fire a loaded crossbow with both hands (assuming I had been holding it in one hand prior)?