I know this is way down the list, but I figured I'd bring it up anyways.
The Orc (pg. 222) is missing the (orc) subtype.
I only discovered it because I'm trying to make some effects work in Fantasy Grounds for the Dwarven Hatred trait, and it doesn't recognize an attack against an Orc, because the Orc entry is missing the (orc) subtype. I looked to see if FG properly entered the Orc, and it is verbatim with the Bestiary—missing subtype and all.
Damn. I had taken a break from Pathfinder but I did want to subscribe just to get this. I just now discovered it had already come out. Whelp, this will be a bit spendy, I guess.
So, essentially, what you're saying is...it was arbitrary. They did it because...they wanted to. Not for any kind of hard game-play reasons. Not because it would DESTROY the game in its entirety. They did it because 'We're the game developers and you have to do what we say.'
That's kinda why I have a problem with it. They give no valid, in-game, mechanical reason why you can't. If they did, I wouldn't be complaining. I'd be unhappy but at least they'd have a reason for it.
The whole 'to make the game lower-powered' is the biggest bullsh!t cop-out reason I've ever heard. It's not up to the GAME to lower the power levels. It's up to the DM. Any DM worth their salt would agree with me on that.
Roleplaying games are what they are PRECISELY to cater to fantasies. Some people just want the fun and intrigue to go along with a fantasy setting and don't mind being just slightly above average. That's fine. More power to them. But some want to be a conqueror that wrecks shop at 1st level and have generated the stats through rolling and bonuses to do that. It shouldn't be up to the game - ANY game - to limit that. That's the DM's job. And if any DM is HAPPY with a game that does that for them, so they don't have to, then, in my opinion, they don't deserve to sit behind the screen and run a game.
Have you even played a session yet to see if your complaints have any actual merit, or are you just complaining to complain?
You are whining about there being ability caps at level one, but not considering the context of all of the other rules for which those caps are put in place. Will your character really be so completely weak as you are want to imply? You don’t know. You haven’t played.
Furthermore, this is a play test. The developers need a baseline, and therefore put boundaries in place to help them collect data. Dial it back a bit.
The more I read and the more I think about and express for what I want in a game, the more it becomes obvious to me that my tastes in gaming won’t be met by a new edition of Pathfinder. Rather, the campaigns I want to run would be perfectly suited to use AD&D or some other similar OSR game as the engine.
If you want to make charisma mean something again, reintroduce henchmen and hirelings, morale rolls, the reaction adjustment table, and tie the amount of gold received from selling treasure to a percentage based on the charisma score.
This is probably not the thread for you then, as this is 100% the exact opposite of the way many of us feel.
I disagree IMMENSELY that it is not good in practice, because it HAS been good in practice for me time and time again.
Monsters working on different mechanics from PCs was an annoyance that added to the list of things that drove me away from 4e and it will do the same here to many others if that's the route they choose to go.
This is absolutely the correct thread for me to be in, as it is a thread about monster creation rules. And just because I say something different than the echo chamber, that doesn’t mean that I don’t deserve to be heard. If you don’t like a dissenting opinion, that is very literally your problem, not mine.
But I think there is a misunderstanding on what my wants for monster creation are, so let me clarify.
A 20th Level Wizard BBEG should absolutely be built using the PC creation rules, because it is a wizard—though that doesn’t preclude the GM from giving that BBEG additional abilities on top of the standard wizard stuff.
But there is no reason why an orc should be given feats and class levels. Orc warrior with a feat? Why? If I want to make an orc stronger, now I have to give them more levels, and figure out feats, and other abilities? Why? It’s an unnecessary headache, especially when trying to do it on the fly so that out of a group of 10 orcs, the one stronger leader orc I’ve got to increase its level and figure out feats, blah blah.
No. Tie combat ability/saving throws/XP to the number and type of HD that a creature has. Want to make orc #10 the group commander? Give it 3 HD. Boom. Done. Want it to also be a spell casting orc? Give it the spell casting monster ability, and then add the XP bonus for that ability to the total XP.
But I’m 99% certain Paizo isn’t going in this direction so it’s a pipe dream.
So, overall, I'm not too thrilled about what we're getting (Goblins as PC races? No thanks. Catfolk would be way more interesting to me).
My biggest fear though is that you'll use Starfinder's NPC/monster creation system. Which is awful. Please don't. Stick with the 3/3.5/PF system. All creatures should be running off the same ruleset.
No. 100 times no. As a GM I’m done with Pathfinder because dealing with all the stupid details with feats and skills and class abilities and blah blah blah that I need to do just to scale different monsters is fatiguing.
Simplify the monsters so they can be easily run on the fly would be a win. Monsters following the same rules as player characters is good in theory, but in actual practice isn’t.
1) We need a treasure table. Treasure value based on CR doesn’t cut it, especially when GMing on the fly. We need the ability to roll up potential treasure items when we generate an encounter.
2) GP for XP.
3) Creature HD tied to creature size; creature combat/XP based on HD. Easily make a creature stronger by merely increasing HD, which in turn is reflected by XP reward. Creature special abilities have associated XP bonus, and creatures can be modified/advanced by giving them different special abilities.
For example: there is a group of attacking goblins, which are normally 1d6 HD. Instead of having all of them be the same, one can be made the group commander by giving it 3d6 HD and the ability to make two attacks in a round—and the XP associated with this special goblin is easily determined by looking up how much 3d6 gives and adding the XP bonus for the extra attack.
4) Generally, make things easier for the GM to run the game on the fly.
5) Character creation takes minutes, not hours.
6) Make rolling for stats relevant again by making the ability score modifiers non-linear. Rolling for ability scores is a core, fundamental element of creating a character. But, the bell-curve of the die rolls lose their importance when the modifiers are linear, thus leaving everyone to choose point-buy so they “don’t feel like they’re being left behind.
7) Treasure tables, quick character creation, fast and clear GM monster adjudication.
Please Paizo, whatever you do, don't make this a clone of 5th edition. For me, one of the best things about Pathfinder is the amount of customization and complexity it offers.
Simplification isn't always a good thing.
Simplification isn’t a bad thing either, especially from the perspective of the GM.
The stat blocks as written don't include the TWF penalties.
TWD isn't included because because it has to be "activated" instead of always on.
Yes, the +4 is from the mate armor.
In short, stat blocks are assumed to include those magic effects, feats, and abilities that are always active and don't require the NPC to activate the effect. Those effects that aren't "permanent" are not included because the authors don't know if you're going to use them or not.
CotCT has Easter eggs that tie it to RotRL (the storylines are not related, but there are some characters and references that have ties). Then you can run Second Darkness, which too has ties. Then once you run those, you can run Shattered Star which is a direct sequel to all three.
Name of PC: Mudder Fokker Goblinkicker
Race/Class: Dwarf/ Ranger 10
Chapter/Part: Fortress of the Stone Giants/Raid on Sandpoint
Catalyst: +1 Dwarven Bane Heavy Pick to the face.
Story: The battle started well and coordinated, but as other giant attacks and the dragon began to occur, the party's tactics started to unravel and the group began to split. With the dragon being driven off and having enough giant and dire bear casualties, the attack was foiled, and Teraktinus began to retreat. Muddier, having already taken some lumps in earlier fights, maneuvered to intercept—only to come around the corner of a building to be facing head on with the retreating giant. The giant, in a frustrated rage, charged the dwarf. The dwarf, enlarged by a spell, made an AoO with his Lucerne hammer, doing a respectable amount of damage. The giant rolled a crit threat, then confirmed the crit, with his +1 dwarf bane heavy pick, which left the dwarf with negative thirty-something-I-don't-care-you're-dead hit points.
Didn't there use to be a rule that you could cast a spell directly from a spellbook but it erased the page like casting it from a scroll? Or was that just a houserule my group used back in AD&D?
Unearthed Arcana, I believe. I think there might have been something about a percentile chance to wipe every page clean if casting this way.
This is not minute. If all ranged attacks are ranged weapon attacks, then just say so. Alternatively, if all ranged attacks suffer in melee penalties, then just say so.
I don't know whether the writers want: 1) To subject non-ray ranged spells to in-melee penalties and allow spellcasters to use PBS and PS to overcoming the penalties; 2) To subject such spells to in-melee penalties and not allow spellcasters to overcome the penalties with PBS and PS; or 3) To not subject such spells to in-melee penalties making PBS and PS irrelevant.
All three possibility have rule-based and/or game-balance implications too big to ignore and yet they have gone ignored. This is not...
The rules already tell us that rays function like ranged weapon attacks. Ranged weapon attacks suffer in-melee penalties. Rays, therefore, suffer in-melee penalties. You can use the Precise Shot and Point Blank Shot feats for rays.
Acid Splash functions like rays, smells like rays, feels like rays, and tastes like rays. Why wouldn't the rules that apply to rays not apply to Acid Splash? If there are no rules that specifically state that Acid Splash doesn't work that way, there is no reason to assume that it doesn't.
Rays are specifically called out as being used as a ranged weapon in the Magic chapter, so those types of spells do get the penalty as well as gain benefit of the feat.
Acid Splash isn't a ray, but rather a missile. Regardless of that, mechanically the spell operates in exactly the same way that any ray spell does: you have to succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. Acid splash is affected by the same limitations that ray spells are: you can fire into the darkness or at an invisible creature in the hopes that you hit something, you don't have to see the creature that you're trying to hit, intervening objects or creatures can block line of sight or provide cover.
Although it is not specifically mentioned that ray spells get penalized for allies in melee combat, we know that they do because the rules say that they work just like ranged weapons.
Regarding Acid Splash (and other spells like it), if it works like a ray in every way, and there isn't a rule to call it out as an exception, why wouldn't it be penalized for an ally in combat or gain the benefit of Precise Shot? We all know that the authors can't provide every little minute detail or example in the rules because otherwise the size of the book would swell to an even more unreasonable size. This example falls into that category.
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to cancel my AP subscription as well as all pending and sidecart orders. Thanks for all of your help and patience. Hopefully things will get sorted out on my end quickly.
Long story short, the Lance is a very specific special case.
Honestly that's because there is nothing that really says that you only hold a lance with one hand while charging on a horse. I know we all 'know' in real life that's how it works but nothing in game requires it. Nothing in game requires you to give up any hands while riding on a horse.
Some of the rules don't mesh with real life - that's why it's a game and not a reality simulator.
It's assumed that you are only using one hand to wield a lance while mounted as you can also utilize a shield in this situation.
I started my AP subscription and started it with the previous issue. I also added the Lost Coast Minis Case as well as the Demon. Could you please hold this order and ship it with my June subscription issue?
It's been a while since I've been perusing the website, and decided to take a look at the FAQ and see what updates have occurred since I last visited. I do know that those entries that are less than a month old have a red hot-link. The problem I am having is that there are numerous updates that are new to me, but are older than a month, so looking at the hot-links doesn't clue me in to which ones are new.
Would it be possible to add the date of inclusion at the end of the hot-link title in addition to dating the entry? That way, I can scan the list of hot-links for dates that I might have missed rather than scrolling through the entire page.
At the height of his power, did Aroden rival Pharasma for "most powerful divinity worshiped on Golarion"? Or in the greater scheme of things, even if his worship was more influential and pervasive throughout the Inner Sea region in his heyday than Pharasma has ever been, was Pharasma still top dog?
No; not even close. Aroden didn't even rival Desna or Sarenrae or Abadar or Gorum or most of the others for power. Among humanity on the nations of the shores of the Inner Sea his faith was very influential, but the further you got from the Inner Sea, the less influence he had. And remember, most of the other core 20 are worshiped on many other planets as well. Aroden, not so much.
So what made Aroden so special that his death ended prophecy through the entire universe? I know, and agree with, the meta reason (prophecy is lazy storytelling), but what's the in-setting reason?
Who said it was Aroden's death that ended prophecy? More likely, it was the other way around, that the end of prophecy had MULTIPLE effects, one of which was Aroden's death.
The in-setting reason is closely tied to how Aroden did die, and it's FAR beyond just Aroden, and it's not something we have plans to ever answer.
Regarding Aroden, one question I haven't seen asked yet is why no plans to answer why/how he died?
The question I would ask is if you were in a city, could you change the appearance of your clothes to blend in with the crowd? I would think that most people would agree that that would be a reasonable thing to do. I do not think it is outside the realm of reason to be able to change the appearance of your clothes to help you blend in with your surrounding terrain. I would think a +2 to stealth would be appropriate. YMMV.
The one time I had an opportunity use flame blade I didn't use the expanded crit range. Then again, I didn't read the spell that closely and didn't realize it was mimicking a scimitar.
Instead of a percentage chance to find the lair, I suggest something a little more modern by instead listing a skill and a DC to find the lair. Perhaps different or multiple skills can apply. I don't think allowing perception to find everything is the best solution, unless they want to spend a long time looking everywhere. You know in the first hobbit film where they know the troll lair must be close? They knew the trolls would not venture far from it. A Knowledge monster check maybe? For another monster, they might know it likes to make its lair near a water source or at a higher elevation. Knowledge geography or history might reveal other info, but all dependent upon the specific creature.
Thanks for the responses. I probably should have clarified that my intent for these tables is for a sandbox hexcrawl, so the randomness is part of it. Each entry would have a % chance to detects its tracks as well as a % chance to find its lair, if applicable. So an encounter won't always result in combat.
It's too bad Paizo doesn't include the frequency with creature entries to help weight the tables.
if you look at a light horse it only has hoof attacks too with the docile. So combat training helps ponies and light horses but not heavy horses since they have a bite.
Why would that matter? A non-trained heavy horse has a primary bite and two secondary hooves. A combat trained heavy horse has primary bite, two primary hooves.
The Horse companion has Docile until level 4, unless it's a Cavalier's mount.
This is not correct. Being combat trained removes the docile special quality. Being combat trained does not make hooves primary attacks.
Hooves are secondary attacks. A horse would use its hooves as primary attacks if it were not for the docile quality, because its hooves is the only type of attack that it has.
The heavy horse's hooves are always secondary attacks, because it has two types of attacks, regardless if it is combat trained or not.
How do you all go about populating your random encounter tables? Do you tend to flip through the Bestiary and find those monsters you think are cool? Do you look for those that fit a specific theme? If you have multiple areas of similar terrain, do you make different tables for each area, or do you make one list to cover them all?
Yes, I've been going back through 1e and 2e stuff. I never actually played 1e, and was fairly young playing 2e, and after reading through it, I realized that I didn't play it correctly—not that there is actually a right or wrong way to play, we just didn't bother reading the books. Now that I've gone back and actually read through them, it is much more clear now, and I realize how good those rules systems actually were, even with some of the more aggravating nuances.
I was going to use 5e with my new campaign, but I think I've finally settled on using 1e as the vehicle to tell my story.
You know, my brother posted the journal for my RotRL campaign because I was unable to do so......................................................................
Reflecting back upon your time playing 1st Ed. AD&D, did you adhere to the rules for demi-human class and level limits?
Absolutely not. Hated level limits, and they were one of my favorite things to see go away, finally, in 3rd edition.
Did you keep the racial class restrictions (dwarves can't be magic users, etc.)?
Did you give humans anything extra to make them more attractive to play?
A significant part of my homebrew was that I invented several dozen different variant races and subraces for players to choose, and I tried to spread out the options for classes and level limits a lot better. I generally kept the same themes (no dwarf wizards, for example) except if I felt that breaking a theme for a particular sub race would be fun.
If I remember correctly, I gave humans a free stat boost of their choice; this was before 3.5 actually did the same. I also had a demon-infused race a la tieflings before they came along—I called them kulgores and/or skavelings in my homebrew.
I agree that you and the developers agree. I don't however think you are correct. What they want and what they wrote are not in agreement.
You think the FAQ agrees with you. I think the FAQ does not apply since it does not clarify things and only applies a specific rule which actually implies the opposite of what you think.
45 clicks means 45 people want an answer. The only clue I have as to their opinion is if they posted the fact that they clicked the FAQ button. Since there have not been 45 posts with such information, I cannot determine how many agree or disagree.
/cevah
So you admit that the developers likely side with his position, and yet you still argue that he is wrong. That makes absolutely no sense. I honestly think that at this point you're arguing purely for the sake of arguing.
This problem stems from GMs allowing the player(s) to "ready" an action as a way to cheat the initiative rules.
I'd argue that pacing is equally important as a reason for why the rules aren't too specific. If there are bad guys in the room with a hostage and they're trying to persuade the PCs to surrender without a fight, or if the players are exploring and suspect they're being stalked by an invisible enemy, then forcing everyone into initiative order due to some RAW-mandated specification can really kill the pace.
That's why you don't roll for initiative until the combat starts.
I mean, really, this whole thread is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
IMO that's not even a houserule, it's just a logical interpretation of the initiative rules.
The party and a band of pirates notice each other. Everybody draws and readies their weapons, staring at each other and ready to fight while the paladin tries to talk to the pirate captain. Then the pirate captain roars and lowers his pistol to attack. Roll initiative. Nobody is flat footed because everybody has basically already been in initiative, delaying until negotiations turned sour. I suppose to be more rules accurate you could roll initiative when negotiations start, but I consider that a little distracting to the flow of combat.
Not only that, to some players it'd imply combat. Which is awkward if there's a chance for a noncombat solution, and that's the point of the hurried negotiations.
If the pirate captain is roaring and lowering his pistol to attack, the non-combat solution has already failed.
This problem stems from GMs allowing the player(s) to "ready" an action as a way to cheat the initiative rules. Just because a player declared that their archer was readying his bow to shoot the goblin if it draws a sword/takes a step/picks it's nose/whatever, doesn't mean that that player can automatically shoot the goblin before it completes its desired task. That is literally what the initiative roll determines: who gets to go first?
I hope they respond with "previously answered", or something like that, because I just want to watch the world burn.
Full Name
Erythril a'Sturiel aka Allain Hastur
Race
drow solarian / 1
Classes/Levels
skills:
acro 7, bluff 3, diplo 3, disguise 3, intim 7, perc 4, pilot 3, sm 0, stealth 7
Gender
HP 11/11, Sta 7/7, res 4/4; EAC 14/15, KAC 15/16, ACvsCM 23/24; fort 2, refl 3, will 2; bab 1, melee 1, ranged 4, thrown 1; init +3 |
Alignment
CG
Languages
common, Drow
Strength
10
Dexterity
17
Constitution
10
Intelligence
10
Wisdom
10
Charisma
16
About Allain
racial features, Drow:
Ability Adjustments: +2 Dex, +2 Cha, –2 Con
Hit Points: 4
Size and Type: Drow are Medium humanoids with the elf subtype.
Darkvision: Drow have darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Drow Immunities: Drow are immune to magical sleep effects and receive a +2 racial bonus to saving throws against enchantment spells and effects.
Drow Magic: Drow gain the following spell-like abilities. The caster level for these effects is equal to the drow’s level. At will—dancing lights, detect magic In addition, drow count as having the Minor Psychic Power feat for the purpose of meeting prerequisites, and if a drow takes the Psychic Power feat, she can add the drow noble’s limning light supernatural ability to the list of spell-like abilities available to her.
Keen Senses: Drow receive a +2 racial bonus to their Perception checks.
Light Blindness: A drow exposed to bright light is blinded for 1 round, and dazzled as long as she remains in areas of bright light.
theme features, outlaw:
stat bonus+1 dex
theme knowledge: -5 dc to culture checks re: criminal underworld, slt of hand is a class skill,
class features, solarion:
Hit Points: 7
Stamina Points: 7 + Constitution modifier
Key Ability Score: Your Charisma lets you channel your connection to the cosmos, so Charisma is your key ability score. A high Strength score can make you better at melee attacks.
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Mysticism (Wis), Perception (Wis), Physical Science (Int), Profession (Cha, Int, or Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex)
skills 4+int bonus
proficiencies light armor, basic and advanced melee weapons, small arms
skill adept pick any two additional class skills
solar manifestation At 1st level, you gain a physical manifestation of your stellar power. The base form of your Solar Manifestation, when not actively in use, is a mote of stellar energy slightly smaller than your fist that hovers near your head. Beyond the solar mote, your manifestation can take one of two additional forms: armor or a weapon. You must pick one Solar Manifestation (either armor or a weapon) upon taking your first level of solarian. You also choose whether your Solar Manifestation (in any form) either glows brightly with one color common to stars (including blue, red, white, or yellow) or is the perfect darkness of a black hole. A glowing Solar Manifestation, regardless of its form, sheds dim light in a 20-foot radius. You can shut off the light or darkness as a standard action in order to blend in or assist in stealth, but whenever you enter a stellar mode, the glow or darkness returns immediately. Once made, these choices cannot be changed.
Only you can interact with your solar manifestation, whether in mote, armor, or weapon form. No other creature or effect can affect your Solar Manifestation in any way, including disarming or sundering it.
Solar Armor You can form your solar mote into a suit of armor made out of stellar energy that outlines your body. This armor appears to be made out of glowing light or solid darkness, as determined by the appearance of your Solar Manifestation, but it can take whatever general shape you choose, whether glowing armored plates of solidified stellar energy, a form-fitting suit of crackling energy, or an aura of stellar plasma. Your Solar armor’s general design has no impact on its function and doesn’t give the armor any special abilities. Once you’ve selected the general design, you can’t change it until you gain a new solarian level.
Your solar armor grants you a +1 enhancement bonus to both your Kinetic Armor Class and your Energy Armor Class. This bonus increases to +2 at 10th level. It is compatible with light armor, but it gives you no benefit if you’re wearing heavy armor. At 5th level, you also gain energy resistance 5 while your solar armor is active. You can choose either cold resistance or fire resistance when you activate the armor, and can switch energy types as a move action. This energy resistance increases by 5 at 10th level and every 5 levels thereafter.
Forming or dismissing solar armor is a move action.
Stellar Mode (Su) The stellar forces you call on are attuned to either photons (representing the power of stars to emit heat, light, and plasma) or gravitons (representing the power of stars to attract and imprison objects through gravity). The ultimate expression of photon power is the supernova, when all of a star’s energy is exerted outward, while the ultimate expression of graviton power is the black hole, where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it. The balance between these two opposing cosmic forces is the source of your power, and your stellar mode represents the strength of your connection with one or both of these forces—a relationship that shifts from one moment to the next as you use your stellar revelations.
When in battle, you enter a state of metaphysical alignment with cosmic forces. At the start of your first turn in combat, if you are conscious, you must choose one of three stellar modes: graviton, photon, or unattuned (see below).
At the start of each subsequent turn of combat, you must choose to either stay in your current stellar mode or to become unattuned. If you choose to stay in your mode, you gain another attunement point for that mode. As long as you have 1 or 2 attunement points in a mode, you are attuned to that mode. Once you reach 3 attunement points in a mode, you become fully attuned to that mode. Some of your stellar revelations are zenith Revelations, which can be used only when you’re fully attuned to one mode or the other. When you are fully attuned, you cannot gain more points in your mode, but you stay fully attuned until combat ends, your stellar mode ends, or you become unattuned. If you choose to become unattuned, you lose all attunement points you’ve accrued so far. At the start of your next turn, you can enter a new stellar mode or stay unattuned.
At the end of combat, your stellar mode ends. If you fall unconscious during an encounter, you become unattuned. If you regain consciousness while still under threat, you can enter a stellar mode on your first turn after regaining consciousness, as if it were the first round of combat; if combat ends before you regain consciousness, your stellar mode ends. If you are not in a stellar mode, for any reason, you are considered unattuned for the purposes of your stellar revelations.
When you’re not in combat, you can’t enter a stellar mode. This ability manifests only in high-stakes situations, when your training takes over and connects your mind to the universe. There needs to be some risk to you for your stellar mode to activate, so you must be facing a significant enemy. If there’s any doubt about whether you’re in combat or able to access your stellar mode, the GM decides. This also means that your stellar mode might end before what was previously a dangerous battle is over, once all that remains are dregs that don’t pose a real threat to you.
... Graviton Mode When you enter graviton mode, you gain 1 graviton attunement point and become graviton-attuned. Some of your stellar revelations are graviton powers and get stronger if you’re graviton-attuned. While graviton-attuned, you gain a +1 insight bonus to Reflex saves. This bonus increases by 1 for every 9 solarian levels you have.
... Photon Mode When you enter photon mode, you gain 1 photon attunement point and become photon-attuned. Some of your stellar revelations are photon powers and get stronger if you’re photon-attuned. While photon-attuned, you gain a +1 insight bonus to damage rolls (including damage rolls for your stellar powers). This bonus increases by 1 for every 6 solarian levels you have.
... Unattuned While unattuned, you gain no attunement points and you are neither photon-attuned nor graviton-attuned. You gain no benefits while unattuned.
Stellar Revelation As you gain experience, you uncover new secrets about the powers of energy, gravity, stars, and other fundamental sources of cosmic power that grant you the ability to channel these forces and manifest potent preternatural powers. At 1st level, you automatically learn the black hole and supernova stellar revelations. At 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter, you learn an additional stellar revelation. You cannot select the same stellar revelation more than once unless it says otherwise. You can choose any stellar revelations you wish, but if you have more photon revelations than graviton revelations, or vice versa, it is more difficult to become fully attuned in either mode (see Disproportionate Revelations).
Stellar revelations normally note what kind of action they require. If a stellar revelation does not note the kind of action it takes and it modifies some other action (such as an attack or skill check), it can be used as part of that action. If a stellar revelation allows a saving throw to resist its effects, the DC is equal to 10 + half your solarian level + your Charisma modifier. A Revelation that says it lasts for 1 round or until you leave the associated mode lasts for whichever of these durations is longer. You can use stellar revelations both in and out of combat, but since you can’t enter a stellar mode outside of battle, any Revelation that lasts for 1 round or as long as you’re in a stellar mode lasts only 1 round if you’re not in combat.
backpack
star knife, tactical +1, 1d4P
azimuth laser pistol +4, 1d4F (crit 1d4 burn) range 80, 20 chgs
pulsecaster rifle +4, 1d6E NL, 20 chgs
second skin
everyday clothing
personal comm unit
credstick 183
total bulk 1.4
background:
Erythril a’Sturiel was born to a noble drow household. His upbringing was fairly normal for a young drow destined to either fight for his own house or, if comely and fertile, perhaps simply father the next generation for an allied House. There was little chance for better for a male of his status. He was well-educated but perhaps not as well as his sisters. He accepted his lot in life until he was married off to a distant cousin. Oil and water would be an understatement of their relationship. She loathed him, he despised her. She was first born to the powerful House Ardais… much more powerful than the A’Sturiel line. But she was, by drow standards, plain… worse than plain, homely. He didn’t hate her for that. She had the personality of a viper. Hateful and hated, no one could really stand her and her new husband was no exception. He did his duty and fathered a child by her. But the bairn stillborn, His wife survived. She blamed him and his foul seed. He seethed to be free of her, but had little choice but to act the dutiful husband. Their second child, a girl, was born healthy. She doted on the babe, and he distanced himself from them both as much as he could. He turned back to his early education, staying fit with physical training and maintaining sanity through study, reading everything in the family library. It wasn’t long before the child was old enough for proper training with tutors and guardians, and Erythril’s wife wanted another. He swallowed his disgust and obliged reluctantly. When she was almost due to deliver their third, they argued as married couples do… it escalated… weapons were drawn, but she was no match for him, despite her magics. He left her bleeding out and sure he’d killed her. He grabbed a few things, enough to start a new life and fled, unsure if he’d killed his wife or not.
Hunted and reviled, he sought refuge with his family but they turned him away. The Ardais family had already looked for him there, and were sure to be watching them. Sent away from the only source of succor he could expect anywhere, he fled drow lands and looked for any place of safety. He spent months on the run, hopping from planet to planet, but always they were on his trail.
Finally, he found an enclave of outlaws who allowed him to stay. The Black Sun Clan were mercenaries, black marketeers, and criminals, mostly drow, but a few other races as well. He worked with them for seventeen years, doing almost any kind of work they asked of him. He was already a murderer, having killed his wife and unborn child. There was little more he could do to debase himself, so what was the point of having a conscience. He specialized in arms dealings, but wasn’t above even wetwork when needed.
Seventeen years after joining the Black Suns, the Ardais family approached the Black Suns, seeking Erythril, and offering a huge bounty and a promise of future contracts, if they find him… Even though he hadn’t used that name for all those years, their description of him was quite accurate and there was little doubt as to who they were looking for. His scars and tattoos were unmistakable.
The Ardais contingent who had approached the Black Suns Clan sent their best to collect him. Even though he’d already packed, he wasn’t quite fast enough to elude them. He was taken in chains to the Ardais representatives on their ship. They were barely adults… a girl and a boy… still adolescents, but he knew the girl by name when she was introduced…. His own daughter Cythrin.
The boy, Enee, walked over to him and stared at him long and hard before striking him. But something happened when he did. The boy’s hand began to glow a deep red and Erythril’s whole body flared into purple-black emanations… Nothing like this had ever happened to him before… the boy’s hand almost bounced off him. He felt a hot burning sensation, but the boy’s hand never touched him… He sneered. Enee struck at him again and again, but nothing got through… Cythrin walked ever to Enee and grabbed his wrist to stop him… She whispered in his ear and the boy, who was sobbing by now, stopped and fell against her. ”You killed our mother… and almost killed Enee. I should have you put to death. Have you anything to say in your own defense… father.” she spit the word as if it befouled her mouth to speak it.
Erythril shrugged, which caused the girl’s face to darken with a deep scowl. The glow around him faded, and he sighed, waiting for the inevitable. This is where he’d die, he was sure of it. Cythrin released Enee and took the few steps to Erythril. ”You killed not only your wife, and our mother, but the head of your own House by marriage. You deserve a slow, painful death. But I’ve no time for such things right now.” She pulled out her knife… a viscious curved blade, covered with a sheen of dark oily substance. She sliced at his neck and his groin and then stabbed him between the ribs and up. ”Die, traitor.” She handed the blade to Enee, who took a half-hearted stab at his father as well, but unlike his sister, he seemed spent, and lacked the resolve for a deep strike. They turned and walked out.
His captors tossed him down on the ground and left him to bleed out. They left a guard at the door, but the rest walked out, an honor guard for the heirs. Erythril lay there, bleeding slowly and feeling the poison course through him… He saw a golden light that hurt his eyes, he closed them and waited for oblivion.
It came and went… and came again… he faded in and out of the light. When he woke, he was lying on a clean bed in a small but clean infirmary. He was alone… but he could hear someone moving about nearby. He sat up, or tried to, but he was strapped to the bed. ”Hello? Hey!”
A lashunta nurse and mystic came flowing into the room. She spoke to him telepathically. ”Be calm, you’ve been badly hurt and still not fully healed. You must lie still until the second skin grafts are complete.”
”But how? Why? Who? I was dying.. or dead already… “
”No worries right now, those are questions for another day. You were brought here with the proviso that we preserve you for the greater good.”
He lay in the bed for a few more days while tended to by a succession of caregivers and doctors. No one talked to him much, they were professional and distant. When he was released from the bed, he was asked to sit up a while before trying to walk. While he sat on the edge of the bed, a visitor came, a human, older and wizened.
”I have been waiting for you, Erythril. I am called Toad… I am your mentor, if you’ll have me. Not that you have a lot of choice… you should be dead. But you’re not. I didn’t save you, at least not physically, but I believe I can help you save yourself now. Will you come with me?”
Erythril blinked like a deer in headlights for a moment. ”Well, Toad… are you sure it’s Toad? I mean, did you hear them properly?… If they know I’m still alive, you can’t save me. They’ll come looking for me again. And how can I save myself?”
”Don’t worry about the Ardais Family… they believe you dead and your body spaced… they won’t look for you again. The Black Suns are happy to be rid of you as well, as you’re now a liability to them. I’m it, boy. Take it or leave it.”
Given the circumstances, Erythril took the offer and went with Toad. Three years later, under Toad’s careful tutelage, he learned to disguise himself, to fight with a different style than any he’d used before, and thanks to the new scars and some new tattoos, his old ones were less identifiable. He learned to control the new gift that had ‘erupted’ spontaneously when he came into physical contact with his son. And even more important, he turned his back on his old ways… Toad was ultimately a good soul, more than Erythril knew, for Toad was an angel, specializing in converting the hopeless. Conversion is no easy feat, but Erythril was on the right track with Toad as his guide.
But even an angel can have a nemesis and Toad was no exception. His nemesis was Raziel, a fallen angel. Raziel came for Toad while Erythril was out one day… when he returned to their home, he found his mentor dying on the floor, as he’d once been found by Toad years before… Heartbroken, Erythril stayed by Toad’s side as he lay dying. Toad’s last words to Erythril were ”Seek the Starfinders, find your path with them.” Raziel stood in the shadows, unseen by Erythril, and once satisfied by Toad’s demise, he gated out quietly. Erythril barely caught sight of him slipping through the portal. Raziel’s form and face are burned in his memory. I WILL find him… or it… and end its existence… for Toad.
He packed up his few belongings and headed to the nearest starport to find passage to Absalom, as his mentor had advised him, to seek the Starfinders.
Erythril has taken the name Allain Hastur, spending a goodly amount of his small starting cash on his new identity. (leaving only about 1000 creds in belongings).
