Mairn's page

Hey there EZG, thanks for the review of Stormbound!

Stormbound was my first major solo-release as a writer and developer, and I think that roughness shows a bit in the final product. I am still proud of it, even if there are definitely things I would change now if I had the chance. Sadly, you eventually just have to put down the pen and let it get released.

As far as the review itself goes: I think it is on-point in a lot of areas, but there are a few nitpicks I feel are worth bringing up:

Essence capacity: Stormbound has their essence capacity increase at 3/9/15, identical to the Radiant and Nexus. I'm not sure where you got the level 19 increase from, I went to double check the PDF and it was 15 there as well.

Twin Storm: The ability says that it otherwise functions as the feat, which sort of heavily implies (if not outright states) it wouldn't stack with the feat it otherwise functions as. The wording here is even more restrictive than the wording of similar abilities found in the Vizier's Twinveil Ring (At 15th level the vizier can shape and bind up to two veils which occupy the Ring slot.) and the Eclipse's Dark Intensity (From 10th level on the eclipse may shape and bind an additional veil in either their Hands or Feet slot, chosen when they shape their veils for the day.), neither of which are mentioned in your reviews of those classes as an issue.

Fury of the Storm (Storm Power): This is the ability that lets the Stormbound use their veilweaver level in place of BaB with [Weapon] veils. You claim this ability is “Very Powerful”, but every other akashic class that has Weapon-like veils on their list already uses their Veilweaver level in place of their BaB. This ability is actually WEAKER than the options given to other akashic classes, but you make no mention of this. You also don’t even mention that Stormbound have to spend money to enhance the power of their [Weapon] veils by enhancing them, whereas other akashic classes get their veils automatically enhanced for free when investing essence in them. This ends up making Stormbound weaker with weapon-veils than other Akashic classes, especially those found in Akashic Trinity. The Storm Power was balanced around the fact that other Akashic Classes are already doing this for free with no investment.

Veil Balance: Some of your comparisons here are... unfair, in my opinion. Comparing Storm Gauntlets as an example but completely leaving out that Storm Gauntlets allows you to make its touch attacks in place of any melee attack is frankly unfair. Obviously, if more than half of the compared veils abilities are left out then what I wrote looks overly powerful in comparison. There is also the argument that I was pushing the power level of veils, and bringing comparisons to Coward's Boots, while Akashic Trinity already pushed the power level of veils well above the levels found in Akashic Mysteries, INCLUDING a straight upgrade to Coward's Boots via the Boatman's Ferry veil, which also lets you ignore all difficult terrain, lets you walk on water, AND gives a larger increase to movement speed with essence investment. It just feels a bit unfair that I am being knocked points here for "pushing the balance" of Akasha as a subsystem when it was already heavily pushed by Akashic Trinity, which wasn't even mentioned in your review of that product.

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Otherwise, I feel like the review is on-point (including the score). It just feels a bit... overly harsh in the balance aspects when compared to your previous reviews of Akashic products (Zodiac and Akashic Trinity in particular) which also did a lot to push the balance of Akashic as a subsystem, especially in comparison to Stormbound, but had almost no mentions about that in the review of those products.

Hey there everyone! My name is Mairn (aka Hal), and I wrote the Hilada & Kashaan race and abilities and the Kashaan's racial feats. I'm going to keep a close eye on this thread so I can answer any questions and fix any problems that I might have overlooked while writing it. Hope you enjoy my work!

Hey there, I have been working on an Automated Damage Calculator for Starfinder. It currently has automation for every Damage/Hit increasing Class Ability or Feat I could think of, and can be used to automatically calculate Full Attacks (using different bonuses for Soldier, Solarion, and Operative) as well as having Weapon Selection and bonuses only usable with specific weapon types.

Its what I would call a "Beta" currently because there may still be bugs, and I haven't finished getting all the weapons into it yet (its easy, but really time consuming and tedious). So hopefully those of you who decide to try it out let me know if you run into any bugs/incorrect inputs/missing abilities.

Here is a link to the Google Sheet.

To use the Sheet, copy it to your google drive to gain edit permissions.

ABOUT DRONES: Just use 'Mechanic' as the Drones level. They have the same effective BaB. I might add a separate 'Drone' Class but it would be functionally identical to mechanic as is.

I rewrote the Gun Templar (a lawful-any Paladin who uses Firearms) to work a bit better. I sort of want Firearms to be not-garbage occasionally.

Gun Templar
Extremely fearful of the ‘monsters’ to the north of them, the Autunï have a formidable military presence composed hosting an elite force known as the Gun Templar. These firearm wielding knights act as both military and law enforcement, roaming the northern borders of Autun to keep the country's enemies far from its borders. Though not entirely religious, many of the gun templar follow the Azure Order. Some gun templar are sent on missions outside of the region, either to stomp out sects, lead military incursions against their enemies, or recover powerful relics. The order of Gun Templar are under the beck and call

Autunï Gun Templar (Paladin Archetype)
Gun Templar patrol Autun’s borders, acting as both a militant organization and law enforcement amongst the region’s border towns. Gun Templars are exemplars of the law, fighting to server their people and destroy corruption and chaos both.

ALIGNMENT
Gun Templar can be any Lawful alignment.

WEAPON AND ARMOR PROFICIENCY
Gun Templar are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, firearms, with all types of armor, and with shields (including tower shields).

AURA OF LAW (EX)
The power of the gun templar’s aura of law (see the detect law spell) is equal to his paladin level.

This ability replaces the paladin Aura of Good class feature.

DETECT CHAOS AND CORRUPTION (EX)
At will, the gun templar can use detect chaos and detect corruption as the spell. A gun templar can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it is chaotic or corrupted, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, the paladin does not detect chaos or corruption in any other object or individual within range.

This ability replaces the paladin Detect Evil class feature.

SANCTIFIED FIREARM
At 1st level the gun templar gains Gunsmithing as a bonus feat. He additionally gains a battered firearm identical to the one gained by the Gunslinger. This battered firearm can be a Pistol, Musket, or Musket-Lance.

SMITE CHAOS AND CORRUPTION (Su)
At 1st level the gun templar gains the ability to smite chaotic creatures. This functions as the paladin’s smite evil ability, except that it affects chaotic targets rather than evil targets. Rather than affecting outsiders with the evil subtype, evil-aligned dragons, or undead creatures, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack instead applies to creatures with the corrupted or unknown subtypes. The benefits of smite chaos and corruption apply to creatures of those subtypes no matter their alignment. This ability otherwise functions as Smite Evil, and counts as such in regards to prerequisites, magic items, and the like.

This ability modifies the paladin Smite Evil ability.

AXIOMATIC GUNMAN (Su)
At 1st level the gun templar gains rapid reload, precise shot, and point-blank shot as bonus feats. They can reload any two-handed firearm as if it was a one handed firearm.
At 3rd level the gun templar adds their charisma modifier to damage rolls of all attacks made with a firearm.
At 6th level the gun templar reduces the reload time of their firearm by 1 step, this stacks with rapid reload.
At 9th level, the gun templar reduces the misfire chance of their firearms by 1.
At 12th level, the gun templar never suffers from misfires while wielding a firearm.
At 15th level, the gun templar adds twice their charisma modifier to damage rolls of all attacks made with a firearm, this replaces the damage increase gained at 4th level.
At 18th level, the gun templar increases the critical damage multiple of their firearm by 1.

A gun templar does not gain any spells or spellcasting abilities, does not have a caster level, and cannot use spell trigger or spell completion magic items without Use Magic Device.

This ability replaces the paladin Mercy ability and Spells ability.

BULLET DEFLECTION (EX)
At 2nd level a gun templar wearing medium or heavy armor gains half the armor’s bonus plus the armor’s enhancement bonus (if any) as a deflection bonus against any non-siege firearm or splash weapon attack (including the alchemist’s bomb class ability). This ability has no effect on spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities that make a touch attack.

ARMOR TRAINING (EX)
At 4th level, a gun templar learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever she is wearing armor, the armor check penalty is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by her armor increases by 1. Every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, and 16th), the bonus increases by 1, to a maximum of a –4 reduction of the armor check penalty and a +4 increase to the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed. This ability stacks with the fighter class ability of the same name, and counts as such for prerequisites or magic items.

This ability replaces the paladin Channel Positive Energy ability.

DIVINE BOND (SU)
At 5th level, a gun templar forms a bond with his ideals. This functions as the paladin’s divine bond ability, except the bond must always take the form of a firearm. In addition to the listed abilities, a gun templar can add the distance, keen, seeking or thundering special abilities to his weapon, but he cannot add the defending, disruption or holy special abilities. When this divine bond is active the bonded firearm produces its own ammunition (reloading automatically after each attack) and cannot misfire.

This ability replaces the standard paladin’s divine bond.

AURA OF PURITY (SU)
At 11th level the gun templar gains a sacred bonus to their armor class against attacks from corrupted creatures equal to their charisma modifier. This bonus also applies to allies within 10 feet.
This ability functions only while the paladin is conscious, not if he is unconscious or dead.

This ability replaces the paladin Aura of Justice ability.

AURA OF ORDER (SU)
At 14th level the gun templars weapons are treated as law-aligned for the purposes of overcoming Damage Reduction. Any attack made within 10 feet of him is treated as law-aligned for the purposes of Damage Reduction.
This ability only functions while the paladin is conscious, not if he is unconscious or dead.

This ability replaces the paladin Aura of Faith ability.

AURA OF GUARDED MINDS (SU)
At 17th level the gun templar gains power resistance equal to 11 + their paladin level, and immunity to compulsion spells, powers, and spell-like abilities. Each ally within 10 feet of her gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against compulsion effects.
This ability functions only while the paladin is conscious, not if he is unconscious or dead.

This ability replaces the paladin Aura of Righteousness ability.

SANCTIFIED CHAMPION (SU)
At 20th level, a paladin becomes a conduit for the power of his cause. His power resistance increases to 15 + paladin level. Additionally he is constantly under the effect of the Anti-Corruption Shell spell, with a DC equal to 10 + ½ his paladin level, + his Charisma modifier.

This ability replaces the paladin Holy Champion ability.

Slowly adding setting information that I had compiled elsewhere / hadn't copied to computer yet. Has maps as well!

Hey there folks, I have been working on a custom setting for a long time now and have sort of got all the races worked out enough that I am looking for outside critique. There is a whole bunch of other stuff as well, if you want to take a look.

Here it is: The Sealed World (if the formatting is weird it means the fonts might not have loaded properly so refresh the page)

The four custom races are:

Araenae, sentient giant spiders with different subraces that were pushed from their underground homes.

Modus, a modular clockwork race designed by an ancient clockwork wizard to interact with larger clockwork creations called Chassis to modify their functions.

Thrall, a race of mutants created by eldritch horrors that gained their own free will.

Yethsari, a race of serpentine humanoids created by an ancient being to serve her.

There is a whole bunch of other stuff as well, new feats, archetypes, and new rules.

_Ozy_ wrote:

Depends if this part of the polymorph section:

Quote:

While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form

would apply, or whether:

Quote:

Change Shape (Su)

A creature with this special quality has the ability to assume the appearance of a specific creature or type of creature (usually a humanoid), but retains most of its own physical qualities.

overrides that portion of the polymorph description.

Not sure myself.

No, it don't override the polymorph description, look the SQ:

PRD wrote:

SQ change shape (humanoid or giant, alter self or giant form I)

It say exactly in what it can change and under what rules. He applies the rules that applies to the cited spells. So the whole polymorph paragraph of the magic chapter.

The specific description of change shape (retains its own qualities) overrides the general rules of polymorph (loses its own qualities). Thats how the rules of Pathfinder work.

Regen doesn't mean you can't win the fight, it just means you can't kill the creature. Nothing stopping you from beating it to some arbitrarily high number like -7200 HP and keeping it from standing back up for 24 hours. You could also just tie it up.

Got the answer I was looking for which is pretty much what I expected: 'who knows. RIA and RAW don't agree'. Will only pull it out if they start steamrolling the encounter.

So the Efreeti can use its Change Shape SQ to take the form of a giant as Giant Form I.

Giant Form I lets the Efreeti take the shape of a Large size giant, which a Moss Troll is. You gain the trolls regeration 5 (fire), and Vulnerability (fire) but the Efreeti still has immunity to fire, so you can't counteract the regeneration.

Am I reading this wrong, or would any smart Efreeti who knows combat is coming it way just use this ability to become a Moss Troll?

Thanks for checking out my thread:

I have been working on this sourcebook off and on for over a month now, and decided I would post it publicly for critique. Its far from done, sitting at 43 pages, but I feel that it is in a state right now where it can be looked at for obvious balance issues that may have slipped by me.

Sealed World - Player's Guide
If the font's don't load, reload the page until they do. Formatting won't look correct without them.

If you want to leave a comment, either post here or comment on the doc.

If I make a major update, when I finish or add a new section, I will bump the thread.

Enjoy!

Okay, let's start with just the basics then: It would be incredibly easy (if not impossible to fail) against 99% of the population.

When you cast the spell you take 10 on the disguise check, giving you a 20 check (minimum. If you have any ranks, or a non-negative Cha score it is higher).

From the disguise skill:

Your Disguise check result determines how good the disguise is, and it is opposed by others’ Perception check results. If you don’t draw any attention to yourself, others do not get to make Perception checks. If you come to the attention of people who are suspicious (such as a guard who is watching commoners walking through a city gate), it can be assumed that such observers are taking 10 on their Perception checks.

So, you are only facing a DC of 10 + their Perception skill. Easy. Just to notice they need a minimum Perception bonus of 10. The caster doesn't get a penalty because they are not changing their Race, Gender, Age of Size Catageory.

Why don't they get a roll? According to the disguise skill you only get a roll if they are suspicous of you. If a DM makes every single person suspicous of you because you cast disguise self and are not impersonating a specific person (the only case where everyone you are deaing with is automatically suspicous if they know the person) they are a terrible unfun metagamer.

Even better, if you are dealing with a high number of people you use the average perception bonus taking 10, making it even more likely to succeed.

Don't discount the roleplay 'costs' of each template. Lich just requires a ritual unique for the caster, Grave Knight requires:

1) You find an evil ruler, god, or some sort of tyranical ruler.
2) Go on a two year crusade for them.
3) Figure out a way to kill 11 helpless good aligned members of your own race, and then kill yourself within 1 minute with a specific element. (This can actually vary from fairly easy (human) to incredibly difficult (tiefling, more obscure races), you also need to find a source of damage that can actually kill an antipaladin in 10 rounds. Could always just buy a pit of acid, but one strong enough to kill a paladin in 10 rounds (with their stupidly high saves) is going to cost a lot of money.)
4) Find enough grave dirt from graves that have spawned undead to fill a pit.
5) Find someone who likes you enough after all these atrocities to actually finish the ritual for you.

There are a lot of points in those requirements that the price can start to add up to near 100k, along with all of the roleplay requirements.

(But yes, I agree that *base* GK is much much better then lich. GK as written should probably higher then CR +2 as well, but without adding HD it would start to get wonky balance-wise pretty quick.)