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I have made no suppositions. I have cited two relevant written rules. Please cite a reference for an unarmed strike to be able to be made with no free hands if the character is also armed, or don't try to argue RAW.

I have made no comments on their ability to threaten squares with their natural attacks, because that's not in question. The developer's clarificaton (while good for the ruling) is also not relevant to RAW. RAW means "rules as written," not "rules as clarified."


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BigNorseWolf wrote:

How is it the raw? It doesn't t say that nuar are considered armed when they have a free hand. It says always.

RAW normal doesn t say it applies to someone with a similar ability.

I really wish people had more respect for the rules. As it is every time I hear someone say raw what they actually mean is an interpretation without sense.

I say RAW, because it is literally the Rules As Written.

CRB,p.158 wrote:
You don’t threaten any squares with unarmed attacks, and you must have a hand free to make an unarmed attack.

Unarmed strikes require a free hand (without the Improved Unarmed Strike feat). That is Rules as Written.

CRB,p.52 wrote:
Vesk are always considered armed. They can deal 1d3 lethal damage with unarmed strikes and the attack doesn’t count as archaic.

The Vesk (and presumably Nuar) natural attack is an unarmed strike. This is also Rules As Written.

The fact that he is considered armed does not change this. A Human with a sword in his hand is armed; his fist, foot, head, etc. is still an unarmed strike. Since the Vesk (and presumably Nuar) natural attack is expressly defined as an unarmed strike, RAW means it requires a free hand.

Just because it doesn't make sense doesn't mean that's not what's written.


This may be stretching the rules but...

The Unarmed Strike is listed in the weapons section and says that it's treated as a weapon. It has no item level, so still can't have a fusion. However, the Hammer Fist ability of the Armor Storm soldier path appears to give your unarmed strike an item level. Weapon + item level = fusion eligible.

I don't think this'll fly in SFS, but you might be able to convince a house GM.


I find no rules regarding the variance in speeds of vehicles in a chase. This means that once a chase has started, a speed 10 vehicle (ex, Ultimatum Hover Carrier) can outrun a speed 80 vehicle (ex, Quantum Pod) just as easily as the other way around. Am I missing something?


I typically don't look at Alien Archive for PC things, so I was assuming that someone had an actual Minotaur. If the Nuar entry is like the Vesk, then I agree with you. RAW, they would need a hand free to gore.


To throw another wrench in the discussion, see Owen Stephens' comments in this thread, where he implies that we are expected to follow Pathfinder logic and rulings when not expressly countered.


CRB,p.55 wrote:
If you are wielding a melee weapon or are otherwise capable of making a melee attack (e.g., if you have your own natural weapons), you threaten all squares into which you can make a melee attack, even when it is not your turn (the exception is unarmed strikes—if you’re making unarmed strikes, you don’t threaten other squares).

Natural weapons are explicitly distinguished from unarmed strikes.

However, re-reading the Vesk entry, although the entry title is NATURAL WEAPONS, the text defines the attack as an unarmed strike that does lethal damage, not a natural weapon (unless there has been errata). That would cause me to change my interpretation of the Vesk (i.e., Vesk must have a hand free), but not Minotaur (gore is specifically a natural attack, so would not require a free hand).


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In the REACH AND THREATENED SQUARES entry on (CRB, p.255), a distinction is made between natural weapons and unarmed strikes. A Minotaur can gore even if its hands are full, because a natural weapon is not an unarmed strike.
I don't find anything on the claw/empty hand question. However, nowhere in the Vesk entry does it say that the natural weapon is a claw. I can see an interpretation that it is a bite attack (which, throwing back to Pathfinder, matches the damage described more closely) or even a tail slap. This would allow the Vesk natural attack with full hands, regardless.


If he's trying to play a Star Wars-type droid, he should try SRO, not Android. Though probably a bit late for that.

Also, check out the Alien Cuisine thread in the General Discussion for more ideas.


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I've got two takes on Android cuisine.
The first (more boring) is that androids haven't been an independent race long enough to create their own societal flavor yet, so their tastes will tend to mimic whoever their most recent owner was.

The second is a lot more fun. Android cuisine is pure junk food. If you're going to create a slave race that requires food, it makes sense to design them to be fed as cheaply as possible. Do you want to buy their meals from Whole Foods or the corner convenience store? Food should be producible in mass and able to be stored in bulk. Then there's the chemical aspect. Using hydrocarbons (like sugar and starches) for fuel in machinery goes back to the steam age. Fats provide lipid chains to be easily converted into polymers. Preservatives provide metallic ions. On the other hand, without enzymatic assistance, proteins would require more energy to break apart than they would provide. Indigestible cellulose could clog a mechanical system, rather than help clear it, as in an organic system. Cruciform vegetables might provide mineral content, but that's about it.

Basically, the ultimate health food for an android? The Twinkie.


While it's never been a compelling reason in our campaign, Armory did give a reasonably valid reason to purchase, rather than buy. Certain manufacturers give a slight advantage to their merchandise (usually on par with the benefits of self-crafted items).
Still, nothing beats the convenience of having what you want when you want it.


Initiative is not a Dexterity check (as in Pathfinder), but it is a Dexterity-based check.
A Dexterity check is a check using only the Ability and other modifiers.
A Dexterity-based check is any check in which Dexterity is a modifier (ranged attack rolls, Stealth checks, Reflex saves, etc.).


CRB, p.235 wrote:
Crafting items requires you to have access to tools and a workshop or similar space. Most starships have an appropriate area set aside,

The word "Most" has caused some consternation in our group. The Arcane Lab, Tech Workshop, and Synthesis Bay are, obviously, appropriate spaces for their particular categories, but they all say that they cut the base time in half, implying that they are not required. Aside from smaller ships that have no expansion bays, is there any situation in which a party with a starship would not have an appropriate space for construction?


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Grenades aren't a "one- or two- handed ranged weapon." They are "a special type of thrown weapon."
That may be splitting hairs, so whatever you want to do in your group is fine, but I doubt it would pass SFS.


Agreed, just like a successful Perception check only allows the successful roller to see a hidden target.


Gaulin wrote:
An item of 1 bulk or less can get weapon mods to be able to fit on your person like a small arm, so that could fit in a hideaway limb, but all explode weapons are at least 2 bulk.

This still doesn't integrate the weapon to your character. A hideaway limb is a storage space, not a weapon mount.


BigNorseWolf wrote:
How would these two abilities interact? Its pretty obvious that non sound based blindsense would negate the +10 bonus to hide, but what about the ability to attempt the check while out in the open at all?
p.264 wrote:
If you have the blindsense special ability and succeed at a Perception check to notice an unseen creature, you become aware of the creature’s location. Blindsense negates the bonuses to Stealth checks that an unseen creature would otherwise receive

This tells me that blindsense (type irrelevant) negates the +10 bonus and pinpoints the target after a single successful Perception check (whereas without blindsense, you need seperate Perception checks to become Aware of Presence and Aware of Location.


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Situation: Operative Ghost has activated his stealth field to hide without cover or concealment, hides, and moves through Goon's threatened area. Goon succeeds on his Perception check to detect Ghost.
Does Ghost provoke an attack of opportunity?

The Stealth entry (p 148) suggests yes.

Quote:
A creature that succeeds at the opposed skill check either sees you or pinpoints you (see page 260) in situations when you have total concealment.

but the States of Awareness entry (p. 259) suggests no.

Quote:
When you are aware of a creature’s location, you know exactly where the creature is located, but you still can’t observe the creature with a precise sense such as vision. Generally, this occurs because you have blindsense, or because the creature is hidden but you have succeeded at a Perception check to pinpoint the creature with an imprecise sense. You must at least be aware of a creature’s location in order to directly attack it, though it is considered to have total concealment from you (see page 253).


Micheal Smith wrote:

So I just want to make sure that I am understanding the Adaptive Biochains correctly.

If I am to understand this I can choose any cybernetic or biotech and this basically becomes that augmentation for 10% more?

So for example if I am 3rd level I have 8000 credits I can use the Adaptive Biochains to duplicate Mk 2 Dermal Plating for 7645 credits and still count as a level 3 item?

I guess I am trying to figure out what the weakness is for this. For example this seems to be pretty amazing for Society Play. The ability to buy something 3-5 levels above your level for a 10% increase.

Am I missing something?

I don't see anyone touching on where I think your confusion lies. Your character level does not limit (unless SFS has additional rules that are not in the books) what level items (including augmentations) you have access to. If you *somehow* have the money and access to a skilled enough doctor, you could have Mark VII dermal plating (a level 19 item) at level 1.

The Adaptive Biochains is primarily for fluff (my Xenowarden doesn't want machines polluting his body), but also protects against those rare abilities that can actually impair cybernetics.


I don't know if there is a set rule, but my recommendation would be to treat a non-dodge as an object (basically AC as normal, but with a -5 Dex modifier, instead of whatever the Dex modifier actually is).
The reason I wouldn't allow an auto-hit in these cases is that only the movement is negated, not the armor. For instance, the soldier may not dodge the needle of an ally's injector pistol, but that won't stop it bouncing off his armor. Also, since combat is expressly a non-take-20 situation, there is always an element of chaos to be considered.


Thank you. That's what I was trying to say, but was not stating clearly.


Isaac Zephyr wrote:
Additionally, from a GMing standpoint, a lot of the tension disappears when you have "I was hit by something, lemme web MD the problem".

From a GM standpoint, that's a fantastic way to screw with your players. Ask any doctor whether or not you should try to diagnose yourself via WebMD.


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HammerJack wrote:
There is none released. There could conceivably be something planned, but nothing that has been announced, so far as I know.

One needs to be added, at the very least, for level 12. At level 12, they add Darkvision (which already lasts 12+ hours), and Life Bubble (which already lasts 12+ days). So the cache capacitor provides zero benefit to those.


Ravingdork wrote:


They wouldn't get any more attacks or damage, but such a character could probably obliterate a room full of a 100+ people.

Except that, unless you are making a full attack with it, an automatic weapon still only targets one enemy.


Ravingdork wrote:

Can a kasatha operative with four automatic small arms and quad attack make four automatic weapon attacks as part of the same full round action? Why or why not?

The Core Rulebook on automatic weapons says "When you make a full attack with a weapon in automatic mode..." which doesn't sound to me like the same language as "you make an automatic attack as a full round action."

My interpretation would be technically yes, but why? It takes no action to switch between modes, and the benefit (i.e. line or cone effect) expressly applies only when making a full attack.


Ectar wrote:

The effect remains the same. The effect is still bad without multiple applications.

You're more likely to land the effect on targets that are unarmored.

Be careful expecting immunity to radiation though. Armor doesn't automatically protect against it; the environmentals have to be activated first. Unless you're already in a hazardous environment those won't normally be on.


Xenocrat wrote:

Whether or not blindsight requires line of effect to detect something, you still need line of effect for a spell to target it.

Line of Effect, pg. 271 wrote:

If a weapon, spell, ability, or item requires an attack roll and has a range measured in feet, it normally requires that you (or whoever or whatever is using the ability) have a line of effect to the target to be effective (subject to GM discretion). A line of effect is a straight, unblocked path that indicates what an attack or ability can affect. A line of effect is blocked by a solid barrier that can stop the effect in question (such as a wall, for most effects), but it is not blocked by purely visual restrictions (such as smoke or darkness). You cannot have line of effect that exceeds planetary range, unless otherwise indicated.

You must have a clear line of effect to any creature or object you wish to target or to any space in which you wish to create an effect without an area.

Also, blindsight and sense through are different abilities. Blindsight will not detect someone in another room.


MagicA wrote:
Using cybernetics, is it possible to attach a small arm on/in a hand/arm? Like I flick my wrist and it changes into a gryopistol or laser pistol?

You can now. The Armory book has rules for integrated weaponry.


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Dragonchess Player wrote:

You could probably transport a Tiny ship as cargo. However, by RAW, because the Medium ship has none of the support mechanisms of a Hangar or a Shuttle bay, being able to launch and/or dock the Tiny ship is probably not feasible. You would probably have to land the Medium ship and unload the Tiny ship before you could fly the Tiny ship.

Correct. You probably wrote this before Pact Worlds was released, but now they have Launch Tubes which will allow Tiny ships to be docked and launched from Medium ships (takes two expansion bays).


This came up recently in our game, so hopefully someone has an answer:

Since there are no components (including somatic), does that mean that you can cast spells while paralyzed?


dvrobiqu wrote:

The rules for Trick Attack state that you must attempt a Bluff, Intimidate, or Sealth check and if you succeed at the check you deal additional damage. The question I have is can you attempt a check even if the conditions normally would not allow it?

** spoiler omitted **

An example of this would be can you make a stealth check to perform a trick attack if you are being observed? The rules on observation state that you can't:

It's important to maintain the distinction between a skill and an action. There is no rule that you can't make a Stealth check while being observed. The rule is that you can't make a Stealth check *to hide* while being observed, and hiding is not the sole use of the Stealth skill. You can't make an Athletics check to swim while standing on a mountain, but that doesn't mean you can't make an Athletics check for other purposes.