Pax Rafkin's page

Good thing they aren't expecting a lot of traffic soon with a new release or anything.

I couldn't find any earrings in DS2 either, but there is one NPC that offers a reward in the form of earnings. Based on the description of the professor NPC I'm pretty sure Pax misread "earnings" as "earrings". :)

** spoiler omitted **

Ugh! You are correct. I misread that as earrings.

If any AI is eligible to get a soul I kinda want to mess with my mechanic player and give his exocortex a really annoying soul.

Ashcroffte wrote:

It was mentioned that Aballon has a few android foundries...

Do you have a citation? I don't doubt you, but I am unable to find any mention of android foundries that were not either pre-emancipation or current but illegal. If there has been, then that would change a lot for me right now.

The pact worlds book says that the faction called "Those Who Become" created seed ships that contained automated forges and "foundry crèches for the construction of androids."

I want something like Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion spell for a ship.

Not every droid has a soul correct? Is there a way to prevent a soul from entering a droid?

Say I really just want a droid that knows the binary language of moisture vaporators, pay some Jawa a bunch of money, two days later he gets a soul and now I have to free it.

Can’t they carbon date Absalom Station to at least get a “minimum” amount of time passes?

I really don't like the initial encounters at the univeristy.

Muhali, a professor whos lifes work is linguistic anthropolgy, and someone presents her with ancient script found on a mysterious asteroid, possibly the most interesting thing she will ever see in her career, and she says, "nope, don't want to see it, I've got some public relations things to do." I don't buy it.

If the PCs even talk to Ailabiens 21:2, he tells them early on that he's on probation and can't help, but Dr. Solstarni can. So, I would wish him luck and go find Dr. Solstarni. Why, at this point, do the PCs care about helping Ailabiens? They don't find out until later, and only IF they help Ailabiens and Muhali, that Dr. Solstarni is missing.

Muhali calls the police and then...gives these random strangers a key to Solstarnis office. "The police are on their way but you four random people should have access to his office and start the investigation."

Bleh...

I was just reading through the 2nd book of Dead Suns and I got to the part were, if the PCs help them, an NPC rewards them with a pair of ear rings.

This isn't some tribal member or traveling nomad, this NPC is a professor at a university and I can't imagine a situation where I do someone a favor and they say, "Thanks, here have my earings."

The PCs also have the opportunity, by helping another professor, to earn a magic ring. That's a bit more realistic in that its a useful item, but still feels out of place in a sci-fi setting, even if its fantasy/sci-fi.

Does these types of rewards continue to show up in Dead Suns? If so I think i'm going to just up the amount they earn from the Society and skip these rewards.

The only issue I have is applying Dex to your AC vs. ranged attacks. You don't dodge bullets or other projectiles. Hit or miss is all about the shooters skill and/or cover.

I think of it less of an issue of the round getting there and more an issue of targeting over long distances.

Pax Rafkin wrote:

Considering projectiles don't stop or really even slow down in space, I find the "range" of these weapons to be ridiculous.

I suppose my real problem is when would you ever choose a short range weapon over a long range weapon when all that really matters is the velocity of the projectile.

Pax Rafkin wrote:

DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:

There is also a forcefield belt that if the players pop a fresh battery into effectively renders them immune to its attacks.

How so?

They can't phase through force fields.

They can bite you and use their Leech ability on you so I'm not sure why this force field makes you immune to its attack. Furthermore, its Phase ability does no damage...

Considering projectiles don't stop or really even slow down in space, I find the "range" of these weapons to be ridiculous.

There is also a forcefield belt that if the players pop a fresh battery into effectively renders them immune to its attacks.

How so?

I can't find answers to any of your questions. GM is going to have to wing it until Paizo decides to take the time to make Starfinder a quality product instead of a rushed-out one.

Use his job as a merchant to help transport freed slaves and/or AAF members.

I am actually surprised that the Court doesn't remove the exocortex when the original android "dies" just to prevent this scenario.

I don't like the idea that a mechanic with 1 rank in computers can create a limited AI exocortex so this was a more plausible solution.

But you're probably right. The Machine Court would not "punish" the AI by leaving it in a dormant host. Maybe the new soul came to the host almost immediately after renewal, before the exocortex could be removed.

StarCitizen ship matrix

The only good thing I can say about StarCitizen is that its ship matrix has a lot of cool ideas for Starfinder ships.

You can easily make glass that reflects lasers with todays tech so it really shouldn't be a problem in the future.

Might have to consider it an improvised weapon. Range would be 10'.

But that's a judgement call (GM's discretion)

I think designing boss fights in Starfinder is always going to be tough when you don't know if the spell casters have level 1 spells left that can do a lot of damage a pop. Two caster parties can easily kill this boss while no caster parties need a lot of luck.

One Technomancer can probably solo this boss casting 3 Jolting Surges at level 2 (with Cache). That's 4d6 electrical damage each time. With its weakness that's an avg of 18 points of damage a round.

Brief background: Android with exocortex commits a crime, is caught, chooses to let the Machine Court hears his case, found guilty, android chooses renewal instead of his sentence. Player's character begins when this android wakes after however long.

What do you think the status of the exocortex would be? Functional? Memories intact?

Not really a rules question, I'm just looking for quasi-logical explanations for whatever the status of the exocortex is.

Capping at level 12 yet still spanning 6 volumes makes me think they will all be as short as Incident. That's disappointing.

Are shared party resources the main selling point? Which requires everyone at the table to have HLO?

It seems to me the features aren't worth the inconvenience of needing to be online. And when your products sole purpose is to make things more convenient it seems like a bad move.

I'm guessing it's one of the features they can trade for an archetype?

I hadn't considered that but, no.

Mechanics lose Mechanic Tricks when taking an archetype.

Lord Fyre's rework of my Upper Class theme is better written and avoids the original balance issues. Here it is:

Stellar Noble:+1 Cha
While not all worlds will have anything resembling a titled aristocracy, but most have a “nobility” consisting of families commanding unusual wealth, prestige, or political power. You were raised in one of these powerful families, learning from a very young age the importance of etiquette and appearances. As an adventurer, you are able to leverage your family’s reputation to advance yourself and your causes.

Theme Knowledge (1st)
"It's Not What You Know. It's Who You Know" is a maxim you have taken to heart. Reduce the DC of Culture checks and Diplomacy checks to recall knowledge about the political, economic, or titled aristocracy of any world by 5. You receive double the normal starting credits at character creation, and your family connections always allow you to buy items at level +2 (or level +3 in a major settlement). Due to your social rank, you gain an ability adjustment of +1 to Charisma at character creation.

Only The Best! (6th)
A noble must maintain suitable appearances (and one who behaves or dresses shabbily may be cut off by the family). You no longer need to track payment for many services, including clothing, lodging, and such (at GMs discretion of course). No you may not casually share these items and services with other characters not possessing this theme, without risking your family’s ire.

Social Standing (12th)
At this point, your wealth and status no longer depends on your family reputation, your own accomplishments (or scandals) make you a force to be reckoned with (A DC 10 culture check will recognize your name). When interacting with another “noble” (be they an aristocrat, merchant prince, or similar high official) you may role Diplomacy twice and take the better result.

Power is Wealth, Weath is Power (18th)
At this point you have likely gained whatever inheritance you are entitled to, and adding this to your personal wealth and prestige, you are now a person of consequence that no one in the galaxy can ignore. Up to twice per day, when you are acting in a position of leadership or authority, you recover 1 RP. On this normally takes at least 10 minutes of work (and obviously doesn’t count as rest to regain SP).

At 5th level a Mechanic gains the Remote Hack feature. This is a default feature that every Mechanic gets. It uses your custom rig.

If you have an exocortex, at 5th level, you gain the Wireless Hack feature. In this description it says: "If you don’t have the remote
hack class feature, you must be adjacent to the computer to
attempt your checks."

In what situation would you have the Wireless Hack feature and not have the Remote Hack feature?

Pax Rafkin wrote:

Nohwear wrote:

I am working on my first Starfinder character. I want to make a Mechanic who acts as a scout and makes a living as an info broker. I am thinking Ysoki for my race, and Outlaw for my theme. I am not sure if Hover Drone, Stealth Drone, or Exocortex fits better. I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thank you in advance.

I would go with Exocortex for a little extra hacking. Stealth drone maybe for extra scouting options but you can buy drones that do that too.

I like the idea. Any reason you want Mechanic instead of Operative, other than the exocortex/drone?

Not really, Mechanic just really appeals to me.

Me too. I think they could have come up with a better name for the class as its more versatile than the name "mechanic" implies.

Also, I want to house rule that an exocortex comes with a datajack and i'd use the Shadowrun description which includes a "retractable spool of micro-cable" that comes out. Plugging a datapad into the side of your neck/head/wherever seems awkward.

1) You can use your custom rig to attempt Computers and
Engineering skill checks at a range of 20 feet. At 7th level
and every 2 levels thereafter, this range increases by 10 feet.

2) You can't remote hack until level 5. You do get some bonuses if you have an upgraded datajack.

3) Yes

Edit: Just to be clear, your exocortex and your custom rig are two different things.

I am working on my first Starfinder character. I want to make a Mechanic who acts as a scout and makes a living as an info broker. I am thinking Ysoki for my race, and Outlaw for my theme. I am not sure if Hover Drone, Stealth Drone, or Exocortex fits better. I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thank you in advance.

I would go with Exocortex for a little extra hacking. Stealth drone maybe for extra scouting options but you can buy drones that do that too.

I like the idea. Any reason you want Mechanic instead of Operative, other than the exocortex/drone?

Pax Rafkin wrote:

Lord Fyre wrote:

Pax Rafkin wrote:

Upper Class: +1 Cha

"Stellar Noble" would be a better name for this.

While very thematic, I am not sure that the amount of credits this character can access won't cause a game balance issue.

Stellar Noble, yes, much better. Thank you.

I'm not sure credits matter much at all. You're still limited by Level +1 in most situations. I can see how this would be bad for random groups though. Always going to get one munchkin.

May I suggest some changes that would strengthen this theme?

In the mean time, check out (and critique) the Draconic Bloodline above. :)

Please do.

Pax Rafkin wrote:

Upper Class: +1 Cha

"Stellar Noble" would be a better name for this.

While very thematic, I am not sure that the amount of credits this character can access won't cause a game balance issue.

Stellar Noble, yes, much better. Thank you.

I'm not sure credits matter much at all. You're still limited by Level +1 in most situations. I can see how this would be bad for random groups though. Always going to get one munchkin.

Upper Class: +1 Cha

You were raised in an upper class family. Wealthy corporate bigwigs, powerful politicians, maybe royalty on some planets.

Theme Knowledge[1st]

You have an air of superiority about you and can use this to intimidate others into doing things for you. At character creation you receive 2000 credits instead of 1000. Reduce the DC of non-combat Intimidate checks by 5. Intimidate becomes a class skill, etc, etc.

Daddy Please?[6th]

At 6th level and every two levels after that, you can make a Bluff check vs DC 15 to receive 5,000 credits, an additional 1000 credits for each point you succeed by.

Abadar Black[12th]

You have an unlimited credstick that can be used to pay for any services, including lodging, professional services, recharging stations, transportation, and other at GMs discretion.

Nepotism[18th]

You gain a influential role in your families endeavors. Whenever you make a Profession check to earn wages you gain credits equal to ten times your skill check result instead of two.

Once per day, whenever you successfully Intimidate an NPC, out of combat, you regain a Resolve point.

Take the armor so people don't think you're a wanna-be Jedi.

Thanks OP! Hero Lab lists starting kits for each class and I almost always buy that for new characters.

I have a similar question about why power armor has a STR requirement at all. Isn't it like driving?

So, definite A for effort, although there is a definite cis-writer's-take-on-being-trans, come to a decision, hop into a building, tada, one-and-done angle here which is arguably dismissive of what we have to deal with in reality.

I'm not sure that's fair. This isn't reality and in a universe where gender doesn't really matter and can easily be changed its possible that "what we have to deal with" doesn't apply.

How soon can they cast 3 level 1 spells? At level 2? (Guessing, no book in front of me) That plus spell cache and the whole party gets Weapon Surge.

Pax Rafkin wrote:

This makes it difficult to design boss type NPCs. You'd have to adjust on the fly based on whether or not your casters have their level 1 spells left.

Or you can look at it from the other angle: your players need to be aware that they can't just blow through their spells and expect that they'll have an easy time with bosses.

Besides, at higher levels that 4d6 is literally almost nothing, so holding onto it is pointless. A level 11 doshko can do 4d12 on every attack, which you can easily have two of in many situations, while you can only ever cast one spell...and that's not even getting into the fact that weapons benefit from an array of damage boosts that spells don't.

Even the weapons a technomancer brings to bear at that level are a good tradeoff for that jolting surge. You're much, much more likely to spec Dex than Str as a technomancer, meaning you can full attack (say at 3d6 P with a level 10 semi-auto) and have a good chance of hitting from a safe distance, rather than having to jam your gun into an enemy in melee range, risking your delicate behind...

I thought about taking it, but eventually did the math and chose magic missile instead of jolting surge. The range is a huge issue. The squishiness of the technomancer does not lend itself to being that close to enemies. (They're not known for wearing the big, thick armor, really...) The need to do damage in close isn't something that you should dismiss, of course, but to pretend that your boss-killing strategy is going to rely on touch range spells?

Eeesh...

I'm not concerned with it at 11th level. It's level 1-3 that's its a problem

Im interested in running the starfinder AP, is it still designed for 4 15 pb characters like the pathfinder APs

Designed for 4

Finally a use for StarCitizen!

Ships

Rules say most settlements (at the GM's discretion) will allow level + 1 euipment. Says nothing about chargen though.

What about settlements that have defined item levels? Incident at Absalom Station has a write up for Absalom Station and item level is set at 20.

And what's with the range increments as sniper weapons level?

Range difference between a level 1 and level 20 sniper rifle is 10' unless you aim then its a difference of 750'?

A level 1 laser pistol has the same range as a lvl 20 sniper rifle...unless you want to aim and shoot something at 1000' feet away.

Given that I've never been in an encounter that required or even allowed for attacking at 250' (level 1 sniper rifle) I don't see any use for sniper rifles.

This makes it difficult to design boss type NPCs. You'd have to adjust on the fly based on whether or not your casters have their level 1 spells left.

Luna Protege wrote:

Pax Rafkin wrote:

For Mechanic, well this is a pet peeve of mine. How did you create a limited AI with 1 rank in Computers/Engineering?

I'm all for letting the player build his drone but they need to come up with some other story of how they acquired the AI module. Found it, stole it, inherited it, etc...

Technically, Computers don't seem to have an Item Level... Unless Tiers count, but since there's only 10 tiers, that doesn't seem right.

Given crafting rules are based on Item Level, then Rules as Written, making an AI is trivially easy. Assuming no Item Level is equivalent to Item Level 0, then if it weren't for the "trained only" factor, then one wouldn't even need to put a point in it.

... Expensive perhaps, but easy.

Well, technically no one but a Mechanic can make an AI. A true AI in Starfinder (at least Default Setting Starfinder) has its own implications, namely that it has a soul. As such basically a Mechanic's AI is probably a standard drone that they built, but by some quirk (or sometimes possibly intentional), some (literal) ghost in the machine a soul took refuge in the code. How'd this happen for the Mechanic? Well... why does an Eidolon come to a Summoner, or a Phantom latch on to a Spiritualist? Either Sheer Chance or some Higher Power. Meanwhile the backups a Mechanic has in their custom rig function kinda like Clones did in Pathfinder, a backup body for the soul to take refuge in if their normal body is destroyed. Then when the Mechanic builds a new drone, the soul transfers over. If the drone was destroyed *and* an enemy managed to wipe your backups, then that would probably be true death for the ghost in the machine.

Off that tangent though, basically the code itself probably doesn't have to actually be *that* complex, since the soul itself functions as a sort of upgrade. Its progression as you level is partially the soul itself growing stronger, and partially you upgrading the hardware it has to work with, much more than trying...

The book specifically says otherwise:

"This AI is the product of your own genius,
far more advanced and complicated than any available for sale
to consumers (though it falls short of being truly self-aware),
and only you know the secrets of its creation and operation."

Pax Rafkin wrote:

For Mechanic, well this is a pet peeve of mine. How did you create a limited AI with 1 rank in Computers/Engineering?

I'm all for letting the player build his drone but they need to come up with some other story of how they acquired the AI module. Found it, stole it, inherited it, etc...

Technically, Computers don't seem to have an Item Level... Unless Tiers count, but since there's only 10 tiers, that doesn't seem right.

Given crafting rules are based on Item Level, then Rules as Written, making an AI is trivially easy. Assuming no Item Level is equivalent to Item Level 0, then if it weren't for the "trained only" factor, then one wouldn't even need to put a point in it.

... Expensive perhaps, but easy.

That's even worse. If it's trivial then everyone would have one.

For soldier class skills drop Engineering and add Perception.

For Mechanic, well this is a pet peeve of mine. How did you create a limited AI with 1 rank in Computers/Engineering?

I'm all for letting the player build his drone but they need to come up with some other story of how they acquired the AI module. Found it, stole it, inherited it, etc...

Android Soldier

Awakes on Aballon, where the previous soul of this body was convicted of something in the Machine Court and they chose Renewal instead of whatever the sentence was.

Jolting Surge does 4d6 dmg as a level 1 spell.

Is this a typo?