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A good place to start is Pathfinder Infinite, where you can publish your ideas referencing Paizo's material. It shows a bit more commitment than just making some forum posts, too.
*grabs popcorn 'cuz the iconic encounter gonna be good*
I'll be playtesting Mr. Sir at level 3 this weekend. We had to pick between level 3 and 4, and went with the former because it feels like a better playtest of the class' mechanics to not have those level 4 feats giving an additional focus spell option to lean on. Somebody pointed out that Cutaway Shot triggers on somebody rolling a crit, so you should be able to use it to shove the spotlight onto somebody and make sure they have the Horror or Epic role for the crit effect in time to work, so that will be our second-level feat. I will be doing my best to keep track of when the spotlight makes a difference (i.e. changes an outcome). Note: While I'm playing Elebrian, I'm not going to grab proficiency with the Magnetar Rifle, because it feels like it warps testing too much to get a weapon that's so much stronger.
We did have a few specifics confirmed in the Paizo Live: two Animist aparitions and three feats with a summer theme, as well as a new Druid order that had something to do with flowers and maybe mourning? (The audio had issues, so I'm hoping I got both of those correct.)
I'm glad to be getting a book that talks about what spirits are. It was vague in PF1, and continued to be vague into PF2 even as things like undead got much more fleshed out, so having a book talking about it at length will be nice. Having different perspectives from different societies' practices will be interesting and probably avoid spirits being placed in too small of a box. I'm hoping that the seasons theme that seemed to come up in the player options a bit doesn't overwhelm the spirit aspect.
There can't be two! Sure there can. You're thinking of kings, not princes.
- I checked Pathfinder Infinite, and it doesn't look like there is one. That's where a professional conversion would be. If that were to happen, though, I would expect it to not be until the class is in a finalized form. - I don't know what kind of money you've got to put towards a professional conversion, but you could reach out to someone whose conversion work you liked on Infinite and ask to commission a conversion. - Your friend can probably find an SF2 group to try it out. Just because your group doesn't play SF2 doesn't mean your friend can't! The playtest runs for more than another month, and is legal to use in Starfinder Society for the playtest. That's also a good way to find a second permanent group. Other alternatives include keeping an eye on the Starfinder Discord recruitment. - There's always a non-professional conversion where you work with the group to homebrew up something together.
Thank you, that makes so much more sense! I was checking griefninja's post history to make sure they weren't a spambot, but I forgot about the possibility of a deleted original post.
Is this a starfinder thing? Huh? Or, to elaborate, I'm gonna need you to elaborate. Where did you see "quardle" such that it made you wonder if it is a Starfinder thing? I duckduckgo'ed it, and without further context, it's a game like Wordle.
Previous discussion might be useful. If you want it to work like that, expect to need to ask the GM.
According the Windsong Testaments, Desna was one of the first eight deities willed into existence by Pharasma through the Seal. Concordance of Rivals is substantially more credible as in-setting sources go, and it cites Pharasma as the oldest* being in creation. So even if Pharasma didn't create Desna or it didn't go like the Windsong Testaments described, Pharasma is probably at least older. *(Yog-Sothoth is coterminous with all of time and space and is generally not counted.)
The spells were described as fitting in the "we must find such-and-such spell to defeat the wicked so-and-so!" vein, and being the spell equivalent of artifacts. So I think they're intended to be used in a campaign with a particular purpose already in mind.
The bad news: Paizo has always been subscription-based. The good news: it's the original meaning of a "subscription", where you pay to regularly receive something permanently.
This keeps being marked as spam, but I thought it was someone who genuinely wanted to do world building similar to these Dutch markets... Can I ask for a community lifeline? Is this spam? I held off on flagging myself, although I'm on the fence. First post with a link to a commercial site is fishy, and the questions are... well, I have at least seen AI do similar. (If you're a new person, welcome! Sorry, we just have a lot of bots posting links to foreign businesses.)
Ah, yeah, as a start-of-combat thing, that doesn't hit any of my concerns- initiative is already being handed out. Swapping initial initiatives is cool, so long as the player getting bumped down is cool with it, and feels like it's not covered well.
Thematically, if someone gets the spotlight on them, shouldn't they go next? In a play, if you get the spotlight, it's likely to mean it's your turn to say or do something. I find one of the hardest parts of teamwork in the game is having a plan, then it falling apprat becuse the random initiative messes it up. So what if sometimes giving someone the spotlight moves them in the initiative order, so they go next? Yikes, no thanks! I don't want to be shuffling initiatives constantly. If someone already acted in the round, having them act next is different than if they haven't acted yet. That makes the initiative order weirdness worse, not better. I think this is already covered well. If you want this specific feel, use the reaction to move the spotlight at the start of the turn. But if someone with the spotlight shoots someone, it makes sense to throw the spotlight over to show them getting hit. You don't need to make the enemy act next- the spotlight is there to show their reaction.
My approach would be a little different, but in the same vein- as soon as you Raise a Shield with your buckler, you're no longer wielding anything as an improvised weapon. You've got your buckler up, so you're not holding out a fan menacingly. I'm probably not going to charge any extra actions for regrip, but you're not going to be able to use any Fan Dancer two-fan reactions while you've got your arm positioned to block.
Does the Multiplatform Luminary feat allow for the selection of another Platform for the Luminary class? No. It only gives you the focus spell. If so, is it possible to combine uses of both Platform's? Same as above. Additionally, "If you cast a stagecraft spell that creates a spotlight while you already have a spotlight from a stagecraft spell, the first stagecraft spell ends immediately." You can't even have both starting focus spells active at the same time. Would it make more sense for the Luminary class to already give access to another Platform at higher levels and then depending on what Platforms you choose you can access higher level Feats and Focused Spells that can only be accessed via two specific Platforms? I don't think that would be a great use of space. There are five platforms, which means there are (5 * 4 / 2) = 10 platform combinations ignoring order. If you had one ability for each combination, you could instead add two options for each individual platform. It also means that characters who fit a particular platform are forced to work in an off-theme platform at higher levels. Letting the cross-platform feats give a little more does seem like a good idea, since right now the first focus spell will always conflict with something you already have.
Eh, PF2 may not be suited to this, but any system that is will probably need a lot of buy-in. So any other system would probably need a crafting subsystem stapled on anyway. If you have player buy-in for PF2 and a whole bunch of custom subsystems, I would still say go for it. I can understand being pretty happy with PF2 as a base for classes, spells, and an engine, but wanting some campaign-specific mechanics. Buuut I do think "keeping Crafting close to the rules" and "tracking things like production supply lines for fibers" are mutually exclusive- either keep it simple or rip out the original crafting rules for what you need.
Excellent to hear! I'm glad that bundling is back- it makes getting the VTT modules more viable if I have a GM eying an AP-based campaign.
PF2 only cares about the kind of crafting for the purposes of a +1/+2 bonus for crafting specialization feats. To avoid complexity, I would lump all prerequisites together. If you have a blacksmithing specialization in a game where you can't blacksmith without mining your raw materials, then that specialization applies to that mining. PF1 broke out specializations mostly by material. Cloth crafting presumably covered everything involved in creating a cloth item end product. My advice is based on that. It did separate armor and weapons, rather than having an overly broad "metalworking". I don't think there will be any examples people will have for you, because the rules don't involve crafting materials separately from final items.
I know re-forming the familiar is with respect to the disappearance, but it makes it very odd for this to take a week to re-summon if it dies. It feels like it should be a daily prep respawn like Animist or Witch.
From the GM, you just need buy-in to make art with Performance, and for yourself, you just need to accept that they can't make anything permanent via class features.
Ah, thank you! I thought we were into the second season, but now that I think about it, it was just that details of the second season had been teased.
I'm trying to get some Starfinder Society 2e scenarios for playtesting Luminary, and the pages all say "This product is currently out of stock". (Browser is Firefox, version 150.0.3.) https://store.paizo.com/starfinder-society-scenario-1-24-final-gambit-part- one/ https://store.paizo.com/starfinder-society-scenario-1-26-final-gambit-part- two/ I'd certainly like to take advantage of the new gold system to get some Society PDFs.
It's weird to me that we're only two months away from subscriber AMAs revealing all the details on impossible magic and all we really know about it is the product description. Still very excited to get it, but I'ma start tempering my expectations and expect everything that's not the two new classes to be mostly reprints and tweaks from secrets of magic. I feel like the "It's two and a half months out and we still haven't heard much..." post gets made every year. We have the cover and description because that's what the retailers need. It's another two to four weeks before I'd expect to start getting serious GenCon book previews. I took a look at last year. June 10th was when we got our first Meet the Iconics post, and they had to fit in everything for the Starfinder 2e launch as well.
Interesting, is there any purpose to the Performance check as part of this? Well, if you can do anything as part of a Perform check, like Fascinating Performance, sure. Mostly, it's just there for how good of a performance it is.
Perform is defined under Performance. It's one action.
Many stagecraft spells let you Set a second Spotlight on a creature, granting them a unique role in addition to the benefits of any role you’ve already assigned to them. You can change the basic role assigned to them with Cast Role, but you can’t change the role granted by the stagecraft spell. If you cast a stagecraft spell that creates a spotlight while you already have a spotlight from a stagecraft spell, the first stagecraft spell ends immediately.
The spell-spotlights and their roles are... a little confusing. They don't move from the target, but you have a reaction that specifically calls out moving them, so that's clearly possible. The rules section seems to tie the spotlight and the role together. If I cast Star Contestant on Alice, and then move "it" as a reaction to Bob using Spotlight Focus, does Bob have the Star Contestant role, or just a regular-but-unmoving spotlight that only activates Bob's already-cast role? Who can have the Star Contestant spell dispelled from them?
That still wouldn't move the role, which would stick to the original target. You'd just have a second spotlight that doesn't expire if you leave it be in on the new character. Whoever has the special role from the spotlight spell would stop benefiting from it until a spotlight was shifted back onto them. I'm taking the antecedent of "it" to be the spell, but I guess that's less cut-and-dry.
Next person gets Spotlight Focus to move Star Contestant to them, "Special You can Set a Spotlight of an ongoing stagecraft spell with Spotlight Focus, moving it from one creature to another." Seems pretty cut-and-dried to me, even if the spell's wording is confusing.
Squggit, in another thread was wondering what a luminary…does each turn. A level 1-20 build shows what Mr Sir…is but what does Mr Sir…do? Martial accuracy plus his illusory body-double getting two attacks on a separate MAP track is the main thing, along with Trope Deconstruction to debuff saves be a Get 'Em equivalent. Important knowledge checks using Performance, mostly thanks to his ancestry rather than the class. He can also set up terrain block obstacle courses to wall off enemies and split them up. It's pretty focus-point heavy, wanting two or three per fight. If he's ever left without focus points, he's in a sad state of just giving minor debuffs to support others and shooting with a small bit of bonus damage if it's after 9th level.
The three actions and two focus points to set up really bugged me on it, along with the fact that anyone who wants to spin needs extra arms or to downgrade their weapon from two-handed to one. I think what I was missing was that Star Contestant isn't just letting one party member spin with advantage. Depending on level, you get two to three party members clustered around where the table will go. They either need spare non-primary hands, or are only using a one-handed weapon. First turn, spend three actions to Star Contestant on whoever comes last in initiative and drop the table in the middle- everyone else in the group holds initiative until after the star contestant. Star contestant spins and then does their turn. Next person gets Spotlight Focus to move Star Contestant to them, and does the same. Next round, any part of the group that doesn't have Star Contestant will hold their turn until the star has spun. Once I picture ripping the spotlight focus spell through a chunk of the party every turn to weight the spins, the spell makes more sense. All that setup to give one person short-duration Heroism doesn't make sense, but if you can realistically give it to two people, that checks out. I don't know if I can swap out Trope Deconstruction with how much the class needs it. At tenth, we're getting our invisibility source for hiding with a body-double. We can look at a Tactical Cloaking Skin instead, since three ten-minute chunks is better for what we need. Thanks- I wanted to like the Big Spinny Wheel Spell, and now I can. Bonus: Since it's hardlight, I think most GMs will let your guest star cameo spin it too.
Ah, I see. No, you don't need to select Tough, because you aren't "selecting" Construct. It's being given as a bonus. Yeah, I know that Alchemical Familiar's wording implies otherwise, but I would not go making Starfinder rulings based on the implication of lacking a Pathfinder class's feat's wording. It would be nice if "ignore the prerequisites" wording were used consistently, of course.
"future-proofing" a possible Luminary class dedication Yep, that's why.
I would assume that it does not get the Tough ability since it doesn't say that it does. From an "argument from balance" standpoint, a first or second level feat usually gets you a familiar with two abilities. Construct doesn't do much, so it's not surprising to see it tacked on. Tough is an extra 40% worth of hitpoints, and its inclusion on top of two free-choice abilities seems worth mentioning explicitly if it were meant to be included.
The 8th level feat Trope Deconstruction gives you action compression (1a to Cast Role and Set Spotlight) and also reverses buffs/penalties for all roles. A deconstruction of tragedy that examines the tragic nature of survival? That lines up just fine to me. Heck, Romeo and/or Juliet succeeding on their fortitude saves to tank the poison would be an interesting deconstruction. It's maybe a little back-and-forth there at the end, but there's something you can do with it.
"As long as you’re in a spotlight with the irony role, you can use Performance to Recall Knowledge on any creaturewhom you’ve already assigned the irony role (even if they aren’t currently in the spotlight)." You're the one with modified saves- you need a spotlit Irony role, and you roll about anyone with the irony role regardless of their spotlight status.
Illusory Creature is a two-action spell, not a three-action spell, Set Spotlight is usually a free action or reaction, and other allies have Cast Role done before the fight. I could see moving to two actions, but three is overkill.
I would have to see it in play but I suspect the spotlight should be moving around a lot turning on the roles of those it is currently on.Unless you use the classes low level feats or focus spells, in which case it stays on one person for most of the fight. Well, you get an extra spotlight from the focus spells, so you still have one that bounces around.
To me, that feels a bit more like multiclassing into the class than actually taking it. All of the subclasses give you something for having the spotlight on yourself, you get initiative perks for starting the spotlight on yourself, and the class uses and scales Performance. Not only are those all very charismatic and not-just-a-director, they're also things that the archetype will probably not do as heavily. You won't have to take any of the first-level self-focused feats or Performance-substitutions, and you won't have Star Maker or scaling Performance. That'll have the usual +2 charisma requirement and that's it. Strategically picking market-data-driven roles for your more personable allies seems to me like it falls outside the fantasy of the class enough that it's going to be something to build out of the parts, rather than an equally supported key stat swap.
I really like the flavor of the camerabot, but right now would be nervous about buying one. As far as I know, there's no way to repair/revive downed minibots - they're just destroyed at 0 HP. Does not seem fun at low levels where credits are more scarce. I think they have to be level 0 because of the way tech crafting restrictions work, but they're probably more like a level 2 item in practical terms- a little bit more permanent than a consumable.
No joke, I literally thought 'this is the PERFECT Mr Sir" class today! I'm so glad to see his return. Deeply honored for him to be remembered! This version is much more of a focus on "show-runner" than a lot of other versions, where he comes across as somebody with combat experience working in showbiz.
Hey, something I'm noticing... maybe I'm misreading... neither set a spotlight, nor cast a role have a saving throw.... they just... happen. Is that right? Yep. None of the roles or spotlight effects are outside of no-save territory- you need an 8th level feat to get something comparable to Get 'Em!, and anything as strong as Frightened 1 relies on a critical hit.
Ladies, gentlemen, and conscientious objectors! It's time once again for the game of laser, phaser, masers and tazers, YOU BET YOUR LIFE! We previously looked at the Mr. Sir for the playtest Envoy. The final version didn't end up fitting him quite as well, so it's nice getting a shot with a new class. Huzzah! We'll go ahead and get started, and see how they stack up. Rather than a Borai Human, we now have Corpsefolk Elebrian to work with- a much better fit! We'll want to make sure that a full, dedicated class outshines Elebrian's Performance-based abilities. Character details: Spoiler:
Mr. Sir is one of the Halls of the Living's show hosts. He runs a deadly game show called You Bet Your Life, where he pretends to be an overworked middle manager in an abusive company. He blows off steam by "kidnapping" people that remind him of various made-up coworkers, and locks them in his absurdly spacious basement, full of quiz show death traps and obstacle courses.
He enjoys his work- he's a pretty messed up dude. But, he also thinks it's societally beneficial. He views the corporate culture as exploitative and soul-crushing, and views altruistic programs to help people out as insufficient. His show is an opportunity for just about anyone clever to get themselves fame and fortune. Even losing isn't necessarily a setback- if somebody is popular enough with the audience, they can get a crowd-funded resurrection. He wears a recognizable outfit, a faded gray business suit with a faded orange sackcloth bag over his head with two eye-holes cut into it. Because of the nature of his work, he remains anonymous, staying in the outfit and going by "Mr. Sir" even off work. Despite this, he never acts in-character outside the show, even jokingly. Eox has enough of a bad reputation that it's important to make it clear that the character portrayed in the game show is just for entertainment. 1st: Since Mr. Sir is a deadly game show host, the platform is obviously Contest, getting us Dark Sarcasm, robust (but unconvincing) props that can be interacted with, the Society skill, and Star Contestant. Dark Sarcasm gets us free swaps to the Irony role, which will probably be trading -2 Reflex for +2 Fortitude- usually a bad idea in Starfinder combat, but thematically useful in select cases. We also get the ability to Recall Knowledge with Performance against any Irony-selected enemy. That's essentially a two-action cost (one to assign, one to Recall Knowledge), but it is an excellent thematic fit that is useful outside fights. We will want to be able to get off of irony on Mr. Sir easily, since reflex penalties can be dangerous in Starfinder, so we'll grab Menacing Presence. Getting to Demoralize with Performance is very on brand, and even if we rarely crit, the Horror role fits well. Great thematics, although Envoy has us beat functionally with double skill advances. For Elebrian, we can get an Advanced weapon (Prop Closet), or we can get a once-a-day Perform-to-recall-knowledge (and instead of Lore- possibly lower DC?) which saves us an action, plus has good follow-ons. We might grab that, for cases where we want a different enemy role, can't spare the action, or can't have ourselves spotlit. Oh, and Star Contestant! Let's look at that... +1 status bonus (and +2 at 11th level) on the next attempt after failing an attempt. That works on attacks, which is nice, although not quite up to Envoy standards for attacks (and no stacking). Not bad, and definitely thematic. 2nd: Moving on to second level, we're going to be keeping an eye out for efficient ways to Recall Knowledge or to Cast Role on enemies. There's Cutaway Shot, but that's no good for our purposes- waiting until an enemy crits is no time to be giving ourselves a bonus to Recall Knowledge! Dazzling Performance doesn't fit his vibe, and he'll be shooting from range rather than getting up into close quarters. He doesn't have a familiar, so no Hardlight Familiar. (Note- does re-forming a familiar allow making it again when it has no HP?) Match Cut gives temporary dual-spotlight, although with little control about where it ends up, so that's an option to keep Horror role, easily switch roles- BUT none of the roles will lower the target's AC, so there's not much point in giving them a temporary role. Scene Transition is... not a great deal. If we need to cast a role, move, and we have somehow dropped our spotlight from bouncing around, then this saves us an action. Not very good options here, I'm afraid! Almost certainly grabbing Envoy dedication instead of anything here. 3rd: We get Performance to Initiative, and we can set a spotlight as a reaction- making Scene Transition really useless. 4th: All right, let's go take a look at fourth level and see what we've got. Blooper needs an enemy in the spotlight, but is worth considering- punish attacking repeatedly. Character Acting Support is a free action for an ally once every ten minutes- not bad, and more reliable. Hardlight Squib is one that relies on an enemy in the spotlight being crit, buuut that does work with Match Cut, and is very on-brand. Method Acting Substitution should probably work on Performance checks to Impersonate too? Not something for Mr. Sir, unless I want to focus on avoiding emotion effects- other feats at this level fit better. For the playtest, since I don't want to take things from other classes, we'll retroactively grab Match Cut and take Hardlight Squib to play up his rare crits (Dexterity secondary means -1 to hit at half the levels, after all). ... Wait, I forgot to look up the Cameo Appearance focus spell! Yeah, scratch that. Hardlight Squib may fit, but a focus spell Illusory Creature that can't be disbelieved? Even better- especially since it can be a body double. It's one action, uses performance to impersonate, and gets a free role plus spotlight- This is the new main feature of the class for me. (The class having a lower spell attack modifier likely helps balance this out a little.) We'll go back to not knowing what to do with level 2, but I no longer feel bad about it. (As a fun thing, this is a very thematic option to pick up via archetype for the only Cha-based caster, Witchwarper. The Witchwarper being better at making body-doubles than the original class is actually on-theme because the Witchwarper is pulling them from another reality!) 5th: From Elebrian, we're going to follow up with Role Repetoire. Once an hour, we can roll knowledge using Performance without spending the extra action(s), and it's about anything, not just somebody we can see. Dark Sarcasm is looking worse for wear. 6th: Well, I'm pretty happy after fourth level. Let's go take a look again... Contrasting Chiaroscuro is just... too situational, and not for Mr. Sir. Fourth Wall is fun, and he does probably have experience getting people to keep performing even after they realize they're going to die (gotta get that crowd-funded resurrection!). Don't need Multifaceted Talent, because Mr. Sir already has the two thematically appropriate role feats. On the Air is very funny, but I think I'm fine with Mr. Sir just shooting things and having tools to traverse gaps. Sculpt Hardlight... hmmm. I do like him being able to set up hardlight obstacle courses, but the lack of deathtraps means it's not quite his style. Probably a better fit than Fourth Wall. Oh, right, I skipped over Multi-Platform Luminary. Don't need that, and it doesn't give the subclass' modification to props, which is the more interesting part. 8th: As a focus-caster whose features don't seem to be doing much (I've got... an extra crit effect and the ability to adjust lopsided saves towards balanced? The ability to boost one ally's AC if I'm I have a good reason to have my asexual deadly game show host cast them in a romantic role?), I'm surprised that it costs feats to get the additional subclass focus spells. Advanced Stagecraft gives us a thematic wheel, but we do already have three focus points, it costs actions, and is unreliable on its outcomes. It's two actions to cast, one action for each use (plus potentially one action to move over), and even the jackpot is just a +1 status that... Envoy or a caster could be giving out since level 1? Woof. This is a flavor-only pick or a weird out-of-combat healing mini-game. I'd suggest making this one action at the very least, so that the actual action cost for the party is two actions to maybe get a weak buff, with the option to spend more actions across the party. Adoring Fans is... uh, a small bit of difficult terrain so long as you keep the spotlight off enemies? Definitely not taking that. Trope Deconstruction is interesting- getting +2 reflex at the cost of -2 fortitude is a good deal in many combats, and being able to further penalize a weak save is useful against enemies. Being able to flip Romance to make it a bonus to attack and damage gives us a very nice offensive option. This feels like a great pick to make Mr. Sir's class features really do something. Sponsored Ad Break is a delight and flavor win. I'm guessing it's intentional to restrict the spell gems to the rare single-action spells? I'm still going with Trope Deconstruction, but this makes it feel like I'm not being pressured into it from lack of alternative. 9th: For our ancestry feat, we definitely want Prototype Electroencephalon. Negate crits occasionally as reactions? Don't mind if I do! We also get Envoy's personal damage boost. 10th: Stagehand is... well, it's fun, but the degradation on move is Costume Wardrobe is nice- resistance 10 or 11 to one damage type, flexibly changed? I like that. Stagehand still fits better here, but Costume Wardrobe is under consideration, and may be a future pick. Quiet on the Set is neat, but not a good fit for Mr. Sir. Stage Fright is an excellent addition, and is another future consideration. Two-Point Lighting is nice, but I feel like it needs the 10th level roles to be especially useful. 12th: See previous note about subclass focus spells behind feats. Summon a Friend is a reroll with a bonus, but you need to commit prep and a second focus point if you want it to work on crit-fails. Worth considering, feels worth the feat and actions, unlike the wheel. Hot Set is our first deathtrap-like option, but the three action cost means we need to set up beforehand, and the positioning is rough. Start every combat by spotlighting an enemy, and blow up? Probably not beating focus point rerolls or another level 10 role. Prismatic Reflect is funnn. Do I know how an undead guy in a shabby suit can do that? I'll think about it... Wipe Transition is an occasional teleport to another creature. Would be worth it for melee, but... nope. Do we grab the reroll, Costume Wardrobe, or Stage Fight? I think that depends on the group and game. They all fit fine. 13: We get a spare reaction, and Elebrian is generously giving us the ability to substitute Performance for any skill once per hour. That's definitely starting to outshine the class a bit for out-of-combat stuff. 14: Cut the Signal is a good counteract check for... three actions on demand, or two actions with planning. Useful on allies and enemies, but not area spells. Worth considering. Focused Rehearsal makes spamming our spells cost less downtime. Jump Scare is... hmm, a 14th level feat to Demoralize at range and ignoring temp immunity, but only spotlight target? Ehhh, maybe. Take Five is Incapacitation, so sadly not something I'd want to take. I think I'd actually grab Cut the Signal, just to have a new tool in his kit. 16: Break a Leg feels like the sort of taunting that Mr. Sir should be doing. Good option. Chewing the Scenery is 1/day and a bit redundant, so not that. Cross-Platform Synergy isn't something Mr. Sir qualifies for. Break A Leg or Focused Rehearsal. 17: Ascending Necrovite from Elebrian. It's nice to move from Corpsefolk to the big leagues! 18: Clear the Frame is a more conditional version of Prototype Electroencephalon, so nope. Spell Reflection isn't something we qualify for. Witty One-Liner is an emergency focus point with a spotlight reset. Sure, that's fine- it lets us spend more freely. 19: We get an extra spotlight. Yay! 20: Perma-quickened option doesn't include strike, and unlike all the other Starfinder capstone, it's quickened instead of a free action? I dunno. That, or "any one 8th-rank or lower occult spell". Weak ending on the capstones- probably the perma-quicken. I'd want at least two occult spells per day to feel good about the other one. --- So, how does this stack up? Well, Mr. Sir is a bit more tricksy than his Envoy counterpart, able to make a body double and... kind of go invisible. He can make... block obstacle courses, kinda? In combat, he eventually gets the same bonus damage (but not at the lower levels where it makes a big difference), can eventually give a status bonus to attack an enemy, but has options like doubling down on a weak save. The thematics are a better fit, but this one is definitely not as well-rounded when it comes to skills. Elebrian helps at 13th an onward, and gets more out of the scaling Performance. Things that would be nice to improve (playtesting may change my mind):
The strongest selling point of the class for me is the Illusory Creature focus spell.
No. I am comparing fortissmo's actual net effect with Gang Up. When it says your final bonus is +3 on a crit, only 2 of that is coming from fortissimo itself. You already had +1 from courageous anthem without using fortissimo.I do not get it. Do you mean that you are comparing Fortissimo to Courageous Anthem + Gang Up ? Gang Up is making flanking easier and more consistent- but it's a bonus you could already move people into place to get without it. That's why folks are valuing Fortissimo's +2 higher, because you can flank along with it.
Medicine was mentioned as being at Master, so this already is level 7 at least. From the "72 seconds" comment, I'm assuming that it's level 8 specifically.
Look... I'm already somebody who mostly plays martials because casters don't have the "oomph" I want from them, so I get it to some extent. But, a question or two. Are there three martials in the party? Bard's +1 doesn't feel great in a party of three, or a party of four with a second full caster. How many encounters in a day are there? If Medic is outshining the rest of the class in your eyes, you're talking down a dozen spells as "72 seconds of effectiveness" and it's Abomination Vaults, I'm assuming more than three encounters a day. Is this coming from the Bard's player not feeling effective, or are you trying to make somebody else's character better in your view? (I presume the former, but just making sure.) - A party-wide +2 to accuracy would be upgrading every martial to a Fighter while keeping their class features. In a lot of groups, I do feel like that could solidly make extreme encounters into speed bumps? It does depend on the number of martials. As for a +1 to the whole party, it puts in work, and I'd consider that pretty comparable to a martial's second attack in most group- a good deal for a third action.
If the player himself isn't having fun, sure, swapping over to something like Commander might be a good idea. Martial class weapon proficiency that doesn't run out, concrete actions that are more visible than a bonus, and in-class support for the Medicine skill that seems to already be a focus. That said, you can go ahead allow stacking up multiple focus spell spellshapes on Bard compositions to give out mega-buffs. We may not think it's balanced in general, but it's your group, and plenty of things that would be a problem for Paizo to have as universal rules will work fine for an individual group. You don't have to worry about some hypothetical group of two Barbarians, a Fighter, and the Bard. (You may get better results posting in Advice asking about the group-specific problem, rather than Rules Questions trying to use rules to make the Bard class stronger.)
My placeholder recommendations:
In Pathfinder, being empowered by intense devotion to something that isn't empowering you directly is occult rather than divine. (See: Razmiran Priest archetype.) Divine power isn't generally something that is created through faith, worship, or devotion. (There is something going on with goblin hero gods, though, but that's understood to be out of the ordinary.)
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