RighteousCause's page

This is definitely a great way to set the expectations for a group without just arbitrarily deciding on every little case. It's like core only but gives you the tools to add on more easily, and helps curb the risk of -everything- being expected as available.

That said, as an occult fan, when psychic magic and related classes make their 2.0 debut, I have a strong feeling they won't be 'common', and that'll lower the number of campaigns they'll be welcome in, RAW. Interesting to think about.

I'm playing a psychic detective in a home game and loving every minute of it. I have to agree with Dandy Lion that having a variety of pools to dip into keeps combat fresh, and there are always tons of options you have to sift through to find the optimal one for your situation.

Psychic magic takes care of big, dumb creatures with low will saves (and also includes some great combat buffs and info gathering), and I've spec'd for dirty tricks, giving me options against caster types with high will saves but low CMDs. The undercasting phrenic amp gives me more mileage out of my smaller spell pool, while inspiration can be used either in combat to secure a tough hit/save throw, or give you an edge on skills. All this on top of studied combat to keep you competitive with full babs, and you'll always have something to do reasonably well both in and out of battle.

Though I'll never be as specialized as a power attacking Barb or versatile in the long term as a wizard, I'm always contributing -something- of value no matter the challenge, and that keeps me totally invested in every encounter.

Wouldn't it be nice to know what your boyfriend, wife, host, or noncommital mating partner are -really- thinking?

Hi, I'm Xzcyronelirol, though I often go by my popular nickname, "giant floating Brian". If you want a look into the minds of your loved or tolerated ones, come on down to basement level 700, block CXZ, door 7 - the one with the curtains and vaugely exotic knickknacks - where I will show you how to open your n+1th eye!

(Read quickly): Program length and rates vary by species and psychic aptitude. No guarantee of success or survival.
---

(Brian is not a typo:D)

Speaking generally, what kinds of things do these psychic feats do that technomancy/mysticism might not cover?

Having looked at this archetype pretty closely, I think I have it figured out, though the way it's written makes me less certain than I'd like to be about it.

As dutiful strike is one of the first two abilities your phantom gains, it's a legal option to pick each time you use excitation (the wording seems to suggest you can't choose the higher level abilities even at the levels your phantom would have gotten them).

Fortunately, we can use that precise wording to our advantage here. Some of the phantom’s abilities specifically call out slams, others don't. Dutiful strike affects 'attacks', so it should apply to all attacks you make.

In practice, this means you burn 2 rounds activating it, but it has no effect until somebody hits you. Once they do, you get to attack that opponent with a bigger damage die for a minute or until you stop burning extra rapture, whichever comes first. It's pretty nice when you get it going, but it takes some luck, and there's no way to get Extra Rage or anything, so I'd say it's not the most reliable strategy.

That said, of all the emotional foci I'd still say Dedication is the best for Exciter because you get Iron will for free and don't have to deal with some of the stranger interactions that are possible with other phantom's abilities.

Thank you. I'd like to believe that you can ignore the benefit of a feat whenever you want, though I can imagine some GMs will take issue with the meaning of 'enable'. But other than that, I think there's a good grounding in the rules for this one. If anybody else disagrees, wouldn't allow it at their PFS table, or can give me an official ruling, I'd leave to hear it.

Sorry for the Necro, but am I to understand that after you take this feat, you can never throw a weapon without it returning to you? Does the option to simply not make use of the feat exist? If you're stuck with an instant returning weapon 100% of the time, then the option to Startoss doesn't even exist anymore, right? But on the other hand, if choosing to make use of Ricochet Toss is an option, then it would stand to reason that you could choose to return it to you after the last bounce.

I want to say that you can choose whether to use your feats or not, but the wording is so severe that I'm unsure. An FAQ would be quite nice

Hello all. I'm relatively new to PFS, and I have plenty of ideas for characters using the legal sources for PFS, but sometimes there are interactions that are somewhat unclear. An example is the combination of the Startoss Style feats and the Ricochet Toss feat (all in Weapon Master's Handbook), and how they work together. The freelancer who designed the Startoss chain says he intended the thrown weapon to return after all bounces are resolved, but a very strict reading of Ricochet Toss suggests it has to return after the first attack is resolved (since each 'bounce' requires a separate attack roll).

In cases like this, am I better off designing characters who completely avoid these kinds of potential problems, or would it probably be fine to go with it and simply expect table variations?

What I'm curious about is what some of these classes will actually do, archetypes aside. Some are pretty easy to work out: soldier will fight with BFGs, operative will handle physical skills and contribute to combat, mechanic will solve tech challenges (though there may be more to them that's spell-like). I'm hoping even the soldier will be able to contribute more outside of combat than Pathfinder's fighter.

But right now, magic is a pretty big mystery. We don't know how spells work, what flavour they use, their maximum levels, or even if they'll be presented in the same way. Even so, I'll hazard a guess that the technomancer can handle damage and utility, a mystic can heal and provide buffs while still contributing to combat, and solarian will be our classic gish, perhaps with weaker spells that can do a bit of everything but with a focus on combat.

That leaves the envoy, who I see as the greatest enigma. Certainly they will make the best diplomancers, but what will that mean in Starfinder? They seem to resemble a bard, but will they have spells or are they mundane? I'm quite interested to see how Paizo rounds out their class features.
As for setting, what does it mean to be an envoy? The name seems to imply that you need to be tied to an organization of some kind, so I wonder if we'll see rules for that, or perhaps you can merely be the envoy for your party.

What do you guys think we can expect from the default version of these classes?

RighteousCause wrote:

Very interesting stuff has just been confirmed (with a possibility for change down the line of course), link below:

Link

Link fixed. :)

Thank you very much, I'm not very forum savvy yet.

Also, I forgot to mention that mechanic was also called out, which may be our pure tech class, depending on how things line up. I can forsee a medic/chemist type as well, as an evolution of the alchemist. But with only seven classes, how will they make room for three distinct kinds of magic? There may be only one caster that decides a flavour for their magic as a class feature, gaining access to a different spell list (or spell pieces, if they go with the words of power design).

Very interesting stuff has just been confirmed (with a possibility for change down the line of course), link below:

http://geekandsundry.com/interview-with-the-creator-of-starfinder-pathfinde rs-sci-fi-sister-game/

It seems like there's going to be a major focus on race in Starfinder, with Human, Ratfolk, Android, and Lashunta confirmed as core, along with at least two new alien races from star systems outside of our own. It's also been mentioned that all Pathfinder core races will be included in the Starfinder core rulebook, though the focus will be on the new, more alien races. Elves, Dwarven, etc will likely be 'uncommon' races in Starfinder. Players will have access to more monstrous races than is common in Pathfinder as well, which came as a surprise to me. How they balance that will be very interesting.

It seems we can expect more of a Star Wars setting for our science fantasy game, which James cites as being 'in the middle' of very high tech sci-fi and 'fantasy in space'.

Additionally, it seems that we can expect 7 classes at launch, with tecnomancer name dropped again. This suggests that soldier and assassin may also be classes, though it's quite possible the two can be built out of the same class. There was also a lot of deliberation about what it means to be a druid in a galaxy with countless biomes, so we could see a Xenodruid class, or perhaps one can be built out of a 'shaman' chassis of some type. What 7 classes can you see them deciding on,and what roles will they fulfill? Will each class follow the Pathfinder design, or will there be more customization, allowing very different tropes to emerge from a common template?

I'm seeing some cool ideas here. I'm hoping for an alternative to the traditional divine healer with some sort of chemist class that will supplement, not replace, the cleric role, for those who are still interested in the gods. It would be awesome if the outer gods feature more prominently. Where they go with psychic magic is of utmost interest to me as well, given that it's so new.

I personally see Starfinder as being akin to Warhammer's 40k, so I'm wondering what will become of the races. It seems at the very least that ratfolk (for whatever reason) have thrived, and the secrets of replicating android technology have finally been uncovered. Where will this leave the more traditional fantasy races? I'm really looking forward to seeing how they've adapted, if at all.

As we know the planet is 'missing', but I'm curious what kind of developments have been made for the classes. I imagine for tech we'll just see what we saw in the tech guide on steroids, but imagine the breakthroughs in arcane, divine, and especially psychic magic in the years since Pathfinder. Gunslingers will have advanced weaponry, I imagine alchemists have been developing pharmaceuticals, etc. What do you guys think we'll see?

I AM MORE EXCITEMENT THAN MAN NOW. REMAKE ME IN YOUR IMAGE SPACE GODS.

I certainly see the benefits to reach combat and appreciate the tactical side to that approach, but it's tough to imagine my particular character using a longspear. It's not completely jarring, just not what I imagined when I first envisioned the character, as it reminds me of your typical fighter or trained combatant rather than a psychic detective. I am just overly picky about these things and would like to find more of a, as you say, clever approach to combat if at all possible.

The enforcer idea is intriguing to me, as shaken is a decent debuff against everything that doesn't resist it and getting to do it for free on nonlethal hits sounds great and in character for a detective determined to get his man. The only thing is that my spells will primarily be Will Negates and Mind-Affecting, so I'm hoping my combat option can help with enemies resistant to them. This is actually why dirty trick appealed to me. Large, dumb creatures could be dealt with magically, while frail, mage types are more susceptible to combat maneuvers. Early on though, my chance to hit with them will be subpar until studied combat kicks in, and they'd be at best a way to disable AoO's (blind) from one enemy until I get Greater Dirty Trick. Still, this concept greatly appeals to me in the long run.

That is reassuring, actually. I want to specialize in knowledge and your typical rogue skills, so if I only have to avoid being useless in combat, that's good enough for me. Ideally, I'd find ways to include my skills and knowledge in combat (Such as with identify monster or perhaps feats like kirin style) to kill two birds with one stone. If you are aware of such options, I'd love to hear them.

Spells are one of the best parts about psychic detective, but it's the low spells per day that have me trying to contribute in other ways. Unlike a bard, I can't inspire my allies, which is why I'm scrambling for alternatives. Liberal use of 0 level spells can help, though I feel Telekinetic Projectile, while great for flavour, is little better than a light crossbow.

Thank you for the item guide! I will be making great use of these kinds of options and it's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for :)

Those are some great stats, but dang are they creepy. When it comes to the legal races in PFS, do I still need the associated book? I don't have any race books unfortunately.

As I've alluded to, I hope to see this character excel at gathering information and performing out of combat utility, such as trapfinding. I played with the idea of party face because I probably have the skills for it, but am on the fence. Currently the build I'm leaning toward involves identifying enemies at the beginning of combat, and either casting a few spells to buff or debuff if necessary, or turn on studied strike and perform dirty tricks on susceptible enemies, relying on studied strike for big damage when it's required. I don't know what weapons would be best, but if I could could make your suggestion of light weapon throwing come alive, that would definitely be in character as well. TWF and Artful Dodge are a significant investment though... Decisions, decisions.

Some good ideas I hadn't considered before, especially telepathic projectile/reach and thrown weapons. I can definitely see him throwing daggers or knocking people senseless (he is a private eye after all).

That said, these options definitely put me in certain directions for the rest of my career. As it's PFS, I'll only be reaching lvl 12 or so, so the early game is definitely important.

Are there any non-feat intensive methods of creatively contributing to combat for the first few levels? Interesting uses of items or spells, perhaps?

Hi, this is going to be wordy, and I apologize.

--The Pitch--
So I'm trying to make one of my first PFS characters for a con next month. The con uses warhorn, almost none of the games had a skill monkey signed up, and I'd wanted to try the Psychic Detective Investigator archetype anyway. Race is up for grabs, but I'm leaning towards human.

The first three levels of investigator do not focus on combat. That said, I've heard that contributing to combat is absolutely necessary, so I'm here to seek advice on just how to do that.

--The Rules--
You'll have to play around my player quirks, though. The class and archetype are non-negotiable, and I greatly dislike class dips, even when they are optimal (though if you make a great case you can twist my arm). I am aware of swashigator and maneuver master monk, for example, but want to avoid relying on them if possible.

My character's concept is very important to me, and I didn't see him swinging large weapons around like a brute, meaning I'd like to avoid power attack if possible. I see him as more of a combination of lucky and clever, improvising his way through battle supplemented by his psychic abilities. I'll be trying to make creative use of mundane items, (powder to find invis, marbles, etc) for example.

I'll have access to spells like color spray and ill omen early on, but I'm limited to the spells per day of a bard. There are flavour/skill monkey feats I'd like to take, such as Deific Obedience (Irori), and Orator. Will my spells be enough of a contribution to combat to pursue these kinds of feats early on, or should I focus more on fighting? If I do spec more for battle, do I actually need to be dealing damage, or is battlefield control an acceptable contribution? I thought dirty tricks were a very appropriate option for this concept, but for the first few levels (when it matters most), they're not considered to be very good, and I won't have access to studied combat until 4th to up my chance of landing them.

I also considered an unarmed build (Irori is my god, after all) with snake/kirin style for defense/support, potentially with a reach weapon. My problem was that it was feat intensive, and I was unsure how the rules work when it comes to threatening with reach and unarmed strikes in society play. I don't want to be -that- guy, bringing sketchy characters to the table.

--Where you come in--
Thanks for sticking with me. My question is, what options do I have given the many confines I've put on myself? Bonus points for ideas with lots of flavour. My book list for reference (I can only make use of what I have, though fantastic ideas I'd be willing to acquire books for):
APG
ACG
OA
OO
OR
UC
ISG
WMH

So with the release of the Weapon Masters Handbook, I am beyond excited for what these feats allow fighters to do, but I'm struggling somewhat with the implementation. For the feats (Cut from the Air and Smash from the air), you need power attack, but a high dexterity will also behoove you so that you can take advantage of the feat multiple times in a round. I'm also enamoured with the Spellcut feat and the advanced weapon talent Weapon Sacrifice. I've played with the idea of dps with 2 handed to abuse power attack, a reach weapon AoO build to make use of combat reflexes, and a shield to make it more of a tank/control fighter. The stat spread required, splitting so much between Strength and Dex, is also problematic. So what interesting feat/archetype/weapon combinations have you guys come up with to make use of these new feats and abilities?

Hmm, I definitely appreciate the advice so far! The build paths are a little more clear to me now. I personally saw him fighting alongside his Inevitable because, again, it's the sign that his crusade has been consummated by law itself. But I'm sort of struggling as for the actual build of both myself and my Eidolon. I've discounted ranged, so it's between melee Summoner and combat Eidolon or Summon Summoner and Roguelike Eidolon. The second build doesn't match my concept quite as well but it sounds much more powerful.

I wanted to pick the skilled evolution for Knowledge (Local) and skill focus to make it the undisputed master of all laws, but how often would that come up in game? Also, what about traits for either build or other cool Eidolon/summon tricks?

No takers? Is the build too difficult to make useful?

Oh, I was also considering the Deific or Celestial Obedience feats, taking Abadar for the former, or Damerrich for the latter, but is it worth it to bother with these or do summoners have more pressing matters to attend to?

Warning: Back story below. If you want to skip to how you can help, jump on down to the second paragraph.
So the deal is I want to make a lawful neutral summoner who's lived his life as a cog in the machine and is tired of witnessing corruption and being unable to do anything about it legally. He has always been obsessed with Axis, which he sees as the model that mortals should strive for, and after many years of research uncovers the method of creating an Inevitable, as the Axiomites. He believes that as long as this Inevitable continues to follow him in his crusade, he is serving something greater than mortal law. His jurisdiction is everywhere he can manage to keep the peace out of sheer fear of his retribution. Modelling himself after his creation, he will not rest, unfalteringly rooting out criminals and anarchists wherever they hide and bringing them to absolute justice.

I am building a Human Unchained Summoner with the Unwavering Conduit Archtype, and choosing Inevitable as my eidolon's subtype. I imagine most of you optimizers are shaking your heads right now, as Unwavering Conduit causes all kinds of problems regarding evolutions and Inevitable is generally considered the worst subtype. However, the reason I included the back story is because I'm doing this for flavour, not crunch, so I'm not budging on any of the above.

However, I don't want to completely waste space at the table either, so what I'm asking for is what I can do well with the above components. Should I build to wade into combat alongside my eidolon or focus more on ranged support? I've already taken Spell Focus (Conjuration) and Augment Summoning, and as I understand Unwavering Conduit allows me a more fixed number of monsters when I summon below max level.

What about other feats/traits/spells/tactics? I was considering something like the Law Enforcer Trait if my GM will allow me to take it, but again that's more for flavour than anything. What I need from you guys are options so good for this build that I should be willing to sacrifice for the crunch. Thanks in advance!

Any chance we can get a little spoiler fest going on in here again soon? I'm crazy excited for this announcement. As a fan of aberrations and the Dark Tapestry, will this AP or Horror Adventures give us more options for characters who want to ally with or gain power from these otherworldly beings? I know thematically they are supposed to be beyond mortal reckoning, but terrestrial aberrations at the very least should be something we can work with. The Aberrant bloodlines, Void domains, and Dark Tapestry mysteries are fantastic, but I'm left wanting more. I've always found it disappointing that we can summon devils, even demons, but there's not a lot that can be done with aberrations, my favourite creature type. Let's put their ability to unmake reality to use unmaking the reality of our enemies!

(As an aside, I love the flavour of all thing Lawful as well, but that's even worse off as real options go. Even the Unchained Summoner's Inevitable Eidolon didn't receive a single unique evolution and is considered far and away the weakest choice, much to my dismay. But I digress.)

Regardless. I'm sure this will be an AP to remember, so thanks for all the hard work!

We plan on having me (the PC) design two characters. She (the DM) will create the other two. We haven't decided whether I'll control just my character or two. So not entirely solo, but those remain good considerations, thank you.

Good advice so far, looks like we should avoid Shattered Star. Anyone else able to share?

Ah, I meant to say I'm currently also DMing a group using the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition with her in it, so that one isn't really on the table.

So I've been running a homebrew solo campaign for my fiance (I just created a few npcs she could recruit along the way to form her party) and now she wants to do the same for me. But she's a lot newer to the rules than I am and wants to use something prewritten as a base. We were thinking of going with an adventure path so she wouldn't run out of material, and we were looking at Second Darkness because she likes Drow until we realized it was 3.5 as conversion is pretty much out of the question for her.

So with all that out of the way, I wanted to ask you guys which path (or even module combo) would be the best blend of fun and simplicity for a new DM? (Preferably one of the newer releases because the older ones are out of print, though we're not adverse to using PDFs if need be.) Thanks in advance!

I've got a number of characters I'd love to play, any one of which should fit into a prospective GM's campaign. I'm very excited to play and will be very active. Looking specifically for campaigns starting at level 1. Just pm me if you're looking for a player and I can let you know what I have!

I am definitely interested!

I have sent you an e-mail with my character, Murdoch Williams.