TheGentlemanDM's page

To clarify, this would technically be a boost for all the other classes, but not necessarily an unbalancing one.

Pathfinder is a melee meta, while Starfinder is a ranged meta. As such, ranged damage is fairly mediocre in Pathfinder compared to melee damage (only catching up if you consider needing multiple actions to close distance), while in Starfinder ranged damage should be closer to melee damage in output (with a greater emphasis on cover and avoiding getting shot).

The issue is that Pathfinder ranged classes are built for much lower DPR than the Operative is, due to the assumptions of the system. That wouldn't be a problem, except that the classes are meant to be playable in either system.

This means you need a) a way to increase damage output for Pathfinder classes in Starfinder and b) a way to turn off some of the Operative's damage when it goes back in time.

The solution is to make Aim a generically available action for tech guns - this means that all characters in Starfinder are able to put out good ranged damage, while the same characters using archaic weapons in Pathfinder are putting out an appropriate amount of damage for that meta.

So far, there has been some concern about cross-compatibility between the Operative and older martial classes.

While the Operative's balance in the Starfinder ranged meta doesn't seem to be a problem, the team has stated that being able to bring Pathfinder classes forward and send Starfinder classes back is a goal of the two systems, and the Operative as a fusion of Fighter accuracy, Rogue precision, and Gunslinger action compression means it renders those classes somewhat redundant.

R0sshk on reddit has proposed an answer, and I think it serves well.

Aim becomes a standard action available to anyone using a non-AOE tech weapon, which provides extra damage scaling based upon the level of the weapon. A related option is to make Aim a trait that weapons can get that enables the use of the action.

Starfinder classes can then get abilities that can interact with Aim, including action compression, die size increases, etc, with the Operative getting the bulk of the benefits.

This means that all ranged characters in Starfinder can be in a comparable spot for targeted ranged damage. Envoys and Soldiers can benefit from the action, as can Fighters, Gunslingers, and Rangers who are being played forward.

Likewise, an Operative sent back into Pathfinder functions mostly like a smoother gunslinger - using easy reload efficiency and Fighter accuracy - without the absurd damage potential they bring to the table.

I'd make it so that an Operative can apply the Aim action to *any* ranged weapon, but they only gain +1 precision damage per weapon die instead of +1d4. This means that they still get to use their primary class feature with old weapons, just to a degree that is balanced with Pathfinder.

Thoughts?

The familiar ability.

Doesn't work.

Both improve by one step from the roll.

So if you roll a failure, both get boosted to a success, but no further.

For the curious, I did take a pass at what a Mythic Plus could look like here.

This comes with the obvious disclaimer that a) this is a draft idea and b) is aware that it will result in less balanced gameplay. It's Mythic. We expected balance to get wonky.

It uses Mythic archetypes that grant floating proficiency increases. Each archetype prioritises certain proficiency boosts, with everything getting boosted at least once, and particular things getting boosted twice (or a permanent +2 status bonus if already boosted from Legendary -> Mythic -> beyond).

For example, the Mystic Pathway grants its first boost to spellcasting proficiencies and class DC. At third level, you gain a floating proficiency boost, meaning a Wizard would go from Trained to Expert. At 7th level, when they natural go to Expert, that floating boost would put them at Master spellcasting.

It solves the issue that you'd need a bit more bulk (through extra HP) as part of being treated as a higher level, and also solves the incapacitation problem that casters would have.

It's not perfect, but the end result produces a character that is around 23rd level in power.

The only issue left is that while everything else (HP, saves, and accuracy) scales with attribute boosts, AC is capped by armour DEX caps, meaning that AC scales worse than everything else in the long run.

True, forgot to think of that.

Though 1 level 1 feat might not work since Exemplars don't get a level 1 feat

Which is something that I overlooked.

It's weird to have a martial class without one.

There's two approaches, and it gets tricky because you have two largely opposing camps in terms of what they want Mythic to be.

Option 1 is that Mythic increases narrative power through abilities that increase your ability to interact with the world. You can gain followers, shape nations, and parley with gods. The fundamental math of the system is untouched and the balance remains.

Option 2 is that Mythic (as it did in 1st Edition) increases mechanical power. You'd have Mythic archetypes that unlock proficiency increases at certain points which would stack with those from your class - which eventually scales up to the Mythic (Lvl +10) proficiency at higher levels.

The math around which proficiencies get increased would need to be carefully calculated, but the end result could be PCs with an effective power of around level 21.5.

As much as some people don't like this, there's no denying that there is a sizeable contingent of players who really want for their characters to have the numbers to back up their narrative position.

The thing is, I believe you could appease both camps by making the numerical increases an optional addendum - a "Mythic Plus", so to speak.

You'd have your Mythic Archetypes with your Mythic Feats that have these grand world-shaping abilities, and then on a subsequent page you could flesh out how each archetype boosts your proficiencies if your table actually want to play with the higher power level and accepts that the balance will get a bit wonky.

All of these proposed solutions would fix the issue - we just need one of them implemented:

A) Have passive effects from your Ikons:
Include a Body Ikon that grants AC with a DEX cap while unarmoured.
Include a Worn Ikon that grants scaling medium armour proficiency.

B) Have a 1st level initial epithet that determines your defensive choice:
Bronze Skinned - AC bonus with a DEX cap while unarmoured
Nimble - +2 circumstance bonus to Reflex while wearing light armour
Adamant - scaling medium proficiency, and armour spec upon reaching Expert

C) Have a 1st level feat that provides AC bonus with a DEX cap while unarmoured.

The exact value of the AC bonus is debatable. If it's +2 AC/+3 DEX cap, it's in line with existing unarmoured options like Scales of the Dragon and Animal Skin. Unfortunately, it's still in line with light armour, and thus doesn't solve the problem.

+3 AC/+2 DEX cap puts it in line with STR Eidolons and medium armour, which seems appropriate for the 'demigod' class. It means STR characters still need 14 DEX, but starting at 12 and increasing one step at 5th is acceptable for them.

I honestly hope the "thief" rogue loses dex-to-damage in the remaster. I don't think it's coming, but this is an ability (IMO) nobody should have.

While there's a purity to this, I'd earnestly argue in the other direction:

DEX to damage should have been a Swashbuckler feature as well.

Okay... I'll approach this from a few breakpoints to cover the prospect of considering a different number of classes in the Player Core.

Each class also gets a class archetype in Core 2 that modifies their gameplay to some degree and provides those niches that players have been clamoring for.

Core Eight

FIGHTER. The core martial. PF2e absolutely nailed Fighters, and I can't see them not being a flagship class moving forward. Unique feature is still their accuracy and offensive reactions.

Archetype: Brawler. Enables all non-archery Fighter feats to work with unarmed strikes. Trades armour for unarmed defense bonuses.

ROGUE. The archetypical skill monkey and light martial. Unique feature is still extra skills and sneak attack.

Archetype: Ninja. Dials back on skills a bit and adds alchemy or spellcraft to supplement sneaky abilities.

WIZARD. The core arcane caster, and quad-slot specialist. Prepared Intelligence. Standard + school slots, plus school abilities and unique metamagics.

Archetype: Runelord. Has seven sins for their schools.

CLERIC. The core divine caster, and healer/anti-profane specialist. Prepared Wisdom. Standard slots, plus channel font and divine domains.

Archetype: Warpriest. Converts the class into a wave-caster martial.

DRUID. The core primal caster, and 'backup frontliner' specialist. Prepared Wisdom. Standard slots, plus choice of wildshape or companion or focus spellcasting options.

Archetype: Shifter. Converts the class into a wave-caster martial, provides huge bonuses for wild shaping.

PSYCHIC. The core occult caster, and the cantrip specialist. Spontaneous Intelligence or Charisma. Ampable cantrips. We remove Unleash to bring them up to a standard number of slots for the core book, since they're an "introductory" class now.

Archetype: Unbound Psychic. Drops back to 2 slots and returns Unleash Psyche as the advanced blaster version of the class.

SHAMAN. The core pick-a-list caster. Spontaneous Wisdom. Reduced repertoire, with spirit attunements adding onto the repertoire and providing different focus spells and abilities.

Archetype: Medium. Leans even further into the flexibility of the class by making spirit attunements the bulk of the power budget.

VANGUARD. The tank/support martial. Emphasizes team support and defensive options. Subclasses include divine Paladins, oathsworn knights and cavaliers, and tactical Warlords.

Archetype: Vagrant. Forgoes the oath in exchange of more selfish abilities.

Nine and Ten

MONK. The unarmed and unarmoured martial specialist. Fast and bulky; makes great use of the action economy.

Archetype: Mystic. Lowers speed. Leans more heavily into ki powers and mystical abilities to debuff and support.

ALCHEMIST. The core alchemical character. A light martial with prepared and spontaneous alchemical items for a lot of tactical and support options.

Archetype: Vivisectionist (we'll find a better name). Reduces alchemical supply and options in exchange for limited sneak attack.

Eleven and Twelve

BARBARIAN. The ultra-heavy martial. Built like and hits like a truck.

Archetype: Bloodrager. Provides a little spellcasting while raging.

RANGER. The offensive tactical martial. While the Vanguard supports allies, the Ranger focuses down a specific target.

Archetype: Warden. Gets heavy armour and shields. Trades off damage in favour of protecting foes against a specific foe.

Lucky Thirteen

Considering the current lineup, there's a lack of Charisma classes, there's no gish, and the spellcasters are currently balanced by tradition. As such...

SUMMONER. Provides a unique playstyle for those wanting a half-martial, half-caster, and serves as a pet class, and another pick-a-list caster as well.

Archetype: Synthesist Summoner. Converts the class from the pet class into a full gish.

Personally, I'd guess the Holy rune becomes a lower level rune with just the effect of "your weapon's damage is Holy", seeing it's just a trait now instead of its own type. Then it'll still trigger the weaknesses but not adding the extra damage.

Alternatively, I could see it still doing extra damage, just that the extra damage is Holy spirit damage (though then it'd probably need a slight price increase). Could even do both of them!

That would be my guess.

A 'Sanctified Rune' that deals spirit damage and enables sanctification.

Even then, you can specialize in only one element, you just need a secondary damage type in case you run into something resistant or immune. This is very important for fire, as other elements already offer bludgeoning, piercing or slashing.

Fire can bludgeon as "hard light", and either pierce or slash like a blowtorch... if it can make sense.

You won't have any problems with this.

There's two first level feats that can solve the issue.

One adds a versatile element choice for your blasts (for fire, that's cold), and the other enables you to treat your blasts as B/P/S and add weapon traits to them.

Kineticists also get a feature at 3rd level that enables them to bypass enemy resistances and immunities to their element, provided that the creature has that elemental trait. So a pyrokineticist can burn a fire elemental to death, albeit needing a bit of luck and patience in order to succeed.

Is there a way for a PC (any class) to get an attack that has both the Fire and Cold traits ?

Alternately, a way to get 2 attacks within a single round, one with Fire trait and the other with the Cold trait, ideally while doing similar amounts of damage ?

At low levels if possible.

Fire Kineticists can take the Versatile blasts feat at 1st level to have the option for either damage type on their kinetic blast.

As noted, you can also go fire/water dual gate, but the advantage of this particular choice is that you can benefit from the impulse junction from 1st level which increases your die size when using the two-action blasts and impulses.

Very nice. Plus it gets item bonuses to hit.

Two more pertinent questions, then I need sleep.

1. When do those item bonuses come online?

2. And, in your opinion, what is the most interesting dual-element impulse feat?

What levels do the Kineticist's proficiencies for their Class DC go up?

Is it standard caster progression (1/7/15/19), or a martial variant (1/5/13/19), or something else entirely?

There's a few builds that are comparable to Cleric as healers.

Sorcerers have the excess supply of slots to facilitate a heal spam at higher levels. Divine Sorcerers (and Angelic specifically) can excel in such a role.

Life Oracles are in a similar position. They require a more deft hand with curse management, but are respectably bulky and have explosive burst healing.

Any caster getting Lay on Hands via Blessed One archetype can supplement healing. If you're a CHA-based Divine caster already, then the Mercies start looking tempting, enabling you to attempt counteracts on basically everything at higher levels.

For non-magical approaches, Forensic Medicine Investigators coupled with the Medic Archetype are the best users of Battle Medicine, getting plentiful uses with large bonuses.

With the recent errata, Chirugeon Alchemists can also play an effective healbot (and preserve their own actions by dispensing supplies before fights).

What I'd like to see from a Shaman:

- Wisdom based spellcasting, full slots, spontaneous casting.

- Primary subclass determines the flavour of your spirit communion and your spell list - animal/wild spirits for Primal, Ancestor spirits/ghosts for Occult, and outsiders? for Divine.

- A selection of spirits that serve as a toolbox that Shamans commune with depending on situation. Each spirit comes with particular focus spells and adds specific spells to their repertoire while attuned.

- Communion takes 10 minutes, meaning that Shamans have exceptional strategic flexibility, and limited tactical flexibility.

- Shamans start with three choices of spirit and add more at higher levels/can unlock them with feats.

My oldest stupid build, the Kamehameha Cleric, utilizes this principle: Ki Blast is much better for a Cloistered Cleric than for a Monk.

The best cantrip to pick up depends on what you already have.

For most of them, message is very strong when amped at 4+; getting the Barbarian, Rogue, or Fighter to just wallop something is very good. Guidance should also not be overlooked; preventing crit-fails is a nice tool to have in your pocket.

For Infinite Eye, Telekinetic Projectile is very good. They have true strike and organsight as locked in spells and no other damaging psi cantrips.

For Silent Whisper, telekinetic rend might be worth considering. They have good single-target damage and excellent support already, so having an option for getting AOE damage on non-Will save means their bases are well covered.

With the core line finished, there won't be a fourth Bestiary.

We can still expect more creatures in the themed books, though.

For example, Book of the Dead included an abundance of undead beasties.

Between the divine-esque support with the Oracle and the Book of the Dead, Arcane support with the Magus and SoM, Occult support with the Psychic in the Dark Archives, and mundane/alchemical/technological support in Guns and Gears, we're well due for Primal to get some love.

I'll be very surprised if neither playtest class uses Primal casting to some degree.

In regards to Unleashing Psyche, I feel like the best way to make use of the feature is for finishing fights. You're still an Occult caster, just one with less fuel in the tank, and getting your key buffs and debuffs onto the field ASAP is still going to be the priority.

After you've spent the necessary slots to swing the math and have the fight proceeding favourably, then you Unleash and start closing the fight out with your heightened damage.

This means you're risking as little as possible on the stupefy. Unleashing as early as possible is a trap, since all it does is boost your damage on your less important spells; it doesn't make foes more likely to fail the saves you need them to fail.

Winners for Round 2 and art for Round 1 is up!

Congratulations to our 9 winners from 75 qualifying entries!

We'll be back in a few weeks for Round 3.

[url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WDZBFJtiCc3CiFUwaed-A4kqiTi2JCHmb0jf65rH3oY/edit#]A full guide to all Paizo APs with ratings can be found here[url/].

In general, Abomination Vaults and Strength of Thousands get highly rated, as does Age of Ashes (albeit with some difficulty concerns).

I heard that they're getting unique actions that can only be used while in a Psyche.

Infinite Eye gets something about granting precision damage to allied attacks.

Another subclass gets a 1-action concealment, which is pretty nice for a third action on a fragile caster.

They also mentioned that granted cantrips will be a little bit better even without amping- for example, Distant Grasp psychic's mage hand gets stronger all the time.

The first round showcased 33 entries.

The second round is past 50 and still has a few days left.

It's kind of nuts.

Yeah, I expect, but do not know, that whenever PF3 happens it will look a lot more like PF2 than PF2 looks like PF1. The core engine is just a lot sturdier and more modular so, based on what I'm currently seeing in sales and customer data, I don't think we'd throw that away when it's been so successful. There's definitely a couple places where modifications that are too intensive for errata fixes could be made that would make the experience even smoother and more enjoyable. For example, reducing proficiency bumps down to +1 per tier would require completely redesigning the monster math but would make warpriests better able to accommodate the desire for a divine striker who still has full casting, and it would make fighters feel less dominant among martials without actually changing many other paradigms. That's a change that requires a larger community who've really come to appreciate the potency of a +1 in a system where the math is tight and accurate, which we just didn't have coming from PF1.

Going back to the +1 differences in proficiency could be interesting, though I think you might need at least another proficiency rank to get an adequate distinction between casters and martials where it matters.

Untrained, Trained, Adept, Expert, Master, Legendary is 5 degrees, which seems the minimum for this? Hmm...

Core Martial:
Weapon Proficiencies: Adept to Master (Fighter = Expert to Legendary)
Defense Proficiencies: Trained to Master (Monks, Champions Adept to Legend)
Strong Save: Adept to Master/Legendary
Medium Save: Adept to Master
Weak Save: Trained to Adept
Casting/Class DC: Trained to Master

Core Caster
Weapon Proficiencies: Trained to Adept
Defense Proficiencies: Trained to Adept
Strong Save: Adept to Master/Legendary
Medium Save: Trained to Expert
Weak Save: Trained to Adept
Casting DC: Adept to Legendary

Hybrids
Weapon Proficiencies: Trained to Expert
Defense Proficiencies: Trained to Expert
Strong Save: Adept to Master
Medium Save: Adept to Expert
Weak Save: Trained to Adept
Casting DC: Trained to Master

Any Gunslinger build that wants to be using reactions wants a repeating weapon with reload 0 so they actually have shots available for reactions. Capacity weapons do not solve the action economy issue.

The repeating crossbow (1d8 repeating) is the best option for repeating weapons. Of course, it's an advanced weapon that needs a feat to use properly, and of course it's still just worse than than the martial longbow.

The only other options for repeaters are a d6 one handed crossbow (which is also advanced), or a d4 agile simple weapon.

A martial d6 repeating firearm with another trait fits perfectly into the power curve and would fill a desperately needed niche. It couldn't be a d8 base, but d6 agile, or d6 with fatal d8 would be fine.

One question arises from this: when forging a connection as a Thaumaturge, what's actually forming the basis for the check?

A class DC-10 check? Or a CHA-based skill check?

The difference between these two is very significant. The former likely caps out at Master with no bonuses, while the latter can hit legendary (and faster) and get item bonuses (and potentially status bonuses) as well, representing at least a 4 or 5 point difference in modifier.

At this point, another Cleric Doctrine isn't realistically going to happen without a class archetype that comes with it.

The minimum stuff that Doctrine has to cover is both too much and not enough to play around with it.

At minimum it has to:

- provide expert Fortitude
- provide expert weapon proficiency
- provide expert and master casting proficiency

and do these at reasonable levels.

You can't really mess around with Reflex saves because that's a core class feature. You can't really give it Master weapons and casting because then it's just better than a Warpriest.

The only way to play around with the balance of it requires a Class Archetype to start taking away some class features so you can rebuild from scratch.

Now that I've looked at the Rhoka sword, it's actually not terrible as an Advanced Weapon. It has slightly less two-hand base damage than a bastard Sword, but gains Deadly d8. Having a lower attack bonus will make that Deadly happen less often.

If anything, the Katana might be too good for it's stats. It is Uncommon, so you need a way to gain access, but 2H d10 plus deadly d8 is a pretty good combo.

The katana is just fine.

As a one handed weapon, d6 with deadly d8, it's not really better than just having a d8 weapon.

As a two handed weapon, d10 with deadly d8 is notably worse than scythes and the greatpick, and not really better than a d12 weapon.

As a hybrid weapon, it's competing with the bastard sword on both sides.

The flexibility is nice, but the katana doesn't really excel in any niche as a weapon.

The way that Unstable ended up getting integrated, with a greater and a lower state, might be worth considering.

What if the Psychic's psi cantrips were always boosted? And then you could spend focus points to properly amp things up.

For example: telekinetic projectile scales at a d6 per spell level. As a psi cantrip, it would scale at a d8 per spell level. When amped, it could climb to a d12.

In the short term, it's a ranged greatsword when amped. In the long term, it's an attacking spell that scaled a bit worse than 2d6. Neither of these things are broken.

Having this distinction between psi cantrips always being better, and the amped cantrips being at least as good as focus spells, would help bring the class up a bit.

It also enables you to bring up the base of certain spells to make them a viable expenditure of actions *cough* daze *cough* without needing to amp them.

Finally, it also means that if you're using a utility amp, your psi cantrips are still competitive in terms of damage or other effects.

I know the conversation moved on from this point, but I thought I'd point out that another avenue for divine DCs with Dragon Disciple could potentially be to take the Wyrmblessed sorcerer bloodline.

Mostly a note for people whose GM's require the sorc bloodline and DD spell profs to match. I know Dragon Disciple doesn't specifically call out Wyrmblessed as working with the archetype, well it was printed first, and the access requirement seems pretty met to me.

Wyrmblessed explicitly works as the Access requirement for Dragon Disciple.

"Because the wyrmblessed and draconic bloodlines have similar origins, they count the same as each other for the purposes of prerequisites and access requirements."

That is correct.

They explicitly have to call it out in the Inventor, who have two ways to increase die size (at 1st and 15th levels, respectively).

I also like this combo the other direction; Investigator/Gunslinger.

Get Quick Draw, use a finesse weapon like a shortsword as your primary tool, and carry a dueling pistol (it's the largest fatal die on a one-hnaded weapon).

When the dice align, quick draw the pistol and dome some poor fool for a huge pile of damage.

In general, it's not an aesthetic that appeals much to me.

However, I've played with a lot of people who would go utterly ga-ga for them, and I'm glad that they exist.

Rage has a downside, but

a) the upsides significantly outweigh the downsides, and

b) the class chassis is built to cope with the downside.

At the moment, the downsides for Psyche are often too severe to warrant the cost.

There's the feat for an extra initial innovation at 8th.

An extra breakthrough innovation as a 16th level feat is probably fair.

It's definitely better for Construct and Armour innovations; weapon innovations tend to lean you into certain strategies with their added traits, while Construct and Armour upgrades are more generically useful.

This feels rather like the Oracle's curse. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but we'd want to make sure there's a clear distinction.

Having certain features and feats that grow more powerful as your psyche unleashes is new. The idea that all of your powers come fully online in moments of stress (or whatever the triggers are) is something I like.

It's definitely an interesting path to explore.

TheGentlemanDM's playtests; will cover levels 2, 8, 14 and 20.

There's no limit on use and it doesn't say you can't apply both. An opponent would need to use the interact actions separately.

Tamper can be really good, but it is also very situational. Depending on your campaign, most foes won't use weapons, and very few will actually wear armour. For the foes that are susceptible to it, a large number of them will have Attack of Opportunity to punish the tampering.

Major Strengths of the Inventor:

- the Unstable actions give them some decent burst (for example, while the area isn't a lot, Explode scales better than any AOE focus spell)

- their innovation gives them either extra resistances and defenses, an uncommonly strong and durable companion, or a weapon that effectively scales past what an advanced weapon can do

Minor Strengths of the Inventor

- This is the only class since the CRB to have Shield Block built in

- Reconfigure enables them to retrain into specific niches with very little downtime

- Having the Inventor feat and auto-scaling crafting means they never have to worry about availability

+1 to everything at mature.

+2 to DEX, +1 to everything at Nimble, and gains expert defense.

+1 to DEX, +2 INT at specialized, and can get more on top of that.

A Nimble companion ends up with better accuracy and AC.

The construct basically competes by having a lot more HP and a bit more flat damage.

Anyone else suspicious that Constructs' ability modifiers increase by TWO when they become Incredible? (G&G page 33)

I think that must be typo...

It's strong, but needed in the long run. It means their accuracy and AC are within bounds that they can fight comfortably in the front lines.

And they're on the Inventor class, which is a martial class which doesn't quite match up to other martials in terms of attack accuracy or damage. So them being strong isn't a bad thing.

They start at +3 STR/DEX and trained (+5 to hit, +5 AC).
A martial character at that point is at +4 and trained (+6 to hit, +7 AC).

At 4th level, they can climb to +4, still trained (+6 to hit, +6 AC).
A martial character has +1 to hit from items and now has striking runes (+7 to AC, +7 AC). They're also about to jump ahead next level.

At 8th level, they can climb to +6, still trained (+8 to hit, +8 AC).
A martial character is still at +4 but is an expert in attacks, and has item bonuses (+9 to hit, +8 AC).

At 14th level, they climb to +7, and become Experts in attacks and AC (+11 to hit, +11 AC.
At this point, a martial is at +5, a master in attacks with +2 weapons, and at least an expert in defense with +2 potency (+13 to hit, +11 AC).

As martial characters pull further ahead with +3 weapons and Apex items, the construct loses offensive presence, at which point its main benefit is utility and being quite bulky for a companion.

For most characters, no.

If gunslingers could get a feat that enabled them to change modes as a free action once per turn, they'd be plenty viable.

As is, the main selling point is the 8th level feat Stab and Blast, which sequences a melee strike directly into a firearm strike, bypassing the need to switch.

Tying my antithetical adaptations to Essence is really interesting. I like that.

I don't think that the implements are going to fit well with Essences, though.

This isn't at 5th, but at 13th.

You're already an expert, and have been since 5th level.

It explicitly makes Drifters and Vanguards worse, since RAW they're stuck at expert for their melee strikes.

Obviously the numbers and exact abilities in my proposal aren't inherently perfect; I just stayed with the current playtest balance where it seemed useful. I do like the idea of keeping a hard hitting option, but it should very much be opt-in, with "smart" options as the core. The main things I wanted to get out were

1: solutions to the core mechanical issues with FF/EA (skill proficiency demands, recall knowledge penalties, action economy demands, etc)

2: solutions to the core thematic issues that arise from FF/EA (limited ways to link your Esoteric Antithesis to a specialised mechanic, few mechanics enabling one to feel like an actual specialist, being worse against the rare and weird creatures that thematically you should be best against, only feeling like a dumb beatstick and not having 'smart' debuffing options)

I do like and agree with Ediwir's proposal that we move a bit of the power budget into the implements and increase their connection to EA, though I don't have any ideas on that yet beyond the Chalice, Wand and Lanturn wanting a bit more oomph to make them appealing next to the Weapon and Amulet.

I was one of Ediwir's playtesters, and the one responsible for the barbarian comment, so I'd like to throw in my own ideas and feedback here.

It's increasingly obvious that having a core feature that runs on Recall Knowledge runs into a lot of issues as a character develops. Needing to keep up with four-to-six different skills, suffering penalties for having to repeatedly use the ability against the same type of enemy, and suffering penalties against rarer enemies are all problems.

I also agree with Ediwir's thesis that the class needs to do more interesting things than just hit really hard. That said, one of the limitations of his proposal is that it doesn't solve the core issue of needing to develop all the knowledge skills/the rarity issues.

So, here's my solutions.

FIND FLAWS [action]
You determine a creature’s weaknesses, whether a literal weakness or a metaphysical one. Recall Knowledge about a creature, using your Charisma modifier instead of the usual ability modifier for the skill you’re using to Recall Knowledge. You ignore all penalties to the DC based upon the rarity of the creature.
The creature must be either one you can see or one you’re specifically Investigating in advance during exploration. The result depends on your Recall Knowledge check, which has the following additional effects as well as the usual effects of Recall Knowledge:
Critical Success You learn all of the creature’s resistances, weaknesses, and immunities. If you would have learned any of them already from Recall Knowledge, you learn different information instead. You can then use Esoteric Antithesis without spending an additional action, and can use Esoteric Antithesis against the same type of creatures without needing to Find Flaws again. This benefit lasts until your next daily preparations.
Success As a critical success, but you only learn the creature's highest weakness in addition to what you would have learned from Recalling Knowledge.
Failure You couldn’t quite figure it out, so you decide to invoke a wide range of superstitions and narrow it down from there. You may use Esoteric Antithesis against your target and the same type of creatures without needing to Find Flaws again. This benefit lasts until your next daily preparations.

Removes the critical failure clause, removes the penalties for rarity, and negates the need for more knowledge checks.

ESOTERIC ANTITHESIS [action]
Requirements You can take this action only you have used Find Flaws against your target or the same type of creature since your last daily preparations.
You search through your esoterica to find the right trinket that will apply a weakness to your attacks against the creature you Found Flaws in. You Interact to apply specific esoterica to yourself and your weapons; you can perform this Interact action with the hand holding your implement. Your unarmed and weapon Strikes against the creature become magical if they weren’t already, and you cause them to apply one of the creature’s weaknesses even if they don’t deal the correct type of damage. If the creature has a resistance to physical damage that can be bypassed by a particular type of metal or alignment trait, your strikes count as having that metal or trait. If you used a knowledge skill for which you have an Antithetical Adaptation, you may also apply one of those effects. This effect lasts until you use Esoteric Antithesis again.

Updated the wording such that you can chain it on the same type of creature, updated it so you can hit pseudo-weaknesses in terms of bypassing resistances, and removed the ability to add custom weaknesses.

What is an Antithetical Adaptation? That's the last piece of the puzzle, and it comes from the actual subclasses.

Each Thaumaturge chooses an Esoteric Emphasis, which specializes them in a particular tradition knowledge skill, and also gives them a unique Antithetical Adaption that serves as their way of exploiting their foes' weaknesses.

ESOTERIC EMPHASIS
While a thaumaturge draws upon a broad range of understandings and experiences, each of them by interest or fate is inevitably drawn to a particular area of expertise. Choose one of the following Emphases.

Arcane Emphasis
Your understanding of the world is ordered, and you fundamentally recognise the truth that even the most complicated of systems follow basic rules at the smallest levels of detail. You gain the Vulnerability Antithetical Adaptation, enabling you to use your esoterica to disrupt and destroy the fundamental makeup of your targets. You can use Arcana to Recall Knowledge about any creature that you encounter. If you normally could not use Arcana to Recall Knowledge about that creature, you take a -2 circumstance penalty to the check. At 3rd level, your proficiency in Arcana increases to Expert. At 7th level, your proficiency in Arcana increases to Master, and at 15th level it increases to Legendary.

Vulnerability Antithetical Adaptation
When you use the Arcana skill to Find Flaws, you may apply this Antithetical Adaptation on your Esoteric Antithesis against those creatures. If the creature does not already have a weakness, you grant it a custom weakness equal to 2 + half your level that only you can trigger. If the creature does already have a weakness, increase its weakness against your strikes by an amount equal to 2 + half your level.

Divine Emphasis
Your understanding of the world recognises the lingering touch of the divine and the outer planes on all things from fundamental creation. You gain the Anathematic Antithetical Adaptation, enabling you to use your esoterica to cause fate itself to reject your targets. You can use Religion to Recall Knowledge about any creature that you encounter. If you normally could not use Religion to Recall Knowledge about that creature, you take a -2 circumstance penalty to the check. At 3rd level, your proficiency in Religion increases to Expert. At 7th level, your proficiency in Religion increases to Master, and at 15th level it increases to Legendary.

Anathematic Antithetical Adaptation
When you use the Religion skill to Find Flaws, you may apply this Antithetical Adaptation on your Esoteric Antithesis against those creatures. When you strike a creature, it becomes sickened 1 until your next turn. If that creature has a weakness and you trigger it with your strikes, it becomes sickened 2 instead.

Occult Emphasis
Your understanding of the world is complicated, and your recognise that there are many different ways of thinking about the same things, and that this flexibility in thinking enables you to consider myriad possibilities others can't. You gain the Mindful Antithetical Adaptation, enabling you to use your esoterica to enhance your mental and tactical faculties against your targets. You can use Occultism to Recall Knowledge about any creature that you encounter. If you normally could not use Occultism to Recall Knowledge about that creature, you take a -2 circumstance penalty to the check. At 3rd level, your proficiency in Occultism increases to Expert. At 7th level, your proficiency in Occultism increases to Master, and at 15th level it increases to Legendary.

Mindful Antithetical Adaptation
When you use the Occultism skill to Find Flaws, you may apply the this Antithetical Adaptation on your Esoteric Antithesis against those creatures. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Deception, Intimidation, Survival, and Stealth checks directed at or related to the target, and a +1 circumstance bonus to AC and saving throws against the targets attacks, spells and abilities. These bonuses increase to +3 if you're a Master in the associated skill, or +4 if you're legendary. If that creature has a weakness and you trigger it with your strikes, the circumstance bonus to AC increases to +2 until your next turn.

Primal Emphasis
Your understanding of the world recognises the fundamental animalistic instincts underlying much behaviour, and the pack instincts needed to exploit this underlying simplicity. You gain the Instinctual Antithetical Adaptation, enabling you to use your esoterica to leave your foes cornered and vulnerable. You can use Nature to Recall Knowledge about any creature that you encounter. If you normally could not use Nature to Recall Knowledge about that creature, you take a -2 circumstance penalty to the check. At 3rd level, your proficiency in Nature increases to Expert. At 7th level, your proficiency in Nature increases to Master, and at 15th level it increases to Legendary.

Instinctual Antithetical Adaptation
When you use the Nature skill to Find Flaws, you may apply the this Antithetical Adaptation on your Esoteric Antithesis against those creatures. The creature is flat-footed to all of your strikes. If it would already be flat-footed to your attacks from another source, the circumstance penalty to its AC from being flat-footed increases to -3 instead. If that creature has a weakness and you trigger it from your strikes, it becomes flat-footed with the same penalties to all your allies until your next turn.

So what does all of this do? One, it helps Thaumaturges feel specialised and smart. Two, it means they're actually better at dealing with creatures who already have weaknesses, which compounds the first clause. Three, it solves the need for having all the knowledge skills. (I recommend including a class feature at 9th that removes the penalty for the Recall knowledge skill not aligning, a la Ranger's Master Monster Hunter.) Four, it gives them stuff to do that's not just 'hit harder'. Five, it opens up the class for even more of these Antithetical Adaptations as feats.

Just to give you an idea...

Crippling Antithetical Adaptation Feat 10
Prerequisites: expert in Nature
When you use the Nature skill to Find Flaws, you may apply the following Antithetical Adaptation against those creatures. When you strike a creature, it becomes clumsy 2 for a minute or until you use Esoteric Antithesis again. If that creature has a weakness and you trigger it with your strikes, it becomes clumsy 3 instead.

While this would be an easy pickup for a Primal Emphasis Thaumaturge, any thaumaturge could invest into Nature and pick this up if they wanted to, broadening their list of options for exploiting foes.

Maybe an just make it an actual focus spell? It's the kind of effect that's too powerful for an amp that can be freely accessed through a Psyche.

Empowered Mesmerization Focus 4
Uncommon, Enchantment, Metamagic, Psychic
Cast A (verbal)
You channel the strength of your mind to push a spell beyond its usual limits. If the next action you take is to Cast a Spell from your psychic spell slots that's an enchantment spell that targets one creature, the spell is treated as if it were up to 1 level higher, to a maximum of Empowered Mesmerization's spell level or 9th level, whichever is lower. This does not enable the spell to target more than one creature even if a higher level version of the spell could target multiple creatures.
Heighten 9th The spell is treated as if it were up to 2 levels higher instead of 1.