Waysteadroc's page

WatersLethe wrote:

In practice, Operatives being the skill characters means they dominate every minute of the game outside of combat. It's unsustainable. No one class is THE combat class, and Operative isn't far enough behind in combat to justify being the undisputed king of the rest of the game. In fact, they're stronger in combat than all casters, and freqently top out on damage contributions in combat simply because of how easy it is for them to get into the optimally effective position.

In my experience that is just not the case.

They have 16 class skills but it is unlikely that they get 16 skill points per level. Yes you can get there if you make an int based operative, but then you are lacking elsewhere ability wise.

Unless you spend feats to add class skills, they should not be dominating Diplomacy, Life Science, Mysticism, or Physical Science.

They do not trump the expertise die of the envoy in the envoy's selected skills.

They usually don't trump intelligence based skills compared to a technomancer (who will have his INT maxed out) or the wisdom based skills of a mystic (who will have his WIS maxed out).

Looking at the PCs of my 10th level group the Technomancer beats the operative out in every single INT skill and the Mystic beats out the operative in every single WIS skill.

The soldier is a superior combatant to the operative.

Yes it is true that at 7th level the operative almost always is in position to make a trick attack they are hitting about 25% to 30% less of the time than a solider (assuming same Dex).

I am not so sure that the operative is superior to a spell caster in combat due to the number of different things a caster can do to impede/cripple the enemy without actually causing damage.

. Exactly I agree with the idea that others posted of operatives edge applying to their specialization and init... maybe just maybe let the player pick one more skill per int bonus score...

I like your adjustments Peg'giz.

Honestly, I think if you ONLY changed operative's edge to apply to init and the specialization skill, most of the skill dominance would disappear. You could also add an exploit that allows them to expand the range of skills the edge applies to. Personally, I'd also consider removing the free skill focuses the class gets, as that seems like overkill.

Combat wise, operatives are overtuned between 5th and 9th level, dealing damage on par with solarians and soldiers while also laying out debuffs. OTOH, they fall behind massively when in the teens, getting better debuffs but doing much less damage relatively. So in my mind any combat change should be localized to the high single digits, if at all.

So operative finds the trap but hire a mechanic as a specialist in engineering etc to disarm it... you know make teamwork happen

I have a player who is running a gnome mechanic/scholar who’s focusing on being a medic. He is now level 8 and wants to find a Nuar merchant to make him a combined gun, although the argument floats around the idea of combining two analog weapons. He feels that combining two weapons that already use the same ammo and his combined weapon would function like a real world over under shotgun or a kaltek shotgun with one barreled choked and the other just smooth bore.

He wants to combine the cone shot of the scatter gun, with the breaching gun. His stated goal is as a medic/mechanic and gnome. He wants a shorter range defensive gun with optional use for engineering too. Yes both guns are one bulk but he doesn’t want to change guns... he wants to flip a switch between functions. He accepts the price rules and bulk sizes etc of Nuar weapons.

The question comes in as per what defines a technological item and also whether or not they would be available to non Nuar races. He points out that with engineering he could make a rail mount version of a shotgun to go under the breacher... so why not combine them. As there are real world versions of this type of weapon.

I am interested in other gms views about allowing it etc. personally I don’t see merging both weapons as game breaking as he can’t fire both damage types at the same time. The limited range of the weapon also doesn’t make it over powering, he accepts the bulk increase etc. and so far he hasn’t asked for or taken a single feet or anything that hasn’t been based on medic skills his alternative weapon is the needles piston he puts healing serums in to shoot teammates at range with and it is still the same first level weapon. I think at level 8 he wants to be able to be useful in combat or breaching things his low star score doesn’t allow him to do. His level stat increases were int/wis/dex/con

I guess you could say I am looking o find reasons to say no but based on more than just arguing it isn’t a technological item even if it is made with gears and springs etc.. but it really isn’t an over powering things.. he just gets the option of a single target or a cone shot.

Opinions please.??

Thanks for all the thoughts and views guys and gals. It is much appreciated

Waysteadroc wrote:

I think the player intended to forgo wearing normal armor in favor of installed parts that would part of day to day body. Ie always part of their body but no armor suits ever

You really can't get away with that for more than a few levels, and even then, only on backline characters.

Now, buying armor and reflavoring it as 'armor plating for their robot body' is a thing that can definitely be done.

As I understand what she has told me she was planning back line sro don’t have high hp and same with the technomancer class. After talking a while last night she said by going with augmented archetype her intention was to be a “fixer” robot with improved engineering and computer skills hence wanting the drone mods for the tool hands with the tool kits installed on them flight systems to repair starships and as vacuum has no negative effects on sro she can fly outside the ship to repair it etc. I have played pathfinder and other games with the lady and she has always had odd flavors to her toons but never been one to do it for over power reasons...

Her other idea she was debating if this wasn’t allowed... get this a female gnome solarian with gladiator theme with solar armor and bio augments for the light emitting* effects the skin and palm ones in particular. More blinding options. And she likes the various whips... something tells me she intends a barbarian motif or dominatrix lol

I wouldn’t call a gnome the first to be op as a melee lol

I think the player intended to forgo wearing normal armor in favor of installed parts that would part of day to day body. Ie always part of their body but no armor suits ever

Claxon wrote:

Honestly, as a GM I'd just tell all my players that they can flavor any augments as any version of magic, biotech, cybernetics, mechanical augment, etc because it has almost no mechanical impact.

I wouldn't... There's definitely a mechanical effect lol. Between manufacturer mods and special materials, there are pros and cons to any variety of augmentation. Plus biotech is 10% more expensive than cybernetic. And necrografts are 90% of the price of a retail biotech or cybernetic.

Don't get me wrong, the difference isn't huge or game breaking in my opinion, but it is there for mostly a reason lol.

I think part of it is a look they were aiming for not just the function.. I know they were also playing on hero forge to make a model. I expect part of it is they made a body they thought was really cool and there are between drone mods and other cybernetics or what not the ability to make the body legitimate if they got to use drone mods lol

A quick glance through the list, I'd disallow the improved armor mod, the speed mod, and the weapon mount mod.

Just about everything else can be recreated with currently existing armor upgrades or cybernetics, so I'd just point your player to those.

I don't know why your player wants a double flight mod over the much superior force soles, but... I'd probably require it to take two cybernetic slots, not only one. There are no ways for a PC to get perfect flight, even if perfect flight isn't that good in starfinder. You still need a swift action to hover, and that stops full actions.

As I understand it under the rules of drones a single flight system allows for flight but requires a landing. But a second flight system allows for continuous flight ie hover. And as the sro are allowed one system with with two implants under their racial description

As for other mods she said her thought was smaller tool arms for engineering and computers tool kits etc I think someone wants to make a self aware r2d2 or something like it

I appreciate all compliments and ideas

I'm pretty sure you can reproduce all of these abilities through equipment and cybernetics.

Elly’s Stated goal was wanting to stay totally in cybernetics and mechanical parts, and not get in to magitech or necrotech or organic parts.

Call it a robot that doesn’t want to become organic lol

Also his intention is to play a technomancer focusing on pistols and Magic’s etc that work with a pistoleer bent. Like the electroplating spell etc. and has stated he wanted the ability like drones to pic two flight systems as Sro can use two implants in one system.. he wants to hover as an sro

I would like everyone’s thoughts, gms mostly, on this concept brought up by a fellow player

As SRO are fully machines like drones but with free will and souls, why can’t SRO use the drone mod list for cybernetic enhancements.

Bought by levels same as drones, use up the appropriate cybernetic slots... spines for cargo racks, extra limbs on arm a slot etc.

Not over powering as it doesn’t change number of slots but does open up for mechanical mods like flight systems etc but not at level one etc..

Thanks for advice I owe ya

Can a gnome Druid use a gnome hooked hammer as a Miele weapon? Does it cause class problems? Need clarification please. This is for society play