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No clue if my GM'll give it the go-ahead, but he's planning on running Cosmic Birthday at some point and I went ahead and drew a token for a Luminous Sprite Solarian in preparation. Thought the concept sounded fun and wanted at least one idea put to paper before seeing the actual mechanics.
Or, I would assume, you could just make 'em. Bonus points if it's a greatclub.
One of the first spells I looked for. Sad it wasn't included.
I disagree.
Okay, so while I agree that I don't think RAW supports reloading with a shield in your offhand, this is just straight-up hyperbole. Slings usually have a finger loop on one end, else they'd go flying when you released. I suppose you could just loop the end between your fingers if your sling didn't have one, but my point stands. As I understand if, in real world terms, you'd just be placing the sling cup in your off-hand, popping a bullet in with your right hand, then drawing the ends back tight with your sling hand. Not complicated at all. Hence the disappointment. No one is talking about ignoring physics here.
I'm glad I got so many responses. Hopefully that leads to some dev clarification. Before the discussion, I was 90% sure I got how it worked. Now, I'm down to maybe 60%. Part of that might be the effects of morning setting in, though. Here's hoping this gets expanded on in a supplement or something. Slings get entirely too little love.
I saw that the sling was counted as a one-handed weapon and got excited, then noticed this bit under the Reload rule: Reloading a ranged weapon and drawing a thrown weapon both require a free hand. Switching your grip to free a hand and then to place your hands in the grip necessary to wield the weapon are both included in the actions you spend to reload a weapon. That's super disappointing. There's some debate over how often slings were used in conjunction with shields, but to anyone decrying the notion, I'd like to cite Trajan's Column. Lindybeige has a video about using a sling with a shield, wherein he demonstrates the loading process. (I checked the Community Guidelines and saw nothing against providing links, but if I missed anything, let me know.) Technically, you can use a buckler in conjunction with a sling, but that's extra strange since in reality, a buckler is specifically not strapped to your arm. (It's like brass knuckles had a baby with a frying pan.) It's not very useful, and weirdly, I think you could also technically use it in conjunction with a bow? :/ I understand that Pathfinder isn't a very simulationist game and does not aim to be super realistic. I'm just hoping I've missed something, since sling and shield is a configuration I've always liked. If your eyes caught something I've missed, please let me know. Here's hoping they at least add it in as an option at some point. Slinger Ranger is best Ranger. (Just don't do the math.)
You cannot increase a weapon die size twice (pg 279) Stick with Crossbow Ace for your first one. Ack! You are correct. Apologies. That is sad, but understandable. :( On the plus side, I had another dumb idea. Deific Weapon on a Champion of Nethys bumps up the Staff's damage die. Pull some multiclass shenanigans to get your hands on Shillelagh. Use your Spirit Ally to grant some additional effects. Staff lord.
Ranger Crossbow Ace that takes the Cleric Dedication, follows Abadar, and takes the Deadly Simplicity Cleric feat. Regular Crossbow now deals 1d12. Plus, it makes a nice thematic combo. A Monk can build for jumps, but a Monk that takes the Alchemist Dedication can produce and use a Leaper's Elixer to astonishing effect. Since it allows you to make vertical leaps of the same distance as your horizontal leaps, I mean. With Assurance in Athletics, I think you can just straight-up declare "I leap 30+ feet into the air without rolling". Doesn't come online until midgame (maybe level seven? I forget), but it's still a fun combo. Plus, Quicksilver Mutagens when you're not Leapering. This is less a build, more an observation: A *LOT* of unexpected creatures in the Bestiary count as animals. Bonded Griffon, anyone? Try not to get yourself mauled to death. Rogue Thug that worships Asmodeus and takes the Cleric Dedication for Deadly Simplicity is a fun combo. Pushes the Mace up to a d8, which is as high a die as the Thug can really synergize with. Is it worth it? Probably not, but it's a combo. Haven't yet figured out the best way to take advantage of it (since no class gets many applicable feats), but a Sling is explicitly one-handed. I always like the ol' Sling & Shield combo.
Keep in mind the Mechanic Trick of Repair Drone, which bumps the 10% repair to 25%, which quickly ups the survivability of your little buddy. Also, there are the different uses for it, scouting out ahead with commands to retreat if fired upon, great if it has a camera. Or adding the mod that will have it go into a healing subroutine if your character falls. Mine, with the Hover Drone, at level one had an AC of 17, which is pretty decent, due to it's size of Tiny, also with it's size, it had the highest to-hit of anyone in the party, even though it was only equipped with a Pulsecaster pistol and was non-lethal (Character choice) With the right mods you can also give it a tool arm to give you an assist with repairs. Any skill it is trained in does not require direct supervision and control to perform. You do realize that size modifiers to AC and to-hit don't exist in Starfinder, right?
The male Vesk on their race page is wearing, like, bright pink armor. Probably not, I guess. My bad. I didn't review the image before posting. Thank you for the correction.
I like the ooc comment, but I find the bold one to be inexplicably infuriating. I know people that mutter and use filler words like that, and every time, I want to tell them to just hold their tongue until they have any idea what it is they're trying to say. Have done so on more than one occasion, though usually with more polite language. Buddy of mine's always listening to music/watching movies in the background, so he does this constantly. I've muted him and just walked out of conversations before. It's horrible. I would much rather listen to a cat try to climb a chalk board. I don't know why. Got me thinking, though. Since "masculine" seems to be a default trait among the Vesk, irrespective of gender, I wonder if it plays any role at all in gender identify. Like, would it just be "they're weak, ergo they're bad?" I don't quite follow with some posters' assertions that they probably don't care about the physical sex of their partners so much, given their sexual dimorphism. I do wonder, however, if they don't have entirely different expectations. They're also "different" enough that I could see them not caring about the sex or gender of other species. Sort of like "I don't care whether you're male or female; you're not Vesk. That alone condemns you to mediocrity." I also wonder, since Vesk females tend to be more brightly colored, whether or not that expectations carries over into their fashion. (What little they likely have, anyway.) Don't know, though. The male Vesk on their race page is wearing, like, bright pink armor. Probably not, I guess.
The saves work just the same as a player character's; you add the bonus to your stat modifier. Relevent FAQ regarding healing your drone.
I feel like Unwieldy weapons are good for drones, since they have poor stats and likely cannot eat the penalty even when they have the actions to full attack.
The best use of Phrenic Adept is keeping the bin from being blown away.
I feel like, because it says some are constructed or customized to look like other races, there should be rules in place to allow for Small androids. Especially since the Ysoki are the only Small core race; it would add a second option for people who want to be small, but don't want to be a gerbil. (Since not all games allow legacy races, despite how common they are.)
Now, if only there were more readily available means of neural uploading. :)
So, about that original topic... A buddy of mine recently pointed out that I play a lot of "androgynous" characters. I've played a couple asexual (orientation) characters and a couple of neuter (physical sex) characters, a few gay characters, and one trans character. This has been across a handful of systems. I am probably joining a buddy of mine's stream game once it goes live. We're going to be rolling stats, so depending on how that goes I may or may not be able to run with a sub-optimal concept. Was considering going with a sterile Shirren host Envoy Icon that is borderline K-pop star in her/their style and mannerisms, but mothers people a bit too much. Could work for a couple other classes. Alternatively, an ascetic, Android priest of Triune that associates sexuality with the base, animal nature of organic life. Doesn't disparage or try to dissuade, just refuses to use gendered words and gets sullen, disappointed when people play to tropes. ("You could be better than that," sort of deal.) Possibly a gender fluid Lashunta actor with muted sexual characteristics and a focus on Disguise, because it's fun to come up with roles to play, and how good can an actor be if they can only play half the parts? Not super confident on what "gender fluid" means, though (and yes, it has been explained) so it would probably be safer to just say gender is not a major aspect of their identity, and they are comfortable no matter its expression. Never had much fun playing "guy with sword." A lot of my characters fall within the purview of this thread. So, what are some good character options that happen to coincide with the thread?
I find the punishment sub-topic super weird. If someone forcibly changed my sex in a one-off that had no side-effects, I'm fair certain my response would be mild, momentary confusion. Even if I got stuck in my present sex (admittedly, not preferred), I feel like at worst, that's disappointing. Like, I can't pull off any aesthetic I find remotely tenable; sucks, but there are worse things. I'm not trying to say anyone is wrong for feeling differently on the matter. I'm just surprised it's something people feel so strongly about. Kind of alien to me, you know? I guess that's why some people are such jerks about it. Gotta be manly, gotta be ladylike. I can't imagine tying that much of my identity in something I had no control over. Which, actually, ties back to so many different kinds of discrimination I hadn't even considered in relation to this topic. Man, I don't even know. I don't have enough of a horse in the race, I guess. A more clever person than I would work that into a Li'l Sebastian reference, I think.
The "flight at 5th"-thing goes a bit out the window with Starfinder, no? Thought it was one of the abilities they talked about shifting around.
I always liked Harpies; especially the ones with hands. Never much cared for the depiction of them as explicitly evil, craven things. I wonder if, given how they're apparently providing playable stats for more monsters in Starfinder, we'll ever see a comparable playable species. That would be nice, I think.
The iconic Mechanic has a jetpack.
Also, think of that Eoxian fighter where it's completely open to the void. "Outside and able to see the stars," anyone?
Owen said it includes breathing in space. Was a strange way of phrasing it, but I can't seem to find the link. Was only maybe two days ago. Sorry; I did look, but breakfast is taking precedent.
No one seemed to worry about that "one object of up to 1 bulk" when discussing Mending as it relates to a Mechanic's drone. The weird part is that Mending specifically says it targets objects, then later says that a construct can benefit from it once per day. Like, the flavor text says "objects and constructs," but the "targets" entry makes no mention of constructs. Blah. I'm expressing this poorly. I'd allow it. If someone presents a situation in which a small piece of a larger object is broken, I'd let them use Mending to fix it. Why? Because the section they're fixing isn't more than 1 bulk. I know that isn't how it's worded. I think they should have worded it differently. Doesn't make a lot of sense that you can fix a hole in a metal plate with it, but once that place's attached to your armor, suddenly the spell's useless.
They also list Eox as one of her major centers of Worship, despite her entry in the list of gods still explicitly calling out her hatred of the undead. I've got no clue, man.
I have 6 Strength. I'm not giving up my Industrial Backpack for anything. Dice roll, yeah. Technically rolled a seven, but I was pretty set on playing a Bleachling, so I used the Themeless bonus (there is no "Miner" theme) to bump it up one and ate the penalty. Only played point-buy once or twice and in my experience, it's a lot less fun. Your mileage may vary.
I have 6 Strength. I'm not giving up my Industrial Backpack for anything.
Fair enough. Lack of physical reference to study has further-reaching implications than I was accounting for.
By picking a tone and telling people "yo, dawgs, this is what we're playing" before anyone makes heir characters. :/ Good luck, man. That's always rough.
Except for some reason, a Hideaway limb isn't a Prosthetic limb. Getting a Prosthetic limb with that kind of functionality costs 1450c. For some reason. I guess making space in a meat arm is just easier than doing it in metal and plastic. Or something.
To be fair, the Gap didn't wipe out all known history. All it did was wipe out a few hundred years. Everything before that still has records. Qadira was in that ancient past. All of Pathfinder was. Ergo, the records exist. This is exactly what I said. Don't intentionally misconstrue what I say to fit your narrative. No, but I wouldn't ask what a Siam was, either.
To be fair, the Gap didn't wipe out all known history. All it did was wipe out a few hundred years. Everything before that still has records.
Sorry, just thought I should spell it out in case folks didn't realize why this was a concern. Haven't seen any answers yet, and consider this a pretty egregious oversight. Hopefully someone in the know is able to clarify soon.
For Detective, just imagine Ace Ventura as a skilled assassin. For Hacker, imagine you're gearing up for a fight when the car behind you starts belting out its alarm.
I don't know about what's considered "good," really. I just based it on the languages my character would be most likely to encounter. Backstory put me growing up on Elindrae, with time on Castrovel proper. So, "what you'd know on Castrovel" plus "what you'd know on a station." Castrovelian seems like a big one. Eox might be important for people who are uneasy or, really, have any feelings at all about the undead. Goblin, if you grew up on a station. (They get everywhere.) Ysoki, if you're small.
"As if" is a pretty big phrase for only being four letters long. Doesn't actually grant you a BAB equal to your level. Simple as.
You're going to be disappointed.
As it stands, none of the core races can realistically make use of the riding saddle. Ysoki weigh between sixty and a hundred pounds (more than two Gnomes), which is roughly 6-10 bulk, even if they're straight-up nude. Without anything to mitigate that, I don't understand how they expect the option to see use. Vesk are doomed.
It definitely should. I think the whole issue of class features not affecting star combat checks is just weird. I can't imagine they intended for the passives to suddenly not matter, unless they decided to go the worst possible route toward making any class able to fill any role. Like, the person that is better at piloting should be better at piloting ships. And if anyone tries to say this makes Skill Focus better, they're a terrible person. Just abominable.
Lethal and non-lethal is pretty simple. Was the attack that downed them non-lethal? Yes: They're unconscious, or No: They dead.
As far as the Drone as Crewmen discussion, could a drone man a gun? It requires a BAB and Dex, or piloting skill, to shoot a gun. I see no reason why it couldn't. Alternatively, my drone's got Engineering and Manipulators, so worst case he can keep the boat strapped together while I man guns.
I went with a drone, but I don't feel it's the better option, mechanically. (I value skills more highly than combat contributions, and an Exocortex seems better for maximizing skills.) Can't help but love a good rigger, though. T3-M4 was my favorite companion in KoTOR I&II. Everybody's better with a buddy, right? I'm just disappointed their stats are so bad. Even when you're directly controlling them, you use your ranks and their horrible modifiers. :( Don't know that you can call it "direct control" if they're the ones having to do the math, you know?
Keep in mind, it does say that the custom rig can be installed in the brain along with a datajack, so there is a precedent to say that is can be installed alongside other augmentations. Thing that gets me is that ideally, I'd like to have it installed in a prosthetic arm, since my character is going to have ties to the Augmented faction. Shame that "restores functionality" really doesn't. :(
Technically, all they need is a 25c space suit. Mobile Hotelier gets you longer for 50c, but that's inside of a tent. Still definitely worth having.
No, it sets the precedence for separately addressing not needing to breathe in a vacuum and not suffering from the harmful effects of a vacuum. Which is really important when and only when you don't need to breathe in any situation. If the only situation in which you don't need to breathe is while in space, it doesn't need its own entry.
I assume this thread is supposed to be titled [b]"Superstitions to ward off the dangers of FTL travel."? Took me a minute to figure out what you were even talking about.
Don't androids get the same immunity with a separate provision for not needing to breathe? I think the intention is that they only need an air supply, not a full seal, or they can space walk as long as they can hold their breaths. Androids can go underwater. They "do not breathe oror suffer the normal environmental effects of being in a vacuum." The first half does not limit the second.
"Dennis? Who's Dennis?" Maybe "clicker?" Especially apt if they handle your ship's comms.
I would say that radiation is generally thought of as a harmful effect of "outer space." As I understand it, the ability's intention is to let you go outside your ship without a space suit. That doesn't hold up if you need an oxygen tank or a radiation suit.
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