The below post will contain unmarked spoilers for the listed scenario. Read with caution.
We attacked this scenario with a party of four: my Terrakineticist, a Ranger, a Magus, and a Gunslinger. It starts off with an easy encounter with two human guards that were dispatched easily by the Ranger and Gunslinger. The next encounter was more... unpleasant. It involved a pair of lemures and without anyone capable of dealing large amounts of damage it was extremely painful to break through DR/good or silver (I certainly wasn't doing the job with a measly 1d6+4). I believe our Gunslinger spent 40 gp worth of alchemical cartridges in that fight.
The third encounter was with a group of human guards and skeletons. I was fairly useful in this fight, since I could easily punch through Skelly DR and everyone had a low AC. Many rocks were tossed.
The boss encounter was... very unfortunate in many ways. I have to give a wag of the finger to the person who wrote the scenario and say that giving a boss multiple castings of Color Spray in a 1-2 tier encounter is a HORRENDOUS idea. The Ranger and Gunslinger were dropped by it quickly and the Magus soon after went down by HP damage. Stuck between a lemure with DR too high for me to penetrate and a buffed up sorcerer with too high AC for me to hit I ended up having to turn tail and run.
Shockingly enough, this ended up leading to a victory in the encounter; the sorcerer chased me down as I ran out to town (unable to catch me, fortunately) while the lemure stayed behind and failed to finish off the group before the Ranger got up from color spray and healed the remaining two players. After some further struggling the encounter was won.
Right now, after two games, my review of level 1 terrakineticist play is "tremendously dull". I really love the flavor of this class and picked it up for all of the cool things it can do later, but right now I'm just chucking rocks at people. Pushing Entangle further down to level 1 would be my suggestion, it isn't imbalanced in anyway (the druid is already entangling in a 40 ft radius at level 1) and would give the Terrakineticist something fun and interesting to do. I'd also remove the damage and requirement that you hit with an attack first so the Terrakineticist can target something that isn't AC.
Think I'm going to change this into a thread to dump all of my playtest data. This will be with my Society Geokineticist and with a Spiritualist I will be running through a home game of Jade Regent. If a mod could change the thread title to something more appropriate than I would appreciate it.
10/30: Scenario 4-19 The Night March of Kalkamedes
This scenario was tackled with the following party: my Geokineticist, a Gunslinger, a Cleric, a Ranger, and a Fighter. The mission was to escort a sleepwalking ex-Pathfinder to wherever he's been trying to sleepwalk to for the past few weeks. The first encounter provided a very rare chance for the Geokineticist to use her class features outside of combat; we had to walk through a large patch of bramble roots that would cut you up and deal damage as you attempted to cut through them. The encounter clearly did not expect a character to be able to deal slashing damage at range; I was able to stay behind the party, cutting through the thorns and ensuring everyone was able to escape unscathed.
The second encounter forced us to follow Kalkamedes through a lake; this was our first punishment for bringing along three characters with 2+Int skill points. It took us a long time but we did eventually build a raft to go across.
The third was a fight with a bear. The Gunslinger blew its head out in one shot. This was swiftly followed by a fight against a group of highwaymen. Once again, all were dispatched easily though not as swiftly. I got to throw some rocks and it was great.
Eventually Kalkamedes lead us into a cave, where we fought against a Dire Skunk. By using the quest-vital NPC as a meat shield the Gunslinger and I were eventually able to dispose of it. Moving on, we came across an unusual door; it required a 21 DC Strength check to open and when you approached it your strength modifier was reversed, so a +4 would be a -4. There's a Ray of Enfeeblement wand there to help you but with no arcane casters in the party we could not use it. Fortunately my +0 modifier ensured we were able to open the door, after considerable effort.
Fast-forward past a nondescript elevator and we encountered a gnome trapped in a magic seal. Our Ranger was able to make a Kn (Local) check to unveil some clues to ascertain that he was not really a gnome. We instead released the woman lying unconscious in another magic circle; we found out that the "gnome" was actually a very powerful demon and that the woman was an Azata assigned to the task of defeating him. The Azata and our cleric joined forces to banish the fell beast and all was well with the day.
I felt more useful in this encounter; the brambles were interesting but certainly not something that will come up often enough for me to say "waddya mean the Kineticist has few uses outside of combat". I level up now, so I'm going to pick up Kinetic Cover as my Wild Talent; primarily to qualify for Move Earth later, but also to see if the talent is better in practice than it seems to be in theory.
Oh, right, I forgot to mention that. Geokineticists being able to deal B/P/S came up again on it's damage resistance, so that was nice. I'm finding I'm really loving how the Geokineticist can get through most damage resistances, it's a nice advantage over the other, generally more powerful elements. The impossibility of getting past DR/good really hurts, though.
Sure. Wish I could add it to the OP for ease of reading but herp derp can't edit old posts on this forum for some reason.
Human Geokineticist 2
LN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4, Senses Perception +4
AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +4 dex)
hp 21
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2
Defensive Abilities Flesh of Stone
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +0 (1d4/19-20x2)
Ranged Earth Blast +5 (1d6+4)
Str 10, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 12
Base Atk +1, CMB +1, CMD +15
Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Traits Armor Expert, Insider Knowledge, Auspicious Tattoo
Skills Diplomacy +5, Perception +6, Prof (Construction) +5
Languages Common
SQ Wild Talents (Extended Range, Kinetic Cover)
Gear Chain Shirt, Wand of Cure Light Wounds, Dagger
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A few clarifications: I'm using a boon on this character that allows me to pick a faction trait as a bonus in addition to my regular two traits, so that's why I have three. I chose to pump charisma instead of intelligence because, with only Kn. Dungeoneering as a class skill and a meager 2+Int skill points I wouldn't have the skill points to be in any way effective at the intelligence based skills, even with 12 Int. Diplomacy, on the other hand, costs only one skill and comes up practically every session at least once.
Hmm... I wasn't planning to but it might be a good idea. If I were to go a switch-hitting route, do you think I could forgo Precise Shot? Ideally I'd be using my blade when enemies are in melee combat and wouldn't have to deal with the penalty. I haven't played at level two yet so I still have room to fiddle around with my selected feats.
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I think so. Especially for a blast that doesn't rely on touch, you are going to have to be versatile. Maybe make your two feats Toughness and Weapon Finesse, and then having Kinetic Blade and Extended Range as your two talents? You would only be shooting when melee seems difficult or dangerous, so there wouldn't really be a need for Point-Blank or Precise. From there you can grab Kinetic Cover at 4 and either be able to climb or move earth at level 6. The other advantage of melee is you're taking advantage of that sick DR you can pull.
Alternatively if you stay with Point-Blank and Precise Shot, you might want to grab Weapon Focus (kinetic blast) at level 3 and then Pushing Blast at level 4. Grab the talent that lets you bend your blasts around corners at level 6, because that's pseudo Improved Precise Shot, which will absolutely be necessary for you.
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Alternatively if you stay with Point-Blank and Precise Shot, you might want to grab Weapon Focus (kinetic blast) at level 3 and then Pushing Blast at level 4. Grab the talent that lets you bend your blasts around corners at level 6, because that's pseudo Improved Precise Shot, which will absolutely be necessary for you.
It's actually better than Improved Precise Shot in some situations. For instance, if you combine earth's tremorsense with snaking, depending on the dungeon setup, you may be able to hit foes avoiding any miss chance that are several rooms and several turns away from you, with total cover and no line of effect from your enemy.
Mwahahaha, I like that. Earth's super-tremorsense is one of my favorite things about the subclass, that along with the ability to Earth Glide. Now I'm even more annoyed I can't use Extra Wild Talent in PFS yet, there are sooo many good utility talents for Earth.
Mwahahaha, I like that. Earth's super-tremorsense is one of my favorite things about the subclass, that along with the ability to Earth Glide. Now I'm even more annoyed I can't use Extra Wild Talent in PFS yet, there are sooo many good utility talents for Earth.
I really love all the elements right now, but I have to admit that earth has some super cool tricks and possibilities up its sleeve. I think most of them do. If anything, it's seeming fire might need a little more love according to people's tentative playtests so far, though I'm wondering if anyone is going to playtest maxing out burn on the heat ability. Dealing 3d6 fire damage per hit to foes that hit you seems like it could be pretty crazy at level 2. I haven't seen anyone trying it yet.
Okay, so right now I'm looking at this for my Wild Talent selection:
1: Extended Range
2: Kinetic Blade
4: Entangling Infusion (Is this supposed to have a prereq of Kineticist level 6?)
6: Snaking
7: Earth Climb, Retrain Entangling to Rare Metal
8: Tremorsense
10: Earth Glide
...Okay, so that leaves me with several infusions that I really want but do not have room for: Entangling Infusion, Expanded Element (which I actually want twice for both magma and metal blasts), Move Earth... Would it be at all possible to make Extra Wild Talent PFS legal before the playtest ends? >.>
Entangling's missing prereq is listed in the first post of the kineticist thread (check there for all the updates).
Okay, so I mentioned this a bit in the main Kineticist thread but next Friday I will be running a 14th level Geokineticist through Tomb of the Iron Medusa. Here is my character sheet. AC is really inflated compared to what it will likely be post-playtest; without an item to enhance my blasts with, all of that gold went to AC. It'll be much lower once we get Gloves of Blasting or whatnot.
For the people who know how to calculate DPR I'd love to know the average damage on my Hasted Sandstorm Whip and if it's better than a Quickened Earth Blast.
Okay, so I mentioned this a bit in the main Kineticist thread but next Friday I will be running a 14th level Geokineticist through Tomb of the Iron Medusa. Here is my character sheet. AC is really inflated compared to what it will likely be post-playtest; without an item to enhance my blasts with, all of that gold went to AC. It'll be much lower once we get Gloves of Blasting or whatnot.
For the people who know how to calculate DPR I'd love to know the average damage on my Hasted Sandstorm Whip and if it's better than a Quickened Earth Blast.
Am I weird for getting a kick out of the mere names of some of the kineticist options when they're strung together like that? "Hasted sandstorm whip" just sounds awesome.
Not at all; I, for one, eagerly anticipate thrashing the big bad of this module with the pure chaotic power of the harsh desert wind. A bit more visually impressive than "I strike it with my sword", in my opinion.
Not at all; I, for one, eagerly anticipate thrashing the big bad of this module with the pure chaotic power of the harsh desert wind. A bit more visually impressive than "I strike it with my sword", in my opinion.
Never played it, but since it's a tomb it seems reasonable to say: remember today's FAQ if you come up against incorporeals in there.
Okay, time for the big one: A level 14 run through Tomb of the Iron Medusa. Here's our team for this dungeon crawl:
Earth/Air Kineticist
Medium 13/Barbarian 1
Slayer/Halfling Opportunist (PDF Link)
Shield Champion Brawler
Lore Oracle
This WILL contain spoilers for Tomb of the Iron Medusa. Things will be left generic, but that is mainly for space.
After the introduction stuff our first encounter was with a CR 15 Ghost Aristocrat 8/Fighter 5. My Kineticist's to-hit is greater than his AC, but it didn't matter much because I led off with two kinetic whip crits, dealing 67 damage total after the incorporeal reduction, accounting for 1/3 of the creature's health. Poor guy didn't even last the round after the Slayer unleashed a nuclear bomb's worth of Ghost Touch arrows on him. x3 crits are a doozy.
The second fight is against a noble efreeti, CR 10. It started off with the efreeti casting Greater Invisibility, which the Oracle swiftly countered with Invisibility Purge. My Kineticist hit the Efreeti on a 3 or better, and Rode the Blast into its face, dealing 58 damage with an Empowered Earth Blast. The efreeti fired back with a pyroclastic storm, which was mitigated handsomely by my Geokineticist DR (9 damage instead of 18). Our Brawler finished him off.`
That's as far as we got today; there was substantial roleplaying/plot revealing involved and a few non-combat encounters so we didn't have enough time to do many combats. Four critical hits between myself and the archer slayer skewed the combat against the ghost to being less difficult than it should have so I'm not sure how useful this information will be... Hopefully we'll have more encounters that show the median soon enough.
Kinetic Blast beats DR/Magic so it can hit incorporeal creatures just fine, it just did half the damage it would have done. I'm not aware of any special rules saying that you can't crit an incorporeal creature unless you have Ghost Touch and they don't seem to be listed on the PRD.
Unfortunately:
An incorporeal creature has no physical body. An incorporeal creature is immune to critical hits and precision-based damage (such as sneak attack damage) unless the attacks are made using a weapon with the ghost touch special weapon quality. In addition, creatures with the incorporeal subtype gain the incorporeal special quality.
...Welp, we ran that wrong then. My bad! The ghost would have still most likely have been one-rounded anyways; he acted at the bottom of the turn order and we still had three other players to deal damage after the Slayer's arrow rain.