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Mystic does several things, mechanically speaking.
1. Single Target SoD or SoS spells. Mystic is actually notably better at these than Technomancer, at least vs. targets that can think. They have some that effect more than one creature as well, but as you note it's not their primary schtick.
2. Healing. The technological healing options available are still vastly inferior to spells, and are usually not available in combat.
3. Skill monkey, including face skills if you lack, say, an Envoy. But particularly focused on your Connection Skills. A Star Shaman can be the best pilot in the game, for example, and have around the higest Perception. Shirren don't actually prevent the face role at all, BTW, due to having a racial +2 to Diplomacy to offset their low Charisma.
4. Utility spells. Technomancers are better at this, but sometimes you just need a spell to do X at all, and Mystics have several such spells available. They're particularly good at 'psychic' stuff in this category, like reading minds.
5. Buff spells. Technomancers are also good at this, but Mystics have a fair selection of buff spells. So that's nice.
Mystics also seem to be really good information gatherers. Speak with dead, charms, tongues, all those read mind spells.
A Star Shaman can be the best pilot in the game, for example, and have around the higest Perception.
I now really want to play a Kasatha Star Shaman. Just so I can get a four-armed pilot in love with the stars.
[/Farscape]
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I now really want to play a Kasatha Star Shaman. Just so I can get a four-armed pilot in love with the stars.
[/Farscape]
Note: First Contact has a race of Huge Sized non-humanoid Alien Spiders for all your Pilot to plug into a living ship needs (make sure to get your ship from the largest seller of Shirren ships so that it has limits on it's weapons).
Controllers, healers, action boosters (remove action draining conditions), wannabe psychics, and a gun wielder.
You are expected to fill more rounds just making attack rolls.
They fill most of the roles that Divine Casters used to fill.
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Depending on the campaign (look at how useful it would be in Star Wars :-)) Survival can also ROCK as a skill. Perception is, as always, useful. And the Mystic is the only character with a mechanical reason to be boosting Wisdom.
So, the character in the group with by far the best Survival, likely one of the best perceptions until very high levels, has access to in combat scaling hit point spells.
And (like ALL classes) you can get a pretty decent combat character just by dipping a single level into Soldier for all the Proficiencies. So, a typical Pathfinder combat cleric (or Warpriest) is a Soldier 1/Mystic N.
Largely, the connections say it all. Pilot? Druid? Healer? Empath? Controller? Take that connection
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I agree that dipping soldier is unneeded. One feat for heavy armor(or not if you're content in light.), and another for longarms or advanced melee. I suggest melee, not for mechanical reasons, just because then you can chop people up with a plasma sword and also force choke them. And a level in soldier is one more level without force choke.
I agree that dipping soldier is unneeded. One feat for heavy armor(or not if you're content in light.), and another for longarms or advanced melee. I suggest melee, not for mechanical reasons, just because then you can chop people up with a plasma sword and also force choke them. And a level in soldier is one more level without force choke.
You will also need Versatile Specialization for weapon damage soonish, though. A non-human can get all by 5th level, then worry about Spell Focus, Spell Penetration, or some combat or skill feats after that.
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Or you could play a dwarf, if you want to be a melee mystic. They get advanced melee weapon proficiency and specialization baked into their racial bonuses, and they also get ability modifiers that make them a good pick for warrior mystics.
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I recently made a mystic who is a scientist, seeing the interplay of celestial phenomena as magical and near holy. She's a scholar (phys s I) Star Shanan. My plan with her is to be entirely support. Between my 12 Int and being human, I get 8 skills a level. I used my first to feats for skill synergy (computers and physical science), and skill focus computers since she uses ships computers to gather information about astrophysical phenomena.
I'm discovering that Starfinder is far less restrictive than pathfinder. With a minimum 4 skill ranks/level (unless Kasatha/vesk), and feats like skill synergy, plus the fact that mystics don't have to worship anyone, (and spellcasters can wear armor), Starfinder is something where you can almost turn any class into anything. Melee technomancer? Take toughness and a few buff spells, maybe dip a level soldier. Wanna make a medical doctor Druid? Mystic xenodruid with the medical feats.
Why would their choice of iconic race prevent you from making a face character? Not only that, but Shirren gets a racial +2 on diplomacy, making it a decent choice for an honest face character.
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You in no way need to dip Soldier to be good at combat, for the record. You can do it with two or three Feats fairly readily, and don't have a huge number of other demands on your Feats.
You certainly don't NEED to. But there are some huge benefits for that one level dip. Together, of course, with downsides.
I actually think dipping is fairly balanced for an Envoy. At least, I'm still dithering :-). I've got lots of feats I want to buy and don't want to lose that level BUT I really like what I get :-).
I used my first to feats for skill synergy (computers and physical science), and skill focus computers since she uses ships computers to gather information about astrophysical phenomena.
Taking Computers on both of those feats is a waste - they both grant Insight bonuses, so they don't stack.
I used my first to feats for skill synergy (computers and physical science), and skill focus computers since she uses ships computers to gather information about astrophysical phenomena.Taking Computers on both of those feats is a waste - they both grant Insight bonuses, so they don't stack.
Skill Synergy only grants an insight bonus if it's already a class skill for you. It's not for a Mystic, so instead they get it as a class skill. The class skill +3 bonus is not an insight bonus, so it stacks with the +3 insight bonus from skill focus.
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Skill Synergy only grants an insight bonus if it's already a class skill for you. It's not for a Mystic, so instead they get it as a class skill. The class skill +3 bonus is not an insight bonus, so it stacks with the +3 insight bonus from skill focus.I used my first to feats for skill synergy (computers and physical science), and skill focus computers since she uses ships computers to gather information about astrophysical phenomena.Taking Computers on both of those feats is a waste - they both grant Insight bonuses, so they don't stack.
That one.
Skill Synergy only grants an insight bonus if it's already a class skill for you. It's not for a Mystic, so instead they get it as a class skill. The class skill +3 bonus is not an insight bonus, so it stacks with the +3 insight bonus from skill focus.I used my first to feats for skill synergy (computers and physical science), and skill focus computers since she uses ships computers to gather information about astrophysical phenomena.Taking Computers on both of those feats is a waste - they both grant Insight bonuses, so they don't stack.
Ah, I didn't think about that. Nevermind then!
Can someone clue me in on what I'm missing for Star Shamans to be "the best pilots in the game"? Is it just Channel Skill, or something else?
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Can someone clue me in on what I'm missing for Star Shamans to be "the best pilots in the game"? Is it just Channel Skill, or something else?
They can get a +7 insight bonus plus all the generics. No one else can do better than +6 insight.
It's one louder, isn't it?
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Having played Keskodai at GenCon through 2 of the 3 scenarios, i can give the following observations from my play experience.
1.) Between his moderate Diplomacy skill and the Share Language spell he was an effective face. Especially when making first contact.
2.) Mind Blast does really good damage for its level. I managed to finish off a monster in one battle with an amount of damage that made the vesk soldier stand up and take notice.
3.) Having the Healing connection made using my spells for offense not seem detrimental to the parties survival.
4.) He made a passable Science Officer during space combat.
Can someone clue me in on what I'm missing for Star Shamans to be "the best pilots in the game"? Is it just Channel Skill, or something else?They can get a +7 insight bonus plus all the generics. No one else can do better than +6 insight.
It's one louder, isn't it?
Ah, thank you. Was wondering if I was missing something else. For my games, Level 16-20 abilities rarely see play at the table, so the upper levels of Channel skill, while cool, probably won't matter much.
Sorry if someone said this but:
The mystic is my favorite class after going through each because I find it has the most versatility role play wise. While the connections don't really give a LOT to the character seems to be most people complaint I feel they forget the spells.
But the connections is what give them the playability while you can heal and be in the back glass Canon style I found it just as easy to make a healer unarmed vesk who can tank and heal (could also use druid, mindbreaker or shamen) and since most abilities are (su) they are melee safe and you have spells for range or healing
Yet the empath makes a great tracker or ranger type while the overlord offers some amazing out of combat rp, and the akashic would me you knowledgeable for almost any topic.
The mystic at a base makes a great healer/_____ that allows them to fill in for any missing role I could even see an all mystic campaign before any other class.
That being said I feel the connection could use a little tweeking the mindbreaker first skill just sucks spending 1 resolve to reflect my level or 1 point of damage sucks it will be good after level what 5 by then 5 damage is still little to worry about and not really worth a resolve. And the shamen having two skill that require (outside and can see the stars) will suck for most games and only be useful in very specific cases. If you play a one shot or game where you are on a planet and everyone wants to rest at night you get little use.
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The thing about Magic or Tech Healing in the system is that Tech healing will do anything that Magic healing can... eventually. Whenever the question comes up i fall back on the "convert to money" example.
If you convert healing for a Vesk Frontliner. He needs to regain around 75ish health. You can pay a +35 doctor 75CR/Day (virtually guarenteeing the *3 recover rate) and heal him full in 2 days. (that might be free if they're a fan of your Icon) Or your Mystic can drop 2 spell slots or some of the day's channeling to get him back to 100% right now. But if you had to hire out that same mystic it's around 5000Cr & might not even get the full 75. So the big question then is does your party have time to have a front liner down for 2 days.
That's the big difference between Tech and Magic. Tech is a cheap and effective eventuality, while magic is a Fast and 'expensive' immediate result. Like when you're shopping for a computer. There are three things everyone one wants, They want it cheap, fast, and effective. You get to pick two.
The thing about Magic or Tech Healing in the system is that Tech healing will do anything that Magic healing can... eventually. Whenever the question comes up i fall back on the "convert to money" example.
If you convert healing for a Vesk Frontliner. He needs to regain around 75ish health. You can pay a +35 doctor 75CR/Day (virtually guarenteeing the *3 recover rate) and heal him full in 2 days. (that might be free if they're a fan of your Icon) Or your Mystic can drop 2 spell slots or some of the day's channeling to get him back to 100% right now. But if you had to hire out that same mystic it's around 5000Cr & might not even get the full 75. So the big question then is does your party have time to have a front liner down for 2 days.
That's the big difference between Tech and Magic. Tech is a cheap and effective eventuality, while magic is a Fast and 'expensive' immediate result. Like when you're shopping for a computer. There are three things everyone one wants, They want it cheap, fast, and effective. You get to pick two.
That is true and a combo of a mystic and envoy (the only class able to heal stamina) would make a great combo while the healer mystic would provide great team healing options with spells, items, and connection it is very much narrowing the options of the mystic when they can be a class devoted to avoiding combat all together with overlord for example.
Mystics are very versatile casters who can play roles of healers, paladins, and even mind controllers. I actually made a short video of them. https://youtu.be/chSIwwiut5o