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So I've got a solarian in my party in the game I am running, and I want to show the class a little love. I know the debate on whether or not they strictly NEED a buff is ongoing, but it comes up here often enough that I want to give them a tiny boost in my game, and was thinking about making two simple changed. Just wanted to check here to see if these would ameliorate their problems, or if i am missing something amd I'm going too far.
Change 1: 6 skill points per level.
Change 2: Their primary statis Con (a hale and hearty frame has an easier time channeling the power of the cosmos!) I saw there are no classes that use con as their main stat (though maybe that was an intentional choice) and this would be a stat desired by both weapon and armor-based solarions so a 1 level dip into soldier doesnt seem as optimal.
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If con becomes your main stat you would have to changes the DCs of revelations to be based on con as well. I think this would actually be quite a boost to a combat oriented solarian, maybe too much. Now con does resolve, DCs, extra stamina, and better fortitude saves. It would open up androids to being an optimal race choice, as well as others. I think the reason for solarians having Cha as a main stat is to entice/ensure that solarians have some out of combat abilities. With con as a main stat you won't get that benefit as con isn't used for any skills.
6 skill points per level will make a solarian fairly skilled, which seems to fit as a secondary goal of the class, primary being dpr.
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I think the reason for solarians having Cha as a main stat is to entice/ensure that solarians have some out of combat abilities. With con as a main stat you won't get that benefit as con isn't used for any skills.
I dont disagree, but I think this was actually the biggest flaw in their design. Their abilities clearly make them a combat class, first and foremost. They have more combat-related abilities than any class except soldier, and they're listed as a combatant class in Alien Arcives. I figure that there's no point in prwtending, and giving them con as a main stat, I thought, might help to further carve out theirr niche in that arena, which is to say "Solarians have a lot of hit points." There is still no reason they couldnt invest in cha of they want some social skill bonuses, but this way it would be an option tjat is provided, not enforced.
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Mostly I want to do something about the MAD issue that they face, because it seems to be the most pronounced on the Solarian class. They get some bonuses to a few extra skills but few skill points and little room for int, hence the extra skill points per level.
As for cha, I just see so manny people sating they should take their 1st level in soldier to tie their main stat to str that I figured if its that important to them i should just change their main statt in my game so they dont have a level tax on top of a feat tax (heavy armor proficienxy or weapon profociency) to do their thing at the same level as other classes. I thought about making it str, but that seems like it would favor weapon solarians over armor-based ones.
I'd recommend just the skill point boost. That makes them the skilled full-BAB class with a dash of magic. Switching stats is giving them nearly a level's worth of help, which is a lot.
Solarian revelations are really powerful. They have a lot going for them as is in a combat role, given that they can basically spam their revelations every fight. They are not meant to be soldier 2.0. if you want a soldier with a dash of magic there's an option for that. I feel like switching the main stat for solarians would make them better at soldiering than the soldier. When you do it with a dip in soldier you are having to make compromises.
To be fair these are difficult questions to answer as few people have done much higher level play to date. Until we know better how everything will interact together at higher levels, maybe smaller changes would be better. I like the extra skill points as it stays in the theme of the class (or at least how it seems to me). An idea I had was maybe give the solarian an extra resolve bonus or two at level 1. This way they can chose to focus on combat without having to worry they'll die all the time. Or if they choose to go with a more balanced or casterish focus it still is a boon, but not a major change to the class.
To be entirely honest 4+int almost feels like it's an editing error given the way skill points are assigned to every other class. So definitely on the first one.
