Possible inclusion in SFS NPC statblocks?


GM Discussion

5/5 **** Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Utrecht

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I've played a handful of Stafinder scenarios so far, and I've come to the conclusion that there are a few things that could be streamlined in enemy statblocks. A lot of things are derived from other stats that aren't immediately visible and require additional calculation. Sure, Pathfinder didn't have these stats either, but that doesn't mean Starfinder shouldn't have them, either.

I'd like to see a line of text in the statblocks for stuff like the Envoy's Clever Feint. Clever Feint is a weird thing that had some of my GMs looking through statblocks and make quick calculations. That in and of itself isn't that bad, but when you throw 5 or 6 different enemies at the players, you have to calculate that each and every time again. I've come up with a table for my own character to check (I've included it in spoilers at the end of my post), as that's usually faster than checking in with the GM.

See, Clever Feint uses the Feint rules, which checks 10 + Sense Motive bonus or 15 + 1.5 times CR. Most monsters don't have Sense Motive, but against humanoids, especially with class levels, that might get tricky. Now the GM has to look up TWO different numbers, and compare them against each other. And while "CR times one and a half" isn't that difficult, as a GM you're already having to remember conditions, tactics, and so on, so all this is just an extra thing you need to track.

Now, usually something like Intimidate DC or Feint DC aren't spelled out in NPC statblocks, as it's not relevant most of the time, but if it's a core class feature pretty much every Envoy will pick up sooner or later, I think it's reasonable to cater to that.

The only downside is that it's not backwards compatible. When a new class comes out that depends on a derivative of the creature's skills (say, DC 5 + bonus in Computers squared), you'll end up where we are now. But hey, it not perfect system.

It might wreak havoc on the stat block generator system, as maybe some creatures have things like a Bard's Versatile Performance, where they can use X for Y, but that could be noted in the special ability section.

TL;DR: I'd like to see a line of text where commonly-used derived information is immediately visible. Something like this would suffice (ideally near Defense):
Feint DC 27

Easy calculations:
Bluff 17 CR 1/Sense Motive 11
Bluff 18 CR 2/Sense Motive 12
Bluff 20 CR 3/Sense Motive 13
Bluff 21 CR 4/Sense Motive 14
Bluff 23 CR 5/Sense Motive 15
Bluff 24 CR 6/Sense Motive 16
Bluff 26 CR 7/Sense Motive 17
Bluff 27 CR 8/Sense Motive 18
Bluff 29 CR 9/Sense Motive 19
Bluff 30 CR 10/Sense Motive 20
Bluff 32 CR 11/Sense Motive 21
Bluff 33 CR 12/Sense Motive 22
Bluff 35 CR 13/Sense Motive 23
Bluff 36 CR 14/Sense Motive 24
God, I hope I did the calculations correct. >_> I rounded up for halves, not sure if that's correct, but better safe than sorry.

Dark Archive 4/5

I concur that something akin to a Feint DC might be handyin an enemy stat block. A lot of low level abilities (that are usually also some of the better abilities) make use of either the bluff or intimidate skill. A GM already has enough to track in this game, due to the fact that players can toss around several types of conditions that change the enemy's stats. Keeping up with all that, then also have to look around (and then calculate) what the magic number is to properly shout at someone only delays the game.

I mean, it is not the same as with the Operative Trick Attack. Even though that one also makes use of the CR of the enemy in its calculations, it can also be "calculated" by the player. For example, Fred rolls a 26 on his Trick Attack. He can then state to the GM: I have a 26 on my die, which means I can successfully trick attack a CR 6 or below creature. The GM can then look at the stat block and easily state if Fred succeeds or not. This is not the same for all the intimidate/bluff/computers (in case of Amplified Glitch) checks. Here Fred can announce his result, but has no guidance for the GM anymore. The GM needs to calculate 15 + 1.5xCR, then whatever the Sense Motive/Intimidate is +10, followed with comparing those two numbers. After that, the GM needs to compare the end-result of the former comparison with the number Fred just announced, and probably needs to ask Fred again what his result was, because the GM forgot what it was during the other calculations.

I know, some people will think "but it is just a small calculation, the creature will soon be dead anyway". But humanoid opponents usually aren't all carbon copies of the same stat block, do not necessarily emulate the same class, and might also have pets/creatures that have completely different stats. It seems as such a simple addition to add, even if it is just a simple line of Feint/Demoralize DC=(number)

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