So looking through the AA2 I noticed Trox have a lot of abilities. A lot more than other races compared. Now I think they are really cool. But did they really need the bonus to skills? I think everything is solid up until that. They easliy could have been left out. Maybe even the swift feat. Maybe it’s just me. Thinking out loud here.
I never really looked at the Trox before Starfinder. The one on the cover of AA2 looked really cool, so I flipped to them after the orcs.
The -2 Dex is a small hindrance to shooting, which is pretty important. But with the +10 speed, they'd make amazing Blitz Soldiers moving at 50ft a round at level 1. Add in the Reach, and they are definitely a force to be reckoned with in melee.
Then they have the Chitin to make up for the negative Dex when it comes to Reflex saves. A bonus to Intimidate. Frenzy, AND Grappler.
Yeah, they are definitely a very powerful race. I can certainly see people saying they are too powerful
And they also have 8 hit points, the most of any race, plus a burrow speed, arguably better than a fly speed in a world where everyone has ranged weapons.
Trox are pretty damn OP.
Now here's a question. Can a Trox burrow through ship/station walls and floors?
No. Burrow is limited to earth/sand (not stone, let alone metal) without a special ability saying otherwise. It’s in the core book discussion of movement modes.
Don't forget they are large and thus a target. It is harder for them to get cover in this world of projectiles.
I was really excited for trox (and bears) but being large is such a pain. So many tight spaces in starfinder campaigns
So I did a Conversion Guide a while back and the Trox totally through all the math off. It was a good guide for the core races and the AA1 but not anymore. There are plently of races that are large but none have as many bonuses as the Trox.
Side note: funny to see everyone saying "Tiefling and Aasimar's resistance +5 to 3 elements was too powerful and wouldn't be ported over that way" and it was.
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I may be optimistic with most of my outlooks but has anyone played the trox (or any of the "op" playable races) and compared it to a core race? I have a strong suspicion that the goodies they get are not op but add flavor and intrigue. As a dm, the trox don't seem op to me. Just fun! I love the fact that they address the Golorion trox vs these ones and the fluff explanation for the mechanical difference.
I was hoping that I would see the more powerful Pathfinder races properly toned down for the Starfinder setting.
From this thread, it does appear that some of these more powerful races are just as overpowered in Starfinder.
Regardless of its power level, it has waaaaay more racial abilities than usual.
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Being the first to get focus fired while providing cover from their team's return fire doesn't seem all that OP.
it wouldn't - if they just didn't have bonuses to their move speed. this is true both for the Trox and the Uplifted Bear.
You stack their +10 with Blitz Soldier's +10, and you have them take a double move, and they can cross 100' in a round. get them next to a ranged enemy, and the enemy gets hosed with an AOO if it either tries to shoot the PC or tries to run away.
While there are some big maps in Starfinder, they aren't THAT frequent.
I could understand the movement - it's big, it's got big steps - but then both the Bear and the Trox have all this other stuff to play around with. Compare them to, oh, i dunno, a human or a half-elf or a draelik, and they are just plain better.
I have a dragonkin blitz in my group. Their whole stick is getting in among the enemies, and using their attack of opportunity to pump up their damage, while wailing on any big threats.
I wouldn't say it's OP, so much as a large creature with reach is simply the best blitz soldier you can build.
It overshadows other blitz soldiers by a lot, but it works really well in teamwork with the rest of the party. He plays the distraction, there hasn't been a fight yet where he hasn't taken hit point damage. While his operative, mystic, and technomancer teammates focus fire the opposition to death, he's sitting there taking and dealing a lot of damage.
It's very good, and most races with 10' reach can functionally do the same thing.
Maybe that's a problem, but I don't see it.
Now, the Trox? They're faster, they have arms that can hold weapons at the ready for a swift action change, frenzy makes them even better at this role. The 2 extra racial hit points mean a lot less the further in levels you go, but they mean a lot at level 1. They can grapple, they can burrow, they offset their racial penalty to reflex saves, they are amazing bodyguards for the situations that comes up in.
Large +10' reach in itself makes an ideal blitz soldier. That's fine, it's offset by being a big target and having to squeeze. The fact that trox have everything else going for them too is the problem.
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Yeah, I understand that ‘tactic.’ What I don’t understand is how anyone can think it’s a good idea to double move right up to the kill zone, in the hopes that maybe you’ll connect with your one AoO on one enemy, while everything else enjoys shooting you while you have no cover.
Adding to that, your team now has a giant obstacle to try and shoot around if they want to engage the enemies, or try to maneuver around if you’ve got more melee focused characters.
On the other side, the Trox’s other racial abilities, I like them, but rather than yelling ‘OP!’ at me, they kind of just say “We’re situationally useful, I hope you enjoy us.” Which is where racial abilities should be, I think.
b/c that tactic works. starfinder melee is RUINOUS, especially on some little pew pew ranged character.
Being the first to get focus fired while providing cover from their team's return fire doesn't seem all that OP.
Well that’s only if they get focued. There is no rule saying because you are large you get attacked first. In fact if you were GM take tried to go for immersion you are going to focus the weaker party members. Why shoot the heavily armored player instead of picking off the easier targets?
The thing I and assuming a lot of other people are looking at is the amount of abilities they have compared to other large races. Compared to let’s say Shobhads, the Trox have a few more abilities. Should every race have the same amount of abilities? No. But I did notice that it stuck out as a race with a lot of abilities. Obviously, that’s how they are written and I’m not asking them to be changed. I just know if I had a game myself I would probably knock the skill bonuses the race gets off for balance. Personal game homebrew.
b/c that tactic works. starfinder melee is RUINOUS, especially on some little pew pew ranged character.Yeah, I understand that ‘tactic.’ What I don’t understand is how anyone can think it’s a good idea to double move right up to the kill zone, in the hopes that maybe you’ll connect with your one AoO on one enemy, while everything else enjoys shooting you while you have no cover.
Adding to that, your team now has a giant obstacle to try and shoot around if they want to engage the enemies, or try to maneuver around if you’ve got more melee focused characters.
On the other side, the Trox’s other racial abilities, I like them, but rather than yelling ‘OP!’ at me, they kind of just say “We’re situationally useful, I hope you enjoy us.” Which is where racial abilities should be, I think.
Just wait for the targets the are willing to explode when face to face with big and scary. "As you hit this poor sob the detonator show clearly in his hand and his eye burn with furver."
Let's see, am I going to shoot at the t-rex eating my buddy 10' away or the velociraptors shooting lasers at us from 100' away. Hard decision.
Let's see, am I going to shoot at the t-rex eating my buddy 10' away or the velociraptors shooting lasers at us from 100' away. Hard decision.
On a related note, when are we getting uplifted velociraptors as a playable race?
Uhhh... Three years?
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The problem I have is that the tactic you are describing is that it’s a bad tactic. Now, I’m happy for you if it works and you’re having fun.
But, if your GM has some intelligent enemies on the table, I would expect that they would maneuver to keep your character and any other cover between themselves and your team, while keeping the range open if possible. Really, anything they can do to force penalties on your team’s shots. All while focusing on your character until it drops.
If that’s not happening in your games, it’s because your GM can’t or won’t do it. Not because you’ve found some kind of great battle plan.
And as far as ‘little pew pew ranged characters’ go, my GM tries your tactic on me, all the time. Once, it got me into hit points, because of some lucky natural 20’s. Generally, it starts with the big melee monster doing exactly as you describe, and it ends with me kiting the thing until it dies while my team takes care of the rest of the npcs. I play a vesk armor storm soldier, I use heavy weapons, and I don’t think anyone who has played one will ever call it ‘a little pew pew’ character.
that's monsters on PCs. Monsters lose the action economy war 9:10, which is what enables the PCs to move onto triumph time and time again 'against the odds'. That's the entire mechanic of most RPGs, particularly ones from the D&D clade, of which Starfinder clearly is one.
When it's PCs on monsters, it makes it much more even. now, your PC has an action economy... we'll generously call it an advantage... on whatever it's fighting. your buddies in the back are buffing, shooting, etc., and you are up front clanging and banging.
A trox / uplifted bear / shobhad, with their reach, speed (blitz soldier, no extra 10' with the shobhad) can wreck stuff while their buddies are in support roles.
Bears don't even have reach. Sarcesians do, and they don't get much else.
Still, reach is great for melee, and it is the one thing that benefits from size.
I don't mind that we have those L races, they're fun and not as strong as they could be in PF. In a vacuum, I don't necessarily mind the Trox either.
The comparison is kinda painful though. They get at least as much combat-oriented stuff as the other 3, strictly more than some, with an added versatility the others lack.
It does seem like a lot. And this time around you're not even the weirdest looking person in town.
Doubt it's game-breaking, but still.
I find trox cool, but I'm more focused on revelation that they are essentially evangelists :p
Please explain.
I find trox cool, but I'm more focused on revelation that they are essentially evangelists :pPlease explain.
It's in their write up. The Hylax avatar on Nchak had the original species modified into a humanoid form, put into asteroids, and sent out across the system.
"Although they were created as emissaries..."
"Trox often serve as spiritual guides and advisors to those curious about Hylax. She is the goddess of diplomacy and peace, as well as protector of the weak, a role for which trox are also well equipped. Trox travel more often to teach and protect others than to seek adventure."
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I find trox cool, but I'm more focused on revelation that they are essentially evangelists :pPlease explain.It's in their write up. The Hylax avatar on Nchak had the original species modified into a humanoid form, put into asteroids, and sent out across the system.
"Although they were created as emissaries..."
"Trox often serve as spiritual guides and advisors to those curious about Hylax. She is the goddess of diplomacy and peace, as well as protector of the weak, a role for which trox are also well equipped. Trox travel more often to teach and protect others than to seek adventure."
Ye, turns out they are just Hylax's witne- I mean emissaries sent to around solar system to tell of their god :p The ones that sent on Golarion just got unlucky and got enslaved by duergar to be breeded into super aggressive dumb form
Sure they have huge hammers, but they are really friendly when they come to your door to spread word of Forever Queen
Regardless of its power level, it has waaaaay more racial abilities than usual.
I really love the look and story of them but it is indeed a wall o text TM for all their abilities. The abilities are not that crazy or OP but the amount of them is a bit eyebrow raising. With their speed and burrowing ability they could make a hilarious land shark melee type character.
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I find trox cool, but I'm more focused on revelation that they are essentially evangelists :pPlease explain.It's in their write up. The Hylax avatar on Nchak had the original species modified into a humanoid form, put into asteroids, and sent out across the system.
"Although they were created as emissaries..."
"Trox often serve as spiritual guides and advisors to those curious about Hylax. She is the goddess of diplomacy and peace, as well as protector of the weak, a role for which trox are also well equipped. Trox travel more often to teach and protect others than to seek adventure."
Ye, turns out they are just Hylax's witne- I mean emissaries sent to around solar system to tell of their god :p The ones that sent on Golarion just got unlucky and got enslaved by duergar to be breeded into super aggressive dumb form
Sure they have huge hammers, but they are really friendly when they come to your door to spread word of Forever Queen
They probably get a ton of converts. Who says no to a giant bug thing with a huge honking hammer who politely asks you to join their faith.
I really love the look and story of them but it is indeed a wall o text TM for all their abilities. The abilities are not that crazy or OP but the amount of them is a bit eyebrow raising. With their speed and burrowing ability they could make a hilarious land shark melee type character.
I think they would have been fine if most of those abilities had been left as flavor instead of rules.
If they just had large size, reach, 8 HP and burrow they would be much more in line with other races.
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They did say they ask politely. The hammer's just there in case you need some carpentry done while they happen to be around.
Constructive force!