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So I was looking at items in the armoury for future use on my characters in SFS. Finding this "weapon" really sparked an idea in my head for a Mechanic. From my experience with bots while playing and GMing I never feel impressed. Instead of focusing on doing damage I had the thought of making it a helper bot. Sure it cost 1300 credits but it would be great to have it fulfill a support role.
There are a few problems though that I see with how this item is written. It is not very clear whether or not you need to roll to hit with this "weapon." I would rule at my tables if this ever appeared that you do not need to do so. The 1d4 temporary hit points is not going to be a game breaking reduction in damage. For those that build their characters to not take damage by using damage reduction this is simply a little extra on top. These 1d4 temporary hit points only last until the start of my next turn too, it is not a prolonged condition.
My other problem with the "weapon" is how it is affected by overcharge and weapon specialization. If I overclock using overcharge it will only drain extra charges? Adding another 1d6 at the cost of 12 charges, essentially three shots from the max ten(40/4 usage) is not exactly game breaking either. The least this adds is 2 temporary hit points, at most 10. On average it would stop 3.5 and 2.5, rounding down to 5. The amount of damage that gets tossed around as you level up certainly out paces this.
Add in weapon specialization and you really only add half your level since it is a small arm. This aspect is harder to argue since the feat specifically mentions damage. The overcharge I would consider easier to explain away. Being a tech level 4 item the earliest you can purchase it is level 3. So Your average only moves to 7, and goes up by one every even level. True the amount of this would stop wouldn't be huge but it could mean the difference of a team mate falling in battle.
The next upgrade for this item is at 8th level since the Defender is tech level 9. This version provides 2d6 temporary hit points and cost 13,800 credits. This is not a cheap way to provide support at either version. Maybe this is just me rattling a saber for a futile cause...But I would love a rules clarification on this item or a possible official ruling I can point to when questioned about its use.
I think it’s a weapon in all respects except it grants temp HP instead of doing damage. You have to roll to hit (regular range increment without a special note/limitation like with Line or Blast weapon’s is a strong hint), and any damage boosters, like Supercharge Weapon Spell, help.
A custom Bestow Curse negotiated with your GM might get you a +2 bonus to hit with these, curse your allies to be more vulnerable to only these weapons.
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I think it’s a weapon in all respects except it grants temp HP instead of doing damage. You have to roll to hit (regular range increment without a special note/limitation like with Line or Blast weapon’s is a strong hint), and any damage boosters, like Supercharge Weapon Spell, help.
A custom Bestow Curse negotiated with your GM might get you a +2 bonus to hit with these, curse your allies to be more vulnerable to only these weapons.
My problem for rolling to hit is your team mates should be upgrading their armour. With AC going up every level I end up only being able to target maybe the allies who shouldn't realistically be targeted. On average I see a minimum of 18 EAC on allies if they are dex based at this level range...and it only goes higher with heavy armour and power armour users. So now I have a support item that at best provides 1d4 temporary hit points half the time? At worst I have wasted a standard action and 1/10 of the battery for ammo.
As for bestow curse that is a neat suggestion with a few draw backs. You have to be a 7th level Mystic to cast this. While an ally can forego a saving throw and accept the curse, I am now spending extra actions. Turn one I curse you, turn two I try to hit your EAC with a 60% chance. That is only if they have a 22 EAC at level 7 and I am making my dex and focus on small arms.
I guess the item description does say it sees most of its use from security protecting diplomats and high-profile celebrities. These targets in theory would be lightly armoured.
A GM in my local gaming area suggested hitting the same AC as with covering/harrying fire. That way you're more likely to apply the affect with at least a chance of failure.
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Honestly I never thought of Supercharge Weapon and the shield projector. 4d6+1d4+1(only if weapon specialization counted, for this example it does. 17 temporary hit points on a average is beastly, but you are facing the same issue of a two turn set up.
Another weird thought is dual wielding these and full attacking. Obviously you couldn't target the same person, but this would allow a little more damage mitigation.
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Bestow Curse is permanent, you don't do it in combat.
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Bestow Curse is permanent, you don't do it in combat.
I didn't look at the duration...whoops! haha
Wouldn't they be required to remove it by the end of the scenario? I guess the Mystic themselves could do it. At 7th level it ends up being your only 3rd level spells though which becomes a big deterrent. For me at least. Still a great suggestion/ work around.
Trick Attack your friends for increased temp HP.
Does anything that alters damage work here ?
The shielding comes from a special property, not a weird inversed damage type.
I' m not conviced any damage boosters would apply, no more than they would to the igniters, nanite throwers, wraith-stung rifles or all those other "Damage: —" guns.
Which would mean it's really not great, so I might be wrong.
I'm actually curious now, as I may have understimated those shield-guns.
Does anything that alters damage work here ?
The shielding comes from a special property, not a weird inversed damage type.
I' m not conviced any damage boosters would apply, no more than they would to the igniters, nanite throwers, wraith-stung rifles or all those other "Damage: —" guns.Which would mean it's really not great, so I might be wrong.
I'm actually curious now, as I may have understimated those shield-guns.
Oh, you're right, I was remembering them as listing damage and the special shield quality modifying that. I agree that damage boosters don't do anything, including weapon specialization. So they're bad if you don't have to roll to hit and garbage if you do. They should have at a minimum specified that they only shoot out to their first range increment, don't require an attack roll, and made them unwieldy.
Actually, without a damage type, how would you determine what AC they target? They're just an underdeveloped weapon in every way.
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Which is why I posted hoping for clarification or at least something I can share with Gm's I use the item with. Haha. My fear is this item will always be like the lasso of pathfinder...fun to use for a player but a pain to upgrade and a annoyance for the GM.
This item basically throws out a shield similar to the brown, purple, black etc. Except you can't target yourself, it doesn't have fast healing to replace lost points. Its also a variable amount 1d4...So yeah it is bad.
Hmm. Interesting point, though I don't think that's more than a bit of kinda weird writing.
Looking at the other "damage:—" weapons : Igniters and Graviton guns affect "targets hit" while Shield Projectors and Nanite Throwers just affect "targets"... And I think they're supposed to be functionally similar ?
Seeing as Nanite Throwers and Igniters are virtually identical (at least when it comes to level and damage), I can't imagine one of them being an auto-hit weapon when the other isn't.
It may not be strictly what is written, but I expect that's the intent. Could be wrong.
Not needing to hit would certainly help them though - especially the non-offensive, ally-targeting Shield guns.
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My thought is: if they didn't need attack rolls to work, they'd be tech items, not weapons.
My thought is: if they didn't need attack rolls to work, they'd be tech items, not weapons.
I'd add that the fact that they have a range listed but nothing indicating it doesn't work in a standard way means they can shoot out to ten times that range as normal but also with normal range increment penalties. And you can't take penalties without an attack roll.
Okay, uh, here's my reason why Shield Projector might need an attack roll.
You could use a level 4 shield projector in conjunction with "Spellshot" magical hack in order to deliver things like Heat Leech from any enemy's location within 400ft, oriented in any direction you choose. Seems a bit unintended.
I don't think the logic of, these have an attack roll solely for this high level ability to prevent it's use at range, is very sound logic.
That said, they certainly DO function like a normal weapon and require a roll. But whether they SHOULD or not is an entirely different matter lol.
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I don't think the logic of, these have an attack roll solely for this high level ability to prevent it's use at range, is very sound logic.
You're missing the most important part! The fact that I found a sort of busted thing I wanna humble brag about.
I don't think the logic of, these have an attack roll solely for this high level ability to prevent it's use at range, is very sound logic.You're missing the most important part! The fact that I found a sort of busted thing I wanna humble brag about.
Lol... I suppose... Though following the logic... If you change numerous rules you can come up with countless busted things then haha.