When I first got the CRB, the first character idea I had and worked on was one that was a bit edgy, a bright and innocent character with something dark haunting him. He was to be a spellcaster happened upon his power after some junk, and basically was scared but used this void power to try to do good (while fighting off the dark influence). From glancing over classes, at first the Solarian seemed to fit this so well! You could channel the energy of the void, of a black hole! A small black mote followed you around, and you could make it do things! As I was trying to get the character to work though, I found that the vast majority of Solarian makes balancing very important, as you rely on Photon powers to deal damage, while "Graviton" are more utility.
At that point it became obvious, it wasn't a spellcaster at all, but a utility melee/tank. Which is still cool! It just made me so disappointed, as Mystic and Technomancer don't really fulfill the "class fantasy" I was looking for.
Does anyone else have any hopes for new classes in the future like this?
I think having more classes added to the game is a given, but I'm happy with the seven we have for now. Almost any concept can be achieved with an archetype and additional class options. Then again, I'm a GM.
I really like your solarian idea and think it is possible. If you went with solar armor (the darkness covers you, protecting its only gate to this world), picking only gravitron abilities (who cares if you are imbalanced, minor inconvenience and it fits the theme of fearing your power), and take feats to support a range game you are set for an awesome character with good mechanics.
As for what I want out of the system, I don't think we need more classes. But I do want some more solarian options.
Range solar weapons for one.
Being able to combine solar armor and solar weapons for two.
I want green lantern to be a reality.
I tend to agree with the more options within the classes (as opposed to more classes) being the way to go.
I was thinking an operative/mechanic cross. Someone who slips into starships unseen, hacks their systems, sabotages devices, etc. A tech guy but with infiltration abilities.
Isn't that just a Hacker Operative or an Exocortex Mechanic with Stealth skill focus, holograms and invisibility/reactive camouflage? Or even a Technomancer with movement, illusion and invisibility spells?
As it is there's already potentially a ton of overlap between those two classes and I've seen threads on this forum literally complaining about computer and engineering bonus competitions between an Operative, Mechanic and Technomancer. Is another tech specialized character class really needed?
It's not "full" spellcasting, but there are ways to get a few spells/spell-like abilities with a solarian:
1) Themes- Certain themes (dream prophet, priest) grant spells or spell-like abilities.
2) Feats- Connection Inkling, Minor Psychic Power/Psychic Power/Major Psychic Power, Minor Stage Magic/Stage Magic/Major Stage Magic, and Technomantic Dabbler grant spells or spell-like abilities.
3) Archetypes- Some archetypes (arcanamirium sage, divine champion, phrenic adept, or star knight*) grant spells and/or spell-like abilities. Arcanamirium sage, through Spell Gem Manipulation, probably has the most versatility.
*- depending on order
I actually think a Mystic would be perfect. Mind Breaker mystics are kind of like Tetsuo from Akira. Abilities like Share pain, Sow doubt, and Explode head. Also looking at their spells they have a lot of story telling elements. Mind blast is great, but you can also force choke fools and at a higher level you can create a black hole that’s better than a Solarians black hole.