Fulfilling the promise of Resonance & Focus: a proposal


Skills, Feats, Equipment & Spells


When I began hearing about the Pathfinder Playtest rules, I was very excited about what I saw as the promise of Resonance and Focus (Spell Points); a relatively straightforward and flexible way to handle magic items and class powers that was resistant to abuse. I don't think that either the current playtest rules or the Resonance Test rules really delivers on that promise, but I do think that it is possible, so I'm posting my framework for doing so to see what the community at large thinks.

Resonance:

Resonance is how permanent magic items are used.

Consumables are invested at the time of crafting and do what they do, and the Level/Price/Effect reflects this (you could, if absolutely necessary, make some sort of rule about how often the same sort of consumable could be used on the same target, but I think that in the end it would be too much trouble to write and adjudicate).

Permanent items use Resonance for investment or activation much like the original Playtest rules as appropriate (including there being types of items that don't need either). I would avoid using charges in general; if item spamming is a problem I would limit problem items to one use per minute/10 minutes/hour/day as necessary.

Staves being invested and then usable with either Resonance or spell slots is a great system and I'd keep it, but I don't think additional charges or the like is needed (investing still gives access to a cantrip, after all). I'd change typical Wands to a single spell that doesn't use charges, just activation with Resonance or spell slot (time-limiting them if that turns out to be a problem); I don't think investing on top of that is necessary.

Resonance starts out low (basing on CHA is fine) and increases with level, because that's pretty much how magic item access/use works and not including consumables makes that much less of a problem. No overspending. Classes/builds that would be unduly hampered by a lack of Resonance can have class features or feats available to increase their total.

Focus:

Focus is how class features that aren't persistent (or just don't need limiting) are used (unless they are time-limited instead, like Barbarian Rage, if that system is kept). This includes all of them; Bloodline Powers, Domain Powers, Channels, Wild shape, Daily/Quick Alchemy, Ki Powers, Lay on Hands, etc. One pool, one thing to track.

The key to making this work is realizing that a character's Focus can vary by need; not all Classes/builds have to have the same totals and ways to obtain Focus, and some may not need it at all, any more than all classes need spell slots. We saw a version of this with Spell Points; what I'm proposing is similar, just with all the side pools folded into it.

Besides working out when and how much Focus should be provided to each character build, the other major issue with Focus is balancing the powers that it fuels. I doubt that trying to make every possible power equally worthwhile is going to be practical (especially when Multiclassing is taken into account), so a Major/Minor 1-2 Focus per use or Lesser/Regular/Greater 1-3 Focus per use cost system will probably be needed, which will affect how appropriate Focus totals will be designed; it's not the easiest thing to work out, but it's doable (I think. It may be that Multiclassing is going to requite multiple Focus pools to work, but it requires multiple sets of spell slots where that's an issue, so I'm okay with that).

Thoughts? Do you think this would work? Am I oversimplifying, or opening things up to abuse? I'd like to know.


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I'm not really sure what problem you're trying to solve with this proposal. Resonance in it's second playtest form is trying to solve the "you are wearing 98 magic items" problem. And it does that in a relatively straightforward way.

If we're back to activating items with resonance, now we're also back to the problem of "do I get to use a power in this item, or wear this other one?" that was pretty widely panned in the original playtest. I see that as a non-starter.

As for focus, having things cost varying focus point amounts solves one problem in terms of competition for the points and how some things are just better than others, but creates new ones in terms of extra complexity and trying to balance those numbers. And really, if Channel is a 2 point power and it's competing with a 1 point power... I'll just not use the 1 point power to save up for more channnels unless I have an odd number.

So even then, it's not really fixed.


Mostly I'm trying to solve the problem of several different fiddly things to track, plus what as far as I can tell what Resonance was intended to solve in the first place (simplifying item slots and preventing item spamming).

I'm not claiming my approach isn't going to need work to get the numbers optimal, but that's true with both the current playtest system and the Focus test, so I'm more interested in how the final result could work.

As it stands, the Test system makes it a choice between using what are supposed to be defining class abilities and making items (including consumables) really useful, which strikes me as a bigger problem than having to select between a plethora of item uses.

As for channel versus other class powers, given the general commentary I'm seeing on both how powerful channels are and how underwhelming a lot of class powers are, it looks to me like that could use some adjustment anyway. It may be that even with channel at three Focus and improved domain powers at one Focus that clerics will still use all their Focus on channels and call for more, but I'd like to have a chance to test it.

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