Kineticist for 2nd Edition

[Caleb Garofalo]

Kineticist

Here you go for all of you that don't want to wait to play a Kineticist.

[Zaister]

Why is this kineticist a spellcaster?

[Temperans]

May I ask why only 3 uses of the basic kinetic blast before needing to take burn?

[Caleb Garofalo]

Zaister wrote:

Why is this kineticist a spellcaster?

He doesn't cast spells in the traditional sense. He uses Focus Points which is 2E's version of spendable class mechanics also known as powers (such as Ki). The Kineticist in 1st edition had a lot of abilities that mimicked spells or spell-like-abilities, focus points is the equivalent way to do that in 2E.

Temperans wrote:

May I ask why only 3 uses of the basic kinetic blast before needing to take burn?

It takes advantage of the action system. It allows interplay between using your powers, using gather power to reduce the cost of those powers, and using burn to replace the spell points you've spent to use those powers. With three actions a turn what combination of those three things leads to many possibilities and meaningful choices.

Do I spend all three points so I can use a blast with two infusions? Next turn how many burn actions do I use? Two so I can use a blast this turn and have 1 FP to spend the turn after that? Two and a gather power so I can use 3 SP worth of powers next turn? There's a lot of possible combinations depending on what you want to do when.

[Leotamer]

At level one, your kineticist has lackluster proficiencies, what is effectively a cantrip (Gather Power+Blast) that deals +2 damage on average over Produce Flame, and you need to take damage to do something that over classes can take 10 minutes to do for the "benefit" that sometimes you can prepare a turn that is after your next one during combat, or abuse another class focus spells.

You also get a spell that is useless (produce fire), or very situational.

Compared to wizards; 5 cantrips per day, 2 level one spells per day, arcane thesis, arcane school, drained object, and a wizard feat.

And then at level 2, you can get a compositive blast and start dealing 8d6+8+Con damage, with 2d6+2 scaling.

Most of the feats are similarly feast or famine. Gate and Cataclysm are huge slaps to the face. For cataclysm, you need its four prerequisite feats and its feat, to do something that wizards can do for a feature at level 19. Gate does not require pre-requisites, but instead, you are getting a discount version of something the wizard gets as a feature one level earlier. Occult Legend is also a feat which wizards have as a feature one level earlier, which you have less use for because you are not a full caster.

Unless you are cheesing, you are playing a wizard, but much worse.

[RangerWickett]

Before I look at this, let me recall my rough brainstorm idea:

I'd just get rid of burn. Give you a focus point you can spend to use an infusion without needing to gather power, and maybe some utility powers would require spending a focus point.

A basic blast that heightens like a cantrip (one die for each odd character level). One form infusion at first level - which requires energy.

Gather power comes at 1st level, which lets you spend 1 or more actions to store energy, which must be spend before your next turn. You get a cool special effect based on your element.

Gathering aether lets you move small objects around you.
Gathering air lets you levitate and create winds around you.
Gathering earth counts as raising a shield. (Take the shield block feat if you want.)
Gathering fire can burn people around you.
Gathering water gives you a bonus to Reflex (sort of like a shield).

Maybe there'd be variants for lightning, metal, cold, etc.

Higher level infusions can require 2 or 3 actions to shape. But at higher level you start to be able to reduce the cost of infusions.

Every odd level you get a utility power.

Every even level you can spend class feats to get form or utility powers, or some other trick.

There'd be a feat at level 8 or whatever to let you get another element, which would give you the option to make composite blasts.

Then most of the work is just converting the powers and making sure they're balanced.

[Varun Creed]

Burn is a central gameplay piece of Kineticists.

[RangerWickett]

I disagree. The one kineticist I had in my game was that Charisma variant who *couldn't* take burn. She still did cool elementalist stuff.

[Lucas Yew]

Burn was just plucked in last minute because someone in the dev team thought a CON centric class is overpowered (not true by the way, including the fact that there's no CON based skill to synergize out of combat).

[DM_aka_Dudemeister]

RangerWickett wrote:

I disagree. The one kineticist I had in my game was that Charisma variant who *couldn't* take burn. She still did cool elementalist stuff.

They still interact with burn, they just have to reduce the cost to 0.

[DM_aka_Dudemeister]

Lucas Yew wrote:

Burn was just plucked in last minute because someone in the dev team thought a CON centric class is overpowered (not true by the way, including the fact that there's no CON based skill to synergize out of combat).

I don't think that's accurate, burn was central to the class even from the first playtest. Lots of people didn't *like* burn, but it was always a part of the class even from the first playtest.

I personally always thought Burn was a cool and thematic part of the class, using your body to conduct the elemental matter has a real cost.

But to each their own.

[Varun Creed]

A kineticists almost never takes burn damage, unless she novas. It's a good balance, but people aren't used to use HP as a resource. That's why some don't like it..

[Caleb Garofalo]

Alright I did another pass on it, sorry it took so long. Formatting should be more consistent with the way Paizo does (similar to sorcerer bloodlines). I reworked gather power and elemental overflow (it's now a blend of weapon specialization and the OG overflow).

[ClanPsi]

I suggest you check out this dude's homebrew:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/dq86us/the_elementalist_a_ki neticistinspired_class_for/

It's pretty good.

In fact, you should contact him direct and work together to make the best Kineticist you can as a team. That'd be absolutely amazing.