Level 1 PFS Inventor playtest

[Verzen]

I played in 2-05 as a weapon innovator. My weapon was blunderbuss. Issues I had - I had to get super up close with the blunderbuss and often didn't have the AC (only 18) or the HP to really survive easily. I got crushed multiple times. I had the 1st level feat for my construct pet as well. My construct got crushed multiple times and repeatedly almost got destroyed and probably would have if the champion didn't keep reducing the damage by 5. I found out that I had no real way to combat heal my pet and no one in my party could combat heal him. That didn't exactly feel good. If my construct WAS my innovation, that would doubly feel bad, seeing as how he felt easily defeated. I had rolled pretty good during that session *don't think I rolled below a 14 on any of my attacks* and so I managed to always connect with my attacks for both my construct and my inventor. I feel like using a ranged weapon as my invention had very little options for my weapon innovation at level 1 while melee had a crap ton of options. I feel like this will push people more so to make melee innovations rather than ranged and that there needs to be more level 1 ranged options for my innovation to have fun with.

Atm, there are NO ranged specific ones and there are only modular head and segmented frame unless you're using a SIMPLE weapon in which complex simplicity could be added while with melee you have the option of all those PLUS four more additional options. I feel like there should be 3 ranged specific options added at level 1 to give more support for ranged weapon innovations.

Special: I also think these special breakthrough innovations need to occur more frequently. Getting my next set at level 9 doesn't feel good. I love this unique feature for the class. I'd prefer if I got them at level 5, and every 4 levels after that.

[Verzen]

I think if there is no real way to 'heal' a construct companion during combat, they should probably innately take less damage to compensate or something. At level 1, a single turn brought my construct from 17 HP to 2 HP WITH the champions reaction from two different hits.

Animal companions have a way to heal easily during combat (from clerics, oracles, alchemists, and anyone else that has a heal). These construct companions do not (How many spells actually heal constructs?). As such, I feel that having no easy way for the inventor to protect their prototype companion really hampers them and makes them worse than animal companions.

The immunities are great and all, but it's an issue that comes down to how common damage from melee is *VERY common* compared to coming into contact with any of those debilitating effects *far rarer than being crushed*

[beowulf99]

The inventor does have an option for healing their innovation mid combat, but only their innovation, not a Prototype companion that you get from the feat.

Unstable Repair [One Action]
You quickly fix your innovation, at the cost of its stability. You
Repair your innovation. Repair has the unstable trait when
used this way. You don’t have to place the innovation on a flat
surface, but you do need to be adjacent to it (including holding
or wearing it) as well as have a repair kit as normal.

So at first assuming you have Expert in Craft, you'd be able to heal up to 20 hp to your companion, at the expense of your "free" unstable action. This is... not great. The inventor needs a better way of putting out some in combat mech healing. Perhaps an ability that mimics the Ranger's Heal Companion focus Spell, but as an Unstable action and with additional healing built in to make up for not being able to reliably use it as much.

I could see something like this:
Tune-Up! [One Action]
Unstable
You quickly recalibrate a Construct Companion under your control. You restore 1d8+4 Hit Points to the Companion. Increase this healing by 1d8+4 for every two levels you have over 1. If the Construct Companion is your Innovation, increase this healing to 1d10+8, and increase it every other level by 1d10+8.

Something to that effect. This is roughly on par with Heal Companion, as it's 1 action no matter what and folds in some flat healing with the dice. The die and flat bump for Innovation companions is just an incentive really to grab the feat for such characters.

Being unstable, you can't really count on using this ability more than once per combat, so it being a Little on the strong side feels justified.