In the past, I've generally done a long-winded thread where I go over my thoughts and concepts. I see no reason to change anything, so here we go!
Before the playtest came out, I had some ideas for what concepts I'd want to play with a Commander class, so I'll grab that for inclusion.
It sounds like an excellent class for playing a noble. If I had to make one now, it would probably be a bard with a lot of reflavoring or a wizard. Commander seems perfect for a third-in-line noble "spare" out with an adventuring party while their siblings jockey for political favor.
Anxious characters. I can see a Commander up late, trying to plan for everything that might go wrong, and hanging back in a fight as they try to help everyone.
Lazy characters. Just have everyone else fight, and hit the enemies who get close. I do want to play a gnoll that leans into that a bit.
Tiny or otherwise less combat-focused characters. Sure, if you're playing a sprite, grabbing caster makes sense. But if I'm playing an awakened housecat, I don't necessarily want them to be a caster, and this gives a nice option for non-magical participation in combat without relying on a weapon.
Erfworld-style isekai protagonist. What do you do if you end up in Golarion but you don't get handed magical cheat powers? Use your vast experience in tabletop RPG battles, naturally! Thaumaturge was my previous top contender, using Esoteric Lore as a codified metagaming skill. Commander lets you be a bit less meta, especially if you play someone only familiar with various editions of D&D. (Post-Remaster, you could probably allow any D&D books as reference without breaking any balance.)
First up: proficiencies. I initially felt bad about getting Wizard level of skills and a lore, but seeing what Warfare Lore gets to actually roll, I'm on board. Heavy armor is a surprise, but not unwelcome. Legendary class DC progression is neat! Standard martial weapon advancement means you're relevant in a fight.
Features:
Commander's banner gives the Standard Leader Buff of +1 status vs. fear, and enemies have a small incentive to play capture the flag. But, notably, you don't need to spend a hand on the banner.
Tactics are at will, two prepped of four, and usable by the whole party unless you really go out of your way to dump your key stat. Changeable mid-day, which is nice. The amount you have on reserve feels a bit small, but maybe having something you could have done has too much sting?
Drilled reactions is an excellent addition that makes this all work with a wider variety of party comps. There's one extra reaction to hand out where it's needed most, if the Fighter already took an important swing.
Shield block, naturally.
Warfare expertise has great functionality that I'd kind of like to see at first, but I'm not going to fault the class for it. Warfare for initiative if you see your enemies, and roll it for all the common creature knowledge checks (except weaknesses/resistances).
We expand our tactics at 7th, 15th, and 19th. Because those give access to stronger abilities and one more prep, we will always be choosing two of four intro tactics and auto-picking the stronger ones. That feels like it undercuts the "prepared" nature a bit. But the tactics aren't slotted, so if you learn more advanced ones, you'll just prep your best.
Tactics: Rather than go through these one-by-one, I'll go over my concepts and see if the tactics support them. But, a few notes!
- Kineticist is kinda dead in the water. There are some "strike" options, but they can't do that. Even the one tactic with casters considered doesn't cover them.
- Shields Up should probably include the Shield cantrip too. Having only one thing that allows spells is a bit of a bummer. A good commander should absolutely be planning around casters.
- Love the one action move speed options. Swim speed for the party is great. The inclusion of Warfare in place of the skills is perfect for this.
Feats: For now, just going to talk about a few low-level ones, and their chains.
Armored Regiment Training is... clocking in around a skill feat or less. Hefty Hauler is double the bulk reduction. This lets you sleep in armor (something that almost never applies because the punishment of being out of appropriate armor jumps an encounter threat by two or three levels) and have the party move at full speed without armor penalty in overland travel (something that almost never applies because games generally have things happen when it's interesting, not based on the rewards or consequences of good or bad travel speed). ... Wait, hang on. It only ignores your armor penalties, so that part only does anything if you're the only one in heavy armor. I feel like this needs a little more oomph.
Combat Assessment is a natural inclusion, and it's got a feat to... let's see, get an extra +2 on the recall if an ally hit it in the last turn, but only on the second round or later? That second feat seems like it's way too restrictive.
Combat Medic is great! Feels like it opens up a whole character concept tree, or at the very least allows a more caring commander. The 4th level follow-up is really nice, giving you something to do with Battle Medic free hand and also improving the help you provide by adding to AC and reflex. 14th level option to bring back the dead is cool for someone who wants to lean into the concept hard.
Commander's Steed makes me picture a scorpion carrying the flag around in its claw. Glad this has the "usually" so I can ask the GM nicely to make it a companion that fits a particular concept. Delayed advancement on the upgrade feats like Ranger. It's a little weird that that's a thing, but hey, it helps keep it from becoming a significant part of the class flavor.
Deceptive Tactics is... look, any time Create a Diversion comes up, it's just a reminder that it doesn't do what people expect (namely, "Be a Diversion") and that the actual effects are a bit weird. Lengthy Diversion is just the crit effect that the base ability is missing. The feinting, that makes sense. The diversion stuff, that's... what, a replacement for stealth on a heavy armor class? Unlike Combat Medic, this isn't really opening up anything new out of combat, except a slim chance to hide. But, unlike Combat Medic, this also adds it onto your existing skill instead of requiring you to advance a skill. It's not for me, because lying and disguise are what I care about for Deception, but it seems fair enough when I lay it out.
Plant Banner is cool and a bit risky. ... I want to put my banner on an immovable rod. Honestly, this seems like good bait for enemies, which is on point for the class.
Adaptive Stratagem/Rapid Assessment are the two mutually-exclusive start of turn abilities. There's a bit of an issue in that Adaptive Stratagem only really works if you have information about the enemies, which Rapid Assessment is for getting. Following up on Adaptive Stratagem only makes sense if you have picked up a few extra tactics. The Rapid Assessment chain is weird, going from one knowledge check, to four, to... six? An 8th level feat is worth +3 checks, but a 12th level feat only gets you +2, and less valuable ones at that? Perfected Evaluations needs to be doing a lot more.
Defensive Swap feels a little more Guardian-ish, but it's here for both selfish commanders and the noble self-sacrificing sorts.
Guiding Shot is the first flourish option, rolling a pseudo-Aid into an attack, setting on the ranged build. It's nice and straightforward for fighting from the rear (presumably, shortbow because of volley and your flag don't play nicely- but if you have a mount run up with your flag, this doesn't require it). It has a follow-up at 10th to always give the crit bonus, and a very tasty damage boost on a ranged attack.
Set-Up Strike is the melee version, and should be fixed so that the single-use off-guard isn't wasted on somebody who already has flanking. It can give off-guard against a ranged attack, though, which is nice. Probably requires somebody delaying or picking another target, depending. No follow-up on this one, and it's not a flourish.
Tactical Expansion gets you two more abilities. Take it early for two more basic options, or spend a higher level feat on it to get more of the stronger abilities. I feel a bit like I'm back in PF1, spending feats to get more of a class option. This might be balanced, but it doesn't feel the best. I'd feel better about taking something like
Now, the character concepts!
Noble: Yeah, we're looking good here. We have Society trained, Int base, and Warfare Lore standing in for basic knowledge at third level. A lot of the starter tactics that don't directly do attacks seem like a good fit, and Officer's Education is very on-point for the concept. Most of the feat chains work for the concept, although probably not medic or the various self-sacrifice ones- they're not very "big picture" uses of one's time.
Anxious character: There's a lot less daily prep for the class than I was expecting, and the tactics aren't really too specific to particular threats. Combat Medic fits great, though, and Rapid Assessment takes on a certain nervous energy once you get Unrivaled Analysis. Picking up Tactical Expansion puts the character in a position where they really do have many more options than they can actually take. Shields Up, Defensive Retreat, and either the swim or climb speed options as something circumstantial that can come up and be prepped or swapped to as needed.
Lazy character: Works great here. Balance means you can't just have the whole party doing stuff until 15th, of course, but you've got Strike Hard to make somebody attack for you, Double Team to have them bring somebody over to you to attack, and Form Up to just generally order people about the place. Plant Banner means you don't even need to carry your banner around, and Commander's Steed gives you an animal companion to boss around too- just not one that'll do too much in a fight.
A talking cat: Definitely want Strike Hard so that attacks are still happening on your turn. Commander's Steed is the only first-level thing that really goes with the no-thumbs approach, but from there you can start getting more variety. Probably focus on banner feats like Wave the Flag. It's still a little tough, since you're wasting the martial proficiency and probably not taking advantage of the heavy armor you could have, but it does it a lot better than most classes!
Isekai'd wargamer: Works way better than expected. I was looking at D&D knowledge as a way to give an appropriate amount of meta-knowledge, but Warfare Lore's expansion is baked right into the class. It's all the most fitting parts of Thaumaturge for the concept, plus everything else Commander brings to the table. Rapid Assessment fits well, and I kind of like things like Banner Twirl for desperate defensive options by somebody unused to real combat. One mobility tactic and one offense, preferably a two-action and one-action pair so multiple allies can be directed in different ways.
All in all, this is great! I think this might be the best "concepts from announcement to actual playtest" conversion. Not to say other classes didn't inspire new characters, but this looks like it lets me do exactly the things I thought it should.
Combat Assessment is a natural inclusion, and it's got a feat to... let's see, get an extra +2 on the recall if an ally hit it in the last turn, but only on the second round or later? That second feat seems like it's way too restrictive.
The second feat (Observational Analysis) isn't quite as restricted as you think.
When you use Combat Assessment against a target that you or an ally has targeted with a Strike or spell since the start of your last turn, you get a +2 circumstance bonus to the Recall Knowledge check (+4 if the Strike from Combat Assessment is a critical hit.)
They don't have to hit to grant you the bonus. But you do still have to hit your Combat Assessment strike to get the Recall Knowledge check at all.
Combat Assessment is a natural inclusion, and it's got a feat to... let's see, get an extra +2 on the recall if an ally hit it in the last turn, but only on the second round or later? That second feat seems like it's way too restrictive.The second feat (Observational Analysis) isn't quite as restricted as you think.
When you use Combat Assessment against a target that you or an ally has targeted with a Strike or spell since the start of your last turn, you get a +2 circumstance bonus to the Recall Knowledge check (+4 if the Strike from Combat Assessment is a critical hit.)They don't have to hit to grant you the bonus. But you do still have to hit your Combat Assessment strike to get the Recall Knowledge check at all.
Ah, yeah. I would maybe take a feat that just flatly gave the +2 circumstance bonus on the knowledge check regardless of conditions. Making it so that I have to have had a previous turn this combat is a dealbreaker even before the ally part enters the picture- it means the ability doesn't work when I need it to (before the caster has spent a spell that targeted a good save).
The Pacifist (alternatively, the Meek Princess*). Never make an attack, instead relying on others to keep you alive and vanquish your foes for you. Also works for a Combat Medic follower of Qi Zhong, who doesn't allow his worshippers to deal lethal damage anyways.
The Jerk. Low Charisma low Wisdom character who is the smartest person in the room, and much to everyone's extreme annoyance, the Jerk is all too aware of that fact.
All right. Saturday game is running a one-shot in our pirate town. Fourth level, free archetype, ancestry paragon. I normally play a drunkard ratfolk changeling Thaumaturge flavored around telling rats to do things.
I'm not gonna drop an isekai character in a one-shot, and we don't have awakened animal yet. A noble doesn't fit the sociopolitical situation, but we can swap that out for a ship captain. "Anxious character" would probably just be another ratfolk, so we'll leave that one aside.
I kinda want to make Captain Iškur from Valkyrie's Shadow, so it's time to badly photoshop an undead catfolk captain in Gimp and put the Mariner's Revenge Song on loop.
One hour later.
All right. One non-canon-to-the-main-game skeleton captain terribly embarrassed about the unrelated undead horde that swept through the town slaughtering hundreds.
SO! Naturally, we're using the free adjustments on skeleton instead of the normal ones. Strength or dex... well, my art is definitely suggesting Dex-finesse. They're gonna be pretty bad in a direct fight as a result, so we'll see how good commanding is.
... Scratch that, the Fighter can't make it, leaving us with a Bard, a Swashbuckler, and a Kineticist. We're gonna have to pull our weight as a frontliner. Clank clonk, time to bonk.
Skeleton heritage is Monstrous Skeleton for... claws would make sense, but my heart says to be able to whip people with the tail and my hands are gonna be occupied anyway. Hmm. We're grabbing heavy armor and no longer going for a finesse build, so let's go for Fodder and bump our speed up without needing to spend a feat on fleet.
We'll sort out the weapon later. Skeleton feats are Collapse because it's hilarious (and also good). I don't think we can afford the charisma to make Undead Empathy useful, so probably As In Life, So In Death. It means being able to get around town without attracting attention, and we can pick up Cat's Luck. No Bulwark for us until fifth, after all.
So, onward to our actual class stuff! Mountaineering Training and Naval Training are the captain must-haves for moving crew about, and they're the only ones that can be used outside combat. I think we'll go with the basic Form Up and Strike Hard. Shields Up would be one shield and one parry weapon, but it doesn't work with the swashbuckler's special parry action or the Kineticist's Hydraulic Deflection from Azerketi. Fortunately, the Kineticist has an animal companion whom I can help out, so they won't be left out.
For feats... Combat Assessment fits better, I think, so let's go with that. Adaptive Stratagem is the natural pick if I'm going to be having "climb speed" out by default. Huh. It's weird that Unsteadying Strike doesn't help the one maneuver you'd expect it to- trip. Nobody in the party does those maneuvers, so it's Banner Twirl, Wave the Flag, or Set-Up Strike. I think Set-Up Strike works best, since that can help anyone in the party who isn't flanking.