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So, been reading through Solarian's feats, and a question formed in my mind.
How does Homing Mote interact with Distant Flare, Star Brand, and Propulsive Shield?
To help, I'll explain what each feat does, from lowest level to highest:
Distant Flare: Level 2 feat, adds 15 ft to the range increments of the Solar Flare.
Star Brand: Level 6 feat. For one action, after hitting a foe with either Solar Weapon or Solar Flare, brand the foe with a mark that makes them concealed if invisible... and more importantly to this, adds 60 ft to the solar flare's ranged increments!
Propulsive Shield: Level 8 feat. Requires Solar Shield. As long as your Solar Shield is raised, you add 10 ft to your flare's range increments, add +1 damage to the flare per # of weapon die (same type as attunement), and gain an additional benefit depending on attunement (graviton gets +2 to trip if you crit, photon gets an extra 1d8 persistent fire damage when you crit).
Homing Mote: Level 18 feat. Triple the range increments of Solar Flare, and ignore concealment and cover of targets within first increment.
Basically, what I'm asking is: how does this stack? Should I:
1) Add up the extra increment distance from the earlier feats and then triple it?
Or
2) Triple the initial the increments first, then add the extra increases?
I'm probably over thinking it, but I am also curious what other people think.
(right now, my math knowledge tells me it's #2)
This sounds like the same problem that plagues speed increases.
The general rules indicate that bonuses should never be untyped. Only penalties are untyped.
Unlike bonuses, penalties can also be untyped, in which case they won't be classified as “circumstance,” “item,” or “status.”
But apparently Increases (such as speed increases or range increment increases) are somehow different than bonuses. Though I am not sure what that difference is since 'Increase' is never defined as a game term, and some speed increases are typed.
So to start with, I would question if all of those range increases should be added together at all.
After that, I am not seeing any indication of order between multiplying a value and adding to it. Not in general. There is for damage (you add damage bonuses first before multiplying for a crit, with the exception of damage added only due to the crit), but we can't apply the specific rules for damage as a general rule for all other values.
So I would expect that each table is going to have to make a ruling on that themselves.
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So, been reading through Solarian's feats, and a question formed in my mind.
How does Homing Mote interact with Distant Flare, Star Brand, and Propulsive Shield?
To help, I'll explain what each feat does, from lowest level to highest:
** spoiler omitted **
Basically, what I'm asking is: how does this stack? Should I:
1) Add up the extra increment distance from the earlier feats and then triple it?
Or
2) Triple the initial the increments first, then add the extra increases?I'm probably over thinking it, but I am also curious what other people think.
(right now, my math knowledge tells me it's #2)
My reading would be add up the flat bonuses and then the multiplication. The flat ones are increases range increment so those are changing the value of the that increment value. The last is three times your increment value so it would make sense if that happens to what is now your range increment.
And yes this means if you are heavily investing in your flare it has some serious range by level 18.
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So... after some time thinking on it, I have my interpretation of an answer:
You add Distant Flare first, then multiply by 3 from Homing Mote, then add Star Brand and Propulsive Shield. This would result in a range of:
Photon: (30+15) * 3 + 60 + 10 = 205 ft increment
Graviton: (15+15) * 3 + 60 + 10 = 160 ft increment
I'll put how I came to this conclusion in a spoiler, to avoid a wall of text:
Basically, after rereading the feats, I decided to separate them into two categories of increases. Constant and Conditional.
Constant: it's always on. Distant Flare and Homing Mote both just flat out increase the range of your flare, no strings attached.
Conditional: The increase only happens when the circumstances align. Propulsive Shield requires you've raised your shield to apply, while Star Brand requires you've marked your target.
Taking this in mind, I figured it was fine to add the increase from Distant Flare, then multiple it by Homing Mote, and THEN add in Propulsive Shield and Star Brand.
...However
My reading would be add up the flat bonuses and then the multiplication. The flat ones are increases range increment so those are changing the value of the that increment value. The last is three times your increment value so it would make sense if that happens to what is now your range increment.And yes this means if you are heavily investing in your flare it has some serious range by level 18.
I do like the way you think, Kaid. Especially since this would get you
Photon: 345 ft increments
Graviton: 300 ft increments
Oh, and for clarity...
Photon: 175 ft
Graviton: 130 ft
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I will note one of the big range boosts is that feat that requires that you already hit that target in the combat to brand them. So to really turn on crazy range you already hit that thing at much closer range. I am okay if once you brand somebody you can basically hunt and plink them anywhere on the battlefield it seems in keeping with the intent of the feat.
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I will note one of the big range boosts is that feat that requires that you already hit that target in the combat to brand them. So to really turn on crazy range you already hit that thing at much closer range. I am okay if once you brand somebody you can basically hunt and plink them anywhere on the battlefield it seems in keeping with the intent of the feat.
Yeah, the intent of Star Brand is clearly so you can go, "You will not escape me!" To an enemy trying to run away after you've got them in range.