Aether and Void Kineticist

[Kelseus]

I decided to put together a homebrew an Aether and Void Kineticist.

I started with a quote from a sidebar in Rage of Elements about the "elements" of aether and void. I had three goals in mind when designing these elements. First was I wanted to be as true to the original void and force kineticists from Pathfinder 1 as I could. Secondly, I wanted to create more unique and original impulses that play into the unique aspects of each element instead of just reskining existing impulses.

Third, I wanted the new abilities to be balanced against the existing impulses. Force was particularly hard to balance. The Kineticist damage curve is already pretty stingy, but I was worried that giving force the same damage curve as other elements would make it too strong since there are no force resistant/immune creatures and it is a trump card for a subset of monsters (incorporeal). On the other hand, if you pull back on force damage too much then the rough damage curve gets even worse.

See the link below for write up. Any input is helpful. Is the ability unbalanced either way (too strong or too weak). Is there some void/force concept that I didn't use that could be better represented?

Aether and Void Kineticist

[Teridax]

I'm very glad someone is approaching additional Kineticist elements; I'd very much like to see different elements turned into impulses and junctions and I think this sets a very good model for aether and void. I also think there is a solid identity to these elements as implemented, with void being about damage, darkness, and regaining Hit Points, and aether being about defenses and manipulation of mobility. I also just love the flavor text of "you punch through the Universe."

Looking through the impulses and junctions, here are my criticisms:

* Although it makes sense to tie the Aether element to Occultism, I think the Void element would still be within the domain of primal magic, as vitality and void are part of the life essence that forms the primal tradition, rather than the occult tradition. This doesn't really affect the class's gameplay, though.

* I think it would be worth specifying the duration of the listed impulse junction benefits, even if it's assumed that they last until the start of the Kineticist's next turn. I'll also say that the Earth element already gives a +1 circumstance bonus to AC, so I'd perhaps look for an alternative impulse junction for Aether (for instance, temporary resistance to damage that's increased against nonmagical damage).

* Void Touch I think might work better as an attack impulse, as otherwise you could just touch an enemy three times per turn if they're in range.

* Although I generally really like the associations between void and space made in this brew, I think gravity itself may not necessarily be the domain of void in the case of Gravidic Pulse, even if a damaging black hole or the like certainly would.

* I would be careful with the healing on Draining Touch, as you could otherwise end up with a bag-of-rats situation where you could just drain harmless critters out of combat for very quick recovery.

Not a criticism, but I'd be quite interested in seeing perhaps some necromantic effects from the Void element, including potentially a very high-level impulse letting you summon an army of undead whose attacks can grant you temporary Hit Points.

Also not necessarily a criticism, but I think there's more room for void impulses that debuff enemies and weaken them over time. Fangs of Death does this, and I think there's room for a spread of different effects across other impulses.

Although I'm happy with Aether not being huge on damage, I do think it would still help a lot for the element to have at least one 1st-level damaging impulse, as otherwise a single-gate Kineticist would have to wait until level 4 to deal damage through impulses other than Elemental Blast.

Effectively, I think this brew gets both elements really well, and sets a solid foundation for both. Outside of a few criticisms, the impulses look excellent, and nothing jumped out at me as way out of line. Well done on the excellent work!

[Kelseus]

Thanks Teridax, I appreciate the thoughtful reply and I will definitely look over what you suggested.