What are people using this for and what are GMs allowing?
HARDLIGHT PROP [one-action] CONCENTRATE LUMINARY OCCULT
You create a simple hardlight object somewhere within 30 feet. Hardlight props always have a bulk of L, can be no larger than a 5-foot cube, and are clearly crude and lacking detail if viewed from within 15 feet. Hardlight props aren’t worth any credits and lack any function of whatever item they resemble. The prop lasts for 1 minute or until any creature other than you attempts to hold or Interact with it, whichever happens first. Each platform grants a different ability to your hardlight prop.
Movie scene props and background scenes for buildings and terrain (like spaceship walls) are often painted paper mache, I don't see why you can't make a hardlight version of this to make a "knock me over with a feather" L bulk 5x5x5 obstruction that provides cover/square blockage. Maybe it's destroyed after the first AOE to hit and certainly if an Interact shoves it, but that's fine.
Similarly, put some ultralight/ultrathin fiber cable spooled in a mess inside a cube for difficult terrain.
Your turret mechanic now has a second (immobile, nonfunctional) turret that popped up! Maybe someone will shoot at it. Or look! a mine! Theatre does these best to keep them from being useless distractions within 15'.
Carry a specific looking weapon/tool kit/etc. to fit into a place you're infiltrating (must stay 15' away from observers unless your platform is Theater, can't share with allies unless Contest).
Quick disguises for the party (Fashion) "put these firefighter jackets on" even if you don't have time to put a full disguise on with your holographic kit.
Recorded sound distractions (Music platform).
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If I'm reading this right, I just noticed something useful about the Sport Platform prop. After you throw the prop as an improvised weapon, if someone tries to throw it back, it just disappears, and they waste an action for trying.
For sports, using hardlight props to make the goals to set up a game.
Contest has props other can tuch without destroying them, that could be really useful to make obstructions and cover last longer.
It doesn’t have to be something that inherently looks crisp at 15’ and fuzzy within that range. You just say that’s an inherent property of the form of hardlight you use. Suddenly the optical illusion is revealed when you cross that threshold, like a visual puzzle…or magic.
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Hardlight Props would be very limited without their platform variations
CONTEST can be touched
FASHIO can be worn by others if willing
MUSIC can make sound
SPORTS hard enough to do damage
THEATER looks real
For my sports goal idea, having the hardlifght goal disappear when touched becomes the scoring mechanism.
Looks obviously fake within 15 feet, can't be touched. Why is the audience on stage touching my hardlight amps?
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I don’t know what use contest could be.
If you are master in deception, Fashion acts as a disguise kit through quick disguise (also, you can just have extravagant holo-clothes for parties I guess.)
Music makes an instrument, great if you are a performer and don’t want to lug around your seusaphone/cello/theramin/pipe organ.
Sports can do damage in a pinch, though I think it should scale up at higher levels. It’s already improvised (-2 to hit) don’t make it stuck at 1d4 damage.
Theater can fool people, so you can make replicas of the the mcguffin to fool the villain or whatnot.
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Okay, my question is, why would the Sports Luminary's hardlight weapons be comsidered improvised for the Luminary? Like, if I am a Brutaris player with a ball or a professional wrestler with a steel chair, wouldn't you know how to use your hardlight creations optimally?
I'm not saying that they should rival a solarian's stellar weapon or anything, but having them at least be competent with their creations... it would at least make for some more interesting situations where you can't bring traditional weapons into a club (like that bit in Incident at Absolom Station).
I'd say that they would be improvised for anyone other than the luminary, and the damage scales to d6 at level 3 and 2d6 at level 6 or so.
The other types could have similar scaling benefits. The hardlight just seems so half-baked right now.
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Okay, my question is, why would the Sports Luminary's hardlight weapons be comsidered improvised for the Luminary? Like, if I am a Brutaris player with a ball or a professional wrestler with a steel chair, wouldn't you know how to use your hardlight creations optimally?
I'm not saying that they should rival a solarian's stellar weapon or anything, but having them at least be competent with their creations... it would at least make for some more interesting situations where you can't bring traditional weapons into a club (like that bit in Incident at Absolom Station).
I'd say that they would be improvised for anyone other than the luminary, and the damage scales to d6 at level 3 and 2d6 at level 6 or so.
The other types could have similar scaling benefits. The hardlight just seems so half-baked right now.
I think the buff to hardlight props is supposed to be a minor little thing. Kind of like a sorcerer’s blood magic, it’s not supposed to have major impact on the game I feel.
I think the buff to hardlight props is supposed to be a minor little thing. Kind of like a sorcerer’s blood magic, it’s not supposed to have major impact on the game I feel.Okay, my question is, why would the Sports Luminary's hardlight weapons be comsidered improvised for the Luminary? Like, if I am a Brutaris player with a ball or a professional wrestler with a steel chair, wouldn't you know how to use your hardlight creations optimally?
I'm not saying that they should rival a solarian's stellar weapon or anything, but having them at least be competent with their creations... it would at least make for some more interesting situations where you can't bring traditional weapons into a club (like that bit in Incident at Absolom Station).
I'd say that they would be improvised for anyone other than the luminary, and the damage scales to d6 at level 3 and 2d6 at level 6 or so.
The other types could have similar scaling benefits. The hardlight just seems so half-baked right now.
I get that, but... why not? The overall impact of this class is currently very underwhelming; if the impact of this class is mostly limited to minor single-target buffs and debuffs, why not have another class mechanic that actually scales?
I can make an Envoy that does pretty much everything better than a Luminary, and I'm pretty sure that is not intended.
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My gut instinct is that this ability is there more as set dressing or those crude cutout backdrops in theatre productions with a lower budget.
While I think the class could use some more power, I would rather see this power get expanded a fair bit with significantly more word count, or reduced to essentially the effects of a cantrip.
I do definitely think hardlight props need a bit more oomph to them, but for contest, I'd probably do stuff like stepladders, ramps, heck, even a doorstop to literally prop a door open. It would be nice to have some clarification about how durable they are, too - not just hit points, but, like, if a contest Luminary makes a hardlight crowbar, does that... actually work? No fiddly bits, within the size and weight restrictions, can be interacted with without breaking.
I have play tested so far as Level 1 and level 3 with 2 different platforms and have so far found no use for the hardlight props. I don't have enough actions as it is fidgeting with the spotlight/cast roles/move/attack/etc. for my diva orchestra conductor to be wasting an action throwing out a useless bassoon onto the battlefield.
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I have play tested so far as Level 1 and level 3 with 2 different platforms and have so far found no use for the hardlight props. I don't have enough actions as it is fidgeting with the spotlight/cast roles/move/attack/etc. for my diva orchestra conductor to be wasting an action throwing out a useless bassoon onto the battlefield.
Did you play-test any social or influence encounters?
I have play tested so far as Level 1 and level 3 with 2 different platforms and have so far found no use for the hardlight props. I don't have enough actions as it is fidgeting with the spotlight/cast roles/move/attack/etc. for my diva orchestra conductor to be wasting an action throwing out a useless bassoon onto the battlefield.Did you play-test any social or influence encounters?
Is this class really better at social encounters than any other character with a decent Cha and that spent skill increases into Cha skills? And if your answer is "yes", is it for a reason other than it probably having a higher modifier because it has a Cha KAS? I feel there's not really a reason to playtest a class in a social encounter, as those are usually handled in vastly different ways by each GM based on their own preferences and those of the players at the table.
It’s “yes” because you can substitute performance for a few social tasks from other skills and performance is the easiest skill to perma boost +3-4 ahead of baseline if you select the right ancestry (shiny skittermander for one also a 9th level Pahtra option) and a hardlight familiar.
It’s “yes” because you can substitute performance for a few social tasks from other skills and performance is the easiest skill to perma boost +3-4 ahead of baseline if you select the right ancestry (shiny skittermander for one also a 9th level Pahtra option) and a hardlight familiar.
So its effectively just having a higher modifier.
Non-combat in PF2e is binary. Either you make the check or you do not.
I personally don't think being good at a bunch of skills is something worth playtesting. All characters are good at a couple skills, with some classes being good with a few more. The luminary uses Performance, a fairly useless skill outside of flavor, which doesn't have anything on the level of Diverse Lore to be remotely disruptive.
The luminary is perfectly fine outside of combat. I feel its important to focus on the aspects of the luminary which are clearly lacking. I.E how it works in combat.