[Drop Dead Studios] Spheres of Combat Kickstarter!

[digiman619]

You can't multiclass out; those are character feats you're trading, not class feats, and once they're traded, that's it; you no longer receive feats at those levels.

Fair point. I will instead point out if you're not sure if your game will get past 8th level or so, you don't care that you're trading away tour 17th level feat.

[Ilorin Lorati]

We also wanted a progression that had some compatibility with the Variant Multiclassing (VMC) system from Pathfinder Unchained for players who use those rules, which made the choices for the progression fairly specific. We could potentially change it, but we'd be cutting out the potential for anyone who wanted to use both, and we'd generally prefer not to do that if at all possible.

I'm going to sit by my opinion on the last preview that counting proficiencies as talents is kinda silly for the alternative progression, especially when you're considering the character's feats as a whole.

[NomGarret]

Wow, big update. Lots to ponder. Here's some quick impressions:

- Scoundrel makes me smile. This might be my favorite sphere so far, and I certainly feel it's among the closest to ready. It captures the feel and enables a playstyle quickly out of the gate. Well done.

- Equipment seems a little lackluster. I'd rather see the talents grant proficiency and also some boost to either bring the style online sooner or distinguish it from other styles.

[Lirya]

I have been looking over the new options, and there is much to like.

Spoiler: Athletics

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I like the new Athletics, it doesn't cost half your spheres to become reasonably athletic anymore. Mobile Striker is great due to not being stuck behind a tax wall and it has great synergy with SoM. Due to the (motion) tags, it is unclear to me if you can use Unwilling Boost to jump up to the flying Dragon followed by Scale Foe to grab onto it. The Legendary Talents of Athletics will be vital to gain a real Jump Good ability, as the 4x DC of high jumps is pretty much impossible to overcome. Legendary Athletics also has to contend with both giving the option of Jump Good and the point where you balance on air/swim through air/basically just fly (ex).

I haven't had time to look much at Barrage yet.

Spoiler: Berserking

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Berserking Sphere... It feels very tempting to only dip into the base sphere. 'Improved Sunder' + Power Attack while Dedicated + Brutal Strike is a very good package. Many of the talents are nice, but there are enough amazing talents elsewhere for me to look elsewhere. Honestly, having a blank (exertion) that only inflicts Battered and then moving Brutal Strike into its own talent is tempting.

Spoiler: Boxing

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I like the change to the Boxing Dedicate. Launching Counter is incredibly strong against anything that can fall, and combined with Set Up Strike it lets Boxing keep up with full attacks for damage. Knockout Punch also strikes me as very strong for a passive rider on attack actions. Shoulder Roll and Surprise Counter are both great for people dipping into Boxing to compliment their regular fighting style.

Spoiler: Equipment

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The Equipment Sphere is a tax sphere, and it is clearly designed to be just that. Still, how about a Dedicate Ability to share weapon specific feats? I really like the idea of thematic weapon group talents. While they do give access to a few exotic weapons, those exotic weapons are bad for the most part. Perhaps you could add a small special ability to them, such as Duelist Training also gives all weapons in that group the Finesse Quality while Gladiator Training gives all weapons in that group the distracting and performance weapon qualities? Something to give the specific groups a stronger theme making them different from just taking Melee or Ranged Weapon Training. I find it slightly funny that you turn War Hammers into Falcata.

I like the Guardian Sphere and I think it is in a pretty good place. Mass Challenge + your favorite (challenge) talent is an amazing dip.

I haven't had time to look much at Lancer yet.

Spoiler: Open Hand

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Open Hand, especially with the Dedicate feels like a sphere that should allow for awesome combo-attacks. The only one that sort of works is Sweeping Kicks, Snap Kick and Axe Kick (I wish you could add the Axe Kick bonus to the AoO granted by Snap Kick). Shattering Palm & Waving Hand currently do not interact at all with any other abilities from this sphere. Grasping Hand and Joint Lock seem to want you to grapple people, but isn't there a Wrestling Sphere? It would be great however if Open Hand could support throwing enemies, as the Ki Throw line from APG is near impossible to get any use out of. Hammer Palm gives you Bull Rush, but unless you are a Blacksmith with Hammer Down it feels a bit lackluster. Perhaps if you had other talents in Open Hand that triggered something cool when you Bull Rush people (similar to Snap Kick + Axe Kick, but preferable different and more interesting). As far as punching hard is concerned, the rest of the talents do quite well.

Spoiler: Scoundrel

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The Scoundrel Sphere is amazing and I want more of it. (Trick) talents mean you vary between different Tricks depending upon what you need, and there is lots of good stuff where you play around with your Focus resource. Counter Theft is hilarious if you fight a lot of weapon users. I cannot decide if I would rather have Dirty Mugging or Double Dip, but both amazing. Focusing Thievery is really nice if you spend Focus a lot (say you mix Berserking with Scoundrel). Misdirected Attack is a classic (btw, how would Unwilling Boost, Shoulder Roll, and Misdirected Attack combine? Could you use a Jump result as your AC, redirect the enemy AoO into another enemy, and make your own AoO for good measure?) while Playing Dirty means you don't have to actually invest feats into Dirty Trick (though Quick Dirty Trick + Dirty Trick Master are still very tempting to look into). Finally, Twist the Knife is great assuming your Critical Hit didn't just kill the poor fellow.

I haven't really studied the Shield Sphere, but the base sphere seems well worth it if you want to use a shield. And Blockade is just one of those talents that need to be used.

Spoiler: Paragon

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Paragon's Wrath and Paragon's Flurry turn the already SoM boosted attack actions and turn them into psudo full-attacks. This strikes me as a bit excessive. Once you reach 10th level and gain Master Challenge, almost every attack you make will qualify for Paragon's Flurry, and if you only picked up the base Berserker sphere a flurry of follow-up full-BAB attacks sounds like it should turn just about anything into fine red mist. Even before that, Move Action challenge + Standard Action attack twice is clearly very strong. If you want a damage booster around those levels, how about just granting free Vital Strikes instead?

Also, here is a Blacksmith I rolled up picking whatever felt proper for a real dwarfy-dwarf. He is slow and steady, and the damage isn't amazing (but it also isn't that bad). He has the Elite Array and didn't use his crafting to break WBL.

Spoiler: Bormac Orcbane

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Bormac Orcbane
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Male Dwarf Blacksmith 10
LN Medium Humanoid (dwarf)
Init +1; Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +17
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Defense
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AC 31, Touch 12, Flat-Footed 30 (+1 Dex, +14 Armor, +4 Shield, +1 Natural, +1 Deflection)
Hp 129/129 (10d10+70)
Fort +13, Ref +7, Will +7 (+4 vs. Sp & Spells; +2 vs. Poison)
Defensive Training: +4 Dodge vs. Giants
Active Defense (AoO): Increase shield bonus to AC by +3 & gain DR 3/-.
Resist 20 Fire.
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft.

Warhammer +20/+15 (1d8+16, 17-20/x3; Ignore up to 3 points of Armor or Natural Armor)
Power Attack +17/+12 (1d8+22, 17-20/x3; Ignore up to 3 points of Armor or Natural Armor)
Brutal Strike (Power Attack) +17 (2d8+42, 17-20/2d8+84)

DPR vs. AC 21: 53.8; Brutal Strike: 59.2 (assuming everything has 3 or more armor or nat. armor)

Thunderous Blows: +5d6 (Sunder, Constructs, Objects)
Hatred: +1 Attack vs. Orcs & Goblinoids

Current Focus: Berserker Sphere, Guardian Sphere
Active Maintenance: Armor Maintenance (+3 AC), Sharpen Weapons (+6 Damage)
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Statistics
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Str 18 Dex 14 Con 18 Int 14 Wis 14 Cha 6
Base Atk +10; CMB +14; CMD 27 (31 vs. Bull Rush & Trip)
Feats: Extra Combat Talent, Steel Soul, Craft Wonderous Item, Great Focus, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Vital Strike, Improved Critical [Warhammer]
Skills: Appraise [1] +6, Climb [1] +8, Craft (Armor, Jewelry, Weapons)[10] +15 (+20 Craftsman), Disable Device [10] +15, Intimidate [3] +4, Knowledge (Engineering, Local)[1] +6, Perception [10] +17, Profession (Merchant)[1] +6, Survival [1] +6, Swim [1] +8
ARMOR CHECK PENALTY -2 (-3 with the shield)
Smithing Insights: Practiced Power, Durable, Penetrating Blows, Rapid Maintenance, Heat Forged
Other Special Abilities: Skilled Craftsman, Reforge
Favored Class Bonus: +1 Hp x10
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Spheres of Might
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Berserking Sphere
Spell Sunder

Equipment Sphere
Armor Training x2, Critical Hammer, Shield Proficiency

Guardian Sphere
Fearsome Challenge, Mass Challenge

Shield Sphere
Blockade x2, Interposing Shield
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Equipment
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+3 Warhammer
+2 Heavy Steel Shield
+2 Full-Plate
+2 Cloak of Resistance
+2 Belt of Physical Perfection
+2 Headband of Inspired Wisdom
+1 Amulet of Natural Armor
+1 Ring of Protection
Eyes of the Eagle
Handy Haversack

1 368 gp

[AlienFromBeyond]

I just realized this while looking through some feats for synergy with the Scoundrel sphere, the sphere becomes completely busted OP when you pick up this feat. With Dirty Mugging you can loop dirty tricks and AoOs until you run out (assuming you keep succeeding at the maneuvers of course), while getting a free steal for each dirty trick you did that unlike Broke and Broken can have a trick talent applied to them. Even if Dirty Mugging was removed you could still do the loop off using Mug on the steal from the feat dirty trick -> steal (mug) -> AoO -> dirty trick -> steal (mug) -> AoO and so forth.

[Mehangel]

I just realized this while looking through some feats for synergy with the Scoundrel sphere, the sphere becomes completely busted OP when you pick up this feat. With Dirty Mugging you can loop dirty tricks and AoOs until you run out (assuming you keep succeeding at the maneuvers of course), while getting a free steal for each dirty trick you did that unlike Broke and Broken can have a trick talent applied to them. Even if Dirty Mugging was removed you could still do the loop off using Mug on the steal from the feat dirty trick -> steal (mug) -> AoO -> dirty trick -> steal (mug) -> AoO and so forth.

It might seem OP, but atleast it doesn't look like it wont be available until 11th level, and requires 4 feats. Still, I agree that the writers should check into the feat and check just how abusive or troublesome the combo is.

[AlienFromBeyond]

It might seem OP, but atleast it doesn't look like it wont be available until 11th level, and requires 4 feats. Still, I agree that the writers should check into the feat and check just how abusive or troublesome the combo is.

Scoundrel sphere itself already lessens the feat tax since it counts as having Improved Dirty Trick, and it's quite possible that one of the spheres we haven't seen yet has a "counts as Combat Expertise" rule (maybe Duelist?). It's true it's a higher level combo, but it still seems like a lot of power, to the point where it seems like every character using Scoundrel sphere that thinks they will get to level 11 will work towards this combo.

EDIT: There's always the option of using Skulking Slayer (rogue archetype) instead, and I'm pretty sure there's at least one other archetype that can loop through the use of Dirty Mugging (and maybe even regular Mug).

EDIT2: Yup, you could do the combo using the Bounty Hunter archetype for the Slayer as well.

[N. Jolly]

Scoundrel sphere itself already lessens the feat tax since it counts as having Improved Dirty Trick, and it's quite possible that one of the spheres we haven't seen yet has a "counts as Combat Expertise" rule (maybe Duelist?). It's true it's a higher level combo, but it still seems like a lot of power, to the point where it seems like every character using Scoundrel sphere that thinks they will get to level 11 will work towards this combo.

EDIT: There's always the option of using Skulking Slayer (rogue archetype) instead, and I'm pretty sure there's at least one other archetype that can loop through the use of Dirty Mugging (and maybe even regular Mug).

EDIT2: Yup, you could do the combo using the Bounty Hunter archetype for the Slayer as well.

We've clarified that you can only apply one trick per round to hopefully curb this. As the writer of the scoundrel sphere, I'm glad people are enjoying it.

[Milo v3]

Not sure how exactly I would word it, but I'm sure Rope Swinger could be simplified when paizo has abilities like the Brachiation wild talent allowing you to swing around on vines in jungles with only a single sentence.

Also, sage seems very MAD.

Edit: Thank you to whoever changed Mighty Leaper (lowers the str of my grumpy old monkeyman).

Edit2: For some reason when I first read Knockout Punch, I interpreted it as activating whenever you use the attack action against an "opponent with a bludgeoning weapon". Like attacking a guy can cause him to hit himself in the head with his hammer. Current wording is fine though, I just found that misinterpretation amusing.

[Hunter Noventa]

Okay wow, the sage looks awesome as hell and...

Spirit Shot.

The Sage can fire a Hadouken? Without spending Ki Points? My god the only thing missing is a second talent to let them do this with iterative attacks. This is amazing.

I'm also glad to see that the damage penalty was taken off the Striker's favored weapon ability, that felt unnecessary.

[Mithril Leaf]

Same accuracy?

My phone autocorrected Sage for some reason. Oops.

[NomGarret]

My phone autocorrected Sage for some reason. Oops.

Heh. I misinterpreted it as accuracy of some ability called "One is the Same." Now I know why I never found it.

[Doc_Maynot]

This time around I had to say my attentions were mostly on the Equipment, Shield, and Lancer Spheres and I have a few comments on each one.

Spoiler: Equipment

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I kind of dig the move to have it replace proficiency in general. However I do see a bit of downside when it comes to feats. Namely this means ANYONE can benefit from a feat that would require a combat sphere as a prerequisite, which by the playtest feats are just focus specific ones, which Equipment doesn't benefit from anyways, but could cause issues in future feat designing.

The group loved the idea of some of the "needed" feats in combat being allocated to Equipment Spheres. As someone who has used many a odd ranged weapon the Expert Reloading talent was just awesome to see. Also, LOVE Archery Bash and Gauntlet Shield. Question on the later though. how would it interact with Shield Skate?

Spoiler: Shield

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I'll just go down the list of talents as I field my comments (because typically I do a Shield reliant build so I found a BUNCH of awesome stuff here.)
Blockade, wonderful! Though if the target already has Evasion, does it instead give them Improved Evasion as normal for Evasion stacking? If so, how would two players using blockade simultaneously interact?
Cover Ally, love the fact that unlike Saving Shield it functions off of Active Guard, so it increases the Shield bonus rather than replace it. However, I'd make it either adjacent ally so you can't have weird reach weapon interactions or ally in your threatened area so it and Extensive Defense can work in lieu with the Guardian Sphere to give it a more Vanguard Hustle-y feel.
Forced Rebound, is good, but maybe make it as an AoO instead of an Immediate action? Since on most characters, unless they are dedicated to the Guardian Sphere or spent a feat on Combat Reflexes, will still only have one to use and your system so far is using a LOT of immediate actions. Also, it and Smash are the same exact thing, no?
Flexible Cover, pretty neat. The thought of mixing this and Gauntlet Shield amuses me.
Reactive Defense, seems a bit niche. But just fine. Not really much I saw that synergized with Total Defense actions to make taking them any more useful, especially since again, you'd need Combat Reflexes and/or Dedication to the Guardian Sphere to make the most out of it.
Redirecting Shield seems a bit odd in that it seems to be in it's original range, when by how it sounds it should be originating from your space with a reduction in range based on how far you are from the attacker's space.
Shield Skate, the overrun aspect alone would be enough, but a speed boost as well? Love it. I had a siegebreaker fighter that wielded a heavy shield and focused heavily on overrun, and this would have been a godsend to them.
Tower Shield Adept, whomever designed that, I want to hug you.

Spoiler: Lancer

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Honestly, not what I was expecting form the name, but I am impressed all the same.
Impale, my concerns are two fold. 1: The wording would allow me to impale a target at range, but never use my ranged weapon until they are unimpaled. 2: Does the penalties of Impale stack with the penalties of Grappled? Or is it a reminder/alteration on the normal Grappled condition? If so, the wording should reflect that.
Hurricane Strike/Whirlwind Knockdown, yep I can see why you wouldn't make any feats like Seize the Opportunity now. That mixed with AoOs while a Patrol is set up would be ridiculous (for a non-legendary talent, that is)

[Foxman778]

I have a question or two for the Devs.

What direction are heading for with this system?

Are you just trying to bring Martials in line with Spheres of Power or are you trying to do something else entirely?

I've read through the previews and this thread and I guess I want to know what *you* think the goal is.

Also if this has already been answered could you direct me to it?

[stack]

I have been looking over the new options, and there is much to like.

Spoiler: Athletics

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I like the new Athletics, it doesn't cost half your spheres to become reasonably athletic anymore. Mobile Striker is great due to not being stuck behind a tax wall and it has great synergy with SoM. Due to the (motion) tags, it is unclear to me if you can use Unwilling Boost to jump up to the flying Dragon followed by Scale Foe to grab onto it. The Legendary Talents of Athletics will be vital to gain a real Jump Good ability, as the 4x DC of high jumps is pretty much impossible to overcome. Legendary Athletics also has to contend with both giving the option of Jump Good and the point where you balance on air/swim through air/basically just fly (ex).

Good catch on unwilling boost and scale foe. Unwilling boost just lost the [motion] tag. A jump good/ignore falling damage ability will be in the legendary section.

Spoiler: Berserking

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Berserking Sphere... It feels very tempting to only dip into the base sphere. 'Improved Sunder' + Power Attack while Dedicated + Brutal Strike is a very good package. Many of the talents are nice, but there are enough amazing talents elsewhere for me to look elsewhere. Honestly, having a blank (exertion) that only inflicts Battered and then moving Brutal Strike into its own talent is tempting.

Hopefully we can make the rest of the sphere sufficiently tempting to make poeple have to think hard about dipping verses diving, but we want that for all the spheres. I guess we are selfish that way.

I like the Guardian Sphere and I think it is in a pretty good place. Mass Challenge + your favorite (challenge) talent is an amazing dip.

Glad to hear it!

Not sure how exactly I would word it, but I'm sure Rope Swinger could be simplified when paizo has abilities like the Brachiation wild talent allowing you to swing around on vines in jungles with only a single sentence.

I'll check it out.

Edit: Thank you to whoever changed Mighty Leaper (lowers the str of my grumpy old monkeyman).

Reworked that one into mighty conditioning today so it applies across all packages. I have been trying to make sure athletics works well as a whole, rather than as a random set of movement abilities.

Spoiler: Shield

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I'll just go down the list of talents as I field my comments (because typically I do a Shield reliant build so I found a BUNCH of awesome stuff here.)
Blockade, wonderful! Though if the target already has Evasion, does it instead give them Improved Evasion as normal for Evasion stacking? If so, how would two players using blockade simultaneously interact?
Cover Ally, love the fact that unlike Saving Shield it functions off of Active Guard, so it increases the Shield bonus rather than replace it. However, I'd make it either adjacent ally so you can't have weird reach weapon interactions or ally in your threatened area so it and Extensive Defense can work in lieu with the Guardian Sphere to give it a more Vanguard Hustle-y feel.
Forced Rebound, is good, but maybe make it as an AoO instead of an Immediate action? Since on most characters, unless they are dedicated to the Guardian Sphere or spent a feat on Combat Reflexes, will still only have one to use and your system so far is using a LOT of immediate actions. Also, it and Smash are the same exact thing, no?
Flexible Cover, pretty neat. The thought of mixing this and Gauntlet Shield amuses me.
Reactive Defense, seems a bit niche. But just fine. Not really much I saw that synergized with Total Defense actions to make taking them any more useful, especially since again, you'd need Combat Reflexes and/or Dedication to the Guardian Sphere to make the most out of it.
Redirecting Shield seems a bit odd in that it seems to be in it's original range, when by how it sounds it should be originating from your space with a reduction in range based on how far you are from the attacker's space.
Shield Skate, the overrun aspect alone would be enough, but a speed boost as well? Love it. I had a siegebreaker fighter that wielded a heavy shield and focused heavily on overrun, and this would have been a godsend to them.
Tower Shield Adept, whomever designed that, I want to hug you.

Just ran out of time, I'll come back to this.

[N. Jolly]

I have a question or two for the Devs.

What direction are heading for with this system?

Are you just trying to bring Martials in line with Spheres of Power or are you trying to do something else entirely?

I've read through the previews and this thread and I guess I want to know what *you* think the goal is.

Also if this has already been answered could you direct me to it?

I can only speak for myself here, but really, this is to give martial characters more in combat options aside from full attacks. While we're also looking to give out of combat options, in combat options are the majority of what we're looking to do here. We've talked about doing things for out of combat stuff more, but we're really looking to make combat more dynamic. Scoundrel can throw sand in the eyes, make an attack, steal the weapon from an attack, and smack them with it all in the same round. That's not hyperbole, that's the dirty mugging talent and the counter theft talents; two talents which could be done from first level if needed.

[Mehangel]

Roughly six months ago there was a thread that discussed linear martials vs quadratic casters. Out of curiosity, I am going to go through the list made by LudicSavant to see how well Spheres of Might holds up.

Spoiler: Big Damn Initiative Bonuses -- 1* (Blacksmith class)

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Blacksmith (Class): Practiced Initiative
*I think there should be a Combat sphere talent that grants an initiative bonus

Spoiler: Never Flat-Footed -- 2 (Guardian sphere, Striker class)

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Guardian sphere: Dedicate (may use attacks of opportunity, even while flat-footed.
Striker (Class): Uncanny Dodge

Spoiler: Diverse Fighting Styles -- Yes (Multiple spheres, Armiger class)

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Armiger (Class): Customized Weapons
Spheres: Almost every single sphere grants or contributes to a new fighting style, especially Equipment sphere

Spoiler: Deflect Rays with Shields -- 1 (Shield sphere)

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Shield sphere: Deflection Shield talent

Spoiler: Extend Threatened Area -- 1 (Guardian sphere)

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Guardian sphere: Patrol talent

Spoiler: Ability Score Bonuses -- 0*

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*A quick search did not not have anything show-up, if I am wrong please correct me.

Spoiler: Block Line of Effect with Shields -- 1 (Shield sphere)

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Shield sphere: Blockade talent, it doesn't exactly block line of effect, but it is close enough for me to count it as the effect

Spoiler: Basketball Defense -- 2 (Athletics sphere, Guardian sphere)

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Athletics sphere: Reactive Motion talent
Guardian sphere: Patrol talent

Spoiler: Attack of Opportunity vs Defensive Casting -- 1 (Guardian sphere)

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Guardian sphere: Mageguard talent

Spoiler: Getting More Move Actions -- 1* (Athletics sphere)

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*Athletics sphere: while it may not explicitly grant more 'Move actions' the effect is generally the same.

Spoiler: Use Combat Maneuvers with Attack Actions (instead of Standard actions) -- Yes (Multiple spheres)

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Spheres: Several different sphere grants a talent or two that either makes a Combat Maneuver as an attack option, or combines with other additional effects

Spoiler: Tanking Abilities that Penalize attacks from not attacking the Tank -- Yes (Guardian sphere)

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Guardian sphere: Has several talents that penalize attackers from not attacking the one who issued the challenge.

Spoiler: Martials getting additional 'Attack Options' as swift actions -- ?*

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I know that there are a bunch of different utilitarian sphere talents or abilities, but nothing stuck out to me as being quick and dirty 'Attack Options' such as cutting a rope bridge, attacking a defenseless object, or stabbing an unconscious guy. I wouldn't be surprised to see many of these included as either Barroom sphere talents though

Spoiler: Just as Proficient with One Weapon as With Another -- 1 (Equipment sphere)

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Equipment sphere: Any number of the talents make it easy to be proficient or powerful with multiple different weapons

Spoiler: Extreme Accuracy -- 1* (Sniper sphere)

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*Sniper sphere: Unfortunately, I don't see it listed in the Playtest Preview 3.

Spoiler: Martial Premonition -- 0*

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*I could not find anything that would allow you to upon missing an attack instead take a different action instead, if I am wrong please correct me.

Spoiler: Auto-Critting with Sniping -- 1* (Sniper sphere)

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*Sniper sphere: I am pretty sure there was an ability like this, but for some reason the Sniping sphere was not updated to Preview 3.

Spoiler: Extreme Damage / Death Effects -- 0*

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*I think one of Spheres of Might's goals is to not be about Extreme Damage or Death Effects (although I can see a Sniper sphere talent that does this)

Spoiler: Status Effects stacked upon Attacks -- Yes (Multiple spheres)

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Spheres: Several different spheres have talents that have attacks that bestow a condition

Spoiler: Trip Flying Targets -- 1* (Aerial Trip feat)

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*Aerial Trip: I think, I still would like to see a Combat sphere talent that allows tripping of flying targets

Spoiler: Leadership Stuff -- 0*

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*I believe the Commandant class will include Leadership stuff, but it might also be nice to have a Combat sphere that revolves around it, (Possibly also including troops that you can "summon" or enlist for a short amount of time).

Spoiler: Rerolls, Taking 10 and/or 20 under pressure -- ?*

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*I know that there are a couple of sphere talents or abilities that allow for re-rolls or taking 10, but not alot, and they seem to be for very specific actions

Spoiler: Make Use of Terrain -- 1 (Athletics sphere)

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Athletics sphere: There are several different talents in this sphere that make use of the terrain

Spoiler: Move and Fight at the Same Time -- Yes (Multiple spheres)

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Athletics sphere: Includes talents that allows for multiple movements throughout a round.
Barrage sphere: Includes talents that allows for moving 5 feet after each successful shot.
Guardian sphere: Includes talents that allows for moving while attacking

Spoiler: Lots of Skills -- 1* (Athletics sphere)

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*Athletics sphere: allows the spheremartial to not need to invest ranks in particular skills as they can use their BAB instead

Spoiler: Veteran Intuition -- 0*

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*I don't see any sphere talents or abilities that allow for Extraordinary 'Divination' like Danger Sense, etc

Spoiler: Enhanced Handle Animal -- 1* (Athletics sphere)

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*Athletics sphere: Scale Foe, unfortunately it only allows you to climb aboard and "ride" the target, which RAW was possible without the ability, so nothing really special there

Spoiler: Thrown Weapon Support -- 0*

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*Apparently there will be a Thrown Weapon sphere, but it hasn't been released yet, so I dont know how good it will be.

Spoiler: Spell Resistance -- 0*

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*A quick search did not reveal any sphere talent or ability that granted spell resistance; I personally am of the opinion that all mundane martials should have (or atleast a way to acquire) innate Spell Resistance that increases by level in non-magical classes.

Spoiler: Poise, or Condition Reducing -- 0*

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*I dont recall seeing any Combat sphere talents or abilities that lessened a debilitating condition, please correct me if I am wrong.

Spoiler: Break Walls of Force -- 1* (Bezerking sphere)

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*Bezerking sphere: Spell Sunder talent; I dont recall seeing anything that explicitly allows for breaking walls of force, but the Spell Sunder talent comes pretty close

Spoiler: Grant Protection to Allies -- 1* (Guardian sphere)

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*Guardian sphere: Has several different talents and abilities that allow you to either increase their defenses, or grant abilities such as Evasion

Spoiler: Increased Number of Immediate Actions -- Yes*

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*While I dont think I saw anything that actually increased the number of immediate actions you could use in a round, instead there are several abilities that allow expending attacks of opportunities to make counters, etc.

Spoiler: Better At Weapons than other People -- Yes* (Equipment sphere)

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*Equipment sphere: Many sphere talents or abilities from the Equipment sphere allow for increased proficiency

Spoiler: Increased Long-Term Buffs -- 0*

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*I dont thing I saw anything that increased the duration of buffs cast upon him, although I wouldnt mind seeing a sphere talent or ability that allows harmless spells or abilities cast upon the spheremartial be cast at increased CL (+1, +1 per 5 spheremartial BAB) for the purpose of determining the abilities duration.

For the most part, Spheres of Might does a good job at including options that help give martials the tools that they need.

[Foxman778]

I can only speak for myself here, but really, this is to give martial characters more in combat options aside from full attacks. While we're also looking to give out of combat options, in combat options are the majority of what we're looking to do here. We've talked about doing things for out of combat stuff more, but we're really looking to make combat more dynamic. Scoundrel can throw sand in the eyes, make an attack, steal the weapon from an attack, and smack them with it all in the same round. That's not hyperbole, that's the dirty mugging talent and the counter theft talents; two talents which could be done from first level if needed.

With this in mind I think you've done a pretty darn good job. Excited to get try some of this in few one-shots I've got coming up.

Question about the Striker: Does the Favored Weapon Striker Talent include spheres or only abilities explicitly listed under Striker?

[khadgar567]

Please dont change the arcane armor if you gonna change just make it base on armor weight

[stack]

Okay, back. Continuing my response...

I'll just go down the list of talents as I field my comments (because typically I do a Shield reliant build so I found a BUNCH of awesome stuff here.)
Blockade, wonderful! Though if the target already has Evasion, does it instead give them Improved Evasion as normal for Evasion stacking? If so, how would two players using blockade simultaneously interact?

Evasion stacking added.

Cover Ally, love the fact that unlike Saving Shield it functions off of Active Guard, so it increases the Shield bonus rather than replace it. However, I'd make it either adjacent ally so you can't have weird reach weapon interactions or ally in your threatened area so it and Extensive Defense can work in lieu with the Guardian Sphere to give it a more Vanguard Hustle-y feel.

Tweaked it and Defend Ally from Guardian so things ought to work better. Defined as your shield reach and specified that you need to move as part of Defend Ally to put them in reach, so they should play nice and still benefit from things that increase reach, like size boosters.

Forced Rebound, is good, but maybe make it as an AoO instead of an Immediate action? Since on most characters, unless they are dedicated to the Guardian Sphere or spent a feat on Combat Reflexes, will still only have one to use and your system so far is using a LOT of immediate actions. Also, it and Smash are the same exact thing, no?

Bullrush is a primary trigger (along with drag, overrun, and reposition) for a lot of stuff in the not yet unveiled Brute sphere. Not saying the change won't happen, but the easier it is to trigger bullrushes generally the more Brute needs to be adjusted to compensate.

Flexible Cover, pretty neat. The thought of mixing this and Gauntlet Shield amuses me.

That image did occur to me when I put shield gauntlet in. I thought the cool outweighed the silly; we'll see how others react.

Reactive Defense, seems a bit niche. But just fine. Not really much I saw that synergized with Total Defense actions to make taking them any more useful, especially since again, you'd need Combat Reflexes and/or Dedication to the Guardian Sphere to make the most out of it.

Don't forget the total defense recovers focus by default.

Redirecting Shield seems a bit odd in that it seems to be in it's original range, when by how it sounds it should be originating from your space with a reduction in range based on how far you are from the attacker's space.

The current wording is concise; no extra math needed. Not saying it couldn't be changed, but there is a virtue in ease of play.

Shield Skate, the overrun aspect alone would be enough, but a speed boost as well? Love it. I had a siegebreaker fighter that wielded a heavy shield and focused heavily on overrun, and this would have been a godsend to them.

Overrun and Brute, as mentioned above, will have some interaction. Should be able to make a tank-y character that pushes enemies around the battlefield.

Tower Shield Adept, whomever designed that, I want to hug you.

Tower shields being terrible always bugged me. I can't claim that talent personally, but if it wasn't there already I would have had to write a similar one.

Mehangel -
Regarding autocrits, decapitate from Berzerker is similar to though not exactly a crit. This also resembles extreme damage/death effect if you are using a two-hander with the berserking dedicate bonus.

Regarding tripping flying targets, it was something we felt that multiple spheres could want, so didn't want everyone to be forced to dip a certain sphere to get that ability nor to write effectively redundant talents across every sphere that has a trip in it.

Leadership to summon minions sounds like a good legendary talent.

Regarding spell resistance, Cold Iron Call was originally SR, but we decided we liked a general save bonus better.

[Mehangel]

Leadership to summon minions sounds like a good legendary talent.

Can you perhaps make 2 Legendary talents: Enlist Troops (Gathers/Creates/Summons a Troop, could include limitations such as frequency or location of use; i.e. usable only 1/month, must be used in an established Settlement, or takes time to use based on Settlement size used in) and Enlist Army (Gathers/Creates/Summons an Army, would require greater limitations than Enlist Troops)

[khadgar567]

Can you perhaps make 2 Legendary talents: Enlist Troops (Gathers/Creates/Summons a Troop, could include limitations such as frequency or location of use; i.e. usable only 1/month, must be used in an established Settlement, or takes time to use based on Settlement size used in) and Enlist Army (Gathers/Creates/Summons an Army, would require greater limitations than Enlist Troops)

and third variation could be used like regular one( or badasses like conan who uses to create harem via his sheer chimerian charisma)

[Ssalarn]

Just wanted to mention regarding the earlier request for spell resistance- spell resistance as used in PF and D&D is generally terrible. It's consistently more likely to be a hindrance than a help, and is laughably easy for an attacker to work around, even before you account for the fact that opponents are generally higher level than the party and thus more likely to overcome SR purely based on an inherent numbers advantage. We actually had an SR option early on that we replaced with a save booster, since that's generally more likely to be helpful and doesn't interfere with beneficial magical effects.
Thematically SR seems like something that should be great for martials, but mechanically it's really only good for casters who can bypass their own SR automatically.

[Roadie]

A jump good/ignore falling damage ability will be in the legendary section.

This seems really silly to me, because it makes the division between "normal" and "legendary" totally pointless. "Legendary" should be stuff that's genuinely over-the-top and/or weird, not just "moderately superhuman".

A 5th level character is already almost-superhuman—that's the realm of Navy SEALs and world-class parkour experts, and even in the real world those people have actual, genuine techniques to take falls softer, certainly more than just the 10 feet that Acrobatics allows.

At 10th level, why is it okay if I can choke a dragon to death with my bare hands, but not okay if I can jump out a castle window and tumble down into the city below without damage?

A "legendary" talent related to jumping and falling should cover things like "at 15th level you can take 10 minutes to jump from Golarion to the moon" or "you can jump to conclusions, using Acrobatics in place of a Knowledge check".

[Doc_Maynot]

Evasion stacking added.

Gratzi

Bullrush is a primary trigger (along with drag, overrun, and reposition) for a lot of stuff in the not yet unveiled Brute sphere. Not saying the change won't happen, but the easier it is to trigger bullrushes generally the more Brute needs to be adjusted to compensate.

Ahh, I getcha. Consequence of not knowing the whole picture.

That image did occur to me when I put shield gauntlet in. I thought the cool outweighed the silly; we'll see how others react.

Okay, now how does it interact with Shield Skate?
EDIT: Oh and another Gauntlets Shield question. Would it, similarly to how Tower Shield Adept allows the wielder to benefit from spiked tower shields and weapon enhancements. To benefit from shield enhancements place upon wielded gauntlets?

Don't forget the total defense recovers focus by default.

Did NOT notice that.

Overrun and Brute, as mentioned above, will have some interaction. Should be able to make a tank-y character that pushes enemies around the battlefield.

If these options were made the last time I made a tank character, I wouldn't have needed to have like five different Training weapons on my Seigebreaker in order to make it work. (Which, used Vanguard Style and a few other feats to essentially do the same thing as Guardian+Brute by the looks of it.)

[Sayt]

Does the talent which grants proficiency with Monk weapons refer to the monk fighter weapon group, or to weapons with the monk qualify?

[Ssalarn]

Does the talent which grants proficiency with Monk weapons refer to the monk fighter weapon group, or to weapons with the monk qualify?

Should refer to weapons with the monk quality.

[digiman619]

I'm going to say this one last time, as I haven't gotten a response one way or another: Will you make being dedicated to the Guardian sphere count as Combat Expertise? Because a LOT of feats use it a a prerequisite. Even if you need to put in a line about feats that use it as a prerequisite can't be used if you're not dedicated to the sphere, it frees up a feat and actually lets you get to the good stuff quicker.

[Ssalarn]

I'm going to say this one last time, as I haven't gotten a response one way or another: Will you make being dedicated to the Guardian sphere count as Combat Expertise? Because a LOT of feats use it a a prerequisite. Even if you need to put in a line about feats that use it as a prerequisite can't be used if you're not dedicated to the sphere, it frees up a feat and actually lets you get to the good stuff quicker.

I think we don't really want it to count as Combat Expertise, because it's not supposed to replace Combat Expertise; it's more to make the sphere viable without making Combat Expertise a mandatory tax. It's been a subject of some discussion though, which is why there hasn't been a firm answer up to this point.

[Roadie]

Combat Expertise is enough of a mandatory tax in the system already that Dirty Fighting got printed specifically as a workaround for all the superfluous Int 13/Dex 13/Improved Unarmed Strike/Combat Expertise prerequisites put on a bunch of things. Very little would be harmed by either granting Dirty Fighting or having a "counts as Combat Expertise and Int 13" clause.