[Drop Dead Studios] Spheres of Combat Kickstarter!

[stack]

Good call. I like the idea of the feat buy-in. It's a good option for those characters that want more than a few talents to have a decent return on investment, though I think it fits better as a fallback in the absence of an archetype. That being said, is there a sense whether the archetypes will tend more towards the broad (like Sphere Wizard) or the specific (like Blind Swordsman)?

I don't want to talk specifics as we have focused on the spheres and new classes so far, but expect a fair number of both. Conversion archetypes don't take a lot of space, usually, but more in depth ones are more fun for us.

[NomGarret]

That's what I figured, but I didn't know if it really was so obvious it went without saying, or just felt like it.

[Hunter Noventa]

I can't wait for the playtest materials to come out. My group's current campaign is going to be wrapping up soonish, and our DM wants to do a shift and try out Spheres of Power and Might, but we need the latter to be available for it, and the Preview just isn't quite enough.

[Ssalarn]

Good call. I like the idea of the feat buy-in. It's a good option for those characters that want more than a few talents to have a decent return on investment, though I think it fits better as a fallback in the absence of an archetype. That being said, is there a sense whether the archetypes will tend more towards the broad (like Sphere Wizard) or the specific (like Blind Swordsman)?

Bit of option A, bit of option B; right now we've got a big collection of generics getting worked on for the playtest, but I'd prefer more specific archetypes that have their own internal flavor instead of quick conversion pieces; I imagine we'll end up with both.

I can't wait for the playtest materials to come out. My group's current campaign is going to be wrapping up soonish, and our DM wants to do a shift and try out Spheres of Power and Might, but we need the latter to be available for it, and the Preview just isn't quite enough.

Playtest should go out to backers sometime today; open playtest will follow shortly thereafter.

[Hunter Noventa]

Bit of option A, bit of option B; right now we've got a big collection of generics getting worked on for the playtest, but I'd prefer more specific archetypes that have their own internal flavor instead of quick conversion pieces; I imagine we'll end up with both.



Playtest should go out to backers sometime today; open playtest will follow shortly thereafter.

Oh wow, I wasn't expecting it quite that soon, I'm eager to dig into it!

[digiman619]

Bit of option A, bit of option B; right now we've got a big collection of generics getting worked on for the playtest, but I'd prefer more specific archetypes that have their own internal flavor instead of quick conversion pieces; I imagine we'll end up with both.



Playtest should go out to backers sometime today; open playtest will follow shortly thereafter.

Ooh. Looking forward to taking a look at it.

[LoyalPaladin]

Spheres of Combat is a book that reimagines marital combat similarly to how Spheres of Power reimagined magic.

The tpyo demons have struck again, it seems.

It's not a typo, it's a feature.

[EldritchWeaver]

This just in: Last stretchgoal passed! All 8 classes included!

[Hunter Noventa]

What...where's the Sage class? it was in preview 3 and now it's completely gone, I loved that class...

[Mehangel]

What...where's the Sage class? it was in preview 3 and now it's completely gone, I loved that class...

Sage is being moved to the Gish Expansion book for Spheres of Might.

[Hunter Noventa]

Sage is being moved to the Gish Expansion book for Spheres of Might.

Ahhhh, I see. Guess I'll have to wait on trying it out then.

[Milo v3]

Sage is being moved to the Gish Expansion book for Spheres of Might.

Yeah, it was basically inevitable for it to be moved there but I held out some hope of it being it's own thing rather than a SoP class (since I'm not the biggest fan of SoP).

At least there's the technician, which is the first inventor class I've ever seen which didn't inspire rage in me (I love crafting classes so I get so annoyed when I feel they're done wrong).

[Lirya]

The Conscript should probably have a slightly more fixed progression. The current Incanter style specialization points is very flexible, gives some very front-loaded options, but I find it surprisingly difficult to choose from due to varying costs, benefits, and levels the specialization comes online/scales. It was a class I was very excited about, and it still is, but my impression is it has moved too far on the build your own class scale towards being a complicated mess.

Honestly, with the fluff the Conscript has I would prefer if you don't make all the specialization choices at 1st level but instead spread them out over the 6 first levels or so. Say, if you made the Sphere Specialization choice at 2nd level, a defensive/utility specialization choice at 4th level, and an offensive specialization choice at 6th level (with each choice scaling at even levels), then that would be easier to choose from and help avoid making the class too tempting to dip into.

Basically, a 1 level dip for d10 HD, +1 BAB, 3 good saves, 4+Int skill points, +3 talents, +1 BAB/HD for sphere effects with 1 sphere, and martial flexibility 4/day is probably too much. And trying to build a Conscript creates massive option paralysis even when I already have a concept in mind.

[Ssalarn]

The Conscript should probably have a slightly more fixed progression. The current Incanter style specialization points is very flexible, gives some very front-loaded options, but I find it surprisingly difficult to choose from due to varying costs, benefits, and levels the specialization comes online/scales. It was a class I was very excited about, and it still is, but my impression is it has moved too far on the build your own class scale towards being a complicated mess.

Honestly, with the fluff the Conscript has I would prefer if you don't make all the specialization choices at 1st level but instead spread them out over the 6 first levels or so. Say, if you made the Sphere Specialization choice at 2nd level, a defensive/utility specialization choice at 4th level, and an offensive specialization choice at 6th level (with each choice scaling at even levels), then that would be easier to choose from and help avoid making the class too tempting to dip into.

Basically, a 1 level dip for d10 HD, +1 BAB, 3 good saves, 4+Int skill points, +3 talents, +1 BAB/HD for sphere effects with 1 sphere, and martial flexibility 4/day is probably too much. And trying to build a Conscript creates massive option paralysis even when I already have a concept in mind.

Thank you for the feedback! We may have gotten a little over-exuberant in wanting to make as many options as available as possible, which is a lot to take in and then gets further complicated by having to break the abilities down into solid choices that scale and aren't overly front-loaded.
I'll note, that loadout isn't terribly different than what you'll have with the sphere Brawler; somewhat more flexibility in how the talents are spent, but similar initial load-out. Definitely continue to provide feedback though, and we'll be keeping an eye on this class as things progress to make any needed adjustments; we were ready for the Conscript to be a very high attention item as we went into the playtest.

[Lirya]

I have moved on to look at the Commander, and it is made of pure awesome. From the look of it you can probably make a 4e style lazy-warlord a viable concept for pathfinder. It would be perfect if you can get access to proper condition-removal using legendary alchemy talents (I was actually hoping for Lesser Restoration/Remove Blindness/Deafness equivalents as regular alchemy options).

It needs some more options for Battlefield Specialist and Logistic Specialty however. I think a Logistic Specialty that enhances gather information (Spy Report), and another that allows you to perform large scale construction work/mining/similar labor quickly (Engineer Corp) would be fun abilities giving strategic options similar to Secret Ways.

[Milo v3]

Is there any reason why the "you can use unarmed with your hands full, AoO, and lethal unarmed" info block shouldn't be just moved to the Unarmed Combatant rules? It would save space only having to write in it the unarmed rules rather than for every unarmed sphere.

[Ssalarn]

I have moved on to look at the Commander, and it is made of pure awesome. From the look of it you can probably make a 4e style lazy-warlord a viable concept for pathfinder. It would be perfect if you can get access to proper condition-removal using legendary alchemy talents (I was actually hoping for Lesser Restoration/Remove Blindness/Deafness equivalents as regular alchemy options).

It needs some more options for Battlefield Specialist and Logistic Specialty however. I think a Logistic Specialty that enhances gather information (Spy Report), and another that allows you to perform large scale construction work/mining/similar labor quickly (Engineer Corp) would be fun abilities giving strategic options similar to Secret Ways.

Yeah, I still have a lot of "in progress" items for the Commander that were culled from the playtest until I can finish getting them ready, but they should be hitting the doc in the very near future.

[khadgar567]

I cant see our masked vigilante class so can some one direct me ton it

[Hunter Noventa]

All right, here's some first-impression feedback for the classes as I go through them. I'm no expert, it's mostly just what stands out to me right away.

Spoiler: Armiger

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This one feels like a LOT of bookkeeping and micromanaging, since you have your different equipment sets, and different talents for each set, AND the ability to swap between them in the same set of attacks. Assuming that Rapid Assault works in the way that you get the benefit of the talents of each weapon as you attack, if this isn't the case, it should probably be clarified.

I was definitely a bit worried about the cost of enchanting multiple sets of equipment, but enhanced customization is a good workaround I feel.

Spoiler: Blacksmith

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I love the concept of the class, the minor buffs from maintenance are a nice touch.

I am glad they got something to do against enemies that don't use equipment. I feel like there should still be some kind of damage bonus, especially if the Blacksmith is able to reduce their natural armor bonus to 0. Also, abilities like Double-edged Sword, Hammering Dents or Hobbling Strikes should be clarified as to if they work against natural armor or weapons or not.

The Reforge ability is great, especially if your conscript buddy spent feats on longswords, but a really nice scimitar shows up as loot.

Other than that it's a solid class. I do hope it has an archetype that strips out the magical crafting portions for low-magic or no-player-item-creation campaigns.

Spoiler: Commander

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Another interesting class, though I feel it's a little bit hampered by the focus on the Warleader sphere. If only for the fact that regaining Martial Focus is a standard action, using a shout expends it, and the shouts don't last very long at all.. You could spend most of your career as a Commander doing nothing but focusing and shouting, simply because the shouts don't last that long. This might be as intended, but it feels like it might be clunky, for lack of a better term. Granted, there are other ways to regain Martial Focus, but most of those won't be online early on.

Spoiler: Conscript

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Flexibility thy name is Conscript.

Conscript Weapon Training feels overpriced, since you'd also have to spend feats or talents to become proficient with said weapons. Granted, you have a lot of talents to use for that, but it does feel a bit off to me. I don't think it'd be overpowered to give proficiency with the selected fighter weapon group as well. perhaps only with the martial weapons of the group, not the exotic?

Sphere Specialization feels very nice though, as do most of the other specializations.

Spoiler: Scholar

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Being able to actually heal with the Heal skill is wonderful to start with. Some of the Material Impositions feel very limited in scope like Belladonna Barrier or Crystalline Focii. The better Medical Training abilities do seem to come online at just the right time though, and healer's kits are certainly cheaper than wands or potions.

Spoiler: Sentinel

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Wow the Sentinel is really tanky. But that's the point. Nothing stands out as alarming about it to me, but I've never been a big fan or expert on classes that can use challenge mechanics.

Spoiler: Striker

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Tracking and using Tension still feels a little bit off to me, but I suppose I'd have to try it out live to really get a feel for it. It should be clarified if you can spend Tension on more than one technique at once, it would make sense that you could, as long as only of the techniques takes a non-free action. (So you could stack Light Step and Fiery Offense, but not Light Step and Swift Focus)

How is combo rhythm supposed to work? When you get it, you hit someone once with your attack and get a +1 to attack...which vanishes at the start of your next turn before you can use it? That seems off to me.

Other than how awkward tension might get to track, solid class.

Spoiler: Technician

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First and foremost, there needs to be some consistency about the use of devices. Some items refer to creating a device, while others refer to expending one use of devices. Pick one for clarity, please?

Inventions overall look like a lot of fun.

Spoiler: Overall Initial Impressions

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I've already noted how I feel about Martial Focus and how it can interact with some things. I have yet to go over all the Spheres to see if there are more varied ways to regain it contained within there.

I'm very glad to see that you didn't stick any classes with the ridiculous 2+Int skill points per level the Core Fighter has.

The unarmed-focused Spheres are nice on their own, but it feels like Unarmed damage increases far too slowly. Even the Core Monk starts out doing more damage than a Boxer or Open hand user would do, and consistently would do more damage. While a Sphere user certainly has more options for when they strike, sometimes raw damage matters more.

Just my initial 2cp. I'm sure eyes far more expert than mine will have plenty else to say.

[EldritchWeaver]

Yeah, it was basically inevitable for it to be moved there but I held out some hope of it being it's own thing rather than a SoP class (since I'm not the biggest fan of SoP).

In the last version, the sage was too mystic-y to count as a real martial. And that was without using SoP material. So the class got moved to the gishes. We have to see though, if the sage remains SoP free.

[Mehangel]

This is a question to the authors.

If you were to stat up a Captain America as a level 5 character using only Spheres of Might, would he be

A) Commander focusing in the Guardian and Shield spheres
B) Sentinel focusing in the Warleader and Shield spheres
C) Something else (please explain).

[Xararion]

Can't dig into real good questions right now. But cheers for getting the next playtest out to us backers. Two minor questions though.

Did the troubadour join mystic in trip to the gish book.

Would it be possible to have options for vehicles for technician. I know you can already make the construct into a vehicle of sorts, but I'm talking actual bit heavier duty vehicles. Train, tank, ship, or personal favourite, airship, would all be nice things to be able to have personal of. With the constructs even the biggest airship you could make is still fairly small and personal.

[Lirya]

I will be trying to post some builds using SoM material. Here is my attempt at a 5th level roguish conscript.

Spoiler: Roguish Conscript

Show

----------------------
Roguish Conscript
----------------------
Human Conscript 5
Init +5; Perception +6
----------------------
Defense
----------------------
AC 22, Touch 15, Flat-Footed 17 (+5 Dex, +5 Armor, +2 Shield)
Hp 42/42 (5d10+10)
Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +3
Balanced Defense (You lose your shield bonus to AC if you attack with an off-hand weapon etc.)
Shoulder Roll (AoO; 2/round; +2 Dodge to AC, make a free attack if the enemy misses you.)
----------------------
Offense
----------------------
Speed 30/45 ft.; Run 120/225 ft.

Dueling Sword (1h P-Attack) +9 (1d8+9, 19-20/x2)
Dueling Sword (2h P-Attack) +11 (1d8+12, 19-20/x2)
Brutal Strike (2h) +11 (1d8+22, 19-20/x2; Must spend Focus or become Fatigued)

Unarmed Strike +10 (1d4+4, 20/x2; Power Attack for -2 Hit, +4 Damage)
Counter Punch +10 (1d4+8, 20/x2; Power Attack for -2 Hit, +4 Damage)

AoO: 6/6
Dirty Mugging (AoO): Make a free attack after attempting a Dirty Trick or Steal maneuver.
Playing Dirty: Creatures must spend a Standard Action to remove the effects of your dirty tricks.

Focus Options:
Athletics: Retain Dex to AC while climbing, climb at half base speed or full speed with -5. Reduce falling damage by 20 ft. with a DC 15 check +10 ft. for every 10 points you exceed the DC. Gain the benefits of the Run feat. Increase your climb, leap, and land speed by 15 ft.
Berserking: You can choose to take a -2 penalty to AC for 1 round, to gain 8 Temp Hp for 1 round.
Boxing: When you ready a counter punch, you may select 2 additional triggers.
Equipment: You gain +1 to hit with attacks made using duelist weapons.
Scoundrel: Your standard action Dirty Tricks & Steals are treated as attack actions for the purpose of applying talents to them. You gain a +2 bonus to CMB with Dirty Trick & Steal.
----------------------
Statistics
----------------------
Str 14 Dex 20 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 7 Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +7 (+11 Dirty Trick); CMD 23
Feats: Power Attack, Combat Reflexes, Extra Combat Training x3, Furious Focus
Specializations: Maneuver Training, Indomitable Will
Skills: Acrobatics [5] +13, Climb [5] +10, Bluff [5] +10, Diplomacy* [1] +3, Disable Device* [5] +12, Disguise* [1] +3, Knowledge (Local)[1] +6, Linguistics* [1] +3, Knowledge* (Geography, Planes)[1] +3, Perception [5] +6, Profession (Sailor, Soldier)[1] +2, Sleight of Hand* [5] +10, Stealth* [5] +10, Survival [1] +2, Swim [1] +6
*Not a class skill.
----------------------
Spheres of Might
----------------------
Athletics Sphere [Climb, Leap, Run]
Expanded Training, Swift Movement

Berserking Sphere

Boxing Sphere
Shoulder Roll

Equipment Sphere
Balanced Defense, Duelist Training, Finesse Fighting

Scoundrel Sphere
Dirty Mugging, Greater Scoundrel, Playing Dirty
----------------------
Equipment
----------------------
+1 Dueling Sword
+1 Mithral Chain Shirt
+1 Cloak of Resistance
+2 Belt of Incredible Dexterity

Mwk Thieves' Tools

480 gp

The class skill list is really small, half my skills are cross class. At this level, the character has a complication of Berserking Sphere without any good way of regaining Focus. The intended path here is to pick up Dizzying Tumble, Misdirected Attack, and Whirlwind Spin, and after that learn how to jump good (assuming the legendary talent is cheap and effective for someone who already has a bunch of athletics talents).

Comments are appreciated.

[khadgar567]

I will be trying to post some builds using SoM material. Here is my attempt at a 5th level roguish conscript.

Spoiler: Roguish Conscript

Show

----------------------
Roguish Conscript
----------------------
Human Conscript 5
Init +5; Perception +6
----------------------
Defense
----------------------
AC 22, Touch 15, Flat-Footed 17 (+5 Dex, +5 Armor, +2 Shield)
Hp 42/42 (5d10+10)
Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +3
Balanced Defense (You lose your shield bonus to AC if you attack with an off-hand weapon etc.)
Shoulder Roll (AoO; 2/round; +2 Dodge to AC, make a free attack if the enemy misses you.)
----------------------
Offense
----------------------
Speed 30/45 ft.; Run 120/225 ft.

Dueling Sword (1h P-Attack) +9 (1d8+9, 19-20/x2)
Dueling Sword (2h P-Attack) +11 (1d8+12, 19-20/x2)
Brutal Strike (2h) +11 (1d8+22, 19-20/x2; Must spend Focus or become Fatigued)

Unarmed Strike +10 (1d4+4, 20/x2; Power Attack for -2 Hit, +4 Damage)
Counter Punch +10 (1d4+8, 20/x2; Power Attack for -2 Hit, +4 Damage)

AoO: 6/6
Dirty Mugging (AoO): Make a free attack after attempting a Dirty Trick or Steal maneuver.
Playing Dirty: Creatures must spend a Standard Action to remove the effects of your dirty tricks.

Focus Options:
Athletics: Retain Dex to AC while climbing, climb at half base speed or full speed with -5. Reduce falling damage by 20 ft. with a DC 15 check +10 ft. for every 10 points you exceed the DC. Gain the benefits of the Run feat. Increase your climb, leap, and land speed by 15 ft.
Berserking: You can choose to take a -2 penalty to AC for 1 round, to gain 8 Temp Hp for 1 round.
Boxing: When you ready a counter punch, you may select 2 additional triggers.
Equipment: You gain +1 to hit with attacks made using duelist weapons.
Scoundrel: Your standard action Dirty Tricks & Steals are treated as attack actions for the purpose of applying talents to them. You gain a +2 bonus to CMB with Dirty Trick & Steal.
----------------------
Statistics
----------------------
Str 14 Dex 20 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 7 Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +7 (+11 Dirty Trick); CMD 23
Feats: Power Attack, Combat Reflexes, Extra Combat Training x3, Furious Focus
Specializations: Maneuver Training, Indomitable Will
Skills: Acrobatics [5] +13, Climb [5] +10, Bluff [5] +10, Diplomacy* [1] +3, Disable Device* [5] +12, Disguise* [1] +3, Knowledge (Local)[1] +6, Linguistics* [1] +3, Knowledge* (Geography, Planes)[1] +3, Perception [5] +6, Profession (Sailor, Soldier)[1] +2, Sleight of Hand* [5] +10, Stealth* [5] +10, Survival [1] +2, Swim [1] +6
*Not a class skill.
----------------------
Spheres of Might
----------------------
Athletics Sphere [Climb, Leap, Run]
Expanded Training, Swift Movement

Berserking Sphere

Boxing Sphere
Shoulder Roll

Equipment Sphere
Balanced Defense, Duelist Training, Finesse Fighting

Scoundrel Sphere
Dirty Mugging, Greater Scoundrel, Playing Dirty
----------------------
Equipment
----------------------
+1 Dueling Sword
+1 Mithral Chain Shirt
+1 Cloak of Resistance
+2 Belt of Incredible Dexterity

Mwk Thieves' Tools

480 gp

The class skill list is really small, half my skills are cross class. At this level, the character has a complication of Berserking Sphere without any good way of regaining Focus. The intended path here is to pick up Dizzying Tumble, Misdirected Attack, and Whirlwind Spin, and after that learn how to jump good (assuming the legendary talent is cheap and effective for someone who already has a bunch of athletics talents).

Comments are appreciated.

you said rouge and i cant see jolly old sneak attack option in your build

[Lirya]

Personally, Rogue != Sneak Attack. The character has lots of sneaky thief skills and fights dirty with dex as primary stat. I could have dropped 1-2 talents to get 1d6 sneak attack from the specialization instead, but I don't think it is worth it.

[khadgar567]

Personally, Rogue != Sneak Attack. The character has lots of sneaky thief skills and fights dirty with dex as primary stat. I could have dropped 1-2 talents to get 1d6 sneak attack from the specialization instead, but I don't think it is worth it.

Depends on fluff you want to play you can with same amount of points build a fully armored sorcerer thanks to arcane armor and few combat talents.
I hope in gish handbook we get proper final fantasy red mage since magus dorsnt came close to what red mage realy is though another question how wrestling sphere work with luchador class

[GreatGoatEater]

So I was looking at the Technician class, as that's the class I was looking forward to the most. The class seems to have a lot of cool sounding options available to it, though I haven't really analyzed the efficacy of them all. What did jump out at me was the ability to make a genuine construct buddy without necessarily being a caster cheesing out animated objects. I do have some questions about it though.

How is a Technician supposed to repair his own construct(Custom Creation) if he needs to be level 8(assuming he takes no other insights) to take Craft Construct aside from hoping the party has someone with Make Whole or Rapid Repair? Or is he expected to keep using the construct until it's destroyed and just repay the cost until that point? When you do get Craft Construct, can you modify your own custom creation?

[Ssalarn]

This is a question to the authors.

If you were to stat up a Captain America as a level 5 character using only Spheres of Might, would he be

A) Commander focusing in the Guardian and Shield spheres
B) Sentinel focusing in the Warleader and Shield spheres
C) Something else (please explain).

I, personally, would probably go with Conscript, Warleader Sphere Specialization, and Shield as a secondary sphere. Given Cap's penchant for ingenuity, Martial Flexibility isn't a bad thing to spend his two remaining points on, although you could snag Banner and Resolve instead, treating your shield as your banner. Caps two major "powers" such as they are, is that he's a peak human combatant and a remarkable leader and strategist; as recent comics have shown, Steve Rogers was no less a hero when the shield was taken from him, so I think the shield is really secondary to who and what he is and brings to the table.

Can't dig into real good questions right now. But cheers for getting the next playtest out to us backers. Two minor questions though.

Did the troubadour join mystic in trip to the gish book.

Would it be possible to have options for vehicles for technician. I know you can already make the construct into a vehicle of sorts, but I'm talking actual bit heavier duty vehicles. Train, tank, ship, or personal favourite, airship, would all be nice things to be able to have personal of. With the constructs even the biggest airship you could make is still fairly small and personal.

Troubadour has moved to the gish book, and vehicles are something that will probably have to be addressed in a future supplement. Drop Dead has an alternate vehicle rules system presented in books like Ships of Skybourne, and odds are good that we'd prefer to use that if we're going to get into gritty vehicle building.

I will be trying to post some builds using SoM material. Here is my attempt at a 5th level roguish conscript.

Spoiler: Roguish Conscript

Show

----------------------
Roguish Conscript
----------------------
Human Conscript 5
Init +5; Perception +6
----------------------
Defense
----------------------
AC 22, Touch 15, Flat-Footed 17 (+5 Dex, +5 Armor, +2 Shield)
Hp 42/42 (5d10+10)
Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +3
Balanced Defense (You lose your shield bonus to AC if you attack with an off-hand weapon etc.)
Shoulder Roll (AoO; 2/round; +2 Dodge to AC, make a free attack if the enemy misses you.)
----------------------
Offense
----------------------
Speed 30/45 ft.; Run 120/225 ft.

Dueling Sword (1h P-Attack) +9 (1d8+9, 19-20/x2)
Dueling Sword (2h P-Attack) +11 (1d8+12, 19-20/x2)
Brutal Strike (2h) +11 (1d8+22, 19-20/x2; Must spend Focus or become Fatigued)

Unarmed Strike +10 (1d4+4, 20/x2; Power Attack for -2 Hit, +4 Damage)
Counter Punch +10 (1d4+8, 20/x2; Power Attack for -2 Hit, +4 Damage)

AoO: 6/6
Dirty Mugging (AoO): Make a free attack after attempting a Dirty Trick or Steal maneuver.
Playing Dirty: Creatures must spend a Standard Action to remove the effects of your dirty tricks.

Focus Options:
Athletics: Retain Dex to AC while climbing, climb at half base speed or full speed with -5. Reduce falling damage by 20 ft. with a DC 15 check +10 ft. for every 10 points you exceed the DC. Gain the benefits of the Run feat. Increase your climb, leap, and land speed by 15 ft.
Berserking: You can choose to take a -2 penalty to AC for 1 round, to gain 8 Temp Hp for 1 round.
Boxing: When you ready a counter punch, you may select 2 additional triggers.
Equipment: You gain +1 to hit with attacks made using duelist weapons.
Scoundrel: Your standard action Dirty Tricks & Steals are treated as attack actions for the purpose of applying talents to them. You gain a +2 bonus to CMB with Dirty Trick & Steal.
----------------------
Statistics
----------------------
Str 14 Dex 20 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 7 Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +7 (+11 Dirty Trick); CMD 23
Feats: Power Attack, Combat Reflexes, Extra Combat Training x3, Furious Focus
Specializations: Maneuver Training, Indomitable Will
Skills: Acrobatics [5] +13, Climb [5] +10, Bluff [5] +10, Diplomacy* [1] +3, Disable Device* [5] +12, Disguise* [1] +3, Knowledge (Local)[1] +6, Linguistics* [1] +3, Knowledge* (Geography, Planes)[1] +3, Perception [5] +6, Profession (Sailor, Soldier)[1] +2, Sleight of Hand* [5] +10, Stealth* [5] +10, Survival [1] +2, Swim [1] +6
*Not a class skill.
----------------------
Spheres of Might
----------------------
Athletics Sphere [Climb, Leap, Run]
Expanded Training, Swift Movement

Berserking Sphere

Boxing Sphere
Shoulder Roll

Equipment Sphere
Balanced Defense, Duelist Training, Finesse Fighting

Scoundrel Sphere
Dirty Mugging, Greater Scoundrel, Playing Dirty
----------------------
Equipment
----------------------
+1 Dueling Sword
+1 Mithral Chain Shirt
+1 Cloak of Resistance
+2 Belt of Incredible Dexterity

Mwk Thieves' Tools

480 gp

The class skill list is really small, half my skills are cross class. At this level, the character has a complication of Berserking Sphere without any good way of regaining Focus. The intended path here is to pick up Dizzying Tumble, Misdirected Attack, and Whirlwind Spin, and after that learn how to jump good (assuming the legendary talent is cheap and effective for someone who already has a bunch of athletics talents).

Comments are appreciated.

Very neat build! I did a kukri-wielding Conscript recently who was a halfling "assassin" who used Athletics, Dueling, Dual Wielding, and Scout. Skill oriented spheres can really multiply the Conscript's effective skills per level, so it's usually a good idea to have at least one or two in any build.

Personally, Rogue != Sneak Attack. The character has lots of sneaky thief skills and fights dirty with dex as primary stat. I could have dropped 1-2 talents to get 1d6 sneak attack from the specialization instead, but I don't think it is worth it.

I'm kind of the same way; I see Sneak Attack more as a tool, rather than a defining characteristic. If there's a halfling tumbling in and out of hiding while covering me in bleeding wounds, I'd consider him pretty "rogueish" even if he never rolls an extra d6.

So I was looking at the Technician class, as that's the class I was looking forward to the most. The class seems to have a lot of cool sounding options available to it, though I haven't really analyzed the efficacy of them all. What did jump out at me was the ability to make a genuine construct buddy without necessarily being a caster cheesing out animated objects. I do have some questions about it though.

How is a Technician supposed to repair his own construct(Custom Creation) if he needs to be level 8(assuming he takes no other insights) to take Craft Construct aside from hoping the party has someone with Make Whole or Rapid Repair? Or is he expected to keep using the construct until it's destroyed and just repay the cost until that point? When you do get Craft Construct, can you modify your own custom creation?

I'll kick your questions by the Technician team, see if I can't scrounge up an answer for you.

Sorry it took so long to get back to everyone; since this still technically a closed playtest for backers only, we've really been focusing on responding to feedback either directly on the playtest documents or at our forums at Drop Dead Studios.
Open playtest should be coming up pretty quickly here, and we'll be keeping a closer eye on Paizo and GitP threads.

[Hunter Noventa]

Love the new Martial Traditions, but I do have a question. if you take a Martial Tradition that gives you access to a Base Sphere that you class already has, do you then get a bonus talent from that sphere?

[Ssalarn]

Love the new Martial Traditions, but I do have a question. if you take a Martial Tradition that gives you access to a Base Sphere that you class already has, do you then get a bonus talent from that sphere?

Yes; as it should note in all of the sphere class features, if you already have the sphere from another source, you instead gain a bonus talent from that sphere.