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Ring Side Report- RPG review of Starfinder Tech Class Playtest

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Product– Starfinder Tech Class Playtest

System- Starginder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– FREE here  https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6zwqx&page=1?Starfinder-Tech-Class-Playtest

TL; DR– Good, but a loss of flavor.  93% 

Basics– Why not tech wizards!  The tech playtest focuses on the technomancer and the mechanic.  The mechanic is the pet class with rogue elements of being skill based and the technomancer is the wizard.

Mechanics or Crunch– The classes work.  They both operate well within the realms of the base Pathfinder 2e mechanics.  The mechanic is a pet class and it follows the basic pet class idea, and the Technomancer feels like a sorcerer bloodline on a wizard.  Those are good pieces making a great whole.  5/5

Theme or Fluff–  I like what’s here, but I also feel like we may have lost things in edition change.  The mechanic lost the ability to just put a computer in their head and do awesome stuff.  What’s here is good, but it’s also a bit less than what it could have been.  The technomancer doesn’t feel like its own thing.  It’s a wizard with a bloodline.  That’s not bad, but I wanted more.  I wanted maybe even a whole new school of spells here.  It’s still just arcane spells.  Again, not bad by any stretch, but I wanted tech spells.  These two things don’t feel distinct.  4/5

Execution– It’s Paizo.  Solid layout, production, art, and even text makes this something to be studied.  Yes, I keep saying the exact same things, but it’s for the exact same reason.   For a free product, this is amazingly well done.  5/5

Summary– I like the options, but I want more distinct things in the future.  Overall, these will play amazingly well with the rest of the classes out there.  I just want new ground to be broken with Starfinder.  Right now Starfinder 2nd ed feels more like a setting change and less like it’s own edition.  Thats good for some respects, but bad for others.  Then again, I’m gonna play the hell out of this system.  So I may not be getting exactly what I want, but I am getting Pathfinder in Space, which I want!  93%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #6-08: Upon Wheels and Rime

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Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #6-08: Upon Wheels and Rime

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $ 8.99 here  https://paizo.com/products/btq07fl9?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-608-Upon-Wheels-and-Rime 

TL; DR– Solid short fun.  99% 

Basics– You’re building a what?  The Winter Queen is homesick and trying to revolutionize her country at the same time.  Bids are being taken to build a train, but what is a train?  And who wants to stop it?

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure isnt so much crunch, but world building.  There is a social interaction, then a chase, then combat! It’s short, but its fun.  The encounters are balanced for everyone.  It’s just a bit short.  4.75/5

Theme or Fluff–  This is a callback. If you played First Ed Pathfinder and killed Rasputin in an adventure path, then you will recognize all the key players here.  Those who didn’t, won’t miss anything, but it’s a call back.  The story is interesting, and it builds out some of the world of Pathfinder in fun ways that everyone will enjoy.  5/5

Execution– It’s Paizo.  Solid layout, production, art, and even text makes this something to be studied.  5/5

Summary– This is a solid, if short, adventure.  The short issue depends on roleplaying.  The combats are fun, and the story offers the players a chance to change the Society and the World via their choices.  I loved this one.  99%

Daily Punch 2-6-25 Back Off occult spell for Pathfinder 2nd Ed

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Double damage!

Back Off reaction Spell 1

Concentrate Manipulate Mental
Traditions Occult
targets a creatures comes within five feet of you Defense Will save

Stay away! When a creature comes within five feet of you, you can force the target to make a Will save..

Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The target stops the action that moved it within five feet of you..
Failure The target stops the action that moved it within five feet of you. It then uses another action if able to take a stride action to move away from you. This action can provoke reactive strikes.
Critical Failure The target stops the action that moved it within five feet of you. It then uses another action if able to take a stride action to move away from you and you determine the path the creature takes. This action can provoke reactive strikes.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 12-5-24 Speed of the Dead undead power for DCC RPG

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so fast!

Speed of the Deaed
Level: 1Range PersonalDuration: perminentCasting time: 1 actionSave: None
GeneralYou begin to move at a rate none can match
Manifestationroll 1d4: (1) You move so fast it looks like a shimmer. (2) You just flash between points. (3) The world slows to a crawl around you. (4)Things just happen around you.
1failure, power may not be used again today
2-11failure
12-13Increase your Agility by 1 and your AC by 1
14-17Increase your Agility by 1, your reflex save by 1 and your AC by 1
18-19Increase your Agility by 2, your reflex save by 2 and your AC by 1
20-23Increase your Agility by 3, your reflex save by 3 and your AC by 2
24-27Increase your Agility by 3, your reflex save by 3 and your AC by 3
28-29Increase your Agility by 4, your reflex save by 4 and your AC by 3
30-31Increase your Agility by 4, your reflex save by 4 and your AC by 4
32+Increase your Agility by 5, your reflex save by 5 and your AC by 5

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Howl of the Wild

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Product– Pathfinder Howl of the Wild

System– Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $64.99 here  https://paizo.com/products/btq02f09?Pathfinder-Howl-of-the-Wild   

TL; DR-Solid nature materials with a layout misstep.  98% 

Basics– Who let the centaurs in the sub?  Howl of the Wild is a character options book with new races, spells, items, and archetypes for characters who want a bit more animal in their characters.  In addition, the book has a framing story about an expedition to uncover the guardians of the wild and the monsters they encounter, providing GMs with new monsters and story hooks for them to dig into.

Mechanics or Crunch– Paizo knows their math and it shows here.  The new items, options, monsters, and characters all expand Pathfinder into fun new places.  And the new grafts allow characters who are plain human to even get into the action.  Some archetypes require the characters to have some animal parts, but with the right addition, anyone can play.  It doesn’t feel exclusionary, but lets people specialize into something new at the same time.  The monsters are fun and bring some old creatures back into the mix as well.   5/5

Theme or Fluff– Howl of the Wild feels like it fits in Golarion and adds to it at the same time.  I love the new races, and since its set far away from the main setting areas, they don’t feel like they are tacked on.  The new stuff all fits into the world and has fun descriptions and art to help you see what the authors wanted to add.  I also enjoyed the story the book told as the explorers try to find the guardians of nature. They do, AND THEY ARE BIG.  If you want some end bosses for a nature based game, here you go!     5/5

Execution– This book is good, but feels like a step back for Paizo’s normal work.  What’s here is good.  I like the flow and pictures, but this book doesn’t have the short tables and descriptions of feats, spells, and items.  It honestly makes it a pain.  Also, while there are dividing pictures, the different sections are not as well defined.  One change to a new subject was so jarring, I redownloaded my copy thinking I missed some pages in an error.  I figured it out, but the older layout decisions are a better way to display the materials.  I’d rather have less stuff and more tables to summarize all the pieces than too much to really take in.   4.5/5

Summary–  This is a good book with a single error.  I love the new crunch; it adds new character options and even tools for the GM to get to play with.  These are all great additions to the game.  I love the new story.  It’s fun to see a new part of the world and to see the new characters who live in it.  It also builds out the world for the GM, so they can make new stories and monsters to challenge the players.  My one issue is the layout.  What’s here is good.  It reads fast and easily, but the lack of tables makes skimming hard.  As both a GM and a player, I want to be able to skim character feats, spells, and items quickly.  Bring those back!  But, overall this is a good addition to the world of Pathfinder.  Check this out if you want to walk on the wild side. 98%

Daily Punch 3-15-24 Psychosomatic Illness occult spell for Pathfinder 2nd Ed

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Send them in ready!

Psychosomatic Illness one-action Spell 5

Manipulate Mental
Traditions Occult
Range 60 feet; Target 1 creature
Defense Will; Duration 1 or more rounds

You force the target to think it is sick with the mind causing the body to fail. The effects are determined by its Will save.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success For 1 round, choose either slowed 1, clumsy 1, or enfeebled 1.
Failure The target gains slowed 1, clumsy 1, and enfeebled 1 and can attempt to save for all these continues in one save at the end of each of its turns.
Critical Failure As for success, but the duration is automatically 1 minute.


Thoughts?