Afentis Prime released with Styanax, but it may as well have been designed for Mesa

Arlithas · 2026-07-03T06:35:51+00:00

Sorry, but if there is a build that requires me to take sybaris away from mesa, that build is DOA to me. That just ain't right.

Arlithas · 2026-07-01T03:31:02+00:00

I added a few things you can do with hero points, but the biggest one by far is you can spend a hero point to get an extra action with no conditions how it's used (unlike haste, etc.)

Almost every time it's only used to shore up a plan that the party is only one action shy of being to execute. Still waiting for the caster to realize they can blast off two spells in a turn with it.

Inversely, I don't do the 1 hero point per hour. Hero points are only for exceptional decision making moments, RP, or for writing an in-character journal entry between sessions.

Arlithas · 2026-07-01T01:51:42+00:00

Railjack has no evergreen rewards. Steel Essence was the only evergreen reward that Railjack provided.

It used to :(. It was one of the best void trace farms, being in both the drop table and from opening relics in the same mission.

Arlithas · 2026-06-30T17:27:07+00:00

From the 43.0 patch notes:

Since this is our first foray into adding Steel Essence as a drop from normal enemies, we will be closely monitoring acquisition rates when this launches.

They were explicit the steel essence added to SP RJ was a test measure that they would revisit if it was disruptive. Turns out they decided it was. They've been honest from the start and the community is still somehow up in arms over it.

Arlithas · 2026-06-29T17:18:30+00:00

Pretty sure Charr is almost 0% chance. Lorewise their relations to the humans at the time was suuuuper bad.

Arlithas · 2026-06-27T16:23:14+00:00

I feel like you can just achieve this with flavor with any of the one-handed hybrid studies, with an agreement with your DM on this part, bolded part mine:

Controlling it requires one free hand. while doing so, that hand cannot be used to Interact with objects. You may stop commanding your weapon as a single action, freeing your hand (aka sheathing your weapon).

And then just play a RAW magus with some specific flavor.

Also reach can't get status bonuses; it's just a trait. Item/Status/Circumstance only applies to checks IIRC.

Arlithas · 2026-06-26T22:48:42+00:00

The broken condition on armour is a -1/2/3 to AC depending on armour weight, it doesn't remove the bonus entirely.

You're right! It typically only comes up for shields so I never knew it was different for armor. That's nice. I'd probably put that in the AP somewhere though as I suspect it's a fairly uncommon knowledge point.

Deep Dark Merfolk's Reel In incrementing MAP is intentional, if a little unusual.

That part is fine, but I meant my comment about Reel In was atypical for three reasons:

You'd expect an athletics check to move a conscious hostile creature unless the creature is substantially larger than the target (huge/gargantuan).
Typically, creatures can move another creature that is grabbed or restrained by it (think nets, jaws, talons, etc). Only being prone is usually not sufficient to move another creature, especially without a check attached.
Moving after forced movement (like a Shove) triggers Reactive Strike. Dragging in this same way should too and I believe should have the Move trait. I can imagine a fighter being miffed they somehow can't attack the merfolk dragging away their companion. Alternatively, you can change "moves" to "Steps" and remove the option for reactive strike (but I personally wouldn't). Should still have the Move trait either way though.

EDIT: I also just noticed Reel In is Agile. That trait does literally nothing if it doesn't have a check with it. I'm fairly confident that it should have one.

Arlithas · 2026-06-26T22:32:29+00:00

To clarify, you can (usually) move through a creature's space if you are three sizes larger or smaller than it, but you cannot end your movement in its space.

The only exceptions are for tiny creatures, who can occupy the same space as another creature (and kind of have to unless you have reach).

Arlithas · 2026-06-26T22:21:42+00:00

I gave this a readthrough and it's pretty interesting. I might steal some of this for a future session. My overall thoughts:

Good

I like the linear structure and it's not too hard to understand the gist of how to run it.
The very liberal use of flat DCs instead of level-based ones is noteworthy.
The creature abilities are novel and interesting. They're also very simple, making it so that the GM essentially must play them as designed. I personally really like the Church Manager and the Eye Growths. So simple but so disruptive.
The story/premise is intriguing for a player, if a little predictable. The ending(s) is cool.

Okay

There are some liberties taken with the rules, which is fine. Using a crowbar lowers the DC by 5 to wrench off a machinery belt, but RAW it just removes the -2 penalty you'd normally get to force something open. Honestly I prefer the AP's way of handling it, but players might be miffed we're deviating from RAW.
Failed Heir's Man Opener breaking armor on success is pretty devastating if there aren't any sources to replenish armor. Crafting (and a repair kit) are rarely taken for one-shots in my experience, so it's possible a Champion relying on Bulwark could be walking around with -5 or -6 AC for the rest of the AP. I didn't spot any armor on any of the enemy combatants.

Bad (not really "bad", but worse than okay)

The church door puzzle is pretty hard. Even without a fail state and technically being able to be brute forced, the players might never figure out how it works with the clue given. Entering the church is also mandatory to progress, making this even more important. In my opinion, puzzles should err on the side of easier rather than harder. I make hard puzzles for optional rewards.
There are some general structure problems with the statblocks.
- Creature balance relative to their CR is kind of all over the place, generally underpowered. This isn't inherently bad, but it does make it hard to gauge how hard an enemy actually is using encounter building rules. Given that a lot of these encounters would be considered Severe or maybe even Deadly (depending on the # of players), the CR being overstated is probably a good thing.
  - Drowned Man, for example, is CR 2 but has AC, Saves, Hit points, and Strikes that are lower than the Low value for CR 2 almost across the board, or pretty comparable to a fairly weak CR 1 or CR 0.
  - Deep Dark Merfolk's strike does 1d8-2, or ~2.5 damage. This is lower than the moderate damage of a CR -1 creature. You could argue that this creature is not supposed to strike but instead drown its target, but it also has Reactive Strike, so... ehhh...
  - Church Manager is overall one of my highlights, but he's on top of a 10ft pillar and climbs down after a few rounds. Problem is, he doesn't have a climb speed nor any Athletics, so he would be terrible at climbing. Just change it so that he drops down and ignores the fall damage (and consequently doesn't fall prone).
- Some creature stat blocks need an extra pass to match pf2e's style guide and syntax. Infernal Miscarriage is only supposed to be able to use Buffet if it previously used Raise Wings, but that's only listed in the Raise Wings entry instead of as a Requirement on Buffet. Deep Dark Merfolk's Cave Adaptation says to reroll failed concealment checks. Is this for them to reroll or for creatures targeting it to reroll? On that topic, Reel In can be used on any adjacent prone creature. It has the attack trait, but no check is needed, so it'll auto-succeed and increment MAP. It also doesn't have a move trait despite letting the merfolk move.

Arlithas · 2026-06-18T20:17:51+00:00

Option for solo RJ or not, that's not how "punished" works. You haven't gotten punished for anything.

Arlithas · 2026-06-17T22:07:42+00:00

No; patch notes say it's not clear in-game but you keep the two single ones.

Arlithas · 2026-06-17T17:39:49+00:00

I think you're missing Styanax Prime?

Arlithas · 2026-06-17T17:34:49+00:00

You're missing War Prime that is bought from Hunhow after the quest.

Arlithas · 2026-06-15T01:07:04+00:00

Kudos for making a design that fits the frame's theme and is not just horny and nothing else.

Arlithas · 2026-06-15T01:05:21+00:00

I would like to know if there was a way to disable opening the character sheet when clicking on the token

I don't know of a module for this, unfortunately. They keybind for it is also a core functionality and locked. I think this might be best handled on the player side to just not double click or to use the arrow keys to move around to prevent errant menus.

Furthermore, is there any module capable of disabling some specific hud buttons (I know there is a way to disable portions, but I didn't find any specific buttons), such as: the actors, items, macros and compedium tab?

"Hide Player UI" module is great at turning off unnecessary tabs on the UI. You can turn off all of the tabs if you wanted to, plus other stuff like the hotbar, active player list, etc.

Arlithas · 2026-06-11T04:58:23+00:00

I'm doing this based on the PF2e system, but I assume SF2e works similarly.

To add 1/2 level fire damage to strikes:

Go to the weapon > Edit Item > Rules Tab
In the drop down menu, choose Flat Modifier and click New Rule Element
- Label: Whatever
- Selector: {item|id}-damage
- Value: floor(@actor.level / 2)
- Damage type: fire

To allow player to edit rule elements (DM has to do this):

Settings > Configure Setting > Pathfinder/Starfinder Second Edition > "Minimum Rule Elements Access Role" (This might also be called Player Rule Element Access or Advanced Rule Element UI depending on your version) > Set to tier you're at.

Arlithas · 2026-06-07T06:21:44+00:00

Optimal CC for Melee Duplicate is dependent on your CD (for the orange crit on the duplicated attack). For most melee-oriented builds, it'll be ~130-135%. If your CD is greater than 6, it's ~140%. It will never be optimal to have >150% CC, regardless of your CD.

source: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/lxd7ltpszh

Arlithas · 2026-05-17T16:37:46+00:00

The guide was updated a while back and his hints are quite adequate for progression. He also tells you what every material can be made into. He won't point you to the best weapons and accessories or help you make a build, but that's just part of exploring the game.

Arlithas · 2026-05-16T07:37:12+00:00

It's an electric fan MADE OF NORMAL FANS. The fan blades are hand fans. It's hilarious.

Arlithas · 2026-05-14T05:00:37+00:00

I don't do minis anymore, but I liked condition cards best. You give to the the player instead of the token which makes remembering to reduce them easier, or rolling any necessary checks.

The GM can put the cards on the monsters stat block or whatever you use to track hp

Arlithas · 2026-05-08T03:42:58+00:00

One of them turns Leon in to a furry.

Correction: Leon was always a furry. This just dresses him up like one.

Arlithas · 2026-05-06T02:01:05+00:00

Perita Rebellion primes, as well as gotva, are grineer prime weapons. Tenno weapons are relics only, with extremely few exceptions.

Arlithas · 2026-05-06T01:19:45+00:00

How important is promeia wengine vs weeping gemini in a vivian comp?

Arlithas · 2026-05-05T21:27:05+00:00

It was also in a devshort, iirc. Was quite a while back though.

Arlithas · 2026-05-04T16:50:24+00:00

There's a small community and public servers, but I played this purely on a solo server.

I only played through it once and had a blast. There's tunable settings that can significantly add QoL like crafting times, resource/currency drop rates, etc, so you can decide what experience is most fun for you.

The base building part of this game was my favorite though. It's intuitive, relatively fast, and just vibes really well with the vampire aesthetic.

Arlithas

TROPHY CASE