Parting Blast: Thoughts?

[Xuldarinar]

For those unfamiliar with the feat, within Occult Adventures there is a feat called parting blast. In essence, you prepare yourself and if you are killed at any point before burn is removed... you explode.

Why do I bring this up? Two reasons. First of all, I find the notion of the feat interesting and I wanted the playground's opinion upon it and its concept. Secondly, Im thinking of brewing something along those lines myself and I want to know if what is in essence a death nova is considered something that might be worth taking.

[Nibbens]

For those unfamiliar with the feat, within Occult Adventures there is a feat called parting blast. In essence, you prepare yourself and if you are killed at any point before burn is removed... you explode.

Why do I bring this up? Two reasons. First of all, I find the notion of the feat interesting and I wanted the playground's opinion upon it and its concept. Secondly, Im thinking of brewing something along those lines myself and I want to know if what is in essence a death nova is considered something that might be worth taking.

Seems to me like a fluff thing - kinda like a death curse from the Dresden Files. If it has a high damage ratio or something it could be a cool idea to play around with a threat in combat: "if you kill me with your melee attack, I will lay a death curse so powerful..." etc etc.

However, I see this as more of a way to ensure your own death without high level magic. Another words - have important knowledge, get caught by the enemy or fail in your mission, then boom - no body to cast speak with dead on.

I keep thinking of neat DM applications with this, but not so many player choices except for fluff.

[icefractal]

It appears that like the other self-destruct feat, the damage is pretty anemic. I like Troth of the Forgotten Pharaoh (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/troth-of-the-forgotten-pharaoh) better, since it can be triggered manually as well (to prevent mind control, for instance).

With either one, the only uses I've found are:
1) To make weak enemies somewhat more dangerous.
2) Do that annoying thing where the BBEG's minions self destruct so you can't interrogate them.
3) If you can possess people, such as Magic Jar / being a Ghost, then TotFP makes it extra nasty. Someone's casting Protection from Evil to throw you out? Nope, exploded.

[Palanan]

"We're gonna explode? I don't wanna explode!"

:smalltongue:



Otherwise, like icefractal said, this seems much better for low-level antagonists, who can end up being more dangerous than they seem. Throw a dozen guys with this in front of a PC with Great Cleave, and watch them cook off.

[Kurald Galain]

For a PC, this should be a moderate-level class ability rather than a feat, and it should do a rather excessive amount of damage (including to your allies, if they happen to be in the blast radius) and prevent Raise Dead from working.

Because, you know, epic. The concept works well in some novels, and players can agonize about whether or not to use it.

[Extra Anchovies]

I'd never spend limited build resources (e.g. feats or class levels) on a death-trigger effect that does anything other than revive me, because if it happens after I die and it doesn't revive me, it doesn't matter. I'm still dead.

[Psyren]

I'd never spend limited build resources (e.g. feats or class levels) on a death-trigger effect that does anything other than revive me, because if it happens after I die and it doesn't revive me, it doesn't matter. I'm still dead.

Yeah, that. Your resources are better spent not dying, or killing the enemy faster (same thing.)

[Draco_Lord]

I personally really want to see this used with something that brings you back to life. Like maybe the Resurrection Druid, build yourself to end every session by blasting off again!

[Extra Anchovies]

I personally really want to see this used with something that brings you back to life. Like maybe the Resurrection Druid, build yourself to end every session by blasting off again!

Yeah, I actually mentioned that in the OcA thread. Great minds think alike, I guess :smalltongue:

http://i.imgur.com/JFBp6Xv.png

Best feat 2k15

get ready for the elite kineticist/reincarnated druid strats

[Kurald Galain]

I personally really want to see this used with something that brings you back to life. Like maybe the Resurrection Druid, build yourself to end every session by blasting off again!

How about getting that feat on a figment familiar?

[Draco_Lord]

Yeah, I actually mentioned that in the OcA thread. Great minds think alike, I guess :smalltongue:

Haha, clearly they do. I just can't wait for the builds! All the dumb silly builds!

[Psyren]

How about getting that feat on a figment familiar?

Wouldn't it have to get "Kinetic Blast class feature" somehow?

[Kurald Galain]

Wouldn't it have to get "Kinetic Blast class feature" somehow?

Yes, but I was hoping for a loophole. Isn't there an archetype somewhere that adds all your feats to your familiar, or something?

Oh, how about this. Use one of the various mind swappage effects to, well, swap minds with someone. That means you retain your own feats. Kill your host body, go kaboom with this Final Strike feat, and swap back to your own mind ... would that work? :smallbiggrin:

[icefractal]

Yep, as mentioned above. :smallwink:

I still like TotFP better for that purpose though, since you can do it as an immediate action in response to someone trying to exorcise you.

[Kiton2]

Honestly, it's a slap to the face in the vein of "we'll let you revive more often" being given (instead of something useful) as a class ability (a certain trait given to a certain class in WoW because of how badly broken they are right now).

Parting blast's biggest problem in my eyes isn't even the fact that it annihilates your body, making you significantly tougher to bring back - though I couldn't believe the zealous brown-nosing about it on the paizo forums. Oh really? It's PERFECT? This is "GREAT"? You've always wanted exactly this? You're paying a valuable feat slot to die more completely?

No. It's how bloody piddlingly pathetic the damage is. You take a point of burn (so, make yourself a bit easier to take out) and.. a 5ft radius of your simple blast.

5ft, simple blast. That's IT? A feat that requires you to DIE, and DESTROYS YOUR BODY, and instead of one final act or something, you choose this one, that just deals a basic standard action with no boosts?

A blast just big enough to barely touch those that were in melee with you (it may do nothing if the guy had a reach weapon!) dealing a pathetic amount of damage? They didn't just decide to put this in because of how crappy the kineticist is. They couldn't stop themselves, they just HAD to go and make it spectacularly bad just to stick it to the class further. I'm honestly surprised they didn't say it's reflex-half just to rub more salt in.

[Extra Anchovies]

It doesn't even trigger when you activate From the Ashes. This is legitimately insulting.

Do people on the Paizo forum honestly like this feat? Can I have a link to this?

[EldritchWeaver]

It doesn't even trigger when you activate From the Ashes. This is legitimately insulting.

Do people on the Paizo forum honestly like this feat? Can I have a link to this?

My google-fu leads me to this thread (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2sp3c?Occult-Adventures-Parting-Blast). Some do like it.

[Kiton2]

There were far worse posts elsewhere lauding how perfect it was for the ever-so-common threat (they weren't being sarcastic) of corpse possession in many campaigns, and how it would totally screw over all those BBEGs, as well as stuff about how good being able to kill what's attacking you is when resurrection is so cheap since that avoids a TPK.

Can't find which thread; was one of the big 'occult just came out' ones or maybe the gargantuan nerfs one.