SangoProduction
2022-06-23, 02:19 PM
Preamble: To continue on my quest to rate all the advanced talents for whether you should consider them for your game, I now move onto the Life and Light spheres.
Post Review Analysis: Life sphere is surprisingly... tame. Considering just how easy it is to overinvest into the Life sphere (especially for early levels), I was surprised by how there are no outright bans to be found. At least for me.
Light, on the other hand, well, actually, it's generally relatively tame. But it's actually got 2 talents set in warning.
Warning: This rare rating is given to talents that have truly game-breaking potential. Or at the very least need very close inspection before being allowed.
Questionable: These talents have an outsized impact, and should be considered in context before being allowed.
Acceptable: This is your standard faire advanced talent tier. Worth looking at, but rarely is it going to cause the catastrophic downfall of your campaign.
Fluffy: These little to no functional difference to a character. These are also the safest to give out as reward talents. For example, if they beat the witch who eats children, they might manifest the ability to summon items made of gingerbread.
Unknown: For when I really just don't know where it would lie. It's probably needlessly complicated. Take a good look at it yourself. I'll try and provide a cliff notes version of the talent, along with potential pit falls.
Life
Hypervitalize (lvl 15): Upgrades revitalize... massively. Turns it to regeneration, preventing death, until it's finished healing, with no clause to turn it off (save for dispel magic). Note, in PF, regeneration does not turn damage to nonlethal. But this does grant nonlethal immunity, and... yeah, if put on an SoM character, it can start getting somewhat unreasonable, with their ways to turn damage nonlethal.
But it is level 15. You are getting to the starting point of epic adventures by now, where you're preparing to take on gods.
(Greater / Supreme) Resurrection (lvl 10 / 15 / 20): If you would have allowed raise dead, you probably would allow this. Even if this is cheaper and easier, and Make Whole can remove the negative levels. Still, such easy resurrection is not necessarily for every single game.
Transfiguration (lvl 10): Most of its effects are minor and not truly worth mentioning for most games. Unless you allow your players to play truly old characters. Then this can be the equivalent of an hours per level, +3 to all mental stats. But +5 bonus HP per level to each character, for the cost of 1 talent, and 2 spell points per character... is unironically really good.
Feline Good (lvl 5): It acts as a blanket delay of any negative effect you could restore. Which is just awesome, and one of the preemptive ways to actually use the Life sphere. But it delays it by 2 rounds at level 8. This is by no means going to break almost any encounter.
Make Whole (lvl 10): Honestly, I'd probably put this in the Fluff category. But removing permanent negative levels is a real effect. Especially with Resurrection.
Soul Consumption (lvl 5): Rushes out the fast healing, for when you want to be kinda evil, and heal between quick fights, but still want the efficiency of Revitalize. Also lets you carry around their soul instead of their body for resurrection. Which could be more convenient, though that requires Resurrection, which is minimum level 10.
Light
Light Speed (lvl 15): I know I am the one who always says that move speed is not a notable effect. Which is why you should take my word of caution about this granting (100 mile per caster level) run speed as more cautionary than from others. And a 25-foot step also substantially changes how combats play out. You'd rather have to go out of your way to not have this run roughshod over much of your campaign, even at level 15. Probably would be fun to play with though.
Prismatic Radiance (lvl 15): Not overly broken. Just obnoxious to actually play with, having 8 NPCs rolling d8s and then checking the chart, and then rolling damage or rolling for their confuse duration, and then their saves, and then rolling for how they act that turn, and then...and then... like Jesus. Too much going on.
Daylight (lvl 10): Unlike its namesake, it's just a bunch of area, rather than actual Daylight. But damn, is 2 miles a lot of area.
Diffuse Body (lvl 7): Turns a utility buff into a meaningful "Spend a move action to avoid the next attack," while also being really cool. Probably a little broken on spell casters though.
Incarnate Glow (lvl 15): Basically causes Flicker to grant incorporeality. Which is very notable. But it is level 15. That's probably relatively fine. Plenty of options to shut that down by level 15. And other ways to emulate its other effects.
Radiation (lvl 10): Doesn't honestly do too much... except set up the Radiation Blast, which it explicitly stacks with.
Star Genesis (lvl 10): Actually creates daylight, unlike Daylight. Overall, it's probably just fine. The area increase is notable, but not like... 2 miles wide.
Everglow (lvl 1): Continual flame, but available at first level, at no cost. I think there's a talent in the Mana sphere which can soak up magic effects for benefits. Just bap your player on the nose if they try and create infinite batteries for themselves, and it'll be fine. Oh, and there's a tradition Boon that grants up to +2 CL just for being near people with your effects on them. If that is bothersome, then just tell them that Everglow doesn't count, and it'll be fine.
Post Review Analysis: Life sphere is surprisingly... tame. Considering just how easy it is to overinvest into the Life sphere (especially for early levels), I was surprised by how there are no outright bans to be found. At least for me.
Light, on the other hand, well, actually, it's generally relatively tame. But it's actually got 2 talents set in warning.
Warning: This rare rating is given to talents that have truly game-breaking potential. Or at the very least need very close inspection before being allowed.
Questionable: These talents have an outsized impact, and should be considered in context before being allowed.
Acceptable: This is your standard faire advanced talent tier. Worth looking at, but rarely is it going to cause the catastrophic downfall of your campaign.
Fluffy: These little to no functional difference to a character. These are also the safest to give out as reward talents. For example, if they beat the witch who eats children, they might manifest the ability to summon items made of gingerbread.
Unknown: For when I really just don't know where it would lie. It's probably needlessly complicated. Take a good look at it yourself. I'll try and provide a cliff notes version of the talent, along with potential pit falls.
Life
Hypervitalize (lvl 15): Upgrades revitalize... massively. Turns it to regeneration, preventing death, until it's finished healing, with no clause to turn it off (save for dispel magic). Note, in PF, regeneration does not turn damage to nonlethal. But this does grant nonlethal immunity, and... yeah, if put on an SoM character, it can start getting somewhat unreasonable, with their ways to turn damage nonlethal.
But it is level 15. You are getting to the starting point of epic adventures by now, where you're preparing to take on gods.
(Greater / Supreme) Resurrection (lvl 10 / 15 / 20): If you would have allowed raise dead, you probably would allow this. Even if this is cheaper and easier, and Make Whole can remove the negative levels. Still, such easy resurrection is not necessarily for every single game.
Transfiguration (lvl 10): Most of its effects are minor and not truly worth mentioning for most games. Unless you allow your players to play truly old characters. Then this can be the equivalent of an hours per level, +3 to all mental stats. But +5 bonus HP per level to each character, for the cost of 1 talent, and 2 spell points per character... is unironically really good.
Feline Good (lvl 5): It acts as a blanket delay of any negative effect you could restore. Which is just awesome, and one of the preemptive ways to actually use the Life sphere. But it delays it by 2 rounds at level 8. This is by no means going to break almost any encounter.
Make Whole (lvl 10): Honestly, I'd probably put this in the Fluff category. But removing permanent negative levels is a real effect. Especially with Resurrection.
Soul Consumption (lvl 5): Rushes out the fast healing, for when you want to be kinda evil, and heal between quick fights, but still want the efficiency of Revitalize. Also lets you carry around their soul instead of their body for resurrection. Which could be more convenient, though that requires Resurrection, which is minimum level 10.
Light
Light Speed (lvl 15): I know I am the one who always says that move speed is not a notable effect. Which is why you should take my word of caution about this granting (100 mile per caster level) run speed as more cautionary than from others. And a 25-foot step also substantially changes how combats play out. You'd rather have to go out of your way to not have this run roughshod over much of your campaign, even at level 15. Probably would be fun to play with though.
Prismatic Radiance (lvl 15): Not overly broken. Just obnoxious to actually play with, having 8 NPCs rolling d8s and then checking the chart, and then rolling damage or rolling for their confuse duration, and then their saves, and then rolling for how they act that turn, and then...and then... like Jesus. Too much going on.
Daylight (lvl 10): Unlike its namesake, it's just a bunch of area, rather than actual Daylight. But damn, is 2 miles a lot of area.
Diffuse Body (lvl 7): Turns a utility buff into a meaningful "Spend a move action to avoid the next attack," while also being really cool. Probably a little broken on spell casters though.
Incarnate Glow (lvl 15): Basically causes Flicker to grant incorporeality. Which is very notable. But it is level 15. That's probably relatively fine. Plenty of options to shut that down by level 15. And other ways to emulate its other effects.
Radiation (lvl 10): Doesn't honestly do too much... except set up the Radiation Blast, which it explicitly stacks with.
Star Genesis (lvl 10): Actually creates daylight, unlike Daylight. Overall, it's probably just fine. The area increase is notable, but not like... 2 miles wide.
Everglow (lvl 1): Continual flame, but available at first level, at no cost. I think there's a talent in the Mana sphere which can soak up magic effects for benefits. Just bap your player on the nose if they try and create infinite batteries for themselves, and it'll be fine. Oh, and there's a tradition Boon that grants up to +2 CL just for being near people with your effects on them. If that is bothersome, then just tell them that Everglow doesn't count, and it'll be fine.