SangoProduction
2023-11-25, 12:21 AM
Preamble: Alright. New day (or night), and some new spheres' legendary talents.
Post Review Analysis: Those in this sphere were surprisingly potent, and many worthy of consideration before adding them to your particular game.
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.
Athletics
Dragoon Leap: So, at will, you can instantaneously jump 100 times your check in feet, ignoring speed. With some basic effort, you can easily get a +28 (pre-magic spells) to your check by level 9, which is 3800 feet a round, taking 10. Like... OK. It's level 9. It's not like teleportation is too difficult by this level. But this is at-will with no real cost. It completely obviates navigation problems, unless you straight up put walls in the way, and can be a little... silly. Don't get me wrong. It's *definitely* a legendary talent. And it's probably not going to affect *combat,* but combat's not the only challenge you can throw at players. I'd be cautious about it.
Sparrow's Path / Eagle's Path: Before level 8, it's just a worse Air Stunt, in every way. After level 8, it's permanent, non-magical flight. You *can* already get functionally permanent flight from Spheres. You can also simply ask said casters to not pick those flight talents. Same here. Some DMs really have trouble with flying characters. (And to them, I'd say it's a good opportunity to expand your skillset with presenting challenges.) As it is a known problem for some GMs, it would be rather irresponsible to not place a warning on it, such that it demands consideration before letting in.
Sky Spider’s Touch: You get to "climb" the air (DC 30). Need I remind you that you can easily get +28 by level 9? Getting +20 by level 5 isn't too much harder. So, again, another permanent flight talent. Kind of has to be here.
Earthswimmer / Stoneswimmer: Gives you burrow speed, at will. Burrow speed is like fly speed on crack, as far as how disruptive it can be. As a DM, I would consider letting this be a thing, if it basically let you "swim" just below the surface of the land, rather than truly free burrowing. Like a land shark. You'd also have to work with the player to figure out how it's going to be working with people trying to actually hit them in combat, and just how much they have to expose themselves to have "line of effect" to their target... And to make sure they aren't planning on using abilities that simply don't need said line, and just want invulnerability in combat. Because that's how you get purple worms to come and eat you.
Terrain Glide: As Earthswimmer, but so restrictive (loose soil and snow) as to be practically worthless, except in specific settings. But in those settings, it tends to be quite alright, swimming basically at surface level, since any deeper generally has more compact material. (Yes, I was running a Florida Man campaign, and this did come up. And it was fine. Incidentally one of the only campaigns I've run where the swim sphere was also rather useful without needing to be obviated. Beaches are the best.)
Afterimage: At-will, free, Mirror Image. You have to move more than a 5 ft step, but that's remarkably easy in Spheres of Might, even with move action accounted for. At level 1, it's basically 50% miss chance, until the first miss, every round, and gets better from level 6 onwards. Very cool ability though. If you like to primarily send singular, big, strong monsters against your players... you will have to switch that up. And that's honestly for the best. Set piece bosses ought to have minions, and having different encounter types makes the game much more fun.
Bomb Jump: You can leap away from an explosion, even if you are in the air. And this can let you entirely avoid reflex saves, if you leap far enough. And it has explicit synergy with targeting yourself with Alchemy sphere formulae (which now makes 2 talents that benefit therein). It is worthwhile to remind them that they can't move further in a leap than they could move in a round. With that said, it can be an excessively effective defense against reflex saves - as in you don't even compare to reflex saves, just the flat distance it takes to get out of the area. Even rogues occasionally fail their reflex. Overall, I would say this is more on the fun than powerful side, but it's worth considering. Worst case scenario: let them play with it for a few sessions and reevaluate it.
Flash Step: Lets you freely teleport, up to the distance you would move in a turn. It's honestly a fun ability, and nothing too disruptive, since you still have to already see where you're going, and still use your actions to move, and use martial focus + swift action to enable it for the turn. But it's not something that everyone should feel totally free in letting be a thing.
Windwake: For most contexts, this is basically fluff. If the player is planning on being really big, on the regular, then there could be problems. So... I guess it actually fluctuates between being totally worthless, and being somewhat abusive. And by "abusive" I do simply mean that in moving, they make people substantially smaller than them (modulated by levels) save or fall prone. Which... OK. Isn't that big of a deal. Especially when the aoe isn't friendly. It's just kind of a bad talent. I would choose to not give it out, personally.
Aerial Hang: You get to freely leap 5 feet off the ground, and hang there for 6 seconds (while in the stance). You technically get to benefit from "high ground", which is like a +1 to hit. There are almost no practical benefits, especially since you have to touch down every round. But a reasonable DM would rule that it's no more than minimum damage from such brief contact with hostile terrain. The additional feet you can hover at does scale 1:1 with levels (but in 5 ft chunks), so it can start to get somewhat meaningful... especially when you're ranged.
They took this *legendary* talent. Let them hover just out of reach of the little guys every so often, eh? I know there are plenty of much larger things that can reach them, at every increment... but let them feel like they actually took this talent every so often.
Air Stunt: This is just an incredibly fun ability. Actual double jumps in D&D, and you get to Willie Coyote over cliffs. Hopefully better than said Coyote. It's effectively an at-will flight by level 5. But more limited therein. However, if a player is smart, then you suddenly have to figure out how the Glide ability works. And Pathfinder simply does not give you the full rules, so you have to largely make up just how much ground is covered (per round) when you begin to glide from 100 feet up, with a "glide speed" of 60, and move 30 feet laterally for every 10 feet you drop.
You and your player can work out whatever glide speed means, for any given source. That's not a question I'll even attempt to take on. You could just ban gliding.
Friction Manipulation: (While in the stance) You can "climb" while standing completely perpendicular to the wall. It's definite cartoon wushu nonsense, but it's fun. Not in the Fluffy category, because it does have the actual use of being a level 1 pseudo-fly for archers / mages, so long as there is a climbable surface. Which does make me realize that in Spheres, you aren't forced to have somatic components... You can technically already do this with spheres mages. No one does (probably because they aren't prompted to think to do so).
Slipstream: Lets your slower friends come up behind you, literally twice as fast as they would otherwise. That's just kinda cool. And can be unironically useful. Nothing game breaking. Especially on its own.
Speed Boost: You get to run real fast. And unironically, the most notable benefit is that you could also run at 10x move speed for Con mod hours. That's actually incredibly substantial. Half the speed of a highway vehicle, on foot, if you invested nothing into speed other than to be a human with this talent. But it's not going to shatter your world or anything. It's nothing absurd. It's just regular through-way speeds. Our world works just fine... OK, nope. No comment.
Surface Strider: Lets you go Full Elf, and stride upon the snow. And water. And lava. The lava might hurt. But then you can use Air Stunt to jump off that lava.
Turbo Knockdown: Lets you combine Mobile Striker (move and attack and move) with Whirlwind Knockdown (knockdown in a threatened area). Just makes sense.
Turbo Sweep: Lets you combine Mobile Striker with Sweeping Defense. Again, just makes sense. Heck, if you find more, similar such talents, it would also just make sense. On a case by case basis, of course, but still.
Shark Swim: Basically lets you "walk through" water, swimming with basically all the normal rules of walking on the ground (but in 3d space), at your ground speed. The stand out neat little benefit is that you can hold your breath for Con Mod hours. Yes, this Shark Swim talent turns you into a whale.
Armored Apocalypse / Debris / Titan’s Fall: All part of a talent group focused on dealing damage by leaping really high (and taking damage). It's rather degenerate and one-note. I'd just take Titan's Fall's "armor's hardness applies to, and is doubled against, fall damage," and shove it onto the original Armored Drop talent. It needed the love anyway. Overall, I wouldn't really hand these talents out. I'd strip them for parts. But I really think that's personal preference, rather than something that should be a GM's worry.
Falling Mountain: Also the same deal as the above. Massive damage from jumping real good. I don't think it's good to encourage. But that, again, could just be me. And the talent itself, is not too much *more* abusive than Diving Strike already is.
Post Review Analysis: Those in this sphere were surprisingly potent, and many worthy of consideration before adding them to your particular game.
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.
Athletics
Dragoon Leap: So, at will, you can instantaneously jump 100 times your check in feet, ignoring speed. With some basic effort, you can easily get a +28 (pre-magic spells) to your check by level 9, which is 3800 feet a round, taking 10. Like... OK. It's level 9. It's not like teleportation is too difficult by this level. But this is at-will with no real cost. It completely obviates navigation problems, unless you straight up put walls in the way, and can be a little... silly. Don't get me wrong. It's *definitely* a legendary talent. And it's probably not going to affect *combat,* but combat's not the only challenge you can throw at players. I'd be cautious about it.
Sparrow's Path / Eagle's Path: Before level 8, it's just a worse Air Stunt, in every way. After level 8, it's permanent, non-magical flight. You *can* already get functionally permanent flight from Spheres. You can also simply ask said casters to not pick those flight talents. Same here. Some DMs really have trouble with flying characters. (And to them, I'd say it's a good opportunity to expand your skillset with presenting challenges.) As it is a known problem for some GMs, it would be rather irresponsible to not place a warning on it, such that it demands consideration before letting in.
Sky Spider’s Touch: You get to "climb" the air (DC 30). Need I remind you that you can easily get +28 by level 9? Getting +20 by level 5 isn't too much harder. So, again, another permanent flight talent. Kind of has to be here.
Earthswimmer / Stoneswimmer: Gives you burrow speed, at will. Burrow speed is like fly speed on crack, as far as how disruptive it can be. As a DM, I would consider letting this be a thing, if it basically let you "swim" just below the surface of the land, rather than truly free burrowing. Like a land shark. You'd also have to work with the player to figure out how it's going to be working with people trying to actually hit them in combat, and just how much they have to expose themselves to have "line of effect" to their target... And to make sure they aren't planning on using abilities that simply don't need said line, and just want invulnerability in combat. Because that's how you get purple worms to come and eat you.
Terrain Glide: As Earthswimmer, but so restrictive (loose soil and snow) as to be practically worthless, except in specific settings. But in those settings, it tends to be quite alright, swimming basically at surface level, since any deeper generally has more compact material. (Yes, I was running a Florida Man campaign, and this did come up. And it was fine. Incidentally one of the only campaigns I've run where the swim sphere was also rather useful without needing to be obviated. Beaches are the best.)
Afterimage: At-will, free, Mirror Image. You have to move more than a 5 ft step, but that's remarkably easy in Spheres of Might, even with move action accounted for. At level 1, it's basically 50% miss chance, until the first miss, every round, and gets better from level 6 onwards. Very cool ability though. If you like to primarily send singular, big, strong monsters against your players... you will have to switch that up. And that's honestly for the best. Set piece bosses ought to have minions, and having different encounter types makes the game much more fun.
Bomb Jump: You can leap away from an explosion, even if you are in the air. And this can let you entirely avoid reflex saves, if you leap far enough. And it has explicit synergy with targeting yourself with Alchemy sphere formulae (which now makes 2 talents that benefit therein). It is worthwhile to remind them that they can't move further in a leap than they could move in a round. With that said, it can be an excessively effective defense against reflex saves - as in you don't even compare to reflex saves, just the flat distance it takes to get out of the area. Even rogues occasionally fail their reflex. Overall, I would say this is more on the fun than powerful side, but it's worth considering. Worst case scenario: let them play with it for a few sessions and reevaluate it.
Flash Step: Lets you freely teleport, up to the distance you would move in a turn. It's honestly a fun ability, and nothing too disruptive, since you still have to already see where you're going, and still use your actions to move, and use martial focus + swift action to enable it for the turn. But it's not something that everyone should feel totally free in letting be a thing.
Windwake: For most contexts, this is basically fluff. If the player is planning on being really big, on the regular, then there could be problems. So... I guess it actually fluctuates between being totally worthless, and being somewhat abusive. And by "abusive" I do simply mean that in moving, they make people substantially smaller than them (modulated by levels) save or fall prone. Which... OK. Isn't that big of a deal. Especially when the aoe isn't friendly. It's just kind of a bad talent. I would choose to not give it out, personally.
Aerial Hang: You get to freely leap 5 feet off the ground, and hang there for 6 seconds (while in the stance). You technically get to benefit from "high ground", which is like a +1 to hit. There are almost no practical benefits, especially since you have to touch down every round. But a reasonable DM would rule that it's no more than minimum damage from such brief contact with hostile terrain. The additional feet you can hover at does scale 1:1 with levels (but in 5 ft chunks), so it can start to get somewhat meaningful... especially when you're ranged.
They took this *legendary* talent. Let them hover just out of reach of the little guys every so often, eh? I know there are plenty of much larger things that can reach them, at every increment... but let them feel like they actually took this talent every so often.
Air Stunt: This is just an incredibly fun ability. Actual double jumps in D&D, and you get to Willie Coyote over cliffs. Hopefully better than said Coyote. It's effectively an at-will flight by level 5. But more limited therein. However, if a player is smart, then you suddenly have to figure out how the Glide ability works. And Pathfinder simply does not give you the full rules, so you have to largely make up just how much ground is covered (per round) when you begin to glide from 100 feet up, with a "glide speed" of 60, and move 30 feet laterally for every 10 feet you drop.
You and your player can work out whatever glide speed means, for any given source. That's not a question I'll even attempt to take on. You could just ban gliding.
Friction Manipulation: (While in the stance) You can "climb" while standing completely perpendicular to the wall. It's definite cartoon wushu nonsense, but it's fun. Not in the Fluffy category, because it does have the actual use of being a level 1 pseudo-fly for archers / mages, so long as there is a climbable surface. Which does make me realize that in Spheres, you aren't forced to have somatic components... You can technically already do this with spheres mages. No one does (probably because they aren't prompted to think to do so).
Slipstream: Lets your slower friends come up behind you, literally twice as fast as they would otherwise. That's just kinda cool. And can be unironically useful. Nothing game breaking. Especially on its own.
Speed Boost: You get to run real fast. And unironically, the most notable benefit is that you could also run at 10x move speed for Con mod hours. That's actually incredibly substantial. Half the speed of a highway vehicle, on foot, if you invested nothing into speed other than to be a human with this talent. But it's not going to shatter your world or anything. It's nothing absurd. It's just regular through-way speeds. Our world works just fine... OK, nope. No comment.
Surface Strider: Lets you go Full Elf, and stride upon the snow. And water. And lava. The lava might hurt. But then you can use Air Stunt to jump off that lava.
Turbo Knockdown: Lets you combine Mobile Striker (move and attack and move) with Whirlwind Knockdown (knockdown in a threatened area). Just makes sense.
Turbo Sweep: Lets you combine Mobile Striker with Sweeping Defense. Again, just makes sense. Heck, if you find more, similar such talents, it would also just make sense. On a case by case basis, of course, but still.
Shark Swim: Basically lets you "walk through" water, swimming with basically all the normal rules of walking on the ground (but in 3d space), at your ground speed. The stand out neat little benefit is that you can hold your breath for Con Mod hours. Yes, this Shark Swim talent turns you into a whale.
Armored Apocalypse / Debris / Titan’s Fall: All part of a talent group focused on dealing damage by leaping really high (and taking damage). It's rather degenerate and one-note. I'd just take Titan's Fall's "armor's hardness applies to, and is doubled against, fall damage," and shove it onto the original Armored Drop talent. It needed the love anyway. Overall, I wouldn't really hand these talents out. I'd strip them for parts. But I really think that's personal preference, rather than something that should be a GM's worry.
Falling Mountain: Also the same deal as the above. Massive damage from jumping real good. I don't think it's good to encourage. But that, again, could just be me. And the talent itself, is not too much *more* abusive than Diving Strike already is.