Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

[Ssalarn]

Q155: I recently discovered what seems to be a veil combo that results in the ability gain an arbitrarily high weapon damage, and wanted to check if it actually works or where I am wrong.

Required veils:

1. Breastplate of Bloody Conflict - To gain bonus damage with weapons equal to the bleed damage on you
2. Ceradon's Eternity - To pause the bleed damage in time so that it is still active, but not harming you
3. Glabrezu's Gaze - With the Headband bind, target yourself with the activated ability and choose to fail the save. Since you have bleed damage, it will increase that bleed damage by your invested essence. This seems to be an instantaneous effect and thus stacks.

Thus you bleed yourself, pause the bleed from hurting, then self-target with Glabrezu's Gaze and increase that bleed damage over and over as much as you want. Places where this might break (or places to errata/fix) are bleed's paused by Ceradon's Eternity don't give the bonus damage from Breastplate of Bloody Conflict, or that you can't target yourself with the activated ability of the Headband bind of Glabrezu's Gaze. Personally I hope it's the latter of those two, because self-bleeding and then pausing the bleed's recurring damage (but still having the bleed) seems like a really cool and fun combo.

A155 Breastplate of Bloody Conflict requires you to be taking the ongoing bleed damage, so it won't work with the base ability of Ceradon's Eternity. Veil abilities are also discreet effects, just like spells (as called out in the akasha rules), so you can't keep doubling the bleed damage with Glabrezu's Gaze; you're either affected by it or not, so there's no escalation from multiple instances. Other than that, it works largely as you and Kris have surmised; you can target yourself with Glabrezu's Gaze, and if you have Twinveil or another effect allowing you to have two Chest binds, you can stack the binds from Breastplate of Bloody Conflict and Ceradon's Eternity to have an ongoing damage boost with relatively few active downsides. Note that the Body bind for Ceradon's Eternity will actually shut the combo down since magical regeneration will typically end bleed effects.

Q156) How does Huginn and Muninn work with the Zodiac? They have animal companions from multiple other sources for sure.

What about Boon Companion?

A156 Boon Companion effects one animal companion of your choice, so you'd choose one of the ravens granted by the veil to receive it's effects. For constellations, one of the reasons they have the "The zodiac always summons the same version of a champion after they have manifested them for the first time" clause is to help silo them away from other animal companions. So basically, they don't interact with other animal companions at all and should be treated as a discreet entity and mechanic.

Q157) If the Veiled Lord from Akashic Mysteries gets access to another veil but not an effect that increases total veils shaped (in my case, I’m thinking of Steelforge II’s Ring of the Grand Vizier), how exactly does that work? Would the veiled lord be able to use the effect no problem, would it replace one of his veils for the day, could he not use it at all?

A157 It depends a bit on the specifics of the effect (I'm not familiar with the verbiage on the ring in question), but generally they'll add to the veils known but not the veils shaped. So the veiled lord could use their e.g. 1 veil shaped to shape either a veil from their veiled legion class ability or the veil added to their list by the item or effect. This is the same as when someone who already has veilweaving takes Shape Veil; they increase their options, but not their total power.

[Ninjaxenomorph]

Grand Vizier's Experiments: When the user shapes their Veils in the morning, they may choose to have the Ring of the Grand Vizier be treated as a Veil for all purposes (including Essence capacity, counting against total veils shaped, etc.). It occupies the Ring chakra, regardless of whether the character oculd normally shape a Veil there.

The relevant text. I ask mostly because the Veiled Lord is a very edge case when it comes to veilweaving; he doesn't get the wording of Shape Veil or the Mysterial, he just straight-up gets specific veils, seemingly bypassing being an actual veilweaving class, and doesn't have a caveat that states that he has an effective veilweaver level. Since most veils don't scale by veilweaver level it isn't really a problem when just considering veil choice, but it can lead to some weird interactions when dealing with other aspects of the subsystem.

[Ssalarn]

The relevant text. I ask mostly because the Veiled Lord is a very edge case when it comes to veilweaving; he doesn't get the wording of Shape Veil or the Mysterial, he just straight-up gets specific veils, seemingly bypassing being an actual veilweaving class, and doesn't have a caveat that states that he has an effective veilweaver level. Since most veils don't scale by veilweaver level it isn't really a problem when just considering veil choice, but it can lead to some weird interactions when dealing with other aspects of the subsystem.

Given that the way that entry is written implies that it's supposed to replace a veil shaped for the day, it seems like it doesn't actually do anything if you don't have some capacity for shaping veils. If I were GMing, I'd rule that it needs to replace one of the veils the veiled lord is capable of shaping, but that it can also be used in any way the veiled lord could use (or share) one of the veils granted by the archetype.

[AlienFromBeyond]

Veil abilities are also discreet effects, just like spells (as called out in the akasha rules), so you can't keep doubling the bleed damage with Glabrezu's Gaze; you're either affected by it or not, so there's no escalation from multiple instances.

This is the only part that doesn't make sense to me, as the stacking rules you're citing here are for duration based effects, and the bleed damage increase from Glabrezu's Gaze is an instantaneous effect. The extra effects past the fear are very clearly not tied to its duration at all, the blind is veilweaving modifier, the exhaustion is a replacement effect, and the way it's written the bleed increase only makes sense as instantaneous. Should it be changed to increase the effect of a bleed for veilweaving modifier rounds like the blind to ensure no stacking?

Instantaneous Effects

Two or more spells with instantaneous durations work cumulatively when they affect the same target.

As a sidenote, I just realized that the bleed increase effect doesn't specify HP bleed. If you inflict an alternative bleed such as from a Gunslinger's Bleeding Wound 11th-level deed, you could increase it by quite a lot.

[Ssalarn]

This is the only part that doesn't make sense to me, as the stacking rules you're citing here are for duration based effects, and the bleed damage increase from Glabrezu's Gaze is an instantaneous effect. The extra effects past the fear are very clearly not tied to its duration at all, the blind is veilweaving modifier, the exhaustion is a replacement effect, and the way it's written the bleed increase only makes sense as instantaneous. Should it be changed to increase the effect of a bleed for veilweaving modifier rounds like the blind to ensure no stacking?


As a sidenote, I just realized that the bleed increase effect doesn't specify HP bleed. If you inflict an alternative bleed such as from a Gunslinger's Bleeding Wound 11th-level deed, you could increase it by quite a lot.

Same Effect More than Once in Different Strengths

In cases when two or more identical spells are operating in the same area or on the same target, but at different strengths, only the one with the highest strength applies.

Same Effect with Differing Results]
The same spell can sometimes produce varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than once. Usually the last spell in the series trumps the others. None of the previous spells are actually removed or dispelled, but their effects become irrelevant while the final spell in the series lasts.

While veilweaving is quite different from standard spellcasting, the basic rule for the interactions of veils and magic is very straightforward: veils interact with spells and vice versa in the same way that spells normally interact with other spells or spell-like abilities.

Each instance of Glabrezu's Gaze is an identical effect that does all of the things listed in it. Every time you activate it, you are essentially "casting" a spell called glabrezu's gaze that overlaps any previous casting of glabrezu's gaze the target is currently suffering from. Akashic effects are more complex than a lot of spells since they come in larger ability packets, but just like spells, once a creature has been affected by a specific akashic effect additional applications of that effect overlap, rather than stack. So if the target's bleed has already been doubled by Glabrezu's Gaze, additional applications are overlapping doubles, not stacking multipliers.

[YroPro]

Q158) The Wanderer and Archer explicitly have NPC wealth, should the druid also have NPC wealth? What about things like the Doppelganger? The class levels help but it'll quickly become useless with a 16 AC and no gear.

Q159) When the Leviathan grows in size and increases his reach, is the reach bit just mentioning he gets the normal size increases, or is it in addition to the size increases since he disappears on hit?

Q160) Can you use an Akashic Catalyst to increase the capacity of a constellation? As an equipment/weapon/armor?

[Ssalarn]

Q158) The Wanderer and Archer explicitly have NPC wealth, should the druid also have NPC wealth? What about things like the Doppelganger? The class levels help but it'll quickly become useless with a 16 AC and no gear.

A158) The general rule here is that non-full-caster NPC champions get NPC WBL, while monsters and full casters don't as a way to help maintain champion balance and diversity. The Twin does fall into a kind of awkward in-between place due to being a sort of "plain" monster, but we skewed towards the monster interpretation since it wasn't actually really intended as a combat monster anyways, but as a utility-enhancement companion (the entire Air element for the Material Plane cosmology was really aimed towards being the "toolbox" element while Fire was the "offense" element).

Q159) When the Leviathan grows in size and increases his reach, is the reach bit just mentioning he gets the normal size increases, or is it in addition to the size increases since he disappears on hit?

A159) Size doesn't always correspond directly to reach (particularly for nonhumanoid creatures), so this is just letting you know that each time you go up a size category, your reach increases by 5 feet (and only 5 feet) The balance to having a hard dismiss effect is his relatively low cost, enormous AC, and the dismiss effect itself (which is a significant AoE damage/control effect).

Q160) Can you use an Akashic Catalyst to increase the capacity of a constellation? As an equipment/weapon/armor?

A160) RAW, akashic catalysts only affect veils (and anything that says it specifically interacts with akashic catalysts), and the constellations weren't designed with those increased capacity limits in mind while balancing them. It's not an unreasonable thing to houserule, particularly if you're already in a pretty high-powered game, but it will raise various damage caps on the constellations by a noticeable amount and may lead to some unintended consequences.

[Blackwand]

Q 161 on the Great Mind Prestige Class...

The Knowledge Martial specialty reads thus:

"Knowledge (martial lore)

A great mind specializing in Knowledge (martial lore) may select one martial discipline maneuver for every 2 ranks they possess in Knowledge (martial lore). They must still meet other prerequisites as normal. As a swift action a selected maneuver may be spontaneously readied by expending points from the great mind’s genius pool equal to the maneuver level."

Does this allow for selecting a stance, or for qualifying for Advanced Study to gain a stance that way? Are there restrictions on which disciplines the maneuvers can come from?

[Lost_Spheres]

Q 161 on the Great Mind Prestige Class...

The Knowledge Martial specialty reads thus:

"Knowledge (martial lore)

A great mind specializing in Knowledge (martial lore) may select one martial discipline maneuver for every 2 ranks they possess in Knowledge (martial lore). They must still meet other prerequisites as normal. As a swift action a selected maneuver may be spontaneously readied by expending points from the great mind’s genius pool equal to the maneuver level."

Does this allow for selecting a stance, or for qualifying for Advanced Study to gain a stance that way? Are there restrictions on which disciplines the maneuvers can come from?

A 161 It does not directly grant a stance, but with any but the most stringent of GMs we would recommend that it WOULD allow Advanced Study so long as they had at least 4 ranks in Knowledge martial and selected the specialty. There are no restrictions on disciplines outside the those in the maneuvers themselves. So if a Great Mind wanted to take Shatter the Hourglass, they would have to have two other Riven Hourglass maneuvers first. But they could develop an eclectic group of maneuvers quite easily.

[YroPro]

So the various elemental summons from the Quiet Lands shouldn't have wealth? Also it seems odd that there no scaling whatsoever for the Stone Golem, as well as being the only summon without an intelligence of at least 6.

I will admit I'm a little worried about how it'll perform in the higher levels of this AP, 15-18ish. Animal Companions are mostly useless at that point, the monster scaling is weird. I have a barbarian that disappears when hit, the golem starts to lose the ability to land hits, the Shaitan monk that seems solid but can't last more than 1 round, I'm unsure what the Bard Veela is supposed to accomplish, the fighter wolf is in a good place when armored, and the Yuki is okayish.

The dragon of course is a very solid contender.

Can't wait to see the new Cosmology, though I definitely prefer the initial Expanded feat.

Also I just noticed there's like 3 bard constellations of all things. Veela, Marid, Wanderer.

[YroPro]

Q162) For something like the Forest Guardian where they have Grab on their attack, and Blood Drain as an ability, yet dismiss on Blood Drain, do they have to Blood Drain an enemy they have grappled? Otherwise it seems like a really expensive way to cast Shield.

[Ssalarn]

Q162) For something like the Forest Guardian where they have Grab on their attack, and Blood Drain as an ability, yet dismiss on Blood Drain, do they have to Blood Drain an enemy they have grappled? Otherwise it seems like a really expensive way to cast Shield.

A162) No, the Forest Guardian doesn't have to use its blood drain (which is why it's specifically called out as having one of the more easily controlled dismiss effects in the Feeling the Burn sidebar). If you want it to stick around for awhile, just tell it not to use blood drain until you need an AoE shield effect.

[Emo_Duck]

Q163) The Necros gets the Channel Energy class feature keyed to their CAM:

At 1st level, a necros can channel negative energy as the Cleric class feature a total number of times per day equal to 3 + their casting ability modifier, using their casting ability modifier in place of Charisma when determining its associated saving throw.

They also gain Command Undead as a bonus feat, but the feat says:

As a standard action, you can use one of your uses of channel negative energy to enslave undead within 30 feet. Undead receive a Will save to negate the effect. The DC for this Will save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your cleric level + your Charisma modifier.

Is the Command Undead feat meant to inherit the CAM from the Necros' Channel Energy ability, or is Command Undead based on Charisma no matter what?

[Lost_Spheres]

Q163) The Necros gets the Channel Energy class feature keyed to their CAM:



They also gain Command Undead as a bonus feat, but the feat says:



Is the Command Undead feat meant to inherit the CAM from the Necros' Channel Energy ability, or is Command Undead based on Charisma no matter what?

A163 RAW much like clerics (dealing Wisdom CAM and Charisma for the feat) a necros not selecting Charisma as their CAM would be facing a bit of dual-attribute dependency. To offset gains from CAM's other than Charisma (Skills for INT, and Will save bonus from WIS) we didn't see a need to explicitly alter Command Undead. However, given Spheres general ideology we would recommend a GM allow the switch in a Spheres dominant campaign. If your game is still using a mix standard classes and other 3pp content, a GM may not want to allow the alteration.

The general abundance of Charisma in relation to most other Turning feats (Selective Channel say) might necessitate a broader alteration for a channel focused character. Species like our own bloodborn or similar attributes to allow for changing all turning based mechanics might need to be considered.

[Kris Moonhand]

Q164: What is the duration of the difficult terrain created by Ruin Treads? Is it just permanent?

[Ssalarn]

Q164: What is the duration of the difficult terrain created by Ruin Treads? Is it just permanent?

A164) Yeah, as described in the ability you're literally stomping the ground so hard it buckles and breaks creating difficult terrain in that area. Making it not difficult terrain again would require spending some free time repaving or landscaping.

[Kris Moonhand]

Q165: Halo of Holy Light says that it "is considered a light effect with a spell level equal to 1 + the number of points of essence invested that can dispel darkness effects of equal or lower equivalent spell level." But from what I can tell, it and Imp's Eyes the only veils that create light/darkness with that line. Do other veils like Pooling Black, White Rider's Sash, the Head bind of Void Countenance, etc, use the same rules? If so, does light or darkness coming from a chakra bind effect have a higher effective spell level?

Q166: Does the light lowering effect from the Shoulder bind for Nothingness Shroud stack with itself? If the light is bright and you negate an attack, lowering the light to normal, can you then do it again the next round to lower the light to dim? I know veil effects don't normally stack, but it says "Each time you use this ability, the light level in a 30 foot radius around your current location is reduced by 1 step" so I figured that might have been intended.

Q167: Do any of the light lowering effect from veils have the ability to create supernatural darkness (the kind that negates darkvision), or should I assume that they stop at regular darkness unless stated otherwise?

Q168: If a veil creates an effect with a duration based on invested essence and then you reallocate or burn the essence from that veil, is the duration retroactively shortened, or is the duration determined from when the effect is created? Say you have 6 E in your Verdant Vambraces and you use it to make a tree that lasts for 8 rounds. If you take 2 E out of the veil after making the tree, is it shortened to 6 rounds? And similarly, does the tree turn back into just tall shrubbery?

Thanks again! I'm working on some Eclipse stuff right now, if you couldn't tell~

[Ssalarn]

Q165: Halo of Holy Light says that it "is considered a light effect with a spell level equal to 1 + the number of points of essence invested that can dispel darkness effects of equal or lower equivalent spell level." But from what I can tell, it and Imp's Eyes the only veils that create light/darkness with that line. Do other veils like Pooling Black, White Rider's Sash, the Head bind of Void Countenance, etc, use the same rules? If so, does light or darkness coming from a chakra bind effect have a higher effective spell level?

A165 Only Halo of Holy Light and Imp's Eyes have the ability to dispel other effects. Otherwise you have two lighting effects that both need to be accounted for (for example, if one effect raises the light level by 1 step and another lowers it by 1 step, you net to the prevailing lighting, and if one effect raises the light level by 2 steps and another lowers it by 1, you have a net lighting adjustment of raising the prevailing light level by 1 step.) I knew when these were being written that there might be a party with both a light-based radiant and a darkness-based eclipse, so I didn't want the two to just completely shut each other down without some nuance and variety in their interactions.

Q166: Does the light lowering effect from the Shoulder bind for Nothingness Shroud stack with itself? If the light is bright and you negate an attack, lowering the light to normal, can you then do it again the next round to lower the light to dim? I know veil effects don't normally stack, but it says "Each time you use this ability, the light level in a 30 foot radius around your current location is reduced by 1 step" so I figured that might have been intended.

A166 The "each time" clause is intended to override the normal limitation on stacking a veil effect with itself.

Q167: Do any of the light lowering effect from veils have the ability to create supernatural darkness (the kind that negates darkvision), or should I assume that they stop at regular darkness unless stated otherwise?

A167 Supernatural darkness is not part of the normal light progression (decribed in the CRB under the "Vision and Light" section), so veil effects do not impose supernatural darkness unless they specifically say so.

Q168: If a veil creates an effect with a duration based on invested essence and then you reallocate or burn the essence from that veil, is the duration retroactively shortened, or is the duration determined from when the effect is created? Say you have 6 E in your Verdant Vambraces and you use it to make a tree that lasts for 8 rounds. If you take 2 E out of the veil after making the tree, is it shortened to 6 rounds? And similarly, does the tree turn back into just tall shrubbery?

A168 For ease of use and general convenience at the table, unless an effect specifically says otherwise, assume that the duration of a veil effect is "locked in" based on the essence invested at the time it is generated. This might contradict some old rulings and should be considered the official clarification.

Thanks again! I'm working on some Eclipse stuff right now, if you couldn't tell~

No problem! Have fun gaming!

[Bahumut]

I know this isn't exclusively an Akashic thread, but I really wanted to highlight a community member that does a *lot* for the Lost Spheres community!

Kris Moonhand, I just wanted to give you a shoutout for all the work you do to make us Akashic-lovers lives much easier! The Library has helped convince more than one DM to let me run Akashic content, since they can immediately search any veil/class feature I use, and can look over classes for power level without having to flip all over a PDF. I haven't had a chance to play around with the new Akashic Character Sheet, but it looks *amazing* for keeping track of all essence receptacles, moving essence around and if I have any free to burn.

Sincerely,
A happy Kobold.

[Kris Moonhand]

Thanks for the praise, Bahamut. I put a lot of work into the site, so it's always nice to hear that people like it.

In other news, I just found out that Voltaic exists, so I'm looking through that. As usual, I have some questions.

Q166: The Spark of Inspiration feat says that it grants the "Inspiration" stance from Spark of Battle. There is no such stance. Does it refer to the 1st level SoB stance "Eye of the Storm"? Or is Eye of the Storm supposed to be called Inspiration, since there's an 8th level Tempest Gale stance also called Eye of the Storm? Just a tad confusing.

Q167: Does the stamina pool from Spark of Inspiration stack if you also have the Combat Stamina feat? Do you add your BAB and/or Con mod twice?

Q168: The 4th level SoB maneuver "Sundered Falcon Swing" says it has a Fort save of "DC 17 + initiation modifier". Is that correct, or should it be DC 14 + mod, as is typical for 4th level maneuvers? It looks like it might be a copy/paste error since it's a less powerful version of the later "Soaring Falcon Flurry" but... *shrugs*

Q169: SoB has no 3rd level stance, but two 5th level ones. So I guess my question is sort of a curious "that's weird, what's up with that?"

Q170: Are the SoB maneuvers supposed to not have any prerequisites?

Q171: I can understand lore-wise why there isn't a Tradition for SoB, since it's a very spontaneous discipline, but is there going to a Style feat chain for it (perhaps in a supplement with some more archetypes)? And maybe some combo feats, for those of us who like mixing our disciplines? *waggles eyebrows*

Q172: If one were to use the Alternate Capstone rules from Paizo's Chronicle of Legends book, does the Voltaic have a capstone to replace? I ask because both Voltaic and Brawler have Martial Flexibility, but Brawler's capstone is Improved Awesome Blow, not the "any number of feats" option from Flex. And the 20th level things from Path of the Storm don't really feel very capstoney, excepting maybe the one from Focused Strikes where you get a sword made of lightning. Otherwise they're having a feat linger from Flex, a bonus feat, and an extra flurry attack.

Q173: Do the conditions that normally prevent regaining stamina also prevent regaining it via the Sparking system when you take the Total Defense action?

Tangentially, since this one isn't your fault since it's a a copy from the official stamina rules, Push the Limits technically doesn't work when you run out of points in your secondary stamina pool. Since it makes you exhausted until you have at least 1 point in your primary pool, but you can't regain stamina while exhausted.

Q174: Can a Deathseeker combine their Target Weakness abilities? Like losing 3 sneak dice to deal 1d4 negative levels while also increasing all their remaining sneak dice to d10s in exchange for making them mind-affecting?

Q175: Is a Volt Dancer's initiation modifier still Intelligence, as stated in the Sparking rules, or is it Wisdom cuz they're a Monk? If it is Int, should they get to switch their other Monk abilities to Int as well?

Q176: Can characters using the Sparking system take initiator PrCs? If so, do they just ignore the table from it and keep on sparking, or...?

Okay, I think that's everything! Thank you for coming to my monthly question-a-thon!

[Ssalarn]

Thanks for the praise, Bahamut. I put a lot of work into the site, so it's always nice to hear that people like it.

In other news, I just found out that Voltaic exists, so I'm looking through that. As usual, I have some questions.

Q166: The Spark of Inspiration feat says that it grants the "Inspiration" stance from Spark of Battle. There is no such stance. Does it refer to the 1st level SoB stance "Eye of the Storm"? Or is Eye of the Storm supposed to be called Inspiration, since there's an 8th level Tempest Gale stance also called Eye of the Storm? Just a tad confusing.

A166) Where are you seeing this? The version I have refers specifically to "the Eye of the Storm stance from the Spark of Battle discipline".

Q167: Does the stamina pool from Spark of Inspiration stack if you also have the Combat Stamina feat? Do you add your BAB and/or Con mod twice?

A167) You already have a stamina pool if you have either feat, so you don't stack them together; having a stamina pool or not is a binary state. You would gain the other abilities offered by either feat, such as Combat Stamina's ability to spend stamina points for competence bonuses or Spark of Inspiration's stance and initiator modifier.

Q168: The 4th level SoB maneuver "Sundered Falcon Swing" says it has a Fort save of "DC 17 + initiation modifier". Is that correct, or should it be DC 14 + mod, as is typical for 4th level maneuvers? It looks like it might be a copy/paste error since it's a less powerful version of the later "Soaring Falcon Flurry" but... *shrugs*

A168) Looks like a copy/paste error and Sundered Falcon Swing should be 14 + initiation modifier.

Q169: SoB has no 3rd level stance, but two 5th level ones. So I guess my question is sort of a curious "that's weird, what's up with that?"

A169) I actually don't recall because I wrote the first draft of the Voltaic about 6 years ago (longer?), but at a glance it looks like Ozone Shimmer was probably a 3rd level stance and during a dev pass it got bumped up to 5th on a balance concern. The "Come and Get Me" style stamina boost on it seems like something I probably added to round out the base ability being a weaker 5th but a stronger 3rd.

Q170: Are the SoB maneuvers supposed to not have any prerequisites?
Q171: I can understand lore-wise why there isn't a Tradition for SoB, since it's a very spontaneous discipline, but is there going to a Style feat chain for it (perhaps in a supplement with some more archetypes)? And maybe some combo feats, for those of us who like mixing our disciplines? *waggles eyebrows*

A170 & 171) This is actually the answer to both questions, but when I decided *not* to do a tradition for it since it was a spontaneously generated style, I also felt like the style feat chain didn't make as much sense. And since the sparking system was already going to naturally balance out core elements that standard prerequisites are typically meant to address, I decided not to copy those over into the Spark of Battle discipline to let it be as robust a free-form accompaniment to the sparking engine as possible.

There have been enough requests for more expansions to this release that I might look at revisiting the style feat chain, and if I did that I'd probably just reformat the prerequisites that would normally exist in the discipline over into the feats so they model mechanics a traditional initiator would work with.

Q172: If one were to use the Alternate Capstone rules from Paizo's Chronicle of Legends book, does the Voltaic have a capstone to replace? I ask because both Voltaic and Brawler have Martial Flexibility, but Brawler's capstone is Improved Awesome Blow, not the "any number of feats" option from Flex. And the 20th level things from Path of the Storm don't really feel very capstoney, excepting maybe the one from Focused Strikes where you get a sword made of lightning. Otherwise they're having a feat linger from Flex, a bonus feat, and an extra flurry attack.

A172) The Voltaic would be more like the wizard who doesn't have a capstone by default but can still take one of the new capstones. Path of Storm (20th) and martial flexibility (any number) are both upgrades of scaling abilities but neither is really a proper capstone. If you're playing in a lower power campaign where other initiating classes aren't allowed, I'd instead suggest exchanging martial flexibility (any number).

Q173: Do the conditions that normally prevent regaining stamina also prevent regaining it via the Sparking system when you take the Total Defense action?

A173) Generally speaking, the sparking system sits as a graft on top of the normal stamina rules, so anything normally true of those rules is true of the sparking system unless specifically modified. So yes, if something prevents you from regaining stamina that would also apply to regaining stamina via total defense.

Q174: Can a Deathseeker combine their Target Weakness abilities? Like losing 3 sneak dice to deal 1d4 negative levels while also increasing all their remaining sneak dice to d10s in exchange for making them mind-affecting?

A174) You apply all of your Target Weakness options at the same time, so as long as the abilities aren't mutually exclusive, like the 4th level option letting you drop the dice to d4s for ghost touch and the 8th level ability letting you bump them up to d10s but making them mind-affecting, you can combine them. Your example would be a legal option.

Q175: Is a Volt Dancer's initiation modifier still Intelligence, as stated in the Sparking rules, or is it Wisdom cuz they're a Monk? If it is Int, should they get to switch their other Monk abilities to Int as well?

A175) That's probably an oversight. I'd let the volt dancer use Wisdom as their initiation modifier.

Q176: Can characters using the Sparking system take initiator PrCs? If so, do they just ignore the table from it and keep on sparking, or...?

A176) By strict RAW no, but the sparking engine is meant to be a customization tool. The main thrust of those limitations is to keep you from "crossing the streams" of sparking and normal initiation. You should only be able to do one or another on a given character. So, if I were running a game and you wanted to take a PrC that included initiation, I'd let you use it but with the caveat that you continue your sparking progression using the subsystem progression formula rather than gaining the progression offered by the PrC (not including stances which you'd gain as prescribed).
Similarly, if you wanted to play a sparking warlord I'd just let you play a warlord who swaps all of their initiation progression save for stance accrual for the sparking system. The mechanics aren't intended to stop you from using other Path of War classes, just to prevent one character having both a sparking maneuver pool and a standard maneuver pool and opening the can of worms that trying to mix and match those progressions would entail. If I'd realized how popular the sparking engine was going to be when I wrote it, I'd have included an additional section for converting classic initiators into sparkers just to make sure it was fully future-proofed and GMs had some more explicit guidance. I'll make a point of including that if we get an opportunity to do more sparking support.

[Kris Moonhand]

I realized that I forgot to mention how much I really like the feel of sparking, and can't wait to get the chance to actually play around with it! Despite my nitpicky questions, it's super rad~ I especially like Grounding Fork and Volt Dance. Very cool and flavorful. And I just can't decide which Storm Path I like the best. Well, Rolling Thunder is a little bland, but it's still 5 bonus feats. Nothing to sneeze at.

Oh, and my very pedantic friend wants me to inform you that you technically can't take Voltaic with your 1st class level since you can't take levels in Voltaic if you don't meet the prereqs of Spark of Inspiration, and it requires BAB +1. *waves* Hi Niblooey!

A166) Where are you seeing this? The version I have refers specifically to "the Eye of the Storm stance from the Spark of Battle discipline".

I may have an older version of the PDF, then. I got sent this one by a friend (hi Rain~), it's labeled as 1.0. So it is supposed to share the name of the Tempest Gale stance... Things having the same name is, like, my number one Pathfinder pet peeve.

A167) You already have a stamina pool if you have either feat, so you don't stack them together; having a stamina pool or not is a binary state. You would gain the other abilities offered by either feat, such as Combat Stamina's ability to spend stamina points for competence bonuses or Spark of Inspiration's stance and initiator modifier.

Hmm, I see. I was hoping it might work like ki pools where you get the ability mod once but everything else stacks. Oh well, it does make sense as you said it. Do you still have to take Combat Stamina to be able to take Extra Stamina, or does Spark of Inspiration count for that prereq?

A169) I actually don't recall because I wrote the first draft of the Voltaic about 6 years ago (longer?), but at a glance it looks like Ozone Shimmer was probably a 3rd level stance and during a dev pass it got bumped up to 5th on a balance concern. The "Come and Get Me" style stamina boost on it seems like something I probably added to round out the base ability being a weaker 5th but a stronger 3rd.

I thought it might be something like that. Thank you for catering to my curiosity~

A172) The Voltaic would be more like the wizard who doesn't have a capstone by default but can still take one of the new capstones. Path of Storm (20th) and martial flexibility (any number) are both upgrades of scaling abilities but neither is really a proper capstone. If you're playing in a lower power campaign where other initiating classes aren't allowed, I'd instead suggest exchanging martial flexibility (any number).

That is actually very good to know! Right now I'm working on a whole slew of alternate capstones for my favorite 3pp subsystems (Akasha, PoW, and Psi) since I'm planning on running a lot of really high-level games, so knowing what I should be balancing against is a big help.

A175) That's probably an oversight. I'd let the volt dancer use Wisdom as their initiation modifier.

And likewise make Wisdom checks when sparking? If you don't mind my unsolicited suggestion, perhaps if y'all do a supplement you could change Spark of Inspiration so that sparkers pick their mental stat, like how Martial Training does it? That way you don't have Swashbucklers and such going "but I can't afford to be pretty and smart!"

A176) By strict RAW no, but the sparking engine is meant to be a customization tool. The main thrust of those limitations is to keep you from "crossing the streams" of sparking and normal initiation. You should only be able to do one or another on a given character. So, if I were running a game and you wanted to take a PrC that included initiation, I'd let you use it but with the caveat that you continue your sparking progression using the subsystem progression formula rather than gaining the progression offered by the PrC (not including stances which you'd gain as prescribed).
Similarly, if you wanted to play a sparking warlord I'd just let you play a warlord who swaps all of their initiation progression save for stance accrual for the sparking system. The mechanics aren't intended to stop you from using other Path of War classes, just to prevent one character having both a sparking maneuver pool and a standard maneuver pool and opening the can of worms that trying to mix and match those progressions would entail. If I'd realized how popular the sparking engine was going to be when I wrote it, I'd have included an additional section for converting classic initiators into sparkers just to make sure it was fully future-proofed and GMs had some more explicit guidance. I'll make a point of including that if we get an opportunity to do more sparking support.

Ah, that's what I suspected. I'd definitely be interested in playing a Mystic as a sparker. Although that might take a bit more work to fit than Warlord or Stalker.

Thanks so much again for the answers!

[Kris Moonhand]

Sorry to double post, but I have a very important question. Are there Iconic Akashic characters, and if so, where can I learn more about them?

[Ssalarn]

Sorry to double post, but I have a very important question. Are there Iconic Akashic characters, and if so, where can I learn more about them?

I've had write-ups for all of the akashic characters from AM, the nexus, and the zodiac twins, but I don't know that they ever made it to the public. I will see if I can track those down and apend them to this thread (or recreate them if the source docs are gone). We never did get around to doing write-ups on the eclipse and radiant since the iconics were ordered to make sure we had nice pieces for the new species in Co7S and I didn't really know enough about them while working on the original releases to put a backstory together.

[Kaouse]

Q177.
It appears that the Aethernaut's Rift Wards for the Neutrality plane are missing. Not just in the wiki, but in the City of 7 Seraphs book itself. It's also the only plane to be missing rift wards, so this is particularly conspicuous. Can you tell us what the Rift Wards are supposed to be?

[Lost_Spheres]

Q177.
It appears that the Aethernaut's Rift Wards for the Neutrality plane are missing. Not just in the wiki, but in the City of 7 Seraphs book itself. It's also the only plane to be missing rift wards, so this is particularly conspicuous. Can you tell us what the Rift Wards are supposed to be?

A177.

Here are the missing abilities...

Rift Wards:
Faint Rift Ward: resist energy (all) 2 (5 at 9th level or 10 at 15th level)
Moderate Rift Ward: Gain effects of both shield and bear’s endurance
Strong Rift Ward: Any creature that attacks you in melee takes 1d6 each of acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic damage.
Mastery Benefit: You may suppress your alignment for purposes of game effects, not taking penalties for wielding counter alignment weapons and similar spells or effects. You gain a +4 bonus on your CMD and to Acrobatics checks made to keep balance.

[Kaouse]

Thank you!

[YroPro]

Any Akashic stuff coming? We're finally about to resume our RotRL campaign, we managed to have session 1 right before this whole pandemic started.

[Ssalarn]

Any Akashic stuff coming? We're finally about to resume our RotRL campaign, we managed to have session 1 right before this whole pandemic started.

Christen and I are working on the final pieces of the next Akashic Realms, though we're both involved in a lot of the online cons that are happening in place of the standard meat-space gatherings that happen this time of year, so no firm ETA on when that'll drop. We'll probably make some more announcements about the stuff queued up behind that after we get AR3 published.

[YroPro]

Mindclimber (Su)
Some veryx possess telekinetic passive abilities in addition to their telepathic speech. These powers manifest in the ability to “climb” magical energy essentially hovering or flying in mid-air adhering to momentary visible strand of spells, ambient mystical forces, and micro-ley lines. They gain a fly speed of 40 ft. at average maneuverability. Oddly, veryx who are mindclimbers lose the ability to wear shoulder items or bind veils to their shoulder chakra and develop softer exoskeletons than their kin. This ability replaces both the trait replaces chitin exoskeleton and either the spellmark reservoir (amoxa) or symbiotic spellmark weaving (semxi) traits.

So this mentions hovering and climbing, but it's only a maneuverability of Average, do they still need to make a fly check to hover or ascend while climbing these ethereal webs? Presumably since it functions as flight there's no attacking while "climbing" issues right? Needing hands/dex bonus, etc.

Also I just saw this looking at another race