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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Hello! I'm Michael Sayre aka Ssalarn, a developer at Paizo and author and designer of materials published by Amora Games, Dreamscarred Press, Drop Dead Studios, Legendary Games, Lost Spheres Publishing, and Rogue Genius Games.
    I'm starting this thread specifically to answer questions about Lost Spheres Publishing's products, though since I'll be the primary person responding to queries here for the time being, I'm happy to tackle any questions you may have about interactions between Lost Spheres products and materials I've worked on for another company. I'll be carrying over some questions from other threads (and numbering them for reference) to get them collected in one place, starting with the following:

    Quote Originally Posted by ElFi View Post
    Q001How do the Zodiac's constellations interact with the Enhanced Capacity feat? I'm assuming you'd either choose a specific constellation or a specific form of a specific constellation to act as your chosen essence receptacle (the class feature as a whole as an option is almost definitely not the case), but going off of reading the class I'm not certain which.
    A001You'd choose a specific constellation and the effects would apply to any version of that constellation you conjured.

    Quote Originally Posted by AlienFromBeyond View Post
    Q002Is it intended that the equipment form of the Sea Goat constellation has a DC of 10 + full zodiac level + Cha mod instead of 10 + 1/2 zodiac level + Cha mod? Also, inflicting panicked with this seems incredibly powerful, with an unclear duration for Aura of Fear (it only lists a duration for the shaken effect on a successful save).
    A002The panicked condition only persists while the creature is within the aura of fear; once they leave the area the effect ends. The DC formula is correct.

    Quote Originally Posted by AlienFromBeyond View Post
    Q003The Heaven's Blessing veil says any enemy that can see you must make a save against it, but it has no kind of per round limiter or immunity after a successful save against it (like Bangles of the Jealous Seductress does).
    A003 It does not offer immunity after a save since you have the option of covering or averting your eyes, much like a gaze attack. Creatures need only save against it once per round as long as they are subject to its effects.

    Quote Originally Posted by Awun View Post
    Q004Regarding the Nexus, when adding their Planar Detonation damage to a weapon-like veil attack, is it only the base damage or can they take essence burn for the increased damage? Similarly, can the tier 2 abilities of the Convergences be activated during such attacks?
    A004You can absolutely take essence burn to apply the increased damage from planar detonation to a weapon-like veil attack. This is also true of the Tier 2 convergence powers, though this does mean that you'll be doubling up on the amount of essence burn you'll be taking: 1 to modify the blast damage, and 1 to apply the Tier 2 effect.
    Last edited by Ssalarn; 2019-04-14 at 01:16 AM.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Are there any plans for further akashic race support? Walrus-folk would be amusing (gamla variant?). I recall talk of a daeva-based race as well.

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    Quote Originally Posted by stack View Post
    Q005Are there any plans for further akashic race support? Walrus-folk would be amusing (gamla variant?). I recall talk of a daeva-based race as well.
    A005 There's a significant amount of akashic race support in the upcoming City of 7 Seraphs, though all of these races are more of the planar variety rather than animalistic. Some of the races are specifically akashic (subtype included) and some of them are races with akashic alternate racial traits.
    We're also going to be rolling out Akashic Realms in the not-too-distant future, which will have some additional akashic races as well (quite possibly the walrusfolk and some cactus people, though some of that will depend on what all happens during development.)

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Thanks for making this, things were starting to get a bit distracting and confusing having it in the Co7S thread since there was no clear better location for it. As for an actual question...

    Q006: Might we see an akashic familiar archetype at some point? We've seen separate but similar archetypes such as elemental for both animal companions and familiars from Paizo, so it doesn't seem like it's entirely out of the question as long as you could figure out a balanced set of abilities for it.

  5. - Top - End - #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlienFromBeyond View Post
    Thanks for making this, things were starting to get a bit distracting and confusing having it in the Co7S thread since there was no clear better location for it.
    Yeah, I realized we really needed a better space for things, so I touched bases with Christen and asked him if he was cool with me setting this up so we can collect the answers and funnel the questions to one location intended for that purpose.

    As for an actual question...

    Q006: Might we see an akashic familiar archetype at some point? We've seen separate but similar archetypes such as elemental for both animal companions and familiars from Paizo, so it doesn't seem like it's entirely out of the question as long as you could figure out a balanced set of abilities for it.
    A006 This is entirely possible, yes. Akashic Mysteries already has an animal companion archetype and the framework is very similar, so it's just a matter of execution. There's already a lot of akashic pets and even an akashic wizard archetype now, so I have a much better feel for how introducing an akashic familiar will influence the system than it was really possible to have back when I was writing Akashic Mysteries.
    I don't know if I can squeeze it into Akashic Realms since that's going over to Christen for development and layout this month, but I'm working on something for the Pillars of Edaiho (a college in the City of 7 Seraphs) that would also be a solid product to drop a familiar archetype in.
    Last edited by Ssalarn; 2018-12-12 at 11:28 PM.

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    Q007: Pathfinder's rules don't specify the HP or hardness or ammunition like arrows or bullets, but we have to know them for the purpose of Garden Warden's Gorget. What should we do?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ssalarn View Post
    A001You'd choose a specific constellation and the effects would apply to any version of that constellation you conjured.
    Thanks! I guess that makes sense, since the constellation can only take one form at a time (and basically only be one receptacle). I have a lot of questions about Zodiac, but I'll try to limit it to one at a time. Here's another one:

    Q008: Is it intentional for the Lion champion constellation to do as much damage as it does?

    It's pretty reasonable at first, but at 7th level, once it hits large size and gets pounce, with three points of essence invested it'll be pumping out 1d8+3d6+7 (bite) plus 2d6+6d6+14 (2 claws), plus a potential rake for more damage, every single round. I don't have the time to crunch that math offhand, but I'd wager it'll probably shred any enemy of equivalent CR without a very bloated HP count or significant DR/energy resistance. It gets even sillier with Shape Veil and Titles From Distant Shores (from the Rajah playtest), which would allow you to give it a natural attack-boosting veil like Forcestrike Knuckles for even more damage. Fire damage is frequently resisted, but I dunno. It still seems like a lot.
    Last edited by ElFi; 2018-12-12 at 08:02 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Castilonium View Post
    Q007: Pathfinder's rules don't specify the HP or hardness or ammunition like arrows or bullets, but we have to know them for the purpose of Garden Warden's Gorget. What should we do?
    A007 You'll want to use the Hardness of whatever material the object is primarily made of and hit points based on the object being an inch thick for most ammunition. Adamantine bullets would have hardness 20 and 40 hit points, for example, while a primarily wooden arrow would have hardness 5 and 10 hit points. Standard rules for magical projectile weapons would apply- +2 hardness and 10 hp per +1 enhancement bonus.

    Quote Originally Posted by ElFi View Post
    Thanks! I guess that makes sense, since the constellation can only take one form at a time (and basically only be one receptacle). I have a lot of questions about Zodiac, but I'll try to limit it to one at a time. Here's another one:

    Q008: Is it intentional for the Lion champion constellation to do as much damage as it does?

    It's pretty reasonable at first, but at 7th level, once it hits large size and gets pounce, with three points of essence invested it'll be pumping out 1d8+3d6+7 (bite) plus 2d6+6d6+14 (2 claws), plus a potential rake for more damage, every single round. I don't have the time to crunch that math offhand, but I'd wager it'll probably shred any enemy of equivalent CR without a very bloated HP count or significant DR/energy resistance. It gets even sillier with Shape Veil and Titles From Distant Shores (from the Rajah playtest), which would allow you to give it a natural attack-boosting veil like Forcestrike Knuckles for even more damage. Fire damage is frequently resisted, but I dunno. It still seems like a lot.
    A008 The Lion is about as equivalently strong compared to the other 4 essence champions as the big cat is to standard animal companions, which is on the upper side of that curve. Between fire being very commonly resisted and the amount of essence you're investing, it's going to be a very solid offensive option but one which is going to hit the same benchmarks as a druid casting buff spells on a big cat companion.
    I can't really speak to the rajah and titles as I didn't really have anything to do with it and it follows different mechanical and balance expectations than the rest of the akashic materials.
    Last edited by Ssalarn; 2018-12-12 at 08:24 PM.

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    This is the first i've heard of Akashic realms, is it already on pre-order or anything?

    I keep missing all the kickstarters so now I'm worried i just missed stuff again....

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Quote Originally Posted by CactusAir View Post
    This is the first i've heard of Akashic realms, is it already on pre-order or anything?

    I keep missing all the kickstarters so now I'm worried i just missed stuff again....
    You haven't missed anything, it hasn't been released yet! It actually got a bit delayed because of the holidays so I only just kicked the new Chinese cosmology for the Zodiac over to Christen for review last night.

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Quote Originally Posted by Ssalarn View Post
    You haven't missed anything, it hasn't been released yet! It actually got a bit delayed because of the holidays so I only just kicked the new Chinese cosmology for the Zodiac over to Christen for review last night.
    so our sweet little lucy Heartfilia now going to have Chinese celestial spirits to summon to what's next really I am intrigued?
    Quote Originally Posted by Dark Shadow View Post
    Threads are like cats. They go where they want, and never listen to what you want them to do.


  12. - Top - End - #12
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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Quote Originally Posted by khadgar567 View Post
    so our sweet little lucy Heartfilia now going to have Chinese celestial spirits to summon to what's next really I am intrigued?
    New animal companions like the giant hare and chimpanzee to go with the new constellations, new convergences and nexus capstones for demiplanes like Valhalla and the Kingdom of Five Emperors along with accompanying veil sets, a bunch of new feats including set feats that give you additional bonuses for pulling your veils from the same set, some new eclipse and radiant goodies...

    It's the first akashic release that we'll be pushing out through Lost Spheres where you're actually expected to have Co7S (or Akashic Trinity) to be able to use it since there's no standalone class included, but it'll have about the same word count as Classes of the Lost Spheres: The Zodiac.

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Just to be safe; Akashic realms will have a kickstarter, right?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Manyasone View Post
    Just to be safe; Akashic realms will have a kickstarter, right?
    I don't believe that Akashic Realms will require a Kickstarter. Akashic Trinity and The Zodiac have both done really well, so the line should be self-sustaining at this point. Christen will probably announce the specifics of the go-forward plan (whether that be Kickstarter, playtests, direct release with a feedback window before print, or what-have-you) once the main Co7S .pdf is completed. We don't want to delay that release any further by piling additional layout and major time consuming tasks like running a Kickstarter on top of it.

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    That is more than amazing news, actually, ssalarn. Always nice when your product is so wanted/valued

  16. - Top - End - #16
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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Quote Originally Posted by Ssalarn View Post
    A005 There's a significant amount of akashic race support in the upcoming City of 7 Seraphs, though all of these races are more of the planar variety rather than animalistic. Some of the races are specifically akashic (subtype included) and some of them are races with akashic alternate racial traits.
    We're also going to be rolling out Akashic Realms in the not-too-distant future, which will have some additional akashic races as well (quite possibly the walrusfolk and some cactus people, though some of that will depend on what all happens during development.)
    Correction on this one, we'll be doing Akashic Realms as a series of handbooks, the first one will not have any races (just new veils, feats, zodiac cosmology, nexus convergences and capstones, animal companions, some brief planar gazeteer entries to contextualize everything, and also some reprints of various monsters and animal companions used in the materials for convenient reference).

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Quote Originally Posted by Ssalarn View Post
    Correction on this one, we'll be doing Akashic Realms as a series of handbooks, the first one will not have any races (just new veils, feats, zodiac cosmology, nexus convergences and capstones, animal companions, some brief planar gazeteer entries to contextualize everything, and also some reprints of various monsters and animal companions used in the materials for convenient reference).
    So do we have to but the handbooks one by one or is there a "Season pass" option?

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    Quote Originally Posted by CactusAir View Post
    So do we have to but the handbooks one by one or is there a "Season pass" option?
    I hope theres a "season pass" option. Maybe list it as the book itself and give us access to each release that will be compiled into the finished product.
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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Oh, this’ll be useful! Apologies if I got the formatting incorrect.

    Q009 Can a Zodiac’s companions benifit from archetypes? Either companion archetypes for those that act as animal companions, or class archetypes for those that act as classes? Or do they have to stick with the baseline for said option? I’d imagine the latter, for balance purposes, but wished to be sure.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Biapolis View Post
    Oh, this’ll be useful! Apologies if I got the formatting incorrect.

    Q009 Can a Zodiac’s companions benifit from archetypes? Either companion archetypes for those that act as animal companions, or class archetypes for those that act as classes? Or do they have to stick with the baseline for said option? I’d imagine the latter, for balance purposes, but wished to be sure.
    A009 Animal Companion archetypes are fine.

    For the champions that gain class levels, you have to meet other requirements of the champion (like, The Archer says it has the archery combat style and the group hunter's bond option, so you can't take a ranger archetype that trades out either of those things), but as long as you can do that you'll generally be okay. In theory archetypes are even trades (of course that's not always true in practice) so as long as any requirements laid out in the champion are met and the archetype is one approved for use by your GM you should be fine and I personally would allow it.

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Q010 I can't seem to find the range for the ranged attack ability of the Water Bearer equipment form. Does it have a range increment or max range? (also since no action is specified, I presume you can use it anytime you could make a ranged weapon attack?)

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    Quote Originally Posted by CactusAir View Post
    Q010 I can't seem to find the range for the ranged attack ability of the Water Bearer equipment form. Does it have a range increment or max range? (also since no action is specified, I presume you can use it anytime you could make a ranged weapon attack?)
    A010The range should be 60 feet. I'm digging to see where that disappeared to.

    And yes, it can be used whenever you could normally make an attack, so if you had a BAB of +6/+1 you could fire two blasts, or make one attack with a wielded weapon and fire a blast, etc.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ssalarn View Post
    A009 Animal Companion archetypes are fine.

    For the champions that gain class levels, you have to meet other requirements of the champion (like, The Archer says it has the archery combat style and the group hunter's bond option, so you can't take a ranger archetype that trades out either of those things), but as long as you can do that you'll generally be okay. In theory archetypes are even trades (of course that's not always true in practice) so as long as any requirements laid out in the champion are met and the archetype is one approved for use by your GM you should be fine and I personally would allow it.
    I was looking this over and it looks like Sphere archetypes for both the Archer and the Druid are no-go. Now as a GM you can find reasonable ways to make them work, but as of right now there’s not a clean fit.

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    Quote Originally Posted by NomGarret View Post
    I was looking this over and it looks like Sphere archetypes for both the Archer and the Druid are no-go. Now as a GM you can find reasonable ways to make them work, but as of right now there’s not a clean fit.
    This might be something where the best solution is for me to chat with Adam and Christen and see if either one of them is interested in doing a spheres Zodiac archetype or constellation set. I wouldn't really expect a class feature like constellations to adapt to every subsystem easily (it's a fairly complex subsystem of a fairly complex subsystem already), so conversions and GM fiat are probably the best tools here.

    It's less relevant to the upcoming Asian-inspired zodiac cosmology since those are all either animal companions or monsters with standardized progressions (like sovereign dragons), so it's probably not something we'd be able to squeeze in there.
    Last edited by Ssalarn; 2019-01-15 at 05:57 PM.

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Haven't looked closely; there any reason not to trade the ranger's proficiency and casting to get SoM talents? Or use feat buy-in?

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    Quote Originally Posted by stack View Post
    Haven't looked closely; there any reason not to trade the ranger's proficiency and casting to get SoM talents? Or use feat buy-in?
    Probably not, but SoM plays a lot more friendly with things than most other subsystems since we made it so compatible with core and added so many access points for using the system. I think one of the playtest zodiacs even had a champion that used SoM (I'd have to pull the character sheets, but I'm pretty sure we had a solar zodiac whose Bull spent its feats on Brute sphere options).

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    Default Re: Lost Spheres Publishing FAQ

    Q011
    What's the duration of darkness effect created by Imp's Eyes? Does it move with caster?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nyaa View Post
    Q011
    What's the duration of darkness effect created by Imp's Eyes? Does it move with caster?
    A011 It should last for 1 minute, and it moves with the caster.
    I'll ping Christen about pushing this clarification ASAP so it makes the final release of Co7S.

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    Q012
    How many improvements does the Machine Cultist archetype of the Reaper get on each invention?

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    Quote Originally Posted by NomGarret View Post
    I was looking this over and it looks like Sphere archetypes for both the Archer and the Druid are no-go. Now as a GM you can find reasonable ways to make them work, but as of right now there’s not a clean fit.
    Why are they no go?

    Basic Sphere Druid doesn't seem to be incompatible with "halfing druid with air domain" that I can see.

    And it's a very handy fix for my games since I often run "no vancian casting."

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