Starfinder design review of Ultimate Combat
This time I’d like to review the Feats of Ultimate Combat through a Starfinder design lens.
Adder Strike, poison use doesn’t seem to be a class feature as no ill effect is mentioned in applying poisons to weapons as a standard action. Craft Alchemy could be replaced with Life Science or Physical Science, Improved Unarmed Strike still exists, Swift Actions still exist.
Adept Champion, Smite exists in 3PP Paladin conversions, BAB still exists. Would adding half your Smite bonus to Combat Maneuvers help with KAC+8, seems like it couldn’t hurt. Burns a Swift action every round you choose to use your smite this way.
Amateur Gunslinger, I would have to read the 3PP Gunslinger to see if this is still necessary in a world where everyone can use guns, the guns aren’t crappy compared to Bows.
Arc Slinger, not a lot of slings in SF, a feat to reduce range increment penalties isn’t game-breaking.
Back to Back, as much as I loathe teamwork feats, a circumstance bonus AC to counter Flanking bonuses isn’t the worst. The Perception skill still exists.
Betrayer, Quick Draw, and BAB still exist, the Persuasive feat does not. Having a number of ranks in Diplomacy like Skill unlocks from Pathfinder Unchained might be equivalent however the Operative’s Trick Attack already does much the same thing.
Binding Throw, Ki Throw doesn’t exist. Improved Grapple, Trip, and Unarmed Strike all exist in slightly different forms.
Bludgeoner, nonlethal damage has the same -4 penalty in SF as PF so this feat could convert easily. Allowing an operative to use it with their Trick Attack isn’t game-breaking.
Boar Ferocity, Boar Shred, and Boar Style, Ferocity adds piercing, improved unarmed and intimidate and demoralized all exist. Shred bleed damage still exists. Style adds slashing damage. I’ll need to check the action economy vs normal intimidate, but the three types of kinetic damage, intimidate, and bleed all exist. I don’t believe the presence of three feats would invalidate the operative’s bleeding shot which starts at 6th and does operative level bleed damage. As numerous melee and Solarion weapon crystals grant the Bleed effect the operative bleeding shot isn’t exactly an exclusive class feature and characters could save themselves some feats by buying melee weapons and fusions doing the same thing.
Body Shield, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Dex, and BAB all exist, cover exists so no special rules are needed for this feat to convert to SF. It’s very in genre for people to use opponents as shields. The action would be a Reaction in SF.
Bolstered Resilience, double your DR for one attack or until the start of your next turn, Action would be a Reaction in SF. Fatigue still exists, DR exists.
Bonebreaker, it’s heavily feat taxed, no stunning fist exists in SF.
Branded for retribution, no bane class feature, however, a Bane fusion exists, so granting it to allies for a turn isn’t super broken, you just need something else to expend for this ability.
Break guard, no two-weapon fighting, no combat expertise, improved disarm still exists and Int and Dex still exist. It is kind of like an opportunist attack but from a disarm. Swift actions aren’t super rare, but maybe make this an attack of opportunity like other similar abilities. Since Vanguards can get multiple Reactions this wouldn’t be trouble-free mechanically if they had multiple Attacks and Reactions, although the rate limiter is how many weapons they could disarm from an opponent? Is there any reason you couldn’t knock away the opponent’s weapon with your melee weapon and shoot them with the free attack?
Broken Wing Gambit, teamwork, AoOs, all the hateful game-breaking feat taxing things. Why is this a teamwork feat? To tax the 4-5 AoOs that will happen every round? I can provoke AoOs for my allies with 2 forced movement feats Improved and Greater Bull Rush.
Cartwheel Dodge, more like Cartwheel evasion, but whatever. Would be a Reaction in SF. Can you drop a grenade at your feet to provoke the damage that prompts the evasion that enables the free movement?
Cavalry Formation, teamwork feat, and mounted combat, could lead to weird biker gangs in SF.
Channeled Revival, resolve points instead of channels,
Channeling Scourge, need an inquisitor first.
Charging Hurler, this feat would not make sense with SH charges since the penalty is to attack and AC. You’d be better off moving and throwing without it.
Chokehold, no monks exist, class levels are a poor feat prerequisite, and a harder than normal combat maneuver check makes this improbable in SF.
Cleaving Finish, you have to drop the opponent, power attack doesn’t exist, not quite certain why this exists if Great Cleave already exists. Extra cleaves in SF cost RP os this probably isn’t worthwhile as Great Cleave exists.
Close-Quarters Thrower might be fun for a grenadier build.
Clustered Shots, will make more of a difference in SF than PF because more people use ranged attacks, though people have fewer attacks in SF than PF. Precise and Point Blank shot are kind of redundant in SF.
Combat Medic, teamwork feats suck, using medicine does not provoke in SF, though allowing the character to take 10 in combat is still useful, only First Aid and Drugs or Poison are standard actions. Medical Expert allows treat deadly wounds as a full action instead of a minute, these two might be used in conjunction, but the utility covered by the feats shouldn’t overlap. Need to explore interactions with Medical gear.
Combat Style Master, monk levels don’t exist, class level prerequisites are bad, free actions and start of combat still exist. If we’re going to have combat styles, switching shouldn’t be a big deal, and switching free even during surprise rounds is cool. In a martial arts campaign, I might make the feat free for genre reasons.
Contingent Channeling, true healer doesn’t exist, selective channeling doesn’t exist, but the rest of this is fairly cool stuffing hit points into the tank for later is kind of cool.
Coordinated Charge, teamwork feats suck, action would be a reaction in SF, charges in SF are worse in SF, but nothing in this feat is actually broken in SF.
Crane Riposte, Crane Style, Crane Wing, dare I even touch the infamous Crane Wing?
Crusader’s Fist, so much depends on abilities that don’t exist, Paladins, touch Attacks.
Crusader’s Flurry, monks don’t exist,
Crushing Blow, monks, and stunning fist don’t exist, but reducing an opponent’s AC temporarily by your Wisdom bonus is kind of nice. Depending on your Wis this would be more than just Flat Footed does in SF. Unfortunately as written this lasts for a minute, the AC of NPCs and monsters is already low in SF, starting at -4 in low levels and going up to -9 at some point might not exceed a similar ability based on half class level, but half level would be better balanced at lower levels and over time and you still need rounds equal to level or some other balancing duration, not 1 minute.
Deadly Finish, Fort save or die when reduced to -1 or fewer HP. NPCs and Monsters that aren’t special don’t have Resolve Points and die at -1 anyway.
Death from Above, since flying exists in SF, you need this, but because charges are different and the to hit bonus math under tighter controls you’d have to come down from +5 to more like +3.
Death or Glory, I see they’re trying to change it up, but there aren’t always lots of large or larger foes. Power attack doesn’t exist in SF. Opponent’s action would be a reaction in SF.
Deathless Initiate, Diehard changed in SF because the action economy of dying also changed. You’d need to rework this one too.
Deathless Master, Diehard changed, this would need to be reworked as well.
Deathless Zealot, so many of the prerequisites don’t exist in SF, but Crits don’t need to be confirmed in SF so this doesn’t do you any good. In the opposite of Improved Critical maybe you get a bonus vs the DC of the save?
Deceptive Exchange, nice for a grenadier build. Combat Expertise doesn’t exist in SF, Improved Feint does. Many of the Alchemis Bomb related feats would work well for grenades.
Defensive Weapon Training, Dodge bonuses don’t exist anymore, this could be a circumstance bonus, and against weapon groups you are trained in. Nothing in the feat says its only good vs melee weapons, so this would be a constant +2 vs say Longarms.
Deft Shootist Deed, so reloading doesn’t provoke AoOs in SF, but shooting ranged weapons while threatened does. It seems very important for Smallarms users who want to be up close and personal, though it is not limited to smallarms.
Destructive Dispel, interesting stunned, or sickened, seems like a neat ability until it becomes an at will power.
Devastating Strike, Vital Strike, Improved, and Greater don’t exist in SF because of how Criticals work now, Having a +2 on damage dice when you roll a Crit isn’t such a big deal, but without Crit ranges and Crit multipliers, it won’t be as potent as the PF version.
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