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Multiple Rules Questions: Engineer, Various Archetypes, and Shindroid
#1
Question 
I was looking around the engineer class and various archetypes, and I found a variety of rules oddities, inconsistencies, and possible balance issues. More or less ordered by page:
Engineer (Base class)
  • Repair: No action is listed for use in the ability.
  • Automatons: Serpentine Base Form: Has a listed Con of 13, whereas all other forms have Con –.
  • Automatons: HD: As all automatons start at medium, should they be getting +20 bonus HP in addition to their 2d10 base HD at first level? I understand this is standard for constructs to make up for no Constitution bonus to hit points, but an average of 31 hit points for a first-level automaton seems excessive.
  • Automatons: Share Trick: Can the engineer create a duplicate of a gadget and give it to the automaton to use while keeping a copy for him/herself? The rules for gadgets do not mention whether an engineer can have multiples of any gadget or not.
  • Augmentations: Automatic Rifle: Does this ranged weapon option use any form of ammunition, or does it generate its own infinite supply?
  • Support Droid: It is unstated what action the engineer requires to assign an order to his Support Droid. Are they swift actions, as per Directives? Also, can directives such as Go, Run, Follow, and Flank be given to Support Droids?
Magitek Operator
  • Magitek Armor: Does the armor have to be of Humanoid form, or can it use any of the base forms?
  • Magitek Armor: Does the armor gain the normal bonus hit points for being Large? Even moreso than mentioned above, this seems excessive, as this now starts the magitek out with providing 2d10+30 (average 41) "temporary" hit points. Thanks to a group of friends pointing this out from first-hand experience in a campaign.
  • Magitek Armor: Does the magitek armor count as an automaton for the purposes of receiving augmentations?
Mako Weapon Specialist
  • Mako Weapon Upgrade: RAW, when expending a mako charge for an effect other than granting feats, the mako weapon can also grant feats.
Warmech
Many of these mirror the Magitek Operator, above, as they use many of the same rules.
  • Battle Armor: Does the battle armor have to be humanoid in form?
  • Battle Armor: As with the magitek armor, does the battle armor gain temporary hit points from size? While less excessive than the magitek armor due to being down a size, at early levels, it represents three times the hitpoints expected of a fighter or similar durable class.
  • Battle Armor: As with magitek armor, can battle armor receive augmentations?
  • Protective Armor/Greater Protective Armor: While in this case, RAW has Greater Protective Armor overriding the bonuses provided by Protective Armor instead of stacking with them, this probably should be specified.
  • Extend Forcefield: RAW, this extends all of the warmech's temporary hit points, including those granted by the battle armor, to the ally(ies). Is this intentional, or is the hit point extension limited to the temporary hit points granted by the force field?
Shindroid
  • Plating: Can a shindroid begin play with any of the various leather or chain armor types listed in the armor list? Some of these are quite expensive for free starting gear. Also, the concept of chain armor being tiered by material conflicts with the mention of playing being of the same material as the shindroid (but then again, so does the concept of "adamantium platinum chain mail").
  • Plating: Is a shindroid automatically considered proficient with the armor it choses? If not, can a shindroid proficient only in cloth choose cloth armor or no armor instead? I'm aware that they do have access to various racial traits that replace plating that would obviously be better choices in that case.
  • Strong Build: Like dwarves, would a shindroid with Strong Build not have its movement speed reduced by armor or encumbrance?

I know this is a bit of a list, and I'm fully expecting it to take multiple posts to answer all of these. Please just answer, clarify, or rectify as many of these as you want.
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#2
(01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote: I was looking around the engineer class and various archetypes, and I found a variety of rules oddities, inconsistencies, and possible balance issues. More or less ordered by page:
Engineer (Base class)
  • Repair: No action is listed for use in the ability.

Standard action.

(01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Automatons: Serpentine Base Form: Has a listed Con of 13, whereas all other forms have Con –.

  • Fixed on next update.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Automatons: HD: As all automatons start at medium, should they be getting +20 bonus HP in addition to their 2d10 base HD at first level? I understand this is standard for constructs to make up for no Constitution bonus to hit points, but an average of 31 hit points for a first-level automaton seems excessive.

  • Yes, it is slightly, but they don't get Constitution bonus HP at all, so it all pans out in the end.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Automatons: Share Trick: Can the engineer create a duplicate of a gadget and give it to the automaton to use while keeping a copy for him/herself? The rules for gadgets do not mention whether an engineer can have multiples of any gadget or not.

  • Yes.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Augmentations: Automatic Rifle: Does this ranged weapon option use any form of ammunition, or does it generate its own infinite supply?

  • Auto-generates.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Support Droid: It is unstated what action the engineer requires to assign an order to his Support Droid. Are they swift actions, as per Directives? Also, can directives such as Go, Run, Follow, and Flank be given to Support Droids?

  • Swift as per Directives.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote: Magitek Operator
    • Magitek Armor: Does the armor have to be of Humanoid form, or can it use any of the base forms?

    Can use any base form.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Magitek Armor: Does the armor gain the normal bonus hit points for being Large? Even moreso than mentioned above, this seems excessive, as this now starts the magitek out with providing 2d10+30 (average 41) "temporary" hit points. Thanks to a group of friends pointing this out from first-hand experience in a campaign.

  • It does not gain bonus hit points as it is no longer a "construct".

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Magitek Armor: Does the magitek armor count as an automaton for the purposes of receiving augmentations?

  • No.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote: Mako Weapon Specialist
    • Mako Weapon Upgrade: RAW, when expending a mako charge for an effect other than granting feats, the mako weapon can also grant feats.

    Not sure what you're telling me about the upgrade.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote: Warmech
    Many of these mirror the Magitek Operator, above, as they use many of the same rules.
    • Battle Armor: Does the battle armor have to be humanoid in form?

    No, it may use any base form.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Battle Armor: As with the magitek armor, does the battle armor gain temporary hit points from size? While less excessive than the magitek armor due to being down a size, at early levels, it represents three times the hitpoints expected of a fighter or similar durable class.

  • Nope, not a construct anymore.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Battle Armor: As with magitek armor, can battle armor receive augmentations?

  • Nope.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Protective Armor/Greater Protective Armor: While in this case, RAW has Greater Protective Armor overriding the bonuses provided by Protective Armor instead of stacking with them, this probably should be specified.

  • Noted, will change on next update.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Extend Forcefield: RAW, this extends all of the warmech's temporary hit points, including those granted by the battle armor, to the ally(ies). Is this intentional, or is the hit point extension limited to the temporary hit points granted by the force field?

  • Only limited to the force field itself.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote: Shindroid
    • Plating: Can a shindroid begin play with any of the various leather or chain armor types listed in the armor list? Some of these are quite expensive for free starting gear. Also, the concept of chain armor being tiered by material conflicts with the mention of playing being of the same material as the shindroid (but then again, so does the concept of "adamantium platinum chain mail").

    Can pick. But you're right, I may have to change or limit choices. And I think I'm going to eventually eliminate the variety FF armor system and just use Pathfinder.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Plating: Is a shindroid automatically considered proficient with the armor it choses? If not, can a shindroid proficient only in cloth choose cloth armor or no armor instead? I'm aware that they do have access to various racial traits that replace plating that would obviously be better choices in that case.

  • They are proficient, I will have to make note of that.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote:
  • Strong Build: Like dwarves, would a shindroid with Strong Build not have its movement speed reduced by armor or encumbrance?

  • Yes, I will also have to make a note of that as well.

    (01-22-2015, 10:08 PM)Klinkin Wrote: I know this is a bit of a list, and I'm fully expecting it to take multiple posts to answer all of these. Please just answer, clarify, or rectify as many of these as you want.

    I can do it in one post. Smile
    Reply
    #3
    Thanks! The thing about the mako weapon is that the later upgrades say that "when he expends a charge, he may choose up to two feats to activate." or similar, but doesn't specify that the charge needs to be expended to activate feats. RAW, a mako weapon spec can expend a charge for, say, Int bonus to damage, and, since he expended a charge, can choose some number of feats to activate. That's probably not the intention, but a strict reading allows it.
    Reply
    #4
    (01-23-2015, 02:04 PM)Klinkin Wrote: Thanks! The thing about the mako weapon is that the later upgrades say that "when he expends a charge, he may choose up to two feats to activate." or similar, but doesn't specify that the charge needs to be expended to activate feats. RAW, a mako weapon spec can expend a charge for, say, Int bonus to damage, and, since he expended a charge, can choose some number of feats to activate. That's probably not the intention, but a strict reading allows it.

    Ah, okay. Now I understand. I'll do something to fix that.
    Reply


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