(Drop Dead Studios) Spheres of Power: Official Support Thread

[Ualaa]

Another Sage potential bug.

The Skill Focus bonus feats are only granting +3 bonus to a skill when your only ranks in the skill are bonus ranks by virtue of having talents within a sphere that corresponds to that skill.

At ten or more ranks within a skill, the Skill Focus feat should grant a +6 bonus.

If I give the character actual skill ranks in such skills, the bonus becomes the correct +6.

[TheIronGolem]

Originally Posted by Ualaa

Another Sage potential bug.

The Skill Focus bonus feats are only granting +3 bonus to a skill when your only ranks in the skill are bonus ranks by virtue of having talents within a sphere that corresponds to that skill.

At ten or more ranks within a skill, the Skill Focus feat should grant a +6 bonus.

If I give the character actual skill ranks in such skills, the bonus becomes the correct +6.

I believe this is actually a Hero Lab bug.

When SoM grants ranks in a sphere's associated skill, it does so by adding to that skill's skExtRanks field, the same way a Fighter's Versatile Training ability does. I tested just now with a vanilla Fighter, and Skill Focus is not granting the full bonus to characters with ranks gained through Versatile Training either. A quick look at the code for Skill Focus will show that this is because it doesn't count the value of the skExtRanks field when deciding whether to increase the bonus.

I can think of one or two ways I could work around this, but I would prefer to either let Lone Wolf fix the feat behavior, or find confirmation that this is actually intended and rules-compliant before I change anything. If anyone knows of a confirmed Paizo ruling on this matter, I'd appreciate a link.

[Shadowtalon]

I have SoM 1.11 installed, and every time I equip a customized weapon it starts triggering infinite loops. The Armiger is also still missing his Focusing switch ability.

[TheIronGolem]

Originally Posted by Shadowtalon

I have SoM 1.11 installed, and every time I equip a customized weapon it starts triggering infinite loops. The Armiger is also still missing his Focusing switch ability.

Both of these are fixed in my current build, which I expect to release sometime in the next week or so.

I've also fixed another infinite-loop error that was being caused by the Symbiotic Knight archetype. If anyone else has noticed infinite-loop messages that trigger from any other Spheres content, please let me know so I can include a fix in the next update.

[Ualaa]

Possibly a bug on Martial Mageknight archetype, unless I'm reading it very wrong.

A base MK, at 20th level has:
- 2 base magic talents (2)
- a magic talent at 1st level (1)
- a magic talent at each even level (10)

For a total of 13 magic talents.

The archetype is saying, whenever they gain a magic talent (not the free 2 for magic tradition) they can choose to gain a martial talent instead.

Whether I duplicate the Mageknight and then add the Martial Mageknight archetype, or I make a MK of first level, give the archetype and then add MK levels... the result seems the same.

The martial mageknight has 13 magic talents and 11 combat talents plus 1 martial tradition.

If I go to the Mageknight tab, all the blended training choices (1st, plus every even level) are set to Combat Talent.
But the character is still getting their 13 magic talents.

If I change the Blended Talent from the default Combat to Magic for each selection, then I end up with a MK who has 0 combat talents, 1 martial tradition, and 24 magic talents.

[Ualaa]

Originally Posted by TheIronGolem

I believe this is actually a Hero Lab bug.

When SoM grants ranks in a sphere's associated skill, it does so by adding to that skill's skExtRanks field, the same way a Fighter's Versatile Training ability does. I tested just now with a vanilla Fighter, and Skill Focus is not granting the full bonus to characters with ranks gained through Versatile Training either. A quick look at the code for Skill Focus will show that this is because it doesn't count the value of the skExtRanks field when deciding whether to increase the bonus.

I can think of one or two ways I could work around this, but I would prefer to either let Lone Wolf fix the feat behavior, or find confirmation that this is actually intended and rules-compliant before I change anything. If anyone knows of a confirmed Paizo ruling on this matter, I'd appreciate a link.

*EDIT* - Asked on the Paizo boards: https://paizo.com/threads/rzs42yal?V...-Skill-Focus#1
But awaiting an answer.

Digging a little on the Paizo boards...
A lot of these seem to be answered by non-Paizo people, but no one is then correcting them.
Not sure if that counts a rules ruling or not.

Most of the search is either the word Versatile or Training, not much that are actually the two words together.
The only mention I saw of Skill Focus was the bard's performance which was via virtual ranks but not directly asking if virtual ranks get the higher bonus at 10+ virtual ranks in the skill.

From the wording, I think it would since you're counting as having the ranks and it's not a bonus. As per the first question, except the response was from a player, not from a Paizo Staff.

https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2taom?F...ile-Training#1
Question on whether the Fighter gains the +3 bonus for trained skill with Versatile Training.
Answer: The fighter is gaining actual ranks, rather than a +X bonus to a skill, so they should act like skill points in the skill and get the +3 bonus.
Not a Paizo answer, but no one contradicted the poster.


https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2jueg?V...-Performance#1
Asking if bard's virtual ranks in two skills by virtue of having the Performance that is used in the place of two skills, do they need skill focus in the skill or in the versatile performance skill.
Answer: The rules say they use their total bonus from Versatile Performance (which would include skill focus in that) in place of their relevant skill it's replacing.
That doesn't mention +3 or +6 bonus at 10th.

[TheIronGolem]

Originally Posted by Ualaa

Possibly a bug on Martial Mageknight archetype, unless I'm reading it very wrong.

I checked this out and found that the archetype script was trying to to remove the stock talents from the Armorist instead of the Mageknight. Good catch.

Originally Posted by Ualaa

*EDIT* - Asked on the Paizo boards: https://paizo.com/threads/rzs42yal?V...-Skill-Focus#1
But awaiting an answer.

Digging a little on the Paizo boards...
A lot of these seem to be answered by non-Paizo people, but no one is then correcting them.
Not sure if that counts a rules ruling or not.

I figured out a solution that lets me fix Skill Focus for associated skills independently of LW, so that'll be in the next release as well.

[Magicdealer]

This may not be the right place to ask, but will ultimate spheres be getting their own hero lab files release separate from the existing ones or will the changes be wrapped up into the current modules?

I've just been introduced to the system but the group has already switched to ultimate so I don't want to buy the original files if they're not going to be updated for ultimate. I'd appreciate any clarification you can give me. Thanks!

[Ualaa]

I'd imagine separate, because assume you wish to use the original release and have nothing to do with the revisions within the Ultimate Spheres of Power.
In that case, the newer version with undesired changes, is in conflict with your version.

Let's also assume that my group would like the newer version, as we like the changes.
Several of the existing talents have disappeared (such as Greater Blast, within Destruction) and several talents have been wrapped into other talents so you get more bang for buck (such as Greater Healing each combined with various condition cure talents, instead of being stand alone talents).
If my group is using the newer version, we don't want Greater Healing (as stand alone talents) or Greater Blast (at all... since it seems to have been removed for balance(?) or some other reason).

I couldn't really see the practicality of one file and a toggle option for whether to use the old or the new.
The Ultimate files will be quite a bit of coding, and were sold as part of the kickstarter (and will be available for purchase eventually, I'd assume).
In addition to some people having bought both, it will likely be easier to code and maintain them as separate sets of files.
The original files will likely be unchanging (unless a future Hero Lab release breaks something).
The new files could potentially be subject to errata, but any changes to Spheres as a system would be to the current/most recent iteration.

We don't have our hard covers yet, so are still using the original system (and I'm buying the older files, as they're released) with hero lab.
I'd imagine a lot of the existing stuff would serve as a framework for the new system, but that there will still be significant effort to create the new files.
Adam, on the kickstarter page and in answer to someone's question, said the new files are being worked on but that he has no ETA.

[TheIronGolem]

Ualaa is correct; USoP will be a separate product for both business and technical reasons, as well as to give players the option of choosing which version of Spheres they want to use.