Pillars and Paths Changelog

12/18/2025

  • Battlecry from Champion raised to d4 dice.
  • Martial Spirit
    • Pankrator spends a die instead of all dice, meaning if you had multiple Block dice to start with, you only use one for disadvantage and still use the rest normally.
    • Lord of War had tis Assail bonus changed to Empower, and has a third use of Aiming.
  • Paradoxical Embrace from Tantras can also inflict Setback.
  • Desperado
    • Wandering Deliverance had its Doom raised to 2P.
    • Bucking Buckaroo automatically succeeds if the original attack crit.
  • Duelist’s Stance from Einhander no longer needs that 1 minute rest to reenter.
  • Tracer
    • Improved Tracking gives +1 die size to all Aim dice instead.
    • Advanced Tracking also gives the +1 die size to all Aim dice instead.
  • Hurricane from Zweihander no longer needs a minor action.
  • Royal Fork from Abraxas automatically succeeds if the original attack crit.
  • Unwavering Stance from Harmony no longer needs that 1 minute rest either.
  • Inquistor
    • Moonmarked also allows Assail once per round.
    • Karamazov’s Mien has its Cripple be in addition to, not instead.
  • Mystic
    • Runic Warding can also work on yourself.
    • Witching Hour can alternately be used as a reaction.
    • Leviathan’s Maw has a clause for healing everyone if the target had Lethal when slain.
  • Rising Tempo from Protagonist simplified to be any non-damaging major action.
  • Chained Stratagems from Tactician also allows two allies to benefit off each other.
  • Deliberation from Arbiter also grants advantage if the non-damaging action spent a slot.
  • Kill Command Ready from Broodmother has its Empower now stack.
  • In Starlight Clad changed to Empower.
  • Battlements of Academia from Ivory had its Aegis increased to 2P.

08/02/2025

  • Active Reload from Desperado gained a new choice, Silverhand, allows faster reloading on critical hits.

07/01/2025

  • Pinning Force milestone for Slayer changed to inflict Cripple (half) instead of (10).
  • Sync Kill from Battlemaster changed to heal you for the full amount of Lethal, and grant half as temporary hit points.
  • Path of the Suzerain added to give the newly christened Hazard condition and area of effect abilities some additional play.

05/03/2025

  • Psionic Renewal from Adherent also grants +1 to AC/resistances.
  • Hurricane from Zweihander no longer has disadvantage if a non-damaging major action is used on the prior turn.

01/18/25

  • Feasts for the Forge from Crucible also works off Encore (1st) abilitechs.

05/23/24

  • Spoils of War from Marauder dropped the clause requiring you to be below the HP you started the strife at.
  • Fearless Resolve from Ancient now applies to any temporary hit points, period.

03/18/24

  • Priestess from Aeon specifies it can’t trigger off the same ability more than once per turn, any turn.

03/12/24

  • Path of the Nemesis added for reaction attackers, people who love getting hit, and general sentinel damage seekers.
  • Path of the Shepherd added for even more minion support. Now if only we had more than two non-control minion methods.
  • Path of the Herald added for slayers and sentinels looking for a few new tricks.
  • Path of the Arbiter added for psions looking for new ways to oppress and dispatch their foes.
  • Path of the Crucible added for reload and cache weaponry support alongside a costly but potent tool for minion masters.
  • Massive number of wording changes to shorten Step descriptions. Effects generally left unchanged unless specified as below.
    • In general, anything that reduces max HP now tends to cost the same amount in HP, due to a quirk in the character sheet making this happen naturally.
    • Anything that mentions halving or foregoing damage changed to be -50% or -100% damage.
      • Primarily, this benefits critical hits as -100% damage on a crit just reduces it from 200% to 100% damage than foregoing the damage entirely.
    • Clauses that mention counts as abilitech/subpower for purposes of synergy now directly state they are an abilitech and/or subpower, any die size increases to them also affect the Step, etc.
  • Mastermind reworked as such:
    • Spark of Genius changed to once per short rest, affects any d20 roll, and is now part of Master of Tactics.
    • Calculating now allows an extra die of the same size for Aim and Avert, and both stat mod and +1 die size for Assail, but limited to three such effects in any combination at one time.
    • Redlight replaces Spark of Genius’ spot, imposes Lethal that increases with each successful Discern against the target, or starts at max with Scrutinize.
    • Anatomically Accurate raised to INT+P damage, or alternately ignore hit or crit penalty when attacking anatomy. Also renamed to Anatomical Accuracy.
    • Outmaneuver can be done as part of rolling for initiative.
    • Inductive Reasoning replaces Ditch, and imposes the Breakdown condition, which is a stand-in for Fade/Sunder or Setback, chosen at usage. Starts at 0, caps at 5, increases through Discern and Scrutinize.
  • Battlemind:
    • Mental Shackles instead passively applies Setback to all targets within Block radius. Setback increases with slots spent.
  • Champion:
    • Battlecry allows picking either an Aim or Block die to impose if the attack roll fails.
    • I Am Your Enemy had its attack roll component removed, it directly imposes disadvantage if it targets or originates within block radius.
    • To the Death duration raised to 5 rounds, target’s advantage to attack rolls only towards you than everyone, and also imposes disadvantage to target’s skill checks.
    • Bodyguard block radius increase raised to 10 feet.
    • Ominous Presence also halves Assail damage bonuses for enemies.
  • Dreadnought
    • Decimating Strike is a 30 ft. cone and also benefits as abilitechs/subpowers for die size increases.
    • Din of the Dying costs P HP and max HP and is now considered a basic abilitech and at-will subpower.
    • Goliath’s Glory costs 2P HP and max HP.
    • Spiteful Reprisal now also usable against enemy crits.
  • Hydra:
    • Alcaean Invocation’s maximum DoT stack also applicable if target is Stuck, home optional.
    • Lernean Scales grants Aegis (P) instead of Ward (Lvl/2).
  • Immortal
    • Healing Surge adds +P instead of replacing +CON with +Lvl, but is a free action.
    • Stand and Fight changed from once per short to once per strife and is no longer limited to movement speed range.
    • Lamb’s Shield also confers Aegis when Regen is active.
  • Ivory
    • Acceleration Stance allows allies’ non-move action movement to be modified up or down by 5 feet.
    • Blueshift expanded to allow modular speed spending to move allies and Cripple enemies, scaling with the speed spent.
  • Marauder
    • Spoils of War can exceed the starting HP through bonus healing.
  • Martial Spirit
    • Pankrator’s disadvantage is capped at 1 round.
    • Spirit of Mars retains the AC/resist bonus, but instead scales to +2 hit and AC/resist for having +8 in Endurance or Sanity.
    • Warden’s Presence’s damage bonus now extends to allies.
    • Lord of War’s Distract bonus is advantage, up from +4.
  • Shieldbearer
    • Bonus Shield Slam renamed Bonus Slam, allows any basic abilitech or at-will in the other hand to perform the same function.
  • Tantras
    • Chi Disruption can alternately work off multi-target attacks at the +8 Perception barrier.
    • Crown Doctrine allows +1 die size instead of +WIS to damage if they can already do this.
  • Adherent
    • Surge of Strength changed to allow combo attacks with reactions at -50% damage if major action combos that same turn were made with advantage.
    • Catalytic Brand no longer Assails, but Sunder component is Sunder (2, stacks to 6).
  • Allegro
    • Amabile & Affettuoso just needs Exposed, down from Blinded.
  • Anarcanist
    • Arcanoclasm can alternately allow all PdX bonus damage dice to be added an additional time, but the burnout duration is 2 rounds and also affects all the effects that were doubled.
    • Crown of Desperation reduced to +2 crit range.
  • Desperado
    • Bucking Buckaroo no longer requires you to forego the Cripple before attempting the attack, allowing you to keep it if the attack fails.
    • Aces and Eights changed from d6 Aim die and Pd4 damage to advantage and Pd3 damage.
  • Einhander
    • Swift Hews crit bonus capped at +4 and requires 15 ft. of movement per +1.
  • Gun Fu
    • Gunmetal Gymnast grants +1 to hit, AC, Reflex, and +10 ft. speed, doubled with +8 to Acrobatics.
  • Hurler
    • Lobber changed to allow a free Aim action and turn to true damage.
  • Renegade
    • Screwdriver Special’s non-stacking option also increases its duration by 2 rounds.
  • Thousand Cuts
    • Relentless no longer limited to the same turn.
  • Warden
    • Runes of Snow’s supercharge no longer grants additional crit, but hit bonus raised to another +3.
  • Zweihander
    • Hurricane can now use any combination of any at-wills and basics known to the player, ignoring any hand and equip limitations.
  • Abraxas
    • Railbird no longer costs a reaction.
    • Royal Fork no longer requires you to forego the Daze before attempting the attack, allowing you to keep it if the attack fails.
  • Acrobat
    • Shadow Boxing now benefits from die size increases to abilitechs/subpowers.
  • Analyst
    • Signal Denial trades its no bonus dice clause for a -50% assail damage clause.
    • Fire Support raised to INT+P.
    • Combined Arms also raised to INT+P.
  • Inquisitor
    • Eye for an Eye changed to extend the next condition(s) you or an ally land on the attacker by 1 round.
  • Arcane Avenger
    • Twicefold Betrayal had its Rupture reduced to P but lasts 1 minute, as does the Aegis component.
    • Melancholic Ire changed from Assail to giving Empower.
  • Berserker
    • Dangersense applies to any received attack with Block dice, not just within that 1 round.
    • Furious Strike had its HP cost raised to 2P and hit penalty to -5, but Empowered from this has an extra +1 die size.
  • Carmine
    • Iron Baptism also costs HP, but the Regen lasts for an extra round and the damage bonus for an extra roll.
    • Wreath of Higanbanas also costs HP, but die size increased to Pd4+CON and range increased to block radius, if you have one.
  • Seraph
    • Ultraviolence changed to be +2 for all attacks instead of +1 or +3, up to +6.
  • Broodmother
    • Pale Pendulum no longer allows Assail, but changed to inflict either Doom (P) or Rupture (2P, 3 rounds), of choice.
  • Host
    • Wall of Fangs no longer allows a crit bonus.
    • Catastrophe’s crit range bonus reduced to +1, but also grants Lvl HP and max HP.
  • Pirate
    • I’m the Captain Now reduced to +2 crit at maximum, grants +1 crit per Assail or Distract.
    • Hostage Situation no longer rest-limited, either allows -P damage taken or deal P damage to the grappled.
  • Aeon
    • Priestess may be used as part of a non-damaging major action as well.
  • Ancient
    • Bolstered Faith also grants +1 to hit and AC.
    • Inspired Improvisation works off any condition now.
    • Into the Breach changed to half the malus and capped at +3, but works off all hit/defense maluses the target possesses, combined.
  • Aspirant
    • Ex Tenebris changed to impose -2 die sizes to Aim and Block dice, having +8 skill also imposes -2 crit range and halved Assail damage.

02/08/24

  • Shock Assault from Skirmisher reworded to use the new Lunge abilitech property.
  • Black Market Overclock from Renegade has a third option to enhance Lunge abilitechs.
  • Agitato from Allegro can be activated on other creatures’ turns as well.
  • Amoroso from Allegro changed to Pd6 damage, no longer inflicts Daze, no longer requires a minor action, and counts as abilitech/subpower for synergy purposes.

02/07/24

  • Uprising from Seraph had its -1 die size for push lose its once per turn clause, to allow using it on reactions.
  • Clothesline from Shadowdancer changed from once per turn to twice per round.

02/02/24

  • In Starlight Clad from Starhunter clarifies a Step-modified major action that doesn’t roll a d20, such as Grappling.
  • Ordnance Fire from Heavy Weapons Guy had its Sunder magnitude raised to 3.
  • Tracer reworked as such:
    • Improved Targeting gives a d4 Aim die or +1 to an existing die.
    • Advanced targeting gives a d6 or +1 AND advantage.
    • Trigonometry also ignores disadvantage.
    • Never Truly Miss replaced with Delta Lock, Trace inflicts Doom (P) and allows Trace to be performed as part of certain major actions.
    • Vital Point Targeting no longer gives Doom, but increases the number of times Doom can be added.
  • Thaumaturge:
    • Take Flight gives Intangibility for 1 round instead of immediate half-base speed movement.
    • Ogloparry gives a d4 Block die baseline (or +1 size to existing Block die), Dream spent to give +1 die size and disadvantage.
    • Rainbow Triforce reduced to Pd2 damage but can choose from a list of conditions or extending one per hit landed.
    • Hopes and Dreams changed to Regen (P, 3 rounds).
  • Protagonist reworked as such:
    • Max LP starts at 2 + number of Steps in Protag, and regens at start of strife.
    • Heroic Pose regains all LP.
    • Dramatic Flourish reduced to Pd3+CHA, but heals for full damage, costs 3 LP but is no longer strife-limited.
    • A Certain Set of Skills split into two choices:
      • Silver Tongue uses 1 LP to gain a flat bonus to Aim or Avert that increases with higher Charisma skill bonuses.
      • Smooth Criminal uses 1 LP when Distracting to use Deception, take advantage, and gain the crit bonus to AC/resist.
    • Vicious Retort allows reaction attacks for LP.
    • Rising Tempo grants LP gain after using certain abilities, as well as allowing Heroic Pose to be used as part of certain major actions.
    • Star Power allows a flat bonus to attack rolls/skill checks or AC/resistances to be applied to the other.
  • Path of the Aspirant added, a… we don’t know. It has Steps.

12/24/23

  • Path of the Starhunter added, a grab bag for slayers and strategists.
  • Path of the Serpent added, as a DoT-focused path.

12/16/23

  • Boarding Hook from Pirate instead buffs DoT by P if grappling the target would already produce a DoT, such as HookChain’s passive. Also, its 2P damage for attempting to break grapple instead first causes all DoTs to deal damage.

11/25/23

  • Motes of Power from Adherent increased to Pd3+PCM.
  • Lobber from Hurler also allows a reaction to ignore Ward and Block dice.
  • Blur from Acrobat switched out Aegis (Lvl) on Defend for Aegis (P) and half cover or +2 to it if already extant.
  • Outmaneuver from Mastermind had its once per strife use changed to Discern on a target already Discerned, which makes it a free action assuming they’ve already passed a Discern against the target.
  • Spark of Genius from Mastermind changed from reaction to free action.
  • Anchor of Light from Mystic only deals half damage if broken as a major action.
  • Ballistic Bafflement from Heavy Weapons Guy counts as non-damaging for the purposes of synergizing with Steps and other effects that work off non-damaging major actions.
  • Alpha Factor from Host can alternately be used as a reaction.

11/17/23

  • Champion:
    • Battlecry changed to Aim and Block dice to better synergize with Aim/Block die boosters.
    • I Am Your Enemy targets everyone, and also increases block radius by 5 feet.
    • To the Death trades out nullifying bonuses to AC/resist for being able to perform the action as part of another non-damaging major action, such as Twicefold Betrayal.
    • Bodyguard can be used as part of a reaction for an ally like blocking them. Also increases radius by 5 feet.
  • Immortal:
    • Stand and Fight can be used as part of rolling for initiative.
    • Fury of the True Hero has its Regen component count as being at half HP or less for effects such as Guts and Glory.
  • Tripwire Binding from Acrobat no longer requires a minor action, only a major action.
  • Intense Study from Sawbones works off Discern instead of being a minor action.
  • Tower:
    • Stalwart Defense has its greater slot use go to +3 instead of +2.
    • Battlements of Academia instead gives Aegis (P, 1 round) on any non-damaging major action abilitech/subpower.

11/4/23

  • Mental Shackles and Dire Setback now specify their Setback stacks with other Setback, in conjunction with the condition’s changes.

6/18/23

  • Fearless Resolve from Ancient reworded to prevent infinite ally temp HP shenanigans, clarified to have any temp HP to/from allies stack with already present temp HP instead of overwriting it.

6/18/23

  • Sawbones:
    • Field Surgery has +1 die size, and now scales off of total modifier in Medicine.
    • Time Out changed from P/long to 1/strife use.
    • Intense Study allows Aim die to be placed on an enemy instead of ally. +8 bonus threshold instead increases its duration by 1 minute and also grants +1 crit range per die size above d3.
    • Pills Here! instead has the ally take their turn during the player’s turn instead of after it, and usage changed from short rest to once every three rounds.
  • Shadowdancer:
    • Shadow Play’s universal cooldown removed, moved to Shadowstep and Doppelganger as individual cooldowns.
    • Human Shield instead works off Help, Defend, or non-damaging major action abilitechs/subpowers.
    • Made You Blink no longer targets Reflex or halves modifiers to damage, and can be used freely if the target is within range equal to base speed. More prominent usage of +100 ft. miracle swaps part has a cooldown of 1 minute, up from 3 rounds.
    • Clothesline now works off of any movement ability, not just Shadowdancer ones.
  • Dancer, Infernal, Warden Step cooldowns consolidated into singular resources. Yes, they were taken from their respective alchemy tags that granted that same effect.
  • Intercessory Chant from Infernal instead heals a target for SP when using a variety of non-damaging actions.

6/15/23

  • War Bonds from Host scales off Level, granting 2*Level HP instead of 5P, or 5*Level instead of 15P if singular minion.

6/5/23

  • Angelic Volition from Seraph instead grants +1 die size if the ability has a “make one attack per target” type of rule for how it attacks.
  • Din of the Dying from Dreadnought rolls a hit die for the temp HP portion to better synergize with effects that boost hit dice rolls.

5/1/23

  • Loss Prevention from Tactician now applies to self alongside allies.

4/6/23

  • Magic is Real from Thaumaturge specifies new subpowers are only learned from other Steps in the Path than by the normal means.
  • Hopes and Dreams from Thaumaturge can now be used as part of any non-damaging major and/or minor action.
  • Mental Discipline from Harmony specifies it does not count as a known power for the purposes of learning more.
  • Dramatic Flourish from Protagonist now costs 1 LP, but is 1/strife, adds 3 max LP, and additionally counts as a skill check.
  • Triage Protocols from Vanguard instead passively increases healing done by Level for every +3 crit range on yourself or the healed target at the time of healing. The Empowered healing now grants Aegis.
  • Lamb’s Shield from Immortal now grants an extra Aegis (P) while Regen is active.
  • Goliath’s Glory from Dreadnought specifies conditions of choice to avoid removing Empower, Regen, and other beneficial conditions. Also lets player ignore difficult terrain and disadvantage.
  • Hard Target from Skirmisher also extends the benefit to allies you move.

3/8/23

  • Illegal Body Mod from Renegade split into two options, one for its current purpose and one to grant increasing benefits from one-off bonuses.

2/19/23

  • Improved Guardian: Opportunism from Berserker instead grants Opportunist if the player does not have it, say, if they’re a slayer.
  • Improved Guardian: Controller from Berserker also does the same, granting Controller if the player doesn’t have it, say, for slayers, again.
  • Sinclair’s Psychic Avenger from Abraxas now also counts as expending a lesser slot for the purposes of other Steps that activate on spending a lesser slot.

2/19/23

  • Path of the Seraph added, as a replacement for Courage with an eye for combo attacks and forced movement.
  • Path of the Outlaw added, as a toolbox for slayers and strategists.
  • Path of the Battlemaster reworked, to give martial characters a better toolkit befitting a keystone.
  • Path of the Carmine added, a toolbox featuring ways to spend one’s HP in a variety of ways for benefits.
  • Path of the Arcane Avenger added, to round out the psion sentinel niche alongside Tower.
  • Line in the Sand from Tower now draw four smaller lines instead of one large prism.
  • Master of Ambush from Operator now scales with other bonuses that affect abilitechs and subpowers.
  • Holmgang from Pirate now directly Exposes targets who take at least 10 feet of forced movement.
  • Fling from Wrestler removed, with its functionality moved into the Shove action proper. Replaced with Turnbuckle Thrash, which enhances checks and damage dealt with said Shove actions.
  • Concussive Throw from Shieldbearer now works with any ranged attack from a melee specibus, instead of just that one abilitech.
  • Awakened Dreamer from Thaumaturge had Portent removed. Can be found now under reworked Battlemaster.

1/6/23

  • Sinclair’s Psychic Avenger from Abraxas no longer requires a lesser slot.

12/22/22

  • Wind Up from Zweihander now counts as an abilitech and/or subpower to keep this minor action scalable should the player build that way.
  • Close and Personal from Zweihander now allows a reaction to be used when making a close range attack to deal additional damage. Also counts as an abilitech/subpower like Wind Up.
    • Shark Strikes from Thousand Cuts offers a flat +P bonus damage, which made CaP obsolete, hence the change.

12/2/22

  • Screwdriver Special from Renegade changed to be 1 round and no longer allows stacking, and allows an extra 2P on Rupture in exchange for becoming non-stacking.
  • Goliath’s Glory from Dreadnought specifies spending the HP first, as futureproofing for effects that rely on spending HP.
  • Din of the Dying from Dreadnought now specifies it counts as an abilitech/subpower for synergy, like die sizes.
  • Worship Iron from Tantras gives Aegis instead of Ward.
  • Paradoxical Embrace from Tantras now allows one of its three prior conditions to be inflicted when using non-damaging majors. Also traded in its all targets clause for stacking with itself from others.
  • Incoming! from Vanguard now further buffs other AC/resistance bonuses by +1 for the duration.
  • Following Steps were changed from a flat +2 to +P scaling:
    • Defensive Stance from Shieldbearer, temp HP bonus.
    • Fire and Iron from Berserker, Assail and temp HP bonus.
    • Sharp Strikes from Thousand Cuts, which also lost its ignore Flurry Stance clause in exchange for ultimately scaling better.

11/21/22

  • Path of Gun-Fu had a few changes:
    • Gun Fury Stance also allows +P to damage.
    • Hong Kong Action Theater also allows the half speed move as part of rolling for initiative.
    • Double Tap now Assails for the sum of STR, DEX, and P.

10/25/22

  • Sinclair’s Psychic Avenger from Abraxas lowered to Pd2, but no longer rolls to hit.

10/22/22

  • Path of the Renegade added, as a grab bag Path for boosting various types of abilitechs and enhancing Doom and Rupture.
  • Path of Abraxas added, as another grab bag Path focused slightly towards psions.
  • Path of the Broodmother added, to round out minion builds alongside Host.
  • Path of the Skulker reworked alongside the stealth rework, made into a keystone that centers around making the most use out of the Distract action.
  • Path of the Operator added, to round out the stealth niche alongside reworked Skulker.
  • Path of the Skirmisher added, for the Dex sentinel/strategists who want to be fast and tanky at once.
  • Torrent of Blows from Thousand Cuts reworded to allow activating it multiple times per turn, for whoever the hell managed to pull that off somehow.
  • Allegro:
    • Agitato stacks to 3 times instead of 2, but now uses +P instead of +P/2.
      • It was the only thing in PnP that used +P/2, and we can’t have unique scaling if the scaling’s not actually impressive.
    • Amoroso uses 2Pd4 instead of Pd8, but now also needs a minor action to activate.
      • Agitato was deliberately underpowered since Amoroso was deliberately overpowered. With Agitato returning to some semblance of balance, Amoroso also had to be nerfed in tandem.
    • Amabile & Affettuoso grants 10 feet of movement instead of Agitato stacks.
    • Armonioso & Anima also uses 2Pd4 instead of Pd8 scaling for its bonus damage, but also discounts Amoroso’s action cost if used in tandem.
  • Crown Doctrine from Tantras also includes skill checks.
  • Blackjack changed to straight up Incapacitate the target, but now has a limit of once per target per short rest.
  • Dancer:
    • Provocative Dance is now once per target per short rest.
    • All Eyes on Me grants advantage to allies, and they can use your Performance check for their Distracts, to replicate Hidden when it was still a condition.
  • Signal Denial from Analyst also precludes the target from bonus dice, any positive effects or conditions, and they also take disadvantage on skill checks.
  • Keen-Eyed Attack can also be used as part of rolling for initiative.
  • Hair Trigger from Artillery replaced with One Shot, One Kill, which boosts Empowered and any Doom triggers off that condition.
  • Fiendish Composure from Infernal now grants bonuses to skill checks when below half HP.
    • The old versions have been improved and added to alchemy in the SMA.
  • Pirate:
    • Grappling Cable makes the pull on Grapple optional and makes grappling have a +10 ft. range increase, in light of the new grappling rules.
    • I’m the Captain Now now scales up to +3 crit range, if multiple Assails and now Distracts were used by allies, or used by you.
  • Wolfpack from Host split into Alpha Factor, which is the current Step, and Wall of Fangs, which grants stacking hit bonuses and even crit bonuses depending on minion adjacency.
  • Iron Vise from Subjugglator now stacks with Fade and Sunder from other sources.
  • Chained Stratagems from Tactician also includes Distract.
  • Lord of War from Martial Spirit can additionally choose to benefit the ally’s Distract check and any bonuses they gain from it.
  • Battlements of Academia from Tower changed to allow you to gain Aegis instead of being automatic.
  • Runic Warding from Mystic lost its cooldown.

9/24/22

  • Einhander Style from Einhander allows grappling as an exception to its free hand rule.

8/15/22

  • Path of the Battlemind had a bit of retooling:
    • Mind Shield reduced Barrier gain to 3P but also applies to short rests and long rests.
    • Mind Spike gained Collective Wall’s +PCM to lesser slot Barrier gain and Barrier maximum.
    • Collective Wall lost benefits for Barrier regen and maximum, but counts Barrier as temp HP to synergize with other Steps that boost it and converts excess Barrier to damage.
  • Cursed Mirror from Mystic simplified to transfer all negative conditions of duration 2 minutes or less.
  • Bloodborne Rally from Berserker also counts any flat bonus damage, not just Assails.
  • Lord of War from Martial Spirit instead takes the die spent to Avoid and lets you reuse it as an Aim die or as an Assail.

8/7/22

  • Path of the Aeon added, as a grab bag of effects that boost your other Steps than being useful by themselves.
    • Except for The Universe, that one’s just meant to be an acid trip of a Step.
  • Path of the Ancient added, focusing on temporary hit points and adding bonuses to debuffing targets.
  • Path of the Desperado added for the gunslingers.
  • Rupture changed to Doom for the following Steps, given durations for all else:
    • Paradoxical Embrace from Tantras
    • Collective Psi Theory from Anarcanist
    • Sneaky Throw from Hurler
    • Vital-Point Targeting from Tracer
  • Aegis changed to Ward for the following Steps, given durations for all else:
    • Bastion from Dreadnought
    • Lernean Scales from Hydra
    • Worship Iron from Tantras
    • Ballistic Evidence from Heavy Weapons Guy
  • Broken, Clipped, Disrupted replaced with similar conditions, mainly Expose, Impair, or Weaken.
  • Goliath’s Glory from Dreadnought changed to cost Level max HP but lasts 1 minute.
  • Triage Protocols from Vanguard uses the Empowered condition, being exactly what the condition now does.
  • Fearless from Marauder replaced with Spoils of War, which lets you turn some temp HP back into hit points.
  • Mind Shield from Battlemind also allows your psi skill to be used.
  • Thaumaturge:
    • Magic is Real specifies you learn all subpowers if you took all five Steps, for powers with more than five subpowers to learn.
    • Hopes and Dreams can be used while Dashing or Defending as well.
    • Rainbow Triforce has the option to pick one attack and make its condition last 3 rounds instead.
  • Harmony:
    • Unwavering Stance’s block die gets Fort and Will. Stance exit now gives a Block die’s maximum instead of rolling, though it’s no longer bound to short rests.
    • Shun Imperfection replaced by Mantrika Mahakala, which does the same 2 BP per turn schtick for non-combo attackers, but throws Doom into the mix.
  • Blueshift from Ivory now both Cripples enemies and speeds up allies instead of choosing.
  • Karamazov’s Mien reworded to let the Cripple scale with die size upgrades on the dice.
  • Einhander:
    • Versetzen to replace Dashing Swordsman. It lets any non-move action movement be boosted or decreased (like for forced movement).
    • Follow Up! needs a specific subpower or abilitech picked beforehand and deals half damage, but no longer costs a slot and can be used more than once, if you can find a way to move as a reaction too.
    • Fatal Clash to replace Riposte, lets you knock the target Prone with some damage on opposed attack rolls instead.
    • Shift Hews to replace Punch to the Gut, can Shove as a minor action and move yourself with it instead, with crit bonuses for doing so.
    • Duelist’s Stance had its short rest limitation removed, and lets you take a maximum on an Aim die instead of rolling.
  • Berserker:
    • Opportunism lets you Assail instead of adding P damage, to better synergize with other Assail-related Steps.
    • Fire and Iron replaces Harbinger of War, lets you exchange temp HP for bonus damage, while boosting your Assails and temp HP gained.
      • This, Marauder, and Shieldbearer should start to look pretty beefy.
    • Dangersense allows an Assail if attacks still hit.
    • Bloodborne Rally replaces Bloodrage, can heal back lost hit points by damaging the attacker, though it’ll want Assails, the more the merrier.
    • Furious Strike didn’t actually get any changes per se, since the new Empowered condition is exactly what Furious Strike does.
  • Martial Spirit:
    • Spirit of Mars moved down to be a Step and replacing , whereupon it also grants an additional hit malus the higher the Block die gets.
    • Spirit of Mars replaced with Pankrator, which lets Block dice be expended to impose disadvantage, and also makes Avert more fluid by not needing to dedicate them to a target until you actually need to use them.
    • Improved Defense Weakens attacks and Empowers yours instead.
    • Mountain’s Resilience makes a DC instead of requiring a skill check.
    • Warden’s Presence replaces Threatening Strike, lets Con mod be added to all damage done. Yes, all damage.
    • Lord of War lets you expend a second die as part of Avoiding to Aim and Assail for them on top.

6/11/22

  • Bonus Block from Shieldbearer updated to give the Block abilitech if available but unlearned, from any specibus that has it.
  • Made You Blink from Shadowdancer updated to halve any modifiers instead of denying them to avoid primacy issues when interacting with other Steps like Insightful Attacks.

3/3/22

  • Opportunist from Sentinel milestones updated to specify reactions.
  • Weapon attacks specified to be abilitechs to cut down on vague wording.

11/28/21

  • Moment of a Perfect Mind from Harmony updated to use Lethal.

10/21/21

  • Path of the Tactician added, as Vanguard 2.0. It and Vanguard have undergone a reorganization to better group and characterize the two Paths.
    • Vanguard now focuses more on defensive and movement Steps.
    • Tactician focuses more on offensive and grab-bag utility Steps.
    • As a Team! and Focus Fire moved to Tactician.
    • Rally removed entirely.
  • Berserker:
    • Improved Opportunism from Berserker changed to Improved Guardian, branches into a Step for improving Opportunist and one for improving Controller.
    • Improved Opportunism lets you forego dealing any damage to Break or Disrupt the target for a round instead.
    • Bloodrage now allows you to move towards your enemy if you Block an attack but it hits anyway.
  • Mountain’s Resilience from Martial Spirit can now reroll once per check at a cost of 2P hit points. Additionally, the ability to rest for 1 minute to remove Sunder, Fade, and Rupture expanded to cover any condition that lasts a short rest or less. While there aren’t any at this time, it covers edge cases or custom abilities.

9/24/21

  • Paths are undergoing another look in regards to movement, given the movement-oriented Paths coming out and slated to come out later this year, along with some interesting bits as a by-product of brainstorming for said Paths.
  • Skulker:
    • Sneaky Sneaky allows you a half-speed movement before attacking, for the melee who got sick of waiting for the patrol to move into one specific spot.
    • Covert Operator merged together because all three choices are niche enough that combining them doesn’t make too much of a net increase in power. That said, you auto-pass checks to gain advantage while Hidden from hiding in your own psi powers and the like.
  • Human Shield from Shadowdancer lets you swap with two allies if you Help or Defend that turn.
  • Pills Here! from Sawbones buffed to functionally Dash as a minor if used on yourself.
  • Leap Over from Acrobat clarified to round to the nearest 5 feet for use on maps.
  • Fling from Wrestler also clarified to round to the nearest 5 feet for use on maps.
  • Iron Vise from Subjugglator also inflicts Fade (2).
  • Bastion from Dreadnought modified, you now get to choose between physical or psionic, with a skill threshold at which you can just get both.
  • Flashstep from Courage now grants half plus five.
  • Heroic Intervention from Martial Spirit modified to lose its +30 ft. range to block radius, but the Cripple from it got halved.
  • Blueshift from Ivory can alternately let your allies all move 10 feet instead.
  • Grappling Cable from Pirate nerfed to no longer work on abilitechs that Pull, but clarified to be able to target objects.

9/10/21

  • Path of the Hydra added, for sentinels looking to squeeze the most out of their reactions.
  • Path of the Infernal added, for the figurative and literal demons who wanted a grab bag of abilities and utility.
  • Path of the Pirate added, for the grapplers looking for more toys to play with.

8/11/21

  • In general, Aegis scaling was examined and we did the best we could to bandage the issue while we look for a more pleasant long term solution.
    • The problem is that any point of Aegis matters a lot more at early levels when you have imps dealing like, 2 damage. Aegis (1)? Halved damage. And then at later levels, Aegis doesn’t scale as high as it ought to. We suspect alchemy would remedy this, but we can’t say for sure right now, nor are we even sure that’s how we want to fix the late-game scaling, at this point in time.
  • Tower:
    • Battlements of Academia changed to be Aegis (P) instead of Aegis (PCM) and has a cooldown of one round to bring it in line with Runic Warding.
    • Stalwart Defense changed to grant +1 AC/resist per slot spent for the rest of the strife, up to +3, rather than +2 for one round.
    • Rarefication changed to work off PCM, CON, or Lvl/2 to be steadier.
  • Tantras:
    • Worship Iron changed to be Aegis (P) instead of Aegis (skill points in Insight) to bring it in line with other Aegis granting steps that potentially scaled too high early on to make players fricking invincible.
    • Paradoxical Embrace expanded to also allow Fade and Sunder, but also a major action function to inflict debuffs without taking it back, save the shame of having your SM rule that your character dabbed.
  • Anarcanist:
    • Gathering Storm changed to increase all psionic damage. The bonus damage no longer ends immediately if a non-slotted power is used.
      • Lesser slots tend to be too scarce for the old version to have seen much use.
    • Pursuing Spell renamed to Collective Psi Theory, grants scaling hit bonuses on how much damage you stand to bring if it hits.
    • Resonant Hex no longer needs a slot to bring it in line with its physical counterpart in Bloodthirst over in Zweihander.
    • Crown of Desperation changed to be half HP instead of half slots and no longer specifies slotted subpowers for its crit bonus.
  • Hopes and Dreams from Thaumaturge had its Aegis scaling changed to Lvl/2 instead of PCM.
  • Unstoppable from Bulwark also affects resistances.
  • Vector Pin from Ivory had its wording truncated from “AC and resistances” to “AC/resistances”.
  • To the Death from Champion did too.
  • Blur from Acrobat now has the Aegis for a full round if Defend is used.

1/28/21

  • Nomenclature changes, made everything to do with damage dice steps and die size increases use “+X die sizes” where possible.
  • Path of the Rider removed, due to the sole specibi it modified (saddlekind) also being significantly redone.

1/26/21

  • Changes made to Steps where conditions are involved. In general, if a part of the Step can be replaced with “has X condition”, it is done so.
  • Path of the Adherent added, bringing combo synergies and hybrid Slayer love.
  • Dancer:
    • Provocative Dance changed to once per short rest, but Incapacitates for a full minute or until damage is taken.
    • Marin Karin changed to be mind control-lite for 3 rounds by the power of high Charisma.
    • Feign Surrender’s duration raised to 1 minute, in case someone needed the disadvantage longer. Still only lasts for basically 1 round when used.
    • Wait Your Turn makes them Stuck instead of unable to move forward.
  • Armed and Dangerous from Gun-Fu opened up to be any two weapons so long as they use the same hands.
  • Immortal:
    • Fury of the True Hero altered to have less effect, but no longer reduces max HP.
    • Lamb’s Shield altered to grant Aegis when healed.
  • Guarded Strike replaces Favor and Protection in Bulwark, grants CON temp HP on blocking, then uses it as damage if the temp HP goes unused.
  • Field Surgery from Sawbones altered to scale less than before, so it won’t outhealing max level psions at level 4. Hopefully. We’ll be keeping an eye on this.
  • Path of the Host added, for minion specibi and powers.
  • Courage:
    • Limit Breaker altered from inducing Setback (1) to doing P self-damage.
    • Haste replaced with In the Zone, which grants bonuses to subsequent rolls.
    • Undying Bravery replaced with Untouchable, which is the old Lamb’s Shield.

1/22/21

  • Guts and Glory changed to +1 die size, given the new bestiary means staying below half HP is no longer as dangerous as before.

1/18/21

  • In general, with the system’s stance shifting to players being able to handle two, three, maybe four strifes before needing a short rest, short rest based abilities have been buffed accordingly.
    • If no better ideas were had, a once per short rest ability either became once per strife or twice per short.
  • Battlemind:
    • Disruption rewritten to work with block radius.
    • Mind Spike’s Ward regen for short resting slightly boosted.
  • Healing Surge from Immortal gained extra use per short rest.
  • Martial Spirit’s EP-granting Steps give 2 extra EP each.
    • Heroic Intervention also reworded to work with block radius.
  • Crown Doctrine from Tantras lost its one at a time limitation.
    • This had no reason not to be put out yet, we just forgot.
  • Armonioso & Anima from Allegro became a major action, adds 30 ft. range if it doesn’t have a long range to use, like psi powers, and Pd8 became Pd10.
  • Enhance! from Artillery buffed from P/short to Lvl/short.
  • Gunmetal Gymnast from Gun-Fu changed to be once per short rest, but doubled duration, and also grants crit range and AC.
  • Trick from Hurler:
    • Redo now has advantage.
    • Sneaky Throw has Rupture (Lvl)
    • Deadeye is on 16-20.
  • Warden:
    • Adalruna allows the runes to be reactivated by sacrificing HP.
    • Frost changed from Lvl/2 to 2P at the start of a strife, then 4P for activation.
    • Thunder no longer rolls to Daze, it just does it. Can alternately double Daze one target.
    • Fog’s activation duration doubled.
    • Biflindi’s Countenance duration raised to 1 minute.
      • 3 rounds would go to 6 rounds, but barring really bad dice streaks, enough fights’ll be over in 6 rounds such that it was better to make it a uniform 1 minute.
  • Outmaneuver from Mastermind changed from once per short to once per strife, and range is 1.5x speed instead of 1x speed, for a realistic 15 ft. range increase.
  • Witching Hour from Mystic changed to be passive.
    • Should go from 2/short, but 4/short, but we don’t want to set the precedent of 4/short. That often, just make it a passive and get it over with.
  • Protagonist:
    • Max LP boosts increased by 1.
    • Heroic Pose grants advantage on the next attack roll or skill check if done as a full round, though all iterations now specified to work only in a strife.
    • Star Power replaced with Dramatic Flourish, skill attack in the vein of Rider’s Kill Command, extra damage and self-healing.
  • Covering Fire from Heavy Weapons Guy redone to work with block radius.
  • Battlemaster had its max EP doubled.
    • Demolishing Strike had its max Sunder raised to 3, will be observed further while the utility of being able to target held/worn items is audited.

1/17/21

  • Sentinel milestones had the following:
    • Level 1 milestone buffed to also include a 5 ft. block radius, allowing players to Block as a reaction on any attacks that are made or target someone within the radius. This was done to more easily facilitate other Steps that either increase this radius or rely on it to function.
    • Opportunist altered to work off block radius as above, and automatically deals P damage when blocking. This was done since the previous iteration had a chance to fail if the attack missed, losing out on both the damage and the block, whereas they could’ve just blocked. This was deemed not significant enough to have a risk-reward element to it.
    • 6 Step milestone renamed since the name no longer makes sense.
  • Heavy Striker from Slayer milestones altered to have 1s and 2s go to 3 than reroll, to simplify its operation.
  • Countermeasure from Strategist milestone expanded from five skills to allow any skill, so long as the player can explain it sufficiently as the SM desires.
  • Bulwark:
    • Phalanx Formation redone to provide the same effect, but in the context of Aim and Avert.
    • The Wall simplified. Likely to be altered again if deemed insufficient.
  • Champion had Bodyguard and Ominous Presence reworded to work off block radius.
  • Decimating Strike from Dreadnaught altered to work off radius instead of squares in the interest of uniformity, given the relative rarity of battlemaps.
  • Marauder:
    • Glorious altered to be more usable, whereupon attacking a CR 3+ creature gives P temp HP, given that by the time a player actually kills a CR 3+ creature of their tier, the strife will be over and the temp HP will probably go to waste. Not all cases, but most.
    • Fearless had its bonus temp HP increased by 1.
  • Martial Spirit:
    • Mountain’s Resilience updated to account for new conditions added since the step was added back at the start of Third Edition.
    • Threatening Strike’s Setback changed from 1d3 to a flat 2.
    • Lord of War changed to affect both self and allies, and also changed to actually Aim as an action for synergy purposes.
  • Shieldbearer:
    • Bonus Block had its clause about blocking for others removed, since it exists in the Keeper milestone now. And its clause about needing to be able to block at all has been shortened.
    • Bonus Shield Slam opened up to work with any one-handed attack, not just weapons, for the probably two hybrids out there who might benefit from this.
    • Defensive Stance similarly opened up, for say, if a player had a block reaction from Battlemind or Covering Fire.
    • Improved Push exchanged the Opportunist synergy with the ability to knock the target prone instead.
  • Clear the Loom from Tantras updated in the conditions it can cleanse.
  • Anarcanist:
    • Resonant Hex duration increased by 1 round.
    • Arcanoclasm also specifies other flat numbers besides stat mods and Proficiency, such as Rupture.
  • Twin Strike from Courage altered to retain any effects on hit and lost the Lvl/2 HP cost, having both attacks instead be made at disadvantage.
  • Flurry Stance from Thousand Cuts opened up to allow ranged weapon attacks as well, so long as they don’t cost ammo.
  • Advanced Tracking from Tracer had its wording modified to be +2 die sizes to the d3 Aim die than specifically to d6. Effect should still be the same, but opened up to work with other Aim-boosting effects.
  • Bloodthirst from Zweihander had its duration increased by 1 round.
  • Tripwire Binding from Acrobat had its duration increased from 4 rounds to 1 minute. 4 rounds is enough to deal with a good enough deal of enemies such that this mainly opens up TB to be used in tying up an enemy in strifes that aren’t quite strifes, if that makes any sense. It won’t.
  • Analyst:
    • Combined Arms renamed to Fire Support, reworded to work off block radius from Sentinel allies.
    • Marked for Fire renamed Combined Arms, and can benefit you if you have a buff from an ally, such that the buffing, err, buff, the meta-buff, let’s say, works both ways.
    • Blackjack had its duration extended for 1 minute. Since it still wears off if the target is damaged, the buff to its duration mainly benefits those aiming to be creative with it in its aspect as a tool for stealth and crowd control.
  • Harmony:
    • Shun Imperfection to replace Undeterred, allows an attack or grapple to generate 2 BP if doing so would impose two or more conditions, or the target already has at least one.
    • Moment of a Perfect Mind altered so the target instantly dies if it falls below the HP threshold at any point for 1 minute after using the ability, to facilitate ease of use.
  • Moonmarked from Inquisitor lost its ability to ignore Block dice. Not a niche we want to have within the system.
  • Calculating from Mastermind rewritten to be +2 die sizes instead of specific d6 for Aim and Avert to let it synergize with other Aim/Avert boosts, such as Assist subpowers from the impending psi rework.
  • Anchor of Light from Mystic altered to deal more damage if the target’s tether is broken, but deals damage at the end anyway. Also counts as a subpower to be able to benefit from those synergies.
  • Intense Study from Sawbones had its +1 damage bonus removed, since, well, +1 damage? Really?
  • Vanguard:
    • March! buffed from 10 feet to half the ally’s base speed, so +5 feet in most cases.
    • Focus Fire had its Fade/Sunder’s 1d3 replaced with a flat die that can scale up, in the interest of reducing insignificant rolls.
    • Rally had wording updated to work with the CR system.
  • Berserker:
    • Improved Opportunism rewritten to account for the new Opportunist milestone, though it was also buffed in that the P damage no longer needs to be traded out to raise block size, and the block die only needs to be lowered one size instead of traded out entirely for the Pd3 damage. This was done because this Step should provide about the same benefit as having taken some other Step.
    • Harbinger of War had its radius nerfed in exchange for lifting the 1/turn limit on adding Con. It also grants a block radius for players that don’t have one, such as slayers who might dip into this keystone for Furious Strike.
    • Dangersense reworded to be +2 sizes instead of 1d6, just as Calculating and Advanced Tracking before it.
  • Thaumaturge:
    • Magic is Real nerfed to only allow one slot’s worth per Dream.
    • Take Flight no longer has the 60 ft. ceiling limitation on flying.
  • Shadowdancer:
    • Shadowstep also has a function if the player wants to Dash, for if they need to traverse greater distances in a turn.
    • Doppelganger simplified in it usage, now whenever a target attacks the player, it goes to a mirror image first, trading out the ability to bait out landed attacks in exchange for there not being a chance to hit the player even with the images up. Multi-target attacks and area of effects still just as effective as before.
  • Tower:
    • Line in the Sand updated to use Clipped instead of Crippled (half).
    • Battlements of Academia still relies on the Aim-Avert-Assail triad, but no longer specifies they need to be done as a minor action.

1/5/21

  • Undeterred from Harmony changed to instead provide a +2 hit bonus when attacking at disadvantage.

12/20/20

  • Any references to imposing -1 damage mods is changed to Weakened, which is what the condition will be going by now.

11/9/20

  • While wording changes that only clarify how a Step is meant to work without changing the the effect of a Step itself is normally not logged, an exception is being made to note the wide variety of changes made to accommodate Aim/Block dice being codified.
    • A great deal of which was from “Blocking” to “imposing Block dice” or from “-1d4 Block” to “one d4 Block die.”
  • That said, a few Steps were altered during the Aim/Block changes where prudent:
    • Steps that allowed interactions with blocking for allies within a certain radius were specified as blocking for allies within a radius as a reaction, given everyone can do this as Avert now.
    • Steps that allowed one to ignore cover, block dice, hit maluses, had their wording simplified since cover and block dice are now explicitly both maluses.
    • Some of the skillgate Steps had their effects altered:
      • Intense Study from Sawbones allows an Aim die or an existing one to be upgraded.
      • Acrobatic Strike from Acrobat allows a Block die or an existing one to be upgraded.
      • Worship Iron from Tantras Averts and counts as doing so.
      • Gunmetal Gymnast made a +2 instead of 1d3.
  • Steps that interact with Hordes had its Horde-only interactions removed.
    • Battlecry from Champion had its disadvantage roll buffed to hit four additional targets, or to double down on the effect.
  • Tracer modified as such:
    • Target Lock specifies 100% bonus damage instead of automatic critical on a hit: this means nat 20s and crit range are not wasted on Tracer.
    • Advanced Tracking also allows the option of raising Aim dice to d6s instead of advantage if desired.

9/5/20

  • Calculating from Mastermind, Assail can choose to either take the dice step up or retain the stat mod (at early levels, adding the stat mod is more beneficial).
  • Suppressing Fire from Heavy Weapons Guy requires half ammo, flat out.

4/3/20

  • Follow Up from Einhander rebalanced to not have the die size up, and is made at disadvantage. It’s a second full attack in a mono-attack system, after all.

3/9/20

  • Created.
<== Decor Changelog
Psionics Catalogue Changelog ==>