Realmsian Dragonstar: The Battle of Toril PbP Game [OOC] (Game Cancelled)

Right, so...as an illustration:

[sblock=Loranys - CR10 'paladin' kinda]LORANYS [CR 10]
XP n/a
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +9; Senses Perception +19
Aura good (5 ft., DC 17)
DEFENSE
HP 185
EAC 23; KAC 25
Fort +15, Ref +17, Will +12
Immunities disease
Defensive Abilities lay on hands
OFFENSE
Speed 30 feet; Jet Dash
Melee +30 ultrathin longsword (4d8+18 S)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Offensive Abilities smite evil, Harm Undead feat (as per a 10th-level Mystic)
STATISTICS
Str +8, Dex +5, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +3
Skills Acrobatics +5, Athletics +8, Diplomacy +19, Intimidate +3, Medicine +24, Mysticism +24, Perception +19, Sense Motive +3, Stealth +5, Survival +3
Feats Toughness
Languages Chondathan, Common (Toril), Illuskan
ECOLOGY
Environment n/a
Organization unique
Treasure standard
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Lay on Hands (Sp) Loranys can cast Mystic Cure as a 3rd-level spell 3 times per day. The ability heals 5d8+3 hit points per usage.
Smite Evil (Su) Three times per day, Loranys can smite an evil foe as if her weapon had the Bane (outsider) and Holy weapon fusions. This ability works with any weapon with which she is proficient. If the weapon used already has one or both of those fusions, she also deals an additional +1d8 divine damage to the foe on a critical. [/sblock]

[sblock=Rodan - CR 14 'soldiery' kind, though not actually classed]RODAN [CR 14]
LG Medium Humanoid (raptoran)
Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +10
Deity The Merchant
Aura good
DEFENSE
HP 215
EAC 25; KAC 28
Fort +16, Ref +16, Will +25
Defensive Abilities lucky (re-roll one roll, once per day)
OFFENSE
Speed 30 feet, fly 40 ft. (average)
Melee +23 nova battleglove (3d10+14 B)
Ranged +28 battle harness integrated blaster pistol (4d8+14 E)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Mystic Spells Prepared (CL 14)
5th—break enchantment, call cosmos, greater dispel magic
4th—calm emotions (SFC), death ward, dismissal, hold monster, mystic cure (12d8+8), remove radioactivity
3rd—dispel magic, guiding star (SFC), haste, lesser resistant armor, mystic cure (5d8+8), remove affliction
2nd—augury, hold person, hurl forcedisk, mystic cure (3d8+8), remove condition, sanctuary (SFC), see invisibility
1st—anticipate peril (SFC), command, detect radiation, identify, life bubble, mystic cure (1d8+8), share language
0 (at will)—daze, detect affliction, detect magic, force ward (SFC), psychokinetic hand, stabilize, token spell
Offensive Abilities harm undead 8d8+14
STATISTICS
Str +2, Dex +4, Con +4, Int +2, Wis +8, Cha +6
Skills Acrobatics +4, Athletics +2 (+4 while climbing, +12 while jumping), Bluff +6, Culture +25, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +6, Intimidate +6, Life Science +25, Medicine +30, Mysticism +30, Perception +10, Profession (pharmacologist) +25, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +0, Survival +8
Feats Combat Casting, Harm Undead, Powered Armor Proficiency
Languages Auran, Draconic, Tuilvilanuue, Universal
Other Abilities unerring direction, wing-aided movement
ECOLOGY
Gear advanced medkit, amulet of camouflage, blaster pistol (integrated into battle harness), battle harness w/targeting computer (ignore concealment but not total concealment), comm unit, nova battleglove, flashlight, medpatch (x2), sprayflesh (x2)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Unerring Direction (Ex) Raptorans have an instinctive sense of which direction is north, even when they are underground or otherwise unable to see the sky or other visual cues. Beyond the Material Plane, this ability doesn't function.
Wing-Aided Movement (Ex) Raptorans can use their wings to help with movement even if they can't fly yet. The extra lift from her wings gives a raptoran a +10 racial bonus while using the Athletics skill to jump. [/sblock]

[sblock=Thrak - CR12 soldier]Goliath Outlander Soldier 12]
Exp: 56,200
Hit Points: 90
Stamina: 121
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft
EAC: 29 (10 + 17 armor +2 dex)
KAC: 31 (10 + 18 armor +2 dex +1 insight)

Saves: Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +11
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 17, Cha 10

Skills: 48
Acrobatics (Dex) +13 (8
Athletics (Str) +20 (10
Intimidate (Cha) +13 (10
Medicine (Int) +13 (10
Survival (Wis) +16 (10

Feats:
1 Enhanced Resistance: Kinetic (gain DR 12/-)
3 Bodyguard (give adjacent ally +2 EAC/KAC, lose that amount for self)
5 Improved Unarmed Strike (always counts as armed, unarmed strikes do increased damage)
7 Stand Still (attacks of opportunity may force targets to stop moving)
B In Harm's Way (take damage intended for Bodyguarded ally)
9 Deflect Projectiles (use weapon attack roll as reaction to stop incoming ranged damage)
11 Connection Inkling (gain Psychokinetic Hand, Stabilize at will, and can cast Life Bubble 4/day, Wis-based DC)

Class Features
Primary Fighting Style: Arcane Assailant
Techniques
- Rune of the EK (10 min to imbue weapon to be 'magic')
- Secret of the Magi (imbued weapon can gain Etherael, Flaming, Frost, Merciful or Shock fusion, if not already had)
- Power of Legend (1 resolve as move action while wielding magic weapon to remove Bleeding, Burning, Confused, Exhausted, Fatigued, Flat-footed, Off-target, Shaken or Sickened conditions, or reduce Cowering to Frightened, or Frightened to Shaken
Secondary Fighting Style (at lvl -8): Guard
Techniques
- Armor Training (Reduce ACP of worn armor by 1, increase Max-Dex by 1
Gear Boosts
- Melee Striker (+1/2 Str bonus to melee damage)
- Armored Advantage (+1 insight KAC when wearing armor)
- Anchoring Arcana (full attack to make single atk with magic weapon that can immobilize a foe; Will DC 16+strmod)
Weapon Specialization
Combat Feats
Soldier's Onslaught (may get 3rd attack for -6 to all when full attacking)

Cash: 102gp 6sp
Armor:
Superior Iridishell, EAC +17, KAC +18, Max Dex +4, ACP 0, Upg 4, Bulk 2 42250
- Haste, 9250
- Darkvision 60', 200
- Electrostatic Field Mk2, 13000
- Filtered Rebreather, 4600

Weapon:
Adamantine Ruin Devastation Blade, +19 atk, 5d8+19, Bulk 1, analog 43900+2500
Sintered Starknife, +19 atk, 4d4+13, Bulk L, analog, thrown 50', 9810
- Returning, 2300
Unarmed, +19 atk, 3d6+19

Gear
Personal Upgrades (1: Wisdom and 2: Strength) 7900
Ring of Resistance 2, 4200
Ring of Sustenance, 2925
Glove of Storing, 4600[/sblock]

Thrak, with a relatively high level 2 handed sword, does just baaaarely more damage than Loranys, with a much smaller attack bonus (she has +30, he has +19) and she's 2 'levels' lower than him. Recognizing that 'CR' and 'level' may not be the same measurement. Her save bonuses are higher across the board, though not crazily so.

Rodan, CR 14, has lower attack than Loranys somehow. He's better than Thrak too, but he's also higher level. But he's also way better than the PCs. All of them. Most of us hover in the mid-teens, in terms of attack bonuses, he's in mid to high 20's. His save bonuses too are...very high.

I picked Thrak because most folks have their sheets behind an external link, so copy/paste is a pain, but the tale is the same for all the PCs. All of our bonuses/stats/etc are on par with one another.

Is this just a difference in rules for generating PCs vs NPCs? Or did we collectively miss something in our calculations?

I think its how Starfinder is supposed to work, but I haven't looked at the book in a while, so I can't say for certain.

Since Loranys and Rodan were built using the monster rules for Starfinder, neither character has all the bells and whistles of a PC with a class. And the statistical values are different depending on the role the NPC or monster is supposed to fill. I can take a look at the monster book again, but I'm fairly certain that the NPC stats are right.

BTW, another one of my players for my Bluffside game has to quit. (I swear that game is cursed!) So, you guys will get another post sooner than I had originally planned. It likely won't be until Monday, however. Today was a tough day, and my dad is coming over tomorrow to watch the CFL playoffs and have dinner with me and my sister.

Even that being the case, the attack bonuses monsters have shouldn't dramatically outstrip the defenses characters can have, I'd think.

That's exactly the wrong way to balance missing bells and whistles. Bells and whistles don't matter in combat encounters, which is what most 'monsters' are statted for. That'd be like saying, "You get a bonus on checks to convince merchants to give you good deals, therefore I should be able to hit you on anything but a natural 1 in combat. It all balances out."

I mean, it's no comment on you...but if that's really the way Starfinder works, then I confess it seems like poor design.

In other news, sorry to hear about your troubles in the other game and IRL. Hope things stabilize for ya!

Post added.

I'm hoping to get up my next reply on the weekend.

Okay, for all the social interactions in the keep, so far, add 1,500 XP to your characters.

Also, feel free to roll any Recall Knowledge checks that you think will help your PCs in the library. The best skills to use are Culture, Mysticism, and Profession. Engineering will be useful in deciphering any texts that detail unusual technology (such as spelljamming). Add +4 to the roll for being in Candlekeep.

Soumral can use either Diplomacy or Intimidate to try to get a better deal on her bow. Also have her make a Perception check.

I'll build the results into my post.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

Perception: [roll1]

Buddha the DM said:

Diplomacy: [roll0]

Perception: [roll1]

Click to expand...

Okay, so for your bow, let's use the battlebow options listed on the Archives of Nethys. I will say that Soumral can get either the tactical or advanced bow with a 25% discount due to your Diplomacy roll. There is an option to get "one" elite battlebow but without a discount unless you roll a second successful Diplomacy roll that is 30 or higher. With a successful roll, you can get a 15% discount + an additional 1% for every point above 30 to a max. of 50%.

I consider a Natural 20 to be a 30, like with D&D v.3.5.

I do remember we came up with another bow option, but I can't find were it is posted.