Starfarer’s Codex: Coordinated Combat Feats (SFRPG)

This installment of the Starfarer’s Codex-series clocks in at 8 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 4 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

After a brief introduction and a full page of combat feats listed alphabetically, we dive into the feats themselves, so let’s take a look!

Back-to-Back is neat: When an ally is in an area you threaten, foes get no benefit from flanking you or your ally, and the DC to make a trick attack against you or your ally increases by +3. Bolster increases Stamina replenishment of allies of you if either is within 30 ft., increasing the amount by ½ character level.  Note that RAW this does not extend to yourself, which is an interesting component. Cooler imposes a penalty on saves to all targets you threaten, which applies versus effects created by allies that are not threatened by the foe. Coordinated Casting is cool, in that spells with no effects can provide an opening for allies to attack the adversary. Coordinated Defense  can provide a bonus to AC from targets farther away than you are; Coordinated Fire nets a bonus to attack to an ally after you missed a target.

Coordinated Maneuvers helps prevent AoOs when allies leave spaces you threaten. Coordinated Mental/Physical Aid are two feats that makes allies nearby benefit from aid another when using either mental or physical skill checks. Coordinated Onslaught nets bonus damage for allies versus foes you threaten in melee, with the bonus damage scaling based on your base attack bonus increases. Coordinated Strike helps allies attack your foes (minor nitpick: typo here – “tat” should read “that”); Coordinated Volley is pretty strong when compared to many other feats herein: When an ally in a space you threaten makes a ranged attack or casts a spell, they provoke no AoOs.

Enfilade nets a bonus to cover and harrying fire, and slightly increases the benefits. Harassing Assault penalizes the attack roll of targets you threaten. Harmonic Mysticism increases CL of spells and SPs when an ally casts in your threatened spaces. Invigorating Healing adds a short-term buff to abilities that restore SP or HP – and yes, the surprisingly complex rules requirements here are solid. Load Out is AWESOME: It lets you carry one team member of your size or less with only a 5 ft. reduction to speed, regardless of bulk. This is AWESOME. Lucky Charm is missing an “is” in the text, and enhances saves of allies from foes. Overwatch increases Perception and AC vs. AoOs in the vicinity; Spotter is another gem: Allies within 10 ft. may exclude one team member from area attacks or instantaneous area effects. Heck yeah! Thermal Shock, finally, is interesting as well, enhancing damage when you oscillate between cold and fire damage.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good on a rules language level, and slightly less awesome on a formal level. Layout adheres to the series’ two-column full-color standard, and the pdf even has bookmarks, in spite of its brevity – kudos. The pdf sports two decent full-color artworks, one of which you can see on the cover.

Owen K.C. Stephens obviously knows Starfinder like the back of his hand. In an interesting and conscious deviation from default SFRPG design paradigm, the bonuses bestowed by these feats may often be small, but they are untyped, not the default insight, which allows them to synergize with other SFRPG feats seamlessly. As a general note, the feats are on the same power-level and should not break the balance of the game, though Coordinated Volley is pretty potent. Spotter, though, is a true gem that you wouldn’t expect from the humble name, and Load Out is certainly a cool feat as well; not one most power gamers will want to take, but definitely a fun one. All in all, I consider this to be well worth getting. My final verdict will clock in at 4 stars.

You can get these cool feats here on OBS!

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Endzeitgeist out.

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