An update to add the various adjustments I have been working on the past few months. Always my goal is to strike the right balance between game balance, fantasy and feel, and player freedom and hopefully you agree these changes help to achieve that!

1.7.1 Hotfix

An accidental change was made to the Mana Reserves talent allowing it to refresh on short rest. Sometimes these things slip through unfortunately.

Origin Attribute Rework:

Base Attributes as decided at level one have been reworked in order to improve character flexibility, ultimately allowing you to make a character with a maximized attribute regardless of class and heritage chosen.

The background recommendation table has been updated to account for the changes

Heritage

Froaxa:

• Poison pores damage at level 1: 2d6 -> 1d6

fixing a consistency issue from when spellpower was introduced

Tricks

Overwhelm: Removed, merged with Attack of Opportunity

Attack of Opportunity:

• New additional trigger: Foe in reach casts a non-ability spell longer than 1 action
• New: CD 0.5, On Hit within 5 ft: Taunt one foe

Talents

Stamina Reserves:

• previously "Enduring Warrior" to reduce name overlap
• Uses per short rest: 2-5 -> 2
• Stam restored: 2 * Sta -> Level + Sta

Mana Reserves

• Uses per short rest: 2-5 -> 2
• Stam restored: 2 * Sta -> Level + Sta

Spell Recovery:

• Mana restored on short rest: All -> 2 * Level + Mod

Intent was to allow limited quick restored mana, but having it restore everything on short rest was allowing casters to crowd out martials in extended day capability

Endure:

• Resource Cost: or -> and (to clarify, it was previously one or the other, not both at once)
• Damage reduction per point increases by 1 at level 5, 10, 15, and 20

Dual Wielding:

• Minorly reworked, at the cost of 1 stamina, you gain 2 actions, one with your 'main hand' and a basic action with your 'off hand'

Counter: Removed Trigger conditions were unclear and were actively nerfed by team initiative. The new combat flow talent can act as a replacement

(New) Combat Flow:

• Choose 2 from the list when you learn this talent, once per turn each, abilities deal +1d6 damage or healing. Increases to 2d6 at level 5. Can only trigger once per action.
• Melee Attack
• Range Attack
• Strike Spell
• Heal
• Reaction (includes prepared reaction)

Feats

Final Stand:

• Fails if you are left with less than 5 * level negative health.
• Threshold can be increased by spending 1 mana or stamina for +1 health.
• Level based stamina / mana multiplier bonus removed

(New) Specialist Feat - Chef:

• Heal yourself and 6 allies over a short rest with a cooking tools roll, healing for result

Keywords

A large effort has been undertaken to revise the keywords section to make it more readable at a glance for what each thing does.

Dispersal:

• Damage to summons increased from 1d6 per level to 1d12 per level.

Appearance Clause:

• Old: Affects a creature starting after their next turn unless they leave and reenter the area
• New: Affects a creature starting after their first action on their turn.

This change should better communicate the panic a character should feel to get out of a dangerous situation while also being easier to adjudicate and work around odd edge cases.

Siege Damage and Hardness

• new category of hardness: Fortified Hardness
• Siege Damage vs Fortified Hardness: pierces 5 * character level
• Full Sized Siege Weapons vs Fortified Hardness: pierces all

Fortified Hardness is a new category of hardness for buildings, fortifications, and other structures which are far more durable than a character of a layer of armor. This should help with world consistency so low level characters cant destroy entire fortresses with a single attack. Anything that can be considered a creature will never have Fortified Hardness (edited)

Classes

Out of Combat Contribution

While casters had a steady stream of cantrips to learn as they leveled up to do tasks out of combat, martial characters were left high-and-dry using only their base skills which were usually in skills with less roleplay potential. To help this, all martial characters are gaining additional skill proficiencies and expertise to be the analogue counterpart to casters. This will also free up characters to take Attack of Opportunity without feeling they are locked into the expertise trick.

All subclass features that did not grant spells now grant 1 skill Proficiency or Expertise at every subclass feature.

• This was checked separately for base and repeat features, for example Paladin gets cantrips and spells on later levels, but not on their base feature.
• If the subclass grants any spells, they did not receive this bonus, which applies to all sorcerers who get a cantrip or battlemage who gets a spell.
• The one exception is tamer who gets an animal companion with skills of its own.

Balance Changes

Fighter - Shield Slam: Fixed a few edge cases and added some extra damage

• Attack -> Melee Attack
• Move 20 ft before attacking -> Move 20 ft JUST before attacking
• Now gains bonus damage, 1d6 B for hardness type effects of your shield, 1d6 Elemental for resistances

Thief:

• Sap: 4 -> 2
• Tether Trap: 2 -> 3
• Adrenaline Boost: 3 -> 4

A small reorient on Thief ability progression to better smooth out their experience with how large of an effect their abilities have. Additionally, this gives better cost to the upcoming magic item changes

Ninja - Ninjutsu (subclass):

• New Repeat Feature: Choose one Ninja ability, it gains Free Combo with sneak attack

Swashbuckler - Panache (Subclass feature):

• Now grants evasion on subclass repeat

Swashbuckler - Coup De Grace:

• New: Ignores MSP

Ranger - Study Specimen:

• Level Required: 4 -> 3

Ranger - Share Weakness:

• Level Required: 3 -> 4
• Prereq: Favored Foe
• AC bonus all allies -> AC bonus to you

Paladin - Concentrations: 

Paladin has received a new mechanic called "Focus". All of Paladin's abilities that require concentration have been made pseudoconcentration, but have a loss in effectiveness. By using Focus and spending Combat Concentration, they regain those features. No Paladin abilities are protection-less normal Concentration anymore. Here are the affected abilities and their increased effects from focus: 

Paladin - Heroism:

• For Priest Level Rounds: Once Per Turn Heal d8
• Focus: Once Per Round Special Reaction: Half one damage roll

Paladin - Aura of Protection:

• Short Visual Burst (1 minute)

• Focus: Medium Visual Burst

Paladin - Challenger's Vow:

• Taunt
• Disadvantage on incoming attacks

• Focus: Advantage on attacks
• Focus: Once per turn 2 * X bonus damage, X is your Priest Level

One of the leftover X type effects that I had missed in a previous pass so it no longer gets doubled by Singular Strike

Paladin - Capstone:

• New bonus effect: Once per turn as a free action, change which paladin ability gains Focus

Mage - Counterspell:

• Save: Wis -> Int

Warlock - Demon Infestation:

• Now has its Void Ray bonus back which was accidentally removed with the mass overhaul

Tactician - Tactical Magic (Subclass Feature)

• New: If you are completely stationary, gain the Dual Concentration talent for tactician abilities
• (Repeat) New: Choose a non-tactician abilities, you may use that with Tactical Magic Dual Concentration.

Tactician - Bolster Aggression:

• Concentration removed

Tactician - Reinforce:

• Cooldown: 2 -> 1 with Delayed Cooldown

Fixing a change that was accidentally slipped into the 1.6 ability audit while also re-introducing the Tactician's ability to have multiple concentrations. It also feels in theme for them to be the only class with triple concentration as an option.

Pyromancer - Blaze:

• If not on fire, apply on fire -> If less than 1d6 on fire, apply 1d6 On Fire
• (New): "If less than 1d6 On Fire", increase by 1d6

Pyromancer

• Flame Spear Required Level 5 -> 4
• Firebomb Required Level 4 -> 5

Alchemist - Flame Salve:

• Now has Armor Piercing for thrown attack

Magic Items

Magic Weapons - Reroll:

Reroll was mathematically a weak effect so these are some buffs to bring it more in line, as well as make an alternative for use on a VTT for faster administration

• Can now be used for healing
• New feature: Choose 1 for total reroll or partial reroll
• Partial Reroll: Reroll X dice once (previous functionality)
• Full Reroll: Reroll all dice up to X times