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I decided to run a campaign in Alkenstar..my players seemed hype at the idea of steampunk, and I can shamelessly steal content from the Alkenstar modules. It's win/win!
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Oct 17, 2022 03:28
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| # ? May 29, 2024 04:40 |
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I was surprised tonight to find out the module we are using has multiple chases but no implementation for chase points.
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Oct 17, 2022 03:57
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Yeah I just finished my first session as well. Beginner's Box on FoundryVTT with six people, most of whom I've ran through D&D5e campaigns on Roll20 in the past. I had a great time and they did too. Prep was effortless, but mostly I loved that things just made sense for me as a DM. There were a lot more direct mechanical rules for doing things, and I had to do so much less rulings on the fly. Except the Aid action which felt surprisingly vague. Felt like 5e with having to make rulings based on their suggestions of what they thought would count as Aid. Only thing that stood out to me compared to all the other actions in and out of combat. We're not done yet, probably have one more session for the Beginner's Box, maybe two. Then into Troubles in Otari! Super impressed so far with both PF2e and Foundry and the premium module.
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Oct 17, 2022 04:15
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Rythian posted:Yeah I just finished my first session as well. Beginner's Box on FoundryVTT with six people, most of whom I've ran through D&D5e campaigns on Roll20 in the past. 90% of the time, the answer for Aid is "They make the same skill roll, against a flat DC 20". If they're aiding an attack roll, have them literally just roll an attack roll (as in their normal weapon strike), as if against an AC of 20. If the player would like to use a different skill or use a skill in place of an attack roll, and is capable of conjuring up sufficiently convincing bullshit to allow them to do so, go ahead and allow it, and adjust the DC of the check up or down as appropriate.
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Oct 17, 2022 04:44
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Rythian posted:Except the Aid action which felt surprisingly vague. Felt like 5e with having to make rulings based on their suggestions of what they thought would count as Aid. Only thing that stood out to me compared to all the other actions in and out of combat. I don't know if you've seen the additional guidance in the Gamemastery Guide, but it's somewhat helpful: It's up to you whether someone's preparation is enough to let them Aid an ally. The preparation should be specific to the task at hand. Helping someone hold a lockpick steady might be enough preparation to Aid an attempt to Pick a Lock, but just saying you're going to “encourage” them likely wouldn't. Second, the character who is attempting to Aid needs to be in a proper position to help, and able to convey any necessary information. Helping a character Climb a wall is pretty tough if the character a PC wishes to Aid is nowhere near them. Similarly, a character usually needs to be next to their ally or a foe to Aid the ally in attacking the foe. You'll also need to determine how long the preparation takes. Typically, a single action is sufficient to help with a task that's completed in a single round, but to help someone perform a long-term task, like research, the character has to help until the task is finished. That said, a lot of the time, Aid doesn't help. It's a Circumstance bonus, and if they're already getting a Circumstance bonus from another source, the Aid may not do anything at all.
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Oct 17, 2022 06:26
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Circumstance bonuses aren't that common. Usually it's if they're already getting a bonus from another feat they have.
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Oct 17, 2022 07:36
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Yeah, I think I might just set a base rule of "make the same skill check/attack roll against the same DC/AC or 20, whichever is lower." (I think the DC 20 is a bit high early on, considering they have to spend action and reaction for just a +1). Thanks for the advice.
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Oct 17, 2022 15:13
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Toshimo posted:That said, a lot of the time, Aid doesn't help. It's a Circumstance bonus, and if they're already getting a Circumstance bonus from another source, the Aid may not do anything at all. There's a rule about not stacking circumstance bonuses right? I couldn't find it when I was trying to tell our gunslinger about it
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Oct 17, 2022 15:25
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Harold Fjord posted:There's a rule about not stacking circumstance bonuses right? I couldn't find it when I was trying to tell our gunslinger about it It's not specific to circumstance bonuses. In each bonus class (Circumstance/Item/Status), you use the highest bonus and penalty of each type, and disregard the rest. They are also bounded -4 to +4. So, there's always a manageable number of individual bonuses/penalties applied to any roll.
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Oct 17, 2022 15:53
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Rythian posted:Yeah, I think I might just set a base rule of "make the same skill check/attack roll against the same DC/AC or 20, whichever is lower." (I think the DC 20 is a bit high early on, considering they have to spend action and reaction for just a +1). Yeah. The Core Rulebook says "20, but feel free to mod easier/harder", so I'd start with a 16 at level 1 and just crank it by 1 per level until it hits 20 at level 5 and just leave it there forever with exceptions for especially novel edge cases.
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Oct 17, 2022 15:55
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You do really want to modify that DC 20 later on unless you are prepared for Aid to become a universal bonus once a character is high level and has Assurance.
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Oct 17, 2022 15:57
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Toshimo posted:Yeah. The Core Rulebook says "20, but feel free to mod easier/harder", so I'd start with a 16 at level 1 and just crank it by 1 per level until it hits 20 at level 5 and just leave it there forever with exceptions for especially novel edge cases. A good rule of thumb is that the Aid check should never be harder than the actual check. (Unless something weird is going on).
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Oct 17, 2022 15:58
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hyphz posted:You do really want to modify that DC 20 later on unless you are prepared for Aid to become a universal bonus once a character is high level and has Assurance. Doesn't seem like a problem to me.
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Oct 17, 2022 16:11
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The best feat in pathfinder is the one that lets you shout encouragement for aid, though it is hard to constantly come up with fun new things to shout
Harold Fjord fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Oct 17, 2022 |
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Oct 17, 2022 16:14
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Toshimo posted:Doesn't seem like a problem to me. Yeah, it still takes actions
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Oct 17, 2022 16:18
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I think a good alternate for aid as opposed to 20 is whatever the main check DC is minus 5.
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Oct 17, 2022 19:02
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In my campaign I've been using the DCs by level when my players want to take an aid action. So when aiding an attack against a monster, I use the monster's level to set the DC. Same with other stuff that has a level, like hazzards. For challenges that don't have a level I just use their player level and adjust the DC depending on the difficulty on the task using the DC adjustments table.
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Oct 17, 2022 19:19
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Autodrop Monteur posted:In my campaign I've been using the DCs by level when my players want to take an aid action. That's fine provided the DC ends up less than the original DC of the check. The whole point is that helping someone else should be easier because the result of success is less (the helped person getting a bonus rather than the whole task succeeding)
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Oct 17, 2022 21:41
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Yep, that's exactly what I'm aiming for. I feel like the player characters should be able to help each other out, especially at the lower levels. Pathfinder 2E is all about teamwork and it's a shame the original rule with the suggestion of DC20 kinda scares new players away from that. This is the first time my players are playing 2E after years of D&D 5E and they're really enjoying the teamwork in battle instead of having a bunch characters acting together individually. They love it when they get to know their demoralize/grapple/helping actions made the difference in turning a miss into a hit or a hit into a crit.
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Oct 17, 2022 21:56
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Just to be clear, when a stat block says "DC 32 Weed Lore (trained) to create high quality weed butter, DC37 Nature (expert) pack the makeshift apple bong, or DC40 Religion (master) to loosely roll a joint" the PC needs to have expert training in nature or master training in religion to do those things
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Oct 18, 2022 19:42
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What are good item rewards for a construct inventor? I'm adjusting some of the loot tables/shops in Abomination Vaults to account for a Monk, Inventor, Swashbuckler, and Wizard, but I kind of have no idea what a pet class like that would want/use. Are there any specific items that Inventors want to keep a lookout for? Or are they good if they're able to keep a steady stream of gold flowing their way?
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Oct 19, 2022 14:19
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Arrrthritis posted:What are good item rewards for a construct inventor? I'm adjusting some of the loot tables/shops in Abomination Vaults to account for a Monk, Inventor, Swashbuckler, and Wizard, but I kind of have no idea what a pet class like that would want/use. Are there any specific items that Inventors want to keep a lookout for? Or are they good if they're able to keep a steady stream of gold flowing their way? Crafters Eyepiece is as mandatory as level appropriate weapon and armor runes. Beyond that, the Backfire Mantle specifies splash damage from alchemical items, but if you want to houserule something similar for inventor explosions/splashes, it would probably be a welcome thing for both the Inventor, AND his melee friends. A lot of the Companion Items https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?Category=41&Subcategory=43 Provide nice bits of utility or roleplay fun and would work well w/ a construct innovation as well. Beyond that, it’s the usual mix of items that anyone would want. For consumables, have a look at Gadgets as flavorful alternatives to potions and talismans. https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?Category=15&Subcategory=71
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Oct 19, 2022 15:32
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sugar free jazz posted:Just to be clear, when a stat block says "DC 32 Weed Lore (trained) to create high quality weed butter, DC37 Nature (expert) pack the makeshift apple bong, or DC40 Religion (master) to loosely roll a joint" the PC needs to have expert training in nature or master training in religion to do those things I would like to play in this Adventure Path
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Oct 19, 2022 21:42
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Chevy Slyme posted:Crafters Eyepiece is as mandatory as level appropriate weapon and armor runes. That Backfire Mantle is sick, my party has a bomb happy alchemist so we all definitely need to save up and buy some of those.
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Oct 19, 2022 21:53
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Syrinxx posted:I would like to play in this Adventure Path Tosh, this please
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Oct 20, 2022 00:24
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Epi Lepi posted:That Backfire Mantle is sick, my party has a bomb happy alchemist so we all definitely need to save up and buy some of those. It was recently pointed out to me that bullets have the alchemical tag so it should even work on scatter guns.
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Oct 20, 2022 07:24
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Rythian posted:Yeah I just finished my first session as well. Beginner's Box on FoundryVTT with six people, most of whom I've ran through D&D5e campaigns on Roll20 in the past. My plan is to trigger the second part of abomination vaults as soon as they finish the beginner's box and stitch together the two somehow.
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Oct 20, 2022 12:28
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Yeah I've upped the amounts of enemies by 50% or made some of them into Elites. Most battles have been easy, but the crypt battle downed three of them. They survived, though. It's going well! Balancing the end boss seems the toughest for me, making that thing Elite will bump it's AC up pretty high, and I don't want the fight to be miss, miss, miss. But ultimately my hope with PF2e is to be able to trust the system without having to tweak monster stats beyond weak/elite or adding/removing monsters. Might be hard for a tough solo boss when the party is 50% larger than intended though.
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Oct 20, 2022 13:51
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Just do some behind the scenes fudging of the monsters absolute HP as the fight progresses. Or play it less as a monster and more as a tactical combat game where you're trying to murder the players. 50% more players means 50% more valid targets for AOE abilities
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Oct 20, 2022 14:42
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Honestly just shoving more enemies in and using elite templates as appropriate within the xp budget has worked very well with 5 players and I don’t imagine it’s very different with 6
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Oct 20, 2022 14:49
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Experimenting with the enemy creation rules and scaling up enemies to be higher levels. Hopefully this isn't a disaster!
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Oct 20, 2022 14:52
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Jarvisi posted:Experimenting with the enemy creation rules and scaling up enemies to be higher levels. Hopefully this isn't a disaster! doing this exact thing right now as well. hopefully only some players get owned by whatever monstrosity I end up making and not all players
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Oct 20, 2022 14:55
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Here's the only buff you need to add to the final enemy of the Beginner's Box: play it a little more decently. Part of its evaluated threat is the fact that it's written into its statblock to play it badly. Hit everyone with the breath weapon properly once and it's honestly even. Roll well on the recharge and hit them properly twice? That might even TPK.
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Oct 20, 2022 15:43
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Careful though. It's not as bad as what I've read about 5e but I've definitely had a level zero animated towel crit my level one player for half of HP on the first round of combat
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Oct 20, 2022 15:58
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Yeah one of the Elite Zombie Shamblers crit and would have completely one-shotted (from full health to 0) my cleric if he hadn't had Shield Block to absorb some of the hit. It can definitely be tough early going! As for the end boss, what I mostly want to avoid is the party just failing to hit the drat thing over and over. In my experience the least fun way to buff enemies is to bump up their AC too high. It's much more fun for players to hit the monster, but it takes more hits, than whiffing entire attacks more often and doing no damage. The Elite template has been excellent so far, but the AC is already high on the boss, so I'm worried that will buff it too much. Normally I would just add more enemies. I find that usually the best way to scale encounters. But part of what attracted me to PF2e is the idea that I can actually have meaningful tough combats vs solo bosses without action economy making it a joke challenge-wise. But of course, increasing group size by 50% is a pretty big jump. I've got years of D&D5e DMing under my belt so adjusting monster stats is nothing new to me, but my hope is that PF2e will require less of that. I'm going to trust the encounter budget and use the elite template and see how it works. Either that or I make two weaker dragons instead.
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Oct 20, 2022 17:35
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I'm running outlaws of Alkenstar for an oversized (6 instead of 4) player group, and I've gone with a mix of more enemies and stronger enemies for adjusting to scaling stuff correctly. For single big monsters just hitting elite isn't really enough, I think it is more enjoyable all around to directly give it a 50% HP increase without buffing AC enough to put it under a 50% hit rate for the players on average. Depending on the type of enemy, potentially reducing some of their actions from 2 to 1 or adding a free reaction might be appropriate as well, but it just depends on what you want to do with the encounter. A couple of minions might make more sense than a boss with extra actions, etc. Overleveling is definitely dangerous to swingy dice because of the +10 roll = crit interaction, while bonus HP just means more time for cool interactions to play out/more time for you to RP a boss using all their moves and so on. Gwaihir fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Oct 20, 2022 |
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Oct 20, 2022 18:48
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Is there a combo in any TTRPG as satisfying as the one two punch of Bon Mot into Demoralize? It’s just, Action One: Say something profoundly mean about the goblins mother. Action two: “what are you gonna do about it little goblin? Are you gonna cry and run away like a scared little goblin?”, and thanks to the -2 from the Bon Mot, it’s a crit success and now it’s frightened 2 and you and all of your friends proceed to murder the target.
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Oct 21, 2022 05:13
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Would be nice but it's the other way around, Demoralize into Bon Mot, no? Bon Mot will reduce Perception checks and Will saves, but that won't help a Demoralize attempt, as Demoralize is an Intimidation check against target Will DC. If you instead first successfully Demoralize the Frightened condition will reduce the targets DCs, so the Bon Mot Diplomacy roll will target a reduced Will DC.
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Oct 21, 2022 09:08
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Chevy Slyme posted:Is there a combo in any TTRPG as satisfying as the one two punch of Bon Mot into Demoralize? You are going to enjoy Bon Mot into Scare to Death
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Oct 21, 2022 10:01
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clusterfuck posted:Would be nice but it's the other way around, Demoralize into Bon Mot, no? I would think that your Will DC is also reduced when your Will save is, since the number for your Will save bonus is what drives the DC. While it doesn't explicitly state this it would make it way more consistent with other things that reduce something (like the Clumsy condition reduces any Dexterity-based DCs like your Reflex DC or your AC). You could run it either way at your table (it's not spelled out very clearly) as long as you're consistent about it though. This is one of the few things that lowers something that isn't by way of a codified condition.
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Oct 21, 2022 13:28
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