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It's probably worth mentioning that there is a very very good but unofficial character builder at https://pathbuilder2e.com/. Most of the rules are in there for free, and for a one-time $5 payment you can unlock some extra goodies, like (IIRC) pets, common variant rules (like Free Archetype), and the ability to save to Google Drive. There is also an Android app, which also has a $5 upgrade to get the same features -- these two upgrades are considered separate products, though, and don't transfer from one platform to another.Jarvisi posted:Pathfinder also eliminates the lack of rules and guidance for GMs. Actually having rules for even the most obtuse ways of playing. You don't have to use these if you don't want to, but they're there for anyone who wants actual rules for stuff that dnd would just handwave and tell the GM to wing it. For the most part I agree with this, and in particular, encounters are fairly easy to balance. A "severe" encounter is going to feel pretty drat scary for your party, but they will survive unless they get particularly unlucky or do something particularly dumb. However, there are occasionally rules that feel like they are "missing" to me. For example, I am currently the GM for an Abomination Vaults game, and one of my players loves to listen at the doors for whatever is in the next room. This feels like this should be such a common activity that there should be explicit rules for it, but it's kind of nuanced to follow by rules as written and give meaningful direction to the player. The players are exploring, so it feels like this should be an exploration activity. The two best options seem to be the Scout activity, which just gives a flat +1 to initiative (and honestly feels kind of awkward to explain in indoor settings), or the Search activity, which seems more focused on finding objects than creatures. All of this is even more complicated if a player says something like "I sneak over to the door and listen" -- then it feels like maybe they should be using the Avoid Notice activity as well. I think how I will rule this next time is to ignore the exploration rules for this, and give them a Perception check (against the enemy's stealth DC if they are hiding, otherwise against some flat number that seems appropriate). If they detect something in the other room, immediately have them roll initiative, and have the enemy potentially react to the player's presence. The detected enemies would all be hidden to the player, meaning the players know what space the enemies are in ahead of time. If someone was actively scouting before the door check (instead of doing the other exploration activities), give everyone a +1 to the initiative roll. That said, I am very open to suggestions here.
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Aug 18, 2022 07:14
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Scaling to 8 is really easy, just double the number of enemies. All BBEGs have a equally evil twin.
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Aug 21, 2022 05:23
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Rythian posted:How long is the Beginner's Box? 5e's LMOP goes to about level 5 and has a solid town, a couple of decent dungeons and sidequests. Nah, that's exactly right. It took my group of TTRPG neophytes 4 sessions to get through it, and since then we've been running Abomination Vaults. That said, it's a fun adventure that does a lot to introduce the mechanics of Pathfinder 2e to the players, so I thought it was worth the money.
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Aug 30, 2022 20:17
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KPC_Mammon posted:I combined the beginner box, trouble in Otari, and abomination vaults by increasing the xp needed to level. Weaving them together worked really well and helped flesh out the town and npcs. I've seen several people recommend this approach. I might give it a try myself — it would help break up the delving in AV, and would help certain later plot points hit harder. Plus, my players love roleplaying with the townsfolk.
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Aug 31, 2022 03:36
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Jokes aside, I think we should change the thread title. It feels a little needlessly combative to me (although I agree with it). I'd rather it be a pf2e in-joke, like Patherfinder 2e: Putting Casters under Martial Law or something like that.
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Sep 24, 2022 00:35
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blastron posted:Pathfinder 2e: If your MAP is too high, use your third action to Post. This one is great if it fits! MadScientistWorking posted:Pathfinder 2e: We based a class on The Mummy Wait which class is this?
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Sep 24, 2022 04:33
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I'm GMing for a group of 4 players, only one of whom has prior TTRPG experience (and that was just a handful of 5e sessions in grad school). We are playing in person, and I was expecting them to have trouble keeping track of everything. But actually they've all been really good at it. Pathbuilder keeps track of most of it for them, and they haven't had any issues filling in the gaps. We've even had a no-TTRPG-experience guest player drop in and play a (pre-made) druid without any issues. I think this speaks really highly of the system — it's pretty easy to just pick up on the fly in my experience.
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Sep 25, 2022 20:58
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Midig posted:Is the layout and editing of the book as bad as people suggest it is? I do think that the CRB is weirdly organized, but all the rules are online at 2e.aonprd.com, so it doesn't really matter all that much. quote:I have decided that I want to move away from DnD 5th. This is mostly because I dont find the game to be too fun to run. I am not an overall fan of the core mechanis such as Action/Bonus action/movement, hp sponge, rest mechanics, subclass and multiclass system. Not to mention being originally a Pathfinder 1e GM I remember frantically going through DnD 5th book the first time thinking "Where have all the feats gone?!!". Also, I think all of these are much better in 2e than 5e. It's definitely worth checking out!
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Jan 4, 2023 06:01
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Is the old flaws rule still an officially supported option? Being able to choose three boosts and two flaws was niche, but I like that the option was there.
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Jan 4, 2023 19:54
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Megazver posted:Abomination Vaults, as I recall, is just a ten level dungeon and the surface is PC level 1, the first underground level is PC level 2, etc. So you can just only level them up once they've cleared a level. What it means to "clear" a level can be a bit tricky, though, since there are a ton of paths through the dungeon. My players did about half of the first floor, found a route down to the second floor, then almost immediately found a route down to the third floor, almost TPK'd, then went back and cleared out maybe 2/3rds of the second floor, and are now back to the third floor. But they still haven't fully cleared the first or second levels, and haven't explored the building on the small island at all. This AP is a blast, though, they are having a ton of fun.
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Jan 17, 2023 17:44
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Megaman's Jockstrap posted:Does Abominiation Vault have this kind of stuff? I haven't actually played P2E - just scanned the core rulebook, and it looks pretty good and (at a glance) has decently tight math and good tactical options, but encounter design is where the rubber meets the road. How do they do? So far (half way through the first book of AV), there's nothing as cool as what was in your post. However, my experience is that PF2e monsters themselves are super interesting, so there's less need to have crazy set pieces (although I would still appreciate them). Btw, you should consider starting with the Beginner's Box. It's a fun adventure set in the same town as AV, and it is designed to introduce new players to the system. My players had mostly never played a TTRPG before but they all picked it up super fast while playing the Beginner's Box adventure. It also has some fun set pieces, like a fight with Kobolds in their den where they use their bedding, cookpots, etc to great effect. Pasha posted:I have read most of the PF2E main rulebook, but never played it myself. How "tactical" do the players need to actually be in order to play the game? Some of the people that I regularly play with have a hard time doing well in any sort of tactical situations, so I am wondering if PF2E might not be the best system for our group ... My experience is that you need some degree of tactics and a willingness to run away if you get in over your head, but "fully optimal" play is almost never required. Usually, if your players flank, try not to get surrounded, and help each other (particularly with their third actions), they will be fine. Also tell them to try to not end their turn next to big scary monsters.
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Jan 18, 2023 04:57
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Syrinxx posted:Here is the best post-ORC news This is awesome. Now I just want someone to revive the Pathbuilder import module. Bonus points if there was some way to consistently sync the two, but I understand that is much, much harder.
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Jan 18, 2023 21:46
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Are there Pathfinder Society Scenario Foundry modules? If so, it might be a fun thing to run with my group sometime.
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Jan 19, 2023 03:57
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Pathbuilder is great; it's what my whole table uses. My only two complaints are:
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Jan 28, 2023 22:59
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Kitfox88 posted:During the fight at the stage in level 1 SoT conclusion I got crit by the ringleader down to like 2hp and then when my next turn rolled around I crit them right back and did an obscene damage amount for level 1 barb is so loving fun. Our fighter runs around with a greataxe, and utterly deletes anything lower level than himself with power attack crits. 2d12 + 4 damage is insane at level 2, and has a very good chance of doubling due to a crit, especially when flanking. And the bard's Inspire Courage just makes it nastier.
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Jan 30, 2023 02:08
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kirtar posted:The divine cantrip list just makes me sad. The damage spells in the divine cantrip list are a little weak (Daze) or situational (Disrupt Undead), but are nevertheless a solid option in a pinch. Where the divine list really shines, though, is its utility spells, and the cantrip list is no exception. Some highlights:
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Jan 30, 2023 20:00
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AnEdgelord posted:So through a combination of my current obsession with the Wrath of the Righteous game and everyone online talking about Pathfinder 2e I've decided to try my hand at starting up a PF2e game among some local friends and, while I'm not new to dming I do have a few questions about PF2e, its product line and the free online resources: My in-person group started with the Beginner Box, and is currently doing Abomination Vault. I'm going to start mixing in Troubles from Otari content in this weekend's session, and we're looking at doing Ruby Phoenix next. So, we are in the same boat! I just got a wet erase mat (specifically this one) and used that for AV, and it's worked pretty well. I also am sketching a map for the players as they explore, and I occasionally sketch maps they get in-game as well (quite poorly in the case of the one they get from the Mitflits). It looks like you can still get a physical AV pawn set from Paizo. I got it, and it doesn't have everything in there, but between the Beginner's Box pawns and the AV pawns we've been able to at least come up with a close analog for every monster they've faced. Between the above, my prep as GM is really easy — I just skim through the floors as they get close to them, and take some extra notes on how to play an NPC if they are likely to meet them. The strength of the adventure paths takes care of the rest.
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Feb 3, 2023 05:37
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Epi Lepi posted:The rules for archetypes in general establish that spellcasting archetypes give slots with each Basic/Expert/Master feat: That's clearly what's intended, but the relevant feats don't actually say that you gain the basic spellcasting benefits, as feats typically do for other spellcasting archetypes. Between that and the armor feat, it does feel like this was lazy editing to me.
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Feb 6, 2023 23:09
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marshmallow creep posted:An AC of 17 is surprisingly hard to hit at level 1! Glad you enjoyed your first session! Double check that your players are adding proficiency to their attacks. Most characters should be getting +6 or +7 to their attacks (+3 from proficiency, +3 or +4 from their ability score). That means they hit on a 10 or 11, which is pretty standard for Pathfinder 2e.
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Feb 13, 2023 04:29
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sugar free jazz posted:doing something "non-optimal" is fine, like using a battle axe as a fighter. Wait what's wrong with using a battle axe as a fighter? Taking a quick look:
Is there some other weapon that is just straight-up better?
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Feb 19, 2023 09:06
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Rick posted:If I'm a 1E wizard liker who doesn't like to blast can I have fun? Yes, definitely. Wizards get tons of cool spells, and the most spell slots of any class. 2e's degrees of success system means that you will often be doing cool and useful stuff even if the enemy succeeds on their saving throw.
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Feb 21, 2023 09:28
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Enos Cabell posted:Any good youtube series out there for getting a handle on GMing a 2E campaign? Our group is finishing up a year+ stint in 5E Temple of Jing, and we are all eager to get back to PF. I'll be starting off with Beginner's Box and rolling into Abomination Vaults (have the Foundry modules for both). I thought I was going to have another month or two for prep, but it looks like we'll be starting this Friday night, so I'm in crunch mode. I'll leave the YouTube recs to others, but I wanted to say that the Beginner's Box is also meant to teach you how to GM pf2e, so don't worry about it too too much. My advice is to skim the "how to play" core rulebook chapter (plus the gamemastering chapter if you have time, but that's less urgent), and then just keep 2e.aonprd.com open so you can look up rules on the fly as you need them.
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Feb 21, 2023 19:28
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Speaking of the Skunk Bomb: is there a way to get the alchemist's Advanced Alchemy items to use your class DC?
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Mar 1, 2023 06:32
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Chevy Slyme posted:Level 5 class feature, Powerful Alchemy: It looks like that just applies to Quick Alchemy (using an action and an infused reagent to create an alchemical consumable on the fly), and not Advanced Alchemy (using an infused reagent to create two identical alchemical items during your daily prep). Unless I am misreading it?
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Mar 1, 2023 07:04
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Harold Fjord posted:I have a dream character, that is mute some iterations, where you take the acrobatic performance feat and a couple others and you get something that if you squint a little and fudge a lot let's you have a visual bard using dex for casting. My GM would not allow It's probably the "dex for casting" that is the issue there, since that has some pretty big balance implications. Since Dex is already used for your defense and your offense with ranged or finesse weapons, using it for your spell attacks / DCs would be super strong. That said, you can probably get halfway there by taking Acrobatic Performer, which doesn't let dex set your DCs, but you could use it for Performance checks (including stuff like Lingering Composition). You could also take Sign Language, and in fact the Core Rulebook suggests giving that to deaf or mute characters for free. If you specify that you still need to make some sounds for casting, on top of the above (say, rhythmically hitting the ground or something), so that Silence still affects you, I'd say that's absolutely balanced.
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Mar 2, 2023 18:23
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Cyouni posted:I will note that RAW, Acrobatic Performance can only be used for checks to Perform, which does not include Lingering Performance.  Good catch, I should have caught that.E: that said, it's not so bad using Cha for everything anyways. Cha isn't just for spoken word, I would absolutely think that it might describe your ability to do a dance performance as well. VikingofRock fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Mar 2, 2023 |
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Mar 2, 2023 19:56
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Mirage posted:Regarding the Beginner Box, what's the best way to retune the adventure for three level 1 players? Just cut back enemy groups by ~25% and give the Weak tag to singles? Alternately, would leveling the players up to 2 make them too strong? Depending on your players, starting them at 2 might be pretty overwhelming, since PF2e already throws so many choices at them so quickly. I'd probably err towards modifying the encounters a bit, either in the ways you say, or by making the enemies retreat sooner.
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Mar 18, 2023 23:31
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Rescue Toaster posted:On a lighter note, I have everyone roll appropriate initiative, and allow any actors who have reason to anticipate a fight to start with their reaction. So in the case of the mimic, I would have it roll Dwelling Lore for initiative, and give it its reaction right away (since it knows the players are close) and have that reaction go off immediately at the start of the fight. This also works well for any other surprise encounters. E.g. I had a player suddenly attack an evil guy during negotiations. I had him roll deception for initiative, and when some enemies rolled higher, I just said that they could tell that the player was about to attack (he couldn't hide his intentions / movements well enough to fool them) so they could act before he attacked. And for surprise encounters, I would just say that the truly surprised people don't get their reactions until their turn.
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Mar 22, 2023 04:44
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Megaman's Jockstrap posted:I've been giving my crafting PCs a free formula every level up, subject to my approval. It's really stupid that crafting forces either me, the DM, to drop formulas, or for the players to take an inventor feat (which imposes a money tax to invent). The obsession with making crafting players pay twice, once for the formula and once for the item, is bizarre. So now they at least get some default stuff that they can make if they want, with all the normal costs and such. My GM just had us get a book from a dead crafter's workshop, which has all of the common magic item formulas. He gated it by saying that we only have enough experience to decipher formulas up to our level, but I'm not sure it would have been unbalanced to not gate it at all. The campaign doesn't have a ton of downtime so we still have to be economical about our crafting choices and can't just sit around for months making items at half price.
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Mar 28, 2023 17:56
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I had the opposite experience. My party hit the ghouls at level 2 and almost got wiped several times. The ghoul paralysis is nasty and can easily effectively take a character out of the fight. And the fight with Aller Rosk is very hardcore at level 2; it's the only time my party full-on ran from an encounter (dragging their paralyzed and ghoul-fevered ally behind them).
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Apr 5, 2023 20:53
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KPC_Mammon posted:Were you using the incapacitation rules correctly? I had completely missed that the ghoul paralysis was an incapacitation effect. Thank you for pointing that out. I'll ask my party if they want to fix that, or to keep playing it as a non-incapacitation effect. Making the ghoul paralysis effective against the PCs really makes the ghouls much scarier, and the party seems to like that.
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Apr 15, 2023 23:39
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Lurks With Wolves posted:After some quick googling, the Goblinblood Wars were 4697-4701, and it's currently 4719 in Golarion. Recent enough to be an orphan, in any case. Although, you'd be an older goblin. The CRB posted:Goblins reach adolescence by the age of 3 and adulthood 4 or 5 years later. Goblins can live 50 years or more, but without anyone to protect them from each other or themselves, few live past 20 years of age.
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May 20, 2023 19:06
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sugar free jazz posted:counterspell is messy and if a player was going to be using counterspell i'd have my player just give me a list of their spells and if they wanted to try and counterspell they could ask and i'd check the list. it's weird because both recognize spell and counterspell are reactions. Note that you automatically recognize spells that you have prepared/that are in your repertoire, with no reaction required. Since you need to cast the same spell to counterspell anyways, you effectively automatically recognize any spell that you can counterspell (fancy wizard counterspelling notwithstanding).
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May 26, 2023 19:38
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IMO if you are playing with crit decks just lean into it and play as a flurry ranger whose backstory is that they are cursed / pissed off the fates / drew a deadman's hand.
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May 31, 2023 03:33
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My players and I switched over to pf2e a couple years ago, after playing 5e together for several years. They love the new system, but I think they were a little sad that during our time playing 5e, we never fought a few iconic monsters, including Beholders. Well, in the next couple sessions, they are about to Delve Too Deep, and I thought it would be fun to throw something very Beholder-inspired at them as the boss of the dungeon. It's not a direct port (hence the new name), but I hope it can capture some of the feeling / terror of fighting a Beholder in 5e. For reference, my players are level 10, and they are generally pretty good at playing tactically. They have a cleric, and several allies near by, so I am not too worried about long-term status effects from this monster. Tell me what you think! Is this thing too nasty? https://monster.pf2.tools/v/HPmQoMJH-all-seer
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Jun 16, 2023 01:45
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HidaO-Win posted:Seems solid, I’d consider giving it an alternate multiple eye beam attack at a 2 or 3 action threshold that beams multiple targets so you have a choice on your turn. I don’t see ranges on its eye beam attacks, either of them. Not a big deal really. Thank you for this feedback; I think your ideas were very good. I ended up giving its eye attacks 60-foot range, gave it the ability to spend 2 actions to attack 3 times with its eye beams, and gave it a reaction that lets it move up to its speed without triggering reactions if it starts its turn within an enemy's reach. Hopefully that's not too frustrating for players with reactions; I figure they are still getting something good for chasing the All-Seer, since using its reaction to escape means that it can't use its Reactive Beam ability that turn. (The original link should reflect this update.) VikingofRock fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Jun 16, 2023 |
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Jun 16, 2023 04:52
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Looking at the changelog, it seems like there is support for Foundry v11 for Pathfinder 2e. Has anyone tried upgrading yet? Did it break everything?
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Jun 24, 2023 18:31
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Approximate should give an extra digit of precision for each spell level that it is heightened, so that when you are casting 10th level spells you can casually count billions of items precisely.
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Jul 18, 2023 19:16
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I've had the "can't log in" bug on pretty much everything browser and device I've used at some point. Clearing the site cookies seems to fix it.
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Jul 20, 2023 18:28
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Nelson Mandingo posted:Yeah, four level 2's. Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Wizard. But we foolishly wasted our heals and don't have medicine feats yet (sigh). In hindsight we should have retreated and done a long rest. That was our biggest mistake. But I also feel like we're against a timer is why we pushed on. From a gameplay perspective, I think fighting a boss when short on resources (especially heals) was absolutely the biggest problem here. For further advice, I have found that the best strategy for bosses is to try to get a bunch of debuffs on them through maneuvers, spells, etc. Spellcasters should make sure that they are using spells which still have a decent effect on a successful save from the enemy. Martials should try not to end their turn next to the boss if they are a melee bruiser. Their actions are much more potent than yours, so if you can trade actions (e.g. you move to force them to move) you are coming out ahead. And, for what it's worth, although an L+2 enemy is only a moderate encounter by XP, it's still very scary for a low level party. I usually don't start throwing L+3 enemies at the party until level 5 or so.
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Jul 27, 2023 19:08
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