Pathfinder 2e: If your MAP is too high, use your third action to Post.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Pathfinder 2e: If your MAP is too high, use your third action to Post.

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Facebook Aunt posted:

If so, could a Flatulist bard do their verbal components via farts?

Yeah, but if you get Silenced it could be deadly.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2023 21:09

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 13:48

Pryce: May 21, 2011

If you�ve played the CRPG they let you just trade with the kobolds if you want to. It feels like that�s probably a clear option in the AP that wasn�t utilized? I haven�t read it yet.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2023 15:48

Pryce: May 21, 2011

My first experience with subscribing to Paizo products has not gone well.....I signed up for the Special Edition Pathfinder Rulebooks sub and reached out to get them to add both the Player Core and GM Core books (which they did!). Got a shipping notification two weeks ago and at no point did the tracking number ever work or show anything. Finally reached out to them yesterday and they swore they definitely shipped the books, but they also see the trackers never updated. They just submitted a new order for me for replacements but I'm sad that didn't end up getting the books on release day.

I know this isn't Paizo's fault, just sad that I finally gave into my urges and signed up for a subscription and it immediately fell apart.

# ¿ Nov 15, 2023 19:06

Pryce: May 21, 2011

So, I�m prepping to run AV for some friends, and now that I�m reading through it I�m getting pretty excited. Is there a good write up somewhere of �key plot points that show up later but you should sprinkle in early�?

This�ll be only my second time GMing, and last time I went wayyyyy overboard in prepping each session so I�m trying to lean more towards �bare minimum� both to save my sanity and to be less railroady while working on not having a panic attack when we gotta improv some content.

We�ll be using the Foundry module so that definitely takes a huge mental load off my shoulders, but I feel like I need some sort of outline doc of key beats plus plot elements I should make sure they pick up on for each floor.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2023 15:26

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Thank you both! I�ve read chapters 1-4 now while doing Thanksgiving traveling, I feel like I�ve got a pretty good grasp on stuff. From some quick glances before I left home, the module macros are really neat for map changes and events. Pretty psyched to get things started with friends.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2023 00:56

Pryce: May 21, 2011

mind the walrus posted:

Ordered Player Core and GM Core, but for some reason all the shops in my area won't have it until the 28th!?

They finally posted last week about some warehouse issues (including the problem i had where it shipped at the beginning of month but never arrived). They didn�t go into super detail but it sounds like they have a huge backlog that got flagged as shipped but never did. Maybe that included retail too?

https://paizo.com/threads/rzs43w9x&page=3?New-Physical-Product-Releases-in-November-2023#149

# ¿ Nov 23, 2023 15:02

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Kwolok posted:

I'm looking to run the beginner box for the first time. Has it been updated to the new remastered rules?

There�s not really anything to be updated here (other than the pregens) since it already uses a simplified version of the rules as-is. We just played it the week the remaster hit and there wasn�t really anything specific about it that we had to think about or relearn.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2023 22:54

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Silver2195 posted:

I think the investigation issue might be a fundamental problem with the concept of APs on some level. On one hand, you don�t want to gate the basics of the plot behind difficult skill checks the way 1e APs sometimes did. On the other hand, sometimes the alternative seems to be that there�s no room for meaningful investigation even if you play an Investigator; instead you find out the plot by clearing a mini-dungeon, reading the diary or shopping list of the boss you�ve just killed, then going to a place mentioned in the diary/shopping list for the next mini-dungeon. I�ve heard that there are other systems (mostly Cthulhu-themed ones) that can square this circle somehow, but I�m not sure it can be done in most d20-derived systems.

I feel like investigations are really hard to do well in any TTRPG, because a ton of it has to be this delicate balance for the GM between 'prewritten clues/leads' vs 'reacting to the players' without it feeling like you're being railroaded. The Alexandrian has tons of strong feelings about doing mysteries well and he's been writing a series throughout the year talking about it, but it seems like it's really dependent on the GM to ultimately make it work.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2023 01:42

Pryce: May 21, 2011

If you've got money to burn there are some Pathfinder Infinite bundles of NPCs that might just give you what you're looking for. I haven't actually used these so I have no idea if it's actually a good suggestion or not, but they seem to be pretty high up on the best-sellers list: https://www.pathfinderinfinite.com/product/436985/NPC-Index-Core-PDF-Only-BUNDLE?filters=100112_0_0_0_0_0_0

# ¿ Nov 28, 2023 16:46

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Lamuella posted:

Is there a reliable list anywhere of the name changes in the remaster? Was helping some players move Pathbuilder characters to Foundry, and because Foundry has the remastered rules there were several selected spells and other bits that just broke.

There's a massive tracking spreadsheet here, though it's not super easy to find the name changes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nPYD9bZ7t-WIX3b1yTgwfM94RQm5WCqLIq4PGD27mNE/edit#gid=426096990

# ¿ Nov 29, 2023 03:27

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Fidel Cuckstro posted:

Some of it is just the usual tension of "the GM has an end in mind, and we're all trying to get them there without too much railroading/etc" but also a subtle belief among the game, scenario writers, and even players that even though we don't want to really admit it, the game is about combat encounters and everything we do between them are more just for the sake of pacing than anything else. We want to do mysteries, but only if we're sure we can get to the final scene where we accuse someone (and usually then fight them). We want to do compelling exploration/survival/travel interludes, but only if we're sure the players will still get to the dungeon entrance in a state where they can probably still do the delve. We want to have interesting social or political engagements for the group- but at the end of the day you're going to fight the bad NPCs and there's no getting around it.

I've been thinking about this a lot as I prep us to start AV this week, and trying to figure out the right balance between having players do nonstop skill checks to find cool things vs just automating everything and narrating the entirety of a room (secrets and all) assuming they just 'take 20' on all the checks. At this point I think I'm just going to ask the group outright what they think would be most fun there. I like the way Pathfinder tries to smooth out "Exploration Mode", but ultimately the chance to pass/fail finding a secret in a dungeon kinda feels weird and potentially 'not fun' if they just aren't hitting the checks they need. A 'fail forward' approach might be the right angle here but I think I'll just present the options to the group and see what resonates.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2023 15:44

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Kyrosiris posted:

I've played with GMs who offer the option to take your time in an area and meticulously search everything, but at the cost of Actual Time which may cause things to happen (similar to "you get 10 minutes of recuperation free, but any 10-minute chunks past that may have Consequences�"). It's a nice balance, IMO.

Yeah, I saw a similar suggestion to implement simple random encounters/wandering monsters with a growing chance the longer they stay in the same place. I'll pitch it as one of the options!

# ¿ Nov 29, 2023 16:18

Pryce: May 21, 2011

I totally agree with all this but in fairness AV explicitly says at the start �hey you should have wandering monsters�.

I don�t want that personally but it�s written right there!

# ¿ Nov 29, 2023 20:18

Pryce: May 21, 2011

3 Action Economist posted:

You should definitely get the Beginner Box, but if you're really opposed to that there are a few related adventures that are also good for beginners. Troubles in Otari is one.

But the BB will teach you as a GM and the players how mechanics work with ramping them up throughout the adventure, &c. That's what makes it good.

To double down on this, the BB does a really cool subtle thing where every encounter adds one extra rule/mechanic (without explicitly calling it out). So the first combat is 'learn how 3 actions work' and then the next combat is 'learn about saving throws' and then another one is 'learn about conditions' and one more is 'learn about flanking'.

It doesn't put a big red circle around each of those, which makes it feel really natural in how combat slowly gets more complex as the adventure goes on. By the time you get to the final encounter, the players should have a great grasp on figuring out efficient action economies and planning their turns in ways that allow the fight to be fairly dynamic! I was really impressed with the entire box.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2023 18:20

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Proven posted:

I think you�re both agreeing? It�s the same as climbing; you do the check, and then move according to the check. It�s still just one action and one check, and not two actions.

Right, I think we're talking within the context of Winter Sleet, though, where an enemy walks into an aura that requires a Balance check to continue moving. So that would effectively be two actions (because they're mid-move, then need to spend an action to Balance, then continue their move). The GM above is instead removing the need for the second action spend in that example.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2024 17:51

Pryce: May 21, 2011

marshmallow creep posted:

Or does the movement action mean he has up to 20 ft of movement left, and the balance check determines if he gets to use all 20, can only move 10 ft because of difficult terrain, or if he has to stop as soon as he enters the zone.

This is how I'd want to play it, personally, but I'm not sure if that's the rules-as-written correct answer.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2024 18:15

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Harold Fjord posted:

I think it makes most sense to treat balance moves like tumble through if you aren't doing anything excessively complicated.

You just move and take the check on the appropriate square.

Edit- what even is that failure? What distance can I voluntarily fall at from the original square on a balance action?

I would assume 'fall' means 'go prone in your current square' unless you're balancing above the ground, in which case you'd fall straight down.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2024 14:45

Pryce: May 21, 2011

Hunter Noventa posted:

More related to Kingmaker itself...but the actual rules for running your kingdom are atrocious and be prepared to rewrite or throw them out entirely. They were barely playtested by the devs' own admission.

Have a frank discussion with your players about the level of detail you want to have involved in the Kingdom turns and work things out from there.

The Kingdom rules as written are acknowledged to be a mess. There's an as-close-to-official-as-possible homebrew that is pretty commonly acknowledged as a proper rebalance/rework: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NHksCXkXbjtrv-26VgFHNbyYldatVwag9lM44IWxIXo/edit#heading=h.eubmwf9z6394

If you're playing in Foundry, even if you buy the official campaign module, I might recommend relying on the unofficial Kingmaker Tools module instead for kingdom management since it has the option to use the 'fixed' rules and system out of the box.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2024 22:25

Pryce: May 21, 2011

The Kineticist in our campaign was originally an Air, which resulted in a ton of helpful free movement for party members while also doing good damage early on.

He just rerolled into a Wood/Water because the party desperately needed some healing and support and he single-handedly is enabling them to survive Extreme encounters with his kit. Overall, the class is extremely versatile and flexible for whatever the party wants/needs!

# ¿ Mar 2, 2024 00:54

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 13:48

Pryce: May 21, 2011

New Humble bundle just dropped for Guns of Alkenstar:

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/pathfinder-second-edition-guns-alkenstar-bundle-paizo-books

# ¿ Mar 21, 2024 20:09

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