Aries's page

I think one of the goals for PF2 was to make it easier for new players to learn the game and to create characters. After hours of reading, I've found this is not the case. I don't think there is any easy answer for this, but one thing I've found is that ancestral feats are an impediment to the character creation process for new players.

I've been going through character creation with two groups of people who are new to RPGs. I am not new to RPGs however and have been playing 40 years and Pathfinder since release.

One of the goals for PF2 was simplification and streamlining for people who were new to the game. I found that there are too many choices to make at 1st level and ancestral feats definitely contribute to that problem. I feel that it would be easier to be more like PF1 and just give default ancestral TRAITS based on the race and not give the player the choice. And for the more advanced player, have Ultimate Race where you can swap things in and out.

I also feel that Ancestral Feats should be much more front loaded.

I find it really strange for an ancestry to become more and more like that race as they level. Why would they get more elven (if anything they should be less)? It’s very strange to be gaining hereditary and biological traits, like dark vision, over time.

Finally, if you take a PF1 Elf and convert it to PF2 with the same traits, the elf would need to be level 13 to get the 4 feats that were given to the PF1 Elf at level 1. Level 13! This is true for all of the races. Why have the races been nerfed?

I guess basically what I’m saying is that I much prefer how races/ancestries were done in PF1. You had the basic options for new players and for advanced players you had Ultimate Race. It worked.

If we keep ancestral feats, can they be an advanced option where we only start getting them at level 5 and beyond?

Also, if you can’t use a General Feat to gain an Ancestral feat, could we called them something other than feats?

Jason to add to your comments above I would recommend having racial feats (i.e. racial weapon familiarity), traits (darvision), and feats (i.e. Dungeoneering). This would capture the essence of race from AD&D, meaning a gnome is a gnome, while an elf is an elf with inherent abilities due to environment and culture. I hope Paizo reworks Ancestry for the reasons you outline above.

On page 255 the Shield Other text is misplaced on the page.

Please move the "Performance Example" text box from page 157 to 156. This would make it consistent with the Performance section. I almost missed it.

Sign Language vs. Read Lips: there is an inconsistency regarding the sign language ability in that if a character decides to know sign language instead of the spoken language they automatically get the Read lips feat. Yet, sign language and read lips are separate feats. Given that the two are distinct abilities I disagree with this assumption. Shouldn't they have the same weight?

Character back story example- Avriduu is a Crossbow Fighter Spy Rogue (1st ed.) who was raised in the streets of Sothis. To survive he worked for several merchants pick pocketing and spying on clients or opponents. Over time he developed the ability to read lips in common tongue and garnered a strong reputation amongst the merchant class.

In this simple example the character did not learn sign language per se, although he could have. Instead he acquired the read lips ability with a rank in linguistics. In PFS2 it would simply be a general feat slot in Read Lips. Again, my only concern is consistency.

The biggest argument for having all classes have the same amount of class feats hasn't even been brought up and that is multiclassing. Multiclassing right now is close to impossible on casterclasses. Especially on sorcerer. Melee classes have so many class feats to spend that for them it is no problem at all. This can't be right. Why would there be more fighter/sorcerer than sorcerer/fighter? It makes no sense.

I have to agree fully regarding multiclassing. If the objective is to balance out the different classes, promote flavor and restrict overpowering class builds I think this makes sense.

However, when you use Rapid Shot all your shots take a -2 penalty to hit. I presume this would also include the Manyshot feat first attack!

I would be interested in playing using the Midgard rules.

@malakai, isn't it a total of 4 bardic performances active per round

Shadowbard: 1 performance @ no cost/round

Virtuoso performance: 2 performances @ 3 performances/round

Exquisite Accompaniment: 1 performance @ no cost/round, and could effectively replace the 1 performance for virtuoso performance? Right? If that is the case than there would only be 3 performances rather than 4.

What a pleasant surprise! Congratulations. You will do well and have our support.

The Swipe Spell.

From Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition

They are both good bard spells (Swipe vs. Pilfering Hand). My bard just leveled up to 12th and I'm considering picking one of them up. Can't quite figure out which would be best for him. His stats are below:

Defensive Combat Training +12
Strength +0
Charisma +7
Caster Level 12

Would appreciate any math feedback on which spell would work best for him, meaning he would disarm his foes with more success. Thanks all.

I'm curious to find out if the Absorb Blow Guardian ability, with temporary expanded DR/epic, actually stack with Impervious Body path power, permanent DR5/epic? Appreciate any clarification.

What about the very common and penetrating Pickaxe? I don't see it listed. Is it in one of the campaign books, thus not in the equipment guide?

To Sayer_of_Nay:

Another idea is playing a Human Oracle (Heaven's Mystery) and Empyreal Knight (Paladin) build. I have this concept in my Jade Regent campaign. Very cool mix of strengths.

You have heavy armor proficiency, with shield. Plus you pick up resistances, summoning capability, and Oracle spell casting. His main weapon is a Spear for reach. Close quarters he uses an Earthbreaker or Bastard Sword (Deity's weapon). Wears a gauntlet. Later in the campaign he can pick up Celestial Armor, and if your DM allows it you could even get the Celestial Plate Armor (3.5 version) boosting overall AC and potentially bringing you to the frontline against the baddies.

I run him as a second line melee character attacking defensively and using Color Spray with Awesome Display for potency. I recommend you consider picking up Warrior Priest Feat. It offers a nice bonus to initiative and concentration.

These are just some suggestions. Good luck.

Hebert, I want to congratulate you on this new assignment as Venture-Captain of Salvador, my birthplace. Now when I visit Salvador I will be able to play PFS games. I look forward to meeting you in the future, and perhaps playing a game. Abs

Tuca

Noticed that I have two sessions missing from my character profile 9094-1.

They are:

Scenario #3-03 The Ghenett Manor Gauntlet GM# 10314 on 9/4/11

and

Scenario #3-17 Red Harvest GM#36597 on 5/28/12

I don't know if it's a glitch on the database at Paizo or something else. The GM's reported these scenarios for other players. Appreciate any help. Thanks.

Thanks for that information. How do we get a hold of the errata? Couldn't find anything on their website.

Quote:

Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light.

This is referring to actual armor, not shields.

Shield don't impact your movement, nor do they have a medium category.

PS:I really wish they would have said suits of armor when talking about the armor that does not include shields.

Thanks for the clarification. However, could my Cleric still caste a somatic spell using a special material Heavy Shield? I'm just curious to know if there are any errata or FAQ about this issue. Thanks.

Back to the Shield debate.

What if my Cleric uses a Mithral Heavy Shield of 7.5 or Darkwood Heavy Shield of 5 pounds - both would be light in terms of encumbrance. Plus, according to the Core rulebook Mithral armor is considered one category lighter. Hence, a Mithral Heavy Shield would be treated like a Light Shield, right?

Could the Cleric caste somatic spells using a special material heavy shield?

Thanks for the clarification.

With the Elf Blood racial trait do Half-Elves, like their Elven kin, have automatic 'proficiency' with the Elven Curve blade? Appreciate the clarification between the Elf vs. Half-Half.