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Here's an updated cheat sheet that I created for my players transitioning from 1E to 2E (preview). I made sure to contain the encounter-related actions within the first two pages for easy printing onto one sheet (two-sided). A third sheet is included for all exploratory and downtime activities. I'm sharing this here in case it's useful for anyone. Happy Holidays!
What if guns are advanced weapons, and you only have a misfire chance if you lack proficiency with them? I like this idea! It fits with my vision for firearms in my campaign, where they are simple but rare weapons. So, virtually anyone can use a firearm if they can find one, but there are penalties unless they decide to specialize. I'm thinking that this can be achieved if a character obtains "advanced proficiency" with a firearm, such as through the Weapon Proficiency general feat. While it's unorthodox, it means that classes that are proficient with martial weapons can get rid of firearm penalties relatively faster than other classes. It also means that each firearm will need its own "advanced proficiency", which makes sense to me since each gun is unique. Alternatively, you could set a requirement for expert or master proficiency in firearms as simple or martial weapons. I'm not a fan of this approach because you would become proficient with firearms automatically as part of class advancement. I prefer firearm proficiency to be gained from the specific investment in understanding firearms, like the Weapon Proficiency feat with firearms as advanced weapons. Re. Bruno Grande; All that looks good except the Burrowing trait- I don't like Dex-to-damage inherent to a weapon. If the weapon's drawbacks really warrant a damage bonus, maybe just have a numerical bonus that scales with damage dice like Forceful? Plus I think Propulsive is just for Thrown weapons without melee functionality. That's a fair remark. This got me thinking into others ways to distinguish firearms from bow/crossbows. Adding a bonus to damage equal to the number of damage dice would be in line with other weapon traits, but I'm left wanting a bit more, at least for my campaign. I realize this may not be for everyone, but for me, it strikes the right balance between flavour, excitement, and mechanics. I propose that firearms deal an extra die of damage (bludgeoning) when used within their first range increment. If this seems too powerful, you can simply gatekeep firearms in your games as you would with +1 striking weapons. A nice side effect of the extra die of damage is that it naturally gives rise to x4 critical hits like in First Edition, so the Fatal trait isn't needed anymore. To adjust for the extra damage, I reduced each die by one step. I'm not suggesting this is what firearms should officially become in Second Edition. I'm just brainstorming ideas to create flavourful firearms that are admittedly tailored for my campaign. As always, do whatever makes sense for your campaign. RANGED WEAPONS Pistol (based on Hand Crossbow)
Blunderbuss (based on Heavy Crossbow)
Musket (based on Heavy Crossbow)
WEAPON TRAITS Point-blank: The impact of this weapon's ammunition is much stronger than that of most ranged weapons. On a hit within the first range increment, you deal an additional die of damage (bludgeoning). This extra damage is doubled on a critical hit. Striking runes do not increase this damage. Recoil: The weapon has a kickback that throws you off for subsequent attacks. The multiple attack penalty you take on the attack immediately following a Strike with this weapon is increased by 1. This penalty is negated if you have a positive Strength modifier that is equal to or greater than the listed number or if you Strike with a one-handed weapon in two hands. Fragile: The weapon is prone to breaking if you don't know how to use it. If you roll a natural 1 on an attack roll with this weapon, the weapon gains the Broken condition and its HP is reduced to its Broken Threshold. You do not face this risk if you are proficient with this weapon as an advanced weapon. Spread: The weapon's accuracy is limited at longer ranges unless you are highly trained. You double any penalty for attacking beyond the weapon's range increment, and attacks beyond the third range increment are impossible. You can ignore these drawbacks if you are proficient with this weapon as an advanced weapon.
CONTEXT I was interested in this thread because firearms serve as a plot device in my campaign (for more details) and my group is transitioning to Second Edition. Here are the guiding principles that I followed when trying to implement firearms myself (feedback is welcome): - I only need 2-3 types of guns, so I’m not concerned about advanced firearms.
Blunderbuss Spoiler:
It was in Cult of Cinders (p. 37). It requires three Interact actions to reload, and deals "4d6 bludgeoning damage plus 2d10 fire damage to all creatures in a 30-foot cone (DC 26 basic Reflex)." I'm personally not ready to introduce cone damage with firearms, and PC weapons are supposed to be restricted to one damage die. So, I'm ignoring this blunderbuss when designing the weapons below.
IDEAS I’m deriving these designs from crossbows with the following benefits (+) and drawbacks (–): (+) Increase damage dice by one step (except for musket, which instead just doesn’t lose as much range).
RANGED WEAPONS Pistol (based on Hand Crossbow)
Blunderbuss (based on Heavy Crossbow)
Musket (based on Heavy Crossbow)
WEAPON TRAITS Burrowing: A burrowing ranged weapon is capable of penetrating armor and cause extra damage, especially if you can aim for weak spots or vital areas. You add half your Dexterity modifier (if positive) to damage rolls or your full modifier if your proficiency rank with this weapon is master or higher. If you have a negative Dexterity modifier, you always add your full Dexterity modifier. Recoil: The weapon has a kickback that throws you off for subsequent attacks. The multiple attack penalty you take on the attack immediately following a Strike with this weapon is increased by 1. This penalty is negated if you have a positive Strength modifier that is equal to or greater than the listed number or if you Strike with a one-handed weapon in two hands. Unstable: The weapon is prone to breaking due to its fragile construction. If you roll a natural 1 on an attack roll with this weapon, the weapon gains the Broken condition and its HP is reduced to its Broken Threshold. Spread: The weapon's accuracy is limited at longer ranges unless you are highly trained. You double any penalty for attacking beyond the weapon's range increment, and attacks beyond the third range increment are impossible. You can ignore these drawbacks if your proficiency rank with this weapon is master or higher.
Bummer... My order (#7974678) for the Lost Omens World Guide hasn't shipped. I guess my August 22nd email is somewhere in the backlog. I'm just eager to get my hands on the PDF. I appreciate the hard work the CS team is putting into managing this massive release!
I kept getting the broken PDF like others here, but I managed to overcome the caching issue by connecting through a VPN. Perhaps others can access the fixed PDF if they connect to the Internet via some other means (e.g. via mobile phone hotspot).
Mark Seifter pitched in with the following on Twitter (source). Unlike in PF1, we're not really using a formula that multiplies spell level by other variables and winds up implying that constant true strike is 2,000 gp. That formula table was only ever a guideline in PF1 either, for reasons like the true strike example.
I've created some lower-contrast character sheets based on suggestions made in this thread. I just overlaid some transparent white boxes over each page with varying amounts of opacity (range 10–60).
I'm failing to see a pattern for determining the item level based on the spell level, and the cost doesn't seem to be purely based on the item/spell level. Can I get some insight on this from the powers that be? Thanks! I was hoping that numerical features of the spells (e.g. duration, casting time) would account for the variation in cost between potions, but that doesn't seem to be what's going on. Case in point, consider the Invisibility and Barkskin potions, whose spells are identical for the following parameters.
At this point, the cost seems based on a general feeling on how good the spell effect is. I can see why Invisibility would be considered more powerful than Barkskin, i.e. resistance 2 to bludgeoning and piercing damage and weakness 3 to fire. While my scientific mind prefers formulas for determining cost, I'm fine with a more flexible system. I would just like this to be officially stated. In the end, it's not hard to price an item using the range of costs for consumable magic items of a given level (pp. 536–542). For example, 4th-level consumable items range from 11 gp for a moderate Darkvision elixir to 20 gp for a Bloodseeker beak talisman. That being said, the question remains for determining the item level of a spell-based potion. Apparently, the spell level isn't the only factor. For instance, why is a Potion of Water Breathing a 3rd-level item unlike the previous two potions? Is it because of its reduced perceived utility? Is it because of the longer casting time? Interestingly, the cost is within the range for 4th-level consumables, so couldn't it have been a 4th-level item?
While in First Edition, potions were spells of 3rd level or lower in a bottle; we wanted to go a slightly different route this time. Potions not only can have effects that reach into higher levels, but they also don't need to be tied to particular spell effects. I'm trying to wrap my mind around potions in Pathfinder Second Edition. I get that they are no longer necessarily tied to a spell, but let's say we still want to create "spells in a bottle". In First Edition, potions were double the cost of a scroll for a given spell level according to Tables 15-12 (p. 478) and 15-15 (p. 491) of the Core Rulebook. For instance, a 3rd-spell-level potion would cost 750 gp, while the scroll for the same spell would cost 375 gp. This makes sense given the added convenience of a potion. In Second Edition, we have Table 11-3 (p. 565) for Scroll Statistics, but we don't have an equivalent table for Potions. I'm attempting to reverse-engineer the logic for determining the item level and cost for a potion. Here are some example potions from the Core Rulebook (pp. 562-564), all of which provide the effects of 2nd-level spells: 1) Invisibility Potion: Spell level = 2 / Item level = 4 / Cost = 20 gp
I'm failing to see a pattern for determining the item level based on the spell level, and the cost doesn't seem to be purely based on the item/spell level. Can I get some insight on this from the powers that be? Thanks! |
