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I don't know why the fine people of this forum don't appear to be talking more about all the Player Core 2 previews and leaks coming out this week.

Redditors are literally making jokes about us still being hung up on the wizard class which was released ages ago when there's all this awesome new content to be covered and discussed.

Let's have a fresh topic about PC2's cncestries, classes, feats, spells, and other goodies, shall we?

First, we have the official blogs:

When you buy a basic magical weapon possessing only fundamental runes, the cost of the base weapon is subsumed into the cost of the fundamental runes (GM Core 241). When you buy a basic magical armor possessing only fundamental runes, the cost of the base armor is subsumed into the cost of the fundamental runes (GM Core 229).

Is the cost of a shield therefore subsumed into the cost of a reinforcement rune?

If my large character has 18 Strength and a lifting belt, they have a Bulk Limit of...

05 base
01 lifting belt
04 STR
==
10
x2 Large
==
20

...and a Maximum Bulk of...

10 base
01 lifting belt
04 STR
==
15
x2 Large
==
30

So, if I can carry 0-20 Bulk without penalty, and 22-30 Bulk with a penalty, what happens if I'm carrying only 21 Bulk worth of gear?

If I'm playing a Large character with a Large backpack, such as a minotaur, can that backpack carry more gear?

In other words, if a normal backpack allows you to ignore 2 Bulk, and can hold as much as 4.9 Bulk, can a Large backpack allow a Large character to ignore 4 Bulk and hold as much as 8.9 Bulk?

I'm thinking of a Knight of Lastwall using needle darts against the forces of the Whispering Tyrant.

What materials would be worthwhile for such a character to carry, and how much might they cost?

Do magical items resize to fit the wearer, and if so, does their bulk change to match their new size?

I'm sure I saw that mentioned as a general rule somewhere, but I can't seem to find it in the remaster.

Please help me out and check my work; I'm terrible at math. So if I'm a Large minotaur archer with 18 Strength, a (large) Lifting Belt, and a (large) composite longbow, how many arrows can I carry before taking penalties?

L items, such as arrows, are treated as negligible. However, I'm probably using Large arrows. A single Large arrow is 1/10 Bulk, or L. So 10 Large Arrows are 1 Bulk, which is treated as L for my minotaur.

So...

05 base
04 Strength
01 lifting belt
==
10
x2 Large
==
20 Bulk Limit
-4 Large composite longbow
-1 Large lifting belt*
==
15 Bulk remaining
/10
==
150 Large arrows (+9 more for 159 total, since we ignore 9 L)

In particular, I'm looking at the retrieval belts that say "Usage worn" not "Usage worn belt."

There are a few other magical belts that are similarly worded.

As it doesn't appear to take up a belt slot, I take it that it can be worn with other belts and that they are more like chest belts (bandoliers) and the like, rather than the kind of belt you wear on your hips?

Can I therefore have one belt in the belt slot, then a bunch of different belts that don't require the belt slot?

I heard that Battle Medicine, Treat Wounds, and Grapple don't have any ranges listed.

Is that true? Can I really use these abilities from across a room? If so, then that's totally smurfed up.

Large creatures double their bulk limitations.

But what about Large PCs with the Hefty Hauler feat?

Is their bulk limitation doubled before or after accounting for the feat? That is, does the doubling apply only to the base operation, or to the sum? What is the proper and intended order of operations?

For example, I have a Large minotaur with 18 Strength. Normally, he can carry 18 bulk without penalty. With HH though, it could be as low as 20, or as high as 22.

SOURCE

A broken object can't be used for its normal function, nor does it grant bonuses— with the exception of armor. Broken armor still grants its item bonus to AC, but it also imparts a status penalty to AC depending on its category: –1 for broken light armor, –2 for broken medium armor, or –3 for broken heavy armor.

SOURCE

If an item has no Broken Threshold, then it has no relevant changes to its function due to being broken, but it's still destroyed at 0 Hit Points.

What items have a Broken Threshold (BT) listed? Shields clearly do. Though it isn't listed, armor is implied to have a BT as well.

But I know of precious few other items that have a Broken Threshold listed in their entries. Are they therefore all immune to the Broken condition?

Is my spellbook therefore immune to the Broken condition? Are my pants?

I have a player who, in an effort to save money in the short term, has opted to buy several slings with potency crystals, rather than a +1 striking sling.

The idea is to have several such slings at the ready, preloaded with sling bullets. It takes no more time for him to drop an expended sling and draw a new one than it would take for him to load one already in hand.

This brings to question the concept of "preloading" a ranged weapon. Can you do it? Should you be able to do it? Could it be considered a rules abuse?

I suppose it would depend on the weapon. I have a hard time believing you could carry a sling with a bullet in it without risking the bullet falling out as you adventure. I suppose it could be tied or secured, but then you'd have to untie it prior to use. Being able to do so as part of the Strike seems like something that should require a feat or other investment (on the other hand, the gains are so small, that seems a bit much).

Other weapons, like crossbows, make more sense to me, but I've heard people say that the quarrels can fall out pretty easily as well (they literally just sit in a slotted groove, so tilting the crossbow to one side is all it takes). I've also heard other people say that keeping a crossbow perpetually loaded (such as during exploration or downtime) would cause the tension to stretch out the bowstring, rendering it effectively useless.

Still other weapons, like firearms, can undoubtedly be pre-loaded, and that is the expectation.

What are your thoughts on the matter of preloading? Do you allow it or disallow it? Why? And under what circumstances?

It says you must be wielding a melee weapon. Do unarmed strikes qualify for the purposes of this feat?

I ask because Thlipit gets Lunge as an option, but if it can't be used with the lash, then I question why it was included as part of the archetype.

What options are there that increase all your speeds?

Seems like everything simply references "Speed" which means land speed.

Looking at the Athletics skill in Player Core and I can't seem to find a range listed. I thought it was your reach, but it doesn't explicitly say that anywhere that I've been able to find under Athletics.

Where is the rule at?

The way it reads, I could grapple a target from a 100 feet away. I just need line of sight and line of effect to a target and a free hand.

In the Inner Sea, orcs are oftentimes feared marauders.
In the Mwangi Expanse, many orcs are revered demon hunters.

But what are they like in Tian Xia? What is their culture like? How are they perceived by the other ancestries? Do orcs even have a sizeable presence in the Dragon Empires?

I found two mentions of them in the Tian Xia book, and only in passing.

Does the +1 circumstance bonus to attacks provided by the spell end with the killing of the albatross? Insofar as I can tell, it persists for the full minute since nothing says it goes away at any point.

Vapor form prohibits taking any action with the Attack trait.

Escape has the Attack trait.

So if I cast vapor form on an ally who is grappled, restrained, or otherwise held, I've actually prevented their escape, rather than aided in it?

That doesn't seem right to me. They can slip through small cracks, but can't slip through their bonds or the grasp of an enemy?

The feat has the requirement "You are wielding two melee weapons, each in a different hand."

However, the main body says "Make two Strikes against your hunted prey, one with each of the required weapons." Note that it doesn't specify that they must be melee Strikes.

Therefore, can I use thrown melee weapons to make ranged Strikes with this feat?

You might be thinking that, once you throw one weapon, you no longer meet the requirements. What if I put the returning rune on each weapon (or make use of some similar item or ability)? By the time I make that second ranged Strike, the first has already returned to my hand and I again meet the requirements in time for the second Strike.

The feat for reference: Twin Takedown

A friend of mine took the Vengeful Hatred (duergar) ancestry feat for his dwarf ranger in our Age of Ashes campaign.

Now, as we make our way through Volume 2: Cult of Cinders, we're officially making the transition to Remaster content AND into Foundry.

He noted that duergar no longer appeared to exist and changed it to drow instead during the transition. (LOL.)

I'm inclined to advise him and the GM that duergar are now called hryngar, and that drow no longer exist. But before I do, I wanted to ask the hive mind if Age of Ashes had either of these ancestries appear during the adventure path in any great number and, if not, do any of the other Vengeful Hatred options make an appearance?

I don't want my friend to be sitting on a dead feat for the entirety of what's looking like it could be a decade long campaign.

Should he retrain it?

I recall there being a rule that you could only Command an Animal once per round, particularly as it related to Animal companions. However, I seem to have lost track of that rule in the Remaster.

Does it still exist, and if so, where can it be found?

If you are limited to commanding a minion once per round in the Remaster, can you use abilities that allow your companion to act and Command an Animal in the same round? In short do the Command an Animal limitations apply to other actions?

Example:
Cavalier's Charge + Command an Animal to Stride twice, Strike, Stride twice for three actions

In your experience playing the game what, in your opinion/observations, would qualify as too much healing in an adventuring party? Is it possible to have too much healing?

My current party, for example, is running through Age of Ashes, Vol. 2 and is currently 7th-level. We currently have:
- aiuvarin cleric, expert medicine, healing font, Battle Medicine, Continual Recovery, Robust Recovery, Unusual Treatment, Ward Medic, spare heal spells prepared, minor healing potion, heal scrolls x2, wand of heal
- aiuvarin ranger, no healing capabilities
- dwarf ranger, no healing capabilities
- elf druid, master medicine, Advanced First Aid, Assurance (medicine), Batte Medicine, Continual Recovery, healing plaster, a couple low-rank heals prepared, staff of healing
- gnome sorcerer, signature heal spell
- iruxi magus, expert medicine, Battle Medicine, Godless Healing

In nearly every encounter since Vol. 2 started, we've been routed and forced to regroup, recover, and return for a second round before being able to proceed.

I've been saving up my AcP for months to have enough to purchase the Poppet ancestry boon. However, when I logged on this morning, I noticed that the boon has mysteriously disappeared from the list of those available.

Where did it go? Why was it removed? I know I've seen it there previously.

Poppets are Standard, but Rare, so I can't play out my concept without it.

I just came to realize that Stryx don't have any 17th-level ancestry feats. Doesn't that* make them inferior to other ancestry choices?

Are there other ancestries with few to no feats at certain levels? If so, why haven't those gaps been filed to bring them more in line with traditional ancestries?

My champion/sorcerer just hit level 19 in Agents of Edgewatch. Seeing as my Steed Ally hasn't been able to contribute meaningfully for several levels (I've come a long way from being an equine enforcer on the Puddles' streets) I've decided to retrain her out for options that are more likely to aid us in the climatic battles likely to come our way in the near future.

But then I saw this line under Divine Ally: Once you choose an ally, your choice can't be changed.

Does that mean I cannot retrain this particular class option, kind of like how sorcerer bloodlines are restricted from typical retraining?

What on Golarion is going on with the Howl of the Wild cover? Has Charikleia totally lost her mind and is trying to live her dream of flying with the birds by wrangling a rock with a lasso?

And poor Baranthet is struggling to maintain his grasp of the (large?) minotaur, while hanging from what looks like one leg of a tripod connected to fragile spyglass?

Telero appears to be the only sensible one, trying to ward off the creature before his friends get themselves killed!

Am I seeing things correctly? How do you interpret the image; what the heck is going on?

It occurred to me today that mirror's reflection could be REALLY good on certain base classes. A non-thaumaturge can get it with Thaumaturge Dedication (2nd-level) and the Implement Initiate (6th-level) feats.

Take the Champion class for example, if you can be in two places at once, you are twice as likely to trigger your champion's reaction and protect your allies over a broader area. It also works well with the expected champion action economy. You could Stride, Strike, then activate mirror's reflection. If you don't need to Stride, then perhaps you could Raise Shield (which might even act as your mirror!) or take some other worthwhile action, like Demoralize or Glimpse Vulnerability. It might make you slightly more open to attack, but if that draws in more aggro, it just makes you that much more of an effective tank for your allies.

I'm sorely tempted to make a changeling with multiple personalities that manifest as the illusions, each looking slightly different from one another. Or perhaps a redeemed blackguard turned champion that projects his past self when wanton violence becomes necessary. Or perhaps someone tangled in time, with alternate realities constantly dumping time duplicates on him?

I was also considering how it might interact with the kineticit's auras and similar abilities. I was thinking it would be neat to have two overlapping auras 15 feet apart from one another, effectively getting a wider area. Perhaps an ice witch with temporary simulacrums of herself?

On closer inspection though, it looks like mirror's reflection says "any effects you generate come from only one of your positions; you decide which each time you act." Still, how does that work with kineticist auras, which are likely already on? Even if a GM rules that only one of the two kineticists projects an aura (the other being an illusory aura I suppose) once you do something like make an elemental blast from the inactive aura position, the one with the active aura vanishes. Does the aura's effect then suddenly "hop" to the new position?

Or perhaps it just works in both places because it's not really something you generated, but rather was already ongoing. If it's on when you use mirror's reflection, it just is.

What are your thoughts on some of the ideas above? Do you have any other cool mirror's reflection combos or ideas of your own to share?

PFS: Multiple different activities can occur in a single Downtime unit (8 days), but you can only ever roll once for a given activity in any given unit.

So, according to the above I could, say, spend four days crafting, then four days earning income. Each activity would be permitted a single check. Pretty clear.

I could also Craft (weapon) for four days, then Craft (armor) for four days. Each would require a separate Craft check. Again, it seems pretty clear.

But could I then also Craft (weapon) for four days, then Craft (same type of weapon) for four days? That's treated as two separate activities, and would require two separate Craft checks, right? (The end result likely being two weapons.)

So if my Inventor failed his Craft check to make a new formula with the Inventor feat, he could not continue that activity and expect to be able to make a new Check. However, he could just start a new activity of the same kind--essentially starting over from scratch--in order to make a new check, right? After all, it's a new distinct activity, not a continuation of the previous one, and thus would be permitted a new Check.

Am I understanding all that correctly? If not, where am I going wrong, and why?

Do I need to spend two days of downtime prior to using the Inventor feat?

Here is a screenshot from our 18th-level game from this morning.

As you can see from the icons next to the character names, there are no less 50 active status effects in play.

If you're not using VTT automation, such as Foundry, how on earth do you manage to accurately track all the numerous status conditions that have long since become so common during high level play?

For those of you who have experienced high level play without automated tools, what tips and tricks might you share with the community for successfully managing it all?

My Foundry players recently discovered that I use an automated timer to remind me to give out a hero point each hour.

Soon after, everything in our games slowed down so that our two hour sessions have more than doubled to five hours!

At first I thought maybe it was just from waning interest or distractions from life events during play. However, one of the players reached out to me, concerned, saying that multiple others are deliberately dragging their feet so that they can get more hero points out of me for the same number of encounters, thereby increasing their odds of success on important rolls. They don't see it as cheating since the rules allow for this, but at least one player regrets losing our quick encounters.

Has anyone else encountered this player phenomenon?

Is there a Remaster equivalent of the web spell? I can't seem to find one for my cleric of Grandmother Spider.

Dude, minotaurs be totally busted compared to other ancestries. Most overt example of power creep I've seen in PF2e to date.

- Large size
- Darkvision
- Permanent reach with a feat
- Can boost all physical ability scores at level 1
- Powerful natural attack
- Can walk through walls as early as level 9 (plus other amazing feats)

Contrast that to dwarves who got darkvision, a knife, and reduced speed to balance those out.

Centaurs are not far behind. Personally, I'd take away the darkvision from both ancestries, possibly allowing its return with one or more feats. That would go a long ways towards balancing them out I think.

I guess Paizo sees Large size as being a drawback?

Didn't minotaurs have poor eyesight anyways, often relying on sense of smell? And why do centaurs need to see in the dark? Is it because they're stargazers?

Discuss.

This is a brainstorm and discussion thread for amazing combos involving awakened animals. Contribute to it however you like.

I for one can't help but think that someone wanting to play a traditional animal (that is, one that does not appear obviously magical or unnatural) may want to pursue the monk class to empasize unarmed attacks and mobility, or perhaps the barbarian or rogue class, since those classes' combat abilities are not especially hindered by the lack of manufactured weapons.

If you don't want the weirdness of having hands on an animal that traditionally doesn't have opposable thumbs, but also don't want to be crippled, I might recommend the kineticist. Since you won't be wielding weapons, your "hands" will be free for your impulses, and you won't have to worry about feeling gimped in combat. You might even have some mobility or utility options to help you get around your (self-imposed) limitations.

I for one can't wait to play an awakened fiery leopard or smoldering leopard that taps into their innate fiery nature to deliver fire blasts and impulses, or a rhino that earth blasts enemies by gouging up and tossing boulders from the earth with their horn.

Play a champion of evil and take the zombie or ghoul dedication to play a circus animal visitant so tortured in life by their handlers that they returned as a vengeful spirit.

Or maybe play a reverse summoner, in which the humanoid is the eidolon. lol.

Or for something more martial oriented, take the Mind Smith or Soul Forger dedication and play a psyloch-styled anime space cat that crawled out of a wrecked pod among some Numerian wreckage and battles with psychic projections.

Or play as the hypnotic Kaa (from the Jungle Book), or as a spellcasting naga, with an awakened serpent and the Captivator archetype.

So many cool combos and ideas to be born from this! What are some of your own ideas?

The Howl of the Wild teasers have got my brain noodles twitching.

A squad of highly mobile centaur archers being lead by a Commander is just going to be grossly effective.

Between the wild, the war, and the commander and guardian, there's a whole lot of awesome coming our way. 8'D

For those of you saying that "the Champion class fulfills the Guardian's role of tank better," just wait until Player Core 2 drops.

Paizo has been known to reduce the power and capability of existing content in order to increase sales of new content once on a while.

It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if something like that happened between these two classes.

What would or should happen if one or more PCs attempted to unmask the Waterfall? Both in-game and out?

I am concerned that upon learning what the Decemvirate and their magical masks are to the Society, and meeting the Waterfall for the first time, one or more of my players will make the attempt to unmask her during their introductions.

My players, though experienced roleplayers, are total newbs to organized Pathfinder Society play. They are accustomed to complete player autonomy, not highly structured adventures in which they must do the bidding of strangers in masks. I suspect they're going to chafe a bit upon meeting the Waterfall for the first time.

I'm thinking maybe a high level daze effect that knocks the character straight out, or some other narrative black out in which the character awakens with no memory of her identity and is heavily chastised ("you're lucky you're not dead or exiled!"). In either case, I'm thinking a point of infamy would be in order for openly assaulting a leader of the Society. I will be providing stern warnings beforehand and making clear the gravity and possible consequences of such a disrespectful action.

What do you think would or should happen if a player attempts this? If it helps, the PCs are all level 1 or 2 still.

Does anyone else feel this feat is far and away too situational to warrant a feat, much less a 4th-level class feat?

In all my years of roleplaying 2e, I can't recall a single instance of needing to Avert Gaze.

This should be a more general ability given freely to all, such as rewriting Avert Gaze to allow for this when using Raise Shield. Seems to me like a natural consequence of Raise Shield.

I can't even begin to imagine how the Foundry programmers are going to implement the automation for all of these new game mechanics.

Best of luck, guys.

If a Commander is granting extra actions to an ally who is supposed to be participating in a one on one duel or arena combat without support (such as magic), is that cheating? Or is it perceived in-world as just another person shouting support/coaching advice from the sidelines?

Seems like every gladiator would benefit greatly from having such a coach in their corner, without obviously breaking any participation rules.

Does Larger Than Life stack with Titan Wrestler for determining the size of creatures you can target with your combat maneuvers?

Item bonus to AC? Against a fireball? What?

Am I to understand that Reaction Time does not grant a bonus reaction each round, but rather only one time, and only for the first round, after rolling initiative? (In essence once per combat.)

Intercept Strike is triggered by an ally taking physical damage.

Which step of the attack/damage oder of operations does that fall under? Dp you wait until damage amount is known and being applied? Or does the reaction come earlier, when amounts aren't known, but the type might be?

When you take the damage in their stead, you gain resistance to all damage. Does this mean energy damage too, despite the trigger limitation? For example, an ally is attacked by a flaming longsword. Since it's dealing physical damage, it qualifies to trigger your reaction (or at least I hope it does). Once it is diverted, you apply your resistance once to the physical damage and again to the fire damage. Is that right?

I can't seem to find any Pathfinder Society Boons in the Foundry VTT beyond what appears to be Season 1.

Where can I find the rest of the boons? My fellow players and I have several boons from other seasons (And an adventure path) that we are seemingly unable to drag and drop onto our character sheets' boon section. It doesn't effect us much in our own little circle, but if my friends want to export their characters into a different Foundry game under a different GM, then they're not going to be able to easily show what boons they have.

So I guess it has come out that a "dragonblood" versatile heritage is coming out in Player Core 2. [LEAK]

What are you going to make for your first dragonblood PC?

I'm considering updating my old draconic war hero, Fei Kune.

If my snare specialist has Crafter's Workshop (Envoy's Alliance boon) and formulas for all of his snares, can he begin crafting with 0 days lead time, rather than 1 or 2?