Search Posts
I'm sorry, I've not preordered anything before on Paizo. Does it mean if you preorder, those orders are shipped out to customers on the 8th? Or is that just when you have inventory? Reason why I ask is the August 1st date.
I just copied all the gear the pregens had.It's easy to switch-out things if needed.
Agreed. I keep rereading the book since my group is trying to decide to continue with Starfinder or go with the playtest, most of us have the playtest though. I had quit playing Starfinder because I found it too busy and unbalanced during play. I keep finding more and more interesting things in P2. I am still VERY impressed with the book. This is what I wanted for Pathfinder. Watching the Gen Con videos are interesting insights into the dev team's thoughts. I would like to see the Relic rules return in some fashion. One thing I don't like in fantasy rpgs, is that you get a +1 sword and eh. You end up selling it at the pawn shop later. A weapon that levels with you (to some extent, maybe every 5 levels), ties it to your character's story. It can be your own Excalibur, or like two scimitars a certain Drow ranger uses. I was also impressed Jason pointed out people's misconceptions of longbows and agree with him on how they work. I practice archery with a sixty pound recurve, that's a shortbow. In tv and movies, that's what you are really seeing. Longbows are those ones tall as a person, think Zen archery or actual English longbow. They really do have different firing distances. I think most people just pick longbow in game for the damage increase and range, and the shortbow gets overlooked. I also feel like most the negativity on the boards are people that don't want to give up a 15+yr system. Most rpgs have a shorter life cycle. It's time to move on and try new things. It's also time to make things simpler for new generations for Pathfinder players. You have tons of them wanting to incorporate it into social technology, it's best not to turn them off. Making the system streamlined, is going to help.
To get an understanding of the system, and to prep for the adventure since it needs five characters each, I did the following: Half-Orc Barbarian/Hunter, Human (Varisian) Cleric of Desna/Acrobat, Dwarf Fighter Blacksmith, Elf Angelic Sorcerer/Esoteric Scion and Halfling Ranger/Scout. Things I liked: 1. Barbarian took me awhile since the system was new. After that, each one took me 15 mins, sans equipment. I mostly used the book and had the pdf left open to the spells section. I read the book a couple of times before doing this so my quick creation time is a factor. 2. Skills are so much easier to do now. Used to take awhile figuring out which to get and how to divide up points. 3. So much easier to figure out feats this way. Previous edition took too long. The other thing I didn't like about P1, you need to plot out your feat paths to be effective. For new players, this can be overwhelming. 4. The visual breaks with the text helps the flow of information better. The page layout is amazing. 5. Once I knew all the powers and spells were together, I think it works. Really doesn't need to be split off. 6. I prefer this proficiency system. Sure TEML is weird at first, but it's easy to remember. Things I noticed: Halfling- Attentive and Keen Eyes felt too situational. The bonuses were fine, but it seemed like those would be rare occasions compared to their other feats. Backgrounds- It's stated that you cannot get a skill feat without the skill, but I know the Alchemist gets a feat without the prerequisite. I see this in a few ways. If you get a free skill with the feat, you can game the system, but what if you already had that skill? Or, maybe you are untrained, but that skill feat gives you a slight edge in the attempt. Cleric- Many of the domains appear meh or situational. I thought Luck, Zeal and Fire were the more useful ones. Paladin- Deific Weapons mentions if the deity's weapon is uncommon, you gain access to it. I didn't see a deity listed with an uncommon weapon. What I'd like to see: Quick starter gear bundles. This could work in the class sidebar in the beginning, under Signature Skills. Gets new players in the game faster. The final book being close to this size. Pathfinder 1 is a tome. Hand it to a new player and see how long it takes them to get through it. Final thoughts: Overall, I'm pretty happy with the playtest. This is the direction I want to see Paizo go. It's still going to have more rules than D&D, but to some degree, Pathfinder needed to be slimmed down to grab other players as well. Another thing I'm amazed with, on these boards there seems to be a sense of entitlement with some people. I can understand when someone doesn't agree with certain rules, but the demanding that Paizo does such and such, is a bit much. This was a playtest, not a full release. The rules were free unless you wanted a hard copy. What I've noticed it appears like there are some that really want Pathfinder 1 as is. If that's the case fine, nobody is stopping people from playing Pathfinder 1. But it's time for a new version. The fact is, rpgs usually hit a ten year cycle.I REALLY like the direction of where Paizo is heading with the Playtest and I'm not interested in seeing these rules getting tossed out. Refined sure, but not tossed out.
1. No. 2. Yes. After awhile, I felt the game got bogged down with rules. I really enjoyed the Beginner Box and prefer an easier gameplay. 3. Just 5th. 4. An even amount of all of those things. 5. I'd prefer the game would be more accessible. I believe too many rules are a turn off to younger or causal players. I also believe this helps in online gaming as well. At the moment, I feel the playtest offers the right amount. 6. Nope. I'd trade in complex rules for faster gameplay. 7. Nope. I very much like how this playtest is handled. I prefer this new feat, skill and action system now. I'm not interested in playing the same old Pathfinder with minor tweaks. I think the playtest is the way to go. It still feels like the old Pathfinder but getting more in with the times. 8. N/A
Agreed. Since PF2 looks similar to PF1, I think many people are carrying over their assumptions with the new version. Some things are the same, some are not. I'm still reading about people not playing it but tearing into a few rules. I get there are a few problems, but seriously, you are not going to know until you play it. The other problem I see is the "Well I would have done it this way", which can work, but it's also someone's personal preference. That and some folks will never be happy. It'll probably be a week or two till my group plays, so I figure it's best to reread the book a few more times.
I rather like the class feats, feels similar class paths like D&D 5, but you do have the flexibility of not totally going down one path if you don't want to. Add in mutli-classing, and you can get some neat choices. The feat system also helps new players figure out where to go. Pathfinder 1 can be daunting, that's why I thought the Strategy Guide was great. You kinna need to plot out your character ahead of time to maximize what you can do in Pathfinder 1. If you wanted to be a polearm fighter, you need to do some research. I don't think that works for new players well at all. Plus, I don't like spending hours making a character. It's just nice that it's kinna already spelled out for you in the Playtest. I am also impressed with the sorcerer. You can basically emulate playing a witch, warlock and oracle by your choices. There's loads of things I like. Not having to manage skill points anymore. Being able to craft without loads of rules. There is a lot of very cool things in this book!
Frankly, I'm surprised how many "experts" there are concerning rules, for a game that just came out the other day.Well, here's where I stopped reading, this is just dismissive and rude, some people on this forum have decades of experience with RPGs (mechanics, rules, etc), and some are professional (not that that really means that much), nothing wrong with mentioning concerns, you do not always have to thoroughly playtest every aspect of a game for an extended period of time to see how it rolls. My point was, for a playtest, on the same day it was released, people claimed they knew everything wrong with it, without actually playing it. There are a variety of different systems interacting with each other. At first, some abilities didn't seem worthwhile, but looking through the book, I noticed how they might be better, typically as a player levels. There probably are some rough parts, but I was amazed at how many people thought they knew how to do it better in one day than two years of development. Since the 80s, I've played a plethora of games. Sometimes games look bad or good on paper, until you play them.
I get valid criticisms, it just seemed some threads were heading down some negative roads. I thought it would be great to see some positive threads of what people liked. I hope all feedback just polishes some rough edges. Ultimately, I'd prefer the final version of the game to be pretty close to what the playtest is because this is a game I really want.
I really dig the art and page layout. Huge fan of Wayne Reynolds. I've got prints, his artbook and met him a couple of times. There's a reason why his work is on most the products. It sells. Not just in the respect of money, but it "sells" you on the world and the characters personalities. I really liked the Beginner Box and Strategy Guide, and I think the layout in this book can help new players. It's a hard sell to get someone that never played a rpg, not be intimated by how big of a tome the Player's Guide is. Frankly, I'm surprised how many "experts" there are concerning rules, for a game that just came out the other day. I think there are some wonky things, but, I'm going to try the game out before deeming something broken. I'm more of a rules light player, like Shadow of the Demon Lord and Savage Worlds. I got turned off on Starfinder's complexity. I didn't care for P1's feat system, yet I think it's awesome in P2. I never cared for figuring out where to spend skills points and how many skills never got used, I prefer how it's handled now. Fighters tend to be bland in fantasy games, I really want to try one now. Glad the economy changed to silver. In most rpgs, any currency other than gold becomes pointless too fast. I like how weapons can have different effects. I think the downtime events sound interesting. There is quite a bit of interesting things here that I feel some folks are glossing over. I still have 20% left in the book to read, but I've skimmed the end part. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with it.
If you're a fan of Wayne Reynold's art, I hope you also caught that he's been working on art for the new edition for quite some time now, 2 years if I recall correctly. I'm also looking forward to seeing new works from him. I did not know that. I follow him on Instagram and FB. Got to meet him twice at cons and got him to sign his Art of War book.
Will the playtest have art in it? I seem to remember the previous Beta had some. I'm a big fan of Wayne Reynolds art, so I hope to see his work inside. In particular, I'm loving the concept work posted on the blog. Will this be used in the book?
Is his power attack bonus properly calculated? His Power Attack should be a +4. His Hit Points should be 11. It may have been a carry over from Favored Class in the Core system or his perhaps his Constitution was higher at some point.
That's the way I played him. His longsword and regular melee attacks both say +4 in sections G & H. The feat states "You have a +1 bonus built into your longsword attack bonus." Since Improved Initiative is factored into his initiative then I figured the longsword attack would be factored in.
I think Valeros the fighter Pregen's attack with the longsword needs to be +5 instead of +4. +3 Strength
|
