Hey Jeff, I just wanted to thank you for this. Because after Mona and Bulmahn's decent responses I thought this might all blow over for a minute, but then I see this and my faith is restored that no one is going to let this slide.
And for the love of Aroden, DON'T make a gunslinger. Guns in fantasy games are super lame. I think guns are fun and Aroden was awful, so bring on the gunslinger!
Fair enough. Everyone, you officially have 24 hours to take your turn before I do it for you.
List Stuff: Ope, I'll fix that sometime soon. Thanks Atalius and Queaux. Vali: No, none of my guides will include Adventure Path content except for the animal companion guide. This is in part because they're meant to be accessed through the AP and in part because I don't want to buy AP volumes to keep up with stuff. Old_Man_Robot: Go right ahead, I'd be flattered if you did.
Sorry for the delay, life is difficult. Gods and Magic patch notes are here, they'll point you to everything that was added or changed.
At long last, the thrilling conclusion. With volume 8, we have all 10 levels of spells. I also edited True Target with a note about RAI.
So a funny thing happens when you're quarantined for two weeks and you don't have anything scheduled for 4 days: you lose track of time really fast. So I missed last week's updates, but that's fine because we've gotten to the point where the levels are short AF and they can easily be combined. Anyway here's volume 6, consisting of 6th and 7th level. On Sunday we'll have volume 7, which will be 8th, 9th and 10th level, and next Wednesday will be the Gods and Magic updates to all existing guides. I'll be taking April off to build up a backlog of content and then we'll be back in March with a guide to the cloistered cleric.
Zapp, first off it's cleric and champion only, second off it's a focus spell so it auto-heightens. Second off, you would be surprised at how long combats have been lasting in most of the PFS scenarios and the Age of Ashes combats I've run/played in. You're right, 9 rounds is unrealistic, but 4-5 is about average in my experience so far. It's basically "here's a domain power you can use to set up a solid third action ranged attack." Agreed that it's only worthwhile at high level, but I wouldn't call it unimpressive given that it's also a renewable resource used.
Volume 5 is volume live! ... I'm so sorry. Anyway AoN updated a few days ago with Gods and Magic. On Wednesday, April 1st (which will be after Volume 9 releases, containing 9th and 10th level spells) I'll be doing a big update for all existing guides, including this one.
Ghost Sound: Reasonable point, although as Kyrone says the range does go up and Reach Spell also helps with that. Flanking at range: This is actually kind of a weird thing, but flanking is a status that applies to a target as a result of your positioning, rather than a status that applies to your attack. If you are, say, in flanking position with an enemy and cast ray of frost in melee range (or even if you're not in melee range, courtesy of a reach weapon), then the target is flatfooted to the attack, because you have a flank on them. That the attack you're using isn't melee has no bearing. Zapp: You didn't even use quotes, you just made 6 separate posts. Mobile keyboards have an enter key. Illusions: That's just it, though, it's not trying to accomplish more than other spells of the same level. The instance I'm referring to was in PF1 using major image, a third level spell, to create the appearance that a creature that our opponent specifically hated had entered the battlefield. If the GM had had the enemy react in the way he should have, logically, reacted, it would've burned a single turn for that monster. That's entirely on par for the combat usage of a third level spell, and while it doesn't require a save it does require foreknowledge of the enemy. Now, in this case, we're talking about PF2's illusory creature, which is, for all intents and purposes, a minion. A minion that is actually a threat, unlike one grabbed with bind undead, and that you can shape into something your opponent hates and actively wants to die. SuperBidi: The glyph trick still requires two actions, unless you've already got it in your hand walking into combat, and it only targets one creature. I don't personally have a problem with being able to use a spell to make single-target spell grenades with a cap of your casting modifier during downtime.
Volume 4 has arrived (significantly late, I've been traveling a lot and I'm tired and forgetful so my apologies). In response to some stuff: This is great stuff, looking forward to volume 3! Your missing some spells from God's and Magic, ie Ill Oman, Liberating Command etc. Any plans on adding those? All of my guides will get content updates for new books after they're added to Archives of Nethys, so they can be properly hyperlinked as I'm adding them. When that happens I'll also do a big "patch notes" post that will include any major changes that have been made in response to feedback or new experiences on my part. Re: Fireball, while fire resistance and immunity aren't the worst things they are still things, and by extension fire is still the worst damage type, it's just no longer a mostly bad one. Even though there are also a lot of creatures with fire weakness, I find that a more neutral damage type, like electric, is still going to be more reliable. That being said, there's a reason why despite my commentary, fireball and lightning bolt have the same rating. They're very equivalent spells in terms of their potential damage output and viability; the former has a better area type, the latter has a more reliable damage type. The wizard in my live Age of Ashes game prepares both, and bit more of fireball because there's a certain satisfaction from a well placed fireball that you can't get from any other spell, but he's gotten good mileage out of both. Re: Blindness, I'll admit I missed the incapacitation trait before and it should probably be a 3* rating, but I stand by that even the success condition is pretty dang good. Re: Fascinated, I'm going to disagree with y'all because Fascinate does actually do one very important thing: Creatures you Fascinate cannot use concentrate actions that don't include you. For enthrall specifically, that mostly applies to Seek and Sense Motive because it breaks so easily in combat, but in general (Fascinating Performance being imo the simplest way) it actually makes a fantastic tanking strategy because Cast a Spell has the concentrate tag, as do many offensive abilities. It doesn't stop enemies from attacking you, but it does stop them from casting spells at your friends (assuming you don't stand with them in Fireball Formation). That's why enthrall has a 2* rating, because it does have potential uses and those uses are viable and valid. 1*, the only rating below that, is reserved for things that have no actually viable use.
We interrupt your regularly schedule discussion on the merits of ad blockers to bring you volume 3!
The key here is that there isn't actually a good answer.You're right that it is absolutely a house ruleYou say "there is no cost at all to nonlethal" but I question why you think it needs a cost to begin with. What's wrong with letting PCs take prisoners if they want to? That's a very reasonable suggestion. It is done. Thanks for your input,
Wait no longer, Chibi! Presenting volume 2. (you can also follow the blog, but I understand folks might not want a WordPress account).
I have a question: Why Heal is just 4 stars in healing when there are no equivalent spell in terms of healing? That is an excellent question. Me-from-a-month-and-a-half-ago probably remembers, but he's generally dumber than I am so I won't trust him.
Behold, volume 1 of my magnum opus. New volumes, each representing one level of spells (except vol. 9, which is levels 9 and 10) will be posted on Wednesdays and Sundays. MAGIC MARCH Y'ALL. I'll also collect them into a handy Table of Contents post once the full thing is done.
Samurai: The difference is Wizard Dedication takes up a class feat, which are generally the most valuable type of feat in the game. Plus, as was pointed out, it has an Int prerequisite, making it only really useful if you're going Outwit Monster Hunter. Ludovicus: In order, I prefer to look at feats in a vacuum and not based on what they're a prerequisite for I don't include options from module adventure toolboxes, save for the animal companion options from Age of Ashes, for a variety of different reasons most of which boil down to "I don't want to buy module books I'm not going to run and I don't want to rate them outside of the context in which they were given." You make a good point about the numbers, but that doesn't make it a 1 star option in my estimation, because it still has value. If I don't expect my second attack to hit, I would rather take a -2 to my first to increase the damage output, trying to put down as much damage as I can possibly get in that one hit. And lastly, the main problem I had with Second Sting was that I was operating under an assumption of a fairly low static damage modifier. Taking into account a Strength based build, it's far more worth a feat slot, particularly as it has no opportunity cost to use. Going in the patch notes. Speaking of patch notes, I'll be doing an update for the Sunday after Gods and Magic is added to Archives of Nethys, so that new content can be added and hyperlinked immediately (also so I can fix the lack of hyperlinking on class feats, because I forgot to do that.)
This month we tackle one of the most controversial classes, and also I think one of the strongest: the champion. Next month, I do spells. All the spells. Every single spell across every single hardcover. And I'm going to have to commit to that for the rest of PF2's publishing life. Just end me now.
I took my own stab at an annotated history of Breachill by Voz, although purely in text form. Breachill: History of Secrets: The cover clearly originally read Breachill, Outpost of Liberty, but the word Liberty had been scratched out and replaced with Secrets. It's a detailed account of the history of the town, opening with a summary that has been scribbled upon, marked up, and heavily edited with an ink pen in the same handwriting as the note pointing to Alseta's Ring.
"Breachill traces its founding to 4520 ar. That fall, 50 humans Exactly 50? Really? No one thought that was suspicious? found themselves mired in a threadbare outpost in a valley at the foot of the Five Kings Mountains. They had little shelter, provisions to survive for just a few weeks, few skills among them, and almost no defenses against the area’s dangers. Even stranger, they had no idea how they ended up in their hovels, nor why they were there in the first place. Most barely remembered their own names. Clearly they didn't remember enough to ever ask how this happened either As winter encroached, the flimsy outpost’s vulnerabilities were clear, and the desperate survivors felt hope fading. "And then an act of [strike]serendipity[/strike] If this was "serendipity" then I'm an idiot halfling saved their lives. Lord of what? Lamond Breachton, a wandering adventurer, scholar, and wizard, was returning from a lucrative trading trip to Druma when he stumbled upon the amnesiacs’ meager outpost Druma keeps extensive records of trading, double check later for more evidence. Even with his powerful magic, kindly Lord Breachton couldn’t solve the mystery of the humans’ origins or restore their missing memories. Ridiculous. I may not be capable of such magics but I know they're more than possible for a wizard of the caliber Breachton is proclaimed to be He took pity upon the villagers, and spent much of his recently acquired wealth on building proper shelters along the banks of what became known as Breach CreekThey really liked naming things after the old bastard didn't they?. Further, Breachton helped the amnesiacs acquire food and establish farms, brought in experts to teach them trades, and used his magic and know-how to aid their day-to-day affairs while the townspeople became self-sufficient. And isn't it convenient that an adventuring merchant wizard happened to have all of the spells needed to sustain a town in his spellbook In less than a year, the outpost was thriving, and the leaders of the burgeoning hamlet named their settlement Breachton’s Hill. This name was soon shortened to Breachill. "Despite his monumental place in the town’s history, very little is known about Lamond Breachton himself. Of course. You would've had to actually ask questions to learn such things The wizard’s origins are a mystery, and details of his life before arriving in town are conspicuously I mostly find it impressive they realise how conspicuous this is. missing from the extensive local texts written about the town’s founding. The townspeople know only that Breachton had distinctive, golden-colored eyes not natural human colour, the rich voice of an angel likely hyperbolic, but maybe not, and flowing white hair that reached past the magnificent robes he always wore it's like a bloody parody of a wizard from a children's story. Curiously, the wizard made it clear to those early town pioneers that he was indeed a human, as opposed to an aasimar or other celestial-touched being. I find that highly doubtful. No clue what he really was, but no wizard will go that far to assure people they aren't special History books describe Breachton’s demeanor as exceedingly paternal; he treated each of the town’s pioneers as wayward children regardless of an individual’s actual ages. Of course he did, they were mentally reduced to children and he was obviously responsibleHis [strike]kindness[/strike] cunningand willingness to [strike]expend his own resources to help the outpost[/strike] invest in whatever scheme he was running seemed without limit, however—he made the humans’ survival and well-being his entire focus for an entire year. As one does with an experiment, or a pet. Then one day, as quickly as he had arrived, Breachton disappeared. Most confusing part. He cultivated a town of worshippers and vanished. Got what he wanted? Research complete? Bored? Gods know they bore me. The townspeople never heard from him again, but they understood the wanderer’s need to move on. As a final tribute to the wizard, the townspeople erected a statue of him that stands in the center of town to this day. I still cannot believe these idiot humans built an actual statue of this charlatan. "Breachill’s population swelled and came to include dwarves, half-elves, half-orcs, and even goblins. What drew them in? Breach River leads nowhere, it's too remote for trade, the only import or export they have is half-decen wood and gullible morons with delusions of grandeur Though it remains a comparatively small settlement, Breachill quickly became known as a perfect place for adventurers in the region to stop for a hearty meal, a decent inn, and an enthusiastic audience for their tales from the road. Early on, the town established a tradition of formally employing adventurers for duties that concerned its citizens but fell outside the purview of the town’s guard. Peculiar how many such incidents occur compared to other towns, even for Isger. And in time, the town caught the eyes of the Hellknights, a strictly lawful mercenary group dedicated to protecting order at all costs. WHY? There. Is. Nothing. Out. Here. "In 4638 ar, the newly formed Hellknight Order of the Nail pledged themselves to fighting lawlessness in the untamed wilds. Breachill, for all my hatred of this dismally rural place, is not untamed. Why settle somewhere that is neither cosmopolitan enough to truly sustain them nor wild enough to justify their presence? Impressed with Breachill’s peaceful and efficient functionality, they chose a spot outside Breachill for their inaugural home, Citadel Altaerein. B&++*$~$. More to this. The order built its single-tower I can literally look out the window and see four towers, you idiot keep high on a low-rising hill about 10 miles northeast of town Considering he can't count to four I'm not surprised he somehow cut the distance to the keep in half.. For decades, Breachill served as a supply juncture for the Hellknights, and many townspeople took jobs as laborers or staff members attending to the keep’s needs. But then, in 4682 ar, only 44 years after building Citadel Altaerein, the Order of the Nail pulled up stakes from what had become known as Hellknight Hill. You would think a knightly order dedicated to absolute lawfulness would be less fickle. Something changed? Same thing as Lamond??? Lured to the west by Queen Domina, then ruler of Korvosa, the Order of the Nail relocated to a far more expansive home in Citadel Vraid. For many years, it maintained a skeleton crew of Hellknights to watch over the essentially empty citadel atop Hellknight Hill, but in 4711, the Hellknights abandoned Citadel Altaerein entirely. Forgot about the deed. Need to claim it for self.
It feels really good to see my name here. A big thanks to Eleanor and Luis for the opportunity, and for these Meet the Author things.
In PF2, the ACs are meant to be secondary/tertiary combatants (minion killing, bodyguard, etc). PCs are the stars and should never be overshadowed in design. Thinking they are bad because they would die horribly as frontliners is a little odd. The issue is that they're designed to be frontliners. All three of the roles I laid out in this guide require the companion to be moving into melee combat unless they're serving as a mount for an archer or mage. There are no other roles, they're either going into melee or they're doing nothing. I completely agree that they needed to be nerfed from PF1's standards, but I think this level of squishiness is an overcorrection.
Personally I do really value Dex based skills and a higher Reflex save, but for a two-weapon fighting ranger that extra static damage will add up and it's worth counting.
Fresh off the presses, we dive into the world of animal companions, everyone's favorite murder-fluffs.
Order of the Nail are pretty much colonialists most than anything, and that's something I tried to play up. One of my parties actively decided to bring him along to try and redeem him. They're failing to do so, but they at least made friends with him and have given him some perspective on "not murdering goblins and warg puppies."
You are the hunter. They are the prey. As always, feedback is welcome. Just like last month, I have next month's guide up and ready to go on Patreon, and if you want more than just guides you can follow the blog for weekly feats, homebrew rules, and more.
In my latest blog post, we experiment with some weapon specific feats, designed to take advantage of the fighter's enhanced weapon proficiency progression.
I'm running into a similar issue, which is why it's a side project for me right now. That being said, it's something that I'm going to run into with casters in general (in fact I did when I wrote a wizard guide for Legendary, and regretted about a quarter of my spell ratings later as the system became more clear), and rather than go through all the same spells over and over again, I think it'll be easier to simply compile all of the spells together and make updates as time goes on and things become more clear.
Looks nice! I think you forgot to cover intimidating strike (fighter feat level 2). Thank you. I'm setting the 15th of every month as Guide Update Day, so I'll be adding it back in then. One thing I think needs to be in this guide is to note which feats are flourishes, because you can only ever use 1 flourish feat a turn. For example, a Two-Weapon fighter who multiclassed into Monk cannot use both Flurry of Blows and Two Weapon Flurry in the same turn, because both of those are flourish feats. So funny story, I actually finished this guide about a month ago, and at that point I hadn't actually looked closely enough at flourishes to realize how impactful they were, so basically every flourish is on my radar for reevaluation. Thanks for the reminder though. Porridge: I was on the fence to be honest, and will probably be upping Natural Ambition to 3 stars after consideration. Ancient Elf is also under reevaluation but I'm less certain about that, if only because it only applies if you a) have a multiclass you want and b) have a 2nd level class feat you absolutely must have. Either way, the feedback is appreciated. We should be praising this man for the work he put in here, this is brilliant stuff must have taken quite a long time. Very well done sir. Aw, stop, you're making me blush. This took me longer than future guides will if only because I now have a template with all the feats listed and hyperlinked already. When can we expect a Bard guide? Is it on your radar? The current pipeline is ranger next month and champion in February. For casters in general, those are going to wait until after I've finished the Spells guide I'm working on on the side, which I'm angling to release as the March guide, and bard is probably going to be the first guide after that.
Hey gang, you may remember me from the vigilante guide. Well I'm back not only with a fighter guide, but a full on blog and a pledge to write guides for every Pathfinder Second Edition class! Take a look, feel free to follow, and if you really enjoyed it and want to get every guide a month early, I have a Patreon too.
There are 4 Focus Powers in the core rulebook that offer healing. Lay on Hands is the most ubiquitous, offering 6 hp per spell level for only one action, albeit only at melee range. It also offers a small AC bnus if used in combat. Wholeness of Body is not as good, being self-only and offering 8 hp per level -8 for 1 action but only applying to yourself. Soothing Ballad comes on significantly later at 13th level, but offers a burst of 1d8 per spell level to yourself and 10 allies along with versatility for other options. And finally, after the errata Goodberry clocks in as the best of them all, offering 1d6+4 per level for two actions that can be precast and requiring only 1 action to consume, and you can split it up however you like. In addition to their relative action efficiency, all of these focus powers can be used out of combat for cost and time efficient healing, and on top of that because of how Refocus can be combined with other activities as they apply, it can be argued a champion of a deity of healing like Sarenrae can Refocus by treating wounds, making it even more time efficient. Now let's look at the witch's Life Boost. At maximum use, we're getting 10 hp per level spread across 10 rounds for the cost of 11 actions (2 to initially cast and 9 rounds of sustain/cackle). In combat, this plays out for, as an example, a character with a witch in a level 10 party healing for 5 hp per round which, as anyone who's played a level 10 combat will tell you, is absolutely nothing. Out of combat, this comes out to slightly more than any other Focus Power, except that unlike those powers, you can't use them repeatedly on the same target. All in all this makes Life Boost terrible in general, providing very little in combat value and not enough out of combat value to be worth spending the lesson on it, but especially when you put it next to the far more valuable other Focus Powers, it just makes a Lesson of Healing witch look pathetic by comparison.
Death is a part of life, and also the food upon which we GMs dine. Please include:
Look on the bright side, after August gets here we won't care about the missing spoilers anymore since we'll have the books by then. So, the missing spoilers and reveals will only matter for a month and a half. It's the principle of the thing. We had a task to try and accomplish and we failed.
I hope the Witch ends up being the prepared caster for this school of magic, it'd be a very appropriate fit. I don't think it would particularly fit the thematics of the Pathfinder witch, personally. I'm pulling for witches as the prepared sorcerer, with their spell list based on their patron.
We would have kept next week's reveals a secret if it weren't for you meddling nerds and your CSI image inhancement tools!!! Just be glad none of us has enough skill to type randomly on a keyboard or else we would've hacked the entire book right out from under you.
Yeah, they do have some scary low AC, and even with feat investment it doesn’t seem to scale too quickly. The clunky interaction with melee ranger is interesting to know; i can picture it with PC and enemies able to move around a lot more; makes crowd control a lot more valuable. I had a solid melee ranger with an animal companion by using my bear as a mount. Lost the Work Together benefit but it effectively gave me a free stride at almost double my speed every turn and effectively negate MAP for one of my attacks so I'd say it was worth the feat investment.
Per #MyPathfinderSpoiler 46, Clerics get Will at level 9 through the Resolve class feature.
Women can become liches too, Staffan.
I did some transcribing of my own. 4 - SKILLS (cont. from Repair Item, presumably) both hands. The GM sets the DC, but it's usually about the same DC to Repair a given item as it is to Craft it in the first place. You can't Repair a destroyed item.
Crafting Trained Actions
Craft
You must spend 4 days at work, at which point you attempt a Crafting check. The GM determines the DC to Craft the item based on its level, rarity, and other circumstances. If your attempt to create the item is successful, you expend the raw materials you supplied. You can pay the remaining portion of the item's Price in materials to complete the item immediately, or you can spend additional downtime days working on it. For each additional downtime day you spend, reduce the value of the materials you need to expend to complete the item. This amount is determined using Table 4-2: Income Earned (page 236) based on your proficiency rank in Crafting and using your own level instead of a task level. After any of these downtime days, you can complete the item by spending the remaining portion of its Price in materials. If the downtime days you spend are interrupted, you can return to finish the item later, continuing where you left off. An example of Crafting appears in the sidebar. Critical Success Your attempt is successful. Each additional day spent Crafting reduces the materials needed to complete the item by an amount based on your level + 1 and your proficiency rank in Crafting. Success Your attempt is successful. Each additional day spent Crafting reduces the materials needed to complete the item by an amount based on your level and your proficiency rank. Failure You fail to complete the item. You can salvage the raw materials you supplied for their full value. If you want to try again, you must start over. Critical Failure You fail to complete the item. You ruin 10% of the raw materials you supplied but you can salvage the rest. If you want to try again, you must start over. Sidebar: Consumables and Ammunition
Sidebar: Getting Formulas
Sidebar: Crafting Example
Identify Alchemy
Deception (Cha)
Create a Diversion <A>
Impersonate
Bloodline Perfection (Feat 20). Prereq: bloodline paragon. You gain an additional 10th-level spell slot.That's an interesting little reveal. 10th level spells are apparently no longer feat gated. You'll notice that there is no 10th level spell feat listed. That means that either there's another sorcerer page after the one shown, which I find unlikely given that there's unlikely to be a full page worth of capstone feats, or casters will be able to cast 10th level spells without a feat.
Bloodline Perfection (Feat 20). Prereq: bloodline paragon. You gain an additional 10th-level spell slot. That's an interesting little reveal. 10th level spells are apparently no longer feat gated.
Presumably there's a success chart that just wasn't included on the card because that would make it too long.
Y'all, I keep seeing a bunch of posts in this thread and thinking "ooh new rules reveals, must be." There is an entire board in which you could make a thread to discuss this, please do and stop throwing off the people with no interest in this discussion.
Is lastwall gone? Tyrant's Grasp spoilers: Well, considering the reason for its existence (guarding against Tar-Baphon) is now moot and TB kinda nuked Vigil off the face of Golarion, it probably is.
"We'll try not to spoil the endings of APs for you." New Thassilon. Like, right there, smack dab on the map.
The more you play or GM for the new edition, the more potential replay opportunities you'll accrue for the first edition campaign. Agreed. This seems like it's designed not to help players who don't want to make the jump continue to play Society, but to create a transitional period while PFS2 gets off the ground so we don't see stuff like what happened in early Starfinder.
Interesting. Does anyone recall any of the OO characters using or referencing a Lore skill? Because if any skill can be used for Knowledge, then Lore can easily be replaced by doing the same for Practice a Profession.Lore skills can already be used to Recall Knowledge. What change exactly do you think is relevant here? The change where the thing that Lore was used for, having specialized knowledge without having to invest in the appropriate knowledge skill, is now covered by having any appropriate skill (e.g. you no longer need to invest in Nature to know about medicinal herbs, nor have Lore (herbalist/doctor/whatever) because you can use the Medicine skill instead). However, as Quid pointed out that doesn't cover the use of skills for certain professions. So I'll amend and say "hey, maybe this means they can rename Lore to Profession so I can stop hating the skill name so much."
Interesting. Does anyone recall any of the OO characters using or referencing a Lore skill? Because if any skill can be used for Knowledge, then Lore can easily be replaced by doing the same for Practice a Profession.
Not gonna lie, Twin Feint feels kind of lackluster given how prevalent the flatfooted condition is. Rogues in the playtest games I ran never had a problem inflicting it or getting it from their party members. So committing a feat to make two attacks as two actions, one of which has full penalties but gets the flatfooted that you could've gotten on both attacks by moving into a flank or, like, amping up your Intimidate skill seems like it'd be mediocre.
The way this is set up, why even have exp at all? Why not just write into the rules "you level up when the GM tells you." Right? That's in essence what they're doing. The thing is that a lot of groups prefer using Exp, and Exp is better than Milestones for sandbox games. If you make the default Exp, then it's easy to just discard it outright for Milestones, but if you make Milestones the default, then your players have to reverse engineer an Exp system from scratch. |
