Gelar's page

I'm aiming to make a level 3 dwarf geomancer NPC, but I'm having trouble finding the right spells for him. Specifically, spells no higher than level 2. So far I only found the cleric's earth domain spell - Hurtling Stone. I also think Telekinetic Projectile can simply be remade into a "strictly rock-throwing spell". This leads me to my question: What other spells (no higher than level 2) could be reskinned into an earth-themed spell? Now, I know that basically anything can be reskinned into anything, but what I'm also looking for are the fitting mechanical effects of these spells (illusions spells will probably not be an option, for example).

I'll be glad to hear your suggestions

I was just thinking about how I won't make enough NPCs in time for the game and will have to improvise on the fly, but it seems like you saved me! I haven't studied the whole document yet, but I've already noticed the quirky additional actions that you've given to the NPCs (and I love it!)

Can we just take this opportunity to appreciate Pathfinder 2's new unique monster actions? It really gives the more boring fights some much-needed character.

One thing I noticed while reading through the book is that the barbarian animal totem offers options for different animals, but there really isn't any choice to be made. Why are there strictly superior and inferior options? All animals have a basic 1d10 unarmed attack, but not everyone has a second agile attack. Even then, the cat totem is clearly superior to the others, as its attack just does more damage. What's up with that? Am i missing something?

I am pretty sure that all the totems can be balanced and turned into an interesting choice. Barbarians only get their big animal totem ability at level 8 (quite high), so the animal of choice doesn't really matter before that. Imagine if the totem granted interesting abilities even at low level? As a couple of ideas off the top of my head: Bear could grant extra hp, bull could give a meaningful athletics bonus, cat - an acrobatics bonus, and wolf could grant some sort of pack tactics ability. Either way, I really like the idea of an animal barbarian, and I think this totem has a lot of potential.

So what do you think about the animal totem? I don't really see many people talking about it, so I'm wondering if i'm the only one who thinks that way.

I am a GM for my group 90% of the time, so my issues are mostly from a campaign running and preparation perspective.

1) I would really like monster stats to be closer to that of PCs, and from the look of the playtest bestiary, they are not. They don't have to be exactly the same, but at least the same calculations for AC, HP, and attack bonuses would be good. I just think it really adds to the immersion. I'm aware that we don't really have proper monster creation rules yet, but this is my concern so far.

2) The check DC table feels too abstract for me. I can't really imagine what a task of a certain level is supposed to mean, unlike with 1E, where I could base the DC on the information I have about the task (lock quality for doors, surface type, for example).

3) Exploration mode rules seem very unnecessary to me. I've always run non-combat and exploration situations as a rules-light and natural process. I didn't even really use the exploration mode rules while running the playtest.

These are my biggest issues, but I do want to say that I really appreciate that 2E makes it much easier for me to run and prepare games.