Losonti's page

First couple things that come to mind are for the monk to learn Battle Medicine and keep their Medicine proficiency up, since they're generally always gonna have a hand free for it.

The gunslinger could pick up the Munitions Crafter feat and use that to make Life Shot ammo. It's not spectacular healing, but it works at pretty long range and that feat allows you to make ridiculous number of them for free (up to 20 every day at level 2).

Neither of these helps much at level 1, but level 1 should go pretty quickly, especially if you're dealing with above average encounters.

In other news this is the first time I've gotten my hair cut since I started growing it out. Asked them to only trim the ends and clean up, they did some layers and it looks and feels really nice. Significantly less tangly than it generally has been, which is nice.

I really need to get around to this, lol. It's been like 6 years since my last haircut.

Comedy horrifying: Torturous trauma is a meme spell, and I love it.

Actually just straight up horrifying? Dominate, hands down.

Hot damn!

I know it was mentioned earlier that the class is Prepared, but per people seeing the playtest document, does it gain spells like a Wizard/Witch or a Cleric/Druid?

Seems to be like Wizard/Witch. Instead of a spellbook or a familiar, you have a "dirge" that exists inside of your soul, so presumably it cannot be taken, destroyed, killed, etc.

I sort of suspect thralls probably won't carry over from one fight to another.

They only last for one minute and can't move without a feat (that might also be a focus spell?) so yeah unless the fight happens immediately after you won't be keeping them around from one to the next.

I'm lost, my understanding is "Create Thrall" is a FOCUS cantrip. I could have sworn it was a rule that you cannot cast more than one focus spell per turn

It is a focus cantrip, but there's no general rule prohibiting you from casting multiple focus spells each turn. Witches, for example, have to abide by that with their hexes, but that's a property of the Hex trait rather than focus spells as a whole. They're still free to cast other focus spells that aren't hexes.

Yeah, that has to have touch range. Otherwise it's auto win against any non aoe, flying, burrowing enemy that doesn't have 35+ range.

At least in the playtest, the range is 30 feet. One of the thralls, no matter how many you summon, also makes a melee strike using your spell attack modifier, for 1d6 damage (adding 1d6 every 2 spell ranks).

I expect the necromancer won't have real undead minions, but rather class abilities and magical effects that pretend to be.

Mechanically, thralls are creatures but aren't minions. They have no actions, no AC, and no saves.

Also the rules are...free?

I think it's certainly an idea worth exploring and discussing, and I don't think accusing Helmic of trolling, or mischaracterizing what they've said, is very helpful.

It's consistent with stuff like wands and scrolls not needing separate formulas for each rank of a spell (or, worse, every rank of every spell).

Here you go! Ifrits are renamed (since that's now the names of the fire genies) but I think everyone else is the same.

"Rich story" and "co-op" go together like fire and ice or quantum physics and football.

If you like TTRPGs, this seems like a really weird attitude to have.

You'll probably have better results with Buckler Expertise, since it's the same AC bonus and they both have a level 10 feat that puts you into a stance that keeps the bonus going.

Losonti wrote:

My Witch is a crafter, and is currently level 9 in a level 5 settlement. Why would I spend a week of downtime to make 7 or 14 GP with Earn Income when instead I could Craft something at a discount of 24-32gp?

How long does that take you? And how much downtime does it require?

This is 7 days of work, either with Earn Income or Crafting. It's worth noting that the downtime spent Crafting does not need to be consecutive. As long as you succeed on the initial check, you can put the project down and come back to it later without needing to make another check.

Are you going to be crafting permanent items 3 levels lower (I think you said you were level 9) for your party or would the items you craft for your own use highest you could craft? In comparison, wouldn't you be level 9 on earned income and not 5?

The items I Craft are dependent on what the party needs and what we can afford. It's pretty rare that I have the gold necessary to make anything that is on level, let alone buy it.

And no, as has been stated, the levels of Earn Income tasks are generally limited to the level of the settlement you are working in. Crafting progress however, is set by your Crafting proficiency and level, regardless of the level of the settlement or item being crafted.

Folks are correct that you are limited by the formulas you can find or buy, though this is why I also have the Inventor feat.

One other thing: There's definitely an opportunity cost, since I'm obviously not making any money myself while I'm Crafting stuff, but that's not really a problem to me. I like making stuff for the rest of the party, especially if it makes us more effective. One of the first things I did after getting Magical Crafting was make hats of disguise for everybody. Optimal? No, probably not, but for me it was a fun project.

A success at a level 5 Earn Income task earns 1gp per day, or 2gp on a critical success, for 7 or 14gp over 7 days. If I am crafting a permanent item that is level 6 or less, I have 4 days of prep time, and then do 4gp of work every day after that (6gp on a critical success). That gets a discount of 12 or 18gp for the 3 days of work remaining, unless I rush it. If I rush, then I get a discount of 24 or 36gp (32 was a typo) over those 3 days. I don't even have to make a flat check at the end to determine if the item has a quirk or not, since the DC of the flat check is 1 or lower.

My Witch is a crafter, and is currently level 9 in a level 5 settlement. Why would I spend a week of downtime to make 7 or 14 GP with Earn Income when instead I could Craft something at a discount of 24-32gp?

They are, but the buckler still doesn't occupy a hand. You just can't use it to Raise a Shield if the arm it's strapped to is holding a weapon or anything else that has more than Light bulk.

What I can say is that I have been playing a Witch through Age of Ashes and haven't felt that I have been unable to contribute meaningfully to combat. Neither has the Druid that is also in the party.

Second this as a Witch playing through a Hell's Rebels conversion. It's generally considered the weakest spellcasting class, and yet I am having a total blast with it, feeling impactful both in and out of combat.

Your player is correct. All rules content is already included in Foundry's PF2e system, including every creature stat block, with no additional purchases necessary. What it does not include is art or maps, which is what you would need the PDF for (or the official Foundry modules Paizo has put out for more recent releases). If you already own the AP's PDFs through Paizo, then you will receive a discount on the price of the module, if it exists.

...what?

So, what is happening to your characters that is getting them killed more than anyone else's?

Later classes tend to use terminology more like "weapons with which you have expert proficiency" rather than calling out specific categories or individual weapons. My initial thought was that this must be how the Rogue worked as well, but unfortunately not.

Haha, how delightfully ominous. I should be ready to go tomorrow, I just need to get the alias set up. Naming is always the hardest part for me.

Thank you! I've dotted in with a placeholder for now to get this on my campaigns page.

I have some guidelines/requests from Xavier to make my introduction as smooth as possible, but here's the general idea I've got for a build, at least part of which will require GM approval (following a pantheon instead of a single deity).

A Cleric (Cloistered) of the Cosmic Caravan (Black Butterfly) with the Moon domain, a harm font, and the Medic archetype. A good chunk of my feats will be focused on making my Battle Medicine and Treat Wounds actions incredibly effective (2d8+40 healing as a single action is pretty good, right?), so I will still be very good at keeping us alive. The rest of my initial feats will go into turning my harm spells into 60-foot cones of death that deal d10s and don't hurt any of you.

Hi everyone! I spoke with Jevar and GM Xavier about joining y'all, and I'm very excited about it! My first thought is a cleric, possibly with the medic archetype, but still working on the details.

I mean, half of Haughty Obstinacy is also useless, because PCs can't be Coerced.

Thank you!

Yes, but it's going to be very action intensive for the both of you. Both the barbarian and the Tiny alchemist riding on his back lose an action every turn, leaving only two actions for things like moving, attacking, getting items out, etc.

The timely tutor spell is also great!

I didn't check in here quick enough before both invites expired, would it be possible to have them sent to me?

Since the stance has a requirement of "You are unarmored and wielding a longbow, shortbow, or a bow with the monk trait," you'd immediately drop out of the stance when you switched to its melee configuration.

ganzi absolutely have the best tails

no, i will not be taking any questions, good night

And if you really need to book it, combine warp step with time jump.

Well, you've got rejuvenating flames which, while not much, can be pretty efficient healing for small injuries to the group. Someone else could pick up a different focus spell like lay on hands or life boost.

Here's hoping she can actually get something substantial out of them one way or the other. The Solemn JPEG they released as an official statement was such a nothing-burger.

Just a heads up, Linda's pronouns are they/them.

Yeah, it's great! She has some of the most permissive anathema of anybody out there, but you are on her list the instant you talk crap on her.

The first character I ever made was a worshipper of Desna, and I still like her quite a bit. Shelyn is probably my favorite of the core deities, though, because she's just so damn wholesome. Outside the core deities, Arazni and Nocticula are at the top of my list. I've been playing a cleric of Arazni in PFS ever since Gods & Magic came out, and it's been a very interesting tightrope to walk in terms of roleplay and mechanics and the like. She's very relatable in a way that most deities aren't and I like the idea of what she can represent to people even if she doesn't want to.

Bombs are Weapons and valid targets for Runes (though it's a TERRIBLE use of funds to do so)

This is (probably) incorrect, BTW.

Runes must be etched onto permanent items, such as armor, weapons, or runestones to grant their benefit.

my guy, i have had a non-minmaxed gunslinger do 310 damage with a single attack

Serious answer: you'd be hard pressed to find a gunslinger who doesn't use Deadly Aim. That feat alone would likely add +8 damage to each attack (or +32 for each crit). And characters high enough level to fight cannon golems (even as bosses) will have other damage boosts available to them. Dex to damage adds at least another +5 or +6 damage per attack (or +20 to +24 damage per crit).

Yay, more PF2! I'm throwing my hat in the ring with a Fetchling Psychic. Full alias with background and such to follow.

Get Shared Training, especially once you have Outflank. It has a very good duration and being able to hand out Outflank/Escape Route/etc at the beginning of the adventuring day will make you quite popular.

The easiest way is for an ally to grab the enemy for you. If there's a fighter in the party using a sword, then from level 5 on they'll also be handing out the flat-footed condition to anybody that comes within their reach, no feats or other resources required.

It's not so much whether you get to participate in encounters as opposed to whether or not you're burdening your group and making encounters harder. I've only managed to get into one 2e game here on the boards, and only because it transitioned from a 1e game to the new edition. The encounters have felt BRUTAL since the transition, resulting my character DYING and needing to be reincarnated (though part of that's my own damn fault because I forgot I had potions I could have used), and now we're running from other encounters after unlucky rolls on saves and missed attacks result in us nearly getting overwhelmed again. And in that I'm playing a decently optimized character. If our group is struggling to survive against things while being okay, stat-wise, a character deliberately NONoptimized for the sake of characterization could mean the difference between survival and TPK! This game feels SCARY sometimes!

I don't want to take this more off topic than it already is, so I will send you a PM instead.

If you're going with Sarenrae, then you can't take Versatile Font. It requires you to be following a deity that allows a choice, and Sarenrae only allows the Heal font.

No, not if it's important to the concept of the character or just seems more fun to you. But you will notice it, especially from level 17 on when you have an Apex item for your Charisma. It's also worth noting that while a Bard MC will be using the same stat, they'll be using their lower Occult proficiency. There's a few levels (4-6, 12-14, 18) where they'll be at the same proficiency, but for the rest of your career it will be a step below your primal spells.

Look for a deity with a favored weapon and bonus spells that you like. Sarenrae, for instance, gets you the scimitar and the ability to prepare fireball as if it was on the divine list. Finesse or ranged weapons are good choices, since that will let you boost both your weapon attack rolls and your unarmored AC.

Medicine and its skill feats are so good that my PFS Cleric has a Harm font and the Medic archetype and only occasionally prepares heal in its own slot. I have not yet encountered a situation where I needed more than that. Very few people can have a Medicine modifier as high as a Cleric and using Battle Medicine will let you save your spell slots for true emergencies.

Intimidation is always good to at least be trained in, since if you find yourself with a third action and nothing major to spend it on, you can try and Demoralize something instead of just doing nothing (which is a thing I've seen people do for want of a meaningful action).

They're pretty good, but absolutely not mandatory. Plus, if you're taking a casting archetype, that gives you access to the shield cantrip which will be just as good for most purposes. The level 10 upgrade is also very good, but it has to be, considering it's competing with "gain an extra reaction that lets you kill an enemy on their own turn."

One thing I'm seeing is it seems like you're making a lot of very absolute statements based on what other people have told you and that it's negatively impacting your ability to enjoy or even engage with the game. There will be people on here telling you that the entire swashbuckler class is trash and dead useless regardless of feat selection, which is clearly not true. 2e is not a game where the difference between "optimized" and "not optimized" determines whether you even get to participate in encounters.

Yeah, I'm unsure as to why the elven curve blade would be considered useless for swashbucklers either. There are feats that require you to wield a single one-handed weapon and have a hand free, but that's not the same as two-handed weapons being useless to the entire class.

Another option would be a shifting rune. Or carrying an additional weapon to fill the gap in your damage types.

From your description, a lot of it also comes down to poor tactics from your players. They were clustered together, but not in a way that let them support one another. On top of that, you said the martials were apparently all fighting different giants (instead of working together to take them down one at a time), so it sounds less like a team and more like a bunch of individuals who happened to be fighting in the same place. I've seen parties lose to Low or Moderate encounters due to poor tactics, so it's not surprising they'd let a party lose two Severe encounters in a row.