Raze Le'Roof's page

Not there quite yet in my game :)

I don't plan to have the players know that Koride is at the Doorway until they arrive there. All they know is that she left the Magaambya to research. The motivation to go to the Doorway should still be meeting Old Mage Jatembe after the Tree spills the tea as written.

It's a surprise to the PCs when they show up at the Doorway and the Iobane respond with "Ugh, more teachers from the ivory towers of the Magaambya? Can't you leave us in peace, or at least do something about your annoying colleague? The bugs were bad enough, but now we have Undead beating down our doors as well."

A slightly different take, but I would offer the Witch with the Fervor Patron. I know the classic themes of a Cleric can rub people the wrong way sometimes, but the Divine spell list is really where the good Heal/Buff/Support/Debuff spells are, so trying to find that with appropriate flavor may be a good goal. As others have said, Primal is Healing + Blasting (which doesn't sound like her thing), whereas Divine is Healing + Support (which does).

A Fervor patron "represents a grand ideal or goal, granting you magic to further their mission and bring others to the cause" which can be flavored in a bunch of different ways that don't have to be religious or dogmatic - friendship, loyalty, justice, compassion, community and many other Natural themes can also fit.

They get that sweet Divine spell list with Heals and Buffs, and several nice Focus Spell support options in Stoke the Heart, Life Boost, and Blood Ward. Witch focus spells are mostly 1 Action, so it can also solve the mechanical complexity of how to use your third action - Two Action spell and move, or Two Action spell and Focus Spell/Cantrip.

The Familiar is also a core part of their theme, and can become a Leshy with the Wortwitch class feat.

I enjoy PF2e more because it doesn't really allow for the jack-of-all-trades (aka "I'm the one at the table that thinks I'm the Main Character in the Single Player RPG") builds that are 90% as good at everything as every other specialist combined. Dabblers get outshined by Specialists most of the time, and a Dilettante in everything will almost always be outshined.

A couple of niches that I think did fall through the cracks are AC (lots of fairly easy ways to dump your Dexterity and get Heavy Armor proficiency) and Focus Spells (lots of fairly easy ways to cherry-pick the strongest Focus Spells and cast them as well as the primary class does).

Agreed. All the components of the typical 'Dark Elf' ancestry in other RPGs are available on the Elf ancestry already - innate magic both Primal or Arcane, Darkvision, innate training with swords, not sure what else you feel is missing from the fantasy of a Dark Elf that a 3PP would solve. You can also use the new Ancestry Boost option to take any 2 free boosts and use one of them on Charisma.

If the goal is wanting all of those features and more at level 1 in exchange for a disadvantage like Sun Sensitivity, that type of design doesn't really take place in Paizo-released material or most homebrew. Pathfinder 2 intentionally avoids opportunities to increase power in one area in exchange for a disadvantage in another (the recent errata around optional flaws just reinforces that.) Cherry-picking and working around those types of disadvantages ("I just wear a widebrimmed hat when we go outside!") to make an overall more powerful character is a big contributor to power creep.

If you're trying to avoid people just needing to retrain (which can feel really frustrating if you're basically told "No, if your character isn't the best at that, you're wrong for wanting them to have any capability in it at all") ask what niche each player/character is trying to fill, and then build the story together in a way to share that spotlight.

Say one character is +3 Charisma, Trained Deception, but their vision for why their character took the skill is they are a quick-change artist using Impersonate. The other player with a +4 Charisma and Expert Deception, took it for more traditional fast-talking and half-truths. When the need to dress up as the Captain of the Guard arises, maybe the +4 Expert can share the spotlight and let the +3 Trained character take point, even if their bonus is a bit lower. It gives the +3 Trained a chance to shine and express their character, even if the +4 Expert is going to be making the party's Deception rolls more often and mechanically would be the better choice to make the check.

That's if you're going for collaborative storytelling at your table and all the players are bought in. If you're playing in PFS, or aren't having fun unless the table is collectively fully optimized for every check you're asked to make and challenge you encounter...yea, the people with suboptimal characters are probably in for a bad time for that reason and several others, and will need to be relegated to "backup check person and Aid Other bot" if your main character is unconscious or fails.

Pathbuilder definitely my favorite. Only downside is they dont have a good way to use it on an iPhone, but especially if you use an Android tablet, I find the layout and drill-downs to get info like Skill Actions wonderful at the table. The developer also is frequently/quickly adding both new content as books come out and new features.

Of all of them, seems like Demiplane is going to be the most "official" because they have an agreement with Paizo and can use things like Art and Pathfinder IP that the others can't at this stage, but seems like that will come at a premium per-book purchase price more along the model of DND Beyond. Their character builder is super early right now, so it's hard to say if the Art plus any other features like GMs being able to enroll PCs in a campaign and quickly make rolls will be worth the extra price.

Though Pathbuilder just added GM Mode to their Beta release, so...

As I'm prepping SoT, wanted to share some of the rewrites I'm making to try to better tie plotlines together and deliver a more satisfying arc for the heroes and antagonists. Obviously, this is with the benefit of the full set of published books, a year's worth of online commentary, and insights of what my specific table will respond well to, so this is not intended to imply that this is the 'right' or even a 'better' way to run it. It's just what I think will work best at my table, but perhaps some ideas will help at yours.

Changes to the Vesicant Egg:
I plan to have the Vesicant Egg continue to escalate the influence it has on pests from School (Book 1) > City (Book 2) > Region (Book 3). Book 1 focuses on pests being drawn to The Magaambya and can be run mostly as written. Book 2, I'll plan to reflavor a lot of the sidequests to show the influence is spreading. Some examples - Froglegs will use her knowledge of alchemical agents that are described to lure Giant Dragonflies to a much greater degree, flavoring how she sabotages Oba's cages with unnaturally large termites, or draws away attention from her muggings by redirecting swarms of flies who have recently appeared in town. In addition, Nantambu will be in really rough shape during Book 2, with pests and gremlins tearing down infrastructure and causing the various floods and collapses, made worse by Asanda's absence and lack of leadership to rebuild. Finally, things will come to a crescendo in Book 3, where Kiutu (and other towns in the region) will not be attacked (the first time anyway) by Knights of Abendengo, but instead by giant roaming beetles and locust swarms. The Knights will still act as the main villains and kidnap Kiutu's inhabitants during Chapter 2, but it and other encounters will be under the backdrop of the insect plagues - the Knights and others are taking advantage of that chaos to advance their goals. However, by Book 4, the Vesicant Egg will be mostly contained so the King of Biting Ants narrative can take a breath and shift focus to Mzali/Osibu temporarily thanks to changes I'm making to Koride.

Changes to Koride:
Koride is framed as a reckless and callous but an ultimately redeemable person by the end of Book 6. I think this is portrayed well in Books 1 and 2, but by the time she is making deals Norgorber slaver cults in Book 3 and stealing from and sabotaging the Iobane in Book 5, I don't believe most players will give her the benefit of the doubt or see those as the actions of an ultimately decent person you should try to work with - I certainly don't. I also worry the PCs will start to see her as the BBEG by the end of Book 3, and then will feel railroaded or push back when I say "Ignore her, go and do this unrelated quest in Mzali. She'll be traveling with you, but don't worry about engaging her." Because of this, she's my biggest rewrite.

As I mention above, my climax of the 'pest attacks' will be rampant destruction in the Sodden Lands in Book 3. However, as the heroes are preparing to escort the students there with the dual purpose of researching The Bloodsalt as written AND gathering more information about these swarms, Koride will offer to take the Egg away from the Magaambya similar to what's described at the end of Book 2, with the intention of ensuring the students' safety while she continues her research. She brings it to the Doorway of the Red Star, where she believes she can close herself away in an abandoned temple to learn more about it from some of the foremost reference materials on King of Biting Ants (though she wont mention the plan to anyone else - the PCs will eventually have to uncover Where and Why themselves). She wont join the Book 4 delegation, and the PCs wont hear from her at all in Book 4, but will presume things have stabilized as they work through the Mzali/Osibu storylines and hear reports from other allies back at The Magaambya that insect attacks are waning, and Nantambu is safe again. Metagame-wise the players may also think Vesicant Egg was a Book 1-3 plotline only, and then get to enjoy a little twist when it comes back with a vengeance in Book 5.

When the players return back to focusing on King of Biting Ants and meet the Iobane in Book 5, Mpondo's displeasure with Koride and the Magaambya will not be that Koride stole the egg FROM them, but that she brought it TO them, and they have had to fight off pests drawn to the Plaza of the Door for the better part of two years while she conducts her research in an increasingly arrogant and uncommunicative way. They are not in the mood to do more favors for Magaambya professors after all this. Offscreen during Book 4, Koride's research HAS uncovered spells and runes that reduce the Egg's pull on local wildlife and has localized the effects just to the Plaza and nearby surroundings, but she has recklessly taken shortcuts in her approach that have allowed the Egg to feed on her protective magic and accelerate the Egg's growth, as well as opened her mind to the influence of the King of Biting Ants' Three Aspects after many sleepless nights of work alone with the artifact. If the heroes choose to confront her prior to their trip through the Gateway, she will refuse to meet face-to-face with them through a thick stone door protected by powerful traps, claiming she cannot emerge yet until she finishes her research, lest her runes falter and it threaten the safety of all of Golarion. If she hears of their plan to speak with Jatembe, she'll adamantly agree and say they should go to seek him so she can ask him questions (whether trying to send them to their deaths due to more overt influence by King of Biting Ants, or legitimately seeking his council, I haven't decided yet and I think will depend where I land with the nature of her 'influence' by the Egg.) However, by the time they return from Akiton with him, Koride will have left the Plaza and taken the egg back to the Magaambya, and Book 6 can play out largely as written.

Other Changes:
A few other minor changes I plan to make which I think will resonate better with my players:
-Rather than being advance scouts of an invasion, the Terwa Lords delegation will be a group of scholars who are investigating the pest attacks which are destroying settlements on their borders much like the PCs are. It provides a group of rival and morally dubious, but still empathetic foils to the PC teachers, and blunts the need to work closely with a nationalist group of conquerors in Book 3, just before you do the same thing in Book 4.

-Along the same lines of avoiding the takeaway of both Books 3 and 4 being 'Diplomacy is all well and good, but ultimately might makes right' (which seems antithetical to the goal tone of Strength of Thousands) I'm going to have Worknesh go rogue and launch the siege on Osibu himself without Walkena's knowledge, in an attempt to earn favor with the god king. There are several references about Walkena imbuing chosen with a fraction of power, so my idea is to say that Worknesh can summon an 'avatar' of Walkena himself via this gift. This way I can maintain the exciting final setpiece, but not need to handwave planet-scale mind wipes to remove the knowledge from Walkena and Mzali's inhabitants. Between the reforms of Chapter One, and removing an opposing piece from Mzali's chessboard during the Siege of Osibu, I think it leaves a much more optimistic view of the future as you wrap up that storyline.

-I plan to run Chapter One of Book 6 less as a celebration lunch, and more of a tense War Council where the PCs are lifted up as leaders, then need to begin the hard work of leading. They'll get some clues that the King of Biting Ants may not be fully defeated yet at the end of Book 5, as well as be suspicious when they find Koride missing when they return, so I don't think they will be in the mood to hobnob and 'enjoy their celebrity' soliciting gifts. Instead, the Influence minigames will be framed as planning and building consensus and unity among Nantambu for an unknown but inevitable danger hanging above their heads.

If you made it to the end of this novel, thanks for reading. Thoughts, questions, or constructive feedback welcome.

when they do decide to roleplay their character's vampiric nature they'll have a good chance of not looking like a useless idiot. It's frustrating that PF2 makes these kinds of less optimal alternatives so MUCH less accurate for casters. You really are locked into the magical support, debuff, and AOE roles.

From my perspective there's way more roleplaying potential in being a 10 Strength wizard who needs to carefully choose weaker victims, substantially weaken targets, and/or prepare with spells before feeding.

I think that's far more interesting than 5e's pump 1-2 ability scores and then use them for every single thing you do from swinging a sword to casting a spell to social interactions.

That's why there are different games I suppose.

I've started playing with AngryGM's tension pool and really like it - https://theangrygm.com/definitive-tension-pool/

It fits well with both PF2e and the 10-minute exploration turns and adds a bit of cost-benefit analysis to the rote "Refocus, Treat Wounds" rotation that parties can get into.

When a Complication is rolled, you can also incorporate it into the actions PCs are doing during their Refocus, such as making a wound particularly deep and increasing the Treat Wounds DC, or having some sort of Profane field that prevents the Cleric's deity from answering them to give a Focus point back.

A few different concepts, and a few different classes that could fit each one of the concepts depending on what roles we need to fill out in the party:

A traveling Judge (the Circuit Judge background from GnG is wonderful) who made a few minor rulings enforcing claims against Ambrost Mugland. Not long after, they were approached by Anjelique Loveless and six armed shieldmarshals who presented a Letter of Resignation supposedly drafted under the authority of the Grand Duchy, and demanded a signature. The Judge refused to sign, and instead disappeared into Alkenstar's underbelly, plotting to continue doling out justice in a different way. Potential classes: Champion or Ranger.

A distraught adolescent who was born with innate magical abilities. After being ostracized by their family or tribe for either or a horrible accident, or simply for being different among a superstitious group, the youth fled to gain admission at Blythir College, hoping to research some method of utilizing the Mana Wastes' power to nullify magic to neutralize their gift (or curse, as they saw it.) This exploration into the natural capabilities of the minerals and compounds of the surrounding area led to the "explosive experiments" mentioned in the 'Inexplicably Expelled' Background from the Player's Guide. But they will finish their research, no matter the cost. Potential classes: Sorcerer or Oracle.

A Gnoll with a penchant for entirely inappropriate giggling at the havoc caused by their creations. This individual would often hold court in corner booths and back alleys around Alkenstar, selling their services as a safecracker via acid flask and drill bit. While they like to think that patrons came calling because of some unique ingenuity, most employers simply wanted 7 feet of matted fur cackling maniacally on their side for the intimidation factor. However, business all but dried up after shieldmarshals began mysteriously showing up and snooping around any engagements the Gnoll happened to make. They have a feeling it has something to do with a meeting that went south recently with Ambrost Mugland (along the lines of the 'Ratted Out Runner' Background from the Player's Guide.) Potential Classes: Inventor or Investigator.

If you're open to taking the Champion Domain feat for the Earth Domain of Soralyon as well, and then Magus Dedication and Spellstrike can allow you to cast Hurtling Stone through your Spellstrike once per minute for a huge bit of burst damage.

If you're a shield user, for a third feat, you can take the Sparkling Targe Hybrid Study to get an extra Focus Point and the Shielding Strike Focus spell to give you another defensive option (strike with free Raise a Shield.)

If you want to keep going, fourth feat gets you two True Strikes per day (or something else, but hard to compete with that for a martial with big attacks like Smite or Spellstrike.)

Also get some flavorful-but-useful cantrips like Scatter Scree and Shield in the bargain.

Was very close to doing this build for my recent game but didn't want to wait until Level 4 for it to really come online.

Great guide, will definitely be reading through this for ideas. The color-coding of all the Ancestry Feats as a quick glance review tool without needing to go into great detail was a great touch.

Thanks!

I'd run the party as if there weren't a frontline; no defender, no tank, no point or line demarcating one's party's territory from the enemy's. There's really nobody to depend on holding it, so tactics should address that.

This is a really good point as well, and something I'll discuss with our team :) Having little 'combos' and coordination that might normally be a little unrealistic in the 6 second heat of battle could go very well/be explained with the premise of circus performers being used to choreography with each other.

HumbleGamer, I ended up taking your advice and combining it with a Dwarf ancestry to squeeze out a little more staying power.

Rough character outline is spamming Shield/Shattering Gem and abusing Magic Weapon from our Oracle on a Maul to end fights fast until 4, when I should have Unburdened Iron, Lesson of Life, 2 temp hp per round, and Full Plate from Armor Proficiency to act as a decent defensive base.

Picking up Attack of Opportunity at 6, Toughness at 7, Basic Witch Spellcasting at 8, Mountain's Stoutness at 9 for another HP per Level and match vanilla d10 HD martials, Sentinel Dedication at 10, so that by 11 my Full Plate goes up to Expert when Magus gets Medium Armor Expertise.

Not quite sure after that, can look at what's best between more Sentinel feats, having Level 4,5,6 Witch slots, or something from Magus class feats based on how things are playing out at the table.

General spell plan will be to keep a True Strike/Shocking Grasp on hand for a daily burst option, but spending most of the rest of my spells on Barkskin, Stoneskin, Blur, and the like.

As far as why? That's just what we all decided to play :) I couldn't find anything that matched the flavor of a Fire Knife Dancer dedicated to the God of Volcanos as the combo of Magus with Winter Witch Dedication gave me starting from Level 1. Once I heard what everyone else was making, decided to stick with the concept to see if I could make it work, fully understanding it's suboptimal and that I'm sacrificing's a Magus's best niche as burst damage to play effectively a subpar Champion.

Appreciate everyone's perspective and will come back here to let you know when/how I horribly die ;)

Thanks for the thoughts (and book recommendations haha.) I like the idea of getting the core combo of Life Boost + Temp HP online ASAP. I'm planning on Human so can take Armor Proficiency at level 1.

The full party lineup is Oracle, throwing weapon Investigator, Gunslinger, and caster/buff-focused Bard (Plus me and Rogue.) So there's a fair amount of support and healing that we'll have access to.

My concept was a large-framed Fire Dancer/Fire Eater, who worshipped Yamatsumi the Tian-Min god of winter, mountains, and volcanoes, so Magus to ignite my weapons and spell support for things like Stoneskin/Enlarge seemed like a great fit.

Certainly other ways I could change it up a bit and be more traditionally tanky (Champion with Fire Domain, Fighter with Double Slice and Fire Poi, Monk with Mountain Stance) it but first trying to see if I can make Magus work :)

For in-Golarion inspiration, War for the Crown was a Pathfinder 1e AP takes place in Taldor. It has a lot of the 'squabbling factions and political maneuvering' feeling it sounds like you're going for.

We are just kicking off Extinction Curse and we have relatively few front line characters - of our party of 6 we have only myself and a rogue in melee consistently. I wanted to play a Magus but am worried that as I will likely be taking the bulk of the damage that I will end up on the ground more often than not.

My thought was to go 18/10/14/14/12/10 and take Sentinel dedication at Level 2 along with either Sparkling Targe or Inexorable Iron (in which case I'd take Multitalented Witch at 9 for the additional spells to trigger Sustaining Steel.

What do people think, will this be enough to be soaking most of the damage or am I setting myself up to go down every combat as the Frontline anchor with a d8 HD?