Rory Collins's page

Since there's going to be, or there already is, a stream of new players coming to the game i think that this argument is not at all unproper to discuss.

in my opinion the game fails at teaching new players how they should play the game: low levels are COMPLETELY focused on damage and innate survivability:
-the first since a crit can and probably will oneshot most enemies, and heavily injure some bosses; plus there aren't really any worth debuff spells to use, focusing wholly on damage is therefore not only the most effective strategy but highly incentivized by the fact that enemies WILL also do that! "three fighters and a bard" didn't come out of thin air.
-by innate survivability i mean the survivability of the base chassis of the class, in later levels thanks to items and abilities almost everyone will have resistances and means to significantly reduce damage taken, at lower level the best you have it's shield block which, while incredibly effective, doesn't really permit any serious stalling. (a high level kin can tank a boss due to abilities, a low level barb can tank a boss due to his enormous hp pool).
these two factors, coupled by the fact that some classes genuinely get an enormous spike around level 7+, have new players focus on raw numbers and come to conclusions such as:
-rogue suck (sorry, had to :p)
-casters suck
-the best party is 3 martials and a buff oriented caster.

what do you think?

I'm going to pull from my own personal experience here and not exactly about what you said here. I came over from DnD during the Great Migration. The issue I have found is more that some of the abilities and things are not very clear. They seem to be more geared to those that have been playing PF/PF2E for a while. I don't want to have to work through mental gymnastics most of the time. What I have found is that a lot of the things that throw me are abilities that are combo abilities you could already do, but save you some action economy.

Most of my players use Hero Forge. It's a service that lets you make customized characters. I run online games, so they normally just use generated visual tokens of their characters, but Hero Forge has a 3D-Color printing service that might be useful. If 3D color prints are too expensive, color standees could fill a similar role. It's about 40-50 USD for a 3D color-printed mini, 13 USD for a color standee, 20-40 USD for an unpainted plastic mini, and 8 USD for an stl file to print yourself.

Other than that, your local gameshop might have myriad miscellaneous unpainted figures for the purpose. And it's just a matter of finding one that's close enough to the concept. Doesn't have to be exact.

Definitely Hero Forge. You can make a mini of various materials or an acrylic stand. If making a mini I would avoid the pre-colored ones. I have done that and because the colors are layered on by the filament it is not very detailed. It ends up looking almost like a Wiz Kids mini where details are hard to see.

I am going to be in Richmond that Saturday to see Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham...I live in Hampton.

What got me into Pathfinder was the whole OGL fiasco. I have been playing tabletop RPGs since 1981. I started with the enemy and played a bunch of different rpgs (Paranoia, Talislanta, etc.) throughout the years and every iteration of that other RPG. The first time I heard about Paizo was when I got a subscription to Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I had gotten those magazines for years prior and when they were being published by their parent company. Still I never really paid attention to who Paizo was.

Eventually at some of the book stores and comic stores I started seeing some Pathfinder stuff but really never had any interest in it until that massive miscalculation on that other company's part. After that I picked up all the PF2E stuff I could and some of the Pathfinder 1 stuff for various locations. So far, I have enjoyed PF2E. There are some things I don't like (very very crunchy where some of the feats seem to cover things you should be able to do with a skill normally, some rules being a little obscure for new people coming in, etc.), but the practices of the company for their people (ie. inclusiveness and the blogs about the people that made their products) and the world they have built are what make it worthwhile. Also, even on these forums, representatives of the company get involved with the community. That doesn't happen anywhere else.

I don't think there is enough material to warrant an entire book, but a book themed around games of the world with rules for playing some of the games and expansions like decks of cards would be fun.

There are two official pieces of art of Starfinder characters playing a holographic TTRPG, and I'd love my characters to be able to play one between adventures. Though that one probably works better for Starfinder than Pathfinder and is probably a little too Meta. ^^'

I don't know, if you did a "Gamemaster's Book of" style book where it combined Games (especially circus style games for those with a circus/carnival in their game), Hazards and other odd obstacles, I think it could be done.

Rory Collins wrote:

Something I brought up in another thread:

A compilation book of all ancestries

A compilation book of all classes

...Archive of Nethys?

No, something to hold in hand. I appreciate the Archives but I am still one of those don't use tablets, PCs, etc. folks. The group I play with and GM are still that way. We have been playing together off and on since around 1989.

Something I brought up in another thread:

A compilation book of all ancestries

A compilation book of all classes

A Lost Omens: Arcadia

A Lost Omens: Hold of Belkzen

An art of coffee table book...with a lot of Wayne Reynolds stuff of course.

We should start a pool.

Money goes to a charity to aid in childrens literacy.

I'll pledge 250USD that we get to 12 books, both Rules & Lost Omens, after Player Core 1, before Wizards get another new class feat printed.

Come on Paizo! Take my money, prove me wrong!

On a crazy note inspired by what you just wrote there, I would love to see a book where every class (feats, subclasses and all) up to the point is compiled in one book and another book where every ancestry is compiled.

I know we have the Archives to find stuff but for old timers like me that love books in hand, it is a complete mess sifting through books to find stuff, especially with the various heritages being in the various Lost Omen books.

Combo attacks are an area that PF2E does not currently tackle and would need a full ruleset to make work. Essentially any ideas would be in the realm of homebrew, which is perfectly fine! I love the ideas myself, since you could make combos with any types of attacks (Final fantasy vibes there)

P.S, Lots of chatter about Kineticist lately. Wish they would just make a class forum at this point.

Yeah, was kind of thinking that Genshin vibe of hyperbloom, vaporize, etc.

It would be interesting but would also probably become a go to where the GM would have to design encounters where the "wonder twins" couldn't get their attacks off in order to mess up their combo.

Luis Loza wrote:

We did a whole lot of seed planting in War of Immortals. Check out the gazetteer in that book sometime to see everything that's gone oh, so right wrong.

Numerian robots waking up! Giant creatures walking Arcadia! All sorts of great stuff is hiding in there.

“human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!”

I view the plots of APs as guidelines, especially if we have reached the 6th volume of the AP. If this is fairly early on, read ahead and look for ramifications of your player's choices. If not... go with your gut. If your players have found an excellent solution, not in the AP, go with that as your new reality.

Definitely. Players will go a different route than what is planned, even in an AP, that is their job. Maintain the gist of the overall story but follow the players' lead and continue to pull from the AP where you can...maybe add a new wrinkle here or there but reward the players' creativity.

Sometimes their wandering off the path can lead to a new direction you never thought of and listen to them throwing out ideas because you may be able to use their ideas (unknowingly to them) to adapt.

Szuriel is the Rider of War

What Kind of Rider?
She's an Apocalypse Rider, she's got one of those Apocalypse steeds.

I now imagine her being painted on the side of a van from the 70's

Though it is just as guess, my thought is it is probably something as simple as less words, being easier to say and maybe just detaching them from a real world religious connection to make them their own.

By no means an exhaustive list, but I've had a couple of hypothetical "new" versatile heritages on the brain of late...

First is a "Jotunblood" heritage that does for giants what Dragonblood does for dragons.

I approve this message!

Rory Collins wrote:

When I first started playing the Satanic Panic was in full swing and when you spoke to others you had to talk in code like you were part of some secret organization.

Wish I had known better. I met with an elderly grandfather at a library once to discuss his bully grandson and his compensating me for the destruction of my property. (His grandson threw my D&D books off the top of the bleachers, repeatedly, until they had all fallen to pieces.) It was a pleasant enough conversation and he was most apologetic about his grandson's behavior...until he found out they were D&D books. He then went on a loud, public tyrade about how he would NEVER put a cent towards Satan's works and that his grandson was merely trying to save my soul from the fires of hell.

A couple years later, a local church burned my entire roleplaying book collection to ash.

The year after I graduated my high-school had a formal D&D club.

Crazy times.

It was a wild time. It was funny because I would get my books at the Book Cache or Bosco's Comics when I lived in Anchorage, Alaska and those were the only places. Now you can find rpgs almost everywhere, even at Target and Walmart, the place that used to sell censored versions of cds for religious reasons. How the world has changed.

Things like this were always interesting thoughts to me but I never went into detail with game mechanics to determine it unless there was some story aspect attached.

Along a similar line of thought:
I remember being in boot camp at Parris Island and we were doing a hump during Basic Warrior Training. BWT took place in the third phase and was the last thing we did before we prepared for graduation which meant that our endurance and strength were going to be as high as it was going to get in Boot Camp. We had all of our gear loadout, Flak Jacket, two canteens full of water, weapon, ammunition, etc. I remember thinking that all the stuff I used to load my characters with in ttrpgs and realizing there was no way they could travel on foot with all of this gear, day in and day out. The character's knees and back would be so broken that when they got a fight they would have to ask for a break beforehand not to mention there was no way they were fighting hand to hand in all of that mess.

Of course, later on in the Infantry, and especially Light Armored Recon as a scout, you learn to travel light and fast carrying just the essentials which would be more equal to what adventurers should be carrying or at least invest in a horse or wagon.

I have played ttrpgs since I was 12...which is almost 42 years. In Advanced DnD we went above level 20...I want to say, maybe 36 or higher. It was a long time ago. The game didn't have a lot of what it has now...feats, etc. All the skills were baked in and are what made the classes different from each other. Not saying that the games are not fun now but it was less about min/maxing and making a character like in a video game. No one really did any type of theory crafting.

The success came from the players I had and the DMs who would carry on the campaign when I wanted to play. We played a storied base campaign when, at the time, many of the games were short run through module sessions. I was mostly DMing and would have some long, convoluted plot where the players had to get from point A to point B for some either world changing or even cosmos changing event. I would use inspiration from Dragonlance, the Dragon Slayer movie or any piece of fiction, even modern (at the time) stuff.

I will say that things have changed a lot and not all of it is bad. I am glad the hobby is still going and is more mainstream. When I first started playing the Satanic Panic was in full swing and when you spoke to others you had to talk in code like you were part of some secret organization.

The thing I really don't like about some of the games and I mentioned before, is that there is a lot of theory crafting about how you can get maximum benefit from combinations. As a DM, something like that turns me off. I want to create an engaging story...long campaign (not AP length, much longer) not have characters mish mashed together video game style because certain ancestries go together with certain skills, etc. and instead of a well thought out character you have a gobbly de g++$ mass of stats without a cohesive thought about what the character is. If any of that makes sense, good luck and welcome to my brain.

Like Ravingdork, I pick a concept or idea and then pick a class with the closest mechanics to build that idea. Even if the skills and abilities come later down the line. If it comes down to a min/max choice or concept choice, I go concept.

I think the system the "other" company used, with the inflated experience required to gain levels as you got a higher level was pretty arbitrary as for each challenge that was overcome the amount of experience gained was also inflated.

With the PF2E system it is consistent and easier to keep track of without too much math needed. Earn 1000xp, if you get over 1000xp you get a new level and keep the difference as you start the climb up that hill once again.

Shoot I still remember the days when the predecessor of that other company had it where you leveled classes differently because each class had their own experience chart and some of the experience required was so outrageous.

I also get seasick (it's so much fun when you're in the Navy) and can completely relate. Also, how dare you drop a line like 'a tanuki named Mochi' and not give me more?! Great read, as always.

I was lucky I was rapid response and never have to go on a float. I'm 100% positive I would have become seasick. We did amphibious landings (USMC of course) using LCACs and the floating feeling sucked!

The cuckoo hag is very cool. I really like all the hags; their new designs and more overtly eldritch-ness make them much more interesting to me than generic evil old woman.

I'm not sure I can pick a specific monster. I've mostly been enjoying the alterations to monster families, things like hags being spookier and more distinct, and especially the archons becoming akin to goodly qlippoth. I really like how they've redone the archons; they feel less like grumpier angels now.

The Cuckoo Hag for me for sure. I love Coraline and have a Coraline style adventure I had written and this makes it easier instead of homebrewing stats.

For dangers I would throw in some natural obstacles such as wildlife, rock slides, treacherous terrain, and even extreme weather conditions. If they are going through a narrow pass by following a path that land vehicles use to get over the mountain, maybe set up an encounter with bandits hitting a caravan or even have bandits ambush the characters.

Also, maybe night falls while going up the mountain and they have to find shelter and lo and behold there is a shrine or some empty way station they can stop at for the night but things are constantly moving about outside and present a danger. This can create a horror style encounter where PCs feel all alone.

Cole Deschain wrote:

It might be a pretty blatant bit of marketing sensationalism, but it's definitely helping bring home how fleshed-out most Pathfinder deities are.

Right? I also love how thoroughly Paizo is establishing that the death of a villainous god is not necessarily going to be a net positive for the world. A lot of us early on wondered if Paizo would kill off a "villain" god, since surely that would reduce the setting's tension instead of upping it. But what would happen if Lamashtu died and left all those outcasts and monsters without their protector? What if the death of Gorum, the Lord In Iron, leads to a plague of supernatural rust that allows the Whispering Tyrant to gain a foothold, or causes all runes placed upon iron to fizzle out, forcing everyone to finally make the switch to black powder?

On a totally unrelated note, I realized why I've been ignoring Sarenrae and Iomedae as options. I think their deaths would be very compelling by nature--they are widely and rightly beloved goddesses, and losing either of them would be devastating for the world--but I've been struggling a lot more to think of, well, a twist. Like, I think a lot of us are probably assuming that the death of Sarenrae or Iomedae would be a typical "goes down fighting a worse evil". And that's fine! But all of these deaths so far have been very ironic, very fitting. Like our psychopomp scribe says, each prophecy has exposed some banality or vulnerability.

I don't think it's enough for a goddess of heroics to go down fighting. If it's going to measure up to the rest of these, I feel like the death needs to mean something. So, here are some theories.

** spoiler omitted **...

Keep going, these perspectives are awesome

James Jacobs wrote:

Exactly. And while that means we won't be using them in a remastered product, there's nothing preventing you from using them in your home games or swapping them in for creatures in adventures we publish; the rules still work fine (with the exception that remastered qlippoth don't have that lawful weakness, but just ignoring that in a remastered game is fine too.)

The OGL police aren't going to jump out and grab me for something I'm not publishing.

They shouldn't...but that other company is really sneaky so the Pinkertons could be watching and waiting....

But in all seriousness, even mixing and matching older variations of monsters into a campaign with new can create variants so players don't have an idea which version they are facing

I KNOW the answer, and y'all's ability to comb through evidence and give plausible arguments is VERY fun to watch.

Is bribery illegal on these forums? Asking for a friend....

Leomund "Leo" Velinznrarikovich wrote:

My main reason for preferring pf2e:

I can't really make a broken character, no matter how hard I try.

PF1 : so many ways/builds

Dark Heresy : sniping

FF Star Wars : pressure points

Shadow Run : Sniping

DnD 5e : dex focus, wild shaping druid (or bear barian)

Catalyst: reinforce

DnD 3.5-3.0 : Cleave shenanigans

Those are the systems I remember playing, and breaking.

“I can't really make a broken character, no matter how hard I try”

The opposite is true aswell. You can play anything and actually excel and do good still. You can make an inventor with champion archetype and still do amazing. Whereas 5e and 1e punishes you for not playing “good” options, like you wouldn’t be able to play a barbarian/bard/paladin without good stat rolls well.

In 1e and 5e, people expect you to play certain classes more and might try to drive you away from a really cool class because it’s not “optimal”. Not an issue in 2e

Have to agree with you both. If you have a certain character envisioned, you don't have to do in a different direction because it is not optimal. In 5E I wanted to play other types of Warlocks other than a Hexblade but it was difficult because if I made another choice for story purposes then I would be be a bit more of a burden on the party. Even the classes considered weak in PF2E are viable and then, using the archetypes is so much better than DnD multiclassing because you are not giving up on one class to start boosting another.

Thanks all! It makes sense to me now

Thanks! So the best option (or only option for sustaining Spellstrike) would be to use a cantrip with an attack roll for the Spellstrike (well, after recharging)?

Disclaimer: I am a new player/GM for Pathfinder 2E.

My question is, for the Spellstrike ability does the Magus burn a spell slot for any spell that is not a cantrip?