M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Missed the edit window by 2 minutes!:
Blue eyes search the milling process of evacuated peoples slowly being shooed out the city into the wild wilderness of self-doubt and dashed self-worth. Not feeling any of that, the tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite does feel for these people; suddenly abandoned and homeless.
Snacks! Don't forget to bring snacks!
Then the tremors started. Voices raised in apprehension and fear. Panicking and paranoia manifested like a virus let loose with impunity. Then the strange sight seen of the volcano burping up fierce fiery centipede!
This may complicate matters.
Sir Batman Raises his Shield, Enters his Everstand Stance and Strides 30' into an open area for the Fiery Volcano Centipede to play with!
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman Raises his Shield, Enters his Everstand Stance and Strides 30' into an open area for the Fiery Volcano Centipede to play with!
[one-action] (auditory, linguistic, mental, mythic) Frequency once per day; Effect You proclaim an ultimatum against a creature you believe is oppressing others and all who follow their orders. All other creatures (including you) who hear your ultimatum, or learn about it later on, are emboldened by your words for 1 day, and gain a +2 status bonus to their Will saving throws against effects produced by the oppressing creature and their allies, which increases to +3 if they are within 30 feet of you. Additionally, the first time each day that creature and each of its allies comes within 30 feet of you, they must succeed on a Will save against your class DC or spell DC (whichever is higher) or become frightened 1 (frightened 2 on a critical failure). This second effect has the emotion, fear, and mental traits. The oppressing creature may end all the effects as a free action by truthfully agreeing to permanently end their oppression. Otherwise, your Ultimatum of Liberation has no duration, though you can have only one Ultimatum of Liberation active at a time. If you pronounce a second Ultimatum of Liberation, the effects of the first one end.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Another week? I wonder if that Ice Demon dude is trying to come back....
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite does his due diligence on his duties doubtfulness of desire definitely divined ...
SCAVENGE SUPPLIES:
DOWNTIME MANIPULATE
You search for supplies by squeezing through narrow areas, pushing aside heavy rubble, disarming malfunctioning security features, or simply keeping a keen eye out. Attempt a DC 31 Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception, or Thievery check.
Critical Success: The party earns 2 Supply Points.
Success: The party earns 1 Supply Point.
Failure: The PC discovers nothing of use.
Critical Failure: Your search infringes on the property of survivors, who don’t take kindly to your “looting.” Increase the DC for all future Scavenge Supplies checks by 1 each time this occurs.
Day 1 Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (11) + 24 = 35 Day 2 Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (16) + 24 = 40 Day 3 Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (14) + 24 = 38 Day 4 Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (10) + 24 = 34 Day 5 Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (2) + 24 = 26 Day 6 Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (5) + 24 = 29
And on the 7th, he rests....
....after he Rewrites Fate!
Day 5 Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 24 + 4 = 47 Day 6 Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 24 + 4 = 46
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite smiles.
SCAVENGE SUPPLIES:
DOWNTIME MANIPULATE
You search for supplies by squeezing through narrow areas, pushing aside heavy rubble, disarming malfunctioning security features, or simply keeping a keen eye out. Attempt a DC 31 Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception, or Thievery check.
Critical Success: The party earns 2 Supply Points.
Success: The party earns 1 Supply Point.
Failure: The PC discovers nothing of use.
Critical Failure: Your search infringes on the property of survivors, who don’t take kindly to your “looting.” Increase the DC for all future Scavenge Supplies checks by 1 each time this occurs.
Athletics(M) DC 31:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (20) + 24 = 44
Sauntering over to the higher-ups of the city, the Champion of Mazludah winks, shakes hands, and tells takes of his certain qualifications to escort the city to safety....
Diplomacy(M) to Influence, silver-tongued:1d20 + 23 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 23 + 3 = 42 Diplomacy(M) to Influence, silver-tongued:1d20 + 23 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 23 + 3 = 36 Diplomacy(M) to Influence, silver-tongued:1d20 + 23 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 23 + 3 = 27 Diplomacy(M) to Influence, silver-tongued:1d20 + 23 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 23 + 3 = 40
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
RISEN CULTISTS:
Rescue Points 3; Overcome DC 33 Stealth to help sneak the locals in the area out to safety or DC 36 Religion to disrupt the cultists’ rhetoric and magic with prayers of your own
In the aftermath of the event, additional cells of Risen cultists emerge from the city’s shadows and attempt to subjugate the populace. Without risen Runelord Gimmel’s leadership, these attacks are disorganized, but one group of lamia cultists in the area are particularly dangerous.
Sir Batman tries doing some stretching........
Religion(T) DC 36:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (19) + 19 = 38
Go away! And don't forget to stretch before yelling at cultists!
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
RISEN CULTISTS:
Rescue Points 3; Overcome DC 33 Stealth to help sneak the locals in the area out to safety or DC 36 Religion to disrupt the cultists’ rhetoric and magic with prayers of your own
In the aftermath of the event, additional cells of Risen cultists emerge from the city’s shadows and attempt to subjugate the populace. Without risen Runelord Gimmel’s leadership, these attacks are disorganized, but one group of lamia cultists in the area are particularly dangerous.
Sir Batman tries really hard to remember what his teachers taught about this particular project, thing....
Religion(T) DC 36:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (8) + 19 = 27
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite looks forlornly at the buried, lost avenue to the Queen....
At the approach of Ayavah, the Champion of Mazludah straightens his garments, and stands at attention.
Yes. Duties must be performed.
GAPING CHASM:
Rescue Points 2; Overcome DC 33 Athletics to clamber down and rescue those who have fallen, DC 36 Crafting to come up with an astounding jury-rigged solution to brace collapsing buildings long enough to effect rescues
A vast rift has opened in the streets, and dozens of helpless citizens are in danger of falling in as buildings slowly crumble into the chasm.
The Sprite springs into action, easily Flying down the Gapping Chasm to pick up those that had fallen to safely!
Athletics(M) DC 33:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (9) + 24 = 33
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite is seen flying towards the big hole in the ground. It appears that he may be going immediately after the Queen.....
His intentions are clear if anyone wants to pause his initial response....
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The Bastion--Reacts--to Shield Block and grant his Champion Reaction to Iesha and Alaznist!!
Physical Resistance 18 and 13 plus Free Step
Shield of Reckoning
The Champion of Mazludah winks at the two Ladies.
Not on my watch.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman--Reacts--by Shield Blocking some of the strikes!
Physical Resistance 18
Then quicker yet, the Bastion--Reacts--to Shield Block and grant his Champion Reaction to Iesha!
Physical Resistance 18 and 13 plus Free Step Shield of Reckoning
The Champion of Mazludah calls upon his Mythic powers to protect his companions!
Unbreaking Castle
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman watches as the Frost Giants distract the Big Birds of Spinal Tap.
The Champion of Mazludah Raises his Shield, Enters his Everstand Stance and...Strides into the injured Birds personal space!
Ooo! I was adventuring with Grandpa Nox way up North. He would have a delicious recipe for you!
The Frost Giant Strides to within 10' of 2 of the ZZTop inspirations, before bellowing frosty bits of chewed up icicles at them!
Ref DC 28:4d6 ⇒ (1, 1, 4, 4) = 10
Chill Breath:
[one-action] (cold, primal) The frost giant breathes out a 15-foot cone of freezing moisture that quickly condenses into ice, dealing 4d6 cold damage. Each creature in the cone must attempt a DC 28 basic Reflex save. A creature that fails its save is also immobilized and takes 2d6 cold damage at the end of each of its turns until it gets free (Escape DC 28). The giant can't use Chill Breath again for 1d4 rounds.
It then takes a Wild Swing at the same deuce!
Melee greataxe:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (8) + 21 = 292d12 + 12 ⇒ (7, 12) + 12 = 31slashing magical, reach 10 feet, sweep)
Wide Swing:
[one-action] The frost giant makes a single greataxe Strike and compares the attack roll result to the ACs of up to two foes within their reach. This counts as two attacks for the frost giant's multiple attack penalty
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman proudly positioned himself in the front of the attendees. The 6" tall Sprite stands on his tiptoes to better see the fancy oval thingy.
Suddenly as the rippling wave of energy washes over the entire region, bringing with it a moment of sharp pain, the Champion of Mazludah looks about suspiciously for the one who most likely had tacos for lunch....
Seconds later (not entirely convinced it wasn't that lady in the blue sash) the bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite blinks repeatedly looking at the landslide coming closer....
Then the ground rumbles, folks begin to tumble and the Sprite watches the fancy oval thingy sink, sink, sink....
Is that part of the fancy magicks? Wizards are so weird.
An Oliphant!
Sir Batman (beginning to get suspicious) bellows aloud!
[bigger[/b] Another Wizard! Ain't we got enough of them![/b][/bigger]
Then the sonorous shrieks of two immense birdlike monstrosities ring out as the creatures surge up and out of the pit, landing along the edge on seven long spindly legs.
The fifty-foot-tall avians seem not to be part of the entertainment!
I've fought bigger!
Fort(M) DC 40:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (3) + 23 = 26
Rewrite Fate! Fort(M) DC 40:1d20 + 23 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 23 + 4 = 43 Divine Grace (Reaction) +2 circumstance bonus to the save.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman frowns at the potential cultists shananagins allowance tangent's worried face.
How's your resume looking? Is it current?
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman frowns at the disinterested infectious in his company.
Perhaps our Host would simply think it a swell idea for us to prevent any disturbances during Her grand opening.
The Champion of Mazludah then looks at Kalden sharply.
Unless this is a ruse by them cultists to sweep us out of the way.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Relax:
The PC simply enjoys the festival by attempting a DC 30 Will save. On a success, they feel invigorated, and gain a +1 circumstance bonus to all skill checks made in the following event.
Sir Batman is seen quenching his thirst from all the yelling, talking, words, words, word made up of words....
Will(M) DC 30:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (6) + 21 = 27
So hoarse....thirst....dry mouth... can't reach...the table...so tall....
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman grins just prior to having a tantrum pretending to be both arguing parties but seen as children!
Intimidation(M) DC 32:1d20 + 24 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 24 + 1 = 30
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
DEBATE THE SPELLCASTERS:
The PC chooses Kespern or Cilamali as their target to debate, and then attempts a skill check to reduce that target’s current DP total by arguing against their stance. Against either wizard, a PC can attempt a DC 32 Intimidation check or a DC 35 Deception or Diplomacy check. Against Kespern, a PC can attempt a DC 30 Nature check to argue against his thesis, while against Cilamali, a PC can attempt a DC 30 Arcana check to do the same. Once one spellcaster is reduced to 0 DP, the PCs gain momentum; reduce all DCs for this activity by 2 as long as one spellcaster is at 0 DP.
Critical Success: Both spellcasters are impressed. The target spellcaster loses 2 DP, while the other loses 1 DP.
Success: The target spellcaster loses 1 DP.
Failure: No DP are lost or gained.
Critical Failure: The target spellcaster’s argument gains momentum, and they earn 1 DP.
Sir Batman smiles up at both spellcasters with a look of one not tolerant of children's squabbles.
Intimidation(M) DC 32:1d20 + 24 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 24 + 1 = 30
Unfortunately, sometimes he forgets he is only 6" tall....
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Relax:
The PC simply enjoys the festival by attempting a DC 30 Will save. On a success, they feel invigorated, and gain a +1 circumstance bonus to all skill checks made in the following event.
Sir Batman carefully washes his hands of dust after all the construction work.
Smiles and bows to those present, the Champion of Mazludah seems determined to Relax during this downtime of dastardly doungs!
Will(M) DC 30:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (14) + 21 = 35
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite flies upward and ..
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite smiles.
Athletics(E) DC 35:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (13) + 21 = 34
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
GOBLINS LOVE ‘EM!:
One of the constructs has been claimed by a troupe of goblins, who are now using it as part of their act and are loathe to part with it.
Chase Points 3; Overcome DC 30 Intimidation to frighten the goblins off, DC 32 Thievery to temporarily disable the construct so the goblins lose interest, DC 35 Diplomacy to convince the goblins to give up their “claim”
The 6" tall bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite saunters over to the group of Goblins with a serious expression on his bronze face.
Gentleman! We will be needing the construct back!
Intimidation(M) DC 30, group coercion:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (2) + 24 = 26
The Champion of Mazludah growls!
Rewrite Fate! Intimidation(M) DC 30, group coercion:1d20 + 24 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 24 + 4 = 40
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite blinks repeatedly as he witnessed the goings-on of his company. He absently flutters his bat-shaped wings....
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman is seen perfectly attired in a bronze-colored fancy robe that certainly flatters his bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite self!
Partaking of the sounds and sights of the event, the Champion of Mazludah is mostly seen relaxing by the performances scattered about, enjoying the shows.
Relax:
The PC simply enjoys the festival by attempting a DC 30 Will save. On a success, they feel invigorated, and gain a +1 circumstance bonus to all skill checks made in the following event.
Will(M) DC 30:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (1) + 21 = 22
Unfortunately, he forgot to take the tags off the robe and it seems like it's really bothering him....
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman graciously accepts the Queen's request for them to wear the new bling.
I shall proudly wear this new bling your Highness. It even matches my motif!
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman recites a antidote about catching more flies by nesting near a spider's den.....
Diplomacy(M) to Make An Impression:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (17) + 22 = 39
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite saunters into Queen Sorshen's elaborate bedroom. His blue eyes roaming about making it seem as if the Champion of Mazludah is a bit crossed-eyed...
Shaking his helmeted bat-shaped head, Sir Batman approaches the Queen.
Hello, Queen Sorshen. I am Sir Batman, Champion of Mazludah. Pleasure to meet you.
Turning serious the Sprite begins confirming the doungs and goings ons of this new Asshat Cultists.
...and in conclusion, perhaps postponing the Opening until we can ferret out the rascals?
Mythic Point! Diplomacy(M) to Make An Impression:1d20 + 22 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 22 + 4 = 32
Rewrite Destiny! Mythic Point! Diplomacy(M) to Make An Impression:1d20 + 22 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 22 + 4 = 44
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman holds his breath!
Will(M) DC 27:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (3) + 21 = 24 Divine Grace (Reaction) +2 circumstance bonus to the save.
A Stupified Sir Batman seems seriously sound, considering the scrambling and such....
I feel fine.
The tiny bat-shaped Sprite blinks repeatedly at all the important talking being talked....
The Champion of Mazludah does have the muscle memory to Lay on Hands folks....
+36hp per 10 minutes and Refocus
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
I feel... complete!
Fort(M) DC 30:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (4) + 23 = 27 Divine Grace (Reaction) +2 circumstance bonus to the save.
Hero Point! Fort(M) DC 30:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (13) + 23 = 36 Divine Grace (Reaction) +2 circumstance bonus to the save.
The now more bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite-Reacts-twice Shield Blocking some of the strikes delivered to him!
Physical resistance 18 each for -36hp damage. Also, he has Physical resistance Slashing 3, so and -9hp damage from 3(?) Strikes.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman--Reacts--quicker than sight, as he easily Shield Blocks Two of the offered Strikes on his bronze-colored bat-shaped person!
Physical resistance 18 twice for 36hp less damage
Seeing how some might view this situation as dangerous, misfortune, or even kamikaze, the Champion of Mazludah seems excited!
Raising his Shield, the Sprite calls upon his Mythic abilities to further protect himself and his allies!
Unbreaking Castle
Then just for kicks, he Strikes the green mean Runelord!
Melee(E) +2, Astral Flaming Striking Shield Boss, flank:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (11) + 23 = 342d8 + 7 + 1d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5, 2) + 7 + (3) + (2) = 19 Traits B, Attached to Shield, magic, holy, fire, spirit, ghost touch
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman's blue eyes narrow at the sight of strangers found in the super magically sealed and trapped door that the cool Wizard wanted to open and the cool lady Wizard did.
Remind me why we wanted them free? They seem extremely rude and definitely not fun.
The Champion of Mazludah Raises his Shield, Enters his Stance and.... Strides into the space of the uppity dude with the fetish for green.
I prefer bronze.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The tiny Champion of Mazludah is seen staring at the Charmed Cultist as he dictates his manifesto.
How's the health benefits?
Sir Batman only shrugs as to their fate.
You fellas know how to leave town? Good.
Looking a bit more interested in knocking on the door that Ranek seems to be in love with, the fidgety Sprite hops from foot to foot behind the Wizard.
Did you try knocking? Knocking is only polite.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman flutters hus bat-shaped wings as they further discuss this situation.
I agree. This pathetic band of forgotten cultists should not warrant our attention. This Risen must be secreted about.
The Champion of Mazludah will offer Lay on Hands to those in need of a bit of tidying up...
+36 HP per 10 minutes and Refocus
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman grins at the stupid, blind cultists stumbling and stammering about.
Blinded by the light. Happens. We would be fascinated by the truth of the Trinity Star. Whatcha got.
Diplomacy(M) to Make An Impression, Group impression:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (8) + 22 = 30
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman--Reacts--by granting Iesha his Champion's Reaction against the illusory creature!
Resistance 14 and Free Step
The Sprite then Raises his Shield, Flies into Iesha's next target's space and....
Melee(E) +2, Astral Flaming Striking Shield Boss:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (19) + 23 = 422d8 + 7 + 1d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (4, 6) + 7 + (4) + (2) = 23Traits B, Attached to Shield, magic, holy, fire, spirit, ghost touch
Geez, Iesha! I haven't had to flutter this much since that one morning I accidentally ate five bean burritos.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman giggles! The Champion of Mazludah--Reacts--by doing two things this time around!
He Shield Blocks and offers his Champion's Reaction!
Shield Block Physical resistance 18 and then Champion Reaction Physical resistance 14 and Free Step
Grinning bronze ear to bronze ear, the tiny Sprite happily Raises his Shield, Flying into the next dumb cultist space that Iesha's probably going to eviscerate, and he Strikes!
Melee(E) +2, Astral Flaming Striking Shield Boss:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (3) + 23 = 262d8 + 7 + 1d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5, 8) + 7 + (2) + (1) = 23Traits B, Attached to Shield, magic, holy, fire, spirit, ghost touch
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
The 6" tall bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite blinks repeatedly as he flutters a few feet off the flooring, peering at the downtrodden cultists.
We could probably find you dudes a nice Soup kitchen. Or maybe jobs. No. Ok.
Smiling as he shrugs his bat-like wings, Sir Batman Enters Everstand Stance !
The Champion of Mazludah then Raises his Shield.
He then Flies into the poor (most likely dead) cultist space that Iesha's playing with to provide Flank.
Now that probably will scar.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman smiles up, up, up at Iesha's compliment. The Sprite's bat-like wings fluttering in enthusiastic response. The Champion begins to do some stretching prior to taking steps to release the buried weapon. As Iesha pulls it out, he chuckles
Sin-spawns? That actually fits. They were certainly ugly in demeanor and hospitality.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman--Reacts--by defending Alaznist!
Champion Reaction ! Physical Resistance 14 plus Free Step
Raising his Shield, Sir Batman Flies directly into Azlantist Sinspawn's space to provide Flanking!
You may not like this next part!
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman--Reacts--by defending Iesha!
Champion Reaction ! Physical Resistance 14 plus Free Step
A bit of a frustrated look crosses the bronze-colored bat-shaped face of the Sprite.
Be right back... probably.
Raising his Shield, Sir Batman Flies directly into Iesha's Sinspawn's space to provide Flanking!
Howdy![This is much better. Cozy and quaint.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman--Reacts--by defending Iesha!
Champion Reaction !
Physical Resistance 14 plus Free Step
Raising his Shield, the determined Sprite then Flies into that same Sin-spawns space and upper cut it with his Shield!
Melee(E) +2, Astral Flaming Striking Shield Boss:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (11) + 23 = 342d8 + 7 + 1d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (6, 7) + 7 + (2) + (2) = 24Traits B, Attached to Shield, magic, holy, fire, spirit, ghost touch
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
If Retcon is allowed:
Sir Batman actually decides to Fly 25' closer to Iesha's position to allow for him to Guardian her with his Champion Reaction !
Physical Resistance 14 plus Free Step
Here I come to save the daaay!
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite smiles.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Smiling as he shrugs his bat-like wings, Sir Batman Enters Everstand Stance !
The Champion of Mazludah then Raises his Shield.
He then begins to Evangelize the closest Sinspawn!
Diplomacy(M) vs Will DC:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (11) + 22 = 33 Being nice is waaay better than being sinful. Just saying.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman nods approvingly of the diplomatic solution. The Champion of Mazludah shrugs as to which door to pursue first.
Probably the cultists since that is the main objective. The sinspawn will join eventually in the fun!
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman looks up, up, up at Alanzist as the powerful magic-user peeks out into the hallway.
That particular night fashion was all the rage up North. Did you spend time with them Ilverani elves too?
The next morning finds our bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite sitting in the Common room, enjoying a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and a pint of orange juice. He sips merrily as Ayavah introduces herself and she explains the situation.
Nice to meet you, Ayavah. I'm Sir Batman, Champion of Mazludah, and recently Missing a Moment.
Sir Batman enjoys another long sip of his freshly squeezed orange juice.
Another cult? I am beginning to suspect that this world has too many cults.
Sir Batman looks at his new friends, winks and grants Ayavah a bronze-colored thumbs up!
I technically here on vacation. Earned some extra days recently. But, cult elimination sounds fun!
At the ruined shop, Sir Batman peers curiously at the almost non-existent structure.
Probably underground.
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman wakes up. The bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite blinks.
Not another Dream adventure! My faculties have just begun to reassert themselves! Stupid Ashen Man!
The Sprite giggles.
Too bad he doesn't have the former Professor's address!
Not a bit sleepy for some reason, the hyper Sprite decides to grab all his belongings and seek out his new friends.....
Peeking out of his room to look down the hall, Sir Batman frowns.
Probably should have asked which rooms they were in...
Shrugging, the Champion of Mazludah begins pacing up and down the hall, as if on patrol while he waits....
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Dropping his unused notebook, unsharpened pencil and never once used pencil sharpener, Sir Batman's blue eyes widen at the shattering of their surroundings!
That's uncomfortable.
The bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite blinks repeatedly.
The Champion of Mazludah attempts to hold his insides inside (similar to an ill advised breakfast burrito buffet he had once)!
Fort(M) DC 35:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (18) + 23 = 41 Reaction Divine Grace +2
M Sprite Champion [Bastion] 13 HP 214/ 214 AC (M) 36/38 Fort(M)+24, Ref(E)+19(+3 Bulwark), Will(M)+22 Perception(T)+19 Low-light vision Mythic Pool 3/3 Aura of Courage, Aura of Faith
Sir Batman really considers using his massive muscular to physically force the ground to close (seems ready cool!), but the Champion of Mazludah decides to be practical and diplomatic to Aid Guide the Crowd.
Diplomacy(M):1d20 + 22 ⇒ (17) + 22 = 39
Starting in early 1978, the Pathfinder RPG lineage for me is...
D&D 1e > 2e > 3e > 3.5e > 4e > PF1 > PF2 > PF1 and D&D 5e.
Along the way there were (and still are) lots and lots of other games. Honorable mentions: Dragon Quest, Champions, Thieve's Guild, Chivalry & Sorcery, Powers & Perils, Pendragon, Privateers and Gentlemen, Boot Hill, Justice Incorporated, Danger International, Traveller, the Everquest RPG, and more.
> Is continuity between editions, in regards to how mechanics
> and lore interact, important to you?
It depends on the game. I participate in two of them.
One game plays through an AP and then throws the characters away. It doesn't need any continuity outside of that AP.
My other game has a long history from decades of play, lots of homebrew material and many characters. Continuity is a major appeal to the game. Yes, in that game it matters to me.
I'm beginning to find myself wondering if its worth bothering.
By which I mean converting my current ongoing campaign (which has been ongoing since 1981, and which survived the transitions from 1E to 2E to 3.0 and 3.5 to Pathfinder...
[snip]
Am I alone in this feeling? I hope not.
You're not alone.
One of the games I play in (Mondays) is also a very long-term continuing game where characters established years ago make appearances. We value a high degree of continuity. We went from AD&D 2 -> 3 -> 3.5 -> PF1. The move from 3.5 to PF1 involved painful conversions. Going from PF1 to PF2 is a non-starter for that game.
Another game I'm in (Tuesdays) tends to play APs. When they're done, the characters are forgotten. That game is trying PF2. Its too early to say if we'll stick with it. There's some interest in going to 5e, instead.
So, I'm just curious. How many people are using each type of character sheet? What's the kind of demographic and demand for each?
I'm personally a fan of pencil and paper. Might be a bit old school, but I personally find it easier to find whatever stat I need on those quickly, without scrolling and zooming in on a tiny handheld screen.
Of course I can see the versatility in having the ability have your character on the cloud for yourself or sharing with others in your group, and makes it a lot harder to lose a character sheet.
Tiny screen? I use a laptop. At one game I even have a 2nd monitor. Yes, these are in-person games. One of them just embraces automation perhaps more fully than typical games.
Having the program apply all the modifiers, know prerequisites, quick references... its just a time saver all the way around and I'm old enough, and established enough, to have spare cash for such things. I should probably note that Hero Lab Online hasn't been very good with PF2, though I'm hopeful for improvements.
When at a college game club, I would often enter other player's characters into Hero Lab for them. About 90% of the time they had made mistakes that a pencil/paper person just made because they were human. Many times the player just left abilities/powers on the table.
I'm kind of waiting for a primarily software company (like Roll20 or Lone Wolf) to release a game entirely through applications. I don't really need books anymore.
1) It depends on my character conception. If its close to something the Devs envisioned, then it takes me about an hour...
Amending what I said prior...
My friend asked me to whip up a Healbot NPC today. Just picking from what was presented to me as options, with the general goal of being a strong healer, it took me around 15 minutes to have a mostly complete frame, around 10 minutes of what-if'ing and looking things up (mostly feat and skill descriptions), and 5 minutes to put the finishing touches on things like equipment.
... so if I start with little to no character conception, it goes pretty fast.
Yes, I love the native Hero Lab (Classic). It was expensive to get all/most of the sources, but it was quite flexible and convenient.
Hero Lab Online (HLO) wasn't very stable or reliable all through the playtest and hasn't been any better since launch. I'm sure they're scrambling to implement all of PF2. The continued online cost isn't going to break the bank, but the quality of the service is so poor that right now I have no plans to renew once my current subscription runs out.
I recall an encounter in the Age of Worms where the main opponent had a number of Liches as minions and that our party effectively dealt with the Liches in a round or two before focusing on the boss du jour. This was disappointing and serves as an example of how I think the combination of character progression and the bestiary make Paizo stories jump the shark.
What I don't get is why anyone wants the band so tight that a large enough pack of level 1 ghouls poses a threat to level 18 PCs.
PossibleCabbage wrote:
Specifically I was addressing the people who don't want to add level to things so the range would be like -1 to +12. I personally think that would be terrible.
That's fair. Each person has their own tastes.
I don't personally find adventures where the characters are near-deity super-fantastic entities to be very interesting. Generally speaking, the last two or three books of any Paizo AP are torture. They're so far beyond the common man that the immersion is lost. The upper level creatures feel like bizarre abstractions of Earthly lore.
It's also fair for folks to conclude Pathfinder just isn't the game for me. I'm at that point, frankly, but if the system (and supporting automation) will support alternatives/house rules then Paizo can enjoy a wider appeal and maybe I can stick around.
I think it is safe say PF3 is not going to switch to the sort of bounded accuracy you seem to be after, nor will any basic version of Pathfinder. (That is, not counting variant rules systems that might be suggested in something like the game mastery guide or an Unchained type supplement.) That's because Pathfinder has always been about making a system to tell a certain kind of story. You're supposed to be able to tell the same stories across different editions. And a big part of the stories of Golarion/Pathfinder is level scaling.
If you say so. I've not been concerned with trying to tell Paizo's story, so continuity with that line hasn't been important to me.
I do understand how folks can associate a mathematical range of values with a story. I'm guilty of doing it too from time to time, but I've also been able to take stories from other game systems and adapt them for use, so I also think its not entirely true. If anything, the change to characters from PF1 to PF2 feels to me more like an interruption to story continuity. But that's just me. Obviously, the majority thinks it is passable.
I like the artwork that depicts scenes and the maps. I'm not a fan of the style of the character art, but recognize the anime/cartoony style has been consistently Pathfinder. The layouts look nice.
When we're talking "hours to make a character" are we talking about level 1 characters, or like level 7 characters?
Either. It is certainly possible to make a 1st level character in around 15 minutes if that's the goal. Just pick stuff. That's just not what I've observed happening.
Some players look ahead at prerequisites.
The inexperienced players at the table get lost in the Feat descriptions.
I tend to have a conception in mind and then struggle to figure out how best to implement it using the rules. This often involves multiclassing and what-if'ing to see which base class works out best.
Picking magic items (if the adventure starts you with some) has been a significant bottleneck. You need the book for that as Hero Lab Online can't present you a list based on item level. Then you have to really read the items because there's a lot of useless duds on the list.
I have one of those players. I just asked them what they wanted in a character, built 2-3 versions of it and asked them which they liked best.
Yeh, exactly. We know their tastes. We usually premake a Barbarian, an Archer, and a Healbot. Sometimes that doesn't scratch the itch and they want to consider some adjustments or try something new. Then we can't pull out an rename an old character.
This then leads to the 60-something person who spends most of their time caring for an elderly parent just making quick choices for things that seem unrelated to their conception. They made the big decisions of Race, Class, Abilities, Armor, Weapon, Skills, and just want Feats to go away.
To follow up on my previous message, some of these uninvested players actually prefer we make characters for them. When this happens, we have to keep them simple. Complex Feats are ignored Feats. Characters with spells are no good. Characters with Reactions are no good. These are very casual players. They're fun to play with, but they do not have an interest in the underlying system.
To be fair, now that trained now gets you from +0 to +lvl, skill training feat now is a lot more attractive.
I'm certain that will figure into people's thinking about their choices.
The situation at the table is usually related to time pressure. The newer players face analysis paralysis with most of the Feats. They say there are too many Feats with elaborate or obscure conditions on them and skill training offers a constant bonus and more carefree play. They don't have to hold up play to spend a couple of minutes reading their abilities.
At least that's my interpretation of what they say.
I have myself, as part of the playtest, been asked to make many characters. We use Hero Lab Online. It usually takes me about 2 hours to make a character, most of it spent parsing the nuances of Feats. I can see where they're coming from. As much as skill rolls are called for, as challenging as DCs can be, as simple as the Skill Training Feat is to understand... it has a lot of appeal.
I think your experience is unusual, partially because of the number of characters, but equally because people are actually taking Skill Training as a Feat. I literally never saw that taken in Doomsday Dawn, and my players like Skills quite a bit.
I think it became much more clear over the past year to me, to everyone, that yes I do look for different things and that my needs and Paizo's direction are diverging. And, more obvious these last couple of months, these changes are causing stress at the game table in the form of changing group dynamics.
Game #1 participated in the playtest. The players started out with enthusiasm, but didn't collectively end up there. As this game has multiple DMs, we have had to come to grips with the differences in our approaches and the effects changing systems has on those DMs.
At this point, Game #1 is basically in a holding pattern. The active DM is using the PF2 playtest rules. But, In the gap between now and PF2's release other DMs are sort of taking the opportunity to look around at other games. I can't predict if we'll come back together as a group with 5 DMs (and 3 non-DM players) running from the same world (as it has been), or if the table will be 5 DMs running their own worlds potentially using different systems.
I honestly cannot read the table and make a good prediction. I would have said the table went with PF2 because the primary DM really likes Golarion, but in the last week he has started to show an interest in D&D 5e. He's considering remaining active in Pathfinder organized play, but that perhaps 5e is a better fit for the available time the DMs have and the inexperience of the non-DM players. I didn't see that coming.
Anyways, yes, my needs are not typical. I hope the masses get what they want. I'm probably being cast adrift from Paizo, which is kind of okay. It is kind of freeing. In terms of Game #1, I might not even have to use PF1 any more. Not that PF1 is bad. It just hasn't always been a good fit either.
Game #2 is much easier. They're not changing; life goes on.
Did anyone complain about the reduction in skills beyond Thievery? And while there were folks who complained about Disable Device being lumped in with Sleight of Hand, I'd bet the vast majority of people either were in favor or didn't care. Though I don't remember if there was a survey question on skill consolidation specifically.
I did. I admit it puts me into the minority.
The pattern we saw during the playtest, and during the post-playtest play still going on, is that there isn't a lot of separation between characters. They're all equally good at all skills. This is a mix of the +Level approach, the small number of skills, and that players don't find a lot of value in the Feats, so they load up on skill training. This strategy generally means the party can make the skill rolls required of the adventures even if the individual characters cannot consistently hit the target numbers. I guess that's a long way of saying that taken as a whole I've not been happy with the skill system.
Oddly enough, I'm surprised PF2 has an Acrobatics skill. To me, Acrobatics would be better as a feature offered to an Expert or Master level in Athletics.
I also admit that I didn't understand the Lore skill at the beginning. I don't mind its function now. I still don't care for the name.
Anyways, most of my troubles related back to wanting to run games that don't fit with Paizo's conceptions of character/party make up. One of my friends has to remind me from time to time that Paizo assumes there will be just four characters. I tend to envision adventures for 8-12. At that game table, there also tends to be 5-8 players.
Will switching a character from Pathfinder to Second Edition be easy or difficult?
It really depends on your game. Examples: I'm part of two different PF1 games.
One game generally plays APs and characters are largely forgotten at the end of the APs. There is little continuity other than the framework Golarion provides and loose integration with an in-game adventuring house similar to the Pathfinder Society. This game is not necessarily tied to the game system and can switch to PF2, or any other game system, which captures the imagination of those involved.
The other game values continuity, has a great many continuing characters and lots of customized settings. Changing game systems is a lot of work and characters lose something in the translation. (We've done it before: D&D 2 -> D&D 3 -> PF1.) Those involved with the game do not want to change to an incompatible game system. There is no desire among those involved to change to PF2, just as there was no support to change to D&D 4e.
I don't buy a video game anymore without watching somebody on YouTube or Twitch play it. I can see people doing that with RPGs too.
I'm sure Paizo's marketing folks are aware that entertaining streamers don't always translate into sales. Etalyx is fun and entertaining, but he's only ever sold me on one video game. He plays a lot of games that I know I wouldn't enjoy playing, but he's funny.
I don't know that PF2 is any more stream-worthy than anything else. I could enjoy watching folks play Avalon Hill's Third Reich. I suspect its the performance of the players that makes the stream more than anything.
I'd like some variant of Favored Terrain. Perhaps something where once the Ranger has had some time to become familiar with a region and become acclimated then Favored Terrain acts like a Regional Lore skill that might be complimentary to survival, scouting, acting as a guide, and steering parties away from natural hazards.
I wouldn't mind seeing Favored Enemy being a low-level Ranger Feat. We have lots of conditional feats that are rarely useful, so Favored Enemy fits in there quite nicely. At perhaps +1 to-hit and perhaps +1 save versus the enemy's fantastic attacks, it could fall in line in terms of power.
I could see a Ranger improving a party's overland speed and improving the party's ability to pass through otherwise obstructed or very limited terrain.
Some kind of ability related to finding/establishing shelter in a wilderness environment would be good. This could translate into a variety of nice things for the Ranger's party at various levels. Leave summoning cabins in the woods for the wizard/summoner. Let the Ranger's ability relate to finding natural shelters, or perhaps constructing temporary shelters.
I can see environmental buffs that allow a party to operate in hostile climates, including underground. Perhaps some energy resistance buffs.
When it comes to spells, they don't all have to have a combat role. We're plowing through the Playtest's adventure for 14th levelers right now and there's a lot of frustration at the table. The adventure precludes spell casting which ruined any chance of using investigative spells that are normally ignored in favor of combat spells.
Yes, you can certainly define your character conception differently than the name of your class. Okay fine, in PF2, the best Ranger is a Fighter with a Druid Dedication or a Druid with a Fighter Dedication.
But to me it is a shame that in order to make a classic Ranger conception that you have to use something other than the Ranger class.
Its a natural outcome of change. If Paizo wants to redefine the Ranger then, well, its their rules. I don't have to like it. We all know where we stand.
Ranger is a person with bow (or twin scimitars) and a pet. That's the Core Identity of the class. Anything beyond that is projecting your personal preferences that aren't shared by people who associate the D&D range with the above archetype.
That's Drizzt. His pet was from an item. He's a viable Ranger conception, but I don't agree that other conceptions are projecting a personal preference. Many Ranger concepts existed before Drizzt did. I can't think of any other Ranger that used two scimitars.
From my perspective, you're the one projecting personal preference. My personal preference would be for PF2 to continue to support a wider definition, as I believe all preceding rules did.
When in the playtest did your characters feel helpless or frustrated? When did you think: "This sucks. My character is super weak and useless?"
I'd say about 2/3rds of the time with the skill system, and it didn't matter which character it was.
Cheburn wrote:
How many of these moments did you have? Did you feel that the PF2 ruleset specifically hindered your character? And as you played through the playtest, did you adapt your style to become more effective?
Quite a few. I wouldn't say PF2 specifically hindered me. I think it equally hindered all characters. Nobody had a great chance of success with skills as if the game assumed out of 4-6 characters somebody will make the role. The "specialist" in the party rarely emerged as the most successful. A more typical outcome is some non-specialist had a good role and the party was thankful for their luck.
Paizo made a lot of noise about addressing the class properly, but yet I look at the cleric in PF2 and I see absolutely no reason to play one.
Given all of the damage incoming I see a reason to have one. I also see a table full of people who don't want to play one. As if being a healbot wasn't already unappealing, you get to have your foot nailed to the deck by Anathema too. Alas, I'm ready to return to D&D 3.5. I just can't convince my friends to follow.
Skills -- The training modifier being less than the item modifier on skills is a bit silly. Not only is training less important than ability modifier, it is also less important that gear? This is bad.
Agreed. We saw this clearly during exploration in the 4th adventure. The Cleric was a consistently better Ranger than the Ranger was. The ever-scaling DCs are making the abilities modifiers too important for too long. My preference would be for training to weigh heavier in the outcome than abilities as characters grow. Gating some skill features behind levels of mastery is useful, but the skill system's math isn't very compelling.
I see PF1 as a lesser version of D&D 3.5 that my friends chose because Paizo was supporting it with new content. I guess what PF2 means to me is the end of support for D&D 3.5.
But with the playtest I feel that I am losing my favorite game.
I feel for you. I suspect you will still be able to play PF1, but not organized play, unless you were willing to translate the PF2 PFS adventures back to PF1. If you're willing to let players run 2 PCs, or "bot" a cleric perhaps you can keep a PF1 table going on the side in a PFS event.
For what its worth, in my town folks seem to be of mixed opinions about PF2. I'm in two weekly games and one of them is sticking with PF1. The other game is part of the playtest and might go with PF2, but its too early to tell. The playtest has not been a runaway hit, nor has it been a total flop. Personally speaking, I'll keep running as part of the DM rotation in the PF1 game, but I'll drop out of doing that in the second game if it goes with PF2. I dislike PF2 but not so much that I won't play it in order to hang out with friends. I don't think it fits with me as a DM.
My role in my playtest group has been to test the multiclass rules. I have found that if you want to mix in a caster class with a non-caster class, the best approach is to take the caster class as your choice even if your concept is heavily rooted in the other class.
When you do that, you can nearly always dump-stat the caster class's primary stat and not really suffer that much. For example, if you want a Ranger who casts, then build a Druid and ignore WIS in favor of STR, DEX, CON. If you try to build on Ranger, the Druid archetype will require a 16 WIS which you won't need.
That said, I don't think the archetype approach to multiclassing is bad or broken. The problem is it is the only form of multiclassing available. The rules need all THREE versions of multiclassing to be able to support a wide variety of character conceptions:
D&D 1e's MC system where you pursue multiple classes at once.
D&D 3e's MC system where you can choose other classes as you level.
D&D 4e/PF1e Unchained/PF2e's MC system of archtype feats.
And you need to be able to use more than one of those on the same character.
3. PCs feel like the deck is stacked against them ---- Monster AC, saves, attacks, spell DCs are too high, making PC attack, spells, and defenses feel weak
I dare say characters don't feel competent. With skill success rates around 50-60% the game feels more like Savage Worlds than Pathfinder. If it weren't for multiple rolls we'd never make it through some adventures. If the goal is to make the party collectively competent but individually incompetent, mission accomplished. But that doesn't make the character interesting.
Dragonriderje wrote:
4. Few options to reduce complexity. One of the members of our group prefers making straight-forward characters, focusing on passive or constant effects.
This is something I've also heard from players in the game in which I play.
Dragonriderje wrote:
He does not like the array of combat and noncombat abilities a character ends up with after creation...
The game needs more than a system that handles carrying capacity. It also needs a system for interacting with and manipulating items with mass. Bulk may have an ok way for carrying gear, but it does not handle anything else well.
Perhaps. While I'm a proponent of mass/weight, I could also make a case that the game doesn't need an encumbrance system beyond DM fiat.
Real life people are decent at estimating too much weight, too much volume, and carrying capacity. We literally do it daily. When the DM creates a situation where the DM feels the need to care, they can have the "perhaps you need a donkey" discussion. :)
If we're going to do sweeping changes, such as with a new major version of the rules, I'd like to fix health.
I think your health should be CON + HPs. HPs represent energy used to avoid being hurt. Various forms of healing and resting restore HPs somewhat quickly. As you level up, you get more HPs. Sleeping for 8 hours would give all HPs back. Breaks for a meal, or a nap, would give back some substantial HPs back, perhaps 10% per hour.
Damage that got into your CON would slowly heal only through long periods of rest (days or weeks) under the care of a trained healer, or perhaps with higher level healing spells depending on the setting the DM wants to make.
Either way, adventure and encounter design is the most important aspect of hit points and recovery.
I often multiclass in pursuit of a character concept and I've been making multiclass characters as part of the playtest.
Thus far, I've not been very happy with multiclassing in 2e. Its hard for me to say it is the archetype feat approach as the class implementations are disappointing. I think I would be unhappy with the results even with the old form of multiclassing because we're being asked to build on a feeble foundation.
It may be true to say that 2e offers more choices, but I wouldn't say that it offers more meaningful choices. I feel my favorite class, the Ranger, went from a customizable package of abilities to where I pick one shtick from a list of four.
One part of the multiclass archtype feats that I find frustrating is the requirement to have a 16 in the primary stat. I wasn't required to have a 16 in my primary stat of my main class. In fact, depending on your eventual goal with the 2e character, it makes sense to short the primary stat of your chosen class and put an 18 in your multiclass archtype's primary stat. One example was that I made a Cleric with a 12 Wisdom, then an 18 Dex and 16 Str and went for the rogue archtype. I basically made a rogue, but got the cleric channel ability. If I would have made the rogue my base class, I would have needed a 16 Wis to support the cleric archtype.
Whew. How about you? What kind of experience have you had with character creation? At what level? Any suggestions?
Similar. As the playtest group makes characters of higher and higher level, the group in which I play takes more and more time.
We spend hours making characters and we're using Hero Lab. Analysis paralysis chews threw the time. Also, folks misread and misunderstand the abilities they pick, and then end up rebuilding their characters.
Personally, I've come to some of the same conclusions as you did. General and Skill Feats aren't worth agonizing over. My last character just took Skill Training until I had all of the skills. I was disappointed when I ran out of skills to take.
Honestly, I hate PF2e right now because I hate character generation. I wish my playtest group would just go back to PF1e or try D&D 5e.
I think you've got a good overall approach and I concur that house rules are a great way to make a game fit your goals.
Where we disagree is that so far I don't see PF2e as a strong chassis. My observations of my playtest group is that we're really struggling with it. In particular, the process of character generation is frustrating, lengthy, and doesn't result in interesting characters. Analysis paralysis is extremely common. Folks agonize over lots of meaningless Feats, few of which contribute to their character conception.
As a player, I ignore Hero Points. I don't want to use them and I'm not really sure why. If the DM is going to give them out then you'd think I'd enjoy having the option in the game. Yet I don't. Likewise, I don't try to earn them. I just play the game. I suppose at some level they feel artificial and silly. Perhaps that over the years I've seen those kind of mechanics used by DMs to turn up the lethality of the game and then kind of let the players rescue their characters with those points.
Well, if someone states that he's done with playtesting due to endless frustration and that PF2 is never for them you believe they will spend time to fill out surveys with constructive critique?
They might. It is certainly possible. Either way, the surveys so far are short on open-ended questions that are likely to capture the type of feedback the original poster wanted to give.
Paizo says they read the boards and value feedback in this arena. I think the original poster, and their group, honorably participated in the playtest up until some level of tolerance. If the DM tried to force the group to keep playing they likely would have broken up, and not finished the playtest either. You've got to respect a group making a well considered and conscious decision about how to spend their free time.
Another option I forgot to mention above is just supporting movement with a ruler. This was popular in the 1970s and 1980s when we played lots of miniature-based wargames when not playing an RPG.
I don't think Roll20 supports ruler-based movement, but it could with some development. It already has a ruler function. For those actually using figs and maps, its easy.
Change the battle map from the 1" square to a hex map!
I think a better solution would be for the game to be flexible enough to use either squares or hexes. This largely just involves some basic rules and some alternative area of effect templates.
Hexes work really well for outdoors battle maps. Squares are good for interiors. If you're really artistic you can even make a map that has both hexes and squares showing both interior and exterior places. For us mere mortals, one at a time is fine and generally works with things like Roll 20.
I've had similar observations to the original post. We're getting ready to start the 3rd part of the playtest, so we'll have yet another "session 0" with 7th level characters. Another 3-4 hours of confusion among veterans and new players alike. With Hero Lab being unable to keep up with the updates, it will go slower.
We've spent a lifetime estimating weight. We interact with weight everyday of our lives. Even if its not convenient to look something up, you're pretty good at estimating weight.
Bulk, on the other hand, you would have to actually look up stuff in the rulebook and make a comparison because there is no real-world analog and no other source of bulk values. And, when you did your comparison, you would have to contend with nonsensical entries in the equipment list.
You could pick a bulk-to-weight conversion rate letting you take real-world weights and convert them into bulk, but then why bother with the extra step? Just use weight.
I played a PF1 game for years once ever two weeks with hero points and the GM would go several months without giving out points. When I GMed, I never used them. I think that GMs have to deal with so many other things that when hero points do get used it tends to be more random than anything else. I think that hero points are a waste of character sheet and core rulebook space. I'm fine with it being an optional rule, but I don't think that it should be core.
As a DM, I dabbled with Hero Points decades ago and decided it just wasn't necessary, so I ditched it.
As a Player, I also tend to forget about them. Usually I only spend one when something bad happens and the DM suggests I spend one.
Like Alignment and "Bulk" (Encumbrance) they're effectively already optional rules because the game cannot make the DM bother with them. The only bummer is if the DM and a player have a difference in desires related to how the game is run/played.
1. Action System. Three actions works out decently well.
2. Sorry, I ran out here.
Hate:
1. Character Generation. Maybe that's too broad, but I don't care for most of the mechanics related to making characters. So I'm lumping together how Abilities are derived, Ancestries, Backgrounds, most of the Classes, Feats, Signature Skills, the Skill List, and Multi-classing. Pretty much all of it.
After decades of reading mathematical papers, boardgame rules, and government regulations, I mastered the art of taking mental notes. When I see a definition, I record it in my mind and keep alert that the word no longer means what it usually means in English.
This is an acquired skill. Most people don't do that. Nevertheless, the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook is written for people with mental note-taking skill. And using that skill can be mentally fatiguing, so we take shortcuts to reduce the effort.
After a career in software engineering I was pretty much broken of doing that. Sure, we'd collapse something like "Standard Area of Effect Saving Throws" into a function so that we didn't need the code in a bunch of places. That's great for code efficiency and computers can handle it, no problem.
The trouble was humans couldn't keep up. Stacked simplicity is complexity. When your app's code has 1,000 functions, you can't remember them all.
So, while this proposal could be really good for saving them space, and even work well with the humans, if the pattern continues it will eventually break the humans.
As near as I can tell, they tried to simplify a minor, optional game feature and failed. They traded grade school math for grade school math.
They could have just gotten rid of the notion of encumbrance. Many DMs already consider it to be optional even when their players use automation that adds everything up for them.
I would call it a Standard Area of Effect Saving Throw.
While you're at it, fix the order in which you present the saving throw results.
Critical Success
Success
Failure
Critical Failure
This is a more rational order, at least to me. I already know what result I'm after and once I lock onto the saving throw section my eyes can jump to the part of the paragraph relative to the amount of success that was determined.
With the current approach, I nearly always jump to the middle looking for success or failure and then have to scan elsewhere if it was a success. Your current order is...
