One of the frequent refrains I've seen on this forum is that the Playtest doesn't let you customize your characters all that much compared to PF1. Which I definitely have felt a bit of that building characters, but it's been hard to formulate just where the problem is. But, the last few weeks, I've found myself with a better idea of the issue.
As much as I hate the hand-wavyness of "there'll be more options in the final product", lack of options is not the problem. Nor is the strength of options compared to PF1, though that can certainly be a frustration. Instead, I find that the problem is that the Playtest and PF1 have a fundamental divergence in where you can make trade-offs.
Playtest characters have a huge bottleneck. Virtually all customization you can do with a Playtest character is made from the same pool: class feats. Archetype? Class feats. Multiclass? Class feats. Class features other than the small number of default features? Class feats. Combat style determining/boosting options? Class feats. Scaling class features? Class feat trees.
Basically every major aspect of customization has to be done with class feats.
Compared to PF1...
Archetypes? Trade out class features for class features. Multiclass? Trade out class levels for class levels or take an archetype that emulates that class. Other class features? Take a feat or a Rogue Talent/Rage Power/etc if your class has that option. Combat style determining/boosting options? Obtainable through archetypes or feats. Scaling class features? Inherent to classes.
PF1 in comparison has many more places where you can make your trade-offs. This isn't to say PF1 doesn't have some issues, like combat-oriented feats crowding out other options since they're all in the same pool. But, while the Playtest has made more space for non-combat feat options through have Skill Feats and Ancestry feats, it has instead shoved the problem elsewhere and made it worse, honestly.
Most major facets of a character are all competing for the same 8 to 11 class feat slots and very little scales without further and constant investment that uses yet more of those slots. This is the bottleneck.
After accidentally stumbling on the fact that Wrath of Righteous, under PF2 rules, ends rather unceremoniously in the opening scene (death by Feather Fall nerfs), I thought it would be interesting to go all the way through an Adventure Path and see what other stumbling blocks I might find operating under the Playtest rules. It could help expose places where the Playtest rules are lacking, and it would help me better learn the Playtest rules.
I choose to look through Serpent's Skull. This was the best (read: most convenient) AP to look through for a number of reasons: I'd run it before, I own physical copies of the books (which are much easier to skim, imo), and it's a relatively old Adventure Path, having been coming out right around when the APG released. This last bit meant that the AP is operating largely under CRB and GMG rules, with one or two splats scattered about. Additionally... the campaign is pretty beat-sticky overall; it doesn't have huge amounts of magic required.
Before I start listing out my notes, I did have a few caveats. I didn't consider PC effectiveness in these scenarios, save one or two instances. I have mostly ignored skill challenges, pre-battle buff routines, and whether or not creatures actually exist in the Playtest Bestiary. I won't be counting these things as stumbling blocks, though there are a few exceptions here and there. But: skill challenges are easy to adjust DC-wise, and I frankly just didn't look closely enough to compare skill functionality assumptions. Pre-battle buff routines, while definitely something that can no longer happen, are partially mitigated by how enemies in PF2 are going to be built, aka they'll have all the stats they need for the most part. And dinging the game for not having a full Bestiary yet, well, would be too easy and just not helpful.
I'm going to provide a rating for each occurrence of how difficult it is to handle each situation, in my opinion.
Everything's going to be grouped in spoilers by book, so with that, let's get started:
Souls for Smuggler's Shiv:
In the Adventure Background: Yarzoth, an Advanced(not the template) Serpentfolk, uses periodic use of Suggestion on the ship captain to set up the adventure.
Rating: Hand-Waveable. There are some believability issues (Suggested for 1 minute vs hours), but ultimately, the GM can have the captain fail narratively.
Yarzoth uses Dominate Person to cause Captain Kovack to crash the ship on Smuggler's Shiv, and then to have him as her ally as she travels Smuggler's Shiv.
Rating: Somewhat Impossible. Even accounting for a lack of Advanced Serpentfolk rules, which aren't specific to this adventure, Dominate just does not last long enough and Failure vs Critical Failure is too a large difference for believable daily application.
Captain Kovack is infected and dies to ghoul fever, but before his death, Dominate Person runs out and he writes down a confession.
Rating: Somewhat Impossible (see above)
Side-note: Survival changes make finding food for the party actually difficult without the Forager skill feat. Not sure how I feel about that.
The PCs potentially need knowledge of Aklo to active the Tide Stone to enter the final area of this book.
Rating: Difficult. PF2 is much stingier with languages, making one having Aklo less likely. This is only a problem if the PCs additionally can't meet the alternative activation methods and lost favor with all their possible allies.
Yarzoth uses the Find Traps spell to avoid the traps in the Azlanti Temple, and thus make it the final dungeon of the book.
Rating: Hand-Waveable. Ultimately, narrative success is easy enough to grant even though Find Traps does not exist in the Playtest rules.
A trap in the dungeon also suggests use of Detect Magic to more easily find the 'stop the trap' button.
Rating: Difficult. This is still in theory possible, but Detect Magic and Read Aura are 10 minute castings. This makes reactive searching not possible.
Yarzoth herself is currently impossible, as there are no rules for adding class levels, a class template, or any template really, to creatures. And with creature math being separate from PC math, stitching classes levels onto creatures doesn't work that great. ...This is going to turn out to be a theme of these notes.
Racing to Ruin:
When encountering Umargo, a barbarian insurgent, he first is supposed to cut an NPC hostage's throat putting them at -1 and dying.
Rating: Hand-waveable/Impossible. Everything except PCs dies at 0, and there's not really an in-between state between being conscious or being dead. It is the thing that can be easily fiated, but I really don't think fiat should be necessary for this scenario.
Umargo is a TWF barbarian.
Rating: Difficult. By no means impossible, but it is the sort of thing that can't be done amazingly with pure barbarian right now. He's otherwise an easy conversion from what I saw.
Chirok the Stormbird's encounter can be bypassed via knowing Auren and using Diplomacy.
Rating: Difficult. Again, stinginess with languages makes this listed potential solution that much more unlikely. Also, the DC for Diplomacy would 100% be level-appropriate... which means a 50/50 at best for the peaceful solution to work.
The PCs can obtain a one-use magical item that can cast Dispel Evil, to potentially make a future encounter with a shadow demon easier.
Rating: Impossible. Honestly, the lack of the Dispel Alignment series (spells from the CRB) is a bit surprising. ...Unless they're under some different name now and I missed them.
Members of a rival faction ambush the PCs at the building that they are staying in. The leader of the ambush uses a wand of Glyph of Warding to set blasting runes at the doors to discourage the PCs from leaving.
Rating: Hand-waveable/Impossible. Glyph of Warding no longer has the option for blasting runes. Which is odd. I guess this could be replaced with snares potentially?
Lack of bane arrows make an encounter with lower level enemies relatively pointless.
Rating: Hand-waveable. This isn't too big a concern individually, but the lack of Bane and Slaying arrows surprised me. It's an odd omission, I find.
The PCs encounter three priestesses that have been dominated and tricked into accepting profane gifts by a succubus.
Rating: Impossible. Dominate just doesn't last long enough for the succubus to Dominate multiple people with a 1/day SLA. And then, the whole reason the priestesses haven't otherwise fled already is the threat of Cha Drain from the succubus removing the gifts; stupefied, while potent, doesn't have quite the same potential for cutting them off completely from their spells. Multiple profane gifts are impossible now anyway.
Charau-ka cleric. A creature with class levels.
Rating: Impossible.
Side note: Interesting that domains don't give any passive or class feature-esque abilities, only powers, now.
Permanent Magic Mouths.
Rating: Hand-waveable. Permanency is definitely something that wouldn't be included in the playtest, but I frankly can't be certain it will exist in the final version. Though, it would be cool if it was a ritual.
Side-note: Ability checks are apparently still a thing that exist, but are only referenced in Clumsy? What?
Advanced Serpentfolk Wizard. Creature with class levels, solo encounter.
Rating: Impossible.
Side-note: I really do wonder how solo-spellcasters are supposed to be boss encounters in PF2, if they aren't remotely gish...
City of Seven Spears:
Side-note: No creature templates other than Elite and Weak?
Side-note: Looking at encounters of low-level creatures designed to use magic items to boost their effectiveness makes item level seem a bit silly.
Side-note: The advanced aboleth in Saventh-Yhi is always going to surpass the PCs levels in this adventure, making using its presence more questionable. Also, we really don't have aboleths in the Bestiary? Dominate nerfs actually hurt them a lot from a story perspective...
Charau-ka with class levels as patrolling encounters.
Rating: Hand-waveable/Impossible. They only have warrior levels, elite adjustment would be fine.
Olujimi, an angazhani, is supposed to use dimension door to escape and then set up another encounter.
Rating: Difficult/Impossible. Dimension Door nerfs make escapes with it less likely. The distance nerfs really hurt.
Charau-ka cleric 7.
Rating: Impossible
Petrified Half-fiend dire ape revived with stone salve.
Rating: Difficult/Impossible No actual templates at the moment. And really, what an unlucky person you have to be to get petrified currently.
Boggard oracle 7. Long-term dominated by the aboleth.
Rating: Impossible. Creature with levels+Dominate being too short.
Green hag sorcerer. Sorcerer bloodline goes a long way to explaining her character.
Rating: Impossible. Creature with levels.
Side-note: The 'grandfathering' clause of the performance check that aids the party in allying with the Radiant Muse probably will be too difficult +/-10 rules.
The Radiant Muse is a lilend with class levels.
Rating: Impossible.
Boggard barbarians as a part of patrolling encounters.
Rating: Impossible
Boggard fighter.
Rating: Impossible
Troglodyte cleric as part of patrolling encounters.
Rating: Impossible
It's at this point that I was surprised just how many enemies had class levels in addition to creature HD.
Vaults of Madness:
Juliver is a Pathfinder hit with a Feeblemind spell. The PCs need to cure her affliction to continue the adventure. The adventure offers several ways of getting Heal(PF1) scrolls.
Rating: Hand-waveable. The lack of PF1 Heal and Limited Wish make this a bit less simple. A scroll of Remove Curse (7th) is required to guarantee a cure.
Side-note: Remove Curse is irritatingly vague and sends you off to a section to read just to understand it. Counteracting Conditions isn't a very clear read. It took far too much effort just to figure out how to cure a Feeblemind effect. Especially when Feeblemind doesn't list what fixes it.
Side-note: Wish and Miracle no longer have their condition removal text. Doesn't actually limit them, but slightly odd.
Side-note: No Limited Wish?
Going to ignore the usage of insanity rules in this adventure for the sake of my sanity. I don't want to go back to Counteracting Conditions.
The Gorilla King presents the PCs with three tests. The PCs have to succeed on two of three to proceed without having to fight the Gorilla King (who vastly out CRs them) and his retainers.
Rating: Difficult/Impossible. The Test of Strength is maybe still possible? A single PC has to beat a strength ability check, but can be magically aided. But ability check rules are non-existent? The Test of Storytelling would maybe be possible. As a DC 35 Diplomacy, Bluff or Perform check, it's intended to be relatively difficult for the 10/11th level PCs. Does end up running a bit counter to the new aid another rules in its suggestions, however. The Test of Combat is impossible. 10/11th PC vs CR 14 creature in single combat. You may not need to kill him to win, but the Gorilla King is going to curbstomp any PC.
Gorilla King is an awakened animal with fighter levels.
Rating: Impossible.
Side-note: Rings of invisibility are mentioned in the Perception section, but aren't actually in the Playtest. Huh.
Urdefhan cleric.
Degenerate serpentfolk fighter.
Side-note: Has this really just become listing monsters with class levels?
Side-note: The fortress in this adventure actually accounts for use of Teleport. Various areas are affected by Forbiddence and Dimensional Lock.
Lots of serpentfolk fighters.
Selaxasp is a succubus rogue/master spy that was called via a Gate spell to keep an eye on BBEG's underlings.
Rating: Hand-waveable/Difficult. Gate doesn't have a calling use now, only a planar travel one. Planar Ally is strictly deity-sent servitors, and well, given that this whole AP is about Yderius resurrection, it doesn't work. Planar Binding works, but is horribly vague.
Selaxasp uses Greater Teleport to report to the BBEG, if not killed by the PCs.
Rating: Impossible. Demons just don't get Teleport of any kind in the Playtest Bestiary, for some reason?
Urdefhan fighter.
More serpentfolk fighters.
Advanced Serpentfolk fighter/duelist
Yet more serpentfolk fighters.
Advanced Serpentfolk evoker with contigent teleport as an escape.
Rating: Impossible. Even Heightened Contingency doesn't let you cast a contigent Teleport. The casting time is too long.
Even more serpentfolk fighters.
Serpentfolk rogue.
Sanctum of the Serpent God:
Again, with the skipping...
Urdefhan fighter/rogues.
Meladaemon sorcerers.
More urdefhan fighter/rogues.
More meladaemon sorcerers.
More urdefhan fighter/rogues.
Cyclops fighter.
Urdefhan ranger.
Serpentfolk use a Reincarnate-like process to inflitrate PCs camp with little chance of detection.
Rating: Hand-waveable There's no Reincarnate spell in the Playtest, and I'm honestly unsure if would be in final game. But, it frankly doesn't change that this can be hand-waved.
Sorcerer/assassins that use Teleport to escape and attempt to kill the PCs again later.
Rating: Impossible. This is common thread #2 it seems...
Side-note: Even with heightening, the new Form spells seem really hard to have enemies use in similar ways to PF1, due to forms just not being relevant at that some levels. Also no earth glide for earth elemental form?
Another advanced Serpentfolk transmuter. This one with Teleport escape tactics...
Rating: Impossible. Teleport nerfs are not only a PC problem, I guess.
Said transmuter also attempts to gather up various artifacts, scrolls, and texts into bags of holding before the PCs get there.
Rating: Difficult? It seems like you might have to hold open bags of holding with two hands now? Or am I just reading that wrong?
The Avatar of Yderius has regeneration and can only be killed by decapitation, either by vorpal or by coup de grace.
Rating: Hand-waveable.
Side-note: Not only does regeneration not actually have a description in the Playtest outside of the Regenerate spell, why the heck is it "to the GM's discretion" whether creatures with regeneration not die at 0 HP?! It's kind of the point that they don't!
In summary, this AP didn't have a whole lot of its story that heavily relied on PF1 magic, thus, it should be relatively easy to run it in PF2. However, I did find that:
*Creatures with class levels or templates make conversion difficult, if not impossible. We definitely need some rules for this.
*Teleport nerfs hurt everyone equally.
*Regeneration combined with the "dies at 0" rule is stupid.
*Some scenarios that were easy to set up in PF1 just aren't possible in PF2.
To be perfectly fair, I fully expect the first one will be solved in the final release. We just don't have a lot of tools for building creatures at the moment, which, I guess, for a play focused Playtest is fine; it's not what's being tested. But it does make conversion rather difficult and improvised.
