coriolis's page

Our group started playing Pathfinder with the second edition. At first we tried Roll20, because of its reputation and standing with D&D, but we were disappointed in the slow pace of release of the adventures. We then switched to Fantasy Grounds, which was much more up-to-date with official releases, and the automation was fabulous. However, the learning curve was pretty steep, and you often had to recreate your characters from scratch every time a major revision of the software was published.

We've now settled on Foundry for nearly 2 years. It's wonderful! It strikes a nice balance between the intuitive accessibility of Roll20 and the automatization of Fantasy Grounds, and you can tell the team handling the integration of Pathfinder content is passionate about its work. I heartily recommend it for anyone wanting to try Pathfinder 2E on a VTT!

There's currently no dedicated, prepared occult caster, so my money is on the Occultist.

I ran this for the first time this past weekend, during PaizoCon Europe Online. I have some comments and questions about it, and would love to hear what other GMs think about these:

1a) I found the setup overly complicated. You get contacted by the Venture-Captain, who asks you to meet with the Prince's advisor, who brings in the surviving victim, who mentions the first victim.

1b) Why is the Prince requesting the help of the Society? His soldiers were good enough to defeat the assassins, and his magical advisors were able to extract the approximate location of the Usij ruins. Why wouldn't he send his own troops to deal with the cultists instead of asking some foreigners to handle the situation?

2) Why would the party stop at the oasis if they're provided all the supplies they need at the start? My group headed straight to the ruins. I solved the situation by having one of the camels spooked and unretrievable during the Swarming Insects desert event, forcing the group to go to the oasis to re-supply.

3) The Fierce Sandstorm's effects (straight up damage) just before the party reaches the Wellspring is completely irrelevant, since there is no immediate threat of combat. My group just Treated Wounds/used lay on hands once they reached the entrance. It would be much more impactful if it gave fatigue for an hour or two.

4) It would have been nice to mention that there is no map for the Entrance, Stairs, Corridor and Lost Temple areas. Since they're interior locations, I initially expected them to have maps, and I thought for a few moments that Paizo had accidentally left them out of the published version.

Just a quick side note: I played in Tonya Woldridge's game during Con-Current, which she ran on Foundry (the table was actually hosted on Paizo's servers and she was connecting to it remotely from her home laptop).

She chatted quite a bit with the group during the session, including a mention that she had presented a business case to officially support Foundry, and that people at Paizo were impressed at the adoption rate of Foundry for their RPGs. If I can paraphrase her summary: Roll20 is content on maintaining its market position by focusing on the main rulebooks, but doesn't really want to 'waste' resources on adapting too many adventures. On the other hand, Foundry is eager to fill that gap, but must rely on a group of volunteers to achieve its goals.

** text of Lone Agent omitted **

Thanks! My read is that this particular boon would cease to function once Fame goes away at the end of the year, as we don't really have a way to discount AcP purchases in this way. I'll mark it down as something to discuss internally in case we want to do something else, but for now you should operate under the idea that it won't work once there isn't Fame to discount anymore.

That makes me a sad panda. :( I was lucky enough to get his boon for my only SFS character, and I already planned out a dozen of cool options to take when I got the Fame for it.

If I can make a suggestion on how to adapt it to the new system: Have it automatically give a certain reputation tier (2? Maybe even 3?) with ALL factions. It won't replicate the "discount" part of the boon, but at least it will give you access to a whole bunch of faction boons that would otherwise be difficult to get, which is really the essence of Lone Agent, in my opinion.

*Cue bangin' 90s techno music*

"MOR-TAL KOM-..."

------------

This will be so much fun!

I've been GMing monthly "unofficial" PFS2 games for my friends since December in order to get some practice before running actual PFS scenarios by the time PaizoCon comes (basically, I've assigned them OP numbers so that I could get GM credit when running PFS2 scenarios for them).

One problem I've had is creating the Chronicle Sheet for them. Apparently, the Organized Play webpage has a long-standing bug that prevents GMs from downloading the Sheets directly from there.

The remaining option is to extract the Sheet from the scenario PDFs, but they're edit-protected, which means I have to go through a few hoops before I can get a final product:
- convert to image format
- extract the Chronicle Sheet page
- convert to PDF
- fill out for each character

The end result is a bit fuzzy in terms of image quality. I was wondering if there was a better way to proceed?

I played this yesterday during Bahlicon. It's a very good implementation of the hexploration rules where Nature- and Survival-based characters will truly shine (we had a druid and ranger in our group, so we were covered). However, any group can undertake this scenario, provided they prepare properly -- getting extra rations and supplies, having the right gear, etc. It also helps if the GM is willing to spend a bit of time at the beginning to see how you're set up to handle the exploration routine, otherwise I can see this scenario becoming tedious and frustrating with some groups.

The encounters featured an interesting mix of opponents, including an obscure classic from first edition, and they were set up in dynamic locations with difficult terrain and other environmental hazards.

All in all, if you like exploration and blazing a path through the wilderness, this is the scenario for you!

I didn't think that was how signature spells worked. Doesn't each signature spell have to come from each spell level? That's how it reads in the CRB to me.

That is correct, but as Raven Black explained, it doesn't have to be each spell's base level.

For Elsir, he should have 5/4/4/3 spells for a 5th level Sorc. Also, what are his signature spells and what spell should he have prepped from his spellbook...

Logged in to comment exactly that. However, I selected the following for his signature spells:

As for his Arcane Evolution spell, given his scroll and wands, crashing waves is the only one that would add anything to his selection. Once he's used his scroll of blur (and assuming the adventure spans more than a day), I would probably choose blur instead.

Here are a few things that spring to mind:

- Attacks of opportunity: These are exceedingly rare. Go ahead, move through a creature's threatened space or cast a spell right beside an enemy! 95% of the time, you won't get punished.

- Shields: Your shield doesn't add to your AC automatically; you have to spend an action to Raise a shield, and it only lasts 1 round.

- Minions and pets: Creatures you summon or that follow you (familiars, animal companions) don't act independently. Instead, you have to command them on your turn by spending an action; this gives them two actions.

- Multiple spells in a round: You're free to cast as many spells in a round as you want, as long as their casting times add up to 3 actions. The vast majority of spells have a 2-action casting time, making 1-action spells like the shield cantrip quite useful.

- Heightening spells: Many spells can be heightened, i.e. have an improved effect by using a higher spell slot.
>> Cantrips: Cantrips are automatically heightened to your highest spell level you can cast.
>> Prepared casters: You automatically learn all heightened versions of a spell, but you have to decide which version will be used when you memorize them. For instance: "I'll memorize one 4th-level fireball and two 3rd-level fireballs today".
>> Spontaneous casters: You have to learn each heightened version separately, as if it was a distinct spell. For instance: "I know dispel magic as a 2nd-level and 4th-level spell".

- Recall knowledge on creatures (for PFS): In Pathfinder Society (1e) play, you would get a set number of questions about a creature's abilities, depending on the result of your check. Now, you'll a general overview on a success.

Wow, I didn't expect these boons to be available this quickly -- great job by the Org Play team!

However, I notice that there's no "Adopted Ancestry II" boon... (the first one allowed you to take Adopted Ancestry with the Uncommon races from the Lost Omens Character Guide).

I hope this is a simple oversight, because I was planning on making my fledgling shadow sorcerer extra gloomy by taking some fetchling feats once he gets to 5th level.

Very disappointed this isn't in person.

Guess my time and money will just have to go to GenCon this year.

I expect all the big conventions will be virtual this year also; the health situation is just too uncertain right now, and will remain so for at least a year.

The Organized Play Committee did an amazing job last year with virtual cons -- PaizoCon, Gen Con, Pax, etc. -- including support for disabilities and lots of opportunities to socialize virtually. I felt it was as close to a real con as possible considering the circumstances.

When you compare alchemists to the other classes, they stand in stark contrast in how they're designed: they focus on quantity over quality. In other words, they're really good at creating craploads of low-grade stuff (I'm talking about level 3-4 onwards; before that, you'll need most of your reagents to fill your basic function).

The other niche they have is elixirs. With the removal of the vast majority of classic buff spells, especially those that affect combat, elixirs are now the best way to improve your party's abilities in terms of duration, frequency and raw capabilities, both in and out of combat.

(Side note: Because of these two factors, I find alchemists are ideally suited to Organized Play. The typical 4-hour scenario will have 2 combat encounters and 2 social or skill encounters, which means you should have just enough resources to handle combat, while still being able to help in the noncombat portions.)

In terms of subclasses, I think the bomber, the mutagenist* and the toxicologist are all roughly equivalent. Chirurgeons are quite lacklustre for most of their careers; they excel at out-of-combat healing and recovery, but anyone can do just as well with one or two skill feats, and for in-combat healing, you'll be outclassed by bards, champions and divine and primal casters.

* GameGorgon/QueueTimes made a video a few months ago on a feral mutagenist build that looks really fun!

The Adamantine Goblin is enormous!

I assume you mean the Adamantine GOLEM -- although an epic-level golem carved to look like a goblin would be quite intriguing... :-)

I officially GMed a PFS scenario for the first time yesterday! It was a private event for my friends in our home campaign, since I'm still getting used to the VTT system we're using. (I was the only one who is part of the PFS, so I downloaded some PFS numbers for them, and they used pregens).

When I did the reporting, I was asked to assign credit to one of my characters. The system automatically added the Reputation, Fame and Achievement Points to that character. Do I also get Downtime, XP and gold?

I chose a first-level character; could I have chosen a higher level one? What about one above the level limit for the scenario? How do I determine the downtime and gold reward he gets in that case?

I've been playing a cloistered cleric in Organized Play for about 7 months, and he's now 8th level, so here's my perspective. I also use a ranged weapon (halfling sling-staff) as my fallback attack, by the way.

Character level 1-3
- Magic weapon is indeed the best-in-class choice. Remember that you can't target weapons that already have a +1 enchantment.
- Bane and bless won't have an effect in most fights, since you'll be away from the frontline. Fear or command are the better choices, in my opinion.

Character level 4-5
- Heightened spirit link on a frontline combatant with a good armor will help spread the damage, allowing your party to last longer. It also remains relevant as you level up, just by heightening it. I would avoid shield other due to its range restrictions.
- Calm emotions has an insane range, an effect even on a successful save, and has a chance to completely disable fights against mooks before they can close in on your party (don't try it against leaders, however, since it's an incapacitation effect).

Character level 6-7
- I tried out heroism, but frankly, I've been underwhelmed by it. On the other hand, safe passage has turned out to be stellar in two instances, so I now memorize it any time I suspect environmental dangers might come into play (overland expedition, abandoned ruins, etc.)
- Heightened fear is amazing, especially the fact that it affects multiple targets that you select. The only downside is that they must be within 30 feet of you when you cast it. I got a wand with it as soon as I could to be sure I always had it available!
- Air walk can give a lot of mobility to your melee attackers (add heightened invisibility and a rogue to create an absolute terror!).
- Stay away from vital beacon; you don't want your allies to waste actions coming to you for healing.

You'd become trained in religion, and get Student of the Cannon skill feat.

I don't think we'll get that until the gunslinger comes out. ;-)

More seriously, I really like the idea of making it a methodology.

I've been playing an alchemist since Gen Con, and I finally met another alchemist during PAX Online. When we discussed with our GM how we should handle the issue of trading formulas after the adventure, he came up with an elegant solution: since my fellow alchemist wanted to copy about 6 formulas from me (representing 6 hours of work), the GM decreed that we would both need to spend 1 day of Downtime to this activity.

I like this solution for three reasons:
- It means that there is still a cost associated with the activity (the lost revenue from Earning Income, or other benefit provided by a Downtime activity) affecting both the teacher and learner.
- There is a practical limit to the number of formulas you can copy (12 per day of Downtime seems reasonable).
- It preserves the fundamental elements of the existing rule: no cost in gold, no skill checks, no level requirements.

Official implementation of this rule would require two simple things:
- Defining "Copy a Formula from Another Character" as an Exploration or Downtime activity.
- Stating the maximum number of hours per day that can be spent for this activity.

I personally don't care about the extra costs, or the lack of immediate access for new spells for Clerics. I just hate the inelegance of the mechanics and the lore. Rarity tags have little value if you still have to look up other factors to determine how accessible something is. And how does the lore explain this? Deities grant their clerics the ability to cast certain spells. But some smaller number of spells are only available to those clerics who both please their gods AND have exchanged money with the proprietor of Midtown Spell Shack.

That's what is bothering me also. Going through the appendix of Gods & Magic, there's about 30 deities that grant spells from that book or the APG. It seems wrong to make clerics pay to cast the 'marquee spells' of a faith.

"Welcome to the Church of Sairazul, young initiate! The Crystalline Queen is eager to embrace you in her benevolent family. But before we go any further, let us discuss how you will pay to learn her initial mysteries. We have a very affordable payment plan for..."

Blake's Tiger wrote:

Your specific class feature grants you explicit access. You shouldn’t have a problem.

Except what we're talking about isn't an access issue as defined by the CRB. You have access to all common spells from any book that is sanctioned. penumbral Shroud is a common spell. The issue is whether or not you get get it for free.

Yes, that was exactly my point; Access and "Able to be memorized by a specific character" are two different things.

In effect, the blog created a new tier of Access specifically for cleric and druid spells in Organized Play:

- Common (all common spells in the Core Rulebook): Free to all clerics and druids.
- Non-core (all common spells outside the Core Rulebook): Pay to learn each individual spell.
- Uncommon (all uncommon spells, no matter the source): Need explicit Access during creation or through a Chronicle Sheet.
- Rare (all rare spells, no matter the source): Need explicit Access through a Chronicle Sheet.

The fact that this new tier of Access only affects some spellcasters is even more puzzling.

I have a two suggestions regarding the new system:

1) For the Hireling and Hireling Translator boons (Pathfinder Society section), as well as the related hireling boons (Game Rewards section): On the PDF, include a space to write the 2 skills or languages you take or improve with the boon, similar to what was done for Avid Collector and Esoteric Spellcaster.

2) For the summary list of the boons you've purchased at the bottom of the Boons tab: Have a way to sort by character name. That way you can easily see what each character has purchased.

Your party size and composition will greatly affect your performance; if there's a role that's missing (melee tank, striker, control/support), you'll each have to do your part to fill it as best you can.

As a cloistered cleric, you are definitely a control/support. As such, your spells are your primary tool, and you should try to maximize the amount you have -- which is exactly what your Divine Font ability gives you. Instead of going for an 18/10-14 ability score mix, consider doing 16 in Wisdom and Charisma. This will give you an extra heal spell each day, for the small cost of getting a -1 to your save DC (very few divine spells are spell attacks, so the -1 penalty to them doesn't have much of an effect).

For defense, you (and the rest of your group) might consider using your general feats to get Armor Proficiency. Everyone gets a general feat at 3rd level, but humans have a heritage and an ancestry feat that gets them one at 1st level. Magical bonuses to armor and weapons are few and far between in PF2E, so getting access to a better category of equipment is the best way to improve your combat effectiveness, especially at low levels.

Also, if the shield cantrip isn't enough (it takes only an action to cast, but lasts a single round and provides only a +1 to AC), you could equip a shield as Deadmanwalking suggested.

For class feats, I would suggest these as especially interesting for a cloistered cleric: Healing Hands (1), Reach Spell (1), Rapid Response (2), Radiant Infusion (4), Magic Hands (6).

Speaking of healing, Treat Wounds is quite powerful for a skill action. To maximize its effectiveness at low levels, at least one other party member should be trained in Medicine. In addition to Battle Medicine, the Continual Recovery and Ward Medic skill feats (both level 2 and requiring expert in Medicine) will speed up the healing for your party in-between fights without expending any spells.

Lastly, if you're looking for purchase suggestions, I would recommend the condition and spell cards available here. The spell cards are especially useful to clerics and druids, since they have access to their entire spell list every day. (Note that the spells from Gods and Magic are not available on any spell card, and those from the Advanced Player's Guide will come out in a few weeks.)

For run-of-the-mill items (+1 weapons, common consumables like potions, etc.) you can give strong hints about their nature (healing potions are always bright green, for example), or just handwave it after a certain point (x number of sessions, character level higher than the item, etc.).

You could also identify items in a batch: Roll a skill check vs the average DC of the items, and use the result to determine how many are identified.

Does it work on ranged spell attacks as well?

Also works on any action with the Attack trait, such as Disarm, Escape, Grapple and Trip.

Your friend might not need to divert his focus on bows:
- Attacks of Opportunity are fairly rare, so shooting in melee range is quite possible. (And even if you trigger an AoO, you can still shoot as normal in most situations).
- As others have mentioned, longbows do have a penalty when shooting nearby, but that can be offset by Point-Blank Shot, or maybe by just using a shortbow.
- You'll also have to occasionally shoot at an enemy engaged with an ally. Your ally will then provide lesser or regular cover to your target, but you can usually reposition yourself to avoid that issue. It's only a +1 or +2 to AC in the worst case, so it's not the end of the world.

Also, regarding the Archer Dedication some have mentioned, the only exclusive feat that is relevant for that character is Quick Shot; all the others are either situational, not applicable or redundant. Notably, the Dedication feat itself doesn't give you anything. Your friend should carefully consider whether it's worth it for his character.

For stats, you essentially have two options: 18 in key ability, 14-10 in the rest; or a double 16 with 14-10 in the rest.

General FYI: I just noticed the Chronicle boons are now listed on the "Boons" tab of the "My Organized Play" web page. Only the boons from scenarios and modules are listed (in other words, PFS2 1 through 25, 2-00, Fall of Plaguestone and Ages of Ashes AP), and there's no cost or points to spend yet, but you can see how it will work eventually.

They recommended Amalgamation for the summoner feat.

Thanks for doing that; it's quite useful to be able to see that info at a glance.

I did notice a few typos:

- "Elixir" is misspelled "Elixer" on all tables.
- For the elixir of life, you forgot to change the name of the ultimate version from "major" to "true".

One thing to mention about animal companions: they get recovery rolls once they hit 0 hit points ("death saves" in D&D 5e parlance). That's something we caught only recently with our group, much to the chagrin of our Animal Druid who went through 3 companions (with 1 week downtime each time) before we found that rule.

There's the Nonlethal Spell metamagic feat (wizard 2) from the new Advanced Player's Guide that should help you out.

For weapons, I would look at the Agents of Edgewatch Player's Guide (it's free!) and discuss with your GM if they would be amenable to include some of these options for your character.

Teliknetic projectile shoudn't work IMO. An arrow is not unattended object. Not sure about this last one.

Agreed. At a minimum, the telekinetic projectile should be considered a second attack, so Devise a Stratagem wouldn't apply, and you will suffer the -5 Multiple Attack Penalty.

All in all, that's similar to what other characters of the same level can achieve.

The first thing that came to mind is the Savvy Translator:

1) I'm a translator, and it's the name of a newsletter and podcast from our professional association.

2) It's a subtle play on the word "translator": in the linguistic sense, and the mathematical sense (moving a shape along a vector).

Not many people will get it, but those that do will probably find it very clever, which seems very appropriate for your codebreaking character. ;-)

Love the archetypes in general -- I especially like that even the straightforward ones ("get all the shield feats") always have 3-4 exclusive feats to give them some extra flavour.

Also, I'm very intrigued by the witch, which is surprising for me to say, because it's never interested me before. I realized last night that a big reason for that change is that it's our first official prepared occult caster, with 3 main variations to boot!

You can get rid of a golum's "nasty effectses" by throwing the One Ring into Mount Doom. ;-)

Alright, I got a big day tomorrow (technically later today where I am), so I will bow out of this thread and get to bed. Thanks for all the questions, and have a good Gen Con Online!

BTW, Mark Seifter is on the Know Direction Twitch show right now breaking down the APG with Ryan and Perram.

Whats opportune ripose?

When a foe within your reach critically fails an attack against you, as a reaction, you can make a melee Strike against them, or attempt to Disarm their weapon.

Lunch break over! I'll be back this evening for a last round.

Is there anything that prevents me from retrying that check that you left off?

They thought of that: it's a fortune effect. :-)

I'm suddenly interested in Marshal. What does it require (is it limited to fighter types?) And what can it do?

- Marshal Dedication (2, trained in martial weapons, trained in Diplomacy or Intimidation): Become trained in Diplomacy or Intimidation, or expert if already trained. You generate a 10-foot aura that grants you and allies a +1 to saves vs. fear.

Would you mind taking a look at gnome and describing what Razzle Dazzle is/does? Or any other cool new gnome heritage feats or shenanigans that a tricksy, performance, illusionist gnome type fellow might be interested in?

Razzle-Dazzle [free action] -- Feat 1 -- Gnome

As for tricksy, the following certainly fits the bill:
Instinctive Obfuscation [reaction] -- Feat 13 -- Gnome, Illusion, Visual
Prerequisites: arcane or occult innate spell from gnome heritage or ancestry feat
Frequency: once per day
Trigger: You are attacked by a foe.
You instinctively project 2 mirror images.

Two Beastmaster questions :)

I know Beastmaster can have up to four animal companions, with one active one. How do you go about choosing who is active? (10 minute activity to switch out for example?)

There's a nice boxed text regarding just that in the Beastmaster description. They get a new exploration activity called "Call Companion": Spend 1 minute to switch your animal companion. If you're in a hurry, there's the Beastmaster's Call feat (12) which calls a projection of a non-active companion to provide its support benefit only for one action.

The second question, does Beastmaster get a feat that allows for two active animal companions? Or can they always only have one active.

They do!

Lead the Pack -- Feat 16 -- Uncommon, Archetype
Prerequisites: Mature Beastmaster Companion, you have multiple animal companions
You can have up to two active companions at once. If you don't issue a Command, only one of them (your choice) can use 1 action to Stride or Strike, as per mature companions. If you issue a Command, either one companion gets 2 actions as normal, or both get 1 action to Stride or Strike.

I know this is my 3rd question so understand if it's ignored: what are some cool level 1-10 general feats?

Two Investigator feats became general feats!

Prescient Planner -- Feat 3 -- General
You rummage through your backpack for 1 minute and "find" a piece of adventuring gear you hadn't declared in your inventory (in other words, you buy it on the spot). It must be common with a level no higher than half your level.

Prescient Consummable -- Feat 7 -- General
Prerequisites: Prescient Planner
Same as Planner, but with consummables.

(Investigators now get both of these with a single feat, and Prescient Planner is 2-actions for them).

What's one of the coolest higher-level feats that a swashbuckler gets?

Perfect Finisher [1 action] -- Feat 14 -- Finisher, Fortune, Swashbuckler

(That's a sub-theme to swashbucklers: they have a few feats that allow you to "roll with advantage" on certain rolls).

I... hm. What's the purpose for Destructive Block?

You take less damage. :-)

What is the new animal companion specialization chain in Legends like?

It's called Genie-Touched Companion:

Are any of the new archetypes really focused on using a shield? (I noticed a Bastion and Sentinel in the list but know nothing about them)

The Bastion is the archetype that focuses on shields. Sentinels focus on armor.

- Bastion Dedication (2, Shield Block): Gain Reactive Shield.
- Gain access to Shielded Stride, Reflexive Shield, Shield Warden, Quick Shield Block and Mirror Shield from the CRB (all 2 levels after fighters).
- 4 exclusive feats:
- Disarming Block (4): [free action] You attempt to Disarm a melee weapon you blocked.
- Nimble Shield Hand (6): The hand you use to wield a shield counts as a free hand.
- Destructive Block (10): You can double your shield's Hardness when blocking, but it takes double damage.
- Shield Salvation (12): You shield remains at 1 hit point instead of being destroyed during a Shield Block.

Going to bed. I'll check in regularly tomorrow.

I'm curious how Martial Artist differs from Monk Multiclass. Particularly what the prerequisites are and what Monk feats Martial Artist can get.

- Martial Artist Dedication (2): No prerequisites. Deal 1d6 with your fist unarmed attacks. No -2 penalty for lethal attacks with nonlethal unarmed attacks. Automatically apply your expert or better weapon proficiency to your unarmed attacks.