paizo.com Favorited Posts by jdripleypaizo.com Favorited Posts by jdripley2022-11-18T22:59:32Z2022-11-18T22:59:32ZRe: Forums: Product Discussion: Pathfinder Adventure: Malevolencejdripleyhttps://paizo.com/products/btq027qf/discuss&page=3?Pathfinder-Adventure-Malevolence#1122021-11-24T18:33:09Z2021-06-02T21:52:39Z<p>This comment isn't directed at this specific product, but it's a suggestion for all of the adventures:</p>
<p>The adventures list what level the characters will start at, but don't give any direct information about what level the characters are expected to be when the adventure ends. Would it be possible to include that information?</p>
<p>I understand it's not always cut and dry. Many/most PFS adventures aren't even a whole level. Depending on how the party calculates XP, how many encounters are played vs skipped, etc... all of those are variables. But certainly the adventure is designed with an idea of whether it is a 1-level adventure, 2, 3, 4 levels... All of the APs have a guide that indicates "you should be about this level by the end of the book," for example.</p>
<p>It would be very useful information, for me at least, to know how many levels (or fraction thereof) I should expect a product to serve me for. I typically GM with a mix of published and homebrew content, and it helps me plan ahead to know (or guess, at this point) about how long an adventure will be.</p>
<p>If this information is available somewhere, then my suggestion changes to "can this information be made more accessable? I can't find it.."</p>
<p>:)</p>This comment isn't directed at this specific product, but it's a suggestion for all of the adventures:
The adventures list what level the characters will start at, but don't give any direct information about what level the characters are expected to be when the adventure ends. Would it be possible to include that information?
I understand it's not always cut and dry. Many/most PFS adventures aren't even a whole level. Depending on how the party calculates XP, how many encounters are played...jdripley2021-06-02T21:52:39ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: How many Recall Knowledge per fight?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43bye?How-many-Recall-Knowledge-per-fight#422021-03-16T19:25:22Z2021-03-16T02:00:44Z<p>@ OP:</p>
<p>My parties typically recall knowledge once or twice when the fight includes creatures that they haven't fought before.</p>
<p>My personal house rule is somewhat permissive.</p>
<p>I basically break the monster's stat block into "defensive stuff" and "offensive stuff" categories. A successful Recall Knowledge check gets then the name of the monster and their choice of offensive or defensive knowledge. A critical success gives them the name and both offensive and defensive knowledge.</p>
<p>So, I'm not parsing it out into little bits. If a monster has a good Will save and a poor Reflex save, also has Weakness to Cold Iron and Resistance to Bludgeoning (I dunno... these are just random examples...) they get ALL of that if they choose "defensive knoweldge."</p>
<p>Likewise if it has multiple special attacks or whatever, I'll give them all of the goods should they choose (so, that dragon has a breath attack that deals acid, it has a reaction that does such and such, and watch out for the longer reach on the bite attack!).</p>
<p>If a monster has nothing of note in a category that a player selects, I let them know there's nothing interesting (such as a creature with just one or two basic attacks) and then I give them the info in the other category.</p>
<p>My intent behind all of this is to get my players to actually Recall Knowledge. As a gameplay cycle, it feels GOOD to learn something and then act accordingly. That feels like smart gameplay, and it's rewarding to make smart choices based on what you know. However, it feels awful to flail away at an enemy without realizing important information and just wondering why it's beating you senseless. That is not a rewarding gameplay cycle.</p>
<p>These are my opinions and methods :)</p>@ OP:
My parties typically recall knowledge once or twice when the fight includes creatures that they haven't fought before.
My personal house rule is somewhat permissive.
I basically break the monster's stat block into "defensive stuff" and "offensive stuff" categories. A successful Recall Knowledge check gets then the name of the monster and their choice of offensive or defensive knowledge. A critical success gives them the name and both offensive and defensive knowledge.
So, I'm not...jdripley2021-03-16T02:00:44ZRe: Forums: Advice: How do you avoid losing the players' attention and respect in VTT?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43932?How-do-you-avoid-losing-the-players-attention#172020-12-09T18:07:18Z2020-12-06T19:19:56Z<p>Mostly, I agree with the other posters here. Out-of-game stresses this year are through the roof, that's certainly a contributing factor.</p>
<p>Here's what I can add:</p>
<p>I GM 2 games using VTT, and I play in one game. It is a vastly different experience GMing online than it is playing online.</p>
<p>As a GM, in person or online, you have a ton of things to keep tabs on and you can't help but be engaged 100% of the time. I haven't found that to be different when playing online. I do lack the direct feedback of an in-person game (we use video to see each other, which is something like being in the same room, but it's not the same).</p>
<p>As a player, I find it far, far easier to stay engaged when playing in person. Online, my attention starts fracturing around the 2 hour mark, tends to suffer greatly around the 3 hour mark, after which I usually rally, and I can hold it together for another 45 minutes or so, before finally it all crumbles around the 4 hour mark. I don't consider myself to be a "bad player," and I do try to maintain focus. But it's not easy.</p>
<p>On a completely different side, here, I can stay focused for hours on end in an MMORPG. But those are different experiences, they are designed from the ground up to be played virtually. The pacing is customized for that sort of thing, etc. Maybe some people have always approached Pathfinder virtually, but me? It's not what I signed up for. I want to play in person, I enjoy playing in person.</p>
<p>VTT is, to me, better than not playing at all. But it's hardly what I want to be doing. Hey, it's a pandemic, you don't get what you want all the time.</p>
<p>Bottom line, my advice is:
<br />
Give your players, whom you say are good friends in person, the benefit of the doubt. Talk with them, explain how things impact you, ask them how things impact them. Ask whether they are having fun. Tell them what makes you NOT have fun. Come up with solutions together. Realistically, we are at, or maybe a little beyond, the midpoint in this pandemic. It will go away, but not overnight. It's still a long haul, so we all need to be creative and empathetic in arriving at solutions for social problems caused by the pandemic.</p>Mostly, I agree with the other posters here. Out-of-game stresses this year are through the roof, that's certainly a contributing factor.
Here's what I can add:
I GM 2 games using VTT, and I play in one game. It is a vastly different experience GMing online than it is playing online.
As a GM, in person or online, you have a ton of things to keep tabs on and you can't help but be engaged 100% of the time. I haven't found that to be different when playing online. I do lack the direct...jdripley2020-12-06T19:19:56ZRe: Forums: Advice: What do you do to remind yourself to give out hero points?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4392r?What-do-you-do-to-remind-yourself-to-give-out#42020-12-05T12:31:52Z2020-12-05T12:20:15Z<p>If the players really want them, give your players permission to ask for them. Remembering them is a 2 way street.</p>
<p>I use a physical object. I mean, I used to before the pandemic. But passing them out and taking them back when spent engages my brain more and helps me remember.</p>
<p>But mainly, I state to my players that my brain is full of things to keep track of and they won’t offend me by reminding me to hand out hero points.</p>If the players really want them, give your players permission to ask for them. Remembering them is a 2 way street.
I use a physical object. I mean, I used to before the pandemic. But passing them out and taking them back when spent engages my brain more and helps me remember.
But mainly, I state to my players that my brain is full of things to keep track of and they won’t offend me by reminding me to hand out hero points.jdripley2020-12-05T12:20:15ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: A lot of monsters in Paizo APs sit in their room waiting to diejdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs438xq?A-lot-of-monsters-in-Paizo-APs-sit-in-their#452020-12-25T05:47:39Z2020-12-01T23:04:19Z<p>I don't see any of this as a PF2-specific problem.</p>
<p>Typically it's better than the computerized cousins, the MMOs, where enemies are literally within line of sight, 20 yards away, doing nothing at all while you slaughter their comrades. Compared to that, a closed door is perfect justification for not engaging!</p>
<p>Regarding the OP's specific case, I justified things by having a monsoon on. So much rain makes a ton of noise.</p>
<p>And, incidentally, my players managed a good clean fight against the enemies outside of the location. Then as they entered, they had a sloppy fight and had to rest for an extended time. They chose to do so in the very room they fought in, taking no defensive precautions. This really surprised me as it's a group of veteran - roleplayers. So I gave them their 1st 10 minutes worth of recovery for free as it's a game after all, and I gave them another 10 minutes out of pity, and then I rammed the next room's encounter down their throat, because come on people, you're better than that! They got roughed up, so they spend ANOTHER extended period of time recovering, so I threw the NEXT room at them. Finally they re-learned what they had forgotten - if you want to recover in peace, take some precautions. They withdrew from the area to rest without (as much) danger.</p>
<p>Upon returning, the remainder of the enemies had responded to the prior incursion by redistributing themselves and lying in wait for the party's next attempt.</p>
<p>Reactive and dynamic.</p>
<p>As a side note, I never bother writing up wandering monster tables for when a party abuses the resting mechanics. I just pull in the next encounter when they get too lax with it. Easy peasy!</p>I don't see any of this as a PF2-specific problem.
Typically it's better than the computerized cousins, the MMOs, where enemies are literally within line of sight, 20 yards away, doing nothing at all while you slaughter their comrades. Compared to that, a closed door is perfect justification for not engaging!
Regarding the OP's specific case, I justified things by having a monsoon on. So much rain makes a ton of noise.
And, incidentally, my players managed a good clean fight against the...jdripley2020-12-01T23:04:19ZRe: Forums: Homebrew and House Rules: Shields and Shield Blockjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs438xo?Shields-and-Shield-Block#72021-04-27T21:24:16Z2020-12-01T00:59:01Z<p>This would probably be better categorized into the homebrew subforum.</p>
<p>In my mind, this alteration of the rules is right in line with the Automatic Progression. I don't think that's tied to any particular choices any character makes, you just get all of the right +1s and +dices when they would come online through equipment upgrades. So I'd decouple it from proficiency and pop it in there at the item levels of the various Sturdy Shields.</p>
<p>If you must keep it tied to proficiency, armor proficiency seems to make more sense to me, but it's not the way I'd go.</p>This would probably be better categorized into the homebrew subforum.
In my mind, this alteration of the rules is right in line with the Automatic Progression. I don't think that's tied to any particular choices any character makes, you just get all of the right +1s and +dices when they would come online through equipment upgrades. So I'd decouple it from proficiency and pop it in there at the item levels of the various Sturdy Shields.
If you must keep it tied to proficiency, armor...jdripley2020-12-01T00:59:01ZRe: Forums: Rules Discussion: Can swarms reshape?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs438t0?Can-swarms-reshape#132020-11-26T20:04:50Z2020-11-26T15:27:14Z<p>My solution to the "big swarm in a narrow space" issue is the same as any "big creature in a narrow space."</p>
<p>I simply consider tighter terrain to be difficult terrain.</p>
<p>So, say I've got a big and beefy Ogre, large sized, so 2x2 squares on the grid. The players back off down a 1 square wide corridor. The Ogre can pursue, but since it's shoulders are brushing against the walls and it doesn't have the space to use its normal gait, it considers the corridor to be difficult terrain.</p>
<p>Let's say we have a Huge Bulette, 3x3, that's trying to pursue down that same 1 square wide corridor. That's a VERY tight fit. The Bulette not only has the walls pressing in, but it has to contort its body to fit down the narrow passage. This becomes Greater Difficult terrain for the Huge creature.</p>
<p>A Gargantuan creature is just plain out of luck in a 1 square wide corridor. It'll have to go around, or start smashing the place to widen the corridor (assuming that's possible).</p>
<p>I don't see why swarms would act any different. I know that real-life examples are perilous in a discussion about game rules, but I do know that my bees move about far quicker on open comb than they do through a narrow hive entrance, and I know they move about faster if they're flying in open air than they do when crawling on open comb. So... It seems reasonable enough to me that a swarm of any sort would suffer from more individuals bumping into each other if it enters a more narrow space, and all that jostling ought to slow it down. To the same degree as an Ogre moving through a narrow space? I dunno... but it feels close enough to me that I'm got going to stress about finding a different solution.</p>My solution to the "big swarm in a narrow space" issue is the same as any "big creature in a narrow space."
I simply consider tighter terrain to be difficult terrain.
So, say I've got a big and beefy Ogre, large sized, so 2x2 squares on the grid. The players back off down a 1 square wide corridor. The Ogre can pursue, but since it's shoulders are brushing against the walls and it doesn't have the space to use its normal gait, it considers the corridor to be difficult terrain.
Let's say we...jdripley2020-11-26T15:27:14ZRe: Forums: Advice: What to do about there being no horses on the Isle of Kortos?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs438oy?What-to-do-about-there-being-no-horses-on-the#52020-11-22T16:20:57Z2020-11-22T14:22:51Z<p>Maybe the Harpies focus on crowd controlling the rest of the group, but actually killing the horse? i.e. knock the rider off the horse, grapple the party members... hey maybe even crowd control the horse, too, grab it by the bridle and try to lead it away from the party (I imagine that would require a crit success at Nature to Handle Animal to wrest control of the horse from the controlling player... and it would represent just as much of a "shove" sort of action as "give direction to" sort of action.</p>Maybe the Harpies focus on crowd controlling the rest of the group, but actually killing the horse? i.e. knock the rider off the horse, grapple the party members... hey maybe even crowd control the horse, too, grab it by the bridle and try to lead it away from the party (I imagine that would require a crit success at Nature to Handle Animal to wrest control of the horse from the controlling player... and it would represent just as much of a "shove" sort of action as "give direction to" sort...jdripley2020-11-22T14:22:51ZRe: Forums: Advice: Assistance slaying a monsterjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs438ai?Assistance-slaying-a-monster#52020-11-09T17:49:07Z2020-11-08T22:34:04Z<p>TLDR: Synergize with your party to protect the people who will inevitably be staring down multiple attacks from the monster, and try to play keep-away as best you can.</p>
<p>Level + 3 fights are tough! Fun, but tough.</p>
<p>I've only played them from the GM side of the table. But here are my thoughts on it.</p>
<p>As a GM, I salivate when players end their turn next to a monster that tough. Well, part of me does, and part of me thinks "oh man, that poor player is hosed..." If ever a monster that tough has an opportunity to dump 3 attacks into a party, it's a rough, rough round. As you note above, hitting on a 4 is basically guaranteed. But the next hit (most monsters have an agile option) will be coming at an 8 or better, which is still quite good. Final strike hits on a 12 or better. I have excellent odds of landing 2 hits, and I could very well hit all 3.</p>
<p>So, don't end a turn next to a creature that powerful if you can avoid it. You'll want flanking bonuses. They will feel so very necessary, and to an extent they are. Especially if you have a Rogue. But if you can make the monster have to move to re-engage, that will drop it's damage per round by 1/3. If you can somehow make it move twice to re-engage, that will drop it's damage per round by 2/3. You are drinking from the holy grail if you can somehow make it move 3 times to re-engage, because then it didn't attack that round. Or maybe it has a ranged option, but by and large ranged is less threatening to the party.</p>
<p>My rule of thumb for whether I should end in melee with a really strong foe: Is my party set up to capitalize on the fact that I'm face-tanking this thing? i.e. will 1 or more allies get Flanking, or will somebody be tripping and I have an attack of opportunity, or something like that?</p>
<p>Your party's spellcasters are better at helping the party than they are at hurting the monster. At least, they are against a +3 level monster. Buffs always have their effect, but your miss chance with spells means you may not get a desirable effect from an offensive spell. The Cleric will be Healing like their life depends on it (and it will). A Wizard casting Haste on a Rogue allows for a stride in, 2 stab attempts, and a stride out. Even "minor" buffs like Bless help tremendously. You have a bard so that's not going to be what your cleric focuses on (unless your bard is high enough level for Dirge, then Bless helps again). But you get the idea. Boost up the party reliably rather than debuff down the monster unreliably.</p>
<p>Magic Missile is great. Lower end damage, but automatically hits.
<br />
Spells that have interesting effects on failures can be good. Maybe a -5 foot speed penalty doesn't sound that great, but if it means the fighter can Stride away once and the monster has to Stride twice to keep up, even if that's only for 1 round, that is 100% worth any spell slot in a boss fight.</p>
<p>Try to use the terrain to your advantage. This can be highly dependent on your GM or on the published adventure you're running... but most dungeons have corridors and doors right? Do a tactical withdrawal through a doorway and have somebody close the door. If you all moved away from the door after it closed... and you all attacked once before scooting... then you probably did SOME damage, and the monster now has to Stride to the door, Interact to open it, and Stride to get to the party. You've won that round. Likewise an archer, cleric and wizard on an elevated balcony can go full DPS (or heal or whatever it is that needs doing) without much worry of counter attack. Some effects allow a monster to take an action to make a save to get rid of the effect (right now I'm thinking of Prone and the Pinned crit effect from bows). The monster is nasty enough that it will definitely auto-succeed (I mean, there isn't even a roll for getting up from Prone). But it still takes up 1 of its 3 actions. Some spells create difficult terrain or make a barrier that needs to be walked around. Illusory terrain can be tricky depending on your GM, but your argument can and should be that the monster needs a reason to disbelieve, so if you create a gaping chasm, real or imagined, the monster ought to react accordingly. Even if it wants to disbelieve, it needs to take an action to sort it out.</p>
<p>Shields. The inverse of how easy the monster is hitting you is happening for your party. Your 1st attacks will not be easy to land, much less the 2nd or 3rd. So raise a shield. If the monster is hitting on a 4 and critting on a 14, having it hit on a 6 instead hardly feels like a win, but having it crit on a 16 feels much better. Crit chance went down by nearly 1/3 just by raising a shield. That is not insignificant. Doesn't have to be a shield, either. Any sort of action that is defensively oriented helps. Take cover behind a pillar that's in the middle of the room. Drink a Mistform Elixer to give a small miss chance. Cast Blur. Consider the difference between a Fighter being hit on a 4 who strides in and strikes twice, hitting once, to a Fighter who strides in, Strikes, and raises a shield, and who has a Cleric cast Forbidding Ward an a Wizard cast Blur on them. Still only hit once, but now they are hit on a 7+ and crit on a 17+, and then only if the monster passes the DC 5 concealment check. If your Bard is high enough level to cast Dirge of Doom, it's hit on an 8 and crit on an 18 now, which is pretty good.</p>
<p>TLDR: Synergize with your party to protect the people who will inevitably be staring down multiple attacks from the monster, and try to play keep-away as best you can.</p>TLDR: Synergize with your party to protect the people who will inevitably be staring down multiple attacks from the monster, and try to play keep-away as best you can.
Level + 3 fights are tough! Fun, but tough.
I've only played them from the GM side of the table. But here are my thoughts on it.
As a GM, I salivate when players end their turn next to a monster that tough. Well, part of me does, and part of me thinks "oh man, that poor player is hosed..." If ever a monster that tough has an...jdripley2020-11-08T22:34:04ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Poison and moralityjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4381h&page=2?Poison-and-morality#732020-11-02T16:06:08Z2020-11-02T13:36:21Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Zapp wrote:</div><blockquote> <div class="messageboard-quotee">ExOichoThrow wrote:</div><blockquote>Imagine playing a buffing character and all your spells that would be a net positive for the party are refused by other players. Sure you cant force them but anyone who's not a complete jerk would make somevoncessions for things that would help the other player have fun. Especially if it helps keep them alive, too. </blockquote><p>Imagine respecting the wishes of other people.
<p>Imagine asking people first.</p>
<p>Imagine bringing along a self-sufficient character for those times nobody wants you in their character actualization.</p>
<p>—-</p>
<p>But the point here is that the OP learned a valuable lesson, which is: you need to ask first, instead of just assume your contributions will be appreciated or even accepted.</p>
<p>The thing to watch out for is player entitlement...</blockquote><p>Again I'm sortof in agreement and sortof not.
<p>Asking first, that's great! But it's not always possible to completely pivot your character right before the session. Some classes will do that better than others (imagine asking a Sorcerer to have completely different spells.. I imagine a Divine Sorcerer would be leaning into buffing, you know? They can hardly pivot into Fireballs just because the others in the party are somehow uncomfortable with being buffed).</p>
<p>But again, I really don't agree with the notion that people don't want buffs. I mostly play home games, but I've got a couple conventions worth of PFS under my belt, and I've never ever seen somebody refuse a buff, never seen somebody feel as though a buff messed with "their character actualization." The universal response I've seen is "awesome, I would love to do more damage/be harder to hit/etc." Which leaves me feeling as though these are arguments brought up to help push back against poisons in particular, as other buffs aren't problematic at all.</p>
<p>And player entitlement - that sword does cut both ways, right? Yes, I suppose you can call it player entitlement to assume that when you bring a buffer, others will accept your buffs. But that's also a core part of RPG combat. And it must also be agreed that a player deciding to refuse help for any reason is also player entitlement, right? And wouldn't refusing help be considered the more problematic aspect of player entitlement?</p>
<p>I really like the argument above by SuperBidi about the goblin player who doesn't get healed. That's a player choice (playing a goblin) that is sanctioned and supported by the rules that is often contentious (there is a subset of the players of this game who don't like that goblins are a player option now). So, it's fine to hold that belief, but at the point where you cut off a fellow player because they made that choice... both players are entitled to their view - the one that goblins are bad, the one that goblins are good - but one player's entitlement is ruining the fun of the other. Perhaps both would say it's the OTHER player who is doing the ruining.. but one player is supported by the rules and the other isn't.</p>
<p>Personally I feel like that seals the issue, but I can also see how we're spinning our wheels and not really seeing eye to eye on this, so I'll probably bow out of the thread at this point to avoid going in further circles. There have been a lot of great points on both sides, I think, and an issue like this has lots and lots of legacy issues that are driving player thought.</p>
<p>I hope the next time any of us get to a PFS table where some other player has brought what we personally consider an oddball, badwrongfun, ineffective, or whatever sort of character, we will remember this thread, remember that the point is to cooperate, and then we'll see if we can find a way to incorporate their strange character into the fun everybody is having.</p>Zapp wrote:ExOichoThrow wrote:Imagine playing a buffing character and all your spells that would be a net positive for the party are refused by other players. Sure you cant force them but anyone who's not a complete jerk would make somevoncessions for things that would help the other player have fun. Especially if it helps keep them alive, too.
Imagine respecting the wishes of other people. Imagine asking people first.
Imagine bringing along a self-sufficient character for those times...jdripley2020-11-02T13:36:21ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Poison and moralityjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4381h&page=2?Poison-and-morality#632020-11-02T16:29:12Z2020-11-02T01:44:15Z<p>I get the argument about not "foisting" your character's thing onto others. But I flatly reject the argument that "if your build requires other characters" it's somehow bad.</p>
<p>How about the [insert just about any spellcaster] who has a buff that helps out a combat character? Are they a bad character because they require a target for that buff that is not them self? i.e. we all go on and on about how Magic Weapon is such an incredible level 1 spell pick, and I'm sure pretty much every Cleric and Wizard in PFS has it prepared. But also, most of those Clerics and Wizards aren't the best character to receive that spell - the martial weapon user is.</p>
<p>Does that count as "foisting" your character's thing onto somebody else?
<br />
How about a Bard who Inspires Courage? Don't we all agree that a Bard is a top tier buffer? Would we look askance at a player who is displeased with receiving the Inspire Courage buff? Sure we would, and we'd say "dude it's a cooperative game, that buff is really helping to boost your power, just accept it."</p>
<p>Yet SuperBidi is dealing with a rejection of what his character does (buff the attacks of other players) on account of an archaic mode of thought.</p>
<p>So... yeah, I still agree that it's against the grain of what PFS is all about to "force" a fellow player to do something they don't want to do, and I'm not advocating for SuperBidi or anybody else to have license to inflict any particular behavior or action or whatever on a fellow player, but I do feel like a spotlight needs to be shone on how incredibly similar what SuperBidi's character is doing to what just about every other spellcaster is doing, and what martials are doing when they flank or knock down or disarm or grapple or.... etc.</p>I get the argument about not "foisting" your character's thing onto others. But I flatly reject the argument that "if your build requires other characters" it's somehow bad.
How about the [insert just about any spellcaster] who has a buff that helps out a combat character? Are they a bad character because they require a target for that buff that is not them self? i.e. we all go on and on about how Magic Weapon is such an incredible level 1 spell pick, and I'm sure pretty much every Cleric...jdripley2020-11-02T01:44:15ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Poison and moralityjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4381h?Poison-and-morality#472020-11-03T20:51:49Z2020-11-01T12:31:56Z<p>TwilightKnight, you are right, of course, it is far worse to force something on another player. Then everybody is upset.</p>
<p>But the ideal of PFS is cooperation... if my character worships Saranrae and specializes in fire magic, should I withhold from doing my thing because there is a character whose player decided they were afraid of fire, or maybe they worship the elemental lord of water?</p>
<p>I view poison like that. It’s just a tool in the box.</p>
<p>I guess, the deeper issue here is whether or not folks care to play ball with the nifty things other PFS players bring to the table. PF1 was a game where you did your own thing while others did their own thing, together. PF2 is a game where working together really leverages power, so I hope the culture shifts to “neat, let's share our strengths!”</p>
<p>And to SuperBidi... ultimately it may just depend on the folks in the circles you travel in.</p>TwilightKnight, you are right, of course, it is far worse to force something on another player. Then everybody is upset.
But the ideal of PFS is cooperation... if my character worships Saranrae and specializes in fire magic, should I withhold from doing my thing because there is a character whose player decided they were afraid of fire, or maybe they worship the elemental lord of water?
I view poison like that. It’s just a tool in the box.
I guess, the deeper issue here is whether or not...jdripley2020-11-01T12:31:56ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Poison and moralityjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4381h?Poison-and-morality#242021-11-07T23:50:57Z2020-10-31T02:12:54Z<p>So in a world where it's OK to kick down the door, kill all the goblins, and take their stuff... it’s not OK to use poison alongside your swords?</p>
<p>In a world where it’s OK to enchant your sword with the Flame or Wounding rune it’s not OK to use poison?</p>
<p>In a world where it’s great if the cleric casts Bless to make you a more effective killer it's not OK to use poisons?</p>
<p>I think the other players are being pedantic.</p>
<p>There is an official stance from Paizo on this issue, by the way. The Evil trait exists. Any feat, item, spell, etc. that does not have the Evil trait? It’s not Evil. Plain as day.</p>So in a world where it's OK to kick down the door, kill all the goblins, and take their stuff... it’s not OK to use poison alongside your swords?
In a world where it’s OK to enchant your sword with the Flame or Wounding rune it’s not OK to use poison?
In a world where it’s great if the cleric casts Bless to make you a more effective killer it's not OK to use poisons?
I think the other players are being pedantic.
There is an official stance from Paizo on this issue, by the way. The Evil...jdripley2020-10-31T02:12:54ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Musings on the Beastmaster and support benefit interactions.jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4380u?Musings-on-the-Beastmaster-and-support#42020-11-02T02:54:29Z2020-10-30T00:06:55Z<p>So I just skimmed through the Animal Companions, and the Horse is the only one that seems like it would be problematic.</p>
<p>Horse seems to be implying that it's a weapon attack that it provides a benefit to. Though to be fair it doesn't specify that. The 2nd sentence about "if the weapon..." is the implication. And aside from that, most of those "add +1 damage per die" effects are tied to weapon damage dice, which of course caps out at the max Striking rune - and a level 3 Fireball outstrips that already. Finally, and this is always veeeery thin ice, but "common sense" would indicate that the horse's charge ability is all about lending momentum to the attack, which implies a physical weapon not a spell effect.</p>
<p>Aside from that... I don't see any issue with those support benefits which do not specify Strike being applied to spells.</p>So I just skimmed through the Animal Companions, and the Horse is the only one that seems like it would be problematic.
Horse seems to be implying that it's a weapon attack that it provides a benefit to. Though to be fair it doesn't specify that. The 2nd sentence about "if the weapon..." is the implication. And aside from that, most of those "add +1 damage per die" effects are tied to weapon damage dice, which of course caps out at the max Striking rune - and a level 3 Fireball outstrips...jdripley2020-10-30T00:06:55ZRe: Forums: Advice: Fine Tuning on Utility Wizard Buildjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs437sm?Fine-Tuning-on-Utility-Wizard-Build#22020-10-24T07:27:50Z2020-10-23T23:06:51Z<p>So what is it you have in mind as far as “out of combat utility?”</p>
<p>I think of a wizard being the one who knows tons of stuff, so having training in Nature, Arcana, Occultism and Religion would be good.</p>
<p>People get smashed up a bunch, so training in Medicine and a kit helps you patch up team mates and treat poisons and diseases.</p>
<p>Equipment can get buggered. A repair kit and training in Craft helps you to keep the fighter's shield in fighting trim.</p>
<p>A thieve's kit and Thievery skill makes you capable of bypassing traps of all sorts... you even have Detect Magic to help locate magical traps.</p>
<p>What I’m driving at is that Skills are super useful. You don’t need spells only. I like a wizard to have good INT and WIS so I can cover the Recall Knowledge skills, and if I have points left over I’ll invest in DEX to round out Thievery. Between a high INT score and background choices you can cover quite a lot of ground and have a wide range of trained skills.</p>
<p>That's how I’d go about it at any rate.</p>So what is it you have in mind as far as “out of combat utility?”
I think of a wizard being the one who knows tons of stuff, so having training in Nature, Arcana, Occultism and Religion would be good.
People get smashed up a bunch, so training in Medicine and a kit helps you patch up team mates and treat poisons and diseases.
Equipment can get buggered. A repair kit and training in Craft helps you to keep the fighter's shield in fighting trim.
A thieve's kit and Thievery skill makes you...jdripley2020-10-23T23:06:51ZRe: Forums: Advice: Best debuff characterjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs437rv?Best-debuff-character#72020-10-23T20:30:23Z2020-10-22T11:37:09Z<p>He's making the point that alongside Bards, any Occult caster also gets synesthesia.</p>
<p>I want to throw an honorable mention to any character with a bird animal companion and an accurate Strike. The bird's Support benefit applies both a bleed and Dazzled.</p>
<p>I don’t think that is on the same level as a caster who can debuff a wide range of ways, but I’m throwing it out there to raise the point that debuffing can be (and I would argue SHOULD be) a team effort. One guy intimidates, another guy Dazzles, someone else trips, and now the enemy is royally hosed and is essentially out of the fight. </p>
<p>A single bard who Dirges and then hits with a relevant debuff is also excellent of course! But in a party without a dedicated debuffer, it is important to talk through how the party will go about screwing with the enemy.</p>He's making the point that alongside Bards, any Occult caster also gets synesthesia.
I want to throw an honorable mention to any character with a bird animal companion and an accurate Strike. The bird's Support benefit applies both a bleed and Dazzled.
I don’t think that is on the same level as a caster who can debuff a wide range of ways, but I’m throwing it out there to raise the point that debuffing can be (and I would argue SHOULD be) a team effort. One guy intimidates, another guy...jdripley2020-10-22T11:37:09ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Some thoughts on 2nd Ed.jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs437mh?Some-thoughts-on-2nd-Ed#292020-10-25T02:56:45Z2020-10-17T13:01:29Z<p>Definitely with the folks who are saying that the OP's character concept would have been executed better as Champion multiclassing into Bard. Seems OP wants to fight in melee more than cast.</p>
<p>It is a strange quirk between PF1 and 2 that sometimes the best way to execute a PF1 concept is to flip the concept... but we can’t expect PF2 to be the same.</p>
<p>In PF1 your stats were king. You could make a decent melee caster by just giving it 18 STR and a few choice feats. Not so in PF2 as proficiency is just as important as stats. bUT I think this is a good thing. My PF1 Oracle fought just as well as a Barbarian, plus was every bit the party healer as a Cleric. That is overpowered, and deep down we all know it. PF2 addresses that problem with proficiency. You need to make sacrifices if you want to do two different things, and choose which one you want to be better at.</p>
<p>So now you have full bard, full champion, and two different ways to blend them (champ with bard, or bard with champ) and all 4 are good, but all 4 are different, and you have to play to the strengths of what you chose to do.</p>
<p>Otherwise... I mean it’s clearly a player mistake to build a straight up wizard and play it like a fighter right? It’s not quite that clear cut with a bard/champion, but still... can’t expect the character you built to play like something other than what you built.</p>Definitely with the folks who are saying that the OP's character concept would have been executed better as Champion multiclassing into Bard. Seems OP wants to fight in melee more than cast.
It is a strange quirk between PF1 and 2 that sometimes the best way to execute a PF1 concept is to flip the concept... but we can’t expect PF2 to be the same.
In PF1 your stats were king. You could make a decent melee caster by just giving it 18 STR and a few choice feats. Not so in PF2 as proficiency...jdripley2020-10-17T13:01:29ZRe: Forums: Magus Class: What do we need to do for one roll spell strikejdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs437m2?What-do-we-need-to-do-for-one-roll-spell-strike#242020-12-13T00:18:10Z2020-10-16T20:32:14Z<p>I don't have the answer to the OP's question, but from an ease of play/speed of play standpoint, one roll is important to me. My fighter only has to roll once. But my Magus needs to roll twice? Bummer, twice as much math, twice as much time.</p>I don't have the answer to the OP's question, but from an ease of play/speed of play standpoint, one roll is important to me. My fighter only has to roll once. But my Magus needs to roll twice? Bummer, twice as much math, twice as much time.jdripley2020-10-16T20:32:14ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Power Level Feedback and Play Experiencesjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs437kz?Power-Level-Feedback-and-Play-Experiences#102020-10-19T01:05:17Z2020-10-16T20:30:16Z<p>PF2 is a game where it is pretty easy to design an encounter that a party will stomp all over, or an encounter where they will be hanging on by their finger tips the whole time.</p>
<p>If you want gritty combat... party level or party level + monsters, and trend towards Severe encounters. Moderate would be your lower level, and maybe throw in a few more Extreme encounters than you otherwise would.</p>
<p>My only point of caution - continuous damage can be a real PC killer. Use caution there. Likewise, monsters with lots of AOE damage can be killer. So when using monsters with those abilities, consider whether "gritty" means "knock 'em around and make them work for their victories" or "any of you could die tonight, the gloves are off."</p>PF2 is a game where it is pretty easy to design an encounter that a party will stomp all over, or an encounter where they will be hanging on by their finger tips the whole time.
If you want gritty combat... party level or party level + monsters, and trend towards Severe encounters. Moderate would be your lower level, and maybe throw in a few more Extreme encounters than you otherwise would.
My only point of caution - continuous damage can be a real PC killer. Use caution there. Likewise,...jdripley2020-10-16T20:30:16ZRe: Forums: Advice: Archer cover issuesjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs437em?Archer-cover-issues#22020-10-09T20:31:04Z2020-10-09T20:22:35Z<p>I just want to clarify, cover only applies if a creature is in the way. Whether or not your target is in melee range of any other creature is irrelevant.</p>
<p>That said, yes, most of the time you will have to deal with cover. Moving out to the side so you have clear line of sight is good. I know it feels bad not to attack as much as possible as a flurry ranger, but sometimes one turn of setup pays dividends throughout the rest of the battle.</p>I just want to clarify, cover only applies if a creature is in the way. Whether or not your target is in melee range of any other creature is irrelevant.
That said, yes, most of the time you will have to deal with cover. Moving out to the side so you have clear line of sight is good. I know it feels bad not to attack as much as possible as a flurry ranger, but sometimes one turn of setup pays dividends throughout the rest of the battle.jdripley2020-10-09T20:22:35ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Dismissed Alchemist Early, Changed Mind After Re-Readingjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4377x?Dismissed-Alchemist-Early-Changed-Mind-After#212020-10-06T01:21:19Z2020-10-04T22:36:50Z<p>As far as Alchemist healing vs Cleric healing (and I'll put "any Heal healer" in there with Cleric, Clerics get more Heals but in a given moment Heal is Heal. And you know what, I'll throw Soothe in there too, why not):</p>
<p>There are three "legs" to the chair that is healing in PF2:</p>
<p>1) Skill-based Healing
<br />
2) Item-based Healing
<br />
3) Spell-based Healing</p>
<p>Each has their best-case use.</p>
<p>1) Skill-based healing is free and unlimited, but often time-locked, and unless you're using Assurance, you could fail the check and fail to heal (or worse). This is best for when you have plenty of time.</p>
<p>2) Item-based healing isn't free (though Alchemist comes pretty darned near to free), is always limited by quantity of available potions or elixers, and typically is not as potent as the other two sources - but so long as you have items, you can go bananas and take as many as you need. This is best for when you have a brief lull in battle or when you have only a short amount of time.</p>
<p>3) Spell-based healing is often very limited in availability, though wands and Divine Font can up this number somewhat. Still.. very few. Typically very high amount healed. This is best used during combat to make the difference between a fighting fighter and a dying fighter.</p>
<p>You can't take an Alchemist and play it like a cleric. You need to play it like an Alchemist. You're going to use a Mistform Elixer to make it less likely that you'll need a huge Heal in the first place. If you expect to simply pass out Elixers of Life like a pez dispenser and call yourself a budget cleric, your party's gonna fold, and fold hard. You need to leverage the strengths of the class.</p>As far as Alchemist healing vs Cleric healing (and I'll put "any Heal healer" in there with Cleric, Clerics get more Heals but in a given moment Heal is Heal. And you know what, I'll throw Soothe in there too, why not):
There are three "legs" to the chair that is healing in PF2:
1) Skill-based Healing
2) Item-based Healing
3) Spell-based Healing
Each has their best-case use.
1) Skill-based healing is free and unlimited, but often time-locked, and unless you're using Assurance, you could...jdripley2020-10-04T22:36:50ZRe: Forums: Advice: Two weapon fighterjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43766?Two-weapon-fighter#282022-09-30T17:23:08Z2020-10-04T13:55:05Z<p>I'm going to suggest you consider diversifying your weapons (as opposed to pick + light pick, or warhammer + light hammer or some such).</p>
<p>Advantages to having two different weapons:</p>
<p>—Very easy access to damage types that you need - consider that a longsword gives slashing and piercing and a light hammer gives you bludgeoning. Or if you're a Dwarf because you're awesome, your Clan Dagger gives you bludgeoning and piercing and your axe gives you slashing. Either way... with 0 actions to change weapons you can choose any of the physical damage types, and sometimes that's a big deal.</p>
<p>—Access to a wider range of weapon traits. There are loads of great weapon traits out there. If you're two-weapon fighting you're closing the door on many of the "combat maneuver" type actions - trip, shove, disarm, all of that. Some weapons have traits that put those options back on the table. Don't neglect the Thrown trait, occasionally that's really useful. Some people scan right past all of that because "it's not as good as doing damage" but my experience is that a party that is willing to spend some of their actions to screw with the enemy is a party that will do well, where as the party that focuses purely on damage will take quite a bit of damage in return.</p>I'm going to suggest you consider diversifying your weapons (as opposed to pick + light pick, or warhammer + light hammer or some such).
Advantages to having two different weapons:
--Very easy access to damage types that you need - consider that a longsword gives slashing and piercing and a light hammer gives you bludgeoning. Or if you're a Dwarf because you're awesome, your Clan Dagger gives you bludgeoning and piercing and your axe gives you slashing. Either way... with 0 actions to...jdripley2020-10-04T13:55:05ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Dismissed Alchemist Early, Changed Mind After Re-Readingjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4377x?Dismissed-Alchemist-Early-Changed-Mind-After#62020-10-09T14:32:11Z2020-10-04T13:40:45Z<p>My view on the alchemist is that it's a support class disguised as a striker class.</p>
<p>You look at it, you see Fumbus' art, and you go "sweet, I'm gonna chuck bombs ALL over the place!"</p>
<p>Then you run the numbers and realize that it's not all roses and sunshine, and maybe you're bummed...</p>
<p>BUT the other side is realizing just how broadly versatile you can be. I've seen alchemists hand out Darkvision elixers to the whole party so they can explore a dungeon with stealth. I've seen alchemists hand out Mistform Elixers to the front liners so they can tank really scary enemies and not get quite as smashed up. I've seen Alchemists hand out poisons to the martials so their weapons can deal crazy extra damage. Energy mutagens to save the party from area energy damage. A spot Elixer of Life to get the cleric back on her feet.</p>
<p>So, is the Alchemist, mathematically, on par with, say, a Barbarian striker? Or a Flurry Ranger? Or a Thief Rogue? No. I wouldn't say so. BUT, an Alchemist can do ALL of the things in the above paragraph and STILL throw bombs here and there, and none of those martial strikers have nearly the versatility.</p>
<p>And, I might add, say the Cleric is going to be handing out energy resistance - that takes a substantial number of the spells/day to cover a party. Takes the Alchemist 2 or 3 daily reagents, depending on party size.</p>
<p>Which brings me to mindset and how it impacts your enjoyment of a class. If you derive enjoyment from being the person who enables the rest of the party to shine, I think you'll enjoy Alchemist. If you just want to deal damage, it may or may not be for you.</p>My view on the alchemist is that it's a support class disguised as a striker class.
You look at it, you see Fumbus' art, and you go "sweet, I'm gonna chuck bombs ALL over the place!"
Then you run the numbers and realize that it's not all roses and sunshine, and maybe you're bummed...
BUT the other side is realizing just how broadly versatile you can be. I've seen alchemists hand out Darkvision elixers to the whole party so they can explore a dungeon with stealth. I've seen alchemists hand...jdripley2020-10-04T13:40:45ZRe: Forums: Advice: Building a Tanky Monk, send help.jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43758?Building-a-Tanky-Monk-send-help#152020-10-02T11:39:49Z2020-10-02T11:38:08Z<p>So looking at your party (bo monk, barbarian, arcane sorcerer and companion ranger), you won’t have healing. Sure battle medicine and potions/elixirs are a thing and your party will 100% need to spend heavily on those consumables, but for most battles I think the strategy needs to be “out damage the enemy before they kill you.” None of your party is particularly robust or has strong mitigation. All of your party has strong offense.</p>
<p>That said, you can all work together to mitigate. You have 2, maybe 3 high STR characters, if the ranger is going for melee. Tripping, disarming, grappling... plus the sorcerer can employ spells to neuter the enemy. Color Spray makes the enemy miss 25% of their attacks, that's a fantastic mitigation tool. Fear, through spell or intimidate, is also great. Command spell and have the enemy throw their sword, lol.</p>
<p>It's a non traditional party in that you don’t have a cleric or a “real” tank (no real active mitigation ala shield or champion reaction), but one of the triumphs of PF2 is that they build tools into the game that allow for teamwork and solid tactics to make a big difference.</p>
<p>I think one of the fun parts of playing your party will be in figuring out when it's best to go full offense and just wreck the enemy, and when it’s better to spend a round or two tripping and disarming and rebuffing enemies first and THEN hammering them into the ground.</p>
<p>Have fun with it :)</p>So looking at your party (bo monk, barbarian, arcane sorcerer and companion ranger), you won’t have healing. Sure battle medicine and potions/elixirs are a thing and your party will 100% need to spend heavily on those consumables, but for most battles I think the strategy needs to be “out damage the enemy before they kill you.” None of your party is particularly robust or has strong mitigation. All of your party has strong offense.
That said, you can all work together to mitigate. You have...jdripley2020-10-02T11:38:08ZRe: Forums: Advice: Building a Tanky Monk, send help.jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43758?Building-a-Tanky-Monk-send-help#92021-11-19T21:19:16Z2020-10-02T02:44:42Z<p>I think 18 STR is important as you need to do good damage and you need to grab and trip. Mountain Stance is your bread and butter tank build as you can have low DEX and spend your attributes on CON instead.</p>
<p>But Crane and DEX 16 has good AC too... just, not as many HP or Fort save... Mountain builds typically have poor reflex. Can’t have everything, you need to choose what you want.</p>
<p>Bo staff also negates ability to use a shield. Maybe multi class into some casting class that gets you the Shield Cantrip?</p>I think 18 STR is important as you need to do good damage and you need to grab and trip. Mountain Stance is your bread and butter tank build as you can have low DEX and spend your attributes on CON instead.
But Crane and DEX 16 has good AC too... just, not as many HP or Fort save... Mountain builds typically have poor reflex. Can’t have everything, you need to choose what you want.
Bo staff also negates ability to use a shield. Maybe multi class into some casting class that gets you the...jdripley2020-10-02T02:44:42ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Identifying Magic Items is really annoyingjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4371j?Identifying-Magic-Items-is-really-annoying#322020-10-05T11:40:54Z2020-10-01T00:57:12Z<p>I just give them the milk for free. I can’t be bothered to keep track of a loot backlog, nor do I want to deal with doing background math when they use an unidentifiable item. It doesn’t fit what I want in a game I’m running, so... away it goes! When they find stuff, they know what it is.</p>
<p>Identifying in my games is for when the big bad is doing something magical and the plot is about figuring out both what and how to stop it.</p>I just give them the milk for free. I can’t be bothered to keep track of a loot backlog, nor do I want to deal with doing background math when they use an unidentifiable item. It doesn’t fit what I want in a game I’m running, so... away it goes! When they find stuff, they know what it is.
Identifying in my games is for when the big bad is doing something magical and the plot is about figuring out both what and how to stop it.jdripley2020-10-01T00:57:12ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: I feel that monster attacks are very overpowered at low levelsjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs436vy?I-feel-that-monster-attacks-are-very#272021-05-25T23:07:05Z2020-09-25T20:50:33Z<p>My viewpoint is solidly opposed to the OPs, even though I 100% agree with the OP that the monsters are dangerous.</p>
<p>A few have brought up how using PF1 tactics in PF2 doesn't work well. Completely agree. My party of noobs did better out of the gate than my party of veterans because the veterans had to un-learn PF1 the hard way while the noobs picked up how PF2 runs quicker.</p>
<p>PF2 combat is FAST! This is a good thing. I've played other RPGs where a "hard" enemy just had twice as much HP. Made for slow, boring fights where nothing interesting was happening. Not so in PF2, and accurate enemies are a big part of that. If you hang out with a monster you're gonna get hit, you're gonna get crit, it's gonna be messy. Better have good tactics, better employ them quickly. It's not just about dealing damage to the enemy, it's about limiting their ability to deal it back to you. Move tactically. Take cover. Raise a shield. Use spells, items and abilities to your advantage. </p>
<p>Feel the fear when a strong enemy gets a hold of you. The fear is good. It lets you know that your party could fail. That fear lets you know for certain that the choices you make are the difference between victory and defeat - in short, that your choices MATTER!</p>
<p>PF2 encounter balance/monster potency is all a core part of this, and it's brilliant. Learn to trust it. Learn to even use the bonkers Severe Solo encounters. They are soooo much fun, and the party feels like they're hanging on by their fingernails the whole time, but the balance is so good that you can do that without TPKing your party.</p>
<p>And yes, I've had salty players over how tough higher level enemies are. Just last night the spellcasters were salty because the big bad solo monster critically saved against 3 high level spells. That didn't feel too good to them. But the design is sound, and the fight was dangerous and scary, and when the Ranger used a Vine Arrow to pin the enemy in place after the fighter knocked it down, and the monster couldn't do much other than stand up and take an attack of opportunity, THAT felt way better because of the difficulty of the fight, and EVERYbody felt good about denying those actions as the monster had been hitting and critting EVERY round prior.</p>
<p>Learn to trust it. The combat balance of this game is a triumph of game design.</p>My viewpoint is solidly opposed to the OPs, even though I 100% agree with the OP that the monsters are dangerous.
A few have brought up how using PF1 tactics in PF2 doesn't work well. Completely agree. My party of noobs did better out of the gate than my party of veterans because the veterans had to un-learn PF1 the hard way while the noobs picked up how PF2 runs quicker.
PF2 combat is FAST! This is a good thing. I've played other RPGs where a "hard" enemy just had twice as much HP. Made...jdripley2020-09-25T20:50:33ZRe: Forums: Advice: Age of Ashes Rogue Buildjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs436n6?Age-of-Ashes-Rogue-Build#52020-09-21T13:17:12Z2020-09-18T21:14:51Z<p>I'll also say, you really can't mess up a Thief Rogue, they are a solid choice!</p>
<p>If your party needs a "face" then I'd be OK with going Charisma, but if the party has a cleric or sorcerer or somebody else who will be taking Charisma, then I'd skip boosting CHA too much and instead focus on CON. In my experience as a GM, Rogues aren't that tough to take down.</p>
<p>PF1 has trained Rogue players to want 2 weapons, but consider an agile 1h weapon and a shield. Nimble Dodge is great because it activates on a reaction not an action, BUT it only helps vs 1 attack. Not "having" to take Nimble Dodge also frees up a 1st level Rogue feat which you can use for Trap Finder, and THAT allows you to take an exploration activity other than Searching and STILL get a roll to find traps (with a bonus!) which is great for you - you can sneak, or do whatever else.</p>
<p>Gang Up is a level 6 feat that I would highly recommend. PF2 makes it easier on Rogues to get into flanking position, but sometimes it's still a challenge. I've seen Gang Up used to great effect; consider an enemy near death that is in reach of the fighter and rogue. The rogue could take an action to flank properly, then strike, killing it, and then stride to get near the next enemy... OR with gang up, the rogue can get the sneak attack off to kill the enemy, stride once to engage another enemy within an ally's reach, and strike again, hopefully hitting again. It makes a big difference.</p>I'll also say, you really can't mess up a Thief Rogue, they are a solid choice!
If your party needs a "face" then I'd be OK with going Charisma, but if the party has a cleric or sorcerer or somebody else who will be taking Charisma, then I'd skip boosting CHA too much and instead focus on CON. In my experience as a GM, Rogues aren't that tough to take down.
PF1 has trained Rogue players to want 2 weapons, but consider an agile 1h weapon and a shield. Nimble Dodge is great because it...jdripley2020-09-18T21:14:51ZRe: Forums/Secrets of Magic Playtest: General Discussion: How many of your lower level spells go unused in an adventuring day?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs436fg?How-many-of-your-lower-level-spells-go-unused#112020-09-16T12:56:18Z2020-09-15T01:45:13Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">breithauptclan wrote:</div><blockquote><p>So choose poorly once and stick with it?</p>
<p></blockquote><p>Certainly everybody has their preferences, but I think you select spells differently as a Sorcerer than you do as a Wizard.
<p>With a Wizard, you're trying to accumulate as many spells into your book as you possibly can, while also stuffing your pockets with as many scrolls and wands as you can. Breadth of possibility is your bread and butter, and you want to be able to look at the oddest, most improbably situation and say "Hold on, I've got just the spell for that!!" You are a swiss army knife.</p>
<p>With a Sorcerer, you're going to try to carefully select a very few spells that you feel will be strong in a wide variety of situations, and that will stay relevant as you gain levels. You are a hammer, and you're on the hunt for nails.</p>breithauptclan wrote:So choose poorly once and stick with it?
Certainly everybody has their preferences, but I think you select spells differently as a Sorcerer than you do as a Wizard. With a Wizard, you're trying to accumulate as many spells into your book as you possibly can, while also stuffing your pockets with as many scrolls and wands as you can. Breadth of possibility is your bread and butter, and you want to be able to look at the oddest, most improbably situation and say "Hold on,...jdripley2020-09-15T01:45:13ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Spellcasters and their problems ...jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs436ao&page=2?Spellcasters-and-their-problems#542020-09-16T02:36:14Z2020-09-14T02:29:15Z<p>Drake, I don’t feel any prior experience with typical monsters or trends is necessary, simply a party that is willing to invest an action or two to Recall Knowledge at the start of a fight. There are 5 skills for that. Intelligence helps with arcana and society. Wisdom helps with nature and religion. charisma helps you with occult. That's 3 stats you want to be good, and 5 skills you want to be good proficiency. And you have 4 (probably) characters. Shouldn’t be a problem. You can figure that plenty of the time you'll get a good result from that and know which of your spells to use.</p>
<p>As far as spell selection, there are three saves, so balance your spell selection accordingly. Color Spray hits will, Grease hits reflex, and Goblin Pox hits Fortitude. That's a fine all-around starting spell list that does great at controlling enemies. </p>
<p>You can pick carefully for your cantrips too. We all know “electric arc is the best” but there are cantrips that target other saves too.</p>
<p>Attack spells can benefit from conditions your party inflicts as well. If the fighter knocks the enemy down, that's a great moment for an attack spell as the enemy is now flat footed. Some spells are melee attack spells so you can flank for flat footed.</p>Drake, I don’t feel any prior experience with typical monsters or trends is necessary, simply a party that is willing to invest an action or two to Recall Knowledge at the start of a fight. There are 5 skills for that. Intelligence helps with arcana and society. Wisdom helps with nature and religion. charisma helps you with occult. That's 3 stats you want to be good, and 5 skills you want to be good proficiency. And you have 4 (probably) characters. Shouldn’t be a problem. You can figure that...jdripley2020-09-14T02:29:15ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Spellcasters and their problems ...jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs436ao&page=2?Spellcasters-and-their-problems#522020-11-28T08:18:43Z2020-09-13T22:47:25Z<p>Playing a caster well is all about knowing your enemy. You've got to be using Recall Knowledge ahead of selecting which spell to use. As a GM I see casters target the enemy's highest save all the time, and part of me feels bad, but part of me also says "but they didn't Recall Knowledge, and with the roll they rolled, they would have had a good effect if they targeted the worst save," so really it's on them for making a mistake.</p>
<p>Recall Knowledge absolutely has to be part of character creation and the start of battles. Why waste my precious spell slots targeting the wrong save? If I do, it's on me, not the game.</p>Playing a caster well is all about knowing your enemy. You've got to be using Recall Knowledge ahead of selecting which spell to use. As a GM I see casters target the enemy's highest save all the time, and part of me feels bad, but part of me also says "but they didn't Recall Knowledge, and with the roll they rolled, they would have had a good effect if they targeted the worst save," so really it's on them for making a mistake.
Recall Knowledge absolutely has to be part of character creation...jdripley2020-09-13T22:47:25ZRe: Forums: Advice: Warpriest of Cayden Cailean help pleasejdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs435hw?Warpriest-of-Cayden-Cailean-help-please#92020-09-03T05:46:38Z2020-08-29T12:21:53Z<p>My advise, don’t boost Wisdom much/at all and focus on supporting spells rather than offensive spells. Use your stat increases on your physical stats as you would with a fighter, with just a nod towards Wisdom and Charisma as Will saves are still important and Divine Font is great. Expect to supplement your Divine Font by preparing Heal in your spell slots now and again.</p>
<p>Then, mindset check: you are not a fighter, and you are not a high tier caster. You are a support character. You stand on the front to help block for the wizard and to take some of the hits for the fighter and rogue. You move to provide flanking so the rogue and fihter don’t blow their actions doing so and can attack more. You can cast some but mainly to give an edge to your fellows. Bless and Heal are bread and butter spells, aside from that you are jabbing with your rapier and raising your shield.</p>
<p>The support lifestyle isn’t for everybody, but it really makes a difference. Consider the impact of flanking with the rogue while Bless also effects the rogue... the rogue now has +3 to attack and gets Sneak Attack. Yes that took 2 out of your 3 actions to set up, and maybe you Raised Shield for your 3rd so “you didn’t do anything” but if the rogue can hit twice? Shoot, that was a well spent turn by you. And you can also attack instead of raising a shield and you get effectively a +3 to your attack as well.</p>
<p>This is the “classic” cleric build from past editions of D&D of old. It isn’t often flashy, but man everybody loves having one around. You are part healer, part tank, part striker, part buffer. Everybody's best friend and a great enabler.</p>
<p>If the party doesn’t have another character who can Treat Wounds, invest in Assurance.</p>My advise, don’t boost Wisdom much/at all and focus on supporting spells rather than offensive spells. Use your stat increases on your physical stats as you would with a fighter, with just a nod towards Wisdom and Charisma as Will saves are still important and Divine Font is great. Expect to supplement your Divine Font by preparing Heal in your spell slots now and again.
Then, mindset check: you are not a fighter, and you are not a high tier caster. You are a support character. You stand on...jdripley2020-08-29T12:21:53ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Minions and Slowed conditionjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs434fv&page=2?Minions-and-Slowed-condition#552020-08-31T15:30:51Z2020-08-28T12:02:39Z<p>Here's my take...</p>
<p>The minion rule is a solid rule. It allows you to have a companion without dominating time during combat by taking twice as long as others. This is fantastic! My main group has 6 players and all during PF1 we just didn’t do companions because combat rounds already took forever. It wasn’t a house rule, we just all chose not to.</p>
<p>Now in PF2, every group I’m part of has a companion in it and it doesn’t slow combat down. It’s great.</p>
<p>Is it thematically awkward? Meh, I guess, sure, but the mechanical benefits WAY overcompensate for any thematic problems. So I love it, we all love it, and we are happy to move forward with it.</p>
<p>Zombies are the corner case here. I’m unaware of any other minion creatures having I ate Slowed... I’m sure they are out there, but they will also be corner case.</p>
<p>I’m perfectly happy ruling that innate slowed is ignored by the Minion trait, but that spells or other abilities that give slowed or quickened effect a minion just like they do any other character. To me that seems to have the fewest problematic impacts. It allows zombies to actually function as minions. And if it’s too good for zombies... ok well I only screwed up a very small subset of all of the minions, and I didn’t make a sweeping rule that jacks up ALL minions.</p>Here's my take...
The minion rule is a solid rule. It allows you to have a companion without dominating time during combat by taking twice as long as others. This is fantastic! My main group has 6 players and all during PF1 we just didn’t do companions because combat rounds already took forever. It wasn’t a house rule, we just all chose not to.
Now in PF2, every group I’m part of has a companion in it and it doesn’t slow combat down. It’s great.
Is it thematically awkward? Meh, I guess,...jdripley2020-08-28T12:02:39ZRe: Forums: Advice: How much does AC matter ?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43544?How-much-does-AC-matter#362023-06-12T01:51:39Z2020-08-27T01:51:50Z<p>I would say, rather than AC being important, damage mitigation is important.</p>
<p>The bad guys are going to be attacking, and sooner or later that will lead to injury. The idea is to kill them before they can injure you badly enough that you are in trouble.</p>
<p>AC is one way to slow down how fast you get hurt. The higher the better of course, but going for sky high AC is only one path.</p>
<p>Defensive spells, actions and alchemical is another. Striding away from a slow enemy is good. Taking an elixir of mist form is good, blocking with a sturdy shield is good. Having an ally who casts fear on a key enemy is good. Or Command. Or anything that debuffs the enemy. A champion's reaction is great.</p>
<p>Having one or more party members capable of healing during battle is another way. Anybody can drink a potion, Heal and Soothe are good, Battle Medicine is good.</p>
<p>What you will find is that as one of these three approaches is doubled down on, you need less of the other types.</p>
<p>So the 2-handed barbarian will need a strong in-combat healer, but a party with a Champion may not even need a “healer” in the party. A party with a strong control caster may do fine with a monk, rogue and ranger who skirmish and play keep away, and drink the odd potion when the enemy really connects.</p>
<p>Meanwhile a party with a shield champion, Shield monk and Shield fighter may actually need a cleric for healing because they tend to stand and deliver, but also kill slowly, so over time the hits add up.</p>
<p>Your need for max AC really depends on the party. One of PF2’s real triumphs is that battle tactics are so varied depending on party composition.</p>I would say, rather than AC being important, damage mitigation is important.
The bad guys are going to be attacking, and sooner or later that will lead to injury. The idea is to kill them before they can injure you badly enough that you are in trouble.
AC is one way to slow down how fast you get hurt. The higher the better of course, but going for sky high AC is only one path.
Defensive spells, actions and alchemical is another. Striding away from a slow enemy is good. Taking an elixir of...jdripley2020-08-27T01:51:50ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: The Six Action Minon Mastersjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs435d2?The-Six-Action-Minon-Masters#172020-08-21T03:59:38Z2020-08-20T19:59:11Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">oholoko wrote:</div><blockquote><br />
<br />
We keep casting and pretend we will form an army they will never know it's a bluff! </blockquote><p>For that, you need a 7th party member, sorcerer, who, on round 9, starts shouting "Quickened Invisibility! Quickened Invisibility!! Quickened Invisibility!!!!" and hopes to roll really well on her deception!oholoko wrote:We keep casting and pretend we will form an army they will never know it's a bluff!
For that, you need a 7th party member, sorcerer, who, on round 9, starts shouting "Quickened Invisibility! Quickened Invisibility!! Quickened Invisibility!!!!" and hopes to roll really well on her deception!jdripley2020-08-20T19:59:11ZRe: Forums: Advice: Paladins and Feintingjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs435ao?Paladins-and-Feinting#52020-08-19T14:41:33Z2020-08-18T20:32:48Z<p>I take those tenets to be more about how you relate to people.</p>
<p>"Give me those potions at half cost or I won't stay here and defend your town against the undead horde that's bearing down on you." That is taking advantage of others.</p>
<p>"I will stay here and defend your town while you go for help, come hell or high water." and then finds out there's a juicy dungeon half a day's walk to the east, and goes there while the undead horde wrecks the town. That is acting without honor.</p>
<p>"I do not have the funds now, but if you trust me, give me the potion now so that I may defeat our mutual enemy. When I return with the fiend's treasure, I will pay you half again as much in return for your faith in me." and then decides not to return to that merchant after the loot is won. That is cheating.</p>
<p>But in battle? Nah, man, in battle anything goes. What is the functional difference between rolling higher than AC and scoring a hit, and feinting to reduce AC and then scoring a hit? The straight-up roll is a quick and convenient shorthand for all of the fake-outs and sly moves that make up good swordsmanship in the first place.</p>I take those tenets to be more about how you relate to people.
"Give me those potions at half cost or I won't stay here and defend your town against the undead horde that's bearing down on you." That is taking advantage of others.
"I will stay here and defend your town while you go for help, come hell or high water." and then finds out there's a juicy dungeon half a day's walk to the east, and goes there while the undead horde wrecks the town. That is acting without honor.
"I do not have...jdripley2020-08-18T20:32:48ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Do melee Ranger work with an Animal Companion?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4358t?Do-melee-Ranger-work-with-an-Animal-Companion#272020-09-08T05:23:37Z2020-08-18T18:13:40Z<p>One party I GM for has a flurry ranger with an animal companion, and she's a beast! I wouldn't say it is underpowered at all.</p>
<p>I think the only "problem" is that as players we tend to theorize a perfect turn, get stars in our eyes about it, and then grumble when we can't pull off our One True Turn every single turn.</p>
<p>My party's Flurry Ranger isn't afraid to attack non-hunted targets. She's not afraid to leave her animal companion in the corner and go all lawnmower mode on the enemy herself. She's not afraid to sit back, call out targets, and have her cat do the heavy lifting for her. She's not afraid to mix it up and do a bit of all of that.</p>
<p>What I've learned from watching her play is that strict adherence to trying to pull off the One True Turn slows her down, so she simply... doesn't. Watching her play, it seems as though she just goes with the flow of combat, hunting prey when it's advantageous, positioning when that's better, using the cat as needed but not to excess.</p>
<p>And she holds her own. Boy, does she hold her own.</p>
<p>As a side note, this ranger began as a Precision Edge hunter, at my suggestion. And for exactly the reasons stated in this thread: action economy. Better to have one great hit than to have one OK hit and not have the actions to pull off the Main Thing. I don't really think she's doing any better or worse now that she switched. But now she's doing what she finds fun: attacking a couple times really accurately. So it's all good.</p>One party I GM for has a flurry ranger with an animal companion, and she's a beast! I wouldn't say it is underpowered at all.
I think the only "problem" is that as players we tend to theorize a perfect turn, get stars in our eyes about it, and then grumble when we can't pull off our One True Turn every single turn.
My party's Flurry Ranger isn't afraid to attack non-hunted targets. She's not afraid to leave her animal companion in the corner and go all lawnmower mode on the enemy herself....jdripley2020-08-18T18:13:40ZRe: Forums: Advice: How much for a flying castle?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs434vo?How-much-for-a-flying-castle#22020-08-14T09:27:51Z2020-08-10T01:35:02Z<p>From the Gamemastery Guide, an Airship is 6,000gp, a galley is 3,000 gp and a sailing ship is 2,000 gp. None of those are castles, but they could be home, and they are large expensive items so I list them for reference mainly - though the airship does fly...</p>
<p>Core rulebook page 596 has an Instant Fortress that retails for a cool 9,300gp. It doesn't fly, but it does other nifty stuff, so maybe removing "other nifty stuff" and swapping in "flying" would give you a more or less decent price for a flying castle? It's not particularly large, only 20x20x30, so while you could live in it, it's hardly spacious</p>From the Gamemastery Guide, an Airship is 6,000gp, a galley is 3,000 gp and a sailing ship is 2,000 gp. None of those are castles, but they could be home, and they are large expensive items so I list them for reference mainly - though the airship does fly...
Core rulebook page 596 has an Instant Fortress that retails for a cool 9,300gp. It doesn't fly, but it does other nifty stuff, so maybe removing "other nifty stuff" and swapping in "flying" would give you a more or less decent price for...jdripley2020-08-10T01:35:02ZRe: Forums: Advice: Who's Playing the Healer? -- Is a dedicated band-aid required or viable in 2e?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs434o3?Whos-Playing-the-Healer-Is-a-dedicated#342020-08-09T21:54:37Z2020-08-09T11:47:40Z<p>@Saashaa - sure IF the party is at full HP, or even “not dying,” that logic works.</p>
<p>Here is a counter point from my experience.</p>
<p>The cleric is built to maximize Divine Font. They have CHA 18 so they have 5 spells in their font. To accomplish this, all their other stats are garbage. Their turn consists of waiting around for somebody to get hurt because they can’t hit with spells on account of super low wisdom, and they can’t hit with weapons on account of poor physical stats.</p>
<p>So, somebody gets hit and they can be the hero and heal them. 5 times. And then they are the definition of dead weight. They can’t even Treat Wounds very well.</p>
<p>It was a painful experience for the player. It was frustrating to the party having to stop early for the day so the cleric could prepare new spells, because yeah, the party takes a beating if one player isn’t carrying their weight.</p>
<p>As levels have been gained the character has gotten its feet under it. Sorcerer dedication has given some offensive options and the turns are no longer “ nobody is hurt, I pass...”. Having more buffing options due to higher level has helped.</p>
<p>But man... it was a super rough start, all because they wanted 18 cha for max divine font. Compared to 18 wis 16 cha and you have a fully capable divine caster who can cast anything on their list with a reasonable chance of success, and only a single divine font less than the “dedicated” healer.</p>
<p>See the difference? I just want people to consider how they build their bandaids, because you can do it and have an excellent character, and you can do it and struggle. Struggle may not be fun..</p>@Saashaa - sure IF the party is at full HP, or even “not dying,” that logic works.
Here is a counter point from my experience.
The cleric is built to maximize Divine Font. They have CHA 18 so they have 5 spells in their font. To accomplish this, all their other stats are garbage. Their turn consists of waiting around for somebody to get hurt because they can’t hit with spells on account of super low wisdom, and they can’t hit with weapons on account of poor physical stats.
So, somebody...jdripley2020-08-09T11:47:40ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Giant Rat Animal Companionjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs434g6?Giant-Rat-Animal-Companion#32020-08-07T23:45:01Z2020-08-03T01:13:13Z<p>I would copy wholesale from the Badger entry if it were me. Badger Rage isn't perfect for a rat, but I once saw a little rat my cat was hunting rise up on its back legs and time a jump right as my cat's face descended on it so that the rat managed to jump up and bite the #^@& out of my cat's nose.</p>
<p>The rat didn't survive. But man... if I had an ounce of the courage that little rat had, I could rule the world.</p>
<p>I think I lost my way in this post. I was saying something about badger rage being OK for a rat? yeah.. Ok if that one rat was capable of such a feat, I think a little melee booster action is at least plausible for a rat.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Oh, also, I tend to be leery of homebrew as it tends to fall to one extreme or the other... either too powerful, or else too cautious and thus unsatisfactory. But simply renaming something that a professional game designer has already made, tested and published? Ought to be fine :)</p>I would copy wholesale from the Badger entry if it were me. Badger Rage isn't perfect for a rat, but I once saw a little rat my cat was hunting rise up on its back legs and time a jump right as my cat's face descended on it so that the rat managed to jump up and bite the #^@& out of my cat's nose.
The rat didn't survive. But man... if I had an ounce of the courage that little rat had, I could rule the world.
I think I lost my way in this post. I was saying something about badger rage being...jdripley2020-08-03T01:13:13ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Is One Inch Punch a trap?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs434cx?Is-One-Inch-Punch-a-trap#432020-08-03T01:31:24Z2020-08-03T01:07:10Z<p>You can also put me down under "This feat, like Power Attack, is for when you're facing Resistances."</p>
<p>Two attacks vs X resistance means you lose out on 2X damage. 1 attack vs X resistance means you lose out on X damage. X is less than 2X. Seems simple to me.</p>
<p>Every monk is going to be able to Flurry if they chose, 1 Inch Punch puts another tool in the toolbox. I view this as a "breadth" option rather than a "depth" option.</p>You can also put me down under "This feat, like Power Attack, is for when you're facing Resistances."
Two attacks vs X resistance means you lose out on 2X damage. 1 attack vs X resistance means you lose out on X damage. X is less than 2X. Seems simple to me.
Every monk is going to be able to Flurry if they chose, 1 Inch Punch puts another tool in the toolbox. I view this as a "breadth" option rather than a "depth" option.jdripley2020-08-03T01:07:10ZRe: Forums: Rules Discussion: Suggested nerf on Strike Runesjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs4341n?Suggested-nerf-on-Strike-Runes#52020-08-05T13:13:47Z2020-07-28T01:57:03Z<p>These things were hashed out during the playtest. As with anything, opinions vary. Personally I would have been happy with no striking runes and lower monster HP to compensate, but the feedback Paizo got prompted them to design the game the way they did, so my opinion is a minority opinion.</p>
<p>In the end, it's really not that big of a deal to me, so I let it go because there are so many other things about PF2 that I really like.</p>These things were hashed out during the playtest. As with anything, opinions vary. Personally I would have been happy with no striking runes and lower monster HP to compensate, but the feedback Paizo got prompted them to design the game the way they did, so my opinion is a minority opinion.
In the end, it's really not that big of a deal to me, so I let it go because there are so many other things about PF2 that I really like.jdripley2020-07-28T01:57:03ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Being 'heroic' in PF2jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs433nf&page=2?Being-heroic-in-PF2#682020-07-20T18:51:49Z2020-07-20T11:51:08Z<p>I really think that the best thing you can do as a spellcaster is have the best Arcana, Nature, Religion and Society checks you can. Note that the spellcaster doesn’t need all of these themself, but these are excellent skills for the party to prioritize. First round of combat everyone likes to rush in and get big damage, but the spellcaster loves some recall knowledge checks to identify the weak points in the enemy defenses. And the party would also benefit from staying back and taking defensive actions as well, but that's a different discussion.....</p>
<p>Every enemy has some weakness, whether it's AC, Fort Ref or Will. If you know it, you can exploit it.</p>
<p>As a GM I constantly watch spellcasters slinging spells vs a monster's better saves and getting mediocre results, and I just can’t take the “wizards aren’t impressive” arguments seriously when I know that my save roll +their weak save would have resulted in a much better result had the caster opted to choose a spell that targets the weak save.</p>
<p>That's my 2 cents at any rate.</p>I really think that the best thing you can do as a spellcaster is have the best Arcana, Nature, Religion and Society checks you can. Note that the spellcaster doesn’t need all of these themself, but these are excellent skills for the party to prioritize. First round of combat everyone likes to rush in and get big damage, but the spellcaster loves some recall knowledge checks to identify the weak points in the enemy defenses. And the party would also benefit from staying back and taking...jdripley2020-07-20T11:51:08ZRe: Forums: Rules Discussion: Switching In a Fresh Shield Mid Fight?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs433gu?Switching-In-a-Fresh-Shield-Mid-Fight#122020-07-13T15:27:00Z2020-07-13T12:20:10Z<p>WatersLethe, that's a pretty cool way to approach it!</p>WatersLethe, that's a pretty cool way to approach it!jdripley2020-07-13T12:20:10ZRe: Forums: Rules Discussion: Switching In a Fresh Shield Mid Fight?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs433gu?Switching-In-a-Fresh-Shield-Mid-Fight#82020-07-13T13:30:45Z2020-07-13T01:26:24Z<p>Check out core book page 277. Specifically the descriptions of the various shields. The Buckler is the only shield that calls out being strapped to a character. I wonder if that is a rule specific the the buckler? Could be a way to offset being able to have a shield ready but also have a free hand when you need it without dropping something?</p>
<p>So if you take the view that only a buckler is “strapped” to the character, then wood, steel and tower shields would be a free action to drop.</p>
<p>I am avoiding any sort of “historically shields were used in thus and such fashion” because fantasy RPGs have always mixed up terminology and uses for these things. Specifically bucklers were a small hand held disc of metal and would be practically useless if strapped to a forearm. So clearly we are not arguing based on any of that.</p>Check out core book page 277. Specifically the descriptions of the various shields. The Buckler is the only shield that calls out being strapped to a character. I wonder if that is a rule specific the the buckler? Could be a way to offset being able to have a shield ready but also have a free hand when you need it without dropping something?
So if you take the view that only a buckler is “strapped” to the character, then wood, steel and tower shields would be a free action to drop.
I am...jdripley2020-07-13T01:26:24ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: Changing an energy type...jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs433c6?Changing-an-energy-type#112022-03-26T14:15:58Z2020-07-10T12:46:48Z<p>I’ll throw my hat into the ring for a change to Mental damage being a better choice here. Negative can’t hurt undead, and many undead are also Mindless, so Mental will have the fewest changes in how the spell will actually work. Also, bardic music has always had a mind-affecting feel to it, so thematically it makes just as much sense as sonic damage.</p>
<p>Additionally, I would be somewhat inclined to approve this for Grim Tendrils given the RP reasoning... but I would in no way be allowing energy substitutions across the board. If a bard doesn’t want to be dealing Negative damage, ok. But I’m not going to allow other energy substitutions. And in no way am I going to be allowing that change to touch fire cold electricity acid. Or even force really. Bards already get magic missile if they want it.</p>I’ll throw my hat into the ring for a change to Mental damage being a better choice here. Negative can’t hurt undead, and many undead are also Mindless, so Mental will have the fewest changes in how the spell will actually work. Also, bardic music has always had a mind-affecting feel to it, so thematically it makes just as much sense as sonic damage.
Additionally, I would be somewhat inclined to approve this for Grim Tendrils given the RP reasoning... but I would in no way be allowing energy...jdripley2020-07-10T12:46:48ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: 2v2 PvPjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43388?2v2-PvP#102020-07-07T01:27:02Z2020-07-07T01:21:50Z<p>Is it doable? Sure, why not?</p>
<p>Have I done it? Yup. Typically when the GM is late to the session or whatever. Winner gets bragging rights. Usually not "to the death" as these characters are on friendly terms and are adventuring partners, so 1st to 25% HP takes a knee.</p>
<p>I agree that if you're looking for a Street Fighter style game, Pathfinder probably isn't the best fit, but I think it works well enough if you just want to dabble. Why not, after all? It has rules for attacking and defending, and that's what a fight is.</p>Is it doable? Sure, why not?
Have I done it? Yup. Typically when the GM is late to the session or whatever. Winner gets bragging rights. Usually not "to the death" as these characters are on friendly terms and are adventuring partners, so 1st to 25% HP takes a knee.
I agree that if you're looking for a Street Fighter style game, Pathfinder probably isn't the best fit, but I think it works well enough if you just want to dabble. Why not, after all? It has rules for attacking and defending,...jdripley2020-07-07T01:21:50ZRe: Forums/Pathfinder Second Edition: General Discussion: How Does Mail Work in the Inner Sea?jdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs432zq?How-Does-Mail-Work-in-the-Inner-Sea#172020-07-01T18:56:50Z2020-06-30T01:14:41Z<p>Well, near where I live there's an improv comedy show called "Dorks in Dungeons" and the premise is that they are mail carriers in a fantasy setting. It's a real hoot, as improv typically goes, things go off the rails in a hurry and they get into all manner of hijinks.</p>Well, near where I live there's an improv comedy show called "Dorks in Dungeons" and the premise is that they are mail carriers in a fantasy setting. It's a real hoot, as improv typically goes, things go off the rails in a hurry and they get into all manner of hijinks.jdripley2020-06-30T01:14:41ZRe: Forums: Advice: Barbarian Weapon Choicejdripleyhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs432x7?Barbarian-Weapon-Choice#182020-06-29T15:44:21Z2020-06-28T17:35:52Z<p>I feel like of all the classes, Barbarian cares least what weapon it uses. Your typical Barbarian at level 1 has 4 bonus damage from STR and somewhere between 2 and 4 more bonus damage from rage. So let's just say that's 7 bonus damage on each hit. That's a good hit no matter what, and any old fighter (crits aside) would be happy to deal that much damage WITH their weapon die.</p>
<p>So, right out of the gate, you're hitting hard, and your choice of weapon only sweetens the deal, it isn't the deal to begin with.</p>
<p>Personally I feel like a sword & board barbarian has just as much potential as your old standard 2h barbarian.</p>
<p>You can also put me in the camp of "if the choice is between a d12 weapon and a d10 weapon that also has a trait that I really like, I'm taking the d10 weapon every time."</p>
<p>It all just depends on what you want to be good at aside from smashing stuff (which you will be great at by default on account of "barbarian").</p>I feel like of all the classes, Barbarian cares least what weapon it uses. Your typical Barbarian at level 1 has 4 bonus damage from STR and somewhere between 2 and 4 more bonus damage from rage. So let's just say that's 7 bonus damage on each hit. That's a good hit no matter what, and any old fighter (crits aside) would be happy to deal that much damage WITH their weapon die.
So, right out of the gate, you're hitting hard, and your choice of weapon only sweetens the deal, it isn't the deal...jdripley2020-06-28T17:35:52ZRe: Forums: Product Discussion: Pathfinder Flip-Tiles: Darklands Fire Caves Expansionjdripleyhttps://paizo.com/products/btq0250l/discuss?Pathfinder-FlipTiles-Darklands-Fire-Caves-Expansion#52022-10-16T02:25:19Z2020-06-18T01:12:14Z<p>Not sure where to post product ideas for the Flip-Tile line, so here we go, uncategorized internet splatting!!</p>
<p>A High Seas set of flip tiles would be great!</p>
<p>Tiles could be:
<br />
-Open Water
<br />
-Shorelines
<br />
-Shipwrecks hung up on rocks
<br />
-Rocks near shore.. you know, just a few set into "open water" that you can place near a shoreline tile
<br />
-Docks
<br />
-Small Boats
<br />
-Ships that are made up of multiple tiles, of various sizes</p>
<p>Expansion sets could be:
<br />
-A couple larger/modular ships of various types - the old Map Pack line had a few of these, so updating them to the far more versatile Flip-Tile format would be great. Maybe even a "ship of the line" type ship, with tiles for different decks within the ship
<br />
-Remember Waterworld, that old Kevin Costner movie? We need "atolls" like in that movie.. ramshackle floating structures made of old boats lashed together.
<br />
-"underwater" stuff... reefs, sunken wrecks, etc.</p>Not sure where to post product ideas for the Flip-Tile line, so here we go, uncategorized internet splatting!!
A High Seas set of flip tiles would be great!
Tiles could be:
-Open Water
-Shorelines
-Shipwrecks hung up on rocks
-Rocks near shore.. you know, just a few set into "open water" that you can place near a shoreline tile
-Docks
-Small Boats
-Ships that are made up of multiple tiles, of various sizes
Expansion sets could be:
-A couple larger/modular ships of various types - the old...jdripley2020-06-18T01:12:14Z