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Hello, first of all excuse my english as is not my native language.
Our group has been playtesting the changes of the rule, version 1.0 and 1.1.
We converted our characters from the current campaign to the actual version, using the rules presented in the PF. The current characters are in the 6-7 lvl range, we played for 3 sessions with the rules at hand.
In the 3 sessions we the group played (due casualties) a Dwarf barbarian/fighter 2/5, a Human binder 7, an elf mage 6(universalist) , a ranger 6/thief 1, a thief/fighter 5/2 a survivor (from thief world) 4/scout 2 and finally a dire necromancer (6).
Our conclussions:
-Races conversion: Our 1/2 elf was elated, so far we have only minor concerns for the half-orcs and the elf magical bonus to break SR. But the fact that our group is still at lvl 7 this didn't seem to be that unbalanced.
-Starting HPS, we used the CON+MAX HP option, my feeling is that is too high, altough could be interesting if there is no clerical healing available, with the adition of 1 hp for prefered profession and thoughness the total HP seems too high.
-Skill points, the GM liked them a lot , but the players found these too restrictive, one of the players the ranger had just taken a level of rogue and found himself at almost the same level disabling traps than the 6 lvl rogue (that sounded wrong, and of course if he had put all of the 8 skill ranks of the rogue using the standard rules he would have been getting a similar effect, but still.. sounds wrong).
-Changes to the basic professions, sounds ok , we liked them, specially the barbarian/fighter. The DM ruled that the hit dices were bound to the BAB, so the barbarian got turned to the d10 instead of the d12. The wizard liked the bound amulet, and the group thinks the changes made to the basical professions make them more attractive to follow after the first levels.
-Rebuke, one of our players plays a dread necromancer, and we had a bad time using the rebuking, it was one of the things we require more fixing.
-The new tables for making encounters worked quite right, the results were more or less ok following to the new guideliness, the group was wiped in an hard encounter (more due bad dices, the fight was 50% until the lasts rounds).
-The new maneouver feats work great, is more flexible to play with mobility and spring attack withouth the need of rolling all the time gives more mobility in combat, yet sometimes its awfully powerful, an enemy barbarian with spring attack was all the time hitting our mage and retreating to avoid full attacks with nobody being able to even get an AO at him. Cleave was interesting, tactically our enemies used to spread giving more spaces to the thief to flank them.
-The appraisal skill with detect magic is great, how nobody has thought that before.
-CMB rules!. Simple and elegant.
-The Master easily upgraded the npcs in a couple of minutes, also he really says the new skill system for npc works greatly.
Our feelings:
The rules works nice, but in our group they fail to simplify the troubles at 3.5.
- Still too many rolls (iterative attacks.. do something with them please :) ).
- Buff spells (too many to remember and apply without having some serious bookkeping).
- The clerics still need 30 minutes to make a spell selection.
- Debuffes that remove characteristics takes a lot of time (so i have lost 4 Con and 4 INT...).