Share your best Pathfinder advice in one sentence

[quibblemuch]

Vulcan Don Rickles wrote:

Would you believe there's a Romulan version out there too?

What a future we live in!

[R. Lee Emery]

HOO RAH

[Bill Dunn]

kyrt-ryder wrote:

Treat Paizo as an Adventure-publishing-company that dabbles in rules, rather than a Game System Company that publishes adventures.

And considering RPGs like Pathfinder are refereed, cooperative games, that's generally enough.

[Steve Geddes]

Bill Dunn wrote:

kyrt-ryder wrote:

Treat Paizo as an Adventure-publishing-company that dabbles in rules, rather than a Game System Company that publishes adventures.

And considering RPGs like Pathfinder are refereed, cooperative games, that's generally enough.

To my tastes, an adventure-publishing-company that publishes rules is a superior model to a game-system-company that publishes adventures.

[kyrt-ryder]

Sure, each path has its own perks. I'm just saying acknowledging that trait of Paizo's leads to less heartache than assuming otherwise.

[Tome of Clear Thought]

Carry a pair of shackles for when that one person in the party is about to do something crazy or alienate NPCs, and never be afraid to make a playful grapple check against your other party members.

[knightnday]

Remember that despite "experts" online, make your own decisions and experiences.

Not everything you read on the boards is true, correct, or for your table.

Have fun.

[Steve Geddes]

kyrt-ryder wrote:

Sure, each path has its own perks. I'm just saying acknowledging that trait of Paizo's leads to less heartache than assuming otherwise.

There's a lot of truth there. There's others too, I think. People analysing PF nowadays often underestimate just how important it was to be as backwards compatible with 3.5 as possible.

More broadly, I often see people cry "bad design" as if it's some kind of objective thing - the reality is that quality of design can't be determined without knowing what the goal was. Oftentimes I think paizo's goal is different than what the current day critic would want.

[Dire Roc]

For DMs, "Don't be afraid to just make something up." If you can't find stats for an idea, reverse engineer and homebrew something reasonable, even if its a post-hoc rules fix on an NPC.

For players and DMs, "Sometimes have a plan, always be ready to adapt it."

[Lausth]

İf someone tries to metagame treat everything they do as auto failures until they stop.İf they argue that shouldnt have happened then just say that's what my character would do.

[Kileanna]

Lausth wrote:

İf someone tries to metagame treat everything they do as auto failures until they stop.İf they argue that shouldnt have happened then just say that's what my character would do.

If someone tries to metagame just change things so they are just the opposite the metagamey player thinks they are. Then just sit there and enjoy the results XD

[kyrt-ryder]

Kileanna wrote:

Lausth wrote:

İf someone tries to metagame treat everything they do as auto failures until they stop.İf they argue that shouldnt have happened then just say that's what my character would do.

If someone tries to metagame just change things so they are just the opposite the metagamey player thinks they are. Then just sit there and enjoy the results XD

If someone is violating any of your expectations for the game, talk with them about it as adults.

[Kileanna]

kyrt-ryder wrote:

Kileanna wrote:

Lausth wrote:

İf someone tries to metagame treat everything they do as auto failures until they stop.İf they argue that shouldnt have happened then just say that's what my character would do.

If someone tries to metagame just change things so they are just the opposite the metagamey player thinks they are. Then just sit there and enjoy the results XD

If someone is violating any pf your expectations for the game, talk with them about it as adults.

That might actually work better, and it's probably a better advice, but it's definitely not as fun.

[Headfirst]

Switch to E6.

[Create Mr. Pitt]

Player advice: Everyone has expectation for their characters, yours are no more important than someone else's; make sure to discuss drastic plans with the whole party.

GM advice: Don't be afraid to surprise the players by exceeding expectations; but most of the time just meeting expectations will be the hardest part of your job.

[Poison Dusk]

The most important save/skill/roll is the one you need at the moment, or the one you just failed.

[JosMartigan]

Ridiculon wrote:

Don't ever yell "Release the KRAKEN!" where your GM can hear you unless you actually want the kraken to be released.

That's my go to phrase for bathroom breaks during a game session, even if I'm just going number 1

[Sissyl]

Use consumables. Seriously. Potions are there to be used, and the alternative to using them next time they may be vaguely useful is finding them in your equipment list 14 levels later.

[TriOmegaZero]

Always judge your actions at the tables by the standard "is this improving the enjoyment of the table?"

[Marius Castille]

Fortune favors the bold.

[Snowblind]

There are old adventurers and bold adventurers, but there are few old, bold adventurers.

A murderhobo adventurer has two priorities: 1)acquire loot, and 2) live long enough to enjoy the proceeds from said loot. Factor this into everything you do. Being poor for the rest of your life is no fun, but neither is being rich for 10 minutes and then being dead.

[EvilTwinSkippy]

Do you see all those skulls lying everywhere in the dungeon? That's what happens to adventurers who aren't prepared.

[KahnyaGnorc]

Specialize in what you want your character to do most of the time, but have options for when that choice is unavailable.

[Inlaa]

Never underestimate the power of oil, guard animals, some matches, a ten foot pole, a big rock, and a bag of marbles each possess in terms of low-level player character survivability.

[DungeonmasterCal]

Don't fret if the party splits.

[Quark Blast]

Find a good GM/DM and do what you have to to stay in the group.

Srsly, the one campaign I play in now is a mashup of 3.5, PF and set in Eberron. Those are among the top things I like least in the TTRPG world and yet the DM is making all the difference.

[Grandlounge]

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Always judge your actions at the tables by the standard "is this improving the enjoyment of the table?"

There is a lot of good adivice in this thread but this is the best I have seen because it is universal. Play any game in a way that makes it more fun for everyone, table top, sports, pictionary with your family, any game.

[derpdidruid]

Wizard in the middle not in the back.

[QuidEst]

If you can't preprocess, it's probably good to go with an A* search.

Wait, wrong pathfinding...

[Bwang]

Always bring it because 'I forgot it' is a crappy excuse. Be it food, water, extra arrows or a spare suit of armor, not having it stinks. If weight is a problem, put excess into a easily dropped bag. I have left a lot of hammers and spikes in our main dungeon, the GM has even put them on the 'find' chart. Still bring my own.

[Gilfalas]

This is a cooperative game so don't need to be a special flower attention hog.

[kyrt-ryder]

This is a cooperative game so don't be a forgettable wallflower

[Dragoncat]

Only run Tomb of Horrors if you need to alienate your friends in a hurry.

[Auntie Beth]

Everyone should be working toward group enjoyment, while casting out those who refuse to believe in this.

[Dyspeptic]

You never know when a fruitcake is going to come in handy.

[Bober]

Always roll Perception. SPAM Perception if necessary. Every room, every door, every corner can hide something, a danger or a treasure, who knows!

Seriously, PF has the huge advantage to have only 1 roll for Listen, Spot, and Search.

[Stormydove]

Work as a team.

[Lathiira]

Some things are as simple as they seem when you read them in the book.

[bishop083]

Let the GM finish the room description before you start doing things.

Published adventures seem to have a tendency to put the list of occupants after the room description. It can be very awkward to walk into what initially sounds like a treasure vault and start taking things because you didn't let the GM tell you, "Oh by the way, there is an Ancient Red Dragon sitting in the middle of the room."

Related note, always ask if the word large is describing the size category or being used in a more flavorful manner. The difference between six large scarabs and six scarabs that are large sized can be a matter of life and death.

[MusketeerJesus]

Bring a crowbar.

[Particle_Man]

If you can't do anything else, remember that Aid Another is an option.

[Raynulf]

Don't interrupt the GM; Your clever idea can wait until after they have finished talking.

[Jader7777]

Raynulf wrote:

Don't interrupt the GM; Your clever idea can wai-.

I CHECK FOR TRAPS

ARE THERE TRAPS?

I CHECKED FOR TRAPS OKAY?

[Gavmania]

IF IT MOVES, HIT IT.
IF IT DOESN'T MOVE, HIT IT AND SEE IF IT MOVES

[Kileanna]

Gavmania wrote:

IF IT MOVES, HIT IT.

IF IT DOESN'T MOVE, HIT IT AND SEE IF IT MOVES

If it seems dead, it probably won't be dead.

[Forcy]

Have a Cleric!

[bishop083]

Raynulf wrote:

Don't interrupt the GM; Your clever idea can wait until after they have finished talking.

This is basically what I was saying.

[Jayson MF Kip]

"You do you."

[Doomed Hero]

If you try to break the game you will succeed, so don't.

[DungeonmasterCal]

If you try to break my game I'll throw a banhammer of returning at you.