RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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Bulk - the system is needlessly complex and over-abstract. There’s many situations where you want to know something’s weight, not some made up number. System doesn’t have realistic weights either. Full plate is only 4 bulk, but a longsword is 1? Real life weights are 55lbs and 3 lbs. Full plate should be more than 15 times more than a longsword.
Weapons - Why are the combat rules such as critical hits in the equipment chapter? These should be separate so all the combat/running the game rules are together.
Critical hits - auto critting on a 20 means for hard to hit foes, you’re critting anytime you hit it, or if you need a 19-20 to hit, then half of the time. This is really weird of a setup in the rules. I’d much rather a 20 only crit if you hit by some amount, even if not the full 10. Say, if you roll a 20, and hit the AC by 5 or more, then it’s a crit, otherwise just an automatic hit.
fist - this does as much damage as a dagger or staff? Even non-lethal, that seems extreme.
gauntlet - should the price indicate it’s free if part of armor? The free-hand trait indicates that many are built into your armor.
bo staff/staff - why doesn’t a regular staff have parry monk and trip? Even if parry and trip only apply used 2-handed. These are things you can do with a shorter staff that’s not a bo.
Halberd - shouldn’t it be S and versatile P? They’re primarily chopping weapons.
lance - shouldn’t it have a trait called mounted or something and have greater effect or only able to use the charge trait when mounted?
Dogslicer (and horsechopper) - what happened to them being fragile and poorly constructed? Especially if their price is 1 or 9 sp reflecting their shoddy construction.
katana - shouldn’t it have deadly 1d8 and not have versatile (not only to reflect it’s actual differences, but to make it not simply a longsword from exotic lands)
weapon descriptions - there are none. Not only will new players need this, but some of these new weapons need descriptions - what makes a clan dagger versatile B, what on earth is a filcher’s fork, etc?
Weapon groups - somewhere there needs to be a list of weapons by group. Hunting through the weapon chart looking for all monk or agile weapons is a pain.
Charge - the damage bonus seems pretty minimal when the only weapon which has this is a lance. Assuming it’s from horseback it should add a full damage die to represent the force and momentum of the horse. Compare this to forceful which does the same bonus damage on the 2nd attack and double that on the 3rd attack, with no horse powering those at all, just arm based momentum.
Reach - this now lets you attack adjacent and at reach by default? Seems odd considering that PF1 reach actually modeled how these weapons work far more realistically.
Shove - how exactly does this work? I get how you can use a disarm weapon to disarm someone, or a trip weapon to trip someone, but how would you shove someone with a mace or hammer without actually just hitting them with it?
Volley - How does this make any sense? Bows a) shouldn’t be harder to use than thrown weapons or crossbows at short range, nor does it make sense for any weapons. Also, this has absolutely nothing to do with volley as a word. Closer range should be easier to hit with - and a penalty like this should only apply to aware targets, not if you’re invisible, hidden, they’re asleep, etc. Hell why would it apply to objects, like say a target in an archery competition?
bow critical effect - this seems very weak after low levels with a static DC. Shouldn’t the DC vary based on the damage dice (so magic bows hit harder, and their arrows embed in surfaces deeper and are harder to escape from?) Does this mean that if your target is next to an adamantine wall your arrow crit from a level 1 archer still sticks in the surface? Seems this effect is way more complicated to adjudicate than intended if it’s supposed to be remotely realistic. I’d suggest instead that the arrow embeds in the creature, and sticks out, giving them some penalty since it’s in their way (maybe entangled?)
club critical effect - what happens if the target hits a surface? Most feats which have some knockback effect state they take some damage or something - this should indicate what happens, and should be similar.
flail critical effect - instead of being identical to hammer, why not have it let you grapple with the flail?
basic crafter’s book - one book has instructions to make every common formula in the chapter? That must weigh 20 pounds! Lets be more realistic please - and have it hold a maximum of a certain number of formulas - or at least limit if by craft specialty - so a blacksmithing formula book, an alchemy formula book, etc.
crowbar, expert - why does this cost only 5 sp, but also say it’s level 2? If it’s supposed to be more expensive like all of the other expert items, then there should be a regular crowbar as well.
disguise kit - specify how many uses you can have before needing to replenish cosmetics. Don’t leave this yet another vague part of the rules.
fishing tackle - for the expert version which gives a +1 to checks to fish, which checks are those? Fishing lore? Survival? I don’t see anything in the rules about fishing checks other than here.
formula book - this is much better than the basic crafter’s book - as it specifies a limited number of formulas it can hold.
lock - these DCs and # of checks should be under the pick lock action under thievery skill, even if they’re double listed in equipment. Also, why isn’t there a legendary lock?
magnifying glass, expert - why isn’t there a standard magnifying glass?
manacles - shouldn’t having your hands manacled do more than give a 20% failure chance for manipulate actions? It should prevent using 2 handed objects and weapons, and should also be more restrictive if hands are behind your back. Also, why are the pick lock DCs 2 higher than a lock of the same quality? Why wouldn’t you simply use manacle locks on doors, chests, etc.?
oil - can there be rules for pouring on a surface, either to make someone slip and fall or to light and make a flaming area which can burn creatures in it? (cause you know players will do this).
Adventuring Gear table for religious symbols - can you add a price for an iron one - I’d think Torag and Gorum worshipers would appreciate those more than wood or silver.
rope - no description provided. I would like rules for how much they can hold/support, DC to break, etc.
writing set - be specific on replacement ink and paper, not “a large amount”
spellcasting services - Can we round the prices for 1st and 2nd level to 25 and 70? Not sure what the extra value 2 sp is giving to the game, but it makes the math more annoying.
formulas table - can the 2nd level formula price round also to 20?
services - transportation - shouldn’t a carriage be more expensive than a caravan that moves slowly, while a carriage can go exactly where you want, plus a lot faster?
hireling - shouldn’t unskilled have at least a +2 - they’ve got to have at least a +1 from ability scores, and be trained in at least one relevant skill to general labor, such as Laborer lore.
barding - why are we calling it just light and heavy barding? How about leather and plate barding at least? Otherwise you wind up saying "and the warhorse is in heavy barding."
"oh, what's it look like?"
"um...heavy?"
And why does barding suck compared to regular armor? +2 AC bonus is in the realm of studded leather armor - heavy armor should be on par with PC heavy armor at a minimum of +5 AC. Finally, why CAN’T you enchant barding like any other armor? If you want to spend the money on your horse, the magic should work the same. Mounts are already super fragile in PF, why is PF2 trying to make them even MORE fragile?
Improving quality - how exactly do you do that? Isn’t re-forging something or re-making it into better quality just making a new one from scratch?
bulk for different sizes - shouldn’t be the same for Small and Medium creatures. There’s a point for those size categories being different, and this is one of them. If you’re not going to include differences just eliminate the different categories.
Part of the Bulk abstraction is that it's not just weight, but size, a ten foot pole (that weighs a pound) is 1 bulk because it's ten feet long. Which is why a Longsword is 1 instead of L.
That said, there are still issues with it, like the fact that a Snare Kit (required to make snares) is EIGHT BULK or the fact that no matter what, you can't carry another person (max carry capacity before overload is 17; or 170 pounds: about what I, a skinny white guy, weighs while not carrying any gear).