Converting Campaign Traits to PF2


Ancestries & Backgrounds

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

I was looking at the process of converting the campaign traits for using existing Adventure Paths to Pathfinder 2. It is proving more difficult than expected. For example, using Iron Gods (the campaign I am running)

Against the Technic League
Although the Black Sovereign rules Numeria in name, it’s the spellcasters of the Technic League who hold the real power. While their influence is certainly strongest in the capital of Starfall, their touch can be felt even here in Torch—the League takes a significant cut of the town’s income as tithes every month. For some reason, you have a grudge against the Technic League. Perhaps your parents lost their jobs as the result of an act they took that displeased the League—you might even suspect the League was responsible for their deaths. Alternatively, you could just rankle at the League’s open acceptance of slavery, their reputation for sadism and cruelty, or their penchant for hoarding and controlling technological wonders. Talk to your GM to refine the reasons why you hate the Technic League, but you’re convinced that they are somehow responsible for putting out the town’s torch and that evidence of their tampering can be found in the caverns below—if you can find evidence of the Technic League working against Torch’s better interests, that could well be a step toward the town’s independence from the League.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost. You gain the Arcane Vendetta feat (Inner Sea World Guide, p. 284), and you’re trained in the Numeria Lore skill.
Note: The character uses the Arcane skill, untrained if necessary, to identify spells for his/her vendetta bonus.

Local Ties
You have ties to a prominent local in the town of Torch—the missing wizard Khonnir Baine. If you’re a wizard, alchemist, or other scholarly type, he may have been your tutor or teacher. If you’re of a more martial bent, Khonnir could instead have been a friend or business associate of your mother, father, or patron. He may even have been your adoptive father, in which case you likely have a bond of friendship or rivalry with his adopted daughter Val (your GM has more information on her in this case if you wish to know more for your character’s background). Your association with Khonnir has given you insight into how technology works.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost. You gain the Technologist feat (Technology Guide, p. 7), and you’re trained in the Engineering Lore skill.

Numerian Archaeologist
Numeria is a land ripe for archaeological exploration, since so many of the strange technological dungeons have been either avoided by the superstitious barbarian tribes or have been locked down by the Technic League, leaving many of them untouched and ripe for exploration. You’ve studied the strange language associated with these eerie technological ruins, and are eager to start exploring them—you suspect that Torch’s namesake is in fact part of a larger buried ruin, and you hope to enter these ruins and learn their original purpose by exploring the caves below town.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost. You gain the Scavenger’s Luck feat (Technology Guide, p. 7), and you’re trained in the Numeria Lore skill.

Robot Slayer
The strange automatons that plague the wilds of Numeria are a blight upon the world, and the idea that there could be countless more of these creatures lying in wait in the unknown ruins scattered throughout the region chills your blood. Khonnir’s recovery of a deactivated robot from the caves below Torch worries you—not only could that thing wake up and run amok in town, but there may well be more lurking below! You want to explore the caves under Torch to determine if there is indeed a lurking robot threat below town.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost. You gain the Robot’s Bane feat (Technology Guide, p. 6), and you’re trained in the Engineering Lore skill.

Skymetal Smith
The fires atop Torch Hill have long been a boon to smiths and metalworkers, and your family is no exception. Whether you grew up in Torch or simply made several trips here with your parents to use the fire, this was to be your first time to use the torch for your own project. You managed to use the fires to craft a small weapon or piece of armor from skymetal, but not long thereafter the fires went out. The violet flames are as much a part of your upbringing as anything else, and their loss distresses you; you hope to find a way to rekindle the torch below the hill.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost. You gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat for blacksmithing, and you’re trained in the Smithing Lore skill.
Note: Aside from the flavor text, this is exactly the same as the Blacksmith background from the Playtest rulebook, page 38. This is a big change from the trait as it originally appeared, but hopefully a logical one. Instead of providing an item with a Will save bonus attached, this background gives some actual metalworking skills.

Stargazer
They say the strange technological ruins scattered throughout Numeria came from the skies several thousand years ago. The concept of life on other planets far beyond Golarion has always fascinated you, and you’ve long hoped to learn more about what life on those other planets may have been like. You’ve heard stories about the strange alien creatures found in Numerian dungeons and hope to learn all you can about them—perhaps some of these aliens can be found in the caverns below Torch!
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost. You gain the Celestial Guidance feat (People Of The Stars, p. 27), and you’re trained in the Astronomy Lore skill.
Note: The character uses the Astronomy Lore (rather then Knowledge (geography)) for rolls related to Celestial Guidance. This is also a big change from the trait as it originally appeared, but hopefully a logical one. Rather than some bizarre knowledge about otherworldly beings, the character merely has an interest in meeting such beings because of their study of the heavens.

Yes, for this experiment, I have plagiarized the text from the Iron Gods Player’s Guide

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

Though I hope it is obvious, the Numeria Lore provides some background on the people, places, and history of lands of Numeria. It is equivalent to Knowledge (local), Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (history) but only for this realm.

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Perhaps change Robot Slayer's skill from Engineering Lore to Robot Lore, it's a bit more tightly focused and will allow the character to ID robot weaknesses if they focus in it.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

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DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:
Perhaps change Robot Slayer's skill from Engineering Lore to Robot Lore, it's a bit more tightly focused and will allow the character to ID robot weaknesses if they focus in it.

True. In PF1, skills were more broadly defined, so Kownledge (Engineering) covered it. But with the way that PF2 is using Lore, Robot lore would give the player what they need without giving them a bunch of general engineering ability that is not implied by the background.


Everything looks cool...I like it...the only thing is giving Classic Pathfinder feats maybe overpowering...but if everyone is getting that should not be a problem.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

Selene Spires wrote:
Everything looks cool...I like it...the only thing is giving Classic Pathfinder feats maybe overpowering...but if everyone is getting that should not be a problem.

Yes. That is an issue. But, the powerlevel of PF2 feats seems difficult to gage - though most are less powerful.

A bigger problem, unique to Iron Gods, is the technology rules; I don't expect them to be updated any time soon.

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