Paizo - Thanks for PF2!

[BPorter]

I've weighed in periodically to comment on my rules-reading perceptions, GM prep, at-the-table after-action reports, and player feedback. I've been fortunate to play often for the last six months, and everything continues to improve.

The release of the Gamemastery Guide really helped fill in a few blanks from my side of the screen. The NPC rules are great and I love the unique abilities and shorter stat blocks. That said, I don't really find them to be a time-saver when creating NPCs because they are more free-form. Sure, I could take a "it's close enough for government work" swag and move on, but I find tinkering with the NPC rules is always time well spent in helping me better understand the rules and making a unique - and hopefully recurring - NPC.

I was a big advocate for Starfinder Stamina rules in PF2 and the Gamemastery Guide certainly delivered. However, PF2's rules and mundane healing via Treat Wounds certainly shifted Stamina from a "must have" to a "nice option, if desired". I do, however, think Treat Wounds is almost too generous and if combined with Stamina rules, I cut the number of die restoring hit points in half. My groups have ultimately come down on the side of Stamina not being necessary, but I tend to wonder if their feelings will change if party composition ever lacks a magical healer...

This is, without question, the easiest fantasy RPG I've ever run at the table. It's internally consistent and intuitive. Even codifying little things like secret checks and rarity nerf pointless bickering and keep the action moving. Conditions are easy to apply and track and are intuitive for players to understand.

From the player side, PF2 has been nothing but amazing. Every player feels that their character is effective, that they can contribute in and out of combat, and that each character has unique cool abilities, even when encountering the same class. Ancestries and backgrounds feel relevant. If a player isn't "feeling their character", it's readily apparent that it's the ancestry and/or class that they chose, not that they built an ineffective character.

Anyway, with PF2 coming up on it's 1st birthday, I just wanted to say thanks to the entire team for developing such a great game. Best wishes for ongoing success for Paizo, Pathfinder 2, and Starfinder!

[Cintra Bristol]

Adding my praise here - Thank you for making PF2!

We are one session away from finishing our first PF2 Adventure Path (Age of Ashes), and we're very pleased with how the game plays. We're having a lot of fun, and I've begun experimenting with converting older adventures to the new rules. (Savage Tide, I'm looking at you...)

There are specific parts of the game we've considered changing, and PF2 makes it very clear how to make those sorts of adjustments if we want to; but we've mostly resisted changing anything so far. We want to see how these rules really play first. And as we get deeper experience with this ruleset, we realize many of the bits we considered changing really work quite well as written.

Another thing we've been discussing; the recent adventures have been excellent. Playing through Age of Ashes, we never felt like there was any sort of lag; playing at all levels was fun and engaging. Running the game at all levels was enjoyable. The fact that PF2 has made mid- and high-level play really, really work is wonderful. And I suspect it's made the job of writing adventures easier. Or rather, it allows the adventure writer to focus much more on the story instead of high level game mechanics. Whether that's 100% true or not, it absolutely makes it easier for me as GM to run the high-level game and focus on that story!

In all, we're having a blast playing this edition, and we're really excited about the new options that will soon be available. Our thanks to the entire team for building a great game, and wonderful adventures!

[Harles]

I'm embarrassed to admit that the group I GM for were all "never Pathfinder" players. But the new edition has turned them around. It's now their go-to fantasy RPG. My fiancée says it's the best "D&D-like" game she's ever played.
If I had a complaint, I'm just finding that I need more help as a busy GM. I need more adventures - there's next to nothing in the mid-level range. (We're 8th level and there is one Society Scenario and otherwise it's just APs. And unfortunately, we're playing an AP already and just need a good side trek.)

[Gorbacz]

I've been gushing about PF2 hard enough, but here's one more thing: Paizo, it's finally your baby. It's not a slightly patched 3.5e (PF1) or heavily patched 3.5e (SF), it's your thing now, a branch of D&D as distinct as 5e, 13th Age or what else have you that keeps Str/Dex/Con/AC/hp but deals with many challenges of making a crunchy fantasy RPG in its own distinct way.

Congratulations, you have your own thing now. It's ironic that some people want to give you a hard time over doing something from scratch rather than reheating the same old schnitzel they've been eating for 20 years, but as far as I go, you have my respect for striking it out on your own once again.

Go, kick that ball out of the park.

[WatersLethe]

I'm currently playing a PF1 game that just started a month or so ago. Several players have never played Pathfinder before (or only very briefly) and just about every question or mistake they make is handled better and more naturally by PF2. I keep thinking to myself "It's a good thing we started with PF1, or they'd riot going from PF2 backwards."

I converted an ongoing PF1 game to PF2 and did a few sessions before finishing out that campaign. It was easy and a blast. We had double class feats going and it worked great.

Now I started a horror themed game with the players starting at level 0, and it's astoundingly easy to jump in and their characters are surprisingly effective. I offered to give them a boost to apprentice (getting some of their eventual class features ) at halfway to level 1 and they declined, saying it was fun and they want to see how it goes further.

I'm just so pleased with the ease and versatility of this system, and I'm happy to be doing more substantial house rules and game tweaks with more confidence.

[Elorebaen]

Well said Bp! I couldn't agree more. Kudos Paizo!

[Themetricsystem]

I too must chime in and say that despite the slow start locally, lots of groups and shops who host organized games were initially really reluctant to step away from Pathfinder 1st Ed and 5E but since the GMG dropped more than half of these gamers are playing in at least one PF2 game and some have even converted their ongoing games from those systems into PF2.

Props on you all, I hope the APG is a big a seller internationally as I am sure it will be locally and that this can spur even more time and energy put into the system (and ALSO its currently unprioritized Tales Fiction) because despite the mild edition warring that comes along with looking at adopting a new system I think PF2 has done a fantastic job winning not only GMs but also players over with the rules and player options.

Kudos!

[Ashanderai]

Yep, I need to add to this chorus, too. This is a great system! I love how much easier it is to play and GM. I did not enjoy Pathfinder Society play too much in 1st edition and when local stores were shutting down and there fewer and fewer places to play, I ended up just quitting Pathfinder Society for the most part because it wasn't very fun. But, between these newer rules and the changes to society play over the past couple of years, I have since found local places to play and have been aggressively playing in Pathfinder Society games since September - even after the store closest to me shut down. It is because this system is such a joy to play in that I have returned to Organized Play. Furthermore, I have made some new friends as a result and I never would have met them if not for this game. So, Thank you!

Keep on adding to the expanded content openly available to new, first-time, and returning players like you did with the Kobold and improving the Boon and ACP system to make more options more easily available, as well as getting those updates out there in the wild as quickly as you have been. That really gets me and others excited to play new concepts knowing I don't have to suffer through the feeling that I have to grind an unknown amount of sessions to get to play what I really wanted to play all along rather than vanilla default options I just don't jive with.

This system is a joy to play and I love my Gnome Champion Liberator of Shelyn - a concept I never would have enjoyed in earlier versions of this game and its predecessor - and I really look forward to remaking my Half-Elf Draconic Barbarian/MC Dragon Sorcerer into a Kobold Dragon Barbarian/MC Sorcerer Dragon Disciple with the new, limited time makeover boon once I get my copy of the APG. I think I am going to change my Champion a little bit, too - into a Liberator of Nocticula with the Bastion archetype. And that doesn't even cover the excitement I have for playing some of the new classes. I just wish that Pathfinder Society had more ancestries available for play sooner without having to save up ACP...

[rainzax]

The only thing that would make PF2 better:

APG arriving in my mailbox today or tomorrow...

[Erpa]

I will give my thanks.

One of my groups has splintered to the winds, but one friend asked about trying play by post. I said only if we lean PF2e.

And it's been great. Intuitive, easy to teach, and as you go up in levels, easy to expand upon everything one has already learned. Very pleased with it!

[ograx]

Thank you Paizo!

[Dave2]

I have been a hardcore fan of PF2. I think it is the best d20 game out there. It would go PF2, Starfinder 5e tied, and 13th Age. PF2 is outstanding. Thank you.

[Ravingdork]

Yes. All well-deserved praise for an amazing product line!

Three cheers for Paizo! Hip hip

[Bein Brennil]

Hurray!

[Masked Participant]

Hip hip

[Malk_Content]

I often described pf1 as the worst game I was willing to run. For PF2 I ran games for strangers because I wanted to play the system. It really is great.

[Salamileg]

It was tough getting my group to hop on (5e players are known for not being willing to expand to other systems, the same was true of me at one point), but now that we're here everyone loves it!