Hi everyone,
I recently got a surprise invite to a friend's Fist of the Ruby Phoenix campaign at a game shop down the street (yippee!). Problem is, I've never played anything that high-level without a bunch of digital tools doing the math and organizing my character sheet for me. Worse, I decided to play a druid (because it fits the party comp well and the current discourse has it on my mind)!
So, for those of you running complex, high-level characters at physical tables, how do you stay organized, roll/calculate quickly, and remember what your character can do?
Thanks in advance!
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Honestly my suggestion is download the Pathbuilder app on your phone. You might need to buy it (it's pretty cheap) to enable all the features you need to support your druid.
I do have Pathbuilder, Claxon, and it's been very helpful for character creation. I don't know how efficient it is for referencing things in session, however. Spells, sure, but I'm worried I might forget about certain feats. Good rec, though!
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In my experience, physical props really help: when I want to remember my character's specific abilities, I tend to write them down, and the process of writing those down, ideally on cards or in a notebook I can easily read through, really helps.
To roll/calculate quickly, definitely have a quick reference sheet (or, again, just a card) with your character's save modifiers, AC, Perception, and important skill modifiers; leave some space in case you need to add more. Because you're playing a spellcaster, definitely write down your spell DC as well. If you're using untamed form, write down your attack modifier after applying the status bonus, and keep a note of the bonus on the side, e.g. "status +2" in case you get a higher status bonus to your attacks. Also, keep a cheat sheet of your favorite form's stats; you might need to use more than one but there'll usually be one form you'll favor for combat, so you don't need to have them all played out.
Beyond this, the most complicated thing to keep an inventory of will be your prepared spell loadout: if you want to avoid having dozens and dozens of spell cards or equivalents sitting around, have just one sheet of paper or a small dry-erase board where you mark down the name of each spell prepared at each spell rank (with x2 or x3 if you prepare multiple of the same spell), and cross out the name of the spell or the x2 when you cast it. Unfortunately, it's going to be very difficult to keep every spell's effect in memory, so you will likely want the rulebooks or AoN at the ready to look up what the spell does, though if you use spell cards you might want to keep cards for spells you find yourself using really frequently.
As for your feats, keep a separate sheet for those; it's up to you whether you want to decide to separate those by ancestry, class, general, or skill, or use some other system, but you might need a few of those. If a feat provides some constant bonus, like Fleet or Incredible Initiative, I'd probably just add the modifier to the relevant stat, and keep one sheet for the active or conditional effects you find yourself relying on the most.
Finally, be warned that you will have to track quite a lot of temporary bonuses, penalties, and other conditions at high level. Generally, it's the GM who tracks those for the monsters, and you'll be responsible for tracking those for your own character. Be sure to check these conditions when you use certain actions, and if you have tokens or other markers to place near a monster or character to indicate a condition, use those when you can.
All of which is to say: you'll have a lot of stuff to deal with on your character, so if you're playing analog, try to prioritize visibility on the stuff you use the most. Some of this you might be able to anticipate before the start of the AP, and some of this you'll find out as you play. Definitely keep a reference handy, especially a digital one if the GM allows it, for your spells' effects, and work with your GM and other players to see if you can use physical props to make conditions and similar effects easier to track. Have a fun time, as well!
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I am going to jump in and say that, in my experience, using Pathbuilder is not as helpful as it feels at first, especially for starting a high level PC.
I find that the biggest issue with starting a high level PC is that you tend to forget everything you can do. This is because you look at the level 4 feat when you are picking it, but then you move on and don't think about it again. With Pathbuilder it is even worse, because the program gives you all the feats right there, you click on one and then scroll down to the next level.
My suggestion is to use a hand written or typed character sheet to build your character. I go level by level picking my feats and abilities. Each time I select one I write out a abbreviated version so I can just glance at my character sheet in game. By writing it out, you have to take the time to synthesize the ability and that helps you to better remember it. Also by getting most of the info on a single page, you are less likely to forget about some ability you have. If you want you can then use Pathbuilder to check your math.
I use a Doc to type of a modified stat block for my PCs. Link HERE. It ends up looking like THIS.
For a prepared caster spell list, you should probably set a default prepared list. Unless otherwise done at the beginning of the day, those are the spell you have prepared. This will help to keep the list of spells you need to know off the top of your head a bit shorter. Don't be shy of pulling the spell up on AoN in between turns so you know that it does.
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Having played a high-level Wizard during my last in-person campaign (which we will eventually return to, I'm confident) I swear by index cards for spells. I picked up a bunch of small ones from a dollar store and turned them into my spellbook. Every time I'd cast a spell, I'd just put that card to the side. They can be as detailed or as simple as you want.
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When I had to juggle an immense spell selection (Mystic Theurge, PFS1, dozens and dozens of slots), I found it useful to make multiple spell lists; one for the city/civilization, one for outside/nature, and one for ruins/dungeons. The lists included a few useful or alternate spells I might not memorize, but should consider, especially once we knew more. To clarify, it was more like one long list with "standard slot allotment" columns in pen, but space to write actual number memorized in pencil, then check off on opposite side. Even w/ minimal variety it took a whole page.
Separately I had a page w/ reminders, mainly for basic stats like range.
Look at low level spells that are either 1-action or a Reaction (or have out-of-combat use) as casting such low-level spells will seldom be worth your main action. Gentle Landing and Air Bubble for instance.
If you're going to Wild Shape, have each (good) form written out (w/ a figure or base for the battlemat). If you're going to Summon, look for unique abilities (Fey) or immunities (elementals), as the creatures won't last long unless they're tuned to specific enemies or contributing from the side. Get one of the Druid's excellent AoE Focus Spells too as that's a solid way to open most combats w/o worrying about resources/spell level.
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One other tip, if using index cards to track spells: Have a line or two to fill in the heightened characteristics with pencil, where appropriate. This is one case where a spontaneous caster may have to calculate things out on the fly based on the spell slot used, where a prepared caster can calculate in advance.
Also, for a prepared caster it can make sense to make duplicate spell cards for spells prepared in multiple slots. It can be easier to just "discard" spells from your "deck" as they are used than tracking each instance of a spell prepared multiple times. If you want to get fancy, you can spend a bit more to color code your spell ranks with colored index cards.
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Hi everyone,
I recently got a surprise invite to a friend's Fist of the Ruby Phoenix campaign at a game shop down the street (yippee!). Problem is, I've never played anything that high-level without a bunch of digital tools doing the math and organizing my character sheet for me. Worse, I decided to play a druid (because it fits the party comp well and the current discourse has it on my mind)!
So, for those of you running complex, high-level characters at physical tables, how do you stay organized, roll/calculate quickly, and remember what your character can do?
Thanks in advance!
That's a funny question since a lot of us in these forums played way before VTTs and so are used to having a character sheet, some dice and a bottle of coke (or beer if that's more your jam) ^^
But PF2e is pretty easy, much easier than PF1e in that there are way less things to remember. If your character sheet is correctly filled, just roll 1d20 + the appropriate number you wrote, and you should be good. Every spell has the same DC no matter the level so the only thing you should remember is whether they have an effect while upcast or the damage they do if it's a blast.
As a caster, don't start thinking about your turn when it starts. You should have a pretty good idea of what you'll do while the others play, and that's when you can read your spells if you have a doubt.
Also think about a backup, because your friends and foes are playing too and they might ruin your perfect plan (that's what martials do to us godlings). The fighter will probably run into the radius of the fireball you wanted to throw, or a monster might move next to you with its nasty AOOs, or you might end up grappled, or a friend can be dropped by a string of unlucky crits.
But the more you thought about it during the other player's turns, reacting to what they do, the easier it'll be when it's actually your turn to act.
Don't be like those players who chill on their phone or play some gacha when it's not their turn, then suddenly try to think about a plan when someone calls their name.
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I think Pathbuilder is great for calculating all your numbers and helping you make sure you picked all the things you're allowed to pick (open feat slots, spells etc).
The built-in diceroller also does a lot of math for you. If you like rolling a lot of dice for a fireball, it's fine to use physical dice of course. But give it a try at least; maybe you like it.
What it isn't as great for is remembering all of the things you can do, or what spells you should prepare if you're starting from scratch.
Writing those down is classic. It sounds school-ish, but that's because it's a technique that's been proven across centuries. I'd keep the following lists:
* My feats, abilities and important items. Make a list of the most important ones at the top, and then list all the others. Maybe with one sentence explaining what they do or the key numbers you otherwise have to look up all the time.
* A "trunk" spell selection. The typical prepared caster such as a druid, is still likely to prepare at least 70% the same spells every time. Because some of them are just good reliable spells like Fireball or Haste which are always nice, and some you need occasionally but then they're really important like Dispel Magic.
* A good default spell selection for the remaining 30%. With decent spells that aren't bad to have, but you could live without. If you know that day you're having a specific challenge that there's a great spell for, you replace one of these spells from your selection with it.
* A list of "things you've learned", like "oh, I really need to have this spell prepared, because when I need it I really really need it". For example, an enemy drops a rank 4 Darkness spell and you're thinking if you'd just prepared the Light cantrip, this would be a trivial problem. Before each game session, review these notes to see if there was something from last session that you should remember.
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Thanks for the advice, everyone! I have a dedicated notebook I use for TTRPG stuff and a stack of blank index cards, so I'll start copying important things from my Pathbuilder sheet on my nect day off.
Use a piece of paper for tracking durations and spells you have checked off.
I usually use Excel, if you're strictly offline come up with a useful index on a piece of paper tracking spells, focus points, durations, hero points, hit points, and condition.
Then do your best. It takes some getting used to.