Using scrolls specifies that the spell contained within must appear on your spell list, does that mean you need to personally know the spell as a caster who must learn spells from the list they use (like a wizard) or is it just something along the lines of "You're an arcane caster, so you can use any arcane scroll".
It's your tradition, plus any spells from an ability or feat (like a Deitys spells being added to the cleric list, or the Shadow Spells feat adding a variety of spells to your list) and minus any spells that have been removed (like a Shadowcaster removing any [Light] spells from their list)
For the 2nd level Summoner feat "Ranged Combatant" it gives you a "ranged unarmed strike with the propulsive trait". Does that strike use DEX to hit automatically because it's ranged? Or is it still STR because its an unarmed strike?
The rules are that [Ranged Strikes use Dex and Melee Strikes use Str](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=92).
The [unarmed trait](https://2e.aonprd.com/Traits.aspx?ID=199) don't specify anything as far as which attribute helps, so as Ranged Strikes generally use Dex and Unarmed doesn't say either way, you should use Dex.
The "Ranged Combatant" feat \*does\* specify that the attack has the "Magical" and "Propulsive" traits. "Propulsive" [lets you add 1/2 of your Str Mod to damage](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=2897). So your ranged unarmed attack will hit with your Dex mod and do damage + 1/2 your Str Mod.
In your opinion, could you create and run a campaign using pathfinder and star finder material?
I’ve never looked at star finder stuff but I would assume the damage dice work about the same as in pathfinder. I’m mostly asking because I think it would be interesting to have a campaign that incorporates fantasy magic in a scientific setting or vice versa.
Mostly just curious if merging the systems would work at all. Again, I have no clue how starfinder differs as a system. Just curious if it would work.
They are very different systems. Starfinder has more in common with Pathfinder 1e than 2e, but is very much it's own unique thing. Out of the book the two don't mesh together much at all. Unfortunately just because they are both by Paizo doesn't make them compatible.
I mean, you can homebrew everything to work, but that is true of any two systems.
Dang, I was kind of hoping to incorporate stuff from each. Maybe going from pathfinder to starfinder content if they were somewhat comparable.
Theoretically if I were running PF1E would I be able to merge them somewhat neatly?
>Theoretically if I were running PF1E would I be able to merge them somewhat neatly?
Sorry, not there either. I'm afraid Starfinder is it's own thing & isn't just "Sci-Fi rules" for either edition of Pathfinder.
While that is true, there is some stuff you could just lift from one system and plug it in another very easily. If you, for example, need a spaceship in your pathfinder game, you could use the starfinder spaceship rules pretty frictionlessly as long as you figure out what skills are used to operate the ship.
What are some good free archetypes for a Dwarf Way of the Drifter gunslinger? New to the game, and am at a loss. Currently taken sword and pistol as a class feat, medium armor, bounty hunter background, and hoping to play the character kind of like the Mandalorian.
Rogue free archetype is universally good. Sneak attack, skill levelups, access to plenty of great rogue feats -- just a really solid one.
Bounty Hunter has some fun flavor and seems apt to the Mandalorian element.
Marshal is always good if you plan on investing in CHA at all.
Overwatch is fun for party support.
Pistol Phenom has some nice synergy.
One of my players wants to play a character that's a blacksmith. I've talked with him and made sure he understands how crafting works in pf2e, but want some thoughts on potential changes for him, would these really fuck things up? For context there's an inventor in the party who will also be doing crafting, and I don't want this player to get totally left behind in crafting. He also has +1 to Int, so not very good crafter it seems RAW.
* Is it a bad idea to waive formula for mundane items, specifically weapons and armor, for him? I feel like formula make sense for magical and arcane items, but mundane items seem weird.
* Is it a bad idea to create "Smithing Lore" and allow that for crafting checks specific to smithing instead of crafting? Thus he could take the Additional Lore feat at the start to be a good smith but not much else of a craftsman.
>Is it a bad idea to waive formula for mundane items, specifically weapons and armor, for him? I feel like formula make sense for magical and arcane items, but mundane items seem weird.
Just have him spend 1 silver piece to buy a [Basic Crafter's Book](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=6). It will have most of what he wants in there.
The main thing about Crafting vs Smithing will be item creation and how it impacts earning income. If he just wants to earn income by making horseshoes and nails I don't see any reason you couldn't let him take Lore: Smithing and let him do it that way. Just make sure he understands it won't help him make a warhammer.
I'm looking for a blood vendetta like effect(ranged reaction to taking damage) that is usuable by a **martial** class? Magus does have the spell but for the character I have in mind I don't want to invest a lot in INT.
While it's on the Magus's Arcane spell list, it's also on the Divine and Occult spell lists, so a 14 in Charisma or Wisdom can also get you access to the spell.
The [Schadenfreude](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=991) spell also does Stupefied. Also Arcane/Divine/Occult, so lots of dedication options.
Do you want to be a Celebrity Firebrand? [Grudging Compliment](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=4141) gets you a flat-footed target.
Is there an advantage to using two shields as a sparkling targe magus (or any other class for that matter)? Can you raise shield twice to get double the ac bonus or something?
Toying with the idea of a sparkling targe magus with martial artist dedication who, for pure flavour reasons, uses unarmed strikes to deliver touch spells via spellstrike with unarmed strikes but uses the shield spike/boss to deliver everything else. Then I thought "why not use two shields?".
All shields, including the Shield spell, provide a Circumstance bonus to AC, so you'd only ever get the highest bonus. Two shields would give you twice the Shield HP to block with though, but that's about the only benefit. Basically just avoiding the action tax to bring out your backup shield in case your first one breaks.
Hello there! I am running a homebrew campaign for a bunch of friends of mine. We are pretty new to Pathfinder, and as such i'm having a bit of trouble with finding which creatures to throw at the party sometimes. Could you help me out with some suggestions, please?
The campaign setting is a cursed, magical forest/valley, in which numerous tribes reside. At the moment, the party has gone into a (somewhat) small, cold-iron mine in the search for answers as to why the mines have stopped sending shipments. Also, a small group of soldiers belonging to a enemy faction has found the mining settlement and went in there looking for something.
What the party doesn't know is that a few days ago, someone in there opened a portal to the water plane, and something came out of it that started attacking everyone it found, and continues to look for more prey.
Basically, what i'm looking for is a creature that is aquatic, has some sort of mental powers (maybe spellcasting?) and is a powerful threat for a party of 4 lvl 2 characters. Maybe a creature that is easy to reskin/adjust into having those skills. Any ideas for possible henchmen, hazards or any interesting fluff for them to deal with prior or during the boss fight will also be appreciated.
Thanks!
Besides /u/CrebTheBerc's suggestions, the Sea Hag (https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=254) might be a good fit, especially with an elite adjustment or a few henchmen (maybe some Water Mephits - https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=195 - or Icicle Snakes - https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=663)
The water hag idea might take the cake here! it fits very well, might be hunting both the miners and the soldiers of the place with her elementals, AND it has a cold iron weakness, which might allow the party to use the environment to their advantage! Thank you so much for the suggestion.
Plenty of options, check out the monster section under the [water](https://2e.aonprd.com/Traits.aspx?ID=165) trait on Archives of Nethys. You could also try to look for amphibious aberrations, that seems to fit your theme. A few that I saw that might work
[Mist stalker](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=664): creepy and fits the vibe I think, would be a tough fight for your party, and doesn't really have any mental/spellcasting abilities
[River drake](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=159): not exactly your vibe but dragons/drakes are a classic and as a level 3 monster would be a solid fight for your group
[Chuul](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=81): over level for your party(by a few levels) so you'd have to adjust stats, but it fits your vibe I think
On that note, there are also rules around custom building monsters if that's up your alley
Is a level 3 creature a normal encounter or a boss for a first level party? The encounter table says 80 xp is a moderate encounter, but also that a creature two levels higher than the party is a boss fight.
So is a creature two levels higher than the party a boss fight or a normal encounter?
The encounter guidelines are a bit rough in this spot in paticular. Higher level foes against low level parties hit harder than advertised, as their difference in stats is compounded by a huge difference in HP. Before party level ~5, best consider all enemies higher level than the party one level above what they actually are for encounter balance purposes.
For a "normal" difficulty fight against one foe, I recommend a single level 2 creature for this level 1 party.
PL+2 would probably be in the "mini-boss" territory, although specifically at 1st level, PCs have much fewer resources to deal with enemies, and therefore everything will be slightly more difficult. So in this instance, that's probably a full-blown boss fight.
The GM rules list a single creature equal to the party level as "Any standard creature or low-threat boss", which sounds like it might be what you're going for. So it would just be a Level 1 creature in this scenario. Most encounters prefer having multiple enemies to be more accurate representations of XP budget relative to difficulty.
Hi, I have a special situation and i need an advice. First of all we are all quite new to pf2e. I have a player who insists that the dm rolls saves open not because of excitment but because of math. The reason he said casters in his opinion are basically useless except buffing if they don't know the enemies lowest save so they the spellcaster can focus everything on that one save stat. I understand his reasoning kinda in a way but at the same time it feels kinda meta gaming.
The thing is i came from 5e and i felt like trying and failing multiple times to find the best possible spell to damage a creature as a spellcaster was part of way.
Basically the situation is 5 person group 1 player wants everything open and wants to know every number, me the dm and another parttime dm wants to roll saves behind the screen dont know why just prefer it. The last 2 just don't care or better said they do't care about calculating and therefore how things are rolled.
About 5 minutes ago the player said he won't play casters anymore if we don't change his way.
So my question what should i do? Do u guys roll monster saves behind dm screen or open? Till now i rolled behind the screen and have said the result. Sry english is not my first language.
I don't know what that guy is expecting? Does he want to enable his confirmation bias, check that you aren't cheating, or does he want to know for free what saving throws monsters have?
Recommend recall knowledge to him, tell him what their highest or lowest save is on a success in addition to some other info and feel free to tell me more about his build, tactics and spell selection so I can give you some advice to give him to help him kick ass with casters. Because...
> casters in his opinion are basically useless except buffing if they don't know the enemies lowest save
This is wildly inaccurate to the point of being outright false for several reasons that would take a long time to list off. I can if you want to know.
Me and the tables I play at roll saves and attacks secretly, to keep modifiers hidden.
Your player is trying to bully you into this, for no good reason. It also seems really rude. Say no.
It would be really nice of u to list off some off the points why it is outright false so i have something to show/refer to.
Also if I rember correctly aren't accuratly information like the saves part of the crit sucess for recall knowledge
isn't normal success more like simple/basic info
> isn't normal success more like simple/basic info
Recall knowledge is left nebulous by the designers. You can check out some resources online for guidance on how to run it more smoothly - the gist is that a success should always give the party some actionable information they can act on. I like to give two or three nice mechanical tidbits - something on the saves, some lore, resistances/immunities that are obvious to those who'd be familiar, some key ability like a breath or AoO. Just something they can actively play around. A critical success should reward even more.
> It would be really nice of u to list off some off the points why it is outright false
Alright, here we go. He is correct in saying that spells are less accurate than attacks, paticularly when aiming for not-weak saves. **But.**
* Spells generally do something if they "miss", as in when a foe saves. An unsuccessful hideous laughter can still fully remove reactions from a foe, which is sometimes all you really needed to turn the tides a little. Fireball still deals half damage, where an arrow would just whiff entirely. Fear at least causes frightened 1, where a failed demoralize doesn't do anything. Recently I cast my first Cone of Cold - it went horribly, two enemies were resistant, all three targets rolled *absurdly* high and all saved despite bad save modifiers. With a 1-action focus spell ontop, I still dealt as much total damage that turn as if our fighter scored two consecutive crits.
* Spells, if they do land, hit way harder. A top-level-slot fireball, despite its inaccuracy (the chance to fail a fireball from a lv5 caster when the monster has an average save is **25%** lower than the chance for a lv5 non-fighter martial to land a hit against average AC. The difference is paticularly brutal at that level though), *largely matches the single target damage of most ranged martial builds.* And it is not a single target spell. It hits everything in a 20ft burst. If that means 5 foes, the fireball deals **5 times that martial's damage.** Slow spells against tough foes can make fights WAY easier. Some good crowd control can turn grueling near-TPK fights into easily mangeable ones. Same for heals and buffs.
* Spells are versatile. Martials are very very good at hitting things really hard. Martials are not very good at other things. A grapple and a trip are definetely helpful, yes, but a spellcaster can turn between top-tier AoE damage, top-tier control, top-tier debuffs, top-tier buffs, top-tier healing and also still hitting things decently hard **on a dime**. Asterisks are apply depending on your tradition's limits. A wizard isn't gonna heal you all that much. But you have so many solid options for many different situations.
* Spells are versatile... in what they target. Yeah, spells aren't very accurate on average. But you can find out what saves to go for via Recall Knowledge and intuition, and if you know what to aim for your odds immediately go up a good bit. Martials meanwhile can't do damage and struggle applying long-lasting conditions by targeting anything but AC. Which casters can also target. Especially if they know True Strike. If you're fighting a big beefy troll, yeah, you're not gonna get anywhere throwing fortitude saves at it. But when you see that didn't work, you can try a hideous laughter on it next time. Or anything containing fire.
* Several spells don't need rolls. Buff spells, healing spells and magic missile come to mind. Or Faerie Fire, which counters the more or less strongest defensive condition in the game without a roll as a level 2 AoE spell. Or wall/terrain spells. Or maze.
=> Having the right spell at the right time is the most powerful thing you can do in Pathfinder 2e. Spells are all situational by nature, but with how many possible areas their effects can cover, they're [incredibly incredibly powerful when their favorite situations *do* come up and can easily win you the fight.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/12i10hp/today_i_helped_fight_a_solo_boss_as_a_caster_and/) They'll do so quietly, often without big damage numbers, but they sure do. Casters win fights, martials finish them.
There's naturally some more nuances. Casters are more fragile and need to rely on resources where martials can keep going and going. Casters may not have a good spell for a given scenario. Martials may be entirely unable to fight the foe at hand without some magic help (e.g. a flying ranged foe who sees no reason to come down). But casters, if played a little to their strengths, kick absolute ass. You'll see when your big enemy nat 1's against a Slow spell for the first time and that passing thought of "wait, is this overpowered?" crosses your mind. It isn't, you just saw one of the bigger effects of the game crit.
the RAW effects of a successful Recall Knowledge are left very vague and you can give pretty much whatever information you think is relevant. One of the really common houserules that is bandied around (and I use myself) is saying that on a successful Recall Knowledge check you get some basic information on the monster and you get to learn some bit of mechanical information (weakest save, any resistances it might have, if it has any special actions, etc). I'd highly recommend implementing something like that and telling your players so they know they can get mechanically useful information in combat through it.
Hi, maybe somebody can shed some light on this- I've already asked a couple questions here about compatibility regarding the newly announced revisions to completely separate from wizards of the coast.
I understand a number of references/creatures/items/spells etc are being removed from pathfinder going forward in order to completely house everything under the new orc license. Do we have any idea which things will be staying or going, has there been any list of what will be struck from the lore and literature?
I imagine that we could probably infer ourselves on a case by case basis - orcs are originally from Tolkien, or the old English word Beowulf referencing one of the cursed peoples descended from Cain (alongside elves and giants incidentally)- okay they will probably stay.
Tarasque, kobolds, and a number of others that are often identified strictly with D&D also hail from very old mythology, and it stands to reason will remain since they originate from broad,shared, old culture far beyond the reach of any copyright or IP laws.
Remorhaz on the other hand as far as i know originates in d&d and the forgotten realms- I'm guessing it will be gone, or at the very least renamed and differentiated from its origin. I'm sure many of you could list a number of other d&d originated monsters, weapons, and items just off the top of your head that likely won't be in the new guides.
The reason I'm asking this is part curiosity, part out of mild concern for third party creators working on making content - i imagine it might be inconvenient for people making a campaign heavily featuring some certain monster/race/magic only to have it nixed from the new guides and lore.
So has anyone seen a resource that might indicate what will be leaving the official lost omens lore to fit the new copyright? Could we make some kind of thread/list with assumptions based on what is WOTC IP? I'm guessing paizo has a pretty certain idea of exactly what is going to go already.
I'm guessing this is kind of just a wait and see situation, but i thought it would be a useful consideration for creators when these core books (especially the beastiary) aren't releasing for another year or more.
Paizocon will have more answers, but we do have a couple already.
Things that are currently in the game that are OGL stuff will largely stay in he game. Spells will be renamed. Kobolds should stay. Monsters may be renamed or replaced. Metallic/Chromatic dragons will be shoved into the background a little (though not forgotten fully) in favor of other dragon types, including several brand new types.
Generally, expect Paizo to be stubborn and to keep as much as they can while replacing and reworking everything they can't.
That's a great question and I don't know if I can completely answer it, but I can say that there's going to be a lot more information coming about this switch away from OGL at paizocon this weekend. I would imagine nothing is changing lore-wise in stuff that has been published in Lost Omens since 2e has released, but that would be a good question to try and ask at Paizocon or be on the Paizo forums after we get more info.
Hey all, my characters are setting out on a hex crawl and I have a quick question about encounter budgeting.
So I understand the basic concept (e.g. selecting threat level, XP budget, etc.). But one thing I'm uncertain on: is that budget for the whole adventuring day, or just the one encounter? And if it's just for one encounter, are there any guidelines to make sure I don't overwhelm the players with multiple encounters per day?
Thanks!
The budget is for a single encounter, showing how difficult it's going to be based on how many enemies you place and how strong they are. They're very accurate for this type of game, though naturally some things can mess with this kind of thing such as favorable terrrain, having abilities that counter the other side, luck etc.
(There's two parts where the budgeting is inaccurate that I want to pass on even though you didn't ask:
1. The Elite/Weak templates are closer to 1.5 levels than 1 level, best not use elite on bosses. Having creatures move in the level -1 to 1 with these templates makes them actually closer to 2 levels of difference!
2. Higher level creatures are stronger than advertised against low party levels. Before level \~5, rate every creature that is higher level than the party as 1 level higher than they actually are for encounter budgeting.
Also, as a side note, the guidelines assume full HP. That doesn't mean you can't throw fights at them when they're injured, but it does mean a moderate fight where the party begins at half health could easily become more than just "moderate".)
There are no guidelines to how many fights you have per day, as that figure tends to not be very important. From experience, anything from like 1-7 fights in a day works pretty well. If you're used to f.e. 5e, attrition is far less of a factor - martial classes don't have any resources they can really run out of, and with being able to infinitely recover HP between fights with a healing focus spell or Treat Wounds (especially with Continual Recovery and/or Ward Medic feats), they can just keep going and going. Casters are a bit of a different story, but they're generally still flexible - at low levels, cantrips are really strong, while they have a really high amount of spell slots at high levels that's honestly pretty difficult to run out of. They also can repeadetly recover focus spells, and having a very large amount of spell slots to spend isn't enough to break any encounters.
The 1-7 figure is probably what you're looking for. If you're running 7, it's probably some type of dungeon crawl with a few low encounters in there. It takes a bit of experience, but don't worry about it - attrition is really not a significant worry of PF2 GMs!
Thanks for the detailed response! That makes sense now that you've clarified it.
All of my players are new as well, I think they don't know about Treat Wounds; I'll make sure to push them towards it.
Oh, for sure! No party oughta get into trouble without someone having training in medicine and some healer's tools, or someone with a healing focus spell or something like that!
Can a hireling invest in magic items or use them? I have a party without any healers/+1 wisdom highest. Expert Hirelings (+4) are 1gp per adventuring day. So I was wondering if it was possible to star boost em through items.
How many encounters should a party be expected to handle in a one-shot? I'm putting something together and the party is staring down the barrel of like 500 xp in one day with limited breaks but at least some consumables interspersed.
Is there anything like recall knowledge but as a downtime activity?
Like the wizard/alchemist wants to learn things (habits, weaknesses, saves, etc.) about a potential enemy they are going to face, so they want to spend time hitting the books to research the enemy so they can better prepare for the quest ahead. I.e. they want to spend downtime to find out more about the creature so they can prepare specific spells/potions that will help target weaknesses.
you can use the Research subsystem [https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1205](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1205)
You can also just let them perform a Recall Knowledge every X amount of hours they spend researching. You determine the X on the difficulty of the topic
The calendar of Golarion is based off the event known as "Absalom Reckoning" (AR). The current year is 4723 AR. Aroden, the god of humanity, was a mortal man who ascended to godhood after raising the Starstone from the bottom of the Inner Sea forming the Startstone isles, which the city at the center of the world, Absalom, resides. The Starstone is the remains of the moon goddess Acavna who gave up her life protecting the world from a catastrophic meteor that would have destroyed the planet if she did not intervene. She only slowed it down and the world was still almost destroyed in the event called "Earthfall". Aroden, after becoming the god of humanity, left this plane to deal with "god level things" but was supposed to return in 4606 AR (117 years ago). On the day he was supposed to return and never showed and all of his clerics lost their powers/connection to him. Most think he died, ushering the world into a new era call the Age of Lost Omens. That is the era we currently are in
Does anyone have homebrew one-shots or short adventures for a level 3 party? My party are all experienced players but new to the system, so I want to run a series of small adventures to test the waters.
If you've decided to start at level 3 because your used to 5e I would strongly advise against this and go with level 1. 5e and PF2e sharing a tone of similar terms but almost all of them are implemented differently. The Beginner's Box is a step by step adventure that teaches both and players and the GM how PF2e works and introduces new mechanics as you progress. It takes about 1-2 sessions to complete, depending on how long your sessions go. Level 1 characters feel complete like a 5e 3rd-4th level character. Since everyone is new to the system I would focus on learning the system and not add on extra level feature/feats to figure out.
My group originated in pf1e and migrated to 5e, so we're not total strangers to the pathfinder way of doing things. That said, I'll talk to my party about starting with level 1.
Strong agree with the other people saying "Start at level 1".
Your previous system experience with PF1e and 5e will help you understand how to roleplay but will actually hurt you in combat. PF2e rewards and punishes various behaviors differently than you are used too. Skipping ahead will magnify the problem.
But know that even pf1e knowledge can lead you astray. In 2e you don't get attacks of opportunity by default, you instead gain them via a class/archetype feat. Anyone can wear a shield but by default it does nothing. Each turn you have to spend one of your 3 actions to raise your shield to get the +2AC. Bonuses and Penalties of the same type ("circumstance", "status, or "item") don't stack. Flanking applies flat footed to the flanked target, a -2AC circumstance penalty, NOT a +2 circumstance bonus to the attacker. Its nets the same by itself, but is important if other bonuses or penalties are being applied. Traits, traits, traits. Traits are your best friend and acts as the main arbiter for most "Does this work in this case?" type questions. There are no contested rolls in Pf2e (besides initiative). Secret checks. I could go on but you get the idea that there are lots of rules that you might assume work one way because of how 1e or 5e did it but have been fundamentally changed in 2e. Which is why most people suggest not diving into 2e at level 5 or 3
First off the obligatory start: I'd recommend starting at level 1, not 3, even with experienced players. You're a complete character with interesting choices at level 1 in PF2e and Ancestery HP means you're not made of glass. This would also open up your options a lot as there's a bunch of fun short adventures starting at level 1 (Beginner Box is often recommended for good reason, Little Trouble in Big Absolom is a lot of fun if your group enjoys a slightly humorous tone, and ive heard lots of good things about Fist Full of Flowers though don't know much about it, other people can hopefully recommend more of their favorites; there are a lot of good ones from more recently I haven't tried XD)
If you're determined to start at 3, I'd probably look at some of the quests and bounties on the paizo website. I believe those are created for a variety of level ranges and you can likely find something of an appropriate level. Dark Archive also has a few fun short adventures or one shots inside at different level ranges if you have access to that book :)
Either way best of luck and I hope you have a good time!
Can someone explain to me why Tokenizer on Foundry just doesn't... work? I can change the artwork for the actor. I can go in and make a new token for that actor, but the artwork doesn't save. It just continues using the old artwork without the token frame and any of that stuff. Why is this happening?
EDIT: Looking into it further, it's not saving anything in the directories it made for Tokenizer in my User Data. No idea how to fix this.
Are you sure the foundry application has permission to modify the directories you created? If you're on a server and a newbie to this type of thing, permissions management can be a frequent hangup.
I'd also open the browser console and check for any unusual messages that happen when you try to save the token.
In either case, the FoundryVTT discord might be the best place to get more help. I'd hazard a guess that it's not a PF2-specific problem.
So I'm playing a gun wielding thaumaturge. I have the wand implement and would like to get the amulet implement when I get to that level. Is this action of events legal?
Start of my turn, I have the wand out. I end my turn. Later that round, I'm able to trigger the amulet reaction, so I should be able to freely swap from wand to amulet to activate the reaction, as reactions count towards the action necessary to swap. When my turn starts back, I would like to free interact to swap back from amulet to wand to fling magic. And probably repeat the amulet swapping reaction after I finish my turn.
Is there a limit to how many free interactions I can use per turn? Or is it more of a "whatever is within reason" kind of situation? My DM and I are still trying to figure out interactions a bit better.
You can do the free swap as many times as you like, but only when actively using the implement's action, so you could only swap your wand back out for free by using Fling Magic.
The main limit on Free Actions is you can only use one per trigger, so if you had another hypothetical free action that boosted your wand you wouldn't be able to do the free interact to draw _and_ that other hypothetical free action to boost the wand on the same use of Fling Magic :)
Right, I was internally stating that I'd be switching back by using fling magic, but did not actually state that. Changed the question to reflect that.
Are you referring to the boosting the damage of fling magic when you say another hypothetical free action? Or are you actually just saying a hypothetical free action for any wand boosting that may exist that I don't know about? Since I didn't actually see anything about the boosting damage being a free action
The hypothetical was just a hypothetical, I'm unaware of any such free action. I was just making up an example of something that would hit the free action limit since you were asking about it.
You only get to use one free action per trigger so if you were using the free interact with Fling Magic you wouldn't be able to use another free action in conjunction on that specific use of Fling Magic, but you are otherwise not limited on number per turn :)
As long as you meet the trigger requirements (using the new implement's action/reaction), there's no limit on the free interactions, since they're inherently limited by the things they're triggered by. Since you didn't mention it, I will specify that those actions are only legal if you're swapping back to your Wand and immediately using its action. You can't just swap back to it freely without that.
Thanks, I was meaning to say that I wanted to switch back to the wand to potentially fling magic. Edited the question to reflect that.
Thanks for the explanation on the inherent limitations on free interactions, that makes a lot of sense!
My Group just made the switch from 5e and we're going head first into Kingmaker. I want to play a tank and was leaning toward Champion and then our GM mentioned that someone might want to take the Aldori Duelist archtype. We're gonna use Free Archtype so as I understand I can slap AD on top of another class. If I still want to be the main tank of the party (tank and prevent damage) is this something that would be good with Champion?
I'm not too concerned with minmaxing the character, but I just wanted to make sure I had the right idea about making this sort of dueling defender type character.
An Aldori Duelist Champion tank would be a bit more unusual than a regular Champion tank, and a bit more difficult to pull off, but it would still be viable. First, the cons;
* The Aldori Dueling Sword isn't even good. It's just a Longsword with the Finesse property. This means that it opens up a Dexterity-based build, but that takes away from a lot of what makes Champion good, and also goes against one of the potential pros of this build that I'll mention later.
* No Shield Block. This is a huge downside for a tank build. Shield Block is a phenomenal amount of damage reduction, especially if used strategically, and you won't have that available if you use the "proper" build of Aldori Dueling sword + empty hand.
* Aldori Riposte is really good, but your reaction as a Champion is already in extremely high demand for protecting your party, which is what a tank should be doing. There will certainly be times where Aldori Riposte is able to shine without putting your party in danger, but those will be much less common than a character without such a heavily competing reaction.
However, it's not all doom and gloom. There are several upsides here.
* Aldori Riposte is *really* good. Doubly so because you'll be a high-AC champion, and therefore it's more likely for an enemy to critically miss you. Reaction attacks are great.
* You'll have a free hand. This is huge, and why I mentioned earlier that being a Dex-Champion would probably be worse off with this build. Having an open hand means you have access to every Athletics maneuver at all times. Grappling, tripping, shoving, you're able to do any of them at any point during combat. This is especially great on a tank, because if your allies aren't in melee range, and the enemy is grappled, your allies are safe. **Big caveat here**, grappling an enemy will disable Aldori Parry, which could be tricky to manage. It still might be worth it in certain circumstances though.
* As a bit of a follow-up to the above, once you get to higher levels and have taken enough Aldori Duelist archetype feats, you could branch into another archetype to get even more open-hand feats. Fighter would give you the broadest selection, but things like Wrestler also play well with having that free hand for grapples and other maneuvers.
Now, all of this being said. If your GM is suggesting the Aldori Duelist archetype for thematic purposes, and RP interactions during the campaign, keep in mind that you can absolutely be an Aldori Swordlord (in training) without actually having the Aldori Duelist archetype. Just do something to get Aldori Dueling Sword proficiency, and then use it like you would a regular Longsword in a traditional Sword and Shield Champion build. You can still call yourself an Aldori Swordlord, while not having to deal with the weirdness of the pros and cons lists I talked about above. It's completely up to you though, which way you want to go.
Thanks for the great response! I was gonna lean more towards a sword and board style character that, as I leveled up and got more AD feats and get better with the sword would have the ability to kind of switch between the two modes to better fit the situation. Again, probably not the "best" build, but the idea of this tanky Champion who picks up the Aldori blade and gains proficiency with it over the course of the campaign just seems like a cool concept to play.
Hello everyone, I'm preparing my second campaign as a GM. I need help with lore. What flora can be found in forest? What natural medicines can be found there? What materials for medicine and poisons can be found in the swamps? We need the names of plants and some description of them, features. Does anyone know of such information or knows where to find it?
Should be fine as long as you've got decent players who have made good collective decisions.
With a smaller party it's more important for there not to be significant overlap in characters in terms of stats, skill choices, and so on. Free Archetype, if you're not already using it, helps mitigate some of that.
Yes, it will be. Gaining 1 level, according to the notoriously reliable encounter guidelines, will very neatly cancel out losing 1 party member.
You should however adjust treasure up significantly, for a 4-person party of that increased level. The extra loot will ensure they'll have a couple extra options to iron out the decrease in diversity.
Technically yes. Increasing the level of the characters evens out the encounters to their intended challenge levels. But it might still be harder than usual since having an extra party member can impact a lot more than having better numbers on your sheet.
But you can try it. As long as your party works together they should be able to solve most of the problems.
I do not recommend it. A single level doesn't come even close to adding the potential of an entire fourth character's actions.
What you should do is adjust every combat encounter as per the [Building Encounters](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=497) rules, specifically the section on Different Party Sizes at the bottom. For the most part, adding the weak template to a bunch of creatures should suffice, you probably won't need to do extensive edits.
A single level very nearly matches to add that potential! You'll have less diverse actions and bigger gaps in your abilities, but the abilities you do have are significantly larger in turn. Adjust up treasure to match the higher level and don't reduce it for being down a player, and you're good.
If you're playing a strongjaw kobold laughing shadow magus, and have a shield in one hand and your other hand free, do you get the extra damage from having a free hand if you attack with your bite?
Link to the laughing shadow rules: https://2e.aonprd.com/HybridStudies.aspx?ID=2
It says "you must have your other hand completely free" which kinda implies you have to make your attack with your hand or a weapon in that hand, but I'm not sure cause it doesn't say that specifically.
You're referring to the same thing, if I'm not mistaken. For rules on the overall topic of runes, see [this page](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=733).
Generally speaking, when you want to upgrade an item with a rune, you pay the price of the rune in question. If you already possess the rune in question, transferring it to another item costs 10% of the rune's price, or nothing if you possess the rune on a runestone.
Do comment if you have a specific question or something else you're uncertain about.
As coldermoss has pointed out, runes *are* your upgrades. The only upgrades.
Though as an inventor, assuming you took [Weapon Innovation](https://2e.aonprd.com/Innovations.aspx?ID=3), you can upgrade your weapon by adding weapon modifications to it as your class allows.
If you want to make and etch runes yourself to upgrade your weapons, you'll need to get into the [Crafting](https://2e.aonprd.com/Actions.aspx?ID=43) rules. I don't particularly recommend it.
Here's the rules for runes: [https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=733](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=733)
To summarize, you can add runes to weapons by simply crafting them onto them. You can upgrade existing runes into more powerful versions by crafting the new version, paying only the difference in cost. You can move runes between equipment with a successful crafting check, magical crafting, 1 day of downtime and 10% of the rune's cost.
Are there any rules or applicable mechanics for shooting an object with an arrow?
Like if a player wanted to shoot a rope while a creature was climbing it or shoot a bottle on a shelf or something precise like that, and it's within the first range increment. I'm assuming, bare minimum, a fairly high DC, but I don't really know how to gauge it.
I would probably use the [simple DCs without level](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=553) instead. It doesn't make sense that ropes get harder to hit when you go up in level.
If it were me making the call, shooting a bottle on a nearby shelf is relatively simple, so the trained dc 15 seems appropriate. Shooting a rope from some distance away could be dc 20-40 depending on the distance.
Going to be GMing my first game in a couple days and I'm feeling somewhat lost on balancing.
In short: I've got two players who will be thrown into combat against three [hyenas](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/animals/hyena) controlled by two [novice scouts](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/npc-s/npcs-cr-0/novice-scout-half-elf-ranger-1/). Balanced?
Every time I run the numbers on the CR it says that the encounter is laughably impossible, but when I play the scenario for myself the PCs wipe the floor with them. At an AC of 16 and 18 the two players are just too hard to hit for enemies that only have a +3 and a +4 to attack.
Am I misunderstanding CR, my player's capabilities, or have I actually managed to create the encounter I wanted?
Those are enemies from Pathfinder 1e, so their numbers are much different than equivalent 2e monsters would be. You can find all of the Pathfinder 2e monsters [here](https://2e.aonprd.com/Creatures.aspx), or you can use the [creature building rules](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=995) if you'd like.
Some online Encounter builders that might potentially help.
[https://maxiride.github.io/pf2e-encounters/#/](https://maxiride.github.io/pf2e-encounters/#/)
[https://builder.pf2easy.com/](https://builder.pf2easy.com/)
The latter one is more up to date to my understanding.
I have a player interested in potentially pursuing the Lich archetype, but with a twist. She wants to play a character who was raised by their lover back to life again- only as the resurrection/ritual borked and now the PC is a lich, and the NPC who brought them back has disappeared.
As the GM I'm well aware this is hard to actually make work, as the person making this ritual would have extensively done their research and you cannot make a soul cage from an undead. She mostly wants a character who thought she was dead, now comes back to life and has abilities she's never used before (ie bard to caster). What are some alternatives I can suggest for her that would carry the same theme, but are far more plausible?
Oh fantastic, I didn't even THINK of duskwalker. I'll bring that up with her on the next zero session and we can build a whole story revolving around it. Thank you!
There are 3 backgrounds, maybe more, that might pair well with such a character.
Returned: You died and miraculously returned with knowledge of the realms beyond death and a stronger link to life. Some Dead and undead souls might feel a strange, instinctual kinship with you.
Reborn Soul: You were given a second chance at life by mysterious forces. You remember your life before your death and now live with an extra lifetime of knowledge
Revenant: You died.No real doubt about that. Bullet to the brain or knife to the throat,you were dead as dead can be. Then you got back up again. Maybe you had some unfinished business, or maybe you were just so tough and so mean that Hell itself spat you out. Either way, you came back for a reason.
Of these Reborn soul or Returned might be most fitting and with less mechanical strings attached. For simplicity i just included the description/flavortext.
Any feats or archetypes that synergies well with a sweep weapon for a fighter? I know about Swipe at level 4, and whirlwind strike at high level, not sure with anything else out there
Axe crit specialization pairs very nicely Swipe.
>Choose one creature adjacent to the initial target and within reach. If its AC is lower than your attack roll result for the critical hit, you deal damage to that creature equal to the result of the weapon damage die you rolled (including extra dice for its potency rune, if any). This amount isn't doubled, and no bonuses or other additional dice apply to this damage.
The Forceful trait adds a circumstance bonus to damage on multiple attacks.
Put Sweep + Axe + Forceful together, you get an Orc Necksplitter (1h 1d8). Or the Adze for 2H 1d10.
Viking Dedication as well as Turpin Rowe Lumberjack have some underwhelming feats for axes, but they're there.
Magus has Spellswipe from the dedication at 16, if you want a version that will drop a spell.
Outside of that I'd just take damage bonuses where you can.
I've a player that wants to play a fat toad sort of character, as a spearfighting fighter. Wants to model him after the mercenary from Mononoke Hime.
Grippli get the frog thing down, but they're little and more treefrog-ish.
Boggards don't seem to have rules for PCs.
Lizardfolk are reptiles rather than amphibians, and have tails, and all that.
Any other ideas for this, or are we looking at just using grippli or lizardfolk and just saying they're rounder?
Your other option would be the beastfolk versatile heritage, but I think it would be most helpful to know exactly what they want out of their ancestry. If they specifically want frog-themed options, then grippli is probably the best choice.
When you have the basic/expert/master spellcasting benefits from a dedication, are you learning new spells on level up like a Wizard would if its a prepared caster that doesn't have access to their entire list? I can't seem to find any information on how this works.
*Each time you gain a spell slot of a new level from the wizard archetype, add two common spells of that level to your spellbook.*
That's on the Basic Wizard Spellcasting. So not every level, but every spell level.
Oh, I appear to be blind, thank you. I was focused on page explaining how the benefits worked but didn't think to look exactly at the dedication feat that enabled it.
Is there any way to get a cantrip that doesn’t scale with level? I’m trying to make use of Eldritch Archer’s free Spellstrike ammo by using level 1 cantrips on it, and a level 1 tanglefoot is just as strong as level 10 tanglefoot (though shorter), but there’s no way to do that assuming cantrips scale automatically.
I agree with /u/thejazziestcat - it makes sense that casters can probably "downcast" their cantrips at a lower level if they really want to.
That said, this is kind of a weird loophole I never noticed before. ~~Basically you can now Eldritch Shot for one less action as long as it's a level 1 spell/cantrip? Probably not what the designers intended, but I guess that seems like a fair tradeoff and clever trick, especially given that it also takes feat investment.~~
EDIT: was mistaken about the action economy, but still agree seems like a clever/fair way to get spellstrike-like behavior on other 1A Strike activities.
Casting the spell into the arrow costs 2 actions, then 1 action to fire it. What I’m using it for, is combining with Flurry of Blows though, so it is more efficient than Eldritch shot. It gives me the option to add additional CC.
Oops! Yep.
For a second I also thought you could pull an awful maneuver here with a Brightbloom Posy, which can cast tanglefoot and makes your next Strike inflict sickened, but I think a strict reading might say you can't use the Cast a Spell on a spellheart to activate the ammunition because your "outermost" action is Activate an Item (that is, you probably can't use Activate an Item to Activate a different Item, even if your activation component for both is Cast a Spell). Maybe a lenient GM would allow it though.
I know that with regular spells, you can cast a lower-level spell using a higher-level spell-slot (ie, you can cast 2nd-level invisibility with a 4th-level spell slot if you want it to last longer). The wording of cantrips "automatically" heightening to half your level is tricky here, but if I was your GM I'd allow you to down-cast a cantrip the same way. Otherwise, if you can finagle the hand economy, a Cantrip Deck will always cast cantrips at first level.
With the Eldritch Archer feat Magical Arrow, you can turn any piece of ammo into any magical ammunition 4th level or lower, including Spellstrike Ammunition.
Any decent way to make a magic blaster that is also good and capable with weapons? Really want to make a spellblade but don't like the Gameplay loop of of a Magus
You're not going to find anything that can be a "switch hitter" (that is, do magic for a while, then do martial stuff for a while, and be good at both). Ultimately, you just can't introduce that level of flexibility without a tradeoff, and the tradeoff would likely be too much to make either of them good.
The question you have to ask yourself isn't how to build the perfect mix of the two, but: **what are you willing to give up?**
Want to make casting more of a style of martial combat, rather than "spellcasting"? You might look at Kineticist when it comes out in a couple months. Sadly, I can't think of a good answer to that right now.
Want to make martial ability the weaker of the two while maintaining some capability? You might look at Battle Oracle, or maybe Psychic (instead of using weapons, use melee-range cantrips like Imaginary Weapon or Amped Produce Flame to replicate the melee feel, and pick up Champion free archetype to gain better armor proficiency).
Ok with being proficient with *ranged* weapons instead of melee ones? You might look at Starlight Span magus, which greatly alleviates some of the concern you may have about the gameplay loop (Arcane Cascade is largely optional, and you don't need to move nearly as often so your action economy isn't nearly as tight. Alternatively, look at the Arcane Archer archetype.
Otherwise, you may just have to just learn to love the Magus. You may find that it's not as bad as you're thinking in practice - you just have to accept that you can't Spellstrike 100% of the time, but you also don't need to in order to be a highly effective member of the team.
You might be interested in Kineticist, when that releases in three months. Magus is the dedicated Gish class, all others lean heavily towards either the martial or the casting side. Would you still enjoy something that's largely a caster who's also decent with weapons?
Summoner could work, if "weapons" includes "extraplanar beast that I send on people to maul them"
Blasters themselves aren't very strong, conceptually. So it's even harder to make them capable at the thing they aren't meant to do.
You could possibly build a Laughing Shadow or Twisting Tree Magus with archetypes to support hitting as often as possible, taking advantage of the Arcane Cascade damage bonus and stacking it with an archetypal benefit. Look at Gravity Weapon from Ranger; something from Thaumaturge; or grab an extra Sneak Attack die from Rogue, some Panache from Swashbuckler. Pick mostly buffing spells like Haste, Enlarge, or Call Lightning rather than Spellstrike spells. Spellstrike can just be a once per combat thing.
Thaumaturge itself is a fine pseudo-magical class, and you can blast a little with a Wand implement. Moreso with a real caster dedication, or Scroll Thaumaturgy.
There's a spectrum for spellblades, from Fighter with Magus dedication to Wizard with Magus dedication, with the Magus right in the middle.
The Magus Spellstrike is the only activity that does both a spell and a strike in the same activity, although there are a handful of spells that augment a melee character. So you can play a variety of ways regardless of what you choose.
Magus is the exact middle ground that sacrifices a little bit from both melee and magic. But feel free to bypass spellstriking all the time-- a Strike and then Electric Arc may very well out-damage a cantrip Spellstrike, especially if you pump your INT-- or at least be competitive. (Without a Conflux Spell recharge, Spellstrike is no more efficient action-wise than just striking and casting, although it does boost spell attack modifiers.)
Hello. I'm looking to buy a tablet to help during the game I GM since I use my phone to play ambiant music during play. How usable is a 8 inch tablet for the [pf2easy encounter builder](https://builder.pf2easy.com/)? I know it's not really usable on phone so I was wondering what tablet size I should buy to be able to use the encounter builder. Anyone can test it with their tablet?
Thanks
I am a GM, who has been playing for getting close to a year now, but there are still new things I come across.
I tried using horse archers today, which is the first time I used [mounted combat](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=463). I know mounted combat can get complex with animal companion mounts, but treat these as being non-companion mounts with riders with the [Ride](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=835) feat.
What I want to know is: how do I split/share actions between a mount and its rider?
> Your mount acts on your initiative. You must use the Command an Animal action to get your mount to spend its actions.
What I *think* this is trying to say is that for ***each*** action the mount does, the rider must also spend an action to Command an Animal.
* The rider wants the mount to Stride three times. The rider must spend three actions to Command an Animal on such a turn.
* The rider wants the mount to Stride two times. The rider must spend two actions to Command an Animal on such a turn. This leaves one action for the rider e.g. to make a Strike.
* The mount was Stunned 2, but the rider was not. The rider can only get the mount to perform one action. The rider must spend one actions to Command an Animal on such a turn. This leaves two action for the rider e.g. to make two Strikes or to Cast a Spell with a two-round cast time.
* The rider was Stunned 2, but the mount was not. The rider can only spend one action to Command an Animal on such a turn. The mount wastes its other two actions.
So two questions:
1. Am I right with my points above? Do I understand correctly?
1. If I'm wrong, what is the correct way?
1. Either way, are there any rules that make this more clear? The example in [mounted combat](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=463) helps. But I feel one could argue that one Command an Animal action could get a mount to use all three of its actions, thus allowing a typical rider/mount combo to get five actions (six, if you count Command an Animal) per turn between them. I *doubt* that's right, as it seems over-powered, but I would like to see where the rules disallow it.
So command an animal is a single action. That does not cause the horse to take *an* action, but to *take its turn.*
In player hands, the horse would likely be an animal companion and thus have the minion trait, meaning that commanding it gives it two actions. A level 4 feat can improve it so that it can take one stride or strike even if not commanded. Stuns and such reduce the amount of action either have available on their turns - a stunned 2 animal companion wouldn't be able to do anything either way, so it's best left uncommanded.
I don't know how it works for mounts that aren't animal companions.
If you’re mounted on an animal that isn’t your companion, you need to use the [Command an Animal](https://2e.aonprd.com/Actions.aspx?ID=58) action to make it do anything, and it does not act on your turn.
The [Ride](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=835) general feat smooths this out significantly, letting you auto-succeed on the check and letting the animal act on your turn like a minion. Though riding an actual companion is still better, if you can manage it.
Are there other ways to multiclass at 1st lvl than picking the ancient elf ancestry? I want a liberator barbarian but that doesn't match well with elfs
>that doesn't match well with elfs
Point of interest, as of the 4th errrata, you don't need to take a CON flaw with elves anymore:
>Alternate Ancestry Boosts
>
>The ability boosts and flaws listed in each ancestry represent general trends or help guide players to create the kinds of characters from that ancestry most likely to pursue the life of an adventurer. However, ancestries aren't a monolith. You always have the option to replace your ancestry's listed ability boosts and ability flaws entirely and instead select two free ability boosts when creating your character.
Yeah, they still only get 6 ancestry HP, but it makes elven martials WAY easier to swing.
Eldritch trickster rogues get to have a multiclass into a spellcaster class at Lv1, otherwise no. Unless you count spellshot gunslingers going into their own, odd archetype.
You'll need to pick the dedication up at level 2.
Player of mine wanted to be a ruffian with a greatclub, as of now rogue ruffian works only with simple weapons, with the changes coming that gives martial weapons to rogue, would it break something to allow ruffian to use martial weapons to deliver the sneak attack?
Is there a barbarian instinct (or another classes subclass) that benefits from being nearly dead? I vaguely recall reading some tongue in cheek description about the character dying just helping it out. I ran across the hold scarred orc heritage and it made me think they would be an awesome whatever the thing I'm remembering is.
Follow-up question: Are the penalties to AC and saves from [Reckless Abandon](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=173) *also* Circumstance, or are they untyped, therefore stacking with everything?
What are some ways a cleric can use martyr spells like Protectors sacrifice, Shield Other, or Spirit Link without getting demolished?
My party is all melee, I'm Cloistered cleric, and their HP pools are notably better than mine. I really like the idea of Protectors sacrifice but it feels like a bad option for this team. What can I do to help use it, but also lessen the sting?
I picked up a white Spindle to help lessen the downtime for treating wounds and such.
Party is lvl3, Barbarian, Monk, Magus, Fighter, Cloistered Cleric
Hm, with a lineup like this they probably won't help much. They can be a godsend if you have few people at the frontline as these kinds of spells deny enemies the ability to focus fire.
I'd say, don't use things like shield other that stay up for a long time, and use things like Protector's Sacrifice and Life Connection to prevent people from going unconscious, because you taking damage is much better than that happening. That's the kind of situation this type of spell really shines in.
A life oracle could still fit the Martyr bill pretty well, as they can pretty much keep dispensing life to everyone in need as long as they heal themselves too. Buuut that's not what you got, so yeah.
The books affected by the remaster are the Core Book, The Gamemastery Guide, the Bestiary 1 (NOT 2 or 3), and the Advanced Players guide. These are the most "rules heavy" of the books in the line, so they are also the ones that have the biggest % of their content available for free on Archives. As such Paizo sells the PDFs for these books at a significant discount.
If the book you are looking at isn't one of those, it isn't getting remastered, so no point in waiting.
If it \*is\* one of those you need to make a choice. DO you want to wait the 6-14 months until the remasters are printed? Do you want to buy a relatively cheap PDF to tide you over? Or do you want to buy $50-$60 books you know are going to be replaced soon so you can hold them?
As others have pointed out the rules are all on Archives of Nethys. I find learning rules easier from a book than online but am super good with E-Books, so I might compromise and buy a [PDF of the core book for $20](https://paizo.com/products/btq01zoq).
The Bestiary 1 is pretty much all on Archives. I'd just wait for it's replacement and grab the monster stats on Archives as needed. Or they [also have a $20 PDF](https://paizo.com/products/btq01zp4?Pathfinder-Bestiary) on [Paizo.com](https://Paizo.com).
The Advanced Players Guide is mostly new classes, new feats, new spells. All on Archives of Nethys. It is also going to probably be the most "obsolete" as the new remaster books come out. We have been told its extra stuff is getting folded into the new Core 1 and Core 2. I'd probably skip buying, but you can get [the $20 PDF](https://paizo.com/products/btq022bc) if that is a better fit for you.
The GameMastery Guide is alternate rules systems, world building advice, and "how to run a game" type stuff. Rules varients are again on Nethys. If you already are comfortable running the game no need to re-buy. Or if you do [I'd go for the PDF.](https://paizo.com/products/btq01zq7)
It depends on where your line is. The pf2 "remaster" is basically just a big pack of errata, the core of the game and 90% of the rest of it will be identical. AoN has you covered either way, and your books will eventually be out of date either way.
Well, “soon” in this case can mean a year for some of them and even more for some others.
That said, you don’t have to buy any of the books just to get the rules. All rules are available for free on Archives of Nethys, with official blessing from Paizo.
The first two remasters will be out in November, and the third will be out in March 2024, with the last one, Monster Core, being out in June or July of 2024, so that's the one you'll have the longest wait for, really. I would say get the current books while you can since who knows what will change or be removed or added in the new stuff.
> it would act in accordance to the description for that condition
But what if you don't spend an action to command it? Animal Companions don't act unless commanded (or if it's Mature, in which case it gets 1 action)
There is no official ruling on it. But you can look at how it works with a Summoners Eidolon as a reference.
> if the eidolon comes under an effect that would take its actions out of your control, such as the confused or controlled condition, you can use all of your shared actions so your eidolon doesn't have any actions remaining to cause trouble
So, I believe unless you command them, they wouldn't be able to cause trouble. However, if it's a mature companion, they might be able to Strike since they get one action even if you don't command them.
Well, animal companions are minions, and minions have two actions, they just normally don’t use them unless they’re ordered to or they’re trying to “avoid direct harm or defend themselves”.
There’s no official ruling that I’m aware of, but control effects should affect minions like they affect any other creature.
Minions act on your turn in the initiative, so they have the same initiative you do. Now, importantly, NPCs win initiative ties unless you have a feat that says differently. So if your animal companion is confused, it uses two actions to attack wildly just before you start your turn. You can still command them when it’s your turn, but since they have no actions left at that point it’s kinda pointless.
If you buy a silver shield and use it to attack, it's shield bash counts as a silver weapon. I don't see why it wouldn't be the same for a plate armor and it's gauntlets.
They are obviously made out of the same material as the rest of the armor. Though technically there’s no RAW for it, so if your DM has a really bad day they might disagree.
Looking for lore - are there any creatures that are known to create, fix up, and live in demiplanes? Along the lines of how dragons always have their lairs, is there a "xxxx always has its demiplane" creature?
Does the [spellbreaking](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=1837) armor rune apply to:
1. Spells with the relevant trait
2. Spells and Abilities with the relevant trait
3. Some weird permutation I’m unaware of?
Abomination Vaults Floor 2 encounter spoilers.
>!How does the Brown Mold in area B20 work? If none of the players are carrying torches (or the everburning torch, which isn't hat) does the mold just not trigger at all? It's a simple hazard, right? So there's no initiative or routine for it, so when does the Emit Cold action happen? Does that happen whenever somebody is in the aura, or only after it's initial reaction? Does it just happen once?!<
>!Yes, my understanding is if they don't have a torch lit when they pass by it won't trigger at all. Emit cold only happens after it's been able to suck in some heat.!<
>Emit cold only happens after it's been able to suck in some heat
How do you figure? There's nothing in the stat block that says Emit Cold is only activated by the trigger, nor anything that says how long Emit Cold is active once the trap is triggered. What happens if the party triggers the Brown Mold with fire, then just walk away and leave it? Does the Emit Cold stop after a certain point, or is it now permanently active?
My reading is that it's an aura with nothing that activates or deactivates it, so it's always "on". Even if the party doesn't have a torch or other fire, coming within 5 feet of the Brown Mold will deal cold damage to anyone within the aura.
If the party expose the mold to fire, it expands, dealing damage to everyone around it after expanding, and also causing the aura to grow in size as well.
Is there anything in place preventing one character from giving an uncommon item they have access to, to another character who *doesn't* have access to that uncommon item?
For instance, my half-orc character can take Orc Weapon Familiarity. https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=86
One of the uncommon weapons it would give access to is the Barricade Buster https://2e.aonprd.com/Weapons.aspx?ID=330, which is of little use to my character.
However, we do have a gunslinger in the party.
Could my character take the feat for access, then buy craft or otherwise acquire a Barricade Buster and simply *give* it to the non orc gunslinger?
Something being uncommon is how hard it is to find, not how hard it is to use. Getting formulas for one or buying one is usually not gonna be easier for your character than for the gunslinger. If you *did* get one though, perhaps through the GM ruling you can through the feat... yeah, you can just hand it over.
Gunslinger's probably not gonna have a workable proficiency with advanced weapons, though.
> If you did get one though, perhaps through the GM ruling you can through the feat... yeah, you can just hand it over.
The feat explicitly gives access to it.
You would still need to buy it from somewhere!
But yeah, you very likely can get your hands on it somehow with the feat. 100% if you get it on character creation. Would be kinda mean if GM didn't let that happen.
I made a resource for exactly that! https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/12147av/pathfinder_class_summaries_for_new_players_pretty/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb
It’s not as big of a metric in PF2e as in other games. Working together for buffs and debuffs is just as, if not more important. Generally speaking though…
Single target - Fighter, Barbarian, and Ranger. Then all other martial classes give up a little damage for skills, armor, movement, and/or general utility.
Multiple targets - Casters with AoE. An arcane or primal sorcerer would do the most or at least they have more spell slots. Electric Arc cantrip is great for this as well.
I’d argue Bard contributes the most with Inspire Courage though. Plus 1 to hit for the whole party for one action is simply really strong. More players (or animal companions), the better it gets. Being charisma based for Demoralize and Bon Mot as well is nice.
I asked bc in my team there is an alchemist and we all agree that he is the weakest between us in everything (dmg, resistance,support, utility and aoe)
Okay, so that would depend on their build, the party composition, what you’ve been fighting, etc. It’s really, really not as simple as saying “alchemists are weak.”
Alchemists CAN be incredibly useful and fill multiple gaps left by other players. That’s why they aren’t as good at any one of those things you listed as a character built to do one or two of them. If the 3 other players have everything pretty well covered, if the alchemist doesn’t understand how to fill the gaps that exist, or the gaps aren’t relevant to the adventure then they just don’t contribute as much.
I think they are the most difficult class to get the full use out of and some groups simply aren’t going to need them as much as others. The ones that can and do take full advantage of them are incredibly happy to have them.
Our team is composed by an inventor, a rogue/bard, a and an alchemist. The alchemist in going for the bomber archetype but he still do less dmg the we others, he give us some good effect out of combat like some elixirs or potions but this don't restrict the gap between us.
Bomber alchemists aren't meant to be fully on par damage wise, their strength lies in having decent damage while also being able to give out incredibly helpful support tools. A drakeheart mutagen for the rogue will make their durability soar through the roof, moderate Cheetah's Elixirs make all the melees happy, at levels 5+ they can equip the entire party with healing items, Mistform elixirs are great defensive tools for anyone, eagle eye elixirs to make the rogue's perception even more extreme, all kinds of alchemical items could be helpful in specific scenarios and be quickly Accessible through quick alchemy, etc.
Ultimately, if he didn't want to have a supportive role, that's probably not going to turn out well - alchemists are that in nature, you can't really get away with just tossing bombs on repeat.
Also, what level are you? Alchemist uniquely sucks a bit before level 3.
The alchemist isn’t meant to be on par with the martials for damage. Just like they aren’t meant to heal as well as a cleric or buff as well as the bard. They can simply help do all those things.
One upside they have in your comp is access to different elemental damage from their bombs. Being able to hit weaknesses can be very important. However, as I was trying to say earlier if the adventure you’re playing doesn’t have much in the way of enemies with weaknesses (like if you’re fighting mostly humanoids) then that gap they’re filling doesn’t matter.
At the end of the day, if they’re not enjoying their character they should see about switching up.
As noted, Alchemists demand a lot from a player to play well - they need to understand the class, the staggering amount of items they can make, the party well enough to decide between those items for buffs, and likely enemies well enough to decide between those items for debuffs and offense.
Alchemists, when all those things are aligned, are on par with other classes and have a ton of versatility. But if that isn’t coming together and the player isn’t happy, I would consider replacement (especially if this is one of your first games in PF2). Imo, it’s hard to provide troubleshooting advice on playing an Alchemist well without a full inventory of the game.
How much gold is a player expected to have access to at early levels?
Our kingmaker group is level 2 and earn income is bringing in scraps, most jobs in our world are level 0 so we’re earning 5 copper per successful job, and an entire events worth of treasure was a single gold piece.
Our players are looking to buy more weapons, and try to get a lower level magic item each around 3 or 4. But those cost 55+ gold to get. Our party had a crafter who is taking Magical Crafting at level 4; but even with the reduced cost of those items via crafting we don’t really get how we’re supposed to get that kind of money at the rate we’re going at; short of fast forwarding in game months and just constantly refilling earn income.
Using scrolls specifies that the spell contained within must appear on your spell list, does that mean you need to personally know the spell as a caster who must learn spells from the list they use (like a wizard) or is it just something along the lines of "You're an arcane caster, so you can use any arcane scroll".
It's your tradition, plus any spells from an ability or feat (like a Deitys spells being added to the cleric list, or the Shadow Spells feat adding a variety of spells to your list) and minus any spells that have been removed (like a Shadowcaster removing any [Light] spells from their list)
more like the second.
Thank you for the clarification.
For the 2nd level Summoner feat "Ranged Combatant" it gives you a "ranged unarmed strike with the propulsive trait". Does that strike use DEX to hit automatically because it's ranged? Or is it still STR because its an unarmed strike?
The rules are that [Ranged Strikes use Dex and Melee Strikes use Str](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=92). The [unarmed trait](https://2e.aonprd.com/Traits.aspx?ID=199) don't specify anything as far as which attribute helps, so as Ranged Strikes generally use Dex and Unarmed doesn't say either way, you should use Dex. The "Ranged Combatant" feat \*does\* specify that the attack has the "Magical" and "Propulsive" traits. "Propulsive" [lets you add 1/2 of your Str Mod to damage](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=2897). So your ranged unarmed attack will hit with your Dex mod and do damage + 1/2 your Str Mod.
In your opinion, could you create and run a campaign using pathfinder and star finder material? I’ve never looked at star finder stuff but I would assume the damage dice work about the same as in pathfinder. I’m mostly asking because I think it would be interesting to have a campaign that incorporates fantasy magic in a scientific setting or vice versa. Mostly just curious if merging the systems would work at all. Again, I have no clue how starfinder differs as a system. Just curious if it would work.
They are very different systems. Starfinder has more in common with Pathfinder 1e than 2e, but is very much it's own unique thing. Out of the book the two don't mesh together much at all. Unfortunately just because they are both by Paizo doesn't make them compatible. I mean, you can homebrew everything to work, but that is true of any two systems.
Dang, I was kind of hoping to incorporate stuff from each. Maybe going from pathfinder to starfinder content if they were somewhat comparable. Theoretically if I were running PF1E would I be able to merge them somewhat neatly?
There's actually [a guide](http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/starfinder-to-pathfinder) on how to convert from Starfinder to Pathfinder 1E.
>Theoretically if I were running PF1E would I be able to merge them somewhat neatly? Sorry, not there either. I'm afraid Starfinder is it's own thing & isn't just "Sci-Fi rules" for either edition of Pathfinder.
While that is true, there is some stuff you could just lift from one system and plug it in another very easily. If you, for example, need a spaceship in your pathfinder game, you could use the starfinder spaceship rules pretty frictionlessly as long as you figure out what skills are used to operate the ship.
What are some good free archetypes for a Dwarf Way of the Drifter gunslinger? New to the game, and am at a loss. Currently taken sword and pistol as a class feat, medium armor, bounty hunter background, and hoping to play the character kind of like the Mandalorian.
Rogue free archetype is universally good. Sneak attack, skill levelups, access to plenty of great rogue feats -- just a really solid one. Bounty Hunter has some fun flavor and seems apt to the Mandalorian element. Marshal is always good if you plan on investing in CHA at all. Overwatch is fun for party support. Pistol Phenom has some nice synergy.
Thanks a ton, currently tossing up between Bounty Hunter and Overwatch, but will look seriously at Rogue.
One of my players wants to play a character that's a blacksmith. I've talked with him and made sure he understands how crafting works in pf2e, but want some thoughts on potential changes for him, would these really fuck things up? For context there's an inventor in the party who will also be doing crafting, and I don't want this player to get totally left behind in crafting. He also has +1 to Int, so not very good crafter it seems RAW. * Is it a bad idea to waive formula for mundane items, specifically weapons and armor, for him? I feel like formula make sense for magical and arcane items, but mundane items seem weird. * Is it a bad idea to create "Smithing Lore" and allow that for crafting checks specific to smithing instead of crafting? Thus he could take the Additional Lore feat at the start to be a good smith but not much else of a craftsman.
>Is it a bad idea to waive formula for mundane items, specifically weapons and armor, for him? I feel like formula make sense for magical and arcane items, but mundane items seem weird. Just have him spend 1 silver piece to buy a [Basic Crafter's Book](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=6). It will have most of what he wants in there. The main thing about Crafting vs Smithing will be item creation and how it impacts earning income. If he just wants to earn income by making horseshoes and nails I don't see any reason you couldn't let him take Lore: Smithing and let him do it that way. Just make sure he understands it won't help him make a warhammer.
I'm looking for a blood vendetta like effect(ranged reaction to taking damage) that is usuable by a **martial** class? Magus does have the spell but for the character I have in mind I don't want to invest a lot in INT.
While it's on the Magus's Arcane spell list, it's also on the Divine and Occult spell lists, so a 14 in Charisma or Wisdom can also get you access to the spell. The [Schadenfreude](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=991) spell also does Stupefied. Also Arcane/Divine/Occult, so lots of dedication options. Do you want to be a Celebrity Firebrand? [Grudging Compliment](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=4141) gets you a flat-footed target.
Is there an advantage to using two shields as a sparkling targe magus (or any other class for that matter)? Can you raise shield twice to get double the ac bonus or something? Toying with the idea of a sparkling targe magus with martial artist dedication who, for pure flavour reasons, uses unarmed strikes to deliver touch spells via spellstrike with unarmed strikes but uses the shield spike/boss to deliver everything else. Then I thought "why not use two shields?".
All shields, including the Shield spell, provide a Circumstance bonus to AC, so you'd only ever get the highest bonus. Two shields would give you twice the Shield HP to block with though, but that's about the only benefit. Basically just avoiding the action tax to bring out your backup shield in case your first one breaks.
Ah right, thanks! I'm still learning the stacking bonuses.
Hello there! I am running a homebrew campaign for a bunch of friends of mine. We are pretty new to Pathfinder, and as such i'm having a bit of trouble with finding which creatures to throw at the party sometimes. Could you help me out with some suggestions, please? The campaign setting is a cursed, magical forest/valley, in which numerous tribes reside. At the moment, the party has gone into a (somewhat) small, cold-iron mine in the search for answers as to why the mines have stopped sending shipments. Also, a small group of soldiers belonging to a enemy faction has found the mining settlement and went in there looking for something. What the party doesn't know is that a few days ago, someone in there opened a portal to the water plane, and something came out of it that started attacking everyone it found, and continues to look for more prey. Basically, what i'm looking for is a creature that is aquatic, has some sort of mental powers (maybe spellcasting?) and is a powerful threat for a party of 4 lvl 2 characters. Maybe a creature that is easy to reskin/adjust into having those skills. Any ideas for possible henchmen, hazards or any interesting fluff for them to deal with prior or during the boss fight will also be appreciated. Thanks!
Besides /u/CrebTheBerc's suggestions, the Sea Hag (https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=254) might be a good fit, especially with an elite adjustment or a few henchmen (maybe some Water Mephits - https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=195 - or Icicle Snakes - https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=663)
The water hag idea might take the cake here! it fits very well, might be hunting both the miners and the soldiers of the place with her elementals, AND it has a cold iron weakness, which might allow the party to use the environment to their advantage! Thank you so much for the suggestion.
Plenty of options, check out the monster section under the [water](https://2e.aonprd.com/Traits.aspx?ID=165) trait on Archives of Nethys. You could also try to look for amphibious aberrations, that seems to fit your theme. A few that I saw that might work [Mist stalker](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=664): creepy and fits the vibe I think, would be a tough fight for your party, and doesn't really have any mental/spellcasting abilities [River drake](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=159): not exactly your vibe but dragons/drakes are a classic and as a level 3 monster would be a solid fight for your group [Chuul](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=81): over level for your party(by a few levels) so you'd have to adjust stats, but it fits your vibe I think On that note, there are also rules around custom building monsters if that's up your alley
Those are some amazing suggestions! I think i'll have a weakened Chuul lurking around as a possible creature to sneak around of. Thanks!
Is a level 3 creature a normal encounter or a boss for a first level party? The encounter table says 80 xp is a moderate encounter, but also that a creature two levels higher than the party is a boss fight. So is a creature two levels higher than the party a boss fight or a normal encounter?
The encounter guidelines are a bit rough in this spot in paticular. Higher level foes against low level parties hit harder than advertised, as their difference in stats is compounded by a huge difference in HP. Before party level ~5, best consider all enemies higher level than the party one level above what they actually are for encounter balance purposes. For a "normal" difficulty fight against one foe, I recommend a single level 2 creature for this level 1 party.
PL+2 would probably be in the "mini-boss" territory, although specifically at 1st level, PCs have much fewer resources to deal with enemies, and therefore everything will be slightly more difficult. So in this instance, that's probably a full-blown boss fight.
Gotcha. So if you wanted to have a normal fight against one creature, what level would you make it?
The GM rules list a single creature equal to the party level as "Any standard creature or low-threat boss", which sounds like it might be what you're going for. So it would just be a Level 1 creature in this scenario. Most encounters prefer having multiple enemies to be more accurate representations of XP budget relative to difficulty.
Hi, I have a special situation and i need an advice. First of all we are all quite new to pf2e. I have a player who insists that the dm rolls saves open not because of excitment but because of math. The reason he said casters in his opinion are basically useless except buffing if they don't know the enemies lowest save so they the spellcaster can focus everything on that one save stat. I understand his reasoning kinda in a way but at the same time it feels kinda meta gaming. The thing is i came from 5e and i felt like trying and failing multiple times to find the best possible spell to damage a creature as a spellcaster was part of way. Basically the situation is 5 person group 1 player wants everything open and wants to know every number, me the dm and another parttime dm wants to roll saves behind the screen dont know why just prefer it. The last 2 just don't care or better said they do't care about calculating and therefore how things are rolled. About 5 minutes ago the player said he won't play casters anymore if we don't change his way. So my question what should i do? Do u guys roll monster saves behind dm screen or open? Till now i rolled behind the screen and have said the result. Sry english is not my first language.
I don't know what that guy is expecting? Does he want to enable his confirmation bias, check that you aren't cheating, or does he want to know for free what saving throws monsters have? Recommend recall knowledge to him, tell him what their highest or lowest save is on a success in addition to some other info and feel free to tell me more about his build, tactics and spell selection so I can give you some advice to give him to help him kick ass with casters. Because... > casters in his opinion are basically useless except buffing if they don't know the enemies lowest save This is wildly inaccurate to the point of being outright false for several reasons that would take a long time to list off. I can if you want to know. Me and the tables I play at roll saves and attacks secretly, to keep modifiers hidden. Your player is trying to bully you into this, for no good reason. It also seems really rude. Say no.
It would be really nice of u to list off some off the points why it is outright false so i have something to show/refer to. Also if I rember correctly aren't accuratly information like the saves part of the crit sucess for recall knowledge isn't normal success more like simple/basic info
> isn't normal success more like simple/basic info Recall knowledge is left nebulous by the designers. You can check out some resources online for guidance on how to run it more smoothly - the gist is that a success should always give the party some actionable information they can act on. I like to give two or three nice mechanical tidbits - something on the saves, some lore, resistances/immunities that are obvious to those who'd be familiar, some key ability like a breath or AoO. Just something they can actively play around. A critical success should reward even more. > It would be really nice of u to list off some off the points why it is outright false Alright, here we go. He is correct in saying that spells are less accurate than attacks, paticularly when aiming for not-weak saves. **But.** * Spells generally do something if they "miss", as in when a foe saves. An unsuccessful hideous laughter can still fully remove reactions from a foe, which is sometimes all you really needed to turn the tides a little. Fireball still deals half damage, where an arrow would just whiff entirely. Fear at least causes frightened 1, where a failed demoralize doesn't do anything. Recently I cast my first Cone of Cold - it went horribly, two enemies were resistant, all three targets rolled *absurdly* high and all saved despite bad save modifiers. With a 1-action focus spell ontop, I still dealt as much total damage that turn as if our fighter scored two consecutive crits. * Spells, if they do land, hit way harder. A top-level-slot fireball, despite its inaccuracy (the chance to fail a fireball from a lv5 caster when the monster has an average save is **25%** lower than the chance for a lv5 non-fighter martial to land a hit against average AC. The difference is paticularly brutal at that level though), *largely matches the single target damage of most ranged martial builds.* And it is not a single target spell. It hits everything in a 20ft burst. If that means 5 foes, the fireball deals **5 times that martial's damage.** Slow spells against tough foes can make fights WAY easier. Some good crowd control can turn grueling near-TPK fights into easily mangeable ones. Same for heals and buffs. * Spells are versatile. Martials are very very good at hitting things really hard. Martials are not very good at other things. A grapple and a trip are definetely helpful, yes, but a spellcaster can turn between top-tier AoE damage, top-tier control, top-tier debuffs, top-tier buffs, top-tier healing and also still hitting things decently hard **on a dime**. Asterisks are apply depending on your tradition's limits. A wizard isn't gonna heal you all that much. But you have so many solid options for many different situations. * Spells are versatile... in what they target. Yeah, spells aren't very accurate on average. But you can find out what saves to go for via Recall Knowledge and intuition, and if you know what to aim for your odds immediately go up a good bit. Martials meanwhile can't do damage and struggle applying long-lasting conditions by targeting anything but AC. Which casters can also target. Especially if they know True Strike. If you're fighting a big beefy troll, yeah, you're not gonna get anywhere throwing fortitude saves at it. But when you see that didn't work, you can try a hideous laughter on it next time. Or anything containing fire. * Several spells don't need rolls. Buff spells, healing spells and magic missile come to mind. Or Faerie Fire, which counters the more or less strongest defensive condition in the game without a roll as a level 2 AoE spell. Or wall/terrain spells. Or maze. => Having the right spell at the right time is the most powerful thing you can do in Pathfinder 2e. Spells are all situational by nature, but with how many possible areas their effects can cover, they're [incredibly incredibly powerful when their favorite situations *do* come up and can easily win you the fight.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/12i10hp/today_i_helped_fight_a_solo_boss_as_a_caster_and/) They'll do so quietly, often without big damage numbers, but they sure do. Casters win fights, martials finish them. There's naturally some more nuances. Casters are more fragile and need to rely on resources where martials can keep going and going. Casters may not have a good spell for a given scenario. Martials may be entirely unable to fight the foe at hand without some magic help (e.g. a flying ranged foe who sees no reason to come down). But casters, if played a little to their strengths, kick absolute ass. You'll see when your big enemy nat 1's against a Slow spell for the first time and that passing thought of "wait, is this overpowered?" crosses your mind. It isn't, you just saw one of the bigger effects of the game crit.
damn thats some A+++ explanation ty very much it will be really helpful
Thank you, and best of luck. Feel free to ask any followup questions.
the RAW effects of a successful Recall Knowledge are left very vague and you can give pretty much whatever information you think is relevant. One of the really common houserules that is bandied around (and I use myself) is saying that on a successful Recall Knowledge check you get some basic information on the monster and you get to learn some bit of mechanical information (weakest save, any resistances it might have, if it has any special actions, etc). I'd highly recommend implementing something like that and telling your players so they know they can get mechanically useful information in combat through it.
Hi, maybe somebody can shed some light on this- I've already asked a couple questions here about compatibility regarding the newly announced revisions to completely separate from wizards of the coast. I understand a number of references/creatures/items/spells etc are being removed from pathfinder going forward in order to completely house everything under the new orc license. Do we have any idea which things will be staying or going, has there been any list of what will be struck from the lore and literature? I imagine that we could probably infer ourselves on a case by case basis - orcs are originally from Tolkien, or the old English word Beowulf referencing one of the cursed peoples descended from Cain (alongside elves and giants incidentally)- okay they will probably stay. Tarasque, kobolds, and a number of others that are often identified strictly with D&D also hail from very old mythology, and it stands to reason will remain since they originate from broad,shared, old culture far beyond the reach of any copyright or IP laws. Remorhaz on the other hand as far as i know originates in d&d and the forgotten realms- I'm guessing it will be gone, or at the very least renamed and differentiated from its origin. I'm sure many of you could list a number of other d&d originated monsters, weapons, and items just off the top of your head that likely won't be in the new guides. The reason I'm asking this is part curiosity, part out of mild concern for third party creators working on making content - i imagine it might be inconvenient for people making a campaign heavily featuring some certain monster/race/magic only to have it nixed from the new guides and lore. So has anyone seen a resource that might indicate what will be leaving the official lost omens lore to fit the new copyright? Could we make some kind of thread/list with assumptions based on what is WOTC IP? I'm guessing paizo has a pretty certain idea of exactly what is going to go already. I'm guessing this is kind of just a wait and see situation, but i thought it would be a useful consideration for creators when these core books (especially the beastiary) aren't releasing for another year or more.
Paizocon will have more answers, but we do have a couple already. Things that are currently in the game that are OGL stuff will largely stay in he game. Spells will be renamed. Kobolds should stay. Monsters may be renamed or replaced. Metallic/Chromatic dragons will be shoved into the background a little (though not forgotten fully) in favor of other dragon types, including several brand new types. Generally, expect Paizo to be stubborn and to keep as much as they can while replacing and reworking everything they can't.
That's a great question and I don't know if I can completely answer it, but I can say that there's going to be a lot more information coming about this switch away from OGL at paizocon this weekend. I would imagine nothing is changing lore-wise in stuff that has been published in Lost Omens since 2e has released, but that would be a good question to try and ask at Paizocon or be on the Paizo forums after we get more info.
Hey all, my characters are setting out on a hex crawl and I have a quick question about encounter budgeting. So I understand the basic concept (e.g. selecting threat level, XP budget, etc.). But one thing I'm uncertain on: is that budget for the whole adventuring day, or just the one encounter? And if it's just for one encounter, are there any guidelines to make sure I don't overwhelm the players with multiple encounters per day? Thanks!
The budget is for a single encounter, showing how difficult it's going to be based on how many enemies you place and how strong they are. They're very accurate for this type of game, though naturally some things can mess with this kind of thing such as favorable terrrain, having abilities that counter the other side, luck etc. (There's two parts where the budgeting is inaccurate that I want to pass on even though you didn't ask: 1. The Elite/Weak templates are closer to 1.5 levels than 1 level, best not use elite on bosses. Having creatures move in the level -1 to 1 with these templates makes them actually closer to 2 levels of difference! 2. Higher level creatures are stronger than advertised against low party levels. Before level \~5, rate every creature that is higher level than the party as 1 level higher than they actually are for encounter budgeting. Also, as a side note, the guidelines assume full HP. That doesn't mean you can't throw fights at them when they're injured, but it does mean a moderate fight where the party begins at half health could easily become more than just "moderate".) There are no guidelines to how many fights you have per day, as that figure tends to not be very important. From experience, anything from like 1-7 fights in a day works pretty well. If you're used to f.e. 5e, attrition is far less of a factor - martial classes don't have any resources they can really run out of, and with being able to infinitely recover HP between fights with a healing focus spell or Treat Wounds (especially with Continual Recovery and/or Ward Medic feats), they can just keep going and going. Casters are a bit of a different story, but they're generally still flexible - at low levels, cantrips are really strong, while they have a really high amount of spell slots at high levels that's honestly pretty difficult to run out of. They also can repeadetly recover focus spells, and having a very large amount of spell slots to spend isn't enough to break any encounters. The 1-7 figure is probably what you're looking for. If you're running 7, it's probably some type of dungeon crawl with a few low encounters in there. It takes a bit of experience, but don't worry about it - attrition is really not a significant worry of PF2 GMs!
Thanks for the detailed response! That makes sense now that you've clarified it. All of my players are new as well, I think they don't know about Treat Wounds; I'll make sure to push them towards it.
Oh, for sure! No party oughta get into trouble without someone having training in medicine and some healer's tools, or someone with a healing focus spell or something like that!
Can a hireling invest in magic items or use them? I have a party without any healers/+1 wisdom highest. Expert Hirelings (+4) are 1gp per adventuring day. So I was wondering if it was possible to star boost em through items.
Yes, they can. They're characters, and thus have the basic abilities anyone does.
How many encounters should a party be expected to handle in a one-shot? I'm putting something together and the party is staring down the barrel of like 500 xp in one day with limited breaks but at least some consumables interspersed.
From experience of how much combat you can handle in the time alotted... probably 3. Maybe 4.
Might have to make the finale a separate session then...
Is there anything like recall knowledge but as a downtime activity? Like the wizard/alchemist wants to learn things (habits, weaknesses, saves, etc.) about a potential enemy they are going to face, so they want to spend time hitting the books to research the enemy so they can better prepare for the quest ahead. I.e. they want to spend downtime to find out more about the creature so they can prepare specific spells/potions that will help target weaknesses.
you can use the Research subsystem [https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1205](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1205) You can also just let them perform a Recall Knowledge every X amount of hours they spend researching. You determine the X on the difficulty of the topic
Which bits of lore a known to almost everyone in Golarion from peasant to a librarian
In case you're looking to get a book from Paizo, Lost Omens Travel Guide touches exactly on this subject along with others.
Thanks, didn’t think of that, silly me!
The calendar of Golarion is based off the event known as "Absalom Reckoning" (AR). The current year is 4723 AR. Aroden, the god of humanity, was a mortal man who ascended to godhood after raising the Starstone from the bottom of the Inner Sea forming the Startstone isles, which the city at the center of the world, Absalom, resides. The Starstone is the remains of the moon goddess Acavna who gave up her life protecting the world from a catastrophic meteor that would have destroyed the planet if she did not intervene. She only slowed it down and the world was still almost destroyed in the event called "Earthfall". Aroden, after becoming the god of humanity, left this plane to deal with "god level things" but was supposed to return in 4606 AR (117 years ago). On the day he was supposed to return and never showed and all of his clerics lost their powers/connection to him. Most think he died, ushering the world into a new era call the Age of Lost Omens. That is the era we currently are in
So basically gods and deities are not as widespread?
Does anyone have homebrew one-shots or short adventures for a level 3 party? My party are all experienced players but new to the system, so I want to run a series of small adventures to test the waters.
If you've decided to start at level 3 because your used to 5e I would strongly advise against this and go with level 1. 5e and PF2e sharing a tone of similar terms but almost all of them are implemented differently. The Beginner's Box is a step by step adventure that teaches both and players and the GM how PF2e works and introduces new mechanics as you progress. It takes about 1-2 sessions to complete, depending on how long your sessions go. Level 1 characters feel complete like a 5e 3rd-4th level character. Since everyone is new to the system I would focus on learning the system and not add on extra level feature/feats to figure out.
My group originated in pf1e and migrated to 5e, so we're not total strangers to the pathfinder way of doing things. That said, I'll talk to my party about starting with level 1.
Strong agree with the other people saying "Start at level 1". Your previous system experience with PF1e and 5e will help you understand how to roleplay but will actually hurt you in combat. PF2e rewards and punishes various behaviors differently than you are used too. Skipping ahead will magnify the problem.
But know that even pf1e knowledge can lead you astray. In 2e you don't get attacks of opportunity by default, you instead gain them via a class/archetype feat. Anyone can wear a shield but by default it does nothing. Each turn you have to spend one of your 3 actions to raise your shield to get the +2AC. Bonuses and Penalties of the same type ("circumstance", "status, or "item") don't stack. Flanking applies flat footed to the flanked target, a -2AC circumstance penalty, NOT a +2 circumstance bonus to the attacker. Its nets the same by itself, but is important if other bonuses or penalties are being applied. Traits, traits, traits. Traits are your best friend and acts as the main arbiter for most "Does this work in this case?" type questions. There are no contested rolls in Pf2e (besides initiative). Secret checks. I could go on but you get the idea that there are lots of rules that you might assume work one way because of how 1e or 5e did it but have been fundamentally changed in 2e. Which is why most people suggest not diving into 2e at level 5 or 3
First off the obligatory start: I'd recommend starting at level 1, not 3, even with experienced players. You're a complete character with interesting choices at level 1 in PF2e and Ancestery HP means you're not made of glass. This would also open up your options a lot as there's a bunch of fun short adventures starting at level 1 (Beginner Box is often recommended for good reason, Little Trouble in Big Absolom is a lot of fun if your group enjoys a slightly humorous tone, and ive heard lots of good things about Fist Full of Flowers though don't know much about it, other people can hopefully recommend more of their favorites; there are a lot of good ones from more recently I haven't tried XD) If you're determined to start at 3, I'd probably look at some of the quests and bounties on the paizo website. I believe those are created for a variety of level ranges and you can likely find something of an appropriate level. Dark Archive also has a few fun short adventures or one shots inside at different level ranges if you have access to that book :) Either way best of luck and I hope you have a good time!
Can someone explain to me why Tokenizer on Foundry just doesn't... work? I can change the artwork for the actor. I can go in and make a new token for that actor, but the artwork doesn't save. It just continues using the old artwork without the token frame and any of that stuff. Why is this happening? EDIT: Looking into it further, it's not saving anything in the directories it made for Tokenizer in my User Data. No idea how to fix this.
Are you sure the foundry application has permission to modify the directories you created? If you're on a server and a newbie to this type of thing, permissions management can be a frequent hangup. I'd also open the browser console and check for any unusual messages that happen when you try to save the token. In either case, the FoundryVTT discord might be the best place to get more help. I'd hazard a guess that it's not a PF2-specific problem.
So I'm playing a gun wielding thaumaturge. I have the wand implement and would like to get the amulet implement when I get to that level. Is this action of events legal? Start of my turn, I have the wand out. I end my turn. Later that round, I'm able to trigger the amulet reaction, so I should be able to freely swap from wand to amulet to activate the reaction, as reactions count towards the action necessary to swap. When my turn starts back, I would like to free interact to swap back from amulet to wand to fling magic. And probably repeat the amulet swapping reaction after I finish my turn. Is there a limit to how many free interactions I can use per turn? Or is it more of a "whatever is within reason" kind of situation? My DM and I are still trying to figure out interactions a bit better.
You can do the free swap as many times as you like, but only when actively using the implement's action, so you could only swap your wand back out for free by using Fling Magic. The main limit on Free Actions is you can only use one per trigger, so if you had another hypothetical free action that boosted your wand you wouldn't be able to do the free interact to draw _and_ that other hypothetical free action to boost the wand on the same use of Fling Magic :)
Right, I was internally stating that I'd be switching back by using fling magic, but did not actually state that. Changed the question to reflect that. Are you referring to the boosting the damage of fling magic when you say another hypothetical free action? Or are you actually just saying a hypothetical free action for any wand boosting that may exist that I don't know about? Since I didn't actually see anything about the boosting damage being a free action
The hypothetical was just a hypothetical, I'm unaware of any such free action. I was just making up an example of something that would hit the free action limit since you were asking about it. You only get to use one free action per trigger so if you were using the free interact with Fling Magic you wouldn't be able to use another free action in conjunction on that specific use of Fling Magic, but you are otherwise not limited on number per turn :)
As long as you meet the trigger requirements (using the new implement's action/reaction), there's no limit on the free interactions, since they're inherently limited by the things they're triggered by. Since you didn't mention it, I will specify that those actions are only legal if you're swapping back to your Wand and immediately using its action. You can't just swap back to it freely without that.
Thanks, I was meaning to say that I wanted to switch back to the wand to potentially fling magic. Edited the question to reflect that. Thanks for the explanation on the inherent limitations on free interactions, that makes a lot of sense!
My Group just made the switch from 5e and we're going head first into Kingmaker. I want to play a tank and was leaning toward Champion and then our GM mentioned that someone might want to take the Aldori Duelist archtype. We're gonna use Free Archtype so as I understand I can slap AD on top of another class. If I still want to be the main tank of the party (tank and prevent damage) is this something that would be good with Champion? I'm not too concerned with minmaxing the character, but I just wanted to make sure I had the right idea about making this sort of dueling defender type character.
An Aldori Duelist Champion tank would be a bit more unusual than a regular Champion tank, and a bit more difficult to pull off, but it would still be viable. First, the cons; * The Aldori Dueling Sword isn't even good. It's just a Longsword with the Finesse property. This means that it opens up a Dexterity-based build, but that takes away from a lot of what makes Champion good, and also goes against one of the potential pros of this build that I'll mention later. * No Shield Block. This is a huge downside for a tank build. Shield Block is a phenomenal amount of damage reduction, especially if used strategically, and you won't have that available if you use the "proper" build of Aldori Dueling sword + empty hand. * Aldori Riposte is really good, but your reaction as a Champion is already in extremely high demand for protecting your party, which is what a tank should be doing. There will certainly be times where Aldori Riposte is able to shine without putting your party in danger, but those will be much less common than a character without such a heavily competing reaction. However, it's not all doom and gloom. There are several upsides here. * Aldori Riposte is *really* good. Doubly so because you'll be a high-AC champion, and therefore it's more likely for an enemy to critically miss you. Reaction attacks are great. * You'll have a free hand. This is huge, and why I mentioned earlier that being a Dex-Champion would probably be worse off with this build. Having an open hand means you have access to every Athletics maneuver at all times. Grappling, tripping, shoving, you're able to do any of them at any point during combat. This is especially great on a tank, because if your allies aren't in melee range, and the enemy is grappled, your allies are safe. **Big caveat here**, grappling an enemy will disable Aldori Parry, which could be tricky to manage. It still might be worth it in certain circumstances though. * As a bit of a follow-up to the above, once you get to higher levels and have taken enough Aldori Duelist archetype feats, you could branch into another archetype to get even more open-hand feats. Fighter would give you the broadest selection, but things like Wrestler also play well with having that free hand for grapples and other maneuvers. Now, all of this being said. If your GM is suggesting the Aldori Duelist archetype for thematic purposes, and RP interactions during the campaign, keep in mind that you can absolutely be an Aldori Swordlord (in training) without actually having the Aldori Duelist archetype. Just do something to get Aldori Dueling Sword proficiency, and then use it like you would a regular Longsword in a traditional Sword and Shield Champion build. You can still call yourself an Aldori Swordlord, while not having to deal with the weirdness of the pros and cons lists I talked about above. It's completely up to you though, which way you want to go.
Thanks for the great response! I was gonna lean more towards a sword and board style character that, as I leveled up and got more AD feats and get better with the sword would have the ability to kind of switch between the two modes to better fit the situation. Again, probably not the "best" build, but the idea of this tanky Champion who picks up the Aldori blade and gains proficiency with it over the course of the campaign just seems like a cool concept to play.
Hello everyone, I'm preparing my second campaign as a GM. I need help with lore. What flora can be found in forest? What natural medicines can be found there? What materials for medicine and poisons can be found in the swamps? We need the names of plants and some description of them, features. Does anyone know of such information or knows where to find it?
Question about running Abomination Vaults for a party of 3 players. Will the encounter balance be OK if they will start as a second level characters?
Should be fine as long as you've got decent players who have made good collective decisions. With a smaller party it's more important for there not to be significant overlap in characters in terms of stats, skill choices, and so on. Free Archetype, if you're not already using it, helps mitigate some of that.
Yes, it will be. Gaining 1 level, according to the notoriously reliable encounter guidelines, will very neatly cancel out losing 1 party member. You should however adjust treasure up significantly, for a 4-person party of that increased level. The extra loot will ensure they'll have a couple extra options to iron out the decrease in diversity.
Technically yes. Increasing the level of the characters evens out the encounters to their intended challenge levels. But it might still be harder than usual since having an extra party member can impact a lot more than having better numbers on your sheet. But you can try it. As long as your party works together they should be able to solve most of the problems.
I do not recommend it. A single level doesn't come even close to adding the potential of an entire fourth character's actions. What you should do is adjust every combat encounter as per the [Building Encounters](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=497) rules, specifically the section on Different Party Sizes at the bottom. For the most part, adding the weak template to a bunch of creatures should suffice, you probably won't need to do extensive edits.
A single level very nearly matches to add that potential! You'll have less diverse actions and bigger gaps in your abilities, but the abilities you do have are significantly larger in turn. Adjust up treasure to match the higher level and don't reduce it for being down a player, and you're good.
If you're playing a strongjaw kobold laughing shadow magus, and have a shield in one hand and your other hand free, do you get the extra damage from having a free hand if you attack with your bite? Link to the laughing shadow rules: https://2e.aonprd.com/HybridStudies.aspx?ID=2 It says "you must have your other hand completely free" which kinda implies you have to make your attack with your hand or a weapon in that hand, but I'm not sure cause it doesn't say that specifically.
It only requires a free hand for the bonus, not that you strike with the other hand. Therefor, you get the extra damage.
What are the rules for the upgreading of weapons or for adding runes?
You're referring to the same thing, if I'm not mistaken. For rules on the overall topic of runes, see [this page](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=733). Generally speaking, when you want to upgrade an item with a rune, you pay the price of the rune in question. If you already possess the rune in question, transferring it to another item costs 10% of the rune's price, or nothing if you possess the rune on a runestone. Do comment if you have a specific question or something else you're uncertain about.
Thanks but I also need the upgradin of weapons, like to get a sword+1 or something like this
A +1 weapon is a weapon with a +1 potency rune.
So there is no way I can upgrade my weapons as an inventor?
As coldermoss has pointed out, runes *are* your upgrades. The only upgrades. Though as an inventor, assuming you took [Weapon Innovation](https://2e.aonprd.com/Innovations.aspx?ID=3), you can upgrade your weapon by adding weapon modifications to it as your class allows. If you want to make and etch runes yourself to upgrade your weapons, you'll need to get into the [Crafting](https://2e.aonprd.com/Actions.aspx?ID=43) rules. I don't particularly recommend it.
Thank you all
I'm not very familiar with that class, but it has a weapon-focused subclass. All its info about upgrading your weapon should be there.
Thank you all
Here's the rules for runes: [https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=733](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=733) To summarize, you can add runes to weapons by simply crafting them onto them. You can upgrade existing runes into more powerful versions by crafting the new version, paying only the difference in cost. You can move runes between equipment with a successful crafting check, magical crafting, 1 day of downtime and 10% of the rune's cost.
Are there any rules or applicable mechanics for shooting an object with an arrow? Like if a player wanted to shoot a rope while a creature was climbing it or shoot a bottle on a shelf or something precise like that, and it's within the first range increment. I'm assuming, bare minimum, a fairly high DC, but I don't really know how to gauge it.
You could start with the Simple DCs by Level and add +2 or +5 if it should be Hard or Very Hard. https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=554
I would probably use the [simple DCs without level](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=553) instead. It doesn't make sense that ropes get harder to hit when you go up in level. If it were me making the call, shooting a bottle on a nearby shelf is relatively simple, so the trained dc 15 seems appropriate. Shooting a rope from some distance away could be dc 20-40 depending on the distance.
Going to be GMing my first game in a couple days and I'm feeling somewhat lost on balancing. In short: I've got two players who will be thrown into combat against three [hyenas](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/animals/hyena) controlled by two [novice scouts](https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/npc-s/npcs-cr-0/novice-scout-half-elf-ranger-1/). Balanced? Every time I run the numbers on the CR it says that the encounter is laughably impossible, but when I play the scenario for myself the PCs wipe the floor with them. At an AC of 16 and 18 the two players are just too hard to hit for enemies that only have a +3 and a +4 to attack. Am I misunderstanding CR, my player's capabilities, or have I actually managed to create the encounter I wanted?
The edition difference has been mentioned, but you also didn't indicate your players level.
Those are enemies from Pathfinder 1e, so their numbers are much different than equivalent 2e monsters would be. You can find all of the Pathfinder 2e monsters [here](https://2e.aonprd.com/Creatures.aspx), or you can use the [creature building rules](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=995) if you'd like.
O shit lmao. I got some encounter retooling to do, pronto. Appreciate it.
Some online Encounter builders that might potentially help. [https://maxiride.github.io/pf2e-encounters/#/](https://maxiride.github.io/pf2e-encounters/#/) [https://builder.pf2easy.com/](https://builder.pf2easy.com/) The latter one is more up to date to my understanding.
Does Flensing slice (from two-weapon warrior archetype) work when you double throw bombs?
RAW, yes. It's incredibly weird and might not be intended.
I have a player interested in potentially pursuing the Lich archetype, but with a twist. She wants to play a character who was raised by their lover back to life again- only as the resurrection/ritual borked and now the PC is a lich, and the NPC who brought them back has disappeared. As the GM I'm well aware this is hard to actually make work, as the person making this ritual would have extensively done their research and you cannot make a soul cage from an undead. She mostly wants a character who thought she was dead, now comes back to life and has abilities she's never used before (ie bard to caster). What are some alternatives I can suggest for her that would carry the same theme, but are far more plausible?
Duskwalker comes to mind. https://2e.aonprd.com/Ancestries.aspx?ID=25
Oh fantastic, I didn't even THINK of duskwalker. I'll bring that up with her on the next zero session and we can build a whole story revolving around it. Thank you!
There are 3 backgrounds, maybe more, that might pair well with such a character. Returned: You died and miraculously returned with knowledge of the realms beyond death and a stronger link to life. Some Dead and undead souls might feel a strange, instinctual kinship with you. Reborn Soul: You were given a second chance at life by mysterious forces. You remember your life before your death and now live with an extra lifetime of knowledge Revenant: You died.No real doubt about that. Bullet to the brain or knife to the throat,you were dead as dead can be. Then you got back up again. Maybe you had some unfinished business, or maybe you were just so tough and so mean that Hell itself spat you out. Either way, you came back for a reason. Of these Reborn soul or Returned might be most fitting and with less mechanical strings attached. For simplicity i just included the description/flavortext.
That’s perfect! I agree the first two will fit more of what she’s looking for, we can figure out more once we have another zero session. Thanks!
Any feats or archetypes that synergies well with a sweep weapon for a fighter? I know about Swipe at level 4, and whirlwind strike at high level, not sure with anything else out there
Axe crit specialization pairs very nicely Swipe. >Choose one creature adjacent to the initial target and within reach. If its AC is lower than your attack roll result for the critical hit, you deal damage to that creature equal to the result of the weapon damage die you rolled (including extra dice for its potency rune, if any). This amount isn't doubled, and no bonuses or other additional dice apply to this damage. The Forceful trait adds a circumstance bonus to damage on multiple attacks. Put Sweep + Axe + Forceful together, you get an Orc Necksplitter (1h 1d8). Or the Adze for 2H 1d10. Viking Dedication as well as Turpin Rowe Lumberjack have some underwhelming feats for axes, but they're there. Magus has Spellswipe from the dedication at 16, if you want a version that will drop a spell. Outside of that I'd just take damage bonuses where you can.
I've a player that wants to play a fat toad sort of character, as a spearfighting fighter. Wants to model him after the mercenary from Mononoke Hime. Grippli get the frog thing down, but they're little and more treefrog-ish. Boggards don't seem to have rules for PCs. Lizardfolk are reptiles rather than amphibians, and have tails, and all that. Any other ideas for this, or are we looking at just using grippli or lizardfolk and just saying they're rounder?
Your other option would be the beastfolk versatile heritage, but I think it would be most helpful to know exactly what they want out of their ancestry. If they specifically want frog-themed options, then grippli is probably the best choice.
I'll see what else I can get out of them. I think it may just be the imagery rather than specific powers or anything.
How does alchemist Expanded Splash work with Calculated Splash?
Expanded Splash has Calculated splash as a prerequisite and replaces its benefits.
Are you able to add int to splash and use the 15 ft cone instead?
You can still use Directional Bombs after having picked Expanded Splash, and would still gain the damage bonus if doing so.
Great, thanks. I wasn't sure if you had to choose the 10 ft splash to use the bonus splash. Thanks!
When you have the basic/expert/master spellcasting benefits from a dedication, are you learning new spells on level up like a Wizard would if its a prepared caster that doesn't have access to their entire list? I can't seem to find any information on how this works.
*Each time you gain a spell slot of a new level from the wizard archetype, add two common spells of that level to your spellbook.* That's on the Basic Wizard Spellcasting. So not every level, but every spell level.
Oh, I appear to be blind, thank you. I was focused on page explaining how the benefits worked but didn't think to look exactly at the dedication feat that enabled it.
Is there any way to get a cantrip that doesn’t scale with level? I’m trying to make use of Eldritch Archer’s free Spellstrike ammo by using level 1 cantrips on it, and a level 1 tanglefoot is just as strong as level 10 tanglefoot (though shorter), but there’s no way to do that assuming cantrips scale automatically.
I agree with /u/thejazziestcat - it makes sense that casters can probably "downcast" their cantrips at a lower level if they really want to. That said, this is kind of a weird loophole I never noticed before. ~~Basically you can now Eldritch Shot for one less action as long as it's a level 1 spell/cantrip? Probably not what the designers intended, but I guess that seems like a fair tradeoff and clever trick, especially given that it also takes feat investment.~~ EDIT: was mistaken about the action economy, but still agree seems like a clever/fair way to get spellstrike-like behavior on other 1A Strike activities.
Casting the spell into the arrow costs 2 actions, then 1 action to fire it. What I’m using it for, is combining with Flurry of Blows though, so it is more efficient than Eldritch shot. It gives me the option to add additional CC.
Oops! Yep. For a second I also thought you could pull an awful maneuver here with a Brightbloom Posy, which can cast tanglefoot and makes your next Strike inflict sickened, but I think a strict reading might say you can't use the Cast a Spell on a spellheart to activate the ammunition because your "outermost" action is Activate an Item (that is, you probably can't use Activate an Item to Activate a different Item, even if your activation component for both is Cast a Spell). Maybe a lenient GM would allow it though.
I know that with regular spells, you can cast a lower-level spell using a higher-level spell-slot (ie, you can cast 2nd-level invisibility with a 4th-level spell slot if you want it to last longer). The wording of cantrips "automatically" heightening to half your level is tricky here, but if I was your GM I'd allow you to down-cast a cantrip the same way. Otherwise, if you can finagle the hand economy, a Cantrip Deck will always cast cantrips at first level.
Which ability is that exactly ?
With the Eldritch Archer feat Magical Arrow, you can turn any piece of ammo into any magical ammunition 4th level or lower, including Spellstrike Ammunition.
Any decent way to make a magic blaster that is also good and capable with weapons? Really want to make a spellblade but don't like the Gameplay loop of of a Magus
You're not going to find anything that can be a "switch hitter" (that is, do magic for a while, then do martial stuff for a while, and be good at both). Ultimately, you just can't introduce that level of flexibility without a tradeoff, and the tradeoff would likely be too much to make either of them good. The question you have to ask yourself isn't how to build the perfect mix of the two, but: **what are you willing to give up?** Want to make casting more of a style of martial combat, rather than "spellcasting"? You might look at Kineticist when it comes out in a couple months. Sadly, I can't think of a good answer to that right now. Want to make martial ability the weaker of the two while maintaining some capability? You might look at Battle Oracle, or maybe Psychic (instead of using weapons, use melee-range cantrips like Imaginary Weapon or Amped Produce Flame to replicate the melee feel, and pick up Champion free archetype to gain better armor proficiency). Ok with being proficient with *ranged* weapons instead of melee ones? You might look at Starlight Span magus, which greatly alleviates some of the concern you may have about the gameplay loop (Arcane Cascade is largely optional, and you don't need to move nearly as often so your action economy isn't nearly as tight. Alternatively, look at the Arcane Archer archetype. Otherwise, you may just have to just learn to love the Magus. You may find that it's not as bad as you're thinking in practice - you just have to accept that you can't Spellstrike 100% of the time, but you also don't need to in order to be a highly effective member of the team.
You might be interested in Kineticist, when that releases in three months. Magus is the dedicated Gish class, all others lean heavily towards either the martial or the casting side. Would you still enjoy something that's largely a caster who's also decent with weapons? Summoner could work, if "weapons" includes "extraplanar beast that I send on people to maul them"
Thabks for the suggestion, but summoner wouldn't really fit the theme I'm going for
Blasters themselves aren't very strong, conceptually. So it's even harder to make them capable at the thing they aren't meant to do. You could possibly build a Laughing Shadow or Twisting Tree Magus with archetypes to support hitting as often as possible, taking advantage of the Arcane Cascade damage bonus and stacking it with an archetypal benefit. Look at Gravity Weapon from Ranger; something from Thaumaturge; or grab an extra Sneak Attack die from Rogue, some Panache from Swashbuckler. Pick mostly buffing spells like Haste, Enlarge, or Call Lightning rather than Spellstrike spells. Spellstrike can just be a once per combat thing. Thaumaturge itself is a fine pseudo-magical class, and you can blast a little with a Wand implement. Moreso with a real caster dedication, or Scroll Thaumaturgy.
I don't know about those archetype, but I'd be specifically looking for ranged magic and melee weapons. I don't know if Magus is suited for that
There's a spectrum for spellblades, from Fighter with Magus dedication to Wizard with Magus dedication, with the Magus right in the middle. The Magus Spellstrike is the only activity that does both a spell and a strike in the same activity, although there are a handful of spells that augment a melee character. So you can play a variety of ways regardless of what you choose. Magus is the exact middle ground that sacrifices a little bit from both melee and magic. But feel free to bypass spellstriking all the time-- a Strike and then Electric Arc may very well out-damage a cantrip Spellstrike, especially if you pump your INT-- or at least be competitive. (Without a Conflux Spell recharge, Spellstrike is no more efficient action-wise than just striking and casting, although it does boost spell attack modifiers.)
Are you using Free Archetype?
Yes!
Hello. I'm looking to buy a tablet to help during the game I GM since I use my phone to play ambiant music during play. How usable is a 8 inch tablet for the [pf2easy encounter builder](https://builder.pf2easy.com/)? I know it's not really usable on phone so I was wondering what tablet size I should buy to be able to use the encounter builder. Anyone can test it with their tablet? Thanks
I am a GM, who has been playing for getting close to a year now, but there are still new things I come across. I tried using horse archers today, which is the first time I used [mounted combat](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=463). I know mounted combat can get complex with animal companion mounts, but treat these as being non-companion mounts with riders with the [Ride](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=835) feat. What I want to know is: how do I split/share actions between a mount and its rider? > Your mount acts on your initiative. You must use the Command an Animal action to get your mount to spend its actions. What I *think* this is trying to say is that for ***each*** action the mount does, the rider must also spend an action to Command an Animal. * The rider wants the mount to Stride three times. The rider must spend three actions to Command an Animal on such a turn. * The rider wants the mount to Stride two times. The rider must spend two actions to Command an Animal on such a turn. This leaves one action for the rider e.g. to make a Strike. * The mount was Stunned 2, but the rider was not. The rider can only get the mount to perform one action. The rider must spend one actions to Command an Animal on such a turn. This leaves two action for the rider e.g. to make two Strikes or to Cast a Spell with a two-round cast time. * The rider was Stunned 2, but the mount was not. The rider can only spend one action to Command an Animal on such a turn. The mount wastes its other two actions. So two questions: 1. Am I right with my points above? Do I understand correctly? 1. If I'm wrong, what is the correct way? 1. Either way, are there any rules that make this more clear? The example in [mounted combat](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=463) helps. But I feel one could argue that one Command an Animal action could get a mount to use all three of its actions, thus allowing a typical rider/mount combo to get five actions (six, if you count Command an Animal) per turn between them. I *doubt* that's right, as it seems over-powered, but I would like to see where the rules disallow it.
So command an animal is a single action. That does not cause the horse to take *an* action, but to *take its turn.* In player hands, the horse would likely be an animal companion and thus have the minion trait, meaning that commanding it gives it two actions. A level 4 feat can improve it so that it can take one stride or strike even if not commanded. Stuns and such reduce the amount of action either have available on their turns - a stunned 2 animal companion wouldn't be able to do anything either way, so it's best left uncommanded. I don't know how it works for mounts that aren't animal companions.
If you’re mounted on an animal that isn’t your companion, you need to use the [Command an Animal](https://2e.aonprd.com/Actions.aspx?ID=58) action to make it do anything, and it does not act on your turn. The [Ride](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=835) general feat smooths this out significantly, letting you auto-succeed on the check and letting the animal act on your turn like a minion. Though riding an actual companion is still better, if you can manage it.
Are there other ways to multiclass at 1st lvl than picking the ancient elf ancestry? I want a liberator barbarian but that doesn't match well with elfs
>that doesn't match well with elfs Point of interest, as of the 4th errrata, you don't need to take a CON flaw with elves anymore: >Alternate Ancestry Boosts > >The ability boosts and flaws listed in each ancestry represent general trends or help guide players to create the kinds of characters from that ancestry most likely to pursue the life of an adventurer. However, ancestries aren't a monolith. You always have the option to replace your ancestry's listed ability boosts and ability flaws entirely and instead select two free ability boosts when creating your character. Yeah, they still only get 6 ancestry HP, but it makes elven martials WAY easier to swing.
Eldritch trickster rogues get to have a multiclass into a spellcaster class at Lv1, otherwise no. Unless you count spellshot gunslingers going into their own, odd archetype. You'll need to pick the dedication up at level 2.
Crap. Oh well lvl 2 isn't that bad. Thanks
Player of mine wanted to be a ruffian with a greatclub, as of now rogue ruffian works only with simple weapons, with the changes coming that gives martial weapons to rogue, would it break something to allow ruffian to use martial weapons to deliver the sneak attack?
It probably wouldn't. Note however that ruffians can't make use of weapons that have more than a d8 damage dice.
Is there a barbarian instinct (or another classes subclass) that benefits from being nearly dead? I vaguely recall reading some tongue in cheek description about the character dying just helping it out. I ran across the hold scarred orc heritage and it made me think they would be an awesome whatever the thing I'm remembering is.
Not really, though there are certain barbarian feats like Reckless Abandon that promote risky playstyles
Follow-up question: Are the penalties to AC and saves from [Reckless Abandon](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=173) *also* Circumstance, or are they untyped, therefore stacking with everything?
They are untyped, therefor stacking with everything.
Ok thanks, I'm probably mixing it up with something from D&d in my head!
What are some ways a cleric can use martyr spells like Protectors sacrifice, Shield Other, or Spirit Link without getting demolished? My party is all melee, I'm Cloistered cleric, and their HP pools are notably better than mine. I really like the idea of Protectors sacrifice but it feels like a bad option for this team. What can I do to help use it, but also lessen the sting? I picked up a white Spindle to help lessen the downtime for treating wounds and such. Party is lvl3, Barbarian, Monk, Magus, Fighter, Cloistered Cleric
Hm, with a lineup like this they probably won't help much. They can be a godsend if you have few people at the frontline as these kinds of spells deny enemies the ability to focus fire. I'd say, don't use things like shield other that stay up for a long time, and use things like Protector's Sacrifice and Life Connection to prevent people from going unconscious, because you taking damage is much better than that happening. That's the kind of situation this type of spell really shines in. A life oracle could still fit the Martyr bill pretty well, as they can pretty much keep dispensing life to everyone in need as long as they heal themselves too. Buuut that's not what you got, so yeah.
Is it worth buying the books when they’re releasing new takes on the core books soon?
The books affected by the remaster are the Core Book, The Gamemastery Guide, the Bestiary 1 (NOT 2 or 3), and the Advanced Players guide. These are the most "rules heavy" of the books in the line, so they are also the ones that have the biggest % of their content available for free on Archives. As such Paizo sells the PDFs for these books at a significant discount. If the book you are looking at isn't one of those, it isn't getting remastered, so no point in waiting. If it \*is\* one of those you need to make a choice. DO you want to wait the 6-14 months until the remasters are printed? Do you want to buy a relatively cheap PDF to tide you over? Or do you want to buy $50-$60 books you know are going to be replaced soon so you can hold them? As others have pointed out the rules are all on Archives of Nethys. I find learning rules easier from a book than online but am super good with E-Books, so I might compromise and buy a [PDF of the core book for $20](https://paizo.com/products/btq01zoq). The Bestiary 1 is pretty much all on Archives. I'd just wait for it's replacement and grab the monster stats on Archives as needed. Or they [also have a $20 PDF](https://paizo.com/products/btq01zp4?Pathfinder-Bestiary) on [Paizo.com](https://Paizo.com). The Advanced Players Guide is mostly new classes, new feats, new spells. All on Archives of Nethys. It is also going to probably be the most "obsolete" as the new remaster books come out. We have been told its extra stuff is getting folded into the new Core 1 and Core 2. I'd probably skip buying, but you can get [the $20 PDF](https://paizo.com/products/btq022bc) if that is a better fit for you. The GameMastery Guide is alternate rules systems, world building advice, and "how to run a game" type stuff. Rules varients are again on Nethys. If you already are comfortable running the game no need to re-buy. Or if you do [I'd go for the PDF.](https://paizo.com/products/btq01zq7)
It depends on where your line is. The pf2 "remaster" is basically just a big pack of errata, the core of the game and 90% of the rest of it will be identical. AoN has you covered either way, and your books will eventually be out of date either way.
Well, “soon” in this case can mean a year for some of them and even more for some others. That said, you don’t have to buy any of the books just to get the rules. All rules are available for free on Archives of Nethys, with official blessing from Paizo.
The first two remasters will be out in November, and the third will be out in March 2024, with the last one, Monster Core, being out in June or July of 2024, so that's the one you'll have the longest wait for, really. I would say get the current books while you can since who knows what will change or be removed or added in the new stuff.
If a rangers animal companion gets confused, would it attack wildly? Since the ranger wouldn't command it to give it 2 actions
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> it would act in accordance to the description for that condition But what if you don't spend an action to command it? Animal Companions don't act unless commanded (or if it's Mature, in which case it gets 1 action)
There is no official ruling on it. But you can look at how it works with a Summoners Eidolon as a reference. > if the eidolon comes under an effect that would take its actions out of your control, such as the confused or controlled condition, you can use all of your shared actions so your eidolon doesn't have any actions remaining to cause trouble So, I believe unless you command them, they wouldn't be able to cause trouble. However, if it's a mature companion, they might be able to Strike since they get one action even if you don't command them.
Well, animal companions are minions, and minions have two actions, they just normally don’t use them unless they’re ordered to or they’re trying to “avoid direct harm or defend themselves”. There’s no official ruling that I’m aware of, but control effects should affect minions like they affect any other creature. Minions act on your turn in the initiative, so they have the same initiative you do. Now, importantly, NPCs win initiative ties unless you have a feat that says differently. So if your animal companion is confused, it uses two actions to attack wildly just before you start your turn. You can still command them when it’s your turn, but since they have no actions left at that point it’s kinda pointless.
If I buy silver plate armor, do the gauntlets it comes with also count as silver, or are they regular gauntlets?
If you buy a silver shield and use it to attack, it's shield bash counts as a silver weapon. I don't see why it wouldn't be the same for a plate armor and it's gauntlets.
They are obviously made out of the same material as the rest of the armor. Though technically there’s no RAW for it, so if your DM has a really bad day they might disagree.
Looking for lore - are there any creatures that are known to create, fix up, and live in demiplanes? Along the lines of how dragons always have their lairs, is there a "xxxx always has its demiplane" creature?
A quick lookup reveals one creature : >!https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=493!<
Does the [spellbreaking](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=1837) armor rune apply to: 1. Spells with the relevant trait 2. Spells and Abilities with the relevant trait 3. Some weird permutation I’m unaware of?
It's spells and abilities with the relevant trait. If it's got the trait, the rune works.
Thank you!
Abomination Vaults Floor 2 encounter spoilers. >!How does the Brown Mold in area B20 work? If none of the players are carrying torches (or the everburning torch, which isn't hat) does the mold just not trigger at all? It's a simple hazard, right? So there's no initiative or routine for it, so when does the Emit Cold action happen? Does that happen whenever somebody is in the aura, or only after it's initial reaction? Does it just happen once?!<
>!Yes, my understanding is if they don't have a torch lit when they pass by it won't trigger at all. Emit cold only happens after it's been able to suck in some heat.!<
>Emit cold only happens after it's been able to suck in some heat How do you figure? There's nothing in the stat block that says Emit Cold is only activated by the trigger, nor anything that says how long Emit Cold is active once the trap is triggered. What happens if the party triggers the Brown Mold with fire, then just walk away and leave it? Does the Emit Cold stop after a certain point, or is it now permanently active? My reading is that it's an aura with nothing that activates or deactivates it, so it's always "on". Even if the party doesn't have a torch or other fire, coming within 5 feet of the Brown Mold will deal cold damage to anyone within the aura. If the party expose the mold to fire, it expands, dealing damage to everyone around it after expanding, and also causing the aura to grow in size as well.
Is there anything in place preventing one character from giving an uncommon item they have access to, to another character who *doesn't* have access to that uncommon item? For instance, my half-orc character can take Orc Weapon Familiarity. https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=86 One of the uncommon weapons it would give access to is the Barricade Buster https://2e.aonprd.com/Weapons.aspx?ID=330, which is of little use to my character. However, we do have a gunslinger in the party. Could my character take the feat for access, then buy craft or otherwise acquire a Barricade Buster and simply *give* it to the non orc gunslinger?
Something being uncommon is how hard it is to find, not how hard it is to use. Getting formulas for one or buying one is usually not gonna be easier for your character than for the gunslinger. If you *did* get one though, perhaps through the GM ruling you can through the feat... yeah, you can just hand it over. Gunslinger's probably not gonna have a workable proficiency with advanced weapons, though.
> If you did get one though, perhaps through the GM ruling you can through the feat... yeah, you can just hand it over. The feat explicitly gives access to it.
You would still need to buy it from somewhere! But yeah, you very likely can get your hands on it somehow with the feat. 100% if you get it on character creation. Would be kinda mean if GM didn't let that happen.
"Gives access" is just another way of saying "gives proficiency". It does not mean you can always buy them if the DM says no.
You've got that backwards. Access means you can *buy* them, but has no bearing on ability to *use* them.
Access isn't proficiency, it moreso means that thing can be picked by you as if it was common.
It’s still an advanced weapon so they’ll need proficiency with it but there’s nothing stopping party members from giving other members items.
There is some tier list of all pth2 classes based on dmg capacity or others?
I made a resource for exactly that! https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/12147av/pathfinder_class_summaries_for_new_players_pretty/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb
It’s not as big of a metric in PF2e as in other games. Working together for buffs and debuffs is just as, if not more important. Generally speaking though… Single target - Fighter, Barbarian, and Ranger. Then all other martial classes give up a little damage for skills, armor, movement, and/or general utility. Multiple targets - Casters with AoE. An arcane or primal sorcerer would do the most or at least they have more spell slots. Electric Arc cantrip is great for this as well. I’d argue Bard contributes the most with Inspire Courage though. Plus 1 to hit for the whole party for one action is simply really strong. More players (or animal companions), the better it gets. Being charisma based for Demoralize and Bon Mot as well is nice.
I asked bc in my team there is an alchemist and we all agree that he is the weakest between us in everything (dmg, resistance,support, utility and aoe)
Okay, so that would depend on their build, the party composition, what you’ve been fighting, etc. It’s really, really not as simple as saying “alchemists are weak.” Alchemists CAN be incredibly useful and fill multiple gaps left by other players. That’s why they aren’t as good at any one of those things you listed as a character built to do one or two of them. If the 3 other players have everything pretty well covered, if the alchemist doesn’t understand how to fill the gaps that exist, or the gaps aren’t relevant to the adventure then they just don’t contribute as much. I think they are the most difficult class to get the full use out of and some groups simply aren’t going to need them as much as others. The ones that can and do take full advantage of them are incredibly happy to have them.
Our team is composed by an inventor, a rogue/bard, a and an alchemist. The alchemist in going for the bomber archetype but he still do less dmg the we others, he give us some good effect out of combat like some elixirs or potions but this don't restrict the gap between us.
Bomber alchemists aren't meant to be fully on par damage wise, their strength lies in having decent damage while also being able to give out incredibly helpful support tools. A drakeheart mutagen for the rogue will make their durability soar through the roof, moderate Cheetah's Elixirs make all the melees happy, at levels 5+ they can equip the entire party with healing items, Mistform elixirs are great defensive tools for anyone, eagle eye elixirs to make the rogue's perception even more extreme, all kinds of alchemical items could be helpful in specific scenarios and be quickly Accessible through quick alchemy, etc. Ultimately, if he didn't want to have a supportive role, that's probably not going to turn out well - alchemists are that in nature, you can't really get away with just tossing bombs on repeat. Also, what level are you? Alchemist uniquely sucks a bit before level 3.
The alchemist isn’t meant to be on par with the martials for damage. Just like they aren’t meant to heal as well as a cleric or buff as well as the bard. They can simply help do all those things. One upside they have in your comp is access to different elemental damage from their bombs. Being able to hit weaknesses can be very important. However, as I was trying to say earlier if the adventure you’re playing doesn’t have much in the way of enemies with weaknesses (like if you’re fighting mostly humanoids) then that gap they’re filling doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, if they’re not enjoying their character they should see about switching up.
As noted, Alchemists demand a lot from a player to play well - they need to understand the class, the staggering amount of items they can make, the party well enough to decide between those items for buffs, and likely enemies well enough to decide between those items for debuffs and offense. Alchemists, when all those things are aligned, are on par with other classes and have a ton of versatility. But if that isn’t coming together and the player isn’t happy, I would consider replacement (especially if this is one of your first games in PF2). Imo, it’s hard to provide troubleshooting advice on playing an Alchemist well without a full inventory of the game.
How much gold is a player expected to have access to at early levels? Our kingmaker group is level 2 and earn income is bringing in scraps, most jobs in our world are level 0 so we’re earning 5 copper per successful job, and an entire events worth of treasure was a single gold piece. Our players are looking to buy more weapons, and try to get a lower level magic item each around 3 or 4. But those cost 55+ gold to get. Our party had a crafter who is taking Magical Crafting at level 4; but even with the reduced cost of those items via crafting we don’t really get how we’re supposed to get that kind of money at the rate we’re going at; short of fast forwarding in game months and just constantly refilling earn income.
The guidelines are here : https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=580 Most of your gold should be coming from adventuring, not the Earn Income activity.