>>98113913
some sites for P2e are broken to me, do they work for anybody else?

Asked last thread, will ask only once this one.
Can anyone help a fellow anon out? I'm looking for official stats for Hshurha, the Duchess of All Winds? One of the Elemental Lords? My googlefu is failing me now and I wonder if it's because it was printed once in an overlooked book/magazine/article or just never printed. Failing that, does anyone have any stat blocks for her that they made themselves, or even stat blocks from other creatures that would work? I'll go with the best of whatever anyone's got.

>>98114150
They're busted, the link repo is another thing in need of an update.
Feel free to list sites, I'll cook up a pastebin for the next thread.

Is Commander fun?
Trying to think of a good setup/build/fun character to make one as.

Is solarian any good? Either in sf2e or backported into pf2e?

>bard
>mystic (rhythm)
>envoy (spotlight)
>luminary
I feel like Starfinder kneecaps itself frame one by making mystic a very blatant fusion of bard, druid, and cleric.

>>98114902
I find 2e Solarian fundamentally broken without any subclasses. I would have not released it without such a major oversight.
I played one back in 1e and it was fine enough. I found myself struggling with melee in a ranged focused game a lot.

Like, I get that the subclasses in the playtest sucked ass. The whole class is about balancing the lightside and darkside. So, why do the subclasses amount to lightside, darkside, and gray jedi and entirely discard that mechanic? When I get the feedback that all my subclasses suck, I would make new ones instead of just scrapping a core feature of the game's mechanics.

Is there anywhere I could find statblocks for like… Normal dudes? Heavy infantry and stuff like that.

>>98115640
You should go to the Archives of Nethys (for either edition) and look for Humanoid monsters. Specifically Humans. Those tend to have the generic statblocks you might want.

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>>98111690
Ring of Protection right, sorry.
I guess I misread it, so it doesn't work like an Amulet of Natural Armour and stacks up then?

>>98115996
An AoNA gives an enhancement bonus to Natural Armor, which is why it stacks with normal natural armor and other bonuses to AC. Kinda like how the +X from armor (which are enhancement bonuses) stacks with armor, they're a different type of bonus (enhancement to natural armor vs enhancement to armor), so they stack.

The Gun Tank ability and a RoP both give a deflection bonus to AC. Same type, so they don't stack, you'd use the highest of the two, which is going to be the Gun Tank ability for firearms and splash weapons, and the ring for probably everything else.

Very few bonuses stack with each other, the most common one being Dodge.

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>>98114902
It functions. It is basically the sparkling soulknife of P/SF2e, it pays a lot for the privilege of having a slightly better sword than normal, and a kind of shitty gun that takes no hands to use. Its feats are propped up by 1-2 of them being kinda good, and its chassis is barebones enough it would make an Italian grandma faint. It genuinely needed to exist in a book that wasn't shared with 5 other classes. Baffled it just ejected the idea of having subclasses and replaced it with abso-fucking-lutely nothing. Didn't even let you pick and choose manifestations, using the wealth of ideas leftover from SF1e, no Lunar Blade? Didn't even put Brutal on its Flare, if you were going to lock it to Strength? At bare minimum Plasma Ejection could have been a core feature, if part of its identity is supposed to be "has AoE option selects".

>>98115599
>>98116331
I actually kind of get the loss of subclasses. While they are of course Space Jedi, they never were supposed to be so hard split between light powers and gravity. It makes more sense to let them do both and let the player customize how much they want to dip into their ideal Jedi fantasy. There's plenty of SW media where they do just "cross-class" powers like that. They just aren't like Kineticist where all the characters its aping were hardlocked into specific niches.

The real issues mainly come down to the lack of DEX options and options in general. They are just a pretty vanilla beatdown class with some moderate MAD issues, which I don't think subclasses would have fixed. AT MOST, it should be like Alchemist Research Fields where there's specific buffs but all the feats are unlocked for them all, and even then you see how rough that can be. Like they said, being stuck in a book with too many classes left them with the short end of the stick, but it at least a stick that can be built upon with enough time.

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>>98116278
Ah, that makes a lot more sense now, thank you.

>>98116434
So, like I said, I understand getting rid of the existing shitty subclasses. Why were they not replaced with good ones? You could take the mote and turn that into a subclass instead of making it default. Luke doesn't shoot magic beams out, but Palpatine does. Make the mote an optional thing, instead of a free thing for everyone to use. Now there's no framework for people to add subclasses, since they've been ripped out.

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Okay, new thread. Excellent. Here's the question: PCs are going to the site of a recent (in historical terms) battle, where there's been reports of a Leukodaemon gallivanting about and causing issues. This Leukodaemon is genre-savvy, and focuses on memetic diseases such as nostalgia and doubt. To make a long story short, I want to frame the battle where a number of PCs are "in the past," so to say, and witnessing the final hours of the battle. I've got a pretty good map of "battle" and "post-battle" to reflect this, so I can have one group on one page while the others are on another.

But here's my issue; a Leukodaemon and Bloom of Lamashtu (best representative of this kind of fucked up flower) are like... CR 9 and CR 10, respectively, and the PCs are Level 7. That's already an Extreme encounter, and utterly wastes the potency of a Leukodaemon's disease aesthetic. I think fighting a huge, immobile threat is really cool, but I don't think it's cool enough for the PCs to be forced into a "four dudes beat up two strong monsters." That's something you save for Dragons.

What I'm thinking is... The Bloom is dormant right until the Leukodaemon dies? And until then, it's puppeting corpses it's ripped out of the soil. Pic related is cool art I found that could be used for that (there's a few "plant-infested" monsters, but I'd have to hunt for them.)

I don't quite know what I'm asking from you guys. I guess it's me airing out my brain to the only people I'm comfortable discussing it with, and seeing if you have any monster recommendations, encounter angles (since there's an interesting faux-time travel going on) and so on.

>>98117298
(I assume you're running 2e)
So how exactly does this Leukodaemon's memetic powers manifest? Is there some kind of effect it has on the surroundings? To creatures? Perhaps one interesting effect it could have is something along the lines of battlefield warriors (whether temporally real or not) interfering with the players in some way or causing some kind of potential for like "player can spend an action to instruct the ghost of a nearby past warrior to make an attack on their behalf" or something along those lines to make the whole thing more interactive?

File: solatorobomerge.gif (3.9 MB)

I will ask once again
[PF2E]
I want to make a mini-mecha pilot but I heard inventor sucks dick. my GM is willing to accept a few home fixes to help and I enter at Level 8. Any tips?

>>98117568
That could be a very good way to make the battle more winnable, absolutely. The PCs who are hallucinating the past can order the ghost warriors to attack phantasmal roots, which cause the Bloom to lose something important (HP, armor, saves, whatever I feel the PCs need a leg-up against.)

>>98117298
What about treating the past and present stuff like a Haunt. So that by disabling the haunt, it turns off some of the Leukodaemon's features / causes a backlash hurting it / making it easier to hurt. Or like you said here >>98117703 cause the Bloom to become easier to deal with.

>>98117296
I think it is very valid to ask WHY would something need a subclass system, especially when you are limited by page space. Effectively splitting the design and complexity space of any given class is already something of a tough sell, even more once you start piecemealing and splitting feats between them to promote their character, role, and playstyle. This isn't 5e, you don't need subclasses to fill in the blanks of character progression.

Asking the Solarian to pick between a melee weapon, a ranged weapon, or a SHIELD is kind of a silly ask (cough cough INVENTOR cough cough). And going with the idea that Palpatine or Darth Vader are so stuck in the lightning attack they can't hold things with the Force or even retrieve their saber with it is genuinely wrong, so splitting powers by subclass is a no-go. So what are you left with divide or promote with for a subclass system?

Sure, Paizo has phoned-in subclass systems before, see Bard. And Solarian does need more to it; both power budget and feat selection. But I don't think putting effort into more subclasses would be the solution. Out of all the things arbitrarily cut from the playtest, I can take the loss of a subclass system that didn't need to be there.

>>98117790
How did I forget about Haunts? Talk about tunnel vision! I’ve got the idea right now; the Bloom focuses on maintaining the Haunt while the Leukodaemon fights with swarms and other freaky bullshit. The PCs can either solve the Haunt or tough through it, and in doing so damages the Bloom so that when it’s time for the Bloom to fight (after the Leukodaemon can’t tard wrangle it anymore) the PCs are all together. One of those slick two-stage fight type of things.

>>98118089
>>98117790
By the way, I’m looking at The Fight as a possible Hazard to either use or be inspired by. A big aspect of the flashback is that one of the PC’s father died in the war, and I’m going to reveal another PC’s father was responsible.

>>98117921
If subclasses don't need to be here, let's cut them. Get rid of connections, leadership styles, all of them. They aren't needed, right? This ain't 5e, right?

2e
What is the point of Bands of Force? Since the earliest you can get one is lvl 8, a pc that has been playing for a while will already have +1 armor. Even if you are making a higher level character, Magic Armor is the same price and you can get all possible versions and not just the different Resilient versions. Plus the reaction quickly gets outpaced. Also, can you even put property runes on Bands of Force?

2e
If your ancestry feat / heritage gives you an natural armor, could you have a precious material put on it? I'm playing a Titan Nagaji who has Fortification on them and was curious if I could get Dawnsilver applied to it to override the extra bulk. Would that work?

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anyone else kinda get tired of PF2e once you realize how the math works
sure i can play whatever class and take whatever feats and be whatever race and even take a free archetype
the names change, i might be casting a spell or hitting with a sword or shooting a pistol, but the fundamental math and rotation behind everything is the same
it doesnt matter what the name of these things are if they all feel the same
every combat it's the same rotation of spells/abilities/attacks
it might be a ghost or goblin or dragon or orc or demon but their math's always the same
there might be some wacky thing that shakes it up every once in a while but once you get over the gimmick combat goes back to its usual flow
its like playing the gambit system in FFXII but there it's fun to watch your party operate like a well oiled machined
here it's just going through the motions
it feels like doing the same math problem over and over and over again, at first it felt fun to solve it now it's just the same shit different day

In 1e are there magic items that increase the DC of unarmed stunning fist?

>>98117571
Reflavored Construct Summoner

>>98119796
Headband of Wis is the obvious one. I'd consider the debuff route if you're already going unarmed though. Enforcer allows you to demoralize as a free action, and +1 Cruel Handwraps adds the sickened condition after that. Together that's a -4 penalty to their saves (and attack). Probably requires a round of setup before you use stunning fist though.
>https://aonprd.com/FeatDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Enforcer
>https://aonprd.com/MagicWeaponsDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Cruel

>>98117921
>Asking the Solarian to pick between a melee weapon, a ranged weapon, or a SHIELD is kind of a silly ask

Thats almost exactly what I'm asking for. Instead of shield, it would be solar armor. Learn from the Kineticist, you get a significant choice at 1st level, then can choose to either get better with your earlier choice OR branch out into other choices at 5th, 9th, etc.

>Weapon, KAS STR or DEX(granted the finesse trait to your solar weapon), can get traits like Thrown and Parry
>Flare, KAS Dex, choose handedness like the weapon and get different damage die/ranges
>Nimbus/Armor, KAS Con, Get a damage reducting reaction

>>98121439
genuinely I think Kineticist's style of subclass system would massively benefit several other classes. Alchemist research fields would probably massively benefit from it.

>>98120415
I'm gonna blow my shit schmoove off

>>98121439
There's a good reason why I pointed out Inventor and that is, even in a universe where it is good and you can be the Iron Man fantasy, I highly doubt a lot of people want to pick a featline option where all the benefits are not only entirely passive, but reliant on you getting hit. See also the Evil Champions for a less extreme but still pretty bad example of why this doesn't work.

I'm going to skip the whole "people want to USE their powers" diatribe and focus more on the fact that, again, why do they need a subclass? Why do they need their weapons to be split? What would be a feat that only a Thrown Solar Weapon could have that a Solar Flare wouldn't also want or could use? Customization and limitations are important, but you always have to make a strong argument as to why the class needs them.

PF1e question
Gunslinger - Bolt Ace specifically.
If I take a Heavy Crossbow, have Rapid Reload for it and at 11th gain Inexplicable Reload I can shoot the heave xbow twice per round, correct? Is there any way to increase that to take advantage of all iterative attacks or do I have to go with a light xbow to do that?

>>98122254
You're looking for Crossbow Mastery, you should be able to afford it by the time you get your third iterative.

>>98122328
TY, forgot about that one.

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>>98119772
Isn't that just every RPG?

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I could use your help, anons. I got invited to play in a friend's 2e game, but all of my previous experience is with 1e and dnd 5e. Can someone give me a quick rundown of 2e's major differences, and tips on what classes are easiest to pick up and play while I get my bearings? All I really know about it is that they somehow made fighters good this time around and that they took drow out behind the shed and shot them. Thank you for your time.

>>98122971
I'd say Fighter, Barbarian, and Rogue are all pretty easy to grasp. Sorcerer and Bard are also good for beginners if you're looking to play a caster.

>>98122971
There's not a great QRD to give because the editions are so different. We would be here all day if we had to point them all out. Can at least give you a link to the AoN Beginner's Guide so you can pick up on the differences.
https://2e.aonprd.com/PlayersGuide.aspx

Generally, the most core differences are
>Proficiency and Skill Trainings aren't point-based but a tier system that provides Level+2/4/6/8 to your roll.
>Critical Hits/Fumbles on everything is codified, nearly everything has additional effects if you crit them.
>Succeeding/Failing a check by +/-10 changes your "Degree of Success".
>The combination of the above creates a semi-bounded accuracy system where everything is expected to be within 0-4 levels up or down from you, and breaking past such on your own is near-impossible.
>Emphasis on "on your own", teamwork is key to such.
>Weapon and Critical Specializations from Starfinder1e are imported in.
>4 types of feats: Class, Skill, General, and Ancestry, granted at different levels.
>Archetypes are now a universal system, not class-based. You buy them with your class feats.
>Multiclassing is by the above, no dip levels or such. As such your base class matters heavily, as you can't customize their proficiency, competencies, or features nearly as easily.

As for starter classes
>Fighter
>Rogue
>Barbarian
>Champion
>Guardian
>Ranger
>Bard
>Sorcerer
>Witch

All make for good beginner-to-intermediate-friendly options.

>>98122989
>>98123015
Thank you both very much, I appreciate the info!

>>98122971
>>98123015
Also you get 3 actions per turn rather than "movement phase then one action," with moving as an action, and instead of BAB ratings for additional attacks, each additional Strike in a turn is -5 and -10 for the second and third, with feats for certain classes reducing that. Depending on the specific spell casting times may take multiple actions, Heal for example can be cast as 1 action as a touch spell, 2 as a ranged single target, and 3 as an AoE.

You missed Cleric.

>>98124145
The 3-action system is definitely one of the more major points and strengths of 2e but I was mainly focusing on Pathfinder-isms that would feel distinctly different from someone that's a big 1e-head.

I also avoided Cleric because of some of the nuances, such as Doctrines splitting features, deity spell lists, and the Divine list being situational and "lacking" damaging options if you don't know where to search. It's easy to healslut, but you can probably just play Sorcerer or Witch. And I don't consider healing to be a beginner role.

>>98118635
>Since the earliest you can get one is lvl 8
The GM book outright tells you to give treasure whose level is higher than the party's.
>The guidelines for awarding treasure, meanwhile, have you give the party items 1 level higher than the PCs. This means the items found on adventures are more powerful than those a PC could make (which are capped at the PC's level). (GM Core, Treasure, p.58)

>>98119772
try playing with a GM that makes you do other things during fights or let you resolve fights in different ways

the map also tends to be very important

>>98122971
the most important thing during combat is figuring out how to make the enemy's number smaller while your number big by using a ton of actions you don't use all the time that might be good against that enemy. Learn to recall knowledge and target saves

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>LEGACY OF THE FORGE Another gear book similar to Treasure Vault for all us loot gremlins. It will include new rules for Relics that are far less restrictive in terms of flavor and form, allowing us to customize them and have more items that can grow with our characters, and be more easily utilized by the GM to tie important items into campaigns or character backstories.

>LOST OMENS: UNSEEN WORLD They're still being pretty cagey about what we're actually going to be seeing here. What's been confirmed is that it will dive into spiritual and religious practices in Golarion, so probably a more ground-level version of a lot of the stuff we saw in Divine Mysteries? We will also have 2 new Animist Apparitions and a few new feats, a new Druid Order based on the floral traditions of Vudra and Jalmeray, and a few more unannounced class options.

>CHRONICLES OF THE PATHFINDER SOCIETY Basically a Best Of reprinting of Paizo's best PFS Scenarios, including many from 1st edition which are getting reprinted. Mike said that they're doing this because they felt a lot of the hard work and storytelling that was put into 1st edition PFS was being forgotten and wanted to bring it back for people to enjoy, which is great.

>ADVENTURE PATH: WAKING TIGERS This is definitely one of the weirder concepts for a 1-11 AP I've seen and I'm certainly interested. You play a bunch of investigators in the Tian Xia nation of Hwanggot who have been framed for a crime and need to go on an adventure to prove your innocence. The cover implies you're going to the Darklands of Tian Xia. What's weird is that you will be adventuring, then frequently, repeatedly cutting to a courtroom scene of your trial already in progress, pleading your case while being defended by a kitsune lawyer. And yes, they confirmed that, if you die, YOUR CHARACTER WILL STILL BE PRESENT AT THE TRIAL! They confirmed there was a bit of Phoenix Wright inspiration here, which is good because I love those games.

Asking for feedback on Thaumaturge's part, feel free to also point out feats in need of a touch up or that the class should have. https://scribe.pf2.tools/v/M89l6Vvf

>>98125816
The PFS Society collection is long overdue and the AP sounds interesting, I hope Paizo doesn't fuck everything up too bad

Is there any spellcasting archetype that would notably benefit thaumaturge in a meaningful way?

>>98126689
How often do you find yourself having two spare actions in a turn that you can use for spellcasting?

>>98126689
Preremaster Infinite Eye Psychic for Guidance-as-a-Reaction

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So, uh, apparently paizo nuked all of their product discussion threads and reviews half a year ago or so. Was this saved anywhere? This was not only people discussing the books but also direct input by the content designers to clarify intent and answer questions. Is all of it just gone?

>>98126689
I'm currently playing a Thaumaturge with Bard dedication. But I have taken none of the spellcasting feats and hard focused on Courageous Anthem and social feats. Current I am lvl 12 and so far I have grabbed Polymath Muse for Versatile Performance, Multifarious Muse (Maestro), Antemic Performance, Counter Perform, Dirge of Doom. With the idea of grabbing Fortissimo Composition and Multifarious Muse (Warrior) to have 3 focus points for Fortissimo and so long as I hit on the turn I do it, I will extend it to 2 rounds. While not grabbing any of the spellcasting feats, I still have access to wands and scrolls of Occult nature. But it does mean my first turn usually consists of Exploit Vulnerability, Courageous Anthem / Dirge of Doom + Lingering Composition and one action to play with. The party loves how much I bring to the table and the Bomber Alchemist really gets to shine knowing what bombs to proc weakness.

1E question
How do I not provoke AOOs while using a ranged weapon? Just always rely on 5 foot step or...? This is for a level 11 Bolt Ace archetyped Gunslinger.

>>98127991
Point Blank Master is what you're looking for, which is unfortunately gated behind Weapon Specialization, which itself is gated behind 4 levels of Fighter (or an equivalent class like Swashbuckler which counts as fighter for the purpose of things like feats). Outside of this, basically the only way to cheat out getting to qualify for stuff relegated to Fighter is if you're not currently in a campaign and can respec your race as a Ganzi, since they have an a racial quality via the Weaponplay racial trait.

If, however, you're currently in an ongoing campaign and not just starting at level 11, your next best bet is to take Empty Quiver Style, which lets you use your ranged weapon as a bludgeoning tool as well as use melee and ranged combat interchangeably within the same turn during your full attacks. It ALSO lets you qualify for Stabbing Shot, a feat where you take a piece of ammo, stab it into an enemy, and force THEM to 5ft back from you so long as you hit. Not exactly what you were asking for, I know, but it's technically an option if you're not fighting creatures with reach that are getting right on top of you.

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>2019.
>Bad breakup with the old group, decide to take up PFS.
>First couple sessions are hectic, but settle in once the rurus get hammered in.
>Decide the restrictions are actually pretty nice, encourages creativity to get around problems that crafting a +6 Belt of Perfection or stealing a mitral full plate at level four would just ignore.
>Play a disgraced Taldan wrestler who was framed in a drug ring, got beaten half to death after saving up enough money to start an investigation, end up taking sanctuary in the Grand Lodge, picking up work out of gratitude.
>2020, start hearing whispers about China.
>Ironically stop hearing whispers from the suprising amount of Chinese friends from the old fandom days.
>New guy joins a month in.
>Makes a Gunslinger.
>"My character has no name, but a direction, and only in his dreams."
>DM gives him a look.
>"You...need to give him a name if you want xp."
>"...Oh."
>Names are his weak spot.
>Give him one of my older ones to help him along.
>"My name is Gang Bangington, I'm a Funslinger and good Lord, do I love to kill."
>DM gives me a look.
>"I just gave him the name, man."
>Gang Bangington starts problems in our first fight by pulling out at least a dozen guns, one after another, all at level one.
>Turns out they're all improvised guns and the DM couldn't think of a ruling against specific improvisation.
>Gives him a free gun and a pity Rapid Reload, warns him to shape up.
>Session goes by well all things considered; Gang Bangington manages to get four crits in a row at one point.
>Hit a few more sessions, news breaks.
>March, lockdowns hit.
>Never hear from any of them again.
> Discover years after the fact that the fucker named all of his guns after school shootings .

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>>98113913
what the fuck is up with the Lost Omens: Rival Academies book?

it's like the entire thing is written by lmao so randum xD millenials, nobody takes anything seriously, everything is so wacky and light hearted

this is what i'll point to, when people ask why I don't like the direction of pf2e's lore

>>98128417
>book about school aged adventures
>written by adults half remembering their own youth through a fog cloud of toxic nostalgia
>WTF, why is it written like a TikTok obsessed kid?
Not everything in a whole world needs to be the same tone.

>>98128249
Truly Pathfinder is a game for all different sorts

>>98117921
>Sure, Paizo has phoned-in subclass systems before, see Bard
see every caster class

>>98128417
>it's like the entire thing is written by lmao so randum xD millenials, nobody takes anything seriously, everything is so wacky and light hearted

welcome to PF2E. selectively ignoring the cringe parts of the setting is a necessary skill for playing in Golarion.

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How fun is Animist out of curiosity and what sort of free archetypes go well with it? I've seen an example of it in play as well as class guides, but it seems to be one of, if not the most complex of the spellcasters, at least to someone who usually plays martials (though I did start playing a 2/3rds done Abomination Vaults at lvl 9 as a legally distinct Fleshwarped Mentalist Wizard recently that has been fun so far.)

>>98130760
Paizo dropped the ball in making Liturgist one of the subclasses instead of making its features part of the chassis, otherwise it's a really fun class.
Elf for Elf Step (coincidentally at the same level as Liturgist's Dancing Invocation) and Guardian dedication's Guarded Advance at 12th level (especially with Cleric's Raise Symbol) makes for very flexible and efficient turns.

>>98130760
You are still a caster, so standard caster fuckery will apply.

There's a massive difference between Lithurgist and all other subclasses. Namely being able to engage with your signature class mechanic or being taxed all the way to fucking hell and back with sustains. If you are a Lithurgist you will also be mandated to join the Master Race, Elf (or Stryx) for double stepping.

The class has a lot of Gish-sounding feats and spells wihch you can't realistically use competently because you don't have the proficiencies or saves to not die if you do. Which means there's a graveyard of choices to be baited by.

Despite all of that its probably the least depressing/most fun caster. The spell progression is retarded (1 spontaneous and 2 prepared per spell level until randomly you retroactively get 2 spontaneous for all levels below the max one out of nowhere at 10) but being able to pair divine with daily choice of grab bag is nice. Lores are entirely dependent on your DM or his hatred for you (and you will earn this when your list will be perma-stuck on Volcano and Farm lore if your party ever looks at your choices of focus spells).

Any casting archetype will pair nicely with it. Cleric and Druid going off Wis means you don't even have to pay taxes to get into them. Bard for the Composition Cantrips to abuse for even more sustained abuse (at the cost of having to invest in Charisma) are the main choices.

>>98122219
>I highly doubt a lot of people want to pick a featline option where all the benefits are not only entirely passive, but reliant on you getting hit.

People seem pleased with Guardian. Also, as the default melee guy, you will be attacked.

>See also the Evil Champions for a less extreme but still pretty bad example of why this doesn't work.

The evil champs are bad because paizo doesn't wanna make evil the selfish & cool choice that it easily could/should be

>why do they need a subclass? Why do they need their weapons to be split?

1. They are the only player core class without one. You can grant special stuff when its semi gated within a "subclass".
2. The totally not a Jedi really should've had a level of effort similar to the kineticist, who was THE class of their book
>Why do they need their weapons to be split?

They are MAD as shit otherwise.

File: Radia's Bestiary Page final.png (1.4 MB)

I may have mentioned this before, but there's vanishingly little content revolving around radiation that's not specifically relegated to specific individuals in specific campaigns. That said, there's not NOTHING, so while Radia here is walking around with some ridiculously expensive body mods for a creature her level (I think between everything it's almost 70K in gold to purchase, plus they permanently take up equipment slots), the actual obtained value isn't obscenely high because for some reason Paizo just really overvalued many of these mods, especially when the drawbacks are taken into account.

As always, you can find the others I've done here: https://x.com/DrumerThead/status/2060822541065724079

>>98128417
>what the fuck is up with the Lost Omens: Rival Academies book?
Paizo doubled down on the Kool-Aid back in 2018 and never recovered. Multi-post explanations have been given on how shitty the setting has become, but I will try and condense it into as succinct as a sentence as possible; Paizo is full of sad old men desperate to feel connected to a culture that looks increasingly foreign to them, and so they do this through hiring and elevating as many gutter-budget writers as they can. There used to be something worthwhile with the setting, there isn't anymore. Just make your own world and ignore the Lost Omens books.

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>>98117571
I was looking up how to make my build, and I'm going for a Construct Inventor Catfolk. My GM allowed one plead: I can get Increased Size for free to allow for the mecha fantasy more easily while still letting me take another initial modification. This is huge since now I can take the Projectile Launcher AND Turret Configuration on at level 7

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>>98126613
>I hope Paizo doesn't fuck everything up too bad
They managed to fuck up the War against Cheliax APs and turn what is likely the biggest build-up for a metaplot into something bland and tasteless. Even War for the Crown did a better job at resolving a long-hyped piece of lore, and that was still infamous.

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>>98131498
anon you fucking idiot if you're at level 7 and you pick advanced construct you get large size for your construct for free

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Stat him

>>98131700
Size/Type: Large Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 5d10+25 (52 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+14
Attack: Claw +9 melee (1d6+5)
Full Attack: 2 claws +9 melee (1d6+5) and bite +4 melee (1d8+2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab
Special Qualities: Scent
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +2
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 12, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Listen +8, Spot +8
Feats: Alertness, Track
Environment: Temperate forests
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (3-8)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 6-8 HD (Large); 9-15 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: —

>>98131035
>People seem pleased with Guardian. Also, as the default melee guy, you will be attacked.
Getting hit is the point of Guardian, and even then 2/3 of its core features are active/reactive features. Taunt and Intercept Attack are things you choose to do, it isn't something you hope you get to benefit with. Solarian is neither a tank class nor something you can just slap in a reaction on the Nimbus to have it do Tank things. It isn't something you can turn into a Tank with a subclass, not without adding more core features.
Furthermore, a good Defender isn't one that just waits for their powers to be useful. It is why Fighter is not a Defender despite being the "default melee guy". The expectation of being on the frontlines and being hit does not a mean you WANT to be that, compared to a Guardian who job is to body-block.

>They are the only player core class without one. You can grant special stuff when its semi gated within a "subclass".
I'd argue having a class that DOESN'T have a subclass or a far less restrictive option is valuable design space. While limitation breeds creativity, a subclass is a very easy place to fuck up and leave nothing good for them. Outwit Ranger, Mastermind Rogue, Vanguard Gunslinger, Unfurling Brocade Magus, Wand Thaumaturge. There's a lot of ways a subclass can go wrong, in ways that feel worse than just a bad feat or option. They shouldn't MAKE bad options or subclasses, but when it DOES happen, it leaves a lot more high-and-dry than they normally would thanks to opportunity costs. That's why if a class can get away without subclasses and put potent options as something any build could take, I'm fine with that. And Solarian is just a design and idea I don't see needing to segregate themselves for the hope of stronger tools.

Solarian needs help but I don't see how making an Only Weapon/Flare/Nimbus subclass would help.

>>98131005
>The class has a lot of Gish-sounding feats and spells wihch you can't realistically use competently because you don't have the proficiencies or saves to not die if you do.
Why. Why must Paizo continue to mock me.
Are these options at least decent on an actual martial character with the animist archetype?

>>98132082
Something anon left out is that Animist has the Embodiment of Battle focus spell. This trades out -2 of their spell proficiency for +2 (status) bonus for their attacks and martial weapon training. It's why they have more gish feats than normal.
The point about the defenses is valid, but with Liturgist being able to sustain the spell and move at Level 9, combined with Embodiment of Battle, makes them one of the best bases for a caster gish build.

>>98125816
>>ADVENTURE PATH: WAKING TIGERS This is definitely one of the weirder concepts for a 1-11 AP I've seen and I'm certainly interested. You play a bunch of investigators in the Tian Xia nation of Hwanggot who have been framed for a crime and need to go on an adventure to prove your innocence. The cover implies you're going to the Darklands of Tian Xia. What's weird is that you will be adventuring, then frequently, repeatedly cutting to a courtroom scene of your trial already in progress, pleading your case while being defended by a kitsune lawyer. And yes, they confirmed that, if you die, YOUR CHARACTER WILL STILL BE PRESENT AT THE TRIAL! They confirmed there was a bit of Phoenix Wright inspiration here, which is good because I love those games.
It us incredible how dogshit 2e APs are
Cant possibly write a decent fucking darklands AP it has to be a gay gimmick

>>98132316
https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-adventure-path-vaultlines/
cough

>>98132319
Serpent Skull was unpopular why would anyone care about Serpent Skull 2

>>98130789
>>98131005
I see. How is Animist as an archetype? Is it worth picking up for other classes?

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Piggybacking off the other guy asking about Animist, any opinions on Bloodrager? Everything I've seen about it online elsewhere has people shitting on it, and nobody ever posts about it here, but it's thematically quite cool.

I'm sorely tempted to roll one for an underdark campaign I'm joining, despite everything.

>>98132961
Butchered the original 1e concept for a pseudovampire larp and the features are shit outside of Hemocritical. Persuade your GM to let you use a homebrew that fixes it.
>>98132882
You get a scaling lore (up to master) you can switch and two cantrips, no vessel spells or wandering feats EVER. Skip it.

>>98132082
Animist archetype is pretty good but not for this.

The martial feats are all wandering. The spells for offense are all Focus Spells. You can't get either via archetype.

What it DOES do is give you more spells than any other spellcasting can, access to a list and a smidgen simultaneously and access to 2 lores per day.

You aren't getting much if anything from feats because Animist feats all apply to things you can't poach via archetype. But you ARE getting a truckload of stuff from the weird bag you can poach from.

>>98132108

You are still behind in terms of proficiency (this at best brings you to almost par on SOME levels with non-Fighter classes) and its also a status bonus and therefore does not stack with all of the most common buffs. You do not get a KAS to damage or to-hit and your defences are still all behind. Your armor and saves are not something you want to be in the frontline eating shit with.

There ARE combos but Circle of Spirits shuffling means that setup is a bitch. Impostor in Hidden Places and Reveler in Lost Glee can make you an actual living cancer for the DM. But that's all 3 of your apparitions locked down and the DCs are lower (which even for full casters without the -2 aren't going to be anything impressive).

Also lithurgist sustain is not on a move. Its on a step, leap or a tumble through. While you CAN tumble through without going through anything its not the same as a move because you can't use it for things that specially call out stride. This is a problem for things like Haste for example which explicitly restrict to Stride.

Granted the Gish space is so completely and utterly dogshit and things like Harbinger exist so comparatively Animist is pretty decent. But Gishing is already a losing proposition when it requires bending a class that doesn't have the raw inbuilt chasis (or is the living slot machine known as Magus).

Embodiment gives you reactive strike but you still need to find other feats.

>>98133831
Gishing wouldn't be as unfixably dogshit as it is if there were more(any) one-action spells.

Or if any casters were allowed to have any accuracy on weapons.

...cont

What animist CAN uniquely do with a Guardian or Champion archetype is become the most disgusting toxic piece of shit tank in the game.

You don't even bother getting a martial weapon. Animist has WAAAAY too many options that let you be a living war crime against the DM sanity by forcing saves and roll twice take worse on approaching you. You have access to the divine list on half your slots and Custodian of Groves and Gardens for the other half.

Champion and Guardian both have ways of stepping on shield raise so that combos with lithurgist.

You can't end combats but you can keep them going for months if you wanted. Specially because your focus spells are double sustainable by elf-step or the stryx feat. And one of them is the best healing spell in the game in terms of healing per cast.

>>98132882

It is unique. It is the only casting archetype that lets you get even more slots than any other (though restricted to the apparition spells). It grants you the divine list plus your apparition (though they have to be prepared) and you can change apparitions (1 day downtime) so its a smidgen on top of the divine list that you get access to (though some apparitions have EXTREMELY good lists to rob for martials on top of divine access).

Druids have literally no reason not to pilfer it instead of cleric unless they need some VERY SPECIFIC cleric feat (or a specific cleric focus spell???). Most classes will get somethign out of it simply because of divine list and at least one apparition being nice to peruse their list. At the worst you still get 2 lores and the divine list out of it.

>>98133836
Most focus spells are one-action. They just have no synergy with literally anything. Prebuff auras exist but then it immediately becomes "just buff the better character". If there were any spells that were personal only and did anything relevant without being hilarious action waste for uncircumcised baby dick damage and casters had a fucking BASELINE of accuracy then Gishing would be interesting. If you get baseline accuracy then the spells become secondary but then you are just playing a Fighter with Wizard archetype.

Embodiment of Battle is fucked in 3 senses.

It requires sustain (which is an issue even for lithurgist because if for ANY REASON you have a turn where you need to do a 3 action something or all your actions are spoken for you need to recast and that might even require a Circle of Spirits shuffle in between).

Its a status bonus so it doesn't stack with Bless or Heroism or 90% of the buffs in the game which you can already provide for the entire party.

It cucks your DCs which sounds w/e since you aren't offensive casting, but is BAD because you have more than a few DEFENSIVE options that have Save DCs. And those DO get completely cratered.

Embodiment is a Suck Less spell not a Become Mediocre/Good. The sustain itself also does nothing so only Lithuhrgist can even think of using it.

>>98132316
>>98132319
Wait, they’re doing two Darklands APs back to back? Good lord these people suck.
>>98132334
Serpent’s Skull would be considered high literature compared to the drek Paizo releases now, what a fall from grace.

>>98131990
NTA but what I want isn't to only have one manifestation, that was one of the shittiest parts of 1e Solarian, fuck that noise. What I want is just have even the tiniest bit of flex on the base chassis for manifestations. It's probably not even right to call it "subclasses", but "let me pick between Str and Dex" and "just give me more base profiles for the weapon and flare, and make them share core crystals" aren't even majorly transformative. Make those the level 1 choices that can't be toggled every time you make daily prep/manifest or whatever. My opinion that Plasma Ejection should be a core feature would arguably be a bigger deal.

I dunno man. Is it too much to think it reasonable to have a choice between the current melee and a 1h d6 finesse one; and then between the current flare and a profile that actually takes up a hand so it can have some more default range, or an extra trait? If I could trade full str mod for propulsive+brutal on Flare I'd do it in a heartbeat.

>>98133876
>did anything relevant without being hilarious action waste for uncircumcised baby dick damage and casters had a fucking BASELINE of accuracy then Gishing would be interesting.
So here's a genuine question here: if baseline accuracy was what matters, why did gishing work more in 1e?
Obviously the cavalcade of buffs and debuff types means you can stat-swing pretty much everything, but it isn't like you can't stat-swing in 2e. And arguably the average caster chassis is beefier in 2e than in 1e. The way BAB is that you needed a bare minimum of 3/4th BAB to actually get anywhere. While Expert Strikes in 2e is closer to 1/2th than 3/4th BAB, especially if you don't have STR/DEX Key Ability Score (more people should bitch about how bad a mechanic it is), I don't think it is that impossible to work with, especially if you have access to a buffing spell like Courageous Anthem/Dirge of Doom or Heroism.

In my mind, what makes gishing feel really bad in 2e is not just the default accuracy issues, but the "Vanilla Beater" experience. Using Wildshape Druid for example, the numbers and defenses when using battle forms are there. They are a more viable way of swinging for physical damage compared to summons. What makes it pretty lackluster is that there's nothing to actually DO with that form. Meanwhile the opposite end of this would be Battle Oracle where there ARE unique things they can do through Cursebound feats, but the numbers aren't there because lol lmao Weapon Trance is a fucking insult (EVEN POST-ERRATA).

I think the big question when it comes to non-gish-class gish opportunities in 2e isn't that it is statistically impossible, but what are the incentives to get in the frontlines and not just use a bow?

and of course obvious action economy issues with spellcasting and attacking but logistically speaking the old Move > Standard > Swift economy ran into the same problems so not really a core issue for the discussion.

>>98134525
I can't disagree with more options. That's just the big complaint there with Solarian, it just a class concept that shouldn't have been squished with 5 other classes and a whole book of rules. There's just plenty of things you can do with the Jedi class that you need space to elaborate on that being a core class can't give you, even if arguably it HAS to be a core class in a Space Fantasy setting.

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Did anyone have a power rankings that some guy posted here once?

I'm planning an Abomination Vaults run with my group of friends as the GM. Any tips or shit I should know beforehand? I want to modify the story and lore a bit but without fucking up the Vaults too much, does anyone know some important points to know?

>>98136704
double the map size.
This campaign is infamous for how squished it is. Do yourself a favor and double either the map or the grid size.

>>98137000
Would it be possible if I went through the route of remaking the maps myself? I got a lot of experience in dungeondraft and I could try just redoing the maps for my campaign

>>98137072
Not really, that is a lot of maps to redo for one person.
If you on a VTT already, just double the grid size in the map settings.

Anyone have any luck using AI to generate battle maps?

>>98137000
Different guy, but the issue I had with that is doubling the size broke all the walls and lighting effects (I'm using a pirated official module).

But yeah, the rooms are small as shit

>>98139029
No, they always come out as shit. I've tried for months using all the usual suspects. I've given them reference material, I've given them precise orders. It always comes out as slop.

>>98139033
There's some modules that will auto-adjust the walls and lights for you if you move them. Check Monk's Wall Enhancements out.

>2e
Best options for a character focused on non-combat utility and versatility?

Is there any class that wouldn’t immediately break if they got a class feat that let them be in 2 stances at once?

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>>98140020
Witch and Alchemist are my picks. Cauldron and Ceremonial Knife are really strong magic item creation feats and Alchemist can make plenty of non-combat tools and gear.

>>98140033
No class breaks with having access to Fuse Stance. But most stances aren't really designed to be used together anyway. They have pretty specific purposes that can clash pretty regularly, like say Mobile Shot Stance and Disarming Stance. Hell, Fuse Stance itself doesn't remove attack restrictions and outright just says the GM can say no if they can't figure out how they would go together.

It's one of those things that sounds more freeing than it actually is.

>>98140020
Regardless of what you choose, the system is devoted to combat. Everything else is an afterthought. Even if you are focusing on non-combat utility and versatility, if you don't have combat tools you are not going to have a fun time.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/1tu506q/i_thought_investigator_inventor_was_supposed_to/

Currently a bit of discourse going on in r/Pathfinder2e concerning the value of an investigator + inventor archetype as the main damage-dealer of a party, given a fatal d12 firearm.

>>98142208
You can get even more damage with an Incestigator + Magus.

Critting is always going to do big numbers on anything that isn't actively cucking itself to not do damage. Critting with a firearm in particular is almost always going to look impressive. The issue is the rest of the time ain't as hot and reload will sodomize your overall dpr.

Also archetyping to Inventor to rob the garbage can for its last usable dregs is very different from living inside said garbage can main classing it and archetyping out to ask for alms from the passerbys.

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>>98142208

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/1tu506q/i_thought_investigator_inventor_was_supposed_to/op8rdif/?context=2

They are using a custom weapon, apparently, a super-gun.

I have a silly PFS question and a general level-up question.
Let's say I'm allowed to play an orc for no good reason, with the 20-point buy am I allowed to give my orc a starting 22 Strength?
Second one, when would I generally try to get my first +1 to my weapon?
1e

>>98143241
Would it be better to invest first in a Belt of ability, armour, or the weapon? Let's say level four at the very least, please.

>>98143241
Yes you could start with 22 STR. It's a huge waste of points if you're using point buy though.

>>98143260
Weapon. That allows you to beat DR/magic and hurt ghosts. Affordable by lv 4. With standard wealth by level a belt is too expensive before lv 6.

>>98143429
Weapon, alright that's good. So armour would be next and the belt would be last, I guess? What about muscle casters, like the Prerrata Scarred Witch?

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Complaining about WOKE PAIZO is old hat and all, especially during Pride Month, but IF THIS SHIT GONNA BE DROPPING IN MY EMAIL, Y'ALL GONNA BE HAUNTED TOO.

>>98144139
>Weapon, alright that's good. So armour would be next and the belt would be last, I guess?
Yeah exactly. You also want to squeeze in a Cloak of Resistance to boost your saves and some AC boosters (Amulet of Natural Armor, Ring of Protection) if you're a frontliner.

>What about muscle casters, like the Prerrata Scarred Witch?
As a full caster you're mainly concerned with improving your casting stat, getting a cloak of resistance, and consumables/Metamagic Rods. A headband/belt is essentially your "weapon" and should be your focus. If you're playing a gish I'd get a +1 weapon first.

>>98144666
Oh shit it's pride already. Last year I accidentally went to a lesbian club and essentially lived through that simpsons meme.

The occult list was a mistake. It started as the bard list, then got psychic stapled to it, and now it’s gonna have necromancer stapled to that, turning into ‘Arcane but with Soothe’

>>98144666
You get emails from paizo? I couldn't even get them to respond to my LGS' owner's pleas for free PFS shit to advertise their crap.

>>98145324
It's just the weekly newsletter. I like to keep track of product releases and the like.
Just...NOT FUCKING THAT.

>>98145131
I respect the explanation they gave for why Necromancer is Occult: it is the in-between of Arcane and Divine. It goes back to the original lore as to the components of magic. If Arcane deals with Matter & Mind, Divine works with Life & Spirit, the one list that shares components between them is Occult -- Mind & Spirit. Between that and how there's 4 different "universal" necromancer options for Arcane and Divine casters to indulge in, I can't help but respect it, even if it would just make sense to let them pick Arcane, Occult, or Divine casting. Even moreso with Starfinder2e just letting Pick-A-List classes not have access to all lists.

The PaizoCon stream did seem to also give them ideas to let Primal Necromancers be a thing, just rob Circle of Spores Druid from 5e, so we likely gonna see them follow that up down the line.

1d4 weapon with reach, grapple and free hand, is this worth using by anything?

>>98145487
Depending on if you rule that you can Grapple with it while that same hand is occupied with an item, kind of a goofy weapon there. You basically have the Spider-Man Web Shooter there, that kind of have to be uncommon else you will bring out some degenerate shit right there.

>>98145528
Free hand means you can hold things while wearing it, but I believe the ruling is that a hand has to be empty to wield a free hand weapon

>>98143429
>R. It's a huge waste of points if you're using point buy though.
Why's that? Shouldn't Fighters or Barbarians completely overload their Strength, isn't that the point?

>>98145969
You should focus on your main stat, absolutely. But combat is more than just a +1 accuracy and +1/+2 dmg. As a STR martial you need all 3 physical stats which means you're dumping your mental stats in that case. An Orc with 22 STR would have a statline looking like 22/14/14/5/9/5. Which means your barbarian now has 1 skill rank per level and -3 to all charisma checks. You lack any mechanical way to interact with the story except "big weapon" and have just created two giant weaknesses to ability score dmg.

Want to scale the caste walls? Nope.
Want to swim across the river? Nope.
Want to intimidate the guards? Nope.
Want to jump over the ravine? Nope.
Want to find the path in the wilds? Nope

And as for the roleplaying aspect, every time you come up with a battle plan or figure out a clever solution, someone will side-eye you and ask if your INT 5 character could come up with that. In most cases it will be the GM. The extra +1 accuracy and +1/+2 dmg is not worth the hassle of playing an actual invalid who needs to be fed dinner because they don't understand how fire works. There are a thousand ways to optimize in PF1 and choosing a strong archetype, good feats, and class features are way more important than squeezing out an extra +2 strength.

>>98147035
Funny enough, I went with 22/12/14/5/10/5 on my orc Fighter, you were really close.
What would you go for then, 21/12/14/10/10/5, or just stop at 20 Str and have a disgusting 13 for Int?

>>98147464
Probably 20/14/14/10/10/5, although I'd much prefer to just be a half orc even though my STR would be 18 since they (as a core race) have a lot better alternate racial traits.

>>98147035
>>98147464
>>98147753
Ok Ok Ok, full stop. Right now I'm jigging around on the prerrata Scarred Witch Doctor, just curious about just how much HP I can pull out of this thing while comparing it with an orc Fighter for proper scaling. PFS rules as a laboratory condition, so 20-point buy, level twelve cap, 108k gp.
What would you suggest I go for for stats on both of them, I currently have
>20/14/17/5/8/5
or
>14/12/18/10/8/5
for the Witch, and
>20/14/14/10/10/5
for the Fighter. I'm ignoring the half-orc or gestalt right now because that will just spread me too thin. Build idea for Witch if I decide to put feats in would focus on healing or buffs; fuck talking.
I lost my dog on Saturday, I'm trying to find anything to avoid thinking about him or looking at his empty bed beside my bed .

>>98147035
>Want to scale the caste walls? Nope.
>Want to swim across the river? Nope.
>Want to intimidate the guards? Nope.
>Want to jump over the ravine? Nope.
>Want to find the path in the wilds? Nope
who gives a shit about any of this

if you wanted to do any of those things you should have been a caster

>>98147900
I'd actually dump your strength fully down to 11 as a witch doctor. You're a full caster (with hexes) so you shouldn't really need a high strength score. 11/14/18/10/8/8. And at this lv, as a full caster, it wouldn't be odd to splurge on a +6 belt. So about ~140 HP.

The fighter however, if they truly want to HP tank, would spend their feats on a familiar with the protector archetype so they can effectively double their HP as dmg is split between between the master and the familiar. If they're rocking a belt of physical perfection it ends up at ~105 HP or 210 effective HP.

>>98147905
Spell don't grow on trees mate

>>98148099
>d actually dump your strength fully down to 11 as a witch
But I want him to wade into a fight. That's the whole point of an archetype that has Con casting and scaling natural armour, isn't it?

>>98148380
You'd think so, but you're still half BAB with no bonus feats. Although the archetype makes you incredibly durable it still doesn't make you better with a sword.

Is there any reason to cast spells with basic saves? Because if the math expects the target of a save to make that save, then they’re just a waste of a spell slot or focus point, right?

>>98151838
I'm very confused by this question because you are excising every form of context but math. Even the spell you want to use as there's plenty of spells with good effects even on a successful save, like Slow.

Feel free to take a risk in the game about randomness, my dude.

>>98152092
NTA, but I always read things like
> there's plenty of spells with good effects even on a successful save
Slow is the only example given.
What are the others?
Ideally, without the incapacitation trait.

>>98152156
Focusing on just Ranks 1-3 and spell list options...
>Fear
>Charitable Urge
>Boneshaker
>Laughing Fit
>Stupefy
>Roaring Applause
>Shockwave
>Blood Vendetta
>Lose the Path
>Cutting Insult
>Warrior's Regret
>Agonizing Despair
>Vampiric Feast
>Croak Voice
>Leaden Steps
>Schadenfreude
>Ignite Fireworks
>Shadow Projectile

Flurry ranger with the wrestler archetype, is this a bad idea? Or workable?

>>98152896
Gimmicky, but workable. The main problem is that if you have to Hunt Prey before combat starts, you don't really have the action econ to grab AND do damage in the same turn. But successive turns or Haste should let you benefit from such.

>>98152979
>Hunt Prey AFTER combat starts
slight correction.

>>98152896
I don't know how much Wrestler gets you as a Flurry ranger specifically. The thing about Flurry Edge is that it's the Edge you pick when you want to make as many Attack actions per turn as possible. The more attacks you make, the more value you squeeze from your edge. The only way that Flurry Edge keeps up with Precision Edge offensively is if you're regularly taking four Attack actions per turn. Otherwise, you might as well just go Precision and take the free damage on your first Strike--it's more damage in total. What does this mean? This means that, as a melee Flurry ranger, you absolutely, positively, 100% want to take Twin Takedown at level 1 in order to get your four attacks in, and you want to use it as much as humanly possible.

So, what's the problem? The problem is Twin Takedown requires that you be dual wielding, but every single one of Wrestler's feats that include a Strike require that it be, specifically, an unarmed Strike. What's worse, there's no easy way to share runes between weapon Strikes and unarmed Strikes (unless you multiclass Spirit Warrior as well, which makes for a messy build even with Free Archetype), so you really have no practical way to both maximize the benefit of your Flurry Edge and use any of Wrestler's special attacks. They are mutually exclusive.

The only combo I can really think of for Flurry+Wrestler is to dip Wrestler (or even multiclass Fighter, since as a STR-based ranger you'll easily qualify for it) just to get Combat Grab. Use whatever weapon you want alongside a Free-Hand weapon like a gauntlet or knuckle dusters, which allows you to both qualify for Twin Takedown and have a hand free for Combat Grab. Your attack rotation would be Twin Takedown > Combat Grab x2 which, all things considered, isn't a bad round. That's four Strikes and up to two grapple attempts. You do, of course, miss out on all of Wrestler's fun stuff entirely, but at least you're still a grappler. It's something I guess.

>>98152312
That's quite a few.
Guess people really are complaining for no reason.

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>>98153605
To be fair, I do value some of these spells a bit more than the others here would, especially with some of them being single-target non-damage debuffs. Which is a fairly uneconomical use of a spell slot, even if you can get something good out of it. And this is about 7 years worth of content, there were some time back when the game began when the "ONLY SIX GOOD SPELLS" complaint held a lot more water. However, when I had to actively start cutting down on possible options like Cave Fangs, 500 Toads, Coral Eruption, Chromatic Ray, Ooze Form, Dinosaur Form, Life-Draining Roots, Weapon Storm, Synesthesia, Helpful Wood Spirits, Mad Monkeys, Horde of Underlings, the Walls spells, so on and so forth, because I wanted to keep it as close to the spirit of the question of "save-based disruption".

Being a cheerleader is probably still the best role a caster can be in the party, but the gap between being a heal/buffslut and genuine crowd control and disruption is not that large. As long your spell isn't STRICTLY focused on raw damage on a single target, there is some value you can extract even out of some Incapacitation spells like Paralyze.

>>98152312
>Charitable Urge
Incap
> Boneshaker
Uncommon, requires 3 action version for success to matter. Otherwise sure.
>Stupefy
Stupefied is worthless on 90% of enemies, on the 10% its not worthless their highest save is Will. Stupefied until start of your next turn makes it useless to you.
> Lose the Path
No. Doesn't even do anything on a success.
> Cutting Insult
Uncommon, stuck on Occult only.
> Warrior's Regret
Range: Touch. Things where this shines are not things a caster wants to stand next to.
> Agonizing Despair
Fear but with damage at the cost of higher slots.
> Vampiric Feast
Touch. The healing is minuscule because the damage is as well.
> Croak Voice
Why? How often are you fighting things using auditory trait attacks or Cast a Spell? Most monsters have their abilities inbuilt not as spell casting. Prepared casters might have a reason to remember it exists if they know the day ahead I guess.
> Schadenfreude
If you are crit failing a saving throw giving the enemy a perception and will save penalty next turn is not going to do shit since you are going to be removing yourself from the brink of death unless you are fighting shit so below your level you might as well just kill it with cantrips.D

>>98153605
Some of those spells there are ok. Quite a few are "nice to have if you find something relevant that day" but aren't guaranteed to be useful on a random day. Most depend on what you are fighting and whether what they do on a success/fail is even an impediment to the enemy type. If you are high level, filling the lower level slots with that stuff is not a bad idea but it doesn't change that spell choices are lackluster despite the number of years of content which basically have only made it harder to look for the non-garbage stuff. You could just cram them with Fear and you'd probably equally if not more effective in comparison at that point.

In contrast Slow and Synthesia are just guaranteed to be useful in every combat even when saved against. If by the end of the day you have a slot with them prepped or a spell level where you could have used it, you will undoubtedly remember a turn in combat where casting them would have been the best move.

The bigger problem is that basic save spells are all spells anyway. Theres borderline nothing that is save-less or AC (and spell attacks are even worse). So your options are "things that have a decent success effect" and "95% of the garbage printed".

>>98153862
Yeah I wouldn't say these spells are gonna beat out Slow any day (except Laughing Fit, any reaction-denying spell is basically mandatory. Slow doesn't do JACKSHIT to Reactive Strike). But I never NEEDED the spells to beat out the staple ones, just be good enough to worth casting at least twice in a campaign. Yeah, much what I said are pretty situational, locked away, more for gishes than straight casters, or comes with some strong caveats that stuff like Slow and Wall of Stone don't. But that's not necessarily the point. Sometimes it is about having strong effects that make it worth the risk and opportunity cost to slot and cast, especially not every caster is built the same or excels in every situation.

Cave Fangs is a spell that gets worse the more cramped the arena is, it becomes more and more just "vanilla damage". Mist and the fog spells are pretty useless if you aren't fighting against ranged opponents. Even Wall of Stone becomes a lot less useful if your foe can teleport or fly. But I think what makes for a bad spell or slot filler requires more study than just "is not Slow".

>Theres borderline nothing that is save-less or AC (and spell attacks are even worse)
Save-less offensive spells can be pretty iffy to design around. See like how other games make Sleep really on Hit Dice and how weird that has to be. But I wouldn't mind seeing "AC-Save" spells. Paizo the ones that made AC the kind of derived stat as the saving throws, so why not experiment with that?

how big are you dungeons anons?

>>98154196
148 squares exactly

So, next beginner box is set in Irrisen?

thinking about the impossible spells, I'm thinking they might be either of two things:
1: something like rituals without the fiddly bits. you get to do a big magic thing that breaks the usual rules, but only once
2: something like blighted boons or deviant feats, i.e. dumb plot things that are there just to be given out by the gm, aren't even good anyway and will be quickly forgotten

>>98154736
>a 74x2 tunnel paizo style
Congrats anon

>>98148600
I...emphatically disagree, you can shore up the differences one or another. Give yourself enough strength and +1s, you can do some damage. Hell, the Transformation spell by itself would give you full BAB for a good minute, and until then you can fall back on Rage or fucking Blood Bath of all things. Fuck, take the Transformation Patron and turn into a bear or whatever.

isn't there a module or something from foundry that automatically adds images and shit to the bestiary for FoundryVTT?

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Do you think a 'shrunk the kids' adventure would be something fun?
Has that been done yet, like in Starfinder?

>>98156991
Yes, there's an official module for each bestiary release, but they're paid content. The stats are free but the art will cost you.

>https://foundryvtt.com/packages/pf2e-tokens-monster-core
>https://foundryvtt.com/packages/pf2e-tokens-monster-core-2
>https://foundryvtt.com/packages/pf2e-tokens-npc-core

>>98157224
fuck. know anywhere where they're free?

>>98157277
Check the Share Thread
side note: anyone feel like updating the Team+ PDF sections? Some of them have the Foundry and Pathbuilder support updates done but never updated there.

>>98156723
Yeah ofc you can just stack +1s on each other until the optimization pile reaches the melee damage of a martial. I'm not contesting that. But the "point" of the archetype is still not to swing away in melee because you're getting any melee boosters. Compare it to the Scrollmaster wizard archetype which actually gives you a sword and shield.

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https://2e.aonsrd.com/treasure/186-mindshutter-stone

Really not that bad an item for just 550 credits (55 gp).

PF2E
https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=158
For the Whirlwind of Hooks ability, are those attacks made considering MAP? Like first strike has no MAP, second has the first MAP, third has the second MAP? And does the improved grab trigger on every attack?

>>98159560
All attacks consider MAP, nothing says it avoids it.
All attacks would trigger Improved Grab, yes. Definitely a monster more dangerous before the universal monster ability nerfs.

2e
Playing a STR Weapon Thaumaturge and we are planning on going to 20. Was planning on getting a STR Apex item to keep me at -1 of the curve but was curious if there were any reasons to get a CHA Apex item instead? I've been using bard dedication to keep me at least on par with other martials.

>>98159653
What changed with the universal monster ability nerfs? Did the grabs used to be automatic?

>>98159683
Yeah, there was no checks to abilities like Grab, Constrict, etc. Now they all still need to do Athletics checks with no MAP.

/PF2eAfterJan23 really needs to get updated, especially the SF2E section. It's missing Tales from the Vast and most of the SFS scenarios. And most of this year's PFS scenarios are nowhere to be seen, either.

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I'm doing an abomination vaults campaign with my friends and I'm doing it with a lot of alterations in the world, including it taking place on a winter/cold place, so I'm redoing the maps a bit. It's very fun so far and dungeondraft's auto battlemap importer is saving my ass

>>98159681
Not really, the Failure effect of Exploit Vulnerability is acceptable, and the automatic scaling of the universal Lore skill means that you critically fail only on natural 1 if you remember to boost Charisma on 5/10/15/20 level.

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Would you make the Plinian/Herodotian races like the Blemmyae, Sciapods or the Cynocephali into human heratiges or their own ancestries?
>Sciapods/Monopods: one leg with a massive foot
>Blemmyae: have no head, so their face is on their chest
>Cynocephali: wolf headed men likely inspired by fucked up descriptions of baboons
>Arimaspoi: cyclops, but normal human size instead of giant sized.

>>98159684
But now it can crit succeed. Which anything with Grab is likely to do given they have the stats for it. Restrained is FAR FAR worse than Grappled.

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Hell's Destiny stuff is on demiplane, and while I'm not going to comb through that dogshit to find all the feats and class options scattershot through, there is an easily found archetype that is... Honestly pretty cool? The dedication is basically only useful for the specific campaign, but the rest of it genuinely feels like a fantastic template for future archetypes that I know will never be used for anything else because why would paizo reuse and iterate on a good idea or homebrewing your own campaign archetypes.

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>give players consumables and magic items
>they forget they exist
I'm starting to get annoyed. If it's not a healing potion then it's just invisible to them, even after a whole set of dungeons where they were able to fuck up the local creatures with flares n' stuff due to light sensitivity. Outside of that one example they just don't use them.

Someone even nabbed a magic item from another party member and still forgot about it.

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>>98161599
Yeah, I've run into that problem a few times before. That's why when we got healing potions or other consumables/magical items in the party stash or I know one of the party has them, I remind them out of character that its an option. Same goes for the folks in PF2e that think its a great idea to attack a 3rd time at MAP -10 or even worse just ending their turn after 2 attacks instead of literally doing anything else like aiding, demoralizing or even just stepping to force the enemy to move to them etc to help out the rest of the party. Is it metagamey? Yes. But when someone like the summoner has a bunch of bullshit in his inventory due to being the only caster in the group and forgets all of it in favor of having his eidolon punch a guy 3 times while he boosts repeatedly and complains when he whiffs all 3 hits, I don't know how else to go about it.

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Ayo what a fucking baddie

>>98161204
Are you talking about how it's kind of a choose-your-own-benefits archetype based on the noble house? Because if so, I'm a big fan of that too. We've seen similar things a couple of times. Magaambyan Attendant does something where the feats you get at level 6 and 10 differ based on your Harry Potter house. They also did something cool that archetype, which they repeated in the expanded Eagle Knight feats in Hellfire Dispatches, where you have one low-level archetype (Magaambyan Attendant) designed to lead into another higher-level one (Halcyon Speaker), so they ignore the anti-dipping requirement of needing to take 2 feats from the first archetype in order to qualify to take a second. Both of those are very cool tech, and it seems like Paizo's been feeling a little bit more experimental with archetypes in these Cheliax books, which is good news as far as I'm concerned. I hope it becomes a trend. Halcyon Speaker and the Eagle Knight options are some of my favorite archetypes.

>>98161709
If you have a caster, try giving them scrolls of utility spells then immediately having those spells solve a very specific and custom-tailored problem.

Or give them them wands of level 2 tailwind and tell them they can cast it every day for free

>>98160032
I'm not making any race for PF2e, because thinking of dozen or more feats for a race defined by one gimmick is a chore.

https://www.aonprd.com/DruidCompanions.aspx?ItemName=Ant,%20Giant
These girls should have wings.
I demand the power to give her wing attacks.

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>>98162875
If a dragonfly companion takes Superior Wings or whatever it's called, do they get four wing attacks?

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I have been thinking about the limitations caused by Paizo wanting to enforce a certain metaplot.

Generally, if an Adventure Path does not have to worry about a metaplot, then the PCs are allowed to score a total victory by the end, and really reshape the face of the setting.

Paizo knows this. Back during the 3.5 Dragon magazine days, PCs could secure a 100% total victory by the endings of Age of Worms and Savage Tide, and make a huge impact on the setting. To use a non-Paizo example, the third act of the Zeitgeist adventure series is specifically about vastly reshaping the setting.

On the other hand, an Adventure Path that does have to worry about a metaplot tends to be more conservative. Sometimes, PCs are thrown a bone and allowed to, for example, close the Worldwound. At other times, most notably in Tyrant's Grasp, they are allowed only a partial victory, because X or Y villain is supposed to serve as a major threat in the wider metaplot.

I feel as though Hell's Destiny falls into this same syndrome. Yes, if the PCs are victorious, then they prevent a huge swath of the Inner Sea from becoming Hell. However, the PCs can only ever score a partial victory, because Paizo wants archdevil-Abrogail and Hell-Cheliax to be a big deal in the wider metaplot. Yes, an individual GM could theoretically allow the PCs to earn a total victory, but it would require significant homebrew alterations and additional encounters.

What do you personally think of this contrivance?

>>98164821
>The IP owner needs to have canon endings for their products so they can dictate where the story goes and it's easier to make more products
No way

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>>98164891

There is no "And the party just plain wins" ending even offered in Hell's Destiny, though. A GM who wants to do that would have to homebrew in an entire chapter's worth of additional encounters and subplots.

I feel as though it should play out based on what actually happens at the table, you know?

Maybe the PCs score a total victory. Perhaps only a partial victory. Or they could simply lose, straight-up.

Meanwhile, when Paizo decides that the metaplot must preserve and feature X or Y antagonist going forward, the total victory is taken off the table, leaving only a partial victory and a loss as the outcomes.

20th-level Adventure Paths' conclusions feel a little hollow and artificial when the "You see? This is how we are moving the metaplot forward, so please accept the ending we are giving you" effect becomes a little too obvious.

>>98165074
So do you want an option for a total victory in the book (just like they gave a total defeat option) or do you want Paizo to write different timelines going forward, entertaining every possible way an AP could end?

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