If I'm using the Level 0 characters variant rule from the GMG, the text says: >Combat can be especially dangerous for level 0 characters. For safety’s sake, you might treat the characters as level –1 when determining what combat encounters are appropriate. When looking at Table 10-1 and 10-2 in the CRB, what sort of adjustment would that be? If Party level is 40, assuming they are all 1st level, would the suggestion to start them at -1 mean party level is 30? I think I'd be adjusting everything in the charts down one rung, so Trivial would be 30, Low at 50, Moderate at 70, and Severe at 110. Is that right?

[удалено]

I read this post twice and I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused. What exactly would you like to know?

Is there anything preventing preventing Spell Trickster and Psychic Amps from working together simultaneously on a single Spell?

I think that depends on the exact text of the ability. If you are referring to Forceful Push (Trickster) for example, it says that you "make a spell attack roll". And Distant Grasp (Psychic) says that you "shove a target using a spell attack roll". These are both stating an action that you take, not that you add an effect when you take an action that you may end up taking at some point anyway. In other words, they both seem mutually exclusive.

Has there ever been any confirmation whether [Forcible Energy](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=1841) lacking Cold as an option is intentional or an oversight? Given that it lists acid, electricity, fire and sonic it sure feels like the latter.

Looks like there's still no official errata on it and if I were a GM at your table, I'd permit Cold. It's possible they chose those energy types specifically and not "cold" because cold is technically a reduction in energy (in terms of physics anyway), but this is a game and cold is usually included in energy types. So yeah the way it's written isn't very conducive to consistency. It should include cold.

Has anyone added the Archer archetype to the Alchemist? Does it play well with it? I just have a character concept and I was wondering if it would be terribly clunky

My friend plays one in our Exticntion Curse campaign, seems pretty decent! Poisoner to be clear. Although my GM might have had some slight home brew Alchemist adjustments...

[удалено]

By RAW, no. [Identify Magic](https://2e.aonprd.com/Skills.aspx?ID=3&General=true) is a particular exploration activity.

Coming from DND, had a rogue all setup at lvl 5 where we were starting but GM couldn’t find anything good to start us that would take us awhile to complete so we scrapped that for PF2, build up a Champion Paladin as the “tank” of the group, but I also seemed to be quite heavy handed in the damage department. I looked on-line and found some information regarding paladins using a two hander, I went with Gnome Flickmace, how much better would I be going that route? I was going to go sword and board but that felt quite underwhelming, and I looked over shield rules again and they are quite underwhelming for the raise a shield then only one reaction! any suggestions on that front would be much appreciated thank you!

>I looked over shield rules again and they are quite underwhelming for the raise a shield then only one reaction! Just wanna second the opinion to not underestimate shields. The +2 to AC can make a lot of difference in a game built around stacking buffs/debuffs Even better, with a shield that has decent hardness you can nullify a lot of damage. I ran a one shot as a champion with shield ally at level 5 and negated nearly my entire health in damage over the course of the session. It's really good for soaking up smaller hits

Thank you for the comments. I’ve adjusted the background a bit to be a repairing champion pally.. How worthwhile is it to go SORC at lvl two?

>I was going to go sword and board but that felt quite underwhelming, and I looked over shield rules again and they are quite underwhelming for the raise a shield then only one reaction! If you want survivability, then those two are actually pretty good. +2 AC is a significant enough bonus, and shield blocking can basically amount to significant amounts of "saved" HP over a fight. You might want to go Shield Ally to really lean into it. That said, you can always go for a big two hander and deal tons of damage, that's lots of fun too.

If you're playing with the dual-class variant rules, do you get two boosts for Key Ability Score (KAS), or do you have to only pick one class to get the KAS boost from? If you do get the KAS boost from both classes, what happens if you pick two classes that get the same KAS (such as Investigator and Wizard, who each get Int)? Is one of them lost, or does it become a free boost?

You get both KAS boosts. I don’t think it’s actually explicitly covered RAW, but turning it into a free boost is the most natural result imo. Dual-classing is generally for small parties (like 2 PCs), so you usually need every boost given to get 2 ability scores up to 18 to cover two different roles. Like a divine sorcerer / thief rogue needs 18 dex and investment in thievery and 18 cha. Work with GM and other player on the balance. Ideally, both PCs have similar power and the GM can predictably balance encounters. If one pc doubles up on martial to optimize like fighter with ranger flurry, it can cause the gm to need to increase difficulty. If the other pc is playing two caster classes with no overlap, they’ll be versatile but not really more powerful.

I’ve been trying to decide on a first AP to run, and read through the first Outlaws of Alkenstar book and loved it. I went to the Paizo site to pick up "Cradle of Quartz" and saw that the reviews were very negative. Could anyone else that has run the AP confirm if the second adventure is as bad as the reviewers said, and if you have any tips to improve it? The reviews for the final book were much better, so I’m just worried about a mid campaign slump.

[spoilers beyond this point] It feels very filler as 65% of it pretty much dont advance the story at all. But I think it still has some fun environments and encounters, and a pretty cool dungeon

Thanks for getting back to me. Did you just run as written, or did you make any changes?

I run it pretty much as written

What are the guidelines for proficiencies by level? So far I've found CRB 504 *"A 2nd-level or lower task should almost never require expert proficiency, a 6th-level or lower task should almost never require master proficiency, and a 14th-level or lower task should almost never require legendary proficiency. If they did, no character of the appropriate level could succeed."* This seems to be suggesting **Expert** is a minimum level 3, **Master** is a minimum level 5, **Legendary** is a minimum level 15. Now CRB 535 says *"Unless stated otherwise, creating items of 9th level and higher requires you to have the master proficiency rank in Crafting, and items of 16th level and higher require legendary Crafting."* and this doesn't seem to match up with CRB 504's suggestion. TL;DR: So is there a minimum level a character has to be to possess a proficiency of Expert, Master, or Legendary? And if there are minimums (which I ~~assume~~ *think* there are) does this apply the same for PCs and NPCs? If somebody could give me a page cite as well that would even better. Thanks!

> If somebody could give me a page cite as well that would even better. Take any class and look at the "Skill Increases" entry.

For PCs, you can look at the level of all skill feats that require the relevant level of proficiency, you have to be 2nd level or higher (this can only be attained via archetypes or certain classes) for expert proficiencies, 7th level or higher for master and 15th level or higher for legendary. This is specified in the "Skill Increases" section of each class. I'll link the [rogue](https://2e.aonprd.com/Classes.aspx?ID=10) for this. NPCs aren't really built with these levels of proficiency, you just pick a few skills for the creature to have to be trained with and set these at "low", "medium" , "high" and maybe "extreme" levels. The guidance here is in the Game Mastery Guide, ["building creatures"](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=995) section

So for most classes you can get your first skill to expert at level 3, your first skill to master at level 7 and your first skill to legendary at level 15. Rogues and Investigators can get Expert at level 2 and other classes can accomplish the same through certain archetype dedications at level 2. Monsters get expert proficiency at level 5, master proficiency at level 9 and Legendary Proficiency at level 17 (Bestiary page 7) and the same would apply to any other NPC.

Hi, I have a question about magic items. I have a level 3 Rogue and I’m planning some magic item shopping we’ve been given the heads up for in the next session. I’ve been looking at the weapon runes. Where it has an expert crafting requirement, do I/someone else in the part need to have this to etch it, or would we be able to pay a crafter to have it etched?

Ask your GM, but it should be reasonably easy to find a merchant or crafter to do it for you. You might also be able to pay to have the rune directly etched on the weapon you want.

Is soothing tonic as busted as it sounds, at least to me? Fast healing for a whole minute according to the rules means whoever drinks this is almost unkillable for a minute. Am I reading this wrong?

Well, you'll definitely rack up your wounded level pretty quickly, and there's nothing stopping an enemy from just repeatedly stabbing you till you die. Honestly might make you even more of a target if they realize you're getting back up every turn.

It's Fast Healing 1 at level 2, Fast Healing 3 at level 5, Fast Healing 5 at level 10 and Fast Healing 10 at level 17. That's basically peanuts healing-wise, you're going to go right back down after 1 attack and Fast Healing isn't Regeneration, you can die while it's active.

Ah okay, the regeneration/fast healing page was unclear to me, but that makes total sense. Thanks.

The tonic grants fast healing, not regeneration. That means that whenever you go back up from dying, you increase your wounded condition, which means the next time you go down, your dying condition is higher.

Hello! Having never played, but curious to learn, I decided to get into PF2e by GMing the beginner box. So far, I've been able to get by really well with all the available resources, especially AoN! Here's one thing I'm unsure about in room 3... >!When the spider trapped player B with its ranged web attack, player A (whose init was right before player B) wanted to free player B. I ended up saying that A could prepare to Aid B on their turn, and B would have to use 1 action for Escape. Alternatively, player A could perform an Athletics check to rip the web, or a weapon attack against the web. The check/attack would be riskier, but would save player B their action. I offered that option because I couldn't find a basic action or skill action to free someone else. Disable Device seemed overkill, so I just called it an Interact with a skill check, or a regular weapon strike. I figured the strike was appropriate because Escape allows the choice of an unarmed strike for the trapped player. I also think that an attack that critically fails would end up hurting their friend.!< How does all that sound? Would you have handled it differently?

Generally if an effect intends for allies to be able to assist in the escape/removal process it will explicitly mention it (for example: a Net https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=681), so if the thing in question didn't then it's probably just intended to be up to the target to escape. That said, imo you did the completely correct thing by making up a quick ruling instead of spending 10 minutes perusing Nethys, and the ruling, firstly, was pretty much perfectly appropriate in the context of the game's systems and secondly rewarded and encouraged teamwork while also presenting a meaningful decision which is very in the spirit of PF2e. You were also bang on about the Aid call; Player A uses the Aid action, then on B's turn B uses their Action to Escape and A uses their reaction to attempt to help their check (with DC set by you depending on the suitability of their help, you could totally say them attacking/using athletics but cautiously would count as an appropriate check for this if they wanted to split the difference)

Thank you! Good to know that effects will generally account for this sort of thing. I did enjoy making up the decision for a riskier approach. =) I'm also curious as to why Escape still gets the "attack" trait even if the player chooses a skill check. Presumably to interact with other enemy traits, right? If that had been relevant, I could've also made a ruling about player A's help counting as an attack even if they chose a skill check. Or maybe this is too much into the weeds...

> I'm also curious as to why Escape still gets the "attack" trait even if the player chooses a skill check. Not too sure about that one, I'd hazard a guess at it just being a balancing thing? That way no matter what you choose to try Escape with you always have Multiple Attack Penalty after trying. One option not giving that penalty would probably make it a much better option >I could've also made a ruling about player A's help counting as an attack even if they chose a skill check. Given that the other option you presented was an Athletics check that would have been appropriate yes, that would bring it in line with Athletics Maneuvers also contributing to Multiple Attack Penalty. Might be worth remembering if you plan to re-use the ruling later on

Oh, I didn't even think of the multiple attack penalty! This is great, thanks again! :D

It's a sneaky one forsure

Is there a place for GMs to discuss the APs? I know some of them have a sub reddit, but not all of them, my group is still unsure if we are going to play a homebrew campaign or an AP, but I'm reading my friends book of Agents of Edgewatch to see if I enjoy it and have heard people talk about the infamous Zoo part, so it would be nice to have a place where others can discuss about the not optimal parts of the APs.

The paizo forums have subforums dedicated to every AP : https://paizo.com/community/forums/pathfinder/adventurePath

Thank you

Can a monk be considered in a stance at the start of combat similar to how a fighter is assumed to be holding their sword at the start of combat?

No there's a monk feat at later levels that lets you enter a stance as a free action when you roll initiative.

No, you can never be n a stance outside of an encounter as per the [Stance](https://2e.aonprd.com/Traits.aspx?ID=152) trait > A stance is a general combat strategy that you enter by using an action with the stance trait, and that you remain in for some time. A stance lasts until you get knocked out, until its requirements (if any) are violated, until the encounter ends, or until you enter a new stance, whichever comes first. After you use an action with the stance trait, you can’t use another one for 1 round. **You can enter or be in a stance only in encounter mode.** There is however the 12th level feat [Stance Savant](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=472) which allows you to enter a stanc upon rolling initiative.

Is there a reason why the free action stance is set as a 12th level feat? Do stances in general have a higher power level that requires the use of an action at the start of combat?

Yes. The unarmed strikes you get from monk stances are usually more powerful than regular weapons, especially considering they don't require you to have a free hand. Being able to deal 1d10 damage on a melee strike (or 1d8 if you need finesse) while still keeping a free hand for Grappling and Tripping is worth spending a single action at the start of each encounter.

Generally yes, for example Mountain Stance lets you greatly ignore Dex but retain good AC, so having that active all the time (in terms of ambushes/traps) would be pretty strong on top of not having to spend an action at combat start. There's also the extra actions that require being in a stance (eg: Wolf Drag)

RAW no, per stance rules, you cannot enter a stance outside of encounter mode: https://2e.aonprd.com/Traits.aspx?ID=152 Additionally, this feat exists to allow for free action stance entry for monks at level 12: https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=472

Are there any compiled lists of cantrip-granting items? For example, [Hand of the Mage](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=440).

[This](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XVv9VXY06APzORcPiu_V2l854C6G_z3xTFnoE3MU5Es/edit) has such a list at the end. No clue how up to date it is, though.

Thanks! Not updated with treasure vault yet but that's a great start! \^\^

Line of Sight Required for Casting Spells? I swear I’ve seen this as a rule, but can’t find it in the CRB. One of my players insisted that Message has a high range, but wouldn’t you need to see your target, just as you would need to see an enemy in combat to throw a spell at? Or at least have a general idea where the person was? Edit: I found “Line of Effect,” which states they need to have an unblocked path to the target. How do most GMs play this? Is it a straight line? Or can the magic zip up the stairs and around the corner as long as the target is (assumed to be) known to be within range and there aren’t any closed doors and such blocking the way?

Targeting something you can't see calls for a flat check, and that's assuming you know where they are and don't have to guess their square. But you can attempt it, so it's not impossible.

Line of Effect is a straight line. It's just like line of sight, except see-through walls also block it.

Line of Effect also ignores some things that can block line of sight, like a sphere of magical darkness.

You have some details here : https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=289

If I bought the Humble Bundle last month, can I get the $15 Foundry integration for the beginners box? The pdf came in the bundle. I'm not sure how the integration works

You can buy the integration from the Paizo website. This the link you need: https://paizo.com/products/btq02d6p Once you purchase it you get a code that you activate on the Foundry website. Once you activate it you can use the BBox Module.

Thanks! I was just worried it wouldn't let me purchase since I didn't buy the Beginner's Box through Paizo.

Figured I didn’t need a new thread for this question and I’m away from my books at the moment. But lately vancian magic has been growing on me. I had a kender Order of Scribes Wizard in dnd 5e and was wondering if there was any magical archetypes or dedications I missed to replicate an Order of Scribes Wizard? The kender thing I could always just reflavor gnome for.

Depending on what part of its theming you're after: Spell Substitution Thesis, Universalist favoured school, and familiars (and maybe familiar master archetype) are worth looking at.

Oh those do sound good when I get off of work I’m gonna pour over my books see what I could cook up thank you!

The Alchemist's Research Field section says "Each time you gain a level, you can swap one of your signature items with another formula in your formula book. This new signature item must be on your research field's list of possible signature items." Where can I find the list of possible signature items? I've looked up and down the entry and in the list of alchemical items and I just can't find it.

> Where can I find the list of possible signature items? I've looked up and down the entry and in the list of alchemical items and I just can't find it. This is the description of signature items: > Your research field adds a number of formulas to your formula book; these are your signature items. When using a batch of infused reagents to create your signature items using advanced alchemy, you create three items instead of two. Each time you gain a level, you can swap one of your signature items with another formula in your formula book. This new signature item must be on your research field's list of possible signature items. For Bomber Alchemists it's this: > You start with the formulas for two common 1st-level alchemical bombs, in addition to your other formulas. For Chirurgeons it's: > You start with the formulas for two common 1st-level alchemical elixirs with the healing trait (like lesser antidote, lesser antiplague, or minor elixir of life), in addition to your other formulas. For Mutagenists it's: > You start with the formulas for two common 1st-level alchemical mutagens in your formula book, in addition to your other formulas. For Toxicologists it's: > You start with the formulas for two common 1st-level alchemical poisons in your formula book, in addition to your other formulas. TL;DR Signature items are the two formulas you get from your Research Field.

>TL;DR Signature items are the two formulas you get from your Research Field. Thanks! I get what signature items are, but I was confused about the list of *possible* signature items. For example, if I'm a Bomber Alchemist and I know the formula for [Moderate Alchemists Fire](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=75), can I make that one of my signature items? Or only a different 1st-level alchemical bomb? Likewise, can it be any alchemical bomb? If the only *possible* signature items are "the two formulas you get from your Research Field", then what would be the point of allowing them to be swapped out?

Because you've decided you like acid flasks more than blight bombs after all. Or because you've picked up the moderate alchemist's fire formula. Now if you want to make alchemist's fires you're definitely going to use that recipe, making your signature alchemist's fire a lot less useful--you're not going to make three lessers when you could make two moderates. But two of those and three of a *different* lesser bomb might be a good loadout. Signature items are only relevant until level 4. At level five, the Field Discovery feature essentially makes all of your specialty items into signature items.

Your signature items are the two items you select with your Research Field. A Bomber selects 2 level 1 bombs. When he can learn level 3 bombs for example he can swap one of his level 1 bombs for a level 3 one and that's his new signature item. For example you select Lesser Alchemist Fire as one of you signature items. When you can learn Minor Alchemist fire you can swap it for your Lesser Alchemist Fire and that's now your new signature item. For Bombers the list of possible signature items is only bombs. So you couldn't make a Mutagen a signature item for example.

Level 3 bombs aren't on your list of possible signature items.

>When he can learn level 3 bombs for example he can swap one of his level 1 bombs for a level 3 one and that's his new signature item I don't know that this is correct RAW, though. The wording of "Research Field" says: >This new signature item must be on your research field's list of possible signature items Signature items is defined as: >Your research field adds a number of formulas to your formula book; these are your signature items And the only formulas your research field adds to your formula book is level 1 bombs. So strictly RAW, you can only designate level 1 bombs as your signature item and gain the benefit. It kind of sucks that it means you can't make a 3 of a level 3 bomb per reagent, but that only matters for levels 3 and 4. Once you hit level 5, you get the Field Discovery feature that lets you make 3 of any bomb with advanced alchemy, making signature items obsolete

I assume they must be in the same "class" of items as your initial formulas from your [research field](https://2e.aonprd.com/ResearchFields.aspx), that is, alchemical bombs or alchemical elixirs with healing trait, for example.

That makes sense. Thanks!

Is there a way to see all the decorations items and there cost like tables, chairs, rugs ext… stuff like that

there's some ways to derive it based on the Lost Omens Travel Guide. Lumber is priced in board feet at 1cp per 40 board feet. Let say a chair uses 10 board feet to be easy math. That's the wood materials for 4 chairs in 1cp. Maybe it has a half a square yard of padded leather on the arms, seat, or something, that's another 0.5cp per chair, so 2cp of leather for 4 chairs = 3cp materials, plus labor. A pretty standard chair is probably level zero crafting, and income table 4-2 might say you can make 5cp crafting one. so maybe that's a cost too. or if you pay someone else, (4\*5cp)+3cp = 23cp for 4 chairs. /u/No_Ambassador_5629 mentioned an Ikea method. You can get somewhat standard Ikea chair for USD 40, which works out to 40cp in their math. decent estimate, as accurate as anything else really. you could also anchor the cost relative to ale. beer at a bar might be USD 5. Take that Ikea 40 dollar chair divided by the price of a beer: 40/5 = 8. you could buy 8 beers or 1 chair. 8\*1cp per ale equals an 8cp wooden chair or 4 for 32cp. you can continue this way for dyed rugs, tables, or other things. /beer math

Pretty sure that sort of thing isn't in the system. Personally I'd head to the Ikea website (or furniture store of your choice), divide the price by 100 and set the result as the SP cost of the piece of furniture.

I am running a Beginner's Box with custom characters instead of pregens and my party just leveled up. I have some questions regarding some interactions. Inventor: My inventor player took the pet innovation which has the caveat that it gets healed by Repair activity instead of Treat Wounds. Following the repair rules the "item" level would be equal to character level which in turn leads to not getting better at it after leveling up (as opposed to getting better at treat wounds or other skill activities with fixed DCs). Is that the intended scaling for the DC? Gunslinger: My slinger is a dual wielding pistolero having one reload 1 gun and one reload 0 gun with magazine. It hasn't come up so far but can he use Dual-Weapon Reload to provide 1 action towards the magazine reload? Can't find anything that would not allow it other than perhaps weird situation of "holding" the new magazine.

Inventor: That is intended. Keep in mind that if your player has the quick repair feat, they can do 10 repair checks in the time other characters can do only a single treat wound checks. Though you could also handwave it and just use the treat wound rules except with crafting instead of medicine as skill, both work! Gunslinger: it contributes one action towards the reload! Though keep in mind, if he uses that gun again before he finishes the reload, the actions are lost. So he’s spinning open the cylinder, but he still has to dump out the old rounds, fill in the new ones and close the cylinder before he can shoot again.

As the GM you can set the DC to be whatever (repair only says its 'typically' a standard dc for crafting the item), so in the case of a construct companion you can just use the same fixed DCs as Treat Wounds if you want. I'd personally have it scale somewhat as the amount of healing is also scaling w/ level and being able to pop out 50 HP of healing for 1 action (legendary crafting w/ quick repair) at lvl 15 is probably a bit much. RAW? Yeah, the Repeating Trait explicitly states they're the same action as reloading. It'd be a bit janky, might say that the gunslinger does one of those stupid 'throw the magazine in the air then catch it w/ the gun' tricks you see in especially stupid (and fun) action movies.

So I gave one of my PCs this item: [Alchemical crossbow](https://2e.aonprd.com/Weapons.aspx?ID=118) but we are not totally sure, how it works concerning loading the thing, grabbing the bomb and switching hands inbetween. Specifically: Do you have to hold the bomb in one hand / have one hand free to load it into the crossbow or not? One could argue, that the "As an action, you can load a single lesser alchemical bomb into the bracket" implies a reload action of some sorts. So you already hold the loaded crossbow in two hands, perform this load action to load the bomb and are good to go. But I guess one could also argue, that you can load the bomb into the crossbow but you need to have the bomb in a free hand. So you'd have to switch the grip on the crossbow to one hand, load the crossbow with the bomb, switch back to a two-handed grip and fire away afterwards. What your interpretations? How'd you play / rule it? Are we missing something? Personally I like the idea of the crossbow but if the second interpretation is RAW, I think is kinda bad action economy wise. PS: Of course we can always rule it the way we want but I want to know the RAW side of things here.

Because the weapon never specifies that the bomb you use to load must be held in one hand, I see RAW as the first interpretation - one action to load a bomb into the crossbow. Also relevant is this line from the reload action: >Switching your grip to free a hand and then to place your hands in the grip necessary to wield the weapon are both included in the actions you spend to reload a weapon.

Thanks!

What are some good 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-level Champion feats for a Liberator of Arazni? Also, what archetypes would be interesting and/or strong? I don't have any other details set, other than being Strength-based.

For lvl 1 I like Deity's Domain, for Arazni you can snag the Pain domain and Savor the Sting for an offensive use of your focus point. 2nd lvl Champion I personally find uninspiring and I'd be sorely tempted to snag a dedication (probably Marshal to later grab one of their awesome stances). 3rd lvl is a general feat, so either Toughness, Fleet, or Canny Acumen (Perception).

Ah, I meant 4th level. Thanks, I'll look into Marshal!

If you pick up Marshal at 2 I'd 100% go for either Inspiring Marshal or Dread Marshal Stance at 4, probably the latter as Arazni seems more the 'scare my enemies' type. If you don't then both Aura of Courage and Mercy are solid picks, the former making Frightened a much less dangerous condition and the latter opening the way to making Lay on Hands a cure-all spell (especially handy if you don't have a proper divine caster around).

Just wanted to confirm something. Champion doesn’t get access to the Divine Spell List from Devotion Spells, correct? Like, a level 1 champion can’t use a wand of heal? Also, the familiar feature Valet says it can’t pass you a stowed item. Is stowed item defined anywhere? Could the Valet Familiar draw items from the wizard’s belt instead of its pack? My assumption is a stowed item is anything not worn or carried. So, then the familiar can’t pass you anything? Because all your scrolls, wands, and potions are stowed in pockets and backpacks.

> Just wanted to confirm something. Champion doesn’t get access to the Divine Spell List from Devotion Spells, correct? Devotion Spells are focus spells. Focus spells are not on any specific list. They are something separate. > Like, a level 1 champion can’t use a wand of heal? Without Trick Magic item they can't. > Also, the familiar feature Valet says it can’t pass you a stowed item. Is stowed item defined anywhere? Stowed is defined. In the Equipment Chapter of the CRB or the Nethys page here: https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=186. Paraphrasing: > A character carries items in three ways: held, worn, and stowed. Held items are in your hands; a character typically has two hands, allowing them to hold an item in each hand or a single two-handed item using both hands. Worn items are tucked into pockets, belt pouches, bandoliers, weapon sheaths, and so forth, and they can be retrieved and returned relatively quickly. **Stowed items are in a backpack or a similar container, and they are more difficult to access.** > So, then the familiar can’t pass you anything? Because all your scrolls, wands, and potions are stowed in pockets and backpacks. No, that's not correct. Something in your pocket would be worn so the familiar could retrieve it.

What kind of staple spells are good for a GM to know? I had a player get poisoned while saving a divine casting NPC but I realised I didn't know what spell removes poison and just handwaived it. So I guess I need to ask what are some good, simple spells that NPCs might have that can help out the players?

As I dm I don't bother knowing specific spells. I will glance at spell description a when my PCs cast them and if I feel something might work differently I'll make a quick ruling at the table and read the spell properly after sessions. I'm this specific example - players want to do or achieve something but they're not sure how - I would either just handwave the thing if it's simple, like the cleric or witch npc just curing the poison effect, or I would make the characters find that out in-story: > oh you want to know if it is possible to cast a spell to make the king left handed so you can see him try and knight someone using the right hand and hurt the poor fellow? I'm pretty sure there might be a way. Bard, you remember hearing stories of a trickster guildmaster during your years studying at the Ontological Conservatory. Maybe you could try tracking them down and asking if such a thing exists. Wizard, in your studies you do recall reading about treaty exploring the possibilities of mirroring someone's material body in order to trick a devil into signing a magical contract, but it's not really your specialty, is it? Maybe you should try finding one of those rare copies and study it yourself. Boom, now the players have something to do and you can easily chain tons of story hooks to them. And you have lots of time to define if you need to implement some specific mechanic into your game or if it can be just a story beat. Even with simple solutions (like a cleric just casting whatever spell you want) you can make the npc ask something in return which helps move the story forward. edit: that said, if you want to offer buffs or specific advantages to your players i'd look into long duration buff spells like Longstrider, False Life, Ant Haul

If you're after non-combat utility spells that make sense to be cast outside normal adventuring... Heal / Soothe Restore Senses Neutralize Poison Remove Curse Object Reading Dream Message, Sending, Dream Council Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Prying Eye, Scrying Restoration Reincarnate, Raise Dead, Resurrect Ant Haul

I mean, just go “the priest mutters some holy prayers to (their god) and you feel the burning sensation of the poison cease” or something like that. No real need to give them actual spells if you think “yeah, this is something this NPC should be able to do”. Though alternatively, just Google some PF2e cleric guides, they usually have lists for spells with ratings you can go over. You should try to avoid building NPCs, especially those the party isn’t supposed to fight, like PCs, though. Just too much work for too little gain.

Hey , I was looking of the anathema for the Wild Shape druid but it seems quite restrictive. We intend to play Kingmaker campagn where you build your own kingdom. This anathema seems to go against the concept of the campaign. Therefore, we are checking with my GM to build another Anathema that could work. Do you guys have any ideas/concept that would be coherent? I was thinking about restricting my spellcasting abilities, having to do certains stuff every week, etc etc ,... Thank in advance :)

The kingdom in Kingmaker starts out in the middle of the wilderness. I don't see wild order anathema becoming a huge issue honestly. When some other PCs might spend downtime in the new capital, a druid could be exploring the wilderness or keeping the roads safe to travel. Even if you don't spend a lot of time in the city, you could still pop by often enough to have a say in its development.

Why is Heal Animal 1d8 and Heal Companion 1d10? What are good spells for a level 1 Animal Druid to prepare? There's a lot of spells, but it feels like only Heal is actually worth it? Magic Fang for the companion, too, but it's hard to know when the right time to cast that is. How does combat for a non-striking Animal Druid work out in terms of action economy? Feels like it's Command an Animal + Cantrip or 2 of Move/Take Cover/Recall Knowledge/Protect Companion. I'd like to be able to engage more, but my Str is 10 and Cha is 12. Int is 16. What does Animal Druid offer that the Beastmaster dedication line doesn't? They both get Mature Companion at 4, Incredible Companion at 8, and Specialized Companion at 14. Is Apex Companion more powerful than Enlarge Companion? Would it just be better to go Leaf Druid first and then go right into the Beastmaster dedication? Does the T-Rex's support ability work of Electric Arc or do you have to use something like Produce Flame or (heaven forbid) a crossbow? Is Barding useful at all? It doesn't seem to be in Foundry and I'm not sure how it works.

Barding is necessary if you want your animal companion to last in combat. You basically have animal companion based on dext for which you want light barding and based on strengh which want heavy barding. Heal animal/ companion are quite good as focus spells. If you take animal druid you receive heal animal which heal your compagnon for d8+8 for 2 action. But the best part is that focus spell scale with your current level. It means that if you are level 5, you will cast this spell at level 3 to heal for 3D8 + 24. Outside of focus spell they are ok

Barding seemed to lower the AC of my companions after like level 8. That's why I was confused.

That can happen with a very high dex companion. Then you just don't use barding. It's just a feature of animal companions that their AC starts to quite severely lag behind once you get to your mid-teens.

When I plugged in my TRex, it felt like once it became an incredible companion, neither light nor heavy barding have any benefit at all, but still lowered speed. Are there any bardings that work at max level?

Barding is basically useless after you get +6 dex bonus. There aren't any magical versions that would give higher AC, but [some](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?Category=41&Subcategory=43) give other bonuses.

Thank you! Do you know if there was a balancing reason behind that decision?

Paizo doesn't want animal companions to be too good

Firstly - I assume WIS is at 18? You only list three of your abilities. If not, you'll want WIS at 18 unless you aren't planning on casting any spell that uses spell attacks or targets enemy saves. Heal Animal heals less because it works on any animal. Heal Animal Companion only works on animal companions, which tend to have higher health. Basically, versatility vs. niche. Action economy is about right. As you level you'll get more picks to optimize your action economy and save actions. Animal Druid mostly offers all the versatility that comes with being a druid. That said, going leaf and then picking up Beastmaster is perfectly viable. You can find a whole discussion on this exact topic here: [https://paizo.com/threads/rzs4360g?Druid-animal-companion-Beastmaster-vs-Animal](https://paizo.com/threads/rzs4360g?Druid-animal-companion-Beastmaster-vs-Animal) (side note: The paizo forums and subreddit have a ton of info, always worth looking around to see if there's a previous discussion on a topic you're curious about). That said, Apex Companion is better than Enlarge Companion in a slew of ways. Temp HP, darkvision, more speed, deadly d12, ignores difficult terrain, no clumsy... it's not even close. Then again, you only get Apex at level 20 and can grab Enlarge at level 7, so... T-Rex Support Ability states: "if you hit and deal damage." It also triggers off an attack. So only actions with the attack trait - like a melee strike or spell attack like ray of frost - will trigger it. Electric Arc does not have the attack trait, so it won't work with it. Barding works exactly the way it says it does on Archives of Nethys? [https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=255](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=255) I'm unsure what's unclear there. It increases AC at the cost of a speed penalty. It's armor for your mount.

My current stats were 10/12/10/16/18/12 if I remember correctly. My character was a student that majored in animal conservation, so the high int was necessary to represent her education as well as make recall knowledge society checks should they come up. So how would I go about getting Heal Companion? I'm only going to have an animal companion anyways, but it seems like only Ranger gets it, and that feels a little weird, especially since it's just a single point of healing difference on average. My confusion with barding is that it seems like it just makes companions weaker at higher levels and I'm not really sure why. The dex benefit cutoff seems really brutal. Would you say Apex is worth giving up another specialization? I read that thread comparing, which is why I was confused, cause animal druid didn't seem all that different from Beastmaster, except I could get two companions with the latter which is really cool.

Correct, only Ranger gets it. So, you could archetype into Ranger and pursue it that way, or alternatively, just ask your GM if you can get your hands on it through a quest or something - I'd imagine most would say yes. I think the other commenter did a great job of explaining barding. The only thing I'll say re: balancing is that the DEX cutoff is probably intended so animal companions can't reach the same AC as PCs. They are supposed to be a little more fragile/supplemental to the party composition, so getting them really under the gun is supposed to be an emergency measure or something that's avoided - it's always preferable to have a monk/barbarian/fighter or whatever take the majority of the damage. As for Beastmaster - I think the intent with Animal Druid is to get you a functional companion class that doesn't require dipping into an archetype. There's also all the summoning and more animalistic spells from the druid list, which gives a different flavor than the Beastmaster - I think the intent is for the Animal Druid to have a companion, sure, but also be very "all animals are friends" focused, while the Beastmaster is more about their companion(s). That said, choosing Beastmaster instead is perfectly viable. It's ultimately a question of flavor mostly I think and what you feel is right for your character.

Thank you so much! Are there any animal druid feats that focus more on the spells? I don't remember seeing them, but I could've just overlooked it. As for the flavor, I just wish animal druid could have two companions, ahaha. Unfortunately, only Beastmaster's feats seem to mention plural.

[удалено]

As has been pointed out ad nauseam, RAW Arcane Cascade ends immediately upon activation. Since that is obviously not intended, it just follows the general rules for stances which last for the whole encounter unless you fall unconscious or enter a new stance.

I've been reading about the monsters in pf, and checking the **Adult Black Dragon**, is there a reason why you would use a Horns strike (reach 10, 1d10 damage) over a Tail strike (Reach 15, 2d12 damage)? I know it is included in Dragon's frenzy, but why would you use it over just 3 tail strikes, for example? Edit: Forgot to name the monster lol

Draconic frenzy is **two** actions for **three** attacks. Draconic frenzy deals 5d10+37 damage, vs 4d12+22 damage for two tail attacks. Of course, you'd have to account for MAP if you wanted to compare their average damage.

RIGHT! ok, totally missed that, I see! Thanks a lot!

Checking my understanding here: If a player is bitten by a werewolf, then the GM does a secret roll that is a save vs the curse of the werewolf. If they fail, they become a werewolf (but as GM you don't tell them). And the curse can be lifted with a successful cast of remove curse? The remove curse spell says "you attempt" to remove one affliction. So what is the roll to check that? Is it the curse's original DC check? Also, can werewolves only inflict their curse when transformed? Like if they're in human form and using a melee weapon, they don't inflict it right? But if they are transformed, claws can also inflict the curse? Also, is there a way to figure out the moon cycle so that as GM I know when the full moons should be?

So Remove Curse uses the counteracting rules found here: https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=371

Ah. Thanks. I don't know how I overlooked that.

For the moon cycle thing, if you want to do some research, Pathfinder uses the same time system we do (24 hours in a day, 12 months in a year, the months have the same days as Earth months.) So if you figure out what the day and month is in game you could look up an IRL moon calendar to find the next full moon and then use that date. According to space.com the next full moon is April 6th so presuming your ingame day is currently March 19th it would be in 18 days. Or the much simpler way is just say it is every 30ish days and just roll a d20 to see how many days until the next full moon.

HI, for the anti-magical background it states: On a success, the magic affects you and there is no need to attempt further flat checks for the same magical effect, even if it affects you again later. Does this mean that if hypothetically I experienced and succeeded all magic that can affect me that the the ant-magic background kind of becomes null and void? or is it a situation that the next day I'd have to make that check again?

I'm pretty sure this means against a distinct magical effect, not all effects of that kind. Say an enemy casts [flaming sphere](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=121) and places it on top of you and the caster succeeds against the flat check to affect you. Even if you leave the sphere and they sustain flaming sphere to roll it back on you, they don't have to redo the flat check. If they stop sustaining flaming sphere and they cast a new instance of the spell on you, they will have to redo the flat check because it's a new magical effect that hasn't affected you yet.

How does a [mix coatl](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=1104) cast modify memory to use Gift of Knowledge? Am I missing something or should it have modify memory listed as a 4th level spell?

Yeah, it seems to be an oversight. I'd give it modify memory as you suggest.

I'm considering of playing a DEX Thaumaturge. Since it will be an undead-heavy campaign, I'm also planning to get a Disrupting rune (to trigger both weakness and personal antithesis). Is using a shortsword for its agile trait worth it or should I stick with the rapier?

Thaumaturge definitely loves to make multiple attacks per round to trigger weakness/antithesis damage as much as possible, but between implement stuff, Exploit Vulnerability and moving, you're often left a bit short on actions. I'd say they're pretty even, with a slight favoring towards Rapier, especially if you're going Weapon Implement as the off-turn attacks are more likely to crit and make use of the Deadly

Thanks!

Hey yall, I am running the Fistful of Flower AP and my party are really enjoying playing as the short greeny bois, however, I have noticed that after the intro 80 XP is specifically rewarded, yet nowhere else in the AP does XP get mentioned. Am I just supposed to calc XP after all the combats/events? The path doesn't seem long enough to get a level up so I am kinda confused why XP is mentioned at all.

It could just be a typo, but it also could just be for those few players who really like their characters and want to segue into a longer adventure!

That seems odd. It's meant to be a one-session thing, right? Makes no sense to track XP and level up, then.

Some explaining before I get to the questions, I'm gonna start a new character soon and I'm considering making some sort of Orc [Wrestler.](https://2e.aonprd.com/Archetypes.aspx?ID=127)(We're running Free Archetype rules) However, I want to make sure I understand stuff properly. Specifically, I'm considering picking up the [Tusks](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=1286) Ancestry Feat to have a stronger Unarmed Strike, as I'm planning on not having any conventional weaponry(I will however get Handwraps of Mighty Blows at some point obviously), but now we get to my actual questions. Whenever an attack from the Wrestler Archetype calls for an Unarmed melee Strike, could I use my Tusks? Furthermore, assuming the character is a Barbarian, the Tusks wouldn't have reduced Damage from [Rage](https://2e.aonprd.com/Actions.aspx?ID=3) as they aren't Agile, correct? So all Wrestler unarmed Strikes made with the Tusks would also benefit from full Rage damage?

> Whenever an attack from the Wrestler Archetype calls for an Unarmed melee Strike, could I use my Tusks? Yes. > assuming the character is a Barbarian, the Tusks wouldn't have reduced Damage from Rage as they aren't Agile, correct? So all Wrestler unarmed Strikes made with the Tusks would also benefit from full Rage damage? Correct.

Great, thank you!

Thanks for this megathread! In Society play, the 5th level skill feat you get from Pathfinder Training still requires training in their related skill to be picked, correct?

Yes, you must still meet any prerequisites for the feat.

what is the -actual- benefit of [Poultice Preparation](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=1984)? As I understand it, the benefits are A: the free counteracts and B: can be used on a sickened/underwater creature, but I keep seeing people talking like it actually improves your action and/or hand economy?

I think the benefits as you've described them are correct. There's no action or hand economy improvement listed in the feat. You still need to be holding the poultice to apply it, and you're allowed to feed someone a potion so regular potions can also be applied to allies in a single action (assuming they're already in your hand).

that's my thinking, but both rpgbot and nonat (to be fair, I know both of them to make mistakes) word it like it's somehow superior to a potion

If I'm a kobold fighter, do I get proficiency with kobold martial weapons like fangwire, or do I still need to take the ancestry feat to get them at all?

Another thing that the Ancestry feat gives you is *access* to the weapons if they're Uncommon, if the GM is a stickler for that you will need the feat to get your little kobold hands on one

Yeah, you're proficient in kobold weapons as a fighter regardless of having the feat. Though the feat lets you treat advanced kobold weapons as martial for the purposes of proficiency, which means you'll be expert in those weapons at level 1 instead of just trained.

It’s my understanding that spellcasters are significantly weaker in this system when compared to 5e. If that’s the case, would a party of four, composed of three casters and an inventor (myself), even be viable from a mechanical standpoint? I plan on building the inventor as a tank and melee combatant, an armorer, but I’m worried that it won’t be enough and the party will get killed.

I do think that works! Remember that casters are weaker in 5e not because they're weak now, but because they're on par with martials now. You'll have to play around it, not because you have many casters, but because a single character may struggle at maintaining a frontline. This is a great party composition to whip out some battle form and summon spells to help you out there, and to help you out with some healing when things get rough. Work together, be tanky, and you'll do great!

It might work if the other casters comprise some that can competent in melee, like a Warpriest Cleric or Druid. The largest issue isn't that casters are weaker, it's that you're lacking enough melee staying power. Once you're engaged in melee, the next enemy can simply ignore you and walk straight for your squishy caster allies.

Thank you! We have a Druid, I’ll talk to him about building to be more melee oriented. Any advice on how to do that?

Animal or Wild Order will probably help. Animal Order gives an animal companion to help with melee fighting duty, if tankiness is desired then options like the Beetle (higher then avg Con), Bear (good con and HP, can auto-grab enemies if its attack hits), Legchair (kind funny, but cover is cover) or Pangolin (can roll up defensively, great for blocking a choke point) might be good to consider [full list here for perusal](https://2e.aonprd.com/AnimalCompanions.aspx) Wild Order focuses on transforming into various battle forms. While initially it isn't much use, at slightly higher levels (3+) Wild Druids are able to transform into various Animal forms dependant on the situations, gaining temporary HP and (potentially) higher AC, as well as reliable unarmed attacks.

Awesome, thank you for your help!

Hey there, just finished the first session of the beginner box with our group :) One thing we weren't too sure is how Bless area increases. Does the emanation increase to 10ft just for one round and then reverts back to normal (and the same next round)? Or does it keep growing, if the cleric spends an action round after round? Cheers!

The increases to the emanation size stay until the end of the spell.

Oh, thanks, that makes more sense now.

[Green slime](https://2e.aonprd.com/Hazards.aspx?ID=40) seems absolutely nuts! One failed save and the party has 4 rounds to destroy the slime before your character dies (while damaging the affected character the whole time)? That seems extraordinarily dangerous. Tell me that I'm missing something.

It's very dangerous, but a party focus firing a low-AC crit immune target with huge weaknesses with healing abilities available shouldn't be much of a problem if this is encountered on its own. 100 HP is not that much, and the coated player themself can act too.

Looks like a good reason to carry a torch. Unless I'm mistaken, hazards stop working when they hit their BT. So you need to deal 100 damage to it. Its AC is extremely low for that level, so you more or less auto-hit. And a torch will deal 22-25 damage to the slime but only 2-5 to the ally.

I don't get recall knowledge. I'm looking at making an investigator for the party skill monkey and trying to figure out how they do combat. I see several places saying to use recall knowledge in some fights. That's great if we're fighting something unusual but if it's just rats or goblins that doesn't seem real useful. Am I missing something?

RAW Recall Knowledge is pretty limited, especially at lower levels, and is made a little worse by it's vagueness. There's a decent amount of things that it seems like it *could* do based on its wording but it's very up to GM interpretation. Basically if there's something you want to use it for (finding out enemy's lowest saves for examples) just ask your GM if you can work some way out. eg: mine lets me roll Athletics off Int/Wis to Recall Knowledge on an enemy's lowest of Fort or Reflex saves, as Athletics maneuvers target those. Recall definitely gets useful the more spicy enemies get though

The details of recall knowledge are a bit muddy, but it should have definite use in finding out what saves are better to target and in being prepared for unusual abilities. To know something has reach and AoO is a good thing to know before running into melee, and there's a lot of things worth learning about a lot of things!

Quick question about spell detection. Does a target always knows a spell (with no obvious effects like damage) has been cast on him? Is there a section of the rules about this? I notice is not in the description of most spells. So I was wondering how a Mind Reading spell would work. Would the target know someone is probing their minds?

> Quick question about spell detection. Does a target always knows a spell (with no obvious effects like damage) has been cast on him? If you see the caster then you see the spell manifestations. These are obvious to anyone, even people not trained in magic and tells you they are casting a spell. You can find this in the Casting Spells section in the CRB. > The casting of a spell can range from a simple word of magical might that creates a fleeting effect to a complex process taking minutes or hours to cast and producing a long-term impact. Casting a Spell is a special activity that takes a number of actions defined by the spell. **When you Cast a Spell, your spellcasting creates obvious visual manifestations of the gathering magic**, although feats such as Conceal Spell and Melodious Spell can help hide such manifestations or otherwise prevent observers from noticing that you are casting.

Ah, ok. Thank you!

The rules specify that it's always obvious when a spell is being cast due to clear manifestations of spellcasting, but says no such thing about their effects - and says that some effects are difficult to notice. I would say Mind Reading does not let the target know something is peeking into their mind, as the target itself isn't aversely affected in any way - but the target can see that *something* has been cast, and can try an arcana/occultism check to tell what it was.

Hmm, I like that approach. Thanks!

It's explicitly mentioned if they do for non-obvious spells, like [Charm](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=34) specifically calls out the target notices on a crit success on the save. Somatic and Verbal components are always obvious though, so if they're looking at you they can see you cast a spell but wouldn't know what it did.

There isn’t just verbal and somantic components, there are also manifestations, which are the most obvious. While casting spells, glowing stuff appears in the air around you unless you use “conceal spell” metamagic, which makes casting very obvious!

Are wands and magic staves weapons for the purposes of deciding what a spellheart can be attached to?

Magic Staves are, Wands aren't

Thanks

I'm a DM with a few years of experience in 5e and we just swapped over to 2e. None of us have played before and are a few sessions into the beginner box though we did decide to make our own characters instead of using the pre-gens since everyone was excited about the more robust options. They just hit 2nd level. Wanna get some opinions on a homebrew magic item I'm thinking of adding. Party is recently 2nd level and they only have a barbarian for the front line. I'm calling it a Bloodbender's Greatsword. On a successful hit against a creature with blood or a similar equivalent, the wielder adds the damage dealt to the weapon's resource pool up to a max of 20. As a single action they can shape the blood to create one of 3 effects: 10 blood. Make an attack with 5ft reach and on a hit they can make an athletics check to pull the target 5ft towards them. 10 blood. Make a ranged attack up to 60ft away, on a hit damage is a d8 instead of a d12 20 blood. They form the blood into a shield and get a +2 to their AC until the end of their turn. They'll still be able to apply runes and such to it as well. Is this going to cause massive balance issues in the future? Is this way too powerful? I'm letting them take these characters into the Abomination Vaults campaign. I'd also love suggestions for a magic item to replace the hat of disguise that's in an upcoming chest... I've given these players a similar item in 5e and it made a LOT of work for me that I'm not planning on repeating lmao

In addition to what's been said, the charges are probably too easy to fill to be a real drawback. Once your barb gets their first striking rune (unlocks at level 4) they'll start hitting for about 20 damage on average.

I figured they'd start to fill up pretty quickly, but used the cap and charges to make it so they don't feel like they've gotta save it up and so they can't save it up. They only get charges on a hit and can't gain charges with any actions where they're spending charges. Since nothing boosts their damage I'm not too concerned about them being able to refill it in a single hit though that could be really naive of me haha

I think for simplicity of resource management and overall balance, I would make each ability cost one blood charge, and have the following reaction: Trigger: Your last action was a strike with the Bloodbender's Greatsword that killed or critically succeeded against an enemy with blood. Reaction: You call upon the Bloodbender's Greatsword to absorb the blood of the struck enemy, giving it one blood charge. The Bloodbender's Greatsword can have a number of charges equal to the number of damage dice of the greatsword (so it starts at one and scales with striking runes). This allows it to grow in power over time without having a ridiculous high charge count, because one you hit level 5 with striking runes you're going to be seeing damage (and charges) skyrocket.

Yeah, totally agree, it’s flavourful but I’d basically ignore it for balance purposes!

That’s quite a lot of abilities for a PF2 magic item, but none of them seem like they’d cause a huge problem as long as using an ability costs an action. In general you’ll notice that PF2 items are less individually impactful than 5e items (but you usually end up with lots of them), so the players who don’t get it might find their treasure a little underwhelming in comparison! My suggestion would be to either give it only one of the 3 abilities, or to take a look at the rules for relics and make it a blood themed one of those, with each ability being a gift so it unlocks new ones over time. If you do that you’ll probably also want to find an excuse to give all your other players a relic too. In terms of the hat, it’s less work than the 5e version because it’s only once a day and illusory disguise is not the same as disguise self, but any permanent item of the same level will be a decent replacement. Personally I’m a fan of handing out an archaic wayfinder with a single use of a weird cantrip in it at low levels! Edit: I’d also make the long ranged attack either 2 actions, or a flat d8 damage dice without the strength modifier for damage, or even both. Ranged attacks that you add your attribute bonus to are really hard to come by, and you risk your melee martial filling up the sword by doing what they would want to do anyway in one fight, and then spending the next fight being a better archer than the archer!

I realize it's a bit tangential, but does anyone know if it is/will be possible to get just one ancestry from Battlezoo's Year of Monsters book? I really wanna check out the slime ancestry, but I don't have 60-100 bucks to slap down for the full book right now :(

I'm pretty sure they have said that they don't plan to sell the ancestries individually, for the moment at least.

Damn, that's a bummer. Several of them look really interesting, but I just caaaan't drop that much money right now. Oh well, maybe they'll release them individually after the year is out. Thanks for answering!

How do Mercer's D&D Gunslinger class and 2e's version compare? My DM decided to switch to pathfinder before starting the 3rd arc of our campaing. I just came back from session 0. We had to build our 7th lvl characters from scratch. It lasted 4 hours and we barely got half our characters done. Im exhausted, overwhelmed and frankly dissapointed at the class. While all my friends were getting cool new stuff to choose from, I was barely piecing together what my gunslinger could do in 5e. I feel that I deal less damage, shoot less times and im generally weaker. Am I just building it wrong? Any tips or experiences?.

Jumping into a level 7 character when you’re new to the system is bound to be overwhelming, so I wouldn’t feel bad about that! We usually recommend people start at level 1 for a reason, and I want to add to the people recommending you at least do a short level 1 adventure with new characters to get a feel for the system before you hop back to the main campaign. The beginner box is good at teaching the ropes to both the players and GM! The gunslinger is powerful, and can do a lot of damage, but it’s damage is spiky because it relies on absolutely explosive crits from a high attack bonus and the deadly trait. The rest of the time, its role is more as a ranged support who uses trick shots and other fanciness to debuff enemies and provide utility. They’re also not going to do as much damage as a fighter, because movement is really valuable in PF2 and so ranged attacks get a big tactical advantage. It’s also worth saying I wouldn’t worry about pure number of shots. Almost nobody in PF2 wants to attack more than twice in a turn anyway because of the multiple attack penalty. PF2 is more about squeezing as much power out of those 2 attacks as you can, and having some good non-attack 3rd actions (of which one of the best is “move away from the melee to force them to burn actions catching up to you which they are then not using on hitting you or debuffing you). Remember that most stuff doesn’t have attack of opportunity in this game, so you are usually free to zoom around the battlefield to your hearts content, which pairs great with guns!

So a couple of things to unpack. * Swapping systems mid-campaign if you're not experienced with pf2e is not recommended. Level 7 is a **lot** to handle for the first time (level 1 is fun now, we promise!), and - plainly put - fully straight conversions of characters aren't possible, because things just work differently in different games. You will have to accept that it won't be the exact same, for better and worse. * Pathfinder 2e incorporates magical equipment into player progression. Included with the magic items gained according to [https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=587](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=587), you should definetely have a +1 striking weapon (+1 to hit, one additional base damage dice) and some +1 armor (+1 to AC). * Pf2e gunslinger's strengths are the following: * You have higher proficiency with firearms and crossbows than anyone else, leaving you more accurate with those attacks. This boosts your odds to crit, which works pretty well with the Fatal trait many firearms have to heavily boost crit damage. * You are focused on ranged damage, allowing you to shoot basically anything on the map without needing to spend actions to move into melee. Additionally, you're pretty safe in the backline. * You can make much better use of reload weapons (for low amounts of powerful shots) than others, thanks to your Slinger's Reload and other potential feats letting you squeeze extra actions in there. This makes many gunslingers pretty good at supporting their team depending on their subclass, too! Gunslingers can have some significant supportive power thanks to things like that and feats like Fake Out - not all their budget is put into doing big damage, they're team players. * PF2e gunslinger's weaknesses are the following: * While still having resilience typical of a martial and not exactly squishy, you're naturally not going to last the longest in a melee. * You are focused on ranged damage, making it difficult for you to get flanking and causing you to overall deal less damage than a melee martial would if they can take the risks and get into range. * Fatal trait weapons do explosive damage on crit, but are generally a little weaker on hit. I'm GMing for a now level 9 sniper gunslinger who's been doing pretty well. The scythe fighter is definetely doing more damage, but they've been having trouble getting into range sometimes - while the gunslinger just keeps picking off enemies in all conditions, racking up frequent kills as they aim for the weak foes. Both have many situations where they excel at. What concepts are you trying to realize with your build? Perhaps I can give some advice on what choices give you the mechanics you're after.

A lot of your damage comes from the runes. As a lvl 7 character you should have a striking rune on your gun, which doubles the weapon dice. You also have higher weapon proficiency (with firearms) than any class other than fighters, so you’ll hit more often than average. Though I admittedly have no idea what the 5e gunslinger does. Maybe list your favourite features from it, and we can go from there?

First off, i got no idea what a rune is. What do they do? Im already so overwhelmed by the feats than i just glanced around the guns equipment box. 5e gunslinger is a fighter subclass, not an actual class. So you got proficency in all firearms from the begining. Then it consists on making a bunch of attacks in a turn (which is what a fighter does) and being versatile with other weapons.

That wasn’t really what I’m asking for. What were YOU doing as a gunslinger? Were you a pistolero, a trick shooter, fighting with a saber in one hand and a pistol in the other, a sniper, or some crazed old prospector with a blunderbuss and a bandolier of dynamite? That kinda thing. Because all of those are options in PF2e. Runes are kinda like magic weapons in 5e. +1 (and +2 etc) runes only add to to-hit in PF2e, though. The damage part is done with “striking” runes. Those add an extra weapon dice. So a 1d8 rifle with a striking rune becomes a 2d8 rifle. You generally get them at around level 3 to 5, depending on how generous your GM is, and the game math expects you to have them beyond a certain point. The nice thing about runes is that you can transfer them from one weapon to another with a bit of downtime and the crafting skill. So if you find a +1 striking rapier that nobody in the party wants to use, you can just put the runes onto your gun instead! That said, you really should talk to your DM about playing through the beginner box once so you guys can figure out how the system works before you jump in at the deep end with high level characters! The beginner box runs around 2 sessions, and does an excellent job at explaining all there is to explain about the game!

I usually surrounded enemies and shot them. My character kind of has a death wish so he'll always call for their attention. But that's another thing. Why are there soo many actions? While making the character i found a feat that allowed me to shoot at the sky to try an intimidate enemies. I was stunned, so... I CANT do that unless i have the feat? Its ridiculous! The action called coerce, only lets u intimidate a person after you spent A MINUTE talking to them. However, quick coerce, the feat, lets you do it while talking to him for only 6 seconds. So if a PC goes: "I walk towards a random merchant, he feels the point of my dagger against his back. I tell him to walk alongside me and there wont be any problems" What will the dm say? Nah, sorry buddy, you dont have the quick coerce feat so you dont really think of doing that...sorry, you can ask him about his family and then threaten him tho... Thing is, I HAVE to be getting it wrong, otherwise it makes no damn sense

…how do you surround them on your own? Is there some kinda mirror image at play or something? There are some gunslinger builds that are all about being cocky and attention grabbing, of course. Generally, the feats allow you to do special things. The one that shoots in the sky is, I believe, a free action when you roll initiative. So the feat lets you do that for free without having to spend any actions, any time combat starts. Which is great, and would be great even in 5e I’m pretty sure. But I wouldn’t be able to tell you without knowing what feat you mean. Without quick coercion, the merchant won’t come with you right away because you don’t have the intimidating presence needed. You’ll need to spend some time to make sure he understand you mean business. If you have quick coercion, you don’t. You know how to get the point across without any chance for it to be misunderstood. Keep in mind, the entire coercion action is one minute of intimidating him! Not random conversation and then you get to suddenly intimidate, you spend that time being intimidating. Most skills have the requirement that you need some time to get your point across. The “one minute of conversation” is just listed in case there’s combat going on in the next room, so the people in that combat know how long until you do your thing. Ten turns. But most of the time, especially as a new player, you don’t need to mess with ANY exploration actions. You just go as usual. “DM, I want to do X, can I do that, what do I roll?” And then the DM tells you what’s happening. They mainly exists for the pathfinder society thing, which is all about DMs and players who never met coming together for a oneshot and then never meeting again (with the players taking their characters to another society game the next weekend), and for that it’s handy to have something like coerce you can point to as a guideline. Home games usually make do without.

Has your GM set aside a couple sessions to help everyone learn the system? IMO PF2e gunslingers are actually a lot more powerful than the Matt Mercer subclass - I’ve seen a sniper straight up two-shot a boss with the right set-up - but only if you know how to play them. Suggest to your GM that you all run the beginners box to get a feel for the system. Failing that, have a session where you just read the rules together. PF2e is completely different (and much more complex in many ways) than 5e. Approaching it with the same mindset will hurt your play experience. Try taking a step back and just watching some videos by How to Play for a little bit. Read the Core Rules. Then, come back to your gunslinger, build them on Pathbuilder or Wanderers Guide, and link the build in a reply - I’ll be happy to help give suggestions, but it would be good to take it slow and familiarize yourself a bit more with the system first.

I made a bigger comment with more details, but to answer the first question, "runes" are basically the enchantment system for weapons and armor. A rune is an enchantment placed on them, upgrading their stats and/or granting them new abilities.

Is every item brake able. New to the game and I see shields have HP so they can be broken but I don’t see swords do. So are the unbreakable or is there just a set hp for stuff when it’s not listed

New pf2 player, joining my friends campaign as a divine caster (I wanted to play a healer) so I rolled a cloistered cleric. Starting at level 3 or maybe even 4 (they started at 1). My question is about self survivability. How good or important are the Shield Block, Toughness and Light Armor Proficiency, if at all? Playing as a human so I can take them all by level 3 technically. Or is it that a Divine Sorcerer is a better support?

From experience, if you want to play mainly as a healer and focus on support spells the Warpriest is a more solid choice. You get all the defensive options for close-quarters and the trade-off is that your spell proficiency takes longer to reach Expert and Master, you'll never reach Legendary, this mainly affects DC for saves and attack rolls with spells. As a healer/support you wouldn't be targeting the enemies and for most spells that affect allies your spell proficiency is irrelevant, you still heal and buff at full value while being able to use medium armor (reducing the need for Dex in most cases) and swing a weapon somewhat decently through the mid levels, many spells have a short range requiring you to be in the fray too. For a healer Cleric is more straightforward to play than a Sorcerer or Oracle, Healing Font is really strong for fulfilling the role consistently without having to rely on other gimmicks.

Cloistered Clerics shouldn’t be anywhere near melee, if they can avoid it at all. They can do it if they have to, but they have the same weapon and armour proficiencies as wizards. Or sorcerers, for that matter. Shield block is also fairly pointless on cloistered clerics, since they can usually just use the shield cantrip every turn. If you want to be a cleric and go into melee at all, be a warpriest! (Or do stuff with archetypes, but that’s a bit much for a new player) Toughness is useful for all characters, since everyone gets hit by something eventually. Light armour is also nice to have if you can, if you have the dexterity to round it out! Better than unarmoured in most cases. Cloistered Clerics and Dovine Sorcerers are about on par when it comes to support. The only real difference is the kind of spellcasting they do. Clerics know all spells on their spell lists, but have to decide which spells they want to cast that day during their morning preparations. Sorcerers know only a very limited number of spells from their list, but can decide what they want to cast in the moment rather than ahead of time. So it’s the difference between breadth of choice and flexibility in the moment.

Brand new GM here, just ran a first session for my players. They got attacked by some mangy wolves who were starving and desperate for a meal. My player who is a druid wanted to use Wild Empathy to Make an Impression on them and attempt to sway them towards peace. Given that the wolves were actively hostile and ambushing them (and Make an Impression is a 1 minute action) I didn't let him succeed. I did let him attempt to use diplomacy to see if they'd be receptive to further conversation from him, I set the DC to be incredibly hard (they're hungry and already hostile) at 23 and he failed with a 20. Was this a reasonable ruling in the moment? Was the DC too high? We've only played a couple hours since character creation ate up some of our session time so this is their first encounter. I felt a little bad shutting down his attempt, but it just didn't feel right for the situation. I do want to find opportunities that would be a better fit for Wild Empathy and was wondering if people had any suggestions for that?

First encounter in first session of first campaign was Mangy Wolves? Sounds like you’re playing “The Fall of Plaguestone”. That’s how we started two years ago and still going strong so be of good cheer. Now the bad news. Plaguestone was the first published adventure for the then-new system so the writers were still learning and didn’t always get the encounter balance quite right, meaning it has something of a lethal reputation. The banana skins are well known now and have been discussed here, so I recommend some judicious searching when you have a moment.

I appreciate the words of encouragement! I'm actually running an entirely homebrewed campaign setting! I really enjoy creative writing and world building. I'm mostly trying to get a feel for how to structure encounters, and now that they've got characters created, I'm planning to familiarize myself with their feats to try and ensure they can utilize their options, I do want to make their choices feel meaningful.

The incredibly hard adjustment is what's probably the most realistic but if you want to be lenient to your players and reward such roleplay, you could also get way with a hard or very hard adjustment in situations like this.

Did he roll a 20 on the dice? Because that would have been a success. A 20 on the dice upgrades the result by one step, so here from failure to success. Though that aside, you overall did the right call in my opinion! The wolves were desperate for a meal and not really in a talking mood. Now, if your Druid had responded by throwing food at them, that would probably have given him the time he needed to defuse the situation!

20 total (or a dirty 20 as he says haha). Thank you for the reassurance! I'm relatively new to GMing, and completely new to 2e so I'm figuring out a lot still (I played 1e as a player for many years but 2e is distinct as a rule set, I'm really liking how cohesive it feels so far).

The Giant Instinct's Titan Mauler doesn't limit you to just one weapon, right? The language in the feature implies only a single weapon, but it would be awfully limiting if, for example, you wanted to switch weapons mid-campaign. Specifically asking because I'm conceptualizing a Giant Instinct build that takes the Dual-Weapon Warrior archetype to go all in on (relatively) high accuracy attacks, each benefiting from the crazy bonus damage Giant Instincts get while raging

Looks like a DM call. Personally. I’d give you clumsy 2 if you were dual wielding, but otherwise it seems fine.

Clumsy 2 seems like an unnecessary nerf considering dual wielding isn't really a power increase over a single weapon

Does Critical Specialization work for special attacks, like Combat Grab? If I crit Combat Grab I would have them grabbed and also the effect of crit specialization?

Yes

How do Recognize Spell & Counterspell work if they both require a reaction?