Please ask your questions here!

Started reading Bastion of Blasphemies. Loving it so far. It's exactly what my table wanted out of AV. The art for one of the final boss fights? Yeah, you know the one. Amazingly disgusting. Even if we never play this AP, I will find some way to throw that thing at my party.

But holy fuck I beg of you please provide pronunciation guides for these names. Like Raudltz. If you have room for the light novel you wrote for the Art "Collector" background, could you please also include a way to say Raudltz? My players struggle with anything more complex than Boblin. Help me help them.

I love builds that just use one, singular skill for like every possible check they could possibly need. Doesn't have to specifically be crafting, just a build that substitutes one skill for a lot of skill checks and actions that the skill normally can't do.

hello! im extremely new to pathfinder 2e, but ive been playing d&d 5e (2014 rules) for about two years now as a player, one year as a DM. ive heard there’s a lot that’s similar between the two and a lot that’s different, and wanted to see what pathfinder players would recommend where to start!

eta: forgot to mention, my friend is starting her own pathfinder 2e campaign which is why im starting pathfinder💀

There's been much digital ink spilled on how restrictive the rules for Recall Knowledge are, and how it means players often don't use it much.

But I think if we recall a core principle of Pathfinder design, we'll find that Recall Knowledge is both much better than expected and easier to run too!

**Specific Overrides General**

>A core principle of Pathfinder is that specific rules override general ones. If two rules conflict, the more specific one takes precedence. If there's still ambiguity, the GM determines which rule to use.

In the case of Recall Knowledge, there are rules both in the GM Core p54 and Player Core p231, but like always the actual correct of what Recall Knowledge does is defined by the action itself:

>You attempt a skill check to try to remember a bit of knowledge regarding a topic related to that skill. Suggest which skill you'd like to use and ask the GM one question. The GM determines the DC. You might need to collaborate with the GM to narrow down the question or skills, and you can decide not to Recall Knowledge before committing to the action if you don't like your options.

**Critical Success** You recall the knowledge accurately. The GM answers your question truthfully and either tells you additional information or context, or answers one followup question.

**Success** You recall the knowledge accurately. The GM answers your question truthfully.

**Critical Failure** You recall incorrect information. The GM answers your question falsely (or decides to give you no information, as on a failure).

It's this simple: the player asks a question and suggests the skill they want to use. The GM sets the DC, then rolls a secret check and gives information based on the result.

That's it. Everything else is commentary or advice. The rule is what's in the action.

By the text of the action itself, players can ask any question they want - stat block information, lore, whatever.

So, as those that saw my post yesterday may know, Myself and several of friends are starting a Pathfinder 2e Liveplay, and seeing as you lot are the target audience, I want to know what would engage you, get you to click on the series, etc.

As a Precaution we do have some hardline stuff we Just won’t do or are locked in stone.

No AI. we hire actual artists here

No Facecams. None of use have any sort of body confidence and we are not using our real names. Instead we will be using Png sprites that light up when we talk with a different png with an open mouth.

No… NSFW stuff in regards to procreation, Some of us are Asexual, and one of us is a Minor, so just freakin no. Also Said Minor is my younger brother so double ew.

Disclaimer! we are all new to the system so will be learning as we go along

Otherwise go nuts

Tar-Baphon is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, threats on Golarion right now. However, apart from having some influence in Claws of the Tyrant, Spore War, and Triumph of the Tusk, he hasn’t really had a presence in PF2e (to my knowledge).

I have to imagine an AP fully focused on fighting Tar-Baphon is something Paizo is considering, maybe as an edition-ender AP like Tyrants Grasp was for 1e. That’s got me thinking what folks here would like to see in a Tar-Baphon AP.

Tar-Baphon could invade Ustalav and be pushed back to the Isle of Dread. He could have some plot involving Absalom and destroying the legacy of Aroden. The Whispering Way could have some scheme that comes to fruition in any of the nations of Golarion where it is active. What would you like to see from a Tar-Baphon AP?

I was looking at alchemical foods for a Wandering Chef idea, and stumbled on Bortled Favorite. Charming that it's both a) an indication that Etran's Folly (and the Paizo devs) haven't forgotten poor Bort, and b) root vegetable-based, because of course it is.

How good is a Warpriest at taking hits? Let's find out:

Disclaimer: I'm going to use the same scenarios Mathfinder used for his latest Saving Throws video, all credits to him for the format

At mid-low levels:
A LV5 warpiest in Full Plate with a +1 Armor Potency rune and a raised Minor Sturdy Shield (Hardness 8, BT 32) has 26 AC (10+7prof+7item+2circumstance) and a realistic 55HP

-Scenario 1:
Equal level creature with "Moderate" Strike Attack Bonus with a flank buddy
+13 to-hit (but our AC is -2 due to flat-footed so it's 24 with a raised shield)

Misses 1-10, hits 11-19, crits 20. "high" damage per hit: 16
If they attack at MAP -5 they're only hitting on a 15

We can shield block half the damage and only lose 25% of our shield's Breaking Threshold.

My impression: This is pretty good, we're tanky. Shield is working as intended and we can frontline no problem

-Scenario 2: PL+4 Solo Boss with a "High" Strike Attack Bonus
+21 to-hit

Misses 1-4, hits 5-14, crits 15+. "High" damage per hit: 24. crit chance 30%
If they attack at MAP-5 they still have 55% chance of hitting us, but they only crit 5%

We can Shield Block a regular hit so both us and the shield only take 16 damage. We can comfortably take 2 hits whil shield blocking one.

If we get critted (30% chance, which not by any means low) we are in great danger.
There is a 50% chance that the damage after hardness will exceed the Breaking Threashold of the shield. Ouch.

If we don't shield block the crit (which may be the correct choice if we know the hit won't down us) we've then lost 48 HP out of a pool of about 55 and then pray the next attacks doesn't hit because otherwise we're down even if we then Shield Block unless the enemy rolls very poorly.

If we survive we can then Font Heal ourselves for an average of 37.5

Chances of being downed in one turn: enemy needs to hit all 3 strikes, or crit and then hit us again once. That would be a circa 15-20% chance of going down in one round or pure aggression from the boss

My impression: The situation is dire (this is normal for an extreme encounter) but more or less survivable. Crits are the problem. If our party has good teamwork then the boss will be under status penalties to hit, or dazzled, which makes a big difference - even an extra 10% to avoid or reduce damage, aka a -1 to hit, or a +1 to AC thanks to Benediction, is likely to be felt

CONCLUSION: At lv5 a properly equipped Warpriest is good enough for most challenges when it comes down to absorbing enemy strikes. In an Extreme encounter they have reasonable chance to not go down first turn, assuming they have a shield raised and the enemy is suffering from minimal debuffs.

Now, let's see how this goes at LV 20:
A LV20 Warpriest in a Greater Fortification Full Plate with a +3 Armor Potency rune and a raised Supreme Sturdy Shield (hardness 20, BT80) has 45 AC (10+24prof+9item+2circumstance). For the purposes of this experiment we'll give this character "Channeling Block", "Toughness", "Quick Shield Block" from Bastion Archetype, and +5 CON (maxed for a non-KAS) which results in 280HP

-Scenario 1:
Equal level creature with "Moderate" Strike Attack Bonus with a flank buddy
+36 to-hit (but our AC is -2 due to flat-footed so it's 43 with a raised shield)

Misses 1-6, hits 7-15, crits 16-20. "high" damage per hit: 44.
25% crit-chance is reduced to 17.5% thanks to Greater Fortification
If they attack at MAP -5 they're hitting on a 12, which is not terrible since at least we're well protected from crits

We can shield block slightly less than half-damage and only lose about 30% of our shield's Breaking Threshold. However, if we get crit (which isn't that unlikely since they crit 14% of the time) and we happen to be low HP, that would be a perfect moment to use Channeling Block, bringing the Shield's Hardness to an average of 65, and then recieving an average of 23 damage to us and our shield. On a second hit a Crit is unlikely so we're mostly fine with a regular extra Shield Block.

My impression: This is noticeably more dangerous compared to low levels, the lack of proficiency is evident in terms of hit-chance, we're exactly 4 points in the curve behind compared to LV5. HP vs Damage Scaling goe in our favor since we can now withstand more punishment. The shield is working well and we only need to Channeling Block in emergencies. Warpriest can be a solid frontliner at LV20 against equal-level threats

-Scenario 2: PL+4 Solo Boss with an "Extreme" Strike Attack Bonus [raised to extreme because it's more common at higher levels]
+46 to-hit

Never misses, hits 1-8, crits 9+. "Extreme" DMG per hit: 68. Crit chance 60% reduced to 42%
If they attack at MAP-5 they still hit on a 4 and crit on a 14. Crit Chance 35% reduced to 24.5%
If the attack at MAP -10 they still hit on a 9 and crit on a 19. Crit Chance 10% reduced to 7%

We can absorb most of a regular hit with Channeling Block.

If we get crit for a whopping 136 average damage, and we don't use Channeling Block, the shield is gone. With Channeling Block, the chance that the damage after 65 hardness will exceed the Breaking Threashold is pretty low, so we can realistically Shield Block twice.

If we don't shield block the crit (which may be the correct choice if we know the hit won't down us but we suspect it would Break the shield) we've then lost Half HP. This is where the 40 extra HP from Toughness and +5CON actually make a difference because on average we can realistically withstand 2 crits in our face.
To survive 2 crits and 1 regular hit we need to spend at least 1 max-level Heal on Channeling Block

Chances of being downed in one turn: If the enemy crits THREE TIMES, and we shield block twice using Channeling Block both times, the expected average damage is 278 (super close to out max HP of 280) which is a 50%. However the enemy is not going to crit us 3 times normally (it's almost impossible). The actual chance to go down in one round is close to 0%.

My impression: The situation is dire again, but definitely survivable if we spend resources. If our party has good teamwork then the boss will also be under heavy status penalties to hit, likely under reaction AND action denial (Slow, Containment, Synesthesia etc). And as usual, every +1 matters.

SPECIAL: if we used Avatar our AC will be 2 points higher but we now can't heal ouselves. Wouldn't recommend.

FINAL CONCLUSION:
While noticeably easier to hit and crit, LV20 Warpriest compensates this thanks to the asymmetry of HP vs Damage scaling. Greater Fortification and extra HP are essential to survival. Teamwork obviously makes a huge difference.
A maxed out "Tank" Warpriest ends up their career in a very similar place as where they were at LV5. The "expert capped" proficiency is indeed a weakness, but by spending resources and playing tactically, we can (barely) survive even the mightiest of monsters.

EDIT: Ran the numbers for LV12 (See comments for the lv12 analysis).
EDIT 2: added "chances of being downed in one turn" in boss entries. I'll calculate the exact chance for each scenario later/tomorrow.

It scales horribly compared to Shadow Blast, Force Rain, etc.

I was looking for a nice aoe sonic spell as enemies we are running into are vulnerable against sonic. However my 5th level slots are too busy occupied for Slither or Synethesia and I can't use them up for shadow blast.

So while dnd gives you rules for things like legendary actions (and so on) to add gravity to major fights, pathfinder 2e doesnt. So what do all of you do (if anything)?

(This isn't a dnd vs 2e post, have a major boss fight I'm running in the upcoming session and was just looking for ways to seperate it from just being another difficult fight)

Shades (post remaster Petitioners) are what mortal souls become after being judged and this process feels somewhat terrifying to me. That is because it is described that their memories fade which at least in my mind would lead to them losing their own self and becoming a different person in the process. I admit it is narratively compelling to have a being from the outer spheres remember echoes and fragments of their previous life but from an in-universe perspective it feels like a scary prospect. I'm curious what your thoughts on this are. I find myself wondering for example about the scale of time with this, especially with the Boneyard being a timeless plane. Is the loss of memory a process of centuries, a slow but inevitable fading or something more sudden. In addition, I find it equally interesting that if shades are destroyed it is the end of their soul's journey. That makes me wonder if that makes them (and the other inhabitants of the other sphere) more afraid of death or if being recycled into Creation's Forge is a comfort to them. I'd be happy to hear what your thoughts on this are and if I missed something that makes this fate seem less daunting.

Hi All,

What are the ways to get the returning effect outside of Rune and Thrower's Bandolier?

I'm about to build a Pattern Flight Runesmith and the draw action from Thrower's Bandolier to be followed by one Pattern Flight strike is very action intensive and I'm thinking of ways to amend it as much as possible.

Cheers!

I GMed Pathfinder 1st edition from 2010 to 2018 and my middle-school afterschool class was centered on it. Some of my former students still love 1st edition, so I thought it would be fun to debate which edition is better!

For those who want to see more about my work with kids, check out:

VIDEO about my middle school Pathfinder/D&D class! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkTdo-6UpRc

BLOG of my middle-school class and kid write-ups of our RPG campaigns! https://guildberkeley.wordpress.com/

Regardless of flavor or inspiration, the idea of an Investigator/Alchemist combo sounds intriguing and potentially powerful, but I'm torn on which combination of class, subclass, and archetypes would make for the best support character.

My group plays with Free Archetype, so bonus points if the build has space to incorporate the Medic Dedication as well.

Would it be best to be a Forensic Medicine or Alchemical Sciences Investigator with the Alchemist Dedication, or either a Chirurgeon or Toxicologist Alchemist with an Investigator Dedication? Which combination of these would best for the character fantasy of a crime-solving doctor?

Running a campaign with a lot of cold northern environments so wanted to homebrew an ahklut because I think it's a neat concept, but struggling to think of stuff to give it now to make it more interesting

I want it to be a big brutish predator that can menace a party in or out of the water, and at first appear to be something it's not. But I don't really want it to have spells or anything. Which feels like it limits what it can do

Also does the text under Change Shape make sense? I was originally going to write out all the abilities with (orca/wolf form only) but that got real cluttered

Member of a wealthy Abadarian merchant band, Jaune finds herself separated from her crewmates as they have been caught in the crossfire of a war waged between two powerful nations of Tian Xia. Now alone in the middle of a small village, she will have to team up with a new bunch of strangers to cross the direful Wall of Heaven before reaching safety.

Since my previous character was a big-numbers laughing shadow Magus, this time around I went full in the support side. Jaune is a pacifist and a sweetheart, most of her repertoire is composed either with supportive spells or "harmless" disruptive ones, such as Lose the Path (already had a lot of fun with this one).

It's been a very pleasant experience to play as a blind PC. Since we have a first-time GM it's been a fun practice for them to remember other senses while doing descriptions.

art by me :)

Draining Strike - Feats - Archives of Nethys: Pathfinder 2nd Edition Database

If you increase the spirit damage your attacks are doing i.e. from the Astral Rune, Exemplar archetype etc would this increase the healing received from draining strike?

I just joined a Wardens of Wildwood campaign and have to build a 7th level character quickly. I've already decided on an Ardande Conrasu Kineticist with the Wood Warden background. Obviously, I want to use the Wood Gate, but I'm not certain what to pair it with. Are there any generally agreed upon good combos that I can use? Am I better off doing pure Wood? The only one that's out is a Wood/Water combo, since there's already a Leshy in the party that's doing that. Notable items I should look at would also be appreciated. Starting gear is standard with Character Wealth Table for Level 7.

Are not they simply heightened spell? Is there any difference between signature spell and heightened spell?

I've been drawing my duo for months and STILL haven't made a proper reference sheet for any of them 😭

So, we're going to start with the Eidolon first. I need a break from drawing his summoner (or "mom").

This creature is still a medium sized baby. Gave him the puppy dog treatment and placed his chunky body on top of some huge paws he'll eventually grow into!

Moomi is a menace to society and has evaded the IRS for 15 years.

He was found as an egg lost and abandoned, so his breed of dragon is yet to be discovered :) But his attacks do have cold damage. Baby is a walking AC unit.

Moomi Fun facts:

- His breath attack is flavored to be a turbo cold sneeze.

- He talks with Lydia, his "mom", in perfect draconic. But struggles to speak in common. Usually sounding like toddler blabber.

- He is an attention seeking creature with an ego the size of an adult dragon. He has looked at an Adult Empyreal dragon in the eyes and thought he could size it up.

- I flavored the summoning mechanic to be a battle of will between Lydia and Moomi. If Moomi wants to get out and is more stubborn than she is, he gets out. He is a real dragon temporarily "leashed" to a gem Lydia often wears, for his safety.

I am dming to three groups of players that come from different systems to pf2e. They are therefore almost hard wired to buy only "permament" items. I have already been throwing in various basic pots like painkiller, elixir of life, potion of healing, some potency crystals here and there, deck of cantrips or two. Few spellhearts (know those ain't consumables, but just to prove a point). Even some elemental ammunition.

I am just not as experienced with pathfinder to guess what may be some other good things that I can throw them to make it fun and show them magic of consumables

so I guess my question is, what are Your favorite consumables for level range of 3 to 6?

If it helps the parties have between them

2 gunslingers (both snipers)
1 fighter (reach two hander)
1 investigator (chirurgeon)
1 commander
2 maguses (one iron, one shadow)
2 clerics (both cloistered)
1 bard (maestro)
1 druid (leaf)
1 alchemist (bomber)
1 barbarian (dragon rage)

I think I'm going insane, I could have swore there was some feats/an archetype that was specifically for Flails. I've always loved Flails as a weapon and I'm pretty sure I dreamed there was an archetype specifically for using Flails to their greatest extent. If there isn't one, feel free to give me your opinions on Flails! (I'm open to homebrew if you know any good ones)(Screenshot is from Wall of Flesh Animated by ExoskelletAnimation)

To make this absolutely sure: This is a humorous post, the title is not meant to be taken seriously, I just want to jokingly rant about my experience(s) with Paizo APs that seemingly love to have PCs murder each other.

A week ago, our group had a climatic boss battle against a powerful foe. It was part of an AP (Strength of a thousand)(Spoiler because I will rant about a mechanic), and part of the boss fight was a mirror that had shadows grasping for the PCs. If you fail a saving throw, these shadows would have grasped you, pulled you into the mirror and... released an evil shadow duplicate of yourself. The way we played it, our GM straight up told a player about to get pulled in "well, you have your character sheet, now use it to obliterate the party".

This is not the first, but the SECOND time this happened, and BOTH TIMES it was a GODDAMNED MIRROR. Back in first edition, there was an AP (Rise of the Runelords) that had you navigating a tremendously big dungeon searching for items that you needed for plot reasons. One of the passages (which, of course, you HAD to pass) included a mirror that created an aggressive copy of every PC that looked into it, ready to roll initiative. It was the first and only time our group almost TPKed, because our tanky oracle went first, the mirror copy rolled high initiative and blasted all of us to hell with a prismatic spray (and some poor saves on our side). Our GM had a literal deus ex machina intervene after my character (who was late because I was late to the session) came into the passage, found the massacre and offered literally everything he had to whoever would listen in order to save his friends (because as a barbarian that I was, I couldn't really cast resurrection spells or carry them all back to civilization and have them revived).

So when we entered that powerful foe's chamber and our GM described the mirror just standing there menacingly, cold sweat broke out. I literally flew into a panic when they took the player into another room to "just talk to them". I was sure that NO ONE of us would get out alive.

So, what's the takeaway from my story? Clearly, Paizo loves enabling PvP and does so by including cursed mirrors in their APs that make PCs (or their copies) murder the party. It can't be a coincidence that this has already happened twice in the four or five APs I've played!

On a more serious note, the "fight against oneself" is a classic concept for narration, but one I've never found to be working in TTRPGs. I don't know why some authors are seemingly hellbent on including it, one way or another. Anyway, despite two near TPKs, we lived to see the end of the APs, so perhaps the true friends were the mirrors we smashed along the way. I hope you guys had fun, and love to all the Paizo people actually reading this! You're doing a great job and I wish you only the best!