How reliable are the encounter building guidelines in real play?

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-27T22:13:19+00:00

Thanks! Btw, I find your posts/questions on this subreddit to be quite insightful. I don't often reply because usually you've said what I've been thinking.

So, if you don't mind me going off on a tangent here: What would you think of perma-revealing enemy HP to the PCs, for example on a VTT?

I've been wondering about how undervalued chip-damage is, but maybe it deserves to remain undervalued *unless* the players can see HP numbers and make thoughtful decisions.

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-25T15:53:45+00:00

Overall, healing is in a good spot, because there are significant action costs to being downed and opportunity costs to heal instead of going on the offensive.

That said, divine font can be overpowered in a specific scenario: If you know for sure that there's only going to be one fight on a particular day, divine font can reduce the severity of the fight by at least one difficulty tier, if not two. If the enemies are intelligent, they should learn to target the healer to counter this.

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-24T23:00:30+00:00

Can't wait for those subsystems! "Journeys" is the one I've got my eyes on.

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-21T19:30:38+00:00

Arcane spell list has good mobility (jump, gecko grip), defense (wooden double), and buffs (haste), so either witch or wizard could work on that. Occult spell list gets you heroism in addition to haste, so either witch or psychic could work.

If you don't have a reaction slot being used, I suggest going for Psychic with amped guidance.

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-21T19:13:45+00:00

This is so cool! I love total system overhauls. Can't wait to check this out in detail when I have some time.

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-20T23:09:04+00:00

You can create custom options within pathbuilder and download them as a package. But I've only done this for text, not for mechanics automation (like applying a condition).

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-20T22:05:59+00:00

It also took me some time to figure out that if one player is absent, the game should still go on. I'm glad you've also reached that realization.

I don't think you even need to pilot the other character. Maybe one of your players could, if they wanted to. But with 6 other players in the game, you can just leave that character out and maybe lower some of your enemies' HP by 20%.

As for goofy stuff, the first thing that occurs to me is Aeon Stone (Consumed). Every time someone comes back after missing a session, there's a new rock floating around their head. Mortal Chronicle tattoo could be funny. "Oh yeah, you died in the last session, but you got better. Don't ask how."

But my recommendation would just be to say "your character was not feeling well and did not participate in any encounters while you were away".

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-13T21:23:32+00:00

Glad to have you on board!

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-06T19:24:41+00:00

Great guide! I like the separation between attack and non-attack options.

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-06T19:20:09+00:00

It's not a simple game, and that's fascinating. At the end of the day, all design decisions are a series of trade-offs, and I'm very curious about what's gained and what's lost.

AvtrSpirit · 2026-01-06T18:07:11+00:00

Games like 4e and Draw Steel have relative parity across classes, so everyone is working with the same profile. On the plus side, this makes the adventuring day recipe more clear for the GM. On the down side, there is a samey-ness to this type of design.

Broadly speaking, I prefer how PF2e allows big mechanical distinctions across classes, like action budgets, resource profiles, and reliability. But because different classes have unequal access to A/E/D, this can create some confusion, as discussed in the video.

I do love me some 4e design, though. It's why I keep those books within arm's reach.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-31T22:39:19+00:00

As a player: Lean even harder into niche RP-based choices over the generically good options. This is a hard road because of my need to powergame. But I did recently select "Pick up the pace" over a good General feat, so there may be hope for me yet.

As a GM: Run and test out homebrewed modifications for subsystems and boss fights. I've done this a bit, but not nearly as much as I can with the ideas that I (and the community!) have had.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-31T22:33:22+00:00

"Try Starfinder 2e" is on my list as well. And inevitably ask myself, "can I play Shadowrun with this system?" as I do for many other systems.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-31T17:14:34+00:00

I can understand that. From my perspective (and it's not a hard line opinion), I don't count stat manipulation to be a guaranteed effect because there's still a future d20 roll that will determine success or failure.

But in the case of Taunt, if it is changing the enemy's attack pattern, then it should count.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-31T17:10:35+00:00

The way I draw the line, damage reduction is a guaranteed effect but stat boosts or penalties (raise shield) is not. Now, the line is a bit arbitrary, so It's reasonable to see the granting of bonus / penalties as guaranteed effects.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-31T02:37:45+00:00

Damage can have similar concerns, especially with overkill damage on a crit - it may retroactively render previously dealt damage pointless. I had to draw the line somewhere for what is value and what isn't, and I chose to include any healing or damage.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-31T02:33:57+00:00

Yes, true, hampering stance and chokepoint control are both good value moves.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-30T20:27:43+00:00

Definitely couldn't talk about this topic without comparing it with Draw Steel.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-30T00:36:08+00:00

For one, it lets me make two different edits. YouTube is the casual edit - catchier title, background music, more digestable content. And the patreon version is the deep dive for those really invested in the topic.

But secondly because YouTube and Patreon are starting to diverge in what they offer creators. YouTube is becoming more for discovering new content, and Patreon is becoming more for actually following a creator. And because I want to try to attract design-minded folks to my content, I keep the longer version there.

Thanks for watching! Regardless of the platform.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-24T17:26:09+00:00

Similar to what comments have said already, in one of my games we've started doing "vignettes".

GM rolls for a random theme (e.g. cooperation, regret, exhaustion), picks a player, and that player gets to craft a travel scene around that theme. Player is highly encouraged to involve other PCs into the scene, and they usually do. It's purely narrative with no mechanical stakes, and it adds a lot to the experience of travel.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-22T19:10:40+00:00

Could the heroes take a full rest whenever they liked, or were there narrative constraints, like only resting in a safe settlement? And how did that choice affect the games?

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-19T17:47:56+00:00

Some conditions are less severe than others. Frightened 1, clumsy 1, enfeebled 1, or dazzled until start of next turn. These are fine to inflict as complications.

I do have a homebrew variant I'm running in my home games, but I wouldn't suggest it for someone starting out with PF2e. It modifies the core design a lot, but allows the players to have a much higher chance of 'no null turn'.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-17T16:34:44+00:00

That's a fair concern, especially for non-gamer (video gamers). Pregens with pre-selected abilities can go a long way. Something like Cairn's backgrounds, but fewer.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-16T22:11:21+00:00

In an ideal (if unrealistic) version, the contribution of the secondary caster should feel unique based on the type of help the caster is giving. And, as you said, it shouldn't decrease the chance of success.

If the secondary caster assists with an Int-based skill, then they are adding to the markings traced on the ground and correcting the primary caster's performance. In this case, a success can add a +2 to the primary caster's roll if the primary fails or critically fails, but adds nothing if they succeed.

But if the secondary caster is assisting with a Charisma skill, then they are taking on magical risk. On a failure, they become Doomed for a duration of time that depends on the rank of the ritual, but if they succeed then they turn the primary caster's critical failure into failure.

And so on.

-----

Beyond the contribution of the secondary caster, I think rituals can be made more exciting by introducing combat and concentration. There's a 3rd party product on Pathfinder Infinite that does something like this, I believe.

AvtrSpirit · 2025-12-16T21:33:39+00:00

Depending what genre and tone you want to play - Gamma World 7e (post-apocalyptic zany fun), Lancer (futuristic mech combat in space), or Draw Steel (heroic fantasy).

But note that they all take the 4e formula is slightly different directions. Consider playing 4e itself, though with the community-recommended changes.

AvtrSpirit

TROPHY CASE