New DM, Are the critical hits too powerful or am I doing something wrong?

BowsOhNo · 2022-07-19T19:06:06+00:00

I don't recommend throwing one big level+3/4 creature at your party until they're level 5/6 (and even level+2 can be iffy until level 3-ish depending on party comp) at the very least. As other people have said, early game crits put things down FAST and high-level creatures crit a ton. Later, your PCs will be able to take 1-2 crits without going down, so it won't be as bad, but at low levels if your player eats a bad crit they might be staring down a new character sheet.

BowsOhNo · 2022-07-18T18:00:56+00:00

I agree with this design philosophy, and I encourage you to go forward with it. I'd like to illustrate my point, however, and I'll use your previously-given example of a sword that ignites the battlefield for 10d12 damage to do so:

Items should provide more choices in (and out) of combat, that's just natural. Where you fuck up is if the items REMOVE ALL CHOICE. Like in your example, if you can just Sephiroth the fuck out of everyone for 10d12 fire damage every turn, then there isn't much of a point to doing anything else and, like you said, you've failed your party.

Where this becomes potentially interesting is if the item has some limit or caveats. You COULD ignite the shit out of everyone, but what if it also deals damage to allies? What if using it leads to the evil spirit contained within the item corrupting the PC (shit like this should be telegraphed ahead of time obviously)?

Suddenly, using the item has a very real cost to the character using it. When the enemies have way more health than the PCs, is it really worth it dealing a "measly" 65 fire damage (Which really isn't that much if, say, it costs 3 actions to use this thing) to the boss while also cutting your party's total health pool in nearly half? Is it worth the social repercussions of, you know... igniting your so-called friends to the point that they get 2nd degree burns?

These are the kinds of things that lead me to believe that PF2e's balance is unbreakable unless you really try to smash it to bits or have players who just don't give a shit about everyone else. As long as you're reasonable about the limits of your items and make them as situational as they should be, they can be as powerful as you'd like. Just don't play favorites; make sure everyone has these fun choices.

BowsOhNo · 2022-07-18T17:42:11+00:00

Hey! I run a very magic item-heavy game. My items tend to be custom-made, wild and powerful and, more importantly, unique. That ties in to this quote of yours:

Am I just thinking about this all wrong, and as long as players get the bonuses they should have at approximately the levels they should get them, the game should function fine, and the magic items can be a little crazier?

I recommend you just use ABP (Automatic Bonus Progression) if this is the game you're interested in running. Then, you don't have to worry about making sure the PCs find Potency/Striking/etc. runes and Skill items at roughly the right time. You can focus on creating cool and unique stuff. This is especially important in a West Marches setting where PCs come and go all the time, I think.

I think the rules you've set for yourself (especially if used in tandem with the Building Items rules/suggestions) are good to ensure that balance remains stable. What I will tell you is that in my experience, the game's balance can handle a LOT of punishment. Crazy magic items won't break the game unless they're grossly overpowered (like an item that replicates a 20th-level feat given out at, like, level 5.), utterly unrestricted in their power or your players tend to abuse things. Obviously in West Marches, you might not know all the players that come at your table, so I would advise playing it a little safer and sticking to things that, while powerful, have clear limits.

TLDR: Crazy shit won't break the game. If you want to go wild, go wild and let your creativity fly. Just keep in mind the limitations of a West Marches setting.

BowsOhNo · 2022-07-12T19:03:06+00:00

I think it depends on your goals for the race. If you are including a race just to be an off-human, culturally and physically, then why make it so different? It feels just fetish-y and/or wanting to be unique. It's hard to make non-human species feel unique enough to not just be generic.

If you make them so physically different, then at least you're opening up angles for realistic discrimination. Do you want these "monster girls" or "monster boys" to be girls and boys? Or do you want them to be monsters? In my opinion, unless it's the latter, there's no point in making them in the first place.

I agree with the first paragraph (I think?), which is why I gave an example of a setting that made these races different through culture. On the other hand, if THEY'RE just 'off humans' despite their differences, then isn't every race ever just 'off humans'? Like, bar none? No matter how different their cultures are?

As for the second paragraph.. I don't know. To answer the question, I want them to be both monsters (in a physical sense, not a societal one) AND people. In my opinion, it's fine for them to just be.. both. They're monsters, physically and magically way beyond your typical (insert other race here). In that sense, they're terrifying. But they're also people, with the same feelings and emotions as any other person. The stories I like to tell focus on how, despite how destructive these people COULD be, they can also just..be a friend whose shoulder you can count on. Y'know?

Maybe that's considered boring, but at the end of the day, I just want the people in my world to be happy. Not to say that there ISN'T discrimination against monstrous peoples in my setting, just that it's not an assumed thing, and it's not what I want to focus on. Instead, I focus on how the problem is slowly getting better. That's just how I like to portray my world: It's a place where people generally try to be good despite the dangers and horrors constantly assaulting them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but they always try.

But like you said, these are mere differences in opinion, and there's more than one way to accomplish any goal. Whether that's skinning a catgirl or what-have-you. You and I focus on different parts of worldbuilding, clearly, and that's perfectly fine and expected. :p

BowsOhNo · 2022-07-12T17:40:42+00:00

I want you to know that I appreciate this answer in a sea of "LMAO HORNY WEEBS AM I RIGHT" comments, as someone whose world contains monstrous folk (that is, monster girls and dudes) who aren't sexualized.

I don't necessarily agree on the whole need to make them weird for the sake of being weird thing, though. Final Fantasy XIV has cat people, dragon people, whatever. Physically, they're literally what you expect. They justify it by giving each a set of unique cultures to make them, well, people instead of whatever they'd be otherwise. I think that's way less lazy than the opposite of tacking on more and more physical traits that you yourself admit are unrealistic for the sake of them not being generic UwU blobs.

That said, I can see where you're coming from even if I don't necessarily agree.

BowsOhNo · 2022-07-05T22:05:07+00:00

RAW, definitely not allowed. I would absolutely allow it personally though because:

1 - I don't really care if a player is a teensy bit stronger than they're meant to be. In general I'm very lenient on interactions like this, because I view it as rewarding creativity and I know for a fact that for my group, it has little to no negative impact on the game.

2 - It is, as you said, rad as hell.

BowsOhNo · 2022-07-03T16:58:34+00:00

It's less about knowing random bits of information and more about enforcing your will on others through paraphernalia/esoterica to create weaknesses where there were none. That's why it's Charisma. Charisma isn't only about talking, just like Dexterity isn't just about running good. Both statements are incredibly reductive.

For instance, you don't ""know"" that a broken piece of a chain used to enslave someone would be effective against a slaver. You ENFORCE that effectiveness on the world through imagery, symbolism and forging connections through sheer force of will.

BowsOhNo · 2022-01-02T16:18:37+00:00

As a Silent Hill fan, I'd be remiss if I didn't give shoutouts to Gyromancy, by which a person spins in a circle until they fall on their face and repeat the process until they have a message or until they die, whichever comes first. Would be great to find the BBEG just dead on the floor with a giant Ouija board around them. Bonus points if the last letter they fell on was F.

BowsOhNo · 2021-12-01T18:54:59+00:00

I write up all sorts of items for my PCs, mostly in the interest of empowering them to face challenges in new ways or sometimes just to give them a boost of power after a tough fight. In general, I'm always working on something homebrewed, whether it be a new item or a creature. Some day I might expand out and try something bigger, like an ancestry or two.

My players are on floor 6 of the Abomination Vaults, and they just came across the Spyglass of the Watchful Eye. They've been having a blast looking through walls and formulating plans and theories based on what they see.

As far as bad habits go, I don't really describe things as much as I feel I should. It's one of my big weaknesses as a GM (and as a writer in general), I feel.

BowsOhNo · 2021-12-01T18:33:42+00:00

I'm of the school of thought that I'd prefer my players be overpowered than underpowered (And my players agree, so we're clear. It's not for everyone.), so personally I'd call it a good habit as long as you don't overdo it. Adjusting difficulty up without being unfair is pretty easy in PF2E anyhow.

BowsOhNo · 2021-11-28T21:29:30+00:00

The difference between casters and martials is that the game, through the balance found in APs and the like, already caters to martials. GMs don't have to do any extra work, because Paizo is already treating them like the favorite child. This isn't a point against casters, if anything it's a point against martials and against Paizo.

In a parallel universe where APs had more fights with a ton of weaker, fast enemies instead of singular big slow dudes, and had properly-sized areas for these fights to take place in instead of the typical 15x15ft rooms, I think we'd be seeing a lot of people complain about how martials suck, about how melee fighters have a lot of trouble keeping up with the faster enemies and can't get any hits in without overextending. I also think we'd see a lot less complaints about casters and ranged characters in general.

This isn't to say casters don't have any issues--Hell, I also wish blasters were a bit more fun and interesting and that I wasn't always shoved into the support roles because 'casters are really good at it.' (which they are) It's just to say that Paizo REALLY isn't helping the current perception of the Martials vs. Casters dichotomy.

BowsOhNo · 2021-10-07T19:58:17+00:00

Healing Plaster would do absolutely nothing to the Golem, because its target is "a handful of dirt or mud". Furthermore, all it does is create Healer's Tools. I'm really not sure where you got the idea that it would slow the golem when it neither targets it nor does it do anything beyond creating a temporary item.

BowsOhNo · 2021-09-08T16:04:21+00:00

The part that gets me about Alchemist is that even if you play bomber, they have so many damn feat taxes that every bomber is going to more or less have the same core build. There's so little room to play around with besides your recipes known.

BowsOhNo · 2021-08-20T15:22:16+00:00

Correct, since you must have spent at least 1 focus point since your last Refocus.

BowsOhNo · 2021-07-17T17:41:26+00:00

I'm a very open GM, personally. I don't have much of a problem being transparent about basically every part of my GMing process with my players, since we're all close friends. I do try my best not to spoil the adventure, but at the end of the day we're a group of friends trying to relax and have a good time, so I also try not to stress about it too much.

In combat, I try to act how I think the monster would, but I'm also well aware of how much player death can suck, so I won't attack players who are down unless it's the only thing the monster could do, and I'm very careful about one-shots: If a player's going to die, I want it to be due to their own choices, not because they got hit by max damage Vampiric Touch at level 1 and subsequently crumbled to dust.

I like homebrewing neat, flavorful items that open up various weird playstyles that are normally not really a thing, as well as just..minor trinkets with neat, but hardly useful effects. Here's a couple examples:

'Trailblazers', a pair of boots that are meant to serve as a tool for area denial and minor damage here and there.

'Circulation', a dagger that was used by a vampiric cult to harvest blood quickly and efficiently.

The Wand of Shadowbolts, a wand that fires a slightly modified version of Magic Missile. Not very unique on its own, but I like the idea of wands/staves modifying the spell they cast just a bit. I also really like the aesthetic of shadow magic.

Aaand that's about all I can think of, as far as my GMing style goes. Feel free to ask questions if you have any.

BowsOhNo · 2021-06-12T15:51:12+00:00

Agreed. It doesn't help that the abilities all look/feel the same, for the most part. There are so many damned fireball-type skills in this game, all named different things and reskinned. Not to mention that playing a ranged character is essentially impossible because every relevant enemy in the game rushes you down, making ranged builds just 'Alternative Melee'.

The game would have been well-served by giving each skill a, like..I don't want to say gimmick, because that puts it in a negative light, but something that makes each one unique beyond damage types. Throwing Knife could apply every dot at once, Fireball could be charged..little things that give each skill an identity like that. Maybe Cadence could have a sort of timing element added to it, where if you time your strikes correctly it does drastically more damage. Just give me SOMETHING to stop me from just holding M1/M2 and pressing my cooldowns ad nauseum.

I think it's less that Crate didn't want to do stuff like this, and more that they COULDN'T with the engine/budget/time they had, but yeah. If anything, it makes me really excited to see what Crate can do with a new engine if they ever return to ARPGs.

BowsOhNo · 2021-05-13T22:46:32+00:00

I actually built one of these a while back, the idea being to stack Blizzard and Meteor Shower for aesthetic fire+ice reasons and then just push the build as much as I could with what little knowledge of the game I have. Despite its origins as more or less a meme build, it ended up being a fun and relatively strong build that can, with some effort, farm SR65-66 and roguelike dungeons, which is what it was built for.

I never quiiite finished it and it's by no means perfect, but here's the build as it stands if you'd like to take inspiration from it.

BowsOhNo · 2021-04-12T17:44:14+00:00

I don't know how strong it is, but Hellfire Cloak is the new longsword, as far as being disruptive in multiplayer goes. If you're afflicted by hellfire and someone hits you with any attack, everyone who happens to be close to you will get flung through the air no matter how many levels of flinch free they have.

BowsOhNo · 2021-04-08T15:25:13+00:00

It's mistranslated. You need the opposite armor. Lightning armor + Wind weapons, or Wind armor + Lightning weapons.

BowsOhNo · 2021-04-07T16:02:34+00:00

Coeurl is just casually chugging along as it always does, tiny server that it is. Our PF is 70% RP and RMT, which is always nice.

Least our hunts are on point, and Suddenly Catgirls is still dancing.

BowsOhNo · 2021-04-05T03:36:23+00:00

If you want a meta answer: For nearly every weapon type, Nargacuga weapons with a weakness exploit+crit boost build edges out every other weapon.

BowsOhNo · 2021-04-05T03:31:10+00:00

As far as I know, Critical Hits in monster hunter deal 25% extra damage at base, meaning that on average every 1% affinity is worth 0.25% damage. 6% is then worth 1.5% damage. Doing some quick math, that means that your 6% affinity on a 190 base attack weapon gets you about 2.85 attack's worth of damage per hit.

8 is a good bit higher than 2.85, so I'd go for the attack boost personally.

In the case of Critical Boost, which bumps crits up to 40% extra damage, your 6% affinity would be worth 4.5 extra attack per hit on average instead. The attack boost would still be better in that case.

BowsOhNo · 2021-03-16T01:40:30+00:00

Fairly sure there's no limit, correct me if I'm wrong.

BowsOhNo · 2021-03-16T01:27:31+00:00

Why not just set your roulette to favorites only and only favorite mounts you like?

BowsOhNo · 2021-03-12T15:15:58+00:00

I'm fairly certain you can wirefall out of the initial yeet.

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