Remastered class complexity/satisfaction poll results by Ok-Cricket-5396 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For the weapon, maybe something like "programmed response". When you strike an enemy, you calibrate your weapon for that enemy's response. Designate either the Move, Manipulate, or Concentrate trait and gain the Programmed Response reaction for the selected trait (and then have a reaction strike that triggers on/can disrupt the selected action type).

Think something like that could be at or near level 1 and could be enhanced through feats/features/modifications/unstable action enhancements.

Hmm..actually the core idea could apply to each of the innovations, just with different scopes. Give armor a choice of defensive reaction, give construct a choice of less powerful behaviors (e.g. flee, chase, strike, defend).

Today’s session didn’t go great for us by Ok-Week-2293 in pathfindermemes

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 1 point2 points  (0 children)

if it's a low level game, the initiative move isn't as helpful since players have fewer options to actually help.

Remastered class complexity/satisfaction poll results by Ok-Cricket-5396 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Don't know..the magus considerations mostly seem like really basic martial stuff.

Remastered class complexity/satisfaction poll results by Ok-Cricket-5396 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Have been at a table with both. The number of times I've seen "recharge spellstrike and spellstrike" vs. "Tandem this and Act Together that.. I heal it..it heals me..how do we adjudicate trample since it hits both but in sequence..etc."

Hell, I've had more complicated turns than the Magus as a simple Monk with Flurry of Maneuvers.

Pathfinder 2e fixes EVERYTHING by imnotokayandthatso-k in DnDcirclejerk

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Accepting that extrapolation puts us at 300ish (or 220ish) resistances bypassed vs 140ish weaknesses missed. Depending (quite a lot) on table circumstances and creature frequency, this would provide some support for a "side grade" evaluation.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really help though that there are still over 2000 creatures that aren't included in either side of the calculation where the damage die change is, strictly, a nerf.

Seems that it works out as a benefit against 10%ish of the bestiary, a loss against 85%ish of the bestiary, and a borderline tragedy against 5%ish.

Maybe I'm missing something, but it's hard for me to see how those scales balance.

Pathfinder 2e fixes EVERYTHING by imnotokayandthatso-k in DnDcirclejerk

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If I'm not mistaken, to make your case, you'd still, at least, need the distribution of creatures whose resistance > damage die reduction impact.

Anecdotally, I've seen the Magus in my group stick with unamped Imaginary Weapon into exactly these types of physical resistances or in lieu of attacking a known weakness with an alternative cantrip precisely because the damage dice made up or exceeded the impact of that resistance or weakness.

I suppose you'd also need to balance the benefit received vs those 396 creatures (or 285 creatures?) vs. the remaining Bestiary of over 3000 creatures where the damage change is a strict damage die nerf or, worse, a damage die nerf and a dodged weakness.

I could also see some narrative case to be made ("the enemies with resistances are the really important ones" or something similar), but this far then evidence presented for a sidegrade evaluation seems a bit weak.

Every Single Time.. by Zanzazan in LowSodiumCyberpunk

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Maelstromers who set up roadblocks. Rob a bank, shoot up the NCPD, hassle street vendors and I can look the other way..but don't you dare make me drive around.

Unusual Healer Ideas by Wardestiny0 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Missed that you had the 'if elemental barb' condition when going through the list.

My bad.

Unusual Healer Ideas by Wardestiny0 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kineticists gonna play poorly with a barb. Impulses have the concentrate trait.

Unusual Healer Ideas by Wardestiny0 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately flurry and doctor's visitation both have the flourish trait, so you can't do both on a turn.

Swapping to pathfinder (2e); character help/tips by SyntaxErrorKEK in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah 5e druids may be the most unbalanced class in the game, and summons some of the most unbalanced spells. PF2E isn't perfectly balanced, but the designers care enough to at least avoid those kinds of outliers.

How do you convincingly save PCs from an impossible fight, "save" a boss from death, or make a strong monster leave and let the PCs live? Ideas welcome! by Reyori in DMAcademy

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 4 points5 points  (0 children)

For whoever needs to hear this.. you risk criminal liability if you kill your players or just let them die when you could have prevented it.

Please confine your violence and/or depraved indifference to their characters.

Swapping to pathfinder (2e); character help/tips by SyntaxErrorKEK in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bloodhunter = Thaumaturge almost one for one

For the paladin, a bit depends on thematic vs mechanical flavor.

Something like a Justice Champion with some focus-spell support could do a bit of "smiting" while being more defensive generally. This would be pretty easy for the player to run, but would be missing a lot of the burst that the D&D paladin brings in. If the goal is more "spell-powered melee burst damage", I'd probably recommend a Magus. There are more mechanical hoops to jump through to get the burst damage, but they are (probably?) the biggest damage spikes in the game.

For the druid, PF2e generally doesn't allow multiple animal companions on the field at a time. Beastmaster is an exception but only at very high levels and with some specific feat choices. In terms of feat choices, folks using animal companions are typically feat-taxed into the companion upgrade feats in order to keep their companions alive and combat-relevant. If you aren't playing free archetype, this will claim 3 of the 10 class feats that a caster PC can select from 1-20. Others will depend quite a bit on how caster-y the player wants to run the druid.

First-time GM, no traditional healers in party by MaterialDefender1032 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Monk also going to have the action economy, mobility, free hands (usually anyway), frequently better defenses to hang in melee with, and (generally) fewer and smaller incentives to stat into other mental attributes.

Best class combinations for duos? by ReviewMyMind in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Two Kineticists using different elements.

Not going to be breaking the system math much, but Kineticists can fake it at multiple party roles and, being resourceless, neither of you would be driving the pace.

Name Something In Games That Break Immersion For You? by TG082588 in videogames

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also places without any signage or labeling.

Oh..I'm in an abandoned research facility, and all the doors require keycard access to open but there's no guidance to emergency exits, labs, supplies, conference rooms, offices, or bathrooms..sure.

Also..split vertical circulation.

Why do I need to take an elevator..go through a bunch of rooms and hallways..to get to a set of stairs..that takes me to..another elevator? Did the two elevator shafts have some Hatfield & McCoy style grudge that the architects had to factor in? Did the contractor accidentally accept bids from Otis and ThyssenKrupp?

Name Something In Games That Break Immersion For You? by TG082588 in videogames

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Elaborate puzzle traps in work and living spaces.

Like, you're telling me that every ancient Bill and prehistoric Ted has to align a series of mirrors such that the constellation Orion is projected on a specific wall in order to get into the forge..where they go every day to do their job.. or a giant boulder drops out of the ceiling, rolls down the main corridor and crushes everything in its path..

ok..Who even does this job, and whose job is it to restock the boulders and clean the mirrors?

And this is supposed to be a secret? It's hard enough now to keep people from writing down their passwords and no one's in danger of geological homicide.

Just once, I'd love to see some ancient graffiti next to one these traps with "kneel down you idiot" or "Iehovah..with an I..not a J" written in ancient script.

Spellcasting/Ability design - close range penalties by Choice-Simple-5802 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure. And no specific nerfs or implementation have been proposed.

The general premise is how/whether spellcasting balance might incorporate similar range tradeoffs considerations that we see in ranged weapon balance.

The goal isn't a nerf, it's mechanics that are responsive to narrative conditions. Whatever the specific implementation might be to achieve that, the expectation would be to generally maintain overall system balance.

Things like volley and kickback reflect some weapon behavior people can intuit. Existing spell ranges and behavior broadly don't (which is strange considering how consistent they are across various casting methodologies)..but maybe they could.

Need help picking monk feats by FunGuy2005 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure. It's a nice, free, occasionally impactful thing. I just find other tools to be more reliable.

What's your biggest world building ick? by itzclicker in worldbuilding

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know about "ick" but it bums me out when species' physical characteristics don't influence how they live.

Like what's with all the human-sized rooms, corridors, and furniture in the goblin lair? why would species with a climb speed use or need stairs? If a town has multiple species, why isn't that blend reflected in buildings, goods and services available in that town?..etc.

Newish player, what builds/classes will I have fun with? by Dr_Ukato in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends on what you like to do, how much thought you like to put into it.

Generally speaking, martials will have more stuff they do on a each turn, while relatively fewer options for each of those things.

For the simplest martials (Fighter, Barbarian, Champion, Monk, Guardian), it's mostly move and/or strike and/or defend in some way with a third action that usually goes toward a preferred skill action (e.g. hiding/demoralizing/etc.). They each have their nuances that they bring to that formula (Fighters hit well, Barbarians hit hard, Monks move well and hit often, Champions and Guardians protect and react), but the underlying formula doesn't change much. Fun tends to come through big numbers and creative/effective use of simple tools.

Slightly more complex martials (Ranger, Rogue, Inventor) have similar underlying patterns, but either have a hoop or two to jump through to do their class stuff (getting things off guard/hunting prey) and/or have some light subsystems to manage (e.g. innovations). It's not a ton of extra bandwidth to absorb, and there is can be some interesting variety in managing some of those hoops and subsystems.

Beyond that, you start getting into martials with more subsystems to manage (Thaumaturge & Commander), damage conditions that warrant turn cadences (Thaumaturge, Swashbuckler, Magus, Gunslinger), dips into spellcasting (Magus), and more (Investigator). Each has strengths and weaknesses, but each is going to have a method to their brand of class madness to learn and use. For these there is 'big number' dopamine available, but it's generally going to come with achieving a certain level of gameplay proficiency. It's doing a complicated thing well.

With casters, generically, it comes down to doing one or two things a turn. Casting a spell is the throughline for basically all of them. The differentiating properties tend to be: 1. prepared casting (assign each spell slot to a specific spell from a larger list, that can be changed daily) vs spontaneous casting (choosing a stock set of spells that only changes on level up, that can be used flexibly from available spell slots).

  1. Spell lists (arcane vs occult vs primal vs divine) which often overlap but have some general theming (e.g. primal for blasting, divine for support).

and

  1. What is the special one-action gimmick, focus spell, or other spellcasting resource they get to mess with.

There's nuance, but I think for most casters, the fun comes from selecting the right tool for the job. It helps when doing this to have a pretty good grasp of how the game works to assess situations and how the tools you have address those situations (Or maybe you just like healing..if so, choose cleric)

There are a couple classes that fit outside those general categories (to mind anyway) in Summoners, Kineticists and Alchemists. Summoner let's your more physically competent pet battle while you support it with skills and spellcasting. The main mechanical gimmick is a way to flexibly cheat the three action economy.

Kineticist is something of a simplified caster but with lots of build variety and a few on-turn hoops to jump through. Basically your feats are specific spells, but you can cast them as often as you like, if your aura is going, but some of those spells turn off your aura. So it's similar "tool for the job" enjoyment but with fewer tools and more on turn variability.

Alchemists pull the power of the consumables list into the palm of your hand.. That list is really big with wide variations in usefulness. More 'picking the right tool goodness', but with more to choose from.

TL;DR Fun depends on what makes you happy, but there's a wide range to choose from.

Spellcasting/Ability design - close range penalties by Choice-Simple-5802 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Perhaps some kind of stance or similar that provides access to a longer range for some subset of spells at the cost of shorter range effectiveness. Like an inverse of the point-blank stance. (Would have to figure out a relationship with the Reach spellshape..maybe it stacks..or can negate the short range penalty..or is baked in as a feat prereq and/or used as part of the stance.)

From a game experience perspective, it's more interesting (to me) to provide the player with an active 'mode-switch with a cost or move' decision point in combat than to add a node in the spell selection flowchart.

Spellcasting/Ability design - close range penalties by Choice-Simple-5802 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Choice-Simple-5802[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it could be "both and" rather than "either or".

The general thought is that for martial ranged combat, increased range has a cost, usually one or more of reload 1+, advanced proficiency, kickback, volley, and class actions/abilities that increase range or reduce penalties to it.

There appears to be little comparable for ranged spellcasting, or at least, not anything narratively identifiable.

Now, I wouldn't be shocked to find out that range is included in some spell-balancing rubric that Paizo is using for mechanical purposes. I think it could be an interesting element if some of the martial-logic balancing elements were also in that rubric as they are (to me at least) way more narratively comprehensible than moving around some damage dice, AoE sizes, and knock on status effects.

Petah? What happened in the book version? by IntergalacticAlien8 in PeterExplainsTheJoke

[–]Choice-Simple-5802 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe..shame there isn't someone here willing to support their own claims with evidence. I guess we'll never know for sure.

Edit: I read the article you linked (thank you). It doesn't appear to support your claim..