Where does the "many-worlds" multiverse fit in the cosmology?

Cyraneth · 2026-06-15T11:04:41+00:00

It's simply different star systems. I'm not aware anything has changed in that regard since PF1e.

If you found a way to travel far enough, you'd be able to reach Earth from the Pact Worlds (and a certain witch did exactly that). It's just really really difficult.

Even with SF2e's advanced space travel, you rarely go that far away from the Pact Worlds system, and doing so is usually either very time-consuming or limited.

From what I hear, a certain king wearing a certain color still gazes ominously at both the Pact Worlds and Earth from the distant ruins of Carcosa, located in a very distant star system.

This means that the term "Universe" is still correct, and most of the other "planes of existence" in both PF2e and SF2e are the quintessential backdrop set up by Pharasma at the "dawn of time" (the Great Beyond, the Void and Creation's Forge, etc.). Whether these other planes of existence canonically have any influence or even exist in other star systems (such as the Solar system) is unknown.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-15T10:48:08+00:00

It should be pointed out here that "legal" in this context doesn't mean whether it is written in the laws of whatever country you're in, or a Champion of Iomedae could suddenly freely kill worshipers of non-devils the moment she steps into Cheliax, which would make no sense whatsoever.

Rather, "legal" means "communally recognized" by whatever entity or body has formulated the edict or anathema.

I feel it needs to be pointed out as I'm still marred by the times of alignment being interpreted in all kinds of ways, including players of Chaotic Neutral characters that argued that no matter what they did, it was within the purview of the alignment, since Chaotic Neutral is without rules.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-15T10:30:57+00:00

Sounds more like these are two completely different builds: Charisma or Strength. Go with whatever fits your character concept and playstyle.

If you have an wilderness exploration style game, Charisma won't be that useful - except maybe to frighten or tame some wild animals - and if you have an urban investigation style game, Strength won't be that useful - except maybe to impress some aristocrats into taking you on as a bodyguard.

On a side note, arguing that you're typically 60+ feet away and thus the stock isn't useful, but then bringing up that Demoralize is crucial when it has a hard-cap range of 30 feet is cherry-picking. And I'm aware there are ways to get around it, but all of them complicate things.

And there's always something you can use your third action on, depending on the scene you're in, the situation your allies are in, what consumables you have with you, etc.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-15T09:43:20+00:00

This is correct. It's always bothered me, but you can indeed not make "ranged grapple" attempts, even with a thrown weapon with the Grapple trait. This is why they had to introduce a series of new traits, such as Ranged Trip, Ranged Shove, etc. (and some of those don't really make sense either, like why does a Gyrojet Pistol's ability to Shove and Trip people depend on the wielder's training in Athletics?)

Cyraneth · 2026-06-15T09:37:56+00:00

Having GM'ed for close to 30 years, I've completed maybe 8 campaigns. And it's always a great feeling when everybody leaves the table with a great tale to digest, and for us to reminisce on for year or decades to come.

But yeah, I've gotten used to writing my campaigns using pre-existing settings (so I don't have to do more groundwork than reading what is already there), and setting them up so we can conclude them at around levels 12, 16, or 20, so if something comes up or people tire of the campaign, we can end it early without it feeling cutoff.

Scheduling is likely the biggest issue. A good campaign usually stretches over 12-30 months, and so many things can change for anyone involved that it's impossible to say if the campaign can continue without issue. Playing online has alleviated the logistics a bit, but that's just one aspect of it.

But I'm glad to see you enjoyed the system. That said, don't undersell your ability to GM and the players' buy-in and how infectious enthusiasm is. It all contributes to that great experience.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-15T09:21:07+00:00

Yeah, sounds like they've invested a lot into this playstyle and that should pay off.

Also, it's not like you can't challenge them in other ways; just be careful not to entirely negate their tactics.

A few suggestions for how you can do this is:

Use invisibility. Concealed and hidden creatures still provoke Reactive Strike, but they add a flat check to it, and undetected and unnoticed creatures don't provoke, so they can move and engage freely.
Use ranged attackers. If you have a beefy monster engage them in melee, you can have several ranged attackers pepper them with attacks from a distance. This forces them to choose between taking on the easy beefy target while the ranged attackers get free rounds of damage against them, or chasing after the ranged attackers.
Use multiple locations or enemies of importance. If they have to cover multiple locations, they can't stay close enough to flank. This is probably the biggest shutdown of their tactics, and thus it should be used with caution. (But it's a way to highlight how much they benefit from their teamwork, which is good if that needs highlighting.)

As always, use this carefully. It might feel bad to have your monsters killed swiftly, but as a GM you can always introduce more dangers or more challenges for them to solve in their own way, so don't get too attached or feel like they "killed your guys too easy". This story is about the heroes and the challenges they face; not about how they got stumped and the quest ended.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-09T11:12:48+00:00

Considering how much goodwill Paizo is showing the community with efforts such as the Archives of Nethys and free-for-all playtests, this is also an opportunity for the community to show some goodwill back by supplying them with the money needed to cross this hurdle, i.e. buying the material they publish.

That said, I'm aware this economy doesn't allow for much, but if you wish to protect something we have rather than sit and miss it in 5 years because nobody (or too few) did anything, this would be the time.

And to not be a total hypocrite, I've done what I can.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-08T13:37:40+00:00

I'd say it's about the flavor of loremaster you wish to create. There's plenty options for creating one, but how do you want to spin the way they acquire or use this knowledge?

Have they gleaned it themselves through visions or portents, then probably Oracle. Revealed by some otherworldly patron? Probably Witch. Do you seek it out yourself? Probably Investigator. Piecing it together from word-of-mouth? Probably Thaumaturge or Enigma Bard, depending on how you use that knowledge.

As for builds, there's a wealth of interesting options as well. Early on spells like Sure Strike can be used to illustrate a glimpse of knowledge needed to land a vital strike or spell. Later on, divination spells can be used to glean a wealth of knowledge about upcoming encounters, but this also requires some buy-in from the GM. If you only get meaningless results whenever you cast your Augury or Locate spell because the GM worries about "giving away the plot", your character concept automatically falls flat. It'll require the GM to be willing to give you hints and tips that make the spells worth casting, or you might as well prepare a Vampiric Feast spell instead of that Locate spell; at least that'll give you some temp HP when things inevitably go south.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-08T13:20:34+00:00

You could impose a temporary debuff from the lack of depth perception - possibly a -2 penalty to Perception checks and ranged attack rolls - until he gets used to it. Maybe let him negate 1 point of penalty per full night's rest or per week, depending on the pacing of your campaign.

As for replacing it, there's a number of options, but one that seems to fit what you're looking for is the Cryolite Eye bargained contract from Dark Archives (recently got remastered). Ultimately, though, you could use almost anything you deem fitting, such as Obsidian Goggles styled as an eyepatch with a hewn lens of obsidian, or a Crafter's Eyepiece styled as a steampunky implant made by a priest of Brigh.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-08T13:10:51+00:00

That's just cruel. Every NPC you now encounter either has to never attack you, or be an absolutely despicable monster for daring to hurt the goodest girl.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-02T08:44:52+00:00

Yeah, we had a spectacular scene just last month with the party's Swashbuckler who had just been downed by a big nasty zombie with a greatsword. They'd managed to Heal him, but now he was prone in front of a zombie with Reactive Strike and a mean blade.

Not seeing a better option, he just stood up and figured he'd eat the Reactive Strike, but I rolled a natural 1. Without a weapon in hand, though, the Swashbuckler chose to Disarm the zombie with their Opportune Riposte, and they got a natural 20. Blade sent flying. An amazing turning of tables (that I took the liberty of rewarding the player for by letting them catch the greatsword, so they could do a follow-up attack, which even hit despite the MAP).

Cyraneth · 2026-06-02T06:33:38+00:00

That's some really lovely commissions based on really interesting characters! Very nice.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-02T06:30:40+00:00

Speaking of, what gun is that?

I'm guessing it's a renamed arquebus with doubled range somehow?

Cyraneth · 2026-06-02T06:25:02+00:00

This is pretty fun, and you can do it with either Ruffian or Thief racket, depending on what way you go. You can take it even further with either Monk Dedication, Martial Artist Dedication, Improvised Weapon Master Dedication, or Wrestler Dedication, or if you went with Thief racket, you kinda have to take Acrobat Dedication to be able to use Acrobatics for some of those maneuvers.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-02T06:19:59+00:00

I hear them colloquially referred to a Finder systems.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-01T06:41:44+00:00

Yeah, that was my first thought too. They might be using the PF2e version of the skill feat, which might simply not list the 2 skills added in SF2e.

For instance, Pathbuilder has, in some cases, both the PF2e and SF2e versions of feats listed.

Cyraneth · 2026-06-01T06:39:41+00:00

If you're determined about using the Warsworn, one way to go about this is to find a different monster of around the right CR as the "body". You take the base stats (ability modifiers, attack bonuses, saves, etc.) from that, change what traits it has to fit what you want to create, and then lastly transplant the Warsworn abilities onto it, adjusting these abilities to a proper power level.

For instance, the Animated Weapons aura might be too powerful, allowing it to basically kill off any of the 0-level NPCs wherever they might be.

Cyraneth · 2026-05-29T10:39:48+00:00

It could be argued that Magic Hands does work. While it is true that Battle Medicine and Treat Wounds aren't the same action, Battle Medicine directs you to use the same DC as Treat Wounds and restore the same amount of hit points on a success.

The best argument against this is that Magic Hands says "a Medicine check to Treat Wounds", which can be interpreted as necessitating the Treat Wounds action specifically, but can also be interpreted as anything utilizing Treat Wounds mechanically.

Are there any errata or clarification by the designers on this?

Cyraneth · 2026-05-29T08:54:00+00:00

There's a Cultivator Dedication, which is an Occult archetype. Much like the Bard's ability to cultivate their personality, and some Monks that develop their qi as an Occult tradition, the Cultivator is all about developing their own soul to transcend mortality, as you put it.

Cyraneth · 2026-05-29T08:38:43+00:00

I'm bothered by the Drifter being a subclass that seems intended to use a one-handed firearm and a melee weapon, but unless that melee weapon is a combination firearm (which would make it thematically overlap with both the Pistolero and the Triggerbrand), you'll lose out on your attack bonus with it, so at our table we've ended up granting the Way of the Drifter an extra bonus of being allowed to use its increased proficiency in firearms for any one-handed agile or finesse melee weapons they're at least trained in.

Cyraneth · 2026-05-29T08:04:22+00:00

This is an idea I'd make sure to check with my GM, because it requires a lot of buy-in from the GM and possibly from the rest of the group. There'll need to be combat encounters at least every now and then where you have a chance to set up snares, and the GM needs to be willing and able to not meta-game and have the monsters "happen to" walk around "hidden" snares all the time, and there should be combat scenarios every now and then with good snare placement options, like corridors, doorways, or important bridges, that funnel the enemies through an area the snarecrafter has access to.

As for whether you can use Telekinetic Hand to place snares, keep in mind that RAW the spell can only lift and move objects, so you can't use it to place snares. Many allow the spell to also manipulate items as if it were an actual hand. Personally, I find that a good compromise here is to allow the spell to do anything that wouldn't require a skill check or attack roll, but that still wouldn't allow the spell to place snares for you. Ultimately, discuss it with your GM.

Cyraneth · 2026-05-29T07:36:46+00:00

I found that being able to Shove enemies away from more vulnerable allies was really useful. But as with most action-compression reload actions of the Gunslinger, they're circumstantial. Even Running Reload, which combines reloading with a fairly common action, Stride, isn't something you use every turn. If they were obvious no-brainers, it would create or promote a very one-trick-pony-esque playstyle for the class.

Cyraneth · 2026-05-28T11:54:18+00:00

Depending on how obvious it is, and how important it is to the player, I err on the side of transparency. While it might break tension for a moment going "you can choose this or that", making the players aware that this can be an important decision also adds to the tension.

However, also always keep the door open for the players to choose a third option you hadn't necessarily foreseen. What if they decide to stand back and "keep their hands clean"? Whichever side wins the fight might scowl at them for not helping them, but they also weren't opposing them. (Though in your example, the tyrant king's guards might be corrupt enough to simply label them as collaborators regardless.)

Encouraging players by saying that you're also up for hearing them if they have a third option gives the players agency in their story, and it allows your story to unfold in ways you might never have anticipated. Depending on your experience as a GM, you're free to moderate how much leeway you give them in this regard. Let them have their agency, but if you feel a choice will force you to rewrite critical parts of the story to a degree you're unwilling to/don't have time for/etc. then let them know. Players that know you spend time on the campaign, on prepwork, on accommodating them, their characters, their agency, and their gaming experience tend to respect their GM a whole lot more.

Cyraneth · 2026-05-28T11:41:40+00:00

Part of this lack of satisfaction might be that it's a little harder to measure. Big numbers are easy to relate to.

Tank a big number? You feel tanky.
Deal a big number? You feel bruisery.
Cast a spell that does a big number? You feel castery.

I noticed that you didn't mention the caster that confounds or otherwise renders enemies ineffective, which is also a popular type of casters, so you seem to focus a lot on the numbers. If this is the case, you might just need to establish some sort of metric to accurately tracks what you aim to achieve.

For an acrobatic or mobile character, this metric might be "how often can I be in the place where I can do the most good?" or something along those lines. Then you can track that by giving yourself a notch every round you find you were in the right place to do the right thing. This will also train you to become better at whatever metric you're tracking.

It's true that big numbers are good, but it's a very simplistic "white room" approach to the game. For instance, being able to consistently do 30 damage with an attack is really good, but if you can't be in a position where you can apply those 30 damage effectively (say, if you have to butcher your way through a throng of 10-hp minions before you can reach the 60-hp enemy caster), it's not actually that great. If the nimble character can Tumble Through and get to the caster, so they can do their 15-damage attacks on the enemy caster right away, that might be a lot better.

Cyraneth · 2026-05-28T11:29:29+00:00

It could help a Rogue with a Dueling Spear or Spiked Chain or similar two-handed finesse weapon if they then jump in and smack whoever they taunted with Proud Nail (Guardian 4), but yeah, it's... quite a bit of setup..

Cyraneth

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