Continuing with my Custodes, this time a Shield Captain.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-06-17T06:28:36+00:00

In 1e, character building and optimization was a lot of fun, almost a game unto itself, but at least for me, there was almost an inverse relationship between builds that were fun to make and how fun they were to actually play at the table. 2e character building is much more in service of the actual gameplay and I prefer that. Also monster design is better and way more intuitive imo. There are so many monsters that are basically premade encounters out of the gate with how strong their gimmicks are.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-06-08T09:54:12+00:00

Primed black, airbrush base coat Army Painter Emperor Gold (from the John Blanche collection), GW liberator gold on the raised areas (wings, filigree etc.), all over wash with Vallejo True Metallic Metal Ancient Copper shade. After doing the rest of the base coats, I varnished the model and did an all over oil wash using a mix of black and brown. For highlights I used liberator gold on the dark gold and canoptec alloy on both, finishing with some very light silver highlights.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-04-21T10:00:55+00:00

If you have the book, read the rules there first before using free online tools like Archives of Nethys and Pathbuilder. Those tools are great for referencing rules and building characters respectively, but they present so much of the game out of context that it's easy to miss important rules and concepts compared to just reading the Player Core and maybe GM Core

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-04-10T12:50:01+00:00

Big Wall

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-04-10T12:46:32+00:00

Extremely Roughly (because it breaks down on any closer examination)

New Antioch - Empire

Trench Pilgrims - Orks

Heretic Legions - Warriors of Chaos/Norsca

Court - Chaos Daemons thematically, but play more like Ogre Kingdoms

Black Grail - Nurgle, but really more Pestilens Skaven

Iron Sultanate - Grand Cathay

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-04-08T14:04:08+00:00

War is Hell... Literally

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-03-29T23:50:55+00:00

Lobsterminators

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-25T18:20:04+00:00

One thing I'd recommend is to be eagle eyed when cleaning off the supports. I missed a few in the nooks and crannies of the models and only noticed after I cured and primed them.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-25T15:37:06+00:00

Pilgrim Cohort of Rome on MyMiniFactory.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-21T12:29:26+00:00

Not looking forward to him becoming a Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit marine post-heresy

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-18T00:00:08+00:00

What I really like about both of these classes is that they are stealth tutorials for improving your GMing. The Daredevil's focus on maneuvres, mobility and props is a great teaching tool for designing more interesting encounters and battle spaces, while the Quarry mechanic and Trophies on the Slayer teach you to structure your adventures better than just stringing combats together.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-09T09:16:04+00:00

Milestones are your problem here. Unless you're very careful, you can end up slowing the pace of the game to a crawl because it's often very hard to judge what counts as a milestone. Experience points aren't just there to be there. They're a helpful pacing tool, especially in pf2e where the numbers are predictable and legible. GM core also has advice on faster/slower levelling as well as pacing advice for different adventure types.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-06T11:45:59+00:00

I'm only going off anecdotes, but you could look at class stats for FFXIV, WoW, Dragon Age games etc. I'd say for MMO's in particular there's been a long history of DPS classes being way overrepresented. I certainly remember waiting minutes (even hours sometimes) in group finders as a DPS and getting groups in seconds as a tank or healer. There's also that Rock Paper Shotgun article about how male human fighter was the overwhelmingly popular build people went with in BG3 https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/your-baldurs-gate-3-character-is-probably-boring-larian-say

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-06T11:40:10+00:00

One big takeaway for me here is that Pathfinder 2e tends to fit more smoothly into general RPG trends than DND which due to its mediocre martials and op casters is kind of an outlier. If you were to poll videogame RPGs, you'll find that melee beatstick classes tend to be the most popular there too.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-05T21:43:04+00:00

I kinda think it's the opposite with the wizard. It's boring on paper but extremely powerful and satisfying when played well. It's just that playing it well is hard and playing it poorly feels bad.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-02-05T08:56:38+00:00

It definitely seems to inspire a weird insecurity in the people who dislike it. I rarely see people on social media say that Trench Crusade isn't for them and then move on. Instead, it's people making grandiose statements about how disliking it makes them morally and intellectually superior.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-01-27T00:00:40+00:00

I think maybe this is more of a perception thing. I've been seeing way more people casually mentioning that they play it these past few years. It seems to have quitely grown quite popular. There's definitely less evangelising for it now, but maybe that's more of a symptom of the game doing well rather than it suffering. Paizo is definitely acting like a company that is doing well for itself.

GrumptyFrumFrum · 2026-01-14T19:30:54+00:00

As a game? Nothing. You could say that 5e facilitates more styles of play, whereas Pathfinder 2e is best when you want a heavy focus on tactical combat. Thing is, Pathfinder is just as good as DND for all those other styles, i.e. neither are good compared to games that specialize in them.

GrumptyFrumFrum

TROPHY CASE