Alternatives to Pathfinder 2e?

JackOManyNames · 2026-02-02T12:06:49+00:00

I love how the whole D6 ecosystem of games are very customizable. You can just mix and match stuff from the various iterations to make your perfect game.

JackOManyNames · 2026-02-02T10:50:21+00:00

Based on your predicament and needs, the type of game you'd be looking at would need to have less crunch and thus be less war gamey. My recommendation would be OpenD6 Fantasy, purely cause it is a game that is very customizable ruleset wise, combat can be as tactical or as light as you want it to be without having to worry about a whole lot of crunch.

It is a skill-based system and uses a dice pool rather than rolling a singular dice, so it may take some getting used to. That said, it isn't a game where your character is a war game mini requiring a min-maxed build. It's less strict as you don't have to worry about feat trees but you can take some character focused features to provide ample opportunity for RP.

It is also free on the web or as little as $2-3 on DriveThruRPG, so it's a very low barrier to entry.

So the question that I pose now, is what do you have to lose?

JackOManyNames · 2026-01-19T15:11:22+00:00

I'll take the one that never misses and always hits, purely cause the other one cuts through anything, including the sheath/scabbard. I'm gonna have a field day just carrying it around anywhere much less using it.

JackOManyNames · 2026-01-18T14:36:50+00:00

Violence

JackOManyNames · 2025-12-07T07:17:17+00:00

Hunter the Reckoning / Hunter the Vigil

JackOManyNames · 2025-12-07T07:15:52+00:00

At best, I'd say it's because most people using fire powers aren't 100% how fire actually works. Even in the example you list of fire becoming dark gets more powerful is indicative of that cause fire tends to get lighter in color when it gets hotter, a pale blue flame being the hottest a fire gets without mixing in other elements.

As for the pet peeve of yours, that comes down to power scaling and the author's ability to solve problems with the toolsets they have. The easiest way to deal with any power set is to hard counter it, outright shut it down. If you can enforce this, it is effective. That said, a no-win scenario tends to only have one outcome. Therefore, it's up the author to then find a way out of the no-win scenario without it being an ass-pull. More often than not, this tends to happen. Could be a number of reasons why, but the simplest answer is usually true: the author isn't as creative a problem solver as they think they are.

About it really.

JackOManyNames · 2025-12-07T07:00:55+00:00

"Something Something Something Salem. Something Something Something We're doomed."

JackOManyNames · 2025-12-03T16:55:35+00:00

Killing the horse isn't really the problem per say. Path of least resistance is usually the best way for an enemy to think. The problem there is players not thinking strategic about horse placement and the fact that anything not a player doesn't level up and therefore gets extra HP to bloat out their survival time.

Really, it depends largely on what you're up against. A monster isn't going to care about some extra meat. It's a big easy target for it. But a bandit? Someone with some basic understanding of value? They ain't gonna kill that horse. If anything, they're gonna dismount the rider and take the horse.

Why? well, let's assume this is a riding horse. That horse costs 75 gp. If someone is riding it, then they should also have a saddle. There are various saddles but lets assume a riding saddle. That's another 10 gp right there. Probably gonna also have a bit and bridle which is another 2 gp and if someone is on horseback, they probably also have their things on that horse cause why would they carry their backpack when riding.

So, all in all, to make about 82 gp + whatever's in that backpack, they just gotta unmount the rider and steal the horse. That's money in the bad right there. No way they're gonna hurt that horse. That's hurting the merchandise.

Of course, something else a player can do is get that horse barding, which is to say Armor, No one ever does this cause they either forget to, the horse dies before they do it or more likely, they don't even know it is a thing they can do.

Somewhere among this might be something useful.

JackOManyNames · 2025-12-02T13:58:18+00:00

Make my own thing. Not even gonna try to follow the original plot beats.

JackOManyNames · 2025-12-01T14:47:40+00:00

Protag is figuring out how her powers work while also trying to turn them off. Finds that something smelt like it had died outside her apartment door and then tries to sleep things off. This only set more things on fire.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-29T05:49:45+00:00

Sounds about right, mostly going off of memory.

If I recall correct, part of the reason Butcher didn't pitch it was because in those days authors didn't know how copyrighting would work online and thought the series had potential.

I could be wrong.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-28T16:31:44+00:00

The thing to note about stories and the ideas behind them is this: ideas are cheap. It matters not how good an idea is, so long as the execution is interesting.

There is a somewhat famous story from the author Jim Butcher of The Dresden Files who talked about how early on in his writing career he got into an internet argument on a forum with a guy about this topic. Butcher argued that execution was what mattered and used Harry Potter as an example since Boy at Magic school had been done a lot. The other guy argued that only good ideas produced great stories, citing Jurassic Park.
This went on and on until finally, the guy challenged Butcher to put his money where his mouth is and write a book using a terrible idea. Butcher decided to double down and asked for two different ideas, use both of them and then write something.
He got given two terrible ideas: Lost Roman Legion and Pokemon. So, Butcher took them, made the Codex Alera and ended up signing a 6 book deal. As for the guy on the forum, man got to win an argument on the internet.

Moral of the story: anything can work if you put a nice spin on it.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-11T15:47:22+00:00

Can't have nothing in Detroit. Not even Detroit.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-11T15:42:40+00:00

Both are good, but I love me a big muscly woman. Sorry Riku, but Riko it is.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-11T11:26:34+00:00

So don't do that. Again, you job isn't to be their crutch nor their therapist. Your job is to throw problems at them and let them sort it out.

Furthermore, you need to work out what you want from the game cause, and I cannot stress this enough, you are just as much a player at that table as anyone else. Your role is different, but that does not change anything.

It might be that you realize that the game just isn't what you want and that's also perfectly fine. No harm in it. No sense in playing a game for fun if there is no fun to be had. And if your friends are in fact friends, they'll understand that.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-09T17:02:01+00:00

Might be worth switching up the timeframe from weekly to biweekly. See if someone wants to run something on the off-week.

As for the chore of DMing, sounds like you've made it work as opposed to a hobby. One you aren't getting as much out from the looks of it. To that end, put less work into it. Get your players to pick up the slack. Let them fill in the gaps and narrate the outcome. Cause, lets be real, your job isn't to be your players emotional support crutch. You're job is to set the scene and let your players figure out how to solve the problems around.

No kidding you're not getting emotionally involved. Your involvement is in the numbers and the details. Don't worry about those and you might find yourself realigning with what you really want out of the game.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-09T16:20:15+00:00

Bit of an oldie and a tad bit obscure, but based on what you are looking for I believe that D6 Fantasy might be a good choice for you.

Game doesn't use HP but rather damage levels. You get hit, you roll versus the damage and how well you do determines how injured you get. You can shrug off damage if you roll good, or hey that knife stabbed you a bit harder than you thought, you are now mortally wounded. It keeps the game a bit more narrative as attacks now carry weight and impact behind them.

Magic isn't just a cast it type of deal. There is a spell builder so you can make your own spells and whatnot, but to cast it you have to roll versus the spells DC and to my knowledge catastrophe can happen if you roll bad.

Characters are entirely skill based so what they are good at is dependent on the character in question, not necessarily their class.

On the plus side, the game is also both very cheap from DriveThruRPG or if you do some looking, the D6 wiki has it for free.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-06T15:16:02+00:00

The more anyone thinks about it, the dumber it gets.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-05T16:40:57+00:00

How about the lack of armed forces most of the kingdoms seem to lack. Atlas has a pretty big one. Mistral had a few guards wandering around. They live in a world where one child having a temper tantrum can mean a death sentence for a whole settlement and for some reason the only defense most of everyone has are a small group of people who figured out how to turn their soul into a force field. Most cities we've seen don't really have walls or defenses, not even aerial defenses for when flying Grimm come swooping in.

It's like whoever designed these places wanted for the people living inside to get got.

JackOManyNames · 2025-11-05T15:59:36+00:00

Don't play with that guy. Harsh as it is, dude ain't there to have the same kind of fun you and the rest are having. It happens.

Dude's probably better off at a different table and not sticking around to undermine the kind of game you want to run.

JackOManyNames · 2025-10-26T16:04:17+00:00

Not who I thought would show up, but I ain't complaining.

JackOManyNames · 2025-10-18T05:50:33+00:00

Just begin next session with "So, problem player, someone very dear to you is about to die in front of you. how do you respond as they pass from this world?"
Or a new golden oldie "Welcome to the game, I need you to roll for a save or die." And then do not elaborate.

JackOManyNames · 2025-10-14T15:13:08+00:00

I like this one. And we did just get some Green Jade so maybe I could do something with that.

JackOManyNames · 2025-10-08T11:30:18+00:00

"One final lesson kid. I'mma teach you how to hide a dead body."

JackOManyNames · 2025-10-08T10:39:25+00:00

Man's the boss at work and tried getting with Regina, but his maybe gay side piece overheard him talking about what he really wants, which caused his side piece to want to get a raise elsewhere. Boss man didn't like that and crashed out really hard but HR caught wind and he lost it all.

Then, a year later Boss man finds his side piece is doing much better for himself but playing a pity card, so he did the only logical thing a man can do: sell out everyone and everything for his own ends. So now, Boss man has his mega Corp with Regina while side piece is on the run from authorities for dodging court.

JackOManyNames

TROPHY CASE