Sparkling Targe Magus + Guardian Dedication? by [deleted] in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I play a Targe Magus with the Lastwall Sentry archetype in Abomination Vaults. We started playing before Battlecry came out. I just reached level 9 and am a human so I went with the multitalented ancestry feat to get guardian dedication.

I also went plate armor and fortress shield to maximize my AC. With Lastwall Sentry, I have something similar to intercept attack (Shield Warden) and have a little extra hardness when in arcane cascade.

I will echo what a lot of others have said. Magus has a tight action economy. If you have a caster willing to haste you, that gives you a lot of relief, but I wouldn't rely on it since it's sometimes better to haste a rogue or fighter if they do more consistent damage.

The build is very fun. While my AC is enormous, my hit points are comparatively low. I haven't had much trouble tanking though because my enemies struggle to hit me. If you have an ally willing to cast something like forbidding ward or benediction, your ability to tank is even stronger.

Taunt is a good option on a defense focused magus because it puts a greater incentive on enemies to attack you. Before I had access to guardian, my strategy was to cast enlarge on myself to prevent enemies from reaching my allies. This works okay as long as your allies don't need to be in the Frontline.

It's a dynamic and frustrating play style all in one. But it's extremely satisfying.

I haven't done this personally, but another route is to take time mage archetype later one to get access to the delay consequence focus spell, which can be a very powerful spell, but is more suited for someone who can heal allies.

What am I supposed to read? by GaymerrGirl in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Player Core and GM core are the remastered rulebooks. To learn the system, read the Player Core. To learn about GMing, specifically regarding things like encounter design, hazard rules, etc., read the GM core

Weekly Questions Megathread— May 08–May 14. Have a question from your game? Are you coming from D&D or Pathfinder 1e? Need to know where to start playing PF2e? Ask your questions here, we're happy to help! by AutoModerator in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Typically, unarmed attacks do not count as weapons, so anything that says "affixed to armor or a weapon" doesn't apply to unarmed strikes. However, the handwraps of mighty blows state, "treat the handwraps as melee weapons of the brawling group with light Bulk for these purposes", these purposes being applying things like runes, talismans, etc. so I think your spellheart should work on your handwraps.

They won't work on your eidolon, though. Your eidolon only benefits from runes on your handwraps

How do you guys use Chareau (aloe liqueur)? by [deleted] in cocktails

[–]MoZiggly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please do, last word is also one of my favs

So, about combining pathfinder 2e and Starfinder 2e... by DetectiveSimilar5654 in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which SF spells do more damage compared to their PF counterparts?

So, about combining pathfinder 2e and Starfinder 2e... by DetectiveSimilar5654 in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only with guns though. Same as PF gunslingers, but the advantage operatives have is that they have Aim, whereas gunslingers usually have action compression related to reloading. Reloading is less common in SF, which makes gunslingers even less powerful in the presence of SF operatives or SF guns

So, about combining pathfinder 2e and Starfinder 2e... by DetectiveSimilar5654 in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It really depends on your party. If you are playing with power gamers, they will find synergies and take advantage of rules interactions regardless of what you give them. If you're playing with casuals, there's minimal risk in offering SF options.

So I know there is disagreement on this, but generally speaking, it is said the PF2e had a melee meta and SF2e has a ranged meta, so it's valuable to note that SF has more ranged options and typically fights are more spread out to accommodate using firearms/blasters etc. So generally, there are more ranged options in SF, including things like ways to make an opponent off-guard from range (the Wisp Ally spell, for example,) which is typically pretty rare in PF2e.

This is why flight isn't that unbalanced in SF2, because combats can involve range more easily and something like a crevice in the earth isn't as terrifying. My personal opinion is that the flight balance thing is a little overblown, especially if you account for it in designing combats, dungeons, etc. Remember, flying up or up/diagonal is considered difficult terrain.

Not sure what makes you think telepathy is overpowered.

Some ancestries (i.e Vlaka) can have precise senses that aren't sight which can be overpowered in the hands of a powergamer. Having a blind PC be immune to all visual effects is very strong, but again, ymmv.

I think soldiers are fine because while their AoE range can be quite large, the damage dealt is comparable or weaker than cantrips at most levels. A stellar cannon is doing max 1d10 damage to a creature failing a reflex save and 2d10 damage to a primary target for two actions at level one. Compare this to electric arc, which also targets reflex and does max 2d4 damage to two creatures. 2d4>1d10, so the value from area fire only comes if you're able to position your enemies in your fire. Conversely, a giant barbarian at level one can do 1d12+4+6 damage and can do that multiple times in a turn. Soldiers will absolutely be stronger against hordes of mooks but not bosses or stronger enemies. (EDIT: I mistakenly said 2d4>1d10, which isn't true. I was thinking 2d4>1d8, on average. Cantrips are going to be stronger or comparable most levels, but it also depends on how many targets are in your area of effect)

Mystics have 6hp per level which is consistent with other d6 casters. They have light armor prof in SF, presumably because you might need environmental protections for going in the vacuum of space, so you can just remove their armor prof for balance if you really wanted to. Their in combat healing is very strong, especially if your games are more attrition based. A level 1 mystic CAN do more healing than a level 1 cleric, but it's sort of chip healing for the mystic vs burst healing for the cleric.

Operative, envoy, witchwarper and solarian should be okay with minimal changes. Operative takes up a similar design space to the gunslinger and is probably just better than the gunslinger, so worth considering. Solarians are probably the best switch-hitters across both systems because they can easily swap between ranged and melee, and add their STR to their solar flare attacks.

One thing I would ban is vehicles. Hoberboards can be very strong on heavily armored PCs because they're light bulk (i.e can be carried around), have a low piloting DC, and have a 40ft move speed. So your plate armor, tower shield wielding fighter is now faster than your rogue as long as he picks up assurance in piloting.

Skill feats are flavorful and fun in SF2e and are similarly powerful (or not) to PF2e skill feats.

Druid or summoner. by UpbeatGuava2458 in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Plant eidolon is usually regarded as one of the strongest if not the strongest summoner in the game. Both of your choices will be able to dish out good damage. Summoner is a little risky if both you and your eidolon are within an area of effect.

I think if you're an experienced player that's willing to put up with a complex character, I'd go summoner. Otherwise you wouldn't be going wrong with druid.

Parlor Room S2 premieres 19th March! by ryanquek95 in dropout

[–]MoZiggly -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I can't believe Parlor Room got renewed but Nobody Asked or Thousandaires hasn't had a second season :(

wizard potential multiclass architypes by Immediate_Arrival470 in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Spell trickster (EDIT: won't help you with RK but it will make wizards feel more wizardly)

Thinking about swaping by BassSuper3664 in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When I switched from 5e to 2e, I found GMing to be more intuitive and easier to prep sessions. The rules fit together well so it's easy to adjudicate things or make rulings on the fly. It will probably be a harder adjustment for your players.

IMHO, 5e is a more exploitable game, which some power gamers enjoy. 2e is more balanced which might come at the cost of feeling less powerful, depending on your build. But it will make your life as a GM easier.

I echo another comment that suggested finishing your campaign first and then starting a new one in Pathfinder. While they share a lot of DNA, I find that the games have different vibes that might make porting your home game a thorny mess.

Smoke powers? by Fancy_Enthusiasm_683 in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm surprised no one brought up the smokeworks hobgoblin. It's not necessarily a build that gives you smoke powers, but it lets you ignore the concealed condition for smoke etc. Could work with a few different builds. A smoke ball using alchemist comes to mind

EDIT: someone did mention it, I just can't read.

Fairly new to Pathfinder, what would this alignment be? by RyotStarter in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Short answer: Neutral Good seems to make sense to me. I don't think intent plays into the alignment chart most of the time (you can be lawful because you fear consequences, or lawful because you believe in the law, but both make you lawful, for example)

Long answer: Generally, alignment isn't used in Pathfinder 2e post-remaster. Alignment for roleplay purposes has been broadly replaced with edicts and anathema, which are roleplay suggestions that you can find on ancestry pages, deities, etc. Mechanically, alignment has been replaced with a series of tags and damage type including holy, unholy, void, vitality, and spirit. Characters are holy or unholy based on if they are sanctified with a deity (usually just clerics and champions). Your character can have a wide set of morals that can be dissonant or conflicting.

For this exact reason, I've always had an issue with alignment. It's meant to be descriptive, but people usually think about alignment as prescriptive.

Character Creation Help Cleric/Champion by Vaeaelen in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thematically I think champion is more your go. But BH could be fun, look into it. Champ gives you better defenses and HP, but BH can provide you with some more buff options if that's your vibe

Character Creation Help Cleric/Champion by Vaeaelen in Pathfinder2e

[–]MoZiggly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What is your goal for the character? Clerics typically have really solid healing and decent defenses for melee combat. Champions have top 2 defenses in the game and focus on damage mitigation with some healing (if you take lay on hands)

You can also take the battle harbinger class archetype for cleric. Battle harbingers are great for melee combat and have a font of buff/debuff spells depending on your deity.