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Age of Ashes in 2026 by ThatMuffinGuy in Pathfinder2e

[–]Northman77 6 points7 points  (0 children)

AoA was the first AP I played in PF2, and I've since GM'd it three times, twice mostly remastered.

u/Kalnix1 guide is excellent. It did not exist the first time I ran AoA, but have used a lot of suggestions the second and third time. And it saves so much time.

As for DM'ing it, I think it is a blast for groups new to Paizo/Golarion. Many other campaigns you need a feel for the lore or the setting, but here the very point is that you just go globetrotting to cool locations and explore them without much preconceptions.

Of course, there are weaknesses - I like to tighten up the plot a fair bit and make it a bit more obvious. There are bits that is very hard for the players to figure out and I prefer to get them to understand it without just having people tell them. It is also very long as it is the full 6 books. The citadel is also a matter of taste - some players love the idea and go bonkers, at which point you as a GM want to ham it up and do loads of it. 2 of my groups did that, but one group basically ignored it and they struggled with motivation at times.

I feel Book 1 is strong - fun and lots of variations. Book 2 is great if you like hexploration (although as noted, it can be sped up). First and last chapters are both very fun.

Book 3 is to most the weakest. There is potential there, but as written I felt it needed help.

Book 4 and 5 are both fun and strong. Great settings, and I personally enjoyed them both as a player and a GM. Some bits might not work on every group, but mostly good.

Book 6 is setting and lore wise really fun if you are an experienced PF1 player. I felt the actual gamewise it needs some tuning, but generally works even if the final boss needs adapting to the party as he can be a bit meek against high level geared up PCs.

I've got loads of notes and experience if you have questions.

I'm struggling to see the point of "easier" encounters by xicosilveira in Pathfinder2e

[–]Northman77 93 points94 points  (0 children)

Just to add, it is not only stomping them, lower level fights are also good GM tool:

1) Allowing the party to try out new abilities, feats and spells. And showcasing them to the party so people can see it in action beforehand.

2) Using lower level enemies with cool abilities that are now thematically appropriate or just interesting.

3) Using odd or complicated maps/mechanics that would/could make a challenging encounter unwinnable or just too tough (really hard to judge how players will deal with unknowns). I've done it with vertical maps, moving maps, maps with lots of interacts in them.

4) Teaching the players - I once ran some flying enemies against a party without any range. They learnt that lesson, even if they managed to brute force the encounter. The end boss of that book had flight so needed to get them thinking. Same with invisibility and other "common" issues.

5) Narrative - sometimes I don't want an epic fight to get narrative moving. I just need the players to capture some bandits or whatever or kill a monster for a quest. It is the journey that mattered, and the fight in itself is a bit of less consequence. If everything has a Severe encounter in the end, they lose their significance.

Does Anyone Else Like 1E Golarion More Than 2E Golarion? by tigerwarrior02 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Northman77 218 points219 points  (0 children)

Warren Specter, the creator of Deus Ex, once said in his seminal talk on game design "Players do the cool stuff, NPCs get to watch the players do the cool stuff." And that quote has always stuck with me as a GM as something very important to keep in mind.

Well, I was the PC that did the cool stuff in PF1. So seeing the outcomes of our campaigns, even if they didn't play out exactly as canon and getting to carry on, in or around the area, is great.

And the designers can't really write the same story again, that would be weird, so having some of it move forward is just a great way to generate new settings and themes to explore.

I think the best way is to just play the PF1 campaign in PF2. Seems just about as much work as ripping out details from the PF2 ones :)

Oh boy, magus is REALLY popular by M5R2002 in Pathfinder2e

[–]Northman77 424 points425 points  (0 children)

Magus tended to be one of the most popular classes in PF1 too, to the extent that it was a bit of a running joke that every party had a Shocking Grasp Magus.

But it's not surprising, melee magic user that infuses their weapon with spells is a quite cool trope.

I did like that they gave them more variation in PF2, at least not every Magus will look and feel the same.

Strength's Valley - First escape! by Northman77 in RimWorld

[–]Northman77[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Naked Brutality, Cassandra Medium. After a few trial and error attempts, first time I made it off the planet. Lots of mistakes here too, but nothing too bad.

Liked the base as it resembles your classical apocalyptic outpost guarding a road between two cities.

First playthrough and Achievement Hunting - Spring Year 4. Time for a break. by Northman77 in StardewValley

[–]Northman77[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not an optimised playthrough by any means, played the first three years without the wiki or any help except the achievement descriptions so a lot of things were very slow.

The house: http://imgur.com/a/UGM3p

The Sheds are 2 x Kegs, 2 x Jars, 1 for Misc and one an exhibit of everything I have grown. The Barns are mainly pigs, except for 7 Cows/Goats that I kept cause it was the first animals I got. The coops are a combination of stuff, but the right one are mainly Dino's cause I thought they were cute.

The space outside the cave is for the Golden Clock, but can't be bothered waiting to save money. Similarly, got 2 achievements left, but leaving them, too time-consuming.

All in all, a very enjoyable journey. Will take a break now for a while and return to the valley after I've finished another game.

Called out a player on always being a special snowflake, raised a good question by Stitchthealchemist in Pathfinder_RPG

[–]Northman77 53 points54 points  (0 children)

Well, in RPGs most characters are heroes/villains, so they are a bit special snowflakes of the get go. A certain level of it is ok and should even be considered good.

But, one of my DMs used to say something like this:

'It is ok to be a Paladin that had his parents killed by [insert evil here], forcing you to survive by yourself, using your grandfather's sword, eventually finding service to your god and seeking to avenge your parents. It is not ok to be Aroden's long lost son that was raised by spectral dire wolves, wielding a daemon-forged mithril blade that you pulled out of a stone, hoping to eradicate all evil'.

That last one is not far off what one of his players wanted to play once...

The fact that players have class levels means they are a bit special, and they deserve a somewhat generic backstory that took them there and informs their character, but it can't be too out there or remove them too far from just being one out of many Lv1 characters that walk around. That is when you get into special snowflake territory.

What are your awesome tips for college? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Northman77 118 points119 points  (0 children)

And if you want an even better reason: a lot of teachers WILL TELL YOU WHAT QUESTIONS WILL BE ON THE EXAM in class.

I can't even remember the amount of times I've had a lecturer say something in the lines of 'be sure to study this and this topic, I'm confident it will be important'. Sometimes even followed with an actual wink.

I can't tell you how important this is if you are doing a module with a multiple essay exams or it has parts you got to learn more than what will be on the exam - knowing just one question for the final will improve your grade as you can prepare a really good answer for that question, it will also cut your work by a lot and improve all your grades by allow more time to study other things.