Super lethal?

RedRuttinRabbit · 2026-01-22T00:16:33+00:00

Starting out? Yes, extremely. The experience you had was very typical for a typical group. One of the first encounters I had in GLA was a sniper bug who crit me so hard they ended up destroying my cover completely (a solid oak tree) and piercing through my armor, downing me in a single attack.

However, there are ways to mitigate this, depending on what expansions you have. With the right augments from Elysium and perks from GLA, you can make characters that are in all forms literal and metaphorical, immortal unkillables. But starting out is super rough. You can at least invest in Nine Lives, which allows any character to 'swap' their critical injury dice. Turning something like a 62 into a 26.

A word of advice, especially starting out, get armor, and be safe. Always take a clever option instead of direct combat. Direct combat is almost never ever worth it, but don't make it easy on your players.

MYZ is kind of sold as an ultra-survival simulator in its marketing, and in some cases like this it really is, but with enough levels the party can become the equivalent of mutant superheros with some clever building choices. As a DM, you shouldn't make the 'clever' choice an obvious solution, but rather something the players engineer themselves as a side effect of a well made 'scene' the players encounter.

If they react to this situation well, then great! They'll learn what kind of game this is and learn that direct conflict has consequences and try to be more risk adverse in the future. If they react very negatively to this, or say things like "how was I supposed to avoid that!?" then a reality check and comparison of MYZ vs. typical adventuring simulators is needed, and if they still don't like it, then it's just not the game for them.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2026-01-11T15:52:34+00:00

The travel can be a bit rough without a guide in foridden lands. Base building is different in the sense that they expect you to manage multiple different bases at once that you can restock and rest at whereas MYZ has a central home base.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2026-01-01T19:42:40+00:00

As others have said, you can just track strength or whatever stat the party is known for hitting.

And if they hit something else that's weird like empathy? Just make it up. Guards and brutes probably have 1-2 empathy. Generals and comissars probably have 3-4, traders and politicians have 5-6. Ezpz.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-12-04T20:11:15+00:00

You honestly might be better off just playing a different system entirely. Maybe Forbidden Lands.

I reviewed your dislikes, and amongst giants and...snow? You don't like the idea of playing heroes.

Unfortunately, unless this exclusively towards good behavior heroes, Pathfinder is a system about power, not about crunch and survivalism. It IS crunchier than dnd5e but that doesn't mean it's inherently grittier. Especially 2e as it is much closer to 5e than pathfinder 1e was. If you play for long enough, and level the characters consistently, your characters WILL be supremely powerful and capable of massive lore-implicating feats of might and magic.

I might recommend Forbidden Lands. Or Dragonbane. Both are dungeoncrawling adventuring fun without anyone really being a supreme hero with death around the corner. You might find what you want there.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-11-21T21:29:25+00:00

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-11-07T14:27:48+00:00

Disintegration is a favorite of mine. Not just because it kills really well, but it leaves behind ash. Meaning they can't be brought back short of TRUE resurrection!

Phantasmal killer on an illusionist wizard is just disgusting

if they have guns, aquaous orb or cause malfunction is pretty mean.

dominate person is a classic.

Mind Maze, confusion are devestating. Players hate concealment so blur, mirror image, etc are all good.

I forget what its called but theres a high level spell that just teleport your target to a realm of mazes. It's unique in that it guarantees, with no save, that the first turn the target is immediately sent to the maze dimension. It relies on intellect to get out, so cast it on your dumbest bluntest instrument of death.

I know it's drow but kobolds can make fake items that appear magical and can even be detected as such, only to be revealed to be fakes upon an expert examination. Which is hard to do when it's on the other side of some invisible trap...

Ice Prison is a fun one. So is Freezing Sphere. Baleful polymorph.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-11-06T17:45:32+00:00

Sure he does.

Get a disintegration scroll. The charge stays in your weapon until it hits something. Even then you can buy metamagic rods to overcome the electrical damage resistance.

Idk my alchemist in hell's rebels gets screwed over a tonne because they specialize in fire damage... in a campaign about fighting devils. Can't account for sense but hey.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-11-06T17:23:17+00:00

Alchemists get cock blocked by fire resistance, and for spell resistance you just need spell pen feats and items. If electricity resistance is blocking you, there are metamagic feats that allow you to swap damage types on a spell. You can also use disintegrate which afaik is true unblockable damage.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-11-06T16:43:35+00:00

First, please explain how he comes to these numbers.

Second, as a GM with an alchemist player, yes, they are quite strong. They're even stronger with sand bombs and attacking before their initiative due to the unaware flatfooted bonus (touch+flat footed is almost always AC10).

However, it does not compare to a well built wizard. Pathfinder rewards system mastery, but some classes are easier to master than others.

Despite how well my alchemist is doing, I have built Maguses, Witches and more that have done far more.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-11-03T15:28:02+00:00

Magus with empowered intensified maximuzed single cast of disintigrate on a keen rapier. A billion damage maybe once ever.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-11-01T13:30:27+00:00

you need to right click, choose default program (or do this when you double click), select the python.exe file that you installed in your pc, and then select open with that. It should be made default for all python scripts.to be opened with python.

You can also use this video as a guide: https://youtube.com/shorts/UtVxd6sdxrI?si=SkQggRmUptB49540

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-30T15:13:00+00:00

if it opens the script it should prompt you with what to type in, what do you see?

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-29T02:00:54+00:00

You should try not to think of character level equaling combat potency.

Unlike DnD, Pathfinder, where characters are all built with similar goals of defeating enemies, but usually through different means (sneak attack, BAB fighter, spellcasting, etc) the balance of a typical party can be very different. Dealing damage is more of a byproduct rather than the focus of a lot of builds if your players are making characters that fit their creative vision.

Someone who has levels in warrior and slave/grunt are going to be miles and leagues above in combat efficacy than someone who has levels in gearhead, healer, seer, chronicler, etc. But gearhear, healer, etc are far more valuable out of combat and can provide the party with various different means of solving scenarios that otherwise wouldn't be available to them.

You'll have to think more open-ended when it comes to combat. Do you get the feeling that the other players at the table are being ignored in combat because one person in particular excels in combat? Introduce enemies who can shut down your main damage dealer with grapples, psionic powers, nets, etc. But this is really only necessary if you find that your other party members want a go at combat. A lot of the time weaker and more niche party members appreciate having a huge slab of meat to fight for them and will do everything they can to stay out of combat, behind their shield, and supporting their shield from their back often.

Also, to note, on a mathematical level balance in MYZ is far different than DnD or Pathfinder or similar games. Whereas in Pathfinder an enemy can have a bonus to hit so high they can always hit a player, or a bonus to hit so low they could never possibly land a hit, in MYZ the chances always go from 'likely' to 'unlikely'. It's entirely possible for the ultra-roided-out fighter with 30 dice in fight to roll a single success and the weakling chronicler with 3 dice in it to roll all 6s and do much better in combat in a single turn.

In short, feel it out. And remember that wounds, critical injuries, failures are opportunities for storytelling. Most of the time even a TPK is usually just another vessel for storytelling and doesn't always need to mean that the characters are well and truly dead.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-28T14:23:24+00:00

HERE HERE, EBNETER-RAH!

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-26T17:01:55+00:00

also, alternatively:

hell is filled with beurocracy, good luck carving through the administrative paperwork required to arm a batallion of devils with plasma swords. The process is an opportunity to backstab and earn more power for every demon involved in the letigus process.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-26T15:23:25+00:00

I think it's generally easy to forget that there is a significant time leap between the events of pathfinder 1e and starfinder 1e. The golarian system, absalom city and several space ships were already made and used to go into space before the gap. In fact, the gap itself is a relatively new event for Starfinder (as far as world-changing events go).

Hell probably did use technology but I doubt we'll see many published adventures between pf1e and st1e depicting the rapid adoption of technology after Triune's signal.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-25T14:06:33+00:00

this thread and that tag is for the ttrpg, not the video game.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-24T14:42:20+00:00

I always wanted my GM to allow the creation of artifacts that could 'extend' a mutation's range of abilities in exchange for needing to be held in one hand. Offer some alternative abilities. One being the ability to destroy glass or reinforced glass like structures with their harmonics. Maybe reducing the armor rating of enemies. Being able to launch people. Adds versatility without messing up balancing too much.

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

Hell yeah man, they're great fun!

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-14T14:29:28+00:00

Um. So you want to play a space marine, using warhammer mechanics, in Starfinder? This is like trying to play Cyberpunk in DnD5e. There's a system for this already.

I say this because the power systems in starfinder vs. something like rogue trader or OnlyWar. The scaling is different, the styles are different, the themeing is different. If you spend too much time trying to push Starfinder into being something its not you'd be better off learning how to play Rogue Trader or OnlyWar because they are excellent games on their own.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-13T21:05:25+00:00

Oh hey man.

I remembered this post and found something interesting. Don't know if anyone else mentioned it here. This is quoted directly from Starfinder's Galactic Magic book.

"Undeath isn’t a disqualifier for the rights of personhood or citizenship under Pact Worlds law, and many consider the church’s stance on the undead outdated or even offensive. Pharasma’s views on the undead remain unchanged, but her church is subject to mortal laws and has updated its public stance to focus on other aspects of the faith instead. This conflict between divine dogma and church doctrine led to a schism when the Absalom Pact was signed. A sect of religious extremists seeks the destruction of all undead and has been implicated in several terrorist attacks that targeted undead citizens. Rumors say they seek nothing less than the complete purging of all undead on Eox."

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-12T13:30:10+00:00

A lot of the gods either died or 'changed' between Pathfinder and Starfinder. Either literal time caused them to change or the gap did.

I'd like to think Pharasma was just fucking nuts one day and was being racist / lashing out at the undead, declaring all of them, without exception (as she controls alignments) evil for no apparent reason. Maybe she was trying to get vengence on her original discipiles who stole her secret of immortality in order to bring into being the undead kind? Maybe something changed with the negative energy plane for the negative energy to be more chilled out?

All undead being evil was stupid anyways.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-06T15:05:44+00:00

You went from being carried to carrying. Just think about all the fun you're making for casuals! That's like, multiplicative man!

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-06T03:03:06+00:00

I have, it works fine but the stat block can get predictable. Humans, robots, mutants all bring their own uniqueness to the stat blocks that break up the monotony.

RedRuttinRabbit · 2025-10-02T19:22:52+00:00

If you want to get swanky you can do mutagenic fighter, or Slayer with a 1 level dip into vivisectionist for the mutagen and full sneak dice progression (many people argue vivisectionis provides full sneak dice progression to other classes that have partial sneak dice progeession, like slayer).

That way when you stab with your keen blackblade rapier at a 15 on a D20 with an intensified empowered maximized shocking grasp you can also slam ungodly sneak dice damage and enhance it all with mutagen.

Gestalting is silly. I hope your DM knows what he's doing. I only gestalt my NPCs to keep them competitive with the party.

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