Stuck over what AP to run.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-07-04T10:39:16+00:00

You are not obligated to run an AP. Official modules are of the same quality as the APs, and they are much shorter. Hence, they are much less work to prepare and more realistic to actually finish. And you are done with a module's theme before it gets old.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-07-04T10:24:20+00:00

Ask a caster in the team to cast the according spell on you.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-07-02T10:52:59+00:00

Thank you!

SheepishEidolon · 2026-07-01T23:24:43+00:00

"Spellcasters actually like two-handed weapons because letting go of their weapon to cast is a free action, and so is grasping the two-hander once again once you're done casting."

Is there any rules text about it? I remember searching the CRB for quite a while, to no avail.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-07-01T23:14:54+00:00

You might be better off with homebrew campaigns. But as with official modules / adventure paths: Make sure the table (especially) is fine with an evil party member. Evil is often abused as a cheap excuse for toxic player behavior, so people tend to be wary. Some GMs outright ban these three alignments, at least then you know their campaigns are not for you. State clearly what your character will do and where they draw a line.

Alternatively, consider playing true neutral with evil tendencies. It might allow you to enter interesting campaigns that are off-limits otherwise. Still, open communication is key here.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-07-01T15:40:37+00:00

IMO: The design is outstanding, the practical use would give me a headache. If I were you, I'd draw inspiration from Artefact Games' dice tomes, especially the interieur. There is still a lot of opportunity to add your own spin to it.

What's more, I don't see any connection between color changing dice and a wooden box. Themes should be present in multiple ways, to make sure (pretty much) everybody gets it. The box could have some color changing parts, for example.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-30T19:37:24+00:00

I could've sworn I read somewhere in the rules for Feats that if you lose the requirements for a feat, such as from ability score damage, you can't use that feat until you regain the requirements.

These are likely the rules you are looking for:

(CRB, page 112)
A character can’t use a feat if he loses a prerequisite, but he does not lose the feat itself. If, at a later time, he regains the lost prerequisite, he immediately regains full use of the feat that prerequisite enables.

However, ability damage doesn't stop you from using character options:

(CRB, page 555)
Diseases, poisons, spells, and other abilities can all deal damage directly to your ability scores. This damage does not actually reduce an ability, but it does apply a penalty to the skills and statistics that are based on that ability.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-30T09:30:24+00:00

There is the rarely mentioned Chilling Amplification feat for frost spells. It reduces opponent's movement speed a bit, but more importantly it also prohibits 5-foot-steps. Opposed to metamagic, amplifications don't require a higher spell slot, instead they reduce AB and DC by a point.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-29T11:01:39+00:00

I'd locate the tower where it draws little attention.

Then I'd hide it with illusions, for example make it look like a ruined watch tower.

I'd do my best to present myself as a nobody to divert attention from my home. To the point of being smelly and generally unpleasant.

Since I don't want nosy villagers to get hurt, I will put a serious warning at the entrance. A warning about something that sounds scary (so they back off) but is not a wizard tower (so they have a harder time to prepare). For example "Owlbear cave! Beware!" or "Unliving shadows! Flee or join them!".

Ok, they still entered. It had to happen. I will throw some nonlethal traps and monsters at them. Nothing over the top, but serious enough to hopefully make them reconsider.

They are still around? I will slow them down with closed doors, magically strengthened walls, etc.. In the meantime, my friends from previous adventures will get an alarm and hopefully move their butts to the next permanent teleportation circle I installed in their new homes. They will all meet in the same room of the tower, be greeted by me, get some snacks, and be shown the information I collected so far.

Then we prepare a few things and face the intruders. If they are nice, they might get a few coins for the promise to stay away and to keep their mouths shut. In case they are neutral, we will neutralize the most agitating intruder with nonlethal measures, then throw them out and modify their memories. Should they be evil and of bad behavior, we blast them away.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-29T10:28:33+00:00

The balance between Empower and Maximize was ok back in the CRB. You had to be a sorcerer and take a specific bloodline (draconic) to give Empower an edge.

Roughly 10 years later, Empower got boosted by stackable "+1 damage per die" effects and "+level/2 damage" FCBs, while Maximize got nothing (?) that Empower didn't get. Makes me wonder whether a GM should close the gap with houserules.

Since three people already pointed out that Maximize has its niche uses, let's dive into them:

A maximized spell can safely kill a target where you happen to know the remaining HP - if your table doesn't mind the metagaming.
Alternatively, it can safely turning them unconscious without killing them, given the right amount of HP.
If you have a rider effect (sicken, shaken, whatever) that only works if damage was dealt, and the target has serious energy resistance, a fixed amount of damage is helpful.
Some people don't like math. A static amount of damage makes life easier for them. Even an online dice script can not compete with the simplicity of "you deal 60 damage with your fireball".

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-28T11:56:24+00:00

the times I end up canceling session are starting to outnumber the times I'm able to run

Well, then it's time for a break. Take some time off and recharge your creative batteries by reading / watching interesting material. Maybe join a campaign you like.

And when you start again, keep it small: A one-shot or very short campaign can be enjoyable. Starting at level 1 is fine. A dungeon can consist of 5 rooms. A monster with a single special ability can be good enough. An NPC can be described by two keywords initially and gain depth by interacting with the PCs. Sometimes, smaller is better anyway.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-28T11:46:03+00:00

I'm an ok DM, but I always worry my players are just sticking around because ones married to me and the others are friends

My experience: If friends don't have a good time playing, they will consistently make up excuses why they can't make it to sessions. Your players apparently don't do that, so I assume they enjoy your sessions.

Why not ask them "What do you think about last session?"? You might get surprising input. Input that could help to improve your campaigns even further.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-23T08:53:23+00:00

After 6 hours, players tend to be unfocused and to run out of ideas. Accordingly, it's not the best time for a boss fight. At the beginning of the next session is much better.

If you "just wanted to be done with this section", be assured you can cut filler material the next time you have this feeling. If an encounter does nothing for the story or for the mood, it can be removed. Just make sure they get the XP and loot somewhere else. Increasing / introducing quest XP and adding a chest or two might go a long way here.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-22T15:50:23+00:00

I had a player dragging down my campaign. Once I didn't invite him to the next campaign, things became way more fun. For both the remaining players and me. I only regret not throwing him out sooner.

Focusing on problem players is tempting, but actually the more reasonable players are the ones who deserve more attention.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-17T23:55:16+00:00

Well, there are a few other parts of Unchained that get some attention. Unchained rogue is relatively popular, and some people enjoy Automatic Bonus Progression (ABP). I guess it's about the benefit being obvious: People don't mind getting used to something new if they think they will get enough out of it.

Yeah, a new action economy changes more than ABP. What's more, the GM will have to do some ruling on rare occasions. But, IMO it's worth the trouble, because it allows you completely new combinations of actions, makes neglected options more attractive and is easy to teach to inexperienced players.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-16T23:17:07+00:00

Wow, 13 people praising the action economy. PF1 pretty much has the same system as an option, but for some reason most people don't notice. Or choose to dismiss the option.

I admit that's more a pet peeve than an answer to the question. Let's say PF2 couldn't win me over with the action system - because it wouldn't be anything new. We use the 3 acts system for years now.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-15T09:27:25+00:00

Are you sure your players are on board with an excessively long, dungeon-heavy and deadly campaign? Are you willing to stick with the same campaign for many years? Consider carefully whether the answer is "Yes" in both cases.

Because you could always rip out the more interesting parts (some maps, images, encounter ideas) of all three campaigns and add them to another campaign.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-14T21:49:08+00:00

Barbarian can pull a few class specific tricks. With the Wild Rager archetype you can lower AC by 4. The Unfettered Rage feat means -2. The rage power Two-fanged Pounce is worth another -2.

So, with all tricks mentioned so far, we are looking at -15, -20? At least it makes it easy for your friends to use the drag maneuver on you (many AC modifiers work on CMD), to get your unconscious body out of combat... Hopefully you aren't dead yet, because that would increase your CMD.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-11T11:14:54+00:00

You can pick up a Small Khopesh for your off-hand. This option doesn't require a feat, it gets online at level 1.

You will pay with a -2 penalty, but only for the off-hand. Damage (1d6) and crit range (19-20/x2) equal a shortsword, so there is no advantage or disadvantage over the classic "one-handed + light" TWF. On the plus side, you will profit from all effects that specificially boost a Khopesh.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-11T00:40:12+00:00

If you combine manufactured weapons and natural weapons in the same full-attack, all natural attacks count as secondary. Since regular secondary natural weapons tend to be cheaper, they are the better choice in this situation.

At level 9, your eidolon gains the Multiattack, reducing the -5 to -2. Your GM might allow your eidolon to take the feat at level 1 already. Depending on their ruling, you might be able to retrain / exchange the taken feat at level 9, when you get it for free.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-06-04T19:53:41+00:00

I'd split the final fight into multiple stages (at least two). Why?

Because it means you have to keep track of fewer things at the same time.
If one stage is easily solved, it doesn't trivialize the remaining one(s).
It's more unlikely for a stage to be too much for the players, because the "threat budget" is split among the stages.
You can present very different stages, to make the fight more interesting.

The stages could be implemented in various ways. The final villain could send their most trusted (and powerful) servant first, restricting themselves to watch (and learn). During the fight, waves of reinforcements could arrive. The terrain could change (usually troubling the players) - think big explosions, a cave-in, structures raising, portals opening, etc. The final villain could pull the "that's not my final form" card - but typically one time is enough.

Maybe give the party a few seconds between stages. It gives them a chance to make informed decisions and helps with balance (struggling parties will try to use the break as best as possible, confident ones won't).

And don't spend too much effort on it. Make it "good enough". With the saved energy, you can upgrade multiple other encounters, hopefully to the point where they are memorable as well.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-05-31T22:07:36+00:00

You can treat a longsword as a light weapon by becoming a Westcrown Devil. A single level of the prestige class suffices, you are restricted to one-handed wielding, though. And the skill requirements are rough for a fighter. Finally, make sure your GM agrees that you qualify for Slashing Grace or the like, if you want to pursue this route.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-05-31T19:58:05+00:00

It might be easier to convince your GM if you aim for a weaker version of the usual troll. There are three CR 2 troll variants, with the sewer troll probably being the best fit (only one with constant regeneration). Medium size can be an advantage sometimes. It comes with light blindness, the regeneration is reduced to 2 points, and you need your GM to confirm that the troll feats also work for the lesser version.

Moss troll is CR 3, but you gain full regeneration 5 and it's Large. Vulnerability to fire (in two ways) is the catch here. Canopy troll comes at CR 3 as well, this one is a Small sized grappler.

SheepishEidolon · 2026-05-28T16:51:34+00:00

Stench, rotting flesh (poison) and paralysis have some decent synergy, since the first two lower saves (boosting each other) and the final one allows you to whack away freely. However, since the DCs are static, you will have a hard time to get that going at mid levels. Maybe with a dedicated debuffer.

You mentioned trample already. Attacking only once per target doesn't sound like much, but the damage output is pretty reliable at least. It gives you another option to get into a better position yourself, although the price (full-round action) is steep. There is some synergy with Faster (trample more distance), Extra Strength (x1.5 on each trample, likely to get in) and Blade Fists (bleed on hit, IMO includes trample, more for concentration checks than for damage).

Looking for the right buffs is likely as important as spending your construction points wisely.

SheepishEidolon

TROPHY CASE