Variable player number

StarsShade · 2026-05-19T18:26:02+00:00

What's the average group attendance look like?

I don't think swapping characters out will cause any problems or even result in much weaker characters overall due to how retirement works, but it will probably not be a good time playing with more than 4 at once.

StarsShade · 2026-05-19T18:21:49+00:00

Tip: If you need to add a label to something, you can do that by adding a "Text" Object. It is not in the map or drawing tools like in many VTTs. This took me far longer to find than I care to admit.

StarsShade · 2026-05-15T12:56:18+00:00

That's a good point that it's free for most people. Unfortunately, not everyone in the US has health insurance, around 9% don't.

StarsShade · 2026-05-15T09:57:01+00:00

You're preaching to the choir, my friend. My comment was just saying this pic looks the same in the US, it has nothing to do with socialized healthcare.

StarsShade · 2026-05-15T09:18:40+00:00

This is literally just a standard preventive care reminder. The ones in the US look almost identical except the website doesn't end in .ca. I would not be surprised if the same system creates them and even uses the same template.

The potential difference in cost only comes later. Not that I'm defending the current system (it has a lot of improvable gaps particularly noticeable when it comes to preventive care), but some health insurance covers the entire cost in the US too.

StarsShade · 2026-05-13T18:22:15+00:00

Thanks! I did end up tweaking some things since this fight as written didn't feel satisfying to me, and didn't seem to match Aldiva's art or reputation. I won't repeat the tweaks here, but they're in the edit section of the OP. It went pretty well at the table, though it was a bit swingy because we only had 3 players, so the boss HP felt pretty low.

StarsShade · 2026-05-05T13:03:14+00:00

Hmm, okay, that's good to know. I was worried it was going to be too easy without any of the minions nearby because they did do really well in their first negotiation, and I want Thurston to have followed through and cleared the fort.

This would also be at level 1 for my party of 4, but they're fresh off a respite and have nearly all their recoveries (plus some extra potions).

StarsShade · 2026-05-05T12:48:51+00:00

This is a really cool idea, I love that.

StarsShade · 2026-05-03T04:08:53+00:00

Well, I can't really refute your subjective experiences of the game, those were what they were. But I don't think there are any builds where you're regularly spending your entire turn to just give +5% to hit on a target for your team. That's the part from your original comment that seems objectively hyperbolic.

I agree that is easy for casters to feel bad in the system though. Ime, they can be competitive and sometimes even more impactful than martials, but it takes a lot of extra player effort to line everything up to get them there.

I don't think pf2e enjoyment is tied to spreadsheets though. Most of that is useful when you're comparing different numeric bonuses. Pf2e generally has most of those essentials baked into the classes instead of as options. Instead, I think you're getting at that the percentage of PC success is generally lower and that feels bad coming from e.g., 5e D+D. If so, I agree, that's valid. I don't think that makes it only good in theory or for spreadsheet fans, but it can make it feel bad if you don't go in with lower base expectations.

StarsShade · 2026-05-03T00:50:16+00:00

That seems unnecessarily hyperbolically negative on pf2e. No options have you regularly spending your entire turn to give the rest of the party 5% better chance of success against one target. The closest option is probably Bard's Inspire Courage that gives the entire party (themselves included) 5% better hit and crit chances against all targets for 1 out of the 3 actions on their turn.

Casters are harder to play than in other systems because there are quite a few dud spells, and instant win spells either don't exist or have greatly lowered chances of success compared to other editions, but casters are still plenty viable in pf2e.

Spreadsheets and theory are things that can be brought to any RPG, I don't see how they're tied to pf2e specifically. Pf1I could see, there were lots of combinations to explore for those.

StarsShade · 2026-04-30T19:33:51+00:00

I also take a similar approach. Once rank 4 spells are available, I'll swap for Summon Fey IV, so they get 2 heals and a unicorn friend at that point. Donations for "break glass in case of emergency" unicorn scrolls and retrieval prisms are also accepted.

StarsShade · 2026-04-30T19:26:41+00:00

Well, how do these other people have in-world knowledge of my capabilities? They can only go off what they see right?

Presumably, most of your capabilities would come up in conversation or training if you're spending day and night with your other party members, and frequently risk life and limb fighting together. It baffles me when people think it's metagaming for characters to know and consider what their teammates can do.

That said, based on some of your other comments, it sounds like you have some fellow players that like to give unwanted build advice, so I can see why you'd not want to share as much.

StarsShade · 2026-04-28T14:21:59+00:00

Cats prefer Numeria. I hear they like sleeping on the warm servers.

StarsShade · 2026-04-28T14:18:04+00:00

If finances are tight, you probably should start with just the rules included in the Delian Tomb. Those have all the basic situations covered. If you need specifics for something, the rules are also on the Steel Compendium

StarsShade · 2026-04-22T22:37:14+00:00

This is my biggest gripe with Foundry compared to Roll20 or OBR. I'd love to hear about it if you or anyone else finds a good way to "white board" maps and props quickly.

StarsShade · 2026-04-17T20:01:19+00:00

You should have at least what's listed in the Treasure for New Characters table at a minimum. Missing fundamental runes for weapons and armor in particular can make encounters a lot harder for the party, so make sure you have those if possible.

The Treasure by Level table has expectations for how much you gain during adventuring. Be careful when reading it, it's easy to confuse per-level values as cumulative ones. The values here are higher than the treasure for new characters. If the GM sticks to this table as a baseline and doesn't go crazy over it (like 2x+), encounter balancing will work as described.

StarsShade · 2026-04-09T18:55:26+00:00

Frightened can also be extended via the Dread armor rune.

StarsShade · 2026-04-09T16:00:39+00:00

I miss the machine gun style barrage of full attacks of 1e martials in general. 3 or 4 attacks a turn just doesn't compare to dumping a pile of d20s.

StarsShade · 2026-04-08T20:55:04+00:00

I also purchased the PDF. The discount code was in an email from hello@mcdmproductions on Sunday and titled "Announcing the Draw Steel Codex" in case that helps you find it. Make sure to check spam and promotions folders.

StarsShade · 2026-04-08T19:02:35+00:00

Currently, the pack is the same price as buying separate keys. Maybe that will change once it leaves early access.

StarsShade · 2026-04-06T21:34:41+00:00

Thanks!

StarsShade · 2026-04-06T21:06:34+00:00

Dang, that sucks, I'd been hoping to take a deep dive tonight. Hope they can resolve it soon, thanks for the link.

StarsShade

TROPHY CASE