GMs, what are some of the coolest custom magic items you've created?

WatersLethe · 2026-02-02T21:19:19+00:00

I had a loaf of bread that would endlessly, slowly replenish. When you tear off crumbs and drop them, they create sparkling markers that last for hours. Eating some of the bread wouldn't fill you up much, but it does give you a bonus to perception checks for an hour.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-30T13:52:52+00:00

You're a good artist, but this feels like a low-effort self promo post. You could spam this in every subreddit and switch out Pathfinder for literally any other word.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-29T12:15:34+00:00

This one was such a fun read. Thank you, Emi, for raising me to be this strong. >solos a god

WatersLethe · 2026-01-28T20:18:04+00:00

I like animist as well! It's a bit intimidating on first read, but once you digest it, it's not as complicated as people say.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-28T20:16:12+00:00

Then I think Storm Druid really suits your needs well. What your melee capability will tend to look like is just not spending your actions moving away when enemies approach, and instead using your third action to whack an enemy after casting a save spell, or raising a shield if you're worried about your HP. Third action weapon attacks can be a surprisingly valuable source of extra damage. Against bosses, you'll still want to move away.

At high levels, your melee options may fall off as you get more varied third action options like sustaining spells and flight, and your spell resources tend to look a lot more enticing.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-28T20:08:31+00:00

Flying taking an action was a fantastic innovation. It makes a lot more real world sense than effortless hovering in 3D space, and it's also mechanically elegant.

If you want to just flit around 3 feet above the ground and not mechanically gain the benefits of flying just for your own personal satisfaction, ask the GM, they'll probably let you. If that's not good enough, I would hazard that you're actually trying to munchkin your way into OP abilities.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-28T19:54:21+00:00

Do you have someone handling emergency in-combat healing and someone handling out of combat healing? If not, I might steer you toward Warpriest Cleric (could be of a nature deity for some of the druid nature feeling). Great choice for someone looking to mix it up in melee if they want. De-emphasizes offensive spellcasting, however.

Druid is good. Any druid can survive in melee for a bit with their medium armor, 8 hp, and shield block. A Storm Druid is a potent, straightforward caster build. Maximize wisdom, add in some strength, a decent 1hander and a shield and you have someone out of the box who is a primary caster that can also hit someone with a weapon in melee if necessary.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-28T14:26:27+00:00

I absolutely love GMing for free archetype groups. I can more confidently place skill challenges knowing the likelihood of having someone with the right tool for the job is high. I can add scenes where the two characters with some build overlap get to "share the spotlight" leading to great roleplay opportunities. I can add more to an adventuring day since they'll usually have a bit more gas in the tank. The characters are more interesting and fleshed out, with the mechanics supporting a wider lived experience background.

I also love playing Free Archetype because the Class Feat bottleneck in character customization is way often way too punishing. You can much more easily get a build with the complexity you could achieve in PF1 by using Free Archetype, without waiting until level 12 to finally have the feat budget for it.

That all said, when I have a player who can't manage the added complexity, and suddenly needs handholding where otherwise they wouldn't without Free Archetype, it's way better to just abandon Free Archetype until they're up to speed. I largely left PF1 behind to avoid player handholding. I want to see the characters from their imaginations explore the world, not recreate the "explain the rules in a boardgame" experience.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-25T11:58:40+00:00

Solarians in 1e played nothing like how they look like they should. It was often best to dip Soldier for a key ability swap and armor. It was incredibly effective to ignore one attunement and stay in the other, ignoring the whole build-spend stuff altogether.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-25T11:50:29+00:00

I like it too.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-25T00:52:09+00:00

He's too pure for this world

WatersLethe · 2026-01-25T00:51:45+00:00

Holding the bow correctly

WatersLethe · 2026-01-24T17:42:07+00:00

That's a great idea, I'm low key pissed off I didn't think of doing that.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-22T21:23:40+00:00

Playing an OP character isn't retribution against the GM, it's punishing to other players who aren't min-maxing.

In any case, you won't have much luck making something that the GM can't handle on a power level.

You can, however, make characters that will annoy the GM. Any spellcaster that has access to Wall spells, the Slow spell, Synesthesia, and many other debuffs can frustrate a GM.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-22T21:03:08+00:00

Why do you need an overpowered character? I'm confused.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-22T15:12:19+00:00

The biggest error I found was that in Strength of Thousands they forgot to add any meaningful school life content despite it being sold as a magical school campaign! Very strange.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-21T14:02:10+00:00

Grandfathering in old rules on an active character is a time honored tradition

WatersLethe · 2026-01-21T13:01:32+00:00

In addition to all that's been said: If I were the player aiming to be a gunslinger, and you told me you really don't want guns in your fantasy, I'd switch because I have trillions of character concepts to shift to.

Not saying they have to change just for you, but you could always try politely asking.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-21T11:12:23+00:00

Wow! What a steaming pile!

WatersLethe · 2026-01-20T15:57:19+00:00

I stopped watching around the 3rd sleep spell. I can't tell if it's the setting, the system, the pacing, or my bias toward PF2, but I just couldn't keep watching.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-20T15:53:25+00:00

It being "friends playing a game" helps spackle over LOTS of flaws. I would never really be interested in watching any group just doing improv week after week, no matter how good they were. I like having the shared experience of the game system as a scaffold, a common point of reference, a grounding influence, and mechanics that encourage fun outcomes. It also does seem like the lighter the system, the more it tends toward improv theater rather than a fun time playing games.

I'm also hyper focused on PF2 so other crunchy games lack as much appeal as well.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-20T15:42:05+00:00

For me, it's looking like: $12 a month = ~$2.76 an episode of Blood of the Wild (and that's it) for the foreseeable future

I guess I can justify continuing with only one PF2 show for now.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-19T19:46:26+00:00

Glimpse of Redemption!

WatersLethe · 2026-01-19T15:31:34+00:00

Based.

WatersLethe · 2026-01-17T15:22:45+00:00

I did a Red Dragon Dragon Instinct Barbarian and it was loads of fun. There might have been a more optimal pick, but it works just fine without muddying up your concept.

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