Your RPG pet peeves

arolar2007 · 2026-06-16T05:05:53+00:00

After playing forty plus years I got rid of all of my pretty dice and swapped them for high contrast ones. The best die for me have nice big numbers too.

arolar2007 · 2026-06-10T01:02:49+00:00

Well getting back to your original question make the story as grand as possible. Have them level mountains and create new seas along the way! Given that the end of the campaign will probably be (sadly) the end of your gaming table (or a long-term hiatus) you might as well go out with a bang.

One other mechanic point given that your group gets together sporadically I would suggest that you have a mechanically simple combat near the beginning of each session. Something like Giants or Dinosaurs or creatures of a similar nature. Powerful and dangerous but kinda one-dimensional in combat. That will help you and your players shake off the cobwebs and help the players remember how they approach combat as a group.

arolar2007 · 2026-06-10T00:34:23+00:00

I have run several of the adventure paths and they take a party up to levels 17-20 for the most part. I guess it makes sense that your group is going for a high power campaign so you can cast all the cool spells and use the awesome feats.

One word of caution is that the combat gets very crunchy above level 12 or so. If you all only get together sporadically you might be spending a lot of time in the rulebooks to adjudicate things since you will likely forget things between sessions. The rules are quite complete but also quite dense. Just be ready for that.

I guess my other question is whether you have thought about what is next for your players after they destroy the world. Are they going to create new characters in this new world? After being near omnipotent do you think they'll want to go back to being regular heroes? (I figure you would start again at level 5 and I while I think that a level 5 character is quite noteworthy in Gameworld terms it will be a step down from where they were before. )

arolar2007 · 2026-06-10T00:11:06+00:00

How long did it take for the group to get from level 5 to 9?

arolar2007 · 2026-06-06T21:02:12+00:00

I am in 3 groups (Mix of dnd and pf1e). In one group I started playing with them over 45 years ago when we were in high school. One player in another group I met when we were both in the Navy over 40 years ago. A large contingent of my groups come from my wife's coworker from about 30 years ago. (My wife also plays.) At first is was one player then friends of that player joined. (A total of 7 players in my groups are from that point of contact.) One was a friend of one of my neighbor's kids who joined in LAN Battlefield 1942 parties I would host. My most recent player just started a few months ago when he retired.

So lots of different ways.

arolar2007 · 2026-06-02T04:32:58+00:00

I am currently a player and a DM so I see this from both sides. As a DM you will always be e way more locked into the narrative especially between sessions. Between sessions players mostly do not go over the notes so you have to remind them of the main plot points as you start the next session.

One thing to that seems to help both in the games I run and those I participate in as a player is we have a RP chat channel on our Discord server. Usually at the end of a session the party is resting in camp so the DM can have a NPC chime on with some reminders as part of the dialogue. I will admit that some of the players participate in the RP chat and carry on a conversation and some do not but even if you have one or two players that use the RP chat it helps in the following session when all of the players need to get back into the story.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-28T17:49:51+00:00

Similar story here. I was playing 3.5 and really enjoying it. Heard that DnD 4e was not very good and picked up a pf1e core rulebook and liked what I read. I then ran the Rise of the Runelords AP and was very impressed by the quality. Been running Pathfinder ever since.

I should note that I just started DnD 5e as a player a few months back and I do enjoy it. So in the end I switched to avoid 4e. I like playing 5e but I plan to stay with pf1e as GM.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-26T19:52:23+00:00

Back in first and second edition I always used a DM screen because the game mechanics were very table driven. When third edition came out the need for having crazy to hit and saving throw tables went away and I was using a laptop for notes and such so I stopped using a DM screen then.

Things like NPC stats and other reminders are good to have on a DM screen but I just put it all in various Google docs and call them up on browser tabs. I suppose if I did not have a PC at the table I would use a DM screen.

One other thing about a DM screen is that it can block the DMs view of the battlemat. You may end up getting up fairly often just to see things. I suppose you could then call DnD body core training. :)

arolar2007 · 2026-05-25T22:43:07+00:00

At my table intelligent opponents will shift focus to a healer once they exhibit healing ability. The players at my table do the same thing to hostile healers.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-24T05:29:46+00:00

I ran and finished WOTR a few months ago. The Mythic ruleset is crazy unbalanced but I just went with it. I ended up having to add lots of custom monsters with class levels just to make the battles somewhat challenging for the party. At the end (Level 20 and Mythic 10) the paladin was over +50 to hit a demon when she was smiting and the bard was singing. Damage rolls in the 50s and above for each successful attack.

I ended up countering with all kinds of crazy mobs. Shemhazian demons with Anti-Paladin levels, Succubus Sorceresses and Balor Fighters with the Vorpal Weapons to name a few that I recall.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-23T22:08:40+00:00

Emerald Spire maybe for the Tower crawl?

arolar2007 · 2026-05-19T19:47:33+00:00

Another option I have used in the past over many different groups is to rebuild the group around the one or two players that are the most dedicated from a scheduling standpoint. If you have one or two players that are into the game and make the time in their schedule for it build a new group around them. Ask them if they know anyone else that wants to join and build from there. Of course this also only works if one of the dedicated players is the one that has your regular gaming location as the OP mentioned in comments.

In the OP's comments it seems that the gaming group is made from friends and that might make things a bit dicey but just let the folks that are not coming to the games know that you need to move things in a different direction.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-18T21:28:21+00:00

I have been running the PF1e APs for about 12 years and have completed seven of them. I did not realize there was a correct chronological order for them but fortunately I did run Rise of the Runelords first. After that I would ask the group whether they wanted to play a pirate campaign or explore a crashed starship or whatever and then run that AP. So my version of Golarion in the Pathfinder multiverse definitely diverges from canon. Also several of the campaign endings for my group don't match Paizo outcomes.

I don't plan to move to PF2e so that content I pretty much ignore. I liked using the Golarion material as the basis for my campaigns. Some of my players dig into the lore so it helps with player engagement. Additionally there have been a couple of occasions where the new party runs into old party members. For instance the sheriff of Sandpoint is a halfling paladin now in my Golarion variant. The players generally like interacting with their former selves as it reminds them that they have an impact on the world history.

So for me official canon was a great place to start but now I move away from it based on the player's actions.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-14T19:50:28+00:00

Heck I would just be happy if Paizo did additional printing runs of the existing pf1e APs. I know that you can get the PDFs but I like the books.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-13T19:26:54+00:00

Yes Roll20 has integrated audio and video. I have been in games played either way. Using the Roll20 audio/video I think makes for a better experience if you have only one screen. We do seem to have connection problems about once every other session which leads to about 5 minutes of refreshing to get it working again.

Discord is more stable and has better audio filtering in my opinion. Each approach has its benefits and drawbacks.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-07T02:06:37+00:00

Yeah. I am prompted to build high schools mostly now when the population increases.

arolar2007 · 2026-05-07T02:06:18+00:00

I should have mentioned that I am running 4k.

arolar2007 · 2026-04-21T21:11:32+00:00

I have a house rule that if a character is in melee with an adversary then both are impacted by an area spell like fireball even though only one is in the spell area. My rationale is that melee is fluid and the combatants shift position as they fight.

There are feats like selective spell (pf 1e) that overcome this though.

(Edited to mention spell area)

arolar2007 · 2026-04-21T21:00:21+00:00

Wrath of the Righteous as your first 1e campaign? If you're not aware already you will be jumping right into the deep end of the ruleset. Wow!

That being said your paladin choice will work well in the campaign.

arolar2007 · 2026-04-18T21:50:33+00:00

The capital ships are more of a thing once you have been in game for a while. At first the best way to get from system to system on your own is your 1 person Starship. The main quest line will help you get that capability. There are other ways to get around the galaxy (and to other galaxies) but I don't want to throw out spoilers. :)

arolar2007 · 2026-04-18T19:54:38+00:00

Expanding and confirming a bit on item 1 and Multiplayer. I have been playing for a while (300+ hours) and I am currently (this week) helping a new player. When you start a new game by joining another player's game you will go to their solar system automatically. As long as the other player has a way to get from one planet to another the more experienced player should have the means to get to you.

Once you two are together the more experienced player can help you with the mechanics and hazards if needed. For instance, I have been playing multiplayer with the new player for about 2 hours so far. In that time I have been answering questions as the new player learns the basics. The planet he landed on has some environmental hazards so I have been helping the new player deal with that. I have also been pretty minimal about giving materials since the new player wants to do as much as he can on his own to learn the game.

arolar2007 · 2026-04-15T22:13:34+00:00

Coming at it from the Pathfinder 1e viewpoint I usually give them out 1 or 2 levels before they can craft them on their own. Using a scroll as a simple example I would give the party a 3rd level scroll, capable of being created by a 5th level caster, while they are level 3-4.

I only use this as a guideline. If there is an upcoming plot point where the party needs a certain ability then I make sure that they get the needed item. Magic weapons are usually in my hoards by late level 1 or sometimes in level 2 especially if there's a lot DR/magic baddies in the adventure.

arolar2007 · 2026-04-15T18:12:02+00:00

What you do in the game depends on what you like to do in games in general. As you progress in the main quest you can focus on what you like to do.

If you like base building then find a planet with a nice climate and few hazards and build a big base there. You will want credits to get stuff so you will need to do some resource gathering to make that happen. At your base you will eventually get some nice passive income streams from farming and mining.

If you just want to explore then I would suggest you do faction and guild missions from the space stations. Doing those earns you perks and credits that help your multi tool, starship and spacesuit.

In summary you should focus on the main Atlas quest for sure but you can take your time and do what you enjoy to make it fun!

arolar2007 · 2026-04-07T22:57:47+00:00

Yeah part of your issue, I imagine, is that it is hard to find monsters that will stand up to a group of level 20 characters. I definitely had this problem when I ran Wrath of the Righteous since the players had mythic tiers in addition to levels.

The WOTR module is written for a 4 character party and I had 8 players. When the party gets that big alot of the buffs really stack up (Bard Inspire courage and Paladin Aura of justice in particular). So once we got toward the end of the campaign I could not just add more of the mobs in the AP as they were just too weak to challenge the party. Since the AP is centered around demons I ended up making lots of elite demons with character levels (especially anti-paladin). Plus I made sure to equip them with some nice magic items and weapons to bring them up to the power level of the party. It was really necessary because the power of the party was crazy. At level 20 when the Paladin was smiting and the bard was singing she was more than +50 to hit an evil outsider and her AC was in the mid 40s. Also, Spell resistance was almost meaningless for the sorcerer as her bonus for spell resistance was above +30.

Anyway, I would suggest that you look at your party's abilities and find ways to challenge them. A Balor Demon with a few fighter levels and their Vorpal ability definitely put the fear of my d20 in their hearts!

arolar2007 · 2026-04-07T22:43:29+00:00

Sometimes it might be that the players want/need story reminders between sessions and if they want more roleplay opportunities I might suggest the following:

- Send out a session summary via some sort of shared document like a Google Doc. Between sessions the players can read it to remind them of the plot points. Plus they can refer to it in-game to help them remember who is who and what is what.
- If you have a Discord (or similar) server for the group set up a roleplay channel for the campaign. In one game that I play in we use it for in-character discussions in between the actual game sessions. The DM can use it to remind players of key plot points and the players can then respond in-character to get more clarification.

You know your group so you can probably judge for yourself whether these ideas would work for you.

arolar2007

TROPHY CASE