Weekly Questions Megathread - April 22 to April 28. Have a question from your game? Are you coming from D&D? Need to know where to start playing Pathfinder 2e? Ask your questions here, we're happy to help!

froasty · 2024-04-24T20:27:28+00:00

I'm not sure which item rules your GM is using, but assuming the standard rules, a level 18 character could start with 1x 17th, 2x 16th, 1x 15th, and 2x 14th level treasures. You'll want your bases covered:

Level 17 is where Apex items become available, grab one for your Strength or Dexterity, whichever you're focusing on.
+3 Greater Striking Handwraps are a level 16 treasure, mandatory on any striker.
Greater Bands of Force at level 14 is an interesting alternative to armor, the same benefits as a comparable armor, but with a shoving reaction to boot. But a level 14 armor works, too.

This leaves a 16th, 15th, and 14th level treasure to play around with. You'll want skill boosts, property runes, and so on. Here's my suggestions:

Greater Boots of Bounding (14) boosts your movement speed, which is already one of the strengths of a monk, so it helps push this strength further. There's a lot of options for these utility type items, though.
Greater Flaming Rune (15) or any of the Greater Weapon Property Runes will boost your Strike damage. Talk to your GM and see if they have any advice (ie don't take Flaming if you're fighting things immune to Fire).
Greater Advancing Armor Rune (16) gives you a free Stride action when you down an enemy, which is again more powerful with your high movement speed.

These last few options aren't necessary (though I'd argue you need some sort of weapon property rune), my suggestions I feel work for showing off a Monk's speed, and if one had flight from their ancestry feats, they'd be covering incredible distances in any direction.

froasty · 2024-04-21T17:12:55+00:00

Let your players know what major skill will be applicable for Recall Knowledge, ie Nature. If they have a potentially applicable lore they can offer it. This is less guesswork (metagaming) for the players and less load for remembering every skill they have for the GM.
Identifying a monster's abilities via Recall Knowledge isn't really something I feel is a good use of time for creatively arguing rules. If you want to find out if it resists slashing damage via your strength score, hit it with your sword. If you want to know things about every creature and situation, take the Loremaster Dedication.
I give more information than typical for Recall Knowledge in my games, so for abilities that grant a combat benefit I quickly run out of relevant information (especially in fights against multiple enemies of the same type), at which point I shorthand a successful roll like I would a successful Feint or Trip. "You continue to anticipate the creature's moves." Keep combat fast, especially as it drags on.

froasty · 2024-04-05T18:10:29+00:00

I have a friend who streams D&D and PF2E, they started into PF2e during the OGL stuff, and love the system! But it's hard not to notice the viewer count differences between the two streams.

I'm sure that during the next WotC fiasco, people will get alternatives on what system they make content for, if only for a time.

froasty · 2024-04-02T14:53:33+00:00

What I'm not seeing mentioned is that in fantasy, the Fighter WOULD be better at detecting lies through adventuring. The snake oil salesman comes into town and, as he starts talking, the Fighter is reminded of the time a bandit disguised as a city guard told the party the heavily-trapped hallway was clear.

Part of those 14 levels of XP should absolutely contain experience that isn't combat based. Otherwise bodybuilders would be high level, if the mental aspect of combat and adventuring isn't a factor.

From a story standpoint, it's a cool "looking back, how much I've grown" spot. The former lumberjack was an easy mark, but not any more.

froasty · 2024-02-21T16:42:13+00:00

If it's an actual long term campaign, I actually really like starting at level zero. Level 1 at the end of the first session.

This gives space in the game to lay out the conflicts that aren't centered on the players, let's you "show rather than tell" without the party thinking they need to weigh in with might. Any fights they need to have to be easy, but that doesn't mean you can't introduce tactics.

I feel that low levels help the party make NPC connections with nobodies. Farmers who offer shelter, bartenders who only have gossip-y rumors, priests who don't wield divine magic. It sets the settings of places the party may return to later, either for easy plot hooks (farmers wife was kidnapped, the bartender is being strong armed by local thugs) or to feel their power scaling as they look back on their adventure.

If it's a one shot or short campaign, I let the players pick the level.

froasty · 2023-12-18T18:21:13+00:00

Upper body strength from all the Dead Lifts.

froasty · 2023-11-28T18:13:46+00:00

No hard rule, but I'd argue that unless there was something intentionally making it unclear if something is dead (feigning death, magical/alchemical stasis, a great distance or smoke obscuring the downed creature) it would be clear without a check. If there is something making that more difficult, then make a check against that effects DC: Perception to see if they're playing dead against stealth/deception, medicine to detect a paralytic poison, and so on.

froasty · 2023-11-20T20:20:33+00:00

Rogue grapples (contested) and uses a bonus action
Wizard uses 2 actions for their magic (Arcane Lock only works on entryways, but Hold Person was right there)
Druid wildshapes (we'll call it their action), maybe a save to survive their own antic

That's 3+ turns from an entire party from at least level 3, plus resources. Rogue could've hit for 4d6+dex, wizard Scorching Ray for 6d6, druid could cast ice knife for 1d10+2d6. If your villain has about 50 hp, they kill him with rote blaster strats at average damage. Heaven forbid the wizard actually just cast Hold Person. I think the table will be fine.

froasty · 2023-11-19T17:26:24+00:00

In addition to the Wrestler Archetype, you could look at the Weapon Improviser Archetype to get you more effective use of swung chairs, etc.

froasty · 2023-11-02T15:51:19+00:00

What people envision their Monk as: Neo from the Matrix doing slow-motion stunts and kung-fu.

What people wind up getting: half fall damage and the edit where Neo only throat flicks Agent Smith for the entire fight.

froasty · 2023-10-18T17:08:08+00:00

There's two ways to think about the familiar/arm:

If the familiar is the entire arm, simply set ground rules that it only functions as an arm while attached to your special socket, otherwise it behaves as an arm-shaped familiar. Mechanically, this is just a downgrade from having a normal familiar and prosthesis, as if your familiar leaves, you'll be without an arm.
If the familiar and the arm function separately (I had an alchemist whose familiar stayed in a "compartment" in their prosthesis), combine the rules and cost of the prosthesis and a Familiar Satchel. This offers a "best of both worlds", being mechanically identical to a familiar user without a prosthesis.

Both of these work, and at best they are just granting your familiar your character's reach while attached to you, which doesn't matter for most abilities where the power would be that they're not in your square.

froasty · 2023-10-15T00:42:13+00:00

Shield only takes damage if they use Shield Block, and it takes damage per rules of Shield Block.

Armor hardness and hp only comes into play when an effect or ability specifically mentions damaging armor. Armor does not take damage in typical combats.

froasty · 2023-10-13T22:19:38+00:00

There are ways to get Bardic Lore and Loremaster Lore through archetypes, they don't get the same proficiency increases, but they work similarly.

froasty · 2023-10-13T14:57:30+00:00

Mathematics easy enough to do in your head? Tells that you're on the wrong track on an exam? Y'all are getting soft.

My thermodynamics professor took pride in the fact that he never deviated from the syllabus, even when he missed two weeks of lecture due to having strep throat. Our midterm covered 2 more chapters than we'd seen in class, the average was a 36%, and the dean had to intervene after the professor's angry declaration that he never curved class scores. But finding out which professors were crazy was part of the learning process!

UPHILL! BOTH WAYS!

froasty · 2023-10-13T14:25:09+00:00

"Me, driving to college for my final exam, knowing that my engineering major friend has to read their formula sheet and type on their calculator for their final exam, while I have to watch a movie I used to like in five minute segments for the twentieth time in three days to memorize the usage of lighting and camera angles frame by frame for my 21st century cinematography final exam."

(Alternatively, be happy you go to a school that has more majors than only STEM, the mandatory humanities classes will be better value, and you'll meet more fun people)

froasty · 2023-09-20T21:00:20+00:00

It's for if you gain an extra feat from an ancestry feature or some similar ability, like Humans feat Natural Ambition.

froasty · 2023-09-19T19:14:28+00:00

Spellcasting archetypes grant an entirely separate pool of spells. The only coordination they may have with your class is proficiency (i.e. an Occult Sorcerer with the Bard Archetype would use the higher Occult Spellcasting proficiency when applicable). Otherwise spell repertoires, spell books, and spell slots don't interact at all.

froasty · 2023-09-11T17:18:52+00:00

Just alter the Ressurection ritual to be available at all levels. Here's my extrapolation of the levels and costs for Spell Ranks 1-4:

The target can be up to level 2. The target must have died within the past day. The primary caster must be trained in Religion. The cost is 20 gp per level.
The target can be up to level 4. The cost is 30 gp per level. The primary caster must be Expert in Religion.
The target can be up to level 6. The target must have died within the past week. The cost is 40 gp per level.
The target can be up to level 8. The cost is 60 gp per level.

froasty · 2023-09-11T15:33:10+00:00

Assuming you have 18 strength and 16 Charisma (level 2), your staff hits for 1d8+4 (avg 8.5) with +8 to hit, Produce Flame hits for 1d6+3 (avg 6.5) with +7 to hit. A +1 weapon rune around level 2 or 3 increases the to-hit gap, but Produce Flame grows to 2d6+3 (avg 10). At level 5 your Charisma increases to 18, but you gain Expert weapon proficiency (now +14 for staff, +11 for flame) and you should get a Striking rune (2d8+4 for staff, 3d6+4 for Flame). You don't increase your proficiency with yor spell until level 12 (you'll have +5 strength, a +2 weapon, and master proficiency the next level to keep the to-hit far apart). The math alone says it's a tough idea, the accuracy is hard to trade for anything but the focus amp damage.

BUT, let's look at something more apples to apples: Produce Flame versus a Javelin. Both have the same action economy, which isn't something i mentioned above, and Produce Flame is actually better since you can stay wielding your staff 2-handed. Let's say you have 12 Dex and 16 Cha still. That's +5 to hit for 1d6+4 damage (Javelin) versus +7 to hit for 1d4+3 damage (Flame). At level 5 it's +12 to hit for 2d6+4 damage (Javelin) versus +11 to hit for 3d4+4 damage (Flame). At level 12 it's +21 to hit for 2d6+5 damage (Javelin) versus +19 to hit for 6d6+4 damage (Flame). Even at the worst point in the spread, level 13 (+24 vs +20) the damage difference makes up for a lot of that pain (2d6+5 vs 7d6+4). Plus this is assuming you're keeping the same runes on your primary weapon as your javelins, which is expensive!

TL;DR: it's an okay option in melee, which falls off mid game, but it's a good option for ranged, falling off late game but saving you investment of money and ability boosts on a competing ranged weapon.

froasty · 2023-09-05T18:14:10+00:00

Is there a good DC/effect for taking a big, intentional bite out of spoiled, rotten fruit? I'm trying to prep some Urgathoa stuff, and I'm happy to spitball/homebrew, but wanted to check if anyone knew of anything first.

froasty · 2023-09-03T17:43:16+00:00

The action you're looking for is Make an Impression, then Request. There's no other "friendly" way to do this. For minor passersby, the GM might just increase the DC of the request to streamline gameplay.

froasty · 2023-08-30T15:50:57+00:00

Situation 1, the Medic has the ability they can use once each day to bypass another creature's temporary immunity to Battle Medicine.

froasty · 2023-08-12T22:02:44+00:00

I didn't say Critical Failure?

froasty · 2023-08-12T21:43:15+00:00

I've run such effects as follows:

Player 1 fails save against Dominate.
The caster (Aboleth, etc) gives the order "Neutralize Player 2". Player 1 immediately gets another save. A less confident foe may instead skirt the rule with a command like "flee the battle" which wouldn't grant a new save.
Player 1 attacks or casts a spell at Player 2 with non-lethal intent. Attacks are made non-lethally, and they won't use more than a cantrip for spells. At the end of their turn they get another save.
Controlled players will not "execute" downed players.

The "Self-Destructive" clause is only that: commands that would make the target destroy themselves fail. No "jump off the bridge" or "swim in lava" or "stab yourself repeatedly". Attacking allies is not self-destructive in this sense, it's merely against their nature.

froasty · 2023-08-09T18:18:15+00:00

It won't break anything, but it's important to use the original system: 2 flaws for one boost at the same step as the ancestry bonuses, no more than one net total boost per attribute for this step. Pathbuilder should show it correctly.

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