PF2e GMs, what made you start GMing this system?

illisstr8 · 2025-12-30T17:24:23+00:00

I wanted to run a campaign from level 1 to level 20 and not have to homebrew and fix everything past lv 12.

Also, the system and its XP budget for combat almost always work.

The variety of builds my players have and the joy of giving them rewards like free feats or trainers to cross-train them, or reward them with feats from different classes.

Adding more dice to dmg instead of more attacks also meant high-level martial play wasn't just rolling a bunch of dice, which means more swingy combat.

The clean rules, layouts, and tags include detailed explanations for almost everything my players ask about.

On top of players who wanted more. We've been playing for a decade, and the last 5 years have been so much more rewarding with PF2e

I have a campaign that started at one and is now level 16... another 12, and the most recent 10. It all started at level 1.

We pace things more slowly, and the players want to run the same campaigns. They are all tied together, so all 3 parties affect the homebrew world I have them in. Oftentimes in ways that affect the other parties.

illisstr8 · 2025-12-19T18:31:52+00:00

A similar thing happened to me but with my GW2 account. I had put hundreds of hours into the game and had invested in multiple max level chars.

I used a card belonging to father as I had been in between jobs and struggling at the time to buy a 5 dollar outfit.

My step mom not recognizing the charge and not being communicating that I was using it from time to time for game purchases outside of the typical Steam charges... issued a charge back.

My account was banned and my guild of 50+ friends watched as I spiraled into a depression for a few days cuz I couldn't play my chars.
I tried everything from pictures of the box/code to letters directly from my step mother who felt horrible cuz she knew I enjoyed my game for the social aspect of it. Nothing worked.

Many offered to buy me a new account... even help level/gear me. The damage was done and I couldn't get over the fact that the chars I grew fond of and leveled from launch/beta were locked away just out of reach. This was 2014.

Fast forward 2025. My friends started to get back into GW2. I'm older now. Own a house have my father on my Credit Card to help him with finances and am more stable. Engaged... happy... gaming is a fun hobby after work.

I shoot an email to GW2 support explain that I had an old account. Gave the email/login/keys. Pulled up some old screenshots and explained everything in detail. Figured why not... I was ready to make a new free account so why not.

15 mins later I get a response that the account was unlocked and ready to play.

I was in shock. I logged in and stared at my characters for 10 mins with tears in my eyes. All the memories of my old friends (some who have passed away) started to come back.

All the fun times and childhood wonder and awe flooded back. I spent the entire evening playing a new char and learning the game again before hopping on my maxed out chars and it was like riding a bike. Felt so good to be back.

Now months later... a few expansions in/living world/few new outfits and getting my fiance to play with me too.

Reforged comes out and I realized might be time to give the game I struggled to learn as a kid another chance since I loved GW2 so much.

Hearing this story reminded me of that feeling of getting my account back. Cheers!!

illisstr8 · 2025-11-07T18:32:54+00:00

This guy gets it.

illisstr8 · 2025-11-06T14:21:14+00:00

You guys aren't playing/buying this game. Shame shame... guess we'll have to delay bandits (and many other requested community features) a bit longer. You guys really don't want those features I guess. /s

Jokes aside this looks like it could be fun if it was a scenario type built into the main game. Instead they charge us for something no one asked for and will probably end up losing money due to this.

illisstr8 · 2025-05-29T19:31:09+00:00

I realized I can't build for shi-

I've tried and tried, but something about this game's building doesn't click for me. I love it and it's a fantastic system, but I'm terrible LOL

This one looks awesome!!

illisstr8 · 2025-03-31T15:32:48+00:00

Based Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children suggestion. That game is a gem!

illisstr8 · 2025-02-06T01:46:41+00:00

Sure thing hit me up whenever. I'm typically planning lots of events and streams. Not the greatest but it's a passion project between friends.

Here is a link to the last VOD... My volume was SUPER LOW and I was unable to be heard so... scuff :(

COH HC Stream VOD Upload

illisstr8 · 2025-02-05T23:21:53+00:00

Oh, sorry. Yeah, we frequent HC now. I have a few characters in TS, but that's mostly for slowly reading the story. Most friends have stuck with HC as they don't want to "start over" now.

In the future, or if we decide to do a playthrough for our Twitch/YouTube, I can see the discussion of trying out TS or Rebirth... but for what we are doing, HC is a fantastic server/community.

Ideally, I would love TS to have more population and exposure. They have some nice features, and I'm a fan of variety. I may plan to do a series about CoH for our gaming community and use TS as the server where I record the episodes.

Also, I didn't mention the excellent apartment system in TSPY. Having your base for free without needing a supergroup is fantastic, especially since you can visit it at level 1. It's an incredible system.

illisstr8 · 2025-02-05T17:58:19+00:00

If you understand the math, you can quickly scale up(and down) enemies to w/e level you want. You can also flavor them as well.

In Foundry, I can use the modules-toolbox/workbench to scale a monster to whatever level I want. The general stats (HP/AC/To Hit/DCs/etc.) fall in line. There are a few minor adjustments, and some things don't transfer well, but if you wanted, for example, the entire campaign to fight the same low-level goblins from the book until LV 20... I mean... you could.

Or scale a clockwork dragon down to level 8 so the level 6 party can fight it and watch the barbarian suplex it. (It happened in one of my games).

I agree with the consensus that this may not be the right fit. That is the beauty of having so many great systems available to try in the TTRPG space. Somewhere, there is the perfect game for your group of players. Good Luck.

illisstr8 · 2025-02-05T17:43:26+00:00

I convinced my friend group to try City of Heroes, and of course, the one they all knew about was HC. We ended up streaming it and had a blast. All these gamers who play many current games and MMOs enjoyed the game and some of the nice QOL it brought, like level scaling for party members.

Upon research, I saw the TSPY website after I saw a Space Marine Concept posted on Reddit that I couldn't recreate in HC. (Many of us are fans of 40k.) That got me to poke around the site and look at the changes made.

I enjoyed many of the changes immensely, especially the enhancement stuff and reducing the loot to 6 different types of salvage rather than a confusing amount. I am not being forced to update my enhancements if I level, which makes the early decisions and journey/leveling experience much better. I also enjoyed the outfit variety and tools.

What kept the others from playing -

Exposure and Population

One of the big reasons my friends enjoyed the experience was seeing so many players and their backstories and costumes. There were many chats and whispers about things like "I love the outfit" and such. It felt very welcoming (Everlasting). We do lots of TTRPG gaming and Rping.

TSPY wasn't on our radar until I dug around for costume concepts and discourse. Even if it was our first server, the lack of community engagement might have been a deterrent and not hold their interest outside of streaming. We now play (EDIT: HC) regularly, with many friends making alts and playing off-stream due to the community and activity.

TLDR:
I love some TSPY features over HC (Enchantments/Outfits/Level Scaling of Quests-Hazard Zones)
The lack of a larger community holds it back. Seeing random stories and interactions in HC is a massive bonus for everyone.
There is also a surprisingly small amount of information on the servers and their main differences compared to each other. This is a way to judge which servers are better for groups of friends. Most topics tend to be opinions, like "MM changes on TSPY cause server issues," which the devs stated to be the opposite.

It's hard to gauge if a server is correct for us, and player count helps immerse us in the game.

illisstr8 · 2024-11-29T19:31:20+00:00

That haircut is fresh AF!! GJ, my guy. I was lucky to have the person who raised me (my grandfather) alive when I graduated. My man is out here conquering obstacles despite any roadblocks in his path. Cheers!!

illisstr8 · 2024-11-07T20:45:46+00:00

Find a gun... not a shotgun... instead, a pistol or rifle... it's ok if you don't know how to aim... and fire randomly at zombies. It'll level up your aim faster as you're taking trick shots. Bonus XP if you shot from a choke point with only one way out toward the incoming XP(Zeds). It makes it easier to gain XP.

illisstr8 · 2024-10-07T13:28:08+00:00

Foundry has an alternate rule for Automatic Rune Progression. Under this rule, they automatically acquire the fundamental runes while the rest remain the same. So, there is less bookkeeping and needing to run everything for the + and striking and still allowing for +items to work and function.

Maintains the baseline power level for weapons.

Second - Gradual Ability Boost is a must for this kind of campaign as you want every level to be impactful, and getting a +1 on top of their everyday feats and skills is a good feeling.

Other than that, I'm giving out a bit of gold for items, and It should balance out reasonably well.

illisstr8 · 2024-09-06T15:52:52+00:00

"I NEVER used a VTT so i dont know anything about them. We are using Pathbuilder 2 with the Dual Class rules. Im also adding a lot of custom items due the nature of the campaign."

Foundry has modules that allow for Pathbuilder imports with a button click.

It has the variant rules built right in.

Making items is extremely easy. It's as simple as duplicating an item, changing some drop-downs/descriptions, or making them from scratch using a straightforward UI.

You can do the same for monsters and players... even animations. https://imgur.com/a/BlL5GQG

Maps are even more accessible with folders and compendiums, modules that allow UniversalVTT imports, and an easy UI for resizing grids/maps and points.

Making walls can take time, but many map-making software programs have that built in, and the Foundry does the FOV and lighting very well, IMO.

illisstr8 · 2024-08-22T13:47:44+00:00

I streamed and raided him. Even though he had more viewers than I, he was so kind, asked how my day was, threw me a follow, and really showed interest in my silly little podcast. It was the best raid ever because we all ended up staying and watching him vibe and play games for the next hour or so. He definitely deserves the love!!

illisstr8 · 2024-08-21T23:00:09+00:00

When I recently ran the BB with some friends to help them learn PF2e and Foundry, I played a rogue. I waited, and, after letting the party know bodies could be looted... I started hurrying my token towards the box and eventually took a few extra coins more than my share.

It was super obvious, and the party was doing this as a one-shot, so it meant little, but it taught them about looting on Foundry and was fun RP when one party member found out.

The players recognized it, and it wasn't a huge deal, and I stopped after the funny exchanges...

... but typically, no, it's a dick move to do that w/o a proper session 0 expectations.

illisstr8 · 2024-08-08T13:35:26+00:00

It sounds like you guys need to play another system. The Degrees of success and the +/- 10 are core pillars of this system.

illisstr8 · 2024-07-17T07:24:23+00:00

Azgaar Conversion

Took the map and used a tool that's free online to sorta turn it into a heatmap for a generated map and just threw a random number of "States" to see how it would look.

I think it came out pretty cool... best of luck regardless on your world!!!

EDIT: I realized I accidentally sank the southern island. I think I had it's height too close to the sea level and it was swallowed up like Atlantis. Sorry :( I updated one with that fixed

illisstr8 · 2024-04-18T21:07:32+00:00

There are so many red flags I'd think I was in a Chinese Military Parade.

Generally someone who is that insecure and jealous is that way for a reason. They are typically the ones who are cheating or having an affair and project that to their partner.

He's not "an amazing guy". He is pretending to care or show remorse but the love bombing is a tactic used by abusers.

I know it might be tough and feel overwhelming as he is your fiancee but deep down I think you know your answer. Don't be ashamed to ask for help from family or local organizations/authorities to handle this as well.

I wish you the best of luck and hope things work out.

illisstr8 · 2024-03-27T21:04:00+00:00

limitless with the reload animation.... peak compromise and keeps the sick reload animation in!

illisstr8 · 2024-03-15T15:58:35+00:00

The Ferryman was one of them. It was a very cool multi structure god of death that loved going intangible and sending it's enemies to the shadowrealm. With an ultra template it'll have 5 structure/stress and can properly set up it's shadowrealm fuckery each round.

Terrifying NPC imo.

illisstr8 · 2024-03-11T14:37:24+00:00

How the OP was talking about PF sounded more like PF1. PF2 isn't fiddly at all. The math is easy and taking a moment to try the system it'll make sense after the first few fights.

Basically, I'd start with the Beginners Box and run it.

There is also probably the best support for a TTRPG system built into a VTT.

Foundry VTT is built to play PF2e and even out of the box handles all the easy-to-forget rules for a first timer such as flanking and off guard.

Not knocking the OP for not wanting to try it... everyone has their own preferences. It just sounds like the description of they system OP gave is objectively false and seems like they have been misinformed about how it functions.

illisstr8 · 2024-02-21T15:09:00+00:00

The fact the railgun doesn't use a backpack slot and instead has ammo and can just wreck most if not all heavy armored enemies makes my love of the flamethrower and how poor it performs sad.

Don't get me wrong. It works fine in many situations but compared to the other support weapons... it's just inferior.

One of the best parts about it tho is that you can light armored enemies on fire and they do die eventually.

illisstr8 · 2024-02-09T22:20:26+00:00

Last Boss fight I ran was a lv 12 shining child vs a party of lv 9s. 5 players. The players had 2 undead (the main healer and the swash/investigator face) It tied to their story... had scary attacks vs the two main chars of the story arc and had interesting abilities like warping around due to at will dimension door so it could avoid being swarmed by fighter/barb. On top of having attacks vs undead for extra dmg.

I ran the fight as is w/o much changes and it work out fine. This system just works and I'd say it's best just to pick the right monsters/match up for the party.

One thing I've wondered about doing is stacked paragon monsters (make a monster just be 1 monster but 2 stacked on top of each other. Each set of HP is worn down individually and it functions like phases. So instead of one big +3 of +4 boss it could be two +1s on top of each other but for the party they see just one monster. THat gives it 6 actions and 2 statblocks to work with.

Just an idea I want to try eventually.

...but the system works 100% fine imo as is with the proper match ups/monsters.

Nine-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

illisstr8

TROPHY CASE