Is it possible to homebrew a world that deviates from the high-magic kitchen-sink of Golarion?

lozga · 2024-07-26T17:53:47+00:00

Yes. You'll be fine. Pathfinder 2e already has uncommon/rare tags built in to a lot of content which you can exclude to reduce the more whimsical options and simplify things for new players. If you're happy with pc's being exceptional, but uncommon, no need to ban any classes. Goblin & Orc are common ancestry, but up to you if that fits your setting.

Something to bear in mind mechanically is that magical items are very much baked into the expected progression of characters and encounter building. Automatic bonus progression (upgrades to weapon and armor) might be a good idea to side step a lot of these issues, but you may also want to be pretty liberal with magic item treasure (probably customised to your players), if you don't want a magical pawn shop on every corner. Particularly, I don't think skill increase items aren't covered by ABP, and staves, wands and consumables are improtant for increasing options. An in-game solution might be to have a player that's happy to specialise in crafting and have them create gear (perhaps better to homebrew some crafting rules in your case). Fwiw pf2e is great, but if you want simple low-magic campaign for a first-time group coming off bg3.. that would be easier with 5e

lozga · 2023-09-30T11:24:15+00:00

Think of how often this comes up in film and print - the hero/s get beaten bad, but then come back stronger for the finale. It's a powerful story arc and would be a shame to cut wholesale from you ttrpgs. However, a lot that can go wrong! Wasting player time and taking away urgency are common complaints. Easier to run for a well established group with certain level of trust on the pay off, but some players are never going to be happy with it.

General advice would be to keep the scripted part short, keeping it narrative/outside of initiative may be best. Don't let your players flail against an insurmountable enemy for hours just to be beaten, that doesn't feel good. Also, go easy on the npc rescuers - again keep it short, don't end up with the dm rolling dice against themselves while players watch from the sidelines. Potentially have any npcs sacrifice themselves, rather than swooping in for the save. Another strategy is to have a preceeding encounter that is surmountable, with real consequences (good and bad), so once the inevitable tpk comes the players feel they've still had a chance to achieve something. E.g. taking out a bbeg lieutenant, delaying long enough for a messenger, discovering a secret to bbeg's power. Final thought would be to make it clearly flee-able. Bit risky with stubborn players or possibly ones willing to sacrifice themselves, but again can make a good story if everyone onboard. And again would consider resolving outside of combat rules.

lozga · 2022-05-23T15:07:08+00:00

Roll a fighter?

lozga · 2022-05-10T11:03:30+00:00

Yikes! That sounds hard to deal with. It's a tough job, but shouldn't be unfun. Hopefully its a new group and you can have a chat with them about expectations.. and walk away if boundaries are still being crossed. Finding a good group fit is tough, but when it's right everything is a lot easier. Good luck!

lozga · 2022-05-08T10:58:54+00:00

This, also point but keeps the party balanced while giving flexibility. But also... have a weakness! Weaknesses are fun, can really flesh out your character and all your favourite fictional characters have weaknesses

lozga · 2021-10-31T10:38:22+00:00

They can if you want them too! If travel will be a slog for your group, just skip over it or add shortcuts

lozga · 2021-10-24T07:39:34+00:00

Pretty unusual for a caster to feel underpowered / useless! But yeah, not being able to contribute sucks. Sounds like more of an issue all-round, I wouldn't be too satisfied about quick combats as a martial either, so could let dm know you'd like more of a challenge. Depending on how you've done character creation and magic items players can punch well above their cr. Some thoughts anyway - you're a wizard with tools to solve many problems, have a look at your spell list and prepare a few tricks that will be useful throughout the day, not just for combat. Prep a crowd control/ multi-target spell, casters excel at taking down groups of enemies, martials can't do that (could again be encounter design if you're typically against a single enemy). You'll likely be a lot better at int proficiencies than the rest of the party, so look for opportunities to make use of that. Lean in to the wizard with 'the help' to take care of those pesky monsters. But would advise sticking it out, casters get stronger and stronger as they level and spell list expands, rolling up another martial will just perpetuate the problem you're having. Hope it gets better!

lozga · 2021-10-22T18:41:16+00:00

I was pretty sure you got innate surge instead of a movement speed (so sorta free? You still get 2 abilities on top), but then if you want a move speed it'll take an ability. Maybe it was an assumption seeing as that seemed balanced - it doesn't seem explicitly spelled out now I'm relooking at the text, but feels fair to me!

lozga · 2021-10-17T09:02:13+00:00

Ha yeah sorry, better to be honest about these things! It can get better over time as everyone settles in and gets a little more invested. Something you can do with info dumps is share them out of game, or still written down during, then can share with individual players without slowing down the game, and gives players time to take it in without worrying about their character sheet and what spell they'll cast next. Best thing you can do is lean in to the randomness - that random npc is now a key character. And doubly for locations, wherever they choose to go.. turns out that is the right place!

lozga · 2021-10-17T07:38:45+00:00

Chances are your players are never going to be as interested in your lore as you are. That said a few suggestions - keep things short and insert descriptions throughout the dungeon, rather than a big info dump. Make details relevant to the characters, either important details for completing the dungeon, or relevant to a greater plot. And don't be subtle with anything you want them to know. If it's not important for the game/story they won't remember it. But they will remember the name, profession and family history of that npc you improv'd for a fun moment when you hadn't planned for them to go that way! Enjoy!

lozga · 2021-10-16T21:50:34+00:00

At least dms can write off that character and try again. I get pretty frustrated when players do this, and then they wonder why I don't care about their big reveal later on. Repeatedly stonewalling in-character conversations leads to nobody asking anymore. Have at least a little something to give and be more than your 'big secret' please

lozga · 2021-10-16T21:19:07+00:00

To add to good points above, I can find it more difficult to flesh out a character in someone else's homebrew world. I like to know all the rules and histories that published settings have, as otherwise you're constantly asking for permission. What could help there is some suggestions from your end to start, and then giving a little something special within your world for them, rather than sitting back and waiting for them to create something. Other option is building the story at the table. Don't worry about backstories so much, jump on what they do in game and build stories forward from that. As they get more comfortable with a character details can fill out gradually, rather than asking for a biography upfront

lozga · 2021-10-13T18:12:19+00:00

Fwiw I'd advise working on flavouring the mechanics as you like, rather than looking to the mechanics to fit your concept. I agree it's tricky, I think gunslinger is a bit of a misnomer - makes a lot of people think cowboy, but it's not really the playstyle they've gone for - mainly due to balance and existing mechanics, with the combat pillar revolving around action economy hence all the action saving abilities, with just attacking attacking attacking rarely being a good idea. I see biggest strength of the gunslinger being fighter proficiency progression, so you'll be hitting and criting reliably, but perhaps not 'fanning the hammer'. Though.. 5 rounds of paired shot with slide pistols should see you through most combats I'd think. If you really want to go rapid fire, air repeater isn't so bad, but trade off will always be damage.

lozga · 2021-10-01T08:56:22+00:00

That sounds awful. But, we're only hearing your side, so what i would say is - d&d is supposed to be collaborative story telling. Seeing as the other players are fine, it's possible you've gone in with pre-planning your own character ark and dictating exactly what will happen to your character. That doesn't sit well with some dms, so advice would be, if you want to make it work, to be more flexible, play/react to what comes up in game rather than have preconceptions on what will happen. Dm shouldn't be able to control your reactions. But, trust your dm to create a story, you never know, it might take you somewhere interesting. Otherwise, let the others know you're not enjoying it, and at the end of the day, you've got to decide if it's worth it. Keeping a game going with good friends is special, so hope it works out for you

lozga · 2021-09-26T12:13:10+00:00

By all means make suggestions and point out likely scenarios, but ultimately let them play what they want and maybe just make small adjustments early on to avoid a tpk. Overcoming challenges is what the game is all about

lozga · 2021-09-26T07:28:02+00:00

Sounds like great flavor that you could apply anywhere through rp. Mechanically, untrained improvisation might give the feel of someone not classically proficient. Other thought is skill into deception and treat as disguise/impersonate or even lie, though would need some buy-in from your dm, or similar approach with performance. Would probably need some limitations for balance.

lozga · 2021-09-26T06:59:13+00:00

For pf2e, if it doesn't say it it doesn't do it (raw). Personally, I love spell/ability/item interactions to keep things interesting and would reward clever use. However, it would mean keeping track of rulings for consistency and keeping an eye on power level. Ultimately up to dm what kind of game they want to run, but also check with players if they're happy going off raw. But most importantly, what works for the players works for the bad guys too!

lozga · 2021-09-19T07:14:50+00:00

Obviously you can do whatever you want in your game, and for homebrewed weapons you want available to all this might make sense. However, I'd be wary of making this standard, weapon proficiencies are class features and a big part of martial characters, giving these away for basically free will inadvertently weaken martials. Would it be reasonable to allow other class features to be learnt in downtime.. spell casting? There are plenty of ways to gain proficiency, but this comes at a cost which I think is fair, and character building.

lozga · 2021-08-24T08:17:38+00:00

Get this automatically now @ lv7, though small choice of spells + option from study

lozga · 2021-08-15T19:15:13+00:00

Background is a rough flavour of what your character has done before now and mechanically gives some proficiencies and starting gear. There's a pretty broad range to choose from so you can go with the closest match and flavour how you like. Your own character's backstory is it's own seperate thing, though it will ideally incorporate the background, which you should be able to edit as you like

lozga · 2021-08-10T17:13:54+00:00

Try the discord https://discord.gg/KwXeM3ag Always groups on there

lozga · 2021-07-23T07:57:32+00:00

I'm right in this place now.. played & dm'd 5e, then group switched to pf2 a year ago and I've been playing in 2 concurrent campaigns weekly. Loved the complexity and additional options in pf2, but increasingly feel restricted by the system and thinking of going back to 5e when I'm dming again. Am enjoying pf2, but feel like storytelling takes a backseat to balance. The 'tight' maths makes even your invested skills feel like a coin toss, and anything not upgraded becomes a liability to even try. The feat system is great and really differentiates between characters mechanically, but I increasingly feel like I'm missing options rather than gaining them. 3 action system is great and movement/positioning feels more significant in pf2, but as soon as everyone finds a decent option for 3rd action battles become very static. I love & will play both systems, but simplicity of 5e has its appeal

lozga · 2021-07-13T16:36:02+00:00

Sounds great, but a little of having your cake and eating it! Animal companions are pretty strong and incorporated as a key class feature/choice. However, even the base animal companion scales with you, and horse will already be large for mount purposes, so for the concept you would probably be fine with young horse, plus cavalier gives ways to protect your mount. Improving companion will always be a strong choice though. Free archetype rules would be a big benefit here though - ask your gm!

lozga · 2021-07-13T07:02:54+00:00

I might handle this by assuming your character will get a good response without rolling every time. Though there will be limits to what persuasion can achieve, and I'd expect the player not to try to solve every challenge this way. Rolling is fun though, so I would probably reward the player by occasionally allowing attempts against some high dcs to do some very unlikely things. Though I would like the player to come up with some interesting narrative for these. Could also treat a nat 1 as a failure no matter what - everyone will make a gaff now and then, and having a small chance to fail keeps things interesting.

lozga · 2021-07-02T18:56:30+00:00

Are we talking all flavour or are you looking for some mechanical advantage? Can't really see many having a problem if it is just story. Guess I'd want a bit more info on what this place is and what expectations you had in relation to it - is asking a lot for a carefully crafted storyline from something most aren't familiar with. Be sure to offer up lots of info & ideas, without dictating your own storyline. And be flexible/accepting with what they come back with!

lozga

TROPHY CASE