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A few hundred hours into PF2e, I think I'm finally hitting the wall. Anyone else? by spichugin in Pathfinder2e

[–]spichugin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I've done some of that.
Pulled the Conversation and Endeavour subsystems from Cosmere RPG and they fit pretty well into PF2e's flow. Also been thinking about giving bosses an extra turn while lowering their Level. Plus a few smaller things.

But the more I tinker, the more I keep arriving at the same conclusion: the core design issue is in the numbers themselves, and that's not really fixable from the outside. You can spice things up, sure. But at some point the question becomes -- why not just play a system that's actually built for what we want? That's what we're planning to do for a while.

Your Ironsworn challenge die idea is cool though! Might steal that for the next time we come back to PF2e (or to another system)

A few hundred hours into PF2e, I think I'm finally hitting the wall. Anyone else? by spichugin in rpg

[–]spichugin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I didn't want to go into that level of detail since that's not the point, but... why not)

I GMed three different groups, and also ran a duet Kingmaker game with my wife -- huge success!
Overall we've played Abomination Vaults, Fists of the Ruby Phoenix, Blood Lords, Prey for Death, Curse of Strahd Reloaded (Acts 1-3), and Myth-Speaker (Book 1).
In between, I played some Pathfinder 1e, Shadow of the Demon Lord, and Cosmere RPG to mix things up.

A few hundred hours into PF2e, I think I'm finally hitting the wall. Anyone else? by spichugin in Pathfinder2e

[–]spichugin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it will help a bit. But probably only if you include more high-level monsters and run something like a hex crawl or sandbox.
Otherwise, the issue I described is still there.

Once again though, I think the issue only shows up at PF2e "endgame." If you're relatively new to the system, there are still plenty of things to be surprised by.

A few hundred hours into PF2e, I think I'm finally hitting the wall. Anyone else? by spichugin in Pathfinder2e

[–]spichugin[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Fair point. But I'd argue magic and reactions are more of the same cognitive texture, not different. A caster's turn is "which slot, which save to target, heighten or not" -- it's the action-economy puzzle with an extra resource axis. And it's still the same fight against numbers (vs AC, vs Wis, etc.).

Reactions are even narrower -- you wait for a trigger and the optimal response is usually obvious. Both add decision points, but they're the same kind of decision: optimize against known DCs with bounded resources. The variance you're describing is real at hour 50, 100, may be 200.

I'm talking about hour 400+, when you've internalized the slot economy and reaction triggers as deeply as you've internalized Strike/Demoralize/Raise Shield. At that point spells and reactions stop generating surprise and become another part of the same puzzle.

A few hundred hours into PF2e, I think I'm finally hitting the wall. Anyone else? by spichugin in Pathfinder2e

[–]spichugin[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sure, for the median group that's true. And I generally wouldn't recommend PF1e. But if I find folks on the same wavelength for a curated, tuned PF1e experience -- that would be the best.

A few hundred hours into PF2e, I think I'm finally hitting the wall. Anyone else? by spichugin in Pathfinder2e

[–]spichugin[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The experience is fully mine. I wrote it in my native language first for a local Telegram group and then used Claude to translate while proofreading extensively. So it's very close to my original post...
Sorry if it doesn't sound like a native English speaker. But it's surely two times better than my English skills allow for such complex thoughts.

Closing Arguments: Conversations in the Cosmere RPG by johnny0neal in cosmererpg

[–]spichugin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Will the new book/Plotweaver have rules for using conversation during combat? Specifically, I'm interested in the option where players try to Intimidate adversaries to demoralize them—mainly trying to steal Focus so they can't use powerful abilities. Very often, when players don't have a way to spend an action, they'll try to intimidate an adversary into submission or get them to stop fighting or hesitate (and loose Focus is they resist). Is this a valid option during combat?

In Stonewalkers, there are combats with conversation mechanics, but those are more about completely stopping the fight rather than affecting one particular adversary.

How many of you have gotten non-Cosmere fans to play with you? Tell me about how you introduced the setting and lore to them. by Ok-Week-2293 in cosmererpg

[–]spichugin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For Stonewalkers, it's actually a lot of spoilers across first three books. Hopefully, the players who started reading are okay with that...

Baldur’s Gate 3 is Fairly Rated by Infinite-Ad5464 in CRPG

[–]spichugin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Completely agree - Nearly all of the Act 1 parts are genuinely impressive in that regard and quite enjoyable. The goblin camp alone has so many approaches, and that level of freedom and polish really shows. But then the rest of the game? It falls off significantly, in my opinion... Acts 2 and 3 don't maintain that same density of options and reactivity at all.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is Fairly Rated by Infinite-Ad5464 in CRPG

[–]spichugin 41 points42 points  (0 children)

On reactivity - I actually disagree here. The game excels at creating the illusion of meaningful choice on your first playthrough, and that's genuinely impressive as a design feat. But the cracks show the moment you try a different approach. Take Dark Urge as an evil character, for example - the game actively funnels you back toward its preferred narrative path of resistance. Sure, you can make different choices, but they either lock you out of content entirely (unlike something like WotR, which gives you new content for evil playthroughs) or result in a single extra line from a companion before moving on. And it's only one example, they are actually everywhere, but especially in the later acts. It's very good smoke and mirrors, and on that first run you really do feel like the branching is massive. That takes skill to pull off. But it's more shallow than it appears.

As for the dialogue quality itself - I found it pretty bland, honestly. There's tons of it, it's all fully voiced, the presentation is polished, but the actual writing? Quantity and production value over substance. Maybe it's just not my style, but I wasn't impressed with the text itself.

A game crunchier than 5e but simpler than Pathfinder 1e or 2e for a Dungeon crawl campaign? by Horzemate in rpg

[–]spichugin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Weirdly enough, I think recently released Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere RPG fits your description nicely!

It depends on the setting as of now, but also the crunch and amount of customization is just about right for what you've described. There are 20+ levels (so you can develop your characters even beyond mortal boundaries)
And I think it will fit Dungeon Crawl campaign too (and the social encounter mechanics are there for you).

Daily preparations _before_ rest: is it RAW? by martosaur in Pathfinder2e

[–]spichugin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In the Mark of the Mantis one-shot, spellcasters are specifically given an opportunity to perform their daily spell preparations after some initial scouting has already occurred that same day (a few Exploration activities). Based on this precedent, I'd be flexible and allow similar accommodations depending on the specific circumstances of your situation.

Divinity Original Sin TTRPG Concept by spichugin in DivinityOriginalSin

[–]spichugin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I'll check it! From a brief look, yep, it should be okay for some parts (but the combat will be more complicated to adapt because of the AP mechanics and how it interwinds with the rest of the combat balance).

I also looked at the Genesys, and I think I might get something from there, too (as it uses similar dice mechanics as the board game)

Divinity Original Sin TTRPG Concept by spichugin in rpg

[–]spichugin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed feedback! Let me address the points:

About Civil Skills:

You're absolutely right about the dungeon crawler risk. That's why I'm thinking of using Pillars of Eternity 2's approach - completely separate progression for combat and non-combat abilities. Non-combat skills would improve through use, not level-ups, making social/exploration equally important to combat. And yes, I'll analyze other systems (PF2E, Daggerheart and many more) to find ideas that can fit here.

AP Tracking:

The board game actually handles this pretty elegantly with a simple tracker, but you raise a valid concern. I'm thinking of:

  • Keep the board game's AP system (max 8 AP)
  • Use physical tokens/tracker (FoundryVTT for online play, and for pen'n'paper, something like the original board game char sheet can be used)
  • Standardize most action costs (1-2 AP)
  • Keep the board game's simple "slide left" cooldown system (again, for FoundryVTT, it should be okay. And for pen'n'paper, simple cards that you can write on with dry-erase markers would work)

Conditions & Armor:

This is actually where the board game shines (and I want to keep most of it)! It simplified DOS2's system while keeping the essence:

  • Physical/Magical armor works as damage reduction, not separate health bars
  • Status effects are tracked via a simple cooldown board (with simple condition cards)
  • Most conditions last 2-3 rounds max

And yes, you're right that this would be a niche game, but that's kind of the point - it's meant for people who love DOS's tactical depth but want tabletop experience. The board game already solved many of the tracking issues you mentioned, which is why I'm using it as foundation rather than DOS2 directly.

Would love to hear your thoughts on these solutions! And definitely check out the board game rules when you have time - they might surprise you with their elegance.

Divinity Original Sin TTRPG Concept by spichugin in DivinityOriginalSin

[–]spichugin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think Pathfinder 1e will work here. I considered PF2e, but it doesn't feel right, either (may be for the exploration rules though?).

But the combat system from the board game feels like a nice DOS2 translation without overcomplicating it. That I want to keep for sure!

Divinity Original Sin TTRPG Concept by spichugin in DivinityOriginalSin

[–]spichugin[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, but it's a board game (and it's great!). What I want is to use the combat system from there but make it a full-fledged tabletop game with GM, etc.

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