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*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Broken Rules in Pathfinder
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<blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 6969285" data-attributes="member: 37579"><p>It's tricky.</p><p>Pathfinder has some pretty soft balance compared to later games like 4e, 5e, 13th Age, and the like. Nothing too bad in the Core Rules beyond the caster/martial disparity. There's a lot of small feats spread throughout the like that fix those problems. But the content in the first couple books isn't really broken.</p><p>(Apart from the summoner, which is broke as eff.)</p><p></p><p>Really, the most broken thing in Pathfinder is hands down the amount of Pathfinder. Option creep = power creep, and there is a LOT of options in Pathfinder. The power disparity between the baseline and what someone can build with enough time is staggering. The correct combination of options can do hilarious things in the game.</p><p></p><p>I don't entirely agree with the OP though. It's less "broken" things that are memorable, so much as things not going as exepected. When everything works as intenteded. Because no one remembers a textbook encounter. </p><p>Broken rules can have that effect, but so can a Total Party Madness, or the <em>wand of wonder</em>, or a ridiculous string of rolls, or an unexpected role playing reaction to events, an ingenious plan, or even a plan going spectacularly off the rails.</p><p></p><p>None of that is dependant on the rules, though. You can do that in any game system. </p><p>Imbalance can help as a crutch, providing a way to force a non-textbook encounter via the rules. But that only works once, and the it ceases to be special. When you grapple the bad guy with a house using an <em>animate building</em> spell it's hilarious that one time, but then it becomes the norm. </p><p>So the best way to be unpredictable is to never do the same crazy thing twice.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jester David, post: 6969285, member: 37579"] It's tricky. Pathfinder has some pretty soft balance compared to later games like 4e, 5e, 13th Age, and the like. Nothing too bad in the Core Rules beyond the caster/martial disparity. There's a lot of small feats spread throughout the like that fix those problems. But the content in the first couple books isn't really broken. (Apart from the summoner, which is broke as eff.) Really, the most broken thing in Pathfinder is hands down the amount of Pathfinder. Option creep = power creep, and there is a LOT of options in Pathfinder. The power disparity between the baseline and what someone can build with enough time is staggering. The correct combination of options can do hilarious things in the game. I don't entirely agree with the OP though. It's less "broken" things that are memorable, so much as things not going as exepected. When everything works as intenteded. Because no one remembers a textbook encounter. Broken rules can have that effect, but so can a Total Party Madness, or the [I]wand of wonder[/i], or a ridiculous string of rolls, or an unexpected role playing reaction to events, an ingenious plan, or even a plan going spectacularly off the rails. None of that is dependant on the rules, though. You can do that in any game system. Imbalance can help as a crutch, providing a way to force a non-textbook encounter via the rules. But that only works once, and the it ceases to be special. When you grapple the bad guy with a house using an [i]animate building[/i] spell it's hilarious that one time, but then it becomes the norm. So the best way to be unpredictable is to never do the same crazy thing twice. [/QUOTE]
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