Pathfinder 2's Armor & A Preview of the Paladin!

It was a long bank holiday weekend here in the UK, and I sent most of it in the (rare) sun eating BBQ; there were two big Pathfinder 2 blog posts which went up in the meantime. The first dealt with armour and shields; the other was our first look at the new Paladin class!

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• Armor now affects Touch AC; each has a different bonus for AD and TAC.
  • Studded leather +2 AC, +0 TAC
  • Chain shirt +2 AC, +1 TAC, noisy
• Armor has traits, such as "noisy".
• Armor has a Dex mod cap to AC, penalties to STR/Dex/Con skill checks, a Speed penalty, and a Bulk value.
• Potency Runes -- Items can be enhanced with potency runes.
  • Bonuses to attack rolls, increase on number of damage dice (weapons)
  • Bonus to AC, TAC, and saving throws (armor)
  • Example studded leather with +3 armor potency rune gives +5 AC, +3 TAC, and +3 to your saves.
  • Potency runes can be upgraded.
• Shields -- requires an action to use and gain an AC and TAC bonus for one round.
• Other gear -- gear has quality levels (poor -2, expert +1, master +2)
• Interact -- this is a new action, used for grabbing objects, opening doors, drawing weapons, etc.

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• Paladins! Apparently the most contentious class.
• Core rules have lawful good paladins only (others may appear in other products)
• Paladin's Code -- paladins must follow their code, or lose their Spell Point pool and righteous ally class feature.
• Oaths are feats and include Fiendsbane Oath (constant damage to fiends, block their dimensional travel)
• Class features and feats --
  • Retributive strike (1st level) -- counterattacks and enfeebles a foe
  • Lay on hands (1st level) -- single action healing spell which also gives a one-round AC bonus
  • Divine Grace (2nd level) -- saving throw boost
  • Righteous ally (3rd level) -- house a holy spirit in a weapon or steed
  • Aura of Courage (4th level) -- reduce the frightened condition
  • Attack of Opportunity (6th level) -- presumably the basic AoO action
  • Second Ally (8th level) -- gain a second righteous ally
  • Aura of Righteousness (14th level) -- resist evil damage
  • Hero's defiance (19th level) -- keep standing at 0 HP
• Litanies -- single action spells, verbal, last one round.
  • Litany of righteousness -- weakens enemy to your allies' attacks
  • Litany against sloth -- slows the enemy, costing reactions or actions

[FONT=&quot]Save[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Save[/FONT]​

 

[Parmandur]

I will say this much. 5E is definitely better than Pathfinder when it comes to the issue of Paladin alignment.

It seems from this preview that PF2 is sticking to crunch-heavy Alignment all around.

 

[Aldarc]

It seems from this preview that PF2 is sticking to crunch-heavy Alignment all around.

Yeah, and this sort of decision does wonders in dissuading me from PF2. My usual group of players and I dislike mechanical alignment. When that gets hardwired into a system, it invariably causes more disruption at the table, mostly bashing it everytime it pops up in-game.

 

[Kobold Boots]

1. As others have said, the blog article clearly states that the playtest focuses on LG paladins only, but it can be expected that other paladin variants will be a part of PF2 due to support from others in the office.

2. Yes PF2 is going to be more crunchy than 5e. However, I see a big benefit in how they're handling the paladin code. No more being put in a bad spot by enemies, but if the paladin engineers a situation to work around the code, then they're in violation.

This doesn't bother me.
KB

 

[TwoSix]

They should have been a little more daring and replaced paladins with inquisitors. Same general flavor, not nearly as much baggage.

 

[Aldarc]

1. As others have said, the blog article clearly states that the playtest focuses on LG paladins only, but it can be expected that other paladin variants will be a part of PF2 due to support from others in the office.

Part of the problem, IMHO, with Paizo's approach to Paladins and alignment is that they are putting the cart (i.e., alignment) before the horse (i.e., the archetype). This is where 5E does well when it comes to the Paladin. It starts broadly with with the archetype - the chivalrous paladin, the green knight/warden, the vindicating crusader - but then leaves the alignment to player interpretation for how they envision their character. But when Paizo says that they are essentially taking an alignment-first perspective and want to first focus on the LG paladin, then that is a massive red flag for me that their priorities are backwards.

 

[Kobold Boots]

Part of the problem, IMHO, with Paizo's approach to Paladins and alignment is that they are putting the cart (i.e., alignment) before the horse (i.e., the archetype). This is where 5E does well when it comes to the Paladin. It starts broadly with with the archetype - the chivalrous paladin, the green knight/warden, the vindicating crusader - but then leaves the alignment to player interpretation for how they envision their character. But when Paizo says that they are essentially taking an alignment-first perspective and want to first focus on the LG paladin, then that is a massive red flag for me that their priorities are backwards.

To me, it's a sign that paladin is a bigger breadbox than they're willing to commit space to in the playtest material. So if they're going to playtest anything, it's going to be the base class.

 

[Xavian Starsider]

If a situation places two tenets in conflict, you aren't in a no-win situation; instead, follow the most important tenet. . . .

* You must never willingly commit an evil act . . .

* You must not take actions that you know will harm an innocent, or through inaction cause an innocent to come to immediate harm when you knew your action could reasonably prevent it. . . .

* You must act with honor, never cheating, lying, or taking advantage of others.

* You must respect the lawful authority of the legitimate ruler or leadership in whichever land you may be, following their laws unless they violate a higher tenet.

If only Isaac Asimov were around to write I, Paladin about the ethical loopholes and moral traps presented by these rules. I would buy that book!

 

[Kobold Boots]

If only Isaac Asimov were around to write I, Paladin about the ethical loopholes and moral traps presented by these rules. I would buy that book!

Someone should start a thread on this.

 

[scotch.garble]

I have to agree with several people above, the new class previews are incomplete but are already showcasing so many moving parts.

My primary barrier to continued play with Pathfinder had been its complex class setups and rule sets. Track your spells per day for this class feature, track your point pool per day for this class feature, etc. Now armors have been expanded to two AC values with traits.

The saving grace for me would be to see innovative encounter design, but from the previous previews it seems everything is becoming more complex.

 

[Charlaquin]

If they’re planning to make Paladins Alignment-locked, and to have multiple types of Paladin locked to different alignments, then it makes sense to focus on the LG Paladin for the playtest. But I will say, I’m disappointed to see Paladins being restricted to one alignment and having a universal code of conduct in addition to having to choose a deity and follow its alignment restrictions and avoid its Anathema. I had been hoping the latter would replace the former, or that they’d focus on Paladins as champions of their ideals rather than gods, and leave the champion of the gods concept to Clerics.

For what it’s worth, I like that they’re very specific about what a Paladin loses if they break their code, and how they get it back. The code itself I think needs work, but at least the consequences are hard coded into the rules and aren’t just “you become a Fighter” or “you lose all of your Paladin Feats and Class Features,” and you know exactly what you need to do to repent.