Pathfinder 2E What's the deal with 3rd party PF2E Adventure "support"??

[Morrus]

If I'm ever able to get some more experience for PF2 under my belt, I'd love to write some 3pp/fan-created material for it. The tools for developers seem much more generous than what is provided by 5e.
Like I tried to adapt an old adventure series I wrote to 5e, only to find numerous things aren't available to use unless you publish on DMs Guild - and then you have to use Forgotten Realms and aren't allowed to change certain things of the setting, cosmology, history, etc.

You can’t use Paizo’s setting, either. Sorry to disappoint!

 

[apoapostolov]

I think part of the problem may be that PF2 is, at least in some fashion, backward compatible? So the normal run of reboot adventure support is unnecessary? I dint know about Paizo’s claim of backward compatibility in style so I dunno for sure.

It is not backwards compatible in any way.

 

[Retreater]

You can’t use Paizo’s setting, either. Sorry to disappoint!

I don't want to use anyone's setting but my own - and make it generic enough to be dropped into any world a DM/GM wants.

The main problem I've had with 5e is that to use anything outside of the Basic rules, I would be required to use the Forgotten Realms on DMs Guild. I know little to nothing about that setting.

 

[darjr]

It is not backwards compatible in any way.

I haven’t played it but not according to Paizo. But I’ll take your word for it.

 

[Morrus]

I don't want to use anyone's setting but my own - and make it generic enough to be dropped into any world a DM/GM wants.

The main problem I've had with 5e is that to use anything outside of the Basic rules, I would be required to use the Forgotten Realms on DMs Guild. I know little to nothing about that setting.

You don’t have to use the Realms.

 

[Philip Benz]

I think part of the problem may be that PF2 is, at least in some fashion, backward compatible?

PF2 is definitely NOT "backward compatible" except in the broadest possible terms. You still have Dwarves & Elves, Clerics & Rogues, stats & feats, but the way they are juggled together is totally different. A PF1 stat block doesn't give you anything useable in PF2.

Contrary to Retreater's experience with Forgotten Realms, Paizo's Compatibility licence requires you to completely eschew Golarion lore if you are writing for-profit 3pp content. It's either in a generic world, or in an alternate world of your making. So a prospective module writer can't cuddle up to his favorite location in Cheliax or Nidal, nor expound on the divine virtues of Sarenrae, unless he's willing to make free, not-for-profit material under the Community licence.

This feels like a shame for those in love with Golarion lore. But in a sense it is liberating. It's like going back to the 70s when every DM made up "his own world" out of whole cloth.

 

[JeffB]

I haven’t played it but not according to Paizo. But I’ll take your word for it.

I haven't played it (yet), either. But digging into the rules in the PF2SRD I would say not very backward compatible**. There are lots of new terms, the math is completely different, many familiar terms/procedures work in new ways/with new mechanics, etc. I wouldn't want to convert anything- too much work.

** And Bulhman says essentially the same thing in the first few paragraphs of the PF2 conversion guide - albeit with a nice sugar-coating

Pathfinder Second Edition draws from the same inspirations as First Edition and attempts to keep many of the basic game conventions the same, but many of its rules are a significant departure from those in First Edition......

….The differences between the first and second editions of Pathfinder are significant enough that you can’t convert from one to the other by changing a few numbers and updating a few terms, so a straightforward conversion formula is impossible. Instead, the goal of this guide is helping you understand how best to recreate the elements you need to continue your story

 

[apoapostolov]

PF2 is definitely NOT "backward compatible" except in the broadest possible terms. You still have Dwarves & Elves, Clerics & Rogues, stats & feats, but the way they are juggled together is totally different. A PF1 stat block doesn't give you anything useable in PF2.

Contrary to Retreater's experience with Forgotten Realms, Paizo's Compatibility licence requires you to completely eschew Golarion lore if you are writing for-profit 3pp content. It's either in a generic world, or in an alternate world of your making. So a prospective module writer can't cuddle up to his favorite location in Cheliax or Nidal, nor expound on the divine virtues of Sarenrae, unless he's willing to make free, not-for-profit material under the Community licence.

This feels like a shame for those in love with Golarion lore. But in a sense it is liberating. It's like going back to the 70s when every DM made up "his own world" out of whole cloth.

I think Paizo will never open their setting to third party because their own monthly adventure production pace greatly overwhelm players and DMs on its own. Allowing even more adventure competition in their magazine business model doesn't make sense. However Paizo store is very archaic compared to even lackluster digital stores like DriveThru.

 

[Morrus]

This feels like a shame for those in love with Golarion lore. But in a sense it is liberating. It's like going back to the 70s when every DM made up "his own world" out of whole cloth.

Plenty of people still do. It didn't stop in the 1970s!

 

[Retreater]

You don’t have to use the Realms.

Oh, I see that it's expanded to Eberron and Ravenloft (if you connect it to Curse of Strahd). You still can't create your own homebrew setting with history, politics, new races, etc. - unless I'm missing something?

In general, I have no interest in any published campaign settings (whether it's Golarion, Eberron, Forgotten Realms, etc.) I don't care about 10,000 years of history filled with unpronounceable names that my characters are never going to interact with.

I don't think it belongs at the game table. It might be fun for some DMs to read, but it's not useful to me. My eyelids already start to droop when I'm reading a complex, long-winded adventure backstory. If it's hard for a GM to wrap his brain around in a neatly written essay, you can bet the players aren't going to grasp it when it's presented over the course of a year, getting portions delivered to them every week or two by various NPCs in between encounters and bathroom breaks.