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Message: <blockquote data-quote="StreamOfTheSky" data-source="post: 5837559" data-attributes="member: 35909">I'm playing in 3 games right now and DMing none, so I'll answer based on the game I enjoy the most (by a fair margin over the other 2).<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Ability scores generation method? - Point Buy.  PF 25 points, which is ~ 32 point buy in 3E</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    How are death and dying handled? - It's a gestalt party of 2 in a game with a 2 years in development plot (originally had more PCs), so dying would be really bad.  We use spells like Breath of Life / Revivify to undo recent deaths and on rare occasion find Fenix Downs to auto revive someone (Final Fantasy based game).  Thus far, the longest anyone has been dead is 3 rounds (me!).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    What about raising the dead? - See above.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    How are replacement PCs handled? - We've had none.  We are the chosen warriors of light and bearers of the orbs, it'd destroy the plot if there was a revolving door of new PCs.  DM is extremely lenient with retraining if we want to tweak things.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Initiative: individual, group, or something else? - Individually rolled, though pets (familiars, animal companions, etc...) use their master's roll.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work? - Critical hits, as RAW.  No fumbles thank god, my DM is an intelligent and decent man.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet? - Not unless it's a wondrous item...</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly? - No, THAT would be silly.  And against RAW.  Sometimes if we have energy res 30 up, we'll fire indescriminantly to catch more enemies b/c we both have evasion and "what's the worst that could happen?" <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything? - The early levels we perfected the art of running away and hiding in trees.  Past that, the only thing we ever have run from is if we encounter a Triceratops.  As it's a long running gag that "there's a Triceratops in the way" means X area is off-limits and if we tried to fight it, it'd be a celestial half troll pseudo-natural paragon advanced HD Triceratops most likely. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Level-draining monsters: yes or no? - Boss encounter just last session, he opened up the fight by shooting an Energy Drain at me.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death? - Unlikely.  Game originally ran 6 years ago and DM only recently picked it back up.  Back then he threw rooms of mind flayers and bodaks at us.  Since, he's learned those aren't fun encounters and part of the appeal of switching to PF rules for him was less save or dies.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked? - Very loosely.  It'd have to be pretty blatantly exceeding encumbrance or supplies for the DM to care or notice.  Last time it came up at all, we wanted to fly past an encounter so as to not slaughter some dinosaurs in our path.  We happened to have a charmed dino from a previous fight that couldn't fy and needed to break out the chart to see if we could bear it aloft.  I think that's the only time encumbrance has EVER come up.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time? - No training, automatic.  Level up usually happens after gaining enough xp and resting for the night.  Sometimes DM withholds level up till the end of a quest or dungeon.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    What do I get experience for? - Combat and role play.  Bonus xp for saying something really funny either IC or OOC, though it's only like 25 xp.  Most xp is from combat, though.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination? - Mostly with rolling.  Not much time is spent roleplaying it out or describing things, just obstacles that either mess the party up or they disarm and then move on.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work? - We have our pets.  Sometimes a friendly NPC tags along, controlled by the DM.  No real use of hirelings or anything.  It's far too dangerous and the DM doesn't want the slowdown of a big group.  But the other player and I feel the same, so issue's never been pressed.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    How do I identify magic items? - Previously: Artificer's Monocle is the best item ever!  With the PF update: Detect Magic + Spellcraft does the trick (PF basically just gave every group an artificer's monocle for free, effectively...).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions? - Locations have limits, but otherwise yes.  At our level (just hit 17), it's hard for towns to have what we need, so we mostly rely on ourselves w/ craft feats and the high level NPC allies we have to custom craft the stuff we need.  Getting a desired item is only a matter of gold and downtime between quests, no big issue is made about it at all.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    Can I create magic items? When and how? - See above.  We get a disturbingly large amount of downtime for a game where the bad guys are plotting to destroy the world...</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">    What about splitting the party? - Only happened once ever, in a dungeon with random teleportation spots all over designed specifically to split us up and test us.  We stick together always, or only scout ahead 100-200 ft forward, at most.</li> </ol></blockquote>

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