Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Actual AP Play Experience
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7994068" data-attributes="member: 12731"><p>This shouldn't be a problem - as long as you don't run official adventures as published.</p><p></p><p>When I ran my Sandpoint campaign, I too was concerned over making a mistake and inadvertently getting my party into too-deep waters. Especially since all the carousing necessarily means the party splits up - turns out there isn't a critter in the Bestiary weak enough to <em>not</em> scare the bejeezus out of a low level hero...</p><p></p><p>But as it turned out, even my most difficult missions were easier than Paizo's default <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>At least now there's the NPC chapter in the GMG, which I would have given a small body part for to have when I wanted to be able to make up a pair of nasty drunk back-alley thugs, or a backstabbing prostitute, or a group of desperate road bandits (all of which were encountered by one or more party members).</p><p></p><p>As for the checking of encounter design, you know my stance: this obsession with exact XP amounts (or Challenge Ratings) is unhealthy - they make encounter design seem much more like a straightforward scientific and accurate procedure, and much less the craft and art it really is.</p><p></p><p>In other words, begin by only pitting your four-man party against a single at-level foe, two L-1 foes, three L-2 foes or four L-3 foes (which only become possible at level 2 since there aren't any -2 critters). Avoid higher-leveled enemies altogether for the first session at least. See how they manage* - you will quickly get the hang of it and become bolder with encounter difficulty variance. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>That said, PF2 is crunchy no matter what. Cluttery, even. There will definitely always remain a substantial crowd of 5E lovers that will never enjoy this game. The basic question must never be forgotten: <strong>why</strong> are you seeking out a new game? If the players aren't dissatisfied with the mechanics of 5E - indeed if they even struggle to remember all of it - then it would be outright merciful to keep PF2 off their radar.</p><p></p><p><em>*) Do keep in mind that no matter how careful you are, a level 1 character can still croak with nobody to blame. But you're an experienced D&D DM so you knew that already.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CapnZapp, post: 7994068, member: 12731"] This shouldn't be a problem - as long as you don't run official adventures as published. When I ran my Sandpoint campaign, I too was concerned over making a mistake and inadvertently getting my party into too-deep waters. Especially since all the carousing necessarily means the party splits up - turns out there isn't a critter in the Bestiary weak enough to [I]not[/I] scare the bejeezus out of a low level hero... But as it turned out, even my most difficult missions were easier than Paizo's default :) At least now there's the NPC chapter in the GMG, which I would have given a small body part for to have when I wanted to be able to make up a pair of nasty drunk back-alley thugs, or a backstabbing prostitute, or a group of desperate road bandits (all of which were encountered by one or more party members). As for the checking of encounter design, you know my stance: this obsession with exact XP amounts (or Challenge Ratings) is unhealthy - they make encounter design seem much more like a straightforward scientific and accurate procedure, and much less the craft and art it really is. In other words, begin by only pitting your four-man party against a single at-level foe, two L-1 foes, three L-2 foes or four L-3 foes (which only become possible at level 2 since there aren't any -2 critters). Avoid higher-leveled enemies altogether for the first session at least. See how they manage* - you will quickly get the hang of it and become bolder with encounter difficulty variance. :) That said, PF2 is crunchy no matter what. Cluttery, even. There will definitely always remain a substantial crowd of 5E lovers that will never enjoy this game. The basic question must never be forgotten: [B]why[/B] are you seeking out a new game? If the players aren't dissatisfied with the mechanics of 5E - indeed if they even struggle to remember all of it - then it would be outright merciful to keep PF2 off their radar. [I]*) Do keep in mind that no matter how careful you are, a level 1 character can still croak with nobody to blame. But you're an experienced D&D DM so you knew that already.[/I] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Actual AP Play Experience
Top