Pathfinder 2E Pathfinder 2e: Actual Play Experience
My advice having playing both: if they want to shift it will be because of the increased character options and increased danger of combats. Most other things are basically the same.
Bravesteel25
Baronet of Gaming
We recently got a group together to play PF2 at our local store, which I have stated in another thread is not carrying PF2 products. We have five players and our GM, with one guy driving 45 minutes in from the city to play a weekly game of PF2. We had our first session last night, and beside some normal rule look ups due to our unfamiliarity with the system the session seemed to go well.
I have been playing in a semi-regular PF2 game (two sessions so far), so I had a general idea of play, and so did the player driving in. The rest of the players were completely new to PF2, two having started RPGs with 5E and the last being an old hand at D&D in general. I would say what really helped make it go so smoothly is the fact that our GM already has a solid understanding of the rules himself.
All in all, the game has an A+ rating from me, but if two or three of the other players decide it isn't for them then that will be the end of the PF2 experiment at that store. The store is heavily dominated by 5E and Magic: The Gathering with a healthy stock of board games and a smattering of Warhammer 40k players. New players won't be exposed to PF2 if it isn't on the shelves, so I fear we will be an island of PF2 amidst the sea of 5E.
I have been playing in a semi-regular PF2 game (two sessions so far), so I had a general idea of play, and so did the player driving in. The rest of the players were completely new to PF2, two having started RPGs with 5E and the last being an old hand at D&D in general. I would say what really helped make it go so smoothly is the fact that our GM already has a solid understanding of the rules himself.
All in all, the game has an A+ rating from me, but if two or three of the other players decide it isn't for them then that will be the end of the PF2 experiment at that store. The store is heavily dominated by 5E and Magic: The Gathering with a healthy stock of board games and a smattering of Warhammer 40k players. New players won't be exposed to PF2 if it isn't on the shelves, so I fear we will be an island of PF2 amidst the sea of 5E.
Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
Or, if you guys are having fun and ask the store to purchase PF2 materials, and others are enthused by your enthusiasm - maybe the presence will grow!
Bravesteel25
Baronet of Gaming
That's the plan, for sure, but it will certainly be an uphill battle as 5E is still much easier to introduce to new players (especially new RPG players) than PF2. We will be fighting the good fight, but 5E's brand power is hard to get passed at this point as people tend to want to play what is popular.
dave2008
Legend
Don't be coy, what did you like?
Bravesteel25
Baronet of Gaming
Hehe, OK.
So far, I like the following:
- The Three-Action Economy
- Proficiency Bonuses
- Massive Feat Choice
- Half-Orcs/Half-Elves rolled in as, essentially, variant Humans.
- Ancestry Feats: I don’t know what it is, but they just don’t gel for me yet.
- Critical Hits/Misses Based on the -10/+10 threshold: I think it slows down the game and makes things too swingy.
- The size of the core book: Dear Lord, I was hoping they would have made it the size of the 5E Player’s Handbook. I understand why it is the size it is, but it still makes it difficult to read.
- Lack of a GM Guide for such a long period of time after launch.
- Lack of visibility in games stores: Even stores that stock it don’t tend to buy much because of Paizo’s subscription model.
- PFS isn’t pushed harder to garner store interest: Paizo could do incentives similar to WotC with Magic.
- Lack of popularity: I’m an honest sort, I DO wish that PF2 was gaining more popularity than it is. I think it might gain some converts from 5E but it is NOT a beginner friendly game at all which may limit it’s growth potential.
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First Age
Explorer
I picked Pathfinder 2e for a few games with the family over Christmas. Basically three players (14, 21, er prime of beauteous life) and a 21 5e player.
Long story short, they all took to the game with ease. 2nd level characters, mage, sorcerer, druid, monk. It was my first to e GMing this game but I'm a long experienced RPGer.
It was a breeze to run as well. There were a couple of rulings that I needed to check on after the game but nothing major.
We loved it, even with a character sheet that looks like a tax return. Much excitement and more games as a family coming this year.
I'm now planning a game set in Midgard.
I'll post some more when I have time. Theory be damned, this is a great game.
The-Magic-Sword
Small Ball Archmage
Monks get a variant on AOO as well, called "Stand Still" it has a slightly different trigger that makes it slightly worse than the fighter version, but not by much. It is a class feat however.
FrozenNorth
Hero
I have three 3-hour sessions under my belt (excluding Character Creation which was done separately). I came from 5e, but I have a long experience with RPGs, beginning with the Rules Cyclopedia. I will try to limit my comments to what I have actually experienced (except for a bit at the end).
Our group is running Fall of Plaguestone. We have 4 characters: elf wizard (my character), half-orc paladin, halfling rogue and elf alchemist.
Overall, the system works pretty well. Combat seems to go pretty smoothly. The half-orc paladin and elf alchemist seem to be working as intended.
Like a couple of others have posted, the wizard is underpowered. To compare with 5e (I am also running a 5e game), at the same level, the bard feels like an integrated member of the party even when he does little damage. I can see his cantrips making the monsters miss, and his spells buffing his allies or debuffing his foes. My wizard cantrips are doing scratch damage each turn, and so far, not a single spell I have cast has had much of an effect. Plus, I feel I am locked out of the 3-action system since each one of my spells takes 2-actions to cast.
Maybe it will get better as we level up, but Plaguestone only goes up to level 4, and frankly, if by level 4, my wizard doesn't feel more effective, I will probably drop the character, if not the game.
The other thing that I hate (but kicks in more at higher levels) is the skill system. When I DM, I like to throw my characters curveballs in the form of skill checks they are not trained in. I find it is neither realistic nor particularly fun for the barbarian that dumped Charisma to be able to avoid Charisma checks for the entire campaign.
This doesn't work in Pathfinder 2. By level 5, an on-level DC is pretty much impossible unless you're trained in the skill. If I use the Simple DCs instead, the trained DC is ludicrously easy if you are trained.
Our group is running Fall of Plaguestone. We have 4 characters: elf wizard (my character), half-orc paladin, halfling rogue and elf alchemist.
Overall, the system works pretty well. Combat seems to go pretty smoothly. The half-orc paladin and elf alchemist seem to be working as intended.
Like a couple of others have posted, the wizard is underpowered. To compare with 5e (I am also running a 5e game), at the same level, the bard feels like an integrated member of the party even when he does little damage. I can see his cantrips making the monsters miss, and his spells buffing his allies or debuffing his foes. My wizard cantrips are doing scratch damage each turn, and so far, not a single spell I have cast has had much of an effect. Plus, I feel I am locked out of the 3-action system since each one of my spells takes 2-actions to cast.
Maybe it will get better as we level up, but Plaguestone only goes up to level 4, and frankly, if by level 4, my wizard doesn't feel more effective, I will probably drop the character, if not the game.
The other thing that I hate (but kicks in more at higher levels) is the skill system. When I DM, I like to throw my characters curveballs in the form of skill checks they are not trained in. I find it is neither realistic nor particularly fun for the barbarian that dumped Charisma to be able to avoid Charisma checks for the entire campaign.
This doesn't work in Pathfinder 2. By level 5, an on-level DC is pretty much impossible unless you're trained in the skill. If I use the Simple DCs instead, the trained DC is ludicrously easy if you are trained.
