Pathfinder 2E Pathfinder 2e: Actual Play Experience

[CapnZapp]

I think thinking this much about treasure makes it appear much more important than it really is. Making calculations and doing administration mostly serves to validate this outlook, when it simply isn't true.

The only piece of treasure that really needs to happen is fundamental weapon runes. And even that sorts itself out by virtue of the exponential gold amounts: sure, a level 7 fighter without a Striking rune is underequipped, but at that level any item is worth more than enough for the sell value to cover purchasing a +1 striking weapon. So just by playing that character should easily sort out its "equipment deficiency", no GM intervention necessary.

3rd edition and Pathfinder are games where heroes (and NPCs) depend on gear, justifying a GM tinkering with it a lot.

PF2 just ain't such a game. The rulebook might tell you things like "As the GM, it’s your job to distribute treasure to the player characters" in a serious voice, implying that this is a job that must be done, and done well.

In reality, PF2 treasure just isn't powerful or important enough to warrant the concern.
(Both 3E and 5E offer loot that's way more colorful, powerful and character-defining)

I heartily recommend stop worrying and spend your time on coming up with cool storylines, adventures and campaigns instead. Using the cool evocative treasure distribution tables from AD&D or 5E works just fine if ported to Pathfinder 2, no matter what Paizo is trying to tell you!

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

I could polish it up and share a copy if you're interested.

I am!

 

[ruemere]

To clarify, I'm not house-ruling PF2. I'm making a new game that takes some design elements from PF2 I liked (a multi-action turn, tasks that take multiple actions, 4 degrees of success, keywords on abilities to better codify them), and some ideas from Starfinder (Resolve Points to fuel cool powers and healing) and the Legend of the Five Rings FFG card game (having a limited suite of defensive reactions add some more sense of play-counterplay to combat).

Then I'm retooling the way combat plays to feel a bit more like Horizon: Zero Dawn or the PS4 God of War, which reward a mix of different offensive actions, plus an attention to defense. They don't want you to just use the same attack repeatedly. So in this system, the hope is that it still plays fast, but that each round your calculus on what attack is optimal changes.

I could polish it up and share a copy if you're interested.

May I have a look, too?
I prefer 13th Age personally, but I would not mind learning about this.

 

[kenada]

The only piece of treasure that really needs to happen is fundamental weapon runes. And even that sorts itself out by virtue of the exponential gold amounts: sure, a level 7 fighter without a Striking rune is underequipped, but at that level any item is worth more than enough for the sell value to cover purchasing a +1 striking weapon. So just by playing that character should easily sort out its "equipment deficiency", no GM intervention necessary.

To put it another way, the main exploration party is a mix of 2nd and 3rd level PCs. They have found one magic item and a handful of materials they can use for crafting. There has been other treasure, but they missed it. When I did give them that one item, I just picked something with a potency rune knowing they can transfer it to one of their own weapons. Like you said, that’s really the only thing they need to have, and they weren’t in a position to get it otherwise.

Also, to clarify how they could get to 2nd and 3rd level without finding much treasure, they’ve mostly avoided the dungeons that are out there, and I’m using an adjusted leveling curve. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before, but gaining a new level in my campaign costs the new level times 200 XP. It’s designed to get them to the 3rd and 4th levels fairly quickly, so they have a few more options to play with, and I have more encounter building options. It’s meant to make gaining higher levels impractical (due to the number of real world sessions it would take).

I heartily recommend stop worrying and spend your time on coming up with cool storylines, adventures and campaigns instead. Using the cool evocative treasure distribution tables from AD&D or 5E works just fine if ported to Pathfinder 2, no matter what Paizo is trying to tell you!

I know I don’t have to do it, but I like tinkering with these kinds of subsystems. It’s fun figuring how the game is designed to work and building a new one. To your point of just using something else, that sort of what I’m going to do, except it’ll be homebrew with influences.

The way I manage my campaign lets me get by with minimal prep. I could do almost nothing before next session and be ready to go. However, there are some things I want to have ready for next session, and I need to homebrew the champion (for a new PC) because of setting differences. Those things come first, so the treasure stuff will be back-burnered for a few weeks.

Though I’ll probably write the Monte Carlo simulation of encounter building today or this weekend because that’s on my mind. Actually looking at the results will need to come later. (I keep telling myself….)

 

[RangerWickett]

That's interesting. I'd be curious to know how that works out after you've used it for a while.

I am!

I made a thread with the rules. Peril - wherein RangerWickett reinvents the wheel

 

[Kaodi]

Bags of holding do not hurt either as nearly essential items. When we first sold off a bunch of stuff and divvied up the gold in Age of Ashes I bought one of those with my cleric whereas the fighter and barbarian both got striking runes. I will need a striking rune too at some point, but we can wait to find another one for me.

Also, to speak to an earlier point, due to the fact that my cleric uses a bow and the GM lets me basically uses infinite arrows - action wise I do end up just shooting three times if there is no point in casting shield. When moving does not confer an advantage you might as well take that 1 in 20 or better chance that you hit.

 

[Gandalf970]

I have been mostly DMing games for 40 years. My favorites have been Rolemaster, D&D and Gurps. My group of long time players (average experience 30+ years) decided to take a trip down the crunchy world of Pathfinder 2.

We went all in and each bought the book, studied it for a month and then decided to make characters and play. We played for two months and then one night at the gaming table looked at each other and said "This isn't fun at all"!

We played the adventure path Age of Ashes!

Our group just didn't like the way the game flowed. The players never felt like they were heroes as encounters were always with the same level as they are. It was a constant struggle and really wasn't enjoyable to run or play from their perspective.

The game is well researched and deep. We liked the 3 actions per round, the heightened spell idea and other aspects of the game. There were good takeaways, but for us the bad out did the good and we set it down to move on to something more enjoyable to our liking.

Just my perspective not something we will play again and will probably sell what I have to reinvest in something else.

 

[dave2008]

I have been mostly DMing games for 40 years. My favorites have been Rolemaster, D&D and Gurps. My group of long time players (average experience 30+ years) decided to take a trip down the crunchy world of Pathfinder 2.

We went all in and each bought the book, studied it for a month and then decided to make characters and play. We played for two months and then one night at the gaming table looked at each other and said "This isn't fun at all"!

We played the adventure path Age of Ashes!

Our group just didn't like the way the game flowed. The players never felt like they were heroes as encounters were always with the same level as they are. It was a constant struggle and really wasn't enjoyable to run or play from their perspective.

The game is well researched and deep. We liked the 3 actions per round, the heightened spell idea and other aspects of the game. There were good takeaways, but for us the bad out did the good and we set it down to move on to something more enjoyable to our liking.

Just my perspective not something we will play again and will probably sell what I have to reinvest in something else.

Thanks for the insight. Not every game is for everyone. I'm still interested in giving it a try, but it is good to here different viewpoints.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

I have been mostly DMing games for 40 years. My favorites have been Rolemaster, D&D and Gurps. My group of long time players (average experience 30+ years) decided to take a trip down the crunchy world of Pathfinder 2.

We went all in and each bought the book, studied it for a month and then decided to make characters and play. We played for two months and then one night at the gaming table looked at each other and said "This isn't fun at all"!

We played the adventure path Age of Ashes!

Our group just didn't like the way the game flowed. The players never felt like they were heroes as encounters were always with the same level as they are. It was a constant struggle and really wasn't enjoyable to run or play from their perspective.

The game is well researched and deep. We liked the 3 actions per round, the heightened spell idea and other aspects of the game. There were good takeaways, but for us the bad out did the good and we set it down to move on to something more enjoyable to our liking.

Just my perspective not something we will play again and will probably sell what I have to reinvest in something else.

Very interesting....my group has has the opposite experience, although I will concede that it probably has to do with the fact that my group gets a lot of whatit needs out of Pathfinder 2E, and the perks of 2E (which include the action economy, more fully realized heightened spell mechanic, and grittier game elements with a distinct sense of risk and reward) make the game an easy sell to my gang. The game play feels challenging and fun, and does not (as happened with 5E) start to feel more like performative mechanics and superheroes who can't be beat. It is practically the only game we've played since it released in August, and we have no plans to stop.

 

[Retreater]

Well the pandemic has effectively killed our already struggling PF2 "Age of Ashes" campaign. It's too great of a hassle to try to put it online, the tactical depth just won't translate well. If the players were already invested, knew their characters inside and out, maybe there would be a chance.
I've tried to put it on Roll20, where none of the adventure path modules are available. (Big fail there, Paizo.) There are zero free resources to port your game, no compendium or anything. To get the basics on there, you're dropping over $100 for rules and monsters. Again, not even having access to all the original content from the Campaign.
Maybe Fantasy Grounds has more content, but I'm not buying it again after already investing in Roll20, and the FG UI isn't for me.
(Edited to remove the blame from Paizo. Thanks for the info.)