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Pathfinder 2e: Actual Play Experience
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<blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7927457" data-attributes="member: 12731"><p>Believe me, it happens. Easily. It's not like Paizo have asked their writers to go easy on gamers for the first few levels. Almost every low-level module so far has featured fights on a complexity similar to Retreater's example. They also sport incredibly lethal fights right out the gate.</p><p></p><p>Utterly unlike 5E the game is not about "having a good time" and "don't worry, you can mess up and still win encounters handily".</p><p></p><p>You need to avoid mistakes to survive. Each and every +1 modifier needs to be applied for maximum effect. You have three actions each turn, and you need to learn how to use them. Offense, defense, positioning; everything matters.</p><p></p><p>When the game was released last August I started out with a small homebrew campaign. The players started muttering how difficult everything was, and I tried telling them I just tried to adhere to the encounter guidelines as I learned the ropes. They didn't quite believe me. Heck, I didn't believe me - thinking I might have made mistakes whenever fights came close to TPK's. I started to ease up on the difficulty.</p><p></p><p>Now we've started playing Extinction Curse, an official Adventure Path, and <em>boom!</em> the very first serious encounter almost TPK:d them. Three unconscious heroes out of five after the monster's second turn. The monster itself was unharmed. That's a "Moderate" encounter to you! (In 5E parlance I would call that triple ultra deadly with extra on top... <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite6" alt=":cool:" title="Cool :cool:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":cool:" />)</p><p></p><p>Clearly me going soft on them hadn't prepared them for official level 1 play! Okay, so they healed up. Then the unrelenting string of difficult encounters asked of them with no time for recuperation ground them right back down. I gave them NPCs to help them out against the final fight of the chapter/level. It was either that, or start over.</p><p></p><p>Now they believe me.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CapnZapp, post: 7927457, member: 12731"] Believe me, it happens. Easily. It's not like Paizo have asked their writers to go easy on gamers for the first few levels. Almost every low-level module so far has featured fights on a complexity similar to Retreater's example. They also sport incredibly lethal fights right out the gate. Utterly unlike 5E the game is not about "having a good time" and "don't worry, you can mess up and still win encounters handily". You need to avoid mistakes to survive. Each and every +1 modifier needs to be applied for maximum effect. You have three actions each turn, and you need to learn how to use them. Offense, defense, positioning; everything matters. When the game was released last August I started out with a small homebrew campaign. The players started muttering how difficult everything was, and I tried telling them I just tried to adhere to the encounter guidelines as I learned the ropes. They didn't quite believe me. Heck, I didn't believe me - thinking I might have made mistakes whenever fights came close to TPK's. I started to ease up on the difficulty. Now we've started playing Extinction Curse, an official Adventure Path, and [I]boom![/I] the very first serious encounter almost TPK:d them. Three unconscious heroes out of five after the monster's second turn. The monster itself was unharmed. That's a "Moderate" encounter to you! (In 5E parlance I would call that triple ultra deadly with extra on top... :cool:) Clearly me going soft on them hadn't prepared them for official level 1 play! Okay, so they healed up. Then the unrelenting string of difficult encounters asked of them with no time for recuperation ground them right back down. I gave them NPCs to help them out against the final fight of the chapter/level. It was either that, or start over. Now they believe me. [/QUOTE]
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