Pathfinder 2E Pathfinder 2e: is it RAW or RAI to always take 10 minutes and heal between encounters?

[dave2008]

To elaborate, equal level creature to party is worth 40 xp in budget. Single of them is trivial encounter (encounter players defeat easily), two of them is moderate (puts up some fight and spends resources, but still unlikely for players to lose unless they are severely weakened), three of them is severe encounter (capable of kicking player ass, but players probably win unless they play badly) and four of them is extreme. (likely tpk if party isn't at full resources and playing well. Though of course using weaker mook combinations for extreme encounters are easier than extreme soloboss, such as them being easily destroyed with fireballs and such, in conditions like them starting surrounding PCs they can be still about as equally dangerous as there is likely to be someone squishy in the party).

Ok, so by that definition they are roughly equal. If 4 PCs vs 4 equal level is an extreme fight (the battle could go either way), then that means each participant is roughly equal. That may not be 100% correct, but it sounds close.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Ok, so by that definition they are roughly equal. If 4 PCs vs 4 equal level is an extreme fight (the battle could go either way), then that means each participant is roughly equal. That may not be 100% correct, but it sounds close.

That was my read of it, and what Masked Guy says matches up with my (always erratic) memory.

 

[MaskedGuy]

Ok, so by that definition they are roughly equal. If 4 PCs vs 4 equal level is an extreme fight (the battle could go either way), then that means each participant is roughly equal. That may not be 100% correct, but it sounds close.

Well according to encounter budget rules, -2 apl(20 xp) creature is "Any lackey or standard creature", -1 APL(30 xp) is "Any standard creature" and APL equal(40 xp) is "Any standard creature or low-threat boss".

So basically the way I understand that is that APL -1 is only one considered just "a standard creature" while -2 might be standard or mook and apl equal is either standard or miniboss.(likely in context of being toughest mook in large group of mooks or having extremely high stats for the level or really deadly abilities) So while equal level creature is roughly equal yes, it doesn't always feel like it based on party composition, enemy encounter composition and creature used itself.

(this is basis on my take that level 0 creature is the one that is about equal to level 1 creature. Though I think it depends on what you mean with equal, 50% to win in one on one match or equal numbers rolled? Its not really obvious, but PCs have lot of tools NPCs never have like not instantly dying at 0 hp and having hero points.)

 

[The-Magic-Sword]

The big issue is that you either need to already perceive the opponent (in which case it may be too late) or else it functions as a detect danger power which not everyone is gonna want.

Normally I'd ask if people want to run when initiative would otherwise be rolled, more or less, then switch directly to the chase procedure with the first obstacle being "How do you create some distance here?" so that's after the ambushing creature jumps out, but before it necessarily has the chance to one shot them.

The rules state:

To determine whether someone is undetected by other participants in the encounter, you still compare their Stealth check for initiative to the Perception DC of their enemies. They’re undetected by anyone whose DC they meet or exceed. So what do you do if someone rolls better than everyone else on initiative, but all their foes beat their Perception DC? Well, all the enemies are undetected, but not unnoticed. That means the participant who rolled high still knows someone is around, and can start moving about, Seeking, and otherwise preparing to fight. The characters Avoiding Notice still have a significant advantage, since that character needs to spend actions and attempt additional checks in order to find them. What if both sides are sneaking about? They might just sneak past each other entirely, or they might suddenly run into one another if they’re heading into the same location.

So, that moment where the foe has either failed against the player's perception DC, or has passed it, they are aware something is there anyway, they can presumably feel how dangerous it is, and we can switch over to the chase procedure straight off that since the players have no intention of fighting.

 

[Staffan]

I thought so. I know PF2 uses levels for monsters too, but is an equal level monster equivalent to one PC? I can't remember, it has been to long since I read the book.

Generally speaking, a level N PC should be about equal to a level N monster or a level N NPC, but there are some differences. Most of the time, the monster/NPC will have slightly bigger numbers. For example, a level 6 non-fighter martial PC will have an attack bonus of +15 (proficiency 10 + stat 4 + item 1) and AC 24 (proficiency 8 + combined Dex and item 6). A level 6 melee-based monster will also have an AC of about 24, but an attack bonus of +17. On the other hand, the monster will likely have significantly fewer Cool Moves, which supposedly balances out.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Generally speaking, a level N PC should be about equal to a level N monster or a level N NPC, but there are some differences. Most of the time, the monster/NPC will have slightly bigger numbers. For example, a level 6 non-fighter martial PC will have an attack bonus of +15 (proficiency 10 + stat 4 + item 1) and AC 24 (proficiency 8 + combined Dex and item 6). A level 6 melee-based monster will also have an AC of about 24, but an attack bonus of +17. On the other hand, the monster will likely have significantly fewer Cool Moves, which supposedly balances out.

It usually seems to IME, though you have less slack there to fiddle with during the first couple levels. I also suspect that, in practice, its more true with large PC groups than smaller ones (since at least some of the PCs will be set up to take advantage of a given monster).