Pathfinder 2E Pathfinder 2e Newbie with questions.

[Staffan]

If you plan to start with an Adventure Path, use the later ones. Avoid Age of Ashes and Extinction Curse as I think they were written with the assumption of veteran players with tactical mindsets and are not ideal for new players.

Part of the issue is the principle that veterans are always re-fighting the last war.

In 3e/PF1, Challenge Rating and Encounter Level were jokes, particularly given the synergies possible with ten years of dubiously balanced options. So one of the selling points of PF1 adventure paths was that they were written by people who knew the system and could provide an appropriate challenge anyway.

In the early PF2 APs, this "hardcore" mentality bleeds through, but PF2 is balanced enough that this leads to an overcorrection. In addition, at least some of the APs have fairly big dungeons where you're supposed to do it all in one go, and even though PF2 is fairly generous with recovering hit points once you get the Treat Wounds engine going, you still don't have enough spells and such to handle that.

 

[fjw70]

Thanks everyone, but it doesn’t look like the PF 2e thing is happening with my group. They don’t seem to be interested in it. Right now only 5e and PF 1e are the only systems they are interested in. I was hoping to take a break from 5e (been playing 90%+ of the time over the last almost decade) and I have no interest in running PF 1e. We meet Friday so I will see where they are at.

I may pick up the beginner box to try out with the kids though.

 

[Lojaan]

Thanks everyone, but it doesn’t look like the PF 2e thing is happening with my group. They don’t seem to be interested in it. Right now only 5e and PF 1e are the only systems they are interested in. I was hoping to take a break from 5e (been playing 90%+ of the time over the last almost decade) and I have no interest in running PF 1e. We meet Friday so I will see where they are at.

I may pick up the beginner box to try out with the kids though.

Just out of interest, why didn't they want to go with PF2?

I'm trying to transition my group across too.

 

[Andvari]

Just put them through the gym for a few months until they grow strong enough to lift the rulebook.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Just out of interest, why didn't they want to go with PF2?

I'm trying to transition my group across too.

I'm obviously not the poster, but as noted there are a number of things you need to get used to that if you were "comfortable" with PF1e or D&D5e will take some adjustment. I'm suspecting his player just didn't wanna. Which is, of course, their right.

Its liable to be the biggest problem with getting people elsewhere in the D&D-sphere to play PF2e. It has, from my POV, real virtues both in character creation and in play, but it also has actively and deliberately killed at least some things people may like from other versions, and if those things are things they're attached to (or, frankly, they're just the sort of player who doesn't want to put in too much effort just to play an RPG) its going to put them off.

 

[fjw70]

Just out of interest, why didn't they want to go with PF2?

I'm trying to transition my group across too.

None of them has played it and they don’t seem interested in learning a new system. I don’t think it had anything to do with the system itself. but to be fair what I have seen if PF2 it will take quite a learning curve to get up to speed on it. It is quite crunchy.

At least one of the players doesn’t want to move away from DND Beyond.

I could probably get them to switch if I pushed hard enough but then I would be responsible for teaching them the game while trying to learn it myself and I don‘t want to take on that burden.

 

[fjw70]

I do wish there were a lighter version of the game that had the same core mechanics.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I do wish there were a lighter version of the game that had the same core mechanics.

I suspect it would be difficult to make it much lighter and still be anything distinct from other D&D games; most of the meaningful distinctions are in that crunch.

 

[Lojaan]

I do wish there were a lighter version of the game that had the same core mechanics.

I have a hunch that there is a lighter game in there, it's just covered up by (imo) over complicated on boarding. I'm still investigating tho

 

[Reynard]

I have a hunch that there is a lighter game in there, it's just covered up by (imo) over complicated on boarding. I'm still investigating tho

The beginner box version of the game is totally playable.