Pathfinder 2E PF2E Gurus teach me! +

[Yaarel]

To clarify, is the P2 Wizard:

old school vancian (where each spell must be prepared separately and lost when cast),

or new school vancian (where one uses slots spontaneously from the selection of preparations)?

 

[Campbell]

To clarify, is the P2 Wizard:

old school vancian (where each spell must be prepared separately and lost when cast),

or new school vancian (where one uses slots spontaneously from the selection of preparations)?

Old School Vancian. Prepare each slot with a specific spell. Same for every prepared spellcaster.

 

[Yaarel]

Old School Vancian. Prepare each slot with a specific spell. Same for every prepared spellcaster.

Old school vancian? Uggh.

Oh well, I have 1e friends who will be happy.

At least there are other nonvancian classes to choose from?

But are these nonvancian classes as appealing as the Wizard is, in terms of versatility, effective spells, and game support − or is the Wizard "privileged" like it is in 3e?

 

[Yaarel]

Am I noticing correctly that at higher class levels, every spell is autoscaling (heightening?) in power?

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Am I noticing correctly that at higher class levels, every spell is autoscaling (heightening?) in power?

only for cantrips and focus spells. leveled spells require you to upcast that spell to get the heightened effect. prepared casters upcast by preparing the spell in a higher level slot - spontaneous casters can only upcast a spell by learning it at the level they want to cast it at, unless that spell is one of their signature spells, in which case they can cast it with any applicable slot they wish.

 

[Yaarel]

You can make it work after a fashion with a wizard or sorcerer with an Archetype Dedication to a fighting class, but unless its its a free archetype game that's not a cost-free option.

What is an "archetype"? Is it something like a multiclassed class or a prestige class?

 

[W'rkncacnter]

What is an "archetype"? Is it something like a multiclassed class or a prestige class?

archetypes are basically pf2e's form of multiclassing, yeah. you can pick up archetype feats in place of class feats to pick up features from outside your class. there's archetypes for every class and then a bunch of unique archetypes which i guess you can compare to prestige classes sort of

 

[Yaarel]

archetypes are basically pf2e's form of multiclassing, yeah. you can pick up archetype feats in place of class feats to pick up features from outside your class. there's archetypes for every class and then a bunch of unique archetypes which i guess you can compare to prestige classes sort of

Does one give up a class level to take a level in an archetype?

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Does one give up a class level to take a level in an archetype?

no, no - once you pick a class, you're in it. you get class feats as you level up, and you can take an archetype feat instead of a class feat. you still level up in your class, you just give up a feat from it to take a different feat.

 

[Gammadoodler]

no, no - once you pick a class, you're in it. you get class feats as you level up, and you can take an archetype feat instead of a class feat. you still level up in your class, you just give up a feat from it to take a different feat.

In addition, Archetypes can be of other core classes or they can be more narrowly thematic (e.g. monk archetype vs. dragon disciple archetypes).

Archetypes typically have a dedication feat and then a series of downstream feats, if a player wants to invest more in that archetype along the way.

For multiclass Archetypes (i.e. the core classes), the best tools are usually either unavailable to the archetype, or only available at significantly higher levels. For example, a monk's flurry of blows is something a monk gets at character creation. If someone wanted to go monk archetype, they'd have to meet the attribute prereqs, select the dedication feat using a class feat slot, and then wait until character level 10, before they could use another class feat to select the flurry of blows archetype feat.

The result is that you don't really see anything like the 5e hexblade dip. In many cases, multiclassing on PF2e winds up being an increase in breadth of options at the cost of potency of options.