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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Doctor Futurity" data-source="post: 8139758" data-attributes="member: 10738">I love PF2E. Here's my reasons:1. As GM I find that the encounter balance mechanics are very fine tuned and work exceedingly well. So well that you can build encounter design for effect and rarely ever be disappointed in the result.2. PF2E characters are tougher, but not too much tougher than D&D 5E PCs at lower level, and the combat is both less swingy and more tactically engaging without much extra mechanical rigor.3. Action Point economy as done in PF2E makes all prior D&D derived move/minor/standard/reaction mechanics looks quaint and out of date.4. The +10/-10 critical hit/fumble mechanic ups the stakes and also makes the CR threat range more meaningful. It's actually part of the predictable element of PF2E in design...encounter building scales around the fact that once you get more than 4 CLs away from party level then the combat is either trivial or genuinely deadly, and that is due to this crit/fumble range. It means a CR+4 monster in PF2E is a genuine existential threat to the PCs.5. Spells are designed with scaling rules that work. This is how 5E should have done it but waffled out.6. Initially I disliked the level scaling on items but now I am fully sold on it, and find it's an excellent metric for GMs working on level appropriate loot.7. Each class feels like it has functional niche protection, and while people complain about feat-itis, the truth is it's just a mechanical descriptor set limited by class/ancestry/skills and makes sense in play.8. The skill list is refined but mostly not too refined.9. Combat is deadlier with more stakes. The healing mechanic is oddly forgiving but not in an "in the moment" way for most, and requires some downtime to get the group back up and running.10. Monster and NPC design is now its own ruleset and works for what the GM needs without having to devote half his or her life to designing according to PC specs.11. Monsters are more engaging and have more interesting and hard hitting abilities than 5E versions do. 12. Hit point bloat is not a thing in PF2E (it really doesn't, compared to 5E at least)Negatives so far:1. After over a year I still find item identification a bit confusing. 2. Medicine is too good in my opinion as GM3. The downside of clever and consistent encounter balance is that if you as GM want to throw a very powerful NPC or monster into the mix, you should be obliged to give the PCs fair warning that they should just flee.4. Significantly lower level encounters become speed bumps for the PCs. It is better to just state, "And then your party of level 12 PCs mowed down the goblin army and broke for tea" then to play it out in combat.</blockquote>

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