Pathfinder 2E What does Pathfinder lack?
Well, the thing I want to see isn't really around in 5e either: a proper swordmage.
There is the magus, but that's not what I want. The magus is a class that sometimes hits things with swords, and sometimes casts spells. I want something like the 4e swordmage, which integrates magic and melee (and occasionally ranged, but I'd be comfortable keeping it to very short-range things other than things intended to reduce range). Like stabbing someone and sending a bolt of electricity through your weapon to stun them, or hammering the ground to set off a shockwave dealing damage in a cone, or teleporting behind someone and stabbing them in the back.
There is the magus, but that's not what I want. The magus is a class that sometimes hits things with swords, and sometimes casts spells. I want something like the 4e swordmage, which integrates magic and melee (and occasionally ranged, but I'd be comfortable keeping it to very short-range things other than things intended to reduce range). Like stabbing someone and sending a bolt of electricity through your weapon to stun them, or hammering the ground to set off a shockwave dealing damage in a cone, or teleporting behind someone and stabbing them in the back.
fluffybunbunkittens
Hero
Bounded accuracy. Level-scaling all the numbers up all the time (which also restricts what opposition you can realistically use within a certain level range). I know there's a variant to avoid the bloat, but then it's extra hassle for the GM when you cannot use anything as-is.
Dis/advantage. Not a fan of +1 from this +2 from that -1 from this (and an untyped range penalty?). Yeah, dis/advantage isn't terribly granular, but it makes life so much more convenient than worrying about individual 5% shifts in odds.
Dis/advantage. Not a fan of +1 from this +2 from that -1 from this (and an untyped range penalty?). Yeah, dis/advantage isn't terribly granular, but it makes life so much more convenient than worrying about individual 5% shifts in odds.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Yeah advantage/disadvantage is The great innovation of 5e, it works well for everything and makes the game more fun.
HaroldTheHobbit
Adventurer
I don't know if Pf2e lacks anything. For a certain d20 fantasy playstyle it's pretty much perfect. It has a gazillion character options, is very easy to GM and prep for, and runs like butter on Foundry. Golarion is a great setting and the APs are imho the easiest to run prewritten campaigns out there. So besides more of the same, I don't have any answer.
Me, as perma-GM I prefer a pretty different playstyle, but if I had serious lack of time and still wanted to game, Pf2e would be my choice.
Me, as perma-GM I prefer a pretty different playstyle, but if I had serious lack of time and still wanted to game, Pf2e would be my choice.
Support for a campaign setting that's not Golarian. (3rd party or otherwise.)
Simple, straightforward adventures that aren't meat grinders.
Enough familiarity with the rules that I can feel like a decent GM (even after 3+ years experience).
Easy to put together a group of people to actually play it.
Simple, straightforward adventures that aren't meat grinders.
Enough familiarity with the rules that I can feel like a decent GM (even after 3+ years experience).
Easy to put together a group of people to actually play it.
payn
He'll flip ya...Flip ya for real...
The +1/-1s are few and far between and make a large difference in PF2 compared to past editions.
PF2 was designed specifically not to have BA, which bummed me out too. However, if you use the proficiency without level variant you can get much closer to it.
I find it to be too general and makes the game a bit more boring.
I wouldn't mind a 3rd party making a setting, but I kinda like the default assumption for Paizo books to be set in Golarion. I guess more effort on Paizo's part to help encourage world building would be nice though? Maybe they're already doing that and I've just missed it.
I hear you on the 3rd point but I'm only 4 sessions into my campaign so hopefully that goes away with more time spent with the system.
4th point: I'm fortunate my group was cool with switching from 5e and so far seems to be enjoying PF2e but without that kinda luck it's hard to find anyone to play anything not 5e and that's a shame. One of the side effects of the OGL fiasco was me buying 4 different Beginner Boxes for different games (PF2e, Starfinder, Shadowrun 6e and Call of Cthulhu) and despite going with PF2e I'd like to try all of them eventually.
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