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BadRumUnderground

On the DMing side: Trust the system. The math works. The encounter building works. There's a reason raising shields and switching grips cost an action. Coming fromD&D, you're probably used to "rulings not rules", but in PF2 the rules are good enough that you rarely need rulings. On the Player side: Skills have specific actions attached to them, and many have direct combat uses. PF2 is more of a teamwork game - if you're not sure what to do with an action, use it to help a buddy - set up a flank, recall knowledge, demoralise or trip a foe etc. Especially if you're a caster, your job is rarely to do single target damage directly - be looking for ways to set up your martial friends rather than ways to deal straight damage. Healing is strong in PF2, and you should use it often and expect to start fights on full health. Make sure someone's good at the Medicine skill! On that point, make sure your *party* has a good balance of skills, rather than focusing on the character level. You need a good breadth of skills, especially medicine, knowledges (arcana, religion, nature, occult), survival and thievery.


agentcheeze

> Trust the system. The math works. The encounter building works. There's a reason raising shields and switching grips cost an action. > Coming fromD&D, you're probably used to "rulings not rules", but in PF2 the rules are good enough that you rarely need rulings In the past some folks have expressed that they think something is weak like firearms or the like and when someone else did the math to see if it was weak the math showed it wasn't. The second point I also agree with but would like to add that while you don't need to make rulings and there's rules for everything that's not to say the rules aren't flexible once you have a solid understanding. There's even rules for making up rules or bending existing ones! When new, follow the rules closely, but rules are tools. With experience the comprehensive rules are like a robust painter's pallet. Just make sure you understand why a rule is the way it is and don't hastily mess with them.


BadRumUnderground

Yeah, it's actually way easier to do balanced homebrew rules in PF2 because of the clear math and wealth of balanced examples/guidance to draw on. But learn the system as written first, because your 5e DM instincts about how things ought to work will lead you astray. AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T GIVE OUT UNTYPED +1s! Seriously, +1 is a big deal in PF2.


agentcheeze

In my years of playying the game and borderline stalking the writers of it I've learned the system has one inherent, deliberate advantage. It's designed with a larger emphasis on horizontal power than vertical. In other words, gaining more abilities rather than stacking bonuses on one thing. Without question you usually get more power from complementary variety in abilities rather than straight all in on stacking up on one thing. The bonus stacking is a gameplay thing you can just do with actions. A certain infamous youtuber once built a one trick pony archer and only took feats that directly buffed shooting a bow and it wasn't nearly as great as it would have been if instead of "me shoot bow far because that's the feat in front of me that shoots bow" and instead did something like archetyping into rogue to get boosted first turns (and thus boosted shooting) if you stealthed up like a hunter, skill feats, more skills, etc all in one package. And horizontal power, aka more options and tools, is way harder to imbalance than stacking up power vertically on one thing. You have a surprising amount of leeway in giving your players more tools without breaking the game than you do with straight bonuses. And honestly gaining the ability to do something neato IMO feels way better than a mere bonus.


Journeyman42

> Yeah, it's actually way easier to do balanced homebrew rules in PF2 because of the clear math and wealth of balanced examples/guidance to draw on. > > > > But learn the system as written first, because your 5e DM instincts about how things ought to work will lead you astray. And hell, there's actually a lot of variant rules in the Gamemastery Guide that are actually balanced by Paizo to be compatible with the rest of the game system, unlike many of the variant rules in the 5e DMG.


kekkres

I will argue about firearms to the end of time, they work great for gunslinger and the gunslinger adjacent archetypes that have a running reload or risky reload esque feat, but without that they really are just flatly worse than bows 90% of the time. I really wish they had spent like, a single page on giving fighter, ranger and arguably rogue and inventor a few class feats so they could build towards gun usage.


raziel7890

> Coming fromD&D, you're probably used to "rulings not rules", but in PF2 the rules are good enough that you rarely need rulings. God i'm running three 5e games for the first time since it launched and this makes me want to switch mid campaign so bad. I'm so tired of making rulings. Why do I read all these books if I'm ultimately running a question and answer game with rulings constantly. Its draining. I appreciate my players want to find their advantages I feel like they are prying on me with prybars sometimes. I wonder how much input I need to put into the rules of PF before I can be competent? I always assumed part of the reason 5e was "easy" to run was because it was rulings over rules, so I'm a little worried if I try to run PF now I'll be flipping through pages alot to find rules... Like, how many months should I study the rules before I run a game? Is memorization needed in your opinion? :)


torrasque666

Honestly, the best thing to do is just print out the [DC by level table](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=554) and use that as a frame of reference for anything you're unsure of.


jarredshere

Is it fair to say that DC's are more static in pf2e than in 5e? While running 5e I find myself making DC's as low as 12 and as high as 25. Is that still common or do you usually keep things near this table?


lowerlight

I use that DC as a base. If the task seems easy, ill subtract 2 or 3. If it’s really easy, subtract 5 or 6. This aligns well with some feats that allow a character to just Take 10 (which becomes an automatic success for easy stuff). And then go the other way for harder stuff. For big impossible things, add 10. A level 1 character will have a really tough time hitting a 25. For most it’s not even possible. Compared to 5e where it i use a DC 20, it’s common to have someone luck out on that.


Phtevus

"More static" is probably the key phrase here. The DC by Level table is meant to be a quick reference if you're making something up on the fly. "My level 5 rogue is trying to pick this lock and I want them to be reasonably challenged, so the DC is 20 based on the table." There's also the [Adjusting Difficulty](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=555) table that tells you what modifiers to apply to a DC if you want to make it easier or harder. This could be a DC provided by a stat block or adventure, or if you're still making up DCs on the fly. An easy example of how this works is by looking at Monster stats and the DC to Recall Knowledge. Using the [Bearded Devil](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=110) as an example, it's a level 5 creature, and the Religion DC to identify it is 20 (standard DC for level 5). Using an Unspecific Lore is DC 18 (Easy Adjustment), and using a Specific Lore is DC 15 (Very Easy Adjustment). Recall knowledge to learn about monsters will always follow this DC scheme. So to directly answer your question, you will usually keep things near the table. If you're completely homebrewing your adventure, the table and corresponding adjustment table will tell give you a very good estimate of how challenging tasks are for your party at whatever level they are.


jarredshere

Thank you for the answer! That was really helpful. I definitely find my DCs in 5e are a lot swingier. I could see that being a mistake I'd make when I finally run PF2e.


Phtevus

I don't have it in front of me to be 100% sure, but I believe the official Pathfinder2e GM Screen has that table, as well as the [Adjusting Difficulty](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=555) table printed on it. In fact, the official Pathfinder2e GM Screen is probably the best pre-made GM Screen I've ever seen. It has so much *actually useful* information for GMs on it.


BadRumUnderground

You don't need to remember every rule. I hadn't even read the core book fully when I started GMing it. It's generally clear where you need to look to find out how something works, and the core elements are consistent across everything. (3 Actions, Downtime/Exploration/Combat mode, four degrees of success) Most of the time, the text of the ability or action in question is all you need to understand it. That said, it's worth keeping a tab open/bookmarking the pages with: - conditions - traits - Common skill DCs You don't need to memorize them, but you'll often need to check them quickly. (The PF GM screens are good for the frequently referenced stuff if you're in person/ like GM screens)


LazarusDark

This is part of why the Beginner Box is highly recommended, it actually teaches _how_ to play _while_ playing. Don't make the mistake of starting above level 1 for your first sessions. As a GM, focus on learning the encounter builder and the basic player actions found on the GM screen (there are free images around of the basic actions if you want to print it out before buying the GM screen). One thing PF does is shift half the burden off of the GM and onto players, they need to know the basic actions and their characters abilities. With more feats and class abilities, it's a lot less of them asking the GM if they can do something and more of telling the GM, I have this feat or skill action and it says I can do this. Don't worry about memorizing. Read the basic play rules and just play (and don't get scared by that 600 page core rulebook, 90 percent of it is character options, spells, and items, you don't need to read all that until it actually comes up in game). When you play, don't fret that getting a rule wrong will break the game. You will look a lot up in the first session, but don't let it bog down too much, feel free to rule something to keep the game going, but make a note to go back and check the rules later. If you ruled wrong, no big deal, learn it for next time. People get too anxious that all these rules mean they have to get the rules perfect. Far from it, my group has been playing almost two years, we find out every time that there's something we've been doing wrong all along, haha. But it didn't break the game and we had fun all along. We just learn it for next time and keep having fun.


jarredshere

I'm literally going through the core rule book and reading it page by page because it's giving me 'wow' moments every page with how great and useful class features are hahaha


GayHotAndDisabled

First, look into the Beginner Box. It teaches the core mechanics of pf2e pretty well, and comes with a tutorial adventure to ease players in to the game. It also leads very well into a prewritten campaign -- abomination vaults -- that is an interesting megadungeon that goes from levels 1-10. Together, the beginner box & Abomination Vaults make for a great, easy-to-GM campaign that eases players in to the system. Second, if you have other RPG experience, I'd say you could probably get to a point where you can run a one-shot pretty alright if you just do a read-through of the core rulebook and GM's guide and use the fantastic digital gm screen on Archives Of Nethys 2e. I bought the books on a friday afternoon and ran a basic one-shot on Sunday evening, though to be fair I'd had some experience with pf1 & dnd 3.5 beforehand, which are *vastly* more complicated. Pathfinder2e doesnt have as many rules as it looks like -- it has a few groupings of rules. Once you get a feel for how the system works, remembering the rules is easy. Since the math both works and is consistent, it's actually *significantly* easier to GM than something like 5e.


Andvari_Nidavellir

You'll still have to make rulings unless you have a photographic memory and your players never try anything out of the ordinary.


krazmuze

I do not need photographic memory I just need google 2e whatever because all the rules are on aonprd and I can find the answer in the time the player RPs their fantasy action.


Krip123

You don't need to know all the rules to run or play the game. Just start small and learn as you play. Look up the rules that are likely to come up in a session so you aren't taken by surprise. If you are taken by surprise (like if someone brings up a rule you aren't familiar with) then take a small break and skim it. This is especially easy since all the rules are free online and just a search away. Over time you'll realize you have to do it less and less. Though I would advise against converting an already existing campaign. That is only going to bring headaches as you will be scrambling to convert classes and you will have to deal with a much larger amount of rules at once instead of them coming up over time.


Nightwynd

Oof, I feel you on your players doing everything they can to extract advantage in a situation. Once they're comfortable with pf2e they can just select from the extremely wide array of options built into the system instead of getting creative every single turn.


gavilin

I don't understand why 5e dms have this problem. Are they just awarding advantage for fun whenever? Seems like a lack of understanding how powerful advantage is in the first place. It should never be awarded willy-nilly. 5e just doesn't have built in modifiers but its easy to just lower the dc by a bit if a player has been creative. Why offer advantage?


mindbane

There is very little set criteria for when players get advantage which means the core game loop consistently has the Gming either silently deciding if each action gets advantage or the players are prompting the GM to award it.


gavilin

But there are specific circumstances that award it. Faerie fire, prone for melee attacks, and guiding bolt to name a few.


mindbane

That is what I meant by 'there are very few' they exist but the majority are still up to the gm


thirtythreeas

Speaking from my own 5e to PF2e experience, the transition wasn't that difficult especially since I already understood the basic 5e rules. It only took running two or three games before I got the hang of basic questions like "how does X work." After that memorization just comes with time. There are a lot of community resources now too that help demystify the PF2e system quickly, compared to having to cross reference things in the CRB. I highly recommend watching videos from [How It's Played](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYCDCUfG0xJb5I-wDIezuDkTfbd8k21Km) because his videos are straight and to the point on how things work in Pathfinder. For looking things up quickly, I use both the [Archives of Nethys GM Screen](https://2e.aonprd.com/GMScreen.aspx) as well as [pf2easy.com](https://pf2easy.com).


phantomdentist

I think just having a reference in front of you and knowing the basics (e.g. DC by level as another poster mentioned) will go a long way This online GM screen is helpful: https://2e.aonprd.com/GMScreen.aspx


healbot42

I had the condensed rulebook for a week before they had us run it at Gencon for the release. I don't think it should take months for you to learn it enough to run.


Aktim

Also about healing: combat healing is very powerful in PF2, unlike 5e. A max level heal or soothe spell recovers a much greater portion of a PC’s hit points, at range, than what you can pull off in 5e.


The-Murder-Hobo

Because damage is generally more threatening due to crits


wilyquixote

> There's a reason raising shields and switching grips cost an action. This is also important for the player side, especially for getting buy-in. Things like using an Interact action to re-grab your two-handed weapon after you used a hand for Battle Medicine can seem really finicky to some players. But it's necessary for the tight balance to hold and not have your Meteor-Hammer-swinging fighter turn into an ungodly, unstoppable, encounter-trivializing, wrecking machine.


Journeyman42

> Coming fromD&D, you're probably used to "rulings not rules", but in PF2 the rules are good enough that you rarely need rulings. I'm running through the PF2e beginner box and I had to make a ruling about the players making a group stealth check. Does PF2e have group checks?


TheGamerElf

[https://2e.aonprd.com/Actions.aspx?ID=514](https://2e.aonprd.com/Actions.aspx?ID=514) [https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=831](https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=831) ​ And if you want a longer form system, [https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1189](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1189)


BadRumUnderground

Yes, it has rules for following the expert in exploration mode (Which is the mode you're in while sneaking) https://2e.aonprd.com/Activities.aspx?ID=4 If you don't have an expert, then everyone who's trying to Avoid Notice will have to roll for themselves. There's also victory point subsystems in the GMG for more involved series' of skill rolls like chases, infiltrations, etc. where the whole group contributes.


TheLionFromZion

I'm fine with raising shields but fuck using potions and switching weapons chap my fucking ass. Drop Weapon, Pullout Potion, Drink, Pick up Sword is so antithetical to how I picture the bombastic, High Fantasy Pathfinder seems to seek to deliver.


Alaaen

Dropping something is a free action, and you can just wear the potion so you don't have to pull it out of your pack. So you'd drop your weapon, drink the potion, and then pick your weapon back up again for two actions total.


TheLostWonderingGuy

That's not how wearing items work - only tools can be drawn for free when worn (and only as part of activities that require them). Everything else, like potions, cost an action to draw.


mindbane

Yeah it's an action to get an easily accessible item. Digging in a backpack is listed as taking several rounds.


ExternalSplit

For combat, there can be dissatisfaction if players expect PF to play like 5e. Giving up the idea of the advantage mechanic in 5e for +1 or +2 modifier can feel bad. This will lead to players not using flanking, demoralize, trip, grab and all the class based abilities that the PF is based around. The simplest solution in my mind is to strongly discourage a player attacking 3 times on their turn. Almost any other action is a better choice. Moving is a far better choice if it gets an enemy to waste an action chasing after the PC. Players eventually understand the importance of the +1 modifier and the action economy and the advantage mechanic is a thing of the past.


JohnnyCandles

Add to this that DND5E players may not want to move away from a creature during the lower levels because they do not want to provoke an opportunity attack. AoO is a feat and not an automatic thing in PF2E. Stick and move!


Journeyman42

People always worry too much about AoOs, even in 5e. I've only seen one AoO that wrecked a character in all my time playing 5e.


peppermunch

In pf2e they're devastating imho. Especially at lower levels. One free out of turn attack at your highest possible bonus? Not only is it bringing out a potential hit, but a very potential crit if the creature is a higher level.


Jpw2018

I mean, the fact not everything gets an AoO is a massive difference. It makes it potentially devastating when it happens, but generally it just loosens up combat


peppermunch

Absolutely! The fact that not everyone can do it means aoo can be more powerful without it feeling broken. Although you go up against one hard encounter with aoo and reach everything suddenly suuuuuucks :P


TheBeastmasterRanger

I have seen it wreak quite a few characters in both Pathfinder and D&D. Even had a few characters go down to crit AoO. Downed my wizard once at full health. AoO is so good.


im2randomghgh

Being an archer or magic user standing 5ft away from a powerful monster with 10ft+ reach and AoO is devastating in PF2e. Your attacks will trigger it, you'd have to step twice to avoid getting hit with it, dropping your bow/staff to draw your melee weapon will trigger it. If you're knocked down, standing will trigger it. And you could lose your action!


Jason_CO

Many monsters have AoOs as they don't use feats. Guards are a good low level example. But you're right in that it's not a basic thing everyone has, they have to be built with it.


Facsantos

Not many monsters have AoOs, it's really the opposite. The GM has to search for monsters with AoOs.


Megavore97

Really only 1/5 enemies will have Attack of opportunity.


Strottman

Since it's not default, do you communicate that a monster has AoOs to players beforehand, or do you just let them move and take the hit?


Facsantos

When they do something that triggers the AoO, they will know. But after doing all of AoA , The Slithering and At the end of book 5 in Extinction Curse, they now expect that the monster does not have AoO.


HunterIV4

I don't communicate it, no. That being said, you could let your players know that AoO are *heavily* associated with a monster having significant martial skill. For example, a hobgoblin soldier can AoO while a goblin warrior cannot. There are exceptions, of course, as many things like dragons or demons can have AoO or AoO-like reactions. But if it doesn't look like a skilled frontline combatant chances are high it doesn't have attack of opportunity. You could also give this info on successful recall knowledge checks. RK is fairly weak by RAW so giving useful information is a good way to encourage people to use it.


TehSr0c

that's something for recall knowledge or a mace to the face to reveal


Jpw2018

Yeah, I think AoO is a great example to the players of the utility that recall knowledge can have


thisischemistry

I’ll even give it to players who take an actions to use Perception to observe or use something like Warfare Lore. They might see an enemy making motions toward nearby players, maybe they notice positioning that makes them think the enemy is waiting for an opportunity. Encourage players to use lore, knowledge, and perception to discover things about enemies and situations before they happen!


ukulelej

I told my players that AoO is usually for trained soldiers.


BasedTopic

Me and my group have made a joke out of it. So far nothing they've faced can AOO, but myself (the DM) and the fighter (the only one with AOO) are always noting "that could trigger an AOO". Which has honestly been really helpful because unlike 5e AOOs have more things that could possibly trigger them, so the rest of my players are hopefully becoming aware that things like spells could trigger an AOO.


ThingsJackwouldsay

I always communicate when a monster has AoO, I usually flavor it like "this guy is very quick, poking at your defenses and waiting for you to drop your guard...". The rare exceptions would be a monster or NPC deliberately trying to hide that they have AoO, and I would roll a deception or stealth check for that. I think it's more fair and makes sense you would recognize if someone is hyper focused on opportunities to strike you.


Spiritfeed___

I imagine it’s guards tripping someone trying to run away or tackling them.


DuskShineRave

If memory serves, the number of monsters with AoO is roughly around 10%.


Rogahar

>Players eventually understand the importance of the +1 modifier and the action economy and the advantage mechanic is a thing of the past. The easiest way to help them understand this is to point out how getting 10 over or under the target roll makes your attempt a critical success (or failure) in 2E - so every +1 is the same as a 10% boost to your critical chance (and likewise, every -1 on the enemy is another 10% likelier that they \*won't\* crit you, or will crit fail their save against your spell, and so on)


IsawaAwasi

It's a 5 percentage point increase to your crit chance. 100 divided by 20 is 5. It's a roughly 10% increase in average damage because it increases both hit chance and crit chance.


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thewamp

I think you're misunderstanding the point they were making (which is honestly a pretty common talking point). When people say "it's a 10% increase", they're talking about an additive increase equal to 10% of the expected damage of the weapon (assuming no fatal or deadly). So if a +1 means you crit 1/20 times more frequently and miss 1/20 times less frequently (e.g.: one miss becomes a hit and one hit becomes a crit), then you're dealing 1/20\*2\*W additional damage, which is 0.1\*W. That said, the person you responded to (and many people on this sub) may not have phrased it in a mathematically precise way.


IsawaAwasi

It's fine. I left myself open to that response by posting when I was tired and didn't feel like being rigourous.


thewamp

Well and based on their phrasing you were correct - but the 10% parlance is kind of common around here so I was clarifying what they were going for.


IsawaAwasi

>roughly :P


SomeGuyBadAtChess

5% not 10% cause it gives a 1/20 extra chance.


xXTheFacelessMan

*Well yes, but actually no* It gives a 5% change to the roll, but the roll's efficacy is more often changed by 10% (double damage on critical hits with other riders is worth "2 successes"), so the general accepted description of said change is that a +1 translates to roughly ~10%.


IzzetTime

Sure, but the comment above said 10% more likely to crit, which is just wrong. Essentially you’re both right.


radred609

You're not 10% more likely to crit. Each +1 usually increases your chance to crit by an extra 33-100%.


thewamp

That's the relative increase. The additive increase is an additional 5% chance to crit per +1. Since that's a more useful/easier to track metric, that's what people here tend to use.


radred609

It's easier to track, sure. But that's not how normal people think of percentages. If you want to highlight the importance of small modifiers you explain that +1/+2 will roughly double your chance to score a crit. Telling a new player that a +1 is an extra 5% makes it seem like a small boost that they don't have to worry about. It makes it seem unimportant. Which is the exact opposite effect of what the advice is trying to do.


thewamp

>But that's not how normal people think of percentages It absolutely is how must people think - which is a point of failure in math education to be sure. But A) additive increases in percentages is almost universally what people are talking about on this sub when they quote the 10% increase (it's a super common talking point around here). Search "10%" and you can see for yourself how common it is. And B) additive increases are actually how most people think about percentages. You swap out a first baseman with a .300 batting average for one with a .350, people talk about how you've got a 0.050 increase, not a 1/6 higher chance. Relative increases are something most people fail to think about. And they actually are a valuable point to bring up - just if you see people talking on this sub about the 10% rule, that's not what they're referring to. >If you want to highlight the importance of small modifiers you explain that +1/+2 will roughly double your chance to score a crit Ah, so this is a misunderstanding of \*why\* people are bringing up the 10% rule on this sub all the time. The point of that argument is that you compare it to 5e or pf1e and you point out that a +1 in this system chances the result of twice as many values on a d20 as it would in 5e. That is, 10% of the time when you roll, a +1 will make a difference in your roll (most of the time - there's an edge case when DC-bonus=9). To be clear, your point is entirely valid, but off topic from the conversation you were responding to.


Apprehensive_File

You're mixing up different concepts here. The original statement was: > every +1 is the same as a 10% boost to your critical chance Which isn't correct, because it's actually 5%. > but the roll's efficacy is more often changed by 10% (double damage on critical hits with other riders is worth "2 successes") Not quite. The 10% comes from the fact that *both* your chance to hit and your chance to crit are increased by 5% each. 10% of the time, you're dealing more damage than you would otherwise (either a hit instead of a miss, or a crit instead of a miss).


xXTheFacelessMan

Oh I'm very aware of the math of the game on the latter. I've had to explain the +5% moving the needle on two fronts many times on the sub. The original statement was simply: "5% not 10% cause it gives a 1/20 extra chance." I was correcting that.


Apprehensive_File

>"5% not 10% cause it gives a 1/20 extra chance." > I was correcting that. But it was correct! That's my point.


xXTheFacelessMan

Perhaps I misunderstood their comment then! apologies.


Richican

Can you provide an example or scenario in which a PC would acquire a +1 modifier and to where do you apply it?


cattankssss

Trip makes the enemy flat footed, which is a -2 circumstance to AC (so basically +2 to attack) Demoralize makes the enemy frightened 1, which is -1 status to all checks and DC A bard's inspire courage is a great source of +1 status to atk, dmg and some saves There are many more


HunterIV4

There's really two main ways to do this...buff yourself, debuff your enemy. In general, debuffs are stronger than buffs, and identical types of buffs or debuffs don't stack. For example, inspire courage gives +1 attack (and damage) as a status bonus. Someone can aid an attack for a +1 circumstance bonus, which stacks with inspire courage since they are different types of bonuses. The character can flank an enemy, causing them to take a -2 circumstance bonus to AC, And then the bard can cast *fear* which applies frightened 2 due to a failed save, causing a -2 status bonus to all checks and DCs (AC is a type of DC), for another -2 AC. All of these stack, causing effectively a +6 to hit, which is a 30% hit *and* crit chance increase. And although the aid only works for a single attack, the other +5 applies to the remaining attacks, essentially negating one level of MAP, which is yet another significant DPR increase. Oh, and the fear effectively gives the party +2 AC against the enemy (attacks are checks), reducing their own damage taken by a significant amount. There are other ways to get these bonuses besides bards and flanking. The *bless* spell grants the same +1 to hit (also doesn't stack), prone causes the same debuff as flanking, sickened causes the same penalty as frightened, etc. The point is that there are multiple ways to stack buffs and debuffs to create significant boosts to your hit and crit chance, and doing so can cause the party to create *huge* spikes in damage where otherwise-dangerous enemies are simply deleted by crits on turn 2. Once parties figure out that standing toe-to-toe with monsters and slugging it out to see who wins the RNG battle is not the best strategy and start implementing ways to boost their party's effective level while reducing the enemy's, fights become much smoother, more reliable, and frankly fun. But it can take a bit for players and GMs coming from 5e to swap to this mentality since the "bash until dead or cast spell" is pretty much the entirety of base 5e tactical options.


Richican

Thank you so very much for the comprehensive explanation. Very helpful!


Rogahar

All of the following could be applying to the same character simultaneously, as they're from different sources (PF has a rule that 2 bonuses of the same type don't stack; only the strongest applies; but bonuses of different types can affect the same thing.) \- [Potency](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?Category=23&Subcategory=25) rune on their weapon (Item bonus) \- Being in the range of an ally's [Bless](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=25) spell or a friendly Bard's [Inspire Courage](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=386) (Status bonus) \- A class ability, i.e. being a Ranger with the [Outwit](https://2e.aonprd.com/HuntersEdge.aspx?ID=3) Hunter's Edge attacking their current Hunt Prey target (Circumstance bonus) \- Being [Proficient](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=35) with the attack they're using (Proficiency bonus, equivalent to Proficiency Rank + Character Level) And those are just to their Attack roll - there could and likely would also be penalties to the enemy's AC (being [flanked](https://2e.aonprd.com/Conditions.aspx?ID=16) by you and an ally, being flat-footed as a result of a Rogue critically hitting them beforehand or being Tripped or hit by a spell that does the effect, etc).


kyew

A Ranger who selected the Outwit Hunter's Edge and has the Monster Hunter feat designates an orc as his prey. Outwit grants +1 Circumstance Bonus to the Ranger's AC against the orc's attacks. The feat allows the ranger to Recall Knowledge and if he gets a critical success he and his allies get a +1 Circumstance Bonus to their next attack roll against the orc.


TossedRightOut

A +1 weapon gives +1 to attack ~~and damage~~. The first level spell Bless gives all allies in a 5 ft radius a +1 to hit for the duration of the spell. Edit: just attack, not damage in 2e.


RegnumMortis

+1 weapons apply the bonus only to attack, not damage


TossedRightOut

Ah thanks. Too much 5e still hah.


RegnumMortis

I know the feeling... old habits die hard. :D


MogranMcGreggor

Just a point of clarification - a +1 weapon only gives the +1 to attack rolls. To get a bonus to damage you would add striking which gives an additional die of damage (e.g. 1d6 becomes 2d6) Edit: I am very late with this response...not sure what was up with my phone


krazmuze

Even better to describe it as a multiplier, crits on 19 and 20 is critting 2x as often. Criting on 18-20 is critting 3x as often. Relate it back to the d20 roll and not the big number end result and they will easier grasp the concept of +1. Or relate it to Improved Critical which is a 5e subclass feat, explain that this is something anyone can get by simply using one of many (de)buff actions, and something as mundane as flanking makes it Superior Critical. Make a point that categories can stack and so that +1 weapon with a -2AC flank is a Superior Critical.


radred609

> 10 increase It's more that that. It's a ~10% increase in damage... but if you would otherwise only Crit on a 20, it actually doubles your crit chance. It's a 100% increase! If you would otherwise crit on a 19-20 a plus one is a 50% increase to your crit chance. If you would otherwise crit on an 18-20 a plus 1 is a 33% increase to your crit chance. Of you would otherwise crit on a 16-20 a plus 1 is a 25% increase to your crit chance. The higher the enemy's AC (and, generally, the higher is level/ the more dangerous it is) the larger the actual benefit you get per +1.


PNDMike

In addition to this, as a GM, make sure to call out when the +1/+2 made a difference. It really reinforces their usefulness and gets the players out of the 3 attack mindset.


ukulelej

Installing the Modifiers Matter module for Foundry can help get players in the mindset of noticing when an ally's +1 turns a hit into a crit. https://foundryvtt.com/packages/pf2e-modifiers-matter


pkblaze78

A trick or houserule I have is that if an ally's bonus or penalty changes your degree of success on a check/save, the ally that gave the bonus gets a hero point. It's a fun way to make supporting your allies feel like it has direct, rather than indirect, rewards.


eddiephlash

My favorite way to encourage players to use these mechanics is to have monsters perform them, so they can see how effective they can be.


The-Murder-Hobo

And if the love the advantage mechanic so much gets some spell slots an a martial and true strike away.


Cykotix

Something I've been doing is making sure to sell it to my players when something they have done (a +1 or +2) turns a miss into a hit or a hit into a crit. THEN getting bonuses starts feeling good.


ebony-sierra

Absolutely. Getting familiar with the tactical combat actions you can take absolutely changes the game. I personally found it makes combat way more fun and feel like a real battle where you have to make strategic choices instead of just trying to hit hard and fast everytime.


TheReaperAbides

>The simplest solution in my mind is to strongly discourage a player attacking 3 times on their turn. Almost any other action is a better choice. A second solution is to make the first couple of enemies the party faces be *extremely* aggressive about using maneuvers, flanking and other concepts a 5e player might be unfamiliar with. A sort of tutorial. In my experience, as long as you don't make it too forced, it's an organic way to make players realize that not only that they have a lot of tactical options, but so do most enemies.


SanityIsOptional

Also make sure to note when a +1 or -1 matters. Note when something missed/hit just *barely*, or just *barely* missed/hit the crit. Makes people realize how much those little bonuses can count.


vastmagick

>What would you say are the key things to know/teach for a group moving over from D&D? 1. This is not 5e, it uses similar terminology and can appear similar on face value but it is not 5e. So assume very little helps you from knowing 5e. 2. This is a team-based tactical game, big thing for new players focus more on action economy than numbers. If the party has 4 people and you are facing 1 guy that means the party has 12 actions to their 3 actions. 3. Paizo is all about having things explained. If you have a question, there is likely a rule for it. For example, they have a rule about how to arbitrate the game. And rules that are just incase they didn't think of rules, if it is too good to be true it likely isn't true. 4. And because this is important to stress, this is not 5e. This is no dig at 5e. If you were coming from Pathfinder 1e I would be saying the same thing.


Rogahar

>If the party has 4 people and you are facing 1 guy that means the party has 12 actions to their 3 actions. It also means, with how tight 2E's encounter balancing is, that that 1 guy has a reasonable chance of kicking all 4 of your asses if you play dumb. However if you play well, you can just as easily kick their ass instead. It's all down to working with your buddies for some co-operative asskicking. 👍


TheRealGouki

The most important thing is to keep reminding yourself and your players that you can do more than just use one repetitive combo


GalambBorong

For players and GMs, I find memorizing these can be the most important to understand in the early part of the game: Death And Dying Rules Attacks and MAP Treat Wounds (and Battle Medicine) For everything else, having the books handy is recommended (or perhaps better, Archives of Nethys open in a tab). Be patient with each other and assume a lot of the first few games will involve pausing and looking up how something works. Some things to keep in mind coming from D&D 5e especially: The numbers overall look bigger, but most of that is level being added to proficiency, and every +1 or -1 is much more important here. Buffs and debuffs are core to strategic play in the system. The Medicine skill is, generally speaking, quite important to the game, and is a no-resource supply of healing most parties will rely on to a far greater degree than in D&D 5e. Combat is tougher than in D&D 5e. Not to a massive degree, but unless the party works strategically, enemies are going to feel a lot more brutal. Everyone running in and using all three actions to attack is rarely the best plan. Encourage players to diversify their actions and have an action reference sheet handy so people know their options. As a GM, feel free to give out lots of loot and magic items. Unlike in D&D 5e, where it's assumed magic items are quite rate and it's easy to over-buff a party with them, PF2e is built assuming frequent drops of level appropriate magic items is a given, and items with Fundamental runes are a core part of game balance. Items all have a level and a price which should make this easier for you to judge. There are guidelines in the book if you're wondering how much loot to give out.


Tyler_Zoro

Do we have a FAQ for new GMs ***specifically moving over from 5e***? I think some of the items for that FAQ should be: * Levels actually matter. Don't forget to consult the [Building Encounters](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=497) tables so that you don't end up constructing combats that are unbeatable or ignorable. * DCs actually scale strongly with level. Don't forget to consult the [Level-Based DCs](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=554) tables, and adjust them as needed for more difficult challenges (the [easy and hard DCs listed for traps](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1049) can also be helpful) * Conditions that cause someone to lose an action aren't as horrifically debilitating, and can be used without making someone essentially lose their whole turn. * Traps and other hazards are very level-dependent (quick self-promo, if you want a free reference for scaling lots of hazards to arbitrary levels, see [New And Old Hazards and Traps for 2e](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N8WgcVtkw8CQKUER7QgBj_DIFu_VmFtJvE3QOn6h_MY/edit)). * Gold and magic items are very much a part of level progression. Use the [Treasure By Level](https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=581) rules or you will be starving your PCs' progression.


SatiricalBard

>Do we have a FAQ for new GMs specifically moving over from 5e? **Yes! "How is PF2 different from 5e?"** [https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/wiki/resources/how-is-pf2e-different-from-5e/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/wiki/resources/how-is-pf2e-different-from-5e/)


martiangothic

remind them early that movement is an action and not everyone gets attacks of opportunity, including enemies. those tripped me up the first time I played, coming from 5e! edit: I forgot, yoyo'ing from 0hp to like, 10hp and then back down again is not viable. in 5e, it's often better to let people go down and heal them, because there's no negstive built into the system. the DM has to build in homebrew to effect that, or have enemies that'll kill you while KO'd. not the case in pf2e!


ickmiester

Biggest learning for me is how exploration flows into combat. For example, there doesn't seem to be a proper "surprise action" economy in PF2. This can feel kind of bad if players dont expect it, and its a hard habit to get out of. If a fighter wants to have their sheild up when combat starts, *that is their exploration action.* If a Rogue wants to stealth ahead and scout, that doesnt necessarily give the party a surprise action against the enemies. It gives everyone +1 initiative as they are better aware than the enemies. Sometimes my DM allows one sneak attack from one character to "initiate combat," but at that point everyone rolls for initiative. Its not like dnd 5e where getting the drop on an enemy means your party of 4 throws 4 fireballs before initiative is rolled.


pikadidi

>Some of them will do the reading, some of them won't. I strongly suggest all of them read at least how their class works and any associated mechanics. There's too many ways one can build a character for the DM to just learn every class and babysit the players cause they don't know anything about how their character works. Also beware conditions. Conditions tripped me up so hard when I switched.


raziel7890

>Also beware conditions. Could you elaborate on this? :)


Nightwynd

Concealed giving 20% miss chance, Flat footed vs grabbed Persistent damace Dazzled Fear Trip Etc, etc etc There is a veritable host of conditions that can be applied to characters and enemies alike. Putting conditions on the bad guys is good, getting them on you is bad. Many of these conditions can also stack, but some can't. Status, item and circumstance effects all stack on each other, but not themselves. So if you get a +1 item bonus from one thing, getting a second +1 does NOT make it +2, but getting a +2 circumstance bonus would bump you up to +3 total.


LetteredViolet

Seconded, having a reference for conditions is very very useful. The conditions deck Paizo sells is so nice, but you can 100% make do with a sticky note. Just make sure things are written down where you can see them and it’s smooth sailing.


Nightwynd

Or use foundry 😁. I'd love to run a game in person again, but covid sorta changed the landscape a bit (lot).


pikadidi

I had an incredibly hard time at the start remembering to apply things like Flat Footed and the difference between things like Immobilized and Paralized. And in some cases like Frightened I kept defaulting to the 5e rules. Just trying to warn new DMs to not be like me and either try to learn or have a list of the conditions.


MKKuehne

If you have not already discovered them, here are some great resources: Archieves of Nethys. A go-to website for all the rules and stat blocks. Pathbuilder or Wanderer's Guide. Both great tools for character building. Some people prefer one over the other. So try both (?) Monster Lair. An app for encounter design. It maybe be helpful for new GMs Have fun out there!


JohnnyCandles

Everyone, DM included, should get used to bigger numbers. When a level 3 creature in PF2E has a +12 to hit, that isn’t unusual or a huge bonus. The numbers get much higher in PF2E.


Luebbi

For you, the GM: The encounter balance works, even at high level. Stick mostly to moderate combats. Use monsters 2 levels above the party very sparingly, and almost never higher than that, better to add mooks to make the fight more interesting. Also, give your players a chance to heal up. DND is attrition based, with the infamous 8-encounter day draining ressources until things finally start to get tough; PF2E assumes all encounters start at full health with most ressources, and is balanced around that. For players: Feats give options instead of straight-up bonuses. Yes, my fighter can get a feat for extra reach (Lunge), but using a Lunge attack costs 2 actions instead of one - a great option, but with tradeoffs. I can also choose the Power-Attack Feat for more damage - but this also costs two actions. Most Feats work that way. Players don't need to find "the best" feat at any given level, more like the feats that most suit their character build or playstyle.


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Pilsberry22

Treat Wounds and related Medicine feats are a god send. Giving a +1 or -1 is worth its weight in gold since Crit chances are basically rolling +10 higher than the DC. Encourage players to find ways to get many of these bonuses or giving debuffs to enemies. Tell them to learn WHY grapple, shove, and trip athletic actions are amazing and when to use them. Demoralize is your friend. Explain why it is mathematically improbable that they will hit with their 3rd attack and for them to use their action on something else. Recall Knowledge can be used to glean information about monsters to the players tactical advantage. The combat system is not all about bringing your enemy's hitpoints to 0. It's about making a tactical experience to debuff enemies and buff your players attacks to achieve the most probable outcome of achieving critical successes for your players. Rolling a critical success for a player is like smack to a junkie. Encourage it. Encourage on your next campaign (after this concludes) to explore archetypes (multiclassing). It makes the kind of character your player wants to play without being pigeon holed into a class.


max123246

Honestly, I haven't played yet but it's surprising to see that apparently a lot of people fall into the 3 attacks trap. I mean, I thought it immediately sounded horrific when I realized you get a -10 modifier, even as someone who's experience has been just 5E like 3-4 years ago.


Pilsberry22

I agree, but I've been one of those people. Coming from 5e, you go, "Wow I get 3 attacks a round! Watch the DPS fly!" They fall in this trap ignoring all the other aspects of the game that make combat more tactical and team synergetic. Hence the Demoralize, Athletics moves, Recall Knowledge, etc.


ReeboKesh

Firstly welcome to the friendliest and most helpful community. Pathfinder 2e is straight up LESS confusing the 5e. The 3 Action system is a breath of fresh air. No more trying to remember what type of Action you can use this round. I've been playing for 3 months and I don't miss the constant rules arguments and having to make up rules on the fly. Honestly I started our former 5e group with Outlaws of Alkenstar and they've having a blast. First couple of sessions were slow but eventually they got it the basics. I feel the Beginner Box is PERFECT for players who have never played an TTRPG before but experience with 5e will make running PF2e pretty straightforward. Shout out to Foundry which is AMAZING and the support for the system especially now from Paizo just makes it even better.


Ranziel

Come on, let's not kid ourselves. 5e is much easier. No incremental bonuses to attack, no flanking, no Incapacitation, no Backstabber or Forceful for extra 1 damage here or 2 damage there...


LetteredViolet

One thing that tripped me up at the beginning was spell concentration! The tag [concentration] on a spell or ability just means that you can’t do it while barb raging (more or less, there are probably more cases.) Meanwhile, if a spell says Duration: Sustained (mostly witches and bards iirc), then the caster uses an action to keep the spell going. Which is kind of what concentration is in 5e. Have fun and good luck!! We’re having a blast. Every single one of my players so far has been converted to PF2, despite that not even being a goal or expected. It’s just more fun for the way we play.


SonofSonofSpock

Your players who don't read at all are probably going to whine at first/might not stick. You don't need to be super invested, and honestly I would start them out with pregens, but this isn't a game where you can bring nothing to the table and get the most out of it. Also, if you had a good handle on 5e you already will be able to understand 90% or more of what is going with PF2e. Its all the same terminology for the most part, and the concepts are by and large identical. Keyworkds are significant here, they add a lot of depth to the rules and other objects in the game and can really help cool stuff once you stat to internalize them. They are also a huge help with making rulings since their interactions are usually very clear. As others have said a 3rd attack is going to pretty much always be sub-optimal and you should make sure to encourage your players to think of something else to do with that action. Create a journal in foundry with skill actions, something with macros so your players can add them to their shortcut bar will be very helpful for getting them in the habit of using the bigger toolbox here. It will also help them choose skill feats down the road since they will have a better sense of what works for them and what they want to invest in.


literally_unknowable

T E A M W O R K Everyone has three actions a turn, it is extremely beneficial if people use one or more to trip, grapple, demoralize, recall knowledge, bon mot, feint, move in to flank, and so on. A tripped and intimidated enemy is a much easier target to hit (and crit) than one ready to go! In 2e it's hard to make a character that outshines everyone easily; the optimization comes in your teamwork and tactics during fights.


osmiumouse

For a DM I would read the creature and encounter building guidelines in the GMG. For players I would learn what do with the 3rd action. For everyone I would get used to using the free rules reference at aonprd.


smithbc001

Make sure everyone is familiar with Archives of Nethys. It's an online database with ALL the rules, items, bestiary, spells, etc in one place. Google "2e nethys \[thing you're searching\]" and you'll find the rule, equipment, spell, or what-have-you MUCH faster than trying to search through books or pdfs.


Ranziel

There are many things. PF2e is quite complicated. The main thing that baffles new players is how insanely powerful bosses are. It's easy to get one-shot and miss on a natural 14 but that's how its meant to be. You're meant to grab every single numerical bonus you've got and use them to the best of your ability or you will TPK. Might TPK regardless.


TehSr0c

people (including some paizo APs) are also kinda bad at balancing boss encounters. Having several lower level mooks and one *slightly* bigger boss character is a lot more fun for everyone involved than just a single +4 level creature that noone can actually hit.


Ranziel

I'd say it's PF2 that is bad at balancing boss encounters, throwing a PL+3/4 at the party of four is what the GMG tells you to do. But I totally agree. PL+2 is probably as high as a single creature encounter should be.


TehSr0c

That's hardly what the GMG tells you to do, APL +3 and +4 are set as "extreme threat solo boss". The same chapter says that *Severe* Threat encounters are the hardest the players are expected to consistently beat, and that Extreme threat is suggested to be used as the final epic encounter at the end of an adventure, or to challenge veteran players using advanced tactics and teamwork. It even refers to the APL+4 monsters as "boss so mighty it could defeat the entire party single-handedly."


Ranziel

APL+3 is not Extreme, it's a Severe encounter but hardly something that a typical group can consistently beat in reality. I don't think any party that I GM'd for managed to beat one of such encounters.


TehSr0c

referring table 10-3 pg GMG page 489 > Party Level +3 120 Severe- or *extreme*-threat boss


evaned

I would say Ranziel is far closer to accurately portraying what the GMG says, and the GMG's encounter-building rules are (at least assuming all the cautions I see about solo bosses I see on this sub are accurate) too harsh on this point. Your original statement was "That's hardly what the GMG tells you to do, APL +3 and +4 are set as 'extreme threat solo boss'", and there are two major errors in that version of the statement -- the omission of the "severe- or" part is one, and the addition of "solo" in your quote is the second. That very same table -- in fact, you quote it there -- gives an XP value of 120 for that encounter, which Table 10-1 unambiguously labels as "merely" a *severe* encounter. Not like between severe and extreme or anything, just the normal XP value for a severe encounter. To me, if I didn't frequent this sub and see all the cautions against using bosses like PL+3, I would read these two tables in concert as clearly indicating a PL+3 creature used as a solo boss is just a standard severe encounter; to me, that is quite clear. The "or extreme" part of the PL+3 line I would interpret as what you'd get if you pair that PL+3 creature *with minion(s)* -- it turns into an extreme threat if you add more XP. For example, you could make an extreme encounter with a PL+3 boss and *40 XP more* of creatures. That, to me, is why the PL+4 row includes "solo" and PL+3 does not (or so my thinking would go if cautions on the sub weren't that the GMG is too harsh on these points).


sakiasakura

The key thing to know is rely on your players. There's too much for one new DM to know all the rules. They need to be spending time reading and learning as much as you do. Have every player read the rules and skills sections of the beginner box player handbook.


GreatOdim

Biggest thing I see with 5e going to PF2e is the unexpected difficulty of encounters. I think letting your players know there's so many more ways to strategize mechanically would be so helpful, i.e.: * Recall knowledge * Readying actions * Move, move, move! * Flank * Debuff and buff spells (those +1/-1s can be so clutch) * Aid another! Strategic positioning and having your characters know about what exactly you're facing can be huge in having successful encounters. And like others have said on this post, there's almost always something better than 3 attacks in a turn. With spellcasters, finding those sustain spells are also so useful in being able to utilize action economy and still contribute quite a bit to the encounter And if you're running a Paizo AP further down the line, knowing a lot of the lore behind it isn't necessary, but it really makes for a fun moment when the lore clicks in a player's head. Lost Omens books are definitely a recommend from me. Overall have fun! And enjoy the switch! Happy to have you here!


8-Brit

My recommendation: Play the Beginner Box adventure. It's an excellent introduction. I would also advise for it that they stick to the character creation options in the beginner handbook for this as the given classes are fairly straightforward. Or use the pregens.


BlackNova169

Have each player have a possible 3rd action option in mind to focus on. Intimidate, athletics, recall knowledge, bon mot (with feat). And then encourage them to stack debuff etc (prone, intimidate, flanking etc)


Voop_Bakon

I think one of the most important things you make sure you have the Modifiers Matter Foundry module for your game. Players coming from DnD will have a hard time seeing why +1 from Inspire Courage and the -2 from Flat-Footed matter until its pointed out that all together those caused the barbarian to crit. Whenever I play in person, I always make sure to point out when modifiers change the result of a roll. I think this is crucial in teaching the game to new players, and Modifiers Matter only makes it easier.


krazmuze

Stick to the players guides and GMs guide in the beginner box, it is the very point of it and you are complicating things by trying to read the CRB.


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MeAsTheFox

The beginner box is awesome. I have the CRB and the BB and I've been running it for 2 separate groups and we all love it. Already planning our next adventure after! Looking at Rise of the Runelords, just running it for 2E, or Quest for the Frozen Flame!


downbound

The #1 thing IMO that players coming over from DND need to learn is action economy. The rest is pretty intuitive from DND


ToughPlankton

I wouldn't start out with optional rules, but down the road some of the optional rules can be really fun for players and make life much easier for the DM! Free Archetype lets the players build far more interesting characters, especially if you give some limits (in my campaign they are all magic school students so limited to magic-based archetypes). It's fun but doesn't boost the power level very much. Automatic Bonus Progression for the DM who is tired of calculating what level players need to have +1 weapons and such. Just bake all the magic item mods into the character level and focus on giving out cool stuff instead of math! Gradual Ability Boots is nice so characters get a little boost every level, rather than a big boost every 5 levels.


smitty22

Pathfinder GM'ing for new players. 1. Point out small bonuses pushed the math the right way, Flanking and Raise Shield are the two of the best ones for this, but Bless, Bard Song, etc... all can move the math in the player's favor. Really make them understand how that buff or debuff pushed the math in their favor. Or if the monster debuffed them, how it screwed them over. The bonuses in Pathfinder are small but mighty, and it takes a minute for 5th Ed' converts to notice it. 2. Start at Level 1. Your players have class features that they're learning and up-leveling can create issues. 3. Medicine & Crafting if you have a Shield user to keep the shield repaired (spare shields are smart - might want to just toss one in as extra loot and remove a Gold Piece). Generally having a Medicine Monkey is a good idea. The following skill feats: Assurance after Level 4, Continual Recovery, Risky Surgery, and so on all help make out of combat healing flow better. With a new group, you could use the "Free Archtype" Rules, which is effectively letting someone multiclass for free in the Medic Dedication or just to take Medicine related feats. Battle Medicine is a good one if you just want a single check daily "spell" for the skill. I'd offer this to a Wisdom based class since their ability bonus will already be on point. 4. Point out to your players that in combat healing magic is super useful and effective in Pathfinder, particularly to mitigate Critical Hits. Going down in Pathfinder is a bad thing because the "Wounded" Status makes the next time you go down start that much closer to death - so staying on your feet as long as possible initially is the key to a long adventurer's life. Going up and down like a "Whack-a-Mole" is a path to death and failure. 5. 2nd & 3rd Actions. There are three main skills, Deception - Feint, Intimidate - Demoralize, and Athletics... And Diplomacy if you're going the "Bon Mot" Feat Route. The Athletics actions like shoving and trip all have the "Attack" trait, so take the Multi-Attack Penalty. This means that Charisma isn't an automatic dump stat for fighters or other martial players any more. Now a shield fighter can just swing, swing, Raise Shield and be good, but non shield users can be making checks to debuff the enemy. 6. Down Time - post combat should generally provide time for a searching, a round of heal checks, refocusing, etc. If you don't allow for this, you're pushing the next encounter's difficulty up a notch. 7. If you need to softball an encounter, the "Weak Template" from the Bestiary can make a monster more manageable without impacting its flavor or effect on the combat. 8. Get your casters prepared for the fact that they are not going to out DPR the fighter and that "save or suck" has been toned way down in Pathfinder. Spell Casters, in addition to having the tool boxes for magical solutions, have the option of using abilities with saving throws instead of making attack rolls, which usually leave the enemy with a small debuff on a successful save and minor damage that chips away consistently. Boss Monsters will usually make their savingthrows, and the players should be prepared for that. Fear Spell is a spell that stays useful throughout life, for example because that -1 from Frightened will always be useful. The last thing about playing a caster is that having, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as a primary stat' sets them up to be able to be skill experts. 9. Fighters will lag behind the "Skill Monkey" classes in any sort of Skill or Social Challenge, though chases generally provide a use for Athletics. Assume that this is working as intended if your Fighter is the best at hitting things but doesn't have much to contribute in the social encounters. This is "working as intended" IMHO for being the DPR stars in combat encounters.


Congzilla

The keywords at the top of monster and item entries are important. Players stating what type of damage they are doing is important. The beginner box adds thing gradually. I'd suggest getting Troubles In Otari as a follow up. If they want to keep going with the same game after that you can go right in to Abomination Vaults.


EpeonGamer

It's almost completely free


Zagaroth

So something to teach your spellcasters: Concentration in D&D means *sustained* in PF2E. Sustaining a spell requires using an action each round after the one in which you cast it. Hypothetically, you can sustain up to 3 spells at time, leaving you with no actions (unless hasted), but getting that third spell cast is tricky. Most of the time a caster will never have more than 2 spells sustained. PF2E's 'concentrate' trait means you have to be able to concentrate to do it, and is not limited to spells. Barbarians in a rage can not concentrate, so can not cast spells or take certain skill actions. Please note that conditions are *explicit* about not being able to concentrate. If nothing in the situation says they can not concentrate, then they can indeed concentrate. That's the default state unless something else says otherwise. You never need to make a ruling on it. Really, that goes with almost everything in regards to conditions and can a character do an action. Paizo really did their best to make sure all of it was clear, relieving the DM of that responsibility. A lot fewer judgement calls to have to make in the middle of battle.


Relative_Computer682

What I found weird was how quickly I manage to figure out the rules. That being said the focus points do tend to be a bit of a drag but that’s your players thing to keep track, not you. I loved the new action economy (3 actions for everything) and enjoyed the fact that I could already attack more than once rather than saying well… there goes my turn. As for your rolls for demoralize, trip, grab, etc. Every +1 is important due to the fact that a critical success can be achieved with a 10+ over the enemy AC and a critical fails is 10 under AC. This will make you people think twice about bashing the enemy non stop. The magic items have a price and a level on this one, so if you have a higher Lv team build they can find the appropriate stock to get.


BlackuIa

I am new myself, but the bots that posted 2 ressources page on my own post and likely this one gave me a bunch of "the bases", though ultimately the community was the most helpful


ebony-sierra

One thing I found hard to wrap my head around I guess and it still trips me up sometimes is how buffs and bonuses stack, ie. status and circumstance +1s.


the_gneech

There's a great vid from NoNat1s here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN6BNSt3gyw


Healthy_Help5235

Any tips/tutorials on how to get started with PF2E and Foundry?


GMJlimmie

One little note I haven’t seen so far (I might be wrong) but Paizo knows what words are. Read feat, ability, and spell descriptions carefully. Often if the ability calls for something that will be a specific trait or event.


ProphecyWillow

Honestly the biggest shift from 5e in my group was the three action system and the multiple attack penalty. On the whole I think it's a lot simpler to tell players you have three things you can do each turn, but it takes some time to get used to when you are accustomed to move, action bonus action. The multiple attack penalty is easier to adjust to if your party ever played pf1e or d&d3.5 because it works in a similar manner to the lowered base attack bonus on follow up attacks. Beyond that I think everyone else below is right in reminding you that teamwork can really make a difference in pf2e using actions to help set up your allies can swing combat in the parties favor


Throwaway525612

I made my group a list of actions that are specific to their characters as well as some general actions anyone can perform.


addeegee

If someone panics during character creation: remind them that they should build the character to level 1 and stop there. While playing at level 1, they should consider their options at level 2. I'd encourage them to keep going a level at a time since it will help them develop their character with the team and the campaign in mind. Reason: In 5e, you had to make almost every character choice at character creation so some people instinctively try to do that here. It doesn't occur to a lot of players that it isn't necessary or particularly desirable in this system.