Pathfinder 2 Remaster

Posted 04 Jul 2024 to Fantasy

The Pathfinder remaster is a great system for running high fantasy action games.

 
 

XP Card

Sessions GM'd: 16
Sessions as Player: 12

I Used

I already ran PF2e last year, but when the Remaster was released I gave it another go. I used the core Remaster books and Foundry version 11.316. I allowed 2 optional rules in my campaign: Automatic Bonus Progression (which gives characters a free bonus to their attacks at certain levels, but removes the bonus runes that allow weapons to get +1 or whatever), and Free Archetype (which allows characters to pick up a free multiclass ability).

Overview

I used my homebrew fantasy Africa setting. Our PCs were a squad of travelling problem-solvers who investigated various threats to an outlying community on the edge of the weird jungle. I also played in a great campaign using the World of Warcraft setting, where I played a Night Elf druid shapechanger.

 
 

The Good

  • Very satisfying 3 action economy. It's lots of fun to play. It encourages teamwork, where one player knocks the enemy down so their buddy can finish them off. It has effective rules for one side intimidating the other side during combat. Good game.
  • Free books. I do not understand how Paizo is so generous with their content. Every book is made available, for free, on the Archives of Nethys website and is quickly adopted into the Foundry game system. A possible disadvantage of this is that the players just kinda assume that it is open gates on using any and all content ever created to build their characters. During our campaign, the Howl of the Wild book was released, and immediately players started incorporating this content into their characters, forgetting to even check in with the GM. In the old days someone would have to actually buy the book and pass it around the gaming table. Another disadvantage is that for new players this is overwhelming, because the sheer number of options available is mind boggling and ever growing.
  • Diverging from D&D. To escape the legal problems of the Open Gaming License, the remaster Pathfinder system has renamed a lot of traditional spells and taken steps to head in their own direction. Magic Missile is now called something else. Good for them!

    • The Not-So-Good

  • Spellcasting feels underpowered. Maybe this changes if you get past level 10, but I'm not sure. Martial characters seem to totally dominate combat. Last campaign I played a fighter and felt awesome. This time I played a druid and became a running joke because I went down in almost every fight. Other spellcaster players seemed to concur. Maybe I'm accustomed to playing more OSR systems, where spellcasters often can only do one or two things, but they are formidable when they do them. In PF2 spellcasters have a good selection of spells, but the damage they do are considerably less than the damage that an equivalent sword-wielder does routinely, or they depend on the enemy failing their saving throw.
  • Magic items still feel underwhelming. This could be tied to the point above. Magic items that give a numerical boost to your abilities are kinda boring anyway for me. And magic items that let you use a spell ... have the same limitations that spellcasting has.
  • Free Archetype optional rule. A lot of the PF2 community derive their enjoyment from theory crafting unique character builds. This optional rule is very popular in that crowd, as it allows a character to multiclass for free. When I started my campaign, I did not intend to use it, but the urging of several players caused me to relent. "It doesn't make PCs more powerful," they said, "it just adds flavour and versatility." Well that was a lie. You see, casual players will just pick an archetype that sounds cool and maybe adds a flavour ability. But hardcore players will use one of the online build guides available and pick an archetype that adds a specific ability that definitely adds to their power. I had 2 players who chose the "Beastmaster" archetype ... not because they wanted to be characters who roleplayed interacting with animals, but because they wanted a free movement each turn because they had a mount that also got its own free attacks. Policing the Free Archetype optional rule requires the GM to know the system pretty well, and to be familiar with the dozens of options available to players. That wasn't me.
  • Too high fantasy for me. Golarion is the default setting of Pathfinder, and all the character classes and abilities are built around this. The Golarion setting, I have discovered, is significantly more high magic than I am used to. It was not a good match for the homebrew setting I had envisioned. There are dozens of weird and wonderful species that are available for PCs; talking plants, half-elementals, half-angels, awakened animals, gnolls, and the ubiquitous cat people, bird people, tortoise people, etc. When it comes to world building, trying to accommodate all this weirdness was quite difficult. One player had walking animated furniture as their mount. Pathfinder is definitely not suited to running a low fantasy setting like Conan or Game of Thrones. On the other hand, the system seemed perfect for running World of Warcraft.

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    Verdict

    I have now run or played more than 30 sessions of Pathfinder, and can conclude that it is not my style. The game system is really good. I mean, really good and satisfying to play. It just seems locked in to the type of kitchen sink setting that I usually avoid.

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