The Pathfinder Playtest is here, and this past weekend my players and I took our first dip into the new game.
The first session of the Pathfinder Playtest was brutal. It might be more a factor of encounter design than the new rules, but two of my three PCs fell dying at some point, as did the third PC’s animal companion. Fortunately, all the characters survived, thanks to our overworked cleric.
The party left the dungeon twice during the session to get a full rest, and by the end of the session they had five rooms left to explore.
While the players liked the three actions a round mechanic, we often didn’t use the third action for a third attack, it was just too risky. There were plenty of critical failures without taking a –10 on the roll.
As a GM, I felt that I had more options with my NPCs, though this might be because I haven’t played Pathfinder for a while and have learned so much since I last ran a game. PF2 monsters are certainly easier to run, with stat blocks that aren’t more complicated than they need to be.
It did take lots of work to digest the Core Rulebook, but once I’d gotten something down, it proved easier to recall than in PF1. My wife, a PF1 regular, said that she found character generation much easier in PF2. Character gen took about 3 hours for us, on average.
I’m looking forward to playing more of the Playtest and I’m excited about Pathfinder’s future.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Sale
We’re running a 30% Off sale on all our Pathfinder Roleplaying Game compatible products, including maps. Check out the sale on Drive Thru RPG.
Flaming Crab’s Culinary Magic is Hot Hot Hot
Endz has named The Culinary Magic Cookbook as a potential top 10 book for 2018. Congrats to all our friends at Flaming Crab Games!
Till next time, may the dice of fate land in your flavor favor.
Rodney Sloan
Rising Phoenix Games
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