5:55 Correction. Bless has a duration of one minute and you don't need to sustain it. However, you can use an action to expand the effect's radius by 5 feet. As far as I know, this action is not considered a sustain action.
Well smack me silly, you're right. I've been reading that spell wrong for months. Thank you for pointing that out! That makes bless a WAY better spell than I initially thought! (and same goes for Bane too then).
6:20 As far as I'm aware, there is no rule in Pathfinder 2e that states you can only concentrate on one thing at a time. I believe that's a rule from DnD 5e. Pathfinder's core rulebook only states for the concentrate trait: "An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline." I believe the trait is mostly there for effects and conditions that explicitly interact with concentration like the fascinated condition.
That is true! I got that rule confused with D&D 5th Edition where you can only concentrate on one spell at at time! Pathfinder 2e has no restrictions on multiple concentration spells!
9:35 Correction. Creatures with the Summoned Trait, also has the Minion trait, which allows you to use 1 action to command your creature, so in that regard you do have control over the summoned creature. For summon spells that is a part of sustaining the spell.
Actually I’m fairly sure the minion trait or some other related thing does specify it’s much like he described. They technically have their own free will, and need to understand you to be commanded, but will generally be amicable to you. Unless it’s like, a devil being summoned ny a good cleric, of course.
I think I'm technically right but for the wrong reasons lol. I completely forgot about the mechanics of the minion trait, so they won't do as they please unless you give them no commands for 1 minute. If you give them no commands, they will simply "Defend themselves", whatever that means lol.
In the minion trait it starts out with saying that "the creature serves you", you will have to give a Verbal command, but it doesn´t say that the creature needs to understand you. Otherwise you would have to have the Linquist archetype to be a Conjurer like spellcaster... Also animals have no real language... Nor do plants or constructs. As for a good Cleric summoning a fiend, you can´t... The spell specifies that you have to summon within your own allignment Spcific for the Summon Celestial and Summon Fiend spells. As for reference the minion trait is on page 634 of the Core Rulebook.
Steven waters yes, you can take is as if you used 2 actions to cast the spell and 1 to command the creature, although you have to command it when you summon it.
Missed the time code but small correction regarding Concentrate. You are *not* restricted to one concentrate-related thing at a time. Concentrate is *only* there for the purposes of other abilities that would disrupt your concentration (ie: Barbarian Rage). Nowhere in the trait’s description nor the Sustain A Spell action does it say you can only have one concentrate effect going at a time.
Oh wow, you're right! I think that's just one of the things I assumed because of other systems. That's how it works in 5E, correct? I think I just got my rules crossed. Thank you for pointing it out, though!
@@Nonat1s Yeah, it's a thing in 5e (which I only know from Critical Role) but it's never been the case in Pathfinder and I've seen a lot of people make that mistake with PF2e when they see a Concentrate tag. But Concentrate is really just one of those traits that's only there for the purposes of other abilities (so its a bit like crit-failing a normal attack roll - it only differs from a regular fail if the guy you just tried to stab has an ability that triggers from it).
I realize this video is older but as far as using skills and skill feats in combat take a look at the battle medicine feat it can save your heal spells or if your out of slots it can always come through in a pinch
Hey, thanks for answering my question! The only thing I would have liked to hear a little more about on the topic would be handling wealth from the GM perspective. Namely in a good way to make sure the party isn't too poor or absurdly wealthy. Would you say just keeping track of the money they've made is effective or do you have a more preferred method that you've seen/used?
Of course! As far as Gold while GMing, it's definitely a tough one that I usually just trust my best judgement. My main rule is that I try my best to never DUMP a fortune onto the players. Honestly, I'm very stingy when it comes to gold. I don't give it out super often, so it's always a fantastic reward when it shows up. My best advice would be to spend a bit of time looking up the price for magic items at your character's current level, and give them enough money as a group that they could purchase one magic item of their level if they pooled their money together. That lends some fun roleplay and decision making whether the group wants to buy small things for themselves, or pool all of their money together to buy one big thing. This also depends on how long your campaign goes. If it's a slow-paced longform campaign, maybe pad out the money and give a bit less per quest. If it's a fast campaign with a level-up every session or two, don't be afraid to give them the money as the items they get may become less useful quickly. Also, a big rule in my opinion, is never let player's buy things that are a higher level than they are. Find an excuse, make a reason, but the easiest way to break your game is to give your players access to items at early levels. Trust me, it's scary lol. Hope this helped! -Nonat
For GMing, I strongly recommend looking at this table: 2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1358 Even if you don't use the variant rule it's for, it tells you exactly what bonuses the basic underlying math of pathfinder 2e assumes the players have at which levels. That means that periodically you can just look at your players sheets and see easily if they're under or overgeared and adjust your rewards accordingly. Do they have the bonuses they're supposed to have already? Put more consumables in your drop tables. Did you notice one of your players doesn't have the +1 armor he's supposed to have yet? Drop them an armor rune after their next big fight. The skill bonuses especially are easy to overlook and it's helpful to keep in mind that player are supposed to get + skill items very consistently.
You still need to spend an action to sustain each spell individually - Sustain a Spell specifically says 'select one spell with a sustained duration'. There might be feats that let you sustain multiple with a single action, but you're otherwise still limited to three.
Hi can we stll post new questions or suggestions for following video's? :D I checked out your Sorcerer and Wizard video's, I'm going to pick a Sorcerer Illusionist (Genie bloodline because of the synergy), and want to play him like a propper charismatic David Copperfield kinda guy XD But I am not getting a clear grasp on how usefull... Performance is... In this gameform... at all... Would you be open to in depth skill videos, specifically in flavor-skills like Performance? ^^
I think I'll be making some In-depth "Skill Feat" videos in the near future! Those videos will definitely be touching on the skill's base uses as well, so look forward to those! Performance especially gets a lot of cool skill feats that make it a VERY versatile skill. The most classic being "Impressive Performance" which lets you effectively roll performance instead of Diplomacy to make people like you.
How do you know what types of damage stack with each other? For example, if you are a sorcerer who grows claws because of a bloodline trait and you archetype into Monk to get better unarmed damage, do the claws and monk bonus to unarmed damage stack? How do you determine what does and does not stack?
@@Nonat1s I referenced a sorcerer that grows claws but I should have referenced a druid of the Wild druidic School using the wild morph Focus spell. I know that's really specific but I didn't see any sorcerer abilities that allows Sorcerers to grow claws. ( although the demonic bloodline Glutton's Jaws would probably be a vicious tool in the hands of a grapple Monk...)
Late to the party, but I don't think the fact that invested items have the 'invested' trait was mentioned. Nice easy way of telling if you need to invest an item or not.
I always think it's funny that everyone says that recall knowledge isn't used very often. In the Pathfinder first edition games I played the very first action that the players took in every combat against a new monster was recall knowledge. In first edition it didn't even take an action. There was a DC that if you beat it you could ask a question about the monster and get an answer. If you beat it by 5 or more you could ask two questions. If you beat it by 10 or more you could ask three questions. Everyone buffed out at least one lore stat. Everyone found out what the monsters weakness was and what they should watch out for that the monster could do before the fight even began. It was stupidly effective, potentially overpowered and game breaking.
Interesting. I didn't play much 1e and I find that to be a really fascinating use of the knowledge skill. I do think I prefer 2e's version of taking an action, as it would definitely take at least a second or two of focusing to analyze what exactly you're fighting, but 1e's version is cool too! It could definitely make some fights way too easy though, especially if multiple players beat the knowledge DC lol.
I played a ranger in 1st edition and a wizard at different points. But u used my skills a lot to obtain knowledge about enemies pumping into the appropriate skills. Helped me a lot as my PC, I tried not to meta game especially when it came to creatures as pcs didnt rea thc bestiary:)
14:18 Correction: You can invest no more than 10 items per day. If you remove an invested item, it loses its investiture. The item still counts against your daily limit after it loses its investiture.
Hey Nonat1s, actually i need your help. In PF 1 i always loved to play blaster Caster (using Sorcerer Bloodline like Orc + Blood Havoc). Using Ice, Fire, Force and Lightning to fight my enemys. This actually works in low to mid levels, later not so much. Now i want to play a blaster caster in PF 2e. I'm actually blasted how weak my spells are, compared to the HP of the enemys (and to the damage our fighter and barbarian deal). How to improve my spells to deal more damage or make the DC higher (ability score is already maxed and the sorcerer feat dangerous sorcery already considered), that enemys sometimes fail their saves? (We are level 6, and i would like to play a spellscale Kobold)
It's definitely tough. Especially at low levels, spells deal far less single-target damage than martial classes, but where they shine is their Area-of-effect spells! Early on, even spells like Burning Hands and Sound Burst will vastly outdamage anything a fighter can do if you can get the enemies lined up right. Sure, a fighter can attack for 1d12+4 with his greataxe, but you can hit for 2d10 to every target in a 10-foot area! Higher level spells (while less accurate than martial classes) are where you can start to deal out some SERIOUS single-target damage. Enervation at level 7 (level 4 spell) is fantastic! Even a successful saving throw takes 2d8 PERSISTANT negative damage! 4d8 persistant on a failed save! And don't forget that your cantrips scale with you, so Produce Flame at level 6 will still be dealing 3d6+4 without even using a spell slot!
Oh absolutely. The ones I listed in the video weren't the only ones that can be used, just the ones that came to mind in the moment. Many different skills have tons of combat use.
I haven't seen feint used that often. I think players forget about that one although it is very useful, especially if you have a rogue. I see Intimidation used in almost every encounter. (My players like Battle Cry) My players often use Grapple or Trip on bigger enemies with higher AC. As these are Attacks, Assurance in Athletics can be helpful.
No not at all, he dramatically overreacts. Alot of those calculations he talks about are already done from time to time. For me the only difference to D&D 5e is a much more interesting combat, in the form of actions which can be used for alot of choices, and a much more versatile character system. So for me the game is much better in those 2 areas than D&D 5e.
Puffin Forest makes it seem much more complicated than it is. In his examples, he failed to mention that you would have most of the bonuses pre-calculated onto your character sheet. If you don't write down your attack modifier or damage dice, then it does involve a lot of mental math, but just write it down. The real thing that slows down all Pathfinder and Dnd games (even 5e) is looking up the rules when you aren't sure. As a GM, a crucial skill is making rulings to keep the game flowing, even if they aren't accurate. You can always look it up later, and chances are you aren't far off.
Most of the calculation is repetetive so you can just write your numbers down. And add anaoccasional +1 or +2. And Foundry VTT or FG will do the calculations for you if you really don't want to do that.
What is the best character gen for PathFinder 2e? I bought pathbuilder-but doesn't handle archtypes well err I might be missingsomething. Also how to intgreate characters quickly to roll 20?
Personally, as a gm, I don't think it's metagaming for a person trained in martial weapons to make the logical leap that slashing and stabbing a target with no accessible soft tissue would be ineffective. This is afterall the primary use of maces, against hard targets lol However, a mage or simple weapons trained person may not know this, depending on circumstances
5:55 Correction. Bless has a duration of one minute and you don't need to sustain it. However, you can use an action to expand the effect's radius by 5 feet. As far as I know, this action is not considered a sustain action.
Well smack me silly, you're right. I've been reading that spell wrong for months. Thank you for pointing that out! That makes bless a WAY better spell than I initially thought! (and same goes for Bane too then).
6:20 As far as I'm aware, there is no rule in Pathfinder 2e that states you can only concentrate on one thing at a time. I believe that's a rule from DnD 5e. Pathfinder's core rulebook only states for the concentrate trait: "An action with this trait requires a degree of mental concentration and discipline." I believe the trait is mostly there for effects and conditions that explicitly interact with concentration like the fascinated condition.
That is true! I got that rule confused with D&D 5th Edition where you can only concentrate on one spell at at time! Pathfinder 2e has no restrictions on multiple concentration spells!
9:35 Correction. Creatures with the Summoned Trait, also has the Minion trait, which allows you to use 1 action to command your creature, so in that regard you do have control over the summoned creature. For summon spells that is a part of sustaining the spell.
Actually I’m fairly sure the minion trait or some other related thing does specify it’s much like he described. They technically have their own free will, and need to understand you to be commanded, but will generally be amicable to you. Unless it’s like, a devil being summoned ny a good cleric, of course.
I think I'm technically right but for the wrong reasons lol. I completely forgot about the mechanics of the minion trait, so they won't do as they please unless you give them no commands for 1 minute. If you give them no commands, they will simply "Defend themselves", whatever that means lol.
In the minion trait it starts out with saying that "the creature serves you", you will have to give a Verbal command, but it doesn´t say that the creature needs to understand you. Otherwise you would have to have the Linquist archetype to be a Conjurer like spellcaster... Also animals have no real language... Nor do plants or constructs.
As for a good Cleric summoning a fiend, you can´t... The spell specifies that you have to summon within your own allignment Spcific for the Summon Celestial and Summon Fiend spells.
As for reference the minion trait is on page 634 of the Core Rulebook.
Does that mean summoning a creature also assumes you've given it a command if it can act immediately after it is summoned?
Steven waters yes, you can take is as if you used 2 actions to cast the spell and 1 to command the creature, although you have to command it when you summon it.
Excellent video! Thanks for this
Thank you so much for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video. Could you cover crafting? In detail, I feel it needs it's own video
You can conetrate on multiple spells as far as I know, but would have to use the action twice
You are correct. I got my systems a bit muddied. It's D&D 5E where you can only concentrate on one spell at a time.
Missed the time code but small correction regarding Concentrate. You are *not* restricted to one concentrate-related thing at a time. Concentrate is *only* there for the purposes of other abilities that would disrupt your concentration (ie: Barbarian Rage). Nowhere in the trait’s description nor the Sustain A Spell action does it say you can only have one concentrate effect going at a time.
Oh wow, you're right! I think that's just one of the things I assumed because of other systems. That's how it works in 5E, correct? I think I just got my rules crossed. Thank you for pointing it out, though!
@@Nonat1s Yeah, it's a thing in 5e (which I only know from Critical Role) but it's never been the case in Pathfinder and I've seen a lot of people make that mistake with PF2e when they see a Concentrate tag. But Concentrate is really just one of those traits that's only there for the purposes of other abilities (so its a bit like crit-failing a normal attack roll - it only differs from a regular fail if the guy you just tried to stab has an ability that triggers from it).
I realize this video is older but as far as using skills and skill feats in combat take a look at the battle medicine feat it can save your heal spells or if your out of slots it can always come through in a pinch
Hey, thanks for answering my question! The only thing I would have liked to hear a little more about on the topic would be handling wealth from the GM perspective. Namely in a good way to make sure the party isn't too poor or absurdly wealthy. Would you say just keeping track of the money they've made is effective or do you have a more preferred method that you've seen/used?
Of course! As far as Gold while GMing, it's definitely a tough one that I usually just trust my best judgement. My main rule is that I try my best to never DUMP a fortune onto the players.
Honestly, I'm very stingy when it comes to gold. I don't give it out super often, so it's always a fantastic reward when it shows up. My best advice would be to spend a bit of time looking up the price for magic items at your character's current level, and give them enough money as a group that they could purchase one magic item of their level if they pooled their money together. That lends some fun roleplay and decision making whether the group wants to buy small things for themselves, or pool all of their money together to buy one big thing.
This also depends on how long your campaign goes. If it's a slow-paced longform campaign, maybe pad out the money and give a bit less per quest. If it's a fast campaign with a level-up every session or two, don't be afraid to give them the money as the items they get may become less useful quickly.
Also, a big rule in my opinion, is never let player's buy things that are a higher level than they are. Find an excuse, make a reason, but the easiest way to break your game is to give your players access to items at early levels. Trust me, it's scary lol.
Hope this helped!
-Nonat
@@Nonat1s Yes that cleared everything else up that I was looking for! Thanks again!
For GMing, I strongly recommend looking at this table:
2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=1358
Even if you don't use the variant rule it's for, it tells you exactly what bonuses the basic underlying math of pathfinder 2e assumes the players have at which levels. That means that periodically you can just look at your players sheets and see easily if they're under or overgeared and adjust your rewards accordingly. Do they have the bonuses they're supposed to have already? Put more consumables in your drop tables. Did you notice one of your players doesn't have the +1 armor he's supposed to have yet? Drop them an armor rune after their next big fight.
The skill bonuses especially are easy to overlook and it's helpful to keep in mind that player are supposed to get + skill items very consistently.
@@datonkallandor8687 Much appreciated!
So, if I'm reading the comments correctly, a witch could sustain seven things end game. I love it. Makes me want to play one even more now.
You still need to spend an action to sustain each spell individually - Sustain a Spell specifically says 'select one spell with a sustained duration'. There might be feats that let you sustain multiple with a single action, but you're otherwise still limited to three.
Hi can we stll post new questions or suggestions for following video's? :D
I checked out your Sorcerer and Wizard video's, I'm going to pick a Sorcerer Illusionist (Genie bloodline because of the synergy), and want to play him like a propper charismatic David Copperfield kinda guy XD
But I am not getting a clear grasp on how usefull... Performance is... In this gameform... at all...
Would you be open to in depth skill videos, specifically in flavor-skills like Performance? ^^
I think I'll be making some In-depth "Skill Feat" videos in the near future! Those videos will definitely be touching on the skill's base uses as well, so look forward to those!
Performance especially gets a lot of cool skill feats that make it a VERY versatile skill. The most classic being "Impressive Performance" which lets you effectively roll performance instead of Diplomacy to make people like you.
Great video
I think it would be interesting to have GMs control the summons.
How do you know what types of damage stack with each other? For example, if you are a sorcerer who grows claws because of a bloodline trait and you archetype into Monk to get better unarmed damage, do the claws and monk bonus to unarmed damage stack? How do you determine what does and does not stack?
This is a great question and I will 100% go over it when I do another one of these! Thank you!
@@Nonat1s I referenced a sorcerer that grows claws but I should have referenced a druid of the Wild druidic School using the wild morph Focus spell. I know that's really specific but I didn't see any sorcerer abilities that allows Sorcerers to grow claws. ( although the demonic bloodline Glutton's Jaws would probably be a vicious tool in the hands of a grapple Monk...)
Late to the party, but I don't think the fact that invested items have the 'invested' trait was mentioned. Nice easy way of telling if you need to invest an item or not.
I always think it's funny that everyone says that recall knowledge isn't used very often. In the Pathfinder first edition games I played the very first action that the players took in every combat against a new monster was recall knowledge. In first edition it didn't even take an action. There was a DC that if you beat it you could ask a question about the monster and get an answer. If you beat it by 5 or more you could ask two questions. If you beat it by 10 or more you could ask three questions. Everyone buffed out at least one lore stat. Everyone found out what the monsters weakness was and what they should watch out for that the monster could do before the fight even began. It was stupidly effective, potentially overpowered and game breaking.
The big change here is that Recall Knowledge now requires an action. Many players don't want to spend that action.
Interesting. I didn't play much 1e and I find that to be a really fascinating use of the knowledge skill. I do think I prefer 2e's version of taking an action, as it would definitely take at least a second or two of focusing to analyze what exactly you're fighting, but 1e's version is cool too! It could definitely make some fights way too easy though, especially if multiple players beat the knowledge DC lol.
I played a ranger in 1st edition and a wizard at different points. But u used my skills a lot to obtain knowledge about enemies pumping into the appropriate skills. Helped me a lot as my PC, I tried not to meta game especially when it came to creatures as pcs didnt rea thc bestiary:)
14:18 Correction: You can invest no more than 10 items per day. If you remove an invested item, it loses its investiture. The item still counts against your daily limit after it loses its investiture.
Hey Nonat1s, actually i need your help. In PF 1 i always loved to play blaster Caster (using Sorcerer Bloodline like Orc + Blood Havoc). Using Ice, Fire, Force and Lightning to fight my enemys. This actually works in low to mid levels, later not so much. Now i want to play a blaster caster in PF 2e. I'm actually blasted how weak my spells are, compared to the HP of the enemys (and to the damage our fighter and barbarian deal). How to improve my spells to deal more damage or make the DC higher (ability score is already maxed and the sorcerer feat dangerous sorcery already considered), that enemys sometimes fail their saves? (We are level 6, and i would like to play a spellscale Kobold)
It's definitely tough. Especially at low levels, spells deal far less single-target damage than martial classes, but where they shine is their Area-of-effect spells! Early on, even spells like Burning Hands and Sound Burst will vastly outdamage anything a fighter can do if you can get the enemies lined up right. Sure, a fighter can attack for 1d12+4 with his greataxe, but you can hit for 2d10 to every target in a 10-foot area!
Higher level spells (while less accurate than martial classes) are where you can start to deal out some SERIOUS single-target damage. Enervation at level 7 (level 4 spell) is fantastic! Even a successful saving throw takes 2d8 PERSISTANT negative damage! 4d8 persistant on a failed save! And don't forget that your cantrips scale with you, so Produce Flame at level 6 will still be dealing 3d6+4 without even using a spell slot!
How did you miss Athletics in combat? That is the one I see used most... grapple, shove, trip, etc.
Yep. And the other important combat skill is Deception to Feint to make a creature flat footed against your next attack.
Oh absolutely. The ones I listed in the video weren't the only ones that can be used, just the ones that came to mind in the moment. Many different skills have tons of combat use.
I haven't seen feint used that often. I think players forget about that one although it is very useful, especially if you have a rogue. I see Intimidation used in almost every encounter. (My players like Battle Cry) My players often use Grapple or Trip on bigger enemies with higher AC. As these are Attacks, Assurance in Athletics can be helpful.
Is the game as complex as puffin forest says it is?
Advanced Calculus isn't as complex as Puffin Forest says PF2 is.
No not at all, he dramatically overreacts. Alot of those calculations he talks about are already done from time to time. For me the only difference to D&D 5e is a much more interesting combat, in the form of actions which can be used for alot of choices, and a much more versatile character system. So for me the game is much better in those 2 areas than D&D 5e.
Puffin Forest makes it seem much more complicated than it is.
In his examples, he failed to mention that you would have most of the bonuses pre-calculated onto your character sheet. If you don't write down your attack modifier or damage dice, then it does involve a lot of mental math, but just write it down.
The real thing that slows down all Pathfinder and Dnd games (even 5e) is looking up the rules when you aren't sure. As a GM, a crucial skill is making rulings to keep the game flowing, even if they aren't accurate. You can always look it up later, and chances are you aren't far off.
Most of the calculation is repetetive so you can just write your numbers down. And add anaoccasional +1 or +2. And Foundry VTT or FG will do the calculations for you if you really don't want to do that.
Watch the Band of Bravos game play here on TH-cam. It is a good example of play.
😊 👍
What is the best character gen for PathFinder 2e? I bought pathbuilder-but doesn't handle archtypes well err I might be missingsomething. Also how to intgreate characters quickly to roll 20?
That’s not how recall knowledge works when identifying monsters.
Personally, as a gm, I don't think it's metagaming for a person trained in martial weapons to make the logical leap that slashing and stabbing a target with no accessible soft tissue would be ineffective. This is afterall the primary use of maces, against hard targets lol
However, a mage or simple weapons trained person may not know this, depending on circumstances