Watch part 1 here! th-cam.com/video/ekCVday_fu4/w-d-xo.html Also: Errata! You only recover 1 focus point when you Refocus ("short rest"), and you can't Refocus again until you've spent a focus point (so you can't get them all back until a "Long Rest").
They way I tell my players to think of Focus spells is that the amount they can recover when they Refocus is their renewable amount per combat/use. Go beyond that and they're dipping into daily resources. That basically gives them a little more guidance on when they can/should spend more. Focus spells are nice because their power point is usually right between a high level spell slot and a cantrip, so most fights can be round 1: spell slot, round 2: focus spell, round 3: cantrip unless things are still serious. This gives them more longevity if they think there are more fights in the day. The nice thing about the encounter balance in PF2e is that it's not around having a set number of encounters in a day. Also, seconding the remake of the cantrip caster. Psychic will do it well as a blaster, but the core concept of treating cantrips as your mainstays and using spell slots when appropriate to the situation is pretty much how casters are intended to perform/perform best in PF2e. Also the flat checks for concealed and hidden apply to any effect, not just attack rolls. Save spells need the flat check. So do attempts to heal your allies, magically or mundanely.
Btw you are wrong when you’re saying you can’t multiclass in 2e. You can but it’s done using feats. You take one class as your chassis and build from there. You are building ‘your own class’, something you keep saying in half of your 5e videos lol
@@aaronnelson7471 I've started playing PF2e and playing Magus as my first class and it is AWESOME. Hitting a Crit on spell strike is the most fun shit ever. And even though magus has a really tight action economy, I enjoy it because both makes it easier to know what I should be doing every turn but also at the same time making it harder because it forces hard distinct choices. It makes engaging with the action economy very fun.
@ElectroKinetic Phenomenon my favorite character from pf1 was also a magus and goddamn are they fun in pf2 as well. Truly the master of the nova round. If you REALLY need to one shot something, then you call the magus in.
I'll just say, "multiclassing" through archetypes is a lot more interesting/versatile than you might initially expect; especially when you take into account the many dozens of different archetypes featured in other books. The gamemastery guide also features an optional (though popular) rule that allows players to take an archetype feat alongside every class feat. This allows for a ton of extra customization (while still managing to not make it too much extra power). It's definitely quite different to previous versions though so I understand the initial hesitance.
This exactly! A lot of official adventures are promoting the free archetype variant. Strength of Thousands has you act as students in a magic school and you get an archetype for spellcasting so that you're still a magic student even if you are playing a barbarian.
Small correction at 5:25, in case anyone gets confused: the Refocus activity allows you to regain 1 Focus Point, not all of them. You also have to have spent a focus point since you last regained any Focus Points, meaning if you have 3 and spend 2, leaving you with 1 focus point, you can't get back above 2 in your pool (at least from Refocusing) until your next daily preparations. I'm still getting into PF myself, so please correct me if this is wrong, but that's how I'm reading it in the Core Rulebook
You are correct. This is the reason why improved refocus feats are so high level (level 12 at the earliest for most classes). The advantage of Focus Spells is that they are always Heightened, thus always useful for the levels you're at (good when accounting for Incapacitation or Counterspelling purposes).
Seriously, this is the thing I see missed a lot. Caused a huge argument at my table the first time I intimidated an NPC - I had to break out the quote from the Core Rules PLUS online clarification from the developers themselves confirming that AC is a type of DC.
When it comes to multiclassing, I can understand that being a concern if you limit yourself to just the core rulebook. But in the entirety of Pathfinder 2e there are currently 22 classes and dozens upon dozens of archetypes. I don't think you'll find yourself hurting for variety!
@@Pit_Wizard i guess there are in game optuons to have warlock-likes without it, cause if not is pretty weird for my mind the idea of people that enjoyed dnd just deleting warlock
@@Grimm-A To this day, no dice (pun not initially intended.) In flavor, the Witch is the clearest parallel, it has an otherworldly patron that gives it magic powers. This is more reinforced mechanically in the Remastered version, or so I hear, so this *could* work. They do also have powerful (focus) cantrips, just not necessarily damaging ones. Otherwise, they're not exactly as offensively focused, they have to prepare their spells like a Wizard, and they're centralized around a familiar which might not be desirable. This is the only class I'll mention that has a variable spell list though so this can work whether you want an Occult, Arcane, Divine, or even Primal patron. Mechanically, I think Psychic is the closest a caster gets to the Warlock experience. Strong (focus) cantrips, spontaneous casting instead of prepared, not as focused on their spell slots. Still hardly one to one though, they do have a normal amount of spell slots and most of the mechanics around your patron is missing (such as Pact Boon or Invocation). You're also locked into Occult spells wich might not make sense for certain Warlocks. Oracle also has a strong case to be made. Not as cantrip based, but it does have very powerful focus spells, and automatically gets more as it advances (not usual for casters, they usually need to invest feats.) Since a 10 minute break is basically PF2's version of a short rest, refocusing to get back your strongest spells can be likened to the classic warlock experience. Again, not one to one, same issues as Psychic except this time it's always Divine instead of Occult. For a Hexblade warlock build you're probably better off with Magus for the full gish experience or Thaumaturge if spell slots are negotiable. The former is *literally* Gish: The Class and has very limited spell slots that are clamped at a lower level just as warlock (though it does need to have a full rest to restore them and is Arcane only), and the latter is very mystically themed and has a feature that's similar to a warlock's pact boons (but is not a caster at all.) I think the main reason there's no equivalent to Warlock is that PF2 has no short rest. Again, 10 minute break and all that. All caster classes already _have_ focus spells, and some are even centralised around them. You can't get much closer without breaking focus spell rules.
Regarding spell preparation: This is why scrolls and magic items (staff, amulet, ring, etc.) exist! Any spell that is highly useful but niche you prepare in these ways. Who anticipates jumping from the top of a tower to escape?! Well, the wizard may not have prepared feather fall but he DOES have a scroll of it.
Yep that was what I liked about playing Cleric on 3.5 and Pathfinder 1e, I could build Clerics with craft items feats and the party would never run out with healing.
Yep. You put your niche things in wands (Longstrider, anyone?), and grab a staff full of spells that are important, but that you're not necessarily going to want to keep memorized. (As a prepared caster, anyway. For a spontaneous caster, you want the staff to have spells on your list but not in your repertoire, or at least not in the levels they are in the staff.)
One big advantage in PF2, compared to D&D 3.5 or PF1 is, that you cast your spell item spells with your own spellcasting modifier, which make them much stronger.
Ah .... I wish this was this open in 5E ... the DM refused to let us make magic items of what we wanted because "You'll just pass out Fireball Wands to everyone and combat will be easy" ... XD
The multi-attack penalty is actually a catch-up mechanic. Optimizers like yourself find diminishing returns and need to have all your ducks in order to eek out an extra 25% more damage than a stock martial. The same goes for casters as imposing a -2 penalty often requires a critical failure, which is harder to achieve. I find this incredibly thoughtful of the designers. They have made space for min-maxer while keeping them confined so as to not outshine casuals.
Yeah. As a minmaxer myself, one of my main problems in 5e is that my characters tend to carry the party, making things less fun for everyone (and balancing becomes a nightmare for my DM). While that is definitely a problem in PF2, it is a big improvement.
@@piercearora7681 I don't think you mean carry, in 5e but outshine. Carry implies that they couldn't manage without you which is usually not the case of minmaxer vs generalizer in 5e. In fact it's usually quite the opposite, not only could they manage without you but could probably do a lot more if you didn't just do everything more optimally.
A small correction on focus spells: when refocusing, not all spent focus points are restored, but only the last spent one. That is, even if the character has 2 focus points, and he spent both in battle, he will restore only one for refocusing (no matter how many times he uses refocus activity). Some classes have abilities that increase the amount of restored focus points when refocusing, the rest need to take feats for this
This is a very important distinction! This means that using focus spells more than once per encounter reduces the number of total focus points available for the rest of that day, unless you have the feats that allow you to recover more focus points per encounter. This all comes from the text in the Refocus action.
@@robertcalin7971 oh I see. I was a bit confused. I was wondering what the point(no pun intended) was in getting more! But that make sense now, thank you.
Funny thing about surprise: Being surprised means expending your actions getting up, picking up your stuff and raising your defenses. The same thing is true for your enemies. When you pick them by surprise they will need to expend their actions to get their stuff ready to fight. This if they don't need to seek too to find where you are.
Thats why sleeping outside in the wilderness is dangerous. This is the same in dnd so I don't know that this observation is true. You get one free interact as part of your action, so picking up your sword would be it. If you wanted to grab your shield that would then be your action. You'd still get to move at least half your movement, so I guess dnd wins there? /s
For your "build around sustaining spells" idea, the advance player's guide has the witch class, which is generally considered one of the weaker classes, but has the wonderful niche of being the being the best at sustaining spells thanks to their "cackle" focus spell.
They also have a capstone feat that lets them cast up to three spells that could be sustained by cackle in one turn. And since they always get familiars and those can be used to store an extra focus point, you can end up sustaining 12+ spells
Gnomes also get a free sustain for illusion spells, and I remember reading somewhere that Occult casters get the best Illusion spell list. Gnome Witch anyone?
Nice! Between that and the witch feat to get a free sustain each round, a gnome witch could do a lot of sustaining. When I went to check on this, I found gnomes also get a one-action activity to restore a focus point. That means a gnome witch with their familiar built right who is also standing on the right ley-line could cackle six times in an encounter
Clarifications: All spontaneous casters get signature spells at 3rd level, one signature spell per spell level. You ONLY get 1 focus point back per refocus (short rest). You get all back during daily preparations (long rest). Otherwise LOVED the video and excited to the se builds!!!
Love your take on the rules. Very thorough! Crazy idea: maybe do the same character in both systems occasionally. Keeps everyone here and happy and cuts some work duplication. Pathfinder is flexible enough to work around DND in this regard I think. Once again, loving this! Thanks for doing it!👍😁👍
I'd be interested to see the cantrip caster redone in pathfinder. Although I'm also interested to see the sustain witch that just cackles all the time. Which I don't think is possible in DND in any form.
Archetypes really let you get a decent multiclass experience or, with the later books, more roleplay interesting other choices. There is an optional rule that is pretty commonly used, that gives you a free archetype, so at every even level you get an extra feat for archetypes only. There is a less commonly used optional rule for dual-classing as well, so you could be a paladin-angel-sorcerer dual class for example. A lot of people don’t use multiclass archetypes much, because the archetypes tend to be more interesting and somewhat more powerful, whether they’re extending what you can do with your main weapon, granting you extra spells, or taking a class that is limited in one pillar of the game and strengthening it there. Barbarian is typically weak in social skills for example, but add dandy or another social-heavy archetype and you round it out nicely.
If you really want to try out the Cantrip Based Blaster you should definitely check out the Psychic! It's an incredibly flavorful class that adds a lot of interesting alterations to cantrips.
I'm a freelance editor for a few D&D third-party publishers. Due to this OGL business, it's super likely (I've been approached on the topic) that these publishers start preparing content for P2e. I'm in a position where it's best that I learn pathfinder and this last hour and a half was a great jumpstart, filling in the blanks from my own reading. This is the first time I've checked out your channel, but you've been super informative so far. Thanks!
I am curious to know what areas 3pp are planning to tackle in PF2e. 5e has so many gaps and holes that can be filled in in so many various ways. It seems PF2 has a rule for almost everything.
@@XanderHarris1023 You are totally right and I wish I had a full awnser. As an editor with 5th edition the bulk of work I've done has involved adventures, stat blocks, and creative writing rather than new subsystems or improving existing rules. Though, I think there's always going to be room for people who wish to publish their own character options like classes and ancestries.
Taking account what you said about your worries about the system, once you go even deeper into the system (APG, Secrets of Magic, Dark Archive, Guns and Gears) you will like it even more. Playing with the free archetype rule, the versatile heritage options and the new Archetypes gives just endless possibilities of combos and builds
To scratch the multiclass itch many optimizers preface their build saying it relies on the optional rule of free archetype. This frees up your main class feats to focus on your main class and gives you a free side-channel just for archetype feats. Recall you can take multiple archetypes, making the possibilities endless
Only the first archetype (and subsequent class feats associated with it) is free though, right? Multiple free archetypes sounds like it would be bananas.
@@XanderHarris1023 As it's a variant rule it's not perfectly defined. The exact text offers options such as limiting it to a specific archetype or a general theme, and it _recommends_ some caveats such as limiting the feats you can take alongside the Resiliency feats (Barbarian Resiliency is +3 max HP per Barbarian archetype feat, you could double its payout if you take a Barbarian archetype feat in both your free archetype slot and class feat slot), but there's no hard and fast rules for what flies and what doesn't. Assuming your GM just runs it vanilla, you could absolutely stack multiple archetypes. I don't think it would be _that_ bonkers though, if you invest into too many archetypes you're getting mediocre payoff for all of them. As for _prerequisites,_ in case that's what you're talking about, the base rule says nothing about waiving that at all, though in some uses of the rule (such as letting everyone take Pirate Dedication in a pirate campaign and nothing else) that may be implied anyways.
Minor correction in regards to focus points: The general rule is that you can only recover one focus point per refocus, and you can only use the refocus activity if you have expended a focus point since you last refocused. This means that if you have 2 FP, spend two, you can recover one, but the second will remain spent until your next daily preparations. In sum, one focus points is a per encounter resource, but the second focus point is a daily resource. Of course, as many things in 2e, there are feats and class features that can change that, but for most characters that's how it'll work. Also, if you are interested in a cantrip blaster try having a look the the Psychic from the Dark Archives book.
I am so thankful for the breakdown in these last two videos. Like I said on the previous video, moving forward i would love to see PF2e and DnD5e builds alternating weeks.
Re: Sustained Spells. When you get to this, check out the Witch and its focus spell called Cackle, which allows her to as a free action sustain a spell. With three focus points you could sustain a bunch of spells. Especially fun when you check out how summoned monsters work. A witch could summon a ton of monsters and still have fun directing their actions, while spending her turn casting and sustaining.
I think all of the summon spells are 3-action activities, so the max number of summons you can have at any given time would be 2 I believe, still it's pretty cool ^^
@@Vallinen92 There's actually a high level feat called Effortless Concentration that Witch can take that freely sustains a spell when your turn begins, making the limit 3 without any further shenanigans. But I do not doubt for a second that there's more shenanigans.
A general guide to Pf2e is to think of your party as a team, as opposed to a collection of individuals. Casters are better at AoE damage, battlefield control, and (de)buffing, whereas martials are better at single target damage. This is why some spells can be seen as weaker to their 5e counterparts in terms of raw damage.
Minor correction on 3:50 about cantrip scaling: They scale up to half your level, rounded up, which is almost the same scaling as spell levels for a caster class, but crucially not tied to it. Makes a big difference when learning cantrips from archetypes or various feats. Focus Spells also scale the same way as cantrips, which you did mention :) (others touched on the refocusing already so not repeating it) 11:40 You can't open with an attack RAW, the intent to do hostilities would start the initiative, because in the process of getting ready to attack, you might get noticed or someone might react faster than you. Just something, anything might tip off one of the opposition that something is about to go down, even if the entire opposing party is invisible and far away. This is also one of the main ways to get to use something other than perception for initiative. For example, talking to someone in a bar, but unwittingly sling a grievous insult and a fight breaks out? using diplomacy for initiative is easily on the table. Bust through a door into a room? Doorbuster definitely has grounds for rolling athletics for initiative. And of course the good old sneaking around to use stealth for initiative. (dc5 check is 20% failure odds, not 25%) Great video, hope you enjoy your time in PF2e and otherwise :)
@@lesspopmorefizz5413 that was their point, you only fail if you roll a 4 or lower. That’s four results out of twenty, which is a fifth, meaning 20%. If you failed on a 5, then it would be 25%.
I would love to see a little pathfinder along with the regular content. I've always liked some crunchy bits in my games and I would like to learn more about theory crafting in pathfinder.
Hands down the best D&D to PF2e video I have every watched. I don't know if it's because we share the same perspective coming from D&D where most other videos I have seen seem to come from the perspective of Pathfinder but I will be sharing these videos for fellow PF2e-curious gamers
5:28 Hey Colby! Correction on the Refocus activity: You regain a single spent focus point, and you can’t refocus again until you have spent at least one focus point again. So at higher levels, you can spend two focus points in a single combat, but for the rest of the day, you only have a single focus point you can get back. There are feats and features at higher levels that let you get 2 or 3 focus points back during the activity, but until then it’s only a partially renewable resource Happy Gaming!
I whole-heartedly agree with you, diversity of equipment is amazing. Fun fact: when I created my first character, I actually spent more time studying and weighing the various weapon options than my ancestry or class feats!
I also noticed that. In 5e some weapons are just plain better than others. There's no reason to use a shortsword if you have proficiency with a rapier. I like the idea of a less powerful weapon still being a viable option by having some advantage or benefit over a more powerful weapon.
One good thing about long duration spells, is that some spells that are concentration in 5e aren't in PF2e. Fly, Invisibility and Haste are great examples.
1.) I need that Pooh Bear shirt. 2.) I have never played Pathfinder, and only know it came from an older edition of D&D. I've been playing 5E since 2017 though. After watching both videos, I want to thank you for this deepest of dives! There are a lot of cool ideas here. Although as someone who has played a lot of D&D clerics, and loves their spell casting, I'm not that interested in trying out PF's spell casting system. I love the flexibility in D&D's system, and hate to think that "Oh cool, I could learn a 5th level spell, but if I want to have the option of upcasting another spell I can't actually prepare this." And, ya know, sometimes I want to demolish a field with my Spirit Guardians and wreck everything! Especially since my guardians looks like winged wheels made of eyes! I love having that as an option. That aside, the feat system sounds very cool. I've always wished that D&D would put the ASI/Feat progression in a single track along with Proficiency Bonus progression (and leave the fighter and rogue their special bonus ones in their class progression).
I feel about as excited for pf2e now as I did when I first started reading and build crafting in dnd5e. Thanks so much for making this video! I can tell how hard you worked on it
So I watched both parts and I was not super hopeful they would be that informative on such a short learning timeline - but boy was I wrong! You did an AMAZING job going over SO much content and I am so proud of you!!
Your energy and excitement for the system is just such a delight to experience. You've done a remarkably great job of explaining the system and exploring it. Very interested to see your opinions if you're able to explore it more in the future. :)
Well I usually watch your videos 3 times, once to actually intently listen, once to fall asleep and then once on a higher speed to consolidate it but since this was a 2 parter I got 2 full sleeps in. What a week 😂
I've got some exciting tips you might like to hear about PF2e! 1.) Although traditional multiclassing is out, the Multiclass archetypes are a lot more potent than they first appear. A level 20 Fighter with the Wizard multiclass archetype can cast up to 8th level spells, which would normally take 15 Wizard levels, leaving you more Wizard than Fighter. But here all you give up are class feats, and you gain more magic than any Eldritch Knight ever did! 2.) For your eventual DoT character, there's a fun exploit you can take advantage of. The Administer First Aid action can be performed on enemies, and if you critically fail your check you automatically trigger whatever Bleed damage they're currently taking. You need to be trained to take the action, but a level 5 Gnoll can use the Right-Hand Blood feat to automatically critically fail an Administer First Aid check. The largest source of Bleed damage is the Blood Vendetta spell, which is cast as a reaction and has a max damage of 10d6 if upcast. If you hit someone with the spell, you can then spend all 3 actions failing to administer first aid to them, causing them to take the damage 3 separate times, only to take it again when their turn comes up. It's incredibly potent, and it doesn't have to deal with Multi-Attack Penalty like most melee characters do.
The Gamemastery Guide has optional rules for multiclassing in PF 2e. I know these videos were based just on the core rule book, but I’ll be interested in your thoughts on those rules when you get to them
The Dual Classing rules from the GMG are more akin to Gestalt than multiclassing. They're a significant power and complexity boost and are prone to unbalanced experiences. You need everyone in the party to use it if you choose to use the rule.
One thing i want to say, in case you are unaware, in regards to "Multiclassing": There are the "Multiclass Archetypes" for every single one of the classes that (from my experiences playing around, building characters) end up feeling very similar to multiclassing in DnD. The important part about them to know is that those Archetypes all include certain Feats, firstly Feats that let you get (slightly weakened) versions of the Class Features, but more importantly a "Basic [...]" Feat (the gap in the name is filled with something related to the class, like Trickery for Rogue or Arcana for Wizard) that lets you take a 1st or 2nd level Class Feat of the Class the Archetype is based on and once you take that one, it will allow you to take the "Advanced [...]" Feat which lets you choose any Class Feat where your Characters level divided by 2 counts as your level for the sake of prerequisites. ("Advanced [...] can be taken any number of times) This means that you could make a character who over the course of their 20 levels spends a couple feats to pick up the Monk Dedication (immediately granting the Powerful Fist Feature for better Unarmed Attacks), as well as a Feat each for getting Flurry of Blows and a 10ft. status bonus Unarmored Movement and also pick a 1st or 2nd level Feat followed by however many Level/2 Monk Feats they want, *all without* ever preventing you from reaching your sweet, sweet level 18-20 Class Feats/Features in your main class. This to me feels roughly equivalent to taking "dips" into other classes in DnD 5e, grabbing the feats you want most, but doesnt come with the frustrating restriction of not letting you get to your high level stuff or even really delaying it (past having a few less feats for your main class), so I really do believe once you read into this your worry about "no multiclassing" will be at the very least reduced a lot. And once you get comfortable with the system, I cannot recommend looking at the "Free Archetype" variant rule enough, which simply grants all characters a free Feat every time they get a Class Feat that can only be used for Archetype Feats, letting you get everything you want from your main class while also including Archetypes (or let you take *more* Archetypes, my Thrown Weapon based Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Duelist says Hi") Anyways, loved the part 2, especially the multiple instances of hearing "this sounds fun to build around", I am very much looking forward to what that leads to, notifications are on for sure xD Keep it up! :3
I got such a kick out of harmonizing with you on "it just takes some time"! (at least, I think it was harmonizing. I may have been butchering it. But it was fun anyway!)
Another thing about Refocusing - you can do it at the same time as another appropriate short activity (GM discretion). The example in the rules is that a healing cleric can refocus to recover a focus point at the same time as treating wounds. As a paladin with the divine shield path, I used to refocus while repairing my shield. Regarding prepared spell choices - wizards also get a bonded item, which they can drain 1/day to recover an already cast spell (free action). So that lessens the need to prepare duplicates of a spell. Flat checks are treated like other checks, you need to meet or exceed the DC. So a flat check of 5 is actually a 20% chance of failure. One of the best DOT choices is a bomber alchemist. Acid only does 1 initial damage, but is all about the persistent. However, know that persistent damage of the same type does not stack, only the higher value applies. Enjoy!
Hey man, thank you for taking the time to do this. I know it takes a lot of time and effort and it means a lot. I'm a year old DM for DnD and plan to move my group over to P2E at the end our campaign. Great vocals also!
I watched both videos without speeding up or walking away from the computer! I really like them. I think you maybe missed the single coolest thing about PF2 is how the 3-action economy combines with the 4 degrees of success to eliminate save-or-suck effects. Take color spray as an example. If they fail the save, they are stunned 1 which means they lose only a single action instead of their entire turn! (plus some other nasty conditions). If they succeed, they are only dazzled for one round, and if they crit succeed then they are unaffected. So even if your target passes, then something still happens and it wasn't a complete waste. That is just *chef's kiss*.
A great finale to your two-part series. I learned a lot, so thank you! And please consider more PF2E content, after you get that nap. I ask this because you kept breaking out in little smiles talking about the system. You genuinely seem to like what you’ve seen, so far. So you have a great opportunity to grow your channel, learn more about the game you like, and teach a horde of new subscribers what you’ve learned. Regardless of what you decide, thanks again for making these two videos.
I've been playing Pf2e for a few years now, and I still learned a few things from these two videos! And yes, building around having multiple sustained spells is very fun. I once managed to create a build that can sustain the summon spells (3 actions to cast each) for four ancient dragons at once. Unless you want a hint, I'll leave it for you to discover how. Thanks for making these, they're great!
Haha, loved the outtakes! Do you usually include them? "You're a note reader," as am I! We come off as much more articulate than we actually are due to the magic of Editing! lol I'm glad you're enjoying the PF2 game and am THRILLED to hear you want your group to have a PF2 campaign! Huzzah!
You know, I’m sure there are a lot of people who would listen to this and think, “That’s so many rules! Ugh!” Having had similar thoughts, I just recall trying to explain the world we were going to be playing in to new players, and having what I imagined to be a “10 minute summary”, then realizing we’d been going for 2 hours, and that didn’t even include rules! Chin up, everyone!
This was great! One thing I would like to point out though: magic items are important. Getting those fundamental runes on your weapons is a significant part of scaling your character up if you don’t cast spells. Magic items are included in the system balance, and it’s typically assumed that, if the players are in a sufficiently established settlement, they’ll be able to purchase magic items up to a certain level. I bring this up because when you start making higher level character builds, especially for non-magic characters you should definitely keep in mind what Runes and gear a character of that level would have.
Thanks for this two-parter! I appreciate recognizing that PF2 is crunchier, and that may not be good for everyone. It could be who I've run across, but you're the first person that has mentioned this. As someone who would definitely not like more crunch, I appreciate this.
Thanks for the series, I'm very excited to see your games played out. I'm discussing with my DM to make a side campaign with the PF ruleset, so it is like the same setting and lore our table is already known to...
Great video! Couple notes: - Rangers dont automatically get focus spells, as you mentioned, but they can choose to take them! You just also have the option of a nonmagical ranger if you prefer - Spells are generally less overtly powerful, but are also way more consistently useful because even a successful save will have a useful effect! I personally prefer pf2 spell-casters as a player
Hey! I found your channel from your video with Rules Lawyer, and am now subscribed in the hopes of more Pathfinder content! And with regards to your concern about multiclassing, take a look at the "Free Archetype" optional rule. It seems to be a very popular alternate rule that greatly expands potential multi-classing options and opens up niche build choices without drastically affecting game balance.
This is super helpful not only as a player but for new GMs as well. This video helped me understand the mechanics better than any other resource I've watched/seen. Would love to see you continue making more Pathfinder 2e content. I've convinced my table to try pathfinder 2e. Cheers to years of pathfinder adventures!
btw Absolutely loving this Pathfinder 2e intro. I'm wading thru the Core Rulebook, but I'm going to refresh this regularly until I feel more confident. Still looking forward to kooky 5e builds but really looking forward to your 2e builds.
Definitely do more PF videos. I'm sending both of these to our D&D group for help understanding the differences. I love your writing and performance style.
Hi, great job on summarizing all the content. I'm DM-ing PF2e for over a year now and still learned some things. Minor errata to the "Demoralize Action" there are 3 degrees of success: (crit. + ) Fail: unaffected / Succeess: Target becomes Frightened 1 / Crit Success: Target becomes Frightened 2. This effectively reduces EVERYTHING by 1 or 2 if you succeed (AC / Damage / Skill-Checks / ...) Additional Info: If you attempted a Demoralize Action, this Target is immune to other attempts from you for 10 minutes, regardless of outcome.
Listened to both Parts 1 & 2 several times, and the mystery of 'What exactly IS Pathfinder?' is no longer a mystery. Great content with literally zero filler. The internet needed this!
Yay!!! Part 2! I was excited to listen to this after Part 1. Thanks again for the Deep Dive into this. Looking forward to the next leg of this journey.
Watch part 1 here! th-cam.com/video/ekCVday_fu4/w-d-xo.html
Also: Errata! You only recover 1 focus point when you Refocus ("short rest"), and you can't Refocus again until you've spent a focus point (so you can't get them all back until a "Long Rest").
Mostly right, as with everything else, at higher levels there are feats to let you get more focus points back at once
Not a big fan of 5e but it's super cool you are introducing players to Pathfinder 2e. Keep up the great work 👍
They way I tell my players to think of Focus spells is that the amount they can recover when they Refocus is their renewable amount per combat/use. Go beyond that and they're dipping into daily resources. That basically gives them a little more guidance on when they can/should spend more. Focus spells are nice because their power point is usually right between a high level spell slot and a cantrip, so most fights can be round 1: spell slot, round 2: focus spell, round 3: cantrip unless things are still serious. This gives them more longevity if they think there are more fights in the day. The nice thing about the encounter balance in PF2e is that it's not around having a set number of encounters in a day.
Also, seconding the remake of the cantrip caster. Psychic will do it well as a blaster, but the core concept of treating cantrips as your mainstays and using spell slots when appropriate to the situation is pretty much how casters are intended to perform/perform best in PF2e.
Also the flat checks for concealed and hidden apply to any effect, not just attack rolls. Save spells need the flat check. So do attempts to heal your allies, magically or mundanely.
Btw you are wrong when you’re saying you can’t multiclass in 2e. You can but it’s done using feats. You take one class as your chassis and build from there. You are building ‘your own class’, something you keep saying in half of your 5e videos lol
Was gonna call you out on that, but you caught it. Well done. :)
Great stuff! Can't wait for more!
Hurry get that algorithm boosted
i will even comment nothing substantial for an extra comment boost
I did my part😅
Do it!
pbtpd
Yeeeeeeeeeee
I can't wait for the day he discovers the Magus.
Same.
What’s the Magus?
@mrmuffins951 the magus is the most gish class ever. It's literally a split between a wizard and a fighter.
@@aaronnelson7471 I've started playing PF2e and playing Magus as my first class and it is AWESOME. Hitting a Crit on spell strike is the most fun shit ever. And even though magus has a really tight action economy, I enjoy it because both makes it easier to know what I should be doing every turn but also at the same time making it harder because it forces hard distinct choices. It makes engaging with the action economy very fun.
@ElectroKinetic Phenomenon my favorite character from pf1 was also a magus and goddamn are they fun in pf2 as well. Truly the master of the nova round. If you REALLY need to one shot something, then you call the magus in.
I'll just say, "multiclassing" through archetypes is a lot more interesting/versatile than you might initially expect; especially when you take into account the many dozens of different archetypes featured in other books.
The gamemastery guide also features an optional (though popular) rule that allows players to take an archetype feat alongside every class feat. This allows for a ton of extra customization (while still managing to not make it too much extra power).
It's definitely quite different to previous versions though so I understand the initial hesitance.
I second that.
I secondly second this.
This exactly! A lot of official adventures are promoting the free archetype variant. Strength of Thousands has you act as students in a magic school and you get an archetype for spellcasting so that you're still a magic student even if you are playing a barbarian.
I thirdly second that.
approximately 80 percent of tables use the free archetype optional rule to put it in perspective. It's not just popular, it's overwhelmingly popular
Small correction at 5:25, in case anyone gets confused: the Refocus activity allows you to regain 1 Focus Point, not all of them. You also have to have spent a focus point since you last regained any Focus Points, meaning if you have 3 and spend 2, leaving you with 1 focus point, you can't get back above 2 in your pool (at least from Refocusing) until your next daily preparations. I'm still getting into PF myself, so please correct me if this is wrong, but that's how I'm reading it in the Core Rulebook
Thats correct, though pretty much every class with focus points can take feats to get more back on a refocus.
Thanks! Will add an Errata to the pinned comment :)
Correct. Some classes get feats that allow to refocus for more points. The sorcerer can recover all.
Like for the HK (and the correction).
You are correct. This is the reason why improved refocus feats are so high level (level 12 at the earliest for most classes).
The advantage of Focus Spells is that they are always Heightened, thus always useful for the levels you're at (good when accounting for Incapacitation or Counterspelling purposes).
13:30 don't forget that frightened also lowers AC! Ac is considered a dex-based DC, so by frightening someone, they lose AC as well!
Seriously, this is the thing I see missed a lot. Caused a huge argument at my table the first time I intimidated an NPC - I had to break out the quote from the Core Rules PLUS online clarification from the developers themselves confirming that AC is a type of DC.
When it comes to multiclassing, I can understand that being a concern if you limit yourself to just the core rulebook. But in the entirety of Pathfinder 2e there are currently 22 classes and dozens upon dozens of archetypes. I don't think you'll find yourself hurting for variety!
So.there are warlocks?
@@Grimm-A there is currently no class that plays exactly like the D&D 5e warlock. The upcoming Kineticist class will probably be the closest thing.
@@Pit_Wizard i guess there are in game optuons to have warlock-likes without it, cause if not is pretty weird for my mind the idea of people that enjoyed dnd just deleting warlock
@@Grimm-A To this day, no dice (pun not initially intended.) In flavor, the Witch is the clearest parallel, it has an otherworldly patron that gives it magic powers. This is more reinforced mechanically in the Remastered version, or so I hear, so this *could* work. They do also have powerful (focus) cantrips, just not necessarily damaging ones. Otherwise, they're not exactly as offensively focused, they have to prepare their spells like a Wizard, and they're centralized around a familiar which might not be desirable. This is the only class I'll mention that has a variable spell list though so this can work whether you want an Occult, Arcane, Divine, or even Primal patron.
Mechanically, I think Psychic is the closest a caster gets to the Warlock experience. Strong (focus) cantrips, spontaneous casting instead of prepared, not as focused on their spell slots. Still hardly one to one though, they do have a normal amount of spell slots and most of the mechanics around your patron is missing (such as Pact Boon or Invocation). You're also locked into Occult spells wich might not make sense for certain Warlocks.
Oracle also has a strong case to be made. Not as cantrip based, but it does have very powerful focus spells, and automatically gets more as it advances (not usual for casters, they usually need to invest feats.) Since a 10 minute break is basically PF2's version of a short rest, refocusing to get back your strongest spells can be likened to the classic warlock experience. Again, not one to one, same issues as Psychic except this time it's always Divine instead of Occult.
For a Hexblade warlock build you're probably better off with Magus for the full gish experience or Thaumaturge if spell slots are negotiable. The former is *literally* Gish: The Class and has very limited spell slots that are clamped at a lower level just as warlock (though it does need to have a full rest to restore them and is Arcane only), and the latter is very mystically themed and has a feature that's similar to a warlock's pact boons (but is not a caster at all.)
I think the main reason there's no equivalent to Warlock is that PF2 has no short rest. Again, 10 minute break and all that. All caster classes already _have_ focus spells, and some are even centralised around them. You can't get much closer without breaking focus spell rules.
Regarding spell preparation: This is why scrolls and magic items (staff, amulet, ring, etc.) exist! Any spell that is highly useful but niche you prepare in these ways. Who anticipates jumping from the top of a tower to escape?! Well, the wizard may not have prepared feather fall but he DOES have a scroll of it.
Yep that was what I liked about playing Cleric on 3.5 and Pathfinder 1e, I could build Clerics with craft items feats and the party would never run out with healing.
Yep. You put your niche things in wands (Longstrider, anyone?), and grab a staff full of spells that are important, but that you're not necessarily going to want to keep memorized. (As a prepared caster, anyway. For a spontaneous caster, you want the staff to have spells on your list but not in your repertoire, or at least not in the levels they are in the staff.)
One big advantage in PF2, compared to D&D 3.5 or PF1 is, that you cast your spell item spells with your own spellcasting modifier, which make them much stronger.
Indeed. Scrolls are best for spells that are rarely needed but *crucial* to have at the right moment (stone to flesh is a good example).
Ah .... I wish this was this open in 5E ... the DM refused to let us make magic items of what we wanted because "You'll just pass out Fireball Wands to everyone and combat will be easy" ... XD
The multi-attack penalty is actually a catch-up mechanic. Optimizers like yourself find diminishing returns and need to have all your ducks in order to eek out an extra 25% more damage than a stock martial. The same goes for casters as imposing a -2 penalty often requires a critical failure, which is harder to achieve. I find this incredibly thoughtful of the designers. They have made space for min-maxer while keeping them confined so as to not outshine casuals.
Yeah. As a minmaxer myself, one of my main problems in 5e is that my characters tend to carry the party, making things less fun for everyone (and balancing becomes a nightmare for my DM). While that is definitely a problem in PF2, it is a big improvement.
I like how 50% of optimization can be reduced to: play a fighter xD.
@@piercearora7681 I don't think you mean carry, in 5e but outshine. Carry implies that they couldn't manage without you which is usually not the case of minmaxer vs generalizer in 5e. In fact it's usually quite the opposite, not only could they manage without you but could probably do a lot more if you didn't just do everything more optimally.
@@piercearora7681 As a GM, balancing encounters in PF2 is most certainly not a problem. The tools given to the GM are pretty damn accurate.
A small correction on focus spells: when refocusing, not all spent focus points are restored, but only the last spent one. That is, even if the character has 2 focus points, and he spent both in battle, he will restore only one for refocusing (no matter how many times he uses refocus activity). Some classes have abilities that increase the amount of restored focus points when refocusing, the rest need to take feats for this
This is a very important distinction! This means that using focus spells more than once per encounter reduces the number of total focus points available for the rest of that day, unless you have the feats that allow you to recover more focus points per encounter. This all comes from the text in the Refocus action.
Thanks! Will add an Errata to the pinned comment :)
So if I have 3 points, use 3 spells and then refocus, I have 1 point. Refocusing again never gives me the others back, so when do I get them back?
Don't worry, you do get all of them back regardless after a long rest, the discussion was only about the refocus action.
@@robertcalin7971 oh I see. I was a bit confused. I was wondering what the point(no pun intended) was in getting more! But that make sense now, thank you.
Funny thing about surprise:
Being surprised means expending your actions getting up, picking up your stuff and raising your defenses.
The same thing is true for your enemies. When you pick them by surprise they will need to expend their actions to get their stuff ready to fight. This if they don't need to seek too to find where you are.
Thats why sleeping outside in the wilderness is dangerous. This is the same in dnd so I don't know that this observation is true. You get one free interact as part of your action, so picking up your sword would be it. If you wanted to grab your shield that would then be your action. You'd still get to move at least half your movement, so I guess dnd wins there? /s
For your "build around sustaining spells" idea, the advance player's guide has the witch class, which is generally considered one of the weaker classes, but has the wonderful niche of being the being the best at sustaining spells thanks to their "cackle" focus spell.
They also have a capstone feat that lets them cast up to three spells that could be sustained by cackle in one turn. And since they always get familiars and those can be used to store an extra focus point, you can end up sustaining 12+ spells
And it's Cackle focus spell! That's just brilliant, the mental image is so fun.
Gnomes also get a free sustain for illusion spells, and I remember reading somewhere that Occult casters get the best Illusion spell list. Gnome Witch anyone?
Nice! Between that and the witch feat to get a free sustain each round, a gnome witch could do a lot of sustaining. When I went to check on this, I found gnomes also get a one-action activity to restore a focus point. That means a gnome witch with their familiar built right who is also standing on the right ley-line could cackle six times in an encounter
@@benrichetti1360 Energized Font, available at level 5. Nice catch!
Clarifications:
All spontaneous casters get signature spells at 3rd level, one signature spell per spell level.
You ONLY get 1 focus point back per refocus (short rest). You get all back during daily preparations (long rest).
Otherwise LOVED the video and excited to the se builds!!!
Thanks! Will add an Errata to the pinned comment :)
Love your take on the rules. Very thorough!
Crazy idea: maybe do the same character in both systems occasionally. Keeps everyone here and happy and cuts some work duplication. Pathfinder is flexible enough to work around DND in this regard I think.
Once again, loving this! Thanks for doing it!👍😁👍
I would love to see this!
Building the same concept in each system seems like great series of videos.
I'd be interested to see the cantrip caster redone in pathfinder.
Although I'm also interested to see the sustain witch that just cackles all the time. Which I don't think is possible in DND in any form.
Archetypes really let you get a decent multiclass experience or, with the later books, more roleplay interesting other choices. There is an optional rule that is pretty commonly used, that gives you a free archetype, so at every even level you get an extra feat for archetypes only.
There is a less commonly used optional rule for dual-classing as well, so you could be a paladin-angel-sorcerer dual class for example.
A lot of people don’t use multiclass archetypes much, because the archetypes tend to be more interesting and somewhat more powerful, whether they’re extending what you can do with your main weapon, granting you extra spells, or taking a class that is limited in one pillar of the game and strengthening it there. Barbarian is typically weak in social skills for example, but add dandy or another social-heavy archetype and you round it out nicely.
If you really want to try out the Cantrip Based Blaster you should definitely check out the Psychic! It's an incredibly flavorful class that adds a lot of interesting alterations to cantrips.
I'm a freelance editor for a few D&D third-party publishers. Due to this OGL business, it's super likely (I've been approached on the topic) that these publishers start preparing content for P2e. I'm in a position where it's best that I learn pathfinder and this last hour and a half was a great jumpstart, filling in the blanks from my own reading. This is the first time I've checked out your channel, but you've been super informative so far. Thanks!
I am curious to know what areas 3pp are planning to tackle in PF2e. 5e has so many gaps and holes that can be filled in in so many various ways. It seems PF2 has a rule for almost everything.
@@XanderHarris1023 You are totally right and I wish I had a full awnser. As an editor with 5th edition the bulk of work I've done has involved adventures, stat blocks, and creative writing rather than new subsystems or improving existing rules. Though, I think there's always going to be room for people who wish to publish their own character options like classes and ancestries.
Keep the Pathfinder content coming! Do what you do best, character creation ❤️
Taking account what you said about your worries about the system, once you go even deeper into the system (APG, Secrets of Magic, Dark Archive, Guns and Gears) you will like it even more. Playing with the free archetype rule, the versatile heritage options and the new Archetypes gives just endless possibilities of combos and builds
To scratch the multiclass itch many optimizers preface their build saying it relies on the optional rule of free archetype. This frees up your main class feats to focus on your main class and gives you a free side-channel just for archetype feats. Recall you can take multiple archetypes, making the possibilities endless
Only the first archetype (and subsequent class feats associated with it) is free though, right? Multiple free archetypes sounds like it would be bananas.
@@XanderHarris1023 As it's a variant rule it's not perfectly defined. The exact text offers options such as limiting it to a specific archetype or a general theme, and it _recommends_ some caveats such as limiting the feats you can take alongside the Resiliency feats (Barbarian Resiliency is +3 max HP per Barbarian archetype feat, you could double its payout if you take a Barbarian archetype feat in both your free archetype slot and class feat slot), but there's no hard and fast rules for what flies and what doesn't.
Assuming your GM just runs it vanilla, you could absolutely stack multiple archetypes. I don't think it would be _that_ bonkers though, if you invest into too many archetypes you're getting mediocre payoff for all of them. As for _prerequisites,_ in case that's what you're talking about, the base rule says nothing about waiving that at all, though in some uses of the rule (such as letting everyone take Pirate Dedication in a pirate campaign and nothing else) that may be implied anyways.
Minor correction in regards to focus points: The general rule is that you can only recover one focus point per refocus, and you can only use the refocus activity if you have expended a focus point since you last refocused. This means that if you have 2 FP, spend two, you can recover one, but the second will remain spent until your next daily preparations.
In sum, one focus points is a per encounter resource, but the second focus point is a daily resource. Of course, as many things in 2e, there are feats and class features that can change that, but for most characters that's how it'll work.
Also, if you are interested in a cantrip blaster try having a look the the Psychic from the Dark Archives book.
Thanks! Will add an Errata to the pinned comment :)
Spending multiple actions just to get up and pull out weapons vs the monk that just jumps into action-I love this. It’s a strength of the monk!
I am so thankful for the breakdown in these last two videos. Like I said on the previous video, moving forward i would love to see PF2e and DnD5e builds alternating weeks.
Re: Sustained Spells. When you get to this, check out the Witch and its focus spell called Cackle, which allows her to as a free action sustain a spell. With three focus points you could sustain a bunch of spells. Especially fun when you check out how summoned monsters work. A witch could summon a ton of monsters and still have fun directing their actions, while spending her turn casting and sustaining.
I think all of the summon spells are 3-action activities, so the max number of summons you can have at any given time would be 2 I believe, still it's pretty cool ^^
@@Vallinen92 There's actually a high level feat called Effortless Concentration that Witch can take that freely sustains a spell when your turn begins, making the limit 3 without any further shenanigans. But I do not doubt for a second that there's more shenanigans.
Literally just finished part 1, looking forward to this one now!
Me too! Great timing for the upload.
Pathfinder 2 is designed to solve the martial/caster gap that 5e has and I think they do a great job with it!
A general guide to Pf2e is to think of your party as a team, as opposed to a collection of individuals. Casters are better at AoE damage, battlefield control, and (de)buffing, whereas martials are better at single target damage. This is why some spells can be seen as weaker to their 5e counterparts in terms of raw damage.
Minor correction on 3:50 about cantrip scaling: They scale up to half your level, rounded up, which is almost the same scaling as spell levels for a caster class, but crucially not tied to it. Makes a big difference when learning cantrips from archetypes or various feats. Focus Spells also scale the same way as cantrips, which you did mention :) (others touched on the refocusing already so not repeating it)
11:40 You can't open with an attack RAW, the intent to do hostilities would start the initiative, because in the process of getting ready to attack, you might get noticed or someone might react faster than you. Just something, anything might tip off one of the opposition that something is about to go down, even if the entire opposing party is invisible and far away.
This is also one of the main ways to get to use something other than perception for initiative. For example, talking to someone in a bar, but unwittingly sling a grievous insult and a fight breaks out? using diplomacy for initiative is easily on the table. Bust through a door into a room? Doorbuster definitely has grounds for rolling athletics for initiative. And of course the good old sneaking around to use stealth for initiative.
(dc5 check is 20% failure odds, not 25%)
Great video, hope you enjoy your time in PF2e and otherwise :)
DC5 is 25% failure odds. A 5 succeeds.
@@lesspopmorefizz5413 that was their point, you only fail if you roll a 4 or lower. That’s four results out of twenty, which is a fifth, meaning 20%. If you failed on a 5, then it would be 25%.
Electric arc is the top pf2 cantrip spell if you wanted to try and optimise it. Also the psychic class has more focus on cantrip spamming.
I would love to see a little pathfinder along with the regular content. I've always liked some crunchy bits in my games and I would like to learn more about theory crafting in pathfinder.
Hands down the best D&D to PF2e video I have every watched. I don't know if it's because we share the same perspective coming from D&D where most other videos I have seen seem to come from the perspective of Pathfinder but I will be sharing these videos for fellow PF2e-curious gamers
The singing at the end. Wasn't expecting that. Loved it.
5:28
Hey Colby! Correction on the Refocus activity: You regain a single spent focus point, and you can’t refocus again until you have spent at least one focus point again.
So at higher levels, you can spend two focus points in a single combat, but for the rest of the day, you only have a single focus point you can get back.
There are feats and features at higher levels that let you get 2 or 3 focus points back during the activity, but until then it’s only a partially renewable resource
Happy Gaming!
Thanks! Will add an Errata to the pinned comment :)
I love every single time you just go "that's a fun idea to build around" every so often right before moving on to explaining further
Part one was awesome! It’s interesting seeing the progression of pf2, since it seems like 3.5 was to 3rd edition
I whole-heartedly agree with you, diversity of equipment is amazing. Fun fact: when I created my first character, I actually spent more time studying and weighing the various weapon options than my ancestry or class feats!
I also noticed that. In 5e some weapons are just plain better than others. There's no reason to use a shortsword if you have proficiency with a rapier. I like the idea of a less powerful weapon still being a viable option by having some advantage or benefit over a more powerful weapon.
I'm really excited to see your Pathfinder builds
One good thing about long duration spells, is that some spells that are concentration in 5e aren't in PF2e. Fly, Invisibility and Haste are great examples.
Pathfindin' Time!
1.) I need that Pooh Bear shirt. 2.) I have never played Pathfinder, and only know it came from an older edition of D&D. I've been playing 5E since 2017 though. After watching both videos, I want to thank you for this deepest of dives! There are a lot of cool ideas here. Although as someone who has played a lot of D&D clerics, and loves their spell casting, I'm not that interested in trying out PF's spell casting system. I love the flexibility in D&D's system, and hate to think that "Oh cool, I could learn a 5th level spell, but if I want to have the option of upcasting another spell I can't actually prepare this." And, ya know, sometimes I want to demolish a field with my Spirit Guardians and wreck everything! Especially since my guardians looks like winged wheels made of eyes! I love having that as an option. That aside, the feat system sounds very cool. I've always wished that D&D would put the ASI/Feat progression in a single track along with Proficiency Bonus progression (and leave the fighter and rogue their special bonus ones in their class progression).
I feel about as excited for pf2e now as I did when I first started reading and build crafting in dnd5e. Thanks so much for making this video! I can tell how hard you worked on it
I have to leave a comment because I want to see more of this content and I just freaking love you man. One dad to another.
So I watched both parts and I was not super hopeful they would be that informative on such a short learning timeline - but boy was I wrong! You did an AMAZING job going over SO much content and I am so proud of you!!
Just finished the video and then a minute later part 2 popped up!
Important note to Grapple
the Escape action has the [Attack] trait, which makes it susceptible to MAP. making Grapple REALLY good!
Hearing “the middle” after the video has been such a good fckin moment. Highlight of the day, really, thank you!
Your energy and excitement for the system is just such a delight to experience. You've done a remarkably great job of explaining the system and exploring it. Very interested to see your opinions if you're able to explore it more in the future. :)
Well I usually watch your videos 3 times, once to actually intently listen, once to fall asleep and then once on a higher speed to consolidate it but since this was a 2 parter I got 2 full sleeps in. What a week 😂
So excited for all these concepts, especially the PF2e Cantrip Blaster!
Best part of the day has arrived!
Part 1 was amazing, thanks again for being the best content creator on youtube!
I've got some exciting tips you might like to hear about PF2e!
1.) Although traditional multiclassing is out, the Multiclass archetypes are a lot more potent than they first appear. A level 20 Fighter with the Wizard multiclass archetype can cast up to 8th level spells, which would normally take 15 Wizard levels, leaving you more Wizard than Fighter. But here all you give up are class feats, and you gain more magic than any Eldritch Knight ever did!
2.) For your eventual DoT character, there's a fun exploit you can take advantage of. The Administer First Aid action can be performed on enemies, and if you critically fail your check you automatically trigger whatever Bleed damage they're currently taking. You need to be trained to take the action, but a level 5 Gnoll can use the Right-Hand Blood feat to automatically critically fail an Administer First Aid check. The largest source of Bleed damage is the Blood Vendetta spell, which is cast as a reaction and has a max damage of 10d6 if upcast. If you hit someone with the spell, you can then spend all 3 actions failing to administer first aid to them, causing them to take the damage 3 separate times, only to take it again when their turn comes up. It's incredibly potent, and it doesn't have to deal with Multi-Attack Penalty like most melee characters do.
When it comes to cantrip casters - psychic is where it is at. They can make one cantrip do 19d6 damage on a normal hit at level 19.
I absolutely love how Pathfinder handles spellcasting, gives me that old Jack Vance vibe.
The Gamemastery Guide has optional rules for multiclassing in PF 2e. I know these videos were based just on the core rule book, but I’ll be interested in your thoughts on those rules when you get to them
The Dual Classing rules from the GMG are more akin to Gestalt than multiclassing. They're a significant power and complexity boost and are prone to unbalanced experiences. You need everyone in the party to use it if you choose to use the rule.
That’s one hell of a good review of the game for a self-proclaimed ”noob”. From a veteran : great job !
One thing i want to say, in case you are unaware, in regards to "Multiclassing":
There are the "Multiclass Archetypes" for every single one of the classes that (from my experiences playing around, building characters) end up feeling very similar to multiclassing in DnD.
The important part about them to know is that those Archetypes all include certain Feats, firstly Feats that let you get (slightly weakened) versions of the Class Features, but more importantly a "Basic [...]" Feat (the gap in the name is filled with something related to the class, like Trickery for Rogue or Arcana for Wizard) that lets you take a 1st or 2nd level Class Feat of the Class the Archetype is based on and once you take that one, it will allow you to take the "Advanced [...]" Feat which lets you choose any Class Feat where your Characters level divided by 2 counts as your level for the sake of prerequisites. ("Advanced [...] can be taken any number of times)
This means that you could make a character who over the course of their 20 levels spends a couple feats to pick up the Monk Dedication (immediately granting the Powerful Fist Feature for better Unarmed Attacks), as well as a Feat each for getting Flurry of Blows and a 10ft. status bonus Unarmored Movement and also pick a 1st or 2nd level Feat followed by however many Level/2 Monk Feats they want, *all without* ever preventing you from reaching your sweet, sweet level 18-20 Class Feats/Features in your main class.
This to me feels roughly equivalent to taking "dips" into other classes in DnD 5e, grabbing the feats you want most, but doesnt come with the frustrating restriction of not letting you get to your high level stuff or even really delaying it (past having a few less feats for your main class), so I really do believe once you read into this your worry about "no multiclassing" will be at the very least reduced a lot.
And once you get comfortable with the system, I cannot recommend looking at the "Free Archetype" variant rule enough, which simply grants all characters a free Feat every time they get a Class Feat that can only be used for Archetype Feats, letting you get everything you want from your main class while also including Archetypes (or let you take *more* Archetypes, my Thrown Weapon based Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Duelist says Hi")
Anyways, loved the part 2, especially the multiple instances of hearing "this sounds fun to build around", I am very much looking forward to what that leads to, notifications are on for sure xD
Keep it up! :3
I got such a kick out of harmonizing with you on "it just takes some time"! (at least, I think it was harmonizing. I may have been butchering it. But it was fun anyway!)
Another thing about Refocusing - you can do it at the same time as another appropriate short activity (GM discretion). The example in the rules is that a healing cleric can refocus to recover a focus point at the same time as treating wounds. As a paladin with the divine shield path, I used to refocus while repairing my shield.
Regarding prepared spell choices - wizards also get a bonded item, which they can drain 1/day to recover an already cast spell (free action). So that lessens the need to prepare duplicates of a spell.
Flat checks are treated like other checks, you need to meet or exceed the DC. So a flat check of 5 is actually a 20% chance of failure.
One of the best DOT choices is a bomber alchemist. Acid only does 1 initial damage, but is all about the persistent. However, know that persistent damage of the same type does not stack, only the higher value applies.
Enjoy!
I fully expect a full video of all outtakes at the end of 2023. Thanks, Colby, in advance.
Hey man, thank you for taking the time to do this. I know it takes a lot of time and effort and it means a lot. I'm a year old DM for DnD and plan to move my group over to P2E at the end our campaign.
Great vocals also!
More pathfinder 2e content please and thank you 😀
I watched both videos without speeding up or walking away from the computer! I really like them. I think you maybe missed the single coolest thing about PF2 is how the 3-action economy combines with the 4 degrees of success to eliminate save-or-suck effects. Take color spray as an example. If they fail the save, they are stunned 1 which means they lose only a single action instead of their entire turn! (plus some other nasty conditions). If they succeed, they are only dazzled for one round, and if they crit succeed then they are unaffected. So even if your target passes, then something still happens and it wasn't a complete waste. That is just *chef's kiss*.
I love that you are covering other systems!
Can't wait to see what Pathfinder builds you do.
A great finale to your two-part series. I learned a lot, so thank you! And please consider more PF2E content, after you get that nap.
I ask this because you kept breaking out in little smiles talking about the system. You genuinely seem to like what you’ve seen, so far. So you have a great opportunity to grow your channel, learn more about the game you like, and teach a horde of new subscribers what you’ve learned.
Regardless of what you decide, thanks again for making these two videos.
Came here straight from Part 1! LOVE THIS!!
Nice ! Can't wait to see some builds
Mooore! Best run-through of PF2! I want part 3, 4...... 20 episodes about your journey into the PF2 world!
I've been playing Pf2e for a few years now, and I still learned a few things from these two videos! And yes, building around having multiple sustained spells is very fun. I once managed to create a build that can sustain the summon spells (3 actions to cast each) for four ancient dragons at once. Unless you want a hint, I'll leave it for you to discover how. Thanks for making these, they're great!
Haha, loved the outtakes! Do you usually include them?
"You're a note reader," as am I! We come off as much more articulate than we actually are due to the magic of Editing! lol
I'm glad you're enjoying the PF2 game and am THRILLED to hear you want your group to have a PF2 campaign! Huzzah!
Singing 'The Middle' at the end made me smile a lot actually.
Thank you. Sent both parts to my players. Looking forward to more Pathfinder content!
Wow, fast second part! I would love more Pathfinder content from you.
This is (by far) the best description for us 5e players looking to try PF!! I really enjoyed this video series!!
You know, I’m sure there are a lot of people who would listen to this and think, “That’s so many rules! Ugh!”
Having had similar thoughts, I just recall trying to explain the world we were going to be playing in to new players, and having what I imagined to be a “10 minute summary”, then realizing we’d been going for 2 hours, and that didn’t even include rules!
Chin up, everyone!
This was great! One thing I would like to point out though: magic items are important. Getting those fundamental runes on your weapons is a significant part of scaling your character up if you don’t cast spells.
Magic items are included in the system balance, and it’s typically assumed that, if the players are in a sufficiently established settlement, they’ll be able to purchase magic items up to a certain level.
I bring this up because when you start making higher level character builds, especially for non-magic characters you should definitely keep in mind what Runes and gear a character of that level would have.
These two videos are amazing for players transitioning to 2e from 5e.
Love the pathfinder 2e things! Keep them coming!
God I came here for the pathfinder tutorial and ended up finding my new favourite Ttrpg TH-camr in general! Love your video style :))
Thanks for this two-parter! I appreciate recognizing that PF2 is crunchier, and that may not be good for everyone. It could be who I've run across, but you're the first person that has mentioned this. As someone who would definitely not like more crunch, I appreciate this.
Hey, if I liked both part one and two, then technically we found a way to like a video twice, yay!
With that relaxing voice, you're like the Bob Ross of TTRPGs, lol. Hope you continue to add in PF2 content. Thank you for awesome videos!
Thanks for the series, I'm very excited to see your games played out. I'm discussing with my DM to make a side campaign with the PF ruleset, so it is like the same setting and lore our table is already known to...
Great video! Couple notes:
- Rangers dont automatically get focus spells, as you mentioned, but they can choose to take them! You just also have the option of a nonmagical ranger if you prefer
- Spells are generally less overtly powerful, but are also way more consistently useful because even a successful save will have a useful effect! I personally prefer pf2 spell-casters as a player
Hey! I found your channel from your video with Rules Lawyer, and am now subscribed in the hopes of more Pathfinder content! And with regards to your concern about multiclassing, take a look at the "Free Archetype" optional rule. It seems to be a very popular alternate rule that greatly expands potential multi-classing options and opens up niche build choices without drastically affecting game balance.
Aw, the end left me teary-eyed. I guess I needed to hear that. It's probably daddy issues. Thanks internet dad.
Showing my love and support for the delicious crunch of PF. Gotta see that sustained spells-based caster
This is super helpful not only as a player but for new GMs as well. This video helped me understand the mechanics better than any other resource I've watched/seen. Would love to see you continue making more Pathfinder 2e content. I've convinced my table to try pathfinder 2e. Cheers to years of pathfinder adventures!
btw Absolutely loving this Pathfinder 2e intro. I'm wading thru the Core Rulebook, but I'm going to refresh this regularly until I feel more confident. Still looking forward to kooky 5e builds but really looking forward to your 2e builds.
Definitely do more PF videos. I'm sending both of these to our D&D group for help understanding the differences. I love your writing and performance style.
Hi, great job on summarizing all the content. I'm DM-ing PF2e for over a year now and still learned some things. Minor errata to the "Demoralize Action" there are 3 degrees of success: (crit. + ) Fail: unaffected / Succeess: Target becomes Frightened 1 / Crit Success: Target becomes Frightened 2. This effectively reduces EVERYTHING by 1 or 2 if you succeed (AC / Damage / Skill-Checks / ...) Additional Info: If you attempted a Demoralize Action, this Target is immune to other attempts from you for 10 minutes, regardless of outcome.
Thanks for this, it's sorely needed.
That was fast! Thanks for the hard work!
You are really selling me on pathfinder. I'm just holding on tightly to my tiefling warlock.
many thanks for the pathfinder knowledge. hope your journey is wonderful
So glad you did this and I really do hope you continue down the PF2E rabbit hole -- it is amazing!
Listened to both Parts 1 & 2 several times, and the mystery of 'What exactly IS Pathfinder?' is no longer a mystery. Great content with literally zero filler. The internet needed this!
Spells!! Thanks for hanging in there despite the upload weirdness Colby!
Yay!!! Part 2! I was excited to listen to this after Part 1. Thanks again for the Deep Dive into this. Looking forward to the next leg of this journey.