Ahhhhhh forever GM, I was there for a time. Eventually others stepped up and we have been rotating GMs between 4 people for about a decade. If you like to GM though more power to you.
@@guldcat1619 it's my favorite system to run, I've ran pathfinder first and d&d 5e but never really had fun running them. 2e I actually enjoy running, but still wish I could play. My first game sucked, but each campaign i run it gets easier, but that's cause I study the game more than for my college classes
Coming back having played a Thaumaturge who has since departed, (next session i go back with an inventor) i definitely used my sheet too much and didn't play as much a character as a stat block.
1. 0:47 don't attack a bunch 2. 2:53 don't not know what to do 3. 5:56 don't look at your character sheet 4. 8:05 don't not debuff 5. 11:28 don't not do things
Weird how all the "largest" player mistakes in Pathfinder 2e are just lack of system mastery. As opposed to, say, D&D 5e, where the largest player mistakes have nothing to do with being a sub-optimal character build/execution, and instead tends to be roleplaying mistakes that could apply to any roleplaying game.
@@Necroes To a certain extent, rule three applies to roleplaying. As he described it 'Don't look at your sheet, see you can pick pocket, and look for someone to pick pocket. Play your character, and when it's appropriate to pick pocket, look at your sheet.' In other words, it's a roleplaying mistake to be too caught up in mechanics, especially given that Pathfinder has A LOT of them.
@@Necroesweird how 5e players feel the intense need to justify their system, as though itll topple like a house of cards if they didnt go to videos on other games and bash them.
@@MakenaForest Oh, see, that's where you're wrong. I'm not a 5e player; I'm a TTRPG player, with a wide list under my belt of games I play regularly. Actually cut my teeth on the better part of a decade of roleplay that was almost entirely Pathfinder, but the first edition. Pathfinder Second edition is a garbage fire that someone desperately needs to put out of my misery. Witnessing its cult following try to defend it is like watching someone with Stockholm syndrome defend their abuser.
@@Nonat1s Even then, it's worth noting that a Flurry Ranger with agile weapons that starts his turn with an Athletics action that flat-foots effectively ignores the impact of the maneuver on his MAP. Presuming he's already your Hunted Prey: 1st Action: Trip. 2nd Action: Inform the target in an Intimidating voice that he was right to prostrate himself before you because you are Kegdor the Destroyer of Kegs, Doors, and His Butt. 3rd Action: Twin Takedown with your two Agile weapons with attack rolls that get a net +1/-1 to accuracy when MAP, flat-footed, and frightened 1 all included.
Agile Weapon Fighter gets away with this too. Double Slice, Quickened Strike, Strike, Desperate Finisher (Two-Weapon Flurry), all while having Agile Grace and Graceful Poise.
There was one time where the group I was DMing encountered a very dangerous monster blocking their path. The creature demanding "Each of you shall drop for me something of great value on the path before you, and I will allow you to pass." They HAD to move past. Instead of immediately obliging the superior threat or rushing into combat, one experienced player said his Fighter was going to attempt to intimidate the thing. This player acted out his threats and described his posture so well. The fighter said "All we will leave on this path is you still alive and not dead - If you let us pass!" Then, he rolled his intimidation (I gave a +2 for his total presentation) and its a NAT-20 CRIT!! The whole table of players erupted in a collective high five "YES!". I paused for a second acting out the monsters surprise and confusion as they waited for the outcome. It was obvious to me what this monster would do. "The creature pauses, looking down on you, agape and puzzled. It tilts it scabby head to the side (I act out a "hmmmph") it's confident posture changes as it begins to cautiously back step, then abruptly turning away, it runs off the path, into the shadow of the forest, and gone! You pass without any more threats." This is how a player can use skills with imagination. What a great moment. It's years ago now and we STILL TALK ABOUT IT! Been GM/DM for over 40 years.
Little correction on Demoralize. You can only demoralize the same target once every 10 minutes (unless there is a feat for that ?) Though EVERYONE in the group can demoralize that target once per 10 minutes, and there is other ways to do it (Fear spell, Dragon Roar from Monk (which also prevents them to go under Frightened 1 as long as the Monk is in melee range), Intimidating Strike...)
@@PalagiAlomagi Braggart Swashbuckler(specialized in intimidation) gets to reset that immunity with "Exemplary Finisher", a level 9 feature, whenever they hit with their finishers. Real neat :).
#3 - I always harp on my players about this #5 - It's so sad seeing a Wizard cast a spell and then shrugging off the 3rd action. Grab a scroll! Knowledge check! Something!
One of my players overheard this video wile I was watching and called out "is this video just made for me?" 😂 She had done every one of these. I'm sure I would have too if I'd ever been a player 🤣
"stop attacking too many times" My fire poi wielding flurry ranger with the dual weapon warrior archetype using double slice and twin takedown would like a word
On the topic of 'Stay out of your character sheet', maybe an aid for this might be to have a cheat sheet available that gives a brief rundown of your abilities, so that you don't have to spend 10 minutes looking through your character sheet to figure out your options. Once you've found something to use, then go through the details on your character sheet.
10:35 Nnnnno you can't. It says right there in the text of your cropped image: "Regardless of your result, the target is temporarily immune to your attempts to Demoralize it for 10 minutes." For your character, that's _one_ Demoralize per target, per 100 rounds. You cannot "do it over and over again". Crit-failing doesn't factor.
My group is currently lvl 17 and the most exciting momment each combat is when our fighter tries to frighten to death, just feels so good when she suceed :D
Nonat, dude keep doing this sort of videos for new players and that such off thing. I've begun to play Pathfinder 2E recently and I'd love to watch videos about Character Creation, what can i do in my turn, golarion lore, ideas at all. i'm waiting for new videos!
MY ETERNAL FIGHT WITH MY TABLE. YOU DON'T. NEED. TO. ATTACK. ALWAYS. ENDING YOUR TURN. BESIDE THE ENEMY WITH NO REACTION ISN'T WHAT YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO DO. *cries*
We had an outcome where an Investigator did Devise a Stratagem, Recalled Knowledge and then critical struck the enemy. It was a few people later that we realised, they didn’t get the other actions in their turn.
I've fallen into the "3 attack" trap a couple times as a new player. I do sometimes forget about some of the awesome skill activities you can do in combat. That being said, not knowing what you're going to do when your turn starts is absolutely my biggest pet peeve. I understand that some reevaluation may be needed, but it shouldn't happen every round in every combat (I'm in a 5e group that this has happened in). To go along with that, limitations on what you want to do and ranges for your actions
Alas, I must rain on the Demoralize parade a smidge: regardless of the result target becomes immune to further Demoralize from you for 10 minutes. Nothing stops someone else from then Demoralizing as well, though.
When you demoralize an enemy, you can't do it again for 10 minutes. It becomes immune to your demoralizes for 10 minutes, it's right there in the action description that came up on screen. It makes no difference whether you crit fail or not.
Pathfinder 2e makes planning your skills/skill feats (and supporting stats) important before even creating a character unlike many other games... at least when it comes to combat. 100% agree on your analysis.
I thinks it's just that the multiple action system doesn't jive with everyone the same way. People generally plan to do a specific thing on their turn; it's difficult to also plan for other actions whose utility may change depending on whether that one primary thing you intended to do worked out or didn't.
@@ikaemos As far as the Action Economy goes, I have found that players will do MUCH better by NOT comparing PF2 to single choice/action type of system. PF2 is a detailed, structured, tactical, CHOICE driven system. Embrace that, master it, and you'll have more fun playing PF2. And we do play for the fun of it!
>Not knowing what to do on your turn Me, playing a witch in PF1: "But the GM brought mindless creatures again and I only have mind-affecting hexes, now I gotta look through the spells I prepared, and... *shit, only SNOWBALL for damage!?"*
I've definitely made many of these mistakes, and being in a group full of noobies actually helped because I got to make them without pressure. My group is hopefully gonna start up again and I'm excited to try again, taking what I've learned on my own and from your videos and having more fun because of it.
Also, that "go comment" section finally had you go to number three... and then an ad immediately popped. Bravo if that was on purpose. May these humble offerings please the --alghollthus-- algorithm. Edit: also glad you're doing better.
I haven't made any of these, so hah! Because I dm the first session ever of PF2 this Sunday, and will play for the first time ever sometime next year, in January.
hey there thanks for that pause it allowed me to use my action to leave a comment excellent video, I'm excited for tomorrows game and after watching your guide I feel ready! p.s. i'm playing pathfinder for the first time tomorrow
I mostly play a spellcaster in just about any TRPG, and I love being an offensive support. I.e. debuffing the enemies into the dirt. It’s lovely to see enemies just unable to do anything
My go to default is the Aid action if I don't know what else to do or I don't want to go for that third attack. Since by RAW and seemingly by RAI the DC doesn't increase too much beyond 20, even when you're level 20, that extra +2-+4 can be crazy good for an ally, even if it also consumes a reaction from you.
Meanwhile, me in 1st Edition: *proceeds to make 8-10 attacks with my Unchained Monk, a majority of them at max bonus* Lol, jokes aside, yeah, the only people that should consider that third attack are probably Flurry Rangers. Lots of solid options to keep things interesting.
@@Grom_the_Paunch We're actually going back to our old characters for a level 20 game and I'm going to make my DM's attempts to explode me into chunky salsa not bear fruit, lol.
The BLOOD DEMON OF DOOM AND SUFFERING recoils in fear as the 3 foot tall gnome oracle asserts his dominance with a verbal intimation roll from the relative safety of the other end of the room.
Haven't played 2e pathfinder. Dmed 3.5/1e for about 10 years, 5e d&d is my favorite (about 5 years now) but I've enjoyed them all, even 4e d&d had some good additions. I'm not claiming any system is better. Just giving my perspective. The point is to have fun. I absolutely love this video. Point 1 in 5e sounds like what several classes can do with a bonus action. Give bonuses, grant advantage (roll twice, take the better roll), some people can heal, or almost any savvy player can pull out a prepared item for an ambush, etc. Point 2) pathfinder is strategy heavy, and I appreciate him acknowledging this. I do think it is much more necessary in games like pathfinder to be actively engaged. You not only have to plan your set of actions, but anticipate the group. As a DM/player, I've come to appreciate how important it is what others do and react. New player/campaign, that's fine. But learn your character asap, so combat doesn't drag. Solid points for any ttrpg. Point 3) solid all around. Tbh 4/5 "memorable moments" are from people playing their character, not landing a Michael Bay killing blow. Character first, sheet second. PF has a lot of rules so you can feel trapped in them. Like he said, don't. Very good advice. 4) absolutely. Change the conditions of the fight. This is historically why underdogs win. They fight smarter not harder. 5) I don't have much to add. I've done it usually from ignorance than disinterest, but that's happened. All around great advice for any ttrpg. Well done.
After playing 3.5, 4, 5e, and p1, p2. Gotta say p2 and the star wars ttrpg are my group's favorites. In pathfinder 2 it is very very hard to make a blatantly overpowered or terrible character. In 5e it is pretty easy, I find p2 friendlier to new people for this reason. The 3 action system is great for p2 as well and was a bit clunky with not being able to use movement in chunks for a single action but we got used to it.
I can, in fact, guarantee I have literally never made any of these mistakes while playing Pathfinder 2e. "Stark, you haven't played a game of Pathfinder 2e ye--" I WON'T HEAR IT.
I'm a PF1e player currently making my first 2e character for a Gen Con event and I've been binging your vids. They've been INSANELY helpful. THAT BEING SAID- my jaw dropped out of vague confusion because we apparently have the EXACT same couch, LOL!
I can say I have NEVER made these mistakes in Pathfinder before - my first game-session is tonight! 🤣. But I HAVE made them in playing other systems - a LOT! Thanks for making a great video!
Something I don't see enough: AID! Aid people in skills. Aid people's attacks! It costs 1 action and 1 reaction, but since you do your roll as part of the reaction and not on your turn you don't have the multiple attack penalty. I had an archer fighter that would not be using attack of opportunity because I was not in melee, so dropping the third attack so I could aid another character was very useful. It would critically aid quite often, and would be the difference between an ally missing and hitting, or at times changing a hit into a crit. It was great.
@@kevinbarnard355 TBF, looking at a DC 20 is going to put me off. It just seems so unlikely that I'll achieve anything if I have to pass a check that high, maybe higher than any opponent's actual AC. TBF, I have very little experience in PF2, so maybe I'm missing something...
I just started playing, first Dice based TRPG ever. 1st thank you for your videos, they are insightful and guiding. 2nd, I'm already guilty of 4 of these :(
Half of my group has a bad habit of #5, just simply dropping their remaining actions. No repositioning, no looking for cover, no attempts to demoralize or feint or push enemies around, nothing. Just attack twice, then they're done. And if they DO think of using a penalizing action like a feint or demoralize, it's usually LAST on their turn instead of FIRST when they would benefit from it themselves.
A saving throw followed by an attack roll is the BEST possible turn for a caster. Battlemages are underused because you can cast something like electric arc and then make a melee attack at full bonus.
@@Nonat1s it doesn't need to be a caster. There are ways to get spells and spell-like abilities on any class. Spellscaled kobold can give fighters/champs electric arc, and I'm sure there are other ancestries that give access to offensive cantrips
My players focus on their skill sheets because of the way Pathfinder 2e is balanced, if you aren't trained at least, they feel like the attempt is absolutely pointless to take. It'll never work, so they don't do it. So they only focus on what they can do, which will be like 3 things.
The way that I describe Frightened, Sickened, and the like is that they essentially lower the enemy's level while they last and make it easier to continue lowering their level.
Thanks I've played magic I've played Star Wars Minis, and several other games like this also RPGs but a tabletop RPG maybe twice. First roll is two weeks from now. Your video put a lot of things into perspective thanks!
Interesting ! I've just played my first PF2 game, and I think I was too much in my character sheet. Problem was I didn't have time to read my pregen fully before the game. It was an unexpected one. Next time, I will arrive better prepared.
My players have a few helper pc's i give them control of during encounters, but i've been recently taking control of them and using help actions and so on to hopefully get them to start doing more stuff with their actions.
related to this is the mistake of thinking that the feats that grant you 2 attacks for one action are powerful because they give you the ability to make 4 attacks. No, because those last two of the four attacks are only rarely ever going to hit. The two attacks in one action feats are strong because they let you do an extra other thing without losing an attack. I mean heck. Presuming you're in the right range you can attack twice AND cast most spells with this.
I think one of the reasons people don't use conditions so often comes from a *bunch* of caveats. First, a plethora of monsters have various immunities. As a player, you have no way of knowing these immunities, so you might just be wasting your actions and resources. Second, monsters have insane saving throws, like its not even funny. Meaning your chance to inflict such things are usually just awful. Third, incapacitation rules suck. Fourth, a lot of conditions are kind of.. bad. A lot of people extoll the virtue of the frightened condition, but it isn't good at frightened 1. Let's first assume the initiatives line up that the creature doesn't immediately lose the condition as they act next. Then, hope your party is in position to capitalise on that drop in defenses (only a 5% drop). Also, for demoralise to even have a *hope* of succeeding consistently, you need to invest in the skill. Not a lot of classes have the skill increases to throw around like that, and there are more flavourful skill feats out there. A full demoralise build might achieve something good, but if you're just trained in intimidation with a 12 or 14 charisma, that -10 attack is frankly more likely to serve you.
@@edreppert3091 Even if we assume your dm lets you know condition immunities off recall knowledge- which the rules do not even *suggest* they ought to directly- the action cost to apply the condition increases if you have to do that first. And they were often lackluster for their costs to begin with...
One...you earned a new subscriber. I do appreciate your content for PF2e which I need being fairly new to the system. I do have to admit though I'm really against this constant thought of GMs/DMs always "working so hard on their campaigns/encounters". Good ones do, yes. There seems to be a growing amount of lazy GMs/DMs as of late. Going as far as not even reading the rules....you heard me, they don't even read the rules! I get it...we ignore, manipulate, customize, and outright strip rules from our games at times but you need to know the frame work and what you're working with before you do and that simply isn't happening with some of these people. Disinterest is deserved if you're being lazy. That being said...I do like your content and I agree with a lot of what you're saying.
I know this video has been up a year or so, but I just wanted to say thank-you. With the recent WotC debacle, my usual gaming group are transitioning to Pathfinder and your videos are a treasure trove of info - I'll be encouraging the rest of the group to check out your content (if they haven't already!)
I like to have a Crossbow as a "sidearm" when playing a full caster. When in doubt, i just shoot, 1 action attack + Bespell Weapon after using a Fireball? This can really potentially kill a lesser enemy even if my attack bonus isn't big.
The last one for me sounds weird. Sometimes people don't know what to do with their last action and that's fine, you don't need to be doing something EVERY round, especially when is a table with newbies. Wanting players to do something all the time, for me, would fall more on the DMs lap than on the player, sometimes people just don't have really any idea what to do.
#4 Am GMing a game with brand new players. I gave a level 1 wizard Color Spray, because he wanted to focus on illusion magic. He was disappointed with it until he used it the first time blinding and stunning enemies. Now I have to rethink designing combat encounters knowing that 3-4 of the enemies will be taken out before they even reach the party.
4:22 or if what happened to me in my last session when I went down far behind enemy lines and didn't expect to get a heal so I was planning on just making my death save and move on, but at the last minute someone got his familiar to me with a healing potion so I had a turn I didn't know what to do with and a creature with AOO standing directly over me.
I was GMing the only 5th to 6th level group at an Interactive during a convention. All other tables were 1st to 4th level groups. Player indecision killed the whole scenario. Yes they had more options than the lower level tables, but their inability to decide what to do when it was each players' turn led to most encounters ending half way through. (In an interactive scenario all tables move on once a certain number of tables have completed an encounter or event.) They did not completely search any area and only finished two combat encounters out of six they started. It was a very unsatisfying game.
Number two is part of the reason I put the initiative order where the players can see it. The other part is in case I skip someone my players can tell me
GREAT ADVICE! Useful, easy to understand and apply. If you are as imaginative a GM as you are rules-intuitive, your games must be a blast! Well done young man. Very interesting.
Oh i find it awesome if Our GM uses the extra actions and all the potential from the creatures. It makes the fights much harder and you have to be more invested as a player to survive.
damn that last one hit hard i never skipped actions but i do show disinterest out of game and i never thought about how it would effect others i dont really know what to do since i dont really enjoy playing but if i quit it may effect other people or harm my relationship with them
No Pathfinder is Better than Bad Pathfinder. PF you're not enjoying is bad PF. Have you talked to your GM about it and what might help to rekindle your enjoyment? Also, if you do end up quitting, it doesn't have to harm your relationships with other people; if a particular game isn't for you, it isn't for you and decent people will respect that. As a forever GM, I'm going to say that if my players are losing interest or having issues, I WANT them to talk to me about it. I had a player quit a year ago and I was so incredibly frustrated because they didn't talk to me about the issues they were having; they let it build up until it was too much and then left us in the lurch. Luckily, I managed to remove their character from the game and party without having to kill them off or anything like that but it was disheartening.
Having never played PF2E, I have yet to make these errors. HOWEVER, it means when I get the chance, I'll remember to Demoralize/Feint/etc before attacking. Good tip! Thanks. :)
"Do not attack too much" My Barbarian in rage, unable to control his emotions and just wanting to kill everything: ok sir, i'll politely follow your advice, sorry for my bad manners. :(
First thing is the thing that I do most. As a monk lvl 1 there is not much I can do but attack 3 times. Once I activate my Stance that's it. Flury of Blows and the Stance attack. Unless you telling me that there are 10 other things I can do not having any other feat eh. Yes I started playing the game literally yesterday and my character has just a handful of feats that do basically nothing and the one really useful one I can only use once every 10 mins...
I have never made any of these mistakes as a player, because I've never been player character, but I've made every mistake in the GM video
Ahhhhhh forever GM, I was there for a time. Eventually others stepped up and we have been rotating GMs between 4 people for about a decade. If you like to GM though more power to you.
@@guldcat1619 it's my favorite system to run, I've ran pathfinder first and d&d 5e but never really had fun running them. 2e I actually enjoy running, but still wish I could play. My first game sucked, but each campaign i run it gets easier, but that's cause I study the game more than for my college classes
I have never made any of the mistakes in either video because, well, you've guessed it...
Coming back having played a Thaumaturge who has since departed, (next session i go back with an inventor) i definitely used my sheet too much and didn't play as much a character as a stat block.
"We made it slowed, immobilized, restrained, flat footed, prone and give it two types of persistent damage" Jesus, give the monsters a chance LOL
That's not me. That's the players.
"Not enough debuffs. We need to add Sickened and Feared"
-Alchemist
MOAR DOTS!!
1. 0:47 don't attack a bunch
2. 2:53 don't not know what to do
3. 5:56 don't look at your character sheet
4. 8:05 don't not debuff
5. 11:28 don't not do things
How did I not see this comment till now? I love it lol
Weird how all the "largest" player mistakes in Pathfinder 2e are just lack of system mastery. As opposed to, say, D&D 5e, where the largest player mistakes have nothing to do with being a sub-optimal character build/execution, and instead tends to be roleplaying mistakes that could apply to any roleplaying game.
@@Necroes To a certain extent, rule three applies to roleplaying. As he described it 'Don't look at your sheet, see you can pick pocket, and look for someone to pick pocket. Play your character, and when it's appropriate to pick pocket, look at your sheet.' In other words, it's a roleplaying mistake to be too caught up in mechanics, especially given that Pathfinder has A LOT of them.
@@Necroesweird how 5e players feel the intense need to justify their system, as though itll topple like a house of cards if they didnt go to videos on other games and bash them.
@@MakenaForest Oh, see, that's where you're wrong. I'm not a 5e player; I'm a TTRPG player, with a wide list under my belt of games I play regularly. Actually cut my teeth on the better part of a decade of roleplay that was almost entirely Pathfinder, but the first edition.
Pathfinder Second edition is a garbage fire that someone desperately needs to put out of my misery. Witnessing its cult following try to defend it is like watching someone with Stockholm syndrome defend their abuser.
Nonat: no, you can't just use three attack actions in a turn
Me: Haha, flurry ranger go brrr
There are.....exceptions lol
@@Nonat1s Even then, it's worth noting that a Flurry Ranger with agile weapons that starts his turn with an Athletics action that flat-foots effectively ignores the impact of the maneuver on his MAP. Presuming he's already your Hunted Prey: 1st Action: Trip. 2nd Action: Inform the target in an Intimidating voice that he was right to prostrate himself before you because you are Kegdor the Destroyer of Kegs, Doors, and His Butt. 3rd Action: Twin Takedown with your two Agile weapons with attack rolls that get a net +1/-1 to accuracy when MAP, flat-footed, and frightened 1 all included.
Let's not forget a monk with Flurry of Blows hitting the -8 on their second action. :)
Agile Weapon Fighter gets away with this too. Double Slice, Quickened Strike, Strike, Desperate Finisher (Two-Weapon Flurry), all while having Agile Grace and Graceful Poise.
There was one time where the group I was DMing encountered a very dangerous monster blocking their path. The creature demanding "Each of you shall drop for me something of great value on the path before you, and I will allow you to pass." They HAD to move past. Instead of immediately obliging the superior threat or rushing into combat, one experienced player said his Fighter was going to attempt to intimidate the thing.
This player acted out his threats and described his posture so well. The fighter said "All we will leave on this path is you still alive and not dead - If you let us pass!" Then, he rolled his intimidation (I gave a +2 for his total presentation) and its a NAT-20 CRIT!! The whole table of players erupted in a collective high five "YES!". I paused for a second acting out the monsters surprise and confusion as they waited for the outcome. It was obvious to me what this monster would do. "The creature pauses, looking down on you, agape and puzzled. It tilts it scabby head to the side (I act out a "hmmmph") it's confident posture changes as it begins to cautiously back step, then abruptly turning away, it runs off the path, into the shadow of the forest, and gone! You pass without any more threats." This is how a player can use skills with imagination. What a great moment. It's years ago now and we STILL TALK ABOUT IT!
Been GM/DM for over 40 years.
Demoralise: "REGARDLESS OF THE RESULT, the target is temporarily immune to your attempts to Demoralise it for 10 minutes."
Came to point this out. It's what makes the Hobgoblin Ancestry feat Remorseless Lash and/or Intimidating Strike feat so useful.
"You failed your will save against my charm effect"
Well shit. You got me. Well played.
I guess I critical succeeded since I got skip ahead 10 seconds on that part
He has the Core Rulebook sitting on his coffee table, you know for when he wants to do some light reading!
Little correction on Demoralize. You can only demoralize the same target once every 10 minutes (unless there is a feat for that ?)
Though EVERYONE in the group can demoralize that target once per 10 minutes, and there is other ways to do it (Fear spell, Dragon Roar from Monk (which also prevents them to go under Frightened 1 as long as the Monk is in melee range), Intimidating Strike...)
And the the Bard’s dirge of doom is always a great choice.
@@brianparker1438 I do not know Bard well but I'll trust you on that !
Some Swashbucklers can also demoralize multiple times after level 6 or so I think?
@@PalagiAlomagi Braggart Swashbuckler(specialized in intimidation) gets to reset that immunity with "Exemplary Finisher", a level 9 feature, whenever they hit with their finishers.
Real neat :).
I noted that too. But I also consider that it was something changed in errata (my crb is 4th printing)
N°5 is kind of a big deal: your point about the other players taking notice is *spot on*.
#3 - I always harp on my players about this
#5 - It's so sad seeing a Wizard cast a spell and then shrugging off the 3rd action. Grab a scroll! Knowledge check! Something!
Hide because you know the gm will be sending pain your way for that fireball you just chucked!
@@spider0804 in gm's defence, enemy would likely attack either because it’s smart or because it/they is angry at wizard. Burning hurts, a lot...
@@valivali8104 Which is why the third action is useful for hiding.
I could not imagine skipping an action as my wizard! Goodness me, I'd use 4 actions if I could.
Cast Time Stop and you can use 9 actions :)
One of my players overheard this video wile I was watching and called out "is this video just made for me?" 😂 She had done every one of these. I'm sure I would have too if I'd ever been a player 🤣
"stop attacking too many times"
My fire poi wielding flurry ranger with the dual weapon warrior archetype using double slice and twin takedown would like a word
@@octavianpedigree5866 yeah I know, I was just being silly ;)
Aren't those both flourishes?
@@justmonica9253 surprisingly no, only twin takedown has the flourish trait
On the topic of 'Stay out of your character sheet', maybe an aid for this might be to have a cheat sheet available that gives a brief rundown of your abilities, so that you don't have to spend 10 minutes looking through your character sheet to figure out your options. Once you've found something to use, then go through the details on your character sheet.
I use an Index card.
10:35 Nnnnno you can't. It says right there in the text of your cropped image: "Regardless of your result, the target is temporarily immune to your attempts to Demoralize it for 10 minutes." For your character, that's _one_ Demoralize per target, per 100 rounds. You cannot "do it over and over again". Crit-failing doesn't factor.
My group is currently lvl 17 and the most exciting momment each combat is when our fighter tries to frighten to death, just feels so good when she suceed :D
The immediate, contrasting combination of a salute and a greeting of, “howdy,” definitely shield broke me
Nonat, dude keep doing this sort of videos for new players and that such off thing. I've begun to play Pathfinder 2E recently and I'd love to watch videos about Character Creation, what can i do in my turn, golarion lore, ideas at all.
i'm waiting for new videos!
MY ETERNAL FIGHT WITH MY TABLE. YOU DON'T. NEED. TO. ATTACK. ALWAYS. ENDING YOUR TURN. BESIDE THE ENEMY WITH NO REACTION ISN'T WHAT YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO DO. *cries*
But that's the best way to win the pen & paper video game...
#moderngaming
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We had an outcome where an Investigator did Devise a Stratagem, Recalled Knowledge and then critical struck the enemy.
It was a few people later that we realised, they didn’t get the other actions in their turn.
I've fallen into the "3 attack" trap a couple times as a new player. I do sometimes forget about some of the awesome skill activities you can do in combat. That being said, not knowing what you're going to do when your turn starts is absolutely my biggest pet peeve. I understand that some reevaluation may be needed, but it shouldn't happen every round in every combat (I'm in a 5e group that this has happened in). To go along with that, limitations on what you want to do and ranges for your actions
Ngl I commented only for how smooth that "like, comment, and subscribe" was
Alas, I must rain on the Demoralize parade a smidge: regardless of the result target becomes immune to further Demoralize from you for 10 minutes. Nothing stops someone else from then Demoralizing as well, though.
Am about to play my first game of path finder im 4-ish days so i haven't made these mistakes yet so thanks for the heads up!
When you demoralize an enemy, you can't do it again for 10 minutes. It becomes immune to your demoralizes for 10 minutes, it's right there in the action description that came up on screen. It makes no difference whether you crit fail or not.
Hope you got some rest! Welcome back
Happy to return! The rest really did me wonders and Wednesday's video is already almost done!
Enjoyed this whole series
This is a rather effective video for people who think PF2 presents an illusion of choice... (I know I know... but still it has to be said...)
Pathfinder 2e makes planning your skills/skill feats (and supporting stats) important before even creating a character unlike many other games... at least when it comes to combat. 100% agree on your analysis.
Skipping an action is like saying "I'm frustrated, regardless what i do, it will not work" and i feel like that pretty often :'(
I thinks it's just that the multiple action system doesn't jive with everyone the same way. People generally plan to do a specific thing on their turn; it's difficult to also plan for other actions whose utility may change depending on whether that one primary thing you intended to do worked out or didn't.
@@ikaemos As far as the Action Economy goes, I have found that players will do MUCH better by NOT comparing PF2 to single choice/action type of system. PF2 is a detailed, structured, tactical, CHOICE driven system. Embrace that, master it, and you'll have more fun playing PF2. And we do play for the fun of it!
I felt like that so often that I quit playing PF2. So did my whole group, in fact.
@@bobr4024 but his point is that many players dont want to think like that, they want to do a thing and be done with their turn
>Not knowing what to do on your turn
Me, playing a witch in PF1: "But the GM brought mindless creatures again and I only have mind-affecting hexes, now I gotta look through the spells I prepared, and... *shit, only SNOWBALL for damage!?"*
I've definitely made many of these mistakes, and being in a group full of noobies actually helped because I got to make them without pressure.
My group is hopefully gonna start up again and I'm excited to try again, taking what I've learned on my own and from your videos and having more fun because of it.
10:34) actually a creature immune after the demoralize action, but you're still right.
Also, that "go comment" section finally had you go to number three... and then an ad immediately popped. Bravo if that was on purpose. May these humble offerings please the --alghollthus-- algorithm.
Edit: also glad you're doing better.
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I haven't made any of these, so hah! Because I dm the first session ever of PF2 this Sunday, and will play for the first time ever sometime next year, in January.
hey there
thanks for that pause it allowed me to use my action to leave a comment
excellent video, I'm excited for tomorrows game and after watching your guide I feel ready!
p.s. i'm playing pathfinder for the first time tomorrow
Time to step up my GM-game cause I see all of these on both my tables. Great video!
#6 not using your spell as a Druid and only wildshaping
I'd argue with you, but I can't speak since I'm a grizzly bear right now.
Nonat, thanks once again for your wisdom and perspective kind sir!
I mostly play a spellcaster in just about any TRPG, and I love being an offensive support. I.e. debuffing the enemies into the dirt. It’s lovely to see enemies just unable to do anything
My go to default is the Aid action if I don't know what else to do or I don't want to go for that third attack. Since by RAW and seemingly by RAI the DC doesn't increase too much beyond 20, even when you're level 20, that extra +2-+4 can be crazy good for an ally, even if it also consumes a reaction from you.
My gm is posting videos for our group to watch.. I'm the noobiest of everyone.. Never played a game like this.. And now I am getting more anxious..
This series has been an absolute life saver, me and friends are planning to try PF2E and your videos help so much in understanding the game!
About to see how many I make in my first session of pf2e, looks way cooler than dnd if im honest pretty excited
My hand! It moves in its own, why did I make charisma my dump stat!?
I hate it when players wait until it's their turn to decide what to do because they were texting on their fones when they aren't in combat.
Drives me nuts too, though I've been guilty of it when the situation suddenly changed on the previous player's turn and I had to replan everything.
Meanwhile, me in 1st Edition: *proceeds to make 8-10 attacks with my Unchained Monk, a majority of them at max bonus*
Lol, jokes aside, yeah, the only people that should consider that third attack are probably Flurry Rangers. Lots of solid options to keep things interesting.
Ah yes, I have a monk like that in the 1st edition game I'm currently playing.
@@Grom_the_Paunch We're actually going back to our old characters for a level 20 game and I'm going to make my DM's attempts to explode me into chunky salsa not bear fruit, lol.
I’m always thinking about what I want to do during my turn, but sometimes enemy and even party actions throw a wrench into something I had planned
No plan survives contact with the (other) players!
2: illusion of choice meet decision paralysis
The BLOOD DEMON OF DOOM AND SUFFERING recoils in fear as the 3 foot tall gnome oracle asserts his dominance with a verbal intimation roll from the relative safety of the other end of the room.
I haven’t played Pathfinder yet so I haven’t had the chance to make these mistakes.
Haven't played 2e pathfinder. Dmed 3.5/1e for about 10 years, 5e d&d is my favorite (about 5 years now) but I've enjoyed them all, even 4e d&d had some good additions. I'm not claiming any system is better. Just giving my perspective. The point is to have fun.
I absolutely love this video. Point 1 in 5e sounds like what several classes can do with a bonus action. Give bonuses, grant advantage (roll twice, take the better roll), some people can heal, or almost any savvy player can pull out a prepared item for an ambush, etc.
Point 2) pathfinder is strategy heavy, and I appreciate him acknowledging this. I do think it is much more necessary in games like pathfinder to be actively engaged. You not only have to plan your set of actions, but anticipate the group. As a DM/player, I've come to appreciate how important it is what others do and react. New player/campaign, that's fine. But learn your character asap, so combat doesn't drag. Solid points for any ttrpg.
Point 3) solid all around. Tbh 4/5 "memorable moments" are from people playing their character, not landing a Michael Bay killing blow. Character first, sheet second. PF has a lot of rules so you can feel trapped in them. Like he said, don't. Very good advice.
4) absolutely. Change the conditions of the fight. This is historically why underdogs win. They fight smarter not harder.
5) I don't have much to add. I've done it usually from ignorance than disinterest, but that's happened.
All around great advice for any ttrpg. Well done.
Thank you so much for the detailed and friendly comment! This was a delight to wake up to this morning!
After playing 3.5, 4, 5e, and p1, p2. Gotta say p2 and the star wars ttrpg are my group's favorites. In pathfinder 2 it is very very hard to make a blatantly overpowered or terrible character. In 5e it is pretty easy, I find p2 friendlier to new people for this reason. The 3 action system is great for p2 as well and was a bit clunky with not being able to use movement in chunks for a single action but we got used to it.
My biggest mistake is restoring all my focus points whenever I refocus.
I just can't get it into my head that I get 1 back, and only if I've used one.
I can, in fact, guarantee I have literally never made any of these mistakes while playing Pathfinder 2e.
"Stark, you haven't played a game of Pathfinder 2e ye--"
I WON'T HEAR IT.
I have never done any of these mistakes because I have not played Pathfinder 2e yet
Ha. I have never made any of these mistakes as I have never played pathfinder. I then subscribed because of the intimidating stair. Have a great day.
I'm a PF1e player currently making my first 2e character for a Gen Con event and I've been binging your vids. They've been INSANELY helpful. THAT BEING SAID- my jaw dropped out of vague confusion because we apparently have the EXACT same couch, LOL!
You forgot the Top 1 Mistake. New players jumping into an overly complex class like Magus or Summoner instead of trying a core class like Fighter.
In terms of casters, which would you say is the least complex? I'm new to PF2 but really like casters.
I can say I have NEVER made these mistakes in Pathfinder before - my first game-session is tonight! 🤣. But I HAVE made them in playing other systems - a LOT! Thanks for making a great video!
As a GM im glad you are around thank you so much!!!
My pleasure!
Something I don't see enough: AID! Aid people in skills. Aid people's attacks! It costs 1 action and 1 reaction, but since you do your roll as part of the reaction and not on your turn you don't have the multiple attack penalty. I had an archer fighter that would not be using attack of opportunity because I was not in melee, so dropping the third attack so I could aid another character was very useful. It would critically aid quite often, and would be the difference between an ally missing and hitting, or at times changing a hit into a crit. It was great.
That's a good suggestion. I think lots of people see that DC 20 for Aid and get turned off.
@@kevinbarnard355 TBF, looking at a DC 20 is going to put me off. It just seems so unlikely that I'll achieve anything if I have to pass a check that high, maybe higher than any opponent's actual AC. TBF, I have very little experience in PF2, so maybe I'm missing something...
I just started playing, first Dice based TRPG ever. 1st thank you for your videos, they are insightful and guiding. 2nd, I'm already guilty of 4 of these :(
Sorry to correct you there you can only demoralize a target every ten minutes regardless of the results but yeah I do like it a lot.
Half of my group has a bad habit of #5, just simply dropping their remaining actions. No repositioning, no looking for cover, no attempts to demoralize or feint or push enemies around, nothing. Just attack twice, then they're done. And if they DO think of using a penalizing action like a feint or demoralize, it's usually LAST on their turn instead of FIRST when they would benefit from it themselves.
Instead of three attacks, a good tactic could be an attack and then force a save with something like an innate cantrips or kobold breath
A saving throw followed by an attack roll is the BEST possible turn for a caster. Battlemages are underused because you can cast something like electric arc and then make a melee attack at full bonus.
@@Nonat1s it doesn't need to be a caster. There are ways to get spells and spell-like abilities on any class. Spellscaled kobold can give fighters/champs electric arc, and I'm sure there are other ancestries that give access to offensive cantrips
My players focus on their skill sheets because of the way Pathfinder 2e is balanced, if you aren't trained at least, they feel like the attempt is absolutely pointless to take. It'll never work, so they don't do it. So they only focus on what they can do, which will be like 3 things.
The way that I describe Frightened, Sickened, and the like is that they essentially lower the enemy's level while they last and make it easier to continue lowering their level.
I'm just getting ready to start playing ,and this is the 3 video I have watched so I did fail to your charm effect lol
Thanks I've played magic I've played Star Wars Minis, and several other games like this also RPGs but a tabletop RPG maybe twice. First roll is two weeks from now. Your video put a lot of things into perspective thanks!
Interesting ! I've just played my first PF2 game, and I think I was too much in my character sheet. Problem was I didn't have time to read my pregen fully before the game. It was an unexpected one. Next time, I will arrive better prepared.
I haven't made any of these mistakes as a player, only because I have not been a player in pathfinder 2e yet.
My players have a few helper pc's i give them control of during encounters, but i've been recently taking control of them and using help actions and so on to hopefully get them to start doing more stuff with their actions.
Forcing me to “feel awkward” made me smile enough to actually comment. Critical success on that charm effect 👏
related to this is the mistake of thinking that the feats that grant you 2 attacks for one action are powerful because they give you the ability to make 4 attacks. No, because those last two of the four attacks are only rarely ever going to hit. The two attacks in one action feats are strong because they let you do an extra other thing without losing an attack. I mean heck. Presuming you're in the right range you can attack twice AND cast most spells with this.
I think one of the reasons people don't use conditions so often comes from a *bunch* of caveats. First, a plethora of monsters have various immunities. As a player, you have no way of knowing these immunities, so you might just be wasting your actions and resources. Second, monsters have insane saving throws, like its not even funny. Meaning your chance to inflict such things are usually just awful. Third, incapacitation rules suck. Fourth, a lot of conditions are kind of.. bad. A lot of people extoll the virtue of the frightened condition, but it isn't good at frightened 1. Let's first assume the initiatives line up that the creature doesn't immediately lose the condition as they act next. Then, hope your party is in position to capitalise on that drop in defenses (only a 5% drop). Also, for demoralise to even have a *hope* of succeeding consistently, you need to invest in the skill. Not a lot of classes have the skill increases to throw around like that, and there are more flavourful skill feats out there. A full demoralise build might achieve something good, but if you're just trained in intimidation with a 12 or 14 charisma, that -10 attack is frankly more likely to serve you.
"As a player you have no way of knowing these immunities". Hm. Recall Knowledge?
@@edreppert3091 Even if we assume your dm lets you know condition immunities off recall knowledge- which the rules do not even *suggest* they ought to directly- the action cost to apply the condition increases if you have to do that first. And they were often lackluster for their costs to begin with...
One...you earned a new subscriber. I do appreciate your content for PF2e which I need being fairly new to the system. I do have to admit though I'm really against this constant thought of GMs/DMs always "working so hard on their campaigns/encounters". Good ones do, yes. There seems to be a growing amount of lazy GMs/DMs as of late. Going as far as not even reading the rules....you heard me, they don't even read the rules! I get it...we ignore, manipulate, customize, and outright strip rules from our games at times but you need to know the frame work and what you're working with before you do and that simply isn't happening with some of these people. Disinterest is deserved if you're being lazy. That being said...I do like your content and I agree with a lot of what you're saying.
I know this video has been up a year or so, but I just wanted to say thank-you. With the recent WotC debacle, my usual gaming group are transitioning to Pathfinder and your videos are a treasure trove of info - I'll be encouraging the rest of the group to check out your content (if they haven't already!)
I seriously needed your videos (+10 min is an A for me)
My flurry ranger that has a MAP of -2 on his subsequent attacks would like to have a word with #1
I like to have a Crossbow as a "sidearm" when playing a full caster.
When in doubt, i just shoot, 1 action attack + Bespell Weapon after using a Fireball? This can really potentially kill a lesser enemy even if my attack bonus isn't big.
The last one for me sounds weird. Sometimes people don't know what to do with their last action and that's fine, you don't need to be doing something EVERY round, especially when is a table with newbies. Wanting players to do something all the time, for me, would fall more on the DMs lap than on the player, sometimes people just don't have really any idea what to do.
#4 Am GMing a game with brand new players. I gave a level 1 wizard Color Spray, because he wanted to focus on illusion magic. He was disappointed with it until he used it the first time blinding and stunning enemies. Now I have to rethink designing combat encounters knowing that 3-4 of the enemies will be taken out before they even reach the party.
Watching this two years after you posted about hoping to hit 10k and I see you're at 49.5k!! 👏🏼
4:22 or if what happened to me in my last session when I went down far behind enemy lines and didn't expect to get a heal so I was planning on just making my death save and move on, but at the last minute someone got his familiar to me with a healing potion so I had a turn I didn't know what to do with and a creature with AOO standing directly over me.
I was GMing the only 5th to 6th level group at an Interactive during a convention. All other tables were 1st to 4th level groups. Player indecision killed the whole scenario. Yes they had more options than the lower level tables, but their inability to decide what to do when it was each players' turn led to most encounters ending half way through. (In an interactive scenario all tables move on once a certain number of tables have completed an encounter or event.) They did not completely search any area and only finished two combat encounters out of six they started. It was a very unsatisfying game.
Best. Algorithm. Shout out. Ever.
This video was great. Made all the mistakes. Very helpful for new players
Number two is part of the reason I put the initiative order where the players can see it. The other part is in case I skip someone my players can tell me
I may fail my TS but beat you in initiative... I alredy liked before you command it XD
Damn it! My action economy! Noooooo!
1:02 **Laughs in me and my companion**
GREAT ADVICE! Useful, easy to understand and apply. If you are as imaginative a GM as you are rules-intuitive, your games must be a blast! Well done young man. Very interesting.
Thanks so much for the kind comment! I like to think my games are pretty creative and fun, but I suppose you'd have to ask my players 😂
As the GM I forget creatures' extra actions all the time. I don't think my players have a problem with it, though.
Oh i find it awesome if Our GM uses the extra actions and all the potential from the creatures. It makes the fights much harder and you have to be more invested as a player to survive.
damn that last one hit hard i never skipped actions but i do show disinterest out of game and i never thought about how it would effect others i dont really know what to do since i dont really enjoy playing but if i quit it may effect other people or harm my relationship with them
No Pathfinder is Better than Bad Pathfinder. PF you're not enjoying is bad PF. Have you talked to your GM about it and what might help to rekindle your enjoyment? Also, if you do end up quitting, it doesn't have to harm your relationships with other people; if a particular game isn't for you, it isn't for you and decent people will respect that. As a forever GM, I'm going to say that if my players are losing interest or having issues, I WANT them to talk to me about it. I had a player quit a year ago and I was so incredibly frustrated because they didn't talk to me about the issues they were having; they let it build up until it was too much and then left us in the lurch. Luckily, I managed to remove their character from the game and party without having to kill them off or anything like that but it was disheartening.
Having never played PF2E, I have yet to make these errors. HOWEVER, it means when I get the chance, I'll remember to Demoralize/Feint/etc before attacking. Good tip! Thanks. :)
"Do not attack too much"
My Barbarian in rage, unable to control his emotions and just wanting to kill everything: ok sir, i'll politely follow your advice, sorry for my bad manners. :(
PF2 is a team game so this is a great piece on the options available other than just whacking stuff.
Really helpful as I didn't know what else to do with my turns
I've been planning on playing pathfinder 2nd edition for a long time. This is going to be helpful. So is the GM video. Thanks 👍
First thing is the thing that I do most. As a monk lvl 1 there is not much I can do but attack 3 times. Once I activate my Stance that's it. Flury of Blows and the Stance attack. Unless you telling me that there are 10 other things I can do not having any other feat eh.
Yes I started playing the game literally yesterday and my character has just a handful of feats that do basically nothing and the one really useful one I can only use once every 10 mins...