Tuesday, August 13, 2019

My Journey Into Pathfinder 2nd Edition

Pathfinder 2nd edition has been something that I have been looking forward to since it was announced over a year ago. Since its announcement, Paizo gave a sampling of Pathfinder 2e with their mass released playtest products. This playtest gave us an early look into how the newest edition would play. Personally, I enjoyed taking part of the mass playtest and even when it wrapped, I still was just as excited for the final version of 2nd edition as I was when it was first announced. Finally, now with the 2nd edition hitting game shops, and bookstores on August 1st, I figured this would be the perfect time to detail my full journey into Pathfinder 2e. I plan on making this a multi part series, in this part I plan on going over my first impressions , and leading into the first few starting choices you will make when making your character (ancestry and background).
 
 
 
First Impressions:
From first glances the book can be kind of intimidating to those who never have played a Roleplaying game before (or those of you that are new to the Pathfinder system). To simply put it, the book truly is a mighty tome. The page count for the Core Rulebook is almost at 700 pages (636 pages to be exact)! However, don’t let that keep you from wanting to get into the game. The Core Rulebook is laid out very well. New players to both Role-Playing Games and the Pathfinder system can pick it up and start creating their PC in no time and not feel bogged down with loads of new information flying at them. However, that doesn’t mean Pathfinder 2e lacks depth, when creating a character, the Core Rulebook has multiple options for how to truly make your PC stand out as unique as you want it to be (I’ll cover more on this later).
 
The artwork that graces the pages is utterly fantastic! One of the many things that I have always enjoyed about the Pathfinder products in the past has been the art and it’s style. I find it has sparked that creative inspiration when making a character, or even writing my next adventure on many occasions in the past. 
 
The book also offers background information on The Age of Lost Omens (A rich detailed look into the setting of the Pathfinder game) as well as a section of advice for Game Masters (GM). This book is really a must have for any player looking to get into the Pathfinder System.
 
Creating your Character (part 1)
 
One of the first things I know I wanted to do when I got my copy of The Core Rulebook was to make my Character. Like I said earlier, the character creation for 2nd edition is very in depth. Giving you a wide variety of options to customize a character of your own. Honestly, with all the options available to you no two characters should ever feel the same, even if they are in the same class. 
 
So, when I first started to build my character (after I already came up with my character’s concept), the 2nd edition calls for each of your ability scores to start off at a 10. Adjusting these numbers along the way with Ability Boosts and Ability Flaws. You will get these from your ancestry, your background, and your class. Personally, I am liking this method of calculating ability scores. I come from the background of where your starting scores are based on the fate of 4d6 rolls, (and I know a few of you will agree with me on this) but sometimes a rather low score can play out to be a pain sometimes. However, you can still choose to do the random method, it just comes with a few minor variations on figuring out your final calculations (the Core Rulebook fills you in on how to do this).
 
Ancestry
 
After you got your starting ability scores etched in you will want to choose your Character’s Ancestry (or race if you will). The Core Rulebook includes rules for building a Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, and Human (with options for a half elf, and half orc) character. These ancestries also offer several variations (called heritages) on the races further defining your character concept. Personally, some of the heritages found in the Core Rulebook can really make for some awesome character concepts such as: a Death Warden Dwarf, Artic Elf, Twilight Halfling , and so forth. Here is where your character will start to gain it’s ability boosts and flaws, the languages they can speak, any special abilities, and an a 1st level ancestry feat all granted by your choice of ancestry and or heritage in this step.
 
For my character I went with a Human ancestry with the Half Elf variation to her. She was a character that I came up with during the Pathfinder Playtest and am looking forward to updating her with the rules from the final version of 2e. By giving her the Half Elf variation, when ever she gains a feat from her ancestry, she can select one from either her human ancestry or her elven ancestry. I also noted what abilities she gets from her ancestry as well as her starting language. 
 
Background
 
Next it’s time to select your character’s background. The Core Rulebook offers a massive selection of backgrounds to choose from. If you are looking for a place to help you further develop your character’s backstory, this is a great place to help you accomplish that. Much like those of you who are familiar with Dungeons and Dragon 5e , your background will grant you boots to certain ability scores as well as skills that you would have acquired based on your choice of background (unlike 5e the background does not offer you starting equipment). 
 
For my character, the background that best suits the concept that I created for her is the Nomad background. Being a Half Elf, she never truly feels like she fits in anywhere (no real true place to call her own). Always feeling out of place with elves and/or humans, she chooses to wander from place to place on her own, to the beat of her own drum. I take note of which boosts that she gets from her background as well as the skills that she has picked up living the life of a nomad.
 
Now that you have selected your ancestry and background for your character, you will be ready to move on to selecting your class. Which is where I will end this Part for right now. In Part 2 I will cover the all of the core class that are found in Pathfinder 2e. Thank you for reading and see you back next time!
 
Feel free to check out my homebrew work on my Ko-Fi page and Patreon page as well.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Welcome

Welcome to RK Games! This blog is sort of a Works In Progress blog for adventures (both one shot and multi session) that I am currently writing. I am also hoping to have a feature article on here from time to time. Please check back often as I plan on updating the site regularly.