If you want to get into GMing in the easiest way possible, a copy of the Beginner Box is a great purchase! paizo.com/products/btq026dl?Pathfinder-Beginner-Box It was out of the scope of the video to start doing a product review, but many many others have positive reviews. Go check those out! Beyond that the Remaster core books are good purchases if you want physical copies / to support the devs. If you can't do that you can always find the rules online via Archives of Nethys!
I absolutely agree for the Beginner's Box! It has some shortcomings IMHO (and I hope they change some things up in its remastering), but it's still a great way to get into the system. It significantly ease up the steep learning curves of the first 3-4 sessions into the system. IMHO, don't try to convert an ongoing campaign, or at least right off the bat. I did that for my 6th level PF1E campaign, and while we still play it to this day, it was quite rough. Still, never looked back switching systems, PF2E is just too awesome, especially for GMs.
Coming from 5e what really surprised me is how easy is to actually do my own stuff in this system. I GMing PF2e for roughly 9 months now it's so easy to create my own content with using the creature building guide for example. I don't have to guess numbers or anything and everything worked out so far as the book promised. I still don't fully know how to balance 5e after 6 years, but I run my own monsters and NPCs in my PF game for the last two sessions and everything just works. It feels like a miracle.
@@SwingRipper That would be amazing! So far, I'm doing pretty well with what the GM Core offers, but a deeper look into how it works would be very valuable!
@@SwingRipper I secund it, I've been hearing quite many things about the PF2E math progression, and was very interested by some talk by Mark Seifter on one live, and I'd be super down for some deeper dive into it.
And you actually get to have fun playing the monsters, since they have busted shit that will scare the players. Mid to high level monsters have some insanely cool and powerful abilities.
As a former 5e DM turned 2e GM, I *immediately* felt how much easier it was to run a game in this system. It might be a more complicated system than 5e and I can't speak to the player experience (though the group I played with consisted of tabletop rookies of varying degrees and they seemed to grasp and enjoy the game too), but that complexity specifically means that I can rely on the game to have my back much more. Reasonable, clear, and effective guidelines for improvising DCs, actions, impromptu bonuses to reward creative play, and generally most things a game master has to do. Building home-made encounters, creatures, items, or god forbid adventures I've not gotten to yet, I want more experience with premade edventures under my belt first, but I can't imagine it will be any more difficult than a 5e game, and in fact PF2e's tight math and good balance makes me hopeful that will be just as easy as running it.
I had 5 years of gamemastering experience in D&D 5e before swapping... By my second PF2 session I was where my mastery in 5e ended in terms of what I could do from the GM chair Players are expected to put more work in (its a tactics oriented system so you need to "work for the fun" of tactics). You can absolutely tone down encounters to have a more casual experience but that is not my preferred mode of play
Yes! This is how you do a proper GM guide! I would reccommend reading the section on running a game, as well as the subsystems , and obviously the section on creating your adventures, to everyone running fantasy games of any rule system. The teaching value in this book is TOP TIER.
Would you say that the tone of "you don't need to know everything" or "pointing to tools" was the reason for this? (I want to figure out what makes you like it so strongly!)
@@SwingRipper That is certainly a part of it. What impressed me the most is how many aspects of directing a game are accompanied by specific examples of how a GM could go around a common problem, or work through a complex situation to get the most out of it in play. There are other GM guides for other games out there that also do a great job to teach you (e.g. Cyberpunk RED, Agon, Savage Worlds...), and I think Pathfinder's great GMing chapters tend to go overlooked in part because people are stopped by the sheer quantity of rules content in the core manuals.
I love these videos, I'm teaching a group of newbies to play (someone ELSE is GMing even!) and it's really nice to have these resources to send to them. My GM is doing great but she's frequently nervous about messing up and these are such good, simple explainer videos.
On PC statblocks for NPCs, one more thing at level 7 is that they'll have abiltiies like Juggernaut that'll make any success on one or two saving throw a critical success. It really tips the scale of encounters, and your casters will absolutely HATE this so much, especially if it's on the save they tend to target. After making this error 3 times in a row, with the last one being a freaking champion of all things, I can confidently say, again: Don't do this, like ever. It's more work, more pain, less fun. Just use NPC statblocks from the OG gamemastery guide, or just tweak monster statblocks. Or maybe invest in the NPC compendiums in Pathfinder Infinite.
I disagree. It's fine if those are the kinds of opponents that the GM wants to use. There's no reason why NPCs have to magically be so different from PCs if the situation dictates otherwise. Casters should already be used to massive failure in this this system so they can get over it. I know I would.
Yea the master save abilities do further weird stuff to the expected outcomes of the game and neuters a lot of typical "good play" by casters Intent is everything though and if someone wants to think through it and put in the effort to use something like that, more power to em
@@davidbowles7281hey, you got first hand expérience here. With a champion, a wizard and a druid. 3 different fights. Using dedicated NPC statblocs, who has most key interesting features of PC but not the fat nor the slog or antifun features, have been faaaaaaar more interesting both for my players and me use. I have no problem bending the rules, I got next to 4 pages of homebrew in my game, and I make stuff up all the time. But damn was that just a negative experience for me and my party. Still gonna concede one point. I think at lower level it may work better.
Very true! I just don't think those are strictly necessary to get started (also are on the GM screen), I may make a video about victory points eventually as that is a nice short / sweet topic
@@SwingRipper There's also a foundry function to generate a DC hidden in the party exploration page (click the die near the top right) that's super helpful. It lets you generate one that is simple, DC by level when given a level, or custom, and you can even say what type (or types) of check it is and post it to chat so players can just click it to make the check. I have no idea if it's new but I only found it recently.
Id argue that the Rusthenge module makes for a great introduction adventure alongside the beginner box. Rusthenge has also been fully ported to foundry, making it easier to run. Its a 1-4 module length adventure that showcases a small scale plot that has large-scale implications post adventure. Its flavor is on point, and the theme of rust is done very well and not typical of other publishers products.
Awesome guide, very useful stuff. For new GMs do you have a list of "generic" go to monsters (archers, bandits, apprentice mage etc)? Archives of Nethys is amazing but I would rather not have to spend too long looking for "guard mook" or generic archer mooks each time.
I find that the trait system can do most of that kind of hunting filter for "Humanoid" and a level range then pick from whatever 30ish creatures are left
@@SwingRipper Thanks for the tip, I had a browse. I found that if you further refine those humanoids by only those in the Game Master Guide (original, not remaster), you get a tonne of awesome results.
Level 1 in PF2 has the players come in with a hefty amount of HP so you’re less likely to have a PC get crit into oblivion than in other systems. Also healing is really good so don’t worry too much.
Instead of doing ABP as written I like to just give out a lot more consumable items than normal(scrolls and positions). Also still give out iconic items like flaming rune swords and so forth. Just makes the loot more iconic when they see it. Also they will switch weapons that fits x situation. Oddly I see even casters use weapons more often because it fits x situation and still gets a lot of extra damage. I would say I prob give out 1 to 2 iconic items per level be it a wand, staff, or weapon with a property rune in it. What I also like I see a lot of less people sell items and use the items way more when doing ABP.
I have autism and a stutter, so keeping track of things is a bit difficult. I actually might try to run a PF2e campaign soon; AoN is really helpful for quickly looking up stuff. still haven't found a way to deal with the stutter though lol
Sadly I can't help with the stutter, I have a speech impediment myself (notice my s sounds). My advice is to just find a group that is willing to work with ya!
I too have a stutter. I feel a strong urge to GM, but have not done so except for my daughter up to this point. I think the barrier is finally accepting who I am and just doing it. I think we are too stressed about an expectation that's not even our own. I'd say just be yourself and don't try to be someone else. I'm slowly getting there. Good luck, and much love!
The physical PF2E GM screen (used to present the rules here) is awesome and I would advise you to print it along with some rules like area of effects and the whole stealth loop. If you have different kind of monsters in an encounter and only one screen, editing a page to fit at least two of them and printing them has been a blessing to me. If you want to take them from AoN, there's a clear theme fit for printing. You may want to try Pathfinder Dashboard too, but it's still in beta and I didn't try much of it. And for the stutter, I stumble on my words all the time, so sometimes I use other mediums like images, or sharing texts I already written. You may like using music if it doesn't distract you too.
I see you have a PFS classes video that JUST DROPPED for everyone, but I haven't had a chance to watch it. On a related note: do you have any thoughts on using pre-written PFS scenarios as a tool for starting to GM? For example, using a PFS scenario or Quest (the shorter 1-2 hour adventures) as your first game to GM, even if you're NOT playing in PFS? It's something I've considered, since I've been playing some PFS.
I think premade adventures of any kind will be great guidance tools for a newer GM, the big APs tend to be a lot more "ambitious" with what they expect from GM / players so picking up some PFS scenarios on the cheap to see the basic adventure structure and get your hands dirty would be great
@@SwingRipper That's fair. An angle I could see is how you'd go about doing one for groups new to PF2e, important things to set expectations for if you're new/coming from other systems, things like that. Good work regardless!
There are two variant rules my party wants to use for our first campaign, Automatic Bonus Progression and Proficiency without Levels. What are peoples expericne with these rules?
ABP has an issue with benefiting weapon characters more than casters due to wands / scrolls still needing to be bought, I suggest giving casters 1 extra slot per rank below their max rank and that kinda sorta evens it out PwoL has other issues that are too involved for me to bring them up in a reply comment. I personally don't like the rule, look up "Flatfinder" on the PF2 reddit for what I think the best implementation entails!
@SwingRipper The extra spell slots is a good idea. It might also help with this game being the first time my players need to prepare spells for individual slots. The changes to PwL seem like good ideas. I like that they didn't change the way enemies are downleveled since I already have the process automated in foundry.
Yea, I may retouch the topic if I expand on why creature math is why it is. I tried to script it out but ended up scrapping it as I felt it was not insightful enough
That bag has been back there A WHILE, I got a burger with the works and a side of fries I split with my partner. Currently, it is just a peanut holder lol
If you want to get into GMing in the easiest way possible, a copy of the Beginner Box is a great purchase! paizo.com/products/btq026dl?Pathfinder-Beginner-Box
It was out of the scope of the video to start doing a product review, but many many others have positive reviews. Go check those out!
Beyond that the Remaster core books are good purchases if you want physical copies / to support the devs. If you can't do that you can always find the rules online via Archives of Nethys!
I absolutely agree for the Beginner's Box! It has some shortcomings IMHO (and I hope they change some things up in its remastering), but it's still a great way to get into the system. It significantly ease up the steep learning curves of the first 3-4 sessions into the system.
IMHO, don't try to convert an ongoing campaign, or at least right off the bat. I did that for my 6th level PF1E campaign, and while we still play it to this day, it was quite rough.
Still, never looked back switching systems, PF2E is just too awesome, especially for GMs.
Coming from 5e what really surprised me is how easy is to actually do my own stuff in this system. I GMing PF2e for roughly 9 months now it's so easy to create my own content with using the creature building guide for example. I don't have to guess numbers or anything and everything worked out so far as the book promised. I still don't fully know how to balance 5e after 6 years, but I run my own monsters and NPCs in my PF game for the last two sessions and everything just works. It feels like a miracle.
It is a miracle created by a strong understanding of math (I may make a video about why the creature math functions eventually)
@@SwingRipper That would be amazing! So far, I'm doing pretty well with what the GM Core offers, but a deeper look into how it works would be very valuable!
@@SwingRipper I secund it, I've been hearing quite many things about the PF2E math progression, and was very interested by some talk by Mark Seifter on one live, and I'd be super down for some deeper dive into it.
And you actually get to have fun playing the monsters, since they have busted shit that will scare the players. Mid to high level monsters have some insanely cool and powerful abilities.
@@LightningRaven42Hells, even the lower levels. Zombies, Olwbears... Even boars running around feels cool AF.
As a former 5e DM turned 2e GM, I *immediately* felt how much easier it was to run a game in this system. It might be a more complicated system than 5e and I can't speak to the player experience (though the group I played with consisted of tabletop rookies of varying degrees and they seemed to grasp and enjoy the game too), but that complexity specifically means that I can rely on the game to have my back much more. Reasonable, clear, and effective guidelines for improvising DCs, actions, impromptu bonuses to reward creative play, and generally most things a game master has to do. Building home-made encounters, creatures, items, or god forbid adventures I've not gotten to yet, I want more experience with premade edventures under my belt first, but I can't imagine it will be any more difficult than a 5e game, and in fact PF2e's tight math and good balance makes me hopeful that will be just as easy as running it.
I had 5 years of gamemastering experience in D&D 5e before swapping... By my second PF2 session I was where my mastery in 5e ended in terms of what I could do from the GM chair
Players are expected to put more work in (its a tactics oriented system so you need to "work for the fun" of tactics). You can absolutely tone down encounters to have a more casual experience but that is not my preferred mode of play
You're the best pf2e content creator IMO, thanks for all your vids
Glad you like them! I try to focus on quality of information and geting my audience to have good takeaways!
OH MY GOD I have been running PF2e for almost a year now and I didn't know there was a GM screen on AoN! Aargh! THANK YOU!
Yes! This is how you do a proper GM guide! I would reccommend reading the section on running a game, as well as the subsystems , and obviously the section on creating your adventures, to everyone running fantasy games of any rule system. The teaching value in this book is TOP TIER.
Would you say that the tone of "you don't need to know everything" or "pointing to tools" was the reason for this? (I want to figure out what makes you like it so strongly!)
@@SwingRipper That is certainly a part of it. What impressed me the most is how many aspects of directing a game are accompanied by specific examples of how a GM could go around a common problem, or work through a complex situation to get the most out of it in play. There are other GM guides for other games out there that also do a great job to teach you (e.g. Cyberpunk RED, Agon, Savage Worlds...), and I think Pathfinder's great GMing chapters tend to go overlooked in part because people are stopped by the sheer quantity of rules content in the core manuals.
I love these videos, I'm teaching a group of newbies to play (someone ELSE is GMing even!) and it's really nice to have these resources to send to them. My GM is doing great but she's frequently nervous about messing up and these are such good, simple explainer videos.
And that right there is my target audience!
... Not your friend but the people who send videos to friends ;)
On PC statblocks for NPCs, one more thing at level 7 is that they'll have abiltiies like Juggernaut that'll make any success on one or two saving throw a critical success. It really tips the scale of encounters, and your casters will absolutely HATE this so much, especially if it's on the save they tend to target.
After making this error 3 times in a row, with the last one being a freaking champion of all things, I can confidently say, again: Don't do this, like ever. It's more work, more pain, less fun. Just use NPC statblocks from the OG gamemastery guide, or just tweak monster statblocks. Or maybe invest in the NPC compendiums in Pathfinder Infinite.
I disagree. It's fine if those are the kinds of opponents that the GM wants to use. There's no reason why NPCs have to magically be so different from PCs if the situation dictates otherwise. Casters should already be used to massive failure in this this system so they can get over it. I know I would.
Yea the master save abilities do further weird stuff to the expected outcomes of the game and neuters a lot of typical "good play" by casters
Intent is everything though and if someone wants to think through it and put in the effort to use something like that, more power to em
@@davidbowles7281hey, you got first hand expérience here.
With a champion, a wizard and a druid. 3 different fights.
Using dedicated NPC statblocs, who has most key interesting features of PC but not the fat nor the slog or antifun features, have been faaaaaaar more interesting both for my players and me use.
I have no problem bending the rules, I got next to 4 pages of homebrew in my game, and I make stuff up all the time.
But damn was that just a negative experience for me and my party.
Still gonna concede one point. I think at lower level it may work better.
Learning the DC by level table and the basic victory point system is great for non combat things.
Very true! I just don't think those are strictly necessary to get started (also are on the GM screen), I may make a video about victory points eventually as that is a nice short / sweet topic
@@SwingRipper I could use some explanations of some of the victory point variants
@@SwingRipper There's also a foundry function to generate a DC hidden in the party exploration page (click the die near the top right) that's super helpful. It lets you generate one that is simple, DC by level when given a level, or custom, and you can even say what type (or types) of check it is and post it to chat so players can just click it to make the check. I have no idea if it's new but I only found it recently.
i needed this , Thank your random internet Handsome boy
Well met. Don't forget to leave a like.
So helpful, especially in the encounter creating. I had no idea about most of those principles.
Id argue that the Rusthenge module makes for a great introduction adventure alongside the beginner box. Rusthenge has also been fully ported to foundry, making it easier to run.
Its a 1-4 module length adventure that showcases a small scale plot that has large-scale implications post adventure. Its flavor is on point, and the theme of rust is done very well and not typical of other publishers products.
I have heard good things about Rusthenge may need to check it out
Thank you for your content, sir. Learning the system very easily with your videos.
Glad to hear that!
Just came across your channel. As a long time GM these are some great tips! Keep up the good work 👍
Great video!
Awesome guide, very useful stuff.
For new GMs do you have a list of "generic" go to monsters (archers, bandits, apprentice mage etc)? Archives of Nethys is amazing but I would rather not have to spend too long looking for "guard mook" or generic archer mooks each time.
I find that the trait system can do most of that kind of hunting filter for "Humanoid" and a level range then pick from whatever 30ish creatures are left
@@SwingRipper Thanks for the tip, I had a browse. I found that if you further refine those humanoids by only those in the Game Master Guide (original, not remaster), you get a tonne of awesome results.
Level 1 in PF2 has the players come in with a hefty amount of HP so you’re less likely to have a PC get crit into oblivion than in other systems. Also healing is really good so don’t worry too much.
You made realize that the treasure is per character I have been doing this wrong but at least I haven't done enough sessions for them to realize XD
The treasure table is per 4 man party, there is a column for adjusting +- 1 player for currency
Instead of doing ABP as written I like to just give out a lot more consumable items than normal(scrolls and positions). Also still give out iconic items like flaming rune swords and so forth. Just makes the loot more iconic when they see it. Also they will switch weapons that fits x situation. Oddly I see even casters use weapons more often because it fits x situation and still gets a lot of extra damage. I would say I prob give out 1 to 2 iconic items per level be it a wand, staff, or weapon with a property rune in it. What I also like I see a lot of less people sell items and use the items way more when doing ABP.
That's a super fair way to do things!
I have autism and a stutter, so keeping track of things is a bit difficult. I actually might try to run a PF2e campaign soon; AoN is really helpful for quickly looking up stuff. still haven't found a way to deal with the stutter though lol
Sadly I can't help with the stutter, I have a speech impediment myself (notice my s sounds). My advice is to just find a group that is willing to work with ya!
I too have a stutter. I feel a strong urge to GM, but have not done so except for my daughter up to this point. I think the barrier is finally accepting who I am and just doing it. I think we are too stressed about an expectation that's not even our own. I'd say just be yourself and don't try to be someone else. I'm slowly getting there. Good luck, and much love!
The physical PF2E GM screen (used to present the rules here) is awesome and I would advise you to print it along with some rules like area of effects and the whole stealth loop.
If you have different kind of monsters in an encounter and only one screen, editing a page to fit at least two of them and printing them has been a blessing to me. If you want to take them from AoN, there's a clear theme fit for printing.
You may want to try Pathfinder Dashboard too, but it's still in beta and I didn't try much of it.
And for the stutter, I stumble on my words all the time, so sometimes I use other mediums like images, or sharing texts I already written.
You may like using music if it doesn't distract you too.
Thank you so much man
Maybe just maybe I'll get a chance to put this video to use
I see you have a PFS classes video that JUST DROPPED for everyone, but I haven't had a chance to watch it.
On a related note: do you have any thoughts on using pre-written PFS scenarios as a tool for starting to GM? For example, using a PFS scenario or Quest (the shorter 1-2 hour adventures) as your first game to GM, even if you're NOT playing in PFS? It's something I've considered, since I've been playing some PFS.
I think premade adventures of any kind will be great guidance tools for a newer GM, the big APs tend to be a lot more "ambitious" with what they expect from GM / players so picking up some PFS scenarios on the cheap to see the basic adventure structure and get your hands dirty would be great
Swingripper Session 0 video possibly on the horizon?...
I won't say no, but I am not sure what I have to add to that specific conversation
@@SwingRipper That's fair. An angle I could see is how you'd go about doing one for groups new to PF2e, important things to set expectations for if you're new/coming from other systems, things like that. Good work regardless!
"Dont throw a severe solo fight/encounter at a level one party" ok - good to know! *Opens Beginner Box ..... Um?
Hey the dragon is for level 2!
There are two variant rules my party wants to use for our first campaign, Automatic Bonus Progression and Proficiency without Levels. What are peoples expericne with these rules?
ABP has an issue with benefiting weapon characters more than casters due to wands / scrolls still needing to be bought, I suggest giving casters 1 extra slot per rank below their max rank and that kinda sorta evens it out
PwoL has other issues that are too involved for me to bring them up in a reply comment. I personally don't like the rule, look up "Flatfinder" on the PF2 reddit for what I think the best implementation entails!
@SwingRipper The extra spell slots is a good idea. It might also help with this game being the first time my players need to prepare spells for individual slots.
The changes to PwL seem like good ideas. I like that they didn't change the way enemies are downleveled since I already have the process automated in foundry.
is that the evil PC guide?
My thoughts were not enough to fill a full video so I just put it as a segment in this one
@@SwingRipper figured as much
Yea, I may retouch the topic if I expand on why creature math is why it is. I tried to script it out but ended up scrapping it as I felt it was not insightful enough
hey, dumb question, what did you get from fiveguys? i see that back in the background. :)
That bag has been back there A WHILE, I got a burger with the works and a side of fries I split with my partner. Currently, it is just a peanut holder lol