The Roots of the Game

Katherine Kurtz and the Cleric.
Appendix N of the Dungeon Masters Guide cites a number of texts and authors as sources of inspiration for the world's first role-playing game. Among the notables designer Gary Gygax credits are Fritz Leiber, Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague DeCamp and Fletcher Pratt, Jack Vance, H.P. Lovecraft and A. Merritt. In his Foreword to the Original Edition, he mentions Edgar Rice Burroughs along with R.E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. Over the decades since publication of the original game, many fans have speculated as to what role (if any) various authors played in serving as inspiration for character classes, monsters or even the alignment system which is a distinct aspect that sets D&D apart from other FRP games.

Among the mysteries often discussed is where the idea for the cleric class may have come from. It is often claimed that the fighting man (fighter in later editions) and magic user are common to many sources. The thief may resemble aspects of a Jack Vance character or one of Fritz Leiber's famous duo. The ranger - well let's just say there is at least one famous ranger in popular fantasy fiction. Clerics are not as commonly found however.

Enter Katherine Kurtz. In 1970 she published her first novel titled Deryni Rising. That was four years prior to publication of the original three little brown books. In Deryni Rising there are a number of cleric characters, some are able to work magic including "healing magic". Like many authors of fantasy fiction in a post Tolkien world, Ms. Kurtz has written her novels in trilogies and by 1974 she had published the three Deryni novels that together are known as the Chronicles of the Deryni and which lay the foundation upon which many other Deryni novels are built upon. 

I recently read the first trilogy (for the first time). I found Deryni Rising, Deryni Checkmate and High Deryni and the world of the Eleven Kingdoms and the people of Ms. Kurtz fantasies very "familiar". Her fictional kingdom of Gwynedd somewhat resembles medieval England and Wales, but it also fits into my concept of a generic fantasy which is an idea heavily influenced by 40+ years of role-playing. Did I mention that magic using clergy feature prominently!

Katherine Kurtz wrote her first three novels with no knowledge of a game that had not yet been published. I am struck by the very familiar role of a magic using fighting cleric, such as the half-Deryni Monsignor Duncan McLain, as I read those first novels. Had Gary Gygax or Dave Arneson read any of Katherine Kurtz' work prior to their imagining the first fantasy role-playing game? We may never know, but chronologically, they could have. 

The only reference to Katherine Kurtz I have found in any version of early D&D products is in the 1981 edition of Basic edited by Tom Moldvay. Near the end of the Basic volume, Mr. Moldvay lists her among his version of Appendix N which he calls Inspirational Source Material. "Kurtz, Katherine" can be found under the sub-heading of "some additional authors of fantasy fiction..." Someone was obviously reading the Deryni novels.

Viewing LotR as a Horror Story

Adjectives and other horrible things.

Grim, Dark and Gritty - that's how I frequently describe my Dreadmor setting to players at the start of an adventure or campaign. "Dreadmor is a city, a world setting and a philosophy", I often add. My preference for running a "dungeon horror" game is well known to my players who have often remarked that, "You better bring your own gold, because you won't find any here." 

Like many fantasy gamers, the work of J.R.R. Tolkien has influenced much of my perception regarding the fantasy genre. As I recall, I discovered the first of Professor Tolkien's books during grade-school in the late 1960's. As an avid reader of adventure stories from Jack London to Harold Lamb and beyond, The Hobbit and later, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion were just the kind of fantastic adventure my spirit craved. 

I also greatly enjoy spooky tales, horror stories, if you prefer. Dracula, Frankenstein, the works of Edgar Allen Poe - these and other stories of the danse macabre genre are equally appealing to me. It may therefore seem natural that I would combine the two - fantasy and horror - perhaps approaching the fantastical always with an eye to the more sinister side of the supernatural. Are not Beowulf and even Grimm's Fairy Tales filled with potential menace and danger? (I think so.)

It should therefore logically follow that I see the Lord of the Rings as a tale of terrible horror narrowly avoided through the heroic sacrifice of a stout hearted hobbit (or two). When read with a keen appreciation for the doom and gloom residing within Sauron, the Nazgul and even the human souls who have joined forces with the shadow, the good professor's trilogy takes on a darker meaning. 

The Lord of the Rings is written using many of the tropes I personally think of as being part of a good horror tale. The big bad is mostly off-screen, his influence is felt, but he rarely appears directly. (The big red eye is creepy.) Things we imagine are more frightening than things we can see and confront. Sauron's evil is most evident in its effect on others. Minions are acting to bring about the big-bad's dominance - which is depicted as a terrible fate for all good folks. The lure of power and secret knowledge (maybe even eternal un-life) is offered in exchange for selling one's soul to the dark master. Corruption is the price that is paid for trafficking with the shadow and only the vigilant and pure of heart may hope to resist its influence, but even they will pay a heavy price for contact with such self-serving evil. The pacing starts out slow and builds, tension mounting as we wonder how it will all end? The world of Middle-earth has many "mundane" features -  aspects which allow us as readers to get comfy and relaxed within the "familiar" until the horrible monsters appear and threaten. (Anyone familiar with the story can fill in the rest of the "horror" details.)

"How does your game feel?" It is a question that may not get asked enough in our hobby where people want to discuss story and character. Is your table welcoming? Does your game encourage role-playing and roll-playing? Does everyone at the table become engaged, contribute, and generally have a rewarding, fun experience? These are certainly aspects that are important and defining, but a game's "feeling" goes even further - I like to think in terms of adjectives (or aesthetics, if you prefer). Does it feel "heroic", "realistic", "spooky"? Are there mysteries to solve? Are there evil plots to foil - or is it a "grayish" moral dilemma where concepts of good and evil are to be questioned? Is it a fantastic utopia you seek to portray, or a grim quest for survival? And do we as referees play an active role in shaping this "feel" or should we just let it happen - or not, as the case may be?

These are decisions that deserve our attention and that perhaps are best discussed with our players prior to launching into a campaign (or even a one-off session). The vision we have for our setting and for the role the player characters will play in any developing story is worthy of deliberation (and dare I say, compromise). Not everyone seeks to be part of a tale of horror, even if the chances are good that it will end with goodness winning out. In contrast, not everyone enjoys a game of super-heroics where the players are never seriously over-matched and the outcome is never in doubt. 

Rather than spending time developing a plot and trying to encourage players to follow it to a conclusion, another approach to running a role-playing game can be to set the mood or feeling by choosing the way things are described in the setting and deferring to the players regarding how they wish their characters to interact with your setting. In such games, "we play to find out what the story becomes". 

In an unfinished sequel to the Lord of the Rings (titled "The New Shadow"), Professor Tolkien describes a time after the return of the king where children play at being rangers and orcs and where humans have forgotten the peril of delving into the darkness of shadow in search of power - for once released into the world, evil would never completely be completely eliminated. The good professor allegedly found the thought of such a future more dark than he wished to contemplate and chose not to pursue the story further. (I guess he left that to us?)

Role-play verses Wargame

How I Approach The Game

It may help to know that long before I discovered the world's first role-playing game, I was a wargamer - one who collects and plays strategy games featuring war and history as a theme, either using maps and counters or miniature figures. Wargames (and building model airplanes, tanks and ships) were among my first interests and hobbies. Therefore when I acquired my first white box containing three little brown books, I approached the new game much as I did wargames - that is, as an exercise in tactical thinking and strategy.

Around 4-5 years after discovering White Box and jumping into the emerging hobby with both feet, I acquired a new game prominently featuring investigation of the supernatural and mythos conspiracy - Call of Cthulhu - and with it, I discovered role-playing. Call of Cthulhu (CoC) is a game where players take on the role of "investigators" attempting to discover the plots of various cults and supernatural being bent on the destruction of mankind. Role-playing an investigator is a lot different than playing an adventurer in White Box. Generally, combat is to be avoided in CoC, while combat features heavily in many old school adventure games.

The term "meta-gaming" has come into frequent parlance and into my attention fairly recently as a way to describe players who make decisions based on knowledge their characters would not likely have. This is an important term in role-playing an "investigator" as one does in a game like CoC. The player knows it is a game about the mythos, the character does not and should be played as if they are surprised to discover such secrets humans were not meant to know. Knowledge of such abominations have an in-game tendency to cause character insanity, after-all. 

Meta-gaming is less desirable in role-playing than it is in wargaming. In a wargame it is expected that the player will make full use of any knowledge of the game they have acquired - doing so is part of building one's strategy as a player who is "mastering" the game. My generation of early players of the world's most popular role-playing game naturally meta-gamed everything we played, including the new adventure games. 

Having this awareness about the early days of the hobby and the folks who played the games in the 1970s and early 1980s, it is easier to understand some of the older modules and play styles. They are as much about "player" skill as about role-playing a character as if they are a being involved in their own reality. One might think of the older style of play as involving "gamesmanship" - the art of playing a game well.

With many decades of play "under my belt" and having played using several systems that assume somewhat different styles of play over the years I have adopted different approaches to different games. I still play games like The Fantasy Trip as a "wargame". Obviously, I take a different approach to playing Call of Cthulhu. Being able to adjust one's approach in order to play the specific game being set before you is a skill worthy of any gamer.

Sandboxing

My "How To" Advice

Sandbox campaigns are my favorite way to run a fantasy role-playing game. (I run Call of Cthulhu and Traveller a bit more "rail-roady".) The term "sandbox" has become a popular way to describe a campaign that is open to going where the players lead. Players choose what they want their characters to pursue, often from a menu of choices, or adventure "hooks". Sandboxing a campaign requires both more preparation and less than the modular approach, but I find it more rewarding than scripting a storyline. 

I typically start off a new sandbox campaign with an encounter of some sort. Over the many campaigns I have run - most using my homebrewed setting of Dreadmor (the spelling changes occasionally) - I have made use of a variety of starting encounters. Some involve a chance meeting "on the road". Others take place in a tavern, or the PCs' "finishing school" as they are about to graduate and begin their adventuring career. I find this is a good way to introduce the characters to each other and the campaign and to "set the tone" for the coming adventures.

Dreadmor is a constantly evolving idea containing parts borrowed from many of my favorite stories, a few published play-aids, and some of my own creative ideas. At this point Dreadmor has a map (a very helpful thing to have, even when not shared and one of the things I suggest you start with when running your own sandboxes). The Dreadmor map has many known locations and lots of unknown areas which leaves room to add content as it seems to become relevant. 

The Non-Player Characters give any setting much of its "character" and are important to devote preparation time to. Major NPCs should have a bit of distinct "personality" to make them identifiable and memorable. They should have beliefs and motives so that the referee knows how they may react in a situation. They should be dynamic and go about the business of working toward their goals whether the PCs are interacting with them or not. 

The role-playing game is about making choices and choosing is a strength of the sandbox approach. I usually set the focus of campaign play with a discussion involving players making a group choice regarding what activity their characters wish to pursue. A common list might include the following choices:

1. Tomb raider

2. Mercenary - baron's employ

3. Merchant - caravan guard

4. Bounty hunter

5. Bandit

6. Pilgrim/crusader

Whatever "profession" the group chooses, will help me, as referee, to set up future adventures. By offering suggestions, the party is less likely to experience "decision paralysis" as they wander aimlessly from location to location with no goal in mind other than to seek amusement and profit. The party's choice also helps me to set up random tables for events and encounters which play into the overall theme and goals of the party - making such "random" happenings more likely to feel as if they are part of the developing story of the campaign.

A calendar is another useful play aid to prepare in advance. A calendar marks important holidays and helps organize and track the passage of in-game time. By noting the passage of time and developing in-world events, the setting is brought to life, and may seem more "real" to the players and referee.

Weather is something I like to include in my campaigns. Noting weather patterns can help establish the "mood" or tone of the campaign and weather changes can coincide with events making them seem more dramatic and meaningful. (It helps to thing of the referee's job as having some similarity to that of a film director.)

I like to have a few ready-made descriptions, maps, etc. for locations - places of interest and mystery - which are likely to be encountered by the player characters. Preparing these ahead of time allows me to include a level of detail that can be difficult to achieve while improvising. Discovery and exploration of these locations are likely to be among the more memorable aspects of the campaign. (The nature of a sandbox may result in a few of these prepared locations going unused in the current campaign, so save them for future use in the next campaign.)

The tension between wilderness and civilization is part of many campaign settings and I generally have a few of each prepared prior to play commencing. A small settlement can actually be all that is needed in order to begin play, as long as the referee is prepared to keep adding to the setting through improvisation and one-step-ahead planning. The urban environment provides a place to interact with NPCs, purchase needed resources and rest-up in a relatively safe haven. It also provides the crafty referee with a place full of competing factions and intrigue. An entire campaign may be centered around play that takes place entirely within a single town or city.

Having a good feel for one's fictional setting will serve the referee well in many ways, and should make the job of running adventures seem both easier and more coherent. It is easier to imagine how something the player characters do will affect a setting that has its own character and internal consistency. At the same time, a setting with known themes and a degree of predictability will appear more "real" and engaging to the players. Fall in love with your setting, but be ready for your players to "wreck it". To paraphrase a famous general, You must be willing to risk the death of that which you love...(in order to be a good referee).

Pathfinder 2e: Concluding Thoughts

Finding My Path Forward

Paizo Publishing impresses me favorably as a company. They have done so since I first became aware of them back in the Dragon and Dungeon magazine days (their publishing of the physical magazines ended about 2007). I consider Paizo to be an industry leader. Their art, cartography and the layout of their books is all top quality. They have excellent writers as the Pathfinder core books and the adventure paths clearly demonstrate. They are a professional publisher and I cannot recall finding a proofreading error. Yes, all this matters to me and I find it enhances my enjoyment of the products - especially while reading and gaining inspiration for my games.

When choosing a system to run, I consider many things. Like most, I suppose, I like to have fun running a game (as well as playing). In order for me to get excited about the role of referee (judge or GM if you prefer), the game system has to offer me tools that I can use to bring the vision I have for the game to life through actual play at the table. Even as the guy behind the screen, I like to be immersed a bit. I like to have control over pacing and tempo and I like having the ability to run something that seems logical and at times "real" to me. Humor is good, but not silliness. I like a serious game - one with "dark" and sinister undertones. 

I have found that Pathfinder 2e and its default setting can provide that. Have I mentioned the addition of the Paizo goblin as a playable ancestry? Paizo long ago adopted their iconic toothy-grin goblin as a sort of company mascot. In expanding the choices players have in ancestries, the lore is that some goblins are getting tired of getting kicked about and have "come in from the cold" and are now attempting to live peacefully alongside the other playable ancestries, such as humans, elves and the like. I have had a few goblin characters at my table and they present some interesting narrative possibilities as they interact with "unreformed" goblins and encounter the usual bias and associated challenges. It may not be to everyone's liking, but so far it's added to our games.

The mechanical completeness of Pathfinder 2e - it is anything but "rules-lite"- is something I go back-and-forth on. I really enjoy the referee's art of making "rulings" at the table - using my experience and imagination to improvise sub-systems on-the-fly in response to the creative actions players come up with. Rules-lite systems provide a freedom that just isn't available to a more comprehensive system, but sticking to the rules-as-written is a lot more satisfying when the rules are logically thought out and well written.

Although I a can enjoy solo play, the real fun in role-playing is found at the table with others. (This is a social hobby as I see it.) As anyone who has read this blog knows, I prefer the original three little brown books above all other systems - but one needs players in order to engage in the social act of playing the game with others. In this aspect, I find it much easier to entice others to my table with a contemporary system equipped with nice colorful illustrations and lots of character options - in other words, with a game such as Pathfinder. Unfortunately, many players today find the idea of playing a traditional magic user with 2 HP, one spell and a dagger a bit "underwhelming". It does not seem to matter to them when I explain, "That's intentional, to the point and exactly why so many of us played more fighting men than any other class back in those days!"

I like to design my own adventures. Even though I do purchase a number of published play aids each year, I mostly read them for ideas - ideas which can either inspire my own creativity or occasionally ideas that I may out-right borrow and insert into my home-brew campaign. Over the years, I have found Paizo products to be unequaled in containing good ideas and inspirational artwork.

My most recent acquisition in the Pathfinder 2e line of products is the Gamemastery Guide. The Guide contains several sections including some "How To" advice, which may be aimed at newer GMs, but in which I can still find the occasional bit of useful information that helps me in my evolving perspective on the game. There is material on building lots of things from worlds and monsters and NPCs to magic items - all specifically aimed at the Pf 2e mechanics. (Customization is indeed what I like in my game.) There are rule additions, as if the 600+ pages of core rules are not enough. The additions do offer options and although no essential, may help the GM tailor the system to their liking.

Hexploration is not a word I have used, but the folks at Paizo have included this short section as a nod to what I term the hex-crawl or sandbox style of play. In this and many other aspects, Pf 2e contains elements which clearly mark its DNA as being a descendent of earlier editions dating back to the days when I started in this hobby. Yes, I appreciate that!

The variant rule offerings in the Gamemastery Guide cover (among other things) Stamina - which can supplement Hit Points as an additional resource that also helps distinguish between actual damage and loss of vitality - additional interpretations of Alignments and the introduction of level-0 characters allowing players to explore with their characters during the days before they become heroes.

Chases can be fun and exciting and although the Core Rules provides guidance, the Gamemastery Guide offers a more detailed mechanic (which can benefit from use of the Chase Cards sold separately by Paizo). In the Gamemastery version, rules for encountering various obstacles during the chase and pursuit are introduced and how one navigates (mostly through the use of Skill checks) those obstacles can greatly affect whether the chase ends in being caught or getting away.

The Pf 2e Bestiary includes a number of creatures, but notably absent from the list of potential foes are humans. The Gamemastery Guide includes an extensive section on creating NPCs - humans and other ancestries - who can be friendly, neutral or adversarial to the player characters and therefore offers the GM a host of human-like monsters - bandits, pirates, greedy merchants, evil priests and cultists.

So how do I sum up my thoughts and feelings about Pathfinder Second Edition. Well, I like it a lot! From the default setting (which can be ignored, though with some effort) to the presentation and actual rule mechanics, Paizo has done an excellent job creating a product that appeals to my gaming sensibilities. The line is very well supported with adventure paths, add-on products and additional rule books (which I hope doesn't become too unwieldy in number as time progresses). What is perhaps most important is that I have fun with Pf 2e - as do my players. 

Will Pathfinder Second Edition ever join the short list of my all-time favorite games, or perhaps will it even surpass White Box as my favorite RPG, period? Check back with me in about 40 years and we'll see!

The Path Continues...

Pathfinder 2e: Part Two

In this post I continue to sing my praises of Pathfinder Second Edition and to describe various reasons why this is my current choice among the so-called "modern" FRP games. 

As I mentioned previously, there are a number of mechanical system features of the Pf 2e FRP game that appeal to me. Feats featured heavily in the original Pathfinder, which is a game based on the 3.5 open game license, but were somewhat problematic for me in that system. Feats in 2e are tied to ancestry, or class, and are therefore somewhat more limited to what makes "sense" in a character's build - at least to me. It also helps that there are currently a lot fewer of them and the effect of combinations of Feats is more predictable (and balanced). 

The way Pf 2e handles multiclass characters is another way that 2e appeals to me. In General I am more comfortable with single class characters as I see the class as a defining feature of the role the character will take. Mixing classes confuses that role and I ask why not just play a classless system like GURPS or BRP? Multiclassing in 2e involves Archetypes which when taken open certain Feats and Traits of a class to a character of another class, thereby allowing some multiclass customization while preserving the identity focus of a single defining class. 

Adventuring at the table in Pathfinder Second Edition (Pf 2e) is categorized as taking place under either Exploration, Encounter or Downtime and there are mechanical differences in the game according to which mode of play is currently being accessed. The three are somewhat self explanatory, but the distinction is useful. Exploration involves traveling about while not chasing/being chased or fighting. Exploration may involve a trek through the wilderness, a visit to the city market, or traversing the uninhabited passages of an ancient tomb. Exploration often involves some skill checks and much information can be discovered and revealed during Exploration. 

When opposition is encountered, the game shifts to Encounter mode. Combat is often the key game system that defines an encounter, but bartering, questioning, negotiating or other non-violent means may be employed during Encounter mode. Rolling for Initiative to begin combat has become an iconic feature of d20 games in recent decades and Pathfinder 2e retains the initiative roll as a concept, but provides a new twist. An Initiative roll in Pf 2e defaults to being based upon the Perception skill as a character is often using their "perception" to help determine their course of action in combat. Initiative can also use other skills, however. For example, Stealth may be used as a bonus for the Initiative roll if the character is sneaking up on a group of unsuspecting creatures. 

Shields get some well deserved and unique attention in Pf 2e. Historically the shield was a significant part of defense for many warriors. (A simple bonus to AC has always seemed too simplistic to me.) In Pf 2e a character equipped with a shield may spend one of their 3 actions to "raise their shield" thus preparing it for defensive use. A raised shield increases Armor Class and also allows the character access to special shield reactions such as blocking an attack. Shields in Pf 2e can take and reduce damage and can be themselves damaged or destroyed when blocking a particularly heavy blow. There is definitely advantages to having a shield in Pf 2e.

Many magic spells in Pf 2e may be cast using more than one "action". By using additional casting actions the player can adjust how the spell manifests. Depending on how many actions are devoted to the casting there may be additional spell effects. Adding actions beyond the base requirement (which can be two or even three actions) are thematically characterized in the game as adding additional components to the spell casting. Somatic or material components narratively account for the extra time spent casting some magic. For example, the Pf 2e divine healing spell can be cast as a touch spell, a ranged spell or an area of effect "burst" depending upon how many actions are used in its casting. The classic magic user spell magic missile can be cast using one action for one missile, two for two, or three actions for three magic missiles. 

Making decisions is at the heart of all role-playing games and Pf 2e is all about players making meaningful decisions during both chargen and game play. Combat in Pf 2e involves each player making lots of decisions each round, many of them having a tactical effect. With 3 actions at their disposal, some of those actions can be used in combination to achieve enhanced results. Cooperating players can form individual tactics based on their own character options, and can also combine their tactics with those of others in the group to form a "squad" level coordination of group tactics. (Yes, Pf 2e combat can start to feel like a wargame!)

Conditions are yet another way that Pf 2e adds "realism" to the feel of its gameplay. Many of the 42 Conditions listed in Pf 2e are brought about during Encounters by the effects of spell casting or through combat outcomes. Creatures in Pf 2e can often cause various Conditions when they execute their abilities or attacks. For many monsters having such abilities, the Conditions they inflict are as important as any physical damage they deal. In fact, I would say that for some of the more interesting monsters in the Pf 2e Bestiary (a 360 page book sold separately), their real "power" is their ability to cause certain hindering or debilitating Conditions. 

Conditions in Pf 2e often have levels, such as Sickened 1, Sickened 2, etc. The number indicates the effect or severity (often a numerical penalty to rolls) and how long the Condition lasts. Managing and reducing a condition's severity adds to the tactical challenge of encountering creatures that impose them and makes encountering many old and familiar creatures seem unexpectedly new again. 

Downtime in Pf 2e is a way for the GM to speed up the passage of time allowing for extended healing, research, training/retraining (you can switch out Feats or Skills!) and crafting to occur. Crafting mechanics in the Core Rules is something I have not encountered before in any other game and is one of the aspects of Pf 2e that sets it above many other systems. Player Characters who have the Crafting skill may engage in crafting during Downtime to earn money or to add items to their inventory. With the correct formula and materials, crafting can be used to create a Talisman, which is a small expendable magic item that is affixed to another item (armor, sword, etc.) and that can be activated to give a single use "magical" effect. Very nice! (Expendable magic is unfortunately an under utilized option in many campaigns using other systems.) 

The Proficiency bonus is added to a character skill such as Crafting and also in combat. In Pf 2e there are levels of Proficiency. The levels are labeled untrained (granting no bonus), trained, expert, master, and legendary - which each grant the character a bonus of +2, 4, 6, or 8 respectively (plus the character's level). A character may have an Expert level Proficiency with their weapon (granting +4 bonus), but only be Trained (+2) in Stealth. When combined with the rules for Critical Hits (scoring 10 or more above one's target number) a character can achieve some rather dramatic results when their "adds" start to accumulate. Combat against weaker foes in Pf 2e can seem like a "supers" game with our heroes wading through minions dealing destruction - yet encounters with stronger foes can quickly turn "deadly" for those same characters as they themselves become the victims of damage-dealing critical hits. Choose your Pf 2e battles wisely!

In my next post I will wrap up my thoughts on Pathfinder Second Edition.

Finding My Path to Fun

Pathfinder Second Edition

I enjoy this hobby immensely. I have for 40+ years and counting. I still enjoy the first role-playing game I acquired back in 1977 - I also enjoy a lot of other RPGs that have come along since then.

Of the modern game systems, I am most comfortable with Pathfinder 2e (Pf 2e). There are a number of factors that contribute to this. The default setting, Golarion, contains fantasy elements that I can relate to without being overly generic and too vanilla. The classes and ancestries in the core rules are traditional and therefore "comfortable" - as is the game's use of Alignment. But it is the mechanics of play that really recommends Pf 2e and forms the basis for it being my preference to run and play. In the past year I have ran more sessions of Pf 2e than I have of all other systems combined - largely due to its wonderful mechanics!

Action economy - I cannot converse about Pf 2e without praising the game's 3 action point combat mechanic and sequence. Creatures in Pf 2e get 3 actions each combat round - an attack or "strike" in game terminology can use-up one action , movement can be one action, a visual search can cost one action, spell casting is often two actions, and raising a shield in preparation for a defensive reaction is one action. Actions can be repeated, though striking a second time during a round incurs a penalty - usually -5 to hit, while a third strike is at -10. Magic spells are often variable in effect depending upon how many actions are used in the casting. 

While the combat action economy is the feature of Pf 2e I usually launch right into when describing what I like most about this system, there are a number of other mechanical aspects of the core rules which I find appealing. 

The game master is in charge of the story and the world - Pf 2e clearly states this at the top of page 8 of the Core Rules. While this may seem insignificant to some readers, as an old hand at this hobby who prefers that the game I run resembles something I enjoy, I appreciate the statement which ultimately also reflects the game's philosophy as is evident throughout the text.

Having said that, I think the game is ahead of the curve with respect to sensitivity for inclusion and commitment to universal enjoyment of the fun factor. In other words, I think Pf 2e nicely covers all the bases!

Character generation is a tedious exercise in many modern systems (and not a few older ones). Although it consumes a bit of time, I find creating a character in Pf 2e is both fun and engaging. The Pathfinder franchise is somewhat noted for offering players many opportunities to customize characters and 2e Core continues along that path. In 2e one assembles a PC through a process of making meaningful choices that each add potential for role-play as well as roll-play. (Yes, the mechanical build compliments the role-playing!) The choices one makes choosing your character's ancestry (which replaces "race"), background, and of course class all influence their vital statistics and skill proficiencies while allowing each character to be customized making one human fighter different from the next. The entire chargen process feels like a mini-game (rather than a chore).

Pathfinder 2e revolutionizes role-playing mechanics in many ways. Skill tests and combat rolls are made with critical success and failure defined as a result ten over or ten under the target number. Creatures with higher skill bonus will "crit" more often and fumble less than those creatures with more modest skills.

Pathfinder 2e can feel like a supers game when your bonus overpowers the difficulty of making a target number, but the system retains its ability to also feel "deadly". It does this by subjecting characters to multiple attacks each turn, and a more traditional approach to death and dying and healing. Often an area of house-ruling as preferences for lethality and healing rate varies considerably, I am happy with Pathfinder 2e as written. The Core Rules strikes a balance of sorts and in doing so I find it gives me the kind of game I seek.

Damage in Pf 2e lowers a character's Hit Points and when the character reaches 0 HP they become unconscious and acquire the "dying" condition (which like many conditions in Pf 2e is followed by a number such as Dying 1, Dying 2, etc.). Each turn during which the PC has the dying condition, a d20 is rolled and the condition may improve or deteriorate. Death may be the result, or the PC may recover from "dying" and advance to "wounded" - a condition which stays with the character until fully healed and that will compound with any future dying condition making subsequent recovery less likely. 

A night spent resting will restore a modest number of lost Hit Points, thus maintaining a sense of verisimilitude. 

With the number of good FRP games available today why do I choose Pathfinder 2e? I have touched on a few of the reasons in this post and will continue to discuss my thoughts in my next post. Until then stay safe and happy gaming!