Pathfinder Playtest - Release 1b - August 21st

[Trenloe]

Released today via the Fantasy Grounds update mechanism.

This update to release 1 contains:

A number of bug fixes to the ruleset and module data. Details in the bug tracker (read only) here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tbGSjXB_PrkHJpu5reRqx6KSvJnGkAHkhZhgSpgTjHk/edit?usp=sharing
Additional ruleset functionality and data - see below.


There are a number of data updates to the Pathfinder Playtest Rules module:

All traits from the playtest rulebook accessible via double-click and campaign data lists.
Drag/drop leveling to level 20 for all classes.
Alchemist and Barbarian feats to level 10 (all other class feats currently to level 5).
Ammunition added to weapons


The ruleset also has a lot of updates, a lot of these aren't obvious as they are underlying to allow for future updates. Obvious ruleset changes are:

PC HP frame details added, and HP also shows "current" (classic remaining HP counting down to 0).
Lore skills added as Signature skills
Dealdy and Fatal weapon trait automatically applied to PC and NPC critical damage.
The first time a PC sheet is opened (usually when it is created) the chargen tracker window will open automatically. After the first auto open, the "Tracker" button will open the window as needed.

[Trenloe]

(placeholder)

[Gwydion]

Thanks, Trenloe! Really appreciate the update.

[Blackfoot]

Looks good!
I see the issue with the 'Base' value is not resolved?
I haven't checked it out in the ruleset yet.. but this was giving an error when you clicked it on the Combat Tab (although not in weapons.. there it just wasn't working) in rev 1. Hopefully that helps a little.

[Trenloe]

Looks good!
Thanks. :)


I see the issue with the 'Base' value is not resolved?
I haven't checked it out in the ruleset yet.. but this was giving an error when you clicked it on the Combat Tab (although not in weapons.. there it just wasn't working) in rev 1. Hopefully that helps a little.
As noted in the bug tracker: "Changes made - need to verify". Which basically means I can't recreate the issue, but I've made some changes and I'm monitoring to see if it's better/fixed. That being said, please only report issues/errors if they appear in the current release. Thanks.

[jontorregano]

Thanks Trenloe, cant wait to look through the changes.

[vyruxx]

Thank you!!!

[ShadeRaven]

Outstanding! We'll try to test it in the next couple days extensively.

Currently, I am writing a module that I hope to share with everyone as a free-to-play adventure to playtest the rules with. It'll be relatively small, a good one night session, that I might expand upon as time goes on. I actually intended it to just be some encounters/challenges to play through some of the rules in, but found myself distracted by expanding upon the adventure's details to the point where it's become more than just skills and combat playtesting. Once I get to creating some maps, though, I hope to offer it up by this weekend for people interested in running something in FG for the playtest.

I have also converted an older module (King's Festival), but that's protected by copyrights so can't share :(

[Trenloe]

Currently, I am writing a module that I hope to share with everyone as a free-to-play adventure to playtest the rules with. It'll be relatively small, a good one night session, that I might expand upon as time goes on. I actually intended it to just be some encounters/challenges to play through some of the rules in, but found myself distracted by expanding upon the adventure's details to the point where it's become more than just skills and combat playtesting. Once I get to creating some maps, though, I hope to offer it up by this weekend for people interested in running something in FG for the playtest.
Cool. I'll look forward to that. :)

[vyruxx]

Outstanding! We'll try to test it in the next couple days extensively.

Currently, I am writing a module that I hope to share with everyone as a free-to-play adventure to playtest the rules with. It'll be relatively small, a good one night session, that I might expand upon as time goes on. I actually intended it to just be some encounters/challenges to play through some of the rules in, but found myself distracted by expanding upon the adventure's details to the point where it's become more than just skills and combat playtesting. Once I get to creating some maps, though, I hope to offer it up by this weekend for people interested in running something in FG for the playtest.

I have also converted an older module (King's Festival), but that's protected by copyrights so can't share :(
Lovely, waiting to see it. Is easy pass old adventures to pf2?

[ShadeRaven]

Lovely, waiting to see it. Is easy pass old adventures to pf2?The most blaring issue, so far, is combat balance. Earlier versions of D&D tended to a little heavier on the creature count, in part because each attack was generally less lethal (ignore things like save or die). Even more recent adventures (I converted some of the Rise of the Runelords as a test) struggle not to exceed the recommended encounter strength. As long as we adjust accordingly, the rest is still fun to port over and play in - though they are generally still a little deadly (granted, early reports are that Doomsday Dawn has been lethal, too).

On the bright side, I had already converted some old D&D/AD&D modules to PF1 for FG and the use of the universal module extension has meant that all I really needed to do is copy over entries which creates duplicates that I could then alter to fit PF2's playtest with even creatures requiring less work than expected.

At any rate, hope that answered your question!

[Trenloe]

Forgot to mention a piece of minor functionality in this release - The first time a PC sheet is opened (usually when it's created) the chargen tracker window will open automatically. After the first auto open, the "Tracker" button will open the window as needed.

If you have a PC created from prior to release 1b, the first time you open that PC the tracker window will also open. This will only happen for the first time.

I've added this functionality as I've seen many people are not aware of the tracker's existence, and it helps a lot with building a PC.

[Gwydion]

Thanks, Trenloe. I'm working on building new characters and checking everything out. Creating a list of things I might report but want to match my list up against what is finished and what might be coming soon... On a separate note, how was your session last night!

[Trenloe]

Thanks, Trenloe. I'm working on building new characters and checking everything out. Creating a list of things I might report but want to match my list up against what is finished and what might be coming soon...
Just remember that Fantasy Grounds isn't (and isn't planned to be) a full blown character generator! ;) But, please, do report any issues, suggestions, etc..


On a separate note, how was your session last night!
It was good thanks, we only got to play a couple of encounters as character generation took longer than expected. Players spending lots of time wanting to pick the coolest feats!

We enjoyed the session - it brought up a lot of questions, especially around finer details of resonance, alchemical formulas/elixirs/bombs, healing, etc.. All-in-all people liked it and we'll play again sometime...

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=24415

[ShadeRaven]

Can I just say... WOW! That's an awesome use of Fantasy Grounds for pen-n-paper play! What are you using to display the screen so awesomely?!? Is that a flatscreen laid down or do you have some sort of fancy tabletop that allows digital displays of computer or TV feeds?

That's so frickin' cool, I just gotta say.

PS: For anyone also creating for FGs, the 3.5E/PF1 effects appear to work as expected. So for example, in the module I am creating for release here, I could do the following for Sluggish 1 on the Effects Tab to drag and drop onto targets that acquire it:

Sluggish 1;ATK: -1;AC: -1;SAVE: -1 reflex;SKILL: -1 dexterity

24416

[Gwydion]

Can I just say... WOW! That's an awesome use of Fantasy Grounds for pen-n-paper play! What are you using to display the screen so awesomely?!? Is that a flatscreen laid down or do you have some sort of fancy tabletop that allows digital displays of computer or TV feeds?

That's so frickin' cool, I just gotta say.

PS: For anyone also creating for FGs, the 3.5E/PF1 effects appear to work as expected. So for example, in the module I am creating for release here, I could do the following for Sluggish 1 on the Effects Tab to drag and drop onto targets that acquire it:

Sluggish 1;ATK: -1;AC: -1;SAVE: -1 reflex;SKILL: -1 dexterity

24416

Yep.. I'm doing the same thing as I convert the Rose Street Revenge playtest adventure and all the pregens for me to run. I've been building effects for the monsters and players so I can run it a little easier....

[Gwydion]

Just remember that Fantasy Grounds isn't (and isn't planned to be) a full blown character generator! ;) But, please, do report any issues, suggestions, etc..


It was good thanks, we only got to play a couple of encounters as character generation took longer than expected. Players spending lots of time wanting to pick the coolest feats!

We enjoyed the session - it brought up a lot of questions, especially around finer details of resonance, alchemical formulas/elixirs/bombs, healing, etc.. All-in-all people liked it and we'll play again sometime...



Excellent! Can't wait to set up my first playtest....

[Trenloe]

Can I just say... WOW! That's an awesome use of Fantasy Grounds for pen-n-paper play! What are you using to display the screen so awesomely?!? Is that a flatscreen laid down or do you have some sort of fancy tabletop that allows digital displays of computer or TV feeds?
It's a 48 inch 4K TV laid flat on the table - that size allows me to just fit Paizo flip maps (30"x24") on the TV. 4K gives 100 pixels per inch at that size, which looks good up close, 1080p at 48' looks slightly blurring/grainy at up-close gaming viewing. I've added a simple wood surround to stop dice rolling under and off the top, and a plexiglass insert to protect the screen so we can roll dice, put food on top and aren't concerned about damaging the TV screen. The wood surround is held together with velcro so I can quickly set it up at home and also easily transport it to play in a store or other location.

I use the player-size-to-grid extension to perfectly fit the grid to 1-inch size. More info (and more photos) here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?33834-Map-resize-to-TV-resolution-for-Face-To-Face-games


PS: For anyone also creating for FGs, the 3.5E/PF1 effects appear to work as expected.
Effects will be reviewed, and possibly changed, for a future release. So please don't shout at me if you need to revise effects that stop working in future! ;)

[Gwydion]

Effects will be reviewed, and possibly changed, for a future release. So please don't shout at me if you need to revise effects that stop working in future! ;)

I have definitely been keeping this in mind and am trying not to go crazy with trying to automate things that will change later. Just trying to make it easier on the players... Will try to get the playtest in soon before things change! :)

[ShadeRaven]

It's a 48 inch 4K TV laid flat on the table - that size allows me to just fit Paizo flip maps (30"x24") on the TV. 4K gives 100 pixels per inch at that size, which looks good up close, 1080p at 48' looks slightly blurring/grainy at up-close gaming viewing. I've added a simple wood surround to stop dice rolling under and off the top, and a plexiglass insert to protect the screen so we can roll dice, put food on top and aren't concerned about damaging the TV screen. The wood surround is held together with velcro so I can quickly set it up at home and also easily transport it to play in a store or other location.

I use the player-size-to-grid extension to perfectly fit the grid to 1-inch size. More info (and more photos) here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?33834-Map-resize-to-TV-resolution-for-Face-To-Face-games

Effects will be reviewed, and possibly changed, for a future release. So please don't shout at me if you need to revise effects that stop working in future! ;)That's ingenious! We were looking at some of the gaming tables out there, but that's food for thought!

I'm sure I'll have plenty of other things to yell at you about, so I'll bite my tongue on the effects changes :p Seriously though... ever piece you add as time goes is amazing and as I plan to do more than 1 module for FGs, my future self will be thanking your future efforts to make what I am doing now redundant. :bandit:

[Trenloe]

I have definitely been keeping this in mind and am trying not to go crazy with trying to automate things that will change later.
I would imagine the common effects won't change (much). The biggest change I've identified so far from what's there already from the PF1 code, is to reduce/restrict the bonus types - there are now only 3: circumstance, conditional and item (plus ability and proficiency modifiers) and these have maximum values, penalties have the same with the addition of untyped penalties. I'm just covering myself in case they do... and I don't want someone to spend lots of time creating effects for virtually everything, and then having to go back and re-do a lot of them. And, of course, there's always the possibility of the playtest rules being changed by Paizo.

If you're familiar with both PF1 and the Playtest, then you can probably make an informed decision on what effects probably won't change.

[Gwydion]

lol... Well, unfortunately I've never played Pathfinder but I'm jumping into the playtest with both feet to try it out! :)

[Pramxnim]

Might I request that when effects are added, there's a way to designate the type of bonus or penalty granted by the effect (circumstance, conditional or item)? That way, we can know at a glance which bonuses and penalties do not stack.

[Trenloe]

Might I request that when effects are added, there's a way to designate the type of bonus or penalty granted by the effect (circumstance, conditional or item)? That way, we can know at a glance which bonuses and penalties do not stack.
That's kinda what I was eluding to above. FG will allow you to specify the bonus/penalty type. It actually does that now, just with the 17 bonus types from PF1 - which is why I mentioned I need to reduce the bonus types. In the long run FG will work out the bonus/penalty stacking for you.

[Nylanfs]

That's ingenious! We were looking at some of the gaming tables out there, but that's food for thought!

I'm sure I'll have plenty of other things to yell at you about, so I'll bite my tongue on the effects changes :p Seriously though... ever piece you add as time goes is amazing and as I plan to do more than 1 module for FGs, my future self will be thanking your future efforts to make what I am doing now redundant. :bandit:

Here's what I'm planning on doing (https://imgur.com/gallery/FJN4B). It's about the same cost, but I'll have the versatility of moving the projector.

[Mentalic]

I like these clickable traits. Is that doable with conditions? So, lets say a condition can make you sluggish X and flat footed for a certain number of rounds. It would be cool if you could just click on sluggish or flat footed to see what that does.

[Trenloe]

I like these clickable traits. Is that doable with conditions? So, lets say a condition can make you sluggish X and flat footed for a certain number of rounds. It would be cool if you could just click on sluggish or flat footed to see what that does.
In theory it is do-able... But, where are we talking about double-clicking on conditions? In the middle of a spell description or something similar? If so, then that is going to require some pretty complex code running all the time a spell (or whatever record) is open. It's easy to do it in a specific "trait" record - as the only thing there is comma separated traits. In free form text it get's super complicated and isn't something I want to look into...

I still haven't decided exactly how I'm going to implement effects and conditions. Maybe, on the base entry for these (e.g. for effects/conditions window) I might add a way of seeing the condition description. It's something I'll look into when I'm coding effects/conditions later.

If you've seen the Pathfinder Bestiaries (1-3) in the store, then you'll know I'm very keen on making links to the base information, so that players and GMs can get to the information they need to play. So some form of accessing condition descriptions will probably be available at some point.

[Mentalic]

Ok cool. I GMed the first part of Doomsday Day and players can get all kinds of conditions even in that first module (confused, hampered, stupefied, etc and even common stuff can be an on going effect like flat footed).

Keeping track of all that (plus all the tags on stuff) seems to be the biggest barrier to entry to the Playtest for me.

[Trenloe]

Keeping track of all that (plus all the tags on stuff) seems to be the biggest barrier to entry to the Playtest for me.
Have you given Paizo that feedback?

[Mentalic]

I can't really leave the feedback since the survey is for GMs that finished the module. I have run it a couple times as one shots but neither group finished module 1 of Doomsday Dawn.

By the time I get a stable group together to run Doomsday Dawn, I have a feeling the playtest will be over, lol.

In person, I think it would run ok with something like condition cards but you would need a large stack with ALOT of different cards.

[shadelon]

You can leave paizo general feedback without having played Doomsday Dawn. There's a general feedback survey on the site.

[Mentalic]

Thanks shadelon!

Hehe, the questions in that general survey seemed mostly aimed at the module but I gave them some system feedback for the hell of it.

[shadelon]

Np, they need as much data as possible.