#gamemastery guide

[dailycharacteroption]

Book Review: 1E GameMastery Guide

And it’s time for another review of various books in the Pathfinder system, this week starting with the GameMastery Guide (yes, the capital M in the middle is accurate).

Now, those who remember the previous reviews might immediately ask. “But wait? Didn’t Pathfinder 1e merge the Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide of the game it was based on into one book? Why does there need to be a separate Game Master book?

Well, to answer that, we have to understand that while the 3.5 DMG was meant to be the book that only the GM was reading to have loot and experience tables and the like on hand to hand out to the players, plus some lore stuff and guides for building stuff and whatnot. Useful at the time, but honestly better that they consolidated it in Pathfinder because players inevitably had to read the DMG anyway to learn about prestige classes and magical items with which to spend their hard-earned gold.

The Gamemastery Guide is… not that. Instead, the book only has a few chapters dedicated to actual rules and mechanics in the game, and instead focuses on useful advice for Game Masters running their games, with a few chapters devoted to useful tools, systems and NPC stat blocks for use in the game.

Going chapter by chapter, the book starts with one on defining what a GM is and what their duties are to the game, in terms of learning the rules of the game, arbitrating their application, building and bringing to life the world of the game. There’s also a section on setting the tone for a campaign and when to think about establishing content warnings and discussing sensitive topics.

It also brings up the subjects of getting the group together and how and where to host them, including what to do when players can’t make it, and what is appropriate to bring to the table

Naturally, game planning also comes up as well, including setting out the likely story and what to do if the party deviates.

The next chapter covers actually running the game itself, everything from preparations, taking back mistakes that were made in previous sessions, and of course, being both proactive and reactive to what the players do just as they act and react to you and each other. There’s also a section on presentation too, with things like music, handouts, and the like being good starting points.

Not only do GMs need to be actors, but also writers as well, learning how to use narrative techniques in their storytelling as well.

And then of course there’s the whole thing about actually knowing the mechanics of the game (and when to ignore them when it makes for a better story, such as forgetting a monster’s insurmountable defenses so that the party can actually kill it, or claiming that the boss has more hp so that it gets a few more rounds of being a threat, especially if it was going down too easy.)

And of course there’s a section on building adventure structures and encounters, as well as what to keep in mind for atypical party compositions. Of course, there is also a section for when things go wrong, such as the party becoming unbalanced or they all die or they missed the seemingly easy to find clue that they kinda needed to actually move on to the next part of the story. Plus some useful tables as well.

Next is the section on player characters, which focuses on the easy trap of viewing the players as an enemy to vex, but also in guidelines for helping players make their characters, implementing their backstories into the game, managing the dynamic of the heroes, and of course, dealing with problem players in various capacities in a diplomatic way.

This chapter is immediately followed by one on NPCs, particularly building them both mechanically and in a roleplaying sense, be they humble shopkeeper or insidious villain, complete with LOTS of tables to help inspire the GM.

Next is a chapter on handling rewards, everything from figuring out what XP to give from both encounters and roleplaying alike, to what treasures to give, and when to create special rewards tailored to the desires of the characters, like a wish spell from a rescued genie, a new spell that really excites the party caster, or all manner of story rewards. This chapter even comes with the first instance of random loot tables in the system.

The next chapter is worldbuilding, offering things like useful questions to ask about the countries, continents, laws of physics, and the like of your world, to say nothing of geography, the cosmos, and the planes beyond. Culture is a big question as well, and guidelines are offered based on the society in question and tech level as well. Even questions of technology get focus as well.

And then we look at some nitty gritty about actually designing adventurous locales, from structuring adventures to designing dungeons and using shorthand signs to make the dungeon make sense and so on, to designing the strange traits of other planes of existence and the like, with useful tables.

Then we get useful tables and details for other adventuring staples like taverns, the rules for settlement statistics, aquatic environs, the wilderness, and more.

Next is the chapter on advanced topics, such as when to homebrew or reskin content, the chase subsystem, running natural disasters, rules for drugs and addiction, using fortune telling in-game, gambling games, a full write-up of the haunt rules outside of 3.5, various hazards, running mysteries, puzzles and riddles, a basic sanity system (sigh), and so on.

And finally, the book ends with a robust gallery of NPC stat blocks, which can prove useful for modifying or using as-is to flesh out your world or have antagonists that aren’t horrible monsters

Moving on from the book’s actual content, the art is particularly phenomenal here. The cover art depicts the Runelord Karzoug, the very first big bad we saw in one of Pathfinder’s adventure Paths, sitting on a throne surrounded by various trinkets of his wizardly craft with a blue dragon servant at his side. This proves quite evocative of the vibes of this being a book for the master of the game behind the veil.

As for the inner art, much like the core book there are big splash art pages for each chapter, and most of the art in the book itself is new, including some cute depictions of goblins in the earlier chapters (including one in a dragon outfit that I adore), as well as other NPC art and the like appropriate to each chapter.

Overall, this book gets my seal of approval. The actual mechanical rules are minimal in the book, but it provides a lot of useful advice for new GMs and old alike, and you can’t beat a good random table for those times when your own creativity is running dry.

On the other hand, those very tables for loot and NPCs do get sidelined later on by the NPC Codex and Ultimate Equipment books, which are just so much more robust. Additionally, I do have to dock a point for the sanity system, because gamifying mental illness is kinda completely disrespectful, though as we’ll see in other books, this is not the worst that Paizo gets at this topic. At least here they limit it to the possibility of developing a disorder due to extreme stress.

And that will do it for this book! While the Gamemastery Guide is not required for playing Pathfinder, it is definitely a very useful tool to have in your arsenal, and it’s advice is very good for helping to develop your own skills as a GM.

[pathfinderunlocked]

Conscript - CR 1/4 Commoner

Armor is too expensive for these troops. If you want them to last longer, just conscript more of them.

Artwork by mannequin-atelier on DeviantArt.

In much of the middle ages, an army's composition heavily relied on untrained soldiers, recruited from the normal commoners in nearby towns. These men were often armed with only the weapons and armor they brought from home, or possibly with a simple helmet or wooden shield. The weapon of choice for such conscripts across most of history and most of the world was polearms, due to their ease of use, superior reach, and cheap manufacturing compared to a mostly-metal weapon like a sword.

I was pretty surprised that I couldn't find a stat block for a level 1 commoner in the NPC Codex or any other official Pazio book that fit this kind of idea. The basic CR 1/3 foot soldier from the Gamemastery Guide is a warrior, not a commoner, and has chainmail, three backup weapons, and a healing potion. There are some other level 1 commoners, but they have improvised weapons, aren't human, or are otherwise not really appropriate for a conscript. This stat block should better represent a soldier that was literally just grabbed off the farm and handed a spear and told to fight.

The longspear in its stat block has the broken condition, but it's not literally broken; it's just such bad quality that it functions as a broken weapon.

These might be appropriate enemies for a level 1 party to fight, but mostly I personally use them as friendly NPC soldiers when the players are elite special forces working with the military. You can have a unit of thirty conscripts like this, and a group of level 3 or 4 PCs will still be the heroes who have to actually do everything, without it feeling like they're literally fighting a whole war by themselves.

If you need a lot of them for a big battle, see the conscript troop stat block.

Conscript - CR 1/4

This man holds a spear and shield, and fights for his homeland wearing the dirty clothes of a peasant.

XP 100 Human commoner 1 N Medium humanoid (human) Init +0 Senses Perception +0

DEFENSE

AC 12, touch 10, flat-footed 12 (+2 shield) hp 4 (1d6+1) Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +0

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. Melee broken longspear -3 (1d8-1) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with longspear)

STATISTICS

Str 12, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 9 Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 11 Feats Endurance, Shield Brace, Skill Focus (Profession [farmer]) Skills Craft (woodworking) +3, Profession (farmer) +7 Languages Common SQ shield and spear Gear broken longspear (cannot be repaired), heavy wooden shield

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Shield and Spear (Ex) A conscript gains Shield Brace as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet its prerequisites, but only gains the benefits of this feat while wearing no armor. A conscript treats a polearm as a one-handed weapon when used with a shield.

[endless-bunny]

Pathfinder Iconics Update: Player Core 2

The Pathfinder 2nd edition remaster took the content from the 2019 Core Rulebook, and the 2020 Gamemastery Guide and Advanced Player's Guide, revised and redistributed their content across three new books: Player Core and GM Core (both 2023) and Player Core 2 (2024). While most of the content from the legacy books found its way into the remaster, a lot of the art in the Advanced Player's Guide was redone for Player Core 2, and some of that art is of Iconic characters.

I don't know if there was a licensing issue, or a contract expired or something, but a lot of this artwork came from the same artist: Victor Manuel Leza Moreno. Interestingly, this artist is still credited for some art in Player Core 2 so there must have been some issue with this art specifically.

Alahazra, Iconic Oracle

Alahazra was the iconic Oracle in PF1, replaced by the tengu Korakai in 2nd edition, but she's still here as a quick-build for Oracle, the Flame Augur. Described as "bride of the sun and prophet of the burning sands", Alahazra pretty cleanly represents one of the differences between Oracles in PF1 and 2. In PF2, the Oracle's Mystery and Curse are connected, so an oracle with the Flames mystery will always have the Curse of Engulfing Flames. In PF1, however, the two are separate. An oracle of the flames mystery could be blind, or she could be followed by fey who constantly play pranks on her. The curse is not linked in any way to the mystery, but it might give some plot hooks for the GM if the oracle wants to explore the source of her powers.

Notice how Alahazra's staff and headdress get more elaborate in Moreno's artwork before going back to a simpler design. I wonder if this is part of the reason some of Moreno's art was replaced, it was to do with characters being "off-model". Some of his other illustrations have details that are different from the PF1 designs, and which are then restored by later artists.

Alain, Iconic Cavalier

Alain and Donahan get a more dynamic pose, with the banner no longer being cut off by the edge of the page. The Moreno art looks kind of weird, with how Donahan has two front hooves up, but Alain looks kind of relaxed. I'm not sure what the line of action is supposed to be, if Donahan is about to rear or charge forward then Alain would be thrown backwards. The Remaster art looks a lot more... stable (no pun intended).

Donahan doesn't actually appear in any of the rulebooks in PF1, so PF2 already has two points in that regard. He does appear on some book covers, for Knights of Golarion and War of the Crown: The Twilight Child. Donahan's barding is more elaborate in the PF2 Advanced Player's Guide than it was in the few illustrations that exist of him from PF1, so like with Alahazra I wonder if that's why we got new Cavalier art for the remaster.

The Red Raven, Iconic Vigilante

My boy has been redeemed! No shade on Moreno but like

come on!

You have to admit that the Red Raven art they did was so bad.

The new Vigilante in Player Core 2 brings back the colour, the detail on the daggers, and the specific styling of the cape. Definite improvement. The one thing I think Moreno had was the sort of skulky pose, but even then the Red Raven (despite being trained in Stealth) was always a bit more flamboyant. I can't find any illustrations of Aric in PF2 books, but perhaps I'm just not looking hard enough. Like I mentioned here, the Vigilante is a wordy archetype, so even though it has a double-page spread, having two illustrations would be really pushing it.

One more little addendum regarding the Red Raven: here's his first appearance, as seen in Pathfinder Module W3: Flight of the Red Raven. That is a module from back when Pathfinder was not its own roleplaying game, but a product line for Dungeons & Dragons 3.5. A lot of the Iconics were presented as pregenerated characters for such modules, but the Red Raven is unique, in that he was first introduced as an NPC. Since the Vigilante class was an invention of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game that didn't appear until Ultimate Intrigue, the Red Raven is a rogue in his debut module, which seems like the most appropriate of 3.5's core classes.

Flight of the Red Raven came out in 2008, and Ultimate Intrigue in 2016, which marks the longest gap between a character being introduced and becoming an Iconic.

And the rest!

So here are illustrations from Player Core 2 that have been re-done, but aren't iconics. Not gonna have loads to say on these because there's lots of them and they're also not characters in the same way.

Chemist

The Chemist is one of three Quick Build alchemists in Core Rulebook (legacy) and Player Core 2 (remaster). I really wish we could split the difference here. There's lots of continuity between the two, but they're clearly not the same character. I prefer the detail on the outfit for the remaster Chemist, although the addition of bombs on her bandolier and at her waist makes her look more like a generalist than a specialist. The first one is just so much more colourful though.

Blessed One

Tough call here. It's not a competition and honestly I can't pick a favourite. I really love both of these. The pose and effect of the magic on the legacy art is amazing. The remaster art has a lot of motion and she's just so pretty.

Eldritch Archer

Lots of changes here. While the legacy eldritch archer (the design at least) was brought over from PF1, the remaster archer takes things in a bit of a different direction. I like the new outfit, and the addition of moth motifs.

Pirate

Another tough call. I will say, the artist who drew the legacy pirate (who might be Moreno, but I'm not sure) has a shading style that I really don't like. But I do like the design, a cocky tengu in a fabulous hat. The remaster pirate feels almost like a fusion of Lirianne and Jirelle, but with fewer accoutrements.

Snarecrafter

We've still got a kobold, although I like the addition of the central horn and triple tail tip to differentiate the remaster snarecrafter from other 'bolds. The lighting is really interesting on the remaster art actually, now that I look at it. It's like a low source, almost behind the subject. It's quite a striking effect.

I will say though, I dunno what snare you craft with a bucket of caltrops.

I feel like the pointèd sticks that the legacy crafter is working with would be more effective, plus I also think it shows off the sort of improvised nature of the snarecrafter's kit better than the shop-bought ingredients of the remaster bold.

Talisman Dabbler

Two more strong contenders. The patchwork style of the legacy dabbler is neat, I feel like they've got lots of improvised bits and pieces. Like with the snarecrafter, the remaster dabbler doesn't really sell the idea that these are items the dabbler made that morning. I also enjoy that the legacy dabbler is in the process of dabbling, whereas the remaster dabbler is just an iruxi with lots of adornments.

Tough call.

Viking

Fairly sure this one (legacy) is a Moreno. The wild hair and sense of motion are really good, but there's something about the face that is unsettling, and not in the way I think the artist intended. I think they're also obviously a viking berserker rather than a standard viking. The remaster viking has a shield, and a bearded axe (and a cool coat) which are more iconic symbols of vikingdom.

[Part 1: Classes with Different Iconics] [Part 2: Core Classes] [Part 3: The Remaining PF2 Classes] [Part 4: Classes Who Got Demoted] [Part 5: Prestige Classes] [Part 6: Who's left?] [Update: Rivani and Linxia] [Update: Lirianne]

Divider from Saradika-graphics

[kingtrey3]

PF2 Homebrew Advice: Monster Statistics

TL; DR Monster creation is an art; do not think you can make art by slapping some stuff together.

Now, Pathfinder 2e has a "top-down" approach to monster creation, meaning that they start with the approximate number rather than building to that number like PCs do. If a monster has a +22 Fortitude, it's not because "they're level 12, are master in Fort for a +6 and have a +4 Constitution modifier." They have a +22 because they just do.

My biggest piece of advice with monster creation is to just not worry about trying to make it "look" like it's consistent with the "bottom-up" approach. So what if the creature's Acrobatics and Athletics modifiers are both +18 when its Strength is +4 and its Dex is +3. If you get hung up on that, then you're gonna be proofreading constantly to make sure that it fits with this bottom-up approach and drive yourself mad and become exhausted. I know we say that "every +1 matters" in this game, but a +1 is not worth burning yourself out.

It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to work!

For my second biggest piece of advice, ALWAYS give the monster a weak point. It doesn't have to be abysmal, it just needs to be noticeably worse. A creature that has no exploitable weak points simply becomes a game of attrition. That's part of why the barbazu was so notoriously deadly: it had no real exploitable weak points and it was STUPIDLY good at what it did. Give the monster a low Reflex, or Fortitude, or AC, or something. Don't make it good at everything!

So, lets get going.

To start, download this. I'm aware that these tables can be found in GM Core and the Gamemastery Guide, but I find it far more convenient to have an entire PDF that's dedicated exclusively to those monster creation tables, that way I don't have to memorize what page the tables are on in Gamemastery Guide, and I don't have to deal with the tables spilling over between pages in the GM Core.

Before we get into it, I just want to explain one thing:

Extreme Values

"At higher levels, give each creature more extreme statistics. Having one extreme statistic becomes typical around level 11. A creature at level 15 or higher typically has two extreme statistics, and one at level 20 or higher should have 3 or 4."

This is how it's recommended, and I agree with it wholeheartedly. Extreme values should be relatively sparse before level 11. And if they do come up, there should be a countermeasure to balance it out. Extreme values are very, VERY potent and should not be used haphazardly.

Now, let's start at the top:

Attribute Modifiers

Honestly? These are just there for completion purposes for if the creature is forced to make a roll it's not trained in. These numbers are just for flavor, as they dictate next to nothing in the grand scheme of things beyond the occasional "how smart/strong/etc. is this thing?" An Extreme value here is more for flavor than anything.

Perception

This is another statistic that doesn't really do a whole lot beyond beyond flavor and initiative. Perception is more of a thing for very unconventional tactics like Feinting and Hiding/Sneaking. Just pick a modifier that makes sense for the creature and be on with it. An Extreme Perception is a bit odd, but in my opinion should be saved for beings where a high perception is their gimmick, like something covered in eyes. Please ignore that the hyakume doesn't have extreme Perception; I still find this really silly.

Skills

Once again, these modifiers are mostly used for flavor, but they can also have a good chunk of combat capabilities. Generally, I give monster Athletics because that's a good general sense of how strong it is. A creature without Athletics should be something like a wizard or a fairy, where that doesn't make 100% sense. Similarly, Acrobatics should be put on a creature that is likely to have some kind of flight, since Maneuvering in Flight requires using Acrobatics. From there it's just a matter of flavor with what skills it has, though special mention should be given to Deception, Intimidation, and similar skills that can be used in combat to Feint or Demoralize. An Extreme value here can be very potent depending on the skill it's put in.

AC/Saving Throws/HP

Okay, now this is where a homebrewer can easily mess things up, because haphazard defense-creation can utterly devastate a party of PCs. All of these statistics are in a careful balancing act, and it should be treated with respect.

The most unoffensive creature you could ever make would have Moderate statistics in everything; everything about it is "meh." Now, if you want to raise something above Moderate, you have to take away from somewhere else. Sometimes this counterbalance to defense takes place in the offensive statistics, but that's not as common, in my opinion.

AC and HP are generally in some kind of balancing act. If you raise AC, you'll want to lower HP, and vice versa. However, High AC and Moderate HP (or vice versa) is generally okay; that tends to be where the Fighter lies, as it happens. Beyond that is when the counterbalancing needs to happen.

Saving throws are generally balanced against each other. My general rule of thumb is that a creature should have one High, one Moderate, and one Low save, as that creates a good range of "Do not target!" to "unideal to target" to "exploit it!" for casters or other non-conventional combatants. Now, if you want to use an Extreme value at, say, level 5, you would need to counterbalance it by lowering one of its other saves. The perfect example here is the forest troll. The troll has an Extreme Fortitude, but a Terrible Will; it effectively "stepped up" its Fort by "stepping down" its Will.

As another important note that I've even seen Paizo not follow at times: DO NOT GIVE MONSTERS ABILITIES THAT GENERALLY INCREASE THE DEGREE OF SUCCESS ON THEIR SAVE! Now, I'm not talking about an ability that increases its degree of success on saves vs. illusions or something. That's fine, as long as it makes sense. I'm referring to abilities that just say "if it succeeds on a Reflex save, it gets a critical success instead." We are not talking about mythic resilience right now. These abilities can shut down a lot of chip damage from basic saves, which makes the "feel" of the monster a lot more like an immovable object. If you're going to do that to, say, replicate a rogue, then just increase the value of its save by one category (usually High to Extreme). This is generally why Extreme values are more common at higher levels, because its to counteract with the PCs' "increase degree of success" abilities. This is also why monsters' HP is a lot higher than a PC's of that level: the lack of "increase degree of success" abilities makes the monster more susceptible to chip damage. THIS IS BY DESIGN! Increasing degree of success and a +3 to its save are two VERY different feels, and one feels more insurmountable than the other, and the last thing you want is for your players to feel like a combat is insurmountable.

HP/Fast Healing/Regeneration/Immunities/Resistance/Weakness

While HP is a counterbalance to AC, its primary counterbalances are fast healing/regeneration, resistances, and weaknesses. More weaknesses means that HP will generally go up, while higher fast healing/regen or resistances will mean HP should go down. There isn't a perfect way to figure out how to strike this balance, unfortunately. You just need to get a feel for it. Generally, a resistance to one narrow thing, like cold damage, shouldn't really affect HP a whole lot, but if its resistance to a good spread of damage types, then it should lower HP accordingly.

Now, I should make a particular note for Immunities, Resistances, and Weaknesses: never give something one of these three unless you can explain WHY! "It's resistant to fire because fire damage is very common" is NOT a good explanation. "It's resistant to cold because it regularly dwells in the cold depths of the ocean" IS a good explanation. Generally, a particular vulnerability to a specific material or something can be accepted because "the fey don't like cold iron because weird folklore stuff." It's not a perfect analogy, but I generally stand by that if I can't explain why an immunity, resistance, or weakness exists, then it shouldn't exist.

This is particularly noteworthy with fungi. For a while, I was really confused about why fungus creatures had a weakness to slashing, and I eventually discovered that when a mushroom is cut, it undergoes oxidation, which causes it to go bad. This is primarily why fungi have weakness to slashing.

Attack Bonus/Strike Damage

These are the two main offensive statistics, and they tend to go hand-in-hand. Now, High attack and High damage is the baseline for a fighter-type, while Moderate attack and High damage is usually where monks or champions lie. So the High attack bonus is generally reserved for creatures that are really good at attacking. Now, damage is actually where I see myself using the Extreme value most often, as Moderate attack and Extreme damage is very common for bruisers like the barbarian.

The agile trait goes a long way, so if I want to give a Strike agile, I generally counterbalance that by lowering its damage by one category. i.e. A dual-wielding fighter wielding a longsword and shortsword would have High attack and High damage with the longsword and High attack and Moderate damage with the shortsword.

Now, I use the recommended Strike damage dice/bonus kinda rarely. I more frequently look at the number in parentheses. Sometimes weapon choice dictates what kind of damage dice is dealt and makes things weird, so I usually go off of the number in parentheses to make it basically equivalent.

For the people who don't know statistics, for the purpose of calculating the number in parentheses, use the following values:

1d4=2.5

1d6=3.5

1d8=4.5

1d10=5.5

1d12=6.5

Those numbers are the average roll of those dice ([highest value + lowest value] / 2)

Now, if you don't hit the parenthetical numbers exactly, it's not the end of the world. If you were going for 36 damage and ended up at 37, that's basically the same thing. I generally say to try to stay within a margin of error of +/- 10% of the value you're gunning for. Which, yes, means that at lower levels the numbers are a lot tighter; that's kinda to be expected.

Spell DC and Spell Attack Rolls

Now, I also use this table for DCs of abilities like a dragon's breath attack or something. Now, this is a controversial take, but I NEVER use the spell attack roll modifiers in this table, because they are equal to the DC - 8, when they are usually equal to the DC - 10.

"But didn't you just say not to worry about the bottom-up stuff, and that it just has to work rather than be perfect?" Sure, but this table also fundamentally breaks the relationship between a DC and a modifier. A DC is definitionally the modifier + 10. The fact that it's a difference of 8 here is just...fundamentally against what the rules say.

"Then why do you say the modifier is wrong instead of the DC." Reverse engineering. The High DC at level 1 is 17, which is consistent with a spellcaster with a +4 in their casting attribute. Thus it's the +9 that's wrong, not the DC 17.

Anyway, not much to say here. But, if you want to use a DC for, say, an aura that requires being saved against every turn, use the Moderate DC, since the more dice that roll means the greater chance of failure.

And also, DEAR GOD USE EXTREME DC SPARINGLY! ESPECIALLY IF IT'S AN EXTREME SPELL DC!!! Extreme spell DCs mean that it is so so SO much more likely for a fail or crit fail to occur, and if you DO use Extreme spell DCs, the creature's other statistics should be lowered by a significant amount to counterbalance this. Seriously, use Extreme Spell DC with GREAT caution. Frankly, if I want a "higher than High spell DC," I tend to go with the Extreme value - 2, since that's just more manageable from the players' side.

Area Damage

Very similarly to the Strike Damage, you generally want to use the number in parentheses within a margin of error of +/- 10%. Now, the biggest thing here is that you want to make sure you lower the damage if it the ability imposes a condition, because I have seen a good number of creatures made by Paizo that DON'T do this. Funnily, drained actually makes the calculations a bit easier since it has a direct HP effect. Generally, if an area effect imposes drained, I count it as the drained value times the monster's level as damage toward the number in parentheses. It's not an exact value, but it's a good rule of thumb.

Now, a good example of a deceptively-balanced usage of this table is the brochmaw's Serve ability. On first glance, a two-action ability that deals 12d6 AND heals the monster for half that damage on a level 13 feels really really broken and badly designed. But, you have to take it in context. For one, the brochmaw is built around using Marinade to impose a penalty to Roast, then using Roast to impose a penalty to Serve. So it's very unlikely that the brochmaw will come out with the Serve if it's fighting intelligently. Likewise, Serve only targets one creature, and the brochmaw must have that creature already grabbed. And upon using Serve, the grab is ended. So unlike a dragon's breath attack, which has only one point of failure, Serve has three points of failure: the skewer Strike that has Improved Grab on it, the Athletics roll for Improved Grab, and finally the Fort save against Serve. All of this combined means that Serve deserves to have its potent damage alongside its healing capability.

[rpgbot]

Pathfinder 2e Remaster Review - The GM Core - RPGBOT.News S3E94

On this RPGBOT.News, we look at the new GM Core for Pathfinder 2e. We look at what has and hasn't changed compared to the PF2 Gamemastery Guide and share our thoughts.

[theoutcastrogue]

Paizo, which is not some obscure little publisher, has published the Deck of Many Things perfectly legally, with an OGL licence, in both Pathfinder (Ultimate Equipment , 2012) and Pathfinder 2e (Gamemastery Guide, 2020). The Deck is also published online, as we speak, in the respective SRDs.

In my humble opinion there is NOTHING to trademark here. Especially when the relevant "Goods and Services" of the requested trademark are "Role playing game equipment in the nature of printed game book manual" and "Fantasy role playing games; board games, parlour games ". Baby, that ship has sailed.

I drafted a legal argument against Wizards of the Coast - and you can too!

WotC is trying to pull off a licensing clawback just two years after the OGL Debacle, and I figured out how to punch back.

If you've played Dungeons & Dragons for any length of time, you've probably heard of the legendary "Deck of Many Things" – one of the game's most iconic magical items. It’s a lot of fun, and it has always been something associated with brand-name Dungeons and Dragons.

This article is about the legal usage of “Deck of Many Things,” and about how Wizards of the Coast seems to be trying to take it back in 2025 after giving it to the community in 2023. And it’s about how you can hit them where it hurts.

The History of the Deck

The "Deck of Many Things" has been a staple of D&D since the earliest days of the game. It's been included in every edition and is as much a part of D&D lore as dragons themselves. For years, this term was effectively the property of TSR and then Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro.

But something important happened in January 2023. After the massive backlash to their proposed OGL changes, Wizards of the Coast – through Executive Producer Kyle Brink – announced that they would be releasing the Systems Reference Document version 5.1 under a Creative Commons license:

Kyle’s announcement goes on to say: “This Creative Commons license makes the content freely available for any use. We don't control that license and cannot alter or revoke it. It's open and irrevocable in a way that doesn't require you to take our word for it. And its openness means there's no need for a VTT policy. Placing the SRD under a Creative Commons license is a one-way door. There's no going back.”

This was huge news! For those who don't know, releasing something under Creative Commons essentially means giving it to the public with very minimal restrictions. In this case, they used the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows anyone to share, copy, redistribute, adapt, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially – as long as appropriate credit is given.

The SRD 5.1 document, which spans hundreds of pages, explicitly includes "Deck of Many Things" on page 216, along with a full description of what it is and how it works. By releasing this under CC 4.0, Wizards effectively released this term into the public domain, allowing anyone to use it in their own works.

The gaming community praised this move as a step toward rebuilding trust after the OGL debacle. It seemed like Wizards had learned their lesson and was committed to supporting the community that had grown around their game.

The Betrayal

Fast forward to April 2025. WotC announced that they were revising their SRD 5.1 with a new and improved SRD versioned 5.2. For 5.2 they listed a bunch of milquetoast fantasy terms that I’m sure they’re very proud of, and kind of squeeze in a couple of footnotes. Those footnotes say that they’re going to be clawing back the term “Deck of Many Things,” as well as “Orb of Dragonkind.”

Well lo and behold, on the USPTO’s trademark search database, Deck of Many Things is in fact a pending word mark, with the latest application updated in April of 2025.

The serial number is 97260475, and you can look it up yourself on the USPTO website. This is what it looks like:

So here’s the problem. This application effectively attempts to claim exclusive rights to a term that Wizards had already released under Creative Commons just two years earlier.

Why They Can’t Do This

So why can't Wizards of the Coast trademark "Deck of Many Things" now? Let me break it down:

The Creative Commons 4.0 license they chose is explicitly IRREVOCABLE. Here's what the license actually says in Section 2(a)(1):

"The Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable license to exercise the Licensed Rights in the Licensed Material."

That means once Kyle Brink proudly published the SRD 5.1 under this license on that fateful day in January of 2023, they could never take any of it back. The license explicitly prohibits imposing "additional or different terms or conditions" on the licensed material.

Attempting to register a trademark on material you've already licensed to the public represents an attempt to impose additional restrictions on that material, a violation of a term of the Creative Commons 4.0 license. Specifically it is a violation of Section 2(a)(5):

“No downstream restrictions. You may not offer or impose any additional or different terms or conditions on, or apply any Effective Technological Measures to, the Licensed Material if doing so restricts exercise of the Licensed Rights by any recipient of the Licensed Material.”

My Attempt to Challenge the Trademark

When I discovered this trademark application, thanks to Dark Kelsey, I decided to take action. The USPTO has a process called a "Letter of Protest" that allows anyone to submit evidence showing why a trademark shouldn't be granted.

I drafted a carefully formatted Letter of Protest following all the USPTO guidelines. My evidence was straightforward:

The official announcement of SRD 5.1 being published under Creative Commons

A copy of page 216 through 218 from SRD 5.1 showing "Deck of Many Things"

The full text of the Creative Commons 4.0 license highlighting its irrevocability, etc.

I TRIED to submit this through the USPTO's electronic filing system, confident that the evidence was clear and compelling.

The Setback

Unfortunately, when I tried to submit the Letter of Protest, I received this error message:

"This form cannot be submitted because it has been more than 30 days from the date the application published in the Official Gazette."

I had missed the narrow window to submit a Letter of Protest. The USPTO only allows these submissions either before publication or within 30 days after publication in their Official Gazette. By the time I discovered the application, this deadline had already passed.

This was frustrating, but it doesn't mean the fight is over.

The Path Forward

If the USPTO does grant this trademark – which they shouldn't if they're properly interpreting the prior Creative Commons licensing– there's still another option: filing a Petition for Cancellation with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

A cancellation petition allows anyone who believes they would be damaged by a trademark registration to challenge it even after it's been granted. The filing fee is $600, and the process typically takes about three years.

For this specific case, the grounds would be:

The mark doesn't function as a trademark because it was published under an irrevocable Creative Commons license

The applicant's actions in seeking the trademark contradict their prior grant of rights

The process is more involved than a Letter of Protest, but it's completely doable even without an attorney. The TTAB provides clear guidelines, and everything can be filed electronically through their online system.

Conclusion

What Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are trying to do here is repugnant but not surprising. They're attempting to double back on a license they've already granted – something they've developed a pattern of doing every couple of years now.

First it was the OGL controversy, where they tried to revoke a 23-year-old license. The community pushed back and won. Now they're pursuing trademark terms they explicitly released under Creative Commons, trying to AMEND a creative commons license that they just published (5.2 amending 5.1), perhaps hoping no one would notice or care.

This is more than just a legal technicality – it's about trust. When a company publicly garners praise for licensing away intellectual property, only to sneakily try to reclaim it later, they're betraying the very community that supports them.

The irony here is that Wizards didn't even need to do this. They could have trademarked specific implementations or product lines featuring the Deck of Many Things without trying to claim ownership of the term itself after releasing it to the public.

So why am I telling you all this? Because you don't need to be a lawyer to challenge corporate overreach. The systems exist for regular people to participate in these processes. Whether it's a Letter of Protest or a Cancellation Petition, the tools are there for you to use.

If you care about not getting bamboozled by incompetent, dishonest corporations, consider getting involved. Watch for these kinds of trademark applications, be ready to file your own challenges, and spread the word when companies try to walk back their commitments.

Simon Says: An Addendum

After publishing this article, I received some valuable feedback here from Simon, an academic lawyer in the UK who teaches trademark law. Simon pointed out an even more straightforward legal issue with Hasbro's trademark application that deserves attention, one that transcends the Creative Commons argument.

The fundamental problem? "Deck of Many Things" likely isn't even eligible for trademark protection in the first place.

Under trademark law (both in the US under the Lanham Act and similarly in the UK), a valid trademark must be distinctive – it must have the capacity to identify goods as coming from a specific source and not another. But here's the kicker: "Deck of Many Things" products have been created by numerous publishers over the years, not just Wizards of the Coast.

This widespread use means the term has essentially become descriptive or potentially generic within the gaming industry. It no longer primarily signals "this is a WotC product" but rather "this is a type of magical card deck with random effects" – a concept that's been implemented by countless game creators.

Think about it – when you hear "Deck of Many Things," do you automatically associate it exclusively with Wizards of the Coast? Or do you think of the general concept that's been part of gaming culture for decades?

This distinctiveness requirement exists for a good reason. Trademark law isn't supposed to give companies monopolies over common terminology in an industry. It's meant to prevent consumer confusion about who made a product, not to let corporations fence off widely-used concepts.

So beyond the Creative Commons issue, there's this even more basic problem: Hasbro is trying to trademark something that likely fails the fundamental "distinctive" requirement of trademark law.

This remains an example of a corporation trying to claim exclusive ownership over community cultural elements that have been widely used and understood for decades. Whether through Creative Commons “revisions” or by ignoring basic trademark principles, the effect is the same – an attempt to monopolize what should remain in the public sphere.

[theaggressivewriter]

Hungry, Hungry Trolls (Boss Fight #004, 02/19/2024)

Welcome to Boss Fight, where every Monday I take a monster or hazard and make a unique boss fight out of official material Today, we'll be making an official encounter for a L2 party of 4. This week, we'll focus on simple hazards and how we can present limited triggered abilities with set conditions.

Simple hazards follow a different xp value than regular monsters or complex hazards, shown here. Just like with complex hazards or when utilizing other monsters, we can present simple hazards narratively on or around the creature, but rather than being a constant threat, they trigger once. Previously we talked about my favorite hazard Shrieker, which I love to use as a transition between phases for boss fights, this week we'll present actual abilities rather than incidental actions like roaring into a new phase.

Do you like the idea of the Two Headed Troll, but don't like the independent brains ability? Rather than representing the two heads with action economy, we can present the heads as their own entities. Let's take a regular Troll and two Titanic Flytraps. Why the flytraps? Not only do they share the natural weaknesses that deactivate the troll's regeneration, they match the natural reach of the troll, and can represent each individual head of a particularly carnivorous troll that snatches up people in its grotesquely large mouths.

The Flytraps trigger is when a creature simply walks into its range, but most simple traps are created with the intention that they can be easily avoided, but when attached to a creature like how we're setting it up, we will need to make some modifications. One way we could do this is by replacing an instance of the normal jaws attack of the Troll with the Flytrap attack, which is the easiest to do; we could also make it act more like a reaction and modify the trap so it acts like a reactive strike rather than the simple trigger it currently has. Since the trap has statistics to be destroyed, we can set the heads to be "broken" and unable to use the jaws reaction if the players are given a heads up.

Plenty of other traps can be used in similar ways, adding simple ways for creatures to act with unique abilities that can match their normal skill set. Particularly useful hazards that can be easily upscaled include but are not limited to: Spear Launchers, Ectoplasmic Grasp, and Ghostly Choir. Of course, for haunts, they don't have statistics for breaking and can't be dealt with save with a religion or occultism check, but we can modify these by looking at 2-15 in the Gamemastery Guide and add appropriate defenses for the trap so that they can be interacted with like normal traps. While we want to give monsters abilities and action economy, we want it to be interactable, and unless haunts narratively fit the encounter, they should be modified so as to best fit the current narrative and to be targetable. Take for example, the Ghostly Choir. This to me can be an upgraded Shrieker in that it can act as a creature roaring, but since its a haunt it can't be interacted with normally, so we can remove the haunt trait and add a line for defenses. For that example the trap likely represents the head of a creature needing busted in order to prevent the trigger of reaching half health, Monster Hunter style.

[darkeraven22]

Path Of The Pathfinder: Gamemastery Guide 2nd Edition First Look

Path Of The Pathfinder: Gamemastery Guide 2nd Edition First Look

Yup. I am going to need to sit down and find the time to delve fully into this game soon. As I see it I just need to find a comfortable sitty place, and dedicate a few hours a day to this endeavour, and I can begin delving into Pathfinder. And while I am delving into Pathfinder I will set up… Pathfinder The Next Generation, aka… sigh… Starfinder. Oh great, Paizo. That’s an original name if I ever…

[haorev]

Something in reading more of the Pathfinder 2e rules: I can see why Matt does some stuff he does, particularly regarding crafting in campaign 1 (the most still affected by Pathfinder tho I’m sure it was 1e) and when he has them role initiative and when asked if it’s combat replies with “we’re in initiative order” instead of a yes or no, implying it may or not be combat

Hell even if reading the pathfinder books, I’m finding ways to think about dnd 5e in ways I hadn’t before and it’s actually making planning stuff easier. The Gamemastery Guide with its “here’s how to make a Nation or Settlement stat block” and “here’s guides to do certain things like crafting and making up items and various NPCs” is so lovely and like the DMG does fine with what it does but I really like this.

Also: Pathfinder 2e proficiency system continues to be one of my favorite things.

[ouroborygmus]

"gamer widow"

[dailycharacteroption]

Book Review: Pathfinder 1E Bestiary

And so we’re back again with another round of book reviews, looking at the various books and supplements I’ve collected over the history of the game, and this time we’re starting the week with the second half of the two books you’re assumed to have in order to play the game: the first monster book, the Bestiary!

Monster books have been a part of ttrpgs for a very long time, since the beginning, in fact. While not every system has or needs a dedicated book for the statistics of whatever horrible monsters exist out there in the game’s world, they certainly are convenient as a way to provide an arsenal of baddies for the heroes to face.

Again, much like last time when we covered the core rulebook of Pathfinder First Edition, we’ll inevitably have to talk about the changes the system made to it’s 3.5 D&D predecessor, but given that this is the last “core” book, we won’t be doing that in the future since books like this one have set the precedent.

In any case, let’s take a deep dive into the Bestiary!

Starting us off, the monsters in the first Bestiary, most of which are old D&D mainstays with a heaping helping of Pathfinder originals from the first few adventure paths thrown in, which makes sense. There’s even a few beasties from the 3rd party Tome of Horrors books, which took lots of monsters from earlier editions of D&D that WotC wasn’t really using or had control over and brought them into the forefront. Also returning was the 3.5 mainstay in the form of templates used for modifying statblocks as well, such as making skeletons out of everything, or depicting every creature with blood relations to dragons, celestials, and fiends.

In any case, if this bestiary could be said to have a theme, it would mostly be “bringing the D&D staples forward”, which they did, converting them over into the Pathfinder paradigm, consolidating the elemental an giant types into subtypes of outsider and humanoid, respectively. We even get to see the seeds planted for major paradigm changes, like seeing what we called kytons being rewritten from being devils to being their own whole outsider type and ogre mage being made into true oni and not just a rebranded “relative” of ogres.

Many of these monsters, while updated, maintain their old classic abilities. However, there are some tweaks here and there. Basilisk petrification being reversable by killing it and using the blood on the stone bodies is a brilliant way to keep the threat of petrification on such a low-level monster while softening the blow so that it’s no longer a party killer or massive inconvenience for low-level parties.

Organization-wise, the Bestiary has a massive improvement to the old Monster Manual formula from 3.5, and that is that individual monster entries are limited to one or two pages. This makes the consolidated statblocks easier to reference instead of having to thumb back and forth between two or more pages in the middle of a battle, and it even gives nearly every monster a chance to have it’s own art in the books. (You’d be forgiven for thinking that Derro were a Pathfinder creation, but they were in 3.5 too, but you’d never notice because they had no art and their description was so lackluster that nobody would ever bother using them)

And like any good monster book, there’s an appendix of rules for things they didn’t want to have to reprint every single time they wanted to use the same ability or subtype with unified traits, as well as guidelines for making your own monsters from scratch, which is super important. I mean, can you imagine a system that makes you buy a whole separate book just to have exact guidelines for how to make your own monsters? (Looks meaningfully at the 2E Gamemastery Guide)

A major positive in this book is the artwork. The cover art for the Bestiary sets a trend we’ll see throughout 1E in that the art takes three monsters within together that collectively set the tone for what sort of monsters you’ll find within. In this case a troll, marilith demon, and of course the iconic Pathfinder goblins, setting up the theme of the book being primarily classic monsters from the system that Pathfinder is derived from.

Inside the cover, we find that the art does a lot to really bring each monster to life, and for the most part the monsters are easily recognizable yet distinctive from their D&D counterparts in ways that for the most part enhance them. I distinctly remember my jaw dropping when seeing the bone devil illustration, which is miles above the 3.5 version in the awesome factor.

Of course, they’re not all winners, at least in my opinion. The choker, for example, just doesn’t hit the same as the tentacle-armed horror from 3.5

Less a weakness in the art and more a bit of whiplash though, is the dragons. If you’ve been playing 3.5 and earlier editions, you probably have a distinct idea about what each dragon species looks like. Black dragons have the big forward-pointing horns growing from the sides of their heads, metallic dragons have semi-flexible supports for their wings as opposed to the more bat-like chromatic dragons, and whatnot. It took some getting used to, looking at the entry for gold dragons and not seeing the barbel-faced, partially eastern lung dragon-inspired gold dragon, but a much more generic design. That isn’t to say that Pathfinder dragons aren’t distinctive, and I understand why, but it was an adjustment.

Overall, this book has a lot going for it. As the first monster book in the system, the Bestiary sets itself up nicely as an inheritor to 3.5, with plenty of improvements and refinements alongside the familiar creatures we’ve come to expect.

That ends up being a double-edge sword though, as the book barely has any new monsters, all the excitement being for monsters we all already know about, albeit reimagined visually somewhat. Also, the book has a handful of what can be described as “pinup art” for certain feminine, attractive monsters like lillends, dryads, and sphinxes, which may put off some folks, and does nothing to dispel the old stereotype of ttrpg players being repressed and horny teenagers (and adults that never got over being repressed and horny). But if that doesn’t bother you then it doesn’t bother you. In any case over the years Pathfinder got better about this, so that even the pretty monsters were not overly sexualized.

In any case, that about does it for today. The Pathfinder 1E Bestiary does it’s best to offer us some fun monsters with which to populate our game worlds with, though most we’ve seen before. Tune in tomorrow, however, for more books reviewed, starting with continuing our look into the first Adventure Path!

[keplercryptids]

i've been going through the pathfinder 2e gamemastery guide over the last couple days and i cannot describe to y'all how extremely better-designed pf2e is than d&d 5e.

there are useful subsystems, and a formula to follow to make your own subsystems! things that i've had to painstakingly homebrew in 5e (chases! infiltration! how to make actually balanced monsters!*) are being handed to me. there are sooo many charts with items that have prices. prices, can you imagine?? there's a whole chapter that's just an npc gallery of interesting, layered npcs, with useful and fun statblocks! npcs like judges, tomb raiders, harbormasters, saboteurs, ship captains, i could keep going!

I've only ever found this kind of stuff for 5e through third-party sellers. the lack of support for gms in 5e is wild. if you play d&d 5e, you need to go bake your dm some cookies, i'm not joking. you don't understand what it's like out here lmao.

*i know 5e has "official" rules for some of these things, like chases, but they suck. i was gonna go into more detail lol but that sums it up.

[wearesorcerer]

Dear Pathfinder 1e Peeps,

Out of all the Pocket Editions except the Core Rulebook, which would you think would be the most useful? Since we're talking Pockets, I mean to have on hand, and as for other context I mean in general.

I'm torn between the GameMastery Guide, APG, and Ultimate Equipment, but I'm betting there are other contenders.

[luz-is-a-dice-goblin]

Character Creation Breakdown

Alright, so I figured I’d give a bit of a breakdown for how I’m doing the character creation for this AU. Whether or not I’ll do full character sheets or just a general breakdown of stats is 50/50, but I’m leaning more general so I don’t have to fill out multiple character sheets. But, for those of you not familiar with Pathfinder 2nd Edition, here’s a nice little breakdown so you know what you’re getting into. (Also, I’m waiting on confirmation on something before doing Luz’s sheet, so if that doesn’t happen soon, expect Amity of Gus’ sheet to come out first)

SO, let me introduce you to the ABC’s (and D’s) of Pathfinder 2e.

First, we have your Ancestry. This is essentially your race in any other game. When you decide your race, you typically get a few set stat bonuses, as well as one or more stat boosts that you can apply to any of your stats. You also choose your Heritage, which is basically a sub-race that gives you an additional ability on top of your racial traits. Finally you choose an Ancestry Feat, which gives you one of several different abilities available to your ancestry. Basically, Feats are basically anything that is something you choose from a list of options. 

Now, for this AU, the characters will be built using the optional Ancestry Paragon rule from the Gamemastery Guide, so that, instead of selecting an Ancestry Feat every 4 levels after Level 1 (Level 5, 9, 13, and 17), you get an additional Ancestry Feat at 1st level, and an additional Ancestry Feat at every odd level.

Secondly, there’s your Background. This is basically your profession before you decided to become an adventurer. This comes with the second round of stat increases, training in a particular skill and a Lore Skill relevant to your background, as well as a Skill Feat.

Finally, you pick your Class. I feel like that’s pretty self-explanatory. This is your Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, etc... This is where the bulk of your abilities are going to come from, as well as an additional boost to your ability scores depending on what class you take.

Ability Scores are finalized by an additional round of boosts that can be applied to any ability score, but that’s essentially it for your ability scores.

For this AU, I’m using an additional rule from the Gamemastery Guide, which is to give a free Archetype to the player, as well as additional Class Feats that can be used only to take Feats specifically from your archetype. Basically, Archetypes in 2E are essentially sub-classes that allow you to specialize in certain aspects, either in a particular fighting style, or a certain aspect of play, such as healing or using different types of magic. Archetypes are also how you Multiclass in 2E, where you essentially become less specialized in your Base Class in order to gain abilities from a different class. But, since everyone gets a free Archetype, there shouldn’t be much issue with that.

And that’s pretty much it for character creation for 2E. Basically, Stat increases are in increments of 2, and you can’t apply boosts during the same round of character creation.

So in summary, aside from normal character creation, I’m also applying the Free Archetype and Ancestry Paragon optional rules from the Gamemastery Guide. Next post, expect either Gus or Amity’s character sheet, unless I get confirmation on one part of what I’m using for Luz’s character.

[roll20]

The Pathfinder Second Edition Gamemastery Guide is now on Roll20!

Whether you’re new or a veteran Pathfinder 1 or 2 GM or maybe even a Pathfinder player looking to give a specific gift to your GM to help them run the game, the Pathfinder Second Edition Gamemastery Guide is perfect for any of those scenarios. Now you’ll have more tools and rules systems to add to your game. It is also even easier to customize the rules to make the game your own. There is also lots of handy advice to help you build your own adventures, design towns, and create vibrant characters alongside rules systems for dramatic chases, thrilling tournaments, and deadly duels. There are also tons of new and variant magic items including intelligent items, cursed items, artifacts, quirks you can add to items, and a brand new type of item called a relic that scales with your character!

The Roll 20 conversion includes:

New information for GMs about gamemastery basics, building creatures, designing abilities, building hazards, afflictions, and more!

Item creation rules, downtime rules, exploration rules, new information about planes, and guidelines for worldbuilding. Example hazards and afflictions both familiar and new

New variant rules including subsystems like victory points, influence, chases, reputation, duels, hexploration, and vehicles for Pathfinder Second Edition

83 new NPC stat blocks with in-app drag-and-drop

16 new and variant magic items including intelligent items, cursed items, artifacts, quirks you can add to items and more.

New feats and spells

You can grab your copy of the Pathfinder Second Edition Gamemastery Guide right now from the Roll20 Marketplace for $49.99 USD.

--

© 2020 Paizo Inc. Paizo, the Paizo golem logo, Pathfinder, and the Pathfinder logo are registered trademarks of Paizo Inc.  Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder World Guide, and the Pathfinder ‘P’ logo are trademarks of Paizo Inc.  All Paizo titles and Paizo's character names and distinctive likenesses are property and copyright of Paizo, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

[undefeatednils]

So I may have bought a Pathfinder 2e book...

Namely the first monster manual. In German. Because I already had the three core books (and the Lost Omens World Guide) from IIRC a Humble Bundle. And Ulisses Spiele, the publisher of the German translations of Pathfinder, is currently giving away the PDF of the Core Rulebook away for Pay What You Want on DriveThruRPG (which they use as their online store; they don't have a dedicated one, which is kinda charming?). And most folks say you don't need the Gamemastery Guide for running published adventures, so I'm skipping that for now.

Also though if you wanna get Pathfinder 2e stuff in English... Paizo is currently giving away the Lost Omens World Guide on their own online shop (if you use the code OPENGAMING at checkout) and they have sales on the Core Rulebook and the Beginner Box, with them all being 25 percent off for the print versions... Plus you can just get the PDFs for about 20 bucks per pop on the reg, with sales happening occasionally (plus, again, Humble Bundle is a serious thing to look at occasionally, they have a Pathfinder-themed bundle each year).

And there's a free and Paizo-endorsed English language rules wiki, Archive of Nethys, that can honestly replace all the rulebooks, so if you just wanna homebrew stuff or be fine with idk the Beginner Box/Core Rulebook and an Adventure Path (their published campaigns), then that is an excellent way to get more thorough rules and more player and DM options.