pf2.d20pfsrd.comPF2 SRD - Pathfinder Second Edition System Reference Document

Toggle navigation OGN Home Characters Character Creation Ability Score Calculator Ancestries Backgrounds Classes Languages Skills Feats Archetypes Equipment Playing the Game Playing the Game Animal Companions Rituals Spells Conditions Afflictions, PoisonsDiseases CraftingTreasure Game Mastering Bestiary Resources Glossary License Database Ancestries 21 Archetypes 128 Backgrounds 220 Cantrips 74 Classes 27 Creatures 1202 Creature Families 150 Curses 24 Deities Diseases 18 Domains Equipment 2477 Feats 1505 Focuses 247 Gifts 97 Hazards 56 Heritages 6 Ley Lines 5 Materials 5 NPCs 37 Rituals 64 Runes 144 Snares 50 Spells 751 Traits 275 Vehicles 42 Home Players Ancestries Backgrounds Classes Skills Feats Equipment Spells Gamemasters Game Mastering Basics of Play Actions Activities Exploration Encounters Downtime CraftingTreasure Conditions Glossary Pathfinder is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) where you and a group of friends gather to tell a tale of brave heroes and cunning villains in a world filled with terrifying monsters and amazing treasures. More importantly, this is a game where your character’s choices determine how the story unfolds. Pathfinder adventures take place in a perilous fantasy world rife with ancient empires; sprawling city-states; and countless tombs, dungeons, and monster lairs packed with plunder. A Pathfinder character’s adventures might take them to forsaken underwater ruins, haunted gothic crypts, or magical universities in jungle cities. A world of endless adventure awaits! What is a Roleplaying Game? A roleplaying game is an interactive story where one player, the Game Master (GM), sets the scene and presents challenges, while other players take the roles of player characters (PCs) and attempt to overcome those challenges. Danger comes in the form of monsters, devious traps, and the machinations of adversarial agents, but Pathfinder also provides political schemes, puzzles, interpersonal drama, and much, much more. The game is typically played in a group of four to seven players, with one of those players serving as the group’s Game Master. The GM prepares, presents, and presides over the game’s world and story, posing challenges and playing adversaries, allies, and bystanders alike. As each scene leads into the next, each player contributes to the story, responding to situations according to the personality and abilities of their character. Dice rolls, combined with preassigned statistics, add an element of chance and determine whether characters succeed or fail at actions they attempt. The Flow of the Game Pathfinder is played in sessions, during which players gather in person or online for a few hours to play the game. A complete Pathfinder story can be as short as a single session, commonly referred to as a one-shot,” or it can stretch on for multiple sessions, forming a campaign that might last for months or even years. If the Game Master enjoys telling the story and the players are entertained, the game can go as long as you like. A session can be mostly action, with battles with vile beasts, escapes from fiendish traps, and the completion of heroic quests. Alternatively, it could include negotiating with a baron for rights to a fort, infiltrating an army of lumbering frost giants, or bargaining with an angel for a strand of hair required for an elixir to revive a slain friend. Ultimately it’s up to you and your group to determine what kind of game you are playing, from dungeon exploration to a nuanced political drama, or anything in between. The Players Everyone involved in a Pathfinder game is a player, including the Game Master, but for the sake of simplicity, player” usually refers to participants other than the GM. Before the game begins, players invent a history and personality for their characters, using the rules to determine their characters’ statistics, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. The GM might limit the options available during character creation, but the limits are discussed ahead of time so everyone can create interesting heroes. In general, the only limits to character concepts are the players’ imaginations and the GM’s guidelines. During the game, players describe the actions their characters take and roll dice, using their characters’ abilities. The GM resolves the outcome of these actions. Some players enjoy acting out (or roleplaying) what they do as if they were their characters, while others describe their characters’ actions as if narrating a story. Do whatever feels best! If this is your first experience with a roleplaying game, it is recommended that you take on the role of a player to familiar ize yourself with the rules and the world. The Game Master While the other players create and control their characters, the Game Master (or GM) is in charge of the story and world. The GM describes all the situations player characters experience in an adventure, considers how the actions of player characters affect the story, and interprets the rules along the way. The GM can create a new adventure—crafting a narrative, selecting monsters, and assigning treasure on their own— or they can instead rely on a published adventure, using it as a basis for the session and modifying it as needed to accommodate their individual players and the group’s style of play. Some even run games that combine original and published content, mixed together to form a new narrative. Being the GM is a challenge, requiring you to adjudicate the rules, narrate the story, and juggle other responsibilities. But it can also be very rewarding and worth all the work required to run a good game. If it is your first time running a game, remember that the only thing that matters is that everyone has a good time, and that includes you. Everything else will come naturally with practice and patience. Gaming Is for All Whether you are the GM or a player, participating in a tabletop roleplaying game includes a social contract: everyone has gathered together to have fun telling a story. For many, roleplaying is a way to escape the troubles of everyday life. Be mindful of everyone at the table and what they want out of the game, so that everyone can have fun. When a group gathers for the first time, they should talk about what they hope to experience at the table, as well as any topics they want to avoid. Everyone should understand that elements might come up that make some players feel uncomfortable or even unwelcome, and everyone should agree to respect those boundaries during play. That way, everyone can enjoy the game together. This is a game for everyone, regardless of their age, gender, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other identities and life experiences. It is the responsibility of all of the players, not just the GM, to make sure the table is fun and welcoming to all. Tools of Play In addition to this site, there are a few things you will need to play. These supplies can be found at your local hobby shop or online at various sites (such as opengamingstore.com). Character Sheet : Each player will need a character sheet to create their character and to record what happens to that character during play. You can find a character sheet online as a free pdf. There are both full-color and printer-friendly versions of the official character sheets available. Dice : The players and GM will need at least one set of polyhedral dice , although most participants bring their own. Six-sided dice are quite common, but all the dice in the set can be found at hobby game stores or online at opengamingstore.com . See the Dice sidebar for more on the different kinds of dice and how they are discussed in the text. Adventure : Every table needs an adventure to play, whether it’s designed by the GM or found in a published resource. You can find a variety of exciting adventures from many publishers at opengamingstore.com , and even official Adventure Path campaigns at paizo.com . Bestiary : From...