I like the Pathfinder 2 Remaster ORC books better than the original Pathfinder 2 OGL ones. The new books have better art, a more refined layout, and a general maturity in presentation compared to the original edition, which feels like a 5E book. Much of the art is the same, but a few new pieces stand out. The ones that distracted me are gone, and the game seems "settled," if that is how I can put it.
The official world is still okay with me, but it is not how I prefer a fantasy world. If I ran this, it would be my own world. I would simplify things to the traditional choices and make the design feel more grounded. I get where Lost Omens is going, but I have my own tastes in settings and what I like. To each their own.
The tactical battle rules are why you pay admission to the game. If you like D&D 3.5E's feeling of "put it on the table," you will have a blast here. The game is not "soft story gaming," if you have a build, you need to master it on a map with tokens. You can roleplay, but the dice and rules decide whether your character lives or dies. In story games like 5E, there is a tendency to roleplay to increase your power level with soft RP fluff and words, and Pathfinder 2 shakes its head and says, "Prove it."
Unlike D&D 3.5E, the game isn't broken at the high levels, and the power level between martial characters and casters is addressed. Some don't like that and want overpowered casters, so they should stay in D&D. The expectation problem still exists, and if you come in expecting traditional roles for every class to be the same, you will be disappointed. The game was designed for teamwork and for everyone to play a role, just like D&D 4E was.
Also, good riddance to the OGL content. I am finding every game that gets rid of OGL content comes out better, from ACKS2 to Castles & Crusades; forcing designers to part ways with the OGL and come up with monsters, spells, and magic unique to their worlds and vision makes the game so much better. Even Swords & Wizardry Revised, forced to use the Creative Commons content, is still a better game. Ditching the OGL is the best way forward. Suddenly, you see the designers' imagination at work, and we are "forced out of the cave," and the "tried and true OGL standards" are gone. We explore new worlds, see new magic, and find new treasures in these places.
Every game that ditches the OGL is 100% better. Too often, we "fall back on what we know from D&D," and our games become "D&D clones using another set of rules."
Even games like Dungeon Crawl Classics get it; monsters and things we have never seen before should be unique. PF2 gives you tools to build your own monsters; from what I hear, it isn't difficult. So why not create your own monsters and develop your own bestiary? Your players will probably thank you and feel the thrill of not knowing what they are fighting or its relative power level based on OGL knowledge.
Those strange floating spore things that zapped us with lightning? Who knows what they were, but this is the first time we have seen something like that. That was fun. We didn't know what to expect.
Meanwhile, D&D and the OSR are sitting over there pushing nostalgia and member berries. It is okay if that is what you expect, but remember, when the hobby started, all those monsters were new to us, and we had no idea what they were.
We still have three legacy bestiaries with the OGL monsters, which work - so we still have everything. The ORC PF2 still has a "cavern elf" heritage, so there is your "drow, but just change their names." Most of the time, what you miss will have a new name without the "flavor," - so if you want drow, you got them; just say they are and play.
The character sheet is drastically better. It does not look like a tax form anymore.
Ditching the 3-18 ability scores was a good move. Why did we need the old stats? We aren't rolling against them, so just using the modifier as the ability score streamlines the game. We don't have to remember that "this score is a +2" or that we need to write another number down. Again, ditching the D&D and OGL standards and tropes improves the game.
They had a solid base of "what worked," they took years of feedback and then mixed that with pulling out the OGL. Yes, the remaster came early in the game's lifecycle, and some feel like this came way too early. But Paizo should thank Wizards for pulling the OGL scheme on the community.
They ended up with a better game.
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