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I posted a video recently about how much
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I enjoy D and D 5e's opt-in complexity,
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which is the idea that the game has a
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low baseline level of complexity, and
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players can choose to opt into more
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complicated characters and more
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complicated mechanics if they want to
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engage with those systems, but players
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can still engage with the game at
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different levels of complexity and both
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still play at the same table, which is a
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very satisfying experience because it
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allows a diverse group of players to all
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enjoy the same game together. So, how
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does Pathfinder Second Edition compare
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to Dn D 5e? Uh, very simply, Pathfinder
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Second Edition is a complicated game. It
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is crunchy. The mechanics are
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complicated. They make a lot of sense.
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They're very welldesigned and I love
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them quite a lot, but it is objectively
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a crunchy complicated system with a high
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complexity floor. Like, there are
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complex characters and they're massively
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complex characters. Really, the only way
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to remove the complexity from PF2 is to
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use the variant rules presented in the
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game mastery guide or the GM core in the
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remaster. Um, the proficiency without
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level will significantly reduce the math
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scale, but that does very much change
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how encounters work. Automatic bonus
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progression takes away the magic item
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treadmill, which the game very much
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expects, so you don't have to worry
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about like the plus whatever on your
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armor and your weapons just to stay on
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the game's math. So like there are
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options that you can use to remove some
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of that complexity and the game inches a
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little bit closer to 5e as you do that.
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So that may feel very familiar but
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baseline there is no opt-in opt out
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complexity in PF2. All characters are
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reasonably complicated. They get a
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little more complicated if you add spell
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casting, but even if you don't, Marshall
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characters could still be very complex
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and have tons of mechanics to deal
