PF2 Structure Part 5.0 - Towards Better Scenario Structures

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Hey folks! Sorry for the delay on this, real life got in the way (see my previous post for brief details).

In this series so far, we talked about what Scenario Structures are, Pathfinder's Non-Scenario Subsystems, its Infiltration Subsystem (which is IMO the system's best example of Scenario Structure), and the Other Scenario Structures that Pathfinder 2e has.

Today's post will start relatively short, but it will be a living post, and I may come back and update it with other structures or resources. We'll talk about what Scenario Structures need and what things to consider when running them, briefly discuss Scenario Structures from other games that can be stolen without too much work, and we'll keep a running list of PF2 Scenario Structures as well as resources that might help folks design their own.

Lets jump in!

PF2 Structure Part 4 - Other Scenario Structures

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The Ring Goes South to Mordor

Hey folks!

In our last article, we talked about what I consider to be the best example of Scenario Structure in PF2 - the Infiltration Subsystem. We talked about its strengths, how it's used in adventures, and what changes or variations might be worth making.

Today, unfortunately, we're going to be a bit more negative. We're going to be talking about Pathfinder 2e's other Scenario Structures, or, in many cases, the lack thereof. We'll start by talking about the other "official" Scenario Structure - Hexploration (yes, this is the only other "official" one) - before going into the less defined structures. This includes Investigations (essentially several Research libraries stapled together in Gatewalkers), Dungeon Crawls (which do not have explicit rules in PF2), Linear Sequences (where things just happen in a given order), and various less detailed structures in APs. We generally won't be going into quite as much detail for each of them, but there's a solid chance I'll remake some or all of them in Part 5.

We've got a lot to get through, so let's jump on in!

PF2 Structure Part 3 - The Infiltration Subsystem

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Source

Hey folks!

Today, we'll be talking about the Infiltration Subsystem, which is in my opinion Pathfinder 2e's best example of a Scenario Structure.

Let's jump right in!

PF2 Structure Part 2 - Non-Scenario Subsystems

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Hey folks!

by Satibalzane on Deviant Art

Today, we're going to be going through the non-Scenario Structure Subsystems in PF2 to ground our analysis going forwards. We'll be doing some amount of analysis of these systems, but will mostly be setting up for future articles.

Part 1 hogged all the intro space, so we're gonna keep this intro short. Let's jump in!

PF2 Structure Part 1 - Whither the Scenario Structure?

Somethings been rattling around in my head for a long time.

The core structure of the Alexandrian
Dragon Heist Remix

I've been running RPGs for about a decade now. I started with 5e when it was pretty new, had a good time, and slowly became disenfranchised with its myriad problems. Along the way I found a lot of great advice, especially from Matt Colville and The Alexandrian, but for a long time I mostly ran either published modules or homebrew adventures that were in a similar style.

When I switched to Pathfinder 2e in 2020, I didn't really have problems with the rules themselves. There are still things that don't quite match my preferences, and certain things that I'd probably have done differently, but for the most part the system just works. If I'm too tired to make a call, the game has me covered. I don't have to worry about PCs accidentally becoming overpowered or trivializing an encounters due to a broken rules interaction. And if I do have the energy to make a call that's outside-the-box, or the players come up with an idea clever enough that I want to let them trivialize an encounter, I always have the freedom to do so.

With less work to do hammering the rules into place, however, I could focus more on the adventures themselves. My first real project on this blog was Remixing Strength of Thousands Book 2 in the style of the Dragon Heist Remix, where I deconstructed the grab bag of random quests and put them back together into a more cohesive whole. To date, it's my second most popular series after my Red Hand of Doom Conversion. Ever since, most of my blog has been doing the same - tinkering with adventures to make them more fun to run and play - but the series that finally crystalized my main point today was the one about Negotiations in Mzali.

Now, you might say, "Why do you need to tinker with Pathfinder 2e Adventure Paths? They are so much better than 5e adventures!" And that's true! Genuinely! I love APs, but they still often have problems of their own. Probably the most common complaint about them is about how over-complicated a lot of subsystems are, and I think that is often true! If you've been following this blog for a while, however, you might guess that to me those are just symptoms of a larger issue: structure.

This series is about Scenario Structures: what they are, why they're important, and why Pathfinder 2e would benefit from more of a focus on them. That's right, I said series - as you might be able to tell from the length of that intro, this is a topic I've thought a lot about, and it's gotten a bit away from me. Here's my plan for this series (I'll update it as things develop):

1. Introduction & Defining Terms (this post)
2. Pathfinder 2e Subsystem Analysis (focusing on Encounter Structures)
3. Pathfinder 2e's Infiltration Subsystem
4. Pathfinder 2e's other Scenario Structures
5. Towards Better Scenario Structures
1. Dungeon Crawling
2. (I plan to add several other articles on different Scenario Structures, but that's likely a ways off unless I feel unexpectedly inspired)

Let's jump into Part 1!

PF2 Structure Part 5.1 - Dungeon Structure

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Hey folks!

From Shadowdark RPG

This is a weird one, because it's part 5a of a series for which I have not yet published part 1 - the overall series is about what I see as a need for more thoroughly fleshed out Scenario Structures in Pathfinder 2e. I have part 1 about 90% done, and the other parts are well under way as well, but I decided to go ahead and publish this one first because I think folks might find it useful! (Note: I have now finished it! See link above.)

Today, we'll be outlining a core dungeon procedure for PF2 that aims to fit as neatly into PF2 as possible without changing any rules. Ideally, it should work even if you implement it in an existing AP without doing a whole bunch of extra work. I'll also include some extra credit for if you do want to put in the work, or you want to change more about how you run dungeons.

Let's jump in!