Leaving DND 5e for Pathfinder 2e | PF2e Guide 

changing ancestry boost to 2 free boosts isn't alternative rule or variant rule it is just an option that every player can take durring character creation clarification "proficiency bonus" is equal to your lv + number corresponding to your training level and untrained character don't add thier lv some classes starts as expert in perception not just trained casters instead of class DC have spell save DC of corresponding spell tradition just nitpicking in PF2e there aren't weapon properties there are weapon traits nat 20 also move degrees of success one higher

This was excellent! I have a passion for teaching PF2 through my vids and this is a great resource!

I'm transition my group into Pathfinder 2e as well. I was stunned to find just about everything I homebrewed to fix 5e at my table was here in the base game of PF2. Looking forward to the Pathfinder content.

For a crash course you really should mention archives of nethys and how all the rules and basically everything else (except official adventures) exists for free for anyone to use. All in all, it was a great video though! Glad to see you've found enjoyment in the system

I've been playing D&D since 78 and played 3.5 for many years and got back into D&D after a break from the hobby with 5e, i found I missed the customization that 3.5 provided and Pathfinder 2 gives me that with a less complex rule set than 3.5, loving this version of the game and look forward to more content on this and other channels

I've been slowly converting my longrunning 5e's campaign NPCs to Pathfinder 2e, and I had a similar moment of "Oh... we were already homebrewing all this!" It's been so fun and such a pleasure. Thank you for this great video to help along the way!

Oh yes yes yes. I've been playing Pathfinder 2e primarily since the play test came out (I have a special edition hardcover of it). If you have any questions by all means I'm here! Welcome to Pathfinder!!

This is the most comprehensive video on transitioning to 2e I've seen so far. Thanks.

This video is positively incredible! From the tight writing, editing, beautiful showcase of PF2E art, and your skilled delivery it oozes quality. Prospective PF2E players are so lucky to have this video as an introductory resource. Thank you.

A very common optional rule is the Free Archetype rule. With this you gain an extra feat specifically for taking dedication feats. I usually rule only 1 type can be free. This doesn't add much extra power, mostly this adds flavor and options.

Wow..!!! This has been THE MOST comprehensive video I've EVER seen.. And I served in the Army for ten yrs.. So, the whole video through, I was completely fixated on the system, the difference, the similarities, the "Realness" (as real as one could get in a fantasy game) of it all.. So I'm thinking my next campaign might lean this way.. Hopefully you'll make more of these excellent video tutorial sessions for old-farts like me, who have forgotten more math than we have learned. Thanks again, looking forward to the next one, Jason

I'm a lifelong RPG player - started with the Basic D&D box set in '82, graduated to AD&D later that year, and playing every iteration since (barring 4th). I've played dozens of TSR, Palladium, & FASA RPGs since then, and got my kids into 5th last year. They, in turn, bought me P2e for Christmas. The hardest part of the transition isn't the rules, but finding a group of face-to-face players. It seems there's simply no support for connecting players in a local region for in-person games and the Pathfinder Society system is daunting in so many ways.

Great content! A cool thing that you missed in this video is how spellcasting takes advantage of the 3 action system. As an example, Heal is a level 1 spell. (cures living creatures/damages undead creatures) With 1 action it cures/damages 1d8 HP with a touch range With 2 actions it cures/damages 1d8HP+8 with a range of 30ft With 3 actions it cures/damages 1d8HP to all living/undead creatures in a 30ft burst. Additionally, you can cast this spell with a higher level spell slot. For each level increase, add 1d8 to the roll with an additional +8 on the 2 action version.

Starting my group's first session of pf2e, already on it boss.

When it comes to character creations, in D&D you build your character around your stats where in Pathfinder you build your stats around your character.

While nat 1 put your result one degree down, nat 20 raises it one degree up, so crit fail to just fail, fail to succses and succses to crit succses.

Welcome to the Math side of things. I love Pathfinder and I'm glad more people are wanting to try it out. If you ever have any questions or need some character artwork let me know. I'm going to be working on the Galoma tokens next week.

If you are doing Class videos Barbarian would be a good starting point. Easy to show how a 5e Barbarian is the same as any other 5e Barbarian with the subclass only adding a tiny bit of flavour , while PF2 Barbarians can be very diverse, even at level 1

Thank you so much for starting this series. I would love to see more PF2e content from you. If you are to make Class explanation videos, I would love to see what you think of the Alchemist(my fave) and of the Conditions that PF2e has. I am loving the game, though I am still a rookie.

I was converted to pf2 when it came out, and it was love at first sight. However I wish I would had a informative and well presented introductional video like this when I first flaped my Pathfinding wings. :) You earned a new subscriber! Thanks for the video :)

It should be noted that it's not an 'optional rule' to pick +2 to two stats instead of the default option, it's a core rule that you can pick between either. Optional rules are things GMs need to ok, like stamina or bonus archetype.

As a DM, I cannot stress enough just how better combat is in PF2e. In 5e, I have to constantly pull punches, pretend monsters are dumb, or be sad because the 2 claws and a bite meme has affected 3 combats now. in PF2e, I get to play without pulling any punches because the MATH is much tighter, the actions are wildly more varied and NPCs can act like PCs in all regards. They dont need special things to be able to grab or demoralize in their stat blocks like 5e does. The Encounter difficult ratings MEAN something and I can 100% rely on a severe encounter being severe, a low encounter being low. Above all else, I get to play as smart as I can for the NPCs. There is no fumbling rolls pretending a hit is a miss because it would absolutely nuke the battle now or kill a player because of bad math. I have campaigned Strahd, Phandelver, Descent into Avernus for 5e and I did not have as much fun as I do now in PF2e adventures that are written more concisely and better organized in every possible way. WOTC DOESNT SELL COMPLETE PRODUCTS.

One thing worth mentioning: Opportunity Attacks (or "Reactive Strikes" as they are called now) are not a given: Monsters may or may not be able to attack you if you move, but they can be used to counter movement, ranged attacks, and spellcasting that happens within melee range. The only player class that begins the game with the ability to make reactive strikes is the Fighter. Also, with healing: Pathfinder 2e expects players to regularly tend to each other's wounds: And with magical healing being a limited resource, expect to spend time after combat encounters patching each other up with medical supplies, bandages, and potions to "short rest." And you can take feats that let you do this in battle and increase your efficacy with bandages, meaning with the right build, anyone can be the party healer without magic.

My group switched to PF2 about 2 years ago, and while I'll always love the game DND, playing a one-shot in 5e as a rogue immediately reminded me why I haven't even thought of going back since. I love the sheer options (which are admittedly overwhelming at first), the tiers of proficiency in... everything, the depth to the tactics of combat, how easy it is to build encounters, and the crit fail/success system. Most of all though, I love what you can easily create. I've got a former lab rat turned bomb maker, an orc bard who scares enemies with his war drums (and special note, PF2 is the first system I've played where Bards are actually good, and fun to play in combat), a robot who uses his instruction manual to reprogram himself for the day's needs (Tome implement Thaumaturge), and a barbarian who rushes into combat not to inflict massive damage, but to start suplexing and body slamming enemies. I haven't had this much fun creating, evolving, and playing characters since the early days of DND 3rd edition.

You're doing Sarenrae's work. Bless you. Also this briefly hit on something that irritated me since 2e came out. Hearing about all these house rules for 5e players that sounds like they were ripped directly out of pf2e, but then refusing to just play pf2e just hurt my soul.

Clean, well illustrated, direct to the point. Good job!

Note: you can take as many free actions as you want, so long as their triggers or prerequisites are met. Also, treat wounds is so effective, especially at lower levels, and so available that every party will have at least one non-magic healer. Plus the encounter design mechanics would really like you to be at full hitpoints.

Great summary, although Pathfinder does have short rests in a way. Medicine skill does a lot of healing, and you're pretty much expected to heal to full after each combat and there's a plethora of magical and non magical healing available. Health is not a daily resource but a in combat resource.

Awesome video! I have been GMing Pathfinder 2e for about three years now and haven't looked back at DnD 5e once. It is a system that demands a little bit more of the players BUT makes GMing it a breeze. Gone are the days of constantly having to make up rules while playing and then afterwards trying to remember what rule i made up last time. Almoest everything in Pathfinder is codified in rules and even if you find a fringe case which doesnt have any rules the three action economy makes it easy for the GM to make up a rule that is comparable to other, existant, rules that makes it cost an action or two. Can't wait for your next Pathfinder related video's! (Maybe something showcasing a beginner friendly class, the sorcerer, thats not just a worse wizard like in dnd and has awesome customisability while being the most magicky magic class)

Excellent video. One addendum: it is easy to heal up with Treat Wounds (medicine checks when you have training and tools) out of combat. So even though sleeping doesn't restore all HP like in 5e, you can heal people to full HP over the course of several hours if you are trained in medicine. Or have magic healing.

Very well done, and very well tuned towards players for a change, bravo!

Can't wait to see your next video! I hope you go deeper into Archetypes in a future video, as well as Versatile Heritages such as Tiefling and Half-Orc.

Absolutely love Pathfinder 2e. It’s a bit of a rough transition for at least one of my players since they still can’t stomach the fact that the average chance to hit/beat dc of monsters is usually a 50-60% chance if you don’t set up for flanks, apply buffs or debuffs. I don’t want to deprive them of enjoyment, but at the same time my other players adore the versatility and team emphasis on the new system, which makes it challenging to go back. Perhaps some of this will be mitigated once they reach second level and have more spells and abilities to make rolls easier, but I’m worried next session will set him off (we’re doing the beginner box and the next session will have a kobold with 18 AC).

I was actually moving to PF2E before all the OGL nonsense started, but I'm still learning. The Exploration Modes and healing/dying stuff is what I'm going to be focusing on learning better next.

Great video man! Wonderfull overview of the basics of the game. Thanks for making it, I'm looking forward to more.

Great video, I'm looking into PF2e and so far I'm loving all of it. Really hoping you make more videos like this one, I'm looking forward to making my very first PF2e character after getting to know as many options available as possible!

Great first PF2 video! I'm always looking for more PF2 creators, so I'm glad you popped up in my recommendations.

Our group finished the beginner box and it was fantastic

Your channel has been consistently producing great content. I hope you have everyone who ever rolled a d20 subscribing.

i love this! Pathfinder needs more creators

It makes sense to cover the core rulebook classes first but Oracle and Thaumaturge are awesome. I'm looking forward to your next video! SUBSCRIBED!

SKILL CHECKS MATTER! If you can use INTIMIDATION (a Charisma skill) against the opponent's FLAT DC (that is 10+ their bonus) they become FRIGHTENED 1 or on a critical success, FRIGHTENED 2. Why is this powerful, and a great 3rd action option rather than a -10 attack? A frightened opponent loses their Frightened value to their ARMOR CLASS. So they are two easier to hit AND TO CRIT! Skills are free things you can do with your third action that benefit both YOU and YOUR PARTY. Welcome to the chewy side of Fantasy Role Playing. Where teamwork and tactics matter!

I think for class comparison, it may make sense to start with martials and within that scope with fighters so you have a good point of reference in terms of their abilities and damage output comparatively.

Me who abandoned 5e for Dungeon World, 13th Age, and Torchbearer 2 years ago: Interesting 🧐 Glad you’re trying new stuff! Welcome to the other side!

I really enjoy Pathfinder 2e. There is so much you can do to customize your character. Many variant rules can allow you further customization with the Gm's permission. The one thing we do at my table is Roll for Hit Points rather than take the maximum.

This is the best video explaining how Pathfinder2e works, great job!!

Thank you for the great video! I wanted to learn and play PF2e but was kinda lost in it. Please, keep going.

Really enjoyed this one. Would love to see more pathfinder videos

Thank you for this! I just shared 8t with my players. We'll be switching to pf2 soon

I have already made the transition but I wanted to watch this video anyways. I am glad to see the positive energy has returned to your videos.

Great video. Never played D&D 5e, but I'm always curious of the perspectives of those coming to Pf2e from it. (3 years into GM'ing Pf2e)

2:45 - It's actually not an optional rule to select any two ability scores for +2. It's an Alternative Option. That's not just semantics in PF2E. An Optional Rule is one you need to beg your GM to use. An Alternative Option is an official rule that means by default you can choose between it an the 'other' alternative(s). As in: Not using it is a GM Homebrew. This matters when approaching tables. The end result is the same: the GM could say no, but then they're making a house rule. So most GMs are more likely to 'go with the flow' for Alternatives. Also if a player is getting involved in "Pathfinder Society Games" the difference really matters as house rules are out but Alternative Options are in.

We swapped wholely to PF2e in early 2023. Love it…

Thanks for your contribution to this content. We also migrated from 5e to P2e. Personally, I love it!

I felt everything was right on point. I just bought the 2.E pathfinder book and starter box last week. And I feel like easier to grasp and more content

Welp time to subscribe! Welcome! I love supporting pf2e creators c:

Thank you for the great guide!

I loved it! Thank you so much!

Great video, very clear presentation

Nice video, thanks for sharing. 5e refugee here, coming on over to PF2!

very good explanation of the mechanics

Great info! Thank you.

That was quite awesome. As someone who started out hoarding 3rd edition, Pathfinder 2e shouldn't be too hard. I mostly just am overwhelmed by the history of new settings like Golarion.

Athletics is a very useful skill, as it is used for a lot of combat tricks, such as tripping, grabbing fo a grapple, and disarming. These can be very useful as they put different conditions on an opponent, depending upon your level of success.

Great video. Sounds like the whole dying/wounded mechanic could use it's own video. Going to watch that section again, but I was definitely rocking the the 'huh' expression after that section.

Thank you for the Pathfinder video. I'm interested in a lot of systems, so variety (not just D&D) is good for me.

God please keep making more videos i can't keep track of everything in that book

great video. It explained a lot. keep it up.

My DM is slowly switching over to Pathfinder via switching out mechanics here and there and this video helped a lot. I'm just not sure where I can access info on how to make characters and learn the basic rules like I can with DND 5e where there's already a website dedicated to making characters and synthesizing source material. Thanks for the informative video!

I started with D&D 3.5 so all of the pathfinder mechanics are awesome in my book, plus some of the grievances I had with 3.5 have been addressed in PF2E so looking forward to GMing my first table since 3.5 because I had to take a step back from ttrpg because of work and a few medical issues, but I am back in it and to tell you the truth I played some 5E and missed many of the 3.5 rules.

As a PF2e GM I love this video. Been with 2e since it dropped a few years ago and this video does a wonderful job as a nice crisp primer. One other thing I love of PF2e is archetypes not being just from other classes. Seemingly endless other flavors of tropes and lore stuff all wrapped into other archetypes.

This is a very well done video.

Cool! Can hardly wait to start Pathfinder 2e.

The treat wounds vs short rest difference in the systems feels like it largely depends on the context of the adventure too. If the party has no current time constraints, nothing seems to really stop them from spending 5 hours to treat wounds over and over until they're back to full HP. On the other hand, if there is time pressure then they have to make the call to press on or not. It feels really context dependant.

If you do end up doing PF2 class overviews, I think the Ranger is a good one to start, considering how underwhelming they are in DnD5 and how PF2 actually does them justice.

Hey nice video. Thaumaturge is quite interesting. Barbarian is different from 5e in its way to dish out damage. I'd start with one of these ;)

Excellent vid. I'm learning alot and yes we as a table have taken a break from dnd (and ttrpgs in general) but we've all agreed that this "downtime" is to be spent learning PF2E both as a player and eventually as a DM. so most definitely i'm all in on more vids like this to learn the game. i don't foresee myself returning to 5E for some time. i'd rather learn PF2E or play video games i've had on my docket for awhile. some things i liked and didn't liked: 1. some of the systems like dying sounds a bit ore complicated. i prefer the simplicity of 5e in this case. however, it seems to me that a dedicated healer (and avoiding combat encounters) is more viable in PF2E than in 5e. i could be wrong though. 2. i like that the system seems similar to dnd 3.5 where i used to optimize and build theorycraft as well. excited to hear your take on the classes. perhaps eventually a step by step build a character video as well like with one of those apps like pathbuilder? 3. i like how ancestry (race) is handled here and how class progression doesnt provide dead levels (which discourages multiclassing). i do love multiclassing though so i'm happy there's still some form of it here by picking up the dedication stuff. but just to make sure i'm understanding it correctly, there's no alchemist champion here in the "5e sense" right? 4. i liked the feat variety and weapon traits as it helps characters feel more unique but imo the number of conditions can be simplified and trimmed down. 40 is a bit much. 5. i liked how criticals work and it does encourage stacking numbers. i like numbers. :)

This is really good video, one of the better ones I've seen on the subject, and I've been watching quite a few. But I always feel like an idiot when I hear so many people talk about PF2's "perceived complexity" because it really seems like that perception is reality. That said, I'm also an idiot, so that may be where the feeling comes from. For all the amazing things that I'm looking forward to when I start running a game like the action economy, the crit system, the character customization, etc, it's still really difficult not to become overwhelmed by the idea of knowing dozens and dozens of Encounter Actions, Skill Actions, Conditions, the differences in the states of detection like Undetected and Unnoticed. It's very overwhelming. Videos like this are helpful, so thanks. I'll definitely be looking for more.

Hmm. Suggestions and requests, huh? Let's see... Fighter is the classic "starter" class but also one of the most straightforwardly powerful, so you could do that to benefit new arrivals. Alchemist is much less intuitive, but I'd love to see a new take on it.

The interesting thing with pf2 monsters is how they make you think. Often a hard to hit monster can be trounced by save spells and SKILLS either doing direct damage or debuffing it into something manageable.

Great video, if I were still playing D&D I would definitely try to make the switch. Although, I don't think most of the players in my area would.

There is actually a feat that lets you increase max dying by 1

I've played D&D 5e, D&D 3.5, and pathfinder and I still like D&D 3.5 most. In fact, anything is better than 5e.

Glad I found your channel

Just one correction on the healing part. Actually healing in Pathfinder is free. As you can threat wounds once every hour, for a substatial healing. So you gain few hit points from only resting, but you can threat wound before you go to sleep and when you wake up. So you are expected to be always at close to max HP in encounters.

The bard is a great starting point for exploring classes. I also want to know if the archivist transitioned from pf1 to 2.

13:20 slight correction. There is no direct limit on how many free actions you can use. Assuming they are applicable you can use them whenever and however many times you want

this is such a well produced video and i loved it. but one thing i think should be mentioned is the mindset is completeley different. there is way more emphasis on team work that you just dont see in 5e. this is because of the buffs and debuffs that happen during combat. trying to get your barbarian that crit by reducing that +10 threshold to crit and seeing that they are coming up in the turn order really changes the game. this is the same for casters and thats why people say they are nerfed but dont understand that they are more team players than individual burst novas. i think this should be reallllly stressed when coming into this system.

Yes more Pathfinder pls. The more I look into it the more it becomes apparent that so many things people try to '"fx" about 5e (Level Up, ODnD, MCDM) are things that PF2 did ages ago way more elegantly. It's actually really embarrassing watching people desperately trying to fix 5e when there is a system *right there* that already does all the things that they say they want. It's *right there* people. I do get now why the PF2 community was often so exasperated. What PF2 does really, really badly however is being accessible to new players. And the PF2 community often makes this worse by blaming the prospective new players for this, instead of taking responsibility and learning from it. I am committed to PF2 because.... reasons.... but hot damn I have flipped the table (metaphorically) and almost walked away so many times now, and I have been playing RPGs since 2e. I'm very interested in seeing more of your journey.

Yes bro please more PathFinder content

I tried to do the same, but I never wanted to read four novels to play a game so I came back to the easy one lol

Sooo... basically this version is a simplified, but fun, combo of D&D 3.5 & 5e. Cool!!

Really impressed with the flexibility and options. Seems like a lot of thought has gone into making all these classes fun. Looking forward to trying this out sometime. Do you have any affiliate links if I wanted to grab any Pathfinder products so it kicks a few bucks your way?

The skills represent the 4 fonts of magic. The traditions are paired with each skill. Arcana with Arcane Occultism with Occult Nature with Nature Religion with Divine

The roll on a 20 still hype’s my players.

For classes, how about going over Rogue, Sorcerer, Thaumaturge and Swashbuckler.

5e is better for casual play since it's easy to pick to and go, but PF2e is superior for veteran players who wants more interesting combat and more customization options. However, the 3 action economy is definitely easier to understand that 5e's action system

The illusion of choice my friend. When all DND characters are super , then no DND characters are super.

Why do ranged attacks not get a modifier to damage? Doesnt that make archers very weak?

Since you asked. I would like to see direct class conversions, specifically classes and subclasses 2e doesn't have like warlock and eldritch knight. I would recommend new converted campaigns use the free archtype variant rule. Any advice on imitating the subclasses with archtypes would be very helpful. I need to help my eldritch knight player recreate his concept. I'm converting my DnD5e campaign to PF2e. This vid is right on the mark for me. I'll put my time where my mouth is and sub to this channel.