• Schedule Integrity: There will be 5 players slots with 2 on-call players. I will run weekly with minimum 4 players to maintain schedule integrity. Running a campaign with this method requires 3 call-outs before a cancellation is made. Campaigns live or die on consistent scheduling.

• Avoid Distractions: No browsing the phone, politics, playing other games, or in general not paying attention to the ongoing story effort. Especially in combat. My expectation is that players in combat are ready to act on their turn and to not begin thinking about their turn as it comes up.  When the game flows well everyone has fun including me!

• Stay In Character When Possible: I will generally use accents, tone of voice, or turn of phrase to note when I am speaking in character. I suggest the players to do the same. I like the occasional joke or meme, but constantly bringing them up in game is highly disruptive to the collaborative story process.

• Avoid Metagaming: I will utilize Knowledge checks such as History or Religion when the player wants to learn more about something. In terms of monster knowledge, a party that scouts out their opposition can take time to learn about their enemy and see if they remember useful information. Going headlong into combat does not grant you this knowledge, keep this in mind.

• DM Mistakes, Rules Lawyering: I have been playing TTRPGs through multiple editions a long time. However, I will make mistakes as a DM and sometimes I will have to rule on something and move on for the sake of the group/game. I will discuss rules questions and mistakes before or after sessions, never during session. If something if questionable, please make a note and discuss it with me after the session and I would be more than happy to discuss it then.

• Don't Pre-Roll the Die, Narration First: Players must describe what action they are trying to take or what they are trying to do before a roll can be made. You will describe what your character is doing and I will assign the appropriate skill check to accomplish that task.

• Player vs Player: I allow tension or conflict at the table between characters with a few caveats.

  • Rule 1: A player wanting to initiate a possible PvP situation must ask the other player if this is permissible. If it is not, you cannot proceed. (ex. Player 1: I want to confront your character about this situation, is this ok? Player 2: Sure let's do it.)

  • Rule 2: The DM has fiat authority to shut down any situation that is getting too heated or if there is a potential interpersonal player conflict brewing.

  • Rule 3: Characters may have internal conflicts but players should never have conflicts at the table. If you cannot handle a situation like this, don't say OK to the situation.

• Table Safety Rules: I am a big believer in the X card. If a player touches or picks up the X-Card during a scene in a roleplaying game sessions, the DM stops or skips over the scene, no questions asked.

Combat Condition

The GM should communicate with the players the physical condition of enemies in combat. Instead of exact hit points values, the GM can answer to questions whether enemies are bloodied or beaten, but should not let players compare what creature is more bloodied than another. When a creature is at hit points equal or less than half its maximum hit points, it is bloodied (or broken, if the creature is a construct). Its body is covered by bruises and scratches, and it experiences fatigue and pain. When a creature is at hit points equal or less than 5 plus additional 5 for each 50 points of maximum hit points, it is beaten. Its body is a covered with open bleeding wounds, has cracked or splintered bones, or much worse. It barely stands upright and remains conscious. One or several more attacks will probably take it down. Bloodied and Beaten can be used as conditions by making homebrew creatures, such as creatures fleeing when they get bloodied or beaten. However, if Pathfinder Second Edition introduces new conditions by the same name, they should not be treated as the same condition.

Critical Initiative

If you roll a natural 20 on an Initiative check, all enemy targets are considered flat-footed to you on the first round of combat as long as they haven't acted before you.

Hero Points

Players start a new campaign with two Hero Points each, and their use is described in Core Rulebook, pg. 467. In addition, for feats of heroism and rewards for quality roleplaying, players earn Hero Points in the following ways:

·         Players earn a Hero Point at the start of a game session of three or more hours with at least one upcoming challenge that will pose a risk of defeat or death.

·         Players earn a Hero Point after overcoming a Severe difficulty encounter, or a Moderate difficulty encounter that presented a Severe challenge due to circumstances other than player mistakes.

Insight Checks

At any point, you can attempt a DC 15 special check modified by a target player's Wisdom modifier. If you succeed, you can pass a suggestion to the target player that his character may recall in the game as a spark of insight or recalled memory. If you fail the check, you may not attempt another such check until the end of the encounter. The GM may do the same and is free to choose between Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma modifier before making the roll. If he makes the check, he can pass the target player a piece of insight, or a gut feeling about the current encounter.

Group Exposed Checks

When a group check is called by the GM, all player attempts the same skill check. Only actions that do not require trained or better proficiency in the skill can be made as group checks. A typical example is the Seek action where the whole party is scanning an area for anything unusual, or Recall Knowledge for broadly known information (such as name of a ruler, key noble, or major deity) In order for the party to succeed, half of the players (rounded down) must have a success or one player must have a critical success. If the party succeeds, all players with success or critical success receive the information from the GM first and can choose how to use it and whether to share it. In order to share the information with the rest of the party during an encounter, one player with success or better result should use the Point Out action.

Retrying Recall Knowledge

When you succeed a Recall Knowledge check, you get one piece of most common information. For each 5 points you beat the Recall Knowledge DC you can choose between the GM revealing another piece of most common information or asking one question that the GM may reply to with a Yes or No answer. Up the GM, he may provide more detailed information or a long answer if you use a Lore Skill or you are master or better at the skill used. The GM can provide detailed information if you critically succeed on any Recall Knowledge check but only to explain creature abilities or attacks. When a Lore Skill is used instead of a general Skill, the first Recall Knowledge DC is lowered by one step of difficulty. If you are expert or better in the Lore Skill used or you are trained in a Lore Skill that is particular to the subject of the Recall Knowledge (up to the GM), the Knowledge DC is lowered by two steps of difficulty instead. If you fail a Recall Knowledge check to remember a bit of knowledge regarding a topic, you can still try again however the DC determined by the GM is increased by one step of difficulty (see pg. 506). On a critical failure, you do not get wrong information unless the roll is made in secret, however you cannot try recall information about the same creature or its creature type until after your next daily preparations.

Gentler Massive Damage

This variant rule removes the automatic death when taking massive damage. This variant rule should be used for combat damage and should not apply to falling damage or hazards. Rather than you die instantly if you ever take damage equal to or greater than double your maximum Hit Points in one blow, you become dying however your dying condition value increases by an additional 1 and your wounding condition increases by 1. Your wounding condition will increase by 1 again when you stabilize, as usual.

Surprise Attacks

An undetected creature remains so until it is spotted with a successful Seek action, fails to remain undetected with a move or a failed Sneak action, or until it targets a creature with an attack, an ability or a spell. When the undetected creature targets a creature, it takes a full turn. After that turn is resolved, the combat starts and all creatures must roll initiative. Other creatures that were surprised must use Perception for their initiative, and the undetected creature has +4 circumstance bonus to its Initiative roll. Undetected creature's first turn has been already used to initiate the combat and it does not get a second turn during the first round of combat. If a situation occurs that a creature uses the Seek action in the moment that an undetected creature would make an attack, an ability or spell, the undetected and seeking creature roll special initiative check. If the Seeking creature wins the initiative order, it can use Point Out as a free action before the undetected creature resolves its attack, ability or spell. Undetected creatures with an ability that sets a DC to beat for other creatures to notice them use that DC as their Initiative score rather than rolling.

Sickened Out of Combat

Conditions such as sickened that require an action during combat to decrease its value, will automatically expire if the target spends 1 minute performing the required action. This removes the need to make a lot of unnecessary rolls when timing is not essential.

Trample Movement

Creatures with the Trample ability must always move in a straight line when trampling, with the exception of up to two separate diagonal turns. A trampling creature may attempt a diagonal turn only after it has moved at least 10 feet in a straight line.

Default Range Increments

If a Strike or a weapon has no listed range increment, its value is 20 feet for thrown weapons and 30 feet for ranged weapons.

Secret Rolls

Secret Rolls (per RAW) Full List: https://2e.aonprd.com/Traits.aspx?ID=142 - Basically anything with a Thievery or Stealth DC opposed Check. and Knowledge check DCs. The goal being you are not entirely sure if you are remembering things correctly or you are actually stealthy. All other rolls will be public such as Monster Attacks and Damage. GM may announce secret rolls for story reasons but this will be used appropriately within reason.

Flavor Feats

• GM's Role: The GM decides what feats qualify for flavor feats. These feats gain the flavor keyword and the uncommon rarity.
  • Typically, such feats have interesting concepts but are weak or situational.
  • The GM can also add new feats from third-party sources by applying the flavor keyword to them.
• Qualifying Feats: As a general rule, the following feats qualify as flavor feats with GM's approval:
  • Ancestry feats specific to your ancestry and heritage.
  • Generic and skill feats.
  • Dedications without the multiclass keyword.
• Expectations and Limitations:
  • Flavor feats are supposed to be weak or situational.
  • Their potential in combat is expected to be limited.
  • If an interaction with other feats or abilities proves exceptionally useful, the GM will not remove the feats but may declassify them by removing the flavor keyword.
• Retraining Rules:
  • Flavor feats cannot be retrained with downtime.
  • You can retrain one flavor feat for another with the flavor keyword at reaching 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 15th, and 17th level.
  • You can also retrain the latest acquired flavor feat at no downtime cost until you benefit from it for the first time.