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  • The Wandering Adventure Party blog.

    Most who wander are lost.

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    KichaeK
    Over on Reddit, user u/eCyanic asked a question that generated all of the usual noise: If a Small enemy is grappling you and you use Oni Form, does grabbed end now that you’re Large, and outside of grapple size range? As is r/Pathfinder2e’s wont, this simple question was flooded with responses from people racing to be the first, fourth, or fifteenth person to proudly announce that they knew the rules! “No!,” they said in a wave, overwhelming any interesting discussion, “The Grabbed condition doesn’t say anything about size differences!” While strictly correct by the letter of the RAW, this unyielding collective reflex completely misses the point, and is emblematic of a broader issue in the online PF2e community: a dogmatic dedication to rules regurgitation as a form of gatekeeping, at the expense of fictional context, narrative sense, or even a basic curiosity about why the rules are as they are. It’s Lawful Neutral Paladins all the way down. The community has a Judge Dredd problem: No judgement, just enforcement without understanding. Game Engine vs. Story Engine Let’s acknowledge that, yes, purely Rules-As-Written, there is no rule stating a creature loses the Grabbed condition simply because it grows larger. Under a strict board-game interpretation, the enlarged creature merely gains a better modifier to the Escape action on its turn, improving its odds of getting away, should they attempt to do so. If you treat Pathfinder 2e purely as a tactical engine – as Fantasy XCOM – that procedure works. “Grapple” and “Grabbed” exist purely as functions and statuses. If you use the system as a story engine, however, where rules mediate actions to determine outcomes that make sense in the fiction of the world, that interpretation becomes completely untenable. By definition, a grapple is a hand-to-hand struggle for physical superiority. If a creature becomes so massive and powerful that it can simply ignore your hold, the contest is already over. You haven’t grappled them; at best, you have voluntarily anchored yourself to a moving giant. User u/i_tyrant highlighted this design blind spot in the original thread: It will never stop being weird to me that both 5e and PF2e went this route of “invalid targets due to size”, instead of just changing how it works. All it would’ve taken is one extra sentence; “if the target is more than one size larger, they do not have the grappled (or whatever) status, instead when they move you move with them.” Boom, done, now grappling even has a use vs really big enemies, you can climb dragons in flight n shit with it, very thematic for the genre and you don’t have to deal with these questions at all. What Does a “Grapple” Actually Represent? Something else that caught my eye in the comments of the Reddit post: The seeming total lack of understanding of what the Grapple action and Grabbed condition actually mean, in universe. For all of the flexing that goes on in the subreddit, these demonstrations of system expertise often seem to ignore any text that doesn’t tell you how many points you gain or lose on a roll. The consensus seems to treat a Grapple as something akin to a bear hug, or a collar-and-elbow tie-up, but the actual game text is highly suggestive of it being so much less than that: Grapple [one-action] [Attack] Source Player Core pg. 235 Skill Athletics (Untrained) Requirements You have at least one free hand and your target is no more than one size larger than you. Notice the details: It requires only one free hand. It can be attempted while Untrained in Athletics. You’re not bear-hugging anyone with one hand, and you’re not doing tie-ups or martial arts holds without training. In-universe, a basic Grapple, at best, is little more than gripping someone’s wrist or forearm, or at worst snatching their belt, or grabbing a fistful of their cloak. This is why the Grabbed condition still allows the target to Strike, Trip, Shove, or even Cast a Spell – it simply means they can’t move away freely without breaking that single-handed grip. A firmer hold is represented by the Restrained condition. If a player is going to insist they are putting an enemy in a full bear hug, that choice carries fiction-first consequences: I’m not going to let them use weapons to Strike if they don’t make sense (no, you can’t attack with your Longsword, unless you’re just weakly beating the target on the back with your hilt), and they’ve sacrificed the use of their hands for other actions – bear hugs are commitments! And if the player is trying to do things like strike at the target’s back, that also means they’ve loosened their grip, and the Escape DC is going down – possibly way down! Using the Whole Toolbox Pathfinder 2e provides all the tools necessary to run a game that is both mechanically sound and internally consistent with its physical world. The mechanics are meant to support a fictional reality, not override it! The Rules-as-Written provide a baseline, but applying them blindly without considering narrative leads to absurdity. And absurdity is a choice.

  • Welcome to the party! Introduce yourself to the community and familiarize yourself with the house rules.

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    0. Rules As Intended These rules exist to maintain the forum as a friendly, fun, and inclusive space. The intent and spirit of these rules are far, far more important than the letter. Engage in good faith; don’t be rules lawyers. 1. Be Civil Treat other adventurers with a basic level of respect. Do not pick on, insult, harass, grief, dox, or threaten other community members, or users of other websites using this forum (via the World page). We’re all just folk here. None of us are on our best behaviour all of the time, nor should we expect anyone to be. But if we all work to avoid toxicity, and to counter it when we find it coming from others, we can create a healthy space for us all. 2. No Bigotry Yes, this is covered under Rule 1, but let’s double down on this. Discriminatory or inflammatory comments related to peoples age, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexuality, disabilities, or other identifying properties will not be tolerated. 3. No Explicitly Adult Content Try to keep thins PG-13. The hobby is enjoyed by adventurers of all ages, and we want to create an environment that is as welcoming as possible to everybody. The forum is accessible via other websites. If you want to engage in discussions that are not appropriate for minors while also engaging respectfully with other members of the party, please consider engaging remotely, via federated websites running services like Mastodon, Misskey, Lemmy, Friendica, or Hubzilla. 4. No Illegal Content or Activity Posting content that violates copyrights, or breaks the criminal codes of the United States or Canada, or which could be considered criminal solicitation endangers the community and is expressly forbidden. The forum is accessible from other websites that may be hosted in more liberal jurisdictions than WAP is, if you want to have such discussions. 5. No Spam or Excessive Self-Promotion Have you produced some kind of creative work, or offer some kind of service, that is relevant to community members? Then we’re interested in hearing about it! But please show some restraint when sharing. Make sure you’re posting in the appropriate forum, and don’t be overzealous with your posting frequency. 6. Follow Good Netiquette The basic rules of behaviour on the Internet have been handed down from medium to medium, forum to forum, user to user for actual, literal generations now. Adventurers are expected to have a basic understanding of The Deep Magic and adhere to proper netiquette and forum hygiene.

  • Dispatches, notices, and tidings gathered from across the realms. Check here for current events, realm-wide announcements, and news framing the ongoing tales of Fàsach.

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  • Roleplay

    A space to engage with other Adventurers in character.

  • A cozy timber-frame tavern bathed in warm lantern light, perfect for noble-hearted adventurers plotting their next heroic venture. The inn claims to be named after a mythical bird of good omen, though no goose has ever been seen on the premises. The house specialty is a dark, heavy stew served from a bubbling iron kettle—the meat is tender, the gravy is thick, and the staff will politely change the subject if you ask what kind of animal was used.

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  • A dimly lit labyrinth of damp side-alleys, cloaked alcoves, and unmonitored lower-deck stalls where outlaws, smugglers, and chaotic wanderers gather to trade off-the-record favors. An imposing, iron-studded door marks the main entrance, flanked by two towering cutthroats who guarantee “absolute discretion and security.” In truth, the door frame isn’t attached to any walls, the bouncers are paid in stale hardtack, and the local guards don’t raid the market simply because they haven’t figured out which alley it’s in this week.

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  • The premier city of knowledge and historic record in the realm. No weapons of any kind are permitted within the city walls – not out of a commitment to pacifism, but because the ancient, volatile ink used in Leabharlann’s spell-books and master scrolls reacts violently to refined steel. Scholars come here to study regional maps and world history in absolute, explosive peace.

    The Archives of Leabharlann represent a space where Adventurers can contribute to the lore of the land by writing documents dug up from deep within the Archives.

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  • Out of Character

    A space to engage with other Adventurers in character.

  • Unroll the maps, clear the tavern table, and weigh your options before setting off. The OOC space for discussing world lore, recruiting fellow wanderers, and coordinating where your party is headed next—long before the swords are drawn.

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  • RPGs

  • Other Systems and General TTRPG Discussion

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  • A forum where Adventurers can discuss learning, running, and playing Pathfinder (and Starfinder) Second Edition.

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  • A space for discussing all editions of Dungeons & Dragons with your fellow Adventurers.

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  • Other Topics

  • A space for discussion general interests and other topics with your Adventurer comrades.

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    Just so everyone is aware of who owns and operates what, and what alternatives exist out there: What the US Tech Giants Own Meta/Facebook Alphabet/Google Microsoft Amazon SpaceX & Tesla Facebook Google Activision / Blizzard Amazon.com Tesla Instagram Gmail XBox AWS SpaceX WhatsApp Gemini (AI) King.com / Candy Crush Whole Foods Starlink (satellite internet) Threads Android OS LinkedIn Audible Twitter / “X” Oculus Chrome/OS GitHub GoodReads SolarCity Giphy (gifs) Picasa / Google Photos Skype Twitch xAI Confirm.io Pixel Phones Azure MGM Studios grok (AI) Friend.ly FitBit iRobot (Roomba) Cursor (AI) Karma Nest Ring (doorbells) Waze IMDB reCaptcha Wag (pet supplies) Kaggle Blink Looker Mama Bear (baby products) Tenor (gifs) Kuiper Systems (satellite internet) Blogger (yes, it still exists) YouTube More… More… More… More… More… Alternatives to Big Tech If you’re looking for alternative tech that is not controlled by US oligarchs that simp for the orange man, (or at least ways to bypass providing meaningful support in any way): OpenStreetMaps (OSM) is a great alternative to Google, Bing, and Apple Maps. And even to MapQuest (which is owned by a US-based advertising and data broker company). Its map data is sourced from enthusiasts mapping their own communities and countries, and you can participate yourself if you like! It’s free, it’s not controlled by any tech giants, and its data is used to power open-source websites and mobile apps. Organic Maps is a mobile mapping app that uses OSM data. It’s available on Android and iOS, and it allows you to download maps of cities and regions for offline usage and supports offline navigation features. I’ve used it for years, and it was one of the key reasons I could avoid having a data plan while travelling. LibreOffice is a free, non-commercial, open-source office suite that competes directly with MS Office and Google Docs. It is rather good (though not as polished as MS Office), and I found the switch to it more or less seamless for my casual usage. If you’ve tried it in the past and bounced off of it (as I did multiple times in the past), try it out again. It’s gotten a lot better. Proton Mail is an EU-based, privacy(ish) focused email service. It’s well regarded (though apparently not quite as secure as fans like to claim, but nothing is) and lies outside US jurisdiction. IIRC, it lets you bring your own domain, too, if that’s something you’ve wanted to have! (and, IIRC, the .email domains are pretty cheap. At least they were when I got mine) If you are on Android, there are open source YouTube clients that allow you to follow channels, block ads, and skip in-video sponesorships. I’m a big fan of PipePipe, but there’s also NewPipe and GrayJay. In fact, if you’re on Android, check out F-Droid. It’s an alternative app “store” (everything is free) that hosts open source and/or free apps with a focus on privacy and local-usage. There are some real diamonds to be found there. On other platforms, Firefox (and its forks like LibreWolf, Waterfox, Zen Browser, and Floorp) is the only major web browser left that is not controlled, directly or indirectly, by Google or Apple. Brave and Vivaldi are both based on Chrome, and no longer have access to privacy supporting plugins thanks to Google’s bullshit (and Brave is run by a raging Silicon Valley homophobe that has repeatedly used it to try and scam people; folks should look into the affiliate link and crypto-mining incidents associated with Brave). Look into Firefox with uBlock Origin, SponsorBlock for Youtube, and LocalCDN. Available on Android and iOS, too. I would like to also highlight the open source social media sites out there. There are a number of federated forums and content aggregators that are open and Canadian operated: lemmy.ca, sh.itjust.works, and piefed.ca are small Reddit-like sites operated by Fedecan, a Canadian non-profit. They’re welcoming spaces, they’re all networked with each other, and they could use the increased network effect of more users! There is also pixelfed.ca, which is an instagram-like photo and image sharing website operated by Fedecan, which is networked with hundreds of others. Meanwhile, thecanadian.social, ottawa.place, and oceanplayground.social are Canadian-operated Mastodon-based websites – so a Twitter-like microblogging experience – that has good people on it (during the Nova Scotia wildfires a few years ago, they were very active in spreading and boosting information of value to residents and loved-ones). There are other social sites too that all connect to each other, creating a big network of small websites. I know the administrator of catodon.rocks, an English-language, Greece-based website that connects with thecanadian.social tenforward.social and cosocial.ca are paid Mastodon-based sites that are operated by Canadians (cosocial is actually operated by a co-op, and all members are shareholders, which is why it’s a paid service). I also have my own networked TTRPG forum that I’ve been setting up, that I’m happy to offer invites to if anyone’s interested, but it’s a weird little roleplay-focused side project of mine. But it connects with Mastodon-based, Lemmy-based, Piefed-based, and Pixelfed-based websites. Which reminds me: NodeBB is Canadian made open-source forum software that networks with other NodeBB- Mastodon-, Lemmy-, Piefed-, Pixelfed-, and Misskey/Sharkey/Catodon-based websites. I’d like to raise a yellow flag about BlueSky and systems that use BlueSky’s “AT Proto” or “ATmosphere” system. The ATmosphere overwhelmingly funnels all content through BlueSky-owned systems, and BlueSky is US-based, and backed by VC investors who also backed Elon Musk and other technocrats. But that said, it’s currently a significantly better option than Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit with respect to centralization, influence, and behaviour. Rambling Readers is a UK-based GoodReads alternative running on the federated, open source book-reviewing platform BookWyrm Signal is a privacy focused messenger app. It’s end-to-end encrypted, which can cause some minor hiccups every once in a while, but it’s mostly fine. Last I used it, it required a phone number for signup, though, which can make it kind of annoying for family use. There’s also XMPP, a network of messenger servers that can be used by a small fleet of independent apps. It’s not encrypted by default, but many servers/apps support encryption. If you have your own web server, you can even host your own XMPP server (I have one for my family and friends. It was easy to set up. I’m a fairly techy guy, but I’m not, like, a system admin or anything like that) Matrix also exists, and is more chatroom like. Like XMPP, it’s a network of chat servers. It’s like advanced IRC, with modern desktop and mobile apps. DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search portal (leveraging Bing’s search engine), and Ecosia (also Bing-based) directs its revenues towards tree planting. Both work just as well as Google search now that Google has completely neutered its search engine. If you want to go deeper down some rabbit holes, SearXNG (pronounced “Search Engine”) is an open-source meta-search-engine that you can self-host, and there are people out there operating SearXNG-based websites that you can utilize. I think they also have their own paid-membership based search site that is reported to be very good, but, you know, requires you to pay.

  • The Great Beyond

    Categories from other forums. Keep in mind that these forums may have different rules and moderation policies from WAP.