There are three modes, no different from what we ae familiar with...just its been defined more.
During Exploration you can choose 1 activity your character is performing as you move along.
Reaction Actions
Aid (typically DC20)
Arrest a Fall (Acrobatics DC15)
Grab an edge (same as climb DC do take damage but less)
Manipulate Actions
Interact (use hands to do something)
---[sub]Invest (power up item. Item specified how many interacts to power up. No more than 10 items can be invested a day)
Release (drop item. Does not trigger AoO)
Activate an item (has to have been invested by you)
Move Actions
Crawl (5' if at least 10mv)
Drop Prone
Leap
Stand
Step (doesn't trigger AoA. Not into difficult terrain. 5' move)
Stride (single movement)
Burrow (if have burrow speed)
Fly (if have fly speed)
Mount (must be 1 size larger)
Attack Actions
Escape (vs grappled, immobilized,restrained)
Strike (single attack)
Misc Actions
Delay (bleed, poison, etc trigger immediately)
Ready (prepared single pulse action according to trigger of your specifics)
Take Cover (take benefit from near cover)
Raise a Shield (to use it in defense)
Sensory Actions/concentration
Seek (look around for something. 30' cone 15' burst)
Sense Motive (Secret perception)
Avert a gaze
Point out (reduces undetected to hidden)
Spell Actions
Cast a Spell (spell description details number of pulses)
Dismiss (end a spell effect)
Sustain a Spell (concentrate to maintain)
Sustain an Activation (concentrate to maintain an item activation)
During Exploration you can choose 1 activity your character is performing as you move along.
Avoid Notice: attempt a stealth check and move at half speed. you will use your stealth for initiative instead of your perception.
Defend: you start combat for the first round with your shield raised. Half movement.
Detect Magic: you are casting detect magic at regular intervals and take no chance that you will miss any magic emanations. Move at half speed.
Follow The Expert: some one has to have expert training or higher in a skill that is needed. gain half your level (+1 at 1st) bonus to roll as well as a modifier from your allies assistance who you are following...(+2 Expert/+3 Master/+4 Legendary)
Hustle: Move at double your speed limited hustle time to 10X con modifier in minutes. A party has to use the lowest con modifier, or they will split up. minimum time is 10 minutes.
Investigate: make recall knowledge checks periodically of a pertinent skill. May be used for for initiative if pertinent...DM's fiat.
Repeat a Spell: move at half speed. Spell must be one you can cast in two actions, and is typically a cantrip or orison. Sustains magic or activated item.
Scout: you move at half speed but are ahead or behind of group. Allows Group +1 to perception from your warning at next encounter.
Search: seek meticulously for hidden doors, concealed hazards, etc...move at half speed. GM makes secret checks to allow discovery. If you wish to be thorough though stopping and searching is needed on certain things. This is for things you can spot on the move.
Others
Borrow an Arcane Spell
Coerce
Cover Tracks
Decipher Writing
Gather Information
Identify Alchemy
Identify Magic
Impersonate
Learn a Spell
Make an Impression
Repair
Sense Direction
Squeeze
Track
Treat Wounds
During downtime you may specify what you wish to be focused on doing...
Downtime Actions
Bribe Contact
Craft (Alchemical/Magical/Mundane/Snare minimum of 4 days)
Craft Disharmonic instrument
Create Forgery
Earn Income
Forge Documents
Gain Contact
Gossip
Long Term Rest
Retraining
Scout Location
Secure Disguises
Subsist (live off the land)
Treat Disease
There are a number others designed for Kingmaker and running a kingdom and a few of you're a student in a school of some sort. I did not include them.
Another huge difference is the idea if critical failures and critical successes.
with all attacks and most checks there are 4 results. Critical Failure (1 or 10 below what you needed to roll), Failure (-9- -1 to what was needed,) Success (what was needed to +9 what was needed), Critical success 20 or +10 what was needed,. because of this many rolls are secret rolls...such as all lore checks (Knowedge checks)...
Lore is a gray area in that the background , class and ancestry may give some lores. However a character can have as many lores as he can justify to the DM
Hero Points: They are more involved in PF2 but easier to use.
Basically, they are awarded more readily but most the uses are gone.
The rules state every character starts a new session of play with one hero point and can be awarded more by the DM during play. No character can have more than three points. They are used in one of two ways. 1. Reroll last roll taking the new roll. or two use all hero points to save character from death.
In a PBP each session becomes hard to define, so we will use this guideline: Every 5 encounters the characters will receive a hero point plus I will award a hero point for one of the following three things- A. Something extremely heroic. B. Something estremely entertainin and C. Something heplful.
Initiative in Pathfinder 2
Your initiative roll in the 2nd edition is your Perception adjustment in 80% of the cases, not your dexterity. However,People who are sneaking already will use their stealth score and in unique cases other scores can be used...an example...Youre fighting in a unique location, your lore skill in that location can be used, if you have one.
On dieing in Pathfinder 2
You are bleeding out or otherwise at death’s door. While you have this condition, you are unconscious. when you're unconscious because you're dying and you can't wake up while you have 0 Hit Points. If you are restored to 1 Hit Point or more via healing, you lose the dying and unconscious conditions and can act normally on your next turn.
Dying always includes a value, and if it ever reaches dying 4, you die. If you’re dying, you must attempt a recovery check at the start of your turn each round to determine whether you get better or worse. Your dying condition increases by 1 if you take damage while dying, or by 2 if you take damage from an enemy’s critical hit or a critical failure on your save.
If you lose the dying condition by succeeding at a recovery check and are still at 0 Hit Points, you remain unconscious, but you can wake up as described in that condition. You lose the dying condition automatically and wake up if you ever have 1 Hit Point or more. Any time you lose the dying condition, you gain the wounded 1 condition or increase your wounded condition value by 1 if you already have that condition.
wounded-You have been seriously injured. If you lose the dying condition and do not already have the wounded condition, you become wounded 1. If you already have the wounded condition when you lose the dying condition, your wounded condition value increases by 1. If you gain the dying condition while wounded, increase your dying condition value by your wounded value.The wounded condition ends if someone successfully restores Hit Points to you with Treat Wounds, or if you are restored to full Hit Points and rest for 10 minutes.
Death and Dying Rules
The doomed, dying, unconscious, and wounded conditions all relate to the process of coming closer to death. . The most significant information not contained in the conditions themselves is this: When you’re reduced to 0 Hit Points, you’re knocked out with the following effects:
- You immediately move your initiative position to directly before the turn in which you were reduced to 0 HP.”
- You gain the dying 1 condition. If the effect that knocked you out was a critical success from the attacker or the result of your critical failure, you gain the dying 2 condition instead. If you have the wounded condition, increase these values by your wounded value. If the damage came from a nonlethal attack or effect, you don’t gain the dying condition— you are instead unconscious with 0 Hit Points.
increase your wounded condition value by 1 if you already have that condition.