GENERAL CHANGES
Proficiency without Level
Link to the variant rule. This removes your level from your proficiency calculation. Why the change? This flattens the math significantly, allowing for smaller numbers (and quicker calculations). More importantly, as Queen of the Spiders is an AD&D adventure, it has a lot of large-scale encounters (e.g., a 100 troglodytes). These don’t work well in PF2E because of the tight math and how the level range of enemies, consequently, is tight (PC level -2/+2). Flattened math, similar to 5e (but not to the same extent), allows lower-level monsters to be a threat and high-level monsters to be vulnerable (that one random shot from an archer with a dragon-slaying arrow can bring down the dragon in this version).
This also allows the reintroduction of Target Number for each encounter (1 number for AC and DCs).
Healing Surges
Healing Surges avoid infinite healing loops and introduce more tactical and strategic decision points. This also acts as a type of Endurance system in the wilderness.
Retreat Action
A new action – Retreat.
At the start of any round during combat, the party may make a collective choice to retreat, as long as there is a clear avenue of escape. If they decide to retreat, their initiative checks this round are made as a group check to flee from their attackers. Fallen characters can be carried or dragged by other party members.
On a success, the party escapes the encounter. Each character loses 1 healing surge, or 2 healing surges if they are carrying or dragging a fallen ally.
On a failure, the party is unable to find a window to escape this round. The Judge resolves another round of combat, and the players use the results of their retreat check as their initiative rolls.
Dying & Resolve
PCs don’t die at zero HP. Instead, they continue to fight, but each time they are hit, they must make a Resolve check and, on a failure, gain Dying 1; at Dying 4, you die. If you did not make a Resolve check this round and are still at zero HP, you automatically increase your Dying condition by 1. A Resolve check is a flat DC 10 + your Dying value check.
Group Checks
Retreat and Group initiative are dependent on a Group Check. Everyone involved in a check makes a roll. The degree of success is determined by how many successes/failures are accumulated during the check using the following table:
| Results | Group Outcome |
| All Successes | Success with a Hero Point |
| Half/Mostly Successes | Success |
| Mostly Failures | Failure |
| All Failures | Failure with a Bane* |
* A bane in this context means your next critical success is reduced by one degree.
Traditional Alignment System
The campaign uses D&D’s 9-point alignment system. However, the cosmological focus is much more on Law vs. Chaos than Good vs. Evil (for example, Blood Wars).
Sphere/Line replaced by Blast/Path
Purely to make it easier to map out on a grid, spheres become square-shaped spreads. So, a 20-foot sphere is Spread 5 (a 5 x 5 square). Lines become paths.
Blast
A blast affects a square pattern on the battle map. At least one square of the pattern must fall within your range. The accompanying value indicates the length of one side of the square; thus, a blast 4 would affect sixteen squares in a 4 x 4 area.
Path
A path is a snaking connection of squares. The initial square must fall within your range, but subsequent squares can travel beyond it. Paths must be connected edge-to-edge (no diagonals) and cannot form a 2 x 2 square at any point.
Heroic Recovery Rule
After a failed Strike (or spell attack), a character can choose to expend a Hero Point or a Healing Surge to deal half damage instead.
Nephthys – Guardian of the Dead’s (The Raven Queen’s) Eternal Champions
At the start of a battle, the Raven Queen’s Favour die (Escalation die) is set to 0. Each round, there after at the start of the turn, the die clocks up by 1 to a maximum of 6. This grants the heroes a +1 to hit on all attack rolls, and increases all the champions’ DCs by 1 as well.
Why? The escalation die is a tension and cleanup mechanic. It allows the PCs to clean up faster as momentum swings to their side and motivates PCs to hold off on big attacks until they are more likely to get a critical by landing a hit (or critical failure on a saving throw).
Milestone XP
Level up occurs at specific narrative (or other specific) points in the game that the PCs achieve. What exactly needs to be done will be made clear after each level up for the next milestone.
Boons & Banes
As the game uses milestone XP, normal XP can be used to gain a Boon or a Bane. Details here. This must be decided at the start of the session or dungeon.
SPECIFIC CHANGES
Spellcasting
All one and two-action spells have their cost reduced to 1 action. However, they also have the Flourish trait. This means that spellcasters will now have all three of their actions, but can only still cast one spell a round. Exception: 1 action cantrips are not affected by this rule. Why the change? I want the 3-action economy to be three actions where possible.
