Pathfinder is a rough game. Yes, I will say even rougher than 3.5. While 3.5 fully expressed how amazing and powerful enemies could be, players could be just as equally scaled up and amazing. It was a smorgasbord of thousands of magical items, spells, prestige classes and Level Adjusted creatures so players can play next to anything in the game, and everything else inbetween.

Pathfinder, as its opposite, has powerful, really strong rules that cements the system. Sadly, it also means that to properly do well in the game, you had to be sooomewhat optimized for x-scenarios.

These tips are for all players, especially the more standard ones, as a guide to surviving the game just as well as the min/max-ers and the powergamers. I have always emphasized utility and choice over raw stats, and so none of these will require certain builds or the like to be effective.

1) Always have a Snapleaf.

The snapleaf is the literal saving grace item. Immediate action invisibility saves you from attack rolls, makes you immune to single targeted spells, and can be used to instantly hide from someone via roleplay scenes. Yes, maybe it can be pricey, but remember: it’s only a last resort item. That 750gp might save you moooonths from now.

2) Positioning

As a melee, caster, or ranged attacker, and all the archetypes inbetween, positioning and spacing have been important in tabletops, video games, +actual+ fighting. If you’re a secondary fighter like a rogue, monk or fighter with low con, you do not want to be at the front, but moreso at the side of the main tank. If you’re a ranged attacker you want a good 50ft away from any potential threat, and if you’re a caster you better be flying and far away from anyone ever. (psst: a snapleaf will cover you if you don’t have feather fall).

3) Mobility outside of 30ft land

Any movement outside of 30ft land will save your ass. Flight, air step, climb, burrow, even swim, opens up options you wouldn’t believe possible. This also includes just stacking land speed till you have like 70ft+. Even 35ft means that’s 5ft the enemy can’t chase you down.

4) Aid Another

Aid Another is an action not commonly used by most players. I mean, it’s a dc 10 check that grants a stacking +2 bonus to any attack/ac/skill check in the game. A team of five can grant a constant +8 to anything, making a disable device of 30 passable at lower levels and avoiding a deadly trap, saving your low ac caster from death, or maybe actually landing a hit on the bloody dragon. A +8 is equivalent of 2-4 feats, 8 levels, and twice a single point in a class skill.

5) 10ft poles

If something seems major suspect, do -NOT- place your hand into a random hole that holds a sphere on annihilation. Don’t be /Thatguy/ however and poke everything and ruin fun by bogging up actions with poke checks. But well… I wouldn’t wanna touch that random skeletal hand holding a sword on the ground.