u/ddeads

I'm currently creating a Pathfinder 2e (remastered) conversion of Curse of Strahd using Curse of Strahd Reloaded as the narrative basis. The campaign is running levels 2–12, and I'm already planning to use Automatic Bonus Progression (CoS has notoriously sparse treasure) and Free Archetype (I just like it) as variant rules.

I'm now considering whether to also add Proficiency Without Level, and I'd love input from people who have used it, especially in horror or gritty campaigns.

My thinking so far:

Reasons it might suit CoS:

• Barovia should feel dangerous at any level. Standard PF2e math means zombie shamblers become irrelevant by level 8 or 9, which undermines the horror tone. PwL keeps lower-level threats credible in numbers.
• The compression of outcomes feels appropriate for survival horror (there is less reliance on dramatic crits and its more of a war of attrition).
• The GM Core itself explicitly mentions PwL in the context of "gritty, low-magic, survival-horror" games, which is almost a direct description of CoS.

My concerns:

• I've done some stat block conversion work already through the first Arc of CoS Reloaded. PwL would require recalculating all of these. It's not a big deal, but I'd rather not do it if the juice isn't worth the squeeze.
• I'm concerned that encounter building becomes less reliable as the level-gap heuristics PF2e uses changes.
• I've read it's unpopular in the community and I want to understand why before committing.
• My players are coming from 5e. I'm currently running them through Troubles in Otari, so they will have some PF2e experience before we do this campaign, but they won't be veterans. I'm wondering if PwL makes character building decisions punishing for players still internalizing the system.

Specific questions:

1. Have you used PwL in a horror or gritty campaign? Did it achieve the intended tone or did it create more problems than it solved?
2. How much does it affect encounter building in practice? Is it a manageable adjustment or does it genuinely make the XP budget system unreliable?
3. Does it feel like a meaningful change at the table or mostly a behind-the-scenes math adjustment that players barely notice?
4. Combined with ABP and Free Archetype, does PwL create unexpected interactions or does each variant stay reasonably self-contained?
5. For players transitioning from 5e who are still learning PF2e, is PwL an additional burden or does it actually make the system feel more familiar coming from 5e's flatter math?

I'd be happy to share more about the conversion if the context is helpful. I'm also hoping to share the conversion once I've finished if anyone is interested. I'm looking for some honest takes from both players and GMs.