That Warm Glow of Terrors from Beyond Space and Time—New Pathfinder Products Announced!
Our March 2016 releases are ready to go on an adventure to your game table, and we'll be doing some damage to our sanity this fall—check out our round up of all our new and announced products!
That Warm Glow of Terrors from Beyond Space and Time—New Pathfinder Products Announced!
Friday, March 10, 2016
Our March 2016 releases are ready to go on an adventure to your game table, and we'll be doing some damage to our sanity this fall—check out our round up of all our new and announced products!
It's been a pretty crazy month around here at Paizo—from the release of the Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path last month (not to mention the free Player's Guide), to the wildly successful Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Humble Bundle, not to mention polishing up our fall releases, preparing for convention season, starting our Twitch channel, we've all been running around getting our dire ducks in a row for the upcoming year!
Apsu and Dahak are just a couple of the gods you will learn more about in Inner Sea Faiths! Illustrated by Ben Wooten
Heading out to subscriber's mailboxes and friendly local gaming stores everywhere this March are:
One of my favorite things is announcing new products, and we added the Strange Aeons Adventure Path to our August lineup, a truly maddening set of adventures! Lovecraftian creatures are not new to the world of Golarion—they've been there since the beginning, thanks to Creative Director James Jacobs' love of the genre, but we haven't quite done an entire adventure path around them. The wait is over, starting with "In Search of Sanity," penned by our own Editor-in-Chief F. Wesley Schneider, wherein you start off at a wee bit of a disadvantage—in an insane asylum. But that's not all that lies ahead! Check out other new stuff heading your way!
The new class in Ultimate Intrigue is the vigilante. An upstanding member of society by day and adventurer by night, the vigilante has two different identities which can even have different alignments. Unless someone discovers that the two identities are the same, divinations like scrying only work when the vigilante is in the form the diviner is trying to scry. Each vigilante chooses to be either a stalker, focusing on sneaking up on foes and punishing them before the foe notices the stalker is there, or the avenger, focusing on giving foes a more straightforward beatdown and gaining a full base attack bonus. The vigilante class is extremely modular, with a talent option at every level, switching off between social talents that give him an edge in social situations and other intrigue hijinks out of combat, and vigilante talents, which generally provide powerful combat options that he can use in either identity, though it might give him away if people see him using them in his social identity.
The new class in Ultimate Intrigue is the vigilante. An upstanding member of society by day and adventurer by night, the vigilante has two different identities which can even have different alignments. Unless someone discovers that the two identities are the same, divinations like scrying only work when the vigilante is in the form the diviner is trying to scry. Each vigilante chooses to be either a stalker, focusing on sneaking up on foes and punishing them before the foe notices the stalker is there, or the avenger, focusing on giving foes a more straightforward beatdown and gaining a full base attack bonus. The vigilante class is extremely modular, with a talent option at every level, switching off between social talents that give him an edge in social situations and other intrigue hijinks out of combat, and vigilante talents, which generally provide powerful combat options that he can use in either identity, though it might give him away if people see him using them in his social identity.
Illustrations by Tomasz Chistowski
If you've been with us since the playtest, the biggest change is that zealot and warlock are now archetypes, and while avenger and stalker each have some talents that only that specialization can choose, many of the talents that seemed like they fit the vigilante in general are now available to all vigilantes, as you requested in the playtest. Also, you asked for social talents based on being a craftsman or professional, and those are now available as well!
So I mentioned that warlock and zealot (which were arcane and divine vigilantes for those of you not part of the playtest) are now archetypes. All told, the vigilante has 10 pages of archetypes, the most that any class has ever received in a book. After all, he has plenty of catch-up in order to match his older cousins that have been around for more books. The brute has a hulking out-of control vigilante identity, and he can't always stop the transformation when he's in danger. Cabalists make blood pacts with dark patrons, gaining witch spells, blood powers, and a familiar. Gunmasters bring justice with firearms, and they gain a bunch of deeds as potential vigilante talents. The magical child archetype covers the "magical girl" trope, with a transformation sequence ability (faster switch between identities, but with flashy lights and music), summoner spells, and an otherworldly buddy. Mounted furies are mounted vigilantes like Zorro whose steeds also have a secret identity. Psychometrists are gadgetmasters and tinkerers who create personal occult gadgets to do things like fly (basically creating gadgets that each perform a single occultist focus power). Warlocks, are arcane casters from the magus list, with elemental options and mystic bolts of energy. Wildsouls are vigilantes who gain animalistic features in their vigilante identity. Finally, zealots are secret champions of their faiths, often because their religion is outlawed or persecuted, who cast from the inquisitor list and smite foes of one opposing alignment.
But vigilantes aren't the only ones with archetypes. Exciting archetypes for other classes include the tyrant (a lawful evil antipaladin archetype!), cardinal (a politics-heavy cleric with 6 skill points per level), gray paladin (can be one step from lawful good and smite any foe, but the lack of absolute conviction makes many abilities less absolute), fey caller (unchained summoner that summons a fey, with an all-new fey eidolon), zeitgeist binder (spiritualist that calls in a local zeitgeist based on a settlement statistic like corruption or society), battle scion (Celt/King Arthur blend skald that can call others to a quest and go into a deathlike sleep to return some day), dandy (a courtly ranger with the ability to manipulate rumors instead of wild empathy), vizier (a mesmerist that has a "power behind the throne" ability to make it look like his allies are the real threat while insidiously influencing them for his own agenda), feyspeaker (a fey-themed druid with 6 skill points per level that casts using Charisma!), and plenty more. In addition, the classes chapter two new inquisitions (Crime and Secrets), three new ranger combat styles (deceptive, menacing, and underhanded), four new rogue talents (follow along, shades of gray, hidden mind, and stalker talent), an oracle mystery (Intrigue), and even five intrigue-themed kineticist utility wild talents (earthmeld, flame trap, spying touchsight, greater voice of the wind, and greater watersense).
Tune in next week to hear more about some of the cool feats, spells, and magic items of intrigue!
I have received word from the beyond, and we have a winner for our Rasputin Redesign Challenge! Look closely into my eyes, and I will share secrets with you...
He Lives, He Dies, He Lives Again!
Friday, September 25, 2015
I have received word from the beyond, and we have a winner for our Rasputin Redesign Challenge! Look closely into my eyes, and I will share secrets with you...
Redesigning Rasputin presents a multitude of challenges for those that picked up the gauntlet—not only backwards engineering a base starting point with ability scores, but also rethinking tactics, equipment, and stylistic approach. (And having to re-engineer entries to pick a winner was also challenging for the judges!) In the end, there can be only one winner, and that winner is: Iammars, with Grigori Rasputin, cult master mesmerist!
Grigori Rasputin, cult master mesmerist:
Grigori Rasputin CR 17
XP 102,400
Male middle-aged human mesmerist (cult master) 18
NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +0; Senses Perception +22 Aura unholy aura (DC 22)
Defense
AC 23, touch 18, flat-footed 23 (+5 armor, +4 deflection, +4 insight) hp 185 (18d8+92) Fort +15, Ref +16, Will +26; +4 vs. death effects, domination, mind-affecting effects, and possession Defensive Abilities fortification 50%, stitched soul; SR 25 vs. good
Before Combat Within the Thrice-Tenth presbytery (area H6), Rasputin enjoys the benefits of the World Engine’s unholy aura and insight bonus to his AC. Rasputin casts cloak of dreams, displacement, false life, freedom of movement, levitate and mirror image. Aside from false life, these effects are not factored into his statistics. During Combat Rasputin uses his stare to try to get his spells to stick on the PCs. He uses spells like confusion, overwhelming presence and primal regression to try to stop the PCs from acting properly. If a PC is being particularly troublesome, then they become the target of phantasmal killer. Morale On the precipice of claiming his mother’s mythic power, Rasputin relies on his stitched soul to preserve his life, and fights to the death again and again until slain permanently.
STATISTICS
Str 7, Dex 11, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 28 Base Atk +13; CMB +11; CMD 29 Feats Combat Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, DiehardB, Ectoplasmic SpellB, Great Fortitude, Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), Leadership, Quicken Spell, Skill Focus (Diplomacy), Spell Focus (enchantment), Spell Specialization (ill omen), Toughness Skills Bluff +30, Diplomacy +45, Heal +19, Intimidate +30, Knowledge (arcana) +23, Perception +22, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +23, Use Magic Device +30 Languages Church Slavonic, Common, Russian SQ fanatical devotion, fanatical stare, glib lie (DC 33) Gear+1 moderate fortification chain shirt, mwk dagger, mwk Nagant M1895 revolver with 21 metal cartridges, belt of physical might +2 (Dex, Con), greater talisman of danger sense, greater talisman of healing power, greater talisman of warrior's courage, headband of alluring charisma +6, lucky horseshoe, mask of the mesmerist, ring of immolationAP 11
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Stitched Soul (Su) Rasputin’s soul is stitched to his body with threads of fate, and he clings tenaciously to life. He gains Diehard as a bonus feat. In addition, when first reduced to a number of negative hit points equal to or greater than his current Con score, Rasputin dies, but he springs back to life 1d4 rounds later as if the target of a resurrection spell. If killed a second time, the Mad Monk again comes back to life 1d6 rounds later, as if the target of a raise dead spell (upon his return, he loses 50% of his remaining unused spell slots as if they had been used to cast spells). Only after Rasputin is slain for a third time do his soul’s stitches finally unravel from his corpse, releasing his malignant spirit into the ether.
Not only did Iammars swing for the fences in his entry, he nails it with choices that recreate the encounters in "Rasputin Must Die!" (like using project image to harass the PCs). To quote Brandon's commentary, "And just as I clung to historical accuracy to get to the germ of my Rasputin, this guy goes and uses the archetype's bonus Leadership feat to get a cohort, and pulls Anna-[redacted]-Vyrubova out of the history books and inserts HER into the action. Just awesome." Of course, it would be silly to not include Anna, so here you go!
Anna Vyurbova, biggest fan:
Anna Vyurbova
Female human psychic 16
N Medium humanoid (human) Init +0; Senses Perception +6
Defense
AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+5 armor, +1 deflection, +1 natural) hp 158 (16d6+100) Fort +15, Ref +12, Will +17 SR 28 Weaknesses wheelchair bound
Before Combat Anna casts heroism on both herself and Rasputin, while also casting displacement, false life, heightened awareness, life bubble, mirror image, and spell resistance. Displacement, life bubble, and mirror image are not factored into her statistics. During Combat Anna attempts to do as much damage to the PCs as possible, making liberal use of quickened explode head combined with horrid wilting and psychic crush. Morale Anna fights until her contingency whisks her away, her pain overcoming her and stopping her from doing anything else.
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 23, Wis 14, Cha 13 Base Atk +8; CMB +9; CMD 18 Feats Combat Casting, Empower Spell, Fearsome Spell, Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Quicken Spell, Spell Focus (necromancy), Spell Perfection (explode head), Toughness Skills Bluff +22, Diplomacy +22, Heal +16, Knowledge (arcana) +29, Knowledge (nobility) +29, Knowledge (religion) +29, Sense Motive +23, Spellcraft +27 Languages Common, Russian SQ live on (6d6, 7/day), mercies (dazed, nauseated, sickened, stunned), power from pain (max. 2) Combat Gearbead of force, lesser persistent metamagic rod, wand of cure light wounds, wand of enervation (22 charges); Other Gear+1 mithral chain shirt, cloak of resistance +3, headband of mental prowess +2 (Int, Wis), ring of protection +1
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Contingency: When Anna is brought down to 25 hit points or less, she dimension doors away.
Wheelchair Bound: Anna can only move around in her wheelchair. Her speed is reduced by 10 feet unless both hands are free.
Iammars is the winner of a custom Paizo.com avatar selected from Occult Adventures, as well as $25 in store credit! But Iammars' entry wasn't the only one that got our attention. Milo v3's reanimated medium, Rannald's reanimated medium/formless adept psychic, Charlie Bell's mesmerist, and two interpretations of the occultist class from Meloriel and Corneleus Idaho were also among our favorite entries. Implement choices for the occultists, playing up the "why can't you just stay dead" for the medium, and solid tactical choices with Rasputin's new class made selecting our finalist a worthy encounter for our judges!
Thank you so much to everybody who entered—it was a (kinetic) blast to read through them all!
The arrival of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Occult Adventures with its host of psychic magic and class options means new ways to tell stories for the world of Golarion (and beyond). But what about some of our older adventures, particularly one about a Very Infamous Monk? Are you ready for a design challenge?
He Must Die—Again!
Thursday, August 27, 2015
The arrival of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Occult Adventures with its host of psychic magic and class options means new ways to tell stories for the world of Golarion (and beyond). But what about some of our older adventures, particularly one about a Very Infamous Monk? Are you ready for a Design Challenge?
When Occult Adventures first made its way through playtesting, one question I often thought was, "How could our older adventures be retold with these new options?" Being a rather large fan of Russian fairy tales and folk lore, I am quite fond of the Reign of Winter Adventure Path, so of course, I immediately gravitated towards that one to pick for this Design Challenge.
What does this mean to you? It means I have thrown the gauntlet to everybody who loves creating stat blocks, whether you're they type who spends hours poring over new archetypes, class combinations, and gear selection, or just like putting together a fun NPC for your group to face. "Pray tell, Liz, what is the rules of this duel?" you might ask.
You get to make this guy, Grigori Rasputin, but this time, using one of the new character classes from Occult Adventures.
Grigori Rasputin returns—but as what? You get to decide!
For reference, here's his original stat block, as it appeared in "Rasputin Must Die!":
Spoilers for Reign of Winter AP:
Grigori Rasputin CR 17
XP 102,400
Male middle-aged human oracle 18
NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +0; Senses true seeing; Perception +13 Aura unholy aura (DC 22)
Defense
AC 32, touch 22, flat-footed 32 (+10 armor, +4 deflection, +4 insight, +4 luck [touch only], +4 natural) hp 192 (18d8+108) Fort +16, Ref +12, Will +20; +4 vs. death effects, domination, mind-affecting effects, and possession Defensive Abilities stitched soul; SR 25 vs. good
Before Combat Within the Thrice-Tenth presbytery (area H6), Rasputin enjoys the benefits of the World Engine’s unholy aura and insight bonus to his AC. When faced with combat, Rasputin activates his ectoplasmic armor revelation and casts entropic shield, freedom of movement, levitate, moment of prescience, and true seeing. Once enemies are in sight, he casts antilife shell and spectral hand to enable him to use touch attacks beyond the field’s perimeter. During Combat Under the protection of his antilife shell, Rasputin attempts to hinder opponents with reverse gravity and waves of ecstasy and turn foes against each other with terrible remorse and murderous command, before laying waste with such deadly effects as blade barrier, blasphemy, destruction, harm, stormbolts, and unholy blight. If wounded, Rasputin casts quickened cure spells while continuing to target enemies with offensive spells. Morale On the precipice of claiming his mother’s mythic power, Rasputin relies on his stitched soul to preserve his life, and fights to the death again and again until slain permanently.
STATISTICS
Str 9, Dex 11, Con 19, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 26 Base Atk +13; CMB +12; CMD 30 Feats Combat Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, DiehardB, Ectoplasmic SpellB, Expanded Arcana (2), Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Persuasive, Quicken Spell, Toughness Skills Bluff +25, Diplomacy +30, Intimidate +25, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (nobility) +10, Knowledge (planes) +12, Knowledge (religion) +20, Perception +13, Sense Motive +16, Spellcraft +15, Use Magic Device +25 Languages Church Slavonic, Common, Russian SQ oracle’s curse (haunted), revelations (ectoplasmic armor [+10, 18 hours/day], project psyche, shroud of retribution [3/day, 1d8+9], spectral spells [4/day], spirit walk [2/day, 18 rounds], sure soul [+4]) Gear mwk dagger, mwk Nagant M1895 revolver with 21 metal cartridges, amulet of natural armor +4, belt of physical perfection +2, cassock of the Black Monk, headband of mental prowess +4 (Wis, Cha)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Stitched Soul (Su) Rasputin’s soul is stitched to his body with threads of fate, and he clings tenaciously to life. He gains Diehard as a bonus feat. In addition, when first reduced to a number of negative hit points equal to or greater than his current Con score, Rasputin dies, but he springs back to life 1d4 rounds later as if the target of a resurrection spell. If killed a second time, the Mad Monk again comes back to life 1d6 rounds later, as if the target of a raise dead spell (upon his return, he loses 50% of his remaining unused spell slots as if they had been used to cast spells). Only after Rasputin is slain for a third time do his soul’s stitches finally unravel from his corpse, releasing his malignant spirit into the ether.
Your entry will be judged on presentation and adherence to theme, and to help me with that, I've brought in the man responsible not only for the original Pathfinder version of the Mad Monk, but was also one of the lead consultants on Occult Adventures as well: Brandon Hodge!
But what is the reward for all of your hard work? Something we've never offered before: A custom Paizo.com avatar with art selected from Occult Adventures, along with $25 in store credit. On Paizo.com, a custom avatar means either being a Paizo employee (or the subject of whim by a Paizo employee), so this is a rare opportunity for a unique avatar that nobody else has!
Now, onto the rules:
One entry per poster. Employees of Paizo, their immediate family members, and persons with whom such employees are domiciled are ineligible. Anyone who is currently employed full-time as a designer for a game company is ineligible. Anyone with a cover credit on a hardcover RPG book is ineligible. Anyone who has a design credit in 3 or more of Paizo's Pathfinder products is ineligible.
You must post your entries in this blog's discussion thread.
All entries due Midnight, September 13th, 2015, Paizo time.
[b]----- Tactics -----[/b] [b]Before Combat[/b] zzBeforeCombat [b]During Combat[/b] zzDuringCombat [b]Morale[/b] On the precipice of claiming his mother’s mythic power, Rasputin relies on his stitched soul to preserve his life, and fights to the death again and again until slain permanently.