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MysteryRace

Puzzling Races

Puzzling Races Tuesday, December 27, 2011 Last week Sean shared a list of the featured races appearing in the Advanced Race Guide. He’s a softie, intoxicated with a dose of holiday cheer, and was hopped up on the sugary goodness that is Andrew Vallas’s mom’s delicious baklava. (She sends a care package with enough for everyone in the Paizo offices just in time for Christmas and it is marvelous. Phenomenal even...but I digress.) ... This week, you get me. I’m not nearly as charitable, I’m a...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Race Guide (OGL)

Advanced Race Guide: Featured Races

... Illustration by Klaus Scherwinski Advanced Race Guide: Featured Races Tuesday, December 20, 2011Now that we’re wrapping up the last of the Advanced Race Guide, we’ve decided to give you a very early sneak peek at some of its contents. While Chapter 1 covers the races in the Core Rulebook, Chapter 2: Featured Races gives more details on many popular but less common races for the game, plus game mechanics like alternate racial traits and favored class options (like you saw for the core...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Klaus Scherwinski Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 3 (OGL)

Unflinching Evil—Tzitzimitl CR 19

Unflinching Evil Tuesday, December 6, 2011 When brainstorming a new hardcover bestiary, we have many goals. These books give us an opportunity to support new Adventure Paths and other products. A new 300-plus-page volume of monsters gives us a chance to delve deep into the world’s mythologies and find new and interesting creatures from stories around the world. We get to express our love for classic creatures, exploring the genre’s rich history and smoothing out some of its wackiness. But it...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Kieran Yanner Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 3 (OGL)

Misfit Love—Kamadan CR 4

Misfit Love Tuesday, November 29, 2011 Shhhhh... Don’t tell anyone, but here at Paizo we love our classic and misfit monsters. There is a tendency to look back at some of the oddball monsters that popped up in the sources of our youth and lament on how strange or even dumb they are. We take a different tact. Instead we revel in their strange and iconic natures. Any chance we get, we look for reason why even the most inexplicable monsters might exist in a fantasy world. ... If you’re a fan of...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Eric Belisle Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 3 (OGL)

Enter the Dragon!—Young Forest Dragon CR 10

Enter the Dragon! Tuesday, November 15, 2011 Unless you’ve been trapped in jotund troll’s lair for the past few months, you’ve probably noticed that here at Paizo we’ve been exploring a number of Asian themes for the Pathfinder RPG. From the release of the ninja and samurai alternate classes in Ultimate Combat to the Jade Regent Adventure Path, we’ve definitely had the myths and monstrous challenges of the East on our minds. ... To kick off our preview of the soon-to-be-released Pathfinder...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Jim Nelson Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Combat (OGL)

Combat Maneuvers and Weapon Special Features

Combat Maneuvers and Weapon Special Features Tuesday, September 27, 2011 ... Page 199 of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook says, “When you attempt to perform a combat maneuver, make an attack roll and add your CMB in place of your normal attack bonus. Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver.” That last sentence implies that some weapons apply their bonuses...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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StealthBlog091311

Stealth Playtest, Round Two—Stealth

Stealth Playtest, Round Two Tuesday, September 20, 2011 ... Illustration by Christian PearceIn case you missed it, a few weeks ago the Pathfinder design team previewed some changes we were considering making to the Stealth skill. Like any design endeavor, game design benefits from iteration. After letting all of you playtest the rules and let us know what you thought of the first draft, we went back to the drawing board and made some changes based on that fantastic feedback. ... In this round...
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Tags: Christian Pearce Design Tuesdays Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Playtest Stealth

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Pathfinder Module: The Harrowing (PFRPG)

Stealth Playtest—Stealth

Stealth Playtest Tuesday, August 23, 2011 ... Illustration by Yngvar ApslundHere at Paizo, the design team has a host of challenges. Some of the greatest challenges come when dealing with the rules of our game that don't work as well as we would like. For a number of weeks we have been talking about the issues concerning the Stealth skill. Over the course of those conversations we have come up with many ideas to improve this skill and make its use both clearer and more playable. ... So, here...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Playtest Stealth Yngvar Apslund

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Combat (OGL)

Ultimate Combat Preview #2

... Ultimate Combat Preview #2 Tuesday, July 26, 2011During the preview banquet at PaizoCon this year, I boasted that Ultimate Combat had a gigantic feats chapter, which started off with a seven-page table, summarizing all the feats. While that is impressive, I realized later that I made a mistake—the feats table is nine pages long! ... This week we're going to take a look at the feats chapter a bit more closely, since it is such an important part of this book. This chapter contains 256...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Dmitry Burmak Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Combat (OGL)

Ultimate Combat Preview #1

... Ultimate Combat Preview #1 Tuesday, July 19, 2011Time slips by so quickly during the summer months that it seems like a new rulebook is just around the corner. As it turns out, Ultimate Combat is due to release in just a few weeks. From now until Gen Con, we will be showing off some of the exciting new options for characters and GMs alike that hide inside this blood-drenched tome. ... To kick things off, I can think of no better way than to take a look at the classes chapter of Ultimate...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Mauricio Herrera Paladins Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Blog071211

Outmaneuvered II: Revenge of the Grappled

... Outmaneuvered II: Revenge of the Grappled Tuesday, July 12, 2011About a month ago I was punished... er.., I mean rewarded with the task of answering questions about combat maneuvers in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The blog was so well received that I quickly promised to do another one in short order. Well, projects flew by, and I got pulled away, and short order dragged out into weeks, but now I'm back, and here to answer more pressing questions about combat maneuvers. Ready? ......
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Grapple Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Tyler Walpole

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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Rival Guide (PFRPG)

Outmaneuvered

... Outmaneuvered Tuesday, June 7, 2011Even in the midst of PaizoCon preparation, the design staff just loves those crazy little rules questions that pop up on the messageboards, during actual play, or that just randomly stray into our heads when we are designing an archetype or putting the finishing touches on a monster. Since I just returned from Comicpalooza in Houston, I had a number of those questions come up while conversing with players or that popped up during play, and shared those...
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Tags: Allison Theus Animals Anti-Paladins Design Tuesdays Grapple Pathfinder Campaign Setting Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets—A Guide to the Pathfinder Society (PFRPG)

Ultimate Cantrips

... Ultimate Cantrips Tuesday, May 24, 2011 ... Illustration by Craig J Spearing ... It didn't take long for many of you to notice that there were no 0-level spells in Ultimate Magic. We made finding this omission easy when we inadvertently left some 0-level spell names in the section containing sample spellbooks. While future printings of the book will fix this problem by deleting the mention of those 0-level spells, until then, we thought you might like to see the developed 0-level spells...
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Tags: Craig J Spearing Design Tuesdays Open Game Content Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic (OGL)

Powerful Words

... Powerful Words Tuesday, May 17, 2011It is just about here. The newest addition to the Pathfinder RPG line releases this week and you should be able to find Ultimate Magic online or at your local game store any day now. For our final look into this mighty tome of magic, we are going to look at the Words of Power chapter. ... Words of power is an alternative system of spellcasting that allows the wordcaster to create spells using any of the words that he knows. While these spells still...
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Tags: Aboleths Design Tuesdays Monsters Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic (OGL)

Feat of Magic

... Feat of Magic Tuesday, May 10, 2011Due to hit subscribers and store shelves in just a few days, we are continuing our look into Ultimate Magic. This week we are diving into the feats chapter, with a bonus look at spells. ... At 20 pages long, the feats chapter is by no means huge, but it does feature a little something for just about every spellcaster in the game, with a few options for nonspellcasters thrown in for good measure. While a number of these feats are here to complement one of...
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Tags: Bards Design Tuesdays Halflings Iconics Lem Monsters Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Tyler Walpole Undead

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic (OGL)

Magus Preview

Magus Preview Tuesday, April 26, 2011 ... Illustration by Wayne Reynolds ... Every Tuesday until the book's release, we are going to be digging into some of the new rules and options you will find in Ultimate Magic. After a bit of a mix up last week, this week we are going to take a look at the new base class, the magus, and the archetypes slated to appear in this book. ... From its first appearance as part of the playtest of this book, the magus has gone through a number of iterations. The...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Elves Iconics Magi Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Seltyiel Wayne Reynolds

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic (OGL)

Ultimate Magic: Witches and Wizards—New Familiars

... Illustration by Kieran Yanner ... Ultimate Magic: Witches and Wizards Tuesday, April 19, 2011This week's theme is witches and wizards: two new familiars, two new patron themes, and two arcane discoveries. New Familiars The following are two of the many new familiars presented in Ultimate Magic. ... Fox    CR 1/4 ... XP 100 ... N Tiny animal ... Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +8 ... Defense ... AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size) ... hp 5...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Familiars Feiya Iconics Kieran Yanner Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Wallpapers Witches Wizards

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic (OGL)

Magic Archetypes

... Magic Archetypes Tuesday, April 12, 2011For the next month or so, every Tuesday we are going to be digging into some of the new rules and options you will find in Ultimate Magic, which is due to release in May. This week, we'll take a look at some of the new archetypes that take up a full 32 pages of this 256 page tome. ... One of the first things you will notice about this book is that the new classes from the Advanced Player's Guide receive archetypes in this book (except the cavalier,...
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Tags: Alchemists Archetypes Clerics Design Tuesdays Eric Belisle Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Undead

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic (OGL)

Ultimate Magic Previews Start Next Week!

Ultimate Magic Previews Start Next Week! Tuesday, April 5, 2011 The newest hardcover for the Pathfinder RPG, Ultimate Magic, is scheduled to ship mid-May, so for the next six weeks we're previewing material from the book. Get ready for: New options and archetypes for every base spellcasting class; More information on the magus class and Words of Power system; New familiars; New magical feats; New spell descriptors and new spells; Guidelines for designing new spells. ... Stay tuned! ......
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide (PFRPG)

Monkey See, Monkey Do? An FAQ on Intelligent Animals

... Illustration by Mauricio Herrera ... Monkey See, Monkey Do? An FAQ on Intelligent Animals Tuesday, March 29, 2011This is an odd FAQ item that we see pop up on occasion in a variety of different places. What happens when an animal gets an increased Intelligence score? There are a lot of different ways this can happen, and a number of strange routes that a GM could take when resolving this issue. Today, we are going to attempt to untangle this particular knot and see if we can't come up...
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Tags: Animals Design Tuesdays Frequently Asked Questions Mauricio Herrera Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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I Drank What? An FAQ on Poison

... I Drank What? An FAQ on Poison Tuesday, March 22, 2011 For quite a while now there has been a bit of confusion on how poison is applied in the Pathfinder RPG. While the application of a single dose is simple enough, the rules allow for the stacking of poisons that causes them to combine into a more powerful effect. There are, unfortunately, some timing issues with these rules that can make poisons a bit tricky to adjudicate during play. Since this issue is a bit more complex than your...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Frequently Asked Questions Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook (OGL)

Manipulating Terrain

... Manipulating Terrain Tuesday, March 15, 2011For the last installment of the Design Tuesday blog on terrain, we are going to look at a relatively new type of terrain—terrain that you can actively manipulate. This kind of terrain can grant a creature a variety of effects, from an attack, to cover, to a special or enhanced mode of movement. ... Some of the examples of this type of terrain will look familiar. Much of it can already be found within existing encounters. Where this is the...
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Tags: Animals Bards Design Tuesdays Dwarves Halflings Harsk Iconics Lem Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Rangers Terrain Wallpapers

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook (OGL)

Hazardous Terrain

... Illustration by Kieran Yanner ... Hazardous Terrain Tuesday, March 8, 2011In last week's Design Tuesday blog, I delved into the importance of terrain to push your encounter design to the next level, and provided you with some design philosophy to ponder when designing your own terrain. This week, I'm back with some concrete examples. ... The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game assumes combatants are able to use their movement abilities with little or no hindrance. Sure, there are walls, doors,...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Dwarves Fighters Harsk Iconics Kieran Yanner Paladins Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Rangers Seelah Terrain Valeros Wallpapers

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Pathfinder #7—Curse of the Crimson Throne Chapter 1:

Design Tuesday: Fun with Terrain—First Things First

... Illustration by Kevin Yan ... Design Tuesday: Fun with Terrain Tuesday, March 1, 2011When designing an encounter, it's tempting to focus the majority of your attention on the mix of monsters and villains. After all, coming up with interesting enemy synergies and evocative scenes of terror, threat, and evil-doing go a long way in making encounters both memorable and fun. Often neglected, though, is making sure that the setting you place these bad guys in offers both threat and opportunity...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Dwarves Game Mastering Harsk Iconics Kevin Yan Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Rangers Terrain Wallpapers

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mapSKR001

Design Tuesday: Superstar Maps!

Design Tuesday: Superstar Maps! Tuesday, February 15, 2011For RPG Superstar last year, I put together a series of quick map sketches with commentary on my personal blog in order to show different map turnovers, ranging from absolutely pathetic to pretty good. This year, we've migrated that information to here on the Paizo blog so it's easier for competitors to find. ... As a general tip, make your maps legible. If your map is just a few wavy lines on the page, if your handwriting is so...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Maps RPG Superstar

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Spell Design: Depletable Statistics

... Spell Design: Depletable Statistics Tuesday, February 8, 2011We're just about ready to send Ultimate Magic off to the printer! The last chapter is a big collection of spells, and Chapter 2 includes a 12-page section about spell design, complete with an analysis of what goes in the spell stat block and benchmarks of good, typical, and poor spells for each spell level. One of the topics discussed in that section is the idea of depletable statistics—numbers in a creature's stat block...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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GameMastery Item Cards: Carrion Crown Deck

The Magic Item Will See You Now

... The Magic Item Will See You Now Tuesday, February 1, 2011Welcome to the final installment of a three-part series of Design Tuesday blogs exploring Intelligent Magic Items. Part 1 of this series can be found here. Part 2 can be found here. ... Intelligent Magic Items: Part 3 ... We've looked at how you design the history and the mechanics behind intelligent magic items, but now its time to put this information to use and look at some sample intelligent magic items. Using some art from the...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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GameMastery Item Cards: Carrion Crown Deck

In Soviet Pathfinder, Ring Wears You!

In Soviet Pathfinder, Ring Wears You! Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Welcome to the second installment of a three-part series of Design Tuesday blogs exploring Intelligent Magic Items. Part 1 of this series can be found here. ... Intelligent Magic Items: Part 2 ... Last week, we examined the basics of adding an intelligent magic item to your campaign. This week, we are investigating the process of determining the powers and abilities of intelligent magic items. While this process is not too...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Magic Items Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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GameMastery Item Cards: Carrion Crown Deck

Pathfinder to get the new Smart Sword

... Pathfinder to get the new Smart Sword Tuesday, January 11, 2011Welcome to the first Design Tuesday blog, a series of blogs that explore the rules of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Over the next few weeks, we're going to be exploring intelligent magic items and how to use them in your game. ... Intelligent Magic Items: Part 1 ... Adding magic items to your game is already a time-consuming process. As a GM, you must evaluate the party's needs, look at their wealth levels, and assign...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Magic Items Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: GameMastery Guide (OGL)

Design Tuesdays

... Illustration by Wayne Reynolds ... Design Tuesdays Tuesday, January 4, 20112011 is here at last, and with the start of the new year, we've got a new program that we are happy to unveil. Every Tuesday, you are going to see a blog from one of the members of the design team (that being Sean K Reynolds, Stephen Radney MacFarland, or myself), looking into the mechanics of the game and giving you tips, tricks, and tools to make your game run smoothly and easily. ... I am hoping to use these...
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Tags: Design Tuesdays Dragons Monsters Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Wallpapers Wayne Reynolds Wizards

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