Paizo Publishing today announced the beginning of a free online playtest of their flagship 2010 tabletop RPG product, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Player’s Guide, scheduled for an August release. The playtest will cover six complete 20-level "base classes" created specifically for the new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the runaway hit tabletop roleplaying game that has reinvigorated the RPG category since its release this summer. Two all-new classes, the cavalier and the oracle, are available now as a free download at paizo.com, with an additional four classes scheduled to appear before the end of the year. Paizo fans and gamers from around the world are encouraged to download the new classes and share their feedback on paizo.com’s messageboard community. Paizo’s design staff will incorporate playtester feedback into the final class designs following the close of the Advanced Player’s Guide Playtest on January 31, 2010.

Paizo’s Pathfinder Roleplaying Game released in August, 2009, following more than a year of open playtest by the paizo.com community. More than 55,000 gamers participated in the Pathfinder RPG Open Playtest, the largest such program in the history of the tabletop roleplaying game industry. This new Advanced Player’s Guide Playtest follows on the heels of that successful program, presenting the first new official classes for the Pathfinder RPG since the publication of the Core Rulebook.

"We are thrilled to once again involve Paizo fans and the community of tabletop gamers at large in this expansive playtest effort," said Erik Mona, Paizo’s publisher. "Playtester feedback on the Core Rulebook helped immeasurably, and I cannot wait to see what the growing audience of the Pathfinder RPG thinks of these wholly new character classes."

The six new classes (and the dates they are expected to be posted for open playtest) are:

NOVEMBER 13

Cavalier: A noble warrior who weaves through high society as easily as he does the most treacherous battles.

Oracle: A divine mystic dedicated to a mysterious occult tradition that grants her fantastic powers—but at great cost!

NOVEMBER 30

Summoner: An arcane spellcaster who conjures powerful servitor creatures from beyond the veil of reality to serve his whims.

Witch: A versatile caster who gains her spells from the eldritch whispers of her familiar and casts potent hexes to aid allies and vex foes.

DECEMBER 14

Alchemist: An arcane mystic who brews salves and unguents to modify his body in freakishly effective ways.

Inquisitor: An agent of faith trained to root out the dark secrets and even darker monsters that haunt the forgotten corners of the world.

All six new classes are immediately sanctioned for playtesting within Paizo’s Pathfinder Society Organized Play program, a huge campaign involving thousands of Pathfinder RPG players from around the world. Players can also use the classes in their regular Pathfinder games, and are encouraged to share their thoughts with Paizo’s design staff by posting feedback on paizo.com’s designated messageboards.

The Advanced Player’s Guide Playtest is scheduled to conclude on January 31, 2010. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Player’s Guide ($39.99) is scheduled for release in August, 2010. Playtesting documents are available for free download now at paizo.com.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder® line of rules, adventures, sourcebooks, and campaigns combines decades of game design experience into one evocative system compatible with the 3.5 rules. Paizo's GameMastery® accessories offer easy-to-use tools aimed at improving the tabletop RPG experience. Paizo's board game imprint unleashes fun, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky™ and Yetisburg™ that appeal to both families and casual gamers alike. Paizo's Planet Stories® line of science fiction and fantasy novels promise thrilling adventure of the like not seen since the legendary pulps. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the seven years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major industry awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.