Aboleth

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Pact Magic done properly

5/5

Alright, Pact Magic! Being a longtime fan of the Binder from the Tome of Magic, I decided to bite the bullet and buy the Print/PDF Bundle. Here goes.
Lets start with the "Binder" class, the Occultist. The Occultist is a solid conversion and update of the ToM Binder Class. There are a few small gripes though. It has lost the Soul Guardian tree of abilities, likely that Occultists can bind a variety of Spirits in order to get similar abilities instead. While I understand while those abilities didn't make it into the finished class, I still miss them.
The ultimate and penultimate abilities of the class are new, interesting and have a lot of potential for fun usage. All while being totally unique to the Occultist.
One thing that did strike me as odd is this; the level at which you max out the number of spirits you can bind. It seems arbitrary, it also essentially spells out that Occultists of level 21+ don't gain any additional spirits either. While I understand most folks don't play much past 15th level, I find this limits options a bit (especially since I am running an epic game right now).

The archetypes: interesting and a good way to introduce spirit binding into your campaign. One that does seem a bit unclear and I imagine will cause some confusion is that the Bind Spirit features don't specifically mention if the number of spirits you can bind increases or not. If it doesn't (as I read it) thats good and will keep these archetypes balanced against others. If it does (which the lack of Bind Additional Spirits as a class feature makes me think it doesn't), then these archetypes are looking overpowered. Clarity on this will likely stop arguments at the table. If the archetypes work the way I think they do, then they would be a welcome addition to the repertoire of the various PFRPG classes, at least at my table.

Constellations: This is an interesting little mechanic. Think of them as Occultist cantrips. They are customizable (always good) on which ones you select, there is a wide range of choices, and with multiple spirits bound you could end up with a wide range of little abilities that help out. Also, its optional to even try for a constellation ability while binding a spirit, so its up to the player whether to worry about it or not (also good).

Feats: The feats seem nice and balanced (nothing randomly OP) and fit with the flavor of the class. Reminiscent of the ToM feats but also some totally new and good stuff in there too.

Chapter Fiction: There is a reason this is a section! I like having chapter fiction/samples of characters like this. Its a little short story that lets you hear a narrative about a character like the one you are likely creating. Oddly though the "Pact Magic in Action" one lists someone using Spirits that aren't in the book at all. After reading it, I wanted to look those spirits up. Hopefully they make the next volume.

Spirits: I still need to look at them more in depth, but my general impression is of a job well done. They seem more comparable to other vestiges of the same level than the ToM ones did. At any given level, its more situation and circumstance that will determine which vestiges are best, not one just being flat out better. Great job on this section folks! I really like that you can increase the binding DC to get an empowerment on the main ability of the vestige. It actually will encourage players to try for them and hopefully make bad pacts (which is fun). I only saw one spirit that really gave much in the way of resistances or immunities though, and it is 9th level. Overall there are a lot of attack abilities and what seems like fewer defensive ones. I'd have to really give various selections of spirits trials in game to give a better opinion, that is just my initial impression.

Final Impression: Overall (despite a few little gripes), I love this book. Obviously, the developers knew what they were doing and actually liked the old ToM Binder class. They did the spirit of the class justice and brought it into the PFRPG system with style.


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Michael Kortes...You are a God!

5/5

This was the first GameMastery/Pathfinder adventure I bought (some time back now) and I was nothing short of impressed by the content and depth of the adventure. Having a particular soft spot for Rival Adventuring Parties, this was a great pick for me.
What I wasn't prepared for was how well the module would run, far better than I had anticipated, and I had anticipated a great deal.


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Richard Pett has done it again....

5/5

Richard has gone and impressed me again. A great investigative story with thrilling and suspenseful elements that kept me reading it until I was finished. I can't wait to run Pathfinder....I really can't wait to pit players against the likes of the Skinsaw Man. The tie-ins between the adventures is an element I always try to have in my games too, so I really appreciate Paizo adding that into the AP.


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Perfect for players

5/5

I really didn't know what to expect when I bought this product, but at $2.00, I thought, why not?
What I didn't expect was how much information and flavor would be packed into those 16 pages. The artwork is great and this is what made me want to see more of Golarion. Anyone who wants to know about Pathfinder and Golarion only needs 2 bucks to find out if they like it. Paizo has made Golarion accessible to everyone.


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Golarion FTW!

5/5

I am absolutely loving Rise of the Runelords. Burnt Offerings has completely reinvented goblins for me and I actually want to use them again. The antics evoke images from 'Gremlins' and 'Labyrinth', just the right kind of dark humor that I enjoy. The Adventure is also very well structured and written and doesn't place too much on the PCs shoulders. A perfect starting adventure.


A throwback to the olden days...

4/5

I am quite impressed with the Crit Deck personally. It seems to me to hearken back to the days when I first was introduced to D&D and our DM had a nasty Crit and Fumble chart (from an old magazine). I have been looking for something to replace this old chart , and of course Paizo steps up to the plate. The deck delivers the kind of variety I remember, but it doesn't make a Critical Hit a game killer, just the right kind of balance.