I normally cringe at books that add heaps of options to a class. When I flicked through this book I think I did cringe a little at the thought of having to familiarise myself with hundreds of different permutations of various classes. But lo and behold this is now one of my favourite (and my players) books.

For me it is the Alchemist (and in no small part the Master Chymist) class that makes this book amongst my favourites. The versatility and flavour that class brings to this game is invaluable. I like many of the other classes but if I ever get to play in a pathfinder game (I am always GM) I will be a doddering alchemist with a side personality called Lasher who is crazy as a scorned Incubus...

The options aforementioned have been used extensively by some of my players and with the proviso that they do the hard work in ensuring they keep me informed of how they work and give it some thought as to why their character is different they work well. Lots of feats (including teamwork feats) new spells, equipment and treasure make this a great book to have.

It is not essential to the main game which is good for those on a limited budget but for me a must have :) It is beautifully presented and meticulously made as per Paizo products through and through that I have dealt with so far.

Now, where did I put that beaker... I have been working on an extract to cause my players to want to GM...

The APG is the best "splatbook" I've ever purchased, in 30+ years of gaming. This rulebook contains many new options to create new heroes that you've never thought of before. The concept of archetypes was a simple and brilliant way to make a class something completely different. The new classes are welcome and fit in with the core classes. If your players are looking for something "different" to play, you should purchase this book.

The best news is that everything in this book (for the most part) is balanced and won't break your game. Also, there is NO FILLER in this book, amazing. This book is so solid, you sometimes wonder why this material wasn't part of the core game. I now consider this one of the core rulebooks. Great job.

i usualy hate books like this, the core CR system works quite well but splatbooks usualy make a headache for a gm as you have to ajust all of your encounters to handle the power creep.

But this book is all about little changes which is great it gives players the ability to customise the hell out of thier characters without giving them god like power that breaks the game

For me, the Advanced Player's Guide does one thing, a break from the same old games. While certain base classes like the cavalier may have origins in the knight class from Wizard, each class is truly different and offers such a new expanse to enjoy. After playing a witch in an attempt to try a new arcane class, I fell in love with such a great class. It provides great ideas and character development with the trait system, and continues to break from droll that old 3.5 seemed to have, Paizo gives every player a different character, even when playing the same class. Many of the topics in the APG have become routine parts of how our group plays the game, adding to fulfilling games and great planning for future games.

Finally I arrive at a product I actually support purchasing. Though I was weary of it at first after a sour experience with both the Core Rulebook and the Bestiary, I'm glad that I ended up getting my hands on one.

While my interest in the Pathfinder RPG was dwindling fast, this was the book which made made look past any faults that I have with the system. To supplement your game, for both players and game masters I fully recommend this book. It is full of flavorful variants for all classes, provides several fun, new options for base classes, has a horde of new spells and magic items, and a plethora of feats (not to mention the gorgeous artwork). Simply put, with the addition of this book there is virtually no reasonable character idea that can be portrayed.

Hero points are reminiscent of action points that many people enjoyed, my group included, and traits are a great way to flesh out a character’s personality and skill set.

Oh, and happily, gone are the binding problems that I had with my other Pathfinder products.

I do have a bit of criticism though.

While the new classes are exciting they are, with the exception of perhaps the Alchemist, concepts that could easily be portrayed with the existing core classes. I disagree with both the concept and the execution of the summoner class and could on at great length about this topic, but here is not the place.

There character archetypes can be a bit difficult to read with how they are printed in the book, and I would’ve preferred to see them be more modular, but they aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination.

Because of erratas and such I wish that I had waited to pick up a later printing, but haven’t really come across many problems with my 1st printing copy.

The book is large and hardbound, and as such it carries a heavy price tag. Personally I’m a fan of smaller, niche books due to cost and weight, but this monster has a bit of something for everybody and then some.

The Advanced Player’s Guide will only improve the fun at your table. And if you can’t afford it, there is always the PRD.

The APG was Paizo's attempt to stamp their identity on a game system they inherited. Up until the release of this book the game was 3.5 with tweaks, after this book it is very firmly Pathfinder.

What is so impressive about the APG is how it fits seamlessly into the rest of the system. Virtually everything in here is new and interesting and of benefit to most groups. The six new classes are fascinating without being overpowered whilst the new options for the core classes allow you to customise and expand your role as you see fit. The new feats and spells are useful and well written and it all seems to have been put together so as to complement and expand the core rules.

You could criticise some minor proofreading issues but really that is a minor quibble. Other than that there is very little to find exception with.

All in all the APG is an essential buy for Pathfinder and should hold a welcome place at any game table.

This by far is the best suplument book I have ever seen. With 6 awesome new classes, countless new character options, spells, traits, skills, etc. Finally a character/class book that is actually worth. My only complaint is the lack of good/interesting magic items, especially ones that are not class/specific ability based.

This highly detailed book greatly expands upon an already great system giving the players more freedom and more choices when it comes to giving life to their own vivid imaginations.

Also, any book that provides me with the ability to become the ever sought after "Horse Lord" variant class to fulfill my romance with the Riders of Rohan deserves 5 stars in my book. Ride now! and buy this book, for lord and land!

Wow was this book amazing. If there is any problem I have with it, its probably some of the redundancy with items presented in this book that were also in the Adventurer's Armory, but they all make sense to put in this book.

When it comes to the archetypes, I have to say that anywhere a similar option is presented to something that was done in 3.0 or 3.5, such as a blight druid or a spell less ranger, I like the options in the APG better, and the option seems to flow a lot more naturally.

I did deduct one star from this product because in at least one case (one of the paladin archetypes), the errata seems to a whole new restriction on an ability rather than simply clarifying how it works. I hate errata that rewrites whole sections of rules instead of clarifying or just adding a word or two . . . if this product wasn't so solid nearly everywhere else, it probably would have cost my review more than one star.

Books like this really make me less and less concerned about phasing out some of my 3.5 material, as these options seem to play much nicer with my style of play.

Suffice to say, I love this book. It's easily one of the most solidly written and jam-packed RPG supplements I've bought in recent years.

If you want a more in-depth review, I've got one posted here:
http://pnpproductions.com/2011/04/13/review-pathfinder-rpg-advanced-players -guide/