The Class Acts PDFs introduce new class options for the base classes and core classes featured in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Every PDF contains two full pages of high quality content (no fluff or filler)!
Class Acts: Fighter Archetypes includes three new fighter archetypes: the Lasher, the Sentinel, and the Soldier.
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Disclaimer: This is a review of a complimentary review copy of the product.
Three archetypes are presented, The Lasher (perfect Golarion gnoll archetype), The Sentinel and The Soldier.
The Lasher - This is a master of chain and whip, giving up heavier armor and tower shield for mastery of a brutal combat style. A Gnoll packmaster might be one of these brutal combatants, or perhaps a nasty addition to a Kyton. This is a brilliant archetype, well written, not over-powered and full of flavorful abilities. I really like punishing lash, which allows the lasher to suppress beneficial morale bonuses after a successful intimidate check.
The Sentinel - A bodyguard style archetype. It's already been done, but always nice to have a different take on it, especially for a non-dwarf. With only 3 abilities, this is a good fit as a defensive archetype, though it loses weapon mastery 1-4, but gains the Bodyguard feat in lieu of Armor Training 1. It will be a good class archetype for defending that goblin voodoo priest.
The Soldier - Loyalty is a very weak class feature, replacing armor 1, but only granting minor bonus to Will saves versus charm/compulsion, don't get me wrong, it's good to have more will for a fighter, but its limited. Disciplined defense is nice, granting a +1 attack bonus (evolving), on AoOs. Heroic beyond death replacing the normal fighter capstone, is better for people who knew the fighter before his death (probably caused by no Weapon Mastery).
As always, I just want make it known I was offered on the EnWorld forums (and did accept, obviously) a review copy of this product, if anyone finds that relevant. Now on to the review.
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Formatting, layout, spelling and grammar, and overall appeal are all spot-on, as all the Class Acts PDFs typically are.
Abandoned Arts has rolled out a new series of products, it seems... a product line all about archetypes. I'll be starting my review with the good old fighter.
There are three archetypes presented here, the Lasher, the Sentinel, and the Soldier. The lasher is pretty good - I had to check to see if such an archetype exists in the Pathfinder product line already. I was surprised to learn that there is no "whip guy" existing fighter. So, right off the bat, this archetype fills an empty niche. As for class features, it's pretty solid. The abilities are neither over- nor under-powered, and are thematically cool. My favorite move is the lasher's ability to strip the morale bonuses off of an enemy by lashing him in a cruel way. Also, offensive bonuses against prone and/or shaken enemies is a neat-o idea. I approve.
The sentinel, on the other hand, is sort of... boring? It certianly isn't bad - it's not designed poorly in any way, and it gains Perception as a class skill, which is cool. A couple of the mechanics are fairly original, if not exciting. In short, it just doesn't "grab" me the way the others do.
This product ends on a high note with the soldier, however. I noticed two mechanical problems with this class which I am promised will be resolved, so I won't mention them. I'd rather not, anyway, because I really like this archetype a lot. The soldier is the best of the bunch. It gets teamwork feats and bonus class skills, but it must choose a teamwork feat at first level, and it doesn't get any additional skill points. As a result, it's no better for "dipping" into than any other fighter archetype - which is good. The class features are solid, thematic, and fairly original, and the capstone ability is almost heart-wrenching.
Speaking of which - will somebody write some decent epic-level rules already? I'd like to see cool capstones like this one get used in a game, someday. : P
In conclusion: The soldier aside, Class Acts: Fighter Archetypes isn't terribly innovative, but it is a great value, and it's consistent with the style and quality of Paizo's products. Three and a half stars. ****
- Sara McLean
The soldier archetype is cool, the others are not my cup of coffee
This pdf is 4 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page SRD, leaving 2 pages of content for 3 archetypes, so let's check them out!
The first is the lasher, a fighter that focuses on whips, scorpion whips and spiked chains, gaining bonuses to AC and combat maneuvers when using such weapons as well as the option to deal more damage against foes suffering from certain conditions and even suspend beneficial morale bonuses with non-lethal attacks. Their damage also increases at later levels, though not to a sufficient extent and provides no proficiency for the exotic weapons it's centered on, which also kind of makes me prefer Above Average Creation's Scourger-take on such a character, in spite of some interesting crunch-takes.
The Sentinel is a bodyguard/watchman-style archetype of the fighter, exchanging a bonus feat, armor training 1 and all weapon training for the option to sleep in heavy armor, can use bodyguard without expending AoOs and an additional stance that improves the AC while remaining unmoving. An ok archetype, though nothing too exciting.
The final archetype we get is the Soldier, a rather simple, yet cool archetype that also gains access to teamwork-feats as bonus-feats as well additional class-skills and bonuses to Profession (Soldier) spells and a cool capstone ability that lets a legendary soldier serve as inspiration to his allies, even beyond death, becoming a powerful symbol of inspiration to your allies. Simple, yet elegant archetype.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are good, though the missing proficiency of the lasher is a major bummer. Layout adheres to a 2-column standard and the pdf has neither artworks nor bookmarks, but needs none at this length. This installment of archetype-centric Class Acts is a solid addition at the low asking price, though none of the archetypes truly astounded or wowed me with their execution or mechanic ideas - the soldier has probably the most potential, but I would have liked to see the teamwork-aspect developed further, perhaps with a limited version of solo-tactics or the option to grant allies temporary access to the respective teamwork feats? As written, this pdf is a solid addition at the low cost, but not a must-have. My final verdict will thus be 3 stars.
The lasher is a master of both whip and chain; the sentinel is both a defender and a vigilant watchman, and the soldier is a fighter with an emphasis on teamwork, training, and heroism.
Do'h! The lasher archetype is most definately meant to confer proficiency with the whip, scorpion whip, and spiked chain. I'm not sure how it got cut - but that's why the line that talks about the armor they're not proficient with is titled "Weapon and Armor Proficiency." It's supposed to include weapons!
I'll issue the errata immediately - thanks for catching that, and thanks as always for your review. I'm glad you enjoyed the soldier archetype; the Heroic Beyond Death class feature was a bit of an experiement - and, I think, a successful one - in that it is a class feature which grants only other characters a bonus, and does so completely independant of any action on your character's part.
