Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide (PFRPG)

4.30/5 (based on 17 ratings)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Technology Guide (PFRPG)
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Ray Guns and Rocket Packs!

It’s one thing to face a dragon armed with a longsword and a suit of magic plate mail, but what if you had an atom gun and powered armor? How many zombies could you blow up with a rocket launcher? What happens if you’re standing next to a graviton reactor when it explodes? All of these questions and more are answered within the pages of the Technology Guide—an invaluable manual of items, hazards, and character options for use in science-fantasy settings like Golarion’s Numeria, land of savagery and super-science!

Within this book, you’ll find:

  • Rules for dozens of new technological items, including weapons, armor, force fields, hologram generators, grenades, cybernetic implants, nanotech devices, remote controls for robots, and more!
  • New feats, spells, and archetypes for technologically savvy characters, along with rules for how your skills interact with super-science.
  • Extraordinarily powerful scientific items and artifacts, such as extinction wave devices, powered armor, and nuclear reactors!
  • The technomancer prestige class, which allows you to use magic to command robots and power your technology .
  • Rules for artificial intelligences, the effects of the passage of time on technological items, the dangers of radiation, the seven skymetals of Numeria, technological traps, and more!

The Technology Guide is a must-have for GMs running the Iron Gods Adventure Path or anyone looking to introduce super-science into any Pathfinder adventure or campaign setting.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-672-0

Technology Guide Errata
Last Updated - 12/16/2014

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4.30/5 (based on 17 ratings)

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paper quality is bad

4/5

Nice book with a lot of sci-fi items,, something like Wizardry in Golarion .. I woud like to give this book 5/5, but I cant. Reason why I cant do like that is simple, the quality of paper is just terrible. Paper Quality of Paizo books is going down, what is sad .. for me 4/5


Essential for Adding Tech to Pathfinder

4/5

Read my full review on Of Dice and Pen.

The Technology Guide provides gamemasters with the information and items they need to add technology into their fantasy games. It's not particularly exciting or innovative, but that's not really its point. Instead, it forms the necessary baseline for other books to build upon, much like the Core Rulebook provides the baseline rules for the entire game. If you want technology in your games, it's a book you really can't do without.


Meh

2/5

There are some interesting items in here but having sci-fi with magic breaks the immersion for me.


Pretty damn cool

4/5

I picked up this as a pdf because it looked interesting, and I was not disappointed. I used it to write an adventure (crashed UFO in a fantasy setting), and it led to the most fun I have ever had running a game. It would be useful if it had suggestions for other books containing some of the referenced monsters (such as certain types of monsters which I found on the pfsrd), but all in all it does exactly as promised.


Yes. Get it.

5/5

If you have any interest at all in genre fusion in your adventuring, this book is a must buy.


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1 person marked this as a favorite.
In_digo wrote:
Seriously, there's people here who will quit playing Pathfinder, JUST because they've released some stuff you aren't interested in? That seems a little over-dramatic.

Some people just can't understand that other people have other tastes. So when the company caters to that taste, they think it's not worth the time that could be used on what they like. It's almost like they think it threatens their preferred fantasy. Also, a lot of people have a really narrow minded definition of what fantasy is and don't like to see other people with differing definitions of it.

This happened with Tian Xia stuff, then gunslingers. This will continue to happen until people realize that other people have different tastes and that's fine. And that you don't have to buy what you don't like, but you don't have to hope others don't get what they like.

But that'll never happen.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Liz Courts wrote:
Matt Thomason wrote:
I assume they mean "quit buying the specific Pathfinder books that have this kind of thing in", because quitting the entire game over a specific adventure path and the support material for it seems kinda extreme.
It's happened.

Honestly, if a person is going to quit a product because they are offering a product to multiple demographics, then I really wouldn't sweat them. Hopefully people will mature enough to realize that everyone can enjoy different aspects of the game.

But probably not.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Tels wrote:
Serinian Elshaara wrote:
If this isn't an April's Fool joke it sure should have been! I'm out if it's real. Gunslingers were a stretch too far already. Not interested in Luke Skywalker meets goblin - lol!
Luke Skywalker was trained by a goblin.

STRONG THE DARKSIDE IS!

Shadow Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Odraude wrote:
In_digo wrote:
Seriously, there's people here who will quit playing Pathfinder, JUST because they've released some stuff you aren't interested in? That seems a little over-dramatic.

Some people just can't understand that other people have other tastes. So when the company caters to that taste, they think it's not worth the time that could be used on what they like. It's almost like they think it threatens their preferred fantasy. Also, a lot of people have a really narrow minded definition of what fantasy is and don't like to see other people with differing definitions of it.

This happened with Tian Xia stuff, then gunslingers. This will continue to happen until people realize that other people have different tastes and that's fine. And that you don't have to buy what you don't like, but you don't have to hope others don't get what they like.

But that'll never happen.

I don't know, I think it's entirely understandable. I know at my table the only characters I've seen for a long time now are Asian-themed gunslingers with katanas for back up.

Now they will all want laser eyes too! it's not as if we can just ignore things we don't like.

He he he


7 people marked this as a favorite.

If you're the GM, you can ignore it. Just say "No gunslingers, no katanas, no X". Easy. I love guns, but there are some games where I don't allow them because it doesn't fit. Other games, I have not allowed elves or psionics or whatnot. More GMs need to learn how to set parameters and not be afraid of saying no.

And if you're a player? Well, why would you join a game that has stuff you don't like in the first place :p


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I made a very undignified sound upon learning of this. Needless to say, I am excited, very much so. I want beam swords for my psychic warriors.

Paizo Employee Developer

38 people marked this as a favorite.

Imagine you build up a fantasy character—a wizard, let's say—who's all about researching the ruins of ancient civilizations to discover lost knowledge that no one else in the world knows. Researching arcane lore, and all that. You take that character to your GM and she thinks he will fit in the campaign, so you play the wizard for a while.

In one dungeon, you find a strange relic from the past that your PC has never heard of before. It's a brand new discovery—exactly what he wants to do. This weird item can clearly be held by a humanoid hand, but doesn't look like any weapon you've ever seen before. It doesn't radiate magic, so it's likely just some piece of ancient junk. Until you accidentally put pressure on one part of the item, and it shoots what looks to you, a wizard with maximum ranks in Spellcraft, like a scorching ray. If you could unlock this ages-old enigma, you'd be known the world over for your intellect. Heck, the device might even get named after you!

That's the end of the night, as the GM needs to work early tomorrow and the woman playing the fighter needs to make the last train home. You thank the GM for an incredible adventure, noting that you're so used to knowing every page of every rulebook that nothing seems to surprise you anymore, but that tonight you got to experience the wonder of discovery along with your character. Your GM just smiles and says knowingly, "just wait until you see what that strangely etched coin you found does."

If this book were called "Treasures of Numeria" and we hadn't told you that Numeria was home to a crashed spaceship and had laser guns and robots in it; if this product description didn't pull back the curtain and say, outright, that these are technological items one would expect to find in a science fiction setting; if a sword made of light and an invisible field of force were describes as magic instead, would there still be the same negative reactions to it?

Food for thought...


4 people marked this as a favorite.
Mark Moreland wrote:
If you could unlock this ages-old enigma, you'd be known the world over for your intellect. Heck, the device might even get named after you!

I now want to make a wizard named Laser :)


4 people marked this as a favorite.
Mark Moreland wrote:

Imagine you build up a fantasy character—a wizard, let's say—who's all about researching the ruins of ancient civilizations to discover lost knowledge that no one else in the world knows. Researching arcane lore, and all that. You take that character to your GM and she thinks he will fit in the campaign, so you play the wizard for a while.

In one dungeon, you find a strange relic from the past that your PC has never heard of before. It's a brand new discovery—exactly what he wants to do. This weird item can clearly be held by a humanoid hand, but doesn't look like any weapon you've ever seen before. It doesn't radiate magic, so it's likely just some piece of ancient junk. Until you accidentally put pressure on one part of the item, and it shoots what looks to you, a wizard with maximum ranks in Spellcraft, like a scorching ray. If you could unlock this ages-old enigma, you'd be known the world over for your intellect. Heck, the device might even get named after you!

That's the end of the night, as the GM needs to work early tomorrow and the woman playing the fighter needs to make the last train home. You thank the GM for an incredible adventure, noting that you're so used to knowing every page of every rulebook that nothing seems to surprise you anymore, but that tonight you got to experience the wonder of discovery along with your character. Your GM just smiles and says knowingly, "just wait until you see what that strangely etched coin you found does."

If this book were called "Treasures of Numeria" and we hadn't told you that Numeria was home to a crashed spaceship and had laser guns and robots in it; if this product description didn't pull back the curtain and say, outright, that these are technological items one would expect to find in a science fiction setting; if a sword made of light and an invisible field of force were describes as magic instead, would there still be the same negative reactions to it?

Food for thought...

I made this as kind of a joke some time ago, but it does kind of go to show you that the difference between magic and highly advanced science is effectively nothing.

Magical Technology:
Armor of the Mithril Avenger
Aura
strong abjurations, evocation and transmutation; CL 13th
Price 242,620 gp; Weight 30 lbs.

This suit of +3 Mithril Full Plate is not just for protection, it's also a powerful weapon. There are multiple weapons and abilities in this armor that take some practice to master. The wearer gains the ability to wield three weapons:

•Flaming Bolts - A ranged touch attack with a range of 120 ft. that deals 1d6+5 fire damage on a hit; a wearer can make a full attack with this ranged attack.

•The armor possess the flaming weapon property, granting an additional 1d6 points of fire damage with unarmed strike while wearing the armor

•Shoulder Canons - Twin ray cannons that can be fired as a swift action, dealing 4d6 points of fire damage, each, on a hit with a maximum range of 40 ft. These rays can only be fired whenever the wearer doesn't use it's Flaming Bolts.

In addition to the weapons, the wearer gains a +20 competence bonus to fly checks when worn, and can cast Extended Wind Walk (self only) twice per day, except the wearer doesn't turn into a cloud to fly.

When attacked, the wearer can, as an immediate action, form a protective shield of force with a 5 ft. radius centered on the wearer. This shield has hardness 20 and 70 hit points (with fast healing 5), and lasts for 7 rounds or until the shield is dismissed by the wearer (a standard action) or destroyed. Anything that can bring down a wall of force can bring down this shield. The shield is powered by the armor's weapons, and as such, the weapons cannot be used until the shield is brought down. The wearer can still move, while the shield lasts, but only at one quarter speed.

Constuction
Requirements
Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Extend Spell, dweomer retaliation, emergency force sphere, produce flame, scorching ray, wind walk; Cost 129,560 gp

It's based off Iron Man armor and some villain from the Teen Titans cartoon. Entirely magical, but when described, the guy is raising force fields, shooting lasers, and firing laser cannons.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

There's a few uses I can think of for this book.

A) A campaign which begins with legions of Mi-go space conquerors descending on Golarion.

B) Last year I ran a one-shot which heavily utilized the WW1 rules in Rasputin Must Die. It was a WW1-esque military conflict being fought in a homebrew campaign setting, where soldiers of the "Commonwealth" battled the armies of "Ostland"(*cough*Germany*cough*). Magic existed and was a key part of the game, but with the Technology Guide I can put some Weird Science elements into it, with lasers being fired across the trenches along with bullets and magic missiles.


I'm definitely taking aspects of my favorite turn-of-the-century sci fi and sword and sorcery and running a badass game with it.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
In_digo wrote:
Well, that just seems like a sad way to miss out on awesome Pathfinder stuff.

Totally. Especially when you can so easily reskin things to fit some of the other elements already extant in more "traditional" fantasy games.

I was joking about the Mi-Go in another thread, but for example- you could use the technological items in this book for some of their exotic weapons and equipment.

(Although, come to think of it, there are people who can't stand to see Lovecraft thrown into their fantasy either, so... *shrug*)

Dark Archive

4 people marked this as a favorite.

This should help to get my "Star Ocean" campaign rolling along.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Funny that it looks like most of the naysayers in this thread are subscribers to multiple product lines. I don't believe that any of them are really done with Pathfinder. I want to see some Bluff checks.


17 people marked this as a favorite.
Mogo the Goblin wrote:
Tels wrote:
Serinian Elshaara wrote:
If this isn't an April's Fool joke it sure should have been! I'm out if it's real. Gunslingers were a stretch too far already. Not interested in Luke Skywalker meets goblin - lol!
Luke Skywalker was trained by a goblin.
STRONG THE DARKSIDE IS!

Goblins chew and goblins bite!

Goblins cut and goblins fight!
True this song is, we not lie!
Do or do not, there is no try!


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Matt Thomason wrote:
Mogo the Goblin wrote:
Tels wrote:
Serinian Elshaara wrote:
If this isn't an April's Fool joke it sure should have been! I'm out if it's real. Gunslingers were a stretch too far already. Not interested in Luke Skywalker meets goblin - lol!
Luke Skywalker was trained by a goblin.
STRONG THE DARKSIDE IS!

Goblins chew and goblins bite!

Goblins cut and goblins fight!
True this song is, we not lie!
Do or do not, there is no try!

/thread

Sovereign Court

1 person marked this as a favorite.
James Jacobs wrote:
Ascalaphus wrote:
Will this book also contain support for "sorting technology" into tiers, to distinguish the tech level between civilizations? So that you for example have a list of "renaissance" weapons and a list of "high medieval" weapons and armor?
Nope; that kind of thing is beyond the scope of this book. This book is really pretty much all about the super-science technology of Numeria and not about how to do various levels of technology for various worlds.

Well, that's a little bit disappointing.

On the bright side, I've played in "sci-fi crashed into my fantasy" before and enjoyed it. We were playing steppe nomads and eventually came into contact with the survivors of a Stargate/Immortel sort of crossover. They had cloning technology (a la magic jar/clone spells) and laser guns. Pretty scary for us.The battle against Buddha in his flying chariot with his animal-headed guards was intense. At the end of the campaign half the PCs left the planet in their spaceship, after we crashed their capital into a volcano we technologically awakened.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

My birthday is in August. This will be interesting.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Tels wrote:
Matt Thomason wrote:
Mogo the Goblin wrote:
Tels wrote:
Serinian Elshaara wrote:
If this isn't an April's Fool joke it sure should have been! I'm out if it's real. Gunslingers were a stretch too far already. Not interested in Luke Skywalker meets goblin - lol!
Luke Skywalker was trained by a goblin.
STRONG THE DARKSIDE IS!

Goblins chew and goblins bite!

Goblins cut and goblins fight!
True this song is, we not lie!
Do or do not, there is no try!
/thread

Actually, I'm pretty sure that Palpatine refers to Yoda as a "little troll" at one point. Since he's almost 900 years old, Yoda is probably a venerable troll with Racial Heritage: Dwarf.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
JoelF847 wrote:
I also can't wait - set phasers to FUN! Hoping this is a first step towards Unspeakable Futures and/or Pathfinder Modern/Future type products.

Fixed that for you!

Seriously cannot wait for this book. This is exactly what I need to get my homebrew kick-started again, I'd been hitting a blank on how to implement magitek in the game, and this should do nicely as inspiration.

I'm with Cheapy and (I assume) Mikaze on this one... I've got a nice bottle of red put aside for when this book finally arrives here, and I'm going to lay down by the fire (okay, electric heater) on a bear skin rug (okay, blanket dragged from my bedroom) and gently make this book surrender all it's secrets to me :P

And as has been said before, for anyone getting ready to flip a table over the mixing of two delicious flavours of genre, please remember that the campaign setting is yours to do with what you will. If one product comes out from time to time that you don't approve of, just skip that one and come back when there's some traditional fantasy for you again. One AP out of many, or one or two books in each product line having a sci-fantasy bent isn't going to do any harm, it just means that those of us who want something different get something special too...


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Can't believe Iron Gods already needs an obituary thread.. ;p


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Mark Moreland wrote:

Imagine you build up a fantasy character—a wizard, let's say—who's all about researching the ruins of ancient civilizations to discover lost knowledge that no one else in the world knows. Researching arcane lore, and all that. You take that character to your GM and she thinks he will fit in the campaign, so you play the wizard for a while.

In one dungeon, you find a strange relic from the past that your PC has never heard of before. It's a brand new discovery—exactly what he wants to do. This weird item can clearly be held by a humanoid hand, but doesn't look like any weapon you've ever seen before. It doesn't radiate magic, so it's likely just some piece of ancient junk. Until you accidentally put pressure on one part of the item, and it shoots what looks to you, a wizard with maximum ranks in Spellcraft, like a scorching ray. If you could unlock this ages-old enigma, you'd be known the world over for your intellect. Heck, the device might even get named after you!

That's the end of the night, as the GM needs to work early tomorrow and the woman playing the fighter needs to make the last train home. You thank the GM for an incredible adventure, noting that you're so used to knowing every page of every rulebook that nothing seems to surprise you anymore, but that tonight you got to experience the wonder of discovery along with your character. Your GM just smiles and says knowingly, "just wait until you see what that strangely etched coin you found does."

If this book were called "Treasures of Numeria" and we hadn't told you that Numeria was home to a crashed spaceship and had laser guns and robots in it; if this product description didn't pull back the curtain and say, outright, that these are technological items one would expect to find in a science fiction setting; if a sword made of light and an invisible field of force were describes as magic instead, would there still be the same negative reactions to it?

Food for thought...

Mark, thank you for so elegantly putting a common argument I've made to people concerning the mixing of technology with magic in a setting like Pathfinder.


7 people marked this as a favorite.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
- Arthur C. Clarke

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

How much Whiskey would it cost to get myself an advanced copy at Paizocon? ;)


9 people marked this as a favorite.
Billzabub wrote:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

- Arthur C. Clarke

"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from SCIENCE!"

- Agatha Heterodyne

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo."
- Andy Finkel

"Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
-Gregory Benford.

"Any technology, regardless of how advanced, will seem like magic to those who do not understand it."
- Mark Stanley, Freefall


6 people marked this as a favorite.
Evil Midnight Lurker wrote:
Billzabub wrote:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

- Arthur C. Clarke

"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from SCIENCE!"

- Agatha Heterodyne

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo."
- Andy Finkel

"Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
-Gregory Benford.

"Any technology, regardless of how advanced, will seem like magic to those who do not understand it."
- Mark Stanley, Freefall

"A magic missle is a laser! Pew! Pew! Pew!"

- Biilzabub

Verdant Wheel

3 people marked this as a favorite.

This would help my Phantasy Star campaing taking off, now i only need stats for a diamond armor, and deep-dungeon-candy-stores.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Billzabub wrote:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

- Arthur C. Clarke

"Any sufficiently primitive magic is indistinguishable from technology." -Me I guess.

In other thoughts, I pray the technology isn't just reskinned magic items. I want myself a +1 shocking burst laser pistol.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Draco Bahamut wrote:
This would help my Phantasy Star campaing taking off, now i only need stats for a diamond armor, and deep-dungeon-candy-stores.

Diamond special material, hardness 25, HP/inch 10, otherwise equivalent to adamantine.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

What alot of people here seem to be forgetting is Pathfinder Society play.

The argument that you don't have to allow it in you homebrew campaign flies out the window. No one can say I don't like the idea of forcefields in PFS, if it's legal for play you will be FORCED to accept it. Which for many will likely kill the experience.

There are to ways to handle this:
1. Either the expanded rules will be available for a year and then no longer legal for play which will make all the people mad who made a character and now have to abandon or re-write to fit in with a histrocal fantasy setting once more.

2. The expanded rules will largely be legal for play from now on. This forces people who wish to play PFS organized play as it was before the module to accept that they will be wandering into an ancient dungeon with a cybernetic half-orc with a light sabre and gatlin gun, thereby ruining the experience for them.

As someone who just recntly got into pathfinder/PFS after quite a long absence from fantasy RPG, I think it kind of sucks. I have barely gotten a chance to play a fantasy character and enjoy the setting and now there are plasma weapons. If I wanted plasma weapons I would have looked for a Sci-Fi RPG.

If paizo goes with option one detailed above this will mean I probably won't play for a year, and hopefully I will come back after such time.

If they go with option two detailed above it might mean the death of my invovlement with PFS. I just don't want to run through a scenario with next to a guy with a plasma rifle when I am playing a barbarian. So i get shot with a laser and my DR saves some of it? It just doesn't fit.


So I get cut by a sword/ stabbed by a spear/shot by a bow/shot by a gun and my DR saves some of it? It just doesn't fit. What's the difference?

And for all we know lasers may be considered fire damage so it would be energy resistance not DR.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
havoc xiii wrote:
And for all we know lasers may be considered fire damage so it would be energy resistance not DR.

That's actually how Inner Sea Bestiary dealt with it, yes.

Inner Sea Bestiary wrote:

Laser Weapons: These weapons emit beams of intensely focused light waves that resolve as touch attacks and deal fire damage. A laser can pass through force fields and force effects like a wall of force without damaging that field to strike a foe beyond. Objects like glass or other transparent barriers do not provide cover from lasers (but unlike force barriers, glass still takes damage from a laser strike passing through it). Invisible creatures are immune to damage caused by a laser weapon. Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.

Plasma Weapons: These weapons emit bursts of superheated, electrically charged gas known as plasma. A plasma weapon's attacks resolve as touch attacks. Half the damage dealt by plasma is fire damage, and half is electricity damage.

I suppose they might update the rules for this, though, even if they seem pretty much fine to me as is.

And does Pathfinder Society play really legalize that much? I didn't think this would be likely to get approved since it's pretty niche and there's no reason the vast majority of people on Golarion would ever have access to it...plus most of the stuff I've heard is complaining about how stuff won't get approved for PFS play...but that's all secondhand information since I can't think of any reason I'd ever want to get involved with Pathfinder Society...no offense or anything.


havoc xiii wrote:

So I get cut by a sword/ stabbed by a spear/shot by a bow/shot by a gun and my DR saves some of it? It just doesn't fit. What's the difference?

And for all we know lasers may be considered fire damage so it would be energy resistance not DR.

Mechanically it doesn't matter. Thematically it does. And with PFS organized play I (or anyone else who doesn't like the thematics) doesn't have the choice of not including the rules in our games. We only have the choice of participation or non-participation. And with an entire season devoted to this theme one full year that measn significant non-participation.

For home games, knock yourself out, I'm glad your excited. I am very happy for you and hope you have a blast with it (litterally and figuratively).

Paizo Employee Developer

16 people marked this as a favorite.

Just because we're publishing a 64-page rulebook full of technological items doesn't mean everything in this book is anywhere close to common in the Inner Sea (and even within Numeria). What makes these items special in the world is that they're super rare and mysterious. In the same way you need to build roads to be able to drive a fancy new sports car, we have to publish this to give ourselves the tools we need to tell the Iron Gods story. Just because the roads are there doesn't mean you have to drive on them, nor will anyone force you to. To those concerned about this gear flooding Pathfinder Society play, please be patient and have faith in Mike and John's ability to determine what's best for the campaign.

Paizo Employee Developer

7 people marked this as a favorite.
Robert Brookes wrote:
How much Whiskey would it cost to get myself an advanced copy at Paizocon? ;)

How much do you have?

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Adam Daigle wrote:
Robert Brookes wrote:
How much Whiskey would it cost to get myself an advanced copy at Paizocon? ;)
How much do you have?

As much as can be purchased in the Seattle area in July. ;)

Enough whiskey


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mark Moreland wrote:
Just because we're publishing a 64-page rulebook full of technological items doesn't mean everything in this book is anywhere close to common in the Inner Sea (and even within Numeria). What makes these items special in the world is that they're super rare and mysterious. In the same way you need to build roads to be able to drive a fancy new sports car, we have to publish this to give ourselves the tools we need to tell the Iron Gods story. Just because the roads are there doesn't mean you have to drive on them, nor will anyone force you to. To those concerned about this gear flooding Pathfinder Society play, please be patient and have faith in Mike and John's ability to determine what's best for the campaign.

Too true. As far as I know, there are still several books that haven't fully migrated into PFS. Heck, the various threads regarding races not being allowed shows that not everything is accepted wholecloth.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
AllanEllsworth wrote:

What alot of people here seem to be forgetting is Pathfinder Society play.

The argument that you don't have to allow it in you homebrew campaign flies out the window. No one can say I don't like the idea of forcefields in PFS, if it's legal for play you will be FORCED to accept it. Which for many will likely kill the experience.

There are to ways to handle this:
1. Either the expanded rules will be available for a year and then no longer legal for play which will make all the people mad who made a character and now have to abandon or re-write to fit in with a histrocal fantasy setting once more.

2. The expanded rules will largely be legal for play from now on. This forces people who wish to play PFS organized play as it was before the module to accept that they will be wandering into an ancient dungeon with a cybernetic half-orc with a light sabre and gatlin gun, thereby ruining the experience for them.

As someone who just recntly got into pathfinder/PFS after quite a long absence from fantasy RPG, I think it kind of sucks. I have barely gotten a chance to play a fantasy character and enjoy the setting and now there are plasma weapons. If I wanted plasma weapons I would have looked for a Sci-Fi RPG.

If paizo goes with option one detailed above this will mean I probably won't play for a year, and hopefully I will come back after such time.

If they go with option two detailed above it might mean the death of my invovlement with PFS. I just don't want to run through a scenario with next to a guy with a plasma rifle when I am playing a barbarian. So i get shot with a laser and my DR saves some of it? It just doesn't fit.

Actually, some books and rules aren't used in PFS play. I doubt the upcoming Champions of Corruption book for evil PCs will be PFS legal due to the restriction on evil characters. I really doubt this one will be used much outside of specific circumstances. After all, the advanced firearms rules (such as shotguns, rifles, and revolvers) aren't legal.

In other words I would trust what Mark said above and not sweat it until the book is released and an official PFS ruling is made.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ascalaphus wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ascalaphus wrote:
Will this book also contain support for "sorting technology" into tiers, to distinguish the tech level between civilizations? So that you for example have a list of "renaissance" weapons and a list of "high medieval" weapons and armor?
Nope; that kind of thing is beyond the scope of this book. This book is really pretty much all about the super-science technology of Numeria and not about how to do various levels of technology for various worlds.

Well, that's a little bit disappointing.

On the bright side, I've played in "sci-fi crashed into my fantasy" before and enjoyed it. We were playing steppe nomads and eventually came into contact with the survivors of a Stargate/Immortel sort of crossover. They had cloning technology (a la magic jar/clone spells) and laser guns. Pretty scary for us.The battle against Buddha in his flying chariot with his animal-headed guards was intense. At the end of the campaign half the PCs left the planet in their spaceship, after we crashed their capital into a volcano we technologically awakened.

The book you're hoping for is better suited as a hardcover rulebook that's world-neutral, frankly, and that's not something we're really ready to risk/try out with the hardcover rulebook line. If Iron Gods and its support books (like this one) do well though... that's one way we'll feel less nervous about perhaps doing a world-neutral book more akin to what you're looking for... but even then, we're still pretty much all about Golarion and fantasy Pathfinder, so no promises there either.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Luthorne wrote:
havoc xiii wrote:
And for all we know lasers may be considered fire damage so it would be energy resistance not DR.

That's actually how Inner Sea Bestiary dealt with it, yes.

Inner Sea Bestiary wrote:

Laser Weapons: These weapons emit beams of intensely focused light waves that resolve as touch attacks and deal fire damage. A laser can pass through force fields and force effects like a wall of force without damaging that field to strike a foe beyond. Objects like glass or other transparent barriers do not provide cover from lasers (but unlike force barriers, glass still takes damage from a laser strike passing through it). Invisible creatures are immune to damage caused by a laser weapon. Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.

Plasma Weapons: These weapons emit bursts of superheated, electrically charged gas known as plasma. A plasma weapon's attacks resolve as touch attacks. Half the damage dealt by plasma is fire damage, and half is electricity damage.

I suppose they might update the rules for this, though, even if they seem pretty much fine to me as is.

Actually... those rules in Inner Sea Bestiary come from the same place that the rules for Technology Guide's gear came from—my "Unspeakable Futures" game that I've been working on for a decade or so. This was a conscious decision, since I've known we were going to do the Technology Guide for a few years now, and have been seeding in bits and pieces of the design for the items in places like Inner Sea Bestiary and Dungeons of Golarion and even as far back as Kingmaker in some cases; the rules were pretty solid and in place even before Paizo started Pathfinder, in fact... although I did need to convert them from 3.5 to Pathfinder RPG! :-)


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Mark, I'm going to attempt to head this off before it becomes an issue so could you answer this or make sure it gets answered in the book?

Based off the entry for Laser Weapons as quoted above:

Laser Weapons wrote:
These weapons emit beams of intensely focused light waves that resolve as touch attacks and deal fire damage. A laser can pass through force fields and force effects like a wall of force without damaging that field to strike a foe beyond. Objects like glass or other transparent barriers do not provide cover from lasers (but unlike force barriers, glass still takes damage from a laser strike passing through it). Invisible creatures are immune to damage caused by a laser weapon. Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.

How will they interact with supernatural darkness? The Darkness spell overwhelms all non-magical light effects, and magical light effects below second level. Super-natural darkness does the same as Darkness, but for up to 3rd level.

With the bit about Laser weapons being interfered by fog spells, and passing through transparent effects, will they be defeated by a darkness spell?

In an area of magical dim-light, such as normal light + darkness, would laser weapons automatically deal half damage? Or perhaps people in such an area would gain bonuses to their touch AC class?

In an area of total darkness, such as a natural dim light + darkness, would laser weapons deal any damage at all, or would the people in such an area gain an even higher bonus to their touch AC?

What about an area of supernatural darkness, as made indicated by the deeper darkness spell? How will Laser weapons interact with such areas?

Unless of course you guys completely ignore the above tidbit about laser weapons and re-write the rules.

Another way I could see this assigning light categories to various weapons. For example, a laser pistol might penetrate magical dim-light, but not magical total darkness (or only deal half-damage in magical total darkness). While a rifle might penetrate both magical dim and darkness, but not supernatural darkness (or only deal half damage) while more powerful weapons (laser cannons and the like) might completely ignore darkness spells entirely.

Anyway, just something that occurred to me and I kind of foresaw the inevitable Rules debate if this wasn't addressed in the book itself. Because if the darkness spells automatically cancel out non-magical light effects, and lasers come from a non-magical source, then lasers would probably be all but useless in magical darkness.

Although, this would also explain how it is Numeria hasn't gone and conquered the world yet.


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I could see this book being of considerable use to space-based adventures, especially concerning Verces and Eox. I'd also like to combine it with Dreamscarred's psionics rules for adventures on Castrovel or Akiton.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Tels wrote:

Mark, I'm going to attempt to head this off before it becomes an issue so could you answer this or make sure it gets answered in the book?

Based off the entry for Laser Weapons as quoted above:

Laser Weapons wrote:
These weapons emit beams of intensely focused light waves that resolve as touch attacks and deal fire damage. A laser can pass through force fields and force effects like a wall of force without damaging that field to strike a foe beyond. Objects like glass or other transparent barriers do not provide cover from lasers (but unlike force barriers, glass still takes damage from a laser strike passing through it). Invisible creatures are immune to damage caused by a laser weapon. Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.

How will they interact with supernatural darkness? The Darkness spell overwhelms all non-magical light effects, and magical light effects below second level. Super-natural darkness does the same as Darkness, but for up to 3rd level.

With the bit about Laser weapons being interfered by fog spells, and passing through transparent effects, will they be defeated by a darkness spell?

In an area of magical dim-light, such as normal light + darkness, would laser weapons automatically deal half damage? Or perhaps people in such an area would gain bonuses to their touch AC class?

In an area of total darkness, such as a natural dim light + darkness, would laser weapons deal any damage at all, or would the people in such an area gain an even higher bonus to their touch AC?

What about an area of supernatural darkness, as made indicated by the deeper darkness spell? How will Laser weapons interact with such areas?

Unless of course you guys completely ignore the above tidbit about laser weapons and re-write the rules.

Another way I could see this assigning light categories to various weapons. For example, a laser pistol might penetrate magical dim-light, but not magical total darkness (or only...

Why would darkness hurt a laser? It doesn't in the real world. It'd just do the normal thing; give the target concealment. No need to change anything at all, since the above rules you quote on lasers don't mention them being adversely affected by darkness, nor does darkness say anywhere that it is a cloud of fog or mist or other air-suspended particles. The use of the word "light" in the laser description is not a game term–it's just what a laser is. Lasers do NOT have the "Light" descriptor, and that's what is required for an effect created by magic or technology to be cancelled by magical darkness.


I was asking about magical darkness, as from the spell darkness or deepers darkness. While the word 'light' may be just fluff text, the way that 'light' interacts with 'darkness', magical or not, isn't fluff.

If one were to be in an area that is at a natural 'normal' light level (such as under a forest canopy during the day), and cast darkness, the light level would drop to dim light. If you were to light a sun rod, or a torch, or a lantern, or all three of them, it would still be dim light because, "Nonmagical sources of light, such as torches and lanterns, do not increase the light level in an area of darkness."

So if a laser is made of 'focused light', fluff text or not, people are going to argue about how it interacts with darkness spells.

Obscuring Mist, fog and other effects interfere with lasers because they interfere with light. It would stand to reason then, that darkness spells would also interfere with lasers because they are made of light. A non-magical source of light at that.

When it comes to regular darkness there is no problem. Non-magical sources of light brighten up areas of non-magical darkness. It's the areas of magical darkness that is the problem.

How does a laser, a non-magical light effect, interact with an area of magical darkness?

Liberty's Edge

Tels wrote:

I was asking about magical darkness, as from the spell darkness or deepers darkness. While the word 'light' may be just fluff text, the way that 'light' interacts with 'darkness', magical or not, isn't fluff.

If one were to be in an area that is at a natural 'normal' light level (such as under a forest canopy during the day), and cast darkness, the light level would drop to dim light. If you were to light a sun rod, or a torch, or a lantern, or all three of them, it would still be dim light because, "Nonmagical sources of light, such as torches and lanterns, do not increase the light level in an area of darkness."

So if a laser is made of 'focused light', fluff text or not, people are going to argue about how it interacts with darkness spells.

Obscuring Mist, fog and other effects interfere with lasers because they interfere with light. It would stand to reason then, that darkness spells would also interfere with lasers because they are made of light. A non-magical source of light at that.

When it comes to regular darkness there is no problem. Non-magical sources of light brighten up areas of non-magical darkness. It's the areas of magical darkness that is the problem.

How does a laser, a non-magical light effect, interact with an area of magical darkness?

Tels is right. This question will come up and without an official clarification there will be no end of arguing on the boards.


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Even with official clarification, there will be no end of arguing on the boards ;)


I just wanted to see the darkness thing dealt with in the book before it requires clarification or errata.

In some ways, I could see darkness spells acting to lasers as Fickle Winds and similar effects are to archery/guns.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Tels wrote:

I was asking about magical darkness, as from the spell darkness or deepers darkness. While the word 'light' may be just fluff text, the way that 'light' interacts with 'darkness', magical or not, isn't fluff.

If one were to be in an area that is at a natural 'normal' light level (such as under a forest canopy during the day), and cast darkness, the light level would drop to dim light. If you were to light a sun rod, or a torch, or a lantern, or all three of them, it would still be dim light because, "Nonmagical sources of light, such as torches and lanterns, do not increase the light level in an area of darkness."

So if a laser is made of 'focused light', fluff text or not, people are going to argue about how it interacts with darkness spells.

Obscuring Mist, fog and other effects interfere with lasers because they interfere with light. It would stand to reason then, that darkness spells would also interfere with lasers because they are made of light. A non-magical source of light at that.

When it comes to regular darkness there is no problem. Non-magical sources of light brighten up areas of non-magical darkness. It's the areas of magical darkness that is the problem.

How does a laser, a non-magical light effect, interact with an area of magical darkness?

Again... it's not the word "light" that interacts with darkness spells... it's spells with the "Light" descriptor (note the capitalization). Lasers don't have the Light descriptor, so they function normally in darkness like any other ranged weapon.


James Jacobs wrote:


Again... it's not the word "light" that interacts with darkness spells... it's spells with the "Light" descriptor (note the capitalization). Lasers don't have the Light descriptor, so they function normally in darkness like any other ranged weapon.

Makes sense to me.

Pew! Pew! Pew!


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