Advanced Archetypes II (PFRPG) PDF

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Advanced Archetypes II offers 20 new archetypes for your gaming table! They were inspired by ones like the Huntmaster Cavalier, the Vivisectionist Alchemist, the Zen Archer Monk, and the Archaeologist Bard that completely change the class!

(For example, the Nightmage rogue loses his rogue talents but gains 4 levels of spellcasting!)

So what archetypes are in this book?

  • Blood Scoundrel (Bloodrager)
  • Chakram Dervish (Fighter)
  • Dread Thane (Skald)
  • Eldritch Sage (Magus)
  • Faithful Paragon (Warpriest)
  • Grasslands Prowler (Ranger)
  • Katana Duelist (Samurai)
  • Mad Prophet (Oracle)
  • Myrmidon (Swashbuckler)
  • Nightmage (Rogue)
  • Quickblade (Fighter)
  • Righteous Flame Intiate (Paladin)
  • Serenader (Bard)
  • Soldier of Gaia (Warpriest)
  • Spellhound (Inquisitor)
  • Steel Valkyrie (Cleric)
  • Tavern Brawler (Brawler)
  • Warding Bastion (Cavalier)
  • War Genius (Investigator)
  • Wildfire Druid (Druid)

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

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An Endzeitgeist.com review

3/5

The second collection of Flaming Crab Games' archetype-books clocks in at 15 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages of SRD, leaving us with 11 pages of content, so let's dive right in!

The first archetype herein would be the Blood Scoundrel Bloodrager, who begins with perhaps one of the oddest decisions regarding spellcasting - instead of the highly restrictive bloodrager spells, the archetype instead gains access to all enchantment and illusion spells from the wizard spell-list. Ouch, but let's see whether the rest justifies that. The archetype adds Bluff, Disguise, Sense Motive and Stealth to the class-skill-list. They also receive proficiency in rogue-y weaponry as well as the option to cast bloodline spells (and only those!) in light armor sans arcane failure. Instead of a normal bloodrage, these guys receive a +4 morale bonus, increasing later to +6 and +8 and the archetype receives no penalty to AC and may still use Int-, Dex- and Cha-based skills. Instead of uncanny dodge, which is moved to 4th level, where it replaces Eschew Materials,, 2nd level provides Sneak Attack, which scales up by +1d6 every 4 levels thereafter. A blood scoundrel may elect to choose a slayer talent in lieu of a bloodline feat, with 12th level providing access to advanced slayer talents. DR is replaced at 7th level by improved uncanny dodge - I assume, eating the whole of damage reduction, not just the first increment. The archetype is pretty solid and rather interesting and features quite a few interesting tweaks. Granted, I'm not a big fan of the spell-list, but the requirement of materials etc. does offset this a bit. On a nitpicky side, the archetype's 5th level is dead, with improved uncanny dodge being moved to 7th level.

Chakram Dervish fighters are locked into Quick Draw as the 1st level bonus feat and replaces bravery with a scaling dodge bonus versus ranged attacks. 3rd level replaces armor training with the ability to treat dual-wielding chakrams as light weapons and also eliminates penalties to wielding them in melee as well as eliminating the chance to damage himself. 5th level provides scaling bonuses to atk and damage as substitutions for weapon training and 7th level eliminates AoOs when throwing chakrams. 9th level provides dual throwing and 11th level allows the dervish to move up to his speed and make a full attack with chakrams at -2 to atk...which is pretty strong. At 15th level chakrams automatically return whether they hit or miss, allowing for full attacks with just one chakram in the hands. 20th level nets auto-confirms of crits and increases the crit modifier by +1 (to x3). The character also can't be disarmed.

The Dread Thane skald adds all spells with the fear-descriptor of 6th level or lower to his spell-list and gets +1/2 class level to Intimidate...which replaces bardic knowledge. Instead of song of the fallen, the archetype receives a song that causes the shaken condition. 2nd level provides +2 to damage versus shaken foes, scaling up to +4 versus frightened and +6 versus panicked foes at 8th level. 4th level fear immunity replacing uncanny dodge, which is imho a bit soon. 7th level nets a horrific visage while singing penalizing saves of nearby foes (10 ft) by -4 and eliminating fear immunity in that range. The range increases by +10 ft at 13th level and 19th level instead of versatile performance.

The Eldritch Sage magus gets only simple weapon proficiency (no armor/shield, no martial weapons), but gains spells per day at +1 level. Arcane Pool gains full level + Int-mod points and may expend them as a swift action to increase the save DC of magic items used or spells cast by +1. 10th level allows for the expenditure of 3 points for a +2 increase, while 20th level allows for the expenditure of 5 points for +3 DC. Spellcombat is modified to instead apply to casting spells and using magic items...or at least, it's supposed to, I think. The archetype fails to specify which kind of abilities they replace - while it's pretty evident for the respective levels, this still constitutes a comfort detriment. And yes, this means duel spellcasting via wands...and this is pretty much problematic on its own. Similarly, 2nd level's Dual Spellcasting, which allows for the casting of two spells at once, provided they're one level lower than the highest spell level available and needs two free hands for the trick. I *get* why this is here - it's there to replace spellstrike, a mighty ability...but double spells are a tricky thing that is usually a 20th-level CAPSTONE. For a reason. Worse, the lack of limitation to spells from the magus spell-list allows for a nasty two-level dip here. 5th level and every 6 levels thereafter net metamagic/item creation bonus feats. 7th level allows the magus to expend spell level arcane pool points to recall a spell activated from an item, allowing the character to recharge it. This does not work on empty items...but is still pretty powerful and necessitates that the GM takes careful heed regarding low-charge wands, staves, etc. As a capstone, the no-highest-spell-level limitation is taken off dual spellcasting and the character uses his own CL when using wands, staves and rods. Oh, and he may charge depleted items. This archetype is broken.

The Faithful Paragon warpriest must be LG and gets additional access to the paladin's spell-list - which is pretty insane, considering the exceedingly powerful paladin spells being balanced so they become relevant at 4th level, not 1st. And we all know at least a couple of very powerful such spells - when extending them to the arsenal of a full spellcaster, they turn ugly fast. The archetype also receives + Cha-mod fervor and moves sacred weapon to 4th level, treating it as class level -3. 4th level provides Cha-mod to saves instead of channel energy, while 7th level replaces sacred armor with the option to, as a swift action, gain temporary hit points equal to Cha modifier TIMES HD - but thankfully, only 1/day, +1/day at 14th level. 9th and 18th level increase fervor dice by one step each and replace the respective bonus feats. Overall, a more paladin-y warpriest whose epsllcasting remains his one issue: Plus pala-spells is a pretty big thing that eliminates this one at my table from the get-go.

The Grasslands Prowler ranger has a unique combat style based on movement (and keeping enemies close) as well as natural weaponry, replaces Endurance with Fleet and adds some druid-y-themed spells to his spell-list. He's locked into plains as terrain and gains fast stealth at 7th level, pounce at 16th. No complaints here.

The Katana Duelist does not receive any armor or shield proficiency and gains an Int-based scaling AC-bonus that also applies versus touch attacks. He's locked into katana weapon expertise and replaces mounted archery with +2 to Ref-saves. 5th level provides Parry instead of banner, which allows the character to forego attacks of his full attack, storing one attack to later, as an immediate action, use as a competing roll versus the attack. On a success, he negates the attack. While I'm not a fan of competing attacks, size-based penalties and the option to, at penalty, parry attacks on adjacent allies, make this okay. 14th level's Riposte allows for an AoO to follow up on a parried attack.

The Mad Prophet oracle gets 5 curse/madness-themed bonus spells and may, at 1st level, mark foes as doomed souls as a full-round action, penalizing the saves of the target versus the mad prophet. The action required decreases at 8th level and 16th level, while the penalty becomes more severe. This replaces the 1st level revelation. 7th level allows the mad prophet to 1/day cause a target to suffer a freak accident determined by consulting a random d% table with 14 entries. All of these are nasty and they range from mummy rot to negative levels voice loss to being subject to auto-confirmation when crited for a period of time. The effects are powerful, but based on a save and higher levels net additional uses. I quite like this one - flavorful, a bit odd...kudos!

The Myrmidon swashbuckler only receives panache when scoring a critical hit or delivers a killing blow with a performance weapon and the archetype begins play with "the benefits of the Weapon Focus feat in one performance feat of her choice" - I assume that should be performance weapon. The myrmidon substitutes Charisma for Intelligence for the purpose or prerequisites of combat feats, replacing swashbuckler's finesse thus. Instead of the derring-do deed, the archetype can spend 1 panache to add a surge-like 1d6 to a given performance combat check, with 6 providing the means to reroll and add - essentially, the surge is an exploding die. Instead of 15th level's swashbuckler's edge, the myrmidon may take 10 even when distracted or in immediate danger...which is a bit odd, considering how good specialists of this trick become. (My current game features an insane gladiator performing for the crowd in his head...) 19th level provides a means for the myrmidon to decrease the attitude of crowds towards the target of his critical hit by two steps, with DC being equal to damage taken...which means the check is impossible for x3 and x4 weapons of even a moderately competent myrmidon, nigh impossible for x2-weapons. At 4th level, the archetype may replace a combat feat with a performance feat instead. 5th level provides scaling +atk and damage bonuses as well as Improved Critical for performance weapons. As a capstone, the class auto-confirms performance weapon critical hits and increases crit modifier by +1. This one is weird - I *LOVE* archetypes that do interesting things with performance combat, mainly since the mechanic is underrepresented and has potential. However, it's very niche unless an archetype (like some by Everyman gaming, for example) allows for a way to treat regular combat as performance combat. The lack of such a mechanic here and the slightly wonky components mean that, alas, there is no more reason to take mid-to-higher levels in this archetype than for the base swashbuckler.

The Nightmage rogue is locked into minor magic at 2nd level and 4th level nets prepared spellcasting based on Int, with spells known like a ranger and the spell-list being all abjuration, divination, enchantment, illusion, transmutation and universal sorc/wiz-spells. This replaces all rogue talents and CL is, analogue to ranger, paladin et al., class level-3. Solid, if somewhat unremarkable take on the casting rogue.

The Quickblade fighter gets Acrobatics as a class skill and they are locked in Dodge and Mobility as bonus feats of 1st and 2nd level, meaning you'll be stuck with 2 levels of passive feats...not too exciting. 2nd level provides +5 ft. speed when not wearing medium or heavy armor or a shield heavier than a buckler, increasing the bonus by +5 ft. at 6th level and every 4 levels thereafter. Instead of armor training, the archetype gets a scaling dodge bonus and 5th level provides 1/charge direction change (NICE!) and may continue to move after a charge, provided there is movement left. 9th level is pretty sick: Full-attack charge that can be dispersed between target of the charge and any foe threatened during the charge - an ability usually valued as significantly more powerful. 13th level allows the quickblade to expend a standard action to duplicate an extraordinary variant of haste for 1 round/level, thankfully not stacking. 17th level allows the quickblade to perform +1 standard, move or full-round action in a given round, with escalating conditions (fatigue, exhaustion, unconscious) thankfully preventing abuse by explicitly stating that curing a previous condition does not influence the following. 19th level provides a 20% miss chance when moving full speed in a round and 20th level makes haste permanent. This archetype is odd - the high-level tricks are unique and pretty well-made, if not perfect in their craftsmanship...but the low levels are passive and boring...and 9th level's ability could have really used a scaling mechanism to bring it more in line with the options - the charge/full-attack exceeds pounce in flexibility, which is pretty much one of the most powerful offenses.

The Righteous Flame Acolyte replaces lay on hands and mercies with a melee touch attack as a standard action that deals 1/2 class level times 1d6 damage, half of which is fire, half of which is "holy damage bypassing resistances and immunities", slightly deviating from the usual wording, but you get what's meant. That being said: There is no "holy" damage in PFRPG anymore...so purists may still balk at the exact wording here and long for the default. The ability can be used level + Cha-mod times per day, and, as a swift action, the paladin can expend two uses as a swift action to add this damage to the melee weapon. I *assume* this bonus damage does not multiply n critical hits, but I'd still appreciate the ability stating it. 5th level replaces divine bond with the option to make "iterative attacks with his weapon in addition to using his Righteous Flame Strike as an off-hand attack." Okay, got this - I assume this still requires a full-attack instead of being activated as the usual standard action of the righteous flame strike. Instead of aura of resolve, the paladin receives scaling resistance to cold (later immunity at 20th level), which extends to allies nearby. Solid, overall, if not perfect.

The Serenader bard adds half his level to Diplomacy instead of bardic knowledge and replaces inspire courage with a means to charm person while a performance lasts. At 14th level, a 3-round requiring dominate person can be performed instead of frightening tune.2nd level gets +4 to saves versus charm and compulsions instead of well-versed and 5th level allows for taking 10 on any Diplomacy checks instead of lore master. Solid one.

The Soldier of Gaia warpriest replaces the cleric's spell-list with that of the druid, remembering, thankfully to cover its bases regarding high-level items duplicating spells beyond the capabilities of the archetype. Similarly, spontaneous casting is modified to apply to summon nature's ally instead. The blessing list is restricted thematically and 7th level provides a vine-based fire-vulnerable black tentacle-variant usable 1/day, +1/day at 13th and 19th level instead of sacred armor. Awesome, intriguing little archetype.

The Spellhound inquisitor gets 1st level Spell combat instead of Domain and adds 1 magus spell as though it was a divine spell, +1 such spell at 4th level and every 3 levels thereafter instead of judgments. 8th level nets improved spell combat and 16th greater spell combat, replacing judgments gained there. The capstone provides auto-success defensive casting concentration and +2 to either DC, +2 to increase spell resistance or + 2to atk. Solid blend of inquisitor and magus.

The Steel Valkyrie cleric gets full martial and armor proficiencies, diminished spellcasting, Fly as a class skill and is locked into the war domain, treating her class level as +2 for the purpose of domain spells and abilities granted by the war domain and its sub-domains, though thankfully sans early access. At 2nd level, these clerics emit Will-boosting auras with scaling bonuses (getting bonus-types right!) and at 4th level, further AC-bonuses when wearing heavy armor. 6th level qualifies her as class level -4 fighter levels for feat-prerequisite purposes. 8th level allows her to have the armor grow metallic wings from her armor, granting fly speed 40 ft for class level minutes...though the ability fails to specify maneuverability class. 14th level provides a retributive, +atk-and damage-granting aura. All in all, an archetype with cool visuals and very minor nitpicks - like it.

Part II of my review is in the product discussion. See you there!


5/5

From Flaming Crab Games, here is a collection of 20 new archetypes for your Pathfinder classes.

One thing that really stands out is that the pdf is nicely presented. At no point was I confused as to what something did, what an archetype replaced or had to squint to figure out which archetype was which. About the only problem was that the references to feats and spells don't have notifications for what book they come from.

On the crunch side there are a few bumps in the road that throw me off. Nonstandard language like the Quickblade's ability becoming 'constant' start me up but nothing that I've noticed really caused an ability to be confusing so its just me being fussy. And that's really where my criticism ends. I can't find an archetype that I didn't at least consider taking in the future. Some of the highlights is are the archetypes for the Advanced Class Guide. I particularly liked the Druidy archetype for Warpriest and War Genius for the Investigator. They aren't as outlandish as some archetypes I've seen but it opens up enough doors to be interesting and above a lot of archetype books I've seen.

All around these are nice archetypes that I would gladly take so I would give the product 5 stars out of 5.

You can find this review and more over at my 3pp blog.


Mostly killer, some filler

4/5

In any large enough collection of archetypes, you're bound to find some you love, and some that just don't inspire you. So, that said, let's check them out!

The Blood Scoundrel bloodrager gets an altered version of bloodrage that boosts dexterity, as well as an altered spell list, a delayed version of sneak attack, and the ability to select slayer talents in place of bloodline feats - an unusual combination, but it could work if that's what you're looking for. The Chakram Dervish fighter also has a cool suit of abilities focused around this unusual weapon, treating it as a light weapon when two-weapon fighting, throwing them without provoking attacks of opportunity, and make a full attack after moving - while I like this a lot, it unfortunately feels like most of its abilities come online too late to be particularly useful, which is a shame. Not so much for the Dread Thane skald, who gets all [fear] spells at the appropriate levels and a nifty suite of tricks to help him use them for maximum effect.

The Edritch Sage magus gives up a lot of his combat ability for enhanced spellcasting. He can also activate a magic item and cast a spell in the same round with a variant of spell combat, increase his spell DCs using his arcane pool, and recall magic item charges. Not drastically different, but neat enough to consider. Then there's the Faithful Paragon warpriest - restricted to the lawful good alignment, and unfortunately wonky. For example, he can add his Wisdom modifier to his daily uses of fervour - however, fervour is already 1/2 level + Wis. He also gains the 'faith sustains' ability, allowing him to gain a bonus to constitution, with no mention of how often he can use it.

Next up is the Grasslands Prowler ranger, who gets a unique combat style, a slightly expanded spell list, and eventually a variant of pounce. After him comes the katana duelist samurai, eschewing mounts and armour, gaining canny defense and the ability to parry and riposte - unfortunately, this seems to have the same problem as the chakram fighter in that it comes online relatively late. Not so much for the Mad Prophet oracle, wh can pronounce doom on her enemies (causing them to suffer penalties against her spells and revelations), and cause them to befall random calamitous events - such as tripping, loss of voice, random spellblights, and even mummy rot! Simple, but very cool.

TheMyrmidon swashbuckler is basically 'swashbuckler with performance weapons', and not being a fan of performance combat, I'll leave her for someone else to talk about, because I'm more thrilled about the Nightmage rogue, who loses out on her talents, but gains ranger-progression arcane spellcasting of specific schools. Nifty! Then there's the Quickblade fighter, able to dash around the battlefield with ease, change directions while charging, and make all his attacks at various points during a charge - certainly compelling, and the thought of placing this on a naturally speedy enemy is terrifying.

The Righteous Flame Acolyte paladin gives up Lay on Hands, replacing it with a flaming touch that she can use in addition to a full attack. She also gains resistance to cold, granting it to her allies in an aura effect. The Serenader bard can use charm person and dominate person through bardic performance, which, while neat, doesn't seem like enough of a niche to really carve. Then there's the Soldier of Gaia warpriest, who casts from the druid's spell list, spontaneously casts summon nature's ally spells, and can summon vines to attack as the black tentacles spell. Not bad!

The Spellhound inquisitor gains spell combat and limited access to the magus spell list in exchange for her domain and judgement - not bad, but not terribly exciting. The Steel Valkyrie cleric, however, must take the War domain, gives up the other, and gains heavy armour proficiency. She also gets a deflection bonus to AC in heavy armour, an aura-effect bonus to Will saves, and eventually, the ability to fly on steel wings with no penalty! The Tavern Brawler is unfortunately another lacking archetype, gaining the ability to use her class features with improvised weapons, and in exchange, having her martial flexibility available only after a drink.

The product powers on with the Warding Bastion cavalier, who threatens a wider area and makes it count as difficult terrain, grants half his shield bonus to allies, and can take damage for them. TheWar Genius investigator gets less skill points, better proficiencies, and gives up alchemy for the ability to mimic combat feats. Finally, closing out the product, we have the Wildfire Druid, who sees flame as a cleansing force - when she's not looking right through it, or ignoring her enemies' resistance to it as she spontaneously casts her domain spells - Fire domain, of course!

There's plenty of great stuff in here - I'm personally fond of the Warding Bastion, Steel Valkyrie, and Mad Prophet, but everyone likes different things. Pick it up, and see what speaks to you!


Webstore Gninja Minion

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Now available!


Liz Courts wrote:
Now available!

Thanks, Liz!!

The first ten people that request this PDF in the discussion below get a free copy! As usual, feedback/reviews are appreciated!


Ooooooh, may I? I'm particularly intrigued by the War Genius...


Can I have one?


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

May I? Did I finally make the first 10 again? :D


I also would like to request this PDFS--I'm particularly interested in the paladin, swashbuckler and warpriest archetypes.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I think this is the first time I was able to claim one of these deals. May I have this PDF please?

I am especially looking forward to seeing what you did with that Mad Prophet oracle archetype.


Am I finally in the first 10?!?


I would. I always follow through on reviewing gifted products.


Can I have one please?


may i please have one


I'd love to have copy if I made the top 10!


I would also love a copy but I think I'm number 11! D'oh


12th to ask. So if some of you could pull yourselves out I the running, , , yeah, thought not.

Looking forward to the reviews of this. The last one was pretty cool.


As always, reviews are much appreciated. I keep close tabs on these threads so if you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to say anything!


The first ten people (up to Anne Sullivan) should be getting their free copy sometime this week!

With RPG Superstar going on, they may not get to y'all till the end of the week.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber
Flaming Crab Games wrote:

The first ten people (up to Anne Sullivan) should be getting their free copy sometime this week!

With RPG Superstar going on, they may not get to y'all till the end of the week.

You guys rock my socks! Once the holidays have passed and I have spare money again, I plan to go back and buy pretty much all of your products. Not only did I love "Forgotten Core Feats" that much, but I want to support companies as nice as you guys. :)

Webstore Gninja Minion

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Flaming Crab Games wrote:
The first ten people (up to Anne Sullivan) should be getting their free copy sometime this week!

Those that qualified should have it in their Downloads.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber
Liz Courts wrote:
Flaming Crab Games wrote:
The first ten people (up to Anne Sullivan) should be getting their free copy sometime this week!
Those that qualified should have it in their Downloads.

Yes, ma'am! Thanks kindly! :D


Liz Courts wrote:
Flaming Crab Games wrote:
The first ten people (up to Anne Sullivan) should be getting their free copy sometime this week!
Those that qualified should have it in their Downloads.

Liz you truly live up to your name as webstore gninja minion! Thank you!


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

Skimming through my copy, and first thing I have to say is that I think you guys may have made a misstep with the Chakram Dervish. I really feel like it should gain an ability that let's it use the chakram in melee without having to role the reflex save to avoid cutting him/herself. Other than that, it's wonderfully flavorful.

I also really like the war genius.


Nate Z - when writing the archetype I did think about putting such an ability in, but getting to throw chakrams at close range without provoking attacks of opportunity seemed like a better solution to a quite minor problem (a DC 15 save you don't need to roll while wearing gauntlets for 1d4 damage isn't the end of the world, after all). Thanks for the input and the compliments, though!


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

Ah. I had forgotten how minor the damage was and that gauntlets negated it. A good point that makes me like the archetype even more. Glad to see the fighter getting some love.


Nate Z wrote:
Ah. I had forgotten how minor the damage was and that gauntlets negated it. A good point that makes me like the archetype even more. Glad to see the fighter getting some love.

We have more love for the fighter on the way too. Specifically a spiked chain specialist!


So a Faithful Paragon adds her Wis bonus to her daily uses of fervor... Except that every Warpriest does. Does that mean that a FP's daily uses of fervor are equal to 1/2 her Warpriest level + double her Wisdom bonus, or is there a mistake and it should be Charisma (since she's a paladinesque Warpriest)? If this is the case, should the correct figure be 1/2 lvl + Cha or 1/2 lvl + Wis + Cha?


Bardess wrote:
So a Faithful Paragon adds her Wis bonus to her daily uses of fervor... Except that every Warpriest does. Does that mean that a FP's daily uses of fervor are equal to 1/2 her Warpriest level + double her Wisdom bonus, or is there a mistake and it should be Charisma (since she's a paladinesque Warpriest)? If this is the case, should the correct figure be 1/2 lvl + Cha or 1/2 lvl + Wis + Cha?

The correct figure should be 1/2 level + Cha + Wis


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I have a question about the Blood Scoundrel archetype. It reads, "A blood scoundrel can cast bloodline spells while wearing light armor without incurring normal arcane spell failure chance. This does not affect the arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes." Is it purposeful that there are only four of your spells that can be used with light armor on? Or was this supposed to be all bloodrager spells? 'Cause, I mean, I feel like as it is, it kind of necessitates you not wearing armor at all...or giving up on spellcasting.


Luthorne wrote:
I have a question about the Blood Scoundrel archetype. It reads, "A blood scoundrel can cast bloodline spells while wearing light armor without incurring normal arcane spell failure chance. This does not affect the arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes." Is it purposeful that there are only four of your spells that can be used with light armor on? Or was this supposed to be all bloodrager spells? 'Cause, I mean, I feel like as it is, it kind of necessitates you not wearing armor at all...or giving up on spellcasting.

Thanks for catching that. It should read "A blood scoundrel can cast bloodrager spells while wearing light armor without..."


Thank you for the flattering review, Malwing! I'll pass around your awesome blog!


Fans of Advanced Archetypes II:

In case you haven't seen us spamming social media, we're doing a Kickstarter for the Flaming Crab Games Archetype Compendium. It features 6 new archetypes for every base class (minus occult until we break our first stretch goal). Every Advanced Archetype II archetype included in the book is being revised and expanded upon! Check it out here!


Part II of my review:

The Tavern Brawler begins play with either Throw Anything of Catch Off-Guard. As a full-round action, the tavern brawler can imbibe alcohol to gain access to a combat feat he doesn't possess for 1 minute. Continuous drinking extends this and daily use-feats cannot be cheesed this way. 6th level allows for the maintenance of 2 (3 feats at 10th, which also provides for more flexibility regarding activation-action, which becomes faster at 12th level) at a given time, and yes, they may act as a prerequisite for one another. 20th level allows for Con-mod such wildcard feats at a given time. This ability replaces martial flexibility...and it rather powerful. Brawler's Fury may be used with improvised weapons and, at 2nd level, he may retrieve and imbibe two potions at once. 4th level provides scaling bonuses to atk and CMD while wearing light armor or none. 5th level allows for the use of brawler unarmed damage when using improvised weapons at level-4 if the brawler's damage would exceed that usually associated with the improvised weapon. They also may perform awesome blow with improvised weapons. I like this archetype for its modification of martial flexibility and focus on improvised weapons.

The Warding Bastion cavalier replaces charging prowess with the option to make squares in reach difficult terrain for enemies and 4th level replaces expert trainer with scaling AC-bonuses. 6th level allows the warding bastion to immediate action take damage for an adjacent ally, taking half damage for the ally, with additional effects still affecting the ally. Instead of mighty charge, the cavalier increases his reach for AoOs and the number he can perform. At 12th level, he can expend challenge to grant short-term buffs and slightly longer-lasting temporary hit points to allies nearby. As a capstone, he can uses challenge-uses to extend his life, even when dead due to hit point damage. Cool! This one is inspired, interesting and concise - love it!

The War Genius investigator has 4+Int skills per level, proficiency with simple and martial weapons as well as light and medium armor and shields, excluding tower shields. As a move action, they may use 1 inspiration to duplicate a witnessed combat feat for class level rounds...sans needing to make the prerequisites, which can be problematic. This replaces alchemy. He may also spend 1 inspiration as an immediate action to gain inspiration die as insight bonus to AC versus a foe whose feat he's copying via the above ability. Instead of poison lore, he treats his level as fighter level-3 for prerequisite purposes and at 4th level, he can use the feat-copying as a swift action for +1 inspiration. I love this one's concept and think its mechanics could have used further expansion - that's some cool mechanics waiting to be further expanded.

The final archetype is the Wildfire Druid, who must select the fire domain or one of its subdomains; he may spontaneously cast such spells...which means these guys can, at least fire-wise, outblast sorcerors. Not cool. (Get it? Haha...I'll punch myself later for that one...) At 2nd level, the archetype can see through fire and smoke etc. sans issues (Nice!) and 4th level decreases fire resistance of adversaries (scaling) for purpose of his spells, which capstone ignoring even immunity. While this replaces wild shape, in combination with the massive blasting capacity, this is very strong. Resist nature's lure and venom immunity are replaced by scaling fire resistance. Wild shape is decreased to level -2 and gained at 6th level, also eliminating the option to form into a water elemental. 13th level makes foes that take fire damage from his spells gain fire vulnerability for 1 round. Overall, an elemental-themed archetype that is a bit too good regarding its damage-output. If you wanted a pure dire-specialist druid...this will do the job and net buckets of damage.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are more precise than in older Flaming Crab Games-supplements - the rules-language, while still sporting some minor deviations, is more in line with the conventions. Layout adheres to the two-column full-color standard and has gotten rid of the annoying blank space in earlier supplements. The pdf has no artwork, but does sport bookmarks for your convenience.

Tanner Wahlin, Alex Abel and C.J. Withers' second collection of archetypes is significantly more refined than the first - the rules-language is more precise and while there are a couple of archetypes herein that are pretty much broken, there also are some in this book that truly deserve being called "nice", ones that sport cool visuals and concepts. That being said, compared to some other Flaming Crab Games-releases I recently covered, this one does sport more examples of fast and loose play with balance, where the exchanges of abilities either have been swallowed or are not equivalent - mind you, that's not a bad thing for underpowered classes like the rogue, fighter or monk, but for already strong classes like the druid et al., this is unnecessary and potentially problematic. Still, this is an improvement over the first book - I actually can see myself allowing some of the archetypes herein in my game after a bit of filing off of rough patches. So, how to rate this? Ultimately, there is a decent balance between the solid and problematic, hence I will settle on a final verdict of 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 due to in dubio pro reo.

Reviewed first on endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to Nerdtrek and GMS magazine and posted here, on OBS, d20pfsrd.com's shop and tabletoplibrary.com.

Endzeitgeist out.


How many times can a Faithful Paragon use Faith Sustains in a day?

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