Pathfinder Player Companion: Legacy of the First World (PFRPG)

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Pathfinder Player Companion: Legacy of the First World (PFRPG)
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Embrace the Fey

All the trickery and wild power of the fey are yours to command with Pathfinder Player Companion: Legacy of the First World. Let the wilderness inspire your heroes with a spectrum of new ways to play fey-touched characters, along with new powers for classes seeking to strengthen their bonds with nature. Choose whether you draw your might from the vitality of the land, the brutality of vicious beasts, or even your faith in the fey realm's inscrutable masters, the Eldest.

Inside this book, you'll find:

  • Character options for worshipers of the enigmatic Eldest, allowing members of all classes to manifest their god's influence in unexpected ways.
  • New racial options for both gnomes and gathlains, two player-character races closely tied to the First World.
  • A host of new archetypes, feats, magic items, spells, and other fey-inspired character options!

This Pathfinder Player companion is intended for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder campaign setting, but it can easily be incorporated into any fantasy world.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-941-7

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
Archives of Nethys

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Usual Mix of Good and Forgettable

3/5

Legacy of the First World is a 32-page, full-colour entry in Pathfinder's Player Companion line of softcover books. As the title indicates, it covers the First World, which in the official campaign setting of Golarion, refers to a sort of "first draft" of reality from which the fey originate. I've never really gotten much into the fey during my years playing Pathfinder, but there's some intriguing stuff in this book and I could imagine trying to work more into my games. As with too-many books in this line, Legacy of the First World is essentially a collection of several (15) two-page sections assigned to several (10) different freelancers, with the predictable result that there's some wide disparities in writing quality, consistency between sections, and understanding of what's makes for useful gameplay mechanics. In other words, there's certainly some good material in this book, but it has to be sifted out of plenty of dross. The interior artwork is pretty solid, and I like the bold and vibrant use of color. You can judge the cover art for yourself--it looks pretty cool to me (it's reproduced without text as the inside back cover).

As for those two-page sections, they're a real hodgepodge of new spells, archetypes, magic items, character options, and more. There's no way I can cover everything, but I'll try to hit the high- (and low-) lights quickly.

* "Introduction": Along with a bit of background about the First World and a Rules Index, this section discusses specific regions of Golarion that have been particularly influenced by fey, like Darkmoon Wood in Andoran. Each of the region descriptions is accompanied by a new regional trait, and they're all really good--useful and flavourful. I thought the Witchmarket was a fantastic concept (a travelling fey merchant caravan that buys and sells particularly unusual commodities like the buyer's middle name or the ability to see dogs!). I'll surely work it in somewhere.

* "Fey Origins": This section adds new fey-themed alternate racial traits for all of the Core races. Some of them are pretty powerful, like a constant detect magic for elves. There are also a few new story feats (a concept originated in Ultimate Campaign), but frankly what you get for accomplishing the goals is rarely worth it.

* "Legacy of Gnomes": Here we get an alternative racial trait allowing gnomes to play as a Bleachling, and two related feats (pretty mild in effect). There's a new alchemist archetype called the First World Innovator, which looks interesting: fewer bombs, but more variations on what they do. There's also some new alchemist discoveries and alchemical items.

* "Legacy of Gathlains": These humanoid plant-flesh creatures receive several new alternate racial traits (good and balanced), favored class options, and some new feats (hydroponic adaptation is good, but the rest aren't).

* "Touched by the First World": A new "fey-touched" creature template is added here, but the best parts are a new "Pranked" curse for oracles and a "Whimsy" oracle mystery--both are great! There's a new archetype for bards ("First World Minstrel"), but it's pretty forgettable.

* "Fey-Scarred": The theme here is how to fight evil fey, and the section introduces several new alternate racial traits. There's also a really good new hunter archetype ("Feykiller") and some new spells.

* "Scions of the Traitor": This section is for worshippers of Count Ranalc, an interesting member of The Eldest (powerful fey figures). It contains a new slayer archetype called "Ankou's Shadow" which is potentially super-powerful (but with little flavour) and a new rogue archetype called "Shadow Scion" (looks solid).

* "Grown of the Feasting Flower": The Green Mother (another of The Eldest) is the theme of this section. There's a new shaman archetype called "Gasping Vine", but I found it mostly duplicative of existing options. A new witch archetype called "Seducer" isn't bad. There are also several new hexes and spells--thirsting entanglement could be good.

* "Beneath the Towering Twins": A weird member of The Eldest called Imbrex is the premise for a new summoner archetype called the "Twinned Summoner" and . . . I don't get it. There are also some additional evolutions and new teamwork feats, with "conduit casting" a standout.

* "Illuminated by the Lantern King": This section contains what's probably my favorite archetype in the book, the "Fey Prankster" for bards. I could see a lot of creative fun to be had with this one. The section also has a new bloodrager bloodline called "shapechanger" and a separate sorcerer bloodline with the same name but different effects.

* "Servant of the Melancholy Lord": I really like the feel of the Lost Prince, the member of the The Eldest around which this section is themed. There's a new oracle archetype called "Hermit" which doesn't really fit well, but I like the oracle curse "Reclusive." A new psychic discipline, "Sorrow", is okay, but the 13th level ability doesn't really fit the theme. An interesting new feat type for characters who usually adventure solo is introduced, which is a smart idea--there are a lot of play styles out there, and one GM and one PC is a quite-common one.

* "Born of the Three": Magdh the Three is The Eldest here, and the section contains a well-designed new monk archetype called "Nornkith." There are also several interesting new spells and items.

* "Devotee of the Hooded": Followers of Ng the Hooded may be interested in a new cavalier archetype called "Hooded Knight" (frankly, it's not that good), but a new cavalier order called "Order of the Blossom" is an attractive, interesting option.

* "Child of the Water Lord": Followers of a serpentine beast named Ragadahn could choose a new barbarian archeype called "Deepwater Rager", which is useful on land and water and comes with an awesome ability called "Spiraling Charge". There's also an okay new skald archetype called "Serpent Herald" and some new rage powers and bardic masterpieces.

* "Timekeeper of the Many": Last up is a wizard archetype called "Chronomancer". I was really excited to read this and it does turn out to be kinda good, but it needs some more gonzo (yet somehow not unbalancing) stuff to really be memorable. The section has some new time-themed spells, of which, temporal divergence could be fun.

And that's the book. Like I said, a real mix of stuff. It'd be worth a buy if you plan on having a fey-themed character or you're a GM planning on running a campaign that involves the fey. Otherwise, it's not a must-have.


No First World problems here.

5/5

I think this is the most would-play archetypes (plus mysteries, bloodlines, etc.) I've seen in a player's companion. That's combined with good traits and interesting story feats! A few racial options are a bit much (elf getting constant detect magic or bonus AC versus chaotic creatures is a nuisance for the GM, and gathlain kineticists do half again as much damage as other kineticists), but other than that, things are very nice.

Traits! Two particularly notable ones, but all good. Intelligence has been stealing charisma's thunder thanks to traits, so grab one of these to make your sorcerer as good at identifying spells as a wizard- or go for something fun, like crafting. Retry a hex against somebody once per day? Don't mind if I do.

Archetypes! There's an alchemist that gets a pool of points to spend on random effects (or rerolls for bad results). Very nice for anybody who wants a character with some gambling built in. Two new oracle curses, a new mystery, and an archetype! The mystery is great, with very cool and useful abilities that don't rely on charisma-to-everything. Swift action invisibility! Rod of Wonder effects! Move-action teleportation! Speaking of invisibility, there's a nifty bard archetype that trades out the usual inspire courage for handing out some fey abilities. The rogue will love having swift-action invisibility handed out! It's a versatile list. Ankou's Shadow is the first archetype to really make me want to play a slayer. At-will modified Mirror Image using your shadow, and as you level up, your shadow-selves become more and more independent. Oh, and the swift-action See Invisibility is really nice to have available too. Rogue with built-in darkvision and short-range teleportation is nice. Seducer is a charisma-based witch (still prepared casting) with hexes that get bonuses against anybody attracted. Twinned Summoner is a really classy option to have your eidolon fake being you. Nice to have an unkillable body-double! There's a very serious chunk of material dedicated to making this work even better with an unchained summoner. Psychics get a sorrow discipline, complete with their own private demiplane of solitude. Chronomancer is a wizard that can get back some spell slots when enemies made that save to negate or had good spell resistance, along with options for save rerolls and eventually more flexibility on contingencies.

Shapechanger bloodline for sorcerer gets its own section. It starts off with the underwhelming arcana of +1 CL to personal transmutations, and moves on to what seems like a mildly spiced-up version of the boring and generally useless first level "grow claws" power. Third level, though, is where it really hits. Once per day, boost a minute-per-level personal polymorph to ten minutes per level. That pushes it up into useful for social encounters, or a couple of combat encounters! Then at ninth, it becomes an HOUR per level. Since that stacks with extend spell, by the time you get Form of Dragon I at 12th, you can live your life as a dragon. The other abilities are really cool, too- transmuting yourself into an instantaneous AoE of claws and teeth, modifying your polymorphs with different movement forms, and a solid capstone in the vein of aberration bloodline. New favorite bloodline.

Spells! I don't care if it's not terribly effective- turning somebody's skeleton into jagged cold iron is awesome. Always love getting more fungal spells. The chronomancy spells are the star of the show, though, providing balanced time magic spells for a range of levels.

Feats! Hate teamwork feats? Have the opposite! 0-level Selective Spell metamagic… that only excludes you. Increase your channel's healing… when you exclude everybody else. Spend rage for extra attacks… so long as allies keep their distance. They're pretty cool, actually.

TLDR: You can be a dragon 24/7 now.


A Legacy Worth Remembering

5/5

After the combination train wreck/dumpster fire that was Legacy of Dragons, I was completely prepared to write this book off as a part 2 to the Legacy of Trash. Consider my complete surprise, then, when I found that this book was not only good, it was great. Just about everything in here oozes with Fey style, and mechanically just about everything holds their own. The only notable exceptions are the Seducer Witch, which unfortunately falls into the realm of "surprise villain archetype" due to how its class features work based on seduction, and the First World Innovator Alchemist, which is one archetype that I'm still debating over. The rest of the book is rock solid though.


Fun of The First World

4/5

This is a good solid book, not as good as legacy of dragons, but still worth while.


An excellent player companion

4/5

Noteworthy entries:

Some great alternate racial traits for core races, as well as some flavorful love for Gathlains that really play up their natural symbiosis.

A Cha focused witch that can hand out some hefty party bonuses if your party is willing to get frisky.

A flavorful slayer archetype, and a Shadowdancer-lite rogue archetype

some cool teamwork feats (Conduit Casting is begging for a blaster Sorc/Magus wombo combo)

some neat oracle options in the hermit archetype and reclusive curse, and new Loner feats give some use to team oriented abilities if the party isn't interested (Skalds in a party that doesn't want strength can get a larger bonus, for example)

a cool and flavorful monk archetype that tragically lacks an unchained version

Stealth horseshoes with 1/day invisibility. Your charge target literally won't know what hit it.

A time manipulation focused wizard and a host of potent temporal spells

All in all, quality work. Nothing's particularly stronger than existing content, but that's alright because it's interesting and makes you want to play it, and you won't feel weaker for it.

Some of the content is pretty bad though, and not including an unchained version of a monk archetype is pretty unforgivable, so it loses a star on that, but still, would recommend


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Community & Digital Content Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Announced for May 2017! Image and description are not final and are subject to change.


6 people marked this as a favorite.

Please have kineticist stuff, please have kineticist stuff, please have kineticist stuff...


4 people marked this as a favorite.

I heartily approve of the direction of the new "Legacy of X" series. Legacy of Dragons was great, and I don't even like dragons.

Silver Crusade

Ooo!


Hmm... Nice!


3 people marked this as a favorite.

Ooo! +1

Edit: Since hags may have originally came from the First World, might there be any changeling stuff in here?


Hm! Should tie in nicely to the Campaign Setting book. :)


3 people marked this as a favorite.

I can't wait for this one. I really enjoyed legacy of dragons.

I hope "other fey inspired character options" means alternate racial traits and racial feats.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Well it should help flesh out stuff for people that might want to tie themselves closer to one of the Eldest, perhaps.


I wonder if the Gathlains will get some love in this book?


So very, very, very nice! I. LOVE. FEY. Loved Heroes of the Wild, so eager to get my hands on the Campaign Setting First World and now, once again, so very glad I am a subscriber to Player Companion!
Kineticist stuff would be nice, but I love to see how I can make my Bard more fey-like... Ooo, perhaps a masterpiece giving Bard's access to Druid Spells (like Arrowsong's Lament from Arcane Anthology did for Sor/Wiz spells?!)!?!?!? PLEASE?!


7 people marked this as a favorite.

Maybe there will finally be some "form of the fey" type polymorph spells.


Please learn from the things people didn't like in Legacy of Dragons! Those drake companions....


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I like the drake companions, yes they have some issues, but they still were interesting. Maybe we will get fey companions:)


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Captain Battletoad wrote:
Please have kineticist stuff, please have kineticist stuff, please have kineticist stuff...

+1. This'd be a fitting place to see stuff for the wood element in particular. Maybe too fey/wood element variations to the Elemental Whispers and Greater Elemental Whispers utility talents in Horror Adventures?


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Seriously Paizo. I only have so much money to spend on kickass stuff.

On a serious note, as a lover of all things fey, this will be coming into my collection.

I wander if they might do some fey born racial traits for other races, like drow, kitsune, goblins, kobolds, or tengu.


5 people marked this as a favorite.

Fey born racial traits for non-core races would be interesting.


4 people marked this as a favorite.
KaiserBruno wrote:
I wander if they might do some fey born racial traits for other races, like drow, kitsune, goblins, kobolds, or tengu.
Dragon78 wrote:
Fey born racial traits for non-core races would be interesting.

+1 to both of these. Maybe also a fey familiar archetype?


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

"Well, if I want to subscribe to the Starfinder APs, I'm going to need to drop my player companion subscription. Hopefully between now and August they're really awesome so I can go out on a high note."

[*sees this book is announced*]

[*searches room for bugs*]


1 person marked this as a favorite.

This one is already on my auto-buy list.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

May is too far away! I need this now. Haha.

The Exchange

1 person marked this as a favorite.

+1 on kineticist options please
Also please dont ignore the aquatic areas of the first world.


half nymph maybe?? ( yeah I dont like half fey because its to generic..... and never says half what fey and restricts you to things of a sprite and not whatever fey you wanted to be half of)


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Racial traits for non-core races would be fantastic. I love the unusual races.


Well we are getting the naiad as a player race in B6 and they are a type of nymph. Hopefully they will get some love along with the gathlain.

Alternate racial traits and race traits for non-core races would be awesome.


yeah.. but they are water bound fey and are not my cup of tea.


We don't know if the pathfinder version will be water bound or not.


http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/fey/nereid

aquatic fey and tath shawl would still be an issue.
why I said half nymph though full nymph would do


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Steelfiredragon wrote:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/fey/nereid

aquatic fey and tath shawl would still be an issue.
why I said half nymph though full nymph would do

He's referring to the naiad mentioned as coming out as a 0-HD race in Bestiary 6, not the neried from Bestiary 2. Even mythologically, they're slightly different, though similar in that both are water-related nymphs.

Edit: I doubt we'll get a template in a Player's Companion, though, since that would not be appropriate for a player, barring it being applied to something the player summons. A unique race might be possible, as the skinwalker was introducted that way, but it's unlikely.


ooooooooooooooh my bad


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Maps, Rulebook Subscriber

Whisper gnomes


Sold


Whisper Gnomes?


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Dragon78 wrote:
Whisper Gnomes?

A race from Races of Stone back in 3.5...you can read about them here, if interested.


Ok, thanks for the info Luthorne.

I hope there will be some stuff for bards, swashbucklers, rogues, alchemist, monks, and other non-nature themed classes.


I'll throw my voice in for hoping for more kinetiscist options, especially wood.


We are getting more kineticist wild talents in the psychic anthology player companion book. Though I wouldn't mind getting more stuff for them in this book as well.


Dragon78 wrote:
We are getting more kineticist wild talents in the psychic anthology player companion book. Though I wouldn't mind getting more stuff for them in this book as well.

Yeah. But wood feels thematic here, and it's one of the elements in most need of help.


Maybe there will be some fey related alternate racial traits and feats.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

The wood kineticist element would be the most fitting to get fey/first world treatment but air, earth, fire, and water could get something as well.

I would love to see some fey/first world related alternate racial traits and/or racial feats for non-core races like catfolk, lashunta, merfolk, etc.

I wonder if there will be any new bloodlines, mysteries, curses, hexes, discoveries, etc.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Dragon78 wrote:
Maybe there will be some fey related alternate racial traits and feats.

You mean like in Heroes of the Wild? I really like that book.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Rockseer elves? Purdy please.


This looks like it will be a fantastic book!


5 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I wonder if we'll get some fey-based style feats. Styles related to atomies, erlkings, gremlins, nymphs, quicklings, and redcaps sound like they could be fun.

I'd also like either some variants on the fey bloodline for bloodragers and sorcerers, or completely new bloodlines for specific kinds of fey. A leanan sidhe bloodline could be very interesting, as could a redcap bloodline.

For that matter, something based around the leanan sidhe for bards, whether an archetype or a bardic performance, would also be nice.

I would certainly enjoy more material for the kineticist, perhaps something to allow the wood element to travel to the First World or call upon fey would be interesting, perhaps gaining a wild talent that allows emulating entice fey or summon nature's ally, fey only, since there aren't wood elementals to create.

I think a fey-based archetype for the vigilante could also be cool, perhaps playing upon myths of the changeling, someone who was kidnapped by the fey or wound up lost in the First World and managed to return with a spark of the fey in their body, pretending to be a normal human, but letting that spark out to indulge in fey trickery, mischief, or perhaps sadism for the more evil vigilantes.

Fey-based barbarian rage powers would be very cool.

A fey-based cavalier for a knight of faerie would be interesting, whether it's a special order, or an archetype that allows them to shrink down to smaller sizes and ride a flying mount or something...well, that might be too out there. But normal-sized could be interesting too. I could also imagine the knight of faerie as a Chaotic Good paladin archetype, maybe?

A psychic discipline for someone whose powers were awakened by fey, whether thanks to their assistance, or by defending themselves from fey tricks upon their mind, also sounds like it could be neat.

An oracle fey or First World mystery would also be cool, or perhaps an archetype for an oracle whose power was granted to them by one or more powerful fey rather than by deities, whether for a higher purpose or for their own inscrutable amusement.

Some fey-themed or anti-fey hexes for witches who have a fey patron or something similar could also be pretty neat, I think, lots of patrons seem like fey would be appropriate sources...

And of course, hoping for some material for gathlain and perhaps naiads if it's not too late there...

Well, just some random thoughts.


I am really hoping that the brawler, swashbuckler, bard, alchemist, occultist, vigilante, skald, and/or spiritualist got some archetype love.

The concept of a alchemist who uses pixie dust would be awesome.

Luthorne, I really like a lot of those ideas.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I have to admit, Luthorne, I'd love to see a Redcap bloodline for bloodragers.


Oh man, that changeling Vigilante idea is really good! Works really well with the Mockingbird social talent.


Who loves the fey? I love the fey. They fey = the awesomesauce. Give me more fey stuff! Whee!


I love the fey as well, they are my second favorite type of creature right after dragons of course.

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