Pathfinder Player Companion: Heroes from the Fringe

2.70/5 (based on 3 ratings)
Pathfinder Player Companion: Heroes from the Fringe
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Fringe Benefits!

Delve into the many non-human societies found outside of the Inner Sea region! From elves to gnomes to halflings to dwarves, Pathfinder Player Companion: Heroes from the Fringe offers new options to expand upon non-human characters who come from lesser-known civilizations and backgrounds. Find the right archetype, feats, alternate racial traits, and equipment to reflect your character's heritage, whether she's a graceful elven samurai from Jinin or one of the festive gnomes and halflings of Segada!

Inside this book you'll find:

  • Character options for unique cultural groups of major non-human peoples of Golarion, including Osirion's Pahmet dwarves, the Ekujae elves of the Mwangi Expanse, and gnomes who never left the First World!
  • Feats for half-orcs and half-elves who hail from different parts of the world, from unyielding half-drow who escaped their murderous kin to vivacious sandkin half-orcs who view themselves as Sarenrae's chosen people!
  • New occult choices spawned from unusual backgrounds, such as whimsical phantoms formed from the lost wonder of gnomes who fell to the Bleaching and a terrifying psychic archetype for gloomkin half-orcs!

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: 978-1-64078-053-8

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

Hero Lab Online
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2.70/5 (based on 3 ratings)

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Options From The Fringe

3/5

Not a great book but still okay with some interesting options.


Package of crunch with a few gems

4/5

This Player Companion is a rapid journey through Golarion, the different heritages make you travel between continents in quick succession.

Content summary and highlights (in my opinion):

Spoiler:
The book starts with some traits which are ok, but sometimes overly specific for an usual campaign (+2 on Bluff & Diplomacy against speakers of Kelish).

Dwarves and elves gain the most material, with 6 pages each. I liked the dragon hexes for dwarves, and there are several more darven weapons. Feats for dwarves are interesting and flavorful, with a focus on hammer throwing and hiding in stony terrain. Only offender here is a breath weapon for dwarves which is totally overpriced for what it does.

Elven martials get some love, with an alternate racial trait for being proficient with Eastern weapons and... a Dex based samurai archetype! This variant is probably the best part of the book, replacing the standard juggernaut with a very mobile and still devastating warrior.

Gnomes, half-elves and half-orcs get 4 pages each. There is a fey-touched template which can be used for summons and familiars (provided the character has some link to fey), basically a toned down version of the fey creature template in Bestiary 3.

Half-elf heritages get a decent feat linked to each: Create a free potion each day (druid spell only, CL 1, needs natural water source, but still), fight better at low HP, be aware of invisible allies or gain haste for 1 round. The half-elf vigilante archetype is straight-forward and nice.

Half-orcs gain access to a single feat, depending on heritage, too. Gain a boost to skill checks, catch your foe flat-footed in difficult terrain or get some cold resistance which stacks with any other. There are also two considerable combat focused feats, available for all half-orcs.

Halflings get the short end of the stick, with just 2 pages (maybe the author didn't deliver more in time). The Segadan heritage allows to boost your allies a bit, so it's welcome for a support role. Half a page is spent on an equipment trick feat for slings.

Surprisingly, ratfolk ninjas get the most part of the next page, with a focus on explosions. They can now pick up tricks to shut down magic items with daily uses or to do more damage by swarming.

Even more surprisingly, merfolk and sahuagin (!) get the last page, with a few alternate racial traits and a combat style chain related to Sahuagin blood frenzy.

Overall, the book comes with a lot of character options and a limited amount of flavor - as usual for current instances of this product line. There are a few gems, especially the samurai archetype, but otherwise it's rather a book for collectors than a must-have.


A waste of my money and time.

1/5

I was hoping for at least one archetype for each sub-race and quite a few racial feats and traits as well. Instead we get repeat traits that were in other books and so little material it's practically useless. Such a huge letdown.


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Scarab Sages Webstore Coordinator

4 people marked this as a favorite.

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

Silver Crusade

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Oh nice! Glad to see non-human ethnicities!


Fringe minorities are cool! :)

Silver Crusade

24 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?

Silver Crusade

Oooo!!!

I love the name.


3 people marked this as a favorite.

Gorbacz,

The ones written by Ron Marz would be my guess...


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Gorbacz wrote:
Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?

Delicious ones?

I read 'Heroes of the Fridge' first myself, but some love for the four nonhuman Core races (and others) is very welcome.


Nifty. Looking forward to this.


Very nice! Glad to see this coming.


Gorbacz wrote:
Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?

I assume Ulfens.


3 people marked this as a favorite.

And Irrisens! :)


1 person marked this as a favorite.

With any luck there will be more Caligni info in here :P


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
nighttree wrote:
With any luck there will be more Caligni info in here :P

Only in the unlikely event that different Caligni ethnicities are posited to exist. I suspect that Caligni are a bit too rare to get that treatment.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Finally! A book on paranormal investigators and minority political views on Golarion! Hopefully this details all the ways Lion Blades are listening to you.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I hope we get more info on ekujae half-elves (wildborn) and jungle half-orcs (rainkin) in this manual. ^_^


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Fingers crossed for more on the Vishkanya.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Gorbacz wrote:
Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?

Snowcaster elves?

Scarab Sages

SheepishEidolon wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?

Delicious ones?

Ghorans, of course!

deuxhero wrote:
Finally! A book on paranormal investigators and minority political views on Golarion! Hopefully this details all the ways Lion Blades are listening to you.

The Reptoids are out there....


And so are the Greys!


Sounds cool!


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Gorbacz wrote:
Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?

Ones with a really good hide check. Seriously i can't find anything in there.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

4 people marked this as a favorite.

I can't see anything except the Eberron font used in the title

Silver Crusade

Robert Brookes wrote:
I can't see anything except the Eberron font used in the title

Ooooo...

Grand Lodge

7 people marked this as a favorite.
Gorbacz wrote:
Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?

Elderly human archaeologists?

SM


1 person marked this as a favorite.
BigNorseWolf wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?
Ones with a really good hide check. Seriously i can't find anything in there.

Am I the only one that got the Ron Marz joke?


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I am very excited about this book considering this is a topic not covered very often.I was trying to think of all the diverse racial groups,below is whati came up with.

Elven Diversity
-Ekujae/Wild
-Snowcaster
-Desert
-Mordant Spire
-Aquatic
-Drow

Dwarven Diversity
-Pahmet/Sand
-Duergar

Gnome Diversity
-Bleachling
-Svirfneblin
-Original/Fey

Halfling Diversity
-Mwangi?

Human Diversity
-Kuru
-Azlanti

What am I missing? I am specifially not including groups that already have a book covering that group such as Half-Elves, Half-Ors, Aasimar, etc. While there are race books about Elves and Dwarves, those books have very little discussion on the diverse groups within the larger population group.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Jinin Elves? Paraheen Dwarves?

Brinebeast wrote:

I am very excited about this book considering this is a topic not covered very often.I was trying to think of all the diverse racial groups,below is whati came up with.

Elven Diversity
-Ekujae/Wild
-Snowcaster
-Desert
-Mordant Spire
-Aquatic
-Drow

Dwarven Diversity
-Pahmet/Sand
-Duergar

Gnome Diversity
-Bleachling
-Svirfneblin
-Original/Fey

Halfling Diversity
-Mwangi?

Human Diversity
-Kuru
-Azlanti

What am I missing? I am specifially not including groups that already have a book covering that group such as Half-Elves, Half-Ors, Aasimar, etc. While there are race books about Elves and Dwarves, those books have very little discussion on the diverse groups within the larger population group.

Contributor

1 person marked this as a favorite.

This sounds real cool! I know it's Player Companion over Campaign Setting, but I'm looking forward to societal and cultural details for these groups.


Gorbacz wrote:
Geez, Paizo *is* running out of ideas, what kind of heroes live in a refrigerator?

Thought I read "Heroes of the Fridge." when I saw this thread, Ice cream Warriors on the March!


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Brinebeast wrote:

Human Diversity

-Kuru
-Azlanti

Are kuru human? I thought they had entirely separate stats.

Silver Crusade

Meraki wrote:
Brinebeast wrote:

Human Diversity

-Kuru
-Azlanti
Are kuru human? I thought they had entirely separate stats.

They do. They come from humans though.


Wow, how did I miss this one being announced.


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

After taking a closer look at how the term subrace/variant race is defined in the Advanced Race Guide, I no longer expect to see information on Drow, Aquatic Elves, Sivrfneblin, Duergar, Fey/Original Gnome, Kuru, etc. All of those are appear to be more of a Race unto themselves instead of a subrace/variant race. So here is my attempt to identify the all the subraces/variant races mentioned in the Advanced Race Guide and other sources and what that subrace/variant race is called on Golarion. I am still excluding Half-Elves and Half-Orcs as they already have a book.

Pahmet (Desert Dwarf) – No Race Traits Identified
Paraheen Dwarf – No Race Traits Identified (Relevant Race Traits = Paraheen Weaponsmith)
Deep Delver Dwarf – No Race Name Identified
Elder Dwarf – No Race Name Identified
Exiled Dwarf – No Race Name Identified
Mountain Dwarf – No Race Name Identified

Artic Elf – No Race Name Identified
Dusk Elf – No Race Name Identified
Savage/Wild Elf (Ekujae?) – No Race Name Identified
Tower Elf – No Race Name Identified
Fey Elf? – Not identified as a Subrace/Variant Race although there are plenty of race traits to suggest it. (Relevant Race Traits = Fey-Sighted, Fey Magic, Fey Wisdom, Fey Thoughts)
Desert Elf? – Mentioned but Race Traits not identified, No Race Name Identified (Relevant Race Traits = Desert Runner)
Wasteland Elf – Mentioned but Race Traits not Identified, No Race Name Identified
Mordant Spire Elf – No Race Traits Identified
Forlorn Elf – No Race Traits Identified (Relevant Race Traits = Human Raised)
Jinin Elf – No Race Traits Identified (Relevant Race Traits = Ageless Patience)

Dread Gnome – No Race Name Identified
Gear Gnome – No Race Name Identified
Lava Gnome – No Race Name Identified
Traveler Gnome – No Race Name Identified
Bleachling Gnome – No Race Traits Identified (Relevant Race Traits = Bleachling)

Avenging Halfling – No Race Name Identified
Nomadic Halfling – No Race Name Identified
Slave Born Halfling – No Race Name Identified
Mwangi Halfling – No Race Traits Identified (Relevant Race Traits = Deep Jungle)

Cosmopolitan Human – No Race Name Identified
Country Folk Human – No Race Name Identified
Gutter Rat Human – No Race Name Identified
Imperious Human – No Race Name Identified
Trailblazer Human – No Race Name Identified
Versatile Human – No Race Name Identified

Looking at the above Subraces/Variant races I am interested in seeing Paizo examine the concept of a Subrace in greater detail. Based on the concepts of Subraces that have been identified I have attempted to try and identify what qualifies as a Subrace.

Subrace
-A Subrace shares the same basic stats of a Race that has a significant population
-The Subrace self identifies as a subset of the larger population of that race
-Some small portion of the basic stats of the Subrace (typically Racial Traits) are different from the larger population of that race
-Some portion of the basic stats that are different from the larger population are shared across the Subrace
-The cultural experience of the Subrace is typically different from the larger population of that race
-Any member of a race may have Alternate Racial Traits, an Alternate Racial Traits by themselves are not enough to qualify as a Subrace
-Typically, when both the basic stats and the cultural experience of a race become significantly different from the larger population, that Subrace may become its own Race (i.e. Drow, Kuru, Aquatic Elves, Svirfneblin, Duergar, Gillmen, etc.)

So considering the above, this is all pretty interesting because it gives us some idea of when in Golarion's history some Subraces become there own Race and which current Subraces may be developing into there own Race. For example I could see the Arctic Elves and Bleachlings developing into there own Race at some point. Also, Humans seem more inclined to quickly develop into a separate Race (Kuru, Gillmen, Munavri, Azlanti) and Halflings are the least likely to branch into unique Races. Also, Elves seem the most inclined to develop Subraces, although this makes since considering the effects environment has on Elves.

Looking forward to this book. I hope each Subrace gets a half page spread like the Subraces of Aasimar, Changelings, Half-Orcs, etc.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Did someone say heroes from Fringe?

Sovereign Court

I thought this would be entirely about making stand-up comedian characters.


I wonder if any non-core races will get any love?


How many pages does each race/subrace get?

Silver Crusade

4 people marked this as a favorite.

... it's 7 months away.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Dwarven Subraces: The rules we know so far and a little speculation.

Pahmet (Sand Dwarf)
No Alternate Racial Traits have been provided for this Subrace. There are two Traits that can uniquely be taken by this Subrace. Triats: Deathkeeper and Sphinxfriend

Paraheen
For now, whether or not this group of dwarves have developed into a Subrace is unknown. There is one Trait that can uniquely be taken by this group of dwarves. Trait: Paraheen Weaponsmith

Deep Delver Dwarf
This Subrace of Dwarves have the Alternate Racial Traits of Minesight and Deep Warrior, with spellcasters often having the Alternate Racial Trait of Stonesinger.
Speculation: These Alternate Racial Traits may more closely reflect the Racial Traits of the Dwarven Race prior to the Quest for Sky.

Mountain Dwarf
This Subrace of Dwarves live atop high mountain peaks. They have the Alternate Racial Trait of Mountaineer. They also typically have the Alternate Racial Traits of Surface Survivalist, Sky Sentinel, and Xenophobic.
Speculation: This is a relatively new Subrace of Dwarves. Although only the Alternate Racial Trait of Mountaineer is common across this Subrace the other three Alternate Racial Traits (Surface Survivalist, Sky Sentinel, Xenophobic) associated with this Subrace will also become common across the Subrace cementing them as a uniquely separate Subrace.

Elder Dwarf
These Dwaves have a strong dislike for magic and Elves. This Subrace race of Dwarves have the Alternate Racial Traits of Ancient Enmity, Lorekeeper, and either Magic Resistant or Stubborn.
Speculation: This an old Subrace of Dwarves that have a particular hatred of magic and Elves, especially Drow. These Dwarves likely had early interactions with those Elves who fled into the Darklands to escape Earthfall. Those interactions did not go well.

Exiled Dwarf
These Dwarves have been pushed from their homelands, typically by some outside force. This Subrace of Dwarves have the Alternate Racial Traits of Relentless and Stubborn. If dragons had some part in there exodus they also often have the Alternate Racial Trait of Wyrmscourged.
Speculation: These Dwarves are more likely to be encountered in Human cities near the homeland from which they were exiled. The area of a city occupied by these close knit Dwarven communities are often nicknamed “Dwarftown” by the local population.


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

Elven Subraces: The rules we know so far and a little speculation.

Forlorn
No Alternate Racial Traits have been specifically identified for this Subrace. Although, the Alternate Racial Traits for this Subrace have not be identified the Alternate Racial Traits of Human-Raised and Ageless Patience may be shared across this Subrace.
Speculation: The Forlorn have been discussed in some detail so no need to speculate.
Note: The Human-Raised Alternate Racial Trait does not specifically mean the Elf was raised by Human but is more generally meant that the Elf was raised by one of the shorter lived races.

Jinin Elf
No Alternate Racial Traits have been specifically identified for this Subrace, however, the text for the Alternate Racial Trait of Ageless Patience does specifically identify Jinin Elves.
Speculation: The Jinin Elves have been discussed in some detail so no need to speculate.

Mordant Spire Elf
This Subrace of Elves has the Alternate Racial Traits of Crossbow Training and Natural Swimmer. These Elves are from Mordant Spire and have a stronger association with the sea than most Elven communities.
Speculation: The Mordant Spire Elves have been discussed in some detail so no need to speculate.
Note: The Advance Race Guide presents the Alternate Racial Traits for Subraces in standardized blocks. The Alternate Racial Traits for Mordant Spire Elves are not presented in a standardized block and only offered as options. I suspect that if the Subrace rules for Mordant Spire Elves are presented in a standardized block similar to the layout in the Advance Race Guide they Alternate Racial Traits of Crossbow Training and Natural Swimmer will be integral and not optional to the Subrace.

Desert Elf
No Alternate Racial Traits have been specifically identified for this Subrace. Although, the Alternate Racial Traits for this Subrace have not be identified the Alternate Racial Traits of Desert Runner and Elemental Resistance (Fire) may be shared across this Subrace.
Speculation: These Elves have become attuned to the dry, hot, and harsh environments of the desert.

Ekujae (Wild Elf)
No Alternate Racial Traits have been specifically identified for this Subrace. These Elves have become attuned to life in the Jungles of Golarion.
Speculation: We know form the Trait Ekujae Reflexes that these Elves have quick reflexes. This Subrace may share the Fleet-Footed Alternate Racial Trait.

Savage Elf
This Elven Subrace has the Alternate Racial Traits of Eternal Grudge and Fleet Footed. These Elves have a strong hatred of Dwarves and Orcs.
Speculation: These Elves came into direct conflict with Orcs and Dwarves as those two races pushed to the surface of Golarion during the Dwarven Quest for Sky.

Wasteland Elf
No Alternate Racial Traits have been specifically identified for this Subrace.
Speculation: This Subrace may share the Elemental Resistance Alternate Racial Trait. This may not be a Subrace of Elves as there is little indication that such a Subrace exists.

Arctic/Snowcaster Elf
Arctic Elves have attuned to life in lands that are dominated by ice and snow. This Subrace has the Alternate Racial Traits of Darkvision, Desert Runner, and Elemental Resistance (Cold).
Speculation: We know a sizable population of this Elven Subrace lives in the arctic regions of the Crown of the World, however, little is known about this Subrace since they fled north to escape the effects of Earthfall. (I guess that’s not really speculation)

Dusk Elf
This Elven Subrace is attuned to night, darkness, and dreams, they are more likely to be nocturnal than diurnal. This Subrace has the Alternate Racial Traits of Arcane Focus, Darkvision, Dreamspeaker, and Silent Hunter.
Speculaiton: This Elven Subrace may have a strong connection to the Dreamlands, Black Butterfly, and/or the Occult.

Tower Elf
This Elven Subrace has the Alternate Racial Traits of Arcane Focus and Urbanite. This Elven Subrace has close ties to centers of magical learning within Elven communities.
Speculation: I don’t have a good idea conceptually of how or why this Subrace has developed.

Fae Elf
Speculation: No Subrace of Fae Elves have been mentioned but considering that Elves are often influenced by their environments and the natural world, a Subrace of Elves influenced by the First World is within reason. A Subrace of Fae Elves is likely to have the Alternate Racial Traits of Fey Thoughts and Fey-Sighted and either Fey Magic or Fey Wisdom.


5 people marked this as a favorite.

I desperately need more Ekujae and Pahmet in my life. Gimme my Noble psuedo African Elves and Mighty vaguely Bedouin Dwarves!


I wonder if the book will focus on one ethnicity for each race or will it be more then one for each one?

Silver Crusade

3 people marked this as a favorite.
thecursor wrote:
I desperately need more Ekujae and Pahmet in my life. Gimme my Noble psuedo African Elves and Mighty vaguely Bedouin Dwarves!

Agreed 100%


Brinebeast wrote:

I am very excited about this book considering this is a topic not covered very often.I was trying to think of all the diverse racial groups,below is whati came up with.

Elven Diversity
-Ekujae/Wild
-Snowcaster
-Desert
-Mordant Spire
-Aquatic
-Drow

Dwarven Diversity
-Pahmet/Sand
-Duergar

Gnome Diversity
-Bleachling
-Svirfneblin
-Original/Fey

Halfling Diversity
-Mwangi?

Human Diversity
-Kuru
-Azlanti

What am I missing? I am specifially not including groups that already have a book covering that group such as Half-Elves, Half-Ors, Aasimar, etc. While there are race books about Elves and Dwarves, those books have very little discussion on the diverse groups within the larger population group.

You forgot the half-elves and half-orcs dude.


Yeah, he might have forgotten about the half-elves and half-orcs but I doubt the developers for the book did;)


Quote:
Yeah, he might have forgotten about the half-elves and half-orcs but I doubt the developers for the book did. ;)

I hope so. I'm hoping we get some more alternate racial traits and feats for Half-Elves (Wildborn, Spireborn, and Snowborn) as well as Half-Orc (Gloomkin, Sandkin, Rainkin, and Frostkin). ^_^


I hope some non-core races get some love.


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

Remember that this is just a 32-page player companion. If they give us something on different ethnicities of just dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings, that would be more than enough to fill the book.


I hope geniekin get some more loving here. I'm guessing this isn't the book for them, but I can still dream.


Yeah, more then likely it will be non-human core races.

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