Ringing in the New
Five new Super Genius PDFs to end 2010!
As 2010 comes to a close, it's fitting that we end with a blog about the new PDFs from our friends at Super Genius Games. Of all the third-party Pathfinder Roleplaying Game publishers, their line of PDFs was the most consistent, with 52 straight weeks of releases. So with that in mind, here are the final five releases from Super Genius in 2010!
The Genius Guide to Divination Magic grants all manner of new abilities to those who seek knowledge, whether through magic or mundane learning. Divination spells allow characters to learn all manner of useful information: whether something is evil, the location of a special key, the presence and strength of magical auras, the presence of invisible creatures or items, and much more. And magic isn’t the only source of crucial information—Knowledge skills allow characters of all classes to have the know-how to solve problems.
The Genius Guide to Rune Staves and Wyrd Wands is the first Genius Guide product to present a whole new class of magic items: the magic implement. Defined broadly, magic implements are handheld devices that assist spellcasters with their casting in much the same way magic weapons assist characters in combat. Wyrd wands give casters enhancement bonuses to caster level checks, attack rolls, damage rolls, and so on, while rune staves can grant bonuses to a wide range of spell-related effects. Both are assumed to have arcane writing built into them (called "wyrds" or "runes," depending on which implement they are scribed on) that allow them to enhance every spell cast by their wielders, rather than being spells-in-a-can that take over when a spellcaster is out of other options.
Judgments are special supernatural bonuses an inquisitor can call upon a limited number of times per day. They provide combat advantages that last for an entire combat, and as an inquisitor gains levels she can call on them more often and more at once. Judgments give the inquistor the flexibility to react to a wide range of situations in combat. Depending on the foe she faces, an inquisitor can enhance her accuracy, damage, resilience, or healing power with her judgments. They are the unique element of the class, and serve as the main distinction that keeps an inquisitor from being a cleric with fewer spells. Advanced Options: Inquisitors’ Judgments presents several new judgments, a judgment-heavy alternative inquisitor class, and a few new judgment-focused feats to expand your inquistor's options.
Mythic Menagerie: Rise of the Goblinoids presents a variety of goblins spread over a range of CRs. Goblins often form the backbone of many of a campaign’s early adventures, but most groups move on to dragons and giants, leaving goblinoids behind. Not only is this unfortunate from a stylistic point of view, it’s annoying for rangers who take humanoid (goblinoid) as a favored enemy, wizards who craft goblin-bane weapons, and any character who has a hatred of goblins as part of a character background. With the goblinoids in this book, a GM can extend the goblin-bashing phase of a game well into the upper levels.
Finally, The Genius Guide to the Templar provides a new class for the Pathfinder RPG. The templar is a divine warrior—an agent and crusader for his god and (possibly) his church. Most are champions of a religious order, using their faith to gird them against the plots of heretics, infidels, and pagans. Others are devoted to a specific holy duty, perhaps one that has been entrusted to their family for generations. Although different templars express their powers of faith in different ways, they all share the ability to drive themselves further because of this faith. Some of the powers they gain through their unflinching faith are extensions of their normal talents, while others are mystic powers not unlike the divine gifts of clerics and paladins.
