thoughts on the ARG


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

i just finished reading the ARG. i think it was worth the $10 for the pdf. i think the race builder section was a good idea, and i'll likely use it to offer racial variants when i GM. i do wish that they'd been a bit more specific about some of the abilities though. it seems like some of the qualities and traits don't take into account the relative usefulness of different spell-like abilities, stats, etc.

for example: the Aasimar. With a bunch of resists and a spell-like ability they are, in some ways, bringing more to the table than the base races- but 15RP?!? that's nearly double a half-orc and 66% more than a human! my real beef is not that some arbitrary number is higher, its what else you could do with those same 15 points...

Hound Archon variant:
an Aasimar with a clear Hound Archon heritage would be well justified to switch out: +2 Wis and Cha for +2 Str and Con; celestial resistances for Electricty Resist 10 (though thats really a lateral step); +2 diplomacy and perception for +2 stealth and survival; and, Daylight for Magic Circle Against Evil.
which isn't outrageous but is definitely more powerful. or...
Trumpet Archon variant:
trade: "Flexible" (+2 Wis/Cha) and a skill training for "Advanced" (+2 Str/Dex/Con; -2 Int; +4 Cha); celestial resistance for greater spell resistance; and, Daylight and the other skill training for 1/day- Dimension Door and Protection From Evil
which is even more powerful, the same RP cost, and actually still sort of recognizable as an Aasimar. and these are thematic rather than maximized...

i know that they're trying to provide maximum flexibility, but maybe a couple of extra qualities/traits could have helped balance it even more. or at least a note somewhere about adjusting the RP value up or down based on your (or your GM's) estimation of overall usefulness... possibly with/on the Aasimar example in ch5 (they make a similar note in the magic item creation section of the CRB...).

well, that was my impression- anyone with me (or think i'm way off)?


Why would you need to adjust the RP value? Just let people play what they want to play. If someone wants to play a race that is clearly better than others, work with the player to tone down his character (unless the other players are happy to have a character in the group that will outshine them for the most part).

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

i guess my issue is really just why bother with a point system when there's such a huge range of power at the same point-total?


nate lange wrote:
i guess my issue is really just why bother with a point system when there's such a huge range of power at the same point-total?

You will have to ask the developers that. There was already a thread on the odd values given to different abilities here, and a valiant attempt to fix them here. The issues with synergy, and the variable power of different skills, spells, and other bonuses would be even harder to deal with than the basic values. Given how off they were, hoping for a system that dealt with things like that might be a bit much.

I agree a disclaimer on the whole thing would have been nice, though.

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