Path of Shadows?


Product Discussion


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

There's a 3rd party product on RPG now called Path of Shadows, that has a new base class in it, and some archetypes for other classes in order to play shadow magic based characters.

Usually, 3rd party stuff ends up here in the store threads, and has reviews, but not for this product.

I'm wondering if anyone else has purchased this and what their thoughts were on it?


[threadjack]I see plenty of PF 3PP stuff for sale on OBS (DrivethruRPG/RPGNow) that never makes it to Paizo

I wonder about this as I thought it was a component of the Compatibility License that you had to send a copy of your work to Pazio to vet before you could sell it as compatible.

Not that that means you have to sell here once you have had Paizo give the ok, but it does seem to suggest that some publishers aren't completing that first step...[/threadjack]


As for the product itself, I saw it on OBS, and wondered the same thing, particularly how the base class compares to Kobold Press' Shadowsworn Base Class that appeared in Player's Guide to the Crossroads...


And the #1 also sold with is the latest edgewalker expansion. Funny how this all works.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Hmm another one to check out!


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Edgewalker expansion?


Alright, so, looking this over, it appears as though we have a standard 3/4 BAB with 6-level spell progression gish.

You pick a path, which is something like a bloodline. There are five of them, none of which are available as part of the preview. The path grants you some sort of power which can be used 1 + 1/3 levels-beyond-1st times per day. It also grants a number of other powers at specific levels, like a bloodline.

The unique mechanic of the class comes along at 2nd level, and though the wording is choppy here, the functionality is actually pretty good. Effectively, you store a charge as a standard action and expend that charge to use one of the talents the class picks up as you level.

So, in the end, it's a gish with bloodlines, a shadow flavor, and a maneuvers mechanic. An interesting mashup, if somewhat derivative. Still, for a first product, this definitely puts Ascension on my radar.

I think the big takeaway here is that shadow charge system. Depending on what the other 85% of this book is, that little mechanic may very well be distributed through the core Paizo classes to allow for an alternative to Dreamscarred's maneuvers system. And that, frankly, is both awesome and ballsy.


Sure! I've got two shadow magic base classes up and running, both with good reviews from Endzeitgeist. Let me link you to them on d20pfsrd.com. John Reyst is running a 30% off sale, so it's a good time to pick them up if you're so inclined.

The Antipodist - Full caster

The Edgewalker - Assassin/monk/shadowdancer/philosopher

These are not exactly shadow magic, persay. Rather, they are both light and darkness, and the antipodist can choose to specialize in one much like a wizard would. The edgewalker can specialize in one through archetypes, though I have not written the darkness specialization archetype yet. Only the Light one.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Dunno if you've seen some of the Nightblade spells, mainly the Umbral line. They seem very nice, almost too nice.


I have not. I've only seen 7 pages of preview.

The Exchange

As an aside, the creators of Path of Shadows have started adding content from this book to d20pfsrd.com (but I think it's still in the work queue area.) I haven't looked too deeply at the content yet but I can say it at least looks cool from what I've seen so far.


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Well, the class itself is pretty neat. Lots of flavor, kind of like a shadowdancer if it were a full 20 level class. It does have the paths like IG says, and they aren't overwhelming or "I win" buttons in any way, and fit well. They are basically for how you want to play your character, more tanky, more stealthy, or more casty, etc.

The archetype stuff is cool as well.

Well, I'm hoping they send a copy to Endzeitgeist for a review :)


Guess what? It's on my list. ^^


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Awesome. Let us know if these fellows are a rising force of creativity!


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Endzeitgeist wrote:
Guess what? It's on my list. ^^

This makes me very happy!

How far down on the list is it? If the product isn't listed on Paizo, where will the review be posted?


@Kryzbyn:

The most convenient place to check my reviews is my own site, endzeitgeist.com.

All my reviews go up there first, so for the latest reviews, that's the place to go. :)


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Thank you!


My one player saw this with a shadow base class and shadow spells and pounced on it like a quadraped eidolon.

I'm curious on how End's review turns out. The closest analogue to the class is probably inquisitor based on the 6th level casting and medium BAB progression, but to me at least parts of it felt perhaps a little too powerful (and I spotted at least one thing that seemed outright abuse-able in one of the paths). Few of the spells suffered from the same issue. Overall it is pretty darn cool though with a lot of fluffy and fun material to dig through.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Agreed!
What did you see that looked abusive? Which Path?


Sadly I don't have the pdf myself yet (was waiting for the review) but my player was linking pieces of the class for me to look over and critique for them.

I recall one path specifically that had a death knell-like effect but without any of the usual riders that stop it from being spammed against creatures that wouldn't otherwise be a challenge (or any limit to the stacking effect).

That said, I only had time to give the ability a quick read over and may have misread it too.


Aleron wrote:

I recall one path specifically that had a death knell-like effect but without any of the usual riders that stop it from being spammed against creatures that wouldn't otherwise be a challenge (or any limit to the stacking effect).

That said, I only had time to give the ability a quick read over and may have misread it too.

I don't have the pdf either but are you sure the effect wasn't granting an unstackable bonus type? Even if it was, it could still not stack due to being from the same source. Just something to keep in mind before you pass judgement on whether to allow it or not.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Looks like that the bonuses are morale bonuses, and it can only be used CHA mod times /day (min 1).


This looks pretty cool. The cover is very nice as well.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

There's a product page on the Paizo Store now!

Webstore Gninja Minion

Oceanshieldwolf wrote:

[threadjack]I see plenty of PF 3PP stuff for sale on OBS (DrivethruRPG/RPGNow) that never makes it to Paizo

I wonder about this as I thought it was a component of the Compatibility License that you had to send a copy of your work to Pazio to vet before you could sell it as compatible.

Not that that means you have to sell here once you have had Paizo give the ok, but it does seem to suggest that some publishers aren't completing that first step...[/threadjack]

This is correct—Paizo needs to have a copy of the product to comply with the terms of the Pathfinder Compatibility License. Might as well sell it too. :D


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Good to know!
Thanks Liz!


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Holy crap this is a good review!
EZG's review of Path of Shadows

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