The Path of Iron playtest is now live!
For those that aren't already familiar with it, Path of Iron is a continuation of the "Path" series by Ascension Games, each one focusing on a theme of magic. This book's theme is "Iron", or more specifically, metal, constructs, traps, or object- and material-based magic.
The document includes the following:
- The archivist, a scholarly mage that uses the new runic magic system.
- The saboteur, a sneaky infiltrator that is a master of traps and tricks.
- The vanguard, a support-oriented caster that teams up with a construct.
- The rune magic system, along with 120 "scripts", feats, and magic items.
You can download it from the Paizo store or directly from the Ascension Games website.
This thread is for feedback and discussion on the material presented in the playtest document, as well as to give suggestions on how to expand upon the classes for the final release. Any feedback is welcome, but as always actual experience playing and using the material is the most valuable. The download will be updated periodically to reflect feedback and fixes within the document.
If you find the material interesting, consider checking out the Path of Iron Kickstarter, which will be closing on August 9, 2015. I hope you like what's in store for Path of Iron!
Christopher Moore,
Ascension Games, LLC
I'll playtest the saboteur soon, but before that I have some questions and suggestions:
A saboteur may trigger a saboteur trap she has set within 30 feet as a move action, triggering it as if a creature had stepped on it.
I was worried about the class in combat, but this could be game changer I was expecting. So:
- Can you trigger two traps if you switch your standard action for a second move action?- There's gotta be an option to trigger a trap as an immediate action. Well, other than readying an action. Please make it happen - it could be a feat, or a trick, or even an archetype feature.
At 1st level, a saboteur learns how to mark a target she can see as a move action.
Could this be a swift action from the get go? Between triggering traps and moving around to lure enemies into them, move actions are quite booked - and there's not a lot of swift action at early levels for her.
Once a trap is placed, it remains set for 10 minutes per caster level, after which it falls apart harmlessly.
I'd love an option to make the traps explode at the end of their duration or at a set time instead of falling apart. And/or an option to activate them at a long range without need for line of sight - again, a trick, feaT or archetype (some sort of Infiltrator or Spy - she could make proper use of all the disguise tricks). It would fit the class flavor being capable of infiltrating a place, setting up explosive traps and using them once you are cleared. Not a lot of use in combat, but could lead to some nice RPing, and ambient.
to give suggestions
Got a big one: beneficial traps. The saboteur could place healing, remove condition, etc, traps all over the place and her allies could move over them, get the buff and keep on fighting. If she can set all those beneficial traps before combat, it would save up some actions from the party healer, for those parties that don't consider combat healing a mortal sin.
How to prevent foes from using them? These traps need you to step on them in a proper way to trigger (do a little DDR). Maybe they could be considered difficult terrain to reflect this mechanically? Not sure if necessary, or if some flavor text could justify the restriction already.
Any feedback
I forgot to mention this before, but the Archivist art, though pretty cool, is surprisingly rune-free. When I first heard of this runecasting system I pictured some neon blue runes floating around the archivist, but reading on the playtest doc I see they actually appear on his gear (and probably aren't neon blue). Are they depicted in the book covers he's holding or on the blue ball on his staff, or he does not have any active on that picture?
Any plans for runic traps on the way? Lots of damage-dealing scripts, and placing a rune on a trap for a power up makes lots of sense.
Kinda shocked at the absence of saboteur feats! I figure extra placement of traps, extra assemblies, etc, are planned, but, jeez, even the Vanguard got one feat in.
Congrats on the kickstarter campaign, it almost got the 3k mark, with half a day to go. I was hoping the warden would see the light of day, but considering all the other huge kickstarters going on at this time, the funding is still pretty sweet!
- Can you trigger two traps if you switch your standard action for a second move action?
- There's gotta be an option to trigger a trap as an immediate action. Well, other than readying an action. Please make it happen - it could be a feat, or a trick, or even an archetype feature.
I suppose you could, by RAW, detonate two traps a turn, but this is unintentional; you should only be able to detonate one trap per turn. On the second part, I'm not sure if I want to make it an immediate action trigger, as per your second suggestion. Limiting it to triggering the trap only on your turn makes placement more important.
At 1st level, a saboteur learns how to mark a target she can see as a move action.Could this be a swift action from the get go? Between triggering traps and moving around to lure enemies into them, move actions are quite booked - and there's not a lot of swift action at early levels for her.
It's balanced against other abilities with similar function, like a slayer's studied target. I don't think it's a huge deal to leave it as a move action, but if enough players share the sentiment I'll consider lowering the action time at base, rather than with Improved Mark.
I'd love an option to make the traps explode at the end of their duration or at a set time instead of falling apart. And/or an option to activate them at a long range without need for line of sight - again, a trick, feaT or archetype (some sort of Infiltrator or Spy - she could make proper use of all the disguise tricks). It would fit the class flavor being capable of infiltrating a place, setting up explosive traps and using them once you are cleared. Not a lot of use in combat, but could lead to some nice RPing, and ambient.
Sounds like a great archetype.
Got a big one: beneficial traps. The saboteur could place healing, remove condition, etc, traps all over the place and her allies could move over them, get the buff and keep on fighting. If she can set all those beneficial traps before combat, it would save up some actions from the party healer, for those parties that don't consider combat healing a mortal sin.
I'm gonna go ahead and say no to this one. Traps are supposed to be harmful effects; they are, well, traps, not simply "magic put in this location". Making traps that heal allies goes against the design and spirit of the class.
I forgot to mention this before, but the Archivist art, though pretty cool, is surprisingly rune-free. When I first heard of this runecasting system I pictured some neon blue runes floating around the archivist, but reading on the playtest doc I see they actually appear on his gear (and probably aren't neon blue). Are they depicted in the book covers he's holding or on the blue ball on his staff, or he does not have any active on that picture?
The focus of his runestaff (a special kind of staff for rune scribes) does in fact have a rune on it.
Any plans for runic traps on the way? Lots of damage-dealing scripts, and placing a rune on a trap for a power up makes lots of sense.
I was considering doing a rune-based saboteur archetype.
Kinda shocked at the absence of saboteur feats! I figure extra placement of traps, extra assemblies, etc, are planned, but, jeez, even the Vanguard got one feat in.
I uh, don't remember putting in any feats for saboteur or vanguard yet; the only feats in the playtest are for rune magic. Extra assemblies probably won't be a thing since it works like a spellbook (and thus would be a waste of a feat), as would be extra placements (since that's equivalent to a feat for more spell slots, which there are very few of). There are going to be specific Trap feats, which are like metamagic traps which can do things like change the trigger type or add effects to a trap.
It's been a while, hasn't it?
I've been hard at work on Path of Iron, and wanted to share some of the progress. I've finished writing all 100 spells to be found in Path of Iron (as promised in the first stretch goal).
You can read up on the spells here. More spells will be added in the coming days.
Of course, since the playtest is still going on, feel free to give feedback on the spells so they can be improved in the final product.
Wow. These spells have some amazing visuals, to say the least. I didn't expect the Vanguard to have such an active role with his spells (though I admit I was focusing entirely on the saboteur), felt like he was going to rely more on his companion for everything. These are quite surprising!
You gain the half-construct subtype
Is this a spell-only thing, or is there a new race in the planning? A cyborg of sorts?
Wow. These spells have some amazing visuals, to say the least. I didn't expect the Vanguard to have such an active role with his spells (though I admit I was focusing entirely on the saboteur), felt like he was going to rely more on his companion for everything. These are quite surprising!
You gain the half-construct subtypeIs this a spell-only thing, or is there a new race in the planning? A cyborg of sorts?
It's in the Advanced Race Guide: link
How much longer will the playtest last?
As long as it can. I want to get to finalizing each class's design within the next few weeks, so if I had to give an end point it'd be around mid-October
The final preview of spells in Path of Iron is here! If you missed any of the earlier previews, you can find all of them on the Ascension Games blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading some of these new options and are excited for the final release of Path of Iron!
Here's links to all seven of the previews:
- Part 1 (Anchoring Chains, Bladed Ground, and Constructed Anatomy)
- Part 2 (Divine Strike, Enable Function, and Full Salvo)
- Part 3 (Grasping Steel, Hail of Arrows, and Instant Barding)
- Part 4 (Lockdown, Mark of the Golem, and Needle Storm)
- Part 5 (Observation Trap Extension, Protective Discharge, and Quicksilver
- Part 6 (Refine Ore, Squire's Aid, and Transfer Enchancement)
- Part 7 (Unmake, Vorpal Edge, and Weaken Structure)
There's some pretty neat ones there, I particularly like bladed ground, full salvo, grasping steel[/u], [i]hail of arrows, lockdown, needle storm, and quicksilver. Out of curiosity, will the occult classes get any of these spells? I didn't notice any browsing through this, so was curious if they were going to be left out...I admittedly would also like some extra wild talents for geokineticists, but that's probably too short notice to have happen. Adding the occult classes, on the other hand, seems feasible, though it might be too late.Anyways, can't hurt to ask!
There are no plans to include options for the occult classes in Path of Iron. Writing for the book was a bit too far in and I haven't had enough time messing around with the occult classes to know what's good for addition.
I plan on taking a more thorough look at the occult stuff when I start on the next Path book (which should be elemental stuff).
The Path of Iron Technique playtest document is here!
One of the new features being brought in Path of Iron is the addition of new "technique" feats. These feats function much like the style feats that were introduced in Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Combat, but are intended for close-range melee combatants like Fighters.
To ensure that these techniques are well-made and usable by players everywhere, I've decided to have a small playtest document for Technique Feats to go along with the main Path of Iron playtest. The document includes all twelve of the Technique feat chains that will be featured in Path of Iron, along with the Technique Master fighter archetype.
The Path of Iron playtest is coming to a close!
Path of Iron is entering its final few weeks of development time, and as such the playtest will soon be closing. While the documents will still be available for your viewing, two weeks from today (November 6, 2015) I will stop taking feedback and suggestions from the playtest. If you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to share!
The Path of Iron playtest is coming to a close!
Path of Iron is entering its final few weeks of development time, and as such the playtest will soon be closing. While the documents will still be available for your viewing, two weeks from today (November 6, 2015) I will stop taking feedback and suggestions from the playtest. If you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to share!
Good to see both free stuff before they go live :)
The Path of Iron playtest is now closed! And the reason for that is...
Path of Iron, the next book in the "Path" series by Ascension Games, will be releasing on November 20th, 2015! You can read up on more of the details of its release on the Ascension Games blog.
Backers of the Path of Iron Kickstarter will receive their PDF copies on Wednesday, November 18th. Print editions will be sent out in the weeks following the book's release.
The Path of Iron playtest is now closed! And the reason for that is...
Path of Iron, the next book in the "Path" series by Ascension Games, will be releasing on November 20th, 2015! You can read up on more of the details of its release on the Ascension Games blog.
Backers of the Path of Iron Kickstarter will receive their PDF copies on Wednesday, November 18th. Print editions will be sent out in the weeks following the book's release.
Happy Birthday to meeeee!
So before you order more print copies you should hold a typo thread. I only ran into one typo but I only just started reading and better safe than sorry.
Seconding that, ran into one myself.