Enter the Ninja

Thursday, June 21, 2018

As I write this, I'm deeply wrapped up in design and development on the next major version of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—the new PACG Core Set and the Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path. And while I'll be talking a lot about those in the weeks to come, this seemed like an appropriate time to look at the Ultimate decks, since in some ways they're both the oldest and the youngest PACG expansion material.

Once upon a time, we were putting together the very first Adventure Path. Then, as now, we were deep in development and testing, and it became clear to us that if you all liked the game, we'd be making more someday: more Adventure Paths, more characters, more everything. During a conversation about possible next steps, I pitched to Paizo's Publisher Erik Mona the idea of PACG products built around the expansions to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook—specifically, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, and Ultimate Equipment; the Advanced Player's Guide; and the Bestiaries. It seemed like a natural fit. We bandied about some ideas, and then got back to work on Rise of the Runelords, then Skull & Shackles, Class Decks, and so on.

Fast forward a few years, a few Adventure Paths, and a few (okay, 27) Class Decks. We were already looking ahead to a potential revision of the game—not a new game, but a chance to clean, clarify, and streamline various bumps and corners. This was to be a big project, and in the meantime, there were issues that we wanted to address. Iconics both old and new had yet to officially appear in PACG, and several seasons of organized play had turned some seams and imperfections in the existing class decks into cracks. (To be clear, I intend no disrespect to the class decks! As a developer, there are always "seams and imperfections", and the earliest class decks were built as well as we knew how, but with very little real data to go on.) So it was that, looking at new-ish concerns and expecting potentially large new changes on the horizon, we turned to the old idea of decks based on Pathfinder RPG expansion material, and added a new twist: these decks could also be added to existing class decks. This set would also give us a chance to try out some ideas we had for the upcoming Core Set. As it had when talking to Erik and Vic way back when, it seemed like a natural fit.

Anyone familiar with the Ultimate books knows that they're not all created equal. Each focuses on a different area, with plenty of room for overlap. In this month's Ultimate Equipment Add-On Deck, we wanted very broad coverage—a deck that could be useful and interesting when combined with a very wide range of characters—ideally, for anyone who cares about having just the right tool for the job, regardless of the job. To that end, the cards in Ultimate Equipment focus not on the how or the why, but the what. In other words, it's all about the stuff.

For your blog-viewing and card-playing pleasure, we have…

...stuff for breaking things and/or beings:

These are delightful all day long.

...stuff to help you find more stuff:

Oh, so very stylish!.

...even stuff to help you with your other stuff!

Who needs a utility belt when you have spells, friends, or divine intervention?

Of course, in PACG, stuff mostly means items, and Ultimate Equipment has scads of 'em. As our general "utility, miscellaneous, other" category, items include a grand number of juicy, desirable cards (something that people are very fond of pointing out to me whenever I bring up the awesomeness that is Seelah). There are items aplenty no matter what character you're playing, including new items at every adventure number. Here's a peek at new Alchemy, Clothing, and Accessory items!

As Scoutmaster Scar might say: Be Prepared!

Finally (both at the end of the post and after many years of waiting), we get to bring you Reiko, the iconic Ninja.

Sadly, I was thwarted in my efforts to introduce this character in Skull & Shackles.

You might recognize her as an alternate take on the rogue class, or you might just see a deadly shadow, but either way she should be a fun new option for sneaking, stabbing, and solo-guarding whatever nasty locations show up in your next PACG session.

If a ninja vanishes in a combat, is someone already dead?

That does it for our peek into Ultimate Equipment. Next month, we'll take the clichéd "walk on the wild side" with Ultimate Wilderness. Until Then!

Chad Brown
Adventure Card Game Lead Developer