Our series of No-Prep Character blogs, which feature a ready-to-run NPC for busy Game Masters, continues with the lovable kobold trap-maker, Duhgik, again designed by Vanessa Hoskins. You can find the rules for the kobold ancestry and the snarecrafter archetype in the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide, available everywhere on July 30.

Mark Moreland
Director of Brand Strategy

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Illustration by Dominik Derow

Duhgik, Kobold Trapsmith

After her tribe exiled her for not adhering to some of their more ruthless traditions, Duhgik was forced to live on the surface in the too-too bright sunshine. She found solace in the deep shade of the forest’s tree canopy among the verdant foliage of various plants and edible mosses. Duhgik that the environment matched her own green scales well, and has since become an expert at hiding among the big-big trees.

When Duhgik found the cruelty of her old kobold tribe reflected in the cruelty of hunters and poachers in the forest, she set out on a personal mission to help the critters of the woods by disarming poachers’ snares and setting up some of her own. She strives to rid her woods of the would-be hunters who only care about trophies and leave the rest of the animal to rot—what a waste. As long as visitors to her forest are kind to the land and animals, Duhgik leaves them alone.

DUHGIK

CREATURE 6

UNIQUE NG SMALL HUMANOID KOBOLD

Female kobold snarecrafter
Perception +14; darkvision
Languages Common, Dwarven, Draconic, Gnomish, Undercommon
Skills Acrobatics +12, Crafting +15, Deception +12, Forest Lore +13, Medicine +10, Stealth +14, Survival +12
Str +2, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +5, Wis +4, Cha +2
Items alarm snare, biting snare (2), dagger, flare snare (2), lesser healing potion, nauseating snare, +1 sling, specialist snare kit

AC 24; Fort +11, Ref +17, Will +14
HP 66

Cringe [reaction] (emotion, kobold, mental, visual); Trigger A creature Duhgik is aware of critically succeeds on a Strike against her and would deal damage to her; Effect With pitiful posturing, she causes her foe to pull back a deadly attack. The attacking creature takes a –8 circumstance penalty to the damage of the triggering Strike. This penalty applies after doubling the damage for a critical hit. The attacker is then immune to Duhgik’s Cringe for 24 hours.

Speed 30
Melee [one-action] dagger +12 (agile, finesse, versatile S), Damage 1d4+4 piercing
Melee [one-action] +1 sling +13 (range 50 feet, reload 1), Damage 1d6+4 bludgeoning

Remote Trigger [Duhgik has learned how to trigger snares from afar, creating ranged hazards to assail her opponents and allowing her to disarm enemies’ snares harmlessly. She can Strike a snare to trigger it prematurely. If she crafted the snare, she automatically hits. If someone else crafted it, she must attempt a ranged Strike against the Crafting DC, triggering the snare only if she hits.

Sneak Attack Duhgik deals 1d6 extra precision damage to creatures that are flat-footed.

Surprise Snare [two-actions] (manipulation) Duhgik installs one of her snares prepared for quick deployment in a space that’s occupied by an opponent. It must be a snare that normally takes 1 minute or less to Craft. The snare automatically triggers, but it takes a –2 circumstance penalty to any applicable save DC, as well as any attack rolls or other checks the snare attempts.

Plot Hooks

Game Masters may consider the following plot hooks as a means of integrating Duhgik into any Pathfinder Second Edition game.

• A local noble or prominent merchant hires the heroes, describing a terrible attack they suffered in the woods by a terrifying creature the last time they were out hunting game—likely an ogre, troll, or some other vicious creature. In truth, these claims are an exaggeration, and the embarrassed noble fell victim to one of Duhgik’s traps and simply embellishes the threat to save face.
• While traveling through the woods, the heroes come across a series of traps, each more dangerous than the last. A voice high in the trees tells them to flee or face the wrath of the “very-big-mean dragon” that protects the forest and its inhabitants.
• Duhgik meets the heroes while on a trip into town to buy supplies and sell some of her snares to hunters she trusts to use them honorably. She asks them to help her with a particularly aggressive magical beast that has been avoiding her snares and killing all the wildlife near her home.

Today we kick off our series of No-Prep Character blogs, which feature a ready-to-run NPC for busy Game Masters. In most cases (but not all), we’ll use these blogs to showcase new rules options available to players in upcoming releases, such as new ancestries, archetypes, equipment, feats, and spells. Today’s NPC is Pr’rall, a catfolk dual-weapon warrior based on a character that I played in one of James Jacobs’s office campaigns years ago. Thanks to Vanessa Hoskins for converting him so wonderfully into Pathfinder Second Edition. You can find the rules for the catfolk ancestry and the dual-weapon warrior archetype in the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide, available everywhere on July 30.

Mark Moreland
Director of Brand Strategy

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Illustration by Marius Bota

Pr’rall, Catfolk Stalker

A hunter at heart, Pr’rall takes bounties throughout Avistan and Garund on anything from cockatrices to bandits. Gold pays the bills, but the thrill of the hunt is the reason he always takes the next job. Lately, Pr’rall has found the most satisfaction from hunting sapient creatures; he relishes the moment before the final strike when he knows that he’s won and his prey will fall under his blade. He’s begun to look into more than just bounty hunting, and is considering joining a local assassin’s guild, though he’s not sure if he wants to fully embrace his growing bloodlust.

PR’RALL

CREATURE 9

UNIQUE CN MEDIUM CATFOLK HUMANOID

Male catfolk stalker
Perception +18; low-light vision
Languages Amurrun, Common
Skills Acrobatics +16, Athletics +17, Medicine +14, Nature +14, Society +12, Stealth +20 (moves full speed while Sneaking), Survival +18, Hunting Lore +12
Str +5, Dex +4, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +2
Items +1 leather armor, +1 striking temple sword, +1 temple sword

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AC 28; Fort +19, Ref +20, Will +16
HP 138

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Speed 30
Melee [one-action] +1 striking temple sword +20 (trip), Damage 2d8+8 slashing
Melee [one-action] +1 temple sword +20 (trip), Damage 1d8+8 slashing
Ranged [one-action] bola +18 (nonlethal, ranged trip, thrown 20-feet), Damage 1d6+7 bludgeoning

Dual-Weapon Blitz [two-actions] Requirements Pr'rall is wielding two one-handed melee weapons, each in a different hand; Effect Pr'rall attacks as he dashes among foes. He Strides up to his Speed. At any point during this movement, he can Strike once with each of the two required weapons. These Strikes can be against the same or different targets, as he sees fit.
Double Slice [two-actions]

Flensing Slice [one-action] Requirements Pr'rall's last action was a Double Slice, and both attacks hit the target; Effect When Pr'rall hits with both attacks with Double Slice, he flenses the target, making it bleed and creating a weak spot. The target takes 2d8 persistent bleed damage, becomes flat-footed, and its resistances to any physical damage types are reduced by 5; these two effects last until the beginning of Pr’rall’s next turn.
Light Paws [two-actions] Pr'rall can balance on his toes to step carefully over obstructions. He Strides and then Steps, or Steps and then Strides, ignoring difficult terrain during this movement.

Plot Hooks

Game Masters may consider the following plot hooks as a means of integrating Pr’rall into any Pathfinder Second Edition game.

• The heroes need to take down a particularly difficult foe and hire Pr’rall to help them hunt the target down.
• Pr’rall’s ancestral temple sword is stolen from him but he’s run out of leads in tracking it down. He asks the heroes to help him find out who has it so he can hunt them down and ensure they never steal from him again.
• A rich and powerful noble has been thwarted by the PCs too many times. He’s hired Pr’rall to hunt them down and bring them back: alive if possible, dead if necessary. Given the catfolk’s growing proclivity for killing, it’s likely he’ll find a way to force the PCs’ hands.

The end of the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide playtest is almost here! This is your last week to give us feedback on the investigator, oracle, swashbuckler, and witch. If you’ve participated so far, thank you so much for your help! We’ve already learned a lot about these four classes that we’ll be able to use going forward. If you haven’t yet, there’s still a bit more time to get in a game or two, and you can download it here. Either way, before the playtest period ends, be absolutely sure to head to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/APGClassSurvey to take the main survey, as well as https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/APGOpenResponse optionally if you have more detailed written feedback you’d prefer to submit to us directly.

We’re extremely excited about the future of these four classes and the rest of the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide. We think these classes are going to be great, but we couldn’t do that your help. Thank you for all of the time you’ve put into creating characters, playing them, analyzing them, and giving us your feedback. We’re extremely grateful to have such a passionate and committed community, and we look forward to seeing the rest of your results. Logan and I will be on Pathfinder Friday to discuss the playtest postmortem with you on Friday December 6th at 4PM Pacific, so be sure to tune in and join us. Until then, thanks, and good gaming!

Mark Seifter
Designer

Welcome to the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide playtest! In the document below, you’ll find four new classes set to be introduced in the Advanced Player’s Guide in July 2020, but before we can add them to the game, we need your help to ensure they are the best they can be! To do that, we need you to create characters using these classes and give them a try. We’re hoping that each of these new characters offers you a style of play that’s enjoyable, effective, and distinct from the currently available classes, allowing you to tell even richer stories with diverse experiences in all modes of play.

Curious about what these classes are all about? Here is a brief synopsis of each to get your character ideas flowing.

• The investigator is a savvy, street-smart character who takes cases to uncover clues and solve mysteries. This class ties to parts of the game that aren’t covered in depth in the Core Rulebook, so the playtest will see if their approach to solving mysteries is satisfying, while keeping the rules for the game as a whole flexible.
• The oracle commands divine powers by drawing from universal concepts, casting powerful revelation spells that take a toll on their body and manifest as a double-edged curse. We want to make sure the curse effects are fun and engaging without disrupting the balance of the class compared to other characters. For the playtest, we’ve selected only a subset of mysteries, but there will be more in the final version.
• The swashbuckler is the flamboyant daredevil of the battlefield, tumbling through foes and entering a heightened state to deliver devastating finishing blows. We’ll be testing a system that encourages them to gain panache, a state of bombastic flair that lets them use more powerful abilities. The playtest version emphasizes new rules specific to the class so that we can playtest those thoroughly, but the final version might pick up some of the fighter’s weapon feats suited to dueling.
• The witch serves a mysterious patron entity, casting spells and hexes learned through a powerful familiar. This is the most flexible spellcasting class we’ve introduced, since it allows you to build your own path by selecting not only feats, but also lessons from your patron. We want to make sure those options work well both narratively and mechanically across all three of the spellcasting traditions the witch can gain access to.

Left to right: the Investigator, Oracle, Swashbuckler, and Witch.

How to Playtest

The playtest will run until December 2nd, 2019. We’re looking for your feedback, comments, and criticisms regarding these classes, but we’re focusing our attention on feedback from play. Make new characters, use them as PCs or adversaries, and run a few game sessions or encounters incorporating them!

What the Playtest Is, and What it Isn’t

When playtesting these classes, remember that almost anything can change based on the results of the playtest! These are early iterations of the new classes; some abilities might be a bit extreme or stretch some assumptions of the game, and the best way to find out if we’ve gone too far (or in the wrong direction) is for us to deliver these classes into your hands. If you’re new and used to open betas on a video game where there’s mostly only small refinements, this will be a different experience. If you’re a veteran of the Pathfinder Playtest for the new edition of the game, you should note that because the playtest window is relatively short this time, we don’t expect to release any changes to these classes during the playtest itself, but your thoughts and feedback will still be vital in shaping the final versions of the classes.

How Can You Help

We’d like you to play these classes in a variety of levels and situations. If you’re looking for a published adventure to get some standardized feedback, we recommend trying out Fall of Plaguestone, which offers a stand-alone experience at some of the most commonly played levels of the game with some particularly challenging series of combats that can help put the classes through their paces.

Once you’ve had a chance to try the classes, you can submit your feedback in the following ways. If you only have time for one form of feedback, we’d ask you to please take the survey. It makes it easier for us to hear and apply your feedback, since it’s more structured and puts your responses directly at our fingertips.

• Surveys: Head to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/APGClassSurvey and https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/APGOpenResponse to take surveys that will allow us to gather your responses. These surveys will be available starting Tuesday, November 12, 2019 and they will remain open until the end of the playtest.
• Forums: On paizo.com, you’ll find a general forum for discussion and announcements, plus forums for each of the four new classes. When you post to the forums, look for existing threads on your topic before starting a new one. Remember that every poster is trying to make the game better for everyone, so please be polite and respectful.

You can find the downloads right here. We’d like to thank you for participating in the Advanced Player’s Guide playtest, and we’re looking forward to seeing what you think and using your feedback to make these classes the best they can be!

Mark Seifter
Designer