Magic and Mystery—Oracle Class Deck Preview

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

In the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the oracle is a divine spellcaster driven by devotion to an ideal rather than to a particular deity. The specific source of an oracle's abilities is a mystery, and each oracle is burdened with a curse of some kind, for power has a price. When we designed the first version of Alahazra the Oracle for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, we found ourselves drawn to the idea of prophecy and foresight. That idea carried through into the new character designs for the Oracle Class Deck.

In the Skull & Shackles Base Set, the blind Oracle Alahazra wielded the power of storms against her enemies, while using her divine abilities to open a brief window into the party's future. In her new incarnation, the Bride of the Sun calls down the daystar's light on anyone who gets in her way, and that dazzling illumination makes many things clear to even those who lack eyesight. (She also has a sweet hat.)

No, we don't know how she gets dressed like that without sight either.

That last role power works in combination with the second power, so Alahazra can provide a long term strategic view of what's to come by peeking at the bottom two cards of a deck. Cartmanbeck gave you a preview of her other role, Wandering Prophet, two weeks ago.

For the two new characters in the Oracle Class Deck, we decided to get freaky with our divination methods. Ramexes, as mentioned in that "Class Decks Update" blog, is a haruspex. That means he guts things and sees what's to come in their entrails. Since we're fully into fantasy stereotypes here at the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, we knew Ramexes had to be a pitborn.

He's not bad, he's just drawn that— ...well, actually, he's pretty bad.

Ramexes has a straightforward "kill 'em, cut 'em open, see what's coming" mechanic in his first character power. My favorite power of all time is his third character power, in which he cuts open his allies to gain prescience and bonus explorations. I cackle every time I play him, and he's one of my playtest characters for Season of the Runelords, so I play him a lot. The other folks in the office have gotten used to the frequent cackles that emanate from my cubicle. Or at least they've stopped asking about it.

The final character in our clairvoyant trio is Grazzle, a lizardfolk life oracle who practices ossomancy, or bone divination. He's slightly more fastidious/carnivorous than Ramexes, and prefers to use the whole kill rather than just the entrails.

Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog... wait, wool of bat?

As you can see, Grazzle's focus isn't on scrying, but rather on healing his party through a little self-sacrifice. He can automatically recharge his spells, so he fights like a sorcerer, and the Bone Diviner can still do a little divination where his friends are with a mechanic similar to S&S Alahazra. The Bone Diviner also has a power that works with the variety of new diviner items that we've put in the Oracle Class Deck—but you'll have to wait and see those another time!

I showed off this deck to a playtester of mine, and he shuffled through the deck and gave me a look full of shock and misery. "Where's Augury?" he asked plaintively.

That's right, kids, the Oracle Class Deck doesn't contain the Augury spell. Doesn't have it, doesn't need it. Between the new items and powers we've jammed in there, these oracles will be examining decks like it's their jobs; they'll want to save their spell slots for other things. We encourage you to pick it up and try it out, and see what you think.

Until next time, Pathfinders.

Tanis O'Connor
Adventure Card Game Designer

Cartmanbeck's Best Character Ever—Alahazra

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Hello all! I've been reading the "Best Character Ever" blogs for a while. Watching. Waiting. Biding my time until I got the perfect chance to explain why every one of them has been completely and utterly wrong (except Tanis's: goblins are pretty cool, after all.) [I did not add that aside, but I applaud the author's good sense. -Tanis] But even goblins do not compare to the awesome might that is Alahazra.

If those white and red robes remind you of a certain classic video game character... trust me, she's not quite so forgiving.

Alahazra, the iconic oracle, made her first Adventure Card Game appearance in the Skull & Shackles Base Set. She may look weak at first, with her paltry d4s for Strength and Dexterity, but she sees things that others can't, and uses that information to beat down on enemies, acquire cards, and close locations like a boss. You see, S&S Alahazra has a d12 for her Charisma, and she also uses that for her Divine checks. This means that when it's time to cast an offensive spell, she's often going to deal a ton of damage, especially with her final power giving her an extra +2 on all spells that have the Attack trait. She also has a great chance of recharging her spells with that high Divine check... but even when she fails a recharge check, she gets to trade any discarded card with the Divine trait for any other one (so a blessing for a spell, perhaps?) at the end of her turn.

Alahazra's other main power is the ability to recharge a card with the Divine trait to examine the top card of any location. This means that Alahazra can scout for everyone as long as she has a few blessings or spells in her hand that she doesn't mind recharging. (And she starts with 2/3 of her deck being spells and blessings!) In my playthrough of Skull & Shackles, I found that a perfect turn for Alahazra entailed recharging enough cards to look at the top card of every location deck, leaving just a spell in her hand, and then exploring and hopefully killing a monster with that spell.

Now, I'm not going to try to act like Alahazra has no weaknesses. If she's dealt damage, since she starts with no armor, she'll usually be taking all of that damage from her large hand size. With her ability to fish Cure spells back out of her discard pile, though, this generally doesn't end up being a huge problem. Our S&S Damiel was at risk of dying way more often than my Alahazra was. (Though our Damiel player was a fan of living dangerously... this might be an Alchemist trait.)

If Alahazra isn't gazing into the stars, she might as well be destroying them.

For roles, I'm going to start with the Tempest. This role is all about damaging enemies with her spells. In fact, she likes spells that have the Attack trait so much, she can even cast Arcane spells as long as they have that trait! She also adds up to 4 to each of her combat checks when using the Attack trait, so she can dole out some serious punishment.

But while Alahazra's Tempest role is great, her Stargazer role is absolutely amazing! This role gives her several powers that build upon her examine ability, allowing her to recharge cards for other characters or—and this is the important one—encounter boons that she examines at any location! This means that, for the price of recharging a blessing or a Divine spell, Alahazra can examine a card at another location, and if it's a boon, she can attempt to acquire it. If she makes the check, awesome, new boon for her! But even if she fails the check, she has just removed a card from the top of another location deck without risking fighting a monster. By the end of Skull & Shackles, my Alahazra was spending her whole turn recharging blessings to rip boons off the top of every deck, leaving all the monsters for other combatants to face.

The Skull & Shackles version of Alahazra was amazing, the best character I've ever played... and now in the Oracle Class Deck, we're getting a NEW version of her! This Alahazra is tougher and more combat-oriented than the S&S version, so I imagine she'll appeal to a different group of players. Don't worry, though, she still has the ability to examine cards and scout ahead.

Just as beautiful, and even more deadly.

This new version of Alahazra still has paltry d4s for her Strength and Dexterity, but her Constitution is a respectable d8, as is her Intelligence. She still has a bonus to Knowledge, which will be very helpful if you play her through Season of the Righteous, and her awesome d12 Charisma with +2 Divine bonus is still there in all its glory. However, this time Alahazra can shirk other Attack spells to use her own holy fire on enemies, getting a respectable 1d12 + 2d4+2 right off the bat by discarding the top card of her deck. This means you can feel free to load her deck up with Cure spells to get all those discarded cards back without worrying about whether you have the resources to fight.

Oracle Deck Alahazra still has a power that involves examining cards, and in this case it lets her examine an extra card whenever she examines. This pairs incredibly nicely with the promo card that came with the Alahazra mini in Pathfinder Battles: Iconic Heroes Set 3, allowing her to examine yet another extra card. Make sure to pick up an Augury spell!

It may not be comfortable, but at least it's lighter than Shardra's!

The last power listed on Alahazra's card uses a new term you might not have seen before: "invokes". The term will be familiar to those playtesting the upcoming Mummy's Mask Base Set, but this is the first time a card bearing the word is seeing the light of day. A check invokes a trait if it has or is against a card that has that trait, so if either your check or the card you're encountering has the trait, you're good. A bane invokes a trait if it has that trait or if it deals only damage of the type that matches that trait.

As you can see, this "invokes" power applies to Alahazra's first power, letting her burn evil away with her holy fire and then move away afterward. Perhaps you examined the top three cards of your current location, saw a monster that you could easily destroy, but then found an important boon that Alahazra just doesn't have the correct skill to acquire? Just kill off that pesky monster and move away to another location to explore some more, leaving that sweet magic pistol for Lirianne to pick up on her turn instead.

Before I leave you, let's examine one of Class Deck Alahazra's roles. This happens to be my favorite of her two new roles: the Wandering Prophet.

When Alahazra shows up in your village, you should probably ask her about your future. It might just save your life.

Why do I like this role? Well, mostly because it brings back some of that seer-y goodness that I loved so much about her in Skull & Shackles. First off, you don't always have to discard a card to use your holy fire anymore—if it's a spell or a blessing, you get to recharge it instead (and let's face it, most of her deck is going to be made up of spells and blessings). She also gets to move other characters when she invokes the Fire trait, which is useful. But it's those new powers at the bottom that I'm most excited about. First, you get to evade barriers, which are in all honesty a challenge for both incarnations of Alahazra. You can even let other characters evade barriers eventually.

My favorite new power, though, is that examine power. You get to examine the top card of your location deck, at the end and eventually also the start of your turn, at no cost. Combine this with her earlier power (and her headdress!), and you're examining most of the deck in just a few turns. You can plan out every step of your turn before encountering a single card!

Now I know you can agree that Alahazra is the best character ever. She doesn't need brute strength, fancy weapons, or armor. She knows what's coming before it arrives, and can prepare herself accordingly. She can look into the future and see the answer to a question before it is asked... and when necessary, she can rain down some serious divine wrath on an enemy or two. As much as I love Lini, and as much as I'm looking forward to seeing Ramexes in action, the best character ever released (so far) for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is, without question, Alahazra.

Tyler Beck
Freelance Writer and Human Geneticist Extraordinaire

Sneak a Peek at the Occult

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Illustration by David Alvarez

While Occult Adventures is not due to hit stores and mailboxes until the end of July, other mysterious forces have found a way to glean advanced knowledge about what the tome contains. Perhaps it was spied through the dimension of dreams or ripped from the minds of one of the developers through psychic combat, but whatever the means one thing is certain. These secrets are out there and ready for you to investigate!

To gain visions of the fantastic art that lies within the tome as well as read the auras of those responsible, head over to io9.com. Whoever is behind this theft must possess incredible power to have garnered so many works of beauty.

If, instead you see to learn more about the nefarious masters behind this mental-burglary, you should investigate the lore found at EN World. Here you can learn about the abilities of the Cult Master, a nefarious new archetype!

That is all there is to share for now. There will, undoubtedly, be additional clues and revelations in the coming weeks. Until then, keep your mind safe!

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Illustrations by Alex Aparin and Roberto Pitturru. Widescreen version here.

Everything She Does Is Magic!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Seoni is by far one of the most popular iconics we've ever written. The classic high charisma sorcerer, she's graced the pages of Pathfinder products from the very beginning. Now she can grace your desktop along with Alhazra, the iconic oracle, in this Inner Sea Magic themed wallpaper.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: The Stars Are Right!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

So, I was out sick yesterday, and as a result missed out seeing Pathfinder #46 get sent off to the printer. Which is pretty exciting, since that volume's got more Lovecraftian awesomeness in it than anything we've done to date? The proof is in these out-of-context illustrations by Scott Purdy that are sure to get everyone thinking that the Carrion Crown Adventure Path will be taking some pretty drastic and unexpected turns! (Fans of Carrion Crown's Ustalav locations can breathe easy, though, since these pictures are from the foreword and the bestiary of the book, and thus don't actually depict events that occur in this volume's adventure.)

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Iconic Love

Monday, February 14, 2011

For some of us, Valentine's Day is just another day. We go to work, come home, maybe hang out with our significant others a bit or send the kids off to the sitter for a rare night out. For other people, however, Valentine's Day carries more significance, and flat-out demands acknowledgement. They see it as an excuse to truly cut loose, to go all-out with the romance and treat it like a real holiday.

And then, apparently, there's a third type of person: the type for whom Valentine's Day means a chance to go totally insane. Such appears to be the case with Pathfinder Tales author Kevin Andrew Murphy. How else can you explain the fact that he chose the occasion to, without any prompting or warning, write us an entire heroic crown of sonnets immortalizing the iconic characters' backgrounds in prose. (For those of you who've forgotten your 400-level literature classes, a "heroic crown of sonnets" is a specialized form of poetry in which you have 14 sonnets, each linked by their first and last lines, plus a fifteenth which is made up exclusively of the previous sonnets' linking lines, in order. Needless to say, it's incredibly difficult to do well.)

I'd say more, but I'm still processing the whole thing, so I think it's better to just post the sonnets in their entirety. Happy Valentine's Day!

The Fifteen Loves of Golarion

A Heroic Crown of Sonnets for Valentine's Day 2011
by Kevin Andrew Murphy

1. Alain, the Cavalier, "For Love of Glory"
I am the one who lives to tell the tale.
The victor is the braggart of his fame,
The first to know the glory of his name
But not the last. The bards now all regale
The common folk with ballads of my deeds,
The battles won by force of my prowess,
The ransomed kings who've bowed to my duress,
And Donahan, the noblest of steeds.
Sometimes I think he is my only friend.
The men I ride with? Those I can replace.
The maids I bed? Each just a pretty face.
Yet Donahan is mine till journey's end.
If he falls first, then part of me is dead.
I've said the words that needed to be said.

2. Alahazra, the Oracle, "For Love of Truth"
I've said the words that needed to be said,
For Truth is blind, and I am blind in truth.
My clouded eyes see little but forsooth
My inner eye sees clearly. I have read
The fates of men with but the barest glance.
I know the future as I know the past,
Which seeds will sprout and which of them will last,
For Destiny leaves nothing up to Chance.
It was not Chance that burned me with its fire.
The simoom's breath is but the Wind of Fate
That claimed me with its Flame. I now relate
The Fate of Love, if that is your desire:
All present loves become in days ahead
Mementos kept in memory of the dead.

3. Seelah, the Paladin, "For Love of Those Now Gone"
Mementos kept in memory of the dead,
Reminders of what nothing can restore.
The wingéd helm that dead Acemi wore
Now hides my face and my unworthy head.
I feel its weight: part guilt, part gift, part theft.
Part love. She saw and yet forgave her thief,
The child who stole her helm. Ergo, my grief.
Acemi is still dead and I am left.
I have no words to say in my defense.
I know my deeds. I must have faith in grace
So now I wear her helm and take her place.
What Iomedae learned: Inheritance,
A gift of trust from those you must not fail
Now silent in the realm beyond the pale.

4. Harsk, the Ranger, "For Love of Solitude"
Now silent in the realm beyond the pale,
My brother lies–and those who took his life.
I ended theirs with crossbow quarrel and knife.
The giants dead, now I alone prevail.
My kin who dwell below with bended backs
To toil at the forge or in the mines,
Or worshiping our gods at dwarven shrines,
Have my regard, and yet my brother's axe
Is all I bear away from whence I hail.
A hunter's life is love of solitude.
A Spartan camp, a pot of tea fresh-brewed
Will keep him more alert than mugs of ale.
My quarry's tracks are runes left for the sage.
I know the letters written on this page.

5. Ezren, the Wizard, "For Love of Scholarship"
I know the letters written on this page,
My father charged with some impiety
Against our god, some awful blasphemy
Too dire for words, and nothing can assuage
The gossips' tongues, for rumor needs no proof.
And Abadar? The merchant god cares not
Who prospers or who fails nor what is bought.
The Golden One stays in his Vault, aloof.
I spent my youth to clear my father's name,
In quest to save the business that he built,
But in the end I only proved his guilt.
Now scholarship's the only love I claim.
Yet law for arcane law can be exchanged.
Old orders sometimes must be rearranged.

6. Sajan, the Monk, "For Love of a Sister"
"Old orders sometimes must be rearranged."
So said the monks when taking twin from twin.
My sister Sajni's gone. I should begin
Describing how we came to be estranged.
We were conceived. Our lives were intertwined
Like threads of web and woof strung on a loom,
So were our limbs locked in our mother's womb.
Though born as two, we're more when we're combined.
We trained with temple swords and so time passed
Till at twelve years we each were sent away
And battle woes lost her to Jalmeray.
I left, deserting all I knew, my caste,
To seek my sister. Far too far I've ranged.
I've changed some facts which never should be changed.

7. Damiel, the Alchemist, "For Love of Change"
I've changed some facts which never should be changed
And yet that is the goal of alchemy:
Quicksilver shifting, mutability.
The philosophic art just seems deranged
To those too dull to grasp aetheric heights
Or dream of fixing one's perfected form,
Not living with the dull and banal norm.
You reach out when the stars are in your sights,
Yet what you grasp may be the fulgent dark
For nightmares ride as well between the stars.
Like Shelyn's smile can hide Zon-Kuthon's scars,
The bright quicksilver sea conceals a shark,
And from the left the villain steps onstage
To let men feel the battle fury's rage.

8. Amiri, the Barbarian, "For Love of Oneself"
To let men feel the battle fury's rage,
The Six Bears tribesmen donned the skins of bears
They'd taken from our totems in their lairs.
Each boy was sent to do it at an age.
We girls were told to sit inside and spin,
Awaiting a barbarian's return.
This never was a name that women earn.
I brought a she-bear's hide back to my kin.
The time came that a warband of my clan
All dared me to bring back a giant's blade.
When I returned, they mocked me as a maid.
The blood rage came. I slew them to a man.
That bastard blade I bear with me. Beware
To taste the kiss of malice and despair.

9. Seltyiel, the Magus, "For Lack of Love"
To taste the kiss of malice and despair,
One needn't know the touch of love or hope–
At very least, not of an equal scope–
And pain is seldom more than one can bear,
And when it is? Well, there is always death.
My mother died the moment I was born.
My sister's cries, those spared my life that morn.
I often think she should have saved her breath.
Sioria, oh how could you divine
The babe you saved would still be here alive
Or on a feast of wormwood one could thrive.
I'll kill your father once I first kill mine.
Foul Lairsaph was a fool to teach his spawn
To walk the road with weapons sheathed or drawn....

10. Valeros, the Fighter, "For Love of Adventure"
To walk the road with weapons sheathed or drawn
Is how a sellsword passes most his days.
That much at least is truthful in bards' lays.
The rest? Well yes, there is a need for brawn–
The same goes for an ox that pulls a plow–
But when your sword-arm makes some villain yield,
That's better than some plowshare in a field.
At least it's more exciting anyhow.
One day I may retire to a farm,
Grow beans and beets or brew a bit of beer,
But now I love my freedom and I hear
A distant village sounding the alarm.
If there's adventure calling, I'll be gone
To greet the hope that rises with the dawn.

11. Kyra, the Cleric, "For Love of Hope"
To greet the hope that rises with the dawn,
The Crown of Our Beloved Sarenrae
Who cast the Beast below to Asmodae,
Is how a priestess prays for I'm Her pawn.
Whate'er the Dawnflower wishes I will do.
When bandits burned my village and Her shrine,
That's when I saw the face of the divine.
Through streaming tears the sun shone and I knew
The Everlight had filled me with Her power
To heal the sick and ailing with Her light
And cleanse those past redemption of their blight
By scimitar, like Dawn's Eternal Flower.
One day I'll join my goddess in the air
To live a life of joy and forswear care.

12. Merisiel, the Rogue, "For Love of Freedom"
To live a life of joy and forswear care
Is what I always felt the world should be.
See something that you like? Then take it. Free!
If you don't like your lot, then folk should share.
They call it thievery, who gives a fig?
My knives can teach their tongues to be polite,
And while some think I could be more contrite
It's not like they're not working the same gig.
This knife I got from some Azlanti queen.
This one? From Galt. Belonged to some coquette
And these? From Geb. But most I just forget.
I only care if I can keep them keen.
You make life up like some bard's folderol.
I sing the songs that rise up from my soul.

13. Seoni, the Sorcerer, "For Love of Magic"
I sing the songs that rise up from my soul
And write the runes appearing in my dreams.
The ones I walk with talk about my "schemes,"
If schemes they are, or just an unknown goal.
I'd like to say I like just who I am,
Yet who can say just who they are? Not I.
Or what I am, or how I am, or why.
That statement just might be my epigram.
I only know when spells wish to be wrought,
The way they say that love pulls at the heart.
Just so I feel the call of arcane art.
It springs to mind like any other thought.
I'd work alone, but I lack that control
For love and friendship are what make one whole.

14. Lini, the Druid, "For Love of a True Companion"
"For love and friendship are what make one whole."
So spake the norn who whispered in the wood.
She vanished but her fey advice is good
And with it I can talk to mouse or mole.
The purest love is love you get from beasts.
My friend Droogami taught me this is true.
It's something though that I already knew.
I never bought the nonsense from the priests
About the love of gods as the most pure.
Who can believe a love you never see?
My love is for the leopard next to me
And she for me and that's what shall endure.
She's great and strong where I am small and frail.
I am the one who lives to tell the tale.

15. Lem, the Bard, "For Love of Happy Endings"
I am the one who lives to tell the tale.
I've said the words that needed to be said,
Mementos kept in memory of the dead
Now silent in the realm beyond the pale.
I know the letters written on this page.
Old orders sometimes must be rearranged.
I've changed some facts which never should be changed
To let men feel the battle fury's rage,
To taste the kiss of malice and despair,
To walk the road with weapons sheathed or drawn,
To greet the hope that rises with the dawn,
To live a life of joy and forswear care.
I sing the songs that rise up from my soul
For love and friendship are what make one whole.

James Sutter
Fiction Editor