Uncover the Truth: Occult Adventures Playtest!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The world is full of mysteries. Truths hidden in plain sight, obscured to further secret goals and nefarious agendas. Some dare to uncover these secrets, venturing into the shadow to learn about these strange forces, and now you can be one of them.

Welcome to the playtest of Occult Adventures, a book filled with mysteries and secrets due out in summer 2015. This hardcover Pathfinder RPG rulebook will contain a mountain of new material for your game, from mysterious orders to strange powers, not to mention new archetypes, feats, spells, and magic items. As with our previous playtests, we want to make sure this book is the best it can be, and that's where you come in. Occult Adventures includes 6 new base classes to add to your game, each one focusing on one aspect of psychic magic. Similar in some ways to arcane and divine magic, psychic magic ventures into new territory, utilizing the power of the mind, body, and soul. Each of the classes in this playtest uses psychic magic in different ways, from the raw power of the kineticist to the subtle manipulations of the mesmerist.

You can download the Occult Adventures Playtest document now! The PDF contains a brief discussion on the nature of the occult in Pathfinder, all 6 of the new classes, and a selection of psychic spells. Give these classes a read, build a character, and most importantly, use them in your games. Once you've had a chance to give them a try, go to our messageboards and post up your thoughts and feedback. We are eager to hear what you think works with these new rules and what still needs work. This playtest will remain open until November 25th (although we will keep it open for an additional round of playtesting if feedback warrants any significant revisions).

In addition, starting next week, there will be a survey for each one of the classes, allowing us to gain some basic insight on your opinions about these classes. These will be available on Tuesday, November 4th, and remain open until the end of the playtest. Please share your input before then!

You can even play these classes in Pathfinder Society. For this playtest, we have added a special boon for those who make a character and play them during the playtest. We're excited to see how these classes work in PFS!

Finally, I want to take a moment to talk about the playtest process itself. Although we find all feedback useful, thoughts and comments based on actual play experience is by far the most valuable. Please try to fit these classes into your game, or even just run a few mock encounters. When posting to the playtest forums, look for existing threads on your topic before starting a new one—this will help us to better absorb and respond to feedback. While discussions can become heated, remember that every game is different and every poster is trying to make the game better for everyone. Be polite and respectful of the ideas others' posts.

Well, that about wraps it up for now. Grab the PDF and uncover the occult secrets that lie within. We will be waiting for you on the boards, looking for your feedback and ideas. Thank you for participating and helping us playtest Occult Adventures.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

P.S.: Our regularly scheduled Adventure Card Game blog will return next week!

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Tags: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Playtest
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Yay!

Shadow Lodge

It won't download...

Sovereign Court

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Yeah, having trouble with downloading it.

Silver Crusade

can't download it.


me too.


yeah it won't for me either:(
edit: it is fixed:)

Silver Crusade

Yep, same here.

The Exchange

looks fixed now

Sovereign Court

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Woo!


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Uh, why can i no downloady.

Grand Lodge

I can't download either and that's not conducive to my life goals.

Edit: Got it! Let the sweet, sweet role playing commence.

Silver Crusade

There we go! Spoke 10 seconds too soon. :-P


Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

I think there is some lag from the number of people trying. I had to try several times but I managed to finally download it.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I HAVE IT!

Liberty's Edge

It worked fine for me. Try again?


Awesome!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Got it! Cancel all my appointments!

Liberty's Edge

Wow.

Silver Crusade

Also, hah! I love the PFS boon. :-)

Paizo Glitterati Robot

3 people marked this as a favorite.

Anyone who had issues originally downloading should try again. One computer was getting all huffy at another for a moment there.

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Chris Lambertz wrote:
Anyone who had issues originally downloading should try again. One computer was getting all huffy at another for a moment there.

IT WAS POSSESSED!


Got it, can't wait to try it out


1 person marked this as a favorite.
LazarX wrote:
Chris Lambertz wrote:
Anyone who had issues originally downloading should try again. One computer was getting all huffy at another for a moment there.
IT WAS POSSESSED!

{stealthily takes off gloves of percussive maintenance and boots of static electricity, sneaks quietly out of server room} Hail Hydra Cosmo!


Looking forward to seeing the rest of the book's contents as well! The new classes seem a little too psionic for my tastes, but I expect cool things in the archetype/feat/spell/item department!

Lantern Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

So far, I really like the Kineticist.

He kinda reminds me of the 3.5 Warlock, with some Psionics flavor thrown in - at will blast, all day buffs, some great flavor, but not much raw power.

He's gonna freak some people out (At will powers! Oh noes!), so I hope he doesn't get nerfed too much.


4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Wow, how awesome is it that the medium's spirits are named after the Harrow deck cards?


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Hunt, the PugWumpus wrote:
LazarX wrote:
Chris Lambertz wrote:
Anyone who had issues originally downloading should try again. One computer was getting all huffy at another for a moment there.
IT WAS POSSESSED!
{stealthily takes off gloves of percussive maintenance and boots of static electricity, sneaks quietly out of server room} Hail Hydra Cosmo!

Ia! Ia!!

Shadow Lodge

3 people marked this as a favorite.

I read the Spiritualist and immediately thought "So begins the next Holy Grail War."

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I'm hoping for somethign equivalent to the White Rose campaign's "Touch and Scream".

Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

2 people marked this as a favorite.
LazarX wrote:
"Touch and Scream"

[insert obligatory Zarta Dralneen joke here]


Immediate thoughts:

The Kineticist looks very bender-ish to me (a good thing), with Aether = air. Cool, and very handy for anyone looking to emulate The Last Airbender.

Looking at the various Kineticists, it appears the lessons of Snowball have been well learned (No SR, touch attack, no save vs. dmg; pick any two).

Regarding the telekineticist's Force Ward ability: I'm not sure I'm wild about an additional "layer" of temporary hit points to track for what seems like a different mechanical representation of a deflection bonus, but the flavor is very good.

I can see running a game with these classes replacing some of the core classes. As usual, I'd be less interested in seeing them in an "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" situation, but YMMV.

I definitely prefer these over the ACG classes, which imho worked against one of the greatest strengths of a class-based system.

Scarab Sages

I'll have to set up a mid-level game in the recruitment thread later this evening. Until then, I'll be sneeking peeks while I work.


4 people marked this as a favorite.

Just glancing over the pdf in a very brief skim, I have to say I really like all of these classes. They have a considerable amount of flavor and all of them have really interesting sounding mechanics. How balanced and practical those mechanics will be is yet to be seen of course.

The one thing I note is that all of these classes are very complex in execution. Of particular note to me is the Medium after gaining multiple spirits. The fluff of the class and the abilities are really very cool. But the language describing how it works mechanically feels rather dense and clunky.

I'll say this though, this is the first list of additional classes we've gotten where I want to make a character for each of them, so I reckon that's a good start.

Grand Lodge

10 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Okay, about all those fighters and barbarians that dump Cha?

Occult Adventures Playtest wrote:
Ego Whip I through V


1 person marked this as a favorite.
TriOmegaZero wrote:

Okay, about all those fighters and barbarians that dump Cha?

Occult Adventures Playtest wrote:
Ego Whip I through V

My name is Aaron, and I approve of this message. ;-)


1 person marked this as a favorite.

My God! It's full of stars!


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I like having the classic psionic attack and defense modes back as new psychic spells. Only psionic blast is missing, probably because of the name, and mind blank had already become a spell in D&D3.


Chris Lambertz wrote:
Anyone who had issues originally downloading should try again. One computer was getting all huffy at another for a moment there.

Yeah, they do that. Also, I want your avatar. :)

Silver Crusade

This stuff is awesome. I love these classes.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I glanced at them all, the two that stand out to me is the Mesmerist which reminds me of the old 3.5 Beguiler and fills in a Shadowmage nich and the Kineticist which as mentioned above, reminds me of my beloved Warlock from 3.5

I'm making someone else GM PFS tomorrow, so I might just be playing one of these two in the Confirmation...


I'm digging the spiritualist. Want.

Will the final publication include GM resources for flavoring a psychic magic-laden campaign? A lot of this stuff seems more appropriate to a campaign designed around it rather than an anything-goes world.

For that matter, will there be anything regarding how this fits into Golarion? Will we find out about some lost psychic island? (I can't remember if Distant Worlds had some references to alien races with psychic abilities, but it sounds familiar....)

Grand Lodge

IT'S SO PULPY!!!!!

Not sure I like the name "Wild Talents". That has some real baggage from 3.5 (and older). I don't have another suggestion to replace it.

I really like what I see.


Herald wrote:

IT'S SO PULPY!!!!!

Not sure I like the name "Wild Talents". That has some real baggage from 3.5 (and older). I don't have another suggestion to replace it.

I really like what I see.

Good point. I half expected to see the old "roll d% to see if your fighter happens to have biofeedback".

Paizo Employee Publisher, Chief Creative Officer

1 person marked this as a favorite.
blahpers wrote:

I'm digging the spiritualist. Want.

Will the final publication include GM resources for flavoring a psychic magic-laden campaign? A lot of this stuff seems more appropriate to a campaign designed around it rather than an anything-goes world.

For that matter, will there be anything regarding how this fits into Golarion? Will we find out about some lost psychic island? (I can't remember if Distant Worlds had some references to alien races with psychic abilities, but it sounds familiar....)

1) Yes. There's a whole section on incorporating occult themes into your campaigns and using the material in this book in your games.

2) There will not be a lot of discussion of Golarion in this book, as it's in the core rulebook line where we tend to keep campaign setting in the background. That said, there will be books in the Player Companion and Campaign Setting lines that address these rules head on, so folks interested in how to incorporate them into Golarion will not have to wait too long!

Grand Lodge

3 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm totally down with the air, fire, wind, and water bender class... I mean, kineticist.

Contributor

So far, I'm thinking either kitsune kineticist or mesmerist. Mesmerist would be more racially appropriate, but kineticist just looks so FUN.

But then again, I could play my kitsune mesmerist like the villain from the Princess and the Frog.... HM....


I love the kineticist. Might be a bit too powerful, but it is ULTRA cool. An acquaintance & I are going to try to do a kineticist double-team in the next couple of weeks, so we'll see how it goes.

Shadow Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Alexander Augunas wrote:

So far, I'm thinking either kitsune kineticist or mesmerist. Mesmerist would be more racially appropriate, but kineticist just looks so FUN.

But then again, I could play my kitsune mesmerist like the villain from the Princess and the Frog.... HM....

Just Need Some... Friends On The Other Side, Heh Heh Heh Heh.


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

What's this Bender reference I keep reading? Doesn't sound like Futurama to me.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra. The elemental energy-control/manipulation + martial arts the series uses is referred to as "(element)-bending".

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