Class Decks Update

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

I wanted to give you an update on the Class Decks distribution schedule, since it's gotten a little wonky. We hit some unfortunate delays in the product chain, such that our Druid Class Deck came out in December instead of October, and the Barbarian Class Deck is coming out in February instead of January. We're very sorry about the delays, but we think you'll be happy with the results. To keep your appetite whetted, I'll talk a little about characters from a range of upcoming Class Decks, as well as their associated Iconic Heroes promo cards.

Barbarian

As you might know from our excellent Meet the Iconics blog series, Amiri is a bad-ass chick with a big-ass sword from the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, complete with Paizo Tragic Backstory™. We did a version of her giant-forged sword for Iconic Heroes #2, and we gave her some comfy armor in the Barbarian Class Deck.


Smashing in style!

The characters in this deck were designed with the Pathfinder Unchained version of the barbarian's mechanics in mind, so expect to see a bit more variety and utility in their rage powers. As a clue, let me reveal that Amiri's new roles are called Immovable Object and Unstoppable Force.

Oracle

The next deck in the release schedule is for all you scouting fans out there: the Oracle Class Deck. To kick off the design process, the design team spent a delightful afternoon learning about the different and fascinating methods of divination used throughout human history. These include armomancy, or divining by examining one's shoulders, labiomancy, or divination by lip reading (which seemed a bit cheaty to us,) and kephalomancy, or divination by using a baked ass's head. We recommend setting your oven to 425° for that last one.

Technically we didn't use any of those divinatory methods in the final design, but you've gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet. (Talk to Chad about oomancy sometime.) We did, however, come up with Ramexes, a pitborn oracle who specializes in haruspication, or the reading of entrails, and we gave Alahazra a fancy hat in Iconic Heroes #1.


Oracles dress for the weather—there's actually another hat under this hat.

Alchemist

To close out this week's column, we've got a sneak peek at the Alchemist Class Deck. Designers Liz Spain and Paul Peterson took point on this deck, which should terrify anyone who knows them. In addition to Damiel and his portable alchemy lab from Iconic Heroes #3, we're introducing the archetypal gnome alchemist. Meet Cogsnap:


Tell me he's not exactly what you expected.

Cogsnap is fond of cards that have the Automaton trait, and you'll see a few new ones in his deck.

That's it for this week—until next time, Pathfinders!

Tanis O'Connor
Adventure Card Game Designer

PS: Be sure to check out the latest Iconic Heroes releases here!

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Tags: Class Decks Iconic Heroes Pathfinder Adventure Card Game
Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.

So excited for the oracle class deck, and definitely excited to see a not-tiefling.

Adventure Card Game Designer

2 people marked this as a favorite.

I enjoyed putting the words "bleachling lunatic" on a card.

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

You guys should really register the "Paizo Tragic Backstory™" trademark. I'm sure you're covered with quality legal services in the USA, but if you need some help over the Pond, here's my card... ;-)


Ooooh, I haven't seen Cogsnap before.

Sovereign Court

Awesome cards everywhere!

Ramexes wins off of design alone!


2 people marked this as a favorite.

The new cards have me wishing that the old class decks will get some love. They need a booster pack or two.


Duncan7291 wrote:
The new cards have me wishing that the old class decks will get some love. They need a booster pack or two.

Yes, it seems that new class decks benefit a lot from new boxes and all the feedbacks over the years.

It would indeed be great to have a special updating deck of new cards to add/replace some of the earlier class decks cards.


Frencois wrote:
Duncan7291 wrote:
The new cards have me wishing that the old class decks will get some love. They need a booster pack or two.

Yes, it seems that new class decks benefit a lot from new boxes and all the feedbacks over the years.

It would indeed be great to have a special updating deck of new cards to add/replace some of the earlier class decks cards.

New decks benefits also from matter that they don't have to divide the card pool among 4 characters...

Yep 2nd edition of class decks 1-7 would be nice. but who knows maybe after Paizo runs out of different classes, we will see new editions :-)


The two items I would love to see (Actually two categories of items):

(1) updated booster for old class decks; and
(2) after updated booster, a new box booster for each new set that comes out. So when Mummy's Mask comes out, we get cards designed to work well with that new set. Having a character that can repair a ship really wouldn't be helpful in the desert.


So I know Barbarian got delayed a month, but are both Barbarian and Oracles still planned for early February? Same day?


Gambit001 wrote:
So I know Barbarian got delayed a month, but are both Barbarian and Oracles still planned for early February? Same day?

Hope so, at least we europeans will win a bit on shipping potentially.


Frencois wrote:
Gambit001 wrote:
So I know Barbarian got delayed a month, but are both Barbarian and Oracles still planned for early February? Same day?
Hope so, at least we europeans will win a bit on shipping potentially.

Hmm.. it is hard to give any reason why they would be released at the same time. I expect them to sell better, if there is some time between releases. Same reason as why Mummy was put on hold.

Sovereign Court

There's a difference between Mummy's "flooding you with content" delay and a general distribution problem delay. Releasing two at one wouldn't be a problem, it's a completely different kind of product from adventure paths.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Just Barbarian for February.


DOH!


I'm cool with that. I was really hoping February wasn't gunna cost me 100.


I've got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to play test the Witch deck at GenCon!

:D


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Brendthomas wrote:
I'm cool with that. I was really hoping February wasn't gunna cost me 100.

But if you spend $100 you get $10 off on shipping ;) (I know it was likely an exaggeration, but hey, couldn't resist)

That said, they're gonna have to double up at some point in time if they want to get caught up with the original schedule... unless of course they don't care about the original schedule and according to the new schedule they are perfectly on-time with everything, and we were always at war with Eastasia.


When in Feb is the Barbarian Deck due out? I've got a lot while in the Sidecart ;)

Grand Lodge

chanlord wrote:
When in Feb is the Barbarian Deck due out? I've got a lot while in the Sidecart ;)

They are going to be generating subscription orders tomorrow. Shipping within the next two weeks.


A question regarding the Class Decks for the Skull and Shackles classes. Are the new characters going to be slanted towards Skull and Shackles play, or be more like the 'generic' RotR characters? Like having abilities that interact with ships, or that reference the aquatic trait, etc.

Grand Lodge

There are no class decks for base sets.

If you take a look at the original 7 class decks: Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer and Wizard, you'll find that they're different than their RotR counterparts. And the matching characters from S&S (Bard, Fighter, Rogue) are also different.

So when you see the Gunslinger and Oracle and Alchemist coming out, they're not from S&S. They're not geared for play with S&S. They're their own classes.

Each class deck that comes out is designed for generic play with any base set. If you want a ranger that's geared better to fight demons, then you can use the WotR Harsk with his class deck. Otherwise, the class deck version is going to be the same whether played in RotR, S&S or WotR.


I would add to what Theryon said by saying that indeed some Class Decks may be more suitable for a specific background. E. g. I would recommand playing the Gunslinger class deck with a base set whose background includes gunpowder. Which - at that time - means S&S. But nothiong prevents either:
- to play the Gunslinger CD with another base set
- or Paizo to issue anoither base set with guns involved

So ultimately, Theryon is fully right: CD are by construction base set independent.

Pathfinder ACG Developer

One of the great benefits of the CD Gunslinger deck is that it has the cards to let you play a gunslinger in a set that's not S&S.

Cause yeah, guns are a totally proper response to needing to kill a lot of demons. Obviously.


Keith Richmond wrote:

...

Cause yeah, guns are a totally proper response to needing to kill a lot of demons. Obviously.

Not remotely as good as using monk fighting fan... just kidding. I'm still totally amaze at the facility you guys have to put pirates, ninjas, vikings and mummies in the same box.

My mother is a retired History teacher here in France (true). She just had an heart attack translating my post (not totally true but close). :-)

Grand Lodge

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Frencois wrote:
Keith Richmond wrote:

...

Cause yeah, guns are a totally proper response to needing to kill a lot of demons. Obviously.
Not remotely as good as using monk fighting fan... just kidding.

I hope you're kidding! I dropped the fan because too many are immune to poison. :-P

Pathfinder ACG Developer

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We made fighting fans _cool_. We can do _anything_.

Silver Crusade

Hey! Fighting fans were always cool!

You guys can still do anything tho.

Grand Lodge

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So, now that the Oracle deck is out, I can't help but notice that Cogsnap has a clockwork butterfly on his shoulder. Awesome card!

Adventure Card Game Designer

James McKendrew wrote:
So, now that the Oracle deck is out, I can't help but notice that Cogsnap has a clockwork butterfly on his shoulder. Awesome card!

Nice catch!


Cogsnap being a Tinkerer, would be surprising if he didn't had in his deck cards like
Clockwork Magpie
Clockwork Butterfly
Clockwork Dragonling
Clockwork Librarian
Clockwork Owl
Clockwork Servant
and Clockwork Hawkmoon

Grand Lodge

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Frencois wrote:

...and Clockwork Hawkmoon

Recharge this card for help with the rules.

Sovereign Court

With how often Hawkmoon gives out rules, no way it's not a reveal power!

Grand Lodge

Andrew L Klein wrote:
With how often Hawkmoon gives out rules, no way it's not a reveal power!

That's the problem with clockwork. The spring winds down...


The Oracle deck character sheets should be available soon, right?

Grand Lodge

Street date for the Oracle deck is March 30. We've been told, in the past, that the character sheets never show up prior to the street date. So I'm hoping to see them near the end of next week.


Theryon Stormrune wrote:
Street date for the Oracle deck is March 30. We've been told, in the past, that the character sheets never show up prior to the street date. So I'm hoping to see them near the end of next week.

Ah, I thought the street date had already occurred.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

Got my Oracle deck in the mail, definitely not disappointed in it. The three characters are all amazing in different ways, and I had a lot of trouble deciding which of them I'll use first. (Ended up choosing Ramexes for his double-dipping of Allies).

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
cartmanbeck wrote:
Got my Oracle deck in the mail, definitely not disappointed in it. The three characters are all amazing in different ways, and I had a lot of trouble deciding which of them I'll use first. (Ended up choosing Ramexes for his double-dipping of Allies).

I don't HAVE to decide. My girlfriend got hold of mine before I could. She's playing Grazzle in SotS.


James McKendrew wrote:
cartmanbeck wrote:
Got my Oracle deck in the mail, definitely not disappointed in it. The three characters are all amazing in different ways, and I had a lot of trouble deciding which of them I'll use first. (Ended up choosing Ramexes for his double-dipping of Allies).
I don't HAVE to decide. My girlfriend got hold of mine before I could. She's playing Grazzle in SotS.

I was really torn between Ramexes and Alahazra, but she won out because of how awesome she was in S&S.

She's blasting through catching up to the rest of the team!

Silver Crusade

I was solidly on Team Ramexes until I started thinking of Alahazra in concert with all those boons. Lookout + Seer's Headdress means 4 cards examined! So now I'm playing solo Ramexes through RotR and saving Alahazra for SotRu. But I don't think I'm getting the full Ramexes experience this way, cuz I don't need the extra explores on a solo run. I may have to accept that I'm playing oracles for the next 2-3 seasons.

Grand Lodge

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Grazzle with a cure spell is awesome. When he draws the cure spell, on his next turn, he does is Bone Healing (you know, that sounds kinda perverted), then immediately casts Cure on himself to recover some of the damage. It's a pretty good cycle. We split the healing based on draw piles, trying to get everyone to the same point. It's pretty good for three-player. I imagine in six-player, it'd be way less useful.


We started a three-player game of Wrath last night, and I am playing Grazzle. I have to say his healing ability is astounding. Using the discard-to-heal mechanic was able to keep my two partner's decks extremely rich with blessings and allies, leading to an extreme number of explores.

To keep myself alive I packed two cures. Keeping careful track of where they were / might be in my deck or hand allowed me to heal my partners like crazy while experiencing only mild risk myself. I think a perfect scenario would be having a Paladin partner, someone who carried a single cure they could use to heal Grazzle on those occasions when my cure(s) ended up in the discard pile. Then I wouldn't have to be quite so paranoid about milling one off the top of my deck.

That being said, once I finally get a role card (this will take a while) and select the feat for (□ If any of those cards have the Divine trait, you may recharge them instead.) it'll be truly nutty. Why couldn't Grazzle discard virtually his entire remaining deck every turn, healing his party for a huge amount, without any real risk? The cure(s) would automatically recharge, and could then be drawn and cast to heal yourself of the losses?

Grand Lodge

It's true. Our Grazzle got his role, and there were many times where the player said, "I'll discard 5 and that should heal everyone completely. Oh look! They're all five Divine!"

Make all your card feats Blessings and Spells, of course.


I've been a fly-on-the-wall reader of the message boards for two years (almost daily, you all are great and thanks for building such a great community), and I'm coming out of the word work to chime in and say that Grazzle as a Bog Medic is the best experience I've had as a divine caster. He automatically recharges spells (so he is a great attacker) and he can heal everyone but him without having to move? It has given us the upper-hand in our SS game several times. We are on Adventure Deck 5 now in SS, and I'm reluctant to end it because I love Grazzle so.

Paizo Employee Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

This weekend I restarted the Season of the Shackles with Grazzle and his rather surly companion Bekah. The scaly rascal has proven very effective and allows the battle-bard to explore much more recklessly than she would otherwise!

Grand Lodge

PhyllisSteen wrote:
I've been a fly-on-the-wall reader of the message boards for two years (almost daily, you all are great and thanks for building such a great community), and I'm coming out of the word work to chime in and say that Grazzle as a Bog Medic is the best experience I've had as a divine caster. He automatically recharges spells (so he is a great attacker) and he can heal everyone but him without having to move? It has given us the upper-hand in our SS game several times. We are on Adventure Deck 5 now in SS, and I'm reluctant to end it because I love Grazzle so.

Hooray for a new voice! As I mentioned (in another topic), Grazzle is AWESOME for S&S, since he starts with Survival AND Craft (both on his strongest skill, no less!), nevermind all the other cool stuff.

John Compton wrote:
This weekend I restarted the Season of the Shackles with Grazzle and his rather surly companion Bekah. The scaly rascal has proven very effective and allows the battle-bard to explore much more recklessly than she would otherwise!

I tried Bekah in AP (RotR). It feels like she tries to do too much, like a first edition fighter/cleric/magic user. I liked her OK, but she wasn't as much fun as most other characters I played. When her partner (Athnul, I think) got killed, I started over with a new character.

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