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Well, as a real-life Cleric (read: Member of the Clergy), I am forced to assume that I'd be pulling from the Divine Spell List in this situation. I'm definitely of a more scholarly bent than many of the clergy in my area, so that means we'd be talking Cloistered Cleric.

Yes, I went Cloistered Cleric because of my scholarly aptitude, and not the overwhelming social anxiety I experience as a result of my crippling introversion... Yes, that's the reason!

That means I'm getting a Domain Initiate Feat at 1st Level. If we're being super honest, I'm probably taking the Vigil Domain from Gods & Magic, but Family, Knowledge, or Protection could all fit my hypothetical build as well.

Now, for some spell choice breakdowns:

**Cantrips (5)**

Guidance, Know Direction, Disrupt Undead, Read Aura, Detect Magic

Guidance seems like an ideal counseling spell & I have a really strong sense of direction, so Know Direction seems appropriate. I'm including Disrupt Undead because several of my friends think its funny to drag me along on ghost hunts, only to complain that nothing ever happens when I'm around.

Read Aura & Detect Magic seem like must haves in a world where magic is suddenly happening everywhere!

**1st Level (3)**

Detect Alignment, Sanctuary, Command

I can cold read people pretty well, so Detect Alignment seems like an appropriate choice. And while philosophically, I'm not a "true pacifist," the functional line for me means that for all intents & purposes, I might as well be classified as one - so Sanctuary is probably a must have in my situation.

Command actually isn't one of my Cleric spells. I picked that one up when I was training to be a public school teacher instead!

**2nd Level (3)**

Status, Calm Emotions, Augury (Maybe Dispel Magic)

Classic clergy spells here! Calm Emotions would be useful in a lot of the meetings I attend - and a lot of counseling situations as well. Status is important for keeping track of ill congregants.

I feel like I have Augury already & the results keep coming up "Woe," but it doesn't change what I have to do...

Ah, adulting.

Dispel Magic is imminently useful in a world with magic, but that's the kind of spell you want to consider up-casting so it can deal with more powerful magic. So, really, it drops in this list at the max level spell I can actually cast.

**3rd Level (3)**

Crisis of Faith, Locate, Remove Disease

As for Remove Disease, it's 2020. I'm pretty sure everyone knows why I picked that one.

Crisis of Faith is for those intense theological debates.

Locate is mostly due to the fact that my wife loses stuff frequently & calls on me to help search the house. It's a practical choice.

**4th Level (3)**

Discern Lies, Remove Curse, Spell Immunity

If only we lived in a world where Discern Lies wasn't a necessary 1st pick for this spell level...

Spell Immunity & Remove Curse are probably important picks in defending myself against other Divine Casters out there.

**5th Level (3)**

Summon Celestial, Tongues, Flame Strike

Flame Strike is mostly a tribute to the fact that my friends always want me running the show on 4th of July. I have outdone professionals in my area before... LOL!

I work with a lot of different communities, so Tongues is a very practical choice.

Summon Celestial = Guardian Angel. Enough Said.

**6th Level (3)**

True Seeing, Righteous Might, Repulsion

Righteous Might mostly because I enjoy the Old Testament stories of Sampson - and I think that'd be a lot of fun! Practical in my line of work, not really - but fun!

I'm not sure I actually need to pick True Seeing, but I am a gamer, and I will never not pick True Seeing if it's an option...

As for Repulsion... something, something, crippling introversion, something, something.

**7th Level (3)**

Regenerate, Divine Decree, Plane Shift

Regenerate for some good old fashioned miracle work.

Divine Decree for "Hear now the Word of the Lord!"

Plane Shift because I need a vacation...

**8th Level (3)**

Moment of Renewal, Divine Aura, & Anti-magic Field

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm functionally a pacifist, so I've got to focus on defensive magic. Divine Aura & Anti-Magic Field seem like good candidates.

Moment of Renewal because I don't get enough sleep (especially since the newborn came along).

**9th Level (3)**

Weapon of Judgement ("Peace"), Foresight, Telepathic Demand

Weapon of Judgement (naming "Peace") - because I told you all to sit down & stop all of that arguing already!

Foresight, because trust me, you need to know when your congregants are in danger as a cleric. This comes up a LOT!

Telepathic Demand is another spell I picked up from my training as a educator.

**10th Level (1)**

Miracle or Avatar

I mean, Miracle is the obvious choice here - but if I don't want to be boring, Avatar is probably one of my Top 10 spells in Pathfinder 2e, so... yeah, I'm probably going with that one.

**Warning: Mild Spoilers for Age of Ashes: Hellknight Hill**

I attempted to incorporate the Secrets of Magic Playtest into my group's ongoing Age of Ashes campaign. We are currently in Book 1: Hellknight Hill. This is a description of how that attempt went.

I am the group's DM - but I decided to let my players control an extra character during their adventures (first, the Magus, then the Summoner). Due to the short playtest period & some real world "life happens" stuff, I didn't get to do a full playtest (particularly with the Summoner), but I will still offer some commentary on what my group was able to do.

The plan was simple: I re-rolled two NPCs from Book 1 as a Magus & Summoner. For the Magus, I recreated Alak Stagram (the Hellknight Initiate) as a Sustaining Steel Magus & allowed him to join the party for Chapter 3: The Citadel Below. For the Summoner, I re-rolled Warbal Bumblebrasher as a (Primal) Summoner who's "Beast" Eidolon happened to look like the Bear "Big Bumble." The intention was to let Warbal join the group for Chapter 4: Breachill's Secrets.

In both cases, I then would allow one of my players to control that NPC in the corresponding portion of the adventure.

Due to "Life Happens," my group did not get all the way through Chapter 3, so I was only able to playtest the Magus (Alak Stagram), but I did get to at least roll-up a Summoner (Warbal Bumblebrasher) for use.

Here are my observations:

***THE MAGUS (Alak Stagram)***

-Character Creation-

Alak Stagram is normally a Fighter focusing on Two-Handed Weapons, so I rerolled him as a Sustaining Steel Magus. This round of Character Creation was genuinely engaging & enjoyable. I really enjoyed creating Alak as a Magus. I felt like I had interesting options & the process was surprisingly fun! The final result felt appropriate to the character in the story & flowed naturally.

Overall, I feel like Slide Casters are the clearly optimal subclass for Magus, so I did feel like I was taking suboptimal choices when I was making the build, but the build itself felt very appropriate to the character I was creating.

I enjoyed character creation for the Magus more than I thought I would.

-Adventuring w/ the Magus

I gave the Magus to one of my stronger players - but that player has famously said that "magic makes my head hurt" in previous editions of the game. So, I was curious to see how well they would adapt to the Magus.

In the first session, they had a very hard time understanding Spell Strike. However, after a two week "Life Happens" break, when they came back, they didn't have any problem remembering how to use Spell Strike - and they naturally adapted their tactics appropriately.

So, learning curve wise: Magus was definitely harder at first for my player, but after a full session, they were able to retain the information necessary to play the Magus well - even after a pretty significant break.

The party only completed about 65% of Chapter 3 - so I didn't get to see the Magus in play extensively, but I did get to see it some.

The dice hated our poor Magus! The Soulbound Doll almost managed to one shot the Magus with a brutal early critical hit, and that fight caused the party to lose a lot of exploration time retreating to heal & rest.

However, that dramatic bad moment aside, the Magus proved to be a really effective... martial character.

Alak Stagram almost never actually used Spell Strike during the course of the adventure. I think he used it twice, hitting once. In almost every other situation, the optimal tactical choice was normal melee attacks.

The party got swarmed by Boggards & Charau-Kai fairly early. (Let's just say my party is not exactly... "stealthly.") Alak held up well in that fight, but even swarmed by enemies & frequently in close proximity to enemies, the opportunity to really use Spell Strike just didn't come up much.

I feel like some of this was due to the Sustaining Steel Subclass (which really does feel more limited), but I also feel like this may be an issue inherent to the Magus class overall. Even in theoretically ideal circumstances (swarmed by multiple targets), Spell Strike just didn't see much use.

Again, the Magus was definitely effective. It held it's own as a "martial" class. Outside of a freak critical hit from the Soulbound Doll, there was never a moment where the class felt "weak." (And to be clear, that critical was super harsh - almost max damage. It would have nearly KO'd any member of the party.) It also just never had the time to really shine via Spell Strike.

-Overall Thoughts

The Magus was very interesting to build. I had a lot of fun there! This is definitely more engaging to build than the 1e Magus (at least for me personally). There are definitely interesting ideas here.

Play wise, the Magus feels "balanced, but boring." Granted, I didn't get a lot of play - so that observation may be skewed. Mechanically, the Magus was easily on par with the other classes. It neither over-performed or under-performed. It didn't feel unbalancing.

But, the Magus almost never got to use the Spell Strike ability, which is the core of the class & the primary reason you'd want to roll such a character.

That puts me in an awkward spot, because I "want" Spell Strike to be more usable, but the class currently feels "balanced." I'm worried that making Spell Strike more usable would throw things off in overall mechanical balance.

Wish I could have played this a little more & gotten more data. Life Happens.

***THE SUMMONER (Warbal Bumblebrasher)***

So, I had to edit the story a little for this one. In my game, when Warbal lived with her tribe, she used her Summoner Magic to call her Eidolon, a bear known as Big Bumble, to help defend the tribe. The other goblins didn't quite understand her magic & that she wasn't calling a "normal bear."

After she moved into Breachill, the goblin tribe decided they needed a new bear, "Big Bumble the 2nd," and that attempt didn't go so well. Hence, the "bear-icaded" bear in Chapter 3.

With that small story modification completed, I was able to roll up Warbal as a (Primal) Summoner with a Beast Eidolon (Big Bumble).

-Character Creation

Summoner Character Creation was great, until suddenly, it stalled awkwardly. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but it was very noticeable after my experience rolling up the Magus (Alak). I got about 2/3 of the way through creating a Summoner (Warbal), and suddenly the process just - stalled. It's hard to describe beyond, there was just a point where character creation suddenly got so complex that it messed up my progress.

I pushed through it & at the end of the process, I was very happy with the character. I felt like I had (once again) done a good job representing the character I was trying to represent. I got where I needed to go.

But there was a very distinct moment when the process got awkward.

Maybe the moment would vanish if I had more experience creating 2e Summoners (this was my first attempt), but the process definitely wasn't as smooth as it was for creating the Magus.

-Adventuring w/ the Summoner

My party didn't reach this point, so this didn't happen. My party will probably hit Chapter 4 next Friday, but the Playtest will already be over by then.

Sad day. I didn't get to see the original Big Bumble in action...

-Overall Thoughts

First off, I LOVE the concept of Summoners for each of the Spellcasting Traditions! That was a glorious design move. Without even digging into the class, that one mechanical distinction really inspires a lot of character concepts! I have no grounds for judging the mechanical implications of that decision (no actual play), but man, oh man, do I love that concept!

Sudden character creation difficulty spike aside, I liked how Warbal Bumblebrasher turned out when I reimagined her as a Primal Summoner. The process is rocky, and might need a little smoothing out, but I was satisfied with the result.

My group didn't get a chance to use the Summoner, so I can't comment on mechanical balance or how "understandable" it was to my players. I had two different players interesting in controlling Warbal for the adventure, so there was interest there at least. I am planning to still let my players do this when they hit Chapter 4 - it just won't happen in time for the playtest.

My gut reaction to Summoner Mechanics - I don't like the shared pool of resources for the Summoner & Eidolon (e.g.: Hit Points). It "feels" like a downgrade. Again, this is entirely my "gut reaction" (no playtest), but I feel like I'd rather take a Ranger's Animal Companion than a Summmoner's Eidolon.

Also, given that Animal Companions "feel" better than Eidolons, I have to say - Eidolons use up too many of the Summoner's Class Feats. (An Animal Companion would use up a max of 7/11 Class Feats - probably closer to 5/11. Meanwhile, a Summoner can easily use up 9/10 Class Feats, & will probably use at least 8/10 Class Feats on their Eidolon.) In fact, as it currently stands, the Eidolon feels like your actual character, & the Summoner feels like an overglorified meat taxi.

Since Warbal was an existing character in the narrative, she felt reasonably fleshed out, but I feel like a truly new PC Summoner might come across as bland since almost all of their class options lean so heavily on fleshing out their companion (rather than themselves).

*************

I wish my group had more time to actually see these classes in play. Right now, emotionally, I feel like my responses to the playtest classes are going in opposite directions.

For the Magus, I'm hesitant about the class overall, but there's enough interesting stuff that I'm definitely intrigued. I don't know if they can get the balance & actual-play right, but I hope they do!

For the Summoner, I'm excited & really love where they want to take the class, but when I look at the mechanics of the class, I'm really worried that it's not going to hit the mark.

Those are my observations, for what they're worth. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

There's a lot of great advice here on running a Pathfinder game & finding resources as a DM, so I won't rehash everything already listed, but...

If you're looking at recruiting a group of potential roleplayers, I've found that board game nights can be an excellent way to test out potential gamers without being too heavily committed.

I recommend trying some cooperative board games - games where everyone is working together against the board. That's a really easy way to see how people react to that cooperative dynamic - which is important in tabletop RPGs.

A lot of cooperative games also have a side benefit of including mechanics similar to pen & paper RPGs - such as leveling up & improving stats or gear. Cooperative games also usually have strong narrative or thematic elements, which can help you figure out who enjoys those kinds of stories.

As someone who has been storytelling Pathfinder since the Beta-Test of 1st Edition, I will say:

You want to play Pathfinder 2nd Edition! I love 1st Edition, but 2nd Edition is the superior product - and its early enough in the games life cycle that its easy to get in now.

So my party managed to go very off-script for tonight's session, and one of my players got married Vegas-Chapel style.

So, my question is: does anyone know where I can find fan art for an El-Vesk Impersonator?

If anyone knows a site where you can make fan art requests, please point me in the right direction.

My wife read through the Investigator class & her first comment was a single question:

"Why don't they have a Paranormal Investigator?"

And now, I hurt to see a Paranormal Investigator option! For the time being, maybe... multi-class archetype into Bard?

They've said they will add onto the class. I really hope that Paranormal Investigator is one of the areas where they expand the class!

Lots of good suggestions here. However, there is one thing I desperately need!

Vehicle Combat Rules!

My players are prone to hijacking any & every vehicle that they can!

I wouldn't mind something akin to Starfinders rules. While I haven't played a lot of Starfinder, the space combats I have run have all flowed reasonably well.

I'm just really hoping they don't wait several supplements to slap on vehicle rules like they did with Ultimate Combat in 1e. (I hate to nitpick you Paizo, but that really was a major complaint of mine in 1e).

I'm a DM about to run Doomsday Dawn: The Lost Star for the first time later tonight. One of my players is planning to roll up a Cleric, so I've been reviewing the class rules so that I can help them.

Here's my question:

Clerics have class feats which are available at 1st level, but their class chart says they get their first class feat at Level 2.

So, do clerics get a class feat at level 1?

Am I missing something?

Paizo,

I have a giant request - Please give us some vehicle rules!

My players are typically obsessed with vehicles in every game I run! Carts! Wagons! Ships! AIRSHIPS!

I've even had my players trick out a chariot for fun & hijinks.

What I'm saying is, I can kinda squeeze some vehicle rules from your current skills, but they would feel sloppy at best (and poorly supported).

Can you please update skills to cover vehicles, & maybe even throw on some feats for players who really want to specialize in commanding vehicles as part of play?

Right now, I can see Nature - "Handle Animal" for carts, wagons, carriages, & chariots. (I've also considered Athletics for Chariots.)

Sailor Lore might cover boats.

And maybe Acrobatics for Hang-gliders.

But that's just a sampling of the weird & crazy vehicles my players are apt to want to drive. (Experimental Gnomish Submarines, anyone?)

So, Paizo, please help an exasperated DM out & give us some comprehensive Vehicle rules!

Thank you for taking a moment to read my rambling post!

It is worth noting that I really enjoy high power, high adventure campaigns, & I encourage my players to attempt daring exploits. The following set of House rules are built with this mentality in mind.

As such, my most important house rule is this:

#1: If it Entertains the DM, it happens. Or, at the very least, I'll give you a roll to see if it works.

From there, I have a variety of lesser house rules:

#2: Create a character that can get along with the group!

Some inter-party conflict is fine, but I'm not running a war game. I'm running a Role-Playing Game. Know the difference! (I can & will destroy your character if you're wasting time ruining someone else's fun.)

I will probably not invite you back, as well.

#3: Limited Character Invulnerability

-Because you are Highly Invested in your character, & because I'm lazy & hate rolling up new characters all of the time, I give my PC's a limited form of script protection.

-PC's have a limited amount of "scripted immunity" during normal game sessions. If your character is "killed" by sheer misfortune (e.g.: a series of bad dice rolls), I will "rescue" your character in some fashion.

*Example: If your character dies in a fight, you are instead stable at negative hit points, & are either captured (& imprisoned), or alternately, suffer some sort of permanent injury. (This can be a missing limb, severe burns, or other major injury as appropriate. For Example, a Magus in my campaign suffered a full body scar, via greatsword crit, that permanently increased his armor check penalty when wearing armor. Typically, a Regenerate spell, or better, is necessary to remove these injuries.)

-There are three important exceptions to Limited Character Invulnerability (as follows):

*"BOSS FIGHT NIGHTS"*

-During "Boss Fights," which are always a campaign story arc significant encounter, all script immunity ceases to exist. "The dice fall where they fall. No mercy."

All "Boss Fight" events will be identified as such to the group at the start of the session. A "Boss Fight" will never be a surprise. If a "Boss Fight" would occur accidentally, the fight can be postponed until the next session, if the party prefers that arrangement.

The story will be modified slightly to allow for this change of events, as best as possible.

*Extras Can Be Collateral Damage*

-Scripted Invulnerability extends to YOUR CHARACTER ONLY. Any "extras" can be killed normally. "Extras" include (but are not limited to) Animal Companions, Familiars, Cohorts, Eidolons, Mounts, & other NPC party followers. "Extras" must be replaced as normal.

+Special: The death of an "Extra" never causes any mechanical penalty to your character, with the exception of possible changes to your Leadership score. [Ex: The death of a Wizard's familiar DOES NOT cause XP loss for the Wizard, though the normal amount of time & money must be spent in order to replace it.]

*Stupidity can always be Fatal.*

-If your untimely death is the result of your own critical stupidity, then your death is permanent. The universe hates stupidity.

+Example:

"The King welcomes you into his throne room."

"I TRY TO STAB HIM!"

"The guards enjoy turning your useless corpse into the world's largest pin cushion with their spears. No one cries at your passing. Roll up a new character."

#4: Character Generation Rules: "The Evil Little Choice"

Each player is given an opportunity to generate bonus points to modify their starting Ability scores up to a maximum of 18 (before racial modifiers). There are three options:

-1: Gain a strait +3 bonus to a single ability score. Any points above 18 are wasted.

-2: Roll a d4. You gain that many points to divide among all of your ability scores, as you see fit (up to the normal maximum of 18).

-3: Roll a d6. On a 1-3, you gain no bonus points. On a 4-6, you gain that many points to divide among all of your ability scores, as you see fit (up to the normal maximum of 18).

-Special: Brand new players with my group may make this choice AFTER generating their ability scores. All other players must make this choice BEFORE generating their ability scores.

#5: Ability Scores: Flexible "Free 18"

As my ability score generation methods occasionally generate heavy outlier characters (more than one "18" base score)...

-If any PC has two (or more) starting "18's" for an ability score (before racial modifiers), all other PC's with less than two "18's" gain a free "18," typically in place of their second-lowest roll.

Example: If the "Free 18" rule triggers, a player who rolls the following stats: [18, 16, 15, 14, 10, 8];

...would instead assign the following stats: [18, 18, 16, 15, 14, 8].

This rule occurs solely at the approval of the DM. [Note: I like high-powered campaigns, so I'd rather bump everyone up, than knock one PC down.]

#6: STUNT DICE! (Shamelessly adapted from Exalted)

"If it sounds awesome, then I think you deserve bonus on your chances of success!"

Core Stunt Dice Rules:

-A Stunt Dice is a mechanical bonus that is given out for unique & creative role-playing!

-Any action that requires a d20 roll can potentially earn a Stunt Dice (if you're creative enough). [Yes, even saving throws... if you're quick witted enough to come up with an excellent description of how you're getting out of harm's way.]

-To earn a Stunt Dice, you must be nominated for one.

-You can not nominate yourself for a Stunt Dice. Only other players can nominate you for a stunt dice. If no one around the table is paying attention, then you do not get the Stunt Dice. [Note: This encourages less off-topic table talk, which is very, very positive!]

The player who nominates you for the Stunt Dice should suggest which level of Stunt Dice you should receive.

-Once you have been nominated for a Stunt Dice, the GM must approve the Stunt Dice. The GM is also free to adjust the Stunt Dice up or down, as he deems appropriate.

-If the Stunt Dice is approved, you may add it to ANY d20 roll you make during that turn (not necessarily just the actual stunt). You must choose to add the Stunt Dice to the Roll BEFORE the roll is made. Any Stunt Dice that are not used by the end of that turn are lost immediately.

+Example: A swashbuckler swings on a chandalier & attacks his rival. He is awarded a d6 stunt dice. He may add this Stunt Dice to the Acrobatics Roll OR the Attack Roll. If he does not use the Stunt Dice, it is lost at the end of the turn.

-There are two Stunt Dice Cups: One on the Player's Table & One behind the DM's Screen. (The Dungeon Master can also get stunt dice!) Once a PC has used a Stunt Dice, it moves to the DM's cup. Once a DM-NPC has used a Stunt Dice, it moves to the PC's cup.

-If there are no Stunt Dice of the appropriate value in a cup, the next lowest Stunt Dice available is substituted. If no Stunt Dice of the correct value or lower are available, no Stunt Dice are awarded.

-Mythic characters who earn a Stunt Dice can spend a point of Mythic power to "upgrade" a stunt dice. This either gives the stunt dice a +2 bonus, or replaces the Stunt Dice with the Mythic character's appropriate Surge dice. The Stunt Dice originally awarded moves to the appropriate Cup as normal.

+Example: A mythic rogue/trickster PC is awarded a d4 Stunt Dice. They have a d6 Surge Dice. They may spend a point of Mythic Power to either roll a d4+2 or a d6 as their Stunt Dice for that round. Regardless of the option chosen, the original d4 that was awarded then moves to the DM's Stunt Dice Cup.

*Stunt Dice Count, Descriptions, & Requirements*

-d4 Stunt Dice:

+A d4 Stunt Dice is a stunt that "sounds cool." It is a well described action, such as an attack or special combat action. (Example: "I use the momentum from the back-swing of his great sword to throw him to the ground," in place of "I'm making a Trip attempt."). Repeated uses of the same "cool" description get boring fast... so repeating the same action doesn't count.

+Count: 10 d4 Stunt Dice

At the start of the game session, place a # of d4 Stunt Dice equal to the # of PC's in the PC cup (Minimum: 5, Maximum: 9). All other d4 Stunt Dice are placed in the DM's Cup.

-d6 Stunt Dice:

+A d6 Stunt Dice is a stunt that incorporates the environment in a creative or unique fashion. (Example: "I flip the dinner table, & then dive behind the counter while everyone is surprised. Then I crawl out of sight," instead of, "I make a distraction, & then use Stealth.")

+Count: 6 d6 Stunt Dice

At the start of the game session, place a # of d6 Stunt Dice equal to (1/2 the # of d4 Stunt Dice assigned, rounded up) in the PC's Cup. [Minimum: 3, Maximum: 5] All other d6 Stunt Dice are placed in the DM's Cup.

-d8 Stunt Dice:

+A d8 Stunt Dice is "Dramatic Grandeur!" These are awarded rarely, & only for the absolute best of role playing. There must be some element of "Story," in addition to the excellent description or cool environmental interaction.

(Example: When battling the Barbarian who killed your mentor... "I throw down my sword & rip the battle axe he used to kill my master out of his hands. Then, I use it to swipe his legs & send him tumbling down the stairs while shouting, "For Dorian!" ... Instead of, "I disarm him & then attack him with his own axe.")

+Count: 4 d8 Stunt Dice

At the start of the game, place 2 d8 Stunt Dice in the PC's Cup, & two d8 Stunt Dice in the DM's Cup.

Meatshield has the distinction of being the only ability that actually made me laugh maniacally when browsing through the entries. While there are a lot of good stuff going around, you have just become my favorite contestant. Good luck!

I always felt like Dwarves were a natural for any form of magic related to crafting. Since both Arcane & Divine magic are practical for that purpose, a dwarf who was seen as a magical craftsman would be accepted as "normal" within a particular Dwarven society.

I think the Dwarven predisposition to Divine magic comes primarily from another famous Dwarven attribute: talent w/ heavy armors.

While it is possible to use Arcane magic w/ armor, it takes a lot more effort (which is in keeping w/ the typical portrayal of Arcane & Divine magic). Additionally, Divine casters tend to be tougher, have a wider variety of defensive options, while allowing "offense" to take a back seat. All of these fit w/ a Dwarven mindset more readily.

There's an old Dragon Magazine that I have that talks about Racial Warfare & Tactics (Blanking on the article's actual name, sorry). One of the Dwarven quotes was something to the effect of, "It is better to release a thousand arrows to slay one foe, than to allow one of our brothers to fall."

Essentially, because Dwarves have a slower birthrate & longer childhood (combined w/ a heartier physique), it makes sense that (as a race), it would be natural to focus on a STRONG defense over offense. The typical "family clan" structure of Dwarven society would really only reinforce the "defensive" nature of Dwarven tactics.

Thus, at the end of the day, it is pretty understandable to say that Arcane magic would be less popular. However, that does not preclude the idea of a Dwarven Arcanist. Some schools of Arcane Magic play directly into the concept of a good defense, particularly Abjuration, Divination, & Transmutation. The last of those can even help the prospective wizard become a passable melee combatant, while granting an array of solid offensive powers as well.

The typical Dwarven Arcanist would probably a weapon or armor smith, & take multiple Item Creation feats. They would probably have the mindset of the tactician, utilizing spells in a deliberate & limited fashion, always with the intent of maximizing the benefits of their spells. Evocation would probably be held in low regard, since catching your "clan" in the blast of a fireball would be held as a desperate & foolish risk.

Good Arcane Prestige Classes for Dwarves (sticking to Pathfinder here): Eldritch Knight (make your weapon & have the skill to use it), Loremaster (Weapon Trick, Dodge Trick, & an encyclopedic knowledge of Clan Family Trees works really well for a Dwarf), and even Mystic Theurge (since you would have both the offensive & defensive variants of magic at your disposal).

As to your Charisma-based Arcane Casters... that gets a little tougher. Personally, I think Bard is a more fitting option than Sorcerer. First, a Bard only needs a Charisma of 16 to cast all of their spells, which is a more reasonable goal for a Dwarf. Additionally, while it may debatable how "magical" the dwarven community is, it is very easy to picture them as being musical. An old 3.0 book I used to own talked about a Dwarven Bard concept called "The Heartbeat Drummer." Essentially, the Bard focused on (again) on abilities that helped raise his allies Defense (or possibly hinder the opponents attacks), and channeled it all through powerful drum rhythms. That is something that would prove to be reasonably well accepted (if not extremely common) within Dwarven society.

Sorcerers are probably going to be the "odd-man out" in the Dwarven community, but don't forget: that's the way they're already portrayed, to a degree. They didn't ask for magic. They didn't necessarily want magic. They probably didn't even know that they HAD magic, but then it manifested. In ANY society, the Sorcerer is typically on the fringe, powerful & feared, but never really trusted. Raw, unguided talent does not inspire a lot of faith in well-established communities (a type of community that Dwarves would exemplify).

If you're going for a Dwarven Arcanist who is an outcast, Sorcerer is practically a custom fit, given the nature of the Sorcerer class. With the racial hindrances to Charisma, multi-classing is almost guaranteed for maximum efficiency. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing...

Arcane Armor Mastery would allow them to function w/o penalty in Mithral Chain Shirt, & w/ only a 5% Spell Failure chance in Mithral Full Plate (which doesn't slow down a Dwarf, remember). Suddenly, you have a heavily armored character, with a reasonable Bluff (good Charisma)... most people wouldn't see the spellcaster coming, hidden behind the Dwarven facade. And, don't forget this IMPORTANT note on Arcane Spell Failure: if it doesn't have Somatic components, then Spell Failure doesn't apply...

A well chosen selection of spells can make a "Dwarven Warrior," a terror to some unsuspecting foes.

I just completed an evil campaign, which had a wide variety of players (some are irregulars, who are out of town for school & things like that). The only class I banned was Paladin, & it worked out fine.

My characters:

-"Human" Fighter: Very violent. Led the charge on a temple of Iomedea, killed all the defenders, and then paid to erect a statue of himself. With the help of the party's Gnome Bard, set himself up as a false god.

-Gnome Bard: Helped set up the Fighter as a False God, as an excuse to help fleece peasants for money. Literally created a false religion for fun & profit. Oh, and had a dinosaur mount... b/c it was funny.

-Human Rogue: If you've ever seen the show Avatar: The Last Airbender... basically Azula. If you haven't seen the show, off-the-deep-end crazy & obsessed w/ revenge over the smallest of slights.

-Half-Elven Druid: Seeking revenge b/c her father "abandoned" her. Viewed the Druid philosophy through a "predator/prey" mentality. She viewed everyone else as "prey."

-Human Sorcerer (Undead Bloodline): Killed & usurped his father, claiming his own political holdings. Set up an oppressive government.

-Half-Orc Barbarian: Do I need to explain how this one went evil? I mean, really?

-Half-Orc Barbarian #2: I mean, really? Should I elaborate?

-Human Alchemist: Simple summary: Alchemy = Drugs & Poisons.

-Half-Elven Cleric: Evil Cleric to Lamashtu, Goddess of Madness.

The party did all sorts of evil things... like turn opponents skulls into fancy "Hats of Evil!!!" Slaughtering Paladins. Murdering family members... etc... etc...

We didn't have a Ranger or a Wizard, but they could have fit in just as well. All you have to do is give them an evil motivation. If it helps, just pull out the whole "Seven Deadly Sins" list, and create a standard PC who's driven by one of those motivations.

Most of your spell lists are actually neutral, so it's easy to give them an evil twist. (Like the Fire-Obsessed Wizard NPC from my game who constantly talked about how he liked the smell of burning flesh.)

I'd say with the exception of the Paladin, all of the classes, as written, are easy to adapt to an evil game.

Oh, and fun DM twist: after running an evil game, collect the character sheets, & inform your players that you've just acquired the villains for your next campaign. (Which is exactly what I just did, to great effect!)

My gaming group currently has a level 15 Gnome Bard, who frequently complains that she is useless outside of buffing. As a small character (without precision damage) she is a low-damage dealer in combat, but her spells aren't helping out much.

She is an excellent buff specialist, & she contributes solidly to each fight, but after her buffs go up... she sorta sits there.

High level foes often have good will saves, and that's if I pull them strait out of the book, unmodified & unbuffed themselves. The vast majority of Bard Spells require a Will Save, which really leaves her bored. She often has to burn 3 or 4 spells before a foe rolls badly enough to be affected, which leaves her aching.

Now, personally, I think the issue for Bards is this: the narrow limit of spells by Save DC. The VAST MAJORITY are Will Saves, a small number allow Reflex saves, and the very rare few call for Fort. Saves. As such, Bards are largely useless, except against characters with low will saves.

I think Bards need some more spells that target Reflex saves, and quite a few more spells that target Fort. saves.

Actually, in general, I'm in favor of a larger degree of diversity for all the secondary caster classes. Full Casters shouldn't be the only ones with a variety of solid attack spells.

I just want to say, it might be hard to write condensed, easy to follow rules for the myriad of combinations & possibilities... but I really like this idea.

A few of the ideas that I would like to 2nd:

-Brew Potion.

That's an obvious one.

-Mutagens Giving "Alchemical" bonuses.

Again, an obvious idea.

-More Discoveries

Honestly, two or three more would suffice.

-Trapfinding

I am violently opposed to the idea that someone with a high skill can't find magic traps w/o a special class feature, but if it's going to be a rule, you need to give this skill to Alchemists.

-Fireworks

That was a glaring oversight.

-Throw Anything

Honestly, adding the Alchemist's Int. bonus to all thrown damage rolls (instead of just splash weapons)... not that game breaking. And, it makes for a decent Thrown Weapons character as well.

Now, onto my biggest Alchemist observation:

Alchemist's have 4 + Int. Mod. skill points, which would normally make them a side "expert" class... until you realize that the Alchemist naturally has a very high Intelligence.

I'm currently playing an alchemist who gets over 10 skill points/level & who is wearing a headband to bump my intellect (which gives me even more skills).

What I'm saying is, Alchemists never lack for skill points, but they haven't been approached as a skill class, & that is something I would like to see addressed.

Here are my ideas on how:

1) Expanded Skill List: Linguistics, Knowledge (Geography), & Knowledge (planes) would be easy to justify. And really, why can't the Alchemist have some movement skills, like Climb, Acrobatics, & Swim. They do have to go out & gather ingredients! Finally, this may be a personal bias, but if a class has Disable Device as a class skill, then Knowledge (Engineering) should be added to the list as well.

2) Special Skill Options: Three words: "Epic Alchemy Items."

3) Unique Extracts and/or Mutagens based on Skill Ranks.

The # of skill points do NOT need to be increased. I'm serious on this one. The Alchemist has plenty of skill points, they just need something to do with them.

<snip>

I absolutely hated using Stoneskin, but it was the closest thing I could find to the intended effect: there just aren't a lot of spells that prevent damage... really, I would have preferred to find a Divination effect rather than Abjuration (since that it closer to "astrology"), but no suitable spell exists.

Mostly, I was trying to put astrology abilities into the game, which screamed "insight bonus" to me. Shortly after posting, it occurred to me that you were probably looking for unique mechanics, not just unique concepts.

On the math... I'm just curious what I missed. 2500 for the AC bonus, 2000 for the save bonus, and 14000 for the OPD effect... since it used up a neck slot, it shouldn't have multiplied the base cost of the Insight bonuses. Did I miss something painfully obvious? Sorry to probe, but I'm curious what I missed.

The "never random treasure" thing is probably a testament to my group's gaming style. We almost never use "random" treasure anyways. If an item like that were to show up in our typical games... there would be a use for it within the group, not to mention a side quest to figure out how that item could function for a member of the group. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have assumed a group using our play style. Oops.

I do sincerely appreciate that you took the time to offer me some feedback. Thanks!

Allow me to add my item to the mob requesting feedback.

Birthstone Pendant
Aura: Moderate Abjuration; CL: 7th
Slot: Neck; Price: 2,500gp (standard), 18,500gp (greater); Weight: -

Description

A dimly glowing birthstone is inlaid in a silver pendant, surrounded by protective runes and astrological symbols. There are two versions of this pendant; standard and greater.

Birthstone Pendant:
• +1 Insight Bonus to AC

Greater Birthstone Pendant:
• +1 Insight Bonus to AC
• +1 Insight Bonus to Saves
• 1/day: When exposed to any damage source, suffer the minimum amount of damage. (All damage dice are considered to show 1’s.)

The final benefit of the greater pendant is not effective against the Maximize Spell or similar effects, and does not extend to any allies within the effect. The use of this power is declared before damage is rolled.

Greater Birthstone Pendants are never random treasure, but must be specially crafted for the individual. If someone with the same astrological sign recovers another person’s greater pendant, they gain the benefits associated with the standard pendant. Theoretically, two people born on the same day, with closely linked destinies (i.e., twins), could benefit from the same greater pendant.

Construction
Requirements: Craft Wondrous Items; Stoneskin; Cost: 1,250gp (regular), 9,250gp (greater)

_________________________

Thanks for your commentary in advance!

I'd say my Top Three are (in no particular order)...

*Dust of Weighty Burdens

*Boundary Chalk

*Abyssal Spurs

I really enjoyed all three of those, but I'd have a hard time picking the next two items I would want to include in a top 5 list. Congrats all around to the winners.

I haven't had a lot of time to dig into Pathfinder (and particularly, Beta)... school can be annoying some times. However, I'll toss out a 3.5 house rule that my group has been discussing.

We've been working (in recent months) on a Reputation system to include in the game. During the discussion of a Reputation system, an alternate 'favored class' system was proposed:

Basically, every race comes with two favored classes (say, Fighters and Clerics for Dwarves). If a character advances to a sufficient level in either favored class, they receive a small reputation bonus when dealing w/ their race (and their race only). In other words, by following the expectations of their society, they receive extra approval in their own lands (but fail to stand out in the eyes of other races... I mean, seriously, it's just another Dwarven Fighter).

For Humans, we raise the prerequisite level to gain the reputation bonus. In other words, humans can gain fame in any role, but have to work harder to gain notoriety.

Even if we don't adopt a Reputation system, a similar system could be instituted in the form of a small bonus to Cha-based skill checks relating to their own race.

I think this is a sufficient reward for "playing the stereotype," w/o creating an inferiority complex for those poor Halfling wizards out there.

While we haven't completely ironed out the rule, it is popular for several reasons:

1) It keeps a "Favored Class" mechanic, which is popular in my group.

-Am I the only one who's sick of those darn Chaotic Good Drow Rangers who keep popping up all over the place?

2) The "Favored Class" mechanic does not provide any (significant) combat bonuses.

-There's a bonus for adhering to common racial roles, but it's not a bonus that affects actual combat, helping maintain balance.

Note: If my group's variant is used w/ Cha-based skills, rather than Reputation, then it would apply to Intimidate (which would, in turn, affect combat). Still, in this case, the bonus is small, and only applies against members of the same race. Thus, it still maintains most of it's balance.

3) By requiring that PC's achieve a certain level to achieve the bonus, it helps discourage excessive multi-classing.

-B/c, in the end, I'm sick of the rampant multi-classing and meaningless "prestige" classes.

Once we become more familiar w/ Beta, we may alter this rule, but so far, the suggestion is proving very popular in our group. (At the moment, we're still trying to decide what qualifies as the 'sufficient level,' but otherwise, we've got the rule working rather well.)