Scott_UAT's page

Fantastic news!
Thanks for getting all that together and you folks did a great job on listening to the community's feedback!

No one ever answered this? Too little too late but here are my 2 cents:

Overall: A lot of your questions have to do with the OGL (open game license) and copyright law. GENERALLY using something from a product is ok so long as it’s in a book that’s published under the OGL and the material in question (generally proper nouns) are not reserved as product identity by the Publisher. Product identity is declared in the OGL section (for example, in Starfinder Paizo reserves the phrase “The Drift”). Read the license for yourself and familiarize yourself with copyright law however- this is SUPER important for publishing ANYTHING.

That having been said:
1. Yeah
2. Yep.
3. Sure.
4. Yes but the wording part of that question ends up as more of a “rules/implementation” question than a real “can I copy this”.
5. “Unique to Paizo” is probably different from “reserved as product identity” but that’s probably more what you’re asking. You can’t use something that’s reserved as product identity.
6. If it’s something that’s reserved as product identity, no. Stay away from it, don’t mention it, don’t cite it, and just don’t tread on that ground. Play it safe. They are being cool and letting us play in their sandbox a bit, don’t be a jerk. Now could you do something SIMILAR? Sure. But that’s where copyright comes in. I can’t teach you the ins and outs of copyright law in a simple post on a messageboard but one of the best “sniff tests” is “Would this create reasonable confusion for a customer looking at these two products”.
7. You can only use things Paizo wants you to use. Always err on the side of caution.
8. That’s a longer answer than I have time to do justice. Read over the OGL license and you’ll see how it works. The REALLY short answer is, you list all works cited/used/referenced in your work in a certain format in section 15 of your product’s copy of the OGL. The product you wrote is the last product on that list.

Again, those are NOT adequate answers. Those are good starting parts. Read the OGL. Read the PF Compatibility License and dive into the basics of copyright law.

Hey there :-)
So I put together a kind of little database for 3rd party Starfinder material. It's a kind of "statement of existing research" to show folks what's out there. I used to maintain a list of 3rd party material for Pathfinder 1 and I wanted to do one of Starfinder (and laster maybe PF 2e). This one isn't finished (I've pulled about 130 books or so) so if you see me working on it, that's why.

Please file>copy if you want to mess with it. You can sort by any of the columns. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

~Link~

Well editing proceeds as it has for the last few months. We have 2 workdays per month (with individual work scattered across the week as time allows) and we dedicate one of them to this project each week. As you can imagine with SIXTY THREE base classes there is a LOT to be done. We've pretty much done the revision phase on the classes and now I'm currently doing the intros again. There is a lot of non-standardization in there right now so I am standardizing most of it and fleshing out background lore and the like. Since Alt. Path has a lot of subsystems and optional rules, some of those systems need entries for each class so it's a lot of legwork even if it's just saying, "No, this class is not impacted by this" or "here is the one skill they get" or whatever. I'd like to see this come out in late spring and that's kind of our ballpark guess at the moment. It's one of those products we don't want to mess up on and we'll delay it until it's solidly done. If we do a crowdfunding campaign for this we will have the book like 90% done like we always do so there is no chance of a failed delivery (unless, you know, like a meteor hits the Earth or I die in a duel or something).

Real talk- this is happening. We've been working for months on it already.
We're putting EVERY Alt. Path product together into one massive, revamped, insane, retooled, expanded, book that is being beautifully illustrated by a handful of our collaborators!

We're talking:
-63 base classes! (SIXTY. THREE)
-20 archetypes!
-1 extensive alternate class! (Hey there Berzerker...)
-16 prestige classes!
-3 hybrid classes!
-100+ feats!
-Dozens and dozens of alternate rules and subsystems!
-SO much more (weapons, diseases, deities, game mastery sections, races, etc!)
-Sidebars for days!

This is a BEAST of a book, clocking in at 1,400+ pages prior to formatting (probably going to be ~1,000 when we are done). The only thing we can compare this to is Gonzo 2- it blows Dragon Tiger Ox out of the water in terms of just how much content there is. This is 8+ years of work and now we're circling around like some kind of little, red, goblinoid ouroboros to eat our own tail and revise everything we've put our heart and soul into!

Every piece of content is getting another look over and the classes are getting expanded. Every class is getting an expanded/revamped introduction section but beyond that it varies: some that we didn't feel met our current quality standards are being reworked from the ground up while others are just getting standardized formatting, and some are getting rules revisions and expansions based on player feedback and periodic review that we do.

We're still working out the specifics on funding. It'll probably be crowdfunding but we're looking into how we want to approach that. We always make sure we have a publishable project before we launch a crowdfunding campaign (so there is never a risk of NOTHING being published) but we want to see where you guys want to go with this. Do you want expanded content (new archetypes, more feats, expanded focus on a particular subsystem, more art, print options, etc) or do you want a "fund and launch" project?

(Also, hello again Paizo forums! I've been away from you for awhile! Don't worry- I've been lurking.)

Yep!
We've been working on a number of products. We just tested the water with a Battle Chef conversion and will be releasing multiman soon.
We've done significant work on the following 1e class conversions as well:
-Godhand
-Noble
-Athlete
-Elemental Host
-Necroknight
-Worldshaper
-Shujaa
-La Rosa
Haven't worked on Primal Host but now that we know there is interest we'll prioritize it a bit more.

Yeah, we still have a few 1st Edition products in the works.

I don't believe anything was changed about PF1 publishing in like the "legal" sense (though paradigm-wise it kinda has).

Just saying...
The Expanded Godhand

Well, one thing I have in my own little headcanon is that worldshaper from Alt. Path Magic is almost a transmutation crested character and I probably would have written it as such (and a bit differently) if we'd had cresting back then. La Rosa from Alt Path Divine feels a lot like how we'd probably address a divination crested character. (The mystic seeker prestige from Alt. Path Martial could probably fit that slot too.)

It'll be interesting to see how things shape up in Pathfinder 2. We have a blank slate to kind of re-introduce classes and concepts that kind of developed all helter-skelter since we started. Like I know we want to codify that "cosmic" power source (aka "kashun") we've explored (we actually do that in the upcoming Alt. Path Magic 2 which just finished playtest and initial editing). I REALLY want to take another crack at things like battle chef, davatti, and multiman. We did davatti and multiman as Starfinder conversions but haven't released them yet (it's a big process and Starfinder sells... ok) and that just made me want to do them all over again.

We've toyed with couching our content in a broadly accessible setting like we did with Red Sector in Starfinder. It's the kind of "here is some flavor specific to the setting but the class/content itself is super setting neutral. If you want to fit it in, here is how that'd look."

We've toyed with establishing a few "core" races for LRGG. Probably stay spells, maybe gaoth and some stuff from Racial Guide 4, and we'd probably toss wug in there because we love it so damn much.

Lot's upcoming. We've, for sure, got the Godhand support (probably launching today), Alt. Path Magic 2, probably a pure "culture" book, and more. We've talked internally about the next Alt. Path after Magic 2 and it's looking like it'd either be Ascetic 2 or a skill-focused Alt Path book (focused on rogues, bards rangers, etc with new ways to use skills and the like).

As a little update, Ian wrapped on the Godhand expansion last Sunday. I'll see when I can get it formatted and out the door.

Yeah there is a whole sub system involving schools. Most of the classes in this book (notably: archer, reaper, swordsman, and weapon master) have a "combat school" they can select. There are rules for most martial classes gaining them (kind of like archetypes) but they offer a suite of new abilities centered around a theme. Like StSword said, your school will DRASTICALLY impact how the class plays. While an oni school reaper will basically be an AOE physical debuffer a reaper with from Gryphon’s Legion will be kind of like a cavalier in that they could be tossing out teamwork feats and buffing allies, and a Silver Lance reaper would be a mounted AEO character with a crazy reach and some respectable charge damage.

Swordsman is more a "supernatural swordsman". They are very much the wuxia swordsman, a samurai from some anime, or that legendary swordsman of some secret sect. Their main mechanics include giving some of their stuff vorpal, sizing up people by "sensing their killing intent", some critical stuff, they get to make one sword of their choice a school weapon, and they've got a list of talents called "kenjutsu' that represent some dynamic options (sonic damage pressure waves, dark pacts that increase their power, sword dancing, etc).

Berserker is an alternate barbarian. They've got the berserkergang, which grants them rage but also imposes a quasi-confused state on them (it's got its own chart). They also state how many rounds they want to enter rage for and can't end it prematurely (though they have ways of doing it later). Their real fun comes from their "warrior cults". See berserkers are closer to their historical counterparts in that they are loyal to king or group or something- not just slobbering marauders. Your warrior cult kind of works like a bloodline or domain; it grants you stuff at level 1, 4, 8, and 14. Some of them let you do stuff like intimidate and fight storms, get a giant wolf, gain some spell-likes, buff allies, etc. They are REALLY varied and flavorful and are their main difference from barbarians.

We recently got a lot of feedback on it. We actually dedicated a workday last week to getting the product out the door.
We've got bound spirits (which are somewhere between selecting a bloodline/domain and an archetype) for: angels, asura, invitables, demons, kami, old ones, and psychopomps
We've also got 4 new archetypes: the altered arm (an alchemical godhand), the contacted (aberrations), the dragon-arm (your arm is literally an intelligent dragon...), and the greenhand (plants) along with a few feats.

I am formatting for Nagual at the moment but once I get a free sec we'll be putting it out.

If you guys know us at all, it's probably for our Gonzo books.
If you don't know us, "Hi! We're Little Red and we write the weird stuff!".
Anyway, pretty recently we wrote "Gonzo: Mad Science" for Starfinder. It covers a lot of things but we kind of focused on "Hey, this is what science says is possible, at least theoretically" rather than high magic. It covers topics like time travel, black holes & white holes, nanobots (and the "grey goo" scenario), etc. On the other hand, it also covers stuff like mimic spaceships, guns that shoot backwards through time, and the now infamous 'Hold My Beer' feat for humans."

Anyway, it's like 90 pages, has some awesome art, and it's only 9 bucks.

Brother Fen wrote:

Cool. Looks like another alternative to Path of War and Spheres of Might/Power.

I wouldn't say that.

While I'm sadly too too broke to buy this magnificent product right now, I did check out the preview on rpgnow which includes the optional rules.

Path of war and spheres of might are about enhancing the abilities of warriors, this book's alternate rules are about enhancing the martial power of spellcasters, which is a bit different.

That said, the optional rule "metamagic weapons" could be used to allow warriors to have essentially metaweapon feats, it's not like most metamagic feats have prerequisites non spellcasters can't meet in pathfinder.

So a fighter with bouncing arrows, monks beating up ghosts with ectoplasmic fist strikes, archers firing seeking arrows, etc.

While that sounds fun and gives warriors some help, I wouldn't call it a rival to SoM or PoW without adding a whole lot of metamagic feats.

Unless you mean a replacement as in adding more fighty classes with exotic abilities, which if Beasts are any indication this book does have covered.

Love Beasts by the way, I read about them and I just couldn't help but see lots of ways to expand it- Beasts who gain their powers by sorcerer like heritage, android Beasts whose powers are technomagical tinkering, alchemical beasts, racial paths/archetypes for Beasts who draw upon their kitsune/dhampir/skinwalker/elemental heritage, etc.

We love the Spheres books and Path of War too but like Brother Fen said this book's systems are less extensive/invasive systems that gives martial and magic characters the ability to blend together a bit using modifications to the existing system.

And I really like your ideas for expanding the content of Beast Fen, very creative! Classes generally have a general page range and while we have lots of ideas on how to expand it; that was where it ended up at. We'd love to do an expansion on it if it gets enough traction to warrant it!

I know I'm late to the party but:

That's not a stupid question. It's a bit of a tough topic. I gotta zoom out a bit to give you an accurate answer but I promise I will :-)

Wizards published D&D 3.0/3.5 under a license called the OGL. It says that OGL books can reference other OGL books and to do so you need to publish under the OGL.

Pathfinder was published under the OGL. You can reference Pathfinder (and any other OGL book).

The Pathfinder Compatibility License (PCL) is an extra thing. It lets you put that Pathfinder Compatibility Logo on the cover. You need to sign up for it (it’s free). For product to have the PCL logo on it it needs to be, you guessed it, totally compatible with the Pathfinder RPG. This means it can’t be added to like a standalone game (though it can be compatible with other systems as well) or something that doesn't rely on Pathfinder to work.

The PCL doesn’t mean Paizo is affiliated with you or endorses your product. There are a few other conditions (you gotta send a copy to Paizo; which you’ll do anyway to get it on their store, you gotta reference stuff in a certain way, etc) but BASICALLY it lets you put a badge that assures people that your product works with Pathfinder. It’s not an endorsement, but it looks very spiffy and helps folks identify Pathfinder products from other publishers on the shelf.

And all of this is SUPER cut down; there is way more to it than that. Here are some useful links:
OGL: http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/ogl.html
PCL: http://paizo.com/pathfinder/rpg/compatibility

Hmm...never occurred to me that these missives could be prophetic. Perhaps now is the time to build my gaming empire.

Do it.

Interesting debate. It gets into the paradigm that "having the right spell" creates. Ranks in Stealth? Great, cleric has invisibility. Good at combat? A tornado will handle that bandit camp far better than one barbarian.

The suggestion of, "Don't be a dick, let people shine where they shine” is great, in theory, but not in practice. I think we should hold our content to a higher level. The fighter SHOULD matter AND the cleric should matter too. And yeah, I HAVE published a fighter rebuild (“man-at-arms”) that kind of addresses this but, by my own admission, doesn’t solve the problem of the basic paradigm (i.e, if I have the perfect spell prepped I am always more valuable). Now there are limiting factors (spells per day/spells known/intention spell list holes/etc) but I don’t feel it really addresses it.

I ascribe to the Tippyverse a lot and I think it needs to be examined HOW a martial/mundane character would work in a world where magic is at least semi-prevalent. There was a discussion from Lindybeige about weapons in a fantasy setting. He posits that they would be different than they would be in our world. As I’ve often said recently in my post about the Arms & Armor exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum weapons are tools that are suited for a task. Need a sword that will pierce certain kinds of armor? Get an estoc. Need a sword that will chop things really well? A falchion is designed for that. Walking around town and it would be a little uncouth to carry around a spear? Rapiers were made for that. That’s an oversimplification to a degree (we joking refer to the arming sword/longsword as a the “medieval crowbar” for its many uses) but it highlights the problem. We have classes that (for the most part) reflect real-world sensibilities like fighter and cavalier pitted against unrealistic sensibilities of people like wizards and clerics.

A wacky hypothetical example is if all warfare was based on magnets. Would you ride into battle with maximilian full-plate and a big, metal, sword? Probably not. You’d probably have armors and weapons made of a non-ferrous metal (or non-metal). So why do we have “dude with sword” fighting “dude with hurricane”? Sure “dude with sword” can hit people better with that sword then “dude with hurricane” but “dude with sword” never gets the option to be even a little good with hurricanes while “dude with hurricane” always gets a little good with swords.

This is a class design paradigm I call “option vs progression” and it is kind of a scale. The basic function of this scale (and its not a perfect one) is that, at its core, when a character advances 1 level (whatever an increment of power is in your game) they either get better at one task or get the option to do a new task (task being... anything. Swinging a sword, blasting with fire, eating cakes, diplomacy, etc). As wizards (and other casters) advance they get LOTS of options (have you seen the sorcerer/wizard spell list?) while a fighter generally gets better at hitting things with one category of weapon. Now this isn’t a perfect representation, fighter gets bonus feats and wizards have a progressing caster level, but you get the notion; No one is ENTIRELY on one end of the spectrum.

Early on this is not a problem- dude who can do the one thing is really good at that one thing and, assuming that one thing has many uses, it’s not a problem. The problem is that when an option character hits “that new thing they can do” squarely on the head they, by design, SHOULD be better at it. At low levels these more specific situations are not as frequently occurring but after many levels the option character has a LOT of options and it starts to encroach on the progression character’s territory. This is a lot of high concept work and doesn’t work perfectly but you can kind of squint and see where the caster/martial disparity comes in if you follow this to its logical conclusion.

We have a big list of classes to convert over. Henshin Hero hasn't been converted over yet but it shouldn't a huge challenge to convert over given it's mechanics (maybe tension will be a bit problematic due to the resource conversion thing).

We actually kept Stay Spell and Arma out of the Races of Red Sector book because their conversion will be really extensive and, really, deserve their own books. Like... Stray Spells WAS its own book and I KNOW we could do a LOT with Arma given the new item level/weapon rules in place.

Glad you enjoyed dragoon though!

Thanks for giving us that behind the scenes!

@Snorter: Hmm. Well we have the Saffir by Paizo Fans United from Wayfinder #10 so I think that'll be ok. Fire away!

Added:
Maniac from Zenith Games
Prodigy from Drop Dead Studios
Sage from Drop Dead Studios
Troubadour from Drop Dead Studios

Just a clarification on those last (@N. Jolly). Conceptually those sound a little like hybrid classes (particularly the sage). Just to clarify, can you confirm if those are specifically designed as base or hybrid classes?

The Aug base class is now up on DriveThru from Little Red Goblin Games.

Added:
Races from Red Sector Races.
Races from Star RPG Extra Races.
Races from Star RPG Alien Races 3.
Races from Star RPG Alien Races 2.
Races from Alien Evolution: Cosmic Race Guidebook.

Let me look into 1&2 but 3 the answer is yes both would have the grappled condition.

Oh that would be the Professional Goblins Podcast.
It's in Episode 26 (w/ Haze Browne). Live stream is obviously over but it should be up on Mike's YouTube in a day or so.

FYI I plugged this on last week's Professional Goblins Podcast .
Best of luck & keep it up!

Hi guys!

In the spirit of my "List of 3rd Party Base Classes" and "List of 3rd Party Campaign Settings" threads I thought I'd start one for Starfinder player options!

~Link To Document~

Included in this list will be: Base classes, player races, themes, and archetypes.

The rules for inclusion on this list are:

Bam! The Golem's Now Got It!
Check it out on Paizo.com!

Introducing the sequel to Alternate Paths: Martial Characters! In this entry we explore new ways to make combat less linear by presenting new rules and options that allow you to "fight smarter" not just "hit harder". Classes in this book follow the same design ethos as classes like rogues, rangers, and even vigilantees. This book examines things like using combat maneuvers, skills in combat, and noncombat options to give players toolboxes of options to fight in a less linear fashion. We hope that by the last page you come away with enough options and new material to turn your typical Pathfinder game into something more complex and compelling!

This book is designed with the very experienced player in mind as it presents alternate rules and classes that are more suited to their needs.

Overview:
5 new character classes, 17 pages of new alternate rules and subsystems, and 48 new feat!

New Alternate Rules & Subsystems:

• Reactions: Immediate actions taken to the next level!
  Conservation of Attacks: Trade iterative attacks for new options!
  
• Simple Grapple Rules: Make grappling accessible to new players!
  
• Free Combat Maneuvers: Discusses the advantages of letting people take "improved" combat maneuver feats.
  
• Aid Another: New uses for aid another checks in combat!
  
• New Uses for Skills: Includes Heal, Perception, and UMD!
  
• New Environmental Interaction Rules: Wall jumping, wall running, burrowing, 3D movement, eating in a dungeon, and more!
  
• New Feats: Including "Friend Feats" (gain abilities based on what your party members have!), razor-wire kung fu, and spell-casting feats for martial characters!

Character Classes:

• Calculator: A math-based, hyper-logical, martial character who can literally see the math behind things!
  
• Face-Changer: Part spy, part assasin, part shapeshifter and all kinds of scary in combat!
  
• Nobody: A class that fades from existence as they become one with the void- removing themselves and their foes by tapping into "The Nothing".
  
• Sapper: A military engineer designed for a high-fantasy world.
  
• Scout: A non-magical combat archer designed for spotting enemies, gathering intel, and counteracting magical stealth though supernatural vision.

Now avaible on DriveThruRPG and our Patreon. Coming soon to Paizo.com!

I got my copy from Patreon! Will be looking into it soon!

Fantastic, hope you enjoy it!

What, no flumph PC? X D

Looks like a fun premise!

Excuse me but the only reason it is not in that book is because it's in this book. (The "Ziphryn" are halfling / flumph hybrids)

We got all your flumph needs covered. *Thumbs Up*

Will I still be able to download the PDG purchases form Paizo that I have made so far?

In my expierence, even pdfs removed from the store are avaible in your downloads.

We are looking forward to seeing those classes Marc. Please post them when they are for sale and I'll add them.

I'll also toss it on the list of talking points for our next Professional Goblins Podcast show in our Kickstarter section. (You should come on at some point Marc! Tell about the KS in person!)

Also- I added stuff from the following Little Red books: Shapeshifter, Stray Spells, Alt. Path Social, and Tome of Advanced Item Use.

Change Log

So today we've got a curveball for you. We've done a lot of Alternate Path books and we decided to step outside that.It is a book about creation, crafting, and items. However, like most of the Little Red library we’ve taken this concept in a different direction than what would be traditionally found in such a book. We didn’t include a mad scientist class or an artificer, there are no huge list of redundant items to fill out page count, and there is no convoluted new crafting subsystem; this is a book about “creation” and “items” as concepts rather than a book about crafting.

In this book you’ll see three classes presented. The first is the collector, followed by the sacred smith, and it will end with the magician. Each play on these themes in different ways. The collector is a class that is magically bound (by destiny, pact, etc) to certain items. This might be something as thematically traditional as King Arthur with his legendary equipment that he was destined to wield or something as exotic as alien technology bound to a person in a fantasy world. The sacred smith is the avatar of creation- able to use “matter”, granted to them by the Engines of Creation, to create anything their hearts desire. This magical “instant crafting” affords them a great many options and carves out a new niche for them in the wider world of gameplay (they can be the “equiper” of the party). Finally, the magician can “fake” magical items through deception and utilize equipment in new and unique ways (via equipment tricks and their “magicians secrets”). If the collector is the special arrangement of items, the sacred smith is the special creation of items, and the magician is the special utilization of those items.

Should be out today on DriveThru and soon on Paizo.com!

Cool, I actually saw Naiche in the credits for Gonzo 2 (and a few other LRGG products) and really liked what I saw.

Yeah- Naiche has some next level artwork. We love working with him :-)

Change Log

Aww, I thought the class was going to get called "bewitched." :P

See, I totally combined those names differently and thought that was the joke.

All sounds classy- looking forward to it.

Mike and I were actually talking about it for a bit today on that "Professional Goblins" podcast we did (Shameless Plug). We're moving forward on it. We have that "stray spell" race as our next release (a race of spells embodied as humanoids who can "highlander" each other). It's being playtested atm.

Looking forward to it. In the middle of running a Strange Aeons game but afterwards I am doing a heavily modified Throne of the Night campaign; camp attendants in for a Darklands Expedition sounds awesome.

Oooo, that'll totally fit in!

It's one of those books that you'll use in a game like that but not in like a super tactical-wargame-dungeon-crawl one (kind of like Ultimate Intrigue).

We've got a shapeshifter class (seriously- the biggest single class we've ever published and super toolboxy) and a race of sentient spells (think living spells + our arma race + Highlander) prior to that but those are wrapping up so once those are done we'll release the Political book.

I think we'll tap Rui for art on that one (the guy who did Godhand, Alt. Path Divine, etc). He's got a really "refined" style that will go with it.

Oh yeah- and we are going back to that "Civilized vs Primal" mechanic we introduced in Alt. Path Primal.

Another fantastic addition! Always love your work; any ideas on the next Alternate Paths?

Sorry for a minor bit of thread necromancy but we just finalized our next Alt. Path book. We are, for sure, going to be doing one focused on Politics. At the moment it includes a super rules light way to integrated verbal duels into actual combat, a social class (like... castes, not character class) system, urban deities, expanded rules & lists for services (price for arranging a marriage, bribing, economic destabilization of a town, etc), rules for giving a party a train (basically- camp attendants), and stuff like that. It's got an EXTENSIVE rebuild of the noble class (doesn't look the same at all), a "legionary" which is kind of a citizen solder who climbs socially while still having some unique martial options, a "ciphere" class that is about metaphorically/spiritually being "nobody", and a "showman" who is kind of a... supernatural social character (with a bit of a circus flair- plays a LITTLE similar to like a social divatti from Gonzo 2 but is... very different).

Another fantastic addition! Always love your work; any ideas on the next Alternate Paths?

We have a few ideas but nothing formal yet. We are talking about doing something socially focus. Kind of along the lines of Ultimate Intrigue. Our next book is actually going to be a super rules light, setting neutral, wargame system along with a sample setting. All within like... 50 pages. Should be fun.

Well it looks like we are good to go- should be uploaded by this evening!

Edit: Now live ~Link~

How am I supposed to stay in the black if you dang 3PPs keep publishing great stuff!

Well we try our best to do our worst to your bank account despite our low prices ;-)

One should not be happy or distressed over desirables and undesirables, knowing that such feelings are just created by the mind.
-A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

So next Tuesday* we will be launching a new book in our Alternate Paths line with a focus on “ascetic characters”. Now, what does that mean? We are focusing on characters, like monks, who focus on those who employ personal, or at least non-deific, spirituality. Many aspects of the book explore “psychospiritual” practices or “martial philosophies” (rather than “martial arts”). While not a cultural source book like Heroes of the Waves was for polynesian culture- it definitely showcases a lot of Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist influences (as well as a little new age stuff). It deals a LOT with more abstract concepts that the d20 system doesn’t often focus on; more subjective, shades of grey, interpretive material than your traditional “black and white” stuff. It’s a little more sub-system/new rules heavy than our other Alt. Path books but it’s the same great content we hope you’ve come to expect from them.

The book includes:

• Awakening System: This system allows a character to reach “enlightenment” by accepting (on a personal/spiritual level) certain universal truths. When gained, they are a vulnerability (as accepting them is painful and difficult to one’s self-identity) that, once they reach a certain level of realization, is replaced by a powerful bonus. Once several have been “realized” all realized awakenings become “Enlightenments”, as it takes the realization of many fundamental truths to reach oneness with the universe.
  
• Chakra System Revamp: Christos Gurd has retooled the Chakra system and made it a lot easier to implement, a lot more practice to use. If you already use the current chakra system, this one is very easy to convert over to it. There are also rewritten chakra feats and 2 chakra-based archetypes.
  
• Investiture System: This is a sort of replacement for the magic item system in Pathfinder, but it can be used in conjunction with it too. It allows characters to “invest” part of their own aura/soul into items to give them magical power.
  
• Philosophy System: This new sub-system replaces the current alignment system with philosophies (Absolutism, Nihilism, Consequentialism, Virtuism, Logicism, Machiavellianism, etc) that plays nicely with the current alignment system (so, yes, you can “Smite Nihilism” as an Absolutist Paladin). The system has optional interplay with the verbal duel system from Ultimate Intrigue. It’s very easy to use and we think that it has a more depth than simple good and evil / law and chaos morality.
  
• Flowmaster (Base Class): An absurdist, “drunken-master”, improvisational martial artist. Drawing from inspirations like Jackie Chan, Voldo, Bruce Lee, and many more- the flowmaster knows how to roll with the punches! You can think of them as “chaotic monks”, but that doesn’t really sum them up. They lack the supernatural powers and rather rely on their own martial philosophy and eccentricities. They are masters of improvised weapons, able to counter-strike foes with debilitating blows, and have a unique style of combat that can hurt yourself if you are unlucky or destroy your opponent quickly if you are (may the RNGs ever be in your favor...)! (d10, full BAB, 4 + Int, good Fort & Ref)
  
• Ajna (Base Class): The Ajna is a psychic martial character with a powerful third eye. They are competent fighters on their own but when they allow their spirit to leave their body- they become an unstoppable astral warrior. However, they have an achilles heel. They leave their body behind, unprotected, while they do this. On top of their powerful “projections”, they have 6 level psychic casting, a mastery of telekinetic martial arts, limited astral projection, and unique perceptive abilities. (D8, medium BAB, 4 + Int, good Will, 6 level psychic casting)
  
• Kashun (Base Class): In this book we introduce a power source we hope to harness again in the future. This power source, “Kashoom” is a pervasive “cosmic energy”. Kashun are martial artists who can contort their body like an old TV antenna to get the best “reception” of this cosmic force. They strike odd, dramatic, poses and charge their kashoom energy- unleashing it in powerful and decisive ways. This class features a host of unique poses and effects that can be generated by way of those poses.
  
• 3 New Archetypes: This book features an “Enlightened Barbarian” archetype, a chakra based “Vajrayana Monk”, and a support focused Ajna called a “Guru”.
  
• New Feats: This book includes class support feats, but also a slew of new “chakra feats”, and some thematically appropriate new feats. This includes one that grants you the ability to “detect hostility”, some stuff relating to past life regression, a Heal-centric feat that allows you to cure mental conditions, and an “Opera Style” of martial arts that allows you to “fake it” (you are more a stunt-man than a martial artist). We also bring back the Qinggong Feats from Dragon Tiger Ox and give them some love!

Formatting is not finalized but it looks like this trippy book it will be 70-80 pages long and will retail for $7.99 USD.

*We are waiting on 2 pieces of art to be finished. They are in their final revision state. Provided they are done by Sunday, the book will be out Tuesday. We have all reason to believe it will be.

New, from Little Red Goblin Games, the Vector!

You can use their kinetic powers to: redirect your friends, redirect your enemies, redirect your enemies' friends! Redirect their bullets, redirect their bullets into their friends, redirect thrown potions to YOUR friends. Throw people into spikes, people into other people, people into spike people, spikes into spikes, gnomes off cliffs, halflings off cliffs, dinosaurs off cliffs, a guy named Cliff off cliffs, Cliff's cleft of Cliff's face off a cliff- all cliffs all the time*.
*Results may vary by location and availability of a man named Cliff.

So, the next round in the chamber is "The Vector"! Master of kinetic energy, the vector can redirect projectiles and people, give things "absolute momentum", rob inertia from stuff, and so much more! It's inspired by a wide verity of momentum manipulators (characters like Accelerator (A Certain Magical Index), Speedball (Marvel Comics), Medusa Gorgon (Soul Eater), Juggernaut (Marvel Comics), Kraft Work (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure), Hisoka Morow (Hunter x Hunter), Rocket (DC Comics) (etc) and has a wide variety of unique mechanics to let you explore movement in a whole new way.

The book's due out today and we hope to hear your stories of just how crazy it makes your combats. We had a lot of fun playing with it internally so we are proud to toss this new base class your way :-)

Live Forever! Eat Your Enemies! Curse Your Friends!

Here's the Paragon Ghoul, Paragon Lich, and Paragon Mummy, three undead paragon racial classes from Zenith Games.

Added all 3 to the racial classes tab.

Question on magical girl's "Finishing Move." I'm confused on the wording. Is it supposed to be an attack with a weapon that becomes a touch attack and deals +2d6 damage? Or a touch attack for 2d6 damage that can be used in melee or range? And if the latter, what is its range?

Sorry guys- lost track of this.

From the designer:
"That's an oversight it is it's own attack that deals +2d6 damage. It's range should be medium (100 feet +10 feet per level)."

This book is amazing!

I have a quick question. The davatti's soldier of the mind ability says:

davatti wrote:

At 4th level, the the davatti counts his davatti level as his BAB for the purposes of qualifying for combat feats.

But the davatti is already a full BAB class. Am I missing something here, or is this a mistake?

That's copy/pasta. We will remove. At one point davatti was 3/4ths.

The Sind is now live!

"What is a sind" I hear you asking- why it's a "dungeon mage"! And, by that, I mean that it's a 6 level arcane caster who draws their power from ancient places of powers. A lot of games have "dragons" and "dungeons" (funny how that works out...) and the sind is a professional dungeon delver who studied the horrors of the adventuring life in an academic setting! Because of this special training and their unique approach to magic they can modify the topography of dungeons, relocate/summons trap and even (at later levels) create their own "personal dungeon". This extra-dimensional personal dungeon has many features and can kind of serve as a "danger room" (X-Men style) for parties and just a nice place for a party to catch their breath. It can also be used offensively if you get creative (which we hope you do!) and can be a lot of fun to employ!

The sind also gets an archetype- the "dungeonmancer" who sacrifices their personal dungeon for bolstered spellcasting and some discoveries (arcane discoveries from wizards and alchemist discoveries). They are more the "cutting edge" dungeon researcher who would rather explore the mysterious magics of dungeons themselves then experiment in a little "pretend" dungeon of their own.

Also included in this book is the "hutling" race and, no, it's not going to let you play Jabba the Hut but it WILL let you play an animated house(think of Baba Yaga's hut... but with a face and arms too) with an extradimensional resting place for their party.

Last, but not least, the book includes a nice plot hook/bit of lore that details the way living dungeons can "grow". A great little tidbit to toss into your game to spice things up!

This is the first of a wave of shorter (10-30 page) books we are producing between our main larger books (70-100 pages) and we really hope you guys enjoy it! This one is only 2 bucks and we can't wait to hear all the chaos you caused with this gem!

Lots of love
~Red

PS: Here is that link once again: ~Link~.
It'll be up on Paizo.com sooner rather than later.