alsyr's page

I hope so! Guardian and Commander turned out great and Runesmith and Necromancer are both promising, so there is clearly still design space and thematic niches left for them to explore. I personally would love to see a Shifter class as I don’t think we quite have anything that covers that fantasy.

Going against the trend here, I'd like everyone to remember Paizo's output towards the end of 1e where plenty of classes were released, and because everyone knew the system so well they were (mostly) absolute love letters to 1e.

Some of the most fun I had with 1e was with those later classes such as the Kineticist, Mesmerist,Medium and Occultist even if some of them were so fiddly and complicated they needed software to run. (Ah Herolab you made the Occultist with its dozens of moving parts, floating bonuses, and discrete daily power pools sing)

I like it when Paizo gets experimental and tries things out. You can see the blueprint for 2e in the Occultist and especially the Vigilante class. You have these basic chassis that you build upon and choose how you want to build your character, and the Vigilante had seperate pools of combat and social/skill powers to round out characters and make players feel OK with picking something cool and flavourful instead of thinking they would be hurting the party if they didn't hyperfocus on combat. This is pretty much how we ended up getting skill and class feats siloed separately.

While like most people I'd like expanded options for existing classes (look at how well the Divine spell list has rounded out/expanded over the years) i don't think that throttling down the new classes is the way to do it.

I very much agree with this. Classes are the only way we get unique and interesting new mechanics like the Commander’s tactics or the Necromancer’s thralls. As long as Paizo has good ideas for new classes I’m on board.

Honestly my preference would be to reduce the number of archetypes being added to the game. They’re often very fun and flavorful, but most releases include a decent number of them and we already have a couple hundred. Cutting a couple in each book would leave a lot more page space for new class options.

As the war god died, his power rained through the many planes of creation, sparking conflict and instilling divine energy in those previously without it. Whether you were directly touched by this power, claimed it from an ancient being or artifact, or whether it awoke something long dormant in your lineage, a spark of the divine now blazes within your soul, granting you abilities, sacred weapons, and divine signifiers that reach into the realm previously reserved for gods and legends.

It's a bit vague, but "claimed it from an ancient being or artifact" and "awoke something long dormant in your lineage" certainly suggests that Exemplars can exist outside the context of the Godsrain if a mortal were to obtain a divine spark in some other way.

Some things that still need to be remastered for the Summoner:

General
- All Eidolons should have the stats in their Eidolon Array options updated to be modifiers.

Angel Eidolon
- Hallowed Strikes: The current errata is “Your eidolon's unarmed Strikes gain the holy trait and deal 1 extra spirit damage to unholy creatures and creatures with weakness to holy.” This is out of sync with comparable abilities like the Fire Elemental’s Elemental Core (which deals the 1 additional damage unconditionally) as well as how spirit damage and sanctification work more broadly. Instead, the Angel Eidolon should gain the holy trait and Hallowed Strikes should have their Strikes become sanctified and deal 1 additional spirit damage. This would also have the benefit of making any other sanctified spells or abilities the Eidolon uses become holy as well (which RAW would not happen currently).
- Traveler’s Aura: Should replace flat-footed with off-guard
- Angelic Mercy: Should replace the old condition removal spells with the remastered ones (Sound Body, Clear Mind, Sure Footing, and Cleanse Affliction)

Anger Phantom Eidolon
- Seething Frenzy: Not strictly necessary, but since the remaster did away with the Barbarian’s AC penalty while Raging, I think it would be reasonable to bump the penalty here down to -1 AC.

Construct Eidolon
- Construct Heart: Should remove necromancy from the list of effects it gains a +2 circumstance bonus against. Since there’s no exact equivalent in the remaster, I’d suggest replacing it with void effects (since most damaging necromancy spells dealt void damage) and spirit effects (since constructs are typically immune to spirit damage)

Demon Eidolon
- Demonic Strikes: The same suggestion for the same reasons as the Angel Eidolon - give the Eidolon the unholy trait, and have its Strikes become sanctified and deal 1 additional spirit damage
- Blasphemous Decree: Should remove the references to evil, as well as the “You are unaffected by this decree” clause since the remastered version only affects enemies

Dragon Eidolon
- As other posters have mentioned, should be updated to allow for players to choose a tradition and a Breath Weapon damage type that matches the remastered dragons. Notably, limiting this to the dragons in Monster Core would add bludgeoning, mental, spirit and force but also remove acid, cold, electricity, void and piercing, so ideally it would just allow a choice of any damage type.

Psychopomp Eidolon
- Spirit Touch: Should deal 1 additional spirit damage rather than negative/positive damage (similar to how the Spirit Instinct Barbarian was remastered)
- Spirit Taker: The second paragraph is pretty awkward now that those properties are largely shared by spirit damage. I think it should either be updated to allow its Strikes to deal spirit damage when attacking a possessed or projected creature, or just replaced with a new benefit since the old effect is much more widespread now.

Feats
- Unfetter Eidolon: This is purely me editorializing, but a one minute duration seems far too short. It’s not very useful in combat since you’re typically fighting over smaller distances than that and it’s too short a time to do much in exploration mode. I think ten minutes or maybe even an hour would be more reasonable (possibly as a heightened effect if that’s too strong at level 1).
- Ranged Combatant: The positive and negative damage options should be updated to vitality and void damage, while the alignment damage option should probably be updated to spirit damage with the sanctified trait.
- Phase Out: The resistance exception to negative damage should probably be updated to spirit damage, which feels more thematically appropriate than void damage.
- Ostentatious Arrival, Master Summoner and Legendary Summoner: Should be updated to reference the summon trait instead of the the summoning spell sidebar

With how many ancestries it sounds like we’ll be getting (and how varied they can be), a way to delve more into a character’s ancestry would be welcome. Gaining additional Ancestry feats might also be some interesting design space for the 2e Evolutionist, especially if they were able to grab some from other ancestries or heritages as well

Leaping heroically in front of an ally to take a hit is exactly what I was hoping for Intercept Strike. Excited to see the final versions of both of these!

Can't wait to make a Scarlet Witchwarper once the playtest drops!

Arcaian wrote:

Given that the Player Core 2 product page reads:

Player Core 2 Product Page wrote:

Fully integrated errata from the first 4 years of Pathfinder Second Edition, including a revised alchemist, champion, and oracle!

It seems a safe bet to say that Alchemist and Oracle are 2 of the remaining 3 classes that will be shown.

Is it?

I'd say it's a toss up between showcasing all the "more complex reworks" or if they're going to stick to "we don't want to discuss X in isolation because it may give false impression" and they decide to go with the least contentious reworks.

They haven't really done that though. The PC1 blogs covered the Wizard rework and the removal of modifiers from cantrips, which were the most contentious changes from that book. They've already talked about some of the Alchemist and Oracle changes during the PaizoCon panel. The only time they said that was in response to a very specific question that was asked on Discord.

Shifter is the big one for me. I want to live my Animorphs fantasy!

My two cents:

I don't think it's an inherently bad idea. Your first Strike will still be more accurate than other martials' second. The key would be to A) have things to spend your other actions on that don't increase MAP and B) make the trade-off feel worth it. I'm just not sure either is being achieved here. A could potentially be fixed with more feats but B feels a little more foundational - many of Guardian's core abilities either reduce (Taunt) or don't make use of (Intercept Strike, Intercept Foe) your high AC which negates the advantages that you gave up accuracy for in the first place.

Personally, I think standard martial progression with no additional damage boosts fits the idea of a highly trained warrior who happens to focus on defense better anyway.

Using different ability modifiers for skills is already allowed at the GM's discretion. That feat seems like a natural extension of this rule.

The name "commander" is too on the nose. Why not just name it Warlord? Imo it's just a better name.

There's always issues when the name of a class doesn't match up with people's expectations (see: Summoner). I don't think it makes sense to call it the Warlord unless they're specifically trying to emulate the 4e class.

In addition to the points others have made about Charisma not being particularly useful to Envoys mechanically, it doesn't seem like they even have a lot of room in their action rotation to use cha-based skills. Assuming you want to issue a directive and lead by example whenever you can, that only leaves their third action, which is going to compete with striding, striking, taking cover etc.

I'd like to see all Envoys get Demoralize, Bon Mot and Create a Diversion as Acts of Leadership at level 1. That would let them be used much more frequently and give some flexibility before the other Acts of Leadership kick in at lv. 6.

(If all three are too much, then we could at least get the one that corresponds to the choice of Diplomacy, Deception or Intimidation, then have a repeatable low level feat to gain the others).

I really like what I'm seeing here. I like that the Directives and Lead by Example encourage more active participation in the fight alongside buffing your allies.

Maybe it's because I just saw the new Dune but a Religion-based leadership style would be very cool. Admittedly, I'm not sure what the Acts of Leadership could be outside of casting a divine spell from an archetype...

One thing I just noticed is that with the Remaster changing spell schools, the Magus is going to need an erratum to deal with this:

"If your most recent spell before entering the stance (Arcane Cascade - ER) was one that can deal damage, the damage from the stance is the same type that spell could deal (or one type of your choice if the spell could deal multiple types of damage). If the spell couldn't deal damage, this stance's bonus damage depends on the spell's school.

Abjuration or Evocation: force
Conjuration or Transmutation: same type as your weapon or unarmed attack
Divination, Enchantment, or Illusion: mental
Necromancy: negative"

It seems likely it will be updated to match the new Secondary Detonation Array wizard feat - if the spell dealt damage it will be that damage type, or force damage otherwise.

Derry Luttrell and Tony Saunders on Pathfinder Infinite have some highly-rated class expansion supplements. Their next one is Inventors+, which is supposed to include a Magitech class archetype. Not sure how closely it will match what you're looking for, but worth a look once it comes out!

I really like the vast majority of the changes we’ve seen (with the possible exception of the wizard, but I’m reserving judgment until we see the class in full). It’s a very nice array of QoL improvements, buffs and simplifications, particularly for casters. If I have any complaints, it’s in places where I don’t think Paizo went far enough, such as spells or feats that stayed the same that I feel should’ve been re-tuned/reworked/condensed/etc. (looking at you, murksight)

Most of the playtest apparitions are based on nature, so I really hope that they include some that are themed around urban environments and civilization as well. A few ideas:

Warmth of the Kindled Hearth - Spirits that gather around hearths in the home, campfires in the wilderness, and the braziers that light up cities, providing comfort and warding off the dark.

Steps upon the Winding Path - Spirits that travel upon roads and passageways, some guiding travelers to their destinations and others leading them astray.

Keepers of Knowledge and Secrets - Spirts that reside in schools, libraries, and statehouses. They hoard every piece of knowledge they can glean, sharing it only with animists they deem worthy.

Well, for me a good example of an exemplar is the wonder woman. A person with a divine spark, a magic weapon (lasso), a magic object (bracelets) and who has great deeds, but does not overshadow the other teammates. King Arthur is also a great example. Figure with a divine air, a magic sword that does not overshadow Lancelot, who is even recognized as a more skillful warrior. So, even though it's not my type of class (I'm definitely going to play as an animalist), the exemplar looks amazing.

The Exemplar wasn't really clicking for me until you mentioned Wonder Woman. That would be a super fun character to build with this chassis (albeit one that would probably require some homebrew since I doubt Paizo will give us a lasso of truth or bullet-deflecting bracelets as ikons).