Being an adventurer is a dangerous line of work, but the rewards are well worth the risk. The smartest adventurers never go it alone—they not only bring allies to help explore the dangerous reaches of the world, but also seek aid in the form of support, supplies, and secrets from powerful organizations. With such a group to serve as a guide, an adventuring party's chances for success have never been better!
Pathfinder RPG Adventurer's Guide presents several such organizations, each with its own suite of benefits and boons to grant those affiliated with it. Designed for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and drawing upon the rich traditions of the official Pathfinder campaign setting, this indispensable guide for adventurers provides a wealth of new character options for your game.
Pathfinder RPG Adventurer's Guide includes:
Details on 18 different organizations that use adventurers to further their goals, including the law-enforcing Hellknights, the sinister assassins of the Red Mantis, and of course, the world-renowned Pathfinder Society itself.
A wealth of new player options, including feats, spells, magic items, prestige classes, archetypes, and new abilities and powers for a wide range of classes.
Rules and advice on how to incorporate the new options found in this book into your own game, whether it takes place in the official Pathfinder campaign setting or in a world of your own choice or design.
Notes on the movers and shakers of each organization—nonplayer characters who can come alive in your game as allies and advisors for the player characters.
AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-938-7
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
I didn’t expect to find such a connection to this book, having not played the APs that touch on the various groups contained herein (and also just generally hating hellknights), but hoo-boy was I surprised.
The writing is lovely, the characters and organizations are vivid, and the player options are exciting and well-designed. The gray maidens chapter in particular blew me away in particular. The mechanics of their player options are a pedect combination of flavorful and mechanically effective, and have the added bonus of fitting together into a coherent and effective character build.
These days, it can take a lot for a book focused on new feats, spells, etc. to impress me. I’ve reached a saturation point. There are so many options now that I can’t keep track of them all, and most new ones get forgotten soon after I read them. Adventurer’s Guide is one of the few books that stays in my mind and keeps pulling me back to it. I can’t recommend it enough!
The title is misleading, as was posited by many during the product preview, and mealy-mouthedly denied by Paizo. This is a Golarion book, period, which has no place in the core line, and the contents consist of an insultingly large percentage of reprints. Shameful, really.
Soooo...I'm going to say that I obsessively collect Pathfinder products, and as such, much of this material is old hat for me. Emphasis here is 'for me.' With that said, I want to examine this in a vacuum.
The artwork is good, but then, it's been good. It serves more as a 'Faction Guide 2' for me than anything, giving some details about the various organizations, class options, feats, and ties. In particular, though, I like that I don't have to flip through two or three books to get character options for the factions. Hellknights in particular were always a pain due to how diffuse their rules were. I can now hand this book to a person and say "here ya go. Here's some ideas of factions in the setting."
One drawback, as has been mentioned, is spoilers for the various APs. While I use those sparingly, it can be somewhat problematic, and I'd suggest steering players away from this if that's the case.
Overall, it's a decent enough product. If you're new to the setting, it's worth picking up as a nice collected list. If you're old hat, a few options inside are interesting enough, and a few setting updates are worth examining. I'm particularly interested in the Lantern Bearers' new direction.
This book helps clear up and collect a lot of older material, balanced now with other released material for GMs. It also adds in a wealth of new material for factions of Adventurers across Golarion.
What's good?
A solid collection of old and new under one singular heading.
What's bad?
Some factions contain major spoilers, making it hard for a GM to just pass off to players who may be playing certain APs.
What's fun?
Inclusion of multiple races and creeds and even transgendered factions and npcs in multiple parts of the book. This book really fleshed out some factions which had little to no crunch.
What's odd?
Certain feats are fun but others are less the useable. A feat that allows a bonus on maneuvers but doesn't stack with improved maneuver feats? Those are the ones that help avoid AoO. So what's the point of the feat? Additionally a heads up to some people about the amount of reprints would have calmed an angry section of customers.
Honestly I love the book and can't wait to try out some of the new material and some of the updated versions of older (and due to other books options more unbalanced) options.
When you get past the salty tears of angry optimizers, you're left with a fine entry into the guides section with Inner Seas flavour.
One of the things I was most relieved about being able to do this book was to get errata in for the Red Mantis assassin prestige class.
1) They can cast spells in light armor without spell failure (similar to how bards work).
2) At 1st level, they treat sawtooth sabres as light weapons for ALL purposes, including being able to use Weapon Finesse with them. (This isn't as much errata as it is a necessary adjustment after the sawtooth sabre got adjusted in Ultimate Equipment.)
Does this include alllowing unchained Rogues to select Sawtooth Sabres with their Finesse Training ability?
Are there changes to the Lore Warden? If so, what are they?
I'd assume they changed the "this replaces Bravery I" if they had to change something. That's the biggest balance and editorial issue, and not such a big deal to fix.
What all do the council of thieves get? Medium spirit is neat, but what else?
Council of Thieves:
They get:
Westcrown Devil prestige class
Brazen Deceiver Bard archetype
Dashing Thief Swashbuckler archetype
The afore mentioned Legendary Medium Spirit
A series of rogue talents and advanced rogue talents specifically used by the Council.
Included is the advanced rogue talent of Shrinewalk, allowing a rogue to crate a shrine and use the mystical connections between the shrines in Westcrown to use a word of recall like ability to get back to her shrine.
I'd assume they changed the "this replaces Bravery I" if they had to change something. That's the biggest balance and editorial issue, and not such a big deal to fix.
It now replaces Bravery and the 2nd level bonus feat.
David knott 242 wrote:
Okay -- Do the game mechanics of that archetype differ in any way from this earlier version?
Ye gods, yes. It's much more streamlined. I'm going to have to decide what to do with my PFS Lore Warden now, I imagine.
One of the things I was most relieved about being able to do this book was to get errata in for the Red Mantis assassin prestige class.
1) They can cast spells in light armor without spell failure (similar to how bards work).
2) At 1st level, they treat sawtooth sabres as light weapons for ALL purposes, including being able to use Weapon Finesse with them. (This isn't as much errata as it is a necessary adjustment after the sawtooth sabre got adjusted in Ultimate Equipment.)
Does this include alllowing unchained Rogues to select Sawtooth Sabres with their Finesse Training ability?
I'd assume they changed the "this replaces Bravery I" if they had to change something. That's the biggest balance and editorial issue, and not such a big deal to fix.
It now replaces Bravery and the 2nd level bonus feat.
David knott 242 wrote:
Okay -- Do the game mechanics of that archetype differ in any way from this earlier version?
I'd assume they changed the "this replaces Bravery I" if they had to change something. That's the biggest balance and editorial issue, and not such a big deal to fix.
It now replaces Bravery and the 2nd level bonus feat.
David knott 242 wrote:
Okay -- Do the game mechanics of that archetype differ in any way from this earlier version?
Ye gods, yes. It's much more streamlined.
The only change is that it got nerfed?
Actually, it looks a lot more customizable and flexible.
Spoiler:
You get the benefits of Combat Expertise for purpose of qualifying for other feats at 2nd level, and the actual feat itself at 6th.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Um I found a problem...
Spoiler:
The Aldori Swashbuckler archetype the Rostland Bravo, gets the aldori dueling sword proficiency and deeds that only work with the sword, but do not give them the ability to use the sword such as with the slashing grace feat.
I will houserule it in myself but i feel like that should have been in there.
I wrote one of the vigilante archetypes - I wonder who gets the other.
I already got the "Aldori vigilante" out of my system with the Dragonscale loyalist, back in Heroes of the High Court. I feel like that archetype was underappreciated... but that might just be the ego talking. ^_^
For what it's worth, I really like that archetype. I enjoy seeing the developers do more with Brevoy and the River Kingdoms.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Yes Secret Wizard alot of the material is from previous work that has been complied and updated so about 50% at most you may have seen in some other form before by what i can tell.
doesn't make it a bad thing in my opinion considering the amount of book jumping i have to do sometimes for characters from these organizations.
Sadly, slayer isn't on the list up there, or I'd be looking forward to seeing if they get one. At the very least, I hope that they finally got a method of using Weapon Finesse with their sabres... that's been a long time coming.
Slayer is a natural fit, and I'm playing a slayer /RMA prestige right now, however with the list presented, I'm guess ranger, rogue, or hopefully, Swashbuckler. Swashbuckler would give out that finesseable sabres treatment rather well.
While this is true, I would be very surprised if the Red Mantis got a swashbuckler archetype here.
And now I can explain why.
Spoiler:
Mr. Jacobs said there were only two swashbuckler archetypes in the book. And since I wrote both of them, I knew the Red Mantis didn't get one.
Yes Secret Wizard alot of the material is from previous work that has been complied and updated so about 50% at most you may have seen in some other form before by what i can tell.
doesn't make it a bad thing in my opinion considering the amount of book jumping i have to do sometimes for characters from these organizations.
Considering that people were hoping for a new Brawler archetype that was just a rehash it is kind of disappointing. Im not opposed to reprinting content but I wish they would be more upfront about it.
Is the Bellflower Vigilante the Bellflower Harvester? Is the Magaambyan Bloodrager the Enlightened Bloodrager?
As a guy who bought almost all the player companions for the last couple years, I'll be a little disappointed if so much of the material in this book winds up being reprints. Doubly so if it winds up being Fencing Grace all over again.
1) Please don't use that word, as it comes from a racial slur. Consider "cheated" or "misled" instead.
2) Having written more than sixteen thousand words for this book, I can assure you that it is not all reprints. While some sections contain more previously-seen material than others, every section has new content to use and enjoy. ^_^
Please don't use slurs here. I know you probably weren't aware that it's a slur, but here's more information on the word's origins, meaning, and how it's harmful. Thanks!
A) I love the fact that archetypes from Player Companions and such are being reprinted in the main line. And I particularly love that they are being updated. The Lore Warden needed a development pass for sure.
B) Anyone could leak the name of the Monk archetype? I assume it's from the Houses of Perfection.
Super disappointed in the Silver Ravens prestige class, the Argent Dramaturge. Seeing as the "new" Silver Ravens are formed from a wide assortment of classes (i.e. the characters that played the AP) it seemed like the ideal place for Aligned Class to be used. Instead the class is basically a very specific Bard archetype. It's not a bad class, but it doesn't evoke the Silver Ravens as I understand them. I'm undoubtedly biased by my hope that the class would be one useful to my party, but it feels like a wasted opportunity.
Secret Wizard wrote:
Anyone could leak the name of the Monk archetype? I assume it's from the Houses of Perfection.
Monk archetype:
Brazen Disciple, their training is based on sEfreeti and they gain some Bluff/Feint related bonuses.
Any information about what the Westcrown Devil prestige class does? Wanna see if I should cancel group tonight to see if I should use it to rewrite Chammandy or her brother to using it.
It all sounds so awesome but now I have to warn my players. If you're playing in our Curse of the Crimson Throne or Hell's Rebels, there be spoilers here. Spoilers in the RPG line? Nuts.
I'm surprised by how much sounds familiar. I'm more surprised by my excitement to get this book. How strange that I'd be so glad for so many reprints. Even though I don't mind reprints. Helps that there's going to be new material too. Or maybe I just like new books.
also started a thread in the CoT forum to crowdsource reworking the Council of Thieves books' NPCs based on the stuff in here - Any help from ppl who already have the book would be much appreciated - I'll probably do some work on it once I get the book in 1-3 weeks