Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic (OGL)

A great work, I love the magus class and there are tons of goodies in here for anyone who can utter a cantrip, but what burns me is that there are no new Oracle curses in this book, one of the major reasons I bought it as the description of the book on the website specifically says alternate curses. There are absolutely none. Other than this MAJOR oversight, this is a good book. But come on Paizo, at least deliver on what you advertised for the Oracle.

-X

Here comes the second PFRPG splatbook after APG, this time focused on magic-using classes. First thing that leads to me knocking a star off right away - 4 classes (Fighter, Rogue, Barbarian, Cavalier) are out of luck here, as no material for them appears in UM (barring a few feats). That wouldn't be that bad if it wasn't for the news that Ultimate Combat will feature new stuff for ALL classes, meaning that martials get a bit shafted. Nothing major, but had to get that off the chest.

So, the book itself. Here it goes:

CHAPTER 1: Spellcasters

Opens up with Magus, the new base class. Magus is a med-BAB bard spell progression class which matches melee combat with offensive spellcasting. I'm pleased to say that it is very well written. Suggestions from open playtest were included and refined. The class is solid, and even features a few new archetypes (including Bladebound for all Elric fans out there).

Right next are new options for existing classes:

Alchemists made it out like bandits with new discoveries and archetypes. The class was solid in APG and goes firmly better in UM. Tumour familiar and parasitic twin are creepily cool.

Bards get Masterpieces, which are somewhat underwhelming power-wise, and a few new archetypes. Wish they got more, Bards have great potential.

Clerics get variant channelling, which is great if you want to replace the standard healing/damaging for something more flavorful. Several archetypes are present, including the much-demanded Cloistered Cleric. No new domains, sadly.

Druids are in for a treat. New domains, new animal companion and a big bunch of archetypes. Dragon Shamans ahoy! And now yes you can have a Spider companion. Yuck.

Inquisitors have now an option of swapping out the domain for a new feature called, surprise, Inquisitions. They also have a few new archetypes. Solid work here.

Monks get vows which are ... disappointing to say at least. Ironically enough, the book includes a PF version of vow of poverty which, honestly, sucks. The other vows aren't that much better. Monks get only one archetype which is quite good, but not enough to make Monk players happy.

Oracles have five new mysteries and a couple archetypes. No new curses. I'd really love more mysteries, I still lack a few concepts here.

Paladins can now take the Oathbound archetype, which gives them access to several thematic oaths.

Rangers get the Trapper archetype, which is not all that great sadly. Nothing else besides, another class that should rather be looking forward to Ultimate Combat.

Sorcerers - new bloodlines and two archetypes that deal with bloodline mechanics. Nothing dramatic here.

Summoners are another class which went to town for shopping. New base form for Eidolon, new evolutions and new archetypes, including the oft-requested "mass summoner" and my personal fave, the Synthesist. Guyver time!

Witches get a complete package - new hexes, new patrons and new archetypes. Solid expansion of APG material.

Finally, Wizards. Wizards get a single archetype and 2 elemental wizard schools, but the party is at Arcane Discoveries which may replace bonus feats. Some of those are really powerful.

CHAPTER 2: Mastering Magic

Contains new and variant rules. Spellblights are magic-related afflictions which can hinder a spellcaster in new ways. Spell Duels chapter details just that, spellcaster duels. The next section focuses on binding outsiders, another feature that's underdeveloped in core rules. New rules for construct creation and customization are REALLY cool. New familiars are always welcome. Coming up next are sample spellbooks, which are amazingly useful but mired by editing errors that left several spells "orphaned". Finally, the section on spell design offers some insight into just that. Not my cup of tea, but fans of poking inside designer's minds will be happy.

CHAPTER 3: Feats

The compulsory feats chapter is quite large and includes dozens of new ways to customize your character. The feats are mostly in line with Core and APG, a few are somewhat underpowered and a single one (Antagonize) clearly needs better number crunching. A feat called "Die For Your Master" made me chuckle.

CHAPTER 4: Words of Power

This chapter describes the new, alternate magic system based around customized spells made up of power words. I'd love to elaborate on this, but since the concept itself doesn't really interest me, I didn't give this chapter a honest read. You might find it useful if you like experimenting, tho.

CHAPTER 5: Spells

Another obvious addition: new spells. Scores of them, of course. There are several really fun, innovative and clever spells here and I found this chapter a refreshing read. A spell called mad monkeys wins the day for me, nothing beats summoning a swarm of crazed gibbons against your foes.

CONCLUSION

This is a solid splatbook. Much broader than WotC "Complete" splats, with several thematic ideas that draw upon mythology, history and pop culture to liven up your PF game. Yet, three things contribute to knocking off one star:

- the aforementioned lack of love for non-caster classes. I realize the book is called Ultimate Magic, but the caster-martial divide in D&D is well known and one could hope for something to help bridge it.

- quality control is worse than in Core and APG. I don't mind typos, but a couple of things are either badly written (Antagonize), poorly thought out (Monk vows) or victims of editing/development errors (Spellbooks). It's not bad enough to cause discomfort, but it is visible enough to request more tight supervision of future books.

- purely optional content. I'm not a fan of stuff which I will, objectively, never get to use. An entire chapter of UM - Words of Power - is pretty much lost on me and I would much prefer for it to sit in an "Unearthed Arcana" type of book. The spell design chapter is also slightly guilty of this.

I recommend this book, you'll have lots of fun from it and it will enrich your experience no matter if you are a player or GM. But I also recommend Paizo to step up and maintain their quality standards found in other books.

There's a lot to say about this book, some of it good, some of it bad. For the most part, I can say that it is a fun book with a lot of interesting archetypes and character ideas, along with a few good feats, cool spells, and thoughtful mechanics. Of course, the exact same points could be made against the book: useless archetypes, pointless feats, silly spells, and bad mechanics.

Ultimate Magic suffers the same problem a lot of supplemental material in 3.5 did, in which the book does not feel as tight design-wise as it otherwise could be, given the incredibly limited application of some of it's contents. Consider the Witch hex "child scent," for example: When are you ever going to need to sniff out children? This feels like a villain-only ability, and even then you could probably give your villain witch a more useful hex. The same goes for the construct modifications. They're neat, but they're not worth it to most spell casters, better used for a dramatic villain fight than an actual player. Or maybe "cartoony" would be a more appropriate description- there's something strikingly reminiscent of Power Rangers that involves the bad guy combining with his robot helper. Also: The geisha Bard archetype. What the heck, man. Tea ceremony, really? It's neat and flavorful, but it breaks flow and forces me as both a player and a GM into that uncanny valley of "yes, I suppose you guys do technically have 10 minutes outside the boss room." I mean, it's not like the dragon's going to eat the princess any time soon, or anything...

Of course, for all the bad ideas there are good ones too. The magus looks like a fun class, albeit he loses out on damage output against classes such as the barbarian or the rogue, but he makes up for it with the versatility of spellcasting (and I absolutely adore the staff magus archetype). I also really like the customization of the Qinggong monk, and think the alternative channeling powers are amazing. However, these traits alone to not make the book great, only good.

Also, this is a nit-pick, but Paizo didn't fix the typo in the vivisectionist archetype for the alchemist. This typo was pointed out when they previewed the archetype, the editors responded to the post, and the mistake still made it into the final printing. Vivisectionists can't benefit from plague bomb because they don't *get* bombs. You think that a company as good as Paizo wouldn't let a mistake like that slip past them after it was brought to their attention.

In conclusion, Ultimate Magic is one of those books which is handy to have around for the additional options, but is by no means a "must buy."

The writers, developers, and designers of Paizo Publishing seem to have done the impossible: de-throne D&D. Yet earning the crown is not enough, one must defend it against the horde of nay-sayers. The best way to do that is with a steady stream of meaningful content. Regardless of anything else, there’s no denying that Pathfinder’s Advanced Player’s Guide follow-up, Ultimate Magic, is exactly that: meaningful.

In interest of disclosure, I did not receive a review copy of this product and this review is strictly about content via the PDF edition. I imagine, however, that the production quality of the hardback edition is on par with excellent standard set forth by other Pathfinder products.

Chapter 1: Spellcasters
The opening chapter of Ultimate Magic jumps immediately into the nittiest of gritties with new classes, archetypes, and abilities for each of the spellcasters in Pathfinder. It starts off with the newest full-on 20-level base class; The Magus.
The Magus is quite simply…a sword mage. All the swashbuckling style of a non-heavy fighter with the spellcasting and flexibility of a wizard rolled up into one fun package. For those who tend to favor melee classes the Magus is a great way to break into a magical class. Magi fill nicely into the hybrid class category, though not really enough to fill a vacant spot in the core of any party (the Tank, Healer, Caster dynamic.) The Magus can know any number of spells, though his selection is limited compared to Wizard/Sorcerers, and most of the spells favor combat over utility. It’s also worth noting that the Magus can only cast up to 6th level spells, though he has a fairly high number to cast per day.
As a fighter, the Magus holds his own, though clearly without the additional feats of the Fighter, range of the Barbarian, or subtlety of the Rogue. The real customization of the Magus comes from the Magus Arcana class feature, which works like the Rogue Talent feature, where upon the Magus learns new tricks and special abilities as he levels.
What the Magus DOES excel at, however, is fun. The idea of leaping into melee with the monster, stabbing it in the stomach with your flaming burst sword, and then casting Magic Missile in its face is truly one with endless potential
This reviewer was surprised to see alternatives and archetypes for the Magus, the APG was completely devoid of alternatives for the newly introduced classes, however Paizo seems to be ready for the Magus to enter the fray and reach its full potential with the release of Ultimate Magic.
The rest of the first chapter deals with alternative and extra solutions for the existing case classes. Every single class that can do anything remotely resembling a spell is represented here including, oddly enough, the Monk.
Most is what you would expect, more variations on Class Feature X, and lots of archetypes and abilities that grew out of a conversation that started with the line “Wouldn’t it be cool if….” For the most part these alternative class features aren’t game breakers and are aimed at those who really like to explore their class to the fullest. To make a point close to my heart, I am big fan of the Summoner class and while the new eidolon evolutions were disappointing, the variant archetypes were truly mind bending and opened up a world of possibilities I am excited to delve into.
If you are a fan of stretching your class to the limit, the first chapter alone is worth the price of admission.

Chapter 2: Mastering Magic
Chapter two of Ultimate Magic delves into more fringe areas of magic use that go beyond the strict “I cast a spell on the goblin” everyday use. This chapter addresses dueling, magical constructs, the care and feeding of outsiders, the downside of magic, and the designing of new spells. Also in this chapter the reader is presented with a plethora of pre-made spellbooks and over a dozen brand new familiars (including one epic hedgehog).
The concept of Spellblight is introduced into the world of Golarion with Ultimate Magic. Spellblight is a (usually) negative effect or susceptibility a magic user suffers, usually in the form of a curse or some other nastiness. Adventurous role-players will be excited for the challenge provided by spellblight, and overzealous GMs will enjoy the brand new shiny way to smite their PCs.
The major draw of this chapter for the truly creative types is the section about Designing Spells. This is not to be confused with the Words of Power mechanic we’ll explore later, but this is a sincere, behind-the-curtain look at the process that the Paizo developers use when creating a new spell for play. This section should be carefully explored by both the player and the GM and all the options weighed out before allowing a new spell to be used in a game session. If you do create a new spell, however, be sure to post it on the Paizo boards for all to enjoy.
This chapter is really for the GM and creative type players who want to test the boundaries of magic in Pathfinder.

Chapter 3: Feats
This chapter brings you the shining beacons of customization known as feats. There are no new feat types, simply a large array of increasingly circumstantial feats. While there are some that are immediately useful (Additional evolution points, extra cantrips known) and some that are so situational that they almost seem silly (glowing summons or performing in a band.) However, any caster is sure to find at least one feat they will find immediately beneficial.

Chapter 4: Words of Power
Words of Power is a new mechanic to spellcasting the Pathfinder. The object is simple: instead of learning defined spells, the character learns a whole vocabulary of magic words which can be strung together in near-infinite ways to produce near-infinite effects. Fans of White Wolf’s MAGE will get a kick out of this alternate magic system. While not for the uninitiated or the uncreative, the Words of Power mechanic opens up a whole playground for wrapping your head around the idea of magic. It’s too complicated to explain here, but in the hands of an open-minded player all manner of impressive magical goings-on will be going on.

Chapter 5: Spells
The closing chapter of Ultimate Magic features a ton of new spells for all casters. Much like the Feats chapter, the number of spells in this chapter managed to find that sweet spot where one doesn’t feel overwhelmed, but certainly doesn’t feel ripped off either. Paizo continues to use the same tried-and-true formatting of “spell blocks” which leave very little room for alternate interpretations which means less time debating and more time playing. All of these are good things.
On a side note, this is the first book to REALLY get it right when it comes to PDF bookmarking. All of the spells are listed and grouped by alphabet. Twenty-four bookmarks spread across your spells instead of one for the entire spell description section (Core Rulebook) or a different bookmark for each individual spell (APG)

Conclusion
Ultimate Magic achieves its goals with a truly stylistic approach. These rules are clearly not for everyone. The variations in Ultimate Magic require a higher level of understanding of the Pathfinder rules and are best used by an experienced player. For those who still don’t quite grasp all the facets of their base class, it’s best to leave Ultimate Magic on the shelf for a while. However, if you are a player (or the GM of a player) who loves exploring possibilities and stretching the limits of your imagination, especially when it comes to magic, then you will easily find enough to keep your wheels a-turning for many many play sessions.

(Read more at Geekcentricity.com)

First off this is my first review of any Paizo pathfinder or any RPG product.

It gets 4 because there are tons of options for all the classes that use magic. Tho I would love to see how the rules would be changed for those using the more primal dragons for Dragon disicple would work.

Alchemist to me should have gotten actual magic Item crafting archtype ie artificeresqe not a rogue with potions to buff himself.

One of my quips is not alot of fire spells for arcane users as I love fire and my gnome alch is pryomanic and had cold eversion so ice spells wouldnt work for him.

Clerics I loved to seen a Priest Archtype sort of like in the Tome of Secerts.

Also like to seen some newer magical items and armor as this is book titled Ultimate magic other then the spell books.