Raise your character to the pinnacle of magical might with Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic! Within this book, secrets arcane and divine lie ready to burst into life at the hands of all the spellcasting classes in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. In addition to the brand-new magus class—a master of both arcane magic and martial prowess—you'll also find a whole new system for spellcasting, rules for spell duels and other magical specialities, and pages upon pages of new spells, feats, and more. Because when it comes to magic, why settle for less than absolute power?
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic is a must-have companion volume to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. This imaginitive tabletop game builds on more than 10 years of system development and an Open Playtest featuring more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into the new millennium.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic includes:
The magus, a new base class combining deadly arcane magic with the skills and weapons of a trained warrior.
Words of power, an innovative and flexible new spellcasting system.
New options for dedicated casters, such as alchemist discoveries, alternative uses for channeled energy, druid companions, sorcerer bloodlines, eidolon abilities, witch hexes, and oracle mysteries.
Additional feats and magical abilities for martially oriented casters, including monk ki tricks, inquisitor archetypes, and ranger traps.
New magical conditions called spellblihgts, as well as systems for crafting constructs, binding outsiders, and spell-dueling.
More than 100 new spells, plus detailed guidelines for designing your own.
Its not a bad book. There are some good things in here. Magus class, some of the archetypes and a few feats and spells are really good. The rest just seems too niche for me to get much use out of. The editing is also pretty bad, again. I'm sure the folks at Paizo are super busy and I know they can't catch everything, but the errors are just becoming too much for me. I was hoping for better after the APG in the editing department. This will be the last book that I pre-order. I hope this is not the new standard for Paizo hardcovers.
Underwhelming is the word. There's some good stuff in there (the magus most particularly) but there is a hefty dollop of meh in there as well.
The problem is a lot of it isn't really exciting or innovative. The APG had six new classes, introduced archetypes, teamwork feats, alternate racial traits and favoured class options. It was clear and well defined.
UM by comparison doesn't really offer anything exciting. The new stuff (Magus notwithstanding) feels more like the optional rules crammed into the back of the APG. With the exception of new familiars, chapter two in it's entirity is basically optional fluff, most of which I won't be using. The archetypes are 10% interesting, 20% OK and 70% massively underwhelming. In addition the new abilities available (such as masterpieces and alternate uses for channelling) just don't get me going.
But the worst thing about the book is the fact that a lot of the options are utterly useless for players. Many of the archetypes are obviously tools for the GM to use. In fact, several of my players have looked through the options for their classes and have said "no, nothing of use there". That should not be the case. It is disappointing to see Paizo creating options that are merely GM plot devices, particularly when Paizo warn prospective writers against this kind of writing during RPG Superstar.
There is some good stuff in here (hence the two star rating) but overall this comes nowhere near the standard established by the APG and Core Rulebook. It's a dropped ball I'm afraid.
Classes:
Magus: The class and its archetypes are a masterpiece. Solid, balanced, well made. Hexcrafter is particularly interesting. Missing favored class bonuses are the only bad thing. Shame. Thumbs up for the rest.
Alchemist: generally good options.
Bard: Masterpieces are a good idea. The execution and the use in actual play are sometimes dubious. Archetypes are quite nice, but one is unexplainably bad (Geisha).
Cleric: variant channeling is a good idea, but as a feat option, in addition to standard channeling. This is underwhelming. The archetype are decent (even if cloistered cleric was better in 3.5, and theologian too is weak in execution). The undead lord is solid. An option for elemental clerics is strongly missing (something like the Stormlord druid).
Druid: the option bloat starts to kick in, but use the domains as a supplement to the APG options can create well rounded environment-related druid types. Vermin companions are awesome. The lack of a vermin wild shape archetype is indeed surprising and disappointing. Archetypes are overall well made. The Stormlord is particularly intriguing. The Dragon Shaman is really disappointing. There is nothing truly draconic in the Archetype. Better avoid sounding names next time, if not possible introduce balanced true draconic options.
Inquisitor: inquisitions are nice, but here and there comes out sort of a lack of focus by the author’s part. See as an example Critical Precision of the Torture inquisition. A critical focus character will be likely to choose critical feast: how is this class feature not supposed to synergize with the feat?
Monk: vows are a great idea, and some of them are nice. The execution of some of them is simply awful, as an example Celibacy and Poverty. The latter is a true missed chance of accomplishing an interesting archetype. The Quinjong archetype is a nice, nice addition to the monk expecially post-APG.
Oracle: the oracle new Mysteries are interesting and diverse. Flavor choices are very good and well executed. Archetypes are intriguing and inspiring. Well made. Possible problematic combinations are yet to be explored (as an example, the no-save phantom touch and other fear effects. Paizo loves no-save effects, but a great number of them is really troublesome).
Paladin: Oaths are another example of excellent idea (and with great flavor) often executed quite poorly, unbalanced. Get rid of Aura of Justice for Cleansing Flame is ridiculous. The Wyrm oath capstone is totally dysfunctional. In APG some archetype slowed down the progression of smite evil. One wonders why this solution has not be applied for powers like Loyal Oath. Good options exist (Fiends, Vengeance, Charity as an example).
Ranger: Traps are a nice addition. Still, the fire themed ones are really weak, and the traps presented are really few. Feels incomplete.
Sorcerer: new bloodlines are neat, even if the impression given is somewhat scrapping the bottom of the barrel. As with the inquisitor, here and there some lack of focus appears. As an example, how the Accursed bloodline SR capstone is not supposed to be somewhat troublesome for the sorcerer? Cross Blooded and Wild Blooded options are fresh. Nice.
Summoner: the options are for sure intriguing. The models can be priceless for DMs. My only concerns are about the balance of the Synthesist.
Witch: the new hexes are overall really intriguing ad well made. Bonus points for quotes from literatures and fairy tales. Some hex should have be better defined mechanically (Scar). New patrons and Archetypes are good.
Wizard: the arcane discoveries are not a good addition to the game. Most of them are unneeded (True Name), not related to the class (Feral Speech), or break the limitation of the class in a very disturbing manner (Opposition Research, and Fast Study). Metal and wood schools were missing and are warmly welcomed. The Scrollmaster is poorly executed.
Spell Blight: this is a great addition for any campaign, both the gritty and the high magic ones. Well made!
Duels: circumstantial.
Binding Outsiders: Exhaustive and useful. Well made.
Building and modifying constructs: somewhat prone to abuse, but totally, completely awesome.
Spellbooks: Useful. Could have been nice have guidelines similar to those for magic items. This makes the chapter incomplete.
Spell guidelines: the chapter is very well made. I strongly suggest to the authors to attempt to follow it.
Feats: Sadly, a lot of feats follow the usual “theme” of the book: apparently intriguing option, but very poorly executed. Most metamagic feats are not worthy, slotting too much. Burning spell is an example. Flaring Spells is ever more weak, if possible. The feat Antagonize is DISCONCERTING. It seems a bad homebrew feat, written by someone with little game experience. Sorcerous Bloodstrike is hilariously weak. Radiant Charge is pure comedy.
On the flipside, there are feats clashing with assumptions of the game. Thanatopic Spells and Threnodic Spells overcome undead immunities to death effects and mind affecting respectively. This kills diversity and bring oddities on the table. Divine interference is disturbingly odd and clunky.
There are good feats. Accursed hex and Split Hex for witch are very interesting. Echoing Spell metamagic is even too good. The “extras” ones are useful. The inquisitor ones and the eidolon-summoner interaction ones are nice. Cleric and Druid action economy is greatly improved by Quick Channel and Quick Wildshape. The alchemist implant bomb ones are abuseable but cool. Paladins have hands full: auras and healing class features are greatly improved.
Wordcasting: my opinion is ambivalent on this. I praise Paizo for the innovation, but I fear the system is clunky. A more straightforward approach like the 3.5 invocation spells of the Warlock class could have been better. The implication for worldbuilding and roleplaying are enormous indeed.
Spells: the spell session is very intriguing, and is a mixed bag.
There are good and/or inspiring spells like Animate Dead, Lesser, very needed for low level undead adventures, intriguing spells like Call Construct, Create Demiplane, which is iconic, a plot device, a reward, an adventure hook with great roleplaying potential, or pure awesome crazy stuff like summoning of monkey swarms.
On the flip side, there are spells like agonize: makes a highly debated spell stronger (but is iconic, so…) Daze, Mass: troublesome: Immune to daze creatures are really rare. Masterwork transformation hits hard once again the worldbuilding. Emotion spells like Miserable Pity become a laughable nonsense if creatures of pure evil like fiends are involved. Terrible Remorse, as many no save effects, is pure madness. Similar effects can be found in spells 4 levels higher.
On the route of odd flavor,: Should Druids Summon an aberration (Summon Froghemoth)? Is make a target devoured by Fleshworm an inquisitor thing? Is a swift action cold blasting spell a clerical thing? The spell list assignation of some spell is disconcerting at best.
I consider new descriptors as a good addition, since the classification of game elements helps both mechanics and roleplaying of casters.
Overall, I feel Paizo fell short with the book. The quality of rules and flavor is schizophrenic from section to section, with few gems. The book seems rushed, and sometimes not only the power level, but the flavor of elements of the game is damaged. The book can be a decent addition to the library of a PF player or GM, but needs heavy errata. I strongly suggest a greater quality control of rules and errors. I seriously hope this is not the new standard for Paizo.
For players this might be a useful book with many options, but for GM's it really does not offer much worth using. In addition a lot of the stuff that players might wish to use could cause rules issues for the GM to determine how to rule on certain rules problems.
Overall a rather lackluster book, and i really hope that Ultimate Combat does not follow the same pattern.
A quite nice book.
It has a lot of GREAT things (for example the magus), and a couple of really awful things (vow of poverty monk), but the book in general is a good book and it really helps you customize your spellcasters.
Sure there are a couple of loopholes in the book that needs closing (yes echoing spell i am looking at you), and there are a few typos in the first print but i am sure that Paizo will fix them as soon as possible.
All in all the book has several gems and a very few lumps but i really can't not get a book that has the bladebound magus and the qinggong monk in it.
As soon as I get my PDF on the 18th, I'm going to be all over the Alchemist Archetypes. Also, although I most likely won't play a regular Magus, I very well may play a Spellblade or Staff Magus.
you won't be disappointed. Some of the archetypes are really cool as are the new discoveries. I was honestly a bit meh on the alchemist, I like it a lot more now. :)
As soon as I get my PDF on the 18th, I'm going to be all over the Alchemist Archetypes. Also, although I most likely won't play a regular Magus, I very well may play a Spellblade or Staff Magus.
I liked the Alchemist archetypes quite a bit myself, but the Oracle and Witch ones really got my attention. I'm optimistic about the Magus and it's archetypes, Bladebound and Hexcrafter both jumped out at me.
As soon as I get my PDF on the 18th, I'm going to be all over the Alchemist Archetypes.
This is something I'm especially looking forward to, especially archetypes that might replace Mutagen with something I'd be more interested in actually using.
But I'm excited about nearly everything about this book. New Spells (especially for the Cleric/Oracle), the new Monk archetype, new discoveries, Oracle curses, mysteries, magic items (hoping for better item creation rules?), feats, and more.
I can't wait! But I guess I'll be waiting a while anyway since I ordered from Amazon. =P
Oh my... the new cook people hex is funny, disgusting and disturbing all at the same time. The funny part is one of the things you can do with it, is make the "dough" into a little gingerbread like homunculus.
As soon as I get my PDF on the 18th, I'm going to be all over the Alchemist Archetypes. Also, although I most likely won't play a regular Magus, I very well may play a Spellblade or Staff Magus.
you won't be disappointed. Some of the archetypes are really cool as are the new discoveries. I was honestly a bit meh on the alchemist, I like it a lot more now. :)
Might I get a small taste of the discoveries? I was specifically wondering about the simulacrum discoveries mentioned in the Magic Archetypes blog, as well as parasitic twin.
I am really exited about this book, especially new Sorcerer bloodlines, Oracle Mysteries/revelations, spells, feats, and archtypes(sorcerer, oracle, bard, druid, witch, and monk inparticularly)
As soon as I get my PDF on the 18th, I'm going to be all over the Alchemist Archetypes. Also, although I most likely won't play a regular Magus, I very well may play a Spellblade or Staff Magus.
you won't be disappointed. Some of the archetypes are really cool as are the new discoveries. I was honestly a bit meh on the alchemist, I like it a lot more now. :)
Might I get a small taste of the discoveries? I was specifically wondering about the simulacrum discoveries mentioned in the Magic Archetypes blog, as well as parasitic twin.
The simulacrum works similar to the spell of the same name. The parasitic twin is something to add onto the vestigial limbs discovery. Sometimes spells that would effect the mind of the alchemist effect the twin instead, leaving the alchemist to stay in control but suffers a bit for it.
Alchemist zombie and sunlight bomb I think are my two favorite of the new ones.
As soon as I get my PDF on the 18th, I'm going to be all over the Alchemist Archetypes. Also, although I most likely won't play a regular Magus, I very well may play a Spellblade or Staff Magus.
you won't be disappointed. Some of the archetypes are really cool as are the new discoveries. I was honestly a bit meh on the alchemist, I like it a lot more now. :)
Might I get a small taste of the discoveries? I was specifically wondering about the simulacrum discoveries mentioned in the Magic Archetypes blog, as well as parasitic twin.
The simulacrum works similar to the spell of the same name. The parasitic twin is something to add onto the vestigial limbs discovery. Sometimes spells that would effect the mind of the alchemist effect the twin instead, leaving the alchemist to stay in control but suffers a bit for it.
Alchemist zombie and sunlight bomb I think are my two favorite of the new ones.
You've proven it to me. These next 9 days are going to be some of the longest I've had in a long time.
As soon as I get my PDF on the 18th, I'm going to be all over the Alchemist Archetypes. Also, although I most likely won't play a regular Magus, I very well may play a Spellblade or Staff Magus.
you won't be disappointed. Some of the archetypes are really cool as are the new discoveries. I was honestly a bit meh on the alchemist, I like it a lot more now. :)
Might I get a small taste of the discoveries? I was specifically wondering about the simulacrum discoveries mentioned in the Magic Archetypes blog, as well as parasitic twin.
The simulacrum works similar to the spell of the same name. The parasitic twin is something to add onto the vestigial limbs discovery. Sometimes spells that would effect the mind of the alchemist effect the twin instead, leaving the alchemist to stay in control but suffers a bit for it.
Alchemist zombie and sunlight bomb I think are my two favorite of the new ones.
You've proven it to me. These next 9 days are going to be some of the longest I've had in a long time.
its allmost criminal how the pdf isnt given upon order.
damn these legal guidelines! the law has once again oppressed us rise up citizens! REVOLT STORM THE CAPITAL!!!!!!!!!
Too excited. Once this and Ultimate Combat are out, I thihk Pathfinder will come into it's own even more than before - which is a scary, and awesome, thought.
When you miss with a splash weapon and the new hex has a target in it you may reroll, at a penalty, to hit your new target. If you hit you do full damage to the new target and splash based on the new hex.
When you miss with a splash weapon and the new hex has a target in it you may reroll, at a penalty, to hit your new target. If you hit you do full damage to the new target and splash based on the new hex.
Interesting. A little too situational for my taste, but could be useful nonetheless.
@Dark_Mistress Any more juicy tidbits? Even a hint would be greatly appreciated. I need my fix. :p
There is something like 25 new discoveries and 8 new archetypes. I am sure no one wants to hear about the new bard masterpieces abilities.
I kneel before you and wash your feet with unholy water. Please, Dark Mistress, tell me about the new bard materpiece abilities.
You give up something to learn them. Either a feat or a spell of a certain level. A example.
The Quickening Pulse - you give up a feat or a 3rd level spell known. Once learned you can preform this and it makes enemies in 30 ft quicken their beating heart. Each round you play it, they must make a save or take 1d6 dmg as they sweat blood.
Dark_Mistress, does anybody ever tell you how incredibly sexy you are when you have us slave mortals begging before your feet for even the tiniest morsel of your dark forbidden knowledge?
3) Anything you can tell us about the new monk archtype please
4) Is the bard arcgtype "song healer" any good?
5) Are there any feats that are sorcerer, oracle, and/or witch only?
6) How does the new sorcerer archtypes work?
7) Are the new discoveries all that powerful or are they balanced?
Well I don't want to tell everything about the book but I will give you some tidbits.
1) There is 7 new bloodlines
2) There is 5 new mysteries.
3) The only monk archetype gives them access to Ki powers which functions somewhat like supernatural abilities and their is a lot of them.
4) Songhealer can increase how effective other peoples spells, scrolls, wands etc are for healing if he is higher level. He also gets two abilities one lets him do a performance that works like the spell heal and another that raises the dead. Is it good? depends on your point of view I guess.
5) Yes some of the feats are class specific. Just skimming the feat list I seen 1 Sorc, 3 Oracle, 5 Witch class only feats, though they are tied to bloodline, mystery or hexes so take it with a grain of salt when I say class only.
6) The two archetypes for Sorc combine bloodlines, giving some benefits from each blood line.
7) At first glance they seem on par, but keep in mind I have not read the book. Just been skimming it.
Dark_Mistress, does anybody ever tell you how incredibly sexy you are when you have us slave mortals begging before your feet for even the tiniest morsel of your dark forbidden knowledge?
All the time or they don't get to savor the taste of Sweet Sting.
Dark_Mistress, does anybody ever tell you how incredibly sexy you are when you have us slave mortals begging before your feet for even the tiniest morsel of your dark forbidden knowledge?
All the time or they don't get to savor the taste of Sweet Sting.
You are incredibly benevolent, and I thank you for sending forth your unholy words of awesomeness.
Edit: Change the word "benevolent" to "malevolent" whenever you feel the need. I'm not yet sure how you tend to operate.
I have only two more questions. Does the Reanimator Archetype replace bombs, and if so, with what?
Edit: The only reason I ask is because of some fluff that would work better for a Kingmaker character of mine. However, bombs are integral to my character's backstory, so if they are replaced, I will not even ask if I may update my character.
I cannot wait to see what the new witch patrons are, as well as new familiar options. Anyone care to reveal a few, just to keep me satisfied until I can get the book?
There are a dozen new familiars, including the iconic goat!
As well as the all-powerful tumor, I hope. BTW, I know I said I only had the two aforementioned questions, but what benefits do the tumor familiar bestow upon the alchemist?
Are there any bloodlines that are "Law", Based on any creature(s) from the Beastairy II, or based on a concept(music, life elemtal, etc.)and/or character class(witch, bard, druid,etc.)?