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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Race Guide (OGL)

4.20/5 (based on 30 ratings)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Race Guide (OGL)
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Get the most out of your heritage with the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide! Embrace your inner monster by playing one of 30 iconic races from mythology and gaming history, or build an entirely new race of your own. If classic races are more your style, go beyond the stereotypes for elves, dwarves, and the other core races with new options and equipment to help you stand out from the crowd.

The Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide is a bold new companion to the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. This imaginative 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.

The 256-page Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide includes:

  • New rules and options to help you customize all seven of the classic core races, including new racial traits, racial subtypes, and racial archetypes.
  • 30 exotic races, from mischievous goblins and reptilian kobolds to crow-headed tengus and deadly drow, each with complete rules for use as player characters, plus archetypes, alternate racial traits, and other options for maximum customization.
  • A complete and balanced system for creating an unlimited number of new races, mixing and matching powers and abilities to form characters and cultures specific to your campaign.
  • Tons of new race-specific equipment, feats, spells, and magic items for each of the races detailed!
  • ... and much, much more!

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-390-3

Errata
Last Updated - 7/29/2015

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

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4.20/5 (based on 30 ratings)

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Probably one of my favorites...

5/5 —

All the new races and traits and feats and racial magic items really helped me flesh out my campaign world. The addition of being able to make your own race made me sing soprano. Excellent, excellent book for those who want to play a race that's completely outta the ordinary. Part of the reason I got this book is because in the core rulebook it says something like this: "only for more experienced GMs, having players play odd races can be rewarding and fun, but you have to be careful" etc. but doesn't give you a glimpse of the races or explain how they might effect a campaign world a certain way. Using this book, you can experience what it would be like to play a rare (and really cool) race. Being an Oread is awesome and probably one of the most exciting and fun experiences in my gaming career.

Awesome product, Paizo!

Too campaign-specific

2/5 —

The book is focused heavily around the PFRPG "host" campaign, with no clear instructions on how to extrapolate for other campaigns (we use the 3.0 Forgotten Realms setting). So in the end, most of this book is filler and not really very useful. Even the second printing tied the book more closely with the "home team" setting.

What little can be gleaned from the book is helpful, but it's not worth the hardcover price if your campaign is something other than the generic one sponsored by Pathfinder. I wonder why it is, that almost every "host" campaign seems like a patchwork quilt of several others, with most of the interesting stuff left out?

The ARG is how the ACG should of been

5/5 —

The Race Guide is how the Advanced Class Guide should have been set up- with clear rules and customization options to create your own class. Great book for players and GM's ready to venture out into some custom races.

Hit the sweet spot

5/5 —

I don't quite know what it is but this is one of my favorite Paizo products to date. Maybe it's the way the book is organized with each race with its own section. Maybe it's the swappable racial traits akin to class archetypes. Maybe it's the artwork, showing two to three examples of each race to demonstrate the variety within each species. Maybe it's the archetypes, favored class bonus options, notes on society and appearance, spells, feats. It just felt like icing on the cake to include a race builder at the end.

Exactly What my Campaign Needed

5/5 —

please excuse any typos.

so you're supposed to start off easy, right? go by the book, go by the campaign setting they give you. just stick to the six core races, and don't go overboard trying to invent stuff, right? well, I didn't exactly do that. I created a whole world from scratch, messed with the core qualities of numerous races, core races or otherwise, and on top of that, invented a pantheon and mythos which is completely incompatible with Golarion's. this is the first game I will ever GM. to be frank, I'm in trouble.

with that context, this book is a godsend, and I'm glad to have the freedom and ease of use this guide gives me. having a game world populated with multiple monstrous races (most of them completely reimagined), I needed to have a way to make sure the stats reflected the people. it breaks immersion to have a race with traits that quite clearly do not make sense for them. something that always bothered me with the core material is how race was treated: I found it restricted, stereotypical. clearly, the Pathfinder race system needs a little diversity, especially if your campaign isn't actually set in Golarion.

one clear example of the usefulness of this guide for worldbuilding and racial diversity is the Gnome trait "hatred". see, the rules state that the Gnomes have a deep-seated hatred of goblinoid and reptilian races, but in my campaign, Gnomes and Goblins hail from different corners of the universe, and logically, shouldn't even be aware of the other's existence. it simply wouldn't make sense for me to have a gnome character that's trained against a race they've never seen before in their life. thank god this guide has other plausible gnome traits that I can replace that problematic one with one with. not even to mention how the Ifrits, Oreads, Sylphs, and Undines had filled a gaping hole in my mythos. (though I was dissappointed to find that the Kobolds were still utter weaklings)

in another spur of greatness, I can already tell that my players, by now fairly intoxicated on the freedom I've given them, are going to love these new options. I can already see one of them deciding they want to go with one of the very comprehensive and imaginative archetypes, or choosing catfolk or kitsune instead of elf or goblin. the best part is, this book is so easy to figure out, so I am perfectly able to give them this freedom without puzzling over the rules for a month (like I embarrassingly did with the core rulebook).

trust me. if you're the kind of Game Master that doesn't like playing by the rules, and likes to do your own thing lore wise (like create a complete departure from the default setting), then this book is almost a necessity for you. for anyone else who likes the idea of monstrous PCs, you'll love this one.

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Silver Crusade
casiel wrote:

I'm fairly certain the answer is "no"--and I apologize if this has already been asked--but, will there be any races in the Advanced Races Guide that are approved for play in Pathfinder Society?

I'm wondering about this as well. Aside from special boons you can get, currently there is not.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Shalafi2412 wrote:
Is there an official reason as to why it has been moved back a few months?

We're behind schedule.

Why do duergar net a +0 to ability scores? That rubs against the net +2 that the other core races get.
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Twin Dragons wrote:
Why do duergar net a +0 to ability scores? That rubs against the net +2 that the other core races get.

These are not core races, and every race is not equal; if you're expecting otherwise, this is probably not the book for you.

Vic Wertz wrote:
Twin Dragons wrote:
Why do duergar net a +0 to ability scores? That rubs against the net +2 that the other core races get.
These are not core races, and every race is not equal; if you're expecting otherwise, this is probably not the book for you.

I was just curious as to the reasoning, it's understandable that all races are not equal.

Contributor

Updated with final cover art!

Nice to see that tengu there with Harsk and Merisiel. I always enjoy seeing non-humanlike races getting shown like this.

Love it! Mr Reynolds never disappoints.

Now time to sit back and wait for mid June.

But: It took me twenty seconds in photoshop to clear up the colours and take the gray out. Why did no-one take that time?

I like the cover even though I got to see it before now.

Like the red dragon colored kobolds and a kenku, wish all the races on the cover could have been a non-core race.
Liberty's Edge

Are there new races (not home-brewed) in this book? or just racial archtypes?
Grand Lodge

I'm loving the duergar preview. I feel like I want to play the grey disciple archetype now.

James Jacobs must be super happy that a tengue was put on the cover of a Core RPG book!

Also, as a brief comment towards the whole deurgar racial stats, they're exactly the same as their stats in Bestiary I. The core stats are no surprise at all. Although it's kind of sucky that a deurgar sorcerer / oracle can't really happen (Imagine a deurgar oracle with the Mystery of Stone!).

I wish that the designers went through and added alternate traits akin to the ones that the elemental races have. I personally think that EVERY race should be able to proficiently be a sorcerer / oracle of at least one bloodline / mystery.
Contributor
Golden-Esque wrote:
Although it's kind of sucky that a deurgar sorcerer / oracle can't really happen (Imagine a deurgar oracle with the Mystery of Stone!).

I'm not sure I see the part where it says duergar can't be oracles, sorcerers, or multiclassed sorcerer/oracles.

Silver Crusade
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Shalafi2412 wrote:
Are orcs really that popular of a PC race?

Personally, they're my favorite fantasy race.

The "proud warrior race guy" type at least, that have as much capacity for good or evil as the other player races and are more than just xp fodder. Not the old cut-and-dry Always Chaotic Evil ones.

That's why I'm hoping Advanced Race Guide actually has some support for that flavor of orc, for those that want it. This kind of feels like the last chance to get any of that out of Pathfinder since Orcs of Golarion has come and gone and didn't have anything for them. Really, really hoping this one comes through.
Mikaze wrote:
Shalafi2412 wrote:
Are orcs really that popular of a PC race?

Personally, they're my favorite fantasy race.

The "proud warrior race guy" type at least, that have as much capacity for good or evil as the other player races and are more than just xp fodder. Not the old cut-and-dry Always Chaotic Evil ones.

That's why I'm hoping Advanced Race Guide actually has some support for that flavor of orc, for those that want it. This kind of feels like the last chance to get any of that out of Pathfinder since Orcs of Golarion has come and gone and didn't have anything for them. Really, really hoping this one comes through.

Personally, I'm glad they already go my favourite race down spot on: Goblins. :D

Liz Courts wrote:
I'm not sure I see the part where it says duergar can't be oracles, sorcerers, or multiclassed sorcerer/oracles.

There's no game rule that says duergar can't be Oracles or Sorcerers, but with a hefty -4 penalty to their primary casting stat, its much more difficult to pull off then, say, a dwarven oracle or a dwarven sorcerer.

Dark Archive
Lazaro wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Erik Mona wrote:

...Plus new ones you can make from scratch.

That sounds very interesting. Nice touch.
I do believe that this could be fun.

Can these be used in society play?

June? Crap, was really looking forward to seeing this next month. :(

Personally, I don't mind all the delays. It's Paizo, the quality of their product is worth the wait.

Updated the cover image to correct a color space issue. Basically the same, but less murky :)

Thanks, the colors did look off.
Twin Dragons wrote:
Personally, I don't mind all the delays. It's Paizo, the quality of their product is worth the wait.

+1

Preordered!

For some reason, Amazon still has it listed to ship in April :/.
Silver Crusade
Kelsey MacAilbert wrote:


For some reason, Amazon still has it listed to ship in April :/.

No surprise there.

I wonder if Paizo considers "flumph" as a "PC-appropriate monster" race?
Paizo Employee Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
4 people marked this as a favorite.

Nope.

Not until Daigle gets here, anyway.
Kelsey MacAilbert wrote:

Preordered!

For some reason, Amazon still has it listed to ship in April :/.

Amazon canceled my pre-order for Distant Worlds. If ARG is a sellout like DW, don't be surprised if ARG amazon pre-orders are canceled too.

I can't wait to get my hands on the custom race rules.
Silver Crusade
Shasazar wrote:
I can't wait to get my hands on the custom race rules.

Srsly. I have really, really high hopes for that chapter.

Orcs and Ogres both have been a core race in my (as of last week) retired homebrew world since it's inception back in the early 90s. Both races were quite popular around my table and I got more than a couple sad faces when I announced my switch to Golarion and Pathfinder. With this I hope to be able to reintroduce them both in a balanced manner.
Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
ARG Product Description wrote:
All PC-appropriate monster races in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, including creatures from all three Bestiaries and The Inner Sea World Guide, receive race options equivalent to those presented for the core races in the Core Rulebook, for the first time allowing players to create and play characters like merfolk, grippli, duergar, stryx, and every other appropriate monster currently in the Pathfinder game.

A very PC appropriate monster seems not to have been included. Neither the Featured Races or the Puzzling Races listed mites. How are mites inappropriate? Is there no love for my favorite race? All sorts of vermin goodness has been added, but the race that can capitalize on them the most is left out. Guess I will have to ban the ARG from my games until this is remedied...

No avatar love even. Except 1 mite avatar I cannot select... Satyrs have at least 4 to choose from.
Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
ARG Product Description wrote:
All PC-appropriate monster races in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, including creatures from all three Bestiaries and The Inner Sea World Guide, receive race options equivalent to those presented for the core races in the Core Rulebook, for the first time allowing players to create and play characters like merfolk, grippli, duergar, stryx, and every other appropriate monster currently in the Pathfinder game.
A very PC appropriate monster seems not to have been included. Neither the Featured Races or the Puzzling Races listed mites. How are mites inappropriate? Is there no love for my favorite race? All sorts of vermin goodness has been added, but the race that can capitalize on them the most is left out. Guess I will have to ban the ARG from my games until this is remedied...

See, first you tried reverse pricing a magic item, and now you've gone mad!

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
Cheapy wrote:
See, first you tried reverse pricing a magic item, and now you've gone mad!

But the psyugeon said I was better now after he swizzled my brain with a straw! I didn't try, I succeeded, I think...

I preordered this about a month ago, IIRC, off of Miniature Markets!

Does anyone know if it will be possible to build a Winged Folk from previous D and D editions using this book? I have the guide that was for preview and I am having trouble making it up.

When will we start seeing previews for this one?

We know about 4 chapters in this book(core races, not so core, really not core, and create your own) will there be more then these 4?

I don't think it's just for players, so having options for orcs is def good for a gm who's into world building... plus a lot of orc stuff spills into half orc, and all those adopted kids biting like savages, haha.

Now a kobold with out such a heavy str penalty, and i'm there!

I hope there will be previews for this one as early as the beginning of april.

There was a post on the Paizo Blog about the Advanced Race Guide on March 14, 2012, saying that we'd be seing some previews in the "very near future".

Well, it's been more than two weeks, and still no previews. Now, I understand that Paizo wants to keep excitement high in the lead-up to release of each product (and so generally gives previews closer to the pre-release period), but I'm assuming that there are quite a few people like me who can't wait to buy the Advanced Race Guide and could really do with a few previews to hold us over. And while I think the "write a caption for the cover" is an intersting idea, what I'd really like to see is some crunchy bits from the book.

Maybe one race? A few options? Something?

Please and thank you.

Yeah I remember that being posted on march 13th, saying it will be soon but the definition of soon can very greatly.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

If it's a Blizzard Soon or Valve Soon we might be in for a little wait.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

With the book getting pushed back until June, I wouldn't expect any previews to start before mid to late May.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

From the marketing point of view, most of us aren't the target for previews. We will buy the book anyway, regardless of anything. The role of previews is to generate buzz and catch stray customers who aren't as rabidly informed as we are. The best time for that is around 1 month before the product release, because this way they can build up interest and preorder the book (or even better, subscribe to the line).
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

PDF release date is my birthday. I'm sure that's auspicious.
Liberty's Edge

Typically, previews for a hardcover start 3-6 weeks before the book comes out. We're incredibly unlikely to see anything before mid-May.

How much of the artwork for each race will be new? Not that I would have any issues with them using old art for a race if the art is really good.

When are we going to see the information updated for this item?

The first preview is up~!

Just a little more waiting.....
...
...
...
Arg, I want it now....

The product description has been updated and is final.

I like the whole idea of the racial archetypes!
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