Where the dungeon ends, another adventure begins! Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Campaign takes you on a guided tour through the parts of the game that happen between monster attacks and quests for ancient artifacts. As some of the most powerful and prestigious heroes around, do your player characters want to build up a kingdom of their own, or lead an army against a neighboring nation? Perhaps they want to start a business, craft magic items, or embark on a quest that will come to define them. Whether you're looking for help generating a young character or seeking ways to challenge adventurers who've grown bored of fighting monsters one-on-one, this book has everything you need!
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Campaign is a must-have companion volume to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game 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 a new era.
A detailed guide to generating character backstories, including a new system for random character generation and traits and drawbacks to meld your background with your statistics.
Story feats that increase in power as you achieve key goals, making quests and crusades more than just flavor!
A complete downtime rules system to flesh out those parts of a PC's life that take place between adventures, such as running a business, gaining power and influence in a community, or starting a magical academy.
New rules for retraining and switching classes; honor, reputation, and fame; young characters; investment; magic item creation; and other key adventuring topics.
Rules for building up a kingdom, including construction and technological advancements, governing your people, and more.
Mass combat rules to help you lead clashing armies and conduct epic battles in a fun and efficient manner—without losing sight of the PCs themselves.
My first impressions of Ultimate Campaign were pretty positive, and now that I've had time to read through the whole thing, I can honestly say that this is a must-have for any campaign that goes beyond the scope of the dungeon crawl. If you're looking for guidelines and rules for all the things that happen outside the dungeon itself, this book is an incredible buy.
Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!
Book- Ultimate Campaign
Publisher-Paizo
Price – ~$40
TL;DR- Tables and Rules Everywhere!-83%
Basics- Ultimate Campaign focuses on the rules around the rest of the Pathfinder RPG. This book is more "meta" then most books. The book starts with a chapter on how to make characters; not how to make stats, but how to build a story into your characters. Next the book gives a chapter on what you can do in your down time with ideas ranging from building businesses to creating organizations. After that is a chapter on different rules systems covering ideas such as bargaining to taxation in your game. The final chapter is how to build a kingdom and mass combat.
Mechanics or “Crunch”-This book is crunch-tastic! If you want rules regarding all the extra stuff in your game, this is it. Want rules for an honor system? It's here. Want to start a kingdom? There is a whole chapter on how to do the rules for it. It covers a lot of ground. Some of these rules are kind of reprints as these rules were covered in different adventure paths, but that's not necessarily bad as the rules have gotten a polish since their last printing. 5/5
Story or “Fluff”-This section might not fit the best here. This book sets out to be a rules book. It's pretty system neutral as you're just running the Pathfinder/3.5 system somewhere and these rules cover the "in between" stuff. You don't need a lot of story. However chapter one is how to build a character. It does an excellent job of describing what stuff you could include in your character. If you're George R.R. Martin, you don't need this. However, I have a friend who loves Pathfinder, but when presented with character generation, he freezes. This chapter gives some good fluff for your characters and suggests traits for you to take for all the fluff. Heck, if you want to completely randomize your PCs, this chapter gives tables and tables of random stuff to make your new PC. Where the fluff is needed, it's done well, but don't expect it throughout the book. 4/5
Execution-This book is the standard Paizo quality. The book is a nice hard cover with well put together pages. The layout lacks a bit. There are pages after pages of tables or rules or columns of text. Nothing brakes up much of what you're reading, so it gets a little boring. It's important rules, if you want them, but they get very dry, very quick. 3.5/5
Final Thoughts-Unlike a base book, this is a one copy at the table max book. This is something you might want to get, skim through, and then give to your GM while telling him which of these rules you want in the game. It's a repeat of many of the rules systems explored in the adventure paths, which isn't bad because the rules do get a little touch up here and there. However, if you want a dungeon crawling game where you find some monsters, kill them, and take gear, this isn't for you. If you want to do some crazy game where you explore a mist filled continent via random hex crawl where you establish a kingdom while maintaining your family's honor, waging a war for the throne, marrying into different family lines, and dealing with the crushing shame of your fathers half fiend lineage, then YES you will need this book. 83%
After thumbing through the book I decided to pick it up. I think the systems in the book are really interesting and I'm actually adapting them to my 4e game.
The book is chock full of fluffy stuff but stuff tied with mechanics so as a DM you get an idea of what type of rewards to apply to a player when they have a background or have own a business. The mass combat section is pretty neat as well, and with a little tweaking I can adapt that as well.
This is a pretty decent fluff book. However, I wish the price was $29.99 instead. The paper quality used is substantially weaker than previous books. There are useful things to be found within for the GM who is not too busy to come up with himself or herself but nothing is overwhelming in here. Reminds me of the numerous volumes Wotc produced for 4E.
This is definitely a homerun for Paizo. This is definitely one of their best products they have put out in a while. I actually gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, but it is still good enough to give it 5 here.
I got my physical first bound in on Friday, so I know the books are finished printing. Now for the long voyage to the U.S.
Lisa
Do you know when we might be seeing some more previews for this?
No idea. I stay far, far away from any decision making on what goes into the daily blog. I am usually as excited as the rest of you when I open my blog on a daily basis to see what's going on!
Hate feeling like a broken record here but again I'm going to ask if we can get a preview of this book before it hits the shelves. I'm really wanting to get some solid ideas of what's in this before I subscribe for it.
I've never bought an "Ultimate" book before - how are they in general? Some of the things here remind of stuff I've seen in other games and like, so this might be something I'll get...
Thanks for the PDF version as well; I just got back into paintball, so its nice to know I can still get this within my budget :)
CalebTGordan
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
I need money and a time machine. I have been looking forward to this book ever since the announcement at the PaizoCon Banquet.
I've never bought an "Ultimate" book before - how are they in general? Some of the things here remind of stuff I've seen in other games and like, so this might be something I'll get...
Thanks for the PDF version as well; I just got back into paintball, so its nice to know I can still get this within my budget :)
The Ultimate books are generally about 1/2 full of mainline rules and 1/2 full of optional rules and add-ons. Ultimate Magic had Words of Power, Ultimate Combat had piecemeal armor and chase rules.
In my personal opinion, the Ultimate books have been fantastic and each one I've purchased has greatly expanded the options for my players and led to nothing but enjoyment at the table.
I only wish there was more support for Words of Power from Ultimate Magic, because I love the versatility and mix/match function of that system. Wordcasting is very unique and flavorful!
I suspect that the retraining rules in Ultimate Combat will be the section most invoked by people who have no use for most of that book. I say this without having seen those rules -- but I know from experience with other games how the ability to change past character choices could affect a game.
You have noticed that there are all these feats that have useless prerequisite feats? Now you will be able to wait until you pick up the second feat in the chain before you swap out another feat for that useless first feat.
David,
If you have a pre-req feat that is part of a chain of feats. You can't swap out one of the so called useless ones that are first in the chain without disrupting the chain and not being able to use the latter feats then. So if you take two feats.. the first one being useless in your opinion and the second one being the one you want. Then remove the first feat and swap it for another makes the second feat no longer able to use.
I've never bought an "Ultimate" book before - how are they in general? Some of the things here remind of stuff I've seen in other games and like, so this might be something I'll get...
Thanks for the PDF version as well; I just got back into paintball, so its nice to know I can still get this within my budget :)
Its a point of contention really. Some people really liked them and some people felt really disappointed by them, particularly UM. UC has a lot of Monk material for example and is often refered to as Ult Monk. Generally UC is better liked than UM, but its all a matter of opinion.
You can easily redo the Words of Power to make it better.
I don't think they need to be "better", per-se, I just think it would be nice to see more options. Prestige classes, more feats, wordcaster items and the like would all be welcomed.
If you have a pre-req feat that is part of a chain of feats. You can't swap out one of the so called useless ones that are first in the chain without disrupting the chain and not being able to use the latter feats then. So if you take two feats.. the first one being useless in your opinion and the second one being the one you want. Then remove the first feat and swap it for another makes the second feat no longer able to use.
Other way around, I think.
Take some unrelated good feat to start. Later when you qualify for the feat you want from the chain, swap the first feat out for the first feat in the chain and qualify for the second.
In the end you still wind up with the useless feat, but you don't have to spend early levels with only the useless feat.
those books are not so valuable. in UM the best is the magus class, then the feats, then the spells.
oh and theres a place where you can take some spellbooks but not so cute.
the rules here (power words, spell Duels/Blights are so incomplete)
in UC there is the gunslinger, ninja and samurai (this one is the worst of all the 21 classes/subclasses in the wholy game)
and for the extra rules... piecemeal armor comes with a lot of flaws.
There are feats, and spells good enough.
oh and in boths are filled with archetypes, some useables and some space eater.
My rate for them
UC 3/10
UM 5/10 (without the magus 3/10)
You can easily redo the Words of Power to make it better.
I don't think they need to be "better", per-se, I just think it would be nice to see more options. Prestige classes, more feats, wordcaster items and the like would all be welcomed.
That is what I meant by Better... I just couldn't decde how to word it...
Like mine I redesigned it for use with a Final Fantasy Setting. So you have simple but profound effects.
Such as an Electrical Magic Attack that also inflicts a Poison Effect.
I encourage you to go to the Ultimate Combat and Ultimate Magic product pages on paizo.com and check out all the reviews.
...that's.... that's... so blaringly obvious... *d'oh*
I would suggest that if there's a way to sort by reviews (I try to ignore the 1-stars and 5-stars), that'd be an awesome addition for later.
Also wishing I had this now, before I start a new game with a new player! D'oh! Oh well :)
In my experience, it isn't the one-star and five-star reviews you necessicarily want to avoid. Its the reviews that are only a couple of incoherent sentences. There are 5-Star reviews by some top-quality reviewers out there!
And oh man, I so VERY much want to see what Paizo has done with the Young character rules. I'm super hoping that it expands on the Age Category rules and doesn't just say something like, "Here's a template for you!"
And oh man, I so VERY much want to see what Paizo has done with the Young character rules. I'm super hoping that it expands on the Age Category rules and doesn't just say something like, "Here's a template for you!"
That's actually exactly what I'm hoping they do. And that the template is all-negative (or that the benefits are relatively minor, like diplomacy boosts or something).
It sounds bad when I say it like that, but what I'm hoping is that it's never advantageous to be a child in a dangerous situation. Adults (age 15+ for humans) should just be better than children, in my opinion. Of course, even if it's entirely disadvantageous, players could still elect to play children, just as you're allowed to play an amputee if you really want, or use less than your point buy.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Looking at the description I noticed that there are rules for starting a magical Academy. I remember playing Skyrim and becoming the Archmage of Winterhelm without ever casting more than 10 spells total.
It makes me wonder, Will a fighter be able to start up a Magical Academy?
I am definitely looking forward to this book. My players just cleared out a nearly damaged tower, and were thinking of rebuilding it as their base of operations. And this book should help with that. Went back to look at the old WotC Stronghold Builder's Guidebook, and put it back on the shelf. Definitely difficult to wait for.
I wonder which iconic they will use to represent a youth adventurer in this book?
I'm hoping they do no a non-human character. Anyone can picture a human kid; let's get some art for some non-human kids. Youth Harsk could be awesome.
Honestly, it is rather easy to picture most of the races in the CRB as children, as they are all basically human in appearance. Though the half-orc inquisitor iconic would be interesting to see as a kid. And I will admit, I would like to see Paizo's take on a dwarf child/youth.