Adventure like never before with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Class Guide! Explore new heights of heroism with 10 new base classes, each with 20 levels of amazing abilities. Incredible powers also await existing characters, with more than a hundred new archetypes and class options. Prepare characters for their most legendary adventure ever with massive selections of never-before-seen spells, magic items, and more!
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Class Guide is a must-have companion volume to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. This imaginative tabletop game builds upon more than 15 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 Advanced Class Guide includes:
Ten new base classes—the magic-twisting arcanist, the ferocious bloodrager, the cunning investigator, the daring swashbuckler, the formidable warpriest, and others.
Variant class abilities and thematic archetypes for all 29 base classes, such as the counterfeit mage and the mutagenic mauler.
Nearly a hundred new feats for characters of all classes, including style feats, teamwork feats like Coordinated Shot, and more.
Hundreds of new spells and magic items, such as feast on fear and skullcrusher gauntlets.
An entire armory of amazing equipment, from vital new adventuring gear to deadly alchemical weapons.
This book has gotten a lot of flack for two reasons: (1) A number of people were upset by the large amount of errata posted after the book came out. (2) A number of people were upset by the perceived power-creep that this book carried with it, especially in the archetype section.
Both of these are reasonable complaints that I largely agree with.
That said, this book also contains a cornucopia of player options that are great fun. A number of the classes it introduced are now mainstream: it’s hard to imagine playing the game without options like the Brawler, the Investigator, the Slayer, the Bloodrager, the Hunter, or the Warpriest. Or to play without archetypes like the Bolt Ace (Gunslinger), Mutation Warrior or Martial Master (Fighter).
Moreover, the book introduced a number of feats that improve on the available build options available to most players (Extra Hex! Slashing Grace!). Likewise, although the spells in this book seem to have flown under the radar, there are a lot of nice and interesting spells are introduced in this book (Glue Seal, Communal Align Weapon, Wall of Blindness/Deafness, Wall of Nausea, Anti-Incorporeal Shell, Adjustable Disguise, Adjustable Polymorph, Investigative Mind, etc).
Easily 5 stars worth of good material here. Given the unusually large amount of errata, I feel compelled to deduct a star. But all that said, it’s hard to imagine playing Pathfinder without this book -- after the Core Rulebook and Advanced Players Guide, it’s probably the best book for players to pick up.
This book still sticks out as one of Paizo's biggest missteps. It was extremely rushed and it shows.
At least half of the new classes don't even need to exist as anything other than archetypes. Even among the ones that actually work, most feel very uninspired.
There are a few good things in it, but not really enough to justify buying it. It's not worth your money and it's best not to encourage sloppy work.
Hopefully Paizo learns from this and prioritizes quality over quantity and speed from now on.
The ACG had problems. Many problems. And it continues to have problems.
From concept ("Let's make ten classes as complicated and broken as the magus, or more so!"), to out-of-whack game design, to simply poor editing, the ACG is a mess. The book's philosophy seems to be "create a new utterly unbalanced mechanic, and proliferate it as far as possible." The (quickly issued) errata pulled some of it a bit more into line, but it just doesn't come close to correcting it.
Even something as simple as alchemical items are way out there. Holy Weapon Balm costs 5gp more than holy water, and does 1400% more damage. And that doesn't even include increasing damage to incorporeal creatures.
Even two years after it was released, I continue to be impressed with the complete disregard for balance and sense in this book. If power creep had happened this much every year, we'd be looking at 9999 damage caps by now. The ACG stands out for its insanity.
Perhaps pulping it for the cover error would have been the better move.
I am extremely disappointed in this product, and glad I only purchased the PDF version. As other reviewers have pointed out, the new classes are poorly balanced when compared to the preexisting ones, and would be a better fit for a book like Unchained, much like Unearthed Arcana's gestalt characters.
There's far too many feats and toys dedicated to these new classes, which drastically lessens this book's universal appeal, and even though some contrivances are provided to make some of said feats accessible to other classes, it ends up painting the book's title as a misnomer - it isn't an "advanced class guide" any more than it is a guide mostly about ten new classes, that are "advanced" only in the sense that they're more powerful than the others.
It's my fault for not properly researching the book before buying it, so buyer beware if you're expecting to find a literal advanced class guide, as opposed to a lengthy introduction to ten new ones.
Okay, there's a lot here that's just terribly rushed and it shows, like the editing here is painful at points. The classes themselves range wildly in value, and there's a lot of examples of Paizo's classic retro nerfing of things to help make options here look better. This was an obvious rush to gencon book, and it shows. While not everything in it is bad, and there's some salvageable content, you could easily continue to play the game without this book and miss out on absolutely nohthing.
Really looking forward to reading this new book. However, I am anxious to know one thing, which is: does the swashbuckler have an archetype/feat/ability/whatever which would allow them to wield the elven curveblade but still gain all of the benefits from the swashbuckler class (ie swashbuckler's finesse)? I have always wanted a viable dexterity based warrior that could be an elf and wield an elven curveblade (while gaining dexterity to both hit and damage instead of having to go with the agile weapon property).:)
-do any archetypes/feats change what weapon groups you can flurry?
At higher levels the Shield Champion can chuck that shield as a ranged weapon as part of her flurry.
Sorry, I did not scour the feats.
Insain Dragoon wrote:
-I remember a concern being how often one could use martial versatility to grab multiple feats. How many times per day could a level 11 Brawler grab max feats in a usage?
The break points at 10th and 12th level. The number of uses is 3 + half Brawler level (minumum 1). So that is 8 and 9 uses per day. Each time a single feat is acquired, that is one use per day utilized.
At 10th level and 12th level, the brawler can theoretically grab a maximum three feats in a single round. The difference being, what action is required to get those three feats. Then can, of course, acquire less feats, but you wanted to know the maximum.
Insain Dragoon wrote:
-capstone?
There's not a single capstone, but rather a small suite of goodies. A bonus combat feat, improved awesome blow, and they can use martial versatility to obtain any number of combat feats that they want, as a swift action, that they have daily uses to pay for.
Whoa, so brawler gets 3+1/2 level uses of martial versatility now?
That's awesome.
That is correct on both counts.
You can dole out those uses as you see fit. Every feat grabbed is one use that lasts 1 minute. So I picture you can save them for your whole adventuring day, or (at higher levels) you could nova them out with three feats in one encounter.
The break points when the brawler can access more combat feats with increasingly faster actions are 6, 10, 12, and 20.
The maximum number of extra feats is typically 3.. except at level 20, when you're only limited by the number of uses you have left.
Whoa, so brawler gets 3+1/2 level uses of martial versatility now?
That's awesome.
That is correct on both counts.
You can dole out those uses as you see fit. Every feat grabbed is one use that lasts 1 minute. So I picture you can save them for your whole adventuring day, or (at higher levels) you could nova them out with three feats in one encounter.
The break points when the brawler can access more combat feats with increasingly faster actions are 6, 10, 12, and 20.
The maximum number of extra feats is typically 3.. except at level 20, when you're only limited by the number of uses you have left.
First you give me Green Market and Murder's Mark, and now this.
I was mainly concerned with max number of feats grabbed because of attempts to grab entire feat trees and such.
I gotchya. Looks like 3, practically speaking, till you hit 20th. The language says that you can use the ability again within the duration, but to specifically replace chosen feats. Nothing is said about taking additional ones.
Totemic Skald, Herald of the Horn, Fated Champion, Spell Warrior
>Bard
Flame Dancer, Voice of the Wild
Can anyone briefly describe the Voice of the Wild archetype?
I'm hoping it has some druidy flavor. I've been wanting a Celtic flavored druid-like bard ever since… well ever since the original 1st edition bard was eliminated.
Totemic Skald, Herald of the Horn, Fated Champion, Spell Warrior
>Bard
Flame Dancer, Voice of the Wild
Can anyone briefly describe the Voice of the Wild archetype?
I'm hoping it has some druidy flavor. I've been wanting a Celtic flavored druid-like bard ever since… well ever since the original 1st edition bard was eliminated.
Agree.
I would mind brief description of both archetypes :)
Can anyone briefly describe the Voice of the Wild archetype?
I'm hoping it has some druidy flavor. I've been wanting a Celtic flavored druid-like bard ever since… well ever since the original 1st edition bard was eliminated.
Sure, it's kind of a nature bard. They can access some druid spells. They also gain a new bardic performance that allows them to grant an ally an animal aspect, based off of the hunter's animal focus ability.
I would mind brief description of both archetypes :)
Okay, here are some notes about the flame dancer.
A low level ability to use Performance to mitigate high heat conditions and help allies who have caught on fire.
A 3rd level ability to grant allies the ability to see through flames and smoke without penalty as long as there is light, plus the gaze of f lames oracle revelation. replaces inspire confidence.
A little later they grant fire resistance to allies.
Eventually they go back and add in a nice handful of wizard fire spells (up to and including fireball)into their spell list.
Well, "Permanent" like the paladin's Battlefield Presence (Su)
At 3rd level, a tactician can direct her allies in battle, granting each ally within 30 feet one teamwork feat she possesses as a bonus feat as a standard action. All allies must receive the same feat, but do not need to meet the prerequisites of this bonus feat. This ability does not function if the paladin is flat-footed or unconscious. Allies must be able to see and hear the holy tactician in order to gain this benefit. Changing the bonus feat granted is a swift action.
I would mind brief description of both archetypes :)
Okay, here are some notes about the flame dancer.
A low level ability to use Performance to mitigate high heat conditions and help allies who have caught on fire.
A 3rd level ability to grant allies the ability to see through flames and smoke without penalty as long as there is light, plus the gaze of f lames oracle revelation. replaces inspire confidence.
A little later they grant fire resistance to allies.
Eventually they go back and add in a nice handful of wizard fire spells (up to and including fireball)into their spell list.
And I misspoke. They lose inspire competence (and countersong, suggestion and dirge of doom) for various alternate powers. The fire resistance also increases with level.
Favored Class Bonus. Specifically, usually the Race specific ones that aren't a Skill Point or Hit Point. The Human one for Barbarian nearly doubles the superstition bonus to Saves.
And I misspoke. They lose inspire competence (and countersong, suggestion and dirge of doom) for various alternate powers. The fire resistance also increases with level.
I'm sold. This is soooooooooooooooo cool.
Loosing dirge of doom hurts, but not a big problem. I can get the Dooms Harp.
First the dirge of doom feat and now this. :)
Thanks Pazio.
Thanks Jim Groves for bringing me these good news! :D
Well, stacking rageshaper with untouchable rager sounds a bit useless... haha
Dont forget that several bloodlines (arcane draconic and maybe elemental) gain the ability to polymorph automatically during rage. In fact, arcane pairs extremely well with being the anti-mage, as it gains access to disruptive and spellbreaker, and boosts AoOs against casters(like a free pseudo combat reflexes against spells). Plus arcane ragers gain 2 other decent to great spell effects with each rage.
The earliest polymorph I see is level 12 with elemental. Draconic gets it at 16. Arcane doesn't get one until level 16. Rarely do campaigns last that long.
Jim... So does primalist stack with untouchable? Just double checking. If so, I am so going to make an anti-magic bloodrager...
Okay, a few caveats. Its 1 am for me right now and this is my last post of the night. I'm also answering unofficially. Heck, I couldn't answer officially if I wanted to, but you know what I mean. I want to say that before some jerk plays the gotchya game with me.
I think its okay to mix them.
The primalist is a "modification of the bloodline class feature". Which is unfortunately super broad and covers different things. I.e. spellcasting and bloodline powers.
The untouchable replaces just the spellcasting and bloodline spells specifically for spell resistance.
There should be no issue.
I can, however, foresee a nitpicker arguing that you can't do piecemeal the exchanges.
However a bloodline power has nothing to do, strictly speaking, with spellcasting (and blood spells). Its just that the term "bloodline class feature" is a pretty broad umbrella that covers two different concepts.
Again, I think you're safe. I wouldn't be surprised if it came up though.