paizo.com Recent Reviews of Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDFpaizo.com Recent Reviews of Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF2014-10-18T01:17:56Z2014-10-18T01:17:56ZAdvanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF: An Endzeitgeist.com review (2 stars)Endzeitgeisthttps://paizo.com/products/btpy99mc?Advanced-Archetypes2016-01-25T10:29:58Z<p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>This pdf clocks in at 24 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page ToC, 3 pages of SRD, 3/4 of a page blank, leaving us with 18 1/4 pages of content, so let's take a look!</p>
<p>We begin this pdf with the Avatar archetype for the cleric: These guys need to match their deity's alignment and receive a -2 penalty with any weapon but the respective deity's favored weapon. Additionally, they may not select spells with a descriptor that is not featured among the respective deity's alignment. To give you an example, an avatar of a neutral deity would not be able to cast either good, lawful, evil or chaotic spells - which is odd from a balance-standpoint, since there is no neutral descriptor, making the center cross of the alignment axis and all neutral avatars weaker than the respective corners (LG; CG; LE and CE, all of which may cast spells with 2 descriptors) - odd. To offset the penalties of the archetype, the avatar gets +2 to saves versus fear and charm-effects. Instead of spontaneous casting, the avatar receives Deific Obedience as a bonus feat. At 4th level, the archetype receives an extra domain at -3 levels, Wis and Cha - somewhat uncommon...though this does replace channel energy...which is a bit odd - the additional domain comes into play at 4th level, while channel energy is already relevant at 1st level - though admittedly, that's a nitpick.</p>
<p>The second archetype is the Berserk Barbarian, who does not gain medium armor or shield proficiency and the barbarian remains fatigued for twice as long; at 17th level, they may rage when fatigued or exhausted. When raging and not wearing armor, the barbarian gets CON-mod as an armor bonus to AC. At 2nd level, the berserk receives fast healing 1 while in rage and conscious, +1 at 8th level, +1 every 6 levels thereafter - and yes, this is abuse-safe, kudos! Instead of trap sense, the berserker gets an untyped bonus versus fear and instead of improved uncanny dodge, the berserker may negate precision damage or crits with a 15%-chance - overall, a weak little archetype - nice concept, pretty bland execution.</p>
<p>The Mutagenic Rager Barbarian, obviously gets mutagens instead of rage, may only use rage powers while under the effects of a mutagen and at high levels, these guys may end mutagens swiftly - this archetype is obviously broken and bespeaks a lack of insight regarding the function of mutagens versus rages: Rages allow for short-burst outputs; a quick burst of power, followed by a downtime - mutagens provide a minor penalty, but are significantly more flexible and last MUCH longer - so that's issue number one. Number two is that some rage powers/feats consume rage rounds, which this blatantly disregards...and they're supposed to be restricted by rage rounds...not always-on-options. Broken as hell.</p>
<p>The Black Powder Hood Slayer Archetype gets proficiency with martial weapons and one-handed firearms as well as light armor - oddly not providing simple weapon proficiency. Instead of track they get Gunsmith as well Wis-mod grit and the quick clear and gunslinger's dodge deeds and instead of second level's talent, the archetype gets Rapid Reload. Instead of sneak attack, these guys deal scaling bonus damage when dealing damage with more than one firearm to the same target in a given round instead of sneak attack They may also holster firearms at 3rd level as a free action and replace 4th level's slayer talent with gunslinger's initiative. The lack of sneak attack means that studied target works slightly differently -it is gained at 5th level...which is somewhat odd, since I •assume• it means there's no 1st level studied target, but I'm ultimately not sure. Instead of stalker, they get the targeting deed, at 11th evasive instead or swift tracker. On the slightly nitpicky side - the archetype can't decide on its name - it is referred to as hooded slayers, hooded slingers, black powder hood slinger, etc. - odd, how such a basic thing could slip past.</p>
<p>Bomber rogues gain Throw Anything and Bombs instead of sneak attack and they may take alchemist discoveries as rogue talents with alchemist discoveries as rogue talents with alchemist levels as rogue levels. Instead of trapfinding. they get alchemy-bonuses and make silent bombs and is locked into demolition charge at 4th level -an okay archetype, though I've seen the bombing done slightly more interesting.</p>
<p>The Covert Mage Arcanist gains light armor proficiency and may cast sans spell failure in light armor and two spells are added to the spellbook per level, with the requirement of one being divination, illusion or enchantment. Alas, the unique touch ability is wonky: Spend one point to penalize Will-saves by Cha-mod...but the very next sentence says that the penalty is equal to 1/2 class level...so, which is it? 7th level provides the utterly broken Spell Trick: Bluff-check to feint as part of spellcasting, on a success, you don't provoke an AoO AND the target must save twice and take the worse result. You know how easy a skill can be blown through the roof, right? Not getting anywhere near my table...which is kind of a pity, since the 11th level seeing through illusions-trick is interesting.</p>
<p>The Dashing Hero Paladin is basically a kind of swashbuckler/paladin hybrid with Weapon Finesse, less proficiencies and derring-do instead of lay on hands. At 2nd level, it gets the a pretty OP and non-functional 2nd level ability instead of divine grace: The dashing hero can spend 1 point of panache as an immediate action to move up to his speed, pick up an ally (regardless of carrying capacity? What if the ally's too heavy? Movement rate modified by encumbrance or not??) and move the ally along, negating the attack. The paladin's movement does provoke AoOs, but not that of the ally, which means a pala can pull off sick readied-action combos here. Usually, two creatures cannot occupy the same square, so how does the pala carry the target along? Squeezing? Is the carried target flat-footed or denied his Dex-bonus versus e.g. readied attacks? Can the pala drop the target or does the target have to accompany the pala the whole movement? I get what this does, but its rules-language is SLOPPY. Other than that, the archetype replaces mercies, channel energy etc. with deeds and nimble - bland. The Rakish Villain antipaladin is the inverse, with an evil version of aforementioned ability - which works slightly better, but only slightly.</p>
<p>The Horned Warden paladin is a more nature-inclined paladin whose smite evil is particularly volatile versus aberrations, constructs and undead and instead of divine grace, aura of courage etc., they get wild empathy, trackless step and replace channel energy with access to the ranger's spell-list as pala-spells. Overall, a well-crafted, interesting take on the druid-y paladin, including a code of conduct.</p>
<p>The Spirit-Scarred paladin recovers ability damage and even drain and gets an oracle curse at 1st level and spells not usually on his list are instead granted as 3/day SPs...which can, depending on the curse, be VERY powerful. Instead of mercies, he can cherry-pick shaman spells and instead of smite upgrades, he gets an always on ghost touch armor and class level 60 ft. fly-speed that fails to note its maneuverability. Oh, and palas suck at flight since Fly is not a class skill for them - or the archetype. All in all, cool visuals, hampered by flawed execution, though salvageable.</p>
<p>The Divinely-bound ranger replaces hunter's bond with a familiar and gets enhanced spellcasting and 5th level Evolved Familiar. Okay, I guess, but not something I'd consider interesting.</p>
<p>The Far Hand Adept Magus receives diminished spellcasting and loses heavy armor proficiency, but receives free mage hand and telekinesis at 1st and 13th level, respectively - instead of spell recall, the archetype gets Telekinetic Combat, which mitigates mage hand's restriction regarding the wielding of magical weapons and utilizes Int-mod instead of Str when fighting with the weapon thus. The big issue, though, remains that he can use spellstrike and spell combat freely with ranged uses of the melee weapon, thus basically completely mitigating any balancing of either - with one nasty bonus: While he does not require actions to maintain concentration and needs a free hand to direct the weapon, nothing precludes the adept from doing this with his offhand and fighting regularly while wielding the weapon telekinetically. Worse, while movement direction requires move actions, the ability fails to specify whether the attacks directed actually require actions or not - RAW, this would mean free action attacks with the telekinetically-wielded weapon. Obviously, that's not the intention, but it's what this boils down to - the archetype gets the complex idea almost right and functioning...almost. As written, this is problematic on both a rules-base and a balance-base.</p>
<p>The Feytouched Hexer Witch is Cha-based and casts spontaneously and replaces her patron spells with some spells and uses hexes based on Cha and gains class level rounds of 60 ft. faerie wings with good maneuverability at 5th level. An okay archetype.</p>
<p>The Gold-Robed Wizard is basically a pala-wizard crossover that receives a spell-based arcane smite, replacing arcane school. They also get all cleric spells with the [good]-descriptor at +1 level instead of arcane bond - so far, so good. 5th level Celestial Summons are odd - summon monster-spells calling celestial animals and outsiders can be cast as move actions...which is problematic: Usually, the spell's duration means that summoned creatures have a clear action economy, which is not provided here. The archetype also gets better banishment/dismissal. Not bad, but also not awesome.</p>
<p>The Gunmetal Mystic Monk is basically a gun-fu monk...and it has issues. It tries to make flurry with guns work (no AoOs from the target, but from other threatening creatures) but fails to address the holstering/drawing issue of firearms. Further problematic: ki-based bonus damage that bypasses ALL DR. On the plus-side, I like that the archetype makes pistol-whipping work with monk unarmed damage - which is a feat in itself and the pool-synergy ki/grit is also kind of nice. Still, this one does need some more work.</p>
<p>The Hitman Rogue can be considered a slayer/rogue crossover, gaining studied target instead of trapfinding, 4th level chances to ignore uncanny dodge, track instead of evasion, 8th level hide in plain sight and several cool talents for longer range sneak attacks, better disguises and the like - overall a nice little archetype I'd allow in my games!</p>
<p>The Monster Chronicler Investigator gets diminished alchemy and is particularly adept at identifying monsters. The archetype also gets favored enemy (no humanoids) at 6th level and at 9th level, replace that one daily - a humble, solid one. No complaints here!</p>
<p>The Sanctified Sorceror gets better UMD for spell-trigger/completion items instead of bloodline arcana. At 3rd level, he may "convert spells into channeled energy" with cleric level equal to sorc level 1+Cha-mod times...so does he have to convert spells or not? 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter net a cleric spell one level lower than max spell level known instead of bloodline spells.</p>
<p>The Spellscorn Fighter would be a more complex one - and is actually my favorite archetype in the whole book: Geared wholly towards the hampering of divine casters, the archetype receives bonuses to saves, Disruptive and Step-Up, Spellbreaker and similar tricks of the trade at appropriate levels, making these fighters pretty capable of dealing straightforwardly with casting threats, though imho the archetype could have used a means of offsetting magical mobility and tricks. Still, an actually great little archetype that shows the potential Flaming Crab Games exhibits in later releases!</p>
<p>The Weird Musician bard replaces inspire courage with something rather OP: AoE evolution-gain to allies listening to his music. No, you have NOT misread. Do I need to go on? Oh, and they also get witch hexes, powered by bardic performances...which is interesting. Oh, and bonus witch/shaman spells at 2nd level, 5th and every 3 thereafter. I like the concept here, but the evolution-grant is sickeningly powerful in the hands of even a moderately capable group - this needs some serious nerfing.</p>
<p>The Wild Experimenter Alchemist is cool: Basically, it can be summed up in one sentence: Wild Magic bombs. Nuff said. Again, a simple, yet effective archetype with a unique angle.</p>
<p>The Final beast herein, the Witchknight Inquisitor gets a patron instead of domains and may add hexes to targets of her judgments on a critical hit as immediate actions. The archetype also gets a familiar instead of monster lore and hexes instead of solo tactics and teamwork feats - all in all a well-crafted, cool archetype that blends the two classes - no complaints.</p>
<p>Conclusion:</p>
<p>Editing and formatting on a formal level are very good, but on a content-level, the rules could have used another pass - there are quite a few issues in the details of these archetypes. Additionally, the lack of italicization for the spells annoyed me. The pdf adheres to a 2-column full-color standard with unnecessary brownish borders that render the book none too printer-friendly, particularly since there's a lot of blank space between archetypes. The wide brown borders and blank spaces are definitely something that was not required by this book and make for the weakest layout I've seen in Flaming Crab Games supplements so far.</p>
<p>Alex Abel, Tanner Wahlin and C.J. Withers' archetypes in this book follow generally the tried and true formula of combining x with y - and there's nothing wrong with that in general, though personally, I prefer my archetypes to be more distinct. In the details, there are quite a few highly problematic balance-concerns regarding several archetypes herein that show a disregard for balance I cannot condone...which is a pity, for while there are quite a few problematic and yes, broken options in here, there also are quite a few in this book that certainly are interesting.</p>
<p>However, this does not change the fact that there is a lot to complain about in this book - to me, this is a pretty flawed collection of material which does present some gems to the readers...but ultimately, not enough of them in relation to the issues. It is said gems that elevate my final verdict to 2.5 stars, alas, rounded down.</p>
<p>Endzeitgeist out.</p><p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>This pdf clocks in at 24 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page ToC, 3 pages of SRD, 3/4 of a page blank, leaving us with 18 1/4 pages of content, so let's take a look!</p>
<p>We begin this pdf with the Avatar archetype for the cleric: These guys need to match their deity's alignment and receive a -2 penalty with any weapon but the respective deity's favored weapon. Additionally, they may not select spells with a descriptor that is not featured among the respective deity's alignment. To give you an example, an avatar of a neutral deity would not be able to cast either good, lawful, evil or chaotic spells - which is odd from a balance-standpoint, since there is no neutral descriptor, making the center cross of the alignment axis and all neutral avatars weaker than the respective corners (LG; CG; LE and CE, all of which may cast spells with 2 descriptors) - odd. To offset the penalties of the archetype, the avatar gets +2 to saves versus fear and charm-effects. Instead of spontaneous casting, the avatar receives Deific Obedience as a bonus feat. At 4th level, the archetype receives an extra domain at -3 levels, Wis and Cha - somewhat uncommon...though this does replace channel energy...which is a bit odd - the additional domain comes into play at 4th level, while channel energy is already relevant at 1st level - though admittedly, that's a nitpick.</p>
<p>The second archetype is the Berserk Barbarian, who does not gain medium armor or shield proficiency and the barbarian remains fatigued for twice as long; at 17th level, they may rage when fatigued or exhausted. When raging and not wearing armor, the barbarian gets CON-mod as an armor bonus to AC. At 2nd level, the berserk receives fast healing 1 while in rage and conscious, +1 at 8th level, +1 every 6 levels thereafter - and yes, this is abuse-safe, kudos! Instead of trap sense, the berserker gets an untyped bonus versus fear and instead of improved uncanny dodge, the berserker may negate precision damage or crits with a 15%-chance - overall, a weak little archetype - nice concept, pretty bland execution.</p>
<p>The Mutagenic Rager Barbarian, obviously gets mutagens instead of rage, may only use rage powers while under the effects of a mutagen and at high levels, these guys may end mutagens swiftly - this archetype is obviously broken and bespeaks a lack of insight regarding the function of mutagens versus rages: Rages allow for short-burst outputs; a quick burst of power, followed by a downtime - mutagens provide a minor penalty, but are significantly more flexible and last MUCH longer - so that's issue number one. Number two is that some rage powers/feats consume rage rounds, which this blatantly disregards...and they're supposed to be restricted by rage rounds...not always-on-options. Broken as hell.</p>
<p>The Black Powder Hood Slayer Archetype gets proficiency with martial weapons and one-handed firearms as well as light armor - oddly not providing simple weapon proficiency. Instead of track they get Gunsmith as well Wis-mod grit and the quick clear and gunslinger's dodge deeds and instead of second level's talent, the archetype gets Rapid Reload. Instead of sneak attack, these guys deal scaling bonus damage when dealing damage with more than one firearm to the same target in a given round instead of sneak attack They may also holster firearms at 3rd level as a free action and replace 4th level's slayer talent with gunslinger's initiative. The lack of sneak attack means that studied target works slightly differently -it is gained at 5th level...which is somewhat odd, since I •assume• it means there's no 1st level studied target, but I'm ultimately not sure. Instead of stalker, they get the targeting deed, at 11th evasive instead or swift tracker. On the slightly nitpicky side - the archetype can't decide on its name - it is referred to as hooded slayers, hooded slingers, black powder hood slinger, etc. - odd, how such a basic thing could slip past.</p>
<p>Bomber rogues gain Throw Anything and Bombs instead of sneak attack and they may take alchemist discoveries as rogue talents with alchemist discoveries as rogue talents with alchemist levels as rogue levels. Instead of trapfinding. they get alchemy-bonuses and make silent bombs and is locked into demolition charge at 4th level -an okay archetype, though I've seen the bombing done slightly more interesting.</p>
<p>The Covert Mage Arcanist gains light armor proficiency and may cast sans spell failure in light armor and two spells are added to the spellbook per level, with the requirement of one being divination, illusion or enchantment. Alas, the unique touch ability is wonky: Spend one point to penalize Will-saves by Cha-mod...but the very next sentence says that the penalty is equal to 1/2 class level...so, which is it? 7th level provides the utterly broken Spell Trick: Bluff-check to feint as part of spellcasting, on a success, you don't provoke an AoO AND the target must save twice and take the worse result. You know how easy a skill can be blown through the roof, right? Not getting anywhere near my table...which is kind of a pity, since the 11th level seeing through illusions-trick is interesting.</p>
<p>The Dashing Hero Paladin is basically a kind of swashbuckler/paladin hybrid with Weapon Finesse, less proficiencies and derring-do instead of lay on hands. At 2nd level, it gets the a pretty OP and non-functional 2nd level ability instead of divine grace: The dashing hero can spend 1 point of panache as an immediate action to move up to his speed, pick up an ally (regardless of carrying capacity? What if the ally's too heavy? Movement rate modified by encumbrance or not??) and move the ally along, negating the attack. The paladin's movement does provoke AoOs, but not that of the ally, which means a pala can pull off sick readied-action combos here. Usually, two creatures cannot occupy the same square, so how does the pala carry the target along? Squeezing? Is the carried target flat-footed or denied his Dex-bonus versus e.g. readied attacks? Can the pala drop the target or does the target have to accompany the pala the whole movement? I get what this does, but its rules-language is SLOPPY. Other than that, the archetype replaces mercies, channel energy etc. with deeds and nimble - bland. The Rakish Villain antipaladin is the inverse, with an evil version of aforementioned ability - which works slightly better, but only slightly.</p>
<p>The Horned Warden paladin is a more nature-inclined paladin whose smite evil is particularly volatile versus aberrations, constructs and undead and instead of divine grace, aura of courage etc., they get wild empathy, trackless step and replace channel energy with access to the ranger's spell-list as pala-spells. Overall, a well-crafted, interesting take on the druid-y paladin, including a code of conduct.</p>
<p>The Spirit-Scarred paladin recovers ability damage and even drain and gets an oracle curse at 1st level and spells not usually on his list are instead granted as 3/day SPs...which can, depending on the curse, be VERY powerful. Instead of mercies, he can cherry-pick shaman spells and instead of smite upgrades, he gets an always on ghost touch armor and class level 60 ft. fly-speed that fails to note its maneuverability. Oh, and palas suck at flight since Fly is not a class skill for them - or the archetype. All in all, cool visuals, hampered by flawed execution, though salvageable.</p>
<p>The Divinely-bound ranger replaces hunter's bond with a familiar and gets enhanced spellcasting and 5th level Evolved Familiar. Okay, I guess, but not something I'd consider interesting.</p>
<p>The Far Hand Adept Magus receives diminished spellcasting and loses heavy armor proficiency, but receives free mage hand and telekinesis at 1st and 13th level, respectively - instead of spell recall, the archetype gets Telekinetic Combat, which mitigates mage hand's restriction regarding the wielding of magical weapons and utilizes Int-mod instead of Str when fighting with the weapon thus. The big issue, though, remains that he can use spellstrike and spell combat freely with ranged uses of the melee weapon, thus basically completely mitigating any balancing of either - with one nasty bonus: While he does not require actions to maintain concentration and needs a free hand to direct the weapon, nothing precludes the adept from doing this with his offhand and fighting regularly while wielding the weapon telekinetically. Worse, while movement direction requires move actions, the ability fails to specify whether the attacks directed actually require actions or not - RAW, this would mean free action attacks with the telekinetically-wielded weapon. Obviously, that's not the intention, but it's what this boils down to - the archetype gets the complex idea almost right and functioning...almost. As written, this is problematic on both a rules-base and a balance-base.</p>
<p>The Feytouched Hexer Witch is Cha-based and casts spontaneously and replaces her patron spells with some spells and uses hexes based on Cha and gains class level rounds of 60 ft. faerie wings with good maneuverability at 5th level. An okay archetype.</p>
<p>The Gold-Robed Wizard is basically a pala-wizard crossover that receives a spell-based arcane smite, replacing arcane school. They also get all cleric spells with the [good]-descriptor at +1 level instead of arcane bond - so far, so good. 5th level Celestial Summons are odd - summon monster-spells calling celestial animals and outsiders can be cast as move actions...which is problematic: Usually, the spell's duration means that summoned creatures have a clear action economy, which is not provided here. The archetype also gets better banishment/dismissal. Not bad, but also not awesome.</p>
<p>The Gunmetal Mystic Monk is basically a gun-fu monk...and it has issues. It tries to make flurry with guns work (no AoOs from the target, but from other threatening creatures) but fails to address the holstering/drawing issue of firearms. Further problematic: ki-based bonus damage that bypasses ALL DR. On the plus-side, I like that the archetype makes pistol-whipping work with monk unarmed damage - which is a feat in itself and the pool-synergy ki/grit is also kind of nice. Still, this one does need some more work.</p>
<p>The Hitman Rogue can be considered a slayer/rogue crossover, gaining studied target instead of trapfinding, 4th level chances to ignore uncanny dodge, track instead of evasion, 8th level hide in plain sight and several cool talents for longer range sneak attacks, better disguises and the like - overall a nice little archetype I'd allow in my games!</p>
<p>The Monster Chronicler Investigator gets diminished alchemy and is particularly adept at identifying monsters. The archetype also gets favored enemy (no humanoids) at 6th level and at 9th level, replace that one daily - a humble, solid one. No complaints here!</p>
<p>The Sanctified Sorceror gets better UMD for spell-trigger/completion items instead of bloodline arcana. At 3rd level, he may "convert spells into channeled energy" with cleric level equal to sorc level 1+Cha-mod times...so does he have to convert spells or not? 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter net a cleric spell one level lower than max spell level known instead of bloodline spells.</p>
<p>The Spellscorn Fighter would be a more complex one - and is actually my favorite archetype in the whole book: Geared wholly towards the hampering of divine casters, the archetype receives bonuses to saves, Disruptive and Step-Up, Spellbreaker and similar tricks of the trade at appropriate levels, making these fighters pretty capable of dealing straightforwardly with casting threats, though imho the archetype could have used a means of offsetting magical mobility and tricks. Still, an actually great little archetype that shows the potential Flaming Crab Games exhibits in later releases!</p>
<p>The Weird Musician bard replaces inspire courage with something rather OP: AoE evolution-gain to allies listening to his music. No, you have NOT misread. Do I need to go on? Oh, and they also get witch hexes, powered by bardic performances...which is interesting. Oh, and bonus witch/shaman spells at 2nd level, 5th and every 3 thereafter. I like the concept here, but the evolution-grant is sickeningly powerful in the hands of even a moderately capable group - this needs some serious nerfing.</p>
<p>The Wild Experimenter Alchemist is cool: Basically, it can be summed up in one sentence: Wild Magic bombs. Nuff said. Again, a simple, yet effective archetype with a unique angle.</p>
<p>The Final beast herein, the Witchknight Inquisitor gets a patron instead of domains and may add hexes to targets of her judgments on a critical hit as immediate actions. The archetype also gets a familiar instead of monster lore and hexes instead of solo tactics and teamwork feats - all in all a well-crafted, cool archetype that blends the two classes - no complaints.</p>
<p>Conclusion:</p>
<p>Editing and formatting on a formal level are very good, but on a content-level, the rules could have used another pass - there are quite a few issues in the details of these archetypes. Additionally, the lack of italicization for the spells annoyed me. The pdf adheres to a 2-column full-color standard with unnecessary brownish borders that render the book none too printer-friendly, particularly since there's a lot of blank space between archetypes. The wide brown borders and blank spaces are definitely something that was not required by this book and make for the weakest layout I've seen in Flaming Crab Games supplements so far.</p>
<p>Alex Abel, Tanner Wahlin and C.J. Withers' archetypes in this book follow generally the tried and true formula of combining x with y - and there's nothing wrong with that in general, though personally, I prefer my archetypes to be more distinct. In the details, there are quite a few highly problematic balance-concerns regarding several archetypes herein that show a disregard for balance I cannot condone...which is a pity, for while there are quite a few problematic and yes, broken options in here, there also are quite a few in this book that certainly are interesting.</p>
<p>However, this does not change the fact that there is a lot to complain about in this book - to me, this is a pretty flawed collection of material which does present some gems to the readers...but ultimately, not enough of them in relation to the issues. It is said gems that elevate my final verdict to 2.5 stars, alas, rounded down.</p>
<p>Endzeitgeist out.</p>Endzeitgeist2016-01-25T10:29:58ZAdvanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF: Plenty of hits, with some misses (4 stars)El Ronzahttps://paizo.com/products/btpy99mc?Advanced-Archetypes2015-04-20T06:50:34Z<p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>In a book of 21 archetypes, this bound to be some things you like, and some you don't. Rather than list everything here (though I'm happy to answer questions in the discussion), I'll just list wha I do and don't like here.</p>
<p>I <i>love</i> the Avatar cleric, for one - she has additional restrictions on alignment, spells and weapons, but gains Deific Obedience as a bonus feat, and eventually gains a third domain. The Bomber rogue swaps sneak attack for bombs, and seems to be easily ported over to the ninja, for bonus sneaky demolitions. The Dashing Hero is a different take on a paladin, gaining panache and deeds, and the ability to dash across the battlefield, picking up an ally and carrying them out of harm's way!</p>
<p>The Feytouched Hexer witch gains spontaneous, charisma-based spell casting and a list of fey-themed patron spells - I may be biased given my love of fey. The Monster Chronicler investigator gains favoured enemy (but can't select humanoids), and can change one of his enemies each day when he prepares his extracts - a cool niche that was missing from the game. The Spellscorn Fighter is probably one of my favourite archetypes within, a lean, mean, mage-killing machine who gains half his shield bonus to reflex saves, evasion, bonuses to ht and damage wants creatures that have used spells or spell-like abilities, and can eventually cut off a target from its magic!</p>
<p>Then there's the Spirit-Scarred Paladin who can fly on phantom wings, the Weird Musician bard who gives up <i>inspire courage</i> to grant his allies eidolon evolutions, and the Witchknight inquisitor, who loses a domain but gains hexes and a familiar. Fantastic!</p>
<p>The misses, for me, include the Gunmetal Mystic monk (not a fan of gun-fu, personally), the Gold-Robed Wizard (which lacks oomph), and the Divinely Bound Ranger (it gains a familiar, and... Not much else).</p>
<p>All in all, I give this product a solid four stars. There's plenty in here that inspires me, and anyone reading is bound to find something they like as well.</p><p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>In a book of 21 archetypes, this bound to be some things you like, and some you don't. Rather than list everything here (though I'm happy to answer questions in the discussion), I'll just list wha I do and don't like here.</p>
<p>I <i>love</i> the Avatar cleric, for one - she has additional restrictions on alignment, spells and weapons, but gains Deific Obedience as a bonus feat, and eventually gains a third domain. The Bomber rogue swaps sneak attack for bombs, and seems to be easily ported over to the ninja, for bonus sneaky demolitions. The Dashing Hero is a different take on a paladin, gaining panache and deeds, and the ability to dash across the battlefield, picking up an ally and carrying them out of harm's way!</p>
<p>The Feytouched Hexer witch gains spontaneous, charisma-based spell casting and a list of fey-themed patron spells - I may be biased given my love of fey. The Monster Chronicler investigator gains favoured enemy (but can't select humanoids), and can change one of his enemies each day when he prepares his extracts - a cool niche that was missing from the game. The Spellscorn Fighter is probably one of my favourite archetypes within, a lean, mean, mage-killing machine who gains half his shield bonus to reflex saves, evasion, bonuses to ht and damage wants creatures that have used spells or spell-like abilities, and can eventually cut off a target from its magic!</p>
<p>Then there's the Spirit-Scarred Paladin who can fly on phantom wings, the Weird Musician bard who gives up <i>inspire courage</i> to grant his allies eidolon evolutions, and the Witchknight inquisitor, who loses a domain but gains hexes and a familiar. Fantastic!</p>
<p>The misses, for me, include the Gunmetal Mystic monk (not a fan of gun-fu, personally), the Gold-Robed Wizard (which lacks oomph), and the Divinely Bound Ranger (it gains a familiar, and... Not much else).</p>
<p>All in all, I give this product a solid four stars. There's plenty in here that inspires me, and anyone reading is bound to find something they like as well.</p>El Ronza2015-04-20T06:50:34ZAdvanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF: Useful Archetypes (4 stars)JGrayhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy99mc?Advanced-Archetypes2015-01-26T22:30:52Z<p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>When evaluating a gaming product I ask one question.</p>
<p>"Can I use this in my campaign?"</p>
<p>With Advanced Archetypes, I can say yes. There are several archetypes in the book that I feel I can steer players to with confidence. And others I can use to surprise players who believe they already know an NPC's abilities based on their class.</p>
<p>I am fond of the Avatar archetype for Cleric because it makes use of deific obedience - in my opinion, the obedience feats are one of the most unique and delightful aspects of Pathfinder. They make religion feel like more than a choice of alignment and domains.</p>
<p>The Far Hand Adept takes one of my favorite ideas - building a character around a single, often overlooked ability - and running with it. Specifically, it turns the Far Hand spell into telekinetic combat.</p>
<p>The Spellscorn Fighter resembles the Templars of Dragon Age (without the drug addiction).</p>
<p>The Wild Experimenter turns bombs into wild magic. As a fan of the rod (formerly wand) of wonder, I approve.</p>
<p>There are some opportunities that I feel could have been better exploited. For example, I believe the Sanctified Sorcerer could have used their bloodline to better commune with a deity and make use of obediences and boons while the Monster Chronicler Investigator could have done something neat with allowing harvested monster parts to enhance extracts, bombs and mutagens but didn't.</p>
<p>Overall, I recommend this as a fantastic source of easy to use archetypes all in one place.</p><p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>When evaluating a gaming product I ask one question.</p>
<p>"Can I use this in my campaign?"</p>
<p>With Advanced Archetypes, I can say yes. There are several archetypes in the book that I feel I can steer players to with confidence. And others I can use to surprise players who believe they already know an NPC's abilities based on their class.</p>
<p>I am fond of the Avatar archetype for Cleric because it makes use of deific obedience - in my opinion, the obedience feats are one of the most unique and delightful aspects of Pathfinder. They make religion feel like more than a choice of alignment and domains.</p>
<p>The Far Hand Adept takes one of my favorite ideas - building a character around a single, often overlooked ability - and running with it. Specifically, it turns the Far Hand spell into telekinetic combat.</p>
<p>The Spellscorn Fighter resembles the Templars of Dragon Age (without the drug addiction).</p>
<p>The Wild Experimenter turns bombs into wild magic. As a fan of the rod (formerly wand) of wonder, I approve.</p>
<p>There are some opportunities that I feel could have been better exploited. For example, I believe the Sanctified Sorcerer could have used their bloodline to better commune with a deity and make use of obediences and boons while the Monster Chronicler Investigator could have done something neat with allowing harvested monster parts to enhance extracts, bombs and mutagens but didn't.</p>
<p>Overall, I recommend this as a fantastic source of easy to use archetypes all in one place.</p>JGray2015-01-26T22:30:52ZAdvanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF: Great Product! (4 stars)Solientioushttps://paizo.com/products/btpy99mc?Advanced-Archetypes2014-12-03T15:12:27Z<p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Great product! They appear to be well balanced and doesn't seem like they would wreak my campaign. I look forward to opening these Archetypes in my RoTRL Campaign. ..Well Done</p><p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Great product! They appear to be well balanced and doesn't seem like they would wreak my campaign. I look forward to opening these Archetypes in my RoTRL Campaign. ..Well Done</p>Solientious2014-12-03T15:12:27ZAdvanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF: Great product! (5 stars)The Laughing Foolhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy99mc?Advanced-Archetypes2014-10-29T05:11:52Z<p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>The Archetypes in this book are great and a load of fun to play. Two of the archetypes in particular (The Avatar and The Dashing Hero) have quickly become my favorite archetypes currently found in pathfinder and are worth the price of the PDF alone.</p><p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>The Archetypes in this book are great and a load of fun to play. Two of the archetypes in particular (The Avatar and The Dashing Hero) have quickly become my favorite archetypes currently found in pathfinder and are worth the price of the PDF alone.</p>The Laughing Fool2014-10-29T05:11:52ZAdvanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF: Balanced Mix of Gems (5 stars)Panther Banterhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy99mc?Advanced-Archetypes2014-10-15T01:00:03Z<p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Flaming Crab Games is a new company here in the 3PP business. Though they have an odd company name that sounds like an Eastern dish, they recently started picking up some buzz with their last book— Forgotten Core Feats. My gaming group and I loved that book, so I made sure to get a copy of their newest PDF: Advanced Archetypes.</p>
<p>To begin with, this book's cover was done by the author of the first 2 PDFs by Flaming Crabs (Alex Abel). While well done, this is a sign of something that concerned me a bit after opening up the book for the first time. This book seems to be void of any artwork. While not a problem for those just looking for some crunch, it's a bit disappointing for someone who enjoys more eye-candy.</p>
<p>The format of the book is in a pretty standard 2 column format with a parchment look that makes reading the text easy on the eyes. For the price, there's a good amount of text.</p>
<p>For better or worse, it's pretty apparent that this book was written by 2 or 3 different hands. As a plus, this seems to have a variety of flavor. As a minus, it explains why we have 3 paladin archetypes and no druid one. Luckily, the blokes at Flaming Crab Games listed each archetype and its corresponding class on the product description, so I did know exactly what I was getting. As a second thought, I commend Flaming Crabs for this move even if I wished we had a more even spread of archetypes. This won't be an issue if we end up getting more of these books. Until then it's a bit disappointing.</p>
<p>Balance wise, this book is very on point. Each archetype seems to be on the same power level of its parent class. Even a couple that initially seem overpowered like the Spellscorn Fighter are quite balanced in play. </p>
<p>A minor complaint: on some of the archetypes it seems like the authors may have played it a bit too safe. For example, the Gold-Robed Wizard is a lawful good wizard that casts some good cleric spells. I wish it had just a •little• more punch, but it certainly offers more than your standard wizard archetype. Anything more and it would've been an alternate class, I suppose.</p>
<p>This book •does• have plenty of gems though. The Weird Musician is a prime example of that. The flavor of bending the strings of reality with music and the crunch and buffing your allies with summoner evolutions is just crazy cool! The Divinely Bound Ranger gets a powerful familiar (remember, they get their master's BAB) and enhanced spellcasting, something I dismissed at first but I'm growing to love.</p>
<p>I won't cover all of the classes, I believe someone already did that in the product description. But these classes are well-crafted. They do more for a class than your standard archetype. I just wouldn't say they break any ground in archetype design.</p>
<p>The gems in this book: Covert Mage, Far Hand Adept, Hitman, Weird Musician, and Witchknight. The Hitman may not be a "wow!" class, but I have two players in my next game giving it a go which I think says something.</p>
<p>——-
<br />
Summary: If you see from the list in the product description at least 5 archetypes that grab your attention, I would get this book. Not everything in here appeals to everyone, of course. The price is a steal for what you get. Don't expect any artwork beyond the cover, but the layout is easy on the eyes. This a pure crunch book, not anything more. The book isn't ground breaking but the material is solid and balanced. I hope we get more of these archetype books to cover some classes that were missed, like the druid.
<br />
If the price were higher, I'd give this a good clean 4 stars. But at its current cost, I've got to bump this up to a 4.5-5 star rating for the deal.</p><p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Flaming Crab Games is a new company here in the 3PP business. Though they have an odd company name that sounds like an Eastern dish, they recently started picking up some buzz with their last book— Forgotten Core Feats. My gaming group and I loved that book, so I made sure to get a copy of their newest PDF: Advanced Archetypes.</p>
<p>To begin with, this book's cover was done by the author of the first 2 PDFs by Flaming Crabs (Alex Abel). While well done, this is a sign of something that concerned me a bit after opening up the book for the first time. This book seems to be void of any artwork. While not a problem for those just looking for some crunch, it's a bit disappointing for someone who enjoys more eye-candy.</p>
<p>The format of the book is in a pretty standard 2 column format with a parchment look that makes reading the text easy on the eyes. For the price, there's a good amount of text.</p>
<p>For better or worse, it's pretty apparent that this book was written by 2 or 3 different hands. As a plus, this seems to have a variety of flavor. As a minus, it explains why we have 3 paladin archetypes and no druid one. Luckily, the blokes at Flaming Crab Games listed each archetype and its corresponding class on the product description, so I did know exactly what I was getting. As a second thought, I commend Flaming Crabs for this move even if I wished we had a more even spread of archetypes. This won't be an issue if we end up getting more of these books. Until then it's a bit disappointing.</p>
<p>Balance wise, this book is very on point. Each archetype seems to be on the same power level of its parent class. Even a couple that initially seem overpowered like the Spellscorn Fighter are quite balanced in play. </p>
<p>A minor complaint: on some of the archetypes it seems like the authors may have played it a bit too safe. For example, the Gold-Robed Wizard is a lawful good wizard that casts some good cleric spells. I wish it had just a •little• more punch, but it certainly offers more than your standard wizard archetype. Anything more and it would've been an alternate class, I suppose.</p>
<p>This book •does• have plenty of gems though. The Weird Musician is a prime example of that. The flavor of bending the strings of reality with music and the crunch and buffing your allies with summoner evolutions is just crazy cool! The Divinely Bound Ranger gets a powerful familiar (remember, they get their master's BAB) and enhanced spellcasting, something I dismissed at first but I'm growing to love.</p>
<p>I won't cover all of the classes, I believe someone already did that in the product description. But these classes are well-crafted. They do more for a class than your standard archetype. I just wouldn't say they break any ground in archetype design.</p>
<p>The gems in this book: Covert Mage, Far Hand Adept, Hitman, Weird Musician, and Witchknight. The Hitman may not be a "wow!" class, but I have two players in my next game giving it a go which I think says something.</p>
<p>——-
<br />
Summary: If you see from the list in the product description at least 5 archetypes that grab your attention, I would get this book. Not everything in here appeals to everyone, of course. The price is a steal for what you get. Don't expect any artwork beyond the cover, but the layout is easy on the eyes. This a pure crunch book, not anything more. The book isn't ground breaking but the material is solid and balanced. I hope we get more of these archetype books to cover some classes that were missed, like the druid.
<br />
If the price were higher, I'd give this a good clean 4 stars. But at its current cost, I've got to bump this up to a 4.5-5 star rating for the deal.</p>Panther Banter2014-10-15T01:00:03ZAdvanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF: A decent grab-bag of archetypes (3 stars)Moskauhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy99mc?Advanced-Archetypes2014-10-13T23:30:27Z<p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>A plain language review:</p>
<p>Layout-Two columns, archetypes sorted by alphabetical order. There are some moderate issues with how material is listed (things that replace later levels coming before things that would be replacing earlier material) Overall, it's readable, but always read your archetype in full when leveling up. </p>
<p>Fluff-Little blurbs accompany each of the archetype, meant to tease and hype the archetype in question. Nothing new here. </p>
<p>Crunch-I suspect another review will rattle off a basic summary of the archetypes, or you can find it in the discussion thread for the product. After reading the ACG, I began to worry that adding grit/panache might make a default archetype for any class. Guns follow the rule of cool, and generally speaking, you can just swap out the abilities granted at level one with a pistol, gunsmithing, and grit. To me, this feels lazy. I imagine how a monk would use a gun to be very, very different than a traditional gunslinger. Turns out, no so much. Other archetypes are lazy in other ways, like the divinely bound ranger who gains a familiar and some additional spells for his animal companion. </p>
<p>With that said, there are some fairly interesting ideas in here. I praise the weird musician, who uses music to warp his companions and hex his enemies. The monster chronicler fills a niche I think has been lacking in the game, that of an expert on monsters and how to slay them. These archetypes, and some others, are both flavorful and mechanically interesting. </p>
<p>Overall-I'm giving this 3/5 stars. With 21 archetypes, not every one of them is going to be a hit. The skewing of archetypes toward paladin (3, with one having an antipaladin variant) and to a lesser extent rogue(2), if these classes don't interest you, you might find the offerings lacking. If you're a fan of player options, by all means, get this. You'll get an amazing bang for your buck. For me, if I didn't get a free copy, I wouldn't have purchased it, and the odds of me using it as a player are close to nil. As a gm, there's much more of a chance if only because they are either unexpected or interesting archetypes. I just wish there was a bit more work put into some of them or they were better thought out.</p><p><b>Advanced Archetypes (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>A plain language review:</p>
<p>Layout-Two columns, archetypes sorted by alphabetical order. There are some moderate issues with how material is listed (things that replace later levels coming before things that would be replacing earlier material) Overall, it's readable, but always read your archetype in full when leveling up. </p>
<p>Fluff-Little blurbs accompany each of the archetype, meant to tease and hype the archetype in question. Nothing new here. </p>
<p>Crunch-I suspect another review will rattle off a basic summary of the archetypes, or you can find it in the discussion thread for the product. After reading the ACG, I began to worry that adding grit/panache might make a default archetype for any class. Guns follow the rule of cool, and generally speaking, you can just swap out the abilities granted at level one with a pistol, gunsmithing, and grit. To me, this feels lazy. I imagine how a monk would use a gun to be very, very different than a traditional gunslinger. Turns out, no so much. Other archetypes are lazy in other ways, like the divinely bound ranger who gains a familiar and some additional spells for his animal companion. </p>
<p>With that said, there are some fairly interesting ideas in here. I praise the weird musician, who uses music to warp his companions and hex his enemies. The monster chronicler fills a niche I think has been lacking in the game, that of an expert on monsters and how to slay them. These archetypes, and some others, are both flavorful and mechanically interesting. </p>
<p>Overall-I'm giving this 3/5 stars. With 21 archetypes, not every one of them is going to be a hit. The skewing of archetypes toward paladin (3, with one having an antipaladin variant) and to a lesser extent rogue(2), if these classes don't interest you, you might find the offerings lacking. If you're a fan of player options, by all means, get this. You'll get an amazing bang for your buck. For me, if I didn't get a free copy, I wouldn't have purchased it, and the odds of me using it as a player are close to nil. As a gm, there's much more of a chance if only because they are either unexpected or interesting archetypes. I just wish there was a bit more work put into some of them or they were better thought out.</p>Moskau2014-10-13T23:30:27Z