** spoiler omitted **Twin Fang sounds like a great style for unchained rogues to adopt for those higher-armored foes.
Can we get a brief description of Terrifying Assassination and the higher level feats in the Twin Fang line, please?
That's... not really much of an upgrade from Twin Fang Style from what I'm hearing. I'm not really seeing a reason to grab that over the two-handed weapon trick which seems to be strictly better.
|
That's... not really much of an upgrade from Twin Fang Style from what I'm hearing. I'm not really seeing a reason to grab that over the two-handed weapon trick which seems to be strictly better.** spoiler omitted **Twin Fang sounds like a great style for unchained rogues to adopt for those higher-armored foes.
Can we get a brief description of Terrifying Assassination and the higher level feats in the Twin Fang line, please?
It's a pseudo-pounce for people with Two Weapons. It definitely powers up certain builds, bringing them more in line with Two Handed Weapons.
Anyone mind giving an idea what Shadow Jaunt, Cloak of Shadows, and Darkness Arrow do? I am hoping for 2nd/3rd level spell that's self only low range teleport, something really awesome for stealth or hiding from dark vision, and an arrow which creates a darkness effect where it lands!
Awesome, and thank you! Not quite what I was thinking, but still very cool. Looks to be a keeper.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I think there may be some sort of rules violation on page 220. The artwork on that page shows a mesmerist who is not wearing a fez. ;)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I love that Paizo is continuing to make Rituals. Having rules for such cool and evil rituals adds so many ideas and opportunities over just "handwave".
Also, I like the methodology when it comes to the new spell being so well tied to their organisations themes.
Downloaded!!!
Just downloaded this last night but on first glance, I love the archetypes in this book! Villain Codex looks like a winner, but I didn't expect archetypes. Seasoned Commander jumped out at me and should make the "Fighters don't get enough skill points" crowd happy.
I love that Paizo is continuing to make Rituals. Having rules for such cool and evil rituals adds so many ideas and opportunities over just "handwave".
Also, I like the methodology when it comes to the new spell being so well tied to their organisations themes.
I like them because they seem to be pretty well balanced. If powerful, they require significant sacrifice in value or time. There is potential for story-telling with them as well. Indeed, no handwaving things into existence.
I found a weird thing in my pdf copy: glabrezu outrider doesn't have her mount stats described and encounter with her doesn't list a mount either, despite her tactics heavily implying mounted combat. Which is weird, because all other cavaliers and other companion classes in the books have their companions detailed and listed. Unless I'm missing something, this could be a bug or omission.
It's not like it's too hard to get a stats for her horse or other mount, it's just a little thing which marred my impression of this otherwise totally perfect book :( Demon Knights are such a cool group.
Seriously impressed with a number of the Barbarian Rage powers. Savage hurl and two fanged Pounce really are a godsend...
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I found a weird thing in my pdf copy: glabrezu outrider doesn't have her mount stats described and encounter with her doesn't list a mount either, despite her tactics heavily implying mounted combat. Which is weird, because all other cavaliers and other companion classes in the books have their companions detailed and listed. Unless I'm missing something, this could be a bug or omission.
It's not like it's too hard to get a stats for her horse or other mount, it's just a little thing which marred my impression of this otherwise totally perfect book :( Demon Knights are such a cool group.
Whether the animal companion is included I believe varies from chapter to chapter but should be consistent within any given chapter, and it's mainly for space reasons. When I'm back at the office, I'll check to see if I can find a statblock for it lying around. Incidentally, we have a lot of little odds and ends of extra details on some of the NPCs (particularly those that are two to a page), so if anyone has an NPC that's a major favorite, I might be able to scrounge something up about that NPC.
I love that Paizo is continuing to make Rituals. Having rules for such cool and evil rituals adds so many ideas and opportunities over just "handwave".
Also, I like the methodology when it comes to the new spell being so well tied to their organisations themes.
You'll also find that the skill DCs are such that the NPCs in each organization can usually succeed at the organization's rituals if you use the best suited group of casters, which was an interesting extra check I haven't needed to make before among a group of NPCs.
I love that Paizo is continuing to make Rituals. Having rules for such cool and evil rituals adds so many ideas and opportunities over just "handwave".
I once asked the designers if the Occult rules were now part of the official Pathfinder rules, and they said "yes" ^_^
I downloaded the book this morning and honestly, I wasn't expecting something similar to the Monster Codex, but I'm glad that they went that route :)
One little problem though: while the Monster Codex and NPC Codex had characters ranging from CR 1 to 20, this one barely gets to CR 14. Ok, fine, I get that you can pick any NPC from the previous codexes and add it to whatever organization they fit, but still, it would have been nice to have some high-level villain NPCs.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You'll also find that the skill DCs are such that the NPCs in each organization can usually succeed at the organization's rituals if you use the best suited group of casters, which was an interesting extra check I haven't needed to make before among a group of NPCs.
It would be unfortunately if GM's went to use these guys and only realised mid-die roll that the ritual is doomed to failure.
I once asked the designers if the Occult rules were now part of the official Pathfinder rules, and they said "yes" ^_^
I'm relatively sure they were official as soon as they were printed, I mean, it's not like Unchained.
One little problem though: while the Monster Codex and NPC Codex had characters ranging from CR 1 to 20, this one barely gets to CR 14. Ok, fine, I get that you can pick any NPC from the previous codexes and add it to whatever organization they fit, but still, it would have been nice to have some high-level villain NPCs.
CR range was talked about abit on the Know Direction that just ended, I personally think the level range is fine since it seems more like an Arc book than a Campaign book, and for really high levels you're going to want your villain organisation to be tied to your adventures rather than using a "drop x group in" type situation.
|
So I really love amount of ninjas this book has xD
Also, I realized that if Paizo would switch to using Golarion in rpg line books, I would miss the generic world setting books little at least when it comes to npc books ._.; I mean this book technically offers you super generic setting without any names, so you could take some or all of the groups in book, use their backstories without much changing and fill rest yourself. Which is something I kinda like being able to do since I don't like reflavoring stuff like most gms do.
Anyhoo, I should really get into reviewing books I like so that paizo knows that, but I really hate writing reviews :'D Hopefully I can review all books I have bought eventually and its not too late for paizo to notice the reviews even if they are years after book is released...
So I really love amount of ninjas this book has xD
Also, I realized that if Paizo would switch to using Golarion in rpg line books, I would miss the generic world setting books little at least when it comes to npc books ._.; I mean this book technically offers you super generic setting without any names, so you could take some or all of the groups in book, use their backstories without much changing and fill rest yourself. Which is something I kinda like being able to do since I don't like reflavoring stuff like most gms do.
Anyhoo, I should really get into reviewing books I like so that paizo knows that, but I really hate writing reviews :'D Hopefully I can review all books I have bought eventually and its not too late for paizo to notice the reviews even if they are years after book is released...
Even just a sentence or two talking about what you like is still definitely a useful review; it doesn't have to be super-long like an Endzeitgeist review.
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Even just a sentence or two talking about what you like is still definitely a useful review; it doesn't have to be super-long like an Endzeitgeist review.So I really love amount of ninjas this book has xD
Also, I realized that if Paizo would switch to using Golarion in rpg line books, I would miss the generic world setting books little at least when it comes to npc books ._.; I mean this book technically offers you super generic setting without any names, so you could take some or all of the groups in book, use their backstories without much changing and fill rest yourself. Which is something I kinda like being able to do since I don't like reflavoring stuff like most gms do.
Anyhoo, I should really get into reviewing books I like so that paizo knows that, but I really hate writing reviews :'D Hopefully I can review all books I have bought eventually and its not too late for paizo to notice the reviews even if they are years after book is released...
Is the Grand Caller in the Arcane Society supposed to be missing the During Combat and Base Statistics parts of his stat block? Also, is he supposed to be missing the flavor text description that was in his stat block in the preview posted on the blog?
Is the Grand Caller in the Arcane Society supposed to be missing the During Combat and Base Statistics parts of his stat block? Also, is he supposed to be missing the flavor text description that was in his stat block in the preview posted on the blog?
Yep. The blog said it had extra info, and that was mostly including those sections. All of that wouldn't fit on a page, so those were cut in copyfit.
I know Luthorne asked this a bazillion posts ago, but is there any feedback on the Ascetic final revelation?
Wait what? *Checks Ascetic mystery*
...well that's disappointing. I rather liked that mystery and now it's just gone down in my views quite abit.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I like the Circus of Crime in the book.
Quen,
You do know Marvel Comics invented that first. ;) *is kidding about the inventing part*
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
X_X When I used to write reviews, I would write it on a Notepad file first just in case, but the Postmonster eating them is definitely annoying.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Quen,
You do know Marvel Comics invented that first. ;) *is kidding about the inventing part*
Be careful that the Ringmaster doesn't find you, lol.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I know Luthorne asked this a bazillion posts ago, but is there any feedback on the Ascetic final revelation?
For now, I'd suggest to use the monk's perfect self ability as the final revelation, but I'm not the lead on that chapter, so I'll check back on this when I'm at the office.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Also, I realized that if Paizo would switch to using Golarion in rpg line books, I would miss the generic world setting books
honestly I am so glad the NPC books are setting agnostic for the most part. I mean, gods, no problem, fine, that makes sense those are easy to swap out.
But I don't play in Golarian. It's not my cup of tea. I like some of the setting books because they have good ideas and are fun to read - but adding it to NPC books would take away a lot of the utility away since I use them to simplify my life.
My last couple sessions were almost completely run out of the monster codex because my players are overpowered for the module I am running - was really great to be able to swap out the CR1 orcs for stronger ones really easily.
So, thanks for making NPC books setting agnostic. That negative review sealed the deal for me, will be picking this up when I get a bit of coin.
I'm relatively sure they were official as soon as they were printed, I mean, it's not like Unchained.
WotC had some... issues with D&D when they added new rules and such. Psionics, Incarnum, Vestiges, Shadowcasting, Truenames and Maneuvers all got added, but they got barely expanded in subsequent books once they got released.
CR range was talked about abit on the Know Direction that just ended, I personally think the level range is fine since it seems more like an Arc book than a Campaign book, and for really high levels you're going to want your villain organisation to be tied to your adventures rather than using a "drop x group in" type situation.
True, but... it would still have been nice to have a strong organisation.
Finally picked this up as a PDF while I wait for my copy to arrive in the real world and I am so thrilled at how great all of the Demon Knights look! I can't wait to delve into this book in detail and I hope it serves as a source for future minis (and I suppose pawns)!
|
|
Also, I realized that if Paizo would switch to using Golarion in rpg line books, I would miss the generic world setting books
honestly I am so glad the NPC books are setting agnostic for the most part. I mean, gods, no problem, fine, that makes sense those are easy to swap out.
But I don't play in Golarian. It's not my cup of tea. I like some of the setting books because they have good ideas and are fun to read - but adding it to NPC books would take away a lot of the utility away since I use them to simplify my life.
My last couple sessions were almost completely run out of the monster codex because my players are overpowered for the module I am running - was really great to be able to swap out the CR1 orcs for stronger ones really easily.
So, thanks for making NPC books setting agnostic. That negative review sealed the deal for me, will be picking this up when I get a bit of coin.
Yeah, its something I noted in my review: Regarding monster books I'm completely fine with flavor being golarion specific because monster flavor is easy to change(like if monster is specific to region, its not hard to make them be in another region in your own world because monster's flavor is rarely that tied to region's lore. Only such monsters I can figure out are unique ones), but npc books as setting agnostic works much better because you can use them in Golarion and not Golarion AND if you use them in Golarion you can use them anywhere on the world without flavor suffering.
|
|
...oh! love the art on the High Sire and his Great Black Sphynx!
I must say I'm loving this book... you guys went above and beyond providing stats using the newer source material.
Tons of time saved for GMs. Lots of new feats, items, archetypes... wow!
Seasoned Commander is very.... very interesting....
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Glad you guys are enjoying! There's some really fun villains in there, and I think they'll be pretty flexibly useful in a variety of situations.
Hey Mark, would it be possible to stat up High Sire with Unchained Summoner or did you guys needed the APG version to gain a specific feature for the Black Sphynx (i.e. I'm wondering if I could stat an Unchained Summoner similarly - thank you!)
I think you could probably do it without too much trouble as an unchained summoner, with one of a variety of possible subtypes.
|
|
Hey Mark, would it be possible to stat up High Sire with Unchained Summoner or did you guys needed the APG version to gain a specific feature for the Black Sphynx (i.e. I'm wondering if I could stat an Unchained Summoner similarly - thank you!)I think you could probably do it without too much trouble as an unchained summoner, with one of a variety of possible subtypes.
Agathion; Quadruped; basic/intermediate/advanced psychic magic? he looks like he should be a psionic cat... (but the psychic magic evolutions are restricted to aberrant eidolon right? hmmm...)
Edit: aberrant eidolon actually probably fit 'psychic cat' theme better, with the telepathy, head gem, and stuff... (could one make a 'laser cat' eidolon?!? O_x)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Agathion; Quadruped; basic/intermediate/advanced psychic magic? he looks like he should be a psionic cat... (but the psychic magic evolutions are restricted to aberrant eidolon right? hmmm...)
Edit: aberrant eidolon actually probably fit 'psychic cat' theme better, with the telepathy, head gem, and stuff... (could one make a 'laser cat' eidolon?!? O_x)
Agathion doesn't work because of a pretty strong alignment conflict. Aberrant is a good fit on appearance and can get the alignment, but has no way of ever getting claws. For something that will work with a NE power-and-murder cult while looking and working like a cat, I'd go with Daemon. Seems like a likely source for the cat-and-mouse ritual, which likely ties into some specific form of death that it feeds off of.
Note: the reach on the original seems like a mistake. Large quadruped eidolons have 5ft. reach, as far as I can tell.
I don't know how to feel about the erratic policy about UnMonks... Blood of the Beast didn't have exciting options, but it was exciting to see Ki Power/Style Strike support!
And then HR and VC had non-UnMonk archies, for the first time since Occult Adventures </3
Also, the Hunting Serpent is the most blatant power-up archetype we've had since Lore Warden/Zen Archer/Far-Strike Monk.
Has anyone else noticed the ascetic oracle mystery for the fang monstasy part is missing? I am wondering what they intended to put for it...