Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Wilderness

I really like the exploration and weather mechanics. I'm a consummate GM, so more rules systems like those are MY JAM.

Stuff I like on a midnight to 5 am read through

Some of the flavor is amazing. A spell that lets you walk through the forest like snow white and the animals even bring you three square meals a day? Great.

entire menagieries full of critters

large bears

Some stuff i am very much not a fan of "rumor monger" esque options, where something that would previously be ruled a use of the skill gets put behind a feat wall

-The ability to make a false trail
-caw caw caw like a bird
-cover your tracks

Yeah, there are a lot of feats that are useless because you can do what feat allows even without the feat according to the rules <_< I guess you could say "With this I can do it even though I suck in skills!" but yeah still waste of a feat.

Anyway, did I mention I love all plant companions? Because seriously, sniper cactus, why nobody mentioned that before

Yeah, reading through the feats as well right now and a lot of them just seem uninspired. There's a pretty large chunk of small bonus increases or super duper niche "nobody would actually take these without a specific campaign" feats. Some of them are cool though, like Beastmaster Style.

And then there's the nerfed Wolf Savage, which while I get why it was changed (mostly because curses became stupid powerful as a result of Horror Adventures) it's still like "Aw, come on, it was so cool before."

It was annoying that the second and third of the feats in the Feat Chapter is literally "here's a thing you could already do, but let's retcon it to require a feat".

I would argue that technically some of them don't retcon it so that you can't do them without feats now, I mean, animal calling one technically allows that instead of bluff vs sense motive opponent has to do knowledge nature check(without dc given so thats annoying) to realize "Wait a minute" :p

But yeah, seriously though, I'd be really annoyed if some gm was like "Well, its not a feat, so you can't do it even though you can cite several sources which say you can do it without feat"

...which did happen after UI dropped.

And everyone else collectively rolled their eyes at those people.

Back to Ultimate Wildlnanigans...

...hoping for that vine leshy boon! We can make this happen!

...actually... any word on when this is going to be properly vetted for PFS play?

So I just want to let everyone know that the Treestrider Hunter archetype selects their animal companion as a free action.

I assume that was an error in writing. If not, that's genuinely hilarious.

Also, if I read this correctly, a Saurian Champion Cavalier can take a level in the Mammoth Rider Prestige Class to grow their Dinosaur Mount to Huge and then take level 10 in the Saurian Champion to grow their mount to Gargantuan size. Not that it's useful in anyway, but hey, you're riding a Gargantuan mount!

"LADIES AN' GENTLEMEN! IT'S TIME for EPIC KAIJU BATTLE! BEGIN!!!"

Thats depressing to hear <_< I hadn't actually heard about that happening after UI was released

Thats depressing to hear <_< I hadn't actually heard about that happening after UI was released

I havent seen it happen yet but i was worried about it when ui came out

Wildstag that sounds like two actual size increases to me which wont stack

Hmm, did I just heard indirect dissing of Leshy Warden and Leshy Caller? : D

Seriously though, just because you find only 3 or 4 of them interesting doesn't mean there are only 3-4 worthwhile archetypes <_< I mean, of course if you don't like casters you won't find any of archetypes for casters that interesting either.

Feats like Animal Call and Branch Pounce bother me. Being able to mimic a bird call or being able to jump down on top of an enemy from above feel like things you should just be able to do with the right skill checks.

And before this book was published, they likely were at many tables! Now they're feats, something that's kind of a precious commodity for a lot of characters, which means most simply won't be able to do them anymore.

It sounds like they're running out of ideas for feats.

The getting wild empathy as a feat bothers me. It would make classes that have a reason to have a charisma score (oracles, paladins, sorcerers) better at wild empathy than druids.

Feats like Animal Call and Branch Pounce bother me. Being able to mimic a bird call or being able to jump down on top of an enemy from above feel like things you should just be able to do with the right skill checks.

And before this book was published, they likely were at many tables! Now they're feats, something that's kind of a precious commodity for a lot of characters, which means most simply won't be able to do them anymore.

Branch Pounce doesn't let you charge by falling, you can and always have been able to do it without the Feat. BP adds extra damage and makes you takes less falling damage when you do a falling charge. The feat even starts with "When charging by falling", the feat is additional stuff on top of the charge.

The getting wild empathy as a feat bothers me. It would make classes that have a reason to have a charisma score (oracles, paladins, sorcerers) better at wild empathy than druids.

The Wilding feat? Yeah, but you are basically investing in order to do that, and you can only take the feat at 1st, and it gives classes that already have WE a bonus. And that drawback (don't know how much of a drawback it is but it's there).

Yeah, not a fan of feats that say "you can't do something without this feat" even though you could in the rules before.

They might be running out of feat ideas but I haven't yet;)

If they had reprinted the cunning feat I would have added another star to my review.

Cunning is in a hardcover so there's no need to reprint it.

Yeah, but it's in a book which D78 is not interested in, so that means it doesn't exist;)

Yeah, not a fan of feats that say "you can't do something without this feat" even though you could in the rules before.

They might be running out of feat ideas but I haven't yet;)

If they had reprinted the cunning feat I would have added another star to my review.

Have you considered submitting your feat ideas to 3rd party publishers or publish them yourself. :-)

Yeah, not a fan of feats that say "you can't do something without this feat" even though you could in the rules before.

Actually I went digging some more into this because I've never actually seen any rules for allowing Bluff to imitate voices, and that's because there isn't. And there wasn't really a consensus on the forums from my searching (Bluff, Disguise, and Perform were all suggested).

It wasn't till Ultimate Intrigue that it brought up using skills on vocal alteration and the distinction between Bluff (telling a lie) and Disguise (actually altering something to be something else).

So Animal Call isn't cutting out a rule, since no rule existed before, but by going off published rules it allows you to use a different skill (Bluff instead of Disguise) to disguise your voice.

None the less it's a very crappy feat...

... Example- I'm assuming the season witch loses their familiar to get other features. Nothing specifically says the familiar is replaced. Also, depending on the season you chose, you get to pick a bonus hex out of two options, but below, it says that feature "alters the hex gain at 1st level", which sounds like it replaces the 1st level hex. But if that was the case, it's not really a bonus hex... Usually it would say you must pick specific hexes at that level. Anyhow, I decided to treat it as a bonus hex in addition to the one normally granted a 1st level. Since you're losing your familiar, a bonus hex seems appropriate.

...

Actually, I think they misused the word "bonus" here, and you keep your familiar but are limited in your choices of 1st level hex depending on your patron season. So you get a bonus off choosing a season to compliment your patron spells—which you normally get nothing but the bonus spells per level—and as a result your choice of 1st hex is limited. That's my take on it.

None the less it's a very crappy feat...

I can mimic the noble and benevolent call of the Tyrannosaurus Rex with it.

(Since you pick a terrain and can mimic all the animals in it that’s a pretty big list)

Alex Mack wrote:

None the less it's a very crappy feat...

I can mimic the noble and benevolent call of the Tyrannosaurus Rex with it.

(Since you pick a terrain and can mimic all the animals in it that’s a pretty big list)

You mean just like all gnomes can via Ghost Sound? see! I've always known gnomes were uber! they've had that free extra feat the whole time! :P

Rysky wrote:

Alex Mack wrote:

None the less it's a very crappy feat...

I can mimic the noble and benevolent call of the Tyrannosaurus Rex with it.

(Since you pick a terrain and can mimic all the animals in it that’s a pretty big list)

You mean just like all gnomes can via Ghost Sound? see! I've always known gnomes were uber! they've had that free extra feat the whole time! :P

Or vigilantes with the Mockingbird talent. That's at-will, ranged, works to imitate anything, and is generally more versatile.

And for some vigilantes, there aren't necessarily a lot of great choices for 5th-level social talents anyway, so it's not competing for a precious build resource.

Can we start a:

VIGILANTE VS. SHIFTER BATTLETHREAD!!!

(two noble contestants from the semi-pro division that never made it to the big leagues! come! our old stadium from the 1920's has cheaper beer and the hot dog guy still offers grilled onions as condiment!)

Gnome's ghost sound SLA is 1/day and Mockingbird you have to have 5 levels in Vigilante to take. Animal Call can be taken at first level by anyone and is usable all day.

...and at all day long you can call ever so many tyrannosaurs!

The only reason I can see for calling a tyrannosaurus is to ask it questions about Pathfinder;)

Actually, would that be legit?

An in-game method of breaking the Nth wall to get insight on the game and how it is put together as it relates to a given encounter?

That changes the Feat from 'meh' to 'freaking awesome'.

...and probably soon to be nerfed because it's too awesome like that, and as we've determined already UW is about the not-AWESOME.

Loving a lot of the archetypes, especially for the hunter. Question on the Forester: is it's Tactician ability at 3rd supposed to NOT give a bonus teamwork feat? Usually when classes get the Tactician power they get a feat to go along with it by design. Seemed like it might be an oversight here, but I suppose you could just take one with your normal feats.

Actually, would that be legit?

An in-game method of breaking the Nth wall to get insight on the game and how it is put together as it relates to a given encounter?

That changes the Feat from 'meh' to 'freaking awesome'.

...and probably soon to be nerfed because it's too awesome like that, and as we've determined already UW is about the not-AWESOME.

So what kind of terrain are golems native to?

Remember, we've had access to stuff from more-or-less outside the world for quite some time. Called outsiders.

And, if you want to get really boring, there's always Legend Lore.

Animal Call says "animals native to the terrain", so golems would be out, but the what about Magical Beasts and Dragons?

Granted it probably does just mean creatures of the Animal type.

Animal Call can be taken at first level by anyone and is usable all day.

Have your PC call animals all day and see your GM's annoyance skyrocket to "quote Spartacus-style expletives" levels! :P (yet another strong point for the feat! not... I own the book, but that doesn't mean I need to worship that book... or any book...)

*shrugs*

I just like imitating a T-rex

Joe Hex wrote:

... Example- I'm assuming the season witch loses their familiar to get other features. Nothing specifically says the familiar is replaced. Also, depending on the season you chose, you get to pick a bonus hex out of two options, but below, it says that feature "alters the hex gain at 1st level", which sounds like it replaces the 1st level hex. But if that was the case, it's not really a bonus hex... Usually it would say you must pick specific hexes at that level. Anyhow, I decided to treat it as a bonus hex in addition to the one normally granted a 1st level. Since you're losing your familiar, a bonus hex seems appropriate.

...

Actually, I think they misused the word "bonus" here, and you keep your familiar but are limited in your choices of 1st level hex depending on your patron season. So you get a bonus off choosing a season to compliment your patron spells—which you normally get nothing but the bonus spells per level—and as a result your choice of 1st hex is limited. That's my take on it.

What got me thinking you lose your familiar, is the bit about it saying the witch "learns her spells through communion with nature, divining secrets from shapes in the clouds or the play of leaves on the wind." I suppose none of that specifically states not having a familiar. However, if that's the case, the archetype sure gains a lot, with the only sacrifice/restriction being the need to pick one of the two listed hexes at first level- the options are all pretty good ones. I think anyone choosing a season patron would be foolish not taking this archetype. Plus it's one of the rare ones that make it easy to find a second archetype to take with it.

... I want a fluffy cloud familiar now.

Random thoughts;

Love that there's a 'tree of woe.' The seasonal limitations make the altitude fern, fishweed and and sheltershrub less reliable for a community to use, but the goodberry bush is handy for keeping a family fed for a nature-lover who can afford to craft those sorts of things.

Ooh, rules for harvesting / milking poison! That's something that gets asked a lot (particularly if someone has a viper familiar, but also when the party kills a giant spider or whatever.

Tardigrade familiars? Grizzy Bear companions? *Two* new flying companions that a small Druid can ride from 1st level (and a medium user can even ride one at 7th level)? Super-cool. Also cool that there are some companion options with less common abilities, like poison, webs or ranged attacks. That's something I expected to see more of with alien critters (in Starfinder or Numeria), but it's cool to see non-alien-animals (and plants and vermin) with some non-traditional abilities.

Wow, information on the Green Faith! Super-cool. I think this is more than has been written on them in the last eight years!

Whole lotta Archetypes... I suppose I should use one, someday. :)

I’m pretty excited for the saga familiar archetype. Didn’t realize it was compatible with improved familiars. I want to make Yreshi into a sage for my sorcerer. :-)

Just posted a review. If anyone liked the 3.x AEG supplement book "Wild", this book is for you.

Well, I've posted my review. Maybe I should go back and add detail to my thoughts on more things in the book later though, instead of mostly just focusing on a single aspect of it. I can be a bit OCD at times XD